Evening everyone, Wendy asked if I would set up the new weekly thread, as she has had a long and arduous day, so needs the evening to wind down. However, Wendy will be posting the updated list of contributors tomorrow, when she is feeling fresher and rested.

So, somehow another week has slipped by and we find ourselves on the threshold of a fresh week …. and a fresh start for those who need it. For those who have been struggling to stay on track, just take it a meal at a time and for those seeing good results, keep right on doing what you’re doing.

Hopefully we will see lots of previous contributors posting this week, including the new faces who posted on last week’s thread for the first time. And of course, we’ll be thrilled to see posts from old faces too … especially those who have had a rough time recently … please don’t be strangers and post whenever you feel comfortable to do so. If you are new to the forum and hesitant about posting here, just jump right in, you’re guaranteed a warm welcome.

Onward and downward folks, as SunshineGirl says “keep on keeping on”.

Hi everyone

Happy to report I’ve lost 4kg in first two weeks. And now I’ve worked out how to use the scales I realise my body fat % is down by 2%. Long way to go on both but it’s very motivating seeing the scales go down even if small amounts and three days with no movement at all! Lucky the recipes in the books are so good and haven’t done them all yet. Could happily live on the Beef Rendang

Okie dokie….. I am in!! Thanks for the thread SunnyB.

I’ve been off piste a wee bit – life, circumstance, mind set…..but i am now in a place to hop back on the wagon and have a proper good few weeks – i know my mind and body feel so much better when eating this way and i really feel the need to do it.
Yesterday was a good day, speadsheet made, food tracked, weeks meals loosely planned and feeling almost excited to be back in the game.
So glad the weekly thread is still going and that its such a nice place to pop back to. I’ve been trying to read and keep up as best as i can. Thanks to all those who contribute.
Lets make this week a good one!

Hello everyone, welcome back Windy, glad you are feeling upbeat and positive. Well done Steph, looks like you have got this.

I have just realised that if I am going back to England at the end of the month then I have only 3 weeks to make a effort and shift a few more pounds. Not really setting a goal but know what I would like to be. Okay maybe a kilo and a half if possible. Might make me stop messing about and dithering around the same weight. Although I have not gained so I dont exactly have weight to shift.

Hope to see a few more face during the week. Dont be shy, pop by just to say hello.

Hi All- thank you SunnyB and SG. Wendy, I hope you are ok…. hugs coming via the chunnel because I get sick on ferries 😚

Mmmmm, well, I lost the hypomania (might not feel good but I know it is good) but had one the worst days today in terms of feeling depressed I have had in a long while…..set off with an issue with middle child this morning….I won’t go into details as would be an essay, but it started the day off badly and it went downhill from there….and I am very derailed with eating…….
……

so please send me firm encouragement if you can…..!!

Love to all xxxxx

Hi Tulip – lets change eating together – tomorrow when you wake up – start off with a ‘perfect breakfast’ when it comes to eating and plan the day. I am sending tons of encouragement from Norway!
Steph 2 – fantastic results!! Keep going.

Hello everyone – I’ve had a really bad ‘eating week’- almost 2 weeks. I like the ‘keep on keeping on – just what I needed, SunnyB. Could any of you please share some really good self-motivational thoughts and experiences? – I need to get back on track. But I already feel that tomorrow and onwards will be good. Now I must sleep.

Hi Quetzal…..amazing advice thank you- exactly what I needed to hear….I am in the middle of ‘perfect breakfast’ and thinking about what to cook and eat for the rest of the day…will be BSD food strictly with lowish cals….and needs to be ongoing MM med style ongoing with far less off plan treats. And Quetzal, hope your day starts well too….we can do this 😍….I am going to try to check in here regularly to keep myself on track and see how everyone else is doing too xxx

Hi all, Tulip and Quetzal keep going you can do it.
I was amazed and pleased to find I had lost 2lbs whilst in hospital and another inch from my waist. People have been really lovely had lots of nice messages from people at work. My neighbours have said that if I need anything however small or silly just to ask or if I need a lift anywhere they will take me. I have still managed my 2 mile walk everyday since getting home and even went into work for a few hours to catch up on printing and filing on Monday. I won’t be in again for a couple of weeks as it’s Bank Holiday here on Monday and Tuesday, then I am off to Scotland for 6 days. I plan to try to eat the right kinda food but not worry about the calories.
This typing thing is getting easier.
You all have a good week and take care.

Thanks for the new week SunnyB.
Take care Elle-Mae – wonderful that you are out walking! Enjoy your holiday in Scotland.
and sending *encouragement* to you Tulip! You can do this.
Great going Steph!! 🌼🌼
Wendy – I made the fennel and cabbage kraut today. Do I keep it in the fridge? How long until it is ready to eat?

Quetzal & Tulip – top job, yup one meal at a time is the way to go. after you get a through a day or 2 with good focus you will be buzzing and you’ll feel better for it. I’m gonna hop on you little focus bandwagon, I know how hard it is when feeling flat and i know (even if i dont always manage) that eating good BSD friendly food and feeling the sense of achievement really lifts me…. we got this. Lets make good choices all day!
Elle–Mae, sounding really positive, getting out walking is fab! Where in Scotland are you off to? What you got planned? Keep away from the irn-bru and rowies! 🙂

I had a reasonable day yesterday – i still do struggle in the evenings and seem to have lost the habit of getting out to walk with OH…. it was really wet last night….. but getting out takes mind off snacking and is good for the soul. WE are both doing a strength session tonight with my trainer so hoping this evening is a bit easier.
One meal at a time, one day at time…… treat self well etc.
Oh and someone give me a week kick…. i really need to get back to daily meditation but struggling to find the ooomph to do it!

Julz

As I know Wendy’s time is very stretched at the moment, I’ll respond re: the kraut Merry, if I may. Allow your kraut to ferment out of the fridge for a few days, before placing it in the fridge, which will arrest the fermentation. Ferment for around 5 days to a week and it should be ready, take a little taste to check.

Elle, fantastic that you are getting out walking and that you have people around you to offer support if needed. Enjoy your break away in Scotland and well done on recording a decrease in pounds and inches, despite the awful food choices available to you whilst in hospital.

Tulip, sorry you are struggling, I know sticking with this WoE is tough when not in the right head space. Good advice from Quezel though, beginning the day with the ‘perfect breakfast’ and making a plan for your food day should help. But as I said, take it a meal at a time, so if things go a bit catiwhompous and you eat something that perhaps you shouldn’t, just make the next meal a good BSD one and go from there.

Julz, good to see you posting again, hope this week goes well for you.

Steph, you’re doing great! Please keep us posted on your further progress.

SG, I know what you mean about having something to look forward to, to focus the mind …. it’s what I’m in need of for sure. 🤞🏻for your trip, hopefully it will be possible.

Remember, we are all human and so allowed not to be perfect. If one day gets away from you, don’t waste time and energy beating yourself up and creating negativity, just make a fresh start as soon as you can.

Julz, I’m sure you know that even just 10mins meditation is of benefit, so finding time doesn’t really stand as an excuse (bossy or what!). There are some great music and chanting recordings for meditation on YouTube, to help you put the day’s clammer aside for a few minutes, so give it ago today.

Thanks Sunny….. I will make sure i do it today, even if it is at bedtime. I’m not sure why ive not been keen to do it….i found a lot of peace from it but i think i also started to pressure myself going into bits of headspace that were a bit ‘dark’ and Ive almost put myself off….. I need to just relax and follow along and stop trying to “achieve” something through the meditation…… very odd!! But i do know it works, and will not make an excuse today!!
I love tough love – so thank you

Windy, Merry, SunnyB, Elle-Mae (very glad you are on the mend), thank you all so much….we can do it together, right? I have been feeling tempted by all sorts of naughty food possibilities but must hold firm. I do know the carb monsters have probably been reawoken and if I stick with the plan- Julz, you are right- I will feel fabulous….got to hold onto that thought-
steph 2, you are doing great.

Love to all xxx

Jumping across as requested on the other thread!!
Fasting today and it’s lunchtime so feeling hungry!
I’ve found the hunger subsides by 3ish so hoping for the same today.

Hello all, having restarted this week (6 July) I would like to jump on the bus with you please. I gained some weight during lockdown which was quite strict here in France. The fast 800 worked really well for me a few years back so I know it will work if I stick to it. Only on day 3 but starting to feel the benefits already…Good luck everyone – your posts are inspiring 🙂

Post 3pm and hoping you are not feeling hungry, Jeremy.
Welcome back Antigone. You’re far from alone in gaining whilst in lockdown, but you soon see that off now you are back on the 800. Keep us posted on progress and shout out if you hit any sticky patches and next advice or support, we’ll be here.

4pm – all good now. Interesting how the body reacts to times of day in this way.

Hi everyone and many thanks to Sunny and SG for setting up and keeping the thread going. My time has been taken up this week helping a friend with legal issues,letters,phone calls and visits to school, enrolment procedures etc so I really have been out of the loop. The court hearing is next week and hopefully things will be more settled and I will have more time.
I am typing this on my phone but will post the updated list of contributors later. Glad to see you are still with us Tulip/ Clare and hope things settle for you soon too. I feel pretty helpless talking about depression..but just remember we are always a safe space for you. Good to see you Julz ! I spotted a post in my inbox from the Positives thread …you are preparing for a marathon ! ! OmG you are totally amazing !
I have yet to catch up with the new members,thanks Sunny and SG for welcoming and advising.
Merry ..I left my lemon, mint and fennel kraut to ferment for 10 days before putting it in the fridge. Definitely more than a couple of days but it is affected by ambient temperatures.
Well I will send this now and log on to my pc later to distract me from the stress of “the match ” !!
Yes ,SG ,crossing everything that you will finally get to the UK at the end of July to see your daughter . My parcel is on its way to my son in Australia for his 30th birthday. I wrote him a long letter which made me very weepy …it’s tough not being able to see my boys.
I’ll cheer up now !

Chilly winter morning here but will be a clear day. Thanks Sunny and Wendy – the kraut is now on the bench and will let it sit for at least 10 days or so – rooms are cool at the moment.
Oh Wendy – feeling your sadness about not seeing your sons. I’m sure the letter will be one that he keeps forever.
Hope all the football fans are busy decorating their homes and faces in preparation for the final!⚽⚽

Hi Wendy-
sounds stressful, re your friend with the court case! And thank you (re the mood stuff) 😚

Well, I stuck with med style yesterday but calories became uncounted by the end of the day (because of what else I had on so the kids ended up cooking my planned dinner so it was all very late therefore more snacks (on plan snacks)…will try today to be a bit stricter with the amount today perhaps, but I think it is especially important to not eat those off plan foods more than anything for me at this stage….or those are my first thoughts on waking this morning any way…
hope everyone has a good day xxxxx

Hi all
Wendy you sound busy, hope it all works out. I feel your pain about your boys, I am in Northern Ireland and my daughter is in Southampton, she is a physiotherapist, she got married last year and has just moved house. I would like to get over and see her later in the year, not seen her since the week before lockdown in March last year. My son is in Essex not seen him for about 2 years.
Had a bit of a meltdown yesterday, I decided work was too much for me, concentration is quite hard (and you should try plucking your eyebrows when having fine motor skills issues 😂). Told my boss I needed to take a bit of time, he is coming to visit me today. I have realised that I just need to pace myself better, I think just a lot of emails came in a bunch and I decided to deal with them all before resting, need to learn to do one then take a break.

Afternoon all. I hope you are all well. We managed to get away interstate for 5 days to visit family who we haven’t been able to see for quite some time, which was wonderful. I returned with a slight weight loss which I am happy with, as I worked really hard to make my own food and not eat the plethora or wheat based / starchy potatoes / sugar laden desserts and nibbles on offer.
Tulip – sounds like you are in a great mindset for nutritious eating. Sorry to hear things haven’t been great for you lately, but I have definitely found from experience that looking after myself with really healthy food, sleep, mindfulness, and some time in nature definitely can help me get back to a good place more quickly, so it sounds like you are doing all of the smart things. Sending you lots of hugs and support x
Wendy – I hope all goes well for you. Sounds like a very stressful time. I can only imagine how much you must look forward to seeing your boys – the time will come. We (the world) are getting closer every day 🙂
SunnyB – thanks for getting the thread up and running, and for the constant support you always offer everyone. You are a gem 🙂
Take care everyone x

Hi everyone, you all seem to be doing fine with what you are doing diet-wise, keep going. Not posted yesterday as I had a busy day food shopping in the morning. Grabbed a quick lunch and drove to hairdressers (her home) and had a cut and colour. Feeling very refreshed and booked in for September and December. 12 weeks between colour is a long time but I have got used to not having it done and using a spray for the roots if a go out – go out, whatever that is.

Looks like we wont be going back to the UK for 26th July as our jabs arent good enough to be accepted and we would still have to quarantine. That would be fine normally but daughter is holding a big house and garden party on our 5th day there for fiance’s 40th birthday. We wouldnt legally be allowed to go and hubby will not break the rules. Had a bit of a hissy fit yesterday but calmed down now and still waiting for further announcements.

Didnt sabotage my diet and with any luck by tomorrow I will have exceeded the lowest weight I have reached in the past 12 months. Not my lowest ever on this diet but near enough. Time to get into some more jeans although I found a pair of peach jeans/chinos in the wardrobe and they are fitting nicely and great for summer.

Only swimming on odd days as we are still getting a lot of rain but due for 30 degrees for the next 2 days so fingers crossed I will get in. I actually enjoy having days when I cant swim, it takes the pressure off me to get in every day.

Have a good weekend and I will try to behave myself.

Elle, sounds like you have been pushing yourself a bit too hard. Hope your meeting with your boss went well and that you have a more workable solution in place going forward.
Hopeful, glad you got your mini-break and managed to avoid the naughty stuff whilst away. Thank you for the kind words.
SG, I thought of you when I heard the travel announcement….really feel for you, it must be bitterly disappointing. Frustratingly from a news item I saw earlier, it seems not to be an issue of the vaccinations not being good enough, but of how proof of vaccination would be presented at the border. Believe they are working on getting the issue sorted out, but obviously that’s of no benefit to you right now. Well done on not sabotaging things as a result of this set back … sure that wasn’t easy. Anyway, really pleased you got your hair done though, sure that gave you a bit of a lift.
Tulip, you seem to have control at the moment, even when your day doesn’t go quite to plan, hope that continues through the weekend. I have always found ‘sticking with the programme’ tougher at the weekends.
We are away visiting oldest daughter this weekend, but I’ll drop on when I can. Have a good weekend everyone.

Hi Sunny, thank you for thinking of me. The exact words of the UK gov were – exemption to quarantine for double-jabbed people returning from amber list countries will only apply to those GIVEN A VACCINE BY THE NHS. – No mention of documentation. I have a French QV code and an EU QV. (or is it a QR code? cant remember) I think this will have the knock on effect of UK vaccinated and using an NHS document will have to quarantine in any European country so your first 10 days in Spain will not be spent on a beach or in the bars and restaurants. I know politics is frowned upon here but I do wish ALL governments would get their acts together and stop punishing people from every country.

I can wait and hopefully my daughter is getting out here at the end of August and as we keep saying – it should all be sorted by then.

Thank you all for your encouragement! Greatly appreciated especially as I’ve been a bit hungry the past few days. No sugar for nearly 3 weeks – a record. I’m down nearly 11lb which I’m really happy with so far. But definitely hungry despite sticking rigidly to the micronutrients and eating pretty well. I’m seeing crusty white bread in my dreams!

11lbs! Steph2 amazing! Don’t cave now!

Do you realise Steph2, you are nearly half way to your goal. Dont let a bit of hunger pang derail you, if you must eat make it BSD friendly like some ham, chicken, boiled egg, square of cheese. Stay away from the carbs.

Hi everyone else, looks like I have to accept not returning to UK yet. However, I am every the optimist and waiting for the next announcement in a couple of weeks or when they have reviewed the situation. We can change our ferry tickets up to a week before the sailing date and just shift them on a couple of months. Although if daughter, fiance and 5 kids manage to get out here at the end of August I will probably need to go back into voluntary isolation to get over the shock. 🙂 Might just shift it to Christmas and hope for the best.

Still being firm in my resolve and lost more weight although I dont have any goals I am nearly back to my lowest weight in the last 5 years. It was a weight I reached, went on a cruise and gained 7lbs which was the first of several holidays which put me on the upward slope to a couple of pounds on here and a couple on there with a short period of loss but never quite getting back to goal. Until now. Maybe I should be glad I am not going on holiday.

Have a good weekend and keep on keeping on…

I added low carb to my regime this week as my fasting wasn’t really getting me very far. I lost 1.5 lbs so that’s a good step in the right direction, particularly as I only managed 2 fasts, rather than my planned for 3.
I’ll keep that going with that this week.

I thought it would be good to remind myself why I’m going this to help with my motivation, so I thought I’d share:
– Be healthy
– Feel good with more energy
– Live a longer life
– Live well as I age, so I can get more out of life
– Look good
– Feel better about myself

And what’s important about all that (is another question I like to ask myself)?
– Having a great life – full, happy and long
– Being content and fulfilled

That’s helpful – which is needed as it’s a fast day today! Have a great week everyone.

—————
Summary
—————
Weeks 1-3: A bit of a false start – one good week and 2 bad and lost 1lb overall
Week 4: Started intermittent fasting, finding fasting difficult, brain fog in afternoons – lost 1lb – total loss = 2lb
Week 5: Brain fog much improved – getting used to it! Gain 2lbs. Total loss = 0lb
Week 6: Continued 3 24 hour fasts a week. Lost 2lbs. Total loss = 2lbs
Week 7: 2 fasts this week plus added low carb all week. Lost 1.5lbs. Total loss – 3.5lbs

thank you Donna and SunnyB 😚😚

Mmmmm, the weekend did not exactly go to plan……I think part of the problem is that my plan is a bit loose atm….needs more work.

Love to all for a good Monday (not my favourite day 😂) and a good week coming. Will try to check in asap and keep on plan (need a plan lol)

xxxxxxxxx

I’m just starting week 3 today, and as much as the results were way less dramatic in week 2, I’m still really pleased with them.
The most impressive thing is how little I feel hunger now. I used to feel hungry about 5 times a day before this, and now it’s just before I have my couple of daily meals. I am not missing those refined carbs one little bit!

Hope everyone else has a good start to their week!

Jeremy, once the low carb thing kicks in, it really pays off as you’re not yoyoing your body between carbs and no carbs. Glad it is helping and your motivations will resonate with many I’m sure.
Tulip, new week new plan …. don’t worry about what happened (or didn’t) at the weekend, just make today count.
LUE, good news that your hunger is under control … magic isn’t it? Who knew?!
The scales show I had a better BSD weekend than I thought, which has put me in a good place to really make the coming week the one where I get back under target. Will be setting the spreadsheet up tonight and kicking off in ernest tomorrow … mind’s made up!
The new weekly thread will he set up later … probably by Wendy this time, so look out for that this evening. See you all there.

SunnyB, thank you…..I seem to have awoken the carb/ sugar monsters…sigh. I know what the answer is!! It’s just finding the oomph to do it…..I know I will get more oomph if I do it tho….!!!!!

Here I am, briefly !!
Crikey I feel guilty that I have not been around so much . Sunny and SG have been doing a great job keeping the thread going , thank you so much .
I am going to set up the new thread now and the list which didn’t get published last week 🙁

Wendy x