I have been slowly losing weight for the past 5 years. I decided to not to much pressure on myself and stopped always getting on those scales, and decided to enjoy living the 5:2 way of life and the inner health associated with 5:2, and the weight loss is the bonus side effect.

I feel that after 5 years and I am so close to my goal that I finally have something that I can share with others. My successes and failures on the 5:2 journey, and what has worked for me, also what has worked for others through the variety of different support groups that I have run over the years.

The main thing I have noticed with the people who are successful, is their mindset. It is not enough to only want to lose the weight, but it is how you think about the weigh loss and body health as a whole.

I have decided to start my own accountability 5:2 support groups to help people on a more personal level. I started this a while ago, but got very busy with my other 2 businesses, that I was unable to continue with them on a monthly basis. Therefor I have decided to only open the support and accountability groups up twice a year for new members. Then all the new members can join together at the same time, and get to know each other and have each others back on this life long journey.

I started a Jan 2014 group when I decided to make 5:2 a massive focus in my life and had a large group of ladies join with me at the same time. Almost 3 years down the track, the group is still going and I have made some life long friends.

I run and manage lots of different groups for various educational purposes, so have a great deal of experience with helping people to improve themselves personally and for business.

For more information on this program please go to: http://www.sparkleclassacademy.com

So you have been getting on the scales and starting to feel disheartened as the numbers are not going down. Well try not to.

When you say that you want to loose weight, don’t you really mean that you want to loose fat. Fat cannot be easily measured on a set of bathroom scales. If getting on the scales is an obsession and is making you upset, then you really need to STOP. Don’t get on them if your mood is determined by the number you see in the morning on the scales. You will benefit from either weighing monthly or even not at all.

At the end of the day don’t you really want to look and feel better in your clothes, improve your overall health and be able to exercise longer.

If you gain weight on the bathroom scales, it does not mean that your clothes will not feel looser. Here is an example I found of one of Jason Ferruggia clients that show even though you weigh more, that your body can look better.

You can see that she looks more lean and fit with a bit of exercise and weight gain.

The scales are really no longer a useful tool if they upset you especially once you get within 5-10kg of your goal, so please do not let those numbers define your view of 5:2.

Quick Fix & Long Term
Do NOT go hand in hand

Let your choice for becoming a healthier person make you feel proud of yourself as it takes a person with a positive attitude to stick to anything long term. If your looking for a quick fix when it comes to a thinner you that is also maintainable long term I would love to hear of it. At the end of the day it is your own personal journey and you need to stay positive and believe in yourself for success to occur.

I love looking at numbers and statistics so weighing for me is an enjoyable experience. Even when it goes up I like to look at the statistics to see if I can see any patterns an graph them. They never make me sad or angry, however if they upset you just stay away.

Measure yourself

I cannot highly recommend this enough. I hear so many people getting disheartened by not losing weight, but if you take measurement you will see that even though you may not be losing kg’s you are actually losing cm’s. And really isn’t this what us girls want, to fit into that smaller outfit.

Stick to 5:2 life style and just believe that you are doing wonders for your insides to live longer and healthier. You clothes and comments from other people will be your guide.

Sally’s Garlic Prawn & Scallop Chowder

Calories per serve: 394 (or 197 for half a serve)

Serve: 2

Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins
Ingredients: 10 | Difficulty: Easy

Sally’s Garlic Prawn & Scallop Chowder 
Ingredients:
1 tsp garlic (4 cal)
1/2 onion (30 cal)
1 medium carrot (approx. 60g), finely chopped (25 cal)
1 stick celery (approx. 12”), finely chopped (10 cal)
2 medium potatoes (approx. 400g), peeled, roughly chopped (308 cal)
2 cups Vegetable stock (30 cal)
2 tbs plain flour (70 cal) ½ cup frozen corn (67 cal)
100g prawns (approx. 10) (89 cal)
100g scallops (approx. 10) (95 cal)
80ml Lite coconut milk (60 cal)

Method:

1. Fry the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes until onion is tender in a non stick pan with a little water.
2. Put ½ cup of the vegetable stock into a small bowl and whisk in the flour, making sure the broth is lump free and set aside
3. Place carrot, celery, potatoes and the rest of the stock into the pan and cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stir occasionally.
4. Add corn and flour broth and mix through. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until corn is tender and sauce slightly thickens.
5. Reduce heat add prawns, scallops and coconut milk. Stir, without boiling for about 3-5 minutes or until seafood is cooked.
6. Weight total and halve into 2 serves.
   Make sure you get 5 prawns & 5 scallops each, they are the best bits  Enjoy.

Notes:

I felt satisfied with only half a serve as the serves a very big. This also decreased my calorie intake to a low 197 cals for this yummy meal.

Sally’s Super Easy Teriyaki Chicken Stirfry

Calories per serve: 284

Serve: 2

Recipe Challenge: Week 9 (total recipes 13)

Super Easy Chicken Teriyaki Stirfry
Ingredients:
300g chicken thighs
260g Coles coleslaw supreme
70g Broccoli
70 g Carrot
1 packet Celebrate Health Teriyaki Sauce
Served on
Slendier Rice

Method:

1. Dice and cook chicken until browned in wok.
2. Add carrot and broccoli fry for 1-2 mins
3. Add coleslaw fry for 2-3 mins. To create more steam while frying I usually add a little water as I am cooking.
4. Add Teriyaki sauce and toss through until heated
5. Serve immediately on slender rice.

Notes:

This is also lovely served on top of cauliflower rice or with zucchini noodles.

I was having a hard day and needed a quick easy meal, but was hungry so also wanted something with lots of taste and crunch for my fast day dinner. I looked through my cupboard and found a few things I already had that didn’t take much work at all.

Such a lovely quick meal, using ready made salad and sauces. I only added carrot and broccoli because it was in the fridge, you could add any other veggies you like, as the calories are low enough, but this was so filling that I could not even finish it.

Sally’s Meatballs in Tomato Soup

Calories per serve: 198 (1 meatball with sauce)

Serve: 10

Total meal calories: 266
(served on cauliflower rice)
Total meal calories: 316
(served with cauliflower rice & Heniz steam fresh veggies)

Recipe Challenge: Week 8 (total recipes 12)

Sally’s Meatballs in Tomato Soup
Ingredients
500g Lean Beef Mince
500g Lean Short Cut Bacon
1 large Onion
1 Eggs
2tsp Crushed Garlic
1 tsp Oregano
1 tin Tomato Soup
1 tin Chopped Tomatos
1/4 cup Plain Flour
Served with
Cauliflower Rice
Veggies of your choice

Method:

1. Combine mince, diced bacon, diced onion, egg, garlic and herbs
2. Using a 1/3 cup to measure meat and roll into balls. Mixture should get 10 balls.
3. Roll balls into plain flour.
4. Place in casserole dish and cover with tomato soup and chopped tomatoes.
5. Cover and cook in the microwave for 15mins on med-high
6. Cook for 15mins on med/low
7. Allow to stand for 15 mins
8. Repeat 6 & 7, 4 times
9. Serve on top of cauliflower rice

Notes:

Due to there being bacon in the mix, the balls may not looked like they are cooked, due to the pink of the bacon, but rest assured that they will be.

It is lovely served on top of rice with a little bit of grated cheese on top of the rice on non-fast days.

My original recipe which is better for non fast days is done by adding ½ kg Beef Mince, ½ kg Pork Mince, ½ kg Chopped Bacon for the meat portion, I would add 2 eggs to this, and also bread crumbs.

Sally’s 5:2 Oyakodon
(Japanese Chicken & Egg Cauliflower Rice Bowl)

Calories per serve: 384

Serve: 2

Recipe Challenge: Week 7 (total recipes 11)

Sally’s 5:2 Oyakodon
Ingredients:
2 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs (approx 250g)
150ml Bonito Fish Soup (Dashi)
1 Tbsp Light Soy
1 Tbsp Mirin
1 Red Onion
2 Eggs on
Served on Steamed Cauliflower Rice

Method:

1. Slice chicken in strips.
2. Slice onion in strips.
3. Place sauce into wok to boil.
4. Place chicken into sauce and simmer until braised.
5. When chicken is cooked add onion and cook to soften.
6. Gently whisk 2 egg (using chopsticks if you want to keep with the Japanese theme) and then pour slowly and gently over chicken and onion.
7. Turn down heat, cover and cook for about 1 minute, occasionally giving the wok a little shake so the egg does not stick to the edges.
8. After 1 minute turn off the heat.
9. Serve over the top of cauliflower rice  with a little spring onion if desired to make it look pretty.

Notes:

This is a Japanese comfort food. A great hearty meal. Oyako means “parent-and-child” in Japanese, a traditional Japanese rice bowl topped with simmered chicken (parent) and egg (child). I have substituted the normal rice with cauliflower rice to avoid carbs on my fast day.

Sally’s Baked Honey, Soy & Lime Chicken

Calories per serve: 210
Meal per serve: 305

Serve: 4

Recipe Challenge: Week 6 (total recipes 10)

Sally’s Baked Honey, Soy & Lime Chicken
Ingredients:
4 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs (approx 500g)
3 Tbsp Light Soy
2 Tsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tsp Crushed Garlic
1/2 Tsp Crushed Ginger
Served with
Coles Kale Salad

Method:

1. Mix soy, lime, honey, garlic and ginger to create marinate.
2. Place chicken into oven proof dish and pour marinate over chicken.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-3 hours, turning occasionally.
4. Preheat oven at 200deg
5. Cover and bake for 20 mins
6. Uncover turn chicken and cook for a further 15-20min allowing chicken to turn golden brown
7. Serve immediately.
8. I served with Coles Kale Salad – 95 cal

Notes:

This is lovely also served on top of cauliflower rice with a side of veggies.

If you want more juice then do not uncover chicken while cooking, and cook in a smaller size dish to help stop the liquid from cooking away or burning to the bottom of the dish.

A simple meal using only a few ingredients, most of which you will find a staple in most kitchen cupboards.

I was inspired by the documentary over 2 years ago with this new way of life. I thought it would be a good idea to share this with all my loyal subscribers.

It is such a great way to see all of the research that went into this, not for weigh loss, but it was all about “fasting to live longer” – weigh loss it just an extra side effect of fasting.

Michael Mosley discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he’s found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself – with life-changing results. Beautiful documentary.

Sally’s Egg, Bacon, Zucchini & Tomato Muffins

Calories per serve: 80

Serve: 12

Recipe Challenge: Week 5 / Recipe 3 (total recipes 9)

Posted due to popular demand – I hope you enjoy

Sally’s Egg & Bacon Muffins
Ingredients:
6 eggs
200g lean short cut bacon
1tsp garlic powder
1/4 red onion
6 cherry tomatos
1 large zucchini
1/4 cup of low fat milk

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven 180C
2. Dice and panfry bacon until browned.
3. Once cooked place on paper towel to cool.
4. Grate zucchini
5. Chop cherry tomatoes into 8 pieces each.
6. Beat eggs in a bowl and adding milk.
7. Add zucchini, tomatoes and cooled bacon to egg and mix.
8. Spray with some cooking oil a 12 pan non stick muffin tray.
9. Using a 1/4 measuring cup it will divide mixture up into the 12 muffin pans evenly, do not fill all the way to the top, as they will rise slightly when cooking.
10. Bake in oven for approx 25mins until risen and golden brown.
11. Remove from oven sit for 5 mins to cool, then remove from baking tray and allow to cool on cooling rack.

Notes:

I didn’t have any but you could also add some spinach to these to also get some iron.

My normal pre 5:2 recipe I would have added some tasty cheese or even feta. But as I am revamping my old recipes and I wanted to reduce the calories as much as possible to a very low calorie sustainable snack (not meal), I left the cheese out. This is because I still wanted to retain as many calories as I could for dinner.

These are so full of protein and great for a snack on the go. You can store them in an air tight container (love my zip lock bags or you can use Tupperware) in the fridge for about a week.

To reheat, just stick them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

They taste so good alone, or you could also warm them up and toss them through a salad for something a bit more substantial. Or on a non fast day, have them in a sandwich with some cheese – they are finger licking good.

That is 3 recipes up this week… I have well exceeded 1 recipe a week challenge. I hope all of my support group friends who have requested that I post this – enjoy.

Once you have made your own comment below and let me know how they are, and if you added anything extra. I think even some cayenne pepper would be nice, or even sweet chilli might be nice added to the mixture.

Hello my fellow fasters.

So I have my positivity hat on today for the “End to Week 5″. I have just had a couple of weeks where I had not lost any weight, but worse still, I was also putting weight on. +600g one week, the +100g the next. That is 2 whole weigh in’s, and 2 weeks of this new journey where the scales where not giving me great results. And I was only 4 weeks in.

Today was the first time I had seen my ‘weigh-in day’ with a result of down and not up, and I am feeling great. But I was never disheartened on the weeks I put on weight at all. I was still super excited.

With the Facebook support groups that I am in I often see so very many people getting disheartened and upset when they do not get the results for one or 2 weeks when they get on the scales, and then it seems to define how they are going to feel about the 5:2 WOL as a whole, that 1 or 2 weeks or even 3 weeks which results may not be in their favor.

I would really love to share a thing I like to do, to help keep me motivated and also helping me to realise that I am on the right track and not be too hard on my self or even ‘quit’ when I have a few bad weeks, just like I have with other diets. I hope this helps to keep others inspired.

This is not a diet (it’s a WOL) – I know people laugh at your when you say WOL, but really it is. Only 2 days of paying attention to what we eat, and not 7 days a week, which 95% of people fail at because let’s admit it who really want to do that for the rest of your life. I sure don’t that’s why I always fail.

Healthy weighloss:

So the people in the know (doctors, health pros) say that 500g per week is health weigh loss.

You know what? I would even be happy with at least 200g per week, it might be a little slower but it is still in the right direction. Especially after being overweight pretty much my most of life. My life journey with weight challenges has been since childhood, but most attempts to try and reach my goal has been mainly the past over 16-20 years, since I was 18 – and never making it all the way.

How I set my realistic goals: (how to stay positive)

•  500g / week would get me to my goal of 65kg (22kg loss) in 45 weeks
  (that is less than a year) 
  • Average this or higher – mood “excited”
•  250g/ week would get me to my goal of 65kg (22kg loss) in 88 weeks
  (that is still just over a year and a half years)
  • Average this or higher – mood “very happy”
•  even 200g/ week would get me to my goal of 65kg (22kg loss) in 110 week
  (that is still just 2 year)
  • Average this or higher – mood “happy”

— 2 years! That is nothing compared to a 20 year battle — to only have at most 2 years to reach my goal — I can do that — it’s not a race it’s a WOL.

My maths method to positive scales:

I use this method below to work out the most important number you should be focusing on when you weigh in – Most important number in PINK

What most people see:

Last Week:
This Week:
This weeks loss: (last week minus this week)
Most people use this answer to determine if the diet is working.


This is what you should do every week before you determine how you feel:

Week no:
Start Weight:
Total loss:
Average weekly loss: (total weight loss/number of weeks)
This is the real number you should be watching, to stay positive.

How I stay positive:

If my average is over 200g, then I am going to choose to be happy, as based on my realistic goals I am on track… Pretty darn good if you ask me, and it allows for slowing when I also get closer to my goal.

 Here are my current results:

So as of the end of my 5^th week.

Weighed in today and this is what I see
Start date: 5 Jan 2015
Week no: 5
Start Weight:
 86.9
This week: 82.5
Total loss:
 4.4
Average weekly loss: 880g (total weight loss/number of weeks)

 So I am happy — this is way more than 500g, so and well above being on track, I have heaps of spare in the trunk for when I have a bad week or two or three that might run in a row.

Here were my results for the previous 2 weeks:

Week no: 4
Start Weight:
 86.9
Last week: 83.6
This week: 83.7
Weekly gain: +100g
Total loss:
 3.2
Average weekly loss: 800g

 Week no: 3
Start Weight:
 86.9
Last week: 83
This week: 83.6
Weekly gain: +600g
Total loss:
 3.3
Average weekly loss: 1.1kg

Now if I didn’t look at the average, I would have been getting very upset that I had gained weight for those 2 weeks, but because my average was above 250g which is my realistic goal that I would still be happy with.

Also above 500g each week, which is the top end goal, how do you think my mood is from the number on the scale.

 I am still smashing it with this new WOL. 800g leave me plenty of room to not worry for ages. Now even though the scales were not good for 2 whole weeks, I am awesome and on track.

Want help?

If your not sure how to work it out comment below and I will be than happy to help you work out your numbers.

Share with me:

Share your results below, in the comments. I would love to see how you are going on your 5:2 journey.

Give it time:

Especially if you are only starting out, you really need to give this WOL at least 8 weeks to start seeing decent averages. Then if not working, I would suggest looking at your TDEE intake.