Thanks both….
am actually looking forward to this. Hubby is Type 2, & has controlled it really well – until last 18mths. Fairly sure I’m pre… (& def need to lose weight) & have seen my Dad reverse his Type 2 & come off medication with BSD….
Doctors very supportive – have given us until week before our holiday to Greece (Sept) to turn hubby’s blood sugar around – otherwise it’s medication 🥺… So good for both of us – & road trip ideal timings too…. Will check out other threads too…. New to forums – but all help gratefully received. Thank you 🙏

Hi YorkshireP, When we eat a carb high diet our bodies hold on to water, once you change the amount of carbs you are likely to see a rapid weight loss initially as the body releases that water. But when it does that it also releases electrolytes. That can make you feel a little under the weather, its known as carb flu for that reason. You need to increase the amount of salt in your diet, good quality salt rather than standard table salt apparently has more minerals.

Thanks for the heads up, I didn’t know that – I’ve got some ‘posh’ pink Himalayan rock salt that someone bought me – so will give that a go….

Hi everyone – great to hear how you are all doing. Well, today is my 60th birthday!!! Am off out for dinner tonight so will not be on the scales tomorrow 😉 I had hoped to be at target for my birthday but not quite …. so I’m now aiming for May 25th when I go on holiday with my daughter for a week. 4lb to go. Will this finally be it after over 2 years now?!

Well done everyone and keep posting X

DCT- Happy 60th Birthday. Have a brilliant evening and definitely no scales tomorrow! Enjoy everything tonight, you deserve it. You are almost at your target weight and that is a brilliant birthday present to your yourself. When we both started our BSD journey over two years ago we had no idea what we would achieve. We have been like BSD sisters along the way and I am so happy for you. Have a fantastic evening and I am sure you will look and feel fabulous because you are within touching distance of the being a member of the 133 club.

🍾 Happy Birthday and your dreams really have come true to be so close to target!

Cathy xxxx

Am fasting today. I did a silly thing and had a peep on the scales and was disappointed. I was convinced I’d have lost a couple of pounds! – I can’t seem to shift any of my excess pounds. I am up and down the same couple of pounds hence fasting. Am driving to London tomorrow to see my son and am taking a piece of cheese and an egg and some Brazil nuts for the journey. There will be no M&S service station sandwiches or snacks for me en route! .

I will probably try one meal a day whilst I am away. The thing I find hardest is not drinking enough water when away from home because of needing to go to the loo. The plan is to also fast on Monday when I am driving home and again next Thursday (my day off) and hopefully the scales will start moving in the right direction. I am getting a little frustrated and had a long conversation with my husband on Sunday morning explaining how I feel about the perpetual struggle of maintenance and having to be vigilant about every single thing I eat but giving up is not an option as I don’t want to put on any more weight but I am really finding maintenance a real struggle.

It’s gone quiet on this thread, are others struggling too?

Hi CC, very impressed by your plans to keep in control this weekend. I’m just about to start maintaining and am going away this weekend. I’m planning something similar to you to try and limit the damage. I’ve a horrible scales addiction which I’m going to have to get rid of. I know if I continue to weigh daily I’m never going to get off this rollercoaster.

I don’t know your story. Have you been in maintenance long?
I can feel your frustrations but also hear your determination to Continue your success.

Hi Yorkshire P
It’s good to see another Yorkshire lass on here. I’ve found the forum an enormous support when it first started. Don’t be afraid to ask to even search the forum if you have any questions. Hope you’ve had a good few days.

Hi Roadtrippers, I am joining in for this stretch and will hopefully keep focussed and posting this time, having said I was on it a few times recently, and then going back to my new bad habits. For those who don’t remember the Mix story, I lost 8 1/2 stone over two years, with the last 8 months after I discovered this diet being the bulk (literally) of the loss. I reached my target in Feb 2017, after which I began the task of trying to stop some of the ‘diet’ behaviour and try to come up with a maintenance strategy that would just keep me at a healthy weight. I actually count my ‘maintenance’ period from 24th November 2016, as that was when I got to within 5 pounds of my target at the end of my only 8 weeks at 800 calories period, a weight I would be happy to maintain without the skinniness that resulted from actually getting back to my 25 years ago wedding weight, the rest of the time I was mixing it up with different numbers of fast days. So two years after reaching that point the trend started very slowly going back up again. I have had a few aborted attempts to get my head back in the game, but touch wood, from 1st May I have been sticking to the low carb 800 plan. I currently plan to do three weeks of this, before starting a reverse diet for the rest of the eight weeks. Since I am still in my size 12 trousers (if only just…) then I think that should do to get me back feeling comfortable with myself again, before my Birthday at the end of June.Today is only day 2 but I can already feel the difference in my motivation this time.

Mixnmatch
What an amazing achievement I’m in awe. I sure you’ll be able to advise us all.

Hi everyone and an especial welcome to the newcomers. Mixnmatch I remember you from the early days of my BSD journey (from January 2017) so it’s good to hear how you are doing and I’m sure you will be where you want to be by your birthday.

Cathy thank you so much for your kind words earlier this week. I had a lovely birthday and am now trying to get back on board, though have a big party this Saturday then more meals out and another holiday during the rest of the month. So what I’m going to do is stick to my normal BSD routine whenever I can then just enjoy the times when I can’t without panicking or feeling guilty. I’m currently around 137/138lb and still hoping to get to 133lb one of these fine days!

I do hope you enjoy your time with your son Cathy, and also that you see some downward movement on the scales soon. I’m sure you will – hopefully it’ll be a big whoosh moment and put a big smile on your face!

Hope everyone else is doing ok? Do hang in there – we all have our ups and downs (literally) and sometimes there seems to be no rational explanation for them. But remember we are on a long haul road trip not a short commute, and tomorrow is always another day.

Have a fab weekend everyone X

Hi CC, DCT and welcome back MixnMatch! I have been a bit quiet on this thread, but I am definitely keeping on keeping on. CC, I have great sympathies with your frustration. We have (had!) lost a similar amount of weight – and went into maintenance about the same time. That said, you are maintaining at a lot lower weight than I – anything under 140 is my starting weight at uni, and I won’t get to that again. Not sure the look would be that great for me in any case! I hope your plans are working out and that you are finally getting a result. But I think it is important not to get into a cycle of eating less and less. Keep surprising yourself! Healthily!

I do find maintenance hard. I am far less tempted by sugary stuff, and tasteless carbs. But portion sizes creep up, particularly nuts, and now and again wine starts to call out. I shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose, since I have had a lifelong weight problem.
And that means lifelong vigilance too. But I am pleased to say that I feel more on track now. I have stopped nibbling on OH chocolate, have cut out salted peanuts (!) in favour of healthier options, and the option of wine is not popping into my head. So I am pressing on with an eye on my June holiday in Italy! Best wishes to all.

Bah. Day 3 and I was ambushed by a retirement afternoon tea at work, when very hungry, and the white stuff prohibition went out of the window, along with today’s 800 target. Kitchen is closed at 1350 today, so will do another ketofast day tomorrow (24 hour water etc. fast from 3:30pm today when I ate the evil prawn and egg mayo sandwiches and the cream scone, followed by an extreme low carb meal with about half normal protein and the rest fat). Unlike Wednesday’s strict fast that I kicked off my effort though, I will allow caffeine as well as water/herb tea for this one tomorrow. Average for the week should still be okay as a ketofast day is only around 450 calories in total. 140g of carbs though. Kicking myself a bit.

Hello trippers

Hope everyone is staying on track and not hitting any bumps along the way. I am now back from my trip to London. I did one meal a day whilst away, took my own hard boiled egg en route but did succumb to an egg sandwich on the way home! I haven’t been on the scales since I weighed on Friday 3rd May and was 142.6 and my next weigh in will be Friday. I am incorporating longer fasts this week in the hope that I might shift a couple of pounds to take me under the 140 mark in the next couple of weeks. I find it easier just not to eat some days until evening and it will be interesting to see if it makes a difference on the scales.

Caronl, like you I am eating too many nuts and in fact I threw a bag of opened spicy nuts in the bin yesterday. I am only going to buy pecans and Brazil nuts from now on. Apart from the odd G&T I am quite good on the alcohol side of things.

Mixnmatch – nice to see you on the road trip with us, I remember you from when I started inJanuary 2017 with DCT. You’ve maintained well and it is nice that we are all trying to lose a few pounds together.

SueBlue – how are you doing?

To everyone else- hope you’re all in the driving seat and doing the best you can to achieve your goal. Keep going everyone.

Weight today is exactly the same weight as it was last Friday 142.6 – Very disappointed. I’ve done OMAD, two 24 hour fasts but still no movement on the scales whatsoever. Will keep on trying different ways to get some scale success. Four weeks to my holiday and was hoping to be 138 or less. Looking very unlikely now!

Mixnmatch, thanks for the ideas on travel food. I’m thinking of carrying food that can last 24 hours, ham olives cornichons saurkraut, nuts. I can eat them on the plane. It’s an early start so I’m staying in airport hotel the previous night, no decent places to eat.

Hi everyone and happy weekend.
How is everyone doing?
Cathy I am so disappointed for you, and puzzled as well. You are being so disciplined yet not seeing results. I really hope you do soon X One thought: are you sure your scales are ok? Have you tried either weighing yourself on different scales or testing someone else on yours? Just a thought as it all seems a bit strange. Really hope you see some progress soon anyway.
I’m managing to maintain at the moment despite the birthday party etc. Only 2 weeks to go till my holiday though, and very unlikely I’ll be at target by then! I will try really hard until I go – especially as I fully expect to put some weight back while I’m away, so will need to take remedial action once I return!
KOKO everyone and keep posting your highs and lows on here 🙂

Well done DCT on maintaining despite celebrating your birthday. That is a fantastic achievement. It did cross my mind that my scales might not be accurate but I know they are because they’re not that old and the battery is new.
I am a medical mystery! Always have been! I’ve had a variety of rare medical conditions to deal with over the course of my life! My brothers always say “why you Cathy.”

I achieved 133 lb two years ago so there should be no reason why I can’t do it again but it does seem to be a lot lot harder for me this year. I have always been a slow loser and I remember getting under 140 lb first time took me a long time. I know my bloods are all normal so that was very reassuring as I was convinced i had a metabolic problem earlier this year! I have decided that 133 is not maintainable hence my top weight is going to be 138 and that is what I am going to try for before my holiday because like you, I expect there will be some gain on my return!

This thread has gone quiet recently. I did wonder about going off the grid myself for a while but I need to stay accountable as I could quite easily pack it all in. I have decided to take a more relaxed approach to being slim because to be honest I am getting fed up of being so blooming hard on myself week in and week out! I am currently 4lb heavier than my ideal weight and I have decided that life is too short to be getting myself into a state about being a few pounds over my target two years down the line. My plan is to stick to what I am doing, up my walking and just be happy that I am still in maintenance and am healthy despite not being where I really want to be. I am wearing size 10/12 so I have a lot to be thankful for. I have to keep myself in check weekly because if i take my eye off the prize, weight piles on.

KOKO is they only way …….. Plodding and plodding and plodding.

PS: Just got back from orchestra rehearsal and yet again I was the only one who didn’t eat a piece of home made cake!

Hi CC, I came across some interesting information on how Iron deficiency can effect women with weight loss. I posted a couple of links about it on the take a look at this thread a couple of weeks ago.
I can understand why you stress about the reading on the scale, because its one of my bug bears as well, because at the back of my mind is the issue of the weight I am asking my horse to carry and saddle fit. = But. over and over I see the evidence that body composition, and particularly the stronger bones and muscles which come from this way of eating is far more important than a figure on the scales.
Is there any way you can find a place near you to do a body composition scan? It may put your mind at rest.

CC I too am a scale addict. I have even taken to re weighing myself after I’ve been to the loo if I don’t like the first results.
Although I’m a little shy of my target I’m happy enough for now. I’ve not got the maintenance thing straight yet.
I took the battery out of the scales and put them
In a drawer this morning . So let’s see if I can resist them tomorrow.
JGwen I’m going to have a look at the iron deficiency link now, thanks Hope the bloomers are working out for you!

JGwen

I’ve just watched the video you posted regarding iron deficiency anaemia having an affect on ketogenic weight loss, I found it fascinating and couldn’t wait to check out my recent ferritin level. A number of years ago my ferritin level was 8 and I was put on iron. In January this year my ferritin was 27 ug/L (reference. Range 10-291). It’s normal at 27 but I would say it’s in the low range which may be contributing to why I am finding it so difficult to lose weight. I am 58 years old and haven’t had periods for over 10 years now and I know that a recent colonoscopy was normal and therefore I am not losing any blood so I hope my ferritin and iron stores don’t reduce any more. Like you, I am a strict vegetarian and therefore don’t get any haem iron to increase my iron stores. I am going to have a word with one of the GP’s I work with to see if it would do any harm to take an iron supplement for three months.

Thank you for posting this interesting and potentially relevant information.

Skipping- I used to weigh every day when I started BSD. Now I weigh once a week to avoid disappointment. Scales have a lot of power over how I feel which is not good. I suppose everyone tying to lose weight can have a good/bad relationship with the scales but JGwen is correct, they don’t tell us the whole story.

Hi CC, please let us know how you get on with the Iron supplementation. I hope it turns out to be the answer for you. I haven’t seen the results yet from the full MOT done as part of this weight training research program, so I don’t know if they tested for Iron levels. – they did take 4 portions of blood, so they may have done.
I noticed that there doesn’t seem to be the same trend of target setting and reporting on either this thread or the weekly thread. I don’t know if its a good change or bad thing. – It was so hard to read people beating themselves up because they were setting unreasonable expectations of a daily weight loss and not making it.
I have been all over the place in recent weeks with being on and off the waggon. The good news which comes from being off the waggon at times recently is I can report that I have some progress on Insulin Resistance and inflammation. – I had an old injury from being bitten by a horse which was always inflamed / itchy, the inflammation went away after a period in ketosis, but back in the early days of this WoE if I stepped off the waggon and had higher carb levels it was straight back. That doesn’t seem to happen any more I was off the waggon for 4 days last week without it getting inflamed. I also get back into ketosis more quickly if I step off the waggon, but I still have skin tags, so I guess there is still more progress to make.
My big change is that life seems so much brighter this spring to last year. – I am happily getting more tasks done outside making the most of every sunny day this year, so it sort of seems like the weather is better than it has been in previous years.

JGwen- I love your pragmatic approach to the BSD way of life and it’s lovely to read how positive you are feeling. I am learning a lot from you and thank you for all the research you do for us. I will let you know what advice I am given regarding whether to take an iron supplement. I have just read that a ferritin level of 27 would be described as borderline so it might not do any harm taking iron for a few months but is will only do it after taking professional advice. I am feeling fit and well and to be honest I’ve never really had great iron stores. I’ve suffered a lot of ill health throughout my life. I lost my hair many years ago, I had auto immune disease as a child in the form of Stills Disease and actually I wear a hair system which I have had to wear for 10 years due to alopecia. It was thought that low iron stores could cause alopecia but I have read scientific papers which don’t correlate. When my ferritin was 8 I took supplements to try and increase my ferritin levels but I couldn’t get it up to the levels where they reckon hair starts to grow. It will be interesting to see if taking an iron supplement (should I get the go ahead) makes a difference to my weight loss. I’ll keep you posted. Isn’t it interesting and just goes to show how complex the science of weight loss really is.

Morning guys I am back over here as I need to get back on me horse. I want to discard half a stone by June 22nd. I don’t think I will get into my dress but I do have back ups that would look just as good. But the half a stone needs to go!! Hope you are all ready for your trips too. Wishing you all the luck. JGwen I feel your off and on and I know you will do this. Thank you so so much for all the research you do and all your fantastic advice you give us. It is easy to forget that you are on this journey too. I am sending luck, love and admiration to you lovely lady.🤗❤️ Have a good trip hun. Birdy💞🦜

Birdy, I need to saddle up again too! And 1/2 stone by June 22 would be great for me. My (albeit trimmer and peachier) posterior needs a bit of a kick. Don’t hold back with nagging me all! I need a stick not a carrot.

Popping back after a bit of an absence. The posts on here are very encouraging, and JGwen, your post has made me feel good about a decision I reluctantly made yesterday.
I get so frustrated and always want QUICK results, to the point that if they’re not quick, I don’t always bother. Then of course, I’m heading in the wrong direction. I have exactly four stone to lose, and have set myself a whole year in which to do it. This time next year, I’d like to be four stone lighter. I’ve never set so lengthy a goal before (although I’ve never needed to lose quite that much before!) and I’m hoping it will help me do it right rather than having the opposite effect.
I have targeted to try and lose one of those stone by the end of this challenge in July. I expect the weight to come off slower after that and that’s fine. But I’m so unhealthy and ill and desperate to get well.

Hi Birdy
The reason I have been on and off the waggon recently is linked to being a guinea pig on this weight training research program. I couldn’t work out what to do about the risk of creating false results by fasting. So I have been following what I would describe as a maintenance way of eating for the last couple of months. – Some days I am in ketosis, but I am not working to achieve that every day. I have continued to loose inches but the scales are showing a 3kg gain.
I have noticed that I seem to have less Insulin Resistance – When fasting my ketone levels are higher, I can stay in ketosis even if eating a slightly higher level of carbs than I used to, and I can return to ketosis more quickly after a carb fest. – I don’t know if that is a result of increased muscles, or mixing up eating styles so I am exercising the mechanisms which come into play when changing between fat and sugar burning modes. – Strangely I can find research articles on the benefit of weight training for male diabetics – but not for female. (Not that I was ever diagnosed as diabetic, but research on insulin response is usually linked with research on reversing diabetes. )
The professor running the study irritated me last week. – He started telling me how weight loss is all cal in / cal out. – And how he could sort out anyone who was overweight by putting them on a desert island with a daily calorie allowance of 1500. – He didn’t expect me to come back with an alternative evidence based response. Now I wish I hadn’t played fair by not fasting. —— But now I know where there is one of those machines that I can do body composition tests on. So I am working on a plan to get access to that longer term.

Is that a DEXA machine JGwen?

After chatting to the pharmacist at work today I have just ordered three months worth of Ferrous Fumerate online and will take one tablet twice a day for three months to see what affect it might have on my weight loss. My ferritin is currently 27 and as a strict vegetarian it is hard to get haem iron absorbed so will take the supplement with a vitamin C drink and let’s see what happens and hope my iron stores increase a little.

Nice to see some realistic goals being set on this thread. Our bodies all behave so differently to this way of eating and as an experienced BSDer I know that it does work albeit sometimes slower than we would like. The key is keeping positive and keeping focused and staying determined. Today at work I kept thinking how good I would feel if I could lose a few pounds before my holiday to Turkey in June. Anyway, I am trying hard and sticking to the rules. Today I have eaten cottage cheese, a few nuts and an apple (one a week). I have had Greek yoghurt and four strawberries. Coffee with cream. Two Quorn burgers with a little cheddar cheese and salad. I have drank about 8 large glasses of water. Tomorrow I am having asparagus and eggs for my evening meal and for lunch I will have cottage cheese and salad.

Jordana- great idea to set yourself realistic goals. There is no quick fix to losing 4 stone. It took me 11 months to lose 3stone – I was and still am a slow loser but one thing I learnt was that it doesn’t actually matter how long it takes- once you have achieved your Goal you will feel fantastic. Just keep chipping away slowly and steadily. Best of luck to you and your plan sounds great.

Good luck everyone for the week ahead. I will post this weeks weight on Friday – please let me have lost something!! Am going to do a 42 hour fast Tuesday to Thursday.

Hi all, I’ve been laying low recently as I’ve had little motivation diet-wise. My health woes continue with more RA flares, a new medication which is making me feel nauseous and now I have to have some tests for Osteoporosis as the specialist feels I shouldn’t have broken my shoulder in a fall from standing height (it would be different if I say fell from a ladder). Anyway..
weight has been up and down, I lose a kilo one week and then gain 2 the next, lose then gain etc. Each Monday I start again with a renewed sense of purpose and by Wednesday I’m going off plan. Not in a huge way, I mainly eat to plan and on a bad day my calories are no more than say 1200.
Of course I still have at least 20kg to lose. I’ve decided to try a 5:2 approach combined with 16:8 (or more likely 14:10 to fit in with work). So I’ll try 800 calories for 2 days a week and not count on the other 5 days, but eat on plan foods. And I’ll only eat between 8am and 6pm on work days and 10am and 6pm on other days. Let’s see how that goes!
The silly thing is I know the plan back to front, I know it works (from past experience), I just can’t seem to get in the right headspace, which is 90% of it I think!
I feel for you Cathy as I know you try so hard and are so disciplined (not a slacker like me!) and it must be awful to do all that and not get the results you want. I hope the iron supplements work for you.
All the best to everyone else, I read somewhere that it’s only 8 weeks to the start of the English summer (we are heading for winter here), so still time to lose before your holiday season begins 🙂

There was pizza and potato wedges and coke at work today supplied by a pharmaceutical rep for our staff to eat for lunch! The irony! Everyone tucked in- not me! Really wanted to but just thought NO! I had a yoghurt and 4 strawberries and some nuts! I wanted it but I knew how bad I would feel after I ate it but ever worse when I get on the scales. At least if the scales don’t move when I am being good, I know it’s not because I cheated eating Pizza! It’s so hard being the odd one out at work! Four weeks til my holidays and I am thinking of holiday shorts and swimming costumes feeling comfortable and not bulging!

Hi Everyone, sorry for the AWOL….. Have spent a week trying to find this thread… Logged out, and had to re-register… puzzled…. Couldn’t find any names I recognised & got rather bewildered by it all… Then…. Then…. Then realised I was on the wrong website 🤣🤣🤣 (Did say I was new to forums)…. oh dear!!!!
Anyhoo, sounds like you’ve all been busy, some great tips and advice and support here 🙌……
Hubby and I now into week 3… my BS pretty much back in normal range (from pre-diabetic)…. hubby’s BS (Type 2) still a bit all over the place (been reading other threads that TOFI peeps usually have to do all 8 weeks – but any stories/ideas greatly received)… and I’ve lost about 11lbs 😀 am delighted…. Loving the recipes, completely re-organised my kitchen as we are cooking so differently…. Still not sure about a definitive target weight… just slimmer for hols first week in September. I’ve a long way to go, so just happy that things moving in right direction…
oh, driving today, sun shining, windows down, on motorway, singing, made me think of road trip music… Bohemian Rhapsody -Queen, would be my “open road” music…. Hope you’ve all had some sunshine, good for the soul ☀️

Cathy – well done for being able to resist the pizza 🙂 every week I am faced with temptations at work. Sometimes I join in and have half a piece of cake/slice/brownie, as I think well It’s 1/2 the calories if I have less, BUT then all afternoon and evening I’ll crave carbs, it’s like having a small piece of cake turns on a switch!
2 of my colleagues are very slim and they ALWAYS say no to office ‘treats’, I’m going to be more like them. They’ll say things like “not right now, I’ll have some later” when offered cake, and of course later never comes. When I was first doing BSD I always made sure I had a piece of fruit or some nuts to eat at group morning teas – then no-one used to say anything about not having cake.
Yorkshire Pippin – I love Queen music for road trips, throw in some Elton John too 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing Rocketman when it comes out at the movies soon!

How did you go with your weigh in on Friday Cathy?
I’ve had a better week this week with a 500g loss. Not a lot, but better than a gain!
I’m having a productive day today, meal-prepping for the week ahead. It’s autumn here and although the days are warm (22-23 degrees) it’s cool at night and in the morning so I’m making soup, porridge and curry. I have a roasted pumpkin soup on the stove, baked mushrooms with spinach and feta in the oven, a red lentil and veg curry in my bigger slow cooker and steel cut oats with apple and cinnamon in the smaller one. Next I’m going to chop up some celery, capsicum etc for veggie stick snacks. No excuses this week!

CC I’m impressed by your will power.
Sue blue, you planning has motivated me to do the same.
I’ve not weighed myself for over a week and the weight is creeping back on. I’ve had a second week in a month with exchange/ visiting kids. So have been feeding 8 and madly busy. This week was my second week of maintenance and had frankly been a disaster. Lots of carbs, missing meals not drinking and I’ve got a cold.
I’m still not sure how maintenance is going to work but this is definitely not the path. I’m going to be a lot more mindful this week

I didn’t get weighed on Friday Sue Blue. I just am fed up of looking at the figure going up and up. Your meals sound really lovely that you’ve planned and well done on a loss last week. It sounds to me like you’ve got fire in your belly to get a few more pounds off. It’s relentless isn’t it but so much easier when you’re In the right mindset. Thank you for inspiring us!

I went out with a friend on Thursday for lunch and I had book club on Friday night and I couldn’t bear the scales dominating my mood so hence avoided them. I had red wine and crisps at book club and didn’t care! sometimes I just want to say enough is enough. Last week I had really good days and a couple of not so good days where I ate Things I know I shouldn’t. Surely that is 5:2 isn’t it? I hope by mixing things up a bit my body might get confused.
I have started taking the ferrous fumerate tablets to help boost my iron stores, can’t take any today as I am fasting and don’t know if my stomach will tolerate them whilst empty!

Today I am fasting and am am struggling a little to be honest. My strength and willpower is definitely waining. If the scales were showing results I would feel as if it was worth the fight but lately they have not been showing any loss so that is when I being to feel the fight is too hard.

I am having a party at home next week for my son who is 30 and I have bought a beautiful pink and white spotted linen dress to wear which is size 12 and looks lovely. I know I wouldn’t have been able to wear something as unforgiving had I not lost 3 stone and I don’t ever want to put it back on so I have to be strict with myself and there lies the dilemma. I can’t have it both ways!

***** Want to be slim and feel good – follow BSD. Eat whatever I want and get fat! Simple! *******

Good luck to everyone. I will work hard this week. Fasting today and Thursday and will get weighed on Friday. Am going to make some egg/cottage cheese/red pepper and onion muffins for tomorrow for my lunch at work, Even just writing this post seems to have encouraged me to find some positives and try to be as near to 138 as I can by 9th June – my holiday to Turkey, I’ll draw a line under my book club dalliance and think positive for this week.

Skipping – I am joining you and being more positive and mindful this week. Eyes on the prize.

I am probably about 5 lb heavier than I was this time last year at the moment (can’t be too sure as I haven’t got weighed for a couple of weeks) so actually in the big scheme of things maintenance is probably going OK!

Sorry for the long post- you can tell my head is all over the place at the moment!

Morning fellow road trippers hope you are all well? I have had a couple of weekends of naughtiness and I am back on this trip today! I still want to discard half a stone by June 22nd so my water in take needs to get back on track! Such a simple thing that is so easy to forget!! I know if I drink plenty of water it helps me in all areas! I am going for OMAD over the next two days to give me that kick start back on this trip and get it done. Life really has a way of dragging us down the carb craving road! Even though wine, crisps and two slices of toast have found there way into my gob I have been very good with my main meal choices! I could have eaten rice but instead I made cauliflower rice and I could have had toast with my breakfast but instead I had mushrooms! They are such a good filler upper!🤣. So here’s to continuing this amazing trip and discarding our weight and keeping that nasty sugar and carb crap away from our mouths no matter what our lives throw at us! Have a fab day guys and let’s keep on keeping on. Birdy💞🦜

Clarinet Cathy.
Your dress sounds beautiful and it’s great that you can appreciate how fantastic you look in it. Buying and wearing new things is a good motivation for me to keep away from the things I shouldn’t eat. I’m a long way from sussing this maintenance malarkey but I know that lasts weeks attempt wasn’t it. IM aiming for more control this week and maybe 2 x 24 hour fasts. Which is really only missing my lunch. No biggy if I’m busy. I’m going to plan, be more mindful of what I shove in my gob and finish the week more relaxed but not freewheeling.
Going to weigh every other day this week as hiding the scales made it easier to throw myself repeatedly off the wagon.
This week will be bettter. I will wear my new trousers with pride.
The prize is ours for the taking!

Fasted from 9pm Saturday to 12.30 pm today. For lunch I had three of the little egg muffins I made yesterday followed by Greek yoghurt and some raspberries. For my evening meal tonight I’ve had an egg, some broccoli and three quorn sausages. I am going to fast again from Wednesday evening to Friday morning. I’ve got under three weeks until my holiday and I definitely felt in control today. I’ve drank plenty of water today. Did a Lesley Sansone walk at home video on YouTube yesterday to get my fat burning! I have arthritis in my big toe which makes walking really uncomfortable and my big toe is really sore today! ☹️

Skipping, it won’t be long before those trousers of yours are being worn with pride. I tried on a pair of my white jeans over the weekend that I wore comfortably last summer and they felt a little snug so I am on a mission with you. When I reached my target weight last year I got rid of anything that was too big so I don’t have any larger sizes to wear should my trousers be too tight to wear!! How many of us have had clothes in our wardrobe in a variety of sizes over the years. I made a pact to get rid of everything that was too big as there is NO WAY I will ever get big again.

Birdy- nice to see that you’re back on the wagon with us. We have all hit a few bends on this road trip but thankfully we are back on track. You should be able to lose half a stone by 22nd June. 1.5 lb per week is doable with mindfulness and determination

I’ll post this weeks weight on Friday morning. I am back to basics this week. Keeping everything crossed for a loss by Friday. Eyes on the prize everyone. Only we can do this for ourselves. I am aiming for 2lb this week.

Hello all and lovely to see all your recent posts.

SueBlue welcome back and your food sounds fab! Can we all come to your place? Actually wouldn’t that be great – a month’s BSD retreat with like-minded people?! I think that’s just what I need …

I’ve been doing ok recently but seem to just keep self-sabotaging at the moment. It’s one excuse after another. And as you said on here SueBlue carbs seem to beget carbs! Up till the last week or so I’ve surprisingly been doing really well – in the 136-138lb range which is amazing for me. But this weekend I went up north to visit my mum and ended up drinking and eating way too much – partly to encourage her to to enjoy eating and drinking again (she’s 91 and struggling with appetite). All well and good but I got back here late last night and exhausted so after a busy day at work have for some pathetic reason just sunk a load more wine and half a (large!!!) bar of fruit and nut chocolate 🙁 🙁

But I’m not too hard on myself – we’re all friends on here and all have ups and downs. I know I’m in good company! Sometimes life is tough and we just fall off the wagon a bit. I’m just annoyed with myself as I’d been doing great and am off on holiday this weekend – target date not met yet again!

Anyway on the positive side I have a job interview this week (am retiring from my full-time job this summer) – so it’s all very much new beginnings for me. And whatever the scales say I’m so much slimmer and fitter now than I have been for a long time. Still plodding along 🙂

Go well everyone and here’s hoping for a good week for us all. Cathy I do hope that your efforts pay off this week – you deserve it X

DCT- so happy to read that you have got to 136-138! That’s such good news- tremendous effort and after your birthday celebrations too. You must have worked hard and I am inspired by that.

Good luck with your interview, how exciting to be starting afresh. I can’t wait to retire. I am going to get my NHS pension statement in August and am seriously considering taking my pension early. My mum died young so didn’t get to enjoy retirement and it has made me think. Keep us posted regarding your new venture.

Have a wonderful slim holiday with your daughter and embrace all your hard work- I bet you look fabulous!

Watch this space on Friday as I will definitely be posting my weight for this week……….. keeping everything crossed for a loss…..PLODDING PLODDING PLODDING to 138 or less!

good evening lovely people 🙂
I would like to join your road trip – I have just started my 8 weeks plan today and am looking to discard approx 70 lbs over the next 12 months or less. I have been procrastinating about doing this for the last 6 months and have seen my bloods sugars, weight and general fitness go to pot 🙁 enough is enough! onwards and upwards and hopefully it will help my old lady menopause problems get better too.

Hello IceCubeElf and welcome!

I’m so excited for you – you WILL lose lots of weight on this diet but there will be ups and downs (literally!) and we’re all here to help. We’re all ages and all shapes and sizes and all different targets and journeys – and lots of us on the menopause cycle …. but the main thing is that we are all on this road trip and moving forward together. I promise you that if you stick with it/us for at least part of the time then your blood sugars, weight and general fitness will definitely reap dividends. And hopefully you’ll have fun along the way 🙂

Hello to everyone else and hope you’re having a good week? KOKO everyone! My job interview is tomorrow – brave new beginnings ?!

Special hello to Cathy and SueBlue – my fellow Jan 17 starters. Hope you’re having a good week X

A very warm welcome to the road trip ice cube elf, I have noticed a few new starters to BSD on the forum today and you’re about to embark on a totally new way of eating which will have a massive impact. This way of eating (WOE) has helped many of us reach our goals and some of us are still plodding on towards them. The forum is full of lovely people who are happy to share their knowledge. It nice to see that you are now ready to get
into gear and start the road trip with us so welcome aboard. We are all at different parts of our weight loss journey on this thread, some old timers like me, I started in January 2017 and achieved my goal But am struggling a little with maintenance hence I am desperately trying to lose 4lb before the 9th June when I go on holiday having achieved my target about 18 months ago, had a blip in April when I went away and purposefully went off track and am trying desperately now to get back to where I’m feel comfortable albeit a little over my original goal of 133. I am hoping to be 140 lb this week and 138 for my holiday. I am pleased that you have a long term goal and so your journey has begun so good luck to you and welcome.

DCT- good luck for the interview tomorrow! I am so excited for you. I am doing good this week. Fasting tomorrow again so hopefully can optimise my chances of a loss on the scales on Friday.

How is it going for you SueBlue? Hope your lovely meal prep has inspired you to keep on track.

I’m keeping a closer eye on the scales and what I’m eating this week. It was my plan to gradually increase my calories but if failed at that a bit.
I fasted again Sunday through to Monday tea time and I think this is something I can incorporate into my life without too much difficulty. A 24 hour fast produces a reliable weigh loss for the next two days so maybe I’m
starting to find my way.

Hey Skipping, great minds think alike. I fasted from Saturday evening to Monday lunchtime 41 hours and have fasted last night to later tonight 24 hours. A total of 65 hours fasting this week should definitely have an impact on the scales tomorrow. I am I ketosis according to my Ketostix. I want to get back to goal so much. Once at goal I am definitely going to incorporate a weekly fast into my regime. I actually enjoy the freedom it afford me.

Got a party at home on Sunday for my son’s 30th birthday and have already decided that I will enjoy the party but eat mindfully and then fast on Monday. I hope that I will have lost 2lb tomorrow and will aim to lose 1 lb next week leaving me a further 1lb the final week before my holiday. # come on.

DCT, congratulations on your weight loss and fingers crossed for your interview.
Welcome aboard ice cube elf. There must be a story behind your name. There are so many people with motivational stories who are generous enough to share and advise when asked. If you need help or support it will be here.
Cc you positivity is bouncing off the screen.

Hi guys well done DCT and good luck. Skipping you are doing well hun and I am sure you will have your head well and truly into maintenance soon😝. Welcome IceCubeElf and yes do tell us how you came up with your handle, we are very curious people🤣 CC wow just wow hun❤️ . After doing OMAD Monday and Tuesday and of course well over 24 thousand steps with the nightshift I am down another pound today making my discard 5lbs this week! I wasn’t worried about the weight as I am still losing cm’s, inches and have done all the way through but I had been naughty two weekends in a row and needed to get myself back on the wagon. So here I am on course (ATM) to getting into my dress for the Ball on the 22nd of June. Well done to us all👏👏👏🥰. WE HAVE GOT THIS😝 Birdy💞🦜

2lb off this morning which I am delighted about. Weight 140.6. Two long fasts this week and very low carb days when eating so I’d say that was a result! Aim is for 138 for definitely achievable in two weeks. Just keep doing what I am doing. Fasts are scheduled for Monday and Thursday next week. Two x 24 hour fasts.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and keep on keeping on- Plodding, plodding,
plodding to your goal!

CC. Very impressed. The prize is yours for the taking next week and you’ll definitely be wearing your dress to the party.
My weight has been up and down by as much as 1kg every day. But I’ve ended the week under my target. But I guess that’s what maintenance is about. I’m going to keeep on weighing every day Next week. I’ve had a virus all week and haven’t felt energetic so would like to do some more exercise next week and make mainly good choices with food.
I’ve still not got my head around my daily macros and calories but it’s a work in progress.
it’s easy when you’re losing weight because the rules are clear and it’s so strict. You might mess up but you know your doing it. Now I’m In maintenance it’s a whole new game. Happy Friday all