Love the image of the walking duvet Kazz! I laughed out loud. It made me think of all the awful things I have worn in the past, even going back to childhood with the heavy wool pleated skirts and the ugly loafers with socks — there are far more photos of me looking like the child of German peasants than of me looking like a child of California — I guess my parents didn’t know how to dress us — but I can’t recall a “grandma duvet look” —but I say just rock it girl! The pashmina will help a lot!! You will probably find it practical and comfortable and end up loving it!
That’s how these things often turn out.
Nellie cat — what a wonderful heartwarming thing to hear from your client! Only I want to know the MASCARA reference!!
So many posting good results, pounds and/or inches! It is so hard to stay strong right now — the lure of Christmas treats is endless. Honestly, why is it so food-focused?
My positives:
1.) I spent yesterday learning how to “skate ski” on cross country skate skis — something I have wanted to do for years. It was a blast and I finally caught on after an hour of laughter on my butt in the snow. My New Years resolution is to get good enough to ski out to the Euer Valley on skate skis (that’s a wilderness valley just over the Sierra crest).
2.) I have managed to avoid all Christmas treats so far except for two cookies, so I am planning to have a dessert at Christmas dinner.
3.) I’m driving down to Reno today to buy our holiday food — there is a good grocery there for things like filet of beef and organic veggies which are hard to find up here in the mountains. Reno is actually in another state! Nevada! But it’s just a few miles away as Lake Tahoe straddles the California/Nevada border. Always seems funny though to do your grocery shopping in another state — ha ha!

Good to see how well everyone is doing.
Kazz it won’t be too long before you sell the ‘duvet’ because it’s too big because you’ve lost so much weight! Roll on 2019!
Well not too sure about my positives today…..
1.I have done my second meditation today and am feeling really calmed. At this time of the year that really is a result!
2.I have ordered a summer dress that I know will be too small it hasn’t arrived yet but …… do I take a chance and ‘slim’ into it or just send it back? All comments welcome!
3. Feel a little bit in limbo at the moment as we just have one visitor on Xmas day and 8 on the 27th so all seems to be under control. Feel like I should be in a state of ‘panic’ but I’m not!!!!!
That must be a positive!
Have a good weekend everyone!

Nellie – what a truly beautiful gift to receive.
Kazz – that parka will be consigned to history long before next winter, so get some real use from it now.

Have made some reasonable progress with Christmas prep today, but that doesn’t mean I’m feeling totally in control. Oh has been pressed into giving a hand today and downstairs is now pretty much sorted, so tomorrow we’ll be tackling upstairs, before a late food shop. Have found in past years, most people are at Christmas parties on a Friday or Saturday night, meaning the supermarket is almost empty.

Okay, well let’s think about today’s promises …..
1) Dining room, living room and kitchen looking tidy and presentable – something of a rarity!
2) Visited with eldest son last night, good to see him and his partner.
3) All presents wrapped … phew!

In the clear up today, a little book was uncovered – “a thousand paths to happiness” by David Baird. So, have been having a little leaf through it this evening and thought this quote worth sharing here …..
” Thoughts are as precious as water in a desert. Do not waste them on negativity – be refreshed, think positive.”

Hope everyone is managing to stay bouyant and are able to spot the positives in these days of festive craziness – remember this madness will all be over by this time next week.

Hi everyone !
Only a few days to go and calm seems to abound on this thread !
Kazz you are doing so well so see that duvet parka as a fleeting item in your wardrobe.So pleased that you are approaching Christmas with a motivating loss ! 2019 will definitely be your year.

Verano I think you should keep the summer dress when it arrives ! I too am waiting for a couple of dresses tI ordered..I could not resist them in the Boden online sale.I deliberately got smaller sizes and will see how I get on. We can keep encouraging each other to slim down into them !
SunnyB you are getting there ! Love the quote too
Nelliecat : what more could you ask for than that heartwarming comment ? Aaaaw xx
Californiagirl your location sounds so fascinating. That’s what I love about the forum ..we discover so much about here we all live.
Positives : I am on holiday for 2 weeks now . Looking forward to a calm time full of simple pleasures.

Oh V, I forgot to say if the dress is only a size or so too small definitely keep it. It will be a great incentive to help keep you focused in the early months of 2019. I’m confident that you and Wendy can do this together and be in those dresses for summer.

Good Day, all, whatever time zone you are in! I’m seeing relative calm and lots of organization on the threads today,
and that’s a gift to us all.
I hope my positives for yesterday resonate as just that, and not an exercise in extreme waste! I always have
my groceries delivered, and yesterday along with my order, someone elses were included…I called the company
to get the delivery clerk to get on back here to pick them up, but apparently it was too late to accomplish that.
The 6 plastic bags were filled with BSD nightmare food, lots of prepared foods, and the nutritional labels would
give me cardiac arrest. Imagine 2 pkg. of cocktail hot dogs, velveeta cheese and a gallon of orange juice, to
name just a few. Food banks can’t accomodate perishables, so that wasn’t an option, either. In past lifetimes
I would have considered it a challenge to do something with this largesse, but yesterday I shoved it all into the
garbage disposal! Fair well! I hate the waste, but felt good to be treating myself with respect. 🙂

Definitely keep the summer frock, V.! Read Wendy’s post on her thread…She’s already wearing her new dresses!

Yes I was buzzing as I posted on the thread 😉

My positive ( apart from the smaller sized frocks !) is that I am a little pound down this Week so I will take that thank you .I don’t lose great amounts every week although I do endeavour to stay low carb.I do allow myself nuts occasionally and I love my Greek Yoghurt but I will soldier on and see if I need to tweek anything in the new year.I am feeling positive with my results so far ..almost 4 months and I don’t intend to stop.
A little tip which might help if you are faced with overwhelming temptation. I got some essential oils from the chemist yesterday. One was peppermint and the other lemongrass. Just a tiny drop on the tongue is enough to stop me reaching for buns and pies and it sweetens the breath too.

Another positive . I had a video call with my gorgeous boys this morning. I won’t get to spend Christmas with them but seeing them and talking to them and knowing they are safe, well and happy is enough . They thought the idea of their Mum on an exercise bike was hilarious 😉

Congratulations wendyleg on your new slimmer wardrobe that FITS. It is a wonderful feeling isn’t it? I bet a lot more of your colleagues will be noticing your new shape when you are wearing the new clothes. Verano do keep the summer dress – it sounds like a really good 2019 goal to aim for.

Just logging in to say Happy Christmas and 2019 to you all. I have really enjoyed your company, advice and good humour through 2018. Let’s make it an excellent 2019.

Positives:
1) Menu plan, shopping and presents completed. Now time to focus on …..
2) the family will be complete from tonight. Can’t wait to have us all together for the holiday and
3) looking forward to Nine Lessons tomorrow and remembering why Christmas is here at all!

See you all in 2019!

Thanks Caronl. I have very much enjoyed sharing with you too .

Have a very Happy Christmas with your family. Enjoy every moment and I look forward to catching up with you in the New Year .
I am so glad I discovered this lovely forum and getting to know you all .So many inspiring, supportive, funny and creative people all in one place ! Amazing !

A little lull in proceedings has allowed me time to check in again today. It’s great to see everyone so buoyant, with everything under control.
Allie – that was a bold and decisive move with the mis-delivered groceries. I guess on the face of it, that could be considered wasteful, but to have passed it on to others could be considered inconsiderate, given what us merry band of BSDers know. At least you have dealt with it in a way that leaves no room for temptation to consume any of it yourself! As you say, respect for yourself and the effort you have put in to be where you are right now.
wendleg – another congrats on those dresses fitting!!
caronl – have a wonderful time with your family – I’m sure you will all have a good time. I’m looking forward to all of us being back here in the new year too.

Plans here have progressed well and most everything is now in a holding pattern. Did some grocery shopping this afternoon, with the final, final shop to be done later this evening. After which, if anything is discovered as having been forgotten, it will just have to remain un-purchased!

So, some positives for today ….
1) OH did clean the shower this morning, knocking one thing off my list.
2) We took time out late morning to go out for brunch at a new cafe. Had a yummy goats cheese salad and a glass of prosecco and the pleasure of my husband’s company too.
3) Simple BSD meal of steak with stilton butter and veggies planned for this evening – looking forward to that, before that final shop spoken of above..

Not sure when I’ll get to drop in here again, as guest arrive tomorrow, so I’ll leave you with these little quotes as one year draws to a close and a new one rises on the horizon …. “Happiness comes from positive action – setting and achieving your own goals.” and “Don’t blame yourself, for overestimating yourself. Reassess and go again.”

Well done Wendy! Really great news for you, you have done so well….. enjoy the moment!
My summer dress also arrived today BUT …. I knew it would be snug but no problem I could shrink into it. The real problem is that I can’t grow 8 inches taller!!! Lovely dress, lovely colours, navy and ivory, but wrong style for me! Anyway onwards and upwards and just need to go back to my original goal of fitting into my tailored trousers!
Today has been very calm and quiet for me so that is my first positive.
We are out for dinner tonight at a friends and I have mentioned that we don’t eat simple carbs …. so we shall see. Will let you know if it turns out to be a positive!
Looked at the carbs and calories in my Christmas pudding … and no …. not for me this year. Even though I love it I just can’t bring myself to eat more than a whole day’s carbs in just a couple of mouthfuls.
It’s amazing just how ‘tuned in’ to low carb eating you become after time. Even when not counting calories or weighing every morsel it’s very difficult for me to eat high carb now. That is definitely a positive!

SunnyB our posts crossed but I love your quote. Have a lovely time with your family and I wish the same to all my BSD friends …. enjoy the festivities… don’t stress, it’s only a few days out of 365 … we can all carry on enjoying our BSD way of life into another year. It definitely does get easier as time goes on … 2019 will be our best year yet!

Saw that this was called Positive Thoughts so thought I’d share a positive….finally weigh in day (today) or my 8 week diet. I lost 38lbs!

I hit my goal a few days ago and today I’m 14st 12.

I wanted to hit 15st on Christmas Eve so I’m happy about that. Loss of 38lbs in the 8 weeks. It’s been tough but I think the hard part starts now to be honest. Maintaining!

Yesterday I put 3 suits, 15 shirts and 8 pairs of jeans / trousers on the Internet for sale. The other day I went into French Connection wearing a pair of 38” jeans and bought a pair of 32”. It was the best feeling.

Someone in here said that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels and it’s kept me going for the entirety of this diet.

The recipes were great and my wife and I will definitely never buy jars of sauce again. We will keep making the meals from the book as we actually really like things like the tagine, Moroccan meatballs etc. May be hard though as I’ve offered to loan the recipe book to all the people who have asked how I’ve done it!

Have a great Christmas and New Year.

All the best

Alan

Hi Alan, that’s amazing, you should feel very proud. It’s a great feeling isn’t it?

Hi everyone else, how you doing?
Positives right here, and then maybe a couple of days where I’ll be quiet here as we’ve got family coming and it’ll probably get a little busy.
1. All festive food that I could prepare early has been done this morning, all BSD friendly, so feeling very good about that.
2. House looks lovely and cosy and inviting.
3. Off to see ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’s at a little old cinema in Bath this afternoon with hubby and my three teenage children.
4. Had a bad food day yesterday but have drawn a line under it and feel completely in control.

I wish all my lovely new friends on here a very Happy Christmas, I hope it’s everything you want it to be, love from me xx

Well done Alan ! I had a special moment too when I took delivery of several smaller sized dresses this weekend !

Now you know how it works and you ENJOY the food you have the Tools to continue.There are some very experienced maintainers on here who will be sure to advise you as you move into the next phase..Dietdoctor.com has some good low carb recipes you could try too . Keep us posted !

Nelliecat you are sounding very happy and in control.Enjoy your festive time with the family.I have taken school trips to Bath in the past and it is a lovely place.I bet it looks especially beautiful at this time of year .Have a very happy Christmas and I look forward to hearing from you again in the New year

We drove into Montauban , our nearest town this morning and parked up and walked in to the centre.It was lovely .The shops looked very pretty.The French know how to do ‘posh “épicerie fine” with truffles, exquisite chocolates, wild mushrooms, dainty biscuits and fine wines. We were only looking though ! We stocked up on loose teas and I found a pair of silly earrings ! What More Earrings !!!

Hello Allie!!!! Back from my little BIG/little trip and saw your question re Boxing Day. I believe it was (either) when the wealthy “Boxed” their leftover Christmas feastings and delivered to the poor . . . IF NOT . . . then it has to do with coin donations to the church being distributed to the poor in “boxes”. Either way it showed goodwill to those less fortunate 🙂 My trip was emotional, fulfilling . . . enlightening . . . and one of personal growth. I shed many private tears as I learned . . . with assistance with accommodation and lifts to trainstations etc., otherwise, I did ALL the travelling alone which was a HUGE leap of faith for me. (6 years ago this month I was released from hospital after having started a holiday and two days in, collapsed and was in a coma in ICU for 43 days – nd a further two weeks in hospital. A further 2 months recuperating and my fear of being alone has had to be chipped away 🙂 . . , this was one of those steps all this time along 🙂 AND I DID IT!!! Food during the 8 days was no issue . . and Christmas Day a meat feast with salad proved a breeze. I havent checked in on scales . . , dont want to know . . . but a sneak peek at the tape around my girth shows Im on track for the 10cms decrease by end January! Life’s good! Next journey away with elder son and two grandsons . . + their two mates and dad. Ill be the nan, chief cook and bottle wash and looking forward to jigsaws, roasting a requested old-fashioned nan’s meal, as well as the mac cheese they ALWAYS order. This will be FUN ALL THE WAY!!! Loved reading everyone’s postings . . . like catching up with a diary 🙂 Love to all!

GREAT positives there! AND Ive just been through something similar! With the people that is! I was SO surprised at how I dealt with my situation (which was over three days!) – . . . a big bumbling at times – but I tended in the past to internalise over this persons issues – trying to SAVE them – and then agonise over their inability to extract themselves from a negativity cauldron. Well I have FINALLY realised they obviously DONT WANT TO extract themselves. (My son and DIL have been TRYING to tell me this for longer than I care to admit.!!!) So I have walked away after a nice visit and lovely Christmas dinner . . . just glad Im not in her shoes 🙂 I will just keep in touch as always and maybe visit again in the future for 1-2-3 days but never again will it be 1-2-3 weeks 🙂 It just takes TOO MUCH OF ME away from ME stressing for her wellbeing!!! Yay! Im learning!!!

Lots of positives for you WoodDuckie that’s for sure ! You overcame some major challenges on your trip and you should be proud of your achievement especially after such a traumatic illness. Sometimes we have to just push ourselves to face our fears but it is no easy task.. Your trip has been enriching and enlightening on so many levels and we are glad to see Cheerleader Duckie back among us ! You don’t need stress either …

It’s quiet right now as célébrations continue but I am looking forward to catching up with everyone soon.
I enjoyed a positive moment this morning at the Boxing Day aperitif when I received a few compliments on my weight loss . I was wearing one of my recently purchased smaller sized tops !!
Hope everyone is well and happy xx

Thank you for the hug wendleg . . . its been a very emotional 10 days one way and another 🙂 Old non-sleeping/hyped up night last night, a 1.5 hour drive to big smoke lunch with a longtime friend in town for just a few days . . . then son’s for snack, belated Christmas gift swapping before the drive home has exhausted me today . . . the bedshow beckons. Hopefully tomorrow sees some sunshine other than the 39oC kind 🙂 Goodnight all xxx

Good to hear that you got some clarity on the situation Wooduckie and managed the emotional aspect of it as well — especially over several days — it sounds as though you stayed centered and caring for yourself as well. I think you might be tired for the next week as you “internalize” all your new thoughts, so I hope you can just take it easy and uncomplicated. It’s a good way to work into 2019!
Wendleg, congratulations on the positive comments you received! It is so nice when people notice and speak up!
My positives are that my beloved vegetarian family members finally headed home, so I can stop eating so many carbs and worrying that THEY are all eating too much sugar. It was very difficult to try to make two meals at every mealtime so I finally just made vegetarian meals and did my best not to eat too much of them and I avoided the cinnamon rolls and croissants for breakfast.
I did not feel healthy eating like that — just sort of slow and overfed — clearly following BSD and low carb for so long has absolutely changed my eating patterns. I did ski almost every day, so hopefully all the exercise and freezing air helped a bit! But what has helped most was just getting back to BSD friendly food yesterday. I woke up today feeling better already!
I am worried though about my granddaughters — they are eating sugar all day long. Anyone have any good thoughts on how I might gently mention that to my son? I dare not say it to my daughter in law — I don’t want her to think I am critical — she is a wonderful mother. Probably I just need to stay quiet.

Oh, and i forgot to add that I’m not criticizing vegetarianism!! If done properly, it’s very healthful and BSD friendly. But my family has just dropped all meat and substituted pasta, sugar and bread — a really bad way to be “vegetarian”. I think they are just not aware that eating as a vegetarian means you have to combine real food elements to get full proteins — they just don’t know. So apologies if anyone thought I was criticizing that choice!

CaliforniaGirl, helllo. Oh your post resonated and I have the same worries. How do we get our loved ones and friends to ‘GET IT’? All you can do is lead by example realistically. Frustrating though. As a grandma, perhaps cook with low carb savoury stuff, chef cooking rather than baking? explain why in easy conversation. Just concentrate on the next generation…….. and when you get to 95 and still enjoy sitting cross legged, your son and DIL might listen then…. 💕
Kxazzeexx

Thank you for your understanding insight cali 🙂 Yes . . . you are correct . . . already today I AM feeling drained . . . feel like I need cocooning! am dealing with the frustration of NOT being able to change ANYTHING Ive witnessed and sensed in two HUGELY different scenarios. Dwelling/thinking on them isnt going to change anything so the Serenity Prayer is foremost today. I am again being reminded we sometimes just keep pushing on without dealing with individual “things” as they arise . . . even of it is just simply accepting what is. Ive also been snacking . . . not hungry and seeming to just be disheveled/scattered in some respects. Being high-geared for the longhaul lone drive (which I LOVE!!!!!) – home, and now having returned to the nurturing of my own four walls in the rural peacefulness . . . both ends of THAT spectrum have been intense and now evened out, so while relaxing and regrouping . . . the experiences have had a chance to catch up. I was glad to have shared some of the irritants and concerns with my son yesterday which has eased my angst. I do have thoughts of some incidental trivial “spoil” shopping which may be a simple diversion – and will decide after breakfast/brunch whether it is today or tomorrow that I indulge myself and later, call into the local gardening centre for investigation re a replacement cover for my gazebo structure. 🙂 Nothing too draining 🙂

Hi CaliforniaGir
I have been reading but not posting over the festive season because this is a very busy time of year work wise for me. – But I really wanted to respond to your concern about your families change to vegetarianism.
I have been a vegetarian all my life. As a very young child I decided that meat didn’t taste nice. If you use your fork and knife to stretch any piece of meat from roast beef to chicken you can clearly see the threads of muscle each linked to the adjoining threads of muscles with a layer of white tissue. – I wouldn’t eat the white tissue so I used to try to dissect the meat served at any meal where my mother was present to eat just the threads of muscle tissue. – Very time consuming – and not really practical with a knife and fork. (if not under the eagle eye of mother the meat was simply given to someone else who wanted to eat it – or saved for the family dog.) – As for fish, the only way I could cope with the stench from fish is to have battered cod (as in traditional fish and chips) make lots of little holes in the batter and swamp it with malt vinegar so that when I eventually cut through the batter the smell of the vinegar covered the smell of the fish. – It wasn’t pasta in my my child hood that was used to bulk out the meal, but good old bread and potatoes – If you didn’t have yorkshire puddings to soak up the gravy of a cooked meal, then you would have a slice of break. or bread and butter with fruit for a meal.
The upshot of this is that I have had years of reading the published advice on a healthy vegetarian diet. reading vegetarian cookery books and have even twice had appointments with NHS nutritionalists where I went through my food diary for a week to try to work out why I was over weight despite calorie counting. I had never seen anything about the impact of carbs in the diet until I came across the BSD book a year last October by accident.
The reason for telling you all this is simply for emphasis that if your daughter in law has researched going vegetarian, she will have seen lots of advice from experts that a high carb diet is right. The advice will focus on ensuring your have the right vitamins and minerals in the diet, and on balancing calories in / out. – But if there is any mention of the ratio of carbs / protein / fat it will be focused on the high fat intake is bad theories. –
Could I suggest an alternative solution to your dilemma. You told us that eating such a high carb diet made you feel ill, and you hadn’t realised how adapted you had become to eating low carb. But it was a problem making two meals – Maybe this is the discussion that you could have with your DiL. – Could working with her to work out low carb vegetarian meals you could all share in the future be an opening for sharing with her why you are eating low carb, and the benefits you have found? Working together on a menu plan for the next time the family is together, even if that is in the form of asking her to experiment with low carb alternatives to see what your grand children like in preparation for next Christmas changes the whole atmosphere about the issue.
– Perhaps the book the Art and Science of Low Carb living, which focuses on the benefits of low carb for athletes rather than weight loss could be helpful if you wanted a reference book to share with her. Although it does have a chapter saying that Atkins was right to push for his high meat diet in the book, which may be a turn off for her depending on why they decided to go vegetarian. or alternatively, look for links to articles by its authors Steve Phinney and Jeff Volek focusing on the benefits for athletes.

Thank you for your good ideas JGwen! I am interested in coming up with a better solution and I think I will try some of your suggestions. They are total athletes so your ideas could really help — I was just going to go passive and give up but I’m thinking that I will make an effort to help them before I quit. We will be seeing them again for a week’s beach holiday at the end of January and it would be lovely to change that interaction — I will keep you all posted with the response I get!

Thank you too, Kazz, for your thoughts! ha Ha — sitting cross legged at 90, I do hope that will be true! I feel so young now after three years on BSD foods, I hope it stays that way! I went snow shoeing (sp?) today and it was a kick — but that warm bath afterward was very hard to climb out of due to tired muscles. Had a BSD friendly elk stew and salad for dinner. I am thinking fondly of bed but our house guests are still lively….(pour them more wine!!)

I too have read rather than posted, through the holiday period. The house has been hectic, with a constant stream of guests, visiting for a meal and/or staying overnight, so I have been making up beds, planning and cooking meals and clearing up in a seemingly never ending loop!!! Result is I feel rung out now and in desperate need of me time. It’s been lovely to spend time with family and friends, but I can’t pretend I’m not pleased its’ over.

Having said that, there are of course positives to be reported ….
1) A visit from one of my longest standing friends (who I haven’t seen for 2.25yrs) was a joy. Wonderful to reconnect, catch up on news and laugh together. We have a date in our diary for us to visit her in March and she’s hoping to come to visit with us when we’re in Turkey in the spring, so it won’t be another two years before we see each other again.
2) Scales have been kind through the Christmas period, despite mindful consumption of some small amounts of non-BSD friendly foods – and of course alcohol too.
3) Looking forward to a return to normality and being back to BSD proper on 1st January – there has to be some champagne tomorrow before that happens though!

Hope everyone has managed to find positives during the Christmas period and that 2019 will be packed with them for us all.

In case I forget to post tomorrow, Happy New Year from California! I hope the new year in 2019 brings us all peace and joy and (some) resolution of our shared difficulties around the world.
And closer to home, a healthy new year for all those on the BSD path!

1) Just enjoyed Verano’s red pepper and cauliflower soup for lunch. It really is as delicious as everyone says. Thank you for sharing.
2) My son gave me a low carb recipe book for Christmas. He is starting the BSD in January. “It has clearly worked for you, so I shall give it a go”. Nice to feel that I am being a good example.
3) Looking forward to joining old friends and new for a healthy 2019 on the new threads. HAPPY NEW YEAR one and all.

Happy New Year everyone!

My positives are – 1) Despite indulging in some carbs over Christmas and therefore gaining some weight, I’m still withing the healthy weight range. That means I’ve keept within it for 9 months!

2) Although I did enjoy eating the carby foods I realise I’m quite happy for such things to be an occasional treat and to go back to my normal lower carb diet. Being healthy is more important to me than pastry. (Plus I felt sluggish after hugh carb meals and didn’t sleep as well when I’d had carbs in the evening.)

3). I’ve realised how much fitter I’ve become. A year ago I was trying to build up to 10,000 steps a day – now if that’s all I do I feel as though I’ve been lazy!

Caronl, how great to have inspired someone else to give this a try.
SunnyB, isn’t it nice that the BSD now feels normal and is actually what we want to get back to, rather than the hard slog most people associate with dieting?

Yes Squidge, it does feel nice that BSD is now our normal and you’re right, it isn’t a slog at all. I’m sure it helps that we view it as a way of life and not a quick-fix diet. Well done on all those steps!
caronl – how lovely to have inspired someone else to take control.

Positives for the day ….
1) Looking forward to a quiet meal for two with OH this evening, by way of celebrating the end of 2018 and welcoming in 2019.
2) Visit to the optician today showed my eyesight has changed very little since my last test two years ago.
3) Has been a gentle day – a pleasant end to the year.

Some of you might remember I have quoted before from ‘The Ways of Wisdom’ – a little book of inspiring thoughts. I thought I’d share this one, to close out 2018.
“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life …. comes into us at midnight, very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we have learned something from yesterday.” John Wayne (1907 – 1979)
All possible best wishes to you all for a peaceful and contented New Year and only good things for 2019.

I’ve dipped in and out of here a few times over Christmas but looking forward to getting back into routine and hanging around here more often. It’s been a good Christmas but I haven’t coped well food wise and am quite disappointed to say I’ve put on 7lbs. I feel physically yuck, all puffy and achey…
I do have positives though,
I got the job that I went for an interview for. I have decided not to accept though, they were very unprofessional and there were lots of red flags. But I’m excited to say I’ve got another interview lined up for somewhere that looks a lot more promising and I’m excited to go and meet them and see what’s what.
My mother in law gave me her copy of the BSD recipe book so I’m all inspired to get back on the wagon. We had my mother in law here to visit just before Christmas and had a lovely day together. Christmas day was spent with my sister in law and her family and was also a lovely day. Today we’ve seen my family – a little stressful but better than I thought it would be.
Now I’m at home in my snuggly pyjamas looking forward to a new year of feeling healthy and energetic, and the support of this forum.
Hope you’re all ok, wishing you all a happy, peaceful new year 😘

Haven’t heard anything from Allie (unusual) — I hope you are well. Happy New Year!

Very lovely quote SunnyB! Nelliecat, I know you will get this sorted soon and congratulations on the job offer (even though you didn’t accept it).
Ok, I’m off to finish up 2018! See you all next year!

I am relieved to say Allie is fine Julia …internet problems yesterday ??

Welcome to 2019 everyone! Hope the new year came in peaceably for you all.
Nellie – really pleased for you that you received a job offer and I think it is commendable you have evaluated and decide to pass it up this time round. Hope your next interview goes well and that if you want the position it is offered to you.
Glad to hear Allie is okay, I too had been wondering how she is doing – it’s unusual for her to be absent.

Positives for today …..
1) Lovely meal with OH last night. We saw the new year in gently, which is the way I prefer it.
2) Reviewing the itinerary for our India trip later this year, with a view to getting it all booked in the next week or so – yippee!!
3) Despite indulging in non-BSD foods and alcohol, the scales were pretty kind to me this morning – 2lb up, bring me to 1lb over target weight. Not as disastrous as it might have been, so content enough with that result.

Best wishes to all for great things in 2019.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I thought I’d check in to read some inspiring positives.

I switched to a higher calorie but still low-carb diet (CSIRO low-carb plan) and included at least one slice of bread a day because for some reason that keeps my tummy happy. I really noticed if I skipped it, other carbs or sources of fibre didn’t have the same beneficial effect for me. Odd. Anyway, I was doing well and lost a little bit of weight – until Christmas hit! I haven’t quite wrestled myself under control yet, I’m surrounded by chocolate, I haven’t exercised for a month and we’re about to go on holidays which means eating out for most meals. I plan to stick to Mediterranean principals but not count calories until we get back home where I can weigh and measure (and shop). I notice Dr Mosley has a new book out so I’ll have a look at that.

My positives:
1. We are using the swimming pool every afternoon, it’s over 30C every day and the water temperature is also over 30! It’s a mineral pool so it feels soft and lovely on your skin, no chemical smell. And we installed a shade sail in time for Christmas, so now we have shade over the seating area and one end of the pool, much more comfortable than direct Australian summer sun! This is only the second summer we’ve had the pool, it was worth the endless hassle and expense to get it built.
2. Cricket!
3. I just feel happy.

Hey Natalie – we’re all unique and need to find what works for our bodies and our lifestyles. Sounds like you have your plan sorted for the new year.
I’ve been using higher calories whilst limiting the carbs for a good while now, but the festive season has seen me gain a bit. With that plus a desire to push a good few below my target weight, has me easing back in to a full-on BSD approach for a while. Allowed myself yesterday and today as an uncounted period and will start weighing, measuring and recording my consumption again from tomorrow.

Positives for today ….
1) Slowly getting the house back to normal after the madness of the festive season – reckon I only have one more washing machine load to be back on track.
2) It was sunny today.
3) Seven day to go to our mini break in Marrakesh!

Ooh SunnyB Marrakesh sounds fabulous!
Natalie can you bottle some Australian sunshine and send it here? Your pool must be wonderful.
Happy New Year Squidge, CaliforniaGirl and all on this thread.
Allie are you OK? You seem to have been a bit quiet. I hope it is for good happy reasons!
Some positives:
1) Goldfinches started visiting the garden on Christmas Day. The sunflower hearts have worked magic in attracting charms of finches. But till now my hankering for goldfinches was unfulfilled. So feeling happy!
2) Pleased with the start to the New Year. I turned down a glass of wine last night at a choir get-together so still in a dry January.
3) Looking forward to a trip to my parents next week in the UK, if all goes to plan.
4) Life is good.

Hi Everyone – Happy New Year to you all!
Some terrific mini breaks to look forward to already I see. Sunny, I had the same response as Caron when I read your positive “Oooh, Marakesh…!” 🙂
My positives..
1 – I bought a pre-loved winter coat just before Xmas as didn’t want to splash out on something expensive that wouldn’t fit after this winter – well I wore it for the first time today. I wish I could take a photo! I have been assured that I don’t look like a cross between a walking sleeping bag and my grandma’s old eiderdown… but I can’t help feeling like it! I’m just not used to padded! So to turn it to a positive, it will make me lose the weight as fast as possible! Sooner I am out of this coat, the better! 🙂 Oh, and the body is slightly smooth, satiny (but not shiny!) and I just glide in and out of the car! That bit is rather good! 🙂
2 – Ordered my groceries online, everything wonderfully bsd! Collecting tonight.
3 – Doing dry January which mean no alcohol and will see how I get on going into Feb as I know this is the key for me this year – to ditch the weekend voddy, lime and sodas…. 🙂
See you all later, Kazzeexx

caronl – your goldfinches sound lovely. There is something delightful about watching little birds feeding. We get a few varieties in our garden, but as far as I know not gold finches. Love to see the blue tits and wrens though.
Have picked up on another thread that Allie is poorly with the ‘flu at the moment – hopefully she will be posting positives again soon.

Kazz – shame you don’t feel good in your pre-loved coat, but it sounds really cosy and might yet be very useful for the coming months. It;s certainly colder in SW England than it has been so far this winter. And once you’re finished with the coat, someone else can benefit from it too. I’ve been resisting grocery shopping, in an effort to deplete the left overs from the festive season, but I think I’m going to have to cave and shop tomorrow.

Well now, what positives are there for today ….. ?
1) Not feeling bloated anymore so all my jeans fit comfortably again.
2) Ordered new distance glasses this morning. Not the ones I was looking at originally because they were too expensive with the lens options I wanted, but I’m reasonably happy with the frames I opted for and will look for an additional pair more cheaply from somewhere else.
3) Laundry finally up to date after the stream of visitors – phew!
4) So pleased this thread is still going strong and that there are so many regular posters – hope more people will be joining in during 2019.

Hi SunnyB, kazz, Wendleg, Natalie , California girl and all 😊
Sending get well wishes to Allie, hope you’re feeling better soon.

Positives for the day, or recent days
1. Coped well with an upsetting incident at work involving elderly clients. Did go a bit carb crazy when I got home though but a good sleep will sort that out. Better tomorrow.
2. I have the interview for the job I’m very interested in on Monday, eeeek!
3. Made some lovely chicken liver pate and will be making SunnyB’s almond crackers to go with it tomorrow.
4. Husband cooked a very nice dinner
5. One more day at work then 4 days off.
Time for bed, night all x

Hi, Suway here, newbie to joining forums and threads. Just thought I’d give these positives a try.
1. Laughed out loud at silly FB post about border wall – inspired me to buy the poster (a friend) a gift.
2. Did a DIY repair on an ever closing in your face door that’s been driving me nuts for months (it only needed the hinge screws moving slightly)
3. Blood sugar monitor and ketone sticks arrived ready for Fast 800 commencement on Monday!

Here we go!

Wishing all of my dear friends on this lovely thread a special year of happiness and flourishing good health! I’m very
joyful at the prospect of turning the page, with a fresh new journal to break in! Spending the coming year together
with all of you once again is the biggest positive I can imagine. I appreciate all of your caring thoughts, and I am
definitely on the mend. The flu bug darkened my door, and as caron and julia duly noted, I have been rather quiet
in recent days because of it. A few days of absence has me scrambling to get caught up with all the positive thoughts
that make this thread so special. To my fellow nature lovers, it is always a pleasure to take a walk around your
gardens 🙂 The skies are full of activity, as bird feeders are receiving constant visits from our North American
birdlife.

Sunny, I’m fantasizing about your upcoming trip to Marrakesh!. I’m a little envious of the sights, sounds and
exotic spices that will soon be assailing your senses 🙂 Ras el Hanout is one of my favorites, as well as the
fabulous tagines. The classic Casa Blanca film is dancing in my memory, too. We seem to be once again traveling
in tandem, with a few unwanted pounds to dispose of. I’ve been fooling around getting a little complacent, so
embarking on a few weeks of strict 800/20, which should take me back to where I feel the most comfortable.

Other positives go to the good fortune to have thus far been blizzard free! My husband is returning to full employment
beginning next week, so our schedule will soon be upended and will require a lot more organization than has been
required of me over the past 4 months. 🙂

All of the planned breaks and winter holidays sound exciting, as well as job searches being realized, and a whole
host of other positive adventures for you all. My intuition also suggests that it’s about time for V. to fly off again,
to another of her destinations in the sun! What do you say, V.? Are you feeling the old wanderlust? I will be living
vicariously through all of you adventurers 🙂 I’m simply grateful that I will soon have some uninterrupted solitude
to fill with art projects, or whatever catches my fancy.

Happy Days! See you all tomorrow 🙂 🙂 🙂

I’m still getting caught up,

Hi Sueaway,
Welcome to the forums.
I notice that you mention that you have ordered pee sticks to measure ketones. Having seen how focused some people on the forums can be on whatever measuring tools they use for progress, I thought it was important to remind you to be careful with this method of measuring ketosis, the following is an extract from one of many articles available comparing the different methods of measuring ketosis.

“One of the reasons they are inaccurate is that the body will naturally excrete more ketones before they are keto or fat adapted than after they adapt. So if you begin on a ketogenic diet, it is natural to see high levels of urinary ketones. Once you are keto-adapted, this should drop to small to moderate levels as the cells are more responsive to the ketone levels. If your levels stay elevated it means your cells are not utilizing ketones effectively.
Changes in hydration will also effect the concentration of ketones. If you are super hydrating your system, you will dilute your ketone concentration in the urine. Very high ketone readings are often indicative of a dehydrated state.”

If you use the search option on the forum you will find other posts where I have provided links to articles and videos on measuring ketones using one of the cheap breathalysers available from Amazon for under £10. – I have been playing around with one over the last couple of months using it to track the effect that different meals and the timing of eating has. Once you have mastered the knack of ensuring its the last part of your breath out that you are blowing into the machine (a skill that is also needed to use the expensive unit marketed for testing ketones in the breath) then the results appear to be consistent.

Using this thread to bump up our positive thoughts, and wish Verano well. We are all thinking of you, and hoping that you are starting to feel better. I do hope you can get some decent food from your visitors, and manage to rest well despite all the strange hospital noises.
Allie, hope you are now fully recovered?

Three positives on a rather grey mizzely day:
1) up to date with the washing – after three loads. So everybody is well stocked with clean clothes before I vanish to the UK!
2) Came across a good thread on Sparkpeople today on self esteem. One point I shall be using this week: “Talk to yourself as you would a best friend. Too often we say things to ourselves we would never dream of saying to anyone else. ”
3) Almost finished my 3000 piece jigsaw!
Have a good week everybody. And Verano, have a good a week as you can. xx

Hope things are going well for you V and you’ll soon be home and recovering in familiar surroundings.
caronl, that quote is so true. We are so much harder on ourselves than we would be on others and the nature of our ‘self-speak’, is so important when it comes to well being and state of mind. I’m stunned by your completing that jigsaw. I started one of 1000 and gave up a few weeks later, after slotting in only about 100 pieces! Enjoy your UK trip and keep in touch when you can.

I too have some positives …
1) Lovely meal out on Friday with OH. The pub still had Christmas decs up and the atmosphere was still quite festive.
2) Had a wonderful relaxing day yesterday. It was very cold here, so the log burner was pressed into serviced all day. Christmas was packed away and returned to the loft, after which we had a generally lazy day.
3) Another quiet day today, so managed to decide on a restaurant in Marrakesh for my birthday dinner and booked a table. Also researched coach transport for the start and end of our journeys for our spring trip to Turkey, which showed good times and sensible fares too – will be getting that booked soon.

Hope you have all found some positives over the w/e and that that will continue way into the coming week.

The above post by Health Weight Loss Pros looks like nothing more than an advert to me. I have reported it to Admin for their decision.

Yes, thinking of Verano and hoping she is getting good medical support and can get a message to us soon to let us know how she is.
I am back to school tomorrow but I am looking forward to wearing one of my smaller sized dresses !
I wll stay positive as it is the only way to be with teenagers !!
I am a kilo down this Week which is probably things settling after the holidays. I hope it continues now I am eating fewer almonds 😉

All the very best for your interview tomorrow, Nelliecat
Have a great trip to the Uk caronl and wrap up warm ! You are so right.We need to be kinder to ourselves !
Thoughts of Marrakesh and Turkey are very uplifting SunnyB !
Hope everyone is well and happy xx

Aw Wendleg, thank you! Feeling nervous but excited now.
And Verano, hope you’re ok XX

Evening all!
Just posted in kazzee’s road trip that I’ve been really unfocused all week but will hopefully get my head together this week and stop messing about. Have succumbed to carbs most days. I think because the kids and husband (he’s a teacher) have been at home I can’t get my head into gear. I always do better when I’m here on my own. So….good plans to get going tomorrow…always late to the party….

Anyhow, positive stuff is;
1. Booked myself onto an Excel online course to refresh my knowledge
2. Got some good menus planned for the week and a few preprepared freezer meals to fall back on
3. Interview tomorrow which has me feeling very nervous but also excited
4. Decorations down and house clean
5. Getting my head around the next module of my accountancy course (well, a bit)

Night all x