JGwen- I am very interested in this research as, like you, am a life long vegetarian now low carbing for 18 months, this could be a god send to us both. Is this supplement something we may be able to buy at Holland & Barrett. Please let me know how you go with your research. I have recently started being very interested in so called superfoods. I have been adding some Maca root to my Greek yoghurt this week! I’ve been drinking apple cider vinegar in my water and hoping that eating good clean foods will help boost by wellbeing. I’ve never heard of this particular trace element so well done for finding out about it for us vegetarians and my husband is a vegan so I am sure he will be on board too.

JGwen, I’d be interested in doing some research on this trace element, too! There are a lot of us who are not vegetarians
but have chosen not to eat red meat, so the potential benefits extend far beyond this group. I’ve been using superfoods
for @ 2 years, so if you are interested in such discussions, we can continue on one of our usual threads 🙂 Catch up with
you later!

Allie 🙂

ClarinetCathy, I am planning to call in at Holland and Barrett, so will let you know. I know you can buy it on line, but it would be handy to buy locally as I am keen to start on it. – As I started to do searches online I came across a number of blogs which suggest that vegans need to take it as a supplement, but also warnings that taking this supplement if you are a meat eater could be a problem.

Hi carothomas
I think it would be best for people to watch the whole video, because it contains a lot of information on the process it is relevant for and the relationship between insulin and an opposing hormone and their effect on different tissues. – I think its important for people to take all of this into account when considering taking a supplement so have deliberately chosen to suggest people spend half an hour watching the video. –

I think it may be more relevant to vegetarians and vegans, and may be relevant to those who are T2, or have a lot of weight to lose rather than those who plan to only do 8 weeks on the BSD to loose a stone.

Rather than saying to people that a video says if you take xxxxx as a supplement it will help you loose fat I would prefer them to consider the research for themselves and how appropriate it would be for them.

You can find the link on the Take a look at this thread.

Have been following with interest. As a committed omnivore, including red meat at least 3 times a week I can report that once I finished the BSD I lost more weight and then stabilised and an now v stable (started August 2017 lost 3 stone). Anecdotal but be interesting to see if there’s a pattern with others and their eating habits. NB my cholesterol is horrific, just to balance things out, (no other risk factors, ignoring it).

Best of luck with the supplement, great to learn so much here.

Hi ClarinetCathy,

I called in to Holland and Bennet today. The bottles are in the health section, they have their 30 tablet bottle on sale at half price at present ( but there wasn’t any notice to that effect on the shelf), Its cheaper to buy 2 x 30 tablets than 1 of the larger bottles. Two x 30 tablets cost £12.plus. Each tablet is 500mg so 0.5g. While the recommendation on the bottle is 1 tablet a day, the research I have seen published for people who were IR was for a dose of 2g or 3g a day.

The reason it interests me is that I have never eaten meat. – I don’t know what the driver was, autistic’s can be very sensitive to textures and even as a very young child the only way I would eat even something as lean as chicken was to dissect the meat, pulling it apart so I could separate each thread of muscle tissue from the thin layer of fat linking it to its neighbours. – Life got so much simpler when my mother settled into a routine of serving up my meal and then turning back to the cooker to serve her meal and I could slip the meat off my plate and under the table to the dog. – At the same time I have also always suffered from projectile vomiting if I eat something where meat fat has been used in the cooking, for example roast potatoes, or even using the tongs used to turn a meat beef burger to turn my veggie burger.

Because I have a physically active lifestyle, its very unusual for me to have less than a 2000 calorie difference between input and output each day and often more. Which would suggest based on the 3500 cals is 1 lb of fat formula that I should be loosing 3 to 4 lbs a week, and despite keeping to 20/30 g of carbs, I am an struggling to get to half that. – It will be interesting to see if that changes.

JGwen – thank you for sharing this with us. I will be very interested to see if this has an impact on your weight loss, I was a very very slow loser and it took me 10 months to lose 3 stone following the 800 BSD. I am finding maintenance a challenge and am finding it difficult keeping my weight level. I have learnt a lot about the science of nutrition and weight loss in the last 18 months and am fascinated by this new knowledge.

This is really interesting JGwen. I’m finding maintaining a real challenge as well despite keeping carbs low and calories generally under 1000. Another 200g up today despite being very careful. I do eat some meat but very little, mainly fish and wonder if increasing the red meat in my diet may help. Something to ponder.

Very, very interesting info there JGwen, thank you.
Mariet, we’re in the same boat so it seems! How long have you been in maintenance for?

Hi Miranda, since January. I started by doing the ‘reverse dieting’ thing, increasing calories by 100 a week while keeping carbs low- gained a kilo in 4 weeks. Since then floundering around. I don’t know how to up the calories without gaining weight.

I used the calculator someone posted today, sorry I don’t remember who posted it. That indicates that my TDEE is actually only about 1300 cal which is really not a lot. I’m just scraping 5’2” and not terribly active. It doesn’t leave a lot of leeway.

Luckily I am quite satisfied on 7-900 cal a day but I do get concerned that this level makes it hard to get the essential nutrition I should have. Even going up to my TDEE seems to result in weight gain. How are you going?

Miranda and Mariet, I’m so glad that you have found each other here, and are able to compare results. I guess that
I’ve been blessed that my body didn’t react this way, I certainly worried a great deal that it would! Californiagirl eats
2000+ cal. a day, but she is incredibly fit and active. I’m like the 2 of you, not a big exerciser, so my tdee is quite
low also, 1430cal/day. I think I was used to 800 for so long, that 1430 seemed like a lot of food to try and eat.
JGwen is a brilliant researcher (in my humble opinion) so she may be able to turn up a study or 2 for you all.
Hope she sees this! I wish I had something else to offer in the way of advice, but I’m out of ideas.

Best,

Allie

Hi, sorry not been around much since arriving back from SA, but literally been run off my feet.
Very interesting about the red meat – I don’t eat red meat either so I probably don’t get much of the trace element involved (I do eat chicken and fish) but deep in the asparagus season here, and nothing on earth comes close to English asparagus, so eating it every single day atm, and I believe that contains the same trace element?

My TDEE is much the same as Allie’s (we’ve always said we must be twins separated at birth) and, like Allie, I continued to lose a substantial amount of weight after reaching maintenance. I cannot remember exactly how much (I’d need to look it up) but I know that Allie was worried about how low my BMI was getting (it went down to 18.8 at one stage – far too low for a 68 year old) but it is now stable at approx. 20.6. I did the reverse dieting bit, very slowly, and my maintenance strategy has been to eat more or less exactly the same food as I did when losing weight, just more of it. I also drink wine at least 3 or 4 days a week which doesn’t seem to have any detrimental effect (on my weight anyway, can’t be categorical about my liver 😉 ) We also tend to either dine out, or entertain at home a couple of times a week. I’ve now been maintaining for just over a year, and it has now just become a way of life for me – though I still weigh daily. By the sounds of things, I must be pretty lucky as it would appear that others have much more difficulty maintaining.

I no longer miss refined carbs at all, although I used to LOVE good artisan bread, I am fortunate that potatoes, rice and pasta never really appealed to me. However, my mantra is, and will continue to be “nothing tastes as good, as being slim and healthy feels” – it obviously works, because (and I REALLY want to share this, it made my night!!) at a party last week a complete stranger walked up to me and told me that I looked – and I quote – “spectacularly stunning”, then walked away!! I never saw him again, but there were witnesses, so he wasn’t a figment of an over-active imagination😜

Hey, Theo! I’ve always said that your social life is the envy of us all 🙂 This guy is a “keeper” for your “A list”! I’d like
to encounter him of an evening, too….The only male attention I receive comes about in this form..”you need to gain
10 lbs, blah, blah, blah”. I just tune it out! Will “Hotel Theodora” be opening this season?? I’m hoping to get away to
the beach the first part of June. I’ll be watching for my own “dark haired stranger”! (some poetic license here, the
only men I routinely see have gone grey). Me, too, for that matter! I do miss my auburn hair, but just too much work
to maintain properly. I do manage to varnish my nails each week, however. I can’t let all of my standards to slip!
Very happy to see you today, my friend 🙂 🙂 🙂

Haha, Allie – sadly he’s not a keeper, as I have no idea who he was, and I never saw him again!
As far as your weight is concerned, if you are happy, don’t listen to anyone else’s negative opinion! I’m sure you look just perfect. Frankly, you are lucky if all the men you know have gone grey! Most of the ones I know have gone bald!!

As far as my social life is concerned, it is very manic atm (including a black tie “do” last week and another one this evening) and, wait for it…………………..we enjoyed it so much that have booked to go back to SA next month!!! Nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that England Rugby are on tour there,😜 but we’ll obviously HAVE to take in a couple of the Test Matches 😋(o/h and my sons are fanatical rugby fans / ex-players) and then doing another safari at the same place, which was out of this world! Have also booked a 6 week trip to NZ later in the year, but I daresay that Hotel Theodora will be open for business for a couple of months between the 2 trips.

Enjoy your beach trip – and who knows who you may meet when you are least expecting it!

PS What’s happened to Essie? I see she dropped off the radar with me, but I know that you are in touch with her, so any ideas? I do hope all is well with her, and that it is just her lovely new house which is keeping her occupied. xx

I’ll just say now, I’m so glad to have you all around.
This week has been tough in many ways but the scales have very nearly brought me to tears. Some people reading that could take it as an overreaction but it’s 100% true.
After my drop last Sunday and big jump up again Monday, I have gained everyday since. Granted, my spell in to maintenance is only a couple of weeks but it’s one heck of a rocky road and already my precious wriggle room has gone.
Mariet, I share your concerns about lacking in nutrients. My husband told me I was going to make myself ill the other day! Unfortunately the multivitamins I bought seem to have a….er…transit clogging effect so that’s that idea out of the window.
My ideas for the immediate days……
Up my water intake to 3 litres
Adopt the 16/8 principle
Mix up what I eat….For example ,I seem to have fallen in to the same breakfast pattern of berries/greek yog everyday. Delicious as it is!
Also, I am going to try and “move” a bit more. My step count is often pitiful!
M x

Hi MirandaG. I think your ideas are good ones. Sometimes the body needs a surprise/challenge of a change of routine. I am also doing 16/8 a couple of times a week. So far I am staying in my maintenance range, but it is early days yet. I haven’t dared to have any alcohol yet – just eating more of my usual things. I suspect you are going to have a nice surprise soon on the scales – particularly once the clogging effect is relieved! Just don’t get disheartened!

MirandaG and caronl, whilst saying that I have maintained without too much trouble for over a year now, I forgot to say that I still stick very much with 16:8. On the days when I have to eat later in the evening because we are dining out or entertaining, then I just have breakfast later. I never have more than 2 meals a day. I also throw in a 24 or 48 hour water only fast now and then. I do think it helps to keep one’s body on it’s toes, so to speak!

I do walk between 6 and 10 miles a day, but that is about all the exercise I take, and I did that before losing the weight, so I’m not sure that exercise is a factor in my maintenance.

Miranda, I really feel for you, it must be soul-destroying to see the scales move up after all your hard work. But stick with it, you will find a way to balance your body. We all react differently to different strategies, it’s just a case of finding what works for you. Try not to be too discouraged, mix things up, just keep at it.

Good luck to you both.

Thank you Theodora! Much appreciated.

Theo, reading about your plans to return to SA in a few weeks, I got busy on google to research s/a safaris. What a
magnificent country, breathtaking coastlines, stunning natural beauty, etc. There appear to be many small colonial
guest hotels that look upscale and intrguing too. Also Cape winelands! Did you travel with a solo guide, or part of a
tour? My Mother set off for a kenyan holiday with my sister when she was awarded a MBA from Yale. Career commitments
prevented our inclusion in that trip, however. You may be on the cusp of a new way of life, Theo! It sounds exciting 🙂
I haven’t heard from Essie since just before Easter…She is taking a break, but you and I know she is completely on track
with her “not one step backwards” commitment to <20g of carbs a day. There are so many posts that appear that just
have her name on them, so I hope we see her in the near future . I’ll keep looking for you in all the usual places…
Glad you’re back in the fold 🙂 Kazzi is around too!

Hi Miranda and Mariet, Alliecat.
I thought you might be interested in some snippets from the fasting mimicking diet, published by Dr Valter Longo.

His research suggests that high protein intake causes the activation of the growth hormone receptor, which in turn increases the levels of insulin and insulin – like growth factor. He recommends 0.31 to 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.

He also notes that research suggests the very low carb diets are very good at getting rid of water, and as soon as you come off them, weight will increase as water levels return to normal.

His plan is Day 1. 1100 cals, 500 from complex carbs, 500 from healthy fats ( nut & olive oil), 1 multivit & mineral tablet, 1 omega 3 / omega 6 supplement. 3 or 4 sugerless cups of tea, 25 g of plant based protein, mainly from nuts, unlimited water.
Day 2 to 5. 800 cals. 400 from complex carbs, 400 from healthy fats, (nuts, olive oil) multivit & mineral tablet, 1 omega 3 / omega 6 supplement. 3 or 4 sugerless cups of tea, unlimited water,
Day 6 Transition day. follow a diet based on complex carbs, and minimise the consumption of meat, saturated fats, pastries, cheeses, milk.

He recommends doing this a couple of times a year if you are happy with your weight, and more if you need to loose weight.

Hi all! Welcome back Theo! Good to see you 😁.
Miranda, I can imagine your disappointment, similar to when we plateau for no good reason. I imagine I would feel panicked watching the scales go up a bit each day. You’re plan going forward sounds spot on though. The support from everyone here is better than any weight loss club by a mile!
Kxx

THANK YOU JGWEN!!! The fast mimicking diet was exactly what I was trying to pull forth
from my memory! I think it was MixnMatch who tried it, but that was some time ago.
Now that I have Longo’s name, I can proceed with more research 🙂 You’re just great,
and I standby my assessment of your researching abilities! I knew you might have a
few ideas…

Regarding the Longo diet, I would be concerned about several things. If you are trying to control your blood sugar levels through diet, his diet has a lot of carbs. I am pre-diabetic and there are too many carbs for me in his diet and I would not follow it.
As for protein triggering higher insulin levels, that is a conjecture on his part and is not supported by evidence, as far as I know. I would also be concerned about losing muscle mass on such low protein intake.
The BSD 800 diet, getting most of the calories from protein and fat and restricting carb intake worked very well for me. I lost enough fat to get down to a normal BMI and have also brought my blood sugar down from a high pre-diabetic level to normal.
After a year of maintenance, keeping my carb input down and with a moderately high protein input, my weight has stabilized at a level I am happy with and my blood sugar has stayed in the acceptable range. Although I lost some muscle mass on the diet I feel that I have regained some of it back through a boosted exercise regime in the last year but I am 71 and regaining muscle at my age is a slow process.

Your comments make very interesting reading, Jande. I’m in your age bracket, though
you have a few years on me 🙂 As we age, we have less and less human growth hormone
to rely upon, and the only way to boost it, according to my research, is through the extended
fast. There is also some credible research out there that suggests males benefit more
from exercise in weight management than females. Did you ever fast 24-48 hours? I
still have that in the back of my mind as a future goal. Congratulations on such a
successful maintenance!

Allie

I did (and still do occasionally when I have been over indulging in the carbs I do still enjoy) a version of the Longo diet that was suggested by another blogger which was lower in carbs. I try to stick to 800 cals a day BSD style, with less than 40g carbs (lots of lovely veg) less than 18g protein (mostly not from meat) and the rest healthy fats. I also steer clear of dairy during the week. I feel so much better and freer from cravings after a week of this, and am convinced that the autophagy effects are helping my skin and health overall.

Hi Allie,
I’ve never done a 24-48 hr fast but I generally eat in a 16-8 pattern, with a large dinner of vegetables and a lump of lean meat or fatty fish, and then an evening protein heavy snack, like Skyr and wheat bran, and often some carbs then. I basically eat like I still am on the 800 but just not so calorie restricted.
Jan

Hi Jande9
Thank you for your message. Some of us find that we struggle to loose weight without setting a target of 20g carbs and 800cals others have been discussing loose skin and fasting . So we are going through an exercise of comparing the information from different researchers looking for finer details which could allow us greater flexibility. I simply quoted the formula from the fasting mimic diet as part of that discussion. Not as an alternative to bsd.
You may find a link to a recent pod cast by Dr Bikman that I posted on the Take a look at this thread last week interesting. He is giving a presentation on the latest research on how carbs, protein and fat impact on insulin and its paired hormone.

To be fair to Longo, he doesn’t specify a carb level in his book. He specifies a cal level, which would mean if you went for very low carb veggies you would be on a similar level of carbs as bsd. Its the protein v fat make up of the 800 cals which may shed a light on our struggles re number of calories.

JGwen, your ability to unearth this sort of research is superb and it’s much appreciated. Thank you. It does confirm how incredibly complicated the human body is though…as if that was ever in doubt!

Mariet – how are you doing?

Theodora – your tip about 16/8 has been bouncing around my head ever since I read it. Before I was pregnant, I did a combo of 5/2 and 16/8 which worked wonderfully. I stuck to it without much trouble at all for very close to 2 years.
I’ve been back to it since last Saturday and in conjunction with sticking to the BSD principles/weighing/recording, I am monitoring the situation closely. I need to keep this up for a while to establish a clear picture but have noticed an improvement in those annoying upward boings. Don’t want to speak too soon but promise to keep you posted.

Kazz – you are so right about the support on here. It’s without a doubt second to none!

Hi to Allie & Caronl and anyone else I have missed. Hope you’re all doing ok
Love to all
M x

Hi everyone
I’m here because my Husband has reversed his diabetes and blood pressure/liver problems in 10 weeks by following this lifestyle and diet programme. He has lost 42lb in 5 months and is now 14 st 13lbs, now walks and actually enjoys exercise. He had been on blood pressure medication for 9 years. His doctor said it’s a MIRACLE!
It has completely changed our lives. Also I’ve lost 8lb by just eating the same foods, but supplementing my diet with extra carbs, so I’m feeling great too. On his day of diagnosis of being type 2 I bought him a step counter watch and the recipe book. I made sure he cooked the recipes too to understand how it worked. Lots of walking and we moved house and live on the second steepest road in the U.K. and two flights of stairs instead of a bungalow which has helped 😄
We are just so grateful. Now though the maintenance ? I understand to increase the amounts of food in a meal but
What about pasta, bread etc. I’m going to try pea pasta, lentil pasta, chick pea pasta occasionally for him , brown rice , dark quinoa. Any advice here? Obviously sugar is a big fat NO but he’s enjoying his new body so much he won’t go back EVER

Elaar – well done to you for supporting your husband (of course he has done brilliantly also). Actually that’s quite a difficult question to answer. If I was him I would stay off not just the sugar but the bread also and anything high carb because it is not just the sugar that causes the problem.

I was on insulin and my diabetes is in remission but because I have severe insulin resistance I cannot have more than 20g carbs a day. If I do my blood sugars go through the roof after meals.

Your husband may have more leeway than I have and may be able to tolerate more carbs. I am finding that testing blood sugars 2 hours after a meal very helpful. He could try a higher carb meal and see what his blood sugars are like.

There are many very experienced and knowledgeable members on this forum who will be able to give excellent advice.

Hi KrysiaD
Yes he hasn’t actually checked his levels at home so that would be a good idea after meals.
He is not interested in bread so that’s ok. Thanks for the advice we will try things out

Elaar, well done to you and your hubby. Like Krysia I cannot help you personally as I dont know either of you or how your bodies would react. To your husband I would say, if he had been a smoker and stopped would he go back and have the occasional ciggie, if he was an alcoholic would he just have a few drinks now. I think the answer would be no. However, it is not as serious as that as we all have to continue eating food but carbs can have a terrible habit of creeping up on us. If it was me (and it is as I have seriously improved my diabetes to almost normal but still on some meds) I would not allow carbs to creep in on a daily basis, not even the good carbs like quinoa or brown rice as they are still high in carb. For me they are a now and then treat like one bread roll or steal a couple of chips from hubby when out for an occasional meal. It also depends on how your husband reacts – can he stop at one carb a month or will one bread roll become 2 and then every day until he is back where he started. You say sugar (and I assume cake etc) are a no, no, but surely he must know by now that bread turns to sugar just as do potatoes, rice, pasta etc. Some worse than others.

I little lesson I learnt while on holiday. My bloods were running at around 5.0 (90) and I kept away from carbs. One day we landed in Italy and in the restaurant there was no choice – pasta or pizza – I went for the pasta and couldn’t even eat it all. Next morning my BG was 8.8. It took me nearly a week to get my numbers back down. That was just one starchy meal. Also, if you watched The Truth About Carbs, given the choice of two foods (cant remember exact) how much sugar did they think was in say a chocolate muffin and a small portion of white rice – the answer was shocking at 10 cubs for the muffin and about 30 for the rice. It turns to sugar in the blood.

I think your husband has seen the Miracle work here and will want to do the best for him. Good luck.

Hi Elaar congrats to you be your OH on excellent results. Have to agree with sunshine-girl on the carbs question. I know that many of us maintainers are very wary in our approach to increased carb in take, but find upping the calories has much less negative affect. As she says, if it’s possible for your OH to have just the occasional roast potatoes, or a scoop of ice cream without it becoming a habit or completely messing up his BS readings, then fine.

It’s all a question of trial and error and we are all unique and have to find our own balance, but if a cautious approach is taken, any potential fall out will be minimal and easily rectified. Many of us struggle in the early days of maintenance, suddenly being ‘let out on our own’ as it were, after the restrictions of the initial weeks on this wonderful way of eating. There will be doubts, wobbles and possibly errors, but we’ll be here to offer support when needed.

Best of luck to you both.

Elaar – very well done to both you and your husband. Terrific when the work reaps the rewards!!
There’s been some great advice already posted so not necessary for me to add anything further, other than to say you’ve found yourself in a good place.

We’ve just returned from 5 days in Cornwall. Weather was hit and miss but didn’t stop us getting out and about and having a good time. The subject of food did cause a few hiccups though. I stuck to my 16/8 pattern throughout but that meant foregoing the hotel breakfast as most places around to eat dinner didn’t open until 6pm. Didn’t bother me especially as it wasn’t all that appealing and I’m not really a “breakfast person” anyway. Got a few odd looks from the hotel staff when each morning there were no plates or bowls to clear from my side of the table, just an empty coffee cup!
I stuck to the low carb options throughout and didn’t fancy alcohol in the slightest but still returned home yesterday a whole kilo heavier.
I know this will disappear once I’m back in to my normal routine but a kilo in 5 days?!?

Hope everyone else is doing ok
M x

Hi everyone! I’m back (exhausted) after a frantic week leading up to my daughter’s wedding. It all went beautifully and they are a very happy couple . I did enjoy it but now I’m just so glad it’s over!

I thought I’d chosen food relatively wisely but the scales say different 🙁

I am wondering it it was partly stress as well that’s affected my weight. I noticed last week my fitbit was recording progressively less and less deep sleep and more and more REM, also whereas usually my sleeping pulse is 45-50, the last two weeks it has rarely dipped below 60. Anyway, all done now including the last minute (enormous) flower arrangement for the wedding arch that the florist suddenly couldn’t provide, made by me in my first ever flower arranging effort and attached by my obliging brother. Hopefully there’ll be a downward trend on the scales over the next week or so.
I haven’t had time to read back over all the posts but I hope everyone is doing well and feeling in control. KOKO!

Hi Mariet so glad everything went well with the wedding – and your impromptu flower arch. Thank heavens for brothers! They do come in useful sometimes 😀. Just to say your weight will come back down quickly as stress is a notorious increaser of weight (especially around the middle) and goodness knows you have been subjected to bucketsful recently. Hope life becomes more plain sailing now.

Hi Elaar, welcome to the forum and a great big well done to your OH for being the engine behind his medical miracle. I think you are doing the right thing in looking towards alternatives to the ‘white stuff’ going forward. MM has said that increasing the fibre in carb sources slows down the process of turning it into sugar and allows the body more time to process it correctly, so if you keep any portions small, and irregular, and as suggested test blood sugar and keep a record of adverse reactions to particular foods, there shouldn’t be an issue reintroducing some healthy carbs.

Just bear in mind that there is no such thing as an essential carb, and nutrition low carb style is thoroughly sustainable long term, but I agree some variety in what we eat is desirable as we enter maintenance.

As I was not diabetic I have reintroduced the full spectrum of carbs including white stuff to my own diet, but am busy tracking my own ‘problem’ foods just on feel so I know what to avoid in the future.

This is my third day of recording everything again- it’s a lot more arduous than it was a year ago! Hopefully I’ll get back in the groove soon. It does put a check on mindless nibbling I find. Also getting some early morning walks which is new for me, I’ve always walked later in the day. But it’s very special to be out in the crisp dawn before the roads are busy and it’s just me and the dawn chorus. No change on the scales yet but I’m sure it will happen.

Hi fellow maintainers.
Sorry to have been absent for so very long, so just thought I’d let you know that I am still alive and kicking, and see how everyone else is doing? I’m still maintaining nicely 64 weeks after reaching target!

We returned from our 2nd trip to South Africa almost three weeks ago (3 weeks there, and planning a return trip next March), with just one night back in the UK before flying out for a week in Warsaw (bloomin’ hot there – even hotter than here), and Polish food is very carb heavy, although thankfully we did manage to find lots of restaurants serving delicious salads, so I stuck to those (much more appealing than dumplings in the heat anyway!) We went to Warsaw primarily for a Rolling Stones gig (one of my son’s oldest friends, Sally, is married to Ronnie Wood, so went as their guests) but, rather unexpectedly, fell in love with the city, so colourful and vibrant!

Hotel Theodora is now in full swing again but, thankfully, as the weather is so stunning, all our guests are out and about most of the day. We are spending the days on the water (sometimes with them, sometimes they do their own thing). Meals are consisting of BBQs and picnics, so really easy, both to prepare and for me to ignore the carbs (I really don’t miss them these days) or we dine out. However, I fear I am drinking far too much wine – when it’s hot, the chilled glass or three of something white slip down far too easily. However, I am still only 4lbs above my lowest weight, and 6lbs below target, so very happy with that. I really cannot see me over-indulging in carbs ever again because whenever I have a few too many (generally sticking to under 50g, though no longer actually counting) I wake up in the night feeling uncomfortably bloated, and have to fast the next day to feel comfortable again.

Really hoping all the other maintainers are doing ok? This thread doesn’t seem to be very active atm – not that I have a leg to stand on, on that front!!! But hopefully some of you will respond with your news – I know I don’t get on here much these days, but I do think about you all the time.

Theodora – how lovely to hear from you and that you are maintaining effortlessly. I would love to go back to Warsaw. – I still fondly remember my visit in 1960. It sounds as though it is now an even more vibrant city than it was in 1960.

I am signed up for the weekly and four weekly challenges. Although a year and a half on maintenance I am still exploring different ways to improve my insulin sensitivity. There is a brilliant thread – Take a look at this – started by Verano that has got so much really interesting information on it. Am learning so much – which is brilliant. My aim is to stay off the insulin forever and am getting on really well with intermittent fasting.

THEO! There you are!!! I was just saying to O/H yesterday that SunnyB is back from Turkey, and the only other I was
missing was Theo!!! Lots of us are still hanging about, so slip right back into the community 🙂 I’ve missed you while
you’ve been off cavorting with animals on safari! My same old challenges exist, I need to keep an eye on the white
wine too, but I’m still 12lbs. under target, so maintaining successfully. My big accomplishment this week was to finally
succeed at a 20hr fast, so I’m focusing on trying for 24 hrs in the near future. I’m happy to hear that the Hotel is open
for business 🙂 I maintain my fantasy of spending the afternoon with you in a comfortable armchair, gazing out at
the sea~! Did you have an opportunity to wear that beautiful floral dress, Theo? I can still picture it!! Unfortunately,
Essie hasn’t been among us since March, but I’m certain that she is out living life to the fullest, after her life changing
transformation. So many of your old friends are still here, … Verano, Marie, Krysia, Kazzi, etc. and of course ME, so
please don’t be a stranger! I do miss the banter that only you can provide 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie

Theodora,
It’s lovely to read a post from you. I always enjoyed your banter with Allie, and also remember the lovely floral dress. I’d love to hear about your African Adventures at some point. It’s good to hear about Warsaw. We are considering going there later this year (went to Gdansk last year).
Welcome back
Marie

Welcome back, Theodora – wonderful to hear from you again. Pleased you have been enjoying your adventures. We have recently returned from another drive out to Turkey, where we stayed for three months. In total we were away from home for four months and in that time I gained 7lb, taking me over my original target weight, which was disappointing, but I have to own it, as I was aware that I was not being as careful as I should have been.

Other than that, I continue using the BSD principles but haven’t posted on this thread recently, as I feel I haven’t truly been maintaining while I have been away. I’m currently part of Verano’s I HAVE A PLAN thread, which is a week challenge – thought this would help to get me back in a more normal routine.

Anyway, really pleased to see you are back, enjoy your Hotel Theodora activities and hope to see you posting again, as you have definitely been missed on the forum.

Thanks for the welcome back, guys, and good to hear your news / updates.

Sunny, this thread, whilst it is for maintainers, is actually called “After reaching your target, what next?” so your experience of not managing to maintain as well as you may have liked while on holiday is just as valid as anyone else’s – you reached your target and this is what came next! Surely this thread is about learning from everyone’s experiences.

It is quite difficult to “maintain” whilst on holiday, especially an extended one, far too many temptations, especially if the holiday is not activity based! Lazing around a pool, or on a beach, glass of something cold to hand, delicious foreign food to try, is not ideal obviously! What I have done is eat a little of anything non-BSD that really tempts me (but only a little) but try to throw in some extra exercise and / or the occasional fast day – and never eating whilst actually “travelling” (airline / motorway food is rubbish anyway). So far (and we have been away for several weeks, several times this year) it seems to be working, and I hope it continues to do so as we are off to Oz / New Zealand for an extended trip later this year (approx. 10 weeks). I am fortunate that o/h is a bit of a fitness fanatic, so always up for some exercise, so most of our holidays tend to be activity based. On the downside (for my maintenance), he never stops eating (anything and everything) but never puts on so much as an ounce!

Allie and Marie – no, no chance to wear the floral dress whilst away. Just not been those sorts of holidays, so it stayed safely in my wardrobe at home. But hopefully it’s day will come!

Marie, consider Warsaw no more! Just do it! Fabulous city, lovely people. We stayed right in the centre of the reconstructed Old Town, an ongoing project following it’s destruction during the war, which has been done beautifully and sympathetically and is still continuing. It’s a wee bit touristy because it is so lovely, but the country needs tourists so can’t really complain. The rest of the city is a very modern, vibrant place. Cannot recommend Warsaw enough – though next time we may try Krakow.

Krysia, you should definitely go back to Warsaw, it must have changed so much since the 60s (hasn’t everywhere?) but I imagine Warsaw in particular. Thanks for the suggestion of Take a Look at This – I will do exactly that when I have more time.

Allie, how exciting that you now feel you may be ready to throw in a 24 hour fast. Personally, when I say I am doing a 24 hour fast, in reality, mine tend to be in the region of 39 / 40 hours as I stop eating by 7pm one evening, don’t eat at all the next day, then break fast the following morning at about 10am – 10.30. So at least 16 hours of my “fast” are spent in bed! Maybe, when you feel able, you can try this? Next week, I have the house to myself for 2.5 days, with no guests and o/h going up country, so I may fast for the entire time, depending upon how I feel, and what my weight and body fat are doing. I do think it’s a shame that your Bearded One still doesn’t fully appreciate the new slender Allie (read that on another thread). I can see that maybe he fears that you will drop too low, but it would be encouraging to receive a few compliments from him. My Bearded One has become obsessed with the new me – he tells me at least a dozen times a day how fantastic I look (though he does tend to preface that with “for a woman of almost 70”!!!), and I often catch him just staring at me, which I find most disconcerting! It is so hot this summer that I can only be grateful that I now feel comfortable enough not to have to keep covered up! If I wasn’t so old, I’d even be tempted into a bikini! On the downside of that, all my beautiful new clothes (or which there are legion) are going unworn, as shorts and vests and swimsuits are the order of the day!

As far as maintaining is concerned, I really think that the reverse dieting strategy worked for me and kick-started my metabolism. For example, yesterday I had my usual 250g Greek yoghurt with blueberries, rarely have lunch, but had a white chocolate and raspberry ice cream in a waffle cone mid-afternoon. I then had a huge plate of crudités (inc raw carrot sticks / mushrooms / radishes / cauliflower) with half a pot of hummus as an accompaniment to a sundowner of two glasses of white wine, then followed this with supper of a Mediterranean vegetable tart (puff pastry) with a huge salad, and a glass of red!! I also drank my usual 5 pts of water during the course of the day. I felt stuffed – but woke up 1.5lbs lighter than yesterday morning!! Despite far more carbs than usual!! Go figure!

Such a shame that Essie seems to have dropped off the radar, and really hope it’s only because, like me, she has been so busy! Maybe she’s still caught up in the move and settling in to her beautiful new home?

Keep posting your news, girls – are there no new maintainers out there to join us?

Wow! My goodness, you are certainly globe trotting big time this year, Theo!!! How wonderful – I’d love to be able to do the same. Having said that, we will once again be in Turkey sometime in the autumn and next year we are planning a trip to India – only just starting to plan that – so we have plenty of travel to look forward too.

I was back at target weight on Monday, so happy that things are going in the right direction again. Throwing in a small fast today to help things along – really want to build in some wriggle room again.

Not sure this thread is much in use at the moment, not sure why. Hopefully some new maintainers will join and help to breathe life back into it again. Perhaps we’ll see you on some of the other threads – perhaps the Positive Thoughts one?

Glad that things are going well for you and that life is being good to you. Please keep us posted on your adventures.

Theo, your “busy” is the very best kind…off having exciting new adventures! I could use
a few of the same, but will have to do it solo, since the new college semester begins in
a few short weeks, and a different schedule goes into effect. I’ll be traveling with you in
spirit, though 🙂 New Zealand sounds beautiful. Are you departing in 10 weeks, or will
you be away for 10 weeks? I AM pleased that I’ve made it over the fasting hurdle! I know
that you have lots to catch up on, but there is another great new thread on “fasting”..
Have a look, my friend!

Hello fellow maintainers
I have not posted for a little while but I do pop onto the forum regularly and catch up on how everyone is doing. I am still maintaining albeit not quite exactly at where I want to be. I can’t seem to stay at 133lb. Currently I am 138lb. I did a whole month without weighing myself following my son’s wedding in June and after a holiday to Ireland I was exactly the same weight as I had been on the day of my son’s wedding. I felt that I was becoming obsessed with the scales! I know that I am a person who doesn’t find it as easy as others to maintain my weight and I have to eat very little in order not to gain weight. 16:8 is now my normal eating pattern and I am going to throw in some longer fasts during August as we go away in September and I would desperately like to be at or below 133 lb once again. I always stay mindful of what I eat. I’ve not had an ice cream all summer or a glass of beer! That is dedication during the best ever British summer I think! Keep on keeping on fellow maintainers, we worked hard to achieve our goal and I feel I am working just as hard to keep it off but I can’t ever put myself through having to lose a substantial amount of weight ever again. Nothing tastes as good as being slim feels!

Good to see you are still around CC. Maintaining can be something of a juggling act. Using 16:8, throwing in a few fasts and watching the carbs should help get you to where you want to be. Wise words about putting in the work and not returning to where we used to be and that last sentence is so true, but not always easy to remember!

Hope you’ll post a little more often – you’re missed.

I’d forgotten about this thread!

Thank you CC, you’ve described my maintenance experience exactly. Looking at my weight history on MFP I have been around my current weight for 14 months which I suppose counts as maintaining- it’s just that half that time was spent in a concerted effort to reach my goal, 1.5kg less than where I am. I don’t seem able to get down there and stay there. So for now I’m resigned to being where I am. I look the same and everything fits the same, it’s just my stubborn wish to have the scales say the number I want 😘