Just to report in, I have lost another pound this week which brings me to within 1 lb of my target weight of 9st 7lb!! Total of 3 lbs lost over the 4 week fix to date. I am not being ultra strict but trying to keep the carbs around 60 -70g (not diabetic), and cals under 1200. So gradually working up to maintenance I think. I cooked a new recipe last night, a warm chicken and butternut squash salad with a tahini dressing, which was yummy. OH enjoyed it as well, which was a bonus – he is half-heartedly trying to lose a bit of weight, but enjoys his beer and chips too much to go permanently low carb.

We are off to Jamaica in Feb, on an all-inclusive hol, it will be a test of my will power I think. Looking forward to some sea and sun, its the first foreign holiday we’ve had together as OH had a dog who could not be left, until we lost him just before Xmas. Shopping this weekend for shorts – my favourites from last year have to go to the charity shop – much too big!

Congratulations to everyone on these forums, its great to read of your successes and the tips and recipes are all very helpful.

Raintoday, sorry to hear about your poor cat, so heartbreaking losing a friend.

Natalie, with you on the heights thing, so can appreciate the effort it took for you to do that, well done.

Feeling good today, positive. Can’t keep up with all the posts now, so am concentrating on our merry band. Keep me focused on the task in hand.

Have a good day everyone.

Thank you Annie W and others for your welcome.
I am aiming not to weigh myself everyday. Will weigh every Sunday.
Will certainly come back after my appointment tomorrow. Interesting that other have found their eyesight improve too.
Will certainly look at note from Krysia D. How amazing too. Well done.
Hope everyone has a good day.

Tbh Mary, it’s not particularly quiet. I watch tv on laptop using wireless headphones.

I absolutely love the idea of a scooter, just love it. *scurries to interwebby and counts Christmas money* – thanks for the inspiration Laska! Who knew that adult versions even existed?

La Manoir!!! Enjoy – fabulous! MKx

FRAGGLE257 how you doing? you and I are similar weights, same age and both have hypothyroidism, you had a great first week like me, just wondering how you are finding week 2?

I have lost another pound today, so now 12 6, I am planning on doing lots of lovely cooking this week and getting food all sorted for the next couple of weeks.

Motivation still high and clothes feeling looser, even managed to go out to a movie with my friend (who is also on the BSD) last night and we didn’t go for a drink afterwards! very proud of ourselves and that little NSV !

I bought a lovely tartan size 14 skirt in the sale, that I can put on and fasten, but is still too tight to wear, that is my mini goal, to get into that comfortably within the next 2 weeks (need to get some wear out of it before the summer!

has anyone else set any mini goals? or treats for reaching milestones?

Getting under 12 stone is a significant one for me, all my size 14 clothes will fit comfortably again then, which gives me many more wardrobe options. I really need to get on the exercise thing and start working my muscles.

Natalie – my daughter lived in Sydney for 14 years and I was a frequent visitor. One of the trips we did was to the Jenolan caves. They were beautiful and the countryside around them was stunning, but I am also not good with heights and I do remember all those steps.

This thread is really helping me getting to grips with this new way of eating. Thank you all!
I’ve just done my one week weigh in and lost 5.5lb and 2 inches off my waist. I’m thrilled with this and finding it fairly easy to stick to. There has obviously been the odd moment, but as a total chocoholic I am amazed that I haven’t really struggled as much as I thought I would.
I’m logging everything I eat on the Fitbit app and I think the discipline of writing everything down and trying to up my daily steps is really helping.
Continued success to all the January starters!

Laska, I just love the idea of you scooting round the village, you’ll probably start a trend 🙂

MK, I’d found that one and was very tempted, but had never heard of it, I was expecting a Concept type but those really are too noisy to be able to hear the TV, so seeing that the water one was quiet, it sounded great. And you can store it up against a wall, so I will go for it.

I have a big challenge today (although I like the idea on another thread of calling it a real life event)- I am taking my son and his partner to le Manoir for lunch- my Christmas present to them since my son’s partner has aspirations to getting a Michelin star himself one day. Fingers crossed that I can stay strong, but whatever happens I will enjoy every mouthful!

Mary

Hi everyone

Hope everyone is going ok :o)

I love my spiraliser and use it quite a lot, but also sometimes after work when I’m lazy i do buy shop bought boodles! They go better with a ragu than the courgetti does, I think the flavours work better together and its more solid like spaghetti.

The recipe book is fabulous – I have used it a lot, last night we had the Hungarian Goulash which was gorgeous, we have also had the fish pie, the cottage pie, the lentil salads, the big mushrooms with feta…..

Week 3 going well, teetering on 10lbs lost, I’m only a few lbs away from my stone, a new stone bracket and a new dress size and have 29 days to go until my hols…. got to keep going!! We can do this..

Happy Friday Eve everybody xx

Much love,
Rebecca xx

I love spiralised courgette, I fry it in a little olive oil and have with a variety of pasta sauces. I’ve also done carrot (which I mix with courgette sometimes for two-colour “pasta”), and potato (um… for the kids…) but can’t think of anything else to put in there. Any ideas?

We went on an adventure today to some caves (Jenolan, if you’re familiar with the Sydney area). It turned out to be a bit further than we thought, three hours drive each way, and when we got there we got tickets to the first tour available. Turns out, out of nine or ten cave walks, we were on the most challenging! 910 stairs in the cave itself, plus all the stairs from the car park to the cave entrance, so I’d say definitely over 1000. I have no fear of enclosed spaces but I’m not very good with heights and I really didn’t like going down steep narrow wet concrete stairs in semi-darkness! The caves were beautiful and interesting but I came out trembling with physical and emotional exhaustion. I may have only taken 4500 steps today but I believe I have done my exercise for the day!

Thank you, Mixnmatch, it makes sense what you say. I’m quite good at keeping the carbs down, at least. I read parts of the book again last night and the motivation came back.

Cleverblonde – well done – great hba1c results and how lovely that you have a supportive nurse.

Raintoday – so sorry about your kitty. Our pets give us so much happiness but it is heartbreaking when they come to the end of their lives.

Verano, Sunshine-girl and Daisiesmum – I am in exactly the same boat. I cannot guess the weight of food and am still shocked at how small a portion 50g of fage yoghurt is. Logging food into fatsecret and weighing all my food (except for kale and lettuce) are proving to be vital in the weight loss and now in the maintenance phase of BSD.

This is uncharted territory for me also Daisiesmum because I have never ever managed to maintain weight loss before and – for the first time ever since the late 1960s have maintained my weight loss for over a month (since 12th December) and have actually lost half a pound on maintenance.

I’ve been searching through posts as I have had exactly the same thing happen to me – lost 11lbs in 2 weeks and then nothing in the 3rd week – just waiting for that overnight loss!!! Did you keep losing after the 10 days?
Jane x

DAISIESMUM – inspirational words!! Yes it IS possible. With BSD I believe that for the first time in my life. I’ve done WeightWatchers, Slimming World, and a thousand fad diets. I was always hungry and always felt deprived. With BSD I’ve almost forgot I’m on a diet – just got used to a different way of eating. And it WORKS!

I’ll look out for vinegar with mother in it. All of I’ve ever seen round these parts, though, is the commercial stuff. I used to stick it in my washing machine instead of fabric softener. Worked a treat!

Hi everyone

Well just 5 days of this challenge left so I thought I might have a quick look back through the posts.

At the start of the challenge we were a group of roughly 43. At the end of week 1 we had lost roughly 20% of the starters. At the end of week 2, 26% of the group dropped out. So now we’re closer to around 18 regular posters of whom roughly 50% are/ have been struggling BUT we are still trying and still posting! We are successful because we are …. keeping on keeping on!

To those who have been on track all the time … great and congratulations!!!

Yesterday was a much better day for me as I actually logged a whole days food on Fatsecret which is the first time in quite a while. I actually feel back in control again which is such a good feeling. Although I’ve not gone off the rails, so to speak, I have been very lax with ‘counting’ both my carbs and calories. After just one day of weighing and logging I realise how bad my guesstimating has been! It’s hardly any wonder that I have been on the 1lb on/off merry-go-round for so long.

Today is another day and as Daisiesmum says …. keep the faith.

Have a good day.

I got mine at row hire.co.uk – it’s a nice thing, wooden, bizarrely, and resistance is provided by water tank. Had a problem with the meter and they fixed it really quickly. It’s £39 a month, but good value in a way ay my OH uses it too. Recommended, my abs are genuinely starting to emerge after almost 3 months! You can buy one for £900 or so, I never thought I’d say this but am quite tempted. MKx

I just ordered a spiralizer in my ocado shop. It also chips and slices. It was £10 marked down from £25. Haven’t used courgetti before. the slim water noodles I’ve been using are quite expensive if not on offer, so courgetti will be a healthier, cheaper alternative i hope. I’ve alsordered some more ingredients to try more of the dishes from the book. I’ve been coasting along with my own recipes but lately with the cold found myself eating spoons of peoanut butter. Think I need to make a batch of low cal soup for cold and hungry moments.

Ok so I’ve cracked that mini goal. BMI is now below 29. Next mini goal is to have lost 13% of my body weight – that’s another 1.6 lbs to go. I told you I had LOADS of mini goals!!

Good (fill in appropriate time of day for your part of the world) everyone!

The adjustment in my meds made by my Dr on Tuesday has had an immediate effect and I am already feeling much less internally lethargic and far more able to USE the energy that the BSD has given me. This morning I could have bounced out of bed at 5am rarin’ to go, but made myself rest until 5:45!

RAINTODAY good to “hear” from you. Sorry about your kitty, I lost a beloved fur baby in what sounds like similar circumstances. She was old, but it came on suddenly – not nice 🙁

I feel a bit like I’ve entered deep waters or even uncharted territory now I’m starting out on my maintenance journey. I’m still counting cals and logging because it keeps me honest. My “thing” still seems to be snacking but I am much LESS inclined than I used to be, I just want to keep it that way! I use FatSecret app to log, lots of useful info. I find the app’s definition of exercise somewhat broad though, I have never really thought of ironing as exercise or watching TV for that matter, so I don’t log my activities.

To all those finding it tough to get back into the swing of BSD: Don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal of health, vitality, wellness AND a fit/slim body. It IS possible, it IS hard work, but ultimately it IS worth it. Keep picking yourself up every time and stir up that determination to be successful in this.

Have a great BSD Thursday!

Oimadam- must say my fingertips are pretty sore from hanging on, too. Hunger pangs, January blues and three week plateau all make a sad but determined bunny! Haven’t given in yet to the carb monster! Bu he is knocking ever louder!

Rain today – sad about kitty. Chin up. Sounds like you are doing well.

OiMadam – I feel the exact same way today – just hungry all day – kept it all good foods (OK, including 3 extra squares of 80 some % chocolate) just more calories overall – about 1500 – last weight was down 2 lbs (161 lbs – so close to breaking through into the 150s). I used to get these days every couple months when I still had monthlies – not an issue for several yrs – so ….. just one of those other days. Back on the plan tomorrow – if I get hungry again tonight then just go to bed !
Congratulations to all of you on this thread who are dropping so much and doing so well. I seem to have plateaued a bit – lots of life distractions – dying kitty (came on fast – she is reasonably comfortable – purring on my lap while I read your posts and knit my pink hat for the weekend) and family drama ….. but reading all your posts is helping to keep my head focused overall so thanks to everyone here. This really is a solid plan. A few people at work have commented on my weight loss and a few are getting on a low-carb path – we are doing a weekly weigh-in (they’re nurses – what can you say ?) and every little loss is celebrated – keeping us motivated. I had some slack time last evening when I would have found a coffee shop and Sat – instead I did a walk – then on to my next appt – felt good ! It’s the small shifts in my habits that make me feel like this is overall progress – not just the lbs drop – overall overhaul ! Thanks everyone – have a great morning, evening ….. keep on dropping !!
And welcome back, Trelawny !

I have reread your post for yesterday, jmarie, and I see that you’ve got family coming to stay. How lovely to have your mother and sister together. Looking back I think we didn’t do that often enough. Do you have anything special planned?

I hope you have a good time together….

That’s amazing. What a very satisfying day. I love the idea of the pedicure…I think I’ll make an appointment today. My skin could do with pampering in this cold weather. Thank you for the reminder that such things exist!

Yesterday I didn’t do well. I have been trying to puzzle out why about once a week I seem to have a real setback and it takes a fair effort to not throw my hands in the air and give up. About once a week I add in some lentils because I like them and because they’re good for me but looking back at my journal I see that on the day I after I’ve had them I eat, BSD for sure but like a maniac but it’s all calories isn’t it? So now I have understood that I can’t have carbohydrate rich foods. At all. Or at least not unless I want to pay big time for them. Not worth it. So I just need to remember that in future.

Peak for yesterday is also the pit…I had just my granddaughter yesterday who is pure energy. I love to see her but she runs everywhere and runs fast. There’s no way I can keep up. Oh and she doesn’t really listen. Her intentions are good but once she’s sees something interesting she’s off. So exercise wise it’s all good but I wouldn’t like to guess what my stress levels are like!

What sort of granddaughters do you have? Are they into art and drawing too like you?

Have a good day…

Thanks everyone for your replies re spiralizers have bought a cheap hand held one for now which I will probably only use for the courgetti. I sneaked in a weigh in this morning and much to my horror have put on 0.3 of a kilo, wont be doing that again in a hurry, will stick to weighing myself once a week.

Hi cazza- I’m in the same boat…week 3….and I want to feast. I think it’s hormonal in my case, but I do feel your pain. What keeps me going is journaling/ and clear goals. If I have a bad moment… As I did tonight with a particularly nice cheese… I just think about my weightloss goals, usually it keeps me in line and when it doesn’t I just try again… This week has been harder but next week might be easier and I won’t know if I don’t push myself to get there. Wishing u strength to hang in there.

No update this week KJ. Hope things are going ok. I had a great week last week after a few shockers.

Wowzers. So, Monday – Thurs this week I’ve lost 2.7kgs. I realise it’s water weight but feeling a bit lighter already. I felt absolutely horrendous yesterday, achey, tired, horrible, but today feel like I’ve overcome the diet detox blues and feel really great.
Going away camping with friends over the weekend, may have a light drink but have let them know that I won’t be cheating eating wise. Am thinking I will pre prepare some veggie skewers for the bbq with a serving of protein. Maybe supermarket bought prawn skewers – seems safe.
I hope everyone’s having a good week!

PEAK: I got 30 minutes on the elliptical in! I also weighed in this morning and my weight dropped a bit.
That felt good! I painted a picture for the wall. It turned out well and I really enjoyed painting it! My husband returned from his business trip. I got a pedicure!!! Lot’s of PEAK’S today.

PIT: No pits!! It was a good day!!! :–)

Gday Milly557,

In the past where l have loss a lot of weight 50kg plus, i havent had a issue with lose skin, though l was hell of a lot younger and l made sure l did a lot of exercise including weights, to gain muscle to replace the fat. They say its all down to genetics though.
This time fast track quite a few years, im 43, loss 34.6kg so far since Aug 28, 2016 and still want to lose another 26kg , there are signs of lose skin appearing, though it far out weighs being big and all the issues associated with it. I have continued to do core strength exercises and been taking fish oil and beef geltan tablets to stimulate collagen & elastin growth. I also make sure to cleans the skin every morning and night and use a moisture on the face. Just recently started doing face exercises, to help get that turkey neck under control, must say its definally been tightening around the neck area and its only been a week. There is the surgery option, but im way to freaked out by that procedure. Keep on plugging rather have lose skin than go back.

Gday Snoop & Sunshine Girl, apparently it supposed to also help with inflamation of joints, only being on apple cider vinegar for five days, the gout still in the background niggling but have not had a bad break out yet. I have made a tonic which supposed to help speed up metabolism also , 1tbs organic apple cider vinegar, 1 tbs raw honey, 1 table spoon lemon , 1/4 tea spoon cinnamon and sprinkle of cayenne pepper in a glass of water. Been drinking that every morning on an empty stomach half an hr before breaky, and for the evening l have it without the honey, half an hr before dinner time. I must admit surprisingly l have had a lot more energy in the mornings, and for a weird reason I’m craving this drink now, bizarre indeed. Some people on the YouTube clips out there, state that if your body needs it, it will crave it. I’m thinking its because i have only drunk water for the past 20 weeks and im getting a kick out of the raw honey. Will let you know if it has any effect on my weight loss, planning to stick on it for a month. Also if you’re going to get the apple cider vinegar make sure it’s the organic unprocessed kind that has mother ingredient in it, its looks like cloudy brownish water. Have a good one all.

Hi Sarah, sorry to hear things are tricky at the moment, as a fellow on and off-er it is so frustrating when you go off-piste, but life is just sometimes too complicated that something has to give! Your life sounds really full-on so it’s a lot of extra pressure on you. Comfort eating is great, till just after you finish, then you need comforting for the bad eating!!!
But you haven’t given up and that’s amazing, you will put these moments behind you, remembering how cr*p carbs make you feel! Because that IS them affecting your mood, for sure, then the cycle begins…
when I’m craving cabs I sometimes say to myself, ok fine, you can have that (insert bad choice here) BUT first you have to eat a bowl of yoghurt or a massive salad, then knock yourself out, have whatever! Of course by the time you wade through that you are full and disaster averted!
Anyway, I really hope today is better for you, I wish you much strength, it’s the starting that’s hard but even one meal without carbs is good for your body… then just keep going..

Hi Caro8, I just substitute chicken for fish and it works really well, I don’t eat fish either. though wish I did, it’s so healthy! Although I can eat oysters for some reason..!
Good luck was you begin the journey, you will do so well, I’m sure, just keep reading, keep posting and keep drinking! (Water that is!😮)

I didn’t do the intermittent fasting at the time, but I did start my BSD time on 5:2, then moved to 4:3 then a month at 2:5 before finally doing 8 weeks at 800. I can’t remember exactly at what stage I started intermittent fasting as well. The main thing I love about this WOE is how flexible it is. Having said that, one of my fast days from 5:2 onwards had two hour long badminton sessions on it, and I never had to eat any extra. The first couple of times I did the two sessions I ‘ran out of energy’ with about 10 minutes to go, but quickly adapted to it after that.

Yay! LASKA!! I came looking for you, saw you had posted a year ago, but couldn’t find you recently, was hoping you had been maintaining and hence gone quiet, hee hee. We are suckers for punishment eh? Just love food and life too much, but we can kick each others arses again and get this thing sorted!

What’s the story? Did you manage the whole 8 weeks a year ago? What lessons have you learnt? You still on the Franks sauce?

Aahh so happy. You have made my night!
(sorry everyone for slight hijack, we are old online 5:2 fasting buddies! From way back in the beginning!)
Me and crazy kids good, still bloody single though, it seems I am too bonkers for most?! 🙄😂

Thanks LizV

Very interesting, have just re-read those pages.

I’m chuffed that I’ve jumped straight back on given that I binged for 30 hours.

I’ve been trying to think of the positives that have come from this instead of beating myself up.
I had been feeling so energised whilst following the BSD – after the carb fest I felt utterly dreadful, not just guilty, but ill. I have to see this as a good thing now as I DO NOT want to feel like that again.

Thanks for your thoughts and good luck to you too.

Hi

I have been trying for 3 weeks now, fasting everyday until 1-2 pm and have lost 7 pounds but really felt unwell after the first 3 days, I have now decided to opt for fasting everyday which I don’t find too difficult and only 2 days per week doing 800 cals the other 5 follow the low carb Mediterranean diet and see how that goes, I think it just doesn’t suit everybody. I fortunately do not suffer from diabetes, my fasting blood sugar is 80 – 84 (American guide) so I understand is ok. My weakness is that I do eat full fat Greek yogurt with a tiny amount of berries for desert and a couple of square of 82% dark chocolate for my treat in the evening if I have had a good day and I really look forward to it, my progress is slow and I am disappointed but my body has had years of diets and I think losing weight for me is difficult, I have a stone more to lose so will carry on and maybe try the 800 again if this approach doesn’t work, I am also on thyroxine, menopausal and approaching 60 and fed up being a bit chubby !

Is anybody doing the 800 twice a week and fasting ? Would love to hear how your doing and any advice please

Good luck xx

As a data monkey, I weigh daily but actually use a seven day average as my “official” weight. I appreciate this won’t work for everyone but it does overcome the desire to react to any plateau or increase.

Frozen vegetables are blanched before being frozen, though, so they’re already cooked before you open the bag. That’s why they don’t need much cooking on the kitchen end. Not that that’s bad, mind you. It’s a necessary part of the processing, and the veggies lose no more nutritients than they would have being blanched in the home. Besides, frozen veg tends to start off with more nutrients than fresh grocery store veg because they’re picked at peak ripeness in season and frozen immediately instead of being picked unripe and transported long distances in less than ideal conditions to the supermarkets.

Don’t I know it, Laska!

MK- where did you hire the rower? And which one is it?
Mary

Hi Verano

The past few days have been far too busy. I’m so tired I could cry. So I’m tucked up in bed, catching up on here, then hopefully getting a good sleep before an early start tomorrow. But next few days should be less busy 😀

Welcome Caro8, keep us posted with how it is going and if you have any questions, there are many knowledgeable people who can help you with them. I can’t help you with the fish avoidance though as it is my favourite bit!

I like the daily weigh in, but don’t mind when I am away from my scales for a break. I have also ‘trained’ myself to regard only one per week as official, the rest are tracked and logged, but if weight goes on or stays the same it is not a problem, I just want to see the ‘trend’ going down on the weekly weigh in. I believe MM has mentioned that people who weigh more often are more likely to lose more and to keep weight off, and am resolved not to get ‘weight blind’ again this time, which I think is the main reason for my previous yo-yoing.

Hi Julygirl. You may well find your eyesight has improved, one or two others have mentioned it. Check out KrysiaD who had retinopathy and had to have eye injections (doesn’t bear thinking about) but now reversed – no injections!😀😀

As for daily weighing, I do as part of my routine but don’t get hung up on it and can happily leave it for a while without withdrawal symptoms. When weighing I tend to go over what I have eaten, how much water I’ve drunk and how my digestive tract is performing 😳 As all that has a bearing on the scale numbers. I write down what I eat, my weight and measurements daily as a rule but don’t let the scales ruin my day. As long as the general trend is down, that’s all that matters to me.

Once your body has adapted to burning the fat rather than the readily available carbs you will be able to train and hike as much as you like, the body won’t run out of that fuel source for a very long time. I would advise you to ease down the amount you are doing in the first week, week and a half, and be very conscious of how many carbs you are having, keeping them preferably around the 40g mark. Stick to the 800 calories, drink 3-4 litres of water and let the adaptation occur. Once this has happened you will be amazed at what you can do on no extra calories. I have several times burnt more in calories than I have actually taken in during a day with no weakness or issues at all. The only proviso is if you are training at very high intensity, sprinting or serious intervals for long periods of time, you will find a limit beyond which you cannot go, so don’t get into problems without having some sort of emergency carb source with you.

have bought the book, read it… like it!!! hoping this works where all else has failed…feeling very positive at moment. have menu planned for next 3 days (can’t shop much until weekend) but all menus are 800 calories or thereabouts.. bit worried about the foods to eat as i don’t eat Fish or anything “fishlike” but am hoping substitution works…. am excited to see my symptoms slipping away over coming weeks along with fat!!!

I certainly have never heard that there is a problem with frozen vegetables, in fact I have used certain frozen vegetables like peas all the way through. As most vegetables can be eaten raw I don’t cook frozen vegetables any longer than fresh ones so they are likely to be a fraction less cooked if anything.

Hello Mumofcrazynamekids!! YO Girl ! Remember me? How are you and the Crazynames doing?

I am also ‘back’ .. also 2st up sadly 🙁 (and I did so well before) . I also started again yesterday on BSD ..I havent dared venture back to the ‘other place ‘ though…. too ashamed to show my face ! (although I suspect there might be more of us 5:2 oldies on here ) ..

Good to see one of the old ‘buddies’ though to take this journey back with .. and I am looking forward to making some new friends also.

Im Laska, 59, UK post meno and a gran now .. and am back losing the same bit of weight for the THIRD time (sigh) . I was here last year ..

And I really should have stayed , not strayed ..

I want to lose 35 -40lbs if i can .. that would take me to under 9st 7 .. I havent been that light since just aftre my son was born (26 years ago ..

( Day 2 for me now.. )

day