Well Snoop, you have to do what is right for you. No-one here will take offence if you unfriend us from Facebook.
Mary xxx

No reason why I would post anything inflammatory on FB. But as you say, this is our safe zone. Oddly, I’ve managed to keep the same name across all my online activities. No idea how, as you’d think it would be an obvious one for lots of people to choose. So if anyone can find me here, they’ll find me everywhere! I think I have autistic tendencies and am ridiculously recluse now. It’s become a way of life and I find it very difficult to open up. This thread is quite a revelation for me.

Thanks everyone my bsd book came today so going to have a good read when I finally come to a stand still this evening will keep you all posted hopefully it will be positive lol fingers crossed I really don’t want to fail at this I need to get healthy

Snoop, I understand what you mean, but can you just not post anything inflammatory on fb? I think the only thing you will miss out on is photos anyway. This is our safe zone.

Take care,
Mary xxx

Guys, I joined you on Facebook. I thought it was a matter of being honest as to who I am . But in retrospect, I can be more honest if I stick to my alter ego only. I have work colleagues and family who are my friends on FB and I don’t want any leakage between here and the real world. I’m honest here and it wouldn’t do me any good whatsoever professionally. So I’m going to unfriend, if I can.

Let’s hope so Mary
Xxx

Bloke41, if she’s telling you your priorities aren’t right and she’s sick of people telling her how well you’re doing, it’s possibly because she’s jealous you’ve managed to make this huge change in your life and she hasn’t. If she hasn’t been able to keep pace with you, 56 kg isn’t just weight loss. She might be feeling you’ve left her behind.

One thing you’ll have to address is what happens when you reach your target. I’m no therapist, and these aren’t really issues for a public forum, but how you approach maintenance is going to be an issue. It’s not just a matter of adding calories or changing your exercise routine. It’ll be about how you drop back into a way of family life that has continued almost in your absence while you’ve been off doing your walks or eating differently. And how you do that without causing ructions or going backwards in terms of your weight and health.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t post this. Either way, best wishes.

Hey greenjanet, good to see you posting again. I empathise with you in your family upsets. There are times when all we can do is just keep putting one foot in front of the other…… good wishes to you x

Good to see you back and in good form topcac. It seems you’re getting right back on track.

As Butterlover said, it’s cold and wet here, and goodness I’m craving “stodge” -white bread, (none in the house) crumpets (n i t h) mashed potatoes (not doing it) spaghetti bollanaise (had the bol without the spag). I need to stay distracted. …..

Lee, perhaps you should hold off having any more clothes altered. You are obviously doing this right.

Good luck in Galway. My mother was from Dublin and I am well aware of Irish hospitality! I went once, didn’t drink any alcohol and still came back half a stone heavier, just from having Tea. In my Aunts house, Tea meant the whole table was laid with sandwiches, cakes and biscuits, and I was not allowed to say no.

Even if you do gain, you have the weapons to lose it again.

Love Mary
xxx

Mary, where have you been hiding? You are really shining this week. Couldn’t be happier for you at your loss and your supermarket willpower!!

Yes, the dresses were very tailored and lined. One cost me £250 and the other £180 when I purchased them, so £30 to upcycle was a good investment! He’s done an amazing job to be fair. Not his fault I had a whoosh week. It was a total 7.8lbs off this week! I just didn’t think I would do so well, so quickly on bsd…

I suspect I will gain or at the very best, stay the same after my trip back to Galway next weekend. My cousins are taking me to the Connaught senior football final, so it will be a tricky time! I’m hoping I can offer to drive…🤣😳

So, with that in mind I suspect the black and white dress will work for my cousin’s funeral on the 13th. But I do have a lovely one on order too (I think shopping is my new addiction!)

L xx

Nice fail Lee. ☺😉

Wow Lee, Congratulations!

I feel very smug at the moment. I called Joe in to witness the scales and he said yes, you are under 18 stone. I did it twice just to make sure. I have just got back from the supermarket…I looked at the wine aisle and thought….no I don’t need to go there. Then I saw some tiny bottles of wine for £2, just enough for one glass and I thought….no…I don’t need that.

£70 to take in two dresses seems a lot…are they tailored?

Thank you for your support.

Mary xxx

HI All.not much to report here.the weather is cold and wet so feeling tempted to eat a lot. I always overeat on weakends.I weigh daily and check BGL daily both are hovering at the same levels this week. So I wont get to my target by tuesday.Im not too worried as Im going on holiday to Singapore and thailand on wednesday so I will probably over eat while Im away .I wish someone would do a BSD Asian diet as its teally hardto stay off the carbs .I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.Best wishes to you all.

So 1st of july.

How about seven minutes of exercise?

Seven lots of one minute craziness.
Star jumps, or hopping, or rolly pollys, or skipping, or walking?
I think it is do-able.

Join me.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Robonamission, haha that’s absolutely hilarious!!! Although, a good problem to have, even if the neighbours now cross the street instead of walking in front of your place 🙂

Well done Mary and inka. How good do you feel right now?

I had a bit of an epic fail today….but in a nice way, sort of!
Just collected two of my most expensive dresses that I had paid £70 to have taken in. Problem is that I’ve lost half a stone (7lbs) since he pinned them, so they are too big again!!! 😇😘

Hi Mixnmatch,

That’s probably a far more sensible approach than my sudden carb load up 😁.

GM

Dreamscometrue

Lovely to read your post. Our BSD journeys are very similar. I started at 12.7 and am currently 10.4 and like you want to be 9.7 at the heaviest to bring my BMI to 25. I loved the positivity in your post and like you I enjoy being able to wear nice clothes and feel confident that I am no longer obese. At just over 10 stone and aged 56 I do feel good about myself. When I get into the 9s that will be a massive achievement but like you I am finding it hard to lose weight now as I am a slow loser – I am not complaining though- it’s been gradual and I’ve only had one week where I gained and that was after a holiday and it came of the same week- 7lb!!!! I am trying intermittent fasting and last night embarked on a 24 hour fast to see if I can get some fat burning! I am sticking to BSD principles and actually it really is a way of life now. It’s surprising how little food we actually do need isn’t it?

I think the conscious choice of food is very very liberating. My son got engaged at Glastonbury festival last week and we are going for a celebration meal in Manchester tomorrow. I’ve looked at the menu and there is only one vegetarian choice and it’s not BSD friendly but guess what, I will be having it and enjoying it! I am fasting today and will fast tomorrow until we eat. This way of eating works for me.

I’ve been wondering how Seasidenana is doing too. I know she had a new love in her life so she is probably not even giving BSD a second thought!

Keep plodding on and it won’t be long before we are both in the 9s!!!!! Never would have predicted that when I started in January.

I’ve been eating 3 times a day as, particularly in the first couple of weeks, I feel really hungry in the morning. Tend to eat at approximately 7:30, 13:00, 19:00 with my largest meals being breakfast and dinner. I also tend to plan all my meals for the week before I go shopping each weekend.

Enjoy your holiday Julia, where are you going???

Instead of all three at once, try adding back just one at a time, so in one day, add a burger with bun, or a beer, or some chips, and check again. Even someone without blood sugar issues probably has a similar rise with such a carb heavy load, they just don’t measure it.

Welcome back greenjanet, that sounds like a very sensible approach, and well done taking control again.

I went to California for my honeymoon 25 years ago and came back a stone heavier 😎😮🤐 I think it was the Huevos Rancheros at the local Mexican restaurant every morning for breakfast that did the bulk of the damage, although the fridge full of free wine coolers that we drank all day like soft drinks probably didn’t help. I have in the past been in the bottle or more of wine a night brigade, but have found that even after relaxing the diet now I am on maintenance I haven’t even been tempted to return to those days. I will have a glass of wine (or beer or gin or whisky) and just stop and drink sparkling water instead, satisfied. I have occasionally gone up to three glasses socially (or with Prosecco which is still a bit of a weakness, luckily not an everyday one), but with no cravings or difficulty the next day. I am proud of you all for facing up to your demons and dark passengers, and staying in control. The improvement in sleep quality is such a nice bonus as well.

My 50 calories a day averages over a week as 257 calories increase every week, and as I said I actually lost weight during this phase. I will be doing this again if I ever hit my ‘upper trigger weight’ of 11 stone 7 again, back down to 800 for 4 weeks then + 50 calories a day until I am back over my TDEE. It shocked me that I was still losing weight while increasing my calories by this much, but it worked. If you follow Theodora’s plan for a more gradual increase then that should work equally well. I think the traditional increase for this style of post diet diet is 150 calories a week, so my choice was quite extreme.

Well done S-G you are nailing this. Know how you feel about the rain. Edinburgh has gone from a Spring drought to non stop rain. Depressing after a while. I’ll think of you as I bask in sun and warmth later today!

Well it is still b—–dy raining here, more like a monsoon and the temperature has dropped to 18 and I daren’t look at the pool temperature. Never mind we are set for low 30’s next week.

Weighed this morning and have lost the weight I put back on plus half a pound so lost 2.5 lbs in 3.5 weeks, not good but still a loss. Still no treats over the weekend, only 2 more evenings to go.

Hi Sunshine-girl,

Thanks for the reply. You’re right it’s not exactly what I wanted to hear but I did suspect that I may have to continue to stay off the carbs for a while yet.

I’m disappointed but will continue to monitor things in the hope that some day I won’t have to avoid foods that I love so much all the time.

Kind regards,
GM

Inka13,

You are amazing. I know its not easy, especially when someone irritates you, or for me it just has to be Friday. I sat last night thinking, well its Friday, other people drink on Friday so its ok for me.
Then I thought of Liz and Madmare, and EC and Lee and you and picked up my sewing and concentrated on that instead. Keep going!

Mary xxx

I make thin almond crackers for snacking and will have them with a little cheese, as smear of nut butter or for a big treat a smear of clotted cream and half a big strawberry, or a couple of raspberries or a big fat blackberry. 30g of full fat yogurt with a few berries works as a snack too.

As sunshine-girl says, it’s a good idea to have a couple of options around, so that you don’t get bored with having the same thing every day – maybe swap out yogurt and a topping, for the eggs some mornings. Or veggie patties perhaps.

Just had to drop in to say made through night three with no wine! ( despite a stressful evening too) 😇

I did say meat products, especially processed meats, or as my doctor would say, chacuterie et fois gras. And it is uric acid or acide uree, I get my own test results by email so can analyse them for myself.

Hi GM, yes you have added in too many carbs. As you have reached an ideal BMI and dont really want to lose any more weight, stick to the no bad carbs rule but increase the other things so eat, ie and extra egg, larger portion of meat, a little more cheese. Note that it must still all be the good stuff and only increase little by little to see how your weight reacts. BUT, reintroducing burger (the bun part), chips and beer (all bad carbs) is going to have an immediate impact on your BG – so you still have an issue with blood sugar. This diet can reverse the high readings but you might have to watch those carbs forever or at least for a long time.

Sorry if this in not what you want to hear but imagine a smoker being told stopping for 10 years will put their lungs back to those of a non-smoker so they decide they can smoke again starting with new lungs – no, it doesn’t work that way. Although it wont take 10 years. In simple terms (cos I do rabbit on) what made you have a problem in the first place is still going to hurt you. Just stick with it until everything is stable then have that beer or a burger and chips as an occasional treat.

Well caz1973 you sound very organised. The Spanish soup is my favourite and I was going to have it for lunch today (like you I batch cook) but I have an avocado on the turn so will have that instead. Always give yourself choices and keep it varied so you dont get bored.

Do I remember that name, greenjanet. Welcome back. You should be pleased with yourself, you have taken control again.

Hi Minibean, yes, I am sorry to say, your girlie night might still be hanging around. You dont say how much wine was involved but imaging if the night before you got weighed and had lost 7llbs (your 6 plus one) then you drank 2 glasses of wine, that could put back the 1 you had lost, drink 4 glasses of wine and it takes off another one. Look honestly at what you had, did it make you eat something off plan, that often happens. Think about it, learn from it then move on. We have all been there.

Restarted just over a week ago and due to 3 relatives experiencing serious events it’s all gone capput again.
So weighin today starting weight 110 k aim for the week to loose 2 kilos. Due to family probs I’m just going to use MFP to count cals up to 1000 – 1200 aim for low carb but not precise as my days are to unpredictable at moment where I will eat.
So feeling pleased that I have made this commitment to myself. It’s the one thing I can get a bit of control over at the mo.

Yay for you Mary. 👍

Liz, You can call me whatever you like. I am so pleased that where I live in merry ol’ England there are no BBQ spots. I watch Diners, Drive ins and Dives. I drool at the food, marvel at the portion sizes, wonder how they produce the food for the prices quoted and think that if I lived in America I would weigh 400 lbs! Mum and dad have been to Canada 3 times and each time came back heavier and marvelling about the portion sizes. 😲😱

I also take strength from my fellow posters on here. I take each day at a time and congratulate myself every time I defy my inner voice.

Yes I want a drink, but No I won’t have one. I have already gone 1 week without a drink, 7 more weeks should be a piece of piss!

Oh Mary, Madmare and FFBB….well done….I was going to make today ….1st day of a new month, the start of greater abstinence ….I’d been better initially, but the creep has been incremental…BUT had one glass tonight and then pushed away the glass!!

also I was also going to start BSD on 1st June and started on 5th….so 4 weeks Monday may be the perfect day to stop the red!

Liz…hope your trip is easy….I personally love long drives…but 24 hours is maybe TOO long……take a HUGE thermos of tea!!….and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!….if I remember right, it’s tomorrow?

Mary…it is beautiful where I live, and I’m eternally appreciative…can’t believe my luck, really. but many locals say they’d never live here as its cold and damp in winter (and we get little to no sun right now and my garden is permanently damp at the moment)…but those brisk walks and the dog cavorting in the frost are special. I definitely saw my breath this morning!!

On another note…I’m not a huge fan of cabbage (my mother was a very ordinary cook and memories of over-mayonaissed coleslaw and the smell of boiled cabbage (not to mention tripe!! ugggh!!.. a lifetime deterrent)….but bought a lovely red cabbage at the farmers market last weekend and made this last night….it’s DELICIOUS!! I used mirin instead of sugar (WAY less calories)…and we had it again tonight as a side…with the previous aubergine recipe also as a side and a small slice (50g) of grilled halloumi YUM…..total 304 calories according to Myfitnesspal (which seems to be super excited that I have logged in for 27 days straight!!)

happy Sunday for tomorrow all!

Ingredients

1.25kg (2 3/4lb) large red cabbage, finely shredded
2-3 red chillies, halved, deseeded and chopped
1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
4 star anise
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
5 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 level tbsp caster sugar
4 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1 tbsp sesame oil

If you prefer cabbage to have less bite and be a bit softer, add more liquid and cook on a low heat, uncovered, for an extra 20 minutes or so.

Method

Put all the ingredients, except the spring onions, sesame seeds and sesame oil, into a large pan with a lid and bring to a simmer.
Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in half the spring onions and half the sesame seeds. Spoon into a large bowl and sprinkle with the rest of the spring onions, sesame seeds and the sesame oil.

Cook’s tip:If you prefer cabbage to have less bite and be a bit softer, add more liquid and cook on a low heat, uncovered, for an extra 20 minutes or so..

Mary!!!! I’m so pleased for you.
I love the way you are thinking about treating yourself by NOT having a drink. What a good way to think of it…

Safe journey Liz and Kev. I’ve never been to Florida but planning to visit my cousin in Tampa next summer (once his pool is finished!!)

BHF have been to collect some stuff this morning including all my fat clothes. Oh dear, no going back now…I can’t afford to replace again! Still got my savings jar going. It goes up to £1000 before you smash it… so I will be off to Canada 🇨🇦 with a new wardrobe ( and perhaps some Nordic poles!) Tee hee!!

Have a great day everyone

L xx 😘

If not water then the other thing that sometimes happens at the start of the 800 phase is food becomes slower to transit the bowel as there is so much less of it, and this can cause temporary weight gain. Make sure you are keeping the fibre in your diet as high as you can and just wait it out. It may also be worth trying increasing your water intake temporarily, and possibly your fat intake, I have seen both of these make a difference. Add a little salt to your food if your water intake gets very high, or you could deplete your electrolytes.

It will be water weight, the wine often has this effect, I am 2 pounds up myself this morning after a glass last night. The important thing is to remember that the fact the measurements are still going down means that the fat is still going, so just keep on keeping on and don’t worry about water weight.

Almonds or walnuts are good, but keep the quantity down as they are very calorific. Cheese is good too, but make sure it is a measured portion. If you feel like a treat maybe a small square of dark chocolate (70-90% cocoa). Apart from that if you stick to extra BSD friendly vegetables then you can eat more or less what you like.

Well done to everyone! Including me. I have weighed myself this morning and have lost 5 pounds, since Tuesday. Yay me.

I have to say, I couldn’t have done it without you. Every time I think of having a drink, I think of all of you and how hard you are working and it helps me to stay sober. I was going to ‘treat’ myself tonight and have a drink, but now I will treat myself and NOT have a drink.

Thank you all so much

Liz, sounds like a gruelling trip, I hope something good comes from it. Safe journey.

Love Mary xxx

MixnMatch & Theodora that was very clever! 🤗 To increase the daily calorie intake by only 50 -100 cals every week sounds like a very good plan. I am on my second BSD 800 trip now and find the eating regiment super, but I had problems with weight increase after my first trip. By using your method and increase the calorie intake very gradually, I may avoid or at least limit the weight gain when I reach my target this second time around. Good plan! Thank you for sharing! 😀

Hi Theodora, I Googled “ideal body fat percentage” today and find that it is a huge variation in the recommendations. I will now target your 15% body fat. It could take a while to get there though 😎

Hi,

I have just completed six weeks on the Fast800 diet where I have lost 8kg bringing my weight down from 82.5kg to 74.5kg and reducing my BMI from 25.2 to 22.7.

I undertook the diet following an HbA1c reading of 62 and am expecting the results of a follow up HbA1c middle of next week.

During the diet I have been monitoring my blood sugar with a home test kit and have seen a fall from initial readings of 8.7 to average 5.5 after a couple of weeks.

My question is that I have finished the weight loss part of the diet now and had a couple of treat nights of burger, chips, beer and the likes where the following morning my blood sugar readings have been around 6.5 (which is back in the borderline high region). Is this normal or do I still have an issue with blood sugar?

It is not my intention to revert to my old ways of too many carbs but I would hope to be able to enjoy them in moderation so is it normal to have this high reading or do I need to avoid them almost completely?

GM

Thanks for the pointers AnnieW, I am keeping to most of them, but I have noticed that whenever I have anywhere near a normal portion of chips, I put on weight, thankfully it comes off again in a few days with no real effort. I haven’t eaten a significant amount of bread, sugar, pasta, or rice (or cake or biscuits) in ages though. Obviously chips are a no-no. 🙁

Just lately and until 5th July, I don’t have enough time/energy to spare for cooking, (and I shouldn’t really be sitting in front of the computer either!) so I’m currently off the M plan and relying on whey shakes, eggs and tinned fish for protein, and smoothies and occasional salad for roughage, with the occasional meal out. I’m doing surprisingly well on it, as far as energy levels and keeping weight and appetite stable goes, but I wouldn’t want to stick to it any longer than necessary, I’m sure to be missing some micronutrient or other.
I’ll get back to eating proper food next week, and I’ll keep a diary too. Normally I manage stir fried/sweated/stewed vegetables fairly often or broccoli or sprouts. I usually manage a decent portion of meat once a day, but I need to get into the habit of using spinach and pulses regularly; I haven’t used either for ages, even though I know a few recipes that use a lot of them.

It was a bit of a silly time for me to join here really, it was just such a relief to find that I was right about having to cut even more calories to lose weight. Calorie counting is just so ‘off’! Even when I was eating the typically recommended ‘balanced diet’, if I ate my RDI of calories, I would have gained weight steadily and fast. It’s really not how much (calorie-wise) that you eat, it’s WHAT you eat that’s important, and actually that whole ‘balanced diet’ pie chart is totally wrong for me.

Oh, Atkins, yeah, the level of carbs you’re supposed to stick to is not just unhealthy, it’s nigh impossible!

sunshine-girl, Thank you for your concern 🙂 but I think your doctor has put too many different things together under one umbrella there.
Uric acid is from purines which are found predominantly in organ meat, not regular meat.
Perhaps he was meaning urea, but that’s from any protein, including ‘other sources’. Ham and other cured meats are definitely to be avoided as they contain added nitrates which are not good for us as well as making even more urea.
For the ‘dangers’ of high protein diet, have a look at this study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/
My diet isn’t as high in protein as their definition either, anyway.
I think there is still a proven correlation between red meat and high blood pressure, but mine is still absolutely fine, so no worries for me there either.

eta I suspect the reason I need so very much more protein than recommended may be because I have ADHD

I started on the 8 week BSD about three weeks ago. Bought myself a monitor recently but I’m worried that my BS levels are now reading low all the time, should I seek advice?

That’s how I felt – go to sleep quickly but then wake up at 3.00am hot and feeling awful – and I don’t even drink very much – maybe two glasses of wine in an evening.
Sadly, my OH makes real ale ( he has his own mini-brewery) and it’s fabulous! But as MM says ‘liquid toast’!
I will still have an occasional small glass of that but the calories/carbs are sooooo high!
Like you, I’m not doing the 800, just cutting the carbs for general health and to get rid of my ‘carb baby’!
SSB