2.5 for me for week 1 on this challenge , making 9lbs all told since the last week of March (when I was still having weekend wine) and weight now 1st 10 .. I am _very_ happy with this.. 8 weeks left until the holiday !!

Went out to a friend last night for dinner, she cooked bsd friendly chicken and roasted veggies and even thought she was drinking I had no wine!!. (stuck to fizzy water ice and squeeze of lemon which I find kills the wine craving when in drinking company ( a bit)

I have guests for dinner tomorrow – and wine will be drunk chez Laska – but this weight loss ( now I have totalled it all up ) is making me even more determined not to have any myself ! ..

ill be doing Rick Stein’s Albanian lamb and rice bake with roasted aubergine , (but can easily not eat the rice myself).. a big salad with tomato and feta to accompany..

Hi everyone, still standing still but BG was 6.2 this morning, I put it down to that half a glass of very sweet rosé wine. Packing all done except for personal items that go in at last minute (toothbrush, blood test kit etc). Theodora, I will be in 3 degrees and snow by Monday, cruising around the Norwegian Fjords for a week. So looking forward to it. Keep on keeping on everyone.

oops!! I am 11st 10 (not 1st 10! – that would a worrying loss indeed) 🙂

Happy hols S-g!!!

Have a great time I’m sure it will be spectacular with all that snow. Look forward to hearing all about it. Take care.

S-g, enjoy your fjord cruise. When we did the same a few years ago, we were not quite so cold though definitely not sunbathing weather, or so I thought! Went out onto the top deck first day at sea and saw quite a number of folk rugged up in their padded clothing, wrapped around in ship’s blankets and holding some sort of silver thing under their chins to reflect sunlight onto their faces. That was some sight!!

Sorry for not checking in yesterday in accordance with my ODAAT (Busybee😊), but had some Internet probs. On days I go to the local shopping Centre I often sit for a half hour or so and use their free i/net but didn’t get there yesterday. Nevermind, I was suitably bsd-careful, giving me a couple of little losses yesterday and today, but I’ll keep the actual numbers until official weigh-in day. I often undermine myself in these instances so my attention needs to be concentrated on not allowing that today. One day at a time☺

Well my 7 day ‘short, sharp, shock, post holiday reboot is over. It worked!!!

Although I’ve stayed the same today I lost a total of 6.2lbs in the 7 days, 4.6lbs of which was my holiday gain. Now that I’ve lost all that extra water its back to the hard slog of losing ‘fat’. Not quite so easy! I’ve reassessed my next goal and I’d love to lose 4.8lbs by my Diabetes review on May 22nd but if I could do it by the end of this challenge that would be a bonus. So 18 days of this challenge left plus a bonus 6, surely I can lose 5lbs in 24 days … we’ll see!

Have a good day and a nice weekend.

That’s excellent news Verano. You’ve obviously been very focussed. I shall follow your plan. We are away from home and avoiding the worst carbs at least. Home on Sunday. So I shall weigh and set a target for 10 days – that is until we’re off again for a few days. Short sharp shock here I come ! Good luck on your next goal. You can do it! X

Well done Verano, great news and if you stay as focussed for the next few weeks as you have been for the last one, I have no doubt you will reach your new mini-goal by 22nd May. Good luck.

s-g enjoy your cruise, and your snow 😉 Sounds fab.

Happy to report a very small loss today, but hoping for more by next Tuesday’s weigh in date – though we have friends staying for the weekend, so there may be wine involved!!!

Still stood still with a 2.5lb loss and now not worrying. Setting off in half an hour so au revoir a tous. See you in 10 days if not before.,

And dont forget, keep on keeping on…

Have fun, s-g. xx

Well done Verano, that’s a brilliant result. I’m sure you can hit your 22nd May target without any problem.
I completed a 38 hour fast this morning. That’s the longest one I’ve ever done. Down 4 lbs since Tuesday. Eating normally today and the rest of the weekend except for 18 hour overnight fasts so it will be interesting to see how much was water and how much fat!!

So I’ve probably gone and jinxed myself but I’ve had a visit from the whoosh leprechaun! I was 10st 8lb on Tuesday official weigh in but jumped to 10st 5lb from Wednesday onwards. Hoping I can stay the same until next Tuesdays official weigh in. Strange. Not sure why this has happened. Glad it has though. Continued success everyone!

Hi all,

I might just make it before today turns over to tomorrow. Busy, busy day, starting early at the gym, some unexpected visitors mid morning, a half hour of gardening, the lightest of lunches because we were attending a seated meal at 4 pm before the footie i.e. our AFL team, home game starting 6 pm. Odd starting time, but blame the influence of tv scheduling for the different time zones. Back to the club rooms post match for some socialising (tea + water for me). OH very tired but I’m still winding down, and no, I didn’t make it ……it’s now officially tomorrow, the midnight news on the radio has just finished, so it’s now the 30th April. Where has this month disappeared to, I’d like to know?

Hopefully there will be no damage from the catered meal which was hardly bsd friendly. I didn’t bother with wine.

Hey Doodledootoo, fingers crossed that the whoosh leprechaun hangs around😊

😴😴😴

I had some painful dental work on Friday morning, my mouth is still sore and it’s made it difficult to eat (haven’t let that stop me!) so my food has been very erratic as I search for things that don’t hurt to eat. Some BSD things like poached eggs but also very non-BSD like 2 minute noodles! Last night I was at a birthday dinner party and I really struggled, ate very slow, then dived headfirst into the cake! So soft and fluffy with lots of cream – no pain! I haven’t weighed myself but I will tomorrow – really no idea as I haven’t eaten a lot but some of it has been very off-plan. Oh, and since I couldn’t comfort eat when I really wanted to, I had sweet tea instead. It was indeed comforting but… sigh.

Good morning everyone

Natalie hope your mouth feels better soon. It’s so hard to stay on track when you can only eat soft foods like cake!!!!!

Thanks for all your encouragement. I’ve stayed the same since Thursday morning and that’s fine with me. Sometimes it’s good to ‘stabilise’ ‘ before dropping again …. good theory???

Anyway, still on plan and hoping not to gain today. I weigh at the end of each month as well and I have not put weight on in any month since I started last July. Must admit I only lost 0.6lb one month but hey it was still a loss. It has been touch and go for April but if I hold on it will be a loss this month too!

I have a ‘new’ strategy …. eat very slowly and put down fork between mouthfuls. I eat far too quickly so this is going to require a conscious effort. Sounds simple!

Have a good day and stay on track …. just for today!

Verano any loss is good and I think yours is more than good! Well done on consistent loss, even if it is slower some weeks.

Do you have to find a four leaf clover to get a visit from the whoosh leprechaun?

Oh dear Natalie – sounds painful, 😢 and I really hope your mouth feels better soon and you can get back on track.

Verano, stable is good. Million times better than an increase, and I’m sure April will have continued the downward trend when you have your end of month weigh in. Well done. 😀 I also agree entirely with your new strategy about eating slowly. I have utilised this strategy since I started BSD800 15 weeks ago (tomorrow) – slow eating and savouring every tasty mouthful – and I’m sure it helps. It certainly makes you feel fuller as it gives more time for your stomach to send messages to your brain that it has been fed, which apparently takes approx. 20mins.

I’ve been very good this week 😇 and I’m thrilled to report that my scales measured another pound off today, which now brings me in at 6lbs under final goal wait, (total loss of 38lbs) so lots of wriggle room. 👌 I will continue for the last week of my 2nd round (finishing on 7th May) by which time I hope to have half a stone wriggle room, and then will go onto maintenance proper – which I’m sure will be much more difficult than losing.

Hope everyone else is doing ok?

I’ve been AWOL for a few days (sorry Marsie)!
My head and body have been all over the place – up north and down south checking on the oldies, sorting out what to wear for the three day wedding celebrations, lost the will a bit with the eating and have done a little (or a lot) of comfort drinking.
I wish I could be focused like you Verano as you seem to control things with a goal, whereas I seem to sabotage myself when I set limits and goals.
I will try to pull it together for the next few days before we go off to Spain on Friday, but don’t have any hope that I will lose any of last weeks gained weight.
Ah well, I will keep on keeping on one day at a time and will not give up!!
X B

Crikey, re my post above – just looked back at my diary and realised that the pound loss which showed up today brings my loss to 3lbs7oz since last weekend 👍🙆🎈 I think that’s pretty good for week 15 👏 Certainly much more than I have been losing recently (averaging between 1.5 and 2 lbs a week in my 2nd round)

BBee -don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ll get there – life has a habit of intervening sometimes, but just look back and see how far you’ve come.

Well done Theodora!! Think you could be right that maintaining is more difficult than losing but I’m sure you’ll be fine, seems to take a little bit of experimentation to find your own personal maintenance plan.

Busybee I promise you I am only in control for a certain percentage of the time and the rest I’m floundering around like others. I think you have to find ‘your’ own way. I know exactly what you mean about setting goals and limits and then sabotaging yourself. I just think your head needs to be in the right place. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. That life.

For me, I’ve found that 7 day challenges work best. One day at a time isn’t long enough for me because I think ok I can always do it again tomorrow if I have a bad day. 8 weeks I found too long hence the 4 week challenges. But my optimum is a short count down from 7. After all it’s only 7 days!!!! It really goes over quickly and you get a tremendous amount of satisfaction when you reach Day 7. But no reason why you couldn’t try 3 or 4 days even Monday to Friday. It doesn’t even take that much discipline because you can ‘see’ the finishing post.

It also helps if you have a short term goal. Mine now is my diabetes review on a May 22nd by which time I’d like to lose 5lbs. But it can be anything …. so many pounds to drop into the next 10s of pounds, the next stone, closer to the next stone etc. You just need a small mini goal to aim for and you will succeed!

Natalie – hope your mouth feels a lot better very soon – going to the dentist is very stressful, especially when you are in pain afterwards.

Verano – eating slowly and putting your fork down between mouthfuls is a very good strategy. I have slowed my eating down on the BSD but I really should eat even more slowly than I do.

Well done everyone for keeping on keeping on – whether you have lost weight, stayed the same or had a little blip.

Today is a very important anniversary for me – one year exactly on the BSD.

My goal at the start was to save my sight and to hopefully avoid any more Lucentis eye injections. I also hoped I could lose a stone and get down to around 11stone 3.75lbs – although I have to say I wasn’t that confident that I could. I also hoped that I might be able to cut down a bit on the night time and after meal time insulin injections. I must admit that these goals seemed huge when I started last year.

Then I began to read this forum and everything changed. There was so much good advice and support. The success stories were inspirational but so were the stories of people who had fallen off the wagon but hadn’t given up – they put their failures behind them and got back on the wagon and carried on.

It took me 4 months to lose 14lbs and reach my goal. I reset it to 10stone 7lbs but 3 months later on 10th December I was 9stone 7.25lbs.

On 10th September the diabetes went into remission and so did the diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema. So have been almost 8 months without having to inject insulin.

Almost 5 months on maintenance I have dropped down to 9stone 3.25lbs. I have been eating to appetite but keeping carbs low. Averaging around 2K calories a day so metabolism is working well.

Other benefits have been:
No more
Snoring
Sinusitis
Hay fever
Indigestion or acid reflux
Tiredness and lack of energy
Food cravings
Sore and inflamed gums
The list just goes on and on.

Has diabetes been reversed? No it hasn’t – it is ‘ in remission’. I am really happy with this because I probably had diabetes for years and years before it was diagnosed and it had got so bad I had to be admitted to hospital because I was so ill. For my pancreas to be able to control my blood sugars without insulin is nothing short of miraculous and if I have to keep off the sugary starchy carbs forever I am not at all unhappy because I absolutely adore the low carb med style diet I am following.

So thank you Michael Mosley, professor Roy Taylor and most importantly – everyone on this forum.

Here’s to another successful year on the BSD. My goal is to gently nurse my pancreas back to full health over this year. Not in order to eat the bad stuff but to be able to eat more of the good carbs. Will I achieve my goal – who knows. But even if I stay as I am today – my 2nd year on the BSD would have been a total success.

Wow, Krysia – thank you so much for sharing your story with us. That is TRULY INSPIRATIONAL!! Well done you. 🙂 🙂 🙂

You are giving hope, help and encouragement to so many that it is you who should be thanked. So thank you.

Krysia that is an amazing story. I’m sure it will inspire many people to keep going when it gets difficult. Thank you so much for sharing and well done to you.

Krysia, a very, very happy BSD birthday to you.

That’s an inspiring story indeed to those of us who are doing this to save sight, feet, heart, hell, our HEALTH in the longer term. Sometimes it can feel as though it’s all about the weight. But as you’ve graphically shown, it’s about SO much more – what an impressive list of improvements and achievements! Well done, you clever, determined person. WELL DONE!!😺😺. MK x

PS. – OH is off on a 10 day trip on Tuesday. I’m toying with the idea of Fage and fruit for an 11 o clock ‘brunch, then chicken or tuna and salad at 6 every day he’s away, making up my 800 with a few nuts or a cube of cheese. No cooking, no faff, nothing else in the house to tempt – a 10 day frugality fest eating only things I like, but with little variety, and doing daily rowing and walks. It’s only 10 days…..ODAAT? Wotcha think, pals??

PPS – met my new puppy, 3 weeks old, Poppy, she’s a Spoodle. If ever there was an encouragement to walk! Love her already, six weeks and she’s mine!

Krysia – in my earlier post, I was so gobsmacked by your story that I forgot to wish you a very happy BSD birthday 🎈

Ooh, Mk, how exciting to have met your new puppy – the next six weeks will seem so loooong. Spoodles are so cute. Gosh, I wish we had photos on here 😉

As far as your plan whilst o/h is away, that is exactly my menu when mine is away (I do the same if he is out in the evening too), and it works really well, and I tend to register a bigger loss then too. So go for it 😜

Thank you so much for sharing your story, KrysiaD. It’s truly wonderful and I’m thrilled for you. You’ve shared bits and pieces of your story before but to see it all laid out like that, well, it is even more impressive👏👏👏 I’m certain you will maintain during the coming 12 months with the same surety as you have for this period. ✔🌟🌟🌟

Krysiad, happy BSD birthday, your story is so inspirational xx
So many, many benefits you have reaped, the biggest Congratulations to you, and very, very well done xx
Ann

MK welcome to your new puppy Poppy, she will keep you on your toes!
Enjoy not cooking, I used to love it when my OH went away cos I didn’t cook at all! Deep joy!
Enjoy your new puppy

Krysia- Happy 1st BSD Birthday 🍓- a truly amazing story and so inspiring to us all. Congratulations on your wonderful achievement this last year. Here’s to a healthy maintenance ahead.

MK-how exciting getting a new puppy. I rescued an old lady cat from a cat sanctuary a few years ago and I named her Poppy (she was ginger) she was the sweetest old cat ever! My husband is going away for a two week Buddhist Retreat next week and I too am already planning how I will fast and eat whilst on my own. It will be nice just looking after myself. My husband is vegan, I am vegetarian and love eggs, cheese, yoghurt etc so I I usually have to use lots of pans to cook our food separately.

Have a good weekend everyone and see you all back on Tuesday for the weekly weigh in!

Isn’t it wonderful how we all support each other. I definitely couldn’t have done it on my own.

MK – how lovely that you are getting a new puppy. We have a Poppy also – she is a 7 year old labrador and when we went to see the litter – she chose us.

Yes, funny how they do that, Krysia.
There were four tiny pups and Poppy just looked at me and snuggled close to my cheek. Sold!!
Will stock up on yoghurt and look forward to a good loss, thanks for the advice.
Will be interesting to see how much time I save by not planning, shopping and cooking for a man with an enormous appetite who NEVER puts on an ounce! MK x

KrysisD – I had to read your post twice! It is such a fantastic story. Everyone should read it! I will keep it on my phone to read every day. Truly amazing.
Makes the keeping on keeping on worth it.
Interesting to say about the sinusitis and hay fever. I’ve always had these problems and taken anti histamines and inhalers every day for years. A box of tissues in every room. I started BSD in Jan and although my weight loss has been low in comparison with yours – and been up and down constantly – I have reduced anti histamines and inhalers considerably. In fact haven’t used them for a fair few weeks. I don’t understand why this WOE works on that too. There must be a medical explanation??? It’s a bonus! Well done everyone x

Krysia, your story is amazing, congratulations. I’m even more in awe of your successful maintenance, even more tricky in my opinion but you seen to have mastered it. Seeing you and others who have managed it gives this yoyo dieter confidence that I can do it too 👍

MK so envious about your puppy! I had two Maltese for many years, they died a year apart a couple of years ago and u still sometimes look for them in the window when I get home then remember they’re not with us anymore. I’d love another puppy but will put it off until I retire in a few years, doesn’t seem fair to leave a young puppy alone at home 5 days a week and when my son is married in a couple of months I’ll be living by myself again.

I’ve had a bounce back from my low the other day, but still under 68 at 67.9. I’ve noticed I’m still drinking 2.5l a day but not going to the loo anywhere near as much so I’m hoping it’s water weight that will depart in its own good time.
Heigh ho, Monday morning so off to work I go!

Krysia – thanks for sharing your inspiring story and congratulations on your BSD birthday! 🎉
Reading your story is a good reminder for what this diet is really about – reversing or preventing diabetes. It’s so easy to just focus on the calories and weight loss each week, and not be mindful of the bigger picture.

KrysiaD- happy BSD day! How impressive.

Krysia, happy BSD Anniversary! As you started your maintenance before I did you are one of those who is continually inspiring me, particularly with what you have overcome. I hope the next year goes even better.

Reporting in a day ahead of official challenge weigh in I can report that at 10 stone 9.4 I have dropped 0.8 pounds over the last week since my last Monday pre-holiday weigh in. I have indulged in many things, prosecco, red wine, gin, pasties, cream tea, Easter biscuits, Easter egg, chocolate, toast and marmalade, and one absolutely beautiful orange and mascarpone ice cream, but not to excess, and as always my exercise levels in Cornwall are far higher than my home levels from day to day, so my steps have been high, at 99,842 I think my highest ever recorded in a week, even with a relatively low 3,500 yesterday when we drove back.

Moving on I will go back to my routine as planned (one fast day every week, alcohol on weekends and holidays only, and one, usually weekend, day when anything goes a week, if I want to use it.) I will go back to tracking what I eat, but more as a food diary, than the former rigid plan, and if I am over TDEE on some days, eating to appetite, then I am sure I will be under on others when I am just not as hungry. My trigger weight is unchanged at 11 stone 7, and my recovery plan if I hit it is immediately lower carb to 50g, restrict to 1500 calories, then increasing by 50 calories a day including increasing carbs gradually until well over my TDEE again, as that seemed to work well for me.

CONGRATULATIONS KRYSIA 🏅🏅🏅

A truly amazing turn around in your health. I wonder sometimes if slow and sure helps the body to adjust to its new weight as you go along so maintenance is more natural …. but not easier ! At least that’s my hope if the day ever comes!!!

You don’t mention what your GP has to say about your amazing achievement. He must be really happy. Is he?

Anyway, well done and here’s to the next year of good health🍅🥕🌶🍳🥗🍓

Still plodding along here. Out for lunch today so may be a little more explaining to do!

Will weigh-in tomorrow but things looking good this morning.

Have a good day!

Mixnmatch – your plan for maintenance looks really good. On reading this forum I realised that the people who did well on maintenance were the people who had a plan for their maintenance which they followed. Everyone’s plan was different – but it suited them. The minute I realised this – maintenance was no longer scary.

I have been doing what you are doing – eating to appetite but tracking what I eat more as a food diary than a rigid plan.

What I have noticed is that I have a few days with higher calories then a few days of not feeling hungry and much lower calories. I keep carbs low at all times because my pancreas can’t cope with higher carbs and as long as I do that I can trust my body to choose the right amount of calories.

Obviously I don’t completely trust my body to do that or I wouldn’t be keeping my food diary on fat secret. But it really works for me with my particular health issues and previous carb addiction.

Verano – I don’t see my GP but do see a consultant at the hospital. In October I went armed with Professor Taylor’s notes to Doctors expecting a difficult consultation when I told the consultant about the BSD.

It ended up being the dream appointment – the consultant knew Professor Taylor and was 100% for the BSD. She was so pleased that I have been successful but did warn me that I may need to stay low carb in the long term as we don’t know quite how long I have had diabetes before diagnosis.

I can live with that as I do absolutely love this way of eating.

I think that although I was a slow loser it actually worked to my advantage because I was actually doing maintenance for quite large chunks of my weight loss phase on the BSD. So once I was on maintenance proper – I knew that it was achievable as I had already done it in between the weight loss periods.

I am still a little behind you in trusting my body to set the calories, Krysia, but with the evidence of the last completely untracked week it must be pretty good at it. It is just that this is the first time I have ever succeeded in getting to my target weight so it is all a little into the unknown, hence the plan. I will also be using other IF techniques like 16:8 to keep myself used to feeling hungry. That has been the big difference for me with this way of eating I think, the realisation that hunger is natural, and can actually feel good, rather than panicking and heading straight for the junk food.

Congrats Kysia, that is such an inspiring story! And MK, also congrats on the upcoming new addition to your household. I’ve had two puppies in my life – a lot of work but not for too long. And so cute! Taking them outside on rainy winter nights was probably the worst bit, but the cuddles were lovely.

I’ve been laughing to myself about people planning to eat slow – with my sore mouth I haven’t had any choice! I’ve been cutting up very small bites and chewing slowly and carefully… I can’t say it’s helped though! I’ve put on half a kg in the past few days. Apparently eating all the wrong foods actually has an effect on your body – who knew? I’m struggling to get back on plan, but sitting here with my fruity herbal tea so that’s a start.

Mixnmatch – actually I don’t think that I can absolutely trust my body to set the calories because I still enter everything on fat secret. It looks like my body is doing really well but it is highly likely that entering my food on fat secret subconsciously alters the amount I am eating so maybe it makes it easier to not overeat because I am monitoring my food intake.

Mixnmatch, so pleased you had a good and totally successful (weight wise) holiday. Your maintenance plan sounds spot on, and I think I am going to filch it, if you don’t mind, when I go on to maintenance proper next Monday – by which time I hope to have a full half stone wriggle room (one pound to go for that).

I too have rather got to like that empty stomach feeling which is, after all, entirely natural and when I get it I no longer automatically reach for food, so that is a complete turnaround to pre-BSD days.

Krysia, how lovely that your Consultant is fully supportive and on board with BSD, it must make life somewhat easier not having to battle with medics over it!

Both of you have been inspirational to me, as you prove maintenance CAN be achieved, despite what all the doubting Thomases out there say!

Of course I don’t mind, I actually pinched the ‘anything goes’ day idea from another diet called the Slow Carb diet, which is surprisingly similar to the way of life BSD. I guess the idea is that if I keep the truly bad stuff to one day a week it can’t do me that much harm, and if it is a weekend day then my usual fast day is Monday, so that feels like a useful mental reset.

KrysiaD, overlooked the Happy BSD Birthday wish in all the wonderful news, so here it is now:)

I have to say that all this talk of maintenance is really quite a spur, good luck to you all and please keep posting!

Weigh-in tomorrow morning, am hopeful….

I’m hanging on but the finger tips are very sore!
I am following Verano’s suggestion of a short sharp attack just until Friday when we go away -therefore this week my mantra will be “just until Thursday night” instead of “one day at a time” (Sorry Marsie)
X B

Have had a really stress free, easy BSD weekend. Planned well, & just kept the carbs low like I did on my previous 4 years of low carb, into the groove and hardly had to think about it. Hope this is my new normal,! Mkx

Wow, so much goes on in this thread!
I read all the posts with interest but don’t reply much. I do find them all so encouraging and motivating so thank you all.

Two weeks into this challenge and 1kg down at 67.6. Its not looking like I’ll make my goal, that would require 2.6kg in 2 weeks, but still a loss. At least I am still finding the way of eating easy and comfortable and now making a real effort to get up close to 800 cal each day. I find I’m not really hungry and often don’t get more than 600 but probably need more.

Weigh-in this morning:
Started this challenge 2weeks ago @ 63.8kg
Last week@ 63.4kg
Today@ 62.9kg

So, while I’m pleased with the downward change, I’m still a little miffed that I can’t show the 62.5kg of a couple of days ago. Will be strongly adhering to bsd principles ODAAT as i need to schedule in a couple of social events. Still, whenever didn’t we? Make life worth living.

Good luck to all posters today xx