So,
We have talked about how to take baby steps in exercise
Baby steps in reducing calories
Baby steps in reducing carbs.

I know it’s not easy. I don’t have anyone here, saying ” come on droopy drawers, let’s get your blubber into action!”
I wish I had.
But
Like all things , we use what we have at hand.
And I have you, my wonderful little bloggy diary.

I have had ups and downs.

In the mood and out of it again.

Questions like…. Does this dress make me look fat, when I know my fat makes me look fat.
There really is only one person who can help you.
And
That’s you.
But
You are not alone.
Just take the first baby step.

Reduce one meal.
Change one meal to non carbs.
Walk to the end of your path.
Blogg.

You will soon find a helping hand,
A kind word
A tip on how to make it easier to do,
A friend
Encouragement
Incentive
A reason.

So, want to join me?

You can’t do it?
Read my blog at the beginning where I walked between seats.
I walked up the stairs and sat on a chair at the top, then came back down to another chair.

Now read my recent blog, I went to a gym, yup, me, at a gym, I did 30 mins on the rowing, running, eclipse, bike machines
Then 30 mins into the weights room,
I can bench press 150 pounds with my legs
Then I have a swim.

Want the change? Two words… Baby steps

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Lucia you are amazing. Worn your tyres out! Burning rubber babe.

So the daily mail has an article this morning.
To lose weight don’t do anything other than
Sit and read for thirty mins
Under an Infra-red sauna!

Cost for said machine to be installed in my bedroom a zillion pounds.
Or
Don’t eat carbs, save money for the piggy bank.

Doh, no brainer.

Have a happy day.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

I received an email today from a diet called 1,2,3 you can do it. It told you to cut a lemon in half and rub half of it over your teeth and tongue. Apparently this reduces saliva in your mouth which make you want food (pavlov and his dog theory) then you have to chant for 10 minutes twice a day, using self hypnosis. Hey, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, so to speak, who would have believed the BSD before trying it. Whatever floats your boat.

That’s a weird one. Even thinking about lemon juice makes most people salivate and tasting it certainly does (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/personalityandindividuality/lemons.shtml). I reckon a dentist must have come up with this one to drum up business from all those people losing the enamel on their teeth!

Snoop, maybe I got it the wrong way round, make you salivate, but it was all in French so I might have lost track (of the most important part) or maybe I just stopped listening. The guy said he was an hypnotist.

I’ve never tried hypnotism. Someone I know once told me that only intelligent people can be hypnotised. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I don’t fancy finding out that it won’t work on me!

Chanting is hypnotic and a great way to meditate, as it focuses the mind and stops the usual trail of thoughts from parading through your mind. Use a positive mantra as a chant will make this is a good way of exercising mindfulness. Not so sure about the lemon thing though!

MM looked at hypnosis in last weeks “trust me I’m a doctor program” – I can’t remember the outcome, must have been doing something else at the time!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0476tfd

Hypnosis, like meditation, has proven health benefits and is one of the few complementary therapies recognised by modern medicine as effective.

So team,

I have another idea.
Now who rolled their eyes?
Who tutted?

I was only going to say, if each of us told one person this week, the joys of this diet and gave them the website address.
Then we all did it again in, say, a months time, we could eliminate diabetes, in one lifetime.

Anyone up for it?

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Another good plan Lucia.

So there was this woman on the bus last night…….
She is going to have a look at the website and book today.

Strike one.

Now, .
Looking for another one.

Feel like a bit of a stalker.😆

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi Lucia, it’s a great service to humankind.

One and a half pounds this week.
Happy as long as I am losing and staying healthy.

Keep moving everyone

Love Lucia
Xxxx

another 2 pounds for me 25 all together

Lucia, just letting you know I think you are wonderful. Hope you are getting more help at home.

What strong legs!

Me get help at home?
He stays in bed while I get up cycle to the gym from 6.30.
Do 90 mins, cycle home.
Then sleeping beauty awakens……

I do the bulk of my exercise very early so I don’t get moaned at.
I can then secretly do my 10,000 steps just plodding around through out the day.

So, if I can do it without any backing etc so can you.
And if you get an ounce of encouragement , know that in my world, you would be a king.

Keep strutting your stuff.

Love. Lucia
Xxxx

Oh and I am fit enough o climb up a ladder
And slim enough to get through the loft or attic door.
Went up for him to look for his fishing net.

Lazy puppy.
Bit at least I can do it and
I treated it as a form of exercise.

Project this weekend is …. sit-ups
Got to get rid of that belly.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Oh and regarding food,
I have , over the past. Month tried things I used to like eg chippy chips, and, well, they just taste gross!!!!
Greasy, stodgy, fatty, smelly and all words like that.

To think, I thought I could not survive without cornflakes for breakfast, now I have yogurt and berries.
For lunch maybe a salad or an apple.

I sort of eat now , a small amount to take the edge off my hunger, rather than eat a tone of foood in one sitting just in case the world runs out of carbs in the next ten minutes.

I changed little by little.
The biggest effort I did, was to start moving.
Just getting my big bottom off the settee was so big a task.

Then I couldn’t walk, I had to waddle so far and sit in a bus stop on their benches built into the shelter, pretending to wait for a bus. Catch my breath, then waddle off. I would sit on a wall, sit in a fence, sit on anything, to catch my breath and again waddle off.
The number of sitting downs reduced bit by bit.
Until, like yeaterday, I did 30 mins on the rowing machine, elliptical machine, the treadmill.
Then I went into the weighs room and bench presssed 150 pounds, and worked on other machines that I don’t know the names of, then a swim.
Don’t forget I cycle about two miles each way to the gym.
I thought the gym was less than a mile until hubby clocked it for me.
And I still did my 10,000 yesterday after the gym.

If I can do it, and I am a big old bird, then you can do it too.
Come onto the path with me, I am not that far ahead of you. Can you see me waving to you? I m waiting here for you, come and stroll up to me, we have plenty of time today.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Oh and I don’t wear Lycra.

And there are skinny Minnie’s in the gym, but they are not so bad. I tolerate them 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
I used to be scared being in the same room as them.
Now I just need them off MY MACHINE so I can strut my stuff doing exercise.

LOOK AT THE WAY MY MIND SET HAS CHANGED.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Way to go Lucia

You Gym Bunny you 🙂

There is nothing wrong with Lycra!!!!!!

If I can wear it….so can you:-)

Lucia – you are fab! I am a newbie to the BSD and to actually posting on your thread but it’s one of the ones I’ve been following whilst working up the courage to get started on all of this. It’s been great reading about all the things you’ve done/are doing and all the changes that are happening 🙂 From the sitting down during walks to getting protective of your gym machines – amazing!! Do you mind me asking how much weight in total you’ve lost so far (sorry if you’ve already posted this and I’ve missed it)?

The Instructor at Body Pump today was saying that she was really old…… so old she liked the ‘Old School’ ???? music title on the new release!!!!!
She is…….. ‘really old’……in her mid 40’s????!!!!!???? Ha ha!!!
I have no idea what she means???? Not sure what I am classified as when I am 20 years older than she is.
Elderly ??? Decrepit????
Anyway we can sort of join in too……and wear Lycra if we want.
Leggings come in nice bright colours at Asda or Primark!!!!!!

Note to self…..the long, baggy top that I usually wear gets in the way for Body Pump.
It’s the ‘clean and press’ that is the problem 🙂

Hi Caramba,
Today I got ready to go to Pilates and I felt rather smart and trendy in my new gym gear bought from Sainsbury’s new range. My OH came through and said I looked ridiculous. What!
I went to class in my new gear and checked myself out in the large wall mirrors. I looked OK. Not mutton dressed as lamb but a modern trendy lady in new gear that fitted well.
I looked around the class and no my other half was not there and never will be. He is overweight and unfit yet is able to make fun of me.
I never retaliated and quietly got his evening meal ready (no potatoes).

JOSIE AND LUCIA! Well done on weight losses 🌸🌸🌻🌸🌻🌸
And LUCIA you are an inspiration when it comes to exercise..i really need to do more and youre motivating me..i have health probs but you show how yes, it can be done in little bites x
SANDIE i am sorry yr hub was unkind but you didnt raise to the bait 👍🏻 he may feel insecure that his dear OH is getting fitter and more attractive day by day ! No excuse tho for being mean XXX

I don’t really like saying my weight as I still haven’t conquered it.
But how about a tight size 26. With an elasticated waist
to size 12 – 14 top and 14 bottom.

I hate saying my starting weight as I am ashamed.

I don’t want sympathy for my starting weight as it was self inflicted due to laziness.
I don’t want people to be complacent and say I have come a long way. I shouldn’t have to come a long way. I should not have let it get that far for so long.
Was I so blind? Stupid? What was it?
Why didn’t I fix it sooner?
If I had of fixed it sooner, I would be in a size ten to twelve now.

I look at my weight number and I am angry.
I use the anger to push me through the excercises and to motivate my pushing away the carbs.

I don’t want the excuse that I am human.
I grew a brain so why didn’t I use it?

When I am at my goal weight, I will declare it all, but for now, I am trying to beat that number in the scales with a big stick.

I have had to coax myself to move, coax myself to step away from the carbs.
I had to drop the Mike on the fat.

But, I am on the right side of it all now.
I wish I was in this state last Christmas, but I wasn’t.
But, I am not going to be at my starting weight next Christmas for sure.

So, team , all we can do is imagine one block of blubber weighing one pound and beating the hell out of it.
We don’t want is any more.

I have been in this plan for six months or so.
I am going to keep going until Christmas and review it then.

Sorry for the growl, but this is how I feel deep, deep, inside of me.

Love luica
Xxxx

Hi Lucia,

No sympathy, just empathy!

Please don’t be angry at yourself, you were not lazy, your body was just doing the best it could while eating all those carbs we had been told to eat.

I am super angry at all the advice we’ve been given over the decades to eat lots of carbs, as I can see now it put me in a position where I was guaranteed to keep gaining weight. I was feeling exactly as you describe, asking myself if I was stupid – but now, having broken free of the carb hold, it is a revelation to no longer be held hostage, at the mercy of my hormones/insulin demanding I eat sugar constantly. I feel like my control has been handed back to me.

So during my BSD I’ve realized that No, I wasn’t stupid. And neither were you.

Now we just have information that we were lacking before, so we can work with instead of against our wonderfully intelligent bodies to gain our healthy weight.

I love the mental image of you beating the ⚡🌀🐍 out of that next pound of fat!

I think of you often Lucia. Look after yourself, you are doing great xxx

Hi Lucia,
Just started yesterday (officialy!) but have been following your column for a while. i love your visuals! You simplify so beautifully how to get moving and I am imaginig pounding that pound today! I agree with Kookaburra – the advice – high carb, low fat – that we have all tried (and failed) to follow over the years has got us to where we were. We are now better informed. I only wish that our official department of health guidelines would reflect this new knowledge and not continue pushing a failed policy.

Keep bashing!

Corkie

Hi Lucia
Think we all feel stupid for letting ourselves get so overweight………well in my case….. obese…. for over 30 years.
We just didn’t love ourselves enough.
Last Christmas was truly awful for me as well. My health took a big hit too.

But we are bouncing back big time …….well not so big and bouncy any more!!!
Sandie really pleased you wore your new gear at Pilates…brilliant.

Being obese didn’t stop me going to exercise classes. I struggled and huffed and puffed at the back in baggy gear and going a very strange purple colour. In the pool I swaddled myself in towels and hoped if I jumped in quickly enough no one would notice the extra rolls of fat.
I still haven’t reached my healthy BMI in 7 months but I can manage to complete an exercise class ….I still go purple!!!
But I wear matching gear 🙂

Come on bouncy team. Don’t worry about the blubber.

Now you have got me in my soap box, so here goes….

You visit someone, usually an older person.

Would you like a cup of tea?
No thanks, I only drink hot water, can I have a cup of hot water please?
I can’t give you just hot water, I will make you a coffee
I don’t like coffee, just hot water please?
Weak tea?
Hot water please
Just hot water? Lemon? Honey?
Just hot water please.
You must have something in it.
Let’s leave it for now, I will have a drink later.

Let me make you a little sandwich,
No thanks,
Ham?
No thanks
Ham and cheese?
No thanks.
I will toast it for you.
Can I just have the ham on its own.
I can’t give you just ham, I will make you a sandwich.
Your garden looks nice, let’s go out and look at your daffs/roses/weeds/elephants …”..

Omg , it is SO HARD to get what you want. There is a brigade of people who get points for every slice of bread they force into a weak human being.
I KNOW they offer the food with LOVE.
But this type of love is killing me !!!!!

My usual expression is, oh sorry we just ate before we got here……

I love you but stop KILLING me.

I dare not say I am a diet, because they then rattle off their rules of dieting. They tell you you have it all wrong.
You must eat carbs for every meal. You will make yourself ill otherwise.

I dare not lie and say I have an allergy to bread, as then this opens a gate in their brain to tell you in detail, of all the operations, surgical procedures, medications and bowel movements they have had over the last five hundred years. They can’t remember my name most of the time, but by jingo, they can remember the long Latin names of all their illnesses and all their medications.

Phew,,,, that must have been building up in me for a while.

Love Lucia
Xxxxx

Anyone fancy putting their pumps on and going for a walk around the block?
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Lucia

I shall be walking round the block in spirit with you later 🙂

Re the visits – can’t you have black tea, or herb tea when you visit people? I drink either Rooibush (Redbush) tea or ginger tea. Neither need milk or sugar and you could actually carry round your own bags.

When asked, I say I don’t react well to caffeine, but I really LOVE these, thanks so much, will really ENJOY a cup.

Thereby complimenting them in their hospitality and moving swiftly on to the next subject whatever it is (” I really love these mugs, what nice coasters these are, what did you do over the weekend etc”)

Any good? 🙂 🙂

Lucia I am now putting on my flat shoes and going to take dog for a brisk 40 min walk. Thanks for keeping me company.

As regard to food I am so cross that for 40 years I have been told that low fat diets are the correct way to go. I now want to shout out NO IT IS NOT. People are being conned in the supermarkets. Have you seen how many low fat, mucked about with yogurts there are? Have a natural yogurt and add fresh fruit if you want. Enjoy.
X Sandie

I think today is a shouting day.
let’s shout it out here,
Let’s get it off our chest
Let us vent
Then tomorrow, we should be a lot lighter, even if it just in spirit.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

And another thing…

Well I love you just the way you are.
What!
How can you see the real me when I am wearing and drowning in this blubber suit?

Don’t give me I love a size 26 you as much as a size 12 you.

Evidenc.
The calculation.
One hundred kisses
If one kiss equals one square metre of me.
Then when I am a size 12,
There should be more kisses per metre?

See, you would love me more if I was a size 12.
And I would enjoy more kisses per square inch 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

I can be technical when I want to be.

Love Lucia
Xxxxx

That visit with the older person was hilarious Lucia! Made me think of a recent visit to a brother-in-law. He knows I don’t like apple pie (which everyone else was having) so he offered me tiramisu for dessert. I haven’t been sticking to the diet very well but I hate coffee and coffee-flavoured things so it wasn’t even tempting.

No thank you, none for me.
But I bought it especially for you!
That was lovely of you, but not tonight.
Are you sure? (looking grumpy)
Thank you, no.
But it’s tiramisu!
I really don’t need dessert tonight, thanks.
I know you don’t like apple pie so I bought this.
That is really nice of you, but I’m on a diet, I’m trying to be good.
But…

OMG it went on and on! I’ve never been so pressured to eat in my life! And the ironic thing is he’s been trying to lose weight recently too so he should understand. It was kind of funny though that he was trying so hard to tempt me but with something it would be minor torture for me to eat even if I wanted dessert. Yuck.

Sometimes people don’t want you to have what you want, they want you to want what they want you to want.

LUCIA and NATALIE I loved yr stories of visiting and the pressures we are put under! I have a slim friend,who i love dearly but..when we meet for coffee she is so unhappy if i say no to cake..so very many times i have felt bad and agreed to have a cake..then i eat mine and she leaves half of hers ( she has a health prob which means she can only eat small portions) which i end up eating too! Then we look in shops at clothes that fit her but dont fit me! Madness..
That doesn happen any more

Well said KOOKABURRA and AY CARAMBA ..we don’t need to take all the blame..ok we have probably all had times when we have been downright greedy but nine times out of ten its a much more complex thing than just over eating..physiological and psychological factors always come into play too! X

Hi Yowzer
can you not get one piece of cake and two forks next time?
Or if she is constantly goading you into having something you don’t want, why does she do that, and why do you let her?
It maybe because she shouldn’t be eating cake either, hence leaving half.
Presumably you don’t try and force her to wolf down the other half, or throw a hissy fit and say that you’ll be unhappy if she doesn’t eat it all.
Why are your health issues any less important than those of your friend? Both she (and you!) should respect those as much as any health issues that she may have- or simply your own wishes on what you eat (for when you’ve succeeded, reached all your targets, and you simply DON’T WANT THE CAKE).

Fortunately I don’t have any friends that set out to sabotage my diet – even the “let’s get another bottle” friend who was the only person that I went out with regularly where the meal usually drifted on to the second bottle of wine (and maybe a cocktail or pre-theatre drinks at the start) now just orders an additional glass of wine when we’ve finished the first bottle 🙂

Oh my goodness, I have that same cake friend! Monumentally annoying! Although I can’t decide which is worse, the one that does that or another who agrees to meet for lunch/dinner/cake/whatever and then rocks up and says “ooh I couldn’t eat a thing, I’m so full from [insert last meal eaten approximately 10000 weeks ago]”. What? What???!! I’ve PLANNED for this and now we’re not doing it?! Grrr! I guess I could still go ahead (and have done) but it’s weird getting a meal for yourself when the person opposite is having nothing!

FROG its in the past now, but we often did the one cake two forks thing but it still worked out i ate more than she did whichever way we did it.
You know why? She had to have a major tummy op years ago, bless her,when she had a lot of it removed,which means she cant eat much but she is greedy with her eyes!
Literally what my mum used to call Eyes Bigger than Belly!
And i am just plain greedy or was..not any more now ive chased my Carb monster and kicked the carbs to the kerb!
I just don’t have cake any more…,my friend can have what she wants,and eat and leave whatever she decides. I’ m happy with a cuppa x

FLASH I agree..if you have both said lets meet for a meal,its a bit miserable if youre the only one with sparks flying from yr knife and fork! Plus its much more fun if you can compare meals,maybe try a bit off each others plate.

Maybe the worst friend of all is the one i heard about on 5:2 who was always telling her friend – who successfully lost and kept off stones thru intermittent fasting- that she had lost too much,she didnt look good,fasting was unhealthy etc..while sitting there very much overweight herself and stuffing herself! Not a very supportive ” friend” ,more like a jealous one! X

Boy do I have all of your friends attitudes in the people around me.

Apparently I will die, right now, this very second, if I don’t have carbs with every meal.

All I can say is BITE ME!

Keep growling, keep venting.

I offer the menu, and say what do you fancy? Great, you fancy a big pudding no custard, are you okay if I have a sexy salad at the same time?
I don’t allow more than half a millisecond, then put my hand up for the waitress to place the order.
I never force my taste, style of exacting or opinion onto people I have invited out with me.
I am more for their company and gossip, than watch them eat and spit food out as they talk.
Should probably be better in a pub than a grub place,
Or even better a walk and talk,
Than a bite and fight.
(That rhymes)

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Yowzer – sorry, made me so cross & I was reading quickly and missed the “it doesn’t happen any more” after the main para!
Huge apologies – how could I have doubted your self control!

Flash – No 2 sounds intensely irritating!

Sounds like I’m lucky that all my friends are pretty supportive on the whole!

No need to apologise FROG i didnt take offence..i took a gate! 😄😄😄😄 x

Love your humour Yowzer, much like mine and I am much misunderstood. It can’t be my attitude, I don’t wear an hat…… Don’t tell me you don’t get it

You’d both probably like that Pink Panther scene then:

– Does your dawg bite?

– No.

“Nice dawgy” (tries to pat * growl * BITE)

– I thought you said your dawg does not bite?!

– Zat is not my dog.

So,
After growly day, how do we all feel?
Ready to knock seven bells out of another pound of blubber?
Walking, cycling or just wiggling about?

I am going to do all three.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Haha Lucia, BITE ME is a great response! Hope you enjoyed your walking, cycling and wiggling.

Yowzer, jealous friends are horrible! Luckily I don’t have any of those (or at least they are not out of the woodwork yet). Although some do seem keen to push those well-know diet clubs. I read about one. It said I could have two jacket potatoes for dinner. I put on about 3lbs just by LOOKING at a potato, so no, I’ll stick to BSD thanks!

Frog – yes, very very irritating indeed!

Hope everyone has a good day 🙂

Hi gang,
Halloween is only around the corner.
Been looking for a really scary outfit.

Found the perfect one……
A Lycra leotard and tights to match.

Should scare the whole street? 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀👻👻👻👻👻👻
Love lucia
Xxx

So I tried carbs.
Had a jacket spud.
Put a pound of weight on.
And after eating it, it felt like a brick in my tummy.

What a lesson.
Keep happy
Love Lucia
Xxxxx