Ah, mixing up Kcal with Kjoules. Yes, seen it done before. I think Kj are the higher ones and I always use Kcal. Enjoy your baby spinach.

Baby spinach as part of breakfast this morning, with a bit of diced bacon and stirred into scrambled eggs – nice!

I had a difficult day yesterday, got VERY stressy with work in the afternoon and would normally have devoured half the kitchen, but I managed not to. I logged off at a sensible time, did a short kettlebell workout (while watching the Bake Off Final?) as I didn’t think I could focus enough for a yoga class, had a small snack of some air-dried salami and then cooked supper. However, because I was still a bit hyped, I cooked and ate a larger portion than we have become used to – I can’t believe how awful I felt, physically, that feeling of being full was really unpleasant. Mentally I was hacked off with myself for eating to discomfort and not stopping before that point, but that’s another story I guess. The frightening thing is, the huge portion of food was still within our 800cals, and was actually just one sliced chicken breast cooked in wild garlic butter, with some purple sprouting broccoli. I obviously cannot tolerate large portions anymore, which is a good thing.

Probably another difficult day today, work is full-on at the moment and there is the added uncertainty of England’s tier system announcements later today which will impact what we can and can’t do between now and the end of the year.

I’ll pop over to the positive thoughts thread too, I need some of those.

KOKO 🙂

Well done and keep it up. Don’t beat yourself up about having a bigger portion of food. I remember very clearly 2 occasions during my 6 weeks of 800 cals where I was insatiably hungry. You kept it on plan (and still within the 800!).
You’re learning this isn’t just about the diet and the 800 cals. This is also about the low carb way of eating and how your body is being retrained and learning to cope with less food – all be it lower carb.
Once I went into maintenance I found it hard to make the portions big enough for a good while and continued to lose weight (more slowly but it continued down). Don’t let that scare you it’s all good!

Thanks again for the encouragement freester!

Better day yesterday, worked a long day to get ahead of the work stress, but then didn’t get chance to do yoga or kettlebells, and I’m now achy, but in a good way.
Supper last night was a favourite pasta sauce of onion, garlic, chilli, tinned tomatoes and pancetta lardons, but this time served with courgettini. The portion didn’t look huge when dished up, but we both felt satiated before the plate was empty, and before we were full, and unlike previous behaviours, we both left food on the plate, which is a good sign. When we get to maintenance, I think this will be key, stopping when we’ve had sufficient. The leftovers were amazing in a frittata for breakfast this morning too 🙂

Also, weigh-in today:
He was 19st 13.6lb (down from 20st 2lb last Friday)
I was 12st 13lb (down from 13st 0.6lb last Friday)
So we’ve both slipped into the next stone down, which feels like a great achievement.

Week 5 almost done!

Still here, week 6 and going strong 🙂
Weigh-in today:
He was 19st 11.6lb (down from 20st 1lb last Tuesday)
I was 12st 12.4lb (down from 13st 0.6lb last Tuesday)

We have settled into a routine of eggs and some form of veg (this morning was some leftover ratatouille) for breakfast.
Lunch is soup of some description – yesterday was a tomato and veg soup with a scant 10g of nduja hiding at the bottom of the bowl to add masses of flavour, and today will be the favourite Asian-style chicken broth with vegetables.
Suppers are smaller portions of standard meals but with no carbs, for example Sunday night was a venison bourguignon-style but without the wine (so not a bourguignon at all then) – onion, garlic, mushrooms, bacon lardons, diced venison haunch, venison stock and plenty of time in a low oven, served with cauliflower mash. It was delicious, and there are 2 portions in the freezer for another meal.

Still feeling the change in my belt and clothes, and fitting into stuff I haven’t worn for ages, although working from home I live in tracksuit bottoms and a fleece top 95% of the time!

Ordered some posh cheeses for Christmas, I have decided I will have all the cheese I want (no crackers) but will not be bothering with making, buying or eating mince pies, pannetone, Christmas cake or Christmas pudding. We will have 1 guest for the allowed Christmas period and he is more than happy to eat low carb, but I will make goose-fat roasted potatoes for Christmas day, but the rest of the meal I should be able to keep low-carb and will not bother to count the calories 🙂

Hanging in there……..

Still plodding on, week 6 almost done:

Weigh-in today:
He was 19st 10.4lb (down from 19st 13.6lb last Friday)
I was 12st 10.2lb (down from 12st 13b last Friday)

He hasn’t dropped his BP med dosage yet, wants to give it another week or so of readings, but he is below 120/80 most days, except for some reason his BP is a bit higher on a Thursday. Today he is 112/70, so I do think a call to the doctor next week is in order.

Otherwise, all going OK on the meal planning and enjoying our food, 3 meals per day with no snacks in between, drinking lots of water and either black coffee / herbal tea through the day.

I don’t think you are plodding along 3lbs last week is great strides!

Been great to watch yours and husband’s great progress.

I stopped 800 cals a day at Week 6. But I’d reached my 10% and week 6 also coincided with a skiing holiday!

I don’t miss the snacks any more. I don’t have that raging hunger when can I have some food next feeling. As well as the weight loss you are retraining your hunger and managing it, rather than letting your hunger manage you.

Thanks again freester, I actually said to my husband on Friday that I am less hungry than when I did WW all those years ago, but then I was eating low cal and high carb, would often have a jacket potato for lunch.

We did have a bit of a blip on Friday and Saturday and went to 1000 cal on both – Friday due to insufficient planning and a day that just didn’t go to plan with lots of unexpected stuff to deal with. So instead of preparing what I had planned for dinner, I dragged a bag of leftover curry from the freezer (which had been calculated when I made it) and made some cauli rice. The food was good, just higher cal than anticipated. Taking the positives, though, we didn’t get a takeaway, and we didn’t eat carbs, so the 1000 cal only came in at 21g carbs. Saturday’s excess was due to an afternoon snack of pork crackling which hadn’t been planned, so again over on cals but zero carbs, so I’m hoping not to have done too much damage.

His BP has been low for over a week now, and Saturday he was worse than useless, so will be calling the GP this week to reduce dosage.

Completely back on track today, and the start of week 7, weigh-in tomorrow.

Weigh-in this morning:
He was 19st 9.6lb (down from 19st 10.4lb last Friday)
I was 12st 11.6lb (up from 12st 10.2b last Friday) (but down from 12st 12.4lb last Tuesday, so I’ll take a week-on-week loss)

I am feeling out of sorts this morning too, so hoping this is just a blip on the chart.

After more than a week of sustained BP of less than 120/80, and feeling the effects of low BP, he had a tele-appt with the GP yesterday and he has dropped his Ramipril dose from 10mg to 5mg, and said he would review again in January.

Tomorrow will be off-plan for 800cals as it’s our anniversary and I have bought 2 sirloin steaks for supper! We’ll keep it all low carb, and have low cal breakfast and lunch to keep the cal count manageable.

Week 7, hanging in there………

As I’d hoped, yesterday’s gain was gone this morning, down to 12st 10lb which I am very happy with.

Keeping on keeping on as S-G would say 🙂

And after just a small bowl of broth for lunch today (breakfast was the usual egg+ something), today’s steak supper will bring us to 1000cals for the day, which I can deal with.

And today is Day 2 of hubby on the dusted-off exercise bike, while I went for a walk late yesterday afternoon, so the movement is increasing too, admittedly from a very low baseline, but anything is better than nothing.

He is also down to 5mg Ramipril and his BP was an acceptable 124/75 this morning :), his BMI is down from 40 to 36 in 7 weeks, with a weight loss of almost 10% from his starting weight.

I kind-of expected not to be able to eat as much last night, but I only managed lass than half of a very good, very thick cut sirloin steak. The green peppercorn sauce probably made up the calorie deficit of not eating the whole steak though, but the meal was lovely and very low carb, so all good.
Today we will have the leftover steak for lunch with a salad, and cauli curry for supper to bring the body back into low cal mode.

I even did a short spell on the exercise bike last night while waiting for the sauce to reduce.

Onwards and downwards 🙂

Weigh-in again today:
He was 19st 8.2lb (down from 19st 9.6lb on Tuesday)
I was 12st 9.2lb (down from 12st 10.lb on Wednesday)

His BP is holding steady between 115-120/~75 on the 5mg Ramipril, which he can hopefully ditch in January.

We are both aiming to be in the bottom half of the stone bracket by Christmas Eve – we will weigh on the morning of the 24th and then weigh again on the morning of the 31st Dec and take it from there.

Nice work!

Are you planning on going into Maintenance / 5:2 from Xmas?

Maintenance for me was more intimidating than starting the 8 wk 800 cals a day!

This is my first Christmas on this WoE. I’m not too worried. I think I can negotiate the traps after a year on this WoE. I may allow myself a roastie or 2 on the day but that will be it…

Hi freester, we will have ~3 days of indulgence (24-26 Dec) mostly low carb but higher cal than we have been used to. I will have goose-fat roast potatoes with the goose centrepiece, but will do other low cal veg as sides, and we will have cheese 🙂 Boxing Day is always a South Indian Goose Stir-fry (a Vivek Singh recipe from Saturday Kitchen many years ago), which can easily be made low-carb.

As I found out this week, I have become used to smaller portion sizes, which is good, but maintenance does worry me a bit. I don’t want to up the portion sizes, I would rather increase the fat content of what we eat, so chicken thighs instead of breast fillet in a curry, as an example, and keep the carb count low, with the occasional planned introduction of pulses such as chickpeas, lentils or beans, as I do miss those a bit. I have also neglected my milk kefir of late, so could have a small glass of that on >800 days.

How did you move from 800cal BSD to maintenance?

Depending on what the numbers look like on 31st Dec, I would like to do another 4 weeks of 800cal before moving on to a 4:3 maintenance plan. Ideally I’d like to lose another 2st (and I think hubby would like to lose the same).

So for me, 6 weeks and >10% weight loss coincided with a skiing holiday in Switzerland!

I had my first drink (glass of red) in 6 weeks when I arrived. Planned 1 off plan meal (a mix of Cheese and Tomato fondue which came with bread and potatoes). Allowed myself a few beers / wine over the week but it was surprisingly easy to stay on plan.

Got home. Realised I hadn’t lost or gained any weight. Decided to follow 5:2. Realised quite quickly my weight was still creeping down. So before BSD 17.5 stone+. 15.5 at end of 800 cals. I remember when I fell below 15 I said that was it. But it kept creeping down so I stopped 5:2 and tried to eat to satiety. Weight crept down to around 14stone 2lbs where it’s levelled. Like you my appetite was smaller post 800 cals phase and even now I have to make myself eat a bit more than I really want to be certain not to lose weight anymore.

I used a combination of things. My beloved yoghurt fruit and nuts for breakfast is now 4 tablespoons not 2 as in the BSD book. When making meals like you I’m not really upping the portions but upping the calorific content, add more nuts, a bit more oil, extra portion of veg etc etc.

I do quite often have a low carb on plan dessert with a dollop of Creme Fraiche evenings.

It took me a while to understand how my body reacts to food. I didn’t during the 800 cals but nowadays I weigh most mornings. I can pretty much tell if I’ve lost or gained depending on what / how much I’ve eaten and how much exercise I’ve done the day before. I can usually control the weight gain / loss / level with the amount of dessert!

I can easily lose 2-3 lbs by skipping lunch.

I know a lot of people don’t recommend it but weighing daily during maintenance has taught me what works and what doesn’t.

Thank you freester for such a comprehensive answer, very useful!

I seem to recall you didn’t do this for any diabetic reasons, but have you re-introduced any pulses into your current diet?

I may use cheese as you use dessert, increase the cal on the >800 days, but I must admit I really am enjoying this way of eating.
The other night we had an amazing sirloin steak, green peppercorn sauce (with cream), sauteed king oyster mushroom and a side salad of mixed baby leaves with some strong cheese. At no point did I look at that plate and think “I miss the chips”!

I checked MFP today, though, and our carbs have been creeping down – initially I aimed for 50g max per day but the last couple of weeks they have come in ~25g per day 80% of the time. This has not been intentional.

At the moment we weigh twice a week (Fridays and Tuesdays), so will reassess if necessary, thank for the tip.

I did this after my BP crept up and my GP threatening to medicate. This was my last chance!!!

As far as pulses are concerned I didn’t really cut them out. I just followed recipes in the BSD Book and Recipe book. There are a few recipes in there using Chickpeas such as falafels, recipes with other beans and obviously meat and vege chillis with Kidney beans, and lentils with Dahls etc.

Obviously I didn’t do these so often but at least once a week.

I did cut out Brown rice completely during the 800 cals phase despite MM saying occasional Brown rice is OK. I used the recommended substitutes – Cauli Rice, occasional Quinoa and Bulgar Wheat. I do now very occasional have a portion of Brown Rice. Cooked as MM recommends to remove the starch (basically cook allow to cool then reheat with boiling water).

I’m at the point where I will have Steel Cut porridge at the weekend. I have a very occasional slice of homemade spelt and rye bread.

And I’m going to treat myself to a beer tonight 🙂

Like you my tastes have changed. My guilty pleasure was breaded chicken and oven chips before this WoE. I don’t miss this. Tonight is Turkey Burger, Quinoa and Green Beans a real treat! Tomorrow I will have fresh fish with Celeriac Chips!

Weigh-in again today, and week 8:
He was 19st 8.8lb (down from 19st 9.6lb on Tuesday but up 0.6lb from Friday)
I was 12st 10.2lb (up from 12st 10.lb on Wednesday and up from 12st 9.2 last Friday)
I will weigh again tomorrow, hoping it’s a blip like last week.
Although MFP numbers are in the right region, I wasn’t as organised this weekend as I have been previously, just because there was a lot of stuff going on. I didn’t snack, didn’t succumb to any temptations while out and about, but what has changed the last 4 days is that we have eaten supper quite late – after 8pm, which I don’t like to do. The rest of this week is going to be the same with timings, so I will do my best to keep an eye on portion sizes, especially if we eat later.
Onward and downward, still 9 days to shed >3.2lb, it can be done!

I decided not to weigh again today, I’m not in the right place to deal with any disappointment, so I will weigh as usual on Friday.
We ate late again last night, ~9pm and with just 1.5 more days in the virtual office, that trend is likely to continue for the rest of the week. I am more aware of portion size and food type for the rest of the week. I did feel a bit bloated yesterday, so we had a veg soup for lunch today and will either have some white fish or a veggie meal for supper tonight. I’ve also realised my water intake has been quite low this week, so that’s something I can improve easily.
So, onward and downward and try to re-focus.

Weighed on Friday and we both had good results.
He was 19st 6.6lb
I was 12st 6.0lb
So both in the lower half of the stone.
Feeling sad today though as are many others. We are in tier 4 and won’t now be able to host our friend for Christmas. We were all so looking forward to a few days together after a year of not seeing each other.
We will cope, just need to get on it.
We are keeping on low carb but have not stuck to 800 cal yesterday or today as the Christmas cheeses have been opened.
Hopefully onward and downward, I won’t let the lockdown derail me.

Just checking-in briefly.
No weigh-in planned until 31st Dec, and will then go back onto 800 cal for 4 weeks minimum.
Although we have upped the calories this week, we are keeping to low carb (except for those roasties on Christmas day) and 3 meals per day with no snacking in between, but instead of low cal soup for lunch every day we’ve had cheese and charcuterie with a few pickles and olives and some rocket.
Last night neither of us had any enthusiasm for anything, so we had eggs florentine with some home-smoked salmon for supper, with homemade Hollandaise, which was lovely and lifted the spirits a bit.
The upside of not hosting this year is that we haven’t actually had any alcohol, but I’m sure that will change 🙂

My moment of inspiration to keep on keeping on in the new year – I was getting the Christmas tree and decorations out of the loft and tried on some outdoor zip-off trousers that I bought 10 years ago and haven’t fitted into for at least 4 years – they fit, and will be even better a stone lighter in 2021!

Hi,
I am a type 2 diabetic but luckily for me not on the medication yet. I got the 8 week BSD diet book for Christmas so am keen to follow it.
I will be starting the diet very soon but I’m not overweight as such – my diabetes was caused more by my very sugar filled diet really.
I am 6 feet 3 and 13 stone, so losing weight might make me quite thin – is the diet still ok to follow in my situation do you think please?
Cheers
HL

Hi Hampshire Lad, this was my reply to someone asking the same question a couple of weeks ago.

You may not be overweight but have you heard of people being TOFI’s – that is thin outside fat inside, where you can be really skinny but fat has accumulated on your vital organs causing various problems that come with age (or before if you are unlucky). Try the low calorie/ low carbs for the 8 week recommendation and then see if it has done you any good. Honestly, if you dont have the weight on you it is difficult to lose a lot of weight. I use this diet for my diabetes and the most important part for most health problems is the LOW CARB – that doesnt just mean cutting out cakes and sugar but also things like potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereal, bread and so on. You like the courgetti so you have an idea of carb replacement – I had lasagne last night but with courgette strips in place of pasta. For four years now I have kept myself well, improved my diabetes, cholesterol etc and last week my BP reading at doctors was 110/70.

Hope that helps. Or check the search engine for TOFI.

Weighed on Friday 1st Jan 2021 after nearly 2 weeks taking the scenic route………
He was 19st 7.6lb (+1 lb) and his BP is holding steady at 122/77.
I was 12st 10.0lb (+4 lb)
That puts me back to where I was on 15th Dec, but I am OK with that, and with having ended the year the lightest I’ve been in about 4 or 5 years. My newly-found winter clothing is all still fitting nicely, but I can feel the extra bit of padding, which will be shed soon.

We didn’t go mad food-wise, and I think more importantly we didn’t go mad on the carbs, either in how much or how many days we ate carbs. For the record, carb detours included some Bechamel sauce on Christmas Eve, tiramisu (homemade) on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, toast and homemade marmalade on Christmas morning, roasties and chestnuts on Christmas Day and Boxing day, and an eggnog-like dessert containing sugar on New Year’s Eve, along with a couple of tots of whisky here and there (I didn’t actually write anything down but that is all I can recall). On the calorie front, I didn’t track or count at all, but we did eat a LOT of soft cheese and blue cheese and quite a bit of charcuterie. We kept our water intake at the usual BSD levels, and exercise was sporadic.

Today we are back to a routine, both back to work (still WFH) and back on the 800cal until at least the end of Jan, when we will assess weight and targets.

So breakfast this morning was poached egg with grilled cherry tomatoes, lunch was veggie soup with some leftover turkey meat, and supper will be lamb’s liver or mince with ratatouille.

We will continue to weigh on Tuesday and Friday each week, and restart the exercise bike routine (and some yoga and kettlebells for me).

I am almost thinking of this as Week 1 again 🙂

Weigh-in today:
He was 19st 6.2lb (so he is lighter than before Christmas)
I was 12st 8.8lb (I have shed nearly a third of my Christmas gain)
No exercise yesterday as I had to collect some orders after work, and then we had supper and watched the news that we are back in full lockdown for the foreseeable.
The ratatouille ended up being a huge batch, so we had some with poached egg for breakfast today too, and will have the balance with venison merguez sausage for supper tonight. Lunch is the veggie soup I made yesterday, so not much cooking required today – may have to fill that time with exercise.

Yup stick to the plan and it’s all manageable and it’s easy to lose weight.

I went to an all time low Christmas eve (13stone 13lbs – not planned) but put on 4lbs Xmas day (2 roasties, 1 parsnip, 1 yorkshire and a shed load of cheese).

All gone away now.

You will continue to lose once you stop 800 a day and go maintenance especially if you go 5:2.

Weigh-in today:
He was 19st 4.4lb
I was 12st 7.8lb (so 1.8lb of Christmas excess still to shed)
Feeling good though and getting my head back in the zone.

Weigh-in today:
He was 19st 3.2lb
I stayed the same at 12st 7.8lb (so 1.8lb of Christmas excess still to shed)
Struggled a bit last week to get my head into gear, and this week has started OK, with a chicken Asian-style broth for lunch yesterday and a cauli curry for supper last night. There is enough soup for lunch today and maybe tomorrow, and tonight’s supper is leftover roast pork belly from Sunday, with a side salad.
The milk kefir has been revived so we’re having a small portion of that each day too.
Water intake is good, we each have a water bottle to get through during the day, plus various cups of black coffee or herbal tea.
Keeping on keeping on as SG would say 🙂

Weigh-in today:
He was 19st 0.8lb (starting weight on 26th Oct was 21st 8.0lb)
I was 12st 7.0lb (only down 0.8lb from last week, but started at 13st 11.8lb on 26th Oct)
Managed 10 minutes on the exercise bike yesterday (he hasn’t made it that far since before Christmas……)
and went to the fishmonger this morning, so steamed mussels for supper tonight!

You’re doing well. And eating very well!
Prawn Stir Fry for me tonight!!!

Prawn stir fry sounds good too!

Quick check-in from me today, work has been crazy!
Weigh-in today:
He has cracked the 18st at 18st 13.6lb
I have found my pre-Christmas weight and the lower half of 12st again at 12st 6.0lb.
Not been actively tracking since Friday, but no carbs and generally keeping the portion sizes where they need to be.
I will get back to tracking this week.

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 12.2lb (averaging 3lb per week, which is great)
Me – 12st 5.4lb (so about 1.5lb per week which I am happy with) (the last time I saw this weight was well over 5 years ago).
Although I have written all quantities down in my little black book, I have not entered anything in MFP for a week now, but no carbs and generally keeping the portion sizes where they need to be, so I’m happy with the sustained losses.

Hi RubyG, just popped back to say you are both doing great. It must be so satisfying to see those numbers falling for you both. Keep going and keep reporting your progress, I love reading it.

Quick check-in this morning, busy day ahead but I hope to post on the weekly thread and Easter Bus tour later:
Hubby 18st 12.0lb (very slight loss, but a loss nonetheless)
Me – 12st 6.4lb (I seem to have found 1lb since Friday)
I also need to read the comfort-eating thread, I did engage in a bit of this over the weekend – no obvious carbs, but there were nuts, and plain yoghurt, and various other in-between meal eating occurred. Last night neeps and tatties and haggis were consumed, which probably hasn’t helped.
I should feel good that I am no heavier than before Christmas, but I am vaguely annoyed that January has been a bit of a stand-still with the weight, and if I want to get to 11st anything by Easter I’d better start to focus again.

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 10.4lb
Me 12st 4.2lb
So we have both done better since Tuesday’s weigh-in, and found the mojo again the past few days.
I also managed a 30 minutes Youtube Yoga with Kassandra class on Tuesday, and a 20 minute Youtube Kettlebells with Kirsty Keiller on Wednesday, both of which felt really good.
Market trip this morning, so fresh mackerel for supper tonight, probably with a rocket salad. It’s been warmer here the last couple of days, so chicken and salad for lunch yesterday instead of the usual soup-of-some-description.
I made a really tasty stir-fry last night of thinly-sliced beef skirt, with sliced brocolli and chestnut mushrooms and a bit of lemon and chilli.

Glad you got your mojo back. It’s been really tough these last few days. I’m just looking forward to the weekend and plan a few nice (on plan) meals.

Thanks, I think I’m starting to adapt our way of eating to more of a maintenance mode or 5:2, as I am aware we cannot keep to 800cals/day forever. I have started re-introducing higher cal options like beef, pork and lamb, while maintaining the ethos of low carb and trying to keep portion sizes smaller. Some days are easier than others, but I am committed to keeping on this WOE long-term.
I have been writing down what we eat, but not actually counted it in MFP, which I will probably do anyway just to get an idea of where we are.
I know we both have more weight to lose, and I recall you mentioned you still lost on 5:2, so I am hoping we can do the same.

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 9.0lb (3lb down on a week ago)
Me 12st 6.2lb (up from Friday but down from last Tuesday)
Again, I feel I overate on the weekend, we both spent some creative time in the kitchen and there was much tasting happening and not a lot of counting cals.
A week of focus will bring me back on track, I’m getting slightly bored of seeing 12st 6lb now and would love to crack the 12st mark by the end of this month.
Supper last night was a beef stroganoff cooked by hubby over the weekend, which did include flour in the sauce (I would have improvised and omitted the flour but he actually follows recipes) with cauli mash, which was lovely, plus there are 2 portions in the freezer for another day.
Breakfast today was the usual eggs, with some sauteed cherry tomatoes, lunch is a leek and celery soup made with the chicken carcass from Sunday’s roast chicken, and supper tonight will be leftover roast chicken with something.
KOKO 🙂

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 7.6lb – he is consistently losing ~3lb per week
Me 12st 4.2lb (down from Tuesday and the same as last Friday)
I’ve had a couple of good, focused days and am back to where I was last Friday. The weekend will require some planning and discipline, but I made a lamb curry last night which we will have with cauli rice tonight.

Hi Ruby, sounds as though you have got this well under control. Great that hubby is helping with the choices. Mine had pizza yesterday then asked if I wanted a bite!!!!! He just doesnt stop to think sometimes. Keep on keeping on…

Hi sunshine-girl, thanks for the support, I feel like I’m barely keeping it going at the moment.
Hubby is the one who was diagnosed pre-diabetic, which led us to the BSD book and this forum, and to be honest it’s one of the best things we’ve done. Giving him a good reason to lose weight has helped to keep me on track too, as I have been there before being the one in the house on diet while he ate everything around me.
I think where I’m struggling is that until now we have both been on 800cals per day, and I am OK that he loses at twice the rate I lose. However, as we loosen the 800cals and try to maintain low carb but more cals, he is clearly able to eat far more calories than I am before putting on weight, so meals like beef stroganoff made with cream become a challenge for me. I’m sure I’ll find a way through the occasional higher cal meal (smaller portion) and balance it with something like last night’s cauli rice and veg breyani.

You’re doing really well too don’t give up or lose heart.

Maybe you need to choose meals where you add the ‘fat’ on the side rather than mix in.

Alternatively. On the Facebook group everyone is trying some kind of ‘PE’ diet. Protein / Energy. Still Low carb but slightly less fat. I’m not really following it but a lot of people who got stuck are raving about it.

Thanks for the support freester and sunshine-girl, I am definitely not giving up, just need to find a way to balance it.
Today’s weigh-in:
Hubby 18st 7.4lb – he thought he had gained, but actually he still had a small loss. He had a particularly stressy week last week, but didn’t reach for the food or booze, which was good. He did have a beer on Saturday during the rugby, though, his first since October 2020!
Me 12st 4.4lb – +0.2lb from Friday which is OK. We did have a higher cal weekend but kept the carbs low.
I have considered only weighing once a week, on a Friday, so any creep over the weekend is shed again during the week, and as long as we still show a consistent loss week-on-week we’ll be satisfied.
I also haven’t tried on any smaller clothes in a while, so I may play dress-up later this week to see how I’m getting on.
ODAAT!

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 5.26lb (- 2.2lb since last Tuesday)
Me 12st 5.4lb (up 1.0lb since last Tuesday)
Excuses – 5 days off work for a long weekend at home, and I ate too much!
I should be able to shed this again during the week.
No pancakes tonight, we’ll have an omelette instead!

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 4.4lb (-1.6 since last Friday)
Me 12st 3.4lb (+ 0.2lb since last Tuesday)
At least I shed the weekend’s gain, but this week has been hard. There have been a few too may healthy snacks creeping in (probably a combination of boredom and emotional eating).
Hubby wants to be 17st something by Easter, and my goal is still 11st something by then – I just seem to be taking the scenic route at the moment.
Looking forward to a weekend of getting out in the garden and starting to get ready for spring – I sowed tomato and chilli seeds indoors last weekend in anticipation.
ODAAT!

Weigh-in today:
Hubby 18st 3.6lb (-0.8 since last Friday)
Me 12st 3.4lb (same as last Friday) – which is the first Tuesday in a few weeks where I haven’t put on over the weekend, so I feel good about that.
I think we are sort-of following a reverse 5:2 at the moment – 5 weekdays close to 800cals (I really must start weighing food and tracking in MFP again) and 2 weekend days of low carb but not counting anything (and including a little drink on Saturday night).
Hubby is still losing more than 1lb per week, so is OK with that, and if I chart my weight I am still losing too, week-on-week.
Certainly none of our friends will recognise him when we come out of lockdown!

Weigh-in today:
Hubby -18st 1.2lb
Me – 12st 2.0lb
We’ve had a less chaotic week with work and been more mindful with food, and it has shown on the scales.
It’s also showing in our clothes – I have had to order new, smaller work trousers for when we go back into the office (at some point), and new, smaller jeans too. He needs new jeans and trousers too, but the 40s I ordered will have to be returned and 38s ordered, which is smallest he’s been in 10 years!
Keeping on keeping on!

Hi Ruby, love reading about your progress. You are both doing so well. The good feeling can be addictive which is better than what we used to be addicted to – food. Keep on keeping on…