our weekly thread for the old and the new! To help guide us through this amazing WOE/WOL❤️ Good evening all, as you know the lovely lady Wendy started back at work today and has asked me if I can start our new week. She has a busy week of meetings coming up and didn’t want us to go without our little lifeline. I am sure she will jump on when she can and help us on our way. I am also sure you will all join us here and wish her all the best in her first week back. So here is to another week here and to all of you we wish a great one. Birdy💞🦜

Hi Birdy, another week in the WOE and for me it’s time to fast. You have been so strong in (mostly) keeping to the woe even when it was difficult. I wish you relief from the toothache soon.

Last week I was celebrating desserts and baking cakes (and eating them of course) this week I’m feeling heck, my waist is enlarged! I had better sort it out soon. I have had my share of cake for the moment.

Jennie10 gave a wonderful account on the roadtrip of how her 3 year anniversary has come up recently, and how she handles staying with this. It’s how I want to be too. Eating low carb, not calorie counting just keeping portions under control.

Scottishgal, you are doing so well; you are beating your cravings at work. Keep on keeping on.

Thanks, Birdy – posting over here now!

Whoops – meant to post on this thread so copy/pasting!
Arcticfox – I just want to say thank you for the link you posted from Dr Unwin. I just sat down and watched it and it’s all so helpful.. Plus, as an experiment, I did the GRIN exercise as it relates to weight loss (although I could do one for many areas of my life and that might be a next step!) and sent it to my therapist for us to go over. Thank you, it was really helpful!

Hello, I am very new here and wanted to say hi. I am a little late to this week, am rereading the books today and starting tomorrow. I have 20kg to loose and excited to get started! Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you x

Hi folks, how I use the breathalyser to check for ketosis. You may need to experiment depending on the length of time your counter takes and your lung capacity, but its the last of your breath out that you need to get into the tester. How I do it is I take a deep breath and hold it when I press the button to start the count down. Mine counts down from 100, when it gets to 30 I start to say the count down out loud so I am slowly breathing out, which means when it beeps to indicate start blowing into it, I am blowing the very last of the air in my lungs into the machine.

As to readings, the ketones in your breath are the by product of burning fat as your fuel source, so any reading above 0 means you are burning fat.

I doubt given the price of the units that a lot of work goings into calibrating them in the factory.
However, I have two of the same model. ( My first one started draining batteries in days, so I wondered how reliable its read out was. When you consider the price and use against using a blood tester it had saved me over £500 in test strips against the cost of using a blood tester before it got to that point so it had certainly paid for itself 🙂 They give a similar reading but seem to take a slightly different amount of time in the count down.

Morning all feeling bloated again today! I have noticed that my double chin has grown a little too!! So maybe I did more damage than I thought😢. Or it could be because I have an inflamed gland in the left side of my neck die to abscess! I have ordered some naturally fermented kimchi/kraut that is organic so I am hoping it will help replace all that the penicillin has taken from my gut! I feel like I have a blockage/pain low down on my left side! Ah well I am sure now that I am back in the wagon it will sort itself out👍. I hope you have a great day.💞🦜

Morning Cpa10 and welcome to the forum. To start with you have done a good thing already by deciding to try this WOE(Way Of Eating) and joining in. I know if hadn’t joined the forum I wouldn’t have done so well. We all make rookie mistakes and that is what we are all here for to guide and support. We have some great ladies that are very knowledgeable and love the science behind it all and explain it to us in layman’s terms😉. Most of us stick to 20g or less of carbs a day. To start with you could try 50g of carbs and then lower as you go, as some people get carb flu when they give up processed carbs. So take it easy and see how you go. Get rid of all the rice, pasta, bread and potatoes, these are what cause us the problems as they turn to sugar and make us retain water. You need to make sure you drink at least 3ltrs of water everyday and if you can stay away from alcohol for the 8 weeks. Everyone discards differently and we try not to weigh ourselves as it is the inches that seem to move more than the scales as water weighs heavy and so does the food you have in your system. I am sure JGwen will be along soon and explain it better. You will have noticed a search bar in the top right hand corner and if you type in a few key words in what you would like to know I am sure there is a thread somewhere with the answers. If you fall off of the wagon at anytime please don’t beat yourself up as we all do it. So all the best on your journey and I am sure soon enough you will be writing your success on here.🤗 Birdy 💞🦜

Hi everyone, this is week 2 of my reboot and I have lost 1.5lbs – as already said, it would have been 2.5lbs but I am still stupid enough to think I can get away with a few wines. Worked out I have gained around 11 lbs since Xmas and that is probably a good goal to aim for on my new 8 week plan having already lost 1.5 that would make a total of 12.5lbs. Fortunately my Blood Glucose is still down and was 4.2 this morning. I will know more after my HbA1c next week. Here’s to another week.

By the way cpa10, you are not late, today is the first day. For some reason when Verano and I always started the diet on a Tuesday. When V started the weekly threads she continued to use Tuesday as day 1. Just a little quirk.

Hi JGwen – thanks for the info but I think mine is a dud. It only gives you 10 seconds to blow and I don’t get any readings at all. Think it might be going back…

Hi everyone. Second day under my belt and more little gifts from my young pupils ( a little bouquet of wild flowers and a few sprigs of rosemary ( he told me he thought about including mint too , bless him !!) Also 3 little bangles with an ‘I love you’ token attached .aaawwww !!!! I think my kids are slightly relieved to see me back 😉 I hope they don’t bring me Haribos or gummy bears next eeek !!
Back to my fasting ..did my first 46 hours for several weeks. one advantage of being back at work 😉 I haven’t been weighing every week SG… I am happy just checking every 2/3 weeks .Hoping to report numbers in the 11 stone bracket soon.

It is a bit disconcerting but some of my colleagues were wondering if my sick leave and weight discard were connected ! Fortunately they say in the next sentence that I am looking well 😉 Phew ..

Hi cpa10 ! You have already received the special Birdy welcome. You will find all the support and advice you need on the thread ..just give us a shout !
Wishing everyone a very successful Week xxx

JGwen, thank you so much for your comment on breathalysers, that any reading above 0 means the presence of ketones and therefore fat burning. I saw online that I needed to be 0.5 to 1.5 to be in Ketosis for fat burning but then when my breathalyser arrived I tried repeatedly and cannot get above 0.48. I was pretty unhappy given that by that point I’d been fasting for 24 hours, and coming off less than 20g carbs when I am eating. So I was bitterly disappointed that I wasn’t in the fat burning range. But then I saw your post and realised I was obsessing overly about the precise numbers. That any non-zero number is good. I will use it to monitor what different meals/ different fasting durations do to the numbers, but will try not to obsess. Like the scales lol

Hope everyone has a good day, Elky

Thank you so much Birdie,
That is all such very helpful information! And thank you for the welcomes everyone. I am looking forward to sharing my success and hearing of others. Have a great week,
Carly

No problem Cathy we look forward to hearing your success too.❤️

I am happy the sun is shinning again but not so happy that I now have my night shifts to complete. I have been reading Dr Fungs complete guide to fasting and he said it is inherent that. Ichthyosaurs shift workers become obese! I think he is on about people who work all the time on nights and I only do two. But also I am now going to get back into my fasting which will mean not eating at work at all once I have cracked it😂. I hope all you lovely people have a great day. Keep on keeping on guys. Birdy 💞🦜

It’s lunch hour and I have a few minutes to check in. Hope everyone is having a good day. Our thread has gone a bit quiet ? Where is everyone ?

Another fasting day for me.

I will be back later xx

Morning afternoon everyone. Hello Wendy yes it is very quiet in here😢. I am sure they are all busy burning fat and planning all their lovely BSD meals.😂❤️ I hope everyone is having a good day so far?

So I am one night down, only one more to do. I did speak to my old boss last night and she said that I could go back to my old department on days if I needed too. So watch this space as I may be back into the land of the living very soon. I weighed in yesterday and I am 1lb down so now 15 stone 6. I am pleased with that as I thought I would have gained with all that has been going on and my consumption of not so BSD friendly food and drink last week!😂. I am also well into fat burning again and yesterday I had my chia seed Jam in my yogurt so the fibre intake was better yesterday.

I have discovered by getting to the end of Dr Fungs book that there are some lovely recipes to try and the bone broth recipe(funny what you discover at the end of a book😉). So I am looking forward to my first fast in weeks this weekend!

Hope you all have a fab afternoon and keep on keeping on. Birdy 💞🦜

Hi Birdy and Wendy. It seems quieter to me, too!!! I have some grand news today, though 🙂 After 8 weeks of
being quiet, my repaired computer is back in the house! Did any of you feel the ground beneath your feet shake?
I’ll soon be “back in business” with all of my usual chatter! Oh what a relief to ditch my jerryrigged alphabet. I’ve
felt bound and gagged all of these weeks! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

Yay Allie no more need for the enigma machine to decode your posts😂❤️. I think life is busy and people have so much to contend with on a daily basis that sometimes it is hard to find time to post. I am sure they will all be back when they can. Yes nights would be good to get rid of but we shall see! Glad your back up and running! Please keep all fluids and burny things away from your laptop! We miss your enthusiasm and kindness on here lovely Allie.🤗😇❤️. Birdy xx

I wrote a long reply to the thread on my phone, one false move and that’s it …it disappeared !! Grrr
Patience, patience.
As I was saying…we are glad to see you back with a fully functioning keyboard Allie but we had got used to your eccentric spelling 😉 Feel free to chatter as much as you want.We love you !!
Birdy I am so glad your shifts look likely to change.That will make things so much more manageable for you and your son too . You give so much of yourself, it’s time to think of you ! Well done on your discard !! We have absolutely no doubt that your strength and determination will get you where you want to be.You are so open to suggestions and tips ..it’s refreshing to see how you have embraced this WOE in your inimitable Birdy style !!
No gifts of gummy bears and other sugary monstrosities from the kids today, thank goodness 😉 My bouquet of wild flowers is holding up on my desk sitting in a Heinz baked beans tin ( visual aid )
I had to give the kids a talking to about sugar.It is shocking to see them sharing out lollipops, sticky chews etc in the playground every morning before classes even start !! To be honest the staffroom is not much better. This time of late report meetings equates for many with sugary comforts ..plastic tubs of Haribos, multicoloured fondant lumps, biscuits and chocolate !! So there you have it ..even for French teachers …long days = deserved treats=comfort = sugar !!!
Hope everyone is well and happy xx

You have the willpower of a…well something that has extreme willpower, Wendy! I don’t like fake fruit flavored candy or the stuff that kids typically like but biscuits and chocolate in my face would be hard to say no to. They served us pizza at my CASA training last night and it smelled so good but I resisted and concentrated on the case study instead.
Hope the week is going well for everyone xx

ooh no, Kirsten your honour …they hold no appeal for me whatsoever !!
Well done on resisting the pizza !!!!

Wendy is telling me that I must let you all know that I passed Spanish II with an A – I told my brother, I was happy but surprised. His response “Why? Were you expecting an A+”…

Wendleg beat me to it, but agree with her Kafin on ignoring the pizza! Wendleg there was an article in newspaper today about some parents in Paris being up in arms because their children were given “triangular sandwiches” for lunch at school – and tomatoes which according to one mother “were supposed to be local and organic, but came from Spain….” – odd if they also fund sweeties on the side! I was very buoyed by an email from Kafin (who has seen a pic of me in rear view…) saying I was “slender”! If only Kafin! But it was really uplifting!
Birdy, I was a bit non-plussed by your ref to “ichthyosaurs” doing night shifts the other day; I had to google and ichthyosaurs were marine dinosaurs. I’m confused! Regular day shifts for you would I am so be so much better – but maybe you would not clock up 23000 steps in one shift, which I still find amazing! And Allie, I will miss your unique code – you could immediately see who was posting! Shellbob, are you back and how was Scotland? All best to all xx

and well done on the Spanish! Tell your brother to get back in his basket….

6T it was a complete predictive text malfunction 😂😂💞🦜

What wld it have been without the malfunction?? I am intrigued!

Thanks 6T – my brother cracks me up but he is genuinely very supportive! And yes, everyone, she is slender, and looks great in jeans!

I must apologise for not being around much. Been busy with work and family stuff.
Well done Kafin. That’s a fantastic result. You must be well chuffed.
Glad your first week back at work is going well Wendy.
Great to be able to read your posts Allie without having to concentrate on the translation.
I’ve made low carb chocolate peanut squares, low carb chocolate muffins and low carb chocolate chip cookies. They were all so easy to make. This could be a turning point for me in providing me with my much needed treats.😀
Still struggling with the breathalyser. I’m guessing that I’m not yet in ketosis. I met up with my daughter on Tuesday night and she wanted to go to Pizza Hut…..so that screwed everything up for me.
Although, I did go to jewellers as my ring was getting really loose and I was worried I’d lose it. Turns out I need it reduced by THREE sizes. That was a pleasant surprise and has spurred me on.
I’ve gained 6lbs over the last couple of weeks but the scales haven’t budged at all this week so I really do need to try harder. BG levels are still low though and that’s my main objective.
Hope everyone else is doing well

Well done on avoiding sweets and pizza everyone! And well done on your Spanish Kafin. Wendy – my sister is a teacher too and unfortunately she has not managed to avoid the treats in the staff room. Actually at her school, they are all under pressure to contribute, so she bakes frequently as well. She is now extremely obese and we are all very worried about her, but she’s not ready to change yet.
I have had a bit of a weird week so far. Very stressful few days at work at the start due to a horrible task that I was under a legal time frame to complete. The good thing was that it kept me away from my desk and on my feet for 3 days. I was eating fairly well for the first 2 days, but then after we finished yesterday, things fell apart a bit and I fell victim to temptations.
However, things have been very educational as I have had the opportunity to wear a continuous glucose monitor for the last 2.5 days. I have it available to me for up to 28 days. I am not diabetic, but have reactive hypoglycemia, so it has been great to be able to see what happens to my glucose levels when I eat different things. I was ticking along nicely for the first couple of days with fasting levels between 3.8 and 4.4 mmol/L and levels after eating usually no higher than 5.7, although a handful of grapes eaten by themselves spiked me up to 6.7 within 30 minutes. Grapes eaten at the end of a BSD friendly meal did nothing. The palak paneer that I was taking to work for lunches barely registered any change whatsoever. I ate it one day without any exercise after and then the next day with a 10 minute walk following, which dropped my levels by 4 points. However, after breaking down last night and eating frozen pizza, things have gone a little strange. I did spike up to 6.9 within an hour after eating it, which is understandable, but my overnight pattern was really off from what I was seeing the last 2 nights. My levels were really slow to come down and I had a weird little upward lift around 2 am before it trended downwards again. By this morning, I was still at 5.7 (after 11 hours fasting while asleep!). I had a planned to eat later in the morning, so I wasn’t too worried as I thought it would come down, but it had only dropped to 5.3 by the time I was ready to go out for a walk (off work for the next few days, so time to do this!). When I came home, I was at 4.8 and I had my usual flax, chia porridge with yogurt, raspberries and a few blueberries. It didn’t cause me to go up at all, but then 2 hours later, I had crashed to 2.2 and the reader was sounding an alarm! I felt fine, just a little hungry. This particular monitor apparently has a reputation for not being very accurate on the low readings, so perhaps it wasn’t that low. But as I was hungry, I had lunch anyway and things seemed to have stabilized again for now.
Anyway, I still don’t fully know what to make of things yet, but I think it is showing that grapes (at least by themselves) and frozen pizza are off the menu! I always knew I could have a crash a couple hours after eating a high carb meal if I didn’t have enough fibre, fat or protein with it, but I never expected one bad meal could impact me so much the following day as well. I really now wonder if a bad meal one evening might have been causing me to have hypos even as late as the next afternoon and that was maybe at least partially what was sending me running for the sugary snacks. Anyway, very reassured to see that my levels are staying within normal range on the top end, but it will be interesting to see if anything else I’ve been eating causes my system to struggle to right itself.

Hi everyone! Many interesting posts this week – thank you.

Articfox – your pizza experience reminded me of MM’s documentary where he looked at the effects of eating later in the day https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/gQz8NQDFVrkhy25ZxwKfqc/is-eating-in-the-evenings-bad-for-me It showed that foods eaten later showed a much longer lasting and rising spike that the same meal eaten at lunch.

Hi Birdy – would be terrific if you can do days again and I hope that works out. Can you tell me which of Dr Fung’s books had the recipes in the back – I will request it from my library.
A bit of sunshine in Melbourne today – and we are having a Long Weekend for the Queen’s Birthday. Her real birthday is in April I think, but we always have the holiday on second Monday in June.

I have had a stable week weight wise – keeping carbs low, but cals more at a maintenance level. I will get back to 800cals next week. Tomorrow is World Gin Day and I am going out with a friend who is celebrating completing her degree – so a couple of cocktails will be consumed! 🍸🍸
Happy Friday!

Morning merrymelba I love Gin and I am going to a Gin festival in July 🤗. Glad you have had a pretty good week❤️ The book I have is The Complete Guide to Fasting. Avocado fries and pork scratching coated chicken thighs! Yum yum 😋. Speak to you soon lovely. Birdy 💞🦜

Avocado fries??? That sounds so good, Birdy!! I’m currently reading Gary Taubes book as recommended by lovely Allie (welcome back!) but will put this one on hold at the library next. Thanks for the recommendation!

Hi everyone, really just dropping in to say hello.

MerryMelba, enjoy your cocktails, that sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate many things!

Kafin, great result on your test, congratulations.

Not a great week for me so far, I think I’ve had some kind of bug in my system as I couldn’t stick to fasting for more than 24 hours. I did manage to stick to low carb, but the calories were definitely too high. Then this morning finally made it through to 36 hours but felt deathly when I got out of bed: dizzy and shivery and horrible. Felt no better when I got to work, so I gave it up as a bad joke and had breakfast at a cafe downstairs. And after that I felt right as rain. Alas I ate the toast so it was not remotely low carb, but boy did I enjoy it. I know I’ll pay for it, but it’s done so I won’t beat myself up about it. Lesson learned is that I should have had something to eat before I left the house, not tried to push through and hope for the best. When I feel that bad, eat.

Second lesson is that I should have had something quick in the fridge that I could have grabbed, like a hard boiled egg or something. Ah well, chalking it up to experience and hoping next week is better.

Have a great weekend everyone, Elky

Hi MerryMelba, thanks for the link, it is really interesting information. When I look back to before I started to gain weight, my lifestyle was very different. I was a very early riser, either going to the gym before work or in earlier years going rowing in the mornings. I went to bed no later than 9:30pm and never ate after 6:30 pm. Now I get home around 8pm and I’m often hungry as I won’t have eaten much if anything since lunch at 12:30pm, so I start cooking and may not eat my evening meal until 9pm. That is certainly what happened last night, so could be why I had such an extended rise and fall of my glucose levels. Tonight I had lentils with asparagus and zuchinni, but still at 9pm, so will be interesting to observe what happens overnight in contrast to the pizza. I have seriously considered taking my evening meal with me in the morning as well and eating it at work before I go to look after my horse, and then not eating once I get home. It could very well be better for my blood sugar levels, and would give me a greater window of fasting each day as well.

In other news, I sat on my horse for the first time in 11 months today and had someone lead me around in walk for about 5 minutes. He was a very good boy and I felt so loosened up through my back and hips afterwards. I’m still wary about turning my head while on him as I’m concerned about losing balance (hence the person leading and being in the school by ourselves with no other riders in there), but it was a small step in the right direction!

Great news that you are back in the saddle Articfox. 🐎 I bet that bought a huge smile to your face.
Perhaps the earlier eating could be worth a try for a couple of weeks? I sometimes work a 5pm-9pm or 8pm shift, and I end up having my dinner at around 4pm. When I get home I do have something – but perhaps just a bit of cheese or a small serve of yogurt.

OMG I have got to have a rant !!

I have just seen an advert for “Mug Shots’ on British Tv. Sachets of ‘pasta in a rich creamy sauce’ which you prepare in a mug and pour boiling water onto leaving to stand for 5 mins .

What on earth is the world coming to when these Frankenfoods are being manufactured in 2019, which they say are ‘made with natural ingredients’ !!!!!! ???

Ingredients
Dried Pasta [Durum Wheat Semolina, Spinach Powder], Dried Glucose Syrup, Potato Starch, Cheese Powder (5.8%) (from Milk), Whey Powder (from Milk), Palm Oil, Natural Flavourings (contain Barley, Milk, Celery), Salt, Onion Powder, Milk Protein, Dried Parsley, Stabiliser (Dipotassium Phosphate), Emulsifier (Mono and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Yeast Extract, Fortified Wheatflour [Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin]

46g of carbs in one delicious serving in a mug !!!!!!!!!
I felt like chucking something at the telly !!

HIDEOUS, Wendy! What a revolting brew of chemicals! I feel sick…I’m sure it’s loaded with salt, too! I need to send you
a pkg. of foam balls that my cousin sent to me, which I actually do fire at the telly from time to time. The flat screen is @ 15′ from my chair, so I usually miss by a mile, but I did connect with such vengeance one day that I almost knocked it over!
There are two companies that peddle preprepared diet food here, which they ship to you. In advertisements, what I see
is a plate piled how with waffles, pizza, and some gooey chocolate cake! I don’t even want to think about the
artificial sweeteners and “fake” food in those packets. It’s borderline criminal, actually. These outfits are invested in
keeping us ill, and are filling their pockets while doing so. I feel your outrage, and share it! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Oh yes, something
called “turbo shakes” go along with these programs, too! Imagine what they contain…

Thanks, Elky – hope you’re feeling better. I know it’s not good for us but there is something so comforting about toast when you’re not feeling good. I bet it didn’t do much damage and sounded like you really needed to eat.
Thanks Arcticfox, I’m glad Spanish is done for now, I need a break!
Scottishgal – I was actually really impressed that you only gained 6lbs since I know we’ve both been struggling and I gained about 10lbs both times I fell off the wagon so I don’t think yours is too bad (and that’s great about the rings)! What I do notice though is that my weight returns within about a week to very close to my lowest weight on this WOE. I suspect it’s because after I lost the initial 15lbs, nothing happened for 6 weeks so I think my body got used to a new set point. I’ve been back on track now for 5 days and lost a little over 5lbs but I don’t count it yet as I have 5 more to go to get back to where I was and that is where I usually quit. So, I’m doing things a little differently – still counting the calories but not sticking to 800 (although I don’t think I’ve gone over 1000) and staying around 20-25g of carbs. Since I’m losing, it’s working and more importantly, I haven’t had a binge in five days which to me is a bigger achievement. I’ll gradually add in changes like stricter TRE, drop the calories a bit, and exercise, once I feel more like I’m on my way.

Happy weekend everyone x

Kafin, that is great news, and really good to hear you so positive! I would definitely count those 5lbs, and not foresee “quitting”. I know we haven’t heard from Shellbob for a bit, but do you remember, she had this fear that she would never get below 93 kgs I think it was, because on all previous “diets” that had been the sticking point. She smashed through that, and then some! It is a really grey, wet, dreary morning (another one..) in London today, so can foresee a day of snuggling up with dogs and cat with a good book. Hope all have a good weekend. xx

That’s great Kafin. Well done. I too got back on track on Monday, with the exception of pizza hut with my daughter on Tuesday night. I expected to gain on Wednesday as a result but I stayed the same. So, I’ve been really good all week with no binges and no trips to the vending machine. The scales have been exactly the same reading every morning since last Saturday. I kept thinking and hoping maybe they will eventually move on Saturday (today). Oh they did move alright……but up by 2lbs!! That’s me now 8lbs higher than my lowest weight on this WOE and now 12lbs from target. I’m so disheartened and depressed about it. My initial thought was just to gorge on chocolate and give up. But I’ve decided to try and fast today and drink more water. Surely things will improve next week. Maybe my weight loss works in arrears and a good week last week will show up next week. I can live in hope…..
Weather here today is dismal (dreicht as we say in Scotland lol) so I can’t even go for a walk.
Hope everyone else is doing well and has a great weekend

Don’t you dare gorge on choc , Scottishgal, I am watching you !! That is called self sabotage and will only make you feel worse.

I have learned not to focus on the scales but just to consistently maintain good habits and including my 2 extended weekly fasts. I am not a fast loser. 12 stone this morning but discard is slower. That’s still a 4 stone discard so I am happy and will never look back.

Have you thought about trying fasting when you are at work so the vending machine doesn’t even get a second thought ? I doubt I could manage fasting when I am home.I certainly didn’t even try when I was here for 3 weeks.

There is no point being disheartened and depressed. You can get to where you want to be but I suspect you are still allowing yourself occasional diversions and finding perfectly acceptable ‘excuses’ for them. Take your time but to really crack this you have to banish those carbs and find alternatives which are just as appealing.

I sound like a right nag !
Food is food Scottishgal. It is for nourishment and we can choose it to do our bodies good or to make us feel crap .

Don’t get down, get determined 😉 xxxx

Thanks Wendy, as usual you make perfect sense in all that you’ve said.
I suppose you being unable to fast at home is equivalent to me being unable to fast at work. At home it’s much easier for me to keep myself busy and distracted from food. I’ve only got 3 more weeks of full time work before I drop 2 days so I reckon I can do more fasts then.
I think I’ll just need to stop being so impatient. My bg levels are still low and ultimately that’s the main thing for me……so it’s not all bad.
I realise it’s not all about the scales but to gain 8lbs in a short space of time when I’ve been no where near as bad as I was in the past just shocks me. For over a year I stayed at the same weight give or take 2-3lbs while eating all the crap of the day including loads of chocolate and biscuits. My bg levels were rising all the time and meds increasing but weight was static. There’s no logic!

Hi all, was just reading the real BSD recipe book to get some inspiration for a lunch where I have nothing planned or shopped for and noticed in the golden rules to remember vinegar for weight loss and blood sugar control. I have been using lemon juice in place of vinegar as some vinegars (ie balsamic) can be high in carbs but for the amount you use it is worth it to get the chemical interaction with oils. So my cobbled together lunch is a variation on a Greek salad as I have feta in the freezer, cucumber and baby gem lettuce in the fridge and can add some walnuts for crunch.
Still on a 3lb loss and doctor gorgeous is not going to be happy as it is a 2kg gain since my last check up. But I have no plans for holidays, no expected visitors, no birthdays to celebrate so I reckon I can take it gently to lose the weight. I will have to see what my blood tests throw up with the HbA1c but trust everything is fine as I almost never break the no carb rule but have had a few cocktails on the cruise. Test is first thing Monday morning so I will be fasting from 8.30 pm Sunday.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend – lottery numbers were crap this weekend so I am still not rich with money but rich with life.

Scottishgal, keeping your bg levels low is a massive achievement so don’t underestimate that. Don’t be tempted to revert to past habits where you maintained by eating lots of crap. The health issues were much more disturbing for you then.
You are doing yourself so much good by refusing Galaxy and biscuits.
Hormonal issues might be affecting you at the moment ? You are 51 right ?

That’s good news about your being able to fast at home so go for it ! You will feel so much better also when you reduce your working hours .

Yes, don’t too too impatient as this is a life time change.
Have a good weekend xx

Thanks Wendy. I really appreciate your help, support and encouragement. You’re a star!
And yes your comment about hormones echoes my mum’s lol. I’ll be 52 next month……but at this rate I won’t be at target by my birthday…….but will be much healthier than I was last year

Hi Scottishgal,
No matter how hard we try to remain logical, those scales do keep on playing with our minds. –

One of the benefits of fasting and eating low carbs is the increase in growth hormones, which increases bone density and muscle quality. Both of which will cause a rise in the scales. – Gaining lbs and loosing inches does happen. – That’s where my body has been at for the last few months.

If you are worried about your doctors fixation on scales, why not gather information using a tape measure or photographs to show that your shape has improved? Maybe this article will help. https://idmprogram.com/why-does-body-composition-matter-women-and-fasting-part-4/

Hi SG, your Greek salad sounds fab . Yes, all the best for your appointment with doctor gorgeous on Monday.You are absolutely on the ball with your blood glucose levels so we have no doubt all will be well.

The weight discard will continue .You have all the beautiful summer to look forward to and our fantastic markets. Yes, I don’ t care about being rich either. Being happy and healthy and knowing my family is as well is enough for me.

We have lots to be thankful for .

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. xxx

Excellent advice and very relevant information as always JGwen ………..thank you !!

Those pesky scales cause so much unnecessary distress

Having no binges is fantastic, Kafin! I suspect that your low carb rate is helping a lot! You are seeing progress, even
with 1000 cal. a day. I’m always going on about the carbs, but I do see them as being even more important than
hitting 800 calories per day. You will get there! We believe in you 🙂

Scottishgal, I understand how you feel about “getting away” with pizza night out! Some times the price we pay
doesn’t appear on the scales for several days! It’s a trick! 🙂 And an evil one at that…. I never get away with
anything either.

Keep your spirits up everyone! I’ve read that you have a week of rain and cool temperatures ahead. Perhaps
this is typical in the UK? Snuggle up with a good book! At least your gardens won’t need to be watered for
awhile?!

Hello, I haven’t posted in a while, but have checked in every day to read how you all are. After losing almost 1.5 stones in the first 6 weeks, I have been coasting and lacking motivation for the last three months, I am sorry to say.

However, I am trying to beat myself up less. Negative emotions and thoughts are no help to my mental health, and I often get angry about the power food and body image can have over us. So, I am concentrating on the good things that starting this WoE have created.

I have mainly been sticking to the low carb and high fat principles, which is getting easier as time goes on. I’ve stopped calorie counting though. One huge positive for me is that I haven’t regained any of the weight I initially lost. I am taking measurements once a month, and my waist size is continuing to reduce (6 inches gone!). I accept that I won’t lose any more weight while I am not counting calories, having an occasional biscuit at work and wine at the weekend. I am kind of at peace with that actually, and it feels good to be less negative about the number on the scales. Fitbit tells me that my cardio fitness has improved from poor to average and my heart rate remains much lower. Dropping two dress sizes has improved my confidence even though I am still around 3 stone overweight and I just feel better in myself.

I cleared out my kitchen cupboards last week. All the pasta and cans of kidney beans, chick peas etc went to the food bank donation point. The toaster is now packed away in the cupboard, so I have room for my new coldwater fishtank. I now have two beautiful calico shubunkin goldfish with swishy fan tails and they are just lovely to watch and quite calming.

Wendy, I am still eating sauerkraut and spinach every day! And with ref to the horrific Mugshots, these are actually recommended by a well-known slimming group in the UK. I did try the group and their reliance on crappy food was sickening.