Thanks Kathy. Today (Day 3) is going a lot better so far (although it is only lunchtime!). Yesterday I had 2 glasses of red wine in the evening so my total calories were around 950, but I’m aiming for 800 today. To combat the morning hunger I had a bigger breakfast today – 2 grilled flat mushrooms, a couple of tablespoons of baked beans and a poached egg. This has kept me going until lunch – a big salad with tuna. I’m going to make bolognaise for dinner, but have it with zucchini noodles instead of pasta. I also brought some snacks to work, although haven’t had to use them yet. Some almonds, a container with a couple of spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt, a few strawberries and a container of home made veggie soup (I won’t have all of them today, will keep here for other days). I’ve factored these into my 800 cals using My Fitness Pal.
I found planning my day in advance using the MFP app is helpful. I put in my planned foods and then tweak it until the calories/carbs etc are what I want them to be. I’ve been drinking lots of water and herbal tea, and allow myself one cup of coffee with full cream milk mid morning.
Just so glad that I haven’t had the awful hunger pains I had yesterday!

Hello all! I too started on Jan 9th, and had a good first week with a loss of 2.5kg. I’m 54, and need to loose at least 25kg. My ultimate motivation for starting this way of eating was the fact that a friend of mine is having gastric sleeve surgery soon. (not that I don’t want to lose the weight for myself – goodness knows I’ve tried!!) but the thought of her dropping kilo’s ‘effortlessly’ (as she keeps reminding me!) spurred me on to do some research. I learned that the average calorie intake pre and post op GS is around 800 calories, give or take. So I figured lets try it without the surgery. I’m eating once daily – I find if I eat at breakfast, I stay hungry, so am finding it easier to stick to one good, healthy meal daily. I’m actually find it quite liberating to only have to think about food once a day, instead of ‘what can I have for breakfast/lunch/snack’! Drinking heaps of water. Fighting the wine urge ( and winning, so far!), and have pulled my bike out of the shed, and am quite enjoying spinning around the neighbourhood! Everyone’s stories are really motivating, looking forward to seeing how we all go!

Day 10 in the Bsd Programme! Stayed the same weight yesterday, but down another pound today, so that’s 9 pounds In 9 days! Yay!

My appetite has totally shrunk now, sitting here stuffed and struggling to finish my 270 cal lunch of tuna in pasta sauce with spiralised butternut squash…..
However the desire to eat biscuits and chocolate and drink wine is still in my head. It’s not a powerful urge, and I haven’t even been tempted. But although the hunger is gone, that desire isn’t. But it’s still early days, I need to up the mindfulness I think!

Out socially tonight without kids so this will be a bit of a challenge, I have saved 450 cals for the purpose, but watching a film, so hopefully not much time to mess it up!!😂

I bought some of this tea yesterday NewKathy and LOVE it. Have only tried it hot so far, but will try it iced too – thanks for the tip 🙂
I’m now starting Day 5. Not sure how much weight I’ve lost – I have old style scales and find it hard to read the increments – but it looks to be at least a kilo, or over 2lbs anyway. Am going to go out and buy some digital scales today, as well as the BSD recipe book.

2.5 kg loss in the first week is great Bloaty (love your user name btw!).
I wish I could just eat once per day, would make it easier. I wake up absolutely starving in the morning, so definitely need breakfast! What’s working for me is having 3 meals (200-250 cals each), and a small snack in the afternoon/evening 50-100 cals). I guess we all need to do what works best for us 🙂 I’d love to just drink meal replacement shakes – but I know I’d miss eating food too much!

Hello Mumofcrazynamekids!! YO Girl ! Remember me? How are you and the Crazynames doing?

I am also ‘back’ .. also 2st up sadly 🙁 (and I did so well before) . I also started again yesterday on BSD ..I havent dared venture back to the ‘other place ‘ though…. too ashamed to show my face ! (although I suspect there might be more of us 5:2 oldies on here ) ..

Good to see one of the old ‘buddies’ though to take this journey back with .. and I am looking forward to making some new friends also.

Im Laska, 59, UK post meno and a gran now .. and am back losing the same bit of weight for the THIRD time (sigh) . I was here last year ..

And I really should have stayed , not strayed ..

I want to lose 35 -40lbs if i can .. that would take me to under 9st 7 .. I havent been that light since just aftre my son was born (26 years ago ..

( Day 2 for me now.. )

day

Yay! LASKA!! I came looking for you, saw you had posted a year ago, but couldn’t find you recently, was hoping you had been maintaining and hence gone quiet, hee hee. We are suckers for punishment eh? Just love food and life too much, but we can kick each others arses again and get this thing sorted!

What’s the story? Did you manage the whole 8 weeks a year ago? What lessons have you learnt? You still on the Franks sauce?

Aahh so happy. You have made my night!
(sorry everyone for slight hijack, we are old online 5:2 fasting buddies! From way back in the beginning!)
Me and crazy kids good, still bloody single though, it seems I am too bonkers for most?! 🙄😂

FRAGGLE257 how you doing? you and I are similar weights, same age and both have hypothyroidism, you had a great first week like me, just wondering how you are finding week 2?

I have lost another pound today, so now 12 6, I am planning on doing lots of lovely cooking this week and getting food all sorted for the next couple of weeks.

Motivation still high and clothes feeling looser, even managed to go out to a movie with my friend (who is also on the BSD) last night and we didn’t go for a drink afterwards! very proud of ourselves and that little NSV !

I bought a lovely tartan size 14 skirt in the sale, that I can put on and fasten, but is still too tight to wear, that is my mini goal, to get into that comfortably within the next 2 weeks (need to get some wear out of it before the summer!

has anyone else set any mini goals? or treats for reaching milestones?

Getting under 12 stone is a significant one for me, all my size 14 clothes will fit comfortably again then, which gives me many more wardrobe options. I really need to get on the exercise thing and start working my muscles.

@mumofcrazynamedkids – Hi!!

Yes, we are similar aren’t we! Same age, very similar weight and I am also taking almost the same dose of thyroxine as you! (I take 100 micrograms 4 days a week and 125 micrograms 3 days a week). My dosage went up to 3 days of 125 just before Christmas and I feel like a new woman!! Before then I was suffering symptoms so badly that my weight piled on and I had zero motivation to do anything about it. Really happy that the slightly raised dose coupled with the eating plan seems to be working for me a treat. I started at just a little lower than you 12stone 12 lbs and I was 12stone 5.5 lbs yesterday which was the same as the day before so the weight lose is certainly slowing but to have lost nearly half a stone in less that 2 weeks with a thyroid condition is nothing short of a miracle!

I am not yet feeling my clothes be much looser but I work from home most of the time and when doing that i wear a tracksuit so not the best for noticing weight loss but I am away for the weekend this weekend staying with my best friend and I will be putting on much nicer clothes so hoping that my jeans are a little less tight.

I am finding the WOE really easy to manage and I am not hungry or craving at all really so no problems there but it will be harder when I go away this weekend or am out and about generally. I am doing dry January at the moment which works as a good excuse but it will be more difficult when I get into February (my birthday month and a business trip to South Africa) and March but I find that my friends are generally really supportive – especially when I explain that I am mainly trying to do this to make my thyroid symptoms a bit easier to manage.

Got an instant pot of home made chicken stock downstairs which I am about to turn into some chicken soup so hoping for a lovely lunch when I break my fast at 1-ish!

Hope you have a great day!

HI again and Mumof Crazynamekids its great to get back in contact . are you still on MN? I could Pm you there for gossip catch up or you could me .. My name there is now Laska5772 . Sorry to hear you are ‘still single’.. did you move back down then? I am still on the IOW and have 3 grandchildren under 5 now !

I did manage the whole 8 weeks last year and lost 19lb.. It was pretty easy actually – easier than 5:2 I found but after that decided that was good enough. However that was a mistake. I really I should have carried on to get down to what I managed on 5:2 that first time (10st) .. or at least got back to it after my summer holiday . But hey i didnt .

But yes it worked and it was easy once I had got into the zone ( and stopped blethering on about no wine!) . I am still a ‘Franks on everything’ girl!! Love my chilli! ,

So yes, after a ‘piggy to the max’ Christmas, I discovered that only one bra now fits and my sz 14 jeggings ( which I shouldnt have kept) , are the only jeans I can wear , So Im finally doing it again. (somewhat shamefaced)

Ive now decided to go for a weight (9st 4) slap bang in the middle of my normal BMI as a goal , which I never got down to before.. Whether I can do it I dont know , but re-reading the book , Dr M does say to think ‘big’ on goals, so I am going to ! .

Being the other side of Meno now means I am going to have to watch it now even more , as I have realised that I have inherited my Grandmothers body type after all ( a tendency to big boobs and stomach ..) and now look so much like she did both facially and in body , although i am taller than she was. . She did get pretty big in old age .. . no Diabetes , but she had heart problems not helped by her size I think ..so a warning ..

So I am now on day three and its been fine .. stil the same weight this morning 12st 2and 3/4.. (ive not admitted that on MN).. but a good day and definately under 800 this evening ..

Fraggle and mumof Crazyname .. we are about thesame weight then . I am older though .. height is 5’5..

I am trying to think ahead and get individual meals and meat/fish portions in the freezer as that worked well last time. So
I have just madea big pot of turkey mince ragu pretty to my usual recipe (a Delia/ HFW mix) but using turkey mince instead of beef and being more careful with the oil.. It comes out to six big portions at about 300 cal each according to MFP..

2 of those portions will become a chilli (probably no kidney beans or rice for me probaly green beans or cauli instead ) for tomorrow evening and rest will be portioned up in the freezer. (ill probably divide the rest into smaller portions as they will be just for me and use them as a ‘sauce’ over veggies’ .. MY DH works away all week so I only have to do ‘proper size meals’ at the weekend!

Anyone else have any tips?.. this week I am struggling a bit over lunch (and wanting to snack inth evenings!, althoug I have resisted so far and this evening have drank for lorts of fizzy water with ice in which has helpedbut evening snack desires are a problem.. I think once I am in to it I will be able to skip lunch as such and make do with miso soup.. but I like breakfast (usually eggs) ..

What are you doing? , 3 ‘meals’ or 2 a day ?

Hi Laska , 3 meals is working for me (although this is only Day 6!). I get up at 6am for work, and don’t get to eat dinner until 7pm, and find I can’t go over 12 hours without eating (well I could but I feel really hungry to the point of nausea).
What’ seems to be working for me is a 200 cal breakfast (eggs, porridge or veggie sausage based), then a 250 cal lunch (a big salad with tuna or lean meat, or leftover dinner from night before) and then a 250-300 cal dinner. I have about 6/7 hours between each meal. This leaves me 50-100 cals for a snack if I need one (some days I haven’t).
Yesterday I had an unplanned snack (sliver of colleague’s birthday cake), so had no snacks and a slightly smaller dinner to fit it in.
I think if I didn’t work full time I’d probably only have 2 meals a day – brunch and dinner.

Hello everyone in Week 2
I hope you are doing better than me this week. I have already fallen off the wagon. Being on holidays this week has resulted in a lot of social catch ups and eating out. I am not having a good week and stopped tracking on Tuesday. Having a few sweet things this week has returned the craving for sugar. I popped on the scales this morning and was very disappointed. So I am putting the hiccup behind me and am back to being motivated and am staying on track. I do feel physically better than I felt pre-BSD. I have been going to Curves (a circuit exercise place for women) at least 5 days a week and burning more than 300 calories each time.
During week 3 will be my 25th wedding anniversary and we are going away for 2 days before returning to work on Friday. I am planning to stick to as close to 800 calories as possible.
I have read the posts about only eating 2 meals per day and today I really did not feel like breakfast and started with a healthy lunch.
I will keep reading posts in the forums to encourage me.

Hi Kathy, don’t let a hiccup stop you 🙂
I’m finding it hard to stick to 800 cals too, and have gone over some days.
It should get easier for you when you are back at work and in a routine.
I envy you going to Curves. I was a member for 8 years until our local one closed down and there are no others near by. I really miss it.
Good luck this week 🙂

Don’t panic Kathy and don’t let the BSD spoil your special anniversary – this is not a time to be trying to stick to 800cals a day! I have been on the BSD for close to a year now, with two long maintenance periods and am now back to it seriously, to try to get rid of the last half stone. What you need to remember, is that we are in this for the long haul, so you need to give yourself permission not to be perfect all the time. It is inevitable that you won’t hit 800 every day – but some will be up and as you progress, some will be down – it all balances out. As long as you are giving it your best effort, it will be enough.

My advise for you special event is to try hard to stick to the principles of the BSD, so no bread, potatoes, pasta etc., try to avoid the sweet stuff, but allow yourself a little something as it’s a special occasion that won’t come round again. And of course a glass or two of champagne has to be allowed. Don’t worry about the 800 cals, just try to keep your carb intake down.

Once you have your anniversary behind you, you can really buckle down and tackle the 800 properly. Good luck and have a wonderful anniversary.

Hi all , well my first weekend back on BSD was fine until yesterday evening (and today I havent done too well either) , it has felt so cold here (freezing fog which hasnt lifted all day) that all ive wanted is to eat warm things! So I am definately up both days (but at least ive stayed off the carbs. = ok there was little bit of v dark choc last night .. .)

I had lost 3lbs yesterday morning ( but this morning 1lb back on and hopefully wont be up again tomorrow ) but at least that is a loss for my (nearly) first week .. I think ill think of it as a ‘Training’ week!!

So yes, New Kathy I’ve fallen off the waggon also ! First week and all…

Sue Blue . I’m still thinking of whether it should be two meals. I think before I tried to hang out breakfast until after 10, then miso soup for ‘lunch’ (just so that I had ‘something’ ) then dinner.. However its so cold in my office right now (we are not allowed the heating on much sadly because of the ‘cuts’ so I need something warming right now .. I perhaps need to make some ‘light’ but tasty soup ..
But I also need to walk away from the cupboards after dinner! .

Hi all, how you doing? Beginning of week 4 for me, 15 pounds down, hoping for another 3-4 this week. The goal is to lose 3 pounds per week for the remaining 5 weeks. That will mean I will have lost just over 2 stone. Which should get me to 11 stone. Then I can do maintenance and see what happens, and hopefully shift the remaining half a stone.

Looking forward to more of my clothes fitting, I have one very sexy black jumpsuit I am dying to get into with a flatter stomach, I need to do the bloody sit ups!

Hi Mumofcrazynamedkids!

Doing pretty well here, especially considering last week I was away with work so eating out for every meal and having a cooked breakfast in the hotel each morning. I didn’t manage to stick to the calories but I did keep to the eating plan (probably doing more like maintenance for the week). It seems to have worked as on Week 4 Day 1 I am down nearly 10lbs which is incredible for me so I am happy. I have this week to do well and then I fly down to South Africa with work for 3 weeks so my eating will get a little crazy again. I intend on eating mostly to plan still but I am not the greatest flyer in the world and I am staying in the wine region in SA so I think some wine will be consumed but I will try and keep it to as small an amount as possible to keep the weight coming off!

My clothes are feeling looser but I really want to get out of a 16 altogether and be firmly back into size 14 and that seems a million miles away at the moment! 🙂

Hope all the rest of you are still doing well!

Fraggle – I want your job…..

@topcac – I am very lucky on this occasion, but it is not usually the case! I am usually sent to Solihull or Newcastle! 😀

OK – fraggle, feel slightly better about the fact that I get to go to Pittsburgh…I’ve never seen the sun shine there…

Hi Topcac – many fond memories of Pittsburgh in January – unbelievably cold, but really great people and a lovely atmosphere.

I have to go to Durban over the next few months, but I’m stalling a bit until it cools down a little.

Nowt wrong with Newcastle, Fraggle – fabulous city, just love it and visit on any occasion I can (which is many as my lovely son and his wife live there) It’s got everything anyone could ever want, except perhaps the sunshine 🙁 And vineyards of course 😉

Enjoy your trip to SA – just don’t be tempted by too much wine.

@theodora – I am from the North East so I love Newcastle and I was working in Tynemouth which is really lovely – some great restaurants including a fabulous fish restaurant in a shack on the beach, however – the sunshine is certainly lacking up there! 🙂

Yes, it will be a trial to have my first alcohol since NYE but not go too mad, I seem to be fine when I quit completely (like dry Jan) but not sure how I will get on when I let myself have some but not loads. I did consider keeping up the no booze ban for a whole 3 months but I realise that it isn’t realistic to fly long haul and also stay in the wine region and not drink at all! I think as long as I keep the food good I could count any days that I do drink as my day in a 5:2 type plan….. Fingers crossed! 🙂

Riley’s – Mmmm!