Frustrating when it’s not made clear what the dish actually comprises isn’t it Jackie? Can make eating out a bit of a minefield for us BSDers. Sounds like you are working around the anomalies though and managing to have some lovely family time.

Enjoy your Christmas at home with family and pets. We are celebrating at home too, which suits me just fine. Have neighbours coming in for drinks on Christmas Eve, a quiet day with just me & OH on Christmas day and a house full of off spring and grandchildren on 26th – then it’s all done for another year!

Here I am in Amsterdam with the family – yay! But oh my goodness eating out is still tricky! Just in terms of avoiding glazes they don’t mention or batters etc. We went on a tasting tour with withlocals.com which was great but I had to pass on quite a bit. I did discover smoked eel and herring are absolutely delicious! And the cheese was great too. And I had chicken satay with most of sauce removed. Kids had stroopwaffles and various samosas etc and chips with mayo and thoroughly enjoyed everything (even the eel!)

Last night I had cauliflower done 5 ways (only one of which was a bit dodgy/sweet) and wild boar on dark cabbage – a chop and a stew but the stew was done in a sweet sauce so I didn’t like it much and swerved most of it.

Home for Christmas and people are coming to us so double yay! Hope you all are looking forward to it too and if not I can empathise it’s been a difficult time for me since I was a child. Best it’s ever been like this year, when I get to be in my own home with my own family (and the pets!) xx

Thank you so much, ladies, for your kind and caring thoughts! Perhaps I
am as adamant about this WOL as I am because I would never have had the level
of stamina necessary to do what I expected of myself during that time without
having discovered the BSD way of eating 8 months previously. I’ll never go
back to that state of being. The future is uncertain, but now I know that I’ll
have the good health to handle whatever life has in store for me 🙂 🙂 🙂

Surely ortho whatsit nervosa is typified by anxiety and most people on this forum, especially the maintainers, are the least anxious they’ve ever been? They just don’t feel like eating ‘the white stuff’ any more because no more cravings. But most of them are no longer calorie counting either, so free to have as much of the low carb stuff they enjoy. If you want to eat cake, Dumpty, go for it, but I don’t think implying those who don’t want to are in some way mentally ill is accurate. They are healthy BMI though.

Lucia – it’s intersting you don’t feel your approach requires as much strength as packing it all in. For me you show MORE self control by getting back on the wagon after choosing to get off. Just goes to show we are all different and it comes back to understanding what will work for us individually. I do know I can’t feel deprived, if makes me very unhappy, so my non-getting-off-the-wagon is only because I don’t feel like it.

SunnyB I gave to admit I’m hanging by a thread! Today I made broccoli and Stilton soup but my OH thought it needed more cheese. By the time I’d finished it was just too rich and creamy for me even though each portion was only 170cals and 8g of carbs. Fortunately he likes it! It’s stir fry vegetables with left over chicken from last night for us.

I know exactly how it is with water. I have to say that while I was away I was consciously drinking more than usual and it seems to have stuck… fortunately. I am now finding hydration is a lot easier. Really looking forward to hearing how the brownies turn out…. see you tomorrow, hopefully with a success!

Hi Allie, from another thread I realise that your husband has had a really bad year but I’m pleased to hear he is on the mend. You know since my hip surgery, which has left me pain free, I walk around with a perpetual smile on my face! I understand how difficult it is to find specific positives each day because I’m just glad I wake up each morning, and wake up pain free!!! When you have trauma in your life everything drops into perspective when it’s resolved and even the most mundane things do indeed seem like a blessing.

I do try to be ‘gracious’ when possible. The written word can often be misconstrued which is why I appreciate this ‘joyful ‘ thread so much. Whilst I love a good discussion as much as the next person, at the moment I just need good the positive posts in my life.

Thank you for your good wishes which I send back to you two fold. Hoping you and your family have a joyous holiday season and all best wishes for 2018. Yes I’ll be back with yet another challenge for January so will see you there!

Healthy and happy New Year to you and yours.

Oh Allie, I too did not realize how much you have gone through this year. I am so glad your husband is better. I hope the new year is free from trouble and a wonderful happy year for you.
How incredible that you were able to stay the course on BSD during that very stressful time. Well done you!

Hi all – well finally got diagnosed with Diabetestoday ! Marvellous timing ! So day one is today – was planning to do this any way but I might as well get stuck straight in have read the book ! Worked out the next 4 days menu – got to think about Christmas Day ! Have done this before lasted 5 weeks ! So…. who else is out there starting today ? Would be great to not feel quite so alone !

Hi Allie – I had no idea that your husband has been so ill. How wonderful he is making a good recovery. It must have been so scary and stressful for you to see him go through all that surgery and trauma.

My husband is doing well also – although last Friday he fell over on the way to the local pub (who falls over on the way to the pub!!). Although he gave his friends a fright – he didn’t damage his new hip – thank goodness – although he did hurt his shoulder.

I had an excellent shopping trip at ALDI. Actually it was mostly for the sugary carby Christmas stuff (there will be 10 of us over Christmas) – although I did get some lovely 85% chocolate for £1.29. A huge saving on Lindt chocolate. I will be having a couple of squares spread with almond butter for a desert. I also do like the ALDI Authentic Greek yoghurt which I will be having with my berries.

As I put the Christmas pudding, stollen, Belgian biscuits, baklava etc. in my trolley I actually thought that none of it looked that appetising and none of it was a match for my special Christmas treat – the jar of almond butter which I will spread on my chocolate and maybe even eat a spoonful or two straight from the jar.

Have just discovered that I love macadamia nuts – am trying not to open the packet because it will mean another trip to Holland and Barrett to get some more.

Hi, V, so happy to see you here today, holding down the fort, in your usual
gracious way! I just wanted to wish you a joyous holiday. You’ve accomplished
so much this year, WOW! Reversing T2D is such a mighty achievement!

Those grapes can be pesky, can’t they? One of those foods where it’s hard
to eat just one, wouldn’t you say? 🙂 I know that you’re already back on track,
though. It’s hard for me to come up with positives each day, for I always
seem to be in a perpetual state of gratitude. New friends, new life, expanding
dreams of all things being possible now that I’m healthy.

I’ll be looking forward to your new Jan. challenge thread. See you there!

Peace, joy and love,

Allie

Welcome Nick! Keep us posted on your progress! Don’t worry about losing muscle — keeping your carbs very low (as low as 20 grams per day but preferably always below 60 grams per day) and eating adequate protein will target your fat stores, not your muscle.
Our bodies were not designed to become weak and wasted when we needed to access our fat stores (as happened all the time when we were living as hunter/gatherers) — we ALWAYS carried our fat as a source of fuel and it is no different today. Your fat is going to burn first as long as you get your insulin levels down so you can access that fat.
LOW CARBOHYDRATE = LOW INSULIN
If you work out while you are on BSD, you should be able to increase your muscle.

Hi there, Nick! I’m adding my voice to the chorus of Welcomes. You are
about to embark on a plan that will transform your life 🙂 🙂 🙂 SunnyB has
just given you a list of things to prepare for your journey to wellness, and
I can’t improve on them. I just want to reiterate that planning ahead is the
key to success, and hydration is ultra important. Joining in on the challenges
is the best way to get to know our community, and for us to get to know you!
I’ve lost 10.5 stone, but the number isn’t really important. Whether you’d
like to lose 3 stone or 10, it’s all possible here with the support we have
to offer and share. I’m happy that you will be joining us on Jan. 2! Merry
Christmas, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you. I hope the cloud
of fatigue and depression will lift for you, as it did for me, when I adopted
this lifestyle.

Best wishes,

Allie

Happy to have helped Allie – enjoy!

Liz, lovely for you to have your daughter home for the festive season and I’m pleased she is going to be supportive of your BSD Christmas.

Verano, even with the small slip-up with the grapes, it sounds like you have things under control. I admit things got away from me a little yesterday, so like you, I had a soup lunch today and will be having pork, cabbage and cauli-mash tonight. Need to up my hydration today, as it was a bit lacking yesterday I think.

Positives for today:
1) Did half of the final pre-Christmas food shop this morning.
2) Still not feeling stressed about Christmas – a first in many a long year!
3) Making some low carb brownies this afternoon – will report on them later, when I know how they have turned out and calculated cals and carbs.

Stay positive everyone.

I absolutely LOVE your idea, SunnyB! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Caviar, too? PERFECTION 🙂 🙂 🙂 O/H will be thrilled, and won’t even notice
the lack of bagels!!!

Warm holiday wishes,

Allie

Welcome aboard, Nick, congrats on taking the decision to change your life for the better. Sounds like you are determined and focused, so I see no reason you will not complete the 8 weeks. The first few weeks are the most challenging and once you have those cracked the rest will probably fall into place quite easily.

If hydration is an effort for you, I suggest starting to tackle that now, in your build up to you full on start. Have a think about what might work for you – using a drinks bottle to drink from, so you know how many you need to consume a day; draw a little chart somewhere to record each drink you have. I draw little cups and glasses on the white board in our kitchen and cross them through as I have each drink. You just need some little reminder, so that you increase your intake and can see what you’ve consumed.

This is also a good time to start to clear the cupboards and freezers of non-BSD food, as far as possible (assuming there’s no one living with you that will want such things) and think about what essentials you’ll need for 2nd Jan. Try to keep BSD friendly foods around which don’t require too much preparation, for those times when you need ‘a little something’ or a situation arises where you’re not able to use the planned a meal. If you feel the 8 weeks might be a bit challenging, join the next 4 week challenge on the forum. This is just a group of forum members who tackle the BSD in four week chunks, as opposed to the standard 8.

Maintaining your muscle mass should not be an issue, as long as you keep up your exercise and ensure you are including a good amount of protein in your meals.

Make good use of the forum – use the search box in top right of page to search for specific topics – there is a lot of wisdom and experience on here and people are happy to offer advice, support and encouragement, so just shout out. Definitely post all your results and let us know how you are getting on. I haven’t put anything in this post about my person stats and journey, as it is all documented in my profile, if you want to take a look.

Best of luck to you on successfully changing your life with the BSD.

Hi Krysia! It seems that our view of maintenance is very similar 🙂 I don’t
eat fruit either, with the exception of raspberries. They are a powerhouse
of antioxidants, as well as fiber, and are so easy to keep in the freezer. Like
you, my present diet has much more variety than pre BSD, and the contents
of my refrig. is a riot of colorful vegetables, super clean fish and poultry, and
the occasional pkg. of pastured and grass finished beef. I’m ordering myself
to get down to “brass tacks” today and decide what we will be having for
Christmas dinner! Too many choices, not an absence of them! And the white
stuff is gone forever… I hope you had an excellent shopping trip and found
everything you need “in stock”.
Wishing you a joyous holiday, Krysia. Is your husband fully recovered?
Mine is doing extremely well after colon cancer surgery, a second heart
attack, and the implantation of a defibrillator in his chest this year. I’m
feeling very blessed. Far too much time spent in the Intensive Care Unit
(3+ weeks)!

Glad that things are on the up for you Theo and hope that continues. Try not to stress about the festive season – ask the family to help out as much as possible. And keep up those de-stressing walks. Like you the sweet stuff is not going to be a problem and whilst I appreciate a drink, it is no longer of any importance to me, so I am hopeful of keeping things in control on all fronts.

Alliecat, Christmas morning we are going with smoked salmon on some scrambled egg, all sprinkled with a little finely chopped shallot, topped with a teaspoon of lump roe caviar. Oh, and a glass of well chilled brut champagne – bucks fizz has never been my drink, give me straight champagne every time!

Here’s to a peaceful and joyous festive season and only good things for us all in 2018. Happy maintaining everyone!

Hello,
Like many i have found this wonderful, life changing book & online community, read the book over the last few days and read some of the inspiring, interesting posts.
A bit about me, I’m male, 43 years old, 5ft 9in, weight around 16.7 stone, quite broad and my scales give me a BMI of 30. I have suffered from stress/depression in recent years and have a skin condition which while slightly better has left me with pigmentation marks on my lower legs of various sizes (lichen planus).
I have done and still do HIT training once/twice a week which i believe aids my BMI being 30 not 34/35. Do medium/long distance road cycling when i find the time and the weather is better.

Diet is a bit of a mess really, do eat a lot of freshly prepared meals but mixed in with high carb meals and far too much alcohol along with irregular eating patterns. This i know effects my energy levels, moods and focus.

My hopes & goals when completing this 8 week plan:
To lose weight around my waist, aim to get my weight to 13.7 — 14 stone.
BMI of 23.5/24.
To see my skin condition improve.
My energy levels get a much needed boost.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
My concerns:
I don’t complete the 8 weeks (lack of planning my meals).
My muscle mass (shoulders/chest and arms) reduces too much.
Don’t drink enough water as i struggle to do this now.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
What i can offer:
Talk about anything above in more detail if it helps others.
Record and post my findings on all of the above.

So that’s me in black & white, quite liberating in itself. I will start the 800 calories strictly on the 2nd January, in the meantime i’m trying some of the recipes and doing lots more reading.

Look forward to this journey and sharing my experience.

Thanks Nick.

Merry Christmas Jim47!

Hi Marsie, thanks for your words of encouragement. Yes all the fruits have been good and raspberries have been a lot cheaper so I’ve treated myself them now. I was out today and bought a small carton of Greek yoghurt and had that with a pun net of raspberries as part of my lunch, delish!!
Best wishes for Christmas x

Hi Butterlover and thank you. Btw I love your name! Also thanks I’ve been running it all by my Neph, Cardio, Endochrinologist, 2 x GPs. I’ve even discussed it while having a gynaecologist procedure today! That Dr firmly supported my doing this while checking my biochemistry every few days. She said to me “ we get very frustrated with the ‘old Lo fat diet advice” and she then said: “ Science has now proved it wrong” and a lot of dietitians did their training a while ago and they have stuck w the Lo fat idea”. It was great to hear a Dr advocating this type of diet and I told her what I had done to take a closer control of renal friendly fruit n veg and preparation . I also saw the dietician on the ward and showed her my blood results and the significant improvement if made in a couple of days. She was pretty happy but didn’t really want to talk about my success with the diet only advising me to up the exercise. Also, I apologise I hadn’t written back earlier but I’ve had a tough couple of days and it’s been hard enough to keep up with reading all the posts on the threads I am following. I’m loving all the tips and recipes, solutions and general discussion. I’m just way too tired even though I want to jump in many times. Loving that I’m meeting so many wonderful friends here at all different stages. Thanks again for your support and advice Butterlover and a merry Christmas x

Well, I haven’t had a whoosh in ages, and have been hovering around the same weight for the past week. It happens, I’m not too worried, would have been nice to lose a bit more before Christmas but I’m having a week off from calorie and carb counting from tomorrow.
Actually at the start of this I said I would be happy to have lost five kg by Christmas, and I’ve lost 7,but we always think we should have done more, don ‘t we, instead of congratulating ourselves for what we’ve done.
I’ve been planning on what I’m going to eat tomorrow morning to break my fast, and I’ve been enjoying the low carb bircher so much, I’ve started soaking pinhead oatmeal so I can have an oaty version. I’m not sure I can bring myself to eat too many white carbs…
Hopefully see you all in the new year – I’ll not be logging back on til then.

Was intrigued – and looked this up to check whether or not I suffer from it. It doesn’t seem – in my view – that I or anyone on our forums suffer from this condition which sounds so restrictive – not just with food but by restricting living life itself.

Although I don’t eat the white stuff and it may look as though I suffer from it because I really don’t eat it ever – I do eat berries – even though a super consultant has advised me to eat no fruit because my pancreas can’t cope with it (I am very sad that I wrecked my pancreas by eating the white stuff but won’t give up my berries).

Also I probably do have more deliciously indulgent cream than is good for me. My diet actually feels less restrictive than it used to be – the huge range of lovely tasty and delicious food is wonderful on this WOE. Am just off to ALDI to buy some lovely stuff for Christmas.

Theo, I’m VERY happy to know that your weight has stabilized at last! I know
what your BMI is, and I was beginning to get a little worried about you….

I hope everyone else is in a good place with their holiday prep. I had hoped
that we would be getting together with my sister and her family and recently
sent her an email to this effect. The reply was from St. Petersburg (Russia)
so it doesn’t seem too likely! Upon her return, plans will be made for later
in the week. Our Christmas morning fare is always champagne, smoked
salmon, and bagels. Obviously there will be no bagels this year. I’ll just
have to come up with some sort of wrap idea. All ideas would be most
welcome!
Wishing you all a blessed holiday, as we march on in maintenance 🙂

Happy New Year!

Allie

Haha, my friends, I’ve never needed much persuasion when going bold with
clothes! Those red tights are already in the shopping cart. I have to give
modcloth a call before ordering though, as measurements aren’t given for
height (don’t want the crotch down around my knees) so I may have to
size up. I was also all set to order another pair of leggings, black with large
human skulls, but they are out of stock. Do you think I’m an old lady
exhibitionist?? Don’t you two think your being a little “insensitive” (haha)
discussing decolletage in my presence, though? 🙂 My new bra size is AA!
This revolting state of affairs has necessitated the purchase of a mastectomy
bra, and with it on, I weigh 2 lbs more than without it! Poor Allie…I’ll just
have to be content with my gams. OF COURSE I will go for red tights! I saw
a lot of other snappy ones, but mostly o/s. You be careful, Theo with those
tunics! I don’t want to read about you getting arrested for “indecent exposure”!
🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi Verano,
I too love broccoli and cauliflower soups with a good stilton. Where would we be without cheese!
xx

Pancita I love cheese but have to say your cheese sounds like one step too far for me! I have just made some broccoli and Stilton soup but the Stilton, although very mature, wasn’t really sharp enough so I had to add double the normal amount. Nonetheless it has made a really ‘creamy’ almost decadent soup for just 170 calories and 8g carbs per portion. So that’s my lunch sorted and definitely a ‘treat’.

Hi Sunny, and thank you so much for asking and, indeed, for thinking of me.

Things are improving, but only slowly, it will be a long haul. But at least I am back home and the 3 hours of daily walking along my beloved coastal path is certainly helping me to de-stress. And o/h gets home today after a week abroad, so that’s something to look forward to.

Also, on the plus side, I have managed to regain the 4lbs I dropped almost overnight when all this trauma began and now seem to be maintaining nicely, within a pound or two. Well done on maintaining your wriggle room for the festive season, I have plenty for Christmas too although I am not actually anticipating putting much on – the thought of all that sweet, stodgy food just doesn’t do it for me any more. My one indulgence will be freshly squeezed orange juice for my Christmas morning Bucks Fizz. And, not having had an orange in 2017 at all, am fully prepared for the fact that it may taste too sweet, and then it will be a lovely glass of dry champagne only.

Now I just have to get prepared for Christmas – family coming and not even started yet! Though I have at least finished my present shopping, which is a huge plus!

How are all our other maintainers doing?

Haha, Essie, and yes, indeed I have. I am getting far more daring and self-confident as I get used to this great new body. In fact yesterday I was going to wear a completely different dress (new in August when I was totally happy with the way it looked) but when I put it on, I thought to myself “mmm, too long!”😜 so I changed and as and when I have a few minutes the needle and thread will be coming out to take it up a good few inches!

I am also fortunate that my “décolletage” seems to have escaped wrinkles and I do still have boobs – not as big as they were, but plenty big enough to show off with low cut necklines. So that will definitely be happening too – I am amazed at how my self-confidence is growing, and the compliments can only help this.

Loving the idea of us being tights triplets, so go for it, Allie.

For completeness I should record a loss of 300g this week – not much, but still another pack of butter gone! Best wishes to you all for a lovely healthy Christmas.

[post removed by request]

[post removed by request]

After some recent discussion about treats for Christmas, maybe it would be good to share our M-plan, low carb favourites.
I’ll start with…
Epoisses. Possibly the smelliest cheese known to man. I have to keep my supply in the cold frame in the garden. But it’s wonderful. Melting. Just ready to dip some strong leaves (romaine, cos) or celery sticks into its putrid heart. Dee-lish. Try it!
I’d love to hear about your new favourite treats.
Happy Christmas xx

Hi Emu – good luck to your OH with the blood test – enjoy your meal!

Liz what an uplifting post! I am also a jigsaw geek they certainly stop me snacking! Have you tried the Ravensburger ‘ What if?’ series? The puzzle doesn’t match the picture , even more frustrating!

Anyway, good morning all. SunnyB sounds like yesterday was a really positive one for you. I have been reading through some of the other threads this morning and there are certainly a few ‘interesting’ and provocative conversations going on. It’s lovely to get back to the calm tranquillity of this one! So for my positives yesterday….

1. Had a friend join us for dinner, always lovely, but I mindlessly ate grapes!
2. Didn’t quite stay within my cal/carb target yesterday but did log everything so getting back on track.
3. Am going back to my lunches of just soup today. I always find I get back into losing mode when I have soup lunches so here’s hoping. Today will be broccoli and stilton soup.

Have a good day and stay ‘positive’.

Lilyrose you have come to the right place! I can only agree with all of the posters above who have done so well, losing weight, reversing diabetes, as I too have done, and generally getting their lives back. There are so many people on these forums who will help you when needed with great advice, a ‘slap on the back’ when you do well and a ‘kick up the backside’ if you need reminding just why you are here. Enjoy your journey and you will soon be looking backwards at ‘the old you’ …. this way has to be better than surgery … and it is!

Allie I love the notion of being …. the best you can be. That is all we can each aim for in which ever way suits best and hopefully Liz, without ‘spikes’!

I would just like to add my warmest wishes to everyone for the coming festivities and the opening of another year …. let 2018 ‘be the best it can ever be’!

Hi gang,

I have looked back on my old blogs.

I seem to be aiming at me and others who dont have a strong will to just change diet and habits straight away.

I seem to be the middle way.
Or the baby steps way.

My blog about how we dont have to stress about xmas day but can still come back here and be accepted and, well, basically, just get on with it.

My hat is off to all who can cope.

But for the one or two who cant, i say, me too!

I read magazines were people have lost ten stone in a very little space of time.
They do not tell you that their weight yo yo’d.
They dont say about eating at midnight when family are asleep.
Then crying afterwards with regret.
I will.

I am here for those who can’t.
Come on, lets do it together, but it may take us a little longer.

But we will ALL get there.

Love lucia
Xxxx

Hi gang,

So my letter to father christmas, i have asked for:

Tai cheng. Not tai chi.
A 60 day programme of gentle , elegent exercise.

Set of head phones
I have worn the wire out listening to music while walking or exercising or cycling static.

Fluffy slippers but tall like boots and so cozy

Knickers always knickers. M and s if poss

Something like a game to exercise my little grey cells and. Eye hand co ordination.

Satsumas in my christmas stocking. Nice swweeeet and juicy , instead of a selection box or sweets

What have you asked for?

Love. Lucia
Xxx

Yes this is a very interesting question and I have to agree with Natalie …. I tend to agree with everyone even when the contradict each other!

I think it’s a very much ‘horses for courses’ answer. Some people have to be ‘rigid’ in their approach whilst others are more relaxed. If you need to be rigid fine. I think when you have eaten this way for long enough your taste buds change and you really don’t have any desire for the ‘stodgy/simple carbs’ so it is no dilemma. BUT early on I think it’s quite ‘dangerous’ to experiment with so called ‘treats’. They aren’t ‘treats’ at all, as has been said, they are ‘poison’ and put you back to square one.

Keep your goals at the forefront of your mind, you have done so well so far don’t blow it all and put yourself back to square one. Enjoy the festivities but within BSD guidelines and try and log a ‘guestimate’ of what you are plan on eating in the mornings before you eat and that may just stop you having that so called ‘treat’!

You can’t really see the difference because my cellphone camera is terrible and it was being aggressively steamed at the time, but here is the Indianish dinner I made tonight before, during and after the addition of guar gum. The slow cooker is full of thick and chunky greens (chickory and spinach) and chicken thighs in a delectable bed of chicken stock, pot likker and creme fraiche and that small sprinkle (a mounded teaspoon) began to tighten it right away. By the time my fella got home 10 minutes later, it was thick enough that the liquid no longer ran and he could easily eat it with a fork.

https://s13.postimg.org/7lseyjzzr/Indianishbefore.jpg
https://s13.postimg.org/hj3frmfbb/Guargumsprinkle.jpg
https://s13.postimg.org/9dldtgbmv/thethickening.jpg

Well done, Theo! Have you noticed that so far every time you’ve taken a bit of a risk, be it with a great accent color or an unplanned mini-dress outing, it pays off like gangbusters? Clearly whenever you go out you need to think to yourself “this looks good, but do I look as hot as I possibly can?” Then shorten, accesorize, ramp up the heel height, drop the decolletage and generally go nuts. 😀

Allie, Theo has officially joined the right tights club now, so you simply must go through with your brilliant plan for your black jersey dress so we can be tights triplets. 😀 🙂 😆

Flick you don’t need us to cross our fingers for you, you’ve got this! You are doing so well.

I want to thank everyone who has weighed in on this thread (even though it’s perhaps the most disagreement I’ve ever seen on this forum in two years of reading! And even a teensy bit snarky at times). I find it really helpful to hear other people’s thoughts and get all the issues clear in my mind. I know it all comes from a place of caring about fellow BSDers and wanting them to have the best life possible. I hope everyone continues to be polite and respectful, others usually respond best to it and are more likely to listen.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas however they celebrate it.

I love reading all the different thoughts on this, although rather unhelpfully I tend to agree with everyone even when they contradict each other! My first round of BSD 800 was started on a December 28. Although I was keen to begin a week or two before that as soon as I read the book, I felt that starting just before Christmas was setting myself up for failure. I didn’t want that much temptation when I wasn’t yet in a routine, or to just have gotten over carb flu then break the diet ‘just this once’ and have to go through carb and sugar cravings all over again! And as Flick says, when you break the rules once, it’s a bit easier the next time and so on. Apparently it’s the same with murder, according to Agatha Christie.

So despite kind-of wanting to start now, I am again waiting until a time I’ll have a relatively clear run ie after Christmas and using this time to prepare, and maintain what I’ve already lost. But those of you already in the midst of losing nasty yellow visceral fat, you have to decide for yourself what you can do that won’t derail you. Are you someone who can take a day off a diet then get straight back into it (is anyone here like that, I wonder? Or are we all examples of the ones who can’t?). Will you be ok allowing more calories, but only BSD-friendly treats like nuts, cheese and meat? A day of unrestricted cheese-eating could be pretty special! No weighing every crumb! Or are you in the zone and just need to stick to 800 cals as usual? Look at your past track-record and ‘know thyself’.

Essie, my friend, just LOVING your party look 😄 Red tights and booties look fantastic and add just the right festive touch to your sensational outfit😃. Really pleased to hear you managed not to slip and break your neck in the snow 😜

I went out for a pre-Christmas lunch today (rather a long one, 6 hours😨) and quite shocked myself by putting on what I had bought as a little red and black tunic to wear with jeans and wearing it as a mini-dress with thick fleece lined (bloomin cold here atm) red tights and black suede high heel booties. It was at least 8 -10 inches above my knees and I felt FANTASTIC 😃 Got quite a few compliments too – not bad for an old’un 😜 Whoever said “if you wore it when it was fashionable first time around, don’t go there again!” Whoever it was obviously hadn’t heard of us phoenixes😛

Marie, I wholeheartedly share your thoughts. Mary, you are very much missed!
I envision your holiday surrounded by your beautiful daughters, your 3 grandchildren,
and the exceptional Jovis. Come back to us when you feel able to do so. 2018 can
be a great year for all of us.

Wishing you a blessed holiday,

Allie
xoxoxoxoxoxo…..

Thank you, Chazly1, for posing the question about the holiday next week. It’s given
us all, maintainers and those still on the journey, an opportunity to think in terms of
“mindfulness” as we establish a plan for dealing with Christmas! Half of this WOL is
the planning. I find myself not making any changes from the decisions that I made
last year when I’d already lost 90lbs, but had another 50 to go. My tastes have changed,
so this doesn’t represent a challenge for me. Maintenance has been more daunting
than weight loss however, and I won’t be completely comfortable with it until I have
a full year behind me. Whatever you decide to do, have a plan and don’t deviate from
it! 🙂

Flick, you are going about this with the same attitude that I did, a take no prisoners
approach. It’s all or nothing for me, and I knew that meant leaving the cork in the
wine bottle for 10 straight Fast800 months. You are doing what makes sense to
you, and I’m looking forward to you reaching your goal. A little red lipstick along
the way is a happy thing, and I encourage you to do more of the same 🙂 It’s great
to see you coming out to play on the “Phoenix” thread as well. It’s never too soon
to start celebrating the victories! If we don’t have enough of our own, there is always
someone else having one of those moments that we can share! 2018 is just around
the corner. Let’s be the best that we can be in the upcoming year 🙂 🙂 🙂

I’m grateful to know you all,

Allie

Cheers every body for your comments it’s great to have so much input, I must admit I have no cravings for either alcohol or carbs as I’ve managed to keep such a vairied diet, and I really enjoy cooking admittedly when I used to cook it would always be my signal to open a bottle of wine, but now it dosent cross my mind.
I think I know the way I shall deal with this and keep in the zone, as it’s suppriseing just what you can fit into 800 calories.
We shall meet in the new year for updates.
Have a great christmas everyone and a slimmer healthier new year
Chazly1

I bet Whole Foods has it. I haven’t looked for it there, but the last time I went a couple of months ago I noticed they had shiritake noodles. They were the kind with tofu added, though, and I don’t buy that because it’s inexplicably carby.

Xantham can definitely clump if it doesn’t get spread around quickly enough. I solve that problem with an immersion blender wich is fine for a cream sauce, but you can’t use that in anything that has chunks, like a sausage gravy. Have you tried the slurry method with xantham? When you add it to dry ingredients it does its faux gluten magic in private. If you add it to a big pot of something it’s hard to gauge whether you have to proper proportion. A good starting point is 1/4 tsp of xantham for every cup of liquid, but you might have to adjust that depending on how thick you want it to get. Scare up a slurry by adding 1/4 tsp to a couple of tblsp of water or of the liquid you want to thicken and whisk it quickly. Whisk the slurry into the pan. Give it a second to tighten up and if it needs more thickening, do another round.

Guar is easier to deal with. Sprinkle, mix thoroughly, wait a couple of minutes. You can add it to cold or hot liquids and it always acts the same. Konjac must be slurried, but it’s such an amazing chemistry experient it’s totally worth it just to watch the states of matter shift in the blink of an eye.