I have been lurking in the forums for several months now, and have been inspired by the success and mutual support of the members, so I plucked up courage to start my own thread. The purpose of this is to have a record of my ups and downs in the vain hope that maybe, just maybe, I can stabilise my weight once and for all. It is a big ask, and my confidence in that goal is very low at the moment.

I have a chronic history of weight yo-yoing since the age of 10, 36 years ago. I have weighed as much as 97kg (about 15 stone) and as little as 67kg (about 10 and a half stone)(I am 175cm tall), and every weight in between multiple times. My heaviest weight (97kg) was in 2013, then that year I lost 29kg. I have rebounded up by 6kg twice since then, but both times managed to catch it in time (have failed at that in the past), once last year, and once this year. I have done every diet under the sun, like most people here.

I discovered BSD when it was serialised in the Daily Mail in September, bought the book, and in October lost 6kg in exactly one month and one day, easy-peasy. I absolutely love this diet and really felt it was something I could sustain.

However, I have piddled about inconsistently since getting back to goal (68kg) for the first couple of weeks, then, disastrously, tried to do a 5:2 version last week. WHAT A COMPLETE AND UTTER, MONSTROUS, ENORMOUS FAIL that was.

My two fasting days (non-consecutive) were great, 800cals, boom, too easy. But for some unknown, mystery reason, I literally could not stop eating every single one of the five other days. The works…..cake, chocolates, bread, wine, sweets, coffees…..just about everything that I hadn’t even missed, or been craving for the previous month! Some of it was stuff at home, but some was at work and I even went out and bought some of it, like ice-cream! Full on self-destruct mode.

So yesterday I got back on track, with a hangover from Sunday night wine and carb-fest, and upon weighing myself this morning am back to 70.8kg; up nearly 3kg in 3 weeks since back at goal.

I feel panicky and totally down on myself, annoyed, irritated, frustrated, which is why I have turned to the forums; if I record how I’m going, maybe I’ll feel a little more accountable, even if only to myself because it’s there in black and white. Why is this maintenance lark just so hard, it sucks, big time. I can be so disciplined, so focussed, but when the challenge of reaching the goal has gone, so goes the willpower, or whatever it is that makes me successful…….poof, into thin air……

I am doing well again today, so my plan is to just do 800cals a day to shake it off again, the try something OTHER than 5:2, because clearly as it works for most people, the concept of ‘a day off’ doesn’t work for me (even though I know, know, know all this stuff already!). Why do we do this to ourselves.

Thank you for reading if you got this far, hope everyone is doing well today, this lovely sunny day in Queensland 🙂

Rachel 🙂

Hi Rachel,

Greetings from a cold and miserable early morning in Minnesota. Up early as body clock adjusts.

I’m still a long way off needing to worry about maintenance, but one thing this way of eating has helped me to do is to understand myself a bit better. On another thread there is a discussion about whether people are “all or nothing” or “everything in moderation” – I paraphrase mightily.

I know I am in the “all or nothing” camp. So maintenance will be difficult as the difference between one biscuit and a packet is difficult for me to judge, when I’m in that mood. I am guessing that I will move onto a BSD 1500-2000, with very low refined carbs and then experiment with the calorie and carb values to see where I end up. The concept of three or four days when I can eat “freely,” I reckon would end in disaster.

Good luck with your experiment.

Hi

You know it could be any of many of us writing this! So many times so many of us have ‘been there, seen the film and have bought the t-shirt’!

Looks like you may be an ‘all or nothing’ girl. Have a look at the discussion a few days ago on the ‘Strictly’ thread … just search at the top on that and you should find it.

Some people just can’t have the odd day off or that half a potato whilst others can and still stay on track. Maybe when you are back to goal you should experiment with adding extra calories and carbs gradually until you find your own personal level. Have a look at captainlynne’s threads. She has a maintenance thread … Keep on keeping on… you may find that useful.

Good luck!l

Thank you very much for your replies guys, I will look for those other threads/conversations, for more ideas on how to manage this once I’m back at goal.

Your suggestions around continuing to track and gradually up the daily allowance I think will probably have to be the way to go, you are right. This is a shame, as I was hoping to avoid that endless diet mentality, but maybe nearly 40 years of this dietary abuse has been too much to expect ‘normality’ to resume.

Hope the day warms up a little for you JulesMaigret :).

Rachel 🙂

Hi Rachel,
Greetings from sunny NSW!
Don’t lose heart, perhaps the 800 will suit you better, I had a similar experience to you on the 5:2, perhaps it’s because your stomach doesn’t have a chance to adapt to the lower calorie days. I find on the 800 I’m sometimes peckish but not ridiculously ravenous like on the 5:2.
Even so, I often have several great days in a row and then slip up, not majorly but the scales are punishing! I think the old wine is the biggest culprit and I fall for it every week!
I don’t worry though because I know it will level out , so it’s easy to get motivated again.
My two saviours have been the roasted broccoli and cheddar soup we have all been chatting about, and the almond meal pancakes ( pikelets really).
The soup is so incredibly filling and satisfying that you don’t care if you never see another carb again and the pikelets are close enough to the real thing to get you over a craving ( esp with butter on top!)
Anyway, you’ll find the 800 easier and easier, lots of tea and water when hunger strikes and keep trucking on. You can absolutely do it! Let us know how you go, wishing you strength in the days ahead,
Inka13 x

I’ve given a lot of thought to maintenance – hoping that I can finally get there one day!!! 4lbs away.

This is because I’m an all or nothing girl – I can abstain totally until that first bite then I look like some cookie monster / hannibal lechter hybrid while the carb monster sits on my shoulder laughing hysterically.

So I know that I can’t go back to my old way of eating – I can’t have one biscuit, or a couple of squares of chocolate, or a small bag of crisps to up my calories on a 5:2.

So my plan is simply to increase the good stuff that I’m having currently. If I need an extra 200/400 calories I will have a weighed portion of almonds, or an extra chicken breast at dinner, or maybe a three egg omelette instead of two, a whole avocado instead of half. I’ve yet to see if it will work but, again, just like BSD it’s going to be all about the planning for me.

Just my jumbled thoughts – good luck!

It doesn’t sound like the 5:2 you tried was very structured. I will be moving back to 5:2 but intend to keep the basic structure of the 800 days on the higher calorie days, eg still no bad carbs as a general rule and no drinking during the week except in exceptional circumstances. I have never had this level of success on a diet before and am sure that is down to the mindfulness factor, if I always think before I eat, then hopefully no more crazy carb binges. I am not all or nothing though, and do intend to indulge in the occasional biscuit or sweet, and stop at one. I will review of course if that isn’t working but it seems to be so far with the help of my mindfulness practice.

Hi Rachel — ouch, your post is painful and I really could relate and I feel for you. I’m about five months on maintenance (started BSD last March) and I have had good and bad days since I got to goal, although I am keeping the weight off. I have learned that, for me, I will ALWAYS have to be on a diet — ALWAYS — only this time, for the first time ever in fifty years of dieting, it’s a diet I like and feeds my hunger and makes me happy.

When I started I thought it would be simply one more diet. Instead I think it really has to become a new way of thinking. Some of us really cannot eat many carbs without it setting off some hysterical part of the brain — I believe, after lots of reading, that it truly is physical, not mental, and we are fighting a very powerful insulin-fueled system. You really ARE more hungry when you are eating the junk because your overactive insulin is shunting away all your blood sugar into your fat cells and you are actually “starving” on a cellular level. Our poor brains don’t distinguish between true starvation and low blood sugar as a result of hyper-insulin so they panic and shoot out adrenaline and we eat and eat and eat AND when you toss in the psychological factors of panic over loss of control, old memories of failed diets, self-disgust etc.. you get one big pot of crazy.

Maybe go back to the 800 calories again until you’ve regained some control — then add back in only very low carb foods like extra serving of meat, another ounce of cheese, more veggies until you get up to a maintenance level. Sadly, we probably will never be free of “dieting” in our lives — we obviously didn’t win the genetic lottery on that front! The consolation prize however, is that our new way of eating is going to protect our brains from Alzheimers, protect our pancreas from diabetes (or repair it) and give us back our peace of mind. Don’t give up — you’re going to find a way of dealing with it that works for you personally. Just don’t quit!

Calaforniagirl waking up in Australia on the 30th, I am moved by your post summarising what BSD and our physical inability to deal with eating without BSD and its principles means. I’ve copied it and printed it to get me though blips. Like many I did well and was strict for 8 weeks and even did well for the next 4 weeks losing more. Then one blip with my birthday cake x 2 then left over food and I was craving food again for 2 days. Resulting weight gain is now disappearing as I’m back on track but I was/am quite rattled by how I returned to my old out of control self so quickly. Thanks heaps for this post.

Saved this thread for the epic wisdom. We will all be here one day and there are truths that I, for one, will need to take on board. Thanks so much for sharing xx

Hi again all,

I have just got back from a day out today, and just seen those further replies since last night.

Thank you all so much for your encouragement and wise advice; it all makes perfect sense and makes me feel better that I am not alone in this search for the holy grail of maintenance!

I really am sure that as a couple of you mentioned, I am just going to have to steer well clear of the carbs, it is like a true addiction, that once you start you can’t stop…..

Another good day on 800 yesterday and 400g down already in one day, so just 2.4kg now to get back to goal, then will use some of the strategies you guys have suggested. i will look up the other threads on similar topics too when I get chance for more inspiration.

Hope you are all having a great day too, thanks again,

Rachel 😊

Hey Jenni, tigs and Rachel — this understanding of the physical aspect of our struggles is literally what finally saved me from failure. I have actually developed sympathy for my poor beleaguered body which has been trying so hard to hold it together for so many years while I fed it all the wrong stuff. I am so impressed with our physical selves — what amazing things they are! Sending you warm wishes as we move forward.

Rachel – as an ‘all,or nothing’ girl, now in maintenance I know that I can not let carbs back into my diet.

But that doesn’t feel like a hardship any more. Unlike previous diets, where cutting something out of my diet led to cravings and any weight lost was soon regained with interest, I have been on the BSD since last December and, for me, it is not a diet but a way of life. The health benefits have been so great that I do not want to jeopardise them.

So I will continue to restrict carbs but am working to slowly increase calories while following the Mediterranean principles.

Thank you for your further posts Californiagirl and captainlynne.

Once I get back to goal I am going to try and change my mindset from fretting about what I ‘can’t’ have (carbs) to what I CAN have (more med style stuff) whilst still keeping a tight rein on things. This whole insulin driven physiological effect is mind-blowing.

It has no doubt been referenced elsewhere on the forums, but I recently watched ‘The Aetiology of Obesity’ by Dr Jason Fung on YouTube. I’m sure you will have all seen it; I felt quite depressed by the end of it, realising that I have been conned for the last 36 yearswith crap dietary advice (low fat high carb), and that it is no wonder I am left with a depressed metabolic rate, insulin resistance, and a high body fat percentage despite being a normal BMI. Like you said Californiagirl, I have trashed my poor body and exhausted myself in the meantime. What a joke.

I am doing well back on track, my only lingering fear is continuing to calorie restrict, as of course it works, I have done it unsustainably for years, but there is, according to Dr Fung, evidence that over too long a period of time it does depress metabolic rate (not all that starvation mode stuff, just a gradual long term reduction).

So this must be my last push at 800cals, then make an absolute, gargantuan effort to be sensible and increase my calories as you guys have suggested to avoid this, and manage a balance, properly and healthily.

I am so determined. Hope today is panning out well for you all today too.

Rachel 😃

Rachel

Since reaching my original target I’ve revised it and lost more weight (nicely in healthy BMI).

One thing I’ve done since reaching this stage is to take a long, hard, look at myself. So many comments have been made about my weight (some nice, others not!) that I now say I’m still the same person, just in a different outside. And ‘thank you for caring’.

After many, many years of not spending money on me – why bother? – I’ve taken some steps to deal with that.

First – back to wearing contact lenses (most of the time)
Second – booked appointment for between Christmas and New Year for colour analysis, style analysis, and makeup colours/lesson.
Third – following on from the above – can’t go for the colours/style in I’ll-fitting underwear so went yesterday to get new bras. Properly fitted (and very expensive).

I must be feeling like a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis 😱 Or the ugly duckling!

Perhaps you might want to plan some treats for yourself- something to look forward to – either during your journey, or at target.

Hi captainlynne,

Good on you for investing in yourself in those ways, very inspiring, no wonder you feel so much better about yourself generally. It is a great idea to continually review your appearance and health status, it takes the focus off the scales too.

Thanks for your advice, have a great day.

😃

Thanks Rachel.

I need all the help I can get at the minute. Currently got no idea what suits me because I’ve not had the luxury of choice for so many years. If it fitted I probably bought it.

I’m just thinking of it as playtime for me😀

Hi Rachel
I’ve been in maintenance now for a couple of months after losing over 30kg and like Lynne, I’m an all or nothing girl.

I’ve found that I don’t want to eat any simple carbs, not just because I don’t want to yo yo back up to 90 something kilos, but like Californiagirl alluded to, the sugar and carbs are actually doing damage to our bodies.

There is so much evidence out there: Jimmy Moore and Dr Eric Westman in the US, Prof Tim Noakes in Sth Africa, Dr Gary Fettke in Tasmania, Dr Jeff Volek – nutritionalist, Dr Steve Phinney, scientific researcher, Dr Andreas Eenfeldt in Sweden, Cardiologist Dr Aseem Maholtra in the U.K. just to name a few that are trying to get the word out there that low carb, high fat diets are not just good for our weight and sugar levels, they are essential for our complete wellbeing including the prevention and treatment of cancer, dementia and other illnesses.

What now drives me to keep my weight off is my overall health, not just the prevention of weight gain and I have found that to be a very powerful motivator.

I have learnt how to subscribe to a bunch of podcasts on my iPhone (all free) and now listen to them in the car and every time I go out walking.

There are heaps out there, but one of the best would have to be Jimmy Moore’s The Livin’ La Vita Low-Carb Show.

I have learned so much about nutrition and how bad the current ‘official’ advice is, how our brains work when it comes to food and what illnesses we can prevent eating this way. I highly suggest a listen, he has been going for over 10 years and has over 1,000 episodes racked up so far.
Best of luck and please let us all know how you go.
Cheers
Linda in Sydney.

LindaA a big thank you for all of those references! I am love reading research and evidence based findings so will look up every single one. You have done so well and love reading your posts. You are leading the way 🙂

Hi Linda, ditto tigs’ thank you for those names of people whose work is championing this way of eating. I have seen some of them already, but will check out the others, I find them very inspiring and am turning into a bit of a fanatic at work rambling on to my colleagues about my new found knowledge hahaha. But all these women have the same struggles, and I want to tell them why, we have been wrong all these years based on rubbish advice.

Have a great Sunday in Sydney 🙂

Getting back to goal before ongoing maintenance……have had a fantastic week this week after the week before’s monumental disaster…..have done 800cals per day combined with 16:8 intermittent fasting, and have lost 2.2kg in one week! Phew, I am so chuffed, so I am just 600g away from being back at 68kg goal.

I am so relieved, and this way of eating is nothing short of a miracle. I have only been eating twice a day, and I was only hungry once on Sunday morning a short while after a delicious breakfast (avocado and feta mash from the cookbook) but it was only a tiny portion for a lot of calories. I have resisted vast amounts of junk food that has been floating around at work…..I just stay out of the tea room, but it makes me mad, we work in a hospital, colleagues bring in snacks and treats all the time, and so we healthcare practitioners set the worst example to patients!

I definitely think I will be better sticking to med style food with 16:8 intermittent fasting, as it helps stop the stupid mindless munching I do in the evenings (I eat between 9am and 5pm, as I work shifts), and as some of your advice above suggested, avoid starting tucking into the carbs/treats, as once I start I can’t stop, but if I don’t start and remove myself, I do much better…..worse than a junkie haha…..

Hope everyone has had great results this week too, thanks again for all the advice and encouragement last, it helped enormously.

Rachel 😎

Have had another fabulous week; ongoing 800cals give or take a bit with 16:8 IF, and lost another 800g this week, taking me 200g under goal. I am thrilled to be back at goal and feel in control.

So my plan is to continue 800cals right up until Christmas Eve, then try and relax WITHOUT going mad over Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing Day. Then strictly back to 800cals until New Years Eve, enjoy that day and New Years Day, then that’s it, bang, Christmas done. Just five days off with a pull back in between, surely I can’t do that much damage…that’s all it is for now, damage limitation….hopefully the days between now and Christmas Eve I can also lose a bit more as a buffer. Will see how I go with my cunning plan hahaha.

Hope everyone else is surviving the run up to Christmas. Why does EVERYTHING have to revolve around food……

Rachel 🎄😃🎁

Another outstanding weigh-in yesterday, another 600g loss in three days; now have a 800g buffer for Christmas.

Working hard between now and Friday, will weigh in on Christmas Eve, to see what my year end weight is, and then can enjoy those three days, before straight back on it after Boxing Day. Only three days off for me, plus two more for New Years Eve and New Years Day; I CANNOT let myself eat from Christmas Eve right through to New Years Day, that is NINE days, I dread to think how much damage I could do in nine days off the plan, it would be a disaster for me, I am my own worst enemy without the discipline of tracking and vigilance.

Good luck everyone in the run up to Christmas!

Rachel 😃

Go Rachel!
It now sounds like your head is in a much better space than it was when you started this thread 😀👏👏👏
Christmas Day is one day and the joy of spending it with family and friends is my overriding priority, not how much I can stuff into my mouth ‘on a day off’.
For me, I’ll be sticking to the principles of no simple carbs and no added sugar. No exceptions!
I don’t want to start the cravings off again so I’ll eat till I’m full on good fatty foods and will enjoy the company and I’ll wake up the next day with no regrets and knowing that I did the right thing for me, not anyone else.
The person I ‘think’ may be offended by not eating their homemade ‘whatever’ will not be there holding my hand in hospital when I suffer medical complications in the years to come if I fall off the wagon. I’m out to look after me!
Let us know how you go.
Cheers
Linda

Thanks Linda, best of luck with your plan for managing the season too, sounds good!

Rachel 😊🎄🎁

Morning Rachel. I’ve just read all this thread and can empathise with the all or nothing mentality. That’s me, for sure. I’ve always thought I can do abstinence or full on, I can’t do moderation. But that’s ok, isn’t it? I can live with that but I need to remind myself that if I drift up a couple of pounds (as I have) it doesn’t mean I’ve blown it and I CAN get back on track.
So thank you for reminding me I’m not alone in this and that it can be done. And huge congratulations to you for recapturing your mojo!
Nadolig Llawen from South Wales!

Hi Bissell,

Thank you for your comment, we are definitely not alone in our battle with the ‘all or nothing’ curse. I’m hoping my mojo doesn’t get derailed through Christmas, but with my plan and this way of eating I feel quite optimistic I too can remain on track into 2017.

Good luck with your eating over the next week or so and into the New Year.

Rachel 😃

Well said LindaA – you have described my Christmas perfectly. I am actually looking forward to Christmas with my lovely BSD food. We had our family get togethers already as daughters are going to in-laws over Christmas and it was really all about spending time with them – not using it as an opportunity to eat starchy sugary foods.

You are so right that the person you think will be offended if you don’t eat their homemade ‘whatever’ will definitely not be holding your hand in hospital when you suffer the consequences of falling off the wagon – especially if the consequences happen to be an amputation (sorry to be so macabre just before Christmas).

They didn’t hold my hand at the eye clinic while a doctor injected Lucentis into my eye for diabetic macular oedema – a lovely nurse did that to comfort me while I went through the horrible procedure. But with the BSD all that is in the past – and luckily the memory of the procedure has been quite effective at stopping me eating the sugary starchy stuff.

So I really don’t have super self control – I am really quite cowardly and I will do anything to avoid having another eye injection. Luckily the cure is a delicious and absolutely satisfying way of eating.

and I thought it was just me! We’ve got loads of different visitors over 3 days at Christmas and I’ve been baking cakes as they are so costly to buy and of course I’ve had to ‘sample’ them to make sure they were OK. So yesterday I’d ‘sampled’ so much I had to clean my teeth at 3 in the afternoon and I felt really rough yesterday evening. Once I start I can’t stop and today I’ve been doing idiotic housekeeping tasks to keep me out of the kitchen. I’ve eaten far too many cashew nuts today but at least that’s better than apricot flapjacks and shortbread. thanks for this thread, helps so much when you know others are having the same problem.

Hi oldbluejeans
Nuts are a great ‘hunger stopper’ when you feel like eating and don’t want to head for the cake but please be careful of cashew nuts as they have a whopping 23.1g carbs / 100g.
The following may be better options:
Walnuts at 3.0g / 100g
Macadamias at 4.5g / 100g
Pecans at 4.9g / 100g
Almonds at 6.4g / 100g
Even salted peanuts only have 8.1g / 100g.
Do you have an app where you can check the carbs of what you are eating? I found it really helped me.
Cheers
Linda

Hi all,

Gosh KrisiaD, that eye injection sounds horrendous, it’s great you’ve found a way of eating to support you in preventing more of those problems.

Oldbluejeans, funny you say that about the cashew nuts…..yesterday I had a really stressful late shift, totally frantic and very stressful, and although I had a delicious BSD dinner with me (creamy fish bake) which I scoffed pretty much on the run, there were some almonds on the desk which I could not stop pick, pick, picking at, and I was annoying myself doing it…..but like you oldbluejeans I was pleased that I resisted chocolates and shortbread in the tearoom, which I previously would have demolished without batting an eyelid! So well done you, that is awesome.

Thanks for the carb breakdown for the nuts Linda, I just love nuts and they are something I could totally overeat so have to be careful!

Rachel 😄

A quick addition for my final weigh in of the year…..66.8kg, the lightest I have been since 2003…..I simply can’t believe it….

The discovery of BSD has for me been nothing short of a miracle, plus work/research relating to it, like intermittent fasting and Med diet/LCHF principles, in FINALLY answering the question as to why what I have been eating all these years has been so wrong for me (not just the obvious culprits like sweet sugary junk, but the bread, pasta, rice, potatoes).

I have hope that 2017 is going to finally be the year that my epic, relentless, never-ending battle will be ongoing, sure, but much, much less gruelling!!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!!

Rachel 😃🎄🍾🎁

Hi Rachel
Such a lot of wisdom in these posts!
I ve been on maintenance for about 6 months. I m just carrying on with the same food but having up to 1200 cals. It works fine for me.
Re ‘ all or nothing’ – I think it’s fairly certain that those of us with certain types of genes (?) or at least bodies cannot tolerate the huge amounts of simple carbs in the modern diet. So it’s not weakness, it’s a physical reaction to what is a diet our species did not develop eating! Some seem to have developed more tolerance to it. ( tho look at the health statistics…) Really it gives me the horrors thinking about what people generally eat now I know about the effects. The nearest I ve got to ‘normal’ eating is a rice cake with peanut butter now and then!
So re Christmas. I have made a tiny Christmas pudding with no sugar and some of the flour substituted by almond flour. I already always made a ‘healthy’ no sugar pudding for years as commercial ones don’t taste so good to me. This tiny (300dl) lower carb pudding will be shared between 4 so not a huge carb shock, and had with cream. No other carby thing will pass my lips!
Good luck over the next few days.
Penny

Happy New Year to everyone in the BSD family! I hope everyone coped well with the festive season. So glad to be back to normality now though!

I stuck to my plan diligently – three days off at Christmas, was back on track Tuesday to Friday, then enjoyed New Years Eve and New Years Day off.

I did well on Monday 2nd Jan, had just over 1000 cals, but then overnight I was derailed on night duty in that dreaded tea-room…..the usual leftovers, started nibbling nuts, progressed to dried cranberries, then popcorn, then finally a couple of bits of cake….. so cross with myself! Anyway, back for night duty tonight, but the leftovers are gone thank goodness, so back to 800cals from today.

I haven’t weighed myself since Christmas Eve, but hopefully with the pullback between Christmas and New Year and now the rest of this week, the damage will be limited when I weigh myself on Saturday (postponing it till then!).

My next goal is to be at goal weight in two weeks, when we are off to Fraser Island, Queensland, so need to be bikini ready for then hahaha! These mini-goals are going to keep me going and accountable hopefully.

Rachel 🙂

Did my post-Christmas & New Year weigh in on Friday, almost two weeks since Christmas Eve…..And I was BANG ON my goal weight of 68kg!! My plan of BSD between the Christmas and New Year celebrations worked an absolute treat, together with my buffer of just over a kilo prior to the event means I am heading into the 2017 at goal…..I am so thrilled, love it.

So carrying on again to get a ‘buffer’ before our holiday next week; two BSD meals a day totalling 800cals, with 16:8 intermittent fasting. Good plan I reckon.

Rachel 🙂

Great news, enjoy your trip to Fraser island. 😀

Thanks Mixnmatch! 😎

Well Done Rachel – it really isn’t easy but you did it – I’m not sure I could have stayed off the scales for that long though lol – FAR too curious but looks like it worked beautifully for you!

I am back within half a pound of my Christmas Eve weight – but since that was 2.5 lbs under my target I’m delighted. Just got to get used to this maintaining lark – really isn’t easy. How much is too much, how do I increase my calories but watch my carbs and not awaken the carb monster inside – all these and other questions will need to be answered if I’m going to be this weight come 2018!!

Congrats again and have a great day!

Hi topcac
I’ve been maintaining now since about September after losing 33kg.
What I’ve found to work is to leave your carbs and protein at the same levels as when you were losing and simply increase your fats a bit at a time until you level out. Like CaptainLynne, I kept on losing for a number of weeks after reaching my goal weight of 63kg and now seemed to have settled at floating between 56-58kg.
I still don’t eat any simple carbs or added sugars and I limit my vegetables to above ground leafy greens, capsicum and mushrooms etc and my fruits to strawberries and blueberries once a day.
I’ve added more cheese, butter, avocado and fat from meat to my diet and when I find I’m creeping towards the 58kg mark, I just pull back for a day or so on the fats and I drop back down within the day.
This is the first time EVER that I’ve not put weight back on within a month of losing it and that’s because I made this way of eating a forever change and not just a ‘diet’. I keep reminding myself that if I go back to what I was doing before then I’ll go back to the way I looked before!
Cheers
Linda

Hi topcac and LindaA, thanks for your posts, not been on for a while, had a fab trip to Fraser Island and been enjoying a nice break from work. Great work topcac, hope all still going well for you, and nice work on the maintenance LindaA, very inspiring and helpful tips too.

So back to work, kids back to school after the summer holidays, nice to restore normality, and back on track with the old BSD and IF. Me and hubby are also getting back into our training programme (not for weight management, aware of the limited evidence of effectiveness of this) but to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment our running and weight training bring, plus other health benefits of fitness per Se (strength, maintaining my feeble level of muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness etc.).

I am trying now not to calorie count, as I worry about the long term effects of calorie counting on my metabolism, so I am having two to three BSD or LCHF meals within an eight hour window, then fast for 16 hours. I am not going to track, or weigh & measure food. Will see how that goes for now, hope it works! 😃

Morning all

Well maintenance took a bit of a battering last week. I gained 2.5lbs since last Saturday when I had reached my lowest weight in living memory (a smidge under 9st). Almost immediately it all went wrong, although I did stick to plan, something went awry and on Saturday this week the dreaded 2.5lb was still there. I figured it might have been the extra gym sessions so laid off those at the weekend but then went to a wedding yesterday. Whole dinner table was strewn with chocolate covered coffee beans – ate my body weight in them – now can’t face the scales!! Should have weighed in this morning but actually couldn’t face it – just don’t want to see what I’ve done…..so…..fasting today – see if I can pull it back but it’s only 10am and I’m starving – must drink more water!

Hope your week’s better than mine!!

Hi PommieRach
I tracked every day whilst I was losing and stopped cold turkey once I hit maintenance. I often fast by either missing breakfast or lunch and once dinner as I now eat only when I’m hungry, not when everyone else says I should eat. My longest fast so far is 24 hours. Seems to be still working!
Cheers
Linda

Something worked (or everything worked) – so the combo of laying off the peak stuff at the gym, yesterdays 20 hours fast and a small mountain of chocolate coffee beans resulted in a 3.25lbs loss and a new all time low weight.

Note to self – don’t assume it was the coffee beans……..:)

Now to try and get to grips with this maintenance lark…again….lessons I’ve learned
1. Don’t weigh every day, or more than once a week
2. Don’t go crazy in the gym – focus on HIIT
3. Relax!!!!