Our new 4 week challenge, please join in, actively participate, and take the message to heart (says one who is always harder on herself than on anyone else). All welcome, triumphs and struggles, share and share alike.
We will be effectively starting tomorrow Tuesday 28th, after our final weigh-in day on the Remember/November challenge which has been looking good.
Well I guess I really do need to join this challenge. I would love to end the year on a high note showing a loss for the second half of the year. I have spent the last five months losing and gaining the same few pounds over and over. So time now for me to knuckle down, dump the complacency and get back on track. So yes I’m in!
Ah! Here it is! I was thinking of joining the ‘into the next stone’ thread while waiting for the December thread to start, but thanks to a miserable experience with a friend, I am all fired up to try and go for a whole eight weeks with no wobbling, other than days off when my son visits, (like yesterday!)
As a result of said visit, I am still at 11,3, but the signs are looking good for steady loss from now on. I have a system that is easy for me to stick to, as it only needs minimal calculations/mental effort and only requires willpower to refrain from nervous nibbling. The nervous nibbling is currently aggravated by the arrival of a benefits assessment form, and the high probability of this being followed by a ghastly interview, and ending with absolutely no income at all. I’ll just have to keep reminding myself that the stomach ache is nothing to do with hunger, and eating is not going to help it.
So, back to more positive thinking, and my first mini-goal is to get into that next stone by the end of this first week! I can do this!
I’m in.
Marsie, thank you for creating a DEC challenge. Good to have mutual support rolling into the Holidays….always a minefield of potential problems.
Hi guys. Yes, I’m in. My goal is to get to 16.6 – 231 lbs by the morning of 24th Dec! That will be 2 stone – 28 lbs lost in total. So going to do my best to go as far as I can. I have buffet/drinks/board games evening at a friends on Sat 9th (a tradition), work team Xmas lunch on 14th, work team Xmas party on 20th. I shall be intermittently fasting. The two work things are both 3 courses. I’ve requested gluten and low carb. We’ll see how it goes but I’m planning on making out I’m too full for dessert – one of my colleagues will eat it! A girl’s gotta do, what a girl’s gotta do!
Kazzee xx
Hi, newbie here, started yesterday, and I’d like to get this thinking at least partially embedded before Christmas. I’ve decided the best way for December is to stick to 800 with 20g carbs when I’m not going out, but focus on v low carbs when I am. Do people think that this is best? I don’t want to wait until January, and I don’t want to give up my social activity..
Also please can you help with MyFitnessPal. It keeps adding the calories from my exercise to my calories limit, but I presume that isn’t what we should be doing. Apologies if I’ve missed this in the book, I’ve just reread the chapter on exercise and couldn’t see it.
Hi VictoriaM, welcome along. A few of us have been here for a while and find the thought of 8 weeks too much, so the 4 week challenges have hit the spot. Re your questions: I’ve personally never been able to do very low carbs, but many do, and will advise further Im sure, but your plan looks good. Any diet has to work into our lives, after all. With MFP, yes it adds the exercise cals, but don’t eat those cals, ignore them, consider them an insight into how much you are helping your body adjust in this new WOE (way of eating). Keep posting, let us know how you get along.
Hey VictoriaM, welcome and that’s what I did, and am 14kg down now and gone from obese BMI 30 to healthy BMI 24 since August. I prefer the very low carbs (thus proving Marsie’s point that there is more than one way to skin a cat) and haven’t always measured calories (maybe for a core 5 weeks or so) and tend to find just focussing on carbs works well. Beware hidden carbs though! Those pesky buggers turn up in all manner of unexpected places!
Minimise the carbs all time to avoid hunger too, in my experience. And embrace fat as your friend! And water, so much water!
Best of luck.
VictoriaM, click on the Settings tab in MFP and uncheck “Enable Negative Adjustments.” That should take care of it. While you’re in there, you can change which nutrients are tracked on the main table. I’ve selected carbohydrates, fat, protein, fiber and sugar so I can easily keep an eye on net carbs by subtracting out the fiber and make sure the carbs I do eat are as low in sugar grams as possible.
Thanks Esnecca, I had reset my numbers but not adjusted for fibre so I’ll do that. I’ll also adjust for negatives as you say. It current says I’m on negative numbers for the day as I have done more exercise than I’ve eaten! I don’t feel good, but I think it’s a real cold rather than carb flu as I have a sore throat and runny nose.
Thanks JackieM, I will do as you suggest, not too keen on burgers unless I know where they came from so hopefully that won’t be too bad!
I thought I’d pick things from the menu that where recognisible meat or fish. I had prebooked a meal that starts with cauliflower soup so I’ll have to watch that as it will be thickened with flour.
Hi Marsie, thanks, I feel better doing 2 x 4 rather than 8 too. Well done on your weight loss, I hope to be able to say the same thing, I have just over 2 stone to loose.
Just saying hello because I don’t appear to be getting the posts!
Hi everyone, count me in! Surely, surely this is going to be the challenge when I get to goal, after confidently expecting it since September 🙂 63.2kg today and 700g to mow down.
My personal challenge will be to negotiate the parties and fun without going too far off the rails! This is my first Christmas following BSD but the closer i get to goal the less well I seem to cope with social occasions.
Hello everyone. I’ve done my 2nd round of 8-weeks (shed 30lb) & have just had a disastrous 8 days on maintenance – put on 8lb, treating my body like a dustbin. Thought I could manage but with the stress of having a new kitchen fitted & being unable to cook properly & not much space for food prep (& extra stroppy teenage daughters) my resolve has vanished. I love this WOE, but am stuck & don’t really know what to do next. The weight has to come off.
I think doing this challenge will help me focus. What is everyone doing? 800 cals?
Mariet: for parties what works for me is to head for the creamiest most fat laden thing available (cheeses, creamy dips) and do a round of that with veg dipper first to fill up and kill any hunger. For drinks….wine spritzer. Half a glass of white wine…add healthy dose of ice cubes and top off with seltzer water. Any time your glass gets low….top off with seltzer water (two refill rounds) before doing a second and last round of half wine & half seltzer….with two seltzer refills. After that….only raw crunchy veg. That should limit the real alcohol to a total of one real glass of wine for the night…..and the fatty start will keep the little wine you are actually having from going to your head. And you should end up feeling like you joined the party and did not miss out.
Pettip: at least 2-3 of that has to be water weight from the carbs, and should fall off the first 1-2 days you return to low carb eating. Treat yourself to a “spa day” to restart BSD if you can …..a message or a pedicure, or hair done, and lunch out with a wondeful healthy low carb meal to restart your engine. Good for your mind and spirit, away from the stress. Have the most luxurious low carb thing you can afford (for me….oysters on the half shell or shrimp cocktail, followed by a huge salad). Don’t let all that work you just did to get to your 30lbs off go to waste. Do what you need to in order to get your mind refocused. Be selfish and take care of you for one lovely peace filled zen day. I have let a hard won 35lb loss to slip away from me as a bad couple of days turned into a 6 mo long downward spiral. Do not let it happen to you…..stop if in its tracks as fast as you can but it all starts in your head.
Hello everyone. May I join you all? I lost 2 stone this time last year following the BSD way of eating (800 cals and 20/30 carbs really worked for me). Unfortunately, and foolishly, I’ve put it all back on over the last year so this is just the kickstart I need again. Looking forward to hearing about all of your losses.
Hi, pettip, we can all sympathize with feeling that things are veering out of control for
you. I completely agree with luvtcook’s suggestion that you make some time in your
life for yourself to try and refocus. Allow it to mark a new beginning for you. As
women, we can so easily take care of everyone else but ourselves. With teenagers
to keep and eye on and a kitchen in chaos, you must make time for yourself, regardless
of how alien it may feel to you. You have done fabulously well in your weight loss so far,
and I know that you will continue to if you just pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and
place the last week firmly in the past. Focus on tomorrow, and come here for support.
We are with you!
Hugs,
Allie
Hello all, I’m also new (2 weeks in) and would love to join this challenge. My starting weight was 78.3kg. I’m now 74.1 and expect the rate of loss will slow. I’d love to be under 70 by the end of this challenge but to be realistic I’ll be very happy to get to the end if the challenge 3kg lighter as it will cover the potentially heartbreaking weeks 3 and 4. I’m also challenging myself to see the whole 8 weeks, including the silly season, alcohol free.
Sounds to me as though we all have plenty of motivation and some great strategies. For me it is critical that I don’t feel deprived. And that really is all in my head.
Luvtcook – OMG oysters on the half shell had not occurred to me as an option! Yippee I’ll be at the door of the fish market when they open on Thursday.
Mignonette sauce is BSD-friendly too. Champagne vinegar, 0 carbs per 15 ml (1 tblsp) serving. Shallots, 7 calories, 1.7 grams of carbs per tblsp serving. You could easily shave that even lower by replacing the shallot or some of it with the minced white part of a green onion/scallion. A tblsp of that has just 2 calories and .4 g carbs. A classic preparation is 4:1 vinegar to shallots, so 4 tblsp (1/4 cup) of champagne vinegar to 1 tblsp of shallots/scallions. Then a little fresh ground pepper and set it aside to get tasty. I like to give it a good long time, like an hour, but it’s not necessary. I also like to zazz it up with a little hot sauce or kimchi juice but I’m not sure the Cordon Bleau would approve. 😉
Dig up one of those tiny spoons if you have them. Get the greatest, freshest oysters and lay them all pretty on a plate. Put the mignonette in a small bowl by the side your plate and spoon it into the shells. Then go. To. Town. I love the production of it. It’s one of my favorite avenues to thorough food enjoyment.
Hello,
I’m in too please. For those who are newer to this, I am continuing with 800cals + no carb counting (you will see we find the thing that works for us as individuals).
My goal isn’t a specific weight but fat loss. I would like to lose another 2% this challenge which would see my scales telling me I am 26-28%. My ultimate goal is 23%. Having said that, I reckon another stone might well get me there.
x
Hi all I’m going to join join would love to lose 9pounds to get to my goal weight of 8stone 7lbs. Today I am 9 st 2lbs. 800calls & no carbs . Good luck everyone xx
Hello All – and especially to all newcomers
I’d also like to join in if I may. My aim is to lose 3lbs. I’ve set myself 2 mini-targets for this challenge a) to lose 2lb – this means I will have shifted from an initial 36.5 BMI to a BMI of 26.5; b) to lose a further 1lb – this means I will have achieved a total weight loss to date of 4 stone (25 kg).
If I can lose the 3lbs – and it’s definitely do-able, then it will set me up nicely for the start of 2018.
Now, my blood sugar levels look good and I’ve got my first 3 month HbA1c out of the way, I’m also going to try fasting to see if it helps with shifting the visceral fat around my tummy. Any tips on how to do it successfully would be great.
Best of luck on the challenge everyone.
Marie x
Hi Marie,
just read your post congratulations on your weight loss, that is amazing. It will be a great start to the new year 2018. I will cheer you on….
From your post you sound so focused 👀
I get REALLY nervous stepping on the scales and for a long time the MENTION of having such a high BMI AND BEING classed as morbidly obese made me feel physically sick! I seemed to self sabotage myself!!! I feel more in control with the BSD and I am getting results.
So my target 🎯for this challenge is 4lbs and I will start 2018 being nearer to that lower BMI, 😊
Hi
I would like to join as well. I too like Movex don’t do well with low carb. The only 2 x I have tried in my life
I have ended up I’ll. so after illness and a holiday an up 7lbs but am redoing 8 weeks the way I did in the beginning sticking to 800 calories and copying a man in the book who tried to eat the nicest and most for his 800 calories. I have discovered new things on this woe like cream in my coffee 1x a day avoids a biscuit and a tomato based curry from the fast cook book …. I eat it 2 x a week I crave it! With cauli rice . Have bought a whole new wardrobe so need to stay on this size 10 / 12 zone or less!
Hi Sueonit,
Let’s both cheer each other on now and in 2018… that would be lovely!
When I first started I couldn’t think about how many stones I needed to lose. Like you, for me it was just too dispiriting. So, I’ve just focused on small targets that are achievable but meaningful to me. Being successful in meeting them has helped keep me going. It’s only in the last couple of weeks that I’ve looked up a bit and can see the healthy BMI coming into sight.
I am also focused because of my diabetes diagnosis – like Bill1954 (old thread you might have seen) this has to work for me – and it has. The most important thing for me has been getting my blood sugars down and I’ve done it – now I’ve just got to maintain it.
As for getting on the scales, when I get on them I still do the old trick of shifting around, leaning sideways, lifting one foot up if I see the slightest flicker downwards on the lb side ’til I get the lower number. And so we go on ………
We’re both doing brilliantly, in fact we’re all doing brilliantly. Three cheers for us!
Marie x
Right, I’m off to Pilates. I never thought I’d be saying that six months ago!
Hello all – I’m wading in too – have had a 2lbs loss this week at the last of the November Challenge but am still a long way off what I would like to be, and where I was this time last year – however, trying to be more realistic than I have been of late and my goal is to lose 3lbs in this challenge, and to walk at least 30 minutes, three times a week.
Will also try to check in more often but work is really busy and I’ve just started a Coaching and Mentoring course – no rest for the wicked!!
Hi there, I am joining until 19th Dec when I go away. I like to be in a challenge and it is something new to aim for and goal setting. So my weight today is 12st 3/4lb and I would like to be 11.11 by the end date. As I said on another post, my husband is going away on Thursday and wont be back until Monday evening so I am going to need a lot of encouragement and cuddles from you lot to keep me on track. My biggest problem might be boredom and I am planning on a couple of trips out on Saturday and Sunday.
Good luck everyone and keep on keeping on…
Hi All
Just joining this thread for motivation! Im 4 weeks in, and need a boost to carry on for the next four,
29 posts already! I really need to come online x2/day just to keep up with all the great stories☺ It’s lovely to see all the new names, and the returning names, along with the hardy regulars.
I’m starting this challenge at 62kg, still overweight on the BMI scale due to being only 152cm. The 57kg on the scales needed to break through to normal weight seems a little unattainable and I’m setting my goal for this challenge at 60kg i.e lose 2kg.
Best wishes to us all in the “silly season” ie the very social lead-up to Christmas💜
sunshine-girl, I’ve been forgetting to say thank you for the soap-in-the-bed tip. It’s been so good for banishing cramps. I’d been hoping it might be beneficial also for restless legs but nevermind, no cramps in legs or feet is a blessing. Thanks for passing that on.
I’m already taking magnesium for the restless legs so if anyone has any added thoughts I’d be very interested.
Hey Marsie – here I am, as promised, ready to shake my pompoms for you all😉
So no need to go into “stalking” mode just yet😃
Good luck everyone, whatever your personal goals.
Hi Marsie,
Just reading your comment about taking magnesium reminded me of something. I remember a clip of an interview with Jason Fung who was saying people with diabetes are often low in magnesium and he was advocating buying Epsom Salts and throwing a cupful into your bathwater every now and again.
Not a tip for you as such, but thought it might be worth putting out there. Don’t know if anyone has ever tried it ?
Marie x
I’m in too and thank you Marsie for setting up this new challenge up.
I would like to lose 3 lbs over the next three weeks which would take me into the 13’s before we leave for N.J. on 19th December for three weeks with our son and his family. Getting excited now!
Keeping on……….O.D.A.A.T.
X B
Esnecca, I love your kimchee juice idea…..adds a bit of sizzle and the Cordon Bleu has made wonderful contributions to our table….but they don’t own the rodeo.
Great idea.
PS; I do like cocktail sauce with my shrimp, but use the sugar free variety and mix it nearly 60/40 with jarred grated horseradish. A little goes a long way. A dash of kimchee juice but liven that up a bit as well.
Always love your ideas.
Hi everyone, it’s interesting reading everyone’s first posts in the threads, and seeing the goals. I keep noticing that 3lb is a common goal for a few of you, and it’s mine too for this round!
A 3lb loss will see me move into the Overweight BMI range, I have been working towards this goal all year (am a slow loser), so I’d really like to get there by Christmas, an extra pound or 2 wouldn’t go astray either, as it would give me a bit of wriggle room for the festive season! Then I’ll start another 8 week round in early January, that’s the plan anyway.
Pettip – you asked about calories. I tend to have 2 x 800 calorie days, 3 x 1000 calorie days and 2 x 12-1300 calorie daus each week (on average). I’ve been doing BSD since January this year and 800 calories per day would have been impossible for me to stick to for all those months. However, for this final 4 week push I’m going to increase my 800 calorie days to 5 and have 2 x 1000-1200 days to cover weekends and any nights out.
The only exercise I do is walking, so I’m increasing my goal of 70,000 steps per week to 80,000.
Good luck everyone! Look forward to reading all of your success stories in 4 weeks time 🙂
Hello everyone, I’m in! Been reading all your posts on other threads for past few weeks and finally brave enough to join in…diagnosed with pre-diabetes at end of September. Lost 5lb just with cutting back but then discovered this diet and am on week 5. Have lost 11lb since following it…have never lost that much weight following slimming world, etc, so hoping I can stick to this new WOE. I’m now at 11st 5lb and would like to get to under 11 by the end of this challenge. Must admit, I’m struggling a little this week as weight loss seems to have slowed down so thought joining this challenge would inspire me.
I am in but not setting a weight goal, this is just about control and recovery for my metabolism for me. I have started today with a reset 900 calorie day and will be increasing this by 50 calories a day until I get back to where I should be. Limiting fruit again BSD style (Apples and bananas I love, but I need to keep to just one a day, or risk cravings starting again). No alcohol while at home allows for a little indulgence for social occasions but most importantly almost 4 more weeks of weighing every day and logging and planning everything I eat. I have been lax in my control over the last couple of weeks and hit my personal trigger weight this morning of 11 stone 7.0 pounds. I will report my weight weekly but will remember it is about my health and banishing the cravings rather than the weight. My lower trigger weight is 9 stone 11 so I doubt I will get close to that in four weeks, but I expect to lose 10 pounds or so of carb water weight very rapidly which takes me back down to my target weight.
Hi, everyone. I’d love to join this challenge, if I may. I have followed these threads for a few months and have had some success with the BSD so far (45 lbs since Easter), but need to refocus as I have lost and gained the same 2 lbs since September. I have a crazy amount of Christmas parties to attend in December (highly unusual for me), so am a little frightened that my loss will be minimal on this challenge. Nevertheless, I am determined to try and would like to lose 6 lbs, which should take me into the next stone bracket. That would be the BEST Christmas present to myself. Best of luck, everyone!
Hi Macbeth,
Welcome to the December challenge – the more the merrier, I think. 45lbs to date – what a great weight loss!
Although I’ve just got in from being out (I’m lurking on here to stop me diving into the fridge), that’s also highly unusual for me, but there are lots of people on here who have a great social life and will be able to offer you all sorts of tips and tricks for navigating those Christmas parties.
Welcome again and lots of luck
Marie x
Great name by the way!
Hello everyone. I really like the name of this challenge, Marsie. I was struggling to remember to keep caring for myself this week as I was nursing my sick horse and having to drive 3 hours each day (back and forth to the yard) to do so, so this is a great reminder. I was largely doing the fast 800 last challenge (although really more like 1000cal per day) and I am mixing things up for this challenge as I try to do more of an intermittent fasting pattern. I’ve started with 5:2 for the last week, but I may try alternate day fasting as well this month, depending on how I feel and how fast the weight is coming off. My starting weight is 82.7kg and I would like to get below 80kg. I’ve just had quite a drop in weight over the last 10 days so I’m expecting to go back to losing slowly again for a bit. I am also hoping that the intermittent fasting will help to start shrinking my waist measurement down as well. If I could lose an inch off my waist this month I would be ecstatic! I also need to get back into the gym, and hopefully my horse will be better within the week so I can go back to the gym in the mornings instead of having to tend to him 2x per day, and once he’s feeling better I’m going to start riding him a couple of times per week, so that will contribute a bit more exercise as well!
Hi, arcticfox. Best wishes with your horse. That’s a lot of tiring hours driving to and fro so, yes, take care of yourself too.
Hey, Theodora, I see you. Love those pompoms😀
Morning all,
today -0.6lb which is still O.5lb heavier than my lowest after my blow out at the weekend. Still, it is coming off.
Hello to everyone new and old, looking forward to this challenge. I really can’t imagine a different way to start my day than hopping on to my computer and reading the posts.
Go well
Good morning. I’m not setting a weight loss goal for this challenge … my challenge is just to get solidly back on track! I think I’m just ‘stale’ after so long here. So having not slept last night I have been up for many hours rethinking my strategy. It’s difficult to come up with any major change but the one thing I can change is the app I’ve been using. So for this challenge I’m moving over to MFP. Maybe having to really think about what and how I’m logging will help me sort myself out.
Still away so it won’t be as easy as if I was at home but I promise to give it my best shot and report back next Tuesday with a decent result. Hope everyone else is on track.
Just saying hi to all so that I can tick the notify box again – for some reason I’m not getting updates via email.
Hi all, I realised that although I said that I was in, I didn’t give myself a target. I don’t really know what to do as I’m new to this. So far I’m loosing a lb a day, but that’s only 4 days in so it won’t keep going. I need to loose a further 2 stone (28 lbs). Whilst it would be great to loose 4 lb a week I can’t see that happening, so I think I’ll put my target on eating 800 cals and 20 carbs on days when I’m at home, and making sure I stick to vl carbs when Christmas parties come around. Does that sound reasonable?
Yes that does sound reasonable Victoria – everyone loses at different rates, also you tend to lose quickly in the first few week and then it fluctuates. And then you have the really slow losers like me 🙂 so it does make sense not to set weight goals but calories and carbs like you have done – good luck 🙂
Hello all, nice to be amongst friends on this new challenge. I’m on day 14, have lost 4.8 kg so far, but I don’t expect to lose at that rate over the next month, but I’ll maybe be ambitious and set myself a target of 4kg to lose by Christmas. I can’t imagine I’m going to weigh myself on Boxing Day ( as I’m giving myself a few days off the 800 calories) and if I do it won’t be on my scales as I’ll be away.
I’ve got several nights out planned, and have had some already, but I’m really not missing the drink or the stuffing my face. I’ve become slightly evangelical: I don’t know if it’ll last – I might be getting too annoying!
Look forward to hearing how everyone’s getting on.
Hi Victoria
I don’t know if it’s for now, as SueBlue says, but maybe after Christmas when you’re more settled into things, a tip from me would be to try to find 2 or 3 small but achievable targets for each challenge. They could be to do with weight or what other posters describe as NSV’s (non-scale victories – you probably know, I didn’t!). I always keep them small – that way I know I’m likely to achieve at least one of them; successfully ticking them off helps keep me motivated throughout the month.
Mine are usually to do with numbers and markers; so past ones have been, e.g. lose 2lbs to achieve 10% off of original body weight, 3lb off to shift down into next stone, 1lb off to reach half stone mark etc. Playing around with my current numbers when setting this month’s challenge, I realised if I lost 2lb I will have shifted from an initial 36.5 BMI to a BMI of 26.5 – so that’s gone down. (I know – embarrassingly anorak-ish)
Of course, it doesn’t stop me from losing as much weight as I can (7lbs off last month) but I find it helps.
The key I think is to pick ones that are meaningful for you.
By the way, I was diagnosed with Diabetes in August. As my original Hba1c was high (and looking back with hindsight) I suspect I’d had it quite a while. I started BSD straight away. I got the results of my first 3 month Hba1c (well, 4 really) on Monday and my bgls have come right down.
You’ve made a great decision to start this now – like everyone says it really does work!
Marie x
Hi everyone, started on a high note having lost half a pound overnight (not fluid loss, just sticking to it).
Marsie, glad the soap worked for you. If by restless legs you mean laying on your back putting your knees up then sliding your legs up and down or the feeling you have mild pins and needles in the calves and feet, then I too have restless legs now and then, they seem to come on with stress. I dont have it anymore and I put that down to the soap too. I first tried it when I had a friend staying who has constant pain with osteoarthritis and we read it together on the net. She said she would try it when she got home and I must ask her how she got on because it is supposed to be good for lots of muscle, joint and ligament pains and well as stomach cramps.
Marie123 although you have not said in any threads I see you on, what your results were (just down) or what your doctor said, I am assuming you are not being told to take meds now. Keep on keeping on…
Have a good week everyone.