Hey there, I’m not sure we have any other members trying to gain weight, we’re all the opposite.

My husband however is a naturally lean person who has struggled to gain weight but had success more recently, it depends on your lifestyle.

He has 4 meals/day, including a large one at lunch time. He doesn’t eat much rubbish at all and concentrates on a good chunk of protein (a lot like BSD) healthy additions, plus complex carbs. He is free-er with his carb intake than most of us here. He also does some strength training and I’m certain most of his gain is muscle rather than body fat.

I’d definitely not turn to the rubbish carbs as you may gain a healthy weight but will end up unhealthy in all the other ways. Eat more food of the healthy variety is all I can really suggest.

Doing the happy dance for you GAVIN..you wanted 2 st2 and you got 2 st3 ! Well done xxxx!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 and high fives! X ( and isnt LUCKY a sweetheart not posting til you did!) xx down into another stone bracket Lucky..another mimi goal checked off! X

Lovely pic Lucky 🙂 You have done great!

MIDDLEAGE that’s fabulous! You will be 15 something in no time! X

Thanks CHRISTI i’ m on day 46, so only ten more days to go on this first cycle!
Wow week 30! Thats some achievement!
I always admire you folk who have others at home to consider..if there was bread etc in the house,i doubt i could resist 24/7. As it is,long as i dont buy it,i dont have to think of it,and can kick the simple carbs to the kerb! 😀

MIN hope you enjoyed yr night out.
Didyou like the chick milan..i ve had that a few times and really enjoyed it x

I am currently trying to gain weight. I am 29 and wish to gain about 20lbs. So looking for some weight gainer recipes.

Thank you Frog, very encouraging. Will enjoy.

Wow Lucky – that’s brilliant, you both look amazing

sorry Sunshine Girl!

Verano – if I abandoned MFP I’d still record things assiduously, but it’s easier to find things that you’ve used before if its on your own spreadsheet, and know that if you’ve checked it once, it’s fine.
And I can do my own graphs and play with stats to my hearts content (one of my favourite books is Information is Beautiful, closely followed by Knowledge is Beautiful!)
With MFP there can be so many variants of the same thing, some with American version of recording carbs, some UK, & if the person that made the entry isn’t monitoring carbs, they may not have bothered to enter them.
Yesterday I had a Greek salad from waitrose – loads of results! And I’d had the same thing about four weeks ago and had to trawl through them all then too

Ay Caramba – my granddaughters love both Eton Mess and chocolate brownies!

Verano – just checked back. It was around week 16 that my fasting bloods were under 5, and around week 32 that they were under 4. I was never on Metformin, despite the efforts of many medics, and it was the threat of it hanging over my head that started me on the BSD. HbA1c in December, just before I started the BSD was 9.6. Another that they sneakily did in January (after about a month on BSD) was 8.7. April it was 5.5 and the most recent, in July, was 5.2.

Love your suggestions – I could possible decide on ‘The eagle has landed’ 😃. But a few weeks to think about it!

Thanks Imogen – there are so many shops for everything and anything in York 😃 Part of the problem is that I’m struggling to find anything I like in the clothes shops at the minute. Either the colour, size or style is wrong. I’ve never liked blouses/tops with breast pockets. After years of wearing them I don’t want elasticated waists. And so it goes on. And the colours that are in most stores are definitely not for me 😱 But I will persevere. If I find even one item next week, it will be a victory😃

Thanks Igorasusual – I did visit lots of the ‘younger’ shops briefly when I was in London. One assistant was handing something out but completely ignored me. Obviously I didn’t fit her expectation of customer profile. Or else I was wearing my cloak of invisibility😱 Again! But next week I’ll have time to browse properly.

Igorasusual, thanks for the reminder that we are not restricted to certain shops or styles as we get older😊. At the moment my choices are of the strictly charity shop label variety as won’t be investing in ‘new’ until I reach my desired weight. I tend towards the more relaxed, eclectic styles so can be difficult to find clothing that I like, that suits me, is affordable, and that fits…hoping that will change as I drop down the sizes tho!

Thank you Imogen 🙂 If someone had told me 11 weeks ago that I would be 14 stone something in August this year, I’d have laughed in their face! Or burst into tears at their cruelty, one of the two 🙂 Thank you for your comment about my photo too. It’s one of the best photos I have of me in recent times. I scrub up ok, don’t I? Hee hee.

Congratulations all – fab results everywhere!

Captainlynne have a great time in York – I meant what I said about visiting Zara, I’m a great fan and if you look carefully there are lots of lovely things – bought a small size jumper and a really nice shirt there the other day. (As I said I work in Fashion, where what you wear is very important. Once I left a job and one of my colleagues said “whilst I’m really sorry you’re leaving, at least now I’ll be able to go to Zara without finding you’ve been there first and bought all the stuff I like”)

I am on a mission to get women who wouldn’t necessarily think of shopping in “young fashion” shops to go and have a look and pick out things which would suit them. Not all the styles, of course, but many are really good.

But whatever, congratulations again everyone! 🙂

Congrats Plumptious. That is fantastic news – it must be great to achieve your goal (and great motivation for those of us starting out.)

Lucky, you’re looking great in your photo!!!

Oh Christi, thank you for the compliment, when you’ve had something work it’s great to be able to share tips on what seemed to make the difference.

I’m sure you’ll knock off those last few pounds! Have you tried even more liquid? Apart from filling you up and making you focus on drinking (and peeing) rather than eating, it does seem to wash away the fat!

I’m having a moment with blackberries. We grow a few brambles ( or rather just don’t stop them growing themselves) in the garden and I am having great trouble with the temptation of harvesting them every morning.

50g of blackberries is not very much and I must pick and eat much more than this each day – don’t think they are actually as many carbs as MFP says, as not all of them are really sweet.

Only an issue if I’m trying to keep under 30g of carbs, it’s not the calorie load worried about.

But hey. Nature’s bounty or what!

Brilliant weight loss Gavin, 👏🏆10% !!
Lucky, fantastic another stone bracket reached🙋👏🎶
Frog, shrinking daily💐👏great result on the new tops and especially the trousers!
In fact congratulations to everyone on their great BSD achievements – brilliant!!

Thanks Janey 🙂 Yes, I feel so less ‘wound up’ now, it’s amazing. It’s renewed my zeal for this way of eating, for sure, whereas a few days ago I was feeling meh, and *this* close to pigging out on junk food.

I have put a new blog post up – with pictures, if anyone’s interested… I am cringeing as I type this because I don’t publish pictures of me often, I don’t even have photos taken of me if I can help it, but I was just so stunned by the physical difference in not just me but Mr Lucky in the space of 3 months, that I figured, I should be proud of it and show it off 🙂 Be gentle if any of you look, taken me a lot of guts to do it, still a long, long way to go yet…

No plans except cleaning. It. Never. Ends. Enjoy your weekend. Take the ironing board 😉 You might get something done while you’re there 😀

http://luckymanekibsd.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/bsd-800-update-with-pictures.html

Hi Frog

Don’t abandon MFP I’m sure you’ll regret it!

Good for you being so positive about moving down a size ….. positive thoughts = positive actions!

My Fitness Pal – one of the apps that you can use to track food and exercise…. quite popular it seems though others refer to Fatsecret.

Shorthand is great – when we know what it is short for!

Can someone pleeeeeese tell me what an MFP is. I only know it as a multi functional periphery which is something that can be connected to your computer like a printer or scanner or a download device. What are you using it for – I am so not down with the kids when it comes to gadgets but my grandsons don’t know what it is either.

Have a lovely evening Minnie – Enjoy!!
(don’t sit there with the mantra I’m having this because its BSD-OK, I’m having this because its BSD-OK…)
Drink lots of water

I had a strada pizza the other day, and the bit I left was really just a token “I’m not going to eat all of it”!) – and I still lost weight that day, you’ll be fine.

Congrats everyone on your weigh ins. Gav – no celebratory fish and chips this week though please!!

Lucky, I think your stage 2 relaxed attitude to eating and the new found trust in yourself to know how much and what is ok is paying off! This is how I live nowadays and it’s great!

Hope everyone has a great Bank Holiday weekend whatever you are doing 👍🏼😎

Hi oldbluejeans,
Glad I could be of help, if only in supporting you with your family, like mine, they make the weight loss a bit slower for me ’cause I’m afraid I’m basically weak when it comes to some foods, I can leave all the bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice, but when it comes to chocolate and desserts/puddings, I regularly ‘fall’ off the wagon.
Have you tried the ‘I’m so full i couldn’t eat another thing yet? Or giving your meals plumped up for them?
Good luck, how’s your weight loss going?
Christine

Hi Jooles
My cholesterol is normal again (and that was from the tests just 4 weeks into BSD)
In September it was 5.9 – normal is between 2.5 and 5.0
When it was tested in June, about 4 weeks after I’d started BSD, it had fallen to 4.0, and was about 4.2 last week.
My liver is fatty no more
Pre BSD my HBa1C result was 106 – after 4 weeks on BSD it had dropped to 61, and after 13 weeks (and stopping Metformin when I got the ’61’ result back), it’s dropped down to 38, with the ‘normal’ range being between 20 and 42.

So it does work! I hope that your test results next week (week after?) are good.

Two days ahead of my end of week 4 weigh in and the scales this morning said 93.1 kg – that is just over 6 kgs down, which is a whole stone!!!! 🙂 🙂

Yesterday tested my blood pressure and too low – so means that the dose for my ‘high blood pressure’ meds is too high, so time to book a GP appt to get a med review. And sooner than I thought. I had been discouraged when it felt that I was getting breathless again walking the dog on the hills despite being lighter – then decided to check my blood pressure instead.

I am 41 and been on BP meds for over 2 years. Triggered by side effects of other meds but despite coming off those meds at the time I was stuck with the high BP, and a year ago was put up to a higher dose… Well it looks like that will be coming down! I am going to take the tablets on alt days until get appt. (checked with a friend who is a Dr).

Really pleased to have reached such landmarks end of week 4 even with my ‘moments’ off the wagon.

Hello everyone. Lovely reading your latest posts.
Another pound off so that’s a WHOLE POUND in 2 days. Not a lot compared to some of you but I feel I am a slow loser and I’m sticking to accentuating the positive. As long as it is going downwards that’s fine. Of course I’d like it to drop off quickly but that’s too big an ask. However all your posts are inspiring and I feel I’ve joined a great club.
Am going to the theatre tonight with a meal at Carluccios before. Have looked at the eating out thread (thank you Frog) and also looked on line at the menus. Some of the dishes have the calories etc calculated which is helpful but wow, had not realised how high some of the innocuous sounding ones are. Anyhow Chicken Milanaise seems to be the best at just under 600 cals. I will have to very careful as I don’t want to undo in a meal what it has taken me 2 days to achieve. My goal is to stay where I am with no loss or gain.
Wish me luck and strength.

Hi all,
Well done Lynne, again, you have amazing will power, I’m afraid even on my back to basics I find it hard to stay at 800 calories, no problem most days with the carb count though?
I also have the added problem of husband and grown up daughter to contend with!

I have just read a few of the posts on this thread, and you all seem to have done great with the odd plateau here and there,
YOWSER98, well done you are doing great, how many weeks into the bsd are you? I am on week 30 starting Monday and I weigh daily, however I am struggling to lose the last few pounds, that’s why I have started the back to basics, to make me accountable, it’s only for my own satisfaction/ shaming! (When I ‘fall’ of the wagon)

HAPPYLIFE, GREENJANET, SUNNYB, IGORASUSUAL, IMP98, and last but (definately) not least FROG, you are all amazing, and a good example to all the newbies who are on the forum wondering if this bsd diet is going to work, they only have to look at your posts to see how good it is and so successful.
Christine.

Hi, no I don’t think the paid version will be more accurate, but with the free version you can’t export the data you’ve entered.
I was thinking that if you can sign up for a single month, then resign again, I could export the data (MY DATA!) and set it all out on a spreadsheet.
Or I could just bite the bullet (how many carbs in a bullet?!) and abandon MFP and record all future data in a spreadsheet – I’ve recorded food on MFP fairly comprehensively, I’m just a bit reluctant to abandon it. All those stats and graphs I could do!! Dedicated horder!

Two of the new pairs of trousers actually have elasticated waists! I never wore them at my largest (apart from track suit trousers, etc) – but 14 will be a transitory size, I don’t intend to stay there for long, so elasticated waists will mean they fit for longer.

Thanks @sunshine-girl for the encouragement. It’s good to know that your cholesterol went way down – my doctor was so concerned by my results that he didn’t even want to have the statins conversation this time… he just referred me to a lipids specialist. I’m really hoping by doing this for 2 weeks, my results will be much better after the next blood test on Sept 6.

Morning captainlynne,

Congratulations, 🎶💐🎶you have incredible will power and the success to match! How wonderful to be so very close to your desired weight. Have a wonderful time in York (beautiful city), and a perfect ‘reward’ for your achievements. – am sure they have clothes shops there also😉

Aycaramba…you will be at your goal in no time! Know what you mean about the tummy thing. Was considering joining a PiYo class, thought I would try out a few of the simpler yoga moves at home – caught a glance at myself in the mirror as I did so 😵😰😵😱- hmmm…maybe wait a few weeks, lose a little more fat first… those tight tee-shirts and yoga pants can be a little too unforgiving!!!

I am a relatively slow loser (insulin resistant) and have lost 45lbs over 18weeks on the BSD800 which is half way to my goal weight. I follow the plan and keep my carbs between 30-35g and calories under 800 each day, still some times my weight loss stalls for up to a couple of weeks (once for three weeks…😵).
The good news is that my latest diabetic review and blood tests are all now in the normal range, so am trying to convince GP to remove all unnecessary medications, though some will stay for my heart condition (well, for now😉).

Whenever I am in need of motivation, I turn to the forums and read everyone’s amazing stories, the successes (and the struggles), and it helps me keep on going – so here’s to the next 18 weeks/45lbs loss.

Thank you all so much🌻💐🌻

Hi Frog

I’m obviously really gullible I am taking Fatsecret as ‘gospel’! Do you really think that the paid for version of MFP will be more accurate?

10 for £20 WOW! That must be some record. But now you have something to ‘grow’ into. I’ll just be glad to dump the elasticated waists!!!!!

I don’t know what fatsecret or MFP are but I use Sparkpeople.com for all my food and exercise analysis. Plus lots of good articles and communities to click into.

Hi captainlynne

Sounds really good way to go. I’m sure you’re right not to go back to the carbs of bread, rice, cakes etc. As you say you don’t want them anymore. I reached the ‘not wanting’ stage really quickly but maybe I wasn’t ‘addicted’. The biggest problem I have is fruit. I used to eat a lot more and if I ever get to maintenance I’ll increase my fruit!

Logging and weighing daily is probably the best way to go!

I’m really interested to know at what stage your blood sugar level reached normal. I was diagnosed 6 years ago and I know getting bloods to normal is far more difficult after many years of T2. My ultimate goal is to dump the Metformin!

New name …. how about …I’ve arrived! ….. Reached the end of the Yellow Brick Road!…… The Eagle has Landed! ….. The first day of the rest of my life! …..

Really good luck with the last few pounds and what comes next. You’ll do it!

Hi Frog
I absolutely agree that it is pretty depressing going into the changing rooms excited with a garment… discovering that it is far too small…….and then wondering why on earth you thought it would fit ok.
I used to be rather pleased if I fitted into something that was a Size 16 rather than a size 18 or 20……and that is probably for the
last 26 years……a guess!
It is truly liberating to pick up a normal-size garment and assume you will at least be able to get into it when you get to the changing rooms!!!!
It has taken me roughly 6 months to lose 3 stones in weight.

well done not-so-Plumptious!!
4 stone is a huge achievement

Hi captainlynne
Wow again. Yes you will have already beaten me to my target weight. Really admire your dedication.

My official weigh-in is on Monday but have had NZ friends stopping this week and have been feeding them (and me) too well!!!!!
No alcohol and mostly healthy low carb food but just a bit too many calories for me!!
Oh and I don’t think Eton Mess is in the BSD diet book……oops….. or chocolate brownies!!!!!!

They took loads of photos and I didn’t have to hide behind a tree in embarrassment most of the time.
BUT…….there is one photo of me leaning forward and sitting down which shows…… a roll of fat on my tummy!!!
That photo will be my future motivation……grrr.

I’ve not looked back to see how long I ever used fatsecret for – I can’t even remember dieting in 2010 when the recorded weight goes back to. I started off using a spreadsheet, MFP seemed easier at first, but given the amount of double checking because some of the database entries are pants – I’m not sure it is.
I’m half contemplating moving to a paid MFP membership. exporting the lot, and then resigning and going back to using a spreadsheet.
It wasn’t really a conscious decision to move targets – the 80 kilos was so long ago I’d forgotten it (and probably not weighed anything near that for 30 years!) 60 kilos is a weight that would give me a healthy BMI – but because I know that in the past I’ve got to being a size 12 and weighed lots more than that, I’m not sticking to it hard and fast. If I get to size 12 and stayed at it for a long period though, I think that things that don’t directly impact dress size, like my ginormous never-been-able-to-wear-proper-boots calves would start to get more in proportion though.
I was delighted last night though that all of the size 14 trousers I bought yesterday all fit around the leg.
They are still too small, but I have a few newly fitting size 16s lurking, and I found a just about to close BHS where I bought 7 T Shirts and 3 pairs of trousers for under £20 – YES, I know I posted about that last night, but I am still incredulous.

It is the most depressing thing in the world to try on a pair of trousers and find that you can’t even pull them up to the knee because your legs are too fat.
OK – there are worse things, and if I was a Syrian refugee or living in the the aftermath of an Earthquake, I’d probably think that was a great thing to have to worry about, but there have been occasions when it’s been the most distressing thing in my world!

Had to post earlier than my usual day….trumpet fanfare…..I have just reached exactly 4 stone loss mark!
11 stone was one of my goals on the fitbit site so have had a celebratory e-mail from them…..sad I know (but it helps keeps it at the front of my mind and accountable to myself). I am not counting it as my weekly figure as i’m saving that for Monday mornings.
This week has been a plateau week with a spike uphill in the middle…..even though I had kept to all the rules. It is only today that things have gone in the right direction. Phew.

Thanks Verano😃

After looking at lots of options, and from experiences when away from home during my time on the BSD I have a reasonable idea how I’ll proceed. But it will still be an experiment for a while.

One thing for certain – I’ll still be keeping carbs low and no bread, pasta, etc. Strange to say for a former bread addict (anything between 2 slices of bread was fine with me) but I honestly don’t miss it. I’ve learned that if I say ‘no’ to the bread, ice cream, cake etc, it gets easier each time and now I just don’t want it. My blood sugar is now ‘normal’ after 7 years of being diabetic, so I’m not doing anything that may upset that. The medics didn’t believe this was sustainable, do I’ve still got something to prove to them!

So, stay low-carb. Gradually increase portion sizes or calories. Continue to weigh daily so I can carefully monitor what’s happening. Record everything (I never found an app I was happy with, so have used notebook and pen – started with cheapish notebooks (3) then bought a Moleskin which I’m still using. Might just have to buy another one ready for the start of maintenance!). Oh, and continue to post on the forum – it helps me, keeps me accountable. Need to think of a name for a new thread 😃

Wow, 32lb in 7 weeks! That’s fantastic. I’m just getting started and have 40lb to lose. I tried the Dukan diet but ended up worse than before. I’m so encouraged to hear about your loss.

Hi Frog – not yet. Will come UPS, probably next week. Hmm I’ll be away so they may need to re-deliver😱

Hi Janet – yippee, many, many years since I was this close to target. Booked b&b in York for Tuesday to Friday. Wonder if I’ll manage to find something new to wear? Even if not, lots of shops to explore 😃 And lots of places to get my black coffee 😃

Yes know what you mean about the name! I came across it by accident. I tried MFP and couldn’t get the weights of food to change so gave up. Fatsecret was the next app I came across and it seemed really flexible so I stuck with it.

I think you’re really brave upping your goal. I’m frightened to even think about my ultimate goal so really am just taking ‘baby’ steps. At least I’m tackling the problem at last! I would just love to stop taking Metformin. It’s the only medication I do take so it would be lovely to be ‘FREE’.

I do know Balsen, yummy, but my real weakness is McVities Dark Chocolate Digestives so I just don’t keep them in! When I have a ‘just have to have something’ moment I now have a Nairns Stem Ginger oat biscuit or two, and that does the trick. I have noticed that since I’ve stopped eating sweet stuff that the ginger tastes really strong so I enjoy the couple I have much more than I used to.

Well done for keeping the rest of the packet in the fridge! Just shows how far you’ve come along the ‘healthy eating’ road. I know some people just can’t have any temptation because it leads to a slippery slope, but for me I feel that life’s too short for complete deprivation! At the end of the day this is an eating plan for the rest of our lives so for me I have to be realistic and incorporate the odd higher carb food otherwise I think I would just flip and go back to my old ways.

I thought I’d better post as I haven’t for a while. My week has been a bit patchy. Generally OK but really poor yesterday. Eating a low fat blueberry muffin at 10am (as a treat) left me literally shaking two hours later and I succumbed to chocolate mid-afternoon. When will I learn?! Also not tracked this week which is pretty fatal for my dieting efforts.
Away for the Bank Holiday weekend and we’re planning a big walk today. Breakfast imminently at the hotel but if I stick to low carb, I think it should be OK.
Hope everybody else is doing OK

Bril Gavin delighted for you

Woo hoo nearly there 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

27/08/16

Week 7
Day 6

Diet starting weight: 18 stone 6 pound

Weight now: 16 stone (101.60kg)
BMI: 25.8

Morning Frog, we’ve noticed this, Mr Lucky and I. Despite sometimes the measurements (specifically hips and waist) being either the same, or in some cases an inch higher than last time, when we’ve studied the underwear pictures (cringe…) you can clearly see that things are lifting upwards and changing our shape. I totally get what you’re saying and can second that 🙂

Gavin, I’ve been up for about 45 minutes waiting for you to post because I wouldn’t have posted mine until tomorrow if you’d been disappointed today. HUGE well done on not only achieving your goal, but topping it by an extra pound too! Despite reading the book and seeing ‘case studies’ in there with huge weight losses, did you ever think that it would be you so soon into the plan? 6 weeks? Madness. Brilliant. Absolutely wonderful news to kick the thread off today 🙂 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I am going to add to it too!

I really don’t know what is going on with me this last couple of days. I am down another 0.7 kg today, making 2.7 kg over the last three mornings alone. I am more excited about this morning’s weigh in than I have any other, almost to the point of feeling quite emotional about it, because I really thought I was going to have to work for this one. Four days ago I was bemoaning the fact that I’d still need to lose another kilo to get me to pre-holiday weight, and yet now, I’ve already reached it and smashed it.

Week 12, Day 1. I am FOURTEEN stone 13 lbs. I am in my fourth stone bracket since starting in June. I am 4 lbs away from losing three stone. I’m not putting a time restraint on it because I’ve had weeks of yo-yoing and disappointment, but then I’ve lost 5lbs in the last three days, so it’s obviously not undoable either by this time next week. We’ll see. But still. 14 stone something I am now. Unbelievable…