5:2 Diet

      

Last Sunday at church, I was talking to a lady that I had not seen in a while and she mentioned that her husband had lost 12 kg in 6 weeks on the 5:2 diet. Once we arrived home the first thing I did was look up on Google about this diet.

Now to be honest I have tried many of the diets that have been around, such as weight watchers but I have never been able to stick with them consistently. Basically there is nothing wrong with the diets but I have really struggled with being consistent when we go anywhere else to eat.

There is a documentary that a man named Micheal Mosley did that explains the theory behind the diet which is called Eat, Fast and Live Longer which can be watched here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvdbtt_eat-fast-live-longer-hd_shortfilms

The idea is that you eat what you would normally eat for 5 days and then for the other 2 days you would eat roughly 500 calories for women or 600 calories for men. The 2 days are fast days which helps to reduce your calorie intake for the week which should mean that you will lose weight.

As with any diet that you may try it is best if you talked to your doctor first and be cautious if you have any health problems.

On Monday I started with just a normal day where I ate and I didn't count any calories but on Tuesday I had a fast day where I counted calories to make sure I didn't go over 500 calories. It was not an easy day, I had a hungry feeling all day but I just kept focusing on the next day which was a normal day. I had the next fast day on Friday because I could stay at home which I have found make it easier to stick to the correct foods.

I have made a goal of trying this diet for 6 weeks to see whether I can lose weight, if I do, it would have to be one of the easiest diets that I have been on. I plan to weigh myself each Monday and see if I have lost weight. My next weight in will be on 3rd Feburary.

I really liked this diet because it didn't involve spending any money and they do haves book which would explain more but I decided I wanted to save money and just downloaded an app on my IPhone which counts the calories for me. I just figured that I would be strict on the 2 fast days and keep to the 500 calorie limit.

Has anyone tried this diet or any others and have had success with it? 

Escaping the Heat

Today was day 3 of  a heatwave, and the temperature reached 41 degrees Celsius or about 106 Fahrenheit. Yesterday the temperature reached nearly 46 degrees Celsius or about 115 Fahrenheit and the next couple of day are set to be around the same temperature.

Our Pool

Trying to rain in the distance

We have so far escaped the heat with going to the water park and beach on Monday. We went to the movies to watch Frozen, which was a great Disney movie, and the movie theatre was air-conditioned and then last night we again headed down to another beach not far from our house, so we could take the dogs for their first swim at the beach.

Sunset and it looks like storm clouds

Today I decided to have a quieter day so all we have done today is relax and watch some movies. But tonight I decided it was time to set up our pool that my parents gave us last year. It is an easy to set up pool, all that I had to do was inflate the top ring and then when the pool is filled with water it stands up. It took about an hour and a half to fill up but it was a fun way to cool down at the end of the day.

Our apricot tree just about ready to eat YUM!

With about two more days left of the heatwave I can leave the pool set up and we can enjoy it in the days to come. I'm just a little bummed that I have to work at the school holiday program tomorrow afternoon but at least we will be in air-conditioning, the temperature is expected to be 39 degrees or 102 Fahrenheit tomorrow and Friday it will be in the 40's again. I'm am not really a fan of the heat so I will be glad when this heatwave ends

Evening at the Beach

We are on day one of a heat wave and we have so far today spent the morning at the pool with Miss E and her friends going for a swim and having fun on the water slides. The place was very crowded but we decided to arrive early and try to beat the crowds but it seemed like just about everyone had the same idea as us.

Just as we arrived

Watching  the waves

The main thing was that the girls had a fabulous time and didn't want to leave which was fine because us mums were busy chatting and catching up ourselves. We were discussing curriculum choices and it seems like we have all decided to try the distance education curriculum.

After all the fun we headed to Kmart because I need to buy some 3/4 pants so I could be comfortable during the heat. We stocked up on some school supplies as school is about to start and they had some fantastic sales on currently in the stores.

We had dinner at my parents house so we could catch up with my uncle who was on holidays with his girlfriend which was lovely to catch up and hear their stories of their travels.

Sun setting over the water

As we were leaving

Then when dinner was finished we hit the surf beach. The water was still cool but it was lovely watching the beautiful sunset while Miss E  and her friend surfed on their boogie boards. We left just as the sun was setting and the heat of the day had gone so it was beginning to get cool.


Loved the sound of the waves and then seeing the setting sun I couldn't help myself I just wanted to share it with everyone, Enjoy!

Evening Beach Walk

Milly was trying to catch up with them

Mum, Miss E and I stayed home this weekend from the farm so tonight we decided to take Milly and Gypsy for a walk to the local beach. We were going to get fish and chips for dinner but decided on pizza instead. Miss E wanted chicken and Avocado pasta and Mum and I split a pizza.

The beautiful sunset

Then we headed down to the beach and enjoyed our dinner, once we were finished we head down the track beside the beach.

We noticed on the sign that mentioned to beware of snakes but luckily tonight was cool so we were hopeful that there were no snakes. We met a lady towards the end of our walk and she mentioned that a snake was sighted last week along the track and we decided it was time to head home before we ran into the snake.  It was starting to get windy on the way back to the car but I tried to video how beautiful this area was.

Cooking from Scratch

Moussaka and cannelloni

One of my goals this year is to do more cooking from scratch. Learning how to make our favourite foods and what they are made from, hopefully will help us to improve our diet. I am really hoping to focus on improving our health this year because I am overweight and I need to lose a significant amount. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!

Fried rice with homegrown veggies

         Last year I completed a Jamie Oliver cooking course, which gave me good ideas about cooking. Now I am wanting to improve my cooking skills so tonight I decided to try a new recipe which was moussaka with eggplant. Next time I need to cut the eggplant into small chucks so that Miss E doesn't know it's in there because she enjoyed it except for the eggplant.

Homegrown plums from the farm

We have been harvesting vegetables from the garden just peas, beans and carrots, they taste so much better than vegetables brought at the supermarket, so much favour!

To finish off our meal we made stewed plums but they were really sour because we picked them too early because the birds were eating them, they were yummy with custard and cream.

Blueberries

My brother was after some advice on what to do with his berries on his farm so we decided to take a trip to a blueberry farm. My brother has about 50 blueberry plants that are surrounded by blackberries and what we think maybe raspberries but we are not sure because some of the bushes are still flowering.

Look at all the blueberries

 We were invited to come along so Miss E and myself could go pick some blueberries. We didn't need to be asked twice, we love blueberries. They also had a few strawberry plants but because it was Monday most of the strawberries had been picked over the weekend. We love them as well. We are definitely love berries more than any other fruit so we love that we will be able to go and pick berries for free at the farm.

All the bushes and the bird-proof netting

                                         At the blueberry farm they have approximately 4 acres dedicated to growing berries, it is fully netted against birds. The owners said that his biggest pests are foxes, apparently they love berries as much as we do. So fox proof fences will have to be built around the berry patch, we didn't even think about foxes, there are even kangaroos we will have to watch for.

Yum!!

The owners were very friendly and invited my brother back in February so they could show him how to prune and propagate his bushes and how to look after his blueberry bushes. After we had picked a bucket full, we headed up to the counter to pay for our berries. It is so much cheaper to pick your own berries than buy them at the supermarket. We are lucky to not only have this blueberry farm close by but we also have a strawberry farm close by as well. Mmmmm strawberries, Yum!


        

Dogs taking over

Milly and Gypsy taking over the couch

It's funny how animals seem to take over our lives very quickly. All the family has a little soft spot for poor gypsy, as the runt of the litter she is very small compared to her brother, they look like they are from different litters because Ned, her brother, is about twice her size.

Just eaten and now nap time.

Today is our last day at the farm and we are currently packing all our stuff into our car to bring home. We really have had a nice relaxing holiday and we haven't really worked too hard. Yesterday we took a trip into their local town to go out for lunch at the pancake kitchen but it was full, we decided to go and eat at the bakery. The meat and potato pie I ate was delicious and Miss E ate a chicken and advocado sandwich. Last night we relaxed and watch Mary Poppins with the  kids.

Nearly time to leave and I'm just thinking of all the work when we arrive home of unpacking and washing not to mention dinner as well, at least I don't have to work this week so busy week ahead at home, nothing more I love!

Sorry

I am sorry for the lack of posts, here is what we have been doing:

Evening walks

Overlooking the dam

Cooking yummy desserts

Playing with the puppies

We have also been working really hard, clearing out the berry patch that has become overgrown after 10 years of neglect, we have loads of scratches and bumps from all our hard work but tomorrow we are taking the day off and taking the kids to the local wildlife park. It has been an enjoyable working holiday and of course HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!