Second shortest commute Captainlynne? I’m guessing you used to live in your workplace (church?) for a while then.

You guessed Natalie! In London, on the second floor. I did resist the temptation to slide down the banisters LOL. Lived there 4 years.

Sliding down the bannisters…. now there’s a sport for Lucia’s blog!

Ah … it was there that I used to dance the can can! Oops, did I really just tell you that?

Lynne – the can can – now that must have been fun!

I have a bus pass also and often used to catch the bus from work to the city centre when I had a long gap between classes. I often waited for 20 minutes for a bus before as it was often late. It only takes me 20 minutes to walk it and it is such a lovely walk and on the way back it is all downhill so I am not tempted to hop on the bus to get back to work.

Krysia – the can can was originally because of a dare. Someone said I’d not do it, so I did – in a fitted skirt! Much easier the other times, in trousers. But never been able to do the splits!

My bus is often late too. If it comes. Just waiting for better weather to get more adventurous with walks – time permitting of course.

Saw my first snowdrops while out clocking up some miles today. Always gives me hope of better weather to come. Trying not to envy those in other parts of the world their warm and sunny weather😆

An interesting day. Did something I’ve never done before.

I was taken to visit some people. The person taking me has a couple of motorbikes, one with a sidecar. The bike he used was dependent on the weather this morning. I used to ride pillion behind my father over 50 years ago so wasn’t worried at that prospect – although some people thought the idea hilarious.

But today was bitterly cold, and wet. So my lift arrived with the sidecar. And I’d never been in a sidecar before! I’m glad I’m not taller – my head just cleared the roof. And I’m very glad I’m the weight I am now. I think I would have really struggled at the pre BSD weight to even get in the sidecar!

Having done it now, it wouldn’t bother me to do it that way again. Probably better than riding pillion – although my street cred might be higher if I arrived on the back of the bike LOL

It’s strange. After wearing ‘comfortable’ (elasticated) trousers for years and never wearing jeans, I abandoned the elasticated trousers for regular ones, then tried jeans. And loved them. Accidentally bought a pair of denim jeggings, and just love them.

So, what is strange? I’ve just dispatched the last pair of trousers to a charity shop. My last pair of jeans is too big, but wearable (just). The jeggings are fine – for now. But I’ve realised my new shape doesn’t look too good in trousers! The lack of padding to sit on doesn’t look right in trousers and I don’t always want to wear a long top to cover my rear. And trouser legs are just too wide!

So, after all these years I’m back in skirts! Not only that, most of them are pencil skirts! Who’d have thought it?

Another thing – at a meeting I was chairing tonight someone criticised me saying “everyone says….”. Of course I instantly took it to heart. But when I got home I remembered once being told the appropriate response is “who says? Give me names”. Then I remembered who this person’s friends are. No further need to worry or be upset. Problem solved. At least this one. For now.

Captain Lynne

When you stopped doing the 800 bsd diet did you increase to 1200 calls per day and increase your carbs correspondingly? I have a long way to go before I will be in the maintenance phase but am keen to prepare as well as I can as I have always found maintenance to be the most difficult problem to overcome.

Thanks

Morag

Hi Morag

I did give a great deal of thought over the months as to how I’d do maintenance, and this is what I ended up doing.

I don’t really look at calories, but I still keep my carbs low.

I normally eat a cooked breakfast then nothing until my evening meal because I’m not often hungry in between. If I am, a small piece of cheese or something similar fills me up..

My focus is on keeping the carbs low, to keep my blood sugars down in the normal range. That seems to help keep the calories down but I couldn’t give an estimated figure.

Hope this helps.

Hi Lynne

Sounds like you still have the remains of your ‘I’m fat so stupid/unimportant’ head on!

You just have to keep remembering where you’ve come from and how much you’ve achieved over the last 12 months or so. You are a confident healthy woman who knows where she’s at and is comfortable in her skin …. the rest is ‘their’ problem!!

And of course that ugly ‘envy’ also has a part to play in other peoples attitude towards you …. as you say ‘no need to worry or be upset …. it’s their problem not yours !!!

Hi Verano

Thanks for that. Sadly the woman concerned wasn’t commenting on my weight or appearance but on her perception of what work I do. Basically she said I don’t do something she thinks I should. But I actually do – just she doesn’t see it. And what does she do? Exactly, nothing. Her and her negative friends can sit in their huddle and whisper.

Ho hum. Despite my best efforts, only 3 hours sleep. Still, this is a new day. Coffee morning, then some technical stuff – being talked through getting a printer on to the main network! Apart from that, nothing challenging. Well, not at the moment!

Lynne, she’s probably jealous of the new you! God is your judge and your peace. Hope you have a better day today, techie stuff permitting!

And maybe you could try doing the can can today!! Loved that post from a few days back, ditto riding pillion… been too busy to post but always good to hear these snippets, highly entertaining and often educational!

Joelle, what can I say? Today I’ve been on ‘maintenances ‘ for 21 weeks. From 9st 6lbs (original goal weight was 9st 7lb) on 10th September today (official weighing day) I now weigh now 8st 6lb.

For the last 6 weeks weight has only fluctuated between 8st 8lb and 8st 6lb on official weighing day. Then, this week I saw numbers on the scale not seen for decades, dropping down to 8st 5lb and 8st 4lb.

All those months ago, when I started the BSD, I didn’t know if it would work for me. After being ‘on diets’ for most of my life, spending a fortune at various slimming clubs, buying far too many diet books, etc, etc perhas its understandable that I wasn’t 100% certain of this one.

But I was aware of Prof Taylor ‘s research and of Dr M’s reputation and decided to give it a try. The rapid early results were what kept me going. And here I still am, 14 months later.

My original target of 9st 7lbs was the figure regularly mentioned in the past by medics. It seemed unrealistic, a long haul. But I got there.

Then I decided to get some ‘wriggle room’ and kept going with various mini targets along the way.

Today is just another stage in my journey.

No matter how much weight I’ve lost in the past (and can only remember being under 9st one in my adult life) it’s always come back, with interest, within a very short space of time. So, I was both curious and nervous to see what would happen this time.

I’m off to Italy again in a few weeks. Last time I went, in October, my friends were hoping they’d recognise me at the airport! I’ve lost a little more (7lbs) since then but should still be recognisable. Oh, and just had to get my passport renewed, so photo in that is current! Yet another incentive!

In those immortal words – if I can do this, anyone can.

Congratulations and best wishes to everyone on the BSD journey, whether just starting, approaching maintenance, or maintaining.

Thanks CaptainLynne for the advice on maintenance – I presumed when calories increased the carbs etc should increase proportionately. I don’t want to worry too much about maintenance at this point as that is probably half a year away but it is never something I have managed to do and I do see it as the bigger challenge to actually losing the weight.

I am trying two meals a day this weekend and have found it harder than three smaller meals today. The working week provides structure that I probably find easier. I do have a challenge coming up with at least 2 meals out in a week and an overnight stay away from home during half term – all advice gratefully received.

Morag x

Hi Morag

I keep carbs low because I used to be diabetic and needed to low carb to get my blood sugars down to normal. Hot used to,that way of eating and don’t see any need to change it. It’s just what suits me.

Meals out and staying away from home. As you can imagine I’ve faced these challenges many times since I started the BSD. Meals out – conferences, social events etc. Staying away from home – residential conferences and holidays, both abroad (normally in Italy staying with friends) and in this country. So, how did I cope?

First, be aware that nobody else is worrying about what you do / do not eat. They are too busy eating what is on their own plate. So many people these days ask for amendments to menu items that staff don’t think it strange. In this country I eat my normal cooked breakfast, choosing BSD friendly foods. At other meals, it depends on the occasion. Buffet – cooked meat/poultry, salad, cheese, etc. No need to choose carbs. If I’m unsure what will be available, I pack something. If I’m presented with a menu, I make the best choices possible, asking for non-BSD foods to be omitted. And definitely no dessert. Abroad (or hotels,in this country that do a continental breakfast) there’s usually meat, cheese, eggs, sometimes salad. At my friends, I buy meat and cheese to eat while they eat their carbs for breakfast. Other meals, whether in hotels, eating out, or at my friend’s- again, make the best choices. Just because someone else is eating it doesn’t mean that we have to. My friends ordered pizza one evening. I had meat and cheese out of the fridge. Next time they ordered pizza, I asked for a kebab. Ate the meat and salad – enough for 2 meals! Even in Italy I’ve found it reasonably easy to stick to the BSD. Once taken to a really nice gelato cafe – nothing on the menu I could have, so enjoyed th conversation over black coffee.

When all else has failed, like arriving at a small train station to change trains, and needing food, all that was available was sandwiches and cakes. Best choice was a sandwich BLT). I sat on a bench on the platform with my black coffee and ate the filling from the sandwich and threw the bread away. Another time I was being driven to a conference when the diver stopped at a burger van. It was a long time until a late evening meal. I bought a bacon roll. Ate the bacon (burning my fingers!) and threw the bread roll away. Note to self – take plastic cutlery in bag when travelling.

I’ve not touched alcohol in many years, so that not a problem for me. I used to drink diet fizzy drinks, but stopped them a short time into the BSD. My drinks now are black coffee and water (preferably fizzy).

And don’t forget – you can always say “no, thank you”. It does become automatic.

Hope this helps. Any questions, please ask.

What a brilliant thread this is- thanks to all who are contributing and to CaptainLynne for starting it, and for great advice in the last post.

Morag- I’m not at maintenance yet either, (though I would have been if I’d stuck at it last year , rather than thinking “8 weeks and that’s it!)
I’m 5 weeks in this time, and the way I handle the occasional meals out and nights away is to simply leave out all the carbs, so no bread or other grains, potatoes, rice, pasta; also no pulses or root vegetables for now. So, a protein or English breakfast, soup or meat/fish and veg/salad for lunch, ditto dinner. Don’t give a thought to fat. There’s usually enough to choose from. One very small glass of wine if wished! My take on it (this time!) is that I’m in this for the long haul, and it’s a new, lifelong way of eating, so a few days like this without counting is not going to knock one off track. It’s worked well so far, I’m almost 12 lb down, and even lost half a pound in the week I went to le Manoir for lunch, and I didn’t starve or fast on other days that week either.

On another thread, these “challenges” were renamed “real life events”!
Mary

Well, it’s now 22 weeks since I reached my original target weight of 9st 7lb – although I missed that and hit 9st 6lb.

Today I weigh 8st 5lb. That’s a lot of wriggle room!

I think I’m officially revising my target weight to 8st 7lb, planning in some of that famous wriggle roomthe bottom of my healthy BMI is 7 stone😱 so perhaps staying between 8st and 8st 7lbs! The alternative of Smart BMI gives lowest healthy weight at 5′ 1″ and 66 years to be 7st 7lbs, so 8st to 8st 7lbs should be ok.

Don’t want to lose much, though, otherwise my new (to me) clothes won’t fit!

Well done CaptainLynne – amazing and inspirational. Week 3 weigh in day for me tomorrow. 🙂

Morag x

Hi Lynne

I can’t believe it’s 22 weeks since you reached your target. LCHF way of eating must just be second nature to you now. I guess you probably still get the odd moment when you have to think twice about eating something but I’m sure those moments are few and far between now.

You certainly have enough ‘wriggle room’ to keep you at your new healthy weight. It’s good that you still post because we all want to know what it’s like ‘on the other side’!

Hi Verano

It’s probably when I’m in a coffee shop that I notice the changes in me. Before BSD it would have been a large latte, often with a sandwich or pastry. Now it’s usually either an espresso (with or without cream), a macchiato or an americano without milk. And nothing to eat.

The other major difference for me is the residential conferences. Those 3-course meals. Before BSD I’d have eaten just what I wanted. Breakfast would have been cereal, the cooked breakfast and lots of toast with butter and marmalade. Biscuits with mid morning coffee, then lunch would usually be cooked meat and salad (usually those using up leftover veg in mayonnaise), followed by dessert. More biscuits with coffee at the break. Then a 3-course dinner. Whatever starter and main I fancied, followed by some nice dessert. Once I did try the cheese instead of a dessert – with grapes and crackers – but there was enough for a meal in the serving! And don’t forget the biscuits and chocolates left in my room!!!

Now breakfast is just the cooked option. No biscuits. Lunch (if I eat anything) is a slice of cooked meat with a little tomato and cucumber. Dinner – when I get the menu to choose from at breakfast time – immediately delete the dessert. Then look at the options for starter and main. Sometimes the choice is easy if there’s something I don’t like. Once I’ve chosen, I delete anything I don’t want – croutons, Yorkshire pudding, etc. Staff are usually very good – they’re so used to people asking for substitutions these days, and so many people have cut out gluten.

After the first time I did it, its become second nature and the skills I learned there have translated to other social eating situations.

The Italian ice cream cafe last year was tricky. It was easy enough to refuse the gelato, but I was worried about offending the family who’d invited us. But I needn’t have worried. And other meals over there have opened up conversations if people have noticed what I’m eating or not eating. Most times I’d just be happy with the starter of sliced meats and cheeses.

As well as food choices, I agree that portion sizes have also shrunk. Typing what I used to eat amazed me – how could I eat all of that in one day, especially when the day was spent sitting listening to people with no exercise.

Hi Lynne

The strange thing is that what you describe is pretty ‘normal’ eating for most people! You haven’t suggested that you were eating 6 doughnuts or a packet of biscuits at one sitting which we would all think of as excessive.

I have noticed that when I stay in a hotel with a buffet I automatically go for the BSD friendly foods and the simple carbs are something I simply don’t eat. My OH still offers me things at times and I just say ‘… but I don’t eat bread/rice’ or whatever is offered, as he seems to forget at times.

I agree that sometimes the choices are easier than others but I find when I’m out there is usually a way around things. Strangely enough when I was in hospital a few weeks ago the choices were really limited. The food was actually very good and the choices vast catering for vegetarian, gluten free and many ethnic options. I still found it difficult eating low carb. Porridge was the ‘best’ breakfast choice with an apple! Lunch was soup with a sandwich for me. I removed the crusts and ‘opened’ the sandwich up so limiting the damage. In the evening it was usually a salad with cheese or similar. So I managed reasonably well for 6 days!

I think after a time you just get to stop thinking/caring what other people have to say about what you eat that’s if they even notice! I do agree its not as easy when you’ve been ‘invited out’ but I think there are so many ‘faddy’ eaters these days that we probably just fade into the background.

Portion size is the thing that’s really surprised me. I guess when you get used to eating just 800 calories a day your portions are automatically limited and you only notice it really when you have a meal out when you aren’t in control of portion size.

The important thing is that this way of eating does become second nature after a while but then like most things I think you have to ‘want’ this as a way of life and not think of it as a short term ‘fix’.

Hi Verano

You may have seen my comments on your thread “My journey so far”.

Chocolate – preferably milk chocolate. Could eat whole bars of Galaxy, and remember once eating three Mars bars (original size) in a sitting, washed down with Diet Coke. I’ve seen lots of people on here comment about eating one or two squares of 90% chocolate. Alas, I can’t even do that! Years ago a slimming club said that 90% chocolate was ok, so I tried it. Again, I could set the whole bar!

Biscuits- yes, I could eat the packet. Depending on which biscuits they were, of course. Ginger nuts (dunked in my coffee), chocolate digestives, Gold, chocolate tea cakes, – do I see a recurring theme here? If one of my bosses visited, his favourite biscuits were Chocolate Leibniz. Guess what – I could eat the packet. One slimming club recommended ‘pink and whites’ so they went on my list of ‘go to’ foods.

Cakes – yes, please. Cream cakes – a pack of four please.

Crisps – if I tried to be economical and buy a multipack, I could easily eat them all (especially cheese & onion) so I just had to buy one pack at a time, but then would be looking for something else. And Pringles! I could easiest the whole tube – my favourite was the BBQ flavour.

Doughnuts were not particularly my ‘thing’ – but I could eat a pack of four jam doughnuts in a sitting.

That was before BSD. So, what now?

I have crisps in the cupboard left by my granddaughters last year (note to self – check use by date), and packets of biscuits (including the Chocolate Leibniz and Gold) bought for work but no storage there so living in my kitchen. And the girls left chocolate here. It went out of date.

What I do have to be careful with now are some foods that others have no problem with – cream, and nuts. I especially like cashews – preferably salted or Marmite flavoured.

Glad to hear the hospital food was good, even though too ‘carby’. Years ago I was in for surgery and on a fat free diet. The meal brought was the greasiest pork chop I had ever seen!

I’ve been happy to find that this does become second nature. Perhaps part of the fun, if I can call it that, is the challenge of finding new ways of doing things – new foods, and ways of avoiding the carbs.

Hi Lynne

Have just looked at the other thread.

I must admit I have never really been the sort of eater that you describe. Rather than have maybe three mars bars I would have an extra sandwich or chunk of cheese, or both!

When I look back, I put on weight slowly over the years and then settled for many years at my ‘normal’ overweight level. Then when I was ill nearly 10 years ago I lost several stone but was then wheelchair bound for a couple of years. My OH used to ‘treat’ me with chocolate, biscuits and other sweet tit bits. I’m not saying he force fed me he was trying to make me ‘happy’.

I wasn’t able to weigh myself for a long time but when I could I found that the weight just started to creep up. Although at this stage I was walking with crutches it was very much a case of just getting from A to B rather than ‘going for a walk’ . I guess altogether I put on an extra 4 or 5 stone. One day I got on the scale and was looking at going up into the next stone. Enough I thought to myself ‘this is a runaway train and I have to stop it now’.

So I made a start and probably lost around 10lbs but without exercise and sticking to the outdated ‘low fat’ method, it was a long slow slog. When I found the BSD I had been diagnosed with T2 for about 4 years. It just made such good sense to me. So now I’m on the road to recovery. I still only walk from A to B but despite my lack of exercise when I stick to the plan I lose weight! My blood sugars are normal, still with metformin, and I feel better than I have done for many years, despite my recent blip.

I think that without posters like you I may never have got this far. It’s so good to be reminded when times get tough that this can and does work.

I can’t imagine going back to sandwiches and chunks of cheese, oh! with crisps, again. I guess we should never say never but for me, while I can keep reading about others’ successes, I know I can keep going. My ultimate goal at the moment is just to get back to my pre-illness weight, my former overweight level, and then I may reassess my situation but we will just have to wait and see.

Sorry for this long self indulgent post!

Hi Verano

Nothing wrong with long posts – we all seem to be doing it.

Forgot to say that my other ‘go to’ comfort was good white bread (well, any white bread really) with best butter on it. If I could fit something between two slices of bread and butter I was happy. And that (sandwiches) was more or less what I was living on immediately before the BSD.

You’ve had a tough time so extra congratulations on your progress so far.💐

I’ve not had your difficulties, but still only walk from A to B. I quite like walking, but it needs to have a purpose. And I’m a ‘fair weather’ walker. No way do I go out walking for pleasure in this cold, wet weather!

Please keep,posting about your progress. Do you have a timescale in mind for your goals?

Hi Lynne

We all have our own problems and apart from mobility I’ve been pretty healthy unlike lots of people on these forums. It’s hard for everyone just a little harder for some!

I don’t really have a timescale because I don’t need the extra pressure. But if I have to pick a point in the future I would choose July 5th 2017 which will be my first anniversary. By then I would like to have lost at least another 10% of my starting weight but prefably 15%. No pressure then!!!

Did you have a timescale or did you just soldier on?

Hi again Verano

No, I didn’t have a timescale. Once I started I just kept on going. Along the way I wondered what my destination would be. Originally I was aiming for the weight the medics had always thrown at me. Probably I just wanted to get there, but didn’t know when. I had no special occasions to aim for, so just kept plodding on. But I needed to get my blood sugar down, so that was another goal.

Once I got to that weight, I kept seeing further, smaller goals so decided to keep going and see what happened. The logical part of my brain knows that the numbers on the scale are just that. Numbers. But another part of me likes some numbers better than others.

But I’m not stressing about it. I might lose a few more pounds. Or not. I’m getting used to where I am now – weight, shape and dress size. I’m lighter now than at any other time in my adult life. I weighed 11 stone at age 11! So, maintaining, I’m in previously uncharted territory – apart from a few brief weeks when I’d lost weight (after illness) and almost instantly gained it back again.

Just calculated I’ve lost 47% of my starting weight😱 Mmmm … I wonder?

Don’t even think about it!!!!! 47 is a good number if you’re thinking 50 would be better because it’s round just think about all those clothes that look great now, but will start looking like you’ve borrowed them from you ‘fat friend’ !!!!

Be happy, enjoy and keep maintaining !!!

Who? Me? LOL

I’m happy where I am, disposing of the last of my clothes that are too big, and looking for new clothes. Or new to me!

For some strange reason I’m decluttering the house! 😱 It started with the clothes, and has just progressed. It’s a work in progress, but I’ve made a start.

*peeps around the corner *

Another pound gone today, making current weight 8st 4lb. Just checked, and that makes a total loss of 110 pounds to date.

I’m still working to maintain but not stressing if a pound or two goes. Just aware of not losing too much. It does fluctuate slightly, sometimes for no obvious reason. So not stressing about it.

Still doing a serious de-junk. Lots gone, but a lot more still to go. I’ve decided we’re having a jumble sale in two weeks! Most of it will be my stuff😱 Just wondering where it all came from!

Captain Lynne – what an inspiration you are. 110lbs is truly amazing.

Had a non 800 day today (part of the hotel stay I mentioned last week) but kept to no carbs. Had a cooked breakfast, nuts and cheese while travelling and fish with veggies for tea. I know I have eaten more than usual but will be back to normal tomorrow and hope that a day like this can be accomodated within this approach.

As the title of this thread goes – keeping calm about it and carrying on.

Morag x

Thinking today about how strange we are – or rather, how strange our thinking can be.

When we’re losing weight, we’re so happy when we see the scales moving downwards, and sad when they move in the opposite direction. Even when we know what we’ve done to move the scales in the wrong direction, we can go into denial and get miserable, or angry, or feel like giving in.

If we stay with the plan, though, we’ll continue to see the scales moving downward until we reach our target. That might be a specific weight, or a specific size in our clothes, or both.

But when we reach that goal, what happens with our thinking? We can’t expect the scales to keep moving downwards forever so we lose that incentive. So what makes us feel good then?

I still weigh daily, just to keep an eye on things. If the scales move downward I’m happy. If they move up a pound, I’m not happy.

Today I checked my recorded weights. On 17th December 2016 I reached 8st 6lbs, and have stayed within a couple of pounds of that ever since. That’s 9 weeks of maintaining. That’s probably the longest I’ve ever maintained weight loss! Even better than that, I’ve not even gone above that weight since 4th February – that’s 3 weeks.

Probably a bit deep for a weekend, but it’s just made me think of how we think about, and how we react to, our weight loss.

We’ve seen so much recently about most ‘super slimmers’ not maintaining their weight loss and about those successful slimming club members regaining their weight that many could be disheartened or disillusioned, wondering why they should even try to lose weight.

I may have made up my own rules for maintenance – it has to work for me and my life-style. After all, it’s for the rest of my life. I’m still weighing daily, still low-carbing. Not worrying too much about calories. At the moment, I’m aiming to stay between 8st and 8st 7lbs. Or, at least, not to go above 8st 7lbs. That’s for now, in the short to medium term. But could be reviewed in the future. I’m going on holiday in a few weeks and don’t really want to be over that weight when I get home.

Hi Lynne

I think you have hit the nail on the head …. you are making your own maintenance rules to fit YOUR life. That’s where some of these ‘super slimmers’ have problems. They ‘go on a diet’ to lose weight and often can’t wait to get back to ‘normal’ . But normal was how they put the weight on in the first place!

This way of eating allows you to eat without being deprived and teaches you a new way of life. It’s certainly not for everybody because, although great results can be achieved, it’s certainly not easy. I think it may be slightly easier for those of us who had/have diabetes or prediabetes but it’s still difficult.

Maybe the it all comes down to how much you want to be healthy and how well you can change your mindset even if it’s only for 98% of the time!!

You know better than most of us how this whole thing works!!

A really great post, Lynne.

I started BSD due to diabetes, high BP and cholesterol. Weight was obviously a major contributing factor and BSD has definitely addressed the weight and health issues remarkably. So with the health impacts in hand, why do I still weigh myself daily?

The weight is drifting downwards so I’m happy, but I’m not really sure why. When it plateaus, I don’t really worry as I know it will change at some point. As I decided at the start to use a seven-day average then that probably dampens the effect of any gain on a given day.

I still have my target of 100lb off by my birthday in June, but I really think I’m just seeing my weight as a proxy for my overall health.

Verano – I think you may be right that it may be easier for us who have had/have diabetes. When I realised I could do something about this horrible disease by following the BSD it did become easier to stick to the losing weight phase and now the maintenance phase. I felt that ‘this had to work for me’ because the alternative was to continue ‘slowly killing myself’ (apologies to the original authors of these phrases – but they really describe exactly how I felt, and still feel).

LYNNE what a thoughtful,thought provoking and interesting post! Sorry this is a long answer..i havent been on here for a while but still on my BSD path.

There really doesnt seem any danger you’ll ever go backwards now Lynne,i think youre committed for life to this …me too,i think,this time round.
I feel that this low carb/ full fat plan has much more chance of extremely longterm success than the miserable low cal/ low fat regime i tried to follow without permanent success time after time after time. I do pray that we’ll all still be going onwards and staying downwards in three or four years time! ( the Superslimmers programme stated most people regain in a few years and the scientists said only 5-10% will keep it off..well yah boo sucks to them,lets prove them wrong!)

I must admit i live in fear of regaining,almost to a phobic extent..i had anorexia briefly as a teen and it has surprised me how that element of my nature is still in there somewhere,to some extent,tho of course now i am far more sensible,responsible and clued up than i was as a youngster ( in my anorexic phase, i ate only one apple and a small square of meat each day)

I still have weight to lose,probably another stone down i guess and i’ll be satisfied,but we’ ll see when i get there.

I only weigh about once a fortnight and in between times i just go by how things get looser and looser,but for everyday weigher ins,i like JULES method of taking an average over seven days.

So,how wd you say you generally feel Lynne these days..are you pinching yrself at times,hardly able to believe you have gone thru such an amazing transformation? Do you ever dream that youre back to your old size and feel reluef when you wake up that it was just a bad dream! Do you feel immensely physically better AND mentally and emotionally?

Now i’m 77 lbs lighter than i was 7 and a half months ago, i feel a sense of magic in my life that far outweighs any occasional and passing fancies for a piece of buttered toast or some sweeties!
VERANO, youre correct – we can’t return to the old habits – its hardly surprising that doing just that takes us right back to where we were before weightwise,or even heavier ..and i also i agree with you saying it comes down to how much we want to be healthy- and also how much we are enjoying being lighter and in smaller size clothing.

So glad you share your ongoing journey with us LYNNE..youre like a little lighthouse or beacon of hope to us all and help us to see it IS possible to turn your life totally around.

CAPTAINLYNNE for some reason my reply wdnt stick on this thread.. I can’t see it anyhoo..so ive posted it on the Hello thread..sorry! X

Good morning

Certainly thought provoking posts. It made me think how great these threads and the posters really are. Where would you find a ‘slimming club’ that would give you anything more than a perfunctory chat from the ‘leader’ and applause if you lost any weight once a week? Very nice but not really very constructive. Here we get 24/7 encouragement, practical help, support, ‘applause’ and, maybe more importantly, ‘psychology’ all thrown in together. If we can’t make it here I don’t think we’d make it anywhere!

It certainly helps me to be here.

Back to weighing everyday. I do. Can’t help it but unlike JM fluctuations do bother me. I have only just started to do weekly averages of my food intake. Although why I need even more numbers I really don’t know. I weight and record daily, then I have a weekly weight loss/gain page in my journal, and monthly totals. Obsessive or what! So now I also have average calorie and carbs. I think I have hit a plateau. I have fiddled about putting on and losing the same 0.2lb this week whereas last week I lost 3lbs. I have had almost exactly the same number of carbs per day, 43 but fewer calories averaging 870 a day. Looking at the figures I should have lost … must be a plateau. Never had one before and so I’m not sure what to do.

Do I drop my carbs back down to 30g or up them for a day or so to kick start my body? Maybe I should even be increasing my calories as less than 1000 is really low, especially in the long term. Or maybe I should just plod on until I reach the end of the plateau doing what I’m doing now. Any advice most welcome.

Good to ‘see’ you back Yowzer and glad you’re still on the ‘journey’!

Yowzer – my dieting efforts in the past exactly mirrored the results in the Superslimmers programme. Except that I didn’t put the weight back on over a few years – it was always went back on really fast over a few weeks/months of so called ‘normal’ eating.

Following the BSD has been so different. I hit maintenance on 10th December and now am heading towards 3 months on maintenance with no weight gain at all.

I am finding – like Captainlynne and others – that the key to maintenance and good blood sugars is to keep the carbs low. I am really beginning to feel that this way of eating is truly sustainable over the long haul.

I started on 1st May 2016 and haven’t had any bad carbs at all in that time. My downfall in the past has been that I am a carb addict (predictive text wanted to add that I was a carb monster and actually that is what I used to feel I was). I suddenly realized this week that this way of eating has become the new normal for me. I am in the middle of some truly awful working weeks because I have taken on more work than I can cope with but have stayed effortlessly to the BSD guidelines – a first for me because my normal way of coping with too much work would be a huge and prolonged carb fest.

I have just watched the super slimmers programme and found the results not surprising. If you go on a diet, achieve your goal and then say, okay I am slim now I can come off the diet, then you are going back to what made you big in the first place. The female doctor hit the nail on the head, but something we all know, diets don’t work, changing your lifestyle choices does (or should). Again, I agree that some of us are not really here for weight loss although it is a necessary part of our healing, I just want to stop using insulin. I don’t care if I am still technically called a diabetic (I prefer person with diabetes) as long as I can improve my situation and stop the downward spiral of the disease.

When my daughter had a tummy tuck (don’t even think about it, it was horrendous) she was advised to have lipo at the same time to reduce the fat cells. The theory behind it is a slim fat cell is like a new balloon, flat and empty, when you get fat you fill up your fat cells so they become like a partly inflated balloon and when you lose weight they are still there but like a deflated but stretched balloon. When the cells are like that they are very easy to fill up with fat again. Don’t know if that made any sense.

Anyway, lets be the 5 – 10% who keep off the weight. It didn’t seem to matter whether you lost if fast or slow just dont go back to old habits. Thought for the day:- Why do WW and SW tell you to lose no more than 1 or 2 lbs per week – lets guess how many £5.95 weeks that would take to lose 3, 4 or 5 stones.

Just popping in to say how lovely to see you all and congratulations to everyone for your persistence and success.

I wanted to join in and say that since reaching my target last summer, I’ve lost a couple more pounds to oscillate around the 120/121lb mark (original starting weight was 148lbs).

I now know that I can eat some bread – though I only eat really good bread, and not much of that – and potatoes and rice hold very little appeal for me (rice, I can really do without – had a few roasties at Christmas). We have had some difficult times over the last few months within my family, and I have had two or three fish and chip suppers when too exhausted to do anything else. Nil effect on my weight.

I suppose the biggest thing is actually not needing to eat breakfast – I have two cups of coffee and then really don’t eat anything till lunchtime, so I am following very much a fasting diet.

Now just about got used to how I look in the mirror, and the clothes I can wear.

Still very conscious of weight on other people, especially around the middle. As part of the difficult times recently, I had to be around hospitals a lot, and the food available to buy, and the weight of the patients and the staff themselves was very worrying. At one of our hospitals in Oxford, there is a M&S cafe, and the choices of food are absolutely terrible. They actually give you a little biscuit to go with your calorie/sugar laden cappucino…….. And the breakfasts are all croissants and pastries and nothing low carb at all.

May I wish everyone ongoing success, whether slowly losing or maintaining.

Hi to some old friends. Glad to see you here again.

Igorasusual – hope everything and everyone is now ok.

At one of my local hospitals the food outlet is more like a Greggs bakery than the M&S cafe you have! But it does seem that most hospitals have similar food outlets unfortunately.

I wonder how long it will take these companies to start serving healthy, low carb foods? I won’t hold my breath! There are probably all sorts of financial implications fo the companies that will impact on their choices. Never mind the damage they are doing to so many people.

I love seeing all the “old” names on this thread! Feels like going home — and I am checking in today to report reaching my one year anniversary on the BSD!! One year ago I passed through London Heathrow and picked up the paperback BSD at WHSmith and the rest, as they say, is history.
I reached my happy weight around the end of June last summer (I had no timeline) and have maintained since then. I went from a solid (like canned tuna) size 16 to size 8 — I don’t have a pounds-lost number to report because I STILL won’t get on that evil scale. I am done with that thing forever — however, I lost almost a foot off my waist (12 inches) which should give you a good visual and my “stats” are great with excellent LDL to HDL ratios and low triglycerides (despite all the fat I eat!).
I have been thinking and thinking about what might be helpful in my story to others on the same journey and I will “second” everything you all have stated above. I’m a little different than some because I didn’t have an easy time of it — I fell off the diet regularly and often got so hungry I could eat the cat but what I learned were two big things — one, eat the right foods and two, don’t quit don’t quit don’t quit!!! (Is that four things?)
The right foods are low carb and as long as I stay there, I keep the weight off. I can eat a lot of eggs, veggies (not starchy), lettuce and greens, nuts, pulses, yogurt, cream, butter, meat, fish, cheese, small amounts of fruit, olive oil, mayonnaise (home made with good oil) — I eat until I am full and then I don’t eat until the next meal — I drink a lot of tea, fizzy water and coffee. I do have some wine. I don’t get hungry until mealtimes but I do get hungry then! My low blood sugar episodes are a distant history even when doing hours of skiing or hiking.
I think you all are right when you say it is not a diet. It has to get into your head that this is how you live now and the longer you do it the more clear it becomes that this is RIGHT — makes me sad I wasted so many years on the wrong path but grateful I am here now.
I have a theory — that the people on this forum are an unusual bunch — we are resisting popular/current medical wisdom about diet and so I believe we probably have a uniquely high level of self-direction and self-belief. It takes a lot of mental energy to reject the current guidelines and set out on your own path to find out what really works for you.
It also takes calm, deliberate, focused days to stay the course. The people who reach this point learn how to do it — and I think ANYONE can learn how to do it — and the forums are incredibly helpful.
So thank you to all who have helped me through their posts and thank you to the researchers who have continued to question — and if anyone reading this has had a slip-up or bad day, I’ve got some advice:
DON’T QUIT!!!!

Thanks everyone for your posts. Really inspiring. I too have done the lose weight slowly gain it quickly for many years.
Have found the BSD much easier than any other diet ive ever attempted. I was a total carb fiend but it’s actually a relief to stop eating them. I felt ‘silted up’ and sluggish. In fact I realised last week I had been poisoning myself for years.
Great to see people maintaining and sharing their success

Great post Sunshinegirl, and just what I needed to reaffirm everything to me as I pick myself up again after 2 terrible weeks ( some distressing family events, no chance yo cook at home or eat anywhere BSD friendly) Today I can refocus so your post has absolutely fired me up. You have done amazingly and many thanks for sharing your journey!

Your post spoke to me Californiagirl xx

So good to hear from our ‘maintainers’ it really gives me hope.

There’s nothing more encouraging than to hear how people are still living quite happily with BSD friendly eating many months after reaching their personal goals. We know it can be done, but please keep posting just to reaffirm to those of us still in the journey, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That we can be ‘super slimmers’ who do indeed keep our new healthy bodies despite ‘life’ rearing it’s ugly head at times.

Well done everyone and as sunshine-girl would say …. keep on keeping on!!

Some great posts here! Inspiring and encouraging! Day 1 week 7 and wouldn’t you know it……weighed in a kilo heavier this morning.
Not letting it worry me though, because I am feeling so good and so in control. Hubby has had an increase as well, though we have both been sticking to the 800 really well and most days under that. Continuing the exercises and will keep on keeping on on the final push towards the end of the first 8 weeks. Not really sure how to continue on from there but will talk to the rest of the household, as it is very helpful to all be on the same page.
Some very wise words on these forums. Don’t beat yourself up if you have a lapse, we’re in this for the long term and we are in control
of correcting any backward steps. We have the power!