2026 : We've Got This!

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• posted by Dreamscometrue
  on 27 Mar 2026 at 13:19

  

  Hi all, just checking in. I didn’t make my below 150lb target this week, but to be honest it was no surprise as “Fridgegate” set me back in terms of food planning and preparation etc. I’m now back up and running so will dust myself off and hopefully get below it next week : I’m currently hovering around 151lb.

  CATHY well done for yet more loss! That’s amazing and I’m so pleased for you. I think you should definitely aim for 140lb by the end of the 12 weeks – you’re on a roll! And I hope you get your wretched tooth sorted soon 🤞

  MARIET it’s interesting what you say about the online plan. I’m enjoying the food planning aspect, and swap things round a lot to work with my ingredients and tastes. But I get what you’re saying about feeling bloated. I’m on the New 5:2 and if I stuck to all the set meals I’d find them too heavy (though, interestingly, still within the low calorie & carb range). Three meals a day suits my lifestyle at the moment, but I need two of those to be light and sometimes there’s what I would call a “main” meal for at least two out of the three set meals. So I tend to have a yoghurt-based breakfast, some kind of salad for lunch then a main meal early evening.

  ARCTICFOX I’m sorry to hear about your work situation. That must be very unsettling. But that’s great advice from your colleague about trying not to worry about it unless it actually happens. Meanwhile well done for sticking with healthy eating and also getting some good exercise in. It sounds as if you have already built up a good rapport with your new counsellor too.

  SUE I love the sound of that travel pass! I now have a free bus pass which I can use anywhere in the UK but I’ve not taken advantage of that yet. And I do use my Senior Railcard for the train : you have to pay for that but then get 1/3 off pretty much every train fare so it soon pays for itself, particularly as I go up to London a lot. Hope that you are recovering from all your injuries? Thanks for asking about my hand. I did get an x-ray last week as it was beginning to trouble me more, but thankfully nothing broken. They said it was a sprain and could take at least a couple more weeks to heal, and this week there has definitely been some improvement. So I’ve been starting to do stuff around the house and garden again which in itself has made me feel much more positive.

  Hello to everyone else too. Do let us know how you are getting on.

  Hope that you all have a lovely weekend X

• posted by arcticfox2
  on 28 Mar 2026 at 02:24

  

  Hi everyone,
  A quick update as I had my appointment with my GP today. He thinks that based on my history, I likely have ADHD and thinks it worth trying a medication. He said if the medication works, I likely have it. He messed up the prescription though and when I tried to pick it up from the pharmacy, they said he only put 2 tablets down and was that correct? He was supposed to give me 2 weeks worth! So now I have to wait until next week so they can talk to his office and confirm. Not the first time he has messed up a prescription either. I think he goes too quickly when he is writing it or just thinks everybody will understand what he means. Very frustrating!
  He also gave me a requisition for blood work seeing as I’m now over 50 and he wants to check things every year. I’m a bit miffed that he used this appointment to do that though. I’ve really only been eating super well for the last 10 days, so I don’t want to get my HbA1c done yet. He did say that I could just fit it in whenever. What are the chances I can put it off for 3 months? I guess I could blame the ADHD and say that I misplaced the requisition!
  I had a takeaway last night as it was a busy day, but it was a salmon burger in a lettuce wrap with salad on the side instead of chips, so I felt pretty good about that. I also picked up some macadamia nuts and Comte cheese for a bit of variety in the nuts and cheese departments. Tonight I repeated the broccoli, cauliflower and tilapia for a quick and simple meal as it was so good 2 nights ago. So I’ve had a lot of fish this week, but hopefully it is doing me some good and I don’t have weeks like this very often.
  Onwards and downwards everyone! In my case, hopefully my HbA1c as well!

• posted by Dreamscometrue
  on 2 Apr 2026 at 14:29

  

  Hi everyone just a quick check in to wish you all a Happy Easter. I hope you’ve had a good week?

  I’ve been a bit off piste this week as I’ve had various events and family gatherings, which has impacted not just what I’ve been eating and drinking but also being out so much has played havoc with the whole routine of food planning etc. So still haven’t made it to 150 but am maintaining between 151-152 and aim to get to 150 or below by then end of next week 🤞

  Hope that others have done better and seen some loss😊

  ARCTICFOX I hope you managed to get your prescription sorted and that it makes a difference. Hopefully you can delay your blood test by at least a few weeks without any issue.

  Right, I’m off to prepare a Fast 800 recipe for later (fish cakes) then off for a swim. That, I can do!

  Hope you all have a lovely weekend X

• posted by Dreamscometrue
  on 2 Apr 2026 at 20:47

  

  Gosh the fish cakes were dreadful! Curried quinoa fish cakes – and I’m sure I may have got the quantities wrong or something. But definitely not to be repeated 😂

• posted by ADD6605
  on 3 Apr 2026 at 09:23

  

  Hi everyone,
  I really haven’t had a good few weeks food wise which I’m annoyed with myself about as I was finding it so easy at first to stick to the 12 week programme and if I had continued in that vein I would have had a decent amount of weight off by now whereas I weighed myself the other day and had gained weight which really wasn’t surprising. I am, however, absolutely not giving up and will continue with the plan until the end of the 12 weeks, do the free month then will probably continue to subscribe (I think it’s £12 a month) as I could easily waste that amount on rubbish in a month and, when I AM following it, I really do enjoy it! I haven’t done the exercises for a few weeks but am going to start them again, I do read the knowledge box every day and often do the meditations. I don’t know for sure but I think if I subscribe I would have access to the recipes, exercise and meditations. It would be handy if I could still complete the weekly online food plan too. I have enjoyed a few new recipes (in between me going totally off track!) which I will definitely use again (DCT I definitely won’t try the fishcakes!) the Mediterranean Mozzarella chicken is lovely, I eventually got round to making the Curried Chicken Kebabs and the Cheesy Ham and Tomato Pikelets and enjoyed both, the Breakfast Traybake was good, I would probably make the Broccoli Florets with Parmesan and poached Eggs again (though eggs and green veg don’t’ ‘go’ together naturally for me). I tried the Plum Crumble for breakfast, it was ok but the serving is quite small, I made enough for three days but probably wouldn’t make it again. I will try to make a few new recipes in the last three weeks of the plan and hopefully find some more I enjoy. I hope everyone has a nice weekend. Dawn X

• posted by ClarinetCathy
  on 3 Apr 2026 at 09:45

  

  Hello everyone
  Nice to read the updates. It’s so hard week to week keeping strong. I’ve kept to plan all week and been rather hungry this week and feeling tired. I don’t think 800 calories is enough! I’ve stayed the same weight this week. 147.4 lb. I was expecting a plateau this last few weeks so I’m not disappointed. My clothes are feeling better though.
  After a few phone calls and a lot of negotiating I have secured a slot for my dental extraction next Thursday morning – I am concerned because I am hopefully flying on 1st May but that depends on the jet fuel situation of course. Anyway, fingers crossed this tooth will be gone next week.
  I need to have a think about whether to continue on 800 calories or whether to up my calories this week. If I can lose a couple of pounds before I go to Corfu on 1st May that would be nice. I would like to be 145 lb by then but I know things will be slowing down weight loss wise.
  Have a lovely Easter weekend everyone. Make good choices. I’ll be having an apple and cinnamon muffin instead of a hot cross bun today!

• posted by ADD6605
  on 3 Apr 2026 at 09:57

  

  I’m so pleased you have your extraction booked Cathy and hope all goes well. Great that your clothes are feeling better. Apple and Cinnamon muffins are on my list of recipes to try in the next few weeks. X

• posted by arcticfox2
  on 5 Apr 2026 at 21:23

  

  Hi everyone,
  Still keeping on keeping on here. I don’t feel that I’ve lost any weight yet as my jeans are still fitting the same, but I am managing to stick to the very low carb way of eating, so that is a win. Actually, it is 1pm and in spite of some hard gardening all I have had to eat today so far is a bit of cheese at 10am, so I should have some lunch. I started on my new medication today and it does suppress appetite as one of the side effects, so the pharmacist told me to watch that as people can forget to eat while on it. I am starting to get hungry though. I was quite worried about going on these meds as I’ve never been on a stimulant before and I can’t even have caffeine normally without getting jittery or it affecting my sleep if I have even one cup of tea after 10am, but so far I am feeling good. Just an enormous sense of calm, which is what is supposed to happen if you have ADHD, whereas if you don’t have it, you would likely get amped up. So the medications might confirm the diagnosis for me. I have to try them for 2 weeks and then we may adjust the dose slightly if necessary, but if this continues, they could actually be life-changing. Already today I have done a ton of work around the farm, potted up some of my indoor plant starts in record time and noticed that the compost pail in the kitchen needed emptying and just did it without procrastinating or getting distracted along the way. And I’m not exhausted or completely brain dead, so after finishing this, I will have energy to keep going instead of needing to crash on the sofa for a couple of hours to recover. Is this what it is like to be normal? Wow! Here’s hoping this is what I needed to help me make good decisions about food even after hard days at work!

• posted by blueOcean
  on 7 Apr 2026 at 00:30

  

  Today is my first day of the plan. It’s the end of the day now and I am so shocked that 800 calories is managable with careful planning. I had many reservations before deciding to give this a go. I decided to modify my own recipes to fit the macros of the plan. The carbs have indeed called my name today and it’s made me realize how much bread and corn products are empty fillers in my eating.

• posted by arcticfox2
  on 7 Apr 2026 at 20:18

  

  Welcome blueOcean. Yes, isn’t it surprising how daunting 800 calories can seem mentally before you try it? Keep in mind that it will likely get tougher as you go on. If you start feeling low energy or cold, you may want to switch it up a bit as those can be signs that your metabolism is falling and you don’t want that to happen.
  I had an appointment at the optometrist this morning and I was rushing to get changed and pulled on some size 20 jeans I hadn’t worn in a few weeks. And after saying just a couple days ago that my jeans (my working outside ones) were not fitting any better, these were a bit loose around the waist but I thought manageable so I did not wear a belt. Well, after seeing the optometrist I went to the supermarket and unfortunately they started to slip down quite a bit! Anyway, I made it home without incident. I now have new contact lenses, new sunglasses and will have a new set of progressive lenses in a couple of weeks. So I’m all set for a while now as far as eyesight.
  In other news, my counsellor suggested that I put my anxiety about potentially losing my job to good use by looking at what else I could do if that happens. Of course, I have the farm, which is not a big income generator yet, and my pottery which could become a nice little side hustle, but I don’t see either of those paying the mortgage. I had been considering becoming a counsellor, but honestly I’m quite turned off of it after my experience with my last counsellor, and I would have to do quite a few courses to improve my chances of being accepted to a Masters programme. So, I started looking into some other options and it seems I could do a Masters in Dietetics and from there become a diabetes educator even. What do you think? I talked to my godmother about it and she said ‘nutrition is such a strong interest of yours.’ I already have a minor in animal nutrition from my agriculture degree. The local health authority has lots of openings for jobs and are offering hefty signing bonuses for new graduates which would cover about 2/3 of the tuition, and private practice is an option too. A lot of dieticians work online now too which is more compatible with running my farm. Something to think about. I may sign up to do some introductory human nutrition and anatomy and physiology online as the university does not want to accept my animal ones as being equivalent. I should at least be able to get good results which will boost my chances of getting into Dietetics. The only frustrating thing might be that human nutrition is so far behind animal nutrition and a lot of the guidance is not based on very robust science as of yet. We all know about that, I think!

• posted by ClarinetCathy
  on 8 Apr 2026 at 10:44

  

  Hello everyone
  Hope you’re all well and feeling focused and had a nice Easter. I love your idea for becoming a Dietician ArcticFox. Sounds like a positive move. Such a good idea. How is everyone doing?
  I am on week 9 of the online plan and am sticking with it. My family came over Easter and they enjoyed an indian take away but i abstained and made butter paneer and cauliflower rice. Didn’t feel like I’d missed out. Im getting a bit fed up with the same old meals but whatever has happened to me this last three months is working and i am almost 1.5 stone down- 21lbs, 9.5 kg! I can’t quite get my head around it. Clothes are loose! My summer clothes are going to be comfortable. I have treated myself to some Nespresso Caramello Coffee pods to have in the morning and I’ve also treated myself to having my nails done by my niece- I’m rewarding myself but the weight loss itself is a reward. It’s three weeks til my book club get away to Corfu for four nights and I hope to be 144 by then. As soon as I come home I’ll be straight back to 800 calories to offset any damage! I will have to be careful because I’ve not had any alcohol since New Year so I’ll be doing everything in moderation because it will be a shock to my system. Also, I’m quite happy being sensible!! It’s tooth time tomorrow (fingers crossed) I’ve been taking painkillers every day and I hope that once it’s out I’ll feel better. This issue has been going on since July last year! Enough is enough.
  I’ll weigh in on Friday- I had a sneak peek today and I am 1lb down : I stayed the same last week. Today I was 146. I’m chuffed with that!
  Looking forward to reading your updates.

• posted by Dreamscometrue
  on 8 Apr 2026 at 12:23

  

  BLUE OCEAN welcome! Look forward to getting to know you and following your progress. Sounds like you’re off to a great start.

  ARCTIC FOX I think it’s great you’re looking at other potential career opportunities. Your job change may not even happen but I think taking a positive view of the possibility is very healthy. And with your skills and determination I’m sure you can make a success of pretty much anything 😊

  Talking of determination, CATHY you are on a roll! I’m so pleased for your ongoing weight loss. Really good news. And well deserved! X. I hope you finally get your tooth sorted tomorrow 🤞

  I’ve been a bit off piste over the last couple of weeks but am getting back on track. So am not as far forward as I wanted to be by now but am still hoping to be at 148 by the end of April. It’s my birthday then and I’m going away for a few days so it’ll be nice to be securely below 150 by then. Will keep you posted!

  Hi to everyone else too – do let us know how you’re getting on. Good luck everyone! X

• posted by Newbie2026
  on 8 Apr 2026 at 13:20

  

  Welcome BlueOcean, I too am new hear and find these forums very good, everyone is friendly with lots of good advice and plenty of encouragement so keep on coming back and let us know how you are getting on. 800 calories is surprising when you plan well, keep on going 🌞
  ArcticFox2 I definitely think its worth you exploring other employment options, you’ve got specialist knowledge and would be good to put it to use, even if you dont need to in the long run it will certainly keep the brain going.
  Cathy thats really impressive, well done, great results.

• posted by Newbie2026
  on 8 Apr 2026 at 13:29

  

  Dreamscometrue, well done for getting back on track, I think thats one of the hardest things is getting back in the saddle. You have a goal set so now you can work towards it and how lovely to have a reward in place ready, you’ve got this.

  I’m plodding along and doing not so bad, trying to get in to a better routine and back on it after Easter. Hope everyone else is doing ok 😀

• posted by arcticfox2
  on 8 Apr 2026 at 20:53

  

  Hi everyone, thanks for the encouragement on the career change. I’m getting more excited about it the more I think about it. I had an appointment with my counsellor this morning and she thought it sounded like a solid option as well. We did walk and talk again and went nearly 5km!
  I’m still feeling very calm on my new medication, but almost too calm now as I have to be careful because I can get stuck on the couch and lose my get up and go. I think it means we haven’t quite got the dose right or perhaps not exactly the right medication. The fact that I am calm on a stimulant seems to indicate that this class of drug will work well for me though once we get it dialed in.
  Still sticking to very low carb, but I do have to watch very carefully about remembering to eat during the day. Once it wears off around 6pm I can get very hungry and want to eat a big meal if I haven’t eaten through the day. My counsellor suggested putting myself on a schedule with alarms on my phone if I need to and to stick to it. I’m being very active around the farm at the moment so I should have an appetite, but the medication is really suppressing it. The good thing about it is that my compression tights are fitting a bit looser and looking at myself in the mirror I think I have lost some back fat.
  Cathy – so pleased for you with what you have been able to accomplish so far this year. It is great to see you setting goals and hitting them after being so frustrated for the past couple of years. Best of luck with your tooth.
  In the interests of not getting stuck on the couch, I will say goodbye for now. I need to get something to eat and then I am headed to the pottery studio for a few hours.

• posted by ClarinetCathy
  on 9 Apr 2026 at 17:30

  

  Hello everyone
  The tooth is out. HURRAH! Seemingly one of the roots was within the sinus cavity and that’s why it was complex and he had to be careful not to perforate it. He has put a dressing in and stitched the gum closed and hopefully a clot will form and everything will be secure. He said he may have to operate further in six weeks if my voice changes or liquids come down my nostril which indicates a problem. I had to risk having it out today or waiting til after my holiday so I took a chance. If it is perforated then I won’t be able to fly on 1st May. He said he was fairly confident it would be ok. What a palaver. Anyway, I’m keeping positive – no nuts or seeds for two weeks and soft food. So lots of Greek Yoghurt, scrambled eggs, soup for me.
  I’ll weigh tomorrow and I’ll be a few grams lighter without that back molar! 🦷

• posted by Verano
  on 9 Apr 2026 at 17:42

  

  Cathy…. all sounding wonderful. Keep positive!

• posted by BeccaBSD
  on 10 Apr 2026 at 02:42

  

  Gosh, Cathy, what a stressful and probably painful thing. I hope it’s all over now and will heal up just right and allow you to go on your trip. Also a hearty congratulations to you for your excellent result with the online program. You’ve been very disciplined, despite it having been a real challenge. Again, I hope you can really enjoy those great results on your trip, and at home, too, of course!

  Welcome to Newbie and BlueOcean, and how nice it is to see fresh “voices” on here. Wishing you both a successful experience. Actually, Newbie, you’ve already accomplished so much in how far you’ve brought your A1c down. I wonder if you realize that those kind of results normally take quite a lot longer, so kudos to you.

  ArcticFox, I LOVE the idea of you becoming a Diabetic Educator and helping us all navigate the path toward remission or at least improvement! Go for it, please! Maybe Fast 800 Online will employ you!

  ADD and DCT, I’m right there with you as far as having been a bit lost in the woods recently. I have a bad habit of always trying to tweak and improve and personalize whatever plan I’m on, and it nearly always causes me to backslide. Well, both the over-analyzing and also the chocolate. : /

  I’m starting a fresh 12 weeks tomorrow, hoping to stay very low carb. I must admit that low carb is kind of depressing to me, but that’s usually because I try to take the carbs too low. Will be careful of that this time.

  Hope everyone has a lovely spring! I’m cheering you on!

  –Becca

• posted by arcticfox2
  on 10 Apr 2026 at 04:57

  

  Cathy, so happy that you finally have your tooth out and that it has gone well so far.
  So after reporting about getting stuck on the couch and wondering if the medication was doing enough, I’ve had a bit of a realization after going to pottery. I am working on finishing up a special project I have been working on that has been taking a lot of concentration and I have to book back to back sessions so that the clay doesn’t dry out too much while I’m working on it. So I was in the studio yesterday afternoon for 3 hours and this morning for 3 hours. Two weeks ago I did the same and I was completely wiped out after. I had to hyperfocus to get it done and was irritated by others in the studio constantly walking past me, etc. I just came home and crashed and couldn’t get anything else done. Well, I guess I can stop wondering if the medication is doing anything other than making me calm because this time I had what I can only describe as a nice, peaceful, open focus. I could concentrate but also chat and laugh with the other people. I noticed them going past me but it wasn’t distracting so I wasn’t getting irritated. And because it was so much easier to concentrate, I was nowhere near as tired after. I was doing better with remembering to eat and drink today. I have had a headache since starting the meds but not sure if it was them or the fact that I was dehydrated. It has eased off today, so I guess I have my answer. I made the savoury cheesecake from The Stone Soup for dinner (it is in the recipe section here if any new people wish to search for it), but substituted two duck eggs for the 3 chicken eggs. I think it was better than the chicken egg version. Duck eggs make everything so nice and fluffy.

• posted by ClarinetCathy
  on 10 Apr 2026 at 17:43

  

  Hello everyone
  I slept well following my tooth extraction and went to the hair salon today which was pre arranged weeks ago but the least said about that the better! They dyed my hair system the wrong colour and now i am brown instead of salt and pepper silver grey! She apologised but the damage is done and I’ll need a new system. I am so sad!
  In other more positive news I was 2.2 lb down this week. 145.2 lbs
  I need to calm down after my hair disaster so that’s all for now. I’ll be back!

• posted by BeccaBSD
  on 11 Apr 2026 at 05:02

  

  OH, my gosh, Cathy, that’s terrible. I hope they waived any charge and offered you a free re-do (if a re-do is possible). I mean, you deserve some kind of compensation other than, “Oooops, sorry.”

  Congratulations on the excellent weight loss this week!

  ArcticFox, I hope you continue to settle in well with the new meds! And I’ve never heard of savoury cheesecake, but want to learn more, am intrigued!

  –Becca

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