Hi Nittenlass

A superb result for you both, absolutely well done!

You can buy Michael’s The Fast Diet by clicking on the resources button above which will take you to Amazon. This is probably more of a slower way of following the same BSD principles but have two days out of 7 on much less calories. There are many authors that have produced books on The Mediterranean diet so I would read the reviews and pick out the best from there.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Kazz

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!

I could not be happier for you Kazz. It is lovely to get the support on here and everyone is incredibly supportive, but ultimately you are responsible for it working. Your dinner sounds wonderful. Enjoy your drink mindfully! We are having Gammon and “Red Slaw” from the cookbook.

I was very shocked to see Aston go out last week. I thought he danced better. His back wasn’t as straight as it could have been, but all the steps were there and it was a good dance. I know it wasn’t traditional, but he shouldn’t have been penalised for his partners’ choreography. I will stop there as I can chat for hours about that sort of thing.

Now I have to go and prepare the slaw before I have my shower. Enjoy my lovely Kazz. Later…

Love Mary
xxxx

Hi Alibalibee

A very warm welcome to you – you are in the right place for plenty of support and tons of experience knowledge from our veteran BSDers.

I’ve had the tests and am not diabetic although, like you, I half suspected I might be. I have psoriasis and diverticular disease which has been giving me quite bad IBS symptoms which is what lead me to this particular lifestyle change – giving up refined carbs really helps with the IBS type symptoms and my P is calming down now. I’m 3 months in and am 55. Lived on bread and drank way too much red wine! I was also a size 30 UK and am now a 26. After my first few days, I started to feel pretty amazing, no more unexplained twinges, creaks and aches, more energy, walking more easily. It takes a while to unlearn everything we have been told over the last 40 years, but once you do get your head around it, it’s pretty easy. Thinking ahead and possibly batch cooking when you can find a spare couple of hours works for me. I had my groceries delivered for the first couple of months because I could still be swayed by the bakery aisle and the wines on offer!

I’m excited to be able to support you and follow your journey. 🙂

Kazzzii

OK, so here I am after years of being in denial. I’m a middle aged, overweight woman with a strong family history of diabetes. I’ve been telling myself for too long that I’m not that fat, that I eat healthily and exercise enough, I really am only a UK size 14 – honest! I can still (just about) fasten my jeans.

I’m awaiting the results of a blood test ordered by my GP after having several bouts of oral thrush. I’m fairly sure that I have type 2 diabetes, or am at least prediabetic : I’ve thought for a while that I might be but just ignored the tiredness, the small cuts that take ages to heal. But while I wait for the results, I’ve decided that I need to do something no matter what the outcome. If I am diabetic, I’ll do the full on eight weeks, if I’m prediabetic I’ll give it a go for at least four weeks and then go low carb, but even if I’m lucky enough to be OK blood sugar wise, I’m going to still do that.

So my questions for people here: have you all had your blood tested? Are there people here who aren’t diabetic? Have you managed to shock your body out of prediabetes?

I’m feeling quite anxious but also positive about starting this change in my life. I think I’m going to need some support…

Thank you so much Allie. Your post about doing cartwheels at 4am in your nightgown really made me laugh. The picture of scrooge in a christmas carol came to mind – the bit where he’s jumping for glee around his bedchamber! 🙂

The doc confirmed coeliac negative – good news! But there could possibly be a borderline sensitivity perhaps. Liver function test normal, but the inflammatory marker still slightly raised. When I mentioned Mary’s comment about psoriasis perhaps, she said, oh yes, that could well be why. She asked about my bathroom habits and I confirmed no more bloat, wind, gurgling and only one visit per day and non dia but quite soft (sorry)! Anyway she said even a sore throat or a cold could show up an inflammatory result so … nothing to worry about although she wants me to have another test in a couple of weeks to see if it has come down now my psoriasis has stopped flaring so much. She also mentioned that I should keep an eye on stuff and if I should see blood, then to go back straight away! Scare me why don’t you! I guess with these IBS type symptoms, the dreaded C is always lurking at the back of your mind! Overall she was delighted to hear of my weight loss and this BSD lifestyle change and told me to keep up the good work!

I then went and got my hair cut into a cute short bob style. My hairdresser, Sue, said with your much slimmer face Kaz, it really suits you! Yey, NSV!! If only I could achieve the same volume that they do at the hairdressers but I shall try using one of those combination hair dryer, round brush contraptions!

It’s all good and tonight I am going to treat myself to a couple of vodkas, lime and soda whilst watching Strictly come dancing. Mary – can you believe that Aston went out last week?! I’m also having a lean pork chop, smothered in mustard and baked with cauliflower and steamed green beans and a bit of gravy! Yum yum

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend where ever you are my wonderful friends, and thank you all for your support and delight and routing me on. Who needs a slimming club?!

Lots of love
Kazzzeeeegettingslimmer! xxxx

Ooh, right! Sorry, it’s just that I’ve been reading the blood sugar diet book and I could have sworn there was a recommendation to get a digital blood sugar tester to test levels and track improvements etc…. did I miss something??

Hi there, as you are not diabetic the readings on a meter would mean absolutely nothing except that your BG goes up when you eat and goes down between meals or is low when you are hungry. Why on earth do you want to be stabbing yourself for no reason.

Sorry if this is not what you want to hear or think this is not helpful but testing has to be to some good. It would do nothing but make you paranoid about something that should not be concerning you.

Hi, I want to get myself a blood sugar/glucose tester but don’t know where to start. I’m not diabetic (I think!) and just want something affordable, basic, and accurate. Does anybody have any suggestions as I’ve looked and am overwhelmed by the options etc.?

Also, how often should I test myself? What time of day? Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks.

Hello my lovelies..

Kazz you are amazing. So effing well done! Welcome to the 16 club. I am looking forward to reaching the 15 club too. Hopefully, before Christmas…fingers crossed. Join me? I hope the news from the Doctor was good?

Allie, the image you paint is startling. Please remember to put your drawers on before doing those cartwheels lol.

I have had a wonderful day. My DD brought my lovely grandies around. One went to bed and my lovely boy and I made Gingerbread People. While his mother went shopping. When they were cooking we watched “Polar Express.” He loved it. Then when they were cool, we painted faces and buttons etc. Considering he is only 3 he did amazingly well. He also enjoyed eating two smaller members of the gingerbread family, plus hundreds and thousands (sprinkles) and silver balls which we used as eyes. As we were watching the rest of the film. He sat on my lap….ON MY LAP…not on top of the huge belly that used to be there! He was able to lean back and rest his head on my shoulder! I whispered in his ear “I hope you will remember this when you are older.” It was a magical moment for me. When his mother was his age, I didn’t think I could ever love anyone the way I loved her. Now I love all my grandies and my daughters. I am so, so, lucky! I wish I could bottle my happiness and send it to everyone in the world.

Today, being Saturday, I get to watch my dancing programme and have a drink. First I am going to have a lovely hot shower. Thank you all for being here and supporting me and everyone. We are such a family!

All my love
Nonna Mary
xxxx

A wee update from us. A belated thank you, Mixnmatch, for your advice, the diet worked for us. My husband and I both lost 13 pounds over 8 weeks, my blood sugar is lower as is my blood pressure and a loss of 3.5 inches off my waist. We have continued with the diet but to be honest, we’ve kind of lost a pound, gained a pound – repeat. We are still on a loss of 13 pounds total each and we want to continue with the diet plans. We feel we want to move over to the Mediterranean diet, or maybe the 5:2. Can anyone advise where we can find the guidelines for the Mediterranean diet? The book we have is the 8 week blood sugar diet book so we need more information on the Mediterranean diet – I’m happy to purchase another book, I’m just not sure which one to go for. I’m in the UK. Thank you!

Sounding as though you are all doing well in your refocusing, so still jumping here, still cheering, and still waving those pink pompoms for you all.

V – hope the blood test goes well. x

Hi all — some interesting thoughts Ancient weaver — I agree, skin tone keeps improving as we eat the BSD way! I have read that sugar is particularly damaging to skin and probably cutting the sugar (in ALL forms) has made a huge difference but I also agree that wild fish and lots of veg like parsley and greens of all sorts must also be helping.
I saw an old acquaintance the other day and she stopped dead and said “don’t you ever age?” Which was an incredible compliment and testament to the BSD! (She doesn’t know I go to bed at 8 pm which I think is a sure sign of aging ha ha!).
By the way, regarding sleep, this may not apply to you because your sleep pattern is old but the research says we should turn OFF our computers and cell phones and tablets very early in the evening — I don’t use mine after 6 pm — because the specific blue light they emit interferes with your production of melatonin. Melatonin has its own daily cycle in the body and rises at night to set us up for sleep.
I have started to go back to reading at night to help me sleep (and don’t look at phone during night, use a regular alarm clock)

How lovely to see you all logging in here again. Really great to have “our thread” reactivated and to hear how you are all doing – which, by the sound of it, is great so well done to everyone. I am convinced that the support and encouragement we give and receive on this forum is the absolute keystone to our success – so please keep on keeping on, and please keep on logging in to update us all.

Big pat on the back to you all.

Great to see you here Cathy, and thanks for the “bread” recipe.. I may be trying that one soon, may be nice with a bit of cheese?

Jackie, I think it’s the reverse dieting that is responsible – it apparently teaches the metabolism to “readapt” to more calories. There is loads of info on google, and I think most of the science behind it is anecdotal rather than scientifically proven, but it seems to be working for me – you can have a read here to start with (it’s just one of the first that popped up just now when I googled)

https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-ultimate-guide-to-reverse-dieting.html

Marie, as far as body fat percentage is concerned, I think it is the diet, although obviously the exercise helps to build muscle. I have always been reasonably fit, even when overweight, and I started with a body fat percentage of 33.6. It has been slowly declining since I started the diet – when I reached maintenance way back in early May it had reduced to 24.7 and has continued to drop slowly over the past 6 months, and is now 22.3. I assume your leisure centre “body scan” is a bodytrax? If so, £5 is a bargain – I have to pay double that!!

Interesting reading on how many calories you are needing every day to keep from losing more weight Theodora — I have found that I seem to be in metabolism overdrive since I got to goal also — I can eat a lot of food and not see any gain if it is BSD-friendly and low carb and I probably average 2200-2500 per day.
The only problem I have run into is that my stomach doesn’t like big meals anymore and if I eat a big amount at one time, my stomach actually hurts and it seems to take forever to get back to the point where I feel “empty” — I am not sure if it is physical or mental or both — but I consciously stop eating now to avoid that feeling, even with BSD-friendly foods.
But the increased metabolism is amazing and I am also warm all the time and I sleep with less blankets (and I am post-menopause hot flashes, mostly at 62) ha ha
So weight loss alone clearly does NOT lower your metabolism and people are being depressed for no reason thinking they will be a lifetime with restricted food intake — I think we lose a lot of people because they fear they will never eat again.

Thank you for the very warm welcome to this thread. I woke up this morning feeling really positive and have decided that now I am a healthy weight I am going to optimise my health with more good food. I had a glass of sparkling water with apple cider vinegar which wasn’t that pleasant. I’ve ordered some raw honey and some Ceylon Cinnamon from Amazon to enhance the flavour! I have got the clever guts book but not read it yet. However, I’ve just been to see my mother-in-law who reads the daily mail and I’ve just made a recipe from yesterday’s paper and I’ve eaten my first “bread” in 10 months. It is called “bread you can make in a mug”. It was delicious. It makes about 4 slices and I had two slices with cream cheese on it with salad leaves . Here is the recipe and you won’t believe how lovely it is and all BSD friendly.

2tsp coconut oil
1 large egg
2 tbsp ground almonds or ground walnuts
3 tbsp ground flaxseeds
Half tsp baking powder
Generous pinch of salt

Microwave the coconut oil in a mug with straight sides for 20 to 30 seconds. Use the oil to grease the sides of the mug.

In a small bowl thoroughly mix together the egg, 2 tsp water, the nuts, ground flaxseeds, baking powder and salt.
Pour the mixture into the mug. Stir the mixture with a fork to incorporate the coconut oil, making sure the top is level.

Microwave for one minute. If the bread still appears moist microwave for another 10-20 seconds. Avoid overlooking as this will make the texture rubbery. If it is still runny at the bottom put it back in for another 10-20 seconds. Allow to cool for a few minutes then cut into slices.

I had to share this with you as it was a revelation. It is 100 calories a slice but I haven’t worked out the carb content.

This is so quick and easy to make and a nice change.

Weight this morning was 132.2.

Let me know if you make it and what you think.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Cathy

Marie – I had 2stone to lose at the point I was 46% fat too! 5’3” height – is that like you?

Can’t stop thinking about Theodora and Alliecat and your continuing weight loss, especially given during the process it takes people a long time sometimes and lots of plateaus and stalling. I would love (as I am sure you would!) to know what is happening – do you think your muscles are now just so good at converting energy from fat you are in SuperDrive? I’d love to know at a biological level what was going on, it’s fascinating. Maybe MM would know?! Maybe you should drop him a line?! I love that our bodies are so responsive to change, after years of struggling and never getting anywhere, given the right ingredients.

Hi JackieM

Thanks for getting back to me so quick. Yes, I remember reading you had been working with a Personal Trainer for a while before BSD – wasn’t it the result of a back or shoulder problem, through rehab?

Ok so onward with the diet it is, then, which is fine as the ultimate goal is to control my blood sugars and this will be my woe long-term. I’ve still got approximately another 2 stone to lose so still time to reduce that body fat %. I plan to have another body scan (£5 at leisure centre) at the end of the 12 weeks – as you say, no point before – so will see then if there’s been any % change.

Given that exercise has been an alien concept to me I am actually enjoying the gym. Of course I know me and it’s very early to say about the long-term but enjoying something is half the battle.

Thanks again for responding and hope maintaining goes well for you.
Cheers
Marie x

Hi Marie123 – it is isn’t it and crept up on me as I normally get off scales before I see %. I’ve been weight training longer than I’ve been on BSD so I have to say I think it’s the diet. Also, it took a while to change, partly why I stopped checking.

I love weight training, it gets you out of breath without noticing! And compound exercises using your own body weight. My PT is an ex-gymnast and big into core work. I joke I’ve done so many squats and lunges I must be good enough to stop now! But they build up the big muscles in leg and bum which then keep on burning calories. I am in no way bulky, though, but I do feel very strong and centred.

Best of luck with it, I hope the PT suits you and you find out it’s something you love xx

Hi everyone, still at the same weight but happy to have already lost just over 3lbs which means I have 7lbs to go to reach my Christmas goal so will make an all out effort starting Monday but still being strict over the weekend. Today I have had a blueberry and green tea smoothie which was only around 75 calories then tuna and cream cheese dip with red pepper and celery around 170 calories and tonight I am having steak with a mushroom sauce and cauli mash – around 400 calories – so a total of 650 calories leaving space for a couple of glasses of wine.

I have just watched a video by a nutritionist which helped me understand overeating (which I rarely do now). She talked about white carbs and processed food creating pleasure sensations stimulating the production of dopamine which makes us want more of that feeling hence desire to eat more. Then she explained that creation of more insulin (the fat magnet) cut off the production of ghrelin which decreases appetite and then cuts out the leptin which tells us when we are full. I guess a lot of you already know about these processes but it just put into perspective what it is that bad carbs actually do to our bodies, giving a scientific explanation why this diet actually works and why we can survive on 800 calories. We lose the desire for those trigger foods because we have cut down the dopamine and insulin. If you are interested her book is called If I Am So Smart Why Cant I Lose Weight. Not promoting it, just a similar study as the Gary Taubes book – this one is American and I didn’t check out the price.

Hope you are all having a good weekend. I walked to the market this morning and bought a new foundation (face cream) in Yves Rocher and received free gift of hand cream, winter berry shower gel and a body scrubber (washer). I then bought some gold earrings which in the UK are called sleepers and in France they are called creoles. Now I dont work I rarely wear earrings and the holes have been healing up so I want something I can wear daily and to sleep in. Oh and I bought some spinach then realised it was organic hence the outrageous price. Hey ho. Keep on keeping on….

Hi Dreamscometrue thanks for your encouragement it’s great news that we only have 7lbs to go ! I’m starting a renewed effort and that means no wine until Xmas ! I will report in to let you know how it goes !

Hi JackieM

That drop in your body fat % is brilliant. Can I ask what you (and others, Theodora ?) think it is down to – is it the diet or more the weight training? I had a body scan a couple of weeks ago and my fat % was 46 – and that’s after I’ve lost a chunk of weight, which is a bit shocking.

I’ve just joined this 12 week exercise on referral programme. As part of it I’ve just started going to the gym. The trainer has set me a programme to do but I thought if there’s any particular exercises which people think are particularly helpful I could ask the trainer to incorporate them into my routine.

Any advice would be really appreciated. I’m a complete novice so think it would be good to try things out in the gym where the trainer can check I’m doing them right.
Marie x

Good morning … WEEK 3 / DAY 4 … heading towards the last week …..

I hope refocusing is working for you. I had another day yesterday without breakfast and I think I have cracked it now because I’m no longer hungry in the morning. So to today I will have brunch around 1pm. Also I’m finding it’s possible to cut way back on carbs eating this way. I know missing breakfast isn’t for everyone but if you are finding it difficult to stay low carb give it a go, unless you have diabetes when it may be unwise to ‘fast’.

Very interesting post Ancient Weaver I’m going to read it again thoroughly later.

Good to ‘see’ you Sueonit think maybe we all suffer with bingo wings …. those that don’t are bound to respond!

Have a good day/weekend all.

Panda Bear – isn’t that brilliant to have lost 10% and be so close to losing 15% of your body weight. But also to have gone from having bgl readings in double figures to 5s and 7s – that’s a fantastic result. You do right to record it – and celebrate it.

I’m 1lb away from being 10 stone 13lb instead of 11 stone and I’ve just plateaued for ages. But, it’s nice and sunny here today (not warm of course). That doesn’t happen often this time of year in the North of England so that’s cheering. I’m resolved to re-ignite my BSD today. I’m going to make some green soup (Verano’s recipe), go for a long walk, up the water and record everything again – even that spoonful of yogurt (or two) I have, standing up, fridge door open.(What, you mean that counts ?!?!?).

Ohmy – I’ve read success stories on here of people who upped their calories from 800 to 900, or even 1000, and still kept losing weight so I wouldn’t worry about going over on the calorie count too much. Best to go over than stop the BSD altogether. Also, the cravings for carbs really do get easier as you go along. Whichever way you do it – stick with it and you are going to be one of those success stories!

Marie x

Good morning all, it’s been great reading your posts, they do motivate me onwards. They can also make me feel very emotional as they are open and true and honest, I applaud all of you on your journeys! I have very high BP and have started taking meds’ for it, I would prefer not too. So here I am doing this way of eating and enjoying it!! Albeit I miss some treats but
week 3 1lb off so I am happy with that😊
I am away staying with relatives trying to make sure I can stay on it!! Thinking about my BWs will do some hand weights💪 And try to add some more exercise😱 good luck all 👍

Kazzi, if you hear a dull roar in your ears, those are my cheers from
across the ocean! You are just going from strength to strength,
dear heart, and I couldn’t be more proud of you if I tried. It’s 4:00am
here, so imagine a crazy lady doing cartwheels and backflips in
in her nightgown. How do you expect me to get back to sleep NOW?
If I didn’t think O/H would wake up, I’d be yelling “YES!!!” at the moon.
More later 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie
xoxoxo

Thanks for your concern Jackie, this forum is so caring. Yes, I think it’s just my metabolism gone into overdrive, which is a helluva lot better than going into starvation mode😉

As you say, my fat percentage is quite low these days (I’m pretty fit) at only about 22%. As it happens, I have just weighed myself and, having had a couple of glasses of wine and a few extra nuts/olives last evening, I’m registering a 1lb GAIN overnight 😀

Hope everyone else is doing okay?

Hi ClarinetCathy
Just wanted to chime in with a big congratulations – brilliant news!
Marie x

Happy weekend my sisters!

Thank you for your patience after my teaser on Thursday! This morning I weighed in at 16.12 lbs! I’m in the 16s!!!! Woohoo!! That is 3 lb off this week. 22 lbs lost in total. I will certainly continue with the 24 hour fasts, they are easy in comparison. However, any longer than that was quite hard but I will have another go, probably next week.

I’ve got a phone call with the doc booked in at 9.30 to discuss my recent test results – coeliac and liver function and then I’m off out to get my hair cut, so I will be back later.

Bye for now my lovelies.

Kazzeee xxx

Theodora – so glad to hear your MOT put you in the all clear! Was feeling a bit worried for you! So I guess it really is just more calories! I love creamy drinks, that would definitely work for me 😄😄😄😄

I guess the only other thing would be building more muscle (am big fan of weight training) but I don’t suppose you are losing muscle at the moment given your fat % is going down (I think that was you?) and we are on a decent amount of protein with this WoE. inspired me to check mine last night, though I don’t trust our scales much in that regard but my first fat % in August was 45% and now it’s 31% which I am more than happy with as a downward trend even if exact % are wrong.

Hi everyone and happy weekend! Great to see all the posts this week but haven’t been able to reply till now.

ClarinetCathy well done!! Am SO delighted for you reaching your goal 🙂 I know it’s been a bumpy journey at times and there have been times when you’ve been about to give up but well done for persevering and it’s great you made it!

Abbado your weight loss is phenomenal! Over 60 pounds is amazing – well done! Enjoy the wedding and do keep posting on here as you continue your journey. SueBlue keep on going too: it’s fantastic that you are now no longer pre-diabetic and have not only reversed your trend of putting on weight but are now steadily moving downwards despite your health issues. You’re doing really well and we all look forward to hearing about your ongoing progress!

Seasidenana congratulations again for all that’s happening in your life and good luck! You and I are at exactly the same stage now on BSD so hopefully we can travel the last 7 pounds together? We’re also so similar in that wine is my nemesis too :@ I’ve plateau’d for a few weeks now – probably because of that! – but would like to move on and shift at least some of my remaining excess pounds this side of Christmas. Will let you know how it goes. Doesn’t help that I injured two of my toes a couple of nights ago – one possibly broken – so I guess my new found jogging habit will be kiboshed for at least the next couple of weeks 🙁

Theodora thanks for your ongoing encouragement on the thread and hope all is well with you.

Bingo wings and skin tone.
Some time back now, one of my sons caught me doing some of my resistance exercises and asked why I was doing them. At that time, they were focused on my bingo wings and I told him I was trying to tone up my BW’s and he said it was nothing to do with muscle tone or fat, even so-and-so (a fit and skinny woman on the telly whose name eludes me at the moment) has bingo wings!
Indeed, after a few sessions I developed a bit of muscle there, and I can now tell that the floppy part of *my* arms is not muscle. In my case it is actually fat, but from my son’s remark, I realised that actually relaxed muscle will flop as well anyway! (He had said so-and-so had bw’s when she put her arms up and waved.)
That’s not to say muscle toning/building is bad, just that there is no point focusing on the negative, and concentrate on making sure the content of bw’s is more muscle than fat. I still have a way to go for that, but I am working on it. 🙂
If it really is loose skin, (mine aren’t), perhaps fasting does help. I hadn’t thought to check, until folks on this thread mentioned it, but my skin tone and elasticity has actually improved some time in the last few years (pinch test). It might be due to increased protein, cutting out carbs, reducing calories to 800, the exercises, or fasting, but from reading on the net, it seems most likely to be autophagy due, either to the calorie restriction or the daytime fasting. I’m not a smoker and never have been, nor have I ever been a ‘low fat’ eater, although I suppose it’s possible that it’s due to eating more oily fish, but I have always eaten a fair amount of them, and the improvement is significant, it really pings back into place, even on my bingo wings, and actually even on the back of my hands, where it looks appropriately old, it snaps back almost instantly.
When I was a kid I heard about skin aging, and the pinch test, and tried it on my Mum, who is about 30 years older than me, and remembered it years later when I got to the age that she had been, and sure enough my skin was just as slow as hers had been, but now it’s nearly as snappy as when I was a kid! In the morning, I’m going to try it on my son for comparison!
It’s got to be due to one or a combination of the things I’ve listed, but I’m astonished at how good my skin tone is. I keep pinching myself in different places, but it’s snappy all over! It can’t be due to fat pulling my skin tight either though, as I have lost over 1.5 stone in the last few months, so if anything my skin should be looser!

Sleep.
I have had problems with sleep all my life, and especially the last 10 years, but with dietary changes earlier this year, I actually had a few nights of sleeping the night through. Unfortunately although I had a few more good nights while I was away, when I visited family abroad, that was the end of it, just a week or so of close to proper sleeping, (I still had problems getting to sleep in the first place) and it didn’t come back after I got back either.
I think I have found the reason it didn’t happen again, but need to experiment to be sure.
Before I went away, I had relatively recently increased my protein intake and had only just cut out sufficient carbs to stop putting on weight. I’m not sure at that time whether this included carrots and parsnips or not, but I certainly haven’t had more than one or two pieces since going away. Recent reading suggested that carrot and parsley family might be beneficial, and experimentation in the form of celery stew with lots of parsley, has been significantly beneficial, so I’m wondering if carrots, or rather the lack of them, might be responsible for your lack of sleep.
Not sure if I’ve explained that as well as I could have, but I’m finally getting sleepy again, so going to try and get another hour or two of sleep before dawn. (I didn’t have any celery stew yesterday, and woke at 4. 🙁 )

Ooh! Now there’s a thought, Esnecca, thank you – plus a nice milky drink before bed may have the added benefit of helping me sleep. You may notice that I’m replying to your post in the early hours 😉

Sorry about muddling you and MnM, I knew SOMEONE had mentioned the metabolism boosting effect of reverse dieting.

I can empathise with you on the clothes buying front. It’s turning into somewhat of an addiction. Just yesterday, along with my new bras, I treated myself to another new dress (never used to wear dresses) a couple of jumpers and yes, you got it………another pair of really cute boots😉

Theodora, I believe it was MixnMatch who got all the way up to 2500 cals a day on her reverse diet. I’ve been doing my version much more slowly and am still below 1000. Like you and Allie, I have no desire to cram more food down my gullet, and I quite like that I can only tolerate small portions these days before I get full. It’s like a security system.

Your continuing losses are troubling, however. Since you seem to be more comfortable with a glass of wine than a square of chocolate, how about trying to drink your calories? It doesn’t have to be something sugary or acoholic or an additive to coffee. I had a lovely glass of hemp milk for dessert the other night with a drop of cheesecake flavoring and a teaspoon of vanilla powder. It was scrumptious. There are all kinds of unsweetened non-dairy milks out there that would make a delicious treat, and you can drink a lot more cashew milk than you can eat cashews.

Lord help me, I cannot stop buying new clothes. The first shopping spree I went on was in September when I finally crossed the threshold into the healthy BMI category and it was still warm. Now it’s gotten cold and I have less than zero tolerance for it so I had to buy sweaters and silk long johns and waterproof boots and an ultra-warm coat. Then that led me to an insatiable thirst for cute booties to go with all my ankle pants and the cute cropped hems on my jeans! I can’t have my ankles exposed to the cold, can I? Obviously the only solution is to buy every bootie in sight, the more embroidery and happy colors the better.

I figure I barely bought a stitch for 20 years because the options were so god-awful and the process so humiliating, so now that I’m a normal person who can go into normal stores and buy normal clothes, I’m making up for lost time. 😀

Yay and giant congratulatory fireworks CC on attaining your goal! That is wonderful and I know you’ve been plugging away at it for a long time as I have read your posts and followed your progress.
This is wonderful news!! You go girl!

****that was obviously meant to read 36GG in my previous post. Sorry for the typo.

I was having steel cut oats cooked up with lots of water (1 cup of oats to 5-6 cups of water) and this would last me about 10 days when mixed up with some seeds and/or nuts and some berries and greek yogurt. I was finding that my carbs were quite high though, so I have started using 1 Tbsp of chia and 2 Tbsp of flax mixed with some almond milk, greek yogurt and berries and that is much lower in carbs and keeps me satisfied much longer. It also doesn’t require any cooking. You can cover the chia and flax with almond milk in a jar and leave it overnight, or I mix it up when I get up in the morning and it is ready at 10am when I eat breakfast on my morning break at work. It tastes different from porridge but I still like it a lot.
I have also been experimenting with the broccoli bread in the recipe section. The first time I made it as the recipe said. It worked quite well but was a bit fragile for transporting. This last time, I substituted some of the almond flour with flax and added a bit of grated cheese and it held together much better and I found the flax made it a bit “breadier”. I’m going to keep experimenting as I am trying to cut down my cheese intake, and although I don’t really crave the carbs from bread, I do find I miss the yeasty flavour. I may try using some nutritional yeast in it and see what that is like.

Whoa, Seasidenana, how great to hear from you, and so good to know you are plodding on, despite all the exciting developments in your life. Moving house is so stressful – we have attempted to downsize on at least half a dozen occasions but, halfway through clearing out the family home have chickened out and decided we just cannot face it! I know the reason for your move is far more cheerful, but it must be stressful nevertheless, so good on you to keep plodding away at BSD and you will look absolutely gorgeous in both your wedding dress and your swim suit in the Caribbean. Go girl, you only live once, after all.

Cathy, yet again, I’ll bring on the dancing girls (or boys) to celebrate your wonderful achievement. Don’t be offended if I call you a tortoise – remember the story about the tortoise and the hare? I have a feeling that you, if anyone, will still be slim and lithe this time next year and, probably for years to come. So HUGE congratulations to you. And to SueBlue too, who is another shining example of keeping on keeping on.

So pleased that we have managed to revive our January thread and have a goodly compliment of keeper-onners reporting in. xx

To sue blue

Thanks for posting that link, very interesting reading, knowledge is power.

Hi Juliet,
So glad you are feeling better and thanks for the update re breakfast. X

Hello all : )

Apologies for not posting the past few days. I really have been feeling dreadful and by the time I sat down at night and had time to post I felt so washed out I couldn’t face writing! I’ve been aching all over. had a painful face – under my eyes, in my cheek bones, muscles. I’ve felt sick (can’t spell naus…nauseu..) dizzy, light headed and hungry. And today (day 5) – all change – yippee!! I’ve felt great, no hunger and really positive and in control. So for anyone just starting off – do persevere through these initial few days – your body is adjusting to the massive changes you are putting in place for the long term and that’s worth putting up with for a few days. It will get better!

Pinkclare12 – Hi! You were asking about breakfast – in the book MM says you don’t have to have breakfast, do whatever suits you best. Since doing the BSD last year I never have breakfast and regularly fast from around 6.30pm until 12.30pm the next day when my daughter comes home from school for lunch. I find the mornings very easy to get through on just coffee, lots of water and the occasional mug of Bouillion if I’m struggling. I notice that once I start eating I feel hungry a lot of the time so putting off that initial meal seems to help me. After that I try and pace myself, drinking fizzy water with a slice of lemon if I’m hungry between meals. I tend to be ravenous by 4pm and that’s when I eat most of my cals and carbs, then a light supper and I’m fine. It doesn’t work every day, but I for one prefer to give breakfast a miss, otherwise for me the day just seems too long for those few carbs!!

Good luck and well done to us all for making it to Friday! Stay good over the weekend : )

Hi Welshannie,
Thanks for your reply and info – hopefully one of the experts may be able to answer the other questions raised.

Stick with it. You will only regret the chocolate! Maybe factor in a square of dark chocolate into your day?

I have just planned the lunch and dinners for the next week. Have added the turkey burgers!

I’ve lost 3lb, but have been doing a bit of exercise (from YouTube) there are some good low level walking ones for just 15 mins that are good to get started!

Good luck and have a fab weekend. Xxx

Jackie, thanks for your concern and, I have to admit that the same thought had crossed my mind. But I had my annual MOT with my doctor just 10 days ago, and they passed me A1 fit – were astounded at how much weight I’d lost and how well I was. I honestly think it is a result of the reverse dieting – I’m sure I remember Esnecca reporting something similar, and that she had to go up to 2500 calories per day before she started putting on weight. Please correct me if I’m misremembering, Esnecca.

But certainly, as it’s a phenomena that my maintenance buddy, Allie, is experiencing too, I’m not overly worried on the health front. I just seriously don’t want to get any thinner.

Allie, your mention of your coccyx made me laugh, albeit sympathetically. I said to o/h just last evening that I was getting more and more uncomfortable sitting for long periods. Not my coccyx though, it’s my pin bones that hurt – at least I always call them “pin bones” because that’s what they are called in dogs – but, having googled the correct term it is apparently my “ischial tuberosities” which are causing me pain! Have to feel for them, they have supported so much weight, with so much padding, for such a long time, it must have come as a bit of a shock to them!!

I have eaten and drunk far more than usual today, so will wait to see what the scales say tomorrow. I went to be measured for new bras today and was gobsmacked to be told I am now a 32″ C – down from a 34G when I hit goal weight, and a 39GG when I started BSD.

Really great to have my January buddy, CC, aboard. Cathy, well done on finally reaching maintenance – been a long old haul for you, but slowly, slowly catchee monkey, as they say. Huge congratulations for sticking with it, and gaining your reward. xx

Hi guys

Five days in.

Warm Welcome Clare

I am new to this diet so will not be able to answer your questions. Hopeful someone will be able to help you. It sounds like you have a very difficult year. And an emotional eater like me.

Years ago when the atikins diet came out, I was able to get test strips from my Dr,s to test for Ketones in my urine which is a by product of your body using up fat stores. You may be able to buy testing kit over the counter.

Skipping breakfast? Not sure about that one. I only started on Monday and by the morning I will eat anything. I hate yogurt but I am enjoying no carb Bircher.

I love salads and veg too. I did the spicy turkey burger for dinner with salad 🥗 but I think I have over eaten on the salad, so an interesting question, how much is too much?. I know you have to be careful with the some of the root veg.

Been so good so far, second good fasting day with blood sugar level at 6,8 this morning. But I have not lost any weight so far. But I can feel the difference with my body. So sticking to it.

Now that I am able to drive again and started back to work.. it is time to start the gym again . Love swimming but not so keen on weights. I do walk my dogs 🐕 but need to come out of my comfort zone.

Found today hard to stay on the straight and narrow so say speak. First day thinking about mars bars! ( even when I ate rubbish, I did not buy mars bars! ) But I need a good result again tomorrow morning with blood sugar level.

Have a great weekend
Welshannie

Brilliant achievement Clarinetcathy – welcome to maintenance. You will love being on maintenance – it’s so good to be able to eat more of the lovely BSD foods.

Isn’t it great also to ditch the big clothes and to see a slim person when you look in the mirror. Although I must admit it did feel a bit weird in the beginning.

Arcticfox, this article explains about carbs and water weight. I can’t remember where it was originally posted but I saved it as I found it interesting.
https://8fit.com/nutrition/glycogen-gluconeogenesis-and-water-weight/

ClarinetCathy – Heartfelt congratulations on your achievement!
Savor it 🙂 I think it’s fantastic that MnM thought to start this thread.
I’m really looking forward to hearing another voice that is figuring
out what is in my opinion the more daunting task, MAINTENANCE.
You have some catching up to do, reading back thru the thread.
It must be wonderful to find some old friends here. Looking
forward to getting to know you!

Allie

There are some lovely porridge recipes in the 8 week BSD recipe book, I love the Pecan Chia porridge and the Apple & Cinammon one. I’ve read that oats can spike blood sugars, but I don’t have diabetes so it’s not a concern for me. Plus the pecan chia one uses only 25g oats for 2 servings.
Talking of porridge, I did make porridge bread once, it was quite easy to make – just oats, Greek yogurt, seeds and oil from memory. I cut it into slices and froze them, and when I felt desperate for a piece of toast I’d have that. To be honest though I rarely feel like bread or toast nowadays, have got used to not eating it.
Do you like mushrooms? Flat mushrooms make a good toast alternative, they are nice baked in the oven with feta, spinach and nutmeg. I sometimes make them the evening before (say when I’m cooking dinner) and then just reheat in the morning, as on a work morning I wouldn’t have time to put the oven on and prep them.
Another breakfast I like is the Simple Egg muffins – I make a batch up on the weekend as it’s a great way to use up leftover veg, cheese etc. they only take 30 seconds to heat up in the microwave in the morning.
Also sometimes I’ll have things like a Ploughmans or Hommus and veggie sticks! I would never have dreamt of eating those sort of foods for breakfast before BSD.