Hi guys

Finished the eight weeks mid June and reached my first goal. BMI <30.

And my HBA1C from 7.5 to 6.4!

But need to loose another 5kg and been up and down since I stopped.

So looks like I need another round

Mike from OZ

Hi, I am in too! I am going to start today. I have lost weight and felt great on this plan before but keep falling off the wagon!! I would like to lose a stone. First, I need to get passed that pesky, initial half a stone that I keep losing and then regaining and then move forward from there!!! I am on holiday from work for the school holidays, so am going to use this time to get re-focused, absolutely 100% committed, get organised and form better habits, I know that this works and is doable, I just seem to be hell-bent on self-sabotage!! As well as being terribly disorganised with having the necessary food in the house and to hand. I used to have a pretty good exercise regime, which has completely fallen away as well so want to get that back on track. I blame everything on being ‘too tired’ or ‘not enough time’ but now I’m off work, there is no excuse!!! My plan is to go back to work at least 5kg lighter (the number off weeks I have off) and with a completely reformed mindset and habits.

If anyone has has had a similar experience and has any tips on how to crack it, any words of inspiration and encouragement are always welcome!!

I plan to use this forum to keep myself accountable to myself and to the others on here starting this week as well. And I am happy to return the service!! Let’s do this guys!! Onwards and upwards!

Esnecca, thanks for your different/interesting++ food ideas.

Verano – organic kimchi kraut ingredients are:
White cabbage, moou radish, carrot, red pepper, onions, garlic, ginger root, pinch of cane sugar and sea salt. It is fermented, unpasteurized and pro-biotic. There isn’t any info on the jar about carbs etc.

Have you checked your BMI? It sounds like you may be building muscle, replacing fat.
Making muscle can mean you don’t lose weight, but you do lose fat, and you don’t necessarily notice the difference on the tape measure either.
I have lost 10 lbs, and am ‘trimmer’ but it hasn’t made any difference to my waist measurement yet. I can see the difference in the mirror though, and I’ve had to tighten my watch strap. This has taken three weeks.

Chicken soup, Butterlover. Get well soon😵

Theodora, such strength of character😇 Seriously well done👏

Well done Claire , that’s a fab loss.
I ‘m at the end of my first week too, and have lost 6.5lbs. I know at this stage it’s mostly water, and it will slow right down at some point, but it’s very motivating, isn’t it?
Here’s to a successful second week – good luck!

Sorry to hear you’re unwell Butterlover and hope you feel better and are back on track soon.

We have had almost 40 hours guest-free so I managed a total fast for 24 hours, and strict bsd the rest of the time, despite spending most of yesterday cooking yummy desserts for 100 for a friend’s party 😱 Very proud of the fact that I didn’t so much as lick a spoon 😄and the scales this morning have rewarded me by giving me 3lbs of wriggle room back😀 So feeling very chuffed and not a little proud of myself😜

More guests arrived last evening for 5 days and we have the big party to go to this evening (hog roast on our friend’s foreshore – only hope weather’s not as bad as predicted 😱) so am very pleased to have some maintenance wriggle room back😜

Hope everyone else is doing okay?

Well done stay strong over the weekend .. this diet really does seem to work!

Hi gang.
Question… am i crazy?

Why do i sit and read millions of diet books then go and eat junk?

Go on websites, watch tv programes and find a tiny bit of news e.g. Fruit is good for you. Yay! So i go and buy a ton of bananas only to find. Oh no, not so good for you. So i throw the bananas in the bin and reach for chocolate.

I watch exercise programmes or the adverts on the shopping channels for this contraption or that. Then i feel knackered and think i have done the exercise when it is the people on the telly with a sweat on.

Why am i like dumbo, looking for that magic feather and not believe that it is inside of me all the time?

LOOK! I am even writing about it and the penny is not dropping.

Duh!

Yup, i am crazy and thick, and HUMAN,!

Going to look at the diet doctors website now for the miracle feather…………….

Love lucia
Xxxxx

I’m 3lb down 3 days completed. I’m very happy with this. I know initially the weight loss is good and that’s the main reason I started the diet. I’m the type that needs quick weighloss to keep me motivated. I though I would find it difficult but tbh it’s ok. Planning is key. Let’s see how the weekend will go. Can’t remember thr last weekend I didn’t have my wine. Determined though! Good luck all heading into weekend.

Great post EC , especially for Liz & Mary re the IBS .
Interesting how It was some years ago that you were working with patients with irritable bowel syndrome and found pre-biotics and anti-anxiety herbs were beneficial in the treatment of , this gut brain research is certainly validating some of those ideas and protocols used , you’d be following with special interest I guess ? Good to know also that you were on the right track back then .
I purchased Michael Mosley’s 8 week diet recipe book , & browsed through his Clever Guts book whilst there , but decided I’d leave that until I get this 8 weeks done first , see where this takes me , weight wise , am hoping also my HbA1c will have lowered a little , & I’ve sent pre diabetes packing !
I only browsed at Clever Guts quickly , but came away with the thought that if there are reasons for anyonr to suspect gastro intestinal issues then it should be investigated by health professionals before trying to self diagnose , & follow protocols written by so many so called experts now .
Sounds like youve got a lot on your plate also , hope it’s good news when you find your scales , looser clothing sounds very positive though .
Do hope your friend responds well to her Cancer therapy , and moreover can send it packing .
You’ll enjoy a break , away from your ‘renos’ , your friend will enjoy your company , plus a bit of pampering after her horrid treatment schedule , plus a personal chef as well .
Her palate may be a little tricky to please , chemo seems to mess with appetite & taste , guess it will be trial and error , to ensure she doesn’t lose weight and become mal nourished , that’s the important thing .
Hope it all goes well .
😊H66

Pps :
Everyone please excuse my punctuation , and the odd s on words where they shouldn’t be , I don’t review before I submit , maybe I should !
Thought I should honour my past English Teachers by at least acknowledging my errors 😂😂

Ps just to add to what I said Liz :
The reason I think you should perhaps have the endoscopy for a look down from the top end , is that you have the indigestion , and burning as well , and yes anxiety and stress can certainly make those symptoms of indigestion worse , but best to cancel out others reasons for it .
I had a terrible time of it , as I had been taking Celebrex to ease the pain of arthritis , had the endoscopy , and I had inflammation of the oesophagus & erosions of my stomach lining diagnosed , so was ordered nexium tablets to deal with it .
The Celebrex was blamed , and discontinued , but I suspect alcohol along with an anti inflammatory wasn’t an ideal combinstion ! ( Alcohol didn’t cop any of the blame , parity because when asked by the endocrinologist whether I partook , I said yes on social occasions !!
I was told that these erosions in the stomach lining need to heal as they can become ‘ nasty ‘ , I guessed what nasty meant !
😘H66

Hi Liz ,
We haven’t got to know each other here , but can I just say YOU are the reason I’m here at all , you gave me the strength to get up and do something !
Overweight , pre diabetic , along with a few other health issues , & self medicating with alcohol , which wasn’t curing or solving any of them .
The old saying ” Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the plane ” comes to mind ,…. I was sitting there , waiting waiting … .waiting …but nothing was happening , I was feeling sorry for myself , who was going to push the plane ? & then whilst browsing I came upon your Forum , I read with interest your first line where you said you visited your Dr ., then the second where you said ” I made the choice to change ” , those words got me in , so I read on , and felt so inspired by what your shared , and how well you were doing , after making that big decision to change , & decided to not just sit there on the runway waiting any longer so “I made the choice to change ” .
Have to say I imagined if you had met me just sitting on that runway waiting you’d say .
‘ What the f… are you sitting here for ?
Waiting for what ?
Waiting for help ?
Get off the f…… plane and help yourself !
If you want a push I’ll f…… you myself !
You just need a quick kick up the a.. to get you moving ! ( kick in the a.. felt ! OUCH ! )
My butt was stinging , my ears were ringing , but your words I MADE THE CHOICE TO CHANGE stuck hard , and I decided to follow the Leader , so add LIZ THE LEADER to your next sign off , and know I’m forever grateful .😘
Other, lovely people had already joined you here before I did Liz, & have obviously been encouraged and supported by you , they were missing you in your absence , I was missing you also , & must say a tbought slipped into my mind , that maybe you’d had an invitation from Satan to ‘ Come along , it’s gunna be a hell of a party !’ , but I thought of my kick in the butt , & just knew you’d kick him from here to Kingdom come if he even dared to invite you , so relieved , thought dismissed What you started here alone Liz , has grown & become a caring little Family , so much love and support , & concern for each other , I’m happy to be fostered or adopted , doesn’t matter to me , I just want to be part of this loving Family .
So glad to see you back Liz after your hugely busy week .
The first thing I want to do now , having read all your recent posts , is open my arms and give you one of those big hugs , I want you to know if Mary’s not around , you can also rest your head on my shoulder , & yes listen to my wheezy old breathing ! ( got a bit of asthma happening here , secondary to a virus )
I’m really sorry to hear what you are going through with your bowel issues , and the worry and angst it is causing you , & I’m hoping that the bit of blood stained mucus may be from an internal haemorrhoid ? ( just inside the anal sphincter )
My hubby had that happen when wiping Dr ordered a colonoscopy , & at the time of colonoscopy , the surgeon tied it off , no further issues there .
He was also diagnosed as having marked diverticula disease , lots of pockets , from an early life of too much junk food & not enough roughage the surgeon told him !
Metamucil every day since , and no further problems after wiping , but is aware of signs , or symptoms of diverticulitis .
I do hope the barfing & indigestion is stress related , as you’re got plenty of reason to feel stressed at the moment , with all that’s on , but you’re doing the right thing by having the colonoscopy , maybe an endoscopy to check the top end may be something your Dr may think worth while checking at the same time ?
Just try to take one day at a time , get help with the party , & try not to feel that you have to do it all yourself .
Are your sons & partners all staying with you , if so set this’s girls to work .
As for the house , I’m sorry but I had to have a smile when Kev said ‘ so what if the house isn’t perfect ‘ , if we get friends visit , and the place isn’t spot on mine says ‘ Don’t worry about it , they’re not here to see the house , they’re here to see us !’
Doesn’t work though does it ?
Do try and relax a bit though , don’t be too hard on yourself , just look at what you’re capable of , what you’ve achieved , be proud of your successes , look at that fantastic weight loss , 8 weeks of this , & planning another , & in that time packing up & selling a house , along with the huge distances driven and time taken associated with that , there was also your dear Mum’s stroke to contend with & all the associated worry and added stress & anxiety that has has also put on you ….
Know that we are all here for you Liz , wishing you well , & I’m sending some extra energy your way , & sending heaps of love ,
H66 😘😘💪💪💪💪💪💪

good morning everyone….

Liz, great to “hear” your voice again, even though you’ve been having such a shitty (pun intended) time of it….I do hope it improves soon

For you and Mary re the IBS…..I worked a lot some years ago with IBS patients (with my other hat on as a health practitioner) and found that using a combination of a really good pre-biotic called Saccharomyces Boulardii with anxiolytic (anti anxiety) herbs such as kava, valerian, magnolia or holy basil often worked a treat (as tablets…liquids are full of alcohol, which is fine unless you have gut issues or trying to avoid it)….interesting now all the gut/brain research is validating a lot of similar ideas and protocols….not sure whether a lot of these products are available worldwide, but there’s iherb (US) online (which has both really good and really crappy, flaky products available so you need to wade through the dross). That said…absolutely get the colonoscopy done, Liz….at least that should alleviate the anxiety of anything potentially more serious!…I’m all for adequate diagnoses….and Mary, psoriasis is a bitch…..I do hope you find a solution

I’m treading water a little…not sure if I’ve lost any more weight as the scales are well and truly buried somewhere with the contents of my whole kitchen and dining room AND building materials!!…but I’m still noticing that things are looser, so happy enough….had a couple of very hungry days (it is mid-winter here) but generally following principles and on count re calories more often than not.
Have to go back to NSW most likely in a week or two to help my friend who will be leaving hospital after pretty horrendous Ca therapy, but I’ll be doing all the cooking there, so should be able to stay mostly on plan

Work is crazy busy atm, but keeping at it with tea and coffee (and power tools in the background!!!!)…working from home sounds so glamorous, but there are moments…..
the border collie (aka my personal trainer) and walks are keeping me sane…well, sort of

love to you all for a glorious weekend!
xx
Erin

HI all Im not eating correctly as I have a cold and no real appetite.so dispite some chocolate cake and other indulgences Im only 0.2kg up. And my Bgl is 6.2 mmol this morning .I am probanly going to have to wait for the next challenge to get seriously back to routine.I hope eberyone is doing well

Go Kitty , you’re off to a great start , get yourself a special glass that you can enjoy an ‘Adam’s Ale ‘ or 2 out of for Friday night , it’s great to hear how commited you are 😊
H66

Hey Angels,
You’ve convinced me I’m not dying. I’ll take every word of your advice to heart and follow it to the letter. I just feel beaten and bruised. Even on a good day when my guts are fine I get overwhelmed when leaving the house for something I know will stress me so I barf. I also have a hiatus hernia which doesn’t help with the indigestion. For me now, drinking is not a physical option although I wish on days like this I could inject it right into my brain. I’ m usually the eternal optimist but am having a hard time smiling right now. I’ll come through this period of stress and my guts will settle but the waiting for time to pass can be an anxiety riddled bastard. The only thing that makes it bearable is having you angels supporting me.
So much love for you all I could shit my pants,
Liz

Hi Dumpty! Not sure about a target at the moment. I’m 5’4″ (on a good day) and I don’t think I’ve weighed less than 10 stone since I was 10! I’m 42 now. The lowest I have been as an adult was 11 stone 3 when I did CWP a few years ago. It lasted about 2 months. I would like to get below 11 stone but I would be happy with anything below 12. I would be bloody ecstatic to be under 10!

It’s been a good day. Lazy morning followed by housework afternoon. Much easier not to eat when you’re folding 78 tonnes of washing.

I went to the cinema this evening which would normally be really tricky for me as I LOVE popcorn but I just had some water.

Experimented with having a big lunch and smaller supper today. Seems to have worked ok. I’m really trying not to worry about carbs (the good ones, anyway!) as eating 800 cals seems enough to be getting on with.

I find grapes make me extremely hungry (mostly for more grapes though). Clementines are good value for the calories. I have avoided peanut butter so far as I rather love it…

Stress is such a big part of why I eat. I had some excellent therapy last September – February and I am much better at dealing with it now. I spent that time really imoroving my mind so that I would be prepared for improving my body.

Tomorrow we go camping for two nights so I may disappear for a bit. I’ve planned out my food and feel quite positive. Except about the weather!

Post script:
Blood not uncommon. You have the shits. It’s irritating your insides.
Heartburn also common with ulcers. See if you can get some over the counter lansoperzole or Omeprazole (not sure what it’s called there) it will be more effective than pepto and stay off the NSAIDS

L xxx

Oh my lovely Liz. I want to give you a big hug.

I work in cancer research and did two years in GI cancers. The most common reason for mucus (and associated diarrhoea and cramping) is actually dehydration, closely followed by a bacterial infection. I also had similar symptoms to you when I had a Helicobacter pylori stomach ulcer. It’s absolutely right to get it checked but I’m hopeful there is a simple medical explanation or stress. Medical probably easier to deal with.

Avoid dairy, particularly milk, up the fibre and avoid acids, at least until the investigation. Don’t worry about strictly following bsd, just do what you can to stick to the principles. The best thing you have done for your health is no booze, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.

Mary is right, you don’t have to do it all. No one can. Time to let others take care of you for a change and reflect on how much you have achieved despite all you have dealt with this year already (and it’s only July 😱)

We love you and I bet that Jovis hug felt good….

L 😘

Hey Nona Mary, Thanks you for your love. I’m sitting here right now with indigestion so bad it feels like a heart attack. Just gobbled 2 pepto bismol tablets and took Zantac this afternoon. I just can’t get my guts to settle. so frustrating. One more question–was your bum stuff ever bright red and bloody? Just one wipe. It’s not like I’m bleeding to death. Just scared.
Could you maybe go on a really low dose of Prednisone like maybe 2.5/day to control your psoriasis? My girlfriend is on that and it works a treat. She was a mess with her psoriasis. The trick was to find the lowest possible dose that would work. She had it between her legs which made it painful to walk when having a flare up. She is fab now!
As for me–I am hard on myself. I set expectations and if I don’t meet them I am crushed. Kev says “so what if the house isn’t perfect” but somehow I can’t change my thoughts. Wish the panic attacks would fuck off. They make life hard.
Love, Liz

Verano – they only do one sort of kimchi. It has cabbage, radishes, carrots, ginger, garlic, peppers, chillies pinch of sugar and sea salt in it. Will look at the label in the morning to see if there is anything else in it. I actually don’t like radishes nor chillies but the fermenting does change them and I really like kimchi.

As SunnyB says it could be your gut reacting to the change of diet. On the other hand, it could be pure and simple hunger. We stuff ourselves so much and snack when we dont need to that we forget what hunger feels like. I can be very uncomfortable, it will pass, or something will bowel wise.

Hi everyone, thanks for your suggestions. I think I have just become lazy and I am using the same menu plan over and over with slight variations for dinner but the same old stuff I had on a particular week, oh for the last 3 weeks. I love the chicken with roasted asparagus and roasted red peppers but asparagus is €5.99 here, about £5.50 a bunch in UK money. I meant to have the halloumi and bacon today but forgot to take the halloumi out of the freezer (it is out now for tomorrow). I love the Spanish chorizo and chickpea soup and have bought all the ingredients today and will make a double batch tomorrow.

Lost a tiny bit today 0.2 kg so have truly lost 2.5 lbs and stuck with it today, despite going to a French producers market evening with food and wine. I had a plate of pork stew of some kind and said no to the rice and also said no to the wine. Hope to see a loss tomorrow. Still back weather but had 30 mins walking – just to get parked and to the market – but hope to swim tomorrow.

See you all tomorrow.

You sure are. I’m in the 150 subset of the 100 club, in fact. I love to cook and eat well and I couldn’t have gotten this far if I weren’t so inspired by the good foods and challenged by the restrictions. For me, eating whatever I wanted when I wanted it was much more stultifying and limiting than figuring out dishes that work well within the constraints of the BSD. It’s like a chess problem that you have to think your way out of, and since I’m terrible at chess, I’m lucky the problem is solved in the kitchen. 🙂

How many calories and carbs in the peanut bar. Sounds as though it comes from a packet so maybe full of rubbish. You also say, if is sometimes go over…. how often is sometimes. You might have lost something but then put it back on with the bar. I find that if I go over calories a bit with good stuff I stay the same but dont lose.

Ps also meant to say,its a welcome change from counting carbs tho its still low carbish anyway x

Hi SunnyB
I’m still here! Don’t beat yourself up about being 0.6lb adrift from your target, you have done so well to get into the 8 stone band. Think it just goes to show that re-losing weight is harder than losing it in the first place – the moral of the tale being that we have to keep on top of things & not let up.
I’m still struggling to make progress – too many non-BSD foodie rampages amongst the BSD-eating so what do I expect! Must admit I have lost focus in recent weeks – the best I can say is that I’m keeping things in check. I struggle to maintain interest – I have the ingredients for hummus in my cupboards but I can’t quite bring myself to make it. I am aware of the danger of becoming reliant on too small a range of foodstuffs unfortunately my way of maintaining variety is by eating the wrong stuff!
Anyway, I have the recipe book so it’s a case of thumbing through it and trying something new.

Fingers crossed we both make inroads soon!

Hi lou lou,

Sorry to be so basic, i found that if i didnt have enough water i was slow at… going to the bathroom. 😊

Increase the water… not coffee or sugary drinks.

It also helps you feel full.
Sometimes i feel hungry and the feeling goes after having a drink.

It sounds so simple.
What a glass of water can do.

Hope this helps you.

Love lucia

Xxxx

Dear Lizzie,

You are really going through it at the moment and more POWER to you for not going to easy way and drinking. Just to let you know, I had a colonoscopy last year for exactly the same thing. Slimy wipes and constant shits….I was diagnosed with…diverticular pockets (diverticulitis is when its inflamed), Microscopic Colitis, and …you guessed it…irritable bowel syndrome…the treatment was a course of steroids for 3 months. The steroids cleared my Psoriasis (90% on my face), so I felt better about myself….stomach problems eased. Doctors hailed this as a result….as soon as steroids stopped…Psoriasis back (worse than ever) and constant shits and occcasional slimy wipes. I hope this makes you feel a little less worried. I know people with Bowel Cancer and they were unaware until they had tests, so it is unlikely you have that. I have to say you sound stressed to HELL. I don’t know if I could cope. The only advice I can give is delegate as much as you can. You don’t have to be the one to do everything.

Bloody well done on your loss. Also that you feel you can do another 8 weeks. If you read the other threads there are people who are finding it tough to do a week and you have done EIGHT! You are hard on yourself.

Enjoy the party and relax the calorie counting for a few days. We love you and support everything you do. Take care.

Lots of love
Nonna Mary,

ps. Jovis sends you a big hug…and his hugs are bloody good!

Hi denwiles,

Sorry to pass this comment but, try not to think of losing a pound on the scales.

How about you having a quiet moment and congratulate yourself for going something wonderful for yourself?
Or how all your squishy bits inside you are happy that you are cleaning out your body and getting better?

Let your squishy bits get healthy and then next tuesday weigh yourself and see how it goes?
Try to still to the programme but enjoy life!

Shall i let you into a secret?

I weighed myself yesterday and i had put five pounds on in a week. Oh pooh!
I kept to the programme and had fun trying gurning in the mirror.
Its like face pulling. Or looking like a gargoyle. I could win it with little effort.

I weighed myself today, twice, three times.
Until i realised the floor tiles are uneven!

Thats why i try and look at it at every angle.
Only weigh once a week.

Love lucia
Xxxx

Hey Gang,
My feet haven’t touched the ground for the past week and I’ve missed you all and think of you often. This year has been total shit since January and I am one of those people that, when stressed, it goes right to my guts. Stress was more manageable when I could drink but now I am committed to staying dry it isn’t easy and the panic attacks are in full swing. Now, I’ve convinced myself I have cancer of the everything as I am pooping bloody mucus stuff, okay, not pooping it as such but when I wipe, and have a permanently upset stomach. Has anyone else had that? I Barf 3/7 mornings just from stress and I just think my guts are roughed up from all the stress. The doctor has booked me for a colonoscopy on the 23rd August. She wanted me in this week but I just have too much on my plate. My sons are flying in with their girlfriends on Monday, the house is still a disaster with all of the furniture that came up from our home in Florida, we are hosting a party for 40 at our island cottage so all of the food has to be prepared for that, the painters are in tomorrow and the list goes on and on.
On a brighter note, I have now completed my 8 weeks and lost a total of 22.8lbs. I have read through loads of other posters and am going to continue for another 8 weeks but allow myself 1000/day and see how my blood sugar/weight goes. I just want to feel well and I sure don’t right now. No energy and lots of anxiety. Truthfully I don’t know how I have stayed off the booze. In two weeks life should settle down, I’ll get the medical tests done and see what’s going on and hopefully it is just stress.
will keep you posted on progress.
Much love, Lizzy Stress Guts

Denwiles, weigh loss is rarely constant and you can expect over the eight weeks, to see losses, plateaux and the odd small gain, but overall you will see a loss, which is the aim of the exercise. Our bodies all need periods of adjustment and these can be marked by a plateau or the weight loss stalling. Don’t panic about any of this, if you stick with the BSD it will come right. If your plateau persists, try doing a bit of a review by checking your carb intake is not too high – it can be surprising where those carbs hide, even in fruit and veg – and it’s always worth reviewing hydration and that you are including enough fat in you 800 cals too.

It will come right and you will see positive results, but don’t panic if it doesn’t happen as and when you expect, because it rarely does but will happen as and when your body is good and ready. Try not to be disheartened – I know that is easier said than done, but try to stay positive.

Best of luck …

Well, that’s a bit of a puzzle Lou Lou. Esnecca is right about the carbs hanging on to water and about the veggies and fruits. Are you keeping well enough hydrated? This is essential, as is including fats in your diet, as this helps to kick start the fat burning process. I suggest adding olive oil or a nut oil as a dressing on your salad, or toss your kale in oil. I would recommend avoiding processed foods like the Trek peanut bar and suggest making your own ‘treats’ so you know what’s in them and can keep the carbs low.

Don’t be discouraged, keep weighing and measuring everything you consume and yourself. Double check your carb intake – you’ll probably be surprised how much even just veggies can sneak them up; keep well hydrated; and finally include fats. Hopefully, you will soon be seeing some positive progress.

Esnecca you make me smile ….. thank you! Am I right in thinking you’re in the100 club?

It is so typical there are probably a hundred threads here started by frantic BSDers who had great losses the first 2 or 3 weeks then hit a wall. I gained and lost 4 pounds in my 4th week on the BSD, and wound up with a .1 lb loss. It was memorable because that happened to be the week I decided to begin using a scale for the first time in a decade and a half. You can imagine the state of complete panic I was in at those crazy leaps.

Reading about it in this very forum made me realize that it was common to plateau in the middle of the 8 weeks and that I shouldn’t freak out about it. I freaked out anyway, of course, and then the next week lost 7 pounds. It’s a rollercoaster ride, Denwiles. Your body will do what it wants in its own sweet time. All you can do is follow the rules and hold on. It’s worth it in the end, believe me. Keep your eyes on the prize.

I hear you, sister. The longer I go without sugar, the more I crave strong, bright, bold flavors. Blandness is the enemy. Seasoning the nuts yourself is going to help fight that boredom because you make them in small batches and you can use whatever spices and herbs tickle your fancy. No need to commit. Fickle is fun. I made a batch with ground yellow mustard seed, garlic powder, onion powder, a pinch of inulin and some apple cider vinegar. It made the greatest, thickest, crunchiest crust and tasted like a honey mustard preztel or chip only better. Next I’m taking a stab at a garlic bread seasoning — garlic powder, parmesan, dried parsley, nutritional yeast — and I’m currently dehydrating grape tomatoes that will at a later date be ground into powder with garlic, oregano and onion for a pizza seasoning.

I warned you it was insane! 😀

Thanks for your reply. I have no grains and I am gluten and lacto intolerant too. Average day is 1 egg and mushrooms. Green salad and ham. Chicken breast wrapped in bacon on kale. The mistake I made one day was a naturnatural peanut bar by Trek. I have been on the diet for a week and no weight or waist measurement change.

I’ve been on the fast 800 diet for nearly 3 weeks now. I am being really focused and sticking to it but for the last week I’ve only lost 2 ounces . The first week I lost 6lbs and the second 3 lbs . But since 6 days ago I have stayed the same weight and this morning found I’d lost 2 ounces! Is this typical ? I am not doing any exercise except for walking, but I am fairly active during the day so it’s not like I am sitting around doing nothing . Help please as I don’t want to give up.

Do you count the carbs of the foods you eat? Sometimes vegetables can have some nasty carb surprises, and fruits are always tricky. Simply avoiding wheat, rice, grains, cereals, sugars and potatoes may not be sufficient. It wasn’t for me.

As for why carb-high foods can cause immediate weight gain, it’s because carbs retain water more than the other macronutrients. That extra water weight is what you’re seeing reflected on the scales, not fat.

Esnecca I’m so bored with just almonds I’m prepared to take as much time as it takes to get tasty nuts!!!

Nice one Amazing – a nice ’round’ 14-7 to go with the nice ’round’ 200pounds 😀 Who could ask for anything more! Well – a slippery slide to target would be nice. 😀 Hope today was better than yesterday for you. First half of your day sounds good anyway. Me- had a dose of the munchies after work – stress does that to me. Saw grapes lying there- thought 67 cals for 100g was a good deal, coupled with 20g peanut butter. Not enough protein and the hunger just hit me and wanted to go to sleep I was so tired. Ended up having an early evening just to stop the hunger and ‘I want to eat NOW’ feeling. I haven’ tgone over 1000 cals but far too many carbs today. Water weight gain pending on the scales tomorrow! Ah well. You win some, you lose some. Tomorrow is a new day, clean slate to try and avoid mistakes.

Good luck for tomorrow Amazing. BTW Have you a target weight in mind? I’m aiming for 9-6 – that’ll get me to BMI 25. I would love to be 8-7 but the last time I was that I was 13 years old – and I’m coming up for 59 now -so I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Anyhoo – good luck for tomorrow!

Skin on. Some of it flakes off in the soaking process, but I scoop every last crumb I can out of the strainer because the seasoning-heavy dust and fragments at the bottom of the container once the nuts are finished is one of my favorite things. It’s like the crumbs at the bottom of a bag of chips.

For the saline solution, use 1/2 tblsp of salt per 2 cups of nuts. You want enough water for them to float around comfortably. I go for a ratio of 2:1 water to nuts, so for 2 cups of nuts, I put 1/2 tblsp of salt in 4 cups of filtered water, stir it until it’s dissolved, then dump in the dry-roasted nuts. Note: I use sea salt which is less salty than table salt. If you’re using table salt, use 1 tsp per 2 cups of nuts.

I used a silicone mat on a baking sheet when I did them in the oven. Parchment paper would work just fine. You don’t want them directly on the tray because the seasoning will stick to it. If you have to pry them off, you’ll leave a lot of yumminess on the tray.

Fan ovens are actually closer to dehydrators than conventional ovens because dehydrators use a fan to keep the warm air blowing constantly over the food. The big difference is dehydrators pull in air from the outside while ovens are a sealed environment. I’m afraid I don’t know how to convert the times from dehydrator or conventional oven to fan oven. It seems like your oven would have to be faster. You’ll have to go with trial and error on that one to find out for sure. Everything moves so slowly that there’s no real danger of failure. Just taste a nut every once in a while and when it’s got that lovely crunchy texture and the seasoning is a hardened crust of deliciousness, pull them out. Be sure they’re fully cooled before putting them in an air-tight container.

Slow cookers are great for easy and plentiful food preparation. You can set them in the morning and come home to find dinner already cooked and the house smelling great. I make all kinds of things in mine, like frittatas, chili, soups, masses of collard greens, even a whole chicken or pork shoulder. I think I need to post more of my favorite slow cooker recipes here.

I love all the questions, Verano. Bring them on! I never expected anyone to try this system because it takes so long, so I couldn’t be more pleased that you’re willing to take a stab at it. 🙂

Hi all!

Hope you are well. You are all doing so amazingly well. I’m not ill but thanks for all your good wishes! The cold still brewing but that’s inevitable working in a hospital…

My stomach has been gurgling like it’s hungry for days! My friend calls it chatty 🤣 I liken it to the Venus fly trap in little shop of horrors. It’s saying feed me! So I was interviewing this morning and I had tried to mitigate by having breakfast (I normally fast til lunch as that works best for me) of course I ask a question and while waiting for the candidate to answer my stomach starts “chatting” away 😱 Poor interviewee!

FFBB, glad you enjoyed the wispa. It’s important to make conscious decisions and own them. I too am making one tonight. I’m having a ham and cheese toastie (low carb bread) and I’m not going to regret a single mouthful…😊

Mid week weigh in today and I’ve lost 1lb. So that’s 7lbs left to my goal and 6 weeks to do it (before Galway) I know it’s going to be slow at this stage. I will have to work for every gram now….

L 😘

Can anyone please explain as to why, if I am sticking below 800 calories of minimal carb food that if I accidentally have some slightly out of the diet my weight loss stops and weight even goes up instantly? Existing on no carbs and high protein should be enough on its own to ensure continued weight lose.

Oh Julia my heart goes out to you.

I came home after 4 weeks away with a 5 or 6 lb gain, can’t remember exactly. Lost that within a week and then lost the plot! I’m sorry but I don’t know whether you have much to lose, I don’t think you have from memory, so that makes it harder. I just got bored I think after 12 months here.

So, if I can help, I followed Marsie’s advice and wrote out a ‘plan’. Writing down a detailed plan in chunks of maybe 3 or 4 weeks to reach particular ‘events’ has really concentrated my mind.

The 7 days To renew enthusiasm….. thread has thrown up all sorts of new ideas foodwise to help me too. Take a look.

You may just have to ride the storm and when you get your head back in gear it will all come good again. Just hang in there.

Thanks Esnecca. Can I just ask you a few more questions please. Do you use nuts with skin on or off? What sort of ratio of salt to water do you use for the brine? Do you put them on a dry tray in the oven of on baking paper? Would you leave them in for 24hrs on around 145f even though it’s a fan oven? Sorry for all the questions. I do cook but not like this before! Your chicken recipe sounds lovely. I like 🌶 spicy so will definitely try that one. I have a slow cooker which I think I’ve used twice! So new use for it is a bonus.

how wonderful to hear from you, i hope all is still going well for you