The next 4 week challenge with a focus on those “bad carbs”. Start today, final weigh-in Tuesday 11 th July. All welcome.

Starting this challenge at 63.1kg.

I’m writing off the last 4 weeks as I’ve just recycled the same couple of kgs. I’m bored with my lack of positivity and with my lack of mindfulness around the between-meals times, so my prime goal this month is just that:
BE AWARE -AVOID THE THOUGHTLESS HAND TO MOUTH.

For me, all else flows from there.

Positive thoughts towards this challenge.

I’m starting week 5 of the 800 BSD today so I would love to have your company for this next four weeks.
I’m away from home at the moment on my own and I usually eat way too much in situations like this and journeys. I arrived at my accommodation hungry and tired yesterday and they had left out a plate of freshly baked flapjacks for me which looked and smelt absolutely amazing and were still warm! Aargh!
Anyway I nearly wept with joy when I found a dusty tin of ratatouille in the tiny village shop. What’s happening to me? 😄
The flapjacks are now wrapped up and I’m seeing some friends later so will try to give them away. I had smoked mackerel, ratatouille and spinach instead.
Hoping I can carry on making good choices for the rest of the week and month. I’m 10st 4 now and would like to be somewhere in the 9s by the end of this challenge.

Starting a fresh four weeks at 81.5 kg.

I’m in up until the 29th when I will be enjoying my birthday celebrations and not worrying about my weight.

Morning all,

Count me in.
I’m looking to start at 228lb. I’ve reached my original, revised target but would like to build in some wriggle room. This is also the time where I start to work how what maintenance looks like for me.

If I could get to a weight starting with 15st that would be brilliant, but as it is my birthday next week, that may put a little bump in the road.

Good luck to everyone

Can I join? I weighed yesterday having had an off few weeks with going away here and there and not sticking to diet principles as much as usual, have gained a bit and want this all back off in 4 weeks! Should be doable at 4lb a week if I am ultra strict……

Dear Marsie and fellow BSDers,

I’m waving away with you on this 4 week challenge.

I have the last 9lbs/4kgs to shift and my rate of loss seems to have slowed down to 4-5lbs every 4 weeks. It’s been a revelation eating this way, I look back at where I was health and weight wise at Christmas – Pre-Diabetic and suffering from sleep apnea and lack of energy and motivation and realise now that I eating myself into ill-heath. I lost 3 stones/19kgs in 20 weeks and reduced my waist from 41″ to 32″, and importantly – no more pre-diabetic. I am in a good place.

Goals for this challenge;
a) Aim/hope for the four-weekly 4lbs loss
b) Aim/hope for a 31″ waist
c) Enjoy celebrating our Pearl Wedding Anniversary on 11th July

Bonne chance

Hi Marsie thanks for starting another challenge.

Having given it a little thought and re-read some of my old posts I realise I need to be challenged. So my goal is to stand still for the next three weeks and lose in the last. May sound odd but it’s realistic, maybe, given that I’m away.

I have just posted on ‘2017 mini goals’ and have admitted to not recording carbs or calories, eating crisps, having an affrogato, drinking wine everyday whilst away but I’ve not had bread, rice or pasta. The crisps/potatoes have been very few but I have eaten them.

So I know what I’m doing ‘off plan’ and know how to remedy it …. just a matter of willpower now.

Good luck to everyone.

Hi Fellow Challengers

Excellent news about no longer being pre-diabetic LippyLipid.

Looking forward to this the next four weeks. Having gained 4.4lb (2kg) during my recent vacation, my aim is modest for this challenge, as I’ll be happy to drop 2.2lb (1kg) this time round. Like you JuleMaingret, I’d ultimately like to build in a bit of wriggle room, but right now I’m just looking to get back to target weight again, by losing all I gained whilst away. However, as a slow loser, I don’t want to aim too high on the challenge.

Good luck everyone – hope we all achieve our goals by the end of the challenge.

Ooops! Forgot to say that I’m starting the challenge today at 8st 3.6lb.

I’m in! Starting at 12.2 and aiming for 11.7 . a 9lb loss.
I was getting bored with my food choices, so I’ve got a couple of recipe book, kept the new BSD recipe book,, even though it’s not very accurate it’s got a few new ideas..
I upped my fat intake for the last two weeks, but Linda posted a link about fat consumption and not losing weight which made even more interesting reading!! I can’t remember which thread it was on. So now I don’t know which way to go! Every time I read something new I can see the sense in it! I think I may well keep the fat uptake up, but just a little!, It’s defo a learning curve to see what works for each of us individually.
Let’s keep on moving on down!
Ann xx

P.S. Maisiemouse, what incredible will power!
A high-5 to you!

I’m back after my accident inspired again by SunnyB’s post on 2017 MINI-GOALS WHAT ARE YOURS dropping into my inbox. Thanks SunnyB. My aim is to drop 30lb over the next 100 days (14 weeks) so for this challenge I shall aim for 9lb.

I’m starting at 175lb which is a couple of lb up from when I had my accident but since I have not been exercising and have been eating more I’m very happy with that, especially as I hadn’t stepped on the scales for the best part of 2 months.

Also I seem to have a carrot craving at the moment so this challenge will help me ignore them every time I open the fridge (the dog has them as treats) as they are the only bad carbs I’ve been eating, so thanks for a great challenge title Marsie.

Lets go. I am starting at 82.3Kg

I’m in. I could just copy and paste Marsie’s post as I’m in exactly the same boat! The last 4 week challenge saw me go down one week, up the next, and overall it was a 100g (0.22lb) gain 🙁
I’m up to Week 22 since starting BSD and it is getting harder to stay motivated, especially when not seeing results. There are a variety of reasons for this, including being on a daily steroid dose – a side effect of which is weight gain!
Anyway, I’m going to keep on keeping on as although I haven’t lost as much as I’d have liked to by now, the 18lb I have lost has seen me come off blood pressure medication, drop a dress size, and a significant reduction in pain and inflammation.
So my goals for the next 4 weeks are to lose 2.2kg (4lb? – 1lb per week should be achievable), walk 80,000 steps per week, stick to 800 calories on at least 5 days per week (realise that I should be doing it for 7 days, but at 22 weeks in I’m being realistic and allowing for birthdays, weekends etc) and importantly to not lose sight of the end goal!

Can I join too ? Yesterday I was 5 lbs down over the 4 weeks of the last challenge! Today scales showed only 2! How on earth can I put on 3 lbs in a day!!! Hoping scales were at fault. So starting today at 10st 9 lbs. My aim is to lose more than 2lbs this challenge.
well done the good losers! X

Hi all! Can I hop in too? Am on week 5 of my first 8 weeks of the BSD. Weight loss has already slowed a lot (probably cos I’m finding it a bit hard to completely kick alcohol) ao I’d like to be realistic and aim to lose 1lb a week, getting me down to 12st 7lbs. Really inspirational to be part of this group and well done to everyone on losses so far. We can do this!

well hello, you bad carbs. (Swears inwardly). You’re supposed to be waving goodbye not saying “hello”
Been up all night and gave in to severe carb munching.
Bread, toasted. And cheese and nuts, and coconut milk. good job there was nothing else around or I would have ate it!
How blinkin. sh*t! Sabotaged myself, basically ate all today’s calories and it not yet 6am
Oh well, heyho, its all logged, guess it will be a lot of water today!!!!!!!
Hope you’re all doing much better than me
Ann x

Would like to join this challenge also. My goal is to stay in maintenance for another month – but I will also look at losing another pound as I gained a pound last week.

I still weigh every day and read the forum every day also. For me this is the secret of staying on maintenance for the first time since 1967. I have to stay on maintenance forever because I got rid of all the big clothes – so I would truly have nothing to wear.

3lb down…. mostly water probably but very encouraging.

HI All. I was completely motivated. prepped my food for work and water bottle.ate correctly till after work then needed a bit more energy so I had an extra serve of cheese and corn thins, my current go to snack and some butter.So I finished at 937 cals which is good for me. I must go to bed early as being tired defeats my determination. I’m pondering a daily log on to keep myself accountable.today I was 82.0Kg and BGL at 5am 5.9mmol/l. Also plan to do my measurements again as Ive not done them for ages and it might be positive as a motivator. Ill let you know.
Marsie last time we chatted you said you have increased your weights at the gym .Any chance weight gain is muscle??
Its the start of a new challenge good luck everyone or maybe I should say good planning,logging measuring drinking water etc as its not really about luck but effort. So good wishes for maximum effort to us all

One lb a week – that’s all…just one lb a week. Sounds doable – even with a wedding and honeymoon in that!

Really want to finish this challenge under 9st.

Oh, Butterlover, I do wish I could say yes to that question. But no, sadly, not more muscle just too many bad carbs😯
And because I couldn’t have said it better myself I’ve just copied/pasted your last paragraph:
“Its the start of a new challenge good luck everyone or maybe I should say good planning,logging measuring drinking water etc as its not really about luck but effort. So good wishes for maximum effort to us all”
Hear, hear!

Marsie, I like your style so I’ve copied it too!
“Its the start of a new challenge good luck everyone or maybe I should say good planning, logging measuring drinking water etc as it’s not really about luck but effort. So good wishes for maximum effort to us all”
Couldn’t have said it better myself, especially after last nights raid!

I am actually enjoying being more mindful of what I’m consuming and logging it all again. Have only dropped half a pound so far, but am definitely feeling less bloated. Hope everyone else is managing to stay focused and positive. Remember to shout out if you’re struggling though, so we can all offer a virtual hug and hand up.

Back down to 10 stone 9.6 today, so back into the lower part of my happy weight zone, so in two minds as to whether I need to do my second planned fast day this week after my out of zone scare last week. Will fast until 2pm ish and see how I feel after that I think. Planning a lovely salad tomorrow night, and may even make a very little potato salad with some new potatoes and proper mayo. I know they are bad carbs but in very small doses they don’t seem to do me any harm 😀

Well done on being in your happy weight zone Mixnmatch I need to drop a few pounds to get back to mine again. Sounds to me like you could probably get away without doing the full on fast and just stretching your overnight fast. I have been doing that the last couple of days, not seeing the benefit of that yet, but I’m hopeful of it paying off over the week.

Frustrated to find when I weighed myself this morning, that I’m 1lb heavier than I was on Tuesday at the beginning of this challenge. I know of course, that logically it’s probably water – and may be a little to do with constipation too – but it’s annoying to see the scales go up and not down, especially when I had a 754 calorie / 16.5g carb day yesterday and have being extending my overnight fast each day as well. I know of course, that there are day to day weight fluctuations that almost defy logic and that long term the trend will be down if I stick with the 800cals/20>30g carbs.

So I’m still sticking with it and hoping that there will be a much better result by the end of the first week of the challenge. We have people coming to dinner tomorrow, but I’m planning a low carb menu, or at least one that will allow me to eat the good stuff and avoid the dreaded carbs. Planning to fast through to the evening (if I can manage it) so I can make the most of the evening and indulge in a glass or two of wine – just to be sociable you understand!

Hope everyone else is going well on the new challenge. Looking forward to reading your reports and results soon. Keep going everyone.

The things one does for one’s 9yo grandson…..he’s staying overnight, which is unusual midweek as I will need to get him to school in the morning. Normally OH and I would be at the footie tonight, big game, but OH has a nasty cold so can’t take a chance on going out on a coldish night and I decided not to go alone but to give our tickets and cherished parking spot to #2 son and wife. One of the opposition is a young man who had a weekend job in #2s cycle shop and they’ve stayed close so its nice for him to go to the game. Grandpa and grandson decreed that only pies could be eaten while watching the game so in the spirit of togetherness, I had half a pie (well,… big half) with my salad while watching the game on tv. I will pay.

Best wishes, topcac, for your upcoming nuptials (isn’t that a really lovely, old fashioned word?) and honeymoon🎉💕🎊

Today I finally reached the 5kg mini-goal I’ve been working towards for the past 20 weeks 🙂 fingers crossed the weight stays off until next Tuesday which is my weigh in day for this thread. So many times I have a loss followed by a gain!
I still have another 4 lots of 5kg to go, but I find breaking it down into smaller goals helps me.
So far I’ve had a good first week in this challenge. Yesterday I went to a work afternoon tea. I had a few small pieces of fruit (3 grapes, an orange slice, a strawberry), but there was also a selection of cakes and slices. I chose to have a tiny sliver of Black Forest gateau which was absolutely delicious! Not exactly on-plan but as it was the first taste of cake I’ve had in a while and I really enjoyed it – and best of all I stayed within 800 calories for the day.
Topcac – I hope your wedding day went well and all the best for your honeymoon 🙂
Hope everyone else has a good weekend.

Great result SueBlue ! I hope it stays off until your weigh in day. Topcac, just enjoy the wedding and honeymoon for now. You have all the rest of your life to look forward to and being healthy and slimmer will be a big part of that, but for now it is more about other people. Just look after yourself and you will find that you already automatically make healthier choices.

Good on you SueBlue, good result👏

SunnyB, hope all went well with your dinner plans. Sometimes hard when serving out to others not to pop “just a bit” of the other carbs onto our own plate.

Food plan today:
B. Apple&rhubarb, sheep’s milk yoghurt, 10gm slivered almonds
L. Salad incls greens, cucumber, tomato, avocado, ginger&turmeric kraut
D. Pork&veal bol sauce, courgetti, parmesan
S. Buckwheat crackers w beetroot hummus

Hope all the northern hemisphere holiday makers are enjoying the same beautifully sunny weather we are having here in Perth at the moment. Coolish nights but mid 20s days. Its winter, for heavens sake! Give us some rain, Hughy!

Followed yesterday’s plan to the letter …..then added some icecream, a rather LARGE portion(s) of icecream, enough to make a difference …… Who knows why? ? According to Dr’s M’s latest book which I’m partway through, my gut biome is out of whack and those rotten little “bad” microbes prevailing in there are influencing my choices, especially if I’ve been doing well on the BSD. And answering the so far unasked question …..why was icecream so readily available? OH likes it, its GF, he doesn’t NEED to avoid it so its in the house and that sounds awfully defensive.

Today, have had similar to yesterday for breakfast and lunch, not sure yet for dinner. I have miso here so i may make a soup with veg & tofu.

Quiet here, hope all ok.

Marsie I can’t wait to read Dr Moseley’s new book, am going to buy it tomorrow.
I’m having a good weekend. A visit from the Whoosh fairy has seen a good loss 2 days in a row so I feel much more motivated again 🙂
I’ve spent the afternoon making a pot of slow cooker apple & Cinammon steel cut oats for breakfasts next week, also made a big pot of vegetable soup with all the left over vegies in my fridge – I whizz it all up in the Nutri bullet and it tastes lovely, I like to have a cup at lunchtime with my salad now it’s winter. I’m just about to cook tea (tuna curry) – d at the same time am making some roast vegies for use in salads next week, as well as my favourite side dish – spicy purple veg from the recipe book – it’s so delicious, hot or cold. Hoping that all the prep will keep me on track this week!
I had a day out with mother-in-law and 2
of my daughters yesterday. I didn’t give in to having cake with my coffee and at lunch I had a delicious salad at Nandos – it was 336 calories and can’t remember the carbs , it was called “superfuel salad” – spinach, rocket, avocado, quinoa, sweet potato and feta. It was so delicious! I know sweet potato not a BSD food as such but it was only a few small cubes, and certainly not as bad as a bowl of chips or chicken burger! Anyway I liked it so much am going to try and make it myself this week – once I’ve got through all my soup and veggie dishes that is!

Just popping in to say so far I’ve not managed to ‘maintain’. I’ve put on just 0.4lb this week. I’m really happy with that as I’m not counting but am sticking to BSD main principles. If I can maintain this weight for the next two weeks I’ll be delighted. After all we have to manage holidays and celebrations within our new way of life.

Hope everyone is managing well on this new challenge.

Hello everyone, I am back from my holiday in Turkey and sadly am 7lb heavier on weighing this morning- extremely disappointing despite eating no bread, rice, pasta or cakes on holiday. You should see what some of the tiny Russian girls can eat!! I did have a glass of red wine with my dinner on a few occasions and ONE pina colada or mojito every day in the bar and apart from that drank copious amounts of water and walked every single day. Being a strict vegetarian, the food choices were limited to salad or vegetables and cheese. Breakfast was eggs or yoghurt so I could keep on track and didn’t cheat ever! I did have a chocolate with my coffee each evening!! You should have seen the cakes! I didn’t eat any!! As you can tell from this post, I am pretty shocked that I have set myself back by 7lbs in one week. However, I am determined now to get my holiday flab off and am back with a vegeance for this challenge. I have got some new fancy scales so wil be keen to see them move in a downwards direction. I am joining the challenge a few days later as I am only just back and I plan to lose as much of my gain as possible in the next few weeks. I am determined to be 1.5 stone lighter by end of September so today is day one of back to BSD basics. Looking forward to reading the forum posts over the next couple of days and catching up with everyone’s progress. Great to be back and back on track.

SueBlue, you’re sounding so organised and in such a good place right now.
Your kitchen must be so aromatic this afternoon. Keep on keeping on, fingers crossed for you xx

Verano, 0.4lb sounds well within the realms of maintenance to me, sounds as though you’re both managing AND enjoying your holiday. And you are so right, unless we become total stay at home hermits this is just what we do need to do. Good for you. 👏

Welcome back, ClarinetCathy. That would have been a bit of a shock for you after feeling that you’d been on track. I wonder if it could be anything to do with the flight? I often get off flights with tight shoes, tight waistband etc. I’m sure you will have a visit from the friendly whoosh fairy before to long. And, meanwhile, don’t let it spoil the good time you had in Turkey.

Hi all!
Marsie, same thing happened to me with ice cream yesterday and now I can’t stop thinking about it today! Am scared to step on the scales tomorrow as I’ve bound to have derailed progress. Why oh why?!
ClarinetCathy, I’m with Marsie on this – it’ll hopefully be mostly fluid retention from the flight and you’ll be back to where you were in no time!
Froggy x

Well froggy, you’ve just joined the long list of us on here that have agonized over “why do I do that to myself??!”.

So what we do is, we step on the scales at our regular time, accept the number for good or poor as something that we did, then carry on with this plan.

I used to “fall off then re-start”, with this plan and the myriad other “diets” since my mid-teens (now in my 70s). I’m trying now to see BSD as part of a continuum. There was a starting point, yes, but no end point because when I no longer need to be so constrained I will be on maintenance which is just further along on the continuum. If/when I have meals or days which are less than ideal, well then, I’ve stumbled but not fallen. Or if I’ve fallen (would be very bad) then I pick myself up and carry on because I haven’t fallen OFF.

Hmm, that sounds rather preachy, froggy, not meant to as I’m talking to myself as much if not more than to you. Have to keep convincing myself, and as I’m a bit of a drama queen I’ve a tendency to emote to the back rows.

Please don’t let yourself be derailed by this, just keep on keeping on and I hope the numbers are kinder to you than you think.

Froggy, Marsie and ClarinetCathy, we all have slips, trips and stumbles along the way – we’re only human after all. The secret is to move on from them and not allow them to derail us, so it’s important not to expend too much time and energy in negative thinking and beating yourself up about what you recognise as a blip along the way. ClarinetCathy, I have a policy of not weighing myself immediately after a holiday, but instead, allow a few days for my body to adjust to being back, before stepping on the scales. I can’t say for sure this makes a difference to the reading, but I think it allows time for any water retained to be eliminated.

Think this weekend seems to be challenging for many of us, me included. My issue has been wine, both when entertaining people on Friday evening and last evening visiting with neighbours. That said, at present I am weighing the same as when the challenge started, with small loses and gains throughout the week so far. Can’t say I am elated with this situation, but at least I’m not showing any serious gain and to be absolutely honest, I haven’t been tracking cals and carbs since Thursday night, so I have to be happy with where I am right now. I will make a fresh start tomorrow and hope that by weigh-in on Tuesday, I can report at least a small lose for the week.

Have today ordered new bathroom scales with more’ bells and whistles’ than my current set and also new kitchen scales, which weigh in increments of 1g as opposed to my current ones that weighs in increments of 2g. Hoping these purchases will help to keep me focused and spur me on a little to achieving my goals.

Wishing everyone a successful weigh-n on Tuesday and looking forward to reading all the results.

I am absolutely stuffed at the moment having arrived home from a visit to the Lakes and having some friends round for an impromptu BBQ. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s fast day! Wine and prosecco has also been imbibed. I made a lovely drink for in between the wine glasses though, with about a half litre of cloudy lemonade, a litre of sparkling water, a splash of PLJ lemon and sprigs of mint and slices of lemon and lime, with loads and loads of ice. Super refreshing, not too sweet, and will definitely do this one again. Made some ‘potato salad’ with new potatoes spring onions and Greek yoghurt, had a small amount, it was really nice, lighter in taste than a mayo version.

Hi you lovely people,
Thanks for all your support! It’s a huge help and I’m holding it in my heart as I fight derailment and stay positive. Great not to be in this alone. Good luck to you all today and with weigh ins tomorrow. We can do this! X

Hi weighing-in a day early. Unfortunately I’ve not managed my goal of maintaining this week I’ve put on 1.2lbs. I’m sure this is due to too much wine and not enough water …. fluid retention …. let’s hope so!

Hope you’ve all had a good week.

Hard lines, Verano. You’ll sort it I’m sure and still have pleasant memories of your holidays.

Hi Everyone.I finally worked out how to post from my phone. I wasnt feeling so well today .I over did it yesterday with a big shed clean out so Ive been lazy today and quite peckish this evening.as well
I broke my scales today so reporting todays weight at 81.7 which is 0.5 kg down.Bgl 6.0 mmol.so not bad this week .stay positive.cheers

Goodness, Britain is struggling these days! I am very sad to read about the entire fallout from the tragedy at Grenfell. I hope you are all hanging in there. Hot temps and hot tempers.

Definitely a challenging time here in Britain California Girl, but kindness and comfort winning the day.
The good side of the human spirit shines through in such tragic circumstances

Tuesday weigh in for me. I can’t quite believe it but have lost a whole 2kg (4.4 lb) this week! The Whoosh Fairy must have been feeling particularly benevolent! Admittedly 1kg of this was reversing the gain from last week, but am still very happy. Especially when I look at the last 4 week challenge and I had a net gain of 100g over 4 weeks.
Anyway, I realise that this won’t be repeated next week – a big loss for me is always followed by a much smaller one or even a gain. I just looked at the weight loss graph on My fitness pal for the past 3 months and it looks like an ECG reading! Up, down, up, down… but at the end of the day I have now lost almost 9kg since mid-Jan so am definitely going to keep going!
Good luck to everyone else weighing today!

Well there, what goes up can come down☺ Yesterday 63.7kg today 63.0kg. It’s even 100glk less than last Tuesday. Keeping on, keeping on downwards.

Awesome, SueBlue, just awesome🙆

Chin up, my British friends, somehow, sometime, this too shall pass 💜

Dear All,

I’ve had a loss of 2lbs this week although I feel it was mainly sweat due to the lovely heat wave we are having in the UK at the moment.
The drop in weight has taken me to 9 stone 13.6lbs (63.32 kgs) – I’m into the nines and feeling elated!

My eldest son and his partner are off to the horse racing at Royal Ascot today and Friday and I am babysitting my two granddaughters aged 2 and 1 years. I will walk the dog early this morning as she hates the hot weather, must be awful being covered in fur from head to paw in 30+ degrees!

Thanks Californiagirl and Marsie for your kind wishes towards the UK as we roll with the punches. I really fear turning on the news as each day seems to bring more sadness, but, agreeing with pod, the momentum will be for positive change I’m sure. How any country treats its poor and marginalised is a measure of its civilisation and humanity. London is a great city with very caring citizens and will no doubt come through this improved and reformed.

Week 1 is done!