My first offering on this thread is quite simply one of my favourite styles of cooking a simple BSD friendly evening meal. The original idea came from Mary Berry and included a glass of white wine added with 10 minutes to go in the oven 😀 but that step can be omitted if not way of eating friendly.

For my version, simply add whatever protein source you want (usually chicken thighs or breast or high quality sausage) to a plastic bag, add tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, peppers and any other vegetables you like/have lying around needing using up. Add a dash of salt and black pepper (or any other herbs or spices you really like) and a tablespoon of oil, olive or avocado oil are my favourites, then close up the bag and just mix up by rolling the bag in your hands until the vegetables and meat are all covered in oil and seasoning.

Cook in a roasting tin in the oven for around 50 minutes at 200C or slightly higher if not a fan oven, mix once halfway through to make sure the top layer doesn’t burn, then just serve with the cooking juices and enjoy. This has become such a favourite of ours we use it regularly, and with the added wine it makes an incredibly satisfying and still low carb, easy to prepare, casual, one pot, dinner party main course if we have guests. For those on maintenance and eating the occasional potato again like me, small potatoes roasted whole in the mixture also work really well.

Hi all

I’ve come away for a few days with patchy internet service so won’t be posting much til home late Thurs. I did weigh before I came away and have reversed the weight gain and lost 8lb from the start now. It feels like we are all struggling currently. It’s hard work. Love the recipe suggestions Mermaid, thanks! I feel so much better already for this. Was just reading back up thread and am going to repeat this quote from Esnecca’s posting as it’s very motivating to me:

“You’re on the BSD for 8 weeks. That’s a very short time, so just do it straight. Confront your obsessive thoughts instead of giving into them. You are not sugar’s slave. Don’t grovel and abase yourself to it. You are the sole master of your body.”

Hi Lynne

I guess you must be back from your holiday now and I hope you had a great time. Hope your ‘silence’ on the boards is not a bad sign that things aren’t calming down for you.

Hope all is well and keep in touch, it may just help if you need it at the moment.

Thanks Marsie! As you know struggling a bit at the moment but still keeping on keeping on……

Mariet if your health is fine 3kg is neither here nor there so stay at the weight you’re most comfortable at. As you say you started this WOE for vanity.

DAY 2 of 7

Thanks for the recipe Pancita. I have just looked back through fatsecret to see what I was eating on the days that I was losing well. My winter go to lunch was soup and another good lunch seems to have been cottage cheese with pickled cucumbers and a couple of thin oat cakes. My downfall has been my snacking. Yesterday after a more substantial lunch I didn’t snack so maybe I have the answer ….. two meals a day with a larger lunchtime meal, a light dinner and no snacks.

Esnecca I have never heard of Rapini so looked it up. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen it here in the UK but that doesn’t mean it’s not available. I made some mashed cauliflower last night but it was a disaster. I steamed it too long and I had broad beans above it in the steamer so it went grey in parts. When I whizzed it with a tablespoon of cream I was left with a very unappetizing grey sludge. Must remember to check my vegetables when steaming!

Today I’m starting to use light weights again and a band for an upper body workout. My arms seem to be getting flabby as I lose weight and I think that that may be, subconsciously, stopping me from losing weight more rapidly. Hopefully the weights will help with toning but I know it will take time.

My second offering today is fish. I love it but I know lots of people don’t . So it’s sea bass for me today just baked in the oven with some herbs stuffed inside. Shouldn’t mess too much with something so delicate!

Hope you are all feeling a little more positive today.

Morning all,

great to see you Josie and Greenjanet

Thank you Yowzer!! I appreciate you feel you may not be the best person to ask but what you shared is invaluable to some one like me…I will use the ideas to launch from lol

I need to eat around 8am in a morning as my medications need to be taken following food….don’t think I would be ok if taken later but once on a roll I may give that a go.

Well, so far this week, I have not managed to get started, with one thing and another but weighed myself this morning and GOT to get started today…no more procrastination – so here we go!

Hi Mary
I have had exactly the same experience last week it really upset me and I have gone AWL over the last few days.There were other issues but that tipped me over
Thank you Lee and Esnecca, you have both given me hope I will get back and do it properly

Thanks for being such a supportive bunch
XX

Thank you Mermaid – another day today. I need to find a distraction for my ‘weak’ times.
SSB

I’ve never drunk so much water! I think I must have got rid of everything that was stored now though, my weight loss has settled and I’m not weeing quite so much lol.
I’m having lunch out today and had a look at the menu and luckily it looks like I can have chicken salad. I’ve also thought I could have steak and ask for extra veg instead of chips (or just not eat them). When I said I was doing 800 cals I got “that doesn’t sound enough for a working girl!” My husband is worried I’ll faint, partly cause I would always feel dizzy when I was hungry. Well, I haven’t been hungry and I’m sure it’s down to bad control of sugar that I felt faint (although I’m not diabetic).
Another thing, my teeth have never felt so clean!

Same as Mrs. Honey, I’m finding the cookbook very helpful. I’m know some people voiced concern that the calorie count is a bit off and that could be as the recipes don’t give weight measurement for ingredients (i.e a small chicken breast may mean different sizes to different people) but by and large it’s a great guide and if I really want to be specific, I can enter all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal.

I made the oatmeal pancakes from the recipe in the recipe section here this morning and they were quite good, (though I ground up the oatmeal in a blender as I didn’t soak it overnight as called for). I had lunch out with a friend today and struggled to find something to eat that was low carb. I know I’m not under 50gm of carbs, but I’m okay for calories today. I can see eating out could become an issue and I don’t really want to have to explain the bsd to everyone (the first person I told about it was horrified at 800 calories, so I’ll just keep it quiet for now). I’ll just have to try to make most mealls at home and be creative when I have company.

Just realised I hadn’t put my final week update in. I had a small gain this week (300g) which means at the end of the challenge I have lost a total of 1.6kg, and am 300g above my 4 week challenge goal weight. Ordinarily this would be ok BUT (and there’s always a but), I had actually gone under my goal in week 2.
So on to the next 4 week challenge!
Good luck everyone 🙂

I’m in too! I’m just back from a three week holiday and gained 3kg. Not too concerned about that because I was looking very gaunt three weeks ago. My goals are fitness related mainly- to get settled with a muscle toning regime, continue daily walking and slowly lose the three kilos, probably not all in this 4 weeks.

Three week self indulgent Asian cruise. Stuck to principles about 80% of the time as far as food went but there was alcohol every day, cocktails, champagne, spirits, you name it.

I had my fitbit on and averaged 12000 steps a day and 20 flights of stairs a day! Swam, played golf, strenuous shore excursions to fabulous places I’d never been before. Met some wonderful people and basically had a ball- now comes the bill 😯

Weighed this morning, 3kg up.

Here is my dilemma. I started this way of eating purely for vanity, to look ok for my son’s wedding in September. My weight now, after the holiday, was my original goal weight. I’d lost another 3kg because I could and it felt like such an achievement but when I caught sight of myself unexpectedly in mirrors etc at the start of the cruise, in summer clothes, I was shocked by my appearance. My face looked drawn and gaunt, my neck was stringy, loose skin flapping on my arms! Now I’m wondering whether to stay where I am, a little fuller , still a little overweight or try to get back to where I was 3 weeks ago. Maybe concentrate on toning muscles. Any thoughts welcome.

Hi everyone 👍Hope you’re journeys are going well xx

Hi Verano,
I’m not too great at Fat Secret etc, so my figures might not be exact, but I wanted to share my favourite dinner hopefully to give you something new.

One chicken breast, cut in half then cut through the halves to get 4 thin pieces. Flatten a little with a rolling pin. Place one sage leaf on each piece, grind on some black pepper and wrap in a slice of parma ham. Pat again with the rolling pin then fry in a little butter until nicely browned.
About 300 calories and 2g carb (I think).
We eat it with a few spears of asparagus or sprouting broccoli.

Apologies if this is a duplicate of a recipe already on here, I haven’t read through all the recipes on the lists.

Best wishes
P xx

JCH, congrats on the 1lb

I’ve lost about the same. Very slow loss. I wonder whether this is still insulin resistance, and whether I should give up my 40g of cereals in the morning, just for a while. Or reduce it to half. It’s most of my carbs for the day.

Boredom? What are you eating? I’m finding loads of variety, and my family are loving the new recipes. Cottage pie with puréed cauliflower; crustless Quiche made with Greek yogurt and courgette, onion and spinach; baked herby chicken breasts with cauliflower rice… etc… And when I’m desperate for something like a cracker, I’ve found Atkins low carb crackers. It’s so important to find new foods to enjoy, even if the diet is slower, or we begin craving again.

SSB, I’ve sabotaged myself in millions of diets more times than I can remember. You can stop . But you need to choose to. Don’t beat yourself up!

Make sure the sauerkraut you buy is raw and unpasteurized. The regular stuff you find at the grocery stores in the States at least often hasn’t been fermented, just cooked down, and if it’s pasteurized all the lovely friendly gut bacteria die in the process.

My contribution to the renewed enthusiasm movement is a single vegetable: broccoli di rape, aka broccoli rabe, aka rapini. I haven’t had any in decades and I’ve never cooked them at home before, but the ones at the market last weekend looked so beautiful that I gave them a try. I blanched them in boiling water for 4-5 minutes, drained them, then sauteed with garlic and a spoonful of chicken stock for 10 minutes or so. They were so scrumptious that I went right back to the market and bought another 3 bunches and blanched them all. Now whenever I feel the urge, they’re ready to toss in the pan.

They’re not actually related to broccoli, as it happens. They’re the greens of a turnip-like plant that just happen to look a lot like a leggy, leafy, tiny-flowered version of broccoli. They taste like a cross between turnips, mustard and spinach. So savory and delicious all you need is a little garlic, salt and pepper to make them sing. To top it all off, because they’re greens with edible stems, most of their carbs are fiber. They’re also so low in calories you could eat a mountain of them without making a dent in your count.

Tonight’s dinner was a pile of rapini with a dusting of grated parmesan on top, another pile of steamed spinach with 1/2 oz of feta crumbled on top and cauliflower mashed with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and chives. Just three veggies on plate, but so sumptuous.

Hi Mrs Honey, I am also following the recipe book. Just finished my 6th day. I am having scrambled egg or avocado for breakfast, salad for lunch mainly due to the hot weather. Had chicken in the ‘pie’ for dinner. Loving the Greek yoghurt and berries too. Struggling to drink so much water though.

I’m along for the ride too! No goals at the moment as I just need to get my head back into gear, hence my 7day challenge to help renew enthusiasm for this WOE.

Will do my best for the next 4 weeks but can’t say more than that at the moment.

Good luck everyone on this next phase of our journey.

Hi SunnyB and Marsie good to have you along. I have never eaten sauerkraut so maybe it’s time to start. I love any sort of pickled or spicy food except for onions. I am going to make up a batch of your spice mix SunnyB and give a go later this week.

I feel slightly more invigorated just having had a decent lunch and a sparse evening meal. Maybe that’s the way to go.

See you tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for your support. I have indeed still stuck to the programme. I don’t really have a problem with the food as I don’t have a sweet tooth and have been without major carbs since last October. I was tempted to drink today, but I had a shower and gave myself a manicure instead. Thank you again for helping me.

Oimadam, well done. You have lost in a week the same as me in Two weeks. You should be proud! I am very pleased for you. I take delight in everyone’s success and can’t wait for mine.

Love Mary
xxxx

No worries 🙂
It looks like vodka would be better than gin although personally I’d much prefer a gin!

I struggled yesterday, ate some of my kids chicken nuggets 😳 Went a bit over on carbs and calories but back on track today. I will weigh myself tomorrow which is end of week 1
I’m feeling a bit rough, funny stabbing headaches, foggy and lightheaded. Anyone else feeling this?
Has anyone else weighed? How’s it going?

I will be camping tomorrow for a week so won’t be weighing and measuring, I will stay away from carbs as much as possible and hope I don’t do too much damage.

I wouldn’t worry about it too much, you will probably find you automatically eat less as your appetite will have reduced, but you won’t get ill unless you have a hidden wheat or gluten intolerance that suddenly becomes obvious if you start back on the bread, pasta or pastries. I know that did happen to some people, but certainly not as a general case. I went straight from fasting to a holiday, and ate relatively normally and had no issues.

Super loss OiMadam.

Esnecca – 150 lbs lost is amazing. Truly inspiring.

Stay strong Mary….you got through a testing situation with the Cava (and the son in law).

I sometimes think that the people we know like us a certain way, whether it be fat or drunk or both. It gives them an excuse. It isn’t malicious (for the most part) it is just that us changing shows their flaws.

Keep in mind what Lee has said, it will happen.

FFBB X

Mary, the first week I started weighing myself (which was about halfway through the initial 8 weeks), I fluctuated up and down every day and wound up with exactly .3 pounds of a loss for the week. It was disconcerting, to put it mildly. The week after that I lost 7 pounds. Losing weight is not a linear progression. You can do everything precisely by the book, weigh, count, never allow a morsel of bad carbs anywhere near your cakehole, and still sometimes your body will just do what it wants with no apparent rhyme or reason to it.

Almost a year and 150 pounds later, I know very well how much random gains or meager losses can mess with your mind, and I know it’s easier said than done, but you have to try your best to just roll with it. Don’t brood, don’t obsess over your food log, don’t worry about tweaking this or that. This is the process. It’s a rollercoaster ride. You control what you can — namely what you put into said cakehole — and then let your body do the rest.

If it’s any consolation, you’ll look back on this week’s pound loss with wistful longing the first time you hit a plateau. 😉

Hi All
I drank so much water on my first day (10th) I thought I would drown! I’m vegetarian so there has been a fair bit of tofu and Quorn on the menu along with a lot of veggies and full fat yoghurt. Good job I like these things. How is everyone else getting on?

Best wishes and good luck – Shirley

If you stuck to the diet for the full 8 weeks, and then ate normally, how would your body react to the rush of carbs? I’m going on holiday the week after I’m due to finish and I’m wondering if I’ll be able to have any treats, or if it’ll make me sick. Should I start eating a few carbs the weeks beforehand? I do want to be able to have a piece of cake or a few drinks.

Well, I’m on day 6 now. My menus have looked something like this.
B- 2 scrambled eggs L – lentil and feta salad D – skinny cottage pie
B – Greek yogurt, berries and nuts L – 2 eggs salad D – chicken pie
B – sausage, bacon, egg, spinach and mushrooms L – gazpacho soup with beans and cheese (I just added these to give it protein and fat) D- Greek yogurt etc
Because some of the recipes serve 6, I’ve quite a few batches frozen, so I’ve been mixing this up for lunch and dinner.
Next week I’m going to make the chicken korma and something that will go with courgetti, not sure yet what.
For me, the Greek yogurt and berries is like heaven!! I’m not counting carbs, I’m just using recipes from the book. I also agree the calories can seem a bit off, I’m not at my first official weigh in (Thursday!) but so far, I’ve lost 8 pounds, so I’m not worrying too much!

The recipe book is 100% a worthwhile buy, it makes planning so much easier.

Hello lovelies. Thanks to all of your positivity, even for some in the face of adversity, I managed to stay on track, be kind to myself, and lose a whopping 7lbs! i have never lost that amount in the first week of a new WOE.
The biggest message I heard was drink lots and when you are full up, drink more. It has helped me massively as I haven’t found myself searching cupboards for things to eat. Anyone tried apple cider vinegar mixed with fizzy /tonic water? Sounds disgusting but tastes delicious – with added lemon, lime and cucumber. (1tbsp apple cider vinegar: 1 litre fizzy stuff). If it floats your boat, maybe try it?
So, onwards and upwards.
To all of you who have faced challenges and resisted this week – you are amazing.
To anyone who has struggled, tomorrow is another day. Start afresh and believe you can do it.
Liz, our amazing leader, and literary genius, I do hope that your mum is on the mend and your long journey passed without too many unexpected events (although we all love your daily vignettes about your daily experiences).
M x

Enjoy the day sunshine girl – there’s nothing like it is there? Watching it on TV again this year. We have spent many holidays following, or just seeing one stage, of the tour and have and met some great people. We have ridden the Etap du Tour too, a long time ago in 2002 – an amazing experience. The last time we watched, the race went through Briancon and we had a very long drive afterwards. Luckily for us we had been speaking to, and buying ice cream for, the gendarmes guarding our parking area. We promised faithfully that we would stick to our route and not follow the tour and we escaped with only an hours wait, definitely worth an ice cream!

Well done FFBB for staying on the wagon.. I am finding it tough going at times too and am clinging onto the sides of the wagon like mad….in fact I feel like jumping off. Usually at the weekend, but tonight seems particularly difficult….I think because of the low weight loss this morning. I still haven’t had any though.

There were no sausage rolls today….so I had a burger and a chicken thigh…I passed on the Cava, despite my son-in-law trying to tempt me…he only wanted an excuse to drink and I didn’t give him one!

Highlight of today was when leaving and my one year old granddaughter, leaned towards me and gave me a kiss. So lovely. Then she leaned away towards my husband and I was forgotten, but then he didn’t get a kiss…I did. Yay for me!

Stay well.
Mary xxx

Sure thing Yowser banish the 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Ahh JAN its so lovely that youre feeling so positive and enjoying being back on the back seat of the bus!! ( remember those days!?)
Stay on that happy vibe and it will be a doddle ..i am with you in spirit and also in body coz i want to lose some more and make sure i keep that naughty Carb Monster on the run!
Can we do it???yes we can!!!! XXXXX

Hi JCH187, if it’s any comfort to anyone – I am being complete rubbish at the moment – sabotaging myself at every step ☹️
SSB

Can I join you lovely people? I’m going on holiday on 2nd August and would like to lose 4lbs as well – maybe a bit more if possible. I don’t know why but I do ok in the day then sabotage myself when I get home from work. I’m hoping that being accountable on here might help me keep on track.
I will post on here every day so that I have to think before I allow the ‘baddies’ to tempt me!
Good luck everyone.
SSB

Day 18 in the BSD house.

Today I have done my 15 reps with my 3 lb weights. Did 3 circuits of the lifts I do (bicep curls, straight lateral lifts, etc. Is it obvious I don’t know all the names of the exercises?).

I plan on doing strength training one day and light aerobics on the other day. Seemingly this is a good way to do it and I have read I should push the lifting to my limit and then add one more rep.

I have been keeping my veggies chunky as I read somewhere that the more processed a food the quicker the calories are absorbed and the remains pass through the system. So in theory chewing and digesting chunky, less processed food should keep me fuller for longer (and burn more energy?).

On the alcohol front I haven’t been tempted, Fridays and Sundays seem to be my danger days, and I find it tough passing the pub on a sunny day but I am keeping on the wagon.

All the best buddies.

FFBB X

I’m in! My goal is the same as Maisie Mouse- I want to lose 4lb. Today I weighed in at 142 lb. I will aim for 138 lb or less! Have been super strict this week so far and feel like I am in the zone to get results this month. Thank you for continuing this monthly thread- I think it really does help. Good luck everyone!

I don’t like cooking but found the Chicken & Mushroom ‘pie’ so easy I’ve cooked it twice.
What are other people cooking?

No, just the 800 calorie ish version, but the days 3-7 will be full on fasting mimicking with just plant based foods and less than 9% protein to see what the effect is. Still mixing and matching these ways of eating 😁 I have been on maintenance calories so averaging about 2100 calories a day, so should be quite a shock to the system.

I’ve been extending my overnight fasts the last couple of days and I’m hopeful that it will be a good way of kick starting things again. Hope your fasting Is working for you Mixnmatch, is it complete abstention through the 7 days, or do you have a light meal at some point each day? Not sure I could cope with full on fasting – not made of stern enough stuff.

Look forward to reading you input on the 7 day thread.

I still like sweet stuff, but rarely crave it if it isn’t right in front of me. Still, there have been quite a few ‘cake’ moments over the last couple of weeks since my birthday, so I am having a reset week. Back to fasting on the Seriously thread just for 7 days. I will be trying to find ideas for Verano’s new 7 day thread as well to get my head back in the game.

I’m in too, I like receiving everyone’s posts via email – it reminds me what I’m supposed to be doing! 😉

I’m going to aim for another 4lb loss which would take me to 9st 10lbs – hoping to achieve that just sticking to the mediterranean principles rather than anything too stringent. I must also get back on track with walking, water drinking and getting enough sleep.

Hope I can achieve that by the 6th August because I am heading to France on the 7th… land of croissants and pain au chocolats! 🙁

Love the sound of that Kraut with turmeric and juniper, Marsie – can you mail some to the UK?!

I’m definitely in, Baristagirls.

Not personally setting any fix goal to achieve, but I ultimately want to get to and past my original target weight of 8st 7lb, so that I have a buffer zone to allow a bit of wriggle room. Currently I have a pound to drop to target weight and then we’ll see what happens. My main reason for joining the challenge is to be accountable and to help me stay focused and on track, as I’ve struggled a bit the last week or so, with giving the BSD my attention and have coasted.

Let’s do it folks …. Keep on Going!

Yeah! I’m in for “keep it going be it shine or snowing” it’s got a good ring to it.
Mind you , if it blinkin’ snows in August I’ll know who to blame!
And it’s raining crazy here today, hope you haven’t turned the weather gods against us!
Nice to see you back Marsie 😁

Ann x

Great idea Verano, thank you.

My contribution is a purchased product. I have not really enjoyed saurkraut, but reading Dr M’s book as well as other materials about fermented foods, decided to give it another go. I happened upon a local (Western Australian) small producer of Kraut and Kimchi and honestly say it is absolutely delicious. Green St Kitchen Kraut with Turmeric & Juniper Berries. Carbs = 3.6g/100g so a 30gm serve is not damaging.

Hi Sian,

I have only been on it 2 days feel good, not so bloated, but, no weight loss, I will keep going, not going to give up. LOL
I need to loose 1 stone, and hopefully that will help my joints, as they are aching!!

Just think what you can acheive in 2 weeks.

I am going to a wedding in eight weeks so, this is my motivation. As you say, I am going to make this a way of life too.

Have a great holiday.

Ellen :O)

Hey Rozy, sorry you have been struggling too. Think as we get closer to target weight, not only is it harder to lose the pounds, but the temptation is to back off and stop trying so hard and essentially drop back in to maintenance mode. For me the answer is to get back to basics, but we all find our own routes through the problem areas.

Having that sweet tooth must be tough as well. I’m lucky in that I rarely crave the sweet stuff. Savoury is a much greater temptation for me, but I think that’s perhaps easier to cope with than needing sugar. Hope you can find some coping mechanism to get you through the yearning for sugary treats.

Here’s to us all getting to our target weight soon. Keep posting everyone.