ddraig_goch, well done on your peaks – and of course you are allowed 3 peaks. I had 4 in a previous post, when I hit target and everything felt like a peak 🙂

I know exactly what you mean about ribs – it was one of my highlights when I discovered that I actually had ribs and hip bones a few weeks ago, and I still haven’t quite got used to them, keep running my hands over them to check they haven’t disappeared again overnight 😉 But they are still there, and are actually becoming more pronounced every day.

On the same vein, another peak was when I looked in the mirror in my underwear and discovered I had HOLLOWS between my thighs 🙂

Hi Theodora, hip bones will be next I hope, though at the moment they are buried deep somewhere. As for hollows between thighs, I’m not even going to contemplate that one yet, it’s so far away haha

I had a few minutes to read all your past postings everyone! Wow! So much has happened for all of you and it sounds like there has been so much success on the weight loss front. So happy for all of you!

I returned home on Saturday and was so tired. It was hard to leave my daughter and family. I got up at 3:00 am and got ready, drove myself to the airport, checked in and the plane left on time. I was so proud of myself because I usually have my husband with me to do all the driving, etc. I had stayed up with baby Caitlin until 11:15 pm so my daughter could get some rest so I didn’t get much sleep. But it was a wonderful time being with the baby, feeding her a bottle of her mommy’s milk, and rocking her to sleep.

Today was my first day back to work. Again up at 3:30 am to get ready and out the door at 4:30 am, but the East Coast time is 3 hours ahead so not too hard to adjust. It was great to see my husband again; I really missed him. One more day of work and then a day off. Then back to work on Thursday and flying off to Utah for the Easter weekend with my husband. We’ll return on Easter and then back to work on Tuesday. Hard to believe how much we’ve been traveling but it’s nice to be at this point in our lives where we can do this.

PEAK: Got back on the BSD and lost 2 lbs. on the scale in one day. I know it’s water weight but it already feels great! I am now 2 lbs. up from when I left home on March 17th and know it is just a matter of time before I am back to my fighting weight. ha!

PIT: Wishing for some longer sleep time!

So glad to hear you are all doing well! I’ll try to write more individual messages next time I check in. So happy and proud of all of you.
You keep me motivated to continue the weight loss battle.

PEAK: Couldn’t stop eating yesterday (768cals) so had to do a lot of time of watching TV. For the first time I found it hard work but afterwards toted up my total miles walked over the last 4 weeks and was pleasantly surprised they we almost double the TM miles so please that I’m getting just as much exercise off the TM as on it.

PIT: Weighed this morning and stayed the same. This is supposed to be my good weight loss week. Never mind, I shall not get despondent until I surpass Theodora’s 13 day plateaux in the first 8weeks.

Can anyone else beat that?

768 kcal isn’t a lot for a case of not being able to stop eating! What are you aiming at daily?

Hi Baristagirls, I’m aiming for anything under 800cals. My normal consumption is 450-500, not because I’m denying myself but because I’m practising mindful eating. I have also set myself the challenge for April of treadmill walking/cycling off my daily ingested calories and that tends to focus the mind somewhat on do I really want it before I eat. I also tend to eat 1 meal a day or at least within the space of a couple of hours to get the full benefit of fasting, so for me, eating small amounts adding up to almost 800cals over 11hrs was unusual.

I’m truly impressed – I stick with BSD principles and have managed to keep off the weight but I always had my full 800kcal a day, could hardly cope with less 🙂
With all that walking you’re doing it shows it can be done, however we are all different. I think I read somewhere Michael Mosley originally set the calories at 500 a day but raised it slightly to make it more achievable.

Thanks Baristagirls. As you say, everyone is different and you have to do what works for you.

PEAK: finally got the cycling under way and have decided to treat it as a commute, 1 session outside, the other on the trainer, every 3 days then a rest/fasting day. Outside session was 1 lap long (21/2mi), turbo session 10min. Very pleased that I managed to complete both without freewheeling once (that’s the aim not the distance or time) but the turbo session was a real killer. I think the resistance setting is a bit high but will leave it where it is.

PIT (shallow): The plateaux is back! Hoping I’m destined for 5-6 days of plateaux followed by 1 or 2 days of big loss but we shall see. Not going to worry too much until I surpass Theodora’s 13 days.

One thing that has surprised me though is my scales. I had to replace my old BF scales at the start of the year and bought a cheap ordinary pair as I have a separate BF monitor I use anyway. The first reading on these scales has always been 1-2lb higher than the second and third reading which have been the same. Consequently, I have always used the second reading as a’ true weight’ reading. However, yesterday and today both reading have been the same. No idea why, nor why the first reading was always higher in the first place.

PEAK: Got the morning cycle in (it was actual 16;10 but who’s watching the clock). The wind made it extremely difficult even on the downhill bits I did manage to time it properly and, despite the wind and not freewheeling, did it in less time than when I last cycled the route approx. 10 years ago so very pleased with myself.

PIT (deep): Nether regions very sore from the saddle when I sat on the bike so skipped the evening turbo (regretting it now though, what is 10mins of pain in the grand scheme of things?). Will do both today.

PIT2 (shallow): Plateaux is back with a vengeance. Day 3 of ‘stay the same’. However, this time it is exactly the same, no up or down, so I shall be interested to see where this takes me come the end of the week.

Glad to see not many of you seem to be having any PITs at present, but hope that doesn’t mean there are no PEAKs soaring through the clouds either.

PEAK: 1lb off today after a 24hr fast yesterday. One more and that’s a stone and a half lost. The body is fighting the losses hard but I am beating it into retreat slowly but surely.

PIT: Extended the morning ride despite the wind again but missed the evening one. Just ran out of time. I know all this exercise is good for me but it does take up a lot of time.

Life has overtaken me over the Easter weekend so I’m just taking this quick opportunity to catch up (It’s going to be somewhat lengthy so apologies from the start):

SAT PEAK: I discovered to day that Sainsbury’s now do 100% chocolate (all coco solids, no sugar) for a reasonable £2.50. Now I no longer have to compromise my no sugar rule except for the odd alcoholic drink. Happy Dance.

SUN PEAK: Had the day off so went to 3 car boots looking for a picture frame and some small loose bottom tins for making cheesecakes in (I already have one but need to be able to make a selection at once and the ones you can buy nowadays are not deep enough). Found the perfect picture frame and 5 different size tins (not quite the size I wanted though) at the last one. Then went dog training and the planned rain didn’t turn up until we just finished putting everything away. Happy Paws.

MON PEAK: Went shopping with my daughter and found exactly the tins I wanted at B&M for £1.29 each so bought 3 (I do love that shop). Have been looking everywhere since Christmas so extra happy dance.

TUES PEAK: Finally got around to putting my numbers for the week into my spreadsheet and pleased to realize I have actually lost 1.2lb over the course of the week. Had the impression I had stayed the same.

EASTER PIT(very deep): Life has been getting in the way of posting on the forum and also my exercise regime. It has now occurred to me that to spend 2hr40 everyday cycling and TV watching in order to burn off 800 cals is not really feasible time wise (I have proved over the 2 weeks that I can do it but at the detriment of other things). Also, not sure my knee will take it in the long run.

I started it as an experiment in the hope that burning off, with extra exercise, whatever I ate over the course of the day would prevent a stall. (Theory being that more out than in has to result in big loss, i.e. TDEE of 1600 x2 days = almost lb of loss so over 7 days should in theory be a loss of 3.5lb, but we all know the idea of burning 3500 cals results in a lb of weight being lost was flawed from the outset).

However, over the time I have been doing it my weight loss has slowed to a very hard fought lb lost each week and, while never hungry, I have found myself probably eating less fat than I should (Do I really want to spend 20mins exercising off that dollop of mayonnaise even though I have 400 cals left in my daily allowance, etc.?). So with great regret (I hate giving in to a challenge) I am going to stop that particular social experiment, although I shall continue cycling and TV watching my way to Rivendell and TV watching the 2017 days away over 1000 miles as there are two big positives to come out of doing this:

1) what I watch on TV now has to be really worth the time spent watching it and not having it on in the background all the time means I can concentrate on other things better,

2) for the first time in nearly 10years I am going to bed at night and falling asleep without having the TV on thus my sleep is a lot better.

So whilest I shall keep the exercise up in other ways going forward, I shall not equate it with what goes in my mouth.

PIT: This should be the deepest pit of them all and the point at which I run away from this forum forever, baying that BSD doesn’t work and I’m going to eat myself thought a family size tub of ice cream whilst welling in my misery. But surprisingly it isn’t.

After eating a high fat 1200cals (64Pg, 10Cg) and doing no exercise apart from 1256 steps and not sitting down all day, I managed to put on 5lb exactly overnight. Explanations on a postcard please.

PEAK: Today’s PIT is so outlandish that it made me laugh, not cry. It has to be all water (far more going in than coming out right now) and other things (I have not been for a fortnight so thought I would try a couple of day of high fat to see if that helped. It clearly hasn’t) but this body of mine is sure trying hard to keep my weight above the 12st mark. Come to think of it 12st4 or thereabouts has been my set point weight for the past couple of years probably. So I shall have to think up a new strategy for the EASTER IS DONE, MID-MAY HERE WE COME CHALLENGE to finally outwit it.

Gosh ddraig-roch you do work very hard! Inspired by your effort, I’m still cycling, but much less than you and more than I used too!

PIT> PIT> PIT:- Deep pit for me today. We are on holiday and received a phone call from our daughter late this afternoon to say she was doing a fly by our house to check on it, and would I like her to go through our mail. I was actually still on the phone to her whilst she unlocked and she immediately yelled that we hade been burgled!!! Whilst the front door (both inner and outer) were still securely locked, inside has been trashed, with every drawer and cupboard in the place emptied onto the floor etc! Lord only knows what has been taken (nothing obvious like TVs etc) – but how can one tell about smaller things when everything one possesses is heaped in piles on the floor like so much discarded trash? Also my mother in law died recently, and we had a lot of her personal possessions (family jewellery and the like) still packed up waiting to be distributed to the family, most of which I suspect has now gone.

My daughter rang the police but still, 6 hours later, they have not arrived as it was not considered an “emergency” as the perpetrators were no longer there. Bless her, she rather shakily toured the entire house, talking myself and o/h through the damage, taking photos etc. She has a sick child at home, too, so had to leave and couldn’t wait for the police (just as well, she’d still have been waiting!!!!) but her husband has been and secured the house (they had smashed the locks on our patio doors in the back).

It’s not so much what has been taken, but I am feeling violated that these evil people have been in our home, touching our things etc. Some holiday this has turned out to be………………

Sorry, rant over, just needed to get it off my chest. Guess we’ll be heading back to assess the damage and start to clear up tomorrow.

So sorry to hear about your troubles, Theodora, it really is a terrible thing to be burgled. I hope the damage is repairable and anything missing can be replaced for you, but I know it is not always possible. My thoughts are with you tonight.

My heart goes out to you Theadora. I don’t know what to say, it’s such an awful thing to happen. I do hope that they catch the evil bs and they have not taken anything irreplaceable.. thinking of you x

So sorry to hear about the burglary Theodora. It has happened to me to in the past,, though thankfully not whilst on hoilday, and I understand what you mean about feeling violated. I just hope when you get home that you find your MIL Prescious things. In my experience don’t expect much from the police though. Safe journey back.

Oh that is awful. You wouldn’t feel safe in your own house. And such a mess as well as theft! I hope insurance covers everything but I know that doesn’t undo the trauma and stress.

So sorry to hear about your house being burglarized Theodora! That is so terrible and so violating!!! Please know I am thinking of you and your husband.

Thank you Mixnmatch, Pod, Natalie and jmarie for your sympathy and kind words. Police still not turned up apparently and there is not a lot we can do until they have been!!

On the plus side,(peak??) when my daughter told me about it, I felt so sick to my stomach that I couldn’t face eating. Still can’t. So, as I hadn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday (yoghurt and berries) I have now fasted for 27 hours, consuming only water and weak tea. Hopefully this will have gone some way towards mitigating the holiday indulgences of the past 12 days 😉 Also on the plus side (another peak?), as I have no access to scales whilst away, I measured myself this morning, thinking “how much worse can I feel anyway?” But, to my amazement I have lost another inch from both my waist and my hips, and half an inch from my bust whilst we’ve been away 🙂 Don’t think this will be reflected on the scales, because I was feeling fat (bloated) but we shall see.

O/h has now decided that we won’t go home until tomorrow, as we had lots of plans today, the weather is gorgeous and we are meant to be meeting old friends to go out for supper this evening (if I can face food by then). The house is now secure, though we have been told not to touch anything so we shall head home first thing tomorrow to assess the damage – hopefully the police will have been by then and we can start the clear up process.

Thanks again, your good wishes mean a lot.

We finally arrived home last evening to face the mess of the break in.

PEAK:- Damage far less extensive than it could have been, locks and bolts on rear patio doors broken and o/h has spent the morning repairing / replacing, so we are all secure again now. I have sorted and tidied and put everything back to rights, and we are looking civilised again. Also far less gone than we were anticipating, US$200 and £300 cash, plus some odd bits of jewellery, none of which were of any great sentimental value. Or, for that matter, of much monetary value. They seem to have discarded a lot of quite valuable antique jewellery – maybe too easy to trace?

2nd PEAK:- Whilst away and despite over-indulging on both food and drink, I have somehow managed to lose another pound, bringing me to 2.25lbs under target 🙂

BIGGEST PEAK:- My younger son (and the baby of the family) has arrived home, after working abroad 🙂 He has tenants in his own house atm, so will be staying with us for a while, and it’s lovely to have my boy home under my wing 🙂 Skyping is just not the same as a great big bear hug 🙂 He looks so well and is soooo tanned it’s hard to believe he is white Anglo-Saxon, he has grown his hair (used to be very short) and it has gone all curly, and the first thing he did (after several bear-hugs for his mum) was take his dad to the pub for a “proper pint” 😉

NO PITS.

Feeling happy 🙂

PIT- a miserable head cold that is making it very hard to stay on track. I’ve had it since Wednesday (it’s Saturday in Sydney) and I’m hungry and my sinuses hurt and the tissue box it nearly empty. And I only have one rosehip teabag left! Sorry for the whinge.

PEAK 1 – despite feeling so sick yesterday, and eating more than I planned, I stuck to BSD principles and as a reward I had a visit from the whoosh fairy. Am now 1.4 kg from my first goal weight and 5.4 from my final goal weight. It has only taken 14 weeks! Still sick, but feeling better than yesterday and so happy I am still losing!

PEAK 2- reading all your posts which help keep me more or less on track.

Keep on keeping on everyone.

I hope the fact that no one has posted on this thread for a while means that no one has had any “pits” to report. But it’s a shame that nobody has posted any “peaks” either 😭

Well, no pits for me (apart from a little too much wine yesterday), but I will start the ball rolling again with my PEAK of the day – of the week, really, maybe even of the month 😜

This morning I fell into conversation with a complete stranger, who was talking about somebody she knew and she said to me, and I quote………….”she’s just like you, very slender and naturally slight”………..woohooo, now THAT was worth all the hard work of the previous 5 months 😛😋☺😀

Theodora, that is a fantastic compliment! “Naturally slight” is a lovely phrase! You earned it!

Hi 5 Theadora! Amazing compliment!