Good evening! Thought I should pop-in with some positives.

S-g we have 63 days before we set off on our trip. We have six nights in Tenerife then cruising up to Lisbon from where we then fly down to the Algarve to see our son and his family. Really looking forward to the trip except my husband is now having a hernia repair on March 18th so just keeping everything crossed we will actually make it!

So to my positives ….

🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️ 12 straight days of meditation and I have to admit it’s getting easier and I can now ‘follow’ my breathing when I wake in the night and get back to sleep really quickly.

🥦🍅🥒 Feel like I’m eating really well although I’ve not quite got my head around the ‘Keto’ way of eating.

📚✒️📚 Doing lots of reading on my kindle this last week or so which is really satisfying.

Just had a bizarre happening …. while I was writing I must have ‘touched’ something because the last five minutes of conversation I had with my OH appeared here!!! Need to be careful.!

Anyway, enjoy your evening and jeep positive!

Thanks s-g, I always thought 20g but when I look up ‘how many carbs to get into ketosis’ virtually every response is 50g or less! BTW well done on a great first day. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings you! I’m sure you know that you have to be extra careful about very low carb when you’re taking insulin. I’m sure you’re clued up.

As for me I’m still reading and digesting and ‘making a plan’ although I have become more mindful of my carbs. I’ve taken another look at the HAVA app and that has been improved quite a lot. Now after you enter your food items you can switch between calorie count and carb count. Quite handy. Anyway I’m still planning so not much more to say at the moment apart from having an unexplained half pound gain overall this week! Such is life! Just have to keep on keeping on ……..

After one day of being on the lowest carbs I can manage (27g) I spent the night getting up 3 times – guess it is working. I also had an upset tummy most of the day and usually look for a food, allergy etc to blame. But watching Dr Boz (Annette Bosworth) she explained that it is another way for the body to eliminate fluids and also possible I have more fat in my diet with no carbs to absorb it. A bit like Numan diet pills that go right through you (not recommending them :).

Anyway, for a slow loser who has been on this plan in some form or another I managed to lose nearly 2lbs in one day. Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings. I roasted a chicken on Sunday and stuffed it with the usual sage and onion which is, of course, nearly all bread. Asked hubby to put it in his sandwiches as I don’t want to touch it.

Have a good week.

Hi SunnyB, here are my positives

60 days to our cruise,
trying to lower my carbs so I am almost totally keto – down to 27 yesterday
spent the night getting up to wee – looks like the keto is working.

Quick positive for today …..
🥘🙂 younger DD and eldest GS joined us for dinner this evening. She starts her new job tomorrow and he has just returned from a week visiting Berlin. Good to see them both and catch up with their news.

If you can find a positive from your day, please take a moment and let you know about it.

V, I think it is 20g per day with no obvious carbs. I had nothing carby today and still did 27g – most coming from red pepper, mushrooms and miso paste.

My daffs have been poking out for a couple of weeks now but no sign of the flower heads.

CCATHY I’m so glad you got yr procedure done and it wasnt cancelled because of the cold!!!!
I was just thinking about you and hoping it went well today,as I carried washing into the kitchen..and almost threw it in the bin instead of the washing machine because my mind was elsewhere!
Im hoping the pain and discomfort will pass quickly X🙏
So glad yor book has arrived!
Have a good week sailor friends! XX 🎶🎵We are sailing,we are sailing! …..🎶🎵

Looks like a few of us our reconsidering our ‘roots’! I never did a Keto diet just ‘low carb’. I don’t know how low Ben Bikman considers is low enough to get into ketosis …. anybody have the figures? The most striking thing from the podcast that I came away with is stop carbs from “bags and boxes with bar codes”. So simple! No crackers, crisp breads, and crisps! etc. etc. etc.

February is such a difficult month I think maybe we should all try to just keep ‘forging’ ahead one way or another. Any small gain (not in weight!) is a real bonus this month. March brings with it the promise of spring with some flowers blooming early in the month. By the end of March the clocks have ‘sprung’ forward and spring is in full bloom. We are all optimistic and looking forward to the end of March and longer days.

We just need to ‘hang on in there’ for the moment and before we know it the winter will be over, our moods will brighten and we’ll be feeling positive again. Just get through today. Tomorrow will take care of itself!

Hello cruisers
Had my cataract op done this morning and I was very lucky because there was a technical problem and the theatre was freezing cold! I couldn’t believe how cold it was when I went in for my procedure and I said it’s freezing in here- is that by design and the staff said no, the heating isn’t working. During my procedure the surgeon decided to call it a day and said he wasn’t operating on any more patients today as it was too cold. The staff in scrubs must have been freezing. He said he has to operate a machine with his feet so doesn’t wear shoes and he said his feet were cold. I said as long as your hands are not too cold to operate!! The procedure itself was different to the previous eye – different surgeon and possibly a different technique. Todays felt a little more uncomfortable and my eye is feeling more painful than after the left procedure but I am glad it’s done and I’ll dose myself up, my 5:2 your life book arrived and in flicking through it I can see that this is going to be very helpful for me. I like that it’s a six week course. Thank you Yowser for recommending it.
Hope to find the courage to weigh on Friday and face the music! I made a tofu and mushroom lasagne yesterday for tonight’s tea so my husband wouldn’t have to cook tonight. . Had yoghurt and hot raspberries for breakfast so I am gently easing my way back to healthy choices. Have a good week everyone.

Another week is here and motivation is doubled after watching Ben Bikman and then another with Jason Fung. Seems like a few of us were on the same page. I am attempting to be more keto by at least not letting some carbs creep in. For example, I normally have 2 boiled eggs but I also have one Ryvita – that has gone. Today I have had 2 boiled eggs, lunch was miso soup with spinach and chicken and tonight I am having red pepper stuffed with left over chilli and cheese. I was really impressed that it not how many calories you have but what is in those calories. He uses the example of 100 calories of broccolli against 100 calories of bread. Both the same calories but one will turn your body into a fat burner and the bread will mess with your hormones. The other thing I took from it was we have to buy pin oats, we buy real oats but the rolled oats. I never buy what is called instant oats which I think is mixed with sugar and sometimes a touch of cinnammon so thought we were doing the right thing. Hubby has porridge most days, me more rarely.

It just shows you that even after nearly 9 years on BSD I am still learning, the science is changing and there is always something different to learn.

I was a bit naughty last night and had a couple of vodkas and it has really shown on the scales – although could be partly bounce back from the booze I had on Friday. Anyway, that is it at least until end of Feb.

Margaret you are correct that lack of sleep can upset weight loss – again it is to do with hormones and insulin resistance. I have always been a poor sleeper and no amount of medications or home remedys can change that. Although I am now taking Magnesium +3 (malate and citrate are the 2) and besides not having cramps or restless legs for a while I also seem to be sleeping better.

As with others I am too sedentary and my plan to exercise every other day soon went out when one of the days we had the electrician coming, another (Friday) was my birthday and I was getting my hair done. Going to get back on it later today. Not sure who said about chair yoga a few posts ago. After my surgery it was 6 months before I could do much of anything ie housework, exercise etc. Then over the months I discovered I had asthma as well and I was physically unable to do more than 5 mins of my usual hard core Shaun T HipHopAbs – absolutely no way. I started doing a one month chair yoga course and even little things I found difficult like lifting my bottom off the chair using my arms, turning, reaching – I was totally breathless. Then after the month it was like I was a new woman. I am now back to Shaun T also standing yoga with Adrienne. Yesterday I was dancing around the house like a nutcase and feeling absolutely great – such a change from a week or so ago when I was really down. If you are feeling down please know it will pass.

Well after all that gabbing I had better go a do my 30 day French course of French cuisine with Geraldine Lepere. See you all soon.

Sounds like a lovely birthday meal SH.

I am a slow loser now, I’ve lost 2kg since the beginning of the year and have 2 to go to get back to my ideal weight. It’s slow going but hoping to get there by the end of next month, in time to put some back on during an anniversary meal! So 2 down in 6 weeks and 7 to lose the next 2.

I too have been listening to the Ben Bikman/CEO Diary podcast whilst doing my jigsaw puzzle this afternoon. Have to confess I listened to it at 1.75 x speed but still have the last 20mins to listen to. A lot of interesting information in it. On the dementia front, my father-in-law has quite advanced dementia and lives in a home but we have noticed he is brighter in a morning, after a long gap between his early evening meal and late breakfast, possibly coincidence as not sure if he will get into ketosis but it is a possibility. My husband has been told he is pre-diabetic and is trying to improve his diet (he loves his carbs) but I can’t get him away from cereal for breakfast or having a pizza and at least one cake every week. I am praising when he’s doing well and cautiously ‘criticising’ bad choices. Left to his own devices he would think cutting out bread and potatoes would be enough. He has a follow up blood test tomorrow so we’ll see if he’s right.

I had a pretty bad fall the week before Christmas which I broke with my face 🤪. Pity it wasn’t before Hallowe’en though, I could have gone out with needing any ghoulish make up😀. All ok although my ribs keep reminding me not to do it again. All this to say my exercise routine has been reduced since then but I’m building back up now. I do love quite a few different You Tube channels for my exercise and some favourites are Improved Health which has all kinds of exercise, dancing, walking, seated, weights and no talking, well worth subscribing to; I’ve gone back to Yes 2 Next a mother and daughter channel where the 80+yr old mother does many of the exercises seated. Lucy Wyndham-Read for variety and The Girl with the Pilates Mat for Pilates exercises. I’ll be starting back with Fitness with PJ as soon as my ribs allow (she’s a bit more hardcore). Just to say both Improved Health and Lucy W-R have videos for walking to reduce glucose levels after meals so I’ve been doing these twice a day – it can’t hurt.

Sunny is absolutely right ! I too have been on the program for a long time ( 2018 for me , where has the time gone ?? !!! )
It is true that finding the same motivation as in the early days can be difficult but I tell myself that I have learned so much and I am sure my health has improved as a result and we have established some good habits .OK there may be times when we drift off track but beating ourselves up doesn’t really help . Accepting that we struggle at times , that we ‘allow’ a few celebrations … it’s no big deal …until we veer completly off track and then it’s a very slippery slope for sure !
Setting manageable targets, checking how we FEEL , how our clothes fit, going out for a gentle walk, gentle yoga or pilates, it doesn’t have to be intensely strenuous .But it helps .

Wishing you all a good week , especially if you are struggling . I too found Steven Barlett’s diary of a CEO interview with Benjamin Bickman ! I love podcasts . The Food Junkies one is interesting , also The Wellness Scoop with Ella Mills and Rhiannon Lambert and Dr Mindy Pelz The Resetter podcast .I am a fan of fasting and I always learn something from The Fasting Method Podcast

So .a fresh week, fresh start tomorrow.Wishing you all the best

Wendy x

We moved from Surrey to Somerset, so my friendship base was very much no longer local and has been maintained largely remotely. Yes, I have family near by and a few acquaintances here, but somehow it’s not the same.

Anyway, enough of that …. positives for the weekend ..
🥂🙂 lovely visit with eldest DD, which included a bit of retail therapy in Canterbury, a day trip to France with a fabulous lunch and a little a bit of a stock up in a French hypermarket. In short, it’s been a weekend full of positives.
Oh and one other positive for the weekend, a very close friend heard on Friday afternoon that he’s landed his dream job …. can’t tell you how thrilled I am for him. He’s had a few rough years and finally the tide seems to be turning for him and he so deserves it.

Strange but true …. I too stumbled on the very same Bikman podcast over the weekend and earmarked it to listen to tomorrow!!!

SG, really pleased you had a lovely birthday meal …. the food sounds delicious 😋 and well done on keeping such strong control the rest of the weekend.

V, I think I might join you in aiming to ditch at least something each week, rather than aiming for a definite weekly or monthly target. Like yourself, SG, Wendy and a few others here, I have been on the ‘programme’ for many years (I started Feb 2016) and it does indeed feel really tough finding that all out drive again. However, I am determined to continue to do my best to get back (or very close to) target again, but more importantly, to be more comfortable in my clothes and healthier too. Have to confess, have been a bit off-piste this weekend whilst visiting eldest DD, so not expecting good news on the scales tomorrow, but am prepared to own that and get on with things in the week ahead.

Margaret, I’m definitely too sedentary and am trying to motivate myself to try some chair yoga, as a way to start getting myself moving a bit more, before tackling anything more intense. Anyway, there is plenty of time for you to see positive results before April, so brush off this week’s disappointment and make tomorrow a fresh start. There’ll be at least myself and Verano joining you and quite possibly a few others too.

A disappointing weigh in for me yesterday gaining 0.25lbs. I know it’s not much but I had hoped to have lost something & obviously need to review where I am going wrong. I know I am too sedentary & my legs certainly feel worse not having shed my festive gain & I am wondering if my poor sleep is also affecting my lack of weight loss. I’m spending lots of pennies through the night thinking it’s carb fluid loss but apparently not. Oh well I will keep plodding on & have an April goal to aim for losing more weight before hopefully being given a surgery date.
I hope everyone has a good next week 🤞🤞
Margaret xx

S-g can’t believe your post! I’ve come on here to recommend the exact same podcast! I’m half way through as we speak. I came across it purely by accident but he makes everything so much clearer in this podcast than in his other ‘talks’. Very impressed.

Yes you’re right about not expecting too much.i think I should maybe stop setting ‘targets’ as I just seem to be setting myself up to fail. I’ll just go for a loss each week. Even if the loss is only half a pound it’s still a loss.

Glad you had a lovely birthday without spreading it out over the whole weekend which could have been so easy.

California girl, if you’re out there hope you’re well. I always think of you when I see/hear Ben Bikman.

Anyway back to my podcast. Monday tomorrow, new week new start.

Hi everyone, happy Sunday.

I had a wonderful meal on Friday – not a bad carb in site – medium rare steak with wedges of celariac a stip of aubergine, pak choi with wasabi. I didn’t touch the bread on the table but I did have the dessert which was kiwi fruit tartlet – very little pastry. I had to order dessert as a massive firework candle comes on it and the whole restaurant sang bon anniversaire. Our friends took a lovely video of my reaction and I look not too bad – smiling and happy.

Margaret, I wont get round to reading Bruno for a while as I am in the middle of a Angela Marsons book and have just bought another by Carla Kovach. Think his series will be nice on the cruise, just some light reading.

Verano, when we have been on the diet as long as we have it is not easy to either get motivated or do fantastic like at the beginning. Dont expect too much of yourself. I went for 3.3lbs a month because it took me to a round number when we get to the cruise but with the ups and downs of Christmas and birthdays etc I am happy to stick to the 3lbs and maybe not be quite as light as I hoped. Then blow me down, did 5lbs in January. Even though we had a night out I am still aiming for 3lbs for February. I gained 0.7kgs or just over 1lb after Friday but made a pledge not to let my birthday last alllllllll weekend, so no treats last night and I have already lost 3/4lb from my gain. By Tuesday I hope to be back to 71.7kgs – still a bit up on January weigh in. Then every effort to get to less than 71kgs by end of Feb. Just do what you can.

Just been watching (and still watching) Ben Bikman talking to the CEO called The Insulin and Glucose Doctor – This Will Strip Your Fat Faster than Anything. It is 2:45 mins, so very long. Get to about 1:45 when he starts talking about Keto and how it acts like Ozempic (he doesn’t use that word). It is all interesting like we all have the same number of fat cells we had when we passed puberty and (with some exceptions) that never changes, they just get bigger or smaller. As usual he is very interesting and with the CEO making him talk to him so he can understand.

Enjoy what for us is a wet and windy Sunday. It will get nicer.

Good afternoon.

So today I sat down and studied my progress, or lack of, these first three weeks of my plan to lose 2lbs a week and I have done exactly half of that. So OK, but this fourth week and I’m really struggling and have even had a minute gain, maybe one glass of water too much!

I realise that I don’t have that ‘raw desire’ that we all have in the first flush of BSD and I also realise that that won’t return. So, I’m making a new plan. I had planned for 6lbs in February but we are one week in and I have gained half a pound so far! Bad news really. Anyway, I can’t make up my mind whether to downgrade my 6lbs to 4lbs or not. I do think that 4 might be better to aim for as I really don’t want to end up saying “to heck with it, this isn’t working”. So just a slight tweak for me.

Hope everyone is ‘forging’ ahead!

Thank you everyone. For once I do feel very proud of myself.
Life has been so manic and eating accordingly had been difficult but I’ve cut myself a bit of slack and didn’t lose anything this week but maintained.
My tummy is a mystery so far but ongoing tests etc. But reassuring my bloods have been good so far. The stress I’m under doesn’t help most likely
My sons uk wedding is early March with his cyprus one mid April. So I am very keen to get back on track so from Monday I am going back to writing everything down and weighing everything again. I have a month to lose as much as possible and rhen another month before overseas wedding . But life has been hard recently but I keep in my head I’ve lost 2st 8lbs and not even pre diabetic anymore. So onward and upward! Thanks for all your wishes. X

Hi Lucy, I hope your weigh in went well yesterday and your tummy troubles are getting resolved.
Also that you are feeling a huge amount of pride at putting diabetes into remission!
xx

Sending special warm and positive vibes to FOXY,hope you get good news very soon,and I hope that delivery comes to keep you cosy XX 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
CCATHY sending good vibes and good luck wishes for Monday, I will be thinking of you.
This time next week you’ll be feeling a lot better. Hope your book comes very soon,you will read it more easily with your “post- cataract ops” eyes!
My Carb Monster AND my Inner Chimp conspired to tempt me into poor food choices today and I have to say,it wasnt worth it, I feel quite queasy now ( unless Im seasick)
Did i tell you that when I worked in a hospital,an old lady told me she was having the catamarans removed from her eyes! XX
NOKIE how are you doing? I really hope youre making progress and feeling a lot better XX

Hello Yowser and ArcticFox
I’m staying in my cabin.
Had a mixed week but couldn’t face the scales this morning. They were up in the week and I didn’t want to upset myself today. I am struggling! I am having my right cataract op on Monday and once I get over that I am hoping I will feel more motivated. I am usually very positive and motivated but I am not feeling positive or motivated at the moment. I feel like giving up the fight to be honest. It does feel like a battle.
ArcticFox- your winters sound so cold -17! I hope that no news is good news for you. I would definitely chase up the results next week. I hope your firewood arrives on Sunday!
My 5:2 book hasn’t arrived yet and I hope when it does it will motivate me to try a different method.
Hope you’re all having a good week and I hope that I can pull myself together soon!
Nokie- how are you doing with your shingles- I hope you’re feeling better.

Hello everyone,
Still no news from the cancer agency. I’m hoping that no news is good news at this point. The surgeon said if I hadn’t heard anything by next week to give him a call.
We’ve had a sudden cold spell with temperatures down to -17 C and around 20cm of snow. That’s not too cold for a normal winter for us, or much snow, but it has been so warm and dry that we are not used to it this year! My only real issue with it though is that I’m getting low on firewood as my house is so drafty that I really go through it in these temperatures. Hopefully getting another delivery on Saturday afternoon though, and that should see me through until the warmer weather.
I have been eating more carbs, but trying to keep them on the healthier side with lots of fibre. My favourite at the moment are some Norwegian seed crackers that are gluten free. Ten grams of carbs per cracker, but 6 of them are fibre, so only 4 net grams. I had sweet potato oven chips last night with a piece of salmon for dinner and noticed that I wasn’t refluxing as much as I normally do when consuming a fatty protein. Maybe as a result of all the fibre? I am feeling quite well in myself these days, so I’m just going with it. After all these years, I’m starting to think that a high fat diet just doesn’t work too well for me. It does stop my blood sugar from spiking, but think it might also be responsible for some separate systemic inflammation. I know Tim Spector says that his body reacts badly to both carbs and fat, and perhaps I am the same. Filling up with fibre instead of fat seems to be working better.

I guess ‘moving’ depends on how far from your ‘roots’ . We moved in the same city 14 years ago so could keep in touch with our ‘old friends’ more easily and have actually made new ‘friends’ in our new ‘close’. I can see how difficult it would be when you move city/town or country. Sounds like some some good ideas for making new ‘freinds’.

So to my positives. Lost a post again yesterday…. not quite sure what I’m doing! Anyway, here we go

🧘🏻‍♀️🥒🥗 Meditation and consequent ‘calmness’ going really well. I’m now up to 5 straight days. Five might not sound much but last year I was lucky to string two meditation days together!

🥦🍅🥒 Eating well and ‘counting’ although the numbers on that damn scale aren’t playing game. As s-g always says keep on keeping on , which I’m really doing my best to do.

Hope you’re all having a positive day.

Just popping in to wish best of luck to all Friday Weighers! 🙏👍
Have a good weekend all,and stay wrapped up warm,brrrr..dont go out on deck,you will get blown overboard! 😄xx

S-G…hope you are having a wonderful birthday.🎁
Regarding moving and making friends…we moved to Wales 20 years ago, and whilst I am still in touch with most of our ‘old friends’, it is mostly through email or Zoom. Joining a local group that interested me, has meant that I have made friends here also…to drop in for coffee or tea and chat. In person is so much more rewarding than virtual!

So to today’s positive; (Sorry, just the one today!)

My very old dog🐕🐩 decided he wanted a longer walk this afternoon, (he has been turning back at a nearer point recently) so we went by our pine tree🌲, which has just shed it’s cones! Picking up 152 (yes, sad I know🥴, I counted them🧮) meant, not only do I have a lot of cones ready for next Christmas, but I bent down 152 times…Great exercise😂!!

Great to see we have rolled on to a new page. Thanks for the app info V, will be taking a look at that. I definitely need some where to keep track of my intake, particularly carbs and fat.
SG, we moved nearly 17yrs ago and whilst I’ve a few acquaintances now, I haven’t made any real friends in that time. Hope you manage to make some new connections soon.

Positive from me …
🎊🙂 visiting eldest DD this weekend, we don’t often manage to get together so it’s good to catch up face to face.

🎊🥳🥂🍾🎉🎈🎁 Have a wonderful birthday SG, hope it’s the start of a special year for you. 🎁🎈🎉🍾🥂🥳🎊

Happy Birthday S-G 🍾🥂🎁💐
I hope you enjoy reading the Bruno books & you got a bargain because I am paying £3-50 for each secondhand paperback👍😀. It’s a wonderful feeling being able to have clothes taken in 👏👏⭐️
Margaret xx

Happy Birthday Sunshine Girl! Have a brilliant day! 💐💐💐🍾🍾🍾🎁🎁🎁🎈🎈🎈🎉

🎈🎁🎉🎂🥂 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sunshine-girl🥂🎂🎉🎁🎈
Have a lovely day!

While I am here reading your positive – I too have a pop-up plug on my new sink unit – thought I might as well think of something for myself. But on the subject of anxiety I have a problem. I have been complaining that since covid we have lost contact with people, gone back to UK or moved or died, and we don’t have any friends. I put it on the French site of facebook and a local lady invited me to join them at Le Club de bon Accueille – welcome club. They meet every Thursday afternoon and I haven’t had the courage to go there. I just want to talk to real people in French rather than the pharmacy, doctor, supermarket etc. Anyway –

Got my weight back down to 71.7 – just a smidge over what it was last week.
Found a new dressmaker to do alterations on my jumpsuit (found old one had closed down)
Lovely sunny day and my birthday tomorrow.

Lucy, I just love it when we prove the medical work wrong – diabetes can be reversed. Although it is still there silently lurking but you just need to be mindful but not having a live of problems. Im so proud of you.

Hi all, Happysnap, no need to lurk – welcome back. Hope things get better for you.

Margaret, on your recommendation I looked at the books you mentioned and found him on French Kindle – in English. Was going to order one at €3.99 but saw his first 6 books were being sold as a collection for €2.99. Not a bad price even if I don’t like them. I like tough thrillers like Angela Marsons and just discovered Carla Kovach but it will be nice to read a gentle story – think he might be like Midsommer but in the Dordogne.

Managed to get down to 71.6 (went to 71.4 before drinks) so should be back down by tomorrow but out for a meal. I am not going to worry about it and after my birthday we have nothing special until hubbys birthday 23 March – might have a quiz night inbetween.

Was in our local town yesterday getting my free gift from Yves Rocher which is a tube of face pack. But noticed my lady sewing specialist has closed down. Anyway, I have a recommendation for another lady so will be giving her a call in a few weeks to alter my jumpsuit for the cruise – still got plenty of time. Hubby tried on his tux and his trousers are too tight, going to see if they can be taken out or will it be an excuse for a trip into Bordeaux where there are some trendy shops and a day out. On verra -we will see.

Well done Lucy. Your perseverance has paid off. Hope your tummy troubles resolve now.

I’m sorry to hear how difficult things are for you happysnap but you are doing well so keep on going & posting how you are doing👍
I’m trying a fast day today until supper & usually don’t anyway eat anything until lunch at 1-0pm after supper the night before at 7-0pm but still feel that I am not fully back into this low carb routine yet.
I am reading a lovely series of books written by Martin Walker an English writer who lives in the Périgord region of France about a fictional small town policeman named Bruno immersed in French country life in the fictional town of St Denis. The stories are a delightful commentary on French country life full of recipes because he likes cooking and the history of the Dordogne. There is also a cookery book out with the recipes of the area which is fun to read. I buy them as second hand paperbacks from a well known online supplier & I can share them with my husband this way although we are running out of book shelf space. I’m also finding reading an actual book rather than on my kindle seems to help with my poor sleep rather than reading digitally.
I am hoping that I might lose some weight this week & will weigh on Saturday. It’s lovely sunshine here in Sussex today but very chilly with a heavy overnight frost.
I hope you are all having a good week🤞🤞🍀🍀
Margaret xx

Thanks for the support and encouragement!
Yes exactly, that’s 4kg gone and 4kg closer to remission so I will just have to keep on keeping on to quote some wise person on here! I will check Benjamin Bikman out- thanks for the tip!

Brilliant news Lucy!
Hope they resolve the tummy troubles now.
Onwards and upwards!
Xx

Lucy great news! Keep on keeping on…..

Supposed to say a few years at 44 ish

Really quick post. Despite eveything and still continuing tummy troubles I had a text re my bloods rhis morning. . I am no longer pre diabetic or diabetic…reading was 40.
I can’t believe it and actually had a few tears.
Previously was 48 and diabetic and then years at 46 ish.
Thanks everyone. I actually feel proud of myself for once !

Happysnap,
So sorry to hear about your troubles. Losing 4kg is an achievement, it is 4kg you no longer have to carry.
I hope the headaches ease and life becomes a little easier!

Pootle you reminded me of ‘times gone by’. Yes pop-up is a revelation. Thank you for making me smile!

Sunny I use Fatsecret. I must admit it’s improved since I first started. It’s so much easier to add your own foods/recipes so slightly more accurate.

So things here aren’t brilliant at the moment with friends ill, and very ill, and other friends with recent losses. But we have to carry on. For me, at the moment, I just have one positive tool …. I keep using my meditation app. It helps me so much and ‘Today, no matter what, I will stay calm’. Not worked that well today but there’s always tomorrow.

Have a good evening.

Happysnap welcome back. So sorry to hear of your problems.
Please take a look at Ben Bikman’s podcasts etc. He is so hot on insulin resistance. His mantra is …
Control Carbs
Prioritise Protein
Fill up with fat and fibre.
Wishing you well and hoping you find a way through your current problems.
Always somebody here to help where they can.

What a superb positive SunnyB, it is great to hear about someone conquering anxiety to do something special.
V, good news that you are feeling calm and in control.

One slightly offbeat positive here today! 🧐🥴🤣
For years my husband has had an extremely annoying habit of winding the plug chain round the cold tap when he has finished in the bathroom basin. Petty, I know… but it came to a head last week, when I had to unwind it yet again to clean the tap… 🚰
So today he has fitted a pop up waste at last!! 😄

Pootle, bream with samphire sound delish!
V, I think I need to get back to basics like you and start weigh everything again. Can you remind me, do you use an app to track what you consume? I used to use a spreadsheet, but can’t find the enthusiasm to revive it. Glad you are feeling calm and more in control.

Positive from my small corner ….
📸🙂 some lovely photos from eldest GS, who is visiting Berlin and Cologne this week. He suffers from social anxiety, so him taking a holiday with his friend is a big deal and I’m really thrilled he’s having a good time.
That will do for me today 🙂

Happysnap, so sorry you have been battling both on the medical and weight front, with them so tightly interlocked. I’m a slow loser too, but am lucky enough do not to have any medical issues, even so I can imagine how screaming frustrating it must be for you.

Try to focus on what you have achieved … that’s 4kg you no longer have to deal with. Hopefully the new medication will help and you’ll soon be reporting another kg or two ditched.

Please drop in to offload as often as you need to, we’re here to support each other and offer encourage.

Keep doing what you’re doing and keep us posted on how things are going. Take care

Hi everyone!

I am back after lurking here for a some time.

Things have been extremely hectic for a while. I ca’n’t remember if I’ve shared this, but I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, which basically means the pressure in my brain is too high. Idiopathic means they don’t know the cause- but that’s not quite true because the cause is metabolic (insulin resistance) meaning its caused by my obesity, so the way to reverse it is, you guessed it- weight loss.
Part of the problem is that I am severely insulin resistant so weight loss is very, very difficult. I am very eating very low carb, doing lots of intermittent fasting, and some extended fasting, but even so, my weight loss is extremely, painfully, disappointingly slow.
So I have been prescribed Acetazolamide (a diuretic) to reduce the swelling on my optic nerve to reduce the risk of damage to my optic nerve but my consultant keeps stressing that the best treatement is weight loss. I know that and i’m trying my best but as I said, the weight loss is so challenging! so the medication comes with a host of difficult side effects, including constant migraines, joint tingling and swelling, severe fatigue, metallic taste in my mouth, etc etc.
So understandably these these these last few months have been hugely challenging. But I really have been trying with the weight loss, because I’m desperate to get off the medication and start living again. I have now changed from Acetazolamide to Topiramate because it is more successful with treating headaches and hopefully will start seeing an improvement in that area- and a side effect of this med is weight loss so who knows??
In total, I have lost 4 kg so far- a very small loss for the amount of effort but I will not give up!

Sunny good news about your DD.

Pootle a girl after my own heart … I love fish! So many people are ‘fish phobic’ but I don’t think it’s the fish per se I think it’s the bones. Plus, also, for some reason people think fish has a ‘smell’ , and of course ‘fresh’ fish only smells of the sea! I could eat fish everyday!

So to my positives ….🥗🥗🥗 carrying on with ‘fish’ had a lovely fresh salmon salad for lunch and even weighed my salad vegetables which takes me to number 2….

🍅🥬🥒 Weighed my salad today and really surprised at how few carbs and calories there are. The salmon however was quite large and pretty high in calories. I realise I need to weigh and record properly again. So that exercise has been positive.

📖📚📖 Today I downloaded a kindle sample of the ‘5:2 Your Life’ book by Kate Harrison that Yowzer recommended and also another that came up on Amazon by Emma Cook. I have to say I prefer the Cook book as I find Kate Harrisons book needs a bit too much ‘imagination’ , which I don’t have much of! But I think I may go back to it after a I’ve read the other one.
Nonetheless I’ve had a good afternoon reading. I found a ‘free’ Amazon prime book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, which I’ve been reading today. Fascinating, if a bit heavy, but quite eye opening.

So for me, overall, I’ve had a good ‘calm’ day. My meditation daily mantra is “Today, no matter what, I will stay calm”. Only been doing this for a four days but when there’s a chance of a disagreement I remember my mantra, and dial down…. things are calm here!

Stay positive .

And me!