‘Morning all!

Verano, that’s what is great about the sunrise, it’s always a new
day…….yesterday is behind us………and no one knows what
tomorrow will bring. My butterfly persona will be perched on
your shoulder today, whispering encouragement in your ear.
Listen for it! 🙂

Caron, good to hear from you! Almost 10lbs in 3 weeks is just
great. You have a good chance to reach a stone by the end of
month! I sympathize about the cheese and wine in your sights
with the house guest. I still can’t keep cheese around. No
concept of portion control with that particular food 🙂

I’m a day late checking in. Mixed results to report. I managed
to keep to my exercise goals in week but I’m not enjoying
it much (YET), I hope that it becomes a habit soon, and
something that I learn to look forward to. I find it all too easy
to procrastinate about since I’m trying hard not to lose anymore
weight. Another 1lb lost this week, so I still have a way to go to
master maintenance “with ease” as some of you do.
Time to really commit in week 4!

Have a wonderful week, everyone.

Allie

20 gram per day or less is very good. How much time did you maintain this? Also want to share a blog http://www.beegans.com/ where you would find some more veagn related topics to discuss.

Hi, everyone. It seems very quiet lately, after the flurry of posts a week or so ago. Has anyone any news? Weddings? Weight loss (or gain?). Fridge raiding? Business lunches? I love hearing all the stories.

AnneF and I are in Week 7 of 8 on the BSD. My husband and I have decided to have the steak meal as our final one – with the red wine jus. Then we are going to drink the rest of the bottle and congratulate ourselves for sticking with it! I actually feel reluctant to go back to “normal” eating now. I’ve enjoyed the recipes on the BSD so much.

My weight went down to 8st 12lbs then went back up to 8st 13 again today, even though I’ve been strict with myself. Very frustrating! Just one more pound to lose and I will have achieved my target of losing a stone from 9st 11lbs. It may not sound a lot, but believe me, I looked fat. It was all round my torso. Even now, I still have a tummy that I need to lose. Ab attack classes at the gym will help, hopefully, as well as my dance class.

What has everyone else been up to this week?

We will indeed! Perseverance is key! And the scales have indeed started moving, so that 11,4.5 looks like it’s official now. I only usually cheer at the 2lb markers, but I have been stuck on 11,6 for so long that I am celebrating it with a “Yesss!” and some air punches. 😀
I only fasted to lunch time yesterday, and broke a major rule by having (fried) rye bread with it. I was out with a friend, and was only going to have a hot chocolate, but my friend, reading the specials board over my shoulder, said “I think I’ll have the homemade meatballs in tomato sauce.” and I thought “Ooh! That sounds BSD friendly.” and had the same. Only after it arrived did I realise it was also with rye bread, but as it was rye and fried, I figured it would have a lower GI and so be BSD friendlier than wheat bread, so I had some, and it doesn’t seem to have done any harm, but the coffee or later tea, trashed my melatonin system, so I had a rubbish night!

Hi, everyone, I’m really enjoying reading this thread! I think it’s
okay to post Co. names if our claims are only anecdotal……….
I did some research on curcumin last year, and read, also
that black pepper was the turbo ingredient. I don’t know if
this Co. ships to the U.K., but it the highest rated one here in
the U.S., it’s called 1md or 1MD ,( I cant’r remember). They also
make a very high quality probiotic, but I’m using kimchi these
days, so haven’t ordered any for awhile. Even if this website
turns out to be cost prohibitive for you there may be some
useful information on it. Hope it helps!

Allie

Hi AnneF
I think the answer just has to be not to check every day. I am not diabetic, just obese! My weight appears to vary at random from day to day. Clearly, this is not ‘random’, as such, but an absence of complete knowledge of every possible factor involved. I suppose that, if I were to lie in bed all day, every day, with the room at the same temperature and ingested exactly the same amounts of food and drink, then I might reduce the variability, but I am sure that there would still be factors that I would have missed and been unable to control. However, I am mildly interested to see how weight changes. If I look at my last 2 weeks I find that I have lost 0.8 of a pound. Bad week cost 5.2 pound rise, followed by good week and 6 pound loss. The lesson is, the bad week cost me 2 weeks progress. Was it worth it? Not sure, but the lesson has been learned!

Hi Verani,
Yes, it’s frightening how quickly the cravings return but what struck me most was the craving going on even though I already felt bloated and uncomfortable. And I know I used to spend my life feeling this way. I would get in from work and eat crisps, chocolate, nuts, anything really and still want dinner 😱
Doing this woe, I can (usually) easily go all day without thinking about food and in fact, I struggle now to eat more than one ‘meal’ a day. I have coffee made with organic whole milk mid-morning with a few nuts and that’s me pretty much done for the day until our evening meal which is usually protein with a big salad.
That is definitely where I need to get back to!
SSB

Thank you Verano – that’s really helpful. I think we are ok to mention company names as long as we aren’t selling the product ourselves or are getting paid to promote it.

TMI warning!
I was up for an hour in the night with terrible diarrhoea and I feel dreadful this morning – oh for veggies and some nice protein 🍅🍆🥒🥑🥑🥑🥑🌶
SSB

AnneF … snap! I was diagnosed about 6 years ago too. I went straight onto metformin after 3 months of ‘diet control’ but of course the advice was then to have carbs with every meal, and it didn’t work. Sixteen months ago I found BSD and after 4 months I had my first HbA1c which had dropped from 6.4 to 5.5. Three months later it was the same. The next three month test saw a drop to 5.2 and my metformin was halved from 2000mg to 1000mg a day. Then in August it was 5.3 and my metformin was stopped. Today is D-Day! I have the results of my first metformin free HbA1c this afternoon. I must admit I am a little nervous because I haven’t been as vigilant carb wise but I’ve not gained weight so we will see.

Some great news coming through on this challenge. A lot of great weight losses and plenty of positivity. The support and encouragement actually does make a difference so keep posting everyone good or not so good news.

Butterlover- Lynne – hope you’re back on track and feeling the good vibes being sent your way from everyone here. Work stress is awful and I hope that you are soon able to get back in the driving seat, draw a line under this blip and take back in control.

Have a good day everyone.

Thank you Marsie
You have been so kind in supporting me over the past months.
We will K.O.K.O.O.O.D.A.A.T.!
X B

Yes Verano that’s exactly what I am doing…first thing every morning.

I was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 6 years ago and for the first 4 years was diet controlled, then a single metformin per day, which I have stopped taking since starting the BSD as my average was 4.5. I bought the monitor and all the consumables as they are not covered by my prescription (as obviously not being on insulin, I don’t need to keep such a close eye on things). I have a Hb1Ac booked next week sometime – which will be 8 weeks. Even eating on the M plan they have never been above 6.5. I think I am using the daily monitor to ensure that I do not ease my foot off the gas! I don’t think I shall continue after seeing my results from my ‘proper’ blood test.

But very glad you say the results of the finger prick are a bit ‘random’ cos I really can’t seem to see a pattern – and I like my data to make sense!!!

Good morning . Well done Caron that’s a really good loss. Yes it does slow down but it does keep going you just have to keep on keeping on as sunshine-girl says.

Yes Ancient Weaver it’s great if you can maintain with ease ….I can… and have… but hey I need to get back into weight loss mode now!!

My only thought for today is ‘it’s a new one and thank goodness yesterday is behind me’! Lets keep soldiering on we will make it if we try hard enough!

I agree. I succumbed to toast with butter and cheese last night. Just two slices but this morning I have woken up and I’m starving!!! Don’t know how I’ll get through without breakfast today but I will go as long as I can, just have to have extra water!

Hi Krysia I can only say by mentioning the company. I know I shouldn’t advertise and I declare that I have no interest in the company but its ‘justvitamins’ online only. I have tried others without a pepper additive and they weren’t as successful. But that’s only my experience.

Verano – I have started taking Curcumin a couple of months ago but didn’t know it was better absorbed with black pepper. The one I use is made by solgar. Would really like to try your one and also avoid buying the bad one so please could you let me know who makes them.

AnneF I’m assuming you are doing finger prick testing. The only really accurate test for blood sugar is an HbA1c which measures you blood sugar over the previous 8 to 12 weeks, the life span of a red blood cell. Personally, unless you are using insulin, I think finger prick testing is far too random to be of any real use. It is a very rough guide but only to how your blood sugar level reacts to certain foods. That being said if your blood sugar levels are exceptionally high it could show them coming down but it’s not really a good measure.

You don’t say if you have been diagnosed with diabetes but if you haven’t then cut yourself a bit of slack and stop testing it isn’t necessary. If you have then be guided by your HbA1c.

Hi Yowzer I’m with you finding some days on 20g fine and others not so easy. I think I’m falling into the trap of finding a good very low carb meal and eating it day after day. I did that yesterday and then was so hungry by mid evening that I raided the freezer. I toasted two slices of bread and had that with butter and cheese. It was lovely! But now this morning I have woken up and I’m literally starving! A lesson to be learned!

I know that variety really is the spice of life for me so I need to get out of this lazy rut and start cooking new foods again.

I have been taking Turmeric tablets for around 18 months or so now and I have found it really works. The curcumin content is the important part and it needs to be close to 500 per 500mg tablet. Also it needs to be taken with black pepper to aid absorption. The one I buy is quite pricey from a vitamin company online and has bioprene added, a form of pepper. The stuff from a famous high street chain isn’t as effective because of the active ingredients and is even more expensive I think. My oh has periferal neuropathy and his legs can be really bad but he has also found a huge improvement since taking turmeric. However, I have a friend who tried it for a sort of carpal tunnel problem and it didn’t work. I think its wonderful but I guess it’s horses for courses.

I’m off to look at the keto challenge anything that helps me back into the groove will be great at the moment!

Even tho my aim was not to loose weight per se, but to reverse my diabeties it was still quite pleasing to see the scales come down and to look in the mirror and see a ‘skinny minny’ ! When I reached 8.5 stone I did not really want to go any lower, so I moved to the M plan. That’s easy for the cooking (and menu choices) and eating but my blood sugar levels seem to fluctuate between not diabetic and pre-diabetes levels seemingly without explanation or pattern, now I am not sticking to 800 calories. Some days I eat no bad carbs and my bloods the following morning are fine, sometimes they are not. Some days I stray and the same happens – sometimes low and sometimes higher. I can’t work it out…yet. Any veterans out there with any ideas? I have lost another 1lb this week which I wasn’t expecting, but I expect like someone said earlier (Macloud? / 2BD?) maybe loosing a couple of extra lb beyond target is good insurance! My waist remains at 25.5″ 🙂

Well done Marie and JackieM and everyone who is on a downward trend. Great to see such good results.

Morning,

Today – 0.6lb, down to a new low of 131.7lb 😀
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was in the 140s looking longingly at the 130s, now I’m doing the same for the 120’s. Will probably get there on this challenge.

Marie123 – Really well done 👋👍👍

JackieM – wedding weight – brilliant!

Butterlover – As i was encouraged here a week ago when I was slipping back into old habits, keep going. Those habits don’t define you. You are wise to chalk it up as a bad week.

How about enemies/friends? Because a large component of emotional eating is the false sense of support and connection derived from certain categories of foods. That’s what makes them what you turn to when you’re stressed or hurting or sick. It’s all a lie, though, a construct that masks itself as a crutch when it’s really the thing that keeps kneecapping you. They’re not treats, not naughty little taboos, nothing benign or cute or neutral or badboy sexy. They’re your most virulent enemies who have spent years sabotaging, hurting and putting you at risk of death disguised as your friends.

I have just finished my first week on the BSD. I will be starting the 800 calorie regime next week but for this week, I followed the food program with the addition of a moderate amount of alcohol. My average daily calories including alcohol was 1200. I got around 40 minutes brisk walking and an average of 40 flights of stairs (up and down) per day. My starting weight was 84.8 and I lost 300gms in this first week. Given the alcohol calories and my prior history of finding it very difficult to lose any weight even on severely restricted calories, I am heartened by this result and look forward to seeing what happens once I drop the alcohol calories/carbs as well.

Disaster averted, my sisters! Just a less than clean oven that doesn’t
appreciate the high temperature. Just one more thing I’m not on top
of because I’d much rather chat up a blue streak, rather than do
chores.
This has been somewhat of a tense day for a nicotine addict deprived
of my fix 🙂 O/h took off for the lecture halls today with my cigs in his
jacket. I hope this will give you laugh as it’s so pathetic. When I
heard the key in the lock this evening, I almost knocked him over
before he could get in the door tonight. My hand was in his pocket
before he could even get his coat off!! Sigh………That’s me, the
perfect lady at all times. And here he thought I was just excited
to see him.
Need some dinner, I’ll be back for more conversation later on!

Allie
xoxoxo

Oh Mary, the poor little Muffin! I’m sorry to hear this. Brave child.
You take good care of yourself, too, I know mother and daughter
will always be in good hands with you. I think I smell my dinner
burning, so have to high tail out to the kitchen. Let us know how
your grandie is tomorrow, please?

Love you all,
I’ll be back!

Allie

I have been following a low-carb/BSD/Primal woe for a long time now and have had good results but my weight has pretty much stalled at 9st.
However, I LOVE baking and earlier this week I made a fabulous roasted butternut squash and chestnut soup and made a gorgeous wholemeal mixed seed loaf to go with it. I had some bread (without guilt) and really enjoyed it, but then did the same again today – now I feel the way I remember I used to feel before I started this different way of eating – I can only describe it as ‘bloated but hungry’ – I feel awful!
Beck to the BSD tomorrow – I may even need to throw in a fast day to get me back on track.
Trust me – it’s soooo not worth it
SSB

Mary, so very very sorry about your granddaughter. That is very scary and I am glad she is in good hands at the hospital (and with you! And mama!). I hope tomorrow is much better and she quickly overcomes this chicken-pox and is on the road to recovery.

SunnyB that sounds soooo nice! And sooooo low carb! Am def. giving it a go! Is vanilla protein powder quite easy to come by? Is there a brand that’s especially good? X

Feeling like crying after meditation should not be a surprise. Meditation by it’s very nature, is a route into our deep mental/emotional and spiritual levels and so we cannot expect the only outcome to be peaceful relaxation, but that emotional release may also manifest as tears, anger, or agitation as negativity is released. As a Reiki practitioner, these are often seen as an emotional reactions in treatment – reiki correlating to meditation in that they both work on a mental/emotional/spiritual level. As you progress with your meditation, you will hopefully find this settles and the experience will become a more relaxing peaceful experience.

Meanwhile, no reason not to mix it up with other things which offer a route to mindfulness though – colouring, exercise, simple breathing exercises, etc.

Thanks, SunnyB, that recipe sounds worth a try. And BSD/non-BSD sounds like a good way of reframing things. I like the change in emphasis with transgressions though for me that still conjures up the ‘naughty but nice’ association. Maybe helpful/unhelpful might work, need to mull on some ideas. Thanks again 🙂

Welcome Roo76 – your vices sound the same as mine. I eat to celebrate, because I am bored and when I feel down!! In my world – food (and wine) are always the answer. I am actually really looking forward to getting started!

Hello. I’m starting Monday too – my first time! I’ve been putting on a few pounds every few months and feel horrible in my body even though I’m only about a stone over weight. Most of my problem has been emotional eating – sadness briefly alleviated by crisps, mashed potatoes, chocolate, wine and cake. Time to make a change and glad to have people to do this with me. Hello you lot. We can do this, I reckon : )

Well done JackieM – great feeling isn’t? Well done you!! I was so chuffed when I get to my wedding weight and I can tell you are pretty pleased with yourself too – you deserve it. Keep going and you will very soon be reporting getting to your ultimate goal of 9st. Don’t panic ab out over indulgence today, tomorrow is a new day and as such a blank page and a fresh start.

Hi Allie,
That’s lovely of you – thank you. You, Kazz and Nonna Mary supported me over an emotional hurdle last week so I’m really touched by your post.

Jackie – Getting to your wedding day weight is so impressive and losing 7lbs to get to your ideal weight is so do-able (is that a word?). You must be pleased/relieved to be so close.

Verano – just wanted to say hope things go well tomorrow.

Marie x

I agree with others, that you should look to ditch the idea of ‘treats’and just think in terms of BSD and non-BSD foods. I always think about majorly non-BSD foods in terms of ‘transgressions’ rather than ‘treats’ – not sure if that is better or not.

Anyway, you could try the peanut protein bars, which are also quite high in fat., so are quite satyisfying:
Coconut Oil x 60g
Peanut Butter x 60g
Walnuts chopped x 20g
Vanilla Protein Powder x 40g
Chia Seeds x 32g
Almond Flour x 120g

Basically, mix it all together, press into a square tin and chill in fridge to set, then cut into squares. I made 15 pieces out of this mix and they came to 135cals/1.34g carbs per square. The squares will need to be kept in the fridge.

Heather…you have so sold it to me! Plus I love Broccoli Bake! I sounds lovely. Is it very cold though? I like the cold but not if it’s a biting wind. Kitchen renos have to be the worst. Mine took a month and then I had to sue as it wasn’t done properly! Took the shine off having a new kitchen.

My lovely Granddaughter has Chicken Pox. Her brother had it, her Father had it and now she has. When the spots appeared on Friday, my darling daughter said, “oh she has got off lightly, just a few spots.” Today I have spent some time in hospital with her. She has got a pox spot in her eye and we had to see a specialist. Plus she is covered in spots, several of which are infected, so she is now on antibiotics. This is quite worrying as my friends granddaughter ended up with sepsis and on life support last year from the same thing. My lovely girl is such a sweet child and was incredibly well behaved when the Doctor put dye in her eye! Even though she is tired she is still behaving beautifully. I really hope that this is the worst day and that tomorrow she will begin to recover!

I don’t feel any slimmer today and again haven’t been able to drink plenty of water, so fingers crossed I will be able to do that tomorrow. Take care of yourselves, you are important to me!

Lots of love
Nonna Mary
xxxx

Hi ALLIE! thats ok..there is SO much here and elsewhere of interest that it can get overwhelming and exhausting trying to keep up and digest it all,and yet at the same time,not spend too long on the interweb!
You are the first person i have heard of who has made a good recovery from CFS! Feel very heartened by yr experience,and so pleased for you! I wd say i am probably 60/70% recovered..on my good days at least!
Am deffo giving the “20 g carb route back to good health” a go.
Some days seem quite easy,others a bit daunting!
The fermented stuff doesnt agree with me these days, tho i loved sauerkraut many yrs ago when i worked abroad and ate it on a daily basis..ginger i am into ,both to eat and to use as essential oil..i must give turmeric a try,been meaning to for absolute ages.
Pretty much following the sample menu you posted. Thanks for that! XX

OMG just converted kg to stone and I think I am now officially the weight I was on our wedding day! So much easier to get to this on BSD than it was by starving myself all those years ago. Am going to measure in stones now. I am 9st 7llbs! Want to get to 9stone and stop. Not sure today’s massive calorie consumption will aid that, we’ll see tomorrow. Night all xx

Good evening & thank you Californiagirl 🙂

I have been known in the past to eat Marmite by the spoonful out of the jar. Though I seem to have got over that craving in recent years!

Salty, pickled and bitter is an interesting way to think about things. I love salted nuts but they are a definite no no. I don’t eat pickled things but I’ve just read the Gut Health Diet book and I’m going to have a go at making some sauerkraut. Olives I love but I get very healthy ones, so maybe I need to start getting the ones in oil.Actually I just realised marmite might be a good one with some cabbage.

I come from a family of emotional eaters so doing away with ‘treats’ is going to be a toughie but I agree, I need to change my perspective as it doesn’t help at all. I actually spend quite a bit of mental energy thinking about the treats I am going to have each week, and can get quite obsessed about when I can next go to a cafe for lunch and cake. I’m already plotting/worrying about what I’m going to have over Christmas!

I shall go buy the cheese 🙂 (Most vegan cheeses are not great but I’ve heard good things about this artisan cheese)

Oh, Marie! What an accomplishment!!!!!!!!!!! You must be feeling
so good today. I can imagine 🙂 I just love the symmetry of an
even 50lbs and a round number of 25%. It won’t be long before
you’ll probably be adjusting your goals downward, too! I don’t
usually post on this thread, but just had to stop by and congratulate
you.Soooooooo Wellllllll Doneeeee!!! Keep up the good work!

Allie

Despite what the puritans out there would have you believe, wine in moderation has a lot of benefits — including helping prevent diabetes.
There was a very interesting article last week in the New York Times (don’t recall which day, maybe Saturday?) about the issue of RISK and how poorly risk is described to the general public.
An example was alcohol consumption which has a 1% correlation to breast cancer (as I recall) and drinking more increases your risk 30%.
30%!! That SOUNDS terrible, a 30% increase in breast cancer risk!!
BUT, the increase is from 1% to 1.3% — yes, an absolute 30% increase but still very small overall.
Meanwhile, there was large reduction in heart attacks, something that kills many more women than breast cancer.
The article pointed out that if we were given the full information, we could make smart choices and understand risk better AND, more importantly, not just write it all off because it seems like EVERYTHING causes cancer (which makes us just give up).
We would make smarter and more informed choices.

Hi All,
I’m also late checking in as I had to go back to the north-west unexpectedly over the weekend and didn’t get back until late last night.

Anyway the great news is I’ve lost 4lbs this week which takes me from 11st to 10st 10lb. HURRAY! I’ve met my 3 targets for this challenge
– to drop into the 10s
– to get to 10st 11lb which means I only have 1 stone to lose to get to the top of my healthy BMI range i.e. 9st 11ib (on reflection don’t really like this target – a bit too negative – but anyway I’ve met it)
– to get to 10st 10lbs which means my total weight loss is 50lbs.(It also means I’ve lost 25% of my original body weight)

I have to be honest and say that not all that weight loss is from the BSD. I was on a diet for about a year before I switched over to the BSD in August when I was diagnosed with diabetes. However, for info, (and hopefully, encouragement) before BSD it took me a year to lose 17lbs and in 15 weeks on BSD I’ve lost 33lbs.

So, I’m off to think of another small, achievable target to carry me through the rest of the November Challenge. Wishing everyone well for this next week.
Marie x

We CAN do this. We all have so little to go to drop into the next stone that we really have no excuse!

My strategy now is to weigh in stones and pounds rather than my usual pounds only. So welcome aboard and let’s just go for it …. we CAN….

Good morning Alli24solio!
Your post made me smile and cringe in equal parts because I know EXACTLY what you are talking about! ANYTHING can be binge food if you like the taste of it — I can literally eat an entire jar of Nutzo (this incredible nut butter with seven kinds of nuts and a ridiculous $17.00 US per jar) in just one day if I let myself do it!
Even after a year and a half of maintenance I can slip into the “eat it all” pattern just because it is something I like to eat and it is rich tasting — I have to consciously NOT buy nut butter, Wasa crackers (like Ryevita), honey (I know, not on BSD) and chocolate and nuts in large bags. I even have to limit my purchases of Fage whole milk yogurt (yup, even that!).
So what does work? For me, it’s going to be different than for you because you are vegan but the things that DO work for me are salty (salami and olives) and pickled (pickles, sauerkraut and pickled carrots) and bitter (coffee with 2 tablespoons heavy cream).
Also, tuna with a teaspoon of mayonnaise and capers, hard boiled eggs with sea salt — or, you will laugh, canned tiny sardines — a protein really helps when you are craving.
Avocados very good, tahini in salad dressing yum! Both good options to get fat because that IS what you are needing. Don’t stress about the fat thing — the research is supporting a good intake of healthy fats INSTEAD of the carb/sugar thing.
I think maybe it is best to stop thinking about “treats” in general. Just eat in a BSD-friendly way 98% of the time and then have an ACTUAL treat every now and then — like a piece of cake at a birthday party or a split dessert to celebrate something.
Over time you will find those treats less and less appetizing and ultimately the desire for sugar (and treats) is going to truly diminish.
I would totally go buy that incredible vegan cheese and almond milk and anything else decadent that is vegan and BSD-friendly — that is a great place to spend your food money!!

There must be some truth in this. I only have myself as an example.

Early this October after my last visit to the Doctor regarding my latest blood test results I had the good news that I have managed to reverse my diabetes. I attribute it to following The Blood Sugar Diet. Okay, I did take longer than the 8 weeks. I was advised to stretch the time, but I did it.

I also introduced the odd glass of red wine now and then. Also with not taking the statins, I have no adverse side effects. I do limit myself, only having one or two glasses at a time, but only once or twice a week.

As long as I stick to a healthy weight and a sensible diet suggested by The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet and the accompanying recipe book and let our mad dog take me on walks, I should be okay.

Hi All. I’m really enjoying everyone’s posts.some great positive results. Well Done , Sadly, I’m not doing too well. Ive had some serious work stress and all my old habits, emotional eating,carb binge ,chocolate cake and even icecream as overtaken me, Im not going to record this week, i shall just chalk it up to a bad week and try to get back on track.With luck I can have a fluids day to get my mojo back. I will still read all the posts as it definitely helps and I shall give myself a good kick up the backside .keep on keeping on cheers lynne

Very sorry for your loss, Busybee. It can be a stressful time and it seems you came through with flying colours. Not stress eating is very well done by you. Also, wishing you the best for your biopsy results x

Well, I had bread yesterday. Lots of bread. Once started…………… All supposedly healthy bread i.e. wholemeal, multigrain, multiseeded. Large roll with butter++, salad & salami & cheese for lunch. I was out with no time to get home to eat, feeling blah (which on later reflection was an early indication I was not well hydrated!) so stopped at a place and bought the sadly over the top thing, sat for 10 minutes and pretty much inhaled it then rushed off to the next appointment, not fully fixing the hydration problem. Out for dinner that night, friends had similar rolls, dinner sized thank heavens, on the table and I had two. Never mind the rest of the food, it was too much but managed to avoid the sweets with the excuse that I’d had too much bread. Stuffed, absolutely stuffed, its a wonder I could roll out the door to the car.

Woke early this morning with my almost forgotten eczema in full flight, desperate to scratch at itchy ears, itchy eyes, itchy skin. Was able to calm it down after a little while but have been very careful today. Goodness, what a horrible slapdown ………..

So, I’ll write off that day, and just get on with one day at a time focusing on healthy med-style eating.

Wishing everyone great focus x

Thanks for the reply Jackie. If only I had your self-control….You’re right about being in the mind, and I practice mindfulness/meditation daily, but this is one aspect of my life that I am really struggling to manage that way. Reflecting on this this morning, I did find it a lot easier to have that self-control when I was doing the 5days of 800cals. Maybe because there was only so many treats I could eat on the other 2 days before feeling bleurgh!

I’ve been thinking the same, that having fatty things is probably the way to go, but then I do worry a bit that I’m having too much fat already when I track my diet on My Fitness Pal. I am wondering whether if I make my main meals more indulgent, this will help reduce the need for ‘treats’ e.g. using tahini more (I looove tahini), avocadoes, etc. There is soya cream but it has sugar in it. But there are things like artisan vegan cheeses and almond milk yoghurts that I can buy online, I’m just a bit concerned that if I buy several to make the delivery worthwhile, I’ll scoff them. Still, there’s probably only one way to find out!

I think you’re right, I need to, focus on low refined carbs and especially no sweet stuff, and hopefully my self-control will assert itself again.

For me a lot of eating is in the mind, and I can’t bear feeling deprived, so instead I set limits and see how that goes. So, I am eating a fair amount of 90% dark chocolate at the moment but am still losing weight. I try and keep it to 2 squares, with a cheat (today) being 4. So feel quite spoilt, but it’s still not that many carbs. More than 4 would feel outrageous! Maybe just give yourself permission to have half a bar as a treat if that’s what floats your boat but then consider yourself fully treated for the day!

I’m fully omnivorous, so don’t have any vegan suggestions but something quite fatty tends to satiate me in low quantities (double cream – is there a vegan alternative?. I used to be fond of soy milk at one point can that come as a cream?). I do adore almond butter and apple, but I think the apple is too sugary so stopped. And last time I tried the nut butter it was too sweet.

My only down side of this woe is I now don’t have a ‘treat’ food as such , which probably actually good as we aren’t supposed to reward ourselves with food (but still 🙁) although I will go out of my way to eat cauliflower with butter, and lots of pepper and salt. Back to the fatty side of things, although again butter not much use to a vegan.

WhT I am finding works is focusing on low carbs and not worrying too much about how that is achieved, or even how many calories it is. Thus all the chocolate!

Best of luck with it all hope you find something x