No weight loss for me today. I did have a small carby snack last night, which could well be why. Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson!

On the positive side no gain either so I’m still 5lb lighter than I was on the first. I mostly feel fine. My body is telling me about the exercise I’ve been doing. Nothing serious, just a general all round ‘oh, using your muscles again are you?’ type thing.

I’m on the 4 week challenge, but have decided I need to ‘re-boot’ so will jump on here, too; late but not too late, I hope.

I’m currently upping my calories by 50 cals per week from 800 to 1000 (850 this week) where I’ll stick for the rest of this challenge (as long as I’m still losing). I’ll keep my carbs <20g. I have about 1- 1 1/2 stone to lose so figure if I can get back to basics, get my head down and push on I’ll get there by Spring. The next two months on here will be a great start.

Mentally, I’m going to go back to the beginning of BSD. This time round I’m going to step it up a gear – keep my hydration levels up, increase the fibre, and make sure there’s plenty of food variety. My main focus will be on ‘bedding in’ this way of life – both eating and activity – so that it’s sustainable long-term.

I weighed in on Tuesday at 10 stone 2lb. My target is to lose 9lb to get to 9 stone 7lb by the end of this challenge.

I know what I need to do so no messing about now – I’m just going to do it.

Go well everyone.

Great results Zolou. I’m imagining people looking at your ‘odd’ sprint spurts over the next few weeks and noticing you getting slimmer. Perhaps it really will get fashionable?

SueBlue, it sounds as though you’re on the right track too.

Personally I’m not actually calculating carbs, but I’m going to start paying more attention to how many are in different food and making the better choices – plus avoiding the refined ones (almost) entirely.

Positives for today:
1. My husband gave me an Apple Watch for Christmas (I love it) and at first I was using the shorter band but on the longest hole. But today I moved to the next hole! So in two weeks my left wrist has lost weight, at least a little bit.
2. This is the second day in a row I’ve filled all three health ‘rings’ on the watch: heart-rate-raising exercise, general movement, and standing every hour.
3. Feeling a bit odd today, a bit hollow both physically and emotionally, but stuck to my food plan. Didn’t eat when I was bored in the afternoon!

‘Afternoon, Flick! (3:00am here). Isn’t it remarkable how fast 8 weeks can
go by when it’s accompanied by a positive attitude and the joy of making
new friends!? Recognizing the NSV is such a boost, and I love reading
yours, because I can relate to every one of them 🙂 Okay, maybe not the
tidy house bit!! When it’s a toss up between “chatting” and the vacuum
cleaner, I routinely come down on the side of sociability. There are many
other NSV on the horizon for you, but I’m going to let you discover them
for yourself! Soar like an eagle, “not one step backward” is ringing in the
air….What are your plans at completion of the 8 weeks?
I was thinking about your heat wave as I was scraping 12″ of snow off
the car this morning, at a balmy temp. of -19C degrees! Still want to
join us in Connecticut to play in the snow? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Sounds like you’ve had a great 1st 9 days Zolou 🙂
I might try the no carb bircher again with hot water and grated apple, as when I made it with apple juice, as suggested in the book, it was far too sweet, I didn’t enjoy it at all.
I’m not quite up to a week yet, I started Tues 2nd, but I’ve already lost 2kg (from my Christmas gain). I haven’t been sticking to 800 calories – more like 1000/1100. I’m still on holidays from work and have been having lunches out, takeaway dinners etc. I did get my shopping delivery last night though and I ordered lots of fresh veg, eggs, cheese, smoked salmon, cans of beans and lentils, so I’m all prepared to go down to 800 calories and stick to the plan from Monday.
I had Pecan Chia porridge for breakfast this morning, one of my favourite breakfast recipes from the 8 week BSD recipe book. i make it with Twinnings raspberry and blueberry tea instead of the suggested Earl grey tea and it’s lovely, the flavour really goes well
With the fresh raspberries and blueberries I used. Lunch was vegetable frittata from the 8 week BSD book and tea was vegetable pizza, made with a soca base (chickpea flour and water), and some more salad.
It’s been easy keeping up with water intake as it was 40’degrees here today, and it’s going to be 42-45 tomorrow (centigrade!). I think it will be salad for
Lunch and dinner tomorrow 🙂

Morning all, I thought I’d post an update for my week 1 (it’s actually day 9 for me now).

I started at 167.2lb, waist 44″. Waist needs to get to 33″ to be half my height, so I’m guessing I’m aiming for around 133lb (middle of the healthy weight range).

Diet: I stuck to just the two or three meals a day and used the recipes, with a fair amount of swaps and improvisation. I was a bit free and easy with the veg, getting more into calorie counting that now.

Steps: I surprised myself by averaging over 10,000 steps a day, just because I was quite restless in that first week. So now I’ll be having to keep that up!

HIT: I did my three HIT sessions over the week – just sprint spurts when I was out walking. It probably looks a little odd but I’m aiming to make it fashionable. It’s a great enlivener.

Strength: Been doing yoga every morning – a few sun salutations the first couple of days and then Yoga with Adriene’s free True programme on YouTube. The last few days when I’ve been feeling weaker there have been some adaptations 🙂

Mindfulness: I did meditations on five of the days, but the yoga is very mindful so I’m not worrying if I don’t always do it as a separate thing.

Standing up every half hour: I downloaded a nice bong for my phone and got into the habit of setting it when I sat down. I actually quite enjoyed it, but it went by the board after the first couple of days. I’d quite like to have a go at re-instating it.

Results for week 1: weight 159.8, so lost 7.4lb. That’s actually amazing when you compare it to all my other diet efforts (e.g. 4lb lost in the 28 days I did Whole30 before giving up)

After my body’s little protest on day 6, I’m still a bit weaker but taking things mindfully and had a gently active day on day 8 yesterday.

All the best everyone, lovely to be part of this – wish we could all meet up for a nice Pho soup and a country amble!

BTW, had the no-oats (“carb-free”) bircher from the book yesterday, subbing frozen blackberries, hot water and grated apple for the raisins and apple juice, to the same calorie count. It was so yum.

Esnecca, I like your no going back outlook.

As an easy Friday night meal after a hard week I would often make nachos in the past. I haven’t done it since starting BSD obviously, but was finding I was missing the ritual and the flavours. So this week, I made cauliflower nachos:
http://pulses.org/nap/recipe/one-pan-cauliflower-nachos/
I followed the instructions for the cauliflower almost exactly, but added a bit of nutritional yeast as well. Then I did my usual toppings (refried beans, salsa, avocado, cheddar cheese and olives) instead of the ones in the recipe, but using less refried beans and salsa than I would have previously; just enough to give it the flavour of those items.
It was a delicious and satisfying meal. I will definitely make it again.

Cameron2337, that sounds like a very modest blow-out, and after walking 17K you’d have to have been superhuman to resist a few extra calories. It sounds like you’re doing great. Be gentle with your poor ol’ self! I know it’s frustrating when you worked hard all day to keep things in check but then feel like you didn’t get to bank the rewards. Well done for getting back on the horse.

Well done Natalie, I had stalled for 2 days and then 1.6lb down this morning, so feeling good too – those scales are funny things!

Natalie, I thought of you early and your lovely new pool earlier. Apparently it is going to be even hotter tomorrow.

Esnecca, I woukd love to come over and tidy cupboards in exchange for your delcious and interesting food, especially if there is an actual cat attached to those fur balls. I would though need some time off to go play in the snow!

Hi all! Dr. Mosley (and community): do you have any stories of success for post-menopausal women with relatively small amounts of weight to lose? I’m not pre-diabetic; I’ve just gained about 10-15 lbs over the past decade and it is very stubborn! I just want to get back into my favorite jeans! I’m generally in reasonable health (blood sugars are normal) and reasonably active (10,000 steps; go to gym). I’ve started on the Mediterranean diet outlined in the book and am about to start the 5:2. In the past month just on the Mediterranean diet, I’ve felt good and maintained my weight, but haven’t lost any. Thanks for any thoughts.

Hi all, I’m an Aussie but in the US! Also just getting started. My husband and I have been eating the Mediterranean way for about a month, and I’m easing into doing the 5:2 as well now. I feel good, and have lost a TINY bit of weight… I am in my 50s, post-menopause, and just have a stubborn 10-15lbs to lose that has crept up on me over the past ten years. I’m at 144 lbs and would like to be between 130 and 135. My diet wasn’t awful before this, and I’m moderately active already– I do the 10, 000 steps and go to the gym. And I’ve just started THE DAILY BURN, an online daily workout program I like a lot!

I’ve found with previous diet attempts (not BSD) that those last 10 – 15lbs are really hard to budge, so I’m hoping that the 5:2 will work well. I really like this way of eating, don’t miss the starchy carbs, and find it very satisfying. I’ve also given up drinking wine with dinner during the week. Time will tell whether I actually lose weight, or will need to push harder (e.g. doing the 8 weeks / 800 cals) but I don’t want to get into a deprivation mentality, so I’m taking it slowly, one change at a time.

Glad to have you all here, and thanks for sharing your experiences and optimism!

Flick I was out trimming lawn edges this morning and felt dizzy from the heat!

Happy new year to you, SSB! May it be one where we reach our goals. 🙂

Thanks Sunny B! I appreciate the welcome and encouragement :). Got a bit derailed by Christmas and travel, but I’m back on the 5:2 now.

Are you available for short-term leasing? Because my apartment could keep you as busy as you’d like for the next, oh, 6 months or so? I’d pay you in BSD-friendly food and all the giant tumbleweeds of cat fur you can carry. 😀

I once literally beat my forehead against the wall when I stepped on the scale and saw the numbers had gone up for no reason. My OH came running in when he heard the noise of madness and I blubbered like an infant for a few minutes while he made sweet reassuring noises. Then I got it together and moved on. This is a rollercoaster ride and begininning, middle and end, you will experience moments of hyperemotional sensitivity, rage, despair, glee, triumph and all the rest of the magical rainbow of human feeling. Treat all those impostors just the same and keep your eyes on the prize.

The takeaway lesson is you cracked the first week and what you thought would be a giant unscalable mountain turned out to be a rolling hill. A little rocky, but entirely manageable. You’re doing great, Melliedaffodils. Congratulations!

Well it’s day five of week 8 for meand I’ve been the same weight for 3 days. Back to my usual pattern. I guess it’s safe to say I have cracked the 10kg mark (10.4, I’m counting). A stall so close to the end of Round 1 seems fitting for me, so here are some non scale victories I’ve noticed lately.

1. I can cross my legs properly 🤪
2. The sleeves on my lululemon walking t-shirts are no longer tight
3. I’m finding the heat no so unbearable – even managed some weeding this morning and it’s tipped to reach 37 C here
4. Still sleeping like a champion, even on some warmer nights, and
5. With all this consistent nergy, my house is looking the best it has for years. I’ve just about run out of cupboards to organise!

🎉🎉🌟🌟🌟

This is dangerous ground, especially in the early days. You can’t just casually walk in and order like it was the old days. You have to prepare, read every ingredient, calculate the numbers to make they’re not lying (they lie a lot) and most difficult of all, you have to follow through on the plan instead of winding up with a foot’s worth of Subway sugarsponge bread in your belly before you even realize it. The smell of waffle fries and crispy battered food you can’t have is going to be a major problem. You want to set yourself up for success. Standing in the middle of 8 lane highway thinking you can zig-zag your way through masses of cars coming at you is not the easy route you’re looking for.

A quick glance at Chik-fil-a’s menu, for instance, finds that the Grilled Market Salad is 330 cals and a ludicrous and offensive 26 grams carbs. And that’s before you dump actual sugar on it in the form of the fat-free abominations they pass off as salad dressings. Even the Cobb with No Meat, the lowest in cals and carbs, is 250 calories and 18 grams. Their so-called Superfood bowl has 25 grams of carbs. Dressing and dips are terrible, bursting with sugar, with only the buffalo sauce low in carbs and has no sugar on the ingredient list.

Chipotle is a minefield too, even if you manage to avoid hospitalization from food-born illness. No rice. No tortillas. No chips. No beans. That doesn’t leave you with a ton of options. You’re going to find it far more a painful and frustrating experience than a satisfying shortcut.

I second Luvtcook’s suggestion of Boston Market, which has great rotisserie chicken, steamed mixed vegetables and some surprsingly great green beans. Popeye’s has a single option on the menu that works for us: naked cajun-spiced tenders and green beans. They make them southern style with the hamhock and they’re redonkulous. I bring them home and make my own homemade blue cheese dip, something you are particularly adept at, to accompany the chicken since I can’t use their sugar sauce. It has to be drive-through thing because when you go inside you will smell those unbelievable biscuits, so stay in the car.

There’s also the chain steakhouses. Lonhorn’s has a solid pepper steak salad with a la carte veggie sides that are not entirely deplorable. The make their blue cheese in house and there’s no sugar in it. Yup, I checked. Those bottled things these joints buy from Sodexo by the gross are a mess.

These options are the least worst, but frankly they’re all bad. The bald truth is that fast food is part of what got you here. I used it as a crutch in the last couple of years of hyperobesity and the notion that you can put on a leash on the dragon and he’ll walk by your side, docile and sweet as a therapy dog, to give you succor in your time of need is pernicious hooey. His agenda and yours have zero overlap. That guy is going to burn you to a cinder the minute you even think about ordering a grilled chicken patty with no bun.

Hi all, not weighed in today so hoping for good numbers in the morning! Ive had a Bovril and a Miso soup packet today and headaches much better, and less cramping as I was suffering with that too! Finding ‘diet’ part hardest later at night after dinner has gone down, we still have all the chocolates, cracker and biscuits left over from Christmas and present still sat in the living room under the tree and my OH is a slim bean, last night he sat and ate a chewy sweet pizza he had as a pressy next to me! He wasn’t mean about it and it was not too hard to resist as I’m not a huge sweet person. I have managed to resist completely on all those all week but have just nibbled on a small chunk of Mexican Hot Cheese! (we still have a whole eaten cheese board in the fridge!) any ideas for satisfying snacks? I’m also packing up all the carby snacks tomorrow when I take the trimming down and hiding them in the spare room – I hope to be enjoying them in moderation in 8 weeks – lol!

Congrats to the hubby Willothewisp!

Hi Melliedaffoldils, first up, huge congrats for your stunning success so far! I reckon the first week is the toughest, carb and sugar withdrawals, the stress of wondering whether you are going to be able to do it, new style of meals to come to grips with.

For some people, the withdrawal from carbs (remembering they trigger your dopamine pleasure systems) can include a bit of teariness. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are a comfort eater with otherwise disguised unhappiness, it is probably just your body doing what you want it to do. And it will most likely pass quite quickly. Even the new way of eating will start to feel familiar and much easier to manage.

Anyway, congrats on just about completing week 1!

Thanks for the tips! I can also get a chopped salad at Subway. I just remembered, there is a Chick-fil-a near me and a Chipotle. Those would be good to create an on-plan meal.

Judy, just weighing in as another US BSDer….I’m the one who has NOT made goal yet. Have lost 40+ lbs and have just under 60 to go.

Re fast food…..Allie is right that there is not a lot. McDonalds has decent salads with poached chicken. My go to is to run into one of the places offering rotisserie chicken and have that and a salad….or two (if they offer two sides I just get two salads). Boston Market has great salads with chicken.

Thai places offer a lot of stir fries without heavy sauces….just pass on the rice.

Japanese sushi restaurants offer sashimi (fish minus the rice) which I love, and come with a salad and miso soup. Or get some sashimi and a great seaweed salad (lots of fiber and I am addicted to them).

If I am doing errands sometimes I plan a lunch around just popping in and have a seaweed salad and a bowl of miso soup. Acutally very happy with that per your hunger just about disappears on the BSD diet after a while. A relaxing zen cup of tea afterward is good for your soul.

I have even will have a lunch of a just a meatball side and a big salad at an Italian restaurant. Full and happy afterwards. And while the 1-2 meatballs may have a few carbs in it, I make allowances for it in my overall daily count.

There is a website called Netrition https://www.netrition.com that is a favorite of some of us on BSD. They carry several good food lines that have low carb pita bread (Josephs), tortillas (Mama Lupes) and bagels (Great Low Carb Bread Company). The Joseph’s low carb pita are handy to take along in a purse….can pop into Subway and get a ham or turkey sub and load it up with every salad ingredient they offer….and just swap out the bread.

But: Sitting down and mindfully enjoying your food will help you in the long run. Grab and gulp is not good for your diet or your stress level. You deserve better.

Good luck to you!

Just popped on to say

Jules – Hurray, hurray, hurray – if I knew how to insert emojis I would, but I don’t, so I won’t.
Quite right – do nothing, weigh nothing until Tuesday.

Topcac – I agree with SueBlue and Natalie – think that’s brilliant !

Haha, yeah.. 8/17 – 1!17 is only 5 months! I didn’t think that could be correct..

Hi Judy – sorry, I’m not from the US, but the other side of the pond, but wanted to welcome you aboard. Like my good friends Allie and Essie, I too am in maintenance (8 months and counting) and just wanted to offer my support. You can, and will, do anything you set your mind to – and we are all here to cheer you on, congratulate your successes and commiserate when things don’t go entirely to plan.

Good luck, and shout if you need help.

Ecstatic this morning to see 9st 13 on the scales – I’ve made it into the 9’s!!! I won’t dare weigh myself again in case I’ve slipped out. That’s the first of my goals for this challenge met, will try on my goal trousers tomorrow and see if the other is reached.

You are fretting for your previous life as this is such a big thing. Some people feel deprived and get angry some get weepy. It will pass in a couple of days.

Hi WilLuck, I have just one meal a day most days, occasionally two. I find it works beautifully for me as I get a lovely substantial meal plus all the benefits of intermittent fasting. I don’t like breakfast so just gradually pushed my lunch later and later until it became dinner. This along with keeping carbs under 20g and cals around 800 has helped me lose weight easier than ever before. Well done surviving the Friday night clock off!

Hi everyone I’m on day 5 and just getting used to all this. I’m not in a place I expected to be in that I’m finding it ok actually sticking to it and this is probably the first time in my 49 years that I’ve gone this long without carbs or any sugar. I’m a busy working mum and it’s the having to think what I’m going to eat which is hard so I’m trying to plan ahead as best as I can. But I’m very emotional quite tearful in evenings which is so unlike my usual self but this gets better, yes? I have no particular major emotional issues but am thinking maybe I’m a comfort eater and taking away the food particularly the sweet stuff is leaving me vulnerable?. Any advice gratefully received thanks xx

I’ve just stumbled across this thread and it’s very timely.
I’ve been re-reading the BSD bible and noticed the part on 3 positive things. One of my Christmas presents was a Mindfulness colouring-in diary (from my daughters) and I decided to use it for the “3 positives” so have been doing this each day since NY day. I must admit some days it’s easy to find 3 and other days quite hard to find even 1! But it reminds me of my grandmother telling me to “count my blessings”.
I don’t have 3 to post today as the day is just beginning here, but will do so later 🙂

Ha! You see, Judy? We’ve all been through the wringer together so much we can copy edit each other’s life stories. 😀

Topcac that is great! It inspires me to suggest something like this at our next team meeting. I work in a small team of 7 (organisation has about 1000 employees) and each week people bring in cakes & lollies and leave them on the communal table in the lunch/meeting room. It would be lovely to not have them staring me in the face when I’m eating my salads 🙂
We did have boot camp at work a few years ago, I really enjoyed it. It was at lunchtimes though so a bit of a manic rush to get to the training location, change, work out, shower & change and get back to work all within an hour! It was especially challenging when I had meetings straight after lunch, and I’d arrive red-faced from the exertion and hungry as there was no time to eat!
But well done on suggesting this to your company and them adopting it 👍

We should! I’m desperate for a steady supply of Theodora’s beautiful, sustainably caught local fish! I live in Canberra an inland city so reliable supplies of sustainable, healthy fish are a bit tricky. It all comes from the Sydney markets and Australia allows a lot of dodgy seafood in from trading partners. Tasty but not always healthy or good for the ocean.

Great to hear people staying positive even when they are finding it challenging. Well done Natalie love a muppet dance!

I’ve been dreading the weekend as it’s always the hardest time. But I’m through the Friday night clock off which is my biggest trigger for a tipple.

I had the salmon 3 ways from the cook book, the dill crusted one which was great. I’m lucky my other half is at home and a whiz in the kitchen.

I’ve been skipping breakfast as I always have and just having miso soup for lunch with plenty of water during the day. Then having a full meal in the evening from the recipe book. I am just curious if anyone else does that, have just one meal in the day, and has it worked for you?

Topcac that is fantastic! So good for you and for everyone else you work with too. Well done. Work can be a really challenging environment when it’s full of cakes and junk. I used to the the perpetrator (20 years ago) as head of the social club in a big office. Birthday morning teas at least twice a week and always rubbish available for purchase – next to my desk! – to raise money for our Christmas party. No wonder I gradually gained weight. Probably a lot of my co-workers did too.

Hey there Dipgal, I had 3 stone to lose with insulin resistance and found the carb figure (below 20g for me) more important than the calories (though found I can’t ignore calories when I want to lose weight at reasonable pace). Also not eating for a decent 15 hours a day (can’t manage 16).

As I read MM he’s saying low carb (though he doesn’t specify an ideal carb intake) will work to reduce weight over time, but if you need to lose it quickly for health reasons go down to 800 cals to get it off ASAP. I have to confess my 800 phase was high fat, high protein and very low carb, which worked but is probably not healthy long term, so I’m doing loads more veg (and therefore carbs) in maintenance. It’s a bit of a balancing act and I’m waiting to see how it’s affected my blood sugar (blood test results next week) but life is a lot less stressful now and I’ve settled at a healthy weight and a very acceptable dress size.

I think I’ve just answered something you talked about on another thread, but you get the gist!

After a slow start to the week and two days in a row of small gains, I dropped a kg overnight so yay! Fist pump. Muppet dance. This is the lightest I’ve been for many years.

Doodledootoo I’m glad your headache has gone. Hopefully you’re past any carb flu now, as long as you keep your water levels up.

Well done Margaret. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻Well I’ve had a little hiccup as I forgot I am away for a couple of days next week and staying in a hotel. I won’t put myself under pressure to BSD while away but will get right back on it next week. I was out with friends for lunch today and ate a go naked GBK burger..( burger without the bun ) with coleslaw and small salad and a glass of red wine.. I remembered why I love this way of eating has I didn’t feel bloated after eating today. I just felt satisfied.
I will check in again at the end of next week.

MIss ZIggy

Very disappointed with myself following a blow out day yesterday.I had started on Tuesday full of beans but last night gave into temptation and blew out my 800 calories for the day following my dinner. I was good during the day and even managed to walk 17kms during the course of the day ( 18 holes of golf in the morning and mowed lawns in afternoon). Following dinner I had a craving for Nutswhich I had followed by frozen berries and finally some small bits of chocolate. All the hard work out the window due to some poor decisions. Oh well saddle up again this morning and see what today brings and try and be more diligent

Judy, now you know what I mean by POWERFUL! Esnecca is a role model
here, and she literally knows anything and everything about this WOL to
the max! She meant say that her journey began in Aug. 2016, not 2017.
Just a typo! (Hi Essie! 🙂

Hi (again) Allie.. I’m s orta stalking you – in a good way – to read your wisdom-filled posts and get a better idea of how success is achieved. Some commentary about Gary Taubes and the keto WOE.. I’ve read his and so many more books on the subject. I’ve done plain low carb, keto stix.. the whole nine yards – on and off. I”ve followed keto pioneers like Jimmy Moore gain back weight a couple of times without ever straying from the diet. I’ve read studies about the difficulty at sticking with it long term… And, I’ve read that it can mess with your metabolism if done long term (hence Jimmy’s weight gain).. BUT, the reason I think this is different and can and will work long term – is because there are so many alternative tools and sub-plans within the system.

What I mean is – there are so many tweaks.. alternating 800 Cal days with more normal days, while staying LC-Mediterranean style can help us prevent that “failure” mentality which easily leads to totally falling off the wagon. Going on a vacation? Indulge a bit and get back at it immediately.. the extra calories may help nudge a plateau. Or, incorporate the 5:2 method one week and only eat 500 calories on 2 or 3 fasting days and normal LC-Mediterranean on non-fasting days. Take a week or two off the severe restriction and then go back at it..

I also like how members talk about “rounds”.. It’s a great idea to try to maintain a loss for awhile and let the body adjust. And then go to round 2, 3, etc. depending on how much a person has to lose.

I’m rambling now.. but, has anyone out there had success using a combination of the alternative methods?

Hi all
So my headache disappeared this morning. All good there. 2 litres of water today so very happy with that. No brekkie just coffee. Had omelette made in the microwave at work today. It was OK. Dinner was chicken stirfry.
I too often find weekends tough but my tactic to replace Friday night glass of wine is to drink a sparkling water out of my favourite wine glass. Also whilst I manage without breakfast Mon-Fri I find weekends harder. My tactic is brunch around 12. Dinner around 5. I also enjoy cooking at the weekend to be prepared for during the week. I have made a concious effort to be less sociable during January. Saying no when I may have said yes in the past. I have a busy February but January I hope to have laid down a routine to carry me forward.
Thanks for all the posts.

Bless your antipodean upside-down seasons. We should get a supply chain going where we send each other fresh produce whenever they’re in season. Customs might have a wee bit of a problem with it, but that’s what fake declaration forms are for. 😀

The 50 gram figure comes from the ketogenic dieters. They found that quantity is a sweet spot to keep your body in the fat-burning state of ketosis. More than that and it’ll try to stick with burning carbs for fuel because it’s easy. If you’re concerned about rate of loss and staying motivated for the long haul, the lower your carb intake the better. I eat more than 800 calories a day now that I’m at goal, but I’ve been at less than 20 grams a day often less than 10, for 16 months and that’s how it going to stay. I have a motto that I cleave to: not one step backwards. I paid too steep a price for too long to ever get back in the same vicious carb->insulin spike cycle that made the BSD necessary.

Jackie, the idea of our own play group sends a happy little jolt through
my spirit, too! How annoying that the only thing standing in the way is
the minor inconvenience of the Atlantic ocean 🙂 I think acquiring an
iphone will be the first of my New Years resolutions! It would be wonderful
to share the fruit of my busy hands with all my friends here. Going to work
on it!!!

Have a great evening, everyone.

Allie

Hi Judy! Another countrywoman here. Like you, my weight loss goals were ambitious and the BSD was more than up for the challenge. Since August 2017 I have lost more than 200 pounds and at 116.3 LB now weigh less than I did in middle school. I know very, very well the constant agony of knee and pain back, how it glues you to the couch until your back hurts too much and you have to rig up a fort of pillows to find a single comfortable position. It was a big day for me when, after losing 60 or so pounds, I walked up and down a staircase one foot after the other for the first time in a decade at least. It was so momentous I had to call my mom to tell her. 😀

I started exercising with resistance bands because my knees were so unreliable. I got winded and had to take two or three breaks just walking around the block. When I started losing and felt slightly less terrible, I moved on to chair aerobics. Just 10 minutes a day and very low impact, it’s designed for people with mobility challenges and won’t strain your joints the way jump around aerobics do. That’s just FYI. You don’t have to dive into exercise of any kind so early in the process. You might want to stand up once every half hour for your circulatory system’s sake.

Your shopping list looks excellent. The only thing I’d change is the delicious but high-sugar beets, alas. MM uses them but in very small, measured quantities. I’m stricter about carb intake than he is, though. You’ve clearly given your approach much thought and designed something that will work for you. Well done. One small caveat, though. Don’t get stuck in the mindset that “I know me, ergo x.” Cutting the bad carbs and counting the rest can upend more things about you than you dreamed of, from overall mental outlook to palate to skin to the shape and quality of your toenails. By all means, tailor things to you as you are in the present, but keep a sharp out for the changes coming and adjust your plan accordingly. The person who has 100 pounds to lose is not going to be the same when they put down that extra person they’re carrying.

Good luck!

WOW – Allie! 147 pounds! WTG!!! What an incredible success story! Thanks for the support!

Dipgal I’ve read the book many times and I’m pretty certain that there is no suggested daily carb grams from Dr Mosley. This question often gets asked in the Facebook 8week BSD group I’m in, and as one member always answers “there’s no need to count carbs, if you stick to 800 calories that’s all you need to do”.
However, there have been lots of members on these forum pages who have found they get better results when they limit their carbs to 50g per day, or even 20g per day, this seems to work for those with T2 or insulin resistance especially.
Personally I don’t as it’s hard enough keeping track of calories! However I do glance at the macros in My Fitness Pal and try to keep my carb intake a lot lower than protein and fats.

I’m getting close to the end of 8 weeks, so most days recently all my positives have been centred around how wonderful I feel about staying true to this course, so it’s definitely time to try to be a bit more expansive –

1. It is going to be stinking hot here today but right now, it is a delicious fresh 14 degrees, perfect for a long dog walk
2. Lovely strong fit healthy bodies. I’m 60 but feel the most comfortable in this skin for many years
3. Lovely home grown summer vegetables