Amazing progress Jimmy! Well done.

My positives for this morning:

1. The tree and other decorations are up, I’ve finished my Christmas present shopping, just last minute food items to get. I’ve ordered the turkey. I host Christmas lunch for about 16, but everyone brings something so it’s not just me. Everything is under control.

2. I cleared out the freezer, threw out anything dubious and we ate non-dubious things over a couple of meals. Now lots of space in there, and no freezer-burned wandering pepperoni slices or loose peas.

3. Sitting with a morning cup of tea reading the BSD forums!

Flick I loved that message from Garmin, sleep is something I struggle with so that would make me tear up too!

SunnyB I’ve been making my own yoghurt since I was given an Easiyo thermos thing last Christmas. So much easier than I expected. And I buy the Easiyo packets (Greek unsweetened) but just use a little bit mixed with milk powder, so much cheaper. There are enough yoghurt cultures (I call them yoghurt babies) in the sachet to divide it into at least six portions. And keep the rest in the freezer.

Verano happy birthday! I’ve been watching your progress for at least a year now, sometimes it seemed like you wanted to give up but you’ve done so amazingly well! 63 lbs and no meds! What a wonderful present to yourself. Congratulations.

Kazz I’ve never heard of chubby earlobes! Well done slimming them down.

Sorry for the long post 😁

Natalie I’m amazing myself lol. Last night I came close to opening the mince pies, I had the Carols by Candlelight on the tv and was wrapping presents. But then I thought if I open the pack I’ll need to buy another one for Christmas as they could go stale (we have temps of 42 & 43 deg centigrade here this week!). Also if the pack was opened I’d be tempted to eat the whole lot of them! And I remind myself that I made a promise not to have one till Christmas Eve 🙂
Well done on your weight loss this week 🙂 it is so hard this time of the year. I’ve been struggling over the past few weeks, as I’ve had a few social things on and although I try and stick to BSD principles my calorie intake has been higher (although still less than 1200-1300). I’ve been trying to balance it out by sticking strictly to plan on days where I have no lunches or evenings out.
Today I have a work lunch but I know there is going to be chicken and salad so not too worried, I also have a lunch with friends tomorrow. After that there’s nothing till Christmas Eve so I’m hoping to lose a little bit more between now and Christmas Day. My Christmas goal is still 1.8kg away so not sure I’ll get there, but I’ll try!

I weigh on Monday morning (well actually every day but Monday is official) and this week I am down 400g! I am super-happy with that considering the time of year and that I haven’t been anywhere close to perfect. I had gained just over a kilogram since ending my course of Duromine five weeks ago and to be honest I would have been happy maintaining at that point over Christmas – but a loss is way better!

Busybee congrats on looking fabulous in your new dress! Sandy47 well done on your weight loss, and SueBlue you amaze me – treats in the house and you haven’t opened the packet! Awesome willpower.

We had family over last night for the usual Sunday dinner, I roasted a couple of chickens and I served the lemony pan juices without any flour added, it was delicious. Just runnier. That’s actually what I used to do before I got married and learned to make gravy “properly”. Maybe at Christmas (and other Sunday dinners) I’ll reserve a bit for myself before I add the flour, I think the family still prefer it thicker and I don’t feel like I’m poisoning them with such a tiny bit. But EVERYONE will be getting healthier food from 1st Jan! Mounds of unhealthy food shouldn’t be how I show my love.

JGwen, What a lovey idea for a gift for your step in mum 🙂
I rarely eat bread nowadays, but when I do I make some porridge bread, it’s relatively cheap as it uses oats, and freezes well.
http://www.anewu.ie/porridge-bread-recipe/
This recipe is also nice and only uses 3 tablespoons of almond flour and one egg – I have it in place of an English muffin
http://insidekellyskitchen.com/recipe/90-second-almond-bread

Ingredients like almond flour and chia seeds are not cheap but I find they last ages (especially the seeds) as I only use a tablespoon or 2 when making different recipes. I’ve also seen recipes for bread substitutes which use chickpea flour, that’s much more affordable than almond flour, I’ll see if I can find the recipe.
Failing that, I notice that in the shops now they sell low carb bread. Perhaps she could try that?
As for Xmas day, I plan to eat as i usually do – just less quantity! I can’t eat nearly as much as I used to anyway. We always have a fairly healthy meal – roast pork loin and turkey breast with lots of steamed and roasted veg (drizzled with olive oil).
I bought myself a mini gluten free Xmas pudding for dessert so that I can control my portion size. I also bought some Mr Kipling Christmas cake slices. They are indivually wrapped and are about 120 calories I think. Mince pies are my downfall so
I’ve only bought one pack this year and am waiting to open it on Christmas Eve, when I’ll only have one (usually by now I’d be having one a day!).
I make my own sausage rolls, so I’ve bought some gluten-free frozen pastry to try. Not exactly on plan but I want to avoid wheat still as it causes joint pain and inflammation for me. I did read a post on Facebook where someone made sausage rolls and use Fathead pizza dough for the pastry.
I did think of substituting celeriac for roast potatoes, but I have so much else going on on the day it’s just easier for me to stick with potatoes but only have one (I’ll be cooking lunch for 10).
The biggest problem for me is going to be alcohol – we usually start the day with champagne & juice, have wine with lunch and cocktails in the afternoon/evening, so I’m going to have to show some restraint there!

Veiled – what about a slow cooker? Soups, stews, chilli? 10 mins in the morning to bung ingredients in the cooker and it’s cooked by the time you get home. Stir and serve!

Hello, I am just over 2 months in to trying to control my type 2 with diet and have got down to a Hbac1 of 7.5 and I have lost 11kilos.
I avoid all the obvious chocolate, cakes, biscuits and sweets and have given up pasta, rice, potatoes and bread (except occasionally)
I am at a loss as to what to do next as my weight has stabilised.
I have full fat greek yoghurt and defrosted red fruits for breakfast every day, and lunch is huumus, salad or a tin of Heinz tomato soup (no bread) and in the evening I have a normal meal with the family but no potatoes, rice, pasta, sometimes substituting courgette for pasta.
I was wondering if making a veg soup and eating it for a few days at lunch and dinner ? what does everybody think ? does anyone have a good tasty recipe that meets the BSD criteria ?

Well done everyone who is losing weight in this difficult month. Sunshine-girl, I’m sure that 1lb will come off with a couple of days of lower calorie eating. I’m amazed that I managed to lose the full 1.8kg that I put on in my blow out week in just 5 days. In fact, today I am down a further 100g and at a new low of 81.6kg. Hoping I can maintain it or better it for Tuesday’s weigh in. Hoping I can still lose another 1.6kg by the end of the challenge to make my goal.

JGwen, I also live alone and am vegetarian. I was meant to go home and see my family this year and was wondering how I was going to negotiate all the Christmas baking, etc., but I ended up cancelling due to my horse being sick and not knowing how long his recovery might take. I am quite sad about this, as I had to miss last year as well and I was looking forward to going this year, but it does give me much more control over my food over the holidays. I still haven’t decided on a Christmas meal; I think it will be on plan but maybe schedule it as a higher calorie day and put some extra effort into cooking something nice.

Well done everyone and thanks for your motivation. Started the day this morning by dancing around the living room, having weighed in at next number down – 10st 13 3/4! That was my original goal for end of this 4 week target, so am obviously ecstatic. It’s the end of week 8 for me this week and am going to continue what I’m doing until my goal of 50 pound loss in total. 28 pounds to go! It doesn’t feel like such a mountain to climb now, but am committing to joining the 4 week target groups on here, as I’m finding this forum so helpful. Feeling really good and looking forward to Christmas, as I know that I will stay on track. I’m not worried any more about being ‘tempted’ as am in a good place in my head (for now!). I feel like nothing tastes as good as seeing those numbers on the scales falling. I’m already looking forward to starting the new year and getting on with life (incorporating this WOE), which is so unlike me as I usually hate new year, it has always made me sad. Think I’m a bit too sentimental for my own good!

Hope everyone’s had/having a great weekend, KOKO xx

Hello to our own Santa’s Elves
Last night we went to a Christmas party along with our daughter and boyfriend and met up with many of our friends and old school friends of the children. The dress code was Party frocks and I wore the knee length dress I bought when we were on holiday in Malaga in October. Then it looked like a very lumpy sauce in a very tight skin but Hubby encouraged me to buy it. I am a stone less than I as then and also my body has changed shape.
It fitted perfectly and felt really good. There were so many compliments and comments about how I looked and that I looked so much younger than my 71 years. It was a real NSV and I so enjoyed the moment.
Will report in on Tuesday before we head off to NJ to see the family.
X B

SunnyB – well done on keeping your stress levels down!

I have a positive….. my earlobes are thinner! I’ve always had chubby earlobes, much to my embarrassment, but some dangly earrings I’ve never worn because the stud part wasn’t long enough, now fits! So I will be sporting my marcosite teardrop earrings at the Xmas party. They were a 50th bday prez. Chuffed to bits!

Kazzee xx

Weight up about 1lb after our big blow out meal yesterday and BG up a smidge at 5.8. Well compensate by not eating so much over the next 2 days. Keep on keeping on….

Happy birthday V and many more years of health and happiness.

Verano- Awesome achievement! Many congratulations indeed from me! I’m thrilled for you!

Well done AncientWeaver for breaking through your 11.3 barrier! 👏👏👏

Hi Guys

I plan to make a ‘jus’ rather than a traditional flour gravy. Esnecca or LuvTC recommended adding a knob of butter to pan juices and a glug of vermouth, let it reduce a bit. You could either increase quantities for however many people you are serving or do the traditional gravy for everyone else and reserve some juices so you can make jus for yourself.

JGwen – it wasn’t until I read The Obesity Code by Jason Fung that the low carb healthy fat way clicked with me. Understanding the effect of refined carbs inside our bodies was a lightbulb moment. I was/am a total bread junkie. And to be truthful, the odd slice or roll has slipped in over the 4 months I’ve been doing this but I keep trying. In order to regain a healthy body, brain, and mobility I thought it worth trying. After just 2 days, I felt better in myself. I could walk faster and breathe better. I’m fortunate I don’t have diabetes but I do have other issues that are improving. There’s plenty of info on the internet about refined carb effects on the body. Perhaps you could show your step mum? For me at least, this is the only way for long term better health. I keep my food choices fairly simple as I am on a budget. Apologies if I sound preachy, but I just totally believe in this WOE.

I hope everyone is having or has had a good weekend?
Another 1 lb off for me. 16.4 now. 30 lbs lost so far, 70 lbs to go!

Kazzee xxx

Verano, happy birthday wishes to you and congratulations, achieving all those goals takes such courage and determination!

Just keeping up with an update.

End week 7. Bigger losses than expected considering I’ve averaged over 900 this week.

Total weight loss is down from 92kg to 79kg. 13kg!! (28.6lbs)

🙂

Well, done, veerle, for your restraint and for the mindset that made you recoil at others’ excessive consumption!

I am pleased to report a “whoosh”, finally, as this morning I appear to have lost 600g since Friday, bringing me down by 1.1kg for the week, with a total loss since 19 November of 8 kg. Even better, my BMI now shows me as “merely” overweight. I am SO relieved! I would just like to lose some flab from my hips and thighs now, as my waist is shrinking faster than them and I look like a bundle tied up tightly in the middle. No chance of wearing a dress for Christmas, I’m afraid.
Maggie

Some amazing weight loss being reported here and my hat comes off to all of you. Verano, a special congratulations to you, for your weight loss, being free of meds and for hitting 70 in way better health than pre-BSD. Very happy birthday to you.

My positive today is probably not as inspiring as these weight loss ones, as it is just one of Christmas prep. This morning I’ve made two sorts of stuffing, cranberry sauce, brandy butter and pretend bread sauce. I love bread sauce, so have tweaked the recipe and instead of using bread crumbs to thicken the sauce, I used almond flour. That way, you still get all the flavours but at a lower carb count. Food-wise, I think that is the sum total of the advance prep I need to do, so quite pleased to have it all sorted. Now I just need to concentrate on finishing the gift wrapping tomorrow and that’s me sorted until the final shop on 23rd and the event itself.

Decided this morning, to go out for lunch today and as luck would have it, one of our favourite local restaurants had a table free. Looking forward to a relaxed meal with OH and catching up on news as things have been hectic with family coming and going over the last few days and it sort of feels like we have hardly had time to touch base.

Hope you’re all having a good weekend.

Thanks for your replies and all the advice and information – makes perfect sense and has answered the worries I had. I’ll be making an appointment with my GP!

Thanks again

Jo

8 pints of Guinness sorts it out.

I was thinking about substitutions from a couple of angles. I have come to the end of the first 8 weeks. I have never been a one for big cooked meals, and being a vegetarian tends to colour my views about eating at Christmas, and I have the flexibility of living on my own. I was wondering how many people think its just one day, and they don’t want to be so prescriptive that they stick to 800 cals every day of the year and how many people make low carb versions so that they can continue with traditions?

My step in mum (not a blood or legal relative but my term for a lady who has been like a mother to me for most of my life) is suffering from a number of health problems which are made quite severe by being heavily overweight and particularly by fat around the waist restricting her breathing. She has decided that she wants to loose weight but felt low carb wasn’t for her because she loves bread too much. I decided to buy one of the low carb bread recipe books and buy some of the different flours needed for her to encourage her to experiment. When I opened the book I was shocked by some of the suggestions, the first page it fell open at suggested 12 eggs as the start point for a loaf of bread. For someone on a UK pension, funding the ingredients long term would be difficult, if you could get them. (The local health food store doesn’t stock anything more than organic and artisan flours.) So I was wondering if I should scrap that plan. Thanks for the suggestions on substitutes Luvtcook, You have given me an idea, maybe recipes for individual rolls would be a better solution.

For me, one of the delights of Christmas is the freedom to curl up by the log fire after dark with a good book, a glass or two of something to sip and a box of chocolates and know that I have the freedom to switch off my phones so will not be disturbed. I was weighing up a smaller box of normal chocs or trying to combine being more indulgent by making some low carb chocolates.

Hello Jo19

I agree with Verano that you definitely DO need to see the GP. It seems quite likely that they may diagnose diabetes, though you need to find out if it is Type 1 or Type 2. This diet is not for Type 1 (though a low carb regime can be helpful with that too I believe). If it IS type 2, whether you get a hostile reception to the idea of the BSD depends very much on your individual GP and diabetes nurse (you’ll be referred to see her too). My GP was fine – not knowledgable about the diet, but fine with my decision to reverse it with diet initially (again, if your levels are considered very high, you may need to start with meds but should be able to come off them before too long). The nurse however was very antagonistic, had never heard of the BSD (and her attitude made plain she had no intention of finding out about what she seemed to consider some crackpot idea (the dangers of ignorance!) She urged me to follow NHS advice re diet, which includes filling a third of your plate with carbs (bread, pasta, rice etc). No wonder people get worse! Thousands now HAVE ignored this advice and have put their diabetes in complete remission. They are now med free, a healthy weight, and often (as in my case too) have been able to stop other meds for cholesterol, high blood pressure etc.

The diet is much easier to stick to than you may imagine, and for many of us it is now a way of eating (WOE) that we have embraced for life. If you don’t continue with the low carbs, you will gain the weight again, and your glucose levels will go up again and you will have all the inherent risks of diabetes, which are not insignificant. So, join us! Loads of support here and on other sites. You CAN do it!

Just one reason really so that you can have a full set of blood tests, including an HbA1c which measures your average blood sugar level over the last 8 to 12 weeks. Then you have a starting point from which to work and you can be monitored. Usually, when you are diagnosed with T2 diabetes you are given dietary ‘advice ‘ and three months to lose weight before being prescribed medication. At that point you can ask for 3 months to lose weight if it isn’t offered unless your blood sugar is dangerously high. You can then follow the BSD and see how you go.

So I would say the answer to your question is YES!

Good morning everyone. Today I have reached the grand age of 70!!! So there I’ve given away my secret now. So just one positive for me today….. I’ve reached my goal!

I decided a while ago that I wanted to be medication free by my birthday and I am! I was taking metformin which was stopped in August when my diabetes was finally recognised as being in remission. My only other tablets were painkillers which became redundant soon after my hip surgery in September. So here I am today able to say I’m so much healthier than before I started this WOE 17 months ago. An added bonus is that in that time I’ve lost 63lbs including a small loss from pre BSD days.

So today I’m feeling very positive and I hope you are too.

Hi All,

I’ve had a few symptoms of what could be diabetes – tired, thirsty, vision is sometimes blurry plus I’m very overweight. I did an at-home fasting blood test this morning which read 15.2 which is high from what I can gather, but hard to understand. Been told I must go to the doctor but I have yet to find visiting my doctor useful for anything related to weight loss. I don’t often go so have no relationship with my GP and imagine that anything I say about starting the Blood Sugar Diet would be dismissed, and I’d find myself on meds. So – if I am planning on doing this diet, which I started today, and have joined the online one starting in January – is there a reason to go to the doctor? Should I be on meds?

Thanks for your thoughts X

Hi alliecat

I am so impressed with your weight loss! Like you though, I’m not going to obsess about the wrinkly skin; nice if it does diminish a bit, but it’s not visible under clothes, and I don’t worry what the medics think of my body. I don’t have an “other half” to think about, and I’m certainly not going under the knife! Similarly to you, my face hasn’t suffered either. Perhaps, with all the muscles we have in our faces for expression, the skin retains more elasticity than other less animated bits of us! By the way, yes, the 52 is year of birth – I’m 65, but don’t generally feel it!

Best wishes
LIz

Good morning – or whatever time of day you browse the threads! Ancient Weaver, I like your rule-breaking! I think I do them all too except for skipping meals. Because I hate fake food I’ve always had full fat dairy rather than extra-processed skim stuff (don’t they add something to give it a more palatable texture?) and butter not marg etc. and I love salt and have no blood pressure problems, actually it can go a bit low at times. My husband has high blood pressure despite being fit and not overweight and never eating much salt. It’s stress in his case, very stressful job.

I don’t think I will try fasting (a couple of 600 cal days, the five higher cal days), it just doesn’t appeal. I’ll stick with a general Med diet in this festive season then get back on proper 800 BSD. Something about having some days on and some days off – I feel like I couldn’t get into a rhythm. And I don’t want to skip meals, I don’t think that would suit me, at least not now. So 800 a day it is/will be. I’ve done it a couple of times before so I know I can.

JGwen you asked about Christmas substitutions. I’ll probably just have turkey and veges and some roast potato without trying to substitute things (which things?) I guess I do put a bit of flour in the pan juices for the gravy – is there a good substitute for that? Other family members will bring things that I don’t have to eat (whisper: I don’t much like their cooking anyway). Then there is dessert… hmm. Fruit salad is nice on a hot summer day. But I think it’s likely I will sample other dessert/s too. Little piece. I don’t have a sweet tooth, savoury is my thing. Frequent secret family-size bags of chips is how I got this size, not occasional desserts.

The substitutions that have stuck with me are zoodles (zucchini noodles for pasta, also called courgetti) and cauliflower rice. I still have both of those regularly even when I’m not following BSD or ‘on a diet’ because I like them more than the originals!

Calling LTC! Luv, I think I’m going to use your chicken, spinach and proscuitto dish for
Christmas Eve for the 2 of us. I’d like to use fontina because I prefer it as a melting
cheese. My question is, can I leave out the cream cheese, and do I need to add more
fontina to compensate? Thanks in advance for your reply 🙂

Allie

Bread and Chocolate

Many BSD folks have found they can do without and do not miss bread. I like it and am happy with the low carb bread alternatives out there.

This is a duplicate post per a response to a poster on another thread:

I make a loaf every other week or so and they keep well in the frig (don’t go stale like wheat bread). Occassionally I like a very thin slice for breakfast toasted….with cream cheese or salmon on it, or sometimes a fried egg. Toasted with tuna fish salad on for lunch, etc. Also make crumbs out of it for meatballs as it really lightens them up and have tried meatballs/meatloaf without filler and find I don’t care for them (dry and pretty tough).

Links to favorite breads are here:

https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/the-best-psyllium-flax-bread/ this is a bit of a fuss but goes a long way, keeps well in frig or frozen. I don’t bother with a bread pan…..just cook it Italian loaf style on a baking sheet.

https://www.lowcarbreviews.com/swedish-breakfast-buns/ I use hemp seed instead of sunflower seeds in this one for a softer texture. This is the softest of the three. I sometimes make as one big bun and slice into wedges.

https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/low-carb-rolls-keto/ this one is the easiest of the lot….makes nice dinner rolls, and excellent breadcrumbs for filler.

Save scraps from any/all of them and freeze in a bag for filler when I need it.

I also make/augment my own low carb chocolates. I use a bar of low carb chocolate such as Lily ,,,,break it up into chunks and put in a glass pyrex measuring cup. Add 1 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil, tiny pinch of salt and microwave until just melted (30 sec). Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla and any other flavor I want (mint, orange, almond, cinnamon, etc).

I pour/spoon this into a silicone mold such as this one ( https://smile.amazon.com/Freshware-CB-114RD-30-Cavity-Silicone-Chocolate/dp/B003VPW0V8/ref=sr_1_68?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1513452054&sr=1-68&keywords=silicone+mold) that gives me different shapes. Can do a different flavor for each shape.

Can add fillers to this….a piece of walnut in some, cocoa nibs in another, some unsweetened dried coconut, piece of blanched orange peel or ginger in another. Pop the silicone form into the frig for them to firm up. Then pop them out and put in a pretty tin and keep in the frig. The addition of the coconut oil gives them a silky texture that melts in the mouth like the finest chocolates…..but they get too soft if not kept in the frig. I love them and 2 of these small chocolates make a fine dessert once or twice a week after supper and feel very decadent for very few calories or carbs.

JGwen, I do make low carb bread. I make a loaf every other week or so and they keep well in the frig (dont go stale like wheat bread). Occassionally I like a very thin slice for breakfast toasted….with cream cheese or salmon on it, or sometimes a fried egg. Toasted with tuna fish salad on for lunch, etc. Also make crumbs out of it for meatballs as it really lightens them up and have tried meatballs/meatloaf without filler and find I don’t care for them (dry and pretty tough).

Links to favorite breads are here:

https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/the-best-psyllium-flax-bread/ this is a bit of a fuss but goes a long way, keeps well in frig or frozen. I don’t bother with a bread pan…..just cook it Italian loaf style on a baking sheet.

https://www.lowcarbreviews.com/swedish-breakfast-buns/ I use hemp seed instead of sunflower seeds in this one for a softer texture. This is the softest of the three. I sometimes make as one big bun and slice into wedges.

https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/low-carb-rolls-keto/ this one is the easiest of the lot….makes nice dinner rolls, and excellent breadcrumbs for filler.

Save scraps from any/all of them and freeze in a bag for filler when I need it.

I also make/augment my own low carb chocolates. I use a bar of low carb chocolate such as Lily ,,,,break it up into chunks and put in a glass pyrex measuring cup. Add 1 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil, tiny pinch of salt and microwave until just melted (30 sec). Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla and any other flavor I want (mint, orange, almond, cinnamon, etc).

I pour/spoon this into a silicone mold such as this one ( https://smile.amazon.com/Freshware-CB-114RD-30-Cavity-Silicone-Chocolate/dp/B003VPW0V8/ref=sr_1_68?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1513452054&sr=1-68&keywords=silicone+mold) that gives me different shapes. Can do a different flavor for each shape.

Can add fillers to this….a piece of walnut in some, cocoa nibs in another, some unsweetened dried coconut, piece of blanched orange peel or ginger in another. Pop the silicone form into the frig for them to firm up. Then pop them out and put in a pretty tin and keep in the frig. The addition of the coconut oil gives them a silky texture that melts in the mouth like the finest chocolates…..but they get too soft if not kept in the frig. I love them and 2 of these small chocolates make a fine dessert once or twice a week after supper and feel very decadent for very few calories or carbs. I plan to make a batch for Xmas for myself and a batch as a gift for my son.

I am going to post a duplicate of this on the Good Eats thread in case anyone wants to find it more easily later.

Hope this helps.

Hi, Eliza52. Here is a positive thought for you today! Others here have told me that
skin can take up to 2 years to tighten up 🙂 Don’t despair! I’m also waiting to see what
happens! I’ve lost 10st7lbs, so I definitely have this issue, too. Oddly enough, my
face escaped this fate. I don’t know if the “52” in your username is reflective of your
date of birth, but I just turned 69, and feel very alive and more like 40!. Some of these
results with respect to how are skin adapts is age and genetics related, and we can’t
do much about that. We all lose the ability to produce collagen after a certain age,
which is the basis for elasticity. Even if I don’t see any improvement in the next 2
years, the effects of weight loss are all disguised by clothing, and no one sees this
but my o/h, cardiologist and internist. Probably my bathing suit days are over, unless
I slip into the sea under cover of darkness, but I can certainly live with that! Only a few
days until your daughter returns from this side of the pond. You must be beside
yourself with excitement! I’ll be waiting to hear about her reaction to the new you…

Best,

Allie

Yes, Flick & Maggie, really weird these weight plateaus, but it does seem normal. Back home after 4 work days in Ljubljana surrounded by buffets of food and biscuits and baking and wine. I felt almost nauseated by seeing colleagues eat so much every day. I did indulge a bit, but not too much. Probably 1200 cals a day instead of 800. Glad to see my weight stayed the same and didn’t go back up. Now another week of 800 cals and bits of running and I should fit in a nice dress for Xmas.

One other thought, Theo…Take another dive into the back of your wardrobe, and
see if you have one of these: Oversize wool challis scarf/shawl! I just found a
beautiful one, circa 1981-1984, black ground with flowers in magenta, pumpkin,
and light grey. I used to have auburn hair, but it still works because of the grey
in the scarf. Now I REALLY need to stop playing around an get to the fish market!
Real life is so tedious 🙂 🙂 🙂

As I’ve already lost over 3 stone, my rate of loss has slowed somewhat, though I had rather hoped to reach 11 stone by Christmas, but the scales were firmly at 11st 1 1/2, and I wasn’t overly optimistic. Yesterday I ate more calories than usual (lovely succulent roast chicken thighs – note, plural, THIGHS!) so I suspected that I might creep up a notch, or hopefully remain the same, but this morming the scales said 10 (yes, TEN!) stone 13 1/2 lbs. I got on and off three times, but it came back with the same answer! With a whole week to go!

On another note, someone else (sorry, can’t remember who) said they now had wrinkly skin, which I too now have. However, I haven’t really done any exercise in the past three months (or previously, before anyone thinks that perversely I gave up doing it when I started the diet!). We do live in the 3-storey house, so I do a reasonable amount of stairs (the living room and kitchen are on the middle floor but bathrooms, with bedrooms, are at the top, and there’s a bathroom on the ground floor where we work) and I work standing up most of the time, and moving around, so I’m not sitting around all day, but still….it’s not “exercise” as such, and I’ve also not been great with drinking (I very rarely feel thirsty, and I just forget to drink). However, our local health club has a weeks’ free use of the gym in January, and I”m going to sign up with the intention of continuing on a monthly subscription (off-peak for over 55’s is quite reasonable – £26 a month). So good intentions, and the hope that at least some of wrinkly skin might be coaxed into tightening up a bit!

Thanks Verano. Good on you for getting organized enough to be making plans for 2018. My positives today are:

1. Having some lovely family time.
2. Still maintaining at close to 4lb under target.
3. Excited to be making my own yogurt for the first time. Am looking forward to trying it later this evening.

Yes, Theo, Flick and Kazzi, this is a fabulous thread, and I echo the thanks directed to
Essie for starting it! It’s a great antidote to more serious things going on in our lives,
isn’t it? I can’t express how happy it makes me to see Essie discovering her own sense
of style after being deprived of that adventure for 2 decades, or to even see you, Flick,
playing with red lipstick! It brings back so many memories, like a time machine, for
Theo and I, too 🙂 If anyone has a recommendation about which iphone model to
purchase, I’d really appreciate it. Also, does anyone have a special wardrobe indulgence
that is planned as a holiday gift to oneself? I think a 21st century iphone should
do it for me. Come on ladies, “spill” your pleasure!!!

re: iphone, I don’t need all the bells and whistles, just a good size screen and a keyboard
that can accommodate long fingernails (now bright vermillion in honor of the season)!

Back later, to help you deplete your wallets 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie

Lol JGwen, I weigh myself so much I know that I only lose weight at night. 🙂

I don’t make low carb bread, (I’ve stopped eating bread altogether) but I do make crackers. 🙂
I did have a phase of making cakes with almond flour rather than regular flour, but these days I satisfy my sweet tooth with fruit.
I find good quality dark chocolate satisfies the craving for chocolate quite quickly, I never need more than 25g in a day, and more often have half that or less, sometimes none at all, but that’s not very often. If I can get to the shop before Christmas, I will buy a(nother) box of Thornton’s reduced sugar chocolates, and ration myself. I know I can do it because I still have a few left in the box I bought in the summer.

Hi
Thought I would report back now that I’ve finished the online program in case anybody is interested. I enjoyed the recipes very much and lost 22 pounds quite painlessly. I’m now trying hard to maintain my current weight through the Christmas holiday and then I will move on to the 5/2 plan in the new year as I still have some weight to lose.

The only downside I have found to this way of eating so far is that I have developed a fair amount of new wrinkly skin (I’m 64) and should have tried much harder to DRINK THE WATER as I think it might have helped.

Happy Christmas everybody and please DRINK THE WATER

Hi Guys,

I think I understand what you mean by a whooosh moment. I was following the plan but over a few days my weight had crept up by 0.9kg and then suddenly it dropped by 2.1 kg one day and dropped for the next three days. – I am still at the dancing around on the scales double checking it gives the same reading a few times stage. Then there is compare the readings if I get up during the night (when the central heating isn’t on) to the readings the scales give once the heating is on routine. And compare the readings before and after running the shower, increased moisture in the air changes the reading 🙂

I wondered how far people take the low carb woe. Does anyone go to the level of making low carb bread? What are your views about making low carb chocolates or substitutes for traditional dishes for Christmas Day?

Yay! I’ve finally broken the 11,3 barrier! And that’s without counting! I was actually 11,2 yesterday, but I don’t post or alter my profile until I’ve logged the new low at least twice. I pigged myself a bit last night, as I had some veggies that needed to be finished, and was feeling a bit run down, so ate quite a bit of cheese to increase my protein intake again. (I’d not been bothering to keep track, but it caught up with me in the end, easily sorted though and I feel good again this morning.) Anyways, as a result of pigging it a bit last night, I was dreading an increase on the scales this morning, but it hasn’t happened, so I am super pleased. This pattern of eating is really easy for me, I think I will stick with it permanently. (Well, as long as it keeps working!)

I’ve been musing on just how many of the standard advice rules I am breaking though. The ‘eatwell’ plate that Jim47 mentions had played a large part in keeping me ill for the last 20 years, as well as the dieting advice of cut down a little bit of everything being behind my giving up dieting each time, due to extreme fatigue and chills. With hindsight, I know that I wasn’t eating enough protein, and eating even less (of everything including protein) to lose weight, I got even worse.
So that’s the first rule I am breaking; 1. I eat more than the (UK) recommended amount of protein on a regular basis.
2. The next is carbohydrate, as with everyone on this WOE, I don’t eat anything like the recommended amount of carbohydrates, at least, not the digestible calorie giving kinds, as indicated on the pie chart.
3. I probably eat more fat, proportionately than is advised too, as I never bought into the fat is bad for you dogma, and have always eaten butter rather than marg. and full cream milk rather than skimmed, and always avoid anything with ‘low fat’ on the label.
4. Same again for salt, although this one I had bought into for a long time, but always had cravings for crisps . . . I’ll skip the long explanation, but will mention that I do not have any problems with blood pressure.
5. I not only don’t eat before 11 o’clock, I don’t have breakfast or lunch at all! I figure that skipping meals can only be bad for you if you are used to having meals regularly.
6. My recommended calorie intake is between 1800 and 2000cals, but weird things happened when I increased my protein intake for health reasons, and I started putting on weight at 1800 cals, so cut down on carbs, to stop, and found that if I ate more than 1200cals, I would put on weight.

I think there are others, but can’t think of any more atm. 😀

Natalie, if you want to try fasting again, try cutting down for a few days before you cut out a meal completely.

I too have elevated liver enzymes since doing the diet. When I had been doing it for 4 weeks I had a medication review and all was normal except APT which was 67 ul. So I had another after the 8 weeks and it had increased to 129. I have been following BSD to the letter apart from the odd glass of wine which I am now giving up and am due another test in 4 weeks. Everything thing else in the test is within normal range, and I have lost 1stone 7 lb. has anyone else had the same results? Any idea how I can improve the result?

Good morning everyone. SunnyB your parents sound amazing.

So for yesterday…..
1. I reorganised my fridges and stocked one with lots of water … now I just have to drink it! Also popped in a good few bottles of prossecco!
2. Ordered a few more presents just one or two left to sort out now.
3. Weight stable, over the moon, and am starting to reflect on 2017 and make a plan for 2018.

May start a thread soon for 2018 plans?

Pancita – I thought it was the combination fen-phen that was banned but they found phentermine by itself was ok? My doctor (in Australia) only gave me one month prescriptions at a time, starting with lowest dose then increasing to medium, with a check up each month before another script, and only the recommended 3 months in total. So I felt like it was as safe as such a significant drug could be. Safer than being so obese maybe, or surgery. I didn’t have any serious side effects, would have stopped straight away if I had. But I totally understand your concerns, I have always been very anti-drug in fact I rarely even take Panadol. I ended up very happy with my Duromine (phentermine) experience and I feel it’s given me a good start. I haven’t been this light since having children.

Luvtocook – that’s true about the body being trainable. I just still find it hard to imagine skipping meals. I’ve always had a very bad physical reaction to going too long without food; shaky, weak, irritable, unable to think or make decisions. It’s a horrible feeling. I’m pre-diabetic now but I was like that even as a normal-weight child. So I’m not sure if my body would get used it it or not. I guess it’s lucky I don’t have to.

Flick – I’m surprised that the MM diet Day had only 24 g of carbs, I know a lot of people aim for 20 or so but it’s lower than I was expecting. I don’t try to go under 50 g, I am miserable on really low carb diets. Depressed miserable. I did a low carb diet before my wedding, never again! I think 50 g of nutritious carbs is fine, personally, it’s still pretty low and it works for me. It took some years of experimenting to arrive at that number, too low and I’m miserable but too high and I get cravings and don’t lose weight! As long as I stick to fruit and veges and stay away from processed carbs I’m fine. Processed carbs make me sleepy and bloated and dopey. And fat.

Hi all, just a quick check in before I head off to the beach. After a seven day stall (stable weight 😏) but sticking to the plan regardless, I woke this morning to reguster a loss of just under 1 kg – 0.900g. Whoo hoo! Despite having read about these whooses I have to say i was quite startled and had to doubke check a couole of times.

Any way I’m absolutely thrilled – I’m now just over a third of the way to my healthy target weight. As I anticipate more stalling to come, I may not make my December challenge target of 70kg.

Natalie, all the best wishes with your weight loss challenges in the New Year, looks like you are off to a great start.

I’m one of those people who only eats lunch and dinner, and genuinely I’m never hungry until somewhere between 12 and 2 when I eat a delicious lunch, featuring plenty of veg. I spend the afternoon happily not hungry until it gets to dinner time somewhere between 6 and 7pm. The bonus for me is that I (my poor old liver) get the benefit of intermittent fasting AND 2 decent sized meals to sooth that eye brain connection. I’m also keeping carbs down as I need to get results fast. I am easily discouraged, love love love delicious carbs, so the type of person who needs to see an excellent cost/benefit return. But that is just me.

I love how this forum shows us how different all our bodies are, how different approaches work for different people and I agree with you, hats off to everyone who is giving it a crack and finding their own best path to gain control over their health.

It is interesting that MM is not explicit about what level of macronutritients BSDers should shoot for, other than broadly stating, low carb, 45 g of protein for your average woman is reasonable, and good fats are good. I expect this is in part to do with creating the necessary space for everyone to find levels within that broad framework and 800 cals, to settle on what works best for them and actually keep going. i did a rough count on the first day of the new cookbook meal plan – my maths (which is not my strong point) came out at rougly 24 grams carbs, 28 grams protein and 65 grams fat. I expect the proportion would vary between days and average out higher on the carbs and proteins across a week but haven’t added them up.

Cheers everyone, talk to you on Tuesday weigh in day for me and end of Week 5 and on the downhill run for the 8 week commitment.

Wow, Allie and Essie – the phrases “long, lean and gorgeous” and “crazy long legs” are two I never in a million years would have thought anyone would apply to me!!!! But thank you so much, quite made my day 😃 O/H however refers to me as “tiny” every single day now – better than what he used to affectionately call me!!

Essie, I’m rather in love (again) with the sequin jacket and am secretly rather pleased that I rediscovered it bang in the middle of the party season, so I may actually get to wear it before my darling granddaughter even knows it exists 😄 Though to be fair, so far at least, it’s only been my fabulous collection of 60s clothes that she has purloined. She is a total “one-off” style wise and has always had a very eclectic fashion sense, which started when she was 2 (now 17) and my daughter felt obliged to make her wear a little badge saying “Mummy didn’t style me – I did it all by myself!” which raised a few smiles😉😃😉

Sadly my mother, a very stylish lady, even now in her 90s, is one of those people who believes that, if something hasn’t been worn / used for a year (and often less), it belongs in the charity shop. So much so that one local charity shop makes a monthly collection from her 😢 When I think about all those vintage designer goodies I could have purloined now, it breaks my heart 😢😠

Allie, forgot to mention how fantastic that boot website is – spent a happy half hour browsing. And purrrrleease – go and buy a smart phone tomorrow!!!! I didn’t know mobiles without decent cameras and Internet access still existed 😜 And yes, you have described my style exactly – have always loved black/navy classic clothes with a little bit of quirkiness on the side, and see no reason to change that now. See – I knew we were twins, separated at birth 😉

Flick – yes, I’m with you, girl – lipsticks are fast becoming one of my “quirks”. I’m gaining quite a collection 😁 But very sensible to save your major clothes splurge until you reach maintenance. I didn’t – well I thought I did, but then moved the goalposts and lost another 20lbs or so and now most of my lovely new UK size 10s (US 6) absolutely drown me. Now wearing UK 8s and 6s (US 4 / 2). So bide your time and keep your splurging to lipsticks for the moment.

Just loving this thread, Essie, thank you so much for starting it.😚

Natalie, I am one of the people that befuddle you…..do not eat breakfast. And, I am the LAST person who thought I would ever be saying that. I have always eaten a good portein filled breakfast. And I was someone who was always looking at the clock counting the minutes to my next meal. And worst of all….felt I absolutley would NOT be able to get to sleep with the hungy empty fealing in my belly after 8 pm.

And low and behold: its all learned. Every bit of it. I have been doing low carb for 5-6 years now, and in the early weeks when I first started was amazed how “not hungry” I was. Then over months and then years, I quit losing weight on low carb alone, and the “hungries” came back. Not as bad….but still needed a snack if the breaks between meals went beyond 4 1/2 – 5 hr.

When I started BSD I started with the thought that I would eat when hungry. Day 1 had a late-ish breakfast of eggs and bacon at about 9:30, and just waited to see to see when I really thought I “had” to eat. Found not all the hungry until dinner. Ate the rest of what I had left of my 800 cals for dinner….but I really really wanted a snack at night, but too bad, calories all gone. Ditto for Day 2. Day 3 I had breakfast but come dinner time, was not really hungry.

At that point I decided I would prefer two 400 calorie meals a day instead of breaking such a low number or calories up into 3 smaller meals. And no snacks. None.

Part of the issue with less hunger is LOW carbs. They make you hungry….at least they certainly did me.

And nobody is more surprised than I am that 2 meals a day does it for me. I have black coffee first thing in the morning, a lunch or breakfast (depending on what kind of food I want) around 11:00 and then dinner at 5:30 or 6:00.

The evening snack was the hardest thing for me to break but it went too.

The body is very very trainable. I have worked in the medical field all my life and had been an Assistant Administrator for two rehab hospitals over my career. It was amazing for me to learn that rehab nurses can actually retrain bowl regularity in a quadraplegic patients who have had a massive spinal cord injurys. Initially regularity is stimulated with drugs, but then the body learns the schedule and can do it on its own. Just as you may wake up at the same time each morning minutes before your alarm goes off.

In the same way you can train your body when to expect meals. And some folks feel that it is best to “keep your body off guard” and switch up when and how many meals they have.

So it is different strokes for different folks. You may have an uncomfortable couple of days, but your body will let go of past habits and old expectations.

And you are right….regardless of what we are eating we need a good balance of all the vitamins and nutrients. But there are many ways to get there….and ways to avoid the more problematic carbs in doing so. It may be challenging, but it is possible. The veg is the most important thing, but the fat helps keeps you satiated, provides key omega 3s, and as you said, helps with so many critical nutrients that are fat soluable.

Hi all, this is such a great thread – so much gorgeousness!

I’m a third (35% to be precise) towards my target so making do with clothes and finding things in the cupboard that are thrillingly beginning to fit, so saving up for the big splurge at the end.

In the meantime as little puffs rise up from my ash heap, my style is definitely changing.

Gals, can we talk about lipstick! My gosh, I’m increasingly bypassing my usual light coloured gloss, slapped on as I leave the house and gravitating towards …. RED glosses and lipstick. This thinner face seems to require it and it feel totally fabulous.

Hello,
Excuse me for jumping in but I’m surprised to read about anyone taking Phentermine. This has been banned in the UK for nearly 20 years because of its side-effects; is it actually prescribed by doctors in Australia?
Just professional interest!
P xx