Well I can’t believe another year is almost over but, as most people do at this time of year I have started to reflect on 2017.

For me 2017, on balance, has been a really good year. January started with the expectation of a wonderful trip to Australia and New Zealand but ended with me in hospital on intravenous antibiotics fighting a bad bout of cellulitis. So trip cancelled, and two further weeks to recover the year seemed to be off to a bad start. I believe that things always happen for a reason even if it isn’t clear at the time.

Life was uneventful until a recurring, but much milder attack of cellulitis at the beginning of May. But May also brought some rewards for following this WOL.

My original goal in July 2016 was to reverse my diabetes and become drug free. My HbA1c had been ‘normal ‘ for at least 6 months and now my medication was halved. Success so far. My next blood test in August showed I was still ‘normal’ so my drugs were dropped ….. Goal reached! Three months later, in November, drug free, my blood test showed my HbA1c to be even lower. It’s ‘official’ my GP recognises that my diabetes is In ‘remission’. I had ‘Arrived’ primary goal achieved.

September was the start of a new phase in my life with a new hip and loss of pain and greater mobility. It was late in September when I realised why ‘fate’ had taken a hand in my life in January. Being pain free and more mobile made me realise that the trip to Australia and New Zealand would have been a disaster, because I was just not fit enough to do it. Maybe another time!!

So none of this would have happened without the Blood Sugar Diet and my weight loss. Not stupendous but slow and steady. In the last six months of 2016 I lost 35lbs and then in the first 6 months of this year 28lb. Then, without the impetus of raging blood sugars, I rested on my laurels and have maintained for the rest of the year.

So to 2018 I now have to draw up a new set of goals. I have just three, to keep my diabetes in remission, to remain drug free and to lose another 28lbs. All intertwined really. I am now free of simple carbs, my taste buds have changed, I am drinking more water and snacking far less.

It just remains for me to continue this WOE with a little more vigilance, weighing and logging my food and I will make my goals this year.

What will your goals for 2018 be?

Hi Verano! May I join you in reflecting and re-focussing? You have had a great year, so have I!

I started this WOE after a chance encounter with a fat old woman in a full length mirror, in total denial over diabetes and its accompanying risks. Realising that measures needed to be taken, Dr Mosley’s BSD and later, Dr Jason Fung’s Fasting books were avidly read. I had lost 28lbs with low carb and 10,000 steps a day a couple of years ago but those pesky carbs crept back in to sabotage any maintenance 😠 Time to re-start, quick smart!

May 30th. Weight 12st 8lbs. Recent HBa1c 56
Oct 13th. Weight 9st 9lb. HBa1c 35. Metformin and Trulicity handed back to pharmacy (after a visit to delighted Diabetic Nurse!)

Dec 26th Weight 10st 7lb. This will be mostly carb induced water weight after the last couple of days so…. …..

Time to go back to weighing and logging. MFP app pressed back into service. The daily journey to work and back will be on foot. 16:8 intermittent fasting. All the above will soon have me back into my happy place (9st something)

So, Verano, I’m with you with similar goals. Keep my diabetes in remission with no drugs and get my weight back to target with some wiggle room. Blood tests in February to check progress – all to play for

Looking forward to hearing from anyone else!

Happy New Year!

Hi V, I have had.a pretty crap year as far as the diet goes in terms of weight. I was happy with my weight so began to slacken off while never losing site of the no bad carbs rule. So I have had success in terms of my BG results but even they have crept up from lowest at 5.5 back up to 6.0 – still ‘normal’ but not good enough for me, also my insulin has crept back up from 19 units to 26 so that too has to change.

Goals for 2018 – lose 1 stone by April for cruise is first goal. BG down to 5.6 on next review in March with insulin down to 20 units. That is as far as I want to think right now and will be starting a new challenge on 2nd January doing a full 8 weeks.

Good luck to all.

2017 for me was the year I eventually finally found a way of eating that helped me lose 3 stone in weight. I’ve done many diets over the years without success and this way of eating worked for me albeit slowly. I am currently in Arlington Virginia with my son for Christmas and have been off plan for the best part of a week. However, this has been a conscious decision and When I get back to UK later this week I am going straight back to a healthy way of eating. In 2018 am going to renew my resolve to eat healthily as per this plan and am going to increase my walking and my main aim for 2018 is to live as happy and healthy life as possible. One of my aims is to live more in the moment.

2017 was a good year for me because I found something that worked- in 2018 I will be continuing to follow the BSD as it really does suit me.

Good luck to everyone for continued success in 2018.

If I compare the end of 2016 with the end of 2017, it looks like I have only lost 3.5 kg or so (still better than a gain) but actually I gained quite a bit in the first half of the year then lost it plus more in the second half. Despite lots of indulgences in the past couple of weeks, I’m feeling happy and in control and ready to take on 2018 and get down to my goal weight. No, that’s not quite accurate, I can’t actually imagine being at my goal weight! I don’t know what that looks like. But I’m ready to lose more visceral fat and get healthier and say goodbye to 5 kg lumps of fat at a time before thinking about the next goal.

Good morning everyone.

Shrinkingviolet I saw that same old lady too!!!!! That was eighteen months ago now and although she has disappeared, together with her T2, her replacement could still do with slimming down still further!

I think what is coming through in all these posts is the degree of ‘control ‘ we now appear to have over our diets. No longer do we seem to have the ‘ one won’t hurt’ mentality which ends up with total abandonment of any ‘sense’. I think we have all learnt that simple carbs do us no favours and although there maybe the odd slip we can still take ‘control ‘ and carry on. I just can’t envisage going back to a carb filled life.

S-g I remember you asking me how much more ‘normal than normal ‘ did I want to be but I do understand where you are coming from. Maybe it’s a little ‘wriggle’ room that we are all seeking. You know you can do it, we all can, and will.

Ahh, living in the moment is certainly something I need to do ClarinetCathy (enjoy the rest of your trip) and also increase my ‘exercise’. I have found my weights and bands and have decided that I will make sure I ‘walk’ every 30 minutes even if it’s only around the room!

I think it’s so important to write plans down and when they are on a forum we can always remind ourselves of our goals as the year goes on.

My plan is too keep on planning until January 2nd and then the ‘doing’ starts in earnest!

I’m ending 2017 in a much better position as far as my diabetes goes, which ultimately is why I am here, although I’m getting all sorts of other things from being on this forum, too.

My Hba1c results have gone from one showing an uncontrolled high on diagnosis in August to one back in the normal range in November. My Metformin has been officially ‘unprescribed’ this morning by the practice nurse. (I was prescribed it although I never actually took it).

I’ve lost just over 3 stone on BSD since the beginning of August and only put 2lb back on during that time – 1lb of which was in the last 2 days! I’d been dieting pre-BSD so my total weight loss to date is 4st 4lbs (27 kg). I’ve tried to lose weight many times over the years and failed. I’ve succeeded this time not because I’ve developed iron willpower but because I’ve had no choice – it had to work. So much easier for me than dieting for weight loss alone. (It’s also to do with the BSD itself; thanks to MM and team!).

I’ve become a walker and a regular exerciser. I remember Terry Wogan once saying he was a lazy man who worked extremely hard. Yes, he worked hard but when he was at home he could sit for hours and hours doing absolutely nothing. I know exactly what he meant. I also remember when I was trying to give up smoking many years ago somebody giving me a tip. When offered a cigarette never say ‘no, I’m trying to give up’ instead say ‘I don’t smoke’. So, I applied that idea to exercise/activity in 2017 and now go into 2018 as an actual regular walker and exerciser. My initial high/pre-high blood pressure is mostly in the normal range.

I bought my first Lindt 70% dark chocolate bar this week and grated some on top of my full fat yoghurt for desert after Christmas dinner (delicious, Liz). Christmas evening I had a second lot, but included a couple of small shards of the chocolate. Boxing Day morning woke up and contemplated having the same for breakfast. Didn’t. But by Boxing Day evening I’d abandoned the yoghurt and wolfed down the rest of the Lindt chocolate. As Luvtcook said a few weeks ago, know your own triggers. I can have a glass of wine (didn’t bother) and not want another. I can have a piece of cake (didn’t bother) and not want another. But if I have 1 packet of crisps, I’ll want a Family bag, if I have 1 grape, I’ll want the bunch and if I have 1 square of chocolate – milk or dark – I’ll want the lot. A useful reminder for me that what clearly works for others won’t necessarily work for me – at least not for now.

My 2018 goals: to keep my blood sugars within the normal range – my next Hba1c is in March; to get down into a healthy BMI range (3lbs away from the top weight of this); to reduce my visceral fat to within the normal range; and finally, to stabilise at a mid-healthy BMI (probably) weight I’m happy with. Here we go…..

Hi, Marie! This a beautiful thread, because we’re able to see a summary
of all the accomplishments each individual has achieved, and how they
have been life changing. You’re inspirational, Marie! I wish you every
success in reaching that mid BMI ideal weight, and I have no doubt that
you will do it. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’ll certainly be here to celebrate that moment with
you…to the fullest! There is really nothing like it…like achieving the
“impossible dream”! I Promise!

Allie
xoxoxo

Allie – that’s lovely of you, again x

I’m glad to catch you on here, actually. I woke up early this morning and went looking for you on your ‘home’ thread. You mentioned a bit ago about your husband having been poorly earlier this year, and over Christmas it suddenly struck me I hadn’t asked how he was doing – too caught up in my own angst I’m embarrassed to say.

You weren’t around this morning (but it was 6am-ish UK time so no idea what time it was with you!) so I started reading your August posts – goodness, I hadn’t realised just how poorly your Jim had been and what he, and you, had been through. Hope he is much better nowadays and wish you both – well, and everyone really, – good health for 2018

Marie x

Marie – what a turnaround in such a short time – you totally rock! 😀 😀 😀

Marie, it sounds like you are in a very good place and well set to move forward on your final push….so happy that things are going well for you and that overall a wonderful Xmas for you. Onward and downward as they say.

Marie what an amazing result! You really have done so well. My goal was similar to yours although I had been diagnosed with T2 for about 5 years before discovering BSD. I do have to agree with you about the ‘health’ goal which really gave me far more impetus than dieting for weight loss alone. Since reaching my goal, in part in May 2017, I have lost some of the ‘neediness’ and have, to all intents and purposes, maintained since then. Now is my time to start again in earnest!

There is no doubt Marie that you will reach your final goal and keep your HbA1c in check. Mine has been ‘normal’ and falling since October 2016. I’m sure if you don’t put weight back and take great care with carbs it’s possible to maintain normal bloods indefinitely. Time will tell.

Natalie that sounds like a plan, 5kg at a time is a great idea. It’s like breaking the 8 week ‘plan’ into two 4 week chunks which feel much easier to deal with. I need to get back to a full 8 to get back into the rhythm of losing mode. Will have a trial run today weighing and logging everything just to see how far over 800 I am at the moment. Then at least I will know what I have to cut down and cut out!

Thank you, Marie, for taking the time to read some of my posting history
to get to know me better. I like to do that too, when I come across
someone that I’m interested in or find inspiring. There are plenty on
my list 🙂 You are right of course, it was a truly challenging year, and
I came perilously close to becoming a widow on 2 occasions, and found
myself being summoned to the hospital at all hours because Jim might
not survive the night. It might have been an occasion for stress eating,
but I had been following the plan for about 9 months at the time, and
even though there was a vending machine full of quick fix junk food
available to me in the lounge area where I routinely sat to catch up
on telephone messages, it never even occurred to me to approach it
to check out the options. I’m very grateful to the medical team who
worked so hard for 3+ weeks, and all referred to Jim as the guy with
9 lives. I might have sacrificed one or two of mine in the process,
though 🙂 If it hadn’t been for the BSD, I never would have had the health
or stamina to be all that I expected myself to be during that time. So,
am a passionate about this WOL? You bet!!!! Jim is doing very well at
present, back to teaching full time (Professor). Thank you so much
for your interest and concern, we both appreciate it enormously.
Your achievements are inspirational, Marie, and I look forward to following
you around the forums. Sometimes you’re a hard lady to catch 🙂

Love,

Allie

Allie nor had I realised just how difficult this year had been. I’m so pleased that you have both come through such a testing time and can now see the light again. Life sometimes throws curved balls and if you can deal with them it just makes you stronger. Hoping 2018 will be a much brighter and healthier year for you and your family.

Thank you, V! I hope 2018 will be a better year, too! One thing that such
an experience provides is that it teaches you to live in a state of perpetual
gratitude, and it’s easy to ignore the minor irritants that are a part of daily
life.

Hi all – some very inspiring stuff on this thread so far and I am in need of that at the moment I’m afraid. 2017 hasn’t finished quite the way I would have wanted it to. I started the year so well weight wise and got down to my lowest weight in living memory on 20th February. Since then the rollercoaster of loss and gain has been in full motion with the gains outweighing the losses in all cases, resulting in a total gain this year of over 18 lbs. I started this plan in September 2016 and initially lost 28lbs so this is not ideal! Now, I will admit, I’m not fat, to see me you wouldn’t think I had to lose weight, and this makes things so hard for me – my friends and colleagues don’t support me, saying the same things like ‘you don’t need to lose weight’ and ‘you were looking far too thin anyway’ and it makes me feel crap because I know that I feel so much better when I’m not carrying around at least an extra stone – I have a tiny frame – TINY!

I have had a wonderful year in other areas of my life and I won’t downplay that in any way – I got married to the woman I’ve loved for 8 years, I had a wonderful honeymoon and several mini moons and finished the year with a lovely Christmas with my family. This has all played its part in the gains and has stopped me being able to get a proper ‘run’ at the losses but I will now look forward to 2018 with a few ‘resolutions’

1. From 2nd January – strict 8 week BSD
2. Increase my walking again – which has fallen by the wayside (I have a couple of colleagues at work who are keen to join me so that should help)
3. Set realistic goals for weight loss – half a stone in a week just isn’t….
4. Register for Parkrun and try to do one per week (5k) – just done this – all I need to do now is turn up!!
5. Stop using special occasions as an excuse to break this wonderful way of eating which suits me so well and makes me feel so good (I’m my own worst enemy – really!)
6. Ignore the naysayers that want me to stay overweight and focus on feeling good and being healthy
7. Getting back in those damned Size 8’s!!

Some of the things that I have learned in 2017 include:

I don’t fast very well – I can do 18-20 hours without too much hassle but I do have to eat 800 calories a day in at least two meals
Exercise makes me ravenous and I need to make sure I have enough food on those days
I’m an emotional eater but it’s stress at work that makes me reach for the bad stuff much worse than anything else
I can’t have stuff in my drawer at work ‘for emergencies’ – if it’s there I eat it
I can’t have anything bad in the house – if it’s there I eat it – the only exception to this is 85-90% dark chocolate
Nothing makes me feel better than feeling thin and wearing the clothes I want to rather than those that fit me.

So – sorry for the rambling – it really does help to write all this stuff down and the resolutions are going up on my wall – I know I can do this – it’s mental as much as anything – my first (realistic) goal is to be 9 stone 10lbs by the end of January. That’s about 6 lbs (haven’t weighed myself for a while but will do that on 2 January).

All the best to everyone else – I hope that 2018 is happy and healthy for you all, stick to the plan, we know it works!

Much love

TC xxx

Allie I know only too well from personal experience how you need to thankful for what you have. I was very seriously ill in 2007, had sepsis, lost my hip and, effectively, two years of my life. But you know I am still here to tell the tale so I can’t really ask for more …. well I could, but I won’t! As you say, the minor irritants of everyday life just meld into the background when you have had serious trauma in your life. 2018 WILL be better!

Topcac I think everyone puts on weight when they get married … it’s called contentment! Anyway you’ve written it all down now. Your resolutions are not just in black and white but out there for the world to see! So, the next part is the ‘doing’. There are few of us wanting to get back to a strict 8 week BSD round again. Maybe we need an 8 week thread to keep us focused?

Wow! I mean WOW!! There are some really inspirational stories here and I feel almost fraudulent by comparison! I wasn’t struggling with T2 and only had three stone to shift and the road to achieving this has been almost disgracefully slow, but looking back over my records, I’m finishing the year a stone lighter than at the beginning and below my original target weight. For me this is a great result and added to that, I am proving to myself I am able to consistently maintain under target weight, by applying the BSD principles and using a 16:8 eating pattern on most days.

Aside from the weight thing, 2017 has been a good year and we have celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary; seen the five year rift between two of our children resolved and remained in good health. All in all a year to be grateful for and to appreciate – I’ve certainly salted away a good stock of great memories for the years to come.

Thinking ahead to 2018, my goals are as follows:
1) To increase my wriggle room by getting back to strict BSD and pushing down to 8st – at present that will require a loss of 4.8lb. Would like to achieve this by mid-Feb (no pressure).
2) Once down to 8st, to get back to effective maintenance.
3) To effectively maintain during an extended vacation over April, May and June, without my trusty scales to keep me on track.
4) To get a real grip on the whole exercise thing and improve muscle tone and general activity.
5) To end 2018 fitter and no heavier than I end 2017.

I’d be up for a thread to keep us on track as we quest for additional weight loss in early 2018, I’ll be looking out for it. Here’s to a wonderfully successful 2018 for us all.

Having been a vegetarian all my life my diet has always been higher on carbs rather than protein. I have always felt like I was battling my weight, and have also had difficult situations such as two different NHS diet specialists over the years accusing me of lying on my food logs because I couldn’t be as fat as I was if I was eating so little. The weight problem became worse about 10 years ago after a period of 6 months of inactivity because of a health problem.

I only came across BSD in late september 2017, and started the diet in October. So far I have lost 19.2kg. (sounds more impressive in lbs, 42.24) It has been so liberating to discover the relationship between carbs and burning fat, and that all the years of dieting and struggling to loose weight wasn’t because I was a failure, but was never going to work because of the level of carbs in the calories eaten. (Thank heaven for the apps which make it easy to log food eaten and its breakdown into carbs, fat and protein as well as counting calories. )

I have another 18.8kg to go to get back to my normal adult weight. Once I hit that target I will reassess depending on my shape what the next target is. The first weight loss has effected all of my body, which means that everything from tops of thighs and tops of arms feels squidgier than it used to and I still have a large spare tyre to loose. So I know I have more than 20kg more to go.

I am really enjoying the additional energy since I made this change, there are lots of projects for my quality of life I have been planning for years but haven’t happened because work and caring for the animals took all my energy. I plan over the coming year to do more things for me starting with renovating my house, and all the cleaning and painting will hopefully help with the weight loss/ body shaping.

I think it’s a great idea to have an 8-week ‘restart’ thread so I will set one up starting 2 January. Even if it’s just me that posts! 🙂

On December 31st 2016, I weighed 233 lb. I had lost 80 lb or so from my starting point and was still almost 80 pounds away from being in the overweight BMI range instead of the obese. This morning I weighed 118 lb. When I think about the breadth of changes in my life, body and mind, in just one year, it still knocks the wind out of me. I didn’t know it was possible for me to become this person. I thought I was who I was and I would spend my life struggling with paralysis and depression until it ultimately killed me. Turns out, it was the sugar and carbs destroying my physical and emotional well-being, not some sort of intrisic character flaw or weakness. Who knew?

My goals for 2018 are to continue to maintain with fierce determination. My daily limit will remain less than 20 grams and I will continue to avoid all high-carb foods, be they so-called good or bad. I will stay at or under 120 lb and do one extended fast every two months because they’re awesome and I love them. Improving muscle tone and fitness will be my major focus. I have signed up for a boot camp course at a local fitness club that starts in March, followed by a weight training course. My daily walks have been disabled by the bitter cold which I can no longer tolerate having lost several protective blubber layers. I hate treadmills, so I’m going to take my mom-in-law’s wise advise and look for a facility at one of the local colleges with indoor walking trails open to the public.

I’m so grateful for Dr. Mosley, the BSD and the people on this forum. None of this would have been possible without you. Happy New Year!

SunnyB absolutely not a fraud. Three stone is a good chunk to lose but more importantly you ‘live’ your life, incorporate long holidays and not only have you managed to lose but are maintaining and I still say that is the really hard part.

JGwen so many of have ‘seen the light’. All those years of brainwashing letting us think that ‘low fat’ was the holy grail. Then to add insult to injury those of us with diabetes were almost force fed carbs! It’s such a revelation to find this WOE and now that we have we can all shed the ‘guilt’ and get on with living a truly healthy life.

Esnecca I have heard your story before but you know what I never tire of it. What you have done is truly remarkable. To do it living in a land where super sized portions are the norm ( don’t mean to be rude) is even more remarkable. I know from your attitude that you will never go back to that dark place. Hope 2018 is a year of great maintenance for you.

I am so thankful that I started this thread, which I did really just to make myself accountable, because all the ‘journeys’ here are truly inspiring. In my low moments in the coming year, and there will be some, I’ll revisit this thread for inspiration. Thank you all for contributing. Let’s keep it going!

Topcac you definitely will not be the only one posting on an 8 week restart thread! It’s only 56 days after all and we have all been here for far longer than that! We will be accountable, not only to ourselves, but to all the other contributors to the thread too …. and there will be many!

Brilliant post Esnecca, I can now see why you have such a zero tolerance with carbs. I relaxed over Christmas and it was not good for me, I think that I will have to implement a similar policy and learn to live with it from now on.

I would like to thank all the strong women on this forum for ultimately keeping me going to better health which is what I crave more than anything. I am starting again on the 2nd of Jan. I know it’s illogical to put off starting something that I really want so badly but I have to work with the limitations of my mind-set and mild OCD, I have to do things in the “right” order or I paralyse myself with indecision and all that that entails. I only know that being on plan worked last time and it will work on this occasion, see you all on the 2nd.

Jim.

Esnecca, had not heard you say you had effectively used an extended fast before. How long do you typically do on your extended fast? I have not gone beyond 4 days yet and would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks everyone for the supportive comments. It’s been really positive to read your stories and achievements in 2017. Reading some of your goals for 2018 has helped me to refine mine. I’m writing them here as I’ll remember they’re in the ‘2017 becomes 2018’ thread.

1) To keep my diabetes in remission
2) To achieve and maintain a healthy BMI (weight – 8st 4lb, 8st 7lb, 9st – to be decided)
3) To improve other health indicators i.e. BP, cholesterol, visceral fat
4) To maintain increased exercise and p.a. and improve muscle tone
5) To develop a healthy relationship with food and a more extensive stock of delicious dishes

Allie
Good to hear about the Professor – what does he teach, anything interesting? – Btw, I’m a hard lady to catch ! pot, kettle, black ?
Marie x

Jim, think most of us are deferring the 2018 restart, to allow time to clear out the festive foods, relax our intake rules a little for celebrations etc., so you’re not alone in waiting until 2nd Jan to get back to full-on BSD. The support of the forum got me to my end goal and has sustained me into maintenance and I know for sure, I wouldn’t have stayed the course without all the lovely folks on here pushing me along.

Best of luck to one and all, for great things in 2018.

Great idea as usual, Verano, for this reflection thread, with some very thoughtful posts so far. I’ve taken some time before posting to be sure of what I want to “say”.

Firstly, I tracked back to the equivalent time last year and found we were just starting the “4 WEEK FIX … 27TH DECEMBER … WELCOMING 2017 WITH BSD GUSTO!” thread. I wanted to check my weight then and also any goals I’d stated.

12 months ago my weight was 63.7kg, this morning it was 62.5kg. So, essentially, I’ve lost 1kg in 12 months. Talk about spinning my wheels ……. during this time I’ve been as low as 61.3kg and up to 65.1kg.

My stated aims then were (copied here): knowing that I do better with behavioral goals rather than kg goals, my aims are:
1a. Be happy keeping cals under 900; carbs under 60gms
1b. Be sure cals & carbs are BSD friendly
2. Be meticulous abt fluid intake
3. Exercise has been a bit here and there lately, so will get back to regular gym and walking. I know I feel so much better when I do.

All quite reasonable as I had only a relatively small target loss i.e 8-10kgs over all, and did not/do not have, diabetes. My concern was for the steady upward weight trend and a worry about my increasing sugary/starchy carbs intake.
The behavioral goals were met sporadically over time, re-worded and re-set at different times during the year. I still have bouts of simple carb overdose …go for weeks without, feel great …. suddenly hit reverse, feel awful and have to go through the withdrawals again. Crazy.

In previous reflections I’ve talked about fear of success (rather than fear of failure) and still think that is a valid assessment, plus always was, still am, an emotional eater. E.g. I know I have osteo arthritis in the usual spots, and have a fairly high pain threshold, but just lately my fingers have been worrying me. So, saw GP today for xray results – pretty much bone on bone now in all joints of both hands plus marked deterioration in my wrists. Really just a confirmation of what I already knew but the graphic evidence threw me and I ate cake, ice cream, then fish and chips for the evening meal. Binge/eating my feelings. Old habits still dying hard. Now, bloated, unable to sleep at nearly 2 a.m., I am, as ever, regretting my thoughtless actions.

So, having reviewed and reflected on the last 12 months and, more immediately, yesterday, it’s time to renew. Time to be rid of simple carbs and see if I have the same reduction in arthritic pain that others have spoken of on this forum. Whether or not that happens, for my overall health, including cholesterol, ridding my system of simple carbs is now my main goal. All else is secondary.

A long post. Thank you for your indulgence. Amazing to have such deep feelings for people I’ve never met. xx Marilyn

Luvtcook, my standard is a 3-day fast. Usually I plan it for the second half of a week, from Wednesday early dinner (5:00PM) through Saturday at 5:00PM. The longest I’ve gone was to a late lunch Sunday, so just short of 4 days, and that was kind of a coincidence because I wanted something specific for my break fast feast and couldn’t get it until then. I’m very particular about break fast meals because by then I’ve spent a solid 10 hours thinking about it and planning it, so I cannot be thwarted when the time finally comes, even if it means I have to extend the fast a little longer. That’s one of the things I love about fasts, that feeling they give you that you are in control of hunger and can make choices without feeling driven by an external force.

I’m sure you know you have to drink constantly. Water, tea (no fruit teas unless flavored only, and check all herbals and mixes to be sure they don’t add some kind of sugar or sweetener), coffee. I usually take it very easy on the first day, keeping busy and taking a light walk but not full-throttle exercising. The second day I usually get a natural high that demands a nice long walk, at the very least, otherwise I drive my saintly OH bonkers with my babbling and bouncing around. The third day is quiet again, but also the busiest of the three as I do every chore and backup work I can drum up while spending the whole time contemplating my break fast dinner. By this point I avoid, if at all possible, food and delicious food smells. For instance I do not cook OH’s dinner, which I prepare for him nightly, on Fridays when I’ve been fasting. Sleep can be your best friend if you find yourself hungry. A nap or sleeping in/crashly early conserves energy and shortens your day.

You probably had all of these tips figured out after the first fast (or before it). If I think of any more not particularly dazzling but reasonably useful tips, I’ll post them. 🙂

Jim47, thank you so much for saying that. I know my fervent passion on the topic has rubbed people the wrong way sometimes, but I never aim to be pushy or like I’m trying to force folks to do it my way. I just feel deep in my gut (biome?) that this way of life saved mine and transformed me so profoundly that almost everything I previously believed to be unerringly true about myself turned out to be either dead wrong or easily mutable. That’s why it matters so much to me to ask people to consider using new foods, tools, language, mental outlook, anything at all that might encourage the kind of revolutionary experience I have had.

I know being organized was necessary to my success with the BSD, so I can imagine that with your OCD that goes times a thousand. I wonder if the compulsion to count can be enlisted to your advantage or would it only hold you back? I apologize if that’s an offensive or stupid suggestion; I know little about the details of OCD as a disorder and nothing at all about how it expresses in you.

Thanks Esnecca…..much appretiated. Three days seems to be my sweet spot as well. May try a noon to noon to see how that suits me, if for no other reason than to discourage my body from urges to eat after 5 pm (my downfall in the past).

How frequently had you done these…..weekly or less frequent? I assume you did the standard BSD on the other days to acheive such an impressive weight loss.

Are you still doing 800 calories or finding that if you stay under 20 gm net carb and do occassional 3 day fasts that this can keep you at your desired weight?

Sorry to be so nosey…..but hoping that low carb and some fasting will work for me for maitenance down the line. The multiple health benefits of fasting seem to me to make that a desirable feature for years to come. And I agree….I do love the freedom from hunger. Hot water seems to do if for me. Black coffee in the morning….and then just hot water after that, or some hot broth. The flavored waters sound wonderful but I never seem to actually want to do it when the time comes.

From July through October I did the last Wed-Fri stretch of every month. By that point, just short of a year after I began the Fast 800, my rate of loss had plummeted to one lb a month when in the early months it was 12-14. It was like dark magic. As soon as I crossed the BMI boundary from obese to overweight, the incline in loss was severe. I expected it but became frustrated with how up and down the scale was and how it seemed to take days, even weeks to fix a single pound’s loss. I lost one pound in June. I went up and down all July losing nothing net, then thought I’d give an extended fast a try. I lost 7 pounds in 3 days. One came back but the remaining six stayed gone. August was another 6 pound loss with none coming back. By the time I reached the officially healthy BMI weight in September, the losses slowed to about 3 pounds in 3 days. That’s when I shifted to a bimonthly fasting schedule because I wasn’t really trying to lose like that anymore.

I’ve lost another 10 or so pounds since then, just random little drops adding up and getting fixed surprisingly quickly. I still calorie and carb count because I wanted to go into maintenance mode slowly (the reverse diet method MnM talks about), but with several week+ stretches of not being able to count anything at all due to travel. I just came off one of those stretches today, in fact. I ate tons in restaurants and as a guest with family who were very gracious and considerate and had plenty of BSD-friendly food for me, including my favorite brands of kimchi, saurkraut and fermented pickles and the best unsweetened 100% cacao bakers chocolate I’ve ever had (Ghirardelli). Still under 120 lb this morning.

So, to cut a long story short (a little late for that, I know), if my experience is anything to go by, the combination of carb counting and fasting works like a charm.

Esnecca, thank you for taking so much time to outline your journey. It will be less frustrating to a lot of people now and in the future to know others like you have hit obstacles and still managed to find a way around them. I have had several (though less dramatic) stalls only to have the weight fall off later in quantities beyond what would have been expected. Its like the excess weight is sitting at the edge of a cliff and just needs a good push to topple it.

I do think the fasts are a powerful way to beat your diet into submission when necessary. Kudos to you for MAKING it work for you. That extra load just didn’t know who it was dealing with.

Hi Esnecca, I am not a slave to OCD but use that as a handle for some odd behaviour. One thing that I do is open the cutlery drawer and search through the teaspoons for a certain one, then I usually wonder why I do it. I also do this with coffee mugs until I get my favourite one because the coffee tastes better in the proper cup. A long time ago we had a son who passed away when he was 2 years old as he had multiple disabilities, my wife and me rationalised our loss by acknowledging that he was never going to thrive with his lung problems and he was at last pain free but I didn’t grieve properly for him and tried to pretend it didn’t matter and put on a brave face for my family. This backfired some years later when I just sort of collapsed mentally and couldn’t function on a day to day basis for some months. My wife was magnificent for me and kept me going till I asked the medical centre for help and they put me in touch with a Cognitive Therapy Group and over time I got better but I think that my OCD stems from that period, but as I say it doesn’t impact on me to any great extent. To cut a long story short I know that I will be more in control with “The Esnecca Method”, and I will give it a good try out on the next challenge and report back.

I think that what we do on this forum is cognitive therapy because I don’t usually tell anyone about having a breakdown, but on here everyone is so understanding and we all have suffered in our different ways, but I still feel that I am truly blessed with my life, and do thank my lucky stars when I reflect on my family and friends.

Thank you all for your caring and sharing, see you all next year, Jim.

Jim, I agree. A lot of what is going on here is cognitive therapy. You have had a far greater tragedy than most of us on this forum, but there are many who have suffered various levels of sexual abuse, and many who have suffered from being socially excluded due to their weight as well as with the self esteem issues that often go with obesity. It all leaves scars and most here are trying to heal both bodies as well as souls. You are fortunate that you had such a strong wife to see you through until you could move on to the next step. We all need someone to listen and support us. This forum helps fill that need in so many ways. So glad you have joined us. You are among friends. Best of luck to you in 2018.

I would love to get on board with an 8 week BSD commencing January 2.

Jim, glad you’re with us. I love these conversations/threads/fora, and having been here for a while have observed that we all, or mostly all, are sometimes listeners and other times leaners. It works.

Happy new year everyone, xx

Jim – you sound like you are ready- Best wishes. Luvtcook and Marsie- good thoughts and succinctly put.

Well the last day of the year has arrived and I think we all have Reflected and Reviewed now it just remains for us to Renew as the year changes. I have found your posts really moving. In the coming months, when times get tough, and they will, we can look back at this thread and ‘renew’ our enthusiasm again by re-reading our posts.
Just remains for me to wish everyone a Very Happy and and Healthy New Year. Let’s make 2018 be the best it can ever be.

Happy New Year 🙂

I seem to have unaccountably missed reflecting and reviewing on this thread, so as we approach (in the UK) the start of the new year, here it is.

2017 was the year when it all came together for me. It wasn’t faulty willpower that made me formerly obese, it was an actual physical problem and only the first step on a spectrum of health problems I had thankfully to that point avoided including but not limited to type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, PCOS, and many other seemingly related conditions. It even has a name. Hyperinsulinemia. If your body pumps out far too much insulin it has many effects, but the primary one is a consuming need to eat more simple carbs, and no ‘off switch’ when you do. I now eat simple carbs again, but have ‘rewired’ my off switch to be controlled by my brain rather than other organs, using mindfulness techniques.

I end the year a little heavier than I started, but I am profoundly unbothered by that fact, as from tomorrow the tools I have from this year of experimenting are being pressed into action again, along with a few new ones (Veganuary, I may well try to stick to that, at least on my weekday fasting days, and really pack in the good veg 5 days a week, at least one week may also be FMD.) I have also signed up to the better body program on my health mate app, which will run for the next 8 weeks of my reboot, tracking my body fat level as I try to reduce it.

I couldn’t have done any of this without this forum and the inspirational people who inhabit it, both in the past, the present and indeed the stars of the future who are just joining us. May you all have the very best of fortune in 2018.

Happy new year, everyone.

Mixnmatch, I couldn’t have put it better myself so forgive me for sharing the final paragraph from your post above.

“I couldn’t have done any of this without this forum and the inspirational people who inhabit it, both in the past, the present and indeed the stars of the future who are just joining us. May you all have the very best of fortune in 2018.”

Thank you💜👏🙅