As mentioned in my introduction I have had a very difficult year as my youngest son Paul drowned whilst on holiday in France on July 13th last year. Until christmas I did practically nothing, just knitted and watched tv when not at work. Although work very understanding their was a stress factor with one of the ladies which made me very upset and did not help me to cope. All that is behind me now and for some reason I am ready to start the fast 800. I am a little confused with what I can eat. I have to admit I cannot eat eggs and the suggestions in the diet book do not appeal so will have to make up my own 800 calories. I am practically vegetarian but do not eat legumes. A sorry case I fear but as I need to lose at least 6 stone I must endeavour to find a way. All support would be greatly appreciated and I do promise to try and be honest about what I eat and will take a leaf out of Izzys book, Way to go. So bear with me, I do need help and I look forward to lots of postings.
Thanks Mary

Hi there thistimeiwillsuceed

Welcome to this wonderful forum, someone else said we are the best bunch of losers. So glad you are starting, this plan for me has transformed my view of food, and leaves you feeling healthier. I am on day 11 lost 15lbs, 41 yr failed dieter, pre diabetic, fatty liver, and had 104 lbs to loose when I started. If I can do it everyone can as I was the worlds worst. This is one thing in your life you can take control of. So go for it, enjoy, and count everything. I count carbs also up to 50 daily. This time tomorrow, you will be making progress.
So plan and enjoy. We can all do this together, a big international support group. Let us know how you are doing Mary.
Hope you have a nice evening
Regards jan

Mary: I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your dear son.
You will find a lot of support here.
I just finished my first week and lost 8 pounds. Coming here and reading the threads and posting about how everyone is doing and what they did to lose the weight has helped me a lot. Plus most of them post their results from week to week which is a great motivator.
take care Nancy

You’ve come to the right place. Your son would be proud to see you trying to move forwards and look after your health.

Be kind to yourself as you find your way forwards, There are other vegetarians here and I’m sure that someone can help you if there is anything in particular you love to eat maybe we can help you convert it to BSD friendly 🙂

Welcome and Good luck

Sending lots of good wishes to you. As the others have said, there is always support waiting for you on here.
On a practical note, do you eat cheese? There are a number of cheesey recipes (feta, halloumi, even a small amount of cheddar) along with full fat yogurt as a protein source to go with salads and veggies. Homemade soups are great for keeping you full.
Best of luck and keep us posted.

Hi
Thanks for the tip about cheese. I love cheese and really like goats cheese so I will check out the recipes for veggie ones. So today is the first day of the rest of my life – have had mint tea so far – 3 cups – with fresh mint and also will be having lemon balm tea from the garden. Cannot get any fresher. I think what will help me is to have a cup of herbal tea always in the tea pot and a cup poured out so that I don’t have to think about any other kinds of drink. I do that at work I have a large teapot but of course tea bags with these. think I will have yogurt for breakfast with sunflower seeds and blueberries added. It is the wrong
yogurt as it is 0 fat with vanilla it is really nice. So tomorrow the correct yogurt. Can we eat grapes and cherries? as these are one of my favourites. I have a nutri bullet can we use drinks made from that which is mainly fruit water and some greens like kale? I also have at the moment gastroparisis which means my stomach does not empty as it should which is causing all sorts of problems. I have to take tablets half an hour ish before I eat a meal so that for me should be better as I have to focus my mind on when to eat and what.
So will report in this evening to say how it went. Much thanks. Mary

Hi Izzy Thanks for your post. Am still getting used to the forum and my laptop. Should have done my reply to all of you who posted. Thank you. I shall report in tonight to say how today went. Not got into the swing of calorie counting yet but aim today to eat lower cal stuff. Are we allowed butter?
See my previous post for my update below
Mary

yes we are allowed butter so long as you count it into your calories.

margarine is highly processed, a little butter is better 🙂

Hi Mary
So sorry for your loss. We lost my (grown up) stepson almost 8 years ago in a plane crash, and whilst you never get over the loss, over time you do get used to it and learn to live with it. As I think Izzy said, your son would be proud that you are picking yourself up and moving on, and would probably tell you that by taking control of your weight and therefore health you are stepping in the right direction to living every day to the fullest. I know…who knows what our lost ones would have thought or said, and what right have I as a stranger to presume I would know, but I feel it in my bones that losing someone is a wake up call to grab your own life and squeeze every drop from it!

Anyway, I am 1 week in and loving every second so far…I’m not veggie so am able to follow the four week plan in the book, but I am sure that everyone will help you out, and there are lots of meals that are veggie without proclaiming it (like the Mediterranean platter, Greek salad with attitude!) and I am sure you will quickly find an alternative to eggs.

Best of luck with it…we are all here for you 😘

Thank you. how about cherries and grapes? Also I thought I would make some vegetable soup. Do I take it I cannot use potatoes? Knorr veg stock cube, carrots, leeks and onions – would that be ok. I appreciate your help as there is so much that I don’t eat and any suggestions would be great. Mary

Thanks Lesley. Only those who have lost a child can understand how terrible it is to lose one. I am sorry that you lost your step-son and in a plane crash, that must have been so hard. You are quite right Paul would want me to succeed this time. He was always telling me to stick with it. However from speaking to other people who are shall we say on the spiritual side say that I am very lucky. I cannot explain it, but Paul was my baby after all) Since January 2016 I have had messages from him. In my head I heard first “Its been 5 months, shows you loved me now get on with your life” nest a couple of weeks later I got “mum I am all right” then when I was going through a bad time being upset and crying a lot I got “don;t cry mummy” then when I started to do the 5:2 I thought I would do it for Paul. I got “Mum you can do it” and lastly I got very recently “come on mum you can do it”. As I said I cannot explain it but I am sure it is Paul. So he is helping me to stay on it for sure. Sorry if this is upsetting but it is a way forward for me.

I am going to look at the recipe section to see what I can have today.
THanks so much for you email and if anyone else has experienced what I have from a much loved one please let me know. Apologies for posting this but talking of paul really helps me. It is his first anniversary of his death on Wednesday so gearing up for that and I know I will not keep to the 800 cals on that day.
Mary

Hi Mary
Well done on making the first step towards the new you. As a vegetarian I am sure you will find plenty of dishes that will work well for you. By adding in oils, cheeses, cream and yogurt you should do fine. Be careful with fruit, keep it in moderation as they can be high in carbs, due to their sugar content. The kale in fruit water shouldn’t be an issue. And if you like cauliflower, try making cauliflower rice/couscous in a food processor and using it as a base to add in other flavours. This regime is a great opportunity to become friends with your spice rack again and rediscover herbs. Griddled Halloumi is a great alternative to meat, so that’s another option, along with toasted goats cheese.
I have found that the Fast800 has inspired me to get creative with food again and I’m really enjoying eating tasty food, that is helping me to lose weight.
Keep us posted on your progress and shout is you need any support.

Hi SunnyB thanks for the encouragement. I shall take this on board as there are some good ideas there. Thought I might have a stuffed red pepper tonight, just going to figure out what to stuff it with. Going to make a veg soup now to have for lunch. Thanks again

Hi there mary.
Defo no spuds, and cherries and grapes will come out to high in carbs for the mo, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are all good, but weigh don’t guess, just always check on my fitness pal app or an equivalent which will give you the cals and carbs, a faff at first, but just write a list, then that’s your reference. You can do it, and we will all do it together. Go for it, enjoy it, rejoice in finding what I consider in my humble opinion the medicine for a long life. Keep posting here so we can support you even if it’s negative, you need us even more then.
Regards
Jan

Hi mary
Meant to say veg under the ground luxury, tropical fruits a no no. Also it’s good to talk, all of us who are 50 and over will have our emotional rucksack full to the brim, and it’s these feelings that drive me for one to food. So you talk away. I use this forum on a daily basis, it’s like my online A.A. site. I haven’t seen anyone being judgemental on this forum so far, and I also believe the mind has boundless capabilities. So if those words are encouraging you in something that is virtuous, then go for it. Thankyou for trusting us in your openness. Power to the B.S.D. Peeps.
🌸💐🌺

Hi Thanks for your post. I will try and post each day and hopefully not negative. Wednesday will be hard but Geoff and I are going out to lunch during the day where we can remember Paul who I miss very much. Our memories are from when he was growing up and all the funny things he did. Just read about the grapes and cherries. I have had 14 grapes but no cherries. Made the soup but of course with no potatoes which was hard as I love potatoes so much. Had to have a mid afternoon snack so I had some natural yoghurt into which I put said grapes (not all of them) and some sunflower seeds and I tried some vanilla essence which I bought some years ago whilst on holiday so I think it is pure – came from one of the carribbean countries. I try and buy spices and seasonings/essences when on holiday as it is much cheaper.

I am waiting for an amazon delivery now as I ordered one the of test at home blood sugar monitors as I have no idea what mine is other than I am pre diabetic so will let you know how I get on. Don’t like the needle in skin bit though…..
Thanks to you all.
Mary