2022 MASTERING MAY ONE WEEK AT A TIME ! WEEK BEGINNING 31st MAY 2022

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• posted by florob85
  on 30 May 2022 at 17:00

  

  Hi everyone

  Wendy is tied up at the moment (not literally) so she’s asked if I can step in again as I clearly did such an awesome job last week 😂

  Technically our next week takes us into June, but the week starts with the last day of May so that’s in the title – who can think of a title for June? Jump into June maybe? Anyway, ideas on a postcard

  We’ve welcomed a couple of new faces the last week, Murraymint and Jess213 – welcome along! And the usual crowd, sunshinegirl, Elle-mae, Verano, RubyG, WindyJulz, Tulip and OneStep – so we’re all still plodding along nicely.

  I’ve been trying to reset this week, with varying success, but have just been signed off work for another three weeks so feeling a bit flat, sigh!

  Never mind, onwards and downwards as ever, those of us in the UK have a nice long bank holiday coming up, hope you all enjoy it!

  Pip pip, cheerio, tarah, ciao, ttfn etc!

  Lauren

• posted by Elle-Mae
  on 30 May 2022 at 18:05

  

  Hi Lauren, thanks for setting up the new thread. I know it’s only in the UK but how about Jubilee June

• posted by Onestep
  on 30 May 2022 at 22:52

  

  Jumping into the Jubilee June sounds good!
  Thanks for the thread lauren, I’m so sorry you’ve been signed off again, I really hope things take a turn for the better! Take the time to rest your dr clearly thinks you need it!

  Must thank sg for the advise on last weeks thread, the kick up the arse I need, completely right I log most things but probably over estimating the size/weight… so that’s it I’m on it, going to count and weigh everything, when I break into the 13ths I’ll going to shout it from the roof tops but I will get there! Do exercise regularly so maybe have to up that too.

  Have a good week all x

• posted by slimmingruby
  on 31 May 2022 at 01:00

  

  Hi everyone,
  First time posting (although I’ve been following the forum for a while) and finally decided I need to get my act together and start tomorrow!
  Currently weigh around the 14st mark, down from my highest weight of 16st 10lbs but been stuck here for too long and need to get the scales moving down again. I’m not diabetic but have PCOS so I think a low carb approach is what will work best for me.
  I love reading the success stories on here and all the support that everyone gives so thought I should get involved.
  Excited to get started and hopefully see some good results. Any tips or advice much appreciated, I know a lot of people have said the first few days are the hardest so I’m apprehensive but determined to stick to this and make a change.
  Ruby x

• posted by florob85
  on 31 May 2022 at 09:13

  

  Hi slimmingruby and welcome!

  I also have PCOS and know that a low carb approach is best, although I’m struggling to get back on track. I lost three stone following this plan a couple of years ago but it’s all crept back on and I’m stalling trying to restart but I’m determined to try!

  The first few days are the hardest, you might feel dizzy and tired and headachy, this is called keto flu and it doesn’t feel nice but you can sometimes alleviate the symptoms by making sure you are adding some extra salt, drinking all the water etc. I never really find anything helps if I’m honest and I just have to kind of get through it but you do eventually.

  I’d hardly call myself an expert in terms of practical aspects of the diet, others are far more knowledgable than me, however I am a biochemist by background and I understand the science behind the diet so feel free to ask about that!

  There are additional books and things which people will recommend, but for now the original Blood Sugar Diet and Fast 800 books by Michael Mosley are your best start – they are very accessible and don’t go too in depth into macronutrients etc. some of the other texts are quite intense. Personally I’d only try to change one thing at a time first, so maybe drop the carbs first (you’re aiming for below 50g if you can, most PCOS sufferers need less than 20g a day but it’s really tough getting down that low so start at 50g and tweak as you go and get used to it) – dropping the carbs is the most important part anyway and especially for PCOS as we are incredibly insulin resistant. Then drop your calories, and then if you want to try you can start experimenting with intermittent fasting so 14:10, or 16:8 or occasional 24h fasts etc.

  Top tips for starting out

  – drink allllllll the water and then more water
  – add a bit of extra salt for the first few days
  – don’t be afraid of healthy fats – full fat dairy, oil, avocado, oily fish, nuts etc.
  – use a tracker like MyFitnessPal to track your carbs and calories
  – once you’re ready to start tracking calories weigh everything!!
  – if you slip up, just get back on track, you’re human and this is a big adjustment!
  – use herbs and spices to make your food taste delicious, you’ll get bored very quickly otherwise
  – ask us for any advice!!

  I’m sure others will be along with some tips!

  Good luck!

  Lauren x

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 31 May 2022 at 15:33

  

  Hi all, back for another week before I go away next Wednesday (but housesitter arrives Tuesday so I will be out of action from then). Still hopeful on losing another kilo after a slip up over the weekend but still on track generally. Tonight is hubbys turn to cook and he has started a routine with chicken sausages x 3 each at 85 calories each with baked beans and a fried egg. All good really but the beans will show tomorrow as they are more carbs than I usually have. So I have kept them down during today and started with grilled mushrooms and a poached egg, lunch was the Spanish chickpea and chorizo soup (more carbs seem to creep in). At least they are good carbs.

  Welcome to slimmingruby, to add to the advice you have received already, if you do fall off track dont wait until a new week – how many times have you given in around Thursday then decided to start again on Monday. No, start again on Thursday afternoon, or evening or, if you fell late in the evening, then back on it on Friday. No weekend excuses here. You know what they say, tomorrow never comes.

  Keep on keeping on…

• posted by FlowersForever
  on 31 May 2022 at 19:14

  

  Hi everyone. I’d like to thank you all for your inspiring posts. I’m posting my success to inspire others to stick with it.
  I started the Fast 800 in January and reached a healthy BMI at Easter. I have lost 13.6kg (29.5lbs) to date and dropped two dress sizes.
  I am 3.4kg from my next goal – which is to give myself a 5kg buffer. I’m experimenting to find the right number of calories and fast days to still lose weight. Currently I’m doing 4/3 with 1200 on non-fast days and 800 on fast days. I’m 5’4″ with a desk job.
  I do 16/8 TRE with 2 meals a day at midday and 7pm. I weigh everything and keep a food diary. This is the easiest and most successful diet I have tried. There were plateaus and a week of restaurant food while on holiday – a 3kg gain, which was mostly water weight from carbs.
  My blood pressure is now healthy and I no longer have knee problems.
  I’d be interested to hear how others have coped with maintenance whilst still wanting to lose.

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 1 Jun 2022 at 13:19

  

  Hi everyone, well done flowersforever, seems like the 5:2 or a version of it works for you. Dont know about maintenance as I have never reached it in 6 years. However, my goals are diabetes related and I am not on a weight loss diet but a health change. Obviously weight loss is good for anyone but I dont want you to think I am rubbish at this, just different. Hoping to stop using insulin very soon. Anyway, anyone on maintenance (and I know there are a few) will be able to give you some advice or the benefit of their experience.

  Weight is back down by 0.3kgs so just 0.7 to go and I am sure I can manage that especially with a doctors appointment looming for Tuesday. I still have a further goal of early August for my daughters wedding so I dont want to do too much damage on my week away which is why we have picked hotels with pools. Hopefully, I will swim before breakfast and before dinner and keep the pounds/kilos at bay.

  Saw on another thread that someone said they were going to be trying on their summer clothes. I had better do the same as I dont have a clue what I will be taking away with me. Also I am sure there will be some clothes going in the charity bag.

  Enjoy your week.

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 2 Jun 2022 at 15:09

  

  Hi all, well I have had a sh– couple of days, literally. One of our cats has been out of sorts and not eating and I finally convinced hubby to get her to the vet. He wont phone so I have to do it, then when we get there I have to do all the talking. Anyway, turns out she has compacted faeces and looks like there are bones in it – so it was probably her that killed and partially ate a couple of animals recently. Vet gave her an enema and instructions for us to give her 2 more in the evening then 2 or 3 today. Have you ever tried giving a cat an enema – dont answer that but what a carry on. Dont know if she is any better as she is still not eating but she is behaving better and normal.

  On the good side of things, I had my blood tests this morning and my HbA1c is 5.9 so I am over the moon. That means I am almost on the non diabetic scale with the smallest amount of insulin. Will be seeing the doctor on Tuesday.

  Thatsssssss all folk – trying to do the Disney sign off.

• posted by Elle-Mae
  on 2 Jun 2022 at 15:34

  

  Welcome slimmingruby and flowersforever.
  This woe does really work, I have lost 2 stone June to October last year and maintained since then on a combination of 5.2 and tre of roughly 16.8 give or take 30 mins each way.
  S-G sounds very difficult giving a cat an enema 🙈

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 4 Jun 2022 at 14:00

  

  Hi there, where have all our weekly contributors disappeared to, out celebrating the Jubilee…..

  Reached 72.4 which is the lowest weight I have been on this plan although I am sure I reached a bit less but cant find where I registered it so will say 72.4. Just tried on 2 dresses for the wedding. One is too big and the other is still too small. When we get back from our break, assuming I dont put on too much weight, I want to have a real push towards 71kgs although still not sure if the dress will fit but at least I will know if I have to go shopping.

  We are stormy and windy here but the rain is very welcome. Have a good weekend.

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 4 Jun 2022 at 14:11

  

  Hi, just looked through my blog to see what weight I got down to. The blog says I started at 79.9kg but that was a couple of weeks after I had stopped some carbs after some disasterous advice from a nutritionist when I reached 81.9. So my total weight loss is 21lbs. That is where I seem to get stuck so I will really have to crack on and try harder.

• posted by FlowersForever
  on 4 Jun 2022 at 15:02

  

  Hi everyone
  Sunshine-girl great results. Elle-Mae it’s really encouraging to hear that you have maintained for so long.
  I just did my weekly weigh in and I am down 0.4kg after a week of 4/3. On 5/2 I was losing just 0.1kg. I’ve looked back through my food diary to find out what I was doing when I had my biggest losses and found to my surprise that the weeks I had reintroduced weetabix or oats, I lost the most weight. I then found a study that shows that whole grains speed up metabolism. So I am going to test that with a week or two of cereals once a day to find out if it was a fluke or real. I have 3kg to go to reach my next goal, which will give me a 5kg buffer under a healthy BMI.

• posted by Tulip1
  on 5 Jun 2022 at 08:40

  

  Hi All,

  thank u for the thread Lauren……hoping these 3 weeks wiĺl give you much needed rest and recuperation.

  I’ve been on hols this week in Cornwall 😍 with rarely any internet/ phone signal…hence no comments from me. Thought I would drop in and say hi 😊…..been mostly off-plan whilst away and plan to restart tomorrow xxx

• posted by Onestep
  on 5 Jun 2022 at 19:49

  

  Hi all,

  Some fantastic wins there, well done guys.
  Oh Cornwall sounds lovely and it’s mostly been lovely weather too so hope you had a nice time Tulip.
  Sg sounds like a roller coast week for you, your poor cat (guess most of us know what she’s been through 😆) and you not much fun, hope she is feeling better now and brilliant result on your levels, I really should get mine checked again but They don’t check prediabetic levels unless you ask.

  Still feeling the same and rough as last week so although not in the perfect frame of mind I’m doing ok, still needing to cut out those occasional cakes but less cravings so they are even more occasional, decided not to weigh myself for a few weeks to help relieve the pressure as trying oats, chia seeds, psyllium tablets, berries, dried fruits, magnesium and even the odd slice of seeded whole meal bread all occasionally working but with limited success, but hey ho tomorrows another day and start of a new week.
  Let’s have a good one and hope the jubilee didn’t do too much damage x

• posted by Tulip1
  on 5 Jun 2022 at 20:19

  

  omg- SG, just seen your post about your cat!!! Blimey…😮😱

• posted by Tulip1
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 07:33

  

  woah…..5 lbs gained from my week’s hol, plus jubilee celebrations….could be better, could be worse….so, back on the WOE this morning….who else is having a Monday reset?

  Tulip xxxxx

• posted by wendleg
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 09:42

  

  Hi everyone !
  Phew, finding time to check in has not been easy , so sorry not to have been posting but here I am !
  First of all many thanks to Lauren for setting up the new thread despite not feeling 100 % . It really is appreciated . Well done SG on your continued efforts and I hope everything settles before you go away .

  We had a lovely few nights on the Ile d’Oléron.It was quite a drive and my hubby likes taking the scenic route which basically means it takes hours longer .I think we were in the Dordogne at some point SG, definitely going through Libourne in his plan to avoid Bordeaux . We had an Airbnb so didn’t eat out all the time .Had some delicious oysters and sea food but not totally on plan all the time as far as desserts are concerned …

  A friend from the UK asked to come over for a week , finally feeling able to travel after losing her hubby to Covid early days . She arrived the day after we got back from our holiday. I certainly couldn’t do my fasting routine with a guest here so another week of more meals than I would normally plan. But that’s ok. It’s important to reconnect with friends after so long .

  Then I was plunged into a sad situation , being asked to help another friend with funeral arrangements after her husband died on the 25th May .He had been ill and in palliative care . A new experience for me dealing with funeral directors in France but it was done sensitively according to my friend’s wishes .It is something I have been thinking about for some time and ‘getting our affairs in order ‘ Having the conversations is important for me and I actually feel better about the whole procedure now .

  Anyway I don’t want to bore you with the ‘stuff’ I’ve been dealing with . Just to say I am here , with a month to go before our trip to the UK and needing to knuckle down and stop messing about telling myself the odd dessert won’t hurt . I too have a dress which needs to fit for a wedding mid July !
  I am staying active ( yoga, pilates and aquagym) which I realise I need to stay grounded and to clear my head .
  I watched the Jubilee celebrations and thought it was quite spectacular and very British 😉 So glad it didn’t rain. Slightly anxious about the chaos in airports and flight cancellations in the UK, what a blinkin mess.Today is bank holiday in France and the sun is shining .My cat is pooing normally ( sorry SG) so all is well !

  I need to take a bit of time to catch up with the thread but I ‘m here now for another month at least and will compile a new list as I see we have some new members .Welcome all !! I will have a think about the June title
  too.
  See you later folks

  Wendy xxx

• posted by wendleg
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 10:34

  

  Right….I have caught up with last 2 weeks of the thread .It’s like I lost 2 weeks of my life, weird !
  I have an updated list ready and waiting and will post it later .

  I like the idea of honouring SG in the title for the new thread

  Just Keep On Keeping on in June 2022 ( We can shorten it to Just KOKO in June a bit later ?? )
  What do you think ?
  SG you are going to need a halo as well as a pedestal , you amazing woman !!!

  My general impression is that many of us are having a bit of a struggle with motivation and temptation, not quite satisfied… warmer weather, celebrations etc , I get it .

  You know we are a sound bunch of very decent human beings, not getting it right all the time, some of us dealing with chronic health issues but our strength is in supporting each other, understanding we are not perfect but knowing deep down that this way of eating works so we will continue to share and do our best

  We can and we will !!!

• posted by RubyG
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 10:53

  

  I’m still here, hubby doing much better than I am to be honest.
  Motivation – severely lacking 🙁
  Weight – the heaviest I’ve been in over a year 🙁 at 12st 5.8lb this morning. The weight has been creeping up over the past month or so, as has the portion size and the incessant snacking, but the scales did shock me this morning.
  Probably not the best strategy, but I have skipped breakfast this morning, so doing a 16:8 with black coffee and lots of water, and I think I need to live on chicken breasts and eggs, with some token greenery this week, while avoiding all cheese and nuts.
  We have a lot of events (days and weekends) coming up over the next couple of months, and I need to be fitter and leaner, while also having a buffer for an occasional drink.
  Oh well, I shall keep on keeping on.

• posted by florob85
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 10:57

  

  I’m with you Ruby, I think I need to completely reset and literally just have chicken and salad for a few days, which will be mindnumbingly boring but I think I need to try and switch off the switch in my brain that says “food = delicious = must eat more of it” – I need to try and adopt Craig’s mindset of eat to live, rather than live to eat, and so I think I need to make myself bored of food. Or something. I’ll probably last about ten minutes.

  Wendy welcome back! We missed you, you do a much better job of being motivating than I do!

  PS I like Just KOKO into June!

  L x

• posted by wendleg
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 11:36

  

  Lauren, you are a great motivator and we love you .Plus you are very brainy and understand all the complicated medical stuff !!! You are also dealing with a lot of long Covid crap and other chronic health issues so cut yourself some slack !!! I reckon you are justifiably looking for a bit of comfort and maybe to relieve that debilitating brain fog. Keto flu is no joke either and it is easy to reach for something a bit carby to get relief.
  We are all with you, Lauren xx

  Ruby we all need a bit of a kick up the bum but we are still here !! Yes the snacking on even the ‘healthy’ stuff is damaging overall . The key is just to stop buying the stuff ( nuts, cheese, dairy in my case) I haven’t bought the evil choc.
  I always find starting the week with some form of fasting gets me back in the zone. It’s not always possible, and it depends on my mood and what is going on .It’s easy when I am out all day or have some sort of exercise coming up because I can’t do it when I have eaten.

  Thinking of SG’s cat .Thank goodness you were a nurse SG !!!!!

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 16:04

  

  Hi all, thank you for the honour. I will be away from Wednesday but seeing my doctor tomorrow so will come back to let you know what he has to say and then nothing from me until the following Tuesday. On that note, I have lost some more weight and now have 0.03 to reach my final goal (this particular goal) but might just miss it. No worries, I have done my best. BG is under 100 and insulin is 11 or 12 units.

  Yes I used to be a nurse but didnt get to treat many cats. When cats do poops or sick I cant stand it. I will do anything for humans but…… someone had to do it. Stick a syringe of liquid paraffin up her what not…. Dont know if she has had a result but at least she came in to eat something this morning.

  I guess having being a nurse I am not bothered about talking bodily functions. A little story. Covid lockdown New Year (when Boris was partying:):) ) we had a zoom party with daughter, fiance, the kids and all his side of the family – people I didnt really know except his mum and dad. Anyway, the next day I sent my usual weight message to my daughter reading. ‘ Hi sweetie, now up to 76kgs but not worried as I havent had a pooh yet’. I think you know what’s coming. She replied, ‘thats great mum but you have sent it to the family group’. To which I immediately sent a message to all saying ‘not true folks, I only weigh 60kgs but I still havent had a pooh’. Joke being I would prefer to talk about poohs than tell everyone what I weighed. They are a lovely lot and I will have to face them at the wedding soon.

  Got to go, I am preparing a lasagne for our guests with a special one for me with aubergine slices in place of pasta. They will get a bought mini gateau and I am having strawberries and melon for dessert. But I will be having a drink. See you tomorrow.

• posted by wendleg
  on 6 Jun 2022 at 17:14

  

  All the best with the doc’s appointment tomorrow, SG.I am sure he will be well impressed .
  Most importantly, enjoy your break .

  I am about to set up the new thread !

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