Having an internal battle – usually go swimming at lunchtime on Thursdays – have been swimming twice a week since January ….have only been once this week and can’t go again if I don’t go today……but REALLY don’t wanna go!!!

Do it! Get in that pool. You’ll feel better for it afterwards.

GGAAAHHH!!! – I didn’t go!! I’m trying to figure out why but I think it’s a combination of things – I can’t seem to get warm and the thought of it just turned me right off, plus I can’t seem to get more than 5 hours sleep at the mo and I’m knackered and I really go for it in the pool so all in all didn’t have the energy.

However, all was not lost – I did go for a walk – did 7,000 steps and burned 350 calories – still feel like I cheated myself but a weekend in the Peaks with the pooches and some long walks ought to sort that out!

Hey you didn’t stay under the duvet (my major temptation, it is amazing how much admin work you can do from there). So all positive.

I am a walker ( dog likes a trip) rather than swimming. I have considered this before, I think what I don’t like is the changing room aspect – and swimming, even if in costume under clothes to arrive and strip, demands changing room issues after the swim. Whereas a gym or outside run allows me to get home in ‘safe personal space’ to get changed and showered.

It is not a weight thing as felt like this well before weight issues…. but sadly it is deep seated and so swimming or other pool fitness options are not on my radar.#

So I think twice a week swimming is a big achievement, and it is not the only exercise – so walking today instead of swimming, still a win.

Hi all again. Well. On a week off at the moment. Have eaten out three times and am out for lunch again today. No exercise since my pool is where I work and not where I live (30 miles away)…..but still lost a pound!! Finally over the stone mark and hit another mini goal.

Coming to the end of the 8 weeks now and think I will continue doing this plan for at least another four. I still have 8lbs to lose and that won’t happen if I go onto maintenance.

I keep thinking that I’ve cracked the cravings and then yesterday we ended up in a food emporium and I could have quite easily scoffed everything in site. It was utter purgatory. Eventually I had to ask my oh if we could leave because I felt so miserable. Sweets and chocolates don’t bother her but boy, they really bother me. I think they always will. And I can’t just have one either so buying anything is completely out. I’m beginning to dread Christmas but we’re hosting so I will have some control on what comes into the house!!

How’s everyone else doing?? 😊

Hi everyone

Hope everyone is still going with the plan, not posted for a while, and can’t quite believe that we are in the 7th week. Overrall it has been a great diet, once the tracking calories and app was more familiar. The planning of meals and shopping has been crucial but realistically speaking weekends are still difficult. My weight loss has been 1st 7lbs, which has been a great motivator as I’ve struggled with this for 2 years and am now back in clothes that haven’t see daylight for 4 years! I set myself a 2 stone weightloss challenge and so will aim to do the plan for 4 more weeks and hopefully then move to maintenance which will allow a few glasses of wine and eating out at weekends, which has been missed. In the middle of the plan there were some family birthdays and holidays and it’s been an eye opener that I fell off the wagon…..bread baskets, wine, desserts over about a week and then managed to lose the couple of lbs the following week. It makes the prospect of christmas less daunting although still a bit of a worry. Once I get started on the nibbles, can’t stop.

Good luck everyone in this last week 🙂

Well the 8 weeks were up yesterday (started a bit earlier than 12th group). HbA1c test today. The critical one for me. Will it be below 50? Will I no longer be type ?? Doubt it somehow. Diet was reasonably disciplined but actually have no idea how close I was to 800 calories max per day. Someone mentioned an APP ? Would like to know where to access that because….I intend just to keep going now. Have lost about 4kg but want to lose another 3kg. My wife has been hugely supportive with meals of fish and salads but of course we eat out as well ! Eggs are great. Cutting the carbs is the biggest challenge but managed that pretty well. Soon the lab results will be in !
Have enjoyed the group, good luck to you all from New Zealand.

Good luck Henry, hope you get the results you want!

I use the MyFitnessPal app to track my calories. It’s free and pretty easy to get the hang of and it also works on a desktop. Is that the kind of app you meant?

Henry

Use the search box on fitness apps – MyFitnessPal & Fatsecret UK are OK – but several of us have found FatSecret UK better because it is UK focused.
I know that NZ is not Australia, but I assume your food labeling and brands are similar?
several Aussie posters have mentioned an app that works for them because it’s Aussie based, rather than UK or US.

I’m in Australia and I use CalorieKing, I don’t know where it originated but it seems to have all the items and brands I want.

Hi All

Well I made it!! End of Week 8 – final weigh in saw me lose 15lbs in total. I am delighted with this. I set a target to lose 23lbs but to be 8lbs short is fine for the moment. This morning I was still on the plan – knowing that now I am on this plan I don’t really want to come off it for fear that I may go back to some old and bad habits.

So another 4 weeks it is – takes me to the beginning of December and ‘silly season’ – really hoping I can carry on losing to get to my target for Christmas – tummy still isn’t half my height so I know there’s more left in me!!

How have you guys done?

Congrats topcac, 15lbs is great! And we’ve still got time to lose more before Christmas.

The results are in ! I know you’ve all been waiting to see if the diet can significantly reduce your HbA1c sugar level. Well, in-spite of still having to take a small steroid dose daily, after 8 weeks on the BSD my levels dropped from 51 to 46 (non-diabetic is <41). This is a great result for me and was my main objective, weight loss was just a bonus.

Thanks to FitMyJeansAgain, Frog and Natalie for your advice around tracking calories – I will grab an app and then re-focus because I still have another objective or two to achieve. Hoping I can revert to simply the 5:1 diet next year.

It can be hard staying focused at times but the odd small excursion I don’t think makes much difference. Cutting potatoes and bread was definitely the hardest for me but after 8 weeks I’m ok with it. My love of sauvignon blanc also doesn’t seem to have de-railed me !

Henry – well done with your blood results
I’d go for 5:2 rather than 5:1 if I were you 🙂

Morning all – end of Week 9 for me.

Did you know that Frederick Banting was born on this day in 1891 – he was the scientist that first used insulin on humans, and received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923 – I wonder what he would think of the use of insulin now….

I’ve had a weird week. On Friday I just could not stop eating. I had four meals during the day, including a large one on a work night out. In addition to that I had two snacks (one good, one rotten). I still could have eaten more but thankfully midnight came! My only saving grace was that, apart from the rotten snack (which was a Caramac bar that had been sitting in my desk drawer for about 7 weeks!) everything was low carb/BSD friendly so my calories were 1600 (ish) and carbs below 100 (Caramac is 174 calories and 22g carbs if anyone wants to know). I beat myself up a little bit then stopped, because it’s pointless, and because it’s not the end of the world, and I got back on it first thing Saturday, went for a run and at weigh in this morning I had lost another 2.5lbs. I am as surprised as anyone but I’m not going to question it, and for anyone who thinks that ‘blowing it’ is a day when you don’t stick entirely to plan it really might not be the case.

So 17.5lbs down, 5.5lbs to go until target. The only place I don’t seem to be losing it from is my stomach which annoys me a little but I’m presuming the last 5lbs are all round there! At target weight my BMI will be 21.9 so I think losing any more would be unwise (if not impossible!)

How is everyone else doing?

TC

So end of Week 10 and I have just committed to another 4 weeks to take me to Christmas. I may not need that long as I now only have 4lbs to go until target.

In other news I think my body has actually ‘switched on’ to fat burning. I went for a curry on Thursday with work – I was determined to be good and kept low carb (not free as I had spinach and lentils) but I had far too much food. I was nervous about weigh in but I still lost 1.75lbs last week. I really enjoyed the curry too!

So I’ve had 10 weeks of no bread, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes – oh wait – I had one new potato once…no crisps, no biscuits and the occasional sweet or piece of chocolate. This is totally unheard of for me. I’ve lost weight on every diet – Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Atkins, SlimFast and I have put on weight after every single one. My last one (SW) I really thought I had cracked it but I hadn’t – because I hadn’t cracked the carbs, I really feel that I might have now and am cautiously optimistic going into Christmas that I can keep a handle on it all and not put on half a stone in a week like I usually do and then carry on that upward trend until about March/April when I despair of myself because I’ll have to lose weight for the summer!! Which I never do. It’s like that every year. I’m sick of it.

So…to end on a positive note, I weigh less now than I did 25 years ago – I’m at my lightest since this see saw pattern started in my 20’s – I do not intend for the see saw to continue. I am getting married next year – I will be thin for my wedding and 2017 will be the year that I stayed slim for life!! So there!!

Anyone else on this thread anymore?

WOW…… well done, that really is fantastic – so encouraging 🙂

You have done so well and should feel proud of yourself and you can look forward to your wedding next year – really pleased for you.

🙂 🙂 🙂

End of Week 11 and things have taken a turn for the worst. I knew I shouldn’t have spoken too soon but this week I have had so much temptation and I failed to resist most of it. This has resulted in a 1.5lb gain which I am gutted about. 🙁

I know I’ve only got myself to blame – bake sales at work, friends for dinner. If it’s not in front of me then I can cope but if it’s there, I will eat it. Bread, cakes, wine, cheesecake. nightmare.

So I have to dust myself down, again, and restart with Week 12. Less than 4 weeks until Christmas and I so want to get this last few pounds off. 5.5lbs. Seems like a mountain right now.

This will probably be my last post on this thread. End of Week 12 and 3lbs loss! Admittedly 1.5 of that was the weight I put on last week but the extra 1.5 takes me to within 2.5lbs of my goal and I am continuing until 20 December to try to stop the habit I have of starting Christmas eating around the 7th! That will also be my 100th day of this way of eating so I figure if it’s not fixed by then it’s not going to be. This week has been OK – the shock of putting on last week really focussed my mind and I stuck with it all week, batting away biscuits and sweets and other goodies ‘for the greater good’.

I’ve joined the ‘Strictly’ thread so that’s where I’ll be. Be good, keep losing and have a very Merry Christmas!

Really well done. I am so impressed and inspired. I only wish I had not fallen so far off the wagon. Trying to be sensible over Xmas and will then start again properly in January. Good for you! Shows it can be done. Sara ps Happy Xmas!

Thank you Sara. I think it’s great to read inspiring stories of success and I’m glad I’ve helped but it’s also true that it can be really really hard to stay on track. So many things in this life are sent to derail us, jobs, children, relationships, I am lucky that I found a 12 week window where my life was fairly stable, it could have easily not been that way.

I’m sorry you’ve fallen off the wagon, it’s easily done thanks to our relationships with food in most cases, but well done for taking a sensible approach to Xmas. Rome was not built in a day and this is possibly the worst time of year to be strong. Not to mention how stressful it can be!

There’s another thread started by Maharani Kitten called Bah Humbug – it’s for those of us who want to stay on plan over the festive period – maybe it will help you? Just a suggestion.

Thanks again x

All true. Although now happily retired, I have been doing lots of travelling recently, so far too much temptation and no chance to set up a routine. Will look at the Bah Humbug link and follow you on Strictly. Sara x

Hi TC hope you are not losing hope. I don’t think the odd excursion does too much harm….that’s the odd one ! While I decided to continue on a (slightly relaxed) BSD I have reached a stage where managing the carbs is not too difficult….time will tell. You have done really well and shouldn’t beat yourself up about small deviations from the path less trodden. We are a totally different age group I can tell but I have enjoyed following your progress and just wanted to wish you all the best….especially with your forthcoming wedding !
You seem to be pretty disciplined so I’m sure you will reach your goal.
All the best.
Henry H

Just wanted to post on here today, hoping that all the other 12 September starters are still here on our one year anniversary.

My journey this year has been one of many ups and down – mostly downs (and NOT weightwise unfortunately) over the last three months. I have put on a little weight since I hit my original goal of 9st 2lbs just before Christmas and am now struggling to lose again. But I am still very positive about this way of eating as I believe it truly works and has many benefits, not just around Blood Sugar and weight but general well being. I like the fact that I no longer feel bloated (except when I self sabotage obviously) and that my head is clear and I sleep better.

It has not been easy (although probably easier than I thought it would be) – and for anyone out there starting this journey, you will require an iron will and a sense of humour!! But the results will spur you on and the community that you have found on here is second to none – loving, supporting and arse kicking where appropriate. So good luck on your journeys – I will be here.

Vital stats for anyone interested
Starting Weight – 10st 11.5lbs
Lightest Weight – 8st 11lbs
Current Weight – 9st 7.5lbs
Starting BMI – 26
Lightest BMI – 21.9
Starting dress size – 14/16
Current dress size – 8/10

Much love
TC xxx

Hello topcac. I have just spend a while looking through your posts, and they are just sooo encouraging. Thank you.

Hi Topcac and any other 12 September-ers still around. 12 months on and so the battle goes but for me while I haven’t been strictly disciplined at all this year some things I have maintained. Bread – little or none, especially white bread. Takes some doing but you can get used to it. My wife found a black German rye bread that is obviously quite low GI, tastes fantastic and is my indulgence every so often. Potatoes – cut right back (hard for the son of an Irishman believe me). Pasta – next to none. My goal was to reverse my type 2 without medication. Have continued the battle with the steroids(rheumatoid issue) and reduced now to 1/2 mg per day so finally at a level where hopefully these aren’t playing a major influence with sugar control. I recorded that after 2 months BSD my HbA1c had dropped from 51 to 46 (non diabetic is <41). I check it regularly and even with my not-that-strict regime I have maintained it at 46. I’m ok with that but still want to do an extra “push” to get closer to that 41 target. So all-in-all I’m happy; got the carb intake limited, still drinking sauv blanc and cab sauv (seems to help the sugar levels believe it or not – very low residual sugars in these of course). Spring here in the Southern Pacific (NZ) so summer around the corner and more golf to get me fit again as I head towards my 7th decade !
Good luck to you all and hang in there.