I have been going ok for the past four weeks. Have lost 6.8kg which = 15lbs, however I did have a couple of setbacks this week. I only have been weighing myself on a Wednesday. Last friday night I was really hanging out for some potato chips, so I bought a small bag but was back on track the next day.

last night I had visitors so we decided to go out for a meal (Thai food) and with that meal I had four glasses of wine, very naughty of me I know, but I figure we have to still enjoy life and being social. I am not beating myself up over this (I always did in the past) but again am back on track today, so I’m not expecting to lose anything this week, just I hope I haven’t put on.
How’s everyone else doing?

Hello Sonia you did really well in your Indian food choices at your friends house. I love Indian food & often make it using Maddhur Jeffrey’s rather old now cookery book that I even took with me when I lived in the Middle East! Our lunch yesterday was salmon mousse with toast to start with followed by a lentil, sweet potato & vegetable lasagne followed by home grown rhubarb crumble & unlike you I didn’t resist the white wine 🙀🥂however I ate a Mr Kiplings mince pie that were my most favourite & found I didn’t enjoy it & didn’t have any fruit cake so I’m sure my taste in food has changed now & I actually now dislike pastry & heavy carb combinations. I find it all most interesting how this WOE is changing me & the crumble gave me indigestion even though I thought it tasted nice🙁
Thank you Bluey for your support & you are doing so well👏👏👍
Catherine how are you getting on? & all your activities must help with your fitness 👏👏
Sonia your medical check must be during this week now? do let us know how you get on & good luck but I feel sure you must have done well enough to now no longer be regarded as pre-diabetic.
Margaret xx

I’ve just seen your post hadenough & losing 15lbs in weight in four weeks is marvellous & so very well done👏👏👏👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 as you can see from my post life got in my way as well over the weekend but getting back on track & having learnt the control that you can do so is one of the joys of this woe.
Good luck for this week.
Margaret xx

Morning Margaret and All!
I am doing well and even getting encouragement by hubby. I have held onto the 4 pound loss and will hopefully dip into the 160’s this week!
My steps were over 6,000 yesterday.

Nice going hadenough!

Hi all – pleased to see everyone seems to be doing well.
I am delighted to see that I’m another 2lb down today – I didn’t entirely stick to my eating plan so am mildly surprised but I have put a lot of miles in on the exercise bike as the weather this week has been so discouraging for walking. Maybe that’s what made a difference. Either way I’m pleased.
Margaret – glad you enjoyed time with your friends – the main part of your lunch sounds good but always interesting to hear – or find in myself – how innate eating habits can change with some perseverance. I think this is the second time recently that you’ve mentioned that carbs are not agreeing with you any longer – good for you – it’s a sign of successful hard work on yourself. And yes – my Pre-diabetes check up is this week – Wednesday in fact – thanks for noticing and for your encouragement. The follow-up is the next week and I realise I won’t have the BGL results from the bloods they take this Wednesday until then.
Catherine – glad you’re doing OK. Great to hear your husband is such a good support.
Hadenough – hope you’re still doing well – such a great weightloss so far! Wish you continued success.
Bluey – I’ve taken on board your comment to Jennie about using stair climbing when hill climbing is not possible. I live on the top floor of a mansion block and there are 175 stairs if I don’t take the lift. Need to work that into my daily life – thanks for the nudge. Agree with you about the challenges of December – losing weight this month would – for me – not only be a ‘positive thing’ as you say but a definite victory – here’s hoping for all of us!
Good luck this week everyone – SO grateful for all the friendship and support I have found here – really know it’s helping me immeasurably. SoniaX

Sonia, what a nice cheerful note! Have a great day!

Hi everyone
Sorry, I’ve not posted this week – I’ve been unwell, nothing serious (fever, tummy bug type thing) but has just meant I’ve been generally out the loop. Exercise and walking have gone out of the window. The positive is I have lost 2lb. .
Some great posts on here which are lovely to read. Hope everyone is still doing well. Will post more fully when I’m back to normal.

Hope things go well today Sonia.

Hi all – glad to see everyone it sticking with it.
I’ve had a mixed week but certainly not a bad one from the point of view of BSD. Have spent most of the week in Southampton where my younger son lives. My daughter-in-law has been pretty unwell and I’ve been there for my grandchildren – 9 and 13 – but did get a ‘day off’ to come back for my Pre Diabetes check. It went well though I have still to go back next Tuesday for the result of my bloods which will be the really telling thing. I do know now that my BP has dropped considerably – said by the nurse to be almost certainly due to my weightloss. Thanks to all for the wonderful encouragement and support in that area. I’m now back home again for the weekend with the children and their dog and am grateful for the amount of walking and other exercise I am currently obliged to do – all that dog walking several times a day as I live in a flat and can’t just turn her out in the garden. My other son and partner are due tomorrow with their dog so that’ll be a lot more running around – can only be good.
Good luck to all for the next seven days – doubt I’ll have time to keep up as I’m back in Southampton on Sunday but will catch up with everyone after the results of my blood tests. In the meantime stay strong and keep at it. SoniaX

Hello Sonia & wonderful news your BP is down & your pre-Diabetes check went well & fingers crossed for your blood results👍👏👏
I have just weighed & gone up 1.5 lbs in weight so not doing very well & I think my run up to Christmas is also going to be most difficult with the temptation of nibbles & wine. I will try & be sensible but have little hope of losing any more weight before my January holiday. I will continue my fast days & definitely now dislike any kind of pastry that trying some foods definitely shows & I suppose my tastes & food likes have been changed by following 5:2 & mostly low carb eating & I will now always eat this way.
Oh well I hope that you & all other posters on here continued success & an enjoyable & not too stressful run up to Christmas.
Margaret xx

Thanks Margaret for your comments. last week I did break a little, so I thought I might put on but to my surprise I had lost, it was only 300g but still a loss. I know with Xmas just around the corner I will indulge a little with some yummy high carb food but I’m not going to beat myself up over it, I will enjoy my xmas lunch etc LOL, then I’ll get straight back on track. One still has to enjoy life and if that means the occasional break then so be it.
Anyway I wish you well on this journey as I wish everyone who trying to lose weight . It’s never easy as I have been overweight since I was a child, I lose, I put on and so goes the merry go round, hopefully this time I will keep it off.

Hi everyone – hope everyone is doing well today.

Well, I weighed myself this morning (I’m sticking to only weighing once a week on Mondays) and I have lost 1lb. I know any loss is good but I feel like to manage that 1lb loss I’ve had to hardly eat anything. I think I’ve begun to focus too much on trying to reach my 11st Christmas target and not enough on just getting my food/activity/lifestyle right. So, I’ve decided to not worry about my Christmas target (5lbs loss unlikely now anyway)and just focus on keeping up the BSD and getting back into my exercise/walking routines again.

bluey – my walking/exercise routine was interrupted last week as I had a tummy bug but I was back to it this morning. What a great tip about the stairs. I have started walking routes that include some steep inclines in them, so thanks for making me think of that.

hadenough – you’ve done fantastically well with your weight loss to date. So you do right to enjoy your Christmas lunch.

Sonia – sorry to hear about your daughter in law. Hope things went OK down in Southampton. Great news about your BP. I’ll be looking out for your post this week. (I’ve just made my appointment for my next Hba1c blood test next week. Decided I’d rather have it out of the way before Christmas, although my follow-up appointment won’t be until January). Btw, I meant to say earlier, I love reading longer posts!

Margaret – thanks for the info about the Jane Fonda DVD. It’s in my Amazon basket as we speak. I’m trying out different ways of incorporating activity into my routine. My balance is also rubbish so every little bit helps. Btw, I’m also a Strictly fan and particularly enjoyed Musicals week – looking forward to next week’s Final.

Catherine – it’s great to hear about your husband supporting you. When I did BSD first time round my husband supported me. This time he’s gone one step further and is doing a BSD-esque type diet – he’s lost 2 stone so far and is absolutely cock-a-hoop! It’s lovely to see.

It’s a bright crisp winter’s afternoon here so I’m off to get some steps in. Best wishes everyone.

Thanks Jennie! Keep it going!!!

Thanks for your comments Jennie10, As of yesterday 5 weeks and 2 days into this I have gone from a 118.4kg to 110.1 that’s a loss of 8.3kg 18.2lbs

Hi all – hope all is well with everyone.
I have slightly been brought to a halt by falling over in the street at the weekend – with my grandchildren in tow, poor things – and damaging my head really quite badly. My partner came and took the kids and I spent the night in A&E where at least my BP was still ‘perfect’ but – sadly my blood results for the pre-diabetes check are postponed for a week – don’t feel I can go with my forehead superglued and huge black eyes – looking like Dracula’s Mother. Annoying – just wanted it over!

Margaret – Christmas pounds are a pain – I’ve always hated the fact that losing weight causes such a conflict – joining in the fun vs keeping up the loss. Sure your holiday will be enjoyable despite the remaining weight – I always find that holidays help with weightloss cos I’m always running around trying to see as much as possible – though dinners (and wine!) are always a problem. I hope your change in food tastes will stand you in good stead. Wish you all the best for a good time – which is, after all, also important.

Jennie – hope your tummy is better and things are OK. Sorry to hear you seem disappointed with your 1lb loss – better than nothing tho as you were aiming at 5lb by Christmas I guess it’s annoying for you. Good luck with the exercise/walking – AND with Jane Fonda – I may try to join you and Margaret with that after Christmas. Not up to even gentle stuff right now – hurts my head dammit! My DIL, as you kindly ask, has shown remarkable improvement in the last week – open heart surgery just not at all easy of course and takes a long time.

Hadenough – sounds like you’re still doing well despite only a small loss – right direction at least. Keep at it – you’re doing so well that that merry-go-round may soon just be a distant memory.

.Good luck all – if we stick together we can make it to where we want to be. SoniaX

Sonia – Ouch, that sounds like a nasty fall. I had something similar a few years ago and I remember being quite shook up by it. Hope you’re taking things a bit slowly – although I appreciate it’s probably difficult with everything you’ve got going on. My very best wishes to your daughter-in-law. Yes, that would be fun if we were all doing the Jane Fonda exercise DVD. We might get that good that Jane will insist we appear with her in her next Prime Time DVD (oops, almost said video). Of course we’d have to deal with Margaret outshining us as she’s been doing them for longer.
You’re right, I was a bit fed up yesterday with my single solitary 1lb off after so much effort but I’m back on it today – 7,680 steps so far and salmon for tea!

hadenough – 18.2lbs in just over 5 weeks is a great result – I do admire you for sticking to it so successfully. Hurray.

As Violinist says – keep it going – we’re all going to do this.

Sonia, yikes! Hope you are better!

Sonia I’m so sorry to hear about your fall & hope you are feeling a little better today. Gosh it must have been a shock for that to happen to you & thank goodness your partner was able to help you.
Hadenough very well done & what an amazing result👏👏👏👏👏🌟
Jennie10 well done to you & I do find Jane Fonda with her pithy but sensible comments amusing & she keeps me entertained whilst following the dvd.
Bluey & Catherine also well done & it just goes to show that keeping going despite any ups & downs is a positive thing to do.
I have just come back from my second session with my husband of playing short mat bowls with U3A that was great fun & most enjoyable. Probably exercise wise not doing much apart from walking up & down but enjoyable meeting new people with a little bit of competition thrown in.
I am wrapping presents today because we will be going to stay with our younger son for the weekend who is hosting our Christmas family get together with all three grandchildren there so it no doubt will be chaotic but enjoyable.
My thoughts will be with you Sonia hoping you have a quick recovery!!
Margaret xxx

Have fun Margaret! We normally go to Vermont and stay with grand kids for Christmas too!

Catherine

Thank you Catherine & I hope you also have a wonderful time with your family.
I weighed today to check where I was before weekend temptations & have stayed the same weight so will try to stay that way.
Margaret xx

Nice goong Margaret!

Hi Margaret – Just came on to post and you’re here! I’ve just placed my order for the JF DVD so another Christmas present for me! That’s great news about staying the same. Managing your food and keeping your weight the same during festivities is a real positive at this time of year. Enjoy the weekend with your younger son and family.

I’ve avoided weighing – will wait until Monday – but I feel like I’ve been on a roll the last few days. I’ve fallen into having one meal a day and that has been a warm salad – luckily cooked protein and salad has always been a favourite of mine. Salad seems to be more effective in helping me with weight loss than cooked veg (something to do with poor portion control on cooked veg maybe?). I’m not planning on going OMAD longer-term but maybe over this weekend. We’ll see how it goes.

Hope everyone else goes well over the weekend. Sonia, I hope you’re feeling better after your fall.
Best wishes
Jennie

Hi Violinist – our posts crossed – hope things are going well with you. Btw, Christmas in Vermont sounds lovely – a bit like an old Bing Crosby musical. x

Hi Jennie! Yes, I love that movie!!!

Yes, me too! – and Bing Crosby. My dad looked a bit like him (same eyes) and used to sing his songs around the house a lot when we were children. Lovely.

Hi everyone
Weighed myself this morning and I’ve lost 3lb this last week. I’ve just come back from my Monday exercise class – last one before Christmas – so generally feeling very positive this morning.

I’m determined to keep my BSD focus for the coming week. We have an overnight stay for a Christmas party with a lot of my husband’s friends on Saturday so will need to manage that. Then our two children will be arriving for the festive season but I’ve navigated that OK for the last couple of years – and this year my husband has been on a kind of BSD diet so that will hopefully help (he does the cooking and usually caters for the many not the few we are!)

Sonia – by my reckoning your review meeting is this week so best wishes for that. I get my blood taken tomorrow morning for my annual Hba1c. I’m expecting it to have gone up as my weight has gone up but my bgls, although higher, have still been within the normal range so I’m hoping my hba1c will reflect this. Won’t know for a few days so will have to wait and see. Anyway, wishing you well with yours.

Margaret – hope the weekend went well. What a great ‘Strictly’ final. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Hadenough, bluey, violinist and everyone – hope you’re all doing well and have a good week.
Go well
Jennie xx

Nice going Jennie! Yes, I am still dodging cookies and cakes!

Thanks Violinist – and great to hear about your 169. I don’t post on many threads but read quite a few and always enjoy your posts. xx

Jennie very well done losing 3 lbs that is brilliant running up to Christmas 👏👏👏🌟
Sonia how are you doing? I hope you are feeling much better now.
Violinist, Hadenough, Bluey & everyone else I hope you are all doing well.
My weekend with the family was very enjoyable & a large piano mat given to my grandson that he wanted to open had my granddaughters jumping around on it making “music” whilst he found & operated the off switch or changed around the choices, much to everyone’s amusement, so I think a future engineer in the making 😂
Food wise it was grazing on the nibbles plus chicken options & there was salad but I had made a cheesecake😬🙀& there was of course plenty of wine & other carb snacks so not sensible eating at all. But actually I didn’t eat much because I was cooking & producing it all, mostly with a glass of something around & after they had all gone I had really aching calves with standing most of the day! We had the traditional breakfast next day of smoked salmon with scrambled egg, croissants & Bucks Fizz & put our feet up watching the third Harry Potter film . So very hedonistic!
Yesterday we went to the National Trust Petworth House to see their Georgian Christmas house setting that was not as good as previous years because most of the house is closed for winter cleaning & renovation & had lunch there. We did however have quite a long walk in the park & the uphill bit showed me how unfit I am so it’s the Jane Fonda dvd exercise today inbetween doing washing, ironing & putting up the Christmas tree & decorating it with our youngest son coming down to us for the three day Christmas period. We have bought & given out most of the Christmas presents & sent all our cards & all the food is ordered so well prepared now except for getting the house & guest room ready. It’s short mat bowling tomorrow & another lunch then my WI Christmas meeting with mulled wine & snacks so more temptation to manage. I might weigh myself on Sunday but today is a fast day for us so trying to keep some control over all this.
Onward I go & good luck managing everything everyone👍👍🍀🍀
Margaret xxx

Morning Jennie and Margaret!
You weekend sounds glorious, Margaret!
Christmas day is hubbys birthday and I am ready for both. We will have stuffed clams, bacon wrapped scallops and lobster claws Christmas eve and filet mignon on the grill Christmas day and hubby will have cheese danish with his coffee. These are our traditions. We do reasonable, small gifts since retiring.

We are in an apartment while our new home and 30 ft pool is being built down the road. It should be done by next September. In the mean time I am focusing on my health (bsd woe, walking, biking, swimming) and my soul (I play the violin in an acoustic band, involved in my church and bible study). Hubby visits the house for review of progress pretty much daily.

Have a great day!
Catherine

Wow Catherine you have married a true Christmas baby😀
Your Christmas food sounds yummy & when we lived near Boston I much enjoyed eating the fabulous seafood particularly the Maine lobster & prawns. Your new house with a swimming pool sounds lovely & I am most envious of your sunshine & time you can spend outdoors! Alas the UK weather is somewhat changeable with the sunshine unpredictable with the exception of the amazing summer we did have this last summer that felt quite Mediterranean 😬 Oh well we do enjoy our seasons & when spring eventually arrives! early next year my husband & I will have sunshine & hot weather visiting Singapore, New Zealand, Australia & Bangkok.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday time.
Margaret xx

You too Margaret!

Hi all – looks like you’re all doing well. I’m happy to say that I’ve recovered from my silly fall entirely – apart from residual bruising.PHEW!
Catherine your Christmas to come sounds lovely – as does your new house – bet you can’t wait to get in there!
Margaret – your family weekend sounds wonderful – I love weekends like that with all children/grandchildren/dogs together. Can’t happen often enough for me. Sons – in particular – are always busy though. Both have their own businesses which encroach on free time a lot. I’ve been overdoing the carbs in the last few days – tho cals are on track – guess it’s the carbs that really count however. Will be back with it tomorrow before everything runs away with me. Your time at Petworth sounds great and is encouraging me to go back to some of those NT open spaces and tramp about. Sheffield Park is beckoning next time we have a decent day.
Jennie – hope your Hba1c goes well. All my numbers were great and I’m just below Pre-Diabetes status which is a joy. I just need to stay there! Another check due in March – I’ve been advised to lose another stone – seems quite a lot to me and I’m certainly not planning to do that by March but they are keeping their beady eyes on me! So as soon as Christmas – and my partner’s birthday on Jan. 2 – are over I’ll be well and truly back on the bandwagon – until then I’m intending to stick with the BSD principles but up my carbs a bit. This WOE has worked a small miracle for me in so many ways and I’m not going to slither now. I’m truly grateful to you all for the part your friendship and support played in all that.
I may not be back on here before Christmas – I never ‘do’ Christmas till the last minute and I’ve got busy days coming up. SO ‘just in case’ I wish you all a good Christmas and hope to ‘see’ you all afterwards. Christmas hugs to all. SoniaX

Sonia – that’s great news about your hba1c results. I’m absolutely thrilled for you. Shifting your blood sugar levels back into the normal range is such an achievement – fantastic! and we’ll all be here on the bandwagon cheering you on in 2019. Meanwhile, in case you’re not back beforehand, I hope you and your partner have a lovely Christmas, New Year, birthday and all.

Catherine – I agree with the others, your new house sounds as if it will be wonderful and I’m envious of the warmth (and the swimming pool!) – but I’m particularly envious of your Christmas menu. Like Margaret, I think it sounds delicious (as does the Maine Lobster, Margaret). Yes, we’ve also started to buy each other fewer and smaller gifts for Christmas – and I think it’s helped us focus on the non-material things a bit more. I’ve spent quite a bit of time this week re-connecting with long lost cousins, friends etc. It’s been nice. Having said all that I hope your hubby gets his full share of both Christmas and birthday presents – fair’s fair.

Margaret – what a lovely weekend you’ve had and that piano mat sounds like it was great fun – and your grandson sounds gorgeous!
What a fantastic holiday you’ve got to look forward to next year – wow. I’m envious again. Good on you both for keeping on with the fasts. Good luck with the Sunday weigh-in. Hope you have a lovely Christmas

As for me, I’m afraid you’re going to have to take a couple of those hand claps off me. Having celebrated a 3lb weight loss I’ve got to be honest I was a bit too over celebratory on Tuesday evening after getting my hba1c blood test out of the way (low carbs but far too many cals!) and have put 2lbs back on again. Oh, well. Straight back on it today.

Go well everyone

Sonia, congrats on the stats!!!!!

Jennie, you are so encouraging too!!!

Talk tomorrow, it is dinner tome in Florida!

Jennie Congrats on your 3lb loss, that’s great.
Margaret Your visit to the National Trust Petworth House sounds interesting (I looked up the house online}

Well I have had rather a stressful week with relative in hospital very ill (near death). Stayed with my sister in a country area so my food choices were limited as there are no shops nearby, anyway I got through the week but did have a couple of breakouts, wine & some bread 🙁 so I’m not weighing myself just yet. I’m still very happy with my 18.2lb loss in 6 weeks.
I had my HBA1c blood test today. I’m interested in my results as since starting this I’ve had to have next to no insulin and I’m off two of my diabetes tablets …Diabex and trajenta, yay!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and continuing success.

Sonia what wonderful results & so pleased you have recovered from your nasty fall & I hope you & your family have a marvellous Christmas & New Year & I think it’s perfectly reasonable to relax our eating over the holiday periods as long as we get back on the BSD bandwagon after it.
Hadenough so sorry to hear about your very unwell relative that must be even more distressing at this time of year but wonderful because of your weight loss you have been able to much reduce your diabetic medication.
Jennie as you know from past experience you will quickly lose your small weight gain frustrating though it is but a great blood result needs to be celebrated 🥂😬
I may not post much now until after Christmas because I’m now mentally compartmentalising my many to do things planning to cope up until the New Year😼😹
To everyone who posts on here I hope you all have a very enjoyable Christmas & a Happy New Year with whatever celebrations you have planned 🌟🥂🍷🎁🎄🍤🍗🥐🥓
Margaret xx

hadenough – I’m so sorry to hear about your relative. It’s always hard when these things happen and particularly difficult at this time of year. I hope things work out well for your relative and family. Given everything, I think only having a couple of breakouts was pretty good going. I’m not surprised you’re still pleased with your weight loss – 18.2 lbs in 6 weeks is fantastic – woohoo!!! Isn’t it amazing what this way of eating can do. To be able to reduce your insulin and meds so much – it’s just so effective, isn’t it. I always find it moving when I read about that happening. Good luck and let us all know how you get on with your hba1c results.

So, I had my hba1c blood test on Tuesday and I got my results this morning (Margaret, on Tuesday I was just celebrating getting the test done and out of the way before Christmas). The great news is my blood sugar levels are still in the middle of the normal range. I’m really pleased to get those results because I’ve put on over 2 stone in the last 6-9 months and did expect an increase in my bgls but no, they’re exactly the same as last year. So that’s over 2 years in the normal range; I can’t ask for better than that for Christmas.

I’ll be visiting here until Christmas Eve but for everyone on this thread who is stopping for the Christmas break wishing you all a Happy Christmas and best wishes for a healthy and peaceful New Year. See you in 2019.

Jennie10 thankyou for your kind words. Yes It has been a very hard week and a half but I’m back on track again, will let you know my HBA1c results when I get them…fingers crossed.

Nearly a New Year & for us just one more guest to host to lunch tomorrow & a few more left overs to deal with. I am pleased because I have just weighed & only gained one pound despite tempting nibbles, cheese & wine. I am fasting until our supper of left over turkey that we will have in a Caesar salad however I feel as though I am starving & that’s probably down to carb withdrawal & recovering from a heavy head cold & resulting poor sleep. I do feel a little sorry for myself because of my irritating cough that is exhausting but pleased it should be all gone by 7th January when we fly out to New Zealand via Singapore for a tour. I have always wanted to visit both places but am not looking forward to the flying. I have not achieved the weight loss I had hoped for this year but can still wear most of my summer clothes so I am relieved about that😎😂
I hope you have all had a good Christmas & managed to survive the many temptations of festive food & drink!
Margaret xx

Thanks Wendy for your comments. HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. Well I got some great news…These are my last 3 HBA1c Results.

Ten mths ago I was 9.5 six mths ago I was 8.5 and my last test 2 weeks ago I was 7.4 which is thanks to this program. Yay

Am going to weigh in tomorrow so I hope I haven’t put any on. I had a small break out on xmas day.

Hi everyone. First of all – a VERY happy and healthy New Year to all. So inspiring to see the good results people are getting – this WOE sure does help us all out. I’m so happy that there is something that we can do to help ourselves and all of your results are really inspiring. That so-called ‘life-long’ condition is finally within our control.

Margaret – I so know what you mean about cheese and wine and delighted to hear you’ve only got one pound to re-coup – wish I could hope the same for myself!. So sorry to hear about your cold and cough – if it’s the one we had here I know how unpleasant and disruptive it can be. I wish you well quickly so you can enjoy your trip to Singapore and New Zealand. It sounds wonderful and I’m very envious though not in a bad way! Happy to hear your clothes are fitting ok – always a relief. VERY happy holidays to you.

hadenough – I hope you had a good Christmas despite having such a sick relative. Never an easy time and especially at Christmas it often seems harder to bear with jollity all around. So pleased for you with your HbA1c results – what a victory! I totally agree with you that this programme (and the support from folk here) is invaluable. It’s great how this way of living helps so much – but YOU are the one who’s put in the hard work.

Catherine thanks for commenting on my new stats – as I said – now I have to maintain that – and I WILL!

Jennie – happy to hear your BSLs are in range even in the face of a weight gain. As you say it was a great Christmas present. It just goes to show just how helpful this lifestyle is – and we all know how to get back on track when we need to.

Hope everyone has had a good holiday season – for me, there have been many visitors and a two-day family stopover – all wonderful but I expect a nasty shock from the scales! Apart from Christmas, New Year’s Eve was pretty wine-laden and there is still my partner’s birthday tomorrow. After that I really have to face a weigh-in! Guess there’ll be intensive work to do with BSD but actually I look forward to that. I’m ready to get my nose back to the grindstone and I’m sure all of you are too. Good luck to all – SoniaX

Well I weighed in for the first time after Xmas and thought I might have a put on a little as I did have a bit of a breakout, such as some chocolates and wine but I didn’t go crazy. Anyway I have actually lost 1.2kg.

In approx 8 weeks I have lost 9.4kg (20.7lbs)

My starting weight was 18.4kg, as of today I am 109kg. My HBA1c has come to to 7.4 (was 9.5 a few months ago). I’m off my diabetes tablets and instead of having 4-6 injections a day, I’m only having one, which is my over night insulin and less of it as well.

All in all, a good start to 2019.

Amazing results Hadenough & you are an inspiration to us all & what a wonderful way to start 2019 with such a great reduction in your medication 👏👏👏👏🌟🌟🌟🌟
Sonia even though you may have gained some weight when you weigh you now know how to deal with that getting back on the BSD WOE & I think all our knowledge of this gives us such a useful way forward.
I am currently trying on clothes to take on holiday which has been a rather depressing experience not being able to wear some new things I had bought in a smaller size too optimistically thinking I would slim into them! But on the plus side the weather is being kind & I do know that next week we will not be snowed in & can get to Gatwick 😎
A very Happy New Year to everyone I haven’t mentioned & I will be back joining in again in late February no doubt rather heavier but with lots of interesting experiences to share😬
Margaret xxx

Hi again all – didn’t post my weigh-in yesterday – quite bad and wimped out I’m afraid. SO I spent the day doing a final vigorous clear-up after Christmas and regretting my excesses – which were not actually that extreme, but I guess my system took a shock from alcohol and carbs that it hadn’t been used to – my son brought some very good wine and my DIL baked a wonderful crusty caraway loaf – irresistible with the farmshop cheeses they brought! I set the alarm on my Fitbit to prompt me to do some sort of exercise every 45 minutes – too long to list and nothing massively energetic really (apart from shunning the lift in our mansion block and climbing the 175 stairs to our floor) but I wasn’t still all day, stuck rigidly to BSD principles and had just one meal of salad with bacon and goat’s cheese mid-afternoon. Then – DRUM ROLL – yesterday’s 5 pounds gained over Christmas turned into 3lb 2oz this morning – PHEW! As Margaret says – ‘getting back on the BSD WOE’ is proof of an invaluable lesson learned. Sad to hear about your holiday clothes, Margaret – positivity and optimism have so often led me to buy clothes I hoped to get into quickly but I always end up with at least one garment hanging on the side of my wardrobe waiting until I can squeeze into it without squeezing out somewhere else unexpected. Your wonderful trip is what matters, with – as you say – all the interesting experiences which I look forward to hearing about. Enjoy it all.
Hadenough – I join with Margaret in congratulating you on your test numbers and reduction in your meds. Keep at it – your success is an encouragement to us all and was certainly my underlying reason for the effort that I made yesterday which has given me hope for a better weigh-in next week.
Happy and successful January to all – SoniaX

Hi everyone
I haven’t reported in for a while because for the last three weeks I haven’t been following BSD! I do feel bad but we did so much entertaining and so much going out I was finding it a bit stressful trying to follow it religiously. I feel as though I haven’t gained or lost so this is not as disastrous as I thought it would be. Anyway I am back on track with just hopefully the last family gathering on Saturday. The good news is I am hosting but my family are bringing the desserts. I will be able to pass them back the left overs!!👍🏽👍🏽
Yesterday I signed up for a yoga class😱 and I am waiting to hear about availability for a Pilates class! The reason for the yoga class and hopefully Pilates class is my ongoing intermittent back problem which is causing me a problem when i am at work! I think I need to strengthen my core!
Of course any trimming and toning will be a bonus to continuing with BSD!
I am looking forwards now to my girly New York trip at the end of this year. I am going with my size 10 friend and we want to do buy clothes while we are there. It’s time for a new wardrobe anyway so this year I will be sorting out and wearing what I have and discarding what I don’t want… but the main objective is to save money , do some overtime and not buy any clothes whatsoever this year! It might be nice to see the fit of the clothes I have improve as the weeks go by!!😄
I hope my enthusiasm continues!!👍🏽👍🏽
Congratulations to all of you that have had great results on BSD .. I have been catching up with all the posts!!
Miss Ziggy

Hello Miss Ziggy lovely to hear from you & how lovely a girly New York trip to look forward to👍😬
I am off tomorrow on my Singapore, New Zealand & Australia holiday but feeling very stressed trying to keep to a 20kg weight limit for the coach tour in NZ that is difficult to pack for 5 weeks!! To cap that my husband has had bad tooth ache since Saturday & couldn’t get an emergency appointment at our local hospital dental service so he is off to camp now at our own dentist & may need his tooth extracted. I’m beginning to really regret agreeing to join friends on this longer holiday because it’s too much planning & stress🙁🙁🙁🤔
Margaret xx

Oh just seen & bought on kindle MMs new The Fast 800 Diet really just to read about latest research but a shame about having to pay for the linked website! I will read it on the plane whilst having a large brandy to calm me down if it’s available in economy because couldn’t afford the extra £3000 to fly business class. It’s not that I’m fed up or stressed or anything 😿😼😎

Hi everyone
I’m later back than planned. I’ve been away visiting for New Year and then my laptop crashed – my OH reckons it got too hot when I was surfing the sales. Anyway, our computer guy (now friend) returned it earlier today and I’ve spent this evening catching up with things.
So, it’s lovely to be back and read everyone’s news.

Margaret – I know I’ve probably missed you but hope you have a lovely holiday. It sounds fantastic and it’ll be great to hear all about it! Hope your OHs toothache got sorted. By the time you get back and read this you’ll probably both have forgotten it. I’m curious about MM’s updated book. Did you notice much difference in what’s in it? I think I might re-read some of the books and watch podcasts etc to kickstart me again for 2019.

Miss Ziggy – what a great motivator – a trip to New York. I would love to go there. I’ve had a bit of a stressful time over Christmas and New Year and have eaten more than I should have, too. Glad you’re back on track and I do hope the yoga and Pilates help with the back problem.

Sonia – yes, I did the same I’m afraid. I put on 5lb over Christmas & New Year. It’s good to hear you were able to lose some of it again so quickly. Here’s to another positive weigh-in for you next week.

Hadenough – like the others have said, a massive congratulations on your hba1c results and your meds – that’s fantastic. It always makes me happy when I read someone posting such great results with their Hba1c. Hurray! And then managing to actually lose weight too – that’s impressive. What a great start to 2019!!!

I had my hba1c test just before Christmas and I’m still in the middle of the normal range (that’s over 2 years now) so I’m delighted with that, but to keep it that way, this year I want to lose 2 stone. This will take me well within my healthy BMI again. So, I’m starting back today. Deep breath, here I go……

Happy New Year everyone – may we all have a happy, peaceful and healthy 2019.
Jennie xx

Hi Jennie and welcome back!
Yesterday hubby took me to Wembley to watch Spurs😁😁👍🏽We won btw!! We drove into London and then caught the tube to Wembley. I was so surprised that I had completed 14,380 steps in 2hours 23 mins…. and apparently burned off 401 calories! If only I had the time to walk for this length of time every day! At home I drive everywhere. I must make an effort to walk more!
Miss Ziggy

Hi Miss Ziggy
Wow, that’s some going – you weren’t on the pitch were you? Sounds like you both had a great day – and a win always helps!
I was back to my exercise class on Monday and one of my goals this year is to walk more. I do walk more than I used to (pre-2016 couch potato here) but I need to be more consistent. I’m going to try to fit in some walking most days – and now I’ve got my Jane Fonda DVD so I can even walk indoors! Luckily, I’m retired so it’s just about prioritising it!

If I’m honest, I’m struggling to get back into the routine of things at the minute. So, today I’ve given myself a good talking to. I’ve decided to not overthink and just weigh and record all my food and drink intake (I use fatsecret) and just stop when I reach 800 cals (I’m OK with managing the carbs).

When I was losing weight the first time round one of the best things for me was getting back into those favourite clothes I’d not been able to get into – that’ll be fantastic. Also, the people I’ve known who’ve visited NY have all come back thrilled with the clothes they bought – that’s a great goal, Miss Ziggy, I’m very envious. xx