Hello Nettle

Who would have thought we would be re-designing ourselves in our 60s!

I had to look jeggings up! Not sure about them for me, but in a few months, who knows? It’s going to take while to change my mindset, something I hadn’t thought about until I started thinking about new styles of clothes. But change is good for us, so that’s OK.

You are off to a good start josie53, well done. Many posters have commented that it feels easier to do than they expected. It’s because the protein and fats keep you feeling full for longer than if you were eating carbs.

I started off following the plan and the recipes, but soon found that the calorie counts on most of the recipes weren’t accurate. Some of them were out by a huge margin. So I re-calculated every recipe I was using to be sure I knew how many calories I was eating each day. Some people however, have followed the recipes as printed, on the basis that even if the counts were wrong, they were still eating less than before, so should lose weight. It’s up to you really.

The book was designed as a plan for 8 weeks, but after a few more weeks on it I felt I needed more variety, so I started experimenting with different recipes, using the principles in the book. I also bought a couple of books on Mediterranean cookery to give me more ideas.

I am currently eating between 825 and 850 calories daily and losing between 2 and 4 pounds a week. I don’t miss the bready, biscuity carbs at all, although I am looking forward to being able to add a few more starchy vegetables to my meals when I reach my target weight. I’ve not decided what that will be – just keeping on keeping on for now!

b 2 poached eggs and a portobello mushroom some spinach

l salad and feta, olives and tomatoes

d grated courgette base pizza with sundried tomatoes, mushroom 1/4 avocado and some goats cheese

the pizza was ok very filling, i would like to think that my stomach has shrunk but am probably kidding myself

Hi To women of a certain age.
Hi Josie

I am fairly sure that over the years I have paid for Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig’s retirement funds.

I am 63 but after the success of these past few months I am feeling decades younger. Caramba we could hit the town together I bought some Jeggings, not just skin tight Jeggings but size 12 Jeggings as I like to remind the nearest and dearest. I had a moment of thinking can I leave the house in these….I had to to buy the boots to go with them! That leather jacket sounds like the business. 😃 When I bought new jeans on sale last week I bought a 14 for now and a 12 for….soon. They do up but would be standing only jeans and perhaps a canister of oxygen nearby just in case.

Dazzling, you too will find fun in fashion, the choices are great. What a great question for your son to ask.

Thanks as ever to the ongoing inspiration of our Captain Lynne.
N.

PS: I am 64 in September. I had a moment yesterday when I thought how cool it would be to weigh the same in kgs by then.
68kg is my BMI target, near is as good maybe. Not far to go for that then I can wait for age to catch up.

will join in i am 63, just in week 2 and would love to lose 4 stone, but about 8lbs so far, it seems somehow easier than i thought it would be, maybe its the shock of someone telling you that you are diabetic certainly worked for me. All those years at Slimming world and Weight Watchers eating jacket potato and pasta, done me no good at all.

Well done to you GonnaBeDazzling seems like you have got it sussed.

Did you follow the plan in the book exactly.

Hi Wendy
The blood sugars could swing as does our weight from day today. The body also needs adjustment to learn how to work again, the medications took on that role. I’d say early days yet and it gets easier, I can witness that, just starting week 16. Some people have more sensitivity to certain carbs. We are low carb on this plan however the good carbs exist in the diet. The weight loss for hubby must make him feel great. The more you lose the better you will feel, the chemicals in our brain change for the better. Rather than letting him get his hands on that towel, set him shorter goals…like see how we go for this week. How lucky he is to have you doing all the cooking and weighing and calculating. Well done you. Hang in there.
N.

Sorry auto spell completely changed word ,

Yes , !!!it’s a physiological problem isn’t it being so good , his diet has completely changed and he’s enjoying everything I prepare , he’s lost a stone and is feeling well in himself the only black cloud are these high readings , am I doing something wrong or is it a result of stopping all meds , if so will it settle and then start to decrease

HIDE THE TOWEL WENDY.
N.

Andy started the 8 week diet 3 weeks ago and stopped all his meds two weeks ago , his blood pressure is now perfect but despite his sugars dropping to 7 today they have risen to 11 and 12 , he’s really upset and I’m worried he’ll throw the towel in on the diet , which he’s been brilliant on

There is no carb target so long as you keep to the 800calories. But you will find that if you keep an eye on carbs and set yourself a target – under 50g is what many people do, but you could try under 30g – this may help you get on track quicker.

See what suits you.

Good luck!

Yes you can so long as you add them into your calories/carbs! 🙂

Please can someone tell me can I have the gram flour wraps as part of my 800 calories a day

Oh and if adding a new UK food just put the carbs plus fibre total in the carbs box and the fibre in the fibre box, the net carbs are worked out automatically.

In your profile there is a section at the bottom of the screen with all the nutrients in tabs, if you click on carbohydrates you can choose to make the net carbs visible in the column at the right hand side, you can also mess with your targets here if you want to make them more BSD friendly.

Sign up to a website like cron-o-meter, which is the one I use, for nutrition tracking or use a phone based app like myfitnesspal (I have this on my phone but find cron-o-meter easier to use.).

I do weight my food and keep a food diary. I try to get in 10,000 steps a day on my Fitbit. I am so happy I made the decision to do this. Hang in there and don’t give up! This board has a lot of support.

Thanks captainlynne & caramba

There seem to be a lot of us 60 – somethings people on here! It’s also good to know that this weight loss is possible at any age.

Onward & downward………

Starting the Fast 800 on Monday and trying to get my head in gear but am looking for guidance on carb counting. I understand food labels but what about other stuff like veg? Is there a list somewhere I can use? And is 50gms the max target? Would appreciate any help.

Thanks for the support, I’ve since had incremental losses of about 3lbs! Only 1.8lb off a stone on day 25 😀

I’m wearing a top I bought ages ago that I’ve never worn as I always felt too fat in it. I feel great in it today and as my nails have grown I’ve painted them almost the same colour as my top 🙂

So almost at the 2 week mark,

finding this whole thing suprisingly ok, not feeling too ravenous, and staying away from sweet things.

Had a quick look on the scales and im down to 103kg, so i have lost a stone and a half in 12 days!!

probably want to lose another 10-13 kg to be down to around 90, and then i will be really happy.

finding it so enjoyable that im not even needing to keep writing in my diary

JK

Thank you Izzy – one of the benefits of this is feeling so much better and also more in control!

Sydneygirl, I think well worth trying, good luck on your journey!

Salad can be dull. However, as has been said there are varieties. Pepper Rocket in the mix with some chilli bits for example. Get some really decent flavoured Olive Oil, top notch pepper and Red Sea Salt (Health Food shops usually have this). Add Cider Vinegar to your Oil, whack in some seeds, stuff in the crumbled Feta and mix it all around in a bowel. This is no longer a lettuce leaf I can assure you!
If you have a good lump of that mix with your Omlette or Fish (reacquaint yourself with the variety of white fish not breadcrumbed) that you can just cook in foil as mentioned above, (with some carefully chosen fish type dressing and some herbs) and some sliced tomatoes cooked in the same pack.
If you have been to Greece just cast your mind back to some of the stuffed things they serve up, Aubergines, ‘beef’ Tomatoes, peppers etc. Do not remember the Baclava!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Losing 2K already is fantastic. Go for it. Look forward to the new you.
Sincerely,
Rams (another recent starter and non fan of lettuce) 🙂

I forgot to say, I plan on spending a good chunk of time today in Hobbycraft. I feel a splurge on all things creative coming on! I want some stuff to paint – I’d like to do a box as a gift for my daughter. A few new canvasses, AND I want to pick up some lace/ribbon/trimming type stuff so I can move forwards with my clothes customising ideas :):)

excited? me? YESSSSS I am lol

Hi Igorasusual,

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post, I really appreciate your feedback on the BSD. And wow what an outcome, 17lbs in 7 weeks, well done you! That sounds fantastic, you must be delighted with that. I ran down the shops earlier to get the book, there was a 30 week wait on it in the library so I thought it would best to go get it myself, its certainly in demand in Australia.

Thanks for all those tips regarding the ketostix and the fitness pal link. I have the app so it will be useful to put in the right percentages to see where Im at.

I feel really encouraged to do BSD now. I would love it if my hubby would do it too as he would like to lose a couple of stone but doesn’t like many kinds of veg so he finds healthy eating hard to sustain.

Thanks again, and best of luck with the last 5lbs, sounds like you are determined to get there so as you say no reason why its not possible.

BSD here I come!

Good Morning my lovelies. Well I had my mid-week weigh in – down 1/2lb since Tuesday. At this stage I don’t really mind as long as over a month it keeps going down I will stay happy with it.

I’m about to have a breakfast shake yummy yum. Raspberry today I think.

I’ll be having lunch here today (probably crackers and cheese) and then heading out to pick up my friend, and drop my son off with my niece who is babysitting. Then friend and I are having an afternoon chilling, shopping, and chatting then having our dinner together before attending the theatre to see Footloose. We have these outings now and then she is an awesome friend. We’ve been friends for over 20 years and she has seen me through many highs and lows in my life, continuing to encourage me in everything I’ve ever tried to do. I am very very fortunate to have her.

The downside of days like this is that it would normally involve hot chocolate and cake stops! I will stick with tea instead of the ridiculous calorie counts of cafe hot chocolate. I can’t promise I won’t have a cake, but I can promise to say no to chips, pasta or rice when choosing my meal later. I also won’t be drinking alcohol. So all in all I may end up over calories and I may have a little extra cake but I feel like I can control this and keep it small. Tomorrow I will be back to 100%BSD., and I’m confident all will be well.

After last week allowing myself up to 2 days over 800 calories but in the end only using it one day. I have decided that I will stick to 800 mon-thurs generally, and allow extra calories friday-sunday when I feel like it, keeping within the right BSD foods. I know many weeks I won’t use 3 days so we will see how it goes.

Well done Igorasusual, you’ll say goodbye to those 5lb’s soon I expect 🙂

I forgot to do this yesterday.

I have some lovely new pans.

I don’t work on Fridays 🙂

I have an awesome niece.

http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com
This is the calculator I used to work out target percentages/grams of carbs, fat and protein on MyFitnessPal – there are others.

Good luck!

Hi GonnaBeDazzling
You sound as though you are already.
Fantastic achievement to have lost over 4 stones…..huge well done.
Week 20 for me and only 4lbs off being a so-called ‘healthy weight’!
I’m 63 and have lost about two and a half stone in my 20 weeks.
Love being a size 14 in clothes……not been this size for well over 20 years. It’s great to take ‘normal’ size clothes into the changing rooms and find they fit easily. So thrilled that I indulgently bought myself a leather rock-chick style jacket….. Totally wicked!!!!
Funny how doing something so self-indulgent feels so bad.
So go on…… be brave and enjoy wearing non-anonymous, non-baggy and non -bland clothing. (excuse grammar!!!!)

captainlynne……. keep on inspiring everyone:-)

To everyone over the 16-week line …..get ready to look fabulous 😉

Hello, I use cron o meter and find it whacks on the carbs which is alarming. How did you make the net carbs visible then add the fibre?

Wow, that’s wonderful. I’ve only lost 2K, encouraging. I don’t think I’m doing it properly, and possibly eating to much. better start weighing portions.

Thank you Mixnmatch, that is so useful. I think my mindset (at the moment) is that salad ie lettuce, takes hours to eat, is tasteless and am looking for food about an hour later. I will try adding different salad veg like baby spinach, watercress etc to jazz it up and see. I had to look up frittata, sort of baked egg with veg, sounds good. I haven’t tried stir fry yet, but sounds a quick veg option, not having a wok – I binned it – I can use a heavy cast iron frying pan I expect. I have managed to lose 2K so that’s encouraging. Not drinking enough water though, keep forgetting. Think I’ll give the buckwheat a miss as I don’t bake or make soup – yet.

Hi Sidneygirl

Well, here I am in week 7, 17lbs down and 5 to go. Feeling great about the BSD, confident about that last 5 lbs, and the key addition is to look carefully at the carbs within the plan

I got MyFitnessPal app, and also looked at ketosis sites (there’s one I used whose link I’ll post when not on iPhone) to set balance of targets for carbs, fat and protein. The key thing is to understand that you do need to eat plenty of good fat.

I keep my carbs to 20gm per day (many people here have good results under 50gm), and have bought some Ketostix which help me simply check if I am in ketosis and burning fat.

I found that I was losing inches but sometimes not weight, and the Ketostix told me that the fat was going from somewhere (round my organs, I think) so it was easy to relax. I’ve been told the fat goes from the most dangerous spots first and sadly the “belly wodge” is often last.

I’ve enjoyed the food thoroughly, stuck to some enjoyable standbys – eg baby spinach, courgettes – added in lots of chillis, and generally been aware of the nutritional contents.

I intend to see if I can get to the 9st target – can’t see why not – and then maintain a low carb diet (prob c 75gm per day) for life, obviously building up the calories.

BSD is simple and has led me to further research which is very illuminating.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Hi Igorasusual I saw your post and thought that we could be twins! I am the same height and similar weight and would like to get down to 9st 7 at least. I did the Dukan diet too 🙂

I am considering doing the blood sugar diet now as it seems a bit more relaxed than the Dr Hyman 10 day detox. I just finished it and lost 3.5 lbs only (down to 10 10 approx) when most it seems, from the book reviews, can lose more so I relate to feeling a bit disappointed when you really put the work in and see few results. Like you it takes a few weeks for me to see any change in my body.

I was just wondering how has it gone for you since, would you recommend the BSD? I like my wine and maltesers on the couch on Friday nights, and have indulged too much these last 6 months so hence my search for diet I can stick to and see results.

Cheers
Sydneygirl

Tell your husband to keep on the eating plan. I have been on it 6 1/2 weeks and my blood sugars are normal. I have kicked type 2 and he can do it too. I feel great. You guys are doing great.

Saw a double rainbow while driving home from the railway station – such an awesome sight.
The joy of listening to my son doing music practice (university level).
Looking at the fairy lights in the pear tree to help me through the winter nights.

Positives for today:

Walked to the polling station to vote in the sunshine (just over two miles round trip) for my highest number of steps since my Withings arrived. Celebrating with glass of wine. (Counted).

Having put on two pounds after a ‘weekend off’ and a curry and several beers, today’s weigh-in showed me back down to my lowest in recent history.

Ordered a birthday cake for my 50th party, with lots of completely frivolous decoration, and have the confidence that I will be able to have a small slice and not weaken and eat a load more.

Stir fries and simple frittatas are my best friends, at the moment. They enable you to get plenty of vegetables in the diet with the attendant spread of minerals and vitamins and perhaps more importantly get used to actually tasting them rather than smothering them in sauces or gravy ☺

Out of interest, what is it you loathe about salad? My OH calls it rabbit food and would probably rather not eat it but he doesn’t (quite) loathe it, even eats it reasonably happily when I put it in front of him. If you just find it tasteless there are many vegetables which can spice/pep up a salad, many of which I now absolutely love. Even a simple leaf salad can be made tasty with herbs and baby leaves of different sorts. Watercress, parsley and spinach are my particular favourites.

Buckwheat flakes make great porridge 😊 Quinoa can be used as a kind of rice substitute or in soups etc. Buckwheat itself I have no idea about but I did buy a packet during a brief flirtation with the ‘Sirt food’ diet so if I find out I’ll let you know… Perhaps it will be used in soups and stews as an alternative to pearl barley. I also have some buckwheat flour I think which is still looking for a suitable recipe. I may try making some ‘Corn-ish’ low carb pasties this weekend, and might include a small amount as although it is relatively high carb, it is ‘good’ carbs.

i hope not as thats what i had for my tea !!!!
have you lost any weight ? i was the same didnt want to step on the scales this morning !!!!

Hi keeptrying,

I understand your frustration. it can be hard to keep going when the results are slow to see.
Have you considered following the BSD Mediterranean diet? This would allow you more flexibility and choice with your foods with a higher calorie intake (as you mentioned that your weight loss stalls when your intake goes to low). If you are not diabetic the less restrictive diet might work better for you? Or the 5:2 diet if you can cope with the fasting days?
Not trying to influence you, just a reminder that there are other choices. You can take control over your eating in a way that works best for you.

Tomorrow is a new day – see how you feel then – keep trying🌻

I’m almost frightened to weigh as i don’t feel any different. I think that next week i will have to follow the plan in the book. Today i have had

b donut peach 3 heaped teaspoon of greek yogurt a dozen or so raw cashews and a tease of seeds

l salad tuna tomatoes

d courgette roasted veg and pesto and some feta

i think that there is a lot of carbs in the roast veg [peppers mushrooms aubergine]

UK packaging uses net carbs, so the fibre has already been deducted. The sugars is the proportion of the net carbs that are simple carbs, and the difference between the two is the amount of more complex carbs. It caused me problems when I first started logging my calories/carbs on CRON-O-METER, as that is obviously a US site, but I found out how to make the net carbs visible and just add the fibre to the carbs when adding a new food.

For the BSD I believe the limits people talk about are the net carbs.

Hi all
Still no carbs for me. I’m not diabetic and not strictly sticking to 800 calories. I’ve had no bread rice potatoes or pasta and I feel fantastic. I’ve eaten meat fish cheese yoghurt and a shed load of veg (cauliflower is my favourite) and a bit of fruit. Watermelon strawberries and satsumas. I’m also enjoying pulses. I am sleeping well I’ve loads of energy and I’ve lost that sluggish feeling I usually get by lunch. My husband is insulin dependent type 2 and has lost 7lb in one week and has cut his insulin and bms are normal. I’ve definitely lost weight around my tummy. (I can see my c section scar for first time in 19 years lol). We will keep going and let you know our results. Thanks.

Hi
had my weigh in this morning lost about 2.2 kg loss by sunday but on weigh in today put 0.2 kg back on i know not much but so disappointed wanted to have lost a bit more however decided to watch what i was eating write it down and do another week so in week two now keep thinking i wont get weighed till next thursday but bet i crack !!!! ha ha
how you doing ? we seem to be losing the same ! x

You’re not a failure because you want to persevere.
Keep trying keeptrying, although it must be hard.
stick it out the 8 weeks and decide what to do from there.
Perhaps just the low carb style would suit without any counting or fasting?

Hi

The next thread to this should have been ‘over the 24 week line’ but I was on holiday so started it a week early – ‘over the 23 week line’. The next one will be ‘over the 32 week line’.

Congratulations on your results so far.

I’ve just completed week 26 and have lost 68 pounds so far, but need to lose about another 20 – 23 pounds. Or that’s what the medics have always said! I’m a couple of years older than you.

Epspecially I’d love to share I made far too much! Hope your hunger pangs faded as well. I love soup I eat it all year round lol. It was a roasty toasty day here today and I still enjoyed my soup!

Sciencemonkey thanks for the info! Are you sure I won’t end up with food poisoning?!… I’ll trust you and try it over the weekend and then freeze it.

Weight does go up and down, I weigh most days but only officially count it on Tuesdays. Who cares if you make the original target you’ve still come a really long way and you can still get that target. What difference does it make if it takes an extra week or two? They say people who make ambitious targets tend to achieve more. Regardless of hitting the target people at least get closer.

I agree about the BMI. 9-10 years ago when I did lighterlife (which I now regret) I lost lots of weight and got down to BMI 25. Then my first husband died and I lost more weight without wanting to. Just another half a stone but it made me look too thin even though my BMI was still 24. I have a moderately physical job so I think I carry some muscle. When I was at BMI 25, just over 9st (I use old money too lol) I felt great, I liked how I looked and I was a UK size 8-10. I think most decent health professionals don’t use it in isolation anymore and take waist measurements into consideration as well. Certainly for me – I don’t want to be lighter than 9 st.

Well today has been a stressy day again, hold ups etc but that’s my week done now. I came across a lady I haven’t seen in a few years who I first met when we did lighterlife together all those years ago, although I have seen her more recently but still about 4 years ago! Anyway we were talking about weight etc as she has regained everything she lost and more and is now working on losing it again. We spoke about BSD and carbs etc. I don’t think she wants to give up all carbs but I think she understands that to at least have less will help her. It was nice to see her and catch up though, but time was limited.

I also have a confession… I DRANK A CAPRI SUN ORANGE JUICE!!!!! I know I know my bad! But it was so so hot and sticky here and the customer gave it to me and it was just so so cold and…. I just thought … OH yes. I want that, so I had it. I added it to my fitbit list, only 72 calories but 17.6g of carbs. It was worth it! Not for the taste although it was nice, and thankfully set off no sugar cravings, but it was just so coooooooool.

Anyway’s I’m having bacon, onion, pepper and cheese ommelette for dinner and my calories for the day are 806, with 51g of carbs, so I’m not going to lose sleep over the capri sun!

Wow Happy haven’t these 8 weeks gone flying by? and you did so well on your road trip too!

Congratulations on graduation, and better health and fitness, and general wonderfulness!