New Year, New You - A 3 month challenge 2026 - The Blood Sugar Diet by Michael Mosley

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We have not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you are have any health related symptoms or concerns, you should contact your doctor who will be able to give you advice specific to your situation.

posted by sunshine-girl
on 31 Dec 2025 at 13:21

Hi everyone old and new and those who are lurking. We are ditching the 1 month challenges so we can really get a good run at weight loss or better blood glucose outcomes. Mine have been shocking over Christmas but we arrived back here yesterday evening and even just one night of sensible eating has put my BG right down.

I have had a gain of 4 lbs not yet counting New Years Eve Party weight, so it is time for us to give ourselves the original BSD or Fast 800 timescale of 3 months or 12 weeks. I thought of joining the Fast 800 paid diet plan but thought it just as good to stay here with my allies and help team. So lets all work together to make this a very happy new year and a new start.

Denise (Sunshine-girl)
posted by sunshine-girl
on 31 Dec 2025 at 13:24

Starts January 1st 2026
posted by BeccaBSD
on 31 Dec 2025 at 21:28

Hi there, Sunshine Girl, I’m in, starting from scratch on New Year’s Day! Apparently I joined this site in 2018 (!), and actually have been familiar with Michael Mosley’s programs since a few years before that. Always intrigued, lots of weight to lose, but never stuck with it. Now I’m 71 years old and it’s kind of a now-or-never thing. I’ve been binge reading the forums going back several years, and very inspired by all of you who’ve done so well with getting weight off. Hoping to join the ranks of the successful ones in 2026.

I know you’ve been on the program for several years – do you still do 800 calories a day?

Thanks — Becca
posted by Wendy1947
on 1 Jan 2026 at 10:32

A very Happy New Year S-G & thank you for starting this new thread to continue the group & welcome Becca. I am also in my seventies now aged 78 & continuing to try to lose my excess weight particularly needed after my right knee replacement op. although I am not diabetic my husband is Type two.
I will weigh on my usual Saturday morning & I know that I have gained some weight through the Christmas period. I will be using the next few days to clear leftover food & to hide away tempting carbs such as several boxes of chocolates, mince pies & shortcake!! I will continue to follow TRE having my first meal at lunchtime & start again recording everything that I eat & drink trying initially to keep below 1000 daily low carb calories but dropping back over the next three weeks to 800 to try to get back in the BSD swing & discipline with meal planning & cooking from scratch. I will start on Monday 5th January!!
Good luck everyone & here is to a happy & healthier New Year 2026 for us all 🤞🤞🍀👍
Margaret xx
posted by Verano
on 1 Jan 2026 at 13:17

Happy New Year!
Thanks for setting up the new thread s-g and welcome Becca.

Well I ended the year much where I started so I guess neither good nor bad. In saying that we had a very busy year holiday wise so I’m pleased not to have gained. Anyway, for my new year ‘reset’ I started by doing some reading and then I sat and listened to a Diary of a CEO episode with Ben Bikman. I really like his work. So, I listened to the 2.5 hour chat and came away with a new, to me, ethos.

As I’m ageing I’ve come to realise that nourishment is more important than the number on the scales. I’m too long in the tooth to go back to weighing, counting and logging and I’ve spent too many years stressing about ‘food’. Ben Bikman opened my eyes when he said, basically, that he doesn’t stress too much about carbs when they are in their natural form. So yes eat fruit and vegetables. He just says…. “Don’t eat carbs that come in a box or bag with a bar code”. So when you think about it that just about covers most refined carbs and UPFs.

So for my ‘reset’ this year I’m not weighing food, calorie counting or logging I’m just going to make a conscious effort to not eat any of those foods that come in a ‘box or bag with a bar code’. We will just have to wait and see what happens!

Hope 2026 brings everything you wish for!
posted by sunshine-girl
on 1 Jan 2026 at 14:07

Happy New Year. Hope you gave it a great welcome last night.

I wont be getting on the scales until Monday 5th but I will be watching my BG levels. That is why I have been on this diet for however long, is it 8 or 9 years. Verano will know as she joined just a couple of months after me. Good health is more important to me that weight but I have lost and kept off around 8kg. I just never seem to get much further. So here I go with another challenge that I am hoping will give me the results I want.

I am doing the diet as I did 8/9 years ago.

Welcome to BeccaBSD, you ask if I still do 800 cals. Well as the diabetes is always the point of dieting for me so I rarely eat white carbs and without the carbs the calories automatically stay low. I would say between 800 and 1000 is what I average. Although I was at a NY Party last night I had lots of meat a pates from the buffet, went back for seconds, so when the main course of guinea fowl came I didnt have any, maybe my stomach has shrunk as I couldnt face any more food. You say you were here before (apparently), what do you mean. Great for you giving this another chance.

Hi to Verano and Margaret (Wendy1947). This is the first time I have used my real name on a thread, so hi from Denise.

Already today I have missed breakfast then had 2 boiled eggs and a Ryvita for lunch. I bought a ready-cooked rotisserie chicken before we went away so that is what we are having for dinner. I am no angel and some Cremant (similar to Prosecco) is currently cooling in the fridge. Fortunately, because we have been away we have no leftovers or goodies in the house Margaret. In fact we are going to have to shop tomorrow for some basics like milk and salad and veg.

Anyone lurking, come and join us for diet, diabetes and general chat and share you hope, dreams and progress. See you all on Monday if not before.
posted by Verano
on 1 Jan 2026 at 16:04

Hi Denise! Although I think you will always be sunshine-girl to me! Actually we started in mid 2016 so it will be our 10th anniversary in the summer. Frightening how time goes so quickly!

Talking about blood sugar levels mine have been consistently high, finger pricks in the mid 7’s and even over 8, over the festivities, but eating low carb for two days brought my level back down to 5.6 this morning. So I have to keep low carb and for that reason alone I feel that I need the support of these boards. Weight loss would be an added bonus!
posted by sunshine-girl
on 1 Jan 2026 at 17:06

Exactly the same for me Verano. 10 years, omg, where has that time gone. The fact we are still keeping reasonably well as far as T2 goes is why I stay here. So far no complications with neuropathy, glaucoma, kidney, liver or other problems which I was told would be inevitable and especially now after 20 years from diagnosis.

Thats why we keep on keeping on…
posted by Verano
on 1 Jan 2026 at 18:37

Absolutely! That’s exactly why we keep on keeping on……
posted by Pootle
on 1 Jan 2026 at 21:32

Thanks s-g /Denise for this quarterly thread!
I have put weight back on over Christmas and new year although I am still 1/2 stone lighter than I was this time last year. My finger prick BG has been good despite eating a number of carby or sugary treats over the festive periods… also the odd glass of Blanquette de Limoux (I very rarely drink any alcohol!)
I don’t intend to weigh and count every calorie or carb in the next 3 months (i have personal records if I need to refer to them) and hope to lose the extra weight and keep the diabetes in remission without recording everything ! I like the idea of not having “boxed or bagged carbs with a bar-code”.
Here’s to keeping on again in 2026.
Kath. (pootle)
posted by Wendy1947
on 1 Jan 2026 at 22:05

Hello Denise & Kath 😀 it feels a bit like an uncloaking with having just watched The Traitors first episode.
Well today I have hidden four boxes of chocolates with a view to donating them to WI & bowls club raffles & frozen an uneaten dessert I made from yesterday when a friend came to lunch plus six mince pies to get them am away from being tempting. As my brother would have said I am clearing the desks for action😂
Margaret xx
posted by sunshine-girl
on 2 Jan 2026 at 14:37

So I will have been on this site for 10 years on 28th June 2026, wow. Same year as Dr Mosleys team set it up.

Not started the diet yet but just eating nearer to normal and I am down 1kg. Will still count weight as of 5th Jan.
posted by Wendy1947
on 3 Jan 2026 at 09:03

Good morning everyone!
Well I have bravely just weighed & to my surprise I have only gained 2.5lbs over the last three weeks despite drinking wine eating savoury nibbles & snacks plus shortbread & madeleines. My kitchen is still being cleared of leftovers because I don’t believe in throwing good food away & we still have a third of a baked salmon to eat. However I am back to the weight I was after my knee op because I suppose I am still quite sedentary as well with my walking still not very good. Looking back over the past year I have slowly gained nearly a stone in weight which obviously is not helping my knees 🙀.
Well done S-G ( I am also used to referring to you like this!) losing 1kg & I am hopeful of losing some weight next week when I go back to lower carb eating which will I know mostly be carb fluid loss.
Best feet forward everyone now 👍🤞🍀😀
Margaret xx
posted by Verano
on 3 Jan 2026 at 17:13

S-g I looked back and my first post was July 4th 2016 but I didn’t start the BSD until the 7th so we really did start at almost the same time. I hadn’t realised that that was the year that the website was set up though. Ten years! Who would have thought!

But hey 10 years ago I was on the highest dose of metformin and threatened with more medication. I took things slowly and listened to my doctors and came off metformin around six months later. Since then I’ve been ‘drug free’, over 9 years. When I think about it without Michael Moseley I’d probably be on the highest doses of all medications to ‘relieve’ T2 now! I thank him wholeheartedly for that.

Margaret great, just a few pounds is excellent given the ‘pleasure’ you’ve had! Shouldn’t be too hard to get back on track now all the ‘leftovers’ have gone.

Why oh why do we keep ‘denigrating our achievements? Let’s just call a ‘loss’ a ‘loss’ we don’t need to sell ourselves short. Put on weight and it’s ‘fat’, lose weight and it’s ‘water’. Oh dear, talk about self-sabotage. Weight loss is weight loss … end of ….and an achievement!
posted by Lollylu17
on 4 Jan 2026 at 08:53

Hi all – happy new year. I’ve always been terrified of starting anything to help me lose weight. I start… then get sidetracked so easily and always choose the lazy option. I’m 57 and have never managed to stick to anything. I’m looking to be a part of a community to help me stay focused. This is completely new to me even though I’ve had the books for years…. They still look off the shelf new! I’m taking this one week at a time so it doesn’t feel so daunting. I’ve been lucky enough to not have to go on any medication so far but I know I need to change something before it’s too late. Looking forward to getting started and try to change my mindset
posted by Pootle
on 4 Jan 2026 at 09:19

Hi Lollylu,
You are in the right place for great support! Welcome!
I can greatly recommend the BSD and wish you all the best for your journey!
posted by Lollylu17
on 4 Jan 2026 at 15:43

Thank you
posted by Tulip1
on 4 Jan 2026 at 20:32

Hiya- thank you so much for setting up this 3 month thread- I’m ready to get started again!!
🙂
posted by Wendy1947
on 5 Jan 2026 at 09:06

Good morning everyone & my return to low carb BSD eating starts today with five days until I weigh next Saturday 🤞🤞
I will just take it one day at a time & record what I am eating initially keeping to 1000 daily calories to ease my way back in then reduce incrementally in the next two weeks to 800 calories on week days relaxing calories at the weekend so a sort of reverse 5:2 to 2:5 😀. I also will be as usual doing TRE because I don’t need to eat breakfast. It will be interesting to see how my body reacts because I think the shake up in eating more for the past three weeks may have had a positive effect on my body. I expect to be spending lots of pennies losing carb fluid!
Good luck to everyone who is getting back to BSD eating 🍀🍀👍
Margaret xx
posted by BeccaBSD
on 5 Jan 2026 at 10:05

Hi all, going to try again to post something. Tried a few times over the last couple of days but they didn’t get posted. Started to wonder if I was blacklisted or something! Anyway, I’ve transitioned back to low carb the last few days, but will only be starting my calorie counting today. Best of luck to everyone over the next 12 weeks!

Becca
posted by sunshine-girl
on 5 Jan 2026 at 14:17

Hi everyone and welcome to Lollylu17, I think this is the time you can stick with this as the weight loss is fairly good in the first few weeks. People give up when it starts to slow down around weeks 3 and 4 but we are here to keep you on your toes. Talking about on your toes, dont worry if you feel lethargic and tired, you may also feel like you are getting the flu. All symptoms of your body craving carbs and you should not give in to it, it will thank you in the end.

I am super excited to be getting back on track. I have set a weight loss goal but not really going to talk too much about it. Right now I have to get my BG down – it was 8.5 this morning and that it really bad for me. Guess I shouldn’t have finished off the 1 macaroon we got free on the ferry coming back. I have 11 weeks before we go on holiday and I really do have some nice dresses to get into. So here goes.

Anyone feeling apprehensive or nervous about this new way of eating, we all feel the same but try to enjoy the excitement of achieving something for yourself.

Just a word to BeccaBSD. Not sure if it is the case but when you type in your post then press submit ALWAYS go to the top of the page in Forums and click on any of the 3 subjects. I usually click on All Recent Topics. If you dont do this straight away you might forget and press a key to come off the site (your post wont register) or, even worse, hit the back arrow to go back to the list of subjects and this takes you back to where you were before you posted, hence deleting your post. It is such an automatic thing to do, to go back but it is not the right thing. One other thing, make sure you have signed in before commenting as, again your post wont be registered.

Have a good week everyone.
posted by BeccaBSD
on 6 Jan 2026 at 00:36

Thanks Ms Sunshine, I THINK I understand what you meant there, so I will be careful to remember that trick for posting.

It’s been a low-energy day and I’ve slept a lot in the recliner — I was exposed to the flu from my daughter/son-in-law/granddaughter and may be coming down with that. I don’t think it’s keto flu, as I usually know how to side-step that. Anyway, it’s almost 4:30 pm here in California, and I’m just eating my first bit of food, a cup of green tea with some ham and cheese and celery stalks, with everything logged.

I’m excited to hopefully start seeing the weight go down quickly again. I was doing Fast 800 Keto between October 15 and December 15 and lost 30 pounds (!!), even though I messed up a few times. Then took a 2-week break for Christmas and put 10 back on. Already lost 3 of those doing low carb the last few days, even though I ate quite a bit and didn’t count calories. Water weight, probably.

I’m quite certain that I have a LOT more to lose than anyone else on this board. My weight this morning was 286 pounds official starting weight for the next 12 weeks. My long-term goal is 136 pounds, so that is 150 pounds yet to lose (roughly 11 stone). I will be working at this for a long time, it’s safe to say. If I do end up losing pretty quickly, my “very very overweight” status will be a big part of the reason.

Best of luck to everyone on this journey.

Becca
posted by sunshine-girl
on 6 Jan 2026 at 14:25

Hi all, hope you are doing well and sticking with the plan.

Sorry if I made my explanation so complicated, I was trying to explain why it happened. Just now I started to type this and scrolled down a bit to see the line You Are Not Logged In so I had to click on it. Just remember not to use the back button at any time and make sure you are actually logged in.

Becca I am so in awe of you facing this challenge and can understand why you have found it difficult in the past. We did have a lady who lost 9 stone so it can be done over a few years. Fortunately, you dont have any related illnesses and this means you can now avoid them. I am still on this diet after 10 years so it is not impossible to sustain such a diet. My health is more important than toast for breakfast.

I also made a mistake, the symptoms you will feel are not like flu, not that flu. You will just feel pretty rough and lethargic as your body gets rid of the bad effect of white carbs and this is known as carb flu. And, yes, you should be taking it easy until your body gets used to it. You will also be peeing a lot more as you flush out the carbs. If you are doing this properly and not on some other plan (which you are perfectly allowed to) the first thing your body will do is get rid of fluid which is why you can have a super good loss in the first couple of weeks. The secret is to get rid of the carbs. I would say as a diabetic white carbs have a massive effect on your health, as a dieter they have a big effect on weight loss.

Just want to report on something I tried a few months ago for several months and that is Yerba Mata tea. It is supposed to kick the body into increasing natural GPL-1 – the ozempic effect. Well it didnt work for me and it tasted vile. I have just thrown the rest of the bag in the bin. I am now trialling chromium picantate and berebine to reduce blood glucose. I will let you know.

Keep on keeping on.
posted by Verano
on 6 Jan 2026 at 16:33

Hi everyone. Well my first week of my reset is over. Yesterday I re-zero-ed my scales by removing the battery and then putting it back…. result 2lb weight gain! Oh dear! So starting again this week with my no carbs from ‘boxes or bags with barcodes’ regime. I have to admit it was much harder than I thought it would be. I was probably 95% successful. Anyway, now I’ve reset my scales I’ll know by next week if this working or not. I will probably have to add ‘weighing’ food too. Next Tuesday will tell.
Hope everyone has a successful first week.
posted by Wendy1947
on 6 Jan 2026 at 16:38

I had an experimental weigh this morning & have lost one pound after one day & that obviously is fluid & I haven’t managed to drop back to a low carb 1000 calories yet eating 1200 but I will incrementally drop down to 800! So far so good & by next Saturday when I weigh I will be pleased if I have lost 2 lbs which will indicate that I’m on a manageable downwards trajectory 🤞🤞
Keep on going everyone 👍😀
Margaret xx
posted by sunshine-girl
on 7 Jan 2026 at 13:22

Hi all, must say I am managing on less than 800 cals but yesterday my carbs were 50g all because I had a clementine – just trying to keep fruit and fibre in my diet. The day before it was 760 cals and 20g so I can do it.

Talking about fibre, before we went away I froze some homemade chicken stock and the rest of the chicken from the joint (separately). I always have a bag of veggie ends in the freezer so I made a big pot of chicken veg soup. Talk about going straight through me (and hubby). Supposed to be good for us.

I reset my Rhenpo scales this morning but it wouldn’t register my composition, think my feet need some cream to soften the skin. Not happy but it was a sneaky peek at my weight loss and that is okay – just not happy I have let myself go back to what I was in September after yet another holiday. It will go.

We haven’t had any snow here yet but it has been -7 degrees for the past 3 nights, thank heaven for my electric blanket. Only goes on for an hour before bed but it is toasty warm.

Have a good rest of the week and stay warm.
posted by BeccaBSD
on 8 Jan 2026 at 18:08

Well, this first week of January has been rather haphazard, because I wasn’t counting calories consistently, just focusing on staying low carb. I am shocked and pleased to report that I am 13 pounds down, having gone from 289 to 276! This might be partly due to having caught the family cold/flu and not having eaten much at all the last couple of days. In any case, I’m very excited and ready to move forward to week 2 with a bit more discipline about counting the calories. Hope you are all staying well and doing well out there.

Becca
posted by sunshine-girl
on 8 Jan 2026 at 19:11

Well done Becca, stay with it and it will work. It does work. I am not weighing until Monday as that will be one week.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 9 Jan 2026 at 13:16

Jumped on the scales this morning but only did body composition, closed my eyes on the weight. After moisturing my feet last night it recorded all the details I want like visceral fat, skeletal muscle, muscle mass, body water and so on. So I now have a starting point and looking forward to the bad or not so good numbers changing for the better.

Have a good weekend.
posted by BeccaBSD
on 9 Jan 2026 at 22:04

I have one of those smart scales, too, Denise. Not sure how accurate all the things are, but they are interesting to look at, and it’s very gratifying to see certain numbers going down just a little, like visceral fat. Hope to see my metabolic age going down at some point!
posted by Wendy1947
on 10 Jan 2026 at 09:35

Good morning everyone I have just weighed & I am very disappointed losing only 1.2 lbs in weight after five days of dieting.😢 Gosh it just shows how much stricter I am going to have to be to lose my excess weight. I am going to a large family gathering for my husband’s cousin 80th birthday at the end of February so really need to focus from now on to lose as much weight as I can before then 🤔.
At least we have not been affected with heavy snow or wind by the bad storm Goretti here in West Sussex although the temperature dropped below freezing again overnight but rain is predicted all next week with the temperature rising.
I hope you can all do well next week 🤞🤞
Margaret xx
posted by sunshine-girl
on 10 Jan 2026 at 13:40

Hi all, Margaret dont be disappointed at a small loss, it is a loss. Our bodies are used to being on a diet so it is not exactly like starting a new diet. My very first time round I lost only 3lbs in the first week so I was always a very slow loser – I put it down to the insulin injections.

Becca, I am not sure how accurate these scales are but as long as you are getting on the same time, same clothing etc it is a record which will give you levels to aim for. I went on one at the gym when I was with daughter in UK and my results yesterday show a weight loss from that date, improvements in muscle mass, body water. I like the ease of reading like my BMI is in red – bad, muscle mass is green – good and the yellow markers are bad but not as bad as red. I like looking a statistics and hope there is some improvement by Monday even if my weight loss is not great. My metabolic age is showing 79 and I am only 72, so that really does have to come down.

Hope you have all survived the snow, have a good weekend.
posted by Verano
on 12 Jan 2026 at 12:03

Good afternoon. Hope everyone is well.
This last week has been less than stella for me! I’ve just been so unsatisfied after my evening meal I’ve started ‘picking’, and not the good stuff. I think I need to start eating earlier in the day.
Hope you’ve all had a good week.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 12 Jan 2026 at 13:27

Hi all, end of week one for me, although it is actually 9 days. I have lost 4.5lbs. You know what I am going to say, most of that is fluid but in fact it was a complete change after what I had been eating. Not quite back into exercising although I did one session last week and planning on even more this week. I have set my goal at 71kg so hope to lose 6.5kgs before we go away. We don’t have any events planned except my birthday when we are going out for a meal on the lunchtime.

Verano, I found the nibbles stayed with me for a few days and had to think about what to have. I have fruit and nuts and olives at hand. However, I find the best thing to do is set a time limit and do TRE, you only nibble when you allow yourself that freedom. The only problem I have with the fruit (clementines and pineapple) is they are so high in carbs and of course the nuts are high in calories. I can only eat so many olives so they are a self regulating food.

How are the rest of you getting on. If you are struggling let us know if we can help.

Have a great week.
posted by Verano
on 12 Jan 2026 at 13:54

Thanks S-g. Welll done on a great loss!
Yes I have allowed myself ‘mindless eating’ which isn’t normally what I do. Of course olives! I love olives and you’re right they are self regulating! Although in saying that I buy olives from a specialist company and they are almost as ‘moreish’ as chocolate!
Just have to keep on keeping on …..
posted by BeccaBSD
on 13 Jan 2026 at 03:19

Hi friends, sounds like everyone has made a good start and working out whatever tweaks are necessary to get to a happy outcome! We’re all unique and it’s important to make the diet work for us. Good weigh-ins, Margaret and Denise, onward and downward! Tulip, Lollylu, Pootle, how are things going? Verano, I can relate to that occasional late night need for something, just to quiet your mind and stomach down, and have opted to allow myself a pickle or a few bites of sauerkraut as “safe” foods, with hardly any calories or carbs and satisfying saltiness, even when it’s outside my eating window. Have also discovered again how eating really low carb helps quiet down that food noise and helps so much with cravings. It has helped me stick to this, despite it being somewhat boring at times. Strangely, I’ve found a certain freedom in the simplicity of just keeping to high protein foods, vegetables, and a few berries. I know that’s not really the diet as written, but just feeling the need to be strict with myself for now, as I have so much to lose and feel an urgent need to get it off, given my age (71). Certainly makes grocery shopping and meal planning easier. Well, I’ll check back in on Thursday, which is weigh-in day for me, and in the meantime, keep the faith and keep at it, everyone! ❤️
posted by arcticfox
on 13 Jan 2026 at 20:02

Just bumping this back up to the top over the spam posts.
posted by BeccaBSD
on 14 Jan 2026 at 05:37

Thanks, Arctic Fox. Seeing all the spam showing up is so sad. Makes the boards feel a lot less cozy and safe. I hope they will be able to find a way to filter out these kinds of posts.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 14 Jan 2026 at 11:06

Hi all, I am off the site for one day and it all goes to hell 🙁 I hope there has been some reporting done.

I am having my own computer idiots problem. Looking for a housesitter and been with Trusted House Sitters for around 9 successful years. Then this year there are a load of idiots applying, one coming from Australia and asks if they need to fly to get to France, one coming from America and dont understand the concept of NO PUBLIC TRANSPORT saying they will rely on my local knowledge to advise how they get around – you hire a car you idiots. Then there was the man who was caught on camera doing things to himself – I dont know how he is still applying. Then I found a couple who appear perfect but when I ask for a face to face they blank me. Anyway, still got 2 months to find someone so I am not panicking yet.

Diet going good, exercised on Monday and hopefully again today, so just every other day.

How are the rest of you getting on.

Just a small point, I have now reported serveral posters but not made the comment ‘reported’ as it brings them back up to the top. Just report and ignore.
posted by Wendy1947
on 14 Jan 2026 at 17:18

Fingers crossed for you S-G that you can find a reliable house sitter 🤞🤞
I am still finding it difficult to cut my calories each day however today it’s homemade carrot soup with a little crème fraîche & a slice of wholemeal seeded bread & an apple & supper will be ham & scrambled egg with probably some tinned pineapple in juice. My kitchen has now been cleared of other temptations & I am resisting having any of the Sauvignon Blanc that is open in the fridge 😀. I managed 5600 steps on Monday after playing short mat bowls & yesterday 4800 steps preparing carrot soup & Turkey bolognese in the kitchen from scratch. Today fewer steps after going to an Arts Society lecture. I am also continuing TRE eating two meals between 1-0pm and 7-0pm & getting back to low carb meal planning & cooking from scratch.
I hope you are all having a good week 👍😀
Margaret xx
posted by BeccaBSD
on 14 Jan 2026 at 21:52

Ohhh, Denise, I know it’s not funny, but I almost spit out my coffee reading about the person who wondered if they needed to fly to get to France. My goodness, I do wish you well with your search.

Margaret, carrot soup sounds delicious. You’re making me want some right now! Sounds like you’ve made good progress with the kitchen clear-out That’s always a challenge, and like you, I hate to waste food. Thankfully, when I did a clear-out after the holidays, my daughter was willing (and happy) to take all those carby things. Made it so much easier, because I can promise you, if they’d been here, I would have been eating them. Carbs and I have had a lifelong love affair, but sadly, it’s a destructive relationship for me. Maybe down the road I’ll be able to manage moderation better.

I sympathize with the difficulty in cutting the calories down so far, as I’ve also not done too well this past week. I’m not too angry with myself, given that I’m a big woman and even if I can manage to average 900-1000 calories a day some weeks, I’ll still consider that a win. Weigh-in tomorrow. Since last week was such a huge loss, I’ll be surprised if there’s a loss this week.

Kudos to both of you for getting some exercise in. I’ve not yet begun with any exercise.

Sending out support and encouragement for all of us!

Becca
posted by Wendy1947
on 15 Jan 2026 at 09:20

Thank you Becca & the carrot soup was a very simple one but is delicious. Two pounds of chopped carrots with one onion & three cloves of garlic sautéed in a little olive oil or butter is the base then adding one litre of stock, I just use water with Marigold bouillon powder. I served it with a little crème fraîche stirred in.
Yesterday I did manage to get down to 850 calories & I will try to keep to 800 today. I’m only 5ft 3inches tall so really need to properly reduce my calorie intake but I’m slowly getting there 😀
Good luck with your weigh in today 🤞🤞
Keep on going everyone & I will be weighing on Saturday!
Margaret xx
posted by sunshine-girl
on 15 Jan 2026 at 14:57

Not much news, no more weird applications for my sit. Still concentrating on lower carbs but yesterday I did have one slice of wholegrain bread – not normal for me. Anyway, the main thing to report is my BG yesterday was 3.5, so very low so I reduced insulin by just one unit. This morning it was 4.85 which is very good. So, will keep up the good work.

How quickly the weeks go by. I have 3 new evening dresses I bought over Christmas, so they fit me then and hopefully will fit me better now but I am not going to try them on again until I am another 2kgs lighter.

Keep on keeping on…
posted by Verano
on 15 Jan 2026 at 17:09

S-g blood sugars are sounding really good. I’m sure you’ll find a house-sitter. Do you ever have repeat sitters? I’m sure your evening dresses will look good … maybe even too big by your next trip!!!

Margaret hope you’re Saturday weigh-in is a step in the right direction.

Becca there is a ‘soup’ thread. Just put ‘soups’ in the search box above and you’ll get lots of recipes.

Still journalling here and I do think it’s stopped the ‘mindless eating’ of last week. Funny how you just can’t bring yourself to write down 6 biscuits, a frozen mince pie, even if it was mini! A packet of crisps, a ‘handful’ of chocolate nuts and a few chocolate mints! Anyway, my journal is much healthier! Not weighing food yet as I’m just trying to get back to good eating habits. Time will tell.

Hope this week is turning out to be a good one.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 16 Jan 2026 at 15:00

Hi Verano, you asked if we have repeat sitters and the answer is no for various reasons. I have just raised it with the people who sat over Christmas and they said the 90/180 rule stops them as you can only spend so much time in Europe. The new EES rules are also putting people off – it is taking peoples identities with fingerprints etc. Also my dates fall outside of school holidays so people with kids cant apply. There are a lot of newbies on the site (THS) and they dont seem to understand how it works – one asked if they could come just for one week – who is going to do the other 2 weeks. Then we had the girl from Australia who didnt seem to know where France was. We had a couple who seemed perfect but didnt reply to my message after 3 days I had to tell them no as these things are time critical and also shows they are somewhat unreliable. The list goes on. We have looked at putting them in a cattery for the 3 weeks and it will cost us around €800 as they will not be caged together as they hate each other 🙂 If they went in the same pen it would cost around €500. We have other options so not worried just yet.

BG was 4.3 this morning so super happy.
posted by Tulip1
on 16 Jan 2026 at 15:24

Hi All- I have been reading the posts but not had time to update myself yet- I actually decided I needed something a bit more structured and some extra motivation- I previosly did the BSD/ fast 800 using the books, but more recently just kept falling off the wagon- so- I have joined the paid fast 800 with the app for the initial 12 weeks- and may continue for at least a while afterwards- as I have (or had)- 3 stone to lose- so, as you all know- when you are really committing to the diet it takes a good bit of time and mental energy (well I find it so)- of course you then reap the benefits with more energy and productivity (well that’s how it works for me)- any how- I’m loving it, and lost 3 lbs in the 1st week- which is a lot for me- I’m not a fast weight-loser- and I usually am pretty relaxed about my 800 cals- often more like 1000.
Love to all xxx
posted by Verano
on 16 Jan 2026 at 16:13

Tulip I think we all respond to different methods. I think the one thing we all have in common is that we eat low carb. Best of luck with you app. Great loss for your first week.

S-g I see how difficult it could be. I guess the new rules do put some people off. I’m not sure why the ESS rules would put anybody off especially if they’ve been to America or a host of other countries where photos and finger prints are mandatory. Anyway, sorry you’re having such a problem but as you say you have time and other options. Blood glucose results sound great. How many units are you on now?

My week is still going to plan. I seem to have found that eating my first meal between 10.30am and 12pm. works best for me and I’m happy then to eat around 6 with maybe a few olives around 4ish. No crisps, no biscuits and only 2 Leksands crispbreads since Monday. I’ve also started doing my 30+ a week. I don’t know why I find it so difficult. Although I’m just one of my target for this week so will make it. Good to know dark chocolate and coffee both count in the total!

Have a good weekend everyone.
posted by BeccaBSD
on 16 Jan 2026 at 18:52

Hi, everyone. Well, here we are with the first half of January already gone. I did my weigh-in yesterday and as suspected, my weight had stayed the same. Actually, it went down a bit at the start of the week and then came back up. Not sure why — even though I didn’t stick with the 800, my average daily calories were still under 1000, which seems easily low enough for weight loss. In any event, going to try to be more disciplined moving forward.

Margaret, I am also 5’3″ and in my 70s, and would really like to know what my actual maintenance is. Over the years, I’ve started to think it’s actually very low, given that I’m very sedentary. Oh, and thank you for the soup recipe! It sounds easy, just how I like things to be. : )

Tulip, good luck with the online Fast 800, so glad you like it so far! Please report back again!

Have a nice weekend, everyone!
posted by Tulip1
on 16 Jan 2026 at 22:12

Becca- I read recently in a menopause booklet- I think it might be the fast 800 one, or it could have been Zoe….or one of the health-related things I follow- anyway- I’ll try to track it down- that to maintain weight post-menopause, you actually need to eat 200 calories less than you use per day….how is that fair?

Anyhow, not sure if that was actually related to what you were discussing.
I’m not there yet, but at 47, I think I’ve at least entered peri-menopause- so it’s a relevant topic!

xx
posted by BeccaBSD
on 16 Jan 2026 at 23:00

Tulip, that actually sounds pretty accurate, given my experience of recent years! Thanks for sharing that. This will all be a grand experiment, I guess! As frustrating as it was to have no loss this week, I somewhat expected it because I had a huge loss last week which was also unexpected. I think it just takes a few weeks for the body to settle down and adjust to lower carbs and lower calories, but even then, I know weight loss is never linear. Taking the long view! I have a lot to lose, so I have no choice! Ha ha.