I am a lady of a certain age who is struggling to lose weight no matter what i seem to do. I do exercise , cut down on ‘bad’stuff but nothing seems to work. I am on holiday in 6 weeks and am determined to love myself again. so here goes 🙂

Hello Bonnie. I have struggled to lose weight for many years and have tried all sorts of diets that were ineffective (and costly). I know that BSB works as I lost weight when I did it before Christmas. Stupidly I stopped and put a stone back on over 6 months! So may I join you on your ‘love yourself’ adventure? For me, from my experience, it helps to drink loads (water), stick to calories allowance (800ish) and drop carbs to around 30g.
We can do it! Marie

Hi Marie,

I would love some company on ‘my’ or should I now say ‘our’ journey 🙂

I am planning on being really careful with the carbs as they are my downfall, I do love a sandwich.
I will take on board your advice about water and I am thinking of going for the 800 calories a day

catch up tomorrow!
Bonnie

Fab. Let’s do it. I am away on business tomorrow and Weds but will try to stick to BSB advice and will definitely log in at some point. The other thing that really helped me was always logging what I had eaten (even on not so good days). That way, I was consciously aware of every choice I made.
Starting right now and hoping for 4lb loss by next Monday. How about you? .

Yes, I will be really getting going in the morning. I must admit I would be happy with 2lb loss be next Monday . But here’s hoping . I. Also find it helps to log everything .
I used to do weightwatchers and found if I managed a few pounds off , my determination grew .
Have a good trip x

Hi Bonnie and welcome! I think the BSD is just about the best thing going for women “of a certain age”. I am of a certain age also but found it super successful and it only got better and better as I “learned” how to follow it and started paying attention to my own body. I’m on maintenance now and that has been smooth sailing,
I cannot recommend strongly enough that for those of us who “cannot lose no matter what we do” that you cut right down on carbohydrate — as little as 20 grams per day — it is what really worked for me. As you steady into weight loss, you can add back in carbs until you hit your personal carb limit — mine runs about 40 grams — after that I start gaining again.
I think our age group has been sold a bill of (bad) goods on the low-fat front — no wonder so many of us struggle! So eat full fat, cream, butter, cheese, nuts, avocado, olive oil — good protein like wild fish and grass fed beef and loads of low carb vegies and greens and enjoy how much better this is than before!
Happy journey!

Hi ladies,
I’m in the same boat. just passed my menopause, and a real carb lover, especially anything sweet, and most especially chocolate…
I’m a typical yoyo dieter, but now I’ve been on a diet for 2 months and lost only a little, despite running, walking etc. Worst of all, nothing came off my increasingly round tum. Nothing at all.
I’ve tried ultrasound, deep massages, oils, creams as well… depressingly, it was all a waste of time and money.

I started on saturday, and I’d already lost 0.5kg by this morning.

Wow!!! Can I join you on your journey?

What a jolly group we are. 🤗

Jolly indeed! 😀

Funny thing is that I feel quite full, but I’ve actually only had 700 calories today. And only 35g of carbs!

Should I eat another 100 calories (not a biscuit…)???

Hello Mermaid, I found that if I ate closer to 800 (30 either side) then I was more likely to stick to it long term. If you feel an odd day eating 700 works for you, maybe go for it. Or… enjoy some tasty full fat cheese.

Welcome Mermaid, I feel we are going to do great things as a group.
Day 1 tomorrow for me , feeling excited and supported

‘

Have a good day everyone.
My mantra today: When you think you have drunk enough water, drink some more.
Let’s stay hydrated n this heat. X

Good Mantra, I am drinking laods of water as it also is helping my cravings for carbs today. has anyone tried water retention tablets, someone mentioned them to me yesterday and I was wondering if they might be a good idea? Although i do try and keep active, i find sometimes that my ankles are really stiff in the morning and not just in this heat.
Does anyone walk for weightloss , what excercies do you find is effective?
I was running at the gym , but have managed to pull a muscle in my thigh so am having to rest it at the moment.
The kids bought me a fitbit for my birthday and i was making sure to do the 10,000 steps everyday, I actually quite enjoyed it as I was taking a break in the middle of the day and walking the beautiful country lanes near where I live, which also works really well as a stress buster.

Anyway just off to get another glass of water.
stay cool

I have just this minute signed up too-can I join you too please? I started a week ago & lost 5lbs in that week which is very encouraging. Low fat diets are so depressing & don’t seem to work for me any more-I’ve been yo-yo dieting on them for over 50 years & could still do with losing 4 stone! I am following the 8 weeks of menus in the Recipe Book & think they are brilliant. Quick & easy-just what I need. Food that I enjoy-what a treat! I actually look forward to each meal now. I know it won’t always be as easy as it has been this week but with the wonderful support I have seen here, & the success I have already had, I feel very encouraged. L x

Hi everyone,
Water is a great idea, and I find I’m naturally drinking a lot (I live in Portugal BTW, so seriously hot here at the moment).

I wouldn’t take fluid retention tablets, Bonnie, unless you need them for medical reasons.

Yes, I think walking is a great idea. My fitbit stopped working, but MyFitnessPal tracks how far, fast and long I walk. Does anyone do any other exercise? I do a sort of wobbly roly poly run 3 times a week, using the 0-5k app. Strangely, I feel more energetic now than when I was loading up on carbs. I’ve also started doing squats, lunges, push ups and planks (sounds impressive until you know I only do 5 push ups and a 20 second plank is as much as I can do).

The best exercise is HIIT according to Mosley and my husband (he’s a GP and sports medicine specialist, and in really good shape, so he doesn’t understand me at all). I’m looking for daily alternatives (maybe a DVD?) but if you run, do 30 seconds of gradually increasing then decreasing acceleration, walk and do it again, several times. Any other suggestions?

This is day 4 for me, I’ve definitely lost weight already, although my stubborn tum still looks like a rubbery beach ball.

BTW, I’m 56, 5’7″, weigh 83Kg (that’s down from my max of 88kg in April), and my target is 65Kg. Ambitious targets are supposed to help. My blood sugar is pre-diabetic, and we have type 2 diabetes in the family. What’s worse is that clothes have stopped fitting me! Major motivation!

Good luck everyone!

Gosh you all seem so sporty! I never have been although I was doing Zumba Gold which I just loved & had done yoga for years-& I enjoy walking but don’t get to do any long walks. This doesn’t mean I sit around all day though! But about 18 months ago I tore a cartilage in my left knee- getting out of the car can you believe! The pain was horrible but surgeon wasn’t interested. So I went to my osteo & he helped a lot. I was just thinking a few weeks ago that I might venture gently back to yoga at least & blow me, I sprained a ligament along the inside of my right knee & it hurts much more than the first one. At 70 I am reluctant to overdo things now. But when I can walk properly again I think that just walking might have to be it. I wonder if that will be enough-any thoughts please? Lx

Hi London L!
Googling this quickly, I think there are things you could do, but you’d have to be careful not to strain anything, so perhaps your local gym, a physio or a doctor could tell you? But walking is good! Anything but sitting down too long is good!

How did your first day go?

Look what I’ve found. HIIT that we can do at home. Short and powerful: https://darebee.com/programs/30-days-of-hiit.html?showall=&start=1

Hi London L, I can totally sympathise with the body betraying us as we age. Good on you for making the effort. Following a nasty fall where I buggered my left knee and shoulder (ligament in knee, tendon in shoulder), it’s taken 3 years and starting BSD and losing some weight to finally realise recovery can happen. I’ve found Pilates to be very helpful and would like to do aquarobics but the timing is wrong where I live…every gym has it on at the same time on the same day! But walking would be good as it is weight bearing so extra good for your bones.

Stay positive and I’m sure continued weight loss will help.

From Crabbycams

I might try aquarobics-it’s more difficult than it looks. But not just now while all the pools are heaving. When we get back to our normal weather I think! I can’t actually swim though-my osteo winced when I said despite hours & hours of lessons I can only do breast stroke. Not with that knee, he said! Lx

PS-sorry to hear about your fall, Crabbycams. You must have been in an awful lot of pain. But please take comfort! I note you say ‘following a nasty fall’-well people who are old don’t fall-they ”take a tumble’! So still a youngster! L x

Good morning everyone 😃
I’m back from my work trip and thankfully managed to stay on track. I think the 30+ degree temp has helped me stop over-indulging along with my current high motivation. Weight showing a 4lbs loss already (Does a little happy dance). Thankfully the weather has cooled today (UK based) so ‘getting up and moving more’ is now back on the agenda – hence the dance.
Hello to all the new faces (waves). Hope everyone is managing to do their best and feeling good about themselves. Sorry to hear about your fall Crabby, perhaps even just walking, knee lifts and squats in water, with no the need to swim, will aid you recovery. Hope you are not in too much pain.
Wishing everyone a good day full of healthy eating and self-love. Marie x

Hi everyone!
London L, aquarobics sounds like a brilliant idea!
Crabbycams… sorry to hear about your fall. Tendons take a long time to heal. Hope you are OK now?
OiMadam… well done on sticking to the diet when you were away… how did you do it? I’m dependent on measuring and weighing everything, and having low carb options. And congrats on the 4lb loss! Is that for a week?

I’ve lost about 4lbs too, in 5 days. Best of all, my rubber ball tum has actually (finally) began to shrink. Just a bit, but not bad for 5 days!!! I’m thrilled!

I haven’t been too hungry, and have kept under my carb limit everyday, even though I’ve sometimes passed 800 calories (but only a bit).

Feeling encouraged 😀

Hello everyone again

Mermaid, my 4lbs loss is since Monday! Shock, not horror, but delight. Great loss for you too.
Having done 8weeks BSB before, I know this is the right NWE (new way of eating) for me. When I think of the years, and money, I wasted on WW: totally the wrong eating plan and all the wrong things – low fat, high carbs and lots of fruit. Tschhh!
Like you, dropping the carbs and drinking more has had a dramatic effect on my tummy and I can already see and feel the difference. Feels great doesn’t it.

Bonnie, how are you doing? You asked about exercise; I’ve found it really makes a difference to weight loss and shape and in quite a short time. I usually notice a change after about two weeks. I tend to try to walk or swim on a daily basis but I also like the look of the HIIT training that Mermaid found. Thanks Mermaid. If I am honest, I really have to push myself to do any exercise, it doesn’t come naturally to me like for others, but, I know when I do it, I do actually enjoy it and feel great afrerwards. Particularly swimming; I do 50 lengths in half an hour ( mix of front crawl and breast stroke).
Motivatingly moving, Marie

Hi ladies,

well I was very naughty yesterday so am back on the ‘wagon’ today. Met a friend for lunch and although I did not feel I overindulged, we did have a couple of glasses of wine. had gained a pound when I weighed myself this morning 🙁
You all seem to be doing great. well done 🙂
Today is another day and I am back and positive. A thunder storm has just started here, so it is much cooler. I think I will go for a walk later to try and get my 10,000 steps in today. I love the look of the HIIT training that you sent, Mermaid, thanks for that, I will have a go at that too.
Mermaid, I envy your reducing tummy, go girl.
speak later x

Hi everyone, thanks LondonL and Mermaid, the tumbling fall was 3 years ago and the weight loss from the BSD has helped the knees enormously. The shoulder still clicks and the knees catch me out sometimes, but on the whole pretty damn good. It’s a bitch that the older you are the more you damage yourself and the longer it takes to recover.

Big weigh in on dexa scan this weekend to see how far I’ve come in 8 weeks. Bit scary. I know I’ve lost weight and inches, but how much??? Although the goal is to get off the diabetic meds, the one measure to which we all a relate is weight and I’d ultimately like to get down to around 65kg from the 95.5kg starting point. Not sure if this is doable, but if I get to be bony I’ll make sure I enjoy it instead of taking it for granted as I have in the past. This time I will have worked hard for it.

Had a bit of a scare last night when I spiked 8.6 for post prandial test! Not sure why that happened, but tonight’s OK at 6.1. As I understand it up to about 7.5 is OK for post prandial and fasting morning tests are usually low to mid 5s.

I’m taking two weeks off from strict BSD but won’t go crazy and then back into it at about 1000 cals/day with more exercise as my muscles now need to start working harder so I can walk further, faster and without pain, and ride my bike more than 500m without gasping for breath, and that’s downhill! The gentle slope up which I walk going home from work is unnoticeable on foot, but I can’t do it on the bike at all.

LondonL and anyone else out there who thinks we all sound sporty. Not so at all. It might sound like the exercise is easy but it isn’t necessarily so. I find it unbelievably boring. I just hope that the same motivation genie that helped me start and maintain the 8-week discipline arrives and waves the magic wand (do genies have wands?) for the exercise to suddenly become essential and interesting.

So we’ll just scramble along hoping on and off the wagon (you’d think that was exercise enough wouldn’t you?) as the journey continues. As a bit of light relief this evening I glued glow in the dark stars to my black bike helmet.

Hugs y’all…

Oh goodness no! It doesn’t sound at all easy Crabbycams. I am in awe of you all doing exercise. I am fully aware of the effort & dedication it takes. Saying you are sporty I just meant you all seem to exercise. L x

Hi, I am a bit late joining but I started on the 20th. 3 days in. All ok so far but not a single gram has shifted. 🙁 Maybe am being too optimistic having read other people saying they lost 1/2 kg in the first few days. Should i hide the scales?
I find the dieting easy enough if i plan well and keep logging. Not attempted any excercise yet as it has been so hot but tomorrow i plan to go for a run in the morning. Mermaid – the HIIT site looks brilliant although I really hate burpees…:-(
Good luck everyone, and keep up the support. I am finding the forums on both the BSD and Clever Guts sites are really inspirational and motivating.

Hi London L, having poo-poohed exercise yesterday I’ve just bought myself a $30 Balance Trainer from Aldi. Very small, not noisy so can do a bit watching TV without either the cat or me having conniptions. The News goes for half an hour with sport and weather at the end. Perhaps if I do it during the sport, which is boring, then sit down and get comfy during the weather, I’ll be ready for my more favourite programs at 7.30pm – at the moment that is MasterChef. I don’t find that makes me hungry at all, but does feed my interest in food.

BUT… next to the trainer were scales. Mine just lie to me and post errors, so are going in the out basket once I figure out something to do with them (indoor plant base?? any more suggestions anyone?). I’ll weigh myself nekkid tomorrow morning, then go to my big weigh in on the dexascan machine and calibrate them that way.

If I get a good result from the scan (15% body weight lost or more) then I might have a hot chocolate with a friend to celebrate.

Here’s hoping the exercise gets going and helps my knees to strengthen and the bat wings on my upper arms to tone.

Hugs all, Crabbycams.

Hi everyone, how’s your week gone? Do you track your food on MyFitnessPal? I do, and discovered that my average calorie intake has been 842, slightly more than the diet suggests, and my carb intake has been 52g a day on average, lower some days.
What’s amazed me is that my skin looks younger, I’ve felt more alert (no daytime sleepiness), more energetic and no cravings. But sometimes I’ve felt hungry. Also, I run before breakfast, and that was very tough today.
MrsBear, yes hide the scales! Weight varies a bit from day to day, weight loss comes in starts and stops. This week, I lost a bit, but then I seemed to gain nearly half a kilo (1 lb) back today for no obvious reason.
Crabbycams, 15%? Not in a week I suppose!

As for exercise, it’s important to move, but not everyone is the same. Running is not necessarily the best thing, but I just want to get better at it. My husband and daughters all run well, and I’m the huffy puffy fatty who rolls behind… but I used to be an athlete!

How’s everyone doing?

Apart from a tiny slip at the weekend, I’ve been sticking to the plan and exercising too, but weight loss stopped a week ago. They say this happens sometimes, so I’m plodding on…

Hey Bonnie I am also new to this I have had questions to ask and people on this forum have been great and soooooooo helpful my journey starts tomorrow I am so excited now i understand what I have to do with the advice and help from people on this forum. I have read all different diets and have been so confused now after people helping me on here I finally feel in control and I feel this is a great support network so I wish you all the best in your journey we can do this if we stick together I need people here because my hubby would just offer me a snickers bar lol so I have no support at home good luck bonnie keep us posted bring on the new healthy us.

Hi, I started on the 22nd so I’m half way through my second week, I’m doing under 1200 calories per day low carb/Mediterranean style eating. Had a blip this week at an offsite meeting but back on track and starting to feel better and less sluggish. Lost 3lbs in my first week and drinking loads of water. Looking forward to my cooked brunch today!

Hi Californiagirl

I am inspired by what you have said but could you give me an example of 20gms of carbs per day would be?

Hi guys, I’m new here and starting the 800 cals a day today. Will be checking in for inspiration, recipes and tips along the way.