Well done Oddjob!

Flick – big congratulations for getting into the healthy weight range. That’s brilliant!

Jackie – I still have to translate kilograms into stones & lbs but that loss translates well – you’re so close to that target weight

Mokovex – good to hear the treatment seems to be working. Keeping going on BSD while fighting pain and fatigue must be so hard. Good going on the cake front.

Marsie – that must have been a horrible time for you – glad it’s in the past x
Also, I definitely need a grandson!

Got weighed this morning and might have a small but significant result for next week’s weigh-in – but not sure I dare do anything now except hold my breath until Tuesday.

Feels like we’re getting back into the swing of things. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Hi Sunshine girl…I understand what you’re saying about ringing the changes re vegetables. I have recently fallen in love with roast cauliflower and roast cauliflower steaks which have fewer carbs than carrots and parsnips. Both can be gussied up with herbs or spices…We also love caramelised brussels sprouts and mushrooms but go easy on the butter…

I use diet doctor as a source of side dish recipes and a new to me site called I breathe I’m hungry whi h someone put on the Take A Look thread. They have some great ideas for low carb vegetable side dishes…

Angela

I only lost 1lb in week 2 but fear not, it has started up again – not declaring loss until Tuesday

I’m also finding that I’m not shifting weight in the 2nd week, but my water intake is pretty bad.

I have pretty much weaned myself off sweet stuff – I don’t crave cakes and biscuits and I have never been a chocoholic but if I was ever going to ‘cheat’ it would be with a small amount of the real thing rather than a substitute. I made cauliflower bread – it was gross!
SSB

I like the idea of the “hot and puffy” look! I am continuing to lift those dumbells and do think it is getting easier and have increased the repetitions. My arms are really fat, so hoping they will tone up or at least look like Popeye. May get an anchor tattoo to complete the look.

Great stuff, Oddjob!

Wow! That’s rapid weight loss.

Unless the weight loss is dramatic, it’s hard to see it ourselves or in people we see every day. I expect you look slimmer to people who haven’t seen you since you started.

Still no more weight loss for me. I must be eating more than I’ve estimated and will make more effort to keep portion sizes smaller.

On the plus side, I’ve just done an exercise DVD and although I got hot and puffy, I wasn’t feeling wiped out as happened earlier – and I’m much better at the stretching bits. That’s cheered me up.

No to the bold, italics, the usual method doesn’t seem to work.

Weight same as yesterday, so very happy with that. BG is still around 4.5 and I have reduced insulin from 29 units to 26. Will stick at that for a few more days. Skipped breakfast this morning as we slept in so will be having feta and raspberry salad for lunch and planning a vegi curry for dinner. I am starting to get sick of the usual veg of the cooking type. I always buy courgettes and red peppers for my salads but getting sick of leeks and carrots with hot dinners. Any ideas. I have bought a head of celeriac and I have mashed aubergine in the freezer. I suppose it is the time of the year but all I see in the supermarket are turnips, swedes, squashes and so on.

All this talk of cake makes me queasy. I guess I am lucky because I dont like cake or most sweet things – give me a pork pie and brown sauce. I have 2 grandsons and they only visit twice a year so I have a couple of recipes for them. One is Chocolate Muffins made with oats, cocoa powder and apple sauce and I have a Chocolate Cheese Cake recipe made with egg whites, Stevia and cocoa powder (yet to try this one). I still wouldn’t eat them but it is nice to be able to treat others. Recipes on request.

So after all that I forgot to post!

Wednesday I did better with water and walking (11K in the end). I still had too much cheese in the evening though.

Yesterday I did ok with walking (11k) probably a bit short on water and there was much less binging on cheese but I still went over the 800 enough to feel bad about it.

It’s taking a bit of time to get myself back down to the restrictive 800. I was SOOOO good at doing it the first time. Oh well I’m going in the right direction at least and the scales are dropping (7.5 lbs in 4 days). Again I know it’s mainly water but it feels great and my skin has cleared up instantly.

Today I’m also working from home and not sure about when I’m fitting walking in. Will try to resist the cheese tonight.

I know, they have an easier life in terms of weight loss and I do all the cooking! No justice. He is eating more or less the same as me, apart from he has eggs for his breakfast and then takes a salad (made by me) to work with him. So he has a few more calories, but also he has kept off the beer for the two weeks. He wants to lose another 21lbs and hopes to do it in 4 weeks! I wish…..

Hi all – thanks for the welcome. Good luck with your last few days and I’ll join you on the 23rd 🙂

Hi Jules, I always think it’s unfair that men lose weight faster than women. They used to turn up at WW & would reach their target in a few weeks! What on earth are you feeding your other half on or is it just a case of no alcohol?

Morning Sandy13 and Squidge

I agree with you both, I don’t want to be skinny AND wrinkly. Once I get closer to the target (which is almost 3 stone away)I may re-asses my goal.

In other news Mr Pacman weighed in today and lost 9lb this week, making a total of 20lb in two weeks. Incredible, and he does look slimmer, I’m not sure that I do. There will be no living with him today!

Have a lovely weekend

Hiya lovelies

I’ve left my phone at home today – it might as well be my handbag! Feeling quite displaced, particularly as it has my bank card in it and I was going shopping tonight! Oh well…

Lee – ice your back four times a day? Good grief! How would you physically do that? Glad it’s not just me then feeling chilled to the bone. Our “People First” rep as emailed the group asking for feedback on the temperature in the building and who has to wrap up etc. It is definitely warmer this morning!

Right, back to the grindstone – catch up with you all at the weekend! 🙂

Kazzeee xx

Anyone know how you Bold /Italic things on this website ?

I think its a marketing technique. As overweight has become more normal there are more women falling into the plus size clothes band. If you face people with the choice of in shop A its the frumpy plus sizes only, but in shop B I can get into the largest of the normal size less frumpy clothes they are going to buy their clothes in shop B. Which means that all the sizes below have to be adjusted so that there isn’t a big jump between the sizes.

Just wish that shops had notices up on what the dimensions of their sizes were so you could work out what size you were going to be in their shop which would save the changing room blues.

*topac* China.. how exciting.. Is this a holiday or work? Yes fish and veggies are probably your friend..

yes yes yes.. happy dance.. 🙂 another 1lb down.. (wel,l 1 and a quarter but thats probably a cup of tea’s worth) .. SO it ^is^ working for me again.. . I’ve lost half a stone now from my Arggghhhh!!! weight and 5lb ‘officially’ from the Tuesday we restarted!.. .

Remember …weigh your food !!

Morning all

Been manic at work and have tried to be really good this last couple of days and have been! (Miracle in itself..)

Resulting weight loss has been encouraging and I won’t be able to weigh myself again until next Saturday (off to China), although last time I went I had a pair of scales in my room! Will probably steer clear of them though as it won’t be consistent plus flight bloat etc etc. So – lots of good reasons to stick to it – if all else fails I can eat raw fish…

Zoulou – many congratulations on all those milestones. And after only three weeks – awesome! and so encouraging for you – well done.

Anyway, China has a weird way of censoring certain websites so I’m not sure this’ll get through the great firewall of China. Just in case it doesn’t, Adios all.

Be good and KOKO!

Milalin – I also wanted to add my very best wishes to you for your upcoming surgery. It’s reassuring to see that Marsie has faced what you are facing now and that she been through it and is well. Very pleased for you, Marsie!

I’ve had another good week (I hope the scales reflect how I feel) however, the cold makes me crave hot stodge! It’s not a bad craving, but I feel all tense inside, hunched up against it and the cold, rather than relaxed… I hope that makes sense?!

Will post my results tomorrow…

Good luck everyone!

Kazzee xx

Zolou – I bet it was lovely hitting all those milestones – made me smile just reading about them. x

Hi all,

I agree about the varying sizes, I bought 2 pairs of a cheap jeans when I was in the U.S. to see me through the transition weight loss stages. They were sitting together on the shelf, and I only tried one on. When I got back to the U.K. they were very different sizes. Fortunately the ones I didn’t try were smaller and I have now slimmed down into those😀.

Sizes in general seem to be bigger than they used to be. I got some old 1980s sewing patterns out of the loft the other day and they are much smaller than today’s sizes.

Going to post my week’s results here, since this thread is where I seem to be hanging out more these days. Friday is week review day for me, bucking the Tuesday trend!

So, just completed week 3. Over the week, as planned I got the steps in (average 11,400), did yoga each morning and did HIT 3 times. Stuck to low-carb and pretty much within calorie count (average just over 800). It all went fine, except that yesterday I was light-headed, weak and irritable as well as a bit headachy (for the first time). Presumably because I’d had only a bag of peanuts for dinner the night before – so now I know that that’s not a sustainable approach! I went for a walk anyway, which was actually really nice, though I wasn’t quite in control of my feet!

Over the week I lost 3.4lb – better than the previous week’s loss of 3.2lb, to my surprise. That meant I hit a lot of milestones – inside healthy weight range, under 11 stone and one stone lost in all since the start.

Waist measures 40.5 inches, so actually up .5 inch since last week. Was 44″ at the start. The aim of half my height would be 33″. I’m not worried about the lack of progress there, it just means it’s important to keep going.

I’m now 153.2lb. Would love to get under 150, so that’s the milestone I’m shooting for next, but also grateful to consolidate the place I’m in, which already feels way better, though I’ve probably got another 20lb to lose.

Loving being on this journey together, all!

58.4kg, new personal low. Slowly slowly, nearly nearly, its said 58 before, will it say 57 soon?! Xx

Escnecca 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

That is not a small thing! Those buggers ARE hard!

I’ll ask Pete the personal trainer what to do after that’s been sorted, I’m sure there’s a fresh hell awaiting. Though he has flu at the moment so I haven’t been this week. Watch this space.

Morning all,

today -0.2lb 😀

Better news is that I managed to keep my paws off biscuits cake and cheese. It was because it was a go-go-go day but I did have the opportunity to have cake and I passed. I fully attribute this to returning to the forum and posting. It is no coincidence that it goes better for me when I do this, and I start to lose my way when I don’t.

I am off to the osteopath this morning which I am more than excited about. I have a permanent headache and this chap has the reputation of being able to fix things other people can’t. This is treatment 3 and it’s working! My headaches definitely contribute to my fatigue which fuels my cravings, so hoping that pain reduction will result in greater resilience against the carb monster.

Flick – well done on the loss 👍👍
Shanshu – If you are joining us on the final leg of this thread – welcome ✋ or if not, see you on the next one 😀
Milalin – Really glad this is a place where you can talk about what is going on, you are definitely not “raving on”, your posts seem honest, thoughtful and considered.

go well. x

Having been diagnosed a few years ago with type 2 I initially worked like a demon to keep my levels down and stay healthy. Sadly my resolved wore off over the years and I found myself not back where I started but going in that direction. The feeling of sluggishness and general lack of energy came with the realisation my diet had gone to ruin. Quite by chance I was in a book shop when I saw the 8-week blood sugar diet book on the shelf. On impulse I bought it and read it on holiday. The day after I returned, I bought a blood sugar monitor, started the diet and got back to the gym.

As with others on here I have been surprised how I don’t feel hungry on this diet and I have been enjoying experimenting with different recipes and venturing outside my normal food range. I have been amazed with the results so far and looking forward to the next week

date. weight(kg) waist(cm) fasting BS (mol/l). [mg/dl]
12/1/18 109.2 112 16.0 [288]
19/1/18. 103.2. 107 5.1 [106]

Was so tired after a full, but definitely fun, day with grandson and one of his matesi.e. car; train; dinosaur discovery show in convention centre; walk over to Elizabeth Quay for lunch (hamburgers for all, minus the bun for me); walk around the Quay while the boys expended their energy climbing and jumping everything possible; walk back to the dinosaurs for a conducted “tour” which, happily, the boys enjoyed; then the reverse journey home. Made cuppa and fell into a chair for a while. Other than dealing with some business, I didnt check emails or the forum so just catching up now.

Milalin, I’ll speak mainly to you today. I had such a shock to read that your kidney condition was polycystic. I have never met anyone else with this diagnosis although I was told it was not rare. In 1998 my right kidney was removed along with the attached polycystic tumour, initially thought to be benign but later biopsy proved it to be polycystic carcinoma. It was originally picked up as a tumour arising from the liver and attaching to the kidney. (I had been to my GP for a referral to a gynacologist expecting a hysterectomy). MRI could not prove otherwise but surgery showed that the tumor in the kidney had grown so large it had pushed the liver out of place – it was essentially draped over the top of the tumour and the kidney had been forced down as far as it was possible to go.

Happily for me the professor/surgeon was competent and all was removed intact. He messed up the hysterectomy, but that’s another story, lol. Again, happily for me, it was then, and remains, only the one kidney affected. I’ve since had melanoma and other skin cancers but nothing affecting any internal organ. And I am well.

So, Milalin, I can certainly empathise with you but also sympathise that you have so many more complications. You are in my thoughts. 💝🙅Marilyn

Hi Marie, you are so generous. Everyone is fantastic here, supporting me and each other. It’s such a pleasure to open my emails and read all the latest posts. Now, as for the kidney weight, I’ll take bets, we are talking kilos… since I’m just above the weight limit for transplant surgery it will bring my BMI under, its never considered when my BMI is calculated. And remember I’ll still have another ‘evil twin’ to contend with. Actually, I think the 2nd one ( ie remaining )is the one affecting my BP. So much as I hate surgery, I’m hoping it’ll eventually be removed too. You know I’ll be back, more determined than ever, once I initially recover, to lose, to prepare for transplant next. I need to be as ‘fighting fit’ for that and my new life, also to honour the gift of time from my donor..
I’m still almost a week out but time is going fast now as I’m so busy . I’ll still be on here when I can and I look forward to updating you all. I plan to weigh in for the next challenge, I don’t expect I’ve lost now, and I’ll be honest regarding the kidney weight. Thanks again to you, Marie, and all the crew. Together we will eventually get to where we want. I can’t express how much support here is helping me. I hope I’m not annoying too many, raving on…
I don’t tend to talk about this in my everyday life. Best wishes to everyone as we approach the end of this challenge!

You are right YSYG – my clothes have felt really loose these last three days – one pair I will have to retire.

Hi Milalin – that’s a lot of things to contend with right now – but in your posts you always manage to pull out the positives, (even if you don’t think you do!) so I agree with Allie, you are one impressive woman.

As Flick says all that nutritious, real food is going to help. Bloody BP, though, eh. Glad to hear you’re ready – you do sound ready – you also sound super-organised with the salmon and tuna and visitor berries!

Hmm, I also think someone will need to check the rules to see if the kidney weight loss can count!!!

Take care x

I watched a programme where they demonstrated that up to 3kg could be water weight. So while weight is obviously very important, not all of it is fat. Cue the trusty old tape measure, or the snug/loose fit of a pair of jeans.

Sizes vary – that applies whatever size you are. However, I must say I find Italian clothes the most depressing, because they seem to be 2 or 3 sizes smaller than other clothes labelled the same size. As for underpaid workers, I am overcome by visions of malnourished children when I walk past that shop.

I try and balance the walking and standing, and I never try on in the shop, but buy things I fancy, try them on at home and return them if they don’t fit. Eliminates the negative aspect of clothes shopping. You may have guessed that I have plenty of time on my hands!

I’ve found vast discrepancies in sizing between different *colors* of the exact same brand and model of clothes, and that includes shoes. My guess is the Bangladeshi 12-year-olds major brands barely pay to manufacture their garments don’t get a ton of quality control oversight.

I don’t know what its like in other countries, but I find the wide discrepancies in sizes between different stores/brands in the UK so disheartening that it puts me off from going shopping at present. I In some stores I still couldn’t get into jeans never mind do them up but they are marked as being the same dress size as the ones in other stores that are so lose they would fall down if I tried to walk in them.

Cointreau – crap typist sorry

The crust was crust toasted almonds and hazelnuts and butter. Bit of lemon juice. Vanilla is a great idea!

Great to hear from you Emu and good to hear you both enjoyed Christmas and New Year and stayed pretty much on the BSD track. I managed to avoid the mince pies – one of my favourite Christmas things – and kept to strict BSD cals and carbs over Christmas, but then went a touch overboard around New Year – and, yes it was chocolate! Not too bad, though, and a good lesson learned.

Good to hear about the home Hba1c 37. I bet OH just wants to get the operation over with. It’ll be great when he can get back to exercising as well as following the BSD.

Best wishes for OH’s operation

Btw, I’m impressed with the almond flour given you’ve previously declared yourself, like me, as never having bothered too much with this cooking thing. What great skills and lovely menus we’re going to have by and by…

So here’s a wuick mid week update.

After my mortifying .7 gain, here is what has happened –

67.3
66.9
66.9
66.3 – today

I have no explanation to offer. On the first 66.9 day I fasted for 22 hours in prep for a dinner out that I knew would include a slice of a very low carb cheesecake I made. That one meal was over 700 cals. I have been clocking up more steps as I pretty much can’t do anything else and have been sitting around a lot. Nothing else has changed. 800/20 16/8. I have to conclude it was some unknowable chemical, hormonal something.🧐🤔 I found that if I think about it too much I end up feeling strangely insecure about stabilising and maintaining weight losses and started to read up on strategies for re-setting weight. But that’s for the future. I’m still a fair way off my target weight, so I put the google devices down and try to read a book.🤪

Fasting was fine although mid afternoon I was stopped at traffic lights and a fellow in a car next to me was eatng a banana! A BANANA! I only just managed to resist hurling myself through his open window and wrestling it out of his hand. Not because I was super hungry – because it was a banana 😢

On a bright note 66.3 is exactly 12kgs from my starting weight and roughly two thirds of my way through! Now that is excitng 🌟🌟🌟🎉🎉🎉

Crank the vanilla way up too. A strong vanilla flavor can turn plain cream cheese into frosting all by itself. What kind of crust did you use? Toasted almond is the way to go. Add vanilla to that too and it’ll play together with the filling to create a much more luscious effect. If you can find vanilla powder (dehydrated vanilla pods and the seeds inside pulverized together), use that rather the extract. It’s much more strongly flavored and has no added sugar, glycerin or alcohol. Check the ingredients, though. There are brands that sweeten the powder too.

It’s not the walking that’s a problem. I would dearly love an excuse to do my 20,000 steps in the warmth of a climate controlled shop during this abysmally cold season. It’s the non-walking. Standing at a rack for ages, pushing hangers one after the other, rejecting, rejecting, rejecting, finally landing on one or two pieces that aren’t terrible, trying them on, finding they don’t fit or don’t look good, then going back and starting all over again. It’s the kind of Sisyphian tedium the Greek gods used as eternal punishment for pissing them off.

I might just head to the Maxx and speedwalk the perimeter of the giant warehouse-like floor, though. Then at the end I can browse and maybe, if I’m very, very lucky, find a treasure or two. Even I don’t, I still win by getting my steps done in toasty comfort. Beats a treadmill at the gym, that’s for sure. 😀

My downfall is salty snacks but I love baking. I made a low carb baked cheesecake to take to a dinner on Wednesday. Even without sugar (I also left out sugar substitutes) it was heavenly to have the smell of baking in the kitchen again. For information, the cheesecake looked terrific but was pretty bland(and I fasted for 22 hours knowing I planned have a small slice – around 300 cals!) Next time I’ll try adding loads more citrus. Luckily I poached blueberries in lemon juice and Countreau to go with it and that saved the day a bit. Actually next time I’ll just eat the blueberries – they were delish.

Shopping can be good exercise. Walking round a nice, covered, marble floored shopping mall or pedestrianised streets is much more pleasant than boring old car exhaust polluted roads. I remember years ago walking from Kings Cross to Euston and suffering from the polluted air, only relieved when I started walking in the side streets. I was thinking of a gym until I saw that programme where they tested equipment for bacteria – more germs than the average loo! Thus while the weather continues to be foul I choose the covered option for my walks. I do agree that needles are few and far between, but when you find them …. I love my grey quilted DKNY jacket, on sale for £50, reduced from £80 and I found a fab Burberry jacket last year which has cost approximately 1p per outing to date.

Hi Squidge. I’ll be having 3x200cal shakes and vegetables. Thanks for your good wishes. Hope you’re doing well.

Oh, you can count on me modelling it very soon. It ordered it from the shop’s online storefront so it hasn’t arrived yet. Same goes for the Yves Saint Laurent winter white quilted blazer. One of the great joys of being the size I am now is the sheer quantity of gorgeous vintage pieces that are now accessible to me. When I was slimmer waisted and more generously hipped as a young woman, there weren’t a lot of Valentino and YSL options on the table for me short of unaffordable couture. My less curvacious body is far easier to dress shopping in person or online. Check the measurements, assume a 27-28 inch waist will fit despite what the tape measure tells me and go to town.

You snooze you gain, I’ve found some gems at TJ’s too, a couple of pairs of classic rise Levi’s that are impossible to find in regular stores, an orange Calvin Klein swear with lace-up sides that is downright hot. I have to be in the mood for a slog, though, because it’s like going through any clearance rack. Hard, hard work to sift through the haystack and find the needles.

Oh WOW!!!!! Essie – you sure do have a nose for a fabulous find😊 That jacket is truly amazing and right up my – and I suspect Allie’s – street 😊 Such elegance, and black and white too, what could be better? 😀 In fact I remember a (very elegant) friend of mine wearing one just like that in the very early 80s. (Makes me feel MUCH better about my newly acquired boring old B&W biker jacket 😉)

But why aren’t YOU modelling it for us?

BTW – I’ve never seen an episode of Buffy, maybe that’s why my imagination is a little stunted 😜

Trouble is, I love baking and I have a reputation for fab cakes. I made chocolate fudge-filled cupcakes for my new neighbours last week. Very difficult – knowing what I do now about the serious health implications of sugar, should I really make cakes for people?
SSB