I hope you’re all well out there and enjoying the weekend. It’s nice weather here and I’ve been out clearing the garden..perfect weather for that. There’s a feeling Spring is on the way!

It’s been a quiet end of week here my peak would be the 12km walk we did yesterday. It was lovely and I’m pleased as I can’t remember when I walked that far. Slept well last night too..a definite bonus.

The pit my blood pressure is a little high so the doctor, thinking I suffer from white coat syndrome, has given me a monitor to record my bp every day. It’s higher at home than in her surgery! As my (good) cholestrol is also up a little and because of family history I have to book in for some heart tests, a scan, the bike test etc. Looking forward to that? Not much!

Have a lovely Sunday!

Hi Angela06
Try and get hold of Jimmy Moore’s ‘Cholesterol Clarity’ which is very eye opening when it comes to what your cholesterol numbers mean. High ‘good’ cholesterol is not bad and even high LDL is not necessarily bad. Your doctor should be concentrating on your triglycerides and HDL and the ratio between the two.
I got my copy from Amazon.
Cheers
Linda

Hi folks, hope you are all having more peaks than pits. Here’s mine for today:-

PEAK:- My lovely o/h surprised me this morning by telling me he has booked a “gourmet” spring break for us – 10 course “taster” meal on the first evening, 4 course gourmet meal the next, wines included 🙂

PIT:- My lovely o/h surprised me this morning by telling me he has booked a “gourmet” spring break for us – 10 course “taster” meal on the first evening, 4 course gourmet meal the next, wines included 🙁

Hey ho, his heart is in the right place, bless him.

I wrote last week but for some reason what I wrote didn’t get posted–ugh!!! :–(

Angela~ You are really rocking it with the walking. Your 12 km walk was impressive!!! Sorry to hear about your blood pressure and cholesterol issues. Sounds like you are doing the right thing by just checking things out a little further! Wishing you good results. You certainly are taking good care of your health; eating right and doing exercise. So glad your family has recovered from the stomach bug and you didn’t get it :–) !

Theodora~ Your planned gourmet “spring break” trip sounds amazing! Probably will be a bit difficult to stay on the BSD plan but you’ll get back to it with fond memories of a great trip.

PEAK: Got a chance to go see 2 of our granddaughters who live 30 miles from us this weekend. My daughter in-law cooked a delicious BSD friendly meal and we all played a game after dinner. Afterward, I picked up my husband from the San Francisco airport. It was great to see him after spending the week without him. I missed him!

PIT: I haven’t gotten back to a food and exercise plan! I feel way more in control with a plan. I’m afraid I’ll gain back the weight I’ve lost if I don’t get back on plan.

Good morning,

Theodora….how I laughed at your peak and pit! Does your husband know you’ve changed your eating habits? I guess the portions will be really small and the ingredients carefully chosen…good luck!

Jmarie…what a lovely weekend away and picking up your husband must have been the cherry on the cake. As far as the eating plan is concerned have you considered the other options? The 5:2 is good for weight loss and the low carb mediterranean, both appear to be effective. Sometimes we’re just not in the right headspace for the fast 800 which takes a lot of focus. Or you could just tread water for a while until you feel better equipped to continue. Good luck. I have found this cycle quite hard at times.

My peak…was losing 1kg between Monday and Wednesday and the pit is knowing that this won’t stick and tomorrow no matter how hard I try the scales will bounce back up. Then down. Last week I visited and revisited the same weight 3 times! I wouldn’t be so surprised if I were near target but I’m 20kgs shy of that!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

LindaA thank you for the information on the choesterol. I’ll look out for the book on Amazon. I have monitored my bp for 5 days now and it is on the high side it ranges from 133 over 76 to 163 over 87. As lots of bsd ers find their bp dropping on this plan I think I will get my heart checked as something doesn’t look right.

Hi All, What a great way to relieve stress and celebrate. I hope you don’t mind if I join in.

PEAK: I tripled my usual weekday step count

PIT: I didn’t make the 10k steps I was aiming for. Just have to do extra today to catch up.

Welcome ddraig_goch~ Congrats on the weekday step count. Good wishes on making your step count today!

Angela~ Glad you are getting some medical testing done! I’ll be thinking about you and wishing good results.
Thank you for the thoughts on coming up with a plan. Right now I am leaning toward a goal of a 5 lb. loss by concentrating on BSD friendly foods and daily exercise. Once I reach that goal, I plan to go into maintenance! As always, for me, maintenance is the tricky part! I know I’ve said this before but I tend to be all on or all off. Not good!

PEAK: I got a good night sleep last night and I have tomorrow off from work! Looking forward to that!!!
PIT: I drank more red wine last night then I had planned. I actually had planned to not have any, but gave in. I didn’t drink a lot but I was disappointed in giving in. Today’s a new day!

Ddraig_goch….well done with your step count.

Jmarie…so good to hear that you are in a good place having decided which route to take. 5lb is easily doable and you’ll be glad you lost it once the weather turns warm. Good luck with your new resolve.

Peak for me…and a biggie…today I am 20kg lighter than my first BSD weigh in at the end of October! Obviously I’m thrilled but still not taking it for granted…it could be up a kilo tomorrow.

Pit…it’s been a supercharged week and my exercise has fallen by the wayside. I’ve walked a little but not enough.

Back to work on Monday!

Have a good weekend…

Angela~ Congrats on the wonderful PEAK of 20 kg. off since the end of October! Wow! That is really impressive and I am so happy for you. Do you try to stick to a certain calorie goal each day? What do you think is working for you? Any tips?
Hope you’ve enjoyed your holiday. Does it feel like spring is on the way there? I’m sure you’ll be back to your longer walks once you get back to work. So nice that you had a little time off from your normal routine! Congrats again on the weight loss :–)!.

PEAK: Cleaned out my closet and got rid of multiple bags of clothes that are too big. I finally decided that it was time to let go and not worry about gaining this weight back. I need to move on!

PIT: Need to get back to my exercise routine! I’ve been lazy about doing it.

PEAK: Had a great work out–30 minutes on my elliptical; warmed up for 5 minutes then went as fast as I could for 1 minute followed by a 3 minute break and repeated over and over until I hit 25 minutes, then I cooled off for 5 minutes. After that I did planks!
Went out to lunch with my husband to the winery near us! The hills are a beautiful green color and the air was really fresh. It was cold but we ate outside and enjoyed the sunshine.

PIT: I think I was a little too eager yesterday to work out hard. Today I am paying for it! I am soooo sore. I’m going to go ride my stationary bike for half hour or so but I’m not going to over do it.

____________________________________
Tonight we’ll watch the academy awards. I have lots of veggies ready to go and we’ll have cheese, salami, chicken, and deviled eggs. My twin sister is coming over to watch with us! I’m looking forward to it.

PEAK: I got a work-out in after work–30 minutes on the elliptical (did interval’s again). I also did some planks!
I prepared salmon, cauliflower rice, and squash for dinner. It was delicious! I got the dinner dishes washed and cleaned up the kitchen.
I have the day off tomorrow and am getting my hair trimmed, colored, and styled. I’m looking forward to it!

PIT: I didn’t sleep well last night! I fell asleep about 9:30 pm and woke up around 1::15 am. Then I never went back to sleep and finally got up to get ready for work at 3:30 am. It’s 8:30 pm now and I’m pretty tired! I hope I sleep better tonight.

Hi Jmarie…I’m admiring your new resolve here and feeling embarrassed by my inactivity. There are machines to work out (don’t know what they’re called) in the parks near me, a five minute drive away. I could easily use them but….I don’t. You have inspired me to give them a try. I’m sorry to hear you didn’t sleep well..that seems to be the key to how well we can manage the cravings. Love the idea of lunch at the winery, think my husband would too 😉

You asked what works for me….slogging through it most of the time. I’m very very lucky that my husband is on board and losing weight with me. We chat about it and plan together and congratulate each other and joke about it too. It is the most imortant factor for me as I give in easily. I would never have got this far without him. It means that the house is almost empty of non BSD food as well so the only thing here to snack is raw veggies.

My peak…not a bad day, a bit humdrum. Nothing sticks out…

My pit…absolutely desperate to eat something yesterday evening. I have either a cold or allergies and it’s weakening my resolve. I did eventually crack and eat something. At least I went to bed happy!

Have a good night’s sleep. Catch you tomorrow.

Angela~ Thank you for sharing what is working for you! I really appreciate it. It’s so nice that your husband is doing the BSD with you. That must be a huge support! I remember when you wrote about getting rid of all the cheese, nuts, etc. in your house. Now when you are hungry you reach for veggies instead of high calorie snacks. Great idea! Not so easy to do but it’s working for you. Nice!! I’m getting closer to that but not quite there yet. Yesterday, I threw all the chocolate and candy that was in the pantry out with the trash and it was picked up this morning. It took me a few weeks to make this decision. I had been thinking about it lately because I kept finding myself climbing on a ladder to the top shelf and taking a piece or two of left over halloween candy and eating it. Not good! I told myself that if I really wanted something sweet, I’d have to go to the store and buy it. So far, so good! I don’t miss it at all.
Sorry to hear you have a cold or allergies! They are both miserable to have to deal with. I hope you feel better quickly.

PEAK: I had the day off and went to my hair appointment! It’s nice to have my gray roots gone for another few weeks. :–) . My day went by way too fast. I rode my stationary bike for 1 hour and called my older sister to talk while I pedaled. The time went by quickly!
Also, I slept well last night and it was so nice to not have to get up until 6:00 am. I felt like I slept in.

PIT: No pits today! Yay!

Jmarie, how lovely not to have any pits, I do hope your week continues to be one of peaks 🙂

My peak and pit today happened within 10 seconds of each other – and both involved my dear O/H yet again.

PEAK:- When I came downstairs first thing this morning the first thing O/H said was “Goodness, you are looking trim. And you’ve got no bum left!” (I have to admit, my jeans have all developed baggy bottom syndrome 😉 )

PIT:- In the next breath, he said “What a shame that when you lose weight, your face shows up all your wrinkles!!”

Hey, gotta love him 😉

PS I always thought I looked quite good for my age (67) and was hoping even better now that I have lost 22lbs!

Theodora~ That was quite the PEAK and PIT and all within 10 seconds of each other! Very nice compliment about your weight loss and I think you were given the green light to go shopping for bum hugging pants :–) ! Being healthy is much more of a reward than a few more wrinkles showing and 22 lb weight loss is impressive! Here’s to you for your wonderful accomplishment!!

PEAK: I slept well again. It’s been three nights of no wine with dinner and I have to say, I am getting so much better quality sleep. My goal is to continue this onward and not have wine on a night when I have to get up early and go to work.

PIT: I continue to eat the poison–sugar–and it is not healthy for me! Although I threw everything out at home, I still have some left in my office. Today when I get to work, I am going to gather it up and donate it to the reception candy jar up front. It is far away from me and if I have any, I’ll have to go get it in front of everyone. My weight was down a lb. yesterday and this morning back up a lb. There really is no reason I should think it would be down since I have eaten too many calories.

I hope you are all doing much better than me on your BSD eating plan! `Janet :–)

Oh Janet – I was so hoping you were not going to have any pits this week but just spend the entire week on a lovely high peak. 😉

I have to agree, as far as the sleeping goes. I have slept so much better without the alcohol (have only had a glass on 3 days out of the 53 days I’ve been on BSD800) so I have decided that, as and when I get to maintaining, I will limit alcohol to weekends only. And well done for donating all your remaining sugar to the front desk 🙂

Thank you for your compliments re my weight loss to date, was supposed to be only 6lbs left to lose, but I have decided to go for 10lbs, hopefully by Easter. I may even attempt a further 7lbs after that (which would take my BMI to a healthy 22), to give me some wriggle room, so I don’t intend shopping for new bum-huggers just yet.

I decided to go through my wardrobe and try a few clothes on, which has given me another PEAK and PIT

PEAK: – I have found a whole new lot of clothes, which haven’t seen the light of day for quite a while, which I can now fit into, and don’t look dated. 🙂

PIT:- I came across my all-time favourite, really expensive, very smart black designer trousers. Yippee, I thought, I’ll be able wear these again, I’ll take them with me to wear on the lovely gourmet break O/H surprised me with (see my PEAK earlier in this thread). Sadly, they now DROWN me 🙂

So, question is…………..considering they are the most gorgeous, most flattering, most expensive, well cut trousers I have ever owned in my life, do I now send them to the charity shop, or keep them, just in case……………………..???

Theodora~ That must have been so fun to try on all those clothes and have them fit! You’ve got a whole “new” wardrobe. And so nice that they are still current and you’ll be able to enjoy them. I gave away a couple pairs of beautiful black trousers that I loved recently and now I wish I would have had them tailored. Maybe you can splurge and spend some money on tailoring! It can’t be too expensive and that way you’ll get to still enjoy your gorgeous and flattering trousers.

Thank you for sharing that part about only having alcohol 3 times during the past 53 days. That is amazing! It probably sounds funny hearing me say that but I like a glass of wine in the evening so knowing you’ve only had 3 drinks is amazing. Congratulations to you!!!

Your goal of another 10 to 17 pounds sounds like a doable goal given how well you’ve been doing! It’ll be Easter before you know it and you’ll be so happy you kept going. A BMI of 22 will be awesome!

So happy for you and your O/H on your upcoming gourmet spring break. It sounds like so much fun! A few days off will give you that small break from such a rigid plan and you’ll be able to get back to your goal when you return.

My co-workers loved the candy and chocolate I donated and I was glad to get it out of my office.

I work again tomorrow but it will be Friday and a shorter day! I’m looking forward to the weekend and hopefully doing a lot of relaxing.

Theadora – well done for your weight loss so far. I would definitely have your lovely designer trousers altered. The same thing happened to me – I couldn’t wait to get into my smaller clothes but when I got to target weight they were all too big.

A local dressmaker altered them – she did such a good job. I was so pleased I had them altered as I really loved them and it is so hard to find clothes you really like.

Thank you Jmarie for your kind words. But, in fairness, I can’t claim to be THAT virtuous re the alcohol.

Firstly, I miscalculated on the days – I am only in week 7 now, so the alcohol days was actually 3 out of 46, not 53. Secondly, yes, it was only 3 days, but I have to confess, it wasn’t just one glass!! It was 3 days more or less sitting in a pub all day (on walking holiday with friends, bad weather………….you know the story!) I wouldn’t like to count how many glasses my 3 “blips” actually consisted off.

As far as my gourmet spring break is concerned, whilst I shall try and stay low carb, I shall certainly be enjoying wine, and maybe the odd G&T. BSD has to become a way of life, and social events and holidays happen (thank goodness) so they need to be incorporated, and if that means being less strict occasionally, then getting back on the wagon, then so be it. I know we all want to be healthy and slim (if possible) but we also need to enjoy ourselves 🙂

And, no idea why the obvious hadn’t occurred to me – i.e to have my designer trousers altered, so thank you very much Jmarie and Krysia for the suggestion. I will see if I can find a local tailor.

PEAK – Knowing that my all time favourite designer trousers are no longer destined for the charity shop.

PIT – Absolutely sheeting down here, came home absolutely soaked to the skin, with 2 very soggy doggies after our 90 mins walk. Think, they may have to forego their normal late afternoon one. Which means my daily steps will go down (doing about 15,000 generally)

Theodora~ You are so right about all of us wanting to be healthy and slim but also wanting to enjoy ourselves. If we follow the BSD 90 percent of the time then we still have 10 percent to have the occasional holiday or splurge! I’ve been doing the opposite for the past couple of weeks (90 splurge and 10 BSD- ha!) and need to get back on track.

I’m so envious of you getting your trousers tailored–so wish I would have done that. I miss my beautiful dress pants! :–(
Next time, I’ll do the same instead of giving my nice clothes away.

Wow! A 90 minute walk in the pouring rain! Impressive!!!

Your gourmet spring break will be wonderful! When are you going on your trip?

Angela~ Just saying hi; haven’t seen you on the posting for a while so hoping things are going well for you and you are just busy.

Krysia~Good to see you on the forum! Nice that you were able to get some clothes altered and they turned out well!

PEAK: Made it through the entire work week without any alcohol and slept so much better too! This is going to be my new normal. I like how it feels to get better quality sleep.

PIT: My weight is up so I am dedicating myself to a strict BSD week! Plus I’ll be exercising every day. I want these few pounds I’ve gained off as quickly as I can.

Jmarie, well done on the alcohol free week. I have found that the longer I go without alcohol, the less I miss it, and I totally agree about sleeping better. But as and when I do have a glass or two, I still really enjoy it, so hopefully I will continue enjoying it as a weekend or social occasion treat as and when I become a maintainer.

As far as the walk in the rain is concerned, nothing virtuous or impressive about it, I really don’t have much choice as I have 2 big bouncy collies who literally climb the walls if they don’t get adequate exercise, so my first chore of the day, every day, is a minimum 90 minute walk, come rain or shine, sleet or snow 😉 In fact, I really miss it,
if I can’t do the walk for any reason,.

The trouble is, having broken an addiction to alcohol (well, addiction is an exaggeration, I was never even approaching alkie status!!) I seem to have developed another, and that is weight loss! Seeing the scales go down is really addictive. Has anyone else found this? My original goal was to lose 28lbs. Once is started shifting, however, I decided to push it below the next stone, so new target was 32lbs. I have now lost 23lbs (am in week 7) and I’m now seriously thinking about another half stone on top of that, so 39lbs. Well, let’s make it a nice round figure and say 40lbs. 🙂 O/H says I’m mad and that there will be nothing left of me (not to mention his lovely comment on my wrinkles, as documented above 😉 )

We go on our gourmet break on 21st March, just for a few days, thankfully, so hopefully won’t do too much damage. Mind you, we go away next Tuesday for a week too, so will have to be really, really careful.

PEAK:- Today our morning walk was in glorious sunshine, It felt like spring, daffodils in flower and birds singing.

PIT:- Sadly, it didn’t last, and our afternoon walk was in driving sleet! But at least I have managed my full 15,000, in fact nearer 17,000. 🙂

Good luck on your strict week, jmarie, and hope the scales show some rewards.

Theadora

Thats just what I did! My original goal (set by doctors over the years) was to weigh 9st 7lbs. That was a loss of 6st 7lbs. Then I aimed for 9 stone, a loss of 7 stone. Then I realised that 7 stone was 98 pounds, so why not go for the nice round figure of 100 pounds – a weight of 8st 12lbs. Then it was to reach 8st 7lb, total loss of 7st 7lbs or 105 pounds. Today I weigh 8st 4lbs. Part of me wants to reach 8 stone exactly, meaning a loss of 8 stone. Then I would have lost half of my starting body weight. Another nice round figure.

I’ve set myself the target of maintaining between 8 stone and 8st 7lbs, aiming never to go above that top figure.

Best wishes, whatever you decide.

Well, that is nice to know, captainlynne, as you are my hero on here. 😉

I think I may settle for a bit heavier than you, maybe between 9st – 9st 4lbs, giving me a BMI of approx. 21.

I sometimes think of aiming for 8st 7lbs too, which is a little over what I was when I got married 47 years ago (8st 2lbs), but I think that, at 5′ 5″ that may be a tad low for me (but still think it would be nice and give lots of wriggle room 😉 ). When I look at my wedding photos though, I do look incredibly slender, which may be nice in a 20 year old but probably not quite so attractive in a 67 yr old.

Mind you, is there any physical attribute that IS more attractive in a 67 yr old than it is in a 20 yr old? 😉 Answers on a postcard please 😉

Theodora~ Your new addiction is one I want to have! Also, sounds like I need a dog or two to get me out for those long walks. Our yellow lab, Sophie, died a few years ago and we haven’t gotten another dog yet! With work and traveling so much, we aren’t quite ready but we sure miss her. Enjoy your gourmet spring break!

PEAK: Worked out on my elliptical for 35 minutes and stuck to my planned BSD menu! Made a large batch of Vegetable beef soup; enough for the next two weeks. I’ll bring a container to work each day and have it for my lunch! I also did a rock painting that I’ve been thinking about doing for a while. I like how it turned out! Today I’ll try another one. :–)

PIT: I felt a little down but remembering that I felt that way back in October when I started the BSD 800 plan. I think carbs are a mood booster for me but I did adjust so just have to give it time again. My weight was down 1.5 lbs. this morning from yesterday morning so that helps my mood.

Theodora
As a nearly 69 year old – I cannot think of a single physical attribute that IS more attractive in a 67 yr old than it is in a 20 yr old.

I am 5′ 6″ and have found on maintenance that I look better between 9st 5lb and 9st 7lbs than I do if I drop to 9st 4lbs because I look just too slender (I almost typed in scrawny but decided that too slender sounds better).

Good afternoon all,
In theory this should have been a fairly relaxed week but, of course, life catches up. I’m trying to put together a presentation on how to make ginger beer from a ginger beer plant for a group of students so I’ve been brewing up ginger beer by the litre. I’m no scientist or even home brewer so all this is a bit hit and miss. However I haven’t poisoned anyone yet and the presentation isn’t finished yet but almost. It would help if I actually knew what I’m talking about though….Anyway that has kept me busy this week.
Oh and feeling awful as the cold turned out to be allergies though i don’t know what to. Possibly ginger beer lol!

Theodora…well done on cutting back on alcohol and on your walking. I used to have 2 golden retrievers that kept me moving: miss them dreadfully. (though not their hair 😉 )

Janet: isn’t that great you’re back on track. I admit that I slept much better after giving up alcohol completely. And such a good move giving away your candy…you don’t eat it and it makes your colleagues happy! Win-win!

Let’s start with the pit: after a lovely dinner with friends I have put on 1.5kgs. And the meal was planned with BSD in mind AND I thought I’d been reasonable till OH pointed out the 6! Elizabeth Shaw’s mint crisps I’d scoffed but, hey, who’s counting?
2nd pit: allergies!
Peak: the company of good friends…who cares about the 1.5kg I can always lose it again!

Have a good evening!

Angela~ Nice to hear from you! Your ginger beer making sounds interesting. I looked it up after I read your post! It looks like a lot of fun and a bit of a challenge to make. Sounds like it is really healthy too! How did your batch turn out?
Sorry to hear of your allergies! Hopefully you’ll be able to figure out how best to treat it this spring and it won’t get you too down. How are your heart tests going? Your small weight gain will be lost in no time but the memories you have of dinner with your good friends will last–that for sure is what life’s about!!! It fits right in with Theodora’s comment about how we all want to be thinner and healthier but we also want to enjoy ourselves–I love that thought! It puts our efforts into perspective.

PEAK: Went on an hour and half walk with my husband, played the piano and guitar and then finished the day off with a rock painting. I even folded some clothes and put them away without waiting a week to get it done. Yay! It was cold here but rainy and then we had hail. That doesn’t happen very often here so it was fun to watch! The hilltop are covered in snow.

PIT: I’m sad to see the weekend end! It goes by way too fast.

Good evening,

Janet…it sounds like you had a very creative weekend with music and art. And when you have such fulfilling hobbies it’s not surprising you don’t want the weekend to end! The weather seems weird all over, doesn’t it? You are watching the hailstones and I can’t sleep because the worst storm of winter is raging outside. Just wind thank goodness, no rain or hail. My neighbour has just sent me a text to say there are 2 trees down after his house which means our access is blocked! It’s all fun here 🙁

The ginger beer is very dry. I don’t usually drink fizzy drinks, apart from champagne lol, but it tastes ok. My presentation is tomorrow if I can get to work..

The peak? Like you a pleasant walk…and starting to shift those pesky grams again

The pit…as usual when falling off the wagon it’s so tempting to stay off. I would like to just eat and eat and I know it’s not hunger. Oh well you’d think I’d know by now..

Have a good day. I’m going to try to sleep…

Angela~ I love storms as long as know one gets hurt! Yikes! That doesn’t sound good about the two trees down. I hope you can get out and get to work after all your work this past week on getting the Ginger Beer Recipe right! Glad you got a nice walk in before the worst of the storm hit. Wishing you some sleep tonight!

My husband who has little patience driving a car to work, rode his motorcycle this morning and got caught in the rain. I was so glad to hear from him when he got to work. i know it’s hard for him to deal with traffic but it scares me to know he’s out there on the freeways. I worry so much that someone won’t see him! I am so happy he is home from work. That is the best part of my day when I know he is back home safe and sound.

I made this delicious dinner with left over filet mignon, onions, and cauliflower rice. I “fried” the cauliflower and sweet onion in a pat of butter until it was soft, then added a bit of chili sauce and the filet mignon. Then I added 1 ounce of cheese to the entire pan and an ounce of fried onion. It was the most amazing dish! My husband said it was the best meal he’s ever eaten. Ha! He’s funny! But it was so good. I loved it too!

PEAK: I rode my stationary bike for 1 hour when I got home from work. I read a book on my IPAD and finished it!

PIT: I snuck into the candy jar at the reception desk at work and ate a few pieces of the chocolate i had donated. What was I thinking? Good thing I did some exercise. I was bad!!!! I even took a couple tootsie rolls. Not good!

Angela~ oops meant to write, “no one”, not “know one” !

Janet…your dinner sounds delicious…I think I might just copy if you don’t mind. Filet mignon is so tender. I’m with you totally about the motorbike….lots of people have them here too because of the traffic, as you say. I can imagine your relief when he comes home though of course he’s not a crazy teenager and I’m sure he takes care..

Well done on the biking. My walking has slowed down a little, time constraints mostly.

My peak..got to be my presentation which was fine and the students were appreciative of the samples so it was worth the effort;-) A second peak was a drop of a few grams meaning I’ve lost my dinner party gain.

And the pit…got to be that wind. Apart from the two pine trees, our neighbour’s, we ourselves had quite a bit of damage…plant pots, garden furniture we hadn’t put away, roof tiles etc etc. No disasters thank goodness.

And no walk today 🙁

Have a good day…Angela

Angela~ So sorry to hear about the damage the storm you had did to your place and those around you as well! I’m relieved to hear no one was hurt and glad to also hear that you were able to get to work. How fun it must have been to see your students enjoy your presentation and the samples of the Ginger Beer you made. Nice that you’ve already lost the little bit of weight you gained. Congrats!
Yes, enjoy the recipe! Let me know what you think of it. I made a similar dish tonight and this time added fresh mushrooms and used New York steak cut in small pieces. It was delicious (the fried onions come in a package and really add to the taste of this recipe)!

PEAK: Our pool renovation project started today! It’s going to be so nice to have it finished hopefully by summer.

PIT: The pool renovation crew will be in our backyard Monday through Friday for the next 2 months. Ugh! I’m glad to have a job to go to most days during the work week. Today when I got home, they were draining the pool and jackhammering the old tile off. It was so loud even from inside the house.

I am away from home for the next week, but had a really good peak today, and a really horrible pit.

PEAK:- I went shopping this morning with the friend I am staying with and she took me into one of her favourite shops, which was in the last throes of a sale. I didn’t want to buy any new clothes yet, as I am still losing, but she found a gorgeous knitted sweater dress (and we all know how unforgiving those are!!!) which she persuaded me to try on. Anyway, I tried it for a bit of fun and it FITTED and, though I say it myself, it looked good, without any ugly bulges – and it was only a size 12 (UK) – think that’s an 8 US size? I was gobsmacked, to put it mildly. So my friend asked the price and it was reduced by EIGHTY PERCENT!!! Which made it a grand total of £10 🙂 Of course, at that price, I had to buy it – and it looks great with my knee high boots 🙂 Really chuffed – now I need the weather to stay cool enough to wear it 😉

PIT:- A truly horrible pit, which has really, really upset me. This morning, one of my best friend’s gorgeous golden Labrador (and one of my dogs’ very best pals) keeled over. Claire rushed her to the vet, but there was nothing they could do, and she died of a major spleen rupture 15 minutes later. She was only 5 years old 🙁

Theodora
A truly fantastic PEAK but a really really horribe pit.

You must have felt so wonderful when you looked in the mirror – and even better that it was 80% off.

you PIT was so horrible. Your best friends labrador was so young – which makes it even worse. We have two labradors ourselves and they are such lovely dogs.

Theodora
How wonderful to fit in that dress. Well done. My mother, a keen knitter longed to make one of her daughters a dress, but having two lumpy (one much lumpier than he other (me)), never got to work on that project.
My heart goes out to your friend on the loss of her dog. I feel so sad for her. I lost my beautiful Airdale suddenly four years ago now, not sure I’ll ever get over it. Miss her and the lovely walks we took.

Theodora~ How fun that must have been to fit in that sweater dress and be able to purchase it at a great price too!
So sorry to hear about your friend’s dog passing on–we lost our yellow lab a few years ago and still aren’t quite ready to get another dog yet. Sounds like your dogs will miss her too! How awful too that it happened so suddenly. Your friend must be devastated!

K8sgettingthin~ Sorry also to hear about the sudden loss of your Airdale! :–( Very sad!!!

PEAK: I had the day off from work and left the house because the pool renovation project was so loud! First I went shopping for some new clothes and found a great sale and bought 4 new tops and 1 pair of pants. Then I went and watched the movie, “United Kingdom”.
I enjoyed it! :–)

PIT: No real pit today! The pool renovation project is loud but happy to be able to get the pool repaired

Good afternoon,

Janet…good news about the pool but isn’t there always a downside? Still at least you know the noise is in a good cause and that you could assume the pool guys are actually working. And you can just imagine yourself enjoying it in the Summer. Wonderful!
I haven’t heard of United Kingdom…will check it out. I’m going to the cinema tonight with a friend to see Fences, no idea what it’s like so fingers crossed.

My peak….I’ve got down a hair into the next ten….so this morning I weighed 89.9! Funny but the memory of the pleasure that gave me has kept me honest all afternoon! And I had a really satisfying walk this afternoon.

The pit…a big one…i dropped my husband at the airport. He’ll be away for a week…

Have a great day. Angela

jmarie, I think I could accommodate all the noise for the sake of having a gorgeous pool and the climate to enjoy it.

PEAK – Went out for supper this evening wearing a snug little cardigan and a skirt (unheard of for me in the past several years) I hadn’t been able to fit into for at least 10 years 🙂

PIT:- We were going out for supper this evening with friends and I put on a skirt I hadn’t managed to get into for years – see above. I wandered through into the living room, expecting (or at least hoping) for compliments from o/h. But what did he say?………”Aren’t you going to get ready – we’re going out in 10 mins?”. I am ready I said, to which he replied…..”Oh, sorry, didn’t realise you were going out looking like an old granny!”

Well, to be fair, I AM an old granny, but actually thought I was looking good this evening.

Men, huh? Just as well I love him!!!!

Theodora…isn’t it so morale boosting to wear smaller size clothes and to look good in them? It’s a reminder of the reasons why we’re doing this. For me it’s a real pleasure to try on the stuff from another age that’s lurking in the wardrobe.

My peak…when I had dogs we had a favourite walk that’s a bit of a climb on a stony surface. I find it very hard, the incline, the surface, the lack of dogs all combine to put me off but yesterday I fairly skipped up there. I wanted to do it because the slope makes me work harder

The pit..that even though my effort was greater…you should have seen the colour of my face…I did much less distance. I think I should continue to try it so I can improve my fitness.

Have a lovely weekend.

Angela~ Congratulations on reaching your newest weight loss goal! I’m so excited and happy for you. I hope the week will go by quickly while your husband is away.

Theodora~ It must have felt so good fitting into the skirt you haven’t worn in such a long time. Congratulations to you!!!! I know if we had been there to see you, we would have all cheered for you as you went to dinner wearing your sweater and skirt. You rock girl!

PEAK: The weather here is amazing this weekend! The sun is out, the hills are green and there isn’t any rain on the horizon. The temp. reached 75 degree today, My husband and I went for a nice, long walk. Just a lazy weekend! Yay! We watch the movie, “Loving”, and really enjoyed it.

PIT: Tonight the clock rolls forward an hour so we lose an hour. This is not my favorite day of the year! Monday morning is going to start early–at 3:30 am, it is going to feel like 2:30 am. It’s going to take a while to get used to the time change.

We’ve had a great 5 mile dog-walk today too, brilliant sunshine, if a tad windy. Good walk sets you up for the day, I think, so I’m pleased that you and your dogs enjoyed yours, Angela.

Jmarie, I don’t think our clocks move forward for another 2 weeks, but it will be lovely to be able to enjoy light evenings again, even if we do lose an hour’s sleep on the changeover weekend.

PEAK:- At the party last evening a friend, whom I hadn’t seen since starting BSD eight weeks ago, and who had no idea I had been “dieting”, walked in and told me I was a “skinny Minnie” 🙂

PIT:- Today is my last day of my first round of BSD800 and last evening, at the party, I fell off the wagon big time 🙁 Doubly annoyed with myself, as it was my first fall from grace, so I came soooooo close to completing 8 weeks totally within my calorie / carb allowance! Grrrr

Oh, well, no point beating myself up over it, and tomorrow I will be starting my 2nd round of BSD800, although we do have our gourmet break in 10 days time, so I will allow myself a little indulgence for that – I do think there is a world of difference (psychologically at least) between falling off the wagon because of bad choices and factoring in a “treat”. 🙂

Theodora…good luck with your 2nd round of the BSD. The gourmet break sounds like great motivation to climb back on the wagon and maybe the opportunity for some clothes shopping?

My peak for today was a lovely walk in the mountains. It was very, very quiet. really worked my heart and lungs (and leg muscles)

My pit….none!

Definitely a good day!

Theodora~ Congratulations to you on making it through 8 weeks of 800 calories! That is not easy to do but you did it. That must have felt great to have someone who didn’t know you’d been doing the BSD comment on your weight loss.

Angela~ Your quiet walk in the mountains sounds so nice! Wonderful to not have any PITS!!!

PEAK: Packed for my upcoming trip to the Netherland’s. My husband has a business trip there so I am going with him this time. we leave this Friday–St. Patrick’s Day! We’ve both been there but never together so it should be a nice trip. On our way back home we are flying to North Carolina where our daughter lives. She is scheduled to deliver her baby girl on March 30th (c-section) unless she goes into labor and the baby comes earlier. We land on March 28th. I’m getting so excited! Granddaughter #5!

I did lots of walking this weekend and yesterday got 20,000 steps in. My bad knee was pretty sore but feels much better this morning.

PIT: Our daughter spent one night in the hospital this weekend! She is having contractions every 2 to 5 minutes. The baby is doing well and they didn’t see any other signs that it’s time for the baby’s arrival, so they sent her back home.

Wishing you all a great week!

Thanks Jmarie – didn’t quite make it to 8 weeks on 800 calories though – had major slip up on penultimate day, but the only one, so not beating myself up.

Your planned trip sounds wonderful, and getting back in time for the birth of your 5th granddaughter will be so special. I do hope your daughter is ok? And can hang on long enough for your plane to land 😉 Don’t forget to tell us of her safe arrival – now that WILL be a PEAK worth posting! 🙂

Have a safe journey and enjoy your trip.

Janet…march is going to be an exciting month for you a lovely trip to the Netherlands and a new granddaughter. I bet you can’t wait to meet her. And just think no work and no getting out of bed in the early hours of the morning 😉
Well done with the steps but rest your knee you’ll need it to do all the sightseeing. I look forward to hearing about your experiences and more importantly about the new arrival! Good luck to your daughter I hope she can hang on!

Theodora..well done on finishing the first round and good luck with your second.

Peak and pit were connected yesterday. I had coffee with an old friend who I don’t see often and she had made a cake. ‘Nuff said…but the scales were still a hair down today (a definite peak)

Theodora~ I considered you making it through 8 weeks of 800 calories even though you had the one slip up on your final day! That was your day of celebration. Well done! Look at it like one looks at a mulligan in golf–everyone gets at least one retry or in this case, going over calories. We are all human and that’s part of our species. You rocked it! I had quite a few more slip ups during my first 8 weeks and I’ve had many, many more during this second attempt.

Thank you for the kind words regarding my trip to the Netherlands and the birth of our 5th granddaughter. I’ll for sure let you all know how things are going. I’m excited about the trip and at the same time always a bit nervous. The plane flight, airport transfers, customs and so on always make me a bit uneasy. I do love to travel though so it’s all worth it! I’m really excited to finally meet our granddaughter. There is a very good chance she will be our last grandchild so I’m trying to enjoy every special moment.

Angela~ Thank you as well for your kind words about my upcoming travel and the soon to be arrival of our granddaughter. I am still adjusting to the time change. Last night I went to sleep around 9pm but woke up at 1:10 am and never went back to sleep. I finally got up at 3:15 am and got ready tor work. I felt like I was in a daze driving to work. Like you said, I am hoping to enjoy not having to get up so early during the trip. I’m hoping the jet lag will be mild and the good news is that we’ll be stopping in North Carolina for over a week before heading back home so that should help with the time transition back to home time.

The cake your friend made sounded good! How wonderful that in spite, your weight was still down a bit. Wonderful!

I’ve been struggling lately with not sticking to the BSD plan and have gained a few pounds. I am not proud of this and have to figure out how to get back on track.

PEAK: Getting back home after a long day at work and pushing myself to do my exercise.
PIT: Eating a few things today that I shouldn’t have. :–(

Thank you Angela and Jmarie.

And well done staying motivated enough to do exercise after a long day at work, jmarie. I really admire people who are working all day and then come home and exercise when all they really feel like doing is flopping out.

PEAK:- My son threw up his career 2 years ago to go back to Uni and do a Masters Degree in International Business Administration. He is in France at the moment (has been since November when he submitted his Dissertation) enjoying a few months skiing before returning to the real world. This morning he rang to tell me he had received his results and has been awarded his Masters with a Distinction, the only one doing the course to achieve this! 🙂 87% on his Dissertation 🙂 Very proud mum. 🙂

PIT:- None whatsoever – how lovely to be able to say that 🙂 Well, one maybe. He did say he is enjoying being a ski bum so much, that he may just do it permanently! Not entirely sure that he was joking!! 😉

Angela~ That is wonderful news about your son earning his Master’s degree and the only one in his class with distinction. That is a lot of hard work !!! Congrats to him and to you, his proud mom! Does he have plans for what he wants to do with his career moving forward? Skiing sounds nice–good for him to take time to enjoy himself after all his studies. So nice that you didn’t have any PITS!

PEAK: I’m packed and ready to go! It always takes me days to get everything ready. I’ve decided on the larger suitcase because I want to bring my pillow. I sleep so much better with my own pillow. I put it in one of those vacuum bags and got it down to a fairly small size. We won’t have to lug our luggage around too much so thought I’d splurge. Usually when I travel internationally I pack as light as possible because I know I’ll regret lugging a huge load around. Wish me luck!

PIT: I have to work today when I’d much rather be home making sure the house is in order. I still need to water all the house plants and clean the bathrooms plus all the other things that should be done before leaving. Our plane takes off around 3pm tomorrow (Friday) and we land in Amsterdam on Saturday.

Thanks, jmarie – your head is obviously still in your suitcase, as it is my son who has just gained his Masters, not Angela’s. But thanks for the congrats anyway. As far as his onward journey in the career stakes is concerned, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t joking about staying in France and becoming a ski-bum for a couple of years, assuming he could pick up some work to pay his way. He has rented his house out over here so has nowhere to live in UK for at least the next 8 months anyway – other than with us of course, which isn’t ideal for a grown man 🙁 He is 33 and was doing well, career wise, but suddenly decided he hated what he was doing, so decided to change direction completely. He had to pay for his own Masters (in excess of £20,000) as he already has a BSc, plus manage to live for 15 months with no salary which was a powerful motivator to work hard and do well. O/H isn’t totally happy about him turning a ski-bum but, hey, he has no commitments, you are only young once and life is for living:-) I would FAR rather he is healthy and happy than rich! Though that would be nice too! 😉

So pleased you are all packed and ready to go, despite the fact you have to work today. Guessing we won’t hear from you until your return? So safe journey, have a wonderful time and come back safe and sound – and don’t forget to let us know about the baby, really hope all goes well for the birth and that your daughter can hang on until you arrive – exciting times for you. x