Another class this morning – made stuffed butternut squash, bit carby, but I cut out a third of the quinoa
The butternut squash didn’t really get time to bake properly, so was quite hard – and was a bit bland. I diced some of the flesh and mixed it in with the stuffing mix – those bits tasted nicer, because they’d taken on more of the flavours.
Had a nice Mexican breakfast dish too – the woman who heads up the cookery school is Mexican – sort of scrambled egg with onion and pepper in. It was nice, will have to get the recipe for that too.

We’re making soups (and bread!?) next week. I found a good website that had “ten best soups” with lots that sound interesting:
http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2013/10/10-best-low-carb-soup-recipes-fall.html

I particularly like the sound of the Mexican chicken and lime one and the mulligatawny.
The Greek one could be a potential disaster zone with the potential for curdled egg, but I bought some left over squash home from this morning, so I’m going to try that one at home.

Music has no calories or carbs … who knew??? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Had a long nap and i finally feel okay today!
Thank the inventor of Large Print Books …. so much easier to read if one eye is near sighted and the other far sighted … and the other one has a cataract 🙂
Thank the inventor of PVR …. i love recording my favorite TV shows and then watching them and skipping through commercials …. or being able to watch them when ever i want.

LOL … even though i am dieting i find The Great British Baking Show comforting …. i rewatch episodes … current ones, old seasons … even when i know who won!!

Asian shredded chicken salad with peanut dressing sounds gooood!!

P.S. I was skim reading through the posts i missed …. i only had 3 hours sleep so i ended up feeling crappy and i lay down in bed with my frozen feet and a large print Agatha Christie … and fell asleep.

EVERY single thing counts …. use the internet, MyFatSecret, a paperback calorie/carb counter. Even so …. whatever you look up is going to be approximate as there are many varieties, brand names, etc. Do the best you can.

There are NO free vegetables. Root vegetables have more sugars/carbs …. that’s why above ground veggies have less calories and carbs. You can have root veggies … you just have to count them.

Yes you can have milk …. BUT you have to count it in your calories AND carbs. If you just need a little bit … cream might be better flavour and easy on calories and carbs.

Good idea to invest in a small scale and an assortment of measuring cups. I had to buy some smaller ones …. it was difficult to measure 1 cup in a BIG cup.

If you wish to follow the fast 800 strictly to loose weight … most people here seem to feel you need to get close to 50 g. of carbs or even less. Mind you … you may want to save the strategy of going under 50 g. of carbs for when you hit a plateau when you are not loosing (the dreaded plateau happens all the time … give your body time to adjust and then try and go lower on the carbs).

I have to laugh …. because i haven’t had success applying these tips …. will start tomorrow!! But i have been reading what everyone else is doing for a month now. I am armed and ready.

Congratulations Cecily! That is a huge improvement regarding your BP! Wow! :–)

Hi yowzer
glad that you got an appointment OK – and had your mind set at rest re blood pressure meds
Hope the tablets work – still a bit odd to not know what the cause is – hope the work & you start to feel better soon

Well done everyone! I restarted BSD yesterday so I’ve been posting on the 10/10 starters thread, but I’ll still be following you. My op is on Friday but I decided not to wait, the healthier the better going into it!

I’ve lost 0.6 kg overnight, I know that is mostly water but it’s still nice!

Today’s plan:
B: yoghurt with strawberries
L: Asian shredded chicken salad with peanut dressing (a new recipe for me)
D: beef fajitas with lettuce leaves instead of tortillas

Vege soup in case I get peckish, two cups of tea with milk, lots of water.

Good morning to everyone on day two!

Hosta – I’ve maintained approx the same weight for years but my body shape is changing, not for the better. My stomach is getting bigger and slumping. So clothes don’t fit as well as they used to. I use the CalorieKing to track my calories and carbs, it’s a bit of work at first but once you’ve put some regular foods and recipes in (I’ve been using it on and off for years) it gets easier.

Soosiewoosy – yes I’m in Australia, those counts were for the whole day!

Lady valiant – you can have as much milk as you can budget in to your calories and carbs – but full fat please! None of that reduced fat rubbish. I love tea too, giving up sugar is a wrench.
Also I think you have to make careful vegetable choices to keep the carbs down, they all count. You’re supposed to have mainly above-ground veges (but not corn!), root veges are more carby. I managed to have eight serves of vegetables yesterday and stayed under 40g of carb total, including my yoghurt.

Poppycat – how can you “accidentally” miss breakfast?

Kirsty – yes shame about no juice, I never drink bottled stuff but I love fresh squeezed! I’m going to have a whole orange one day with breakfast, a bit carby but you get the fibre too. And if you have it with fat (cheese in my case) the sugar release is slower.

Hi everyone
Coady well done you – that is a brilliant weight loss. I’m a little slower! but 1lb off this week which is better than none.
Trelawny- I know what you mean cos even that 1lb loss makes me feel like skipping – ooh if only I could.
Today I’ve done the blueberry smoothie. (Hey just remembered I’ve bought the new recipe book, love the feel of the pages nice and smooth. I’m really funny about paper! Recipes look good, going to try one tomorrow). Fish and salad for tea.
Glad I kept on reading the posts when I wasn’t doing so well i.e:no weight loss at all, as now I feel I’m back on a roll.
Love to all

Hiya I will be starting tmrw. Very excited and slightly apprehensive

BILLINGEBABE! more wonderful music! Teenage kicks! And the marvellous fabulousJohn Peel..RIP..
I enjoyed Cold Feet too..do you reckon that was the last episode? Been a great series ..i still love the soundtrack from the old series more tho xx
My cals n carb count very similar to yrs BB x well done us! X

Hi all 10/10 starters! I’ve just done my first day and am not feeling hungry at all!! Maybe its beginners luck or I’ve followed the plan wrong lol. I can recommend the Creamy Cauliflower and Bean soup kn the recipe section, it was delish! Good luck to us all, have really enjoyed reading everyones thoughts, hints and tips.

Hi Mazzy! Don’t worry, it can sometimes start slowly even when you are carefully tracking calories. You could be retaining water or it is just those little fat cells holding on with both hands — pesky dudes — they are on their way out. I had a slow start but as my metabolism started to work right, my weight loss speeded up. Now (seven months total, two on maintenance) my body just doesn’t hold onto weight the way it used to do. I am thinking that I have lowered my insulin levels and so I am not so much into fat-storage mode — I seem to be burning all the calories I am eating. Have you checked your carbohydrate intake? I really recommend that folk get a copy of Gary Taubes book, “Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It” because it clearly explains the carb/ fat connection which is from research in the US out of Duke University. The rule of thumb is carb-drives-insulin-drives-fat and the more I wrapped my head around that, the better for my weight loss and it definitely is helping with maintenance. I can eat more than even before the diet but it doesn’t pile on — I am sure it is because I am eating the right things now. So good luck on your journey! Don’t quit even if it starts slowly — it will work for you as it has for so many!

Hello everyone
Hugs to you Carb Addict. Just remember that it’s not the falling down that defines you- its the getting back up and continuing the battle.
My language has become very military!!!
NeNe, you are so going to lose weight with that will of steel. I am Irish too but I couldn’t contemplate going to a wedding and doing what you just did.
I still haven’t dropped any weight according to my scales and my wonderful husband has suggested that the scales must be wrong. They aren’t. I only bought them last week.
However I feel great, the sober for October plan is going better than I expected.
I’m eating like a sparrow and never thought I would feel so good,
Tomorrow is another day so good luck to one and all.
CarbAddict, you are well able for this challange. You’ve done so well so far. Don’t let a minor glip set you back.
Cheers

1. Just watched Cold Feet on the TV and Teenage Kicks by the Undertones featured – memories of John Peel!
2. Beautiful sunny day & washing hung out on the line. I love to see it there instead of in the tumble drier.
3. Cold tonight & lovely warm evening with a fire.

Oh and 806 calories today: total carbs 46.
All good!

Thanks for that ANTIGONE! So glad you recovered coz its not nice at all is it!
Youve given me hope that this med will work for me! X
Amazingly for me,i havent been comfort eating..normally at first sign of stress – even with nausea – i will want to eat something!! Convinced it will help! -My head usually goes straight into the food cupboards and I’ m drawing a chair up to the fridge! But i am a reformed character now teehee!😄 My Carb Monster and my Inner Chimp are stamping their feet with rage!..they cant believe how ive changed and they dont like it hahaha! X

You are so organised and actually that is so important. You have such an early start and such a long day. I work every evening and several mornings so can be away from home from 9am to 10pm and have to take all my food for the day with me.

Your food sounds delicious and absolutely perfect for the BSD. I don’t follow the recipes but tend to have eggs for breakfast then salads or vegetables with meat or cheese. Am aiming to add more fish to my menus because I am not eating enough. Am envious that you can get fage yoghurt – I can’t get it anywhere here.

Hi all…I am on my 4th day of the BSD and I am a little worried as I dont feel as if I’ve lost any weight. I am concerned that I’m following the diet correctly. Is it too early to tell if I’ve lost weight?

NeNe you have some iron will there!

So we’re already in to week two and I’ve got a new favourite thing. Those salad bowls that all the supermarkets do now with just the basic salad ingredients and nothing more. I find half is perfect when beetroot, olives and feta/tuna/chicken and a drizzle of home made vinaigrette are added and it saves the bag of leaves festering in the fridge when I decide I’m going to cook something for the next few days.

I seem to have lost 3.4kg somehow whilst eating delicious food. Having portions of different soups in the fridge has really helped, particularly at lunch time when I normally don’t eat. I also now have a variety of meals in the freezer so all that time I spent with my nose in my laptop have been worth it. I need to pull all my recipes together now and build myself a stock of simple meals that can be made from kitchen staples.

My baggy jeans are now not even touching my thighs (yippee) and my tight jeans are feeling less snug but I’m not going to get excited about them because they loosen up with wear.

Energy levels are good, especially good actually given I have an underactive thyroid. It must be all those good nutrients I’m eating!

Well done everyone for getting through week 1, it’ll be week 3 before we know it 🙂

Hi Everyone,

Today is my second day on the 800 calorie BSD.
It has been great to read about all your success’.

I ate 777 calories my first day (yesterday), drank lots of water, (total carbs were 15), worked out on my elliptical, got 14,000 steps in, washed the car and basically kept busy all day but when I got on the scale this morning, I had actually gained 3 lbs. Craziness! I’m not going to let it stop me. Maybe my body was shocked at the attempt to lose water weight and held on to everything it could. I drank a lot of water!

I’m looking forward to a possible drop in water weight tomorrow. I will make it through week 8 on 800 low-carb calories.

Keep posting! It really helps knowing there are others out there that are doing this too! :–)

Hello everyone. I started on the 3rd too and lost 4lb. I’d like more but I’ve decided it’ll catch up next week – and with time of month and the fact that I started on one (new) pair of scales that turned out to fluctuate each time I got on within moments I returned those and got some others so who knows how accurate the first read was anyway. 4lb a week over 8 weeks is still 32lb which would be amazing!

Good luck all for the next week 🙂

We are trying to be organised Verano. There is always something missing from a recipe :-/ But yes having my husband on board does make it easier.

Thank you shalimar! I know I should be grateful. I guess it’s just that I have lost more feasting on carbs on Slimming World in the past. I’m not going down that road ever again though. I’m going to take the positives, which are I’m feeling full of energy, I’m not hungry on the 800 cals have no cravings for sweets stuff whatsoever – and I’m weirdly cold all the time which means I can wear a snuggly cardy and not boil to death 🙂

Thank you KrysiaD for your welcome!
Yes!!! :–) I am doing the fast 800.

Right now, I’m in my office having spring greens with a little red onion, 5 sliced cherry tomatoes, a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of Olive Oil. I’m also eating 70 calories of meat.

I had coffee and 2 boiled eggs for breakfast. A few hours later, I also had a morning snack of FAGE plain yogurt. For dinner, I plan to eat chicken and steamed vegetables.

I get up in the morning at 3:45 am, commute to work, and then start to work at 6 am. It makes for a long day!
Today I plan to grocery shop on the way home from work, followed by 30 minutes of aerobics and a weight training workout.

I am so glad to have found the forum! I know it’s really going to help me get through this. The reward will be so worth it!

Well done for sticking it out Bluemoon, you won’t regret it.

I also felt bad on day 2. Push on through and come here if you’re doubting. Drink (and pee) through it, you’ll make some huge gains over the next few days.

Hi everyone,

Just checking in. I was away for weekend at a wedding in an Irish castle. Pretty amazing couple, location & weather. I was dreading the food & drink situation because I had started the diet on 2 Oct, I was down 5 pounds by 7 Oct and now I was going to be surrounded by amazing food, champagne, friends & family. They weren’t just having cake, they were having a ‘cake room’ for dessert. I was good as gold but it was very, very difficult.
I had a total of 2 G&T’s and one glass of champagne for the whole weekend which anyone who’s been to an Irish wedding will know that’s a triumph. We do love a party! I had to skip the canapés, had salmon & vegetables for the dinner and just watched everyone piling it high in the most divine cake room. Torture, but I was strong. I knew if I tried one I would have tried four and my bsd would be over and I need to do this.
I brought a green shake and a flask of butternut soup to have the following day while everyone else was having the hangover fry ups. Got home very late last night so weighed myself this morning and I’ve stayed at 5 pound loss so no harm done & back on track now.
Looked forward so much to reading all the posts on here today as I usually check in every day. Love all your stories and updates, your successes inspire me, your advice helps me and it’s so good to be part of a worldwide group all committed to the one goal, taking responsibility for our health.

Best wishes from NeNe xxx

I haven’t yet plugged in the keto calculator for what I expect my maintenance diet to look like, but I expect protein to remain very similar, or even drop a bit as my weight drops, as the guidelines are based on lean body mass. I can’t see carbs going back over 100g on a regular basis as that would be to invite back the cravings potentially so will look at what that gives me for fat content and try to keep it ‘good fat’. Certainly with all the good press about olive oil I can see the amount I use of that increasing when I am no longer restricting my calories. I am certainly not in any way worried about the amount of fat I am eating at the moment.

I can confirm that the Spanish chorizo and chickpea soup is super tasty and filling. Will definitely be making again.

So many positive and inspirational messages on here today. Well done everyone!!

Welcome jmarie41 to this forum. You will find the support here is phenomenal. I couldn’t have stuck to the BSD without it.

The BSD will certainly improve your blood sugar levels. Are you doing the fast 800?

Hi mixnmatch

As a fellow datahead, I think it might help to look at the absolute values of fat rather than the proportions. As the overall calorie are typically very low and the whole point is to reduce carbs then the fat level is going to look high.

If you doubled the calorie “allowance” then you probably wouldn’t eat twice as much fat so the proportion would go don.

DAY 1 of 10/10

Breakfast:
Vogel’s – Soy & Linseed Toast Slice, 42.5 g (1 slice) 103
Heinz – Baked Beans, 0.33 cup 75

Lunch
Jamie Oliver – Apple and Celeriac Soup, 1 serving 237
1/2 Homemade – Cheese and Onion Toastie, 113

Dinner
Allrecipes – Roasted Cauliflower ‘steaks’, 1/4 of head of cauliflower 97
Tesco Finest – Tinned Cherry Tomatoes, 200 g 78
Homemade – Red Cabbage Carrot Slaw, 1 Cup 67
Olive Oil + Red Wine Vinegar Dressing, 1 Tbsp 80

TOTAL 850 cals and I’m really full!

Over and out until tomorrow!

Hi everyone, well that’s day one done, it wasn’t too bad but tomorrow I might try skipping breakfast and saving the calories for later in the day, I’ve never been a huge fan of breakfast anyway. But I will miss my freshly squeezed oj though and now I wish I hadn’t thought about it because my mouth’s watering now. I hope all you 10/10s and there abouts are doing well, I’m going to have a cup of tea and then off to bed. night night x

Fantastic news Primadawn, sometimes the non scale victories are even more satisfying aren’t they?

I know it isn’t a low fat diet, but 37g is still a considerable portion of my calories coming from the fat element. I have just finished a meal of skin on roast chicken with a dressed tomato salad with lots of fresh parsley and am ready for my pudding of full-fat Greek yoghurt and clotted cream with raspberries. My current weekly trend shows 37% of my 797 calories are from protein, 42% from fat and 21% from carbs. This seems to me to be quite suitable. (I am a bit of a data-head case and have gone into this in quite some depth over the last few months.)

Today is quite a high fat day, admittedly, at 115% of target with carbs at 21.2g and protein at 69.5g. Tomorrow will be quite a high carb day as I am playing badminton after work. I try to get it reasonably balanced out over the week.

Hi trelawny
Well done you , I know what you mean by feeling good been on this now for two weeks and lost 20lb and find I can do things a lot better and with ease I have 3 1/2 stone to lose to be at the weight I want to be so keep up the good work and it helps being in this forum and reading everyone’s ups and downs and seeing them do so well and not giving in when they have a bad day so onwards and upwards here’s to another good week good luck every one

Fairyface you seem to have it organised and I think that’s the real secret. Having your husband on board and doing it together is a real bonus.

Best of luck!

*called not Calle.
22lb was average over 4 weeks

Hi everyone. I’ve eaten some small amounts of cheese this week and whilst I’ve lost this week it’s considerably less than last week (as I expected) but I would not consider the 3lbs to be “rapid weight loss”. I’m not disheartened I just think it’s our bodies adapting to the new regime…. On a different thread a lady Calle Lucia stated she’s not lost weight but had lost inches…. I would second this as my stomach has really slimmed down this week….. I’m not sure that I’ll hit the “average of 22lb” as mentioned in the BSD 800cal book but I’m going to keep chugging away in the basis that it’s almost one stone gone in 2 weeks which is amazing for me.
My friend and I went out for lunch today which is the first time I’ve eaten out whilst following the diet and she thought she was doing me a favour by taking me to a salad bar restaurant….. Well I’ve been hungry all day since eating the rabbit food!! I did order the steak salad but it was not sustaining and as soon as I got home the sugar cravings kicked in big time….. I relented and had some apple slices in caramel dipping sauce (100cal) within my allowance but now I feel terrible…. Sleepy and lethargic!
This all goes to prove to me that I’m better for following low carb diet and to avoid the said salad venue!!
Good luck with your weigh-ins this week….. Can’t believe we are starting week 3!!

Hope the meds get you sorted Yowzer. I had Labyrinthitis back in January and then had meds like yours which seemed to do the trick 🙂 Hopefully the nausea is stopping you from comfort eating? It is horrible to be dizzy and faint so I hope you are soon better 🙂

loopy thanks for the information. I knew I had not seen information on how many carbs a day.
Verano. We are not diabetic but I was very worried about the visceral fat I have and my weight has been going up by just over a stone a year! I have only had one apple since being on the diet and can honestly say I have eaten nothing except what I have made from the cookery book! Yesterday at a concert I bought a bottle of diet coke and only had a couple of mouthfuls. Thrown it away today:-) Go me!
KrysiaD thank you also for the information and encouragement.

I can honestly say this diet seems to be reasonably easy for me but thats I am sure is with the help from my husband. We sit down together a couple of days a week and work out what we want to eat and then do the shopping. I also think the bank balance likes it because we are not eating a lot of meat!

Three positives to be grateful for..number one, music,two – music,three..music!
Just watching clips from the Desert Trip ” Oldchella” Festival in California..Paul McCartney,Neil Young,Dylan,the Who…
So grateful i was a teen when i first encountered these people and their fabulous talents, and soooooo happy that today- so very many years later – they continue to delight me and millions of others..
And not a single carb imbibed along with all the wonderful songs! Heehee! How positive is that! Let The Music Play On! X

Hi loopylou and Krysia good to see you here.

I love fish! I’m not much of a meat eater, maybe once a week, but I love chicken and fish, any type except monkfish. You could also try Thai fish cakes if you like spicy. I think they are really low carb but I would need to work it out exactly. They freeze really well!

It’s amazing how we forget about little things as time goes on. I think we become a bit complacent. This ‘7 Days’ will get us back to basics adding back in all the things we have relaxed on.

@mixnmatch I think fat should be higher than carbs. This is not a low fat diet at all.

Ah! I forgot to add my “non-scale” victory! I got into a pair of skinny black pants today that I’ve never worn! I attribute this less to the 6 pound weight loss and more to the amazing de-bloating that is happening in my gut! lol. I used to get bloated to the point of looking pregnant after meals, which I think is an indicator of a fatty liver, which I’ve never been diagnosed with but suspect I have (I’ve never been tested as I don’t go to the doctor unless I’m at death’s door! lol).

I hope everyone is doing ok? Nearly through the first day for me and feeling good! Finished eating for today and cals at 848 with carbs 38.7 so not to bad. Just heading out for a walk to get my steps up. Will have some black tea for supper. My weight this morning was 13st .5lbs height 5ft 1.5, waist 38 and tummy 49.5! Funny though I feel slimmer already probably all the water I’ve lost! Hopefully day 2 is as good!x

Six and a half stone lost ☺😊😀 (since Feb 2015).

That is all…

Day 7. Rather a haphazard supper tonight because I forgot our local village butcher is closed on Mondays. I found some tempura battered cod in the freezer & we had that with some quinoa & flageolet beans! Oh well total calories today for me was 807 but more for my husband because he found his small bag of pumpkin & sunflower seeds left uneaten from yesterday & ate them!!😀😀🙀

I didn’t get time to post this morning so this is the belated results. I have lost another two pounds, bringing me to the full 7 pounds in 7 days. My body fat has also dropped another chunk and is now 38.3% but the big news is that takes me to SIX AND A HALF STONE lost since FEB 2015. This is quite shocking as I was following the basic principles without the calorie restriction in September and didn’t expect that big a difference. I am now wondering whether it is the longer periods of active intermittent fasting I tried on the weekend that made the difference so will be sticking to that for the rest of the plan.

Aah thanku Mixnmatch, will have a look at that.

You must feel fab-u-lous, you are an inspiration!! x

I am here and ready for tomorrow also. I know exactly what my extra is. I really haven’t eaten enough fish – lots of weeks no fish at all. So I’ve not really been doing a true Mediterranean diet.

To remedy this my husband has made some salmon fish cakes for me that he saw in the ‘I and they are lovely’. They are really spicy and the recipe uses ground almonds and an egg to bind them together. I like kippers So will have one for breakfast. Will also start using tinned tuna with cream cheese which I really do like. I will look for more fish recipes in the recipe book.