Lara. I am totally with you on the benefits of fasting. I also have the book by Dr Jason Fung and it is full of good information. I am surrounded by food when I am at work. I have accommodation here as I work week on week off. I cook every second week so it is very difficult to avoid food. I am working towards doing a 2 day fast. Probably easier when I’m at home. I have been inspired by your experience to give it a go. Thanks for sharing.

Its on page 61 Bsd recipe book Cyster. Thanks for help everyone, feel annoyed if ive enjoyed a lovely meal but the cals/carbs are wrong!

I’ve read elsewhere that it’s best to check the calories and carbs, that they are often adrift..

Hi Californiagirl and Mixnmatch,
What amazing helpful, kind, supportive people live in this zone out there on the internet. I am bowled over by your responses and kindness, thank you so much.

Caliorniagirl thank you for your welcome. You are so supportive, your positivity and confidence immediately give me strength. I think you – and Mixnmatch – are probably dead right about avoiding the scale. Your emotions go up and down with those numbers daily it becomes a rollercoaster. I started weighing again because giving up the scale is what lead me to put all my weight back on – so I felt I should keep a close eye on it. But I guess if I am doing the BSD there is little risk of my weight going up! So, I will get back to the tape measure / tight trousers! The thing that really helps is when you said “It is not the single day that counts, it is the day-to-day keeping on that works”. That is what i need to focus on, the keeping on. And stopping the critical mind. As you say, we are too quick to evaluate everything – I need to trust in it and go with it. So thanks for that I really needed to hear it.

Mixnmatch thank you so much for that incredibly useful and well informed info. I am not constipated and I am drinking lots but maybe I should try the 4 L for a bit and see what happens – worth a go and I love drinking water (?pre-diabetic?). My carbs are super low (below/around 20) and I am eating fat – wouldn’t cope without. Only problem with fat is that it reduces your quantities as it is so dense in calories, so I find it is a balancing act. I have done low carb before but never on so few calories – that’s what I am hoping will swing it this time, as the diet that actually works! I will definitely do as you suggest and give it 2 weeks without the scale and just get on with it. Thank you again very much indeed for the support and guidance.

It is so good to know there are people out there that can and will help, it’s amazing and very touching. This is the first time I have ever used a forum for a diet. I think it could make a huge difference for me, rather than going it alone. It’s great. I have long bored family and friends about my dieting – they are well and truly done with that conversation!

Where is the recipe granny i cannot find it in the book?

Hi Bombalone, there are two possibilities. If your metabolism is reasonably okay you will be burning fat, so the reason you are not losing more weight must be water retention or solids. If you are not constipated (quite common on reduced carbs), it could be water retention which can have all sorts of causes.

The reasons people lose a huge amount when they first start the diet is because the body gives up the water it has been hanging onto ‘just in case’ if you are drinking plenty then it no longer needs to do this. Carbs cause water retention, so make sure you are aiming at low enough carbs for your body. Also try not to worry. Stress causes cortisol production which causes water retention. Later in the diet you will find there are periods where although you do not lose weight you lose inches, due to the replacement of fat in fat cells with water. Another ‘just in case’ cause. It is possible that your body is already in this state prior to the diet as you mention previous dieting. If you are not burning fat at this level of nutrition then you may have a more serious metabolic condition, but I doubt it.

Give the diet two weeks. Measure instead of weighing for those two weeks. and track bowel movements, upping fibre if you have to. Drink at least 3 litres of water a day, some people have successfully started losing weight after increasing this to 4 for a short period. Make sure you are adding a little salt to your diet, as your electrolytes may get depleted with all the drinking. Try upping the percentage of fat in your diet. It sounds counterintuitive but it really seems to work.

Hi ive lost 7 pounds first week and 4 second week Mumofcrazynamedkids
Hi granny ive heard on other forums that the book recipes are inaccurate. I will add it into fintesspal and check too. Hope it helps

You haven’t mentioned nuts and seeds, I am not vegetarian but I have seen these mentioned as sources of protein, also some pulses. Hopefully some of our vegetarian contributors can help with specific recommendations.

Help….does anybody know if the cals/carbs for the satay chicken kebab recipe is correct? I’ve logged the ingredients separately on the fatsecret app and its coming out way higher than the recipe book.

Hi Everyone
It’s lovely to read about all the success stories and the slip ups, it makes me feel as though I’m not alone 😊 Today has been awful, I could kill for a large bacon butty! I haven’t given in and just had a lovely stir fry and chicken. Today is by far the worst day but having read some of your posts about you feeling bad gives me strength. Thank you
Val

On day 4:of bsd 800 fast and glad to say it has been fine – but I know it’s early days !
My only concern is getting in my daily recommended protein ( I am a vegetarian ).
For example on one day I managed to get 50% and another day 75% of my protein target ( 46g). This is from egg, tofu, cottage cheese and fetta and counting all the protein in small amounts in food e.g .36g in a peach (!).
How are other people coping with the protein angle ? Using protein powders ?

Lots of good lossss on this forum👍 Well done everyone. Agree with alot of the posts, recipes from the book have been delicious, love the satay chicken and very filling. I’m finding that around 8pm is the ‘tempting’ time, its not that i’m hungry but more just want a taste in my mouth,, if that makes sense! So have had an oxo cube in boiling water and that seems to satisfy. Managing the 800 cals and 50g carb ok, feel lighter round the middle but shall see what the scales say in the morning😊

Hi Cyster, thanks, what has been your loss so far? I haven’t read all the pages of the thread as I only joined on Monday! Need to try and catch up!

I always have plateaus no matter what diet I do, so just v glad it’s working so well now, but any moment it could stop!

Result of HbA1c back today. It was 5.1 (32 in new money, but I still use the old unit of measurement).

To put that into context, here’s how it’s changed on the BSD.

December ’15 (immediately before starting the BSD) 9.6
January ’16 (don’t ask – a sneaky test!) 8.7
April ’16 it was 5.5
July ’16 it was 5.2
Jan ’17 it is 5.1. And that is after a few months of maintaining, eating more nuts and dairy.

Can’t help wondering what the diabetes nurse will have to say about it, she who blows hot and cold. (Not the one who did the blood test). She who said the BSD was not sustainable. Who said I’ll have to stay on the diabetes register, the go won’t take me off it. Mmmm ….. could be an interesting conversation or two in the future!

I may, just may, go for the diabetes review in the summer and have those conversations then. A whole year of evidence. But after that – probably not. Why waste my time, their time, and their resources? Ho hum!

Mumofcrazynamedkids and TumTumP lovely to hear of your successes. Am continueing to be careful of carbs and eating 800 cals a day. No loss this week so far though im half way through week 3 so think i might be seeing a plateau.
Feeling motivated to continue from everyones positive comments and results. Hopefully the weight will continue to shift. I have pcos wonder if its partly due to that.
Good luck everyone and keep it going.

Hi Bombalone, welcome to the posts and the BSD. I have just a minute before I have to head to work but I wanted to squeeze in a quick post because I can hear your frustration with the slow loss so far and I don’t want you to quit.
I am almost a year now on BSD and at goal since June (now maintenance) so I am speaking from experience.
This diet is going to work, even if it does so slowly for you. Everyone is different, and you may be a slower responder but very soon your body will start to respond and the weight WILL come off.
The best thing to do is to put your critical mind on hold, stop getting on the scale and just follow the guidelines. We are too quick to criticize and think it’s just not working because we are all so well trained to evaluate things! This is a moment NOT to evaluate — just do it for a bit and weigh in ten days or a week or don’t weigh at all — I never weighed because scales are abusive — I used a tape measure and that was always more gentle mentally.
Try to stay as low carb as possible (as low as 20 grams per day for now) (you can add in more later) and eat full fat foods to control hunger.
If you are just too hungry, eat a tiny bit — I probably messed up more days than I did right and I still lost all the weight. It is not the single day that counts, it is the day-to-day keeping on that works.
You are going to find that you get better and better at this as you go in — we LEARN how to do this — it took me four months to learn it well.
Measure your food, use a scale. Eat full fat, stay calm. This WILL work for you. Don’t fret — this is the most satisfying way of eating and maintaining ever.

After the difficult appointment on Monday I’d not heard from the GP so guessed the blood test results were normal. Not that I had thought otherwise. But I’d been told I could ring and get the result.

This afternoon I rang. The receptionist couldn’t access the results and said he’d get – guess who? – to ring me back. I just didn’t want to speak to that nurse so said not to worry about it.

Yes, you’ve guessed. She rang me. Yes, the nasty vampire rang me! Said she assumed I’d called about the results, checked and said in a very matter of fact way that they were normal. So my question was? What’s the HbA1c? It was 32. I just didn’t ask her to translate – I still work in the old units. But I’ve checked, and 32 equals 5.1 in old money.

So, I’ve just checked my own records. Just before I started the BSD a HbA1c in December 2015 was 9.6. April ’16 it was 5.5, and July ’16 it was 5.2. The diabetes nurse at that point said that was the lowest she’d seen at this practice. Then this current test reads 5.1! And the nasty nurse just wasn’t interested.

But I’m happy. After a few months of maintenance, eating more nuts and dairy, and the HbA1c result had dropped. *does a very happy dance*

maybe try something that always works for me – imagine the wrong food entering your body, rubbing its hands together and with an evil look on its face asking “now where can I create most damange in here, big toe, eyes, heart goodness the world is my oyster this one just loves to live dangerously” I weaned myself off crisps by telling myself it was just a bag of fat with salt (which it is). Be good 80% of the time after you manage to bring your eating habits into line. Take a positive stance in your head and write it down if you need to reinforce it. Boredome is a killer quite literally knitting would be good or painting something that keeps your hands and attention. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your help Sunshine Girl.
Best wishes.

Hi All,

My PEAK today has been : Hearing that it may snow later!

My PIT – wasting 605 calories on a 100g pack of Cashew Nuts leaving me with a total used calories of 965 – Nothing left for dinner 🙁

Thanks all,
🙂

Hello. Slight panic here. Started four days ago and have been good as gold with 800 calories and extremely low carb. Given up alcohol and caffeine. I drink loads (always). Everything I have read says the biggest losses are in the first week. So far, 4 days in, I have lost just one tiny lb! Help! Should I be worried? It is a little demoralising… Obviously good I have lost SOMETHING but hardly a storming start…

I am 46, not diabetic but probably on the way. Have 55lbs to loose. Am long time dieter lost and gained the same 4 stone 4 times. Now it’s getting really tough – age/a body that has been messed up with dieting. Went on nutritionist diet last year ‘guaranteed’ to get my weight off. Lost 1.5 stones and then went 4 agonising months continuing with regime with absolutely no change. Gave up in despair and rapidly regained lost weight. This time is going to the be the last time I loose this weight, if I can get it off, and I am hoping that the speedy results that the diet seems to get will motivate me. I have no shortage of will power when I am succeeding. The stories on here are very motivating, so that should help. Some others have already told me of their incredible successes – I am in awe. Would love to become one of them!

So….. you can see my disappointment with the slow 1lb start. Any suggestions?

Whilst I’m a newbie here I’m not a newbie to diet and nutrition or T2 diabetes.
Are you T2? Doing the full diet?
If so as Sunshine says, get rid of the crap, if it’s not there you can’t eat it.

I plan my meals meticulously, so much so I’m currently unsure of what day it is as I plan ahead
Check out the forums for snacks, (I did today)
And remember to hydrate

Stay strong

SunnyB thanks for the tips. Sounds like you are doing really well also – and managing to fit in bits of real life without going totally off the wagon. That’s really encouraging to hear. You are very disciplined to go off and on like you have. That’s what I need to learn, to be more flexible – I am either 100% on a diet or 100% not on and messing up all my hard work. Need to find that middle ground that you have where you can have a little while off an get back on it before too much damage is done! Sounds like you will get to your target for your well-earned holiday! Good luck and thank you.

Yes, SunnyB, I failed to take that part in, going really hungry is only going to lead to face stuffing.

Hi all! I started the BSD on the 9th of Jan, when I returned to my university accommodation and have felt really positive the last 3 days, I’ve stuck to it religiously and drank lots of water as well as hitting the gym and reaching 9000 steps daily (I don’t drive so walking to lectures helps to bump up my steps!).

But now its day 4 and I just feel like this demon-like hunger has awoken inside me! I had the Portobello “toast” with goat’s cheese and pine nuts and everything was fine, I got on with my morning, did my laundry, completed an assignment but 2 hours after my lunch (sardine dip) ALL I can think about it bread and chocolate! I’ve brushed my teeth and drank loads of water but nothing seems to be shifting these cravings, does anyone have any tips?

(I have a feeling I might need a magnesium boost but my multivitamins are in the mail room on campus and I can’t collect until after 4pm!)

-Mollie

hi julygirl, most of us have altered our meds, reduced them or just got rid of them totally. This diet works quite quickly as you have seen but when it comes to your meds, take it slowly. If you continue to see such good results you might want to reduce little by little. If you have a sympathetic diabetic nurse or doctor that you can get to talk to, that is the best thing to do. It is early days so keep testing (you obviously do).

My story is I want from 10.2 to around 6.0 in a few days (around 10) and started to reduce my insulin a couple of unit at a time say every week. I had some really low readings and reduced my Glicizide as that can cause big drops in BG, I never took Metformin as it gave me the sh—s, which is why I ended up on insulin. Over 6 months I have gone from 38 units of insulin to 22, so it has been a slow process. Also, allow yourself some leeway, you never know when temptation is coming, like birthdays, Christmas.

I hope someone who is on the same as you comes on to advise as I have not been on the same meds as you.

Thanks for the snack advice
I just need to work out where to rob some calories from to make them fit
But I’m hoping that come the end of the week that I will know when to eat to make the cravings less

Hi Gusnbetsy

I would suggest eating more regularly, rather than starving yourself all day and then ‘binging’ in the evening, as going without all day doesn’t seem to be working for you. My personal format is approx. 150cals at breakfast, approx. another 230cals at lunch and then I have 400 or so for the evening. If you are really struggling on 800 cals, perhaps try a week or so at 1000 and then start to push it lower, as your body adjusts, but try to keep the carbs at around 50g a day. Lots of people find limiting the carbs is enough to get them losing.

Try planning definite meals, even if its just something simple like full fat natural yogurt and a few berries, scrambled egg with a rasher of bacon or some smoked salmon (no toast!). Think if you try to eat something when you feel hungry, you might be able to avoid getting to the end of the day in a state of desperation.

You didn’t mention what you are drinking, but staying hydrated will help and a little trick I’ve learnt recently, is having half a tablespoon (7.5ml = 35cals/0.12g carbs) of double cream in a cup of coffee or tea helps to tide me through dodgy periods. It’s important to have enough fat in you meals, as this helps you feel full and to stay feeling that way longer.

Hope some of this is helpful in someway. Let us know how you get on – hopefully you will be posting some positive results soon.

You are posting in the BSD but I don’t know if you are doing the full 800 calorie Fast. Lets assume you are but if not you are still living with the threat of T2 as you have around 30% chance due to your mother having it. Sorry to scare you but…. First I would say clear out your fridge/freezer, cupboards etc of any unhealthy food. Second get out of the idea that you can cheap by having alternatives i.e. low carb bread is not low enough in carbs for this diet, do not look for similar alternatives look for new and healthy choices. Have you read the book, are you clear about the diet or need help with what to and what not to eat. Have healthy food around for snacking and remember on this diet it doesn’t have to be low fat, you could have a piece of cheese or a slice of ham or a full fat yoghurt and some prunes. No need to live on carrot sticks here. Drink lots of water and every time you find yourself heading for the kitchen make sure it is to the sink for water, that can fill you up. Sounds like boredom to me so find something to occupy yourself, read, paint your nails, knit, take up colouring in books, go to bed earlier.

If you want real motivation do some reading about T2 diabetes, think about what it would be like to live with it day in day out. Then you don’t have a choice about healthy eating, your food could be killing you. I am T2 for 11 years and I have been injecting insulin for 10 years because the medication makes me ill. Everyday for those 10 years I have cried in despair over this condition and trying to get it under control. You are so lucky, you have found the answer before you have got the illness, you can do this and it will change your life. Give it just one week, no more, 100% no cheating and I can almost guarantee you will see a difference. Just go for it and keep us informed of your progress. If you feel yourself weakening, come on here and there will always be someone to talk to. I have tagged you so will be keeping an eye on you. Keep on keeping on…

P.S. Some people will come on and be more gentle with you but, sorry, I am a tough cookie…..

Hi
My eyes are clearer and less gunky, and my retinopathy certainly feels better already
But I’ll persevere
I’ll take a look at your. Oh as I’m always Interested in seeing how others are doing

Hi Janet

I did a project with LLNL a few years ago and have got to admit I really liked Livermore and, as you say, surrounded by some lovely countryside and tempting local produce. The bleak English rain here is starting to get a bit “white”, so probably a little cooler than CA.

JM

Today I went in search of Chickpea flour. Can’t get it in the local small town.

Now that I’m officially old and the owner of a brand new bus pass, I decided to have an adventure on the bus into the next biggest town. I did have an adventure….. Should have been home again by 11.30 but it all went horribly wrong and I didn’t get home until 2 pm. Think my bone marrow was frozen and I’m never cold due to the blubber I carry around with me. Was also concerned about the 3 litres of water we need to swallow and had 3/4 litre before leaving which thankfully stayed with me until my return to base – whew! Have since guzzled a further 3/4 litre and hoping to make it through the rest before day end.

Happily I made some superfood soup yesterday. Won’t say here what it looks like and try not to have those thoughts when eating it, but it is delicious. Will have chickpea flour wraps tonight with spicy chicken and salad. Not sure when I’m going to fit the vital coffee in today at this rate….. Otherwise my first week is going ok, but the scales will tell all on Saturday.
Kate

Thanks Sunshine Girl

Although I drink about 1.5 ltrs of water a day I think I will up it a bit and make sure I keep measuring it! So easy to forget to drink

As for fibre, good tip about chia. Will start adding those

Agree on the laxatives, rather not use those where possible

Thanks

I do so well all day but when it comes to after dinner or around dinner..i go unconscious and eat rubbish like ice cream (tonight)…yesterday i ate very little and was starving all day when i got home i lost it and ate two piece of bread.. (they were low carb tho)…i try and keep as much calories from the day for dinner or beyond..but i have really struggling to stay clean..i do need to take control as the scales are not moving…anyone have any tricks??

Working from home today and still waiting for a client to send me the info I need to finish off a report, so I’m watching “Hairy Dieters” on some channel at the top of Freeview. They have had Professor Roy Taylor and one of his Nutritionist colleagues from Newcastle on. Guess what? – the lads were told there was too much fat in their diets and to eat plenty of starchy veg – first recipe is accompanied by a portion of boiled potatoes!

How the world moves on….

Hi Angela,
I really envy your walks! I found out this past year that I need a partial knee replacement so I been trying different things to stave off the inevitable surgery. So far so good! Losing 20 lbs. is good for the knee joint. I also had a series of 3 shots (1 a week for 3 weeks) that gives nutrition to the joint and so far seems to have helped. But aerobic walking is one of the exercises that causes a lot of pain so I’ve had to cut way back. I really miss those long walks and hikes with my husband!

Working out is something I’ve always done religiously. I’ve always enjoyed it so it comes easy to me! I can’t say the same about being disciplined with food-lol! I have a gym membership but hardly ever go there. Instead I have my own home gym. I have a treadmill (which I can’t use too much now, an elliptical, a professional rower, and a professional stationary bike. I also have a full set of weights, weight bench and rack for the the weight bar. So no excuses for me! I have a TV in the home gym and that makes it easy to work out. I try to work out every day unless I get really busy and then I don’t.

The rain is still here! It is raining as I write this but it is supposed to stop by the end of the day. The rain will return next week! Will your cold weather bring any snow? Do you get snow where you live? Where do you live? I live in Livermore, CA. about 50 miles from San Francisco. It only snows here about once every year in the foothills, but once every 20 or so years at our home. We live in an area surrounded by vineyards, and hiking and biking trails. It is gorgeous right now because all the hills are green. We get brown hills in the summer and green hills in the winter if there is enough rain. We’ve been in a drought for a lot of years so this rain is nice. At least in the area’s where it isn’t flooding.

PEAK: Had yesterday off and went clothes shopping! Enjoyed trying on smaller sizes.
PIT: Had to wait an extra long time to be seen at the orthodontist because it was so busy there! When I got home, I had no motivation to work out. I did get 14,000 steps in though. The shopping was good for that!

Wishing you a great day Angela. So glad you got to spend time with your grandchildren

Janet :–)

Hello All
I have just this week started the BSL and wondered if any diabetics out there changed their meds they were taking for diabetes. ?
My blood sugars the first morning went from 10.2 to 4.9.
I am currently taking Metformin, Glicizade and Insulin and wondered if anybody had to alter their dosage as I am on the highest dosage at the minute?
Best wishes.

Just stick with it.
Have a plan when it comes to meals, otherwise it’s a bit easy to fall back on the old favourites.
Try to get a variety of foods/flavours to keep you interested
Don’t get despondent if there are times when the weight or measurements steadfastly refuse to budge.
Drink water or tea even when you’re not thirsty.
I went cold turkey on white carbs and booze, as I don’t have a “one is enough” personality

Hi All! Also a newbie who started on 9th Jan! I am a 44 year old woman with an under-active thyroid which was really haywire at the end of last year which meant that I put on an awful lot of weight and couldn’t find any motivation to stick to any good way of eating. I reached my heaviest weight ever (12 stone 13 lbs). Luckily just before Christmas we discovered that my thyroid had been under-medicated for nearly a year and the doctors increased my medication. Starting to feel better, I knew that after Christmas I would resolve to make an effort to do something about it. I had bought and read the BSD book last summer so I started on the 8 week fast on 9th Jan also. I am finding it really easy whilst I am at home and cooking everything that I eat, I realise the trial will come when I am out and about and not as able to control everything I eat and drink. So far I have stuck to the plan 100% and I am very happy to see that I had dropped down to 12 stone 8.5 this morning! Loving hearing the tales of inspiration and motivation. Nice to meet you all! 🙂

How’s it going Mat?

Hi all. Is anyone else weighing daily? I have weighed each day and lost 7 pounds in 3 days (I would.say I had 38 pounds to lose to get to 10.5 stone. Sorry, don’t know kg very well!

Starting weight 13 3. So I am thrilled, and my appetite massively reduced already, although I am still craving biscuits and chocolate.

I might make some of the brownies from the recipe book this weekend, not to eat yet, but as a backup for a bad day when I feel like I might cave!

Love to hear all your targets and losses?

Mocnk x

Hi Chubbs, you will find many changes with this diet. It can throw your body and mind into chaos as things start to change. I had much improved eyesight for a few weeks but it settled down and I had my eye tested a couple of weeks ago and, yes there has been a light improvement but not enough to be worth changing glasses. Also, I regained the feeling in my big toes after about a year of them being numb and feeling ‘thick’ as I describe it. Now it comes and goes but mainly it is better and I have feeling. When I told my chiropodist and she always asks about my HbA1c (that is why I see her because of diabetes) she surprised me and told me she has a client who she described as seriously obese who had gastic surgery and reversed her diabetes. So that is one medical person who believes in what I am doing. Yet to tell my doctor about the feet thing.

You might find you have plateaus when you lose nothing for several weeks then weeks when you lose 1lb every day for a week. You might be constipated or you might have diahorreha it is just a complete mystery but this is not a normal weight loss plan, it is intense and the effects are amazing. I will have a look at your blog. I have also blogged for the 8 week planb under the name if have here on http://www.sparkpeople.com but now only give update reports. I think I introduced the diet to several Americans who are now on here.

Keep on keeping on…

That sounds like the way to go Toby101. In fact, this might suit your body better and hopefully you will find you sleep better, which is one of the positives most people find on the Fast800. I’d suggest a brunch/lunch, something for dinner and a fat containing snack mid evening (not too late).
Good luck with it – let us know how you get on.

usds that’s how this diet works, quick loss, shock to the pancreas and liver and loss of visceral fat around those organs equals lower BG. I was measuring 10 mmol/L and within about 10 days was down to 6.5. I now run at around 4.5 and my HbA1c is down from 8.2 to 5.9. Keep on keeping on. There was a time early in the diet when I actually got frightened that it was all happening too quick but I kept my nerve, slowly reduced my insulin and then my meds and now just accept that, after 6 months I am not quite there yet but confident that within the next 6 months I will be at goal weight and completely off meds. Even if my doctor says I still have diabetes I will be happy to be controlling with diet. There is nothing worse than jabbing yourself every night.

Hi Dutch Chick. You might find that you are tired because you are not used to the diet and have less energy than before, this is something your body will get used to. Most people do the 800 calories and find this effect, I had to stop exercising for a couple of weeks except for some light aerobics and walking. Your body will adjust.

Again, different foods can have an affect on the bowels, also the better food provide more bulk and fibre which have a slower transition. Are you drinking a couple of litres of water each day. Also try some fibre foods, I swear by chia seeds or in severe cases a laxative would not hurt as long as it is something mild like senna and not too often as that can cause the bowels to become lazy.

If you type any subject into the search box at the right hand top you will find many posts covering these things.

Good luck.

That sounds amazing. I will be starting soon (end of the month) and it’s really good motivation to read how well it has worked for others.

Wow Jules Maigret, 23 weeks is amazing, very well done!…..do you have any particular tips you wish you had known at the beginning of your journey which might help us newbies?

Thanks for that SunnyB, and I think that part of the reason I started this thread (apart from wanting to reach out to others) is that having made a commitment to posting on here and sharing my experiences regularly, I will hold myself accountable and help strengthen my resolve not to stray….lets see if I am still saying this on Saturday night when I am dreaming of a cold glass of Chardonnay!

Thank you Mixnmatch for sharing your journey. I guess one needs to be prepared for setbacks along the way. The important message is to keep going and not give up.

Thank you SunnyB for your experience and advice. It really helps to read about real life experiences.

I have just finished Day 4 – visiting Mum is not a good idea. I have gone over the 800 calories by about 200 today. But the carbs are close to 50. I didn’t drink as much today. We had a pleasant break from the stifling hot spell of the last few days. I have managed to go to Curves on 3 of the last 4 days and feel better for it. The computer tells me that I am burning 320 calories in the 30 minute circuit – so that is an added bonus.. Hoping to see a loss on the scales in the morning.

Hi SJ, good to hear from you 🙂 I also have a lot to lose, but I’m not putting a number to it yet…I am going to take things one week and one kilo at a time and see where that gets me. I completely get the not wanting to rip heads off, and actually feel like I am heading out of that phase, but have a bolt for a bath or read a book if I’m starting to bark at the kids or hubby. On the subject of animals, please don’t eat the cat!! Keep posting and letting us know how you are getting on 🙂