Kazz, I had to tie myself to a mast and stuff my eye sockets with wax to refrain from buying a brown and turquoise pair of cowboy boots a few weeks ago. They were works of art, truly. Your goal is a noble one and I am so looking forward to see you attain it.

Go to https://postimages.org/ , chose the size you want then click the “Choose Images” button and navigate to wherever you have the images stored on your computer. Click on the images (hold down the ctrl key and left-click on each one to do them in one fell swoop) and then on the open button. PostImages will generate individual urls for each photo. Copy the plain links, the ones that go directly to the picture, not the ones with code, and paste them into the reply box here. To copy, click and drag over the url until the whole thing is selected, then hold down the Ctrl key and press the letter C. To paste, click in the reply box and hold down the Ctrl key and press the letter V.

Can’t wait to see them! 🙂

That’s progress, MnM! We’re all waiting….I was really disappointed that you weren’t used
in the daily mail article. But we’re going to see you yet! 🙂

Kazzi, I’m going to make it my personal mission to help you find the perfect cowboy
boots!

My “loot” has begun to arrive. Will try to figure out how to get up on the thread
tomorrow…

‘Night All,

Allie

Thanks for your replies, I was a little anxious I was somehow ‘doing it wrong’. The more I read, the more comfortable I feel about what I’m doing. It really is about finding some thing that is workable. I like having the weekend to be more flexible about where and what I eat. My tastes have changed, I don’t often want something that doesn’t really work for me anyway. Yay all of us, making healthful, empowered choices around food!!

Well done everyone and thanks for the tips, really helpful. Only lost 1 pound this week and after my work Christmas party last night, was so disappointed to have put it back on this morning. I need to stop weighing myself every day, but just can’t help myself. Was really careful with my carb intake, and gave away my roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding much to the delight of my colleague sitting next to me! However, did have a few cocktails and some prosecco so I’m thinking it was the alcohol. December is going to be so hard! Maybe instead of setting my weight loss goal of 5lb, I’m going to just try and stick to the plan as best I can to minimise the damage of social events planned. Then keep on keeping on with everyone…x

Hi Girls,

Well the wedding of child no: 1 was last weekend and went off beautifully. I got sooooo many compliments on how well I looked it got to be embarrassing! Thoroughly enjoyed myself and the food was sensational. Very pleased to say in the stressful lead up to the wedding and this past week, I have not put on any of my weight loss. Certainly have not lost any but maintaining through this time is such a bonus. Looking forward to the silly season and knuckling down for January 2018. In my line of work, gifts arrive regularly attempting to turn me into a diabetic alcoholic but with my new attitude, re-gifting is on the cards. I’m thinking another 10-15 kg will do me nicely. ?Watch this space! cheers and ho ho ho.

Hey Sue

January 8th 2017 was the start of my BSD journey and it’s hard to believe how quickly the year has passed. Who’d have thought we could have been so successful with this way of eating. The night I heard of BSD was 7.1 17 and I was at book club and one the girls told me her mum had lost two stone in 8 weeks! I downloaded the book on my kindle and the rest is history.

My New Year Resolution too for the last 10 years has been “lose weight”! Next year my resolution will be to continue to eat healthily. I will never go back to where I was. It took me a long time to lose 44 lb and I can’t ever put myself through that again.

Sue, I am going to enjoy seeing you get to goal hopefully next year. It has been a life changing year for us and we couldn’t have done it without the support of each other. I always pop in and out of the forum threads to see how everyone is doing but the January starters thread always makes me happiest. We have been through thick and thin together.

Even if we do put on a few pounds over the Christmas period we all have the tools to deal with it swiftly and we know that this way of eating works. normally at this time of the year I would have eaten about a dozen mince pies by now and lots of chocolates. The patients at work always buy boxes of chocolates at Christmas time. I haven’t even eaten a satsuma this year so far!

Looking forward to hearing how the January starters who are still around are doing. I keep in touch with Theodora on other threads and also see you on the other threads too Sue. I will be around the forum for a long time to come. It’s my lifeline!

Will look forward to our first anniversary.

Thanks for thinking of us and posting Sue. Xx

Cathy, your story about your kneecaps made me laugh out loud 😃 It’s amazing how many boney protuberances I have rediscovered, can never make up my mind which is my favourite – maybe collarbones? Certainly not kneecaps, lovely though they may be!😉

MnM, I LOVE boursin on portobellos, delicious. Not tried it on Romano peppers though, so will definitely give that a go. Thanks for the idea.

Allie, as an aside, you’ll be pleased to know that my weight now seems to be holding steady, within a pound or two normal fluctuations. No more dramatic losses so I at last seem to have stabilised. How about you? Do hope that eating those extra couple of hundred calories a day to take you to your TDEE is doing the trick and has set your o/h’s mind at rest.

Hi Sue, good to hear from you, and well done on sticking (mostly) to plan for 11 months and counting…….slow and steady is the name of the game. It’s working for you and that’s what counts! Will you have to think of a different new year resolution, or will it be to just keep on keeping on?

I think a year pretty much sets a habit, and the January starters who are still around will probably have formed the BSD habit for life. At least I hope so. We’re probably like sticks of rock now and, if we were cut in half, you’d be able to see the letters BSD running all the way through us😜

I’m still jogging along nicely in maintenance (7 months), 50lbs gone and holding within a pound or two either way, which gives me half a stone wriggle room. I do allow myself the odd refined carb, but only very occasionally – out for supper last evening and I had a side portion of chips (with pan fried hake) and, whilst I enjoyed them, no way could I eat them all – and it was far from a big portion, so really feel this will be my WOE for life now.

Like you, Sue, I can’t believe that as soon as we get through the silly season we’ll all be celebrating our BSD birthday 😃 Though obviously not with cake😉

Hope our other January buddies are doing okay too?

Just checking in with my January buddies 🙂
I can’t believe that it is now December, and in a months time it will be a whole year since we started our BSD journeys!
Every year I make NY resolutions and they are ALWAYS the same. Number 1 on the list is “Lose weight” or “lose 10kg” and for the first time in many years I can tick this one off!
When I started in January I thought I’d maybe last a few weeks, and 8 week BSD would be a good kick-start for weight loss. Never in a million years would I have imagined that it would become a whole lifestyle change for me.
I am nowhere near the goal I set at the beginning of the year, but that’s ok. So many other years I’ve lost weight initially then put it all back on again by years end. This time around I’m steadily losing. Slowly yes, but steadly! I’m now at my lowest weight in 7 years, and even when I was this weight 7 years ago that was because I had dieted and exercised consistently that year. So before that I think it would have been 2006 when I was last the weight I am now. With 12.5kg (27lb) now gone since this time last year, I’m about half way to the weight I want to get to.
Anyway enough of my reflections! Hope everyone else is doing well as we head into the silly season!

JackieM, I haven’t made proper custard without sugar before, but I have made it using Bird’s custard powder and substituting stevia for the sugar. It worked just fine. As Luvtcook says, I find I put less than what is meant to substitute for the amount of sugar as I don’t like things as sweet anymore.

Thanks for the holiday tips post Luvtocook – very timely.
Victoria – congratulations on your excellent results!
I would just enjoy your cream tea with your ladies group – you may not be able to avoid carbs, but you can limit them by choosing a limited amount of food. I occasionally have a scone, jam & cream for morning tea when out with my mother in law – she always has cake, and I feel like a scone is a healthier option – I just have a scraping of jam and pile on the cream lol! I find one scone is really filling nowadays and I can have in place of a meal, so it’s not too damaging. And yes the Ploughmans is BSD friendly if you skip the bread.
I had lunch out with the family yesterday and had some vegetarian pizza, really enjoyed it. Again not exactly BSD food but life is for living and it’s all about balance in my book. If 90% of the time I’m sticking to BSD principles then I’m happy with that 🙂
One thing I’ve found though is that when I do eat “off plan” I’ll often have a gain – sometimes up to 2 or 3kg (4-6lb), depending on how long the off plan eating has gone on for. Don’t be alarmed if this happens to you – it’s most likely water weight (carbs hold on to water) and the gain is only temporary. A few days back on plan and the weight is gone again.

After yesterday’s fast day, I was down to 81.8kg today, so I made my goal from the last challenge in the first week of this challenge! I’m only weighing myself after fast days at the moment though because I know I creep up a bit after the feed days, which can be a bit disheartening. I had my first proper ride on my horse today and even though I’m still sitting at just over 16% of his body weight, when I should be under 15%, he seemed to cope fine (kept it short all the same). He has settled in and has started to put on a bit of weight, and as he gains weight and I continue to lose, the ratio will certainly improve.
Luvtcook – I managed the fast day much better and with much more energy after eating more on Thursday. I thought I might not lose very much as a result, but the opposite seems to have happened – 900g down since Tuesday! Thanks for the Christmas party tips. I have one coming up on Thursday, so this will certainly help. It is meant to be a fast day for me, so I think I will try to fast for most of the day and try to measure by eye about 500cal worth of food at the party.
Victoria – well done with your weight loss and blood sugar this week!

I have now got my hands on some of the photos of me in the wedding dress and ball dress so just need to work out how to embed the links and get them uploaded somewhere accessible. I am already planning other items for my ‘show’ possibly including the DM dresses that haven’t been collected yet, so even though they didn’t get used in the article you can see what they looked like. I will also get some pics of my favourite boots and also the Karen Millen leather jacket I found in Oxfam that, being a perfect fit around my paddingless ribcage, has become my ‘size trigger’ so if I can’t do up the jacket then the fasting big guns come out again.

I really don’t like artificial sweeteners, I tolerate stevia as it is natural and has very little aftertaste for me, but prefer to use just a little vanilla, honey, date nectar or glucose rather than the more artificial types. Since my tastes have changed so much the amounts I tend to use are pretty negligible anyway 😊 having said that I did spot xylitol for sale in my local supermarket the other day so may give it a try.

Luvtcook, I was on the minimum dose of Metformin anyway, so am hoping all is well with my blood sugar. I am maintaining my weight loss so far with the 5:2. I’m enjoying eating normally again for 5 days a week and having the odd glass of red wine again, but will be much more careful than before. We really enjoyed the new eating plan on the BSD, so are still using those recipes most of the time.

Wow what a fabulous thread! I hope you don’t mind me popping in? I’m positively drooling over the boots! In particular the plaid with orange heel! Well done all of you marvellous phoenixes! I’ll be joining you one day with hopefully long lusted after cowgirl boots, shipped from across the pond if necessary!

You’re all totally inspiring!

Kazzee xx

JackieM, you can use almost any sugar substitute….each will tell you what the amount you need to use to be sugar “equivalent”. At present I am using Xyletol which has half the carbs of sugar but cooks like sugar 1 to 1 and browns like sugar BUT NOT IF YOU HAVE DOGS IN THE HOUSE. It is poisonous to dogs. There are a lot of alternatives that are combined with stevia, like monk fruit and stevia, and erythretol and stevia. All work but all should be used in moderation as some think they may negatively impact gut bacteria, but this is mostly a concern for those drinking excessive numbers of Diet Coke a day, etc….not the occassional lightly sweetened dessert. And most BSDs keep saying they find their “sweet point” has dropped considerably since on this diet. I am finding I am quite happy with half the sweetening called for in most recipes. If its not sweet enough you can always drizzle one of the sugar free syups or thinned sugar free jams over the top. That way you get the biggest bang for the least amount of sweetner because it is the first thing that hits your taste buds.

Hope this is of some help…and I agree with you. I LOVE baked or steamed custards. One of my absolute favorite desserts. I like it still warm just out of the oven. So satisfying and overall BSD friendly if you can find a sweetener you like.

It’s almost like they’ve been reading our forum isn’t it 😉😁

Good afternoon all. I just saw this in a newsletter I get from CookingLite and thought it fit the goals for the Dec challenge so thought i would pass on:

7 Practical Strategies for Healthy Holiday Eating

1. Sip fizzy water in a fancy glass

… or another calorie-free drink. Drink a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks, as well as before and after eating. It will keep you hydrated and if anything, it gives you something to hold, preventing mindless eating and over-drinking. If you need a little flavor, drop a few slices of fruit or cucumbers in your glass. Let the water infuse for a few minutes, and then sip and enjoy.

2. Seek out healthy options.

Whether it’s a sit-down dinner party or a cocktail hour with appetizers, look for healthy options. Assess what foods are there and chose your favorites so that you know where your go-tos are from the beginning.

3. Make a plate.

If possible, make a plate rather than standing over the table of food or appetizers and socializing near the buffet. There is something significant about fixing your plate with your food for the night. This way, you can keep tabs on what you’ve eaten or will eat without having to think about it constantly.

4. Ask for what you want.

For sit-down dinners, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want to eat. If you want to eat a plate that is half vegetables, request more. Don’t feel pressure to finish everything on your plate if you feel that the portion sizes were too large. Your friends and family should respect your goals. Who knows? You may even inspire them to rethink their plate, too.

5. Offer to bring a dish.

If it’s a party where it’s appropriate, offer to bring a dish. That way you know that there will be something there for you to snack on. You will be prepared and worry-free, and the host will appreciate the gesture.

6. Be mindful.

If you really focus on what you’re eating, you will enjoy it for its taste and texture. It may seem trivial, but mindful eating is a growing practice that is especially useful this time of year. Chose your favorite foods, fix a serving, and enjoy them! Studies have shown that people are less likely to overeat if they are mindful of their food when they are eating.

7. Don’t withhold your favorites.

Sometimes, chocolate and champagne call. And that’s okay. It’s the holidays! Eat your favorites; just do it in moderation. Always remember that enjoying your thing (we all have one) doesn’t mean that you gave in and should throw in the towel on your nutrition goals. Withholding dessert, or food in general, can lead to over-eating later or negative eating patterns.

Just knowing that a party doesn’t have to ruin your clean-eating streak might change your party habits. Don’t assume that being healthy doesn’t include holiday foods. Aim for balanced, mindful eating, and choose to do small things for an overall big difference in the way you eat.

Mixnmatch….yum!!! What a great idea, I had not thought about grilling it. I am always looking for a filling “extra” to have with a soup meal. This sounds like a winner.

Hello!

I’m exploring fasting at the moment. I’ve read Fung’s book and watched the YouTube video that someone kindly posted. I’ve been doing 18/6 daily for about 6 weeks now with modest losses of around 1 lb a week. Since I started around 15 August, I’d lost 22lbs in total. So I thought I’d try a 48 hour fast. I did 2 this week. It was quite easy and in the week, not difficult. I think it can be useful when overindulgences take place or if you need a boost. Perhaps when plateauing. By yesterday morning I’d dropped 7 lbs since last Monday. Obviously this will fluctuate up by this coming Monday after the weekend and 2 meals both days. I’m experimenting right now, curious to see what happens.

Kazzee xx

Cheers MnM, meant to post this on the maintainers thread – oops! Will investigate powdered glucose! Sorry for hijacking this thread x

Try and get some powdered glucose instead, I have read that some chefs use it to make desserts taste a little more complex and less sickly sweet, and of course the body is set up to use it directly rather than convert it in the liver as has to be done with fructose (and normal sugar is half fructose). I don’t make sweet desserts very often but have bought some to put in this year’s Christmas cake, which I will be making as body friendly as I can.

Verano – my one year maintenance is on 10th December. I can hardly believe that a whole year has almost gone by and the BSD seems to get easier the longer I am on it.

Luvtcook – it is true that the BSD is so successful because it does give you options and we can customise it to suit us and our lifestyles. As a complete carboholic and yo yo dieter – abstaining from the sugar and bad carbs absolutely suits me and my metabolism – and for the first time (since I started dieting in 1965 at age 17) I have found a WOE that works for me and I can maintain my weight loss. Just opening my wardrobe and looking at the row of size 8 and 10 clothes makes me so happy. I just remember all the years that reaching size 12 was just an unreachable dream.

Of course – no longer being at risk from diabetes complications does make me happy as well.

Hello! Just popping in quickly to report that the scales registered 16.7 this morning. 1 lb up from when I sneaked a peak yesterday after twp 48 hr fasts. I did have a bit of Friday night alcohol last night. Plus a handful of walnuts and 40g of Stilton cheese. That cheese was so good. This morning I had two grilled bacon, two chipolata sausages, grilled tomatoes. I’ve felt queasy all day since! I think when breaking a fast, I need to eat less rich foods and no alcohol straight after. It’s all a learning curve! Overall I have lost 6 lbs this week which is more than I’ve lost in a month over the last 2 months!

Off to watch Strictly so have a lovely weekend all.

Kazeee xx

AngS…..probably not wise to discontinue, but frankly I would have done the same thing. Strong stubborn streak in me thinking my body is my own to do with as I see fit (within reason). Are you monitoring your blood sugars at home to make sure they are staying reasonably low? In the US you don’t need a Rx for blood glucose testers, so may not be a bad idea.

Please check back with us and let us know how things turned out. I am expecting brilliant news….so please share. Maybe with Xmas in between that will be added incentive to keep on the (relatively) staight and narrow. As they say, if you can do XXX (fill in Xmas) you can do anything.

Ok, cooking ladies, I don’t think I’ve missed the new thread have I?

I have a whizzy new machine called a Thermomix which chops, stirs and cooks. I have just made my first custard using eggs, cream and sugar. I have had a spoonful, oh my god it’s delicious, but a little sweet. I think it’s about 9g carbs a serving. So, can I get some advice on whether I can make custard without sugar? And if not, how low can I go? This had 50g sugar per 400ml cream and 6 medium eggs. It did taste v sweet to my tastebuds, I think it’s the creamy texture I like.

Consoling self with second creamy coffee until I find out what you think. Also be interesting to see what scales say tomorrow, as we ate out for lunch an all vaguely on offer was homemade tomato soup. So I’ve definitely had more sugar than normal today.

Also made some awesome chia and Parmesan biscuits, with rosemary and lots of salt and pepper. First crunchy thing apart from veg for 4 months! The Thermomix blends it, then roll it out and put in oven.

To Seelie: welcome! As many of us have said before, this concept of intermittant fasting offers almost unlimited variations so that you can customize it for what works for you. I started out in 5:2 and had trouble on the 500 cal days and found I could not get to a place where I get get over the hunger “habit” if you will.

I think now that I have done BSD 800 for 4 weeks and a couple days of full fasts here and there, that 5:2 might work.

I really like the way you and Mixnmatch have customized your diets for what you needed, and found you could DO at that time. You both are making it work for you. And all of us know that if we get a bit out of control, we can cut back for a few days to catch back up and restart the engines. Allowing for a day or two of bigger eating days paired with some lower cal days gives you flexibility…esp with the holidays coming up. As long as we don’t forget to add in the lower cal days to balance it all out.

Having said that, I do think it is important to not start eating foods that we know are problematic. Having a bit more of BSD friendly foods on feast days is much different that diving into bad carbs.

Seelie, best of luck to you on continuing your journey. I am in about the same place so I will watch for your posts and enjoy your successes.

Verano, I think one of the beauties of this WOE is that it gives you options…..and not everybody will find the same options suit them. Michael Mosely offers 3 for starters….the 5:2, the BSD, and also recommends 6:1 for maintenance.

Others like Dr. Varaday are having patients/subjects doing alternate day fasting. Fung has patients that are severe diabetics doing more extended fasts.

Some on BSD find interjecting a day or two of fasting helps them lose when nothing else seems to be working.

I am in awe of AllieCat who lost 164 lbs in just 10 months. That is over 3 lbs a week….I am stuggling to lose 2 lbs a week consistently.

So for those that are doing fine on a strict interpretation of BSD, more power to you.

For those looking for same extra help….some minimal fasting for a day or two now and then should be an option.

Different strokes for different folks. Its all good….we are all trying to get to the same healthier place.

Congrats to Alibalibee. After the struggles for the first week, your perserverance has certainly won out. Well done you.

Flick, found this in the web for you….rated well. Not an everyday thing….but to have once in a while to fill that void, it should work.

note to all: what ever you are “missing”, just Google it as low carb XXX (fill in the blank) and somebody probably has come up with a pretty good low carb sub for you. Lots of good low carb breads out there that make GREAT toast (in my opinion many toast better that they are as just plain bread, but there are a couple of exceptions).

LOW CARB MUSHROOM CAULIFLOWER RISOTTO

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
1 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock
9 oz. mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1 shallot
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup white wine
¾ cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese
4 oz. butter
salt and pepper
fresh thyme

Instructions

Bring the stock to a boil and set aside.
Chop the mushrooms and fry in butter until golden.
Finely chop shallot and garlic and add to the mushrooms.
Coarsely grate cauliflower and add to the pan.
Add half the wine and all of the stock.
Let simmer uncovered until the liquid starts to boil down. Pour in the remaining wine. Add the cream, and simmer until the cauliflower is soft and most of the liquid has disappeared.
Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Add some variety! Chopped asparagus makes a lovely addition to risotto, as do thin slices of leek. Feeling particularly decadent? Try tossing some cooked, diced bacon or pancetta into the mix.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/low-carb-mushroom-cauliflower-risotto

Well done on the whoosh Flick – it’s relief isn’t it? I was similarly stuck on 91.4 for a couple of days,but am happy the scales this morning said 90.9. And that was after eating much more yesterday, but also drinking much more water.

I’m going out for dinner later to an amazing sounding mediterranean restaurant where it looks as if around two thirds of the dishes are really low carb. Can’t wait. I’m not calorie counting tonight, so was delighted to find out that prosecco has only one gramme of carbs per glass. I’ll have to make sure I limit myself to a couple of glasses though, don’t want to risk the drunken munchies.

Also can’t wait to try on some of the clothes that have been pushed to the back of my wardrobe because they’ve been a bit too tight. I put on a coat yesterday that I haven’t had on for a few weeks, and whereas before it was slightly snug around my belly, it is now positively roomy, even with the several layers I was also wearing.

We can get Boursin in the UK certainly although it is probably a lot more expensive than it is in France. I love it on portobello mushrooms as well, or spread inside Romano peppers and grilled.

This sounds quite similar to how I approached it, although my average was higher as I never got on with the 500 calories limit. I probably would be fine with it now, as I never get ravenous even on full fast days. I was doing 4:3 (three fast days at 800 calories, with the other days at 1600) which made it a bit slower, but then it was practically effortless when I moved to 2:5, just 1600 on weekends, and then the full 8 weeks at 800 calories. I like the intermittent fasting framework a lot, it seems to make so much sense when historically we would have been much more ‘feast and famine’ oriented. I dropped 115 pounds before I hit my target and have stayed slim for over a year now, so I am a real believer in this WOE.

Krysia I think we may be just a small band of people who share the same thoughts! For me, however, the proof of the proverbial pudding is in the eating, so please remind me when the date of your 1st Anniversary of Maintenance is, it must be very soon?

Hi everyone, well done Victoria, keep it up.

Well, I really shouldn’t be let out on my own. Hubby is away on business and I decided to drive into the next village to the Saturday market. All went well until I got back to my car and it wouldn’t unlock. It is keyless but you still have to have a key on your person. I took the key out of my bag and used it manually, no joy, it still wouldn’t open. Tried passenger door, tried the boot. Now what do I do, walk the 7kms home and just leave the car. Ring someone, but who and guess who didn’t have a phone on them. Who would I ring anyway. I have a French mobile for emergencies but no numbers logged into it as I have never used it. Hubby rang me on it last night and when I picked it up I didn’t know how to take the call and cut him off. Hey ho, silly me. Just decided to start walking and set off when I heard the whirr of the side mirrors resetting themselves, looked back and the indicators were flashing, the car was open. I could have cried but got home safely. I realised that as I have to carry the car docs there was a number for assistance but still didn’t have a phone. Anyway tout est bien qui finit bien – all’s well that ends well. Next time take my phone.

Blood glucose was 4.7 this morning but I bet my blood pressure went up.

Good morning from a fellow phoenix! I’m not fully awake yet (no coffee!) but wanted
to share this before things got busy here, in the hope that it will elicit a smile from
some of you. Yesterday o/h had an appointment with his (our) cardiologist for a
follow-up echocardiogram. He asked how I was, and husband proceeded to tell him
that I’ve maintained my weight loss for 7 months, and I was now blogging with a UK
based group of people that have been down the same road that I have, and how
much I was enjoying it. Cardiologist says “Do they spend a lot of time talking about
all the new clothes they’re buying?” Hmmm, is he a sexist, or does he just understand
women??? I loathe “political correctness” so I’m going with the latter 🙂 🙂 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Allie

That’s ok Mariet, explanation is fine

These are the moments that make us want to laugh out loud, aren’t they Cathy? Or
at least “tell someone”! Thanks to the creation of this thread, we now have that option 🙂
I think my most bizarre moment was when I turned my wrist over and was able to
actually “see my pulse” at both the wrist and elbow! It’s all one big anatomy lesson,
isn’t it? Enjoy it!!!

Allie

Whilst having my hair done at the hair salon I happened to notice two protuberances in the full length mirror whilst sitting in the chair- my kneecaps! I’ve not seen them for a fair number of years! They only seem to have appeared this week. I am slightly under my target weight and BMI is 24.9. That last couple of pounds of fat must have been fat around my kneecaps. How funny!

Have a good weekend everyone.

HI All. Thanks Marsie for your encouragement Feeling better today.Wt 81.3kg .I decided to go back to having breaky. So 2 eggs and spinach.coffee with a friend 1 skinny latte.lunch with my daughter greek salad and water.8000steps around the shops.came home tired and hungry.so abig handful of almonds and green tea. A slice of cheese I will be over 900 by bed time but no white stuff so heading in the right direction.Dinner panfried fish and Salad. Then to stop eating till bedtime.thats the challenge.
For those of you fasting please keep Bgl above 4 and reduce meds as needed if bgl is too low there are possible mental function problems.good luck

Awww Victoria that’s awesome – the happiest radiates from your post. Bet you feel fabulous. Well done on your success and here’s to more where that came from.

Keep at it

Boing boing boing!
Kush X

Verano – I loved your post. It totally sums up how I feel about the BSD and fasting. For me a treat is no longer a piece of cake – in fact it would now be the total opposite of a treat. A treat is a small piece of my favourite stilton, avocado and smoked salmon, steak and salad etc etc.

I can easily fast from 4.30pm (I have to eat early because I teach pilates in the evenings) and 7am. But I cannot keep up my current activity levels if I fast longer. I teach (and practice) pilates 6 days a week plus walk my 2 Labradors and have extended walks on my only day off.

For me feasting isn’t an enjoyment (especially if it involves eating cake) – eating lovely food to satisfy my hunger is. Longer fasts isn’t enjoyable for me either. So putting the two together would be my nightmare scenario whereas for me the BSD is like a dream come true. Lovely food and staying slim, mentally alert and full of energy without hunger – absolutely brilliant.

Hi Victoria – that’s fantastic news – I’m so pleased for you.
Marie x

I’m so happy! I’ve lost 7 lbs this week and my blood sugars have been below 5mmol the whole week. That’s 11lbs total now with the little bit I lost before I started bsd. I know it’s not a week of the challenge yet, but I started bsd last Sunday so I’m counting Sunday to Saturday. I know most of this is water, but I’ve also lost an inch off my waist so I’m hoping some may be visceral fat. I’m not really hungry all the time any more. I’m doing 800 cals and 20 carbs and fasting 17 hours per day. (The second bit is a side benefit as I never want breakfast anyway and dont eat it normally). I’m doing this, because although I was diagnosed T2 3 years ago I largely ingnored it and took my 1metformin until this time when my HBA1C went through the roof. If I’m honest this was due to Mr Cadbury from whom I’ve had a (hopefully) permanent divorce. Now I know that even though I don’t have any symptoms if I don’t take control my retirement won’t be the fun that I planned it to be. Jason Fung says 3lbs a week is achievable so I’ve changed my mind and I’m aiming for that next week. I have two Christmas events this week that could be a challenge. The quiz and ploughman’s I just have to avoid the bread, but cream tea with my ladies group could be impossible to avoid all carbs.

Loving the outfits, Essie. Maybe you should have ordered haggis instead of curry, sounds as though the culinary experience may have been better.😉 Or, giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe the poor chef just couldn’t concentrate on his cooking once he clocked the vision of tartan loveliness who had walked into his restaurant!

MnM, really looking forward to seeing your outfits, especially the wedding dress and ball gown.

And yes, Allie, go for it and join in the game. Though, I have to confess that I tried to take some mirror selfies yesterday – errrr, not very successfully I’m afraid. So a bit of practice needed before you’ll be seeing mine, sorry 😢

Note to self……must try harder.

Ok so there’s lots of talk of ‘fasting’ on various threads lately. I’m not a fan of extended fasting but that only comes from my ‘gut feeling’ . So I thought I should listen to Jason Fung and then judge. I watched an interview on 180nutrition.co.au from 5/3/17.

It was an interesting interview but I must admit I only watched the first 36 minutes because I was starting to find it rather repetitive. So for my opinion……

Dr Fung is advocating fasting for those with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. At the start of the interview he praises a low carbohydrate high fat diet but says despite it being a good diet it was “ … too complicated for many of his 65 to 70 year old patients”. He then stresses, several times, that his patients were “ monitored closely” , which he repeated several times in the interview, and that they were given good support via the internet etc. He says that fasting does take support.

He then goes on to talk about the duration and flexibility of fasts. He suggests you should keep ‘feeding and fasting’ in balance. He argues that in the 1950’s people ate three meals a day without snacking and in effect this lead to a ‘fast’ of 12 hours a day. Dinner at 7pm and breakfast at 7am the following day. Thus he argues that a 16, 24, or 36 hour fast is popular. He also says that fasts can be as long as 21 to 28 days but again MUST be closely monitored.

He sees ‘feast and fast’ as the normal human cycle as he says “ …. you don’t eat salad at a wedding”. He goes on to say he went on a cruise and put on a vast amount of weight but then fasted and lost the gain. He equates feasting with enjoyment. He argues that fasting ‘simplifies ‘ life because you don’t have to make the choices about how much of a food you should eat because you aren’t eating … full stop. Also this gives him more time in the day because he’s not spending time eating.

So that’s my interpretation of this particular interview. My view after seeing Jason Fung in action is that he is advocating ‘feasting and fasting’ as a way of life and maybe that suits some people. I’m still not sure about the wisdom of extended fasting unless ‘it’s monitored closely’.

I find after eating the BSD way for 17 months that I no longer fancy that ‘piece of cake’ or other ‘treat’ as he calls such foods. I am now of the opinion that for me ‘treats’ are a good steak, a plate of smoked salmon with capers and lemon juice, a really fresh fish and 90% chocolate. I don’t feel deprived.

So to sum up, for me, if the BSD diet isn’t ‘too complicated’ to follow then it’s a better WOE in the long term, but there is no harm in 12 to 16 hour fasts and that the real enemy is ‘snacking’ , and that two or three meals a day should be the norm. I still have my concerns about extended fasting I’ve not been convinced by Dr Fung.

Morning, another 100g down so now 61kg. About t move to mythical 60kg zone with luck.

Weird day yesterday, went to a cooking demo but most of food was not BSD friendly, so couldn’t try it. Got a bit sad, it seems weird to me all these people took it so for granted sugar was included and yet it so isn’t in my life now! Wanted a BSD treat when I got home but nothing matched my mood and I’d run out of cream so no coffee with cream. Disgruntled as a result and so ate quite a lot calorifically in the evening (husband made chicken stew, then I had 4 pieces 90% chocolate, plus some spare roast beef and the children’s left over meat from lasagne AND a couple teaspoons creme fraiche) So hurray for the BSD effect that low carb meant I still lost weight.

Yes, well done Marsie and we are still here keeping on keeping on O.D.A.A.T.
X B

Marsie – nice loss – must be all that heat!
It struck me as I’m also 5ft 2in you saying you were still overweight BMI. I use the UK NHS BMI calculator and according to that at 61.3kg you would now be in the healthy weight BMI category. I picked up on it as getting to a healthy BMI is one of my targets – a bit off yet for me. Just goes to show!
Btw, I wondered if it might be a type of surf board but thought no, that’s just me thinking in stereotypes of Aussie life – so it really is sunshine, sea and surf – sigh! Enjoy your grandson’s visit. 9 is a lovely age.

Sunshine-girl – smashing news to hear you’ve gone into the next stone down – and getting there so early in December gives you a nice bit of time to lose a bit more before you go away for Christmas!

MixnMatch – good for you too, getting back into the 10’s – water or not that must be a good feeling.

I’ve lost a 1lb since Tuesday so I’m now 10st 6lb. I prefer being near the top of a stone or near the bottom – being in the middle is so frustrating. But a day and a lb at a time I guess.

Enjoy the weekend
Marie x