Well done Mixmatch – that’s a fabulous result!!! Bet you are feeling really chuffed and so you should be!!

I am reporting a 2lbs loss from last Tuesday – if I can just keep that going then I might just make my 4 week challenge goal of 8.5lbs but one day at a time. Today I am so pi**ed off at work (and it’s not even 9am yet) that it’s going to take all my strength not to blow it on bad stuff!!

Have a good day all – hope the scales are kind to you xxx

Hi Mariet,

I see you’ve upped your good fats and fibre to try and reduce your cholesterol. Are you taking statins as well?

Mixnmatch – what inspirational results you have achieved – you’ve lost a whole person in weight since 2015! Have a great summer enjoying all your upcoming trips.

ClarinetCathy, I’m struggling with the same two pounds coming and going. I have resolved to log my food, drink more water and only drink alcohol at the weekends at social events. I got caught out last Friday at lunch with an old friend, she automatically ordered a bottle of rosé because that’s what we do when we meet up. Half a bottle of wine at lunchtime really takes some drinking nowadays, even with a jug of tapwater – I feel the effects of the alcohol after just a couple of sips. Needless to say I went home and nodded off and have since beaten myself up for not saying “just a glass for me”!

Good luck one and all on your weigh-ins today. I’ll be interested to see what the GP’s scales weigh me at when I’m fully clothed! I’ll be hunting out my lightest underwear and not be wearing my glasses or earrings!!

I see there is a slightly mixed bag of results being posted, but well done to all those reporting any kind of loss and commiserations to those who haven’t had that privilege this time round.

For me the report is that one of gaining and losing 2lb over the week, so weighed in at exactly what I was this time last week. Whilst that is a minor win on one level, on another level, it’s frustratingly a week lost in the effort to get back to target weight. I’m going to take it as a win though, as at least that goal is no further away! We are out later today and I am pretty certain the result will be extra calories and carbs. However, I have decided I’m not going to stress about it, but will enjoy the day, stick to the BSD principles and start afresh tomorrow with a strict 800/20 regime.

Hope everyone has a good week and can report a positive result next Tuesday …. Best of Luck to one and all!

LippLipid and Mariet – you might be interested in reading this recent article from the ‘i’ newspaper about cholesterol. https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/health/cholesterol-levels-heart-disease-statins-lancet/

I was particlarly interested in this comment from Sir Richard Thompson, former president of The Royal College of Physicians, said: “The seductive theory that cholesterol in blood and the diet is the enemy, and therefore must be lowered at all cost, has diverted attention away from the unnatural increase in sugar intake that has a greater influence on obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Time for a rethink, and a change in our diets.” Insulin resistance The authors say the focus must shift away from LDL-cholesterol and onto ‘insulin resistance’, a phenomenon that drives both cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes and state that instead of investing billions into to drug treatments more money should be spent into policy directives to encourage population wide behaviour change towards healthier lifestyles.

I must however declare that I am totally biased against statins as I was damaged by statins and my medical records state that I must never be given statins again. However – I do think that the comment from Sir Richard endorses our BSD way of life.

Hi all! I have removed 1lb this week, was going to be 2lb, but, just to sabotage myself, I went on a comfort eating binge last night. Cheese, seeds, more cheese, chick peas, more cheese, vegetable crisps, and finally, just to make sure I did as much damage as possible, I had a pitta bread. I’ve resisted the urge to comfort eat for weeks and mainly been successful, but yesterday I gave in. And guess what, I didn’t feel any better. I saw a counselor yesterday about my depression, and when you’ve talked about what makes you feel sh*t for over an hour, you certainly come away feeling sh*t! So, I turned to food..
but, Yesterday was just a blip…
today I’m full of new resolve and will fast until lunch time, it seems to work for me, so back on the wagon I go!!
I was interested to read about high cholesterol, would eating more fat increase the cholesterol levels? I’m confused.com?
Keeping on keeping on!!!

While I was posting, the answer about fats and cholesterol was posted!! Really interesting.
Lippylipid, I would remove my glasses and watch, earrings, rings, etc etc. Also thought of going in a bikini but I haven’t got one!
Good luck with your weigh in!

Hey, Pod – as we are in confession mode, I shall bare my soul too.

As most of you know, I have been very focussed on my bsd journey, and have been in maintenance for 10 weeks – was 5lbs under goal weight.

Well I was as good as gold yesterday, yoghurt and berries for breakfast, no lunch, BBQ for supper, consisting of asparagus, chicken and veg kebabs and salad. And a glass or three of white wine sitting in the sun! Then, and I have no idea why (certainly wasn’t comfort eating as I’d had a lovely day sailing, walking and gardening, so don’t have your excuse), I had cheese and biscuits – didn’t need them, didn’t particularly want them. Then yet another glass of wine, which led to some nuts. Then some more nuts. Then some more wine, and some strawberries and cream. Then some more nuts and finally – and I cannot believe I did this……………I am not and never have been a chocolate type of person, and there has been a box of expensive Belgian chocolates which a guest brought as a gift, sitting in my cupboard for 2 YEARS, and I have never even been vaguely tempted. They are now out of date but, you guessed it, last night I broke them open and scoffed half a dozen!!😆😝😢

Did I enjoy them…………NO!!! Did I enjoy any of the over-indulgences? NO!! Why did I do it? Absolutely no idea but I didn’t have the courage to get on the scales this morning😭

I think in the entire 6 months I have been following this WOE, this was my first full on, mindless blow-out – paid for it though as I was up most of the night, with a churning, bloated tum. I will be having an 800 (at most) day today by way of atonement.😇

It really is helpful to have this forum to stay accountable to – I feel as if I’ve been to confession 😜

PS The remains of the out of date box of chocolates went in the bin this morning, which is where I should have consigned them long ago!!

Hi everyone,
I haven’t at all got back on track yet with walking and water drinking due to a)working away and b)a shoulder injury but despite having a difficult few days with that and an x-ray at the hospital today I was thrilled to weigh in at 9st 10 1/2 lbs this morning! That’s a rather marvellous loss when I haven’t been calorie counting at all but it’s perhaps a bit of a blip and I’m quite possibly dehydrated. I shan’t expect to lose any more next week but would be delighted to stay the same 🙂

Krysia, I declined statins when they were recommended a year or so and see no reason to change my mind. From my research, higher cholesterol on its own with no other risk factors is less to be feared than statins are. Though I am still keen to reduce it if I can with diet.

Keep your chin up Ann, you’ve done so well. Just a blip, it’s nothing in the scheme of things.

I’ve just found this!

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

Yes, it is!!!!

Hello fellow challenger’s – I am back after our fabulous month in the US visiting our son and delightful grandchildren.
I am pleased to have gained ‘only’ 5 lbs – last year I gained nearly a stone! I tried to eat BSD food when possible, skipped breakfast when I could, and ate lots of lovely fish. I confess to having three days when I was tempted by the carb monster and ate all the wrong things but managed to get back on track the next day. Alcohol was consumed every night, and yes I did enjoy sitting on the front porch with a large glass of red.
Yesterday I climbed back on the wagon and it has been surprisingly easy to get back into the routine of this WOL though the lack of alcohol may prove more difficult!
Keeping on keeping on one day at a time.
It’s good to be back amongst you lovely peeps.
X B

Have managed to hold my food to 673 cal/52 carbs today. Will endeavor not to add to my carbs for the rest of the evening. I’m not patting myself on the back after 2 days because that’s often when I self-sabotage, usually to a fairly gross degree. What I will say is that I’ve maybe taken a couple of steps away from the wall and would hope to see around it soon, instead of just barging into it.

And it seems that the wall both Verano and I have admitted hitting recently has replicas popping up all over the place. Lovely friends, I’m certain it’s far less damaging to us to work our way around the wall rather than hitting it head on again and again. (Which has been my pattern 😕)Perhaps some lateral thinking required.

So, after 2 days under 800cals, according to my stated plan for this challenge, I now have 5 days between 800-1000cals. .

Pod, yes it is! !

Ha ha, LippyLipid, yes, always the lightest clothes, no jewellery😀

Good luck with the shoulder, MaisieMouse, hope is not serious. Have been there. …

Theodora, urk, but it’s done and is not going to happen on a regular basis is it?
You felt too awful physically and emotionally for that, but it’s instructive for all of us, I think, that just when we believe we have it sorted, up pops that damned overeating demon (sitting on top of a pop-up wall? ) just waiting to lure us into a crash. You’re too clever Theodora, and enjoying your new feelings too much to let your guard down too often. 🙅

Into the week everyone. Those walls aren’t going to hold us up xx 💜💜💜

Thanks Marsie – let’s hope you’re right. The stupid thing was that there was no earthly reason for it – I’d had a lovely day and a lovely meal and I ended up eating things that I would NEVER have eaten before BSD. Chocolate????!!!!🤔

In fact my lovely young granddaughter always gives up chocolate for Lent, and every year she asks me what I’m going to give up. I’ve always replied “Chocolate, just like you” But she is growing up now and isn’t quite so gullible, bless her, and this year when we had the Lent conversation, it continued like this……..

Granddaughter…….”But you NEVER eat chocolate!! It’s supposed to be something meaningful, which you’ll really miss!”
Me……….”Like what?”
Granddaughter…………”Errrr, wine?”

Needless to say, I duly accepted that I’d been rumbled so gave up the wine, which probably helped my BSD journey immensely. But I’ve been happily imbibing again since I was released from Lent on Easter Sunday 😜

Hello Busybee, welcome back. So glad you enjoyed your stay with your beautiful family. Well done you with the difference between last year and this
Year ☺

I’ve had another little win with 63.1kg weigh-in this morning. That is 1.4kg less after 2 disciplined days. I know that weight loss can be capricious even when you think you are doing everything right, but by golly, I’ll take this reading! As with yesterday, I’m in no way thinking that I have the carb demon kicked but feel that I’m maybe about to go around the end of the wall so that its at my back. Then I keep working so as not to turn around and run into it again.

Just setting up a visual scene for myself ……. Brick wall across my path; evil carb demon sitting on top beckoning to me😈; me stepping back then sideways until I can see clearly that the path continues on the other side of the wall……. hmm, yes, but always was a drama queen 🎭👸!!!

Have fun everyone, one day at a time xx

Thank you Marsie. There seems to be a lot going on here with many struggling with the carb demon. I love your analogy of peeping around the brick wall and am trying to get an image in my head of what my demon looks like.
I am pleased that the weight gain must have been mainly fluid as this morning the scales show the five pounds have gone so now I need to lose the three I gained before I went away and then head off down the slippery slope towards the next half stone.
Keeping the faith O.D.A.T.
X B

Confession time – have to do it – apologies in advance

Self sabotage in full flow yesterday. Had no less than 6 bars of chocolate (Snickers and Bounty) a packet of crisps, a 200g bag of Revels, a 200g bag of salted peanuts, a tube of Softmints and a packet of American Hard Gums (which I don’t particularly like). This is what bingeing looks like. It felt like utter crap and I’ve not eaten anything since (not that I would need to for about a fortnight now!) I got the shakes, felt bloated, nauseous – none of which is particularly surprising.

I’ve tried to evaluate why this happened. Bad day at work – check, not had the result on the scales that I wanted – check, ovulating – check, just being bloody minded about always having to eat the right thing – check check check!

Challenge is the right word for sure.

Today is a brand new day – no mistakes so far – trying to keep busy at work but has to share

Have a good day everyone

TC x

Oh, topcac, I do feel for you. I so hate that feeling of once started unable to stop. Good that you shared here, no better place. And it does sound as though stresses have been piling up on you so here’s hoping you can resolve that (perhaps utilising Mindfulness strategies?)
Virtual hugs coming your way. 🙅🙅🙅 xx Marilyn

Topic, I too know what a real binge is like and sometimes I seem to “test” myself and just keep on eating! The after mouth is awful both physically and mentally and the guilt makes me feel like a failure. Fortunately it is getting less often and usually I can get back on track the next day as opposed to days and days of overeating.
Keep on keeping on!
X B

Thanks guys – I’ve not eaten since 5 yesterday afternoon and I know that that is good for my body. Mentally I feel like I’m punishing myself by withdrawing food so I do have some lunch with me and will eat after around 20 hours fasting.

I do seem to be able to ‘reset’ much quicker than I used to but these binges seem to happen every fortnight or so which isn’t helping. Need to get to the bottom of why and mindfulness is definitely the key I think. I have an app. 10 minutes every day – do you think I can find 10 minutes??

Note to self – work harder at finding 10 minutes every morning!!

Mariet did you say you are planning to increase coconut oil to reduce your cholesterol? Wouldn’t the saturated fat have the opposite effect? I know coconut products have been the big “superfood” for a while but recent studies seem to dispute this. I’d stick to olive oil.

Topcac that sounds like an unpleasant episode. I hope you’re fully recovered now. I haven’t yet worked out how to not binge on junk. I’ll let you know when I devise the magic formula for perfect eating compliance. And you can buy it from me like millions of others – I’ll make a fortune! Nah, I promise all BSD members get the formula for free.

It sounds like you have hit a really rough patch, but please stop beating yourself up Topcac, it’s counter productive and if you push the fasting too hard, there could be a danger of a backlash and things might spiral again. Allow yourself a normal BSD day and then try to stick to that through the rest of the week. Forgive yourself for being human, put the binge behind you and just try to get back on track again.

Lots of positive thoughts coming your way …

I’m late to the party again this week, but not much to report anyway. I’m exactly the same weight as I was a week ago. That’s not to say the scales haven’t moved – on the weekend I was almost 3kg heavier! I have no idea how it is possible to gain and lose 3kg in a week, but there you go! It was my daughters birthday and we had a lunch out, where I had a few slices of vegetarian pizza, then a family roast lunch the next day with a few glasses of wine. I had one small potato and a mini Yorkshire pudding, some turkey, roast beetroot, roast cauliflower and a sliver of pavlova for dessert. Admittedly I did have another day or 2 where I didn’t keep my eye on the ball – not binge eating as such but eating more than I should.
I’ve been really busy both at work and at home and haven’t had time to do my usual BSD cooking and planning which hasn’t helped.
Anyway lesson learnt and hopefully I can get back on track this week.
Theodora – my first thought was that you are human! You’ve done so well so please don’t feel guilty about your one slip up 🙂
Topcac – hope you have a better week too this week.
It seems there are a few of us who haven’t had a good week – and it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s winter or summer, north or south hemisphere, we all struggle from time to time.

Topcac, I am sorry you are feeling low, but I agree with SunnyB, please don’t punish yourself. Punishment and guilt are not part of this WOE – every day is a fresh start if you need one. I had a full on binge on Monday evening for absolutely no reason at all that I could discern, then felt bloated and nauseous and was up most of the night. Next morning I got up, confessed on here and moved on. I did have a very light eating day yesterday, (549 cals) not as punishment but because I felt so dreadful (physically) after the binge. Feeling fine now and today is a bright fresh day (though actually still very wet here!! Floods just down the road yesterday, and we had terrific thunderstorms and giant hailstones but luckily we are on high ground! Sorry, completely off-topic)

We all have your back, Topcac, and now you’ve confessed so just relax and move on. Hugs coming your way if you need them. x

Oh, and thanks SueBlue – yes we are all human and all slip up sometimes.

I did find the courage to weigh myself this morning and my maintenance wriggle room has been reduced to just 2lbs (down from 5lbs) so my binge did cause some damage. We are hosting a BBQ this evening (despite the horrendous weather😒) with food and wine aplently so I cannot imagine that the scales will be any kinder to me in the morning 🤔

Theodora, remember that the carbs hang on to water, so those 3lb are probably mainly water retention. I was off piste twice last week and the 3lb I gained, was disposed of in a few days by upping fluid intake to ensure the water retention shifted and extending my overnight fasts. So don’t panic about the apparent reduction in your wriggle room – good margin by the way, hope I can get there in the next couple of months – it’s probable most of that gained 3lb is water.

Feeling the love guys – thank you

I got a headache after about 21 hours of fasting so I had some lunch, mexi platter with a few jalapenos flung in. It’s so lovely, as is all the BSD food. Really I have no idea why I’d want to eat crap! I also had two squares of 85% chocolate that lives in my drawer at work for emergencies. 🙂

Tonight is Moroccan meatballs with cauliflower rice and then I should be very much on track. Ready for a weekend at my parents – oh Lord – another challenge coming up. I think it’s the summer – it’s temptation after temptation. Seriously I have not a single weekend free until the middle of September. It’s a lovely problem but boy does it test one’s resolve lol.

However, I have been wearing a pair of shorts this week that I bought 10 years ago. They still had the tags on. I have never been able to wear them as I have always been too big in the summer. Not so this year. Wearing them with pride. Clinging to the non scale victories for grim death!

When I read your post, Topcac, it made me smile because all the things you ate- I LOVE and It seemed to me to be the best blow out ever! Sometimes the guilt we feel afterwards is so much worse than the blow out itself. You’ve got it all out of your system now and hopefully will be ready to draw a line under the episode and move swiftly on. A lot of us have had a bad week this week so let’s hope that the coming week is better for us all. Keep going everyone.

I had a delicious lunch today – 4 little gem lettuce leaves with hummus and roasted peppers and pine nuts from the book- so delicious and felt like I was eating a little sandwich. Yesterday I had two boiled eggs and that was so boring! I am going to look for some new food ideas because I realise now that I am getting really bored with the same old ideas. Keep going everyone!

ClarinetCathy, you mentioned being bored with your food … you might find this thread interesting “7 Days to Renew your Enthusiam for BSD 11th July 2017”. Started by Verano, brilliantly as usual, for just this reason.

Good deal with the shorts topcac😊

Theodora, please! A little more confidence in yourself is warranted with what you have already achieved. Your BBQ so you have your choice of food and wine from which you may, and can, choose judiciously. This is where I’m missing Maharani kitten, I think she would have read you the riot act 😼

Wish you’d get to work on that formula, Natalie. Thanks in advance😀

SueBlue, you’re so right, we do all struggle at times and it is so very good to see that we’re all hanging in instead of doing what we would have done previously …i.e go off course and stay off! Just give up. Now, we acknowledge what happened and get back in gear. This forum, and all you wonderful posters, have done that for me, a typical yoyo dieter for a very long time. Absolutely grateful.

‘night all xx

Sunny B – wow your comment about carbs hanging on to water was spot on for me! Weighed myself this morning and I’d lost another 900g – this was after gaining almost 3kg over the past week and then losing it again.
As soon as I had a couple of days back on the BSD properly and cutting down on the carbs my weight has started dropping again.
So lesson learnt there – not to panic after a weight gain but just to keep going and trust that this WOE does work 🙂

Humph – not back on track at all!!!! Another crappy day but on the plus side, nowhere near as crappy as Tuesday. But STILL!!!

Roll on another new day tomorrow and pray that I can just stick to chilli when I get home tonight!

I know it’s up to me what I put in my mouth – I’m not blaming anyone else – it’s all down to me – no excuses!

Sorry to hear things are still a struggle, topcac. I find when I stray, it usually takes me a few days to get properly back on track. Just do your best not to eat non-BSD stuff and try to stick to the principles as best you can. Hopefully you will manage to reset soon and be able to get back to the programme properly. My advice is to try not to stress about it, as that may well set you off on completely the wrong track again. Be kind to yourself and try to eat mindfully. We’re all rooting for you!

Hmmmm – so much for my wriggle room 🤔 Scales showed another 2lbs increase this morning, so bang on target weight with all wriggle room gone and a weekend full of socialising to come!! ☹ And that is despite having walked over 40 miles in the last 4 days! But thank you SunnyB and Marsie for your encouraging words anyway – and where on earth is MK when you need her, eh Marsie?

Today I have eaten nothing but 125g fage yoghurt with 50g blueberries, drunk copious amounts of water (and black coffee) and plan a simple omelette and salad for supper (total for the day 571cals, 19g carbs), and will hope that the scales are a little kinder tomorrow. I will totally ignore the left over panna cottas and spiced pears poached in red wine that are lurking temptingly in my fridge from last evening’s BBQ – and I won’t even mention the home made ice cream in the freezer.😒 Struggling to believe I can put on 5lbs in just 3 days!! Particularly when the middle day I only ate a bit over 500 cals with only 18g carbs!! Maintenance isn’t quite as straightforward as it at first appeared!🤔

I hope everyone else is doing better than me 😝

Hey Theodora – like you, I’m not convinced that you can have gained a full 5lb in ‘real’ weight in that time frame and I’m sure there must be an element of water retention going on. Given all that walking and the figures you are posting, I’m sure you will soon be seeing the scales fall again.

Well done on resisting the tempting stuff in the fridge, don’t give in! Keep to BSD stuff and keep drinking the water and I’m sure you will see a positive result soon.

Having not been in true maintenance at any point yet, I have no idea how tough it is, but I’m pretty certain it’s not plain sailing and you have been doing pretty well, so don’t be disheartened – you are still not over target weight, so don’t fret too much.

Thanks for the pep talk, SunnyB.

O/h had both – one of the left over panna cottas and one of the poached pears, with lashings of cream too – after his supper. But there are still a few left, so still having to resist the temptation – I love panna cottas! Have high hopes that he will raid the fridge after I have gone to bed (he usually does) and snaffle the remaining ones so that they don’t tempt me tomorrow.

I can have another low cal/ low carb day tomorrow before the full on socialising of the weekend (guests staying) so hopefully will see a drop by Saturday morning. Thanks again – off to have another pint of water😜

Ohhh, panna cotta, yes, well, Theodora, we do put temptation into our own path, don’t we? I make a beautiful pcotta myself, only ever when guests are expected, and I now include a smaller cup for me so half the damage but not the feeling of being deprived. Yes, I know, but it’s MY logic…..?☺

Hang in there, topcac, hang in.

In fact, the same to us all. Let’s hang in there 💜

Thanks Marsie and Sunny. I was right – o/h raided fridge and all panna cottas now gone 😊 Just the pears and cream to resist now😜

You were right too – after one day low cal/carb and oodles of water, scales show I have 2lbs of wriggle room restored. Will have another low day today then will hopefully be back on track to face the weekend with a houseful of guests. 😊

Thanks for your support guys. X

Yes, hang in there Topcac x

Thanks for the support guys – sorry to be harping on about it so much!! Still today is another day – no mistakes yet. But here’s just a taste of what I’m dealing with

Phone rings:
Topcac: Hello
Jacky (work colleague at other end of the office): I know you have brought your own food but Paula and I are ordering Chinese for lunch. Do you want some?
Topcac: No..but that sounds amazing
Jacky: Are you sure?????
Topcac: Yes, I’m fine, thank you (slams phone down at least three times to make sure it’s definitely cut off)

Honestly!!!

Haven’t weighed myself this morning (would usually do a mid week weigh in) but I just know that whatever the scales said I wouldn’t be happy (and if they hadn’t moved at all it would give me the excuse I need to continue eating rubbish) so I’m just going to hunker down for the weekend at my parents – fry up tomorrow morning and indian tomorrow night – I can (and will) choose wisely and within BSD principles (thanks for the advice Theodora)

Well done for all those hanging on to this for grim death. Thinking of you all

Really feel for you Topcac – it’s a bummer when friends /colleagues try to sabotage our efforts. For goodness sake, it’s difficult enough to keep going with encouragement and support, particularly when the scales aren’t being kind😢 But you are a strong woman and you CAN do this – despite the odd derailment, you are still here and trying, which is as much as can be expected of anyone. So keep going – I have every faith in you. Have a good weekend with your, hopefully supportive, parents – just stay off the refined carbs – so definitely no biryani 😜

Hi topcac, why not make your parents a lovely biryani from the BSD cookbook. At 390 cals with no bad carbs you will do fine, let your parents have a bit of rice if they want to.

Pleased to report today the scales tell me I have one extra pound of wriggle room to face the weekend’s probable excesses with. So 3lbs in all. Not as much as I’d have liked – would have preferred to have my whole 5lbs to play with but will happily settle for the 3 (don’t have much choice really)

Our 5 very hungry, boozy (and slim😛) house guests are due to arrive any minute – they always arrive with baked goodies (Jen is a professional artisan baker) and a case of wine so the weekend will be fraught with temptation 😈.

Have a good weekend everyone 😊

Aim to make judicious choices, Theodora, knowing this will leave you free to think of your guests and be a wonderful hostess. And, after all, I’m sure your friends wouldn’t want you to be unhappy on their account. Above all, relax and enjoy your friends’ company. You’ve worked very hard to get to where you are, and where you are is not in a cave living the life of a hermit. So, choices, with no regrets.

Speaking to myself as much as you Theodora, as I’ve had “party food” 2 nights in a row. No regrets. Low cal/carb day tomorrow.

Thanks for your usual excellent advice, Marsie. Enjoy your low cal/carb day tomorrow – personally, after a few days of planned over-indulgence – which I thoroughly enjoy – I always find it a relief to return to a more abstemious way of eating for a day or two. Now THAT is a real non-scale victory in my book!😃

As I just posted on another thread, our guests arrived, Jen armed with a hamper full of her homebaked pies, bread and cakes. I hadn’t seen her since last October and she had no idea I was following a low carb WOE. She was gobsmacked by my weight loss, and told me I look “totally fab” and has promised that she won’t take offence if I don’t touch any of her goodies. In fact as they are all sitting down to tea and cakes atm, I have snuck away to my study and come on here by way of distraction. They also brought an entire case of wine, and I shall certainly be sharing in that delight😜

I have had nothing at all today other than 125g fage yoghurt with 50g blueberries (149cals) and water and black coffee so, as we are going out to dinner this evening, I shall eat and drink whatever I like, whilst eschewing refined carbs, and hope for the best.

I do so agree, this WOE is not sustainable if we are not allowed to go out and enjoy ourselves – I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – life is for living. We only get one, so it’s important to enjoy it.😛

WooHoo, just back from a wonderful evening at our local yacht club and I think I am in love with the new chef. Not only were there lots of refined-carb-free options, he directed me toward some really tasty dishes. On his recommendation, I started with smoked sturgeon with salad to start ( a totally delicious revelation to me) followed by his own recipe for Imam Biyaldi, which was sooo delicious and I raved about it so much that he ended up writing out his recipe for me (albeit for about 20 portions!!) – I LOVE this man.😋 So , whilst I have no idea about calories, at least there were no refined carbs. Downside was that I consumed an entire bottle of wine, but I have only myself to blame for that!!!

Heyho, tomorrow is another day, so hope you can all manage a good one. x

Theadora – your friend Jen is a true friend. How lovely that she said she wouldn’t take offense if you didn’t eat the home baked goodies she bought and that she was genuinely pleased with your weight loss.

Your meal at the yacht club sounds really delicious. It is great that there seems to be more low carb stuff out there now.

Thanks Krysia. Jen is, indeed, a true friend and has been for over 45 years.

And now I have a new “bestie” – young Alex the Chef.😜 We have some vegan friends coming to stay in a few weeks and I cannot wait to try out Alex’s Imam Biyaldi recipe on them 😀 Albeit in a slightly reduced quantity 😜

How’s everyone else doing? And how’s your weekend going Topcac?

Bummer – just confidently got on the scales to find I have put on 2.4lbs since yesterday 😱 How can that be when I resisted all those baked goodies and chose so judiciously at our meal out? 😲 Alright, I know I had a bottle of wine, but even including that I have entered everything on fatsecret and my daily intake amounted to 1859 cals / 57g carbs. It is registering my TDEE as over 2000. Feeling fed up now – I KNOW it can’t be fat, but it’s pretty depressing because that’s almost all my wriggle room gone with another 2 days of entertaining our friends still to come 😣

You know the drill, just keep drinking the water like it’s your job! The weight will go again soon.

Haha – thanks Mm. After the shock, my instinctive reaction was to immediately go to the kitchen and drink a pint of water😜 So yes, it appears I do know the drill. 😊 Still pretty depressing though😧

Water and other stuff hanging around after meal isn’t unusual, I’ve found. Try to stop looking at it as gaining weight, even if you have to step back from weighing for a while, or only look at a full week trend, I find that very useful as it smoothes out all of the fluctuations and I rarely have a trend weight movement of more than a pound and a half from week to week (cough, birthday! 😀). You won’t be able to carry on at this intense pitch very easily with feelings of disappointment at a quite normal daily fluctuation spoiling your enjoyment of life. Also going back over your target isn’t a problem, now you are maintaining, you just focus back on it for a week or so and get back under. Enjoy your upcoming social life, and if you need to afterwards then address any real gain, but if you aren’t poking the carb monster then it almost certainly won’t be fat.

Thoedora I think we place far too much emphasis on the ‘number’ on the scales. I think given that you are now in maintenance, you should just take as a guide to how hydrated you are. Mnm is right we just have to make it our job to keep drinking that water. I know that if I get lazy about water when I start drinking it again I am in the bathroom every five minutes and then the ‘number’ goes down.

Interstingly I have been away for a few days but had the opposite problem with carbs. All the meals were heavy on the carbs so I asked for just a fillet steak, a green pepper sauce and vegetables. It came, as I’d asked for, and was really delicious. Maybe we should ‘ask’ more often when faced the wrong choices rather try and ‘make do’. Anyway, enjoy having your friends stay and don’t stress too much about one number on the scales.

Hi Mnm I think it’s a case of ‘great minds think alike’! Our posts crossed in the ‘ether’!