Here is a link to the sbs insight show. If the link doesn’t work, I googled how to beat your type 2 diabetes and clicked on the video tab. The sbs show came up as a youtube option. I can’t get it on the sbs catch up.

https://youtu.be/44fgRi4SfnY

Thank you for the boot cheerleading, Sue. It worked like a charm. 😀

https://s8.postimg.org/h8mqmrst1/modboots.jpg

jimnz, would you be so kind as to post the link to the M Mosely interview on SBS TV….have been searching for it and would like to watch it again, but cannot seem to find it….does not come up in the Google searches I have done.

Thanks so much in advance.
LTC

We do all carry and lose weight differently – I’m in the middle of Week 5 (first round) and my feet are now almost skeletal, I seem to have knee bones, but my tummy and hips are still hanging in there.

Sunshine-girl – I think the only answer for under my eyes would be injectable spakfilla 😂. I’m just going to embrace the bags.

Surreymaggie and Veerle,

ME TOO. 4 days at 72.2, one at 71.9 and now 2 days at 72.1. No change to eating or exercise patterns, Extremely boring! My legs and arms are visibly thinner than 7 days ago and clothes looser all over. No doubt our bodies are just doing whatever they need to do make the next leap downwards. I think I’ll try on some of my ‘should fit soon’ clothes.

Hi sunshine-girl. Thank you. Couldn’t agree more. Where I was expecting OH to suggest we revert to ‘normal’ he’s quite the opposite and keen to continue to develop it as a WOE. Same for me. I saw some photos today and realised I’ve been struggling to shift my spare tyre for 9 years. Two months on this diet has shifted 2 stone (each) and lowered blood pressure. The thought of going back is incentive enough to stick with it.

Hi Jim, thanks for your comments. I’ve really had to pick up the cooking thing. I never bothered as a kid and since getting married work has rather got in the way. Its been easier to add an extra round of sandwiches/ladle of pasta and skip the veggies. Lesson learnt, and digested!

We are making this a joint lifestyle change, and feeling better. Yippee! Fingers crossed for the bloods – we’ll carry on regardless, as it’s definitely working 🙂

Oh one more,

I woke up this morning to a message in my garmin connect that read, ‘Do you want to see what a healthy sleeping looks like?’. Of course I clicked yes …

Next screen displayed MY 7 day sleep charts with the message ‘This! You are a champion sleeper’. This is such a turn around for me, so important, I actually teared up.

Here are mine for today –

I woke up this morning –

1. With that happy, warm feeling I get when I have spent time with good friends

2. With that slightly surprised, powerful, just a little impressed with myself feeling when I have stuck to my guns and resolve

3 RAIN!!!

Do you count carbs at all or just calories? When I first started measuring and counting everything I was shocked to find out how many vegetables are high in carbs. Your carb intake may be higher than you realize even without eating any of the superbads like wheat, rice and sugar. Dairy milk, for example, is high in sugar. If you drink it at all (and I would investigate substitutes like hemp, soy and almond milk, if I were you), before bed is probably the worst time since you won’t cushion the sugar blow with slower to digest foods as you would during a full meal. Count your carbs. I bet you’ll find a few nasties there that might be at least part of the reason you felt impelled to eat all that sugary chocolate.

You’re doing great, though, as your excellent weight loss proves. With a few tweaks to be sure you know where exactly you stand, I think you are very well positioned to attain your goals. 🙂

Morning all,

Just to report in, yesterday evening Christmas drinks gathering with girlfriends went brilliantly. Not drinking the beautiful champagnes was just not an issue for anyone and while I had a few pangs when an exceptional Tasmanian sparkling white was opened, I thought if swatting gnats, and was fine. Definitely enjoyed some extra cheese but otherwise I happily topped up glasses, passed around crackers etc. I feel confident my resolve will hold over the weekend dive trip coming up.

In other news, after one glorious day in the 71 kilos (71.9 😂) my weight has bounced up to 72.1 the last two days. So, excluding the 71.9 day, that’s a week at 72.2 or 72.1. So, good to know I am totally normal!

Also no cereal wheat sugar or similar. Just meat and veg and a small bit of cheese.

Thank you guys!!

My daily calories are 800 with no more than 850 or less than 750. If I’m low I have a glass of milk before bed.

I’ve been eating lots of veg and I’m really enjoying it. Grilled peppers with a sprinkle of feta is sooo good! I definitely need to drink more though, so thank you!

Before now I was certainly addicted to carbs. I have quite a stressful life at the moment so it’s easy to emotionally eat. I also managed a 20 min and 30 minute run on Monday and Tuesday. Rest day yesterday.

Thank you all for the encouragement. It definitely helps! I hope you guys are all doing well. I certainly feel healthier, less sluggish and in control of myself which is such a good feeling.

What are your daily carb counts? Are you still eating anything in the wheat, grain, cereals, rice, root veg and sugar categories? A sugar binge so early in the game is likely driven by carb addiction. A lot of people experience intense cravings for junk when they first cut them out of their diet. They get headaches, fatigue, aches and pains. That’s known as the carb flu. There is only one remedy for it and that’s to grit your teeth and tough it out. It doesn’t last long. You have to detox from carbs or you’ll just keep eating them instead of actually doing the BSD.

I wouldn’t worry about plateaus. You have far more pressing issues to address right now. Losses come and go at different rates. You roll with the punches and keep focused on your goals.

As far as your hunger is concerned, turn to fat and fiber. Some foods like flax seeds, chia seeds and avocado have lots of fiber and healthy Omega-3 fats. Add the seeds to salads and yogurt for an easy boost. Broccoli, spinach, rapini and leafy cooking greens like collards and mustard greens are high in fiber. Steam them and sautee quickly with a tsp of high quality olive oil and a grating of parmesan for a very filling dish. You can pile those types of veggies high on the plate to get you over the transition from your old ways to the BSD way of eating.

Good luck!

Thank you Allie for your endorsement of my eating plan! I think it’s fairly balanced, but it’s always good to get someone else’s feedback! We have cheddar in the fridge (I do courgettes and tomatoes – slices layered in a dish, seasoned with a teaspoon of pesto (slice the veg in a processor and then mix thoroughly with the pesto before layering) topped by a thin sprinkling of cheddar and a (VERY) few panko crumbs. Do this about once a fortnight. Today, having looked at an almost bare fridge (shop due tomorrow) we also did stuffed egg to have with salad – mixed hardboiled yolk with a little mayo (less than a tsp) and fat free greek yogurt, a thin fine grating of cheddar and a dash of Lea and Perrins and piled back into halved whites (I love these, and they taste quite indulgent!). I love blue cheese, and Brie (and others too) but I daren’t buy it as I would eat the lot in one! However, have promised myself a TINY portion of blue for Christmas, which I am going to eat in a stick of celery (rather than water biscuits!). In any case, cooked cheese in any quantity sets off my gall bladder, so I’m not tempted to overdo that, or I end up in pain for days.

I think I might follow your lead and try and add the almonds – I do have a few flaked ones with my berries and yogurt for pudding, but I’m wary of overdoing them, again because of the gall bladder. I could have it out, but it seems to me that I’m better off keeping it – there can be side effects after removal, and knowing that if I start to overindulge on fats I will end up in pain, seems an easy way of keeping some control over that. I know full fat is encouraged, but I’m not sure OVERdoing fats is good either. I might try the 1/4 avocado too – I think my system will be fine with that – though maybe not every day to begin with.

So looking forward to seeing my daughter next week. We visited her in New York in June (middle of a heatwave so not the best time to have chosen!) and I was still my 14 stone self then. We’re picking her up from the airport, so not sure she’ll notice immediately with me sitting in the car bundled up in a warm coat, but hopefully she will notice at some point! I’ve gone down almost three dress sizes, so even my somewhat unobservant daughter should notice that!

I am so impressed with your weight loss – and maintenance! Every time I’ve dieted previously, it’s gone back on again, but firstly, given the diabetes diagnosis I know that I can’t afford to go back to old ways (and doing without pasta and bread – cheese even – is so much better than living without my sight or my feet, and that for me is the most powerful driver) and then, this WOE is so easy to do. I don’t feel deprived or hungry. Discovered so many new dishes that I really enjoy, and which are healthy. I don’t think my diet was too bad before (ate plenty of fruit and veg) but of course it did include carbs. Luckily I didn’t really drink anyway – never have – so I didn’t have to worry about that – I only ever drank tap water in restaurants (ok, so the occasional cocktail to start – but only two or three times a year) and I’ve never been a cake or biscuit fan (except the water biscuits and cheese – I could go through half a packet of those at a time with a slab of cheese!). And working from home makes lunches easy. Plus, I live with my sister, and she has adapted to my way of eating even though she’s not diabetic (losing a stone in the process) so I don’t have anyone else clamouring for “proper” food. We binned or took to the food bank all the biscuits, pasta, rice etc, so no temptations around. So I am very aware that perhaps it’s been an easier path for me to take that it is for some others who don’t have such good support around.

Will post daughter’s reaction!

Best wishes
Liz

emu
Heaps of encouragement to you both. I started on this new way of living on March 16 2016 and am enjoying the change. I have never been prescribed metformin and neither have I ever been given insulin.
So far, I have lost 20 kg and that has been almost entirely diet. Exercise has been spasmodic – an occasional 30 minute brisk walk.
I love my new way of cooking vegetables. One evening, I do a big stir fry in olive oil in a wok. Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and parsnips are first par boiled for a few minutes in water. Meanwhile, onion, capsicums (sometimes all four colours), mushroom, zucchini, are set in the wok with the oil and a touch of salt and black pepper. When the other vegetables are slightly tender, the water is drained off and they are added to the wok. I usually prepare enough for that evening and then place the remainder in take-away containers in the fridge for the next two or three nights. The next night, that evening’s veges are re-heated in the microwave on “Sensor reheat”. Delicious.

Two nights ago, I served a small piece of salmon to my wife, and I had some Vietnamese Basa fish from the local supermarket. Gently fried in olive oil, they are both delicious.
Breakfast for me is usually rolled oat porridge. However, sometimes, I grill a portabello mushroom and cook a scrambled egg and drop that on top. When my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, I took over the cooking of all meals. Fortunately her treatment was successful and, thanks to our government funding of a year’s Herceptin, the outlook is good.

Two days ago, I went to see our diabetes nurse at the medical centre. Last year, I had given her two video references to view. One was Dr Michael Mosely’s interview on SBS TV in Australia; the second was a TED X talk from Purdue University by Dr Sarah Hallberg on youtube. Her talk was entitled “Reversing Type 2 Diabetes starts by ignoring the guidelines” Both videos are well worth studying.
The diabetes nurse told me that she is a real fan of Michael Mosley. BTW my last few HBA1C readings have been consistently around 4.0 or 4.1 Blood pressure was 120 / 60. She said that, provided I retain my present dietary discipline, I have successfully reversed diabetes.

Bread is now down to one slice per day with the early morning cup of tea. Potatoes – never. Rice and Pasta likewise. Tea or coffee are both taken black without sugar.

This 77 year old has never felt better.
Good luck to you both – emu and OH!
Jim

Well Amy eating 350 cals of chocolate is easily done – what 2 or 3 chocolates – put it behind you and get on with this way of eating. You are doing so well so dont let that slip up discourage you. As for plateau, normally about week 3 but will happen several times, say week 3 week 7 week 10, whenever your body needs to adjust to its new weight and food regime. Constipation wont help either and may seem like you are not losing much, you are just keeping it inside. It will pass, drink lots of water and maybe sprinkle some chia seeds on a morning yoghurt. I still swear by Andrews Liver Salts for really bad times. Yes you can still buy them.

Hi there, just two observations. If your hubbys HbA1c comes back still at 6 then this diet is still for him. If it comes back lower and the diagnosis is overturned then this diet is still for him. This has been a warning and eating this way should become a way of life even if you allow an occasional cheat. Good luck for the blood test.

Eliza52, thanks for including the details of your nutrition plan. It’s actually the closest
to mine that I’ve seen yet, which is to say that it looks extremely healthy to me 🙂 🙂 🙂
I also eat wild fish 2-3 x per week, for the heart benefits of the omega 3 fatty acids,
which aren’t the same fats that are in animal based protein. Perhaps that is why you
don’t have gallbladder pain associated with eating it? I eat 1/4 avocado @ 5 x per
week, and about 8 almonds per day, both for the plant based healthy fats. The rest
of my proteins consist of free range chicken breast (and eggs), fat free organic
greek yogurt (which isn’t recommended here, I know, but I don’t care for the taste
of the full fat version) pastured steak 1 x month and pork tenderloin 1 x month
because o/h needs the variety. In cooking, I only use xv olive oil or avocado oil
when I need to sear something at high temp (much higher smoke point!) I never
eat sausage, bacon, etc. For the veg, lots of cruciferous vegetables and spinach.
Now that I’m in maintenance, I allow roasted root veg., but in small quantities, i.e.,
1/2 a 6″ carrot, or 1/2 a small beet, or 1/4 c. of squash. This suits our lifestyle,
as o/h has very advanced coronary artery disease. We haven’t eaten any cheese
since 6/2016 because neither of us have any portion control with the stuff or bread
either, for the same reason! All the “white stuff” went in the bin in 2016. You’ve
done extremely well thus far, so I hope taking a multivitamin helps you. If I’m
remembering correctly, you’d like to lose another stone? I sincerely hope that
you will share your daughter’s reaction when she arrives! My “version” of the
BSD has allowed me to lose 10+ stone and successfully maintain that loss for
7 months and counting. A lot of us maintainers increased our calories as suggested
in the previous post and continued to lose a bit more until reaching our TDEE. There
are a number of members of the community who are able to eat considerably more!
I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts, so I hope you remain with us.
This is a beautifully flexible plan, and well suited to special health needs.
Best wishes,
Allie

1. I am so enjoying the extra energy I have. –

2. I had hoped that having lost 16k so far I would be ready to throw away my ‘fat’ clothes. I am not, but maybe thats a good thing, I have a lot of redecorating to do, so I can do that and hopefully by then I will be down another dress size.

3. Having enough socks so that matching them up is a chore. – This may sound like a strange one, but I sometimes have youth groups from disadvantaged backgrounds staying in my holiday let taking part in activity holidays. I always make sure the dehumidifier is available in the drying room for these groups because often they only have one pair of shoes or two pairs of socks to their name.

Thank you to everyone for your repsonses. Allie, I agree about supplements. My usual attitude is that if you need supplements there’s something wrong with your diet! However, I decided that given the low overall consumption (with 800 cals you’re not eating large quantites of ANYthing, even some of the goodies) I would take a multivitamin “just in case” I was missing out on enough of something. Thank you too for the link on vitamins. I think on the whole my diet is fairly balanced. I have an egg most days for breakfast (along with either mushrooms and aubergine, or mushrooms and tomatoes, or celeriac rosti and tomatoes), oily fish a couple of times a week, other fish too (cod for example). I eat other meats – steak about once a fortnight, chicken, pork, turkey, lamb, ham – plus some pulses, or soy proteins (veggie sausages). Veg too, I eat a large bag of spinach at least in a week, cabbage, celeriac, aubergine, peppers, small amounts of carrot (half in a stir fry or coleslaw), mushrooms, red onions, courgettes, tomatoes, spring onions. Occasionally I have a little avocado…but I have to be careful as i have a dodgy gall bladder and some high fat things set it off (oddly, salmon doesn’t!) I have red berries (strawberries or raspberries, sometimes blueberries) most evenings and a small (kids) apple in a salad or a coleslaw. I have pumpkin seeds in salads, and a few nuts here and there (again, not too many or it sets off the gall bladder). I can’t eat flax unfortunately (or only about a teaspoonful, as that seems to be the worst for the gallbladder oddly). I don’t count anything (I did for the first two or three weeks, but now I think I have a feel for it – at the end of the day, we tend to repeat the same things on a rotational basis, so working it out all the time seems pointless (for me anyway – I know that for others it’s essential to do it, which is fine. I think we all find our own ways of doing things). I’m sure I don’t go much below 800 but not much over either – and the weight continues to come off, though rather slower than it did in the beginning obviously. And my blood results are really good, so I figure on the whole I must to doing the right thing. I don’t feel hungry (or very rarely) feel healthy, don’t sleep as well as I should (but that’s the cat’s fault!) but manage to work full time (run our own business from home). I think I will maybe try and put up the calories a little at a time (I think your idea Mixnmatch of 50 cals a day seems like a good start) and I am reasonably confident my hair WILL grow back!

Thanks Marie123.

We braved the GP yesterday (I say ‘we’ as OH is hard of hearing and I attend appointments to make sure nothing is missed/misunderstood). Relieved to say when OH said “i’ve followed the reverse your diabetes book, i want a new hba1c” the GPs face broke into smile and he’s pleasantly surprised at what has been achieved so far. New blood test booked for next Wednesday … who knows when results will be available! But will report back when we know more. We’re hoping for something around the 39 he got from the home test kit, apparently ‘normal’ is 33-34 – so that’s the next target!

Also good news, the GP said he would only make a formal diagnosis if the second test comes back at 48+ … so fingers crossed. That did come with the caveat that if he’s reversed the problem he should return for annual tests to make sure nothing starts to creep up again and to be aware of the symptoms just in case.

All of which means OH is feeling quite perky. We were planning an out of scope meal on Monday (a birthday celebration) but this has been postponed until Wednesday (after hba1c) so there’s no question of interference. (We know hba1c is ‘long term’ but who’d risk it?)

Emu x

I need to confess. I’m only on day 5 and this morning I ate 350cals of chocolate. I feel so guilty but hoping my confession on here will help get me back on track!
Otherwise, I’ve lost 3.4kg in the 5 days and I’ve been struggling to cope with the lack of food. Green tea has been useful for hunger pangs! I also noticed I’m constipated which I hate!

Im worries about this plateau. When does it happen? I need to not let it demotivate me!

Hello Eliza52 – your experience is sounding similar to mine. After around 12 weeks of c850 cals and over 2 1/2 st lost I shed like crazy for about 2 months. Ironically the start of this episode coincided with me increasing my intake to around 1300 – 1400 cals (I’m a little taller than you at 5ft 7). I’m no authority but I suspect that the body’s messaging to follicles has quite a long lead time! Another 3 months on and my hair is still there, I’m down another 2st but can’t really tell whether regrowth has started. I think that my advice is to nudge up the calories a little (800 really isn’t very much), be patient and don’t worry too much about it unless it keeps falling out beyond say 2-3 months or seems to accelerate. Meantime expand your hat collection for the chilly weather – I have one bought in May just before my my shedding spell that is now too big; I’m a bit miffed!

Smaus

Hi Verano,
Tried your trick of adding ginger to my soy and olive oil steelhead. I also added a touch of garlic. I used my usual open broil technique and it was excellent. Tasty and moist with a nice crust.
I’m not a big fan of fresh coriander so I didn’t try that.
Jan

Hi veerle
I, too, had an odd week, weight-wise. I was doing well, losing 1kg between Sunday and Friday, then putting 900g back by Saturday! So, on Sunday, net loss for the week was 400g. Since then, I have lost a further 500g so am still not back to where I was this time last week. However, my husband has noticed my legs look slimmer, so I can only hope I am still going in the right direction. I have another week to go before we travel to Northern Ireland for Christmas, and I will be unable to weigh myself for a week.
(Another by-product of me going back onto the BSD is that my husband, whose elevated blood sugars brought us to try the programme successfully last year, has retested and his readings have risen again to show “pre-diabetic” range, so he is trying to cut down on wine and crisps. This will help me as well as, hopefully, bringing his readings down again. He is a typical TOFI whereas I am just fat and had a lot more to lose than he ever had.)
Onward and downward -hopefully – I am hoping to be “only” overweight, as opposed to obese, soon.
Maggie

SunnyB so sorry to hear about your parents there’s nothing worse than having your home violated. I hope they are ok. Yes I am with you I also should be in a ‘sunny’ place too but at least I have missed the last three weeks of winter!

Yes Allie I am in Spain but in the Canaries not on the mainland so the weather here is still warm all year round but more importantly we get maybe 2 hours more daylight!

Well I’m off home later this morning and sad to leave the sun but ….
1. I have managed to stay a fraction under the weight I was three weeks ago.
2. I feel ready to start eating more carefully despite the time of year.
3. I’m feeling bright at the the thought of the festive season ahead.
Thanks for your good wishes! And have a good day.

Merry Christmas all January starters. As our anniversaries come round, what a year we have had ! Here am I now living with seaside grandad in our new home. We moved house a week ago and it was hard work, but I’m so much fitter. I don’t think I could have managed nearly so well at 3 stone heavier. I have eaten non BSD food occasionally during the first week surrounded by boxes because we have had to buy takeaways. On the whole though I’ve stuck to the low carb way of eating.

It’s also been lovely to unpack my nice size 12 clothes and hang them up. I used to have a selection of sizes, but the big ones are all sold or given away long before the move. My new wardrobe just holds what fits and I’m certainly not planning on filling our new house with anything bigger !

DCT – brillliant news that you have dropped below 10 stone ! I’ve been on a plateau for ages too, but finally the scales have been kind and I’ve lost 2 lbs. I think moving house has helped ! Non stop exercise for a week ! I’m going to a wedding on Saturday and I’m hoping my dress I wore for the races in August will be looser on me than it was then.

Sue Blue, thanks for your observation about how weight takes time to stabilise at a new low. It certainly seems to be the case with BSD, but the good news is that it seems to stay off !

Cathy I do hope you have a fabulous time in the USA. Your family will be impressed by your new shape !

Theodora, so lovely that you still keep us up to date with your maintenance, half a stone of wriggle Room sounds good, it’s what I’m aiming for when I finally get to my goal.

I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Hi, eliza, my experience with hair loss is posted above. Two more months have passed
since that post, and I still have no current problems with it. Before upping calories, please
read the following link. I don’t advocate for vitamin capsules in lieu of whole food,
however. If you search google for “foods highest in x” you should be able to adjust
your diet to compensate for any nutrient deficiencies without having to abandon your
weight loss objectives. Sometimes in an attempt to keep carbs really really low the
yellow/orange vegetables are abandoned, and that’s where the vit. A (betacarotene)
is found, very important for skin and hair! If you would tell us how many grams of
protein you average per day also, we can take a look at any shortfall there as well.
But first, have a read through on vitamins that affect the health of our hair 🙂

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-vitamins-hair-growth#section3

Hope there is something there that may give you some insight beyond what the
NHS has to offer.

Best wishes,

Allie

Great JackieM…let me know how you liked it. I love the stuff.

Hi Sueonit

Just about to go to bed, so won’t be long but wanted to give a big shout out to you – 3lbs off this week is great but dropping down into the next stone is fantastic. You must be thrilled and deservedly so! If I could post one of those emojis ?!? I would, but I can’t so I won’t.

Marie x

Even if you still want to lose another stone there may be some benefit in increasing your calories, with suitably nutritious foods in the short term and see if that helps the hair loss. My advice would be to increase the calories gradually, anywhere between 50 calories per week or about 300 (I used 50 calories per day which works out at about 260 calories per week extra) seems to help the body to adjust to the higher calories. Use a lot of variety, particularly in vegetables and fruits to try to bolster any trace nutrition you may be short of and above all don’t panic. You may well find you continue to lose weight during the calorie increase stage, and even if you don’t, you can always do another 4 weeks or so later when your metabolism is more reactive and any trace minerals have been replenished. Good luck with whatever you decide.

So glad I decided to search for “hair loss” on the forum to discover I’m not alone! As Jillf said, there’s quite a bit about it on the net, but nothing very authoritative. However it does seem a likely cause – I’ve lost 3 stone in just over 3 months, and haven’t really strayed much from my 800 a day. I don’t count, but I’m fairly sure I don’t go much above 900 ever. I do eat plenty of protein which seems to be one piece of advice, and veg, and I take a daily multivit (just in case!) I did go through a moulting phase about 30 odd years ago (no idea why), which scared me at the time, but it did stop and hair grew back. Someone once told me that if you can see little hairs growing at the hairline, there’s basically nothing to worry about, as it indicates new hair coming through (if it falls out with no sign of replacement, that could indicate alopecia). I keep asking my sister (we live together) if it looks thin, and she insists it doesn’t – I think other people have written similar things here, that no-one else seems to notice even though it’s dropping out at an alarming rate, and running my fingers through me my hair, I can really feel a difference!

I wonder if I should start to up the calories, but I still want to lose another stone (I’m 5″ 5 and 11 st 1 and “ideal” according to NHS is between 8st and 10 st 11 and I think I should aim for around 10 stone), and the weight is still coming down at about 2 lbs a week. I mostly don’t feel hungry, feel really well in fact, and I worry slightly that increasing calories will mean I put the weight back on….and I REALLY don’t want to do that! Equally I don’t want ALL my hair to fall out! Almost doubling my current calorie intake (which is what NHS reckons would be a healthy amount) I feel fairly certain would lead to massive weight gain! Or are my fears ungrounded? How has everyone else managed when trying to up the calories?

I have ouchies, went to an HIIT class at the local gym, followed by a reasonably gentle cool down on a cross trainer in the gym then a couple of hours later did my usual Wednesday double badminton for the last time before January. I unfortunately went over on my ankle in the second session and banged my knee as well and it hurts, both the knee and the ankle are burning! ! I am trying to keep them both moving but am expecting major stiffness at least in the morning. Found a letter from six years ago today, inviting me for a free NHS health check so I am going to make an appointment. I am not sure why it disappeared six years ago to only be rediscovered now, but probably can blame denial since I would have been at least 17 stone then. It will be interesting to get some feedback on blood levels and health factors you all talk about, it is probably a decade since I last went to the doc’s. Welcome to the party Jim and well done being perfect sunshine-girl, and Verano, you are doing so well, I am sure that 2018 will be very special for you. It is always a pleasure ‘talking’ to you all.

S-g 2018 will be our year!

Weird week last week. Despite sticking to the eating plan rigorously all week, and doing its of running alternate days, weight stayed the same all week. Eventually I checked with FitnessPal whether I was eating more calories than thought, but no, calculations each day came to 800-850. I do notice my clothes being much more loose though, and my body looking slimmer.
Eventually at the weekend I had an upset stomach (not sure why), with pain each time I ate, so I went a day with hardly any food. That made the weight drop (but not in a planned way), so overall 1 kilo down over the week

This is a week of work meetings and hotel again, with people around me eating so much and frequently. It’s easy to stay away from carbs, but I probably eat bigger portions than if I was at home.

Funny old day, all going well food wise until after the gym. I’m in a fuming mood about a Governor thing (I’m Chair of a Governor’s at a local school) and other people’s sheer lack of organisation and lack of vision is driving me nuts (impotent to change it sadly – at least in short term). I thought the gym was the place to vent as I hadn’t been for a couple of weeks because of a cold, but despite enjoying session I Then willfully came home and Wilfully and with Rebellion in my heart ate nearly 100g of dark chocolate and not even 90% – a mix of 70% and 85% and I went to the shops especially for the latter. Of course, compared to the bad old days this is nothing, but it’s clear I still have some way to go on the ‘not finding answers through eating’. Came home and stuffed face with beef stew and yoghurt and chia seeds. Only now feeling satiated and ready to stop.

On a more positive note, Am trying a new thing of not eating after 7pm or before 10am. Not quite the full 16 hrs but best fit with how my days go. So, it’s 19.06 and the end of my eating day. I could happily go to bed now! Sadly I’ve mistimed the online shop and the van won’t be here until between 9 – 10pm.

Luvtcook you have made me very happy. Discovered chia seeds 2 weeks ago and am obsessed with them, in fact just finished my yoghurt and chia seeds. I’m, definitely doing this tomorrow for breakfast!

Thanks V, having just finish my second Mindfulness course I should know more about self compassion and not do myself down so much. The results were good but not as good as the time before or the time before that. What is different, I have to ask myself. Well I am about 4 or 5 kgs heavier, always saying the weight didn’t make much difference to me maybe that is what I should rethink.

When I get back home on 31st Dec I will be straight onto a full 8 week starting from scratch BSD to get rid of a few kilos.

Hi All, some fantastic tips and recipes posted on this forum from a very positive group😊I have great news to share 3lbs off in week 2👍
It was so helpful imagining foods I didn’t want to eat covered in yellow visceral fat!!! The mind can be so powerful💪 I completed my fast and that really helped me focus on what choices I made. YIPEEEEE! And a little dance 💃 I have dropped into a lower stone!! I can’t post my weight yet (it feels heavy)but next year as I get my weight lower my confidence will improve.
Thankyou to all I hope everyone is battling on.. not long too go! 😊

HIGH FIBER HOT CHIA PORRIDGE

It is freezing cold with blustery winds today on the east coast of the US…perfect time for hot porridge. Here is a warming and very filling low carb one that it my go to in the winter.

High Fiber Hot Chia Porridge

Perfect warmer upper in cold weather
Yield: Serves 1
Ingredients
• 2 Tbsp chia seed
• 2 Tbsp flax seed meal
• half pinch of salt
• 6 Tbsp boiling water
• 1 Tbsp nut butter (optional) …peanut butter, almond butter, etc

Instructions
1. In a small bowl, stir together chia seed, flax seed meal & tiny pinch of salt
2. Top with the 1 Tbsp of nut butter
3. Add boiling water, stir and let sit for 2-3 minutes.

Delicious topped with a drizzle of heavy cream. In the winter I also add a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup and a bit of chopped walnuts.

In the warmer months I let the porridge cool a bit and top with heavy cream, fresh berries and sliced almonds.

For lower calories you could of course use almond or hemp seed milk.

Serves 1. Each serving (without optional toppings) has a total of 309 calories and 18 g of carbs and 18 g of fiber! Total NET CARBS = 0 g. And yes it will keep you full and satisfied as a meal.

S-g great result! Maybe you are expecting too much of yourself. He’s happy so you should be too. What a great way to end the year. Did you have slow release metformin last time? Anyway, given that metformin only reduces your BG by 10-15% maybe you could persuade him to let you ditch the insulin and just try to control by diet? Something to think about and aim for in 2018! For the moment just enjoy a successful year and enjoy your holiday …. but without too many treats!

Jim,

What a wonderful response.

Hmm, considering what you’ve said about the 5:2 Fast Diet I think I might be better staying on BSD. Being able to eat relatively freely on some days wouldn’t end well for me. But, being on 800 cals/20 carbs for 5 months is enough for me just now, so I think I’ll slowly increase my calories for a few weeks and then start 8 weeks again early in the New Year.

Thank you for sharing your background. You’ve described your story beautifully. We were saying the other day just how deeply riven those emotional connections are between food, and childhood, people and places. And, even when you know what you’re doing, how hard it is to stop. I definitely know that one!

I’m glad you’ve joined this thread.
Marie x

Oh SunnyB, what a miserable experience for your parents! I’m sure that you are very
grateful that they weren’t at home or sustained any injuries. They certainly will feel
violated and vulnerable for awhile though. We had our Jeep Grand Cherokee (SUV)
stolen from the driveway in the wee hours of the morning a few years ago. A group
of miscreants took it and 2 others of the same make and model, drove them to a
deserted area, and set them on fire. We got to see the charred remains on the evening
news broadcast the following evening. So senseless! No one likes to feel that
vulnerable, particularly those of us who are aging.

Eliza52, congratulations on getting rid of the meds, not to mention the loss of 42lbs!
I hope you feel wonderful. If your daughter is at all emotional, there may be a few
tears in her eyes when she first sees you. She will be both shocked and overjoyed
to see the new you 🙂

Verano, putting no holiday weight on in 3 weeks away is a real victory. Cheers!
Happy Birthday to you. Enjoy everything about your celebration with friends. Are you
still in Spain? I’m not sure if you actually told us that was your destination, or I just
assumed it because I know you enjoy being there.

Wishing everyone a fine day 🙂

Allie

Hi Marie123,
I will carry on with the BSD after New Year, and the reason I started on the BSD is to try and get some discipline into my eating. I found the 5:2 Fast Diet too easy and didn’t seem to work for me, allowing me to eat too much good on plan food on non-fast days. I feel that the BSD helps me to focus on basic needs and reinforces the amount of food that I was overeating. I had a sticker on my fridge that stated “Whatever You Are Looking For It is Not In Here”, didn’t make any difference, I still went looking for something to put in my mouth and I feel that that is tied into my upbringing. Having been born just after the war when food was scarce and my family were seriously poor, we savoured every morsel of food and on a few occasions were clinically hungry but not in any danger as we were living in the country there was always rabbits to catch or someone in the extended family would give us some fish that they caught. I can remember when the salmon were running up-river we had it every day for a fortnight until we were sick of it. But this insecurity left me with a dread of feeling hungry, and my mum had been a cook in a big country house before the war and could turn out some amazing meals with seemingly few ingredients and whenever I said after a meal “that was smashing mum”, she beamed with pleasure. Having said all this I have always associated a full stomach with being in a safe place and have eaten in the past until my stomach has ached whenever things were not going right in my life.
I have used this information over the years to cut down on my food consumption but still for over the last twenty years mostly ate good stuff, but always too much. And a lot of the so called good stuff was high carb, which had been recommended on the eatwell plate by the powers that be, so it had to be good for you, and if it was good for you then more was even better. If only we had known about this plan 30 years ago, how much better would our health be and how much would the NHS, have saved in the past decades. There is so much to take in with all the advice on here I am so glad I stumbled on this forum, and thank you all for your innate good sense and empathy.
Jim

Thanks for all the loud talking, as requested, (I do love this forum) but I have to now ask for it again tomorrow night. Late change of plans tonight but, as I need to give the rocky road to my friends on Sunday, then tomorrow night is deadline for making, Friday night for chopping/wrapping, Saturday is my time with granddaughter for her 17th birthday (our customary annual Nana+Holly day) then to “Symphony in the City” our favourite annual outdoor concert by the Swan River. Can’t miss that! And, I will need to concoct after full days at the cricket … the Ashes are in town, woohoo:) We are going to the WACA for the first two days and fifth day if it lasts that long. (Apologies to anyone from US, Canada etc who don’t get the reference). Missing days 3 and 4 of the match is awful but we have big clashes with other important things. Life just gets busier!

I’ve just read that back and I sound rather manic so I’ll stop now. “Night all xx

ps Just saw your post s-g, great reaction from Dr Dishy. So pleased for you x

Hello, I’m back again. Just been to see lovely doctor and he says I am perfect – I think he means my results are perfect. When I pointed out it was in the diabetic area, he said if I wasn’t diabetic he would be worried that I was heading that way but I am so all is okay. It is like saying I am only just diabetic. He says I expect too much of myself and when I told him how much insulin I was on he said it was hardly worth bothering with, he would take me off completely if I could stomach metformin. Maybe I should try it again but it gave me 24/24 hr sh–ts and I dont want that again. So, I will keep on keeping on… and in the new year try for new lows. Also I had lost 1.5kg since my last visit. That was major for me as I have been creeping up.

Mokovex, I showed him the numbers on my machine and he said it is what he would expect and I could do no better.
Regarding your cholesterol, are you on any medication as that is quite high. Do not despair, when I started on this plan my cholesterol was up in the high 6’s and some 6 months later was down in the 3’s. Doctor picky makes me have a test very 6 months because he is still unsure of this diet when I tell him I eat fat. Teasing him really I should say good fats and oils. It is the only thing that has ever brought my numbers down along with my triglycerides which used to be scary high and now under the normal bar.

Hi Mokovex.I always have a high cholesterol but when I ask for a cardiac risk factor calculation including blood pressure its ok.Im quite low risk . I don’t have diabetes yet and I refuse all medications and quite a few tests.Im trying to treat diet related conditions with diet.If I have tests its only when I want to do something about the results. IF I don’t have symptoms and feel fine , I refuse tests and only go to doctors every 2 years .thats just me I want to be responsible for myself.
Well done to everyone posting so well at this busy time of the year.

I veer towards to ‘glass half empty’ myself, Verano – especially in the grey and chilly winter months – definitely should have been born somewhere hot and sunny! In case I forget, all best wishes for your birthday on Sunday and for the coming year.

Struggling a bit to think of positives today, as I heard this morning that my parents were burgled yesterday. The house was ransacked, the safe and laptop taken and all of Mum’s gold jewellery. On the upside, some one saw the burglars acting suspiciously in an adjacent street and speeding off in a car. They took the reg number and immediately reported it to the police. So, by the time the police were taking statements from Mum and Dad, another team had tracked the burglars and it looks like some, if not all, of the property taken may have been recovered.

So, I guess the two main positives to take from that is:
1) There are still people who will make the effort to question things that look suspicious and report put themselves out to report it- i.e. to get involved.
2) The burglary happened when Mum and Dad weren’t in the house and they are physically safe and sound.

A final one from me today: ‘Only one principle will give you courage, that is the principle that no evil lasts forever nor indeed for very long.’ – Epicurus (341 – 271 B.C.)

soo, Feb – cholesterol 7, today 6.8. Will admit to feeling more than a smidge disappointed.

Things I have thunk:

1. I actually did way more damage (hit the Haribo hard) between Feb-August 2017 so possibly it was higher than 7 when I began BSD?
2. I don’t know the breakdown of the numbers, LDL & HDL.

So, group wisdom, anyone experienced anything like this? I have probably had high cholesterol for years (3+) Any thoughts or things you may have read on how long it takes to bring that number down? Is it slower if it has been high for a long time? Any particular foods it is good to eliminate or restrict? Have you done anything that has worked?

On the positive side, all of my other stats are good. BMI, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, hip/waist (0.78 when I measured this am, 0.8 when gym chappie measured) my resting heart rate is low, and my Vo2 max is EXCELLENT!!!!!! (legs do under the table jig in Starbucks). He was impressed and just said to keep on.

Thanks for tips on snacks. It is cold here Marie123, an unusually snowy UK. Might give the Fage yoghurt snack a go. Well done on your loss for this challenge. Brilliant!

Sunshine girl – way to go! Would your doctor accept ‘unofficial’ numbers? Let us know how the appointment goes.

x

Sorry to hear things are still problematic for you, Theo. Hope you have a good journey home and ‘the boys’ are pleased to see you – just know they will be! Being around them will probably help to reduce the stress levels a little. Keeping everything crossed that your family problems will soon be resolved, you and your OH will be able to relax together and life will return to normal. Will look forward to you popping in as time permits, meanwhile we will be thinking about you.

I’m doing okay. Unexpected 1.2lb drop registered on the scales this morning, which was a nice little bonus. Have a busy few days coming up with family though, which starts this evening through to Sunday, so no doubt that will be sneaking back on. Still nicely under target weight though, so taking it as it comes.