Well the ‘three day stable followed by a weight loss’ pattern of mine seems to be established. Today a 0.3kg loss. I am very happy with that and excitingly this takes me just past a total loss of 6kg which is a third of my revised weight loss goal of 18kg. Yippee! T-shirt stretched overhead while I run around in a soccer (football) style celebration.

Alibalibee – how are you going?

Great news Veiled1, good in you for sticking at it!

Hi Emu,

You replied to my own post recently over in the fast 800 forum as me and your OH seem to be in very similar positions. I can totally relate to the shock of a T2 diagnosis and the disappointment it can bring.

Just to give you an update and hopefully some positive motivation. I’ve had my second HAB1C test today (after 5 weeks on the fast 800/900). I too was keen to wait a bit longer to give time to let the diet work. Anyway it seems I needn’t have worried.

Crazy results I’m down from 49mmol (diabetic) to 33mmol (well into normal range). Oh and also 11kg (24lbs) lighter already. My GP (well nurse) experience has been very positive. They were open minded and endorsed a diet first approach Also they wouldn’t diagnose on a single test hence insisting on the retest. I’m not sure if they will suggest another in 3 months or so?

Early update after some fantastic blood results today. HAB1C down from 49mmol (6.6%) diabetic to 33mmol (5.2%) well into normal range!!! 😀🎉

Created a separate post. Still intend seeing this through to the 8 weeks and beyond. And will continue with updates. May allow a sneaky treat reward on Christmas Day to celebrate!

Had some surprising blood results back today. Wow…was not expecting such massive changes and so quickly. Dropping from diabetes range right down to the low end of normal! For now it means the GP/nurse won’t diagnose me as diabetic 😀. Appreciate that I’ve had a wake up call and will need to be weary and continue with a healthier eating way of life.

My Weight loss has been equally dramatic, already down 11kg (24lbs) by strictly to approx 800/900kcal a day. I will continue on the 800 for the full 8 weeks as planned (it really does get easier doesn’t it). Hoping to lose another few kg to get my BMI to 24ish. I’m conscious of the need to be cautious and will be interesting to see bloods after a return to higher calories and maybe a few more healthier complex carbs in moderation. Going to treat myself to a beer and maybe a chocolate or two on Christmas Day!!!

I was somewhat skeptical starting this but hopefully these results will help motivate others to stick with it hopefully and reap similar results.

😀

Just to provide an alternative perspective from someone who also has PCOS, I don’t sag in the afternoon, nor did I take baby steps. You don’t have to fall back into the habits that have kept your blood sugar readings in the stratosphere for two decades. Given your diagnosis, how long your BGLs have been dangerously high and your stated aim of controlling your diabetes and PCOS symptoms, I think it would be very much worth your while to cold-turkey this. Otherwise the carb craving cycle that stole your first day will just ignite all over again every day. In a lot of ways, I think it’s easier to be strict than it is to keep reintroducing sugars/grains/cereals etc. into your system.

Look at how great you’ve done already, dropping your carb count by a third to below 50 grams a day. All it took was knowledge and effort. Don’t underestimate yourself. You haven’t had it easy and you’re still here fighting. Trust in your competence and courage because you’ve already shown both in spades.

Just catching up on all of the posts! For some reason I’m no longer getting emails when a new post is added, although I am still subscribed.
I haven’t posted my week 1 loss yet, it was wait for it (drum rolls)… 100g or 0.22lb! Better than nothing I guess but disappointing as I’d had no wine at all for a week (usually have a few glasses a week). Maybe I’ll have a better loss in week 2.
Glad your horse is better Arcticfox. I had a realisation this week, was feeling unwell on Wednesday and had a really stressful situation at work (since resolved, but stressful at the time). I made myself a cup of tea and had a couple of biscuits. Now since starting BSD I NEVER eat biscuits, I wasn’t even hungry, and any other workday they are there in front of me but I barely notice them, am so used to not eating. But this day I reached for a couple without even thinking. And so it made me think that maybe it’s an automatic response from the brain.. so in times past when I’ve reached for chocolate, biscuits or cake when stressed/I’ll, my brain then accepts that as truth and it then in turn becomes an automatic response? I was so busy thinking about the situation, I wasn’t thinking about food, whereas normally (since starting BSD) I’m really aware of what I’m eating. Yes I do eat off plan foods now and then, but it’s usually a conscious decision to do so.
What reinforced the whole auto response thing too was the next day I went to put my ironing board away, and headed to the spot where I used to hang it – even though my husband installed a rack to hang it from in a different place about 2 years ago! For that moment I went to put it back into the “old” place. Not that ironing boards have much to do with eating! But i guess its like the saying “old habits die hard”!
Anyway I’m going to focus on mindful eating this week, and be more aware of “auto responses”.
Have a good weekend everyone!

Up and down scales by 1 kg this week. On way back down nowProbably eating the double cream with a spoon didn’t help 😂 . Stopped that now, drowned it in hot water so I couldn’t eat it when bored.

Have mild chest infection – so tired! Reminds me of pre-diagnosis of insulin resistance, which in turn reminds me why I am not going to eat all the pies.

Breakfast/lunch at 12.45 – fried spinach/left over cauliflower/courgette/mushrooms with bit of cheese grated over and fried until melted. And a few spoons of home made mackerel pate (mash mackerel, creme fraiche, cream cheese and lemon juice together).

2 slices beef with cream cheese as a snack with cafe creme, dinner bit of goulash avoiding the root veg where obvious, 3 bits of 90% chocolate. Think I’m done now 😁

Ok, writing that down I see I am a bit dairy heavy, so will adjust that tomorrow and up the veg, have avocado instead.

Night all xx

Esnecca, BINGO. Found the kelp noodels, although they were labled as Sea Tangle, but looked like the picture of the kelp noodles when I Googled it the other day. Took a shot and bought them….and Googled Sea Tangle when I got home. Yes mam, we got a match.

Also bought several other seaweed products I had never seen before. Plain old dried kelp squares (about 2″ squares). Soaked them and then sliced them as thin as I could and threw them into hot chicken broth for lunch. I was very satisfied with those….pretty darn good substitute for traditional fine egg noodles but much more nutritious. Also got some dried wakame for making salad….bought a bag of salted wakame as well to see how it might differ. Also purchased a bag of frozen fernbrake (found out its bracken fern for non Asians) but discovered a lot of info on line that it is thought to be highly carcinogens if not cooked properly. Not going there. Will content myself with trying your recipe tonight for the kelp noodles and some wakame salad tomorrow.

Or some cheese or slice of meat (if you eat it …) that fills me up. For real naughtiness I grate cheese and melt it in microwave … if you do it long enough it goes crispy – and a little goes a long way …

Had a very unexpected surprise today. Found my latest watch bought several years ago (link bracelete style) was too big on my wrist. Just for giggles decided to try on an old favorite that I had to quit wearing some 8-10 yrs ago because it was too tight.

If fit! It is my favorite watch and so very please to be able to wear it again. So funny to think you are losing weight in your wrist. And I would have thought I would have to go lower to wear it, but there you are. So glad to see you again Old Friend.

Going to start trying on old shoes one of these days and see if ones that got a little too snug over the span of my weight gain are now also fitting better. Its like Christmas for free.

Hi blah,

We all sag around 3pm , isnt that weird.

So we can do a few things, have a few grapes in a tupperwear tub.

Not the whole bunch.
You got the sweetness,
The moistness,
The crunch or bite-a-bililty.

You havent eaten the whole pack of hob nobs.

Do we have a game plan here team?

Carrot sticks, celery, apple, anything that you can bite and feel you are seating something.

Just saying…..

Love lucia
Xxxx

Hi

So here is another one.

If you cannot give up the bread.
What is the bread with the lowest carbs You can BUY EASILY.

Answers from you all below.

Love lucia
Xxxx

Oh, its just baby steps…..

So, here it is.

You can only pick one and be honest with yourself.

Which one can you do straight away, health wise?

A. 10,000 baby steps in a day
B. Get to the top of a mountain

We all go for a. But they are the SAME.
To climb a mountain, it takes, guess what….. a step. NO! Shock ! Horror ?!?!!

Yup, string a gang of them together and what do you have?

That bloody mountain, in a day.

Love lucia
Xxxx

Hi, Kazzi! My most sincere apologies…I was just on the phone with Esnecca confirming
our dinner date for sat. night, only to discover that my emails haven’t been delivered
this week! I sent a long rambling one to you earliest part of this week and now I
fear you may not have received it! I’m hoping you still get alerts to this thread and
might see my post. How has the week gone for you BSd wise, as well as at the
firm? Christmas parties are probably in full swing now. How are they working out
with your scheduled BSD meal choices? I shudder to think what I might have had
to circumvent in like circumstances. I know that tomorrow is preferred weigh-in day
for you, so please report in as you usually do. How are you otherwise??? I’m holding
steady with weight loss, still 12lbs below target Tomorrow I plan to fast until late
afternoon, and then Esnecca, her partner and the 2 us will be breaking fast at a tapas
restaurant. Laughter will be the coin of the realm tomorrow. What a joyous occasion
to be able to get together! 🙂 🙂 How often would it even be possible? Great seafood on
the menu, too!

I’ve been feeling a little subdued today, second anniversary of my Mother’s death.
It’s been hard to not relive those last 8 hrs. by her side. It will all be easier tomorrow,
I hope.

Keep in touch Kazzi – I miss you out and about, not to mention on email/

Much love,
Allie

Hey, I have a huge collection of hoodies and trainers and love them all (although most of the hoodies are jacket or gilet style rather than the traditional badged hooded sweatshirt) my favourite Weird Fish macaroni hooded jacket was my birthday present from my OH this year and is something I had always promised I would get ‘one day’ when I lost the weight.

Positives today, it snowed! It is the weekend, and tomorrow is the local artisan market to poke around and carols in the park with or without the mulled wine and hot mince pies.

It won’t be as much for you certainly, but it is where you need to lose the fat from that is important. The visceral fat needs to go to ‘release’ your pancreas and liver back to doing their duty of looking after you. If you do the full 800 and become concerned that you are losing too much weight you can increase your calories or adopt the 5:2 version. MM describes a ‘fat threshold’ value which causes the switch between the organs working okay, and problems starting and that is different for everyone. You may find you don’t need to lose very much weight at all to get back under that threshold. Don’t forget though that you need to keep a very close eye on your nutrition when you are on low calories. Really pack in the healthy fats, protein and a rainbow of lower carb vegetables and your health will be transformed.

My daily limit is 20 grams net carbs, blah. In the US you subtract out the fiber because the labels count it as carbs even though it passes through you and does not hit the blood stream. On UK labels it’s a separate category from the carbs so you don’t subtract it. I try to aim for 20 grams fiber a day.

Hi Jillabeth,

Most people starting this diet find their blood sugar levels start coming down within a few weeks. Mine did. While I did lose weight (I did need to) my blood sugars fell a lot more quickly than did the weight. I certainly hadn’t lost anywhere near 14g when I started to see the fall in my blood sugar levels. In many people’s experience it is the reduction in carbs that really makes the difference to blood sugar levels.

This way of eating really does work – I’ve managed to get my Hba1c from 106 in August to 35 (normal range)this month.

I’d start the diet, learn as much as you can from these forums, and post how you are getting on – the support you get on here will keep you going. It will work for you, I’m sure.

Take care
Marie x

I’m sure others who have pre-diabetes or are BSD long-timers will come along to share their experience also.

You can get celeriac rice from supermarkets now which is quite nice if you are looking for a risotto replacement. I prefer it to cauli which is very definitely better mashed or roasted.

On alternate day fasting you would be averaging about 1000 calories, so both ways should lose you a similar amount of weight, it will really come down to which you feel is better suited to your requirements psychologically. I would have definitely been happier with consistent 830 calories per day than the alternate day idea, and while I do not personally know anyone who has done this style of weight loss my hairdresser mentioned a family member had done it and looked ill (probably due to either not eating enough on feast days or a nutritional balance, not the diet itself). Whichever you choose, the important thing is to listen to your bodies feedback and stay healthy. Good luck.

I didn’t get it, Allie! That’s the second time you’ve emailed me and I haven’t received it. What is up with my email? I’m getting a ton of mail, personal and endless spam, so it’s definitely not broken. I’m not used to be incommunicado in this day and age. Hold tight, girl. Call incoming.

Hi Everyone,

I just had the results of a routine blood test and found out that I’m pre-diabetic.

At 5’6″ and 140 lbs it came as quite a shock, although I have to admit that my diet has always been carb-heavy, and I’m really keen to try the BSD but how much weight do I need to lose to get my sugar levels down to normal.

Obviously the average weight loss of 14 kg would be more than a step too far so is exercise the key for me?

My GP’s letter just gives the standard advice to follow a low fat diet.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar position…

Hi Blah! It sounds like you are starting to wrap your head around this! I wanted to just say that it’s ok to stutter-start as you begin to learn how to do the BSD — Lucia puts it perfectly, just a bit at a time — it will work for you.
My experience with this way of life is that I had to LEARN how to do it and there was a lot of trial and error and messed up days before I finally caught on and got it really into my thinking patterns.
There is some interesting research that says that perfectionist type thinkers (I’m not saying you are, but if you read these posts you will see many people are) often struggle with weight and weight loss, because it is black or white/ on the diet perfectly or off the diet catastrophically. Lucia’s approach is wonderful because it takes that on/off/black/white paradigm and refuses to let it derail the efforts.
My experience is that even a little bit of BSD every day will grow to more BSD every day and then to weeks of BSD and ultimately to changing your entire point of view and life.
So no matter how it goes, just don’t quit. Start again and again and again. Do whatever small steps work, like Lucia, then add in more and try more until you find your personal path here.
And can we call you “no-longer-blah”? You don’t sound blah at all.

I hope your daughter enjoys her height, Jackie. I wasn’t all that happy with mine until I
was 13-14 years old. (5’7″). I was always put in the back row for school pictures! There
are a lot of advantages to being above average height and being shaped like a coat
hanger, though. Basically, no clothing is off limits! 🙂 🙂 :). Here’s hoping she outgrows
the hoodie and trainer stage soon!

Ha Alliecat she’s 13 and 5’8, the lucky bugger, and most of her stuff is jeans, trainers and hoodies. And so largely safe from me (except the jeans!)

Hello everyone, and please forgive me for using Esnecca’s thread to communicate
with her. My sincere apologies!

Essie, I responded to your email re our dinner plans for this weekend very early in
the week. I generally check the mail 1xday, and I see no responses there other
than those from others that I communicated with this week. Perhaps your dance
card is very full at the moment 🙂 I make few to no concessions to “age”, but one
of them is that we no longer do social engagements on “the fly” or are “device
dependent” (hard is that may be to imagine, Haha!) I will check this space this
evening with the hope that I will be hearing from you. Wishing you a joyful,
happy weekend, if we won’t be spending a part of it together 🙂

Allie

That’s supremely wonderful, Jackie! Your daughter had best keep a close eye on her closet,
I sense more things may start disappearing…What fun to have a youthful wardrobe to
experiment with 🙂 🙂 🙂

I love this, here goes:

I can fit into my daughters size 8 skinny jeans – only tight around the ankles (for her too though!)

I have done so much this morning I can sit for a while and then only have 2 easy chores left to do

After 10 years of living here we finally found a pair of bedroom lampshades we both liked and have replaced the old ones

I had the yummiest lunch – fried spinach, courgette, mushroom: and cheese. With some home made mackerel pate on the side,

Hi JSWT, I didn’t use a calorie counter as such as I followed the menus from the book. It did annoy me that he didn’t put the calories on the menu planner so I had to go to each recipe page and write it down, although the days menus came out around 800 I wanted to swap things around. Now it is all written in a book. When I come across something new I just type into the top line of my computer spinach nutritional information and hey presto it comes up on screen – so the product and those 2 magic words nutr….. in fact the computer will give you that name before you finish typing. If you want to log and keep your daily intake then there are plenty of sites that do this after you set up a profile i.e. MyFatSecret – I personally use Sparkpeople.com as it is one I have used for many years.

Good luck and keep on keeping on…

Hi everyone, so many new people – I read all your posts because it is tagged to my emails but cant always answer them. B;ah, I think you mean cauliflower rice when you say fried rice, lets hope so. Also lentils are quite high in carbs but as long as you are within your 800 calories and not having high carb foods often then you should be okay. I never counted carbs in the first 8 weeks as keeping to 800 calories was enough for me to concentrate. But I never ate a starchy carb (rice etc) or anything high on the carb scale except chickpeas. You will find what suits you and what works for you.

Nice weigh in this morning 100g loss, but when you convert that into lbs it is about a quarter of a quarter – so no real loss on the stones and pounds calculation but long may it continue. Did 50 mins of aerobics this morning and having a good day with yog and passionfruit for breakfast, ploughmans for lunch and hubby is making the goulash from the book for dinner, only we have it with pork instead of beef – quicker to cook and cheaper.

The weekend fast approaches and hoping for a well motivated one. Keep on keeping on….

Hi, Everyone! It’s wonderful to see so many newcomers here, I can barely keep up!
Victoria, your off to a great start, just keep with it. This WILL work for you, I
promise 🙂 I really like your take no prisoners approach. I’ve lost 146lbs, and kept
it off for over 6 months. I feel as though I can do it forever, and so can you 🙂 🙂 🙂
Congratulations on giving up the nicotine, too. I’m still working on that one!

Marie, perhaps thinking of vacuuming as exercise will improve my attitude toward
housekeeping? Let’s just say it’s low on my list of priorities! However, it’s been
suggested to me recently that the carpet in the vicinity of my computer has begun
to look like “the bottom of a birdcage”, so I’m going to try to address that today!!!

My positives for today
1) Had a good Christmas night out last night – focused on the company not the food.
2) This morning the sun is shining, there is a blue sky and the air is crisp and cold – for me, a perfect winter’s day. I’ve just opened all the windows to let it into the house.
3) This afternoon I’m going out with my husband for a long walk up the coast. I’ve really started to enjoy walking. My husband has been a walker all his life and now I get real pleasure from going on walks with him.

Hi All
Firstly thankyoufor all the information and encouraging replies. I thought I would check in and reply to a question asking if I had lost any more after stalling. The good news is that last week I lost 4 pounds, so it boosted me to carry on again! So I am now 18pounds lost in 5 weeks. I still have a way to go but this has certainly hardened my resolve.

Thanks Marie and luvtcook.

I am focussing on the successes and hoping very hard that this time is like the time I finally gave up smoking (in 1983). I had tried to give up so many times before but one time it just stuck. I wish I could bottle why it worked that time, I’d be worth a fortune!

I’m obsessing on this being the time that the same thing happens for eating. It’s harder because I can’t totally give up eating , but because I AM totally giving up sugar, starchy veg, grains etc that does help me, as it is a rigid rule, not a “just cut down” attempt.

A belated Happy Birthday to BusyBee and AncientWeaver……..GREAT birthday present BusyBee. Lowest in 13 years is quite an accomplishment. More valuable than gold or pearls.

Maire and VictoriaM: well done….congrats on powering through all the holiday hazards. Resisting like that is like exercising a muscle…it get stronger each time you do it, don’t you think?

blah: hang in there. You will find a pattern and food list that suits you and yeilds results. Re the steamed veg platter….I find having oil or butter on my veg satiates me and keeps me from eating bad stuff. I factor it into my calorie count and it has been working for me. No oil may well work for you. You will figure it out.

Really pleased reviving this thread has resonated with so many and it’s heart warming to read the positives people are finding in their little corner of the world.

Yes, thinking about it Luvtcook, you could well be right about the root of my recent malaise. The BSD has been all consuming and now I’m managing to maintain without the constant counting and recording – I just weigh daily and have a lean day if I think it’s needed. I keep a check with ketosticks too, and if there’s nothing at all registering, I’ll make a point of pushing down the carbs. So at the moment, that is all I’m doing to stay below target and I think you’re right, I haven’t got that goal and focus of losing now, so I probably do need to look for something else to put my energy into. None of this has been helped by the post-holiday blues, having recently had a fabulous break in Singapore and The Maldives, however, we have another vacation to plan for the spring – driving from UK to Turkey again – which we will be concentrating on post Christmas.

To contribute to the positive thread for today:
1. Meeting my parents for lunch today, as we won’t get to see them for Christmas this year. Will be lovely to catch up with them in person.
2. Am wearing a dress I haven’t worn in sometime and it looks fab!

Looking forward to reading more positives from you all.

Hi Sandy47 and VictoriaM

Cross-posted so I missed you both.

Sandy47 – I agree – it is great to feel back in control of our eating – congratulations on the 2lb so far this week – and 19lb total to date is a great weight loss – it won’t be long before you’ll be seeing a figure beginning with a 10 on those scales – maybe before Christmas or if not, what a great way to start 2018.

VictoriaM – they’re some good lessons so well done that woman! Please keep writing as much as you want. It helps the rest of us – well definitely me – to learn (or be reminded of) how to keep to this way of eating.

Marie x

Lucia, reading your posts really got me going. I was going really well til 3pmsies. Then went haywire. Tomorrow morning is a new hour of power. I like your baby steps approach, and the way you bring joy to the whole endeavour. Thank you!

Had another blow out today. Boo!

Quick qn – when you spoke of 20gms, net or total?

In good news, have tweaked my food plan to bring me to 46gms of carbs per day (initial was at 74gms). This refers to total

Menu:
Tea with dash of milk

Breakfast (10:30 am)
3/4 cup lentil and veggie stew, 3 tbps raita, Indian style omelet with chilli and coriander

Lunch (1:30/2pm):
1 cup cauliflower, spinach and tuna fried ‘rice’, 100gms raw broccoli (steamed), 1 tbsp yoghurt, tea with a dash of milk (rice refers to cauliflower rice)

Afternoon tea 1/2 serve pan fried salmon (75gms)

Dinner:
3/4 cup cauliflower fried ‘rice’ with tomato, onion and tuna, 1/3 cup chick peas, 1/2 serve of omelet from breakfast, 3 tbsp raita.

Question: I have my work Christmas party next Friday. It’s at a Chinese restaurant. It will be a banquet. I’m considering asking if they could do a plate of steamed green veggies with soy sauce and no oil instead. Do you think that’s a good option?

Hello everyone. Male, 40 5’11 and 104KGs.

I have no blood sugar issues yet but am aware that unless I shift some weight it may well start to be an issue at this age.

My Q is as per the title: which is better for weight loss, BSD or ADF?

I need to give a little bit of background. I am a vegan and I do think that a vegan plan (which is pretty much the opposite to the BSD!) has merit for health and weightloss and I have, during successful weightloss phases in the past, used it to great effect. (I am not naming it here, this is Michael’s forum.)

‘So why not use it again?’ you may ask.

The problem is that I am on psychiatric drugs for OCD and anxiety that absolutely send your appetite through the roof. The plan I have followed before says that you can eat as much as you want of the ‘allowed’ foods. So not only would I not lose weight, on the calories in/calories out balance I’d gain.

The Drs have okayed both ADF and BSD for me.

My options:

1. Alternate day fasting – but REAL fasting. I find it easier psychologically to have nothing to eat on a given day than 600-800 calories. Eating pasta, veg, beans in one meal a day I’d be eating about 2000 calories on ‘feast’ days

2. BSD – I would be eating beans and green vegetables and it would come in at around 830 calories a day

As well I like to exercise. I know that HIIT is de jour but I have the time to do about an hour a day of steady cardio and I prefer it )each to their own). This burns about 600 calories day according to the unreliable stationary bike computer.

If you were me, which would you go for first?

Mixnmatch – thanks, I’ve just looked up the Trust Me Doctor info – also apparently vacuuming and mopping count as moderate intensity exercise. Maybe that will be something positive I can bear in mind as I get the house ready for Christmas!

Blah – nice to see you on this challenge – looking forward to reading your posts

Marsie – gosh, I wish I could come with you – enjoy the weekend

Mokovex – it’s funny isn’t it, I always find things better too, when you take action – hope all goes well with the Health MOT next week. My cholesterol is also higher – 6.1 – only found out in August when they told me I had diabetes – so I’m also wondering what it’s like now. Fingers crossed for you.

So, I experienced a touch of synchronicity this week. Having been feeling a bit blue on Tuesday being reminded of all the angst and hard slog I’d put into my job over the years, on Wednesday morning I came across a sketch – a comic caricature – a guy at work had done of me which I’d completely forgotten about and did make me laugh, and then in the afternoon I got an email from an old colleague who I’d lost contact with – it was lovely. So, back on an even keel now.

We went to a Christmas ‘do’ last night, I had 1 white wine spritzer, ignored the buffet and met a lovely father and son who were really good company. Success!!!

Hope everyone has a good BSD weekend.

HI everyone, I do love this forum and all the advice – thanks to everyone. I have no weight loss to report again, but don’t feel disheartened because I only need to look in the mirror to see that it’s working, my waist has gone down an inch and I can now do my bra up one notch tighter!

I’ve been pleases with my behaviour this week, Tuesday I went to London which used to be an excuse to stop and the station and buy a flapjack and a bar of chocolate to eat on the train. I was on the train before I realised I’d walked straight past without thinking about it at all. On the way back I didn’t want to buy, but I did notice at Clapham Junction just how many fast food outlets there were with huge displays of carbs, buns, pastry, sweets etc

Yesterday I learnt a valuable lesson. It was a pub lunch with an elderly friend who I treat at Christmas. I had to have a starter, because otherwise she wouldn’t have one and had garlic mushrooms without the bread which was fine. I then had a small ham and egg without the chips and with salad instead – BUT forgot to say no dressing. It was drenched in honey dressing and I took one mouthful and couldn’t eat any more it was so sweet. I can’t believe my taste buds have changed that quickly!! two weeks in.

This afternoon I’m out for tea with friends – but I’ve prepped for this in advance by telling them I won’t eat anything – just have a cup of tea.

I fell as if I’m making progress – sorry to splurge so much info, but I’m at a point (2 weeks in) where I have tended to give up things in the past so I am really keen to keep up my momentum and writing it down in public seems to help me. Thanks for listening

Happy birthday Busybee and Ancientweaver and welcome to newcomers. There’s some fantastic advice from long term BSDers on here. Had a really ‘hungry’ day yesterday and went a bid overboard on cheese and nuts. When I say ‘overboard’ I’m chuckling to myself at how this wouldn’t have even registered with me during my old way of eating. What’s working for me is not eating until lunch and then just having 2 meals and no snacks. This may not work for diabetics as I assume it could be quite dangerous? As I am pre-diabetic, I’m finding it ok. Did struggle yesterday, but stayed away from carbs and snacked a little. All I’d had was miso soup for lunch and some chicken curry and cauliflower for dinner, so felt ok to snack. Happy to report loss of 2lb so far this week, so down to 11st 2. Another step closer to the 10s and a loss of 19 lbs in total (including pre-BSD loss). I’ve noticed that I’m eating a lot less now than before and am really mindful about what I eat, feels so good to be in control after years of struggling with my weight. I’m not keeping strict count of calories yet, and I know I’ll have to further down the line, but avoiding carbs seems to be doing the trick. Love reading all your posts x

Happy, happy birthday, Busybee, what a wonderful way to celebrate it. I can just feel how thrilled you are at seeing a new low. As usual for us, koko,odaat. 🙆👏🎉

Happy birthday also to Ancient Weaver, and a pretty good 1 day loss despite the misadventures with your scales👏👀

SunnyB I think we all get into a rut at times, especially if we have been here for a while. I love the idea of not getting bogged down with the minutiae of life and BSD but rather we should be looking at the bigger picture and we need to look towards the positive.

Today I have just watched the sun come up over a small mountain and am looking down towards the Atlantic in the far distance …. what’s not to like!
Smile (I am) and the world smiles with you ……

Hi blah,

Are you putting pressure on yourself calling it day one, day two, back to day one?

How about monday exercise day

Tuesday stretch or yoga day

Wednesday take it for a walk day

Thursday laugh or tap dance, or sing or look at the cartoons or watch a minions movie (stress buster day)

Friday grateful day, thankful for the week so far, the effort put in, or the calories burnt up or happy to have another go day

Saturday, shopping trolley race day, how fast you can push the trolley past the sweets, bread, and carbs race

Sunday, rest you body, pamper day. I wanted to paint my toe nails when i first started off. You should have seen some of the positions i got onto trying to reach those pesky pinkies. Or just soak your feet in warm water, or cleanse your skin, see , i am not giving my self a treat with food!?

I know its nice to have a graph or chart with a line sloping down to the right. But what if we cant achieve that? It puts more stress on yourself. Just handle today, not day one, day two etc. Just break the day up into quarters, just control a few hours.
I couldnt handle the chart zig zaging up and down and up. So i said, sod it! And tried to do little pockets of exercise.

If this helps your frame of mind, you understand what i am trying to say.

I came here to this website because i was totally rubbish , really rock bottom at coping with ME.

Maybe i am crazy, or childlike, but doing it in baby steps, i was able to be successful.

Keep going, keep wiggling, keep giggling.

Love lucia
Xxx

Morning all

today -1lb from last posting on Wednesday and 0.5 up from my lightest.

I wrote a reasonably long post yesterday, and it seems not to have posted? Mmmm???

Anyway, writing it was helpful as I was reflecting that I am due to have a health MOT at my gym. They look at fasting blood sugars, cholesterol, hip-waist ratio etc.

I last went in Feb of this year and the numbers weren’t great. My cholesterol in particular was 7. I, of course, left with all good intentions to change but the situation just worsened. I have been conscious recently of a reluctance to go and get it done, and so was speculating that perhaps I am worried that I will be disappointed by the results. Nervous about another high cholesterol reading derailing my current efforts. In yesterday’s post, I think I got this out there and pledged to give the gym a call and book the appointment. Anyway, I did, going next Wednesday and actually the result of all of that is that the anxiety has totally disappeared and it feels like a non-event. Will see if I feel the same next week 😛

Busy bee – was totally thrilled for you reading your post. Can imagine how marvellous that feeling is to get back into this stone bracket. Well done to you and hope your motivation continues into the new year.

Blah – hope you are finding tasty things to eat which don’t rock your carb intake. Esnecca is well worth listening to, goldmine of advice.

x

12072017: Day 1 was a success! I attribute that to eating an obscene amount of food yesterday. Today I didn’t experience much hunger at all. Still, it was a win! Im hoping these good 800cal days continue effortlessly until it’s time to transition.