It’s time again, to bring this challenge forward. Thanks to all who contributed to making the week past one of
our greatest ones yet! You are all so important to us, so I hope everyone will be continuing on. Tuesdays are
a tradional day for official weigh-ins and stating our goals, so I will see everyone then 🙂

Today is the start of my fourth week and it’s the hardest so far!
I’m a chocoholic but have been managing surprisingly well without it so far. I think it’s partly to do with the novelty of a new diet and I’ve been enjoying what I’ve been eating so far…….but I fell off the wagon last night and tonight. Had a full bag of chocolate mint cremes last night and a bag of chocolate covered peanuts tonight (thought it would only count as half cheating as nuts are low in carbs 😉.)
I’ve been trying to analyse why I’ve caved in and I think it’s mainly due to the disappointing weight loss. I’ve only lost 7lbs in 3 weeks ( 4 in first week, 2 in second and 1 this week) That’s the equivalent of a normal diet but I had high expectations for this one. I think I’ll need to reduce the carbs more but find it quite difficult as the low carb stuff tends to have higher calories!
I’m hoping if I check in here every night it will keep me on the straight and narrow and hopefully next week will be better.
Good luck to every one else with their weigh ins. I’ll change to officially a Tuesday as well to keep in line but to be honest I’m on the scales every day, often more than once a day 🙄

Hi, Scottishgal! I’m sorry you are struggling a bit at 4 weeks in. There is a steep learning curve for most
of us when we change to this way of life. Nuts are a classic example. While they are low in carbs, they
are very high in calories unless limited to 8-10 per day. There are really no “free” foods, and portion size
is vitally important. Have you been using one of the apps to count carbs and calories, and weighing your
food? It’s always a shock to discover how far off we are. 🙂 If it’s possible for you, it would be really
helpful if you could remove all contraband from the house also. It’s amazing how fast we forget
about sugar when there is no prospect of eating any in the house! The day will come when mints and
chocolate no longer appeal to you, but this only comes about when we break the addiction by abstinence .
I think we all have “trigger” foods, and the sooner we recognize them, the better. The triumverate of
tragedy has always been crusty bread, cheese and wine for me. I can’t do anything in moderation, so even
though I’ve been in maintenance for 21 months, no bread or cheese comes through my door. Cheese is
another example of a BSD friendly food…IF you can consume it in a 1″x1″ cube! Otherwise, it is a calorie
bomb! Hang in there. It will all come right if you stay with it!

Allie

Hi Allie ! Thanks for setting up another Weekly Wallie thread ! I am looking forward to another Week of stimulating contributions !
Scottishgal , Allie talks a lot of sense.I think you are setting your expectations too high. Weight discard is a good thing but a more satisfying victory will be when all your carby choccy foods no longer seem so appealing . I am a bit boring as I keep saying this but sugar is NOT a friend.It is nutritiously empty , it can’t comfort or give you more than a brief high before messing up your blood sugar levels with the ensuing awful crash. Think of it as something that really is toxic for you and banish it. I couldn’t face a Mars bar or similar now but the odd square of very dark chocolate 85 or 90% really hits the spot and is much better for us.
Once you abstain as Allie says, the cravings/addictions will ease and you can then continue to discard the weight without the fear of grabbing another bag of mint cremes. You can do it .
Have to go to work now ! See you later folks !

I’m jumping on this thread too this week, I’m thinking weekly goals may help me stay on track. Week 4 starts for me tomorrow and as at week 3 I’d lost a whole 750g or something! Very hard to stay motivated. Hot weather, family issues and being very busy at work is not helping either, but I’m determined to keep going.

Hello everyone,
The hardest thing Scottishgirl Is resisting if you have the trigger foods in already. Mine is the wine-and I did indulge one evening. But I am certain had it not been at home, I would not have gone out to get it! The support you receive on this forum is so heartwarming. So yes, keep posting!
I started 20 days ago, and I weighed in this morning at a 25 pound loss-How much wine was I drinking!? Ahahaha
Sixturkeys, how ya doing on the Pinot front?
And yes, alliecat the cheese. Scottishgirl, I agree with alliecat on downloading the app to do the counting for you-it is the first piece of advice I followed from this forum. The great thing is before you eat something you shouldn’t, you can add it to your calorie counter-and when you see that number going up on empty calories-you will think twice.
Have a great day lovely people and sending you all good wishes! We are in it together.
Nee

Good morning! Thank you for setting up a new week.
Well I have finally managed to get on the scales! As I’ve already documented, 2018 was a year of gradual decline for me mainly because I had lots of trips away and never really managed to get into a good routine. I’m delighted to say that after just four weeks of enforced dry January and a generally BSD friendly diet, because I’m reliant on others to ‘feed’ me, I’m back to the weight I was when we returned from our cruise last April! So I’m really delighted. I now only have three months of over indulgence to resolve!
Last week my goal was to weight and log but I realise that weighing my food was rather ambitious. I did log everything though and my average for the week was 819 calorie per day and 41g carbs. Admittedly I only guesstimated but I did try to err on over rather than under reporting. So for this week my goal is to keep logging but also to try and increase my water intake. Now that I’m more mobile, bathroom visiting is easier both physically and psychologically, so I can now drink more!
Hope everyone has a good week.

Hello everybody. Congratulations for the results so far – Verano wow!. And Nee, lovely to hear how well this way of eating is working for you. Scottishgal and SueBlue, we are going to have a really good week, once we put our minds to it!
I had a struggle last week, and am therefore pleased to report a gain of only 0.3 kilos. I went up 2kgs and then down again after giving myself a firm talking-to. At the risk of being regarded rather oddly, I shall share my “trick”. People with children of a certain age may be familiar with Sponge Bob? In the cartoon there is a character called Plankton, who constantly tries to sabotage Sponge Bob’s boss. Long introduction… but I visualise my (returned) carb cravings as Plankton. After all, it is not really my heart, soul or brain which hunts out salted caramel….it is some pesky bacteria in my gut who want the sugar. I need to be stronger than them – and of course I am…. And if I resist, the bacteria will desist. OK I have just had an odd week….

My main motivation this week is to stay the same or get down a little, so that my smart black outfit for the choir performance on Saturday looks svelte!

Best wishes to everyone for a successful healthy week.

Good morning/ evening all.
Having put the past week aside I am ready to move on to this new thread with renewed enthusiasm.
In spite of everything, I did manage to lose three pounds and my aim this week is to continue to log everything, ignore the white stuff and try to keep to about 800 – 1000 calories.
Let’s hope we all have a good week.
X B

Hi all, Allie thanks for starting another weekly thread, it really does help.
My goals for this week are to keep on, really! Hope for some success- what I am really hoping for, even if the scales don’t move, is for my work trousers to fit comfortably again when I go back to work next week, they were noticeably snug before I went on leave. So continuing super low carb, one or two meals a day and hopefully be able to walk a bit more.

Hope your toe is not causing you any pain, Mariet ? How is your grandchild ?? You will have a different routine when you get back to work. Sounds like you are doing everything right ! Keep going despite the crushing heat you are enduring in Oz xx

That’s a good plan Busybee .3lbs is great !

Don’t get discouraged SueBlue .Shout out and we will come running.

You can be stronger than the carb cravings caronl…for sure !

Verano I am so impressed ! Your weekly goals are well in place.February is going to be a good month !

Brilliant progress, Nee ! Keep going as you are , resisting the vino as much as you can 😉

I wonder how cookiemonsta is doing ??

Still hoping for news from Eclectic xx

Hi Everyone.weighed in at 87 2 kg today which is up. So its a fresh start for me this week.Back to basics.I hope everyone has a good week.

Thank you Allie, for kicking off the new weekly thread and it’s brilliant to see so many have transferred across from last week’s or joined afresh. Some good results being reported for last week too, not least Verano’s – wonderful you are more mobile now and feel able to take control again.

My start point this week is 1.5lb down on this time last week, so have made a start on rebuilding the desired wriggle room. Quite pleased with that result, given that it was challenging to get the carbs down to 20g and lower – first few days were more like 40g. Anyway, both cals and carbs back in line and where I want them now. However, this week presents some challenges, in that we have an unexpected dinner out happening tonight and will be away over the w/e, which will mean I won’t be able to weigh and measure, so will only be able to making choices governed by BSD principles. To help with offsetting any anomalies this evening, I am on a fast today and am hoping to stretch it to a full 24hrs+ – so far so good.

Best wishes to all for a successful week – here’s to everyone being able to report good things next Tuesday.

Thanks Allie. So many posts already! Well done everyone for the positive start.
Mariet, just caught up with your post from the previous thread. Do hope your legs and toe are in good order. Are you a grandmother yet?
I’m starting same at the same point as last week – 62.7kg. Will do better…

Hi I’m new on the forum and trying the 8 week 800 fast since yesterday. I’m prediabetic, just diagnosed, and reading the book has given me a strong motivation to keep my promise to myself, that I will be healthy and fit by eating better.
My weight is 93.6kg and my initial weight goal is to discard 8 kg in 8 weeks. My healthy weight needs an additional discard of 6 kg.
Alcohol isn’t in my life at the moment, and I’m enjoying drinking litres of water, mugs of green tea. Orange juice is always in the fridge and is a worse temptation than beer for me.
I made a tomato and celery soup for the week with ginger and chilli which is delicious.
Last night I cooked a pork casserole and green beans and ate it without the potatoes. I was full and slept well.
I put all the “no no” foods in a pile today. Flour, rice (3 types) and jars of sweet sauces. I can’t throw out the juices and potatoes as my husband will revolt!
I am lucky that I have time to cook , and adapt my eating habits to this insulin intolerance reality. Staying positive, and join the 800 crew.

Welcome, Patricia!
I know what you mean, my husband is the same way with potatoes and bread but he’s getting better.

Max.

Hi SunnyB.
Congrats on the weight loss.
Good luck with your fast.
Max.

Good morning, my friends.
Reporting in. Down another pound at 190 lbs. One more pound and I’ll reach my next mini-goal.
Doing well on 800/keto (Under 27 net carbs.) No issues. What’s really surprising is how in-hungry I am. Nice!
Best of luck to everyone on this new week.
Max.

Welcome Patricia, good to have you on board – sounds like you have made a good solid start. Shout if you have questions or are struggling and someone will offer help and/or support.
Marsie – you didn’t gain, so that’s a plus point and I’m sure you will see a better result this week. Keep walking the path.
Max – great news about the pound and being so close to the next mini goal, I’m sure you hit that this week. Thanks for the encouragement, fast is going okay, although I have another five hours to go if I’m going to stick out to the meal this evening, so not counting any chickens yet!

Thanks Sunnyb, I do have questions. I posted them on the Starting 2019 with a new attitude

Patricia1066 I just looked at your questions on the other thread and thought I would answer here. This way of eating is basically low carb and healthy fat LCHF, which is an alien concept to most of us who have followed low fat diets for many years. There is a learning curve and you will get there but it may take time. In a nutshell carbohydrates cause blood sugar spikes and if you have diabetes or prediabetes this way of eating has to become a way of life, otherwise, as soon as you go back to eating simple carbs your blood sugars will rise!
So this plan is based on 800 calories and low carb, which MM doesn’t quantify, for 8 weeks but can be carried on past the initial 8 weeks. In general most people stay below 50g of carbs a day but those who are very insulin resistant often need to go as low as 20g.
The best advice I can give you is to get a computer program or app to count calories, carbs etc. Fatsecret is my app of choice but another popular one if myfitnesspal. You will be amazed at the number of carbs in some otherwise ‘healthy ‘ foods. An apple for instance can have 19g if carbs, which, for some us almost a whole day’s allowance.
To answer your question muesli is an oat based product, rasins are dried grapes and whilst nuts are fine in moderation they are pretty high calorie! Just check out the carb content.
No, toast and marmalade are probably out but there are so many great foods you can have its best to concentrate on the foods we can eat rather than hanker after those that won’t do us any good.
Enjoy the journey!

Hi Patricia – I notice that Allie answered the questions you posted on the other thread and Verano has responded on the thread, but thought I’d add my bit too. I reiterate Allie and Verano said. Basically you are looking to avoid high carb food, so anything starchy or sugary, so unfortunately no toast and marmalade and no muesli I’m afraid. It takes a while to change mindset from low fat/high carb to low carb, but you’ll get there.
Personally don’t like the sound of a sweet omelette but worth a try if it sounds good to you, but no added sugar please, just raspberries and omelette.
I note that Verano has advised about carb levels and Allie spoke about reading nutrition panels, which needs to become an automatic action, even for foods you think will fit easily into the BSD perimeters, as you’ll be surprised where those pesky carbs hideout.
Keep asking and keep practicing – it will come right and become second nature in a couple of weeks.

I really didn’t want to hear that, but it’s good to know how I can keep healthy.
I tried fatsecret today, and had fun swapping different meal ideas, seeing how much carb there is in a slice of bread, marmalade and an apple. 46g in carbs just used up.
Tomorrow is the first day with an insulin adapted lifestyle, I bought the Greek yogurt, full fat and instead of honey I will have blueberries and raspberries.

Hi Marsie, my daughter in law is getting to the end of her labour right now so I expect to hear any time. Very exciting! I hope she’s not having too bad a time.

Hi Everyone – can I join you?
Restarting today after a bit of a break. I did really well last year using just the book for a few months and then hit a stressful time and it fell apart. I am doing this for the anti inflammatory results of the diet (neuro condition) and for weight loss too. I felt amazing for those few months and I want to get back to that. I hope that using the forums this time will keep me going.

Hi everyone,
Back again after falling off the wagon two years ago. Amazingly, it’s taken this long to regain all that lost weight! But I’ve got a serious chocaholic habit, like many people here. Diabetes in my family is scary, and all that sugar plays havoc with our neurons… My mother-in-law, who thinks she “needs” sugar and hardly eats anything other than sweet carbs and fats, is rapidly losing her memory. I don’t want to be like that, so here I am.
I slid back into the diet quite easily, and lost 2.8 kg in the first week, despite feeling hungry and now being constipated (I commented on another thread). My skinny husband appreciates the new recipes (he adds carbs), and my m-i-l huffs at me from the armchair, saying “I don’t believe it. You won’t be able to…” which just spurs me into action.
It can be hard to find enough low carb high fibre stuff to eat. If I eat too much fat, I feel really dizzy and sick. I feel great on moderate fat, liberally low carbs (50-60g), and moderate protein. So I don’t think I’ll try going Keto… it’s more important to feel ok while eating healthily and lose weight a little more slowly, than to feel sick and give up.
So good luck everybody!

Welcome Patricia; Mermaid and Carbshark. You have come to the right place to channel all the support and encouragement you need as you start out. Sunny, Allie and Verano have already offered some invaluable advice as always. It does take a bit of time and effort adjusting to the BSD principles but it is worth it. I see carbs and sugar as an addiction and I truly believe you have to give them up totally to crack the cravings which really do disappear if you persist.

Mermaid you could try adding chia seeds to Greek yoghurt with a few berries ? Also drinking water with psyllium husks for fibre ? Yes you need to feel well when adjusting your way of eating. Reducing the sugar /choc is the way to go.Sugar has no nutritional value and messes with your blood sugar. It doesn’t matter if you lose slowly. You have to find a way of eating which is enjoyable and sustainable for you. Your hunger is probably carb cravings and you will find that will ease.

Carbshark you will soon be feeling amazing again.Stick with us !

Patricia your toast and marmalade will be less appealing as you progress. You will find loads of helpful advice on here . As Sunny says, just shout if you have any more questions.

All the very best to you all xx

Mariet that is so exciting !! I am so envious !I I would be beside myself with excitement at the prospect of grandchildren !!

Popping in for the weekly weigh-in.
From last week’s weight, I’m 1.8 pounds down to 163.8.
That means I made my monthly weight loss goal to get back where I was before I caught the flu in December.
Thanks for everyone’s support and well wishes from the other thread.
I’m doing okay now… Just wishing I had $30 to splurge on a cute pair of shoes to go with my goal dress.
I’m looking forward to sharing in another great week with you all.

Mariet, grandie probably will have arrived by the time I finish posting this 💝 good luck all round xx
I’m just changing into my bathers (swimmers/togs elsewhere) to walk down to our local beach with grandson, last week of school hols so making the most of it 🏊

I bet you had a fabulous swim Marsie, half your luck! Yes baby came at 6.30 this morning but they didn’t broadcast the news until after lunch. I was imagining all kinds of disasters because I knew she’d been very close at 5.30. They wanted to enjoy the first hours with only the three of them and good luck to them! Poor Katie looks so tired, she’d been awake for 36 hours.
I’m 26 hours into an unintended fast and now I feel as I may as well extend it to dinner which will be 29 hours. Feeling fine and not hungry.
No charge on the scales today but I’m so happy I don’t care 😀

Congratulations Mariet on the birth of your granddaughter – what lovely news to read xx

Mariet, how beautiful. Welcome to your sweet granddaughter and loving thoughts for all the family, especially your happy son with his two tails 👶💝
It was beautiful down at Sorrento beach this morning. Sea ‘breeze’ came in at abt 10.30 and once the waves became too choppy to enjoy we wandered over to the next-door door Hilary’s Marina for 10yo’s fav Cold Rock ice-cream… a violently blue bubble gum flavour impregnated with gummy bears, sigh! This has been his favourite post beach treat for at least 6 years now, will be interesting to see how long that continues. (only a few years, really, before he’ll be taking us to the beach 😃)
BTW, good going with the fast. Wish I could talk myself into doing one.
Cheers x

Congrats Mariet ! That is wonderful news and I hope you get to see your beautiful grandchild very soon. Very best wishes to you and your family.
Your beach outing sounds idyllic as I look out onto a dreary, grey Wednesday morning !!

Well done Amz on your determination and that’s a brilliant result to be back at pre flu weight. All the best for this coming week.

Have a good day everyone whatever you are doing

Can I join you guys?
I only started the BSD 10 days ago, after realising that I have managed to gain 20 kg in 6 months.
The first-week loss was amazing – 5kg.
This week is not being quite so cooperative, 3 days in and I haven’t dropped a gram. What is more frustrating is that I’m actually sticking to the diet more faithfully this week, (actually measuring portions and quantities, rather than guestimating).
Are there any dedicated tea drinkers that take milk?
My problem is that I drink A LOT of tea, pretty much hourly, and I’m struggling to save calories for food when I use them for my tea habit.
I’m Hungry! H-ANGRY!

Congratulations Mariet! There’s nothing quite like grandchildren. Hoping mum and baby are well. Enjoy!

Good morning folks!
Congratulations to Mariet and the new grand baby! I love being a grandma of 8!
I can’t believe it is January 30 already! I am still struggling at 4-5 oclock wrecking hour and need to make a final commitment to myself today, before we are in February to stop the alcohol. It is the only roadblock I have left. Other than that, my menus are BSD perfect and I don’t have the sugar cravings some struggle with, at this point. I refuse to give up. That is why I am here. I could not do the BSD until I take of this and have been working on changing behaviors around this hour all month.

Hi Violinist. I don’t know how much weight you need to discard nor do I know your reason for wanting to give up alcohol. If it’s to hasten weight loss then it’s worth keeping in mind that the liver will deal with alcohol before anything else. Apparently, it takes many hours to process the alcohol so whilst you might be eating all this wonderful healthy food it’s just hanging around waiting for the red wine to be dealt with first!
If on the other hand you enjoy the ‘wrecking hour’ and it really is ‘happy hour’ for you then why beat yourself up. Life is too short. Just enjoy!

Morning Verano! You are so gentle and kind. I weigh 171 and need to work on this for the following

My 4:30 pm reasons for having tea at happy hour
there is no benefit to alcohol
I can lose weight
I can lower blood pressure
I can lower cholesteral
I can save 2,000 a year
I can keep my good relationships
I can sleep better
I can stay out of prediabetes
I can be proud of myself
I won’t wake up with a racing heart
I won’t retain water
I won’t make stupid food decisions, hopefully

Good Morning folks,
I am on Week 4 and it is hard this week to mentally focus on staying on the regime! I feel like I should be rewarded for coming so far – but I can’t …
A lot of this is psychological and not at all physical as I do not feel hungry if I follow the recipes in the book. It is a battle of wills with my old habits.
Anyhow I am doing this – in the spirit of Violinist’s listing…
1. To steer back from the pre diabetic blood test result I got on Jan 2nd.
2. To reduce inflammation and irritation caused by psoriasis
3. To feel more confident in my own skin and enjoy choosing clothes rather than dreading it
4. To be able to run a little less slower

And that’s probably it.
SO far I have lost 8 kg. I need to lose another 7kg.
Whatever your reasons, however slow or steady your progress, I wish you all well on this journey..

C

Nice list, 8weeks!

Well Violinist that’s a great list and I can see the merits of each point. However, I wonder if tea is really hitting the spot? Maybe something fIzzy of even a mock-tail may be a better substitute for your normal tipple. I know that mock-tails can be quite sweet but I’m sure there are some that are relatively BSD friendly. You might just feel less deprived even if you are having a few more carbs than you might otherwise feel are ideal.
My only other tip maybe to take up jigsaws! I get so engrossed that the ‘wrecking hour’ could easily pass me by without me noticing! It might just work for you too!

Loving the traffic on here today. Welcome to all the new ‘faces’, hope you find inspiration here and that we can help you get to your personal goals.
Mariet – huge congratulations!!! What wonderful news and a great joy for you. Grandchildren are such a gift and I wish you and your family great happiness as you embrace this new member to your clan.
G/Heart – good to see you powering through and making good progress.
Patricia – sounds like doing that exercise had been an eyeopener and it’s a realisation we all have to make for ourselves.
MamieP – I feel your frustration, but this is something that happens to many. The answer is to just keep pressing forward, it will come right. It is disheartening when you know you are following the regime to the letter, not to see any result, but this could be as a result of a number of things – fluid retention, slow transit, or just your body going through an adjustment period. Keep going and we’ll do all we can to offer a hand along the way.
Violinist – great list, but seemingly there’s something missing for you if the list isn’t enough for you to be able to switch up the ‘wrecking’ hour. Can you identify what the sticking point is – is it physical, or psychological? If you can do that, it should be possible to find a work-around that really works for you, so that you can get to where you want to be.
8weeks – well done on identifying that your struggle right now is largely a psychological one. Hopefully having publicising your list will make you feel more accountable and give you a boost. I’m sure most of us struggled at some point – I definitely did in weeks 3 and 4. If you can power through, you will find it does get easier, because your palate changes and your body stops asking for carbs. Do feel free to come and vent if you need to and we will offer support. Hopefully we can get you through this iffy period.
On a personal note, I managed a 25hr fast yesterday and am aiming to hit around 17hrs today. I know Mariet is flying high today, but I hope everyone else has a great day too.

Sorry, I meant to send best wish our friends in the USA, who are facing Arctic weather at the moment. Try to stay safe and warm please.

I read through all the posts as soon as I get home and Sunny B is ALWAYS on hand to offer very helpful, sound advice and encouragement to both new and ongoing members . Thank you Sunny ! Well done on your fasting success.It’s very empowering to abstain from food and for hunger to be managed .
What can I add ?
MamieP: be proud of your amazing weight discard so far . It is spectacular as you move into low carb eating and you will have some water loss in the first instance.Don’t get discouraged if you don’t discard weight at the same rate. You say no change 3 days in ? Maybe weigh less frequently ? Once a Week ? There will be some fluctuation but this will balance out over the Week. It’s important to focus on a different low carb, healthy fat, moderate protein way of eating and as you progress you will see your need for carbs will lessen. That is a massive Victory and WILL produce results in time.

I am a green tea or roobush tea drinker and I don’t take milk. I assume your preference is only for strong, black tea and milk ?

8 weeks …8 kg discard after 4 weeks is brlliant !!! Lile MamieP you also should be very proud. You are well on your way to adopting life-changing habits. Keep going and you will see that your desire to be healthy will be in the forefront, not your previous habits. Like lots of us we are battling with a form of addiction and BSD allows us a way of addressing and beating those carb /sugar addictions. You recognise it’s psychological and you CAN be stronger and resist the pull of unhealthy foods. Give it a bit of time…it will happen.Write all your reasons down and refer to your list whenever you feel you are faltering.

All the very best xx

Violinst ..I totally agree with Sunny.Your list of reasons for giving up wrecking hour speaks for itself.
Something is holding you back from feeling totally in control so you can freely give up the habit. Do you fear the physical reactions to abstinence or how to fill the gap it will create ??

You clearly don’t see wrecking hour and drink as a ‘friend’ when I read your list so it has become a negative in your life if it is stopping you from achieving all those positive health benefits…..

What are you holding on to ?

I am not best placed to comment on wrecking hour and I don’t want to offend in any way . You have proved you can beat a carb addiction Violinist and there is no reason you can’t succeed in this too.

Verano, Wendleg, you guys are amazing! Verano, I think you are right. If making lists and getting on here isn’t doing it, then whatam I holding on to. Today I will think about that. It is a mental thing, for sure.

Hi everyone. I didn’t post my weight on last weeks end day thread as the loss was so small. However, I have looked at it again and although it was only quarter of a pound, it was a move in the right direction and takes me to a 4lb loss for the last 3 weeks. Not great but I have never really been off plan so didn’t have a whoosh in the first week. So, still here and keeping on…

Lots of posts here, too many to comment on but Scottishgal, some good advice re-chocolate from Wendleg. I dont really eat chocolate, especially not the milk claggy stuff but every now and then I have a 10g square of 80 or 90% dark, which is practically sugar free. Hope you all have a great week.

Hello Violinist. Sorry to jump into this thread but I really feel for you. Wrecking hour was a very real thing for me, except it used to be much later – round about 8:30 to 9:30 where I would drink something every night.
I don’t exactly consider myself addicted to alcohol, I just really enjoy it.
For the first time in my life, I have done a dry month. You might say, don’t speak to soon 🙂 but I know I won’t cave, having reached the 30th, I might treat myself on Saturday! Yes, I have missed it. Yes, it was hard. I even got very ill this month, the kind of illness really helped by a hot brandy, but somehow, didn’t cave. If I had, I would have been too demoralized that I couldn’t stick a first try.

To be honest, I hoped it would really hasten the weight loss but it hasn’t. I have to focus on the positives though. I’ve proved I can do it. I’ve given my body a break.

Also experimenting ways of filling out that time is quite a big emotional thing, but it can be done. There are plenty of nice sugarfree sparkling drinks you can get in shops now, or even non-alcoholic. It depends on your taste buds my favourite go-to is Mediterranean tonic (fevertree) in a tall glass with ice and a slice of lemon. I also love fizzy bitter lemon. Forgive me if sugar free drinks don’t agree with you! I sometimes treat myself to a tiny bit of cheese or a few nuts to go with it. Its best if I walk away from the kitchen and chat with my family in the lounge, or read a book or play a game, or go to bed early! It certainly hasn’t spoilt my life like I think it might, as I can be quite an emotional drinker.

Imagine saving £2000 a year! Awesome bit of holiday money. (I’m a secret traveller!) I love your list.

Big hugs, you can do this.

Jxx