Well done Yowzer, I only started mid September so early stages at the moment. Still I am down just over 14 pounds which I am pleased with.
The plan hit a hitch on Sunday, when what was supposed to be a full on 1600 calories day ended up being a trip to a food festival in Truro, where I subsisted on tasting the food after the demonstrations, a few cuppas, one pint of beer and some definitely not low carb samples of honey and spiced rum, before going out to a gig in Falmouth later. Thanks to the weather public transport was having a ‘mare and the time in between the two outings ended up so short I had time to either change out of my wet clothes and have a shower and get changed, or eat, and I chose the former, so on adding it to the app it was actually an 800 day. I moved my 1600 day to yesterday where I experimented with a homemade chimichurri marinade and a barbecued piece of brisket, which was lovely, and had some wine.
Back on track today!
Dreamscometrue, I always found work days more difficult, but settled on, for breakfast, full fat Greek yoghurt and berries, in a pot, and for lunch either a miso soup or marmite. Usually I still preferred a main meal in the evening. If that wasn’t going to be possible, I sometimes took in a salad, or low carb proper soup for warming up. I was lucky to always have a shared fridge and microwave available.

Wow Yowser that is brilliant, you must be so thrilled! I am sure it’s been hard work as well.
I am plodding along and was delighted today with a 1.4kg drop since Tuesday. This brings me to well under 70kg and within spitting distance of my goal 🙂 I expect it will bounce up a bit again but that’s okay, the trajectory is still slipping downward.
Remembering my past failure to successfully maintain, I am not sure I’m ready to let go of my vigilance. So easy to relax the rein and so hard to shorten it again.
Cathy, good luck with your surgery and other procedures. I hope you find some good paths forward and are able to be without pain, it’s so debilitating.
Mixnmatch, hi! long time no see and you might not remember me but we have been on the boards at the same time before. 14lb in a week or two is very impressive.
Good luck with finding a way, DCT. I’ve been just there in the past. Sometimes it seems to me I have to wait it out until the head is in the right space.
Looking forward to seeing how everyone is getting on over the weeks before year’s end.

Hi Mariet, I do remember you, there are a lot of familiar names from my first go making me feel welcome 🙂 after my last post I had a bit of a wobble and had too many calories, although still mostly low carb on Wednesday, with a bit of tidying up/fridge grazing rather than meal planning being the cause, but I was stern with myself and logged it all and one 1000 calorie day won’t hurt me long term. Back on track again since but having my first plateau with my weight currently marginally up since Monday. (0.8 pounds) not much but you do get used to seeing the numbers going only one way after the first couple of weeks so still a bit of a shock.
Experimented with a Joe Wicks recipe for cheesy chicken with garlic and chives for tea last night using what I had to hand, so no chives! Also I used Creme fraiche instead of mascarpone and a chilli instead of the garlic so really it was nothing like his recipe but it was absolutely delicious. I still have some for an evening meal tonight, with some side vegetables as accompaniments I decided the recipe was perfect for two 280 calorie meals rather than one huge one as Joe intended. I went out to a talk/concert in the church last night and afterwards tea and cake was offered. The cakes looked and smelt awesome but I stayed strong! There’s time for treats after this challenge!

So true MIXNMATCH…”There’s time for treats after this challenge!” XX

I have to make a confession- I’ve been feeling sorry for myself this last week and have not eaten healthily. I am sitting here feeling bloated and annoyed with myself. Tomorrow is a fresh start and I am going to make better choices. I am feeling sad and annoyed that I’ve let myself down this week. I am writing this to make myself accountable and to move forward on a positive mind set tomorrow. Must try harder.

Hi Cathy
Don’t feel bad 😞 I am going to confess too !! I have had a terrible week I am now 2 pound heavier I feel awful 😢 I have a headache boated tummy and all my own fault my life is very stressful at moment I am not going into details but as usual I eat for England!! I read all the post. And every one seems to be doing ok I am so cross with myself I nearly jumped off bus 🚌 feeling sorry for myself as. Have let myself down too
Hopefully I can pick myself up again thanks Cathy for posting
Lv nokie 💞

Hi Nokie
Good to have some company in the naughty seats! Life isn’t always plain sailing and like you I eat more when I am stressed. We have both had a bad week but tomorrow is another day. Let’s try and have a good start tomorrow. We are human and life isn’t always easy. We know we have let ourselves down this week so let’s not make it worse by shooting ourselves with a second arrow. Let’s try our best tomorrow Nokie. Hope you’re ok.

CATHY and NOKIE…It happens to us all. ….time and again in my case.
You have both been through a lot and that means at times we just need a bit of extra comfort.
Im doing ok at the moment,but getting bored,and today I was too heavy on the cals,although carbs are ok. ( had far too much cream,the cal count is horrendous,and I feel a bit sick now!)
But…We are only human! Tomorrow is another day and fingers X’d it will be a better one! Sending hugs.XXX💜🩷

Cathy and Nokie I hear you! In fact this has been me for the past 6 months at least!
I read this today on Instagram, and going to
Give this a try:
“…before you buy (or eat) the thing ask yourself “why am I eating this?”is it hunger? For comfort? For healthy minerals and nutrients? For energy? Just the act of asking why forces me to stop and face the truth and I often make a different choice”.

This sounds so sensible! Going to try it this week.

I’m not going too badly, have done lots of walking over the past week, including 22,000 steps on Friday. Did have some wine and beer yesterday watching the footy grand final, so sticking to 800 cals today, eating brunch and dinner only.

Have a good week all!

Thankyou Cathy yowzer sue blue💞

You are all so kind!
I am going through a rough patch but I will get there !!
I have just weighed myself and cried!! But I have reread your words sue and I will give it a go this week I am going to try and plan my meals but do it one day at a time and work out in the eve what i am going to eat the next day I know it means more shopping but maybe that will help
Thanks again hope everyone else is ok I will try and stay on the bus 🚌 but at the moment the seat 💺 isn’t big enough!! So I am standing🤣
I will be in touch soon have a good week all
Lv nokie xx💞

Hi everyone

Cathy and Nokie thanks for your honest posts, and from the responses it seems that a few of us are feeling the same way. I include myself in that. Thanks to Yowzer and SueBlue for your encouragement and wise words.

I also didn’t have a good week last week. It was a very busy week for all kinds of reasons. Non-stop rushing around at work – including an event on Saturday – and also at home, with various tradespeople turning up to do work (all good – but just happened all at once. And much of it in this awful rain too). I’m also trying to do these online fitness challenges which I’m enjoying and am very motivated by, but am always counting steps and miles and trying to push myself on. So I’m afraid with all that I took my eye off the ball food-wise and too much sugar was definitely consumed. The result of all of which was by yesterday I felt completely exhausted and fed up. So your posts really resonated with me.

But something Mariet said last week was very helpful in all this : “Sometimes it seems to me I have to wait it out until the head is in the right space.” Last week mine wasn’t, but there’s nothing I can do to change that now, just move forward. This week is a new week, and it will be whatever we make it.

So if you’re a bit “stuck”, why not set one or two small, achievable goals, and just focus on that? Baby steps. Mine are simply to nip the sneaky sugar habit in the bud, and to lose 1lb. My initial aim on this journey had been to lose 1lb a week and gradually get to goal but basically I’ve lost nothing. At least I have, but then put it back on again. So this week I want to lose that pound yet again, but this time keep it off. Then get back on track for 1lb a week for the rest of the journey.

Hello to everyone else I’ve not mentioned so far – Mixnmatch, Arcticfox, Dawn, Heidi and anyone else reading this. Wishing you all a positive week, and do let us know how you’re getting on.

Hi Nokie and bus friends
Glad you’re still on the bus Nokia and I’m standing right by you. We are not getting off until Christmas. It doesn’t matter that we had a bad week or two. Today is a fresh day and even if we don’t do well today tomorrow is another day too. When you’re going through a difficult time I think it’s best not to be too hard on yourself. . I’ve made a pan of broccoli and stilton soup from one of the Fast cook books. My plan is to have that this evening and to not eat until tonight. I had a cup of coffee this morning with some almond milk. I’m not fasting as such just trying to reduce the carbs as I’ve been very carb heavy since my cruise. I need to detox. I’ve bought some huge blueberries from M&S and I’ll have some of those with some yoghurt tonight after my soup. I am focusing on healthy nutritious food and not carbs which have crept in in the form of sourdough bread and I even ate a mince pie yesterday which wasn’t as nice as I had anticipated it would be. Totally unnecessary indulgence which made me feel terrible. You would think after all this time I would have learnt! Thank you for the support on the thread. I am feeling positive this morning that I can make some progress this week. I’ve not weighed myself- I can’t face the insult but in a couple of weeks when I’ve been on the straight and narrow I will see if I am where I hope to be. If I can get back to 150 in the next couple of weeks then I can hopefully get into the 140s again and take things from there.
Thank you for the inspiring messages and wise words. Have a great week everyone. It seems that some of us are finding this more difficult than we anticipated. Dig deep and do your best. We still have 79 days until Christmas so plenty of time to get ourselves together and make a difference. I read a quote that said it’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year it’s what you eat from New Year to Christmas. So true!

Hi everyone,
I’ve been rather absent as thing are soooo busy right now. I will have to catch up with everyone’s posts later. Luckily I get some time off work starting at the end of the week, so that should help. I signed up for a Sat afternoon wheel pottery class with my sister. It is 3 hours and really nice to do something other than work or the farm, but I don’t really have time for it at this time of year, so other things are being neglected and then I’m scrambling a bit. I wanted to go on a weekday evening as I can’t really afford to lose a Sat afternoon for 7 weeks, but my sister doesn’t do evening things, so it had to be Sat if I wanted to go with her.
I am having a wee break from counselling at the moment to see how well I do on my own. So a bit of time saved there which is good because I also have a job interview on Friday that I need to prepare for. Even if I don’t get the job, it may put me on the radar of this group who have a reputation as being good to work for/with.
I have been doing ok with my food. It turned out the tomatoes were a problem. Within 2 days of not eating any, I had significantly less joint pain. I’ve noticed that my reflux has been better over the last week too. So perhaps my system is calming down now as a result. I was doing fairly well with my carbs, etc. too, but then fell off the bus big time yesterday with some ice cream for dessert. I’m paying for it today as I have an upset stomach and refluxing again. So, no more ice cream for me, although I know I shouldn’t be eating it anyway.
The weather has cooled down a lot now. We’ve had several light frosts. I have an instant pot that I haven’t used yet, so I want to start using it for some nice stews and curries. A lady at pottery suggested that I use a meal kit delivery service to save time, but they are very expensive and then I still have to cook the meals. So instead, I will go on their site and look up the meals for the week, choose those which I like and plan meals that I can cook in the instant pot. Saves me a bit of brain power which is in short supply right now. First up is a kabocha squash and tofu (soy free tofu for me) coconut curry that I am going to try tonight.
Hope everyone is doing well. Will catch up later!

Hi everyone.
Sorry I haven’t posted as much as I intended, like a few of us I’ve been struggling a bit to get into this woe again.We are off to the Lake District today for five days to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary (we had our honeymoon there) and I think in the back of my mind I’ve been thinking ‘no point starting healthy eating properly until we are back’ which is silly really as if I had just knuckled down I could have lost a fair bit before today and maybe just put a little back on whilst we were away and easily got it off afterwards.Instead I haven’t really eaten very healthily at all and subsequently feel bloated and achey😩The weather forecast isn’t great for the week but hopefully we should still get some nice walks in which may help me a bit.I daren’t weigh myself and think I will leave that until two weeks after we are back to give myself a chance to have a good chunk of sticking to a healthy food plan before facing the scales.I’ve been catching up on posts and hope everyone has a good week.
Dawn XX

Hi everyone, I had a pretty long plateau after my last post, gaining and losing 2-3 pounds repeatedly for a couple of weeks but finally had a whoosh of almost three whole pounds from my lightest previous weigh in this morning! 23 lbs down from my starting weight as at this morning, and only 5 away from my initial target of 2 stone (28 lbs). I am still planning on extending the WOE right up to Christmas Eve, even if I lose more weight than my target of course, still a long way to go to get back close to my 2017 weight. Have tried the ‘cold shower’ from the Just One Thing TV programme (once so far, and did feel better after it) so will add a daily one from next Monday for the next week. For some reason I am better able to stick to new plans if I start them on a Monday. After that I will probably carry on throwing in the odd cold shower regularly to keep the adaptation going. Supposed to help the energy levels and strengthen the immune system, apparently.

Hi everyone. I can’t believe how quickly time is flying past! Sorry for not posting recently : completely intended to then another day flies by!

ARCTICFOX how did the job interview go? I’m so glad you identified tomatoes as an issue, that will really help you going forward, and help with your meal planning. I’m glad you’re doing the pottery too. Even though it digs into your weekend time I think it’s good for your wellbeing to do something enjoyable for yourself, as well as spending time with your sister. How is the break from counselling going? It all sounds as if things are really moving forward for you after a very difficult time. Well done!

MIXNMATCH you are doing brilliantly 👏 Great news! I’ve recorded the latest Michael Mosley “Just One Thing” but not watched it yet. I must admit cold showers don’t appeal but maybe I’ll get brave and give it a try. And I’m the same as you regarding Monday for starting new things. But I can also use it as a bit of an excuse : if I get part way through a week and it’s not going well I have the flawed mentality of kind of writing off the rest of the week, thinking I’ll start again on Monday! But as CATHY said earlier, every day is a new day. We don’t have to wait till Monday to pick things up again . . . . note to self!

CATHY how are you doing? It sounds as if you have the right approach; focusing on healthy nutritious food rather than the scales. I’m sure you’ll soon feel better for it. Any progress on your medical tests and appointments?

DAWN I hope you’re having a wonderful time away for your anniversary, and do jump back on board when you’re back.

I’m away for a few days as from Monday. We’re going to a log cabin in the woods which I’m very excited about. It’s not too far from home either, so there won’t even be a stressful journey there or back. Just a few days total relaxation. I hope to keep on plan whilst away. It’s ironic that my main holiday temptation is wine, but my husband has recently given up drinking so that incentive has totally gone! It has helped me enormously because when we’re out, or celebrating something, he will have non-alcoholic and I’ll have a glass or two if I particularly want to. But beforehand we’d easily finish a bottle of wine between us and now that issue has disappeared.

Since my last post I’ve lost – and now kept off – a couple of pounds, and if I lose 1lb a week up till Christmas I will be at my long term target. But I’ve recently been reminded via reading posts on the Fast800 Facebook group that I shouldn’t be trying for too aggressive weight loss as my BMI is now within “normal” range (whatever that means!!). So doing more of a 5:2 than strict longer term BSD or Fast800 – and with a slower weight loss – is more realistic for me at this stage. But I will plod on, and hope to continue to see gradual results throughout this journey.

Hello to everyone else too, and hope you have a wonderful weekend xx

Hello everyone
Well done on your continued weight loss MixnMatch- you’re doing great. I wish I could get into the swing of things. I’m maintaining at the moment. Can’t get into the right mindset!
I had my left cataract op on Monday and it was incredible. I felt no pain whatsoever. Literally just had eye drops and then lay down looked at the bright light and it was done. I had an incredible surgeon and am incredibly grateful for her kindness and skill . Early days but hoping my eyesight will have improved enough that I don’t need to have the retinal surgery . Am seeing the consultant beginning of December so fingers crossed I don’t have to have another eye operations. Got my abdominal MRI scan at Christie Hospital at beginning of November so keeping g my fingers crossed for good news. Then next year I’m having both my big toes fused one at a time.
I am hoping to be able to focus this week. No pun intended- I keep feeling sorry for myself and making excuses to get going and time is flying by and aI am staying the same! A couple of my ex vaccination colleagues are having weight loss injections -: they can’t be bothered to diet! It’s a route I do not want to take. I know I did well before my cruise so I know if I focus I can lose the extra weight I put on in September.
Well done DCT on your loss and well done for having a normal BMI!
I am hoping that now my cataract op is done I can relax and knuckle down. I really do want to lose about 10 lbs and then I will just try and maintain. It’s doable! Come on Cathy you can do this!!

So pleased CATHY that ur eye op went well. My experience was exactly the same! And same again when i had other eye done x
DCT fingers x’d you reach yr target! I think you will and what a crimbo present that will be! X
Congrats to MIXNMATCH too!x
No time to read further back at the mo..will return
Love to all and happyweekend all xxx

Hi everyone,
I’ve had a busy week again trying to get all the garlic planted before the heavy rains we’re having this weekend. I had to quit on Friday afternoon as the rain started and it didn’t take long before the soil was so greasy that I was losing my footing and in danger of going head over tea kettle. I have just over 2200 in now and another 200 or so to go. I’m hoping to get them in Monday or Tuesday when things have a chance to dry up a bit.
Anyway, the rain is giving me the chance to catch up on some housework and cook some meals. I did a big declutter on the living room yesterday and today have to clean the basement room where the wood burner is. I’m having the chimney sweep out on Friday and then so looking forward to being able to buy in some wood and start it up. It has been freezing (literally!), and as low as -5 C some mornings. At one point, the temperature in my house was 11 C, so I broke down and turned on the electric heat in the living room and bathroom. You can bet I’m not taking cold showers, as I need them to warm up!
DCT – thanks for asking about the interview. It went really well. Very nice people and they even said at the end that I would be a great addition to their team. They phoned me on Thursday and said the job is mine if I want it. I have the weekend to think about it. Unfortunately, driving all the way to the interview made me realize that I can’t do that commute every day. It is 1.5hrs each way, and while a nice enough drive in summer, it is scary in the winter. And I just can’t run the farm and look after my horses if I’m losing 3 hrs every day. I wouldn’t have time to keep going to pottery either. The class is almost over, but my sister and I have bought memberships to the studio so we can keep going, as it seems like an affordable hobby that way, and it seems to be helping my concentration and giving my brain a break from all the day to day worries.
I have really been trying, food wise. My kitchen has been a complete shambles this week, so cooking has gone by the wayside. I’ve been having soups and things that I can heat up in the microwave. I’m going to try to get it back to being functional today. I have definitely noticed the pattern that if I don’t keep on top of the dishes and keeping the counters clear, that my diet becomes less healthy. So I think working at that may help things. Luckily, with eliminating the tomatoes, my joint pain has kept improving. My feet were so sore all the time and I noticed yesterday that they are nearly pain free now. I’m taking to heart that lowering carbs further may help improve them even more.
Hope everything is going well for everybody.
Yowzer, sounds like you are on a roll now. DCT – I find it very hard to fast during the growing season when I’m so active, so it could very well be the extra exercise. Cathy – glad to hear your cataract surgery went well, and best of luck with your other procedures too. Will catch up on everyone’s updates later, but now I’m procrastinating on doing the housework and need to get on with it!

Hi all, butting in on a thread I don’t usually comment on but I do read. Arcticfox, you are an absolute hero. I have a small potager (2 veg beds of 6’x6′ and 2 small planters) and it knackers me out just putting in 20 tomatoes, 12 courgettes and a few seeds that never seem to come to anything.

Cathy, it was great to hear how easy the cataract operation was. I am in the early stages of glaucoma and will not know if they want to do anything like surgery until I have had my first 3 month check-up. But the opthamologist also said I had the start of cataracts so it may be something for my future. Thank you for the reassurance.

Ah, s-g, I should clarify that I had help for nearly half of the garlic. I have a young lady who has come out a few times this year to give me a hand with various things. I knew I was going to be in a rush with the heavy weather coming in, so I paid her to come out and help get the job done. Worth every penny. I finished up on my own on Tuesday, 2500 in the ground and finished laying down the straw on top yesterday. Now I just hope I can sell them all next year.
Luckily the rainy weather has meant time to get the house in shape. Things are looking a lot better. I am going to do a really good declutter over the winter so I don’t have so much stuff to manage. And sure enough, as soon as I got the kitchen tidied up, I felt like cooking again. I made a lentil mushroom soup in the instant pot yesterday that should stretch for several meals.
Hope everyone is doing well this week.

Arctic, I have a question, can I plant garlic cloves from a bulb from the local farm shop or do I have to buy special plants. I have 2 fallow beds right now so might get some winter stuff in.

Yes, that should work, s-g if it is locally grown or grown in Europe. The stuff that comes from China may be irradiated for longer shelf life and therefore won’t grow properly, if at all.

Just calling by quickly on my way to go8ng to bed to say hi or goodnight or good day!
How is everyone doing,stay strong,keep on keeping on!
Im still doing well on this challenge – for a change- most challenges i should be booted off the bus! Have lost 47 lbs this year,but its getting harder. Determined tho to stick it out and keep losing. Mind over matter. I.can.do.it.
Good luck everyone,hang on to your seat and hold tight xxxxxx🩷💕💜

Hello all, sorry haven’t posted for a while, but enjoy reading everyone’s posts. I’m going to make up for not posting regularly with a long post now, so you’ve been warned lol!

Yowzer! Just wow! 47lbs is incredible, well done you! 👍

Arctic Fox I’m impressed by the amount of garlic you’ve planted, wow!

Cathy: glad your surgery went well 🙂

I haven’t been doing too well to be honest. I think I mentioned that I had been feeling a bit breathless and fatigued and have been having some tests. All ok so far, but I’m still waiting for the results of the heart and lung CT scan I had done at the hospital last week.
When I was in the change room I saw myself in the full length mirror and was shocked… I’ve put back on all the weight I lost in 2021/2022 and it shows! And I had a light bulb moment – I can’t remember when I last really focussed on my health and wellbeing….

During 2021/22 I was walking regularly, meal planning, eating healthy foods and meditating. I wasn’t perfect, still ate some fast food/meals out and drank wine, but overall I had a good balance and focus. But that all went out the window 2 years ago.

I have been under a fair bit of stress lately with work, my MIL’s situation, Sadmin (as DCT calls it – perfect word!), and I know that cortisol causes weight gain, so I’m sure that is partly to blame. Plus I’ve just got lazy!

So it’s time to strap myself firmly back in my seat! At one point on this latest journey I had lost 3kg but have put some of that back on, so my overall loss so far is about 1.5kg.

I’ve signed up to do an online walking challenge over 6 weeks so that should help. Feeling determined!!

Wowzer YOWZER! 47lb is incredible! I’m so proud of you and you are a complete inspiration. Do keep us all posted, I can’t wait to find out your overall loss by the end of this journey. And I hope that your sciatica is starting to ease up too?

SUNSHINE GIRL welcome! It’s lovely to “see” you and I hope all is going well. And hope that ARCTICFOX has inspired you to get planting! ARCTICFOX I am in awe of your farming skills! Anything to do with gardening in general is not my best skill, and I have never managed to grow anything edible. I’m glad your recent interview went well and it’s great that they not only offered you the job but made the comment about you being a great addition to the team. What a confidence boost! I can understand your reasons for not going ahead, but hopefully it will shore you up for the next application. And I’m so glad you’re keeping up the pottery too.

SUEBLUE I hope that you get your results back soon and that they are reassuring. Something you said really resonated with me – “I had a light bulb moment – I can’t remember when I last really focussed on my health and wellbeing” as I have also recently come to that realisation. The last couple of years have been very taken up with family stuff, work, and – our favourite! – “sadmin”. And only recently have I had the time and headspace to really regroup. I’ve decided it’s time to put myself first – (hopefully) not in a selfish way, but in the sense of taking care of myself in terms of diet, exercise, self-care etc. Also to start being more decisive about what I do and don’t want to do. I tend to be a people-pleaser and will end up racing around doing things either for others or because others want to and/or expect me to and I’m at the point now where I need to rediscover who I am and what I really do want. Sounds a bit diva-is but you get the drift! Anyway, like you SUE, I’ve not lost much this journey so far, but am going to run it up to Christmas Eve so still have around 57 days left. Will report back in due course . .

CATHY I hope your eyes are doing ok? And wish you all the best for your Christie’s appointment next month. I agree with you re the weight loss injections. Funnily enough there was an article in the Daily Mail yesterday by a nutritionist who is also anti them, but gave a few recipes that she says mimic the effects of them. I just had a quick look but most looked pretty much like BSD/Fast 800 type recipes to me so I may give them a try.

How is everyone else doing? Hello to DAWN, NOKIE, MIXNMATCH, MARIET, HEIDI and anyone else reading this. Still plenty of time to go so whether you’re on track or have fallen by the wayside, you can make a difference by Christmas.

Have a great week X

Yowzer WOW WOW WOW! Well done you. Great result and we still have a few weeks left till the end of the year!
You will definitely be ‘star looser’ for 2024!
Huge pat on your back!
Great achievement !

Thank you Arcticfox, I will have to wait for the hornets to completely disperse as there are a few still around. Man came back yesterday and gave them another spray. My potager is right next door to the shed so I am not risking it just yet.

Hi everyone. Just checking in to see how you are all doing? It’s gone very quiet on here – hope all is well.

I’m doing ok but not really losing at the moment. I seem to be well into maintenance, but at my starting weight for this challenge, which is a higher weight than I really want to be. I dip down a couple of pounds or so but then it comes back again. But I’ve been focusing more on my virtual fitness challenges over the last few weeks : one is due to end next week and I’m desperately chalking up miles to finish it! It’s all very insignificant I know, and in the overall scheme of things it doesn’t really matter if I don’t finish (though I then wouldn’t get the rather lovely medal that’s included in the sign up fee!). But I never like admitting defeat so am determined to make it.

I hope that after that I will be able to give full attention back to my WoE again. I confess I’m allowing rather too many carbs past my lips at the moment. But I’m feeling ok and will take measurements at the end of my challenge to see if there any non-scale victories to report 🤞Then will give full attention to the numbers again.

Hope everyone else is ok and making some progress? If not, take heart, there is still plenty of time to go : you’ve got this!

Have a great week X

Thanks VERANO and Hi DCT! Its very quiet on the bus isnt it,everyone busy getting on with following the challenge!
Your virtual fitness challenges sound interesting,well done you,I am positive you will complete them,and get that nice shiny medal 💕 and I think theres still six weeks to crimbo so plenty of time to lose a little weight or score more NSVs!xx
Ive lost about 50 lbs since seeing that saying back in June…something about what do you want to look back on in six months time,six months of more excuses or six months of progress. I cant remember the actual words but they really resonated with me at the time. Of course,Im furious with myself for gaining back weight loss circa 2017,but THIS time I WILL keep it off! Hoping to lose a few more pounds by new year,fingers crossed! Sciatica has meant not as active as i wd like to be,hope that vanishes along with the pounds🙏
Hoping everyone is going onwards and downwards,love n hugs to all,specially those waiting for test results,medical appts, etc xxx

Hello DCT and Yowser and everyone clinging onto the bus.
Yowser- you’ve done such an amazing job making the best of the last few months. You must be so proud of yourself and I am so so happy for you. It’s incredible that something just clicked and you knuckled down and what an amazing weight loss. I think you are the passenger of the year! You’ve probably lost more than the rest of us put together and I am delighted for you. I am maintaining which isn’t where I want to be but I have been finding it difficult to lose weight. I have said yes to things I should be saying no to! I’ve been making excuses for myself- feeling sorry for myself and generally not knuckling down like you have. I went for an MRI scan on Wednesday and am awaiting the result of that. I have a friend who has been having chemotherapy for a very rare form of Lymphoma called mantle cell lymphoma. She was a nurse colleague who I worked with at the doctors who is my age and I know I’ve been thinking along the lines of enjoy every day so have eaten things I know are not conducive to weight loss! My two friends who have started on Mounjaro lost 2lb and 4 lb respectively this week and I was thinking I could do that if I ate sensibly! I am going to do my best until Christmas. I do weigh less than I did this time last year but I am not at a weight that I would be happy to maintain in 2025 so I am going to try my hardest to get to 148 lb and then call it a day and maintain. I feel i am flogging a dead horse!
As DCT says we can still make a difference.. I am sad that I have not make better progress during this challenge/ it always seems doable when we start but life always seems to scupper me. I did well prior to my cruise so I know I can do it but I need to take a leaf out of your book Yowser and knuckle down.

Hi CCATHY! well done on maintaining,its not easy to do. And youre lighter than you were this time last year? Thats a success in itself! How many pounds do you need to lose to get to 148?
Not many i bet.. You can do it,even though I know you have defo had an awful lot to deal with this year. Maybe a few 5:2 weeks or something like that?xx
I always think how heavy our cat is,I cant lift him,hes 16 lbs. So Ive lost three cats and a few extra snouts and tails! Im aiming to lose another pound per week til new year which will be another half stone ( tho oc there will be one or two xmas treats) and then whatever the result, maintain in 2025.
Ps! Whats Mounjaro? XX

Thanks for your kind words Yowser.i will need to lose 8lb to get to 148 so it’s definitely achievable. This is what I managed to get down to prior to my cruise but I put weight on during the cruise which I’ve not lost yet! At my lowest I got down to 131 lbs but that was in 2017 and it’s not maintainable. My friends are both buying Mounjaro which is a weight loss injection which they inject weekly’. It’s too scary for me to contemplate . I will do it my way by eating less without the help of chemicals. My Monty is 14lbs so I if I could lose a Monty that would be incredible I will aim to lose a Monty for Christmas! That has really cheered me up! Thanks Yowser- you’re incredible x

CCATHY I agree,i wdnt contemplate the injections either.
Even if you lose half a Monty,you will be almost there!
Was it you pre cruise trying to get him used to cat flap and he did in the end. What was he like when you got home? Our cat sternly ignores us and wont purr even if only out for the evening. He sits very high up in the front bedroom window ready to glare at us when we return 😄😄😄 xxxx

Hi everyone,
Sorry I’ve been meaning to post for about a week but never got round to it.Yowzer you have done fantastically well this year, well done🎉🎉🎉 I’ve still been struggling to get into the right mindset and keep it going so am counting today as a ‘start again’ day and will aim to knuckle down in the hope of still losing a decent amount by Christmas Eve(the 1st time I did this woe I think I lost 18lbs in 6 weeks but not sure my body is capable of that now!) I’ve done a food plan for the week on MFP which always seems to help so 🤞Good luck to everyone for the rest of the trip❤️
Dawn X

Dawn we can lose a few pounds if we behave! I’m rebooting today too! Let’s see if we can lose a bit together!!
Yowser- Monty is an expert at his cat flap now. My friends daughter came every day for a couple of hours to sit with Monty and he had two automatic feeders dispensing his food. He was well looked after and loved Alice. I was so pleased . He is a rescue cat who was a nervous wreck when we got him. He still doesn’t like men but he is the most affectionate cat I’ve ever had. We got him in lockdown and it was an emergency rescue, we shouldn’t have even gone into someone’s house to collect him but it was a mission of mercy’. It took me a long time to get used to him as I had lost my precious cat Big Bob and didn’t think I’d ever love a cat the same again but Monty has melted my heart. He is the sweetest, most gentle cat ever.
Yowser, you’ve inspired me to “lose a Monty” 😹

Hi DAWN,what a lovely xmas eve present to give yourself,you can do it! Might not be 18 lbs,but thats ok,I have a feeling that we never quite do as well these days on low carb as we did first time round. But lose six,and even if you regain it with xmas treats,youre not ADDING six to what you are now XX
CATHY,oh Monty sounds adorable,and what a lucky cat to be rescued by someone who’ s going to love him so much.
Two xmases ago,and four xmases ago,i reunited cats with their broken hearted owners. First cat,Colin,had been missing a month,think second cat,Coco,had been missing two weeks. It was so satisfying to reunite them with their families. The Christmas in between I reunited a lovely little old lady who had dementia with her daughter and son in law. I wonder if anything/ anyone will need reuniting this Xmas! XX

Hello everyone
Sorry I haven’t been posting so much going on in my life I have read all your posts well done to you all .
I lost my lovely cat Nokie in March and I don’t think I will ever get over it 💞he was from Battersea and I loved him to bits
We are moving house 🏠 at rhe moment so very stressful!! So I am afraid I have fallen off the bus 🚌 I have put back on all the weight I had lost very cross with myself as my back aches and I keep getting headaches it’s all due to my weight and eating too much sugar!!
Hopefully when I get to my new house I can refocus 🤔I would like to thank everyone on the bus it’s been a great journey and you are all friends for life
Love nokie x🐈‍⬛

Im so sorry NOKIE to hear about your cat 🩷 its something we dread happening with our furry little pal now as hes getting a bit older XX
Moving house is one of the most stressful things any of us do. Just be kind to yourself while life is so hectic right now,then jump back on the bus when youre ready,your seat will be waiting! Xx

Thankyou yowzer for your kind words 💞I will jump back on the bus 🚌 soon is it still carrying on in the new year or are we all stopping in 2024 ?
Take care
Nokie x🐈‍⬛

Nokie – it’s heartbreaking when we lose our furry friends. Maybe when you get settled into your new home you might feel able to rescue another furry friend. Don’t be hard on yourself Nokie- the bus is always round the corner and we can. Jump on and off when the time is right. I think many of us will be around in the NewYear to support one another.

Thank you Cathy and Yowzer for your encouraging words.Nokie I’m so sorry to hear about your cat, our pets become family members so it’s no surprise you are finding it difficult.I hope your move goes well.I will definitely need to continue to lose weight in 2025 so will be continuing with this journey.
Dawn X

Thankyou cathy and Dawn
I hope to have another furry friend once we are settled you are all so kind
I am going to try and sort my food 🍱 out over the next coming weeks I know it’s only me that can do it 🤔
Take care everyone and keep going you are all doing amazing
Love nokie 🐈‍⬛x

Hi everyone, sorry for not posting for so long. I have no real excuse, not moving house or anything else. I also have nothing to skite about as far a weight loss is going 🙁
Yowser that is so amazing, you must be so happy with such great progress. We all know how much effort goes into it, well done you!
CCathy, I am sure you would rather be losing but maintaining is the next best thing after all. I have been away on a road trip for a fortnight and unfortunately although I thought I was being careful I managed to stack on 3kg. I’m so annoyed because that’s nearly a third of the amount I had lost this year so I am knuckling down now as well and hope to have some better results soon. One thing that I’ve noticed since being home and trying so hard to keep to the WOE, I just seem to turn to the kitchen all the time- Bored? Have a snack. Headache? Better have something to eat- it goes on and on and I am really noticing it because i am doing my best to veto all these internal suggestions but they are very persistent!
Staying on the bus and still trying and I hope for good results of all of us.
Mariet

Lovely to see a little flurry of posts and to catch up with everyone’s news.

YOWZER I\ve got to add my congratulations as well – 50lb is incredible. Very well done! And I love what you said about Ive lost about what do you want to look back on in six months time : six months of more excuses or six months of progress? You’re amazing and inspirational for sticking to that for the last six months. I’m so pleased for you.

And I think those of us who have not been on track and seeing the results we want can also take inspiration from that. Starting today, we can adopt that mantra just for the next month – What do you want to look back on by Christmas : one month of more excuses or one month of progress? Worth a try anyway!

Good luck with the move NOKIE, such a stressful time. And, as others have said, I hope you will then be able to consider welcoming a new fur baby into your home.

Love to everyone else on here, and hope that you all feel inspired to pick up the pace a bit. I know I certainly do. My “urgent” fitness challenge ends next week and I’ve worked out if I can then lose 1lb a week from that point I will be heading well in the right direction by Christmas. So I guess I’ll be around in the New Year too 😊🚌

Hello again everyone 💞
Dct Thankyou for your kind words it’s strange but although I am feeling very low at the moment (not only sressed with the move)! There are a lot of family issues as well I read all your messages again at 2 am this morning !and I had a light bulb moment once again you have all come to my rescue 💞there are 5 weeks until we move and 6 to Xmas 🎄 I am going to try and find a seat at the back of the bus 🚌 and try to loose even a pound a week I might feel better if I am not carrying this weight around 🤣what I want to say is THANKYOU to you all
Lv nokiex

Hello everyone
A cold morning here in the North West but not as much snow as I expected. I’ve just done a 36 hour fast! I am determined to end the year at least one stone lighter than I started it so I am doing two 36 hour fasts each week until Christmas. The week before Christmas I’m going to do 3 to try and ensure I am weighing 147 lbs. I started the year at 163lb. Today I am 154 lb which is the weight I was when I came back from my cruise. I reckon it’s doable. I don’t have my MRI results yet. I’ll chase them this week: sadly the cataract operation did not improve my vision so it looks like I’ll be having the vitrectomy but I’m seeing the ophthalmologist at the beginning of December so we can have a chat! I’m not that keen to have it. I am struggling with my vision because I have a pair of glssses with only one lens in now. The left eye has a new intraocular distance lens but I can’t see well out if it and that eye has now got no reading lens either so I am really struggling to see well. Anyway, I am focused (no pun intended) on taking control of my weight as we approach the festive season and aim to lose 2lb a week with long fasts and sensible eating!
How are you all doing? Hasn’t this year gone by quickly? It would be lovely if we could all achieve a weight loss by the end of the year. Yowser you have smashed it this year and I couldn’t be happier for you. You have encouraged me and everyone on this thread through thick and thin and you deserve your success. I would love to be a loser this year too. I’m going to do my best to get to 147 lb so I can be proud of myself. That would be my lowest weight for quite some time!
Have a good week everyone.

Hi CC, now that is a great idea. My initial 8 weeks has just finished and I am still 4 pounds short of my pre-Christmas target. I may be able to stick to that sort of fast easier than I have found the full 8 weeks at 800 which plan died after about 2.5 weeks. So fasting 5:2 starting at 10pm the night before, with the day immediately after the full fast TRE with nothing until 10am. Will pick a couple of suitable days to try that this week. The good news is no weight back on so still starting from my lightest since I started back on this WOE.

You’ll soon get to your target mixnmatch with a couple of long fasts. I find doing two long fasts a week really help. I am going to fast from Sunday after my evening meal until Tuesday 10 am every week and do a Wednesday or Thursday fast as well until the week before Christmas when I’ll do Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday. I’ve put the days in my calendar. I am 100 committed. I eat a fairly normal diet on the eating days but to be honest after a long fast my stomach doesn’t really want much and I am not going to undo my hard work by eating the wrong things so I’ll be sticking to healthy foods. My plan is that in the New Year i will fast every Monday and throw in another fast as and when but definitely make Monday a fast day every week. Let us know how you are doing . You could lose that 4lb in two weeks!

Hi everyone,
November is always such a tough month for me. Dark and cold, and this year quite wet too. It’s been a very dreary couple of weeks so far, but we had a little bit of snow over the last few days. Saturday was a mess as it was very wet snow and the ground wasn’t frozen. I was out digging some little trenches in the horse paddock on Sunday to try to get it to dry out. Luckily Monday was nice, but today more snow. At least the ground was frozen this time, so much less messy. It is going down to -10 C tonight, so quite cold. I had to get the electric water tubs out for the horses.
I’ve been cooking on the wood stove in the basement the last few days. I normally only do that in a power outage, but it seems silly to turn on the electric stove when I have so much heat coming off the wood one already. Tonight I had broccoli slaw with dal makani (out of a tin, but decent ingredients) and paneer. It was quite good and quick too.
I have been making progress on the elimination diet. It has revealed some surprises. I added almonds in two weeks ago, and they were fine, so I had some almond milk and had a big GI upset. I think it is the emulsifiers. This brand had carageenan and guar gum. I know Tim Spector always says that emulsifiers have a big impact on the gut microbiome, and that these non-dairy milks are usually ultraprocessed, so I suppose it is not that surprising. I’m back to having dairy milk now as it does not cause any upset. Unfortunately eggs continue to be an issue. I don’t know if I should experiment further to see if it is the egg white or yolk, or both. Maybe once I’m further along and have added most other things back. Unfortunately mushrooms have also been causing problems. So my list is now, no:
tomatoes
mushrooms
eggs
emulsifiers; and
soy (due to my previous known allergy)
It’s a lot of very common things, but luckily I still have quite a few protein options.
I have not made any progress weight or size-wise so far, but I think it was important to sort out what I could and couldn’t eat first. Hopefully I will do better in the new year. My aim is to have this elimination diet wrapped up before Christmas.
Good to see everyone keeping at it.
Yowzer, well done on reaching the 50lb mark, that is impressive!
Cathy and Mixnmatch – I can’t wait to be able to start longer fasting again. Christmas will mark the 1 year mark since I was able to go more than about 16 hours. I am able to skip breakfast, but find I have to eat lunch or risk stomach pain. I may have another go in the new year though once I’ve sorted out what to eat when not fasting.