I don’t think BSD was around when I got to my heaviest ever over Christmas 2014 and decided I had to do something about it. I was 18 stone 11, having trouble stepping into the bath to have a shower, breathless when I reached the top of the stairs, just finding some of my size 20 clothes unwearable and having to consider a whole new size 22 wardrobe (some clothes were already there). I did two things. I started the 5:2 diet (without the book, so wasn’t counting on non fast days) and I joined a local community sport group called ‘I wish I’d tried’ which gave taster sessions of sport and fitness sessions at the local gym without you actually having to join, at £1 a session, complete with a coach/trainer. I lost around three stone in 2015, but 5:2 fizzled out a bit in the latter half of the year, and by the time I got to last January I had put a stone back on. I guess you could call that a break, although not a deliberate one. In January I got a book from a library sale, the 17 day diet, and tried that, I also read about Sirt foods at the same time and tried to incorporate as many of them as I could. The weight came off quite well during the first 17 days (very much like BSD) slowed down in the second 17 days (Re-introduce some foods) and stopped completely in the third (back on the white stuff) so I switched back to 5:2. Still using Sirt foods though, I used 600 rather than 500 for fast days and 1840 calories on non fast days and counted all days. I found the BSD in April, read the forum and decided to change to BSD 5:2. Fast days were 800 and non fast days 1600, I still lost weight just as fast even though I was still overeating carbs a little at that point. I started watching carbs as well in late May, moved to 4:3 Getting impatient! A major milestone was fitting into a size 18 fitted dress at the end of June on my birthday. I had bought it in the January sales, as a ‘target’. July was an actual planned break. I had my birthday celebrations including cake and lots of wine and prosecco, then a week later we went to France camping for a week, beer and bread, I tried not to overdo it, but over that couple of weeks put six pounds back on. The end of July and all of August it was back to 4:3 BSD then September 2:5 BSD with just the weekends on 1600. October and November were the full 800 fast. December was technically back to 4:3 to minimise the damage, and from 23rd December to 2nd January was essentially another planned break. The bounce back from the end of my 8 weeks fast to 2nd January was 10 pounds, 8 of which have now gone again as of this morning suggesting a lot of them were water.
I still visit the forum not only because it helps me stay focused on why I am doing this, but also because when I was a newbie I got so much information from the people who had been doing it before me, I hope I can pass on some tips and assure you all that I am no more gifted with willpower than anyone else. I have simply now found ‘my’ way of eating, that I know will be sustainable to my goal weight and beyond into maintenance.
