Hi cassandra

Good to see you again

I did well reaching goal weight, then had a big accident, then slipped into putting a lot of weight back on while inactive, then slipped into borderline diabetic . etc etc

Back on plan last week so am now day 5 !! (Both kids and partner now at home all the time with their rubbish food habits !!)

Big difference is I’ve stopped drinking this time round and am trying more recommended foods, seeds, pulses etc etc

Keep going and do drop by now and again and give me an update !!

54

Hi 54, hi Cassandra. Thanks for starting this back up again, 54.
I rather lost heart for assorted reasons and went back almost to my starting weight way back when. Have restarted in the last two weeks, but differently. My husband is giving it a go too. Good in some ways but we’re too prone to slipping together. So we’re doing 5-2, five days dieting and the weekend off. Have only just started, but so far so good. We tried doing whole weeks for the full stint last year but he found it far too hard to keep it up.
Like the last time, I’m not following the recipes but aiming for around 800 calories a day during the week, though my husband eats a bit more than me. Feeling better than the last time I tried this, but even so, I hope my gut microbiome or whatever it is catches up soon. Essentially, I’m eating one meal at lunchtime and then supper of veg soup and an apple in the evening. My husband supplements this with things like tinned fish and porridge in the morning. The weight is dropping off him. I have no breakfast except for my usual milky coffee. I’m keeping off the usual ‘white’ carbs, but don’t worry too much about veg, just try to get lots of green ones in. I’m sure someone will tell me apples are off the menu, but to be honest, so long as the calories stay low, I’m not too bothered. I hope that’s OK.
Can’t be easy, 54, being surrounded by people eating whatever whenever.
Slow and steady is a good way to go, Cassandra. I got a bit fed up first time around, everyone losing loads and me not. But the important thing, as bloke41 kept saying, is not bloody giving up.
Even though I’m not doing this in the conventional way, I’d love to keep you company. I hope that’s OK with you guys.
Have slightly increased my total target.
First week’s total loss was 1.6 kg, 28.8 kg to go.

Hi Snoop,
Your plan sounds a lot like mine. Coffee in the morning, brunch at around 12.30 (this is the smaller of my two meals at around 300 cals) and dinner with the kids in the evening, protein and lots of veg. Staying away from carbs and when I have them I its brown bread of cauliflower fries. I have two teenagers living with me and in particular my son can eat so much and still have a six pack! If I focus too much on the weight loss I get disheartened so I’m focusing on the fact that my diet is so much healthier and I am not bloated. Dying to get into the gorgeous clothes I bought when I was nearer my goal. I’m delighted 54 started this up again, I had forgotten about the website and the recipe ideas.

Won’t post food, as this is a day off for us, but exercise today is walking the dogs (off out when I’ve finished here) and a bit of digging in my veg patch. Then stuck to the computer to get some work out the way. Hope you have a great day.

Hi Both

My idea of early morning walk was scuppered by the snow !!

I too am not following the ‘daily menu guide’ but am t working my way through the recipes in the DSD Book which is much more fun !!

I am way up in the 23 stone + area again due to being a couch potatoes for many months

At last my back is getting better and Im actual looking forward to going out for my ‘lockdown exercise’
My sister and Husband live in New Zealand with their eldest son who is married. They are retired science types and all 3 follow the FAST and TIMED BSD. BUT they are also into health nutrition that aids low carb/cal diets

Its quite fun getting a text detailing a new ‘thing ‘ to try

This morning was WATERMELON JUICE (Found some in Sainsburys !) (I used to love orange J in the morning )

Happy to get back to posting at least once a day here as it gives some kind of focus !!

54

“Timed BSD”, that’s a new one for me. I’ll have to check that out.
I’m doing intermittent eating (if you don’t count the skimmed milk in my coffee). Lunch around 1 pm, evening meal around 7 pm.
It’s a pointless exercise for me, trying to follow the book or the recipes. My nearest village has a population of a thousand at most. No chance of an avocado pear there, let alone other fancy items. Nearest fair-sized town (15,000) is closed off due to Covid. And the other small towns vaguely nearby are in the neighbouring region, that’s also got closed borders. And no possibility of home deliveries as we live miles down a dirt track off the main road.
What happened to your back, 54? Is that as a result of the accident? Best wishes for a good recovery.

Morning guys, hope you’re both doing well. Making Wednesday my official weigh-in day as neither Monday or Friday are fair reflections, coming either side of the weekend. Doing OK and actually feeling like this could work for me forever, with minor splurges at the weekend and relative strictness during the week. Not diabetic, so the splurges don’t have any long-term adverse effect on health.

Down in the last ten days: 1.7 kg
27.1 kg to go

Got a busy work day today. But a work-free zone thereafter. Going to have to go on the govt scheme for the self-employed. Feel very fortunate not to be paying a mortgage or rent. Makes a tremendous difference to us. For people with kids and paying for their home, these must be very difficult times.

Congrats on the loss Snoop. I managed 1.1kg, I’m measuring in lbs so it looks more!
I’m very luck financially as my job is secure, I cannot imagine the stress of the pandemic on those not as fortunate. This is going to sound silly but I found out yesterday that the court date for my divorce is on the 5th of March, I have been 7 years waiting for this and its still very unpleasant. I will find out that day if the children and I can stay in the family home, which I am already paying in full for, but my ex has a lot of debts attached to it. I am hell bent on getting 5 kg off in the 3 weeks just so I feel strong going in but my head is in a serious battle between the desire to curl up in a heap and eat every carb in sight and the desire to loose the weight. I’m avoiding alcohol because it will trigger a day of eating toast and fast food. Checking in here is definitely helping to keep me on track. The big difference I have done this time is ensuring that half of every meal (2 each day) is low carb veg. I need to work on ways of making it more interesting but its filling and is stopping me from snacking. Sorry for the rambling message, I will get my head sorted soon. Have a great day

Hi Casandra/Snoop

Yes, I too have issues that can easily make me binge eat (a loaf in 5 mins is not unknown !!)
Im focusing on ‘losing weight to help me take my mind of other things !!

I too decided drink was a ‘dangerous’ thing for losing weight so packed in on 1st Jan !!

My issues are BREAD , SNACKS and EATING TOO MUCH !! (Nothing new there then !!)

so have tried to tackle them all head on
I have discovered Im not too keen on bottled Water melon Juice. I finished a bottle today and have broken out the Beetroot Juice for tomorrow. Lets see how that goes !!

I weigh SATURDAY as its my old weight watchers weigh-in day which I keep to through habit . It ised to mean I had an easier weekend !!

ACCIDENT:

many years ago I fractured my spine and slipped 3 discs at the same time. Every now and again it flares up and I cant walk. It then VERY SLOWLY gets better !!

Im up to 30 mins walking after a number of months and try to get out every day (Weather permitting !!)

Im self employed and luckily work keeps coming in so far but Im working long hours to ensure I stay ahead !

54

Good grief, guys. I’m on easy street compared to you two.
I’m not surprised you’re worried, Cassandra. Divorce must be bad enough, but when you’ve got kids and a home to be concerned about too, that must be very hard.
And your back injury sounds awful, 54. I’m guessing weight loss would help with that too.
I’ve got a large hiatus hernia that would fare much better if I didn’t have such a gut bearing on it at night! And I’ve also developed arthritis in my feet now. Having seen the state my elderly mum is in – wheelchair-bound because of the same problem – I’d rather do my best to avoid that. Plus the difficulties overweight presents for Covid patients.
Fingers crossed for all of us.
I have to say I don’t much like watermelon. All right in juice with lemon juice and added sugar, but that rather defeats the point! And yes to bread being an issue. It’s a big deal for my husband. He’s coping so far, but is a total bread-head. Everything used to end up in a sandwich and he would even get anxious if there was no bread in the house. It’s his big downfall at the weekend, but it’s early days for us yet and I’m hoping he’ll get it under control eventually.

bread is a big issue

I have cut down dramatically but have that craving for more MORE MORE etc etc

I started to ask people ‘what are alternatives to white bread’ and was very disheartened when the first people said rice crackers or no bread !!
My sister then said he makes their own wholemeal bread so they know what goes in it and adds seeds and other worthy things to it

I currently restrict myself to one slice (Shop bought at the moment!) and look forwd to it like mad. I have it at10.00am and dip it in 20ml of Olive Oil (I once saw a Michael Mosley program on BBC saying how good drinking Olive Oil was raw so do this every day !!)
I do however have an unopened bread maker which may at last see the light !!

My next dilemma is Beetroot Juice: I’ve run out of watermelon juice so picked Beetroot juice as next thing to try. I don’t really like it. So now have 6 cartons ob 2L juice and Im looking at the ‘tablet’ form instead !! (Im looking to add fizzy water/ lemonade (zero cal) to help)

What problems we have here in the developed world !!

Keep it up

54

psCasandra Your husband has my (Bread) sympathy !!

54, I don’t wish to be undermining here, but have you seen how many calories there are in 20 ml of olive oil? I love it and have it as salad dressing, but it’s scarily calorific. Bit bonkers but I even regard salad as a treat because I know I won’t be able to have it without olive oil.
Rice crackers are the pits. I don’t regard them as food at all. At one stage my husband was eating them in a bid to stay off bread, but he covered them with peanut butter or jam just to make them palatable, somewhat defeating the point. And just in case I’m coming across as Mrs Super Smug and Virtuous, I have to confess that I would have done a lot better not sampling the biscuits I’ve just made as a thank-you gift…
How you doing, Cassandra?

Hi Snoop

20ml Olive oil is very calorific BUT as Michael Mosely says its about exchanges

so I don’t eat butter on bread etc etc and swap out the calories. Its worth it for the bread !!

so still balance the 800 calls a day

54

PS Rice crackers aren’t food !!

Hi, I’m new here and thought I’d try starting (once again) to lose some weight and do something for my blood sugar levels while I’m at it. Does anyone have a good idea for these attacks of wanting chocolate (not the healthy black stuff – the really scrumptious dairy milk!)

Distraction!!!
Go take a bath with something nice in it, make that your treat. Go for a walk, breathe in the air, walk in the rain if you have to. Drink lots of water, sometimes cravings are your body telling you you’re thirsty. If you’re still hungry after 30 mins, have a piece of delicious Brie and know that you are getting your daily dose of K2.

Stop thinking that food is a treat – how can putting something in your mouth that does damage to your body be a ‘treat’. Be aware that food is energy but can also be a poison.

I’m 5 years post starting the BSD and 4.5 years post reaching my goal weight of 63kg (started at 100kg). The one thing I’ve learned is that starchy carbs/sugar are a no go for me forever and now I don’t even miss them.

Once I reached my goal weight, the carbs stayed ultra low and the fat went up gradually until my weight stabilised. I’m 61, post menopausal and now have so much energy, I’m jumping out of my skin if I don’t get a walk in every day. THAT feels far better that chocolate ever tasted!!

Thanks a lot for the speedy reaction! And the tips, of course. I think I’ll read your reply a few times more- it could help. I don’t even need to take off so much weight but I’m stuck at 72 kg and would like to get below 70 again..

LINDA A / JEN THE WREN

Chocolate……..MMMMMMMMMMM!

I give myself a strict calorie intake and stick to it on average over the week like mad
Someone once told me ‘they are my 800 calories so how I use them is up to me !!’

(So have some if you want some but don’t feel guilty !!) But it must be in your intake.

I am a lover of bread so still have a slice a day

Luckily I am a ‘sweet’ ( a la Haribos) person so am able not to eat chocolate that others have
There are companies that produce ‘sugar free chocolate’ some is rubbish some tastes quite nice. BUT it still has calories

Cravings : I find being full all the time helps, so lots of water etc etc

Hope this helps

Good to see you Both here !!

54
ps The 10 Brownies from ‘Brown and Blonde’ that my daughter bought were hard to avoid !! (But I did)
(Back to the beetroot juice !)

Afternoon guys.
Linda, have I got that right, you lost 37 kg in six months? That’s going some! Thanks for sticking around and helping out the newbies/returnees.
I had a bit of bread and butter earlier. Loved the butter, didn’t much like the bread. And to be honest, the butter was probably more because of the salt. I shall see if I can find some miso for soups/drinks. I’d forgotten about how much I used to like it.
Stripped-down chicken dopiaza for this evening’s meal. Stripped down to reduce the fat and anything else I deem unnecessarily calorific. Should be OK with spicy courgettes. No naan!
Thanks for the water reminder, 54. I’ve probably not had enough today. Feeble amount of exercise today too. Rearranged a pile of firewood to sort it out and get it properly under cover rather than just lying about on the ground.

Hi LindaA, great to see you are still here. I started in June 2016 so we are nearly twins :). Just mentioning someone who was around with us in the early days – real name Lynne – lost lots of weight and appeared in a newspaper article about the diet. I never lost masses as my total to lose was around 3.5 stone and lost 2.5 stone, now just half a stone above that and working my way down. This is not a diet to me, it is a way of life. Do shout out if you can remember Lynne’s pen name or I wont sleep tonight 🙂 Wish I knew how to do emojis.

Hi – I am almost sure it is Captain Lynne.

Has anyone tried making the brownies in the Fast 800 recipe book? I thought I’d have a go at those for an after-dinner treat as I like to have something to “round off”…

Sunshine-girl – Yes, I’m pretty sure it was CaptainLynne as she was a Captain in the Salvation Army. I haven’t seen her around for years. The last I remember, she’d put a bit of weight back on.

Snoop – Yes, it was 37kg in 6 months, I was very strict and found that being hungry is the enemy so if I couldn’t avoid going over the 800 cals, I’d eat something with protein & fat, like a piece of meat with fat on it or an omelette, to fill me up. The days I ate more protein or fat didn’t add the weight on.

54 – Stay off the beetroot juice, they make sugar from beets in Europe, very high in carbs and it won’t help you get rid of your sweet tooth. In fact, avoid all juices. My go to drink is sparkling water with some lime or lemon juice. It’s refreshing and gets me my daily dose of vitamin C.
Cheers
Linda

Jenthewren

Brownies in the recioie book

Yes I tried them ONCE

They look great, BUT tasted awful. Froze 8 , ate one a day for 3 days before giving them to the birds outside. Then gave them the frozen ones as well !!

I have made ‘SEEDY FLAPJACKS’ from the 8 week BSD diet recipe book.

These were good and tasty (Even the family ate them !!)

They got better each day as they ‘matured’ !!

Tasty snack I have is POPCORN. Done at home in a big pot with a lid on and nothing added, no salt, no sugar etc etc VERY low calorie and lots of it

54

BEETROOT

Great for lowering blood pressure

I count calories not carbs so works for me apart from the taste !! Its not sweet tasting at all

My go to drink all day is Fizzy water and its at least 2 litres a day !! (along with green tea and decafe coffee !

1. The high content of nitrates in beetroot produce a gas called nitric oxide in the blood which widens blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. A daily dose of 250ml of beetroot juice or 1 to 2 cooked beetroot (approx. 100g) can help dramatically reduce blood pressure and its associated risks. (It sounds little but looks a lot when you taste it !!)

2. Betacyanin, the pigment that gives beetroot its colour, is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants are believed to help reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, in turn protecting artery walls and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

3. Beetroot contains folic acid which is essential for normal tissue growth. Beetroot also contains iron, so it’s particularly great for ladies during pregnancy. Beetroot’s iron content means it’s good for those with anaemia and fatigue.

4. Beetroot contains the mineral silica. This helps the body to utilise calcium, which is important for musculo-skeletal health and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

Beetroot is virtually fat free and low in calories. Although it has a ‘medium’ GI (Glycaemic Index) of 64, It has an extremely low GL (Glycaemic Load) of 2.9 which means it’s converted into sugars very slowly and therefore helps to keep blood sugar levels stable.

End of beetroot story

54

I think its ‘sugarbeet’ they make sugar from not Beetroot

there used to be a big factory in York

54

Thanks LindaA, I will be able to sleep now. 54, you are right, the beet used for making sugar is sugar beet not beetroot. Although beetroot is a high carb food it has lots of goodness. I believe they did some experiments with atheletes and they improved their ‘times’ and could go for longer after having a beetroot drink. I have tried it but the stuff you buy in the supermarket is full of sugar and no better than processed orange juice. I guess they have to put chemicals etc in for the shelf life.

Hi All,
I’m a fellow chocoholic but I know if I have sugar or carbs during the day it triggers a binge so I have a square of dark chocolate after dinner. It tricks my brain into thinking I got chocolate. I also look forward to treats, today I’m having 3 chocolate covered strawberries after dinner, I had a very light lunch to mitigate the calories but knowing I was going to have them has kept me going all week. This only works when my head is really in the game and all other carbs are limited so less cravings. Today was my weigh in and I had just under 3lbs off, delighted. I’m 3 weeks in and it feels like it has taken this long for my body to stop fighting the weight loss.

Hi Sunshine Girl

Understood

yes, my Beetroot juice is organic and comes direct from Amazon !!

Its juice and not ‘from concentrate’

(I don’t like the taste so am in the market for something else !!)
54

Well done Cassandra

Keep it up !

54

PS My daughter’s Brownies are still there in their box !!

Congrats, Cassandra. That’s brilliant. And congrats on the brownies, 54.
I have to say, I’m used to eating beetroot. It usually comes in vinegar. The idea of drinking it is a bit beyond me. 🙂

Hi Snoop

Much prefer the stuff in jars !!

54

Thanks for the tip, 54! I’ll have a go at the other things instead then..

Seedy Flapjacks it is !!

Anotrher day down and only 1 glass of beetroot juice left !!

This opens up the qy=uestion of ‘what to try next’

I used to love a pepsi Max every morning, (before moving to orange juice many years ago, and now looking at watermelon and beetroot juice etc etc etc) and my friend said Pepsi Max when I asked what I could try next to drink first thing

This brings up the debate SWEETENERS

Some studies say they help weight loss, others they have no effect, some say they may affect gut bacteria etc etc

Whats anyone else’s thoughts on sweeteners ? Should I go back to Pepsi Max ?
(I’m really getting to not like beetroot juice (Only 5 cartons of 1Litre to go!))

54

Hi, I wouldn’t start using sweeteners. They really aren’t good and it’s better, in my humble opinion, to try and wean yourself off sweetening things. My mum used to use them but I preferred to use gradually less and less sugar until I didn’t need it at all. I just usually drink water in between meals – sometimes fizzy, sometimes still.

It’s something you can get used to , which I had never thought possible!

Hi Jen

Yes my go to all day drink is fizzy water , some 2-3litres over the day. MUST be cold etc etc

Im looking for the early morning orange juice replacement. Could be cold green tea which has been mention.

last of the beetroot went to day

SWEETENER: Yes I too have got down to adding NO sugar to anything and always go for the no added sugar option

Porridge i used to add sweetener to BUT the recepie in the BSD book for porridge adds APPLE grated instead which actual is very very tastey !!

BATCH COOKING
I batch cooked the bolognaisee from the BSD book with quorn

Upside, tasted very good and I felt very healthy as I ate it etc etc

Down side now have 5 more to eat . Im trying to get variety (fish etc) so I’ve put them in the freezer !!

Perhaps I should just cook less.

54

Wow, you’ve been busy!
Btw, I just remembered that I used to drink a teaspoon (or more if you can take it) of apple vinegar in a glass of water before breakfast.
It tasted really good, is refreshing and good for all sorts of things..

Hmmmmmmmmm Apple Viegar

Its meant to be VERY healthy

Ill add it to the potential list and Investigate !!!

Thanks Jenthewren

Bloke41 was a big apple cider fan. Have a look back at his posts, 54. However, if I recall rightly, he added a small amount of honey to make it more palatable. Me, I just stick to still water, usually room temperature (which is quite cold, it has to be said), tea, milky coffee and what are called ‘infusions’ here. In most cases, herbal tea. But Hornimans make a blueberry infusion that is really quite tasty. Bit pricey in comparison with a tea bag, but probably cheaper than beetroot juice. Maybe worth a try?
Seem to have slowed down a bit on the weight loss the last few days. But I’ve started gardening big time today. Lots of weeding. Really enjoyed the exercise. Nice to be outside. Even managed to have lunch outdoors today for the first time this year.

Hi Snoop

Apple Cider sounds GREAT, Im going to have 6 small glasses right away !!

(Unless its actually Cider Vinegar then perhaps not)

Jeniwren says she tried it ages ago so its on my list to look at (I really don’t like beetroot juice now !!)

I watched the original ‘Michael Mosley’ TV weight loss/ intermittent diet programme yesterday and it was interesting to note that on the 5/2 you don’t have to buy any ‘novel/expensive/unusual’ items/foods to lose weigh, just have to eat normally on 5 days and cut to 600 calls of normal food on 2 days to see the results almost guaranteed

I hope to be an ongoing calorie restricter looking to live healthy and 100+ !! (hence the 800 BSD)
I look to eat almost anything, apart from ‘sugar’ as long as I keep to the 800 cals
I look at unusual things as a kind of ‘hobby’ to keep me interested knowing I can drift with this diet etc etc

Ive done my leg in so restricted walking at the moment but when able try to get 30 mins of some sort of exercise everyday.

The program I re-watched also showed that the best form of exercise was not going down the gym but ‘housework’ for 30 mins each day as it is sustainable !! (Hope for us all there I think)

hang in with the weight loss, we both know sometimes lots sometimes nothing for no reason!

One day we could write a book together about our ‘real life experiences ‘ on the plan !!!
With the title ‘Never Give Up’ or similar !!

54

Oops, yes, apple vinegar. Don’t think I should be one of the authors of the book. I’d be sending people in totally the wrong direction…
I’m essentially doing 2-5. Five days 800 calories, weekend off. One thing the weekends have proved to me as that what I used to think of as ‘normal’ eating is not, at least for me.
Years back, when I was a teenager, I spent a month every year living with a French family. They were all slim. And there was me, a very tubby child, who couldn’t possibly eat as much as them. They used to joke about me eating like a bird, I ate so little in comparison with them.
Sorry to hear about your leg, 54. I’m off to do a bit more weeding. Deluge due Sunday and Monday, so would like to get as much done as possible before then.

Hello

Anybody out there !!

Beetroot Juice update:

I have found that 125ml topped up to a pint with diet lemonade works well !! So two a day rather than one big drink !

I am now investigating the benefits of Apple Cider. Apparently 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider a day helps reduce visceral fat (Fat around the tummy! ) Again, ok with diet lemonade !! (Only started this today. I have at the same time as my beetroot juice and Olive oil (Plus the prized slice of no sugar wholemeal bread !!
managed to get and do 4 days of 30 mins walk !! (Cant wait for the swimming pools to re open)

Has anyone had a great week, been really careful, not had a bad thing (many) all week and then had the sinking and disappointing experience of only losing 1/2 ib in a week !!

(Luckily experience shows Ill hopefully catch up next week)

keep on going

54

Hi 54, that should be apple cider vinegar – not cider – oops are you really going to drink cider every day. I use cider vinegar in warm water every morning as it is supposed to be good for controlling blood sugars.

OOOPs

Well spotted sunshine-girl

i meant Apple cider vinegar !
Yes, it controls blood sugar levels and reduces tummy fat !!
Thanks for the hit water tip!

54

I have now thrown my keyboard out the window !!

HOT not HIT

54

Hi, 54, hi, all.
Glad you’ve found a use for the beetroot juice, 54.
Me, I’m in a quandary. Not been posting as I’ve been letting the side down, but deliberately. I’m struggling with the same stomach issues I had the last time and worse, so I’ve been adding carbs back in to my diet. Which isn’t what anyone on here wants to hear. But I don’t see how I can manage otherwise. Have put a bit back on, but now that things have settled down, I’m back to trying to keep the calories low. Will report back next week.

Sorry to hear the stomach issues have returned snoop

Mt sister had stomach ‘issues’ also, (Pain, bloating, bad tummy, general unwell, needing the loo etc etc) so she switched to a strict 5:2

2 Days STRICT 800/1000 calls No sugar/white things/ wine etc etc
5 Days lot more relaxed Mediterranean style eating 1500/2000 cals a day

(women just need on average to burn 1500/2000 a day cals to stay the same weight so Michael mosley says !!)

shes been happy with tummy issues for 18 months and is now ‘maintaining’ on 1500/2000 med style eating not counting cals too much !!

But she has lost 5 stone and kept it off. (Lots of walks I am told)

Dont Give up (as someone here used to say )

Ive discovered there is always a way !!

54

Thanks for the encouragement, 54.

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ANYBODY OUT THERE ???????????????????????????????

54