Well I learned a lot this week ! Thanks Lauren for your insight and expertise .I will definitely re order my Apple cider Vinegar with the mother as I am getting low. I am a big fan of fermented veg too which I buy if I haven’t got the time to do my own ( it’s dead easy really as you only need veg and salt !) I need to do my white cabbage, fennel and lemon one, that’s really good .

SG I hope you feel a bit more settled .I love that we feel free and safe to share our worries on here . I suppose another message is to listen to our body and allow ourselves to give it the nourishment it needs .If that means adjusting our normal pattern then that’s ok .

So if you are feeling a bit c**p and need to share then you’re ok with us .We’re a decent lot !
If you have gone a bit quiet and need a bit of motivating , that’s ok too .

So … again, whatever is happening with you, let’s Keep On Keeping On for another week in June !

Wendy, sunshine girl and SunnyB

The latest list

Wendleg/Wendy
Sunshine-girl
SunnyB
Florab85/Lauren
Tulip1/Clare
Verano
Elle-Mae
WindyJulz
Natalie
RubyG
Onestep
Slimmingruby
FlowersForever
Jess213
OriginalMurrayMint
Mrs H22/Laura
HopefulinOz
DaisyWalsh

Tulip/Clare…. any news of the new job ???

Well I’ve survived my first proper day on plan, just! I don’t understand why keto flu gets me harder, and faster, every time I restart this! I’ve been ravenous today as well and my head is KILLING ME!!!

Onwards I guess!

Ideas folks – I’ve planned out my meals for this week in my calorie counter and some days I’m nearly 200 cals under 800, and that’s including using olive oil in meals. I’m wondering what you could suggest to top up – my usual punt would be nuts or dairy or seeds, but I’ve already included nuts and seeds in most meals (and I’m not a bird!) and I’m not meant to be having dairy, I don’t like avocado……any ideas?!

L x

Evening all!
I have returned after a month of birthdays etc.
I’ve piled back on all the weight I lost at the beginning of the year.

We’ve booked a holiday to Greece in mid September, I have 12 weeks to get back in shape.

I’ve learnt a lot on this plan. I need to stay off the booze, so I’m going to try and stay on plan and keep off the alcohol until I go on holiday.

I’m here and determined!!!

Thanks for getting us all set up again for another week, Wendy, sunshine girl and SunnyB.
Lauren – are you getting enough protein into your plan? Depending on how many grams you have in there (and how many you are aiming for given your goals)….I always find that if I am ravenous a bit more protein helps. Hard boiled eggs are a great snack at approximately 78 calories, 5g fat and 6g protein. I have been meaning to try a ‘tofu mayonnaise’ recipe that Esnecca provided on these forums many years back to make devilled eggs with. You can see her recipe for it at https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/awesome-april-appetisers/#post-60348
Russianroulade – I’m new back as well – I too went off plan and saw the nasty results! Welcome!
Have a wonderful day everyone – SG, hoping you wake up today feeling a bit better xx

Hi everyone,
I haven’t been on in a while and popped back in and had to catch up with what was happening with s-g.
S-g I think you’ve had some good advice so far. I would also like to add that high serum ferritin can be a sign of inflammation as well. Basically it is a defense mechanism where your body sucks as much iron as it can into the ferritin in order to ‘hide’ it from any bacteria, parasite, etc. that might be able to make use of it for replicating and doing damage. So it may not be worrying in itself. Just maybe ask your gp to look for any causes of inflammation or infection. I remember this video with Dr. Paul Mason where he had a patient with high ferritin and it turned out she had a parasite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtczW43tiu4
As for me, I’ve been having quite a time of things, as usual. I dropped off because I was so frustrated about not making any progress and was in quite a funk about it. After Easter I knew that I needed to do something about my iron levels because I was just so tired. I tried going back on ferrous sulphate, but it was upsetting my gut so badly. So I ended up doing a short course of high dose Floravit and then on advice of a pharmacist transitioned onto a polydextrose iron complex supplement and that has been so much better to tolerate. However, after six weeks, I was still feeling quite fatigued, and just happened to notice when I was on video conference one day that I had a goiter. I went to my gp and he tested my TSH levels, but they were fine, but my serum ferritin was still only 19 after 6 weeks of supplements and being careful to get lots in my diet! I added more iodine to my diet in the form of nori seaweed, and that seems to have helped the goiter somewhat, and I’m carrying on with the iron supplement. I’ve been feeling like I have more energy just in the last couple of weeks, and my clothes have finally been fitting a bit looser.
Turns out it is a good thing I have a bit more energy, because my property flooded last week. I had to help the neighbours sandbag one day, and that is also good for losing weight! I had to start wearing a belt and even pulled it in a notch this week. So anyway, other than continuing to lurch from one natural disaster to the next, I am doing a bit better than I was and have hopefully turned a bit of a corner.

Thanks for this new thread.
I had an even keel week last week so I’m quite happy with that.
I had a newsletter from InsulinIQ this morning and this goal setting idea was part of it, I just thought the idea might appeal to others too …..

Motivational Muse: Trajectory Goal Setting
Black and white thinking can hinder our ability to continue to set and make goals! Perhaps we don’t reach our goal all the way. All or nothing thinking dictates that we have ultimately failed and should give up to continue in our current habit. Let’s look at goal setting in a different way.

Give your goal a floor and a ceiling. Let’s say I want to make exercising my goal. The minimum goal is the floor which might be set for exercising once during the week for 15 minutes. The maximum goal is the ceiling, which will be set for exercising 5 times a week for 30 minutes. All or nothing thinking has no space here because all of the space is reserved for hitting anywhere in between the floor and ceiling of the goal! If I exercised for 2 days a week for 30 minutes, I have still achieved the goal because it is between the floor and ceiling of the goal.
Have a good week!

Hi arctic fox! Sounds like you’ve still been having a run of things, poor you!

I meant to add that about ferritin and it being a general inflammatory sign so thank you, shows my brain is still foggy!!!

I’ve woken this morning feeling dreadful, I know it’s carb flu and I’ll koko but I’m feeling very sorry for myself, unfortunately I know from experience that nothing helps other than just weathering it so I know I’m in for a few rough days – I am however proud of myself as Craig has some biscuits in the kitchen and I know full well that one biscuit would make me feel better almost instantly, but I’m resisting!!

This better bloody work is all I’m saying!

Todays meals are a take in a tuna nicoise (no potatoes and gherkins instead of capers) and a stir fry with ginger, soy, chilli and garlic for tea.

Hope all are well

L x

Hi all. I came across a decent website today with recipes – low carb, gluten free etc. I have checked out quite a few of them and they seem to fit this WoE quite well. I have been trying to find recipes that I can feed to the whole family so that I’m not cooking my dinner separately . There are some recipes on there that really aren’t in line with my way of thinking, but most of the main meal recipes look really good. (Just to be clear – I have zero affiliation with the site whatsoever, I’m not marketing anything here). Anyway, if anybody is interested, it is at https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/
Verano – I like that goal setting analogy a lot – something I needed to hear I think 🙂
Arcticfox – what a trial! I hope things continue to get better for you.
xx

Hi everyone. I am feeling a lot better, probably due to it being cooler. Just had half an hour swim. Ask doctor why I can swim for 30 or 40 minutes without stopping and not getting out of breath when I cant bend down to get washing out of the basket to hang it out.. He says it is because I do it at a leisurely pace with no bouts of exertion. Also bending compresses the lungs.

Once again thank you for your good wishes and some very good advice both psychological and medical (physical). Thank you articfox.
The first thing the doctor tested me for was infection and inflammation with a pooh test (didnt need urine as I had just had that tested in my annual). Anyway, it came back with no eggs or parasites. Hubby thought that was good news but I knew it eliminated the obvious.

Lauren, you know you will get through the carb flu, tough though isnt it.
RussianRoulade, welcome back, glad you enjoyed your break. Im sure you will meet your September goal.
Hopefulinoz, I have subscribed to the site you suggested. Might help to shake things up a bit.

Weight is stuck but I did lose a kilo in 3 days so this is my body relaxing. Have a good week everyone.

S-g glad you’re feeling a bit better … just hang on in there.
I just wanted to mention how my taste buds have changed.
For nearly 6 years now I’ve steered clear of recipes, especially Thai, which I love, that have any sugar/honey in them. Anyway, relaxing a little more into this way of eating, I’ve made a few recipes lately that need a tsp or so of sugar or honey. I’ve used half that amount and must admit that seems to do the trick. I’m working on the principal that less than a tsp of sugar/honey in a marinade spread over several portions isn’t going to do too much harm yet the sweetness certainly improves the overall taste.
In saying that I still find I can taste ‘sugar’ in food far more easily now than I ever could before I started my BSD way of life.
Sometimes I think maybe we need to relax a little and not stress over every single ingredient… maybe a teaspoon of sugar now and again isn’t the end of the world …. sorry if I’vespoken out if turn!

I agree with you V! I don’t think the odd bit of sugar or honey etc. does any harm at all, im not at the moment using anything like that as the PCOS plan I’m following is very strict, but I have frequently in the past included just a smidge of honey, or one or two prunes, or some pineapple in sweet and sour, or condiments like sriracha and ketchup in moderation – like you say, Thai and other Asian dishes very often benefit from that slight sweetness (Thai in particular does, and actually tastes the better for it!) and I don’t think we do ourselves any favours from eliminating all and any sugar from our diets – it’s all about moderation. I’m certainly still including the occasional berry at the moment, and once I’ve got my PCOS under control and hopefully reversed the insulin resistance, and hopefully, hopefully, managed to conceive, I’ll be including small amounts of naturally sweet things as part of maintenance!

I also, and I actually can’t believe I’m saying this, for anyone who knows me I have an insanely sweet tooth, but I’ve also noticed a change in just not wanting sweet things (I’ve not cracked it with pasta or rice or bread yet sadly) – at the moment I’m in the depths of carb flu and I suffer horrendously with it, every time, I’m currently experiencing extreme nausea at the thought of eating literally anything, but, even though I know the biscuits in the kitchen, or even a spoonful of sugar, would instantly make me feel better, I don’t want it. I don’t want the kale and spiced walnut crusted pork I have planned for dinner either but that’s by the by.

You do you!

L x

So glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better, SG…..hang in there 🙂
Verano and Lauren – I agree completely. At the end of the day, everyone has to find what works for them based on what their goals are, what their health needs are, and what actually makes this doable in the long term. Otherwise it just becomes too stringent and impossible to keep to. I was actually reading an interesting article today about ‘orthorexia’. I have to admit I had never heard of it before. But my understanding of it, from the article I read, is that orthorexia is a disordered eating pattern, where it is not the quantity of food but rather the nutritional quality of food that the person becomes fixated on. Unless, medically, it is required, an inability to eat anything but a very narrow ‘list of foods’ can be one of the signs. I am not suggesting that any of us on this forum have this medical issue, but there is certainly the possibility of becoming so fixated on ‘I can’t eat that’ that it becomes unhealthy. For me, certainly, being able to choose when I want to ‘tweak’, or add things such as honey etc is going to be absolutely essential for long term do-ability. xx

Lauren sorry to hear about your carb flu but it will pass. I was one of the lucky ones who never had carb flu. I must admit I just decided not to eat bread, pasta, potatoes and rice right at the start of my journey nearly 6 years ago. I’ve never missed rice and now I put curry or saucy stuff over green vegetables and it’s much nicer… more flavourful. I had a tiny baked potato about 4 months ago and really enjoyed it. I’ve not had pasta and on the odd occasion I have bolognese I have it with cauliflower mash. Bread …. I don’t really miss it but then the whole way through I’ve had crispbreads. Now I’ve now found Livlife bread which is very low carb seeded bread and full of fibre. I doubt I could go back to the white stuff again.
HopefulinOz I think I could have a touch of orthorexia! Since starting this way of eating I’ve read so much stuff about healthy eating that I now do my very best not to buy anything with ingredients that you wouldn’t find in your own kitchen cupboards! I try to buy free range, organic, sustainable, grass fed where possible but it’s not always that easy. I have become very conscious of over processed foods and try to cook most things from scratch. I do eat a good variety though so maybe I don’t fit into the orthorexia box.
Anyway, I’ve been tidying up my emails today and came across one that I obviously copied to myself …….
“If you are hungry now, it doesn’t matter how many good meals you’ve eaten. You can’t quench your thirst by remembering what you drank yesterday. Similarly, if you are looking for a reason to do something, it’s hard to be motivated by an old ambition.”
Sounds sensible to me!

Good afternoon, another week nearly closer to my daughters wedding. Weight has dropped again – a bit. I told her I had nothing to wear – bit of an exaggeration should say nothing new to wear. She said I would have time to go shopping in the UK before the wedding, yes 5 days, I need a month. I am hopeless at buying clothes as I hate myself in most things. I am a little dumpling. I will have a look around before I go back to the UK but the French shops are not good. Either frumpy and cheap or super expensive and made for stick incents. I really don’t want to go to Bordeaux as it is a full day out but will see how I feel and I think there is only an H&M that suits my style.

Lauren, your carb flu seems to be lingering a bit long. Are you topping it up (just looking at the talk about honey and some of the other sweet things you mention (pineapple, ketchup etc), if you stop completely you should get over it quicker. Alternatively you could continue to have a little of what you fancy and if that quells the cravings it does the job.

I definitely suffer from orthorexia. I am afraid to eat lots of things but all in the same range – carbs. I don’t miss rice or pasta but if I go somewhere and don’t have control over my food I start to panic. That is why I said I have to let loose a little. My worry is if I eat something I wont be able to stop i.e. the cravings will return. I haven’t had a jacket potato for over 6 years or is it 7. Verano, which anniversary are we coming up to??? Sometimes it can be a good thing if the food you avoid is bad for you and I know what my body can tolerate. Also I am very lucky in that I don’t actually like sweet things. Hubby buys 2 mini cakes every Thursday and they don’t interest me in the least. When we had visitors and I bought them strawberry flans with lots of sugar and cream they kept apologising to me for eating them in front of me, I was happy with my bowl of strawberries. I bought it, it was my choice and I love strawberries, especially if they are fresh and not macerated in sugary syrup.

Have a good rest of the week. Hurray we have had rain.

Verano, for me 28th June is 6 years on this diet. Maybe it is not sustainable 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi S-g my ‘birthday’ is July 5th! Yes 6 years …. AMAZING!
I had to look up an old post of mine to find my starting date and I read through it again. I think we are both absolutely fantastic. Six years and look how far we’ve come. We are both true ‘non-carbaholics’ and that was the real goal. You are almost insulin free. I’m medication free …. what more can we ask for. We’ve changed our way of eating/life…. all good.
It is sustainable …… we have proved it!
Now we just have to keep on keeping on ……..

Yes Verano, we are miracles who defied science back then 🙂 🙂 . My comment about it not being sustainable was because it was what we were told by everyone. We know different. If you really want something – in our cases an improvement in health – you can do it.

Totally agree S-g!

Hey a-g – nope I’m being very good and not straying at all, which makes the carb flu even more unfair! It’s starting to lift though, particularly the crippling nausea I get that makes me not want to eat anything Had a bad couple of days mentally, so I’ve not been around as much but I’m very proud because I’ve stuck on plan completely despite panic attacks/trauma responses and all sorts. Wednesday I had hemp seed porridge again for lunch, and then walnut crusted pork with greens for tea (which Wendy was very scathing about despite the fact she’d had smelly feet and baked mush for dinner 🤣😛)

Yesterday was a chicken, ham and egg salad for lunch. I attempted to make my own mayonnaise with olive oil – normal mayo is not anti-inflammatory because it’s made with sunflower oil, so I thought I’d be brave. Texture – perfect, taste – V I L E – really truly revolting. So that was a failed experiment. Reverted back to just an oil and lemon juice dressing which I don’t particularly enjoy but it bumped up the fat without the carbs (whereas adding seeds or something would have increased both). I wish I enjoyed salad more, but it’s just not for me, shame really as I love vegetables, I just don’t really like lettuce or raw spinach or rocket or anything else, and I don’t like dressing, but a salad without dressing is just bland and boring and missing healthy fats which I know I need to a) bump up calories and b) help absorb the nutrients. Tea last night was a veg packed bolognese mix with spring greens, and both days I’ve managed to keep below 20g carbs and 800cal, below 65g protein with a moderate attempt at fibre, I can’t get anywhere close to the 30g I’m meant to be having but I’ll keep trying.

Today I have an artichoke salad planned for lunch, but this is going to require me not being lazy and actually preparing the artichokes, so that might get substituted. We’re having herb roasted turkey breast for tea, which I’ll probably team with greens again, maybe some roasted pepper to make a change but I do love spring greens so maybe not!

Hope everyone is ok x

L x

Sounds like you are doing the right things Lauren. Glad the carb flu is lifting, just keep going. Nothing to report here, still feeling crap. Managed a swim yesterday but today it is heaving it down so gives me an excuse to rest up a bit.

Oh yes, carb flu is very real! I feel your pain, Lauren. I usually feel shocking for the first little bit. Re the fibre – I use psyllium husk to get some extra, and also shiritaki noodles to boost my fibre. Psyllium husk does have net carbs, but I am happy to do that for the benefits. Flax seeds (according to my research) have no net carbs, and chia seeds only have 2g net carbs per 30g with 11g of fibre to boot! Both can be sprinkled onto salads or put into foods – and you can grind up chia seeds if you don’t like the ‘globules’ they create in liquids.

I also had a mayonnaise failure in the kitchen this week! I decided to make it with macadamia oil – I have no idea why, but it did not thicken at all. I have made mayo countless times…but this one did not work whatsoever. I then also tried to make Esnecca’s recipe for tofu mayonnaise…..I can’t say I enjoyed the flavour at all (definitely nothing like mayo), but maybe it was the brands of food I used. Oh well – I guess there is a bit of experimenting involved until I find what works!

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend. x

Thanks Hopeful, I do use chia a hell of a lot, but I can’t find anywhere that actually agrees on the macros – for example I’ve put 10g into my planner today, and sources vary wildly on whether that’s 0.3G net carbs all the way up to like 3G, and fibre is between 2g and 5g depending where you look. The trouble with chia as well is if you’re having 30g (which is about 2tbspns) then that’s nearly 150cal which is a hell of a chunk out of 800cal, especially when, while I don’t have a problem with the taste or texture, I don’t find them in anyway filling – I never have with fat or fibre or protein to be honest, I am just in that minority of people who’s body just doesn’t really like keto or running on ketones, there’s scientific studies that back it up, some people just never adapt to a ketotic plan, but unfortunately it’s also the best way to overcome insulin resistance and therefore lose weight and therefore hopefully be able to start ovulating again and conceive!

Sigh!

Re your other suggestions, I take psyllium supplements and Inulin powder, I don’t use psyllium in my cooking anymore as I’m supposed to be avoiding any and all processed food at the moment and psyllium is quite highly processed, I also don’t enjoy replacement “bread” products that use psyllium – I’d rather go without, and I’ve tried all the recipes! Shiratake products are disgusting – I can’t get on board with the texture at all, I’ve tried all the different ways of cooking them or serving them but it’s just a hard no for me, I’d rather have spiralised veg or just nothing! But thank you for the suggestions!

Artichoke salad today, which I hasten to add I’ve made with artichokes grown in my own garden, that I have marinated overnight in herbs, olive oil and garlic. I’m going to put some almonds and shallots in the salad with spinach leaves and tomatoes, and a sprinkle of chia seeds, and some nutritional yeast for an added umami/protein boost. Then roasted chicken with some veg for tea, I’m trying to work out how to make any kind of sauce for this without using dairy, oil (no calories left), gravy powder (too many carbs), xanthan gum (revolting)…..I’m thinking the cooking juices from the chicken, reduced down with a tiny bit of gelatine maybe to thicken?? Watch this space chaps and chapesses, this is either going to be inspired, or disgusting.

L x

Can I gently interject?
Eat real food, prioritize protein and fill the rest with fat and vegetables.
Oh my goodness, don’t eat ANYTHING unless you like it.
Chia seeds might not be on my list of edible foods — but cream, butter, salmon, chicken, pork, beef, any and all vegetables (including a tiny amount of potato and corn and peas) —
I fear we are overthinking this, trying desperately to account for every bit of information we glean, wearing ourselves out.
We need to enjoy our beautiful gift of life. You CAN be healthy just being focused on every day whole foods.
Sunshine girl, I hope all is well.
Julia

Perhaps I was mistaken CG in believing this was a safe space for all of us to air our experiences, my current plan, which if you had bothered to read any of my previous posts, is based in a huge amount of reading scientific journals, I’ve read over 30 different articles to come to my conclusions, as well as the Fung texts and many of the sources he cites, and the original Mosley texts, and I have specifically designed it and adapted it from BSD, Fast800, and various other plans to tackle insulin resistance relating to PCOS. I have a degree in biochemistry, an advanced degree in immunology and inflammation and I teach molecular anatomy and physiology for a living, so believe me, I understand the science of what I’ve planned, and I have gone about this rigorously and carefully. Perhaps I am overthinking it, perhaps I am being too strict, or overly restrictive but frankly that’s my business, and stems from the desperate want to have a child, and my, perhaps flawed, need to attempt to control at least one aspect of my life, which is currently wracked with long covid, infertility, ME and C-PTSD, all of which are spinning out of control. I apologise for my plan not exactly agreeing with your philosophy, and I apologise to all if my posts recently have bordered on the obsessive. All I’ve ever tried to do is offer support and my own experience, ask for help when needed, perhaps try to explain something in simpler terms to those who don’t have a scientific background. I have always been grateful to receive any advice from others here, what I do not appreciate is basically being told I’m wrong. Different, yes, wrong no.

Thank you for your input

I can confirm by the way, for anyone who’s interested, gravy with just chicken stock and gelatine doesn’t work. So back to the drawing board for that.

I am taking a break from the forums, as this is not good for my mental well-being. Wendy has my number if anyone wants to keep in touch and I’m happy for her to share it with anyone.

Take care everyone and I hope you are all ok

Lauren x

I have been off the forum (and off plan..) for a while, occasionally dipping in to look. Lauren, please believe that CG is not claiming any space; i have had “political debates” with her here, we are not aligned there, and maybe on other matters, but in her post just now I am sure there is nothing but goodwill and hope for everyone to be happy. I am sorry to hear there is so much troubling you. But you are I think right, this is not the space to address that. I do wish you all the very best.

Hi everyone ! Ok catch up time !

First of all welcome back Russianroulade and arcticfox !
I felt very sad leaving you both off the list .Very glad to see you back . Just do your best, you know what works .

I think that seems to be the problem with the latest posts .

We are not all coming from the same start point , with very different weights, health issues, starting out, maintaining, restarting …
Clearly what works for some of us will not always work for everyone and that’s ok .

HopefulinOz very sensibly said
“At the end of the day, everyone has to find what works for them based on what their goals are, what their health needs are, and what actually makes this doable in the long term”

Clearly we have to respect that .I think I was a bit of a low carb crusader in my time and pretty rigid in my food choices .It worked as I discarded 30 kilos . Have I maintained that ? NO . The reason being that it’s not just about food choices for me. It’s about the ongoing overeating/ emotional eating .If it was just about eating real food, protein, fat and veg as you say Julia it would be easy .It’s not always that easy though . Food is such a complex blinkin thing and fraught with all sorts of issues which we have to address as well as the food choices . That can be major for some of us and as Lauren has explained, she has devised her plan based on her specific needs and health concerns . I would love for everyone to be coming from a very happy place but sadly that is not always the case .

BUT ….. we are here to support and give advice which we can choose to try or not .
Lauren , if you need a break that’s ok . Remember we all value your input . Noone understands the science like you and you make it accessible for us . Keep doing what you are doing. Breathe and come back when it feels ok. We are all rooting for you xxx Really sorry about the blasted carb flu. Push through it as best you can but not if it makes you ill and compounds everything else .

Othorexia , that sounds like something Louis Theroux ( love him !) would discuss in one of his documentaries .He did a good one on anorexia .
Again, in my carb crusading days I would certainly have feared going out to a restaurant, refuse invitations for fear I wouldn’t be able to eat my low carb way . It didn’t seem a problem for me at the time but I suppose that was a form of orthorexia .I am certainly not as rigid these days, will adapt , choose or refuse as I wish and generally not beat myself up about it . However I never eat bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and only whole foods. I hate the idea of processed foods and so I think those healthy habits are well established now . I am not worried if I eat a potato I will not be able to stop because I don’t really fancy spuds any more. I still struggle with sugar though. I am still work in progress, folks . I can over eat avocados and nuts !!!!!! I’m not always totally in control and can still self sabotage .

But let’s celebrate the victories . Well done SG and Verano on your incredible success in tackling T2 and reducing medication . You absolutely know what works for you . SG don’t stress about the dress ! I have found a couple of ( brand new ) pretty dresses on my beloved Vinted and they will do for the upcoming wedding/ Christening/ family celebrations in the UK . Is it worth looking online ??? Shops you know from the UK ?? I know which sizes fit in my favourite brands but online purchases can be a bit unreliable otherwise. I hope you are feeling better . Doc appointment coming up ?

Hope everyone is OK , let us know how you are doing . WindyJulz has gone AWOL . Tulip/Clare , are you ok ?
Flowersforever ? Natalie ? Elle-Mae ?Onestep ? RubyG , MrsH22 ??

I will set up the new thread later

Wendy xxx

Oh dear Lauren, I apologize for making you feel that I was attacking you — it was never my intention.
Of course you may, and should, craft the diet that works best for you — and I have deep sympathy for your health issues and wish you all the best. My daughter is also struggling to get pregnant so I know how painful that is.
I sometimes just react in frustration and sadness because it seems so HARD to follow the rules we set for ourselves and I worry that we overthink it (I am not pinpointing you — it is very common and I have posted about it several times before — ask any of the old-time posters here).
It’s a very good thing I don’t do social media because I’m rubbish at it — I write too quickly and I have strong opinions — both don’t work well in the social-post-department.
I hope you will simply ignore my comments, shake your head in disgust and move on. I know you are a regular poster and I think you should continue.
And best wishes for resolving your health issues, I wish there was a magic wand and we could all resolve our weight problems. In the meantime of course, we just do our best.

Thank you for your kind words Wendy

Thank you also CG for your words, I appreciate it. I apologise for getting defensive.

I’m still going to take a breather for a couple of weeks – not from the eating plan, but from the forums. I’ll take a couple of weeks to just focus on me and what I’m trying to do, but I’ll be back once I’m a bit more settled. I hope everyone on here knows I have never wanted to do anything other than support and guide where I can on here, and I would never judge anyone else for the way they are going about things, nor push my ideas on them. If any of you knew me in the “real” world you’d know I’m one of the least judgmental people ever, I have strong views and opinions, and a strong sense of ethics, but I do not judge anyone, ever, for anything, and I hope you all know that.

Take care all, I’ll be back

L x

Thanks Julia
Lauren, take all the time you need . You don’t need extra pressure right now . Please come back and tell us how you are doing, when the time is right for you xx

I am going to set up the new thread now because I have been asked to go to a (boring) meeting at 7pm

Lauren …. so many problems …. but your great strength of character will get you through. Take care and come back when you are ready.
CG good to know you are still around. Hope you and yours are all well.
S-g hope you’re feeling ok. Assuming your appointment with dr is tomorrow …. will be thinking of you.
Relatively good week for me but it’s also involved a bit of soul searching and taking a long hard look in the mirror!
Anyway, new week tomorrow. We haven’t spoken about a ‘title’ for July … we’re almost there! Can I suggest we just keep on with “Just Keeping on in July!
See you on the new thread tomorrow.

Hi everyone, yes V my appointment is tomorrow so I will find out what is happening to me. I managed to do some housework today and didnt have to stop half way through for a rest. Then I went out and pruned some rose bushes. I am okay as long as I take things at my own pace. Not swam for a few days as we have had some welcome rain.

Lauren, take some time away if it makes you feel better. You know you can contact me, and Wendy, if you want to talk.

Will come back tomorrow with whatever news.