I’m a hybrid too, Welsh Mum, English dad. Sais-land 😂👍🏽. I did a stint there but home is where the heart is. I go back to Manchester for gigs (concerts really, but I want to sound hip 😂) but there’s no way I could live in a big city again. I’ve never been to South Wales which is pretty shameful really.

Yeah I’m a Jack. Really speaking I’m a mixture of everything. Born in Scotland to a Scottish mother and Welsh father. Moved back to Swansea when I was 4. Grew up there so I consider myself 60% Welsh and 40% Scottish!

Moved to Sais-land when I was 19 and have been here for the last 20 years! So I’m a true Brit.

Not that I’m a Cymro, mind, I’m a Cymraes 😛

I find giving up the wine (and beer, and cognac, oooh and cider and gin and ….) the hardest too. I can be impeccable with my eating, but then every so often a bottle will disappear! Like last night for instance.

If you really do “need” to have the odd drink, then I believe the slimmest drink is vodka and slimline tonic. You should specifically buy grey goose vodka, because not only is it the nicest, but it has the least impurities of any other vodka.

Everything in moderation of course!

Are you another Cymro Timmy??? Ychafi??? That made me smile 😀 Great that the cookies worked eventually, just a shame all this trial and error is so costly! Did you see the ones Tokyo posted last night, the chocolate chickpea flour ones???? Holy pooballs they looked lovely, although they do say we eat with our eyes.

That’s absolutely fab news about all your clothes, between you and Tokyo, you’ve (almost) inspired me to go up to my bedroom and raid my wardrobe now they’ve all gone caravan hunting. The only problem is I have loads of ironing to do… What’s that? It can wait because I may be ironing clothes that don’t fit anymore and will only end up going to the charity shop? Oh, ok!

It does really work. It does. Not yet four weeks in and nearly 2 stone down. It’s the stuff of fairytales.

Well I tried the paleo cookies to the recipe. Ychafi! Salty much!!?? They went straight in the bin. I remade them with the tinniest pinch pf salt and they were lovely!

In other news, on my way home yesterday something possessed me to do up the top button of my shirt. Normally this would be quite restrictive, but to my delight there was room for a few fingers in there! Inspired I tried on a suit that I haven’t been able to wear for about a year. Would you believe it, not only do I fit in it, it’s too bloody big! Again inspired, I tried on the suit that I’ve never worn, and that just about fits too! It’s a little on the snug side, but only just, so I reckon I’ll be in that for sure by mid summer.

I also tried on the tux that I bought for honeymoon. It was too tight really, but I ACTUALLY MANAGED TO GET IN IT!

Well chuffed. This really works. I’m 0.5kg down today too.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

oh bless you and thank you SO much for your encouragement and praise
and for working out that percentage!!
it looks good doesn’t it

those demons will have to bite another day because today I am happy
and although I could still happily munch through lots of digestive biscuits – none are coming into my home!!!!

Hi everyone. Day eight (I feel like the big brother commentator). Hunger has gone. And so have the cravings. Went out for coffee yesterday and didn’t even consider eating the little biscuit on the side of my saucer. Only had 400 calories yesterday. Can’t quite believe it. I meant to eat in the evening but wasnt really hungry and then ran out of time.

I will ensure I up the calories today to ensure I get proper nutrition. I have had breakfast today which I don’t normally.

6 1/2 pounds gone. Hopefully never to return.

Dates???? No thanks lol. I’m not sure about Davina, she doesn’t seem too bad, just churns out DVDs every year or so, doesn’t she? I think I bought one from Poundland once, and I did ten minutes then sat watching the rest of it with a kebab and a bottle of wine 🙂 Not joking 🙂

Hi Ruth

Well done! Guess it’s just one day at a time. Funny how we would never think of eating 4 doughnuts but red wine slips down so much more easily without too much thought! Maybe that’s the secret … think a bit more!

Verano

What I do is take them, upload them to my pc and rename them, and the file extension 😉 So if someone were to find my pics on my computer it might say ‘Chickpea flour wrap 1.doc’ but really it’s ‘Underwear pic week 1.jpg’. Then delete from your phone (and cloud if it’s on there 😉 ) When you want to look at them, just rename the file back to .jpg 🙂 Sorted!

your braver than me taking underwear pic!! i have visions of taking them on my phone and pressing the wrong button and sending them to the whole universe !!!! can you imagine !!!
i think the weight loss you have achieved is amazing better than this bunch in lorraine !!! bikini plus one shes just feeding them dates !!!!!! omg now davina mcall is on now about weight should she join the paltrow cotton club?

Yay, keeptrying! Fabulous stuff, 2 and a half stone, and under 13 stone! What great results!

You need to tell that little inner demon which keeps comparing yourself to other people here to get on its bike and cycle off (insert suitable alternative words), as it is YOU doing this, and your body has its own agenda for reasons. You may not know what those reasons are, but trust it.

That little inner demon is also suggesting to you that you will fall off the wagon – well, what you know now is that if you fall off (and we all do) then you can GET RIGHT BACK ON AGAIN. There are no tests to say – oh, if you’ve fallen off, you’ve failed, leave the room. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall off, if you continue with the BSD you WILL lose the weight, and you WILL feel much better and get your life back.

I’ve just worked out that if you’ve lost nearly 2.5 stone, and are now under 13 stone, then you must have lost 17% of your starting body weight? WOW WOW WOW!!

What fantastic results!!!

Onwards and downwards – and CONGRATULATIONS! 🙂

I can feel it in my clothes, I don’t see it in the mirror yet, but hubby says so. I mean, it’s nearly 2 stone so I must look a bit different. I need to take underwear pics Saturday, I haven’t done so for two weeks. I’ll probably see it better putting the start and now ones side by side.

That is a brilliant inch loss, Tokyo, and 5 inches from your waist? That’s amazing. I’ve done nowhere near that yet, so it goes to show we’re all different and it shows in different ways 🙂

I haven’t done yet, no, my in laws are in my room until later. When they go out for the day (I’m not going today) I might just do that, take some time for me. I won’t have too many clothes that are going to be too big for me, because when I’m big, I don’t buy clothes only what I need and then it tends to be from charity shops. But the wardrobe I have in ready and waiting for me in smaller sizes… I am chomping at the bit to get into them! It’s pouring with rain here so once I have done my housework and bits I am going to get on the treadmill and make sure I reach my 10,000 steps today.

well today is 6 months since I began my weight loss campaign
did fd for 4 months and been doing bsd since may

am now under 13st 🙂 for first time in about 7 years
so have lost nearly 2 and a half stone

only what people here seem to achieve in a few weeks
but anyway
I am pleased to see a 12 on the scales !!!!

now hoping not to sabotage it as that seems to happen so often

woo hoo to you thats is bloody amazing !!!! you go girl !!! ( and hubby too)!
you must see a difference and feel it too
i have done the inches and in total i have lost 2/3inches of my bust ( seems to bee staying put for some reason here 5 inches of my waist and 2/3 of my hips but i am always going to have a booty !!! always have !!!
its the clothes were i see a difference i have decieded when i reach my first goal and clothes that are a big size are going i am going to be brutal !!!!!
have you done your cinderella bit yet ( trying stuff on etc!!) ?
and i agree about the walking think it made a difference for me this week !

Save me a cookie too. I’m going to have a crack at the pastry this afternoon, I’ve bought some lean minced beef and the plan is to make a minced beef and onion (and extra veggies in) pie. Just a crust on top of it though.

My lemon and blueberry scones were out of this world too. It’s a good job I froze the rest of the batch because hubby was hankering after another. Less milk next time though and they might look more like scones than extra thick cookies 🙂

Josie, just realised I missed your post last night – preserved lemons? Why on earth did you buy those??

Hi Verano

Giving up wine is horrible – 9 days so far – but I will take that doughnut idea on board which may make it less difficult.
Good luck to us all!

ruth

Yayyyyyy Tokyo, well done! That’s a fab weight loss for someone with so little to lose (I mean no offence there) and from what I hear you say it’s coming off more in inches, with all these clothes you’re getting in to! Have you done your measurements today???

I have news to report too… Remember I said I needed a pound to get into the 15 stones? Well, I got that today. And an extra pound to boot! Today I bounded out of the bathroom weighing 15 stone 12 lbs, so today, I scratch not one, but TWO goals off my list 😀 – get in the fifteens AND lose 10% of my body weight 😀

My next two goals now are – another 3lb will give me my 2 stone lost and 4lbs will put my BMI under 40.

Hubby has also lost 2lbs this morning, he’s lost a respectable 17lb too in the same amount of time. I attribute this to all the walking we’ve done this week, it just goes to show it does help to get the weightloss shifting.

So Thelma and Brenda are happy today 🙂

Oh
Usual yoghurt and a bit of banana,not a whole one

Ham salad

Pork steak, cauliflower cheese

And a mint imperial

And a funny Pepsi, in a black bottle, zero everything. No cals no carbs no sugar, so it’s probably just water and a chemical. I got fed up of water…💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧

Love luica
Xxxx

String breaker,
You can’t beat me on laughter.
If I sent you a video of me attempting yoga you wouldn’t be able to breathe with so much laughter!

But I can touch my toes,
I can clap my hands behind me.

Two very important things,,,,, when I work out their uses I will let you know 😀😬😀😬😬😀😬😀😬😀😬😀
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Love Lucia
Xxxx

90 minutes exercise?
Great, you are in credit so you are making yourself turn the clock back.
Positive thoughts 😀⏳⌛️⏱⏲⏰🕰
I try a little in the morning but don’t have much time.
Do my 10,000 at lunchtime in an hour.
Then do a bit whilst watching the telly or singing along with the wireless.

Does anyone remember leg warmers?

I just feel energetic wearing them
( they really are two sleeves cut off a sweater😀👍🏻)

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi gang,
I agree with Switzerland, we are now all busy doing summery things.
But
We are not sad for you, Switzerland, you live in the most beautiful place on the planet!
The coastline, the outback , the mountains, the cities, and you have koalas.

I had the temperament of a koala, now I hope it’s a kangaroo! Hoping about.

Yes, we have got some great sport on the telly at the moment…. Like buses… Nothing for weeks then a pack of them turn up at once.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Had 2 days on the shakes (I hate those things, why are they so sweet?) to get me ready, lost a couple of pounds already and now ready to start the food! Looking forward to all the benefits I’ve been reading about and feeling motivated!

Morning Happy and all 🙂 It’s ok to be busy so long as you are staying Happy!

As for coming to do floors I’m very much an amateur, fine for lofts and shelves lol but I’m really very pleased with how it has all gone 🙂 Last night I arranged all my things up there and it looks fab, very rustic with no walls and carpets of course but it just ‘feels’ right and great. It rained last night and I loved sitting there in my chair and listening to it battering off the roof, I love listening to rain. I can’t wait to get my better ladder now but finances dictate I must.

My daughter was saying she isn’t liking her rug in her room anymore so I might bring it up and use it, it will soften the floor a bit and quieten my chair as it wheels across the space. I’m calling it my ‘Den of Dreams’

Breakfast today was fage and strawberries, lunch will be crackers and cheese, dinner will be chicken something or other. My son just presented me with a single pistachio kernel so I’ve eaten that as well. I’m going to be a rebel and NOT count it. It’s awesome that he will sit eating a bowl of strawberries and mixed nuts though- my son eats all sorts of good stuff. We still give them bread/pasta/potato but have stopped buying cereal. Still get cereal bars but I’m planning on making my own once I lose all my weight.

Well I gotta go get him ready for childminders, and get to work, but it is Thursday and just incase anyone forgets I don’t work on Fridays so everything is awesome!

Have a nice day 🙂

good morning !!
well had my weekly weigh in , third week weigh in and another 0.7kg down or 1.5 pounds!! i know its not a lot but its steady i guess and just 2kg to my first goal ! so i am pleased and i will keep plodding on slow and steady !!
my actual final goal is 7 kg away and when i started this it was 11 kg away so i have to be pleased . although i would like it to be more but in the grand scheme of things i hadnt a lot of weight to shift as i am never going to be a sixe 8 a nice comfortable healthy 12/14 would suit me just fine thank you very much !! you can keep your size 0 kate moss !!!!!
anyway up and at em early again as for accupuncture for hot flushes later !!!! its all very zen like !!!
and my online shopping coming in a bit !!!!! see what bsd goodies i have got then this afternoon i am making the cookies !!!!!!!

Hi Indy

Thanks for the reminder. I’d forgotten that sentence!!! Wouldn’t dream of eating 4 doughnuts!!!
Think it will just come down to a little willpower really.

I’ll just keep thinking this isn’t wine it’s ‘doughnuts, doughnuts’ !

Hi Seadog

Yes I use Fatsecret as my diet diary. I couldn’t get to grips with Myfitnesspal that most people seem to use. My problem isn’t starchy vegetables it’s fruit! Every morning I have berries, walnuts and yogurt, was low fat but now use full fat Total. I hadn’t realised how many carbs there are in strawberries etc. I used to have an apple as well but think that will be a treat from now on!

Yes not sure that fizzy water and lemon will do it but certainly worth a try!

Hi Treanna and welcome!

There are a number of apps you can use – I use MyFitnessPal, which is free.

You can put your food on this (as well as water and exercise) to keep you on track.

It also shows nutrients from food – carbs, protein and fat, which is helpful.
If you can keep your carbs under 50g per day, that is really helpful to the BSD as well as all of the other principles.

Good luck! 🙂

Just remember it’s not your self control that’s an issue – your body is addicted to the sugar and your hormones drive you to it to respond to your body’s demands.

The refined carbohydrates create the blood sugar spike and then when you ‘fall’ away from it, it cries out for more.

one of the things Michael recommends is not to have the sugar temptations around – is it possible to clear them out from your house and not even have them available?

You will be able to do it in the end – always support here 🙂

Hi everyone,

Wow, it’s just so obvious that you’re all in Summer and (ahem – clears throat) I’m stuck in Winter.
Bissell – I have another Welsh word – cariad – very nice. I’m afraid my dream team (Wales) will not be in the final of Euro 2016 (weeps openly).
John – You’re off to the cricket. I’m soooooo jealous. Cricket is so much better when you’re there in person watching it. I hope you have a good day.
Lucia – I’ve been exercising, mainly walking and I regularly have a smile on my face when I think of things mentioned on this thread.eg. if I walk for 90 minutes does that make me 90 years old? (or maybe only makes me feel 90 years old!)
Hels – The Hampton Court Flower Show. Honestly, you’re killing me. It must have been beautiful.

I’ll just slink off and dream of warmer climates….maybe watch some of your tennis on the tele… at least I can eat strawberries and cream and not feel guilty about it!

Have a great day everyone.

Thank you for this SunnyB. Apologies for tardy reply – I was giving it a try. I am having real problems with the sugar thing and every effort to overcome it seems to have resulted in a binge on the stuff. The rewards never seem better than the sugar, even reminding myself of the harm its doing. Time to re-read the book and try again I guess. I am frustrated that my self control is so weak but grateful thanks to everyone who offered advice.

Hi all.
Started on Monday with this lifestyle.
Lost a lot of weight over the last few years but it is starting to creep back up.
Most of it is stress related but hoping this eating plan will help with that anyway.
Also can we do a tracker on this site or is there one that I can use.
Many thanks

Welcome to all the newbies and great first couple of days loss shopgirl! Even water weight loss is great as it takes pressure off our joints and makes our hearts not work as hard for sure!

Wishing you all the best!

Glad you are feeling better Christine and thank you all for the info re antiinflammatories as as I didn’t know they hurt our stomachs. I haven’t taken any for a while but it’s great information to know for sure!

Hi Izzy and anyone else reading my posts!
I have been so busy I haven’t had time to post anything for a couple of days but I have a lot of good and weird updates!
Besides getting off both of my blood pressure medicine my doctor called me yesterday to tell me that they have to lower my thyroid medicine because my blood test shows I’m taking too much of it now! This is a really good thing because I’ve been on thyroid medicine for 25 years and they lowered it a little bit last year and now they have to lower it again! I am excited about getting rid of and reducing on my medications because this is the last one that I’m on so it’s pretty darn exciting!
As for weight loss I went up 4 to 5 pounds because I got off my butt pressure medicine, which is great, but that means my body is retaining more water now. I’m not really worried about it because the last two days I’ve gone down a half a pound each day so I know I’m still losing weight even though I went up in water weight from not taking the pills anymore.
I have stayed on my food plan and been exactly on target each day so I am hopeful that you know things will show up better quickly on the scale or on my measurements on Friday.
I went out to lunch with a friend the other day who hadn’t seen me for a month and he was shocked how great I looked, and then I went out to lunch yesterday with a client who said she can’t believe the changes in my face and body! It’s nice when other people notice we haven’t seen you for a while.
I look at my schedule today and realized I don’t really have one day off until the end of the month as I have clients seven days a week until then. I have now crossed out five days at the end so I have days off!! Yeah!!
In August we go to a wedding for four days and in September we go away for me to work and have fun for two weeks so I have those to look forward to as well.
Hope you all are doing great and I wish you the best always!
💜💖💙

Hi Izzy,

Sorry I’ve been off post a couple of days but I’ve just been so busy! I have been reading your posts as I get them in emails.
I need to hire you to come here and do our floors!! Wow! You are so quick in getting everything done and doing it yourself! I am amazed and impressed!
Re your food – so happy to hear you can ignore the potato wedges and the bacon roll! You have really gotten the hang of this for sure!!
I have 6 hours of clients today but ran to the pool for 1/2 hour and did a bunch of excercises in the middle of my schedule thank goodness. It’s our only sunny and warm day this week so I wanted to take a little advance age of it.

Hugs to all!
💜🌷

Verano – YES on the red wine. The sentence in the book that says something about 5 glasses of wine a week is like 4 doughnuts really stuck with me.

I love wine with dinner and almost every social event I attend involves wine. I’ve only made it through this first week because my best friend is on vacation. When I told her I was planning on giving up all alcohol for 8 weeks I think she was considering ending our friendship!

But after a week with nothing – probably the longest I’ve gone since my last pregnancy (which was 10 years ago) – I find the cravings are mostly gone.

Hang in there – it gets better!

me too; week one and day four. First day was tough as I was hungry and feeling shaky. Upped the water intake and snacked on nuts and now I feel great. Not sure how much I’ve lost (need to buy some new scales) but I can definitely feel it BUT the biggest thing is that I have more energy, am more alert and my mood is much more upbeat and optimistic. This is good!!!!!

Hi Seadog and SunnyB,

Thank you for the warm welcome! So here it goes: Day 2 and down 1.2 kilos! I realise most of it is fluid but hey it sure boosts my confidence. I’d better get that tape measure out as well :). Didn’t find the first day difficult, made some steamed salmon with cauliflower rice (from the book) and veggies for dinner. My teenage son who looked very sceptical at first loved the “rice”.

Have a great day everyone!

Thank you Bubblesdevere for the warm welcome! I have got a physio who specialises in lymphedema who I see on a regular basis and she has helped a lot.

Day 2 and down 1.2 kilos! I realise most of it is fluid but hey it sure boosts my confidence in the program. I’d better get that tape measure out as well :).

Have a great day everyone!

Hi Sunshine girl,
I think it’s important to know if you are type 1 on insulin or type 2 on insulin or oral medication.
If you have taken a long acting insulin you will need some glucose (sugar )To get your blood sugar up as the insulin will continue to drop your blood sugar. I would have some juice and a complex carb as well and keep testing blood sugar to endure it is coming up.
If you have taken oral hypoglycaemic medication you could try bringing your dinner forward and eating some complex carbs and maybe a mandarin or an apple for dessert but keep testing your blood sugars to ensure its coming up. Ensure you have protein and fat in your meal.
If you haven’t taken any medication or you are not diabetic or don’t have any other medical condition affecting your blood sugarsit is unlikely you blood sugar will continue to drop but you could have a piece of cheese or some nuts and try bringing meal forward if possible.
If you take insulin or oral hypoglycaemic medication you probably need to reduce the dose to prevent this being a daily occurrence as your medication needs are likely to be dropping on the BSD.
Hope this helps

Hi, Ive realised I really need to do this diet, I’m in terrible shape, but my massive stumbling block is that I cook all day every day for my business and I am really struggling with how to eat so little while cooking all the time. I also have no encouragement at home. Any advice on getting started under these circumstances is very welcome.

Hi, are you able to list what you have eaten ?, watch the root veg, it’s high on carbs. As for wine, yep I know what you’re saying, I love nothing better than a glass (or two) in the evening, but…I really need to lose weight and get healthy, so I’m willing to curtail that for a few months. As for alternatives ?, not sure try sparkling water with some lemon/lime juice, poor substitute I know !

Will do, it’s just that I’m up to 4 litres already ?. I’m sure it will steady off, mind you I did go for a long run earlier on in semi-warm weather,and sweated a fair bit !. How are you getting on ?

Hi, I’ve been following this plan for 6 days and am already seeing changes, both physically and psychologically. I have a clearer head and am just starting now to get more energy. Regarding the rest of the family Tual1978, I made a cottage pie tonight for dinner and had cauliflower mash for me, and normal mash for my wife and two girls. Now heres the thing, they all turned their noses up at it, but then tried it and decided they preferred mine !. It’s a case of leading by example isn’t it, I’m hoping that my kids will continue to make bertter food choices. I’m pushing hard on this, like insisting they have some spinach with their dinner, or they didn’t get dessert ?, that’s the way I was brought up, right or wrong not sure. It would be good to keep in touch with a fellow dad, let me know how you’re getting on, and please feel free to ask any questions. Best of luck !

Hi Nicky, welcome too !. The main reason for the plan is to reduce carbs, unfortunately, super grains as healthy as they are, are still carbs A small amount of quinoa is ok I believe, personally I am staying away from everything like that, even root veg, as I’m being a bit monastic in my approach at the moment…..

And I should have said, Seadog, that I think you can keep drinking water.

The only thing is – don’t eat too few calories because you’re full of water !

🙂

Thanks so much for the reply !, that is great advice regarding the measuring. I’m using something called a ‘fitbook’ which I fund on Amazon to log my food/exercise/water etc, there is also a weekly check in page where you can enter your measurements, so Ill start doing that.

oh yes i am going to try the double choc chick pea cookies and shall be writing a report hopefully tomorrow !!!
i am about to investigate the roast potatoe conundrum surely theres something to replace it then like you say we will be quids in !!!
the chicken and peppers with wrap were just as good as normal faijtas and the wrap held together amazingly !!!

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site although have been a Type 2 for the last 10 years. I am trying to make a few more changes to my lifestyle and looking to reduce my carb intake further.

I am confused about the whole “Super grain” category and was wondering if anyone can shed some light on these. Should I be eating more of them and can they replace carbs like potatoes, pasta and rice? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks