Lots of stuff to juggle in the second half of the week which raced by again but here we are, second week of November .

Sometimes I think it was easier when I was working, with a fixed routine ! Now I am retired I would be lost without checking my wall calendar with lots of scribbles every day and many different things to manage .

I shouldn’t complain,life is to be enjoyed !

So on we go into November .Week 2, a fresh start if you need one, keep going if you are happy with your routine . Don’t be distracted by any Christmas ads springing up right now.There’s plenty of time 😉

Wishing you all a productive week !

Wendy, sunshinegirl and Sunny B XXX

Hi.
I’ve a couple of unexpected weeks to keep on keeping on ……
So I’m back again.
I saw this in the Daily Mail this morning and it really resonated with me, especially the last one!
Have a good week.

MAKING SURE GOOD NEW HABITS STICK

FORMING healthy habits isn’t easy. We often start with the best intentions but, within a few weeks, once the initial motivation has started to fade and the demands of life take over, we can find ourselves back at square one.

■ SET a daily reminder on your phone until the action has become automatic.

■ IF YOU’RE into lists, start a daily tick-sheet.

■ TRY to keep the time and place consistent.

■ FIND a friend who may also benefit. You can then keep each other motivated.

■ LEAVE a Post-it note on your bedroom mirror reminding you why you started.

■ RECORD any good feelings or experiences related to the activity in a notepad.

■ CELEBRATING any success, no matter how small, helps reinforce your commitment.

■ DON’T be too hard on yourself. If you miss a day or two, look forward to getting back to it tomorrow.

■ BE REALISTIC from the start. Don’t try to implement too many changes at once. If the activity calls for 15 minutes a day but you only have ten minutes, just start with that. If it means you get started today, you’ll still be one step ahead.

■ IF YOUR motivation is running low, try bringing some emotion back into the activity by asking two questions: How will I feel if I continue versus if I stop? And what will my life look life in one year if I continue versus if I stop?

Thank you for persisting with the weekly thread Wendy, it’s a valuable resource and appreciated by many.
Definitely some food for thought there, Verano. We all need a reminder every now and then, as to why we started this way of eating and why wr should keep going.
For me, today has been yet another in the “rather too carby” category, on the upside, this evening I still managed to comfortably wear a dress, which simply will not fit at half a stone over target weight, so am taking that as a win. That aside, am conscious that I need to take more care and reign myself in, if I’m not to find myself with an unpleasantly daunting task when we get back to the UK early Dec.

Hope others are managing to cope with shorter days and strict eating patterns … not always an easy ask. However you are doing, please share your story with us here.
Best wishes to all for a good week ahead.

I’m still here and on plan. some days better than others, some days easier than others but into week 3 of the new focus. Managing with darker evenings but it is the beginning of a long winter time…. having the target of feeling lighter and better by Chirstmas is really helping though, I’m actually feeling excited about christmas – not cos of all the “treats” but just to get there feeling better about myself. And i’m totally up for maintaining BSD principles thorugh the festivities – dark chocolate only, low carb christmas dissert, dont need roast tatties…. that kind of thing.

Anyway, I was away with work Sunday and yesterday, so i did some longer fasting and ate 1 meal each day. The longer fasts feeling easier so playing around with that too. Gym session planned this evening, hopefully be lifting some heavy stuff and doing a bit of boxing which is a lot of fun.

New habits is totally the thing isnt it V – and that list is a great reminder.

Fab your dress is remaining comfy SunnyB, useful to have an item like that…. I have my skinny jeans…which i havent even tried on in months…..soon I’ll hopefully be ok to try and get back into them.

I ahve a party on 19th Nov….hoping i can make an ok job of looking ok in a dress….its a 1920s themed thing…. so I’m a little bewildered….but shall try and get the look sorted. haha

Hi Julz … 1920s, a shift dress, a feather boa or a couple of long strings of beads and a fascinator or sparkly headband, job a goodun! Have a great time!

Still here and still koko but still really annoyed with the scales. Saturday reached the magic number 72 kgs, this morning up to 72.8 so no loss now for 4 weeks. Just seems my body is resisting. BTW I am still doing TRE every evening from 8pm to 10 am all to no effect. The only thing I can say is my clothes seem to be getting baggier especial jeans. I even did cold water swimming last week until it became too cold and actually dangerous at 16 degrees. Found out that cold water swimmers wear wetsuits (did I say that on the last thread).

Been out shopping and getting to use my French quite a bit. New glasses, today bought a new desk because I want smaller furniture in my office space and we have put the bunk beds up for sale today and someone is coming to see them tomorrow but with lots of other interest. Funny thing, 3 blokes contacted me, one wants to pay less, one wants to pay by some method I have never heard of (Wendy virement par paylib even though I said cash only and the 3rd wants me to deliver. Then a woman applied, asked where I lived and is coming to see it and hopefully collect it tomorrow afternoon. Do all men try it on – excuse my stereotyping but it is from recent experience. Talking about tomorrow, I have an appointment for a doppler test to see if I have artherosclerosis as I have black floaters in my eyes. Not seen them since I went back onto the statins so hoping the results will be good.

Have a good week.

Morning all,
Still hanging on, didn’t do TRE this morning as I’m feeling a bit rough still, so had scrambled egg and some sauteed cherry tomatoes for breakfast. Lunch will be chicken broth, and supper green Thai chicken curry I think (those are the ingredients I have out and available).

We have our flu jabs today and covid boosters on Saturday, so I’m hoping we don’t have side-effects of either, but we are very close to the 28 days from having just had covid, so we may end up having a quiet weekend.

Re. your furniture sale S-G, I feel your pain and had very similar experiences when trying to sell cash-on-collection items on ebay. Recent clear-outs have ended up at the charity shops instead, but I have a few things to offload again and I am considering ebay selling, against my better judgement! Hope your sale proceeds smoothly.

Re. establishing new habits, it’s funny how long it takes to establish a habit, and how quickly you can lose momentum when something knocks you off course. Michael Mosley had a book and podcast (I think) called “Just One Thing”, which a friend recommended but which I haven’t read yet – maybe now is the time 🙂

Hi all, sorry to be mrs miserable guts but more bad news.

First the good news – lost the extra weight and back down to 72.2 kgs. Sold the bunk beds but must apologies for sexual stereotyping – sort of – the people were 2 blokes and immediately tried to haggle me down. I told them I had 5 other people interested so why would I reduce the price. They paid up and now I have an empty bedroom. Will look for 2 single beds next year when we know we will be having visitors. When taken down the bunks were too big as they had quite a big headboard and footboard, just need a standard 90 x 190.

Been for my doppler this morning and I need surgery. I have a blocked carotid artery on the right side of my neck, the left side is okay. I have to ring the surgeon tomorrow for an initial appointment then I will have to go to his private hospital for the surgery. It is not ‘if’ I need it, I definitely do but it is the extent I will find out about and the first appointment.

When I read his report it says I have too many risk factors – 1. high cholesterol, 2, diabetes T2, 3. hypertension 4, overweight. I hate the fact he just looked at me and decided I am fat. I don’t see myself as being that bad. At least he didn’t say obese but he didn’t ask me how much I weighed. Here’s a lesson. If you have diabetes and your doctor says you need to take statins it is for a bloody good reason. Statins have no known side effects except some people feel tired or like me, suffer cramps but the good they do far outweigh any minor niggles you might get.

Thats me for today. Up and down both in weight, mood and life in general.

Hi again, just a bit of good news – at last I have gone under 72kgs. Now 71.9. Gives me more motivation for the coming weekend. Telephoned the surgeon today and I have my initial appointment on 9th December, so not too long to wait. Nothing much else to say.

Where have you all gone. To take away from my miserable post I can now add that I have lost another 0.3kgs. Long may it last and here’s to a very frugal (food wise) weekend.

Well done s-g! Persistence certainly pays off.!

lost another 03kgs. Nearly down to 11 stone which was my best when I first did the diet. Fully motivated.

Hi everyone,
I really like the Not Giving Up theme of the November threads. I finally feel like I might be back on track with my eating. I made the decision that I needed some structure to help me eat properly again. I was skipping meals all over the place and then not eating properly or healthily at all when I did eat. My low energy was initially to blame, but then it sort of self-perpetuated because eating unhealthily was sapping my energy further. So for a few weeks I let myself have more ‘normal’ foods and mealtimes. Granola and yogurt for breakfast, lunch was either rice-less sushi (with nori seaweed for iodine) or cheese and veggie open faced sandwiches on rye bread or Wasa crispbread, and dinner was whatever quick and easy recipe I was able to make, with as many veggies as I could incorporate. I am glad to report that it has worked. I am back to actually wanting to eat more veggies and eggs and other proteins. Before it was like I had completely lost my taste for them for some reason. Food is tasting good again and I have far more energy. Good thing too, as we had a sudden and early cold snap this week and got almost 1/2 our typical winter’s snow in 24 hours (35cm). I spent 10 hours shovelling heavy, wet snow over 2 days so I could try to get out to go to a work meeting. We should warm up a bit this week, which will be nice. It was -17C last night, and those temperatures this early would make it seem a very long winter if they stuck around. Not sure that anything I’ve been doing has had any impact on my weight, but I think getting back on track with looking after myself was a top priority. Now I can start making some adjustments again. I’ve also been looking at some of the more conservative lipedema treatments, and I think I may try some of them to see if they help. Most can’t do any harm at all anyway. Just things like eating a diverse, anti-inflammatory diet, yoga, self-massage and dry brushing.
S-g – glad you are getting into the surgeon so quickly, it will be good to get that cleared up. Great to see you continuing your downward trend still too, even if it is slow.

SG, just shows, persistence pays off and having stuck with it, the scales are cooperating for you again. Glad you’ve got your surgeon’s appointment and don’t have to wait too long.
AF, good to see you posting. Sounds like you’ve had some struggles on the food/energy front, but seems you found a way to address that and are begin to find your way back. Now that you are eating more nutritional foods, it will be easier to make adjustments from there, but as you say, looking after yourself has to be top priority.
Don’t think any of the lipidemia treatments you mention would have any adverse affect, so why not give it a go … and actually I’d have though an anti-inflamatory diet could have benefits in other areas, so might be doubly advantageous. Keep us posted on your progress and fingers crossed your winter won’t been too long.
I’ve nothing much to report on the food/weight front. I do know I have gained some pounds since end of September, but no idea how much. Holding on the the fact certain garments are still wearable, but know I will needed toe the line and get real I’m once back home. Meanwhile, trying to stay disciplined and eat as many meals using the BSD principles as possible and not indulge in too many carbs …. although temptation is perhaps too often stronger than willpower!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks …. and try to make the next meal a good BSD one.

Hi all, Arcticfox, glad you have got your motivation back. Food can sometimes seem more of a chore than a pleasure. I have totally given up on Sunday lunches or what you would call a roast dinner. For me it was just meat and veg, nothing special, no roasties or mash, so just the same old. Now we have steaks and salads and today duck breast in a sauce with lots of veg. Yes, still meat and veg but something a bit different.

Julz, just noticed your 1920s night. You can get a decent dress on Amazon for around £20 – flapper style and you can also buy the trimmings like the boa and beads. If you do buy online make sure you get it 2 sizes bigger than you think you need or at least order more than one so you can compare. I was around 14/16 when I bought my flapper dress and had to buy in a size 18. Doesnt sound good but the sizes from the Far East are always quite small.

SunnyB, you know this works so just KOKO.

I am down in weight again , just 0.1kgs this time. I am back to the 2 stone I lost on this diet in the early days and looking forward to reaching 71kgs. It does pay off to keep at it. I was on 72.8 for about 5 weeks, talk about wanting to pack it in but I didnt and I am on the move again. Whenever I reach a certain weight I want to wave goodbye to previous numbers and say I never want to see that again. This time for me it is 72. Sure I will gain over Christmas but if I can lose at least another kg, 72 might not come back.

Enjoy the mild weather and the rest of the weekend.

Hi everyone
Sorry , I have been rubbish at checking in again this week .I honestly don’t know where the time goes.I think it will be easier when I don’t have to factor in hubby’s physio appointments as well as my stuff .He isn’t recovered enough from the knee op to be able to drive safely yet.
We also had our Covid boosters and flu jabs this week and felt fine so I’m glad that’s done.

SG , so sorry to read that you have another health issue to deal with but relieved that you are getting sorted as you don’t need any more stress. We all agree you are the Queen of KOKO, you never give up despite feeling a bit discouraged occasionally. Did you know that tomorrow is World Diabetes Day ? You are our ambassador for sure .

I managed a couple of fasting days this week but I am still not back into my usual routine and I don’t know why.I can talk myself out of doing a fast which is stoopid ! I can’t blame the cold weather as it is still quite mild here .
We go to the Uk in a month’s time !!!

Good to see you arcticfox.Yes, looking after yourself is definitely the priority .You have such harsh temperatures there . Sorry,I don’t know anything about lipedema .Hubby is wearing compression stockings to help circulation in his leg ( knee op) .Would they help ?

Back to my lesson prep ( I must be mad, I said I wouldn’t do this when I retired !!!!!)
Have a good rest of the day everyone xxx

Can’t believe another week is over …. but then …. a new one is just about to begin!
I’m in a ‘black hole’ at the moment, eating out of boredom, mindless eating, eating just for the sake of eating and never feeling satisfied.
OK, so I recognise the problem just need to get my head around the solution!
Looking forward to next week ….. Sunshine-girl, Sunny B, Wendy ?????

Hi Verano
I have been there, feeling a bit complacent and relaxing a bit, then regretting it, getting back on track and then as you say, slipping into mindless eating .It usually means there is something I am not addressing or feeling I deserve a treat etc.I can always find an excuse . It’s not always easy to work out what is going on .

I have been cruising a bit after a successful September.October was more relaxed (mistake !) and now here we are mid November .
What helps me when I get into a slump is to refocus, dig out the books I found so motivating in the early days, understanding why I ‘need ‘something, what is it I really want … Food is so emotionally charged .

Finding new, interesting recipes helps me too.
It’s never really the answer though . Staying healthy has to be .
Stay with us for the new thread, V

I am about to set it up now x

Wendy thank you for your post it’s made me think really, really hard.
Not sure how well this will go down, or how truthful people will really be prepared to be but I’m going to set up a new thread …. What Do You ‘Realistically’ Want?
I think we all have ‘visions‘ of how we did/should/want to look. In reality I’m never going to look like I was at 18! I think we have to try and be realistic and be the ‘best we can be’ at what ever age we are.
It’s hard to accept that we aren’t 18 anymore , but we aren’t …. so I just want to make myself as healthy as possible.