Verano – Wonderful that the high carb food you used to delight in, is no longer palatable to you. Like you, my tastes have dramatically changed – crispy roast spuds don’t do it for me any more, crumpets with marmite don’t do it for me any more and pasta carbonara doesn’t to it either – not even tempted.

The low carb brownies were successful, although a little higher in both cals and carbs than I’d perhaps like – 210cals/10gcarbs per piece. As an occasional indulgence now I’m in maintenance, I think it’s allowable though. I have frozen the bulk of the batch, so that I can take out just one or two as and when. The cal/carb count could be pulled lower by using an alternative sweetening agent, but as I have yet to find one that I don’t find objectionable and I can’t taste, so I stuck with using a small amount of light brown sugar.

The recipe in brief:

150g Butter and 300g Dark Chocolate melted together (I used a 74% one from Lidl)
60g Light Brown sugar (or the appropriate amount of your chosen alternative sweetener), beaten together with 4 eggs until mousse-like and quadrupled in volume.
Add the ground seed of 9 cardamom pods and 2tbsp ground chia seed and beat well. (You could use more ground chia it you like)
Beat in 150g of cold, steamed and well mashed Swede / Pumpkin / Butternut Squash – which ever you have / prefer. (I used pumpkin.)
Fold the cooled chocolate/butter mix into the batter mix and when thoroughly combined, pour batter into a lined square baking tin and bake until centre is set and skewer comes out clean.
Cool the brownie in the tin on a wire rack for 10mins and then remove from tin to finish cooling. The brownie is crumbly so hand gently and carefully cut into desired number of pieces (I did 16 approx. 5cm x 5cm). Store in airtight container.

Result is a really soft melt in the mouth brownie, with an intensely rich chocolate flavour. Have decided if I make them again, I will use maple syrup to pull down the cals/carbs a little and might think about adding a different spice – ginger perhaps – although I really love cardamom.

This week has been a bad news week at our house (death of a friend, death of a cousin and OH’s cousin diagnosed with a brain tumour) and I found myself laying awake last night, in reflective mood and counting blessings. There was a small upward blip on the scales this morning, but my positives for today push that very much to a secondary level:
1) Thanks to the BSD, I’m slimmer, fitter and healthier than I have been in way too many years.
2) I have a wonderful OH, am part of a loving and caring family and have some great friends.
3) I’m privileged to have a warm, safe home.
And those are without counting additional blessings, like quality of life and travel.

Still staying calm about the festive season and will be doing a little more prep toward that today, but not knocking myself out. As you say V, it’s just one day!

Enjoy your day everyone and appreciate as much about it as you can.

Thank you Marsie and Marie, I’m feeling better already 🙂 You’re right, I have a busy social calendar though no more than many others I’m sure. A bit of background, my first husband decided that he didn’t want to be a father and left as soon as I became pregnant with our second child. So my 30s and most of my 40s I practically had no social life at all. When family and friends are looking after the kids so you can work you don’t want to ask them for more so that you can go out. Not complaining mind, that’s just how it was and I was happy and busy with the kids and the house & garden. Then 12 years ago I met my current partner and he is an extremely social man! I’ve met so many good friends and had so much fun in this last decade 🙂 The cost was steadily increasing weight, 18kg in 10 years and I wasn’t tiny to start with. I’m so grateful to have found the BSD. I managed to lose the weight while still going out etc, but this month has been really hard with so many events in such a short period. But as you say, determination is the key and I’m damned if I’m going to get so close and give up now!

I like the name for the new challenge! Well done 🙂

What is KOKO? I’ve seen a couple of people use it recently.

I made a terrible “food” choice this evening – a candy cane. 25 grams of sugar mixed with glucose syrup (and a little mint flavour). I did enjoy it but now my tongue is really sore. Does anyone else get that? If I eat too much sugar it’s like my tongue is all scratched and swollen. I’ve had two mugs of home made chicken broth to sooth it. Will not be including candy canes as a treat again!

That is a great idea Theodora, I will do that as soon as I have posted. Last night was good but I found myself wanting to snack later in the evening. I used carrot sticks and some hummus, but I think that this time of day might be a weak spot for me. Any suggestions?

Yes, Verano, “treat” will mean different things to different people. Imagine giving a “trick or treat”er some nut butter, smelly cheese or half a lobster!!
There are myriad wonderful things on this plan, and the expensive ones are my treats, hot smoked salmon for example, or baby vegetables. And of course the smelly cheeses that I have to eat in the garden.
I am going to try the chocolate and nut cuter tonight!

Hi Marsie,

I like it. What about changing it slightly to

“2018, a happy new year
Meeting our goals with great good cheer” 4wk challenge to 23rd Jan

Mariet, I wrote a response to you last night, but lost it as I tried to post so went to bed instead. Like Marsie, I read your profile. You’ve done brilliantly so no need to feel bad – but good idea to tighten up your plan.
Two things also jumped out from your post – ‘five more parties’ – wow, you are one popular woman! and ‘pool parties yesterday’ – that’s a hard one to read from over here!

Marsie – talking about weather – you mentioned in another post about it being so hot in Perth when it was snowing here – I mentioned this to my husband who immediately started talking about the WACA – I’ve since been told about the new cricket stadium ‘the crow’s nest’ ?!? and given a blow by blow account of the Ashes games (was it the Ashes? – anyway, I know you won). I really must be more careful in future…… . Enjoy the meal with number 1 son.

Good news for me again this week. I’ve lost another 3lb – as usual 1lb Mon, 1lb Tues, 1lb Wed. (Mariet, I don’t go anywhere). Stayed the same this morning. This means I’ve reached my target of getting to 10 stone. I’m within a few lbs of reaching my first big weight goal – shifting down into my healthy BMI range. Happy with that.

Oops, got to go – late as ever – will be back later.

I’m at the office each day and i need to take a lot of food with me( cause in cafe we have only junk food
I have a lot of containers and now i’m looking for a special bag for them

Good morning!

I had a revelation last night. I thought I fancied a piece of toast with butter when I found a couple of slices of brown sourdough bread in the freezer!. I took it out, toasted it, buttered it, tasted it and spat it out! It was, as the name suggests, just a lump of ‘dough’!. Nasty. So my revelation and first of my three positives……

1. My taste buds really have changed. It may only be the second time in 17 months that I have eaten, or at least tried to eat, bread but it is no longer for me!
2. I wrapped my presents and filled my grandchildrens’ sacks.
3. I finally sat down and wrote a menu for Boxing day lunch. There will just be four of us so no great panic really. Now just have to shop!

Hope you are all staying calm and relaxed which I know can be difficult at this time of the year but remember ….. it’s just one day! Have a good day.

Mariet, please don’t feel any shame! I admire your courage in posting 🙂 I’m in the same boat as you and have been lurking in the background, reading everyone’s posts but not wanting to post myself! I’m still 1.8kg away from my 4 week goal, and have been putting ON a weight this challenge instead of losing it! I haven’t even been eating or drinking that much really (especially compared to other Christmases), but all of the lunches/drinks/morning teas add up. This week I’ve lost a bit of what I’ve gained, but am still 700g more than I was at the start of the challenge. I think I was optimistic in thinking I could lose a couple of kilos more before Christmas. In retrospect I should have made my goal to just stay the same weight rather than losing more!
I did find a nice drink that is only a couple of calories – Schweppes mineral water with natural lime flavour. It’s 0.3 carbs and no sugars/artificial sweetener. It was very refreshing on the 2 x 40deg days we had this week!
It’s not all bad for me though, I did a health station check at my local Priceline pharmacy and got a good score there. This time last year my “heart age” was 65 and this time is was 52 (my actual age). My weight is also 12kg less than this time last year and blood pressure was normal (107/74 whereas last year it was 134/115!)
Anyway I will KOKO and am going to do a strict 8 week round in Jan – this will coincide with my 1 year BSD anniversary. I’ve decided it will be “18 in ’18” for me next year – that is lose 18kg in 2018 🙂
I won’t be recording my weight on Christmas Day, so wishing everyone a lovely Christmas and New year and see you in the next thread 😀🎅🎄

BTW there is no way I would still be here and posting , and maintaining in my own way, if it hadn’t been for this forum, all the boards and above all, all the ‘friends’ I have here, pushing and pulling each other along in times of need and praising when earned. So a huge thanks to everyone who is still travelling along this path.

LOL! Esnecca you always make me smile, so thank you for that. So often we only see our faults or failings but forget so easily about our achievements. Yes this has been a good year for me but what about you!!!! I know you had a lot of weight to lose and that in itself is a huge achievement but you are ‘maintaining’ in great style and that I think is the real test.

I have just written a post on another thread and it has made me realise that yes, I have actually ‘arrived’. I may have further to travel with a few more dominoes left to fall but I think I have finally ‘made it’, in reality. Until your taste buds change there may always be the temptation to eat cake. BUT, once your taste buds have altered you no longer desire simple carbs like bread, cake and biscuits (cookies), so it’s so much easier to maintain this WOL. Maybe the real secret is to stop all simple carbs until that day arrives then you won’t want them anyway!!!

Flick it just takes time. After so long without simple carbs I now find milk chocolate ‘cloying’ , orange juice too sweet, bread ( which I have only tasted twice in the last 17 months) too ‘doughy to name but a few foods. Your taste buds change eventually, and it makes going back to simple carbs very, very hard. Maybe one of the real ways to achieve long term success with this way of eating. is to stay away from simple carbs as much as possible until your taste buds change and by then you no longer see cakes, bread, potatoes etc. as ‘exciting’. When that day arrives I think you have made the change a ‘lifetime’ one.

That is so true, Verano. You can check your mini-goal off the list and a whole bunch of gigantic ones off the maxi-goal list. The hip replacement alone would have made this a momentous year for you, but it wouldn’t have happened, as least not anywhere near as efficiently as it did, if it hadn’t been for all your other accomplishments. This journey has had so many steps for you, so many dominoes to line up and knock down, all of them challenging and requiring dedication and endurance that I know you didn’t always think you had. I hope rereading this thread can always remind you of how incredibly dogged, tenacious and determined you really are. You pulled 3 rabbits out of a hat this year, and they weren’t tiny little magician bunnies either. More like those crazy pony-sized Flemish ones.

Bravissima!

WOW! Esnecca what a great way to end the year. Again, thank you for reviving this thread especially as I have now looked back at my first goal for the year again, lose 3.5lbs, which of course I did meet. The rest of the year hasn’t been as great as it might have been weight wise but I think maybe now is a good time to count my blessings for the year anyway. It has been a good one for me with my T2 ‘officially’ being in remission, being drug free at 70, a huge goal met, a new hip and, for the moment at least, a pain free life. This WOL has certainly improved my health this year beyond my wildest dreams. What more can one ask for!!!

Verano, that is such a happy place to be.

To treat or not to treat that is the question??

There have been a series of posts on the ‘treat’ question on these boards and I think, in part, some of the angst is due to our interpretation of a ‘treat’. In the UK a treat is …… an item out of the ordinary that gives pleasure but the North American definition is …. a sweet(candy), a biscuit(cookie) or other sweet item, which has completely different connotations. So reading Krysia’s post I started to think that all of our ‘treats’ are really indulgences, when we let ourselves have something enjoyable but sometimes maybe a little too much of it, but still BSD friendly!

I love 90% chocolate and now have a square with my coffee instead of the digestives I used to eat and that feels ‘indulgent’. Flick your seafood Christmas, apart from the oysters for me, sounds super and a BSD friendly ‘indulgence’. Krysia I have never tried a nut butter on chocolate but that really does sound ‘indulgent’!

After reading all the ‘treat’ posts yesterday last night I had a ‘treat’ of a piece of brown sourdough bread toasted. I thought it would be a ‘treat’ but actually it was, as suggested in the name, just a lump of ‘dough’ which I couldn’t swallow. In fact not a ‘treat’ at all. No, my idea of something special now is definitely BSD friendly but something I maybe don’t eat too often.

After I noticed the size 6P skirt I bought for my OH’s office party was a bit loose on me now, I measured my waist, not really expecting to see change because as I said above, my wobbly bits shift in a way fat doesn’t to make way for smaller waists in clothes than the tape measure says I have. It was 29 1/2 inches. And that’s at end of a long day. I am dazed with delight over this tiny little change. It’s the last goal I had. The last in a long line of dreams I dreamed in times gone by but never truly thought would come true. Not only did I finally achieve my dream goal weight of 120lb, I ended up reaching equilibium at ~117lb (went down to 115.9 a couple of times, up to 119 the day after Thanksgiving; everything else has been in the 116s or 117s for weeks). And now this. A waist measurement that begins with 2.

When I recover from feeling I’m in a Twin Peaks-like hallucinatory dreamland, my next mini-goal will be to redouble my efforts with JackieM’s awesome ab exercises (and by awesome I mean effective, because of course they are all monstrous) and see if I can’t squeeze just another wee half-inch off of my waist. It took me months to lose this half-inch, so it might not be so mini a goal in reality. Don’t care. Everything else I’ve done was impossible too. Until it wasn’t.

Batch cooking is where it’s at, y’all. Make a couple of big multi-serving recipes of good stuff the weekend before the first day and fridge it or freeze it in portioned servings. Choose something that you’re already somewhat familiar with and strip all the carbs out of it. That doesn’t mean just no bread or rice or pasta, btw. Fruits and veggies can cross into dangerous numbers as well, as do pulses, oatmeal and legumes. Use an app like MyFitnessPal or Fat Secret to tally up all the calories and carbs and determine proper serving sizes. A lot of folks aim for a top limit of 50 grams of carbs a day. I go way lower than that (less than 20 grams a day) to combat insulin resistance, but whatever you choose, choose something. Picking your carb celing is a good anchor point to help you get a grip on the process.

My first week on the BSD I ate chicken salad — baked chicken breasts, full-fat mayo, a squeeze of lemon juice, a small green onion, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, salt, pepper — on a bed of greens for every lunch. I just scared up a big batch of it on the first day and weighed out 4 oz onto arugula or romaine lettuce until it was gone. The week after I switched it up to tuna and egg salad with roasted red pepper (just half of one because they tend to be sugary), garlic and cumin mayo. Again, something I’d been making for years.

For dinners your easiest bets are soups, broth based, not tomato (also sugary), omelettes and srambles, fish fillets that can be baked in the oven wrapped in foil with assorted veggies, or even smoked fish that doesn’t need cooking at all. Some of my favorite soup options are cauliflower and blue cheese, zucchini with masses of cooking greens like broccoli rabe, chickory, escarole, endive, chard, turnip or mustard greens, and the easiest of them all: miso soup so full of multiple kinds of sprouts (broccoli, alfalfa, pea, sunflower) that you have to eat it with a fork before you can sip the miso-delicious chicken broth.

You do not, I emphasize, do not have to go miles outside of your comfort zone. You just have to replace some of the old ingredients with other ones. Look them up ahead of time to avoid any nasty surprises because innocuous seeming veggies can deliver a shocking carb hit. Onions are hugely high in sugar, for example. It’s not about complexity of cooking. It’s about knowing what you’re eating and how much of it so you stay within your 800-calorie and self-determined carb limit.

Fear nothing. You have a forum full of people here ready to leap into action to help you out if you get stuck. Square your shoulders, heft your gonads over them and face a bright, healthy, empowered future.

We do have one thin line on my father’s side going back to the Mayflower, but it’s distinctly outnumbered by the usual polyglot New England combinations of Irish, German and assorted British wastrels who fled the mother country in suspicious circumstances to carve out a slightly less disreputable life on this side of the pond. That’s just paperwork, though. As you wisely note, we’re totally related in the ways that count. 🙂

You know what you need to set off those skull leggings to perfection, Allie? A little accent of Betsey Johnson jewelry. It’s on sale right now at L&T. Like everything Betsey does, it’s girly and scary in equal measure, which is why I love it. Betsey = happiness to me. Everything, from glitter hearts to skeletons in couture, is sheer joy.

Ring set: http://www.lordandtaylor.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442440122&R=889295260555&P_name=Betsey+Johnson&Ntt=betsey+johnson&N=0&bmUID=m1Sm8se
Charm bracelet: http://www.lordandtaylor.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442427567&R=889295260456&P_name=Betsey+Johnson&Ntt=betsey+johnson&N=0&bmUID=m1Sm8st
Necklace: http://www.lordandtaylor.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442392458&R=889295243367&P_name=Betsey+Johnson&Ntt=betsey+johnson&N=0&bmUID=m1Sm8u_

We’ll be guests this Christmas, but OH’s mother is so incredibly kind and conscientious about my WoE she planned the whole weekend’s menu in advance and ran it by me. She even bought Wildbrine kimchi and sauerkraut so I could have all resources available to me. Christmas Day is going to be a roast duck made by mom-in-law’s sister. It’s her specialty, apparently, and I’m very much looking forward to sampling it. I’ve never had anything but seared duck breasts and things made with duck fat (all delicious). My contribution will be brussels sprouts slaw with grated romano cheese and green onions and steamed asparagus dressed in a miso vinaigrette, both of which I can make before hand to leave room in the small kitchen for duck wrangling.

Your seafood stew sounds fantastic! With the saffron and red pepper it makes me think of a riceless paella. What kind of seafood do you use?

Suggestion for our next rhyming challenge:
“2018, a happy new year,
We’ll meet our goals with great good cheer” 4wk challenge to 23rd Jan.

It’s a bit clunky. Please put on your thinking caps🎓, refine it or make an entirely new suggestion. The more the merrier😆

No shame, Mariet, just determination is the way to go. I just had a peek back at your profile and you’ve come a very long way since your start in 2016. Congrats on that and substitute a few glasses of sparkling mineral water with ice and lemon or lime slices plus mint sprig between the other coldies. Works wonders, looks festive.

Have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones, Busybee, safe travels. Look after yourself.

Lunch out yesterday with longtime friends (Carol & I have been friends since we were 8 yrs old and I moved to the same school), very enjoyable day but not as well controlled as I’d imagined. Allowed bread, potato mash and small glass of bubbles to pass these lips. Don’t think I enjoyed them, it was more a matter of automatically eating whilst chatting. Ordered the chicken dish thinking I wouldn’t eat the potato. Didn’t clean the plate but damage done and I definitely feel the worse for it today, including 500gm increase on the scales. Very basic eating today ….

One more restaurant meal on Christmas Eve with #1 son who is working on Christmas Day. I will definitely be more aware of my eating behaviors between now and Boxing Day.

Mixnmatch, hope you’re in a better place just now xx

Good thoughts being sent to everyone on this fabulous forum xx

Ladies, do you see how relentless I am at ferreting out information? Now I
have additional features to add to my profile of each of you!! The dark hair
did throw me for a loop, Theo, with your scandinavian genes, though! O/h
has already told me on numerous occasions that my shoulder length bob
looks like a great highlighting job, albeit a grey one! Definitely time for
a cut, though! Essie, somehow I just knew that you’d approve of the skull
leggings 🙂 🙂 🙂 I hope that they are restocked soon. Great, great, great to talk
to you today! If your ancestors date back to the Mayflower, we may actually be related. For all intents and purposes though, I think that we already are…
The holiday will soon be upon us. It’s sneaking up very fast, and I’m still
waffling between LTC’s chicken dish or a seafood stew infused with saffron,
orange zest, a pinch of red pepper flakes and white wine. Decisions, decisions…
I think that I will let “the bearded one” make the call. Are either of you cooking,
and if so, what’s on the menu?

It’s great to see someone planning to start this adventure the same day as me. I was reluctant to post anything publically at all because in my mind that binds me to the process. Aaagghh! I’m really not sure why I’m so trepidatious about it since only good is likely to come of it. And 8 weeks is a small commitment to implement the benefial kind of lifestyle changes that others have talked about in the forums. I guess I’m worried about failing, about not having enough time in the day to prepare proper meals (I have a ridiculous commute that is almost as long as the work day). Anyway, here’s to perserverance, new aquaintances and some seriously fantastic health improvements!

Brunette all the way, ladies. With the brief exception of the summer of ’88 when I had a passionate fling with a bottle of peroxide. 😀

Allie, I am so deeply in favor of those skull tights I can’t even cheerlead them enough on my own and will have to borrow Theo’s shocking pink pom-poms.

I agree with Vernon, try to avoid taking Metformin. You can sort this without drugs, just follow the BSD. Good luck.
.

Allie – apologies, I certainly won’t mention my still fairly impressive boobs again 😉😜😛

Seriously, I’m sure what you lack ‘up top’ will more than be compensated for by those gothic skull tights as and when they come back into stock😉 With your long legs being adorned by human skulls, who on earth will be looking at your decolletage anyway?😉 Exhibitionist???? Never😜

Essie, good on you for going with the yellow and purple – like Allie though, yellow is definitely not my colour. Might give purple ones a go though.

Funny how we all have different images of each other. I definitely have always seen Essie as a brunette – now you’ve got me doubting my impressions Allie. My hair used to be almost jet black but now is silver (oh alright, grey😢) but I was in Costas the other day and the lovely young (male) barrista, when handing me my coffee, leant over the counter, took my hand, and asked me where I got it done! “Got what done?” said I. “Your amazing colour,” he said – “you have a wonderful and very talented colourist!!!” Well, for someone who has never coloured her hair in her life, and has moaned for years about going grey, I left Costas with a huge smile plastered to my face (even if he WAS just turning on the charm) which stayed put all day😊 So, I say again, my hair is highlighted silver – and, if I say so myself, cut in quite a sharp little bob.😀 (may not have a colourist but I do have an excellent cutter😀)

So come on, Essie, put us out of our misery and tell us who is right😛

One of mine for our seafood Christmas is will be finger lime caviar atop and smoked salmon and cream cheese eggs roll! And of course lovely, lovely oysters.

Lilyrose, welcome. You’re going to do just fine and have already made a great start. Well done.

Great advice given already but may I suggest that you take a series of measurements (bust, waist, hips, thighs and anything else you fancy) before starting BSD proper? The reason for this is that, when your weight loss stalls occasionally – which it almost inevitably will – it is so easy to become discouraged. But, more often than not, when this happens you will find you are losing inches which is very heartening but, if you haven’t measured first, you’ll have nothing to gauge it by. Although your clothes may seem loser of course. Anyway, just a thought. And good luck.

I everyone, I’m making myself post because that’s one way of trying to stay accountable. I’ve not wanted to ruin the hopeful mood in this thread but so far thus challenge has been much less than successful, all my own fault. I thought I would be able to negotiate the parties etc a lot better than I have. So with less than a week of this challenge I am 600g up on the start, so still more than a kilo away from my final goal.

I’ve been kidding myself that at least this is better than other years, I can catch up after Christmas, blah blah blah. I see so many of you powering through and am thoroughly ashamed of myself!

So back to weighing and recording yesterday, 760 cal and 19 carbs- and that’s just my normal diet if I leave out the extra spoonful of yoghurt, the scrape of the wok from my son’s teriyaki chicken, the glass of champagne when I catch up with friends.

Five more parties scheduled in this festive season so I’d better make me a better plan 😨

At least it’s turned cooler today, pool parties yesterday and the day before with temps over 40 were far too conducive to icy relaxing beverages.

Best wishes everyone for a happy and peaceful Christmas!

I can confirm from personal experience that there is no problem building muscle on the BSD, even at 800 calories a day. Three weeks after the end of my 8 weeks I used a Boditrax scanner that reported my body composition on the border between very muscular and thin and muscular, with 22% fat, and very low (4cc) visceral fat. In fact the trunk part of the scan showed almost athletic levels of fat and muscle which isn’t bad for a fifty odd year old with a completely sedentary job. If you want to tone muscles as you go, and build muscle this can only help your metabolism, so weight training and HIIT are recommended rather than a lot of longer cardio.

PS. CORRECTION end of week 5 was 71.1

Hello all,

After another 5 days relaxing at the same weight, pondering the enormity of the situation, my dear old bod just gave up another 0.7kg, bringing me tantalisingly close to my December challenge target of getting of 70kg (this morning I’m 70.4). I’m very happy with that. I’m trying very hard not to think about how close I am to the 60s.

I have painters unexpectantly coming in today to paint the stairwell and hallway – they are opportunistically taking advantage of a couple of cooler days predicted and a few available days before they break over Christmas. Very pleased to have it done, but it is going to disrupt my Christmas preps and makes me regret not priotising sprucing up the downstairs loo which I will need to use, frequently, over the next two days! I even caught myself pondering cutting back my water intake. Serves me right really.

Smith before you take metformin ask your GP for three months to change your diet and try and control your diabetes that way. Metformin only reduces blood sugar by 10-15% you can do way better than that with Diet alone …. this way of eating will do the trick!

Great E., I like the purple ones too! 🙂 Yellow isn’t “my color” though, so I’ll just
have to pick a second choice for the 2/1 sale! Trying to stick with a “cool”
color palette because of the indignities of gray hair. I looked like a vagrant
for an entire year while the auburn had to grow out! I do miss it sometimes,
since it suited my personality, but just too high maintenance to continue
with. In my imagination, I see you as a blonde. Am I wildly off?? 🙂

Hi thank you again so encouraging
– I am toying with the idea of not starting the metformin until next week – hear the side effects of nausea, sickness etc are quite common and we are travelling away staying a hotel for a few days – so will have to go hard on this to bring the sugars down !!
I have been looking around on the other forums you all have an abundance of experience to bring to the table that I will tapping into – thank you feel a lot less desparate than I did a few hours ago !!!

I hadn’t thought of this until you mentioned crotch-drop tights being a perpetual concern on account of your fab legs, Allie, but when I was a girl I hated pantyhose because I felt like I was having to yank the crotches up every 10 minutes. In my case it wasn’t because of long legs, obviously, as I’ve always been a shorty. I needed smalls for the length, but then my curvy thighs and butt filled up the space in weird ways and drove the crotch downwards. Now that I no longer have neither hips nor thighs of note, smalls fit just right. The night of the party I was blissfully unaware that I was even wearing pantyhose. I had totally forgotten how tights tortured me for years when I was a kid and teenager. To celebrate this joyous recollection, I just ordered the bright yellow and purple tights from ModCloth too. 😀

The fatigue is a symptom of what is colloquially known as carb flu which is your body stumbling around looking for a new source of energy since you’re no longer feeding it the equivalent of baby food (ie, carbs). Once it figures out you have fat stores for that very purpose, you’ll have energy to burn. The duration varies with the person, but I think most people experience it for no more than a week or so.

You’re so not alone, smith. We’ve all got your back and between the lot of us we’ve lost literal tons of weight and eliminated or improvement a vast number of ailments, including diabetes. It’s great that you were monitoring it closely and are ready to drop the hammer immediately upon diagnosis. You’re so motivated to nip this in the bud, and Verano is a stellar example of BSDers who have been able to chase their diabetes into remission by diet alone, so it can certainly be accomplished. Rock on!

Hi verano – thank you for that – I am 53 and need a thr too – so get this weight off and getting my life back would be great !! And yes you are right we do live with levels of pain most don’t and sadly adapt to it !
I appreciate your support I am going to need it !!
All advice readily taken on board !!! X
You will be hearing from me again there is no doubt about that lol !!

I second Krysia. That’s a big step you’ve taken and you have every reason to be proud of yourself. Celebrate all of your successes without reservation, Lilyrose. This is a major lifestyle change that you are doing for the sake of your own health and future. There are going to be moments of frustration and if you’re anything like me, one or two descents into madness. It’s the chain of mini-goals and achievements that keep you going and focused on the endpoint even when the scale is being capricious.

Well done!

😀 thank you for replying- I have been prediabetic for a while 4.2 ish- now it has jumped right up 6.8 ! Scary stuff !
So very grateful for your response feel I am going to need the support over this Christmas period ! Looking forward to it tbh hopefully the constant tiredness will begin to subside ! A lot of weight to shift ! Like the 4 week bites idea !
Again thank you x

Lilyrose – I think you just might have achieved a big goal today. Well done for saying goodbye to the biscuits and bread.

I love cheese also – especially stilton. I love the broccoli soup with cheddar as well.

My absolutely favourite treat is some 85 or 90% chocolate spread with meridian almond butter and sprinkled with sea salt (because meridian nut butters don’t contain salt and salt definitely does intensify the taste). So lovely – a real taste sensation – and you don’t need much of it either.

Day 1 of preparation to start 800 on the 2 January.
Today I said goodbye to bread and biscuits from my larder. I’m not seriously counting calories yet but I have my eye on portion size. I based my main meal on BSD principles and had a courgetti (zucchini)
With a bolognaise meat sauce. I am full and feel I have achieved a small goal 😀🌹

Hi Smith I have just read your profile and just wanted to say a few words. You will never be alone here.

I just wanted to give you a little of my history to maybe ease your mind. I had my first hip ‘resurfacing’ when I was 52. It was wonderful and gave me back my life. Unfortunately I had problems just over 6 years later and contracted sepsis, had my hip removed and spent a good while in a wheelchair. However, I did get a new hip and all was as well as it could be. Just over three months ago I had my other hip replaced and it has been a wonder. I think one of the problems is that you get so used to the pain you forget what ‘normal’ pain free feels like ….. believe me it feels good!

You have a great goal to aim for. There are so many posters here who will help and support you every step of the way …. good times, difficult times, those days when you just want to throw in the towel and the good days when you just want to share a a loss or other success.

You will never be alone here. Enjoy your journey.

JackieM – you are so right that most people on this forum are the least anxious they have ever been. That certainly applies to me. To be free of the carb cravings definitely – for me – is a huge part of it. I feel happy, relaxed and completely free of stress. Also – I am no longer ‘beating myself up’ for my woeful lack of willpower.

Since starting the BSD I have had great admiration for anyone who can eat cake and then get back on the wagon. I started my first diet when I was 17 and am 70 next year. The whole of this time I have been yo yo dieting because I have absolutely no self control around carbs. So a WOE that banishes carb craving is like a dream come true. Especially as it introduces you to a vast array of absolutely delicious and satisfying foods.

Allie – I agree with Californiagirl that you did incredibly well staying the course on BSD during the very stressful time. You are right that you would not have had the stamina to cope with everything without this WOL.

Hi Heather and welcome

If you go to the top of the page, click on forums, then on the recent topics (middle ) and scroll down you’ll see the latest challenge ‘Busy, busy santa’s elves while caring gently for ourselves’

Good luck

Marie

At the moment the challenge is Busy Busy etc , search on the box above right, but it finishes next Tuesday, Boxing Day. There will almost certainly be a new one on the 26th or there abouts. Just keep reading the current threads to give yourself support. We are all here for you.

Where on the website are the challenges?

Yes Pancita life without cheeese would be truly miserable. The soup turned out so rich and creamy from the amount of cheese I used it’s just not really to my taste! At least my OH likes it!

I really do love soup though so have just taken some squash soup out of the freezer for lunch tomorrow! Hopefully soup lunches will set me back on a downward slide!

Welcome to the forum Smith. Don’t worry about being alone on the BSD and the forum, there is always someone happy to respond to questions, queries, to empathise, encourage and support, to commiserate and celebrate.

Well done you on deciding just to get on with it and not procrastinate until after Christmas. Having done it before, you know what’s involved and you have a pressing reason to push ahead and stick it out this time round. Join in on any of the threads that feel relevant and I would recommend joining in the 4 week challenge threads. These are populated by folks like you, but tackling the task in 4 week chunks instead of eight, which has the advantage of feeling less daunting.

Christmas day needn’t be a problem, just remove as much of the carb heavy stuff as possible, but enjoy the rest of it. You can still have the turkey, pigs in blankets, green veggies, some unthickened gravy and you could even have a little Oppo ice cream for dessert – 75 cals per 100g and 6.6g carbs.

Best of luck to you on your quest and be sure to keep posting and shout if you need some support, someone will respond for sure. Have a lovely festive season.