I gained a stone in weight on honeymoon, so two weeks after getting Married! Not sure it that was emotional eating or just Californian portion sizes…
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I recently realised that my worst problem with eating is from fatigue. When I’m tired, instead of getting sleepy, I get the munchies.
It’s worst in the evenings so I’m trying not to eat anything until the evening, so I can fill up on the whole 800 calories before I go to bed. Eating more in the evening seems to help me a bit with sleeping longer, too, but everyone is different. -
Hello All – well done everyone! After a very good start (if I say so myself) I have crashed and burned 🙁
Chips last night (DH makes the BEST chips in the whole wide world so could not refuse – did have a small portion though).
Shopping this morning so croissants and coffee out ……..so I console my self with the reasoning that I would have had those chips and that croissant AS WELL as regular food if I wasn’t BSDing.
7k in 4 weeks?…we can do it girls!
The long dark nights (of the biscuit tin) begin this weekend – I’d advise taking up knitting or something to keep those hands away from temptation – evenings are my munchtimes! Good luck 🙂 -
Hi there. Not much to report after only two days… But I am so pleased that I have got started on this – albeit in a gentle way. I’m not counting calories yet, just avoiding potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and wine. Today’s lunch of smoked trout, avocado and red cabbage coleslaw looked really pretty! Pleased to say that DH does not do chips, though does leave chocolate lying about. But so far so good…
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Hi
I be had a wee bump too , got hold of a pack of Halloween refresher type sweets and didn’t let go! Oops was doing so well on the whole water thing as well! Just had first meal today of chicken thighs in butter and garlic done in oven with broccoli rice was very nice . mfp says 3G carb, 12g fat, 22g protein so will store it as a favourite!! Yummy
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Happy Saturday, All. I’ve been without internet connection for
about 24 hrs, and look what I’ve missed! Antigone, Shazzam,
Caron, Abisaysyes, a warm welcome to you 🙂I just realized that my pair of virtual pompoms have yet to
be described…As a retired interior designer and painter, I always
think and dream in color, so have chosen purple and violet to
go with our “cool” color palette! We’re beginning to resemble a
garden, don’t you agree?Ancient Weaver, I’m also a dancing fool, and use music to mood
alter, I think. Best place is the kitchen floor. I occasionally use
the handle on the refrig. door as my partner, and always throw
in some squats and modified push-ups off of the countertops
for good measure. Fortunately, no one can view this display
from outside the house! 🙂Verano, Krysia, the conversation about emotions reminded me
of something a friend of mine who was a very active member of
Alcoholics Anonymous once told me. The acronym H.A.L.T. is
used as a tool in their program and stands for hungry, angry, lonely
or tired, things to consider when deciding if you really want that
glass of wine, or if one of those other things are really the issue.
I think it could apply to any type of addiction though?Enjoy what’s left of the weekend, everyone!
Allie
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Thanks Allie I guess that acronym sums up just how we have each felt when eating off plan. Strangely enough I doubt if any of us would cite ‘hunger’ as the reason!
Having had time to cool down I realise that eating out of anger or any other emotion only leaves me the poorer! The ‘cause’ of the anger or frustration is blissfully unaware of my feelings and carries on with life. I self sabotage! As I write this I can see that it makes no sense whatsoever. So let’s leave emotional or boredom eating to others. We need to stay on plan especially as we have our cheerleaders waving for us, of is that at us …. mind you they have been a little quiet of late. Looks like you’re on your own at the moment Allie but do like your choice of colours!
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Hello everyone
I am new to BSD and will start in with the November challenge starting tomorrow. I have followed this forum for the past week, while reading through the book and the cookbook, and I feel this is just what I’ve been looking for. It makes good sense and I love the support and encouragement for everyone. So I would love to join your group. -
Hi everyone
On Monday morning I’ll climb the scales and start 8 weeks on BSD. My first. Inspired by a friend and even more inspired by reading this forum. Hope I can join this group! -
Can I join too? Seems like an active, supportive group that can help me stay focused, god knows I need it.
4 weeks done today and I have lost more weight on this than anything else before, loving it! Have had several blips during these weeks, am not someone who is very regimented, but the main thing is that I forgive myself and move on. Yesterday evening I had tons of peanuts, on the other hand I made chocolate brownies for the kids (I never bake!) and was not even tempted. So, I move on from the peanuts and applaud myself for not eating brownies! -
DAY 5 of 28 and more than half way through our first week!
Sorry I seem to have missed so many posts.
Mixnmatch ….CONGRATULATIONS hope you will be very happy. Don’t worry about the weight you will lose that quickly when you get straight back to BSD.
Welcome Canadiangirl, Pineda and Pauley good to have you along and even better that you have found this way of eating. It works! There are so many success stories on here. Don’t get too hung up on the ‘numbers’ that other people have lost we all lose at our own pace. Remember to measure your waist etc because quite often the scales stick but our clothes and tape measure show something quite different. Enjoy your journey.
Krysia I think most of us are emotional eaters and are triggered at some stage or another. The important thing is that we know we are never failures because we always get straight back on that horse when we fall off. Hence you are now only weeks away from your 1st maintenance birthday!!
Caronl dark chocolate is fine, the darker the better. Only a couple of squares a day max but you will get to like it even if it’s not your favourite now.
Ancient Weaver, Antigone and Lessmuffingtop looks like we are all in the same boat at the moment. I love Allie’s H.A.L.T acronym maybe we should all write it down in big, bold letters. I think, apart from a few of us, everyone has times when certain foods just look far more appealing than they really are. So I suppose we should all be asking if it’s Hunger, Anger , Loneliness or Tiredness that’s making us eat or drink certain things.
And so to me….. I need to reaffirm my thoughts from the start of this challenge ….. I WILL weigh and log everything in fatsecret, I WILL NOT eat crisps, digestives and Lindt 90%. Red wine is on the back burner. The first 4 days have been very hit and miss with weighing and logging partly because we have had quite a sociable week, but being honest, I’ve not stuck to it at home either. I have only succumbed to crisps once, and digestives once or twice, not sure because I’m not logging! Lindt has been harder to lose as I’ve had quite a few ‘spicy’ meals and I always feel the need for something sweet afterwards. I guess 90% chocolate is not the end of the world. So that only leaves the red wine which I’m afraid is still part of my life.
So after 4 days I’ve not done too well BUT this thread has made me reassess and I promise, just for today to get back to weighing and logging, because that definitely stops me overindulging especially when I fill my day’s diary in at breakfast! We are eating Thai food out tonight so I’ll have to have a very low carb/cal day to accommodate tonight.
Hope everybody is back on track again now….. it’s a new day put the past behind us …. let’s begin again and if you haven’t stopped then, as s-g says….. just keep on keeping on ……..
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Verano you have certainly managed to create a lively thread well done!! Pressure is on you to be our leader! No more Lindt for you we are all looking up to you!! 😀
I recovered from the bag of refresher caramels and am back on track! I went out to Frankie and bennies and had a steak salad delicious but perfectly on track. Was good as I also drank the jug of water. Strangley I find going out helps as long as I have planned what to eat. Stops me drinking I have to drive and eating my child’s sweets!
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I’m still here, Verano, cheering you on from the sidelines, jumping up and down (in frustration when you self-sabotage, but in joy when you get back on track) and waving my (actual) shocking pink pompoms at you 🔮🔮 The extra exercise is doing me the world of good.
Welcome to all the newcomers – you’re in good company.
As a maintainer, can I suggest that you all just take it one day at a time? Yesterday has been and gone, and who knows what tomorrow may bring? BUT you can all control what you do today – weigh and log EVERYTHING. TODAY.
My eldest son, bless him, stopped smoking (40 a day) 20 years ago……He never “gave up” and still hasn’t in his view (that way lies possible failure), his mantra was “I’m not smoking today”. Because he knew he could manage “today” but if he needed one “tomorrow” he could allow himself one (though of course he couldn’t, because by then “tomorrow” had become “today”) he succeeded and, 20 years on still hasn’t succumbed – not once😃 But to this day, if asked if he smokes, his answer is still “not today” which gives him permission, in his mind, to have one tomorrow and then get straight back into the no smoke zone the next day, without guilt. Maybe a strategy worth adopting for those of you who have trouble staying focused for long periods of time? You are not eating carbs TODAY.
Still jumping, still waving, still cheering🔮🔮🎊🎊🎉🎉
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I knew you were still there Theodora waving at us! Very wise words. I ‘stopped’ smoking around 18 years or so ago but think for me with cigarettes it really was a case of never again. I just thought to myself ‘I am not a smoker’. I think we all employ different strategies and if it works for you then great. I suppose it’s similar to the reason we eat the wrong foods, we each have different triggers.
But for today, for me, there will only be BSD friendly foods. Tomorrow I’m going to see if I can keep my carbs to less than 20g but not count my calories. It’s something I’ve never tried before, as my goal had always been 30g. A shake up could be just what’s needed.
Lessmuffintop well done yesterday, here’s to today! Believe me my ‘leading’ any challenge is from a purely selfish standpoint. If I keep reading and writing, and listening to others struggles and successes, it helps to keep me on track. I’m sure without these boards I’d have lost my way a long time ago and regained a good proportion, if not all, of the weight I have lost so far. I’m just pleased that my offerings help others along the way as well.
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Hello All.
By my reckoning 8 weeks today is xmas eve. So that means we can easily (!) lose 7k before then! I had poached egg on buttered toast for breakfast and I will have a glass of red this evening but then I will be really good. Promise. Was tempted to do some emotional drinking/eating yesterday but I kept busy instead! HALT is the word (maybe a tattoo?)…Keep up the good work guys! -
Hi all, and welcome to Canadiangirl, Pineda and Pauley. Congrats to Pauley for resisting the brownies. I find if I bake “for the family”, it is normally me that polishes off most of it! Day 3 and still sticking with it – apple in the porridge rather than jam, and even tried cauliflower rice last night while the rest of the family had pasta. Enjoyed it too. DH, however, has just bought a huge chocolate/coffee gateau which is staring at me from the fridge. I have resisted so far. By posting this, it ups the stakes and will encourage me to stay away!
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Good morning this my second attempt to write…. first got lost in the ether!
Antigone I would have to add a ‘B’ to my tattoo because I eat out of ‘boredom’ far too often. And yes just 8 weeks before the ‘silly season’ as you say and just 7 before I materialize into ‘party girl’ for the day. If ever there was a reason to stay on plan…..
Caronl great for reaching your 4th day and resisting home bakes. Just a little word of caution about breakfast. An ‘innocent’ apple, as Adam discovered, may not be all it seems. I don’t know how many carbs you are aiming for a day but a small/medium apple can have 19g of carbs and added to your porridge that could be a really big chunk of your daily allowance. It’s surprising where carbs hide to trick us up! Well done substituting cauliflower for rice. If you search in the box at the top of the page you will find a thread ‘101 ways with cauliflower’ with some really great ideas. It’s amazing what you can do with a humble cauliflower. Also you could try courgette spaghetti.
So talking about carbs I had a bit of a revelation yesterday. I was only saying above that I don’t know how people stay at 20g or less a day, well yesterday I think I found the secret. Time ran away with me, as they say, and I missed breakfast. I usually have 100g greek yogurt, 100g strawberries and 10g walnuts, a total of 11g carbs and 200 calories give or take. So I had saved 11g of carbs and for lunch had 2 eggs scrambled with some asparagus and smoked salmon. During the afternoon I had 20g of a mix of almonds and brazil nuts. In total 7.7g of carbs, 3 of which came from the nuts! I wasn’t hungry at dinner but we were out so I had a relatively friendly BSD meal of mushroom tom yum soup, red chicken curry and pak choi. I realise that I need to eat more protein to stay around 20g of carbs so that will be my mission for the second week of our challenge, together with drinking water of course!
Hope everyone is managing to stay with their goal this and if not there are still two days to make amends.
Have a good day.
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Good investigation Verano 20 g always seems a bit impossible to me !
I had the best day yesterday I was weighed in the gym by a tanita analyser it said my visceral fat was 6 and the PT who did the appointment said ” you are not the kind of body shape that carries fat on your stomach” .. even my hubby laughed at that. I so do and the only thing that has changed my tummy fat and reduced body fat by 8 % (so far !!!) is BSD .
I was elated but…. there were super thin people about who told me they go to the gym every day! Gee I thought I was doing ok till then!!Anyway proof positive from a machine that BSD works to reduce tummy fat.
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Hi all. Thanks Verona for the comments on breakfast. I confess I haven’t got daily targets yet: I am starting gently by “just” giving up potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, obvious sugar, processed food and alcohol. I hate counting calories etc – too many years of WW. But I suspect I shall have to buckle down soon! DH’s cake now finished – and I resisted successfully with a couple of servings of almonds. Hoora!
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Sorry Verano for the misspelling!
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Well done lessmuffintop … it does work!
Don’t worry caronl it’s a ‘nome de plume ‘ and means ‘summer’ in Spanish, I’m not Spanish though just spend lots off holidays there! Well done for resisting the cake. I don’t know your history but if you don’t have a lot to lose you mag have to start counting sooner than you think! It’s the carbs that are the real culprit especially if your blood sugar is compromised. But no reason to not ease yourself in quite a few people do. Best of luck anyway.
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Well I have been eating loads carbs but didn’t know it ! Got it in my head sugar was carbs and have been buying M&S carb balanced meals not realising their is 35 in one meal ! Oops and also binned another ready meal that had 65g. Self sabotage without even knowing it! Back to the drawing board !!
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Lessmuffintop try fatsecret.co.uk it has loads of supermarket brands and the nutritional values. Some foods have an amazing amount of carbs. For me apples have been the greatest surprise!
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LAST DAY of WEEK 1
Well we are at day 7 with our first weigh in tomorrow. Hope everyone has had a good week but there is still today to make a difference.
My week has been mixed with several social occasions but that’s life and we have to integrate ‘life’ into BSD, especially if we are T2. I think I have come to realise that as long as I don’t regain weight then I’m winning. If my BS remains good then weight loss is an added benefit. I don’t want that to sound as though I’ve given up on weight loss, I haven’t, but I just need to get the whole health/weight balance more into proportion.
So I didn’t manage to stay at 20g of carbs yesterday but mainly because I had some Bolognese in the freezer I needed to use up and that was quite carby. But starting the November challenge today has forced me to make a goal which will be to aim for 20g of carbs a day but no more than 30g. I know the first few days will be tough but I will give it my best shot.
I hope you all have a good Day 7 and see you tomorrow with our first results.
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Jump jump. Cheer cheer. Wave wave🔮🎉🎊
Sounds like a plan, Verano. -
Think it may get just be Theodora, it might just be!! How can I fail with all that waving, jumping and cheering…
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Verano, when doing a 20 gram limit, stick as much as possible with the green leafies. Think giant plates of freebies or near-freebies like spinach, rapini, chickory, Tuscan kale, collard greens, etc. Basically shakshuka without the eggs. As much as I adore tomatoes, I will eat no more than 2 ounces of them a day, and that happens very rarely. It’s a treat I save for when the heirlooms are in season and I can have tomatoes in their greatest form: the glorious Caprese.
I did a high kick and clapped my hands underneath my leg without falling on my ass! This virtual cheerleading gig is producing real results for all of us. 😀
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Thanks Esnecca. In some ways I feel like I’m starting all over again. Missing breakfast is really helping and providing I eat the right things for lunch I’m not getting the munchies in the afternoon. I think that I have been falling into the same old trap as with WW etc. trying to eat as much as possible within my allowance, but I’ve been eating up to my maximum carbs instead. I just need to change my mindset.
So glad you are also benefitting from this thread. The vision of you clapping your hands under your leg made me smile …. just keep cheerleading!
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Good morning and the end of Week 1….. but the first day of WEEK 2!
Well the first week has been ok for me I’m down by 2lbs so going in the right direction. I am only on day 4 today of trying to stay at 20g of carbs a day and I am getting used to it, and I do think it will work for me over the coming weeks.
I have just looked back in my journal and realise that over the last five months or so I have been losing/gaining the same few pounds. In fact I’m still 3lbs above my lowest weight on BSD which I achieved in early October. On the bright side I have ‘maintained’ but realistically I’ve spent the summer and early autumn ‘messing around’ . I have become complacent and too comfortable in my body, which is too big. I need to get serious again because if I don’t I could so very easily end up on the slippery slope of regaining, full stop.
I managed quite well this week to increase my water intake but not everyday. So this coming week I will keep drinking water, at least 2.5lts a day, and I will stay at 20g of carbs. I’m going to forget calories for the moment and hope they take care of themselves!
I hope everyone else has had a good first week.
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Well, I’ve not made it to my next milestone, although I have touched down to it a couple of times in the last week. All in all it’s been a pretty good week though, I’ve been swimming, and been bouncing around (without pompoms, but that kind of activity 😉 ), and have still managed managed to lose a bit despite my ‘not counting’ experimentation. I’ve managed to kick Pavlov’s reflex for breakfast, and can go all day on a couple of walnuts or an ounce of cheese. I still need to tweak how much of what to eat in the evening to get all the nutrients I need from real food, rather than topping up with whey shake, vitamins and other supplements but they are definitely helping my energy levels and sleep pattern, so at least I’m not being forced to sacrifice wight loss for the sake of my health. (I need more protein than most people, so it’s difficult to get down to 800 calories without the shake, which is extremely low in trace nutrients and vitamins.)
I suspect that a full stomach and a significant volume of food in the intestinal tract may well help with fat burning, so I’m going to concentrate on high protein veg this week (sprouts, broccoli and spinach – luckily I like them all). Hopefully that will make it easier to get down to 800cals without needing whey shake.
So, this week’s plan is to
1 Keep proper count, 2 keep up with the exercise, 3 eat spinach, brocc or sprouts every day, 4 drink more water.It’s been a good week on this thread too. Lots of interesting, useful, and encouraging posts. Well done everyone! 🙂
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Congratulations Verano on the 2lb loss. And Ancient Weaver, your week sounds very healthy! How I recognise the business of the same few pounds coming on and off! I am hoping that this new approach will shock my system into better balance. Anyway, 5 days in to this and I have lost 2 kilos – nearly 4.5 lbs. Of course a lot of that will be water, but I’m happy that it is a good start.
I don’t really feel that I have my head round these target carbohydrate levels yet. I think for next week I shall just keep going with enjoying all the Mediterranean foods and avoiding pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, processed food, sugar and alcohol. Two new resolutions are to drink more water, and start 5:2, so that I keep to 800 calories at least twice a week.
Good luck to all, and thank you for all the support!
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Congratulations Verano on the 2lb loss. And Ancient Weaver, your week sounds very healthy! How I recognise the business of the same few pounds coming on and off! I am hoping that this new approach will shock my system into better balance. Anyway, 5 days in to this and I have lost 2 kilos – nearly 4.5 lbs. Of course a lot of that will be water, but I’m happy that it is a good start.
I don’t really feel that I have my head round these target carbohydrate levels yet. I think for next week I shall just keep going with enjoying all the Mediterranean foods and avoiding pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, processed food, sugar and alcohol. Two new resolutions are to drink more water, and start 5:2, so that I keep to 800 calories at least twice a week.
Good luck to all, and thank you for all the support!
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Still jumping, cheering and shaking my pompoms for you all – and it’s obviously working, as some good losses are being reported, so very well done.
As far as the same few pounds coming and going, I think that is normal – I’ve been in maintenance for almost 6 months, and I fluctuate. This morning my scales showed another 1.5lbs off since yesterday, for no apparent reason (unless it’s all this jumping, cheering and shaking😜) so, whilst I know you are all still looking to lose more, just think of the yo-yoing as good practise for future maintenance! I’m sure this big refocus will get you all nearer to your target weights, so keep going, and I’ll keep jumping, cheering and shaking for you!🎈🎈🎉🎊🎆
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Hi Verano, Ancient Weaver, et al, I’ve had only intermittent internet
coverage this past week (frustrating!) so I haven’t participated as
much on this thread as I had hoped I would. Fingers crossed that
it is cleared up now. For the new joiners I have missed, a warm
welcome to you all! 🙂Verano, you are off to a great start! When I dropped my carbs
to <20 I never had another plateau and the added benefits of
being in ketosis were clearly noticeable in terms of an unlimited
supply of energy. My CFS up and left. At present I’ve been
allowing in about 30 max. Weigh-in today showed no evil effects,
but I will be keeping a sharp eye on it for the above stated reason!First day of week 2, and I’ve managed to move forward with
my refocus plan: No more weight loss, weight training 3x a week,
(nothing too wild, 5lb wts but lots of reps). I also do a brisk walk
for 30 min (reaching for a goal of 45) 4-5x wk. My virtual pom
poms are out today, and I’m imagining doing back flips for you
all. I’m afraid that they will have to also be “virtual” though, as
I think going airborne might be ill advised at my age. No padding
left on either hips or bum. Ouch!Ancient Weaver, I’m in complete agreement with you re getting
my vitamins and minerals from whole foods, not vitamin caps
or supplements. Cruciferous vegetables and/or spinach is in
my diet every day, also. Have you ever used whfoods.com?
It’s a great and detailed sight about the world’s healthiest food,
and I’ve learned so much from it. If you have the time to take
a look, let me know what you think!Wishing everyone a great week 2! 🙂
Allie
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That should have been “site”, not “sight! Sorry….
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Hi everyone, I am new to posting I have enjoyed reading your posts and taking on board some of your very useful tips for the BSD. They have been inspirational I thankyou all😊I have done 8 weeks had a4 week break didn’t put on loads, still followed BSD principles but allowed a few glasses 🍷 I am in week 2 of 8 and taking one day at a time👍
Hearing about your experiences really helps to motivate me on my journey so onwards and upwards ……into week 2 look forward to joining in if I can …… -
Sueonit, it will be great to have another retiree here. Welcome!
I hope that you will soon come to enjoy posting as much as
we all do. It’s the secret ingredient to success. Tell us a bit
about yourself and the goals that you have for this challenge!
Between us all, there is a wealth of accomplishment and
knowledge here, a spirit of generosity, and unlimited support.
Best wishes to you,Allie
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Welcome Sueonit please do join us. It’s amazing how helpful it is to post especially in the bad times because there’s always somebody to lift your spirits. Best of luck on your journey.
Ancient Weaver I agree with Allie nutrition is definitely best derived from food. Looks like you have a plan and it includes water. Why do we find drinking water so difficult!
Caronl well what can I say apart from go to the top of the class …. 4.5lbs is a great start and welcome to the water club!
Thank you Theodora and Allie for all that cheering, waving and jumping up and down. It’s obviously working! It’s ok for you to fluctuate Theodora because you’re at goal, but it’s not quite the same when the scales should be moving down. And as for having ‘no padding’ Allie I could always send you a bit of mine if you want it!
So much for the start of a new week for me. I went out for lunch today to a well know Italian chain. I just had some yogurt this morning and was going to have my main meal at lunch. I had chicken with a mushroom, spinach and a marsala sauce on the side. Chicken was stone cold, don’t think it had been freshly cooked, the sauce was tepid and gloopy and the side salad wasn’t fresh. So the lot went back and I had a Caesar salad. Well it wasn’t really it was more like an egg salad with salad cream and tomatoes with a sprinkle of some type of cheese. I ate some of it but have no idea where my carbs are now. Think I will just have to put a line under today. I have to be honest today has been one of a very, very few times when I’ve not found BSD friendly food in a restaurant. Just put it down to experience!
Hope you have all had a better start to the new week than me.
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”Failing to plan is planning to fail” …… that’s just what I did yesterday starting with my lunch experience and ending with digestives.
No excuses
Today I’ve jumped straight back on that horse.
I have my eye on the prize!
Today is going to be a good one!
Hope you all have a good day too. -
I hope this link works because it’s a really interesting article. I think when you reach the stage of preferring a burger to chocolate cake you have ‘arrived’. I’m not quite there yet but almost …. the burger was looking more interesting.
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Thanks for the link Verano. I’ve ended up spending 30 minutes on that website – the temptations of the internet! I was struck by the comment there ” The most common mistake when starting a low carb diet: Reducing carb intake while still being afraid of fat.” I’m beginning to feel a bit lost in advice to add butter, cream etc to my food – it feels so counter-intuitive. Is there anywhere in the BSD literature a key table setting out the ideal breakdown of protein, fat and carbs? I ask this with a slightly sinking heart, since I have had enough of counting calories/WW points etc, but perhaps I need to do some more groundwork.
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Hi Caronl the Diet Doctor website is really useful just sign up for emails and you get a weekly letter. I was struck more by the second half of the article when she talks about the consequences of eating ‘cake’. I could so identify with that.
I don’t think there is any specific advice in the book and I’m sure somebody will come back with figures for fat and protein. When in comes to carbs it’s a bit of trial an error. Generally most people stay under 50g a day, 30g being favoured by many, but some people need to be low as 20g or less.
When it comes to fat that is a really difficult one. It takes quite a while for most people to get rid of the brainwashing that low fat is the best way. Once you accept that healthy fat is good you feel quite liberated. When I first started this WOE lots of people worried about what they would eat in restaurants etc. but in fact it’s easier to eat BSD friendly than low fat and it’s wondeful to enjoy a knob of butter on vegetables or fry an egg in oil.
Counting …. well at first it really would be useful to use an app or website just to familiarise yourself with the carb content of foods. Some food we thought was really ‘healthy’ is in fact very high in carbs. I know you don’t have a great deal to lose but if you want to lose and maintain then you need to know about carbs. The other side of the coin is that dark chocolate can be eaten in moderation, Lindt 90% has just over 1g carbs per square , two a day could quite easilly fit in your plan, if that’s your poison!
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Caronl, I totally agree with Verano that it is a challenge to let
go of the notion that fat is bad for you. Even now, I keep all
my protein clean, pastured beef, free range chicken breast, wild
salmon, organic eggs. I do make a point of eating a measured
portion of nuts and 1/4 – 1/3 of an avocado each day. Although
I’ve never had blood sugar issues, (a miracle in itself) my chloresterol
was sky high. Today every one of a complete set of bloods is now
in the optimal range. A further incentive to eat plant based fat
is that I now no longer have dry skin, my hair is much shinier, and
I have long strong fingernails that grow at an astonishing rate.
Just something to think about 🙂 Oh, downing 3 liters of water
every day has a big role to play, also!Best of luck to you,
Allie
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Well done on the weight loss everyone! This challenge is working for me -2.6lbs down and more motivated than ever!. I love the discussion on carbs and vitamins -having just had a horrible virus I have committed to spinach every day but tbh I have started taking a vitamin c and zinc tablet in water with my dinner -probably not keto friendly in all honesty and done out of pure fear of getting ill again. I loved the link Verano-it is all in your head – eating and wanting cake -it is hard to disassociate chill down moments and stress moments with cake or chocolate. It is good to see you could get to another place. The bit I find hard is going out with people and they have a pudding or a bit of cake and 1. I don’t want it and 2 it will be sabotage but I don’t know quite what to say because I feel like a party pooper. Last week I had a bit of cake i did not really want , did not really enjoy and cost about £4!-how dumb is that!
Motivation is here today/ love the thread/is keeping me going …….thank you!
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Caronl – as far as how much protein you need, you need to work out your lean body mass. To do this, deduct your body fat %age from your weight in pounds, and what is left is your lean body mass.
Now take that figure and, depending on how much you exercise you do, you have to multiply it to get your protein requirement, as a guide:-
Sedentary – multiply lbs of lean body mass by 0.5
Light activity (e.g. walking) – multiply by .6
Moderate (30 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days per week) x by 0.7
Active (1 hour per day 5 days per week) x by 0 .8
Very Active (10 hours of vigorous activity per week x by 0.9
Athlete – x by 1.0Once you have calculated your protein intake, add in your allotted amount of carbs – as Verano says, most “losers” try to stay under 50g a day, many go down to 20g – and then whatever is left of your calories can be good fats! Others may have different formulas, but that is the formula I worked to when I was losing (50lbs), and it was successful for me – now 6 months in maintenance and no longer really count. Hope it helps
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Hi all. Many thanks for the helpful comments and advice. As you say, it is difficult to step back from years of a low-fat approach. I will focus on the carbs and aim below 30 g – I found the pictures on the Diet doctor website were a good starting point. And moving away from daily porridge! I see the “M diet” refers to 45g a day protein. Theodora’s method looks really good – thank you – but I have no idea of my body fat %age to kick-start the calculation. Do you get this by buying fancy weighing scales? Sorry for the basic question.
I loved the idea of seeing cake in a more negative light! Hope I get that far!
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Caronl, Theodora’s method is probably more accurate than the one
that I’ve used, but I don’t have a special scale nor have I ever had
a body scan done. Figuring out the correct amount of protein was
important to me when I started out because 18 years ago I went
on a serious calorie restricted diet. I lost 60lbs in 5 months back
then, but I had to stop because my hair started to fall out! (As best
I can remember, think I was probably eating @ 35gm per day).
I didn’t want to repeat that result, so this time I used LindaA’s
formula: 1gm of protein for 1-1.5kg of IDEAL body weight. The
differential has to due with how much gym work one does.
This has worked great for me. I hope this helps!Allie
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Caronl, I think most of us probably have scales which calculate our body fat and water %ages, but they are not totally accurate, but do give a decent guideline. If your local fitness or leisure centre has a bodytrax machine, you can get a really accurate measure.
However, you can use this online tool which, whilst being as inaccurate as the scales, if you don’t have those, will give you some indication of your body fat and, indeed, your breakdown of nutritional requirements. As I say, not perfect, but an interesting exercise.
https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat
Allie, I think that my method and Linda’s are very similar apart from the fact that she uses kg, I use lbs and my method of using lean body mass more or less equates with “ideal weight” – they both gave me a very similar answer when I tried them.
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Lessmuffintop never feel like a party pooper. In my experience most people are usually so involved with themselves that they don’t even notice what you’re eating! I’m racking my brains here to try and remember when somebody questioned me about not eating something. Even when we have eaten Thai or Indian food nobody has questioned that I don’t eat rice. Don’t eat cake to please somebody else and if you do feel like some then savour it as though it’s your last meal. Somewhere at the top MM describes eating cake with coffee it’s worth a read.
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It’s ‘Mindful Coffee and Cake’ under ‘The BSD’ above