I started the BSD in January. And February. And September. And again on October 3 – but have already had a blip. I have managed to get myself back on track (ish) and one thing that is really helping me is reading these forums on a daily basis, so I thought I would start my own journal here too.

Even though I’m really not hungry I can’t get past the feeling that I want to eat. That I “deserve” to eat! This afternoon I was so close to running out to the shop and buying all sorts of junk. So bored of myself!

On the plus side, I didn’t run to the shops. And I am doing much better with regard to weighing and measuring myself and making sure I walk a lot more than I was previously. But I’m so envious of the organised people here who have spreadsheets and meal plans, cos I just can’t get that together.

The reason I want to stick with it is that it works – for various reasons I’ve not been to see a GP for a long time so I don’t know about my blood sugar or pressure but do know I’m losing inches from my waist and kilos from my weight, and that is encourahing. Have lost just over 6kgs so far, in another 9kgs I’ll have a BMI that is no longer in the overweight range. I should feel so much more positive, but I seem to struggle every day at the moment. Hope tomorrow is better!

I actually know what you mean!!

I feel like i restart this every 2nd day … but at least i am re-starting. One of these days it’s going to “take”.

What we really deserve is to be healthy and to fit into our old jeans.

I deserve black jeans without a stretchy waist!!!! I don’t even fit my stretchy waist jeans right now.

Let’s be carefull though … no breaking our legs getting down and back up on the BSD wagon!!

HUGS 🙂

Ha, yes true! Thanks for the kind words Shalimar.

I didn’t have old jeans😱

But now I wear jeans 😃 And, I found a pair of size 12 jeggings in a charity shop. For £2 it was worth the risk. And I love them!!!!!😱😃

I never wore jeans either in all my 68 years but now I have a pair (bought before I realised that 10stone 7 was not my ideal weight and that I needed to go at least a stone lower) sadly they are too loose but for now a belt works to hold them up.
But I have also bought jeggins – size 12 – and I absolutely love them too. My daughters thoroughly approve of the new me.

Well done in the jeggings, you two!

Michael Mosely should get a reward for services to the jeans industry – my handle here is a misnomer, as I actually don’t have any smaller jeans to fit back into any more. So I had to buy a new pair this week! 34-inch waist, so not my end target but I’m happy to see some progress!

I’ve joined the jeggings party too today 😀 I’ve been practically living in my jeans as well, I think the novelty will wear off soon.

*note to self* buy more jeggings before holiday.

I was going through my draws and found the random Jeggings I brought at some mysterious time. Decided they look smart yet casual enough for the conference meeting over next couple of days, now just need an event worthy of the little black dress from charity shop that was hopeful a few years ago. I also tried on the ‘bargain’ a bit-different-for-me dress that I brought 4 years ago, that was hopeful then (I was going to lose weight) and still has tags on. I could fit it on and zip it up – not yet comfy but fitting.

Thank you fro your message I found it inspiring I too feel stick and after initially lossing 12 pounds i have three setbacks each more difficult to get back from I will alos reocrd my jurnal as its making a commitment to my health as I am over two stone overweight with fatty liver caused by weightgain

Lost a centimetre off my waist and neck, and 3cm off my hips this week.

Had a pub lunch with friends today – decided just to go low carb and forget about the calories. Thankfully they had run out of Yorkshire puddings!

Having done that I feel like I’d really like to get three really good days under my belt before my next meal out on Thursday.

I’m a way off wearing a size 12 but am clearly going to have to get myself some jeggings to celebrate that milestone when (not if!) it happens!

I had to look up “jeggings” and I’m not sure I know the difference from jeans. I must say I’ve never believed in tights as outerwear, but if you feel good you probably look good. Whatever makes you feel skinny!

Better day today – started the day with a grim sense of determination to stick to 800 calories and I’ve done it. My step count is well below last week’s average but I dragged myself out to a yoga class, which of course made me feel GREAT. Hope to get below 78kg this week.

Got an incentive to stick with it, with friends visiting in late November and early December plus a trip home in February. Be nice not to have that paranoid feeling that everyone’s thinking that I don’t take good care of myself.

Might have done ok sticking to 800 cals today if I hadn’t decided to put double cream on my cherries instead of Greek yoghurt. SO MANY CALORIES. Also: SO DELICIOUS. But means I’ve overshot drastically. On the bright side at least it wasn’t with something sugary or carby, and I did enjoy it.

Also after really nailing the higher step counts for a week I have lost my motivation to walk as the dogs had been coughing yesterday and the vet says to keep them out of the park for five days to avoid spreading the bug. Can’t face leaving them at home and going off by myself for a directionless walk (I’d usually use lunch or a treat as a reason to go out).

Such a thread of negativity – hope I feel more positive sooooooooon 🙏🏼

I imagine your dogs would be upset if you went off for a walk without them! I’m like you, can’t be bothered with directionless walks. And can’t use food as a purpose any more! Luckily it’s a nice walk to the local library or post office, if I need to visit either of those.

I not one for directionless walks either. Thank goodness there is a coffee shop i can aim for. and since i don’t drive i can also do the get off the bus early and walk part way … although i haven’t tried that yet 🙂

So far i resisted getting food with my coffee!!

Right now though … there is fall/autumn foliage to enjoy!! Soon it will snow … that will cut down on walking since i have a fear of falling on ice with my bad knees.

So many nice, encouraging people on this forum – thanks shalimar and Natalie. I did some local errands and was surprised that I racked up 4,000+ steps when other days I go on two dog walks but still don’t hit 10,000.

Food was much better too – I read enough people saying they’ve been enjoying bolognese and courgetti to finally get it together to make it, and it was delicious plus a satisfyingly substantial bowlful so my eyes felt sated too. Was possibly a mistake to watch the Great British Bake-Off though, not much there for the low-calorie, low-carb dieter! 🍰

Dinner out tomorrow, but the place we’re going usually has super delicious salads, great meatballs (not served with spaghetti!) so I’ll have a good choice. I don’t actually struggle too much resisting pudding and they’re with their young kids so doubt they’ll be ordering rounds of sugary cocktails that are more of a temptation for me. Just going to try and do low carb and not worry about the calories (again).

My new mini goal is to hit 76kg by the end of next week, which will mean I’m below my old nemesis weight of 12 stone and the lightest I’ve been for quite a few years. That should feel like a good milestone to hit, and it’s good to be aware of a moment where I would usually start to slip back into eating whatever I feel like.

The day started well when the scales showed my weight at 78.1kg, my lowest weight for some time. Having decided I would only try to stay low carb instead of low calorie today, I noticed that giving myself permission to eat more did not actually mean that I ate more! I felt more relaxed about food.

But going out for dinner has thrown a spanner in the works somewhat. I had a lovely time, but when I tested my urine for ketones just now it looks like I am no longer producing them, after a really good stretch. I thought I had done a reasonable job avoiding carbs, but I guess not…

Got a busy day tomorrow but working from home and my friends gave me a box of cookies (I didn’t tell them I was dieting), so I feel scared about what I’ll end up doing.

It’s just eight weeks, I hate that I feel the need to “cheat”!

Hello
Have been scrolling through many threads this evening as I too am going to have to ‘restart’ in the morning.

Had complete blow out today – in spectacular fashion. In fact was uncontrollable. Had a good 5 weeks to date and let myself down today.

Found it quite easy at first but then plateaued and lost motivation. Now obsessing about food. Going to bed feeling ashamed.

Had stressful day and hope today hasn’t undone my 7-8lb Weight loss
Apologies for moaning and negativity …

Plateauing is pretty normal and natural … your body just wants a little relax and adjustment time.
I need a restart as well … but i am not feeling too bad about it … although i have apologized to my body for giving it a headache from all the crap i’ve been eating this week.
We need to be a little kind to ourselves.
when it is time we will start again.

HUGS

Ohh, Nedds Mum, I hope you had a better day today. Don’t feel bad about a blowout – if you’re used to turning to food when you’re stressed/bored/happy/sad, you’re dealing with multiple issues when you diet and even though you know it’s good to do it, there’s more chances to fall off the wagon! You’ll get back on it if you want to.

Shalimar, you’re always so kind and supportive, thank you! You’re right about kindness.

I actually did ok today, starting to feel better. Had more work on, so less time floating around the kitchen wondering what I can nibble.

Unfortunately another bad day.

Family member very poorly in hospital. Stress levels high. Making all wrong food choices.
Will try tomorrow.

I do appreciate the kind words. Thank you

Like Fit_My_Jeans_Again I’m on yet another fresh start, but I know it works because I did a full 8 weeks earlier in the year.
I know it’s very hard for many of us to be 100% on the diet 100% of the time, due to either stressing events or social ones.

I have a number of birthdays coming up in the next couple of months, and I already know I won’t be able to stick to my 800 calories on those days. But there was a thread in this forum some time earlier this year that talked about thinking of these off days as a variation of the 5:2 diet, which many people have had great success with. So I’m choosing to go along to these occasions, do my best to be sensible but enjoy them, and think of that week as a 1:6 week. One day off my diet, six days on. I found this attitude very helpful because it doesn’t make me feel like a failure if I have the odd ‘off’ day. And easier to get back to the 800 plan the next day.

This is true … the 5:2 can work very well. But on the 5 you don’t count calories and such but you do eat the low carb mediteranean diet …. which i am sure doesn’t include binges on crisps, cake, candy and such …. which when i am having a stressed out emotional binge is what i eat. And i can and do pack away a lot of it.

These binges sometimes happen …. just don’t feel ashamed … and return to a proper 5:2 or 800 calories when you can.

OH MAN, total disaster weekend – at 8pm tonight I was all like “I AM GOING OUT TO BUY WINE AND CRISPS AND PIZZA” and that’s what I did.

Sooo… I think I’m V3.2 tomorrow – have downloaded a spreadsheet shared by someone in the Share Your Success Stories thread and I am going to see how it goes if I just follow someone else’s (incredibly meticulous) plan instead of (not following) my own improvised “it’ll be fine” version.

Interesting to see that my repeated response to thinking about one of the pets being poorly and probably needing to go to the vet tomorrow was “I MUST EAT SOMETHING”. Got to keep up with the mindfulness training I guess… wonder if I can add that to the amazing spreadsheet.

Mondays are always better days… so fingers crossed!

I need every day to be a Monday! It’s psychologically so much easier to be sensible. I’m below 800 cals for the day and even though I got home late I still pulled on my yoga clothes, grabbed my mat and went to class. Plus yoga is such a virtuous circle, there’s no way I want to come home and have wine and sugar afterwards.

Forgot to weigh myself this morning though. Or maybe I “forgot”, cos I didn’t want to face the scales after yesterday’s binge. Fingers crossed that today has undone some of the damage and that tomorrow will be another positive day 🙏🏼

Hey! This is totally a forum I can get involved in 🙂 I started a post a while back and then fell off the wagon and can’t face posting on it again. What a failure!

I know what you mean about the binge… numerous times last week my resolve collapsed under a packet of chips or some savories in the staff room at work.

Today’s a new day! I’m 200g down from last week, so its still a loss!!

Keep it up 🙂

God, Gtownclaire, I’m so bad at facing up to my shortcomings! Actually one of the reasons I’m trying to post in here on a daily basis, as hopefully it will keep me accountable to myself, and give me a chance to briefly reflect on my successes and failures.

To whit – another strong day today. It seems that being too busy to eat is a good thing. So I had my usual breakfast of coffee and 10g of salted popcorn (a whole grain!) and then didn’t have anything else until I got back from a dog walk at 2pm. Was out again between 5pm and 7pm, which is usually the time I find myself grazing in the kitchen. I made a delicious keema peas with slim rice for dinner. Even had room for a square of dark chocolate. Did 803 calories and over 12,000 steps. (And spent £400 at the vet… but that’s another story.)

Hope the scales reward me tomorrow.

Well done Fit my Jeans. Good work today. Great to see that after feeling bad about your pizza night you are straight back to it. An inspiration. I need to be more like that!

Wow, a third day staying in the 800 calorie limit. This is unprecedented for me!

Trying to work out what I’m doing differently this week… annoyingly it seems like there’s a few things that are making it easier (I long for there to be silver bullets for every problem!)

One stupidly small difference seems to be that I was snacking a lot on roasted almonds and I’ve just realised that not having any in the cupboard has coincided with my three perfect days. So I have to think about whether I’ll keep them in the house in future.

Another is being busy with work – it’s great that I’m busy, but it’s a bit out of my control, so I just have to hope that it carries on for awhile.

I’d already noticed this, but it helps so much if I can put off my second ‘meal’ of the day to as late as possible, until at least 1pm. Psychologically it makes a difference knowing that I’ve still got 700 cals to go and dinner time isn’t *that* far away.

Today I had 150 cals saved for cherries, Greek yoghurt and flaked almonds while I watched the Great British Bake-Off final, but as I measured out the portions I only took what I wanted, instead of adding a bit more and a bit more until I had all the calories I could. WHO AM I EVEN??

Well done fit my jeans. Hope you had a good day today. 3 days at 800 calories is fab 🙂

Have you stayed off the the almonds? This interests me as I too am snacking on them. Probably too much. Do you think this is why I’m not losing at the moment? I don’t eat meat or fish so they are a good source of protein for me.

Thanks Nedd’s Mum – I have had another good day, actually! I read about your resisting sugary snacks in the hospital, that’s really difficult when your day is lacking bright points so well done!

Re: almonds, I have seen other people say you’ve got to be careful on nuts as they can surprise you with more carbs than you expect, so they could be the culprit if you’re not losing, I guess?

My problem is I love them so I have a hard time not munching through a lot more then I plan to when I get the bag from the cupboard! So by not having them in the house I think I am snacking less. There isn’t much else in my kitchen at the moment that I can nibble on in that same “ooh, one won’t hurt way”.

Today I had to go into the office in the middle of the day so my first proper meal was late again. I then had enough calories left to have a proper hearty dinner. It was a (normal) recipe I’d been wanting to try for a few weeks and I really enjoyed it. Also, I weighed myself this morning and I have lost about a kilogram so far this week.

I feel a bit keto flu-y though, even though I’ve made an effort to drink plenty of water and added some salt to my diet. Hope it passes, might have to look up other fixes… I think last time I found Diorlaryte helped.

Not much walking today cos of going to the office instead of the park… will rectify on the weekend though.

Well done. Here’s to another 800 cal day for you.
You’re doing great!

I let myself go up to 900 calories today – could’ve stayed on target but decided to have a glass of wine with dinner. I’d gone up in weight this morning but my waist has gone down a bit more so I think it’s just a blip. Pleased with how I’ve done since Monday, I haven’t felt this on track any of the previous times I’ve started. But one day at a time, right!

I just read your post then and thought I’d written it and forgotten! I also had a plus on the weigh in this morning, if just 0.2 pounds, and am currently enjoying a Marlborough sauvignon blanc very small glass which has taken me to just short of the 900 calories for the day. Onwards and downwards tomorrow 😊

We’re identical Mixnmatch! Except I’m still on the wrong side of 12 stone and you’re on the right side. Maybe if I can have another good week I’ll be joining you there too!

Aren’t they just stretchy rather than ungiving? I have a pair of Calvin Klein size 12 jeans I used to wear, and a size 16 pair which are very loose. I aim to wear my old ones at Christmas. I bought some stretchy denims in tkmaxx the other day and they are great. I have to say jeggings look a bit clingy for my bulges.

Well I don’t know what’s happened to me but I’ve managed pretty well this week – the longest I’ve stuck at it properly since I first tried back in January (I know, it’s baffling to me how I can find it so impossible to stick at things I really want to do).

Down to 77.8kg this morning, which isn’t quite the lowest I’ve been this year but so much better than the 84kg I recorded myself weighing in early September.

Also, I ran up a biiiiiiig flight of stairs at the train station this morning and didn’t need any time to recover. Even just three weeks ago when I did the same thing I was out of breath for a minute or two so the extra walking is paying off.

I’m considering making a new year’s resolution to finally go and get my NHS over-40s health check. Been so scared of what I’ll hear that I haven’t felt like facing it, but am so much more positive and getting various bits of my life in order.

And I’m getting excited to see an old friend in just under four weeks. We last met in March this year and I was feeling really fat and frumpy and miserable about buying bigger hot weather clothes and thinking I looked terrible in everything; this time if I buy something new to wear, I hope it’s because all my current clothes are too baggy!

Fingers crossed that my feeling that Mondays are easier returns tomorrow. Wishing my fellow 800-caloriesers a good week!

Another good Monday – two walks, one yoga class and just under 800 calories for the day (including the unexpected dark chocolate truffle the yoga teacher gave us as a Hallowe’en treat). The scales had actually gone up a bit this morning but having read the various posts here about ‘whoosh’ so I’m hoping that that will happen for me soooooooon.

I had cod for dinner – I should definitely eat more fish! Massive piece, really tasty and satisfying and not even 70 calories.

Starting to get to the point where sticking to the diet doesn’t always feel like a massive triumph of self control, which, I think, is probably the only way I’m going to make it to the eight-week mark.

I had enough room in my calories for a small glass of wine last night! Unfortunately the two further glasses that followed, along with the almond cookies… not so much. But the scales had gone down a little this morning.

It does feel as if it is getting easier on the whole. Having said that, I am very bored of hovering around 77 to 78 kg! I need to read a bit more about the dreaded plateau I think. I saw on one website that you actually excrete most of the fat you’ve burned via your lungs but breathing more does not seem to be helping!

It’s definitely getting easier – another day within my calorie limit.

Did an online shop today, going to try making kedgeree with slim rice over the weekend, as having new recipes to try seemed to help keep me on track. Also going to have keema peas again cos that was delicious.

Frustrated that I’m still not under 77kg after 10 days of keeping largely on track and definitely in calorie deficit. Trying to be rational about it but it’s dragging on now and I’m starting to imagine I’ll be this weight forever 😐

Argh, MyFitnessPal is telling me I’ve gone a total of 66 calories over this week, so only 10 extra cals a day, and that my average carbohydrate consumption each day is 45g. I’ve turned a ketostick pink every day and yet this morning I weighed more than I did a week ago. How is that even possible?

Finally got my eating under control and now feels like it’s completely pointless, none of my measurements is going down 😟

Don’t panic, it will go, make sure you are eating enough fat in your calories, and drinking 2-3 litres of water a day, also make sure you have enough fibre to stay ‘regular’. I’ve noticed more plateaus than I’ve ever experienced in my life since I’ve been measuring every day, but they are just part of the grand plan. Has your shape changed? Are some clothes looser than they were? Are you exercising more and building muscle? Keep on keeping on, and when you get the whoosh, it will be worth it.

Thanks for the advice and encouraging words Mixnmatch – and congrats again on your amazing achievement! I hope you enjoy your weekend.

I could definitely drink more water actually, and I noticed my fibre was pretty low in the MFP stats. I think I’m getting enough fat, although calculating macros isn’t something I have ever attempted… but I can definitely work on water and fibre!

Haha, I have also just realised that the extra wine and almond cookies I mention here on 2 Nov mysteriously have not appeared on my My Fitness Pal diary… accountability clearly not my strong point.

After last night’s hissy fit I stepped on the scales this morning. 77.6 kg AGAIN 😫

Then I move the scale slightly and stepped on it: 77.0 kg. I tried again: 77.0 kg. I tried a third time, 77.0 kg. So I’m taking it. And keeping on with this amazing regimen.

According to My Fitness Pal, I am now 8.5 kg lighter than I was on October 1, and my waist is 13 cm smaller.

6 kg to go until my BMI ( for what they are worth) is in the healthy range. One pound to go until I am under 12 stone for the first time in… I don’t even know!

Feeling motivated now – so grateful for all the useful info and inspiring posts here, I think it is making a big difference in helping me stay on track this time.

So, that whoosh seems to be a real thing!

After moaning for most of last week about weightloss, I’m suddenly seeing the scales go down again. Lost a bit more weight this morning and I’m pretty sure that tomorrow is going to show up another loss. So glad people here have been talking about plateaux and getting over them, otherwise I might’ve given up.

Monday is traditionally my sticking-to-it-without-even-trying day, and so far that is proving to be the case today as well. Courgetti bolognese for dinner, which is my new favourite, and a yoga class, which always makes me feel good.

Over the weekend I made keema peas with the proper lamb mince instead of the beef mince I used the first time, without realising that lamb mince is much more calorific, until I’d eaten it. But it was delicious and those calories are from fat, so I feel fine about it.