I’ve just started a reboot this week
I started in May – lost 13kg steadily for the first thirteen weeks, then kind of plateaud for three weeks before I admitted to myself that it wasn’t really a plateau, I’d not exactly drifted away from BSD, but increasingly more treats and non compliant days.
There is an existing thread “2nd 8 weeks starting Tuesday August 30th” that you might want to look at. It’s a group of us that stopped/relaxed BSD a bit & are getting back to it.

I think today is about day 6 – I’ve lost 2kg (or rather I had until I went to the dodgy diabetic cookery class with bonkers recipes yesterday & put 0.2kg back on when I weighed this morning)

Many people have kept on with 8 week principles for several months – if you had good results the first time around, you know that the diet works. It’s great that your weight has remained stable for four months, but if you still need to lose more to get to a healthy or target weight, then you probably do need to repeat the 8 weeks -or experiment with cutting back on your current eating plan and accept that you may lose the 5kg, but more slowly.

Chookymama, I account for olive oil in my calories. Not a day goes by without me having some, but it can send the calorie limit over the top if you’re not careful. I probably have a tablespoon a day, sometimes a bit more. Have you looked at how many calories there are in butter? Problem is, it’s not as easy to spread over vegetables. Mind you, a two-egg omelette with 20 g of cheddar cooked in 5 g of butter is a gourmet delight! I’ve taken to having lemon juice on salads (no oil) and saving my oil ‘allowance’ for cooking.

One possible solution would be get one of those oil sprays. They make a little go a long way. Sadly, my first one got dropped. It was dirt cheap and worked a treat but it seems not to be available anymore. Ones I’ve bought since were more expensive but they send a very fine mist of oil into the air, which I don’t like as it has to land somewhere. Worth having a look at, but don’t automatically assume the expensive ones will be better. The ones with a pump action (some kind of plunger action that goes up and down) have been the worst for me. Also, check the gauge of the tube inside – the very thin ones are least effective in my view, as you just get a squirt in the pan or on your food rather than a fairly wide distribution.

And back to the 3 Ps as I call them: P1 (pee), P2 (poo) and P3 (parps). No problems with 1 and 3 (just as well I live a fairly recluse life), but 2 is a problem. There were two days last week when I ate 800 and 780 g of veg and fruit (just about all veg), but it made no difference and it was quite a lot of carbs. Who knew there were so many in tomatoes and onions? I didn’t. Anyway, I’m back down to six or seven a day rather than ten, as it was too much on the carbs.

Tabletalk, one of my problems with diets till now is getting some results and then coming up against a social commitment and falling off the wagon by thinking, “Well, I know it works, so I’ll stop for now and just start again later when it’s more convenient”, and then I never do. Just keep at it as best you can and don’t give up. There are a few days to go before you head off and we’ll still be here when you get back. You might have some great opportunities to do lots of walks and swimming, play games with the kids and sleep well after being so active. And just think, next holidays you’ll be swanning about in a new swimsuit!

Do you want to know my halfway results? No? I’ll tell you anyway. Four weeks completed and down 18lbs. Lost 4 inches off my hips and into my old jeans hurray! I still have a long way to go but I don’t feel daunted now. I don’t really understand what is happening with my fasting blood sugar levels. They went down to under 4 after a week now have started to rise to 5.5. Will try having a bedtime snack as suggested elsewhere.

Mandoir19, please don’t give up. 1.6 stone in 6 weeks that’s amazing, but the really important thing is the TWO dress sizes. 2 dress sizes smaller in just over a month, that’s extraordinary!

Scales can be really perverse, I would be at all surprised if that comes back off really quickly. I remember reading, on I think Igorasusual’s thread that there is theory that fat cells sometimes take in water when they drained of triglycerides (read more here http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/). Weight loss is rarely perfectly linear, so there will often be weird upticks. The important thing is that you measurements are reducing dramatically.

Your metabolism will be making big adjustments, plus there maybe all kinds of nasties that were safely stored in you fat cells. Now there is less fat to keep them safe you body is probably retaining water. The nasties and the water will go soon, maybe in an overnight whoosh.

It sounds like you have found good solutions for each of your meals. Are you enjoying this way of eating? Are you finding new and exiting foods? Do you feel healthier, livelier? Is your skin better…thinks of all the other positives you are achieving on this way of eating.

Have you tried the mindfulness, I know many have found this very supportive in their journey to a new healthy way of living.

I haven’t been as strict as you, but I am steadily loosing other teams and centimetres. When I have succumbed to having piece of bread of flavoured yoghurt I am invariably disappointed in the taste. So now I am rarely tempted. Now the term has started I am planning to stick to the 800 a day and hoping I will achieve good losses before half term. Your achievements of the last 6weeks are inspirational and I hope to emulate them.

Hypnosis, like meditation, has proven health benefits and is one of the few complementary therapies recognised by modern medicine as effective.

Woa!! 1stone 4lb in six weeks is not an insignificant loss – I only managed 13lb in seven weeks (the length of my initial stint on BSD 800, as the programme was interrupted by a trip abroad). We all lose weight at different rates and weight is not the only measure of the success of the BSD. You have already see the positives in loss of inches and there are many other benefits people report here – sleeping better, having more energy, improvement in skin condition for instance.

I’m a little confuse where the 3stone in 8weeks thing comes from. Like any other eating plan, there is no guarantee how much you will lose and it depends on your body how much that will be. I’m certain that the BSD book doesn’t promise this loss. Yes, some people might be lucky enough to see this kind of result, but many won’t, but any loss is yours to own and celebrate.

You say you have put on 5lb, but over what period and could this just be due to something simple like being constipated or the time of day you weighed in? And are you sure the carbs haven’t crept up a bit and how many grams a day are you allowing yourself? You mention berries – some of these are pretty high in carbs, quinoa and beans are also quite high, so have the carbs increase without you really noticing?

You are right, the BSD is not for everyone and we must all find our own way, but maybe it is worth double checking how you are applying the BSD principles before giving up on it.

Good luck what ever you decide to do.

Congratulations Captainlynne, what a fantastic achievement. I will be reading this thread so that when I reach 9st I will be clear on what I should be doing. Well done, looking forward to your tales of maintenance.

Chookymama why don’t you try using 1 calorie olive oil spray? A couple of squirts is enough to roasting veggies.

Hi Tiredofthis,
Well done for taking the first steps to changing your life. But as Angiebabe and Californiagirl have said, you must visit the doctor if you have health worries. Book a double appointment and really lay it on the line, they will be pleased to help you if they know what is troubling you. The sooner you have tests the sooner your mind will be at rest and any problems can be dealt with. As to your dislike of veg, difficult! But not unsurmountable. Start by tasting a little of something new with each meal. Don’t immediately tell yourself that you don’t like it, but savour the taste. Repeat this every meal and I’m plesed to inform you that you will begin to enjoy veg!! Make it an experience for the whole family, so you are learning together. Start with the recipes you do like and gradually build on them. What do you like to eat that appears in the recipe section? If you find 800 impossible to begin, go to 1,000 until you are in the swing of things, then look to go to 800 cals day. There are lots of sites on the internet where you can track what you are eating. Recommended to me was Fatsecret, which I find is okay to master. Kids are a great help wih these things!
I do hope you are able to take the next steps on your road to rediscovery of good health and peace of mind. You have lost weight before, so you know you can again. The BSD is unlike SW and WW it is a way of life, not only a weight loss diet.
We are all in the same boat, learning a new and improved way of eating. Remember everyday is a new day, a fresh start to the rest of our improved lives. All best wishes for your healthy journey. Look forward to your hearing your updates.

I did an initial 7weeks during which I lost 13lb. Then I was away for ten weeks on a road trip to Turkey, when I was sort of observing the principles of the BSD but not weighing /measuring consumption or myself. I returned having gained 2.8lb and started the BSD 800 again, which I kept up fairly strictly for six wks, but have become a bit woolly with it over the last four weeks, however, in that time I have lost the 2.8lb gained plus a further 6lb. I am about to go back out to Turkey for another five weeks and will be starting back on the BSD 800 in earnest on my return, with an aim to lose another 6lb (from my current weight) before Christmas.

I guess what I am saying here is, that there is no reason another stint on the 8week programme would not work, as long s you are adhering to it properly.

Good luck regardless of what you decide to do.

Hi captainlynne,
Congratulations on reaching maintenance. You’ve chosen a brilliant name for this thread. Thank you for your continued effort in documenting your BSD journey – you are an inspiration and help to so many of us.

Don’t despair Tiredofthis and welcome. It seems to me you have made the decision to change your life and if you can, those of your family too. My advise is to start simply. Think about the meals you already make and work out what the carb heavy elements are, so that you can replace these with something low carb instead. You can still serve roast chicken for instance, but don’t make roast potatoes/parsnips, add extra veggies instead. – you could even have a little gravy without going over the top with carbs.

I think the toughest bit, is getting your head round not using bread, as it plays such a large part in most households. However, once you begin to think about these things, it’s amazing how you begin to find replacement meals, where previously you would have eaten something bread based. So instead of using bread for sandwiches, try individual leaves of gem lettuce, topped with ham or cheese or tuna – pretty much anything savoury you might previously have put in a sandwich.

Good standbys to always have available are cheese, eggs, full fat yogurt, nuts and fresh veggies – there is so much you can do with these ingredients, to make simple nutritious meals. Give the book another read, make a shopping list so that you can use a few of the more simple recipes in the book, plus a few simple meals adapted from your normal menu and go for it. Don’t panic too much about hitting the 800 calories initially, but make sure you get control of the carbs. Most importantly, be kind to yourself and use the forum for hint, tips and advise and perhaps more importantly, for support and encouragement. There are some really inspirational people on here and they are more than happy to help left you up and spur you on when the going is tough.

Finally, Angiebabe’s advice on visiting the Doctors is excellent. And you might be pleasantly surprised if you go in there and tell them how you plan to tackle your weight issue, others have had Doctors be very supportive – and if not, well set out to prove them wrong. The BSD is empowering and so many people here, have found that it has allowed them to claim back control of their weight and their lives. And there is no reason why you can’t be one of those people too.

Wishing you all good luck and look forward to reading you positive results soonn

Did the 8 weeks in April-May. Lost 25lbs, Gained new outlook and attitude.
Since then stable weight with modest carbs and don’t drink as much. Enjoying regular intense exercise 3 x per wk.

So wondering if I should do another 8 with the aim of losing 5kg – an arbitrary figure to take me to a round number. And probably lose some more internal fat.

My concern would be if it didn’t work 2nd time and spoled my sense of achievement.

Anyone have experience of revisiting the 8 week programme?

Woah. That was a crazy long post. eek! sorry!!

Hi!

Just popping in. Enjoyed the thread over the last couple of days, just too busy to type. Full day yesterday of teaching at the kid’s school co-op, errands, dinner, baths… and the day before out for church, visit to mom’s that lasted too long as needed to stay and help fix a suddenly broken sink/faucet. Ready to slow down! Doing well on the diet except for 2 big mistakes: ate my mom’s breaded okra before I looked up the carbs (ack!! so much worse than I thought) and had bites of pie/cookie at her house, AND bought a bag of chocolate chips FOR THE KIDS’ treat next week, but it didn’t stay sealed up for long in the house with me (I know you all know better than this don’t you?!!). After getting into it a couple of times (ok on the calories, but it ruined my carbs) I sent it out of the house with hubby last night. Banished!!

I have PMS like an angry bear, but praise the Lord haven’t gone off the diet today. I’m a pound up after Sunday’s disaster and my chocolate chip failure. Serves me right! You can all tsk and wag your fingers at me. I think I’ll take Snoop’s lead and post my numbers nightly to help me be accountable. It helps a ton to log my food in mfp before I eat so I can adjust if needed. You guys, I really want to stick to this solid. Have been thinking of what to do this Saturday when I’m off at the beach for a week with friends and all our kids. I think there are about 30 of us in a house together for a week sharing meals and snacks. Most people don’t have a weight issue, but the few that do think high carb junk food is the only way to go with a family so you get some rest from the kitchen. I am so busy cramming extra school in this week so we can be off next week that I don’t have enough prep time this week to work ahead for every single meal, just a few. I am bringing as many of my staples as I can (greek yogurt, spaghetti squash to replace pasta, my own meats, eggs). Salad will be tricky because of fridge space, and it’s my lunch standby. Anyway, I know I can’t afford a week off plan. Things go south so fast when I step off the plan by just a hundred calories or if my carbs go high. I don’t want to re-lose!!

Happy news: all my swimsuits from a few years ago are loose with no lumps and bumps in the wrong places (well, they’re smaller lumps anyway)!! Excited to feel good strolling around on the beach! I should measure. I’ve been watching my arms like a hawk because that’s where my weight really piles up: arms and thighs. They’re improving I think.

Anyway, I’m just being transparent here. I know it’s not according to script.

Sunday’s numbers: awful. 2 oreos, 4 bites pie, 50ml ice cream. Slapping my hand right now. ouch! Actually, the scale was more painful. Don’t do it y’all. 54 is right on this strict adherence thing.
Calories: 1101
carbs: 106
Weight: 163 when I woke up!! Made it through a Friday night social and all day Satuday so good!

Yesterday’s numbers: (the terror of chocolate chips)
Cals: 863
Carbs: 54
Weight: 164lb (Up a pound!) uh huh! see how that works!

Going to go drink a lot of water…

Best to you all this week, and way to go Snoop, 54, Cassandra, and Chookymama!
Chookymama, I think the single best thing I’m doing this time that’s different from all the other times I’ve failed is to log my calories/carbs immediately when I’m starting to fail and do damage control. And reading this forum. Often, if I just look at reality, I’ve not failed as badly as I think. But if I don’t face it fast, I start to think I’ve blown it and I don’t change course, then I could really overdo it. I’m really pleased that after messing up yesterday and Sunday (and paying the price on the scale) that today hasn’t been a wash. I know I’m still 2 lbs lighter than last week this time, and I don’t need to gain it all back (which would happen in very short order if I were to stop now). So you’re right about keeping your head in the game and not losing that momentum if you have a blip
( : Get back on board as fast as you can.

Will post my numbers for today later tonight.

Sorry so lengthy you guys.

Chookymama, it’s hard to give up 100 calories for oil…but it might be worth it if it makes us lighter and less bloated/heavy feeling! At least every couple of days or so if nothing is moving? The fat helps with hunger. I must say, I’m not hungry on this diet at all. I just fight stress eating mostly.

Welcome to the forum Tired! You will not be judged here — I would venture to say that almost all of us know exactly what you are talking about — it is much easier to just skip the doctors office than face what seems like critical judgment — but if you have an issue, go in and get helped — it might be embarrassing but that is still better than not treating something important. You can stay calm and proud knowing that you’ve already made the decision to change the situation, which is the most important step. That said, it sounds like the whole family can get on board with the new plan — maybe the kids can cook one night a week, they can get creative with the recipes. I wish my mom had spent some time teaching me good nutrition and explaining carbs, fat and protein and how and why they matter. My diet days as a teenager were just eating one Pop Tart for breakfast! LOL! You’ve got a perfect chance to get everyone back on a healthy path. Meals can be simple — chicken, steak, some good veg dish — try out new ideas like stir-frys (my kids loved those) ( I have a good stir-fry sauce if you want it). If you have the time and energy to read another book, I strongly encourage you to get a copy of Gary Taubes book, “Why We Get Fat” because it is an excellent primer on carbs and the problems with too many refined carbs. Best of luck — take it just one day at a time and keep us posted. Julia

Are you feeling any better today?

This is now coming up to week 6. I had lost 1 stone and 4 lbs but I’ve just weight myself and it appears I’ve put on 5lbs which is totally ridiculous. However, I’ve gone down two dress sizes? I absolutely regliously stick to 800 calories a day, drink plenty of water, exercise when I can and watch my carb intake. I’ve got into a lovely routine of berries with yoghurt for breakfast, salad and then meat with quinoa, beans or salad for super followed by fresh berries. My only treat but still within my 800 calories is dark chocolate.

Why is it that I can go down two dress sizes but not appear to loose significant weight? When will the weight loss kick in? What am I doing wrong? I’ve been so focused and no I just feel really upset. I know buying smaller clothes has been a thrill but I need to see actual weight coming off too! I want to stay positive but I feel it’s impossible to loose 3 stone in 8 weeks and the diet definitely isn’t for everyone. I am committed to loosing weight but think it’s time to find an alternative!

Hi everyone
Had a look for that programme SunnyB, and it’s on this Thursday at 9pm. Will definitely watch that, looks very good. I shall be interested to see what they have to say about replacing antibiotics, ‘cos you hear about people having problems and a very slow or no recovery all too frequently nowadays. We live in exciting times as far as research is concerned, hopefully there will soon be good news for those with serious or disabling illness. We need GP’s who question. It is obvious that something is very wrong with today’s health and fitness. We all need to take responsibilty for our health. I think education should start in primary school and carry on so that our youth can turn this problem around.
Anyway I have had another fantastic day. Out to lunch again and chose a SMALL carvery meal, 1 1/2 slices of turkey, boiled veg, no trimmings, no carbs!! and I feel good!! Heck chicken chipolatoes and salad for tea and of course, greek yogurt and 7 blueberries.
Hope you are all having a great day. xx

Annie thanks so much – every story is a lifeline. Was it the 5:2 on this site that had threads about it please?
Jill

Oh bless your heart! You are among friends here, kind generous ones who have a real understanding of what you are going through so don’t give up.

I know what you mean about going to the Drs and feeling like they are going to blame you. Then I saw a locum GP who’s wife was overweight and asked me about how I experienced being a patient it really helped as he understood. Even now I always get asked if I have diabetes and or high blood pressure(which I don’t) it’s like they make assumptions looking at overweight people. BUT…I have found a SOLUTION .. As long as you go in and say I have a problem and I want YOUR HELP they seem to step up in my experience and get quite excited by the chance to help. I also say things like it was really hard for me to come here thinking I was going to be judged! It puts them on notice not to do it!

Meals for families I would start with mince made into a bolognaisle sauce the family can have pasta or mash and you can have courgette strips/ chopped. Just try one meal and then go on from there.

Hope this helps and just one step at a time it doesn’t have to all happen on day one

Good luck

Hi Christine – my first visitor on here 😃💐🎈

Sorry you’re still not feeling ok – seems to be something going around. I know a few folk who are feeling really queasy 😱

Hi Lynne,
I’m so pleased to ‘see’ you on this thread, what a great name too, looking forward to reading all the news about your adventures! I’m still not feeling great, I have had a headache since Saturday! So just doing as little as possible at the moment.
Christine.

that’s brilliant Igor – congratulations to OH – and you, if you’re primary chef!

Hi all,

I need your help to save my life!! I’m not even aware of my stats yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m killing myself. I’ve become scared of going to see a doctor for anything, as I know everything will be my own fault. I’m miserable trapped in this body, and although I’ve successfully lost over 6 stone on both SW and WW diets in the past, I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been. I fear not seeing by boys grow up, by own mother died aged 49 through an obesity related cancer, and I’m about to turn 40 next year. I can’t help feeling that my time is now limited, and I currently have a cancer scare – and I know I’ll need to face medics – and I dread them finding everything else that is wrong with me.

To top this off, my own eldest child is overweight – I need to stop him ending up like me. I was 14 stone at age 11, and although he’s not anywhere near that weight I can see him going down the same path as me if I don’t change the family’s lifestyle. My husband is also obese, with high blood pressure and a fatty liver (not that he really seems to care about what that actually means) and I have a younger child with severe hyper mobility who can’t afford to be overweight.

I don’t really know where to start. I’ve bought and read the book. I’ve bought a blender. I have equipment for measuring blood sugar and BP in the home already (although never took my blood sugar before I have managed my BP through pregnancies where it was seriously high). However – I have no idea what food to buy – I need to find a way to like and love “Veg”, to date I’d rather not eat at all than eat it! I guess it’s a symptom of my bad diet since I was weaned!! Luckily, hubby and children do like the stuff.

That said, I’m committed to giving this a real go – as to not try is to not help myself. I don’t want to die, but I will if I carry on and I will relative soon!

I’ll take my starting stats (if my scales will take my weight!) on starting day – but anything you can suggest in terms of starter meals, non-phaffy and simple to prepare – anything family friendly I’d really appreciate it. Also, tips, tricks, what to do and what definitely not to do?

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me ramble.

Tiredx

I did have a fair bit of hair loss a couple of years ago whilst doing 5:2 it did right itself eventually (there was a big set of postings about it on the 5:2 forum). With me it was a combination of things, or “perfect storm” of age, long hair, stress and diet stress. Anyway I used coconut oil to put in my hair for longish periods, then washed out and shampooed as normal. I also started using organic coconut shampoo and conditioner and still do with less frequent bouts of gently putting coconut oil onto the roots.

Hi *waves*

Finally decided on a name for my new thread.

It’s still on this forum and is called ‘Keeping calm and carrying on – my low-carb maintenance journey’

Looking forward to meeting up with you on there 😃

Hi Verano
Yep my weigh day tomorrow as well and I’ve realised at the end of the 11th week I love weigh days, I get quite excited about it, hope it’s a good result for us both. 😎😎😎

For anyone who is interested my new thread (on this forum) is ‘Keeping calm and carrying on – my low-carb maintenance journey’

At long last, here it is – the start of my maintenance journey (low-carb, of course😃)

My weight loss journey is documented on other threads, but on10th September I weighed 9st 6lbs (I’m 5′ 1″), am now in my healthy BMI, and can fit into size 12 clothes.

So now a new thread begins, to record this new stage in my journey.

I’m still recording what I eat, but am trying to wean myself off counting calories all the time. At this early stage of maintenance I want to just take things steadily. I don’t mind losing another couple of pounds, just to give me some wriggle room under that 9.7 – but I don’t want to go above that, or to lose too much more weight.

I’ll still be eating Mediterranean-style, low-carb. I can’t imagine ever eating any other way in the future, this way of eating has made such a difference in my life.

I’ve already had a few adventures since I hit my target and will tell you about them when I have more time – sorry, but really busy this week!

Hope nobody objects to this thread being on this forum.

See you all soon 😃

Great mine should be on its way as I preordered it. Will wave to the post woman tomorrow.

Ha Snoop! Poop is always funny, never gross (unless you can’t actually do one!).

But hang on a flipping minute. Doesn’t the book recommend to use rapeseed or olive oil and that they are our friends? HOW MANY CALORIES? Flipping heck….that’s a whole meal?? How do we do this? 1tbsp of olive oil = 119 calories. 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil = 120 calories….

WHAT TO DO? I just prepared a load of veggies to roast – tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and courgettes…..you can have LOADS. Went to add a splash of oil and nearly fell through the floor! Any suggestions y’all out there?

Hello all, just reviving this thread as I wanted to find out how some of the August starters (and continuers!) are doing now?
sydneygirl, don’t think we’ve heard from you for ages, how are you doing?
Flo55 and Texas50 are you still out there and BSDing?

I am still absolutely fine on maintenance and pop in from time to time to tell people to measure when they’re plateauing, and to eat more salt if they’re feeling light-headed and to rave about some cooking or other I’ve been doing.

And, perhaps most importantly, to read the fantastic stories here of people’s struggles yet successes whether it’s Gavin on his blog inspiring people, or Lucia wearing out her bike tyres and spending 30 minutes on the machines at the gym when all she could do when she started was walk upstairs once and sit down at the top and then walk down again and sit down at the bottom. And there are many more, including of course Captainlynne, and all the old stagers, Frog and Switzerland and SunnyB and Orchid and sunshine-girl and I know I’ve left some of you out please don’t be offended but I’m doing this just remembering all the threads. Thank you all for your continuing inspiration.

And just one more thing.

OH has now had another HbA1c test (so he started BSD end May and then had June, July, August, and now September tests). Lower BS figures each time, came off metformin after the August one. Doctor this morning had forgotten he’d stopped the metformin and congratulated him on September’s figures on ‘only one metformin’ and was duly staggered to find it was on none! She has now marked his card as Type 2 IN REMISSION, and says no-one else in the practice has been able to do it. (You would think she’d then ask him if he’d work with the nominated diabetes doctor and nurse to explain how he’s done it, but not so far.)

Hi verano. It was cauliflower rice not mash that I tried to use the stick blender for but it got too fine for that rice-like consistency.
Frog, you put us all to shame with all that walking . 18000 steps is very impressive. And now Kayaking as well.😮. I have to finish up mowing the lawn. Then some courgetti with my new spiraliser. might catch up on Poldark as I fell asleep during the first one (inexcusable I know), so I need to rewatch that one and then watch the second episode. I think I’ll pass on the autopsy.
Frog, I hope you enjoyed your choir. Mine starts tomorrow after the summer break.
Weigh in tomorrow.

it was very hot and sunny here – apparently its 29 degrees now, so not sure how hot it was at midday
I was supposed to be working tomorrow, but have said I’ll go in on Friday instead, it’s forecast to be cooler then.

Hampstead Heath is great – so much of it to discover. I’ve bought a walking book that has about 10 walks on the heath, but the guy that runs the nordic walking says he never really needs to repeat the same walk.

FROG i didnt suggest you watched it on iplayer or anywhere else! I only said enjoy yr walk!😋
How lovelybeing on H Heath..i miss north London! 18k steps is amazing! We didnt get that hot day as promised..its been grey dark and rainy here. X

Re. the poop – you wouldn’t be the only one. Even a small one would do! (Apologies if that’s gross.)

eugh – no, I don’t fancy catching up on an autopsy on iplayer yowzer – but, erm, thanks for that!

Walk was great – lessons finished – very hot indeed, but not as horribly muggy as last week. I stayed on the Heath til about 4pm, and have just got in – not walking on the time, long lounge on the grass & stopped for tea, but I’ve done about 18k steps today, around 6k of them super seedy Nordic ones.
Hopefully it will offset yesterdays dodgy diabetic cookery course meal.

Kayaking has started again, so I’ll be doing that next Tuesday – I’d forgotten, but got home to a mystery packet that turned out to be some slip on neoprene slipper things that I bought for kayaking. V cheap, not sure how long they’ll last, but worth trying.
Making my feet extremely hot right now!

I don’t know that for myself Verano, when I am diabetes free, obviously when I no long take insulin and still how readings below 5. If I don’t take my insulin one night I will see what happens but not ready for that yet. Maybe in the future my doctor will talk me through it. It is so sexy when he speaks (French) I don’t care what he is saying. LOL

Congratulations on your loss and downward blood sugar results

Are the results from home testing different to results of the HbA1c test Sunshine Girl?
I’m getting more confused – my recent HbA1c result was 38, and stated normal was 20-48

GG we haven’t got the promised lovely weather here in north west England….we have had a grey day with heavy rain this avvo! X 🙁🙁🙁

I actually gained weight yesterday although no idea how. I am still hugely hungry going to bed so when I wake up I am ready for the scales. A bit peed off therefore this morning when I had gone up several points of a kg….

However, am trogging on and will keep everything crossed…..maybe I just need a large poop!

MM looked at hypnosis in last weeks “trust me I’m a doctor program” – I can’t remember the outcome, must have been doing something else at the time!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0476tfd

Thanks everyone, even after 3 months of loosely following the BSD I still get the odd cravings but strangely enough I didn’t really enjoy the chocolates and almost ate my them because they were there not because I wanted them. I keep telling myself that I’ve done ok without being really strict so I suppose the odd slip up won’t ruin everything (5.5kg lost only 3 more to go ) I think I’ve done the 5:2 more than the full BSD as I have no health issues despite being classed as obese at 5’3 and 13 stone (mainly due to a muscle mass of over 50% ) , but generally have found giving up potatoes,rice,pasta and bread no problem it’s just chocolate that gets me occasionally. Hope everyone has enjoyed the lovely weather today 😎😎

CALIFORNIAGIRL you are SO right in what you say ..we’ re not totally to blame for our blips..we have to take into account the strong physiological urges we have and the lifetime habits that form over the years( most of us were given sweet food as a treat if we had been ‘ good’ or ‘ brave’ as kids i.e., sugar became synonymous with ‘ reward’ from an early age’)

Combine all this with another deadly factor…the advertising industry who for many many years have been ‘feeding’ us insidious messages that persuade us to eat the things on offer from the food industry,in particular the fast cheap food industry, and from the billion dollar diet food companies. These products are designed to make us fat and addicted and make their profits even fatter than we are!

A great book on this subject is Slim for Life by Jason Vale ..a good read that explains all this in detail ,well worth reading..first time i read it, some years ago,i lost three stone effortlessly, just by stopping eating junky sugaryfatty food, in a matter of months. Went back on again when i let myself forget his messages. X

the other thing with oats is to soak them overnight – I don’t understand the technical process, but it improves the GI – also it makes them milky and sweet (think oat milk) – so you don’t need additional carbs for any milk with them, or to add sweetener. Most packs recommend 30g as a portion size, which seemed small to me at first, but I soon reduced it to 25g and found them filling. Be careful of adding too much fruit as well.

As orchid said, there are quite a lot of threads on porridge already – if you want to check on something like that, using the search box in the top right hand corner will usually find you a wealth of previous answers to similar questions.

Chanting is hypnotic and a great way to meditate, as it focuses the mind and stops the usual trail of thoughts from parading through your mind. Use a positive mantra as a chant will make this is a good way of exercising mindfulness. Not so sure about the lemon thing though!

Glad you are feeling less headachy, drinking more has obviously helped.

Dark Choc is allowed, but I would have thought 4 chunks is perhaps a bit much. Could you cope on just two? And be sure to count the calories and if you are doing it, carbs as well. I look to keep carb at 50g or under per day, but I don’t track protein intake. There are apps some people use, which gives guidance on all aspects of daily intake, but I have found tracking calories and carbs enough to keep my on track and losing, so don’t feel the need to make things more complicated.

Some people on the forum are using porridge oats. I personally think they are too carb heavy, but use them if you need to, keeping portions fairly small and counting cals of course (and carbs if you are doing this). It must be difficult on the BSD being vegan, as it knocks out the usual protein sources. Tesco stock a range of vegetable protein powders – have used the Hemp one. That could be a way to boost your protein intake without adding too many carbs. It can be added to shakes, mixed in with soy yogurt etc.

Hope at least some of this is helpful – good luck!

Thanks for the inspiration, Cassandra.

I’ve never tried hypnotism. Someone I know once told me that only intelligent people can be hypnotised. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I don’t fancy finding out that it won’t work on me!