Hi folks. – week five for me- so inspired by everyone’s achievements and what can be done in 6 months.

I am a bit fixated because I have to get to 72.5kg by three weeks today to qualify for our fertility treatment. I have lost 6kg so far and haven’t been able to weigh this week – last time I did I had 5.2kg to go- can I do it?

In Italy no wine for me at all and. No rice or flour- I would like to go down in carbs to 20g a day – those of you on that would you post a menu- my veg seems to take me up to 50 and that’s having cut out the carrots beets potato – only a little onion- can you give me some low carb meal samples please? I’ve been eating konjac noodles too those are good- but want to trim my 50g carbs to 20g answers on a postcard! Xx

Hi onetowatch

I am vegetarian and eat a lot of omelettes which are filling, my favourite is cheese and onion or mushroom. I have made cream of mushroom soup today for lunch. I enjoy hummus in lettuce with pine nuts and roasted peppers from the book. Egg and avocado is nice for lunch or avacado and feta. Roasted cauliflower is nice with Stilton cheese and mushrooms. Halloumi with roasted vegetables is delicious. As you can see, I eat cheese and eggs mainly for my protein. I don’t have too many legumes to try and keep low carb. Occasionally I will make chick pea and spinach curry on cauliflower rice. I had vegetable chilli last night on cauliflower rice. If you are a meat eater you will have a lot more choice than me. I have recently been fasting and that has definitely helped to boost fat burning process. Full fat yoghurt will fill you up with a few berries and seeds. There will be lots of advice on the forum to help you I am sure. I am not a fast loser so am probably not the best person to advise you. Drink lots and lots and lots of water too- that helps the BSD weight loss.

Hallelujah- my eight week plateau is a eventually over! I have actually weighed in at under 140 lb and today I was 138 lb so at long last those two pesky pounds have gone. I’ve done nothing different, have been experimenting with fasting, eating more, eating the same but still sticking with BSD. I am determined to get to a normal BMI and the finishing post is getting nearer.

Seasidenana- can’t believe we are nearly there!

SueBlue/Cyster/Dreamscometrue- hope you are all keeping calm and carrying on!

Hope it doesn’t take me two months to lose another 2lb but if it does I will keep on plodding! I could be in the Guinness Book of Records at this rate!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yay! ClarinetCathy SO pleased for you! You’re in the 9’s 🙂 🙂 This diet really does have a mind of its own and the weight loss often seems to follow no particular pattern. But very well done and keep on going! I thought the other day when you posted about your fab meals how come you’re on a plateau so am really glad things are moving downwards again.

Seasidenana I was so pleased to hear you can now zip up your dress, and hopefully you’ll also be able to breathe in it by the time the race day comes 🙂

Hope everyone else is doing well too? To be honest I’m on a bit of a self-inflicted plateau at the moment – am enjoying some time off work and confess to eating and drinking accordingly. But on a positive note I have still lost a bit of weight since returning from holiday – and feel “firmer” – and I will be fully back on board soon: as has been said, with the BSD we are in control and can step it up when needed.

Have a great weekend everyone X

Well done persevere at its best! I will learn from you …3 weeks in I am stalling on the weight loss 3 days no loss I’m fed up!! But you are so right to keep going being 9 stone 12 is brilliant. Cloud 9!!

Lessmuffintop – one thing Ive definitely noticed whilst following BSD is that although the scales didn’t often show a loss, my clothes were definitely becoming looser. I made the mistake of not measuring myself at the start of the plan and so only had the scales to indicate any losses. My weight loss journey has been fairly slow and until recently fairly steady but another lesson I learnt along the way was not to compare my weight loss to other people. Some people seem to have quicker losses than others. Look at the bigger picture and a big lesson I learnt only very recently was to appreciate how well we are doing following BSD. The plan works and there is no doubt about that- I am proof! I could never lose a good amount of weight with slimming world or Weightwatchers. Keep positive and keep following the plan and one day soon you will get on the scales and have a nice surprise!

I’m currently at 147 hope I’ll get under 140 soon. Plodding along hopefully the downward trend will continue. Have lost one pound in the past month as I keep gaining a bit. Hope I lose another in the coming week and one more in the last week of august. Would be super happy to get down to 139 by end of august but not sure if this is possible as the weight loss has really slowed now. Will keep updating regardless

CC you were right! Lost .4 lb today so maybe back losing. I saw a utub video today where they fasted 19 hours, fed for 5 and did cardio in the morning in fasted state . Tried that today and was fairly good seemed to subdue my appetite. Anyone had success with this combination?

Hi lessmuffin… I tend to fast until 11.30/12 and to run 6k before that most days. I have coffee but don’t eat anything till I have run. Then I eat and eat again around 4pm – lost 2kg in nine days on week four to five so reckon it does work!

Hi Lessmuffin, my usual routine (totally out of synch atm) is to fast for 16 hours, then do a 5 mile walk (up hill and down dale, none of it flat, so fairly cardio) before eating. I then eat between 10.30am and 6.30pm. This has worked for me, lost 47lbs in 16 weeks and have now been in maintenance for 14 weeks. But I think different things work for different people, and we only find out what works for us, and what we are comfortable with long term, by trial and error.

Wow Theodora that is super impressive! Ok am hooked. Will follow your example and hope for a similar result. Am very motivated to get my body fat down from 32%. Defo easier than anything I have ever done before. One more question … if you have not eaten 800 do you try and eat more or not bother?

Lessmuffin, again I think whatever works for you. Whilst losing , I often ate way below 800, but then I also sometimes ate above. I tended to average it out over a week. Personally, I focussed more on keeping my carbs low – aimed at around 20g, but sometimes went as high as 30 or 40g. Now I am in maintenance and not really counting calories unduly, but still trying to keep relatively low carb. But if I overdo things and eat off-plan for a few days due to social pressures (and a few glasses of wine), I rein it back in when I get the chance by throwing in an occasional fast day or a couple of 800 days and this seems to work for me. Frankly, after over-indulging for a few days (as I did last week due to social engagements) I really look forward to an abstemious day – and that is not something I ever expected to say, let alone truly mean, when I started this WOE. The wonderful thing about BSD is that, if we can stick with it long enough, it re-educates our bodies to eating when we are actually genuinely hungry, not when we just want something in our mouths. Now if I over-indulge, I feel bloated and cannot wait to go low-cal / carb for a day or two. But this is just my personal experience, and I am sure everyone is different – whatever works for you.

PS With regards to body fat percentage, don’t get overly hung up on numbers, as they only give an indication on what is going on. My body fat %age went from 33,6% to 22.5% and my BMI from 29.8 to 21,5 but it is the way that I feel which matters – slim, healthy and more full of energy than I can remember for, probably, 20 or 30 years (I am 68, feel more like 40)

I always do my 10,000 steps (more than 15,000-20,000 these days) in a fasted state. Like Onetowatch, I’ll have coffee and water, but no food or anything with calories until my exercise is done. Often I don’t eat until 2:00 or so and aim for a very early dinner (5:00ish) so my eating window winds up being quite short. I often don’t make it to 800 calories, but will have nuts or a chunk of cheese (measured and weighed, of course), to bump the numbers up to at least 650. Anything less than that and my weight loss tends to stall and my hair falls out at an alarming rate.

Theodora – would you share your meal plans? I am trying to get cabs down to 20 but they always end up close to 50g-

Clarinet thanks for that I hadn’t thought about putting avocado into the Neal mix – since I wa da kid I have always put it on toast so it seemed a bit lost in bsd but is excellent travel food! Ps- well done for keeping on and breaking through the plateau!! Fantastic!

We are heading to Modena today – home of Maserati , Ferrari and balsamic vinegar! I had a bit extra yesterday in the form of aperativo- free snacks at a bar – it was funny as they were all on bread so I ended up with this huge wall of bread slices that I discarded in order to eat the roast veg and meat toppings!! They also had a nice bsd snack- courgettes and aubergines with an omelette baked onto the top. Yum.

Wish me luck for next weigh in- I need to be around 72.5 for the 30th August so I need all the help I can get with getting carbs super low to satisfy the doctors.

Ps lessmuffintop – I always make it up to 800-850 I am too greedy not to!

Thanks all.

Good Luck onetowatch -hope you get there.

Thank you for all the answers -started on the fasted cardio and seems to be working super well. Plus I feel fitter, healthier and much happier. Today am the lowest weight in 4 years and even better somehow at the same weight 4 years ago the dress fits me better -so same weight but slimmer! I do well if I get to <100g carbs but will work on bringing it down.

You have all done so well on this thread and obviously supported one and other.

Theodora – Your story is amazing-you should be in the book!

Onetowatch, as far as my meal plans are concerned (much less strict now I’m on maintenance) but I only ever had 2 meals a day, so practised 16:8.

Breakfast was always the same, and could have been far lower carb wise is I’d had, for example, eggs. But I just love my Fage yoghurt and berries so much that I had it every morning (about 11am) and still do – 125g yoghurt and 50g berries came in at approx. 11g carbs (I now have a bit more of both)

For supper I had something like a HUGE Salad Nicoise (big salad fan) with 100g fresh tuna, though if that wasn’t available, I would open a can of tinned tuna in spring water (112g rained weight) Another favourite was poached salmon with hollandaise served on a bed of wilted spinach and, again, a huge portion of salad This amounted to approx. 7g carbs . Gammon steak, 2 eggs, mushrooms and grilled tomato came out at approx 11g carbs.

For dinner on a Sunday, we always had 2 courses with our roast – prawn cocktail followed by roast lamb with a little gravy and a couple of good veg portions came in at approx 12g carbs. Egg en cocotte (made with grated cheddar and yoghurt) followed by roast chicken, gravy and veg came out at approx. 9g carbs .

I don’t take milk in tea or coffee, so nothing there. As snacks I would allow myself a few nuts occasionally or a few slices of prosciutto.

Hope this helps – it certainly worked for me.

That’s fab thank you Theodora – tend to start day with eggs if anything but then the fruit and veg creeps up on me! Eggs on cocotte and gammon are good additions! I am missing my Morrison venison steaks as they were so fast and filling and ink 100 kcal s – today I had roast rabbit and salad with a few cheeky prawns for lunch. Down a half kilo and really looking so much better – at risk of huge Italian shopping trip but have at least another 2.5 stone to lose so trying to avoid that!

We are in our way to Ravenna famous for its ancient Mosaics from 500 ad! Excited to see them!

Am up and down again and today weighed in at 140.4. I wish I could just keep moving down instead of two steps backwards and two steps forwards!

Theodora your weight loss in 8 weeks was phenomenal! I am so very envious! I am in week 31 and still plodding and averaging 1 lb per week on a good week! I had hoped to be at goal for my girly break to Ragdale Hall in September but that trip is in 40 days’ time. I have got 7lb to lose to take me to a 3 stone loss and when I get to that point I will assess how much resolve I have left to consider what leeway to allow myself. I would think 3lb under target would be nice so ideally another 10lb to go. MIght be the best Christmas present ever for me this year!

How is everybody doing?

Hi Clarinet Cathy – do not despair! We all feel your pain xx

You have done so well to get as far as you have and it won’t be long before you’re below 10 stone again. Someone posted on here a while back – SueBlue I think? – about how the body can take time to kind of reset to a new weight before it becomes permanent. So I’m sure you’ll be back there soon and fingers crossed for your target by your Ragdale weekend – though as we know this diet is never linear 😉

Sounds obvious but are you managing to exercise too as I know that makes a difference to me? But the key thing is don’t compare yourself with anyone else, you are doing great. We all have different metabolisms and lifestyles and all kinds of things that will affect the way and pace we lose weight. And as you say its not all about numbers anyway – you mentioned your clothes are looser and that’s just as important (if not more so – I’d rather fit into the clothes I want to than be a certain number on the scales, if I had to choose).

Keep going and keep posting!

I’ve been easing off a bit recently so need to ramp up to lose my holiday gain and get back to 10 stone again – I just hit it the day I went away! Then it’s hopefully downwards all the way to 9.5 stone sometime during the autumn. I bought a pair of “aspirational” size 10 jeans in the Next sale that I am going to keep and hope to fit into sometime this year. I really like them but there’s no way they are going to fasten at the moment over my – still sadly podgy – belly. So they are my goal! Otherwise eBay it is 🙂

Hope everyone is well and happy xx

Dreamscometrue- like you I have ordered a pair of size 10 jeans with exactly the same idea! I can’t wait for them to arrive and I am hoping they will spur me on.

With regard to exercise I have to say that it is almost zero exercise for me and I am ashamed to admit it! I had an operation 15 years ago to remove a rare tumour from my femoral nerve and as a result I have limited functionality in my left leg so my only exercise is walking and to be honest I usually fall when walking outside because I cannot compensate for uneven ground hence I do the indoor walking at home you tube videos which are safe for me indoors as I cannot fall over! You may remember that earlier in the year whilst on a weekend break in Harrogate I fell over in the Harrogate Turkish Baths and sprained both ankles!!!

If I don’t succeed in losing my last 7-10 lbs then I will accept that I am destined to be a size 12. I was 16/18 when I started out and will keep on with this healthy way of eating. I have got a vibration plate at home and will keep wobbling on that for the time being and will try and motivate myself to walk walk walk doing the YouTube walking at home videos to try and get a few more pounds off.

I am regularly fasting 16/18 hours in the hope that fat burning will eat a few more pounds away and when I dipped my urine at work I was definitely in ketosis so I am doing all I can.

I hope we both achieve our 9.5 stone target this autumn and our dreamscometrue!!

Yay, the jeans of the future (usually shortened to JOTF) are back! I found some nice jeans in a sale quite early on in my journey, and bought three pairs, aspirational return to size 14, never been there before size 12 and you must be kidding size 10. They lived in a box in my wardrobe and every now and then I would get the next pair out and try them. I am in the size 10’s now quite comfortably, despite the fact that they still look tiny when I hold them up. I am sure your jeans of the future will become jeans of the present quite soon, and be sure to let us know when you achieve that non scale victory.

MIxnmatch – what an inspirational post. Because my scales are stubborn, the non scale victories may prove more inspirational for me. I bought a charity shop dress on Sunday for £1 and when I put it on it looked fantastic on me! I couldn’t believe my shape in the mirror! You’re right- it’s not all about what the scales say! Thank you for inspiring us! Well done on getting into the “you must be kidding” size 10’s! You must have felt amazing that day!

I have now got a pair of M&S size 8 jeans as well, they are still a bit of a squeeze, but the size 12’s can be removed without undoing them now. Thank goodness for belts 😁 I think my biggest thrill was actually getting into the 14’s as that was my size throughout most of my twenties, I was always a little chunky at school, and actually had to slim down to fit in my size 14 dress when I got married, which weight of 10 stone 11 was what then became my BSD target. That was when I started to feel ‘normal sized’ again, rather than supersized. I have several dresses now as well, one of my earlier purchases was a lovely skater style sleeveless dress that was a complete gamble, but looks lovely on. That cost 99p from a charity shop. I haven’t worn it to a party yet, but still try it on sometimes just to look at it. I bought a full length gown for a quid a few weeks ago as well, that was size 8, and fits beautifully. Sizes are odd though. Sometimes I find size 14 fits me comfortably still (including my old wedding dress when I tried it on again for my 25th wedding anniversary), and my smallest fitting items are size 6. I seem to have developed quite a good eye for my size, no matter what the labels say.

I also now wear size 8 (UK). I bought a fabulous pair of size 10 Ralph Lauren Polo white jeans at exorbitant cost as a reward to myself for losing weight and had been waiting for some lovely sunny weather to wear them. Sadly, I went to put them on for the first time a couple of weeks ago, only to find they now drown me!!! May have to ebay them😭

Still can’t get into my wedding dress though, (no idea of size because it was made to measure) – funny, because my o/h says he doesn’t ever remember me being thin. But he thinks I’m thin now at 8st 4lbs – I was 7st 2lbs when we got married almost 49 years ago!

Mind you, I do think sizes have changed – I have still got an original bright red Ozzie Clarke midi dress from the early 70s, which I still love and which o/h bought me to wear to a wedding, just after I gave birth to our first son. It says it’s a size 10, and it fits my 13 year old granddaughter a treat, apart from the length (she’s not very tall) and she only weighs a tad over 6st! So a 2017 size 10 it is most definitely NOT! I guess I’ll never be wearing that again – not parting with it though, just adore it!

Frankly, I don’t really care what the scales say as long as I feel good. I now love shopping because most things I try on look good, so I now choose whatever I like best, not just whatever fits me! And as a non-scale victory, my granddaughters’ friends who are staying with us this week say that I am the “trendiest grandma they know”!!😛 And they weren’t saying THAT this time last year!!

Carinetcathy, Mixnmatch, Theodora – so wonderful to read about your smaller sizes- ones that are a distant mirage at the moment for me One day, one day , perchance to dream…….

Theodora – trendy grandma? How about that then eh?!!

Yes all this talk of jeans of the future has inspired me. I read an article on dr diet this week of a man who dropped 2 sizes in his journey but in that time didn’t lose weight on the scales! At the moment am reducing body fat and waist has reduced but scales are pretty slow. Nowhere near Theodora’s amazing loss speed but then I have not mastered eating <20 g carbs. Guess if everyone is progressing and still here that is the most important thing!

Lessmuffintop, it’s the body fat and waist measurement that counts, so well done. The scales will catch up. Just keep going.

Just starting Week 32 today (blimey that means in just 20 weeks I’ll be celebrating my 1st BSD Birthday), so that’s the beginning of week 16 in maintenence. Can’t believe that by this time next week I’ll have been maintaining for as long as I was losing. It’s not been easy, because whilst losing I was very strict and focused, and for me personally, it’s much more difficult to relax and still manage not to regain the weight. And particularly challenging due to our non-stop guests and very sociable summer. But I’m hanging in there. ……..started off with 5lbs wriggle room, thank goodness, which has fluctuated every week, but so far I’ve not gone over my target weight (though come pretty close to it a couple of times!). This morning, my official weigh in day, I am just one pound beneath it, but family all go home this morning and I have 3 days without guests so I will try to get back on track before the next influx on Thursday. Mind you, o/h says we need to spend some “quality time” whilst it’s just the 2 of us this week, and for him that means going out wining and dining!!!! So we’ll see………

How’s everyone else doing?

Hi Theodora

I started week 32 yesterday. I am still trying to achieve my goal of 9.7 and still struggling to get and stay under 10 stone. I am going to plough on until 25th September when I go away to Ragdale Hall for a week with my friend and I will have a think about what to do whilst away when I come back if I haven’t made any progress. I’ve been struggling since beginning of June and have only lost 3lb since that time. I am beginning to think I won’t be able to lose any further weight so will just use the last three months as maintenance and move forward from there. I have tried so hard to get under 10 stone but it’s virtually impossible to keep under 140 lbs. My lowest weight 138 lasted one day! I am happy with the way I look and am wearing size 10/12 clothes so all in all feel like I have achieved a lot doing BSD.

Your journey had been amazing and your weight loss phenomenal. Congratulations on maintaining so well despite your busy social life.

I will, if course, keep posting and reading. I am happy to keep plodding on til my trip and then reassess when away and plan for the next three months.

CC – don’t fret. I think sometimes our bodies just know the weight they are comfortable with and don’t particularly want to drop beneath it. You have done really well, you’ve hung in there for almost 8 months and, if you are happy with the way you look and, more importantly, the way you feel just accept it and be proud of yourself.

At least having a few indulgent days at Ragdale shouldn’t put weight back on, so that’s a bonus. As well as relaxing and enjoying being pampered, you will probably partake in some exercise classes and, if you’re anything like me when I’ve been, maybe borrow a bike and enjoy a few hours cycling around the glorious countryside that surrounds it. And if, after that, you feel you REALLY want to get down to 9.5st, you may find that if you’ve relaxed a little and let your body get used it’s new weight and then you hit it with 800 again in the autumn, it may start to cooperate with you again 😀

Either way, size 10/12 is not to be sneezed at and is a fantastic achievement so deserves a big pat on the back. So we’ll done you👏

Yes well done ClarinetCathy for getting as far as you have and, as Theodora says, the main aim is that you are feeling and looking good and are happy with that no matter what numbers are on the scales.

I have a hunch that more weight will gradually come off because you have such a good diet: sometimes our bodies just need to regroup. And if it takes a while then so what! We don’t really know what is going on inside our bodies and those health and well being improvements are worth way more than the odd pound on the scales.

Just a thought; have you tried the exercise plan in the BSD book? I keep forgetting about it and although I do my best to exercise in other ways (and I know you are limited on this because of your leg problems) I confess I have not looked at that plan for a long time. I’m away visiting my mother at the moment (so eating and exercise all gone to seed!) but will have another look when I get back and see if I can build it into a regular routine.

I have been a bit off-piste recently but plan to kick start another 8 week 800 after the Bank Holiday weekend. I’m off to a very special gig in October and would love to get into those size 10 jeans! Hopefully that dream will come true ….

Dreamscometrue- great minds think alike and at the weekend I got the BSD book out again and read the getting active chapter. HIding in my loft there is an exercise bike I used following my schwannoma surgery to try and get some strength in my leg. It brings back bad memories but I’ve asked my husband to get it out of the loft over the bank holiday weekend when my son comes over and can help him carry it down and my plan is to do Michaels HIT regime on page 171! I think this may be a good way to try and boost things.

It sounds like your plan to kick start another 8 weeks after the bank holiday weekend is a great idea to try and get you in your size 10s for the special gig in October! May I ask who you’re going to see? Imagine how fantastic you would feel.

I will enjoy following your progress and of course I will be posting about my exercise bike regime!! I am in a much better place mentally and physically since the last time I sat on it! Here’s hoping I will love it and cycle the last half stone away!!

Hi ClarinetCathy

Exercise bike sounds good and how funny we both remembered the book’s guidance at the same time! I feel sure that this will all help get you further but am also really glad that you are feeling happier about how far you have come rather than frustrated about the very last stage. When you look back over the last few months we have all done really well particularly – for many of us – compared with previous diets etc

The band I’m seeing in October are my favourites Marillion at the Royal Albert Hall! I’ve seen them many times but this is a special one- off and tickets are like gold dust. Funnily enough my original 9.5 stone target was for their weekend in Leicester in April, which also coincided with my birthday. I didn’t make that target (though had a fab weekend!) so here’s hoping for October. IF I can just lose 1lb a week between now and then I’ll be there …..

Though one issue I have is the distribution of the weight loss. I still need to do more work on my belly. I have definitely lost weight from my waist and belly (though have not taken measurements) but it is a bit of a bete noire. Those size 10 jeans for example – no probs with legs, hips, bum, back of waist – it’s just the belly they won’t fasten over. I think part of it is that recently though I’ve generally eaten well ice been drinking wine very regularly / so that is going to have to stop. But I’ll now be seeking out exercise to target the belly area!

One other thing I’ve noticed is wrinkly skin where I have lost weight. Thighs for example. Anyone else get this? Reading up on it a combination of toning exercise, moisturiser, and drinking lots of water should help. Though I’m sure my age (I’m 58) is a factor too. But will persevere!

Good luck ClarinetCathy – and everyone else still on here X

Dreamscometrue- Kayleigh is one of my favourite songs of all time! I reckon by October you could do it! I will let you know how I get on with my exercise biking HIT regime starting next week and if it works for me, it might be something to consider!

Like you, I have noticed wrinkly bits – I’ve noticed them on my neck and my face. I always use good quality skin care products on my face and will keep using good serums and creams to help! Not too bothered about wrinkles on my legs because they’re mostly covered. My left upper, inner arm has become very crepey which doesn’t look good when wearing short sleeves. I did read somewhere that it can take a while for this to settle down. I bought some resistance bands to do some arm work to help. Maybe we are just more aware of them because we are losing weight, it is going to happen anyway as we age! I am 56.

My exercise bike regime starts on Sunday when the bike gets dusted down from the loft and hopefully your next round of 800 BSD starts next week too so we can keep track of how we are both doing. I’ve got 6 lb to work off in the next 32 days when I go away with my friend and you’ve got to get your size 10s zipped up by October! We can do this.

Good luck with the bike CC. May be a bit of a shock to the system, let’s hope it shocks that 6lbs away😉

I am so impressed with everyone on this thread who is still plodding (or cycling) on after 8 months. Wonder how many of us have ever managed that before!!! Just goes to show that this WOE, in a slightly more relaxed form, is maintainable for life. I have had a totally mad summer socially and houseguest wise, with far too much wine, but still am hovering a pound below my target weight of 8st 7lbs. Very pleased I started with 5lbs wriggle room but, so far at least, my body seems to have settled itself between 8st 5lbs and 8st 7lbs so quite pleased with that😊

Good luck with the 6lbs CC and with the size 10s Dct.

PS I read somewhere that it can take 2 years for skin to catch up with our shrinking bodies but in my case, as I’ll be 68 next week, it may only get worse 😢 But a few wrinkles is a small price to pay for a healthier, fitter future 😀

Lovely to eat about everyone’s progress. I have had a not so good couple of weeks. Have got back on track hopefully will continue. Reading your posts really motivated me to carry on even when weight see stuck.

CysterBSD800- keep plodding with us- there are a few of us egging each other on- we are all in the same slow boat together. We are all trying not give in til we achieve our goal. Glad you’re still on board!

I read this quote in my book last night “success can be regarded as a product of countless failures or as something that comes into view after taking many small steps up a steep slope. People generally judge something to be a success or a failure according to results but I think there is more to it than this. I’ll respect a person whose still standing at the foot of a mountain but standing firm and looking up at the peak”. This is taken from Fall down 7 times get up 8 which I am currently reading. A young man’s voice from the silence of autism. I thought it was quite apt for those of us still standing firm and staring up at our mountain.

I have an amazing announcement to make. After 8 years of infertility I recently found out that my husband and I are expecting. I am so happy and pleased. Cannot contain my excitement. I feel so blessed and happy. I really feel that after my faith and prayer the biggest thing that helped me was this way of eating and the weight loss. Super happy. I have pcos and this happened without any fertility drugs so happy. Hope this motivates others who are also in the same boat

What fantastic newsCysterBSD800, congratulations to you and your partner!

CysterBSD800- that is absolutely awesome news! Congratulations. I am so happy for you.

CysterBSD800…Can I join in by saying a massive congratulations. You are going to have such a wonderful time. Again congratulations.
Nonna Mary
xxx

Wow Cyster – our very first (as far as I know ) BSD baby😃 So very happy for you 🎉🎊🎉 doing the happy dance here😀 Huge congratulations.

Have got a full house at Hotel Theodora this bank holiday weekend – already had friends staying when, this evening, totally out of the blue, my two sons turned up😀😀😁 Haven’t seen them in forever (well, a couple of months at least) so was absolutely thrilled to have to make up yet more beds😁 Not sure this weekend will be exactly on track as they have booked my favourite waterside restaurant on Monday evening to take me out for an early birthday dinner. Oh, how I love my boys 😁😁😁😁 Feeling very blessed 😁

Awesome news Cyster! A massive congratulations 🙂
Thanks for your post too Cathy, I love motivational quotes 🙂
And sounds like you have a busy weekend coming up Theodora!
I don’t have any massive news this week but am very pleased that after yoyo-ing the same 1-2kg up and down again for 2 months – 10 weeks actually, I had a visit from the Whoosh fairy this week and lost the pesky 1kg PLUS an additional 800g, putting me at my lowest weight for 5 years 🙂
I also had a nice surprise this morning when taking my measurements (I do this monthly). I have lost another 6cm from my waist, in just the last 4 weeks!
I know this wouldn’t have happened overnight so during the last month when I wasn’t actually losing any weight on the scales I was still losing centimetres 🙂 shows the importance of not giving up!
I’m on leave from work for the next 10 days so hoping this will make it easier to stick to plan as I’ll have more prep time plus have more control over when I eat – on workdays for example I have to eat breakfast at 6am, lunch 12 or 1 then dinner at 7pm. Now I’m off work I’m going to go 16:8 as most days I can have a later brunch instead of breakfast and lunch. I’m off out for a family day out today and have my packed lunch with me – egg & bacon muffins & salad, strawberries and some nuts for a snack.
Hope everyone has a good week 🙂

What a testament to the power of the BSD! I know from personal experience how it can break down the seemingly impenetrable barrier to weight loss caused by PCOS, and while I never had to deal with fertility issues, my best friend struggled for 10 years to conceive a child and it was the most heartwrenching, prolonged anguish and strain I’ve ever had to witness.

Congratulations, CysterBSD800! May your pregnancy be nothing but smooth sailing, glowing skin and glossy hair, and may your child know nothing but health and happiness.

Thank you so much for all the good wishes. Such an exciting time. I’m so so happy. Still trying to eat healthy might have to up carbs to 50g I think not supposed to go lower than that when expecting.

Cyster, so happy to hear your news!! Really thrilled for you and wishing you much joy and fun!

Huge congratulations to you both, CysterBSD800!!! That’s fabulous news and I can imagine you are on cloud nine and positively floating. Definitely take good care of yourself and I’m sure upping your carb intake a little would be a good idea, given the changes your body is going to undergo now.

Warmest wishes to you for a smooth pregnancy and much joy.

Ooh hello everyone! For some reason all the messages since my last post didn’t come through to my email as normal so I’ve missed out until now!

Wow Cyster congratulations! SO pleased for you 🙂 Faith and prayer and the BSD sounds like a great combination to me!

Which reminds me of another BSD friend Onetowatch – any update on your situation? Rooting for you! Also Seasidenana how are you?

ClarinetCathy how is the bike going? My latest BSD has got off to a patchy start – aargghhh!! Problem is I’m a teacher still on school hols and part of my mentality is to enjoy life while I can. Which – whilst all well and good – sadly normally involves vats of wine 🙁 But I’m eating well (in BSD terms I mean) and am now back down to 10stone 2lb so hopefully won’t be long before I’m back at 10 stone – which I’d achieved just before going on holiday – then will go hell for leather to get under it. I do better BSD-wise when I’m back at school as am much busier and am in a disciplined routine anyway so the stricter diet can kind of slot into that.

But before school starts next Thursday I have a couple of days away at a spa: a belated Mothers Day and birthday pressie from – and with – my lovely daughter. So am looking forward to that!

Well done SueBlue for your loss – it really is the case that even if the scales don’t move, other positive things really are happening in the background! And happy birthday our Theodora whenever it is – hope you have a lovely day xx

So I will post soon that a few more pounds have gone and the size 10 jeans are a breath away from fastening 🙂

In the meantime well done everyone and keep on going: plodding is good!

PS my partner’s grandson came round today and I found out he now weighs 19 pounds. I’d posted earlier about carrying him round on holiday and how it really made my arms and back ache. Given that he must have been bit less at that stage can you just imagine all of us carrying round way more than that extra weight for so long?! So even if you’re having a plateau or slight gain or whatever right now – just celebrate your significant loss so far and keep on going!

Hello dreamscometrue- thank you for your BSD update- when you get back into the routine next week things will be a lot easier. Hope you have a lovely spa break with your daughter next week- Not long til my spa break at the end of September for four nights- can’t wait! I am still plodding slowly downwards and this week have done week 1 of Michael Moseley slow build regime for beginners on page 170 and have been pedalling on my exercise bike- ashamed to say that my legs were wobbly when I got off and could hardly walk down the stairs. I am going to commence the week two regime tomorrow. I am not a very fit person at the moment so when I get to week 7 I will be! I have made it to 137.6 lb (9st 12lb) now and so my goal of 133 is getting nearer! I am not doing anything differently but s l o w l y things seem to be moving. The exercise bike hopefully will help to boost things.

Hope all the January starters are keeping resolute and sticking with the plan. I am amazed that we are still here and working hard towards our goals.