Gattina, glad to hear that the cream cheese pancakes are amazing, I really must try them 🙂

Shanshu, your have had such a tough patch for a while now. So sorry to hear another stresser added to your list. You have lots of caring support here. Sending best wishes along with the long list of others who care about you.

Glad to hear someone has tried the pancakes – I was planning to give them a go tomorrow, as I got out of Shrove Tuesday by having to drive home in the evening for 4 hours.

Just wanted to check if it is normal for your taste buds to change so quickly – 2 weeks in and my liking for sweet things seems to have vanished – or maybe its just early days and my willpower is strong. Thursday was our monthly coffee morning in the village, and all the retired ladies try to outdo each other with wonderful cakes – but I was able to sit there with my cup of tea and not be tempted at all (not so long ago I would have had two of every type just to try them all).

Also looking forward to March’s challenge from next Tues – still mulling over what challenges to set myself.
Have a good weekend all,

Haha, treelady! Isn’t it marvelous to see tastes changing?? The miracle in this WOE eating is
that the longer you refrain from bad carbs/sugar, the greater your aversion to them will be,
until the inevitable day comes when they represent no challenge to you at all, and you will
wonder how you could have ever wanted to put such “poisons” into your body 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wishing you continued success!

Allie

Just wanted to congratulate treelady on the reformed taste buds. It is really liberating to sit by a plate of cakes or biscuits and not feel tempted. And to send very best wishes to Shanshu.

Thank you for all the kind words. I slept for 2 hours and went back to the hospital. He was discharged just before midday.

I haven’t been back to bed yet – we had friends visiting in the afternoon so had to fake a smile all afternoon and am now trying to sort out the chores that won’t wait until tomorrow.

I just want to sleep but that’s a few wash cycles away yet 🙁

I’ve gone back to ignoring calorie counts and just keeping to BSD food. On the plus side I’m too exhausted and stressed to eat so I’m probably less than 800 cals today.

Good luck for the last few days and I’ll see you on Tues for the final weigh-in/start of the new thread. I actually feel like I need this forum in my life right now – it’s the only thing I seem to have control over.

Hi Shanshu,
I hope that you and your OH, are rested by the time you read this and both on the mend. I came on here to have a moan but I feel that I have nothing to complain about in view of what you have been through, and I will be thinking of you till you are back on track and more settled again.
Kind regards, Jim.

Shanshu I’m so sorry you and your OH are having such a rough time. I hope you can catch up on sleep and gather some strength to help you get through it. Thinking of you.

Hi Shanshu, hope you got some sleep, take care x

So, I am currently 36hrs into a fast! Yikes! Yesterday I literally sat in a car from 8am – 12.30am so thought it would be a good day to give it a try. Sat with everyone else’s snacks in my bag and felt fine. Was hungry towards end of that period but able to not eat as it was late and I don’t like to eat at night. Woke up this morning not hungry, so have not yet broken fast. Tummy a bit rumbly but otherwise feel normal.

Can report a completely zero weight loss over week so far. Seems my body really likes 58.8kg! Am OK with this, though my dream is to be 57kg (55 maybe on my wildest days) but it’s not something to beat myself up over. My real ambition is to be super healthy and not have blood sugar issues or a stroke, so I feel like I’m doing all the right things in that regard.

Meanwhile I’m just going to write it again – 36hrs! I really didn’t think I would ever get over 15 before. Hopefully my liver is feeling very rested now!

A big hug from me in currently grey Cornwall too, Shanshu, I hope you managed to get some sleep, and try to give yourself some ‘me’ time if you can over the next couple of days to reduce the stress.

JackieM, well done on the 36 hours, it is a very liberating feeling isn’t it? I only do a full fast about once a month now, but still do intermittent fasting many days.

Shanshu – Hope you and your OH have a better few days. Will see you on Tuesday. x

Jackie – What great going with the 36 hour fast – and particularly when you’re in a car with everyone else having snacks.
treelady – whether it’s your tastebuds or your willpower – you’re doing really well. Great going at 2 weeks in.
Gattina – thanks for the feedback on the cream cheese pancakes (and you for the recipe, SueBlue). I realised this morning I’ve got most of the ingredients (no vanilla extract) to make them. They’re nicely low carb so will be making them this week – treelady hope you enjoy them today.
Jim47 – hope you’re doing well (wonder what the moan was ?) – and in case you didn’t read my belated post on the Starting Jan 22 post – loved Free’s Alright Now – and yes I played it as loud as I could – and sang along, too!
Mixnmatch – hope you’re enjoying your Cornish break. It’s grey and overcast here, too, (rain forecast, I think) but I’m off for a long walk as part of my big pushback against last week’s weight gain.
Marsie – wondering how you got on with the Chinese buffet. Did you say you had another meal planned before Tuesday? Hope it goes well.

Shanshu, joining the others in sending hugs and feeling for you and your OH in your current problems. Please, continue to use this as a safe place to vent. You have our support if only virtual. As for BSD, it’s my personal experience that eating crappy food in times of stress just knots up the stomach even more and made me feel so much worse mentally and physically. Just try to have decent food without the strain of counting, recording etc. You can only do what you can do, Shanshu, one step at a time ❤

Jackie, how clever of you, making the most of this opportunity to fast. We’ll done you.

Marie, thanks for asking. Friday night became a family fish-and-chips-out-of-the-paper-wrapping night. Luckily OH needs gluten free so we had grilled fish instead of battered, and I had 6 of the smallest chips I could see, lol, and nobody noticed, or anyway commented. Doesn’t sound like much, didn’t feel like much, but was strangely satisfying. Last night’s Chinese banquet was overloaded with shellfish dishes which I can’t have, and almost devoid of GF food so OH and I ordered separately and I have to say they didn’t put too much effort into our choices so didn’t eat much. Scales approved this morning though, lol.

treelady, that was such a great image, you sitting surrounded by all those ladies scoffing cake and you unmoved by the spread. Good on you.👍
MFODAAT ❤

Jackie, it is rather amazing that when you are low carb adapted the ability to do a fast comes as such a surprise. I used to be someone that could barely make 2-3 hrs without a snack to “get me through”. Fasting seemed out of the question. And now here we both are cruising through with a few tummy rumbles. I did the same as you and sort of stumbled into my first fast realizing I wan’t that hungry and thought why not go a bit longer. And it became a bit longer. And longer. Ended up doing 2 full days plus overnight. Felt more empty than hungry.

And FYI, I find drinking very warm water makes my tummy happier if that might be of any help to you.

Onward and downward!

Luvtcook it’s a revelation! As an inveterate snacked I have been reading all you fasters posts, trying failing, trying, failing and now – breakthrough! At this rate I may still develop a taste for 100% chocolate! As MixnMatch says, liberating!

Have not been v hungry today, have eaten as much or slightly less than usual. Broke fast gently with peanut butter, lunch was yoghurt and seeds, chicken and greens for dinner, plus some coffee and cream and 90% chocolate.

So different from shorter fast earlier in the week, I ate like a beast after that. 36 the lucky number maybe? Am going to try again Tuesday night through to Thursday morning, I think, I don’t exercise on Wednesday and have some office based meetings too.

Saw you other post re. Jason Fung and his “allowing” cream with coffee as needed. I started out with water fasts but have found I am a much happier camper with cream in my coffee. Do two mugs a day (10 oz) with a whopping 2 Tbs cream in each or 100 calories x 2 for 200 cal a day and no carbs….and I am quite happy with that trade off. My empty feeling is quieted and I am good for the rest of the day. Sip some broth in the evening and that’s all she wrote. Works for me.

So exciting – chicken carcass in fridge as we speak. Wish I hadn’t given away slow cooker now, but will boil or chuck in oven to casserole instead.

What a funny thing to get excited about!

Hi Jackie – Thought I’d post on here rather than on the Break Free thread so I don’t knock that one off course.
Yes, I’m a Jason Fung fan, too. I’ve done a couple of longer fasts. I did one Monday/Tuesday this week to try to help me get back on track after my Sunday blowout. (The other one I did after Christmas/New Year). I really like the discipline of them. I did 28 hours but stopped then as my bgls were down at 4.2/4.3, which is were they normally are (they went up a bit after my blowout) so they were OK, but I didn’t want to go to sleep on no food for a second night.
For general info (i.e. for anyone interested in fasting), I was listening to one of Jason Fung’s podcasts last week and he was saying the type of longer fast you do (e.g. using bone broth etc or water only) depends on what benefits you’re looking for. If you’re doing it to lower insulin or for weight loss you can use bone broth, etc; if you’re interested in triggering autophagy (as I am) you’re probably better with a straight water fast. I don’t think his book is as clear on this.
Here’s the link http://obesitycodepodcast.com/category/podcasts/ It’s episode 12. I might post the link on the Take A Look Thread as there are a quite a few podcast episodes on there, and while I’ve been on his site before I’d never come across these.
Good luck with the bone broth Jackie. I’m glad I didn’t throw out my slow cooker – will definitely give it a go at some point!

Thankyou Marie, I will have a listen. I love that I’m learning so much at the mommy. Hadn’t picked up about the reasons for different fasts, so Thankyou!

Hey everyone – I just wanted to thank you for the many kind and supportiveness messages. I subscribe to this forum so have been picking them up as emails and it has really helped so thank you.

I’m hanging in there – both with life and BSD eating. Not necessarily healthily (there’s been a fair bit of salami and cheese) but certainly low carbs. I haven’t been counting calories – but I haven’t been excessively eating I don’t think.

It’s 6:30am and I’ve been lying awake since 4. Not going to get back to sleep now. 🙁 Too much on mind. Life primarily but also a scary/busy work week.

My OH is better. He was discharged on Saturday morning – rested a lot and made it to the bnb last night in time for the project he’s got kicking off which means he’ll be away during the week for the next couple of months. It’s horrible being apart – especially when he’s been ill/I’ve been so worried about him.

I’ll need to keep myself distracted otherwise I’ll just cry/freak out/wallow in self-pity and whilst it’s been shit recently, I do know it will get better. So tomorrow we’ll start the new challenge and I’ll throw myself into that. Hopefully when my OH gets back each weekend, he’ll see less of me… as it were.

Hi all – hope everyone is well.
It’s a grey Monday in London – but at least the weekend was nice and sunny.
Treelady – well done resisting all those cakes – good going! I was in a café yesterday afternoon with a friend and she clearly wanted to buy a scone but didn’t want to tempt me – it was very funny watching her keep going back to the cakes and trying to convince herself she didn’t want it. In the end I persuaded her to have what she wanted because it would not affect me – so she ate her scone and I admit I was a bit tempted but restrained myself. It is a nice feeling to just be able to say no.
Jackie – wow! 36hrs – that’s amazing. Your insides will be totally renewed 🙂
Shansu – it’s good to hear from you, I’m glad you’re still posting. Very few people go through life without any difficult times – they don’t last forever and it will make you stronger. Look after yourself – eat well and sleep as much as you can. Good luck with the new challenge – you’re doing brilliantly.

Today is my ‘official’ weigh-in day and I’ve lost another 3lbs this week – yay 🙂
I will weigh myself again tomorrow morning as it is the end of the challenge – and to give myself little extra boost I’m trying my first intermittent fast today. Basically I’m skipping lunch – I had breakfast at 7 this morning and plan to have dinner at 7 this evening giving myself two lots of 12-hr fasts. I’ll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Good luck with the end of challenge weigh-ins everyone.

Good mrrning everyone! Last day of this challenge and I’ll head over to the next one- has it started yet? I do find it helps me stay on the straight and narrow though with some deviations.

According to MFP I am down 800g this challenge but I think that was off a bounce up so I am reporting a 400g loss. I’m grimly happy with that, the trend is oh so slowly down and what more can I ask for really when I insist on these deviations.

Good luck to all the other challengers and Milalin and Shanshu, thinking of you both and hoping things take a turn for the better.

Hello sll, Jackie that is terrific going! I do think you build a fasting ability over time and that crazy hunger after the first fast doesn’t resurface in subsequent fasts. Well it didn’t for me.
Great results Gattina and warm hugs from me also Shanshu.

Well I’m now back frm a brilliant weekend in the high country. I find being out in the countryside, camping in the fresh air, sitting around a campfire laughing and talking, incredibly good my soul. One added bonus for this weekend was the weather. Beautiful warm mild days, big blue skies but best of all the evening, night and morning were positively frosty! Puffer jackets, woolie hats – it was fabulous.

I do have to report some woe deviations though. Two smsll and delicious glasses of red wine, some lovely homemade shortbread, a sausage (!) and a couple of handfuls of potato chips (crisps). The sad news is that my tastebuds do not appear to have changed yet – the shortbread in particular was an absolute delight! I also did not drink nearly enough water. I had such a great time though I’m not too worried – even though the upshot is I have gained 400g so am back up to 63.7.

Here is my final wrap up for the challenge –

Starting weight 65.8
Week 3 63.7
Week 4 63.7 No change but at least I am not left staring at the scales wondering why!
Total loss for the challenge 2.1 kg. Not my goal of 4kg but still a loss.

This completes Week 6 of Roynd 2 for me. I’ll head over to the new challenge for at least two weeks of focussed commitment to take me to the end of the Round and then assess next steps.

Mariet I reckon at this stage when there is only a small amount of weight to lose – any loss is good thing!

Good morning all, on our final weigh-in for this challenge. Appreciating all the informative and supportive conversations we’ve had here, looking forward to getting that on❤

I’m a happy reporter this morning: I had said that I wanted to get into the 59kgs and I have🎉 59.7kg today. Started the challenge at 61.9kg so 2.2kg less.
I’m happy as 1: I don’t typically lose weight quickly; 2: I’ve only been weighing/measuring/tracking my food a couple of days a week, if I have something different and/or to monitor my portion sizes and on the other days I try to eat as though I were w/m/tracking, if that makes sense; 3: I’ve had only one blow-out in the month (a new record for me?) and been able to negotiate some tricky social situations; 4: a new low which I don’t want to be my last new low😃

Will check back later to catch up with you all, wishing you all well, and to move to the new challenge. JackieM, in case you haven’t done it before, at the top and bottom of every page where the page numbers are, just hit “new topic” and you’re away (apologies if that’s redundant info x)

Marsie, Hats off to you.What a great result! Many thanks again for setting up and managing the last couple challenges.

Morning, I have set the March one up, see you there.

Reporting a whoosh a new personal low of 58.1kg. Yay!

Marsie – that’s great going with the weight loss and on meeting your Challenge goal. Hurray!! It’s also really great that you can do it while not always weighing/tracking etc. That’ll be so helpful in maintenance, won’t it. And brilliant managing your meals this last week and still reporting a loss. Definitely some pretty good NSVs.

Flick – great going, too. That’s a good loss and as you say – a loss is a loss. That weekend sounds just as fantastic now you’re back as it did when you were preparing for it. When you’ve had such a great time then you don’t mind a small gain so much, do you.

Gattina – will catch your ‘official’ weigh-in later but well done on the 3lb loss.

Well, my report-in isn’t great. After a 28 hour fast and quite a few days on 16:8 I’ve managed to lose 3 of the 4 lbs I put on last week which brings my weight back down to 9 stone 11lb again – exactly where I started the Challenge. Bloody hell. But all my own doing so I’m just going to draw a line and start again on the new Challenge.

My pleasure this week will be gained from reading about everyone else’s victories. Good luck guys.

Edited: Just seen your post, Jackie – brilliant news, too. Looks like your fast helped do the trick.

Some great weight losses reported well done all. Marie well done for not gaining over the challenge.
After my intermittent fast yesterday I’ve lost another half pound – bit disappointing really I was hoping for more. It does mean my total loss for the challenge has been 1 stone 3.5 lbs
An overall loss of 2 stones 3.5 lbs in 7 weeks. I’m very pleased with that and can really feel the difference not just because my clothes are loose but I have more energy.
This challenge has been really good fun – thanks Marsie for setting it up.
See you over in the next challenge 😀

Mariet – sorry, I missed you. What can I say. I think I feel a bit like you – grimly OK-ish – given I’ve just wandered off a bit this Challenge. See you over on the next challenge. It’s going to be a better one for both of us.

Gattina,
Wow, that is fantastic!!!! I don’t even know how to express how good that is. Somebody else will have to come along with lots of those emoji-type things. 1 stone 3.5 lbs is BRILLIANT.

Hi everyone and apologies I haven’t gotten back to so many of you that have sent me lovely msgs. Finally I was weighed today at dialysis and I weighed 89.6 kg! I didn’t believe it and asked the nurse to check it. Though I haven’t enjoyed these last weeks. Still v sick so another X-ray tomorrow. Hopefully some not so sinister answers. Meanwhile I am mostly sticking to the principles and working closely with the dieticians. Really it’s been the vomiting and nausea that have got the result!
Wonderful results for many , congratulations and for the rest hang in here. The group is great and no matter how fast or slow stick with it ❤️

Hello everyone! Firstly thank you for all the wonderful supportive messages over the last two weeks. I really feel like I’ve been up against it. However, whilst the drama is not over, I think there is more balance and so I’m going to work to be more engaged with this diet although it won’t have the focus that I’d like to give it.

Anyway… end of challenge

Challenge Starting weight = 222.4lb
Start of Week 2 = 217.4lb (-5.0lb)
Start of Week 3 = 216.2lb (-1.2lb)
Start of Week 4 = 213.4lb (-2.8lb)
End of challenge = 211.8lbs (-1.6lb)
Total to date = 10.6lbs
Challenge target = 12lbs

So… I didn’t meet my challenge but I did ok considering. I definitely can be stricter with it so know I can lose more but I’m happy with this progress I think. Still a long long way to go.

(I’m also a bit surprised that I didn’t lose more this week – I haven’t eaten a lot. But perhaps it was all so fatty that it was just too much for my body. It was mainly nuts and cheese and salami that I ate when I felt able to pick at stuff).

To everyone who has posted – there has been a lot of success (some in numbers, some in NSVs). Well done to everybody (and thank you again for all of the support).

Quick message for Milalin – I’m sorry you have still be suffering with sickness. I hope recovery speeds up for you x

Hi Everyone, Im finally back from my worry zone thanks everyone for your support.I did take on Marsie’s comments about oxygen but for me it was bread and lots of it.I have been reading everyones posts and its great to see some of us doing so well and sorry that some have not been in good health.
My house is very clean and tidy and our UK guests arrived yesterday. I picked up my brand new car on friday, so on a high today and decided to slowly get back on track. We celebrate chinese new year so I still have two weeks of dinners etc to survive . My weight was 82.9kg last week and I am determined not to get above 83kg so I started today to get back to the principles and start weighing and measure my food first week of march. see you all on the new forum.ODAAT

Hi everyone,

been absent as struggling with food choices.

start weight = 128.1lb
Week 1 = 127.8lb
Week 2 = 126.2lb
Week 3 = 124.8 lb
Today – 124.9

Total loss – 3.2lb

My lowest was 123.6 but immediately went to self sabotage. I am trying to look at the trajectory and see that it is downward so I am clearly not TOTALLY abandoning it but simply slowing the progress. 5.8lb to goal, don’t think I am going to get there in the next challenge but hopefully will make a decent dent in it.

some muppetry on my part but can’t find the next challenge????????

Success in March Without the Starch, mokovex 🙂

Milalin – It’s so good to hear from you. Thought you might post on report-in day. My goodness, I’ve just looked back at your challenge start weight and that’s a big loss – 13.5 kg (2 stone 1lb in old money). Not sure whether to cheer or cry! I’m so sorry to hear you’re still so unwell. Hope the x-ray will help them sort it out as quickly as possible. Hope to see you on the new challenge. Again, don’t worry about responding. xx
Btw, I hope you know that nausea and vomiting isn’t really allowed on the BSD plan!

Just lost a very long post!
I was doing so well and had lost a few pounds but yesterday I woke up hurting all over and barely able to move! I upped the anti- inflammatories and sat back to see what happened, hoping that it’s not the PMR again. The outcome was I started eating whatever I could get my hands and have done the same today!
I am determined that I won’t give up and when I get my mouth and head under control, I will get back on track.
Well done to those who achieved their goals and those who held it together and hugs to those who are struggling.
I will now move on and over to the new Challenge.
X B MOODAAT. ( I’m still trying Marsie)

Milalin – Just thought in case you didn’t catch it the title of the new challenge is in Alliecat’s post.
Shanshu – that’s a great loss – really well done for keeping going
Mokovex and Butterlover – catch up with you both on the new thread. Edited: you too, Busybee x

Like Marie, I’ve just spotted your update, Milalin. I’m so so sorry that the nausea and vomiting have
persisted for @ 4 wks. That is truly miserable, and I hope that the x-rays will define the problem so
that a remedy will be found. Please don’t worry about replying to individual posts..our hearts are
very much with you, and when you’re able, look for us on the new March thread, which is a
continuation of this one, and begins today. I’m sending you the largest hug that you can imagine..
Hope that you can feel it 🙂

Allie

Signing out of this challenge at 10st 3lbs, one pound loss in four weeks, impressive stuff. Was down to 9st 13lbs in Jan so bounced up and down again, pretty pathetic attempt this challenge, will do better in next.