S-g sorry the numbers are a bit of a blur. I can see the calories but the rest is a bit unclear.
The one thing that jumps out at me immediately is PROTEIN!
I think you are having way too little protein. For goodness sake 5Og of chicken, I’m sure I read that correctly. That is no where near enough protein in a main meal.
Not meaning to preach but have you read the ingredients in Heinz salad cream …. no way would you find all those ingredients in your ‘grandma’s kitchen cupboard’! I used to use Hellman’s light until one day I read the ingredients and quickly switched to Hellmans ordinary…. no nasties and twice the calories, so I just have half the amount.
Maybe you need to look at your macros …. I know it makes life more complicated but if you just concentrate on protein I think the rest will just fall into place.
Your lists take me back to when we first started BSD and I used to even weigh lettuce leaves…… are you still doing that????
Time to relax a little, just eat good whole food, stop counting, cut yourself a little slack and enjoy life. I understand the need to keep your blood sugar levels in a good place but you can still do that, you know what to do, relax, enjoy food and if you lose some weight great and if not so be it!

Thanks V, I know the protein looks sparce but just looked on a nutrition site and it says you shouldn’t have more than 100g per day. When I make say a bolognaise I allow 100g each so these might be very strict days. Looking at the chicken and 50g it was a stir fry and I bought a small pack of chicken bits, you know the bits that come off the breast when you trim it. To be honest it was the price I was thinking about as chicken breast that would have cost around 6 euros for 4 decent sized ones now cost around 13 euros. We are not poor so maybe I should not let it bother me. Plus I padded it out with veg. I am from Yorkshire after all…. I used to buy a in-shop rotisserie chicken (not additives, just herbs and spices) every week and 2 breast were my lunches and the rest was for picking when I needed a top up snack. They have more than doubled in price and I refuse to pay 16 euros for a cooked chicken.

The salad cream is an occasional treat – memories of England as we cant get it here, so I buy a bottle every now and then when we are in England. I would have mayo – French with mustard (not checked the ingredients) but more often have olive oil and vinegar on a salad.

I can agree on one thing, I am not eating enough. I was following the weekly menu for 800 cals and, yes it is like when we first started.

I have so much on with counting all my carbs, cals, protein etc I cant do macros plus I am counting blood glucose levels and insulin calculations. Enough. I am definitely going to relax somewhat but will still avoid the carbs.

Thank you my friend, at least I can now see it from another persons perspective. Also with the swimming I have probably been running on around 350 cals a day.

S-g big SORRY! I was looking at the lower calorie salad cream!

Sorry I didn’t see you latest post before mine above!
Yes I see exactly that counting macros and well as all the other stuff would just make life not worth living.
I’m not sure where you read 100g of protein a day but most guides suggest 1-1.2g per day per pound body weight as the minimum to stay healthy …. do you weight 100-120lbs!!!!!!
Ok! You need more protein I’m sure. Hey, just try it and see . Don’t count anything else. Just relax a little.
You know carbs inside out and you know exactly what you can and can’t eat!
I understand the cost of living rising just as you do and great to pad out protein with vegetables but there are lots of others protein sources as I’m sure you know …. yogurt, cheese, tofu (if it’s your idea of food)! Yes it is hard but eggs are a great source of protein and not too expensive.
S-g stop most of your counting. Eat whole food. Up your protein … from tomorrow!? Relax and enjoy food don’t make every day into a trial.
It’s strange actually because a while ago, whilst you were having health problems, you were more focused on eating for your ‘health’ now it seems to be more to do with your ‘weight’!
Priorities!

Thanks V, I have stopped counting but I find it hard to eat most days. Dont think I have anorexia, just a smaller stomach capacity. Not sure where I am not eating whole foods besides sometimes 50g McCain chips which hubby has so I nick 3 or 4, even my burger is homemade. It is hard to get processed foods in France unless you eat crap like frozen dinners, cant think of anything else although I am sure there are tinned meats like lentils with Toulouse sausages. Only other stuff is what you would feed kids. I cook everything from scratch, Just doing a bolognaise with mince, onions, garlic, red pepper, mushrooms, courgette (I still have loads) Marmite and fresh herbs from the garden. I get through 2 dozen eggs a week, mainly for breakfast, scrambled or poached and a weekly fritatta. Looking to see where I can cut out processed foods but am at a loss.

S-g sounds like you eat really well …. just maybe not enough!!
Possibly you need to ditch the ‘diet’ head that we’ve all had since the sixties…. sorry but in reality which of us was ever going to be the next ‘Twiggy’!!!
S-g you really have to try to ‘eat’. The fact that you find it ‘hard’ to eat is a worry. You need to ask yourself ‘why’?
Your own pressure to reach some sort of ‘ideal’ , that may be unreachable, or even, undesirable, or some outside pressure?
Maybe you have to take pen and paper and write down all your reasons, apart from good blood sugars, that you want to continue this way of eating.

I’m thinking of you Artic Fox. We are seeing a lot of coverage of the fires on Australian news, and they are devastating. I hope your home and farm stay safe. The smoke can be such an issue with breathing and ash covering everything, something we also get during big fire seasons. Stay well.
Merry

Hi all, still lurking 🙂
S-G, maybe I have misinterpreted your post, but I just checked on MyFitnessPal and 50g raw chicken breast is only 11g protein and 60cal (50g cooked = 16g protein and 83 cal) , so when you say you should not be eating more than 100g protein per day, the measurement is of protein and not the type of “carrier” of that protein. So 2 x eggs = 143 cal but 13g protein.
Verano may indeed have a point that you are not eating enough, especially on the protein.
I, however, am eating too much 🙂
Have a good week all.

Hi all, thank you for your guidance. RubyG are these things sent to make life complicated. I thought 100g of chicken as all protein so my calculations have been out of whack. Normally I eat too much protein according to my doctor and have been told to cut back because of my kidneys (which are just fine thank you doc), its a diabetic thing.

Anyway, what I can say is, as V has worked out, I am eating to lose weight. I should recognise that because when I am just eating normally I don’t log everything so diligently. I have cut back to try to stay around 800 cals and have maybe gone too far as I had 3 days under 700. I know we don’t count exercise but if I do count the calories expended, some days I have had around 350 cals. Yes it has to stop.

Can I reassure you that I dont have an eating problem and normally eat plenty of protein. Breakfast today was 2 eggs with creme fraiche and 50g cheese. I had been cutting out the cheese to save around 100 cals. So the cheese is back. Lunch was a ham salad with melon. Its these small things that make life enjoyable and eating not just a chore. However, it is so hot here I really am forcing myself to eat. 37 degrees and due to get hotter over the next few days so just keeping hydrated and out of the sun, shut away in my little office with a fan on my face and water spray. Phew.

Thanks everyone.

SG, hope you cope with the heat and manage to successfully reformulate your approach to eating.
Arctic, hope you are still okay. Can’t imagine how scary it must be to have the threat of wild fire looming over you. Take care.

Thought I’d report in furvthis week… my progress seems to have stalled again. Trying a slightly adjusted approach this week, with shorter fasts and OMAD … still have around 12lb to ditch before the end of September 😱. As a slow loser, that feels quite daunting.

Anywauy, hope everyone else is doing fine. Keep us posted on progress, shout if you need help and feel free to vent if you need to … no judgement here.

Thanks Sunny, I have decided to get by insulin down to pre-surgery levels. The hospital really messed things up for me. Took me off meds and fed me bread and jam – that is a typical French breakfast. It was either that or Biscotti. Wendy will know what I am talking about. Anyway, 4 days of that and my insulin needs went from 7 units daily to 35 which is a massive increase. Now 6 months later I am still using 20 units and that is a massive strain on dieting efforts. So that is my aim, forget about weight loss and take care of my health again.

Sorry I haven’t been posting much because of entertaining this week with three lunches & I’m rather fed up thinking about food. However S-G I agree with what has been said about protein & you not eating enough. I’ve re-read the advice on this in Dr M Ms book the fast 800 Keto diet & he says we need anyway to eat more protein as we age to counteract our natural muscle loss. I was also reminded myself that 100g meat only yields 33g usable protein, fish 100g 21g usable protein, one egg 7g usable protein, 200g of Greek yoghurt 17g usable protein & of course nuts, & pulses as well as spinach & other veg also contain some protein. It therefore seems to be easy to just weigh raw food & think we are getting enough protein whilst underestimating the amount of usable protein we actually consume. I make a lot of soup but usually add a swirl of Greek yoghurt or creme fraiche when serving it to increase the protein content. It’s an easy lunch to have & studies show soup stays in the stomach longer because of the larger volume consumed increasing a longer feeling of satiety for a lower calorie meal.
I must admit I’ve rather lost the plot this past two weeks & need to get back on track but made leek, courgette & prawn soup for lunch.
Good luck with re-balancing your diet S-G & well done all of you who have managed to keep on track👍
I hope you continue to keep safe Arcticfox 🤞🤞
Margaret

S-g sounds like a plan!
Most important thing for you is your insulin units so just concentrate on bringing them down and the rest will fall into place.
Good luck!

Hi all, just to reassure you that I dont usually go so low on protein and the 2 days I showed were very much plant based days i.e. a breakfast of melon and spinach shake would normally be fruit and yoghurt or eggs and cheese.

Yesterday I had 2 eggs scrambled with creme fraiche and cheese. Lunch was ham salad and dinner was chicken something or other made by hubby but had 150g chicken each portion. I did lose weight. Not sure if that was because I reduced insulin from 20 units to 17 and still had good blood results this morning.

Got up early (for me) at around 9. Had breakfast of berries, yoghurt, flaked almonds and pumpkin seeds for a swim to get 30 mins of exercise. It is 42 degrees today and it is hell. We stay in and close all the shutters and doors/windows. Gives me plenty of time to do some French or get on with a painting I am doing. Another 2 days of this then it starts to cool down to the upper 20’s by Saturday. Roll on Saturday. We do have aircon but it costs a fortune to run. Our electricity bills are always much higher in summer than winter. A problem with aircon is it can make you damp and clammy. Tonight we are having a couple of fans in the bedroom and leave the aircon off.

Still thinking about you and your problems Arctic. I dread to think how it would be if everything went up here, fortunately we are not surrounded by trees, bushes etc and have gravel all around the house, but I watched a flame jump a mile over a lake in America, all it takes is one spark. Stay safe everyone.

Hi everyone.

Thank you for sharing your ups and downs of this journey we’re all sharing. Makes me feel better about my own ups and downs… so keep sharing!

Been a while again since I’ve last posted. It has been very hectic with the kids home, and I’ve had lots going on. We went on a lovely seaside holiday in Kent and I thankfully managed to maintain my weight. Tried to stay as low carb as possible, whilst making sure everyone was happily fed and indulging in the occasional ice cream!

I visited the optician last week for a routine eye test, and an OCT scan of the back of the eye showed swelling of the optic nerve (papilledema) which could be a sign of something serious. So they arranged for me to be seen urgently at Moorfields Eye hospital and you can imagine I was a nervous wreck. I saw the consultant there on Friday and he’s not concerned, although arranging for brain scan to rule out anything serious. Phew… I did some research on the condition and it says one of the causes is obesity. So I decided that’s what it must be (since I don’t have any symptoms of brain tumor like very bad headaches, vomiting, etc) and that is giving me a big push to get back on track and lose my “obese” label!!

So yesterday I decided its high time I jumped back on the bandwagon, and i’m currently 24 hours into my extended fast, which I would like to last at least 5 days! Its the first time i’m doing it without being fat-adapted first, but surprisingly i’m coping very well. Not feeling hungry at all. I think my body is enjoying the detox!

I find that for me to stay motivated with the plan/fasting, I need to be reading books on the topics. I’ve got a shelf at home stuffed with motivational books, and i reread them one by one. The interesting ones get put on the shelf for rereading, the boring ones get shipped off to the charity shop! So I’m always looking for good book recommendations, one I found really fascinating was The Obesity Epidemic by Zoe Harcombe (can’t remember if I mentioned it on here before, sorry if I have!) which I highly recommend.

That’s enough about me. Hoping to have really good loss to post after my longest-ever (attempted) fast!

Have a great day, everyone!

Hi everyone. Still stinking hot here (42 again) and got up early because it is our shopping day. It was up to 33 by 10 am and we got back from shopping around 10.30, unpacked everything then I went for a swim, oiled up and hat on. Did half an hour. No good using it to cool down as the water was 31 degrees so nearly as hot at outside at that time

Great to see you back happysnap. Yes, we all have our ups and downs no matter how long we have been doing this or how much we think we know. I only just found out that 100g of chicken is not 100g protein – so I have been underestimating and really not getting enough even though I like eggs, chicken and meat. Reset my dieting mind. You talking about your eye, you might have missed what happened to me. My opthamoligist saw black floaters behind one eye and wrote to my doctor, who sent me for a doppler, who sent for to see a vascular surgeon. Absolutely saved my life or saved me from having a stroke. It is hard to understand but my carotid artery had divided into two streams of flow and neither was wide enough to give me enough blood to the brain. Surgery in January, scar getting better and I am happy to be alive.

Playing games and doing quizzes today along with some Duolingo French. Have a good day.

Hi everyone,
Just a quick check-in as I have not been very accountable this week at all. There was definitely some comfort eating happening. 🙁
We got some rain (like 2 mm) and cooler temps on Monday, but unfortunately this came with a whole lot of lightning. A fire broke out immediately on the hills above my house (they probably count as mountains elsewhere, but we call them hills here!). It was such steep terrain and already after dark, so they couldn’t do anything right away. So no sleep on Monday night. The firefighters and helicopter teams have been making really good progress since though. The bigger fires to the south and north of me got substantially more rain (up to 20 mm) so that has lowered the threat on those as well. We look to be getting one last warm spell before the end of the month on Sun and Mon.
S-g – those above 40 temps really take it out of you, don’t they? Especially when it is warm overnight and hard to sleep. We’ve been lucky that we’ve not had super warm overnight temperatures this summer, but there have been nights too warm to sleep because of not being able to air the house out in the evening due to the smoke.
Anyway, I’m a bit exhausted but ok. With the fire more under control, I finally feel more comfortable leaving home for a bit and doing some shopping. I’ll go this evening and try to make some healthy choices. My saving grace this week has been the tomatoes and chard out of the garden. I did make some quiche with the chard and it was very nice, but probably the healthiest thing I had all week.

Hi everyone

So glad things are improving for you Arctic although a lightening strike is not good with tinder dry ground. Our problem has been that night temps have only been down to around 26/27 but also once the house gets heated up it is so well insulated it is impossible to cool it down and we have had temps of 33 in our bedroom even with the aircon on. Heard a rumble of thunder during the night and then a whole load of hailstones. So today we are down to around 24 degrees which is wonderful. I am able to potter around the garden again, picked some figs for my breakfast and just been out and picked what will probably be the last of the apples. They are not very edible and I have used them to make apple juice (not worth the effort) and today just finishing of straining apple cider vinegar. It has to sit for 4 more weeks but already a very acid smell. I will be picking a whole load of figs, cutting and freezing ready for next year when hubby can make me some more fig and ginger confit. A bit sweet but less so than shop bought and I only have it around once a week with my ploughmans.

After changing back to my usual diet instead of starving myself I have lost another pound. Wont hit my 10lb target but it was a high ask, maybe make it to 6lbs. Still remaining AF.

Enjoy the weekend.

I forgot to mention – 69 people have been arrested for starting the fires in Greece. The same happened in France last year with several people being responsible – on purpose, not just stupidity. There is a word for these people but I can’t say it here out of politeness.

I know you are A-F S-G, but a couple of fig leaves steeped in a bottle of bourbon makes a lovely change – slightly coconutty.

Well done S-G losing some weight & I hope Arcticfox that the rain comes without lightning & it stays cooler!
I’ve rather lost the plot this week but trying to reduce my calorie & carb intake. I will weigh tomorrow to see how I’ve got on & next Friday I will be going to Yorkshire to stay in a cottage for a week so partly self-catering & eating out.
Well done everyone managing to keep on track diet wise but sometimes just coping on a day to day basis takes priority.
S-G the polite word pyromaniac springs to mind but probably not the word you wanted to use🤔
Margaret

I have just weighed & have lost 2.25 lbs & back again in the overweight range which is pleasing & I will try to get my head around a fast this next week before going on holiday next Friday to Yorkshire.
Keep safe Arcticfox & keep on going everyone👍🤞🤞Oh & some good news for my family that our grandson stayed a couple of days & nights with our son & our sons kidney function is still improving!
Onwards & downwards everyone & keep trying this way of eating!
Margaret

Hi all, hope you are having a good weekend.

You are right Margaret, not the word(s), mine began with f and b. Good news on the weight loss even though you thought you had lost the plot. I have lost another pound by not being so hard on myself. Did some reading about plateaux – been the same for 4 weeks – and I have been doing the right thing. Holding my nerve, not giving up and waiting for it to happen.

So for my weight loss goal of 10lbs I have managed 6lbs (a tiny smidge under). Still in the obese category but visceral fat down another point. All good things up like bone density, water, muscle etc. Friends arrive a week today so still got time to make it 7lbs – wow that’s half a stone. I can live with that.

RubyG thanks for the tip. I am only AF for the duration of August although I do it more and more these days, can only be good for me. Unfortunately, I don’t like bourbon and only drink vodka and white wine.

Hi all, as I said yesterday I had lost 6lbs but just a smidge under at 5.96, today I am just a smidge over at 6.04. So glad I didn’t have a drink last night. I said I was going to and it was planned in but I couldn’t bear the thought of waking up 1lb or more heavier when I am so close to my goal and so close to my end date.

I know when my friends arrive there will be a lot of eating and drinking but that is okay because I will be in control. Not like when I am in the UK on holiday and I just get stuff shoved at me and told to just eat it and not make a fuss. Here I can share a glass of champagne with my friends and then turn to fizzy water – don’t think they will notice if I keep their glasses filled 🙂 For meals as an example on the first evening we are having oven baked breaded camembert with salad which are really small portions and I can take off the breadcrumbs. Then we are having confit duck with green beans and my friends will have fried potatoes. I have bought canned new potatoes and they are so versatile to eat just as they come, fried or in salads etc and I don’t have to eat them. Anyway, looking forward to it very much so wont make it a misery fest – I will still join in and have lots of fun.

See you all next week.

Thought I’d check in, with awesome August almost done it feels like a good time to report in. It’s been a difficult month for many, but hopefully some are finishing it with a better scales reading and/or, a healthier approach to their eating patterns than when the month started.

On a personal note, I have made some impact during August, so am finishing the month 3lb away from being in the right stone band and 10lb away from target. This puts me in a good position going into Sept, even though as a slow loser I’m unlikely to get to target before our trip at the end of September. However, if I can get into the right stone bracket by a pound or two by then, I’ll be content …. 🤞🏻

Anyway, looking forward to reading how everyone else has faired this month and what goals they plan to put in place going forward.

Just a brief report on my latest blood tests. BG 6.3 which is pretty normal for me although I would have liked it to be less but I can only allow it to drop to certain levels and adjust insulin accordingly. Cholesterol total down to 3.0. Which is what the doctor said I should be as a diabetic and why she increased my statins. However, it flags up on the results chart as being too low!!! So go figure – it is what the doctor recommends.

Shopping in bulk for our visitors tomorrow so getting rather busy.

Forgot to say, I put my back out on Monday, didnt do anything in particular, just breathing 🙂 Might have overdone the weights exercises and have to take it easy for a few days. I keep trying but my body keeps letting me down.

Hi everyone
I am totally out of the loop with visitors and especially famiy being here this summer so it has been a very busy time and I have definitely not been that accountable . Our last visitors will be here for the coming week and then things quieten down !

Tomorrow though is a new month and I will start a new thread .

I can’t guarantee I will be around at the beginning of the month but I will do my best to follow the messages when things are calm and I can get back to my routine .It will be brief though as we set off for Australia at the end of the month !!!
Sunshine girl has kindly offerd to host the October thread

Please keep checking in when you can

Wendy xx

Before jumping to the new thread I can declare my weight loss for August at 6lbs. I know I set a goal of 10lbs but first, my destination still has two days to go, and secondly, better to set a high goal and just miss it than a low goal. I know from experinece I can sometimes reach a goal fairly quickly then slacken off and start gaining again. So I’d rather aim for the moon and reach the stars.

See you on the September thread for a couple of days, then I will be very busy with my bestie and her beau arriving on Saturday.