Brilliant news FGS26!
Isn’t it wonderful to rediscover a waist!! Well done!
Keep keeping on!

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I hope you have all had a good weekend!
My positives for today:
Over the weekend we celebrated our 28th anniversary 🥂🥂🍾🍾🦞🥙
I found butternut squash seeds had germinated in the compost bin, so I planted them up and am nurturing them in the kitchen! 🌱🌱🌱

I had an hour on the phone with a very “long standing” friend who I haven’t seen for over 5 years! 📞📞☎️😄

Just a quick post .

Happy birthday and anniversary Pootle.
Great news FGS!
Hi Julia hope you’re well.
Sunny ‘Bon Voyage’. Enjoy!
S-g ‘Bon Voyage’. Enjoy!

All going in the right direction here. Will post as and when but STAY POSITIVE!

Thank you everyone for your kind comments! What a nice bunch you are! I do like this thread. Been clothes shopping today at lunchtime and I am 2 sizes smaller! Eeeppp! That is an excited squeak if you need a translation. One a more serious note – sad but true – I don’t feel so ashamed when I catch a glimpse of. myself in the mirror. All of this is splendidly motivating! My husband and I will “graduate” in 2 weeks time but I am going straight on.to the 5:2 to continue to lost weight. I do have an ultimate goal in mind but the BSG is such a good way to start! I now have 3 other friends who have embarked on their BSG journey and we are swapping recipies!

Congratulations Pootle …. you guys married the same year as my OH and me, our anniversary isn’t until October though.
Bon voyage to you too V, hope things go well.
Hope you got some lovely new things to wear, FGS.

Couple of positives from me ….
🙂👍🏻 packing pretty much complete, just a few last minute bits to drop in.
🌸🌸 crazy excited that a dahlia I overwintering outdoors in a container wrapped in bubble wrap and horticultural fleece, has put up three lovely green shoots!!

What are your positives today?

Wishing all the travellers wonderful, relaxing holidays! Hope you all enjoy yourselves, indulging when appropriate…and I look forward to seeing you all back from your journeying!

FGS…a fresh wardrobe is so uplifting…and brilliant that you have spread the word. I feel so fortunate to have found the BSD and this ‘community’, it has improved my life so much!

Positives for today;
The long spell of sunny, warm weather is continuing…makes me feel good to be alive! ☀️☀️☀️
My seedlings are growing on…just have to prepare the veg garden soil ready to plant out! 🌱🌱🌱🫛

Hope you all have some positives in your day!

Me too, Pootle. And thank you for your kind words. Everyone has been so supportive and welcoming. Our final week of the diet and I’m a bit nervous about what comes after. I still have more weight to lose so I’m thinking of “graduating” onto the 5:2. Is that what everyone else has done? Grateful for any suggestions based on your experience of what works/what doesn’t work.

Positives for today:
Just like you, Pootle, the sunny weather makes me feel alive! It’s so uplifting!! (Just wish it was a bit warmer)
Have just organised a lovely birding holiday in Wales in May (my jam!!!)
Difficult to put my finger on the exact reasons but generally feeling positive and energised (probably another thing to attribute to the miracle that is the BSD)!

Have a lovely weekend!

Hi FGS, regarding graduation, there are many different possible next steps but the ones that work best and especially if you still have weight to lose are the ones that still involve intermittent fasting. 5:2 is just one option, I have also used 2:5, 3:4, 4:3, and 6:1 variants. (1:6 is a bit close to full Fast 800 to bother with usually). You can also just raise the calories every day, keeping the target below your basal metabolic rate and following the same principles but at 1000 or 1200 calories for example. Whichever you choose, you don’t have to stick with just one, just avoid the temptation to let up the control too soon.

Hi FGS,

I am sure we all do things slightly differently, depending on how much weight we still have to lose, whether we are diabetic, our way of life etc etc.
Mixnmatch has been around on these forums much longer that I have and really knows what suits most people. Personally, I kept to low calories and gradually started to increase portion sizes.

Hope all goes well.
x

Thank you, Pootle and Mixnmatch for your replies. I can see its a process of experimentation and I will monitor and adjust accordingly and, given the flying start, I will feel more confident going forward. Positives for today:
Lovely beach walk with the dog
Successfully tackled the ironing mountain (LOL!)
Bought a wooden egg instead of a chocolate one to celebrate the season!

Just popping in with a few positives. I haven’t been lacking positives lately just not been very active in reporting them.
As everyone has said wonderful weather makes us all feel brighter.

So to my positives ….

☀️☀️☀️ Sunshine has definitely been a bonus.

👩🏻👩🏻 hair cut and coloured. So feeling renewed.
👣💅👣 toes had lovely pedicure yesterday.
🧳🛩️🛳️ now just need to pack! Then we’ll be on our way!

Stay positive!

Have been enjoying everyone’s positives and just popping in with a couple of my own …
🙂🙂 we’ve got as far as Italy, currently dockside waiting to board the ferry to Greece
🚘🚘 journey so far incident free and we’ve met with friends and enjoyed some good food …. and yes, some wine too🤭

Keep posting those positives!

Enjoy your trips SG and V xx

I wrote a long post yesterday… but (somehow) between posting in Advice and uploading my post on here, I had been signed out, so lost it!! 🫣😩🤔
That wasn’t positive!!!!! 🤯
But:
1. We heard the Cuckoo yesterday, loud and clear, (so must have been close) for the first time in about 15 years!! 😄😄🐦🐦🐦
2. The swallows are back! So now have to leave the shed door open for them…and cover everything in pooping risk area!!! 😄😁🪶🪶🪶
Hope you are all having positives today!

Hope everyone has enjoyed a Happy Easter!

The weather has been lovely…
Positives for today;
1. I was treated to an Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate egg…and have been very good about not scoffing it all at once! 🐷 (It wouldn’t have lasted 24 hours in the past!!)
2. British asparagus…with hollandaise sauce….has been my easter special…yummmm!
3. All my seedlings are thriving…so looking forward to home grown Onions, Butternut Squash, Courgette, Celeriac, Leeks to eat and cornflowers, helichrysum, sweet peas and sunflowers for decoration! 🌻🧈🌱🫛🧅

Pootle thank you so much for keeping this thread alive. Apologies for being AWOL for so long, but I’m able to offer some positives…..
🙂👏🏻 progress has continued on our villa, thanks to the efforts of OH
🌞🌞 weather good and sunshine is definitely doing positive things for my wellbeing.
🍽🙂 discovered today, one of my favourites restaurants has opened for the summer season … yippee!!!
Hope there are some notable positives in your days too … why not tell us about them?

Sorry I haven’t been posting for a few days… TBH I have been struggling…BUT

1. Friends visited at the beginning of the week…great to catch up, and they liked the lower carb offering for lunch. (Although I did provide new potatoes also!)

2. I treated myself to a new handbag…I don’t need it, but it was too good a bargain to miss! (leather ‘cross body bag’ that will take my phone and purse, for £15.00!!!) I love a bargain.

3. The hot sunny weather has enabled me to wash curtains and mats, get them dry and replaced…so the house is a little brighter!

Hope you can find a few positives in your life. xx

I have so many positives right now I don’t know where to start, so the every day stuff is

sun is shining
enjoying time with family
planning for a new adverture by moving to the UK.

More positives to come.

Have just realised that I’ve been logged off from this thread!

So to some positives…..

☀️☀️☀️Lovely sunny weather here but no where near as warm as in the UK!
🥂🫒🥘 Lots of food glorious food and a few, or so, glasses of champagne thrown in! I’m going to miss this life but my waistline certainly isn’t. Can’t wait to get on the scales!!!
🐥🐥🐥 Nice to see my ‘chick’ and his ‘chicks’. Certainly miss my family being so far away and only getting to see them two or three times a year. But enjoying it while we can.

Stay positive!

Thought as I was here I’d pop by and post some positives….

☀️☀️☀️ Wonderful sunny weather here after a few cloudy days.

🛩️🛳️🧳 After extensive travels we are starting to think about packing to go home. Love being away but love my own bed even more! Just a few more days to go.

🎉🥂🎂 Our son’s birthday today so went to his favourite restaurant for lunch. The only place I ever order pasta because they make an amazing prawn tagliatelle. It was sublime!

Just one more ….
👧👑🏄‍♀️ Our ‘little princess’ is growing up so quickly. It’s amazing what happens in a few short months. It’s wonderful to spend precious time with her.

So all positive here. Please post some positives. We all have them just need to take a moment to jot them down.
If all else fails try and stay ‘positive’!

Positives for today

Mower is still in working order.
Gardener coming to quote for my 2 little potagers (veg patches) to be cleared as they are a real mess.
Nearly finished unpacking and 2 lots of washing done.

Love the positives on this thread and the quiet optimism of all of them – celebrating small wins as well as really big ones is a beautiful, mindful way of enjoying life and all its vicissitudes…. I have a huge positive I wanted to share with the group. My husband is no longer pre-diabetic. His latest blood test shows normal cholesterol and blood sugar levels!!! The GP is on record as saying: “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” So happy I actually cried. Love the old codger after all these years (30+) and he’s been given a new lease on life. Doesn’t get more positive than that!!!

Great news Fatgirlslim, it is so good to hear of someone beating diabetes. Keep on keeping on…

Positives:
I have a new app on my phone called Merlin. When I am out in the garden I switch the recorder on and this morning, in 3 minutes I recorded 6 different birds. Lots of Euraisian Blackbirds but also Little Owl, Golden Oriole and Blackcap. Try it.
Tidying the garden and house, getting ready to put it on the market but so much to do – positive it will all get done.
All the unpacking and washing done and put away – phew – only taken me 5 days 🙂

Yay: Fgs… congratulations to your husband. I did it last year (put diabetes into remission) with this way of life… keeping it up and have fingers crossed for results of blood test on Thursday. That was 12 months from the original test that showed me to be diabetic! It really does work!!!

Great to hear positives from (I hope you don’t mind me calling you this) old hands! You are inspirational that it can be done and life can be good going forward!

So for today:
Sun is STILL shining… 🌞🌞 almost unheard of in rainy Wales. Veg and cutting Garden is benefiting greatly and I am delighted to be able to get on with it having been unable for the last 2 years! 🌱🌱🫛🫛

My weight seems to have settled again.. having been yo-yoing! 😄😄😄

Husband’s birthday on Monday so really looking forward to eating out … a meal I don’t have to cook is a huge bonus!! 🥙🥗

Big thank you to all of you lovely positive people, who have been posting and keeping this thread alive.
FatGirlSlim, wonderful news about your husband, it must be a huge boost to you both and great that the doctor is so on board too.
SG, sounds like some decisions have been made during your time away, hope things go smoothly.
Pootle, hope your blood results are good …. sure they will be.
V, I know what you mean …. it’s wonderful to go on trips and often we don’t want them to end, but there is something very comforting about being home and in your own space again.
Sorry not to have been posting recently. It has been a strange time for me. My mother received a terminal diagnosis just before we left for Turkiye, so emotions have been running riot. However, the time has not been devoid of positives:
🙂🙂 has been lovely to catch up with friends in our second home in Didim.
🌞🌞 currently back in UK visiting my parents and very happy to say my mother is not much different in capacity, to when I saw her a month ago. We enjoyed a little light gardening together yesterday.
🙏🙏 grateful for family and friends who have offered and given support recently.

Please keep posting your positives.

Sunny so sorry to hear about your mum. Hopefully her illness will progress very slowly. Very difficult time.

Fatgirlslim great news! This way of eating does work. I’ve been in remission since 2017 and finally a few months ago I was taken of the ‘diabectic’ list. At last I’m ‘officially ’ in remission! As sunshine-girl says we just have to keep on keeping on to stay in remission.

Pootle hope your results are good …. I’m sure they will be.

So to my positives……

🧺🧺🧺 All my washing is done and now just sat in the basket waiting for a rainy day so I can iron!

🥗🥑🍓 Day three of healthy eating. It’s a real pleasure to eat ‘low carb’ again after so many carby extras.

✉️✒️✉️ Caught up with all the post and sorted out insurance claim for missed port. Amazing but filled in the form, received and replied to an email and 2 hours later the claim was settled! Must be a record!

Hope everyone is well and feeling positive.

Very sorry to hear about your mum SunnyB. Hope she is getting good care.

Positives
Sun is shining.
Trip to garden centre and bought 60 geraniums, 2 aubergine plants, 6 red peppers and a basil. Due for good weather so will be planting out over the next 2 or 3 days.
Weight down just over 2lbs in first week – slowly slowly suits me fine.
BG down from 125 to 85 today – but insulin injection still needs to be weaned down.
Just heard from builder that he cant do our job on Thursday as he forgot it is Pentecost – a holiday in France – what makes it a positive is it gives us more time to clear the garage of a lot of rubbish and get out the summer furniture.

S-g sounds like you’re going to be very busy!

☀️☀️☀️Weather still lovely here !

👩🏻🚿✂️ Hair cut and coloured so definitely a positive. Always feels good to have hair done!

🥗🍓🥑 Day 5 of ‘healthy eating’ and feeling much better than when I was eating ‘carbage’ willy-nilly! Feeling really positive in the realisation that low carb eating is definitely my ‘set way’ now.

Hope everyone has at least one positive today.

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to share a little positivity from the world of laundry. We know that laundry can sometimes feel like a never-ending task, but it’s also an opportunity to take a moment for self-care and mindfulness. Whether it’s the fresh scent of clean clothes or the satisfaction of folding a neat pile, these small moments can bring a sense of accomplishment and calm.

So, here’s to embracing the simple joys in our daily routines and finding positivity in the little things. Keep up the great work, everyone!

I have just washed and got all my bedding out on the line. It is hot here today so it will dry in no time. Thank you for your input collagelaundry.
Planted out 16 white geraniums.
Friends helped get cover off the pool so it is cleaning time which will take 3 or 4 days – it only had dust from the cover and a couple of dead toads but it needs to circulate and filter for a while.

1. Unexpected visit from our ‘best man’ bearing Vale of Evesham asparagus! A fantastic surprise! 🎉🎉
2. The sun continues to shine, (but…whisper quietly…we could do with a little rain overnight keeping the sunshine during the day! 🤔🙄🤣)
3. Alliums, Roses, Valerian, Sweet Williams, Spirea, Viburnum etc all flowering now… and the slugs haven’t found my Hostas yet! 🤞🙏

Hello!

Just thought I should post to keep this thread alive!

Not a great deal positive with me at the moment as I’m waiting for a CT scan result so a bit ‘at sea’ at the moment but yes still there are positives ……

🛩️🛳️🧳 Booked an extra cruise whilst on our last one. Back to back but different cabins. Yesterday the same cabin became available on both cruises! Win, win!

🧺🧺🧺 Finally got on top of all my washing. Only the ironing to do now! I know that’s not a positive !

🍓🥗🫒 Back into ‘healthy’ eating today. Long may it last!

Hope you all have some positives.

Verano, like you my not posting positives recently, doesn’t mean there haven’t been any, so thank you for posting some of yours and giving me a nudge to do likewise. I’m just going to randomly list a few of the recent ones …
🌸 though she tires easily now, Mum is still doing well, is still mobile and enjoying her normal routine as much as possible
🌸 enjoying wonderful weather in Turkiye, spending time with OH and catching up with friends
🌸 OH bought me a beautiful dress as a belated birthday gift
🌸 I’m all caught up on my favourite aussie soap
🌸 have been getting in quite a bit of painting time and enjoying being creative
🌸 and finally, youngest DD is about make an offer on a house, which if accepted would be her first house purchase 🤞🏻it goes well

Hi all, sorry I have been too busy for posting positives although my busyness is all to do with positive things happening.

Put the house on the market – for €30,000 more than 4 years ago. Where else can you make €30k in 4 years beside doing a job.
Garden looking lovely and garage is nice and tidy after having a false ceiling put in – because we had to clean it for the work to be done has now saved us a big job now.
Looking forward to planning and designing our new kitchen and bathroom and the house in the UK – got to sell this one first.
Weather is beautiful at around 28 degrees with 32 this weekend so hoping to be swimming soon.

Hello. Thought I should bring this post closer to the top!

S-g you’re having a really ‘positive’ time. Best of luck with the ‘selling’. Hope it’s smooth. Our neighbour passed away early in February and his bungalow went on the market a few weeks ago. An offer was made almost immediately and the subsequent sale has been agreed. Fingers crossed our new neighbours are pleasant!

Sunny glad your mum is doing as well as she can and you’re enjoying life in Turkiye.

So as I’m here I guess I need a few positives! Not so easy at the moment, not for any particular reason, but really need this thread ….

🛳️🛩️🛳️ A cruise we have booked for October is now on sale so I rang the agent for a repricing and had a lovely surprise! Nice refund to put towards another trip!

🍓🍓🍓 I have been buying the most beautiful strawberries just from our local supermarket. They seem to be really sweet this year.

That’s me for today but hope you all have a ‘positive’ day.

I haven’t posted for a while, but have been lurking!

So a couple of positives for today:
1. Husband has cleared the kitchen work surface that has been covered with leads, chargers, letters, bearings, a cv joint etc etc for over 2 years! I can actually see the surface and have been able to wipe it down!!! 🤔🫣
2. My BS readings have been steady and I have got through the ‘carb hunger’ stage again! 😁
3. I have another new hat! 👒🎩 😁😂

Hope you all have some positivity in your lives.

SG, V and Pootle, thank you for keeping things going on the positive thread … ashamed not to have been contributing more often. It’s not been for oacknof positives, just an avoidance of tech.

Anyway, here are a few from me ….
🌸🌸 weather is fabulous 👌
🌸🌸 mum is still doing well
🌸🌸 bought a gorgeous dining table for the villa
🌸🌸 eldest DD and partner arrive in a week to spend some time with us
🌸🌸 enjoying spending time with our Turkiye based friends

All simple stuff, but enough to make life easier and pleasant.

I have not been on for a while. But really. Having a Mediterranean villa to which to escape for several months is “simple stuff”. Check your privilege. I thought this might still be an encouraging and inclusive site for those who it is primarily aimed at. Just seems to be about cruises. And villas.

Six turkeys. I am so sorry you feel like this. My ethos is live and let live!
I last had a holiday away from home in 2016. That was a long weekend at a b&b in the Lake District. But I don’t begrudge those who can afford to get away, getting away.
I thought we are all on this site because either we need to lose a lot of weight or tackle diabetes and appreciate the support of others in that aim. At least that was what I assumed and if the positives in someone’s life help give an uplift in spirit, surely that is to the good.
As I said, I am sorry you feel that this thread is elitist,
I am not privileged and I had been posting here for some time.

Hello. Thought I would pop in with a few positives as I’ve not posted for a while.

😀😀😀 Had the result of my CT scan and all is stable so having another in 9 months but won’t worry about that!

📖📖📖 Bought some books for holiday reading. Had to get some recommendations from my daughter! Got 30% discount by buying three books so a definite positive.

🌶️🧄🥦 Making green chicken curry today, which I haven’t made for ages, so really looking forward to that. I use green vegetables as a base rather than rice and it works really well.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Hey sixturkeys. It’s nice to see your name again. I”ve been a member here since 2017 I think. Believe me the site is still as welcoming and supportive as ever – which I can know since I have been posting under a new name for the last few months. How is life with you?

And i love this thread, so maybe time to chip in:
1) I have another day with my husband, who was forecast to die before March this year. Every day is a blessing.
2) I am on day 14 of eating more healthily, and feel so much better already.
3) We had loads of rain overnight and the garden is celebrating.

Have a good day everyone!

Hi all,

Sixturkeys this site is not about villas and cruises. Just happens you have popped back at the time of year when some of us have just had a holiday. Mainly we are moaning about how hard it is to get our heads back around dieting and lose the holiday weight.

My positives are:
Going to get to 35 degrees by Tuesday so I hope to be in my pool in a day or two (sorry sixturkeys but I have always had a pool but only mention as it is my main exercise).
All vegetables planted out and, due to quite a bit of rain, they are coming up lovely.
Sad that family don’t want to visit as a holiday destination, they have been here so many times but it is our home and they should just want to visit us. Anyway, positive is, daughter was booking for 2nd week in July when 17 yr old grandson said ‘but I want to come with you, book it for the week after when school ends’. Bless him, he is lovely, so I will be seeing both of them in a few weeks.

Heidi, I am so sorry for what you are going through and hope you get all the support you need, both from this site and the real world. I really don’t know how you cope and we are all sending you lots of love.

Heidi you truly do have a ‘positive’. Hope you have many more ‘extra’ days with your husband.

Hi Heidi In light of your change of user name I do not know when our virtual paths might have crossed on this site. I am so sorry to read about your husband. Your love for him shines through. I do hope that you are also taking care of yourself, selflessly. Which I know seems so trite. In all that, you asked me about how things were going. It is so different from your situation but in brief since 2022 I have been caring for my now 94yr old mother. So physically diminished and sadly cognitively declining. She was in a nursing home for a while but that did my head in so she is back with me; we are fortunate to be able to employ a carer/companion for most of the day so I can get on with work, which I am lucky to be able to do part time and from home. I do not think this forum is “elitist”. My response to that particular contributor was down to how oftentimes she seems to press the point. Pootle, I am all with you on the “small things”. And with flat surfaces being a magnet for “stuff”. I will duck back behind the parapet now. I do think there is a rather unhealthy “ownership” of particular threads by a triumvirate simply by virtue of time here, which brooks no argument!

Hi sixturkeys. That was a very loving and courageous decision to bring your mother home. Having the support of a carer is a godsend. My parents are still living independently, with one hour’s care a day. They are both in their mid 90s, and it is a very fragile arrangement.

I love this thread and am very grateful to the stalwarts who keep it going. So here are some more positives, though it is early in the day.
1) The sun is back today, so had a lovely dog walk in the woods. Wild garlic scent everywhere.
2) I have a small garden, so a little effort makes a big difference. Now enjoying the results of yesterday’s pruning.
3) Now on day 18 of my healthy eating streak. It feels so good to be in control. Long may it continue!

Hi Heidi, I also love this thread! Great to hear peoples positives which often remind me to be grateful for my own positives.
So for today;
1. The stray/wild cat I have been feeding appeared this morning with 4 kittens. Fabulous to watch their antics. Think they must be about 8-10 weeks old. Just uplifting to watch them play from my kitchen window.
2. We had visitors last night, and I cooked a meal that was ‘low carb’ for me with added bits for them and husband. It all worked well and I wasn’t tempted at the time. (The left over tiramisu currently in my fridge is testing my resolve this morning…but I am resisting!)
3. I have dried a load of washing on the line this morning, as the sun is back… now ironing beckons!

How wonderful to see so much activity on this thread, full of positives reminding us all to recognise, acknowledge and be grateful for the good things that come our way.

Mine for today are ….
🌸🌸 spent time with a friend and neighbour this morning … coffee and chat
🌸🌸 a visit to a new DIY store, just nice to wander around and check out what they offer
🌸🌸 all prep completed for our eldest DD and partner visiting in two days time. Looking forward to spending time with them. They’re here for 10 days, so probably won’t be posting again for awhile, but hope everyone else will keep the positives coming.

Lovely to hear that there are many of us that enjoy this thread.

We are on page 132!! Probably unheard of for any other thread.

For me I love to come here especially when I’m feeling low because I’m ‘forced ‘ to find something positive in my life which always helps.

No difficulty today ….
🥩🥗🥙 First bbq tonight which was lovely even though the weather could have been better.

📺📺📺 Have watched a few very interesting programmes on ‘catch up ‘ this week. Tonight is the finale of Race Across the World…. which I love.

🌳🌳🌳 Had a delivery of some stones today to fill in some planters with olive trees. Can’t wait to have then put into the planters.

Hope Thursday is full of positives.

I too like to have to think about positives. Especially when you are having a bad day like yesterday – but yesterday is gone and there is always something to be grateful

Hot weather has arrived, not as keen as when I was younger but it does my veg patch the world of good.
Had my first swim of the season yesterday and really enjoyed it – hoping to be back in later today.
Feeling more positive about BG and weight outcome for the future.