Sorry Violinist, I didn’t mean to leave you out!! I hope you have a lovely 4th 🎉
Dreamscometrue – I’m so impressed with your loss!

Kafin13, Hi. I’m from New York so I think we have a few of us from US.🤗
I just received my book on The fast 800 today so next week will start reading it. Want to see if there is much more information in it than his other book The 8 -week blood sugar diet.

Well today I tried to be judicious. I went to lunch with my daughter and had a vegan quinoa salad. I guessed it at 600 calories so I made a chopped Greek salad for dinner and came in at 800. Not perfect but far better than it could have been. Our small town has a 4th of July Festival so I’m toying with perhaps having a judicious once a year treat but maybe I won’t. Continue on being amazing everyone.

Hi happyitsworking – I’m in LA, although full disclosure I’m a New Zealander. I’ve only read the new book and it was a great start to delve deeper into the others out there. What are you doing for the 4th? I’m always on the lookout for recipes especially event-relevant!

Good morning!
Welcome Madmare, PositiveSpin, love the name and post as and when we will be here! Dreamscometrue lovely to see you again.
Madmare I think we all need to have a ‘eureka moment’ to truly get back on track. I must read the Obesity Code again!
Kafin13, chocolate mousse with avocado sounds wonderful, sorry Wendy but it does! Can you please share the recipe Kafin? Hope you get that kick start!
So we are now at Day 3 and I must admit I’ve not fully committed yet but I hope everyone else has found their rhythm. I am away from home for the next few days so I think in my mind I’m not really starting until Saturday.
I should be here tomorrow but just in case I can’t make it ….. Happy Independence Day to all our American friends.
Have a judicious Wednesday!

Hi Verano – I don’t know what recipe I used for the chocolate avocado mousse as it was several years ago and all the recipes I see now have some sort of fake sweetener added which I don’t want to use. Suspect at the time, it was during my agave phase so I probably added that! But it was just ripe avocados with unsweetened cocoa powder (and the agave) and blended until smooth. Here’s the recipe for chocolate avocado truffles which I’m planning on making for the 4th. I liked the look of them because even though they have dark chocolate in them, there’s no artificial sweeteners included – will let you know how they turn out!
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/low-carb-chocolate-avocado-truffles

Thank you a Kafin they look delicious!!!!!!!

Karin they look fantastic definitely going to try them Yummm!!!

Ooh yes the choc/avocado mousse and the truffles do sound delicious Kafin ….and I am in full agreement V…!!! 😉
In my smoothie days I used to add half an avocado to almond milk and a bit of raw cacao and whizz it all up in my blender and it was lush !!
The avocado gives a lovely smooth , satisfying , rich texture and doesn’t taste anything like avocado at all !

Have a great 3rd day of Judicious July everyone !

Good 5 am in Florida! Kafin, I livd in Binghamton all my life. Where are you?

Sorry, happyitsworking, where in New York are you?

Hi all, plan is good so far. Only problem is I am not sleeping well. My legs were all over the place last night and, for the first time in a long time I had to get up at 3am, watched 30 mins of James Martin French Adventure where he was at one of my favourite places, Annecy. Think I need to either refresh my bar of soap as it can stop working when it gets too smooth so I will scrape it with a fork to rough up the edges. If you want to know what I am talking about… having a small bar of soap in the bed with you prevents / stops cramps and restless legs. Hope I sleep better tonight. Just had 25 mins in the pool and will have another 25 mins later if we stay clear of storms. Bon continuation a tous. As well as good luck everyone that also means, as it sounds, may you continue to be well. It is said in between courses when dining so you dont say bon appetite every time, just at the start of the meal. There you go, a free French lesson thrown in.

Hi Everyone,
Just got back from the gym. I haven’t been into the gym itself, as opposed to exercise classes, for ages. I could feel a bit of a mental hurdle building up about going back so I’m pleased about that. Yesterday, I did 12,000 plus steps so things are going well so far.
I’ll also be spending time this month researching/working out what type of exercise will work best for me. As an older woman (early 60s) with only a very recent history of doing any activity I’m quite curious about what I’ll come up with. But I do like a plan!

sunshine-girl – your swim sounds great, and I’ve many-a-time passed on your soap tip to friends and family. Seems to work every time.

kafin – yes, here’s another vote for the avocado mousse. It sounds delicious.

Hope everyone else is going well

Jennie xx

Morning Jennie10!
I am 63 and find swimming, walking, biking and the elliptical to be great exercise. I have had back surgery and a broken ankle in 2017 and still do well on these. I must get my hand weights out soon!!!! I used to have a weight machine but it did not make the move to Florida in 2016. Have fun!

Cat

Hi all, it is so great to see so many joining this thread. Happy 4th to all the American based lovelies, kafin you will be good I know you will. I bought a new skirt today and it was a size 16😀😘. It is a long flowing affair but hey I’ll take the size 16 any way I can. We are having spatchcock chicken on the bbq tonight at my mum and dads, with a lovely salad. Very much looking forward to it as it smells incredible! The sun is still shinning and I am ready for food😂😂. Glad we have all had a good day. It has been awesome here today as I sent my son and my dad off to the pictures and my mum and I had a lovely mozzie around the shops together and a great catch up. Hope our third day goes well
For all of us. See you all tomorrow. Birdy 💞🦜

I have to ask, why does soap stop leg cramps? Fascinated! Thanks Lucia x

Love the idea of avocado truffles thanks x

Luciaslife, the idea is that if you suffer from leg cramps or restless legs putting a small piece of soap (about the size of a hotel free bar) in the bed near your legs or feet with stop it. Dont ask why but it works. I have been using it for about 2 years when the statins very giving me cramps and my doctor prescribed magnesium but he didn’t tell me it caused fluid retention and bloating and weight gain through the fluid. I did some research and came across this trick and when I told my doctor he said he knew about it and so did my chiropodist. Now the science is possibly that the soap changes the electrons or static when you are under covers and movement is causing that static. Even scientists dont really know how it works, just that it does for most people. There are exceptions but I have not yet met any and I have recommended it to loads of people on here.

Hi Verano and all,
I would love to join you in starting over in July. Although it’s the 4th today, I did start a reboot myself on 1 July and am pleased to have lost 900g already – I know this would be water weight but hey a loss is a loss!
Reading through your posts I can identify with so many of you… I successfully lost about 10lg in 2017 with BSD. Since then I’ve been maintaining, sort of, except that over the last few months my weight has been going up at an alarming rate! Also I was still 14Kg over my goal weight in 2017 so this together with the recent gains means that I’m now over 20kg from goal.
I feel that my diet is 90% BSD foods, but my portion sizes have got larger and yes there’s the wine creep 🙂 I have continued to log foods in My Fitness Pal and I reviewed my weekly calorie intake. When I was actively doing BSD average daily calories were 900-1000. But for some time now they’ve been around 1300 calories per day. That 400 calorie difference each day, over time, has obviously contributed to the gain.
Anyway I had bought Dr M’s new book a few months ago so re-reading that. I also bought his new recipe book for some inspiration, I’m really determined that this July will be a turning point!
My goal is to lose 4kg this month, so here goes 🙂

Good morning folks! 5 am here in Florida. I have to say you guys overwhelm me a bit. So much to read and learn. Today is grocery day for me. I always make a list after posting my menus in Myfitnesspal for the next week. Once I have the correct amount of calories and carbs and fiber at net 20 grams or less, I have been printing the week out for future use down the road.

The second thing I do is figure out an exercise routine and schedule for the week. There is a gym in this apartment complex, a 60 foot pool, and a lot of walking areas. After reading about California Girls and Elky’s HIIT exercises and knowing that MM also encourages that, I think I will schedule in a few days a week. I have a couple quiet months here before all my activities start up again so it is a good time to do it. I am retired and hubby and I are waiting in this apartment for our new home to be completed. Should be by September.

Have a great day and Happy 4th of July to all! May we all gain our independence from what ever our struggles are!!

Catherine

Morning everyone.I am celebrating 4th July by announcing that I have just snook in to the 11stone bracket ..11st 13 but I will take that as confirmation that eating fewer nuts and choc makes a difference and I have broken through my stall .I will of course continue monitoring my nut and choc scoffing throughout July..

Yes Catherine ! Wishing all our American friends a very happy 4th July and a happy day to everyone !! xx

Nice going Wendleg!

Hi everyone, happy 4th July to our American members. Welcome back to SueBlue. I am the same as you, started on 1st and lost 0.9 kg. I dont agree that it will be mainly water. We have both stuck to the no starchy white carbs and kept calories very low so any loss at this point will be pounds. If it was water at this stage we would both have lost quite a bit more. Also because our bodies are so used to being on the LCLC plan it will be a slower weight loss for us. My plan for the 2 weeks before I go away is 2kg but as I am already half way there I think I will up it to 2.5 kg – 5.5 lbs. Did 45 mins swim in total yesterday and, as it is my grocery day, not had time for a swim yet. Now it is way too hot at 33 degrees so will have to wait until this evening. No alcohol so far and none planned for the weekend even if hubby opens a bottle. It shouldn’t tempt me as he drinks red wine and I dont like it and drink white.

Lets keep going with this or lets keep on keeping on…

Hi Verano, I would love to join you all – even if a few days late. Now that my holiday and latest UK visit are over, I would love to refocus for July. As some of you will know, I discarded 20kgs (3 stone) with BSD between Sept 2017 and April 2018. Although I am still within my healthy BMD, 4-5 kilos has crept back on. I would love to lose 3 of these kilos to get back some wriggle room. So for this month I am committing to going back to 800 cals, under 50g carbs, and 3 x (at least) 16/8 a week. Looking forward to sharing the journey with you all.

And *many* congratulations Wendleg on breaking a significant new threshold!

Aaw thanks Catherine, thanks caronl. You will soon get your wriggle room back .I must admit it was a nice feeling this morning.There is only so long I can stay in denial about my nut and choc consumption. I have decided that they cannot be part of my life right now …until I can prove to myself that I can respect them and limit the quantities.
Catherine how are you coping with dry July ? Are there special foods on the menu for the 4th July celebrations in the US ? I imagine today might be a challenge…
Stay strong sunshine girl !
Madmare , you will be back from holiday soon. How are you feeling ?
How is everyone doing ? xx

Hi Wendleg,
It is 95 here today and too hot to be out even in the pool too long. An American 4th of July involves, corn on the cob, potato salad, and grilled hamburgers. We are having crockpot pork chop provencal and salad. Dry July is very boring, but good.

Love your posts Wendleg!!

Hi Violinist and happy 4th! I told my hosts I would bring a salad so have just made a cauliflower tabouli with grilled haloumi and a yoghurt sauce – really pleased with how it came out! The avocado chocolate truffles are pretty good but I used 85% dark chocolate so they’re not very sweet. Might be better with 80% next time. And I also made a pavlova because I figured I can eat the cream and strawberries on top! So I will be eating the salad and grilled burger without a bun! Enjoy everyone xx

Ooh, I am loving the BSD 4th July foods ! Good choices Catherine, and very well done on staying dry ! I am drinking loads of sparkling water here, it’s also very hot .You have been busy Kafin !! Your foods sound fab ! I recently discovered halloumi and love it ! I saw a recipe for halloumi fries with almond flour but haven’t tried them yet…might be risky !!. I would be very happy with those truffles at 85 % ! Oooh pavlova….yummy ! Those delicious foods will be scoffed in no time !

Have a great celebration in the US. We have a celebration in our village for Bastille Day on the 14th July but we will be away this year xx

Kafin and Wendleg, enjoy!!!

Here is the recipe for Halloumi Fries which popped into my inbox this morning ( a Madeleine Shaw newsletter. She doesn’t provide nutritional information but I am sure we could work it out )

HALLOUMI FRIES

INGREDIENTS
1 block of halloumi
2 tbsp of any flour (I used coconut)
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of oregano

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 190 C
Mix the flour and oregano together in a bowl.
Cut the halloumi into fingers
Add your halloumi to the flour mix and coat
Rub half the oil over the bottom of the tray
Drizzle the rest over the halloumi.
Bake for 10 mins untill golden.

That looks good, Wendy! I was actually looking at one for eggplant fries the other day which I might try too!
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/eggplant-fries
I also love jicama “fries” – I either do them in sticks or rounds, drizzle olive oil and throw them in the oven!

My goodness you are so organised with you food and shopping . Thanks all for the motivation this judicious July is bringing, just the kick start I needed. Every time I am tempted, I just remind myself that I am not the only doing this, and tell myself I deserve to be slim and healthy. So far I have been able walk away from the cake, biscuits and bread. Thanks guys

Eggplant/aubergine ..easy peasy Kafin..but I had to “google” jicama ! I have never seen that in France !!

The other name is Mexican turnip I think – very popular here and often eaten in fruit salad , raw with lime juice and chili pepper. Delicious!

A restaurant / bistro in Birmingham called Ask Italian does courgette fritters – think they are deep fried. Also FireJacks do cauliflower pops which are wonderful – unfortunately also deep fried.

I love jicama! Texturally, it tastes like a cross between a daikon radish and an apple..Very crunchy! I cut it in matchstick
pieces and add to a blanched green bean salad, with tomatoes, lime juice, chili powder and fresh coriander. It could
very easily be called a Mexican turnip, since it has the same shape…always eaten raw 🙂

Happy 4th Allie!!

Happy 4th of July everyone
This is the first time I could get on line. My internet has been not working right. So my phone, tv has been effective too. The cable guy is coming Monday to fix it, so for now it is hit and miss.
Violinist l live north of Syracuse. My husband and I have been to Binghamton a few times when we use to go on bus trips to Atlantic City. The bus always stop to eat at a restaurant called The Spot. The food was always good there.

Kafin13, for today I have been busy making 3 cheesecakes for my great nephew graduation party for this Saturday.
Tomorrow my sister is coming in from Connecticut for the party and staying with me until Sunday. About 80-100 people will be there.
How was your day?

Wow, so many posts. I’ll have to get caught up later. For now, I’m just reporting in to say that I haven’t yet managed a 24 hour fast. I did skip dinner last night though and didn’t eat breakfast until my first break at work, so nearly 20 hours. Unlike others, I often find it harder to fast when I’m at work. At home I can distract myself with things or take a nap if I start to feel low on energy, but at work I often have to be sharp and unfortunately I have relied on food quite a bit to give me that. Opposite from those that say they feel sharper when fasting, but I guess we’re all different.

Morning all sorry I haven’t been posting, I have been away visiting my parents and I have also got a bad dose of tonsillitis😢. I am going home today so normal service will resume.
I hope you are all doing well❤️💜💙🌹 Birdy 💞🦜

I wasn’t online yesterday so a belated Happy 4th July – hope everyone had a good time.
Wendleg – congratulations on dropping into the 11’s – you must be delighted, and thanks for the halloumi recipe, I also only recently discovered halloumi and love it, too.
Arcticfox – I’m like you with fasting. I’ve fasted since being on BSD, although only sporadically, but I’m retired and I’m sure I’d have found it harder when I was working. But definitely an area for a future challenge for me.
Cat – Thanks for the activity/exercise tips. I walk now and definitely want to start biking and swimming at some point. Cycling, in particular, I used to really enjoy when I was a teenager – they say you never forget! I have to confess I had to look up the elliptical trainer – told you I was relatively knew to this! – but I recognise it, they’ve got them in the gym I go to. It isn’t a piece of equipment I’ve used so at some point I’ll give it a go.
I’m at my regular (although not regular enough recently) exercise class this morning and Pilates on Sunday morning so I feel I’m doing OK so far.
Luciaslife – I agree how helpful doing this challenge together is. Like you, if I’ve been hesitating I think about everyone else on here and it pushes me on.
Birdy – hope you feel better soon.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Jennie xx

Wishing you a speedy recovery Birdy!
First day of back to basics and on track. Thanks to being in this group, I resisted all evening snacks and did a 16:8. I am always surprised that you can go to bed hungry and wake up not hungry at all!
Best wishes to all for a successful day. x

Good morning all!
Happyitsworking, I went to a business school in Syracuse called CCBI in 1974-75. Kafin, you sound like you are in the north also.
Jenny10, my doctor suggested the elliptical. Said it was easier on my joints.
So here we are at July 5 already. I want to be able to say the following January 5:
1. I am at a healthy weight
2. I exercise daily
3. I eat and drink healthy menus
4. My blood work and blood pressure is showing healthy numbers

Have a great day!
Cat

Happy 4th July!
I’ll join this thread to make me accountable for a further 4 weeks. So I pledge to stay off alcohol for all of July and to keep within 800cal/20gr per day. It’s the end of my 3rd week so for now I find everything very easy.
However this thread gave me a little bit of anxiety with so many stories of people putting all the weight back. Been there done that and the hope is that this will be different. Proof is in the pudding though and if it doesn’t work for other people why would it work for me.
I already have my eyes on maintenance cause I know that part is the trickiest of all.
Anyway let’s first empty the refrigerator!! (Dr Fung says that all our stocked fat is food that we have put aside over the years in our refrigerator – just never gave a chance for our body to feast on it)

Hi all, another good day yesterday, managed 30 mins swim at around 10 pm when it had cooled down. Because I didn’t have anything else to do (no appointments or shopping) I managed to get into the pool before it got too hot and did 30 mins which means I will probably get in again tonight and do another 25 or 30 mins. My record so far is 50 mins and I dont think I will do much more each day. Something is working as I have lost another 0.4 kg and now down by 1.2 kg or just over 2.5 lbs. My scales measure in kilos but I still record and think in both stones and pounds. Still hoping for 2.5 kgs by the end of 2 weeks as we go away on 15th for 3 nights – they have 2 pools at the hotel, indoors and out so no excuses. Weekend is nearly upon us and I am determined that the loss is going to be even greater by Monday rather than some weight creeping on (wine creep). Have a good one.

Hello …… will pop in tomorrow first thing and catch up!

Sorry…haven’t had a minute today to post. Pampered, hair cut and coloured but then got back to Brit friends needing help with French admin and then we ended up eating together. Halloumi fries and salad 😉
I will check back in tomorrow and catch up properly xx

Hi Violinist – I saw a post in which you wondered if I was in the North? It’s more the South and more the West Coastish! I’m in Los Angeles 😊

Hey Kafin, I see you are on the west coast!