Hello. Hoping by putting it out there that I am starting this diet again that I can stay the course this time. Managed 5 days the first time before having people over for dinner and the rest was history. Stressful situations and I continued to comfort eat. That is my problem. Food is a crutch and always eating in a rush. Running around after kids will do that to you. It’s ironic though I am very mindful of what my children eat but don’t look after myself. I need to do this to avoid the serious complications experienced by my father and grandfather type2. Neither of them were over weight – thin on the outside fat on the inside type people but lifestyle led them to type 2.

I don’t have any scales. Just judge myself on how my clothes are fitting and for several years now that has been rather uncomfortable fluctuating between sizes. So to those that have been doing this diet for a while do you think scales are necessary? Still waiting for the books to turn up. Any tips would vet greatly appreciated.
Caro

An example – yesterday I ate 3 chocolate bars and a few bowls of cereal. Not good.
Enjoying reading your posts. Very encouraging.

Hi Caro,
Welcome! Yes, using the forum helps. You can ask questions if things are stalling and get lots of ideas to try and support. Others may be going through similar situations and if you share again – you will get support. I would not have kept going without this. Like you, I comfort eat and after a very stressful year where I was eating irregularly and badly and I needed to sort it out.
The main thing is to remember you are retraining your body and taste-buds to prefer new non-carb foods. It is not just an 8 week time period – it is for life. So, if you have a dinner party – just restart on the Monday and don’t beat yourself up over what happened at the weekend. Most of us have periods that are hard to control, just forget it and get going again – lots of us have done that :-).
I found that Mindfullness helped me dealing with stress – there is a forum on the subject with advise on apps to support you through it. It gives you time to yourself – even if it is only 10 mins a day and if you are getting stressed, ‘tools’ to help you deal with it that can pull you back from the food.
On the subject of scales – no you don’t need them, but you do need a starting weight and I would suggest a weekly weight check. It is very motivating to see the losses and also, if you have a bad weekend, you see it has not had quite as bad an effect as your imagination has predicted! You can weight in at a local store, in the UK most Boots the Chemist have good scales – try to weight at the same time of day with the same clothes! What is important is a tape-measure. Take all your measurements at the beginning, so you can see the changes.
Good luck with the restart and I hope we see lots more posts with your progress.

Hi Orchid.
Thanks for your comments. In my first five days it was a great success. I could see the weight coming of my stomach and backside. I just felt lighter. The one downside was I struggled very badly with fatigue in the afternoon which i never do. So bad in fact that when i put my son to bed for his nap around midday ish i was dashing to the couch myself for a sleep. The tiredness was overwhelming – I couldn’t stay awake if i had wanted to. This was completely foreign to me as i have never been able to nap during the day. So after my night 5 dinner fiasco I found myself reaching for carbs to stay awake to get some jobs done while my son slept. Quick fix carbs. Have you had any of this sort of fatigue? Books finally arrived late today. Had a good dinner of salmon and salad. Need to peruse the recipe ideas. That is half the battle i think. Knowing what to cook and being prepared. How far into this lifestyle are you?
Caro

Welcome back Caro! All I could think of as I read your posts is, “been there done that” Here’s the good news: it doesn’t really matter if you mess up, just start again the very next day. And it doesn’t really matter if you are perfect at staying at 800 calories, if you go over, it probably won’t be by too much and it works anyway! And it doesn’t really matter if you ever get on the scales again, you’re going to SEE the difference really soon. I am pushing 14 weeks and I have fallen into every pitfall there is, but, my clothes are falling off, my stomach is concave for the first time in ten years and I can honestly say this works. Just don’t quit!!!! Bad days of all sorts (physical and mental) happen to all of us — I had a bad day Monday when my dog had surgery — I drank a whole bottle of wine and also ate half a batch of cookies — but it is the next day that matters. Draw a veil over the crummy day and just start again. Good to have you back! P. s. Dog is ok😄 (and so am I!)