No sorry, cous cous is definitely out. It’s made from durum wheat and so is high in carbs. If you must have something similar, you could have a small portion of quinoa, but even that is high in carbs with 60 calories and 10.7g carbs in just a 50g portion of cooked quinoa. Much better to use cauli rice or courgetti if you need something as a substitute for the carb elements you are used to in meals. However, if you can teach yourself not to need any substitute, all the better, as it makes eating out so much easier down the line.

Best of luck to you.

Final good morning of 2017. We will be out celebrating the arrival of the new year with neighbours, so we have had a brunch and won’t eat now until dinner at theirs this evening. So modest positives for today:

1) Don’t need to plan a meal for later.
2) Will have a nice pamper session this afternoon – face pack, shower, paint toe nails etc.
3) Going to have a play with the new camera OH gave me for Christmas. It’s got lots of ‘gizmos’ on it to get to grips with and I’m itching to really give it a good ‘run out’ now that I have the time and space.

Have really appreciated the company on this thread. I think it is all too easy for the positives, to get swallowed up in the general hubub of day to day life. Thinking of reviving an old habit, of simply writing down a minimum of ten positive words each day. Even spending time thinking of positive words, helps to lift the mood and I found it helped me look for the positives in the day as well.

That’s it from me for 2017 on this particular thread. Have a good new year whatever you are doing and may 2018 bring great things your way.

Luvtcook – that’s hilarious about our names sounding like 2 from the 7 dwarfs. If only! I am a dwarf up and down the way, to be fair – just the width and breadth needs attention 😀 😀 ;D As far as jumping aboard is concerned – you are welcome anywhere! You give so much of your knowledge and compassion – much appreciated.

Zippy – yet another reason for having a zip for me – 😀 😀 😀
Dr Fung gives a lot of guidance on what he calls ‘Fasting Fluids’ in his second book ‘Complete Guide to fasting’ – they include cream milk, bone broth and others. He does say that it’s better if you can do without but some may find that difficult. Also , he says for extended fasts, nutrients and mineral levels may become problematic. As far as restricting cals are concerned, he says not to restrict cals. In my opinion, if you are eating once a day, 800 cals would give you a really nice meal- if you are calorie aware, in my opinion, you could eat to fullness without counting. After fasting, you would get fuller quicker, I would think. If you choose low carb food , I think it would be difficult to go above 800 cals. If you want to be accurate , then obvs count. You’re right Zippy – grey areas! But, ultimately, I think it’s trial and error and what works for you, in a way that you can work with.

Best wishes – and a happy New Year to all

Whoever you are,
wherever you may be,
have the most aspirational,
prosperous but most importantly
… HEALTHY 2018 as possible.
Love to all I know and all you know. xxx

Best wishes
Nonna Mary
xxxx

Just want to wish all my ‘friends’ on this thread a very Happy New Year and hope all your wishes for 2018 are fulfilled.

Good morning! Kazz I love the idea of emerging from winter like a butterfly. Port and stilton sounds great I wish I could join you!

I had a really quiet day yesterday ….
1. Nails polished and shiny looking lovely …. especially my ‘Christmas’ red toes.
2. Sorted out an outfit to wear for tonight, a party, even though the top is huge now it still looks ok but this will probably be its last outing!
3. Have decided how to proceed in 2018 with BSD will, weigh, log and stick to 1000/40 for 8 weeks. Wish me luck!

Hope 2018 is all you wish it to be ….. Happy New Year…. be well and be healthy.

Nearly one month in to my second year on Maintenance. A one pound gain over Christmas – which I am happy with because I did eat too much and didn’t log onto fat secret nor weigh myself since mid-December.

Very interesting that I have actually got out of the habit of thinking that eating sugary and starchy carbs is normal. I wonder if it is partly due to having lost the gut bacteria that love sugar and starch – it would be nice to think that was the case. Of course there is the view that it takes a whole year to change a habit so that it becomes automatic – and I did reach that milestone on 10th December.

Well the last day of the year has arrived and I think we all have Reflected and Reviewed now it just remains for us to Renew as the year changes. I have found your posts really moving. In the coming months, when times get tough, and they will, we can look back at this thread and ‘renew’ our enthusiasm again by re-reading our posts.
Just remains for me to wish everyone a Very Happy and and Healthy New Year. Let’s make 2018 be the best it can ever be.

OK thanks

Am joining the challenge late – today was the first time I have weighed myself since mid-December. So I was really nervous as I have a history of piling on the pounds over holiday times and although this has not happened since being on the BSD – it was quite scary to get on the scales.

So – 1lb up from mid-December – which I am quite pleased with as I have eaten far too many hickory smoked nuts among other delicious BSD friendly foods.. My goal is to lose the lb – slowly. Am back logging on fat secret but am not looking for a rapid weight loss – just a gentle dropping down of no more than 3lbs in total.

I think that’s made from refined wheat? If so, it probably isn’t allowed.

We’re starting tomorrow.

We had this in mind before Christmas, so didn’t buy as much carby foods as we’d usually have done and there’s very little left now, which should help us stick to the diet. Not drinking might be harder as we have quite a bit of alcohol left, but we’re telling ourselves it will keep for a few weeks and if we don’t have any at all for a while, we should be happy with less when we re introduce it.

Hi. My husband and I are both starting the diet on Monday. I’ve read the book. He hasn’t, but is willing to go along with it for a few weeks, partly to support me but also to see if it works for him.

I’ve not restocked on bread, biscuits etc since deciding to start, to avoid having temptation in the house. Does anyone have any other tips to make it easier to stick to?

Can you recommend a reliable list of low carb foods, so I can create some recipes for myself?

Hi, I’m new to all of this but I’m gonna give it my best shot. I was just wondering can you have cous cous, if so how much would be a portion? Thanks in advance

Thanks for your replies everyone. I appreciate it.

Dumpty: I wish I did have a zip on my mouth, I wouldn’t need the BSD then! I was a Rainbow fan.

Luvtcook: I remember that part of the book too. I know I am breaking my fast with milk in my morning coffee but I can’t give it up yet! I am a horrible morning person so I need that crutch for a few days longer. I have 2 cups with 100ml whole milk in total so what I will do is swap 1 cup to black and then both to black. That can be part of next week’s experiment!

Esnecca: I know you are right about milk calories breaking a fast. You mention Dr Fung also advocates bone broth on fasts which would also break it. He also says a splash of cream is ok. So in conclusion, I dunno! I have bought a selection of herbal teas as I would like to see my results in a properly fasted state without milk. It would be a pity if something simple was hampering my results! I like your idea of mixing up your timings to keep your body guessing!

Jules: Thanks for the podcast tip. Good to have something to listen to when trying to get to 10,000 steps!

If I understand correctly, Dr Fung would also be against me restricting/counting calories when I do eat? What does everyone think about that? It’s a bit confusing.

Hi everyone, thanks for the challenge. I need it. I disappeared from the last challenge because our Broadband was down and I needed to conserve my mobile data. I really missed your encouragement over the festive period a realised the mistake of starting a new WOE just before Christmas. I totally relapsed into the old binge eating carbs ways I’m afraid. However the good news is that I know that the method works and I can get back to it.
At least I’m a little bit lighter than when I started even if I have put loads back on.

Resolutions for 2018.
Short term 800/20 for 8 weeks starting 1st Jan. No sugar, no grains, no alcohol. 3lb per week weight loss. Exercise every day.
Resolution for year – get to next Christmas with this WOE so embedded in my brain that I don’t even notice not eating bread or chocolate or mince pies!

Christmas weight gain of 3lbs disappeared in just 2 days so I’m ending 2017 back at 10st 1lb, which is one and a half stone less than this time last year, going in the right direction at least. Need to ensure the downward trend continues this time.

I’ve enjoyed Jason Fungs videos and blogs too, he’s a real pioneer, hope the medical/nutritional world starts to catch up soon. He has an ongoing Obesity Code podcast to which I listen to whilst walking my dog, some real gems of info, very interesting, good explanations. Also a lot less annoying than some podcasts IF as there is no chatting and waffling.

Thanks Mariet! It’s over and was fine, I let myself get worked up as usual when they probably barely notice my weight (much) they are just glad to see me and my kids. We had a big family lunch (big family, not big lunch) and caught up on family news.

Now I need to cook dinner for my husband’s side – who I’ve always more comfortable with as they are all shapes and sizes – then an evening NYE party. Some tempting food situations to negotiate.

I hope everyone has a lovely evening, not revolving around food or alcohol.

You didn’t. A fasted state is broken when you ingest anything with caloric content, that certainly includes milk which is high in both sugar and calories. Zippy. it’s your call, of course, but if you really want to do a Fung-style IF approach, and I am a big fan myself, all your beverages during the fasting window should be zero calorie (no sweeteners either), so water, tea (no fruit teas) or coffee. Even bone broth crosses the line.

I do 18:6 most days, but I like to vary it doing something very similar to what you’re doing with the one big meal. Gotta keep that body guessing. 😀 Good luck!

Zippy and Dumpty: wow, puting your names together like that makes you two sound like members of the Seven Dwarfs. If only it meant dwarf in weight vs height, my guess is you’d both be ok with that. I digress…

I too am a big fan of Jason Fung’s work and your idea about doing one meal a day 5 days a week is consistent with some of the research he cites….that restricting eating to one time a day resulted in “significantly more fat loss” even with eating the same number of calories. I would love to know how “significant” the differences actually were….statistically significant or life changing significant? Either way….if it fits into your lifestye, its worth a shot. Pluse less cooking and fewer dishes to clean up. Win win. May I jump on your bandwagon if you have room for one more?

Somewhere in his book he cautioned against ruining your fasting period with cream or milk in your coffee….will look to see where that was. It seems harmless enough…..but it would be sad if it did indeed negate some of your hard work so I will try to find that passage over the next day or so (assuming I did not misremember it).

As part of Reboot January, I am offering a couple clips from this great article from the New York Times.

Title of article if “Always Hungry? Here’s Why”. It will sound all too familiar.

Good summary of the role of excess carbohydrates in causing excess insulin production, leading to weight gain even when total calorie levels are aactually lower than control group. The weight gain, or “storage” when viewed another way, means that if your food intake ends up being stored versus being available to be used, the rest of your body essentially acts like it is being starved and demands you eat more. You are hungry all the time.

I have pasted a couple paragraphs of it below….link to full article at the bottom.

“As it turns out, many biological factors affect the storage of calories in fat cells, including genetics, levels of physical activity, sleep and stress. But one has an indisputably dominant role: the hormone insulin. We know that excess insulin treatment for diabetes causes weight gain, and insulin deficiency causes weight loss. And of everything we eat, highly refined and rapidly digestible carbohydrates produce the most insulin”.

“By this way of thinking, the increasing amount and processing of carbohydrates in the American diet has increased insulin levels, put fat cells into storage overdrive and elicited obesity-promoting biological responses in a large number of people. Like an infection that raises the body temperature set point, high consumption of refined carbohydrates — chips, crackers, cakes, soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals and even white rice and bread — has increased body weights throughout the population”.

“Another study published by Dr. Ludwig and colleagues in The Lancet in 2004 suggested that a poor-quality diet could result in obesity even when it was low in calories. Rats fed a diet with rapidly digesting (called high “glycemic index”) carbohydrate gained 71 percent more fat than their counterparts, who ate more calories over all, though in the form of slowly digesting carbohydrate”.

“These ideas aren’t entirely new. The notion that we overeat because we’re getting fat has been around for at least a century, as described by Gary Taubes in his book “Good Calories, Bad Calories.”

“But such theories have been generally ignored, perhaps because they challenge entrenched cultural attitudes. The popular emphasis on calorie balance reinforces the belief that we have conscious control over our weight, and that obesity represents a personal failure because of ignorance or inadequate willpower”.

“If this hypothesis (that excess carbohydrate consumption drives an excessive insulin response, which drives weight gain, and ultimately the creation of a viscious repetative cycle even when calories are reduced) turns out to be correct, it will have immediate implications for public health. It would mean that the decades-long focus on calorie restriction was destined to fail for most people.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=0

And thank you BSD for offering us an alternative to simple calorie restriction.

Hi Zippy -happy you found something of use in my reply. I like the idea of one meal a day too. Less messing about and eat a normal meal with or without family. I’m not quite there yet, as I feel a bit weak. Working towards it, though.
Love your name. Should have called myself that. I remember a kids show that had a ‘zippy’ used to talk too much and he got zipped up to give everyone peace! That’s what I need 😀 😀 😀
Keep at it! There used to be an ad on telly that was about stopping smoking. It’s ok to fall off the wagon a few times before you succeed. I think it’s the same for weightloss. We’ll get there!

Hi all, I’d love to join you all as I’m restarting on 2 Jan.
I started BSD on 16 Jan this year and have lost 12.5kg, but still need to lose another 16-18kg. I lost about half of the weight in the first 8 weeks and then have been very slowly losing since then (about 0.5kg per month). I stuck to 800 calories for the first 8 weeks, then have averaged about 1000-1300 calories per day since then. I partly blame being on daily prednisone (steroids) for the slow loss as a side effect of that medication is weight gain. However I’m gradually tapering off of them and should be completely off by mid Feb. I figure that an average 1.5kg per month loss is achievable and that I’ll be able to “lose 18 in 18” (18kg in 2018). When I achieve this then not only will I be in the healthy BMI range but I’ll be at my lowest weight for 24 years!
The various threads on here have been a tremendous help this year and the support has been invaluable.
It’s New Years Eve here and I’m going to to go shopping soon so that I have everything I need for the first few days at least. Roll on 2 Jan!

Good luck to everyone. I have already started my post-Christmas reboot but this is only my 4th day so hopefully I can join in a bit here too! I couldn’t wait a few days until New Year – that’s how sick I am of party food and sugar! Feel so much better already. Good luck!

Thanks SunnyB.

Hi ElizzyB, I read your post with interest as I was where you are a year ago (I started BSD Jan this year). I’m 52 now but in my late 30s I was putting on a lot of weight. I didn’t want to be “fat and forty” so I went on a low carb diet and lost the weight by the time I was 39 – only to put it all back on again by 40! Over the next decade my weight kept going up. I had blood tests when I was 45 and was diagnosed by my doctor as pre-diabetic. I’ve had a few health issues since then and my weight was up and down (mainly up!), and I hit my heaviest weight ever last December. Then I found BSD… I’ve lost 12.5kg so far and have another 16-18kg to go. My loss has been slower than others, which I partly blame my medication on (am on steroids which cause weight gain).
I have a lot of joint pain and inflammation because I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, but the symptoms have greatly improved since I started following BSD – I noticed an improvement in the first 2/3 weeks, so it wasn’t weight loss, but avoiding foods that trigger inflammation (wheat and sugar for me).
I’m a mum of 4 with 2 of my kids still at home. I found it easier to cook our usual family meals, with a few tweaks (cooking Bolognaise sauce from scratch for example, instead of using a jar of sauce). My family still have pasta and I just make zucchini noodles to have with mine. BSD soon becomes a way of life 🙂 Good luck and I look forward to seeing how you get on 🙂

Oh Crabby….what a shitty year you have had. 2018 can only be better. I feel for your brother to have the sweats etc. I had a hysterectomy so went straight into the menopause, even with HRT it was vile. Plus every so often I still get the sweats!

I am sorry you have such teeth lol. I love savoury and am not bothered about sweet. However, I used to bake my own bread which is far superior than the shop bought stuff. The problem was, we ate it as quickly as I made it. It was crusty and especially good with butter whilst still warm. Ooops drooling a bit here. It is the only thing I miss! French pastries sound like a thing to be kept for special occasions! Not really a fan of any kind of pastry myself.

Still waiting for news of Lizzie, but I am sure she is lurking and keeping an eye on us from afar.

Good luck for a wonderful new year.

Lots of love
Nonna Mary
xxxx

Thanks for your replies Dumpty and Jules. I like your idea Dumpty of my previous attempt being a trial run! I have also had trial runs at extended fasting after reading “The Obesity Code”. I think this will stand me in good stead for eating once a day. I was so surprised how much easier fasting was than I expected. Food really isn’t such a big deal.

I’ll definitely be taking a look at “The Complete Guide to Fasting” too. Great to have book recommendations. I also like Dr. Fung’s videos on dietdoctor.com. Sounds like you have found a great pattern that works for you Jules. I’m going to try one meal a day for the first week, 800 cals and under 50g carbs.

This is day 4 and have found it really convenient in terms of only having to make one meal with all the weighing and measuring that goes with it. Also nice to have something substantial. I did find today pretty hard at points but stuck with it and ready for tomorrow. Good luck to you both!

Hi Nonna Mary, I’ll be interested to see how Jovis responds. As for me since getting so sick with the flu and then a death in the family, closely followed by Christmas, I have been putting on weight. Sort of annoyed with myself but also resigned. Once things settle in the new year I will be starting the 800 again with 1000 on the days following any exercise. We had three lots to cancer this year: me with a pre melanoma, my brother with prostate cancer which will not kill him as it is contained (have to laugh, he’s on hormone therapy and looking forward to hot flushes and mood swings), and my brother in law who died only 16 days after being diagnosed with cancer. Not the best year.

There’s no doubt that sugar is the enemy, particularly when hidden in other things. Unfortunately I don’t just have a sweet tooth, I also have a savoury tooth – in fact I just have a tooth. I don’t mind if I never eat pasta, potatoes, rice or any other underground veg again, but don’t take my bread away from me. And I’ve been experimenting in cooking with quite challenging French pastries such as Kouign Amman. Yummy but one has to test the product.

Any news of Canadaliz?

Hugs

C

Wow, Luvtcook and Allie, two very useful replies. Thank you both – and good to meet up again Luvtcook 🙂
I will look at all those suggestion and fine tune my week’s menu. I know otherwise I will end up in the supermarket buying who knows what!
I agree having a break is not good for me either as I never go back.
I have found research that says fasting for up to 12-14 hours is OK but more may aggravate gallstone – which I have already plenty of. So 2 meals in 10 hours is going to be perfect I think. And fizzy water! I love soft drinks and can drink liters so it’s going to have to be fizzy water I think.I’ve never heard of black soya beans so something to discover.
I’ve found the link to 150 Best Keto Side Dishes and indeed cauliflower seems to be a staple.

Thank you so much for the ideas and leads. x

Oh Speedy, can I ever relate to being an all or nothing person! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Throw in
“perfectionist” on top of that… Maybe you can relate to the old adage “if
it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well” and you have me standing before you!
It does seem as though I made it work for me, however. You might try typing
“20 G Carbs Anyone?” into the search box at top right of the page to see how
I went about it, with some typical menus. At two months in I hit an 18 day
stall, and dropping to <20 gm broke it for me, and I never had another. The
conclusion was that I’m highly insulin resistant, but others do very well on
30 gm. We also ate fish 3 x wk, if you think you could tolerate that? I
could easily be a pescatarian though, so it was no hardship for me. Whatever
you decide, it’s got to be something that you enjoy to be able to sustain it long
term. I also never took any breaks. Put out a call to other vegetarians who
I’m sure would have some good suggestions and advice! Esnecca is a
magnificent resource for food ideas, so be sure to look her up. One of
many great ideas I learned from her was to substitute black soybeans for
chili/red/black beans. Her weight loss history is jaw dropping, too! Don’t
miss it 🙂

See you out and about!
Allie

Oh Natalie I so feel your pain! I have two much loved sisters who have never cracked 9stone without a good excuse (pregnancy! Even then they snapped back effortlessly to waif like proportions!). Even though I have lost 3st 6lb I am still the ‘big one’. They eat whatever they like whenever they like. They are like my dad’s family, I am the image of my mother. So unfair but don’t give up! As they are lovely people I am sure they will be encouraging of you and sincerely delighted with your success so far.

I hope your day with your family is a happy one. Happy new year! 🎉🎉

Hi Zippy, my story is very similar to yours too. I started last year too and lost a couple of stone in 6 months, then put a lot back on over the next 6 months. Restarted Feb this year, lost a stone then it crept back on. Latest restart Sept and I’m finally back to my lowest weight from last year now. I read Fungs Complete Guide to Fasting and am doing one meal a day approx 5 days a week, two meals the other days, max 20g carbs, approx 800 cals. With these extra tools I’m hopeful of sticking with it this time. Wishing you great success.

Hey ElizzyB, sounds like you are in a good place to do all this. If the book seems a bit much/overwhelming, as it did for me to start with, then the key things are no obvious carbs (good rule no rice/pasta/bread/pastry/sugar) or root veg and no half fat/no fat stuff – full fat is king and important to stop you being hungry. Lots and lots of water. I started like this, then after a few days of feeling crap (carb flu, it’s a thing) I eased into working out how many carbs and calories. The amazing thing with low carbs is how you don’t feel hungry on 800 cals. But fro me the key thing is the low carbs, as for at least a week of my 8 weeks I couldn’t count calories or carbs as I was on holiday in France and I still lost weight sticking to the ‘principles’. I really haven’t found this process hard, it’s been so liberating.

There’s a lot of debate on this forum about how low carb you need to go, but I think the answer is ‘it depends’ – on you and your own personal metabolism. I’m quite low carb through preference, others get good results with more carbs, just see how it goes, it’s a beautifully flexible thing. So see how you go and then adjust accordingly.

Best of best luck, you sound good to go to me! X

Lying awake this morning with my stomach full of acid thinking about going to see my side of the family for lunch today. My mother’s brother and sister’s families. Don’t get me wrong, they are lovely people. Lovely, gorgeous, tanned, athletic, thin thin thin people. And I had to grow up the only fat one, well me and my mum. They are seriously beautiful, Kellie has done some modelling, Raina is an air hostess or whatever they are called nowadays, Laura who has youth on her side at about 25 is honestly the prettiest person I have ever seen. And is also a lovely person. My aunt Mandy is in her 60s, looks a slender attractive 40. I wish they weren’t so nice so I could hate them all.

I was always ‘the smart one’.

And the thing is, they all avoid fatty foods like it’s poison and love carbs and sugar. Adore their sugary sweet desserts. And they are skinny and glowing with health. How does that work? I’m taking a couple of roast chickens along today. Kellie is bringing croissants and muffins. It’s enough to make anyone give up.

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