Verano – I am really impressed with how well you are doing. In fact all of us are doing so well. Even when we have slip ups our food diaries are positively saintly compared to what we used to eat when we were still in the clutches of the carb monster.

The life character I most admire, Verena, is the one who faces a problem, sees what needs doing, and just gets on with things, regardless. Some do, some don’t, you obviously do. Come to think of it, there seem to be a few of our friends on here that do, so uplifting.

Yes thanks, Verena, it was positive as far as it goes. Sadly though, for a man who will be having his 48th birthday in a couple of weeks, there is more to come. He’s putting off, for as long as possible, making the decision with his surgeon which should be done first – his back or the other hip. Distressing.

Mother’s Day today, have had calls from the grandchildren and both sons. #1 son is out of town this weekend, but having dinner with #2 and his family tonight and the house is filed with the delicious aromas of the slowly cooking root vegetables which are my contribution to the table. And which I will have the tiniest portion of…….torture! 😉

ClarinetCathy, would you like to open up the next challenge, or would you prefer me to get it going?

Hi Marsie and fellow four week challengers, I will be honoured to open up the next challenge and I have been having a real good think of what my next four week challenge will be – This next challenge will take me to my holiday in Turkey which is in a little under four weeks. I will happily start the next challenge thread entitled NORTH OR SOUTH, NO CARBS IN OUR MOUTH. Have a think everyone and see you for the next challenge starting from Tuesday – Cathy

Krysia yes you are absolutely spot on. When I think of my ‘treats’ yesterday I was still less than 40g of carbs and under 1500 calories which is no way bad. We are all doing so well and yes I like ‘saintly’!!!!

Marsie sorry to hear of your son’s ongoing problems. I suppose on the positive side at least something can be done to correct the problems. That may not have been possible 20 or 30 years ago so we just have to look on the brightest side we can. It must be very hard for you as a mum though to see your son less than fit and healthy.

Next challenge…. I may mix mine up a bit by doing 4 seven day challenges within the overall challenge. I am a bit short of willpower at the moment so if I just make a weekly goal as I go along that might help ….. then again it might not!!!!

Just have to keep on keeping on…..

Good on you CC.👍

BTW, Verano, I also love rhubarb. Done in the oven is beautiful, but I’ve been doing it in the microwave with apples or plums for our breakfasts, no sugar or water added as both the other fruits give out plenty of juice in the cooking, as you’d know. Because it is too difficult to separate the ingredients for weighing and counting I go by the higher numbers. Adds to my cals/carbs score but I enjoy it anyway.

Ah, Verano, I didn’t realise you’d had such hip trauma in the past. Hoping and praying that this time things go well and you’ll be out of pain for good. Both my grandmas had surgery in their 70’s and it was like a miracle to see their faces afterwards, free of pain.

This will be my last monthly challenge as I’ve hit my target for the summer and I don’t want to calorie count any more, just keep my carbs between 40g and 50g, do plenty of exercise. My old maintenance regime, basically, plus keep my BS good.

A gorgeous day here so have been up early to change winter/spring wardrobe round to summer. Big bag for charity shop and lots of ‘new’ things to wear!

Mkx

Hi all, did someone mention rhubarb, must go and pick some and stew down to have with my yoghurts. Still being naughty but it is starting to show in my BG which is around 6.5 (up from around 4.8) so the good life is catching up with me and I know what I prefer. Good blood glucose or a few glasses of wine – obviously the good blood glucose is more important. Will be ready for my weigh in on Tuesday when I hope to have lost 2lbs. One last push.

Verano, you are a Trojan and, like Marsie, I do so admire people who face up to whatever life throws at them and just get on with it. So often, those people tend to be the ones with the biggest challenges and it’s the ones with very minor things to cope with that are the whingers in life!! My youngest granddaughter is like you – she has so many health challenges to overcome, but no-one would ever know – a growth problem, severe asthma, she is totally atopic (severely allergic to 52 food items at last count), and she is now recovering (thank God) from a really nasty bout of bacterial meningitis. She spends half her life at the hospital. But not once have I ever heard her complain or say “why me?” and in fact she never lets it stop her doing anything and she is the sunniest child it has ever been my privilege to meet. Sorry, gone way off-topic, but so proud of her 🙂
So, I know I am keeping calories and carbs rather low – not deliberately, it’s just that I have got used to doing it. I am going to try increasing calories by 100 – 150 a day every week until I find a level I my body is happy with and that I can maintain. I would be very happy if I lose another one or two pounds whilst doing that. This is the first week of maintenance, so I have been aiming at 900 – 950 a day and remember that I haven’t accounted for the snacks in the cals / carbs count I have posted. Today, however, I am not having snacks as it’s Sunday, so a glass or red and two courses for me (3 for everyone else, but no sticky toffee pudding and custard for me 🙁 )

Marsie, as a mum, that must be really distressing for you to watch what your son has to go through – really hope it all goes well.

I love rhubarb too so shall hopefully be having some this coming week.

Menu for today:-
B – usual Fage yoghurt and blueberries (this will continue to be my breakfast for life – wish I had discovered how delicious it was years ago, so much more enjoyable than toast or cereals 🙂 )
No Lunch.
Dinner – Cantaloupe melon and prosciutto, followed by roast beef with small portion of gravy, cauli / broccoli cheese, sugarsnap peas, very small Yorkshire pudding, glass of red wine.

Total cals 918; carbs 47.09g (the highest carbs I have had in the 17 weeks since starting BSD) We shall see if it triggers a slight weight increase!!

Tomorrow is the above granddaughter’s 13th birthday – can’t believe my baby is about to become a teenager, so may have to “cope” with champagne and cake, so that will send my cals / carbs soaring!! So may have a slight increase for final weigh in – we shall see.

Hard to believe this challenge is almost over – where did those four weeks go? Looking forward to the next one – great name too!

Verano – under 40g carbs at 1500 calories is definitely saintly.

Just a carb increase shouldn’t trigger a weight gain on maintenance provided you take the increase slowly. I am up to a semi regular 150g carbs now, all (or most anyway) good BSD friendly stuff, and occasional 200g and my weight is still stable, but I increased it slowly. I will be in for the new challenge as well, just wanting to stay in the same window, of target +- 3 pounds. Yesterday was my first unlogged ‘anything day’ and I rather overdid the nuts and dried fruit. So today has so far consisted of bulletproof coffee breakfast, BBQ sausages and one burger for lunch and will be having plaice fillet and vegetables for tea. But no SNACKING.

Couldn’t understand why it’s been so quiet here today ….. must have clicked the unsubscribe button!!!

Marsie I just add up the carbs and calories for the rhubarb and apple and then divide by the number of portions …. the lower I can make it the better.

Theodora sorry to hear about your granddaughter it certainly puts everything in perspective. You have every right to be very proud of her.

I remember a saying from many years ago …. ‘ If it’s a problem it has a solution. If there is no solution it’s a fact of life’ It’s something that I have repeated to myself on many occasions. …. sometimes you just have to get on with things in life!!

Well I spent my weekend largely in bed with a tummy virus, barely ate anything and have been rewarded with a half kilo gain 😡

Maybe next challenge will be more successful.

Mariet – that is so unfair. Hope you have got over the virus now.

Wow, Maharani kitten, major change for you. Congratulations for reaching this point. 😊👏👍 Do hope we will still see you from time to time x

Ah, Theodora, we can take what happens to us, can’t we, but when it’s the children your heart breaks. Many hugs for your grandchild and her family, and especially to you. Truly hope life becomes kinder for her💜

Totals yesterday: cals 900, carbs 85gms. Dinner last night was unweighted so I’ve tried to over-estimate rather than under. Haven’t weighed yet but won’t be surprised to see a little reversal of the downward trend. Never mind, will take care today with my plan:
B. Berries, yoghurt, slivered almonds, lemon&ginger tea.
L. Large salad with ham, coffee w milk
D. Not sure yet, probably eg and green veg
S. Herbal or green tea, water, a few nuts, 25 gm sharp cheddar

Have a good last day of challenge everyone xx

I am in for tomorrow – but starting today but need all the support I can get as my track record for starting and failing is really bad – as soon as I start to feel better I treat myself and that day turns into a week a month gone again. My annual blood results came back on Friday and my fasting BSL is 5.8 so still pre-diabetic and gone up since last year, my bad cholesterol is not good and my inflammation markers are really high. Really need to get through this next 4 weeks and make some lifelong changes.

Hmmm I finished this challenge 800 grams heavier than when I started, I hadn’t lost any anyway and then rather overindulged on Mother’s Day. As well as several other things, I had three bites of a chocolate cake that I later found from the package had its FIRST (main) ingredient as sugar! My goodness. How is that even possible?

Luckily there is a new challenge about to start!

Well the last day has arrived so Day 7of 7 for me (and 28 of 28). Last Tuesday I was on an upward trend but have managed to put a stop to that. Will report tomorrow with my final result.

Hope everyone has a good last day and here’s to the next challenge!

Welcome in, LeanneD. First thing about these 4wk challenges is that we set and post our own mini-goals and progress whether positive or negative and from one self-sabotager to apparently another it may help to set yourself behavioral goals rather than kg/lb goals, that is a personal choice. Maybe read back through these posts for ideas. And then in the end it all comes back to resetting our own eating behaviors, doesn’t it?

Many of us struggle for consistency, but with support from people on this thread and others, we just keep on keeping on. And aim to become like any one of the inspirational people who get to goal and maintain. Good luck with it all.

Last day of this challenge. My scales showed a small rise this morning, the first this week, undoubtedly due to the proliferation of starchy carbs on my dinner plate last night, all cooked by me, and enjoyed, as part of the Mothers’ Day lamb roast. Each piece of veg was much smaller than I would previously have had, as was the.dribble of Gf gravy, but nonetheless, it all added up. So I can see +ve and -ve in that statement😐 This morning, although yesterday’s totals had not blown out, I’ve felt bloated but hungry all day. About to start dinner prep which will be much as stated in an earlier post. We had to run out to an 8 am appointment this morning and some of the brekkie and lunch plans changed, but I’m still ok with the projected totals ie cals 800, carbs 60. Still one day at a time and I will not nibble….I will not nibble……I will not nibble………………🙊

Oops, Natalie🍰, new challenge coming up.

Not nice, Mariet. Hope you’re feeling better soon😷

Stopping the upwardly mobile trend is a victory , Verano. 👍

See you all tomorrow. xx

Forgot to say, had a nice NSV this afternoon. Saw GP for my flu vac. Asked him to check my bp. He’s a good guy, was fully supportive of my 800 cal change. 133/77. That’s ok, he said, then did a doubletake when I told him I’d stopped my bp meds in March, his eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling then measured again……same reading. Yay!!🙆

Decided to close down this one a day early as I’m up bright and early tomorrow to be in the Smoke first thing.

So after another week trip to South Africa, I am recording an unbelievable 3lb loss, so that’s nearly 96lb gone. Fortunately, the SA diet can be fairly low-carb, but curry is very popular in Durban and asking for “veggies” instead of rice does get you some funny looks. A supplier I was visiting provided the local delicacy (?) of Bunny Chow (curry in a hollowed out loaf of bread) for lunch so I steadfastly just ate the curry.

Airlines should be the next target for BSD-isation. I flew emirates and whilst starters were OK (mezze, charcuterie, fish/prawn salad) the main courses all included huge amounts of carbs (rice or mash). So with a sweet smile I agreed I would eat last and have a variety of starters, depending on what was left. That wouldn’t have worked on BA. I think that they thought I was a bit weird but were too polite to mention it.

Also they were seriously persistent in pushing their booze offering (Champagne, cocktails, wine, spirits) but apart from half a glass of a very reasonable St Julien, I was surprisingly steadfast.

Also the lounge was a good source of fish, meat and cheese with salad.

Back on track and feeling good. Will report my results tomorrow but not holding out much hope for that 2lbs since I got back, although I am sure I havent gained any more. Back to the real world although hubby is already looking for another cruise for out 25th anniversary in April 18.

I might just tell you why I saw a doctor on the cruise. Ta daaaaa I have had fillers for the lines around my eyes and the deep lines that run from the nose to the mouth and the corner of the mouth towards the chin. Done by a lovely young lady doctor, some pain but not much. Doesn’t make me look younger just refreshed. No botox so I dont look fake or frozen. Now I know why people want more. Might be an appointment on my next cruise.

Woohoo, s-g – what a lovely reward to yourself. Better than food or drink any day! And I bet you DO look younger – I think it is very difficult to be subjective / objective about oneself. Regardless, it is more about how you feel than how you look 🙂

How lovely that hubby is already planning another cruise for your silver w/a – where is he thinking of taking you?

Theodora, he has found one that does the eastern Med but also takes in Valencia and Venice before going eastwards to Greece and then Dubrovnik, calling in at Gibraltar on the way back. It leaves on 15th April so the first formal night on the 16th will be just for us. It is a bit close to Easter and my daughter likes to be with us with the grandchildren so it might be another 2 holidays on the bounce like we did this year.

I really envy you the guts to do it S-g. I’d love to but just too scared!!!!

Easter is very early next year with GF being on March 30th. So maybe you’ll have a little space between hols!

We had a Med cruise booked for September but have cancelled it in favour of a new hip!!!! Never mind there will always be another one. I must admit I do love cruising. I would like to do the Fjords as you’ve just done but think I would like to do it a bit later in the year. I bet it was spectacular with all the snow though.

Hi Verano, the fjords were fantastic and there was lots of snow on the mountains but they had the hottest week in May ever, reaching 20 degrees. I guess a new hip will give you more mobility for your next cruise. We can never leave our home in summer because of the pool and the plants and we have so many people visiting we just cant get away. Luckily it usually costs less out of season.

I had been thinking about having botox for a while but it scared me as I didn’t want to look frozen. I would only ever have a qualified doctor do it not my beautician, hairdresser or dentist???? The material injected is a form of collagen so is not so much of a shock to the body. It looks natural, in fact no one else has noticed and I havent told anyone in the real world (not internet). I could see a big difference between the photo I had taken on the first formal night when I looked at myself and shuddered. Then I had the treatment and the photos taken on the final gala night were so much better. Might have it done again on our next cruise. If anyone decides to have work done please see a dermatologist or qualified doctor.

Ooh, s-g – the cruise sounds fantastic. Do you have room for a little one (at least littler than she was 4 months ago 😜 ) in your luggage?

How long do the effects of the collagen injections last?

My last full day on 800 cals, though to be honest my carb-counted plans for the next few weeks aren’t much different from what I’m eating now, but I won’t be counting cals as I have been.

JM, 96lbs. Ninety Six Pounds! That’s a whole Kylie Minogue! An amazing result.

MKx

Have had a bit of a blip over the last couple of days after two rather large glasses of red wine at book club on Friday evening and have been desperately trying to pull back the damage the scales showed- which was a gain of 2lb before tomorrow’s challenge weigh in! Just had a cheese omelette with spinach and had egg salad for lunch. Hope I can rectify the damage before weigh in. I so want to complete each challenge with a win! I think the blip may have taught me quite valuable lessons- you have to keep your eye on the prize and there is little margin for error! One thing I know for sure is that the 28lb I have lost and have worked hard for are never ever going back on so by careful monitoring and tweaking, I know I can keep in control of my weight. Good luck everyone and see you for the next challenge starting tomorrow – Cathy

Congratulations to everyone on their results for this challenge. Its the 16 th here so final check in for me. 1.3kg gone which is kind of disappointing but not a gain so all good. Averaged 770cal and 30 carbs a day and walked on average 7km a day.

Next 4 weeks will take me up to my 3 week cruise from Singapore to Shanghai so I’ll be doing my best to make every day count!

S-g that sounds amazing I need that! I have those deep grooves too.

JulesMaigret, 3lbs down this week, so clever of you to keep to first principles in such pressured circumstances. Work trips usually involve the temptation of much eating and drinking. And 96lbs? You must be thrilled to not be carrying Kylie around on your back! (Maharani kitten, 😁)

Weigh-in this morning, Tues 16th May, woohoo!! 62.2kg = 1.9kg loss.
Averaged 790 cals, 65g carbs over the 7 days.
The loss actually happened over the first 4 days to 62kg when the carbs were not so much lower but less starchy. The Mothers’ Day plate of roast vegetables added the .2kg which stayed over yesterday. Lessons here regarding the type of carbs, is there not?
Overall though, its been so long since I’ve lost anything like this amount by design rather than luck, I’m thrilled. The challenge now is to replicate, not sabotage.

Good luck everyone. See you over on “north/south” xx Marilyn

Hi chums
Bizarrely, couldn’t wait to get up and weigh today.
I’m showing a 4lb loss, a bit of a false result as my diet has been unusual with OH away, but a nice end to this 800 calorie phase.

Won’t be joining you on the next challenge as I need a rest from thinking about food and counting it’s ‘doing my ‘ead in’ as they say in Eastenders – need to normalise this way of eating now, and summer is the best time to do that – when socialising is bbqs and salad not spuds and puds!

Here are my final numbers:

Started 4 October 2016
Total lbs lost 68
Weeks I’ve stayed the same. 7
Weeks I’ve gained 0. (Amazing! Though it’s been touch and go some weeks)
Big crises of faith in plan 3
Proper sabotage incidents. 2.
Blood sugar average on starting – medicated. 6.9
Blood sugar average on ending – ,largely unmedicated. 5.5
Energy levels high, regular exercise regime re-established
Dress size at start. UK 18 top, 14/16 bottom
Dress size at end. UK 14 top, 12/14 bottom

Sleep still hard to come by, digestion still a bit rubbish, but hey….

Huge thanks to my forum buddies for putting up with me downloading the contents of my muddled head -you’ve been incredible and I wouldn’t have kept on keeping on without you all.

Best of luck as you continue on your various journeys .

Happy Kitten signing off ! 😺😺😺

Good luck MK with the next part of your journey, do drop in every now and then for another download if you need to.

My final weigh in on this challenge has me right back on my target of 10 stone 11.2. I think this is exactly what it was last Tuesday as well, without checking the fractions so I am maintaining well. This gives me the full both sides wriggle room of +- 3 pounds I wanted for the new challenge which I hope will see me embed my maintenance strategy into the rest of my life. The last three days I have eaten well over my TDEE, and my last fast day (successful anyway, last week’s got turned into a 1400 calorie mini fast day by some friends I hadn’t seen for a while turning up at BBQ time) was nearly two weeks ago. Fast day this week is Thursday, I may make it stricter than 800 if I feel like it, perhaps try for a full 5:2 500 calories, or a fluids only, sub 100 calorie day, to ‘make up’ for missing last week’s. See you over on the new challenge thread.

MK – great result. Do have a lovely summer – and please do drop in from time to time as it will be great to hear how you are getting on.

Today’s weigh in – 9stone 4.15lbs. On 10th May I have been on maintenance for exactly 5 months and have not once gone over the weight I achieved on 10th December and mainly hover between 3 and 4lbs lower than that.

I am joining the next challenge – I think that the weekly weigh in really helps me stay on track. In the past the stones have just piled back on in an astonishingly fast time. Now if I gain a couple of pounds just 2 or 3 days with a bit less food gets me back on track. I am beginning to feel that maintenance isn’t half as scary as it felt like when I first hit target in December.

My maintenance experience has been more mixed, but this current way of eating seems to be working. My target was reached on 1st February so I am 3 1/2 months in and like you Krysia I know the weigh ins help me. I still weigh every day at the moment, except when I am away, although it may eventually become a weekly event. I still find it all a little scary at the moment, but after my Saturday blowout actually temporarily resulted in a pound loss, some of the fear that I will suddenly discover a stone has made its way back on, and none of my clothes fit anymore, has receded.

Hi All. Im feeling really positive as I have weighed in at 81.9 KG today down 1.6 kg that’s my best loss in months . BGL is hovering 5.5 to 6.5 which is my next challenge. so reflecting on this change a few things come to mind.
1 advance planning and posting,stay on plan
2 Water
3 no junk carb food in the house
4 determined attitude,
thanks to everyone who posts but especially to those who call us to account when we stray.
see you all on the next challenge. farewell to MK I will miss you.
cheers to all

Dear All,

Those four weeks flew by. The challenge results are in – I’ve lost 3.6lbs / 1.6kg.

It’s an honourable loss as I suffered a blip like Clarinet Cathy at the weekend. Having been away for four days in Ireland last week I returned home to weigh in 0.8lbs heavier. Feeling a failure I just “lost the plot” on Saturday and had Thai Green curry and white rice at lunchtime followed by a Eurovision evening of wine consumption and Indian curry (no rice). I think I would have continued to eat everything on sight were it not for my husband who is also following BSD principles. He recently gained 5lbs whilst away on a sailing trip and has pulled back and lost 7lbs. Thank goodness for his example – I have gone onto self-destruct on all previous diets as I find shifting the last few pounds so hard.

Maharani Kitten – well done on nearly eight months of BSDing. I have enjoyed reading your posts and hope you are blessed with lots of sunny summer days eating barbecues and salad.

Mixnmatch – you are living up to your name with a variety of approaches to maintenance. I am keen to know how you get on with the most challenging part (to me any way!) of managing body weight.

See you all for the North and South challenge!

I, as usual, seem to be the only one who lost the plot over this challenge. I have to confess that I weigh 7 lbs more than I did 6 weeks ago. I am still considering my options but start each day with good intentions.
Well done to you all and even though I haven’t succeeded, reading your comments does stop me from completely giving up, and I am still 2 stone down!
X B

My final post for this challenge.
I just re-read my goals at the start and the main one was to lose 4 lb.
Well I ALMOST got there – a 1/2kg loss this week resulted in a 1.8kg loss for the 4 week round – 1.8kg is 3.96lb so almost there! Actually I did go another 400g under last week but a weekend away from home (staying at daughters) had me put on a bit. Also the loss last week (Sun-Sat week not the challenge week) was a big one, and I’ve noticed that whenever I have a “big” Whoosh of weight loss (which for me is anything over 1kg!) then it is always followed by a gain, then losses over a few weeks till I’m back down the the “new low”.
On a side note I found a book written in 2000/2001 by Dr Sandra Cabot – can’t remember the title but it’s all
About ‘Syndrome X’/metabolic syndrome – which I’ve been told I have. So much of the content in there is similar to BSD principles. The sad thing is I did read this book many years ago – if only I’d followed the principles then, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in now!
Maintenance is still a LONG way off for me, with approx 19kg to go, but I know when I get there I will be doing weekly weigh ins and addressing any small gains immediately!
Anyway , onwards and downwards – see you in the new thread 🙂

Forgot to mention Maharani Kitten – thanks for your supportive, sometimes funny, sometimes challenging posts! I really enjoyed reading about your journey – thanks for sharing and all the best during maintenance 🙂

S-g both the cruise weather and the fillers sound great. I’d love to have my eyelids done but just too scared!

Good luck MK but never say never. I echo the other thoughts pop in and say hello even if you aren’t ‘joining’ the challenge. You’ve had such great results we’d all like to know how you get on in the next phase of your journey.

JM almost there! A whole Kylie ….. I should be so lucky …sorry!!!!!!!

Mariet your cruise sounds lovely. We went from Hong Kong to Bangkok via the Phillipines and Borneo last year and it was amazing. Would love to go to Shanghai. Enjoy!

Krysia it really is remarkable that you’ve stayed on track for so long when you tell us that you have never managed to maintain for even a few days in the past. Just keep doing what you’re doing… it’s obviously working for you.

Busybee, 28lbs lost is 28lbs lost. Don’t dwell on the other 7 just keep on keeping on as S-g would say.

Well final weigh-in for me was an 8.8lb loss. Half of that was holiday gain but the other half was ‘new’ weight loss so I’m happy with that.

Well done to all losers and those still hanging in there. We’ll all make it in the end but some journeys are just longer than others!

Verano – I am absolutely sure that staying on this forum has kept me accountable. I think in the past I would do the diet and then go back to ‘normal’ eating and never ever weighing myself again until the next diet. I think that someone posted on the forum that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I suppose my dieting history is a bit like ‘Groundhog Day’ – or it was until I discovered the BSD and this forum.

Happy to report that I’ve got rid of the damage following my two glasses of wine on friday and am back to exactly what I weighed on Tuesday last week so no loss this week. My plan was to lose 4lb during this challenge and I failed but only just. My weight loss was 3.5 lb. I am heading over to the new challenge from today with a positive frame of mind for some good results. I think my blip has had a positive affect. Well done to everyone who did well during this challenge and well done for keeping going everyone who didn’t achieve what they hoped for.

MK – congratulations on your amazing loss and good luck for your maintenance over the summer.

Hi all, well at the start of this challenge I weighed in at 11.10 and wanted to lose weight for holiday number 1 which I did. Then I regained during holiday and lost before holiday number 2 and regained. I am now 11.12 so I am being optimistic by saying I have had 2 holidays and only gained 2lbs. I am a little disappointed because, although I have been half on the plan in the last week, and lost 1.5 lbs up to Friday I have now regained that. Fact: It is all catching up on me and I have to get back in control.

Theodora, the eye injections were Dysport and last up to 6 months, the nasal and smile lines filler was Restylane and lasts between 9 months and a year – just in time for my next cruise….. The cost was £590. That was the painful bit but I had planned on having a ultra sound contouring treatment (no needles just sound waves) and that was going to cost me £280 for a course of treatments. When I went to start it I filled in a questionnaire and pointed out the areas I wanted improving (eyes and mouth lines) and was told that was 2 separate treatments so would cost me over £500 so I said no. Besides that, I didn’t have much faith in the results. The results from my fillers has got better over the past 2 weeks and I can see a real difference around the eyes and I no longer have a downward smile with people asking me why the sad face. I also seems to have had a pulling affect on my turkey wattle under the chin just a slight tightening improvement. Look them up on the internet if you are interested but I would say again, go to a medically qualified person.

I’m now heading over to the new thread to make a fresh start and declare my goals. Good luck everyone.

Oh, just one thing, today we are taking our cat sitters out for lunch so I am going to try to be BSD friendly and stick to one glass of wine.

Well done, everyone, some really great achievements. M-k we shall miss you, so please pop in and out to let us know how you are doing. Your support and encouragement is highly valued.

My final log-in on this challenge, which was BSD800 for the first 3 weeks (had reached target but wanted some wriggle room), followed by a week of maintenance.

In the 4 weeks I have lost 6lbs, bizarrely the biggest loss ( 2lbs) was in my “maintenance week” when I had increased my daily cals / carbs allowance, and had a blowout to boot. Go figure 🤷

So a successful challenge for me – now over to the North / South challenge where I will be attempting to hold steady.

Well done everyone for sticking with things – see you in N / S

PS Thanks for the info, s-g. Not sure I am brave enough to have it done, but will definitely do some research.