I think you are right about the fat burning machine part. Since getting to maintenance I have had two week long holidays in Cornwall with all the lovely food I wanted, and plenty of walking, and both times actually came back a pound lighter than I went.

Chrissie, that sounds like an amazing holiday and an amazing achievement to lose weight whilst enjoying it. Well done. Enjoy your last day – and your new swimsuit when you get it😜

I’m on holiday too atm, has involved far too much wine, so I hope I will be able to report no gains when I return home. Definitely not eating as much though – more often than not I’ve been having a starter as a main course and it has more than filled me up. But oh that wine…….

Hello everyone, I have no weight loss to report I still seem to be stuck. I am having more wine than I should, it’s hard not to when I’m dating 😀. I have been very good with food choices though and walking more. I’m going to try and avoid wine during the week and just indulge at the weekend. I’m hoping to lose some as I’m only 2lbs off my next mini Goal but it is eluding me at the moment. So much has happened all at once with my dad being in hospital and also meeting someone.

It’s lovely to read about all your successes, you have inspired me to get back on track !

Quick update and thanks for all lovely support! I started off at 95.6 in january and this week I weigh 85.9 kg. I ve also joined a running group and i have beaten the magical 30 minutes for my 5 km.
The trick to me is like you pointed out seasidesusanna to see the diet as a sustainable way of living. My husband and I have changed pasta to eggplants. I stick to misosoup with spinach and prawns for lunch and change potato to weggies or extra sallads when dining out. Beeing a registrar GP even some of my patients have noticed and I feel much more confident in giving health related advices.

Home from my 10 day holiday and, despite too much food and FAR too much wine (there were more than a few “lost” afternoons 😜 ) so, as we were travelling all day yesterday and airline /airport food have never provided much temptation to me, I decided to try to reverse some damage and fast from breakfast yesterday to breakfast today – worked out at almost 26 hours with nothing but black tea and copious amounts of water.

Well, my friends, it worked and I jumped on the scales with trepidation this morning but am thrilled, not to say totally gobsmacked, to report that I have not gained so much as an ounce whilst away 🙂 It may have been a totally different story had it not been for the fast though.

Feeling really pleased as it was a month ago yesterday that I achieved my goal weight and entered maintenance and am now really starting to believe that I can do this long term, incorporating holidays / social occasions etc, and just being careful the rest of the time. I am staying well away from refined carbs (which I honestly no longer miss) but have reintroduced more fruit into my diet and allow myself a glass of wine every day – probably 2 at weekends, and so far so good. I fully intend using a 24 hour total fast in the future as and when the scales show any significant bounce (more than a pound or 2), because as long as I am busy, I now find a 24 hour total fast relatively painless.

Good luck with your 2lb loss seasidenanna, really hope you achieve your mini-goal this coming week.

And well done Eir on your loss to date, and on the NSV of feeling more confident giving health advice.

Well done with the holiday maintenance Theodora, it was after my first holiday with no logging that I decided I had cracked it, temporarily fell off the wagon and over the next week managed to eat and drink enough rubbish to attract 11 pounds of water retention/glycogen. I know it was water retention as it was gone as soon as I started a fasting regime again, but getting straight back to a fast is more sensible. I did this after my second week in Cornwall, after having lost a pound while I was away and doing all that extra walking (and drinking)..

Thanks MnM – it was remembering reading that you had actually lost weight whilst on holiday in Cornwall that actually inspired me to get back to it immediately and fast for the journey home. So thanks again.

The scales have shown a 2lb loss this morning so I am at my lowest weight this year 10.4 lb. I have been really focused this week as I go away next Saturday and want to be the lowest weight I can get to before I go. I’ve tried my swimsuits on and they looks nice- size 12! I have got one stone more to lose to go to get to my goal now and when I come back From Turkey I am going to re-focus and am determined to be at goal by the end of September when I have booked to stay at Ragdale Hall Health Spa for a week with a friend. I am a little apprehensive about how I will manage my all inclusive five star hotel next week but I usually rise to a challenge and hopefully I can stay strong and focused and enjoy the health benefits of healthy food choices plus I don’t want to undo all my hard work. My mini goal when I get back is to aim for the 9s so that will keep me on the straight and narrow- five more pounds to go to get into the 9’s! I will post next Saturday morning before I go away and then will look forward to getting stuck in again on my return. Have a good week everyone.

Well done, CCathy, great to see a 2lbs loss.

A five star hotel ought to be able to cater for a low carb diet if you ask them and then, even if you eat and drink too much, at least you won’t awaken the carb monster so not too much damage will be done. I’ve just returned from a 10 day holiday and explained about not being able to eat refined carbs, no one questioned it, and I was given extra veg instead. More often than not, I chose 2 starters at dinner too, instead of starter and main course, and that more than filled me up – I found that I often couldn’t finish both. I did drink a lot of wine though but, after fasting all day (26 hours) for the journey home, managed to come back at exactly the same weight as I went. Relax and believe in yourself, safe in the knowledge that if you do happen to gain a few pounds, you have the tools to lose them again as soon as you return home. Have a great holiday.

Theodora I am fascinated on how well you have maintained on BSD and I am impressed by you not putting on any weight whilst away. I think you should do my meal plans for me! It’s all about staying in control I guess and I do feel like I am in control and my final goal is in sight now so I just need to keep focused and enjoy the healthy way of eating and enjoy looking slimmer . I know that I would be immensely disappointed in myself if I succumbed to the carb monster. Last week when I chose to eat that clotted cream scone I was very much in control. I thoroughly enjoyed it and that was the end of it. Will be working hard again this week to try and get another pound or two off! Thank you for your encouragement- it means a lot.

CCathy, nothing wrong with treats (clotted cream and scones for example) as long as you intend them and factor them in – and more to the point ENJOY them. I have found that, more often than not, when I have slipped up accidentally, I haven’t even enjoyed the food. So I really do try to think twice about whether I REALLY want something before succumbing. Again, more often than not, I find that I don’t. But sometimes, like you and the scone and clotted cream, I really do fancy something and then I allow it, savour it and enjoy it with no regrets.

Just relax and enjoy your holiday, you will do fine – sometimes worrying too much leads to disaster. If you gain a couple of pounds, so what? You are still a helleva lot lighter and healthier than you used to be, and as I said, you can relax in the knowledge that you have the tools to lose any gains once you get back to routine. So relax and have fun x

Theodora you inspired me with your 26 hour fast on the way home from vacation. We slept in today and woke up not hungry at all, so decided only to have dinner today, 24 hours after dinner yesterday. My husband and I have felt fantastic on the BSD. It is amazing how the cravings totally disappear when eating real, whole, unprocessed food.

Well done on your fast, Optimist. I agree, this WOE has benefits beyond diabetes reversal (which is mammoth of course) and weight loss. I feel fantastic too and really enjoy the food.

Official weigh in day for me and I had a bit of a blow out day yesterday which included 3 glasses of wine (approx. 450ml), a 3 course meal (cheese instead of dessert) and far more nuts than I should have! I was expecting a bit of an upward bounce on the scales today, but I am pleased to report that, one month into maintenance, I am holding steady.

However, when I punched everything into FatSecret, my total calories amounted to 1670 and 50 carbs (highest carb day since starting BSD, but none refined) and my TDEE was 1936 calories, so hopefully as long as I keep using more than I am consuming, I can maintain indefinitely. Nevertheless, I will be a little more restrained for the next few days, particularly as I leave on Thursday for a week’s holiday with my 92 year old mother (love her dearly, but a week with just the 2 of us may drive me to drink! 😜 ), followed by another week’s holiday with a couple of girlfriends.

Do hope the rest of the January starters are plodding on and getting nearer their goals?

Well six months in and 32 lb lighter. Weight today 10.3.5. Another four pounds off this month and if I lose 4 lb in the next month I will be in the 9’s! Am off to Turkey this afternoon for my holiday and I will be sporting the size 12 swimsuits! I am very happy with my achievement and following my holiday I will be determined to get the last stone off! My aim is to be at goal in September.

When I get back next week I will weigh myself, draw a line under it and carry on.

See you all in a week x

Well done Cathy! Have an amazing holiday and we look forward to hearing all about it when you get back. As others have said, this diet is so effective in many ways – not least because you can ease off a bit for things like holidays then get back on board later: and it STILL works! In the past I’ve found that once I’ve strayed away from a diet and lost motivation the weight just comes back again – leaving you worse off than when you started. But because the BSD is part of a more general way of eating that is actually enjoyable, even when you slack off a bit (a) the weight doesn’t pile back on immediately and (b) you feel in control and know that you can shed a few more pounds easily by just tightening up the regime again. So have a great time and will speak soon!

Well done, Cathy. Have a great holiday, and see you when you get back.

I am on day 3 of my holiday and managed to weigh myself this morning – obviously not my normal scales, but hoping they are accurate as they registered me as exactly the same as I weighed on the morning of departure 😋 So, so far at least, and 5 weeks in, maintenance has not been quite as difficult as I was anticipating.

I am away with my 92 year old mother, who eats like a bird (so not being overly tempted by food – although she does love bread, which I have resisted) but she drinks like a fish, so we have been having several gin and tonics (cal and carb free tonic) each evening!😛 Have made do with those, though, and not ordered any wine at all – am I allowed to feel virtuous? Just a little bit?😜

Oh, and a NSV – this morning my darling mother mentioned my weight loss for the first time and said I look “absolutely fantastic” 😛

I can’t believe it’s a whole month since I last posted in this thread!
At that time I was a mere 100g away from my next mini-goal and today I finally got there! Actually a whole 300g less than my goal. This means I’m now down into the next stone bracket 🙂
A month ago I was only 100g away but my weight has fluctuated up and down so many times over the 4 weeks – I went from being 100g away to 2kg away!
After a few weeks of slow or no losses (and even the odd gain) I’ve finally had a decent loss – 1.2kg since last Saturday so very happy about that. What was the difference this week? No alcohol!
It wasn’t that I drank a lot, but a glass of wine a few evenings during the week and then more on the weekends, well the calories obviously add up.
Cathy and Theodora I hope you are enjoying your holidays.
Chrissie – hope you have settled back from your holiday ok, it sounded lovely.
No holidays for me in the pipeline but I did go away to the coast last weekend. We self-catered so I was able to make BSD friendly meals, and we did a lot of walking.
Monday is the start of Week 23 for me – can’t believe I have stuck to this WOE for 5 months – a record for me! While I have not kept to 800 calories the whole 23 weeks I am learning what does and what doesn’t work for me. What is working is more of a 5:2 approach, where I have 5 days of 800 calories and then 2 more relaxed days, but still tracking calories and sticking to around 1000-1250 on those days.
Now I’ve (finally) reached this mini-goal, it’s time to work on the next 5kg, well 4.7kg now. Then I just have to do it again another 3 times and I’ll be at my end goal 🙂
Maybe I’ll do another strict 800 calories 8 week BSD in a month or so, in the meantime I’ll just keep chugging along!

Well done, SueBlue – such a good feeling to get down into the next stone bracket, keep on keeping on, and you’ll make the next one down too, before you know it. And I have no doubt you will reach your next mini goal soon.

Doesn’t seem to be many of us January starters left (or at least posting) these days, which is sad as it’s always great to hear how everyone is getting on. I’m on holiday atm, so not posting as often as usual (flakey internet too). Last week, on holiday with my 92 year old mother, I actually lost a couple of pounds, despite G&Ts and a few scrummy meals out. This week, however, away with friends those couple of pounds have gone back on – eating and drinking more, I’m afraid. But still not gone above my goal maintenance weight, so feeling encouraged for the future. Finding it hard to resist ice creams in this amazing summer weather though 😝 So just trying to keep cool with boring old water instead 😜

I finally get home on Sunday, then go away again the following Friday until Tuesday 4th July, then 8 days at home before a 10 week extended period away, so let’s see how I manage maintenance for that !!😝 So many holidays (what it is to be retired!) 😊 but that leads to soooo many temptations!😋😜😛 Just as well I have dogs who need to be walked miles and miles every day, or I don’t know where I’d be – oh yes I do, lounging around in the sun, drinking wine and getting fat again!🤓😆☹

Hello January starters, I’m back from my holiday in Turkey and couldn’t wait to get back on the scales this morning! As expected I am up but I didn’t expect to be up by 7lb! I have stuck to BSD and not eaten any bread, pasta, rice but I have had a cocktail each day, usually a pina colada. I have eaten a Turkish chocolate truffle with my evening coffee but being vegetarian I have mainly been eating vegetables and salads! I am aware that a lot of this weight will be water and I am now back on strict portions this week. I have got some all singing/all dancing new scales for my birthday and so from today I will be measuring my fat percentages/BMI/ water content etc. I am determined to get my weight down this summer. I’ve enjoyed being on holiday but obviously this has set my weight loss back to where I was in April (in just a week!!!). I am confident that I can lose a few pound this week. I will be here for some time everyone! I am looking forward to catching up on the forum posts over the next few days. Great to be back and back to basics!! Just having licorice and peppermint tea this morning!

CCathy – good to have you back and pleased you enjoyed your holiday, despite your weight gain. I am sure you will see most of that drop off really quickly now you are home.

Trouble with holidays is that there are too many temptations and often not enough activity. Too easy to lounge around in the sun.😜 As I mentioned above, I am sure the secret of my not gaining weight on my holidays is that, in general, because we have 2 big, bouncy, very active dogs, we tend to holiday in the UK and take them with us. As we need them to be calm and quiet in hotels, restaurants, etc we walk their socks off – often up to 20 miles a day (just as well we enjoy walking 😜).

Now you are back on track, just watch – those 7lbs will melt away (literally in this heat 😎) in no time.

PS The all singing, all dancing scales are great fun. Just love mine, but don’t get too hung up on numbers, this is about health after all – though I love knowing that my body water percentage has jumped from 48% to 55% and fat dropped from 34% to 23% 😃

Hi Theodora, which scales do you use? Your current readings sound very like the ones I was getting from the Boditrax scan I had done, but my old Salter scales are stubbornly reporting 34% fat.

Hey there everyone, it’s been ages since I posted. I started January 17 at 76k and finished March 15, 2017 at 68k. Hubby lost 16k! We have had a break and restarted June 5, so this is the beginning of week 3 and have weighed in at 65.7k with blood sugar 4.8 and waist 80cm. I’m pretty happy with the results though I am finding it a bit harder the second time around. I feel my body has developed a much better ability to process my intake and I am not having the nausea I experienced the first time round. I also think my bladder retention is much better and I’m standing straighter, even measure a couple of cm’s taller than when I started. My three sons have also got on board again though they modify their diet to suit their different lifestyles. One plays a lot of sport and trains often, one spends a lot of time in a chair on a computer, and one is a nurse and runs. They all are much more health conscious and self motivated and have their turns at cooking for the household from the BSD books and also the Fast Diet books for variety. We eat a lot of turkey mince.
When I look at my husband’s baggy pants, I realise how much he has lost. Unfortunately he has had a number of health issues that have hampered his exercising, a bad back, sore foot etc. It tends to be very frustrating for him but I am hoping he will get on board with that side of the program again soon.
We have a daughter getting married next year and I’m excited about being much thinner & healthier by then.
We have had a few over the top breaks from the maintenance diet, but the beauty of it is that I feel I’m in control and just have to be a bit diligent afterwards to rectify any backward trends. I found that adding a few sprints to my morning walk, kick started a downward trend in the scales .
Keep it up everyone, we’re all winners!

Do you know, MnM, I have no idea!! Isn’t that dreadful – use them every day and never really look at them, other than the figures they display. I’m on holiday atm but will try to remember to check when I get home and let you know. They weren’t expensive though and seem pretty accurate (read the same as the doctor’s /hospital’s).

Good to hear from you again lyn, and well done to you and your family for keeping on keeping on.

My new all singing/dancing scales are great! I have gone down from 153 lb to 146 lb since Sunday! I think one of the biggest lessons to be learnt from doing BSD is to have confidence in the plan. You’d think that after six months following this way of eating that I would have learnt this. I should have had more confidence in myself too. I know that I chose wisely whilst away. A combination of water retention- don’t like to drink too much whilst travelling and flying obviously had a big impact on my weight. Won’t be making the mistake of jumping on the scales too early after a holiday next time and panicking. Happy to be continuing on my journey. Another 16 lbs to chip away at. My goal is 130 lb and seeing my weight in lbs rather that stones seems to be motivating me too.

I love reading about everybody’s journey. Keep posting everyone!

Theodora – my body water is 42% and my body fat is 38.7 so still got a long way to go. My BMI is 27.5. I am really enjoying seeing all the statistics.

Oh well done Cathy – how lovely that the 7lbs gain has literally melted away. Yes, you should have had more faith, but you have learned a lesson and will be more confident in yourself next time – as you say, to put on 7lbs of fat in a week, you would have had to HUGELY overindulged virtually non-stop, so fluid it most definitely was, and I think fluid retention can often be a side effect of flying.

I’m also pleased you are enjoying your new scales and thanks for sharing your figures. I was always tempted to post mine on my weekly weigh in but thought everyone may think it a bit ‘nerdy’ 😜 But it’s not at all and the whole diet thing is a bit of a numbers game isn’t it? Because my scales don’t have a memory (do yours?) I record the full results twice a week on the diary in fatsecret. I have found that seeing the fat %age drop consistently and my water %age rise has been just, if not more, motivating than the pounds dropping. And it’s lovely not to have to work out my own BMI although I do periodically check with an online calculator too. Goodness knows why…..it’s not as if the scales’ calculations have been wrong yet 😜

You are fast heading towards ‘normal’ BMI range, and I can well remember the triumph I felt when I hit that milestone. Still find it hard to believe that my BMI is now only 21.2 😃 Long may it last – I really think it will this time because:-

1) This way of eating is delicious and allows for the odd treat (glass of wine or two in my case) to be incorporated into it.
2) It has given me the tools to get back on track after social occasions / holidays etc and
3) Being thin again after all these years is sooo enjoyable – addictive even.

You are doing so well and it’ll only be a matter of weeks, I’m sure, before you too will experience the thrill of hitting the healthy range. 😃

This morning I weighed in at 143.6 lb. this is my 24th consecutive week doing BSD and I have lost a total of 32 lb. I’ve done 3 rounds of 8 week BSD. I am creeping towards my goal weight ever so slowly. My intended goal weight is 130 lb. Is there anyone else still on this thread still chipping away like me? I know some of us are at their goal and maintaining. I will finish week 24 next Saturday and then embark on round 4 and see where that takes me. Hopefully the plan is that round 4 would take me to goal. Not sure how many of us January starters are still plodding away-would be nice to hear how everyone is doing.

Yes I’m still plodding along Cathy 🙂 Week 24 starts for me on Monday. I haven’t done as well as you have but I’ve lost a total of 9.5kg (21 lb) and 33cm from my bust-waist/hips.
I’m no longer counting in rounds, just weeks. I still have another 18.5kg to go, but I guess I’m 1/3 of the way there now. I’ve broken it down into 5kg increments, so I’m working on losing 3.5kg to get down to my next goal at the moment. This is an important one for me as it will mean my BMI will go from being Obese to Overweight (yes I’m excited at the prospect of being overweight lol).
January seems so long ago, I can’t believe I’ve been able to stick to this WOE so long. I’ve had the best results ever over the last 2 weeks, and what is working for me is 800 calories on 5 days and 1000 on 2 days.
I’ve started reading Dr Mosely’s Clever Guts book – absolutely fascinating! I think my microbiome was partly to blame for my weight gain and then slow weight loss. I can’t help wondering if the 2 1/2kg loss I’ve had this past 2 weeks is because my microbiome is now in better shape (because of all the BSD foods I’ve been eating) and now weight loss is happening.
Whatever the reason I’m happy! Just hope I can continue to lose.
In the Clever Guts book Dr Mosely says if you can maintain for a year you are likely then to be able to keep the weight off for good, as your body accepts your new lower weight. Maintenance is still a long way off for me of course, but I find all the research and info so interesting 🙂

Hi SueBlue and Clarinet Cathy, I started in late January, I think your cohort started earlier.

I am still plodding away, I have been facing lots of challenges not the least of which is my steely motivation seems to be softening. I have dabbled with non bsd foods of late – beer and mashed potato, one serving of each, a friend gave me home grown mandarins and I have been in to those as well. Every day I try to stick to 800 calories and invariably go over. I am on a slippery slope and I think it is reactionary due to my weightloss plateau in recent weeks. I am continuing on, have lost a good deal of weight, but have a long way to go yet.
Perhaps I need a change of menu, I tend to rely on the same kind of meals and I think I need to eat more vegetables.

I need that strong resolute willpower that helped me so much in the beginning. Maybe I am beginning to self-sabotage. There is a lot to this journey and the psychological aspects can not be under estimated. To be kinder to myself, I have lost a massive amount of weight and stuck for the most part very well to the bsd principles.

A few out loud musings. Keep on going and let us all know about your trials tribulations and successes

SueBlue- I will check out the new guts book- am very ignorant about microbiome? To be honest though being a strict vegetarian for over 30 years and now a low carbatarian I don’t really want to embark on any further changes to my diet as I feel that this way of life is doable and is suiting me. I already feel “weird” in social eating situations and my colleagues remark and comment on my food choices! My latest interest is fasting and my hope is that if I ever get to a BMI of 25 I will start regular fasting as a way of keeping myself in check along, of course, with the principles of the BSD. When I started this on 8th January I had no idea whether it would work and I am thrilled to be 32 lb lighter.

Like you I will continue my journey in weeks and I still record my stats every Saturday. I am hoping that by October I will start my next phase of BSD- maintenance. keep going SueBlue- we’re doing great and I am impressed at our tenacity to keep on plodding on- lots of people would have given up by now. When I read about the BSD I assumed I would be at my goal weight after 8 weeks and I know that some people have done it that quickly but this has been a slow and steady journey for me and you and in many ways probably the best approach to weight loss.

Theodora- BMI of 21.2- amazing!!!!! You have done so well. My scales come with an app and this records the measurements on my iPhone/iPad- I am loving them- just wish I’d thought to get them in January! The scales were from Amazon and cost £29.99 Renpho –

Seasidenana- how are you doing?

Keep posting everyone- I love catching up with everyone’s progress.

Cathy

Cathy the microbiome from what I understand is all the ecology in your intestines! So all the bacteria, good and bad etc. haven’t read very far into the book yet but a quick look at the foods and recipes show it’s very much what we are eating on BSD anyway, with the addition of fermented foods. I’m just finding all the science side of it interesting (unusual for me!) but it explains a lot of the symptoms and illnesses I’ve had in the past. I have IBS, as well as Rheumatoid Arthritis and am lactose intolerant, I never thought about there being a food connection with RA. Both the IBS and the RA have improved so much since I’ve started BSD.
I’m not vegetarian, more flexitarian. I have red meat maybe once per week/10 days, chicken slightly more often but the majority of my meals are vegetarian.
Lovely to read everyone’s progress 🙂

SueBlue, my 39 year old godson suffers from RA and his is more or less totally controlled by diet. He was diagnosed about 5 years ago and determined that he didn’t want to be on drugs unless he could help it, and is really strict about what he eats (not sure what his diet entails though), and it seems to be working, with only very occasional flare ups these days.

Interesting posts about microbiomes. Did anyone see the TV programme the other week, Doctor in the House, when the doc helped a lovely young lad (about 10 I think) who was obese, despite playing sport etc? The rest of the family were not obese, and they all got behind the diet changes implemented, but no huge weight loss was recorded. However, the doc took all sorts of samples (blood, stools etc) and finally decided it was the young lad’s gut bacteria which was at fault, introduced the relevant bacteria and about 8 weeks later the lad had lost a couple of stone without much effort! Just goes to show………………..

Anyway, I don’t think there is much wrong with my gut bacteria – think I put on weight through greed, pure and simple as I LOVE good food and wine. However, I am now almost 2 months into maintenance and, despite having just spent 18 days in two back to back holidays, I have come home 3lbs lighter than I went! So I am now 5lbs under target weight! Not sure how this happened as I indulged in alcohol every single day and on several days my calories were about 2,600 with carbs of more than 100g!!

I can only put this down to walking the dogs between 15 – 20 miles per day whilst away, and total fasting for 24 – 36 hours (consuming absolutely nothing but copious amounts of water, black tea / coffee) on all my travel days – so 4 days out of the 18.

Anyway, however it happened, I am happy to take it and will try to maintain the loss this week as, on Friday, we are off again for 5 days sheer indulgence, which will involve huge amounts of gourmet food and copious amounts of wine! Not taking the dogs this time, so there won’t be much walking involved to offset the damage, but even if I put on 5lbs in the 5 days, I will still not exceed my maintenance weight! Phew!

Theodora- your maintenance has been amazing and very inspiring. How wonderful to be able to go on your gourmet break 5lb under your target weight and be able to indulge yourself. I dream of that being me in a few months time!

I lost another 2.4 lb this week and am determined to get to under 10 stone in the next couple of weeks. My BMI is 27.2 so I am getting to a normal weight slowly. Your journey is so inspiring but I have to say I am very impressed by how much walking you do! You must be an exceptionally fit person to walk those distances every day. Like you, I think fasting has a definite role to play in maintenance and I am intrigued by the science of fasting. Thank you for posting and inspiring us that this can be done.

Bigeater- how are you doing? Hope you’re still sticking to BSD. I agree with you that it is difficult to keep going and there is often a slippery slope to contend with. There are a few of us determined to get there by hook or by crook. I am still plodding slowly along the slippery slope and gripping on til the bitter end! Another stone or so to go so that might take three months but “I ain’t gonna quit” (Officer and a gentleman)!

ClarinetCathy, Hi! It was kind of you to ask. I am sorry to say I drank six glasses of wine last night. Indeed I am starting to realise I have a bit of a problem. I don’t drink anything for about 8 weeks, Then drink way to much in one night. Binge drinking. That is the 3rd time I have done that in the last 6 months. Before I started the BSD, I would never have recognised this problem. I will experiment with restraint and the very occasional one glass and just see if I can do it. Otherwise I fear I may have to become a tee totaler. I don’t want to continue with unhealthy habits. Speaking of which, I have been good on the food front, managed to stop those dalliances before I let it all slip. Still on the BSD. Still intend to stick to this way of eating and still intend to lose more weight. I have only lost 1kg in the last 4 weeks and I am not entirely convinced that I wasn’t around this weight about 7 weeks ago.

Anyway, there are so many positives. I am getting lots of compliments, people are noticing my weight loss of late (really – one kg?). Anyway I will take it. I do look and feel healthier and the only way forward is sticking with the plan, albeit I have to be stricter and not let in any random mashed potato again!

ClarinetCathy, let me know how you are going, sounds like you are going through a rocky patch. Only 1 stone to lose – I could be so lucky! All the best
Bigeater

CCathy, thank you so much for your kind words. Was originally only aiming at losing 21lbs (didn’t think any more was possible), but as it was coming off, I just kept going, and breaking my desired weight loss into incremental targets – started at 1.5st, then 2.5st, then 3st. Now, frankly, I cannot believe I have managed to lose 47lbs(3st 5lbs) in total!!! But enough is enough – I now have a BMI of 21, which is definitely low enough. My body fat %age is now just under 23, my body water %age just over 56 and I feel fabulous. So far, 2 months in, maintenance has not been quite as difficult as I feared. I am sooo determined not to regain the weight (apart from the wriggle room pounds) that I have been increasing my calorie / carb intake really, really gradually (apart from the last couple of weeks when it was a bit of a free for all). I obviously haven’t got it right yet, as I have lost 5lbs on maintenance. So I will enjoy this coming 5 days of luxury (Christmas present from my lovely son and his wife) without worrying and see how I am after that. If I have bounced back to my actual target weight, I will gradually increase cals / carbs over the next few weeks until I level out. If, on the other hand, I have bounced OVER target, I will have a total fast day to repair the damage and if necessary do 800 again for a few days.

As far as my walking is concerned, I hasten to mention that I only walk between 15 – 20 miles a day when on holiday with my dogs – two big, bouncy, energetic ones. Normally, they only get between 6 -9 miles a day, in two stretches. I don’t think this has contributed to my weight loss though, as I have always done it – they would be bouncing off the walls with less. However, I am doing it much faster and more enthusiastically now. I feel great, really healthy and energetic and am determined to stay this way – I am 68, so on the slippery slope into old age, which I am attempting to stave off as long as possible.

I am really pleased to hear you have lost 2.4lbs this week, well done. That last stone will soon be gone, and it will be you here talking about maintenance. Just keep plodding on………….

Bigeater, do you measure? Because I suspect that it is visceral fat you are burning (which is the most important stuff) and this will show more in measurements than on the scales, which would account for why people are noticing, even if your scales aren’t! Just remember that, despite the small blips and the odd portion of mashed potato, your diet and, therefore, your body, is much healthier than it was pre-BSD. As you say yourself, you are looking and feeling healthier so just keep on keeping on and the results will come.

Good luck to both of you, and I look forward to hearing positive results soon.

Bigeater – great to hear you’re still on BSD. . Would it be reasonable for you to incorporate a glass of wine into your BSD rather than not drinking anything for eight weeks and then bingeing? This way of life has to be sustainable for the long term so perhaps you would be better to tweak your calories and so you don’t feel deprived. Just a thought. It feels good when other people notice the weight loss and it makes all the hard work seem worthwhile. Of course, we are not doing it for anyone else but it’s nice to receive a compliment. A number of my friends and especially my colleagues have been so impressed with my weight loss albeit slow that they are now embarking on this way of eating. I did a calculation this morning and I reckon I am 10lb from having a normal BMI! I am at my lowest weight since embarking on BSD and weigh 142.4 lb. I started at 177.8. 35.4 lb loss- amazing!

Lovely to see that you are still with the January starters and keeping to plan. Keep posting!

ClarinetCathy, I’m with Bigeater on this one. I can go weeks, even months without a drink and I dont even think about it but one glass is never enough. This is not a problem for me and I would rather go without completely most of the time for the sake of my health rather than try to incorporate one glass per night which I truly know will end up being 3 or 4 or even 5. If you cant understand this or think of it as a problem then think about those people on this site who binge on chocolate or see a biscuit and eat the whole packet or have a slice of bread and have to eat the loaf. I can take these things in moderation or leave them totally, some of you cant. So, I know my Achilles heel and know how to look after it.

Clarinet Cathy, what you suggest makes sense, the difficulty seems to be, that like sunshine girl I find it challenging to stop at just one glass of wine. However, will try and must stop nights of excess like the other night.

Congratulations on your weight loss cc, you would no doubt feel an improvement in health. Getting close to a normal bmi is worth celebrating! Keep it up and you will be there in no time!

Nilesedge – the problem seems to be = that man needed glasses. haha Hope your blood sugar diet is going well. You will be ready to join me in your checked flanelette shirt and saggy bum jeans in no time. Looking forward to it!

HI everyone

Just to say I’m still here too – plodding along! I’m following maintenance rather than strict 800 at the moment and my weight is plateauing at 10 stone 4. My eventual target is 9 stone 7 and I know I will reach it sometime soon, but the diet seems to work better for me if I lose some then let things settle for a while, then step things up again to lose more.

The really good thing is that at no point have I put weight on again, even when relaxing things back a little. I am totally enamoured of this new way of eating and, as others have said, if I occasionally choose to have something “off plan” – then I make it a conscious choice, ensure it’s worth it and then enjoy! But most of the time I just really enjoy my smaller portions and healthy low carb food and have no desire to stuff myself like I used to. Wine is my weakness but I now avoid it for some nights of the week then feel free to enjoy it on others. For me the BSD has really helped me be more conscious of what I’m putting into my body. I’m eating more slowly and enjoying food more – applying the principles of mindfulness I guess – rather than shoving food in without really thinking about it.

Even though I still have a little way to go weight-wise I’m absolutely delighted with progress – I started in January at over 12 stone so have lost nearly 2 stone so far. But for me it’s more than the numbers – as well as the positive effects above it’s just such a joy to be able to fit into so many of my old clothes again and I think I look and feel better than I have done for a long time. That then has a knock-on effect on confidence and helps kick-start lots of other positive things too. I’m also sleeping better and more able to cope with stress. So it’s all good!

Lovely to hear everyone else’s news too! I can’t post often but do read every word and am cheering you all on from the sidelines!

One last question – where are you Seasidenana? Hope all is ok with you xx

Dreamscometrue

Lovely to read your post. Our BSD journeys are very similar. I started at 12.7 and am currently 10.4 and like you want to be 9.7 at the heaviest to bring my BMI to 25. I loved the positivity in your post and like you I enjoy being able to wear nice clothes and feel confident that I am no longer obese. At just over 10 stone and aged 56 I do feel good about myself. When I get into the 9s that will be a massive achievement but like you I am finding it hard to lose weight now as I am a slow loser – I am not complaining though- it’s been gradual and I’ve only had one week where I gained and that was after a holiday and it came of the same week- 7lb!!!! I am trying intermittent fasting and last night embarked on a 24 hour fast to see if I can get some fat burning! I am sticking to BSD principles and actually it really is a way of life now. It’s surprising how little food we actually do need isn’t it?

I think the conscious choice of food is very very liberating. My son got engaged at Glastonbury festival last week and we are going for a celebration meal in Manchester tomorrow. I’ve looked at the menu and there is only one vegetarian choice and it’s not BSD friendly but guess what, I will be having it and enjoying it! I am fasting today and will fast tomorrow until we eat. This way of eating works for me.

I’ve been wondering how Seasidenana is doing too. I know she had a new love in her life so she is probably not even giving BSD a second thought!

Keep plodding on and it won’t be long before we are both in the 9s!!!!! Never would have predicted that when I started in January.

Hi ClarinetCathy thanks for your lovely post and do hope you had a fab time celebrating your son’s engagement yesterday?

Do keep in touch via this forum! I’m aiming for the 9’s and really hope to be there very soon: but am equally conscious that life is to be lived and the BSD path is sadly often overgrown with weeds 🙂 This weekend for example I was on one of my frequent weekend visits to see my elderly mother and sometimes you just have to make the best of what is before you even if in your heart you know it is setting you back – diet-wise – a day or two. Bless her, she’d bought me a pack of Battenberg cakes to take back on the train (why?!?!) and I confess to having a couple before binning them! But I did say nicely look please don’t buy these for me again as I won’t be able to eat them all. Trying to be true to my new WOE but at the same time not completely ungracious to what was intended to be a kind gesture.

Anyway have a good week everyone and let’s catch up soon xx

Amazing success on this forum lovely to read. I started in January and haven’t posted in a long time. Was obese then starting at 13 stone 13 pounds or 14 stone could have been and did the 8 week twice with a break then have done intermittent fasting and then went on holiday. So have dropped to 10 stone 9 pounds. A healthy weight for me is between 7 stone 0 pounds and 9 stone 7 pounds my goal is to get to 8 stone 7 pounds so I still have 30 pounds to lose. I have lost a total of 47 pounds so more than half done. Reading all your amazing success stories and just your dedication has motivated me to do another strict 8 weeks to try to shift these pounds. Thank you

Hi all
I haven’t posted for ages because of meeting my new partner two months ago and spending lots of time with him ! My weight loss has slowed down, mainly because of drinking too much wine on dates ! I’m still doing well on the food side of things, and want to lose at least another stone. I originally wanted to lose more than that, but I now think as long as I’m in the normal BMI I will go onto maintenance. I have lost 37 lbs and everyone says I look good. I must say it’s fabulous to wear size 14 clothes and I can reach for anything in the wardrobe and it fits ! If I lose another stone I expect I will need to get Size 12 clothes, but many of my tops, coats etc will be fine.

Well done to everyone here. I’m going to try and get back on track and lose the last stone ! I’m going to Cornwall in 3 weeks so I need to get in with it !

Seasidenana- so glad to see your latest post and I had a feeling you’d been enjoying life with your new man! Great that you’ve done so well sticking to BSD and have lost 37lb! Wow!

I am still plodding on and reckon I have about 10 lbs or so to go so it would be nice to share our last stone journey together!

There are still a handful of the January starters posting and I really enjoy reading their updates.

I am determined to keep going until September when I am off to Ragdale Hall Health Spa with my best friend and I am going to use that week as a reward and celebration for completing 9 months on the plan and hopefully getting to goal. It is a real treat and will be well deserved if I accomplish my goal weight of less than 9.7. I am currently 10.2 so in total I have lost a total of 33lb. I am going to try really really hard week by week to lose a pound every week if possible and by 25th September I hope to have achieved what I set off to do on 8th January 2017!

So happy you’re back with us Seasidenana!

Hi ClarinetCathy thanks for your kind comments. Yes it would be great to do the last stone together, you have done amazingly well. I have no problems with the food, it’s just a way of life for me now, but I have got into bad habits with the wine because of going out a lot with my man ! I don’t want to undo all the hard work I have already done, so I’m determined to cut out wine during the week and get losing again. I have not lost anything this week at all !

I’m going to the Races on 24 August and I can’t zip up the dress I want to wear. I’m going to try and lose 10 lbs by then and hopefully it will then zip up ! I’m also aiming for September to get to my target because I’m going to Croatia then.

Good luck everyone !

CysterBSD800- just read your post and am amazed at how much weight you’ve lost since we started back in January. You must be thrilled! I am aiming for a BMI of 25. It would be lovely to have a BMI of mid normal range i.e. 22.5 but at 56 I fear it won’t be easily doable and I might look ill! I lose weight incredibly slowly. However, like you I am determined to keep going and will see how achievable things are the nearer I get to “normal”. I am enjoying this way of eating and have started reading about intermittent fasting as I think that might be the way forward for me once I hit maintenance. I will definitely never go back to eating bread, pasta, rice etc- you just don’t need them in your life. I cannot believe how well this plan has worked for us and I am glad that we have stuck to it since January even though the weight didn’t come off for me in huge amounts like I had thought it would.

I love reading the January starter posts and feel really inspired When I read that we are all still plodding on towards our goals.

I am making a pledge on here that I will get into the 9s by Saturday 15th September. Today I am 142.2 pounds. Three pound off by then will see me at 9.13. I want to be able to post that I weigh 139 lb on that Saturday. I have been faffing about with the same few pounds since coming back from holiday! There- said it! I will lose 3lb before 15th July!

Well said clarinetcathy! I want to lose 3lbs before cornwall and Ive just realised it’s two weeks tomorrow not three ! The only way I’m going to achieve this is to give up wine again 😂

Great to hear from you seasidenana and so pleased you are enjoying life with your new man. And also that you are plodding on – though it sounds more like you are walking on air😜

Great to hear about everyone’s losses, us January starters have done pretty well so should congratulate each other. I lost a total of 47lbs – 5lbs more than intended as I still haven’t got maintenance right!! However this past week I’ve been awfully glad of that extra wriggle room as I have been away for 6 days and eaten and drank far too much – no refined carbs but fabulous food in smart restaurants and lots of champagne, wine and port!!!!😱 The inevitable result is that I have put 4lbs back on😱 But at least I am still 1lb under target and, as I have come home feeling sooo overindulged, I really feel like fasting tomorrow and then eating lots of greenery over the weekend – why do posh restaurants only pay lip service to vegetables and salads? They only seem to use them as garnish and I am really craving them after 6 days without 😠

Seasidenana I’m sure you’ll get that dress zipped up by Race Day, and CCathy you’ll see that 3lbs off by 15th July if you stick to plan, no worries 😉

By the way CCathy, I am 68 and my BMI has come down to 21 so age needn’t be a factor if you do decide to aim lower. Everyone says I look great and I feel fantastic – wearing size 8 (uk) now 😜 Never in a million years did I ever think I’d manage THAT when I embarked on this WOE way back on 16th January 😀

Thank you Clarinetcathy for your lovely comment. I am very pleased with how much weight have lost. I can honestly say it has changed my life. I have been battling pcos and all the symptoms particularly irregular cycles for the past 7-8 years and this weight loss has made everything regular like clockwork. My fertility specialist told me I no longer need to see him just hoping for a positive test soon. I would love to conceive soon would be the ultimate reward for all the hard work.
Seasidenana and ccathy hope you will meet you goals on target I’m sure you will if you stick to plan
Must feel amazing to reach your goal and be under it Theodora