The monthly thread for newbies and old hands continues into July. Here for advice, support and general friendly chat for anyone who needs it. Hope you will all join this fresh thread on Tuesday 1st July.
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Hi Pootle, where has half the year gone. Here’s to another month and try, succeeding or just doing our best.
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Hi S-G. Time really flies by now… half way through the year… I hope it ends up a positive one for us all!
I weakened again today and ate 18g of 85% chocolate at 2.30!!!🫣
But bs at 4.6 mmol/l at 4 pm, so don’t think I did any damage!! -
Started the Fast800 in March. Found the food really delicious and enjoyed it. 3 months later HbA1c is 39 but just been told one result of 49 means I will be listed as diabetic for ever – which is bit gutting. Is that really how it works.
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Hi Evanita,
I understand that once you are diabetic, you are diabetic for life. You can put it into remission, but lapsing back into the ‘bad eating ways’ will cause the diabetes to be ‘active’ again.
I had two blood tests in mid June of last year.. the 1st Hb1Ac was 50 and two weeks later 49. I have used the BSD, completely changing my diet, lost a lot of weight and by December my reading was 40.. I relaxed slightly, adding porridge to my diet and eating the occasional treat, resulting in a hike back to 44 in May (pre diabetic). So, I think it is a way of life for the rest of my life as I want to avoid medication!
Hope this helps.
Xx -
Oh Pootle, 18g of 85% chocolate, I think I will have to shoot you now!!! I have a 10g 75% every night after dinner – no impact on BG at all so stop beating yourself up. 100 times better than the chocolate brownie 🙂
Evanita, if I can just add to what Pootle has told you – the facts, there is one other thing. Once you are diagnosed diabetic the doctor actually gets paid more to have you on his books. The diabetes for life is still true with doctors but not true in real life. We know if we can keep below a certain level we can be classed in remisssion – but why would a doctor do that when he is getting paid.
We have one lady on here for 9 years who went into remission after just a few months on this plan. She has stuck to it over the years and has only just been accepted by her doctor to be no longer diabetic. We have to learn to live with it and their decisions. There are other reasons to keep below whatever level your doctor recommends like travel restriction and holiday travel/health insurance -they shoot sky high with the word diabetes. Take care and keep going.
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I agree S-G, it is in the GP’s financial interest to keep us listed as diabetic. However, in September (when I had a pre-diabetic reading of 43) my GP offered to take me off the list. I declined as I was only 3 months in and didn’t know whether I would be able to keep it up. I think my GP is unusual… or she might just think, as her prescribing very nearly killed my husband, and I had a major argument with the diabetes nurse, they would be better off without me on the list! (Long story, but I was doing CPR on the bedroom floor at 4am until paramedics arrived. He was hyponatremic, dangerously low sodium and potassium, as a direct result of the drugs she had prescribed then not monitored properly!)
I consider I am still learning how to live this life.. keeping the weight off and the diabetes in remission. The recipes are good, though I tweak most of them. It is only ‘afternoon teas’ and ‘pub grub’ meals out that are difficult! -
I think if a doctor can see results from getting rid of pre-diabetes it is a job well done. It is when you have become fully diabetic that they just go to their old favourites – Metformin, glycazide, insulin etc etc. My doctor doesn’t recommend my diet because he says it is too hard to stick to. Point is though, sometimes a little effort can have big results and when we get the results we want we then want to stick with it. We don’t want to go back to what it was like before.
A blessing that you were there to save your husband but also to stand up for yourself with that nurse (I remember her comments) and keep your doctor on board.
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Looking forward to welcoming everyone to the fresh monthly thread for July!
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Another month to make a new start. Didn’t make my 1kg for June, just over half but I always say, aim for the moon and you might just land in the stars. So I am 1.65kgs down now. Still going to make every effort but know there will be a lot of meals out and temptations when family arrive. I have already booked 3 restaurants over the week. Luckily I will be doing most of the cooking the rest of the time. Grandson is a healthy eater, daughter is a vegan so will be getting beans with everything and I will just live on salads in the hot weather.
Come and join us and tell us about your weight loss/healthly lifestyle journey. All welcome.
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Hello!
July 1st!
New month!
New start!
New mid-year diary!
Here we go again!I’m away 4 weeks today so just wanting a little ‘buffer’ before we go. Having spent many, many, many years ‘obsessing’ about ‘weight’ I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that I just need to ‘relax’. I’m never going to be ‘thin’, never have been, never will be!
Despite my weight I’m pretty healthy so just want to keep going that way.
Love the interaction on these threads. They really are inspiring. I just need to keep posting to get inspiration and inspire if I can.
Promise to post …. promise!
Have a good July.
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Great to have you both posting!
S-G a loss is a loss! Enjoy eating out with the family, I hope the weather is cooler for you!
Verano, wishing you well in your efforts to get a buffer before your holiday in 4 weeks time.
I am just keeping on keeping on! 🤞🤞 -
Verano thanks for your “I’m never going to be ‘thin’, never have been, never will be!” I need to accept that too.
I’ve managed to gain 3kgsover the last 3 months – putting some of that down to the very hot weather as it’s also been really humid. But that is 3 too many, some gained whilst trying, loosely, to lose🤪. It stops here now!!! Just heard stepson is not coming to dinner tonight which is a shame but means that the one “very naughty” pudding/dessert a week that we have when he eats with us won’t be eaten tonight so that’s a positive!
Just looking to see where this month takes me weight-wise as we don’t have any real distractions or plans this month…… so far although we can be impulsive as in Monday’s 4hour trip to the coast because it was cooler there than at home. -
Annie sometimes we just have to face facts!!!
Anyway for the moment I’m just keeping on keeping on ….. -
Hi all, I guess I am in the never going to be thin category – mainly because I am only 4’11”. Last time I got to anywhere near my idea weight of about 7 stones my head looked like a lollipop on a stick 🙂
Nice surprise this morning. Every now and then my Renpho scales tell me ‘its time to weigh’ which is when it makes a formal record. Sometimes I know I have not done well so I ignore it. This morning I decided to weigh in officially and there were poppers and bangers and a big congratulations. Apparently I told it I wanted to lose a certain amount by Christmas and I have succeeded in losing 20% of that goal. Nice incentive to keep on keeping on…
Now looking for a house-sitter for our September trip to the UK so spending time in front of the computer – at least it keeps me out of the heat – not too bad 28 degrees today but quite muggy.
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Good morning all,
I really think having a positive attitude to losing the weight is essential for success. S-G having your scales congratulating you must be a huge boost!!I see what you are saying about ‘ideal’ weight for height. I am only just into the recommended body mass index but if I lose more I would look emaciated! And if I weigh with clothes on I am just outside the ‘ideal’!
So I will continue the low carb lifestyle to keep the diabetes in remission and try to avoid putting any weight on.
Hope you are all doing ok . -
A very good morning from Florida!
As I head towards another 8 weeks before my blood work, I thought I would stop in here and report in for a while. I started here in 2018 at almost 175 pounds at 64 years old. I am now 150 at 69 years old (5’4”). You can see my struggles and progress in my profile.
I remember Verano and Sunshine girl as my mentors. You are both so inspirational!
My nutritional goals are to keep carbs below 60, sugar at 10 grams, and fiber above 20 grams. No alcohol – I love my Manhattans and wine for next 8 weeks.
Thanks for starting this thread, Pootle. I hope to check in every morning with my progress. -
Hi Violinist, great to meet you.
I am a relative newbie.. (July 2024), but am a dedicated convert!!
Hope all goes well with your 8 week plan and I look forward to hearing all your news! -
You sound like it did not take you long to get into the swing of things here!
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I think, like so many, I didn’t want the medication that came with a diabetes diagnosis. So when the GP told me I had moved from pre-diabetes to full blown, I was looking for ‘a way out’! I had piled weight on due to incorrect treatment for another problem which was mis diagnosed .
It was hard to accept at first and I have to acknowledge that without Verano and Sunshine Girl’s support, advice and encouragement I might have given up and gone back to GP for metformin. As it happens, I enjoy the food… I don’t drink alcohol often (about 3 times a year… one glass of fizz) so I lost the weight and (with a blip) am in diabetic remission.
These forum threads keep me motivated… and reasonably on track, so I keep it up!
So all in all I think I have got into the swing, but I know I will fall off from time to time!! -
Wow, I just love your story! Are you doing the 800/day program?
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Hi I had 800 cal 50g carb/day for two months. (The BSD. )Then I increased calories slightly but kept to 50g carb (more or less) Weighing every ingredient…calculating it all out very carefully. I am lucky that I have a very supportive husband, who dieted with me! I use a lot of recipes from the Fast 800 and BSD cookbooks but adapted them, as I don’t like spiced food. Also adapted recipes I have used for years. Using a tool on the internet to calculate the calories and carbs. I have slipped from time to time, and have succumbed to hot buttered toast on more than one occasion!! 😂
I weigh myself every morning… if I don’t, I ‘think’ I can get away with eating ‘treats’ every day. If I think a treat has put 1/2 lb on, I am strict the next day!
But, having said that, I do have treats… chocolate is a huge weakness!! 🫣🙄 I drink a lot of sparkling water, and have told the doctor that I will never give up good, strong coffee!!!☕️☕️ I have a bean to cup filter machine, and have far too many cups in a day!! 🤪 and a little bit crazy! 😂🤣🤪 -
I love your crazy!!! I also weigh myself every morning and have documented my intake since 2013, when I had digestive issues. It became a habit. I use My fitness pal website. Wine and chocolate together are a rare treat for me too!
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A bit late for July 1st but giving things a go – better late than never and all that! Tried many years ago, now really need to get serious to lose some weight and improve health factors.
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Hi Charlotte,
Good to meet you. It is never too late!! Hope your journey goes well. There are inspirational people on here, and we are all around to encourage each other! Hope to hear how you are doing!
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Thanks Pootle, this forum is really helpful and appreciate it. Will keep up with successes (and any slips)! X
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Just popped in to say hi to Violinist – so glad we were of help. Hi to Char10tte to. You are very welcome.
Not wanting to bring things down but I really blew the diet last night. My daughters friend (who became mine too) died yesterday and my daughter was having a glass of wine in her honour. I said I was going to be strong but she said – you know what S would say, enjoy life, you don’t know how long you have – so I had a few glasses of wine to say cheers to her. She was 54 and discovered pancreatic cancer in February. But now back on with the diet before our night out on Monday.
I will be back to normal soon – if I ever was normal. 🙂
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Good morning, Sunshine-girl and all!
I have learned, as you have, just don’t give up! I use the word STRIVE and GOALS. I am always working toward a goal and if ever reach them, I immediately make more goals. You can see in my profile, if you click on my name, that I have documented my goals since 2018, when I stumbled on to this website. And not just weight and blood work numbers.
As you can see, I have played the violin for 60 years and just last year I started taking cello lessons and don’t sound too bad! I even started a small orchestra!That is what I like about you guys, you continue on and when you fall you get up and dust yourself off!
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Hello S-G, Verano & Pootle and I am hoping that I have found the continuing threads from June? Sorry I haven’t posted recently. I am now having my knee replacement op next Saturday after getting a cancellation. I hope you are all doing well?
Margaret -
Hi Margaret,
Yes you have found the continuation of the monthly (June) thread.
Good luck for your op next Saturday. 🤞🙏that all goes well and you make a swift recovery.S-G so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. Unsurprising that you needed to toast her memory! But great to hear you are getting back on track!
Violinist, I do agree that having goals is very important. I also find that having a record of ‘everything’ to look back on makes me realise how far I have come, which makes me determined not to fail now!!
Hope you are all doing well today.
Xxx -
Thank you Pootle & I really must get back on track having let my calories & carbs increase so much that I was worried the hospital might refuse my surgery with me having gained weight since I saw my surgeon last October. The waiting has been stressful & I have been eating too much that is easy than to always prepare from scratch because standing chopping veg etc & cooking has been difficult. Oh well best feet forward now & eating & drinking low carb for next week.
Keep on going everyone this way of eating is worth it to become healthier particularly also avoiding highly processed food!
I will post again after my op & at least I will have a private room & a tv despite now being an NHS patient to keep me amused but taking my French books, kindle & knitting with me so that I am not too bored 😀
Margaret xx -
Hi Margaret, so glad to hear you are AT LAST getting the op. Enjoy your short break and hope to see you running around soon. Bon chance.
I am over my small slip and have actually done very little harm (just gained 0.2kg). I was reading a magazine article about how it feels to be on a diet and here are a few thoughts.The high you get when you first start is like being in love. Everything is wonderful and you are so optimistic for the future. But love has its ups and downs. Sometimes you are soaring the heights and then you plummet down. Gains and losses are a part of everyones life and it can be very emotional. Your love is for yourself and how proud you feel when the scale show a loss. When there is a gain we fall out of love with ourselves, feel let down by ourselves and want to end it (the diet that is). Always remember the good feelings over the bad and try to stay in love with yourselves.
Nice thing today is that it is about 15 degrees cooler and we even had a splash of rain, so feeling more energetic. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
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Thank you S-G & very wise words 👍😀 & well done getting back on track.
Margaret xx -
Good morning all!
SG, you make me laugh, but you are correct about feeling like you have a new love.
So I have posted all my menus in MFP and am ready for the week’s meals. That is half the battle. -
Another cool day and, at last, some rain, save me having to water all the plants.
Going out tonight to a quiz with meal. Just going to enjoy myself. And in the spirit of living life, I have book a restaurant table at a lovely hilltop bistrot for 14th July – you will know it as Bastille Day but in France it is la fete nationale. So instead of being at home and going outside to watch all the fireworks going off around us, we will be in the thick of it. Got a little complacent and not done it for years. Might be our last fete nationale if the house sells.
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That sounds brilliant S-G. Enjoy your evenings!!
I had one of ‘those’ nights, where everything just keeps going round and round in your mind.. so I gave up on sleep and made a cup of tea at 5.30… I still didn’t eat until 12.30, but I am now running out of energy. Supper is in the oven, and I still have to water the veg garden! 🥱🥱🥱
I think, because I am tired, I am hungry, hungry, hungry! 😩 finding it difficult not to pick at the goodies in the fridge this afternoon. The cold chicken and sparkling water that I have indulged in, has not assuaged the urge, so I have come on the BSD site to prevent any more nibbles! 😜🤪
I hope you are all having a better day than I am! 😉
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The weather is warming up here…we missed the last ‘heat wave’ ….and it looks as though watering is going to be the order of the day! Today I am keeping out of the sun, but have to work this evening, so the garden will have to cope until the early hours of tomorrow morning!
Hope you are all doing well today.
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Just dropping by for a quick hello, and to introduce myself. I started the BSD on 29th June so am very new to all this. I’m using the Nutritionix app which I would be lost without. I’ve looked through the recipes in the books, and there are some I’d use, but I think I’d be happier adapting my own favourites, and I definitely need an app to track all that! I read through a lot of forum posts before I began – lots of helpful advice and encouraging comments by some really inspiring people! I will no doubt need both in the weeks to come!
Looking forward to meeting you all.
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Welcome Shetland Lace & what a lovely name!
Well my pre-op prep is certainly comprehensive with a bacterial shower gel to use for five days & nose gel to put up my nose twice daily plus clean bed linen, towels & clothes every day to cut down the chances of taking MRSA into the hospital. This is all new to me but I believe from what friends have now told me now standard practice in all hospitals & a pre-op carb nutrients laden drink to take on Friday evening before midnight & then again before 6-30am on Saturday after fasting since 6-30pm o Friday after supper. I am at least well practiced for the fasting part!🤔😀 The drink is supposed to help one’s body heal better after surgery? I am just relieved that our new washing machine arrived & was installed on Tuesday in time for all the washing that I am now doing & I fortunately have plenty of wide legged liken culottes to wear for after surgery to give access to my knee & to wear to physio plus of course another heat wave will be here from today onwards. Our garden is already looking rather frazzled & a pigeon is a frequent visitor to bathe in the wide terracotta dish I have put out for the birds to drink from looking very amusing jumping around & swishing his wings in the water splashing it everywhere.
I hope everyone will cope with the warmer weather & keep hydrated.
A bientôt
Margaret xx -
Hi Shetland Lace and welcome.
I use Verywellfit recipe calculator. I think we all have to use an aid to get the figures right. I know Nutritionix is popular.
I have found this community to be invaluable in my journey to remission and weight loss! There is lots of advice and information. As you will see, this is a monthly thread (renewed each month) there is also an annual thread, a positivity thread and many more! I look forward to hearing how you are getting on.
Xxx -
Hi Margaret,
Gosh, changing the bed every day is major! Particularly when you are in need of a knee op.
Thinking of you and wishing you a swift recovery.
Xx -
Thank you for the lovely welcome!
Wishing you all the best for your upcoming op, Margaret.
And Pootle, I don’t want to even contemplate how difficult all the calorie etc calculations would be without the apps to help! As for my progress so far, I lost 2kg in my first week or so, and then sat on the same weight for 4 days. Weighed myself this morning and finally saw a shift downward again of 200g. From what I’ve read though, this is how it usually goes?
Anyway… have a fantastic day, everyone! -
Thank you Shetland Lace
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Welcome to Shetland Lace. I sometimes use an app but a lot of my meals have become second nature over the years so have a good idea. It is when I have something new or unusual that I try to log it before I eat it and then maybe I wont eat it after all.
I think for me right now I am on maintence with the weight as I am sick of reporting 0.2kg up, 0.2kg down. So just worrying about my BG and that is coming down nicely as is the amount of insulin I am using.
Had a swim today, the first for 8 days, then I wonder why I couldn’t be bothered as I enjoy it so much and the great feeling afterwards. If I get in first thing after breakfast then it is done for the day and nothing gets in the way.
Have a great weekend and stay cool.
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Good evening all,
S-G don’t you think we sometimes have to work out a priority and stick to it. Great that your BG is steadily improving and so the insulin is coming down! That had to be good!
I am maintaining a steady weight and still resisting the carbs, so my carb monster is just grumbling away in the background. At lunchtime today I very nearly succumbed to a slice of buttered granary bread I had prepared for husband…I even put it on my plate with the salad… thinking; “that little bit won’t hurt “ ! I had second thoughts when I got to the table, and handed it over! I am sure it would have led to more!!!I hope everyone is surviving the heatwave… this time it has hit us in West Wales also… unusual not to have rain for so long!!!
Wishing everyone a good week ahead…
Xxx -
Hi all, hope you are coping if you are having a heatwave.
Pootle, the difficulty for me is that my weight affects how much insulin I have to use and my insulin affects my weight so it is a very careful balancing act. Insulin puts on weight and when I gain it is not because I have come off my diet. I am on this diet every day of my life and a even when I allow myself a treat it is not usually of the carb type, maybe a glass or 2 of wine (which is technically carb) and I am only human. Tonight I am going out for a meal with my husband and even if I don’t eat the bread or have anything more than a mouthful of dessert just to try I will put on weight, hubby wont. I think I gain quarter of a pound for every 10 units of insulin and I am currently on 17 units. I have to stay well within the 800 to 900 calories every day if I can. So I cannot just let the diet slide or I will gain and then I will have to use more insulin and so on and so on…….
Anyway, I am going to stop obsessing so much and stay off the site for a short while although I know I will be tempted to look to see if anyone needs diabetic advice. Although we have a good diabetic example of how well this works with Pootle and a couple of others so I will try to keep my head down. Daughter and grandson arrive in 6 days and we have a very full schedule so I will be rather busy.
Stay true and focussed and keep on keeping on…
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I hope you have a lovely time with your family s-g. And that the weather behaves!
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Good morning all,
Violinist, I hope your menu planning has paid off and you are on track!Shetland Lace, how is it going? I came across a couple of interesting recipes in Emma Porter’s Life Without Diabetes cookbook ( based on Prof Roy Taylor’s 3 step plan.) up until now I have either used The BSD or the Fast 800 recipe books OR adapted my own recipes using the calculating tool!
But I have been looking around for new ideas!
As I am on maintenance re weight but still need to have low carb, I have been struggling a bit to find a variety foods in my diet to manage the balancing act!S-G enjoy your time with the family…. Hope to see you again when you feel like popping in!
Margaret, have you had the op yet? If so, I hope all has gone well…if not, good luck! 🍀
Heidi, hope all is well with you!
Charlotte, how are you doing… Hope you are making progress.
Verano, hope the summer is going well for you.
So, I know this won’t be popular but I need to stop losing weight!!!! 🙄😩🫣
Weighed this morning and I am down to 9st 11lb!! I wanted to be 10st 7lb, but thought I could hover between 10st and 10 1/2, whilst restricting carb intake. (To have some leeway) 🤪🤪 why is life so complicated????? I am no longer counting calories, just carbs….. keeping to around 50g carb per day from veg etc.
well, back to the recipe books and try to work out meals that will help to keep my weight steady!!I hope you are all keeping on…
Xxxxx -
Good morning, Pootle, and all!
Yes, meal planning is going well. I will have surgery next Friday so I have been overcooking and freezing.
I will stay close to home this next week so I do not catch anything going around.
Pootle, it can be problematic when on a roll losing weight and trying to slow it down. You get used to certain food favorites and your appetite decreases after a while. It doesn’t help to “treat” yourself to add a few pounds if your focus is also bloodwork numbers.
Have a great day, Folks!Catherine
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Hello!
Just want to say welcome back to Violinist and welcome to Shetland Lace and Heidi 24 and Charlotte.
Sorry I’m not very active on this thread at the moment but Pootle you are doing a great job in keeping this thread going!
Have a great summer everyone.
Looking forward to being more accountable here in the autumn.