Hello,
I started the 800 fast diet last Monday (14th October).
In 2 days I had lost 4 lbs but was determined not to keep weighing myself everyday, but on Saturday I jumped on the scales and had gained 3 lbs.
I have stuck to the plan every day, averaging 800 calories over the past 9 days, 16% from carbs, 42% from fat and 42% from protein.
Today I weighed myself and from Saturday I have gained 7 lbs :0
I’m drinking at least 3 litres of water everyday and just feel deflated – I’m 5ft 11 and have about 5 stone to lose so I though this would give me the kick I needed to lose the weight but I now feel deflated.
I am also in ketosis…..

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi Guys. I’ve been absent too, mostly because I lost my rhythm and determination. I’m in Connecticut at Allie’s and over the last 5 days, eating her way, I’ve noticed a difference in my belly bloat! Diminished somewhat and the achey hips have gone also, so am now newly refreshed to continue when I get back home! Very interesting post, thanks JGwen. Having a wonderful time over here and the New England in the Fall colours are spectacular!
Hope everyone else is ok?
Kazzeexx

Thanks Merry, for taking up the reins. Good morning from Allie’s spare room in New England! Sorry I’ve not been around much in recent weeks. Since arriving here in Hartford, I’ve been eating Allie’s way and after 5 days, I can tell the belly bloat is going down! I’ve been struggling to find the motivation over the last few weeks but now I shall return home on Thursday with renewed determination and Xmas on the horizon! The colours are indeed magnificent here!
Kazzeexx

Nice. Good work.

Im only 1 day in and feel lighter and better already <3 I’m not using my scales i’m just using the clothes that are either too tight or just clean dont fit 😉 Ill weigh myself when Im happy with my appearance.

Thank you. I am a bit bloody minded that way though – I am determined to lose weight for my health but the likes of her just make me more determined to prove this is the right way for me to do it.

I think she really is jealous! I don’t know why – I have 100lbs plus to lose so I don’t look much different yet so it can’t be that. Maybe because I’m happier as I’m now in control of my eating?
She keeps inviting me to hers to eat but I’m pretty sure she’d sabotage my efforts and I won’t allow that. Yesterday she came over with a beautiful tin containing 8 pretty cupcakes for my daughter. She opened the tin to show me saying I know you can’t eat these but I’ve bought them for your daughter. Then when daughter wandered in she said to her “you will eat all those won’t you?”
Usually the cakes would have called to me all night until I gave in and ate them. It is the next day and they are all still there and to make things even better the whoosh fairy gave me an overnight 1.5lb loss. I’m not being sabotaged by a jealous, bitter woman! But even more importantly I’m not being sabotaged by ME and this is a huge and major change in my mind. I’m now 17lbs down and mentally I am absolutely over the moon.

Hi Merry 🙂 and to everyone else if you’re reading!

I know I’ve been a bit on and off so thought I’d do a quick check in post. Onto my second week of the Fast 800, it is much easier than the first few days and lost 6lb overall. However, my time of the month is due this week and the scales are telling me so! Going to give myself a break from weighing until it’s properly finished and focus on the non-weight victories instead. Was getting a bit obsessive weighing myself every morning so it’s probably a good thing. I’m in light-moderate ketosis according to my breathalyser gadget which is motivating. I did take time off the gym the first week but will try out a couple of sessions now.
I saw that too Merry, it actually makes a lot of sense! I exercise in the late afternoons/evenings which does take a chunk of my day out after work. I’m definitely not a morning person however, so I envisage feeling unwell or having to sit down if I did a workout at 7am or similar 😂 but who knows, it may not be all that bad!

I hope your week has got off to a good start!
I read this news report today https://www.goodfood.com.au/good-health/new-research-reveals-the-best-time-to-exercise-to-burn-more-fat-20191020-h1j09p that discusses the results of a study that says that exercising *before* breakfast burns more fat! I try to do 16:8 most days, so I will give this a go, and try on my 2 gym days to not eat until after my session, rather than before.
💪🧘‍♀️

Really enjoyed reading some October updates today. JGwen- fascinating that you are eating as many calories as you are and losing fat! Very interesting, I know you are a very physically active person. I do a sedentary job and little exercise due to health problems but I am very interested in mixing things up. I completed a 40 hour water only fast today at lunchtime. This week’s regime is going to give my body a jolt!

ChunkyD- amazing weight loss so far this month! Very well done – tremendous effort and reward!

Dreamscometrue- lovely to hear that you’re enjoying your new found freedom and enjoying the start of your retirement. You’ve done so well to maintain. I am very impressed. Like you, I feel fed up when I’m am overweight, I am short in stature so every little extra weight makes me look fat and I actually enjoy being in control of myself. Hope you’ve started your 8 week Christmas countdown today- I reckon you could achieve the elusive 133 by Christmas. You’re not that far off.

10 more October days to make a difference. I am desperately trying to achieve 145 by the end of the month. It’s a long shot but I am giving it 100%.

Beginning of a new week and can start with some positives ….
1. Lovely w/e catching up with friends
2. Daughter, her friend and little boy came for lunch today. He’s one year old and cute as a button.
3. Made a little progress on my planning for the festive season. Slowly but surely.
How was your weekend and has your week started we’ll? Hope to read your positives soon.

Hi JGwen. Your change in body composition is inspiring. Since reading of your weight/resistance work with the research group you have inspired me to keep going to the gym. I only get there twice a week, but always try and follow the type of program they set you, and to push myself a bit harder.
Thank you for your informative post, something to really think about in how our body and metabolism works.

That’s a great report Chunkyd. You seem to have balanced things well, so I am sure you can refocus for the last 10 days of the month. 🎃

Hi All!
I’ve not posted for a couple of weeks. I lost 5.6 lbs in my first week, then 1.4 lbs week 2. Last week (week 3) I lost some focus, with work pressures/commitments and less time to properly plan my meals, particularly lunchtime, I was fully expecting a weight gain of 1 – 2 lbs this morning…however I actually lost 1.2 lbs, giving a total loss so far in October of 8.2 lbs, and a total loss since 1st July of 22.2 lbs (most of September was spent off of the diet what with a 2 week holiday, so I gained about 4.5 lbs in that month.
I am hoping to regain my focus this week, and feel I have had a lucky break with this week’s loss in spite of the lapses. However I think my regime going forward will be 2 weeks on BSD followed by 1 week off/maintenance, and carry on until I reach my goal weight, which is another 16 lbs.
Keep going everyone!

Hi everyone
A new week as we power towards the end of October. Wendy has entrusted me to start off this weeks post while she jaunts off to Spain ( I hope you caught the train on time Wendy!).
I’d like to give a hello to all those who are watching from the sidelines but may never have posted. I’d like to encourage you to jump in, tell us how you are going, ask questions, discuss ideas – there are lots of people here to welcome you.
I have been watching some Ask Nurse Cindy videos the last couple of days to help keep me motivated. She is pretty fun, so if you don’t know of her she’s on FB and has lots of stuff on YouTube. She has reminded me to keep it simple – things that I know that work, don’t over stress it!
To all those in the North, I hope your Autumn is providing some lovely colours and bright crisp days. Here in the Southern Hemisphere Spring is coming along and my garden is looking green. I am enjoying it before the blast of dry dry summer comes and it all browns off.
And hi Kafin!
And hi to all the regulars – I know I will miss some names so won’t try to list all of you 😀. But hello to some I haven’t seen for a while, Scottishgal, Tululah, DavidKnight, Articfox, Jamie, Elky – how are you?
Wishing you all a good week,
MM

Thanks @jgwen, and that’s so cool about your body composition. I read in “The Obesity Code” that it’s important to have feast and famine, not to fast and fast and fast, because your body adjusts to that. I think I’m slowly coming to the view that as a woman still in my fertile years, there’s a natural rhythm to when I can do more restrictive eating and when to relax and not agonise so much, that goes with my menstrual cycle. I’m heading into that phase now, and this month hoping to stay away from sugar/carbs, keep to at least 14:10, and if what that means in reality is a dozen extra spoonfuls of beautiful roasted peanut butter, cheese and 90% chocolate and handfuls of cashews, I’m going to embrace that.

I read a few different sites to gain information, one of which is a facebook group for ketogenic athlete. – The following post caught my eye a few days ago. – As it happens I have had a similar experience the day before this post came up. ——- I went in for part of my final MOT as part of the weight training experiment I have been a guinea pig on. – Over the summer I have focused on living life to the full, so busy with physical work and not counting calories, and haven’t worked out with weights. As I walked into the room both the researchers commented on the amount of weight I had lost. However, my weight is virtually the same as it had been 12 weeks before. I have dropped an inch off my waist, as well as shape changes on my legs during the summer. The body composition scales they use show a loss of just over a lb of fat, and the gain of just under a lb of muscle.

——————————————-

“One of the many things I’ve learned over the past 5 + years of this (keto) lifestyle is that it’s okay to experiment. I just recently completed a 12 week experiment with calorie consumption. I have always had a hard time trusting myself enough to up my calories. Maybe its been the 30 years of hearing how you need a deficit to lose weight. I was just completely horrified to try and add anything back in. I have been consuming between 2200 and 2400 calories a day ever since I hit my goal weight a little over 3 years ago. Back in in July I went to get a DXA scan. In the results was a section with my RMR. I was very surprised to see that I was barely consuming more than my RMR.. I’m a pretty active person. I lift heavy 6 days a week, run, cycle, swim, and take 6-8 Jiu Jitsu classes every week, so at this point I knew my TDEE had to be more than 2400. This got me very curious as to what would happen if I upped my calorie consumption significantly. So, for the past 12 weeks I have added roughly 1000 calories a day to boost my consumption up to between 3200 and 3400 calories a day with the goal of gaining as much lean mass as possible while maintaining the same body weight. (I’m really horrified of weight gain after losing so much.) I completed my experiment this past weekend, when I went back for a follow up scan. I have managed to gain 2.4 lbs of lean mass while losing 2 lbs of fat. All while eating 1000 calories a day more than I have in the past 5 years! What I am trying to hint at is that 1. Don’t be afraid of calories (I must see 10 posts a day with people nearly starving themselves) and 2. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find what works best for you. Try something new and give it time to work before you decide to get rid of it. Test, track, and make informed decisions based on your results. Don’t be afraid to have some fun with it!”

———————

The ketogenic athlete facebook group repeatedly say that research suggests that you need to eat to your TDEE, but stick to keto, and your body will convert body fat to muscle. – Personally, having gone through the list of research papers and articles they quote, (which include Dr Fungs work) – I can see that the usual problem of the lack of research into what causes our bodies to reduce/increase metabolism apply. – There continues to be the problem that there is research into the impact of calorie counting and weight loss / impact on metabolism. But there simply isn’t the research into calorie counting when keto and impact on metabolism. However, I thought it was worth raising awareness of this approach when thinking about maintenance or shaking things up.

Oh thanks Merry that would be great !

Bit of a panic this morning as our first train was cancelled ( unplanned rail strikes in France) so we have hurriedly booked an earlier one. Fingers crossed we can catch our connection to Gerona !!
I will check in when I am a bit less stressed !
xxx

Hi Wendy!
I can set up a new thread for this week if you like. Sunny Spain – sounds wonderful – cheese and jamon, lovely olives, yum!
MM

Hi Cathy

I’m with you! I share your frustration but am still optimistic that you will see results.

I’m a bit despondent at the moment as I know I’ve been putting weight back on. Not weighed myself for a few days but it feels like there has been an upward trend. So on the one hand I’m cross with myself, as a lot of it can be explained by my relaxing back on the diet and taking my eye off the ball. On the other hand – a little like Verano posted some time ago – I’ve needed some time just to relax and be “normal”. And also to question the “why” I’m doing this. And I do know why: I know that I look and feel better when I am lighter. I tend to carry weight round my stomach and as I’m not that tall I look chunky very easily once I have a bit of weight round the middle. As I have just turned 60 that’s a trend I want to nip in the bud. More importantly, I also feel so much better when I’m eating carefully – and am less bloated and sluggish.

However. I’m going through some major lifestyle changes and have recently been taking time off the hamster wheel of life in various ways. Lots of short breaks and trips and celebratory meals with family and friends. And a bit of a break from the old working life before I need to get into something new.

So – despite what I said earlier – I’ve deliberately let things go a bit and just allowed myself to enjoy life: which for me very much includes socialising and eating and drinking. It’s been great, but I know I am reaping the consequences! I’d planned to really get back into Fast 800 as from last Monday but then various events came up this week that got in the way. So I ended up having a meal out for my partner’s birthday celebration, a curry night with friends, a private house gig with (lots of) food provided, and today a family pub lunch. I do feel I’m always making excuses, but also really want to enjoy this new season of living life more spontaneously.

But but but. I’m now feeling flabby and grumpy, so am going to do my best to relaunch my Christmas Countdown for 8 weeks starting tomorrow. Back on BSD and no alcohol. 8 weeks should take me to the week of 9th December. Until recently I’d been maintaining at around 138/139lb but reckon I’m at least 4lb above that now. I will try not to weigh myself until the end of October. I had been hoping to get back to 138/139lb by then but think that may now be too much to expect. But – being optimistic – it is still 11 days away so here’s hoping!

Good luck to all of you on this thread. Whatever your goals are – and however successful or otherwise you have been so far this month – we still have 33% of October to go so let’s be optimistic and see how far we can get in the time we have remaining X

It seems like a lot of us have lost the optimism we started with in October. I am keeping away from the scales at the moment (my clothes are the best indicator of my weight at the moment – TIGHT) but as per my post earlier in the week am starting a strict daily regime. Today I am fasting. I ate last night at 8 pm and will next be eating at lunchtime tomorrow. I reckon it will be an approximately 40 hour fast. Today it is black coffee, red bush tea and water only for me. Actually I am looking forward to this experiment to see if the excess starts moving. I have just done a 20 minute fat burning walk at home and I have to say that if this regime fails to kick start some loss then I am all out of ideas! Maybe I am expecting too much. My original goal was 133 and I did achieve that but couldn’t maintain it. I seemed to settle at 138 for a long time and then gradually I have crept up and up and up. My current target is to get to under 140 before Christmas, I’m guessing I am currently around 150 and am very unhappy about letting things get out of control and do not seem to be able to gain back that control.

I am sorry to see that the thread has gone a little quiet and I guess that like me, some of you are not happy with the way things are working out. I can only assume that our bodies are used to low calorie and low carb. I am 58 years old and don’t have energy or health for exercise so it’s down to what goes in my mouth.

Lots of people have had long term success with BSD maintenance and I am in awe of how they do it. I think it is hard to keep strong when it’s an uphill struggle. When I started BSD in 2017 I did lose weight slowly but the challenge I currently face is getting the scales to budge at all. It’s one off, one on, two off, two on. I really hope that this week I can kickstart my body into a response. It feels like I hardly eat compared to my colleagues, that can’t be right.

It would be lovely to hear how everyone is doing… please don’t give up! . #staystrong. #keepplodding

Hi you two, if you type plateau in the Search box you will find this is a very common experience. Different reasons, your body hanging on to what it has got for fear of no food – this is not starvation mode, just a temporary re-adjustment. This is not the time to give up or eat more to kick start your loss – it doesn’t work. What does work is to keep strictly on the plan and it will start to move again in a few days or a week. I have just been through a lost 3lbs in one week, gained one the next, lost one then gained 2. I was nearly back to my start weight and suddenly I have lost 3lbs in 3 days. It does work so dont panic.

The weekly thread has gone really quiet.I hope everyone is ok. Looks like I have unwittingly moved into maintenance mode after very very slow progress lately but still staying focused on feeling healthier and more energetic.
I am off to Spain tomorrow hoping to dodge any Catalan protests.
I won’t be around for the school holidays but if anyone wants to pick up ths weekly thread, please do . Sunny B ? Birdy ?? Merry ?
I will be checking in as November begins, crikey !!!
Love to everyone and just keep going xx

I haven’t felt much like posting. I’m finding that I hit the goal number of the scales that I thought I was aiming for, but discovered that I probably need to keep going a bit longer, maybe another two kilos.

Skipping breakfast and waiting until lunch really works for me now. Today I wasn’t even really hungry until about 1:30. Sunday is a busy day with church for my family. I had an extended lunch, then a break until dinner at 5:30. I’ve been trying to reduce my eating window since July, so I thought that might help others to know. Your body does adjust! It takes time though. I started with the 12 hour window, and gradually, gradually I’m starting to see that one day I might try an OMAD day alternated with a feast day, to mix it up, so my body doesn’t get too used to 16:8.

I’ve also discovered the importance of fat in the diet for satiety. Early on I wasn’t having enough fat and I was hungry a lot. Now I’m having giant chunks of cheese for afternoon tea when my eating window is smaller.

* my real goal is particular clothes. I thought they’d fit when I got to the goal number on the scales, but my tummy is still sticking out too much!

Busy bee
🙂

Thank you for enlightening me although I doubt the amount of excise I do would result in ‘Charlie’s Horse’!
X B

I’m in the same boat Mincemeat.First week great weight loss then eased off this week. I feel amazing though. So much more energy than I had before. My brother has done the 8 week BSD and he lost 4 inches off his waist and didn’t worry about the weight loss. I’ll take that result any day!

1. After five hours of shopping (and several hours last weekend) we finally found my daughter a dress for her Year 10 Formal! It’s lovely. Now we just have to find shoes.
2. I finished a major work project yesterday that has taken a lot of my time for two months. Big sense of accomplishment.
3. I found a lovely baby shower present, towel and little face washers with a cuddly unicorn motif.

Haha busy bee,

An American vernacular! I am in California.

Usually you get a “Charlie horse” in your legs!❤️
What are they called overseas? They are very intense muscle cramps which seize up for 10 to 15 mins. and are very painful.

And also the hardest thing to remove in Operation… !

remember the pain in my back?

Turns out i have cracked a vertebrae and trapped a bunch of nerves leading to my leg!!

So lots of pain, can’t walk/ drive/ get upstairs properly and lots tabs from the DR

so not been doing much apart from the occasional hobble to the kitchen

not weighed myself but will report that soon

Did make it out on a visit to our favourite horse chestnut tree. Its just the right time of year and in the grounds of a country house hotel so had nice cup of coffee after my short and VERY painful work !!

54

Hi Merry – I’m still around, following along. Just haven’t felt much like posting xx

Thank you sunshine-girl

A charley horse is a muscle cramp.

go to BBC good food and type in pheasant recipes.

I also perfer coconut water. Good for health.

Ha ha
Well end of week 2 feeling thinner, looking thinner around the neck and boobies 😊 but no more weight lost. That’s ok as long as it doesn’t stick there. Anyone else had this problem?

I can’t imagine what “Charlie Horses” are though will have a try at the exercises!!
Have a good weekend Keto ladies.
X B

Melbelle,

I wish I could do stomach exercises but after having a huge operation, the surgeon had to cut thru my abdominal muscles so when I try any stomach exercises I end up with painful “Charlie horses”. But thanks for the offer.

Yippeeeee melbelle! Great job ❤️

Thanks Sunshine-girl. I was looking for interesting & tasty recipes which will
need some fat as game birds have so little on their own. I can pluck but will skin which is much quicker and easier and makes little mess which there is with plucking.
But thanis fr taking the trouble to reply. Cheers

Hi all. Just wanted to say hi to Kafin13 if you are still about. I miss your posts! I hope all is well with you in California.
MM

@melbelle that’s a very popular exercise in France for pelvic floor post pregnancy/birth. I love it and do it regularly but I can’t do it for 10 min straight. I’ll try and increase my times
Thanks for the inspo!

Hello everyone, Am still plodding two steps forward and three steps backwards. Am going to make a MASSIVE effort to eat less because I am very unhappy at my current weight and finding it very difficult to lose. I am of course low carb, but next week I am going to try a 36 hour fast day, a one meal a day, day, a 16:8 day, a three meal day, an 800 day, an egg day! and see if I can lose a few pounds by mixing things up and confusing my body. So this is my plan:

Sunday – fasting from Saturday evening 36 hours
Monday- 800 calories
Tuesday – 16:8
Wednesday Egg day
Thursday – one meal a day
Friday – 16:8
Saturday- three meals
Sunday – weigh day! Let’s see if I’ve lost anything
I am looking forward to getting my body back into weight loss mode. My back is getting better and I am going to start doing the walking at home videos I enjoy doing on YouTube to get me into fat burning. Due to the problem with my big toes and my backache I’ve not been doing any exercise and that is making it more and more difficult to shed the excess. I am very unhappy at my current weight and my clothes are uncomfortable and I won’t buy bigger sizes but I feel optimistic that with some mindfulness I can get myself back on track. This year hasn’t been great but I am determined to get into a healthy weight before New Year. My long term goal is never to have to say I am going on a diet as a New Year Resolution. I spent the last 30 years saying it!

Good luck everyone- hopefully we can all report some loss, however small by the end of a October. That is my plan.

Well done MelBelle!
You must be very proud and happy to have realised your goal.
I’m following the same regime as you but my loss is not consistent – however I am nearly 73 and have dieted on and off since I was sixteen so my metabolism is well and truly knackered!
Keep Keto-ing on
X B

Hooray for the ketogenic diet, 16:8 intermittent fasting, recipes on Diet Doctor, and last but not least encouragement from everyone here. Thank you thank you thank you. I wish I could make those letters flash in rainbow colours. I have *just today* reached my goal weight. This is the weight that I was at when I started uni, over 20 years ago.

@ilovecatsndogs – I know exactly that feeling about the tummy.

I was sure when I got to my goal, my tummy would be much closer to before having four children. I didn’t expect it to be exactly the same, but I gradually realised there was more to it than just the fat.

This week I started doing the exercise I found on this page about post pregnancy tummy, and I have already seen an improvement, even though my youngest is 9. Maybe you’d like to try it with me?

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/07/541204499/flattening-the-mummy-tummy-with-1-exercise-10-minutes-a-day

I sometimes have “hungry days” that don’t seem to be related to anything in particular. Personally, I just eat more on those days but I don’t necessarily recommend that. Depends how strict you want to be. Either way, the unusual hunger should be temporary.

Could it be an option to look into the MacDonald business model further and see how bad it is for the planet on top of our health? They’re not even quality burgers as their meat is full of hormones.
Just trying to get you to change your mind about them and maybe get repulsed by it 😅
It works for me. I really think of MacDonald as a pile of rubbish not even served on a plate 😛

@lauryloo hello! I haven’t read the other replies yet but I can share my experience.
I went for a week holiday in Bali after 8 weeks on the program. I don’t have any health concerns except too much fat in my body – by that I mean that I don’t have diabetes or insulin resistance.
For that week in Bali, I had beer every day, i had dessert sometimes, i would have eggs and toast in the morning, most of the food was rice based, etc. So yes there were carbs 😅
We were very active all day and I made sure not to over eat nor eat and go all in for the sake of it. So stayed very in tune with my appetite and only eating to satiety. Also didn’t snack whatsoever.
I came back 10 days later with a +3 or 4 kilos on the scale. Hoped on the same scales less than a week later and they had disappeared.
Personally, food is a big part of the travelling experience and I didn’t want to obsess over carbs. I was very happy to have managed to basically maintain over a 2 weeks period ☺️
I then got back to the program and got to goal 6 weeks later. I have lost 18kg all up.
A new thing for me with this WOE is that if I do eat a bit more carbs for a while, I can’t wait to get back to low carbs high fat. So I don’t feel like I’ll unravel. I feel much better on LCHF diet and plan to stay with forever outside of celebrations/holidays.
Good luck!

Hi all!!
I feel like I haven’t checked in in a long while.
My maintenance and body recomposition adventures are quite tumultuous. I have changed everything about what has worked in shaving 40lbs of my body and that wasn’t a great idea.
I started exercising quite intensively 3-4 times a week, I stopped my extended fasting regimen as I wanted to be able to eat on weight lifting days to support muscle build, and I slowly reintroduced non processed carbs and some bread now and then.
I have also stopped weighing myself and using clothes/tapes and mirror as a check.

While plan was good on paper, it didn’t eventuate as there was a little too much partying on the wkd and too much wine. Also I am ravenous on weight lifting days after burning 500+ calories and eating too much those days.
I feel bloated and uncomfortable so I’m back to what I know works and what got me in my zone and happy place 😅 and wine is of the menu until the bloating is gone!
KOKO everyone