Speedy, welcome to BSD. I remember you from 5:2 as we were on some of the same threads. 5:2 did not work well for me ….I never acclimated to the sporatic fasting. Oddly, with BSD and a low carb count (I do the 20 gm of carbs as many do on this forum) that this was the magic combo for me…..hunger gone. I had a challenging couple of days but after that it has been suprisingly easy.

I sympathize with your issues with walking. I have started back walking after having given it up years ago and found the easiest thing for me was to first establish the habit, and then worry about adding on distance. I live in a large apt building with a VERY long stretch of hallway and started with just 3 laps (total about 1/3 of a mile) and did that for a week, then added more laps. Now doing 2 miles as my “light” day mixed in with eliptical (same deal with that ….started slow…added on) and Tai Chi. Hoping to continue to add on distance with 5 miles being my target.

I hope that this is THE ONE for you. The BSD has been a revelation for me and the more and deeper I delve into intermittant fasting the more I realize that so many of us that worked and worked and worked at losing weight were only digging ourselves deeper into a hole (creating insulin resistance and messing up our metabolic set point).

As for what to eat….I am sure there are as many strategies as there are people on this forum.

For me, I find two meals a day works best as I am also trying to avoid the muliple meals that seem to lead to insulin resistance. I usually have a couple of mugs of black coffee first thing in the morning and the Meal 1 around 11 am…some days a breakfasty thing like fried eggs on top of avodcado taste with a slice of melted cheese over it, or a veggie fritatta. Then Meal 2 around 5:30 – 6 pm of fish or meat with 2 veg sides or a giant salad. Or soup and salad, with plain Greek yogurt topped with berries and a few nuts.

For me, the 800 calories doesn’t stretch well to 3 meals, but makes 2 decent ones. And skipping breakfast is not a hardship. And I do mix the times up if needed, with say a meal at 9 am and then my second around 3 or 4 pm. I am amazed at how NOT hungry I am after getting over the initial rough 2 or 3 days.

So I am sure you will find what works best for you. This is a way too long winded way of saying that I think you may well find this plan easier once you get your head around the non traditional nature of it. And part of that is realizing that you may not be looking a huge pile of food on your plate for 400 calories but if its cheese and nuts, and good fats etc it is calorically dense and WILL keep you full and satisfied. Soups are your friend. Cauliflower is your friend (cauli rice fills in a lot of gaps….cauli mash a true comfort food).

Best of luck to you and happy to “see” you again.

luvtcook

Hi,
Is this my old pal stingbreaker from a year or so ago?

Well hello,
Where have you been, how are things mate?

Did you ever do the star jumps in two parts?

How about a challenge? Open for everyone.
The year soon will be 2018.

So here it is,
do 2 different things a day. Two different veggies, or two different exercises, read two blogs, massage your toes for two mins , anything with a 2.

Do 0 zero regrets -life is soo short.

Do 1 funny thing a day, laugh, sing off key, yodel, etc or a gratitude journal with one thing you are grateful for each day. Or one good deed. Nothing connected to food or exercise, this one is for your soul or mood.

8 minutes of exercise or give yourself 8 mins of me time each day.
Making 2 0 1 8.

I have been ticking over here, sometimes i have been human and put weight on.
Then i have built it up again and got it together.
No worries, i am good 90% of the time.

I feel i need another year here in my safe zone with friends.

I have found Michael moseleys horizon documentary. I am going to watch it tomorrow and get motivated up , ready for 1st jan.

Also the one called fixing dad. I cried over this. He has two sons with beautiful souls that got together and fixed their dad. I am going to watch it again.
They will do me more good than chitty chitty bang bang or the vikings. (don’t worry these two movies will be replayed at easter).

So i have been up to the following:
I have reduced my calories,
I am fasting
Carbs are no longer welcome here.
I have my tai chi video.
And doing yoga
I am going to build up my flexibility.

I am avoiding the gym for the next three weeks whilst the newbies take over and i cant get on the machinery, equipment or get in the showers.

I am now in the zone. In the mood. In the right frame of mind.
(But i have built this up since before christmas)

Anyone feeling the bs yet?
….. it is on its way……

Love lucia
Xxxx

That’s a lovely reply Allie, thank you.
Do you think the <20 carbs a day was crucial – your loss has been sensational. I can be a bit all or nothing – and I like Brussels sprouts! Surely they cant have many carbs lol? I enjoyed the fasting element of 5:2 and will try to incorporate that a little by not having breakfast just oil pills to get my gall bladder moving (I know they are not veggie)

The biggest problem I have with exercise is my tum (I feel it deserves to be written in capital letters though TUM!) as it hangs and unbalances me a bit. I’m not so worried about having floppy skin (though I know it’s not nice) but I feel I can tuck it into clothes -and it’s a long time since I showed any flesh. I loved walking but can’t do it so comfortably now and about 30 mins is my maximum.
I would love to get back to being able to walk for hours on end as I used to. I wonder if that is still possible? I hope I shall see.

Could you give me an idea of what you might typically eat in a day? Or perhaps I can find that back in an old thread? I’ll have a look. I’m trying to get some menus for the day written down so I don’t have to make decisions just follow what I’ve written.
I’ve been wondering if I could eat fish some days just for the duration? Never succeeded in this before – I’m reminded of a Stephen Fry documentary about mice used in experiments – but I cant find it back now.
Anyway, thank you and Happy New Year!

Hi guys,

I can’t start to explain how happy I felt when I got up this morning to see that someone/ anyone responded to my post and that you were all so encouraging and supportive!

A little background: I’ve turned 40 this year – not sure if that matters or not lol

I live in New Zealand and I don’t think I’ve been tested for insulin resistance. I’ve had ‘full blood tests’, my hormone levels checked to see if I was pre menopausal but that came back normal. I’ve also been tested for thyroid problems and those tests seem ok too. I should look into insulin resistance once the holidays are finished here.

Weight loss is my main focus but I do have arthritis in both my hips with bone spurs from years and years of manual labouring with my work.I find that being over weight has increased my pain in my hips so that’s another reason I need to get back to a healthy weight.

My weight gain is a bit of a mystery as I’m pretty fit and active – swimming over 2km three times a week (masters swimming club) and walking 7-10 km 4 times a week. I used to bike with the kids, but have found that with the extra weight and sore hips I tend to not do that anymore.

Having a family meeting is a good idea, then everyone is on the same page. I’m going to be using the meal planner in the book and some of those meals are for 2 so hubby has said that he is happy to have what I’ll be having (plus extra I’m guessing) so that will help. I’m hoping that once I get confident about what I’m doing the whole house can have the “same” sort of meals. We are in summer holidays here , hubby has 2 weeks off work so hopefully I’ll have an ‘on tap’ support system during that time. From what I’d read and what you have all posted the first couple of weeks are a bit tough.

Thank you guys for the responses and support and I look forward to posting updates as I continue on! 🙂

Esnecca, did you get the hat sorted? 🎩
Wishing you all a fabulous new year!
Kazzee xx

Hello my friends.

That’s a good idea about keeping a dinner party book! Not that I entertain very often. I have got family coming over for lunch tmrw, however, and I’m making a chilli with jacket potato and garlic bread for them, their request. I’m doing cauliflower rice for myself to go with my portion of chilli. I have some positives:

1 – to go on a 5 mile walk every Sunday morning with this over 40 group of people that I joined over a year ago but I was too big to cope with the full 5 miles on the couple of times I met up with them. Time to push myself.

2 – fully commit to giving up bread instead of allowing a crusty roll to creep in every 10-14 days!

3 – embrace the 2nd half of this winter bundled up in big coats and woolies and then emerge like a butterfly from a chrysalis in April! I’ve said that before but needed to write it down again!

4 – enjoy this journey, relish the transformation and make a list of all the items of clothing and accessories I’d like to wear when at target!

Wishing everyone a splendid new year even if, like me, you will be spending the evening at home alone with a couple of glasses of port and some fine stilton and seed crackers AND The Sopranos box set! Happy days!

Kazzee xxx

Hi Speedy, I hope your planning is going well for a full on effort beginning
Jan. 2! I see that you were also a member of the community in 2016, so
maybe not too much of a leap back to this WOE? As I’m sure you already know,
there are other vegetarians here that have been extremely successful, so
there is really nothing to fear, right? I’m very happy to hear that you will be
joining the next challenge also, it’s the secret weapon we all have, regardless
of where we are on this life changing journey! I wish you all the best 🙂 If
you have any questions or concerns, just shout out and one of us will be
along to try and help. I was also morbidly obese, and thought it would take
ages to restore my health. It took 17 years to accumulate 147 lbs, and 140
of them had been banished in 10 months. Today I’m 12lbs below target,
and 22lbs inside of a healthy BMI and have been maintaining my losses
for 8 months. All things are possible with this WOL, even if you’re unable
to exercise at this point. I did no exercise for the first 8 months and
managed a stone loss each month just the same. It is true that I’m not
vegetarian though, so I was able to fully commit to the <20 carb/day
way of doing things. I’ll be watching for you in the new year! May it be
one full of successes for you and all the other newcomers starting 2018
with this decision to change your life 🙂

Happy New Year, everyone!

Allie

Hey Elizzy

Are you UK based? I ask because I believe that the NHS tests may not pick up insulin resistance. I am similar to you, in that I am a mum with 2 kids, just getting fatter and more and more tired. I went to a private clinic thinking I was peri-menopausal and eventually got tested as insulin resistant, which is on the way to Type 2 diabetic but not as bad. The clinic told me the NHS don’t test for it (so I may be wrong, maybe the do) only for actual T2. Don’t know if that’s your experience.

Anyhow, I am 5 months into this way of eating and I am 19kg down, in the middle of my healthy BMI and a size 10. Bags more energy and very thankful I did it.

I have not much modified what we eat, I tend to cook meat and veg with carb on the side, which I don’t have, the kids are very positive about it as I sold it as me needing to do it for my health. They do moan when I forget the carbs, but they have seen the positive results, y know what I am telling them is true. My OH is an Ultra runner and he totally gets the training your body to burn fat not carbs.

Best of best luck, it has it’s ups and downs. You may feel really crappy to start with, but hang on in there, it becomes progressively easier. Xx

Jim – you sound like you are ready- Best wishes. Luvtcook and Marsie- good thoughts and succinctly put.

Sounds good Zippy – My story is much the same. I call my first time around my trial run. Like me, you sound much better prepared and all your additional reading can only help – the Obesity Code is fabulous – you don’t actually need anything else, IMO. He has another book which gives the nitty gritty of different types of fasting – you can pick and choose what suits you – It’s called ‘The Complete Guide to Fasting.’ Believe in yourself – refine and modify – and you end up with a individualised plan that will work for you. Go, go, go!
I agree with you about not making food a focus. I have been shoving food into the background, and keeping it simple! Less I’m in the kitchen , the better! Seems to be working. See you at the other end. Best Wishes.

Any questions, just ask! Loads of people here that will be happy to help. I’m not going to be around much soon.

Thank you KazzUK, That’s great progress. Well done.
How does having lost 31 lbs feel – especially for breathing and walking?
I have done it once but it still feels impossible – I know it’s not.

Wow SunnyB how organised is that! I keep a very rough dinner party/ entertaining book so I can cook everyone my favourites without repeating them too often. They probably don’t remember what they eat here anyway but it makes me feel better!

So it’s onwards to tomorrow and the last day of 2017. Wonder what 2018 will bring? Whatever we’ll have to keep finding the positives in each day. It’s a really good way to start a new day.

Jim, glad you’re with us. I love these conversations/threads/fora, and having been here for a while have observed that we all, or mostly all, are sometimes listeners and other times leaners. It works.

Happy new year everyone, xx

I’m in if that’s ok. Want to get back on track and continue in my quest to lose 18 kg to get to my desired goal. I look forward to working towards this goal with fellow members as we continue on our quest. Best wishes to all for the coming new year and beyond

Thanks V. It makes sense, doesn’t it, that different bodies may react differently? I’ll have a look for it.

Hi there Zippy, welcome on, hope you do well.

I’m struggling with my good intentions this week and we’ve barely even started. Tomorrow will be better.

I’m not sure I’ll have time to post tomorrow (ie Sunday) so I’ll wish you all a happy, healthy and safe 2018. Xx

Some excellent advice there from Mixnmatch, but whether you reach you ultimate goal or not, you can be sure that you will put a good dent in it, if nothing else. Everyone’s body behaves slightly differently, so your loss might be faster or slower than someone else’s but it will get there as long as you persist. Try not to measure your success against that of others, ‘cos that can just get disheartening. Having mini-goals and looking for NSV certainly helps when motivation gets shaky. And of course, there is a wealth of information, advice and support waiting for you on the forum too, which has helped to get many of us to our end goal.

Best of luck to both of you, Scotty and Squidge – keep us posted.

Hey there, Verano – just you and me at the moment I think! I guess lots of folks are focusing on New Year celebrations etc., but I’m still up for posting a few positives.

Like you V, in general I no longer find carb laden foods attractive and if I think I fancy something like chips or roast potatoes, just a couple of modest bites will be enough for me to realise I actually don’t really want to eat them. It’s a huge plus being in that position and I’m grateful for not having cravings and urges to devour heaps of non-BSD foods these days. Anyway, positives for today are:

1) Nice morning out with OH.
2) Bought some lovely looking sirloin steak for dinner this evening, which I’ll have with salad and OH will have with bubble & squeak.
3) Have brought my ‘Gift Book’ up to date, with all the gifts we gave this Christmas, so they aren’t duplicated in 2018 – been keeping it since 2006, so quite a little tome of information now.

Stay positive everyone!

You’re right, eating more carbs than usual certainly makes me feel well under par – if not downright unwell on occasions. Why not join us on the ‘8 week Fast 800 reboot’ thread Cameron & Zippy? We’re all getting back to basics from 2nd January, on a quest to lose any gained Christmas/New Year weight and hopefully shift any residual weight we were still wanting to offload too.

Best wishes for the New Year and 2018.

Did they test your insulin levels? I ask because I too experienced slow and steady weight gain over the course of years and it turned out to be insulin resistance. I went to numerous gps, ob/gyns, gastros, obesity specialists, even endocrinologists, and none of them specifically tested my insulin levels until I demanded it based on research I’d done. They just tested my blood glucose and since it was on the high side of normal (very high side at times), they never delved further into how my body was metabolizing sugar.

For me, the BSD showed almost instant results. It was immediately clear that carbs were the locus of my enormous weight gain. Cutting them drastically to less than 20 grams a day and striking out all wheat, grains, sugar, cereals, root veg, any other higher carb veg and even legumes and pulses was the solution to reclaiming my life.

Your situation is a thorny one, however, because of your family’s needs. Not that they particularly need bread and pasta, mind you, but presumably they will resist change and you have so much to juggle already the last thing you need is arguments over who gets served what. I honestly don’t know what I’d do in your place. Probably tell them all to fend for themselves for a change and leave you alone with your chicken salad. 😉

Actually, I wonder if you could have a family meeting and open the discussion to their input? Is that something they’d respond to? You’re all in together, after all, and I’m sure they want you to be as healthy and happy as you can be. Your athletic kids could even conceivably help you achieve your fitness goals, and maybe you could drum up some kind of pitch-in-on-the-cooking plan as a family?

Hi Elizzy – welcome, there’s no need to be nervous about embarking on the BSD, it takes a bit of getting used to thinking in terms of low carbs and full fat, rather than the low fat and high carb philosophy that has been spouted at us for decades. Not many doctors are yet embracing the science behind the BSD, so kudos to your locum for recommending it to you. You don’t say how old you are, but I personally found that the pounds started ramping up as menopause set in and sadly, it was years before I found the BSD and the solution to the issue.

As sunshine-girl says, try to get your family on board with your quest and ask them to keep foods that you will not now be eating, away from you. Once you get passed the first couple of weeks, you will probably be surprised how quickly you will settle into this new way of eating and hopefully, will not be so tempted by the non-BSD foods in the house. Also, try to keep things simple with a similar approach to meals as sunshine-girl – indeed, this has been my personal approach as well. There is no need to be cooking a multitude of different meals, just make whatever you will be eating and then add in a carb element for the rest of the family.

Be sure to make good use of the forum – use the search box at the top of the page to search for particular topics, but failing that, just shout out if you need advice, support or just need to vent. We’re a friendly bunch and someone will offer some wisdom, encouragement or a pat on the back, as the occasion demands.

Best of luck to you …

You are starting in the right place and are lucky enough to have no real health issue except the weight. Dealing with family is difficult but you will have to ask for their support. It is just me and hubby but I cook us both the same meals except I do a bit of carb for him although more and more he says not to bother with any rice or pasta for him. If your kids have forbidden food like biscuits; chocolates etc around ask them to put them away.

Good luck and keep posting.

Hi all , although I am still away I weighed this morning to find my total gain over the holiday is 1.5 lbs although it is not over yet but I am very pleased with that. It is time I got really serious again and want to do the full 8 weeks before we go on a cruise in April – so I might fit in a further few weeks on top. We head back tonight and will be home tomorrow afternoon so will do official weight on Monday ready to start on Tuesday. As we have been away it is good to have that extra day to go shopping as everything is shut on the 1st. Really looking forward to starting again.

I’m doing it by basing it on the recipes but subbing like crazy, because I have a full fridge and freezer and like to do my own thing. The recipes are great for ideas. When I sub I try not to deviate too much from the macronutrient proportions and I work out the calories to make sure they’re still OK.

Today I had the blueberry and green tea shake, but made with frozen hedgerow blackberries. For lunch we just had ‘Aubergines with lamb and pomegranate’ – except that we had it with roasted cauliflower instead of aubergines, and I served it with broccoli – oh, and I didn’t add the pine nuts or pomegranates – oh, and I used chopped, cooked lamb from the freezer instead of lamb mince. It was yummy, what can I say? The carbs were higher than the original, but when some of the recipes include things like baked beans, I feel I was within range.

Hi. I’d love to join this challenge and get a good headstart before the New Year. Good luck everyone!

I know what you mean Cameron. All the Christmas stodge made me feel so yuck. Glad do get away from all the junk. Happy New Year!

I would love to get on board with an 8 week BSD commencing January 2.

I should add that I have fasted before (for days) and so skipping breakfast and lunch is not a big jump for me.

Hi everyone. I did the Fast 800 last year and had great results but sadly am now back to where I started. But at least I am not heavier! I need to tackle the whole lifestyle including stress and exercise. I think I focussed too much just on food so I didn’t sustain my loss. I have done a bit more reading (including “The Obesity Code”) and have a few more ideas to try this time. One of the biggest things for me is realising that when I eat is as important as what I eat.

So my experiment this week is with fasting by eating just once a day. So almost 800 cals (other calories on milk for tea in morning) in one evening meal. Should be a pretty decent meal!

I have also downloaded a weight loss hypnosis app to listen to before sleeping. At least I hope it’s just hypnotising me to lose weight…

Jim, I agree. A lot of what is going on here is cognitive therapy. You have had a far greater tragedy than most of us on this forum, but there are many who have suffered various levels of sexual abuse, and many who have suffered from being socially excluded due to their weight as well as with the self esteem issues that often go with obesity. It all leaves scars and most here are trying to heal both bodies as well as souls. You are fortunate that you had such a strong wife to see you through until you could move on to the next step. We all need someone to listen and support us. This forum helps fill that need in so many ways. So glad you have joined us. You are among friends. Best of luck to you in 2018.

Bess, as Verano was alluding to, intermittent fasting covers a very broad range of tactics to lose weight, the common element being periods of time without eating. The least restrictive is no calorie counting but limiting eating to 6-8 hours a day, to the most restrictive being full on water fasts for 24, 36, 72 hr etc.

The higher up on the restriction ladder you go, the faster you will lose the weight.

Michael Mosely’s two “versions”, the BSD and the 5:2 are both less rule driven than a lot of previously published diets. The have just the simple premise that you restrict calories during the periods you are eating (800 a day now for both BSD and 5:2), and build in periods of fasting in between those. Longer periods of fasting or more frequent days of partial fasting have additional health benefits. He was “keeping it simple” to allow the maxiumum flexibility for those wanting to try it.

The Mediterranean diet is a food choice list that can be added as another element…..gives you the most nutritional bang for your buck in terms of health as well as healthy vs empty carbs.

So your choice is: how stringent you want will determine how fast your lose. Do you want to lose 1, 2 or 3 lbs a week? If you are restricting carbs to 20-30 for the first time, you are likely to drop 5 lbs the first week but that won’t continue for long without adding calorie restriction as well.

Simply restricting your eating to a window of 8 hours has been shown to result in weight loss, but its only about 5 -10 lbs over the course of a year. But if you combine that with the 800 calorie BSD you now have a more powerful set of tools. Adding low carb (20-30 net carbs a day) adds another powerful tool. And making sure what you are eating is off the Mediterranean diet list of foods ensures that you are eating very healthy foods that will give you the maximum satiety for your 800 calories.

Hope this helps.

Hi Crabbycrams, good to see you. I have just had a good look around about Taurine and it looks a little too good to be true! However, as Jovis had two stents fitted a couple of years ago, we are going to try it. It can’t hurt. Apparently it is good for the heart and cholesterol as well as helping the liver. All of which are good reasons for taking it. The research does say it helps reverse insulin resistance and aids in weight loss. There does not seem to be any reason NOT to take it. I shall have to rush off to our local health store and get some. Thank you for bringing it up.

Hope you are well.

Love Nonna Mary
xxx

Jan – Amen to that! 😀 😀 😀 I do love cake!

I’m starting on Monday, Scotty. I want to lose 25 lbs and also have my birthday in March. I really hope we can do this.

Hi, I saw some information about taurine that was touting it as something that can help reverse diabetes and a bunch of other stuff. Does anyone know anything about this?

Hi there, has anyone else discovered sensitivity to other foods since maintenance? I have a head cold and am finding a really bad headache ensues after my morning coffee. Am not sure if it’s the cold/sinuses or my body processing stuff better or what. Am going to be v sad if it’s coffee (although pleased if I can stop the headache).

Krysia – I’m fascinated how a WOE can have emotional effects and link to feelings. I would have been sceptical about that a year ago but the link seems clear to me now.

Hi cream is quite low carb, used sparingly can be a great treat. semi-skimmed milk or Anything not full fat generally not considered good idea as it’s higher in carbs.

[post removed by request]

It very much depends on how much you have to lose. I lost 26 pounds in 8 weeks ending up very close to my target, but some people are slower losers than that and some lose more quickly. Good luck, and I hope you make your target. It helps to make smaller mini-goals as you go along, the next stone, 5 kg, an inch or cms off waist etc. Whatever feels right to you, and also don’t forget the non scale victories (NSV), getting into previously impossible clothing or dropping a size. The world is your oyster (and oysters are very low carb as well).

Hi Natalie, thanks. I was assuming it was calories per portion – it would have to be, to make the total calories for that day work out right. There’s a “skinny chilli” which serves 8 at 460 calories, so that can’t be for the whole lot!

Anyway I made it and added olives, flaked almonds, olive oil and a bit of extra fish to make up the calorie count, it was absolutely delicious and I lost 3 1/2 pounds yesterday (first day), so I’m very happy!

That’s almost like asking ‘how long is a piece that of string’! I guess if you put your mind to it you could pack in a lot of food/carbs/calories in that time slot. You don’t say if you need to lose a lot or a little, whether you’re have diabetes or not. Best thing you can do is try it and see. It may be an idea to weigh all you food and log everything you eat and drink in an app such as myfitnesspal or Fatsecret. Then after a week or so you will know if you are losing weight with the way you are eating and if not you can tailor your intake to your individual needs. Most people restrict their carbs to less than 50g a day but some need to go as low as <20g to lose weight.
Think a bit of trial and error is called for here or you could just do the 800/30(cals/carbs) diet.

Just google daily mail personalised diet and you should get the article sorry can’t find a direct link.

Hi everyone, Think you can have full cream or semi-skimmed milk but need to count calories into the 800 allowance. X

Hi everyone. I have just picked up on this thread and there are many echoes of other threads talking about the ‘carb monster ‘. I have just written on the ‘Positives’ thread that I truly believe that you eventually reach a point when carbs are no longer attractive. I know I have reached that point but it has taken quite a long time. I’m not sure when it happened exactly but I think it may have been at around a year or so of eating the BSD way. I’m not saying that a roast potato will never pass my lips again but I just don’t enjoy simple carbs anymore. I do love Lindt 90% though! I really do think it’s possible to be ‘carb free’ it just takes time.

There was a very interesting article in the Daily Mail on December 26th about ‘The Personalized Diet’ by Drs Segal & Elivan, which I’m sure MM refers to in his Clever Guts book as well. Basically it’s saying that no one model fits all and that some people can have certain carbs without a blood sugar spike. So maybe I can have that roast potato after all! Sorry I don’t have a link for it but will try and find one and post it.

I’m just ‘easing’ myself back into full on weighing and logging from next Tuesday for a strict 8 weeks but will try and keep up with this challenge as well. Just want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.

New to diet. Starting Jan and want to lose 20 lbs by my Birthday in March. Vain hope? Here’s to success to us all

Good morning.

1. I have just been re-reading the Reflect, review …. thread and quite a few posts talk of simple carbs becoming part of life again and subsequent weight gains. I think there is probably an optimum time of being carb free before you hit the point of no longer finding carbs attractive. I’m not saying that a roast potato will never pass my lips again on the odd occasion but I truly believe that I have reached that point of no longer finding carbs attractive. So that’s my number one positive for today’s list.
2. Went to the hairdressers yesterday and now feel much better.
3. Hairdresser paid me a compliment saying how ‘well’ I look. That will do me fine!

Hope everyone (if SunnyB and I aren’t the only two left standing) has a good and positive day!

Hi Ensecca, yes this group of friends is precious. And how wonderful for you to have supportive and respectful in laws.

I gained 8 pounds over Xmas but I have already lost 6 of them. The feeling of control that you achieve with this way of eating is worth the price of admission.

You can have your cake and eat it too! Literally!

Jan

Hi
I tried fasting the 5:2 format but have found that restricting my eating window to 11am -6pm suits me better. Should I still calorie restrict on some days or can I just adopt the Mediterranean diet and forget the calorie counting? I think I will still lose weight doing it this way. Any thoughts or wisdom on this would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Esnecca, I am not a slave to OCD but use that as a handle for some odd behaviour. One thing that I do is open the cutlery drawer and search through the teaspoons for a certain one, then I usually wonder why I do it. I also do this with coffee mugs until I get my favourite one because the coffee tastes better in the proper cup. A long time ago we had a son who passed away when he was 2 years old as he had multiple disabilities, my wife and me rationalised our loss by acknowledging that he was never going to thrive with his lung problems and he was at last pain free but I didn’t grieve properly for him and tried to pretend it didn’t matter and put on a brave face for my family. This backfired some years later when I just sort of collapsed mentally and couldn’t function on a day to day basis for some months. My wife was magnificent for me and kept me going till I asked the medical centre for help and they put me in touch with a Cognitive Therapy Group and over time I got better but I think that my OCD stems from that period, but as I say it doesn’t impact on me to any great extent. To cut a long story short I know that I will be more in control with “The Esnecca Method”, and I will give it a good try out on the next challenge and report back.

I think that what we do on this forum is cognitive therapy because I don’t usually tell anyone about having a breakdown, but on here everyone is so understanding and we all have suffered in our different ways, but I still feel that I am truly blessed with my life, and do thank my lucky stars when I reflect on my family and friends.

Thank you all for your caring and sharing, see you all next year, Jim.

Zolou I think the 370 calories is for the whole two serves not per serve? I haven’t made it myself but I just had a look at it. It’s not really clear, people have complained before. Is that what you were calculating?