Just about to start BSD and want to get the best Commercial Meal-replacement Diet shakes available in Scotland UK. Anyone got any ideas please.

Natalie, I fast until lunch every day and have 2 BSD friendly meals – also have tea with milk in the mornings. Have been losing 2-3lbs per week using this woe but haven’t tried to see whether I’d lose more without said tea. I’m happy with a steady loss of 2lb per week, and am probably at the halfway point until my target. May review this when I get closer to goal by mixing up some fast days.

I’m very proud of that Mary! 🤣🤣 Go girl xx

Happy Anniversary Theodora! I hope to one day achieve what you have.

Happy to report a 2 lb loss this week, so down to 10st 9lb. Briefly weighed 10st 8lb just for a day on Saturday, but not getting disheartened, this works. Aiming for another 2lb next week as this will be my 2 stone weight loss milestone.

KOKO everyone, and enjoy your trip to China TC. Good luck with your goal of avoiding food with more bones than you 🤣

Thanks for posting all x

I’ve been a bit frustrated with slow loss so I need this thread more than ever!
1. Maybe I haven’t lost much in the past 10 days, but I’m still at a much much happier weight than I was six months ago!
2. We’ve had several days of cooler weather and I’ve been able to get out in the garden every day, it had been too hot for a while to do anything. It’s going to heat up again soon and that is also nice – back in the pool!
3. Rereading old Enid Blyton “Mallory Towers” boarding school books. Such an alien world to an Australian! And probably not really much like that in reality.

Fair enough Lovetcook. You obviously know what you are doing!

After a small loss last week and now three days at the same weight, I’m going to mix it up a bit by extending my fasting window by skipping breakfast. I don’t usually do this even though I’m not hungry in the morning, because in the past (not on BSD) if I skip breakfast I suddenly get ravenous mid-morning and make bad choices. But I’m hoping BSD changes to my body/blood sugar stability will help with that, and I have a plan for what to eat if I do get really hungry before lunchtime – not just whatever random junk I can grab quickly!. I normally eat about two hours after getting up, stretching that to five hours might be a bit much so lunch might be very early today!

But, is the general consensus that my early morning tea with a splash of milk (so I’m not fully fasting) makes this whole exercise completely pointless? Or just a bit less effective?

Welcome Yams1979, don’t beat yourself up about the yo-yo in, we’re only human!
This is the first time I’ve done anything like this and I’m only a week in but I can honestly say that I haven’t been hungry (apart from once when I was tired more than hungry) and haven’t missed carbs at all. That said I am really lucky that I’m doing this with hubby and don’t have kids at home so we just don’t have any tempting foods about, it might be harder if I had to watch someone else tucking into a bowl of pasta! Good luck with it.

Mary – you fast piece!

Theodora – what a lovely post to read and what a lovely OH. Congratulations on your BSD first anniversary.

Liz – I’m so sorry. I’ve just noticed you’ve answered a question of mine as part of a response on this thread. I’ve only just seen it. It’s sometimes difficult for me to keep up (I spend days at a time off-line). The fibre thing – I’m trying to make sure I have greens (e.g. spinach) a lot more, and I’ve also started having chia seeds and flaxseed. But generally it’s a work in progress. I’ve also always struggled to stay <20 g carbs and eat all my cals. My initial degree was in English Literature – it put me off reading anything for years – hence I’ve always been curious about how creative people manage when they add business into the mix. l’m enthralled at the idea of a tiny Great British Bake Off Tent with all its contents – I want one! Hope you’re doing well x

My positives
1) I had a really wonderful weekend with my OH, including at his brother’s surprise birthday party.
2) My BIL and his wife have been married for about 5 years. They’ve both been married before and have grown up children – early 20’s upwards. At the weekend I saw a home full of happiness, generations of relatives from both sides, walls full of photos of shared days, old photos of grandparents, great grandparents again from both sides. It was just wonderful, and is still making me smile.
3) I had some lovely, genuine compliments from a young relative. He has experienced a lot of trouble in his life and I know he is still struggling, so for him to be so clearly happy for me was genuinely moving.

Yep, I need help too!! Really have to get my act together or I’ll be back where I started. Starting in the next day or 2. Might try get that book, it sounds interesting

Leelee, lovely of you to pop in. I am afraid I didn’t wear the dress….sniggers….he bought me a nightie so I wore that…

Love Mary
xxx

Hello, can I join in here too please! I am ready to start in the next day or two. Have spent today browsing the 8 week bsd recipe book, and fighting a carb withdrawal battle on the couch, as I needed to wean myself before getting stuck in properly to the 800 cal for 8 weeks programme. I have decided to follow the 8 weeks of recipe plans in the back of the book to the letter, to take any decision making out of the equation!
Am currently pretty annoyed with myself as I have gained an awful lot of weight since summer 2017, it’s been a feature of my life since having my first baby in 2001 that I have lost and gained the same 2 stone over and over again. Last time though I really worked hard and had my food and gym work all fairly close to perfect and I have just let it all slide. I’m determined to get my act together and lose a significant amount of weight permanently as I can’t keep yoyo-ing like this. I have tried everything, WW, SW, Unislim etc. but when I discovered the gym and circuit training I started unwittingly following a low carb high protein good fats diet that worked really really well for me and kept me feeling full and satisfied. I’m dreading weighing myself tbh, post Christmas and we’ve just been away in Lanzarote for a week so it’s been a beer fest as well as a carb fest 😭😭 for the last 4 weeks. I will weigh and measure in the morning though, wish me luck

I lost 5lbs in first week and decided not to weigh myself until the 4 week mark however I had a cup of tea with sugar 😔 we all have our moments of weakness but I’m not deterred. Maybe u should look into the 5:2 fast as a chance in habits is hard to break straight away

Just popping in to wish the lovely Nonna Mary a truly lovely birthday.
Steak a la Jovis sounds just the ticket but I do hope you wore your lovely dress. A night in can be very special.

Have a lovely evening xx

The dehydrator has been busy today. I thought you guys might enjoy a little glimpse behind the curtain at the process.

Here are clumps of fresh ginger after they’ve been peeled, mashed in the food processor and had all their juice squeezed out of them with a cheesecloth. I use ginger juice all the time. No way I’m donating it to the dehydrator. He’ll just make it disappear! Besides, it dries faster the drier it is to begin with.

https://s13.postimg.org/lpdwfhjvr/ginger1.jpg

Here are the clumps broken up on the tray ready to go.

https://s13.postimg.org/fbotc74p3/ginger2.jpg

Here’s the tray in place.

https://s13.postimg.org/lcmi9fz2v/dehydrator.jpg

The second one right below it is garlic, my father’s homegrown, as a matter of fact, which makes the greatest powder I’ve ever tasted. I put that in this morning so it’s almost done. Another hour or so and it will time to take it out, give it a few minutes to cool, then grind it all up to fine powder.

Toby101, not to worry. I have plenty of extra fat to sustain me. Am still over 50 lbs above my target. I did a broth fast on Day 1 and 2, I am actually doing a 5:2 style fast on Day 3 nd 4 (had about 300 – 400 calories in a flax seed toast with avocado, large green salad for supper). And per Jason Fung’s book, they often do 7 – 14 day fasts on their overweight patients. Taking vitamins daily. And feel great. If I didn’t I would stop.

The data suggests that you are actually in a pretty protected state while fasting (or near fasting). The real danger is in a chronic calorie reduction (say of 500 lbs) that does not kick your system into an autophagy mode where you actually have a rise in growth hormone, etc.

Would just like to nudge over whatever roadblock I am currently hitting. I am sure it will show up eventually….just need to be patient. So much easier said than done.

It’s time for more fun with post-Christmas sales. I call these my double cats, one cat is the leopard print, the other is the kitten heel. These are my first kitten heels ever and I adore them. So, so comfy.

https://s13.postimg.org/wz6maeu1z/kittens.jpg

For Theo and Allie who enjoy the sleekness and versatility of black as an anchor, and to prove to all y’all that not always about the technicolor explosion for me, check out these sweet suede loafers with a herringbone emboss and studs around the soles.

https://s13.postimg.org/73mvr92iv/herring.jpg

Nothing to report, just posting to tick the subscribe box. Don’t know how it unticked itself.

Happy Anniversary Theo! You are a gentle warm and guiding presence on this thread. I hope you are basking in the warmth directed to you by so many on this forum.

Theodora can I add my thanks and good wishes. You are amazing and it’s reading yours and the others stories that keeps me going.

Thank you.

Nonna Mary
xxxx

Right. other half a pound down this morning again, but so that makes 3.5 lbs , all told ( it was 3 down not 2.5 yesterday i now realise) … That’s half , half a stone.. ( sounds better eh? ) .. that half a pound may not stick ,but at least it shows I am going (snails pace) in the right direction

I have absolutely weighed every last crumb on the electronic scales today.. Ive had dinner and MFP says 746 calories .. Plain tap water ice and lime slice only this evening

I also had a headache and was really thirsty today ,, not helped in that i think i may be getting a cold.. BUT I AM DETERMINED 🙂

I have glugged loads of water today ..

I have also reminded myself that i did see 12st.12 a couple of days before I restarted this which was my Panic weight .. so if I count that it makes 5.5lbs down in two and a half weeks ..

I have also gained this week, just 0.1kg, but still a gain. I have been struggling to fight a cold and very sore throat so have drunk a couple of cans of cider over the course of the week because I craved a fizzy drink to help with the sore throat, so was up slightly on carbs to my normal aim, and I and have not been as physically active as normal. So guess its not as bad as it could have been.

I have found that I am sleeping more deeply on longer than normal. Just sometimes I end up having dreams about out of control steam engines (whenever one of the cats sneaks into the house and I wake up to find him purring in my ear.)

Who indeed, Cathy?!! But here we are, a whole year later, a whole lot lighter and, without doubt, a whole lot healthier. 😊

Thank you for your lovely comments and here’s to our next year – in maintenance obviously. 😀

Happy BSD anniversary Theodora! What an inspiration you have been to me and many BSDers! You really do shine on here and I love your vitality and enthusiasm. What a great ambassador you are for this way of eating. Well done on your fantastic weight loss and thank you for your positivity throughout our journey together. Like you I am at goal and maintaining. I didn’t lose as quickly as you did and still struggle to stay at goal weight and my aim is to try to get under (can’t seem to manage it) to give me the wiggle room that you managed to achieve. Congratulations Theodora and thank you for the help and support. Here’s to another year ahead! Who’d have thought this time last year what we would achieve!

Awww, bless you Essie. Thank you for such a lovely response, all the more treasured because not only do I count you as my valued BSD friend, not to mention fashion mentor, you are most definitely one of my BSD heroes. 😊

Allie, I need to get my dad a pith helmet for his bald pate! He still wears the bear hat I got him in the USSR in February of 1990 (the last year there was a USSR). It’s the hottest hat in existence, he says, which is why he looks like Brezhnev whenever he shovels snow. 😀

Happy anniversary, Theo! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you accomplished something grand with the BSD and with maintenance. It thrills and inspires me to see how far you’ve come, how generously you support other BSDers and perhaps most of all, the flowering of your wardrobe.

May your second BSD year be as exceptional as your first. 🙂

Don’t look backwards and don’t abuse yourself in thought, word or deed. What’s happened has happened. You absorb the hard lesson and use it to fortify your resolve as you move forward on the BSD. You need all your resources and strength to take on a lifestyle change of this depth. Mortifying yourself will only debilitate you and hold you back. This is an active thing, stingle. You have to stop morbid, self-hating thoughts in the moment. I mean, literally stay “STOP!” out loud and then redirect your thinking to emphasize your successes and to plan and organize your meals for even more success.

You’ve done the BSD before and you rocked it out. Once you get past that first week or so, the carb flu, the cravings, your confused body unsure of what it’s supposed to do now that you’ve removed its laziest source of non-nourishment, you’ll have energy galore to propel you towards your weight loss and fitness goals. No fear. No living in the past. Not one step backwards.

Good luck!

This week it’s my turn to celebrate my first BSD anniversary, and what a terrific find both this WOE and this Forum have been.

I began on 16th January weighing 11st 7lbs, hoping to lose about 1.5st and, in my wildest dreams, 2st but never actually believed that was possible. Yet by the end of 16 weeks I had lost a phenomenal 3st!!!! I entered maintenance in early May and yet went on to lose another half stone whilst increasing calories slowly, but keeping carbs low. I can now easily fit into my wedding dress – and I got married in the late 60s!!

So here I am one year later, weighing just 8st, with a BMI of about 20, and body fat of just 22″% I did in fact, at one point, when we were undergoing rather a lot of stress, drop as low as 7st 7lbs but happily I soon regained those 7lbs, and have held steady ever since. My method of maintenance has been to stay low carb, but I no longer count calories. Monday – Thursday I am “careful” of what I eat, but I relax Friday – Sunday, and even allow myself s few glasses of wine on each of those days, as we have quite a sociable lifestyle, and eat out 2 – 3 times a week, but I always stay low carb. I can’t remember when I last felt this good – healthy, energetic and full of vitality. Thank you MM and Prof Taylor.

I have disposed of every single item of large baggy clothing I possessed, and my wardrobe is now bursting at the seams with wonderful size UK8s, and I have become far more adventurous in my choice of clothing (see the Phoenix thread) – now it’s a pleasure to shop!

Not only have I lost more weight than I ever dreamed possible and settled happily into maintenance, I feel as though I have made so many new friends around the globe. So thank you to everyone, for your support and friendship. Long live BSD.

My positives today are:-

1) Today is my first anniversary of starting BSD and finding this forum, and making new friends.
2) I have spent the entire day (7am – 4pm) doing a house clearance (not mine) which I had been dreading, but had to be done. 😭 Nowhere near finished, but feel as though I may have broken the back of it.
3) Came home absolutely exhausted, feeling grubby and dishevelled and emotional, to find a cup of tea waiting, and that o/h, who has NEVER EVER IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE done it before, had groomed (or at least attempted to) both of my exceptionally hairy dogs, to “try to take a bit of the pressure off you” he said, when I nearly burst into tears. After nearly 49 years of marriage, he still has the power to surprise me.💕

Sounds ideal Mary. You can always wear your dress in your own private setting!

Hope Jovis feels better and you both enjoy your birthday x

Tilly

It just sounds perfect, Nonna Mary 🙂 🙂 🙂
Enjoy!

Welcome, stingle.
You have come to the right place if you need to offload / rant, or could do with help, support, encouragement, and yes, sometimes a kick up the backside if necessary.

One of the best things about this forum is that nobody is judgmental and no matter how many times you fall off the wagon, someone will reach out a hand to you and pull you firmly back on. You can do this – you’ve done it before, you can do it again. Start NOW.

Good luck, and keep us posted on progress.

So we are staying in. Jovis has had a sinus pain all day and I am feeling tired, so we are going to have steak and vegetables done a la Jovis. Lovely.

Mary
xxx

Hi Allie! 😀

Well whatever sunshine girl, your response to the condition is inspiring!

My daughter rarely sees a chocolate as she is either working in the research department, developing recipes (that’s how I know what goes in Cadburys) or setting up systems for production – she is an engineer. As for me, I cant stand milk chocolate but love a high cocoa dark with a minimum of 70% which Cadburys dont do except for the Green and Blacks.

Hello, stingle! I completely agree with californiagirl’s (Hi Julia) literary
recommendation. Taubes book changed my life to the tune of 148lbs
lost and maintained for 9 months. From that point onward, I’ve never
looked at any food with the same eyes as before. Best of luck to
‘you!

Allie

Well stingle you do have someone to talk to -US there are lots of here listening to you and knowing exactly where you are coming from. I myself lost 25lbs then slowly put back 10lbs with various visitors and holidays and a cruise and Christmas – it just keeps adding up. Although I have never truly left it as it controls my blood glucose, I have at times stopped counting the calories and having too many wines with the odd one turning into the odd 2 or 3. Hey ho, we are all human. Lets get back on it with determination and motivation and just go for it. AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. Or as I usually say, keep on keeping on…

Thanks Allie for that.
Jean

Hi toby101 far from being demotivated it was a big boost to me. Being on insulin makes it doubly hard to lose weight and my doctor was thrilled that I was able to lose anything. But for me the big motivator was a BG from 190 to 80 in around 5 weeks and I still continue with that even though I have the occasional glitch over holidays. I finally lost a total of 25lbs but managed to put 10 back on with various holidays and that feeding trough called a ‘cruise’ but I am now well on my way to losing that. My BG on my HbA1c was 6.0 and that is up from 5.6 so Christmas did take its toll. I always try to live low carb but sometimes stop counting calories and have the occasional wine or vodka but hardly a piece of bread has been had and I sometimes nick a couple of oven chips from hubbys plate but no mashed or baked potatoes, rice or pasta, no matter how good it might look.

Jean, there isn’t any specific reference, other than a small statement
that it may help stabilize blood sugar. There are a whole host of other
nutritional advantages, but I wouldn’t rely on it to alter BSL. I consider
it an unsubstantiated claim at best, and may not even apply to humans.
No quick fixes, I’m afraid 🙂 The BSD is by far and away the best way
to get things under control. Best of luck to you!

Allie

Good morning from California stingle. I am reading your post at my kitchen table with the sun just lightening the sky — the dogs are licking the last of their breakfast and the cat has gone off to find a warm spot for his all-day nap.
Having been where you are, I know exactly how frustrating it is and how mad you are at all of it (and yourself).
My advice is to just “start again”. That’s the only way I got there. I had a steep learning curve and it just took me some time to get the BSD principles into my head.
I had to read and re-read the BSD book over and over and I “started over” day after day after day (after day).
Can you get a copy of Gary Taubes book, “Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It”? It is the perfect companion book to the BSD and somehow understanding WHY I had struggled so long made all the difference to HOW I saw myself and the BSD diet.
It became a new way of life for me, not a diet anymore and that is how it finally “clicked” for me.
Start again today. Every day you keep at it, whether well done or not-so-well-done, will build up over time and you will get there.
just start again

Luvtcook, if I understand you correctly you have just had 4 days complete fasting following 3 days of 800 calories? That really does not sound at all healthy to me and your body could be reacting in all sorts of not necessarily good ways to being faced with virtual starvation.

THanks Allie
I cant see any reference to BSL. Is there a specific section on the website.

Cheers
Jean

Hello, Seaviewjoy. I know of maca to help with low energy levels,
but read this link for any reference to BSL

https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/powders/organic-maca-powder/premium.htlm

There is also red maca, as well as a gelatinized version.
I hope this helpful!

Allie

To all those struggling with plateaus and slowdowns…..there just is no predictibility is weight loss. Patience is the only option.

I have been losing pretty predictibly overall (3 lbs a week, recently aided by 2 days of fasting a week on top of 800 cals a day the other 5), but have had some short stalls followed by a bigger loss.

This week….no loss whatsoever, so I extended my fast from 2 days to 4 days. My payoff after 4 days of fasting…a total loss over the last 9 days of 1 lb. One pound ! Go figure. But there really is no alternative but to keep on keeping on. It will show up eventually, but it certainly tries your patience. And this is alcohol free and under 20 carbs a day with moderate protein.

I have also been monitoring my blood ketones these last 4 days and all readings are in the nutritional ketosis / optimal ketosis range. So fat burning IS going on. And my clothes continue to fit better . I have one “aspirational” coat that I try on every week and note how close to “full buttoning / easy drape fit” we are getting to. Improvement there as well. My scales have just NOT gotten the message.

Just saw this in the medical news this week. Reported a finding that obese subjects may have addional difficulty losing weight due to “scarring” in the fat deposits. It almost sounds like a mesh of tiny scars in fat that inhibits them from being metabolized as easily as the fat of thinner subjects. I frequently wonder about the mechanism that allows 3-5 lbs of weight to drop off overnight. If the scarring does in fact “hold it in place” even though it is weakened and riddled with holes from dieting, maybe this accounts for it finally collapsing and showing up as a big loss. Someday maybe science will figure it out.

For those interested in the article, below is an excerpt and the link:

TROUBLE LOSING WEIGHT? THIS MIGHT BE WHY

” Some people find it harder to lose weight than others, but why is this? A new study has identified a molecule in fat
cells that could be to blame.”

“On further investigation, the researchers found that the increase in … expression of a specific molecule (LOX) which
…was driven by an increase in oxygen deprivation and inflammation in fat cells, which occurs when fat cells become
larger.”

“Unfortunately, studies have shown that fat tissue fibrosis can make it harder for individuals to lose weight. “But this
does not mean that scarring makes weight loss impossible,” Dr. Kos emphasizes.”

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320622.php

Hi S-G – I lost 15lbs in my first ever 8 weeks and was on cloud nine so I actually think that 13lbs is brilliant. Remember the tortoise and the hare.

I think that a slow loss teaches you more about yourself and your body and gives you time to adjust fully to maintenance when it comes, which is a massive challenge. I got to very near my goal weight within 3 months and maintenance has not worked for me at all, barely managing a few weeks before bad habits crept back in and the weight crept back on.

To anyone who is a slow loser, it can be discouraging to read about others’ massive weight losses but this plan is a marathon, not a sprint so just take it one day at a time and your results will be just as valid and taste just as sweet as any others – maybe even better.