Hi Hadenough,
I know what you mean about the distractions in supermarkets. I did go through the stage of having to get an intense interest in the floor when going past the carby sections of the supermarket at the start of my journey, but it does get easier with time, and in the long run makes shopping so much quicker.
I found taking up knitting in an evening helped when watching the TV. Just a basic pattern which kept my hands busy preventing the urge to nibble food, and also wanting me to avoid getting sticky fingers.

Hello Hadenough
Very well done sticking with it & having a significant weight loss. I agree with LindaA that viewing carbs as what made you ill is the way to go & that way it’s easier to just walk straight past the carb counters as not worth your attention!
MissZiggy your post did make me rather ruefully smile because that is what’s also happening to me but also add in jelly/wobbly thighs because I am pear shaped & my excess weight sits below my waist so it now softer & all wobbles. However I view it as a good thing because it shows my body is doing something & rearranging itself😂 I am losing inches if not much weight.
Reducia do not be too disappointed staying the same weight because it will start moving again if you stick with it. I think when we are unwell our bodies focus first on healing us not on losing weight which is as it should be & it’s good you are feeling better now! I am still being tempted by the odd glass of wine & a small helping of Kelly’s icecream that are my go to anti misery treats but my SAD lamp is in full use with the mainly grey rainy days & I am trying to be less sedentary. For supper last night I made the delicious spaghetti Bolognese recipe from the BSD recipe book adding black beans & spices to turn it into chilli that my husband loves eating. It makes two meals for us so no cooking tonight 😬 Lots of ironing to do now & I am coming to grips with driving my husbands automatic car that I will have to use to drive him to hospital for his laser eye treatment next Monday so I’m feeling quite pleased with myself.
Onwards & downwards everyone 👍👍
Margaret xx

Hi Guys, I keep seeing posts where people are depressed by the results by weighing themselves daily or are concerned about upwards fluctuations. – I came across an explanation of this and a way around, which I wanted to share with people. I have posted that on the Take a Look at This Thread.

I would appreciate some help / advice. I am making arrangements to talk with a local chief about running some courses on Keto / Low carb eating in my holiday let. I was thinking in terms of both mid week courses for a few people which includes practical sessions cooking different dishes, as well as weekend courses which would be more demonstration based. – I would really appreciate hearing from people what sort of topics they think should be covered on a course like that and what they have struggled with.

For those who follow a number of the common threads, sorry for posting this message on multiple threads, but I wanted to reach all the people who only focus on a single thread.

That’s great Gwen and very helpful – I have been using an App which I found called Happy Scale which is free. I just weigh myself daily but try not to have an opinion about it because I did think that there must be fluctuations, i do see a downward trend over the last few weeks even though some days i can be up as much as three pounds. Your info explains that.

x

That’s great Gwen and very helpful – I have been using an App which I found called Happy Scale which is free. I just weight myself daily but try not to have an opinion about it because I did think that there must be fluctuations, i do see a downward trend over the last few weeks even though some days i can be up as much as three pounds.

your info explains that x

Thanks JGwen and Wendy1947 for your feedback and yes I think looking at the supermarket floor is the way to by pass all those highly carbed foods..lol

Another comment I’d like to make is that i am only going to weigh myself once a week, I think weighing yourself each day is not good and could lead you to feeling down if you haven’t lost any weight.

Anyway so far so good for me, I’m just taking it one day at a time. One good thing is my BSL’s have been in normal range since starting this and instead of having 4-5 injections a day, I’m only having one which is my overnight long acting insulin, which instead of taking 160units I’m only having 100 and soon hope to get that down too. Woohoo

Don’t worry hadenough, you don’t have to look at the floor as you walk around the supermarket long term. After a while you will be able to strut down that aisle head held high enjoying how much weight you have lost. (and noting the size of the people pushing the trolleys overloaded with carbs.)

I notice what other shoppers have in their carts too, JGwen. I don’t do this with any degree of smugness
though..I just feel sad that they have yet to discover “the light”. The best that we can hope to accomplish
is to change hearts and minds, one person at a time, I think?

I quite agree with you Allie, the strutting comes from the success at weight loss.

Noting what others have in their trolleys for me isn’t about envying them still buying carbs, I look at the heaped trolleys and remember a year ago that was me, spending all that money on food that was making me ill. – This week I spent more on food for the chickens than for myself 🙂

Goldie – thanks for getting back about the CBD oil. I’d never heard about it although I had heard of people using cannabis to help with specific illnesses. I’m glad to hear that you found things that helped and are still helping you.

Reducia – thanks, I was only in Poland for 4 days but I came back to a wedding and a lunch thing also. I was saying on another thread I think I learnt from last time I did BSD how to go on – so walked everywhere, ate 1 (evening) meal a day (the odd tiny bit of yoghurt in the morning), stuck to protein and veg, switched below ground veg to above ground veg from other dishes on the menu where I could, or just asked for them to be left off. In Poland, it basically meant I ate an awful lot of pig and cabbage! But we had a great time – and I lost 1lb – yes!

Margaret – isn’t it irritating when your husband loses weight instead of you. Before we went away my husband had lost 1 stone compared to my 7lb. On our trip we spent three and a half days walking around the same places. I ate less than him. We weighed ourselves on our return. I’d lost 1lb. He had lost 5lbs. The only bright spot for me was when he took his belt off at the airport security and his trousers started falling down (He wasn’t best pleased but I did have a quiet snigger). Glad to hear you’re feeling better!

MissZiggy – yes, like Margaret, me too with the jelly belly!

hadenough – what seriously great news about your insulin and BSL’s. By the way, it made me smile reading your comments about the 5:2 diet. I was the same – I could manage the 5 days OK but kept forgetting to do the 2. Once you get used to it, I find it much easier to stick to the low number of calories every day on BSD.

Linda – I agree so much with what you say about this being about creating new habits. I think one of the reasons I’m not too depressed about putting 2 stone back on is that it’s the only bit where I’ve gone wrong. I’ve kept up my exercise and other activities, my good bgls, my new way of eating and new foods etc. Lots of positives.

Alliecat and JGwen – thanks for the support. JGwen not sure I can add anything but good luck with the project.

Have a good rest of the weekend everyone. I’m off to prepare our dinner – definitely no pork or cabbage!

Goldie – thanks for getting back about the CBD oil. I’d never heard about it although I had heard of people using cannabis to help with specific illnesses.

Reducia – thanks, I was only in Poland for 4 days but I came back to a wedding and a lunch thing also. I was saying on another thread I think I learnt from last time I did BSD how to go on – so walked everywhere, ate 1 (evening) meal a day (the odd tiny bit of yoghurt in the morning), stuck to protein and veg, switched below ground veg to above ground veg from other dishes on the menu where I could, or just asked for them to be left off. In Poland, it basically meant I ate an awful lot of pig and cabbage! But we had a great time – and I lost 1lb – yes!

Margaret – isn’t it irritating when your husband loses weight more easily. Before we went away my husband had lost 1 stone compared to my 7lb. On our trip we spent three and a half days walking around the same places. I ate less than him. We weighed ourselves on our return. I’d lost 1lb. He had lost 5lbs. The only bright spot for me was that when he took his belt off at the airport security and his trousers started falling down (He wasn’t best pleased but I did have a quiet snigger). Glad to hear you’re feeling better!

MissZiggy – yes, like Margaret, me too with the jelly belly!

hadenough – what seriously great news about your insulin and BSL’s. By the way, it made me smile reading your comments about the 5:2 diet. I was the same – I could manage the 5 days OK but kept forgetting to do the 2. Once you get used to it, I find it much easier to stick to the low number of calories every day.

Linda – I agree so much with what you say about this being about creating new habits. I think one of the reasons I’m not too depressed about putting 2 stone back on is that it’s the only bit where I’ve gone wrong. I’ve kept up my exercise and other activities, my good bgls, my new way of eating and new foods etc. Lots of positives.

Alliecat and JGwen – thanks for the support. JGwen, good luck with the project – it sounds great.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I’m off to prepare our dinner – definitely not pork or cabbage!

Edit – this is the second time I’ve posted this. 1st disappeared. Apologies for duplication if the 1st reappears.

Hi all – yet again I’ve lost no lbs at all – very discouraging but this way of eating suits me in so many ways that I’m just sticking at it. Am going to review in detail what I eat and the exact content – I’m not as assiduous in many areas as I should be so this could be a useful exercise. Thanks to so much advice here about carb crash and electrolyte replacement I’m avoiding all that.
Jennie 10 – I haven’t been to Poland but I spent a lot of time in The Czech Republic and I know what you mean about pork and cabbage – it’s hard to get much there that isn’t really heavy so I know you did well to lose a pound – annoying that your husband lost more – tho I don’t suppose there’s any blame to be apportioned. Glad you had a giggle at his expense!
hadenough – you’ve done SO well – many congrats! Great on the weight loss front and double great that your blood sugar is dropping and stabilizing. Keep at it and you won’t know yourself soon.
Wendy/Margaret – thanks for being so soothing – as you see nothing has changed and I am still struggling with weightloss but taking on board what you said about our bodies focusing on healing when we’re sick, I am still trying to throw off this bug – no sooner do I have hope of improvement than it come back and whacks me again so I blaming that – can’t all be MY fault 😉
Good luck with the automatic car – my partner has one and I HATE driving it.
Pleased to hear you sounding slightly brighter – the SAD lamp is obviously working it’s magic.
Good luck everyone – we all need to stick at it and look forward stalwartly to good results. SoniaX

Hi All,
Was at work today and came home to an empty house ate four chicken wings as I wasn’t very hungry. I should add that I cooked the wings first. For some of us results are slower the second time around on BSD. My husband gave me a light bulb moment while I was complaining about slow results. He mentioned that over the last year of not following BSD properly I have been eating less carbs bread etc. So this time around BSD is less of a shock to the system. I am doing ok and my clothes do seem more comfortable around the waistline. ( I am a no scales dieter) . I am hoping that this will become a way of life. I love how BSD makes me feel. I sleep better and have more energy after a BSD lunch. I used to nap after a carb lunch. I have a couple of goals which are keeping me going. I have started saving for my Girls NewYork trip early 2020 and saving for a brand new wardrobe for that trip.
Just to mention…. I am glad the light box is helping. One of my friends finds that cod liver oil helps her as she suffers with SAD. As soon as she takes COD liver oil she feels better within a week!
Loving all the posts.
Miss Ziggy

Today for the first time I was not tempted at the supermarket. when I accidently went down the chocolate and potato chip isle on my mobility scooter it didn’t worry me, I felt no urge to buy anything, which would not have been the case a couple of weeks go..lol

I was going to buy a couple of cans of chickpeas to bake them and have as a snack but I was rather horrified at the carb content 52g in an Edgell 400g can and the calories were high too 380 calories per can., so I left them on the shelf.
For one serve of 75g (which is very little) = 13g carbs and 92 calories.

Can anyone tell me what to eat that’s a good source of fibre?

Hi hadenough
We done for avoiding the carbage aisle! You will find it gets easier and easier and then one day you’ll wonder why you ever cared.

I don’t eat any pulses (lentils, chick peas, kidney beans etc) as they are all too high in carbs. I stick with leafy green vegetables and in summer, lots of salad leaves. Don’t worry too much about fibre, more is not necessarily better as it causes bloating and gas. If you have problems with constipation, take some magnesium citrate (not the other magnesiums) and that helps. I generally take 2-4 a days depending on what’s going on.

Cheers
Linda

Good morning everyone on what is a bright sunny day so far here in West Sussex. We had an amazing thunderstorm last evening with the rain hammering down on our conservatory roof, lightening flashing & loud thunder it was quite amazing in November. My update is losing one pound & increasing my abdominal wobble factor😂, successfully driving my husband back from East Surrey Hospital after his laser treatment in torrential rain, although it had temporarily stopped when we got home. My husbands treatment was much faster than expected in the outpatient department & he is fine apart from a few floaters in his eye that he is becoming used to. On the plus side I do now feel able to drive the car & perhaps venture out on my own on another occasion but haven’t yet tried getting up the narrow ramps in our local multi-storey car park. My SAD lamp has also been helpful & I am feeling more energetic & have made the resolve to do some toning exercises & using my light weights.

Sonia I’m sure our bodies lose inches & do change shape when we first start restricting/modifying what we eat & I hadn’t lost any weight for three weeks. Re still not feeling completely well yet are you taking a daily multivitamin pill? Do keep going because I’m sure you will have a “whoosh effect” & suddenly lose several pounds.

Miss Ziggy I’m glad your waistline is reducing & I think your husbands insight is correct because I also have much reduced my carb intake for the past two years & I’m sure my body is much used now to operating on less carbs.

Well done Hadenough on your increased resolve when shopping. I must admit I do eat some pulses & houmous with crudités but I am not diabetic. However crudités such as carrot sticks & red pepper with a cream cheese dip or sour cream & chive makes a good snack or celery sticks filled with pate, fish mousse or flavoured cream cheese but need to calorie count it? My husband is diabetic & we brought back pots of French pate that he ate with celery instead of crackers & he also has a few grapes with cheese. Also if you look in the BSD recipe book there are recommendations for substitutes for bread, potatoes, rice & pasta & I use sweet potatoes & cauliflower. But it’s all a very personal choice on how to manage this WOE & it’s integration into our life.
Onwards & downwards!
Margaret xx

Hello, hadenough! My research indicates that a healthy number for fiber is 25g. I think MMosley suggests
30, but 20-25g have worked well for me. My preferred sources are a portion of avocado, 1 TBS of chia seeds,
1/4 c. frozen raspberries, steamed spinach (8oz), cruciferous veg., and 8-10 nuts. I’m now in maintenance,
but I stay pretty much to these choices today, too. You are so right, beans and lentils are difficult if you are
doing 800cal/20g carbs a day. Wishing you the best!

Allie

Evening everyone – well depending where you are in the world I guess . . .
There is SO much great info and encouragement here – I really want to thank everyone for all of it first of all.
Margaret – you were right! 1.5lb down on the scales this morning – ‘whoosh’ effect seems to be in action. Also – I am pleased to see you agree with Miss Ziggy re carbs – thank you both – I have been pretty low carb for a good few years – mostly not as low as this (apart from a brief brush with Atkins) but nonetheless no white stuff and keeping away from any foods that slowed me down or made me sleepy. Consequently, as you both say, my system was already accustomed so whilst I don’t find this WOE difficult, I guess I can’t expect any miracles. In any case lbs are not normally my preoccupation – just want better hanging clothes BUT at the moment, as I’ve said, I’m due for a second Pre-diabetes checkup which will involve weighing and bloods etc and as I am hoping to avoid medication I need to get it over as successfully as possible. After that I’ll just stick with the health side of BSD and stop worrying about lbs.
LindaA and alliecat – I pretty well eat all the foods containing fibre mentioned by alliecat tho am reviewing the quantities a bit – more of most of them than before your post. As you both mention, I am avoiding beans and lentils although that’s hard for me because I eat very little meat and lentils were a major source of protein for me but habits can be changed. I’m taking magnesium citrate now along with my habitual potassium in a balance recommended by my local healthshop and sucking on Himalayan salt every morning or drinking Bovril.
Am also planning some light strength exercises once I’m recovered from this never-ending bug (and yes, a multi vit pill is part of my armoury). Thanks for that nudge to exercise, Margaret – always happy to be reminded. Finally – am glad the trip to hospital went well although the conditions sound horrendous. We had the same thunderstorm here later too – spectacular as you say.
Thanks again to everyone – hope your week goes well. SoniaX

Hi Everyone
Thankyou for all your feedback and suggestions. Today is two weeks since I started this, my first week i lost 3.1kgs and this week I have lost 2.5kgs, which means in 2 wks I have lost 6.6kg which =14lb 6ozs, wow that’s 1lb under a stone and a half, who would have thought? woohoo. I’d love to be able to lose the same amount again before Xmas .

Starting weight 118.4kg after two weeks I’m now 113.1kg I’m so excited,.
Hope everyone else is having as much success as me 🙂

hadenough – SO pleased to see this and just wanted to pop in to send my congratulations. Keep the momentum going! Good luck for your next stone – SoniaX

Hadenough…..👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Well done you must be so pleased! Your results really do give me the extra motivation to keep on BSD!!
Miss Ziggy

Many congratulations hadenough on your fabulous weight loss 👏👏👏 you are a star & a great example to us all🌟🌟🌟🌟
Margaret xx

Hadenough – congratulations, what a great weight loss result. That’s brilliant news. I’m so pleased for you – and brilliant to hear about your successful supermarket trip.

Reducia – glad to hear you’ve had a nice loss in the last couple of days, too. Hurrah!

Allie – that’s such a useful reminder of sources of fibre, thankyou. I also eat all of the things on the list but probably not as often as I should. I like seeds but keep forgetting to add chia seeds to my yoghurt. I do add them to the seed crackers I make (recipe from here) but tend to eat too many at a time (all that lovely crunch) so only make them sparingly. They might go on my Christmas food list.

I used to love all pulses (well, still do) but I just can’t eat them anymore. However, one of the positives of having to go low carb is it’s forced me to try out all sorts of foods I’d never have dreamt of eating previously. I’ve eaten some really delicious food over the last couple of years.

Miss Ziggy – what an interesting comment from your husband. I’ve been low carb for a couple of years and like you my weight loss this time around is very slow. Still, another pound off this week so slowly, slowly…..I’ll just keep persevering.

Margaret – I do like the sound of the snacks you mention in your post – they’re on on my list of things to try.

Oh dear, just lost a longer post.
It’s gone very quiet on here. Hope everyone is keeping well. xx

Jennie – I was also wondering where everyone is and it’s good to see you here. I have also been absent as I have nothing to report. Certainly not any weight loss. I don’t normally weigh myself on a regular basis – non-scale victories suit me better – how I feel and how my clothes are fitting in particular. Both are good for me right now – lots of energy and nothing too tight. Just not sure why I don’t weigh any less but I am completely in agreement with everyone who thinks that it is probably that for those of us already more accustomed to low carb living, weight loss is not startling. As I’ve said my main reasons for being here are my Pre-diabetes diagnosis and the wish to put myself in my healthy BMI range. Am hoping both of those things will help stay away from Diabetes medication. I AM in fact near the very top of my BMI now after 7 weeks and on the upside my Diabetes appointment has been put back by a couple of weeks, so there is time yet 🙂
Hope all is well with you – and that you are ploughing on. I tried the crackers you mentioned from the recipe here and was delighted with them – thank you. I completely agree that this WOE means I am cooking more experimentally and enjoying what I make.
I have had such good and friendly advice from everyone here that I can’t go wrong in the long run. Even got my electrolytes under control thanks to LindaA. So onwards and downwards as Wendy1947 quite rightly says.
Best wishes to you all – SoniaX

Hello Jenny & Sonia
Sorry for my absence but also no weight loss to report because of my eating birthday weekend! It was my husbands birthday last Friday & mine on Monday & we went out to dinner to Côte Brasserie on Saturday for a lovely but off piste meal & I had crab mayonnaise as a starter with a little sour dough bread, then boeuf bourguinon with creamed potato & spinach followed by Creme caramel & of course wine! Plus some cake in the last couple of days but funnily enough the cake didn’t taste very good to me! Anyway I gained four pounds but suspect some of that is fluid retention & I am awaiting developments😬 I was given an Amazon voucher as one of my gifts & have bought myself a Zumba dvd because I like dancing & have wanted to learn how to Zumba with the hope of becoming more energetic & fit. So that’s me up to date & I feel I have rather lost the plot but made a chilli last night for supper & am trying to get back on track.
I have discovered that I can no longer eat larger meals or drink much wine because it gives me heartburn & my husband actually felt rather sick & slept part of the night sitting up in bed on Saturday night because of feeling uncomfortable! Going on our long holiday with lots of eating out in hotels will be interesting now & I think avoiding carbs & much wine is going to be crucial because our bodies can no longer cope with so called “normal” rich food eating with lower amounts of vegetables. Only one meal but an interesting effect & I continue to view my body’s relationship & interaction with different foods as an ongoing observational experiment 😂🤔😿
Margaret xx

Hi both
Well, I’m just sitting here waiting until its time for me to make my evening meal. I’ve been weighing absolutely everything the last 2 days and have ended up very hungry at this point in the day (hmm, I wonder exactly how many cals I’ve been eating up to now!?!). Anyway, that Cote Brasserie dinner sounds delicious to me Margaret – particularly the crème caramel. Happy birthday to both you and your husband. I’ve read people on here who have said they’ve got straight back to it after a blow-out and the few pounds gained have come off fairly quickly – so hopefully, not too bad! What a good idea about the Zumba DVD. Let me know what you make of it. I might fancy getting something like that for Christmas. It’s good to hear about your body’s reaction to rich food. That’s got to be a positive sign – although not the heartburn bit – ouch! The thing about viewing the changes happening as an observational experiment made me smile. Last time I was similarly fascinated by the strange way my body lost it’s weight – from such odd places; arms, legs, first etc. Most odd.

Sonia – yes, I know what you mean. I weighed myself this morning and hadn’t lost anything and yet I feel so much lighter – well, I did this morning; I’m now full to the gunnels with water. It’s good to hear that your clothes are feeling looser. I’m really glad you liked the crackers; they’re on my list of things to make for Christmas – yummy!. That’s great news about being at the top of your BMI. Also, I can’t remember if I’ve said this already, but when I did the BSD before I measured my bgls every day so could see how quickly they started to come down – within a couple of weeks – well before I got into my healthy BMI range. I know others on here who measured their bgls and had exactly the same experience. (I did 800 cals/20 – 25g carbs btw). Anyway let us know how you go on when you have your appointment

Take care both – Jenny xx

Dinner time – yeah!

Hi Jennie and Margaret – good to hear from you.
Jennie – good for you for weighing everything – I made a resolution to do exactly that but haven’t entirely followed thro. I don’t eat huge meals these days and I am careful to track carbs but obviously it’s not enough to make the scales happy – I feel OK about myself – just wish I’d calm down about the Doctor’s appointment – I’ve been used to the lectures about my weight – which I hate of course – and now I’ve got the blood sugar level to worry about. I haven’t got the means to measure it myself but I might nip into the local Pharmacy and see if they can check it. Good news that levels may be dropping already ahead of my BMI goal. Provided I’m not overestimating portion size – which I really don’t think I am, I’m on – or close to 800 cals every day according to the tracker I use. I don’t go as low as even 25 carbs most days I’m afraid – need to buck up I guess. Have two weeks till the appointment. All that aside – very much hope you’ve happily assuaged your hunger.
Margaret – I love the Cote Brasserie – sure you both had an enjoyable ‘Happy Birthday’ meal. As Jennie says, those 4lb arrived so quickly that they’ll be gone in no time with some determination applied. Shame about the aftermath though. Very interesting to hear that your system isn’t easily accepting the sorts of foods that you (presumably) used to eat. I’ve noticed lately that I stop eating a lot sooner than I used to and am making smaller meals than before. All good stuff for both of us. Also a possible starting point for your ‘big’ holiday – would be awful if you couldn’t enjoy it because of food issues. DO keep us posted about the Zumba – sounds like fun but I wonder if I have the energy at my great age – loathe tho I am to say that! I walk every day and do Yoga and- mostly – some time on the stationary bike but it doesn’t feel like enough.
Good luck both – we can all do this. SoniaX

Hi All,
It’s been great reading how we are all doing.
I’ve not posted for a number of weeks but I’ve been reading with interest everything that’s been going on.
I’m now 5 weeks into the BSD for the first time. I’ve lost 10kg /22lbs in that five week period.
There have been plenty of days when I’ve not strictly stuck to the 800cal’s but overall I’ve been pretty good. The main thing for me is how much exercise I do, the more the better.
According to the book the average weight loss is 14kg over the eight weeks, so I feel I am on track. Although I’ve always found the first few kgs are the easiest to lose, so there will be plenty of focus required over the next 3 weeks – and beyond.
Keep it up everyone, it’s great to read that we’re all on a similar journey although we are spread around the world.
Cheers, Bluey.

Hi Bluey – it’s great to hear from you. Wow, 22lbs in 5 weeks is a fantastic result. You must be so pleased with that. It’s a lovely chunk off towards your target, too.

It’s interesting what you say about exercise because at the minute that’s the one thing I’m not doing as well at – I’m not consistent enough. Can I ask what you’re doing. If I remember rightly you were doing quite a few steps each week already when you started.
Anyway, whatever you’re doing it’s clearly working! Congratulations. x

Bluey many congratulations on your wonderful weight loss & only three weeks for you to go to complete eight weeks 👍👏👏👏👏👏🌟
Margaret xx

Bluey – just had to log in and join Margaret in congratulating you on such a great weight loss. 🙌👑 REALLY inspiring and I need your victory to inspire me right now!
Jenny – thanks so much for hints and good advice. Am dropping my carb level to a consistent 25 – at least for the next few weeks. 😊
Margaret – hope you’re hanging in and edging your way down those Birthday lbs.👍
Weekend weigh-ins coming up. Have my fingers crossed for all. Sonia 💙

Thank you Jennie, Margaret and Sonia.
Your encouragement is fuel to keep me going. I will stick at it.
@jennie – you asked me about exercise and I can say the best thing for me is hill walking. We live near some hills and I just do as much vertical climbing as possible. It’s not steep, just a steady incline but it does make much more if a difference than walking around the flat streets. That’s it, no other exercise. I need to start doing some of the exercises from the book because I like the short duration aspect of them.
Good luck to everyone with your weigh in sessions this week.
Best wishes, Bluey.

Good morning everyone.
I have just weighed & have lost two of the four pounds gained from my birthday weekend so going down again & have rediscovered that I now don’t much like cake or mince pies having eaten both this past week although wine, chocolate eclairs & Kelly’s icecream still seem to agree with me😂 It’s been a couple of weeks of retrying so called celebration food & it is interesting how ones taste buds & food attitudes change.
I have just received my Zumba dvd that looks very doable & with good danceable music that I will start using to hopefully improve my aerobic fitness & to tone up my legs. I must now really return to recording calories, carbs & everything I eat! Oh well back on the bandwagon & trying to fit into some shorts I bought to take on holiday 🤔
Good luck everyone 🍀🍀
Margaret xx

Hi all – hope everyone is well and doing OK.
Wendy – VERY pleased to hear half of the birthday gain is gone already – well done you! None of it is easy . . . look forward to hearing how the Zumba goes – if you really get into it you may find it helps the pounds drop. I may be limping along behind you! On top of that, the fact that your eating preferences have changed is not only interesting but hopeful for your future 🙂
This is the beginning of my 9th week and another 2 lbs gone – so I have lost just over the stone that was my goal in time for my Pre -diabetes check. The date has been changed due to illness among the medics/nurses at my Practice so I have another 10 days’ grace. I haven’t had a chance to get my blood sugar level taken at the local pharmacy but I feel so much better generally – less tired – more energetic and generally brighter. Can only be good 🙂 I’m going to continue with the 8-week rules – more to solidify habits than to lose more pounds, although I WILL try to do that in the long run. I am at the highest number of my ideal BMI right now and would like to slip down a bit further. I’m not interested in ‘thin’ at my age – too many wrinkles to keep padded out with some fat! A bit of leeway wouldn’t go amiss.
Good luck – and good eating – to all. Keep up the good work. SoniaX

Sonia, good job! I have been following your story and am so happy for you!! Congrats!!

Wendy, what a nice surprise for you!!

Violinist – thanks so much for noticing and posting – all encouragement gratefully received. I didn’t have the sort of big goal that so many here have achieved but am happy to be able to go the Diabetes nurse for the follow-up check in a better state than for the fairly recent annual run-of-the-mill check. If I have improved bgls I’ll be really pleased – I’d be delighted not to have to wrestle with myself about starting on meds.
Don’t know your story I’m afraid but I wish you all the very best. Thanks again – SoniaX

Thanks so much Sonia! You are the best!

Sonia
Many congratulations on how well you have done👏👏👏👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 you can be very pleased with yourself & I am sure your diabetic nurse will be very impressed with your progress & initiative in following this BSDiet WOE. Do keep on going because the feeling of control we can now have over what we consciously rather than unconsciously choose to eat is so empowering & life enhancing 😀👍👍
I may have my eating wobbles because life just gets in the way sometimes but I do know what the best WOE is & thank you Violinist & everyone else continuing to give encouragement & support in this thread. Onwards & downwards everyone because we can continue to help ourselves & do this.😬👍🍀🍀🍀
Margaret xxx

My Zumba update & I think I rather over did it on a fast day yesterday & felt a bit wobbly & very hungry for the rest of the day🤔 I was just working through learning the steps but moving all the time & that was enjoyable challenging my coordination but it was fast & certainly aerobic because I was hot & breathless.💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻👣👣
Today I will do the gentler toning with weights Jane Fonda dvd I usually use 🏋🏻‍♀️ that is aimed at fifty plus year olds but not give up on Zumba & do that another day😂 to try to continue to get more aerobically fit.
Margaret 👩🏻‍🦳

Morning all! You are so welcome So ia and Wendy and all of you who encourage me also!

My story for Sonia:
Age 62
Height 5’4”
Live in Southwest Florida
Retired and very active with swimming, biking, volunteer work, play the violin in a small acoustic band, increasing steps after broken ankle last October.
Weight has been hovering around 170-175 for a few years.
Doc would like me at 150
See doc in 11 weeks.
Started this woe, kind of, since July. But not fully
September blood work was first time wonderful in a1 c – from 5.7 to 5.4 (first time ever) and triglycerides in normal range, but cholesteral and blood pressure awful. I am not diabtic but was in prediabetic range.
My struggle is 5 pm cocktail hour. My BSD menus are real good, but am fine tuning my low carb menu
Goals – get blood pressure down, weight down, exit alcohol.

Catherine

Hi Violinist – thanks for telling us your story and nice to see you hear. x

Margaret – I was thinking of you last night. I was watching Mariella Frostrup presenting this programme on the menopause and it talked about the value of exercise for helping prevent and improve osteoporosis. It mentioned dancing and gave the example of Zumba as a good way to go so definitely might explore further. I had Jane Fonda’s first video; I just remember it being hard work – phew. Didn’t realise she did gentler exercises! Good to hear about the 2lbs off.

Sonia – hoping everything is going well with reducing the carbs this week. Just to say I started BSD at 20g-25g carbs as my blood sugars on diagnosis were very high – over 12% (over 110). You may not need to go that low, or stay that low, in the long-run. I bet you’ll be glad to get your appointment out of the way – and before Christmas. Great that you’ve reached your 1 stone weight loss goal.

Bluey – it’s interesting what you say about hill walking – it could be my husband talking. He says the same and has the same approach, in that he loves hill or fell-walking and believes walking on that steady incline is far better than walking on the flat – he loves it. We now live in a city so he can’t do that as often as he’d like. So, walking on the flat is it for us for now. My walking has been a bit hit and miss lately (rain, rain, rain here) but I’m getting back into the habit of walking as many places as I can – so 10,000+ a day – as part of my daily routine. I’m also re-establishing my exercise classes so that I’m fully in a good routine for the new year.

I’ve had an odd few days scale-wise. For no clear reason I stepped on the scale one day and had put on 1lb and then stepped on the next day and had lost 3lb. Today, I’d put 1lb back on. I’ve been keeping to my 800 cals so who knows why. Anyway, I’m now 11st 8lbs so 12lbs loss since I started back on BSD on Oct 8th. I’m still aiming for 11st by Christmas – or as near as possible! But what I am going to do is stop weighing so often. Once a week on a Monday for me for the next 4 weeks. Best wishes everyone.

Morning all – thank you so much for such encouragement. I am amazed at what great community has been set up here and how outstandingly friendly and helpful everyone is.
Catherine – interested to see your history – I’m 74 y.o., 5.10, currently weighing in at 12stone 4lb and live by the sea in the UK. Like you I struggle with alcohol – but also with movement – you are SO much more active than I am. I know I have to work on this but I need to summon a bit more enthusiasm. I know it would make a lot of difference to my rather erratic bloods. Need to stabilise them which is why I’m here and look forward to seeing what the results will be after adopting this new WOE. Last time it was taken, my BP was deemed to be ‘perfect’ – not a word I hear often! – and cholesterol was good too. So – for me – it’s get my BSL down along with my weight, move more and – the hardest thing for me – step away from the wine glasses!
Margaret – YES – thanks for the reminder that I need to keep going – being just on the edge of my highest healthy weight gives me no leeway for slippage – and also I’m amazed that for the first time EVER I’m not thinking about more food within an hour or so of the last meal. Good to know that I’m not the greedy person I thought I was but needed to regulate my system. Great you’ve tried out the Zumba – apart from the troubles with the effect of a fasting day, I can’t imagine it’s easy – though practice helps – better if not perfect. Sure it’s fun potentially – and just remember those 2lb gone – you’ll be back where you were in no time. I intend to try a few Zumba clips on youtube as a starter. I also like Jane Fonda and my Rosemary Conley DVDs – don’t do them often enough though! I’m lucky to have the sea so close which is a pleasure to walk by – whatever the weather and whatever its mood. I also walk on the Downs – though it’s a drive to get there and in good weather there’s parking space to consider.
Jennie – you are so great – always there with encouragement and advice. I’m doing OK with carbs at the moment and it all gets easier of course as I find more interesting food ideas – I never work from recipes as such – just read about suitable dishes and tweak them to suit my tastes. Fortunately I LOVE green veggies. Good progress with your weightloss so far and here’s to 11stone by Christmas. Agree with you about not weighing too often – as soon as I’ve got this Diabetes appointment over and done with – successfully I hope – I’ll be back judging my progress by non-scale victories – clothes for example – and by my stamina levels.
Best of luck to everyone – we’ll all get to where we need to be with a following wind and mutual support. Sonia
PS – I’ll try not to be so longwinded next time! XXX

Morning all!
Reducia, I will be interested to hear how your doc appointment goes. Your home sounds so wonderful by the sea!!

So pleased to see that the NHS has finally got on board with trying to help Type 2 diabetics with their diets!
I hope you are all doing well and I hope I will have lost some weight when I weigh on Sunday because I seem to have been spending lots of extra pennies through the night.
Margaret xx

Agreed – on both counts. Good luck for your Sunday weigh-in, Margaret. SoniaX

Good morning everyone.
I weighed today & have lost one pound that is not so good in the grand scheme of things. Thank you Sonia for your good wishes & you are doing brilliantly👍
Jennie10 the Jane Fonda dvd I do with light weights to keep my shoulders, back & arms mobile is called Prime Time Fit & Strong & is one of a series of later DVDs she made for older people. The leg moves fairly closely mirrors the ones my physio gave me for my arthritic knees & she also includes balance moves that does seem to help my fairly rubbish balance.
Today we are off to lunch with the friends we are going on holiday with in January & for the first time in many years I am wearing tights & a dress! I rarely do so unless it’s a long evening type dress preferring trousers that wonderfully cover up my legs 😂 However this is a quite flattering midi dress with an asymmetrical hem below mid calf but nevertheless feels a bit odd. The sun is also at the moment shining in West Sussex & we will have a pleasant drive down to Ferring on the coast. We will be eating vegetarian food & I know they also don’t want to gain any weight so hopefully not too disastrous 😬 Speaking of which for uk tv viewers wasn’t Strictly wonderful to watch last night?
I hope you all have a lovely day!
Margaret xx

Hi Margaret – can hear you’re slightly disappointed with 1lb down but obviously better than UP and I have had the experience on here where I’ve lost nothing for weigh-in day and then had an unscheduled hop onto the scales the next day – fuelled by disbelief and frustration – only to find I’m down a bit. Wish the same for you. Don’t hold out very much hope for myself – the Indian friend of mine with the pop-up restaurant in her house put on an amazing game feast last night. I tried though – no rice – much as it smelled delicious and was fried in a variety of spices but I stuck with spicy cabbage, venison and quail. Indian desserts are far too sweet for me so that wasn’t a problem. Also stayed away from wine altogether – amazingly – and drank water – a rare occurrence. So a distant hope tomorrow will be OK – cross all fingers and toes for me.
Enjoy your veggie meal with your friends today – great that you’re all on the same sort of regime – you can keep each other on the straight and narrow! Dress sounds good by the way I love asymmetric hems. Like you, I always wear trousers of one sort or another but it’s very easy to get stuck in ‘a look’ and stepping outside our comfort zones can be transforming. Enjoy the food – and your dress. (Sunshine less so I suspect – there’s a grey pall over the coast here and I’m not that far from Ferring)
Best wishes to all – keep at it everyone and enjoy the rest of the weekend. SoniaX

Good Morning All,
@ Jennie – how are you doing with the walking and exercise classes? On days when I cannot make it up the hills I try to use as many stairs as possible, but it is never as satisfying.

@sonia – Good luck for your weigh in, I hope it goes well. Well done on avoiding the wine at a dinner party – that takes some fortitude. The meal sounded delicious.

@margaret – any pound is a good pound in my books. I’ve noticed that sometimes I’m surprised that I’ve lost more than expected and disappointed that I’ve not lost as much as I wanted. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s the direction (downwards) that counts not the amount. I hope you enjoyed your vegetarian meal out with friends in Ferring. (I had to look up what is an ‘asymmetrical hem’).

@catherine – welcome to a new way of life. When you can stick to the diet and exercise plan it is very rewarding. I’ve noticed lots of physical changes for the better plus I no longer beat myself up thinking I should be doing something about my weight. I’m doing it and it feels great.

We’re in December and it’s probably the worst month to try to lose weight. If I can weigh less at the end of this month than I did at the start, I’ll take that as a positive thing.

Good luck this week everyone.