Some ups and downs have been reported this week, but that’s life. We can only do our best and we are certainly doing the very best we can for our health long term .We won’t be thrown by an occasional blip.
We are all here to support each other so feel free to check in and let us know how things are going.

Be kind to yourselves everyone and let’s take on another week !
Wendy and Sunny xx

We would love to celebrate your victories, however small.It’s tradition for me to post the list of contributors, some of whom have gone a bit quiet.
It’s never too late to come back . If you need a bit of support to get re motivated, we are here .

SunnyB
Merrymelba
Niamh and Dean ( Neegan)
EC
Caronl
Clarinet cathy
Bryla
Windyjulz
Georgiejeorge
oLive 1
Puddy
Dreamscometrue
Gattina
melH
rosyapple
LovesGroodles

timetochange
Patricia
Articfox
Double Dutch
PTR
Britta
Film24
Rebeccakershaw
JGwen (of course !!)

PlumpGoose
Russianroulade
DebbieDarko
weebleswobble
nicoles212
Steviep
Zuzuvela
Frog
GreenGal
EachPeach
SusieMac1957
Limes254
Butterlover
PhoenixBurns
Quetzal
Waitaminute
Riccoh
Tulip1 (Clare)
ADD6605(Dawn)
Gyllb
EllieAllegra

Roheryn
AuroraB
Sweetgirl
BlueSkyz
Karenwm
SusieMac1957
Jeremy Fisher
ClemFlo
LR800
Eowyn
Kevlondon and Mrs Kev
Scubado
Lulu16
Shammy
sunshine-girl !!!
Beattie66
2eviltwins
Violinist ( Catherine)
Sarah 1968
Angelsand
Lecurie
Choccybuttons
Sonz
AnnieW
Sixturkeys
Urchin
Delabodge( Clive)

Once again, thank you for taking the lead on the weekly thread, Wendy. We have a really incredible list of contributors and I’m hoping we will be seeing posts and updates from many, if not all of them.

I’m beginning the week a little up on target, which is doesn’t sit comfortably, but with some judicious eating over the next few days, things should return to normal quite quickly. Fingers crossed.

To those who have struggled over the last few days, please don’t be discouraged. We’re all human and sometimes life knocks us around and we don’t react well. Despite that, if we can chalk it up to experience and move forward, ultimately we win.

Hope everyone has a really positive and successful week.

Hi everyone – I’m doing ok but have had a couple of days of increased cals as have been celebrating our wedding anniversary 🙂 Still, back on track tomorrow and more water needed! It has been different eating with others and forgoing the starchy sides, but everyone has been supportive so far – close family and friends have seen me struggle with pain for years and are fully supportive of anything that might help. We’re going away for a few days in September and I hope that my pain and mobility will continue to improve…and maybe a few pounds off would be great too! I read some amazing stories on the Diet Doctor website recently and that has also helped spur me on. Anyway, hope everyone is well. I’ve got a very busy few days at work ahead, so hopefully that will help me stay focused 🙂

Hi everyone, I’m in for this week. I’m working from home again now and the first day went really well. I can concentrate so much better and I was definitely feeling less stressed about being exposed to Covid, especially as we have had a huge swell in cases over the last week due to some young people being reckless. I broke my fast at 38 hours. I felt good the whole time and even managed a good night’s sleep which is sometimes the difficulty I have with going longer than 24 hours. I’m planning to do another 24 hours overnight and into tomorrow. Off to eat a good dinner now so I’m satiated. I think eggs are on the menu in some form as I have a lot in at the moment and have to use up some of the older ones.

Hi Everyone. I am in for another week.Im happy to report. 0.7kg loss which is good for me.I have been very concerned about my pre diabetes and carb addiction.because my fasting blood glucose has been climbing. I don’t eat breakfast usually have something after 11am. On Sunday I fasted till 4pm and spent the time on utube watching Jason Fung and Dr Cywes and I’m really motivated to fast at least twice a week and extend it to one meal a day 3 times a week. I spent the day with my first grandson aged two weeks yesterday and I’m keen to get my health in order to be an active grandmother. I everyone is well and staying on track.

I’m in for the week – thank you Wendy and Sunny!!

I am still stalled not managing to shift the last 6lbs i want to. I am “blaming” having some time off work with other half, started yesterday (well sunday as well) with renewed motivation but by evening i was really struggling. Still not craving carby stuff, just feel like i want more calories….. I could go on about being active and needing more than 800 but thats a load of rubbish, its in my head, and is proven by the lack of progress on the scales! I’ve toyed with OMAD / longer fasts but dont seem to be able to be consistent with it so back to 2 meals and trying to have portion control. I can see the habits that are letting me down – looking for a yogurt and some nuts or berries after every meal, too much cheese and mayo, that kind of thing. Had a bit of a talk with OH last night as his support has faded a bit – not that he’s not supportive but he is back into the habit of “treating” himself at EVERY meal, he is big into causes like BBQ / sweet chilli / syrup on brekkie then has rolls, chocolate, yogurt, sponge pudding etc and I struggle to watch him. I dont want the same treats but i would like something while he is at it. Anyway, we had a talk and he said he hadnt realised, and will try to “give up some of the nice things” – see as nice as that is, even the language annoys me, such a hardship to agree to have less sauce and fewer puddings….. rolls eyes….. anyway lets see if it helps!
I’m also going to try having a more substantial lunch and a lighter dinner as a very light lunch makes me think about food all day which isnt great for my work concentration…..
Note – I’m on week 14 or something, having had a few weeks of calorie creep, I’m still down 19 or so lbs and now i am seeing people again it is clear how noticeable the weightloss is, which is lovely…… low carb is now easy, calories are still a struggle, but if im over then there is just no weight shift. Oh and i also feel as if i need back to the gym – body seems comfy walking and running frequently, but i feel some HIIT and weights would help – just struggle for motivation at home for that.

Sorry peeps – feel like I’ve just off loaded my whole brain contents to you all! Thank you for being here!!

Julz

Hey Julz, I don’t know how you feel about hugs, but I’d quite like to give you a hug! The BSD honeymoon period ends at some point I think… it certainly has for me, and after that it’s hard to be all positive and excited about it. But thats a phase too isn’t it, and although this one feels a bit like wading through something sticky we’ll get through that eventually. I read your post and thought 6lbs really isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things. Are you absolutely sure they need to go right now? Because if they could wait a little bit, then you wouldn’t be stalling right now, you would be maintaining. And then at some point when the weather is better or the gym is open or you just have that bit of extra fight in you, you go for it? 14 weeks of fairly intense focus on diet is a long time.

I’m still here too, 5lbs up compared to last week. I had a good long chat with my eating disorder coach yesterday. The short version of that was ‘whatever you do next do not obsess about getting rid of the extra weight in a hurry, do not start skipping meals, do not panic…’ So much as I feel tempted to just not eat until those 5lbs are gone I know where that road leads and I choose not to go down it. Goal this week then is plan and eat 800 calories across 3 meals a day, stick with my window and get back in balance. I’ve obviously totally blown my goal of hitting the 15kg milestone, but I should know better than setting that kind of targets anyway. Just one day at a time.

Julz, I feel for you. Like you, I always found if I wanted to be losing, I needed to control the calories as well as the carbs. Right now though, why not do as Britta suggests, allow yourself the space to relax and maintain for awhile? Come back in a couple of weeks refreshed and tackle those last few pounds. Can understand your frustrations around watching your OH eating ‘forbidden’ foods, but I think if you can relax a bit about where you are right now, his indulgence won’t seem as insensitive. You have done brilliantly, so spend a little time celebrating that, before coming back with renewed determination.

Britta, your plan going forward sounds very sensible and more importantly, doable. You have done wonderfully well and the recent blip does not define you or what you are capable of achieving. Hold on to the positives you have realised to date, as inspiration to get you to the ultimate goal and if setting goals feels daunting, look to keeping things smaller …. as you say, one day at a time. Perhaps looking for non-scales victories might help too, so that not everything is about pounds or kg lost.

Big hugs to you both …. I not asking, ‘cos you both need them!

Hi Julz,
You may not be in a stall. – Your body may simply be healing in other ways. A stall isn’t just no change on the scales, its also no inch change, anywhere on your body.

When you have a high insulin level it blocks growth hormone from working. That is the hormone that triggers the maintenance of the strength of bones and repair of body tissues. Healthy bones weigh more than frail bones that mean you have to take care to prevent falls when you are older because of how easy they break.

There is an article on Dr Fungs website which highlights that progress on the scales does not equal progress in healing. – A lady came in for her monthly check up looking like a bag lady with her trousers held up by a belt and all her clothes obviously too large for her. – When measurements were taken she had discarded another 2 inches from her waist that month and inches from other parts of her body. But when she got on the scales she burst into floods of tears because she was so focused on measuring progress by the scales and they hadn’t moved.

My advice is to widen your measurements of progress. – tape measure, photographs of body shape. Set up challenges and record progress on fitness. – They are all benefits of this WoE worth setting aims and celebrating successes with. – No one else will ever see the reading on the bathroom scales in a morning, but they and you will remember the day you spent joining in a physical challenge, or the time you danced all night.

Hi all,
Checking in to stay in touch. Am on my second week of holiday, and for food my aim is to maintain over my 4 week holiday. Summer holiday has always been a problem for me in the past with weight piling on, so I have feared this quite a bit. To my amazement, I’ve succeeded with staying still in weight, despite some rather unrestricted birthday celebrations over the weekend (me turning 46). So am super pleased so far.
Another reflection is that when I’ve had something sweet, it really has not been that good. My taste has definitely changed over the last 6 months. Had some honey roasted peanuts, and they were sickly sweet!
I’m planning to do just what the rest of you are advicing for WindyJulz, maintain for a couple of weeks and then get back to a more strict regime after that with renewed energy and batteries fully charged. Perhaps you should join me WindyJulz?
Sending lots of energy to you Britta! You can do this, you have done so well already!
It’s great that you have so much awareness and can recognise and deal with what you are facing.

Thank you so much JGwen, Sunny and Britta, so helpful and uplifting. I’m not normally a hug person but today a virtual few have been appreciated!
Ok, so i like the idea of having had 9 weeks of weight loss and 4 of maintaining…. that shows it wasnt a fluke and that this is the new me, all be it a work in progress. I have accepted that this is long term and even if it takes me til chirstmas to drop the next 6lbs I would have exceeded all expectations.
Perhaps with less pressure I will focus less on food and more on life – which will in turn (hopefully) mean i find a less anxious meal time and then actually dont want to over eat as I wont feel so restricted…..
There are other wins, JGwen, thank you for the reality check. Even in terms of the little bit of running i do – at the start of lockdown it was so hard and i hated it, and if i had a break from it, the next run was so so difficult. I have done 3 wee runs in the past few weeks, first time 3km – it felt relatively easy and i didnt hate it, so upped to 4km the next time and felt just as ‘easy’ so on Sunday i did 5km, in 28mins, and I had petrol in the tank at the end for the first time ever – for me this is a big win, being lighter and stronger must be helping! I must make these associations with this WOE and see the victory in that!
Now just for the opportunity to dance all night again – you guys have made me smile!!

Britta – you are so strong, dont underestimate how well you are coping and how tough it is living with a disorder. You seem to have a good support around you and have found a way forward, that is an achievement! Your milestone will happen, be kind to yourself.

hello all
What a lovely supportive bunch!

WindyJulz, -Britta has nailed this! and this is for the long haul…and JGwen, I also agree re measurements vs scales -so more telling much of the time
and happy birthday for the weekend Olive_1

I’m actually away -tomorrow heading to our long awaited three days at Cradle Mountain…..so although the only non-meat choices at
the pub en-route were chowder (with potatoes) or risotto…I ate a 1/2 serve of risotto and will not beat myself up about it. We also visited some elderly friends on the way and I said yes to a small sweet slice (which even pre-BSD is not my “thing”) because they’d gone to a special effort to welcome us
The next few days we’re mostly self-catering so I’ll be fine and we expect to do enough mountain walking to burn off any number of calories!!
Also meant to respond to your post 2eviltwins re carbs and vegetables. I re-started this time on BSD being quite cognisant of carbs as I felt I probably had some insulin resistance (even though my BSLs have always been fine), but after the initial 4-6 weeks have stuck (mostly) to 800 cals without worrying too seriously about carbs in vegetables and legumes and still losing as long as the calories are ok. That said, as a vegetarian, you can increase calories while still lower carbs with things like coconut milk (or cream), tahini, vegan pesto etc
anyhoo…I suspect to be “off air” in the mountains for the next few days (will probably come back complaining of sore muscles!!)

End of week 3 and I have lost a total of 5.5 lbs . Not great but considering I have been on the plan for years, just being a bit stricter right now, I dont expect to lose loads. What I am aiming for is consistently keeping this up and not sabotaging myself at the weekend. Did 50 mins in the pool yesterday, that is a kilometre swim, so hope that will kick in positively at some point.
So week 1 4 lb, week 2 0.5 lb and week 3 0 1 lb – Still keeping on…

Dodged a bullet this week – despite my indiscretions, as detailed in last week’s thread, I managed to pull a 2lb loss for a total of 14.5lbs in 4 weeks. Mrs Kev pulled a 3lb loss for a total of 23lbs. We’re gradually moving to either 14:10 or even 16:8 when we can, which is helping. We’ve been doing no breakfast on 2 days, hoping to move up to 3 days this week. It makes it easier to fast, plus it means we have some extra calories to play with so we can have a bowl of berries after dinner and still keep under 800 cals per day on average. Still loving the WoE overall and motivated to hit our first big milestone – 2 stone loss. The Mrs should get there in 2 weeks, it may take me a couple of weeks longer. Currently our plan is to finish our first 12 weeks of Fast800, then maybe a week of 5:2 and then back on it again for another 12 weeks – we’re both aiming for at least 6 stone total loss, so the more 800 cal days we can do, the more chance we have of getting there before we die of old age….

Great results Kev and Mrs Kev! You’re both doing brilliantly and I’m sure mixing it up with various eating windows is helping. Keep doing what you’re doing!

Some great results and great advice on this forum 🙂 I’m not doing too badly and hubby is getting on well too. I used to think using meal replacements was a good way to have adequate nutrition etc but now I’d much rather have real food. I tried one of hubby’s products and it was soooooo sweet…yuck! But he has a very sweet tooth so fine for him. I’ve been looking at making chaffles….ordered a mini waffle maker today. The recipes I’ve seen seem straightforward enough so will see what tomorrow brings! Hope everyone is doing well 🙂

Hi al, good to see successes on here and those having challenges at the moment working to shake them off and move on. I’m feeling some progress being made as well, if not on the scales, at least in how I’m feeling and my outlook. I broke my fast at 22 hours today. I was very hungry and finding it difficult to concentrate for the last hour at work, so I did have a small meal to keep me going, but I still feel like it was a success. Before I got hungry, I was feeling like my body was just humming along in fat burning mode, and it reminded me that my body really does seem to prefer burning fat over glycogen. I had a very busy morning for work with a last minute rush assignment that I had to complete, so that helped keep me occupied, and I felt like the fasting was keeping my brain sharp as well.

Things are slowly improving here. Back to my 3 meal a day regime and 2lbs gone so that’s progress. I have cravings and sugar hangover still, which is quite mad. I nearly sent off for a covid-19 test, until I remembered about carb flu (which I never actually had myself) which made me google “sugar hangover” and there it was: headache, nausea, stomach ache, mild temperature and trouble focusing (mind you the last of these has been a constant during lockdown…), its a thing! I’m hoping it doesn’t last too long and doing my best deep digging in the meantime.

I had a better day yesterday – very low carb and good on the calories. Felt like the first day in ages it was ‘easier’. I find if i try too hard to make a really tasty meal i want to over eat. As i was in the office yesterday i just bought a packet of cooked chicken and had that for lunch. A good hefty portion, but not adding salad with mayo, or cheese kept calories and carbs really low. Much easier to put in less effort and focus less on yumminess when I’m not eating with hubby. Dinner was an omelette pizza with 2 eggs, cheese, and bacon, with a wee bit of courgette and onion.
Not gonna lie – I’m surprised and frustrated that salad and veggies can push the carbs up so much. I’m inclined to have too many and then if i add yogurt and berries and a couple of cups of coffee with milk I seem to be at over 50g carbs and over 800 calories. So take away message to self, if try to address portion control (I know this has always been an issue but i really want to keep eating once i waken the food emotions) Any tips appreciated?!
Been far more active again in the evenings this week which is great, saves the 2 hours indoors thinking about food before bed. Here is hoping i can retain the focus.
Starting to get anxious about Saturday night dinner – i need something that can go in the slow cooker and be ok for hubby and dad – hubby likes spicy, dad likes traditional. Then because the whole evening is food focused and I try to treat the boys I really struggle and potions end up massive, even if only with veg. Anyhoo…. I will find a plan. I am committed to not having wine this weekend at all.
Interesting / frustrating I am still struggling with this 12 week+ in…. hmmmm. Still learning and improving habits!

Britta – hope you feel better soon, hopefully its just a day or so to get your system back to a happy place. So impressed with your digging deep, go you, you know you will feel better for it once new normality kicks in!

Shout out to Rosyapple – how are you? You’ve been quiet, hope you are doing ok. Thinking about you.

And all the other contributors, keep going and i Hope you are all well.

Not doing very well and dont understand why. I have gained 0.9 kg since Monday. I havent exceeded calories, I had one slice of quinoa bread which is very low carb and I have been doing 50 mins one day and 30 mins every other day in the pool. Obviously, it will sort itself out but it is just a bit downheartening (is there such a word) when you know you are doing everything right. Before anyone says I might have gained muscle from all the swimming, no way, I am still as flabby as ever. Keep on keeping on… I know this will pass.

On the bright side, I forgot to say, I have reduced my insulin from 32 to 28, slowly slowly. My BG has stayed under 100 even on the lower dose. Surely that should have a good impact on my weight.

I feel your frustrations Sunshine-girl. I guess this isnt all plain sailing and just a case of ‘stick to it and see better numbers all the time’. We know this….but it doesnt make it easy!!
Good to note the positives though on the insulin…… catchy-monkey!
Out of interest – when do you swim? I used to swim a fair bit but find it always makes me hungry. Maybe i just associate the smell of a pool with chips (I was a fairly competitive swimmer in my youth, and ironically we used to stop for chips sometimes on the way home! think it has stuck). IF i swim late in the evening and go to bed shortly after it is easier, but a morning swim seems to make me want to eat all day. Just an observation. If your sticking to plan this maybe isnt an issue.

Hi Windy, thanks for the words of encouragement. As for the swimming. My routine is based around my diabetes and having low BG if I dont time it right. It can be difficult as if I leave it too long from eating my BG can get too low and I have to have a quick snack but always something healthy. Today I will be going in in about 20 mins so it is just a couple of hours since lunch so I wont sink. Yes mum always told me not to swim on a full stomach. If I go in soon after a meal the energy expended does not seem to impact my BG so I dont need to eat. It is all a matter of balance. But I know what you mean. Did you ever go to the local baths when you were a kid and I always had a cup of bovril or oxo to wash down a wagon wheel. Maybe the hunger thing is just an association left over from our youth.

I do think it is an association thing. Yes, it was our local pool on a sunday evening, chip shop chips on the way home…… so funny how these things stick, chlorine smell makes me thing of vinegary chips!
Sounds like you have it worked out in terms of making it work with your BG though, very interesting. I’m lucky that as far as i am aware i have no BG issues and i find i prefer to exercise and a really empty stomach.

Windy, And I am so lucky my pool is in my garden. Just done 35 mins.

I see a lot of people fixating on the amount of carbs they’re eating, as well as the calorie count. Am I missing something here? Me and Mrs Kev got into this partly as yet another new way to lose weight, and also because I’m T2 and desperately needed to get my blood sugar under control. Happy to report that a month in, my bloods are down from the teens to anywhere between 4.3 and 5.8 – usually below 5 provided I don’t eat berries after supper. Point is, we’re just eating out of the Fast 800 recipe book and all we’re doing is trying to get to 800 cals per day, and skipping breakfast a couple of times a week so we can get a 16-hour fast in. We’re not even looking at the carb counts. We seem to be losing weight just fine, and my bloods are in the normal range. Is this something I need to consider, or are we fine provided we stick to the meals in the book? We occasionally pad them out with ‘free’ veg (anything green, plus cauliflower, occasional side salad with a couple of cherry tomatoes) but otherwise we’re doing it literally by the book.

Hi Kev, if what you’re doing is working, I’d say just keep right on doing it. Not all calories are equal and some of people who are insulin resistant, so find it necessary to push the carbs down to be able to lose consistently. If you don’t have this issue and the pounds are still melting away, don’tfeel you need to do anything differently.

Hi WindyJulz
Great that you are having an easier week. My couple of tips are: – I use a smaller plate😁 I know it’s just psychological – but my smaller plate is then full of food (that is actually the portion size the my body needs). I also cut up my food quite small so it slows me down in eating it. And when I have my berries and yogurt I serve it in a small dish. Weird but it kinda works – I have a full but very small dish.
For your Sat night dinner – perhaps some slow cooked lamb, and team it with the Spicy Aubergine recipe that EC has posted to provide the spicy element for hubby? https://thebloodsugardiet.com/recipes/spicy-aubergine/
🌺🌺🌺

Had a really good chat with hubby last night and we have agreed that i will have a 5 week push up to my birthday (just as good a target date as any). We have acknowledged that I have just had a bit of portion and treat creep and that i was so much happier at the beginning of the WOE. We have become too food focused and trying to have super tasty meals ever time which just leads me to want more. So we are going to have at least 2 weeks of “boring” food. Well, it wont really be too boring, certainly not awful, just not all of our favourites. Bless him, he’s so good really. Having a plan and some commitment really helps me so hopefully the next couple of weeks will be better for me mentally as i step away from my brief period of maintenance and I get back to a period of discard…..
MerryMelba – small plates noted and will be implemented! I was thinking roast beef or lamb (lamb would be a first for me but something different is good) and roast veg (broccoli, cauliflower and now some spiced aubergene!) so great to have the back up I’m thinking the right way! Hubby has even agreed not to drink this weekend to help me.

Its only 10:30am so my happy mood may get stumble but hopefully this is a bit of a turning point. Someone please kick my behind if i am in the same place next week!!

Hi WindyJulz,
What a good plan and what nice support you are getting! Hugs to your hubby!
It’s easy to get stuck in the thinking that I have to do this all on my own, for me it’s really hard to ask for help. Well done!

I know exactly what you mean that sometimes food just have to be energy and nothing more ( we call it a “stomach filler”). For me it helps to make a plan and just stick to it, no more thinking of food necessary.

I’m still enjoying holiday, although rain today. Despite a looser grip on eating there is no upwards movement on the scales, was even at my all-time lowest the other day (76.5 kg). Am putting it down to days full of physical activity.

Shout-out to RosieApple – how are you doing?

Finally at Friday! It has been a hectic week for me and next week is looking even busier. Still, it has meant that I’ve not been too focused on eating and my fasting time has been flying by. I am a couple of pounds down, but more excitingly….my collar bones have made an appearance! 😄 Hubby is doing well too and I’ve enjoyed experimenting with making chaffles in my mini waffle maker. Took a while but have it down now and have had them a couple of times – mainly savoury versions to have with meat and veggies. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well 😊

I’m sort of running my weeks to Saturday 😕, just because that’s when I restarted – but first week I wanted to get to a nice round 90kg, and managed 90.2kg, so 2.5kg lost and not too far off my target, quite happy with that. Most days I’ve been under 70g of carbs, except yesterday, when as part of my meat & fish free days each week, I had falafel.
I’ve just googled chaffles – they look dangerously appealing, but not enough to buy a waffle maker!
I’m planning an omelette for lunch and now tempted to add cheese to it.

Hi guys,
I been struck by the amount of press coverage of Insulin Resistance in the UK over the last week. – Its a phrase that I heard commonly in the low carb circles, but suddenly because of research into who is more vulnerable to Covid its gone main stream in the UK press in the last week. As a matter if interest, is the same happening in other countries?

Suddenly there is press coverage about the need to reduce the levels of sugar in the diet and specifically linking sugar levels in the diet more than obesity in the higher risk factor for Covid.

Hi JGwen, I haven’t seen it in the press here in Sweden yet. If you have any links to good articles, please post – sounds very interesting.

Keeping on track with my eating but I haven’t been able to get out to walk as my arthritic knee has been too painful. Now I’m OK again we are expecting heavy rain for the next 2 days. I do step ups which helps. I count the steps I do in 2 minutes and I’m getting fitter. I do weights at home, too. Who else finds they need to exercise to lose weight? Does your weight loss really slow down when you can’t? Our gym reopens tomorrow. Yay.

I was working away today and had the TV on for background noise / company. – I don’t know which channel it was, but my ears picked up to an article on the news where a doctor started to talk about the research into covid and they had identified that a common thread for those hospitalised is that they are insulin resistant, and that people should reduce sugar levels in their diet to help to protect them from the 2nd wave.

I had seen articles before which talked about T2 being one of the main factors in the death rate, but this was the first time I had heard IR discussed. – Then when I logged into one of my email accounts, the rolling news articles they display was an article about IR and covid.

I came across this article . https://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12933-020-01035-2

Researchers are studying why a covid infection then triggers diabetes. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2020/june/covid-19-found-to-trigger-diabetes-in-healthy-people.html

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2020/june/covid-19-found-to-trigger-diabetes-in-healthy-people.html

Hi JGwen, thanks for posting the links. Very interesting read.
There is much more to investigate and I guess time will tell more. I wonder if there will be a pattern of severity of Covid19 across the globe that correlates to metabolic disease rates.
Personally, this reinforces one of the biggest reasons why I’m following this WOE, for better health! It’s almost like a secret superpower, making me feel less pain than I’ve done in years from chronic inflammation in my hips, very few headaches the last 6 months ( was quite frequent), more energy overall and now perhaps also protecting against severe forms of Covid19 (potentially).
The weight loss is of course supernice and it brings up my self-esteem and motivation, but without the other health benefits it would be pointless for me.
We all struggle from time to time with nothing happening on the scales, but remember that the non-scale victories may be the most important.

Hi Kev,
I agree with SunnyB. As long as it’s working for you and Mrs Kev, keep on doing what you’re doing. Your daily bgls numbers are great. But I just thought I’d add in a bit in answer to your question specifically in relation to Type 2.
There are a number of different ways people use to ‘reverse’ their diabetes. These include very low calorie diets, but they also include very low carb diets as well as fasting (including intermittent fasting). In fact, on the diabetes site I visit I come across a lot more people who manage their T2 by low carb than low cal.
My experience in 2016 when I first did the 8 week BSD diet was that some of the recipes/foods recommended in that original book spiked my bgls. Foods which I love like beetroot or pulses would just spike my bgls no matter how small a portion. (I did lots of experiments). I also found that not just the amount of carbs I had each day but also the amount in each meal could negatively impact my blood glucose levels. So, I found focusing on both the cals and low carbs the most helpful way to go.

Don’t get me wrong, the BSD worked for me, and I’m not saying it’s the same for the Fast 800 recipes – research moved on, and MM moved on – or that you need to be doing things differently right now. Genuinely, what you’re doing sounds great. I just thought it might be helpful for you to know that managing the intake of carbs is another really useful tool to have in your back pocket in case you ever need it.
Cheers
Jennie xx

Hi WindyJulz
Thought I’d add in to Merry’s tips (Like Merry, I also use the smaller plate thing). The other thing I do (a tip I got from here) is to use special or favourite items of crockery to eat your food from. I’ve got a really lovely soup mug – lovely shape, lovely colour – which I use for my daily soup lunch in the winter, which just seems to help.
I can’t remember who gave the tip (Wendy maybe?) but they used a really nice glass dish for their yoghurt dessert, I think. My soup mug is one I got from Lakeland many years ago and wasn’t expensive but I really enjoy using it.
Jennie xx

Hi everyone. After feeling very yucky one day this week, fortunately nothing sinsister but weird all the same, the week has been pleasant. It has been very hot here so it’s not difficult to drink copious amounts of water.
I get the impression reading the thread that lots of you are still being very self critical or frustrated with a perceived lack of progress. You are doing brilliantly and I just want to say ‘Don’t panic !’ It’s not a race. It takes time to establish new habits which can be sustained and you are all doing great !

Ooh Butterlover, I am jealous ! I can’ t wait to be a grandmother !!! I can imagine how special it felt to meet your grandson ! Being fit to run around after my grandchildren was one of my motivations too when I started out .

Yes JGwen, lots of discussion in the media about obesity and COVID . I remember seeing an interview on the news in which Aseem Malhotra flagged up the link very early on. He was apparently granted an interview with the UK Health Secretary so I like to think his advice was acknowleged.

The increased risk posed by obesity when contracting Covid has certainly been recognised in France but so far I haven’t seen any discussion or proposals to tackle this.
I guess it just confirms for me that we are all doing the right thing focusing on our long term health . This is no quick fix. It will be interesting to see what the Uk government proposals are..
Have a good day everyone.
I too am concerned about the absence of some of our ‘regulars’ and hope to hear from Rosy soon . There are lots of others who have gone a bit quiet too and we would love to hear from you xx

Following this WOE definitely has many additional pluses to the expected weight loss. More and more, research is showing it has positive effects on a number of medical conditions and also in some case, helps reduce the risk of acquiring certain conditions. So whilst the weight loss is great, taking the long view, by maintaining this WOE long term, we are doing the very best we can for our health, both today and into the future.

In answer to your question about what the UK government is suggesting concerning obesity and covid/diabetes, Wendy, is that adverts for fast food/snacks/sweets etc should not be allowed on TV before 9pm; additionally doctors will ‘prescribe’ cycling and refer patients to a 12 week weight loss plan. I haven’t heard what pattern that diet will follow, but I fear it’s likely to be more of the same old advice, which we all know is not effective.

Thankfully, we are all on the right track and all we need to do, is what we are already doing.

SunnyB as an addition to your post, the UK has always (at least for a long time) referred people to either WW or SW for a free 12 week plan along with free gym membership for 3 months. Not many people take this up or maybe not many people/ doctors know about it.

Thought I’d see if I could find out more about the UK Gov’s 12 week weight loss plan. Found a self referral page, so took the questionnaire (not being completely honest in my answers, so as not to be rejected), long story short, payment is expected from the participants at £10 per week, which immediately makes it a non-starter for many. There is the option to take a 2week free trial, but evenso. Anyway, still nonethewiser as to what the approach is, nothing is given away in this regard on the pages I saw …. all very secret squirrel.

Sunny, if you go to Slimming World doctors referral you can get a note from your doctor for 12 weeks at no cost. The cost is actually paid for by Slimming World. Think Weight Watchers have the same thing. Just checked WW, apparently the doctors buy it for a reduced price so whether they charge the patient for this I dont know but SW is definitely free for the user. But like you said, it doesnt work however I have friends that swear by it but for my view it is not diabetic friendly (low carb). I subscribe to the SW magazine simply because I like to have something to read that is in English but have noticed recently the recipes are less carby.

What is being suggested on UK TV though, is that people should self refer to the 12 week programme, to avoid having to have a face2face with a GP. What they are not saying, is that there is a charge for the programme.

It might well be that there are SW and WW alternatives for nothing if you are referred by your GP, however there are many if us …. me included …. who have used their programmes in the past, with limited and unsustained results.

Anyway for us at least, it doesn’t matter as we are lucky enough to have found the BSD. One can’t help being a little concerned for others though.

Hi,I haven’t posted myself for a few weeks but have been trying to keep up with reading posts.I’ve had a few false starts over the last few months with fast800,I think I’ve been fooling myself that I’ve been coping ok with lockdown etc but have found a few things quite stressful about it,mainly the fact that my dad,who is 85 and has had dementia for a couple of years,had to go into a care home about a month into lockdown as the dementia was getting to a stage where my mum couldn’t really keep him at home any more.He has been in and out of hospital a few times since then as he has stopped eating and we haven’t been able to see him for about 3 months which has been horrible.we tried a video link with him a few weeks ago but it confused him.my sister took my mum to see him last week in the garden of the care home and I will be going on Tuesday with her.Im an emotional eater and I think I’ve been finding it difficult to focus on healthy eating,feeling enthusiastic one day then a few days later not.Ive been feeling really bloated and not sleeping well and know if I can just get a good week under my belt it will help me massively to continue so that’s why I’m posting tonight as I really want to try again from tomorrow.sorry for the long post but just want everyone to know reading the forum does help me,even when I’m not posting myself.Dawn

Sorry you have had such a tough time, Dawn…a lot of stress there.
Tomorrow is another day and the new weekly thread will be up and running Monday evening so if you want to take the opportunity to jump on board for a fresh start please do come and join us . We will do our very best to support you. It’s not easy to focus on yourself with so much going on but your health and well being is important too.
All the very best xx

Thanks for your kind words Wendleg,much appreciated.Yes I will join the new weekly thread tomorrow night.I have planned what I will be eating tomorrow so hoping to stick to that.I think my body is craving salads after all of the junk I have been feeding it so if anyone has any ideas for salad dressings to jazz things up a bit I would be grateful.

Hi everyone,
I’ve had quite a positive week. I managed the 3 fasting days that I had planned, one 36+ hours and one 22 and one 23 hours. I felt really good through it all. I will likely try for another 36 hour fast tomorrow. I had some noticeable discard around my waist as one of my workout tops that had been fitting a bit too tight last week was back to feeling comfortable again today. My new shorts that I bought for this summer are still not quite fitting as I would like, but it is always harder to discard around my hips and thighs. It is quite hot today (not as hot as it would normally be, but we’ve had a cool summer so far so we are not acclimatized yet) so in desperation I pulled out a pair of shorts that I was wearing last year. They were rather snug last year, but fitting nice and loose today without being so big as to fall down. So it is a nice thing to have discovered that in spite of all the stress and struggles I am still smaller than this time last year, and it makes me glad that I decided to start trying again last summer. Still a long way to go, but progress of a sort is being made. I know I am much, much stronger than I was last year as well.
Great to hear that obesity is getting attention in the UK. It certainly hasn’t been getting much attention here yet, although I expect that it will eventually. I just keep hearing stories from all my work colleagues about how much junk they have been eating in lockdown and how they’ve been putting on weight. It is really sad. So many were struggling with eating on a schedule at home. I’m very glad that I had already established a habit of eating within defined windows prior to going into lockdown as I think that is largely what saved me.
Less than 5 weeks now until my move! I started packing things into boxes this weekend in order to get a head start on things and to keep busy during what would have otherwise been quite a boring weekend. I’m hoping I’ll be much more active and continue to build muscle once I move. For one thing, I will have a lot of fence posts to pound in and lots of DIY projects to do around the house.