Welcome Daisiesmum and Cosmic goddess and fashionably late clever blonde73 and Snoop and any other new person if I missed you! Today is Thanksgiving and I made it through yesterday mostly intact although I did eat a bit of bread when we first sat down to dinner because the restaurant was packed so they could not seat us at our reservation time so by the time we did finally sit down, I was ready to eat the tablecloth. I cannot wait too late to eat these days or I just get too hungry. No worries — the rest of my dinner was fine — fish, white beans and spinach — yum.
Sunshine-girl that is fantastic blood sugar update and you must be very, very happy. You totally earned it! Greenjanet, your barn/house project sounds absolutely fun!! It will be amazing when you are finished. Butter lover, nice work eating only one bite of the bun! May I have your willpower tonight when faced with all the temptations of Thanksgiving! Jules great job!!

Welcome Cleverblonde73! You are doing great and will reach your goal. So glad you are joining all of us here!

Hi Californiagirl,
Glad you didn’t eat the tablecloth–much better to have a bit of bread!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Great to read all your posts. We are in full swing! Friday morning in NZ, sipping apple cider vinegar in hot water, and planning menu for the day. Had fully catered meetings yesterday and held off to slip away and eat the lunch I had taken to work. There are many Christmas functions to come so will need to strategise my way through. Love a Friday. Go well all xx

Welcome Cleverblonde, CosmiGoddess and Daisiesmum glad to have you all aboard.

Now we are 35 travellers all heading towards a healthy holiday season and I’m sure we will all make our goals … just need to stick with the plan and keep postive.

Think we may need another sleigh this one is nearly full … certainly need a few more reindeer!!! But it’s great to have so many people cheering each other on.

BTW jmarie41 this challenge is just following on from several that a group of us stalwarts have been doing since late September. Some successful for some of us and some not. This was a natural progression that we all thought of.

Sunshine ….. brilliant! You have come so far and you’re in the normal range. It may be like weight … the less you have to lose the slower it goes! You will get to 5.5, if that’s your natural level, but for the moment just keep patting yourself on the back!! Great result.

Ho ho ho! what a lovely full sleigh we have 🙂 welcome all newcomers xx!
So great to read all the Positive People’s comments on here
Lets keep going,heading towards a healthier slimmer christmastide…clippety clop Vixen,Blixen and all the reindeer and of course – Rudolph!
JAN i dont know why you’re not getting emails..mine are working ok..maybe check in with the technos?
tech@thebloodsugardiet.com xx

Just as a matter of interest I would really love to know which country our non U.K. friends are from.

Some of you are getting up as others are going too bed, and others are even living in the next day!!

Hi Verano, I’m from the east coast of Australia, not too far from Sydney!

Hi Inka13 interesting. I’m going to be in Sydney next year and was thinking about spending a few days on the Central Coast of alternatively going south of Sydney. If you were a tourist which would you choose in February??

Hopefully the reindeer will have a much lighter and healthier load by the end of this four weeks! I hear tell of a plateau challenging people’s resolves – I hope we all manage to skirt around that particular obstacle. It’s great to be back on an active forum, I’m already feeling even more determined.
All the best to everyone on this particular push.
I managed well today – the most alarming thing I have realised about my eating habits since starting BSD is that I am (was) an incessant snacker, it remains my greatest challenge. I used to be unconsciously munching on one thing after another all the time, it’s been a shocking wake-up call for me! Remembering to drink the water helps – I spike mine with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drop of vanilla – delish!
What a wonderful international bunch we are 🙂

Greenjanet we are having a pool put in out backyard (Sydney) and that is stressful enough! I can’t imagine doing the whole house. We moved houses a year ago and deliberately chose one that didn’t need anything done to it (except putting in a pool).

This morning I was telling my husband I’ve been struggling with the diet for a couple of weeks, since I gave myself permission to indulge at our son’s 10th birthday. Before that I’d found the first 5 weeks quite easy and I’d lost nearly 5kg which is excellent for me. Now I’ve put about 1.5 kg back on with more bad days than good, and I was complaining how hard the diet seemed now. My husband said maybe I just need to accept it would be hard for a while and do it anyway. Wise words! Maybe I was giving in to temptations because I’d been expecting it to magically get easy again. It won’t until I’ve stuck to it for a while!

I tend to bargain with the diet a lot. “I’ll stick to it except for x, y and z.” As Dr Phil would say: “How’s that working for you?” Um, not very well?

Daisiesmum

Glad you’re feeling positive … I have a new mantra…
Set your goal, stick to the plan, work hard, be positive and NEVER forget your goal.

We are all very positive and we will keep pulling everyone up with us …… when you have a bad day we’ll be here to pull you back ….. that works of everyone …. we will all make our goals?!

Sunshine girl that HbA1c of 5.9 is great from 6.7 from 8.2. BSD is designed for we diabetics and what a good result, below 6. Even better than the results of weight loss. The weight loss is a bonus.

Congratulations Sunshine-girl – normal hb1ac. You must be really pleased as it is a big drop from what it was last time.

Thanks all, and Jenni and Krysia. Don’t forget that my 5.9 is with insulin and Glycazides. Tonight I have dropped from 26 units to 24 and will see how that goes. I am not in a hurry, it has been my life for 11 years and I expected the reduction to work quickly which it has, but I am giving the hope of reversal 12 months. I also know that Christmas (it is a 2 week holiday for me) is going to maybe slow the process down a little but will still be determined. Can’t wait to see my doctor next week.

It’s great to read all of the inspirational comments on here, full of success and great tips too. Verano, you mentioned making goals… I forgot to mention that I have also started a 30 Day Squat Challenge to see me up to Xmas. I already walk to work most days and pop into the gym once or twice a week, so will try and increase these activities during the coming weeks. So for me, until Xmas, my goals are:
1) walk to work every day
2) go to the gym on Mon, Wed, Fri (it’s across the road from work and on my way home, so no ready excuse there)
3)do the 30 Day Squat Challenge
4) stick to the BSD 100% and lose 4-5 kilos.
There….I’ve publicly declared then, so now I’m bound to them!!!

Well, bit of a strange day.
I was scheduled to attend a big afternoon tea events for work and had made my usual request for gluten free which usually results in easier choices, however this time I was presented with gluten free bread sandwiches, cakes and some fruit. Ii’d fasted yesterday till the event at 2, so I retreated to the loo with my helpful carb and calorie counter book, worked out 800 cals from what was on my plate, ignored the carbs, then ate only 800 cals worth.. Well, so sweet it made my teeth itch, It was hardly anything – carbs really are an efficient way to pack on calories, aren’t thy, but the real scare was how it made me feel. Drove home, fell asleep in front of TV ay 6.45 pm, went to bed at 7, exhausted and hungry but knowing I couldn’t have anything to eat.

Now Here I, am, wide awake at 1 in the morning. Have had an unsweetened apple and cinnamon tea (very festive!) and a cube of feta. I can’t do that again, feel awful, it’s real proof that not all calories are equal!

So I have made a big decision for the next 4 weeks, I know it’s a social time, but this is my health and my life, so I’m going to be a social hermit for one month only. Accepting no ‘difficult’ invites’ – afternoon teas, festive lunches, evening events where food choices would mark me out or be tricky. My OH is no social animal anyway. I know we have to learn to adapt to social eating but it’s too unpredictable and too hard on 800 cals, and this is too important to me I’ll plead conflicting invitations., go to the gym instead. Will do Christmas week socialising in the village because it is the highlight of the year and all that turkey, ham and cheese makes low carb easy, but the high calorie blow outs before? Nope. Not going! MKx

HI MK MAHARANI thanks,thats a cautionary tale for all of us at this time of year with so many festive engagements in the offing! I agree with the decision youve made,a wise one i think ..me too.
I hope you get to sleep ok,night night x!

Hi Verano

For me, west coast of Australia, northern suburb of the state capital Perth, beachside Sorrento. We’re about 20km from city as the crow flies. A bit flatter terrain at my gorgeous Sorrento than the very gorgeous Italian one. xx

DAY4

By mid day, here in the UK, we’ll be half way through week 1. Isn’t it going quickly!!

Yesterday was an OK day for me and again I managed to make four out of my 5-a-day. If you have daily goals I hope you’re managing to stay with them.

Well the weekend’s here tomorrow and I know that can be a trying time but we just have to try and keep in mind that it’s almost time for the first weigh in! At least lets try and make week 1 a good one!

Havre a good day!

Marsie …. sounds lovely! At least you have some sunshine unlike us here at the start of winter!

My third carb challenge day, squeaked it at 39.7g (that banana made a big difference as I thought it would, but I really enjoyed it with Greek yoghurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon). In other news, this morning’s weigh-in has me within a mouses whisker of my goal of getting under BMI 25. One site says I am there, but the other still says 25.0, still 3 days of 800 before I start transitioning to maintenance for a while, so I will wait with bated breath for a consensus before jumping up and down like a loon. Only 1.2 pounds to go until my weight starts with a 10 as well, for the first time in 24 years. It doesn’t look like I will make the full 2 stone ambitious target for the 8 weeks but will be somewhere close.

Well done Mixmatch in time for Christmas as well! What a great gift you’ve given yourself.
I used to have a banana everyday, obviously cut that habit out now, but like you I also had banana with greek yogut and cinamon last week, oh the taste was wonderful. Appreciated it much more than when I had it daily. So now it is on my go to list for when I need food!! Hits all the right spots.
What are everybody elses go to foods when they need something ‘naughty but nice’? xx

Thats fabulous MIXY! You will soon get past that mouse whisker and be under 25! AND under ten!
You should feel very proud of yrself for the good turn youve done yr body. X

Greek yog and banana – heavenly! Isnt it funny that now its a rare treat,when once it was quite a healthy option!
I’ m taking a good quality multi vit now coz no longer getting all the vits and mins i used to get when i ate lots fruit n veg every day x TRELAWNY my treat that keeps me on track is some Total Fage full fat yog with a few berries and a sprinkle of nuts on top..tastes like a Cornetto ice cream…delicious!
Or some almonds..i am never without Total Fage full fat yog in the fridge and almonds in my cupboard!

We have changed ! My deviant treat last weekend was a fresh Jaffa orange.

Oh ANGIE ! How lovely! I havent eaten a juicy jaffa for many weeks! X

Hi Verano, yes sunshine. Its hit us too quickly, as it always seems to. Seasons seem to have changed, start later/finish later. Last week we were asking “where’s summer?” So yesterday we had 18-36°celsius, today 19-37, tomorrow 20-36 I think. Reading some of the posts from your neck of the woods in our winter (which I’m sure you would all laugh at) and you were all roasting just seemed wrong🤔 Luckily for us we live 7 minutes walk from Hilarys Marina, nice cafes, bars, shops, beach, boat harbour. Had lunch with a couple of friends there today, a friend since we were 8yrs old, so great to catch up. Lunch was half BSD, half not. Small fruit & sheep milk yoghurt breakfast, small salad tonight, if anything, see how I go re scales in the morning.

As usual I’m seeing so much to admire in other’s posts. Keep on keeping on lovely people🌟🌟🌟

Butterlover, strange indeed! Would love to meet up. 0438942498 if you’d like to txt when you have a minute⛾🚸 x Marilyn

Sunshine-girl
Your 5.9 is brilliant and on a lot less insulin than you were on when you were 6.7 (and I think you said that you have also dropped one of your glycazides since then). At 5.9 the diabetes is no longer damaging your body. I can’t wait to hear what your doctor says next week.

Yowzer49 – the fage Total full fat yoghurt is my special treat also. Although this week my husband (who I have just introduced it to) ate it all! He doesn’t like yoghurt but he loves the fage and is eating it instead of ice cream.

Mixnmatch – you are so close – you soon will be jumping up and down like a loon.

Maharani kitten
It is a nightmare this time of the year.

When there is nothing BSD to eat I have found that following Captainlynne’s example of just having a black coffee is helpful. Or what Sunshine-girl does – just eat the BSD friendly fillings and leave the carbs.

When we recently went to our grandson’s birthday party I knew that there would be absolutely nothing I could eat (and I was right). So in my handbag I had some Kefir, a lump of cheddar, a few walnuts and some 85% dark chocolate as a treat. As it was a long day with over a two hour journey each way I had to make sure I had some food.

Marsie it sounds lovely! Don’t you think its so much easier to stick to the plan in the summer.

I’m having a ‘winter’ clean out and have just found these tips in an old Good Housekeeping… how to keep the worst of the season’s excesses at bay:

1. Don’t arrive at a party hungry ….. eat a small protein packed snack before you go, such as yogurt or some nuts.

2. Sit down ….. when you’re standing and chatting while you eat it’s difficult to keep tabs on what you are putting in your mouth. If possible sit down and be mindful of what you’re eating.

3. Keep your hands full ….. (I like this one!) Carry a clutch bag (ladies only!!!) in one hand a glass of sparkling water in the other. You’ll be less likely to subconsciously snack.

4. Practice portion control …..Don’t fall into the trap of completely denying yourself. It’s better to indulge in a small portion of one item or a mini mince pie rather than just eating salad and then losing it and eating all in sight!!

The other article is all about reducing fat!!! So I’m not bothering with that one!

Hello, had a wonderful day yesterday feeling on top of the world. Today not so great, woke up in the night and turned over and heard my shoulder crack, obviously pulled something. Missed out my exercise and rubbed in some Volterol and will let it rest for a couple of days but still do some movement with it to keep it moving.

Dropped insulin by 2 units last night down to 24, BG this morning was 4.2, still really great. I need my next HBA1c to be 5.9 without medication. What a goal…… Obviously Christmas will cause a blip but everyone in the world will be worrying about weight etc and then ignoring it for a few days. I am not contemplating being defeated, I have a plan in place and will be heeding Verano’s list of tips.

Enjoy your weekend everyone and take care.

It’s great reading about all the success people are having.
I’m extending my 800 BSD for another 4 weeks now after the 8 weeks finishes next Thursday. After reading everybodies experiences and motivation I do feel more confident ! 11kg to go (17kg down so far in 7 weeks )

Wishing everyone a great BSD weekend everyone !

Cary – WOW, 17k in 7 weeks is awesome! Well done, it’s tough isn’t it? But it definitely gets easier, I have been on BSD for 3.5 weeks, week 3 was excruciating, but this week I’m wondering why I found it quite so hard!

I ‘save up’ a few extra calories for the weekend by eating slightly fewer on Fridays and Mondays – I’ve been doing 5:2 for over 3 years, so it kind of feels normal.

Happy weekending everyone!

Welcome Cary, glad you hopped on board.

My day turned around as we have booked a cruise for May, going to be freezing my tush off in the Norwegian Fjords.

Welcome Cary and well done on your journey so far!

I’m cooking shortly but will post later. Just wanted to mention a free course ‘The Diabetes Epidemic: a Patient Centred Approach’. This starts on December 5th for 2 weeks, 3 hours a week. It’s on a website recommended to me by Frog …. where are you???????. futurelearn.com.

May be worth checking out !

I’ve been doing some checking as to just how close I am in BMI healthy weight terms, and I am healthy weight if I put my details in in metric units and overweight if I use imperial. Since I actually weigh in imperial it is clearly conversion rounding errors that makes the difference, so I am actually 25.02 BMI, rather than 24.94. Looking forward to seeing the scales move a little more over the weekend so the promised jumping up and down can commence, when I am undeniably healthy weight.

I’ve been following the plan since the end of May and I’ve always had an inclination /feeling of whether I’m losing each week. This week I just can’t tell I’ve stayed on plan but seem to have lost touch with it. I know I could just weigh myself but my weigh in day is Monday. Is it because my weight is getting lower and I’ve got to relearn things about my body?

A little introspective but it’s rather odd

I can never tell whether I have lost any before I step on the scales, but have been weighing myself (almost) every day which I think has helped me get used to the occasional plateau or rise without that feeling of shock you get when you don’t expect it. The graph of my weightloss is pretty bumpy at that level but the trend is down, down, down. If you have always been able to accurately predict whether you have a loss or not weekly and now cannot it may be due to some sort of completed adaptation by your metabolism, which has been ‘in progress’ up to now. Alternatively something transient may be interfering with whatever bio feedback marker gave you that indication and the ability might appear again. Fascinating the differences between us all, isn’t it.

Thanks Mixandmatch you make a good point. I will see how I go on Monday. Others are definitely commenting but I guess I’m going to have to get used to this changing body of mine. It was funny but even at my heaviest I could have judged it almost to the pound, not of course that I liked what I knew.

I am feeling a bit nervous about a glut of Xmas events including an annual Xmas tea but I have warned the ladies I will enjoy the company the atmosphere and a cuppa and just inhale the carbs in a very non Bill Clinton way. I don’t find restaurant menus too bad my inner BSD asserts itself and I usually get them to adapt to suit. I did have a peculiar time with a French waiter once and ended up with a dish of steamed sprouts as a starter! That one was definitely lost in translation.

A month today and the big day will be here

Angiebabe yes just one month away ….. but …. it’s just one day!!!

You know I’m sure we can have a good day by eating the majority low carb …. much easier than low fat!!! Have just your one favourite …xmas pudding for me … and enjoy!!! We can eat well without going OTT!!

My 24 weeks is up on 27 dec so i am not gonna blow it on 25th..just two days away from my goal..i will be quite happy with a big plate of turkey breast and some veg on the Big Day!some people might think i’ m a bit bah humbug..but i’ m all or nothing,so if i do 24 weeks less two days i won’t be happy! Luckily i will be only with folk who support my low carb efforts and wont question my plan.And to be honest, its not mince pies or pud or chocs i crave..but i do fancy some roast parsnips and buttery mash so i’ll be glad to have a little of both as we go into a cold and wintry January! X

Yowzer – please don’t worry about what people may or may not be thinking. Quite often they are too focussed on what they are eating to even notice. I was (and still am) an all,or nothing girl and that’s probably one of the things that has seen me through this year on BSD.

Yes, don’t worry what people may think — we can choose for ourselves what course best serves our health and if that means less parties this year, so be it. I was very strict during my 800 calorie weeks to stay home, cook my own meals and stay focused on my exercise and my eating. It is worth giving up a bit of social life to gain our health back!
Speaking of which, I did eat pie last night at Thanksgiving and a bit of cranberry sauce and stuffing but I’d say, overall, it was ok — I headed up the mountain this morning for a long hike and skipped breakfast and was rewarded by the most beautiful view of the Pacific coast! Tonight I have one more dinner for my dad’s 93rd birthday (plan: fish, veg, one glass wine) and then I am heading home to a more controlled-eating setting, my home! All in all though, one of my best eating holidays ever. Thank you BSD and all the good posts keeping me focused!! And I still had fun!

Thanks LYNNE! You’re right ! They can focus on stuffing themselves on Xmas Day all they want..i have done exactly that every other year of my life so i’ m not criticising,but this year my focus is to complete the full 24 weeks knowing i ve stuck to it like a stamp to a letter, to continue feeling so much happier in my skin and able to wear every single item in my wardrobe ( 20 weeks ago,everything looked awful or just was just plain too tight! ) and to see my bp results continue to improve and my blood sugar and cholesterol figures to remain as good as they are now. So looking forward to 2017 and more weight loss at a slightly gentler pace.
I take my hat off to you Lynne, i dont think i could do 800 cals any longer than 24 weeks! Watch the carbs,yes,but i dont want to do many more close cal counting days. You are an absolute rock and a star and i am so glad you ‘re reaping all the benefits now from all your efforts x
PS SUNSHINE,just noticed yr post! That hike sounds wonderful! And happy birthday to yr dear Dad! X

Hello all. Some great tips here for festive/social eating. I’ve been reflecting on my afternoon tea experience earlier in the week and the problem was, I got into a panic about ‘insulting’ my important work hosts. It was a posh do so deconstructing sandwiches wasn’t an option,, but preparing at lunchtime, drinking a black coffee and telling my hosts I’d already eatena business lunch, then doing my speech, my networking and working the room with sparkling water in my glass was the way to go.. Live and learn.

My first two Christmases on low carb, I ate turkey, ham, and veg for lunch, berries and cream (out of season raspberries felt like a real treat) and cheese and celery in the evening. Didn’t feel the least bit deprived. Who wants to stuff themselves silly with rubbish and feel grim and remorseful for days? That was the old way – it’s not us! Let our treats be healthy ones – book a spa treatment, buy a new top, or a lovely book, or new make up and experiment.

Re ‘feeling’ you may have lost weight – I sometimes get a weird feeling of ‘lightness’ and I know I’ve done well. I have it just now, which should motivate me not to stray at the weekend! Actually looking forward to Monday’s weigh in – how odd is that!

Lack of sleep for weeks coupled with a frantic work svhedule means lots of people telling me I look really, really tired, so will be having a weekend of resting and pottering – the last before Christmas visiting kicks in. Happy weekend, everyone!! MKx

Great tips there, I will definitely be putting them into practice over the next few weeks. And in other news 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀 BMI 24.95, I had to use a site that had two decimal places as otherwise the awkward one just rounded it up again, but this is below 25 accurately so I am counting it! Still two more fast days of my 8 weeks to go, plus an extra one on Monday for Strictly day 7 which is part of my carb challenge week, and then I will be sprinkling a fair few fast days among my transition ‘no counting’ days (although I will still be tracking of course even on those). Good luck everyone navigating the social occasions that are unavoidable, and let’s keep on keeping on.

DAY 5

Well the weekend is here and a trial for some but it’s only 2 days and so not too long to stick to your plan!

Great news Mixnmatch! You must be so proud of yourself.

Not the best od days for me yesterday I succumbed to oat cakes with my cheese at lunch and 2 ginger oat biscuits with my coffee. Weighed the same this morning so damage done but will do better today!!

Have a good day.

This is just a quick post before I rush off to work.

Maharani kitten – you couldn’t believe just how much bad stuff I have eaten in the past because I didn’t want to insult my hosts. Your strategy to avoid that happening again is a really good one and I have made a note so I can use it in the future.

My first low carb Christmas will look exactly like yours (am treating myself to some clotted cream to have with my fage and berries.

I had a truly horrid breakfast this morning. Words can’t describe how horrible it was. I had to throw it away. To up the fibre I bought some oat fibre. Made a pancake this morning. I did wonder why all the recipes on the net had some sort of sweeteners in them. Now I know – it needs them to make it edible. The cheese I added just didn’t work. Luckily I haven’t wasted too much money on it so it could have been worse.

It took ages for it to be delivered while I was waiting for it I discovered kale had a lot of both sorts of fibre and hardly any net carbs – so kale in my breakfast frittata and stir fries is a much better option. Plus chia seeds and inulin.

Morning everyone. I will not let myself feel down that I’ve been stuck on 65.4kgs for a week as my fasting bloods this morning were 5.8, the first time under 6 since I started 5 weeks ago. My first week was regularly high 7s to low 8s. Always something positive on bsd to keep us on track.
Have a happy and focussed weekend everyone 😀

Maharani kitten – great to find someone who has found the same approach as me when dealing with social events 😀 Last Christmas I had the turkey and low carb veg followed by fresh blueberries in cream – and didn’t feel deprived. Every social event since sees me with black coffee or sparkling water while everyone else tucks into the high carb food one offer.

Like you, my work is stressful, even more so at the moment, so I must remember to put on some makeup before I go out to our Christmas Fair later – to try and avoid the ‘are you ok, you look tired’ comments.