When you’re searching the MFP database for an ingredient or product, add “net carbs” to the search terms. The entries are crowdsourced and there are plenty of low-carbers contributing to it, so you’ll often find the item you need with fiber count deducted from carb count. It’s an awkward partial solution because not everything has a net carb option so you might still need to subtract out some of the fiber from your totals in the end, but it helps.

I routinely clock in below 30 grams of carbs, btw, even counting fiber. It’s easy if you jack up the greens and drop the carbier vegetables, fruits and legumes.

Hi JGwen,
Happy New Year! I ‘formally’ finished BSD 15 months ago and am still trying to find a ‘maintenance way’. A couple of things I have learned along the way – for me, the most important thing is to keep a track of what I am eating and cook everything (90%+) from scratch.
During the BSD period (9 months) I recorded (almost) every morsel that I ate. It was a hassle and I was happy to stop that. I am back doing it because without that restraint, I found it too easy to overeat. I am also back on cooking everything from scratch, and freezing portions – that way I know what is going into my body. I aim for my resting base calorie intake per day which is a few hundred less than my actual required intake, that allows for a little over eating and or miscalculations. I do not count my carbs as religiously as I did, but always aim for 35-45% of total daily intake as carbs. Before I started BSD, I was on 60-65% daily intake as carbs – pasta was the goto quick fix food. Form my blood sugars, I have also recently rechecked my FBS and it was 5.4 mm, which is fine – my blood sugar under control. I also noticed last week, that the day after I have exercised (even 30 minutes moderate walking) my FBS is under 4.9 mm or lower. So with me, exercise is playing a big part in control.
In terms of food plans, I am still finding my way – I’ve been trying the healthy gut book and there are some interesting recipes in there for veggies and other that can be easily adapted (look at it in a book shop first to see if it makes sense for you). From that approach I have included a slice of rye sourdough (about 50g) a couple of days a week, plus most days I have home-make soup with either a couple of oatcakes, or about 45g focaccia sourdough. I am also working through a wide range of cheeses. The recipes in Claire Bailey’s book (see my reply of 18 Nov) for the 5:2 I find useful. Unlike the original 5:2 book, these are approximately 800 cals per day so link in well with BSD. I am starting 5:2 this week and will choose one or two recipes for those two days and stick to it. Thinking about your Asperger’s syndrome, I wonder if that 5:2 might suit you as well as you say you can manage a more repetitive food regime relatively easily? Using the 5:2 approach is definitely a good way to ease off of BSD.
Good luck!

Natalie – thanks for that info about MFP – I hadn’t realised that it didn’t display net carbs and was wondering how on earth any one ever managed to stay below 50 grams of carbs a day! I’ve now added in fibre as one of the macros to track, and I suppose I’ll have to work it our myself.
Does anyone know of a food tracker that does net carbs?

Yes I agree mixnmatch Greek style yoghurt, berries and toasted flaked almonds keeps me fuller for longer too. Sounds like everyone’s geared up for a great start, I’m restarting in earnest tomorrow – after purchasing a set of scales which gives BMI, body fat % etc – the figures are pretty frightening but I know BSD works so onwards and upwards! Or rather downwards 😆. Good luck everyone 😀

Hello, everyone! It’s wonderful to see so many new faces on this thread..
Day 1 of the new year, full of hope and promise, and it makes my heart
leap to think of the possibilities for life changes available to us all as we
commit to this WOL.
Luv, your message to me was stunningly beautiful, and I appreciate it
most sincerely! If only one person receives it, I feel blessed. It’s wonderful
to see how you’ve been intense in seeking knowledge and support from
other maintainers here who are passionate about the benefits of this WOL,
and to my way of thinking, it’s only a matter of time before we see you
reaching each and every one of your goals. Your knowledge of low carb
cooking is breathtaking, and I know that there will be much more creativity
in our menus as a result of all recipes you have spent your time sharing
with us. I am compiling a LTC file as we speak, and a tribute to western
PA. tradition is on the menu for this evening: pork tenderloin and sauerkraut!
We’ll be thinking of you today as we share this tradition with you 🙂 Every
happiness and success in 2018, Luv. You are a bright light in the darkness…
Thank you,

Allie

Greek style yoghurt is my main go to for a cold breakfast, topped with berries, a little cinnamon or grated 100% chocolate or sprinkled with a few cocoa nibs it can be truly luxurious and keep you satisfied for a usefully long time. I also made a porridge variant using buckwheat or quinoa flakes, which are not low enough in carbs for those who have to reach keto levels to lose weight but worked for me. It has a small amount of the Base flakes (oats or those mentioned above. Sometimes millet as well but not so keen on the taste) some ground flaxseed, almonds, walnuts mixture and whole chia seeds, and usually made with either cinnamon or 100% cocoa powder added for flavouring and made with nut or seed milks or half water half milk. Keep under 40g total of the dry ingredients and it is a very filling meal. I always meant to try a savoury version with salt and pepper, and may do so on my reboot 😀

Hi JGwen,
This doesn’t really answer your question but I have read elsewhere that it seems belly fat is the last to go (don’t know why) so with patience and continuing low-carb will eventually result in a flatter belly but it takes time.
SSB

I don’t know if it’s fate, but there’s definitely something numinous at work that seems to want me to look as slick as possible after so many years of sweats, t-shirts and shapeless giant tunics. People stared at me as I walked by and I strutted the aisle with shameless abandon. “Stare all you like, folks. Phoenixes in tails, velvet pants, cheetah boots and fedoras-ex-machina don’t come by very often.” 😀 😆

Go Stetson go! That is so exciting, Kazz. I love Stetsons because they’re such a great statement hat. Be sure to think ahead about which boots you’ll get when your feet shrink so they can work together for the full line-dance chic look. You are going to have a blast!

That is fascinating, JGwen. One of the first things to shock me after I’d lost a significant amount of weight was the change in my toenails. Ever since I can remember, even when I was a healthy weight in my childhood, I’ve had tiny little chips for pinkie toenails. The rest of them were your average unremarkble toenails with the usual assortment of small-scale weirdnesses. At some point around the 6 month mark I noticed that they had suddenly all become perfect rectangles, strong, even, no weird angles or chips or thickened areas or pointy bits. They looked carved in marble. I could not believe my eyes. My OH, who had trimmed my toenails for years when I was too obese to reach them, was astonished by the change as well.

I wonder if there are any studies on the effect of sugar on human nail growth. I’m be very curious to learn more about it, and how coconut plays into it. I don’t eat it daily, but I often make coconut cream puddings, add the milk to soups and curries and have a few toasted coconut chips with my bakers chocolate dessert.

Hi guys,

I just thought I would join in on this topic, I am fortunate at present that as I have Asperger syndrome (high end functioning version of Autism) I can cope with very repetitive meal combinations for longer than most but once I get down to maintenance levels I will need to pick up on suggestions to widen my options. I am a vegetarian, I can’t tolerate the fat in meat or the smell of fish.

I lost weight on the “original” 5:2 diet nearly five years ago. During that time I naturally moved to eating 18/6ish, still my preferred way, and fasted for up to 48hrs at a time. The weight largely stayed off but started to creep up in 2016 when I relaxed the fasts/forgot to do them 😚. I became interested in the BSD way of eating, cut the white carbs and lost the few extra pounds I had begun to carry around my middle. Interestingly on the (not official) 5:2 forum there was a thread about low carbing long before MM brought it to wider attention. Luckily, everything crossed here, I don’t have health issues but do feel better for keeping carbs lowish – less than 50 most of the time.

I would say diets do work as long as they turn into a way of life, so you need to find one that suits yours. What doesn’t work is being ‘on a diet’ the implication being that you get to where you want to be, come off it and generally go back to square 1 – the world of the yo-yo diet. People don’t seem to understand that what made them fat in the first place will do so once again if they revert to that way of eating.

The mindset that, I think, fostered by the press and set people up to fail was “fast on 2 days and eat what you like on non-fast days”. Whilst you could eat what you wanted you couldn’t eat as much as you probably wanted – slight difference!

I have wondered if there is any research anywhere on how the body decides where to access fat from when you are burning your fat supplies as fuel? I know muscle building websites say that it isn’t possible to use exercise to target specific muscle /fat pockets, but then they will not on a long term low carb diet. Would it be sensible to assume that the body uses fat supplies closest to the muscles doing the work?

Thank you for the mention of the article on the personalised diet in the daily mail. I remember when I saw the TV program about their research I thought how interesting it would be to be able to be one of the people getting the depth of knowledge of how each type of food effected their blood sugar. I think I will def invest in one of the blood sugar measurement tools once I start to get closer to my target weight to help with maintenance.

I think that just dropping carbs from our diets will change the ratio of different gut bacteria, but it is not the complete solution to be as effective as possible at maintaining weight loss.

I work with horses who have problems with their hooves. One of the problems is caused by a high sugar diet. The research shows that the bacteria which break down sugars have an impact on the growth rate of the horses hooves. To much sugar in the diet and the hoof wall grows so fast that the strength of its connection between the hoof wall and the bone in the hoof is weakened, causing intense pain for the horse. What I have found interesting is that consistently horses which have had this problem and have been moved on to a low sugar diet continue to have faster than normal rates of hoof growth and any increase in sugar in their diets can cause the condition to flare up. So it suggests that reducing sugars changes the balance of gut bacteria, but, all it takes is one spike in sugar intake for the bacteria mix to change again. However changing their diet to include a considerable amount of coconut meal corrects this and the changes occur within a month. There are three possible causes, either the coconut is killing the bacteria responsible, or it is dealing with a yeast infection in the gut making the gut wall less permeable so that the by-product of digesting sugar doesn’t reach the blood stream, or its changing the PH of the gut so that range of bacteria in the gut are changed. There hasn’t been any research into which of the three effects of coconut is behind the change. They do know that with sheep feeding them a mixture of coconut and onion for 10 days both kills of any intestine parasites and also makes the sheep relatively immune to infestations of the parasites for months.

I am playing with the idea of getting one of these blood testing kits and then experimenting by first of all taking readings and then taking a healthy portion of coconut each day for a couple of weeks and re-running the tests.

Weight will only creep up if you are overeating (or drinking) quite considerably on your non fast days. When I was doing the 5:2 (4:3, 2:5 etc.) I knew that as my weight dropped, so I would need less calories as my basal metabolic rate dropped as well, so for the same activity my caloric requirements dropped regularly. I kept checking my TDEE and made sure that to lose weight I was taking in quite a lot fewer calories than that. I started on 1850 calories on an NFD and 500 on a fast day, then when I discovered BSD changed to 1600 calories on an NFD and 800 on a fast day (quite a similar average calories). To lose weight faster I then added more fast days until I was doing the 8 weeks at 800 calories with very few issues. As near as I can tell my BMR is about 1550 and my typical TDEE around 1950. This allows me to eat quite a lot without putting on weight too much. It is a myth that just two fast days can balance any amount of over consumption on the remaining days, but to be fair I don’t think the diet ever claimed it could 😀

I can imagine that any diet only works as well as anyone is honest about what they are eating, and follow it strictly. What I liked about the BSD is the information on how insulin and carbs impact on fat loss, that was the missing element for me on all previous attempts to loose weight. When you think about how being on just 800 cals a day, every day is needed to sustain just a small weight loss each week its easy to understand how weight could creep up if you are just dieting 2 days out of each week.

Interesting JGwen. I will weigh on old and new for the first couple of weeks so I can judge the accuracy. My old digital scales are very reliable despite the outer rust!

Hi Guys, re new scales. I find my the reading on my digital scales differs depending on where I stand on them. If I stand with my toes near the display I weigh 1.5kg less than if I stand further back. And they give a different reading if the central heating is on than if not (old stone house on top of a hill which gets quite cold when its windy. ) …. Not that I have been fixated on checking weight changes 🙂 – just that they are effected by all sorts of things that don’t effect older scales.

I’m blown away at that miracle, Esnecca! Do you believe in fate?! What a result!

I’ve had YouTube on most of today, listening to various talks, interviews etc with Perlmutter, Taubes, Moseley etc so I’m all fired up for a new 8 week stint, no weekend alcohol and at the end of the 8 weeks, I’ll treat myself! TO A STETSON!!!! I’m browsing cowboy boots and guess what, I’ve found a monthly line/barn dancing meet up group not that far from me! Yehar! I’m thinking Cyote Ugly and once at goal, I will strut my stuff to Leann Rhymes! 😎🤩😂

Kazz, I experienced yet another fashion-related miracle. I had no luck whatsoever finding a hat on Friday and was resigned to hatlessness, but yesterday just hours before the festivities began my mother called and said she’d been cleaning her closet and found a bunch of old hats of mine. I raced over to see the chapeau archaeology she’d excavated, and there was a black wool felt fedora with a wide brim that I was able to tilt up on one side, swoop diagonally over my forehead then straight on the other side. Faye Dunaway Chinatown all the freaking way.

It was perfect. I felt like a million bucks and the reaction from OH was everything you could possibly want in a reaction from a man who’s been by your side for 24 years. What a way to ring in the New Year.

Thanks again for the idea, Kazz. I can’t wait to get you decked out in hot boots, sequins, mini-dresses, skinny pants, everything and anything you dared not hope you could wear. This is your year to burn that old nest to the ground.

Happy 2018 to all phoenixes!

HappyHostie, fat and fiber are the most filling foods. I don’t eat breakfast (and anyway I adore eggs) but I drum up a porridgey-type thing for my fella who can eat carbs just fine but wanted to shed a few pounds to get rid of the little tummy he developed when he crossed into his 40s. It’s simple as can be: 2 tablespoons of almond meal, 2 tblsp of hemp hearts, 1 tblsp of sunflower seeds, 1 tblsp of chia seeds, 1 tblsp of grass-fed whey protein powder, 1/8 tsp salt. That’s the dry mix for a single portion. When he’s ready, he adds 1/2 cup of hemp milk or coconut milk or soy milk, whatever we’ve got in the house, or failing that, water, and microwaves it for 2 minutes. It comes out thick and sort of clumpy that way, which is how he likes it. If you want it more porridge-like, add another 1/4 cup liquid. Top with dried fruit and/or nuts.

My guy has a very fast metabolism and gets hungry quickly. This tides him over easily without hunger even entering his mind from 10 AM until 2-3 in the afternoon.

Even easier to make is chia pudding. Mix a quarter cup of chia in to one cup of unsweetened almond, hemp, soy milk or, best of all, coconut cream (the solids that rise to the top of a can of coconut milk when you put it in the fridge overnight). Stir it all up and let it sit for 5 minutes. Chia seeds will soften and gelatinize it into pudding all on their own. The texture is reminiscent of a tapioca, little balls with crunchy centers in a soft, rich custard. You can add flavorings (vanilla is a classic), a few berries or my personal favorite, cocoa nibs which are unsweetened tips of the cacao bean and are packed with flavor, healthy fats and nutrients.

If you use coconut cream, you wouldn’t eat more than 1/4 of a cup at a time because it’s so high in fat the calories add up quickly. If you use other milk substitutes and make sure they’re unsweetened — check the label AND the ingredients list because companies can be tricky about these sorts of things — you can eat the whole big cup of it. It fills you up like you would not believe. Chia has more fiber gram for gram than almost anything in the world, far more than oats and bran and all the rest of the crap they shove down children’s gullets in breakfast cereals.

Good luck!

Yes, Squidge!!! You’ve just articulated exactly why I always have hard boiled
eggs in the refrigerator 🙂 Your thinking is spot on, and it does indeed work!
I liked the symbolic water toast too. Just the first of thousands more to
come…Go for it!!

Best

Allie

Thanks, Zolou.

Happy Hostie, I don’t know yet if it will help, but I’ve got celery in the fridge. My theory is that if I’m actually hungry I’ll be happy to eat it. If I don’t fancy it then I’m not really hungry. I hope I can convince myself! That’s to beat the cravings I mean – not as breakfast!

Hi Annie, It’d be great to be buddies for this.

Well done on the stone lost!

I’ve just been on a long walk so am feeling quite smug. I’d got quite lazy (probably part of the reason I now want to lose weight) but have been doing more walking over the last couple of weeks and it’s getting easier.

Ps. We’re in Hampshire.

Happy New Year to all my BSD Challenger friends.
We are still away (from UK and scales) though I have kept an eye on things here over the festivities. I arrived full of good intentions but the carb monster and our over generous son started me on the bad white stuff which I hadn’t eaten for months.
I don’t know what I weigh now, but today I climb back on the wagon and will just eat BSD friendly food even though the calorie count may be up. We arrive home next Monday and will then face the weigh in ready to tackle the next three Stone Mountain.
I will start the challenge tomorrow though the first week will be just getting back to normal and KOKOODAAT.
X B

Happy new year, everyone.

Mixnmatch, I couldn’t have put it better myself so forgive me for sharing the final paragraph from your post above.

“I couldn’t have done any of this without this forum and the inspirational people who inhabit it, both in the past, the present and indeed the stars of the future who are just joining us. May you all have the very best of fortune in 2018.”

Thank you💜👏🙅

So good to see everyone on here, struggles, progress, however we are feeling …new year and we’re moving forward.

My NYE went like this: expecting people to the house, the food ready, all the usual house work done, then, well, I cleaned the downstairs windows about a month ago but we live close to the ocean and I decided they needed doing again! Meanwhile OH decided the gardens needed mulching so he was no use to me and oh, heck, where did those spider webs suddenly come from? Stuff like that. Street party at the end of our cul-de-sac from 4.00 pm. Bring a plate to share, something to drink, a chair of you want, avoid all the kids and their bikes/scooters/hill trolleys also their remote controlled model cars and one small drone which was promptly confiscated by the relevant dad.

OH and I joined them at about 5 pm to enjoy conversations with neighbours we wave to more often than speak to and were still there when our expected friends arrived about 30 minutes early. They joined us for a while then we left to walk about 10 minutes down to our local Hillarys Marina, eating at one of the local bars. Good fun. Beautiful, warm night so lots of people wandering around the marina. Walked home again about 9.30 pm. Quite windy but with the blinds down around our patio we were able to sit outside until midnight when we watched the Sydney Harbour fireworks spectacular on tv. Were any of our Sydneysiders there, I wonder? (The group of us together last night were in Sydney a few years ago for NYE, so beautiful).

Very tired today. Too much food last night, though only one nice glass of bubbles, with the food pattern continuing today. Weigh-in tomorrow will be unpleasant, I think. However, I am looking forward. Not calling it a fresh start just keeping on with regained control.

Happy new year everyone🎉🎉💜

Good luck on the journey, Squidge!

SSB, that’s just how I felt. The good thing is you will have all the more momentum behind you when you do start.

Happy Hostie, I tried the green tea and blueberry shake – it was nice and left plenty of calories for later, though I’ll confess it didn’t entirely keep the hunger at bay. When the cravings come, you could try just remembering that you only have to deal with the current moment – notice them, name them, breath into them. Ride the wave! It’s the carbs that cause most of the cravings in the first place, so you’ll already have been proactive in heading them off.

I’m in day 4 now and have been weirdly energetic since yesterday, leaping around most uncharacteristically. I can understand now the German tradition of fastenwandern (fasting hiking) – I feel I could happily just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Hi Biltea

Happy New Year to you – it’s great you’re here and thinking of starting on the 5:2.

While I’ve read about the 5:2 and saw the original Horizon programme, I’ve never tried the diet. But I have been doing the BSD for the last 5+ months. I’ve lost 3 stones since August and, most importantly for me, my Hba1c has come down from an uncontrolled high – (106) on diagnosis in early August back into the normal range (35). There are lots of stories on here from current and previous posters (with pre-diabetes and diabetes) who have similar personal experiences of improved Hba1c as well as great weight loss.

I agree with the others. The 5:2 diet, like BSD, hasn’t been around long enough to accumulate a body of long-term evidence specific to it, but one of the things I like about Michael Mosley is that his books are based on some of the best evidence around of what works. I also like the fact that he is being honest about 5:2 evidence in this article (well, sounds like it).

From what I’ve read generally about ‘diets’ (and through personal experience!) there might be a problem with reduced calories leading to slower metabolism but does the fasting/non-fasting days overcome this – by the constant change up? You, and others, will know more about this than me. I know people on here (BSD) go very carefully when they start upping their calories again from 800.

When I worked in the NHS one of the things I was responsible for was looking at the evidence of what worked, so I don’t think you’re being critical in considering these things. But, I agree with Mixnmatch, evidence comes in many forms. One of the reasons I started the Blood Sugar Diet was because there were so many people on this Forum who were reporting how effective it was in reducing their blood glucose levels. (My work experience taught me that if enough people are saying something is working, you listen!).

Have faith in what people are saying and give 5:2, or BSD, or both a go. You won’t regret it.

Marie

I’m starting today, but I’ve also paid up for the programme starting on 15th Jan. I weighed in this morning, heavier than the morning I gave birth to my daughter. No excuses -time for action.
My reasons – I’m too fat
My knees hurt
I can’t fit into my ski suit anymore (ski-ing in Feb)
Being fat makes me feel like I’m “less than” people who have their weight under control.

Any ideas for breakfasts that don’t contain eggs (yuk) would be gratefully received.
I’m also worried about what to do when the carb cravings hit. I become a carb-seeking missile.

Good luck anyone starting today and happy new year!

Oh dear kazzee I hope your scales are ok! Mine weren’t as old as that, not quite but only weigh in 2lb increments so these new ones are more accurate. I suppose I should use kilos but the numbers seem too big. I think my BMI is about middling as I’m 5’5″ and it’s at the top end of “ideal” but not far off “overweight” when I started this woe though my waist was 40 and a half and now it’s 32 and a half so getting there.

Hi Squidge
I’m a bit of a lurker, shirker and general procrastinator …. I’m about to do the tape measure now ……HELP!!!! I !will weigh in tomorrow as that’s my re-start date. I’ve lost a stone lurking on the sidelines and have around another 2.5 stone to lose but I’m determined, would be nice to have a buddy on the journey GOOD LUCK x

Thank you!

Hi Gang

I’m also starting a reboot today and doing dry Jan and Feb for the 8 week duration.

LTC – very interesting. I’m also reminding myself about this by looking at Gary Taubes stuff on YouTube.

Kazzee xx

Hi Tillybud

I think I’m going to experience the same thing with my new scales which I will be collecting from Argos tomorrow and I’m dreading it! But you are quite correct in that you have lost that amount of weight regardless of the correct starting weight. I will just suck it up and carry on and not dwell on the ‘injustice’! Lol. My old scales are 25 years old but don’t show losses less than a pound and a half pound loss is worth knowing about! Plus I’d like to see my BMI stats reducing also.

Kazzee xx

Yesterday was a disaster. You forget how much damage carbs can do. Last night, due to my not having proper food all day (ham and cheese for breakfast, beans and egg late afternoon and bolognaise with nothing for dinner) I found myself absolutely starving and I’m not even dieting yet. Anyway I discovered our house sitters had left half a baguette so I had 2 slices with butter. Turned out to be a fruit baguette, I’ve lived in France for 12 years and never seen fruit in a baguette before. That probably also means is was a sugared dough mix. Yikes BG 169 this morning, that is from a norm of around 80 to 100. Highest it has been since starting this plan in June 2016. Now that really is an incentive to get back on it.

Even though I dont officially start until tomorrow I will be following the principals if not the calories and have had 2 eggs scrambled with chilli and cheese, lunch will be a Spanish soup and we have a joint of lamb with frozen veg for dinner. And no alcohol as along with the diet it is a dry January.

Cant wait until tomorrow.

Happy New Year to all you wonderful ladies. Full of wit and wisdom and sage advice. I had a disappointment over Christmas. I got down from 12 to 9st 12 and then father Christmas brought me some new spanking digital scales. Eager to try them I jumped on them Christmas morning ……. 10st 5 and three quarters! Shock, horror. So all along I must have been 12 and a half stone. One consolation is that no matter what I started/ finished at I lost 2st 2lbs. So as from today I am back on it and I will get under 10 stone …. again. For real this time. Being back on steroids won’t help but I’m on it. good luck everyone. I can do this. WE can do this!

Welcome Squidge – all aboard and ready to go!
SSB

Happy New Year!

I’m a new starter today.

I’ve started the diet today (It’s going well so far!)

I have 25 lbs to lose. I’m hoping to shift that and feel much healthier (I’m not diabetic or otherwise ill, just feel sluggish and generally not at my best).

Happy New Year everyone! 🎉
I’m still with family in the UK so serious carb-feasting still on-going. To be honest, I’m really looking forward to getting back to Spain and getting serious with my health and fitness. I don’t think I have put on any additional weight but I feel blobby and ‘puffy’ – general inflammation I guess. I am looking forward to proper exercise and ‘good’ food, all in the Spanish sunshine ☀️
Good luck and best wishes to everyone who is taking their health in hand this year.
SSB

Happy – and healthy – New Year!

I’ve done done a weigh in. Eeek. I’ve measured my waist. Double eek. There are no particularly tempting carbs in the house and I have ingredients for healthy meals for the next few days. There’s no reason I can’t exercise. My husband is doing it too, so I have support. We’re off the booze for January. I’m ready …

We’ve made a start – at midnight we toasted the New Year with water. We had bubbly before that and weren’t going to stay up any longer, so it wasn’t a hardship, but it felt symbolic.

Hi Squidge

Yes, I’m in Worcestershire. Where are you? Good idea about using the beautiful crystal glasses. The other thing I did was to serve my food a bit ‘chef’ style in a wide rim bowl rather than my usual dinner plate. I guess it’s a form of disassociation with the old ways by creating a new way!

Don’t be alarmed if you feel a little headachy during your first week. It’s whats known as carb flu. Withdrawals basically. Once through it though, you will feel amazing! By my 2nd day, I was walking quicker, more alert. After my first week I noticed that all the little aches and niggles had disappeared!

Kazzee

I’ve just worked out why my carbs have seemed so high the past few days. I’m used to the Australian displays of net carbs with fibre already deducted, but I’ve just switched to MyFitnessPal and it doesn’t do that! It tells me total carbs. It was puzzling me dreadfully why fruits and veges were so much higher in carbs than I remembered.

I’d like to start the full 8 weeks again and am already on the 4 week challenge thread. Target for week 8 is to get to 10 stone. Not sure whether this may be a bit ambitious, but have generally been losing 7lb per month, excluding Christmas, so we’ll see. Good luck everyone x

I’m very late with my final weigh-in. I had a really strange week where my weight blipped up to 83.6kg overnight (maybe a delayed result of my Christmas higher calorie and carbs?), but after a few days it has gone back down to 81.2. So I didn’t meet my target of 80kg for this challenge, but still recorded a loss of 1.5kg. Thanks to everyone who provided support and suggestions for quick and easy BSD meals to help keep me going when life got busy and stressful. I’m doing much better with ensuring that I get my veggies and no longer resorting to frozen pizza and ready meals, so that is a big improvement over this time last year.
Looking forward to the next challenge!

Hi,

To everyone

Wishing you all a Happy New and Healthy 2018.

To those who are starting in the morning, my best wishes.

To those who haven’t or cannot decide to start in the morning, please can i suggest that you read my early blogs. I break the Blood Sugar Diet steps down into smaller ones.

If you cannot change everything just reduce the carbs.
E.g. leave the cereal and do berries and yoghurt.
Leave the mashed spuds and have cauli or. Carrot and turnip mash.
Leave the bread, one meal at a time.
Leave the pasta

Try it one meal at a time.

One day at a time.

Go for a walk around your room, then your property, then your road, then your block, then just walk until you have had enough.
Use benches, or bus stop seats to rest then come on back.

Try and do something different, that makes you happy. Volunteer, or clear a cupboard out and donate to charity.
Learn a new language, or craft.
Join a group, go to church. Join a walking club, join a cycling club, join a dance group.
Meet people, share, enjoy.

Oh and be lazy…. it takes less muscles to smile than to frown.
Smile, smile smile.
And you watch , at others smiling back at you,

LIVE each day and be who you are meant to be. And not live as a shadow of yourself.

Do this for me. Do it for yourself. Do it for the Minions. Do it for Ironman. Do it for Mr D’arcy.

Just do it. Dont forget to let me know here in the blog.

Happy new year.

Love lucia
Xxxxx

Just checking in to wish everyone a happy new year. The 3lb gain I had over Christmas has gone, so I’m back to 10st 13lb and looking forward to starting the year in the 10s and hopefully losing another 2 stone to get to my target weight. My target for this challenge is 10st 10lb, so just 3lb to go. Feeling optimistic.

Marie123, well done on your results, didn’t realise you had accessed them yourself. Here’s to getting to your healthy BMI. And Natalie, don’t give up!

Verano – read the article you mentioned and found it very interesting. Not going to start experimenting yet until I’ve got to target weight though and am always keen to learn from long term BSDers/maintainers.

As well as continuing with BSD, I’ve also committed to doing TRUE yoga with Adriene on youtube (link below if anyone else is interested). I think it was mentioned on another thread by Salty Sea Bird, so thanks for that. I’ve dipped in and out of yoga, and usually ended up in a heap on the floor, so is good for a laugh if nothing else. If you sign up, she sends you a daily email with affirmations if you’re into that kind of thing. I’m going to give it a go anyway, hoping my weight loss to date will make it easier!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UUP0zqPP_E

Looking forward to starting the new year with everyone, and hoping that this is going to be a great year for all of us, especially those with health problems. Thinking of you all.

Lots of love, Sandy x