Can I risk a question about dark chocolate? I was looking at some today and it seemed so high in carbs/sugar. Lindt 90% was 14g carb/7g sugar and Green and Blacks 85% was significantly higher. I know that the point isn’t to eat 100g but it still seemed a lot to me.

So I picked up some Cavalier Dark Chocolate which has Stevia rather than sugar in it. It’s 85% with 18.7g carb but only 3.2g sugar. I bought some and it’s nice (once I add sea salt) but is it actually better to go for Green and Blacks – I’m wondering if there’s something on the ingredient list that makes it secretly evil. Anyone know?

Caronl – thank you
Gattina – good luck on the clothes shopping. I’m slowly donating all my old clothes so my wardrobe is dwindling fast. At some point I’m going to have restock but I think I’ll keep an eye on the charity shops for the time being – after all come December I’ll have lost 100lbs in total and that’s got to be worth a few dress sizes 😉
Alex49 – great NSV. I’m recently back to a size 18 jean although it greatly depends on where the jeans come from!

This is such a busy thread, it’s lovely to see so many supportive and inspiring posts.
Hummingbird – thanks for your kind words 🙂 I’ve been doing BSD since Jan last year and learnt a while ago not to get too hung up on what the scales read! I’ve lost more weight since I posted, so now only another 200g to get back where I was. Life is for living and I certainly did that last week, hence the gain 🙂
Mokovex – congratulations on reaching your goal! What a lovely feeling it must be to have reached a goal you’ve worked so hard for 🙂
JGwen – well done on reaching the 5 stone mark, that is a fantastic achievement!
Shanshu – it IS harder to stay on plan when you are dealing with domestic upheaval! Breaking down goals into smaller chunks definitely helps. I have 18kg or about 40lb to lose still, but I just focus on a few kilos at a time (I tend to lose weight very slowly, in part due to medications and chronic health conditions). I’m determined to lose the entire 18kg by December though, my mantra for this year is to “lose 18 in ‘18” – I just need to focus and try to stay on track more!
There, we’ve both put our goals out there, let’s do this 🙂
Treelady – I’m sure you’ll quickly lose the 3lb you put on while away. I put on weight too last week because of eating off plan while away with family, but it’s almost all gone again now after 4 days back on plan. You may find some of the gain is water weight, as carbs hold on to water. At least we have the tools to reverse gains, allowing us to ‘have our cake and eat it too’ on occasions 🙂
Marsie – sending you virtual hugs x life is so unfair sometimes. I guess though if you take care of yourself first you’ll be better able to support your siblings.
Maid2Measure – well done on your 3” loss. Those sort of NSVs always mean more to me than the scale readings, as I find my weight often fluctuates up and down. It’s lovely when you see the inches reducing and you start fitting into smaller clothes – that’s when I really hit home for me that this WOE works 🙂
Alex49 – hope you are feeling better now, migraines are awful!
I hope everyone has a lovely Easter break 🐣

Well done to everyone losing kilos, pounds, inches, dropping dress sizes and otherwise moving downwards.
It has been an interesting week for me, I lost the three pounds I’d put on with the carb outbreak with a 48 hour fast over the weekend and actually lost a further pound to a new low of 145, but since Tuesday I’ve had family staying with me and have been in holiday mood.
Even so I don’t want to fall into old habits and feel bad physically and mentally so I have been experimenting with indulging in a low carb way. Main meals have not been a problem, we’ve had chicken korma with cauli rice, chicken fajitas with gram flour flatbreads and meatballs with ikea cream gravy with mash for them and courgetti for me. The gram flour flatbreads were a bit weird but did the job but the meatballs from the recipe book made with grated parmesan were absolutely delicious. Also good were the parmesan crisps which were equal parts parmesan, cheddar and ground almonds baked until the cheese melted and they turned crisp ish. Totally unnecessary for your diet but there are times when you get fed up and think ‘Why can’t I just sit around watching tv with a huge packet of crisps?’ and these plug that gap.
For pudding I made the chocolate kidney bean cake, which my daughter rejected after two bites. It wasn’t the kidney beans because I didn’t tell her about them, it was the complete lack of sweetness which is not what you expect in a cake. I had it with fresh raspberries and single cream and really enjoyed it which is good as there is now another 8 pieces stashed in the freezer. Daughter bought a piece of chocolate fudge cake from the supermarket so we were almost eating the same things. It was the same story last night when we had scones with clotted cream except mine were almond scones from the freezer.
So a bit of a long post and definitely no weight loss to report, I have been definitely eating too much, but I think it is a small triumph as I am building this woe into my real life, times of celebration and overeating as well as when I am on the straight and narrow.

Morning Marcassin,
I keep forgetting about the recipes in the book – the chocolate kidney bean cake sounds intriguing. I’m in the mood for baking this weekend, so I’ll have a go at that, the almond scones and the parmesan crisps. OH doesn’t really have a sweet tooth, and is gluten intolerant, so he is normally happy to munch on whatever I choose to experiment with.
Picked up some hanging Easter decorations while away earlier in the week, so I shall take my secateurs for a walk later and see if I can find a couple of nicely shaped Willow and Hazel twigs to make up my Easter tree for the weekend.
all the best

I saw the nurse. My HbA1c is down from 74 mmol/L to 40.

In a couple of weeks I’ll go back to weight loss and aim to push my BMI down from 25 to 22. Between now and then I have a Libre Sensor on my arm and I’m eating injudiciously to create graphs for all the foods that won’t spike my blood glucose violently. I tried glucose and it spiked, so the principle seems to work. What I’m finding is that if I eat carbohydrates on their own (like potatoes or carrots) I spike but if it’s on a plate with meat and sprouts and cabbage it stays lower. Either way I’m back to a baseline within two and a half hours unless I’m asleep, when digestion seems to go on quite a while longer.

So, for the moment I finally have an NHS-certified “healthy weight”. Not before time, I’ve not been this low in thirty years.

I also have an observation to make. Both going into ketosis and coming out of it my fingers and feet feel freezing for days on end, after which they go back to normal. Keeping my indoor temperature to 12°C might be a factor.

Hello Everyone
I’ve been a little bit out of the loop the last couple of days as I’ve been trying to sort things out (cooking, cleaning and shopping) for family visiting as well as buying birthday presents for my husband.

Marsie – I’m so sorry to hear about what’s happening with your brother and sisters. We’ve had some serious illnesses in my family over the last few years, it’s a difficult thing to deal with. As Busybee says you’ve always supported and encouraged the rest of us on these challenges, and as Allie says, nothing you say is ever depressing. Take care. xxx

Spot – that’s fantastic news – I bet you are relieved to know the BSD is working as it should. I’m absolutely delighted for you (and I’ll be picking your brains about the Libre Sensor soon).

Maid2Measure – 3 inches off your waist is fantastic – and truly well done for side-stepping the birthday cake. Hope you had a good birthday.

Shanshu – 3 stone is another great milestone – I don’t know how accurate those health measurements on scales are either but a downward trend is a downward trend! Hurray.

Alex49 – that’s quite a thing to achieve – to be away for a week without access to scales or the internet and still manage to lose weight – what a great sign for the future – well done that woman
p.s. – enjoy those size 18 jeans!

JGwen – 5 stone loss is brilliant – you absolutely must jump for joy – it’s a smashing achievement

For those I haven’t managed to catch up with I’ll try to catch up with you next time.

Happy Easter to you and yours.

Just hopping on for a moment, Marie, to wish you a happy Easter! Having a full house for the weekend sounds
heavenly 🙂 I do miss those days, with a ham baking in the oven, and our home filled with laughter and love. Things
will be very quiet in my neck of the woods, so not much bustling around will be needed. I did find some beautiful
grassfed loin lamb chops and the first of the seasonal asparagus, so I can at least produce a true Spring meal on
Sunday. Your husband is a lucky guy…more than one birthday present??? xxx

Have a beautiful holiday, everyone! It will probably be fairly quiet on the thread, but I’ll be looking in 🙂 🙂 🙂 Hold
the line with chocolate, my lovelies!

Allie

Thanks Allie, and a very happy Easter to you. What a lovely way of describing it – a true Spring meal.
Marie
xxx
n.b. yes, my husband knows he’s a lucky man. I keep telling him.

Okay, Shanshu and Gattina…Are you alright??? Been a little quiet from your quarters for the past few days 🙂 How
about you, Hummingbird? Only 1 day to finish up the holiday weekend! I believe in you..(I told you I can be a bit of
a nag!) Believe in yourselves. You are absolutely” worth it,” so treat yourselves well!

Allie

Shanshu, I can’t see if anyone has answered your Lindt question or not, but you’re quite right how high it is in carbs for dark chocolate – I was looking at some 89% stuff today and dint’ really consider it worth it!
However on the Green and Blacks front I find this really manageable. I usually don’t even get the dark one – the milk and sea salt one is good for low carbs and calories and you can break off a very small rectangle to suck and make it last for ages when you’re having a desperate moment – and it doesn’t blow the counting in any way at all.

Hi all. Super quick check-in as I’m with my parents oop north. I don’t get to see them very often due to distance so not online much. Also can’t weigh myself or count but i know I’ve gone over calories (although probably not ridiculously so) but have been very good with the carbs.

I’m away from Monday too so will do a weigh-in a day early.

Alliecat – thanks for checking up! I’ve been determined not to fall off the no carb whilst accepting that I’m going to eat slightly more yesterday today and yesterday due to eating out and a lot of family celebrations. But I didn’t even have a taste of my OH’s creme egg sundae this evening.

Made2Measure – thanks – I’ll keep that in mind. I think it’s training myself to have a small amount. A bar is a not a portion!!

Happy Easter everyone and a happy Sunday for those who don’t celebrate Easter.
Just a quick check in I to say hello – Allie thanks for checking 😀
Spot – your results are really good. I’m really interested to hear how you get on with the Libre sensor.
I finished my Cancer Research challenge today. I walked a total of 436,441 steps and 282.74 km in March. I think I’ll put my feet up now.
I’m heading down to the coast later today (I’m writing this very early in the day) to spend Easter with my brother. We’re having lunch at a lovely vegetarian restaurant which I’m really looking forward to. My eating is completely out of control but I’m doing lots of exercise so I hope it’s repairing some of the damage.
All the best everyone

Happy Easter to you all – we’ve been blessed with blue skies and sunshine today, and the Easter Bunny has been and left me a dark chocolate Easter egg next to our Easter tree (my usual used to be Ferrero Rochet, nice to know the bunny was thinking of my BSD WOE).
Maid2Measure – thank you for the info on the carbs in the different dark chocolate – I had rather naively presumed that the darker it was, the less carbs there would be, and hadn’t bothered to cross check. Once my current bar of Aldi’s 85% is finished, I’ll opt for G&B from now on.
Right, time for a lemon and ginger herbal and then off out into the garden to get my vitamin D and exercise by continuing to cut back and top off our monster Laurel hedge the previous owners left to grow wild.
ATB and KOKO.

[post deleted]

Hi Shansu. I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment “100g isn’t a portion” 😄. I have Lindt 90% chocolate and only have 1 square. Anymore leaves me nauseous but 1, eaten slowly, hits the spot. As such the numbers aren’t too scary (1/10th of a bar = 1 square) at 59.2 cals, 5.5g fat, 1.4g carbs (0.7g sugar), 1g protein, 0.003 salt.
As a comparison 85% Aldi dark choc for the same 10g is cals 60.8, fat 5.1g, carb 1.8g (1.4 sugar), protein 1.1g, salt 0.038. But as a bar is 25g I would always eat the full 25g, and more, in one go when I bought it.
Numbers are from the back of the packs.

Morning all – I’m doing weigh-in a day early as I’m away from today to Wed so next time with scales would be Thursday.

Amazingly, whilst not keeping on diet in terms of calories (by a long way), I did keep on lowish carbs with the exception of too much dark chocolate and a portion is sweet potato fries. As a result I weigh less after Easter than before it. Surely a first for me (milk chocolate Easter Eggs being my absolute favourite thing).

I credit my willpower to resist on the book Alliecat suggested – it really helped me decide that being naughty just wasn’t worth it!

So the challenge so far…

Challenge starting weight: 212.8lb
End of week 1: 209.4lb (-3.4lb)
End of week 2: 205lb (-4.4lb)
End of challenge goal: 205lb (0lb from target)

Woo hoo! So I need to revise my hopes for the challenge. I would like to lose another 6lbs to take me to 199lb. That would be an all-time BSD low. I will find that challenging as I’m away without scales (either kitchen or otherwise) and access to a kitchen for much of the next two weeks but I’ll going to give it a good try.

Hope everyone else is ok. I probably won’t be posting much for a few days but will be reading everyone’s posts as they come through via email. Xxx

I am still here, but currently on holiday in Cornwall, so not weighing and measuring and indulging in some seasonal food not strictly part of the WOE. Walking has taken it’s usual upturn though, despite some rain, with more than 10,000 steps every day so far. I spent Saturday at Geevor tin mine for the Man Engine resurrection which was great, had an Iranian vegetarian stew instead of the usual pasty or fish and chips and it was delicious.

Thank you for the mention of man engine, you reminded me that its coming to Wales next week.

Hey JGwen,
I’d completely forgotten it was coming here – we’ll be going to see it at Blaenavon hopefully, but as there are a couple of dates in Wales, we should be able to see it somewhere.

Hello everyone, I’m joining this challenge half way though. I’m wanting to squeeze as much oomph out of my initial enthusiasm as I can.
I’ve been on 5:2 successfully in the past but – but, well you know what happens … so I am back, starting again.
I’m hoping to loose as much as I can before I am 60 in September. Also know I have to reduce my BS.
I had a ‘Eureka’ moment recently talking to a therapist when I said to him that I had this fantasy of winning the lottery and THEN I would organise my house from being an overflowing mess to be a calm, minimal white space and loose weight.
He said that he thought for me loosing weight = winning the lottery.
And he is right. So here I am.

Hello all…belated happy Easter to you all. Despite having a housefull I managed to avoid chocolate and wine which is quite a result for me. Weigh in this morning and down a kilo taking me to 109.6…result! First time below 110 kg since I can’t remember. Next mini goal is 104.5kg. Onwards and downs. Have a nice day all xxx

ALEX! That is absolutely wonderful that you’re so on track with the 90 day alcohol free challenge, and have done so
well over the holiday weekend! I’m smiling and clapping, on this side of the pond 🙂

Hummingbird, so much of this WOL is in the planning, and you thought it all through ahead of time, so big congrats
from me!

Speedy, a very warm welcome to you 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’m really looking forward to your successes, and an active thread
like this one is the perfect place to share them.

Have a great week all, and if anyone stumbled, dust yourself off, get back on track, and Carry On!

Allie

Hi everyone,
I am new to this and planning on joining when I return from my holiday on 9th April. I’m currently 11st 7lbs and would like to lose 2 stones. I have found all the posts to be really encouraging and they have definitely motivated me to give this my best shot! I have checked my diary and only have 3 social events where I can’t control the food so I will just have to do my best to get straight back on track and make the best choices as otherwise I will put off starting as there will always be something won’t there! Looking forward to joining you all on your journey.

We’re looking forward to getting to know you, too, DebOFlo. Of course you are right, there will always be real life to
intrude on a set of perfect circumstances, but this is the place to find strategies to manage them 🙂 Welcome, and see
you soon!

Allie

I came across one of those motivational talks earlier today which really hit a note with me, so much so that I thought it worth sharing.
People often struggle to achieve what they want in life as a result of two mistakes. 1, they don’t know what they want, and 2. they don’t know why they want it which makes it hard work to achieve what they want.

Obviously we all set our selves targets for the amount of weight we want to loose, but I have noticed for myself that focusing on something I want to do once I have lost the weight is a much more powerful inspiration when the scales don’t change for days at an end, or when it comes to dusting myself off and climbing back on the waggon than just having a number of lbs I want to loose or weight I want to reach.

I hadn’t thought about it before, but point 2 really resonates with me and thinking about it, the people away from the list that tell me they want to loose weight but don’t stick with a diet are all people who don’t talk about their reason why their lives would be richer once they have lost some weight.

Hi JGwen
Your point 2 is a very good one, and has got me pondering now as well. Where do I find this motivational talk to listen / watch / read please?

Hi everyone,
Wow, busy thread. I’m still trying to catch up on all the posts. Thanks for all the kind words regarding my situation. I did see your post JGwen about passing the 5 stone mark. That is a fantastic accomplishment, congratulations! Thanks for the motivational post as well. I am definitely still focused on weighing less so that my horse doesn’t have to carry so much of me around. He is still growing and gaining muscle week by week, but I’m still sitting at around 16% of his weight and I really want to be under 15%. I have decided that I am going to pay myself a sum for each kg lost from now on so that when I have lost these final 10kg, I will have enough put by to buy a flattering new pair of jods.
I’m not weighing in for this challenge as I figured it would be too discouraging as I am eager to lose the weight I’ve put back on, but my most important focus at the moment is getting my iron and B12 levels up as quickly as possible. If I’m doing well by the end of the challenge, I may start back on a 5:2 pattern for the next one. I’m trying to focus on NSVs. Few and far between so far, but at least the sugar and starchy food cravings have subsided quite a bit which is making it easier to stick on plan. I have several lbs of asparagus in my freezer that needs using up before the new crop arrives, so I decided to try roasting it in the oven with a crispy coating made from nutritional yeast and parmesan cheese. It was delicious! Low carb and high in B12!
I’ve got one more week off work to rest up, so I’m hoping to have enough energy to start getting back into the routine of going to the gym, and hopefully be able to continue going a few days a week even once I’m back at work.
KOKO everyone! Looking forward to catching up with how everyone has been doing.

Hi Treelady,
It was just a short video that popped up on facebook with a guy who just made the 2 points on why people don’t have the lives they want. I think it was a marketing video by one of the new age people trying to get people to sign up to a course with him. I doubt if I could find it again because probably facebook wouldn’t readily repeat it on the posts displayed and I don’t remember the guys name. But he really only spent a few seconds making the two points and they just happened to be a light bulb moment for me, the points about its relevance to weight loss were just the ideas it sparked for me.

Hi everyone
Just a quick report-in as it’s my husband’s birthday today and I’ve got lots to do.

So, I’m delighted to say I’ve lost 3lb this week (well, it’s probably from the last 2 weeks as I lost 0lbs last week). Luckily, I lost 1lb a day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday which really helped me keep on the BSD straight and narrow over Easter even though I had family staying and they ate a lot!

This means I’m now 9st 3lb and I’ve finally reached my 5 stone total weight loss (71 lbs in fact). Hurrah! My goal now is to reach 9 stone and then I’ll see what my health markers look like (particularly my body fat/visceral fat levels) before deciding what I need to do next. But for now I’m a happy (Easter) bunny.

A warm welcome Speedy and Deb0Flo, and nice to see you back articfox – go well this week.

Hope everyone has a good report-in. I’ll be back later to catch up with everyone’s news. KOKO

Hi speedy. Isn’t it funny how we all come by our lightbulb moments?. Yours with the therapists comment about the lottery win. JGwen and the video. Mine was trying on the really expensive skirt I bought for son’s wedding 4 years ago and realising it wouldn’t go anywhere near, measuring waist and discovering it was 40 inches! I knew I’d put weight on since starting the steroids 5 years ago but I think I was hiding behind that as an excuse. Now my waist is 31 inches and this morning’s weigh in was 10 st 1.5!! Down from 10st 4.25 last week. Feeling pleased with myself as have had son, wife 2 girls, daughter, hubby and 2 girls here since Friday and I’ve cooked, baked made puddings and desserts which we never have although hubby is partial to a bit of my coconut and lemon cake when I bake. I’ve eaten everything just very small amounts. I’ve had a few glasses of wine too but thankfully everyone else demolished the chocolates! Yesterday though we had the main meal at lunchtime and I didn’t have anything else for the rest of the day as I wasn’t hungry so maybe that accounts for the loss this week. We always have the main meal in the evening so maybe that’s the answer!
Can I just say I so look forward to your posts Allie. They always say the right thing and so eloquently too.
Good luck everyone with today’s weigh in and hope your results are in the right direction. KOKO. Tilly x

Well done marie123! That’s fantastic! I am in awe of all you ladies who have lost lots of weight. It takes stamina to keep going. I’ve gleaned so much from you all and the support you give us “lesser” losers is heartwarming. So encouraging.
DebOflo and Speedy you can’t go wrong on this thread. You can feel the love (or should that be lurv)! This is a great family and I’m glad I found it. A big thank you to all my virtual sisters. I’m an only one so it really brings another dimension to my family x

Well done Marie123 and Tillybud.

Small loss to report this week, just 0.4kg which is 0.88lb. but every little counts. I am now 4kg away from my initial target weight which is the point where I plan to visit my doctors surgery and get my revised weight added to my records combined with recommending the BSD to them.

One NSV, have gone to the next hole on the belt I now need to use to keep my jeans up.

On the subject of chocolate – I found some CoOp Fairtrade dark chocolate that was pretty low in carbs and sugar in comparison to others. I have bought it in case I need it. My stress levels are very high – we’re trying to find a flat for my OH near to his new job and he’s found one, so we’re waiting to see if he’s accepted. My stomach is doing somersaults.

I’m in a BnB at the moment so can’t make food. Am thinking that I will fast until midday and then have some miso soup and seaweed crisps. This will mean the calorie load overall will be greatly decreased. Should be able to stay low carb without too much issue if I can find somewhere that does a cheap salad tonight.

Hi all – hope everyone enjoyed a few days off work.
Some really good results being posted. Shansu – well done reaching your challenge goal. Marie – 5 stones – wow! That’s fantastic. Alex49 – that’s a brilliant result too.
Speedy and DebOFlo welcome – I hope you find these forums as helpful as I do. There’s a lot of support here – I look forward to hearing how you get on.
JGwen – that was a really interesting point you made about the two mistakes people make and they resonate with me too. I’m guilty of both those points whether it’s trying to improve my health or other aspects of my life such as work. Certainly something to think about.

I’ve had a gain in weight again this week – really not doing so well, but I am determined not to let it take over. Today I’ve planned my meals and I’m counting calories and carbs – it’s the only way for me to stay in control.

Have a good day everyone.

I’ve just caught up with everyone’s posts. Forgive me if I miss anyone though – it’s hard to keep up!

Firstly to the newcomers – I think these are Speedy and DebOFlo … Welcome! I cannot begin to describe how helpful this thread and these forum members are. Full of useful advice and much-needed support and very welcoming. I hope you get as much out of posting here as I do. Good luck with your challenges.
Gattina – hope my ‘diet twin’ is okay. How’s the walking going? Congrats on completing that Cancer Research challenge – that sounds amazing. I’ve had a few weeks with a gain in the recent past but the good thing is we know what causes it and how to fix it. Good luck for the next week – planning and counting is the only way I manage to stay on track: -)
treelady – I’m pleased your Easter Bunny was thinking of your BSD WOE. I originally asked my Easter Bunny to buy me a small milk chocolate egg and to give it to me on my birthday. But with everything else going on – I think he’s forgotten. Which is actually a good thing as I don’t want to be sidetracked from the weight loss.
Hummingbird1- really interesting to hear your Easter plans and mini goals. How did it go?
AnnieW – thank you for your comments about chocolate. 1 square it is!
Mixnmatch – hope you are enjoying your holiday. I must look into the Man Engine thing.
JGwen – thank you for telling me about all your animals a few posts back It is the dream to be able to leave the rat race behind. Moving to the coast and out of London is the first step on our plan for this. I also was interested in the element of not understanding why they want it. I’m going to have a think about this and then make a list. I like lists… Also well done on your loss and your NSV – a change of belt hole is always a good indicator of your hard work paying off.
Speedy – I like your therapist!! I have always said IF I lose weight THEN… IF I had money THEN… Turns out the only thing I needed to do to be able to lose weight was to find a diet that worked for my body and BSD is it.
Alex49 – well done on avoiding chocolate and wine (I managed neither) and for your kilo drop.
DebOFlo – I hope you have a lovely holiday and we’ll be here to welcome you on the 9th.
arcticfox – losing weight for your horse seems to me to be an amazing reason. Good luck with getting your iron and B12 levels up and I hope your carb cravings continue to diminish.
marie123 – Well done on your loss – especially over Easter. 5 stone!! That’s fantastic news. Seeing a number of people reach that milestone is very inspirational. For a long time I’ve been like.. if I could just lose 5 stone. In reality, I think I need to lose a lot more but 5 stone is such an enormous achievement. Well done.
Tillybud – well done on the loss – that’s a huge number of inches. and for resisting going crazy despite cooking and baking for everyone else.

I think that’s everyone – good luck to anyone who hasn’t checked in yet. I’m going to sit here hungry for the next hour until I’m allowed to break my fast. I might also go for a short walk at lunchtime too.

Sorry I haven’t caught up with all the posts, I haven’t been getting them for some reason.
I had a fairly indulgent Easter and gained 2 kg in 2 days! I hadn’t thought it was that indulgent and 1.5kg went overnight, hoping the rest is gone tomorrow.
Otherwise still plugging away trying to stay on an even keel with 2 challenge weeks to go. I’ll catch up on everyone else’s news tomorrow.

Thank you for the lovely welcomes 🙂 It’s interesting hearing how everyone is doing.
Today was my first weigh-in day since I started on Friday and I was 0.6kg down 🙂
I’m hoping to eventually lose 40 kg (and then ideally more but 40 will make a huge difference to me) so a long way to go but I’m happy with that first step.

Mariet – I expect it’s the carbs retaining water (*pretends she know what she’s talking about) so hopefully it will be a temporary blip. Certainly my recent gain from eating carbs was quickly lost once I got back on diet.

Speedy – excellent loss. Well done. When I did BSD the first time I lost 25kg approx and that had a massive impact to my health and to the levels of visceral fat. It completely righted my blood sugar and chloresterol and blood pressure levels too. After a regrettable return to carb eating in the last few months of 2017, I am now back to almost what I was before I stopped the BSD and again am feeling the benefits. What I meant to say is I think you’ll start to feel the benefits very early on. For me – within a month I had more energy, slept better and just felt better. I didn’t realise how bad I felt until I realised how good I could feel. Stopping eating carbs changed that for me.

YES YES YES , Shanshu..And you do know what you’re talking about! “I didn’t realize how bad I felt until I realized how
good I could feel”. That is well and truly IT, for a lot of us 🙂 I suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for 17 years,
and once in ketosis, I didn’t know what to do with all of the energy. Sonewhere along the line, I had just accepted
it! Never again, and giving up carbs gave ne ny life back (m key not working!)
Tillybud, I just love your thoughts about our community! There is something very special happening on this
thread that goes far beyond weight loss. All of you lovely ladies with lots to lose are very dear to me, so I’ll
continue to follow you all.
Gattina, I’m sorry that you’re struggling a bit, but hang in there with us. You can and will do this. Weighing and
measuring is important, so a good strategy for regaining control. Have you received the Taubes book yet? Do
let us know what you think of it. And don’t neglect the water 🙂
Attention chocolate lovers!…Have any of you discovered raw, unsweetened cacao nibs yet? 1 tbs on my morning
yogurt is 60cal. and NO sugar. They will seem a little bitter at first, and have a weird texture (like coffee beans)
but as your tastes change, you may grow to love them. Lots of antioxidants ,magnesium and fiber, too! Throw in
a tbs of chia seeds and 6-8 raspberries, and you have a quick, nutritious and very portable breakfast 🙂
Congratulations on all of the positive changes being made here. Carry On, my lovelies!

Allie

Hi Allie – thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it. I know I struggle with chocolate so I have an absolute ban on milk chocolate for myself now. I like it too much to do one segment. On the other hand, I always hated dark chocolate and whilst salt makes it more enjoyable, it’s not what I want from my chocolate. The upside is I don’t over indulge.

Hi I’m not doing this challenge, but will join you for the next one. Best wishes to all those weighing in today. I also wanted to say a big thank you in particular to Alliecat and Marie123 today for your ever-helpful motivating posts. This really is a special website. Any news on Esnecca, Theodora and Verano?

By the way, I tried cacao nibs for the first time today. Let’s just say they take some getting used to…..!

Haha, Caron, they DO take some getting used to, I agree 🙂 Now I can just eat a tsp. out of the jar! The best part is
that that is always enough, and I have no desire to keep filling my mouth with more. And of course, there are the
health benefits…I particularly appreciate the studies that suggest a serving a day can prevent cognitive decline!
Looking forward to seeing you on the next challenge! Thank you for the kind words, too 🙂

Allie

Good to read everyone’s losses for the week – keep at it all.
Yesterday my scales told me I had lost the 3lbs I put on by being away for 5 days, but this morning the scales said I had gained 4lbs!!!
Talk about feeling miserable, until my TOTM started and that explained it all. What an effect hormones have on your body – I never really noticed it until I started keeping an eye on the scales every day. Probably explains why my mind keeps trying to goad me into eating all things carby and sweet. Eventually succumbed to more dark chocolate today, and far too many cups of coffee and milk than normal – but that is a much better response than I used to do. So, I shall focus on some NSV for the coming week, and trust in the process. OH should come home with a trailer load of logs shortly, which will give me plenty of exercise carrying them to the shed down the garden, and a great feeling of satisfaction stacking them all up just so.

Treelady, hormones do wreak havoc with the scales, but at least you have an explanation. Everything will right itself
in a few days, though. I can’t say I miss those old days of feeling bloated and tender, everywhere! I like order, too,
and lugging logs is great resistance exercise 🙂
Caron, I forgot to add this to my post. Esnecca has just moved into their dream house, so probably very busy
with that. Verano is on an extended holiday in the far East, and Theo is mourning the loss of a much beloved
family member. I very much miss them too, but trust in the belief that they will return to the family when they
are able. I haven’t seen Flick out and about, either. I’m sure they understand how much they mean to the community,
so we’ll just have to keep the “home fires burning” until their return!

Hi all,

Too many posts to respond to but it sounds like everyone is making great progress! I’ve just come back from a long weekend away, and a pre-planned week of not counting calories/carbs, before I do another 8 weeks of the BSD. I lost 17lbs in my first 6 weeks, so I’m hoping I’ve not put on too much during my break.

Back on it tomorrow!

Hi all – some amazing loses, well done all. 5 stone Marie123 that’s amazing will hope to join you on that marker one day still seems a long way off for me but I’m plugging away at it.

Week 3 and -1 lb for me this week, to be fair I was disappointed but on reflection I have over indulged on the calorie count with a lovely Easter weekend with the family although no chocolate which I am amazed at but did succumb to a glass or several on the wine front (oh dear) have noticed that red wine doesn’t spike my blood sugars but the white sends me sky high so when I do part take on a tipple it will have to be red from now on 🍷.

Had a general check up with the GP today and all figures looking good but she wants more improvements on the scales and with my BP which was a little on the pre-high side 🙁. Also left with a prescription for HRT – long time coming but I have finally given in to the battle of my dwindling hormones – a little apprehensive but excited to especially if it will help lift my mood and give me back my non fuddled head – expecting a lot lol.

NSV this week husband commented that the cellulite that I had started to accumulate on my rear end has disappeared 😜 – I am definitely taking that one!

Away all next week with a mixture of business and pleasure – staying in hotels from Monday night until Saturday so hoping for an extra good week this week just in case things go a little off course next week.

Have a great week – always amazed by everyone’s loses, determination and encouragement KOKO all x

Hi everyone, wow this thread has been busy! I had thought it was the opposite, as I read posts via email and hadn’t received any emails for a few days, not sure why this happens.
Well done everyone, some great losses and it sounds as though we all wnjoyed Easter. A special congratulations to Marie on reaching the 5 stone mark.
Welcome also to our newcomers, you’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for inspiration and support.
I’ve gained 0.4kg this week. I’m not too concerned as I know why. Not chocolate, but hot cross buns and wine, plus a few days of over-eating. I’m paying for it though – joint pain and inflammation has flared right up!
So I’m back on track this week with some BSD friendly meals prepared or planned. I should see a loss this time next week fingers crossed!

Hi all, late to the party again this week. Yesterday’s weigh-in showed 60.2kg i.e. 100 gms up on last week. Not much, especially over Easter (and given my rather poor mood over the past couple of weeks) so I’m rather pleased.

Speaking of mood, I want to thank you from my heart for the very kind messages of support at a time I was feeling so dispirited. The kindness and support did not surprise me at all because of the quality of people we have here. Aren’t we lucky and/or clever? We have been provided with this forum and between us we have created a space so informative, supportive and emotionally safe it is quite remarkable. It’s my privilege to be associated with you.

Because I’ve not been on the forum since the 28th I can’t possibly comment on every post since then so well done on the progress shown and welcome to the new members and look forward to reading your stories.
Just a couple of special mentions:
Mokovex -GOAL 🎉🎉👏👏 congratulations and best wishes with your next plans.
J Gwen, 5 stone, how wonderful, congratulations, keep going. 👏👏👏
Shanshu, life seems turbulent for you just now. I applaud your approach to your year of change, taking the positives wherever possible. You will be successful, I’m sure.
Treelady, choc eggs at Easter is definitely not solely a British obsession. Here in the antipodes the second the boxing day sales are done the Easter eggs and hot cross buns are out there on the shelves.
Mariet, what a roller coaster ride for your brother in law. Awful for him and your family. I hope all will be well for him. I’ll keep him in my thoughts.
Busybee, dear friend, thank you.
Allie and Marie, special people, thank you.

I’m sorry to those I’ve missed, I’ll do better next time.
MFODAAT.

My trick with cocoa nibs was always to mix up a small pot with some pine nut kernels and just keep it by my desk, dipping in when you felt like it. The combination works brilliantly. I add it to protein drinks that I Nutri Ninja too, I don’t object to the grittyness and just love the taste. They are a right little mineral powerhouse as well.