Thanks everyone, I’m going to try the chia but at the weekend. When I don’t have to rush off anywhere…..just in case.
I’m feeling pretty down, I lost the holiday weight quickly apart from a pound but since then I haven’t lost anything. I’m getting annoyed eveytime I step on the scales it says the same thing. So nearly 2 weeks of being same weight. What is going on?? I’ve been so good. Is it because I list the holiday weight quickly and now my body is adjusting again….I’m starting to worry as I know what I’m like if I continue not to lose weight . All this hard work and nothing budging.
Is it common to plateau occasionally?
Sorry for whinging…..I just hate it when this happens! Xx

Good work Big O! And glad to see you are still here posting.
I don’t weigh either — it just messes with my brain. I go by energy levels and how my clothes fit.

Sunny I hadn’t realised it was so long! But, you are now on the last lap which is wonderful.

S-g completely agree ‘life is more than dieting’. Well done grandson! Hornets gone. Sounds like another positive!

🫒🥬🌶️ So good to get back to ‘healthy’ eating, delicious. Stir fry vegetables tonight with roast chicken from last night so an easy meal.

🍳🥯🥐 Wonderful not to ‘have to ‘ eat breakfast everyday. When you’re away and breakfast is included you eat ‘because it’s there’. No longer a temptation. I eat when I’m hungry in the morning.

💉🩺💉 Eye appointment tomorrow to monitor the effects of some medication. I’ve waited months and months for this appointment. Hoping my cataracts are ‘ready’ for surgery too. I’ve found my sight has deteriorated quite a lot in the last six months.

Hope there are some positives out there!

S-g I see exactly where you’re coming from. Pulses are so high in carbs. I tend to use them to bulk out meat. I make a bolognese with 500g minced grass fed steak and use lots of vegetables and add a pouch (200g) of lentils at the end. I usually get 8-10 portions out of that which means at best 50g of steak plus and 20g of lentils. Beluga lentils seem to be the least carby. Cooking that way means I’m cutting down on meat without adding too many carbs. I also add pre cooked lentils, pouch or tin, to meat balls, meatloaf and cottage pie. I occasionally add butter beans or chickpeas to a soup to thicken it if it’s too ‘watery’ but that’s not very often.
As you say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

Glad you hornets are sorted out. Fingers crossed they have been totally eliminated.

Julia I think we all know of people who are quite happy to carry on with their ‘heads in the sand’ because it’s so much easier than actually changing your lifestyle where possible.

That why I wonder about the new ‘fat jabs’. What will the long term results be? How many side effects will wreck some aspects of health? How healthy is it to continue eating what you have always eaten but less of it if it’s junk? Why invade your body with unknown/unnecessary ‘drugs’? Too many unanswered questions for me!

In fact I was reading an article about Botox and fillers a few days ago. Young women in the 30’s and 40’s are needing full face lifts because of over use of fillers since their teens! The fillers don’t automatically dissolve as was ‘promised’ and they are left with sagging skin and odd shaped lips, cheeks etc.

As you may have guessed I only used medication when absolutely necessary!

Hi – I haven’t been on here for ages but thought I’d post this for the optimistic October. Particularly as SG helped me out when I was feeling a bit low a while back.
I started the BSD after an HbA1c result of 46 back in April. I haven’t been weighing so I’ve no idea how much weight I’ve lost but I’m down 3 trouser sizes! I’ve had my ups and downs – particularly when my finger prick levels had gone through the roof after a holiday – but back in September my latest HbA1c came back at 34 which blew me away. I’m still going and loving the fact that I’m not weighing so I don’t get disheartened if I have a day or 2 off plan, I just get back on it knowing in the long term it won’t have wrecked anything.

Hi Verano,
Good to hear that you were already watching seeds oils! I post in case readers haven’t yet heard of what I have come across — I know that the “regulars” here are already aware of most of the research out there.
I know what you mean when you say we can only measure ourselves against our own age group — I am actually horrified by how many of my close friends and acquaintences (sp??) are falling by the wayside and giving up exercise.
And Sunshinegirl, your hornet story is scary!! It sounds like it was big! Those things are bad news so I am very glad you were able to get rid of the nest.

Hi all, weight is going back down. Verano, I am not so worried about getting enough protien as I have eggs most days and not cut out fish or dairy so yoghurts are allowed. It is more that I am eating TOO MANy beans, lentils, chickpeas, butternut squash etc for it to be compatible with a low carb diet. For example, Monday I had boiled eggs for breakfast, tuna salad at lunch and I followed a recipe for a traybake which was butternut squash and chickpea based in the evening, thats carbs on carbs. I am sure there are lots of other things I could make but I just dont have the knowledge and tried a book on the basics and, again, too many beans. Also I cannot do with messing with things like tofu or tempah and we cant get those easily or jackfruit or whatever else I would have to make. Beans or lentils once a week is about as much as I can tolerate before BG goes up. I think I will just go back to my normal diet because it works in terms of the number of carbs and also for weight loss and I can have a couple of veggie meals each week. Lesson learnt, if it works don’t change it.

Man in a white suit and mask came and killed the hornets. He took ages vacuuming the shed inside and out. Then he brought out what looked like about 3 paper carrier bags glued together and that was the nest. I was almost a cubed metre in size. We are not allowed in the shed for 3 days and have to report any further sightings.

Have a good rest of the week.

Sunshine-girl it must be so difficult trying to eat the right amount of protein when you are excluding meat. Your plan sounds like a good one. I had just one thought. If you are eating three meals a day maybe you could add more protein rich dairy and/or eggs to the first two meals of the day. Then you could cut down on your main meal. That might allow you to have the lentils etc without being too carby. If you are a ‘two meal a day’ gal maybe you should add a third?

Julia sounds good!

I love salmon and sardines, in fact any fish, eggs and cheese too. Walnuts are my go to snack and I eat red meat a few times a week.

For me I do my very best to avoid ‘additives that aren’t in my cupboard’! I think I do pretty well.

I guess you can only measure your own health against your contemporaries. I’m coming up to my 77th birthday and I feel that my mental age is much younger. I eat really well avoiding additives wherever possible, I take supplements, I feel generally bright and ‘alive’ despite my mobility issues.

I think the best thing we can do for our bodies is ‘feed’ them the best real food we can.

Ok, review of the Dr. Bikman seed oil podcast:
First, just in case you are not sure of what a seed oil is, it is a vegetable fat that comes from vegetable seeds — canola, rapeseed, corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, vegetable oil etc. It is a highly processed food and is usually heated, deodorised and refined in the factory and definitely is categorised as a UPF, or “ultra processed food”. If you look at a label of packaged food, it will almost certainly contain one of these fats.
There are of course, some seed oils that are expeller pressed but they are still refined and deodorised.
So, seed oils are bad for us because they become so quickly oxidised. I won’t bore you with his biochemical explanation of how that happens, but the take-away is that seed oils oxidise (they attach an oxygen molecule) and they become inflammatory bad actors in your arteries. This is how plaque forms in your arteries (and ultimately leads to heart attacks and stroke).
When the oxidised seed oil gets into the artery, it creates inflammation. The inflammation attracts the body’s own defence mechanism and your body sends cells to attack that inflammation. The cells that arrive “eat up” the oxidised fats and they get fluffy, or “foamy” because they are full of those seed fats.Then they are called “foam cells”.
Unfortunately these foam cells congregate and collect at the site of the inflammation in the artery. They call other cells and the foamy plaque that builds up is exactly what we do not want in our arteries.
This is the source of dangerous plaque in the artery.
So what CAN we eat? Saturated fats! They are actually GOOD for you. That is butter, olive oil, avocado oil and fats from animals, such as eggs, cheese, red meats and other meats. And especially good for you are omega-3 fats (think salmon, mackerel, sardines, flaxseed, Shia seeds, walnuts and dark leafy vegetables).
The podcast is easily found if you just Google Dr. Bikman and seed oils.

Hey, I saw that Dr. Benjamin Bikman has a new book out and it is a COOKBOOK! It is titled, “How NOT To Get Sick” (the title is a riff on his first book, “Why We Get Sick”).
I am going to order one today and get some new recipes! As we all know, recipes are useful to keep us on track.
And if you google his podcasts, he has a fairly new one about seed oils and carbs. I haven’t watched it yet but seed oils are on my personal “bad foods” list so I will watch it today.

As my weight is not behaving I cannot claim positives on that but life is more than dieting.

Youngest grandson has been accepted on the Duke of Edinburgh Gold course. As he hasn’t done Bronze or Silver it will be 18 months instead of a year.
Life is calm and peaceful except for a hornets nest in our shed, waiting for that to get sorted.
Dentist appt on Thursday which isn’t exactly a great positive except, from what I hear about the UK, we are very lucky here and can get appts within a week of ringing up.

I will try to come up with some better things for next time but being peaceful is better than chaos.

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.

Hi all, stick with us Tulip, I too am off piste. Changing to veggie diet is not easy and I am sure I am making mistakes so my weight is up but I keep on keeping on… 🙂

I’m not sure if I would rather give up meat or carbs as very low carbs are the most important part of my diet and keeping BG down. Just about every recipe on veggie contains carbs I would rather avoid like rice or pasta, but also carbs I prefer not to introduce too much like lentils, chickpeas and beans. I know some people can get away with low carb and beans but it is my BG that I am more concerned with. My reasons for going veggie are nothing to do with the planet or saving baby lambs but the amount of inflammation it causes in the body. Yet I am advised to eat high protein and that is so hard even though there is protein in yogs and beans etc. I think I will stick to 2 or 3 days a week veggie, 2 fish and 2 meat (or chicken).

So no loss for my weigh in today but I do have all my life to keep trying.

Huge well done on the weight discard on holiday, V!!! Remember managing that in my early 20s, but definitely not at anytime since.
Thanks to an incompetent builder, the villa project has been running since December 2020. With a good portion of the work falling to my very capable OH and him project managing trades too over the last couple of years, we are finally approaching the finish line.

While I’m here, I should post more positives so here goes ….
🌞🥳🌞 Sun still shining and daytime temps holding up around the mid 20s.
👭🙂 looking forward to a ‘girls’ night out with my neighbour this evening.
🥳🎊🎂 eldest son’s birthday today …. 47 acts like 19!

What positives have the rest of you noticed recently? Do tell us about them.

Sunny so good to hear that your villa will be habitable in the very near future. Was that 2 years or more in the making?

So yes I have positives ……

☀️🛳️ Wonderful holiday with lots of sun.

🧺🧺 All my washing done. Ironing is for tomorrow!

🥦🫑 good to get back to green vegetables!

So my fourth positive, which is so unexpected, is that I LOST 1.6lbs on my three week holiday. Who would have thought!!!

Hope there are some more positives out there!

Like Sunshine-girl I don’t soak chia seeds and put them straight into my yoghurt or other foods. Unlike S-G they don’t send me running for the bathroom although the ground linseeds/flaxseeds I also put into my yoghurt do if I have too much in one go! I’m going through a hunger/wanting to eat phase at the moment and like you it started a short while after returning from holiday and getting back into the usual routine! Maybe it’s a “thing” (can’t say I’ve noticed it previously though) to add to the list of things to contend with that will go away soon.

thank you so much as always for the regular thread- I’m a bit off-piste with the healthy eating atm, hope to get my act together soon…love to all, Clare xxx

Lucy, you don’t have to soak chia seeds, just sprinkle them onto whatever food you want like yoghurt and they will swell in your gut. If you put them in something that needs warming up like porridge or soup they will start to swell before you eat them. If you whizz them in a smoothie you will get a really thick drink. I don’t know about other people but they send me running to the loo within an hour or so.

Thanks everyone. Annie…weirdly I have just bought some chia seeds but then I read you have to soak them or something so haven’t got round to sorting it out yet. Also I’m a bit worried about eating full fat yogurt and always buy 0 percent fat. Eat nuts and love a dairlylea triangle as snacks.
I don’t know why it is…but when I got back from hols I went straight back to it,no issues ,was nt too bad but recently the hunger is worse.
Hopefully it will settle. Had a sneaky weigh today and still stuck on same weight! Can’t get this ladt 1lb off from holiday or anything else in fact. Hopefully by Friday!

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!

Good evening!
Well we are home from our travels and have arrived back, to what is now a cold, wet, blustery evening!

Pootle you are doing so really, really well. I too remember the days of ‘lettuce weighing’ but don’t worry they pass and you will still stay in control!

Margaret I know exactly where you are coming from …. you could sit down at a table/worktop to chop! It’s amazing how many ways you can find to avoid standing while you’re cooking, when you have too!

Julia I agree with you absolutely about seed oils but I do buy a rapeseed oil that is cold pressed which I think is ok, apart from the fact that when used to shallow fry it ‘spits’!

S-g glad hubby is ok. Just want to say as I read through this thread I was amazed at how well your BS came down just in one week. Makes me think that the peaks and troughs even out, into the ‘normal’ range, as long as they aren’t very high/low all the time. I also agree that cooking as much as possible from scratch avoids the UPFs and as you say the processed foods, liked canned tomatoes, are just fine.

So to my three weeks away two spent on a cruise. I’ve learned a few things. I don’t like chips. I never order chips but my OH does and I tried one or two …. I don’t like the taste. Tick!

I can have the odd pastry in the morning without having a raging need for carbs for the rest of the day. Tick!

Pasta, I had a few. Some nice, some just stodgy with one being ‘lovely’. I can live without pasta 99% of the time and will only eat a really really good one. Tick!

Bread. Yes I ate a bit, well a lot. BUT, it was mainly ‘artisan’ and really only the last four days in a hotel where choices were limited.

As for the rest I had a fresh orange juice which I don’t think I’ve had in the last 8 years and you know it was lovely! Doubt I’ll have another for maybe another 8 years but I did enjoy it.

Maybe that’s the secret…. have the ODD thing that you enjoy every couple of years or so. Don’t deprive yourself but only have a really carby food as a ‘real treat’ .

So tomorrow I’ll weigh and on Tuesday, my normal, weigh-in day I’ll start again for the last week of the month.

‘

Hi everyone, hubby is okay, his arm is a bit red a sore but he has been treated with cortisone cream and antihistimines. I will have to telephone the hornet people tomorrow morning as they were closed on Friday.

Sorry to hear about your knee surgery Margaret, I thought you were going private.

Not happy with my weight going up and down. Only a couple of points on the kg scale but annoying. I have had 3 days totally vegetarian and yesterday only had 700 cals as there are hardly any in cauliflower and aubergine balti with cauliflower rice. 2 boiled eggs at breakfast and a readymade soup for lunch. I know it will come off eventually and hoping for a loss by Tuesdays weigh in.

Nothing to report

electron beam sterilizer

Sorry to hear about your husband being stung by a hornet S-G that must have been a shock! And I hope he has recovered now? We had black hornets when I lived in the Middle East & I hated going out to hang up the washing never knowing if I was being dive bombed by a hornet or one of the black flying insects.
Well I still feel quite upset about my knee & waiting in limbo until I know how or when my surgery is to be done. I’ve had a sweet tooth attack & have gone off piste with an occasional shortcake biscuit or icecream & not surprisingly I have gained 1.5lbs. I tried most days to at least keep below my BMR calories & of course TRE & I also on BBCiplayer rewatched MMs original tv programme Eat Fast & Be Healthy I think it’s called. It was good to get back to basics & the premise of the original research.
Oh well onwards & hopefully downwards in weight next week.
Margaret xx

Has been a disgracefully long time since I posted here and not because nothing good has been happening. So, thought I should drop in with some positives and bounce the thread back to the top, to remind others to check for positives too.

👫👭👬 have been catching up with lots of friends here in Turkiye, including sone we haven’t seen for 2yrs. Spent a lovely evening with them yesterday.
🌞🌞🌞 sunshine continues to bless us here, it’s a little cooler, but still not jacket weather during the day.
🏠🥳🎊 at long last we know for sure out villa will be habitable by the end of this stay 🤸‍♀️💃

Hooe to see others posting positives again soon … have a great weekend everyone. I’m off to the market now to buy some lively fresh veggies 😋.

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

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!!

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

Hi Lucy with regard to your breakfast I would swap from 100g of fruit and some yoghurt to 10-20g of frozen berries and 100g of 5% or more if you can get it, Greek yoghurt. This suggestion is if the Skyr is 0% or low fat – the fat in Greek yoghurt will keep you fuller for longer. Also I don’t know what fruit you have but frozen berries, especially raspberries, are cheaper than fresh and just as good for you. Fruit has been bred over the years to be sweet and can contain lots of sugars. There used to be a saying on here a while ago that fruit was nature’s sweetie shop. I also add things like 5g chia seeds, 5g linseeds and 5g cocoa just because😊. A babybel and a couple of walnut halves or Brazil nuts makes a good snack, as does a boiled egg (although being honest) not one I ever fancy. I think once you are back on track the urge to snack will die down – that’s what happens to me once I’ve overindulged when on holiday.

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.

Well done JeannieP. The none weight related gains are as important as how much you lose as sometimes it shows in different ways. Good BG and a skirt that fits as great wins.

I am just keeping my head down and sticking to the plan, getting back down and then onward to my new goal.

Yesterday we were going to the dentist for our annual check ups and there were 2 great big corn harvesters stuck on the road so we couldn’t get past. Rang dentist and said we would be late, then 20 minutes later range and told her to cancel. She was okay about it and we can see her next week.

The farmers have a new ploy in annoying the whole country. Last year they turned all the town/village signs upside down. Now they have removed the signs and replaced them with the names of other towns/villages. Like a bunch of schoolboy pranksters.

Hubby has just been stung by a Asiatique Hornet. We have a nest of them in our shed and the association you contact asked him to let them know how big the nest is, what colour, how big the hornets are, approx how many and so on. So he opened the shed door and straight away they swarmed at him. Fortunately just one sting and we have been to the pharmacy for treatment. Just have to keep an eye on him in case he has an allergic shock then it is straight to the hospital. Knew he would find a way out of cooking tea 🙂

I will let you know if anything else exciting happens in our part of the countryside.

Hi Lucy. Losing 3lb is good…it shows you are back on track. I thought I would be static this week, but am still in the 2lb club!
but that is another 2lb towards my goal…and the winter coat! I am being a little less strict on the calories, being slightly over the 800 rather than under, which is what I was doing until recently!
Here’s to next week!

Today is the three-week mark for me. I’m feeling a little less elated than I thought I might because I have a rough cold and have been feeling queasy with it. It was a struggle last night to find anything I actually wanted to eat in order to keep the calories up. UP! Can’t say I’d get to the point where I was worried I couldn’t hit 800. I made myself a vanilla ice cream that is based on a carnivore recipe but I added a little erythritol and some vanilla, it did the job.

Highlights for me this week are that my blood sugar readings have been stable and I can fit into a denim skirt I haven’t been able to wear for ages and I was so pleased. It’s one of these skirts that are so easy to wear with anything and I love it.

My next challenge is that next week we are going away to stay with family for nearly a week. I have checked my hosts won’t be offended if I take my own food and am trying to prepare a list of things I can eat for the six days. So far I am thinking: a fat head pizza (should last me 2 days with salad), a chaffle-based quiche (another 2 days with salad), some chicken breasts and possibly a bag of skinny noodles or something like that.

Todays lunch is a sausage, bacon and poached egg. I’m looking forward to the sausage especially.

Thanks for info. I’m really struggling wirh snacks at the moment.
I didn’t lose the final lb to get back to pre holiday weight. But did lose 3 this week. So hopefully will be gone next week plus a bit more hopefully!

Hi Lucy,

When I really feel I need a snack I drink a glass of sparkling water… it sorts me out more often than not. If I still want something I try a couple of small cubes of chicken.

K.xx

Hi Lucy, as a diabetic I start to get low sugars in the late afternoon and really NEED a snack, not just feeling picky. My go to was always some chicken or slice of ham but as I am trying hard not to eat so much meat I too am finding it difficult to know what to have. I have bought some vegan ‘meat’ made with beans or chickpeas but don’t want to rely on what I class as junk. A good alternative for me is some nuts, olives or hummous with carrot sticks. Maybe if I am really hungry I have a square of cheese.

Had a fun night out at the quiz. The food was amazing although I was worried when the crisps and nibbles came out but then arrived bowls of hummous with carrot and cucumber sticks, baby tomatoes and cornichons. When the proper food came out it was sliced ham, proscusio, 2 cheeses and lots of salad. There was bread but I managed to say no. Hubby and I shared a bottle of rose wine.

Now back on with it and a fortnight to get to grips with things again before our next night out. Live is for living.

Snacks can be awkward, but I tried to match them to what I feel like when the urge came. (I don’t often have them any more, this is mainly from a couple of years ago). If I craved chocolate I had a small measured amount of cocoa nibs usually with a few pine nuts. Dark chocolate is also a possibility if 70% or more, but keep to a small amount. If I craved something salty like crisps or crackers I would have a few nuts, crunchy seeds or a spoon of peanut butter, even occasionally some edible seaweed or pork scratchings. If something creamy, an extra spoon of Greek style yoghurt. I have to watch cheese as snacks though because I love it so much. Just drinking a mouthful of water can sometimes break the urge as well.

If that is a typical day it sounds fine to me, provided you are getting the portion control right. If you start to feel that you are not eating enough, you can go to two slightly larger meals instead of three to increase satiety. Either fast completely for a period to add a restricted time element to the diet for one of them, or replace one with a low calorie drink such as a miso soup mix or spoon of marmite mixed with hot water. I even sometimes go to one meal a day on special occasions.

Struggling a little here, bring really good but don’t know what to snack on and feel I am not eating enough . Weigh day Friday, hoping to have lost some of the 4lb holiday gain.
Do you think this sounds right…
100g fruit and some skyr yogurt…breakfast
Salad for lunch with some left over chicken.
Had some slow cookedlamband veg for dinner.
Had some nuts and a chunk of cheese in between.I don’t know what other snacks to have.
I’m impressed in whole that I have got straight back into it with no slip ups. Not getting rhat 2 stone come back to me!
Pootle….my friend does slimming world and has been doing so for years, much heavier than me, bur she just yo yos all the time and she won’t listen to me, says she can’t be without carbs even though I have lost 2 stone on it so you can’t do a lot about those who won’t give it a go. I struggled initially grasping it all…but I have given it a go….what’s the harm???
X

Hi all, still at 72kgs and going out tonight. Think I might have taken this life is for living a bit too far 🙂 We have another night out on 31st for a Halloween quiz. In fairness we went most of August and all of September without going out, just happen to be having a few events all coming at once. After Halloween we have nothing until Christmas in the UK.

I have just sent back my vegetarian book as I was overwhelmed by the different ingredients like jacami which is from South America, making your own sushi using rice (as no no) and nori seaweed strips. It is even hard to get tofu here in France so I am not fannying around looking for things no-one has heard of. I think the problem was it was vegan and no recipes for eggs or dairy so a very limited choice. I think the interet is a good alternative and I already have recipes I can adjust. Like Thursday I am doing a recipe I found in Slimming World mag, skewers of halloumi, red peppers and mushrooms marinated in soya and lime, served with vegetable pakora (using 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour) on a bed of couscous with mixed veg. I will have to start planning like I did with the BSD to start with but once I have a few recipes I will just change them as I want i.e. kidney beans instead of black beans and so on.

We have also agreed that will will eat meat when hubby cooks on Tuesdays but will change him from Saturday to Friday when we always have fish which I am allowing – even though I don’t really like it much – it is for him. Then I can do veggie on Saturday and we will have whatever we want on Sunday. So more of a flexitarian diet than veggie but a lot less red meat and chicken. Sounds like a plan. Said I would start properly 1st November so just experimenting for now.

Hello & I agree with everything you have all written about the crazy idea of medicating people for weight loss. As usual a government is looking for a news worthy quick fix no doubt supporting the pharmaceutical firms. Education about proper nutrition is what’s needed with medical support & monitoring in place of what the patients are really eating & not the highly processed rubbish food with people thinking they don’t need to change their eating habits. Also the comments on exercising to lose weight is misleading it does help with getting larger muscles group moving to maintain muscle tone but with also eating adequate good quality protein to not lose it. However you can’t lose weight just be exercising but also by reducing carbs & monitoring the number of calories etc but you all know this!
I know it’s hard going eating well with daily food prep to continue eating fresh food with enough fibre, protein, & good fats! but promoting quick diet fixes & being medicated with weight loss drugs that have bad side effects as the answer to quick & sustainable weight loss is dangerously misleading when promoted to people who may have poor nutritional knowledge or an understanding of how fast highly processed foods impacts on our bodies. Nutritional education needs to start in school & I despaired when cookery & home economics classes were cut back & of course medical schools also need to educate more on the importance of good nutrition & the positive effect on health.
I also despair about the impact social media has on people with all the misinformation out there promising quick instant fixes to health problems without any effort needed by an individual to take personal responsibility for their own self harming actions. Thank goodness we have this site supporting self help, good information & common sense!!
Margaret xx

We’ll just finished packing for the last leg of our trip sat down and read all your posts.

I absolutely agree with everything said so far. One of the things that bothers me more than anything is that each week we hear of another ‘wonderful’ reason to use these drugs none of which have anything to do with weight loss. Big pharma at it again!

How will ‘they’ decide what determines ‘obesity’? I also wonder what will happen when the ‘unemployed’ who are no longer ‘obese’ still don’t have jobs. What/who will be blamed then?

I’d love to see the research that shows that ‘obese’ people are unemployed because of their weight. Doubt if such exists!

Whole thing sounds like a way of diverting our attention away from some very serious, nasty shocks in the upcoming budget.

The only people to benefit will be the drug companies. They want us all to be on drugs. It probably started with statins when they said everyone should take them even if they didn’t have cholesterol problems – just to save them from possible future problems.

Im not sure who it is on here, maybe Californiagirl but they will know who it is that says why do we not treat a food problem like diabetes or obesity with food and instead just pump people full of drugs. Probably from a Ben Bikman lecture video.

That is a relief. Brilliant news…not that you have athletes foot…but that it isn’t something more serious!

Hi S-G, I have been listening to all the news bulletins today…. I am horrified at the proposal that unemployed, obese people of working age should be given a drug to get the weight off, so they can get back to work!
We all know that losing weight is extremely difficult…but keeping it off is even more difficult. So are they suggesting that these people should remain on the drug for the rest of their lives? I understand that some people will be overweight because of medical problems, but I do wonder where this push to get everyone on medication for something will end. Side effects can surface much later!

I have also been watching the Numan advert with incredulity. I am lost for words!! 😢

Not optimistic about this plan at all!

I get triggered too.
I have a lovely young niece, age 40, mother of two young daughters — she is and has been a powerful Cross-fit enthusiast — won several awards for weight lifting at Cross-fit competitions — I saw her last Christmas and said to her “you look absolutely perfect, fit, strong, gorgeous”.
Saw her again in July this year, OMG, she was a cadaverous thin bean pole. I was so shocked I literally could not say anything. She was so clearly proud of her weight loss and I was speechless — I almost forgot to give her a hug. I did not comment on her weight loss because I was afraid of what I might say!
If you really need Ozempic, and you have no other solution, then it is probably the choice for you. But you still need to learn how to eat properly because you cannot use Ozempic forever, and some “side-effects” are literally life-threatening so why would you use it unless everything else has failed?
The most important thing, in my opinion, is that you lose so much muscle mass with this drug! We know from all the research that muscle is crucial for health, in fact there is a great study out of Japan that “thick thighs save lives” (muscle on your legs is good for your health).
My niece says that she can no longer do Cross-fit because she has lost so much muscle.
Ultimately you still have to learn to eat the right foods. If Ozempic helps with that by making it easier at first, I suppose it is fine. I wonder though how many will make that jump to proper eating.
And a final thought — what are her daughters learning by watching this?

Just want to mention something I found quite disturbing this morning on the news. The government is suggesting that people cannot work because they are obsese and they want to offer them the fat jab. This will cost the government a few billion and guess who is going to benefit. I also don’t like using medication to solve a none medical problems. I know some people do have things like thyroid disorder or like me, insulin resistence topped up with insulin, but I think most of us here are testement to good healthy eating. Do they want the whole population medicated.

Also an ad on TV for Numan which is a medical organisation – again big pharma – the ad shows a woman of average size saying she deserves to be able to get medication to help her lose weight. It then shows her eating pizza. The medication they prescribe is Orlistat which is the one that makes you poop your pants without realising it has happened – my daughter was on it years ago. Also, if you look at the list of foods you are not allowed to eat you are going to be on a very strict regime so might as well just diet. They include :
High Fat Foods to. Avoid. Meat/
Alternatives. Lean meat, soya, tofu.
Meat. All visible fat on meat. Skin on meat, crackling.
Fish. White fish such. as cod, plaice,
Fish. All oily fish e.g. kippers, pilchards, sardines, tuna.
Eggs. Egg white. 1 boiled or.
Eggs. Fried eggs. Scotch eggs.
Dairy Produce. Skimmed milk. Semi-skimmed milk.

Sorry but I do get triggered by these sorts of things. Opionions welcome.

Still don’t know what my body is up to as I am back down to 72kgs. Started on veggie regime yesterday and had eggs for breakfast, homemade smoothie (avocado, spinach, pineapple, seeds), then did lentil bolognaise. I was going to add some kidney beans for a chilli style but it came out at 90g carbs, without it was 70g. Still high for me but I lost weight and my BG is right back down.

Hubby is cooking tonight and we are having meatballs. All I can say is they are handmade from the deli counter so no rubbish in them, just meat, onions and herbs. To make up I had vegetable soup for lunch made from a bag of scaps in the freezer.

Been to chiropodist today and turns out I just have athletes foot when I was worried about the strange sensations, itchiness, pain and burning. She has given me some more cream.