Hi there Inka, congratulations, go you! Here is a link to the NHS BMI calculator which I use, simple and straightforward:-
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/BodyMassIndex.aspx
I use the ‘myfitnesspal’ app to record all my measurements which I am now doing weekly, I weigh myself twice a week.

I agree that the range of ‘ideal’ weight is broad (no pun intended) and when I saw the range for me I thought that’s ridiculous. I was never the lowest weight in that range and wouldn’t want to be, now in my 50s I would look decidedly ‘scraggy’. So, I set myself a goal of losing a stone to bring my weight down to 9.5 stone, get my BMI to below 24, and being able to fit comfortably into my size 12s which over the last eighteen months got increasingly tighter and eventually pushed out of sight to the back of the wardrobe. I really hope when I get home in a couple of weeks that at least some of those clothes will now feel comfortable on me.

Good news on my own weigh in today, I’ve lost almost 2lbs, hurrah, broken the plateau stage it seems – I was a little anxious this morning before I got on the scales as if the weight had remained static for a second week I would have been right down in the dumps. My BMI is now 24 (dropped from 25 last week). So, onwards and downwards, half a stone to go.

Lesley91, wonderful news Lesley, you are definitely going to fit into that wedding dress! Going from obese to just overweight is a big achievement 🙂 And 5 BMI points disappeared! 🙂

Hi Time4change, I have noticed the lack of Irish signatures on the petition, of course it will apply to Northern Ireland only, but you are the only person who has mentioned Ireland at all. We need to get the word out over there somehow!!

congratulations on your 10000 steps a day, I often fall short there, you put me to shame!
Hope the weight keeps dropping off for you 🙂

What, can I say, All! I knew I could count on you! The NHS BMI calculator it is! I will have a look and see what range I was before I started! …. Probably morbidly obese …. I really dont like the sound of that word: ” o b e s e” !!! Sounds kind of terrible to me. Once I am in the healthy weight range, I strike that word from my vocabulary!!!! :-)!

Wow, I can’t believe the great results everyone is posting here, well done everyone. I also can’t believe all the support and help that is coming from here, it’s certainly helping me to stay focused. Only 1lb less after week 3 (11lbs down in total) but I do feel soooo much better in myself so happy with that.

I found the results from the scales a bit disheartening so I took to the tape measure and after I’d measured myself, not much had changed there either but then I thought, let’s put the tape measure to my starting measurements and that cheered me up no end. 2 inches doesn’t sound a lot but when you look at the difference between the start and now it looks really impressive.

Struggling to find the motivation to move myself about which is disappointing and only managing about a litre of water a day so I know I can improve things if I really commit.

PS. I’ve signed the petition too

Hi Inka, way to go! I am waiting to hear you say before I started this diet my BMI was…..but now it is …. I know I can get into the overweight range soon!! 🙂

Come on Kes, neck some water!! 11lbs in three weeks is good. Bet you didn’t expect that much off before you started this diet! It’s not far from being a stone!!
I sometimes just walk up and down the stairs a few times to get myself going and the old heart pumping. Only takes a few minutes! You can challenge yourself – find out how many times you can get up and down the stairs before you feel you have to stop, the go for a higher target later in the day. 🙂

Hi Kes – like hashimoto says, try using the stairs at home to get some extra exercise. As for water, like you drinking enough has been a stumbling block for me, so I now have a policy that I have to drink a glass of water every time I’m in the kitchen. I have a white board in there and I mark up each glass I drink – it adds up surprisingly quickly. Good hydration is definitely key to losing weight, so make sure to up you intake.

You’re doing great on the weight loss and the pounds will continue to drop, so keep focused and soldier on. I know what you mean about the tape measure. I have dropped 12lb now, but my tape measure only shows a 1.5inch decrease on the waist. However, I am very aware that the roll of fat between boobs and waist has decrease dramatically and its thinning out over the hips as well. It’s hard not to be disheartened by the lack of progress at the waist, but it will happen I’m sure.

Hi,
I’m in my 8th week of the diet and have lost 13 kilo. But over the last 10 days I have plateaued and not lost any more weight. Any advice?
Ed

Hi Ed, have you bought any ketostix, that way you can tell if you are still fat burning. My loss is slow now but I have reached a weight I am pretty happy with (BMI down from 28.3 to 21.7) but the ketostix show I am still fat burning and my waist has shrunk another inch while not losing too much more weight. I’m happy with that.

You may, of course, just be experiencing a plateau which will quickly resolve. So stay with it!! 🙂
Glad to see you will soon be one of the veterans, we are a growing group now!!

Hi What are ketosticks? How do they work and how do I get hold of them?
Ed

Monkeyescapade, congratulations on reaching a BMI of 24! That’s a huge psychological boost – as well as a health one! No I wouldn’t want to be at the lowest end of my healthy range either – been there (and under) when I was younger. I have aimed for the exact middle of the healthy range – then if my weight creeps up a little it won’t be too discouraging to return to the 800 as I know it won’t take long!!

When I started this diet my dream was to just GET to 25. I keep adjusting my goals with each little success. You will probably do the same.

Bill is now talking about a 12 stone goal by September – his goal was much less than that quite recently!!! 🙂

Hi Ed you can order them of amazon, I did, then later found out my son sells them in the pharmacy!!
They come in tubs of 50 strips, the tub has a colour chart on the side. You dip the coated end of the stick in your urine in the morning and check it against the colour chart. If it turns a shade of pink or purple you are fat burning.
MIne cost just under £5 from amazon with free p and p. 🙂

How many of you are using Ketostix, and what do you do when they indicate you are not burning fat, … and you have stuck to the diet? I have not bought them yet, but was just wondering! …. are they really necessary when we have all those other measuring tools and apps?

Hi, well end of week 2 and I have dropped from 120.1 kg to 114.1 kg that’s 6 kg (almost a stone in old money). Also 6 cm from the belly which I am even more pleased about. Have felt really good so far, more energy, better sleep and no foggy brain. The only things I have experienced is having to go and pee much more (even though I am drinking the same volume of liquid) and fingers and toes sometimes feel really cold. My worries are that I am tending to eat the same meals because I know the cal/carb content to meet the 800. I need to find more alternative side dishes in addition to salads and so need to scour the cook books and online. Just hope the progress continues and I can reach my first goal of a 10% reduction in weight.

Hi whalleyrange, fantastic amount of weight loss!

We have all experienced the extra peeing in the early weeks – it does seem to settle down. I no longer have to get up in the early hours to go to the loo.

Well, fingers and toes are cold – that’s about 28 half pound packs of lard you have lost. We are bound to feel a little cold until our bodies acclimatise themselves. When you think you have accomplished that change in just 2 weeks it’s no wonder your poor body is struggling with the cold!

Have you looked at the recipes on this site?

I ordered a book from amazon yesterday, when it arrives I will let you know what I think and whether I would recommend it to you 🙂

Inka, I had a dodgy batch of them, no colour change on any of them bar for the first couple.
I just reasoned that my body is burning something and it isn’t carbs coz I’m not giving it enough so I must be burning fat as I’m still losing weight.

Hi Inka, if mine start to show I am not burning fat I will check on my carb intake and increase my water intake. I think Bill was unlucky with his batch as mine are working fine. You do have to be careful to take the sticks out quickly and screw the lid on tightly as any moisture getting in the tub can damage them. I don’t think that is what happened to Bill, I think he just got a dodgy batch. 🙂

I have just bought my first lot of ketostix and it seems I’m burning fat. Am planning to take them on holiday with me and use them as my prime indicator that I’m not going too far off piste – as per suggestion from hashimoto. However, having tried it today, I think I’d better get some more, as I’m sure I’m going to end up using them pretty much daily I think.

Hi all. Congrats to everyone whether your results so far are modest or spectacular. I hit one of my milestones today. I started out 7 weeks ago at 98kg. Today I weighed in at 89.6kg. That’s 8.4kg and the first time my weight has not started with a ’90 something’ since I became ill a few years ago with pituitary tumor and thyroid growths. I’ve also lost 16cm from my waist! For the first time in a long time I am beginning to trust my body a little and feel I have reasons to be hopeful about something to do with my health.

My next milestone will be 88kgs as that will be the half way point and I plan to celebrate with something yummy that I miss (but not too much of it) and a massage!

I remember in the book there were several people who said that it was more than a diet, it was rather a way to eat and manage weight ongoing. For many of those in the book they seemed to have broken the ‘rules’ at least every once in a while and they still got amazing results because they got back into it and kept going. That has been my strategy too. That way I dont feel deprived. To my surprise I only went up by 100g following the Easter break. I didn’t eat any chocolate but did have a hot cross bun on one day and dessert on two other days that would not have normally fitted in to the BSD. Interestingly I found I didnt enjoy the hot cross bun as I found it too sweet! Likewise another dessert I just couldn’t finish as it was just too sweet. I’m really excited about this unexpected development as if I no longer even enjoy some of the things I used to, then it is less tempting for me to eat them! I’ve also found that on the odd occasion when I’ve eaten a small amount of the fast starchy carbs, such as a bread roll (that I now regard as a ‘special occasion only food’), I seem to have been better at processing it and didnt experience the unpleasantness of a blood sugar spike (which I’m sure was happening before) as my body is not being overloaded by starchy foods three times a day every day anymore. Has anyone else had a similar experience? (I’m not diabetic).

BTW: I read the book twice (highlighting key points for myself the second time) as so much of the information was so different to what I’d been told by medical professionals that I felt I really needed to go over it all again in order to be sure I really understood it well. I’m really wishing every blessing on Michael Mosely. His book has been life changing for me.

Hi Allychat, you’re doing really well, congratulations.
On the subject of sweet things, I tried a couple of sweet things over the Easter, and not only did I not enjoy them, the strangest thing happened in that although I could identify they had a taste of some kind, it wasn’t one I could identify as sugar!
I really hope things stay like that as it seems (hope upon hope) that I no longer have a sweet tooth.
I think it’s Judith who can actually smell sugar and it revolts her.

Hi inka
I love my ketostix. Yes, the apps and other stuff are useful but they don’t tell me what is actually going on inside my body (I’m not type 2 so I don’t test my blood). For instance, I had an off-plan day on Sunday and then no ketosis by Wednesday. Even by yesterday afternoon, nothing. Then I did half an hour on my treadmill – you know the one that makes a great place to hang my clothes – and boom, straight into ketosis at a strong level. They just help to reassure me that what I am doing with the diet is helping me in the right direction. I don’t lose weight every day but knowing I am still in fat burning mode is a big encouragement for me. Its a personal thing I guess, it works for me, they are cheap and easy to use.

Hi Allychat – that’s a good idea about highlighting the book. I’ll follow your lead.

A huge congratulations on your weight loss. Yes Bill is right, I can actually smell sugar and it truly revolts me. Ive always been known in the family as being a blood hound due to my keen sense of smell. There is a chippy a mile away and I can frequently smell it when it’s frying! I can smell if someone is brewing a pot of tea before they open the door! It’s freaky. But being able to smell sugar is totally new to me. I never knew it was so disgusting!! And I used to love the sweet poison not so very long ago!!

Thanks Hashimoto, its good to know that my multi visits to the bathroom will slow down as my body changes. I like the idea of seeing weight loss in terms of physical things and 28 packs of lard is a lot of lard (even though it now seems that its ok to use lard rather than vegetable oils). What I’ve learnt so far is that I need to make every calorie count. To make sure it full of flavour and texture and variety and so need to expand my cook book to keep the motivation going. The one thing I am really missing is rice and have found product called Barenaked Rice. Its made from Konjac flour and claims that 100g has just 0.1 g of carb and just 8 cals. Have you or anyone used this?

Thanks Hashimoto, that made me smile. Unfortunately I’ve no stairs though, and because I work from home there is not much distance between my desk in the office and the bedroom/kitchen/TV room so any form of exercise involves getting away from my desk and outside somewhere. Therein lies our problem, if we didn’t work from home and live in a bungalow we wouldn’t be fat in the first place!! It all piled on when we stopped moving around, having both been very active in our jobs before going self employed.

Hi Kes
I sit at a desk all day and used to live in a bungalow so I feel your pain.
I try to keep my legs moving whilst sitting at the desk in a sort of sitting / walking movement if you know what I mean.
I also follow Michaels advice to stand up every half hour although working at a standing desk is perhaps taking things a step too far.
There is usually some small thing you can to to help.
Interesting about the bare naked rice, let me know how it is if you use it please.

I am still not feeling to crash hot, my sinusitis is only shifting very slowly. My nose is still pretty much blocked most of the time… making it hard to sleep at night. … but we have a chemist not far away, and I also need to buy more supplies. I will buy the sticks and will add the result to my spreadsheet.

Because, I havent really been out the last few days, I ran out of all the good foods…
and so, here it is, I succumbed to eating carbohydrates … it was only one slice of Ryvita with butter and cheese, I also still had some eggs, which I hard boiled and I ate that with some cucumber and a whole fresh tomato. When I boiled the eggs and cut up the vegies, I looked on my small plate and thought … This wont be enough, and put two table spoons of plain creek yoghurt and a handful of blueberries in a bowl, as desert.

I starred at the Ryvita and cheese leaving it to last, while eating everything else on the plate…. and then it was time to eat the crispbread, I kind of had thought about it since lunchtime, … and took my first bite, expecting this familiar taste sensation which had made me eat them by the boxful before. and, yes, you guessed it, it tasted really really salty, so much so, that I had trouble to finish it. Not sure why I just didnt leave it on rhe plate. Old habits do die hart, I think, because from an early age, I had been conditioned to never leave anything on my plate, because it was considered to be an insult to the cook. So, I ate it. This was about 1/2 hour ago and I could not get rid of rhe salty taste…. I had to rinse my mouth….. and I have totally lost the appetite for the joghurt desert…. Well, it will go into the fridge and it will be my breakfast in the morning.

With this long winded story, I hope I didnt bore you too much, I just wanted to highlight that it seems that not only the taste buds which detect sweetness, but also those which detect salty and savoury foods seem to be effected and return to normal? Too much salt is not good for us either ( but we still need small amounts) and I am amazed that my body once again, is warning me, to curtail my desire for excessively salty or indeed sugary things. I have not consciously eaten anything which obviously has sugar in it since starting the BSD, but if it tastes as terrible as the savoury salty food, I will have no problem, to stay away from it …. and I tasted that so intensely despite my head being all congested with the flu…. Thanks for “listening”!

Hi Inka
your tastes do change when you drop the carbs don’t they ? I don’t like sweet things now.
I did buy some Ryvita rye crispbread at the weekend as it said 0.8 gram per slice carbs so I though ideal snack material.
I’m not so sure now.

Hi Judith, I can smell sugar too. I’ve always been able to. It’s how I tell which cups of tea or coffee have sugar in, when I’ve made multiples for guests and forgotten which is which lol.
I can smell diabetics with high sugar levels as well as hypo’s, rheumatoid arthritis has a smell and strangely enough so does a stroke ( can’t figure that one). When I worked in a wound clinic I could make a fairly accurate guess which bacteria was growing in an infected wound based on the smell.
I hate the smell of meat cooking because I can smell blood, the rotisserie area of supermarkets make me gag with their roasting chickens, same with steak and kidney pies cooking cos I can smell urine.
I think we live in a world of sensory overload now, and so don’t always notice what our senses are telling us. So houses, cars and people are drenched in fragrance, foods have added ‘natural flavour’, salt and sugar, music and noise everywhere and we are so desensitised that it takes something radical like the BSD to make us realise that natural unprocessed food has a great flavour.

Ryvita. You succumbed to Ryvita? I would rather have eaten the box it came in!

Hi Bill1954, just try it, it may not taste so bad to you…. and maybe it was the combination of Ryvita and the cheese… I dont know, but it certainly tasted horrible to me…. 🙂 If you dont like it, you can always give the rest of the packet to the chooks or feed them to the ducks 🙂 ….. tried to give one to my dog just now…. She usually likes crispy crunchy things …. She wouldn’t take it, looked at me strangely and went back into her bed… So you have it, Ryvita is not dog-proof and I guess, thats that, the end of Ryvita for me …. 🙂 and I loved this so before the BSD!!!! 🙂

Well said, Cherieanne, I can smell things too, and like you know if someone put sugar into my coffee or tea, without having to taste it…. Even if its only a small amount…. AAartificial sweeteners are also on my radar. The smell of red meat makes me feel ill sometimes, and there was a very long time, when I couldnt eat it. I can also smell protein in chicken and fish and my nose, well usually, is very sensitive to malty aromas and smoke. I can smell a bushfire well before it becomes noticed by anyone else and before the signs are visible. The same, if it rains somewhere, miles away. It is wonderous and great that many of us retained this very important and keen sense, or, like now, can rediscover it again and use what it tells us, wisely and to our advantage….

Yep, Janet1973, I absolutely loved the stuff…. Now, I have no idea why!!! :-0

Hi I haven’t used the bare naked ‘rice’ it. I thought about it but I no longer miss the rice!!! I do like the gram flour flatbreads with a curry though! 🙂

Cherrianne I am so glad you posted that, I’ve been seen as a bit of a freak because I can smell so many things even from a distance!! Oddly I can smell bacteria too. There have been two occasions when I have told a GP I knew I had a pseudomonas lung infection because I could smell it when I coughed. I had some very old fashioned looks. But I was correct both times!!

I have always been able to tell the difference between sugared and unsugared drinks but the sensation of the overpoweringly awful smell of it in shops is something I had obviously blocked out – until now.

I can’t stand the smell of meat cooking either. As a child, when my mother went into a butchers I could never go in because it smelt of blood and death. I was told to wait outside and not move ( I was young) but I would still gag and often throw up.

The strokes – well there must be chemical changes going on in the body during such a dramatic incident.

I can smell my medications on myself and I hate it. I can also smell other people on a lot of medication.

I thought I was alone in my ‘oddity’. I am so pleased I am not.

Inka, I can smell a small bonfire from miles away. I thought it was my body warning me in advance because fire smoke is likely to trigger an asthma attack and certainly has a bad effect on my bronchiectasis.

I wonder whether others on this diet will develop a heightened sense of smell? I have always had it – but with peoples tastes changing so much you have got to wonder about other things 🙂

BTW Cherrianne, I am just supping my first liquorice tea. It tastes just like the liquorice root sticks I bought as a nipper. And rather too sweet!!! 🙂

Hi Lesley
Isn’t that a great moment!
Penny

Hi Ed
It seems it’s normal to have a plateau now and then. Have a look at Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle) which might help.
Penny

Hi Allychat
Congrats on doing so well. I too am about half way. It’s a great feeling- we ve all achieved something we thought just about impossible, and it’s not even a struggle!
I agree with you about the sweet things- I had a taste – about 5 MM square!- of OH s chocolate bunny- , overwhelmingly sweet and not nice.
Keep up the good work!
Penny

Hi Whalkeyrange
That’s a great weight loss!
Re peeing- it’s normal to pee more at the beginning as you use up your glycogen stores which also hold water. For this reason it’s also important to eat s bit more salt as you’re peeing salt out too.
I don’t know about the cold extremities- you could have a look at jane Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved'(£3 on kindle) – I don’t know if she covers that or not but she covers a lot of things.
Have you looked at the recipes people have posted on here( at the bottom of the page)?
Best of luck
Penny

Has anyone else tried freekeh? Lower in calories than brown rice and more fibre than quinoa. Good in lots of low GI recipes. And selling in our local Cole’s supermarket here south of Sydney.

Hi Judith, no you’re definitely not a freak. Apparently women have a keener sense of smell than men, so I often detect things my husband can’t. Like Inka I can smell a bushfire from miles away, and even detect ash on the wind if it’s been extinguished. Your sense of smell isn’t supposed to function while you’re asleep but I’ve woken to the smell of smoke and got up to check the CFS website to see if we are in danger.
I make the liquorice tea in a pot so it’s not too strong and drink it hot or cold. Some brands are very sweet. Twinings do a mint and liquorice which is nice but there’s a brand here called Madame Flavour that’s very sweet.

I have a question, again :-)…. Continuing to loose weight, but I wonder about what my skin around my tummy, waist etc will look like when I have reached my goal! Will I have ugly flabby skin hanging around to remind me of my old big me? Until now, have never lost anything significantly to speak of, so I have no idea what will happen to my skin. Will it shrink too? I recently turned 57, so my skin is not thaaaat elastic anymore… I imagine my tummy, when shrunk, will be like a deflated balloon? : When new, its nice and taught, when older and deflated will never return to its original new size again…. They are always bigger once you let the air out again ……… Any of you big loosers, sorry no offence intended :-)), have some advice on this? What is your experience?

Inka – one question. Do you want to be healthy and have a longer life or to be a slightly prettier corpse?

Don’t worry about your skin – it won’t be on show to the whole world! If you think about it, people with big belly’s, as they get older, end up with it sagging whether they stay the same weight or slim down. Nothing you can do about it.

I’m 63 and I have got to say that my belly was beginning to sag a bit anyway – even in the mirror it looks a lot better than it used to – and clothes look much better on me now that I don’t look 5 months pregnant!!!

Just enjoy the fact that you are a new and healthier you! 🙂

That’s really interesting, Cherrianne. Smoke smells can wake me up in the night as well.

I didn’t see the Madame Flavour tea when I scoured the shelves of the Health Food shop. They had a variety of liquorice teas but didn’t fancy the additional spices some had in them. The one I got is Clipper organic liquorice. A friend came over last night and she always asks to have a spoon of honey added to her herbal tea ( she thinks it isn’t a sugar) but she found the liquorice tea sweet enough! 🙂

You are right Hashimoto, your wise comment brings things into perspective again.
I still have a fair way to go and being healthier and being able to DO things again, not feeling frumpy and to some degree “handicapped” anymore because I cant move properly, being able to buy clothes which dont resemble tents ( I get really angry about the price they are charging for tent-clothes – not talent or work involved to sew down a couple of straight lines) should be all I should concentrate on. Thanks again.

I dont know if male skin differs any in elasticity to female skin, but I can say that after losing 5 inches and counting from my waist measurement (had to make 2 new holes in my belt this week) I dont notice any more flabby skin than normal.
Had a top moment last night, walked into the OH’s bedroom (we have to have separate rooms for medical reasons ) without a Tshirt on.
She took one look and said “by I knew you were losing weight but your stomach has almost gone”
Just a small comment but a huge reward for me 🙂

That’s great Bill1954, nice that your OH made this comment and a big success for you. …. Wow, 2 new holes in your belt? Holes are a couple of cm apart right? Thats so great…. I have a favourite jeans jacket, I still sometimes wear, but I cant button it closed, so I leave it open. The two sides were at least 10cm apart ( I really shouldnt have worn it then) but when I put it on the other day just to see if there is some difference, I was pleasantly surprised that the buttons on one side and the holes on the other are coming together :-). Still cant do them up, but at least the two sides of the jacket nearly meet each other now. Sometimes this type of measuring, and not always the scales, can be just as effective a tool to monitor my progress. If you lost this much, you must have had to buy new clothes…. this alone would be nice and a further signal, that you can leave your old fat person world behind. My hat off to you :-))!

Bill, all the positives keep rolling in for you!!
I had a similar experience last night when a friend dropped in ( she hadn’t seen me for a fortnight) she said I was unrecognisable and looked like I had knocked 10 years off my age 🙂 She has borrowed my book for her and her daughter to look at 🙂

Hi Bill
I’ve resent
Penny