A new week, a new month , folks !

Let’s stay MOTIVATED in MAY, quit the CARBAGE 😉 and do our very best to support each other , always conscious of the different challenges and issues we are dealing with , which we share openly and freely .

Well done all those of you who have had great results, welcome to anyone starting out, and a big hug to anyone struggling but not giving up !

We are here for you all and look forward to another week of warmth and solidarity . Thanks for contributing so regularly and sharing your experiences to make the thread a friendly, safe place

Wendy, SunnyB and sunshine girl

The ever growing list !

wendleg, Sunny B, sunshine girl
JGwen
sixturkeys
Starina
Verano
ADD6605 ( Dawn)
Riccoh
Russianroulade
Tulip1 ( Clare)
Mifoz
MerryMelba
Maryanne Carlos-Mascarenhas
WindyJulz
articfox
Olive1
lauraknits
Marsie (Marilyn)
EllieAllegra
EC:Erin
Hello66
Jordana
Alipetunia/Alison
RubyG and hubby
Ditchedthemet
Dizzychicken
SlinkyTinks
LonelyAdipose
Emzijw
Barefoot girl
Life Diet
allicat1A ( Allie, formerly alliecat !)
RedRooster
nhatha3432
sprox
skittle
Daisybean
workingfromthe fridge
Bombalone
PSL68
ScottM
florobo85/Lauren
Tamara1
MillieMoo/Claire
SummerTwinkles/ Summer
Sheila Canning
JustKeepFasting
Bryla
kiltgirl
Deb2003
Donnadoobie
HappiR
WilLuck
PaulaZ
Faithlyn67
Onetowatch
nicnocgee
Smead01 ( Samantha)
Goforgoal
Britta
Mokovex
DebOflo
Riverrock
HopefulinOz/Donna
Quetzal
Onnipinoy
Magicbean
Pashasmum
avisamuelgrey
scotsgirl57
Annamarieboo
peanutbutty
erinmc82
Kat2020
xx1flump1xx
Ncij678

Hi all, I’m back at the doors of the Fast 800.

Did a bit of it back end of last year then just watched what I ate a bit but not really working to lose weight as such.
Have had a few health issues looked into more and going to give it another go properly.
Currently having lots of tests done to get a clear picture of my starting point. Dr going to check my glucose levels.
Get odd days where I shake and get a headache and came up as 1.2 on the blood tester, then goes to around 6 couple of hours after food.
Even if it’s early stages I need to drop a few stone still, luckily didn’t put anything on since last October but weight very static at around 1800-2000 calories a day.
I am on beta blockers and wonder if my calorie needs have also always been far lower than what I have eaten and now that is even worse.
Eager to drop the carbs just to get some water weight off too, any weight off the frame is a bonus right now as I do retain a lot.
800 calories for a while will hopefully kickstart things.

Thanks for the new list Wendy! I’m ready for another week. I’ve settled back into BSD diet nicely. I’ve done the first few weeks without counting calories, but suspect I won’t be able to get away with that much longer. I’ve got the app ready in case I need it this week. Carb cravings are pretty much gone now as are the desire for snacks, so hopefully it won’t be too hard, it’s probably “just” about losing 1/3 of my portion sizes. All in all I have a good feeling about this week, may the force be with you all!

Hi James, didn’t see you there, welcome back!

Morning all,
I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Wendy, thank you for setting up another week’s forum. And welcome,James!

All is just plugging along as normal here. This morning was my weekly weigh in – I actually weigh daily, but track it weekly on a spreadsheet. My weight seems to do its normal thing of staying stable for two or three days, and then a bit of a jump down. Thrilled to see that this morning I have left the 60kg range behind and moved for the first time ever in my whole adult life into the (very high) 59’s. (I am ridiculously short by the way, so this is the very high end of a normal BMI for me). As I stepped off the scales, I did think to myself, my goal for now on is to never go back into the 60’s territory again, because that is an overweight BMI for my height.

I did go clothes shopping yesterday. Bought a few nice things, but can’t say I am really happy yet – looking at too many 5ft 8 perfect bodies on Pinterest I think, and then somehow hoping my weight loss will transfer my 5ft 1 body to that 🙁 But must keep in mind this is more about health than the reflection in the mirror.

As always, so grateful for the supportive and ridiculously knowledgeable community we have on here – love checking in with you all and you do keep me accountable 🙂
Have a beautiful day,
Donna x

Thanks for including me on the weekly list Wendy.I still haven’t got fully back into swing but hopefully this week will get me there!Even when I’m not sticking to food plan I still try to read posts on the forum every day.Dawn X

RubyG and hubby checking in, both with a small gain over the weekend, which I can’t blame on carbage as we didn’t partake and although I wasn’t tracking there was nothing exceptional in what we ate, so I’m blaming hormones (I am peri-menopausal and have had a strange 3 weeks, and hubby is very stressed with work) – both situations will pass so as long as we do our best every day we’ll see the weight start to drop again.
I seem to have been losing and finding the same 2 lb for about 5 weeks now, which I seem to recall I did about the 12 and a half stone mark too, so I’m going to try to mix it up a bit and kickstart the losses again.
The Fast 800 and Clever Guts books are due for delivery today.
I did 16:8-ish TRE yesterday, by having my first meal at about 12h30 and then supper, and I felt good for it. Today will be 3 meals at 800cals and <50g carbs, and I need to work my revived milk kefir into my daily allowance and start drinking it daily again.
ODAAT!

I know it’s from he DM, but Prof Taylor has launched a new book:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9538879/PROFESSOR-ROY-TAYLOR-explains-science-type-2-diabetes.html

Donna I’m a little bit taller than you, but have similar issues with clothes that look great on tall-ish people but just not on me. So I just wanted to suggest something: I have a friend who is a ‘personal shopper / stylist’. She runs her own consultancy (in Denmark, so this is not an advert), and helps people of all shapes, sizes and ages develop a style that works with their body, whatever shape it is. And it’s quite amazing how even little things like tucking t-shirt in or not, getting the right designs, patterns, combinations, and length of skirt etc can really transform how you look. So I guess what I’m saying is that if you could find someone like that it’s really worth the money, because where a smaller size might not fix the problem (it certainly won’t make you taller…), a different cut might.

Britta – it is actually a great idea. Maybe a way to ‘treat myself’ (without resorting to carbage) once I hit my final goal weight. Thanks for the fab idea 🙂

I have re-visited the Action for Happiness for May (Meaningful May) – today’s is “Take a step towards an important goal, however small”
I think this is apt for many of us right now.

Hi everyone, here for another week along with regulars, newbies and oldies alike. Hit a bit of a ‘I’m really fed up’ barrier at the weekend and did a bit of damage. Hey ho, another week will put me on the right track. Think I just dont have a time when I can see why I am worrying about my weight. Dont get me wrong, I still do 800 cals and TRE and still getting my blood glucose down further but I am at a lower weight than I have been for a couple of years so dont mind the occasional glitch. Looks like our trip to visit family has been pushed back another month as France and UK will not be open until the end of June. Now planning to go back near the mid to end of July. I will have a doctors appointment in mid June so that might be something to aim for. So far I have weighed less at each visit so I want to do that again. Seriously I have lost a total of 8lbs since lockdown started so nothing to complain about.

I need to get out and pot up some more flowers and clear out my strawberry bed but, with my back it is a bit at a time. It will get done and hopefully the pool will be warm enough to swim by next week. Have a good week everyone and keep on keeping on…

Just dropping in briefly to say, Hi and wish one and all an excellent BSD week …. will check in properly tomorrow.

Good morning all
This is my second week of BSD. Lost 6lbs in first week (well first six days really) but scales have stuck on same weight since Saturday now. I am drinking lots of water and sticking to around 800 kcals. No more than 840. I’d read that sometimes people maintain in week 3 so was expecting that could happen but i’m only half way through second week. Has this happened to anyone else?

Ncjj678 don’t worry about it, just carry on, you’ll have half a week or a week here and there where nothing seems to be happening, it’s perfectly normal. You’ve lost a lot of water in the first week – that’s a great first week, well done! – and your body is just recovering from the shock of it all 😀
I was most excited this morning to find that I had lost 4kg overnight! Then I woke up properly and realised that my scales need new batteries! 😀

Ncjj678, it is completely normal! (FRustrating at times, but normal). Sometimes known as the ‘whoosh effect’. You might find these two resources useful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF3rmi4DJAw
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/set-point-theory-the-fat_b_11017624 – go down to the ‘Ready for the big weight loss secret?’ section/
I always find that this will happen for about 5 days, and then suddenly, a good loss.

Britta – you made me laugh a lot. Can you imagine 4kg overnight – if only!!!! 🙂
Donna.

Hi Ncjj678
Your body needs to store water to process carbs, when you cut out the carbs it releases that water causing a large initial weight loss.

After that the discard goes back to normal rates. – Using the scales alone to measure progress is just not a wise idea. –

We are encouraged to drink a couple of litres of water a day, each litre weighs 1 kilo so depending where you are in your water in / out cycle that day can have a large impact.

Your weight includes the weight of the contents of your digestive system. 800 calories of celery will weigh much more than 800 calories of cheese.

When insulin levels are high our bodies can not carry out the normal program of maintenance. – As soon as you keep insulin levels low your body can start to repair, healthy bones weigh more, muscle is more dense than fat, so you may well experience shape changes but no change on the scale.

Thanks Britta. I’ll keep plodding on. Hopefully scales will catch up. Your comment about the scales needing new batteries made me laugh.

Thanks for replying JGwen. Will keep at it. I’m pre-diabetic (Hpac1 44) so not currently checking blood sugars to see what is happening. Hopefully weight loss will catch up with me soon.

HopefulinOz. Thanks for replying. Will look at those clips after i’ve had my dinner. Hopeful that woosh will come soon 🙂

Well done Britta on cracking the carb and snack cravings . Yes, I still have to watch portion size . You are in the right mind set now … so pleased for you .

Welcome back James . Good to see you checking in and all the best as you go forward with tests etc . You have done well to stabilize your weight .

HopefulinOz/Donna well done on getting down into the next bracket , that must feel good ! Don’t worry about the Perfect Pinterest People. We are all different shapes and sizes and noone really is perfect . Yes, being healthy is the most important thing . I am sure you will look lovely in your new clothes . You need to feel good about yourself . Britta’s idea sounds a real treat .

Oh Dawn we all have moments when we veer off course and clawing ourseleves back is tough . Stay with us as I think a long break would make things even harder .

Hope you have a good week RubyG and hubby. I think you sometimes do have to shake things up a bit . In my experience I can stagnate a bit unless I change things .. OMAD, two meals, a bit of fasting etc .

SG you are a total inspiration with your determination and commitment , and your results ! I can fully understand how you might occasionally feel a bit fed up . I can’t see a moment when I can really feel I have cracked the weight thing . I recognise I am a serial overeater . Not so much worrying but having to be vigilant all the time . That’s ok if I can handle not missing certain foods . My tastes have definitely changed over time .

As Britta has said Ncij678, don’t worry . Just keep going as you are doing everything right . It’s still early days. Thanks as always JGwen . We need these constant reminders.

All ok here . A cheeky fast at the beginning of the week when I was busy and not tempted by the usuals;-) Not always easy to repeat during the week . I am about to start fermenting my veg again. I love white cabbage, fennel, lemon and caraway seeds .

I am going to pick up a parcel later today . A very vibrant , preloved summer dress from Vinted ! I hope to wear it this weekend . I am looking forward to Volume 1 of my son’s photo memories appearing in the post box very soon . I hope I haven’t messed it up !

Hope to see more check ins and all the very best as the week progresses xx

RubyG and hubby still here, stooopid busy at work for both of us, but focusing on keeping carbs low and the cals will be what they will be.
I too am about to re-start my ferments, the cabbage and fennel sounds good, and I also have the makings of kimchi, so that is my weekend planned (have you seen the English weather forecast!!!!!) I still have some of MerryMelba’s suggested lemon achar, and I have revived my milk kefir so had some of that today. I started reading the Clever Guts book last night too.
An amusing anecdote and definitely a NSV for me today – I had to attend a supplier site visit today, so a colleague collected me and we went there together. My colleagues are all far too polite to comment on my weight loss, but when my colleague dropped me off this afternoon I ran into the house to pick up something for him – hubby said he wondered who this person was walking down the driveway, as he didn’t recognise me all suited and booted and 2 stone lighter 🙂

Hi all,
Following on from last week- thank you so much to everyone giving me their thoughts on when to know where to stop and maintain (and Sunny, I am going to read that thread you mentioned too)-

I felt terrible after several days of carbage, fatigued, IBS symptoms returning, and crying!!….omg, I guess combined with some extra stresses this week, but it really destabilised my mood as well as all the physical stuff…

Will write more later. On kid pick up duty.

T xxx

Woo hoo RubyG! Great story of rocking suited and booted. What a boost.
I hope you are feeling better Tulip 🌸. Wave to Hopeful/Donna. I join you in being ridiculously short – 4ft 11. Finding clothes – and shoes! – is a pain. 😜. Pay no attention to Pinterest- we petites have our own style. 🧚🏻
Hi Wendy. I like the sound of your cabbage and fennel ferment. Would you be able to share your recipe? The last time I made a red cabbage ferment it was inedible.
Your story is inspiring Sunshine girl. I hope you have got through the fed-up feelings, and are out in your Spring garden.
Almost the weekend….🌸🌸🌸

Hi everyone,
Not been feeling my best today. I had my first AstraZeneca jab yesterday and the side effects have hit me fairly hard. I was shaking so hard last night that I found it difficult to walk out to the stable area to do night check on the horses (yes, the horses are finally home!). Anyway, not so shaky today, but really tired and achy.
I ate most of my calories today in the morning as I was feeling not too bad then. Dinner was broccoli with a few chickpeas, topped with some parmesan cheese and a new locally-made nutritional yeast dressing that I have discovered that is so tasty. I’ve been having it all week with veggies from the garden. I still have lots of kale, spinach and lettuce that I overwintered. The rocket has now bolted and gone to seed, unfortunately. The rest of the week I was having leafy greens with the dressing and a couple of fried eggs on top. Tired of eggs now, so that is why I switched to chickpeas tonight.
Anyway, off to do night check and then an early night for me. Will try to catch up on posts later to see how everyone is doing.

Hi Tulip,
How rubbish we feel after eating carbage is just a lesson we all have to learn for ourselves. We thought of that as being a normal and maybe even a healthy balanced diet before we started this way of eating. It was a way of eating that brought positive feelings for us .

I don’t think any of us understand the impact carbs have on our bodies until we have got used to low carb eating and then step off the wagon.

Just dust yourself off and climb on board again. It was only one week of your life.

Merry and JGwen (hope I haven’t forgotten anyone)- thank you, yes, much better, I have been eating really well since Monday, BSD style, with low calorie days Tues and Thurs this week, and already feel much better emotionally, fatigue is great, my resting HR is back down to normal, IBS was much better (but then had some beans 2 nights in a row so…🤣), and my daily weigh in has me back down almost to my 2nd goal for the last 2 days (3 lbs below top of normal BMI, hooray!)….which is funny, because after mulling things over, and deciding that actually I am fairly happy to maintain at this weight, I actually start losing again- probably that body letting go of the water from carbs thing I reckon….literally woke up 2 hrs after falling asleep on Weds night (v rare for me with the bipolar meds which are also very sedative) and did the biggest wee in the world (sorry for the tmi!) and next morning, 3 lbs lighter, lol…..

Thank you so much all for helping me to work through it (haven’t mentioned by name those in last week’s thread but you know who you are).

Love to all,
Tulip xxx.

Arctic I’m sorry to hear about your side effects, fingers crossed that’s the end of it. I had a sore arm for days, but fortunately that was the extent of it.
I’m involuntarily skipping breakfast this morning as there are no eggs and no yoghurt in the house. Planning, planning, planning.. on the bright side I think that means I can ‘afford’ a bit of dark chocolate tonight. It’s nearly the weekend!

Hi everyone, pretty sure I am going to show no loss for this week but I will keep on and try to pay proper attention to what I’m eating for the rest of the week along with 16:8. I don’t know why I always kid myself that I can lose weight when eating breakfast when my body has clearly shown me so many times that I can’t – it just makes me more hungry and then I have to have a smaller lunch and tea due to breakfast calories and I’m even more hungry the whole time and dont have the capacity not to eat.

Oh well, maintaining’s better than gaining. 😉

Well done to everyone who has lost weight, everyone who has not lost weight but has been eating better than before, and everyone who has had a few days’ sub-optimal eating but is still here and recognised that today is another day.

Onwards onwards!

Big hugs to Tulip and articfox who have been feeling yuk . I know you both have very challenging health issues aside from the carbage and vax side effects … you are both brilliant for continuing to battle through . Treat yourself to a nice Spring frock, Clare ?? That’s what I would do 😉 I really hope the weekend is kind to you both .

Ruby, that was funny … even your hubby not recognising you !!

Britta and peanut, I never eat breakfast . It has just become a habit . It depends how hungry you feel in the morning though and if you can push through a few more hours ?

I’m off to find my recipe for my ferment now for Merry xx

This is the basic recipe for a fennel, lemon and mint kraut . I also add caraway seeds . You could add dill too. I leave mine for a couple of weeks and then just taste . I use French Le Parfait jars but just a tight fitting jar will do . The main thing is to keep everything submerged . It makes a crunch kraut, I don’t like the squidgy stuff .

A really good book ( recommended by Esnecca ) is ‘ Fermented Vegetables ” by Kirsten and Christopher SHOCKEY . Lots of pictures ! The book is organised according to the veg so it’s really easy .

Ingredients: 
1 head cabbage
1 fennel bulb, cut into matchsticks
1 1/2 tablespoons unrefined sea salt
8 mint leaves, torn
1 lemon, scrubbed and thinly sliced with seeds removed

Directions: 
1. Remove and discard any outer damaged or wilted leaves from the cabbage. Reserve one large leaf. Quarter the cabbage and remove the core. Cut remaining cabbage into thin ribbons. If too thick the strips won’t break down and release the brine.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine your shredded cabbage, fennel and salt. Massage the salt into your cabbage and fennel mixture for 8-10 minutes, cabbage will soften and release liquid.  Mix in mint leaves. 

3. Pack the cabbage into your fermentation jar tightly using your hands and pressing down firmly. Half way up add lemon slices, pressing them to the sides of the jar . Add remaining cabbage and all liquid released from the cabbage. 

4. Trim the reserved cabbage leaf into a circle (you can use the base of jar or the lid as a guide). Place on top of the packed cabbage and then add the cabbage core as the fermentation weight. You want the packed cabbage to be completely submerged when weighted. If I have room in the jar I put an upside down espresso cup as a weight .

Woo hoo my photo book arrived today and it’s lovely ! I’m really pleased with it xx

Evening all – hope your Friday is treating you well.

Wendleg – that is great news about the photo book. It will provide so many cherished memories and will be greatly loved. So glad to hear that many people still have our photo books/albums to look at for decades to come…a tradition not lost to the digital times yet. I am definitely going to try your fennel, lemon and mint kraut recipe – sounds delicious!

I am afraid I am a bit behind on reading posts, so apologies for skimming. For all of you who have been suffering the post-vaccination aches / ‘feeling terribles’…. I hope it has not passed and you are feeling a lot better today.

You might remember a number of weeks ago I posted about my fear of long fasts….well, how time changes things. I am writing midway through a (hopefully) 48 hour fast. No particular reason, other than I simply felt like it was perfectly possible today. Over the past little while (maybe a week and a half or a fortnight) I have been getting into a OMAD routine surprisingly easily, though I do cheat as I do drink coffee with a dash of soy milk throughout the day with plenty or water in between (included in my carb/calorie count). I have found that, even at 6pm, when I schedule that meal, I am not absolutely starving. So tonight I have drunk a ton of water and decided to continue the fast. I certainly am not hungry – but have found I have a strange ‘buzzy’ head, which is not a headache….have had this before. Have added salt into water, no change to buzzy head. I don’t really know how to describe it. I haven’t drunk alcohol for about 2.5 years, but it isn’t a dissimilar feeling to what I remember feeling like after a couple of glasses of champagne – a little bit lightheaded, a little bit displaced or ‘out of body’, but not unpleasantly so. Very odd, but I am not concerned by it. Has anybody else had anything similar by any chance?

Anyway, will be very interested to see whether this has any impact – maybe on weight, or on whether hunger increases tomorrow. But if not, I am hoping not to eat until my evening 6pm meal tomorrow (coffee, though, I won’t avoid, simply because I absolututely love it and definitely consider myself a coffee-addict 🙂 ).

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, and for all of the mothers out there, I hope you have an amazing Mother’s Day on Sunday and get spoilt rotten 🙂
Donna x

Thanks for the recipe Wendy! I know of the Shockey’s books – read one from the library. The lemon achar I make is their recipe, so I’ll definitely try the kraut. I think the last time I tried to make kraut I didn’t keep it all submerged and it went off, so thanks for all the details on how to do that. Good to hear the album turned out so well 📷
I don’t know about the buzzy feeling Donna – could be the coffee having more effect than usual as there is no food in your system? All the best with your fast!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hi everyone, still feeling a bit ucky in my mood and no movement in weight. Might have a bit of a break over the weekend – I find that quite hard to do so it might just be not counting every calorie but still no carbs. Although I did have a piece of a baguette yesterday so that might be the reason BG up to 106 this morning. I can alway see where I have gone wrong.

Bought some fermented veg yesterday – carrots and red cabbage but not in the same pot. Today I had miso chicken and spinach soup for lunch with a side serving of a few olives, the carrot and some left over beets that needed eating or they would have fermented all on their own. I nearly bought some kombucha drinks but read the label and saw it was 2.5g carbs per 100g and a drink was 250 so just over 6g carb. Most of it was sugar too as they were all flavoured with syrup of ….. i.e. ginger syrup, hibiscus syrup etc. I thought they were more of a yoghurt type drink. So will give them a miss.

Great about your photo book Wendy. I didnt realise it was a digital book, thought you were just trolling through albums and making your own. Great idea. Once did one as a calendar when the boys were younger. Great memories of holiday visits over the years.

Oh well, still need to get those strawberries planted although I found a few fruits on the old growth that has spread onto the grass around the small potting area I have. Hubby has got the trowel as he is currently planting a complete new bed of lavendar so will let him get that done before I ask for it back. Potted out the plants for the front of the house so that looks nice but still have to do around 12 pots for around the pool. Plenty of time and plenty of rain keeping them fresh.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hi S-G,
I have not got into kombucha style drinks as they all seem very sweet.
You get water-based kefir or milk-kefir, so maybe that is what you were thinking of.
I want to get back onto the fermented veg, I’m reading the Clever Guts book now.
The weather here in the UK is appalling, worse than usual – we’ve had 2 days of hailstorms this week and frost every morning still, so I still haven’t planted anything out – I’m running out of space on my windowsills and dining room table.

I can recommend the lemon achar, and I too will be trying the cabbage/fennel/mint/lemon.
I ended up buying the Fermented Vegetables book, I’ve had the Fiery Ferments for a while now.

aww thanks Wendy- I have bought a few essentials/ nice things at my smaller size and also am enjoying getting into things again that used to fit 😍…also I have switched some clothes with my daughter, (including some v nice dresses going both ways) who has gained a little weight (combination of being less mobile with long covid and hormones leading to her ever growing bust…it’s quite spectacular)……bust leading me onto omg…still trying to find my perfect bra 🙄🙄🤣🤣🤣🤣….feel like there are dancing bras in my head lol….always at the post office doing returns….

Love to all and happy weekend, and I think you are all amazing!!

Tulip xxx

Morning all. Many of you have got me very interested in trying out more fermented foods – it is something that I briefly tried a number of years ago, when I experimented with paleo for two years. I wasn’t overly successful creating it myself, but I have ordered a copy of Shockey’s ‘Fermented Vegetables’ just now, and will hopefully have a bit more success! Thanks for the recommendation Wendy 🙂

Tulip – I share your need for new bras. Over the past two weeks it seems that my bust size has halved!!!! It is somewhat shocking to look in the mirror when I get out of the shower now. No denying that it is a very different body to that I had just two short months ago. Still quite a long way to go, but I have had to spend a fair amount of money over the past few weeks on new work clothes because I just couldn’t look professional in my old (now baggy) work pants and skirts anymore. First time in my adult life I have been able to wear size 10 trousers and small sized knits with ease.

Today is Mother’s Day in Australia (is this the same all over the globe?). We are going to my parents house for afternoon tea, and my parents are supportive of my new WoE, and are trying to also lose weight (though are sceptical and/or not wanting to go down the Fast800 route – it is interesting to see how quickly it has been successful for me, whilst they are having very limited and slow success, but still see this WoE as undoable). Anyway, they have made a sugar-free package cake so that I, too, can eat something with my cuppa. Thrilled to program it into MFP and find that, surprisingly, when combined with my intended dinner of sesame-crusted salmon with buttery garlic spinach, and coffees throughout the day (tiny dash of milk only), I STILL come in under the 800 calories, and 13g net carbs.

I have a big week, however, of catching up with a lot of friends and events, and all of them revolve around food at restaurants. I have looked at menus online already, and the first restaurant serves only pizzas, pasta, or a beef carpaccio. Eeek, I have never had raw beef, which makes me nervous, but at this stage where I am still trying to lose, the thought of pizza or pasta makes me more nervous! I am tempted to take a bag of frozen broccoli and ask them to serve me pasta sauce over cooked broccoli, but somehow I think that would be pushing my luck!!! Never mind, life is going to get in the way sometimes, and I think if I just make an extra effort on the few nights I’m not out to keep extra low carb, I might hopefully be able to just maintain this week rather than putting on.

My first attempt of a 48 hour fast earlier this week was not as successful as I hoped. When I went to bed after about 27 hours of no eating, I found I became very anxious. I wasn’t actually hungry, but my stomach was gurgling very loudly, and for some silly reason, panic set in (I do have problems with anxiety on a semi-regular basis…so have dealt with this before). I got very little sleep. Managed to take my daughter to netball the next morning (after registering a 900g INCREASE on the scales……what????) without eating, but by the time we got home at lunch I had absolutely had enough and was obsessing about food. I ate far more than I normally would (even though it was all low carb, just more than 800 calories) as a result. So all up, only saw a 200g decrease the following day. I think I will just stick to the OMAD for a while as I really enjoy this way of eating, and find any small hunger pangs that I might get in the day are quickly eradicated with another drink of water. It also allows me to have what seems like a fairly extravagant dinner, and I go to bed totally satiated.

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday 🙂

Hi everyone. Hopeful/Donna I have to chime in re: your 900g increase after your fast. I recently had to do one of those cleanout fasts prior to a procedure, and did a 36 hour fast with only liquids (water and lemon and no cal jelly) as well as flushing out my entire system, and I put on 2lbs!!(900g!) What gives?! 😕
I hope you have a lovely arvo with your parents and enjoyed the cake 🍰.
Your OMAD experience is helpful. I don’t know if a 24 hrs fast would work for me – though might give it a try one day. At the momet I do 16:8 TRE.
If you like things a bit spicy then this is the link to a lemon ferment. I only used about half the number of chilis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMufJFdypY

HopefulinOz – have a lovely day with your parents. We celebrate Mother’s Day in March in the UK. Would you mind sharing the sesame salmon recipe please? Sounds good 🙂

MerryMelba – isn’t that crazy?! I’m sure there must be a scientific reason for it, and JGwen could probably enlighten us – maybe the cells hold onto more water? Very odd. The video you linked to is fabulous – thank you so much. I then saw they have another video for Fermented Pepper Mash which looks delicious – you can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSog98Cc_IU
I think I am going to try to make both tomorrow.

Ncjj678 – Of course! It isn’t a recipe from a site, just something we cook and love. For the salmon, we buy 125g skin on fillets per person (because I love the skin on, but you can easily make with skin off fillets also). After patting dry the fillets with paper towel, I put the tiniest bit of olive oil all over the fillets, and salt the skin. I then put sesame seeds spread out on a plate, about 1tbsp per person. I like to use a mix of white and black sesame seeds, but just white seeds is fine too. I roll the fillets in the seeds so that they stick, but I don’t put the seeds on the skin side because I like the skin to crisp up in the pan. That gets pan fried – skin side down first, before flipping until cooked to your liking.
In the meanwhile, I slice 1 garlic clove per person, a birdeye chilli (if you like chilli/spicy flavours). I steam 150g baby spinach per person briefly in a steamer or pot until it is nicely wilted,. In a pan I place 1tbsp of a lovely butter per person with the sliced garlic and chilli. Fry the garlic off over gently heat, put in your wilted spinach (if it is watery, make sure it is drained) until coated and warm, add a bit of salt of using an unsalted butter. Delicious!!! 🙂

Hiya all,

Well that whoosh of 3 lbs seems to have stayed off, bringing me to my 2nd goal, 3 lbs below top of normal bmi, and just 1.5″ over recommended waist size…that’s very cool and I am back on proper BSD style eating (with 2 extra low cal days) and aiming to maintain. As in, everything else is good- I feel good at this weight and also starting to feel (in my never ending quest for a well fitting bra- I have managed to find a white one but need a dark one now) that losing more weight could be a pain in the bum- already when I am trying on the 30″ bras (from places like bravissimo with a much wider size range than the supermarkets) if the band is too big lots of them don’t come in 28″ so then trying on another style etc etc…I’m not tiny skinny, btw, I am a size 10-12, at only 5 ft 0 (and very excited about it too, don’t get me wrong)- so any way, when I got married pre kids I was a size 8-10 and 12 lbs lighter, but I just don’t think that will suit me at almost 20 years older….already there are sort of saggy bits on my neck and things where I used to have double chins and parts filled with fat and when I was slimmer and younger those things were all smooth and taut 😂! So I’ve now lost 3 st 6 lbs and happy with that atm😁.

I had what is a really really unusual thing happen yesterday- I ran out of room half way through dinner!! I think because I had been nibbling on cheese whilst I was cooking the omelettes (hence the cheese hanging about to tempt me), and after several days of minimal carbs and no sugary treats….I’d forgotten how filling it could be to eat BSD style and when the carbs aren’t doing that mad thing of making you hungry an hour after you ate them!!! I was like, omg, I’m full, and the fam are looking at me like I have 2 heads because they’ve probably never seen that happen to me before 🤣.

Ooh and I’d like to hear about the sesame crusted salmon too please.

Love to all,
Tulip xx

Thanks HopefulinOz. I shall try that this week 🙂

Well done Tulip. Sounds like you are in a good place. You are my “slimspiration” right now 😊 – similar age, height and amount that I want to lose!

Happy Monday everyone!
Hubby had AZ jab number 2 late yesterday and is feeling rough this morning.
The weather here in England is very much April showers, albeit a month late, and goes from bright sunshine to hail in a few minutes, and back again. Saturday was appalling, so I spent the day in the kitchen, listening to a Dr.Unwin Youtube on low carb which was very interesting, and starting a few ferments, as I’m really enjoying the Clever Guts book at the moment and feel I need to mix up our food again.
We have been doing BSD for just over 6 months now, which is nothing compared to some long-termers on this forum. We are pretty much OK with the low carb WOE, with hubby having lost about 4.5st and me about 2st, but feel we need to change things a bit to lose another stone each, which is why I’m interested in the gut biome makeup and TRE. I’m tired of counting calories so am focusing on low carb and good fats only, and moderation where I know I need it.
I am not good with restraint when it comes to nuts, so following SG’s example, I have bought a packet of Brazil nuts, and aim to have 1 Brazil nut per day, maybe with my milk kefir. I think if I look at that one Brazil nut as a nutritional supplement rather than a snack, I may be able to have just the one – I’ll let you know 🙂
Anyway, ODAAT!

Oh well, done it again. A long post, pressed submit and pow, it has gone, disappeared.

The gist of it was hubby’s blood test results. Not good. BG 6.3, cholesterol up and creatinine levels moderately high. Doctor said he thought he would have known better being married to me and that he has become lazy in his life choices – doesnt mince his words our doctor. He (hubby not doctor) eats okay in the evening as he has the same as me and no carbs so I have had to look carefully at what else he is having. He gets up earlier than me and has already had breakfast which he is very proud is usually a bowl of porridge with ss milk – stopped him from using salt in it – but now notice a plate has been used. So he has porridge and then a slice (or 2) of toast with jam or marmalade. He has a banana every day after a sandwich lunch, twice a week he has croissants for breakfast and cake after lunch, says these are his little treats. He is not happy to listen to me tell him where he is going wrong but we are making a few tweaks. He had just one slice of bread and made an open sandwich for lunch, had an apple instead of banana but he certainly needs some work. Checked his bread and he said it only has 2.4g of sugar but he wasnt counting that it was 15g carbs of which 2.4 are sugar. Any gentle recommendations welcome as I know there are some of you who have been encouraging others like RubyG. He would listen to someone else but he doesnt have anyone who knows about. He also needs to get more exercise as his one walk a day has only happened once in the last 3 months. Hopefully with the weather improving he will get out into the garden more.

Hey ho. He is feeling very put upon and said he might as well give up eating completely. Felt like saying, welcome to my world, but didnt. Have a good week everyone.

Oh SG, I feel your pain, and sorry to hear that your hubby has had some adverse blood results.
For years I have been trying to manage my weight and exercise, while hubby blissfully went about life without a care in the world, not really worrying about either. Even high BP and medication, then early indications of fatty liver, didn’t push him to action. His GP didn’t even bother telling him to lose weight and exercise, as far as I know. It was only the pre-diabetes results that scared him witless, which was actually a good thing. He would have probably followed a low GI diet at best and stayed on the carbs to a far greater extent than now, and eventually ended up on meds for T2, had I not bought and read the original BSD book.
I’m still not sure how I sold him on the idea of 8 weeks of 800cals and no carbs, but it was late October and I suggested we give it a go until Christmas – the book suggested great things were possible and we had nothing to lose as the saying goes.
The first week we hit it hard, and he struggled, but he delegated all food-making to me, drank lots of water, and went to bed early every night as he was so hungry. 8 days in, he had lost 7 lbs and his BP was already dropping. I think it was 2 weeks when we had a review with the GP re. his BP meds. This gave him the impetus to keep going.
The downside is I now get questions like “am I allowed a piece of chocolate?” – yes dear, you’re allowed an entire bar of chocolate, it may kill you but it’s your choice. For the record, he really likes 95% dark chocolate from Lidl, and has 1 square (but this is almost daily now).
Like your hubby, my hubby would have toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, a banana every day, etc. For so many years we thought this was a healthy diet, while we both understood the chocolate bars and crisps were not.
On a positive note, I have tried to focus on all the foods we can eat, and enjoy those as much as possible. He misses his sourdough bread, but makes a loaf now for the local farm shop staff to enjoy, and we have 1 slice a week from a loaf which we slice and freeze. Our food bill has probably increased as we eat more fresh fish and a Saturday night steak, and are not bulking out meals with potatoes, pasta or legumes.
Could your hubby focus on the BSD low-carb foods which he does like, maybe with less focus on the cals if that makes it easier to start with?

Apologies for the monologue above, I really do feel your pain!
BTW I have not managed to get him to increase his exercise.
He suggested buying activity trackers, so I dutifully set mine to 10k steps per day – I have been stuck on calls ALL DAY today (still am) so have only managed 1470 steps so far today. I may get out and do some gardening between showers this evening.
Hubby has set his activity tracker to 1k steps per day, so we have some work to do there still.

Ncj….aww thank you 😍😍….not been anyone’s slimspiration for a long time but sooo love what this WOE has done, and continues to do, for me; I will follow closely how you are doing, you have made a great start!

Hopefulinoz….that salmon sounds beyond lush, I am so going to make it asap!!

On another note, my mood is a bit low again, but physically feeling loads better for getting back on track so must keep it up!! life and it’s many tasks is just a bit overwhelming atm.

Love to all,
Tulip xxx