I’ve just made Nigella’s cauliflower and chickpea salad (available on google) for tea. Cheap, nutritious and delicious and the portion size means I’m sorted for lunch tomorrow as well. Since starting BSD I reckon at least a third of my meals are now vegetarian and I have a new found respect for cauli, spinach and fennel. I too don’t feel hungry.

Remember “if meat is murder, is Quorn wasting police time?”

I threw out all the bigger clothes that wouldn’t ‘do’ anymore, after a mammoth trying on session. I just need a very good belt to hold up some of the size 20’s, luckily although the waist has shrunk dramatically I still have my ‘pear’ hips so can get away with some of the better fitting pairs.

I have about 10g of chia and 10g of flaxseed with my breakfast yogurt and berries. However, they do contain just over 2g of carb but add up to nigh on 100 calories so not bad as long you factor that in!

Ah well, now that I have your permission Yowzer, I’ll know what to do next time I’m tempted 😜
So pleased to hear that the tablets are helping you feel a bit better 😊
And it was an iron rule wasn’t it! That’s what makes it feel a bit miraculous to be free to eat infrequently and only when genuinely hungry. I haven’t had this relationship with food since the first time I was pregnant

I’ve lost six stone already with Slimming World but struggling to lose my last 20 lbs. Have always felt carbs were my problem and the book has confirmed this. With a father, sister and brother who are all Type 2 diabetics I’m delighted to say my fasting glucose level is now 4.5 (though at my heaviest it was 5.8) End of Day 2 and must say I’m really enjoying this plan … I dont normally eat much Quorn but dont want to stray too far from the book so substituted Quorn Ham for real ham etc. Not eating quantity of melon and oranges is strange but I’ll get used to it. Got to say haven’t felt hungry at all !

Yehthanks NUMI the medication is really helping..ive been slightly dizzy/disorientated for years due to other health probs,and its wonderful to actually at last feel like i am solidly and firmly on the ground! Wdnt mind staying on them long term – but wd love to reduce my bp meds, fingers crossed.
I think i started a bit after you..july 13 ish..am on day 93 week 14! Me too,just wish i knew about BSD soooooo long ago..wd have saved a lot of yoyo dieting. I love the feeling of being so distanced from bread,cakes,biccies..the things that ruled me..i was under the iron rule of the Carb Monster for so long!
Have Kicked the Carbs to the Kerb and it feels good!
TOTM choccy tho…you HAVE to have it then!..its the law! Well, everyone needssomething to get thru those days!
XX

NICKIX Those beans might do the trick!
I take a flaxseed capsule most days and dont add it to cal/ carb count..i choose to believe nice lady in Holland and Barrett years ago who told me that the cals in them dont count! Whether thats true or not I dont know but it does help to keep thinks moving and i think in general is a healthy addition.. Sometimes i buy starflwoer oil or evening primrose instead. I imagine linseed wd be the same or better than all those,and i doubt a sprinkle of chia seeds will do any harm to yr diet. Hope you get a result soon !X

P.S. …. when i said Metformin was a crutch …. i just meant that it is for me …. because i can control my blood sugar when i keep to the BSD …. when i overeat then my blood sugar is not controlled.

Thanks Yowzer, and I hope your unpleasant dizzy symptoms are improving. And that they turn out to be nothing more than the fact you need to come off your bp meds, I’m guessing you would be thrilled to get off tablets. I think I remember reading somewhere else that you started about the same time as me, June 29th? Or am I getting confused? It is certainly a life changer and while I could wish that I’d known about this WOE about twenty years ago so that I hadn’t had to spend so long hating my figure, I am delighted to be one of the fortunate people who has discovered it in time to stop the rot, as it were, from going any further. I feel younger than I have done for such a long time. I really understand your comments about feeling as though there is a big mental aversion to lots of the refined carb foods. That is how it feels for me too, a sort of sense of ‘who would even put that in their mouth’. Doesn’t always work, (chocolate at ‘that’ time of the month still seems tempting although I’ve resisted so far) but it is a useful reaction which helps me out loads of the time 😊

MIX I like yr approach! And its a good name!
I agree re new clothes..i too want to hold out..but in the meantime its not as plain sailing as i thought..many tops that now fit over tum,hips etc,seem a funny shape around neck/ have too long sleeves
Some of my trousers in smaller sizes look wrong somehow on thighs..too baggy and make me look fatter! Plus some trousers i’ m dragging out from where theyve lurked a long time have bust zips from past efforts to get into them! Not someone who can replace a zip and so i have to ponder..are they worth paying my local dressmaker to rezip or shd i just get rid! Also i have finally realised i dont suit bootcut trousies coz i have short legs and bootleg makes them look shorter….grrrr..i used to beleive they balanced out my big hips!
so i dont have quite as much to wear as i thought..but am enjoying mulling over what to wear each day! X

Well i wish to confess! I’ve just had a small slice of toast! I hadn’t eaten today as still having problems not going to loo! Up’d my water to 3 bottles plus herbal tea and coffee. Tried sweetcorn 4 days ago which I’m still waiting to see! Lol the physillium husk’s but nothing’s worked and my stomachs so distended! I haven’t been hungry! Anyway I’ve been told by Dr I need to eat melon – galia is in recipes. Kiwi fruit which are ok but got to try prunes now? Are they ok?? Got so down I’ve just had some bacon beans a poached egg and half a slice of toast!!! 😞😞 I so want to do this but having sjorgens syndrome I don’t produce secretion through my body. I may need to have linseed and chia daily plus prunes. Anyone know if I can still do it but include them in my diet? Sorry to unburden myself on you all. Good luck folks 👍 X

I chose my name especially for this forum as it matches the somewhat patchy way I am addressing myself to losing all this weight. I take different elements from lots of diets like Sirt and Whole Approach, and also in cooking I always customise depending on how I feel. It seems even more appropriate now as I am wearing a mixture of different sized clothes, from size 20 to size 10 as I will not go and replenish my wardrobe until I have discovered my ideal weight and am stable at it.

Hi all
Tattiescone – glad to hear you’re feeling better.
Natalie – good luck for your op tomorrow.
can’t stop at the mo as cooking tea!!! Busy today catch up with you all later. Good luck with the BSD
bfn

BUTTERFLY MOVES! So pleased for you..such a good feeling isnt it! Well done! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
* thunderous applause* xxx!

Hi Marilyn MARSIE good to meet you! Glad this thread is giving you a smile! X

Hi NUMI and welcome..this is my fave thread too! X i love all of them tho,coz this is a great place for friendship andmutual support,so i’ m glad you’ve jumped in after lurking awhile..the more the merrier!
Well done on yr weight loss and getting down into the merely overweight category! X 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks so much Maharani Kitten! I will try that in the morning! Wow! What an unusual tip! 😊

Yes Mixnmatch, you are right – it is because we have all the tools to make this style of eating our new way of life and you really get to like this style of eating. When I started I never thought I would say that. I absolutely love the food – my taste buds must have changed. Yesterday I was given a liquorice tea bag. I couldn’t drink the tea made from it. Even though it was only liquorice root it was way too sweet and I had to throw it away.

Smart BMI now in healthy weight range at 39/70.

Still working on the other BMI, but sure it will happen before the end of my 8 weeks.

When feeling ‘clogged’ I often find a glass of ice cold water followed by strong hot coffee …errrr….gets things moving. I don’t know why! An old trick of my auntie’s. But it works for me 😄

And the scales finally moved. Less than a pound but I’ll take it. New low weight for me, and probably twenty odd years since I was last this light.

No breakfast today, but a homemade spicy squash soup, and chicken salad for lunch, and I am making a sausage casserole for tea. Will Actifry some penny chips for the OH as this will be a potato free version of my mum’s recipe, and with added butter beans. Last night’s homemade protein shake was delicious, far nicer than the ones I’ve been buying. A little higher in Calories for the same protein, due to not being so low in fat, but the same carbs and protein. I used 50g of the powder, with 10g Green & Black’s cocoa powder, 5g cocoa nibs and 10g chia seeds, with 425ml water, then just Nutri Ninja’d it smooth.

Thanks Shalimar 😊 Have you had any luck with the chia seeds? I”m starting to feel a little blocked up too

well done Lucia

Hi Heather Patricia, I don’t usually eat anything with my coffee, but you could try chopping some sort of nut/seed bar, like a 9 bar if you can get them, into bite size pieces and just have one or two with your coffee, almost like those little Italian biscuits, but less carbs. Keep the rest in a jar for the next day.

I did lose a little on this morning’s weigh in, but less than a pound, still, it was in the right direction 😊 All the chia seeds I am eating seem to have helped with my digestive transit issues, which is good, that may have been the reason for my three day stall.

I passed another small milestone today when I plugged my weight and height into the Smart BMI calculator online and it came back 39/70 which is just in their healthy weight range. (30/70 – 39/70 are healthy weight range for this measure) and because it takes age into account as well, it is supposed to be more accurate than the WHO BMI figure.

Lakhi 🙂 …. it is very exciting!! 2 kg is wonderful!!

I’d love to please join this post too. I started 10 October too and am 165 cm (5f 5″) and currently 75kg. Looking to lose about 15kg to get to a healthy BMI. I started at 77kg on Monday 10/10 and have already lost 2kg. Very excited!

I’m sure at this stage a lot is water weight, but finding my sugar cravings down and stabilised.

Primadawn, I have my fingers crossed that you will win. It’s great that you are listening to the signals from your body and adjusting your diet as well. That is one of the tools that we can take away from this way of eating when we reach our ideal weights.

I know how you feel, having done the same recently. This time really is different, because we all have the tools going forward to make this style of eating our new way of life.

Primadawn ….. hope you are the winner and you take it all!!! …. but you are a winner already!!!

Hello all! I’ve missed a few days posting, sorry! It was the first week of a new term for us and it’s been insanely busy! I am happy to report that I am still losing and have lost a total of 8 pounds now in less than 2 weeks. My horrendous headaches have FINALLY abated and I’m not feeling nearly so sick. I had some digestive issues that I’ve had in the past and evaluated my meals and found that I was extremely low on carbs, which has given me issues in the past. So I upped carbs to around 55-60 grams and everything fell into place! So much better!
Today at the small college where I teach, faculty and students started a “Biggest Loser” competition for the term (10 weeks). We each put in $10 and it’s winner-take-all, based on percentage of weight lost. I’m really excited about it and feel that I have a good chance of winning! Just kind of wish my 6 pound loss from last week counted too! lol

Thank goodness … because you could take some kind of pain pill for the cramps. Hope you never are constipated … because it’s a real BUMMER@!

Thanks for that. I will look it up. I’m not constipated though… yet 🙂

My cramps were from terrible constipation … i took some codeine with aspirin to stop the pain from cramps … of course the codeine did not improve the constipation.

I’ve read in other threads that it might be carbohydrate withdrawal … we call it the carb flu … you could put that in the Search tab … top right … will get tons of hits.
HUGS

I don’t get the Food Channel anymore but that Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives ….. man o man it sure makes you want to dive in head first!!! YUMMY.

My favorite cooking show is any season of The Great British Baking Show … which is on my PBS channels via the USA … i’m just a 30 minute drive from the USA border … mind you i don’t drive!!! And i don’t bake either … even when i have a working oven!!

Hi Everybody. I am on day 4 of the diet and am struggling with terrible stomach cramps. I have been drinking lots of water and black tea and getting plenty of fiber. I feel like I have a bug but as it started the same time as the diet I’m not sure. Has anyone else had these symptoms?

I still feel hungry everyday but I can deal with that if I can get rid of the cramps. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Your food sounds delicious! I love watching diners drive ins and dives. Just been tormenting myself by watching an episode with pulled pork, apple dumplings and Ecuadorian food. I’ve never seen such huge kernels of corn (or hominy, as he called it) God, I’m starving! Had to make myself a mug of peppermint tea to compensate! Another episode coming up. We don’t get great food in our diners in the uk. Its always disappointing. Like our weather! Enjoy your catfish!

They are in my cupboard …. i just took a teaspoonful with a sip of coffee.

I’ll take some more with a late lunch … going out for corn fried catfish ….. it will be cucumber sliced for supper to make up for that.

­hugs, too, shalimar, and I quote…
The fiber-rich seeds keep you full­ — Plus, the fiber in chia seeds also he­lps you stay regular.
A good source of omega-3 fatty acids­ —Just one serving of chia seeds (28 g) ­contains about 5 grams of alpha-linoleni­c acid (ALA) that your body can convert ­into omega 3 fatty acids.
They promote strong bones­ — Chia seeds have calcium, manganese an­d phosphorus, which are all important fo­r bone health.
Chia seeds are also full of protein­ — Another benefit of consuming chia see­ds: One serving contains about 5 grams o­f plant-based protein.
Chia seeds have some unusual culinary p­roperties: Tiny as they might look, they­ expand rapidly when combined with liqui­ds, and, in fact, can absorb 9 to 12 tim­es their own volume in a matter of minut­es. You can sprinkle this versatile seed­ on top of yogurt or oatmeal, bake them ­into cookies or combine them with mashed­ fruit for instant for a nutritional boost

Oh …. thanks soosiewoosy! HUGS …. i can actually do that right NOW … i have some in the cupboard!!!

I swear i have the longest intestines in the Northern hemisphere!!

THANKS!!!!

I have occasionally eaten raw bran and a ton of chipped flaxseeds!! with limited success. Even Ex-lax and such take days!!!!

Poppetini and daughter!! What a wonderful story!! Tears in my eyes!!

Enjoying my cuppa coffee with cream
Blood sugar high but in range … will take some Metformin (I thank Metformin and the doctor for this … it is a crutch, but we all need our crutches sometime)
Will probably go out for a late lunch for my very favorite Corn friend catfish! Within the 800 … but it may be cucumber slices/grape tomatoes for supper. But that’s more than okay.

No sun today … but new furnace is working great. It’s cold here now …. dipping below zero now.
I am enjoying the ease of reading large print books for now … i think i may get some more!!! Although my Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood … the Poisen Pen editions are very nice clear print … and emminantly re-readable.
I know its odd to re-read murder mysteries when i know who dun it … but i enjoy the characters and the writing and Kerry Greenwood is so funny. Recently read and old book by Agatha Christel about her adventures in archaeology with her second husband …. i didn’t know Agatha was so funny!!

Hi shalimar , try chia seeds…

Hi, just thought I would introduce myself as we sound similar. I am 70 with arthritic knees and lower back and a few other joints. I am starting the diet on Monday, Yes I know it is always Monday but we have guests for the weekend so that is my excuse. I am an English lady living in Ireland and am desperate to lose weight and avoid diabetes. Perhaps we could help one another. I must do it now before it is too late. I have read the book from cover to cover, got myself prepared and am doing some shopping to make sure I have some nice nutritional food in. I think it is going to be hard but not impossible. I love carbs but don’t like what they are doing to me.

Thanks everyone.
Because i have a huge constipation problem i was just wondering if i should/could increase my consumption of carbs vis a vis beans! Beans are so high in carbs – complex ones but still high. My body is used to beans because i like them but heck i could eat a whole can!!!
I did reserve the Taubes book at the library … the one you mentionned Californiagirl.
Thanks … good comments everyone! 🙂

Hi to all the lovely people on this delightful, lighthearted thread. I’m a bit of a forum ‘lurker’, often dipping in to various threads for a bit of inspiration or encouragement but rarely working up the courage to contribute. But having been binge reading this fun thread for several days now I feel I at least have to say thanks. It’s been like a mini soap opera (which I never watch tbh), getting to know all the ‘characters’ who post and silently cheering along all their successes weight and health and temptation resistance wise. Worrying for the people going through troubled times and taking on board all the snippets of wisdom and fascinating asides. I’d never heard of NaNoWriMo for instance and am very tempted to give that a go now that Lucky has brought it to my attention. And swimming between islands for a holiday which Timmy mentioned way back, what a fantastic idea, I know at least two other people who would love to do that 😊. Still tottering along on the weight loss journey myself, three pounds away from having lost 20% of my starting body weight which feels like quite a landmark. And just recently went into the ‘merely’ overweight category of BMI. So although I’m no longer being super strict on calories, the good, low carb diet is still doing it. Just a little slower which is fine for me and stops my husband joking (worrying) that I am ‘fading away’. Not sure there is any danger of someone who is still nearly 11 and a half stone actually disappearing any time soon. 😄😄 but nice to be cared about

Frog – yes, we don’t have as much fat to keep us warm and our hips are not as wide as they used to be. It does get some getting used to though.

Your new restaurant sounds a lovely place to eat. It is so nice to find somewhere like that – especially as it is so close to your home.

Have had a lovely day today and am beginning to get over the virus. Decided to carry on with sorting through my wardrobe and the boxes of thin clothes under the bed. Everything that is too big went into black plastic sacks (3 of them). There was other stuff that is a little too big but I can still wear (which I kept) and other stuff that I had bought in sales – hoping that I would sometime in the future be thin enough to wear it. What joy – I fitted into all my thinner stuff. And there was some lovely stuff that I had totally forgotten that I had bought.

With somewhere between 7lbs and a stone to lose I will need to buy more clothes at some point – but for now I don’t have to as there are enough clothes to see me through the winter.

We dropped off the clothes to the animal sanctuary shop. This is the first time I have ever got rid of my bigger clothes when I have lost weight. I have always kept them. This time feels different though and I know I will never need them again. I feel sort of lighter with all the big clothes gone.

Well the good news is that with only 800 calories to “use” every day, you probably can’t stuff down that much butter anyway!😜 the best part of this diet is its re-training effect — you’ve got to eat wisely to meet the daily calorie allotment and quality protein and veg goes a long way to help that. I would say though that there is good/medically sound research on low-carb diets — as long as you are eating high quality protein and vegetables and good fats and yes, even butter and cream in small amounts. I know that I’ve said it before but I recommend the book “Why We Get Fat and What to do About It” by Gary Taubes as it is an excellent and clear discussion about the role that refined carbs have on the increasing obesity epidemic worldwide. At the end of the book is an example of low-carb diet used by the Duke University Lifestyles Clinic (I think I have that right) for weight loss and it limits carb intake to 20 grams per day. Obviously there is nothing wrong with whole grain bread with soup and other more complex carbs in very small portions but the evidence does support a faster weight loss when you eat less carbs, refined or otherwise. I think it is really critical to work out for yourself what your sweet spot is — for me it is very low carb (I stick with 20-30 grams most days, even now on maintenance after seven months). Everyone is different and some may tolerate more carb than others so try different combinations for a few weeks and see how it affects your appetite and weight loss — controlling carbs can often help alleviate hunger — and that can be the final help we need (the reason this is true is that carbs drive your insulin output and insulin is your “storage hormone” so it shunts blood sugar into your fat cells and leaves you feeling “starving” because now you have low blood sugar. We aren’t actually starving but our bodies “read” it that way so we are driven to eat to bring up the blood sugar level. It is a viscious circle).

Good morning fellow “October 1st losers”. Not losing much this week so I can’t wait to measure. I do have more energy and my joints feel great so there’s that. Plus I believe I read that weigh loss may stall the 2nd week.

You are all doing so well and are an inspiration. I just eat the same things all the time so I don’t have to think about what I’m going to eat–that’s always dangerous. I should get the book for more inspiration. I’m so proud of myself for passing on all the goodies in the break room and leaving the store without buying all those empty calories.

Thanks everyone!

Maybe we should have … hug an appliance day sometime.
Long time since I hugged the scales
😄😄😄😄
Love Lucia
Xxx

Spooked everyone out today.
Actually smiled at the scales.
A little bit lighter again today….

Love Lucia
Xxxx