Goodness Alliecat, awake at 3am! I think I’m an early bird waking at 5.30 most days. 9.30pm here and just dipping under 30c outside.

12 inches of snow sounds delightful and beautiful, assuming of course top notch cold weather gear, excellent heating, a crackling fire, lots of tea and no pressing need other than pleasure to be outside. Oh sunshine would also be required.

The non scale victories are a terrific bonus. I hadn’t even thought about the leg crossing thing until I noticed suggenly that my top leg was sitting flush and falling straight!

I plan to press on with BSD. Mid point for my healthy weight range is 58-60kg depending on which table you are reading. That another 8-10 to go and will likely to take another Round with my “stable, stable, stable, drop” pattern. I have an appointment with my GP Monday and will discuss pros and cons. My only concern is potential impact on bone density but I’m pretty confident I’m getting plenty of calcium and vit D.

Did you or any other super maintainers experience any difficulties with subsequent rounds?

Hello ! This is my first day (proper) on the BSD. I’ve been having a transition period for a week or so where I have been changing my habits ready for the big push…
I’ve decided to follow Prof Taylor and Leans advice and follow the 800 Cal VLCD. I don’t have diabetes, but I do have Hypertension, so have spoken to my nurse, and am going to monitor my BP daily as I want to decrease my dose as the BP normalises. I’ve read all the information on the fantastic work that has been done by Prof Taylor/Lean, and can clearly see that the ‘Counterweight’ program that has been developed works, period. To this end, I will be following my own slightly adapted version that will work for me. It’s no problem at all what I eat/drink during the day, but it is very important to me in the long term for this WOE to work, that I can sit down and have a ‘meal’ with my family in the evening. Also, I have developed some awful eating habits, namely bingeing, so I have thought long and hard about what is going to work for me. I really need a very clear and prescriptive WOE that means I don’t have to create recipes, I can just have what I’m allowed and that’s it. I know it sounds really cold and prescriptive, but I just feel like I want to follow a regular ready made meal plan where I don’t have to prepare food, such as the Newcastle study.
So, I will be having the following each day –

Breakfast – Slimfast porridge (100 Cals)
Lunch – Slimfast ready made shake (200 Cals)
Early Evening – Slimfast ready made shake (200 Cals)
Dinner – Weightwatchers ready made meal (300 Cals) – On a bed of spinach leaves to get some fibre

3 litres of water a day
No alcohol

Total of 800 Cals

I’m going to follow this plan to the letter for 12 weeks, and then follow a transition period of increasing my calories as advocated by the Counterpoint study.

I’m well aware that pre-packaged products contain sugar, and I should be avoiding those, BUT its really important that I follow a very prescriptive eating plan to develop life long eating changes. The VLCD makes NO mention of decreasing Carbs.
My scientific mind tells me that the above will work, the numerous studies are more than proof enough !

I’d be very interested to hear your views, as I know my plan differs from that advocated here, but I’ve read enough case studies to see that a liquid diet works, although in my case I’ve added a small meal to keep things (my family life) normal. Otherwise, if I have another shake at dinner, then I just know I will crash and burn….

Have a great day.

Morning all. Thanks for the advice about leg cramps Annie. Soap in bed as I write.
Lost another 1lbs so 8lbs off for me now. I know I tend to plateau very early on from past experience.
I find it hard too in the evening. I managed to get all of my Christmas excess eaten or sent into work with my husband. I do have a lot of oranges left so I am allowing myself one of those at night until they are finished up. Cheese, I crumbled a bit of a soft blue cheese into a bowl of mixed veg soup. It was a good addition. Thanks for the congrats message Chewsnoo. He hasn’t lost any today, it will all even out.He lose weight very quickly.

Congratulations Natalie for recognizing the emotions you were feeling as
not something you had to act upon by blocking it with food. I agree with
Jackie, we all have a range of emotions on any given day, and it must
feel empowering to know that you can wait them out, for they always
dissipate, don’t they? Continuing success on your road to wellness, and
that means so much more than what results we see on the scale each
morning!

Best wishes,

Allie

I’m not in the US but at least partially credit Californian fast food for the first stone of my gradual slide into obesity. Just over 25 years ago I spent my honeymoon in San Diego and Santa Cruz and in two weeks was a stone heavier than I started! I never really lost that excess and gradually over the next 23 years kept putting more weight on, in a classic yo-yo dieting situation. I lost about 110 pounds to get back to my wedding weight last February, and fitted back into my wedding dress on my 25th anniversary.

Oh my god, just seen I have a thigh gap! I’ve never had one of those IN MY LIFE. I thought they were a myth!

Hi Everyone
I hope you don’t mind but I am joining in a little late. I want to lose the 10lbs I put on over Xmas and another 10 to get to a better weight. I lost 22 lbs the first time round. I had ill relatives over xmas and a subsequent death. I am very motivated because I have seen lots of very ill people and it made me realise staying fit and healthy as long as possible keeps you out of hospitals!!

I like your thread lots of good ideas.
Thanks and belated Happy New Year!!

Thanks Marie, hope you’re heading in the right direction too, you’re doing so brilliantly. Well I’ve managed to fasten up those trousers but serious muffin top and don’t think I could safely sit down in them for long, another few pounds to go before they move to regular use. However, there were two other pairs of old jeans in the “to aim for” pile which now fit beautifully again! And I found a lovely Kookai dress in a charity shop yesterday size 8 which I bought without trying on as a new “to aim for” dress and just tried it on – fits beautifully!style disguises tummy well. In the words of the wonderful Esnecca, not one step backwards – size 8 and below only from now on!

Popping in to say well done to all.

Funny holiday weight wise. Hit lowest of 58.9kg when Ill and lost appetite. Highest of 61.4kg when I started eating too many peanuts.

Today 60kg flat. Achieved by stopping eating at 7.30pm and not starting before 10.30am (yesterday after 12noon as was driving). Having more water. Swerving away from peanuts. Whole Earth do a peanut spread with seeds that’s lower in carbs than peanuts so had a couple of spoons of that (this was not willpower this was the jar being nearly empty but served a purpose).

My not very strong aim is to be 57kg. My absolutely iron will requirement is to be 60.xkg where x does not exceed 5.

No exercise apart from dog walks as have sinusitis which makes bending painful. Back to gym next week though, to keep muscle tone up.

Well done Natalie. Know just what you mean about the hollow feeling. Great to be able to see it for what it is and not fill it for food.

Thanks for the encouragement, Flick.

I like the NSVs! I must keep reminding myself that although I want to lose weight, that’s not the only reason I’m doing this. There are lots of other reasons to try really hard to stay on track.

You’ll be ok marie123. You are focused and determined and it makes a difference when you’re all fired up. 10st 2 is good (I’m just behind at 10st 3 and a quarter) don’t forget the quarter!

Had the cod and chorizo parcel last night, really yummy. Chicken tonight. Not sure what with yet, but it’ll be tasty.

Keep on Marie you’re doing great

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.