Hi all
Waitaminute I also “lost” a post the other day
Precis -thankyou to Rosyapple and WindyJulz for your honesty re addictions-mine would be wine….not in an alcoholic way, but it’s my go-to stress buster if I can’t go for a long walk-and the thing that will occ take me over the 800 🙁
Had another of those planned for today but my bursitis is having a hissy-fit at the moment so it was back to just over an hour

All good on the food front. I’ve almost inadvertently done OMAD several days and finding it incredibly easy -esp without socialising and lunch-time meetings (though I had one the other day and as they only had takeaway toasted sandwiches I just had a coffee!)
So the NSVs are increasing-currently wearing a woollen jumper that was looking much “rounder” last time I had it on!!

my recent food discovery has been home-made pistachio dukkah -completely BSD friendly and a great taste boost to veg, fish, tofu etc (almost anything really!)

Winter is truly here with a massive frost this morning-now the sky is clear blue and glorious but still a chill in the air!!

Wishing all a wonderful weekend (it’s a long weekend here and restrictions have just been eased a little more here in Tas, so lots out walking and enjoying the beautiful outdoors!)

Hi everyone,
Not too bad a day today. I went for a 1 hr walk/run in the fasted state that was 3 loops of a trail that includes 230 stairs, so I did 690 altogether. I had to stop for breaks part way up, especially on the last 2 rounds, but hopefully I pushed myself enough to get some good improvement in my lung capacity and leg muscle strength. Fresh strawberries, greek yogurt and chia seeds with a couple of eggs for breakfast after. I’m in training now to go up a mountain trail that has some very long, steep stretches, so will try to do a couple of more vertical workouts each week. Clothes were still not fitting any looser this morning, but I seem to be losing a lot of fluid at the moment, so may be slightly less puffy tomorrow. If I have lost any fat this week, I think it is mostly from around my face, as it definitely looks to be a bit slimmer. Don’t think it is just my imagination.

Speaking of addictions, I had a revelation this week when a friend posted an article that she was interviewed for about her relationship with alcohol. It was about people who, while not alcoholics per se, were starting to question their relationship with alcohol and whether the amount they were drinking really was helping them or not or whether it meshed with other goals in their lives, such as being healthy and working out. My friend came to the realization that drinks every evening were not helping her, so she stopped that, and made a bargain with herself that it was not total abstinance – she could still drink when out or on special occassions, evening drinks at home were out. As the year went on though, she realized how much better she was feeling and started drinking less and less even when out, to the point where she hardly ever indulges now. Anyway, the point of this long story is that when I was reading this, I realized that I feel the same way about chocolate. I’ve not had any for a few weeks now, even the 90 or 100% kind, and I’m feeling so much better. It was always something I would have in the evening as a reward for getting through the day, but I don’t have too much control over it, so I would always overindulge, and then I would have trouble sleeping or getting to bed at a reasonable hour. So, I have made a committment that I’m just not going to buy it as a regular thing anymore. Not saying I won’t ever indulge ever again, but it will likely have to be for a special occassion and definitely not as a weeknight, eating alone sort of thing.

Hi everyone! 🌞
Just checked in with my Fatsecret reports and I’ve averaged an extra 500cals per day for the last 6 days 😐. The creep has set in! How this will show on the scales tomorrow I do not know… and what to do about this. For the past week I have tried to be more relaxed in my approach to meal planning and that’s not working so much for me. Monday I had a carb binge, Wednesday, snacking on extra yogurt, seeds etc, Friday and Saturday 2 massive breakfasts, lots of walnuts and 1 takeaway cappuccino. By old standards this isn’t so outrageous but it’s not what I’m aiming for. How to get back on track???
Emotionally it’s definitely not been an easy week and that has not helped.
I’m not going to ‘treat’ myself to any chocolate when I go and shop for vegetables today.
I’ve been experimenting with some slightly longer fasting periods, usually I go 12 – 14 hours but have pushed this to16 on occasions and I think I have used this as an excuse to eat more! So, back to 12ish it is and focus on 3 meals totalling 800cals. Keeping it simple…I really need to pull myself together on this one as I’m keen to break through the 12st barrier which means a discard of 5llbs. I know I’ll feel amazing when I do.
NSV, non scales victories? I’m guessing? Bought knickers in a size smaller yesterday! Woo hoo! The tops of my shoulders and collar bone are slowly emerging, my ankles look thinner and my arm muscles are slowly revealing themselves. Also wore a jumper yesterday which looked much better on. Generally looking a more womanly shape!
I hope you are all doing well, thanks for being here, all of you. I love hearing what’s working for you and more importantly what isn’t.
Excuse the waffling but it helps me immensely to get this stuff put into words. 🥰🌹🍏

This is absolutely the place to come and offload, Rosy. If you have had a rough week emotionally, it’s not surprising you have consciously or unconsciously tried to balance that using calories. Just draw a line under this and move on, taking with you only what you have learnt, but no negative feelings as they are not at all useful.

Your plan for the coming week sounds good …. I’m glad that you are ready to take back control. Your NSV’s are certainly worth celebrating, it’s these small thing that help to keep us motivated and determined to keep on keeping on. You’re seeing the benefits of following this WoE and know that there are more positives to be discovered.

Hi RosyApple,
Don’t be disheartened, you have been tracking which is really good! Excellent job on that! The good thing is that if you don’t see the result you want you know where you can make the tweaks to get yourself back in track and get the loss you really want.
How about you set the goal of sticking to 800/20-50g on alternate days next week? I am not saying go mad and eat what you like on the other days .. keep to plan as much as possible and if you hit 800/20 all well and good.. but it might take a little pressure off if you are struggling to reach those numbers everyday ..and ultimately by the end of the week if you have done three or four spot on plan days you will start to see what you need to do to keep up that pattern of eating.
It’s just an idea and maybe a different tool you can use to get the results you want.
Visualise yourself under 12st and how good you will look and feel, how your clothes will fit!
It’s in your power to do it girl – reach out just a little bit more and that goal WILL be yours!!! GreenGal 🥦

Rosyapple, I just had a two week stall due to several snacccidents and feeling very unmotivated. I felt myself gravitating towards fridges and cupboards in a somewhat zombie like state 🙂 I only just kept it together when i saw i had gain 3lbs. But I did (only just). After doing the next 3 days on strict 800 cals, the weight came back off and it weight loss appears to have been kick started again! Those 3 days were probably the hardest of he diet so far but i kept on thinking ‘it’s only 3 days and then your progress and motivation will start to return’. And it did! I have lost 18.5 lbs now which has taken me very close to the 160 mark which is completely uncharted territory for me. I fully believe you will be joining me over here shortly, looking back at a weight you never thought you could pass 🙂 GreenGal is right, YOU HAVE FULLY GOT THIS!

GreenGal, how is your tracking going? 🙂

Much the same here RosyApple.
I’m going back to basics this week and doing it right. My head space is back to the right place and I’m ready to make the next positive steps forward.
I think emotional weeks happen. We’ve achieved quite a lot and maybe thought it’s ok to take the foot off the gas? We can see differences so think we can have an easy week? Reached a stage where we are complacent? Or actually just missing our carb friends and feel a bit sad?
Let’s get our chins up and march forward. We do know what works and what we need to do. You’ve been honest with yourself and know where you’ve slipped, that’s the biggest step.

Big thing I noticed yesterday which made me actually laugh…. decided to get hubby to take some videos of my horse who’s been going quite well. He will be for sale after lockdown so figured photos would be going on Facebook so I put my ‘good’ boots on, usually only wear them for competitions or training so they haven’t been on for 12 weeks. They are usually snug but comfortable. Well I zipped them up and they were positively baggy. Hadn’t even occurred to me that would be the case. So if I can see this through and keep it up…. I might well need new boots….. and not in a wide-leg fitting!!
Also the photos have me looking noticeable slimmer which is nice.
Gotta keep on with this and take the next step downward.

Well done EachPeach – that is awesome and a massive achievement.

Thanks everyone, you’re encouragement and kind words have literally moved me to tears! 😁 People all over the world caring for each other.
It’s so good talking with folks who understand the ups and downs of the issues we have decided to face up to. Amazing!
I read feel like I have to give myself an extra shove this coming week, I am teetering on the edge of making this work…..or not. I’m really going to focus on my emotions, they keep bubbling up and I find myself pinning them on things that are in the past or just not that relevant or important. Aren’t we funny creatures?!!
WindyJulz, brilliant news on the boots! I was only just thinking about trying on my winter boots to see if I can feel any difference….yep, definitely a little looser 😁 x 🌹🍏

EachPeach – great job that’s really good news on your discard and so encouraging to me ..
Thanks for asking ..I was brill on Mon – Thurs .. spot on .. but Fri eve I got a bit lazy and when I realised I had accidentally not saved the foods i had entered I didn’t follow through with the tracking in the evening. Yesterday I tracked but went well over but happy I tracked and today .. haven’t eaten yet but about to shovel some Greek yog down my throat .. hoping for another spot on day today and tomorrow .. got weigh in on Tuesday .. I leave the scales out on the side always to try and make me stick to weighing everything so that I get the numbers right and I’m not cheating myself 😃
WindyJulz super news on the boots!!!! So funny where we are losing the weight from .. i love surprises like that.. good job!!!
RosyApple .. yes we are such funny creatures aren’t we.. and that’s what makes us unique and interesting 😍 GreenGal 🥦

Morning all. I have a question about gravy- is it a yay or a nay? I am cooking a roast later for the family (husband and 3 kids) because it is Sunday! and planning to stick with only lean meat and veg myself….but gravy or not? I usually use bisto powder and cornflour but I could use a stock cube instead with the meat juices, it just wouldn’t be as thick….

other than that, I am on day 6 and loving it so far- a couple of days accidentally been over 900 but have stuck to all the rules, except yesterday, my daughter unhelpfully baked cookies and I stole a bit of cookie dough, one of my fave sweet things, as she just left it out between batches, but wow! I am in recovery from covid (week 10.5) and the sugar really increased my breathing issues and general nasal and sinus stuffiness so I will try very hard not to make that mistake again! Some of the research around covid is recommending a meditteranean diet for the gut biome and immune health and also for asthma, so I’m so glad that I stumbled accross this diet via my diabetes nurse for blood sugars and weight (as an aside, my prediabetes was found out during a routine blood test for some medication I am on AFTER I first became sick with covid and she said it could even be covid related as they are seeing new cases of diabetes in some covid patients HOWEVER that does not change the fact that my BMI puts me well into the obese category so it was clearly time to make a big change to my diet)!

I use my fitbit app to put my weight in daily and it gives me my average weight for the week on a Saturday (how many others here do that? Supposedly it reduces random variations ie fluid retention and things like that on a given day), so I was delighted to lose 2lb this week given that I only started the diet proper on Tuesday. In face, if it was direct sat to sat weight it would have been 4lb off so I hope with good effort to stick to it this week, to have a good result next Sat too.

Usually when I diet I only lose an average of 0.5lb per week and so easily get discouraged, especially if derailed by an event or illness or something, so this is really spurring me on to keep to the changes!

Happy Sunday everybody x

Come on Rosyapple, lets step away from the dangerous edge and up the next step to making it work. I’ve been the same and know that on every other occasion I’d have given up and just slowly reverted to bad habits. Really don’t want to do it this time. Been clinging on, need to take big positive step in the right decision this week…. and it begins right now.
Oh and I loved the Rosy & Apple rationale. Great name. We live on a seriously windy hill…. must have been windy the day I signed up (it’s not Flatulence related honest 😜) and I’m Julz for Julie.

Greengal – fab week of recording. I’m well impressed!! Very motivational.

aww it just randomly lost my post! Here is a slightly shorter version:

My question: Gravy or not? I usually make gravy with bisto powder and cornflour and the meat juices- yes or no? Alternatively I could use a stock cube with the meat juices….I think the latter would be ok?

Also, day 6 today, and feeling good. Lost 2lb this week (measured yesterday as an average over the week from daily weigh ins into the fitbit app) so considering I only started the diet Tuesday is a fab start for me! Usually on a diet, as I only lose 0.5lb per week max, I easily get derailed, so this is really motivating.

Sunday love to all!

GreenGal – the phrase that struck me on your post was, “so that I get the numbers right and I’m not cheating myself”. There are so many reasons we self sabotage and is something we need to guard against. Dig out your reasons why you are doing this and hold on to them.
You CAN all achieve your goals, if you stay focused and make each day count. We can’t change the past, but we most definitely CAN change the future.

Tulip1, I make gravy using meat juices and 1 kallo organic stock cube mixed with about half a cup of boiling water. I chuck it in the roasting pan at the end of cooking time and shove it back into the oven for a few minutes. It’s not overly thick but certainly not weedy! 🌹🍏

Rosyapple, thank you! That’s the kind of thing I was thinking to do x

Hey SunnyB,
Thanks for the response .. I do have to be careful that I am not undermining my hard work by ‘thinking’ I am keeping to the the WOE, eating BSD/Fast 800 friendly foods, even logging everything but then cheating myself out of good results on the scales by over estimating the portions I am eating, an extra tbsp of Greek yoghurt here or an oz of cheese there or a handful of cashews and soon I am 300 over the cals and over the carbs and totally unaware of my mistakes! Then a bit of a slip up at the weekend and it all adds up to a plateau or worse a gain and then it’s Why Why why? At this early stage of my restart if I i don’t weigh, count and use the tsp/tbsp for measuring then I have realised through past experience I could be slipping up on the small stuff which mean all my efforts are not counting on the scales/tape as much as they could do. This leads to disappointment and I will start to self-defeat.
I am trying to weed out all my self-sabotaging behaviours in these early weeks .. I am having some success but I am still making mistakes..
Thank you for the reminder and encouragement. I am trying to keep my goal clear in mind, like you said, what’s passed is the past! I can do it this time! I can and I will! GreenGal 🥦

I’ve developed a few strategies to stay within 800 calories a day. I should say, on average, because there have been days where I had 600 and other days where I had about 900 (today!). Low-calorie soup – vegetable or chicken broth with veggies and a few pieces of chicken or mushrooms and spinach – is filling. I limit the types of snacks I have (7 almonds, 49 calories, or a piece of 85% chocolate), but veg snacks are great. I love cheese but I decided not to have it until I’m finished with my 12 weeks, just too tricky. Other than that, I love a bag of radishes, half a cucumber, or a few mini cucumbers, and it doesn’t matter very much how much of it you eat. A quick lunch can be raw vegetables with hummus (I don’t count carbs, but you could make another dip) and some kimchi.

And another one is that I fill in the food diary on Myfitnesspal in advance, so I know how much space I have. Of course I adjust if food plans change.

Kimchi is next on my list, Zuzuvela. I made it once and it sort of failed and just sat in the fridge for a while before I threw it out… I’ve been rereading the Gut book by MM this week and slowly trying to incorporate more of the gut diet. The recipe book is not of much use during the 800 phase, but fermented stuff is definitely the next nut to crack for me. I know there are various threads on here to explore, but do you have a favourite recipe for your kimchi (the failed one was from the gut recipe book so I’m now wary of that…)?

I haven’t made kimchi myself yet (getting into fermenting vegetables is something I’d like to do soon). I’ve been to Korea twice and love the food so I picked up a taste for kimchi there, in all its variations. I used to buy it locally but that’s not available, so I ordered some online from cultured collective. It’s not very cheap, but it’s pretty good and a jar will last a while, actually!

Hi everyone
I have just read that a few of you are experiencing ‘lost posts’

I may be stating the obvious here ( apologies in advance) but I always type my messages in WORD or similar and then just copy and paste on to the thread.. As soon as I see my post has successfully been sent I simply delete the message from the Word documents on my laptop. It does save a lot of annoyance and frustration ! It also allows me to read previous posts more comfortably and respond without fear of losing my post.

Britta, Zuzu….I am a recent convert to fermented foods, Sunny too so we would be happy to exchange experiences( there is a fermenting thread on the forum too )
Wishing you all a lovely evening /new day xx

Hi Britta, I’ve bumped the fermentation thread for you. Pretty certain you’ll find a recipe for kimchi on this thread. Would recommend getting Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten K. Shocked and Christopher Shockey, as that has some great recipes and ideas, hints and tips. My personal tip is to be sure you pack your veg very tightly in your fermentation jars.

Wendy is seriously into fermenting veggies, so give a shoot out to her if you need advice.

Wendleg, brilliant idea, thank you, I will use word or similar for longer posts x

Thanks Wendy and Sunny, I’ll make it my weekly task next week. I’m really into reading ‘old’ threads at the moment, so much good stuff on here!

Good morning all,
WindyJulz, I remember last time I did this WOE my sneakers/ runners, in fact most shoes were looser on my feet not just around my calf’s for boots but my actual feet seemed to shrink in size. I found it really strange. It’s not like my feet were fat, well I didn’t think so but they must have been 😂😂.
I haven’t lost any weight the last 2 days but that’s my fault for not sticking strictly to the proper foods and going slightly off kilter. I haven’t put any on either so it’s kept me in the right frame of mind.
I’ve had an omelette for breakfast with capsicum, feta, mushrooms and tomato, it was very nice and will keep me going till dinner tonight.
Riccoh how are u doing????
Have a great day/ night beautiful people 😊🖐️

Hi everyone!
I haven’t posted for a while but have been reading all your posts and recipe ideas. Coconut chia, rhubarb and ginger, etc. Very inspiring.
During most of our iso period my brother moved in to live with me. While having company in the house was a good thing during iso, I also enjoyed cooking more and trying some new recipes. But that also led to bigger portion sizes than usual for me, and more wine! I kept to mostly BSD friendly foods and 16:8 / 14:10 and the gain on the scales wasn’t more than a couple of kilos. But I also took to doing regular swimming / aquasize during iso, so I will claim some of that weight might have been due to increased muscle 😁🏋️‍♀️
My brother left at the start of this week, taking his carby foods with him, and so this week has been a good reboot for me. I am aiming for 4 days 800/20 and 16:8. And I went back to work this week – public libraries have opened again in Melbourne – and that has been terrific. I did miss it in many ways.
I made some cloud bread over the weekend and thought of you Elky in Canberra. I hope you are still around – and shout out to LouiseKangaroo, Birdy76, Kafin and many others. I hope you are all ok and keeping well.

Morning lovely people! 🧡
I’m astounded, I’ve lost another 3 llbs = 19 since the start. I had to keep hopping on and off the scales to check they were reading right! Can’t quite believe it. I’m now going to a place that I never thought possible and only 2 llbs until I get into the 12 st zone, somewhere I haven’t been since I was in my 20s I think. Now in my 40s. My smaller and only pair of jeans are feeling looser around the thighs. Going to need the shops to open soon!
I’m so glad I’ve taken this time to do this as if I’d carried on like I was at the beginning of lockdown I probably would be about 16 st again.
I’m starting to feel ready to go back out in to the world. I have been signed off work for over 5 years and aside from doing permitted part time work and volunteering my life has been quite small. My dream is to work with victims of domestic abuse and drug addiction and I’m really excited about this. I’ve been told by people already in the field that I would be good at this. Just saving for a new car so I can travel out of town to do this, most likely as a volunteer to start with. It’s something I’m passionate about and being healthier, fitter and with balanced mental health will enable me to do this and I can be a shining example to other women of just how life can be turned around. I’m so excited!
I’m going to use my triumph to fuel me this coming week and stick to as close to 800cals as I can.
Well done on all your triumphs and turnarounds! And thanks for your encouragement. Grateful! Have a good day 🧡🌹🍏

Oh Rosyapple that is the best post! Congratulations on all counts! You are proving to yourself just how strong you are and its great this has given you the confidence to get going and take some big life steps forward! You have all my admiration. It would be great if you can find some work and a path to follow supporting others – i do believe we have to be quite selfish to embark on self-rectification (is that a thing) as we can only do this for ourselves, not for anyone else – yet the output of the journey can be so positive and empower you to be so selfless and generous with your plans!
Feeling all empowered just reading your post.
I was pretty motivated anyway, but here we go, new monday, I figure i have 5 weeks left to get to the 12 week mark and I am going to make them count. Most likely will be working from home all that time and I see it as an opportunity. We have a fridge full of good stuff and i have a plan for the week, including through the weekend. I like a plan, helps me stay focused and I can tick off each meal, exercise and achievement as i go! Today is prawn salad for dinner and a shake with berries for lunch. I know this is a comfortable level of food and will be on track. Have a busy work day – certification audit via Teams with participation from business unit in Norway and auditors in Norway and Scotland…. will be interesting. Then horses to work and a walk to go on…… it is going to be a good monday!
How is everyone else feeling?

WindyJulz, you sound busy! How lovely to have horses, I used to ride in my teens and loved it. Maybe I’ll give it another go sometime, great workout for the legs and core too, not to mention the horse’s efforts!
I like a plan also, have lots of meat, fish, eggs, veg etc in stock. Going to make a big egg salad for lunch and chicken soup that I made yesterday for dinner.
Been looking after the girls this AM and back again after school. I’m going armed with some extra bits and bobs so as to not get tempted by carbs…
It’s been a stupidly hectic morning with the 2 littlies, much squabbling and loudness. Their Mum is finding them difficult at present, lack of stimulation from not going to school she thinks. They are just providing childcare at the moment which is better than nothing but not enough.
Hope the meeting goes well 🧡🌹🍏

Rosy, your post made me so happy, really thrilled for you, especially as you had been doubting yourself just this last week. You will be breaking into that 12st bracket really soon and we’ll be here to celebrate with you when you do. 🎉🤸‍♂️
Julz, sounds like you have a very busy day ahead. Well done on being organised enough to plan you menu for the day, along with everything else.
Merry, good to see you posting here again. You will soon be able to wave goodbye to any lockdown gain still lurking. Please keep us posted on progress.

Here’s to another great BSD week …. watch out for the new thread later today.

Well done, Rosy! It pays off staying on track even if it’s not always perfect!

So I’m on the first day of Week 9 (I’m keeping to 800 calories a day until mid-July). I lost 13.4kg (or 29.5 pounds) in 8 weeks, which is an amazing feeling. The last time I was near this weight was 6 years ago so it’s quite a change! My next goal is 80kg by the end of the weekend and I’m hoping to escape from my currently obese BMI by mid-July. Other than the scales, I have lost centimeters around my waist and I’ve dropped 1-2 dress sizes (depending on the fit/cut of the clothes). I know the key to long-term success is to build and keep up the good habits so I’m also looking ahead to how I can do that.

Hi everyone. Just checking in to say hello. I read as many posts as I can but don’t post often myself as not that much to report. I’m doing fine, well and happy: just ticking over really, mostly maintaining but with some small losses and NSVs, and really focussing on exercise at the moment. So just to say a big well done to those that are losing at the moment, and encourage everyone else to keep at it. Everyone is different, every day is different, and the great thing is that if you have a bad day or two you can jump back on board and begin to see results again. I am an expert at that 😉 So if anyone is feeling a bit discouraged or demotivated, keep at it: it will be worth it.

Also wanted to say Rosyapple, apart from how well you’re doing on sticking to this and losing weight, I’m delighted to see the world of possibilities this is opening up for you. You say you’re ready to go back out into the world, and are excited about following your dream to work with victims of domestic abuse and drug addiction: not only that but you are starting to think of realistic ways to make that happen. That really is exciting Rosy and keep following that dream! I know that for me, following this way of eating and losing weight was a key factor in regaining my confidence and being brave enough to take the plunge to retire from full-time working to go freelance. I am so pleased that you have some great things to look forward to and are gaining the confidence to go and do them. Well done X

Have a great week everyone X

Zuzuvela, that’s amazing! And Rosyapple, you’re so close to your 12st milestone!!! Yay for progress! Onto another week of it 🙂

I am about to set up the new weekly thread everyone !

The new thread is up and running folks !

One week at a time beginning June 9th 2020 (I reverted back to Tuesday !)

Wendy x

Bryla !!!

Where are you ? We haven’t seen you for a long time ??
Are you ok ?

Wendy xx