Hi everyone,happy first June!
Short and sweet as Im ready to stay in my cabin and sleep after spending 14 hours in A and E.
Ive got shingles,doctor sent me to hozzy as I was having difficulty breathing.
Really hard to be in A and E at the weekend,it gets soooooo noisy and busy,but after triage I was put in isolation in a quiet corner,with a bed and a comfy armchair. So at least I wasnt on a hard chair for hours. The staff were wonderful,we are so lucky. Despite all its shortcomings,the NHS performs miracles every day
Good luck for the month ahead! XXXX
-
-
YOWZER I’m so sorry to hear that you had to go to A&E. I had no idea shingles could cause breathing issues. How are you now? Im glad you got good care and really hope that they have sorted the problem.
Please get plenty of rest and know that we’re all thinking of you. I’ll say a little prayer for you now. If there’s anything we can do to help just shout : I think you have an email address for me from that time we were experiencing issues with the forum and wanted a backup plan for keeping in touch? So please let me know if you need help X
-
Yowser- sending you get well soon wishes. So sorry to hear you had to go to A&E. Certainly puts things into perspective. Rest up and hopefully you’ll be soon feeling better. I agree with you that we are so lucky to have the NHS to take care of us when we need them.
-
Thanks ladies! DCT thank you,thats kind of you,yes i have yr email add. I didnt know about the breathing prob either,found out the hard way xx 😄😄😄😄 xx take care of yourselves in the week ahead. See you both later,up on the top deck, for drinkies while watching the sunset! Xx
-
Good morning all😘
Firstly so sorry yowzer to hear you gave shingles
Its is so painful I had it on n February this year I know what you are going through I pray 🙏 you feel better soon get plenty of rest if you canI am in Switzerland 🇨🇭 had a few days with my sister I fly back today my husband booked me a flight ✈️ he thought it would help me as I cannot seem to get out if my depression she is great we have talked and I feel more positive now she knows I feel unhappy as my weight has gone up so I will board the boat ⛴️ again and get my act together.
DCT I see you are doing 30 day challenge sounds a good idea thinking I might give it a go as you say cannot believe mm has been gone a year on 5th June we do need to all do this for him and make him proud😘
Cathy 2 pounds is ok I wish mine was only 2!!! You can do this especially as you have goals to help you get there
I am going to pack now as I leave this morning just hope I can put into practice what my sister has said it’s easier when you are away but I think I am ready to board the ⛴️ boat with you all thanks for all you messages you really are a great bunch see you on board
The only question I have 🤦♀️is can we have low fat yogurt and no butter I thought mm said we had to have full fat milk etc????
Bye for now
Have a good week all
Lv nokie xx 😘 -
I was thinking about you NOKIE,remembering you had had shingles. Thanks for the kind wishes. How long did you have it for? Its absolutely horrible isnt it. I have had slapped cheek syndrome for weeks and doc said thats prob activated shingles – what fun!
Stick to full fat yogs etc.. low fat anythjng usually has a ton of sugar and additives and thickeners to make it seem more palatable. Make sure you get enough protein and fat,and keep the carbs on the down low. I have whole milk if I’m having low carb cereal and semi skimmed in tea. Heylo low carb granola is tasty and filling – full of seeds and coconut.
Siometimes though,we can think we are doing the right thing,but we arent – i was astonished to learn in the bad foods for shingles list that nuts and seeds are included. Who wd have thunk!
Last week I only had water all week,one pear and two small slices of toast – eating a bit more now,but its quite pleasant to have little or no appetite for a while.
Love to all,have a good week xx -
Hi everyone,
Yowzer I’m so sorry to hear about your shingles having such awful effects and am sending you lots of hugs and hope you feel better soon. Also sending hugs to everyone else going through difficult times at the minute.
I should be weighing myself tomorrow but am delaying it as had a week in the Scottish Highlands last week and doubt I will have lost anything whilst I was there!
Wishing everyone a good week.
Dawn XX -
Last post reported. and should hopefully be removed soon.
Quite what these spammers hope to achieve by making irrelevant posts on other people’s threads is beyond me! Even if I actually wanted their product I wouldn’t consider them on principle.
Hope everyone is ok and having a good week. And sending hugs to those of us who are struggling X
-
Hello everyone
Am back in the zone and working hard to get into the 140s before my holiday. Had a text from GP saying my QRisk3 is 8.7% and to lower my cholesterol so that is why I am back on skimmed milk and low fat yoghurt. I know the full f at versions taste better and are healthier but I am trying to reduce my LDL. I reckon if I lose 1 stone and cut out the fats then my risk will reduce. At 64 I am on no medication apart from my asthma inhaler and I eat a healthy vegetarian diet so I am not too concerned about my elevated cholesterol LDL level but I would like to lose the weight. I am going to go out for a brisk walk after lunch every day and that is as good as I can do . My friend who died from a brain tumour was slim and healthy and she died aged 63 so no matter how hard we try it doesn’t always make a difference! My main priority is to reduce my weight by at least 10lb but preferable 14lb. I am determined to be sailing off on the maintenance cruise in January.
Yowser – I hope you are beginning to recover from your shingles . I feel lucky that my dose last year was obviously mild. I had a burning back for about 10 days and thankfully that was it. Nokie and you have both had a terrible shingles experience. Nokie- I hope you’re feeling inspired to take small steps. Be kind to yourself. We are all on this cruise together and sometimes it’s not plain sailing but we will get to port after Christmas and hopefully we will all celebrate this wonderful voyage together. My advice would be to make small goals. I am doing that. I’ve learnt I can’t be too optimistic.
Almost summer solstice and half way around the voyage. I haven’t achieved what I had hoped to achieve at the half way point but I tell you what, I am not giving up. Full speed ahead before August and then full speed ahead when I get back from holiday. It’s definitely achievable. I have bought my ticket for the maintenance cruise and I am not going to waste this opportunity. -
Hi everyone, I’m still here and checking in on occasion. Yowzer, sorry to hear you have shingles, that is nasty.
It has been a really big week for processing my cptsd and I’m really very tired. But some good things have resulted. I was invited to attend my dad’s birthday dinner, but in an exclusionary kind of way. My dad called me to invite me, but said he was doing it so I wouldn’t feel left out. He said they were ordering chinese takeaway. I asked if they could order a dish that I could eat, but because I can’t have gluten anymore and I’ve just come off a bad attack after getting some accidentally last week, could they ask that the cook give the pan an extra wipe before cooking. He couldn’t wrap his head around asking them that. I thought that would be the end of it, but he called me up again the day of and said that he and my mum had come to a solution and that was for me to cook my own meal at home and to bring it over and eat it. I had thought about doing that, but with how busy I am right now, my meals are pretty much just healthy ingredients on a plate. It didn’t feel good for me to just take my seed crackers, cheese and veggie batons over and to eat them while they were all having a special meal. My therapist has been trying to get me to stop pushing on them to accommodate my needs, because they never will. This isn’t just about food, it is about an attitude they’ve had towards me for a very long time. It sounds a bit petty to write it out here, but believe me, I have been accommodating them for so long, and it is never reciprocated. It has led to my emotional eating a lot of the time. Now I’m starting to recognize this pattern – they treat me like I’m being needy, I feel bad for being needy, and then I go eat to soothe myself. My therapist says there is a difference between being needy and having needs that aren’t being met. So anyway, I didn’t get upset or angry with my dad like I would usually do. I just said, ‘sorry dad, I don’t have time for that’ (I’m hoping my therapist will be proud of me for that). The indifferent reaction I got was pretty stunning. It became clear to me that he didn’t really want me there, he was just inviting me so that I couldn’t say he hadn’t and to avoid that conflict later. I’ve also been noticing a pattern that as I’m getting mentally healthier and stronger, my family is treating me more and more like the problem child. Now, it feels almost like they are shunning me. My mum has been dropping some pretty vile comments about me being in therapy.
So anyway, I stayed home and made myself a simple celebratory meal for setting boundaries with my family. It was delicious and I didn’t overeat. My stomach wasn’t upset after like it might have been if I had risked the chinese takeaway.
Then the next day, I called my godmother who I haven’t spoken to outside of social media for decades. My mum cut her out of the family after my grandma’s funeral, in spite of her being the closest thing she has ever had to a sister. My mum hasn’t even liked me being in contact with her over social media, says she is stupid and uneducated, etc. My older sister says that she is a needy wreck. But I thought I would call and judge for myself. What I got was the most amazing, warm person supporting me. She knows what I’ve been up to on the farm through social media, knows the difficult family dynamics I’m dealing with and offered her unconditional love and support. We talked a lot about how the things that happened to me in my family if known to be happening today would cause somebody to call child protective services. She said I’m doing the right thing by being in therapy and says I can call her anytime. My therapist will be happy, I think because she has been wanting me to make connections with supportive people.
Anyway, the shift that has happened as a result of this has been incredible. I’m looking after myself. Eating healthy meals in the right amounts for the volume of farm work I’m doing right now, and not comfort eating.
So sorry about the long post, but all of you have been so supportive of me and I wanted to provide a bit more context about what has been going on. I’ve been minimizing the abuse and emotional neglect from my family for so long and feeling like it wasn’t bad enough for me to deserve help and support over it. Now I’m getting the help and realizing just how bad it really was, and it is having an amazing, immediate impact on how I’m nourishing myself too. -
ARCTICFOX thank you and well done for such an open post. It sounds like you are really beginning to face up to so much of the stuff that has happened to you, and work through it with the help of your therapist. You really are sounding stronger and more self-accepting, and it’s great that as part of that you are realising the importance of looking after yourself well. I’m delighted that you have reconnected with your godmother too : someone who knows first hand everything that has happened and is giving you the unconditional acceptance and support you need. Sending you a big hug and look forward to being part of your ongoing journey, albeit remotely.
CATHY I just love your determination, it is so inspiring! I completely share your sentiment : “I haven’t achieved what I had hoped to achieve at the half way point but I tell you what, I am not giving up.” as I’m in the same position as you. But unlike you, I haven’t been trying as hard. I keep rebooting, setting myself challenges, and get off to a good start, then just lose my mojo. I think part of it is that it’s a time of change in my life in various ways. All positive, it just feels as if all the pieces have been thrown up in the air and are gradually resetting, and in amongst that there always seems to be a reason to overindulge in some way. But I’m feeling good and not going to stress about it, I just feel I’m at the stage where I need to give myself a bit of time to regroup and then hopefully will be more focused.
YOWZER how are you doing? I do hope that you’re feeling a little bit better? Thinking of you x
MARIET how are your teeth now? I really hope everything is sorted. I’ve had root canal treatment over the last couple of weeks and I was dreading it but all seems well. But I can only imagine how awful your experience was. I hope that it’s now all behind you.
NOKIE how are you doing this week, now you’re back from Switzerland? And DAWN have you dared weigh yet?! My scales are higher than I’d like them to be but I hope to reverse that very soon!
Hello to everyone else too. DAWN, NOKIE, SUE, MIXNMATCH, VERANO, HEIDI, POOTLE, STARGAZER and anyone else I’ve missed! Hope you’re all having a good week.
-
Arctic Fox- what a brave and honest post. It’s good to see that you’re beginning to feel stronger and that your therapist is helping you come to terms with your past. It can’t be easy dealing with the impact of what has happened to you. Thank you for sharing your story with us. We are all here for each other. I’ve been given so much support over the years by my friends on the forum and please know that we are all here for you. I’m looking forward to seeing you flourish.
-
Remembering Michael Mosely today on the anniversary of his untimely death. He brought us all together on this wonderful forum. I am forever grateful for his teachings and for the friends I’ve made . When I read the blood sugar diet book in 2017 it changed my life. Here to express my gratitude for Michael and to my wonderful BSD friends. ❤️
-
Thanks for the shout out, DCT. I am still lurking! Like others, I have been thinking of Michael Mosely and his family today particularly. I have been following his eating advice (more off than on) for about 7 years. I owe him a lot. Even when I am off the wagon, I know the right approach to get back on.
Arctic Fox, your post was so moving to read. I wish you lots of strength as you move forward with the therapist. . It is good to hear that your renewed contact with your godmother is proving such a support. Our emotional links to food can be so strong and it must feel good to be eating more healthily and taking better care of yourself.
I have been battling comfort/stress eating for a while now. Without going into gruesome detail, two very close family members have incurable cancer and another has worsening dementia. For the last two years, life has been full of hospital appointments and difficult decisions. I have ended up bingeing on all the wrong things late at night. As if that will change anything!
Anyway, I had a lightbulb moment two weeks ago, when I breached another kilo going the wrong way; * I can’t change all that is happening around me, but I can control what I put in my mouth.* If I can eat in a way which cuts out cravings, it should help me to resist the comfort/stress bouts.
So I am on Day 13 of eating healthily, drinking more water and getting to bed early. I am not counting calories or carbs, but just avoiding all processed carbs, sugar, rice etc, trying to eat things in a better order, and take a walk after each meal. I could call it the non-Magnum diet (!), but it’s really a combination of Michael Mosely and the Glucose Goddess. It’s early days yet, but I feel a lot more in control, and already healthier than I did.
Wishing everybody here every success in moving towards their goals. x
-
Thanks for the shout out. I am also still lurking!! 🫣
Dr Mosely’s death marks the start of my journey.
This time last year I had just been diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. I had been to see a consultant for the problem with my breathing that had become totally incapacitating with the treatment the GP had insisted was correct. Specialist diagnosed asthma not COPD as the GP had kept saying!
So correct inhaler for asthma started to change my life but the diabetic diagnosis then knocked me sideways. Reading about the Michael Mosely BSD made me determined to try it!
12 months on, with plenty of support from these forums, I am in remission for diabetes and 5.5 stone lighter! And continuing to live the BSD way of life.
I know I cannot thank him personally, but I hope he knows how much he changed my life.
My sincere sympathy to his family and huge sadness that he is no longer here!Good luck to all on the ship for this voyage… it is possible to change your life!
-
Hi everyone,
Thank you for the kind words. These are challenging times for me and your support means a lot.
My therapist was very pleased with the boundary I set and the fact that I reached out to my godmother for support. We spent most of our session though filling out the forms to try and get my appointments funded. Unfortunately, this meant disclosing a lot of information in detail that we had only just barely touched on in our previous sessions, which has left me feeling quite vulnerable over the weekend. She did warn me that this would happen and gave me some strategies for coping. Our next session is on Thursday because she didn’t want me going too long without being able to talk about what might come up. I had a really severe flashback yesterday, a nightmare last night and a good cry today, but I am managing with the coping strategies so far and not spiralling out of control, so that is a positive. One thing that I had to disclose on the forms that we hadn’t spoken about yet was how what happened to me has led to negative body image and struggling with food and exercise since I was very young. That was really tough as I hadn’t revealed any of that to anyone in person before. In fact, all of you probably know more than anyone else! I am seeing the connection now to how it is strongly related to me not wanting to attract negative attention.
In spite of all of this, I am still trying to eat healthily. I watched a video that talked about strategies that we use to numb our emotions, including comfort eating. The video suggested a strategy is to tell yourself that you are allowed to comfort eat, or whatever numbing strategy you want to use (mine also involves watching too many videos, ironically!), but you have to sort through the feelings that are driving you to engage in that behaviour before you can let yourself do it. It has been really working for me. I am working through my feelings by journalling and even though I would be allowed to comfort eat after that, I usually don’t want to anymore. So that has been really helpful, especially now when I have so many big feelings and painful memories coming up all at once.
Keep on keeping on everyone! One day I’ll catch up on everyone’s updates. -
The anniversary of Michael’s death seems like a significant time for so many of us. Some lovely words of remembrance on here, and it’s also so good that many are being inspired to strengthen our resolve and look after ourselves better.
ARCTICFOX you sound stronger in every post. I suspect that this time last year you would not have been able to face filling in those forms and, painful though it has been, it is another milestone on you moving forward. And the strategy of working through why you are doing something before you decide to do it sounds really helpful. Keep on going, and keep on posting. It is a joy to be allowed to share your progress.
HEIDI lovely to hear from you and you are so right in that we can control what we do. A bit similar to what Arcticfox was saying in a way : if we take responsibility for our actions and make rational decisions before taking those actions, we can do this! I’m so sorry to hear of your family problems, but so pleased you are looking after yourself. It’s a bit like the airplane oxygen mask analogy : if you are not making sure you are strong and fit, you will be less able to help those around you. Well done!
POOTLE your weight loss is amazing!! 5.5 stone down and reversing diabetes is an incredible achievement, particularly in the time frame of a year. What a fabulous tribute to Michael and an inspiration to us all. I’m so pleased for you!
Hi to everyone else on here too. Must dash as I’m heading out now but will check in again later in the week X
-
Hi everyone,
I have been catching up on posts today, there are so many inspiring ones. DCT I still haven’t weighed myself yet, it’s taking me a while to get back on plan after the holiday in Scotland! Doing a menu plan today which I haven’t done for a while so that should help me🤞Will report back in a week. Dawn XX -
Hi everyone,
Pleased to say that I have lost 5 kilos since my reboot on 25 May. Since I was bingeing on carbs, and had 20 kilos to lose, i suppose I have been lucky with the fast weight loss. I know that it will slow down so am preparing myself!I had to laugh this morning. We were at a cafe between appointments and I was feeling a bit wobbly. I decided to dunk a hard-boiled egg in some salt, to see if that would help. Unfortunately I got the wrong sachet. Hard boiled egg with artificial sweetener will not be added to my favourite recipes!
Hope you are all having a good day.
-
Wow Heidi- 5kg since May!! I’ve not lost that since the start of the cruise!! That’s amazing! Well done. What an inspiring weight loss in such a short time- you must be doing something right. I bet your egg and sweetener tasted awful! I want to lose about 5 kg but it’s taking me forever!
I am seriously struggling to lose weight despite giving up breakfast and only having coffee. Despite going low fat to try and improve my cholesterol, despite walking 53,000 steps last week according to my fit bit (that’s a lot for my sore feet by the way). I am going to keep trying and doing what I can. My body is hanging on to every fat single fat molecule. One day soon I hope I’ll see a whooooosh and it will be all gone!
Keep trying everyone- giving in is NOT an option.
My goal for June is to weigh less than I did at the start of June. At this rate I’ll take half a pound! I think my body is messed up with years of dieting! -
Hi Clarinet Cathy, I started from a place of totally unhealthy carb bingeing, so I feel a bit of a fraud to report the reduction. It will all slow down very quickly I suspect! I always admire your perseverence. You can do it! x
-
Hi all. i am sticking at the healthy diet. No more weight loss to report so I shall look at this as consolidation. But pleased to say that the 5 kilo loss has moved me from obese to overweight. I suppose that’s good news, though it underlines that I have some way to go…..! I hope you have all had a good weekend, and good luck for next week.
-
Hi everyone,
I was on a real emotional roller coaster ride this week. Lots of ups and downs. I am still trying to eat healthily, although meals were a bit more chaotic than they are even normally. It was very hot at the beginning of the week, so not a lot of cooking happening.
Cathy, I can relate at the frustration of not losing weight even when doing all the right things. I thought I might be losing some, and I’ve been trying my best to wear my compression garments as much as possible, even with the heat, but I tried my jeans on just to see and they are tighter than ever. I’ve even been going swimming a couple times a week so thought that might at least shift some of the fluid that accumulates in my upper legs, but no joy. My ankles look quite slim though, so have to take that as a win?
Anyway, one of the positives this week was thinking about changing careers. It is scary because I’ve been doing what I do for so long and would have a pretty gold-plated pension at the end if I could just stick it out for another 12 years, but I’ve been seeing in therapy that it really isn’t a good fit for me when I have cPTSD. I’ve also been seeing that I probably filled out every career suitability survey through the lens of my trauma. We’ve uncovered in therapy that I’m really a dancer at heart. I was dancing out my stress this week when I was working from home and had some breaks, but when I went back into the office, I realized how confined I feel. I need to move! So I started looking into Dance and Movement Therapy as a career. Still not even 50% sure that it is the right thing for me. It’s going to mean going back to school for qualifications too. And there aren’t any direct paths to being qualified in Canada, so it would take 3-4 years of school, which I know I just can’t face right now. So, I got brave and emailed Roehampton University. They have a 2 year Master of Arts in Dance and Movement Therapy. They want a psychology or dance undergrad, which is not what I have, so I emailed to ask about different qualifications from mature students. We’ll see what they say.
Anyway, off to get my hair done. I have some big meetings this week and thought that a trim and tidy up would help me feel more confident. Talk later!