Christine,
All good advice – thanks.
John

Hi john
🙂🙂 thinking about you
Christine

Christine,
Thanks.
The first trial (after dinner) is going to be an evening at the pub. I’ve offered to drive 🙂

Bill,
I agree about the injections – it’s after that it’s uncomfortable. I’m on monthly injections at the moment at the Bristol Eye Hospital so I’m getting lots of practice. 😉

John

Hi john
Good idea, you can do it!
Christine

I agree with Christine – a great idea offering to drive – they will end up encouraging you not to drink for the sheer convenience!! Well thought out, that man! 🙂

Hi all
I have a question!
Was talking to someone about the diet and she said straight away, ‘how does all that protein affect your cholesterol’, well I didn’t know what to say as I have never had a problem with cholesterol!
Also went out for lunch today with old college friends, one is disabled and just in remission from cancer and can’t put any weight on! The other lady is overweight with a very overweight husband who is diabetic, he does nothing to help in the house or garden, and does no excercise, she has multiple health issues, some of which are what I have had before the diet and don’t have now, hiatus hernias, causing acid reflux, you my drift? Anyway, she complemented me on my weight loss then said ‘I wish I could lose weight and hubby needs to too’ so I just said do the diet for both of you! She didn’t bite though! That’s twice that I have planted the seed with her, maybe next month!
Christine

Hi Christine,
maybe if you don’t call it a diet….. but a new way of eating? Introduce her to the idea of the Mediterranean Way of living – lots of fruit, veg, oil, full fat, cheese etc. She would probably get the benefits of that without the 800 or even 5:2 and it is more approachable.

Hi christine those of us who have had cholesterol tests have had lowered or normal cholesterol readings, so fat, protein etc don’t seem to have anything but a positive effect on cholesterol on this diet 🙂

Hope your friend thinks again about this diet 🙂

I’m not sure it was protein that was the worry with cholesterol but the fat attached to it. Anyway its been proved now that animal fat is not bad for us. And also, this isn’t a high protein diet. We are recommended 45g for women and 55g for men in the book which I is moderate protein. High protein is nearer 90g a day.

There’s none so blind as those who will not see. Its part of the human condition. Everyone of us has to have our own light bulb moment, our own epiphany. Until that happens you might as well talk Dutch to them. Be patient, they might get there by watching your example.

Hi orchid
Good idea! Will try that tack next month, she seems interested however She is hidebound by her husband and his views, it’s such a shame, she is such a lovely woman, thanks for the idea though
Christine

Hi Judith
Thanks for info on cholesterol, wish I could re-trace my steps and tell the person I was talking to that it doesn’t matter about the quantity of protein you eat! Thanks
Christine

Hi janet1973
Thanks for info, shows how much I know!
Hope she does give it some thought she would be so much healthier, as we all now know!
Christine

I must admit Janet that is the first time I have heard of protein being implicated in cholesterol !

Had this conversation last night with a physiotherapist (socially). She has to lose weight and get her cholesterol down so she’s eating veggies, grains, nuts, pulses, low-fat and taking statins.

Told her that folk on here are getting hood cholesterol results but just not interested. She’s seen my progress but discounts what I’m doing, and the whole BSD ethos.

Oh well, won’t have to see her again after August.

Hi captainlynne
As Janet said , there’s none so blind as those who cannot see!
I have another friend who had her kidney out last year( it was cancer, however they ‘got’ it all) she has put a lot of weight on and went to slimming world, she has lost a stone and a half and swears by low fat everything, and won’t hear the words you will put it back on plus when you finish the diet! I feel like I am in a time warp! or something!
Christine

You never know,Christine, you might have the chance again! 🙂

Hi Christi

Yes. The words horse, water and drink come to mind. Or a picture of head hitting wall😱 She cited ‘current research’ but discounted ours. Her choice.

Hope your friend listens at some point. I think most of us have been to SW and/or WW at least once, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve joined them!

Time for exercise everyone. All together now. Dancing shoes on?

“Let’s do the time warp again”

Janet is so right – none so blind -horse/water – my best friend’s partner has T2 retinopathy, kidney problems, nerve pain in feet and ‘wants’ to be well. Cooked some bsd meals for him, bought the book for him but he is still tucking into greasy greggs pastries, chocolate and cake. Its too much effort to change his habits. In a way that’s worse reasoning than ‘don’t believe in it’ 🙁

There’s no current research that favours a low fat diet over long term. Low fat has the biggest failure rate. Eg the Predimed research. Dr Jason Fung says that you can lose weight for a while on any system but keeping it off requires lowered carbs, higher fat and in his view some fasting. He describes several fasting patterns, including a 24 hr one (as an alternative to the 36 hour one in The Fast Diet). Basically this is just going from one meal one day to the same one the next with only liquids such as tea, water or broth. This gives the insulin production a rest.

Sadly bizibee the low fat diet is still being advocated by so many in authority ( and diet industries ) that it may take a long time before folks are hit with the facts 🙁

Hi Judith and Lynne and Janet et al
I will certainly keep on prodding my friend (kindly)! about the diet,
I have forgotten how many times I have been on a diet, I think I’ve tried them all! However this isn’t a diet is it? So here’s to my new life and way of eating, I just hope that my efforts bring about a change to the many friends I have that are overweight, when they see the change in me, ( I still have at least 21 lbs to lose!) good luck to us all, onwards and downwards.
Christine

Hi all,
I am going to look for the book about back pain and the one for the knees, I have forgotten the author and the exact titles, can anyone remember and let me know please?
Thank you
Christine

Christine,
“Treat Your Own Back”
Frank McKenzie
Good luck
John

Hi stringbreaker
Thanks John, cheers
Christine

Hi guys, just popping in for my now irregular visit. Everyone seems to be continuing on the right path. I thought I’d share a little graph I whipped up which is keeping my motivation high. So on the Jan 9 2016 at the start, I weighed 108.9 kg. So after 14.5 weeks, as at April 20 2016, I weigh 93.7 kg, 15.2 kg or 33.5 lb’s in old speak. I’ve been tracking my weight in the Apple Health app and exported it to produce this graph. The weight keeps dropping off albeit more slowly than the first weeks whooshka.

We are continuing to eat in the same manner but having a piece of fruit through the day and or slice of homemade wholegrain/seed toast, and not exercising any kind of portion control. I’m now making 3 kg’s of probiotic yoghurt a week just to keep up with demand in the family! Eggs and smoked salmon or yoghurt, berries and seeds for breakfast. Protein (tinned tuna or tinned salmon or chicken) and last nights left over salad with some yoghurt for lunch. BBQ Protein (Prawns/Salmon/Tuna/Chicken/Steak) plus Steamed Veg or Salad plus some sort of dairy ( Cheddar / Feta / Yoghurt / Haloumi ) for dinner. We mix up the salad ingredients every time with maybe 50% leaf + legumes + 5 or six other veg (fresh and or roasted) + homemade balsamic dressing. And a glass of white wine with dinner.

Still look forward to meal times and really not missing pasta / rice / potatoes / biscuits / cake etc and gave up sweetened drinks years ago. Not feeling the need to snack between meals, and if I do, it will be a handful of seeds / nuts / or a piece of fruit.

Exercise is now the occasional HIT on a bike but a very regular 45 minute walk every second day.

I’ve added some lines to the plot for my BMI ( based on my height of 1.78m – yours will be different lol )

https://www.dropbox.com/s/81nqmbxwral75zc/Weight.png?dl=0

What an inspiring graph, justabloke, visuals are great, aren’t they 🙂

Sure are. What’s really interesting to me is that the weight loss has followed a pretty steady slope since the initial rush. I was expecting it to slow up a bit, but it just keeps on going.

Hi justabloke I have noticed that the weight loss doesn’t slow down – for me it has only steadied once I increased my calories – but no starchy carbs. 🙂

Completed 18 weeks today and another 2 pounds lost. A total of 3stone 6 pounds (48 pounds) lost😃

BMI dropping and getting closer to overweight instead of obese 😃

Fantastic captainlynne!

Fantastic Lynne! 🙂

Hi All,

Spent one night in a hotel and fell badly off the wagon – I was horrified how easily the “old ways” could return – someone coined the phrase “Food Blackout” for it and that is so true – I found it frighteningly easy to allow myself indulgences. (Spelling?)
I have to shock myself into the “New ways” so am going “off-line” for a while.
I have reached the stage of significant weight loss with not far to go but difficult times ahead.
I have been here SO MANY times before and this is where it has all fallen apart EVERY TIME before.
I know the support from you all is marvellous, but I have to see if I can really adopt this new lifestyle on my own.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but going cutting the life-line will, I think help me.
Anyway, right or wrong, I’m unsbscribing until the middle of June.

Christine, I’ll have your shining light for “difficult times” to spur me on.
Lucia, I’ll keep a log of my walking and report honestly how I get on.

Onwards & Downwards

Over and out

John

Hi John,
Sad you won’t be around for a while 🙁
Will miss your humour and common sense, but you must do what you feel is right for you. Don’t give yourself too hard a time because of one lapse though.
All the best for the next few weeks, and we’ll catch up with all your news when you return to the fold 🙂

When to come off meds
Rightly or wrongly I stopped them when I started two weeks ago with readings over 9.5
Morning fasting now 6.5 and two hours after food 7.5
Today I got 4.5 an hour after lunch which kinda scared me so had boiled egg n butter
Lost one stone in two weeks ,zero booze biscuits bread etc no urges.
Weird
Alan cheers guys

Hello folks
I intended to post on here when I reached the 8 week mark but it has been a bit busy over the last few days so I’m a week and a half late!

At the 8 week line I had lost 30 pounds, and now at 9 ½ weeks I have lost a further 5. I can’t believe this! I have struggled with my weight for decades, but this way of life is amazing. I have had some hungry days, but most of the time I don’t think about food until I am coming up to a mealtime, and I am astonished at how long I can go between meals without more than a little stomach gurgling. I have had to adapt a lot of the recipes due to other issues – food intolerances and IBS – but I am well into it now, and it’s no problem. I have also bought some Mediterranean style cookery books for new ideas – obviously they have more carbs than I want but the flavours are good.

I recently went to visit a friend whom I hadn’t seen for some time, and she had lovingly baked a gluten and dairy free cake for me. I couldn’t disappoint her so I had a piece, and enjoyed it too. But I didn’t feel I had missed out by not eating carbs all these weeks, and interestingly didn’t feel I wanted more.

I thought I would just mention a few of the benefits I have found from being a good deal lighter, some of which I had expected, and some I hadn’t. Apart from knowing I am reducing my chance of having a stroke, heart attack and developing T2 Diabetes (my brother is a diabetic), and being kinder to my knees and hips, I have noticed many things I can do much more easily. These include getting in and out of a car, turning over in bed, getting out of low chairs, getting down on the floor and up again (to play with grandkids), bending over without getting breathless (shoe laces and gardening), eating at a table without tucking a napkin under my chin to catch spills (tummy no longer gets in the way!) and happily I am able to walk more briskly and with less effort.

I have also recycled or sent to charity shops 5 bin liners full of clothes!

My immediate family are very supportive, and I have a family gathering next weekend with people who don’t know what I’ve been up to so I hope to amaze them!

I am continuing with the 800 calories for the time being – up to 12 weeks anyway, as several posters on here are already doing successfully – and may go on longer.

I am a bit scared about what happens when I finally decide to come off the 800, as I don’t trust myself to take Michael’s advice and not count calories if I do 5:2. I have got my eating wrong for so long that I think it will be safer if I continue to count, but gradually increase the amount of what I eat until I find the level that will allow me to maintain my new size – though what that size will be is as yet unknown. I would like to lose 5 stone in total. If I achieve that I will then see if that feels right, or if I think further loss is possible/desirable.

I haven’t posted often on here, but I do read other posters’ contributions, and have found all your experiences both interesting and encouraging. I’ve never hankered to join any kind of slimming club, but this forum is friendly and easy, and I’m glad to be a member.

Hi gonnabedazzling,
Wow that’s a great start to your journey, I don’t say diet cause it’s a new way of life, of eating, well done and keep posting
Christine

Hi youaredazzling! What a success story!

Having reached a weight I am happy with I still eat the BSD way, I just have more calories but no starchy carbs. 🙂

Hi everyone,
I’ve not posted for a couple of weeks.
That’s me at the end of week 11, and on my weigh in on Friday I had a total weight loss of 41 pounds, one more pound and it would be 3 stone in total.
Weight loss has been a bit slower over the last 3 weeks, still managed 6 pounds though, 3 pounds, 2 pounds and 1 pound in that order. Hope it doesn’t level out and start going the other way 🙂
Still got a long way to go as I wasn’t to lose another 3 stone.

should have read “want to lose another 3 stones”

Bruno you and lynne are really losing a lot of weight! 🙂

Hi Judith
That is so frightening, just walking into such terrible health problems knowing he could avoid it. It can’t even be ‘it won’t happen to me’ because it already is.
Penny

I’m entering wk 8 and like others am finding this diet soooo very easy. I’ve lost 8+ kilos and will continue for another 8wks so that I can lose another 5 or so. I’m 57 and my weight was gradually creeping up through menopause. I didn’t want to end up a diabetic like my mum, so off it had to come. I’ve been very strict; not even tempted by chocolate over Easter. I’m amazed that I’m rarely hungry, cos before dieting I always felt hungry. Good luck to all those about to try it or already following it; you’ll feel amazing and it’s extra wonderful when other people notice the difference.

I know Penny, it’s so frustrating. He will go out to buy a takeaway because it’s “too much hassle” to make an omlette etc. 🙁

Thanks Christi1948 & Hashimoto!

I checked my BMI this morning captainlynne, and I have dropped 6.5 points. I’m a bit behind you, and have a stone and 6 pounds to go before I can describe myself as overweight! Whoever thought that would be something to aspire to!

Hashimoto, are you eating more fruit now on your maintenance plan, as this is something I miss ATM?

So, today I become a veteran! End of my 8 weeks, down 9.2kg (just over 20 lbs) and FBS mainly in the 5s. I will keep going, with a day or so break for Easter, as I still have some way to go.

Hi Kags
do they have Easter at different times where you are?
We had it earlier this month.

17 days in stone off
Wish I had a fiver for every comment of where’s your belly gone and how you do it

Buy the book etc
Alan not a diet guru 😅

Alan these days if someone asks without showing a real interest I just say “If it’s white, don’t eat it” or words to that effect 😉

Hi Bill,

Yep, they are Orthodox church over here and their Easter follows a different calendar to ours. Good for me though as I get two Easter holidays 😉