Hi Lucky Maneki
I had a plateau a little bit earlier than you – mostly week two, of weight up a bit/down a bit, but essentially not shifting in about ten days.
But – I haven’t really had the tiredness (although my time is pretty much my own, so if I want to sleep in late I can most days) – and yes, the key for me was getting more active – and drinking lots more.
I know most guidance says avoid artificially sweetened stuff, but if my liquid intake is low, I do find it a lot easier to drink a litre of fruit squash (the zero calorie, no sugar stuff) rather than water – I probably drink it a lot weaker these days, and hardly ever get the urge to drink diet coke, which used to be something I drank loads of.
The other thing that I resolved at around that time, bit personal here, was my digestive system. There’s quite a lot of threads about constipation on the forum. My body, after years of having sooo much junk to deal with disposal of, took a while catching up with the idea of so little to process. The liquid intake probably helped, and i still take the occasional senna tablet if things seem sluggish.
Persevere – you will get there!

Just wanted to add this though, even though my weightloss hasn’t been much over the last 7 days or so, I took my measurements on Saturday too, and in 14 days I’d lost – Left thigh: 1.5 inches, Right thigh: 3.5 inches, Left calf: sod all (these boots are never going to fit me!), Right calf: half an inch, Hips: 2 inches, Stomach: 3.5 inches, Chest: 2 inches, Top of left arm: 3 inches and Top of right arm: 1 inch. So it’s not always about what the scales show, is it?

Hi Igor 🙂 I’d heard about ‘carb flu’ but thought that I’d got away with it, d’oh, I really thought it would be in the first few days of starting. Resisting the crisps was so hard, they’ve not bothered me at all until last night. I’ll keep on keeping on anyway, it will be worth it in the end, thank you 🙂

Hello Frog 🙂 I am going to push myself today, I’ve decided. No procrastinating. Going to set my timer for 15 minutes and work in little bursts of activity (which works for me when I feel like this, you can do anything for 15 minutes, right?) I’m ok with water, I always fill a glass when I’m in the kitchen. I probably exceed my intake daily, but like you I used to be a massive Diet Coke guzzler, that stuff is addictive. Now we only buy their rival, which I really don’t like that much (unless there’s a shot of vodka in it!) so if I have two or three glasses a week it’s a miracle. I have to take something to ‘help me go’ some days as I’m on strong pain meds for my back, but that thought had crossed my mind yesterday, I’m not taking in anywhere near the volume of food that I was doing before, so it’s logical that there’s less to come out. I’ll crack on with it regardless, I’ve got nothing to lose anyway, have I? 🙂 Apart from half my body weight, that is…

Poor Lucky, yes the carb flu has got you 😔 I also got it week 2/week 3 and was permanently freezing and craving bread. But it will pass in a few days. In the meantime a handful of toasted almonds can take the edge off, and as others have pointed out, hydration is a big help. I drink a lot of sparkling water nowadays.

In other news, my new low carb cookbook was deeply disappointing and will be going back to Amazon. I may console myself by attempting another recipe from Elana’s Pantry to inflict upon the poor kids..😈

morning all
Lucky , you can do it all those inches gone wow when i struggled last week i thought if i hadnt started this i would be putting weight on and that if nothing else i had stopped that as i had been watching creep up slowly but surely for the last few months blaming this and that never me for eating the
i think your really good doing this with a bad back too and so positive you kept me going last week so ignore the stupid scales and celebrate those inches
i keep thinking i will do it for another week and it gets me to the end of another week !! x

Hello lovely ladies 🙂

Well Janey, that will teach me for being smug and ‘I’ve had no side effects at ALL, yay me’ – won’t it? I was shivering this morning when I woke up, not sure if that’s carb flu or the fact that it is bloody freezing here today. My finger hovered over the central heating button but I thought, no. It’s nearly July. The heating is NOT going on. I’ve been drinking my water today, just made a ham and mushroom omelette for lunch.

Tokyo, thank you for your kind words 🙂 It’s just a case of always looking at the bigger picture, isn’t it? 18lbs lost, all those inches. And you hit the nail on the head, if I hadn’t started this, I’d be sat here, miserable, heading towards 18 stone (again!) which was a dead cert instead of heading towards 15 stone something 🙂 Summer, barbecues, a lot of drinking, eating out, picnics, camping. That’s one thing that hasn’t bothered me yet, the lack of alcohol, but then over the last year or so I’ve become allergic to wine (you may laugh) so every time I have a glass (bottle/box…) I sneeze, I get bunged up, it’s not very nice. At all. I have to pop two Benadryl a good hour before if I want to drink wine. Plus this ‘one glass’ malarky… all I can say to that is – PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT. Once that bottle is open… and if anyone here can drink one glass of wine, I salute you, I really do. Safer for me not to, at the moment, I think!

Re the recipe book Janey, I’ve just checked Amazon to see if there’s anything free, and there’s only two under ‘low carb cookbook’, I don’t know if you have a Kindle or Kindle app but if so might be worth a look. There are plenty of books on the Kindle Unlimited and I’ve just spotted a coconut flour one! There’s about four or five free Paleo ones. I have been thinking about cheesecake. My favourite quick and easy chocolate one (no bake) was cream cheese (full fat), double cream and dark chocolate. So the cheesecake mix would be do-able if I used heroin chocolate or similar? And for the base, I see a lot of people are using ground almonds, sweetener and butter. Shove a handful of strawberries or raspberries on top instead of mini Daim bars or Reeses… does that sound like something I could eat at a barbecue or girls night in? A small slice of, granted, calorie counted 😉

i meant to include janey in my last post you really are both such fun
and thanks to you i have just found the choc bars from lidl and also a 80% grit your teeth choc too !!
have made the wrap batter ready for cauliflower and paneer curry sounds like it shouldnt work but it does!!
whilst doing a bit of shopping in sains checking all the labels i thought people must wonder what i am doing !!! problem is the writing is so small i can barely read the labels !!
i have also bought some agarve nectar apparently sains lady says that and cauliglower are really popular at min so going to try it as a sweetner maybe in my brownies !!
i am sounding very organised but i feel thats the key for me anyway and water am drinking galloons of the stuff

I have just given in and ordered coconut sugar online. This will largely complete my collection of pointless ingredients I never thought I would buy, and will probably never use up. However it will also allow me to inflict THIS https://elanaspantry.com/cinnamon-coffee-cake/ on the family as an experiment.. muahahaha.

I have a Kindle AND the app so might have a look at those free books on Paleo/low carb. My one concern is that we are now all trying to find nice cake and dessert recipes that probably still have lots of calories.. just not the worst kind! Time will tell, eh?! Btw Lucky, I bought Fearne Cotton’s ‘healthy’ cookbook recently, and whilst most of the time I think she is pretentious AND needs a good dinner to stop her looking so skinny, I think there was a cheesecake recipe in it that you might be able to use or modify. Will have a look later.

Sorry Tokyo, I was half way through typing my missive before I saw your post. The legendary agave syrup!!! Let us know how it goes!!

my sentiments too on fearne cotton but for me top of the ” we are so smug and slim chart” has to be the helmsley sisters!! i have tried so very hard to find them appealing but i found it a struggle some meals are ok but check out how to make bone broth on their webite i rest my case m’lord!!!!

Hi Tokyo14
Be careful of the agave syrup as it is very high in fructose which is a significant contributor to a fatty liver. Michael mentions it in the book, I think on page 91. Personally, I stay right away from anything that contains fructose as it’s not at all good for you.
Stay well
Linda

anyone had a look at wholeheartedly healthy lots of stuff on there that you all might like

Tokyo – the little mousse bars? They’re divine aren’t they? I had one the other night with the football and I found – shock horror – that it was enough for me. I used to be a ‘slab’ girl, so that was a bit of a novelty. I love cauliflower in a curry, I also love cauliflower with a curry, which is what I had last night, but mashed not rice (haha). Gives me the illusion of having something white under the curry. I have to be organised too, it’s how I’ve learned to get my household working over the years, with mini-people who are rigid in their ways, and I have to include myself in that too. I do get obsessive about things I am interested in or taking part in, and I overwhelm my friends. So this time, I’ve not said a word to my friends and am loving taking part in this forum with people who share this interest. You’re all taking the heat off them LOL.

Janey, that cake looks divine. I’d just like to draw your attention to something I see frequently on her recipes… ‘The boys and their friends have been wolfing down my *insert recipe*’. Perhaps you and Elana could swap boys briefly, then – hers will eat the stuff that you make, and she can send yours back when she has finally ‘broken’ them and they submit? As for coconut sugar, I didn’t even know it existed until now. I’m sure these people are making these foods up and laughing at us for paying a premium. Awwww I don’t know why people don’t like Fearne, I’m not a fan either but you know which ‘health guru’ I really hate? Gwyneth sodding Paltrow. She really boils my urine. First of all she married Chris Martin, then the ungrateful cow divorced him and some of the things she comes out with, smh. I do have a word for her, unfortunately I can’t use it on this forum. It does rhyme with ‘hat’ though, if you’d like to draw your own conclusions.

I’m just looking at that now Josie, I’d never heard of it, but I like it so far. Have you seen the pictures of her on her blog/site? She was actually big once. She looks normal. Fair play to her. Some of the salads look lovely, about to look at the main meals now. Thanks 🙂

And my big news of the day – I have lost TWO pounds this morning! That’s 20lbs gone – GONE – in 19 days. If I wasn’t sat here sneezing, with the heating on, I’d be doing a happy dance around the living room 😀

Oh Josie, have you seen the Fruit and Nut frozen yogurt bark???? http://wholeheartedlyhealthy.com/2015/08/recipe-fruit-and-nut-frozen-yoghurt-bark.html
I am giving that a go for sure! What a lovely little site. Thank you for telling us about it 😀

Huge congrats on the 2lb !!! how good is that !!
j enjoyed my curry and as for those flarbreads / wraps all i can say is a revelation( not sure thats spelt right but its early!!!) really enjoyed them but got confused on nutrition facts when entering into my fitness thing seemed quite high to me and i halved the recipe
if i was you i wouldnt tell anyone and just do a big reveal like them american diet shows wearing a fab outfit!!
i bought a dress in the sale and although it fits its a little tight so thats another goal to get it a little less tight !!!
and as for gweneth paltrow shes on my list too am afraid of smug celebrity chefs!!!! calling your child apple is enough to do it for me !!!
havent tried the choc bars yet as we had strawberries and a dash of cream last night i do feel like i am eating too much sometimes but when i add it up its within the 800!! so think its just me readjusting to this way of eating !!!
its a whole new way to look at food isnt it ?

Morning Tokyo and thank you 🙂 I’m chuffed to bits. The wraps are great, I need to make some more. The brand of flour I got from Morrisons wasn’t quite the same and they didn’t make quite so well as the one I had from Tesco. So I haven’t made any more since. They did taste nicer though (when I finally managed to make one I didn’t have to throw because it ripped in the pan!) and the texture was nicer, so it’s a shame. I’m going to have one more try with the flour because we need the wraps with a lot of recipes. If it doesn’t work then I’ll get a smaller bag of the stuff that I know works and keep the Morrisons one for bhajis. Even though they do freeze, I wasn’t as impressed with them after being frozen, they really are nicer made fresh. I calorie counted them between 70 and 90 calories each (each batch varied depending on how many I got out of the mix), can’t help with the carb count though because I’m not doing that, not yet anyway.
A new dress 🙂 Try it on once a week when you weigh 🙂 Over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever fit into anything that I’ve bought that’s too small for me, it’s good to know I’ve finally found something that works that means I can. Or could, but thankfully I have a wardrobe full of smaller clothes in sizes 22 down to 16/18. My sister in law is a bit of a shopaholic and she gave me loads of brand new clothes, some still with tags on. That’s who I had my butterfly dress from, tags and all. There is another thing I want to fit into, hubby and I bought a rugby shirt (last season’s) in the sale at Christmas, and even though it was an XXL, it was one of those with no give in at all, so I couldn’t pull it down over my chest. I was mortified. On Sunday before the match, I managed to get it on, but hubby pointed out that it was emphasising a muffin top. And by muffin I mean a box of muffins. He reckons another half a stone and I should be good. Another half a stone and I’ll have ‘new’ jeans to wear with it as I cheer them on lol.

Nobody has noticed my weight loss yet, I think I said at the start of the thread that I lost a stone between March and April which took me down to 16 stone 9. And I put it back on in May and the early part of June. The March/April weight loss was noticed but I think this one is going to take a bit more because people are/were used to me being a little smaller. Plus the weight loss/gain/loss happened in such a short space of time. I can go for weeks without seeing some friends, so my weight gain may have passed them by and they’ll just see me the same as they did last time. If that makes sense. But once I get my teeth into the 15 stone, that’s when we’re talking, and they’d better notice, I tell thee 😉 My best friend lives in Norwich and she’s getting married in September. I’m to do a reading in church for her as I wasn’t close enough (distance wise) to be a part of the wedding party, for rehearsals and dress fittings etc, but she still wanted me involved somehow. I want to give her a shock when I turn up in a (at the very, very least) size 18 dress. Because the last time she saw me in May, I was in a 24.

when i get room in the freezer i am having a go. Particularly drawn to the peanut butter which i love. I have also added to the ridiculous things that will never be used. Preserved lemons god knows what that was all about but will be searching for something i can use them in also Miso!!!!. Losing the plot i think

She had raw chocolate cups on which were like Reeses too. And a fudge. Oh God. I haven’t even made it to the main meals yet 🙂

I haven’t bought anything new yet, unlike Janey haha. I think almond flour is going to have to be a must though. Preserved lemons??? Pass! Not a clue. Not. A. Clue.

Don’t worry, we’re all losing the plot here, I think 😉 We’ll either lose it or find it together. Safety in numbers and all that 😉

can i ask do you ladies use sweeteners? i notice on alot of recipes it calls for them and theres so many never sure which one to go for and i got the agarve nectar to be told be careful its high in fructose ! nsweeteners jare confusing me !!!

As a rule – no. I don’t (didn’t) take sugar in tea/coffee or on cereal/porridge nor did I ever add it to a lot of recipes that called for it. I only used sugar in desserts, really. So my sweetener experience is going to be similar, I guess. I bought a tub of Candarel to sweeten some apple I cooked to go with roast pork, but that’s the height of my knowledge of sweeteners.

it all confuses me !! particularly when i see recipes that call for it adding i am a bit like do i add or leave out? i have gone from two sugars to cold turkey and none in tea !!!

Good grief, well done! Even I couldn’t have done that, I went down gradually from two to one and a half to one, then my student housemates got me into a little honey in my coffee, and I’ve been sugar-less in coffee since 1993 🙂 If someone uses a spoon to stir a sugared coffee before mine, I can even taste it then. I think re the sweeteners it’s going to be trial and error, but the problem is, they’re going to be very expensive errors aren’t they? There’s a nice looking brownie recipe on that site Josie shared, they look good anyway, only thing is is the oats, I don’t know what you could sub there? http://wholeheartedlyhealthy.com/2015/05/recipe-healthy-low-calorie-angel-brownies.html

Hello to all you lovely BSD peeps.

I start today after 5 weeks thinking is it for me and planning etc, will be weighing myself and measuring in a moment. So excited can’t tell you, I have felt so sluggish, fatty liver for so long and other things, I am looking forward to a improvement. Your results are miraculous and so inspiring. I don’t feel like I am about to embark on this on my own, thankyou for being there.

Good morning Greenjanet, nice to meet you 🙂

We’re all at different stages of the diet, that’s what’s brilliant, so what one of us is going through, someone else has been through and someone else will go through soon. Hubby and I have lost 34lbs between us in 19 days (he hit his stone today, so he’s pleased too), it works. It does need a bit of thought, but if you’ve had five weeks to plan then you should be able to ace this! I jumped straight in hours after reading the book lol, which was… interesting and I’m still playing catch up and ‘what the hell am I eating today’. Check in whenever you want a chat or a ramble or a rant or a giggle (when I’m being naughty) 🙂

Morning people, it’s busy, busy on this thread today. And welcome Greenjanet! A newbie in our midst. As Lucky wrote, we’re all at different stages and approaching this way of eating in different ways BUT we all agree we are feeling better for it. If you trawl back through this somewhat surreal thread you’ll find out how we all vary in approach, as well as having a good laugh at some of the disastrous and hilarious antics we’ve tried.

So, Tokyo.. agave syrup. I saw that warning posted about it not being particularly good for us on the BSD so it’s not yet on my ‘odd ingredients’ shelf. I’m now confused about honey too. Apparently there’s not just ‘honey’ in the world. For ultimate health we have to buy honey that has not been pasturised or had the bits of pollen and bee pooh taken out of it. This sounds like a health food shop/Waitrose profiteering ploy and I’m not falling for it this time! Bog standard honey can go in my recipes and like it. As far as sweeteners go, I don’t take sugar in drinks but historically used Sucralose based sweeteners on pancakes etc (kids don’t notice!). However, on flippin’ ‘Elana’s advice I sold a kidney and invested in some Stevia based version. This is plant extract and lessens the blood sugar rise apparently. All I can say is it is expensive and the family complained it had a sour aftertaste on last weekend’s batch of crepes. I will persevere for now..

Cauliflower rice with curry last night.. went down ok for once. Also, I used coconut oil in cooking lentil dahl and got a resounding thumbs up from the kids for once (I agree Lucky, that I need to swap my rugrats with Elana’s brainwashed paleo clan for a few weeks). As I was feeling flush I invested in some Fage yoghurt and had that for brekkie this morning. Blimey.. it’s a bit rich, isn’t it? I struggled to finish it, and tbh feel a bit sick even now!!

Oh, and when I got home last night I had a couple of my ‘healthy’ brownies, ostensibly to use them up. But that’s not good is it? That’s like having a biscuit as soon as you get in 🙁 I’d better not get into the habit. In fact I won’t, because no-one at home likes them apart from me, and they cost £8k a batch! But you know what I mean..

hi greenjanet good luck five weeks planning you will be able to do this just think when you get off the scales today or finish measuring yourself i will never be this weight again !!
i am coming to the end of week two my weigh in day tomorrow so trying to be extra good today
but lucky i think i have your carb flu !!!
( either that or this summers shit!!!)both me and hubby said last night we were cold and today i cant get warm and for a lady with hot flushes thats a new one !!!!! trying to find my get up and go but feels like its got up and gone at min !!!!!

Looks like we all had curry and cauli for tea last night! Yes the Fage is very rich, although I do like it, at £2 a tub… yikes. The Aldi one is just as nice really, hubby prefers it, and I prefer the price tag 😉 I think that if/when we make future desserts we need to find something that can be frozen and just take it out as and when. I haven’t been too bothered over the last two and a half weeks, I’ve been really happy with my greek and fruit and nuts tbh, but I do know that there will come a time in the not so distant future that I will be entertaining and I’d rather not blow it completely. The main meal will always be ok, I can substitute carbs for… bloody cauliflower or whatever, and bread for my wraps. But dessert needs to be something that I can eat, and it needs to be wow, and in some of my friends’ cases, it needs to be noticably ‘normal’ tasting. Not boring normal. Just… like shedloads of sugar has gone into it. But with regard to getting into the habit of snacking normally on this stuff on a daily basis, can any of us really afford to???? Hehe 😉

If it’s any consolation Tokyo, the weather is bobbins, I even put the heating on for an hour this morning. It’s cold, grey, very windy and rainy here, that’s no carb flu. That’s a UK summer haha. My poor son is off for a two day outdoor pursuits course today down in West Wales, I hope the weather is better down there than it is here. I’ve been procrastinating too for days now. The first few days I was being kind to myself, but from yesterday I’ve been setting a timer for fifteen minutes and trying to do as much of a job as possible before moving on to something else and another fifteen minutes. Stops me feeling overwhelmed and bored. I hate housework in my house. My children are so untidy and bone idle. And it’s my own fault for doing it all for years, I don’t think my eldest has ever offered to wash up or anything and he’s nearly 21. My parents didn’t raise me like this, so why on earth I’ve let my children get away with doing nothing is beyond me, but it seems a lot of my peers are in the same boat. Things must change, because I cannot physically keep up with it. Hubby hasn’t been well for years now, so he can only do so much, and very minimum lifting. I’m hoping losing the excess weight will help my back too. Sorry, off-topic rant over lol. As you were 😉

Hi Janeycoughdrop
I’m afraid honey should be off your list as well as it’s also very high in fructose.
Michael says in the book to steer right away from all types of sugars whilst on the 800 cal BSD and to only resort to artificial sweeteners if you absolutely have to. He says it’s best to get the taste of sweet foods completely out of your system.
I’m now in week 11, have lost 16.6kg (36.5lbs) and have just under 10kg to go. Once I’ve reached my goal, I’ll simply up my calories and continue to keep all sugars and simple (white) carbs out of my diet to maintain my weight.
The danger of fructose on our bodies had been scientifically proven.
If anyone would like more info, I can recommend David Gillespie’s books ‘Sweet Poison’ and ‘Eat Real Food’. I got them both off Amazon on my Kindle.
Love this thread, keep up the posts, it’s keeping me motivated!!
Cheers
Linda

Hiya Linda, thanks for your wise words. I agree that re-educating ourselves to avoid sugary tastes completely is probably the best way forward but I like to think I have a few treats left in life! Plus the family will submit an official complaint if I ban all sweet things! So might as well limit damage if possible!! Many congrats on your brilliant weight loss. I am in week 8 and have not felt or looked this good in many years! Long live the BSD!

Hi Janeycoughdrop
Agree about there having to be some treats left!
Some better options for sweeteners include:
Glucose (may be labelled as Corn Syrup, Dextrose or Glucose Syrup)
Lactose
Maltose
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrose
Rice Malt Syrup – I use this and bought it from Woolworths in Sydney.
All of these sweeteners contain no fructose which is the addictive and damaging half of sugar.
Good luck
Linda

that looks very informed Linda
I’ve been using Stevia (not loads probably max of about a teaspoon a week)
– it’s not on your list though – has it got hidden nasties that I ought to know about?

Hi, I started my 8weeks10 days ago, I have lost 26lbs, and fit into trousers that I had not worn for years. I have been type 2 since 1991, and gradually got worse over the years, blood sugars were continually over 14, they are now steady at 6 – 7. I have always had a very sweet tooth, but with this diet I have not missed sugary foods, one exception I still have sweetners in tea and coffee. I had a diabetic clinic the other day, had some difficulty convincing them of the diet, but eventually they said I could continue but to keep in touch and phone them in 4 weeks. I’m sure they will be amazed at my progress, and hopefully make others aware of the BSD.

Hi Trebor
congratulations – what fantastic results, you must be delighted
how weird that your diabetic clinic were so dismissive – that must have been really frustrating for you.

Thankfully my GP was amazed at the improvement in my blood results and very encouraging about the weight I’ve already lost – even if admittedly a bit incredulous about my overall target loss.

good morning everyone
well just done my weekly weigh in and a further 1.4 kg down or 3.0 lbs so in two weeks i have lost 3.6 kg or 7.9lbs staggered and so pleased i am 2.9 kg off my first goal !!!!!
for me i have set small goals so my first was to loose 6.5 kg .i suppose i thought to do it this way as i had tried so many
” diets ” and been so disappointed every time , i usually lost a bit the first week and then a slump or very slow after that!! what i dont know about rosemary conley low fat diets isnt worth knowing !! the books i have bought oh my god i could start a library!!!
as you can probably tell very excited today !!!!!
and i had chocolate last night too only one of your lidl bars lucky but none the less i enjoyed every mouthful!!!!

i made the superfood soup, kale broccoli and chicken, very filling too much garlic and no room in my freezer for the rest. no one in the office liked the smell of it. It tasted better than i expected

Saw a recipe somewhere for greek yogurt tablespoon peanut butter and chic chips one to try when i have lost more weight

Good lord, a woman goes to sleep and she wakes up to find success everywhere (except Josie’s soup haha 😉 just kidding Josie)

Firstly, wow Trebor, what a fantastic weight loss – nearly two stone in under two weeks! I bet you’re thrilled to pieces and I bet your diabetic clinic have a shock when they see you next! Never mind phoning them in two weeks time, I’d ask for an appointment, and have someone take a photo of the ‘jaw drop’ moment!

And then my lovely Tokyo – *high fives Tokyo* – well done to you, I bet you’re really chuffed! And so close to your first goal now too, an incentive to push on and keep going in the same vein! I know what you mean, I am the same but with WW. Original points, Propoints, Core plan, Filling and Healthy, you name it been through them all since 1992, I’ve invested thousands in weekly fees, monthly memberships, cookbooks, scales, pedometers, chocolate bars… and I still end up heavier than when I started. Doomed to failure. Never tried Rosemary though. Hopefully never will now we have the BSD lol 😀 Keep yourself bouncy today, you’ve earned it! The little chocolates are lovely, aren’t they? I’ve only had two but knowing they’re there if I want something is good.

Josie, is that just mixed together or is it frozen (the PB and choc chip and yogurt). I’m a demon for PB and chocolate together.

And the sun has just started shining! It’s going to be a good day for us all 🙂 I can feel it in me waters! What a lovely positive vibe 🙂

i am chuffed to bits and the sun is shining here too and its pay day !!!!!
so another week down so onto week three shopping arrived fridge pack full of yoghurt cottage cheese veg etc just deciding what to do today maybe a wander round the shops
trying not to run away with myself too much in case theres a plateau lurking round the corner but its a good day today and thats what i am going with enjoy everyone !
P.S i may go and browse some ridiculously expensive ingredients from the ridiculously exspensive food shop !!!!

Probably shouldn’t continuously discuss chocolate 🙂 but I find having just a third of one of those mousse bars at a time is plenty and hits the spot. That way it lasts ages! Not sure how this weekend is going to go as have 2 day trips planned and some friends in but I feel quite inspired at the moment. I’m wearing skirts I haven’t been able to fit for so long. I didn’t realise how big I had got. I think my family can see the difference but no-one outside of it has commented! Keep going everyone.

Haha Tokyo 😉 you go girl, spend spend spend. I haven’t indulged yet, I’m still a bit bewildered by it all. Going to try and hold off on making anything dessert-y until I really need to. It’s coming, I can feel it, but not yet.

I know Baristagirls, it’s naughty but as long as we can keep it verbal and not physical… 😉 I salute you eating a third of one of those bars, you have great resolve. The way I look at it is that I used to wolf a full slab of chocolate to myself. Sometimes twice a week. I wouldn’t even taste it, just mindlessly eat it. So I’ve come a long way since then, and I’ll enjoy those three little squares, taking a good ten minutes to eat them. What are you planning to do on your day trips, are you going to try and accommodate the BSD around the day (hopefully) or are you taking food? I’ve got a week of it next week, my sister in law is down for a week, not staying with us this time but local-ish, and I know I’ve got to be on the ball and have things I can grab and go because otherwise we’ll be dragged into cafes and chippys or bakeries 🙁 Nobody has commented on my weight loss either, but then I’ve lost, put on and lost the same stone at least between March and June lol. I’ve lost a little more now, but half a stone is negligible on someone my size. I’ve not told anyone except my parents and my best friend that I’m doing this, so I know that any comments I receive are genuine and not because they know I’m losing weight and paying lip service. Congrats on getting into your skirts. I can’t wait until my new wardrobe fits me 🙂

Tokyo – if there’s a plateau, we’re here to support you, glue your scales back together and you know it will pass, no matter how frustrating. It’ll be worth it when it does, plus you have a really good start anyway 🙂

Funny you saying about my resolve. I have been so bad until recently. I love chocolate but I binged more on things like crisps. I could probably still eat quite a lot if forced in front of me 😉 but the difference is I would feel quite ill. I felt gross all the time before and now if I overeat on the carbs it’s a reminder of how I felt. Planning for London, and don’t want to encumber myself with carrying food so am going to buy low carb things but not calorie count. Will go to a burger shop and leave the bun! Black coffees etc. Same – I haven’t told people I’m doing this apart from family, anyone that knows anything outside of that has just heard I am doing “Low carb” – they don’t know anything about less than 50g or 800cal! They’d call me obsessed – a lot of people don’t understand! Some just don’t seem to realise you know your internal digestive system best and all the struggles you might have with it.
One thing I like to do is keep it low-profile by going into these places people drag you into and buying something! If you’re dragged into a cafe, have a black coffee or black tea, or with a splash of milk. With a chippy you could buy fish! Batter isn’t ideal but not as high as you might think and certainly not as many carbs as a poke of chips. As for bakeries, hmmm, it’s just about all carbs isn’t it but can always get a drink…. you can do this!

Ah London, I don’t blame you, don’t want to be lugging a coolbag around with you all day there 😉 We’ll be visiting local beauty spots so we can shove our things in the car. No, I haven’t mentioned and won’t mention the 800 cals to many people or I know the response I’ll get. But the thing is, I’m satisfied with it, and trust me, if I wasn’t – I’d have cracked long, long ago. I wouldn’t have made it through the first week. I’m even leaving food on my plate because I’m full, and I don’t want to feel bloated, which is a horrible feeling truth be told. If you eat the right things, you can feel satisfied and full on that amount of calories. Yes, that’s true, I could always have fish and forego the chips, eat some of the batter (just to give me a taste 😉 ) I wouldn’t have to eat it all. Just don’t want to put a dampner on her holiday by making them eat alone while we sit watching them and salivating after eating a bloody chickpea salad wrap in the car haha (I do like the wraps but compared to fish and chips? Nah!). That’s a good idea that, thanks Baristagirls. If this is for the long haul, I’m going to have to make concessions and I’m also going to have to have a ‘treat’ occasionally, even if that is a piece of batter-less cod. I think I’d better stay clear of bakeries though. If anything is going to be my downfall, it’s a pie. Thank you for the pep talk and I hope you have a lovely and successful couple of days 🙂

Oh and another thing I’ve thought of? Did you used to eat whole-nut cadbury’s dairy milk? I love it! well I find if I eat hazelnuts as a snack it feels almost like a chocolate fix. Bizarre but successful for me

Back on it this week. The last week has been a bit of a right off for me. My old friend passing away followed by being slightly depressed/angry/gutted at the news on Friday morning that we’re probably not allowed to mention, and I’m sick of talking about it anyway!

Anyway, I’ve drunk far too much booze, and not done enough exercise. Through it all though, I’m been really good with the actual food I’ve been eating, and my weight has stayed the same at 93kg. I’m off to France in 5 1/2 weeks and I want to be firmly in the 80’s by the time I go, hopefully without any love handles poking over the top of my trunks! The muffin top look isn’t good, especially in the speedos that they make you wear in France!

Hi Baristagirls, I’ve found a similar trick. I pretty much always used to eat a chocolate bar or come choccy biscuits after my evening meal. Now, when I get the urge I have peanut butter (the pure peanut one) on dark rye ryvitta. I think it is the gloopy consistency of it reminds me of a snickers bar, and hey presto, the urge is gone and I’ve increased my protein and good fat intake!

Hello Timmy – glad you’re back on track without having gained weight! I call that success not a write-off especially when you haven’t been sticking to the plan like you would have ideally wanted to.
And I agree – in more ways than one – and I’m sick of talking about it too. I’m glad this forum steers away from it but it’s kind of nice to know that someone out there is going through the same…. enough said!
After all I’ve said today I feel like eating everything but am glugging away the water instead…

Hi Baristagirls

Re your London trip can I recommend Pret a Manger, M&S Food and EAT for calorie/carb counted meals.

I would specially recommend the M&S Edamame and Hummous Protein pot (in the takeaway food section), which is really filling (you need to eat it with a spoon), totally delicious and 183 cals with 5g carbs 12gm fat and 10g protein. I always make a beeline for that if having to eat out.

Hope it goes well!

Thanks! Never heard of that in M&S. Will look out for it. I also love the food in EAT. I’ve previously had the chicken pot pie and I could always ditch the pastry bit inside it.
Today is a work celebratory lunch for already hitting our June targets. Pizza. Normally I don’t think pizza is amazing so why do I feel like I want a piece instead of my soup and mozzarella 🙁

well lucky how good am i ?
i could have gone clothes shopping today but after reading this thred and looking through my wardrobe i decieded to put the clothes shopping on hold just for a while longer ( theres so much stuff in my wardrobe that 1) i cant quite get into or2) is a bit snug with labels on so instead i went to the garden centre !!!!!
i may attempt the brownies from the book this afternoon lets see how these go !!

I did Baristagirls, I loved whole nut, I’ll try that next time I go nut shopping (hahahaha not even joking, sadly) I have cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts and pistachios to use up first. They’re quite distinctive tasting aren’t they, I can see how that would work 🙂 I hope you manage to bypass the pizza, be strong! You only want it because you shouldn’t have it 😉

I’m sorry to hear about your friend passing, Timmy. Don’t be too hard on yourself for dealing with it in the way you did. It’s good to see that no damage was done on the scales anyway, so you’ve had a bit of a reprieve there. Onwards now and push yourself to get muffintop-less before France.

Tokyo, well done 🙂 Did you get anything nice from the garden centre? My garden has gone crackers the last couple of days with the rain we’ve had, absolutely nuts, I’m going to have to go out there later, the weeds that have sprouted on my patio, and ivy, my goodness, literally just in this last week. Just realised sister in law might not be staying with us but she will still be visiting us and everywhere is decimated – indoors, outdoors lol. Meh. Good luck with the brownies, if you do them 🙂 I’m going to try that frozen yogurt with berries and peanut butter bark thingy recipe. It’s only what I’d eat in its normal state, so I don’t see that freezing it will do any harm?

Where is Janey today?

Never fear, Janey’s here.. Altho I may have to eat my arm if my ****** colleague doesn’t stop messing about at the tesco self serve checkout… Obviously I can’t ‘just grab a sandwich’ and my lunch is in the office!!! Certainly lots of positive energy out there today from the BSD posse 😉

Tim, sorry about your friend, altho your comment about speedos did make me laugh. BSD or not, No one apart from Tom Daley can pull that look off 😆

Eating or snacking out is a challenge for anyone on the first 8 weeks so I’ve taken some useful hints from this mornings thread. I’m in London at the weekend so will hunt down those healthy pots. Although.. We are destined to hit China town as a treat for the kids, so could be a challenge there. The ‘safest’ meal out I’ve found so far is Indian, as tandoori dishes can be adapted.

Baking wise, I’m in a dilemma about sugars/honey/syrup now. So maybe cheese scones will be this Saturday’s recipe to try. Until I can buy non- sugary sugar that is.. Still got those cashews to use up.. Cheesecake from Fearne anyone?