2022 ! One Week at a Time beginning 18th January 2022

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posted by wendleg
on 17 Jan 2022 at 17:52

Onwards we go in January , hoping everyone is still with us ! If you have had a few ‘incidents’ in the last week, just move on. If things are going well, just carry on !
It’s not always smooth but doing our very best to follow the basic principles will get results .

Please continue to let us know how you are doing , any questions as usual just shout out .We have some very experienced and well read people on our thread and their research is invaluable , especially for the complex questions which always crop up .

At the same time there is no need to complicate things .Just avoid the carbage and processed foods , eat decent levels of protein and healthy fats , try a bit of intermittent fasting if you can ..

Looking forward to catching up with our ever growing list of contributors

Wendy, SunnyB and sunshine girl
posted by wendleg
on 17 Jan 2022 at 17:53

The updated list …………………

Wendleg
SunnyB
Sunshine-girl
Florob85/Lauren
Antigone
RubyG
Onestep
Tulip1/Clare
Verano
Elle-Mae
Russianroulade
Californiagirl/Julia
Stevoka/Kerry
Windyjulz
JGwen
Quetzal
Catenelson
Riccoh
Sixturkeys
posted by sunshine-girl
on 17 Jan 2022 at 18:29

Hi there, sorry I have not been as supportive of you all that I should be, Nothing too bad just that my head is not in it. Weight still okay and BG doing well.

Hope to be around more this coming week. Koko
posted by florob85
on 17 Jan 2022 at 18:30

You’re being perfectly supportive s-g, we all love you and you’re entitled to a bit of downtime x

L x
posted by Russianroulade
on 17 Jan 2022 at 18:42

Evening all.
Russian here and in for another week.
A good first week and 7 pounds off, which was my first goal. I’ve been here before and know that progress will be slow, so need to keep motivated. It’s sister in laws 40th in 3 weeks, so am using that as a smaller goal to focus on. I have set myself 7 weight loss milestones and am aiming to hit one of those each week. Not sure how feasible that is, but defo keeps focus and helps you keep motivated by breaking my bigger goal into what feels like a more doable one. So this week’s goal is to get under 11 stone. I’m 11.3 today, so that’s a 4 pound loss needed this week. Not sure if it is possible, but easier than thinking about the 9 st 10 where I want to be.
I also took myself to boot camp on Friday. It was terrible, but I felt smug afterwards. Well smug and exhausted, my body was aching and I was in bed by 9 🤣. Went for a walk yesterday. Taking the exercise one day at a time, but am slowly trying to incorporate a bit each week. I may try and go for a post dinner walk tonight. I might try and do some walks before walk as have cinema trips planned this week. Making my rewards about things that aren’t focussed on food also helps. The cinema still feels like a novelty after all the restrictions, I’ll never take things like that for granted.
I am a bit constipated and sleep is all over the place, but as I recall that does settle. Anyone got any tips?
Really enjoy connecting with you all each week. You’re a positive bunch, we can do this, it is as the thread is called one week at a time!
posted by SunnyB
on 17 Jan 2022 at 20:19

Hard to believe another week has slipped by and we’re beginning a new one. Confess last week was a bust for me … birthday, some off plan eating and too much alcohol. Not a great recipe for dropping pounds and sure enough the scales showed a gain instead of loss this morning. Have to own it, completely my own fault, but made a good start back today and aiming to continue that way going forward.

Russian, that was an amazing result for week one! Hope this week goes well for you too. Breaking the task down week by week or mini-goal by mini-goal, is a great way to stay motivated and having an event to aim for helps too.

Keep going everyone, have a great week.
posted by sixturkeys
on 17 Jan 2022 at 21:14

7lbs is getting on for one turkey….in a week!? I know we are all different but I would sure like to be different in that way…Lauren, inspired by you I had pork in dijon mustard sauce (with pan fried cabbage) for supper. Tis indeed “yumbles” (just as well, on menu again tomorrow).
posted by florob85
on 17 Jan 2022 at 21:20

Pleased to hear I gave inspiration sixturkeys, we had a variation of hunters chicken tonight but I’ve not had much of an appetite all day so didn’t eat much.

X
posted by sixturkeys
on 17 Jan 2022 at 21:40

Are you ok?
posted by florob85
on 17 Jan 2022 at 21:43

Had better days but I’m ok thank you, I keep trying to find something accessible for you re ketone signalling in the body – I’ve found some very complex research articles but I’m trying to find something a little more “normal person” friendly!
posted by sixturkeys
on 17 Jan 2022 at 22:19

Don’t worry about that; i will just keep trundling on, on hopefully a less podge trajectory. I am getting back in to full time (for me part time) work post xmas break, so have had a bit of Toomuchtimeonhandsitis. Which included looking back at your posts from archive. I was interested to see that you had done a dissertation (maybe as part of M.Sc? or beyond that?) on legal aspects of end of life care/withdrawal of treatment from infants. i was a lawyer in private practice (City firm) , when I got to 50-odd I realised I couldn’t take the pace of transactional work – could be fun but record of 64 hours no sleep on one deal made me think…Anyhoo, now i just do black letter law (in a subset of commercial law), which means I look daily at the recent judgments on BAILII. My focus is on Chancery and Court of Appeal civil division, but I do look sometimes at Family division judgments, and appeals from there, simply because they are really interesting from a human perspective and because judges are so amazingly clear and eloquent). I think the most publicised case recently may have been the Alta Fixler judgments. Query if the issue is sometimes heroic attempts to save by the same team which then seeks to withdraw….
posted by Tulip1
on 18 Jan 2022 at 08:20

Hello
…..soooo, don’t make next day’s lunch last thing before bed and break the overnight fast with a little piece of cheese…..yesterday’s lesson 🙄😅…..
posted by RubyG
on 18 Jan 2022 at 08:25

Your lessons sound like my life Tulip 🙂
I have gained 0.2lb since Friday, after a very virtuous day yesterday of low carb (25g) day and just over 800cals (I succumbed to a square of chocolate with my milk kefir and Brazil nut), with a 16:8 TRE.
I also did some actual exercise, a short kettlebell session followed by a cool down on the exercise bike. so I’m happy with that.
16:8 TRE planned again today.
posted by florob85
on 18 Jan 2022 at 09:18

Hi sixturkeys, sounds really interesting – I did indeed do an LLM in medical ethics and law and my dissertation focussed on the legal guidelines and case law surrounding Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans, also touching on Isaiah Haastrup, Jodie and Mary and Tafida Raqeeb. Interestingly I’m teaching a session tomorrow on those cases and Alta Fixler! Currently trying to design my PhD project around this area.

Tulip oh no!

Ruby don’t forget if you’ve done some exercise you’ll be retaining water to repair the muscles so that could explain a small gain

Xx
posted by Verano
on 18 Jan 2022 at 09:30

Good morning.
Yet another week arrives!
When I weighed this morning, my regular weighing day, I’d dropped another pound so 2lbs this week and now just 1.2lbs to get me to my first goal of the year. Surely I can do that!
Have a good week everyone.
posted by Elle-Mae
on 18 Jan 2022 at 11:26

Not a terribly good week last week, due to a hic up with a burger one day and treating ourselves to cake after our booster on another day. Back on track this week, just completed a 2.5 mile walk before breakfast. Dinner at 6.45 last night breakfast at 11.30 am.
posted by JGwen
on 18 Jan 2022 at 13:25

Hi Guys,

I thought I would share a lightbulb moment I had the other day.

I had been trying to balance out long covid with the energy rush which comes from eating a little carb so was not being strict on carbs. but it wasn’t working. I found I was not as breathless and tired when I was water only fasting as I was if eating even keto or low carb.

The other day there was an article in The Times about Long Covid. Apparently researchers have discovered that people suffering from long covid have micro clots in their blood streams. these micro clots seem to limit the amount of oxygen reaching tissues.

So then I went looking for info on the amount of oxygen needed for different fuel types. If you take the amount of oxygen to burn carbs for fuel as 100% then you need less for protein, less again for fat and ketones is the lowest with less than 70% of the oxygen needed for carbs.

So that explains why today on the Dr Fung facebook group there was a long covid sufferer saying that she feels better on fasting days then on refeeding days. So I don’t have any excuse for shying away from moving to ADF ing.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 18 Jan 2022 at 14:37

Hi everyone, hopefully I am in a better frame of mind. The issue was that when we got back from our trip we discovered, among other things, that our sitter had not actually stayed at our house but popped in every couple of days. This meant the cats were left to fend for themselves and not fed properly. There were other things we had already raised with them but this was the proverbial straw. She totally denied it, said I was making defamatory comments, then accused me of using video surveillance and infringing their privacy. We knew because we get monthly alarm statements and could see the dates and times they entered and left the house. No videos involved. Anyway, we have now made a formal complaint and await the outcome. I am very churned up about this and I know it is out of my hands but I worry about what they will say. Was it something I said or did or what – why did they come to our house in the first place.

Okay, lets get over that until it is dealt with.

My weight loss for this week (note this 6 turkeys) is just half a pound. Hard to fathom as I have been as close to strict as possible, still no alcohol, averaging around 750 cals daily. Just a couple of more carby meals like a small portion of swede with Sunday dinner, chicken sausages and baked beans on hubbys cook night but only 60 cals per sausage x 2. Anyway, I know it will come off eventually. I was down another half pound but that has crept on. Goal of 8lbs is still in sight as I now have 4.5 lbs to go before 7th Feb. The good news is my BG is back below 100 for the last few days and I have reduced insulin from 24 to 21 units. Want to be back down to 12 units by next doctors visit.

I must up my exercise, did one routine last week and started this week with one on Monday. Going to do Wednesday and Friday too, might just help. I cant go back to swimming. Not sure if the pool is open but I dont want to be around people without a mask. Although the over 60’s session meant usually around 6 of us having the whole pool to ourselves. Better to be safe.

Hope you are all feeling good and not having the January blues. Take care.
posted by RubyG
on 18 Jan 2022 at 17:17

JGwen, thank you for the oxygen requirement comparison, that is really interesting, and I guess could also be useful for asthma sufferers, people trekking at altitude, etc. Have you measured your oxygenation/pulse oximeter?

SG – glad you’re back and what an awful thing re. your sitter, especially as it must feel like a betrayal of trust.

Glad to read others are getting back on track after a few detours, and others are totally smashing this! There are some excellent results on here.

I have managed 16:8 TRE again today, and should come in on track for cals, protein and carbs again today 🙂 Hubby is awaiting his blood results after they treated him like a pin-cushion yesterday, both arms poked until they found a decent vein, he has rubbish veins.
posted by Tulip1
on 18 Jan 2022 at 19:13

SG, what a nightmare!!

JGwen, I found this to be very true during my recovery from covid, which I contracted at the end of March 2020…I was feeling dreadful for a good 3 months, and started the BSD because of being diagnosed with pre-diabetes May 2020…..the BSD, and to some extent perhaps the vit D I started taking at the same time, improved so many of my symptoms, and more than that, I actually ended up feeling better than pre-covid as I also had long-standing chronic fatigue syndrome prior. I am in a far better place now, albeit with some annoying mild breathing issues since covid, which can be flared up by anything that would have set my CFS off previously (and I can still get the fatigue too (e.g. stress, not enough sleep/ adequate rest, lack of fresh air, the right level of exercise, vaccinations 🙄which of course I still have…..and…drumroll…..returning to my previously carb/ sugar heavy diet!! It’s so weird…eat c**p for a while and I can’t breathe, let alone all the other symptoms (fatigue, IBS, inflamed gums etc etc). My impression was that inflammation is an important element in the long covid and ME situations….I know many other long covid sufferers, prior to all the research coming out (and there is some), because I was quite active in the online LC community early on- putting themselves on anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine type diets- which happen to be similar in many ways to the BSD when you look at the lists, that I went on at the same time- sugar of course is the number one that gets cut out of all of these diets!! Also something that has been looked into for a long time with ME is dehydration at the cellular level (re mitonchondria/ energy)- I have always been a thirsty person, never went anywhere without my trusty water bottle or 6, and the covid and post-covid thirst was wild for me…so coconut water has been my saviour in that respect….foods naturally high in water with electrolytes are supposed to be a big help with this.

Anyhow, I know I am not as good at explaining the science bits as you are and remembering which research papers I read each thing in but I’m very interested, also as this affects me personally and my 16 y o daughter is really ill still with LC as well.

Clare x.
posted by Russianroulade
on 18 Jan 2022 at 19:56

Evening all,

I am really struggling with cravings and hunger this week. I haven’t succumbed, but any tips for beating this is v welcome. I cleaned the kitchen last night, but I’m running out of jobs to distract myself with. Am also peeing a lot does this mean that I’m in ketosis?
posted by florob85
on 18 Jan 2022 at 20:09

Hi Russian

I’m struggling with cravings and hunger too today, and this week but I’m struggling mentally and it always goes hand in hand for me feeling so terribly sad and wanting to eat crap. I’m a true “comfort” eater!

I also wondered if anyone has any tips for keeping up drinking while at work, I’ve been back at the office today and barely drunk all day as I’ve been busy teaching, can’t nip to the loo every five mins and so on – and I’m definitely feeling it tonight as I’ve been very headachy, but I don’t know how to resolve it!

L c
X
posted by Russianroulade
on 18 Jan 2022 at 20:38

I totally relate to that. I’m a comfort eater. I’m particularly vulnerable if I have a bad day at work and then I just eat my emotions. I know the advice is to try and be mindful and think about how your mood impacts your eating habits, that’s fine when everything is going well, but harder to follow when you’re in a fug. I don’t have any tips, but lots of empathy x
posted by florob85
on 18 Jan 2022 at 20:41

Thank you RR and the same back at you xx

By the way meant to say so sorry sunshinegirl, I can understand why that situation will have rattled you and will still be playing on your mind, big hugs x
posted by Quetzal
on 18 Jan 2022 at 22:02

Hello all.
First, I completely understand your experience and frustrasjon, Sunshinegirl.
Emotional eatiers …. Recognizing IT, and having planned alternative strategier or actions beforehand so you just do what planned: plan all meals, good cup of tea instead (before you start eating), go for a walk, Knit(the best!). AND be proud of yourself for every tiny victory.
I tapered unhealthy eating and now had 2 days om bsd (800). So far so good. I actually feel relaxed. First time in mange weeks. I need to continue.
Quetzal
posted by JGwen
on 18 Jan 2022 at 22:25

Comfort Eating, My list of tricks is
Sometimes the craving comes from your gut bacteria signalling to your brain that they want feeding rather than your emotions. When that happens I think of them as being like the cartoon bugs in adverts for toilet cleaners, ugly creatures that I don’t care if they are hungry.

I feed the urge to eat sometimes fades, so if I go to bed early leaving the central heating off and have the electric blanket on with a book or even watch a program on my chromebook I tend not to be hungry enough to want to get put, and brave the cold to get to the kitchen

I have a glass of soda water, the fizz is more satisfying than plain water and just putting something in my mouth satisfies the need.

I tend to mix greek yoghurt with desiccated coconut and have a portion. Or if there are coconuts available in the shops have a piece of coconut. I know it helps kill off the bad bacteria so at least its helping improve the mix of gut bacteria.

Have a soak in a bubble bath. Again, cos it puts you off from going down to the kitchen.

If all else fails, have something which is keto rather than carby so it limits how far off the path I stray.
posted by Elle-Mae
on 18 Jan 2022 at 22:34

Paint your nails, then you won’t want to smudge them getting food.
S-G you must be feeling so let down by your sitters, sending you hugs.
posted by SunnyB
on 19 Jan 2022 at 09:29

To help avoid unnecessary eating, try cleaning your teeth … it gives you a space in which to decide against giving in to the craving, but also, nothing much tastes good just after cleaning your teeth.
posted by Tulip1
on 19 Jan 2022 at 10:50

SunnyB, we could all have the cleanest teeth ever!! 😁😅
posted by Elle-Mae
on 19 Jan 2022 at 11:14

Tulip, Sunny our dentists would be so pleased with us🤣
posted by sixturkeys
on 19 Jan 2022 at 11:32

Hope all well – SG don’t know if your house sitters get paid, but could they have been doing another gig at the same time? I agree that where there are pets involved and you entrust them to others that is really upsetting to be let down. I had an au pair once who was supposed to be looking after rabbit when we were away – came back to note saying she had left to go back home to a job and poor thing had no water left…Lauren, don’t know if you saw JGwen’s post on tail end of previous weekly thread, that she would be really interested in the articles you have found re ketone signalling, even if very tech-y. And JGwen I am with you on scales (though undoubtedly my excess on scales is due to excess fat…) – but fair dos to those who have had a big loss as must include some fat as well, not all water. I do have clothing to use as a guide (and still those size 10 jeans as a talisman…). I am just so annoyed with myself for going backward over 2021, it having been a v stressful year for various reasons was no real excuse (for me).
posted by wendleg
on 19 Jan 2022 at 11:40

Hi everyone . Sending a massive hug to anyone having to deal with cr*p stuff, comfort eating etc. Apart from reading about it which helped me a bit, I also do adult colouring in the evening or follow a online drawing tutorial to keep me distracted .

I drink lots of infusions/ herbal teas throughout the evening. I haven’t been getting up in the night but it can happen.
Lauren, I used to take a massive flask of green tea into school with me and drink it throughout the day. It will be much easier when the warmer weather arrives and I will be on the fizzy water .

Thanks as always JGwen for your fascinating research.
Take care everyone xx
posted by Elle-Mae
on 19 Jan 2022 at 12:30

A quote I have just read.
You don’t have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. You are only one person. Things will get done when they get done.
posted by prittimistri
on 19 Jan 2022 at 13:28

Hi everyone first post! I hope you don’t mind me barging in, I gained 3st last year (oh the shame) and new years day decided to do something about it so restarted slimming world which I’ve always done. I lost 2.5lbs in my first week, yay go me!, my friend has been trying to persuade me to try keto but I run and was worried about not having the energy to run, however, reading the fast800 on audible I decided to give it a go so along with my hubby we both started the plan 8 days ago. In my first week I have lost 9lbs and he 12 which is incredible, the only question I have is, why am I not showing up as in ketosis? we are basing our meals around the meals in the accompanying diet book and have not had any snacks at all, no sugar in tea or coffee and the only think else I drink is plain water, clearly something is happening as I’m not hungry inbetween meals and am feeling fine, but the ketostix are still showing negative?
posted by sunshine-girl
on 19 Jan 2022 at 15:23

Hi everyone, lots of good tips to curb appetite or stop picking at food.

Welcome to prittimistri, you can join in as much as you like. Glad you are seeing serious weight loss. I am sure someone will come in with the science of ketones but for me, I never showed ketones using the sticks. They are basically rubbish unless they are medical quality and my local (when in UK) Boots refused to sell them to me. They like to be the health police but ask them a question and their response will be ‘ask your doctor’. Anyway, back to ketones. There is a breathalyser that is more accurate but, first it can take a week or so before you show ketones, then, once your body gets it that you are dieting, it converts the ketones into something it can use, so no longer ejects it in the urine. I have just never bothered about it.

To answer about my house sitters. I use a site called TrustedHouseSitters and they are supposed to do the due diligence, references, verify email addresses, phone numbers, addresses etc. I pay them to do that via a membership fee. No money changes hands between the home owner and the sitter. It is a quid pro quo – is that right – they get a free holiday and you get your home taken care of, if you have pets then that is part of the deal. We have only had a problem once is around 7 years and 14 sitters, an Argentinian couple who ate us out of house and home – everything that was vegan, rice, pasta, canned beans, lentils. They left us with a completely empty fridge and cupboards so we had to dash out after a 600 km drive, to the supermarket. After they had left we found heat marks on our coffee table – hidden by the place mats – and then noticed our wooden knife rack had been set on fire along with a burnt teacloth in the bin. Didnt get much help from THS on this as they had left the site. Anyway, it usually works but we hand over a dossier giving lots of details about our house and, on arrival, gave them our codes for the alarm and our secret words we use if the alarm goes off. To say we are okay or not depending on the word, the control centre knows whether we need help of not without alerting an intruder. We are going to have to change that as someone could now break in, set off the alarm and wait for the control to ring the house phone and say the safe word. We dont know what their motivation was. Maybe they had relatives nearby but it is strictly forbidden to leave the animals overnight without express permission. Like the sitter who had a relative 20km away and we agreed they could stay out on Christmas Day night as long as they gave the cats plenty to eat and came back at a reasonable time the next day. Anyway, we will just wait and see what happens.

Havent lost anymore weight but with the half a pound down from last week I have also lost a further 2 inches – midriff and bust. My BG is still low and getting lower so I have to drop the insulin dose yet again.

Have a good week everyone and keep on keeping on…
posted by JGwen
on 19 Jan 2022 at 17:48

Hi prittimistri ,
The pee sticks are not very reliable anyway, but also your body tends to produce more ketones than it needs at the start and the surplus are discarded in the urine, but it doesn’t take long for the body to only produce as many ketones as it needs. So then even reliable ones will not register anything.

If you go to the Take a look at this thread, and search on AT6000 you will find some links to articles on using one of the cheap breathalysers to test for the byproduct of burning ketones for fuel. Don’t worry, the cheap breathalysers use a different mechanism than those used by the police for drink driving so there is no risk of a false positive test if you get stopped.

It can take a little time for your body to adapt to using ketones for fuel when running, but the advantage will be that you will never hit a wall afterwards because once your body will be able to switch to your fat stores whenever it has used up the meals you ate before your run.
posted by RubyG
on 20 Jan 2022 at 17:32

As they say, the results are in……………..hubby’s results:
HbA1c down from 44 and pre-diabetic (UK units normal range is 20-41, pre-diabetes 42-47 and diabetic >48) to a magnificent 33 🙂
Even with the Christmas indulgences, which is excellent news.
His Liver Function Tests are also in the bottom half of the normal range (I’m sure he had some slightly elevated readings a few years back), again excellent news.
HOWEVER – his GP wants an appointment to discuss his cholesterol 🙁
Serum cholesterol 6.3 (a bit high?)
Non-HDL 5.1 (a bit high?)
HDL 1.2 (OK?)
Ratio 5.3 (OK?)
My questions are as follows:
Are these numbers a real problem?
How quickly do these numbers reflect what has been eaten more recently as opposed to over ~3 months (bearing in mind he ate his body weight in cheese over 2 weeks Christmas/New Year)?
Comments and advice welcome!
posted by Californiagirl
on 20 Jan 2022 at 18:34

Hello all!

I thought, after reading posts, that I might offer some of my experiences — specifically about hunger — it’s one of those things that can derail us! I struggled with it in the beginning but I have learned to manage it better —
First of all, hunger is a very good sign!! Hunger means you are healthy! People who are not healthy do not feel much hunger — lack of appetite is actually a signal that you are ill, so look at the signal of hunger as a fantastic sign that your body is using food, wants more food and is using energy to promote health.
The BSD is NOT a starvation diet. Starvation diets have been proven (by MANY many studies) to do more harm than good. They waste muscle, damage your bones and create “scarcity” responses in your body, including lowering your metabolic levels.
Please, don’t try to “make up” for holidays or bad days by eating even less. It is counter intuitive, and it will only hurt your progress.
Honestly, from my point of view, ALL of this is counter-intuitive. I came of age in the time when “calories in-calories out” was the guiding principle.
I only started to question this orthodoxy when I read Gary Taubes book, Good Calories Bad Calories.
It literally turned on a lightbulb in my brain. I started cutting carbs (oh how funny, that first breakfast of ONLY eggs bacon and coffee) ( no juice, no fruit, no milk, no bread, no potatoes!!!)
Then I ran into Dr Moseleys book on a trip through England —
If you are hungry, feed yourself. Honor your appetite. But do it intelligently.
Eat protein first. Prioritize protein. Eat chicken, cheese, egg, sausage….
If you wait twenty minutes and STILL feel hungry or desperate to eat that “carbage” , put it on a lovely plate, brew some coffee or tea and just eat it in a calm and happy fashion.
I have had many happy moments with a piece of cake and a cup of tea and STILL lost the weight.
I also think it is wise to consider your body type/build. Are you a small-boned light little bird? Or are you like me, Germanic origin, large bones, large muscles, strong type? People like me will never be a lovely light bird — I am going to always be a powerful woman, but now a well-proportioned powerful woman.
Look at your body type!! Work to make that the best it can be.
Really, how funny to think back on my (lost) mother’s point of view, that we would be tiny little tennis-playing women — my two sisters and I are more on the Serena Williams end of the tennis-playing spectrum (wish I could have her muscles) — the point being that we were what we WERE — evaluate accordingly.
Back to hunger… this is going to get easier and easier as you work into a more metabolically FLEXIBLE state. As you TRAIN your body to handle low carb/low calorie it will reward you by handling many hours of no food/low calories/low carbs.
This takes time. Please, keep at it but don’t starve yourself. Your body (your new friend) will be able to LEARN how to handle this new way of living.
Just keep at it!! Prioritize protein.
Honor your valid hunger.
Don’t quit.
This way of eating WORKS.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 20 Jan 2022 at 18:34

Hi everyone all is well and I am starting to calm down, Didnt do my BP much good today when we went to buy a new mattress. €859 but it is a very good one. We could have gone cheaper but we wanted certail level of interior springing – as if I know what I am talking about. These are the sorts of things that are expensive in France although we could have paid as little as €299.

RubyG I bet your hubby is over the moon with the HbA1c results. Now to answer the cholesterol question. A few off piste (fatty or processed) meals shouldnt have a big impact but there could be an accumulative effect with Christmas, New Year and getting back on plan. Although, he cant have a bad diet or his other results wouldnt be so good. In my experience with my hubby and also my brother, cholesterol can be lowered quite quickly. Just google what to eat and what not to eat. Honestly, it might be just a small adjustment and getting rid of holiday exccesses. However, I know if I dont take medication no amount of diet control can bring my cholesterol down. It is called familial high cholesterol, in other words, hereditary. Lets see what the doctor has to say and suggest. Dont jump for the first whiff of medication, ask the doctor for 3 months to deal with it himself and point out what a great effort he has made with his BG. Even if diet doesnt work there is not much harm in taking statins but they are usually only the first line of defence for people with other issues. Hope that helps.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 20 Jan 2022 at 22:08

Hi RubyG, just noticed body weight in cheese 🙂 That could be the offender.
posted by Greenbean
on 21 Jan 2022 at 06:50

Back again! Been on plan for about 2 weeks now and only 1 small slip into a pack of wotsits when I was home late. I last did this WOE a few years ago before my wedding and lost 2 stone. Realise I now need to commit long term as heavier than ever and scared have been sitting in pre diabetes for a while now. Have been doing IF with first meal around 12, Interesting salad if I am out and about or soup if I am working from home. Tend to make a big pot every week which lasts through. Need to start using cream in coffee instead of milk and cut out the oatcakes. I forgot they are okay for me when maintaining but not at the start. I have been following the threads for a while before posting and loving ideas for meals as usual, and reminders about the glory of eggs! Not started weighing yet as I can’t look at the scales but am measuring as I remember seeing small changes here that weren’t reflected on the scales. Good to be back and with everyone on this journey!
posted by Greenbean
on 21 Jan 2022 at 06:56

Californiagirl – just read your post, really good reminders and inspiring. I will need to buy more sausages 😀 Thanks for that
posted by Tulip1
on 21 Jan 2022 at 07:59

Morning all,
I’m feeling quite good at the moment- the number on the scales is reducing, I’ve lost nearly 2″ off my waist and I have a new energy which I am thoroughly enjoying.
Any how, my eldest daughter had a breakthrough yesterday with her long covid breathing issues- she’s been doing breathing exs in lying and then sitting for just over a month now and yesterday she stood up and managed to translate normal breathing into normal breathing standing up and walking slowly- she’s been kind of gasping/ panting every time she’s been on her feet for nearly 2 years now (like, literally all the time, it never lets up) so this is huge 😁😁….any how, relevance to the diet- well, I’d sworn off alcohol until I reach my goal but we are going to break that tonight and have some fizz- hopefully I can stay restrained and not let this derail my entire weekend as otherwise the WOE is going really well.

Love to all, Tulip xxx
posted by Elle-Mae
on 21 Jan 2022 at 08:50

Well done on your scales and inches lost Tulip and very good news about your daughter 💓
posted by RubyG
on 21 Jan 2022 at 11:03

Thanks for the replies re. the cholesterol SG – hubby plans to ask the GP for a re-test in 3-6 months as a more representative sample, and then deal with it through diet and exercise if necessary, avoiding meds wherever possible.
I tried to read up last night on foods and diet to reduce cholesterol, and just started getting shouty at the internet with some advice that would put him straight back into pre-diabetes.
It looks like the egg-based breakfasts shouldn’t be a problem, so that’s OK.
He does need to increase his exercise (his baseline is so low that anything would be an improvement) and that will come anyway when the weather improves. His daily snack of a piece of cheese should probably be reviewed (this was met with resistance) and maybe up our fish consumption too.
Otherwise we keep on keeping on!
posted by sunshine-girl
on 21 Jan 2022 at 14:11

Hi all, had a bad night again. I never have been a good sleeper but it has been terrible. I go from 4 hours one night to a regular 8 the next, then 6 hours then 8 and so on. Last night it was just over 4 hours. I think I was worrying. Got home and even after hubby said he had measured our mattress he went to do it again and we had bought the wrong size. Up first thing and straight back to the shop. No problem, they have just altered the order and it has saved us around €140. Heard from THS this morning. They have contacted our sitter but wanted all my evidence documents. This is annoying as I have already sent them. They said to attach to their email but I’ll be bleep bleep if I can work out how to do it so just had to resend on a separate email.

Weight is a bit up and down at the moment, just around the same 0.3 kgs. Can blame a very small bread roll I had with lunch yesterday but I will koko. Still okay on dry January. I have a new blood sugar monitor and she talks to me (annoyingly). At least this morning she said I should quickly get a drink of fruit juice as my BG was so low (63 or 3.4). Will further reduce insulin tonight.

RubyG, if hubby can ditch the cheese habit I doubt his diet is bad but it might just have caught up with him. You also say his triglycerides are low so that is good as that can be connected to high cholesterol. So here are the things he should be eating:-
Beans and pulses (chickpeas, lentils, oats), Aubergine and Okra, Nuts, especially almonds and walnuts (but just a few).Oils for cooking (olive or rapeseed), the usual fruits like apples, berries (it also says grapes but they are full of sugar), foods fortified with sterols, although they dont make a big enough impact to warrant the high price, soya, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, etc (euk), and plenty of soluble fibre. Also, as you mentioned, doing some exercise can help break the fats down. I think you both know what to do and dont really need me to say but just a little reminder.

Have a good weekend all, and I will try to get some sleep.
posted by MerryMelba
on 21 Jan 2022 at 23:19

Hello everyone, and hello Wendy, SunnyB and SunshineGirl
I haven’t posted for quite a while but I do read all the posts daily. 📰
I have just been sitting on the sidelines in a bit of an out-of-sorts place. We came out of a long lock down in November and things were looking up for a few weeks until Omicron came to Aust before Christmas. That is fairly wide spread here at the moment and I know many people who have had it – whereas I didn’t know anyone with Covid in 20/21. We’ve got some big public events like the Ashes Cricket (sorry England! 😀😀) and now the Aus Open tennis – so I think cases will stay high.
The good news is that I am getting some work now that Libraries have been reopened. And so far have kept well!
But my downfall has just been snacking way too much. Not carb heavy food – but as we know the nuts and cheese and dark choc do add up 😊😊 And the wine!!
So I need to pull myself out of this funk and get serious. Starting goal is 4 weeks F800. Not that much weight to lose but the muscle I had (not much!) has turned to mush with fitness classes being shutdown 20/21 – so I need to start doing some exercise and get the tummy down a bit.
During prime time TV showing the Australian Open tennis Michael Mosely has been running ads for F800! So we might find a few new Aussies joining the forums soon.
I am continuing going out to restaurants, films etc but will now stick to F800 friendly meals and NO wine 🍷
Now I have put this into print I need to stay accountable – so will be joining next week’s thread to try xxx – no not try! – to STAY on track with the encouragement that all your posts bring. Lots of good advice always.
Merry 🌺🌺🌺
posted by Tulip1
on 22 Jan 2022 at 19:23

Hi Merry, great to see you back 🙂
posted by MerryMelba
on 22 Jan 2022 at 23:44

Thank You Tulip.
So good to read that your daughter’s health is improving. I hope you savoured and enjoyed your glass of fizz 🍾.
Day 1 ticked off – eggs and bacon for brunch and steak with broccoli and carrot (yes carrot – good fibre for me and not much of it). Berries and yogurt. 20g carb for the day.
Out today to see West Side Story movie – with a meal afterwards – so I will have a simple stirfry.
Interesting to read your post last week about inflammation. I know that low carb really helps reduce my inflammation (arthritis etc) so that is another motivation for me to get re-serious! 😀 Glad to hear that it helps with your fatigue too.
posted by Tulip1
on 23 Jan 2022 at 08:15

thanks Merry 😊

Soooo, the fizz on Friday was delish…..I will say tho, that my head was so unusually clear last weekend when I had no alcohol! I guess that’s no surprise 😂…..and also it did make it harder yesterday….all sorts of naughty ideas in my head about at dinner time about red wine and coffee ice cream for pudding!!! 😂….which I had to ignore, so quite proud of myself for that! Weight loss now at – 8 lbs over the 2.5 weeks so it does make me re-remember that persistence, commitment and consistency through the weekends as well as during the week is what actually shifts my weight!

Love to all, Tulip xxx