Thank you SunnyB – it does feel good to be part of a team and to have everyones support.

Hey there all, good to hear about your Christmas. Krysia – I didn’t hide my feelings in food this year and like you I am pleased I didn’t.

Overall, great Christmas but a head cold made me very fuzzy. Also diminished appetite so I’ve ended up lighter than ever – 59kg. Had 3 glasses of champagne over entire period but other than that just eaten to low carb appetite. Very pleased! Now just need to shake the cold.

Am going to play with eating more root veg in 2018 and a bit more fruit. Going to take it cautiously but feels right to start enriching diet now, as I assume my pancreas must be functioning better than in was when I began this epic quest. Cautiously optimistic and feeling very in control.

As this is my second ‘maintenance’ Christmas I am experimenting a little with letting the carb dog off the leash a little more than last year. I did forgo the roast potatoes at Christmas dinner but had some stuffing and some pud, and I have had, and variously enjoyed (or not so much), some bread, pasta, chips, cake, chocolate and biscuits on many different occasions. 2nd January I will be putting a stop to all that, and in fact plan to fast on 1st January totally Theo style as I am travelling home, so won’t eat until 5pm or so on the Tuesday, after work. After that weekdays will be fully logged low (but not keto/20g, more like 40g) carb 800 days and weekends will be not calorie counted but still low carb/no white stuff. Once a week, on a Saturday I will allow myself one item from the rest of my Christmas foods, so one piece of Turkish delight, or one mince pie etc. Doing this last year I was still eating Christmas stuff in March 😊 My new Wi-Fi scales will be keeping a close eye on my progress as I dump off all this excess water and burn any extra fat over the next couple of months, and I have signed up to the 8 week reboot to keep me focused.

HI Guys!
LINDA A very big congrats,that is some feat! X
Everyone else posting tonight,its good to see so much positivity and enthusiasm for a healthy 2018.
Thanks STRINGBREAKER for kicking us off!
After some feasting this last week or so, i am gonna do the 8 week BSD yet again,starting tomozz then see where i am up to after that
I tried 20g for 30 days pre xmas..tummy felt sore…
think i didnt drink enough water or have enough green veg..waist went smaller but i didn’t lose much weight..
Made no difference to my lympho- lipodaema as hoped
I might do it again ( betterversion) after my 8 week BSD …one things for sure,low carb is the life for me!
Glad to be amongst similar thinkers
Love to all,and very best wishes for a wonderful healthy happy 2018 XXX
here we go again BSders! Come on all you old friends out there,join back in,the waters lovely! And we are missing you! X wooohoooooo!

Hi stringbreaker, nice to hear from you again, I am currently about a stone up on target due to enjoying a relaxed Christmas maybe a little too much, but the plan is in for a recovery period in the new year. Come and join us on the 8 week reboot thread, or maybe the rolling 4 week challenge thread, another one started on boxing day, running to the end of January. Yowzer pops in occasionally, but I haven’t seen anything from Bill or captainlynne for a long time. Lucia is still posting regularly at the moment on her own inimitable thread as well.

LindaA – 20 months at goal is brilliant. It’s so good that the cravings go with this way of eating.

Very well done LindaA,

I’m still at target weight 😀

Christmas came and went and I stuck to my ketogenic diet and easily maintained my weight of 60kg. It’s now over 20 months since I reached goal and it’s just second nature now. Minimal carbs in the form of vegetables or a few nuts or a bit of yoghurt, no alcohol since July this year (just don’t feel like it now!) and absolutely no non BSD foods.
The cravings are gone and I intend to keep it that way!

From July through October I did the last Wed-Fri stretch of every month. By that point, just short of a year after I began the Fast 800, my rate of loss had plummeted to one lb a month when in the early months it was 12-14. It was like dark magic. As soon as I crossed the BMI boundary from obese to overweight, the incline in loss was severe. I expected it but became frustrated with how up and down the scale was and how it seemed to take days, even weeks to fix a single pound’s loss. I lost one pound in June. I went up and down all July losing nothing net, then thought I’d give an extended fast a try. I lost 7 pounds in 3 days. One came back but the remaining six stayed gone. August was another 6 pound loss with none coming back. By the time I reached the officially healthy BMI weight in September, the losses slowed to about 3 pounds in 3 days. That’s when I shifted to a bimonthly fasting schedule because I wasn’t really trying to lose like that anymore.

I’ve lost another 10 or so pounds since then, just random little drops adding up and getting fixed surprisingly quickly. I still calorie and carb count because I wanted to go into maintenance mode slowly (the reverse diet method MnM talks about), but with several week+ stretches of not being able to count anything at all due to travel. I just came off one of those stretches today, in fact. I ate tons in restaurants and as a guest with family who were very gracious and considerate and had plenty of BSD-friendly food for me, including my favorite brands of kimchi, saurkraut and fermented pickles and the best unsweetened 100% cacao bakers chocolate I’ve ever had (Ghirardelli). Still under 120 lb this morning.

So, to cut a long story short (a little late for that, I know), if my experience is anything to go by, the combination of carb counting and fasting works like a charm.

Hi everyone, I’ve had ‘unexplained ‘ sudden weight gains over the last 6 months which the doctors are struggling to identify why. So after seeing a locum she advised to try the 8 week blood sugar diet, saying that her other patients had great success in losing weight in a short period of time. I’ve been tested for everything under the sun but nothing is showing up as a likely cause. so today I’m off to the grocery store to stock up on ingredients. I’m pretty nervous about the process and also worried that having 4 kids ( 2 which are elite athletes) who eat us out of house and home that there will be so many temptations and I’ll find this process pretty difficult. I know it’s for my health and I’ll be a much better and happier mum but I still worry..
I was wondering who else out there has done the BSD in these circumstances and also if there are any tips or any advice you might have that could help.
I’m looking forward to having this online community for support so thank you in advance!

i am still 3 stone down but need to be motivated in the new year to lose a further 2 stone. Lovely to see a message from someone who started this at roughly the same time as me.

Am going to start reading the clever guts recipe book to see where that leads

Hi Allie – if by petite, you mean ‘vertically challenged’ you’d have it right, as I come in at approx. 5ft 1inch these days! Being short means there really is nowhere for extra pounds to hide. Well done on only adding 0.5lb and there’s no better way to do it (in my opinion) than champagne. And only 1,2lb in a week is a good result too, CC.

Sorry to read about the family upset Krysia, but all power to you for not reverting to an old pattern of eating in an effort to feel better. I hope that there will soon be a resolution to the conflict and peace will reign again. Meanwhile, be kind to yourself, stay mindful and come and vent to us if you need to – as Allie said, we’re on YOUR team.

Thank you Allie – I do appreciate your support and I do agree that a walk does work wonders. Am hoping that when ‘the dust settles’ that a solution will be found.

Theo, ClarinetCathy, SunnyB, Congratulations to you all on navigating the
holiday waters with minuscule damage. Holidays done well contribute to
our self confidence, don’t they? I did .5lb damage from an over fondness
for champagne, so I won’t weigh in again until Sat. We should all be able
to return to normal in short order, and water is my favorite tool. Sunny,
you must be very petite!
Krysia, there is nothing worse than family conflict, is there? When children
become adults their problems become so much harder to resolve. When
you are the host, it’s not like you can just get up and leave! I think that it
is a real accomplishment that you didn’t seek relief in past carby distractions.
In the past I might have reached for a glass of wine, but today I bundle up
and head out for a walk. I hope there is a solution to the conflict you are
feeling, very soon. Stay strong, we’re on your team 🙂
Allie

Thanks Esnecca…..much appretiated. Three days seems to be my sweet spot as well. May try a noon to noon to see how that suits me, if for no other reason than to discourage my body from urges to eat after 5 pm (my downfall in the past).

How frequently had you done these…..weekly or less frequent? I assume you did the standard BSD on the other days to acheive such an impressive weight loss.

Are you still doing 800 calories or finding that if you stay under 20 gm net carb and do occassional 3 day fasts that this can keep you at your desired weight?

Sorry to be so nosey…..but hoping that low carb and some fasting will work for me for maitenance down the line. The multiple health benefits of fasting seem to me to make that a desirable feature for years to come. And I agree….I do love the freedom from hunger. Hot water seems to do if for me. Black coffee in the morning….and then just hot water after that, or some hot broth. The flavored waters sound wonderful but I never seem to actually want to do it when the time comes.

Jim47, thank you so much for saying that. I know my fervent passion on the topic has rubbed people the wrong way sometimes, but I never aim to be pushy or like I’m trying to force folks to do it my way. I just feel deep in my gut (biome?) that this way of life saved mine and transformed me so profoundly that almost everything I previously believed to be unerringly true about myself turned out to be either dead wrong or easily mutable. That’s why it matters so much to me to ask people to consider using new foods, tools, language, mental outlook, anything at all that might encourage the kind of revolutionary experience I have had.

I know being organized was necessary to my success with the BSD, so I can imagine that with your OCD that goes times a thousand. I wonder if the compulsion to count can be enlisted to your advantage or would it only hold you back? I apologize if that’s an offensive or stupid suggestion; I know little about the details of OCD as a disorder and nothing at all about how it expresses in you.

Hi – haven’t posted much in December because work was so hectic. Had a lovely Christmas with my whole family crammed into our house. All fell apart on boxing day – when there were some clashes between family members. I suppose this happens often at Christmas – but I found it very upsetting. I have absolutely no idea how to resolve it.

In the past I would have numbed my feelings in a massive carb fest (which it actually doesn’t) I haven’t done that this time. I feel upset – but actually it feels much better than feeling upset and hating myself for giving into a massive carb fest.

I had yoghurt and blueberries for desert and opened my nut butter to have on my chocolate – which was lovely. I also had – probably too many – hickory smoked nuts which were delicious.

Luvtcook, my standard is a 3-day fast. Usually I plan it for the second half of a week, from Wednesday early dinner (5:00PM) through Saturday at 5:00PM. The longest I’ve gone was to a late lunch Sunday, so just short of 4 days, and that was kind of a coincidence because I wanted something specific for my break fast feast and couldn’t get it until then. I’m very particular about break fast meals because by then I’ve spent a solid 10 hours thinking about it and planning it, so I cannot be thwarted when the time finally comes, even if it means I have to extend the fast a little longer. That’s one of the things I love about fasts, that feeling they give you that you are in control of hunger and can make choices without feeling driven by an external force.

I’m sure you know you have to drink constantly. Water, tea (no fruit teas unless flavored only, and check all herbals and mixes to be sure they don’t add some kind of sugar or sweetener), coffee. I usually take it very easy on the first day, keeping busy and taking a light walk but not full-throttle exercising. The second day I usually get a natural high that demands a nice long walk, at the very least, otherwise I drive my saintly OH bonkers with my babbling and bouncing around. The third day is quiet again, but also the busiest of the three as I do every chore and backup work I can drum up while spending the whole time contemplating my break fast dinner. By this point I avoid, if at all possible, food and delicious food smells. For instance I do not cook OH’s dinner, which I prepare for him nightly, on Fridays when I’ve been fasting. Sleep can be your best friend if you find yourself hungry. A nap or sleeping in/crashly early conserves energy and shortens your day.

You probably had all of these tips figured out after the first fast (or before it). If I think of any more not particularly dazzling but reasonably useful tips, I’ll post them. 🙂

Hello everyone and Happy New Year – well nearly! Lovely to hear all your news. This is just a brief reply as I’m away with family so time and Internet access both limited! But I’m doing well – was down to 136lb last week but a couple of pounds have snuck back on over Christmas. But like most of you I’m planning another onslaught as from 2nd Jan. I really want to power through to my original target of 133lb as soon as possible – and then get to my new target of 130lb. Like Cathy and Theodora it just allows a bit of wriggle room – and would also be a nice clean 40lb loss since I started BSD last Jan.

Well done everyone and looking forward to hearing more tremendous achievements as we head into 2018! X

Hi Igorasusul – great to hear from you and that you are maintaining so well. I missed your post because December was so hectic at work. I have been wondering how you are doing so I was so pleased to read your post.

Stringbreaker – good to see you back on the forum. Good luck with your new year’s resolution.

Great idea as usual, Verano, for this reflection thread, with some very thoughtful posts so far. I’ve taken some time before posting to be sure of what I want to “say”.

Firstly, I tracked back to the equivalent time last year and found we were just starting the “4 WEEK FIX … 27TH DECEMBER … WELCOMING 2017 WITH BSD GUSTO!” thread. I wanted to check my weight then and also any goals I’d stated.

12 months ago my weight was 63.7kg, this morning it was 62.5kg. So, essentially, I’ve lost 1kg in 12 months. Talk about spinning my wheels ……. during this time I’ve been as low as 61.3kg and up to 65.1kg.

My stated aims then were (copied here): knowing that I do better with behavioral goals rather than kg goals, my aims are:
1a. Be happy keeping cals under 900; carbs under 60gms
1b. Be sure cals & carbs are BSD friendly
2. Be meticulous abt fluid intake
3. Exercise has been a bit here and there lately, so will get back to regular gym and walking. I know I feel so much better when I do.

All quite reasonable as I had only a relatively small target loss i.e 8-10kgs over all, and did not/do not have, diabetes. My concern was for the steady upward weight trend and a worry about my increasing sugary/starchy carbs intake.
The behavioral goals were met sporadically over time, re-worded and re-set at different times during the year. I still have bouts of simple carb overdose …go for weeks without, feel great …. suddenly hit reverse, feel awful and have to go through the withdrawals again. Crazy.

In previous reflections I’ve talked about fear of success (rather than fear of failure) and still think that is a valid assessment, plus always was, still am, an emotional eater. E.g. I know I have osteo arthritis in the usual spots, and have a fairly high pain threshold, but just lately my fingers have been worrying me. So, saw GP today for xray results – pretty much bone on bone now in all joints of both hands plus marked deterioration in my wrists. Really just a confirmation of what I already knew but the graphic evidence threw me and I ate cake, ice cream, then fish and chips for the evening meal. Binge/eating my feelings. Old habits still dying hard. Now, bloated, unable to sleep at nearly 2 a.m., I am, as ever, regretting my thoughtless actions.

So, having reviewed and reflected on the last 12 months and, more immediately, yesterday, it’s time to renew. Time to be rid of simple carbs and see if I have the same reduction in arthritic pain that others have spoken of on this forum. Whether or not that happens, for my overall health, including cholesterol, ridding my system of simple carbs is now my main goal. All else is secondary.

A long post. Thank you for your indulgence. Amazing to have such deep feelings for people I’ve never met. xx Marilyn

Hi,

Re-joining a few of my favourite threads.

New Year resolution, here we come.

John

Hi All,

2 years on. How are we all doing?

I’m about 1 stone above target but 30 lbs down on Jan 2016.

Here goes again.

Good luck and season’s greetings

John

Hi Lucia,

I’ve been enjoying this series of posts from the sidelines, but I guess it’s time to ‘fess up and come back in.

I’ve rather fallen off the wagon over the last few months and put on a stone or so. I find it very hard to keep to it when I’m down to target, which is, I guess, what yo-yo dieting is all about. “Bad” carbs are so alluring once you allow them back into your life.

However, the BSD is a wonderful tool for weight control given the right mindset, and now the New Year is approaching I will buckle down to it and be good again. (Once I’ve polished off the Christmas cake – any left on 1st Jan goes in the bin.)

This last year has taught me that I can’t afford to drop in and out of the programme, it will have to become a way of life more or less permanently – I take my hat off to those of you who have achieved this already.

On the plus side, I am still some 30lbs down from my starting point 2 years ago. I will log in to the weigh-in thread on Jan 2nd and re-join the community.

One thing, Lucia, I have reached a sensible maximum level of exercise for my age/body:- about 1 hour a day doing a mixture of calisthenics, walking and cycling. I have tried increasing, but the result is strains, sprains and/or a pericarditis reaction. I’m not up to maximum at the moment as I’m recovering from a long bad cold etc. but I’m building back slowly.

So, if you have any “challenges” they’d better focus around will power and dietary regime.

Hope you all have a good start to the new year.

John

Hi guys! Just popping in quickly. Had to work today… thought I’d be taking it easy, painting my nails, no one around… Hmmm, nah, nose the the grindstone with year end stuff!

Great news, that, Mary! You must be chuffed to bits. Bugger the teetotal this side of New Year though! I shall be doing “dry” January and possibly February, but I will start from Monday! 🙂

If I don’t post again, before Monday – have a wonderful new year!

Kazzee xxx

In the original BSD book, it looks like there’s a problem with the “Foil-steamed fish” recipe – it’s very low fat and the calorie count seems to come out at nearer 200 than 370. Going to make it tonight – will add some calorie counted seeds and/or cheese I think.

I decided to go off plan whilst away in Washington. I mostly stayed true to principles and had either yoghurt and blueberries or an American diner omelette for breakfast. We had a vegan Christmas dinner and I did have a slice of the nicest apple pie I’ve ever eaten! I was dreading getting on the scales and decided not to until next week but my curiosity got the better of me this morning and I jumped on to find that I have only put on 1.2 lb in a week! I am amazed and so happy about that! Today I am fasting with water more as a detox and to get my body ready to restart again next week on the reboot thread. I am hoping that by having a week off plan when I get back to basics my body is will shed the excess and hopefully I will get some extra wiggle room. One great think about achieving your target is that you know it can be done and we have confidence that if there is a blip we can sort it out before it gets out of hand. I was convinced I would be about 7lb up this morning!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2018 everyone.

Hey Theo, I’m still hanging in here. Glad to read your BSD Christmas went well. Had a bit of a scar on the scales on Boxing Day morning, with a blip upwards of 1.6lb, but that has already resolved itself and I have a 3.2lb margin at the moment. Like you, for me this is definitely and absolutely a WOL now.

Planning to get back to basics next week, with the aim of pushing down to a flat 8st, to give me a full half stone margin up to ‘target weight’. Hoping it’s not going to be too much of a struggle to rid myself of those last few pounds, but we will see. Don’t see why it would not be possible and will give it my best shot though, before returning to maintenance.

Have a good New Year everyone.

I’m in for the ‘reboot ‘ too. Have decided I’d like to push down to a flat 8st as my base weight, which would give me a full half stone up to my ‘target’ weight. Having been successfully maintaining around the 8st 4lb mark since early September, I don’t have a whole heap to lose, but of course it’s sometimes quite an effort to get rid of a few pounds, when that’s all there is left to shift. Quite looking forward to getting back to basics and being in the zone again for a while though and will hopefully find those last few pounds disappear more readily than I fear.

Have a great New Year everyone and see you here next Tuesday for the big reboot.

Jim, think most of us are deferring the 2018 restart, to allow time to clear out the festive foods, relax our intake rules a little for celebrations etc., so you’re not alone in waiting until 2nd Jan to get back to full-on BSD. The support of the forum got me to my end goal and has sustained me into maintenance and I know for sure, I wouldn’t have stayed the course without all the lovely folks on here pushing me along.

Best of luck to one and all, for great things in 2018.

Morning all. Well, the house is suddenly completely empty again, now that our son and granddaughter have left for home and OH is out doing some emergency work for one of his regular clients. So, right now it’s just me and I have chosen to fill my time with catching up on email and the forum. Well done on getting stuck into the ironing Verano, I so admire the effort. I have a whole heap of ironing to do, but am not yet planning to tackle it!

Like you V, I plan to begin weighing and measuring all consumed as of 2nd Jan and until then, I will continue to consume mindfully and hopefully continue to maintain as I have been recently. Like you when I begin on the BSD in earnest again, I plan to allow some extra calories – at least to begin with – but I want to try to keep the carbs to 20g if I can, as this seems to be key to my losing weight. I know I will have to go back in to maintenance mode for a week from 11th Jan, as we are going to my parents, so OH can refurb their bathroom for them. It’s my birthday that w/e as well, so there will be a meal out for sure. Still, I have a good window to work in to lose the few extra pounds I’d like to shift, as we won’t be going to Turkey until early April.

Anyway, looking at the positives for today:
1) With all the family visits over, I’m enjoying some quiet personal time.
2) Looking forward to a long w/e with OH, before the normal routine kicks in again.
3) Weighed in at 8st 4.8lb, same as yesterday, so I’m a happy bunny!

[post removed by request]

Hurrah! What a brilliant result all round. I must remember that line about the cholesterol.
Nice to hear from you, Nonna Mary.

Marie x

Hello everyone…had an interesting phone call with the Doctor yesterday. She phoned to discuss my latest blood tests. Didn’t give me figures but said my blood sugar was amazing and maybe we should label it in remission? I of course agreed. Then she said, your cholesterol is 5.6 and as you are diabetic we like it to be below 5….my reply…you have just told me I am not diabetic so it doesn’t matter does it? She agreed. Then told me I have some enzymes showing from my Liver which need to come down. She said it was obviously due to alcohol, despite my assurance that I don’t drink except on Fridays/Saturdays. Anyway…completely teetotal now. Then I asked could that be the reason for the higher reading of cholesterol? Her immediate answer was no! Then she back tracked and said, well yes it very well could be. So retesting in 3 months.

Over Christmas, I only went off plan to have a roast potato, a roast parsnip and my stuffing which is made with potatoes and bread. Everything else was completely BSD friendly. The result is….I haven’t gained any weight. I got straight back onto my WOE on Wednesday 27th. The interesting thing is, when discussing with Jovis, what we should eat on Wednesday, he asked for a salad lol. Talk about a convert. He loves the Red Slaw or Rainbow Salad from the recipe book. Tonight I am cooking a curry (My friend Tajinda taught me to cook) and we are eating extra vegetables with it. It is BSD friendly and so tasty.

It is lovely to see so many people writing their aims for 2018. I may wade onto their site and put mine also. Before I go….I wish everyone on the forum and lurking, the very best 2018 in health, wealth and happiness.

Lots of love
Nonna Mary
xxx
xxx

Hi AngS,

I thought I’d read somewhere that you were due your Hba1c in January. I was prescribed Metformin when I was first diagnosed in August but decided to try the BSD first (I did 800 cals/20g carbs), mainly because I’ve got a history of experiencing side effects with medication. The BSD worked for me without the Metformin – my November results came back normal.

For what it’s worth I left it a full 4 months after my initial diagnostic Hba1c test before I arranged the second test. This was because it took me a couple of weeks at the beginning before I felt I was doing the BSD properly.

Yes, please do keep me posted. Fingers crossed x

Hi All,

It’s good to see everyone setting their goals and making a start on this new challenge – it might be a bit tricky to begin with but we’ll all soon be back in the swing of things. Natalie – hope you have a good night’s rest and Mariet enjoy the sailing.

Sandy47 – thanks for wishing me luck with my hba1c results. I actually had my test done in November and accessed my results on-line so I knew my results prior to the meeting (my hba1c has gone from an August high to normal – yeah!) but this was the earliest date I could get for my review meeting. I have to say the practice nurse seemed quite shocked at my result but after I’d reassured her I had nothing else wrong with me and it was ‘just’ the effect of Michael Mosley’s BSD, she was OK.

My target for this challenge is to lose 3lb to shift down into a healthy BMI – one of my original goals. Once I get to the top of the healthy BMI range, I’ll look to see how to move forward from there.

I’m really looking forward to entering this whole lovely fresh new year with you all. Best wishes everyone

Marie

Thanks, Marie.
Unfortunately, I’ve got to wait until the end of January before I can have another blood test, as my GP wants to see how my HbA1c is after 2 months of “normal” eating. He said if it’s within the normal range, he would take me off Metformin, but after 3 weeks of the BSD I started having heavy legs and muscle pains, so stopped taking the medication and the pains went away. A few days later I took a Metformin again and the pains came back a few hours later, so I stopped taking them. I wrote to the doctor about it and he hasn’t contacted me since, so I’m still off the tablets and fingers are crossed for a normal reading at the end of January. I’ll keep you posted with the results, when I get them.

I’m back down to 9.0 this morning, having had an 800 calorie day yesterday, which is where I’d like to stay, so just a matter of staying careful, eating healthily with low carbs and sugars.

Thank you, I do have a good kitchen scale so I will take your advice to heart Esnecca.

I am plunging in now! Starting waist measurement 44″, weight 167.2lb, resting pulse 64. Goal is to eventually get to 133lb, so losing 34.2lb, or around 15.5Kg. But my target over the 8 weeks is to lose 20lb, so get to 147lb.

Just downloaded a lovely bell chime for self-guided mindfulness sessions.

I noticed Rangan Chatterjee’s new book came out yesterday and just from the Amazon preview thought the recommendations looked reassuringly similar to this – denormalising sugar, walk more, strength exercises, HIT etc. I notice he recommends 20 minutes outside every morning which I think would be a lovely ritual for getting the steps in, so planning to do that today, rain and snow notwithstanding.

Hi AnneF

Just wanted to say that’s brilliant news about your hba1c results – congratulations! Best wishes to you, and to you AngS, for 2018.

Marie

Didn’t do quite so well today, a chronic pain issue I have flared up a bit and I comforted myself with chocolate and then got Thai for dinner, very hard to know exactly what is in the sauces. I estimate 1400/150. I’ll go to bed early. Tomorrow is a new day.

Hi all, back again for another challenge and trying for the third month in succession to reach my target of 62.5kg. I haven’t weighed since Boxing Day when I was 64.2 so 1.7 kg to lose.

My goal for this challenge, since I can’t really control what weight I lose, is to not allow anything off plan to pass my lips and concentrate on water consumption. It’s easy at work but a lot more difficult when I’m out and about.

All my Christmas parties are done but now there are the New Year ones to negotiate. Two days of sailing on the harbour coming up which I love but it means being at the mercy of the food my hosts provide. I’ll have celery sticks and plenty of water and keep occupied with ropes and things.

Some wonderful goals set for this challenge, wishing you all strength of will and success.

Good morning all. The eggs sound lovely. I make plain old scrambled eggs with smoked salmon but have never thought to add cream cheese, cream or herbs, but will definitely give it a try, sounds ‘lush’!

So yesterday was a bit of a revelation for me, well not exactly, as it was as I had expected really, but not what I’d hoped for. I weighed and logged all my food and drink yesterday for the first time in ages. The result was as expected I’m in ‘maintenance ‘ so I know what I have to do to start losing again ……
1. I took ‘control’ of my food intake by weighing and logging.
2. I have worked out a plan for the coming 8 week challenge of 1000/40 to ease myself back into losing mode.
3. I did a good chunk of my ironing.

Hope everyone had a positive day too.

Allie
Good to hear about the Professor – what does he teach, anything interesting? – Btw, I’m a hard lady to catch ! pot, kettle, black ?
Marie x

Good morning everyone

I’d like to join this challenge if I may….I lost 26kgs from November 2016 to May 2017 and I guess you could say I have been treading water ever since gaining and losing the same kilo. I’m still a UK size 18 and still, just, in the obese category. So it’s time to reassess before the spring clothes hit the shops and I think I need to go back to basics…weighing measuring everything that goes on my plate and being more careful about veggie choices and portion control.

Have a wonderful New Year celebration and see you next Tuesday. Angela06

Yesterday I weighed and logged all my food and drink for the first time in ages. As I’d thought I am staying in maintenance mode with less than1500 calories and less than 50g carbs but I obviously need to take myself in hand to lose weight. So I’m starting with a realistic 1000/40 and a modest weight loss goal of 8lbs. I hope to review this as we go along but in the meantime just want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! See you in 2018!

Thanks everyone for the supportive comments. It’s been really positive to read your stories and achievements in 2017. Reading some of your goals for 2018 has helped me to refine mine. I’m writing them here as I’ll remember they’re in the ‘2017 becomes 2018’ thread.

1) To keep my diabetes in remission
2) To achieve and maintain a healthy BMI (weight – 8st 4lb, 8st 7lb, 9st – to be decided)
3) To improve other health indicators i.e. BP, cholesterol, visceral fat
4) To maintain increased exercise and p.a. and improve muscle tone
5) To develop a healthy relationship with food and a more extensive stock of delicious dishes

Natalie it’s really just ‘tradition’. I started the four week challenges back in 2016 and my official weighing day is Tuesday so it just happened and had stuck. Hence the 2nd, a Tuesday, and not the 1st!

Hello everyone, great to hear from you all. What an amazing year we have all had.

Cathy it must have been lovely to spend time with your son, it sounds like he is very impressed with your new look.
I have been off plan too, and gained 2 lbs. I really need to get back on track now. My dad made a dvd of the year which was so embarrassing to watch as the beginning shows me at my heavier weight. I certainly never intend to go back there !

I’m aiming to get below target like you Theodora so I have some wriggle room. I also have a wedding dress to fit into by April !

Sueblue I’m sure you will get there, it’s a slow and steady journey. I’m not there yet either, but will keep plodding on.

We are settling into our new house, although we have lots left to do we have taken some days off to enjoy Christmas.

A happy and healthy BSD 2018 to everyone.

Esnecca, had not heard you say you had effectively used an extended fast before. How long do you typically do on your extended fast? I have not gone beyond 4 days yet and would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

So. ……post Christmas, pre-New Year, and just wondering how all my maintainance buddies are weathering the festive season to date?

Thiis has been my first BSD Christmas and we’ve had a busy and over indulgent few days. However, whilst I have stayed off all refined carbs (cooked them for everyone else, but they held no appeal for me – even our obligatory Boxing Day Dauphinoise!!!) I ate and drank anything and everything I fancied – and rather too much of it!! The result? A 2lb gain – which will melt away with one day of careful eating, I’m sure. So atm I am heading into the new year with 6lbs wriggle room. Result, I think, and goes to show how this WOE has become a total WOL.

Looking forward to hearing how all my maintenance buddies have fared?