I have been doing alternate day fasting this week, with 400-500 cal fast days. I’m not diabetic, so I’ve been coping, but I was feeling quite run down and tired on Wednesday evening, so it wouldn’t surprise my if my blood glucose levels were rather low. I can understand that it could be rather dangerous for someone with diabetes to do this, and especially without medical supervision. I think I had not been eating nearly enough calories on the previous feed days to make up the energy either, so I made a conscious effort to eat closer to 2000 cal on Thursday. It was hard! I couldn’t eat much at one time because I would get full quickly, and then I wasn’t hungry for my next meal either. I’m hoping it will get easier as my body settles into the pattern.
My main reason for switching to this pattern is that I never intended to do calorie restriction for more than 8 weeks, and although I was losing weight, I wasn’t losing much in the way of inches off my waist and that is the fat I really want gone. I am also hoping that fasting will keep my metabolism from falling off too much so that I can move into maintenance a bit easier, and not immediately put a lot of weight back on. I’ve only lost about 100g so far this week, but I have already lost 1/2 off my waist, so it must be working! I managed to do up my slimmest riding breeches easily this morning and they are not threatening to burst at the seams as they were when I started this journey, and I pulled my belt in a notch.

AAh I see now. There has been someone putting links to things like mobile phone sites and other electrical goods. But on the subject of spammers be careful out there peeps. I am receiving at least 4 emails a day from various sources saying my order has been delayed and I should click on the link (what order???) or that my Amazon account has been blocked and I have to follow a link to change my password. I sent that one to Amazon spam stoppers site and it wasn’t from them – who would have guessed 🙂

Anyway, with people doing a lot of online shopping at this time of year the internet is rife with scammers – so check and double check any emails and dont ever click on links. You can always go direct to the site using their official address and check things out there.

I’m with Verano on the fasting question. Not because I dont think people should do it but because I am diabetic I would be on the floor within the first evening. Today I have eaten quite light with boiled egg for breakfast, then Spanish chickpea soup for lunch. I have just done my BG reading and I am down to 4.1 which is getting dangerously low and I am going to have dinner in half an hour. Imagine my readings if I hadn’t had any food. I used to be able to fast when I was younger and found it a short term quick fix so if it works for you and you are keeping yourself safe then go ahead.

Hi Verano,

Sorry I didn’t realise you posted a second response yesterday. I’ve just read it. No, you don’t sound as if you’re doom-mongering. I can see you have a genuine concern about fasting. I agree with what you say about the importance of a well-balanced diet. My interest in fasting isn’t so much to do with the weight loss – I’ve lost enough now to know I’m going to get to a goal weight (to be decided) fairly early into 2018 – however fast or slow I lose.

Having got my blood sugar under control, I suppose I’ve turned my attention now to getting rid of the visceral fat and Jason Fung’s idea of fasting as a way of giving the pancreas a rest and trying to reduce my insulin response.
As much as anything I’m doing it out of curiosity – I’m interested to know if it’s effective. I don’t know yet what length of fast I’ll do but as I said if I think it’s affecting me in any way badly (particularly my blood sugars) I’ll be stopping straight away.

But your post has been helpful. It’s made me stop and get very clear in my head exactly why I’m doing it.
Again, it’s appreciated.

Marie x

Congratulations, s-g! Way to get back in the game in a big way. Give yourself a big pat on the back because this was a hard-won victory.

Hi s-g wonderful news!! You are the first to drop into the next stone. Now you need to take one day at a time and you’ll soon be closer to 11 than 12.

I know exactly where you are coming from as I’ve been here almost as long as you and I’ve reached my main goal ….. reversing my diabetes. It does make it much harder to concentrate the mind when the issue becomes more one of weight than one of health …. BUT …. you have mentioned a magic word ‘cruise’. We also have a trip planned for March/April including an 18 night cruise!

So come on my friend let’s try and keep that uppermost in our minds and keep losing if only to look good on our hols.

As for me, I now have to lose even more to drop into the next stone, 3.6lbs but being away I’m not too unhappy. I feel like I’m still maintaining at the moment. I’m not regaining in my head, but I will just have to try harder to drop down into the next stone!

Evening all

I have found it impossible to stick to 800 calories so far this week but, you know what, I’m trying not to stress about it. I’ve eaten low carb and that will have to suffice for now (check me out – being all chilled about it).

I won’t weigh now until Tuesday and will use the weekend to refocus on the 800 part of the plan when I don’t have the stress of work – where it’s impossible to avoid Quality Street, Heroes, Celebrations, Cake, Chocolate etc etc (although I have avoided them, but am eating too many nuts to counteract the feeling of missing out on the other stuff)

Have a good, clean weekend all

I too, Allie, share your sense that the train is moving too fast these days. It is hard to stay calm with so much going on, minute to minute, everything from gender to pay to immigration to nuclear threats to environmental collapse (to just name a few!!) I find myself just turning off the news and trying to take in LESS information.
I’ve been trying to combat all the anger out there by being especially kind to everyone I meet and trying to not respond to provocations until I can get my own self sorted and composed.
I used to eat to keep my brain calm but BSD has given me some better coping strategies! I’m doing good on maintenance too — just sticking with the principles and not paying much attention to it beyond that — I love this WOE — I’m never going back to carbs and I don’t even look at them like I used to — they look like non-food to me now.
I stood in line at the grocery the other day and just marveled (in horror) at all the cr*p that was around me, candy and more candy and doughnut holes and pies and cupcakes and granola “bites” and cookie tubs and buckets of Dutch-crunch bread — and all of that within just a few feet of the check-out line — it doesn’t even look like food anymore, just like some awful art project (I mean, the colors!) —
So glad you are doing well!! I always love your enthusiasm and energy and postings!

Hey Sunny, I haven’t started that thread yet but will. I’ll post the link back here when it’s up.

The post she report was left by a spammer who bumped a bunch of threads the other night. The mods deleted all of its posts so now it looks like Mariet is talking to Lump when it was actually the post right after Lump’s. I reported the spammer too, so I noticed at the time.

Thank you SO much, Julia, for adding your professional experience and judgement to
your analysis of this tragic set of circumstances. It’s helped enormously with my
understanding of this incident, and I’m truly grateful that you’ve taken the time to
respond to a subject so off thread. There is so much turmoil in our beloved country,
sometimes I think the train is just moving too fast for me to absorb it all. I much
appreciate your perspective. I hope everything is well with you, my sister! My confidence in
maintenance continues to grow weekly, so all A-OK here. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi everyone.Im late to join and its because I am completely off plan.eating freely every day and having cravings and hypo feelings.Ive gained 1 kg in less than a week and Ive had a real struggle to get myself motivated.So my goal is to try for a 1kg loss but more important to break my cravings for bread etc and stick to the Bsd principles. Back to daily weight.measure Bgl and weigh my food. Increase exercise. Hopefully focus on the plan and the results will follow.I may post more to keep myself accountable

I have been here so long I even get bored with myself. I have never really concentrated on my weight as my BG was a bigger concern. However, I am where I want to be with my BG in that I have reduced meds and have good HbA1c readings BUT I have not managed to get rid of the meds completely and call myself in remission. I have been diabetic for 12 years and using insulin all that time and that is what I want rid of. I guess I need to concentrate on my weight now and have the added effect of further reducing my need for meds. I am a bit slow and a bit complacent so not in any hurry to get to my long term goal of no meds and 9.5 stone but I keep sliding back then picking myself up and sliding back and so on. I have been on this plan since June 2016 so I should just buck up my ideas.

Hi Allie — with a heavy heart I am probably not going to shed much light on the Kate Steinle verdict — I know how betrayed many people feel by this shocking verdict but as an attorney I also know that the facts in court are often radically different from the information presented by the media.
From what I have heard, the jury focused on the fact that the bullet hit a concrete pier, then ricocheted 200 feet before it hit Kate — an improbable result and trajectory — and I think ultimately why he was acquitted of her death.
Maybe “reckless behavior resulting in death” (some kind of manslaughter) might have been a better charge but the crazy “noise” around the death and the issue of illegal immigration and sanctuary cities made it impossible for the prosecution to go with anything but the big guns.
It seems to me, like so many, that she did not get the justice she deserved but I was not there in the courtroom and I did not hear all the testimony so I don’t really know if that feeling is true or just my frustration with her awful and pointless death.
What I do think is that the city of San Francisco is partially responsible for her death by not enforcing the immigration laws and they do all their residents massive damage by not enforcing the law. Legal immigrants are harmed as well and the mood turns ugly between fellow San Franciscans when people feel that some people are being protected at the expense of others.
It seems odd, doesn’t it, that we argue over a legal and orderly immigration policy — but it has become so politicized that the reasonable middle ground just can’t be found.
Worldwide I think, people want legal and orderly immigration policies that protect the immigrant AND the citizen — we see that everywhere in the world.
Unfortunately, Kate Steinle’s death got all mixed up in that.
My heart goes out to her family. It is a tragedy.

What a lovely, sweet sentiment, Allie. You’re so kind and warm, thank you. That suit is magical, I think. It enchants everyone at first site because the fit, fabric, detailing, even things you don’t really see like the lining, are all top notch. Also in general White House Black Market’s slim ankle pant is a perfect cut for me. If I could buy the store out of every single model they make I would. Heck, I might! 😀

Luvtcook, I was in scale avoidance mode when I started so I don’t know exactly, but I was a hair under 300 pounds when I began weighing myself on week 4. I’m 99% sure I had already lost at least 25 pounds in the first half of the program. Overall (because I lost probably another 20 or so in the 4 months before I started the BSD just by cutting white carbs), I have good reason to believe that I’ve lost something in the neighborhood of 220 pounds. I say 200 just because it’s nice round figure that I know I have certainly lost.

So sorry, s-g! I always think of you in terms of your extensive knowledge on BSL,
as well as the impressive exercise routine that you’re able to do! (100 squats? good
grief 🙂 ) You are a petite one, aren’t you? Sometimes it’s hard for me to contain my
enthusiasm for this WOL! I know that if I can lose 10 stone, any and all things are
possible. I’ll be cheering you on to victory. Must be a challenge in the kingdom of excellent
bread, wine and cheese, , my nemeses! I’m more of the rangey, leggy type….5’7”,
and ecstatic to have a current BMI of 21.46. KOKO! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie

Hi Allie and LTC – I shall indeed post tomorrow what the scales say.
LTC – a 4 day fast is very impressive! I might also join you. Weird, I feel slightly naughty that I’m fasting at all – it’s been drummed into us for so long about eating 3 or 4 times a day. I do need to be better at making sure my food is more nutritious, that’s for sure. I have a lot to learn on that score…

Allie – Fung’s book – it says that after the fat is used up for energy, the body then turns to the dodgy rubbish cells and uses those up (autophagy – saggy skin), producing new cells. As I will have plenty of saggy skin to go at, I’m not worried about burning muscle!

My boss has just brought in some very expensive buttery mince pies and a box of fancy chocs from the local posh choccy place! Another guy came back from a breakfast meeting with a tray of crusty bread bacon sandwiches and a bowl of ketchup! All put on the fat station for whoever to help themselves. I have kindly declined, saying I was saving myself for Xmas! He can’t believe his ears! 🙂

Allie – I’ll have to look to see if we have anything available like collagen protein powder over here. I’m afraid bone broth doesn’t appeal to me in the least to be honest but I would be interested, LTC, in your recipe that is so comforting. Happy to learn about that.

It would be fabulous LTC for you to reach your target of 199 so I am routing for you, and routing for myself – I’m at 230lbs right now. Allie is the coach as she’s already got there and is championing our cause!

Right, duty calls – see you all tomorrow my lovelies.

Kazzeexx

Whoa steady on allie, I still have at least over 2 stones to go as I am only 4″11 inches. I want to be 135 lbs so 9 st 9 lbs. Maintenance is a long way off for me. In the shorter term I want to be 11.11 for Xmas and then down to 11 stone before I go on my next cruise in April.

Allie: yes on homemade bone broth….the benefits of a turkey carcass leftover from Thanksgiving. LOVE homemade soup.
XOXO back to you.

That’s great news, sunshinegirl! You did very well on your own this week. Most of
all, you’re back “on track”, and that must feel great. What are your long term goals?
A place on the maintenance thread awaits you! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie

Excellent, Kazzi and LTC. I should of known you’d be on top of the nutrition question!
Can’t wait til tomorrow for your weigh in Kazz. It’s also very informative to hear your
individual experiences with fasting because it’s coming from friends that I “know”. 🙂
I’m happy that you found each other here, because where you both are on the journey
is indeed similar. I do have an “ear” for success, and I have no doubt that you will be
where you want to be in the future. Count on it!

LTC, are you making your own bone broth? I found that putting a scoop of Dr Axe’s
collagen protein powder in my coffee every day while doing the 800 gave me an
extra 7g of protein with a mere 28 cal. It’s good for the joints, hair, nails and SKIN, also.
I didn’t want to lose muscle mass either! It was so edifying to see my weight drop below
200 lbs. There is definitely something psychological in that short term goal. 🙂

Carry On, my lovelies!

Allie
xoxo

Esnecca, all I can say is WOW. Remind me of how much you have lost in total? You are an inspiration to a lot of posters and the pics say it all. You look fabulous. You should be flying high.

Congratulations SGirl…how wonderful to be in a whole new set of numbers beginning with 11!

Kaz, I am with you. Doing a 2 day fast that actually ends up being 60 hrs (last meal on Wed evening at 6:30, fast for Thur & Fri, first meal breakfast on Sat, so 48 hrs plus overnight is 60).

I also feel no hunger pains whatsoever and find 24 hrs really easy to do. This was not the case a couple of years ago doing 5:2. I found it hard doing the 500 cal on the fast day. But a switch flipped on the BSD. Once I got over the first couple of hard days, hunger is gone….and fasting for 2 days not a big deal. Did a 4 day fast early in NOV and found day 4 tough….but think I was not getting enough salt.

Like you and Allie I have no concerns about nutrients. Am careful to make the rest of the week count with very nutritious food. Am thinking I may do this pretty regularly with bone broth for lunch and dinner as I find it very satisfying and soothing. I do think the fasting is a great tool and also appears to have extra weight loss umph without a lot of effort. And the data cited by Jason suggests that fasters do NOT lose muscle on a fast, which was also a concern of mine.

I was sorry to hear your one meal a day regime was not successful. Sounded like a great idea to me too. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding. Anxious to hear how you continue to get on with some 2 day fasts sprinkled in as I may copy you if you find it is working well. Even just a 60hr fast once a week seems very doable to me. I am at 215 lbs and am so anxious to get out of the 200s and see 199 again. I would be thrilled to lose 3 lbs a week up to that point and 2.5 lbs wk after that.

Good luck Kaz…look forward to reading about your success

Hi all, just dropped under 12 stone now at 11.13 3/4lbs so hopefully that is bye bye to the 12. Next goal is to get under 76 something on the kilo scale. Just 300 grams to go.

Mariet, I am not understanding why you should report this post, it is just asking about calories burnt during exercise and whether BSD allows us to up our calories to compensate. Not only that, the post is over a year old. Please explain,

Esnecca, I was a little pressed for time yesterday, so waited til now to comment. You
look fantastic!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t be happier for you if you were my own daughter. You’re not
only fearless in the kitchen, but obviously have a “go for it” spirit with your new wardrobe!
Multi talented, I’d say 🙂 🙂 🙂 I have a pretty fair idea what was going through Mother’s
thoughts when you came down the stairs on Thanksgiving Day. Keep posting your
pics, because something tells me your not finished yet with the shopping 🙂 Nice to
see someone else O.D.ing on boots/booties, too!

Like all of you above I too was worried about once again regaining all the weight, since that has been my history over many diets.

It was a real eye opener to read some of the work of Dr. Jason Fung and watch some of his videos. He is a Canadian nephrologists working with diabetics and has done some wonderful talks that are available in videos. Here is a link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iatPAjf5I_Y

He cites research that shows that those that were placed on a mild calorie restriction diet saw their metabolic rate drop with each round of dieting they were on, and like the US show the Biggest Loser, nearly all regained the weight that they lost.

HOWEVER……those that lost weight through intermittent fasting (like the 5:2 diet or the BSD) did NOT see their metabolism drop.

This is a game changer which means that keeping the weight off no longer means staying well below a normal TDEE (see 5:2 diet site to calculate what is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure allowance, or how many calories you need to stay a stable weight).

And as many of you pointed out, the fact that there are so many mantainers on this site that have kept their weight off for over a year speaks volumes. Unlike dieters on other programs, these maintainers are still hugely enthusiastic about the BSD and feel it is a WOE that they can maintain for a lifetime. The 5:2 presents the other alternative….1 to 2 days of 500-800 calories a day to shed a pound or two as soon as you see you have gained a bit.

All good news.

Hi all, just gone under the next stone so 11 stone 13 3/4lbs. Hope this continues while I am on my own. Obviously I didn’t cheat last night.

Thankyou for opening this up again, I loved reading the older stories, am in the same boat of thinking this is for life and happy it is after a 15kg weight loss since August. 4kg to my ‘optimum’ weight, great to read all the posts.

Been out of the loop for a couple of days, as I have been helping to mind a very concussed grandson. I see that a new thread has been started for sharing fashion tips, hints and joy, but did anyone actually start the one for sharing low carb recipes? Had a scan through and nothing stood out as a possible – sorry it’s probably glaringly obvious and I just didn’t spot it.

Doing okay on the maintenance front. We are away this weekend, visiting with friends and catching up with our son and family, all of which will doubtless mean I use up some wriggle room, but not stressing about it, as I’m confident I can rectify things next week if necessary.

Have a good w/e everyone.

Morning all, trying to get to my middle BMI, so not having breakfast until 11am ish, not specifically counting calories but keeping carbs low. Weight this am 61.1kg, so lost 400g (I think, definite loss anyway) since yesterday. Mini target 60kg, then 57kg ultimate end weight. Seems to be dropping off at the moment, after stalling around 62kg for a couple of weeks. Don’t feel like I’m really doing much except keeping on keeping on and ignoring the plateaus and refusing to stress about it, it’s so ingrained now (4 months in).

Other mini goal – greens every day, and more water, else there can be issues at the other end of my body and I want to keep all parts of me healthy not just my pancreas!

Well done Seelie!
The good thing about this diet is that after loosing weight, our insulin levels seem to reset, making weight gain harder (but not impossible if we go back to old bad habits). Carbs a scalable too, so we can increase them somewhat after dieting without overdoing them. We also become aware of what to eat.

Good luck, I may get back on the diet soon!

Morning Good Folks,
A shock on the scales today – I appear to have put 1lb on overnight. Perhaps I’ve been hammering the cheese a little too much…yesterday I had cottage/spinach combo cheese for breakfast, then feta in the Medi platter for lunch, and halloumi kebabs for tea. Maybe I am turning into a cheese wheel myself 🙂

Also perhaps salt retention? Anchovies on the Medi platter, plus halloumi being a salty cheese….hmmmmm. It appears I have been Miss Nibbles yesterday and now it’s showing.

Anyway, very disappointing to see hard-won progress reverse, and overnight too! Back on the mission today for sure.

A temporary set back hopefully.

Happy Friday all X

I too worried about this (don’t we all!). I lost over 30 kilos using a Nutritarian approach, which is 90% green leafy veg, raw and cooked, fruit, seeds, nuts, beans. That’s it. No oil, salt either. It was doable for me, as I was highly motivated. But I also had to cook for my family etc, so lots of double cooking, and I could never just eat out, or share a ‘normal’ meal with those I love. I felt good until about 8 months in, my iron stores had fallen through the floor, and weight loss stalled. I started to eat a very healthy but more inclusive diet. I gained a kilo a week. Eventually I gave up, totally frustrated. A few years on, I’d regained everything , with interest.
This time, I can eat with everyone else, they can eat what I cook – lots of yummy new recipes. After nutritarianism, I feel like I’m sitting at a banquet table! And the weight is coming off, so far 10 kilos in 4 weeks. I know this is a sustainable approach for me, and that is what matters.
I also realise that now that I was eating a (healthy) high carb diet, which was not good for me. No wonder I ballooned when I added anything else whatsoever to it.

Hi Allie – please don’t worry about the fasting, I have eaten a bsd friendly meal every other day of about 600 calories and I take a daily multi vitamin for extra insurance! Mary recommended that. I haven’t felt hungry either! Feel just great! I think leaving out the milk in tea and coffee has made the difference. I’ve been eating once a day Mon to Fri (24 hr fast) and 2 meals Sat and Sun (18:6 fast) for about 6 weeks now and saw very small losses on the scales as you know. I did a 48 hour fast last week. I’ve done 2 this week and have dropped 7 lbs! (Sorry Mary – hope you’re not reading this). I’m sure I will gain over the weekend so will be interesting to see if my theory, that I mentioned to Mary, is correct.

Happy 1st of December to you all by the way!! And happy Friday!

I’ll be back later friends.

Kaz xxx

Hi all! I started with 5 2 about 4 weeks ago. I combined it with a low carb approach on non fast days, and when I did my averages, turned out to be averaging 800 calories a day. Do you think this will have a similiar effect as doing the the straight 800 a day approach? So I do the 500 cal days, 3 times as week, and stay under 1200 on the other days, keeping carbs below 50 gms. These feels like feasting, after the fast days!
Although not pre diabetic, I have struggled massively with my weight over the years, despite eating whole foods etc. I started at 280 pounds, and I’ve already dropped 31 pounds. Reading other people’s posts makes me feel it might actually be possible to finally ‘reboot’ my system, lose the weight and take my health back into my own hands.
I just turned 50, and my motivation is high, as I am looking at brain surgery for Trigeminal Neuralgia. I want to see if eating this way, apart from getting me in better shape for a major operation, may actually help me find a way to possibly not need it.

Welcome to Kush and caroni. Nice to have you here as part of the mix.

Hi, marie, a boogie board is a sort of beginner surf board, shaped like but smaller and light weight, made from foam or plastic. They abound at any local beach in the summer. Grandson loves his, especially when his dad takes him to the beach. We’re second best there, lol 🏄

Those cobalt blue ones SLAY THE WORLD and the red ones, oh lawds heavens to Betsy be still my beating heart. All together now! These half metal stilettos are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these red-hot boots are going to walk all over you. 😀

Oh, Tasha, you mentioned your daughter is on thyroid meds. That might be one of the reasons her weight loss is a little sluggish. There’s some info in this thread that might be of interest: https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/is-there-anyone-doing-this-plan-that-has-an-underactive-thyroid/ . Forum member Nonna Mary has experienced very slow losses as well and I believe she’s on levothyroxine.

Oh, I forgot to answer your question about carbs and fiber. In the US, fiber is counted a subset of carbohydrates and is therefore subtracted from the total number to get the net or effective carb grams. In the UK, labelling regulations split it into a separate category so fiber should not be subtracted from total carb count. Fat Secret defaults to the UK system. MyFitnessPal to the US.

Nothing’s ever simple, is it? After all the travails you and your daughter have been through just trying to get a single straight answer and save her future, mobility, health and wellness, having to wade through the complexities of nutrional guidelines is no fun, I’m sure. Anything we can do to make it easier we’re more than glad to do.

Gorgeous ankle boots, Theo! The pair that caught my eye and are just up my alley
on the M&S site are the suede stilleto tassel pointed ankle boots. Available in black
and grey. Will have to take a look at shipping. I like your style 🙂 🙂 🙂

Theo and Esnecca, as well as Flick & Pancita: Just wanted to tell you all how highly I think of you all being so very kind to Tasha and the issues she is dealing with regarding her daughter. The kindness on this website really is touching. People go out of their way to be gentle and tactful, and as helpful as they can be. It really is a soft place to land for so many that have had a tough go of it battling weight and often the bad treatment of others. I hope the excellent advise offered to Tasha may help her.

And Theo, thanks for posting the link to that terrific BBC program Doctor in the House….had never seen any of those before. Quite impressed.

Good luck Tasha…you are dealing with a tough issue but hopefully the answer is out there for you. Lower carbs and greater food diversity sound like great places to start;

Hi Californiagirl (julia!) – I’ve just heard the Garcia Zuarte verdict, and I have to apologize
in advance because this has nothing to do with the BSD. My heart is bleeding for the
Steinle family tonight. I can’t comprehend what has just happened in San Francisco.
As a lifetime resident of Cali, can you share your unique perspective on this outcome?
Can this beautiful state have changed so much in 45 years?? I’ve heard the post verdict
interviews, and I’m stunned. How do northern Californians feel about it?
Thanks 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie

Essie, will model the blue boots when I get the chance (in bed atm – it’s almost 1am) but to keep you going, these are the ones

https://www.marksandspencer.com/stiletto-side-zip-bow-ankle-boots/p/p60122595?image=SD_01_T02_5920_CB_X_EC_90&color=COBALT&prevPage=plp&pdpredirect

And here are the red ones

https://www.marksandspencer.com/leather-stiletto-heel-toe-cap-ankle-boots/p/p60113899?image=SD_01_T02_2812_B0_X_EC_90&color=RED&prevPage=plp

Not as kinky as your’s I’m afraid but then I’m an awful lot older and they are pretty daring for me!!!

Thanks to everyone that has replied, I have had more sensible and helpful advice on this forum in 1 night than I have had in the last 4 years xx

Tasha, I’m sad to say that I’m not surprised to hear how horribly dismissed your concerns were. My insulin resistance is connected to Polycystic Ovarian Sydrome (PCOS) and I was put through the wringer for almost 9 months, sent to a revolving door of specialists, told I had a brain tumor, that I was just depressed, that the 40 pounds I’d gained in a year and a half was “college partying taking a toll,” given an MRI that was up until that point the worst medical intervention I’d ever experienced, put on meds that made me lactate and on and on until someone finally stumbled on the right diagnosis and then did basically nothing about it. Nobody told me anything about diet other than avoid desserts and years later, avoid refined carbs and stick with whole grains. I had to do my own research.

It’s disgusting, but women and girls are often treated like crazies and malingerers, their symptoms discounted as fantasies or inventions by medical professionals. Your daughter is very lucky to have had you and your undaunted dedication to her health and well-being during a confusing, traumatizing time.

Your diet for her sounds solid to me from what you’ve described. That amount of porridge shouldn’t be an issue, but you might want to consider cutting it out for now just to get the weight loss jump-started. Veggies look good except for the carrots. They’re quite high in sugar. I know this is a lot of work for you and I’m sure as a busy mom there are plenty of other things on your to-do list, so if your daughter is willing, perhaps you could make a few dishes on the weekend and freeze them so she has everything portioned out and calculated and you don’t have to be fiddling with scales every day 3 times a day for two months.

Broth based soups with mixed veggies like zucchini, Swiss chard, scallions, kale, chickory, escarole, a single medium tomato finely chopped, celery, fennel and fresh herbs are filling, taste even better reheated than fresh and can be enhanced dramatically with just a dusting of freshly grated parmesan before serving. Freeze them in freezer bags or containers in one-cup (8 oz) servings and she has a ready-meal good to go. Mashed cauliflower mixed with steamed spinach (chopped), ricotta cheese and butter makes a rich and velvety side to go with a simple roasted or poached chicken breast. Those are also made easily ahead of time and frozen as little TV dinner type dishes. One of my favorites is plopping a container of chicken breasts in the slow cooker/crockpot with some chicken broth and a large amount of chili powder, oregano, ground cumin and garlic powder. Cook it on high for 4 hours until the chicken falls apart when you stab it. Shred the meat apart with two forks and let it sit in the spicey juices until they’re absorbed. Turn the slow cooker to the warm setting and let it ride until it’s all nicely combined and moist. That can be frozen for use in taco salad (minus the tortilla bowls, of course) and it is better than anything you’d get in a retaurant for basically no effort. Romaine lettuce base dressed with a little sour cream, lime juice and hot sauce, then top with the chicken, avocado slices or coarsley mashed for a quick guac, a spoonful of salsa on top and grated sharp cheddar makes for a scrumptious feast.

Anything she likes that she misses eating we can come up with a replacement that while not the same, will give her a different kind of satisfaction. Poor baby needs a little pampering after all the nonsense she’s been through with an establishment who basically called her (and you!) a liar for months as she fell apart. The trick is not to associate dangerous high-carb foods with satisfaction and pleasure. Lovely fats are going to do that job from now on, and the good news is they’re great at it. Almost as great as you are a mother. 🙂

Tasha, I went back and edited my post with a link to a programme you may like to watch – I hope it works. Good luck and please keep us updated – just remember that, whilst we’re not medics, we do offer help and support so you are no longer alone.

Hi Tasha, I’m just into my third week of BSD so quite inexperienced but can vouch for the helpfulness of the advice you will get from the experienced and successful forum members. For me, one of the most best suggestions has been to weigh and then log everything into an easy to navigate weight loss app.

It is very simple but suits my needs. I’ve found some of the book recipes, though delicious, are a little higher in carbs than I’m aiming for but with the app, have been able,to oddity them – for example leave out the lentils (sob), or beetroots (more sobs). A bonus of this approach is you start to build up an intuitive sense of what will tip you over the daily targets and how to prepare for special occasions by lowering intake easlier in the day.

Once you get settled in it is also very empowering to learn that everyone’s body reacts at a different pace to this way of eating. For some the weight loss is fast, others more leisurely but consistent and some, like me, it seems a bit stop and go, even though I doggesedly stick to 800csls and no more than 20g of carbs. Despite these differences, however, it looks to me that it works for all these different response rates. Sooner or later bodies give up stored glucose and in the absence of replacement glucose, become efficient at utilising fat for generating energy.

Anyway, all my very best wishes for you and your daughter and let me say, how lucky she is to have you!