Oookey so have been umming and ahhing about giving this a go and thought why not. Was trying IF with one meal a day which came out at about 800 cals for the day or thereabouts so thought lets make it official. Part of the reason I am specifically interested to the BSD is that diabetes runs in the family and I’m basically obese (I haaaate that word but it is what it is), so probably only a matter of time.

Soooo ,not been going fantastically truth be told in terms of cals. I started on the 24th but went up to 1200 cals, since then managed 4 days under 800 and one day at 1800 and today will probably end up being about 1200. Good thing is the days between those high days is getting longer. So earlier this week there was only 1 day between higher cals, now it’s been three days between high cal days. Aim is to work my way up. I’m not going hell for leather on this to be honest, I think I’m more likely to comply for the majority of the time over 8 weeks if I don’t get too upset about breaking the diet and jacking it all in. Started at 182.4lbs (5ft 2in) currently 176.6lbs and 1st week weigh in is tomorrow. I would like to be able to lose a stone (also hypothyroid but well controlled) over the next 8 weeks. I have unfortunately got a weekend away booked in for this weekend am going to try to stick to one meal a day, I expect it to be quite boozy but as I said I’m trying to be relaxed about this and see it as a temp pit stop. Will updated weigh in tomorrow.

Hi there, the trick is to just keep at it. If you fall get up again. What do they say be good 80 / 20. You can do it.

Thanks sunshine girl! Totally agree! I lost a substantial amount of weight a few years ago and piled it all back on as soon as I cracked and broke my diet. I have really healthy fasting blood sugars (range from about 4.4 to 5.4) so this is preventative for me and have 4 stone to lose so this may take a little while. I want to be able to keep on keeping on rather than having the “I’m either on a diet or off a diet and stuffing my face” mindset.

On another note I downloaded happy scale and so far am loving it! It’s quite motivating clearly seeing a downward trend.

Ok first update

Start weight: 182.4
Week 1 175.8. – 8.6lbs

Prettty happy with that given I was only on plan for 4 of the 7 days. Having said that, before I started i had just come back from holiday so the half stone is water weight from thst. Mini goal to get below 12 abd a half stone.

Oops got that wrong am actually down 6.6lbs! Its still a whoop whoop for me the extra 2lbs was obviously a bit of wishful thinking!

I may change my weigh in day to thursday or friday next week as I think it works better for me.

Found an interesting study on calorie cycling, thinking about working it into my modified BSD.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018593/

Hi Happyfeet — I think it is common to be “all or nothing” — on the diet 100% or as you say, stuffing your face” — there is actually some research on the perfectionist thing and trouble with sticking with a diet (it creates a “what the hell” mindset and folk just give up). Sort of a black/white scenario.
So now I recommend finding the grey area — and the BSD is the perfect diet here because it works even when you blow it as long as you just start again…and again and again! It also continues to work when you don’t hit the 800 calorie target every day so just keep going, good or bad or in between, don’t quit.
And in a while, it won’t even BE a diet anymore, it will become your new mindset and your “default”. You are going to amaze yourself.

I agree with Californiagirl, getting to where the BSD way of eating is your ‘default’ setting and part of your life style, is where you want to get to. It’s important not to think of this as ‘a diet’, because it’s actually going to be a way of life. There IS no going back to eating the way you used to, otherwise your will eventually be back at square one. It is eating in a certain way, that has brought you to the point of wanting to lose weight and choosing to try the BSD.

So, in the meantime as long as you try to get more days on the 800 cals than over and even on the days over, try to stick to the BSD principles, you should find that the pounds fall. Don’t panic when things go wrong – get on the forum and vent your frustrations, someone will be around to bolster your flagging resolve and offer encouragement. What’s important, is to keep trying and just getting back on track as soon as you can after transgressing.

Best of luck to you – you are already seeing results, so keep right on doing what you’re doing.

Thanks for the support guys. Yeah I’ve been around the houses with weight loss a few times. Thats why I’m letting go a bit, I’m not trying to be perfect because I get obsessive, I did keto a while back and it was just unsustainable for me, I got too obsessed with 20g net carbs and while I lost a lot of weight I also got quite depressed and it all came back on. I’m not sticking strictly to the carb thing but keto helped me be a lot more aware of my carbs. And while I am measuring food etc right now I basically stick to one meal a day and I know that I am going to come in around 800 or lower, low stress for me. Thats the main thing, I don’t want this to become a chore. Right now I’m enjoying it, the challenge will be when the scale isn’t doing what I want! I think thats the problem, once the weight creeps up or I’m stalling I tend to stop talking about it, feel ashamed like I failed (black and white eh) and jack it in with the “well I’m always going to be fat” tantrum.

I absolutelt agree, the grey is important. I’m not a victoria secrets model trying to get runway ready, I don’t have any urgent medical issues so for me this is about mostly getting it right and not sweating the odd day. There is no particular deadline I’m trying to hit.

My husband has lost a couple of stone slowly (i mean over a year or two) by changing small things (er mainly me trying out lower cal dinners and him cutting back weekend breakfasts, so er mainly me doing the work here) but not worrying about fluctuations as long as it was trending downwards. I think thats a really healthy attitude. I’d
Ike to shift the weight a little bit faster but hey if in a year I’m thinner than I am now than thats a success in my book.

Ok weighed in today at 12st 6.8 mini goal completed! So next goal is to minimise gain over weekend away, er….yeah…. totally will be able to do that…..

12st 6.2 off on a break for a few days. Will see what the damage is when i get back eeek. Am trying to not be over the top about this, holidays (even short ones) are meant to be enjoyed, but am also going to try not to go mental. Either way I imagine I will gain a good bit of water weight, i live in a dry country so holidays are the only chance I have to have a drink, sooooo am going to enjoy that. When I come back I’m changing my official weigh in day to friday.

On another note, really struggling woth sleep, am quite low on cals circa 500 (when I stick to it) so am thinking of chucking an apple in before bedtime. Very Low carbs disrupts my sleep (was keto for 4 months, worked for weight but I was quite weepy and depressed towards the end). I know it works brilliantly for loads of people but for me it was not great.

Have a lovely holiday. My advice would be to try as far as you can to observe the BSD principles, especially as you are going to be drinking. Of course have a few little non-BSD ‘treats’, but try not to go overboard and you should hopefully find that you don’t gain too much during your time away.

Think you are perhaps being too stringent on the calorie front, is there a reason you have pushed them down to 500? You should be able to lose weight at 800 calories a day and keeping carbs around 50g a day. It’s concerning that you have been weep, depressed and struggling with sleep, none of which is a good sign when it comes to wellbeing. I suggest after your break, a review on your daily intake of cals and carbs might be beneficial.

Have a great time away and return to the BSD with renewed vigour.

Hi sunny, sorry the weepy depressed thing was on keto so i tend to keep my carbs to at least 50g at the moment, i am now a very happy bunny, but its so sweet of you to be concerned, appreciate it xx

Yeah thats what I’m thinking too on the calorie front. its because I eat one meal a day (was doing a 19:5 window to one meal a day thing before and it suited my natural hunger patterns, i’m trying to stop mindless eating and I find it helps). I’m going to start chucking in a small tub of cottage cheese in everyday about 4pm. I usually eat between 7-8pm as the later I eat the better I sleep (problems with insomnia, going to dig out my 5-htp). I hadn’t realised I got so low, just under 800 was my actual target given i went off piste so many times, but last two days I have been hangry!! LOL!! Like seriously hangry.

Thanks sunny!

Glad to hear you have upped the carbs and are feeling better. Think it’s wise to increase your calories a bit with the cottage cheese. I’ve done the one meal thing occasional myself as well, but I’ve settled to a small something at around 14.00 and then a meal at about 19.00, which seems to suit quite well. We all have to find a way of making the BSD work for us and our bodies. We all go off piste from time to time, but it will all balance out in the long run.

Anyway, make sure you have a good break and get back to us once you’re home and let us know how things are going.

Ok so I sucked yesterday

2 cappucinos (practically a mini meal sigh)
Half a small chicken baguette
3 mini samosas
3 mini pakoras
3 mini paneer thingies
8 mini koftas
2 pita breads (medium)
Bottle of gavi (blush)
About 200 cals worth of nuts

The koftas and the nuts were good everything else baaaaaad. On the plus side I didn’t order up cake.

So todaaaay

Skipping breakfast and lunch (no hangover,woke up late, and still stuffed from yesterday so doable) will probably get some coffees, have checked menu at restaurant am going to, going to get this cod, chorizo bake thing which sounds lovely. Oh and I have a bottle of sancerre with my name on it.

Up to 179.6lbs (wince) to be fair I earned every single pound of that so can’t moan, hopefully it comes off quickly. Back on it today!

Ok lost weekend weight plus 2lbs yay (please please please stay off) saw 12st 4.2lbs this morning, i haven’t seen that for ages, soooo close to the 11’s! But am pms-ing haaaard, I’m always starving during the week before my period. Like bottomless pit ravenous, I wonder sometimes if that has something to do with my weight gain. I have really bad pms hunger and then my periods are awful and have to take hardcose NSAID’s for them which don’t always help. I think the pms week is genuine hormanal hunger and period week is just comfort eating. Am white knuckling it through, it doesn’t matter whether I eat or not really, I’d just be hungry again ten minutes later. Argh

So going to weigh in tomorrow as thats going to be my new weigh in day.

Happyfeet, try fennel tea (or mefenamic acid, if you can get your doc to prescribe it) for your monthly problem, and more protein for the depression. More protein could potentially help with pre-monthly hunger too.

Don’t force yourself to stay hungry, or cut calories below 800 if you’re not losing weight. Losing weight is more about food security than calories. If you don’t eat enough, or spend too much time hungry, your body will interpret that as a food shortage and get efficient about saving calories, and even make you put on weight. Fat/oils and protein tell our bodies times are good, and carbohydrates, tell our bodies that there’s not much good to eat about.

hi ancient weaver,

My understanding is that starvation mode is a myth. Others may like to weigh into this discussion.

Yes Bigeater Michael Moseley details the myth of body going into starvation mode and decreasing our metabolisms.

Hi guys, yup been eating chicken and cottage cheese, the problem I have is, it doesn’t matter if I eat or not, pms week is just starvation week for me. Thanks ancient weaver, fennel tea is always helpful, will bung some on, fantastic stuff for bloating. Recently mefamic acid has been giving me heartburn, switching to diclofenac powder this month. I dread my period. Really appreciate the advice ladies! Just found my 5-htp, so pms hunger may be caused my serotonin drops in the brain, I bought this stuff to help with night time binge eating disorder, it totally worked. Just remembered I had it!

Anyone heard of adaptive thermogenesis? Its interesting stuff! http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-
weight-loss.

It does pooh pooh low cal diets but its myfitnesspal, y’know where 1200 calories is sacred. Anyhoo its still a really interesting read.

I don’t know if adaptive thermogenesis is a real phenomena but I think some of this stuff bears thinking about! On another note i do notice that when my calories are low for an extended time my NEAT activity drops, maybe that accounts for slowdowns too?

Ok so round up so far

First 18 days – 9.6lbs lost (182.4 to 172.8/ 13st 0.4lbs to 12st 4.8lbs)

Saw a bounce up on the scale this morning but thats normal. Now i’m actually quite pleased with this as i had a long weekend away and a few blips in the first week. From looking at my diary I only actually did the 800 for 12 of those days. I probably am losing slower than I could, but I’m fine with that. I’m still losing at a pretty good clip and I actually came back from my weekend away and immediately got back on bsd (unheard of, ususally I have the munchies after a boozy weekend). I’ve got into my stride now and have been 100% since coming back from mini hol.

So I’m changing my weigh in day to friday. I said above I was going to modify bsd for me so I’m trying out the 12 days 800 calories and two days maintence, rinse and repeat cycle. This isn’t like a cheat weekend, its a try out maintenance weekend. I will try it once and then review. I know i’m taking the scenic route here but i’m ok with that.

Next aim is to get the out of the 12 stones

Happyfeet, that’s a very interesting link there. I won’t mention the S phrase because even describing a variation of it without even naming it as anything, gets an almost instant hostile response on here. I’ve not read it all by any means, but I intend to, it looks very well balanced and informed.

I agree entirely that it is misnamed, and badly defined. I believe that the S phrase is used for at least three different effects. The only one that it is an appropriate title for being the one that MM describes in his book. However just because that is different from what dieters so often go through does not mean that thousands upon thousands of dieters are lying or imagining things.
Oops and lol, I just noticed this is the same thread as I got that hostile response . . .

From my experiences dieting in the past and more recent dietary changes, and following the BSD800 this last six weeks, I am certain that it’s not simply a result of reduced calorie intake, short or long term. At least, not the full blown tired and cold form. There is something more to that, either too little protein, or eating relatively too much carbohydrate, not enough fat or some combination of those. Possibly it’s due to hypoglycemia, but others on here would know more about that.
Whatever causes it, it hasn’t happened to me on the BSD.

NEAT or the lack of it might explain some stalling, or ability to eat slightly more than others without gaining weight, but it doesn’t explain the intense tiredness, nor the inability to get warm other than sitting by the radiator.
I used to get that cold and tiredness regularly when I dropped around 7lb, that fits with the ‘glycogen depletion’ theory/version, I would also stop losing weight at that point. I might have been able to cope with and continue with just one of those happening, but no weight loss reward for the suffering, it wasn’t going to happen, I’m just not that masochistic!
In fact, when the pounds started falling away as I started the 800, I was scared I was going to lose my new found energy, and that anxiety also triggered worries about losing muscle mass, and I stopped for a few days. I rationalised that any time I got too tired or cold, I could just go back to eating more, and some good people on here allayed my worries about muscle loss, and I am pleased to report that I have lost a whole stone, without a single chill and only one or two duvet days.

I did stall once, but got out of that by eating more for a few days. I effectively had a maintenance day yesterday too, and I think your idea of 12 days 800 and two maintenance could be very effective. It seems to be a natural pattern for me.

HI Ancient, thanks for your thoughtful post!

Its a complicated subject isn’t it? I think there are going to be so many reasons for plateaus, stalls etc and I don’t think we can say 100% what is actually going on. When I was towards the end of doing keto I was still losing weight (albeit very slowly, was about 144lbs) but I felt absolutely horrendous. I recently found someone blogging about what happened to their levels when on a very low carb diet and I do wonder if some people don’t realise that their thyroid has down regulated (having said that some hypos love keto and feel it has given them more energy). I rarely actually stalled. What is interesting is the number of people on very low carb diets who stall (i mean a genuine, haven’t lost weight fo months sort of thing) and then have to up carbs temporarily to break it. Theres something going on with insulin spikes there which have been helpful to a few people. I think very low calorie diets that are too carb heavy would absolutely leave anyone feeling an utter wreck, the blood sugar crashes would be pretty painful (having said that I am keeping mine above 50g on purpose and I’m doing pretty good).

I think maybe BSD acts like a VLCD. Very few people will go on something like the cambridge diet and not lose weight, so it forces your body to dig deep into your glycogen and fat stores. Inducing ketosis is supposed to be protective of muscle mass and I think it most likely is. I was just thinking about it and realised this should be more of a struggle than it actually is, wonderful isn’t it? I had my pms hungry patch but thats the case anyway, but it hasn’t occured to me once to step of BSD.

I do wonder as well at water weight masking actual fat loss. I have been a 100% but for the last week I have been bouncing around the same pound, I’m due my totm this week and looking at notes and matching up dates showed me that I only really get decent losses for two weeks of a month (grrr). Pms week and actual period week = gain ususally and then the week after my period stops I hit my lowest weight of the month. I imagine this was always the point at which I gave up before thinking “the diets not working lets just jack it in and eat cheese sandwichs) not realising that if I had plugged away at it I would have been fine. Two weeks without weight loss would feel like a stall if I wasn’t aware of how normal that is for me.

I’m with you on not discounting peoples experiences, if someone say’s “I think I’m stalled” I think its always worth hearing them out and knocking stuff off the list of what it could be. I’ve done more reading around things like maintenance breaks etc recently and it kind of makes sense to me. If I had practiced maintenance or taken a step off a diet before I broke I wouldn’t be here re-losing over three stone again. I would have taken a step back and the re-started trying to lose once I was ready. The link below is to lyle mcdonald who really knows his stuff. He’s an expert on using protein modified fasts and this is a relaly interesting article about the in’s and outs of maintenance breaks. He makes a really good point about the difference between intentionally stepping back from a diet vs breaking your diet and bingeing. Also he suggests chunks of dieting which is why I think people find the BSD so successful, they may do back to back or they may do rounds of it but it doesn’t demand that you do this continously.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/

I’m trying to be a bit more thoughtful about how I approach this, I guess i was quite evangelical about ketogenic diets and when it stopped working people kept telling me to reduce my protein further (didn’t work for me, I was just starving). it became almost a moral thing rather than stepping back and evaluating. What I should have done was transitioned to a moderate carb WOE (and don’t forget I was keto so that was under 20g of carbs a day so going to 60g was high carb to me at that point, ow I know I feel best between 50g and -100g), what I actually did was go and eat ice cream out of despondancy.

Getting the weight off is important to me, but being able to maintain os also important to me. I don’t want to lose 3-4 stone and gain it all back over and over again. I also want to be able to enjoy taking the scenic route, this doesn’t feel like a burden to me and I don’t want it to start feeling like it is. Also fantastic work on the stone lost!! It’s a big achievement!

It certainly is a complicated subject, but my own observations bear out the fact that ‘something’ changed over the two years of calorie restriction while I was actually losing the 8 stone, and then reverse dieting my way back up to my TDEE seemed to clear that ‘something’ and although eating more I actually lost a lot more weight. Knowing what I know now, I would probably have gone at my weight loss in a far more structured manner, probably in blocks of 8 weeks with a recovery period in between each one where I took my calories back to my then current TDEE. Like you I think that our natural weight variance tended to be poorly understood, and so when we saw weight stall or gain when we were trying to lose weight we got discouraged and headed for the ice cream. Certainly increasing my understanding of my natural rhythm of weight variance had made me a lot happier even when the numbers are going up slightly.

Mixnmatch, thats really interesting, I always wondered about people who experienced a significant loss and what happened to their rmr. How long did you reverse diet? How did you do it? Where did you end up so far as calories are concerned? 8 stone is really bloody impressive! I’d love to hear more about how it was for you losing weight, did you feel that slowdown which wasn’ commensurate with the calories you should have been burning?

I agree about the structure, I look at my dieting history and it involved going full pelt for about three months, shifting a load of weight on a very restrictive regime buying “special food” freaking out due to /starvation/stalling/ exhaustion/ weight gain and undoing everything. I’d rather chug along and choose to step back consciously rather than fall off. Also I like eating a certain way, same meals just less carb make this manageable for me. I cook evening meals everyone can eat. I feel like I’m getting a lot into my 800 calories without adjusting how I eat too much and I think this creates the basis of long term weight loss.

Did you see the biggest loser study results? I think there was a dip but also some recovery as well. I think structured breaks etc may avoid some of those problems.

After reading around the subject for a while I picked 50 calories a day extra, so from 800 calories, 850 900 etc. I took it all the way up to 2450 calories, which is slightly above my calculated TDEE before beginning my less structured 5:2 / 6:1 maintenance. This is quite a quick rise, as it works out at about 250 calories more per week, most people seem to recommend closer to 150 calories per week extra but I was impatient 😁 I never really felt the slow down while it was happening, but I kept very active which may have masked it as I still did lose weight all the way through the 8 weeks. I lost another 5 pounds or so while increasing my calories and others on here have reported the same.

Thats really interesting, theres a while bunch of research about how people who lose a significant amount of weight need fewer calories than someone of their size whos never lost weight. But there you are with cals slightly over calculated TDEE. Thats brilliant!! I feel a lot more optimistic now, thanks mix!!

Oh wow so much food for though there!
I’ve been taking particular note of how much protein I need to eat to keep from feeling like ****, and have that down to a T, so now it looks like it’s time to experiment with carb intake.

I find not wanting to eat much at all, really, really weird, and while on the one hand I am fine with that (I feel great) I feel like I must seem like an anorexic to anyone not on these forums. It would be good to be able to eat like everyone else and not put on weight, so it’s great to read posts like Mnm’s. I still have 3 to 4.5 stone to go before anyone could really think I’m anorexic though!

Hmm, two weeks from now, I will be faced with a lot of rice and bread to refuse, for three weeks, and no means of calculating protein/carb/fat/calorie intake. Another good reason to experiment with my tolerance of carbs before I go!

Anyways, I came back to this thread to suggest inositol as a potential help with PMS. If you already eat lots of eggs on a regular basis, just ignore this though, it’s just something I read.
I recently found that eating eggs for breakfast helps me sleep better at night, and further investigation revealed inositol as the effective part of them, and so while randomly browsing the net, a link to an article on multiple benefits of inositol https://bebrainfit.com/inositol-benefits-mental-health/ caught my attention. It’s advice is not necessarily much cop though, as eggs are a much better source than any of the things they have listed! Eggs, (and inositol) is good stuff though, so a good one to try.

Hi Ancient, thanks for the inositol tip! I like poached eggs but they have to be on an english muffin lol!! Otherwise not a big egg person but will def look into this.

Lol there is a lot there but I find mnm’s experience heartening too!

Ohhh the protein, love it, I try to get as much in as possible. When I was doing keto a lot of people seemed to find fat satiating, for me it was def protein that did it.

Its daunting isn’t it when you are faced with an extended period of time with less control over your food, especially once you are used to weighing and logging. When at home I know how many calories are in certain meals and roughly what the macros will be even if I don’t weigh everything to a tee,but the guesstimating when elsewhere is a pain. My favourite meal out at the moment is going to get shashimi, hard to do much damage with raw fish and water (it sounds austere doesn’t it lol, but it’s delicious).

You could try measuring out what you think is a reasonable amount of rice/ bread before you go so you can eyeball it? Also you could try to incorporate something like the carbohydrate addicts diet (thats my maintenance plan plus intermittent fasting, need to buy the book). The original cad had people eat basically min carbs for two meals and then carbs in one meal. I’m staying with some lovely teetoal vegetarians (no eggs eaither) for almost two weeks in october who have a very carb heavy diet so my plan is to try (try being the operative word here) to have cottage cheese or similar for lunch (I don’t eat breakfast, everyones got over that now) and eat whatever is put on my plate in the evening. Obviously this may not work for you but I was thinking about trying to use it as a damage limitation tool. I think it’s more challenging when staying with friends and family to turn away food. When you are on holiday if you really want to you can pick and choose and ask for changes to your dishes in restaurants or control your own food if you are self catering. But when other people are cooking for you it is so much harder to say no, I always feel a bit ungrateful or rude. I’m going to treat my ten days as a diet break, am hoping it will make me feel more conscious of how I’m eating if it’s an intentional maintenance break rather than a oh well broke my diet thing.

Sooo in terms of weight I’m down 12lbs from 4 weeks ago, started at 13st 0.4lbs and now 12st 2.4lbs. This includes a period of over a week where I bounced around the same pound (frustrating but hey ho), I also did one round of the cycling mentioned in the study posted above so 11 days bsd and 3 off, it seemed to shake me out of my mini plateau (or the weight may have moved all on its own, who k ows). Hoping to see the 11’s in the next week or two. I didn’t have any trouble getting back on BSD after the three day diet break, I actually looked forward to going back to BSD (shock!!).

Main thing is, it’s still working for me, it’s not onerous, I don’t feel deprived. I could have probably lost a few more pounds by not having the weekend away (or not eating and drinking with gusto). Also I don’t know what the impact of the diet cycling would have had. But it’s working well for me and I think using the diet cycle is positive for me, it makes me feel a bit more relaxed. Almost a stone off is nothing to be sniffed at considering I was really struggling to get below 12st 7lbs before. So onwards and downwards!

Ironically, I’ve never liked eggs either, even as a child. My mum used to cook me liver to make up for my not eating them. More recently, I have found the easiest way to eat eggs is to add them, raw, to my protein shake(s), they actually make the shakes more palatable too! I do have my own hens though, so I know for sure when they’re safe to eat raw. Boiled eggs are out of the question, poached or scrambled not a lot better, fried I can just about manage with a lot of tomato sauce or ratatouille to hide them in, omelettes are ok, but again better with sauce, ratatouille or cheese!

I’ve lost 14lb, and I’m bouncing around 12st atm. I blame the increase in carbs I’ve been trying, which is a shame because they do seem to be helping me sleep a bit better.

I seem to need more protein than most people but apart from one obvious reason, I have yet to join all the dots as to why. All I know for sure is that the 600 calories of carbs that I have dropped, in no way made up for the 25-30 g extra protein that I was lacking. Protein is definitely more satisfying than carbs, if only for the fact that my hunger was mostly an unidentified need for more protein. The flipside of eating more protein, is that my caloric need (TDEE?) dropped and I was putting on weight until I cut out carbs almost entirely. I can’t really say I find fat satisfying or not, as I know on a practical level that I need to eat a lot of protein, and by the time I’ve added in a bunch of vitamin rich veggies, that doesn’t leave much room for fat. In the form of cheese or creamy coffee in place of biscuits, fat is definitely more satisfying than biscuits though, even when accounting for the extra calories.

I shouldn’t really be worrying about food/weight while I’m away, I managed last time, just about, and this time I’m taking protein shake powder with me, so I should be able to avoid protein deficiency, without looking greedy/fussy. Apart from raising eyebrows, I was ok only eating a spoonful or two of rice, when everyone else was eating platefuls. My SIL#2 fended off any questions with a “No, she doesn’t eat rice.” In a tone that said ‘mind your own business’ more clearly than words. 😀 I think breakfast was my downfall, as there is no tidy way of eating feta cheese, or butter, without bread, (I skipped the jam, but succumbed to the halva!) but again I have protein shake powder, so I can just have my usual morning shake, and I have inositol powder as well, for days without eggs. So I really shouldn’t be worrying.
I keep telling myself that but it doesn’t help. I am worried that after three weeks, I will come home and find I’ve regained everything I’ve lost. Having the occasional fast day is possibly an option, and would actually cause less curiosity than avoiding carbs, but I’m not sure how my protein issues would pan out, and what about muscle loss? I should give it a proper trial in the next few days. Not eating much in the daytime does occasionally come naturally. I should just go with it the next time it happens, rather than chug a protein shake because I know/think I will be in trouble if I don’t reach my target. ISTR I have tried this before, without good consequences, but I can’t be sure.
I think I’ve finally put my finger on the crux of the problem though. I won’t KNOW until I get back, after THREE whole WEEKS, whether or not I should have paid more attention to eating less or not. I am a scales addict. I weigh myself every morning and every evening. I could easily cut down to once a day, but I don’t know how anyone manages to go a whole week without checking. Hells bells I can put on half a stone in a week, god knows how much I could gain in three! Going from last time, I could easily put on half a stone. That doesn’t bear thinking about. I will go nuts if I do. I am sick of putting on weight, especially after losing some.

I need some lightweight scales, but the only ones I can find are online from some company I’ve never even heard of before. :S