Hi everyone
Hope everyone is feeling good and doing well!
I often browse on the forums for support but wanted to make a post of my own today. I had got to my goal weight after eight weeks of bsd and have found it such a pleasure to do as I love many of the foods you can have.

Since Xmas I have been maintaining by doing bsd in the week and relaxing on a weekend. This has really worked well for me as I have two children, busy job so I’m very occupied in the week. Although… This week I have had my first major wobble and it’s really panicked me..

Last Friday /Saturday I had my usual relaxed days and Sunday is the day I just tend to do the 800 again for the week. Sunday, for some unknown reason I just couldn’t get back on the horse.. This then went into Monday, tue, and Wednesday. In 6 days I have gained 11lbs and to say I am upset and mortified is an understatement…

I totally know it my fault, I’ve been in self Destruct mode and have weighed myself daily to punish myself. I’ve ended up taking the day off work today to have a serious word with myself about what I have been playing at this week.

Has anyone else experienced this? I am just so shocked how much weight I have put back on. I’ve been in tears all day. Any advice appreciated. Xx xx

Hello Angelsand…. I’m sure you aren’t the only one. And don’t punish yourself! Its a vicious cycle.
Maybe a lot of the weight gain is water or monthly reasons?
Also I understand you have eaten “over calories” but how much would have been carbs and sugar?

I can be very honest and say it was all carbs and sugar. Total overindulgence. I had an important scan last Friday and part of it was celebrating my clear results so I think this also got carried away. Feel so angry with myself. Has anyone else had such a crazy weight gain or am I in a league of my own…? Xxx thank you for reading.

Firstly Angelsand, you are not alone and there is nothing to be gained by beating yourself up. It’s understandable you are angry with yourself, but it’s a waste of energy and counterproductive to spend time punishing yourself. Secondly, it is very unlikely that the whole 11lb was gained in fat, so get back on track immediately with all the BSD principles and I am sure you will see a huge improvement very quickly.

The good thing that has come from this event, is that you now know your weak spot and potential pitfalls, so in future you will be more aware of these and so will be better equipped to avoid a similar incident.

Hopefully you will let us know how you progress and I am confident you will be posting positive results in just a few days. Chin up and fight on!

Angelsand, I feel convinced it will be weight easily re-lost once back on track. Plus, that carb monster in me isn’t dead. I’m sure our bodies remember the old carb cravings and constantly try thrusting them at us!
Keep going….

I gained 4 pounds from a bag of popcorn the first week in January. It came off quickly and by the end of the month I’d lost 14 pounds plus the 4 I had to relose.

Try as much as possible to shut down the recriminations and self-loathing cycle. If you feel your mind going there, distract it with something shiny and actively work on thinking about or doing something else. You know what you have to do. Get back on the BSD. Go full Michael Corleone on yourself: it’s business, not personal.

Angelsand I think you should just quit, right now QUIT beating yourself up, QUIT blaming yourself and QUIT thinking you cant do this. Now you can start again with new knowledge, everything is a learning curve even making mistakes. I have just had a few days off and gained a few pounds but that wont stop me from picking myself up and getting back on the plan. Start planning your meals, especially for the weekend, which is also my worst time as my hubby likes a whiskey and a few glasses or red and that makes me feel like it is so unfair. I know if I have one I will end up having loads so I am just going to say no for now, not forever but prove I can do this. I am certain that if I get through this weekend on track fully on plan I will lose the weight I have gained and will be ready to do better.

Good luck.

Hi Angelsand! Ok, so “overly exuberant eating” happens — I doubt very seriously (in fact I would take a big wager on it and travel for a year on my winnings) that you are alone in this (well, actually, I have insider information ha ha 😜). I know very well and completely relate to the psychological panic that sets in when we feel we are losing control. I mean, how could we NOT feel panic? We’ve been here before and we know where it takes us.
So? Deep breath and long exhale. Start with the fact that it is not black and white — you haven’t destroyed anything. Eleven pounds is probably half water-weight so we’re down to about 5. Not too bad for a slip up — will be gone in no time.
Throw everything non-BSD friendly out of your kitchen, purse, workspace. Go buy some really expensive amazing herbal tea and make a big pot. Sit down and enjoy it.
And just start again quietly and calmly. Don’t weigh yourself for a week (that can feel like punishment and you are not “atoning” for this — you’re just starting again).
And think about what triggered this and write down on a piece of paper two coping strategies you will do next time if you are in the same place.
Then write down one good thing that happened today no matter how trivial.
If you start to panic, replace the panic with your good thought.

It is far from as bad as you are thinking. I had much the same effect from a week of ‘anything I fancy’ over Christmas and New Year, and put 10 pounds on my pre-Christmas weight, but quickly worked out that it couldn’t all be fat, as it takes 3,500 calories over and above your TDEE to put on a pound of fat. For you, that would mean that for all of those six days you would have had to eat more than 8,000 calories a day, and that isn’t easy, even eating carbs and sugar. I took two weeks of relatively relaxed 5:2 to get back down to where I was, which also suggests that a lot of it was water since the same equation holds true for burning fat, my intake wasn’t that low compared to my TDEE, and I certainly wasn’t burning it that fast. What I think happens is that on the low carb med style, your glycogen stores remain relatively depleted, and when copious carbs come along the body grabs them and stores them. This is heavy because it stores water as well. When you drop back to lower carb this will be used up in exercise so you will see quick weight loss again. My advice to you would be to try to track what exactly you ate over those days, add up the calories and actually work out how much if any of the added weight could be fat. If you can’t remember though, don’t worry. Just get back on the maintenance wagon, and include an extra fast day until your body resets.

Thank you so so much for your replies. I’m feeling a lot calmer after one day of having good food on BSD and lots of water. Hoping I will wake up feeling 100 percent better than I did this morning, and am repeating all of the good advice to myself that you have all written. I will keep you all posted as to the weight over the next week or so as this could help someone else who may panic like I have…

Thank you again xx xx

Just a quick update. Feeling much clearer this mor nine and did hop on the scales.. 10st 8 3/4 after one day. So just keeping on the right tracks ad enjoying my breakfast. Will see what I am on Sunday.

Enjoy your day everyone xx

Checked back, but couldn’t see where you mentioned what your weight was with the gain, so can’t judge how much progress you have made. I’m trusting that 10st 8 3/4lb is an improvement though, as you are sounding much more positive and seem well focused again. Good luck for making excellent progress to the weekly weigh-in point and looking forward to reading your results.

Sorry! You are right,
Friday 3rd Feb – I was 9st 12 1/2
Thursday 9th feb- 10st 11!!!
Friday 10th Feb – 10st 8 3/4

Still can’t believe the damage in six days but only I am accountable for that xx xx

Okay, well that is progress in the right direction, Angelsand. No more dwelling on the wobble, like I said, chalk it up to experience, learn from it and move on. Don’t panic about the w/e, you are already back in control, so you just need to stick with it. I’m sure you will see more positive results soon and it won’t be long before you at back at 9st 12.5 and wondering what the fuss was about.

Quick update, am 10st 4 3/4 today so am a lot calmer. To say i was 10st 11 1/2 on Thursday that’s really crazy. Xx

We told you it wasn’t fat 😀 Honestly, it probably won’t be the last time it happens, life sometimes overcomes our best intentions, and you’ll occasionally want to have something special, but I find ‘planning’ a break like I did over Christmas and intend to over my forthcoming holiday means you are less likely to go completely off the deep end and dive into bad simple carbs. In future just say to yourself, I’m going out for a lovely meal and some wine to celebrate and that will be enough. You probably found you didn’t even enjoy the bad stuff while you were eating it anyway.

You are right! It was mindless eating out of upset in the end.

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about a strategy for the future and I think I need to start relaxing my week a bit and not having just the 800. I’ve seen a book written by jessica sepel about healthy lifestyles. Has anyone else seen this? I am such an emotional eater and need to calm down lol xx xx

I haven’t seen that book, but bought one yesterday called the Headspace Diet, by Andy Puddicombe, it isn’t actually a diet book at all, but encourages you to explore what type of eater you are, and apply mindfulness to getting a healthier relationship with your food. My advice would be to switch to 5:2 for a while, five relaxed but healthier days plus two at 800. If you feel like it then move to 4:3 or even back to 2:5 which is where you started with the relaxed weekends, but keep planning, and keep the rubbish carbs to an absolute minimum, they are insidious at giving you cravings for more once you start on them.

Thank u. X yes I’m trying to look at a really long term life plan as I don’t want to be up and down so dramatically (calories and emotionally! )

I do love the med style way of life and enjoy all the foods but feel I can’t abandon carbs or treats realistically forever. Planned treats as you say have definitely worked for me but then I panic afterwards and then don’t eat enough to punish myself. I trest my poor body terribly at times. At 4 months away from my 40th birthday I need to learn to be kinder to myself.. x