Hi well I lasted 33hrs on my fast and the only reason I broke was because working in the cafe with all the smells made me really hungry and a little lightheaded. I had two rashers of bacon and half an avocado. My gosh it tasted so good🤣. I have the quiz and curry night tonight at our pub and I am doing the quiz but forgoing the curry, even though I love it. It is homemade but I don’t know all the ingredients so I won’t be able to work it out to get a true read on my intake and macros. I will have steak and asparagus before I go.

Patricia it is Essie ginger drink I think, but I add a fresh squeeze of lime to mine. I feel a little bloated again today but I am sure it will rectify itself.

Merry Melba so nice to see you posting again and thank you for the heads up on the milk. I hope you can make it more regular with your posting as we love to chat🤣. Especially me😜.

Thank you guys for all your advice. I have read the post about Fat fasting but I think I need to re read it. Happy Saturday Birdy💞🦜

Thank you Allie I am certainly go to try my best. I am also going to pinch your TRE times as I want to change mine up a bit. I lasted 33 hours on my fast and I am glad I managed it. I think I will have to do my next one on a Monday as coming off of nightshift it has made me a little tired. But I did it and I am well and truly on my way with this WOE, my daily macros are good and a couple have been around 13g of carbs which was not intentional but I am hoping that it is ok? Hope you are having a fab weekend so far hun 🥰💞🦜

Well done Shellbob, definitely an inspiration to us all. All this talk of clearing out is putting me in the mood lol……will need to find some time!
I managed to complete a 20 hour fast for the first time. Not quite the 24 hrs I aimed for but it’s a start. I really struggled with the last 2 hours and tried to persevere. I’ve only had a couple of strawberries and a small piece of 85% chocolate ( had to reward myself with chocolate lol). I didn’t see the point in cooking so late in the day and so close to dinner time so I’m sure I’ll last now until dinner.
I’ve been peeing for Scotland all day today!! Is that related to the fasting or just coincidence? I always used to go a lot when by BG was high but since starting this WOE and getting it under control I’ve noticed that I’m going a lot less…..until today!
As for work Wendleg, I’ve been in the same job for 35 years. No one will want me now lol. I know how I’m feeling is just a phase that I go through periodically and it will eventually sort itself out. Thank you for your support and encouragement today. All you have said is absolutely right and I will take it on board 😀

Oops I didn’t realise we were on a new page and I missed your posts Birdy. Just want to congratulate you and say well done.You’re amazing! Enjoy your quiz night tonight

Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes, you wonderful people! I just woke up and to have all those thoughtful, kind and loving words has made my day! Going to get up and receive my birthday cuddles from Albert and then go for a walk around the park in the sunshine to get my day going. Thank you again, you are all so lovely 💜💕

Happy Birthday Kafin – enjoy your walk and cuddles.

Peek-a-boo. Happy belated birthday Kafin. I got things wrong (and on what had been a very bad day). C’est la vie. Des humains parfois confus et imparfaits.

Thank you SixTurkeys – glad to hear from you!

I really don’t know if i am in the ketogenic state, I know my carbs have not been 20g all through the last two weeks but I have tried and most of this time period I have been under 40g, but since Thursday I have actually consumed under 20g, I do have a lot of energy and during my nightshift I don’t hit that normal brick wall of tiredness and feel I have energy for days. But I don’t know and yes I know you say don’t worry about the scales but I feel even though I have fasted drank loads of water I am stuck and feeling like I am going nowhere. Oh and the day I fasted I went to the loo three times then yesterday I didn’t go at all. I don’t know what I have changed or done but I am stuck 😢💞🦜

Does coffee effect weight loss? I am trying it black? Does soda water effect it? I feel really fat and bloated today in my face and around my middle. I haven’t cheated apart from those nuts but that was Wednesday night. Birdy is at a loss(not weight though🤣) help please! 💞🦜

Birdy76, there will be days like these when you follow the rules yet dont get the return. The scales show increased weight, the waist bloating.

My records show that measuring daily led to ups and downs of between 500g and 1.5kg. I decided to stop stepping on the scales daily and I feel happier.

You are doing well, and over a 4 day period you will see the impact.

Hi sixturkies, how are you doing?

Glad to see you back sixturkeys. Hope things are better for you now.

Thank you Patricia1066 I do hope so. I hate being a Debbie downer but I really need this to work. My carb intake for the last days has actually been below 20g. I am going to go back to the things I ate in the first week and see what happens. I am so determined and I am not gonna cheat myself I am going to stick to it. My jeans are lot loser especially sour dough my hips! I am seeing subtle changes and the scales are saying 16s 12 and a half pounds, so at least it is not 18 stone which is what I was under two weeks ago. 🥰💞🦜

Good morning/afternoon, everyone!

Birdy, I’m confused by your post today. Why do you feel “stuck” and write “this has to work for me”??? Sixteen lbs
lost in under 2 weeks is far in excess of the average, which is about a stone a month. What were your expectations?
Are you familiar with the “whoosh effect”? If not, type it into the search box, or google “whoosh effect” on the web.
What we often repeat here is that this process is a marathon, not a sprint, and you must believe in it and yourself.
It will happen! Patience, my girl!

Sorry Allie. I haven’t been feeling good as I my bowel movements have been a bit sparse, I also think that because I lost so much so quickly then I came on and the scales said I have put back on I got a bit manic. I think I want to succeed so badly and discard so much weight I got a little unsettled and thought is this really working. It is and know that as I have just got my O/H to redo my measuring and the results are good.

I have discarded inches😄

Thigh half an inch
Hips one and a half inches
Waist three and half inches
Underbust one inch
Bust two inches
Upper arm half an inch
And neck one and a quarter inc.

You are right this a marathon and I promise I will have patience and just enjoy the feeling of all my clothes getting loser on me🤣😉💞🦜. Thanks Allie.

Very clever of you to take starting measurements too, Cutie! You really ARE ahead of the curve, you know. About
transit issues…What became the norm for me was to “go” every other day. This is partly because with he carbs
out, there is less bulk in the way of waste. Sorry to be indelicate, but it is true. Don’y worry, we’ve got you 🙂 There
has already been a lot written on constipation, so have a look through back posts by way of the searchbox. It may
reassure you, and anyone elsewho may be concerned, too xxx

Hi Birdy, remember that 1 litre of water weighs 1kg. – So if you are drinking a couple of litres a day as is recommended your weight will fluctuate by 2kg, = 4.4 lbs over the course of a day.

Then there is the weight of whatever you eat while it is in your digestive system 800 calories from cheese is going to weigh a lot less than 800 calories in celery.

So the scales will show a lot of fluctuation at different times of the day, and different days. Thats why its better to plot a trend rather than focus on a daily weight loss.

Secondly, there is a whole orchestra of hormone systems inter-related. It isn’t just carbs in =/= controls insulin levels =/= fat burnt. Insulin levels control levels of other hormones such as growth hormone which is responsible for bone density, repairing muscle after exercise. Lower insulin = Stronger bones and muscles = good for our long term health but they will weigh more. So sometimes you can have an increase in weight at the same time as a drop in inches. Thats what is happening to me at present.
So step away from the scales and instead of thinking about this as a WoE because that sort of includes the idea that its for the short term, think about it as a Way of Eating for Life. (WoEfL) so you don’t stress yourself out worrying about weight loss. – You have seen big drops in the scales so far, but that will come to an end as your body finishes releasing all the stored water and then changes will be a little at a time. There are 3500 calories in a lb of fat. Compare that to the average daily energy expenditure for someone of your size and build and it will give you a clue as to how much fat you can expect to loose in a normal week.

Hi Birdy, you’re doing great- to put things in perspective for you, it took me 8 weeks to lose 17.5 lbs! At the time I was really pleased with that because other diets just didn’t work for me. We are all different In how we lose weight but there is no way you could continue to shed weight at the rate you’ve done so far week in and week out. I had to see a colorectal Surgeon last year and was advised to take Fybogel whilst following a low carb diet. There is no sugar in Fybogel just fibre to help things along. One thing I learned whilst following BSD was that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to lose the weight, just keep going. I was a slow loser but I got there, some of the people I started with in January reached their target a lot quicker than I did. Some of us are still plodding. Also, don’t let the scales rule your mood- this happened to me and now I don’t weigh as often.

Ladies thank you and you are right. You are all amazing and have done amazing on this WOE. I truly don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t welcomed me into this amazing forum. We drove 2hrs my son and myself today to Kent to visit my mum and after his rugby match he was very hungry! We stopped and I gave in to him and bought him a packet of crisps! Omg my mouth was watering from the smell and the glorious crunching sound they made🤣🤣🤐, so had just bought two boiled eggs and ate them slowly why he scoffed them just to stop myself for asking for one🤣.

Thank you again Allie, Jgwen and Cathy for your sage advice and encouragement you are awesome Birdy 💞🦜

I couldn’t help but smile at your frantic “is this working for me?!” post, Birdy. It was a smile of recognition and empathy. You just had a classic meltdown. They are completely irrational, triggered by anything from a few ounces shift on the scale to your hands looking puffy. I once gained two pounds overnight with zero change to my food intake. My OH ran in the bedroom when he heard me literally banging my head against the wall and wailing like a baby banshee. “I’m never going to reach my goal. All of this has been for nothing. [sob, slobber, snort.]” I had lost more than 100 pounds at that point.

Roll on, girl. You are doing fantastic by every possible metric. You are one of the lucky ones who has lost very quickly in the early stages. Your successes will carry you forward over the low points until you get where you want to be and look back in disbelief that this happened at all.

Essie thank you and wow 100lbs down before you had a meltdown bless you. I think with me it was like it wasn’t real and the scales were lying and someone was gonna laugh and say that I am never going to be slim and healthy!🤣. I want this more than anything I have ever wanted. To be able to buy the clothes I love and look good in them. I know it will happen I have the proof with you guys. I still have a lot to learn but with you and the other guys I know I can. Thank you lovely lady for all your guidance and help. I really do appreciate it. 🦜💞

Quick question Guys can we have Brussel sprouts in this woe? Cheers birdy. 💞🦜

Oh no no no. I had plenty of meltdowns before then. I’m just using that one as an illustration of how they don’t really depend on the results themselves which can be astronomically great. They are a purely emotional reaction to the natural ebb and flow of long-term weight loss. It’s an intense experience that we come to with so much baggage. Of course we lose our minds sometime. We have our ugly cries, post something crazy on the forum and then we move forwards, eyes on the prize. 🙂

Less than 5 grams carbs per cup (88 grams) of Brussels sprouts, so yes, but keep an eye on the serving size, as always.

I love roasting my Brussel sprouts- delicious. I am going to try roasted radish – supposed to be delicious too.

I will I am only having 85g of roast chicken as I don’t want to go over in my protein. My mum is putting all veg and meat on the table so we can help ourselves and she is putting the scales next to me so I can weigh it all before I eat it🤣🤣. Bless her. I am salivating! Can’t wait as I haven’t had a roast in ages. No roast potatoes though for me or my mum and dad🤣💞🦜

Thank you again everyone for all the birthday wishes! Now that it’s behind me and I’ve been an eating binging disaster for several weeks, putting everything back on that I had lost, it’s time for my restart. I’m going back to basics with 12:12 for a week. I refuse to weigh myself today so as not to start on a negative note. Will weigh in next Sunday instead. So, yay for me for trying again and being in a better space this time!

Are you feeling a bit better, Birdy? As you can readily see, we all have our meltdowns from time to time. We would be
robots if we didn’t 🙂 We do see ourselves through, and these forums are how we do it! I remember a powerful post
from Essie last year, when she confided in us that she believed that her weight loss was the single most profound
accomplishment of her 45 year old life. That was a departure point for me, because I appreciated every word that
she was saying. I thought about it myself in those terms, and have decided that maintenance is my “glory moment”
and I mark tomorrow as my anniversary date for 2 years in maintenance! I’m ready to cartwheel around the forum
in disbelief, and I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone here that contributed to my success. 🙂 You have the “power”
too, Birdy, and you will do this! When you do, I will be standing on the sidelines, grinning ear to ear, and saying “that’s
my girl!”

Allie

Allie I am hun, thank you, with all of you guys spurring me on with not just encouragement but with your very real and personal stories and accomplishments how could I not. No, no robots on here hun😛🤖. I am also at my mums and she has just cooked us the most gorgeous roast chicken from the recipe book. Thank you for all your patience and help it really is a god send. ❤️💞🦜

Can ask how you Allie and Essie can work out the carbs and bits so quickly please to make sure you are on target with you macros. I am using MFP but it can be wrong as people work them out themselves and they may well not be a true read. I have been using this barcode reader to get a proper reading but sometimes that is not an option. Also I have found some nice sausages that are gluten free, 84% meat and they don’t work out too bad on MFP, but they have rice flour in them. Does anyone know of sasusages that are better? I can’t find the chicken ones Essie said are good as all the uk ones has bits in we shouldn’t be eating.thanks Birdy💞🦜

Birdy, for commercial products I use the information on their nutritional panels. If MFP doesn’t have it or what’s in their database has been entered incorrectly, I manually edit the numbers. For fresh foods — veggies, meats, fish — I look up the USDA information and choose the entry in MFP that matches it.

In the end, though, it’s all a bit of a crapshoot. You have to trust that the companies selling food aren’t liars or mistaken (a major assumption given how often they fling bullshit) and that a government agency whose brief is promotion of US agriculture, not public health, is using actual science instead of relying on self-reported data from farmers/ranchers/scary conglomerates trying to sell their wares. Short of sending samples of everything you plan to eat to a testing lab, you have to be content with being as close to accurate as possible.

Ugh. Rice flour. There is simply no reason to infect a simple sausage with 16% filler carbs. This may seem extreme, but until you can find a source of decent sausage, you could make your own. It’s not that hard, believe it or not. Get chicken or turkey, ideally dark meat like boneless, skinless thighs, cut it into chunks an inch long on each side, freeze it for 15 minutes. It will not be frozen through, but it will be solid enough that you can pulse it a few times in a food processor and get a decent coarse grind. Mix in your own herbs, spices and veg, form them into 2 oz patties, stack with layers of wax paper between them and freeze for long-term use. If you don’t have a food processor, the quick freeze trick will allow you to do thin slices that you can then cross-cut into a mince.

It sounds like a huge pain in the ass, I know, but if you do it in a big batch, say 5 lbs of meat at a time, one hour of work will provide you with weeks’ worth of sausage.

I couldn’t start the day without first congratulating Allie on her anniversary today.TWO YEARS IN MAINTENANCE following a whopping TEN STONE WEIGHT DISCARD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW WOW WOW !!! A legend xx

I am cartwheeling with you , Allie !!!

Congrats on your anniversary, Allie! You’re inspirational and I can’t wait until I’m in your position. Maintenance is the true test.
I’m almost at the end of my Day 1 restart and I though I would list some goals so that you can all help me stay focused!
1. Weighing every day works for me as it helps keep me on track, but this time I won’t get so hung up on the numbers, it’s more important to stick to the WOE and the changes will follow in their own time. That said, I’m not weighing until I’ve been back on track for a week
2. I’m going to do my measurements once a week instead of daily
3. My initial first weight goal is to fit into a beautiful sun dress and wear it to the end of summer party that I’ll be going to at my company in Munich at the end of August. More importantly, my goal for that week is to stay focused on the program and not binge eat, just because I’m out of the country. If I can do that, I’ll be so proud because I always make grand plans to not pig out and then fail every time.
4. I’m adjusting my mindset to this being a marathon, not a sprint and a life change, not a brief diet period.
5. I’m going to do 12:12 for a week, then move to 10:12 and then reassess.
6. I’m going to build up to extended fasts
7. I’m stepping up my exercise and returning to yoga, plus weights in the morning and a HiiT workout three times a week
8. I want to stay on Fast 800 until I reach my goal and then transition to 5:2
9. That’s all I can think of right now – feel free to chime in with suggestions!

On another note, I have the Fast800 latest book, is it worth getting the original BSD or is the info repeated??

Well done Allie you are amazing! Congratulations on your 2 year maintenance hun🍾🥗🥩🥑🎇🎆🎊🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎈🎈🎈🎈

Good 3 am in the morning all from Florida!

Just hopping on to say congrats to Allie on her Anniversary!!!

Catherine

Happy Anniversary Allie, totally fabulous achievement 🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉🙌🙌🙌

Kafin cheering you on with your new start xxx
Birdy, if you can’t be bothered making your own find a good quality local butcher who makes their own with no additives (fillers).

Kafin that is already some list you have there.Glad you are feeling positive on your restart. All the very best.We are all cheering you on

You don’t need another of Mm’s books.The Fast 800 is enough (plus this forum 😉
I found ‘motivational books ‘ and books which enhanced my understanding of why I overate to be more useful .
Tha ” Take a look at this thread “has lots of reccommendations . You have often heard mentioned
Gary Taubes : “Why we get fat…………’
I also recomend Jason Fung : The Obesity Code and his Complete guide to Fasting. I like Zoe Harcombe too who talks a lot about emotional eating.She has personal experience of anorexia and eating disorders amongst lots of practical advice to tackle carb addiction.
I think they would be more useful than MM’s original book if you wanted to read something xx

Allie, 2 years maintaining! Wow! You are our shining star, showing us the way.

Birdy76, have you seen the Tesco finest British Traditional pork sausages?
Pork (97%), Potato Starch, Salt, Water, Dried Herbs, White Pepper, Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), Nutmeg. Filled into natural casings.
We like them, they have a slightly herby taste and are chewy rather than overly smooth consistency. I never thought to consider the carbs, it’s 1.5g per 100g.

Hi everyone
Just to let you all know I will set up another weekly thread which will run until my Spring break in the Uk 😉

Thank you Essie, I will keep going as I am. I am getting 20g of carbs a day and sometimes less which isn’t intentional 🤣

Thank you Patricia I will try them. With these jolly hog ones it is the first sausage I have found that I actually like. I like a good plain pork sausage and they put all sorts of spices/ herb that make them taste horrid😉.

Allie, many many congrats on your 2 year anniversary. You really are a shining light.

Kafin, you have a long list. But I would suggest two important additions – drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of sleep!
Congratulations to all at the end of this week, and see you on the next thread. xx

Better late than never but just want to add my congratulations to Allie. Truly amazing! Well done!

Thanks caronl – I’m drinking 3L of water a day and working on my sleep! Great additions

Thanks, Wendy – I’ve read some articles but always good to have more on hand, especially at the difficult moments

Signing off on this week’s thread, and installing myself on the new chapter that will begin tomorrow.! I’m going
to express my gratitude to all that have taken time out of their day to send such generous messages to me today
on our new weekly thread. This is also my underhanded way to get you all to sign up for the new week, too 🙂 🙂 🙂

How ridiculous! I meant “challenge”, not “chapter”. 🙂