Liz, oh my goodness, I am going to have a lovely afternoon on YouTube! Thanks for sharing.

Alliecat – yes, yes, yes to fussy work – I am the person who spent all one Christmas making miniature knitted and felt decorations to sell for the School fair. I am not accurate, always, but they were cute! That fad wore off, though I still have a lot of felt up in the attic somewhere … one day ….

Marie – I was the child with the dolls and the matchbox cars too. And my dad got me a mechanics set (real equipment). I also used to make dolls houses out of cardboard boxes and furniture out of matches and matchboxes. I think being myopic, poor and an only child all helped! Absolutely nothing of this follows through into my adult life (even the myopia improved!) aside from an abiding love of all tiny things. I keep telling OH how much I like small houses and he keeps not buying me any for Christmas. I did make a kit House from wood though, which I banned the children from ‘helping’ with (I let them do the furniture though 😂).

Am concentrating today on eating more types veg and seeds. I’ve gone up a kilo in 2 days, I think that’s a combination of fibre plus calories from nibbling away between meals on nuts/chocolate/cream etc. (Which I have also knocked on the head – was slightly sleep deprived after NYE and kept snacking I think). And gaining after a cold that stopped me eating. Still 4kg below my max weight, so experimenting a bit. I may post my seedy biscuit recipe, it’s delicious and crunchy, which is a texture I miss a bit. Probably the only recipe I ever will post, though I do enjoy reading them on here.

Afternoon, everyone! I wish I could contribute to this discussion, but this
programming doesn’t run in the U.S. Sadly we are ignorant of the BSD also!
Sunshine-girl, we may be talking about 2 different things here with regard to
rosemary Connolly, i.e., “diet industry” vs. the father of the low fat hypothesis,
but it was actually the deeply flawed research of Ancel Keyes just prior
to the 1980’s that began it all. reference: Gary Taubes, “Good Calories, Bad
Calories”, a 500 page very well footnoted book, that took 5 years to write,
and it is fascinating to read about the history of the research done from just
prior to WWII until the present. Whole chapters are devoted to the lipid
hypothesis vs the carbohydrate hypothesis. It’s a great work of scientific
journalism in my humble opinion, but not the easiest of reads. Due to
the reception it received, Taubes was encouraged to write a follow up,
which became “Why We Get Fat…And What To Do About It”, and much
more user friendly. I’ll have to educate myself on Rosemary Conoly!
I love this thread!

Allie

Just reading the lovely Dr Chattergee’s book, The Four Pillar Plan. Lots of lovely pictures of the lovely Dr, selling a lifestyle (this is not a criticism!). I pre-ordered it before I found the BSD and it arrived a few days ago.

I would class him as a moderate, in that he is not into a one size fits all, but does think there’s too much sugar in the world. He does promote trying exclusion of gluten and dairy on a trial basis, to see if it works, and he also encourages insulin resistant people to follow a BSD diet for a limited period, though he says over time he tries to reintroduce root veg (some can some can’t manage it).

His other pillars of health are sleep, mindfulness, exercise.

It’s a very easy read, good introduction to it all – probably a bit basic if you’ve been involved in this WOE for a while.

Hello all,

Having done (quite successfully) the BSD last year, for a rewarding weight loss & health gain, I’ve gradually fallen off, so I thought committing to the forum, & not just lurking, will help my reboot effort & help my aim to lose the last 8 kilos. Fingers crossed…here we go…

Morning All – so far so good! Haven’t eaten yet (just nibbled some left over blue cheese) and went for a very long dog walk – will fire up the much neglected MFP later. Still xmas goodies around but I’ve had enough fancy food for a while. Coffee break now then 3 stables to muck out and farm chores to do before putting xmas decs back in the attic. Stay strong losers!

Hi, Luvtcook, I would be very interested in this experiment. I particularly miss my home made hummus and putting lentils in casseroles. Lentils are supposed to be a good source of inulin which is good for us. I won’t experiment until I’ve done my next 8 weeks, by which time I should be down to a normal body weight, and creeping towards my target. I’ll need to start thinking about long term ways of eating as I gradually raise my calories.

Btw. Thank you for the trifle recipe that you recommended for Christmas. It was great and very popular.

Hi All

Thanks again to each of you for responding. It all helps!

SunnyB – Can’t remember what the book says, but I remember reading someone (maybe Bill1954?) had emailed the administrators to ask if it was OK to continue after 8 weeks and they’d replied it’s OK to extend to 12 weeks. But I know there are quite a few people who have continued for months with no ill-effect and in fact feeling brilliant all the way, Esnecca being a great example.

I think it’s a case of that old line “It’s not you it’s me” As I mentioned to Liz, somehow, unintentionally, I’ve gone from eating a wider range of food at the beginning of BSD in August to quite a narrow number of dishes more recently – I think that’s where I’ve gone wrong. So, I’m going to start upping my cals a bit and really going to focus on eating as wide a range of dishes as possible. I’m also going to re-introduce some fresh salads (stopped as it’s been so cold, but will try warm salads). I think that’ll soon set me to rights again. I’m hoping to still keep the weight loss going but maybe at a slower rate for a while. (I’ve got my target of reaching the top of my healthy BMI – a few lbs away – still fixed firmly in sight).You’re right, it’s about developing a way of life, so it’s all positive.

Liz – I’m a bit of a control freak so I’ve used fatsecret to record my cals and carbs from the start. Let me know how it goes with your weight and good luck with the gym. I’m now an active walker and will be going out with the old pedometer later to see what damage the high winds wrought last night. I’m also back to my other activities – gym, Pilates, etc, this week and will need to decide what to carry forward when my Exercise on Prescription programme ends. Enjoy the rest of the time with your daughter.

Esnecca – You’re absolutely right, I definitely don’t want to turn back that particular clock. I’ll be keeping rigidly to <20g carbs a day. I test my blood glucose levels every day before and after my meals so have a good idea of what’s going on with my bgls, and I’ll be continuing with that. Btw, can I just say I use ‘not one step backwards’ frequently – no, not frequently, judiciously, pulling it out as needed – to keep pushing myself forward – so, thank you for that.

Marie x

nb

Jackie – I remember my Dad buying me a doll’s house for Christmas when I was a little girl (early 60’s maybe). My Mum, who had a more realistic, less rose-coloured, view of me, went straight out and bought 2 Dinky cars to go in the garage and got my uncle to hook up some sort of electricity arrangement so I could switch the lights on and off. She was right, but I did grow to love buying all the furniture for the different rooms.

Just popping in to say HI to all, and read updates and visit. No news on my end, just plugging away. Holiday went well for me as I lost half a pound, which was my intent….to maintain and not gain (minor indulgences but over all stayed on plan).

As the weather is so very cold right now have sheltered in place as they say and excercised more and watching more of the insulin and blood sugar control seminars (at Sidney I believe) on the web. Was hoping for better info on the insulin index (noted that sugar substitues do create an insulin response even though they have no carbs to cause actual storage by themselves). I find the info that dried beans have a very low insulin index in spite of the higher carb count very interesting. I am thinking that I may try a veg diet for a week eating dried beans (lentils and garbanzo beans primarily) on a limited basis and see how the diet does. I am very happy with the BSD diet but do struggle to get substantially more fiber into my diet of different varieties for gut health purposes. Would be interested in hearing if other large losers have found dried beans have actually hampered their losses, or if they have simply stayed away from them based on the carb count. I may be a guinea pig study of one. So we shall see.

Hi! I’ve been asked to post Michael’s riposte to the article. You can find it here and I’m also copying it below.

(Happy new year from me, too!)

RIPOSTE REGARDING RECENT NEGATIVE ARTICLES ABOUT THE 5:2 DIET AND INTERMITTENT FASTING

Dear All,

I thought I would contact you to wish you all a Happy New Year. On a slightly more depressing note I thought I would also alert you to an entirely misleading article about 5:2 and intermittent fasting in the Sunday Times, which was picked up by the Daily Mail and others. The headline was, “What a load of flimflab: proof that 5:2 diet works long-term is rather thin” and went on to quote me, totally inaccurately, as having said, “Mosley agreed there was no evidence of long-term weight loss among people following The Fast Diet plan”.

In fact what I said there are lots of animal studies and human studies that run to a year, but as yet no really long term studies. I went on to explain to the journalist why really long term studies are so difficult to do and why they are only really done by pharmaceutical companies. He ignored this.

There was also reference to a recent research paper which apparently showed intermittent fasting didn’t work, even in the short term. When you read the actual science paper (which you can at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28975722) what it concludes is that intermittent energy restriction diets do work rather well, at least in the short term (by which they mean up to 48 weeks, which is actually reasonably long for diet studies).

What they found is that intermittent fasting (IF) leads to average weight loss of at least 5 kg and multiple health benefits. “The findings support the use of weekly intermittent energy restriction as an alternative option for the treatment of obesity.”

This is almost the exact opposite of the spin the Sunday Times put on it.

The study also pointed out that people doing IF are twice as likely to lose over 15kg as those doing a more conventional diet.

Clearly more long term studies would be great, but the big question is, “who is going to pay for them?”

The Women’s Health Initiative, which included a very long term study looking for the benefits (or otherwise) of cutting fat from your diet, cost over $600m dollars and ran for over 15 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Health_Initiative

The conclusion, at the end of all that time and money, was that low fat diets don’t work.

Michael

Morning all, trying to post a bit more often for this month at least to keep me focussed. I stepped on the scales again today (another thing I will do more of this month) and have ditched 2.25lbs overnight! Probably pretty normal considering some of my gain was bound to be water weight but it’s still a boost. Can’t say the same for the headache! Still, out walking at lunchtime today and still dry and still eating clean – will get easier day by day

best wishes to my fellow challengers – have a good day!

I watched last night’s programme too. That keto diet seemed a bit extreme to me – it was all fat and protein without any veg other than mushrooms as far as I could see.

I think it’s true that a low fat diet can help some people lose weight, but (as they admitted in the programme) it’s not the only option and won’t be best for everyone. There was nothing in the programme that made me doubt that the fast 800 will be a good option for me.

Good morning all and welcome to another day on planet earth. I am so pleased that we have some new and returning faces. Welcome back Jules Maigret and I’m delighted that you’ve managed to maintain through a tough 6 months work wise.

I weighed in this morning and have lost a staggering 2.25lbs overnight! Thank goodness it seems that at least some of the 9lbs I gained was carb bloat. However, my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut and is protesting very loudly this morning (mostly in a quiet moment in meetings…) but I am ignoring it…and the headache which is coming on strong, Fortunately I know this is all normal stuff so for any new new faces out there do not fear – your body may have some uncomfortable reactions to the lack of carbs but it will pass. Personally I can’t wait for the fabulous effect of this way of eating

Natalie – I completely understand – I do seem to spend my whole life obsessed with food. Cooking it, packing it, planning it, shopping for it, thinking about it and ooh – eating it. Apart from my full time job, which already takes up 50+ hours a week, it’s about the only other thing I do continually, and some of it I do whilst at work too! However, I don’t resent it as it is literally the only way these things work, at least in the beginning – planning meals means there is little left to chance, which is when I tend to grab the stuff that’s no good. So yep – I reckon we are stuck with it 🙂

So I’m off for a walk at lunchtime, both my colleagues are coming with me which is great – both are doing Slimming World (not so great but hey, their choice and I will try to encourage them to the BSD way while I’m walking…) and I’m hoping to get to the gym tomorrow.

Have a good day y’all
TC

Hi all, I watched the diet programme on 5 last night and it was very much the same old same old, however, it did show fats in a much better light than previous regimes have considered it. Rosemary Conoly still insisted that fats are bad and in fact, she was the person who was responsible for the ‘low fat’ mantra which created a whole industry. End results, some fats are bad, not all fats are bad, cholesterol is needed by the body, now you can all eat eggs. Celebrity dieter (Josie from Big Brother) didn’t do great on keto diet but I thought she was just encouraged to eat fat with everything with no limits or consideration of how many calories it contains. Could have cut the prog by half an hour if they didn’t keep running the same pictures of fat over and over every time they mentioned the word.

Hubby is not pleased as I have 4 progs set to record tonight, all to do with diet or exercise.

Morning everyone, starting as I mean to go on with 30 mins exercise DVD and smoothie (homemade) for breakfast. Lost 1lb already but not going to do my usual and think I can relax when the weekend arrives. Hubby doing dry January so that should help me not to be tempted.

Did anyone watch the dieting programme on 5 last night. They were talking about fats, unfortunately Rosemary Connely insisted that fat is bad for you and I was her diet book that prompted the ‘low fat’ revolution. I remember the days of checking a food didn’t have more than 5% fat. The girl who did the 4 week keto diet didn’t lose much weight (1kg) and increased her body fat. My main comment on the way the diet was conducted is that, although she only had good fats, they seemed to be unlimited. Also she kept eating the same things over and over – eggs in particular. Anyway it didn’t work for her but she got really excited when her keto sticks turned pink. Funnily enough I am always low carb but my sticks always stay in the beige area. The other thing about the programme was every time they talked about fat they showed someone slicing cheese, then frying bacon, then slicing butter AND they showed these same clips over and over again. They could have cut the programme to 30 mins instead of an hours. At least they had some new diet advice regarding fats, i.e. not all fats are bad, cholesterol is needed by the body, there are good fats like olive oil, avocados and nuts etc.

Hope everyone is doing well and I guess I had better say hi to Jules – bonjour mon ami.

Would love to Marsie. We have been to Perth once ‘by accident’! We were flying from Hong Kong to Bali in the mid 90’s and there had been an ‘incident’ at the airport so the pilot flew on to his final destination, Perth. We were only there overnight but my abiding memory was of green spaces, supermarkets with lots of green space in front of them. Maybe an odd thing to remember but I just remember ‘space’. Who knows we may get there again. We were due to go to Sydney and cruise around New Zealand last January but had to cancel because I was ill. I think OH was a little relieved because he didn’t really fancy such a long flight. Perth is possible now non-stop from the UK sooooo …… watch this space!!

Hello!

My condolences,

I am on the diet again (day one), I did it for 3 weeks during the summer but starting my final year of university again was very stressful and i ate what made me feel comfortable.
Now back on it again! Watched all the videos and read the book to motivate me (and “That sugar film” <- Really interesting)

When i was 3 weeks in i missed pasta and potatoes soooo much, my way of combating this was to make my favorite meal, sweet potato with avocado, lemon and salt and mozzarella on top 🙂
Ticked all the boxes for me, also im buying a spiralizer today to try the courgette noodles that ive seen so much of, they look tasty and look like pasta/noodles,

Rooting for you,
kim

Just popping in here to say Hello to JulesMaigret. Great to see you back on the site, JM, wishing you well with your results.

Grannyvee, so sorry for the loss of your husband, very difficult and sad for you. It’s good that you are feeling a little more positive with the new year. Yes, the” reboot”thread is very active and/or, if you felt that a 4 week challenge was more your style, look for “great good cheer”. It won’t matter that we are in to the 2nd week. Just join in any thread that takes your fancy. You will be welcome.

Just popping in here to say Hello to JulesMaigret. Nice to see you on the site again JM, wishing you well with your results.

This morning the scales told me that 4/5ths of my most recently gained half kilo have gone. i.e. 63kg yesterday, 62.6kg today. Pleased with that.

Today had the very energetic g/son with us (school holidays, both parents working, it’s a treat for us) so we walked down to the beach, 10 mins stroll. Sea breeze was already in so fairly choppy and hard work. Well, that has to be good for me, doesn’t it?

Big tick for you, Butterlover, I know you can do this.

Helps to have a distraction, JackieM, as I also have found when trying to ignore the peanut butter. I loved your goal for this challenge in looking carefully at all nutritional values. You’ve made such excellent progress and this can only help your maintenance.

Yes indeed, JulesP, bring it on. Congrats on your milestone 10kg.

My pleasure, marie123. You seem able to focus in on your goals so I’m sure you will do this 5lb. And I’m with you about the water, thanks topcac, I also keep forgetting. And, topcac,. having everyone around you onside will be an enormous benefit, I’m sure.

Come back to Australia for another visit, Verano, but this time come over to Perth. Would love to show you around, or any other challenger for that matter.

I’m typing this on my laptop instead of my tablet and can’t seem to bring up any emojis here except the ubiquitous smiley face so,
wishing you all good cheer xx :):):)

That’s only a “virtual” box of truffles, Lee! Imagine this American friend lifting
them and carrying them off to someone who still thinks of them as “treats”!
Enjoy every single moment of your much needed vacation…You will return
tanned and refreshed and more than ready to start anew, Lee. Some time
away from the frigid temps in New England sounds heavenly to me!!

XOXO
Allie

👍 experimental weigh this morning to see what is happening & down two pounds of no doubt excess fluid retention caused by Christmas carbs! All the loo visits from fast day & drinking lots of water flushing through nicely😂 so far going downwards.
We can all do this again after all we have had lots of practice👍🤞🍀😀
Margaret xx

Hi Flick! I try to keep up with newcomers on the forums, but I think I’ve become
a bit overwhelmed by so many new members to our community! I’m ashamed
to see that I haven’t yet told you how IMPRESSED I am with all of your success
to date, but most of all your fearless, positive, take no prisoners approach
to this WOE, and life in general. esnecca and I are often referred to as the “BSD
twins” because our extreme weight loss and our stories in general eerily
mimic each other. Now we can almost complete each other’s sentences.
Together we’ve lost @ 350lbs! She’s not the only cheerleader that you’ve
got, I say a very loud “YES!” when I read your posts also. In attitude alone,
you may be our long lost triplet who also “gets it” with gusto 🙂 I sincerely
hope that you will continue to post when you’ve reached your goal, because
you’re a fantastic addition to the BSD community. Looking forward with
much anticipation to celebrating your success with you when you reach
your target. It won’t be long now 🙂 🙂 🙂 2018 is going to be your year,
no question about it!!!

Allie

Hi Grannyvee.

I’m very sorry about your husband.

I’m only on day 3, so it’s a bit early for me to say if I’ll miss potatoes and bread (rice and pasta I can do without). I had chick peas yesterday and butter beans the day before. They’re not something I used to eat, but I enjoyed both and found them filling.

Thanks, Esnecca.

Jumbo oats are just bigger grains which have been rolled. They’re not otherwise cut or processed, so out of all the oat options they’re probably best (and my favourite – I hardly cook them as I don’t like them gloopy). I haven’t actually had them yet (since starting the diet) and will just have them sometimes. I was planning to have 30g of dry oats. I will weigh my portions as it would be very easy to tip out more than that.

I don’t have blood sugar issues, so am hoping that will be OK if I have very low carbs the rest of the day on which I eat them.

Granny, I’m trying to wean myself off snacking, as that’s what put my weight on. I’m keeping celery (which is OK, but not what I’d call tempting) in the fridge for when I really need something. If I had nuts or anything I am keen on, I know I’d eat them whether hungry or not.

yey glad to hear I’m not alone 🙂 I managed yesterday quite well but I’m expecting the carb headache to kick in today. would like to lose around 30kg total but I don’t think I will manage this in the 12 weeks so will have to try and keep focused afterwards and keep pushing on. That’s the bit that I normally fail at but I’m going to keep pushing hard this year. hope day one goes well for you Lizzibeth.

Aww Bissell, what a lovely post. So pleased to hear that you’re feeling good and have never been happier – and are stll maintaining. What a great way to start a year.

I managed to recoup the few pounds that dropped off last month and I’m very pleased about that – was definitely getting too thin. I am now starting 2018 happily sitting at 6lbs under target, 8st 1lb (113lbs; 51.25kg) and just approaching my first BSD birthday, and 8 months in maintenance.😊

Hi, I’ve been off track over the Christmas break and am ready to start again. I had lost over 10 kilos and my doctor had cut my diabetic medication from two Metformin a day to only one and a half and she’s said I may be able to cut back even more if I keep it up. I’ll be starting back to the basics from tomorrow on.

Good luck to everyone. It really does work.

Hi Marlon and Chewsnoo. Nice to be doing this with others.

I don’t suppose weighing yourself half a day in will matter too much, Marlon.

Chewsnoo, would it help to tell your colleagues what you’re doing? If they’re the sort to comment if you cheat it might help you stay on track. As for a more strenuos day, try to see it as a good thing – it’ll keep you busy, so you’re not thinking of food all the time and will burn the fat faster.

Start of day three for me and I’ve lost 2lb in total. I was quite hungry before dinner yesterday, but not starving. It’s probably just how I should feel before dinner. I feel fine – no cravings yet for cabs or alcohol (I’m doing dry January). I walked and did strength exercises, which were tiring, but then I’m not at all fit yet.

A few links that may be of use to newbies…

http://www.dietdoctor.com
http://www.fatsecret.co.uk
http://www.fatsecret.com For those not in the UK
http://www.myfitnesspal.co.uk or .com

I fancy the zucchini patties which I think will be great with a fried egg on top! Certainly some interesting side dishes on the website.

Thank you for setting up this thread, Verano. It’s really useful to have all this info in one place. I’m loving the 150 keto dishes site; there are some interesting side dish recipes…am intending to try the cauliflower steak recipe tonight..

Thank you for the diet doctor & fat secret advice Verano, I will have a good look today & suss out the problem areas… reckon this is where I’ve been going wrong previously. Diolch

Loving reading everyone’s journey so far, thank you to everyone who posts. Day 3 for me and still feeling positive – which is always a good sign! one area where I know I will struggle, particularly on these long winter nights, is evening time…….any suggestions for low carb snack ideas?? I’m not keen on nuts. A word of warning, I downloaded the clever guts app and am disappointed 😒, recipes are limited and many do not even give the nutritional info, which for someone like me who is recording on Fat Secret, it’s essential. I know it wasn’t expensive but I detest it if I think I’m being ripped off 😞.

Jax51 take a look at the Diet Doctor website where you will find great information on low carb foods.

Flick please send your ‘tidying cupboards’ habit my way 😃 Natalie well done not giving in to those cakes etc👏…I managed day1 without feeling the need for sugar at all then had a snooze around 8pm & woke with my automatic response to tiredness & ate an apple…..only to discover 22 carbs in it? My calories for yesterday were just under 800 but 91g carbs🧐…can I subtract the 15g of fibre from that?
How on earth do you guys get it under 50?
Is there anywhere I can get a list of the low carb foods I should be choosing please?

Lisa, come back & tell us how you got on with the celery & hummus….thinking of you 💪
Fab result Zolou & congratulations on the 10 milestone Jules gosh I haven’t been there for about 18;years…it’s my ultimate goal to get within normal bmi range ( 10st 7) and I’m giving myself this year to achieve it.. wow is that what it takes? 1 meal a day and 20 carbs….what do you eat?

Hi Allie, Happy New Year to you to. I will definitely read the book this year. I think I have been put off before by not so good reviews. Time to make up my own mind!

Glad we can be of help s-g and Happy New Year to you.In fact Happy New Year to anybody I may have missed out!

Thanks caronl I shall take a look at that now.

I watched the channel 5 program last night and I now realise that I no longer find them interesting, I think I used to watch every diet related program and read every article in the hope of finding something new. I found it in BSD in 2016! Nonetheless I will be watching tonight. It will be interesting to see Tom Kerridge I do like his low carb cook book even if some of his recipes are a bit high in calories.

For anybody who hasn’t read MMs ‘The Clever Guts’ book give it a go. Whilst I won’t follow that diet I did find it a really interesting read. Very informative.

That sounds lovely SunnyB. I have never used celery as a vegetable side! I use it in soups and stews but have never thought to use it any other way. I will definitely give it a try.

I made very thinly sliced chicken breasts last night. Just marinated in garlic, griddled and added a splash of soy just as they finished cooking. Really, easy, quick and tasty ….. just my sort of dish!

Good morning!

Well done to both of you for now fitting into your wedding dresses. I no longer have mine I think it disappeared in a house move, anyway, there’s no way I would fit into it yet. Maybe by the end of this year I will be closer to the size I was 48 years ago!!!!

I just love this thread it brightens my day and makes me smile every morning. What’s not to like!. So to yesterday ….
1. The sun was shining.
2. The feeling of warmth on my body was lovely, especially as it was raining at home.
3. Had a really BSD friendly day but let myself down with wine!

It really is difficult to break old habits but I have to try and stop drinking wine when I’m away. So, just for today, I will follow the plan, tomorrow will take care of itself.
Have a good day!

Wow Inka, you did amazing to resist those pastries! You’ve set yourself up with a great experience of your own strength to draw on in the future when temptation comes around.

Beginning of day 6 for me and I’ve ditched half a stone 🙂 🙂

I’m actually finding that without the distraction of all the snacking, and with all this strange energy (think my body is saying YES! THIS!), I’ve got more time for stuff.

I wouldn’t exactly say I’m not hungry, but it’s not bothering me at all, I’m so content on this diet at the moment.

Again, I’m late on parade because I’ve been away from my scales. So, a belated Happy New Year to everyone! I had the best Christmas and New Year that I can remember, almost entirely due to my new love and him slotting into my extended family so well. I’ve been pretty controlled on the carbs; the odd sliver of Christmas pud, a whole roast potato (!) and a piece of pie. And a whole load of booze! One thing I’ve realised is that no body notices or cares if I have carbs or not. It’s no longer a big deal for me or them. And I’m even more happy to report that I’m 146.8 lbs, which is less than last month (well, only a pound, but still less) and 8 lbs less than last year.
I’ve truely never felt happier.

Natalie, had to laugh at your description of this being like a full-time job, that’s exactly what it’s like!! I’ve realised when I do succumb to some carbs it’s usually when my brain just wants a break from working everything out!I
Congrats on your loss, a great way to start the new year!
I lost about 2kg pretty quickly just before the new year but must have been water weight as it’s a slog now to lose any more than .1 of a kilo a day! Still, at least it’s going down!
Will join this thread now to knuckle down properly, had just visitors staying who couldn’t go out without returning with boxes of cakes, pastries, pies etc but I managed to avoid it all and am proud to say I wasn’t even tempted which is a huge breakthrough! I did dart into the pantry a few times for some placatory peanut butter though!

Signing in to the 800 Reboot, though I’m also on the 4 week one – can’t have enough challenges to keep you focused! I hit 10 stone on 2/1/18 for the first time in donkey’s years and just realised that puts me in the healthy BMI range, great start to the new year. Goal for the 8 weeks is to be 9st 7lbs, continuing with 800 cals, max 20 carbs, mainly one meal a day to maximise the benefits of intermittent fasting, gym classes 3-4 times per week. So looking forward to seeing 9 something on the scales. Have a happy and healthy new year everyone!

It’s actually really good. Local produce, meats, cheeses, craft beers, a small but varied menu that most people ignore in favor of their well-known thin crust pizzas. I chose not to ignore — baked lemon cod served on a bed of green beans with a blue cheese field green side salad — and it was perfect. Lightly spiced and golden outside, soft moist interior, lemon brightness mingled with the luscious richness of the brown butter in the green beans. The cheese and salumi appetizer I ordered for dessert when everyone else shared a couple of a slices of carrot cake was delicious too. The fat rind was even peeled off the prosciutto, a small detail but one that pleases me deeply.

Everyone else at the table had pizzas and all reported that it was great. One of them was clearly way overcooked/charred to a blackened husk and I would have sent it back in instant, but the person who ordered it insisted it was fine and perfect. They were all your normal range of pizzas (wild mushroom, supreme, roasted mixed veg). Nothing gross like mac and cheese on them.

Some other table had that monstrosity on the table. They also fed their youngest child (maybe 5 years old at most) a massive slice of triple layer chocolate cake for dinner. It must have been 6 inches high and 4 inches wide on the back end, I swear. Huge. He insisted that was all he wanted so they shrugged, ordered, tapped away on their cellphone while he ate a literal giant pile of sugar for dinner. Then he ran around the restaurant screaming, turning around in circles so fast he got dizzy and collapsed, getting in the way of servers and the bartender. It was like a really bad 80s public service announcement: THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SUGAR. I find eating out in the US is often like that.

SunnyB I forgot I like celery cooked in chicken stock! I think I used to do it more like a stir-fry after having something similar in a Chinese restaurant, it’s been a while. I’ll have to experiment.

I’m going to try making broccoli bread from this site and have it with my poached eggs tomorrow. I don’t miss bread but I want something to soak up the eggyness.

Lol Esnecca I admit to still liking both Mac n cheese (haven’t had it for a long time tho) and pizza, but together? Urg. Are you sure this was a ‘restaurant’?

Flick eight weeks seems a long time a the start but nothing once it’s past!

Squidge, I don’t know what makes an oat jumbo, but oats in general are very high in carbs. Some people do eat them on the BSD (Dr. Mosley among them) because oats are slowly digested (not all of them; instant and rolled have been defibered, steamed and heavily processed and might as well be sugar). They do so in minute portions, however, like 20 grams. A quarter cup (44 grams) of dry oats is 170 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrates. That’s almost a quarter of your entire daily caloric intake shot in one very small portion. The carbs are bad news for anyone who counts. My carb limit for the entire day is 20 grams. I am insulin resistant and needed to go that low in order to lose a large amount of weight. Most people on the forum aim for something along the lines of 50 grams of carbs a day. If you have no blood sugar issues it’s probably fine and you’ll still lost weight, but more slowly than you would have if you’d gone with a low-carb breakfast.

If you must eat oatmeal, steel-cut oats are by far the best option and I’m afraid the carb count is so high avoiding that measuring them before you eat them is very ill-advised. You might also need to cut back how often you eat porridge. Twice a week, for instance, rather than every day.

Good luck!

Hello everyone, it’s terrific to see so many people all fired up ready to make a big investment in their health and wellbeing. Well done. I’m not on this thread as I’m just finishing Week 8 but will be starting a second round in next week. I did though want to barge in to say..

Hey Natalie, No, I feel my full time job is tidying cupboards!

It’s tough if the people around you don’t really agree with the approach you are taking and especially hard when you have low energy from lack of sleep or other worries. I can see my younger daughter (slim, fit, incredibly active) has a bit of trouble understanding what it is taking for me to budge this weight. She’s OK at the moment but I know she will get a antsy (out of caring deeply for me) the minute she thinks enough weight has been shed, or I start to show signs of strain. Be as kind to yourself as you can, the approach you are taking is working well for you – half a kilo is excellent.

I try not to have those conversations with myself, or, have them in full. “No dear body, we are not having snacks for the foreseeable future. I am transforming you into something even better!”. I perfected this technique when I was trying desperately to get fit enough to hike the Tasmanian Overland Track with said slim, fit daughter and her partner. At my heaviest and least fit, despite the trip looming, I could easily talk myself out of every training walk if I gave those thoughts free reign. As it was I completed the walk, still massively overweight but fit enough to enjoy most of it.

So, chin up and enjoy the perfect pool weather.

Thanks for breakfast ideas! I’m feeling very energetic, so far. Back to work tomorrow, so let’s see how I do with food all around to tempt me.

Hi Squidge, Thanks for the nod. The time goes very very quickly! We’ll all the clapping and cheering your results before you know it. I found if I kept the carbs consistently low, it’s wasn’t long before the cravings find a more accommodating host and left me alone. I occasionally found myself wistful for a dish or an ingredient but these feelings are not hard to manage. “Hmm, do I want that enough to accept a layer of disgusting, ugly, dangerous, visceral fat in exchange?”. No contest.

From then on it’s just a matter of plodding on. Oh and navigating the usual social and holiday complications but hey, who doesn’t want lovely complications like that! And really, I didn’t find it that hard. I ate delicious, festive food throughout the season, attended excellent parties and meals out, cooked a mountain of delicious traditional foods and meals for my family and collapsed in a happy heap on 2 January, roughly 2kg lighter.

Mind you just the other day I caught myself swooning about, arm across forehead gasping “Oh no, I may never eat thick slabs of delicious sourdough toast with peanut butter again …. soooob”. Enjoyed the drama for a bit and then made a lovely cup of tea.

Hey Esnecca, It is so lovely having a cheer squad! Thank you.

I am really looking forward to the time when I’ve been eating this way for long enough that my palate has actually changed. Mind you Mac and cheese pizza sounds totally disgusting even to a carb tragic like me. I am stunned that the 8 weeks is nearly up. I’m walking around today repeating Week 8, Day 2. Bloody hell! I plan to just launch straight into a second round. I will still have around 8-10kg to go, depending on the finish point (60 or 58 for wriggle room).