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.

I’ve never been one to track ketosis, so I am not sure if it takes ages to get back in or not. As long as you keep the carbs down and don’t overdo the protein levels then I would have thought that ketosis would be unaffected even if calories are increased. Use one of the online calculators to work out approximately how much protein is required to maintain your health and musculature level (I did this ages ago and work on around 55-75g depending on my level of activity per day, I am not sure which calculator I used, but just used a search at the time). Try and have the same amount on 800 days and days off. You do get used to portion sizes so don’t have to weigh forever. If your protein is higher than the amount your body can use it could effectively act as additional carbs which may kick you out of ketosis. If you have set an 800 carb limit you may find you have to increase that to get sufficient vegetables and fruit on a ‘day off’, so I use 40g for 800 days and 60g to 70g for days off. This isn’t exact, rather it is an average, and if a day off does work out at lower than that no problem. Keep eating plenty of those healthy fats. Good luck! As always, your body is the important one so if anything makes it feel that you have tried something that hasn’t worked, just reset and try again.

Dont need advice now, chiropodist says it is athletes foot and has given me the same thing I was using in powder for in cream form as she says it is better.

Try it for yourself and see what happens. A huge part of this new way of eating is figuring out exactly what YOUR body needs.

Thank you. My hesitation is that I figured that the weekend would kick me out of keto sis and it would then be quite a chunk of the next week before I’m back in it again – but it might not be quite as simple as that?

Hi Simon,

From what I understand the BSD encompasses all variants of intermittent fasting, including restricted time eating windows and even pure low carb Mediterranean diet with no counting/weighing. I used all these variants on my first go as I initially had such a huge amount of weight to lose. I used 6:1, 5:2, 4:3, 3:4, 2:5, and 1:6 as well as sticking to one round of 8 weeks at 800 calories at various times (and occasionally more stringent fasts for health rather than weight loss) and tried to stick as closely to BSD principles as I could on days off. I am currently doing a hundred days challenge on this forum which is currently 2:5 800/1600 (ending Christmas Eve so there will be some days off). If my weight loss stops or slows so I look like I could miss my target I may throw in a full 800 calorie couple of weeks after my 8 weeks at 2:5, or drop the 2 days to 1400 calories. It may not quite be the fast 800 but it is certainly working so far. I find the flexibility of this WOE to be its strong point so do whatever your body tells you it needs.

Hi Simon,
Either will work, there is no formula to follow. You can evaluate for yourself as you go forward — try out both ways and see what works best for you and your eating/exercise schedule. You may find, as did I, that you have learned how to eat for your body type and therefore you don’t need to do 5:2 — just keep an eye on things and cut back as necessary if you start to gain.
I have become far less concerned about calories now, mostly focusing on restricting carbs and sugars. When I control carbs/sugars, the calories seem to take care of themselves and allows me to eat enough protein and other good food to meet my energy needs.
Check out Dr. Benjamin Bikman (just Google his name) for videos on this — he talks a lot about this. His videos have been extremely helpful for me.

Hi everyone,

I’ve never been able to glean an answer to this one. Once the initial Fast800 is over and one switches to the 5:2, I’m curious to know what might be the value of at some point making it 2:5 instead, so you do the 800 all week and have the weekends off (sensibly). Has anyone tried this? It sounds in theory to be hugely beneficial but I just wondered if there’s tricky science in there somewhere?

Hi all, confession time. My slackness on the diet dipped over into Saturday night when we shared a bottle of wine. Yes my weight has gone up but I am not focussing on that, just getting it back down.

Bought a plant based recipe book which is a 3 week guide to eating vegetarian. Will see how that goes but there is a lot of carbs in some recipes like lentil cottage pie – lentils and potatoes – so that will just be like a bolognaise dish without the potatoes. Might allow some quinoa or couscous for the fibre but going to have to look carefully for recipes that suit my low carb life.

Having a bout of nice weather, was 26 yesterday and 25 today. Got out in the garden and cut back the lavendar and my bay tree.

Have a good week.

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

Hi Mistehippos, the diet is the same for men and women. Can I ask why your husband is on the diet with you. Is he diabetic or other illness, is he overweight and wants to lose some. I would suggest if he has no particular medical reason he could have a few more calories. My husband doesn’t follow this diet at all but over the time I have been on it he has completely cut out most white carbs. He might have a slice of toast at breakfast and does allow himself a couple of croissants at the weekend. He doesn’t need to diet as he is 6.1 and probably weighs the same as me and I am 4.11. You have to know yourself what the motivation is.

Question, read the book took notes looked on the webpage too … so 800 calories, reducing carbohydrates – but how does 800 calories work for both men and women, when men usually are 2500 and women 2000? I am doing OK so far on the 800 calories, but husband is worried he won’t manage on so little, so that then got me thinking have I misread something somewhere and should be doing something different as a woman? Thanks in you can help me.

sorry, typo in my post above, it should be “fiber” not “finer” — but maybe I spelled it wrong for the UK site, “fibre” is probably correct there and spellcheck changed it to “finer”

I have a recommendation —
Google Dr. Pradip Jamnadas and check out his videos on his main page — you can also sign up for his newsletter.
He is Yale trained heart surgeon in Florida who is very interested in your microbiome. I found his comments to be very motivating!
You have 10 times the amount of bacteria in your body than you have human cells in your body and each of those bacteria have their own DNA! He states that we have basically “outsourced” our health and immune system to our microbiome.
When you change your diet for the better (no UPF, more finer etc) your microbiome changes IMMEDIATELY, literally overnight.
He has many videos to select from but I enjoyed “Eating for Two, Nourishing Your Microbiome”.
The more information you have, the more you will be motivated to stay healthy!

Hi all, I am posting this as a separate issue to my usual monthly thread. For a couple of weeks I have been suffering from a feeling in one foot at the outer side as if I am wearing socks. Not painful but annoying. Then I started with what I thought was athletes foot between the toes on both feet. I always have something to treat this so used it and it seemed to clear up. However, I was left with a painful itching under my foot, no skin redness or broken skin, just a permanent feeling of itching and burning, especially at night. Doing some research I came across peripheral neuropathic foot disorder which is very common in diabetics. I keep my BG at a good low level so didn’t think I would have problems yet.

Has anyone else had this problem – I am tempted to see my doctor but I have an appointment with the chiropodist on Tuesday so will discuss with her.

Hi Beebusy35, I can only agree with what mixnmatch has said. However, to add that even though you are slim you might still be carrying visceral fat around the organs. This is the most damaging of fats and especially with pre-diabetes. I had only lost a few pounds in the beginning but lost 5 inches from my stomach which is a sign that visceral fat was reducing. Hope that helps, you can be sure getting rid of the carbs will do wonders for your diagnosis. When are you being re-tested.

Hi everyone, weight is still going down and nearly lost the 1lb gain. BG is back down in the 70s after one night of increasing insulin so will bring it back down to 18 units tonight and hopefully back to 16 by Monday night.

Welcome to BunterCS, we are all here to support each other. You will find those of us not on maintenace are still doing 800. I have been on the diet for 8 years and it has greating improved my diabetes, not yet off insulin but gone from BG of around 200 with 44 units now down to BG in the 70’s on around 16 units, so much better although I would love to be able to stop completely, have to be grateful for what I have achieved. Especially as doctor keeps reminding me that it usually gets worse with age and the passing years. I also have lost 2 stone with 2 stone to go but not in such a hurry as long as my BG is good, that is my main concern. Although I am on a mission to lose another stone by February.

As for being hungry, I think we all were in the beginning but your body soon adjusts. As you have a low BMI weight loss will not be your main goal so you can help the hunger by increasing fat intake – not lard but good fats like avocados, full fat yoghurts, nuts and seeds. I don’t think the Barretts Oesophagus will be harmed with these types of fats and it seems you know what your triggers are. As you don’t eat in the evening you can take advantage of time restricted eating or short term fasting. This gives your body more hours to clear out the glucose and start using up the fats. Shout out if you need help or support.

Another week coming up and I have another night out on Wednesday, life is for living. No point in getting slim and never going anywhere, besides we do have periods when there is nothing on the calendar so going to just enjoy the now.

Thank you Mistehippos & I have lost two stone in weight & mostly following this low carb way of eating since Michael Mosleys 5:2 diet was televised & his book written because of my husband who is a Type 2 diabetic and rather more successful at losing and maintaining his weight loss than me. We continue because we know this is the only healthy way to eat with no very processed food, low carb meals prepared from scratch and; lots of fresh veg and protein. I am not diabetic but still have two more stone to lose since the Tamoxifen I had to take twenty years ago caused me to pile on weight and feel then as though I was hugely pregnant. I have since then in total lost four & a half stone but it is a slow process for me but I battle on and importantly my husband stays well 😀
Well done Pootle also surviving the fast food experience you really wouldn’t think that steaming or boiling a variety of vegetables is beyond the capability of a chef? But unfortunately I suppose the general population is not protesting the lack of vegetables in restaurants 🙁
Oh well keep on going everyone it’s worth the effort even though my knees don’t like me standing for long chopping veg😂 lunch today is chicken kiev with ratatouille, green beans and a small baked potato that we very occasionally eat plus stewed apples and cinnamon for pud. Home made spicy butternut and almond soup for supper!
Margaret xx

That’s a very positive and upbeat post Sunshine Girl, considering we are but a few weeks away from dark evenings, doom and gloom etc…. Let’s not go there!!!
I would really appreciate a community of fellow 800 deters… Its always good to compare notes and discuss the myriad of subjects this diet is associated with.
I started the diet last week. I have high blds, low BMI and visceral fat. The rub with me is that I also have Barrett’s Oesophagus so no eating in the evenings. So it’s a bit of a double whammy for me…
And I have been monstrously hungry.
Would love to hear anyone’s experiences or thoughts on this. 😊

Good Morning all,

I am delighted to say I am back on track with calorie and carb counting, and it seems that a few days away hasn’t actually done any harm. (I had eaten between 648 and 910 calories with carbs of 38g – 59g for 4 months, so yesterday’s 706 and 52g is back within range) I am static in weight.. stuck on 11st 4lb, but I am not worrying about that. (Considering I weighed in at 15st 7lb on 12th June, I am so pleased that I have managed to lose so much!) I wasn’t happy at being unable to accurately count the carbs and calories in the food I ate, and came home ‘hungry’. BUT I am optimistic that my goal of 10st 7lb is within reach, and I am hoping that I will certainly have achieved this before Christmas! (and maybe a bit more, so I have some leeway!) My major worry is my diabetic numbers…having achieved the ‘claw back’ into pre-diabetic from newly diagnosed diabetic, I want/need to keep it that way.
Like you Margaret, the available food was ‘disappointing’. Other than breakfast…a yoghurt followed by bacon, mushroom and egg…there was very little on offer that suited the BSD. My major disappointment was “chicken and chips with salad”….I thought I would eat the salad and chicken and a couple of chips..When it came, it was fried goujons of chicken in breadcrumb, with the salad heavily covered in a very strong mustard dressing! Yuck…definitely UPF!!! I consider myself very fortunate that for most of my life, the meals I have eaten have been prepared from scratch. I love cooking!!

I have put on another thread…I had 2 very interesting conversations whilst away.
1: Person was concerned about diabetes…pre-diabetic and trying to lose weight. Extremely interested in the BSD…looked up website whilst talking and ordered the book. We spoke at length on how I have achieved the weight loss and back to pre-diabetic. Yay, I really hope it works for them! 😀
2: Person has been type 2 diabetic for a few years..not prepared to change eating habits in any way….has already lost a toe and sight becoming a problem. Listened to my experience with the BSD then said, not for them….they like their white bread and jam! 🤷‍♀️
Back to preparing lunch…Low carb hotpot from the BSD cookbook! (Missing out the pepper!!)
Keeping on!

Hello Wendy, sorry to hear about your neighbour and your bad knee – my knee and back feel your pain, after a fall downstairs. You survived the food at a Premier Inn neighbouring restaurant – WOW! I agree the food is awful – no matter where you stay. But Yorkshire is beautiful – I have many family living there – and love the countryside.
Nearly 3 lbs lost, fantastic – I must be mirroring you as I write I am shivering from a cold – but hope it is a reaction to the flu jab this week.
I am nearly at the end of two weeks in – how long have you been following the programme?
Good luck with the week ahead

Good work JeannieP! You are already experiencing the incredible benefits of eating well! As Sunshinegirl says, just keep going!
And, on an interesting note, here in the US we have had a Kennedy running for President this election cycle — RFK’s son, Bobby Kennedy. He dropped out of the race a couple of months ago and endorsed Trump — Kennedy’s focus is very much on health (he runs the Children’s Health Defense) and he has spent a lot of hours recently giving interviews about all things health, specifically how to eat right and the damage being done to Americans by poor diets high in UPFs and simple carbs and GMOs and pesticides.
It is amazing to see it all become mainstream conversation — the Trump MAGA movement (Make America Great Again) has morphed into MAHA (Make America Healthy Again). I hope that whoever wins the election, we keep the focus on health — it is a welcome change!

Hi all, back from my night out and not feeling guilty at all. I changed my mind about my starter and had a tarte fine a la tomate – tomato tart. The pastry was paper thin hence the ‘fine’ and I scraped off the tomatoes and sauce and hubby ate the pastry. The next course was lamb confit wrapped in the thinnest of filo pastry on a bed of creamed mushrooms. I only ate half of that too. My appetite is so small now I find myself getting full every quickly. I did have room for the dessert which I chose chocolate mousse because it was a very dark chocolate. Gained 1 lb which will soon go but my BG was up from a normal 70 to 140 – now that serves me right.

Glad you are enjoying the diet JennieP, you are in the honeymoon phase and very enthusiastic and motivated. Keep it up. You asked what else there was about a whoosh. Unfortunately, it usually starts with a couple of weeks of no loss, just when you are getting fed up and thinking of giving up along it comes, whoosh. That is why we just have to trust in the process and keep on keeping on…. as I always say.

One thing I noticed was I couldn’t drink very much and had a bit of a hangover this morning. I used to be able to drink a lot and bounce out of bed the next day, friends said I was annoying when they were all nursing bad heads. Maybe I am not used to drinking any more or maybe I am just getting old. I’ll be that little old lady at the Christmas dinner table nursing one glass of wine all night 🙂

Have a good weekend and keep on keeping on….

Californiagirl, that’s a really interesting bit of info. I have tried to slow down and chew more, putting my knife and fork down between bites, but I don’t think I could get to 60 chews! I can see how it would give the body time to respond to having been fed, though. Also great to know to avoid seed oils. Thanks!

Sunshine-girl, thanks for keeping an eye out for us newbies. You talked about a whoosh– are there any other signs of whooshing other than the weight just suddenly disappearing from the scales?

Well, I am now on day 15, which means I have crossed the two-week mark. I’m pleased because I haven’t deviated, even when I was at a party and there were all sorts of very yummy things to eat. I had planned ahead for it with a bacon salad with mayonnaise and happily, because I haven’t been hungry, it wasn’t so difficult to tell myself to eat the salad.
I’m finding that the stricter I am with myself, the easier it is. I’m (unfortunately) not the sort who can have one yummy thing and then resist eating a whole packet so I have completely avoided sugars, chocolates, fizzy drinks, breads and potatoes. It has been surprisingly ok– not having the excuse of hunger has helped.

I have sort of accidentally been just having a cup of tea for breakfast and then eating most of my calories at lunch. My blood sugars have been nicely controlled these last two weeks since I started (in the 5’s) so I am going to stop torturing my poor fingertips now I see that this way of eating is helping there. I will test again in a few weeks now, I think, or if something comes up I can’t avoid eating.

I haven’t weighed myself, I will do that next month though. Not stepping on the scale has helped me look for other signs I’m getting more comfortable in my skin. So far:

I can bend over (and straighten!) without grunting.
I found myself running up the stairs the other day, which I haven’t done for a while.
The waistband of some of my clothes no longer flip over under the strain.
…and perhaps best of all, my mood is so much lighter. That’s been the best sign so far, the one that will really help me keep going. I don’t say I have been depressed, but I have been very low and stressed for the last year. The causes of stress haven’t gone but I really do feel so much happier, even when dealing with it. I feel like me again, which I haven’t felt for a while.

So today I am having an extremely low carb day– a yummy one though, with chicken wings. Next week will be a challenge as my Mum wants to go to a restaurant for her birthday. I have already scouted the menu and think I can manage to stay in calories with an omelette if I am careful the rest of the day.

Hoping that I can stay on track as week three approaches. The longer I do this, the less likely I will abandon it because I hate wasting effort/ time.

Have a fab week, everyone!

Well done S-G you are reaping the reward of perseverance 👏👏
I am pleased that I have rebalanced from last weekends family gathering with the awful food on offer at the restaurant next door to the Premier Inn where we were staying. I have lost 2.75lbs despite being more sedentary because of my rather disorienting knee diagnosis that made me feel more self protective 🤔.
My husband & I are now recovering from colds & I hope this won’t prevent us from having our flu jabs today!!. Our own mortality felt rather close to home yesterday when an elderly neighbour was taken by ambulance to our local hospice where he will receive excellent end of life care. It showed me how important it is as especially being regarded as elderly now to keep as well as one can & eat well.
Margaret xx

I’ve never been in your situation, but I imagine it is probably as simple as restricting your intake of carbs while increasing your calories through healthy fats. Be wary of too much protein as more than the body can use can add to fat storage. Get a good app and log your intake as full fat yoghurt, cream, butter, olive oil are not the enemy, and eat lots of olives, nuts, seeds and avocados etc. Coconut oil is said to be very beneficial as well. If you could give us some idea of your current typical diet we could try for more informed suggestions. Good luck!

I’ve been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and am looking for a way of reversing it however I am already skinny and worried about loosing weight. Anyone in the same boat who can suggest the best way forward? I don’t eat meat and rarely eat dairy. Many thanks for any advise you can give me; I’ve ordered the book.