Yes, I can see that. But there was an earlier route, viz Allie and Wendleg connecting with Kazz, and Duckie..

6T’s. if you don’t find the earlier one I am more than happy to be your go between with Kafin as I know it will be a good thing. I know you don’t know me but I want assure you both that I would only share your emails with each other. You could even make a new one up so it is not your personal one and then if you wanted to you could just share your real ones with each other without me ever seeing them. It is great to have people in our corner and I see that you are totally in hers. Don’t worry if it is not the route you want to take. Please just know that it would be in the upmost confidence that I would just pass details on to the person you want to connect with and nobody else. Birdy

I understand the limitations of this site – particularly re personal messages and photo exchanging. But I am beginning to feel that this thread is going off course with all the talk of a parallel email group. Could you move this discussion to a new thread, and keep the One Week at a Time for the original purpose? Sorry if this sounds a bit snippy.

Hi 6T. A few months ago some of us did the same, one person set up a temp email address and masked what it was when she posted it on the forum so that those interested in chatting away from the forum could contact her.

Since then we have chatted via private email, and had chatted via skype. Kazz is now going to visit Allie on holiday later in the year.

I think its great that this forum is so supportive that friendships have formed between people who are on this journey at the same time, and they want to build stronger connections, but its not something you have to do if you don’t want to.

The person who creates the email address specifically for this reason and posts it on the forum can act as a gate keeper, if there are specific people you want to chat to off line you could always say this and I am sure Birdy would then only put you in touch with those people.

This is such a lovely and supportive forum. I’m pretty new here and so I don’t know the details of your stories, but to those of you who are seemingly having a tough time I just want to say I’m sorry and I hope things begin to get easier soon.

With regards my own post, thank you so much to those who responded. I do appreciate the support and feedback. I don’t have a huge amount to lose in comparison to some of you (16lbs down and about 21 to go) but to have lost 16lb this month feels remarkable and a little miraculous! I am still feeling a little despondent about the gain and I still feel so bloated and wobbly! I have stuck rigidly to plan yesterday and today so I’m hoping the scales soon catch back up. I don’t plan to eat more at weekends or anything generally (and survived Easter without even a sniff of chocolate) but we had lots of family celebrations this weekend. I think that will forever be the challenge for me, our families and friends are so sociable that we always have something on, or coming up. My family are very supportive and so had really tried to accommodate me and make sure that food was on plan, but they’re also people who celebrate everything with food and they hate to see you ‘missing out’. It’s a hard one for your willpower when people are trying to feed you!

I think I’m going to start logging daily again, I’ve got out of the habit a little and so I also wonder whether my portion sizing etc has been accidentally creeping up a bit.

Thanks again for the support.

I share some concerns about off forum stuff. Sorry it has added to traffic here. It was just a response to Kafin, whenever she might be in London. I don’t want parallel chat, and Caro that was not the intention.

Hi everyone,
I’m still struggling quite a bit so far this week. I’m very tired still as it seems like I didn’t get enough sleep over the weekend to catch up from my sleepless nights last week. My horse has settled down a bit in the nicer weather we’ve been having so that has helped my stress levels a bit though.
I’ve been reminded by events today that I do not only use carbs to help my mood, but also to boost flagging brain power in the afternoons at work. I was so tired this afternoon that for the first time in my working career I actually took a sneaky nap under my desk. It helped a bit and I was proud that I didn’t reach for carbs in that moment, but addressed the root problem instead. But then within an hour, a colleague dumped a fairly complicated assignment on me that she had done a not so great job of and now had the deadline looming and I had to fix it. I ended up having some bread and cheese to help perk up my brain cells back into action. It was dense ryebread that doesn’t seem to give me as much of a spike as whiter carbs would, but still carbs nonetheless. The problem is that it always works, so I keep doing it whenever I’m feeling too tired to perform. I was able to put in a solid hour of concentration after that. However, I do recognize that the main problem is that I need more and better quality sleep. I don’t think I’m going to kick the carb habit unless I start to do better in that area, so I think that will have to be my focus this week. Tomorrow is a new day!

Sorry caroni. I made the BSD angels thread exactly for the purpose of the other discussion. Guys can we go there if you want to discuss it further as this thread is for all of us to get us through our week on this WOE thank you Birdy 💞🦜

Hi everyone,
Happy May day to you all! Feels like spring…Thanks Birdy for your msg, wedding plans going well next challenge is wine tasting (try before you buy) going to rope in a few helpers and make an evening of it. Figure that can drink the lion’s share! That’s awesome. ..5 inches off middle? Well done. Glad I started measuring in cm or things would seem much slower.
Started Body combat last night and was already hungry so powered up with nuts and cheese beforehand and made it through without collapsing into a puddle…and it was fun!
How does everyone else get on with high energy sports doing this WOE? Hoping the body will munch more of my day but is hard to trust and not be scared of doing too much.

Thank you Birdy!

Morning Greenbean and a very happy May Day to you too😀. Wow you have got to love a good wine tasting! Roll on August and France🤣🤣. I think if I have gleaned this right from other people that when we eat low low carbs ie 20-50g a day our bodies stop burning the spare sugar calories and begins to burn the fat stores instead! These fat stores as they are so great can give us endless energy and it is what we need to make our bodies slimmer and our organs to become healthier. JGwen please correct me if I am wrong. So if you have your ratio right of low carb, moderate Protein and high good fats then you shouldn’t need to worry about high impact exercise. Again I am no expert but this is what I am led to believe by others that do have a lot more knowledge!😀. You go girl you are going to look fabulous on your wedding day hun. Birdy💞🦜

Hello everyone

Just a quick note to say thank you Birdy and everyone here who has mentioned me with their kind words in response to my post earlier. I very much appreciate the support and am grateful to have found this forum. What a lovely lot you are.

In terms of how I am getting on this week here is a rundown and some thoughts.

This is my sixth week on the BSD having lost 27lbs in the first five.

Monday – I ate some bacon and mushrooms at an early business meeting and drank water. I read more about fasting and not feeling hungry, I decided to fast for 24 hours. I did this partly because I had been abroad for the week for work, was back on Sunday, where it hadn’t been possible to stick to BSD plans and though I hadn’t overeaten or drank a lot of alcohol, I saw a fast at this point as an extension of a ‘let’s get back to basics’ approach. This isn’t something I’m planning to repeat, not because it was really difficult or anything like that but because as I understand it, the 8-week BSD on around 800 calories a day doesn’t say you should fast like this and I don’t want to ‘deprive myself. That said, I do read with interest that many people here are doing some form of tine-restricted eating and it’s interesting to me.

Tuesday – I went swimming at 6.30am and I broke my fast at 9am with some porridge, blackberries, blueberries and cinnamon. This is inspired by recipes in the BSD book. I understand that some people find porridge too ‘carb heavy’ but as I’m following a basic BSD plan for 8 weeks and not monitoring carbs or even calories that closely, I found it a really good choice. At lunchtime I ate a big portobello mushroom with soft cheese, again inspired by the BSD book. My evening meal was out with someone who I could be doing some work for at Gusto which is quite a posh Italian in my opinion. I chose flattened rump steak without the fries which came with rocket and I asked for spring greens on the side, which were cabbage, broccoli and kale. I drank only water as I have been doing for the most of my five weeks so far. I also had a starter of calamari (because everyone else did!!) which wasn’t great because of the light batter but I enjoyed them!

Today I walked to my local leisure centre and swam for half an hour, I had an induction to the gym to do resistance/weights training and want to commit to do this 3 times a week for 20 minutes. I walked back and here I am, I haven’t eaten today yet and am planning on eating some chicken and vegetables at or after 11 when I have done some work. I am going to a funeral later and as well as being there for my friend I am also thinking that I won’t eat anything. If I eat at 11 today that will be a fast of 16 hours since I last ate and in my head I’m thinking this is a positive thing to do.

Thanks for reading, I think writing this out helps keep me accountable.

Thanks for all the inspiration, much love and have a great Wednesday x

167.8
Yesterday, I drank a bottle of wine.
Today, I ate healthy and walked 15,000 steps.
I want to be more consistent.

Hi Amz, glad to see you here. It’s evening where you are, here it’s morning of 2nd.

Sleep well, and have a good day tomorrow

Amz ……something made you drink that wine ….you can be stronger . Check in with us if you start to weaken. It sounds exhausting to be constantly battling like that. Maybe go back to Esnecca’s post about the insidious nature of depression ? Keep fighting Amz. We are on your side xx

Thanks Patricia for your continued support for Amz..and everyone. You are a star xx

Hi guys. I’m new here. I mistakenly posted on an old thread so I’m reposting now. Today is 3 1/2 weeks for me and I’m down 10kgs with a 7cm loss on my waist and 4 off my hips. I’m eating in a 12 hour window. Nothing before noon and nothing after 8pm. I’m actually enjoying it and loving the food I’m eating. Spent a lot of time on pinterest and other sites getting inspiration and adapting it where needed. I no longer have acid reflux and am looking forward to seeing my blood profiles July 1st.
I’m a huge foodie and here in New Zealand sharing kai (food) is a culture. My coworkers look forward each day to see what I’m bringing in and have a taste. They often can’t believe that what I’m eating is “okay for a diet” or healthy because it’s so good and filling. I’ve even been asked to start a recipe log!
I’m thankful to find a thread like this that is so positive and enthusiastic.

Oh.my goodness Greenbean and Onmyway…you are both very focused with the exercise regimes…well done !
Birdy !! I have my eye on you…😊..wine tasting in France indeed !!! 🍷. You are supposed to be drinking Badoit or San Pellegrino 🙄
Have a great day everyone. X
Ps my hubby is adhering to healthier choices here and not a single crisp or chip has passed his lips.However he has not been able to resist the various ales and succumbed to a pork pie yesterday despite the best efforts of the carb police 🤣🤣. He has 2 months before his next blood test and I think he feels it is time enough to reverse any damage. You know my views …..

Amz, wine is also my nemesis. Do you know this song? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gG5AdGWnVU
It came on in the car yesterday, and really got me thinking. When I’ve been drinking for a few days, my meds don’t work as well, I feel hellish and of course, it slows down weight loss.

None of this stops me wanting a bottle to unwind after work or when the weather is nice or there’s an event.

I am thinking of writing “sorrow floats” on my walls at home!

Welcome Kerri the kiwi! And congratulations on making such a good start. It is amazing, isn’t it, that we can discard so much weight and actually enjoy our food. I like the idea of your colleagues being envious of what you are bringing to work to eat. This is a lovely website for mutual support and encouragement. This thread is renewed each week. We also have a longer lasting road-trip theme. And the threads “Have a look at this” and Positive thoughts are often a good read. Plunge in and enjoy. And all the best on your journey. x

My dear dear Wendleg I know it is a bad thing to go wine tasting but it is not until August 😞. My OH and me go to France every year on our summer hols and it is when we buy our wine for the year. I am hoping to be half the size I was at the beginning of my journey by then. I am in awe of your strength of avoiding carbs whilst you have been in Blighty this week my lovely and can assure you I will not sabotage my progress by going completely off of the rails whilst on holiday, but I am going to enjoy myself. We will be staying in the same place as we have done the last two years and to be honest I could taste the mineral high water in the croissants and bread and it I didn’t like it at all! So I know I won’t be eating either of them while I am away, but I will let my hair down a little and wine tasting will be one of the ways. Please forgive me of my sins 😈 dear Wendleg. I might even find that I don’t want it but I find that unlikely as my palate still likes the taste of wine even though it has disliked normal dark chocolate, crisps and snickers.🤣🤣. I have nearly 4 months before I go away so here’s to discarding loads and then not having to worry too much whilst I am away. I will still be using MFP to help keep my on track and I will still be here too. Glad you are having a great time on your hols my lovely. Birdy💞🦜

Birdy, congratulations on your speedy palate shift! It’s amazing how quickly you found sugared chocolate cloying compared to the intense depth of the 100%. Hazlenuts are naturally quite high in sugar, so that Lindt bar was hitting you with a double whammy of added sugar plus a sweet nut and your palate ran screaming. 😀

I remember when I was a kid I found 100% choc in the pantry and took a bite thinking it was just another chocolate bar. I spat it out and cried and my mother explained that it was only used for baking, not for eating. It was jarring to discover there was such a thing as chocolate that was not sweet. Now in hindsight I realize that the real disconnect is that chocolate, one of the most savory foods there is, has been mutilated and broken into a sugar-delivery vehicle to the point that it is constantly referred to as “the sweet stuff” or “sweet treat” when that is literally the opposite of what chocolate actually is.

I have been out and about last cple of days so catching up. I was interested in the cat stories; as well as my two mini dachshunds I have a very handsome silver tabby Norwegian Forest cat. He is a very good mouser (seems to bring them back for dogs, so I have to be quick to get there first), but this morning appeared just after he had stuffed his face with breakfast with a poor blackbird. There it had been singing its early morning song and he casually comes along and ….Kafin, if I start looking at your blog I will never be off laptop, but might not be able to resist a peak…I hope Albert was not too startled by your “lady of the night” eye liner. Cats can be funny things….I read in the paper today about “hedonic escalation”; a reaction to food which tastes better and better with each bite (the example was salted caramel…). I wondered what BSD foods trigger the same result with each of you? If I were a betting woman, I might say that Esnecca might go for fermented/kimchi. Inspired by Kafin’s ref to scallops, yesterday’s supper was cauli mash with scallops, pan fried with a dusting of mild curry powder, with a bit of rocket on the side with smidge of olive oil. I must say I could have eaten a lot more…Hope all is well with you all.

Thank you Essie I am very pleased! I did fancy some more or the chocolate as I swear it reactivated the carb monsters in my brain and tummy, but I put those to rest by making my OH and son eat the chocolate🤣. It is now gone and shall never return!! Back to the Absolute Black for me.

I didn’t realise chocolate was savoury! I used to put a couple of dark squares in whenever I made a chilli as that Is supposed to be the traditional way.

I love learning new things about food and me. This WOE has helped me in so many different ways already. Thanks for all your help and suggestions Essie 💞🦜

Good call, 6T. I love the “hedonic escalation” concept applied to savory foods instead of sugar-spiking ones. You don’t really need a new conceptual coinage to explain why sugary caramel tastes better with every bite. Sugar triggers a sharp dopamine response, ie, it stimulates your brain’s pleasure center. It also ramps up the delivery of tryptophan essential to serotonin production, increasing your feeling of happiness or joy in the moment. The only problem is that it all comes crashing down as quickly as it came, driving you to take in more sugar to feel good again and over time increasing your tolerance just like methamphetamine or any other drug.

Finding the hedonsim in the gloriously tart flavors of something like sauerkraut, Bulgarian yogurt or passion fruit is a whole new ballgame, and yes, I found myself escalating those flavors as far as I could. For example, I started off with a couple of fermented elements in a salad — pickle juice in place of vinegar, miso in the dressing — and then added more and more. Nowadays I routinely make salads with 8 different fermented elements. 😀

If this attempt at linking works, not where I read today, just same theme….https://www.getthegloss.com/news/hedonic-escalation-why-salted-caramel-presses-your-eat-more-button
I think the cauli mash/scallop/curry powder was so good because of the “holy trinity” of sweet/salt/fats – but with now greater appreciation of the natural sweetness of cauli and scallops.

Wow…cauliflower curry scallops! That sounds like a deal in a fluffy dinner cloud. Definitely trying that!
Last night was fried seabream with garlic mushrooms and okra. Okra, my new obsession. Who knew?!
Birdy – very excited for you and your wine tasting, life is too short to say never again to wine. Of all the things….and it’s good for you so enjoy! If youre worried about going OTT maybe you could go designated driver a few days and have a glass? Thinking ahead to next weekend wine tasting and i think i will try lots of small tastes…but i am NOT spitting it it out!
Bought some moscato for my partner yesterday. .. I love dessert wine but find it spikes me too much now which is sad but I have to accept it.
Kerri – welcome! Congrats on your early victories, great to have got rid of that acid reflux, I don’t miss that I can tell you!
Happy Friday folks x

Morning everyone . That was interesting reading Turkeys. Salted caramel is everywhere in France. I remember one friend used to make it and give it as gifts at Christmas. Those food manufacturers are so wily and out to reel us in at any cost to our health. They wont be manipulating me.
Our last day in the UK. Meeting friends for coffee and then the dreaded packing. I will be wearing 2 coats… 3 jumpers …5 tshirts and countless layers of new bloomers on the flight back 🤣. I decided not to buy any jeans. I will save them for when I am closer to target plus wearing 2 pairs of trousers would be pushing it a bit 🤣 !!! I would never get the belt round me on easyjet !!!
A family meal out tonight and I was impressed that the pub restaurant we are going to serves cauliflower steaks…with truffle oil..scallops and mussels amongst other BSD friendly options. Nice.
Birdy !!!! I was not telling you off about your wine tasting France fest 🤣🤣. Just gently teasing. Teachers can be a bit bossy . I will be so much nicer in retirement 🤗🤗. You must enjoy your trip and be grateful I don’t live closer or I would be over to check on you 🤣🤣🤣
Saying hi and welcome to Kerri the Kiwi
Hi caronl !..Scottishgal..Patricia .Hope you have a good day everyone. Thinking of you avisa…Amz…Kirsten your honour…all the newcomers. I will catch up properly when I get home and have my computer
I had better get up now ! Xx

Hello all. Wendleg, enjoy the meal this evening (sounds like there will be delicious choices) and the flight back (with extra “padding”). And Kafin, re your “good week under your belt” post on the other thread, just take it day by day – we are all willing you (and each other) on! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Allie, I hope you are now fully recovered.

Hi all, I (re)started BSD this week and so far am 1.5kg down – this is only day 3! My diet is complicated as I’m vegetarian and have an egg intolerance (not allergic, but it really doesn’t like me) and a mild dairy intolerance. I think it’s thus inevitable that I eat a lot of pulses and it’s hard to avoid carbs but I don’t eat biscuits, cakes or bread. I’m going to see how things work out on my ‘usual’ diet (adapted to contain far less food/meals/calories/snacks) first.

My goal is to lose 5kg by Eid, 8kg by end of term and 10kg by start of new school year.

Pleased to be sharing this journey with you all.

Hi Wendleg, have great journey back, no stress I hope. The thought of you wearing all your new clothes is funny, well you can take them off at your seat and stuff them in another bag. They don’t charge you for the number of bags you take off the plane!

I have been doing well, got to see the bluebell wood a few times, bought some lovely t-shirts for Sardinia. I really need to say Sardinia a few more times! Every time I see that, I see myself on the beach with white sand! Physio says why not.

Hi snailrunner, you sound very organised in planning what you are going to eat. Well done for binning the flour, cakes and bread.

The presence of insulin prevents fat burning, your purpose in reducing calories and carbs.
If you are insulin resistant, you will need to avoid high carb sources like pulses and root vegetables. As eggs and dairy yoghurt are also excluded, you may need to look at alternatives like nut milk. It becomes difficult to maintain a satisfactory range of food sources, for vitamin and minerals.

This morning’s weight was 163.
I fasted from Wednesday night until lunchtime today (Friday).
I was invited for a meal by a Japanese friend and she made Okonomiyaki, which is like a Japanese pancake with a cabbage base filled with chives, ginger, Kimchi, and ground beef. It was delicious. She made one and split it between the guests so over the whole lunch I probably had a total of 1 and half pancakes. Also had one egg roll ( this is not Japanese food though). Planning another fast now until Sunday at lunch.
I have been trying to walk daily. I am also going to try to complete a fitness blender video tonight.

My dear Wendleg I know you were not telling me off for real lovely lady❤️❤️ I do like that you remind me of the devil drink🤣🤣. I also appreciate it too! Safe journey home and I am glad you had an amazing time in Blighty. Much love Birdy💞🦜

I am looking forward to the week ahead and I am in a very positive place now that night shift is out of the way for another week! Hope you all have an amazing weekend and Allie I do hope you are well now. Sending hugs lovely lady🤗🤗🤗🤗

I posted this earlier but avoided to move it here…
Hello everyone.
I need to lose weight fast, but more so I need to get my cholesterol down to normal levels.
I knew I was out of shape, in my early 50s just over 6ft tall and 16st.
But I really didn’t think about what was going on inside until my doctor suggest I get some bloods taken.
Well I did and my overall fasting cholesterol was 8.6 with the LDL 4.4.
My doctor said I needed to go on statins right now.
Then I thought about Michael Mosley’s work and thought if I tried hard enough I might survive this.
I’m just very concerned about firstly my state of health, and secondly about going down the road of statins.
Has anyone else had to make this choice?

Snailrunner – I have a similar situation to you. I am vegetarian but allergic to soy so that rules out a number of lower carb protein options for me. I also tend to rely on non-soy pulses more than would be ideal for rapid weight loss. I have shifted things to eating more lentils than beans and chickpeas though and that helps. I’ve also found a brand of vegetarian sausage that is wheat gluten and eggplant based and low carb and very high protein that I have occassionally. I don’t have any issues with gluten as some do, and I don’t have them often, so it works for me and adds variety. If you are able to eat soy, you may want to look at some things like tofu, tempeh, etc. if you don’t already consume them as they are a complete protein and are lower carb than most pulses. Soy milk will also be higher in protein than most nut milks, but I became allergic after several years of consuming soy milk daily so I am now wary of recommending unfermented soy.
Green and White – I also struggle with elevated cholesterol, and even though mine is just slightly above normal, I have also had a GP threaten to put me on statins. I have a work colleague with a strong family history of heart disease who had elevated cholesterol and he didn’t want to go on statins, so he has dealt with it by taking a plant sterol supplement and upping his veggie consumption and exercising more. It seems to be working for him. He did have the support of his GP for this though. There was a BBC Horizon Truth About Food program a few years ago that dealt with high cholesterol and they took some people with high cholesterol and blood pressure and put them on a whole foods, plant only diet for almost 2 weeks and they all lowered their cholesterol significantly. I think it was called How to be Healthy? I tried it myself once, but I didn’t get my cholesterol measured after so I don’t know if it made much difference. I did feel quite good after a few days though and lost some weight. It is quite hard to stick to in the real world as you have to eat a large volume of food to get all your nutrients and I did end up cooking some things for evenings when I felt like a hot meal. I would think it worth a try though. It won’t likely harm you if you only do it for a short time and I think we all benefit from eating more veg. It may buy you some time with the doctor if you can show such rapid improvement from diet in such a short time.

Hi everyone,
I’ve not been posting much this week as I have been keeping busy with my horse and with keeping my place clean for prospective viewers (although none have shown up yet, so it’s a bit frustrating). I had a very trying afternoon yesterday as I had the vet out for my horse and he is no better than he was 6 weeks ago, along with the fact that she was running 2 hours late so it was after 8pm by the time I got home so that caused me to go off the rails a bit last night and do a run to the supermarket on my way home for my crutch of a quick ready meal. Feeling despondent about the whole situation also resulted in chocolate and fizzy sugary drinks ending up in my shopping bag as well. I ate the chocolate, but by the time I got home, the sugary drinks had lost their appeal. It’s interesting because it really just seems like a habit. I have a tough day so I buy food that I think will soothe me. Sometimes even just the act of buying it is soothing. However, this time because I have been eating largely BSD through most of the week, the chocolate was too sweet and didn’t taste good.
Sleep is still not great, although I’m doing better than I was last week. Definitely this week has brought to light the habits that I need to change in order to not eat the wrong foods. It’s a work in progress!

Hi everyone !
I am back in France and 6 T , you will be glad to hear I did not get arrested in Bristol for looking like a very dodgy padded lady with my multiple raincoats 😉 😉
The cases are unpacked, the washing machine is going full pelt and my T K Maxx and White Stuff purchases have pride of place in my wardrobe. I must say my family were impressed with my weight discard . My sister in law is enthusiastically on board now. I have maintained over the 12 days and I am happy with that. Back to my occasional fasting now but it might be a bit tricky as my op is on Tuesday and I will be off work for a few weeks . I will see how I go.
It definitely is true that Uk supermarkets are carby minefields for the uninitiated. So many special offers on buns , cakes and biscuits and reduced price Easter eggs. I was impressed to find a cauliflower steak on a pub menu. O/H managed to resist the chips and mashed potatoes, less so the beer and wine but I am happy to report that he is 7 kg down ! He is making significant changes and that is a great start. Wendleg the Carb Detective is on his case to ensure a good blood sugar result in a couple of months time 😉
Welcome to all the new members I see posting and special thoughts to anyone struggling right now.
Birdy ….I see you survived the Army/Navy rugby fest ?? Did you stay sober ? 😉 Glad you are free of night shifts for a while. xx
Patricia …Sardinia is edging closer !
How are you doing Amz ? How did the fast go ? Don’t put too much pressure on yourself xxx
Thinking of you, Kirsten your Honour !

Hi everyone, Thanks Birdy for responding to my introduction and directing me over here!
I’m male, 182 CM, 82Kg now. High side of normal blood sugar, and previously high side of normal blood pressure. I’m 2 weeks in and have lost 6kg, although most in the first week, BP has come down fantastically. I rarely have more than 30g carbs but the downside of this is I like to run and last Sunday attempted about 8km and by the end felt awful, could barely walk which is most unlike me! Also weight loss hasn’t been much more than 1 kg over the last week despite carb and calorie intake. Still averaging about 850 calories. I’m very motivated and want to prove to the doctors that I can do all the right things to reduce what I need to before they want to do their thing 😉
Best wishes to everyone!

Welcome home Wendy so glad you had a great holiday in Blighty. Good luck with your up coming op! I did survive the rugby and I stayed sober’🤣. To make sure if this I drove🤣. I did however have 1 pint of my favourite beer! I did this as I knew it would make me tipsy and I wouldn’t get quite so annoyed with the drinkers🤣🤣🤣. That was at 11.40am and then I drunk coffee and water the rest of the day and snacked on a few nuts. All in good but a little bad😈😈 Birdy💞🦜

Hi Wendleg, I was looking out for the headlines….I also hadn’t wanted to mention but it made me think of a story some years ago, a man who was admittedly wearing more than you to avoid any hold luggage charges at all ended up collapsing from heat exhaustion on an easyjet flight! At 37,000 feet….You are right about supermarkets here. In my bad old days, I used to pick up the occasional danish pastry; they were sold individually and you just used a little flimsy plastic bag. Then they moved on to selling them in pairs, in a large rigid plastic container. Bad for me and bad for the environment! That was before BSD! Hope the op goes well; I had not appreciated the recuperation time was quite so long, so do take it easy. I know Duckie has been on grandchildren duty but it would be good to hear from you Duckie! Ditto Shellbob who I don’t think has posted recently. And anyone else! Birdy, well done on avoiding temptation.

Welcome back, Wendy! Maintaining over 12 days is so impressive, you have amazing willpower and clearly a desire to take care of yourself. And well done to your OH as well. I like that you recruited your sister-in-law, what a shame there’s no commission!

This Arctic Fox.
The only thing that confuses me is the plethora of information, much of it conflicting, from seemingly similar well educated and research based Doctors.
I see many similarities between the likes of Drs Mosley, Fuhrman, McDougall, Colbert etc and generally accept what they say, but then again when your cholesterol is as high as mine, I anxiously hesitate over who is right about using eggs and olive oil as some will say go ahead whilst others will say only when you have your numbers down to normal, for example.

Hi everyone, I’m fairly new to the Fast800. I did it for 4 weeks at the beginning of the year but unfortunately due to bereavement and a change in work situation I didn’t keep it up. However the progress I made last time gave me the desire and the confidence to start up again and this time to follow the principles for life.

I’m 33, 245 lbs, have PCOS, my father has Type 2 diabetes and my mum is prediabetic so I want to make changes for the good of my health. So I started the Fast800 on Sunday and I’m looking forward to seeing changes in my body.

These forums are fantastic, I really enjoy reading everyone’s comments and tips for the weight loss journey. Just one question, what does WOE mean? I’ve seen it written a couple of times.
Thanks

Hi Gokiniruth and welcome to our weekly thread. I’m glad you are enjoying the website, and don’t hesitate to ask questions, share problems and successes as you go. WOE is Way of Eating. We use the term a lot to emphasise that this is not about an 8 week diet, but a lifetime change in approach to eating. The weekly threads have a good mix of starters, in-betweeners and maintainers. Welcome!

Thanks so much Caronl. Oh that is a great term, that is my goal, for this not just to be a diet but rather to change my attitude to food in general so that is really helpful thank you.

My next question is a practical one for anyone living in the UK – I’m struggling to find kelp noodles in any shops, does anyone know a reasonably priced supplier, or have other suggestions for substitutions?

Thanks

Hi gokiniruth
I don’t live in the UK, but you will find sea kelp noodles at any Korean grocery store. They are called CheonSaChae in Korean. They would be fairly cheap there. Or if you are not in an area with Asian grocery stores, try online like https://www.realfoods.co.uk/product/1408611870/kelp-noodles-raw

A Korean friend of mine is going to get me some this week as I also want to try them.

This sounds like a yummy recipe using the noodles : https://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/healthy-paleo-kelp-noodles-poached-chicken-miso

Merry

I actually like fasting because it is less work since I eat completely different make from my family.
I’m okay, still struggling with consistency.
My goal right now is to focus on what food really is and how genuine hunger feels. I feel like I did better when I grasp the simple truth that food is to nourish our bodies, not comfort wounded hearts or fill voids in our day.
I have a congregation picnic this Saturday, but until then I am going to focus on drinking water, reaching my daily goal of 15,000 steps, and meditating on why I am losing weight and what is behind my recent struggles.

Hi Merry,
That’s great thank you. I’m always happy to try out new recipes so I’ll give that one a go thanks.

Hi gokiniruth, a quick tip about kelp noodles. They are very crunchy fresh out of the bag and a lot of people find the texture unpleasant, more like plastic than noodles. They can’t be twirled and basically can only be eaten if you break them into small pieces. Cooking them does not alter this texture. After long trial and error, I found the best way to prepare kelp noodles is to relax them before adding them to your dish. This softens them and makes them a perfectly neutral noodle, like a glass or rice noodle.

Acid will do this, but takes a long time. For instance if you mix them with a dressing high in vinegar/lemon juice and let them sit for a few hours or overnight, they will soften. If you don’t have the time or inclination to plan ahead like that, the simple solution is to soak the noodles for a few minutes in a solution of warm water and baking soda. Fill a large bowl with a couple of quarts of warm water, add a heaping tablespoon of baking soda and stir until it dissolves. Add the noodles and sort of swish them around with your hand, untangling the threads a little. Let them sit until you see the rigid kinks smooth out, 3-4 minutes. Rinse and drain in a colander. Now they’re ready to add to your dish.

Welcome to the forum!

Oh thank you Esnecca, that’s good to know. I’ve never tried them so I think I would have been disapointed without your advice about soaking them. I will still try them but at least I know what I’m expecting now.
Are there any other low carb noodleish options out there that you know of? Thanks.
Gokini x