Yes think I will try a large container. I do have a garden but it’s very low maintenance so don’t have much ‘free’ soil !

Sunshine-girl have you seen the ‘Nutrition and wellbeing’ course on FutureLearn? Just started on Jan 16th. This second week of the science of nutrition course is much more enjoyable, I think!!

Jules, the UK produces more different cheeses than France (800ish to 500ish). My contraband is due to just fancying some Cheddar now and then especially as I can now have full fat, also I was intolerant to cow products (milk, cheese, yoghurt) for a few years and had to have sheep or goat products (which I love) so I have gone mad. Also it has to last until May when we have a stop over in Southampton. I forgot to stock up on Hallumi – you can’t get it here.

On the subject of contraband, in October we stopped off near Perth at a wine producers called Cairn O’Mohr (care no more, get it) where they produce lots of fruit wines and things like elderflower champagne, or oak leaf wine. Fortunately we did not get stopped by French customs, that and the cheese would be grounds for deportation (never mind Brexit).

Verano, it would have to be a big container. If you have a garden try stacking some tyres and filling with soil. You can also paint them pretty colours so they dont look like tyres. That has given me an idea for my strawberries which get eaten by slugs every year.

Hi folks – just starting out on my first week, bought the books makes interesting reading re the low fat stuff, feel like we have all been conned for years. Like the look of Med diet, I pre planned in advance and went and bought myself a book, I write down my meal plans for the week, and write down a shopping list. I shop every Friday buy what on the list and cross it off, if its not on the list it doesn’t go in the trolley is my thinking. So far so good, my first weigh in will be this Saturday, I must say I feel better already – like the food options and despite a national courgette shortage ( its been on the news today) I managed to find some at a small co-op store. I am having meatballs with courgetty for tea, the book is helpful in that being single and cooking for 1 if the meal is for 2 persons I make it and then have it again the next day. that way I get the right portion just have to eat the same thing for 2 days but I am used to that or I would spend a fortune on shopping. This week I have had porridge for breakfast but am going to go down the full fat greek yougurt route next week with a few raspberries on top. I made the Red Thai Curry this week too with the cauliflower rice, I have to say it was delicious. Considering I am a cake monster ( I love my cake) and partial to shortbread especially those Scottie Dogs that Sainsburys do. I have been amazed with no bread, ( how can I live without bread), rice, pasta, or potatoes – all the things that I love that I have not once strayed off the mark and feel pretty good. Got a fitness tracker coming this week to wear, with the dog walking on top plus 12hrs on my feet at work each week be interesting to see what I am doing and get myself fitter week by week. In an ideal world I would love to lose 6 stone, that would take me back to what I weighed in my 20’s. But I am going to take this a pound at a time and 1lb off is and always will be better that 1lb on. Positive thoughts for a new start. 🙂 feeling motivated – & love the posts on here find them so useful. xx

Thanks All for the carb advice. I upped mine over the last few days and feel much better! Love the notes regarding the spiralizer. Gotta get one of those!
Keep up the great work everyone! The stories and ups and downs are all so encouraging!!!

Sorry to read people are struggling with things at the moment and I am in the same boat.
Okay diet wise but this week has been very emotional new baby born and an old friend passing away.
One extreme to the other. But one thing I learnt long ago that life goes on around you.

(((((X))))) hugs to those who need them.

Question for all you budding gardeners … can you grow courgettes in containers? I managed to get courgettes yesterday with no problem but I guess after the news today they will be as scarce as hens teeth for a while!

Good to see some of our less prolific posters online today. Even better to see so many of the group so close to goal. Maybe there could be a 4 week thread for maintainers as well.

Today is definitely a more ‘controlled’ sort of day for me. Hope you’re still going strong as well sunshine-girl. I dropped back down into the next stone again this morning…. whooppee … so that’s keeping me keeping on at the moment! Are you happy with JM’s title SSG? So much easier !!!!

Sorry if I don’t respond to everyone but there are just so many posts today …. brilliant support !

I never used to feel the cold, but went through a phase when I felt cold all the time. That now seems to have passed and although I can get cold if i dress unsuitably my new furnace metabolism generally keeps me quite warm. The exception seems to be my hands which get really cold so I will have to start wearing gloves more often.

OK so I gained again today – half a pound more – making 2.5lbs in the last five days. Been on it since Sunday morning so there’s obviously something amiss. Cmawp – I think you might be right – I am working out at cardio or peak for most of my gym session and that’s probably making me retain water – not going to do that kind of workout now until Monday or Tuesday (will go on Saturday but will just swim and will make it a ‘fun’ session instead of my usual) to see if my body dislodges some of that excess weight – I’m sure it’s fluid – it’s gotta be really – nothing else has changed….and I am NOT going to weigh until Monday!

Never had a week like this on this plan – not liking it AT ALL!!! 😀

That made me chuckle ebs😂, i did exact same thing ystday with sneak weigh in……will not be doing it again! Its the things you dont think have any carbs or are supposed to be ‘healthy’ that cause havoc eg i had a chai latte and then when i logged it later in the day found out it had a whopping 24g carbs AND it wasnt even that nice! Hope it doesnt distort my weigh in tomorrow. Well done cathym, great 1st week loss.

HaHa Chrysalis – so even after all this dieting, we’ll end up looking fat because of all the layers, even though we are really thin underneath? 🙂 😮 We’ll be the opposite of MM’s TOFIs – we’ll be FOTIs in fact 🙂

Theodora, I’m a bit of a reptile in that I am always cold! However, I do think I struggle to get a heat even more since cutting out the carbs…which probably isn’t surprising. I just put up with wearing extra layers these days! Cant wait for Spring! 😊

Californiagirl is right FIB, there are few of us who haven’t had blips, slip-ups or even huge falls from grace. The secret is not to waste time beating yourself up, as this is counterproductive. Allow yourself to be fallible, acknowledge it, refocus and move on. As long as you can keep getting back on track, you should see success like the rest of us.

Make sure you keep with it, just refuse to quit until you get to your goal and keep posting.

Good morning FiB, welcome to the BIGGEST group on these forums — the “fell-off-the-diet-for-lordy-only-knows-what-reason” group — and now you can climb back on the NEXT biggest group on these forums — the “started-back-up-again” group — and I’m here to tell you that it is STILL going to work if you keep getting back on the wagon. My motto has been and continues to be (and I am unanimous in this 😜) that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly! Even doing it about as badly as anyone can possibly do it, I have lost the weight, reached goal and am only six weeks from my one year mark. So don’t despair, just start again. It is the keeping on that will do the trick. Just don’t quit!!!

Hi Cassandra – sorry to hear you are struggling too. Do you track your carb intake? If not, I would recommend do so. I was advised to do this and it has certainly helped me to get things tracking in the right direction.

Hope you manage to get things sorted and can report a good result when you do your end of week weigh-in, whenever that might be. Good Luck!

Well each to their own.

SSG – what can one say about someone who “smuggles” English cheese into the home of Les Grands Fromages…..;)

Bought myself a cheap potato peeler (25p at Morrisons) and it makes lovely, thin slices of Fennel and then use the tops in a cup of green tea…Mmmmm

On Courgettes – we grew some in the back hedge of the garden about 10 years ago and now every year we get a mega-harvest, the only bad thing is that they all appear at once.

Oh NO! A courgette shortage…. aaargh! Apparently the shortage is due to snow in Spain! I have to admit that all kinds of songs are coming to mind… Just one courgetti, give it to meeee; or, The snow in Spain falls mainly on the -ah, courgette doesn’t rhyme! Don’t worry too much about the shortage, the supermarkets are seeking out suppliers and assure us it’ll be back in store soon. Phew! 🙂

I am definitely over the 800 this week too SunnyB. I went back exercising, running at lunchtime (running is a gross exaggeration) and pilates but I weighed myself this morning and I am 3 lbs up since last Sunday. Think I have been overdoing it on the carbs.

Struggling a bit this week. Keeping control of carbs just fine, but have been over the 800cals each day – not by much, less that 100cals extra each day – still it’s frustrating and I’m hoping it won’t come back to kick me, when I do my end of week weigh-in on Monday morning. So far it doesn’t seem to be making any difference and I seem to be losing still – and of course, I have time to reign it in over the next few days.

How is everyone else doing at the moment?

Thanks sunnyB

Clearly I’m not alone. Maybe I’m normal after all!
I’m a huge binger though and am hoping the BSD will also help with this ‘little’ problem.

Hope your weigh in on Monday is positive 🙂

Well done on getting right back to it after the blip WOL. Know what you mean about a carb overload making one feel ill. Did that to myself at the beginning of our first holiday, when I had been on the BSD for 7wks. I think it was a valuable lessons learnt the hard way though, as it certainly encouraged me to evaluate what I consumed going forward.

I’ve been struggling to keep under the 800 this week – not sure why exactly. Not had any days drastically over, but a little annoyed not to have kept tighter control – that said, I have been keeping carbs well under the 50g mark, so hopefully there shouldn’t be a problem come my end of week weigh-in on Monday. Tracking so far this week, I am down by a pound – just hope that is the case when I do the final weight check for the week.

Good luck – keep going and let us know hoe things go.

Thanks for your reply and advice, Chrysalis.

The funny thing is, even on only 660 calories a day, I haven’t been feeling hungry (just weak and cold) – I think the reason it is so low is that I’ve always walked the dogs first thing, so don’t eat breakfast until about 11am, so I’ve never had lunch, and just wait for supper. Pre-BSD I would, however, snack on biscuits or crumpets etc mid afternoon, and I have cut that out completely. So I am only eating twice a day – I will try to do better.

I agree about how logging everything helps, it also stops me from snacking, as whenever i think I might have a couple of brazil nuts, or macadamias when I am feeling peckish/bored/emotional i then think about logging them and how much that reduces my available calories for the day, it FORCES me to stop and be mindful and think about what I really want to spend my daily allowance of calories on and often I either think, yes I am really hungry, or no, I would rather save my calories for something else.

I definitely *need* to think more about what I shove in my face!

Hi Summermoonstone. Welcome and good luck on your BSD journey.

I started on Monday too, and I’m with you on the Greek yoghurt and berries – absolutely delicious and tastes too decadent for a diet. I have it for breakfast every morning (used to have buttered toast and marmite) and really enjoy it.

Going back to the subject of carb flu, I forgot to mention that, apart from the side effect of weakness, I am feeling incredibly cold all the time, just cannot seem to get warm. Guess this is relatively normal and also due to the low carbs? I really hope my body adapts soon – sitting here with heating on full blast, wearing 2 jumpers and a fleece jacket, and a fleece blanket over my knees, and still cold!!! I must look like an old granny – well I am a granny, but hope I don’t look old enough to need a knee rug yet!

Hi Summermoonstone and welcome. This way of eating seems a bit counterintuitive, but it really works😊 I find fat secret works for me as it measures calories and carbs. I have to agree that greek yoghurt and blueberries is also my go to snack…barely a day without…Fage yoghurt is amazing if you haven’t tried it!

Hi Theodora, well done, sounds like you are doing really well 😊 The general rule I try to stick to is 50 grams of carbs and under as that is what seems to be generally recommended on here, but make sure you keep the calories at a manageable level to be sure you can sustain this in the longer term 😊

Forgot to mention butter, no margarine as it contains 16 separate chemicals and absolutely NO low fat alternative, same as margarine, only they add sugar to make low fat taste better. Fat as in good fats are allowed here.

Hi Everyone,I haven’t posted for a while. I’m massively impressed with all the amazing results,well done to all. Im not giving up but Im not really progressing I’m back at work, so now needing to reorganize my routine.I had some success by missing breakfast but I seem to lack energy in the afternoons and I eat too many snacks. Its all BSD but the calories are high.I also forget to drink water when I’m working. On the plus side I’m walking a lot. I could say that I lost 2-3 kg but the truth is I lost and gained the same kgs. so today I’m still 83.6 Kg and my fasting sugar is still 6.0 and higher. Today I was ok until the BBQ lamb chops were so good and I had no portion control .Regarding the corgettes and zuchinni , I threw some seeds into the garden and with very little effort I have a whole crop almost ready to harvest. Also tried cucumbers and its surprising how much nicer they taste straight from the garden.I will do my final weigh in on tuesday.Is any one starting the next 4 weeks goals? cheers to everyone keep going.

Hello
I too am new to this 8 week BS Diet. My GP is so enthusiastic about it! I have Type 2 Diabetes on insulin (which in itself increases weight) and have difficulty walking due to PAD so have a battle on my hands. I have battled my weight all my life and had given up tbh entering the “Third Age” but the claims of this regime enabling me to go off insulin have motivated me
It is certainly different to other diets I’ve tried .. simple calorie counting, low-fat, WW points etc!
Butter! Eggs! Dairy! Wine! Full fat yoghurt! I’m still trying to get my head around the mix of carbs/calories and constantly reading/re-reading the 8-week BSD book or on this and other similar sites – Fat Secret and My Fitness Pal (which to be honest I find even more confusing as they just seem simply to Calorie Count).
I only started on Monday so this is my 4th day but already have lost weight and my readings have improved (as they improve I can reduce my insulin which in itself will help my weight loss)
I have a lot of weight to lose so expect to be around for a long time. Already have found my go-to snack food is Greek yoghurt and blueberries .

Jules, I will fight you to the death for the last fennel bulb. I’ve loved it ever since I was a kid and my favorite salad was just thinly sliced fennel, olive oil, salt and pepper. There is nothing more refreshing on a hot day. I also discovered a couple of years ago that if you peel the stalks with a potato peeler, you can use them like celery in soups, sauces, chicken salad etc. I dislike celery, so I replace it with peeled fennel stalk in everything.

Good morning Angela! I woke up to see you have posted during the night while I was sleeping. Yay! Our 9 hour difference works out well for something like this :–). I would have never guessed that just adding healthy lentils to your diet leads to carb cravings the next day! Lentils are supposed to add lots of fiber to your diet and be slowly metabolized. I guess you are eating low carb enough on most days that your body really notices the jump in carbs on the days you eat those; then it craves more (just a thought–I’m no expert)! I notice on the days I eat fage yogurt which has 18 grams of protein and has 7 grams of carbs, that I feel hungry within a couple hours of eating it. I have half and half in my coffee and it doesn’t seem to do that . So what’s nice is that you’ve identified the effect the lentils are having on your cravings and you know what to expect when you eat them.
I’m doing okay so far with not eating a lot of carbs–no serious craving yet–but I’m eating too many calories to lose weight very quickly. That is the beauty of eating 800 calories. The weight drops pretty quickly! For some reason I am having a very difficult time eating that low. The days I try and don’t make it, I tend to eat even more food, after I go over the 800. Probably because mentally I feel like I’ve failed. So I have to reassess! I need to continue to keep the nice amount of weight off that I’ve lost and slowly keep it moving down until I am at the weight I want to be. It will for sure go a lot slower but I won’t feel like I’ve failed when I go over 800 calories. Failure for me will be regaining the weight and I don’t want to do that.

Angela, my 4 granddaughters are age 10 (11 next week), 6 (turns 7 in March), 7 (turns 8 in June), and 2 (turns 3 in September). 10 yr. old Ava loves Art and when we spend time together, we usually paint. Kayla, who is 6, has the most energy. She sounds a lot like your granddaughter; a very busy girl! I am worn out when she goes home!
For me, one wonderful part of being a grandparent is spending time with them, spoiling them a bit and then sending them home. We usually watch Ava and her sister, 7 yr. old Abbie for a couple weeks in the summer since they live in North Carolina now. I love those times but I feel more like their parent during those visits instead of their grandparent. I clearly don’t have the energy like I did when I was a parent and honestly I look forward to not having to take care of someone 24/7. It is a lot of work! When I think back to all the years I did that when our kids were growing up, I’m amazed that I got through it. I actually loved being a parent but being a grandparent is the whipped cream with a cherry on top of the ice cream sundae of raising children. So nice that you get to spend quality time with your grandchildren but it isn’t full time. The best of both worlds!

Today I have the day off and I still have to drive almost to the area where I work to see the dermatologist. It is raining and I am dreading it! I’m hoping the roads aren’t snarled with traffic accidents. The appointment is at 11:15 am so I’ll have to leave the house about 10 am. I should miss most of the morning commute! I’m not sure what I want to do with my day after that. I for sure have to make sure the house is in order for my weekend guests, but I also want to do something fun too!

I hope you’ll go get your pedicure Angela. It is so relaxing and my feet are so much softer now with the pampering that was done to them. :–)

I’ll check back in later to write my PEAK and PIT for today!

Hi everyone thanks for the recommendations will look into the suggestions.
i really like recipe book has some lovely ideas and recipes. helps to give meal ideas. i do double check the nutrition info though

Aww, thanks for your encouraging words Topcac. Having sat down for a couple of hours now, I am feeling much better, but I really should be up and doing stuff! But, unlike the dogs, I guess most “stuff” will wait (the dust and the ironing will certainly still be there next week 😉 ) and you have now given me permission to sit and do nothing all day 😉 Thank you. 🙂

I have actually made use of my laziness and joined Fatsecret, and have logged every single thing I have eaten this week and was astonished to find that I am averaging well under 800 calories (660) and 33g of carbs a day!! No idea how I’ve managed that, but it will no doubt be contributing to the weakness. (I have forgotten how many carbs I should be aiming for – can anyone enlighten me please?) I will allow myself a handful of nuts to compensate – or maybe even a glass of wine?????

Onwards and, hopefully, downwards…..

Thank you for your kindness!

I’ve gone from never eating the stuff to adding it to everything (miso, meatballs, spinach and fennel is the food of the Gods) – I just see it as another example of my tastes changing…..

Krysia, I am going to grow my own this year, I am told 2 plants will yield hundreds of the blighters. When juicing become popular in France there was a shortage of fresh spinach but it didn’t last long. Now, Jules, dont get me started on fennel, tastes like perfume to me, sorry you can keep it, although there are lots of things I wouldn’t eat in my younger days that I now love (asparagus, aubergine).

If the next scare is fennel, it’s down to me!

Hi Bloke41, My grandmother used to drink cider vinegar every morning claiming it helped her arthritis and that her mother had done the same. She also had whisky on her porridge morning, so probably best not regarded as the fount of dietary advice.

Before the “beware Big Cider” brigade leap in, I do not endorse or recommend this product or any other similar one. Other condiments are available.

Oh dear have just seen on the news that we have caused a Courgette shortage because of all the courgetti we are eating.

Best thing to do is to make up your own. Go through the recipes and/or the menu plans, decide what you are going to eat and make a list. I always have lots of veg on my list so spinach, courgette, cauliflower, red pappers, spring onions, mushrooms are my go to veg. Also have you got some rapeseed oil (for cooking) and olive oil for dressings. Plenty of eggs, fish, chicken and some cheese. Full fat Greek yoghurt, almond milk, some nuts like almonds and pistachio, careful with cashews they are higher calories, good for nibbles but again, watch the calories. Fresh or frozen berries to have on your yoghurt.

Hope that starts you off. Good luck.

Hi Verano, interesting stats. I’m not posting so regularly as I’ve been ill, then busy, and now just settled in to this way of eating. Plateau has started moving and I’m back to steady loss of 1 or 2 lbs every 3 or 4 days, which will do for me.. Exercise is getting there. BS is stable, fasting at around 4.8 on minimum meds which I never thought would happen! Struggling to maintain water intake when it’s so cold, but aware of it. Congrats to everyone who’s keeping on keeping on. Thank goodness for bsd. MKx

hello all, I know yesterday was just a glitch. This morning I am 2.5 lbs down. I will trust that around the 16th of the month I will gain fluid – funny thing bodies, not had a period for 15 years but my body still behaves like I have.

Still, I am not going to be complacent and everything will be measured and accounted for and definitely no alcohol over the weekend. It is only 2 days, surely I can manage without, and think of the rewards.

Also, as usual my BG has shot up but only to 6.3. I remember a time I would have been so happy with 6.3 when I was normally around 8 or 9 and 7 on a good day. So, I also know from experience on this plan that it will drop back down to around 5 by tomorrow. Nothing to worry about. Total weight loss in 2 and a bit weeks is just under 4 lbs.

Hope you are all doing well and getting back into it, it is really worth it.

Well done Norfolk Girl!

Just to back Bloke41 up, I too have lost 34kg since September in my case. I’m 52 and have started to notice some looser skin under/ around my shoulder blades. I have been doing some resistance and core exercise (as well as the face stretches, which I’m guessing seem to work) but am moving onto more weight-based training just to keep the muscle density up. The skin around my waist (I’ve lost over 8 inches, probably more as I missed the bit about measuring yourself at the start!) seems to have just contracted.

Hi Theodora

Carb flu is great!!! Let me rephrase – carb flu means that your body is switching from burning carbs to burning fat and that’s great! – it does take a few days to adjust and through that time you may feel a little dizzy, lightheaded and weak – Yes, the dogs need to be walked, but if you were planning on doing anything else ‘exercisey’ just don’t…until you feel better. I suspect by the weekend you will be full of beans again but it may take a few days. Hang in there, drink plenty of water, eat enough fat and you should be fine and rolling on with some fabulous weight loss next week 🙂

Congratulations – you are human 🙂

I fell off the wagon spectacularly right at the end of week 2 and stuffed a huge piece of chocolate fudge cake into my gob before I could stop myself, then set about devouring all I could for the rest of the day – I put on 1.5lbs that week and went on to lose 23lbs in 15 weeks. It happens to us all – we are no angels – but it’s what you do afterwards that counts – get back to it – give yourself a talking too and forgive yourself – like Theodora say…we do!

It’s not about the number of times you fall, it’s about the number of times you get up again…

Hey, don’t beat yourself up! You’ve not been well and that’s bound to weaken your resistance. I daresay everyone falls off the wagon once in a while (I haven’t yet, but I’m only on day 4, so I’m sure I will sooner or later – though later would be good 😉 ). You know you CAN do it so, just get back on the wagon – not tomorrow, but NOW. 🙂 Good luck, and hope you are feeling better soon.

Oh, and by the way, we forgive you 🙂

Morning all.

Day 4 for me too, Rhodie, but unlike you I succumbed and weighed myself – 1lb off since Tuesday morning. Not amazing, but at least going in the right direction. I’m going to try to only weigh myself twice a week – ideally I’d only do it once a week, but it’s difficult enough resisting carbs, let alone resisting the scales too! 😉 You can only expect so much from a girl! 🙂

Again, unlike you, I am sleeping much better than usual but I suspect that is the no alcohol aspect of the diet, rather than the diet itself!

However, I am feeling pretty rough today, not ill or headachey, but very weak. Really struggled with the dogs’ usual 3 mile walk this morning, which I normally really enjoy. Felt weak with very wobbly legs, and even had to rest twice!! . Have been home an hour, had something to eat (yoghurt and blueberries), a glass of water and a coffee but still feeling weak – not tired, just weak, my legs in particular. Hope this isn’t the beginnings of the dreaded carb flu I keep reading about? How long will it take for my body to learn to burn fat instead of carbs? Sadly, the dogs have to be walked – they’d be bouncing off the walls otherwise – so I have no choice regardless of how I feel, so really hope it’s not too long, as I really struggled this morning. Any tips to rectify/alleviate this would be very welcome please.

I looked at the recipe book in Smiths yesterday and it does seem to have some good recipes, so may invest in it in a week or two, if I get bored but so far I am enjoying the food.

Hope you all have a good day.

You all seem so good at this – I did great 11lbs in 2 weeks then I got hit by a bad cold and a serious asthma attack and a sweet craving. So yesterday I demolished biscuits and chocolate and today started well and have just finished the chocolates.

In my defence less than I normally would have but very cross with myself at this self destruction,

So hopefully by publically acknowledging it I will get my head back into the right space and back on the BSD with vigour!

F

Have corrected my last post – I was cheered up not cheated up