Hi Everyone – I’ve not been on the forums (aside from once) before, but feeling it is a good place to be for support as I carry on into next year. I started this lifestyle on the 3rd November 2020, with, what I anticipate 120lbs to lose. I am 20lbs down over the last 7 weeks. I intend to take a few days 23-26th December where I am not focussing on the plan / calories (That said I am still going to include IF). How are others approaching Christmas? Any tips for rebooting from 27th?

nhatha, Mifox and Starina, thank you for sharing your inspiring results. Seems you have joined the forum, whilst I have been away in Turkey and absent from the weekly thread. Just wanted to say, you have all done amazingly in relatively short periods of time, which can only help to spur us all on.

Think most of us will be stepping back from the full on BSD for a little while during the festive season. Personally I think this is okay, as long as it’s done mindfully and not treated as an excuse for huge excesses. I confess, rebooting for me is not always easy, as post periods of relaxation I can often find it a bit tough finding the motivation to return to the basics. However, post a recent extended stay in Turkey, returning with a gain of 7lbs of which I have only ditched 1.5lbs, I am very conscious that by new year I could be looking at a more serious situation.

This being the case, I know I will be turning to the forum for inspiration and accountability in January. The forum provided the support I needed to get to target a couple of years ago and continues to be the place I come to when I need to return to full on BSD basics, so I hope we will all be here in 2021 to offer advice, support and encouragement to each other

Meanwhile, enjoy your celebrations, no matter how low key they have to be this year and let’s hope for a much better year in 2021.

Well done to you guys and to everyone on this thread and site. We have all worked so hard this year and with such terrible things going on all around us. We should all be very proud of ourselves. I am still half a pound from my Christmas goal but not bothered, I have done so well and will be back on 2nd January keeping on…. I think this thread is reopening on the 4th but not sure. Merry Christmas to everyone and lets hope for a very Happy New Year.

But we can post on this in the meantime SG? X

Just in case SG isn’t around, yes, feel free to continue posting on this thread. In the new year hopefully a new weekly thread will be kicked off, for those that want one.

Hi all , sorry, I was referring to me getting back on the diet on 2nd January, not that the site or thread was closing down.

Quick check-in from me, we are still here, staying low carb but no calorie counting or even trying to maintain 800cal until the new year.
We will weigh-in on 31st Dec and deal with the numbers, whatever they are. We have frozen what we could of the Christmas food we won’t be needing for just the 2 of us, and are working our way through the cheeses, smelliest first 😉
After feeling really down on Sunday, we put the tree and decorations up and the house is ready for Christmas.
Hope everyone manages to have as good a Christmas as possible, whatever restrictions you are living under, and let’s end 2020 healthier than we started!

great to hear what everyone is doing- I am staying mostly low carb and counting calories but having measured treats and enjoying every one. Plan to thoroughly enjoy Xmas day eating and will continue to weigh daily to keep tabs on things.

Hi Guys.
Just dropping in to wish everyone well over the festive season.

I am just wrapping up some work projects ready for a few days off. – Planning some nice long walks with the dogs over the next couple of days. But I have to pop over to care for the bee keeping associations hives this afternoon as we finally have a sunny day.

My plan after the festive season is to focus on reversing Insulin resistance and body composition. Would anyone else be interested in joining me if I start a thread for those who prefer to focus on health and fitness rather than the readings on the scales?

Hi JGwen, yes I would be interested in that aspect as, although I want to be slimmer, it is not the most important thing for me. Maybe you could give one of your insights into what insulin resistance because, even as a diabetic I am not 100% sure what happens. See you in the NY xxxx

Hi everyone.
Hope you all have a great Christmas Day even if you can’t be with your loved ones.
I don’t often post but I do read the weekly threads. Wenleg, you do a great job so I for one would love it if you would consider continuing to do the weekly threads next year.
Take Care. What a year it’s been.

Hi all and Happy Christmas!
We’ve had our big celebrations today, and am sitting here with a nice feeling – although having eaten far too much. But it is ok, I know I will be back to my new normal way of living soon. I believe in the saying “It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New year’s that makes you gain weight, it’s what you eat between New year’s and Christmas that counts”.
JGwen, I would be v interested in a thread directed towards change of body composition, tackling insuline resistance and gaining better health. Right in line with my goals for next year. I’m in!

Merry Christmas everyone!
A big Christmas 🎇🎇 thank you to Wendy for your wonderful support through the year, and for keeping us all motivated (especially me) with all your posts this year. I hope you have a joyful Christmas, and are able to share the joy across the technology with your family in Oz. I’d love to see the thread continue after a New Year hiatus. I read all the posts everyday, and will try and contribute more in 2021.
And thank you too Sunshine Girl and JGwen and all the many many helpful and inspiring people 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️ who share on these forums.
Just on the body composition thing JGwen – I have been a bit off plan for the last 6 weeks or so (after we were let out after 100+ days of lockdown) but keeping mostly 16/8. I know I have put on fat as my jeans tell me that! But when I jumped on the scales yesterday for the first time in a couple of months I was only 1/2 pound heavier. So I believe my body composition has changed – more fat, less muscle – over the past 2 months. I haven’t been doing much exercise due to a sore knee, and my lockdown walks have ceased.
Anyway – looking forward to jumping into Judicious January and focusing again on F800 and making the most of sunny days for good walks.
All the best to everyone who is coping with the many changes Covid restrictions have bought to Christmas this year. Staying safe and well is the priority. Loving the stories of Christmas lights and present buying.
🎄🎇🎄🎇🎄🎇🎄✨🎄✨🎄✨

Some of you may be ready to start celebrating very soon. It’s still not quite dinner time on Christmas Eve here.

Wishing everyone all the best for this special holiday and for the coming year. It may take a while still but everything has to start getting better soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy Christmas 🎄 everyone whatever you are doing and wherever you are in the world.
Just wanted to wish Mifoz a very happy 🎂 🎁 🎈 🎉 🕯 🍰 !
I will be back soon. Stay safe everyone xxxx
Wendy

Happy Birthday Mifoz from all of us ! Xxx

Thank you Wendy! And a very Merry Christmas to everyone 😊

Hi Wendleg, thanks for including me.
It’s so inspiring reading your posts.

I fear I am struggling with these overwhelming waves of hunger… I am wondering if people have any advice to offer me as a newbie when they come on? It’s not due to lack of protein so think it might be related to hormonal imbalance and not sure how to combat. I’ve been lasting to a point drinking water but wondering if anyone else has encountered this? It’s almost like the more I fast the less hungry I feel but when I break the fast I find it difficult to settle in the 8 hour eating window without feeling really hungry between meals.

Happy Birthday Mifoz 🙂

Hi Jess … worth checking if you are including enough fat in your menu. Fat makes you feel full more quickly and helps to maintain that feeling of being sated. Yes, it uses more calories for your allowance, but these will be well ‘spent’. One of the things we learn on the BSD is that not all calories are equal and the composition of the calories we eat is important.

It seems counter-intuitive to be eating fat to lose weight, given the low fat/high carb brainwashing we have all been subjected to for years …. and indeed still see promoted almost everywhere… but the low carb way of eating turns this on it’s head and the results are proof it works.

Hope a little revision will help you combat the hunger pangs …. best of luck.

Hi Jess,
The gut bacteria which digest sugar are able to signal to our brains that they want feeding. –

The good news is that these types of bacteria are the fastest to reduce numbers if you don’t feed them. – The bad news is they are also the fastest to multiply if we feed them, which is why it is so hard to climb back onto the bus after stepping off for a few days.

So just hang in there for a while, don’t have the carbs around so even if you are tempted you don’t feed the carb eating gut bacteria and don’t be too hard on yourself if you cope with the feelings of hunger by having more fat. – As long as whatever you eat is low carb in a little while your levels of carb eating gut bacteria will die off to the point that makes it easier to ignore them.

Hi everyone, I’ve been awol for quite a while now as I’ve been extremely busy, and I was really struggling to enjoy my food, so just needed to take a break. Just popping in to wish everyone happy holidays and best wishes for a good new year.
JGwen – I would be interested in focusing on health and fitness in the new year. I’ve become very frustrated over the last year with the scales not budging at all and I think it would benefit me to focus on improving my body composition for a while and hopefully the scales will follow, but if not at least I will be slimmer. I ordered some new half chaps for my birthday in November and they just arrived Christmas Eve, and my calves are just a bit too pudgy for them at the moment, so that is one motivating thing to focus on.

Hi Sunny, thanks for that advice. I will give it a try 🙂
JGwen, oh my. Thanks for that info about the gut bugs. That makes so much sense and give me a lot of hope.
Merry Christmas everyone 🙂

Thinking of all our UK members as I am reading about floods and storms hitting parts of the UK. I hope you are all hunkered down around your fires and staying safe. 💨🍃⛈🌂

Hi All, to those more experienced with following this WOE, how does G and T fit in? Well, or not well? With low cal tonic or regular? Or better to stick to red wine? Only because we have been given some with various flavourings to add for Christmas- can’t say it’s my favourite drink tbh, but just wondering your thoughts?

Second question- I have a friend who has T2DM and has been diagnosed for 19 years- her Hba1c is over 100 and she keeps getting her meds increased and no lifestyle advice or anything- is anyone here in a similar situation, having had T2 for a long time? If so, does the BSD help you?

Thanks x

Hello Tulip … hope you’ve had a good Christmas. Given that the body reacts to even artificial sweetener as it does sugar, I’d say probably red wine is a better option to G&T. Having said that, I confess I had a G&T on Christmas day. As a special occasion drink, it probably won’t do much harm, so enjoy the flavourings now and again.

I know there are long term T2’s on the forum and hopefully one of them will offer some advice for your friend soon.

Hi Tulip, lovely that you are looking out for your friend with type 2. I have type 1 and have done for about 25years. Most people with type 1 can end up with some insulin resistance. The advice I would give is that the fast 800 and BSD is a fantastic Framework for increasing insulin sensitivity, with one big proviso. Fat consumed in food causes Short term insulin resistance for about 6-8hours post meal. Saturated fats are worse but all fats have this action to varying degrees. For this reason I supplement with additional protein and cut down on fats, especially added fats. Water and sleep are more important than food or exercise for good blood sugars but all play a role.

Hi JGwen,
That is a fantastic idea for a thread about health and fitness 🙂

Staring, those are fantastic results, well done.
In answer to your question, I took Boxing Day off (unplanned) but all other days have done IF and/or between 800-1000cal

Hi Mifoz, I think you idea for mini goals is super smart. What about a self care gift as a mini reward? A new dress certainly counts or some nice body products or a spa treatment (depending where in the world you are) or I always love buying new socks or pjs as a reward 🙂

Hi SunnyB,

Christmas was lovely thank you- great advice, I will mainly stick to my red wine I think 🙂

Jess- thank you, I didn’t know that about fat! Also water and sleep- really important for insulin? I think I had heard that but I had forgotten! Thank you

xx

Hi everyone, I was very moderate in my biscuit and nut eating, and saw no increase in weight. JGwen I really like the idea of a thread to discuss health and insulin resistance. My scale measures fat % which has increased though the weight remains within the usual range.

I used to test my keto level first thing, I think I’ll begin again. Was this on your agenda?

Hi everyone, had a few treats but realised that there are loads of snacks and chocolate liquers in the spare bedroom where I had stashed them to take back to the UK with me – I lived in hope up to about 4 weeks ago. Now hubby will have to tuck in.

Tulip1, I think your friend can benefit greatly from reading the original BSD book rather than the Fast 800 as it has more diabetic related explanations. I dont know what Jess means about fat and insulin resistance, this has never been a problem for me although I dont eat fat in large amounts, this is not the Atkins diet. My fat intake differs from prior to finding this plan in that I ate low fat everything, yoghurts, cheese, sterol margerines etc. I now eat butter, full fat cheese and yoghurts BUT as I dont eat hardly any carbs I dont need butter for my bread, no bread, or potatoes, no potatoes and so on. So the diet allows small amounts of saturated fats and good oils and fats in other foods like olive oil or nuts or oily fish. These are so good for us so why were we told to avoid them, it was the old belief that fat caused heart disease and the doctor who decided this didnt even do any research, he based it on one fat patient with a bad heart. dont think the diet encourages you to increase your fat intake it just doesnt harp on that fat is bad. For T2 people and for me, the main thing is to get rid of the white starchy carbs. Since being on this diet I have reduced cholesterol from about 7.2 to 3.7 (tested 2 weeks ago). My BG has reduced from 190 to around 85 morning fasting test (obviously I am talking about a different scale to your friend as different countries use different methods to measure) and I have cut my insulin injections by half as well as other meds, Just to put it simply, and I have been T2 for 16 years, the BSD is the best thing I ever did for myself.

Sunshine Girl- thank you, this is what I understood about the BSD too- my friend is going to buy the BSD book….I cross my fingers that it will inspire her as much as it has inspired me to change!

Love to all xxx

Guys! Guys! I got my blood test results today and I am stoked! 7.1 fasting blood sugar in September has gone down to 5.5!! I’m so happy that the new WoE has made such a difference. I’m even more determined now to stick with it, stay healthy, and hopefully shed more weight. Just want to thank everyone here for the support and advice. Working at it one week at a time alongside you all has really helped me.

I hope 2021 brings all of us a better outlook than 2020. Wishing you all a Happy New Year. .

Congratulations Mif! Such a good result and a real boost.
Enjoy our limited celebrations this evening, and best wishes to you and to all of us for carrying on this WoE in 2021.
Merry in Melbourne.

Mifoz, that’s fabulous about the blood glucose!!

I am going to try making the chocolate torte today for NYE and also using a similar base for the lemon cheesecake I usually make! I can’t rember who’s recipe it is- JGwen maybe???

Will let you all know how it goes.

Love to all xx

Hi everyone !
Just popping in to wish everyone happy and safe New Year celebrations wherever you are . I hope you enjoyed the Christmas festivities and that you were able to connect somehow with your loved ones .

Here we are looking forward to the NewYear …; hopefully feeling positive and with renewed enthusiasm as we turn the page on 2020.

I think JGwen’s suggestion of a thread focusing on body composition and insulin resistance is a great one and I will definitely be following along .
I suspect many of us still need support whether starting out or continuing BSD and low carb eating so I will begin a new weekly thread
on Monday 4th January .
Hope to catch up with you then . In the meantime take care .
lots of love
Wendy

Hi all just popped in to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a much better one than last year. Anyone worrying about getting back on the diet in Jan. I felt the pounds creeping on (just gained 2 over Xmas) and didnt like it so I went super strict 800 cals, no bad carbs and deffo no vodka just for one day yesterday and lost everything I had gained. So back at my best weight and ready to party with some elastic room to spare. Just collected our 8 course Michelin star meal and the portions are tiny and there is only one carb – beouf en croute – but it is very small. Obviously I am not counting the dessert or the mini cakes to have with coffee but I will be having a tasting. See you all next year.

Happy New Year everyone….so apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day, I always count my calories and look at my food composition- even when the day is outrageous, because it helps me monitor patterns and trends, learn for the future and pick myself up sensibly the next day- well, being far more mindful of what I was eating than usual on NYE, I consumed 3000 calories- dear life!! I dread to think what I would normally consume!! 750 of those were in my NYE special cocktail- clotted cream ice cream, freshly squeezed orange juice and prosecco- I didn’t add those cocktail cals on till this morning- well Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I was a bit surprised by that total!!!…Also 65g of sugar, omg. A good learning experience!

Love to all xxx

Mifoz that is a fantastic result, celebrate it!!

Tulip – basically I’ve read that fats “block up” the insulin receptors on cells. If you are eating fats and carbs together this is a problem.

If you are keto, you are still experiencing this temporary state of insulin resistance (about 6-8hrs after a meal which contains fats) but the difference is it isn’t evident in glucose levels because there just isn’t the carbs the body needs to balance.

From what I’ve read there is a lot of conjecture about whether the state of insulin resistance causes poor health outcomes on its own or if it is simply the rises/peaks post meals. I think the truth is it is probably a combination…

Sunshine – thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂 I don’t necessarily disagree…. I wasn’t saying be afraid of fat. Inmerely mean that is is important to consider the amount of fat you consume within a meal which contains carbs (veggies have carbs too, about 8g for a cup of cooked veg). You can have a really healthy, low GI meal but if you are teaming it with added fats, especially of the saturated kind you can undermine your bodies ability to process that meal without a big spike in glucose levels.

Anyway horses for courses and a lot of it can be trial and error. And obviously me being a type 1 diabetic I have no buffer for error given my body doesn’t produce insulin. Type 2s are producing insulin but it isn’t being utilised correctly so I would assume that would be able to buffer the effect of fats somewhat…. but it is possibly placing additional stress on a system which is already struggling and my intuition says that probably isn’t a wise thing to do at every meal.

Hi everyone !
As promised am checking in to see how you are all doing . After what I admit was a pretty flat festive season this year ( missing family) I didn’t succomb to anything more than a much enjoyed chunk of Christmas pudding so my January is not too dismal . I can tell you I have had many dismal Januaries !!
I have been on a reboot type program since December 27th which is basically the way I normally eat but eliminating all dairy and nuts for the moment . I was beginning to move into excess mode and even though I have been maintaining for sometime now I would like to drop another dress size . I read too that dairy may cause joint inflammation ?
I also have a dilemma and would appreciate your input

I see the Easter Bus thread is up and running and very active with regulars and newcomers .
My question is ….. do you want to just hop on to the bus and continue the journey until Easter or do you still need the motivation of One Week at a Time ??
I will set up the thread if you think it would be useful but if you want to rest it for a time and have a monthly or 3 month target that’s fine too. I will still be around and contributing and supporting where I can.

JGwen mentioned she would be setting up a thread to focus on Insulin resistance and body composition rather than frequent weighing and I think that would be interesting too .

Whatever your focus I want to wish everyone a very happy 2021 , looking ahead to the time when we can travel again, meet and hug our loved ones and just lose the anxiety a bit .

Remember health should be your priority . There is nothing more important … physicical and mental health .
This is a tricky time of year where lots of us are excited and motivated . Remember it’s a long haul which will lead to incredible changes which you can achieve with strong will and determination . You will wish you had found this program years ago . It would have saved a lot of distressing yo yo situations ( been there and done it many many times)
You really can do it !
love
Wendy x

Hiya-

Wendy, what is the Easter bus thread?
I like the weekly thread but I don’t know about the alternatives!

I am happy because I didn’t gain weight over Christmas, I stayed the same (my goal was stay the same or max gain of 2 lb) I had measured treats….I did however have a big IBS flare up at the end of last week, which I think was due to not eating entirely in my ‘new normal’ way- possibly breakfasts were contributing to that as I didn’t have my normal weekday live yoghurt for the whole Christmas period. So back to weekday yoghurts in fact from yesterday and starting to feel a lot better again.

Love to all, Happy New Year xxx

Hi Tulip/Clare !
Here is the Easter bus thread !!

https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/easter-bus-tour/

Hi Wendy, I am much happier with the week at a time as it keeps me better focussed. Especially as I have short terms goals along the way. Not been too bad over the festivities although I did go a bit mad yesterday with some unplanned snacks of the savoury kind. Yorkshire lass who hates throwing things away. Pleased to say I am 2kg lighter than I was this time last year so that is a plus. Although I have been lighter and would like to get back down to a certain weight.

If you do decide to do a weekly thread then don’t give yourself the burden of having to meet and greet everyone. Just start the week up and let it run itself, I can always share that with you and take it an alternate week at a time. There are always people around to welcome the newbies or give advice when it is asked for. Just do what suits you best and RELAX.

Thanks for that SG ! You are a star !!

Will wait for a while and see who turns up 🙂

Thanks Wendy- I have climbed onto the bus. And thank u SG and Wendy- I will definitely come to the weekly thread if you manage to put it on as well xx

Well folks … the Weekly thread has not seen a 2021 demise !!

Renewed support and some occasional straight talking is available if you want to head over to the new thread !

Here it is

https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/lets-do-this-in-2021-one-week-at-a-time-beginning-january-5th-2021/#post-131883