Good morning everyone, I’m really enjoying reading the posts and am already feeling positive knowing that there are people like me on the same journey. Alliecat I agree with you – Liz I can definately equate with your picture as I have a very similar outfit as the one on your ‘before’ picture 😀, you look amazing after your weight loss, hopefully you will be able to give us some tips to keep on track. Thanks luvtcook I’ll look up that link too – although I’m not a vegetarian I do enjoy the veggie recipes and I do look for quick, simple but nutricious recipes. Good luck to all – this is the first day of my restart 💪.

Good morning everyone.

Shrinkingviolet I saw that same old lady too!!!!! That was eighteen months ago now and although she has disappeared, together with her T2, her replacement could still do with slimming down still further!

I think what is coming through in all these posts is the degree of ‘control ‘ we now appear to have over our diets. No longer do we seem to have the ‘ one won’t hurt’ mentality which ends up with total abandonment of any ‘sense’. I think we have all learnt that simple carbs do us no favours and although there maybe the odd slip we can still take ‘control ‘ and carry on. I just can’t envisage going back to a carb filled life.

S-g I remember you asking me how much more ‘normal than normal ‘ did I want to be but I do understand where you are coming from. Maybe it’s a little ‘wriggle’ room that we are all seeking. You know you can do it, we all can, and will.

Ahh, living in the moment is certainly something I need to do ClarinetCathy (enjoy the rest of your trip) and also increase my ‘exercise’. I have found my weights and bands and have decided that I will make sure I ‘walk’ every 30 minutes even if it’s only around the room!

I think it’s so important to write plans down and when they are on a forum we can always remind ourselves of our goals as the year goes on.

My plan is too keep on planning until January 2nd and then the ‘doing’ starts in earnest!

Good morning – what a fabulous gang we have all ready to take on the challenge. It’s great to see newbies to the BSD as well as ‘old faces’ – between us, we can do this!
Having been off track for a few months, I’m really looking forward to re-breaking the carb cravings – for me, once that battle is over, the rest gets easier. I really want to feel the way I did earlier this year – slim, relaxed, healthy and not constantly battling with myself about food. And I know this isn’t the be-all and end-all, but we have a pool at our new house in Spain, and I would dearly love to be able to put in a bikini (only when no-one’s around, of course! ).
Keep smiling peeps,
SSB

Hi zoulou and welcome. Since you’re a sprouter and a seed fan, you might want to look into sprouting things other than beans. Like their grownup versions, bean sprouts have more sugar and carbs than green vegetables and grasses and like broccoli, kale, alfalfa and clover. I love sprouts and maintain a strict regimen of less than 20 grams of carbs a day. Focusing on the green sprouts helped me shave off a few grams of carbs to help keep me well below my daily limit.

Good luck!

How lovely to see this little community coming together.

I’m really a newbie to this diet and I see that it’s recommended to start with 800 calories a day for 8 weeks, so I guess that’s for me! After being overweight for a long time I got just back into the healthy weight range and managed to stay there for a couple of years with diets including 5:2, nutritarian and whole30 – this one looks like just the right balance of the good bits of each. But in the last few months I’ve put nearly another stone on. My dream would be to lose about 15-16 Kg which would put me in the middle of the healthy weight range where I haven’t been since my early 20’s.

I’ve started some beansprouts off in preparation, though if I’m doing the meal plans that will mean doing some substitutions I guess. I’m thinking of going for that as a general approach – starting with the meal plans but make substitutions, sticking to the calorie and carb count, to be more flexible with what’s in the fridge, in the shops and in the veggie patch. I also might prefer, for instance, toasted seeds to oil and cheese. I ordered the book before Christmas so it should be here soon and I guess then I’ll find out if that approach is valid!

Oh Liz (Eliza52), how wonderful to see your before and after pictures!
I’m a retired interior designer and an artist, so I’ve always been a very
visual person. Being able to equate your story with your picture is
so helpful! I hope you had a magnificent time with your daughter
home for the holiday 🙂 The changes in you are dramatic, so I’m
sure she was very happy for you. I’m thinking very seriously about
getting an iphone so that I can share my changes with all of you
also! How can one hope to describe the loss of 50% of one’s
self without a picture??? Do you have any blood results to track
the impact your losses have on the T2D? You may have already
put them up, but I must confess to having gotten very behind with
all the new posters this month. I think you are on track to realize
all your goals, and I’m very happy for you 🙂 🙂 🙂 Congratulations!

Allie

Firstly, thank you Luvtcook for the vegetarian link. I’m not veggie…but do think we should all try and eat less meat for the good of the planet! Some good recipes on the link, which I will definitely try!

I’ve eaten far too much over the past couple of days, but not gone “off plan” (except maybe a couple more pieces of 85% chocolate than I should have, and more blue cheese than is good for anyone!). Other than that, yes, eaten too much, but only meat and veg – no potatoes or parsnips though – a few berries, full fat yogurt and some thick cream in my espresso (I always had sugar in it, and haven’t had any coffee for the last three months – so really enjoyed having it back in my diet, helped by the double cream!) No alcohol, as I don’t drink anyway mostly. I have put on a couple of pounds, but hoping that a lot of that might be fluid, and determined to get back on track tomorrow. My main worry is that eating more calories, even if entirely on plan, I will put on weight again – as evidenced by the last couple of days. Fingers crossed I can lose the remaining pounds, and then find a balance for maintenance – maybe move to 5:2.

In the meantime, thought I’d share a “before and after” photo (https://ibb.co/iHn3ew). I still want to lose another stone to stone and a half (14 – 20 lbs), but I’ve lost three stone, and my blood levels are normal, and many of the new clothes I bought (two sizes smaller) are already beginning to feel a bit baggy!

Good luck to everyone planning on restarting in the New Year!
Liz

If I compare the end of 2016 with the end of 2017, it looks like I have only lost 3.5 kg or so (still better than a gain) but actually I gained quite a bit in the first half of the year then lost it plus more in the second half. Despite lots of indulgences in the past couple of weeks, I’m feeling happy and in control and ready to take on 2018 and get down to my goal weight. No, that’s not quite accurate, I can’t actually imagine being at my goal weight! I don’t know what that looks like. But I’m ready to lose more visceral fat and get healthier and say goodbye to 5 kg lumps of fat at a time before thinking about the next goal.

Just dropping back in so I can tick box to receive updates x

I’m still surrounded by unhealthy food which is making life difficult. The real food (turkey etc) has all been finished off but there are lots of chips and lollies and chocolates that myself and others purchased, way too much to be eaten over the two days. I’ve invited family over tomorrow for a swim and to eat up the naughty stuff so hopefully it will be easier after that. It’s not all bad here – we also have a lot of cheese!

Well done! I wish I could say the same but I still have the taste of a gingerbread reindeer in my mouth…

Hi team,

In bed, ready for work tomorrow.

920 cals today.
No bread, spuds, rice, pasta etc.
So starting to build up now for the bs diet.

You all with me on this?

Love lucia
Xxxx

cjuk: here is a link to some pretty yummy looking vegetarian options…..hope one or two work for you.

https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/low-carb-vegetarian-meals/

LTC

Count me in. Sounds like some of us need a bit of help getting back on track, so thanks for starting this thread Marsie. Your post struck a chord with me – after feeling completely in control of my diet, it’s so easy to slip back into bad habits.

Good luck with your results Marie123, sure you’ll be off to a great start for the new year.

SSB – I too read your other post. Best wishes for 2018.

For me, I will be back on track from tomorrow, keeping to strict BSD principles and calorie counting.
Starting weight today – 11st 1lb
Goal for end of January 2018 – 10st 10lb

Good luck to everyone, look forward to starting the new year with you all x

Allie….Happy New Year back to you. I grew up probably not far from your OH (for me midway between Altoona and Johnstown….both brothers now live on either side of PGH). I love the old immigrant neighborhoods of PA. Weddings in the small town I grew up in were a crazy mishmash of beloved foods from Poles, and Italians, and Hungarians. And of course Pennsylvania Dutch. Perogis next to lasagna, next to Italian cookies and Hungarian nut rolls. Nobody’s traditions were left out.

For our pork and saurkraut….nothing fancy. Small pork roast or even tenderloin nestled atop a bed of saurkraut and baked until pork done. May do pork tenderloin as it is so BSD friendly….sear it first to brown on one side and then finish in slow oven atop the kraut. Maybe a bit sauteed onion stirred into the kraut with a bit of white wine (or vermouth if no wine open….so vermouth it will be ). And the faux mashed “potatoes” (cauli mash) on the side.

Congrats to JackieM on breaking thru 60kg. Well done…..at least your head cold came with a silver lining. I’ll take a weight loss anyway I can get it.

While it would seem odd to have sunny warm weather for Xmas, having BBQ in Australia for New Years sounds like heaven….especially with the cold snap we are getting right now. I had to smile a bit while watching the Call the Midwife Xmas Special last night….the core of the plot were the problems that Londoners were facing with 2 feet of snow and temperature 5-7 degrees below freezing. I am sure that is a hardship when you are not used to it. For the upper half of the US in winter, that is life from Nov through March (although 2016 was MUCH milder than that for a change). So its “hunker down time” for the US for the next couple of weeks. Those of you Down Under, enjoy your lovely weather. We all are a bit jealous.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Have found it difficult keeping up with posts as such a busy time, but just need to complete on here before joining you all on the new year thread. My goal was to lose 6 lbs and get to under 11st, which I happily managed to reach a week before Christmas, but am disappointed to have put 2lb on over the festive period. Never mind, it’s back to being strict and getting back on track tomorrow. I’m back at work so should be really easy to get back into BSD routine, I tend to eat the same kind of stuff on workdays and find it easier to be organised with my evening meals. See you all on the next thread x

Flick how exciting to be so close to the healthy range 🙂
I summoned up the courage to weigh myself this morning and was quite surprised to see “only” a 700g gain! That is not too bad considering I have been totally off plan for over a week, and also for much of December.
So this means my goal for this challenge – to move out of the obese range and into Overweight range BMI is 2.5kg away, not over 3kg as I feared. So my goal for the first week is to hold steady and not gain any more, then lose 2.5kg over the remaining 3 weeks.

I’m not aware of any New Year food traditions in Australia, although of course a lot of immigrants would have brought their own. Maybe as SueBlue suggested a BBQ on New Year’s Day? I’m sure my Chinese sister-in-law has many food traditions like long noodles to promote long life, but she celebrates New Year in February.

The more the merrier I say, we can all help each other along the journey. I found it helpful to buy the book, it’s only about £10 on amazon. With regard to stocking up the basics just think white meat, tuna, oily fish and google ‘low carb veg’ , I was surprised how many calories are in some ‘good’veg 😳! Also look at the recipe section for soups – they’re great to have in stock.

Juneec and cjuk, welcome! I am sure you will be among many starting the 1st week in JAN. It is an easy program to follow and is more mental than physical. If you have done low carb before you will have an easy transition. If new to low carb, the first week is a bit challenging (google “carb flu”). Once you are over the low carb adjustment, you are likely to find you simply are not really hungry anymore and that makes controlling your diet so so much easier. You will find lot of helpful advise here…..lots of folks willing to help because someone has dealt with almost any problem you face. You are among friends!

Re stocking up: I would suggest lots and lots of salad type ingredients…..lettuces, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes (but those need to be counted….one 2 inch one a day is a treat) and red cabbage. Look at the recipes on the site for things to do with cauliflower…..such a versitile veg. White miso for soup. Nuts of your choice for snacks. And eggs…lots of eggs, butter and olive oil. Look up low carb veggies….green beans, zucchini, scallions, garlic, etc. You probably have most of that. And get two of your favorite cheeses. Garbanzo beans useful but will need to count the carbs. Staying under 20 grams net carbs seem to be the majic number for most of us.

Best of luck to you.

Hi all, I’m in for this challenge. I’m just starting week 7 so this challenge will see me through the completion of my first round and 2 weeks of my second. My target will be a 4kg loss. This is consistent with my results in the December challenge, however, I’m preparing for the horror of a possible slow down in weight loss. I plan on sticking to a 800/20, 16/8 pattern and continue on with no alcohol commitment.

As much as I wish I could set and achieve a goal for waist measurement, beyond adopting a healthy lifestyle and paying attention to losing weight, this health indicator has a mind of its own. I will keep up the hopeful monitoring though.

So starting weight for January is 70.4. BMI 26
Goal 66.4 BMI 24.8 – WOOHOO in the healthy range (I’ll hit this exciting achievement at 66.8kg)

Morning all, I have posted in the new thread already and realised I didint do a final one here. My final weigh in shows a 700g gain for the week. Although it’s a gain I’m quite pleased as I have been “off plan” for much of that time! It’s funny though as although I’ve been eating and drinking more than usual, it’s still far less than I normally would at this time of the year. I finally broke my mince pie fast on Christmas Day – and was totally underwhelmed! I think next year I won’t bother to have one at all. I still love Christmas pudding but have had small portions with some cream, and in place of a meal (had some for tea last night). Christmas Day wasn’t too bad as I was cooking and had loads of roast veg along with the turkey and pork.
LTC you asked about New Yesrs Day traditions – I’m in Australia (but was born in U.K.) and not aware of any particular ones here. Our family has one though – roast turkey! We have a simpler version of the Christmas Day roast. Then we won’t have another roast for months, until maybe Easter or something as it’s summer time.
A lot of my friends have barbecues, and seafood is popular too (I’m allergic to shellfish though so we never do that).
Anyway, well done to all of the losers, and everyone else (like me) who tried but didn’t quite get there with our goals – the main thing is we are still here and working towards them!
See you in the New Year thread 🙂

Chestnuts 28g carbs per 100g, yikes! And ooops! Lucky they’ve gone then. Potatoesxonly have 17g!

Hi, I’d like to join this on 2nd Jan, I’ve got 21lbs to lose and just feel my eating is out of control. Look forward to losing with you all 🙂

I’m thinking of starting bsd over the Christmas holidays.
I’ve put on far too juch weight because of a stressful couple of years and bad eating habits.
Any tips of what to stock up on when shopping? And any vegetarians out there? Would appreciate any advice to get me started 😊

Hi s-g hope you are enjoying your stay in the UK. I would love to join you on a straight 8 weeks. I started 4 week challenges about 15 months or more ago I suppose as a softer option. Now, like you, I need to get back to business and a straight 8 is called for. So count me in for Jan 2nd!

Hi everyone, great to see so many good results and positivity. JackieM, headcold or no, it’s great that you’ve managed to break 60kg! Flick and Marie123, you are inspiring me to try harder in the next challenge. And well done everyone who managed to maintain or even lose a little.
Thanks everyone for the congrats and encouragement after my last post (I’m still catching up on all the posts!). After a few days offline though, I am back and reporting in with some mixed results. I managed a fast day on Friday, so as a result, my weight was down another 900g on Saturday morning to 80.6kg. However, I went to my sister’s place for afternoon tea and supper on Saturday. She normally has some savory things as well as sweet out for tea, so I didn’t really think to take anything as I thought I would be ok, but it was a huge spread of all sweet stuff and even though I had a large breakfast to break my fast, I had also been to the gym and was really quite hungry. I tried to just stick with an orange and a cup of tea, but eventually she wore me down and I had some shortbread and a chocolate truffle, and that was all it took to get me to lay into the sweet things. I did better at supper as we went out and we chose a mediteranean restaurant, so I was able to make good choices, but the damage was done. I didn’t put back on all that I had lost by the next day as I weighed in at 81.2kg, but it showed up the following day as I weighed in at 81.5kg even after another fast day on Christmas eve.
However, I am also considering the possibility that my scales are on the fritz (possibly they need new batteries?), as they are giving me readings all over the map this morning. The first was 81.6kg which seemed reasonable given the previous day’s reading and as I had eaten a fair amount of food (BSD friendly) on Christmas day. But I weighed myself 2 more times after just rushing around and doing some housework, but not eating or drinking anything, and the readings were 81.9kg and 82.4kg. If I keep gaining around 0.5kg every hour, I will be back up to my starting weight by the end of the day! So anyway, I’m not reporting a final weigh in for this challenge yet. I will pick up some new batteries when I go out later and see if that makes a difference for tomorrow. In any case, I will not be able to blame the scales!

Hi Cathmac, I don’t know much about shakes so I looked up the Tony Ferguson VLCD ones, and I’m afraid they have sugar and one of the worst artificial sweeteners (sucralose) on the ingredient list. That’s not any kind of low carb, in my opinion, no matter how they jigger the numbers, and it’s definitely not the BSD which advocates the elimination of added sugar. That’s even more important in the early days because you have to kick the bad carbs — sugar, wheat, grains, cereals, starchy vegetables — to switch your body into fat burning mode instead of carb-burning mode.

I don’t know of any shakes that have adequate balanced nutrition and real LC ingredients. Even the ones without sugar and starches (very, very few of them) are loaded with sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame which evidence suggests are quite bad for you in terms of your gut flora and fauna and which can cause insulin spikes because your body detects the sweetness and prepares for the sugar rush to follow. Again, though, it’s not an area I’m familiar with as I am an avid cook, so perhaps you’ll be more lucky. Just don’t believe the packaging because these companies can be extremely deceptive in the way they market their products. Read the ingredients of everything before you buy it.

How about batch cooking a few of your favorite dishes modified according to BSD guidelines? A lovely chunky stew, for example, would be filling, easily prepared and tastes even better as a leftover. My first two weeks I made giant batches of chicken salad and tuna boiled egg salad on the weekend and served up a big 4 oz portion of it on fresh lettuce and field greens every lunch. I used recipes I had made a thousand times before and just turned them into salads where they had once been sandwiches. Good luck!

Late to party! Sorry. Pleased to report I broke the 60kg barrier finally and am 59.6kg.

No magic bullet, but a magic headcold that has wiped my appetite and made eating a bit of a chore has certainly helped!

Christmas here with lots of goodies. No calorie counting, low carb only (based on foods I know are good) and lots of showers to try and clear sinuses. Am sitting in bathroom now in fact! Cold means I don’t fancy cream or chocolate, which combined with a lot of walking explains it.

Happy NewYear all, onwards with THE QUEST (I love that whoever said it, am saddling my sturdy steed as we speak) x

And it is an enjoyable journey – just the freedom from the carb/hunger cravings is worth it!
SSB

Hi all I would like to join this post too. I too lost 21lbs on BSD first time round and felt so much better. I then ‘lost my way’ for the last 3 months but am determined to get back on the wagon as I know this way of eating works. Let’s enjoy the journey!

LTC – So nice to see you out and about today! It gives me a chance to
wish you a Happy New Year 🙂
It sounds like you did great over the holiday. Like you, my only non
BSD friendly indulges were prosecco related on Christmas Day, more
than 1 glass. Usually that makes me retain fluid, so I won’t plan
on weighing until after I’ve had a few days of mainlining water!
Your comments about Pa. customs re pork/sauerkraut sparked a
memory for me. The first New Years I spent with my inlaws I was
served the same thing. I was told it supposedly brought good luck
for the year ahead. I think it would please o/h immensely if I was
to surprise him with it….Or course I’ll be looking forward to what
you’ll be posting on the food thread about how you plan to prepare
it. I’ll have to see if it can be scaled down for the 2 of us. What
part of the state are you from? O/h grew up in very tiny town east
of Pittsburgh, with a lot of people of German, Welsh, Italian and
Polish descent. It was a real culture shock the first time I visited
there, coming from the “gold coast” of coastal CT!

I’d also love to hear about the culinary traditions from other parts
of the world. I’m looking forward to joining all of you that plan on
moving to the new thread tomorrow 🙂

Allie

Happy Boxing Day to all. Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas…..without too much damage to THE QUEST. Overall, I am very pleased with how things went. A glass of wine for dinner and one of champagne for brunch on Xmas Day and a BSD friendly fruit cup were the only things not “on plan”….and a few small pieces of sushi Xmas Eve. So BSD stict compliance begins anew. Have not weighed myself today….will wait until my official day on SUN to see if any damage, but do not expect to have lost any over this week, but also do not expect to have gained. So fingers crosses. In any event, have gotten back on track.

Am curious about any specific food that those in UK and Australia do for New Years Day. In US the South does black eyed peas, and in the North those with some German ancetry do saurkraut. My family is Scotch/ Irish/ Welsh ancestry but somehow we picked up the saurkraut “thing” having grown up in Pennsylvania with so much of the Pennsylvania Dutch (ie really Deutch) customs shared across the state. So it will be saurkaut and roast pork for me for New Years Day….with some lovely Cauliflower Mash to round it out.

Hoping the 2018 will be a better year across the globe than 2017 was. Politically 2017 was a bit of a mess, and too many natural and man made tragedies to even count. Hope we are all blessed with a more tranquil year. Nowhere to go but up on that count.

Hi All,
I’m in, I too will consolidate until starting on the 2nd of Jan. My feelings resonate with Marsie in that it is so easy to slip back into the old bad habits, I wonder if I will ever be free of this monster or will it haunt me forever. I have lost 7.8Kg on the last challenge, but have regained 1.2Kg over Christmas but I am ready for the next stint. I don’t know if setting a proposed weight loss helps, but I know if I stick to the plan the weight comes off so I will go with that for now. Onwards and downwards. Good luck to all.

Hi Zoe and Sunshin Girl,
Yoga is a must for me now – I did it for about 25 years but when my teacher retired, I struggled to find another good one. However, I have found one in a local town and apart from yoga, she also teaches Spanish! Big yes from me there.
Started today ok – cafe con leche and a handful of nuts – that will keep me going until dinner which will be egg and prawn salad. Feeling better already.
SSB

2017 for me was the year I eventually finally found a way of eating that helped me lose 3 stone in weight. I’ve done many diets over the years without success and this way of eating worked for me albeit slowly. I am currently in Arlington Virginia with my son for Christmas and have been off plan for the best part of a week. However, this has been a conscious decision and When I get back to UK later this week I am going straight back to a healthy way of eating. In 2018 am going to renew my resolve to eat healthily as per this plan and am going to increase my walking and my main aim for 2018 is to live as happy and healthy life as possible. One of my aims is to live more in the moment.

2017 was a good year for me because I found something that worked- in 2018 I will be continuing to follow the BSD as it really does suit me.

Good luck to everyone for continued success in 2018.

It’s hard to keep a positive mind when the results aren’t showing. I started doing exercise to reduce the back fat area and I lost a few pounds very fast at first (http://ohealthyeah.com/back-fat-exercises/ number 6 is the perfect for busy people). But then everything stopped. The results weren’t the ones I wanted.
I thought I was doing everything right, doing exercise and all, but I didn’t pay attention to the food. It’s crucial to get the exact diet that will be tailored to the exercise you do and the nutrients your body needs. Diet is key, so consider visiting a nutritionist to help you with that. 

So, keep in mind this:
There is always an answer and reason for the slow results. You just need to follow the right way – the BSD way!

Hi Sunshine Girl,

That’s amazing! I’ve just been through the leftovers from yesterday freezing a lot of stuff, so it feels like the beginning of a beginning. Looking forward to companionship on the journey

Zoe

Hi everyone, I too will be starting fresh on 2nd January so will join in with this thread. I too have just done the two futurelearn courses on Mindfulness – I will advise when they start up again when I get home and get some peace and quiet on my own computer. They were good courses but have to remember to practice: Interested in the yoga course, again when I get home.

See you all in the New Year – bonne annee a tous.

Hi V, I have had.a pretty crap year as far as the diet goes in terms of weight. I was happy with my weight so began to slacken off while never losing site of the no bad carbs rule. So I have had success in terms of my BG results but even they have crept up from lowest at 5.5 back up to 6.0 – still ‘normal’ but not good enough for me, also my insulin has crept back up from 19 units to 26 so that too has to change.

Goals for 2018 – lose 1 stone by April for cruise is first goal. BG down to 5.6 on next review in March with insulin down to 20 units. That is as far as I want to think right now and will be starting a new challenge on 2nd January doing a full 8 weeks.

Good luck to all.

Just half a pound up on yesterday morning, not bad for Xmas – so total loss for this challenge is I think 1.5 lbs. I wont be joining the next challenge as I am not back until New Years Day and will be doing a full 8 weeks starting from scratch.

Happy New Year everyone. Thank you for your support on the past years challenges:

Am in Australia and keen to start the 800BSD. My plan is to go in boots and all from tomorrow. I am considering the Tony Ferguson shakes – they have a VLCD plan and available at my local chemist. Any ideas/suggestions?
I will do just this plan for two weeks and then when my husband has cleared out all the Christmas temptations I will venture back into the clinic and create 800cal meal plans. Has anybody else managed this way?

Hi all, I’m so pleased you’ve decided to start the challenge thread today, was panicking what to do about this week without one as I’m feeling fired up to get stuck in strictly from today.
Start weight today 10st 4lbs
Goals are to drop into the 9’s and fit into a certain pair of trousers.
Plan to set max 20g carbs, around 800 cal and lots of intermittent fasting, one meal a day when possible. Good luck all xxx

That’s the ‘drug’ side of sugar, and the white stuff, and is different to true hunger satisfaction. You will never get that from a healthy diet, but can get similar effects from non eating methods (exercise, laughter etc.) What I have found is that you don’t miss that sugar high that much when you haven’t experienced it for a while though, so as long as you keep mindful of this, and practice moderation on the daily level, that the occasional ‘blowout’ does you no harm in the long term.

Signed in on new thread already, but coming here to ‘confess’ with a warts and all weigh in. To put it into perspective I am just 1 pound up on where I was at this point last year, after having a similarly un-BSD Christmas. My main Christmas present was some Wi-Fi body composition scales so these results are on different scales to all my previous measurements and so I won’t be announcing a full challenge result.

My weight today is 11 stone 11.5, which is a stone up on my target. Pleasingly my body fat reading on my new scales is 29.2%, I say pleasingly, because that is in the normal healthy range whereas my old Salter scales insisted even at target weight that I was still 34% fat, when the Boditrax scan had me at 21.5% or close to ‘underfat’ for a non athlete. Muscle mass is 67.2% and my hydration on waking was 49.9%. Bone mass was 3.5%, hopefully that won’t change too much 😁

I expect the fat percentage is still reading high as without the hand electrodes it cannot detect the fact that I can still see my ribs as my fat level on my top half is far lower than it is on my legs and thighs, as a ‘pear shape’ body type. I will organise a Boditrax update in the new year and get some direct comparisons with my new scales, but in the meantime I am still committed to staying slim and healthy, and hope that 2018 is just as good a year as 2017 was. See you over on the new thread.

I’ve only been back here for a week or so (I think?) and I’m still easing back into it with plenty of indulgences over Christmas – so I’m very happy to say that I’ve maintained my weight. This morning I was the same as Monday last week: 75.8 kg. Which is also the same as I was four weeks ago. I refuse to experience ‘calendar regret’ (if I’d started then, think where I could be now…) so I’m going to be genuinely happy I’ve maintained and not gained.

Happy Boxing Day everyone. Reporting in on last day of this challenge. My goal was 6 lbs off and although part way through I’d lost 4lbs, I’ve regained 3lbs due to Christmas, oops. Only to be expected really though and I’m actually delighted as I’d normally have eaten a lot worse and gained a lot more. Still ended with a 1lb loss so a win in my book! Am feeling enthusiastic so off to track down the next challenge now.

Verano I indulged a lot more than you but I still lost weight overnight! The human body is weird, isn’t it.
I have the obvious Christmas positives of family and presents. But also a couple of funny ones about Christmas dinner dessert.
1. There was a little niggling argument going on on Facebook Messages about who would contribute trifle, several people offered but we didn’t want more than one – I don’t like it so didn’t care and wasn’t part of the discussion – and then in the end no one did! The person who insisted they would was of course the most unreliable person there.
2. One mother of small children bans unhealthy food for them, fair enough though it’s tricky to manage at big family celebrations, and she brought some ‘healthy’ desserts (not BSD idea of healthy) for them with extras which didn’t get eaten. Then she asked if she could take leftovers of the ‘unhealthy’ desserts home for herself!

I’m in, although my only goal for this first week is not to go up anymore in weight! I have been enjoying a relatively un-BSD diet over the last few weeks as I have indulged in many old favourites and my weigh in on the other previous challenge thread will be ‘warts and all’. So with first week as BSD maintenance, the remaining three weeks when I start work again will be a mini-800 period, probably 2:5 with more at weekends. Carbs will be strictly controlled again, and I expect a very fast drop back to target area. February is already planned in as a ‘recovery’ logged month, where calories are increased by 50 per day until back up to TDEE, so I will be active on the next two challenges.

Hi Verano! May I join you in reflecting and re-focussing? You have had a great year, so have I!

I started this WOE after a chance encounter with a fat old woman in a full length mirror, in total denial over diabetes and its accompanying risks. Realising that measures needed to be taken, Dr Mosley’s BSD and later, Dr Jason Fung’s Fasting books were avidly read. I had lost 28lbs with low carb and 10,000 steps a day a couple of years ago but those pesky carbs crept back in to sabotage any maintenance 😠 Time to re-start, quick smart!

May 30th. Weight 12st 8lbs. Recent HBa1c 56
Oct 13th. Weight 9st 9lb. HBa1c 35. Metformin and Trulicity handed back to pharmacy (after a visit to delighted Diabetic Nurse!)

Dec 26th Weight 10st 7lb. This will be mostly carb induced water weight after the last couple of days so…. …..

Time to go back to weighing and logging. MFP app pressed back into service. The daily journey to work and back will be on foot. 16:8 intermittent fasting. All the above will soon have me back into my happy place (9st something)

So, Verano, I’m with you with similar goals. Keep my diabetes in remission with no drugs and get my weight back to target with some wiggle room. Blood tests in February to check progress – all to play for

Looking forward to hearing from anyone else!

Happy New Year!