Thanks DAWN and HEIDI XX
HEIDI very well done on 7.2 kilos down,⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good luck and happy healthy eating for the week ahead DAWN and everyone.
Im finding it very hard to resist temptations to cheer myself up at the moment,🙏for strength to be ‘ good’ this coming week,Ive chased my Carb Monster away and wont listen when she whispers in my ear !! I dont even know how she got aboard this ship 🤨XX
😈this is how her face looks!😈
XX
-
-
Just catching up with the thread. Dawn you have had a very upsetting time. I’m so sorry. What a terrible shock it must have been for you to witness your mums horrific fall. I’m so glad she is doing well. I’m also sorry to hear you’ve had a rough time with pancreatitis. I hope you’re soon on the mend.
Yowser- you’ve also had a really tough few weeks with your ongoing sciatica and shingles. I hope you’re soon feeling better. Illness really does take its toll. You always manage to keep your sense of humour .glad you’ve given your carb monster the heave ho.
Heidi- well done on your continued weight loss. It’s great that you’re feeling and seeing the impact of how well you’ve done.
I am not making any progress! I’m very disappointed with myself. I am staying static. I’m hoping I can lose a few pounds before my holiday in five weeks. I’m aware that I will come back heavier and so I need to give myself some wiggle room as I don’t want to be back to square 1 on my return . It’s a constant struggle.
Let’s have a good week. -
Thanks for your kind words Cathy. It’s been an awful few weeks but my stint in hospital has certainly given me a wake up call regarding looking after my health. The gall bladder removal will be done with keyhole surgery and I will be home the same day so I should be able to crack on with healthy eating without too much disruption🤞Dawn XX
-
Facebook algorithms seem to have twigged that I have someone close with stage 4 cancer, and that I am trying to be low-carb. So I am being bombarded with posters claiming that my life will change with beetroot extract/green tea/B12 etc etc.
But I found the following post from a Dr Mark Hyman helpful today – a dose of commonsense :
“It’s not too late to turn this year around. You don’t need a gym or fancy gadgets. Just simple habits done consistently.Start by cutting out suagr, walking daily, prioritising sleep. Your health doesn’t have to be complicated.”
-
Thank you Heidi for posting this sage advice! A great reminder for us all . I’ve just come back from a lovely evening walk by the river. I’ve done 10,075 steps today. I did 13000 on Saturday. That’s a lot for me. I phoned the waiting list office today to see wheee I am on the list and it looks like I’ll be having my first toe op in September or October this year. I need to get as many steps in as I can pre op as I’ll be off my feet for about 8 weeks afterwards. I am determined to be on the maintenance cruise in January. Hoping to be less than 150 lb before 8th August! I can do this!!!
-
Great quote Heidi! Such sensible advice. I see that Roy Taylor has a new book out.. with a recipe book. Just ordered them from Amazon… just to see if there are any differences or new ideas!
Hope you are all having a good week.
Xx -
Hi everyone,
Dawn – so sorry to hear about your mum’s fall and your own health issues. That makes things tough for sure.
Pootle – thanks for the heads up about Roy Taylor’s new book, I’ll have to look that one up.
Yowzer – hope the shingles pain resolves soon.
With regard to walking everyday – I do that on the farm, but I was surprised to see by the step counter on my phone that it often doesn’t add up to as much as you would think. More now in summer than in winter, for sure, but still not great.
However, I managed to do myself in physically this week. I strained my back putting the cat’s dish down on the floor on Sunday and then on Monday I was reaching down for the hose when watering the horses and tore a muscle in my calf. Although these were small movements, I do think the injuries happened as a result of dancing beyond my fitness level. The calf has been bothering me slightly since I went to swing dancing last week. Luckily the back is resolving, but the calf is horrible. I can hardly walk at all, so I’m just limping around the farm. We’re having a cooler day today with rain so I’ve been able to wear my compression tights again and that is helping support it. I have a physio appointment tomorrow.
I did get in a few more limping steps last night as I had to trek out through the hay field to the dyke. My neighbour managed to get our pump working and I had to check on the fuel level. So happy the water level is going down now. It was up over my knees in places last week. Without the pump there would be no way it would be dry enough to harvest in a couple of weeks. -
Hi everyone,
Thanks Articfox, it’s been a bit of a rough time but it has made me more determined to crack on and try to become more healthy. My mum is luckily recovering well from her fall. Sorry to hear you have had a rough time with your back and your calf, good that your back is improving I hope your calf will soon too.
Heidi, I love that quote, I may have to stick it on my fridge!
Cathy, I’m pleased you have possible dates for your op and that’s great getting so many steps in.
Pootle I ordered the updated Roy Taylor book after you mentioned it and it’s just been delivered (same day delivery is so handy!)so I will enjoy looking at that tonight. I have never been diagnosed with diabetes but I know the information will still be relevant. I haven’t ordered the recipe book but may do that later.
I’m still hoping to be in the 11’s soon and would definitely like to have more weight off before my gall bladder removal some time in this coming month
I hope all of us with ailments start to feel well soon 🤞
Dawn XX -
Hi everyone,
Decided to weigh myself this morning and I’m back in the 11’s (just) at last. Determined to make sure I stay there until I’m in the 10’s ! Hoping you all have a good day. Dawn XX -
Hi everyone. I’m back from holiday and just doing a quick catch up.
DAWN I’m so sorry you’ve had such an awful time. I’m really glad your mum didn’t break anything and also that you are getting everything sorted as well. But what a trauma. So very well done for getting into the 11s despite all else. HEIDI well done too for your ongoing loss. That’s great news and very inspiring. I love that quote too – ideal for days when we don’t have time or inclination to do all the right things we want to, but if we just keep things simple and stick to the basics we’ll still make progress. And POOTLE thanks for the top about Roy Taylor : will have a look.
ARCTICFOX I hope your back and calf are clearing up? It’s scary how the simplest of movements can injure us. I put my back out once just by twisting to put something in the bin! You may be right about overdoing the dancing but don’t stop! It could just as equally be the stress in your body coming out in other ways – I know my back is always more vulnerable if I’m going through stress. I’m glad that things are getting back on track with your therapist again.
YOWZER you are amazing to fend off that horrible carb monster even whilst you are struggling! I am so sorry to hear that you are still unwell and wish there was something we could do. How are you faring in this heat? Might be an opportunity to tuck away somewhere cool and binge on box sets or a good book maybe? Sending love and hope that you feel some improvement soon.
CATHY how are you doing? I hope that you manage to lose the weight you want to before your holiday. But don’t assume you will put weight on whilst away – you may not. Even if you are eating and drinking more than usual, there are still healthy options to be had, and you may well be doing a bit more exercise too. So don’t give up hope! I surprisingly didn’t put on any more weight on holiday which was a relief. And now I’m back I want to get back on board again and start seeing some loss.
Hello to everyone else reading this. Hope you’re ok, and do let us know how you’re getting on. Meanwhile, wishing you all a lovely weekend xx
-
Welcome back, DCT. Hope you had a good holiday.
So the bad luck continued through the week. On Tuesday I was stung by wasps that were building 2 nests in my farm stand. Then on Wednesday, I was coming through the front door after being away at pottery for the evening and the cat was twining herself around my feet and I tripped over her and fell against the corner of the wall and broke my fall with my hand. Thought it was broken, so spent yesterday going to physio for my calf (I have been banned from dancing for 6 weeks!), then to the doctor and to the hospital for an x-ray. The technicians didn’t think it was broken, so that saved me a trip to A&E.
With being in so much pain and being frustrated, I’m afraid the carb monsters took control and some comfort eating ensued. The only good thing is that I was having trouble identifying negative thought patterns around the binge eating when I wasn’t doing it, so now I’ve been able to catalog them. It seems the thoughts aren’t about the food itself, but around not feeling comforted or cared for by others. So it is an attempt at self-soothing, for sure. But remarkably ineffective, as I just end up getting mad at myself.
So, it looks like this will be the focus of my next counselling session. -
ARCTICFOX what a week you’ve had! I’m glad that at least your hand isn’t broken, and also that the experiences have helped you to identify the cause of your comfort eating. Take care of yourself – and stay safe this weekend! And I wonder if there are other, gentler, forms of exercise you can do over the next few weeks during your dancing ban?
Best wishes to everyone else too. Have a great weekend (a very hot one here in the UK!)
-
Thanks DCT and well done for not gaining on holiday! Articfox I’m so sorry you’ve hd a rotten time, I’m pleased you didn’t break anything and really hope you manage to find some time to relax and look after yourself.Dawn ❤️
-
Hello everyone
sorry you’ve had such a traumatic week ArcticFox. I hope you’re well can rest and recuperate over the weekend. My cat is going to be a trip hazard for me I’m sure. He has snuck between my legs and feet many times! Something to be wary of.
I am impressed that you didn’t out any weight on DCT during your holiday! That is incredible self control. I am staying the same. I can’t seem to shed anything. I’m up and down the same pound all the time. It’s very frustrating.
I’ve got four weeks until my cruise so I’ll do my best.
Have a good weekend is everyone. -
My post just vanished, so apologies for any repetition if it reappears.
I was just appreciating how nice it is to be part of this forum and wider BSD community. I feel surrounded by people committed to improving and maintaining good health through sensible healthy habits. It is so inspiring to see those who have been here for 7 or 8 years and so committed to their own health and supporting others. You know who you are!
Sending best wishes to all, who are plugging on despite shingles (how are you doing YOWSER?), cat-astrophes (ARCTICfox), accidents and medical challenges (probably all of us!). Clarinet it must be lovely to be aiming towards an imminent holiday, I hope you have some lovely holiday outfits in mind. And well done DCT for enjoying a healthy holiday.
For my weekly check in, I am now down 8.1 kilos, so nearly a kilo off this week. I had a wobble in the week when we had wine-loving friends for lunch. But otherwise I have stayed low-carb and no rice pasta bread potatoes. On on!
-
Hi everyone – can’t believe another week has just flown by.
HEIDI some lovely words in your last post. I’ve. been on this journey since 2017 and sometimes I feel ashamed and frustrated that not on ly have I still not got to goal, but that – particularly recently – I have put back on some of the weight I had lost. But healthy eating is a lifelong commitment, and it’s worth it. I’ve always cut myself a bit of slack for treat days and special occasions, but in recent weeks have just let things slide too much and have seen the consequences.
So this week I’m back on track. Have cut out all white carbs and am really enjoying making recipes from the BSD recipe books. Not only are they low carb and calorie but I also find them delicious, and it’s so nice to try some different recipes (food planning is not my forte!). I’m also doing mostly 16:8 and 2 meals a days. Anyway I’m delighted to have shed 3lb so far this week, even though I know it’s mostly a water weight hangover from my recent sloppiness (and btw, the reason I didn’t put on weight on holiday is because I’d slapped it on before I went. And on holiday I was pretty active and it was so hot I think I sweated it off 😂). But a loss is a loss, so I’m feeling positive and hopeful I can reverse my recent trends and habits.
Also I read an interesting fact in a newspaper article yesterday that only 3 in 1000 people keep weight off after they have lost it. Now I have no idea if that is true (the article was about someone who has lost a lot of weight naturally – no jabs – over the years and has managed to keep it off) but I will look into it further. And wanted to say a great big WELL DONE to all those of us on this forum who have lost weight and managed to keep at least some of it off. We are awesome 🙌
Have a great weekend everyone, and hope you are doing well X
-
Well done on your 3lb loss DCT. An interesting fact about keeping weight off. Despite life’s ups and downs over the years I am still 20lb lighter than I was when I started the BSD in 2017. However, I’m finding losing weight incredibly difficult these days and part of me is thinking that maybe I should accept myself for what I am instead of constantly fighting a losing battle. Don’t misunderstand me, I will always be mindful of what I eat but I don’t know whether I want to keep punishing myself trying to lose weight that simply wont budge! I feel I want to be kinder to myself instead of constantly punishing myself for feeling a failure. I am 64 years old, my mum died aged 57 very suddenly with septicaemia so I am always grateful for the extra years I’ve had that she didn’t get to enjoy. . I’ve got a long list of medical issues one of which is rather concerning and I’m back at Christie Hospital next week for my scan result. I have a lovely husband, two lovely boys. a lovely cat, a lovely home and a happy contented life so why am I constantly chasing a number on the scales that I can’t achieve. It’s interesting isn’t it? Sorry if this seems a negative post- I’m not feeling negative but feeling I need to be realistic and thankful for the positives in my life and maybe I need to accept me for me. Thoughts?
-
CATHY I agree so much with what you say in your post and didn’t find it negative at all. I think each one of us needs to find the right balance between being content and grateful with all that we are and all the good things that we have, whilst at the same time working to make positive improvements to our health and wellbeing. I’ve been thinking along similar lines to you in that I definitely do need to lose weight and body fat at the moment, but do I really need to doggedly pursue my long term target if that isn’t achievable or desirable/healthy for me? Right now I’d be happy to see some significant loss and end up a few pounds over my original target weight if I feel healthy and am happy with how I look at that point. I don’t want to be obsessed by numbers, but by wellbeing.
I read something else interesting today about “settled weight”. I’m sure it’s been mentioned on these forums before. But, as I understand it, your body kind of wants you to be a certain weight and if you go below that it will gradually ensure that you put the weight back on again to get back to your settled weight (though, sadly , I don’t think it works the other way round!). That may be a rubbish explanation, and it’s something I want to look into more but don’t have time today. But yet more food for thought so to speak . . . .
Anyway CATHY just to say you are not being negative and I think many of us are on the same page : wanting to achieve our best weight , health and wellbeing whilst also enjoying every moment of life the way we are now. And I hope that you get good results from your appointment next week. Will be thinking of you X -
Hi everyone and well done on the 3lb loss DCT.
I’m having a bit of a frustrating day, 2 weeks since I left hospital and I still haven’t even received a discharge letter(there were no staff available to properly discharge me on the day so I was asked if I would mind if it was done by post which I was fine with) and nothing to say I was on a list of any kind for my gallbladder removal. The consultant had told me I could either stay in hospital to wait for the operation or he could put me on an outpatient list to have my operation within the month as he said it was unlikely the acute pancreatitis would recur within a month. I decided to ring the hospital today, I didn’t want to be a nuisance but I had a niggling feeling I may get ‘forgotten about’ especially as there was nothing on my NHS app records regarding my transfer to a different hospital from A&E. I eventually got to speak to the consultant’s secretary who was very nice but there was no record of me being on any list or discharged (or I got the feeling, of even being in that hospital but I may be wrong, when I speak to her again I will clarify that) it’s all very worrying as the consultant is now on leave for 2 weeks so goodness knows when my gall bladder removal which needed doing ‘within the month’ 2 weeks ago will now get done. I said ‘so if I get the pain again should I just go to A&E’ and she said yes. She also said to watch my diet and keep to low fat food. Everything I read about pancreatic health says to eat low fat dairy etc which goes against everything I’ve learned in the past few years about eating healthily so it’s hard to know what to believe. I’m just feeling confused about it all at the minute😩 Dawn X -
DAWN so sorry you are having all these glitches. I hope that you can get back on the system and get fast tracked for your gall bladder removal. So frustrating!! I’m not an expert but would have thought the BSD WoE would be fine for your diet for now, but maybe with lower fat options if that is recommended. But do see if you can get clearer guidance from someone involved with your care. I really hope that you get some resolution on all this soon.
Best wishes, DCT X
-
Thanks DCT, I’ve been on the MFP app this afternoon tweaking things on my nutrient goals and think I’ve managed to work out which percentages would work to make my food plans lower fat for the time being but still low carb and high in protein so will see how that goes🤞Dawn XX
-
Hi everyone,
Checking in quickly. I’m in the middle of garlic harvest, well not the middle, I’m only 1/4 done but had to stop because of the rain making everything too wet for now. Hopefully will be back at it tomorrow.
Heidi- well done on your loss so far.
Cathy- I hear you on the weight that won’t budge. Once I get through the garlic harvest, I will focus more on building muscle. I think that will help me the most as I age and hopefully might end up burning some extra calories for me too. I was slim-est (not lightest) as an adult when I was weight lifting regularly.
Dawn – I’ve had to go lower fat too with my gastritis. Saturated fats in particular seem to set things off, so I use more olive and canola oil. I also use high fibre foods like flax and chia and legumes to fill up instead of the fat. Hope that helps a bit.
So, I had a really tough EMDR session yesterday around the feelings of not being cared for that lead to binge eating. Turns out it is heavily tied to not feeling worthy or not deserving care from others, and it is amazing how far back this goes. The EMDR digs a lot of stuff up from very early childhood. The memory we were working from was when I was probably not much more than 2 years old. I thought we would be working from memories from my teenage years or just before because that was when I started binge eating, but the feelings of not being cared for are from much earlier. It turns out that my teen years were just when I started having access to the foods to comfort myself because my mum was working and I could strategically raid the cupboards. Before that, she was always at home and maintained pretty strict control over the fridge and cupboards, and we were never given any pocket money so I couldn’t have bought any food myself. We’ll have to see if this session has any effect. It sometimes takes a while for the reprocessing to happen after a session.
Anyway, I had to have a second x-ray of my hand this week to confirm for sure that it isn’t broken. They were seeing a shadow on the first x-ray, but it seems it was an old partial fracture that has healed and is stable. No idea how or when I did that! Anyway, just soft tissue to mend. Unfortunately, due to the garlic harvest, I can’t rest it right now. Wearing a snug glove helps though. -
Thanks Articfox, I will try the things you suggested and see how I get on. I hope you manage to get the garlic harvest completed without too many more interruptions. The EMDR sessions sound as though they will be really helpful but I would imagine can be exhausting too. I’m pleased the second X-ray of your hand confirmed it isn’t broken.
Dawn XX -
Hi all, time for my weekly check in. I have enjoyed another week of healthy eating with no major wobbles – just one small baked potato. I have discovered Lidl’s 85 per cent chocolate which is absolutely delicious. Particularly when crunched with a walnut…. That aside, I am not having much in the way of cravings. For me that is the most important benefit, since I had gone so far off track because of comfort and stress eating. I lost a kilo this week, so am now down 9.1 kilos since 25 May.
CATHY I have been thinking a lot about your post and whether to add my twopence worth. We both joined this site in 2017, both lost a lot a weight (me 20 kilos from Oct 2017 to I think June 2018). But you managed to keep a lot of that weight off. I, on the other hand, put most of it back by the end of COVID, and then added more after my husband’s diagnosis. So not sure if I have the right to comment. I even changed my user name out of shame!
Clearly there is no conflict between appreciating all that you have as well as eating healthily. It is the next step of depriving yourself by lowering calorie intake.. JGwen used to talk about the WHY. Why have you got a particular number in your head? BMI healthy ranges are so wide now, that you may already qualify as healthy? Is there a particular wobbly bit that bothers you, and would targeted exercise be better? Do you want to get into a a particularly swish outfit? Give yourself wriggle room for the holiday…?
Once you kinow your WHY then perhaps look again at the HOW. As DCT says, maybe you are reaching your settled weight, which may be different now from some years ago? Or could you be eating too little protein and thus holding on to reserves just in case? As you say, life is there to be enjoyed. A satisfying healthy diet is an integral part of that. Your friend’s death, and my weekly visits with husband to chemo are confronting experiences and do make us appreciate all that we have and how precious life is. And how life needs to be supported and enhanced by feeding ourselves properly. I do wish you all the very best in the balancing the arguments. And I remain in awe that you, unlike me, succeeded in keeping some of the original pounds off!
I hope I haven’t spoken out of turn. And am also sending lots of good wishes to Arcticfox, DCT and Dawn and all others in the group.x
-
HEIDI I completely agree with everything you say. And now I’m intrigued as to what your previous username was 😊. Lovely to interact with you as your new identity, and we probably know each other also from 2017!
I’m having a serendipitous weekend! Having been low carb all week, the social scene has kicked in and brought its own challenges. The buffet at a friends party yesterday made me realise how brown many carby foods are! And a slug of Prosecco – which I usually love – just tasted like liquid sugar. Between them though another pound has jumped back on 🤬 Lesson learned. I feel like I’m on the brink of another step forward in terms of breaking bad habits. Here’s hoping 🤞
On a more positive note, I’m going to look round a couple of local hotels with pools this week. I’ve been a member of a big chain gym and pool for quite a while now but have gradually stopped going because I just don’t like it any more. Noisy, blokey and smelly!! So I recently cancelled it rather than continue to throw money away. But I want – and need – to have somewhere to exercise, so have been having a big think about what is important to me. And have concluded (I think!) that if I’m going to pay to go somewhere I’d rather pay more and go somewhere nicer. A bit of a breakthrough for me as – a bit like ARCTICFOX has said – I’m always reluctant to put myself first and do things for me. But I thought as long as I’m still doing freelance work after retiring why not splash out on myself. So will be looking at nearby hotels with pool / spa / gym to find a place I can swim, exercise in peace and also rest and relax. Will report back in due course!
-
Heidi- thank you for taking the time to post about my dilemma! You have definitely not spoken out of turn and I am grateful for your advice and helpful comments. I lost 42lb in 2017 and put back on 20lb. I don’t even know how I managed to get so low as 133 lb but I did and my couldn’t maintain it. Like DCT I am intrigued as to who you were and I hope I would remember you 😊 It’s sad that you felt shame and therefore felt you had to change your name. I feel I have the most willpower out of anyone I know- my fiends tell me the same! Through thick and thin I’ve tried a variety of ways to lose weight and when i found the BSD I hit the jackpot and lost 3 stone albeit slowly. For the last couple of years I can’t seem to lose except a few pounds and then they go back on and then they come off and I’m getting fed up. I’m going to think about the why? It’s a really interesting question. I am vegetarian and eat a healthy diet but I feel I am constantly battling to keep the scales from creeping up. Anyway, just wanted to say thank you do your thoughts and I am going to seriously think about my why! Part of me wants to throw in the towel and accept defeat.
DCT- I’m really pleased your treating yourself to something lovely. You deserve it. -
Evening all, I hope you don’t mind a ‘newbie’ butting in. I know ow that all the old hands have soo much more experience than I do, but I want to let you know that you aren’t alone!
Heidi, I wasn’t on the BSD or Fast 800 in 2017, but I was dieting! Not only because, over the years, my weight had climbed, but also to help husband lose before an operation. From January 2017 to July 2018 I lost 56lb and went down 4 dress sizes…however even then my pre diabetic numbers were climbing. I kept the weight off until late 2020…the pandemic and the death of my only brother ( not permitted to be with him, or even see him through a window still hurts) made me gradually start to put weight back on. In July 2024 I had put on 70lb, gone up 5 dress sizes and become diabetic. I am sad that you ‘feel ashamed at putting your weight back on”.
We are all human, stresses and emotional events will affect us in different ways, but they will affect us! I think having the courage to recognise that you are ready for another go is brilliant.
CATHY, taking the time to think about why you are trying and what you want as an outcome, is part of making the right decisions for you. And don’t forget, it is ‘YOU’ that is important. Not what anyone else might think or say. Anyone with empathy and experience will applaud you for taking control.
DCT, I think taking control with changing the venue for your exercise is a great step….can’t wait to hear how you get on.
-
Thanks for bumping the Good Eats thread, Pootle. It made me remember about the cauliflower tortillas that I discovered way back when. Now I’m realizing that they were gluten free. I am struggling with shop bought wraps not holding together and a lot of them don’t have great ingredients either. This original recipe uses eggs, which I’m still not coping well with, but I have had success substituting flax in other recipes, so may give that a go with this one too. Just have to finish harvesting all the garlic so I can get my life back for a few weeks before I have to clean it all! About 1/2 out of the ground now.
https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/cauliflower-tortillas-recipe/ -
Hi POOTLE, and thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I am really sorry to hear of your brother’s death and in such awful covid circumstances. That must be incredibly hard to live through. I was very encouraged by your weight/health story though. I am just sorting through my trousers, which vary in size from 12 to 20. I’ve put away the 12s, 14s and 20s and one of my goals is to look good in the 16s! It does take a real act of will to do it all over again. I have now lost 3 stone three times over, twice with WW and once with BSD, and I know I will be healthier in all sorts of ways if I get back to a sensible weight. It’s difficult sometimes not to beat yourself up for the pounds creeping back on. But that is water under the bridge.
CATHY “Part of me wants to throw in the towel and accept defeat”. That left me wondering what battle you are fighting, why and how! Only you can work out what is best for you. But if your choice is for a different goal, or different method, or whatever, it can be a positivie choice surely, not a defeat? Your will power is clearly beyond doubt, and you are eating healthily. It sounds a bit as if you are at war with your own body, rather than with sugar/ultra processed food etc. Have you had a look at the amount of protein you are eating to see if you should be raising the level? I know I bang on about it, but it just makes sense to me that the job of the brain is to ensure you are sufficiently nourished. If you don’t have enough protein, it will message to hold on to available stores. How many grams do you have a day? All that said, the weight figures you mention are beyond my wildest dreams, so (as before) who am I to comment!
Like you, Cathy, I felt with BSD that I had hit the jackpot. I don’t expect to get back to the weight I reached then – the lowest in 30 years at the time – but if I can get to the top end of my healthy BMI at 60+, then that will be my healthy “why” accomplished… So 4 kilos to go for that first goal. Keep on keeping on…
-
DCT Go for it! We are all worth it. x
-
Hello Heidi
To answer your question about why i feel I want to throw the towel in and accept defeat- I’ve been battling with trying to lose about one stone for a very long time. I’ve tried fasting, time restricted eating, counting calories, keto, low carb. I’m fed up of trying to get my weight to about 145 lb. I am currently at 155 lbs.The weight doesn’t budge. I want to be as near a normal healthy weight as I can. My BMI is 29 and I’d like to aim for a BMI of 27. I have arthritis and being overweight is no good for my joints. Am 5’2” and being small I don’t carry weight well. My HbA1c has risen to 43 so I am now pre diabetic and I know I am carrying too much weight and my cholesterol was also slightly elevated so I have been advised to eat less fat so I’ve gone back onto skimmed milk and 0% Greek Yoghurt! . The aging process as well as my feet issues – plantar fasciitis and hallux rígidus have slowed me down and I find I can only walk about 7000 steps a day. Having said that I did 13,000 steps this weekend!! I’m paying the price now! Maybe you’re spot on and I am fighting with my own body. I will try and up my protein intake. I eat Greek Yoghurt, eggs, cottage cheese, nuts, tofu but have eliminated cheese in an effort to try and get my cholesterol down. I have also stopped eating butter to try and get my cholesterol back down. I won’t take a statin. Can you see why I feel I am battling? Sugar doesn’t play a part in my diet and I’ve just read the new edition of Life without diabetes by Professor Taylor and it’s clear that I’m pre diabetic as I am carrying too much fat. So I’m trying to reduce my weight, reduce my cholesterol, reverse my pre diabetes. I am limited to what exercise I can do because of my painful feet so aim to walk 7000 steps a day . Today I ate my first meal at 1.30 pm and had Greek Salad with feta and a nice lemon dressing and I’m making plant based chilli tonight which I will have with tender stem broccoli and strawberries with Greek Yoghurt. I’m giving it my best shot before heading off on my cruise on 8th August. I will never take my eye off the ball where my health is concerned but maybe trying to achieve my “ideal weight” of 145 lb (revised since 2017 when it was 133 lb) is too much of a challenge.
I am not stepping off this cruise but I might have to readdress my goal! I want to step off this cruise ship in December knowing I did my best this year and whatever happens then I will accept that. I’m going to focus on maintenance from January no matter what happens and if my set weight is 155 and my BMI is set at 29 then I will accept that. I can’t keep beating myself up year after year jist because I can’t get my weight down to where I want it to be. -
Cathy can I just pop in here and say it’s not weight per se that affects ‘diabetes’ but carbohydrates! Please forget your weight for the moment and take a look at the amount of carbs you’re eating. If you can stay at 50g a day you might find a great improvement in your bloods.
Just give it a go.
Good luck! -
Hi Cathy, You have a huge amount of issues to juggle, and I am full of admiration for your determination. You are already at the high end of a healthy BMI for someone over 60, as I understand it. So you should be patting yourself on the back for what you have achieved so far. My post was taking issue with your mention of “defeat” if you choose eventually to recalibrate your goals. I thought you were being hard on yourself . But it looks from your final paragraph as if I was reading too much into it. Wishing you all the best in the run up to your cruise!
-
Hi everyone, haven’t looked in for a while but I’m reading so the posts and always meaning to reply but some how time gets away from me. My mother (91) who lives with my younger brother but is quite independent has just come through a horrid period of crippling anxiety which seemed to come from nowhere and take over her life. She couldn’t put it down to anything initially and of course, when you most want them, doctors are away or appointments unavailable. Anyway after some really hard weeks she has been started on an anti anxiety med which has done wonders for her and she’s just about back to normal.
She told me the other day that she thinks it came from two things, one that her BIL (also 91) fell and broke his hip and was hospitalised and won’t be able to go back to his own home. The other was her own birthday and the sudden fear that this kind of episode might be in her own future. I can see how scary that must be but I hope never to go through that with her again. It’s terrible to see such suffering and be totally unable to relieve it. All my siblings except the brother she lives with are out of Sydney and with all the will in the world, couldn’t be here with her.
I’ve been reading the troubles that so many on our cruise are facing as well. I feel so much for you and am amazed by the toughness and bravery of how you cope.
C Cathy, another 2017 veteran here and I remember the happiness e all felt as we hit our targets then. I don’t know why it was so much easier the first time and do hard now. I am the same height as you and much the same age. I’ve also reconsidered my goal which previously was 62kg or 136lb. Now I am trying to maintain at 67kg or 148lb. Yes there are still some bulges that I wish were not there but I also came to the conclusion that my longing to achieve my goal was robbing me of life happiness. I don’t have your health challenges and only you can decide but it’s hard to describe the lightness I felt when I accepted this weight as the end of my weight loss goal. Now the equally challenging maintenance goal is here for the rest of my life!
Tomorrow I am going to hospital for the seventh and final operation on my hand for Dupuytrens disease. If successful some fingers will be fused in a curved position, if unsuccessful they will be amputated at the first finger joint. The surgeon is hopeful but realistically there is a good chance I’ll have a stubby hand from tomorrow on. Luckily it’s my left hand and I’m right handed!😁
Congratulations to those seeing progress and thinking positive thoughts for all who are struggling xx -
Mariet- good to read your post and so sad to read about your mum’s recent anxiety episode. How sad for you to see her suffering. I’m glad she is feeling better. It must be very scary getting old and feeling vulnerable. I hope your surgery went well today. I do feel we are lucky to live in the 21st century with the wonders of medical science. I hope you have not ended up having the amputation and that the surgeon was able to fuse your joints . Get well soon. I am having my big toes fused later this year. I am slowly being rebuilt!
It does feel so much harder to lose weight now and so like you I am coming to terms with new goals and looking forward to maintenance next year. Whatever I weigh at the end of the year I am calling it a day and accepting that weight and will then ensure I continue to maintain. It feels like a good decision for me. I am grateful to everyone for your kind advice and wise words .
How is everyone else on this thread? Yowser, I hope you are OK? SueBlue- how are you? I’m going for a brisk walk around the top deck and I hope to see you all out and about. -
Morning all!
POOTLE I am so impressed with your ability to lose so much weight twice. Very well done – you are an inspiration! And I’m so sorry to hear about your brother, particularly the awful circumstances of his death and the limitations on your grieving. That’s so sad. And it feels so strange now to look back on those times when everything was so very different. I’m so glad that you have managed to move forward in terms of your own health and wellbeing since those dark days.
HEIDI you have also done really well to lose your weight twice, and how lovely to be able to put away those larger sized trousers and look good in the 16s. I hope that at some stage you might start needing the smaller ones too – especially as sizes vary so much. So don’t rule them out : you are really on a roll right now!
CATHY it sounds like you are doing all the right things and I’m so disappointed for you that weight is not coming off. I wish I knew what to suggest. I would only echo what HEIDI said in terms of increasing protein (which is often difficult for vegetarians) and also VERANO’s advice to check the carbs. But I think your attitude about getting as far as you can this year then accepting yourself as you are is a very positive one. Whilst on the one hand doing all we can to keep fit and well is really important, on the other hand we don’t want to be completely obsessed with it to the extent where it is interfering with enjoying day to day life. As MARIET said “my longing to achieve my goal was robbing me of life happiness.”
MARIET do let us know how you get on with your hand surgery. You’ve had a rough time recently in terms of medical/dental intervention. I do hope that this will be the end of it for a while. And I’m so glad that your mother is feeling less anxious now. I used to find it so hard seeing my mum struggle in terms of decreasing mobility and ability to do things. She did her best to put a brave face on it but it must be so awful to be in that position. I hope that she is now able to enjoy some of the good things in life again.
ARCTICFOX how is the garlic harvest going? I so admire your resilience! What will you do with all the garlic? Is it all for home use or do you sell some of It on? I’m always in awe of your growing and farming abilities, and that you manage to keep your eating on track at the same time.
I’ve had a pretty good week so far. No further loss, but after a bit of a regain over the weekend, I am now maintaining the three pounds off from last week. So here’s hoping more will follow. I went to see a fabulous hotel pool / spa / gym yesterday which I think I may join although it’s very expensive. I’m off to see another one later which is cheaper but is further away whereas yesterday’s is only 10 minutes away from me, so no excuse not to go every day! Will report back in due course.
Hope the rest of the week goes well for everyone X
-
Hi everyone,
Garlic harvest is still ongoing. Made some good progress yesterday and hopefully some more today and tomorrow. I took Monday off work just in case I don’t finish tomorrow, but really hoping to and then I’ll be able to have Monday as a rest day.
DCT – I will hold back around 1/4 of the crop to have enough to replant, and will sell the rest. If you and anyone else would like to see photos of the harvest and my farm and you are on facebook, it is Whistling Fox Farm. I am on instagram too, but have not been posting much there lately. Good that you have been checking out gyms. It is so hard to do that analysis of what is better, cheaper but further away vs. expensive but closer. I once ended up doing the more expensive and further away option, but it was worth it because they had classes with fantastic trainers and I got super fit and healthy while I was doing that. Only stopped because I had to move away for work, and never been able to find anything like it since.
I am also a 2017 veteran. I lost a lot and was within 5kg of my goal weight, but couldn’t sustain it. Peri-menopause plus my accident really wreaked havoc on my system. I am finally at the point where I feel like my hormones have stabilized enough that it is time to get serious again. I am starting to wear a continuous glucose monitor again as that was really motivating before. I decided that it was worth the out-of-pocket expense. I applied the first sensor on Wednesday, but it didn’t work. The company is sending me a replacement for that one but it won’t arrive for a couple of weeks, so I got a new one yesterday and will activate it this afternoon as it needs about 24 hrs after being inserted in your arm to give accurate results. I got the tip about inserting it the day before you activate it from an online diabetes forum. The sensors only last 14 days, so this saves you from using up a whole day with inaccurate results. Fingers crossed that this new one works. I’m not looking forward to seeing the initial results though. I know my insulin resistance has increased since I last used one, as I have new skin tags and a bigger waist circumference. But I just have to think of it as keeping my eyes on the prize and how much it will help me. I really want to beat the binge eating and get back to being more insulin sensitive. I have just over 2 months to go until my leg surgery and I think it will only help with the healing if I am healthier. -
ARCTIXFOX thanks for the info. Am now following you on Facebook and also Instagram (which I’m much less familiar with : only use it for writing work and stalking my daughter 😂). Not sure if you can see followers, but my photo is me and my dog 🐕
Hope that you get your glucose monitoring sorted 🤞
I’m a bit all over the place with gyms. I liked the first one (close but expensive) so much that I nearly didn’t bother going to see the second one (further away but cheaper). But when I did was blown away by the setting and grounds and nearly signed up. But since then have thought carefully about how dilapidated the actual gym and pools are, and how much further away I would have to drive. I know myself very well, and any excuse can make me bottle out! Have also chatted with a former colleague who used to go to the posher gym (but moved away) and is still totally in awe of it. So I think I will go for it, ie the nearer but more expensive option. I have to sign up for one year so if I’m not making the most of if I will cancel after that. But I do feel the need to “elevate my life” – sounds a bit pretentious I know 😂. – and start really looking after myself. Otherwise I can visualise my semi-retirement years just getting frittered away and me ending up doing my bit of work then just spending the rest of the time as a couch potato.
Will report back in due course ……
-
Hi all. Another week of healthy eating where I, and not stress, have been in control. Two months now. And that feels great. Only 0.5 kilos of this week, so 9.6 kilos in total. It would be really nice to report over 10 kilos next week…
DCT I am certainly not giving up yet. I was probably not very clear. My first goal is to get to the top BMI end of my healthy weight. That’s another 4.6 kilos to discard. The next goal is then to look good in size 16 trousers and other more non-scale victories. I have a ring that I really want to wear again, for example. And lots of nice clothes from my previous thin period. Ho hum! It still feels more like failure than success to be on this journey yet again. But I am definitely pressing on.
MARIET, I have been thinking of you and hoping that the operation went as well as it could. It sounded quite traumatic.
YOWZER, Are you there? How are you feeling?
CLARINET I am crossing fingers for you that you have finally seen some results.
ARCTICFOX Good luck with the harvest and your next steps. I have never tried a glucose monitor and would be interested to hear how you get on.
POOTLE I love the idea of your near and posh fitness place. Go for it!I found another good quote this week from Dr Mark Hyman (other doctors available….) which I have found helpful when tempted by a what the hell moment:
“Food is not just fuel.
It’s code. Every bite sends biochemical instructions to your body, activating or silencing genes, feeding good or bad gut bacteria, regulating inflammation and mood.
You feel how you eat.”
Not sure I agree that mood is totally generated by our food choices, but you get the idea!Best wishes for a good week. Mine is going to be very rocky on my husband’s health front. But I shall be doing my best in the circumstances. xx
-
Sorry I meant DCT not POOTLE re posh gym. x
-
No prob Heidi24, I realised you meant DCT. I am not energetic enough to warrant a Gym!! I walk for exercise…. and garden, and carry hay bales, and carry water buckets, and feed sacks and lug heavy equipment for work…. I sometimes think it would be a simpler life if I gave it all up, 🤪 moved to a flat in a town and joined a gym… 😄 but then I realise how much I would miss the animals and outdoor life! 🫣😄.
I must admit, I am not brilliant at names… I easily get very confused!!!
I made a chocolate mousse at 10.00 last night.. just felt the need!! Melted 85% chocolate, added water and eggs, and worked out carbs as 7.2g per portion… as I am trying to maintain weight but keep carbs low, this seems quite a good indulgence for a Sunday! I didn’t dare work out the calories!!
Thanks for sharing your FB info Arctic Fox.. you have gained another follower! Love your flower bunches!
As I am a terrible sailor, I’m now going up on deck on this ‘cruise’ … Hope you are all doing well!
Xxx -
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the follows, DCT and Pootle. I finished the garlic harvest today, just in time for the start a little heatwave. It should help to get this very wet garlic dry. I’m going to try and put a reel together of all the photos I took during harvest. Just not tonight as I’m too tired.
Unfortunately, it turns out that the continuous glucose monitor is not suited to my lifestyle. The adhesive is not sticky enough with all the movement and sweating that I do, so it slid off my arm before it was fully activated. I’m super disappointed by that. I don’t know if I should report it to the company as well as the one that didn’t work. I don’t really want a replacement if it isn’t going to work for me. I know some people put them in other locations like chest or abdomen, but I’m not sure either of those would have worked this time either. Anyway, I got a regular glucose monitor and am using the lancets and strips to test. It is going well so far and is still motivating, but a bit more confusing given you can’t see what is happening moment to moment. It was quite shocking to see that my last binge eating episode put me into diabetic range, and then I’ve spent the last couple of days in pre-diabetic range, but I know what to do, so I’m eating really low carb and getting back on track. I had some pretty good numbers today in the low 5’s so fingers crossed for a good reading tomorrow morning. I think this may have been the wake up call that I needed to finally buckle down and get serious about losing weight and breaking my insulin resistance.
Another part of the wake up call was going to my mental health support group on Friday and one of the ladies who has diabetes had brought a huge bag of crisps and two big bags of sweets, supposedly to share. I declined when offered, as did most of the others, but she and one other lady polished off most of them between them. I didn’t even notice what they were doing, as I was listening to people sharing how their week had gone, but saw at the end when they needed to get rid of the wrappers and their laps were piled high with sweet wrappers and the entire bag of crisps was gone. The lady who brought them in had previously shared that her latest HbA1c result was 12! I didn’t say a word, but it really upset me very badly. Partly because I seemingly care more about what she is eating than she obviously does, but also because the group knows that I struggle with binge eating, and it seemed rather unfair of her to not only bring in those things as snacks but then have me witness the evidence of their binge even if I didn’t notice them actually doing it. Does that even make sense? Not sure. If I had been in a more vulnerable state, that might have led me to go and buy similar foods after and binge on them at home, but it is lucky that I was being pretty strong that day and I was already measuring my glucose at that point and didn’t want to increase my numbers again. I did go to the supermarket on my way home, but only bought greek yogurt and soy-free tofu. I’m fairly pleased with myself about that, and the fact that I’ve been making really healthy, very low carb meals this weekend, in spite of being so tired at the end of the day from the garlic harvesting. I think I will have to talk to my therapist about how upset I got in this situation though, and what I’ve been doing with tracking my glucose to manage my own intake. I just hope she doesn’t think I’m being too restrictive now in response.
Anyway, this post is too long already, but here are the meals I’ve been having:
a ramen noodle bowl with konjac noodles, red pepper, romanesco broccoli, soy-free tofu and prawns in a salty veggie broth made with wakame seaweed, bouillon and tamari.
pizza made with cauliflower sandwich bread as a base with flax and chia instead of eggs, toppings of kale, red pepper, rainbow chard and mozzarella.
A rainbow chard salad with the left over tofu, green onions from the garden, and sardines with an olive oil and vinegar dressing.
I’m not feeling deprived at all, just a bit hungry, but that is to be expected as I go through a bit of carb withdrawal, I think.
Anyway, thanks for putting up with me if you’ve managed to read all of this. Keep on keeping on everyone! -
Advice please….. they say pride comes before a fall….
I have been so careful to adhere to low carb diet and really thought I was doing well… BUT…Testing with a Freestyle Libra tester… strips bought from the internet, with a “use by” in August 2026. For the past couple of months my fasting BG has been ‘pootling’ along at between 4.6 mmol/l and 5.2.
Then yesterday it went up to 5.6 and this Morning was 6.9!!!!! 🫣
Yesterday we ate out at lunchtime:- an all day breakfast, Sausage, Eggs and bacon with mushrooms and 1/2 tomato. Went home and ate 1tbs Greek yoghurt plus 2 blackberries, 1 strawberry.Supper was 1 slice broccoli bread toasted with 150g runner beans topped with 50g grated hard cheese.
Followed by 100g dessert apple cooked without sugar and a little cream.
I then had 30g dry roast peanuts and 12.5g 85% chocolate during the evening.By my reckoning that was a total of 48.6g carb..
However, I was violently sick at about midnight… would that affect my BG??? 🙄
I am concerned as I thought I had it licked….
Help!!!! 💐💐💐 -
Hi Pootle, I am no diabetes expert but as you vomited late last night, could this be the ‘Dawn effect?’ I’ve read about this on the forum lots of times- as your stomach was empty when you went to bed, the early morning drop in your BSL triggers a glycogen release from your liver, resulting in a higher fasting blood sugar.
I am sure I have not explained it well and you may already know more than I do about it anyway. I am sure if you are keeping your carbs low s you describe there has to be something else like this to explain it.
Good luck!