Thanks Annadongela….it feels great.
I think Frog is definitely right about food intolerances etc.
I have very sensitive skin that over reacts to lots of things not only lotions & potions/antiperspirants , but bee stings, brushing against certain plants, offices with “nylony” type carpets, man made fibres ,nickel, elastic & elastane, latex and many things too numerous to mention. Along with that, eczema. It seemed to set off in early teenage years when I did my nurse training many years ago, I think by the horrendously strong scrub lotions .
I am always careful to maintain my skin to its optimum health by a variety of methods but find on some days it just used to become red and itchy for no apparent reason. Sometimes the size of the patches would increase and become really angry looking.
Since eating in the BSD way it has improved so much ! No flare ups. The patches are still visible but seem to be fading and flattening with time . The patches have become much less obvious and don’t cause me any irritation.
I don’t really know exactly why this should happen…could be a number of inter -related dietary things. No wheat? massive reduction of lactose? no foods with artificial chemicals in? but I am really pleased whatever it is.
I am delighted to have lost the weight and feel much better in myself…no longer “weary” all the time but to banish a lot of the horrid eczema problems is a really big bonus to me.
Kind regards
P

We travel a good bit in Australia. I suggest you stop at one of the big supermarkets and buy yourself a cheap coolbox (eski in aus lingo) or cool bag. Otherwise your purchases will very warm in the car. You can then stock up on allsorts of fruit and veg for lunch otherwise on the road outside of the major towns you will get a limited choice, sometimes the only choice is a meat pie. Another tip is stay in cabins in caravan parks and cater for yourselves, cheaper and more varied than pub grub. Cabins have good basic kitchens and are usually spotless and very comfortable.

OH has always been a shirt fanatic – wardrobe full of them – plus M&S chinos. XL shirts and 36/38 trousers

Now (started BSD 26th May) has happily fitted into 34waist jeans and invested in several pairs. Down to M in shirts and finding all his repertoire too large!

He is endeavouring to manage the large clothing reinvestment required!

As you say, Bill, good problem to have 🙂

Probably shouldn’t continuously discuss chocolate 🙂 but I find having just a third of one of those mousse bars at a time is plenty and hits the spot. That way it lasts ages! Not sure how this weekend is going to go as have 2 day trips planned and some friends in but I feel quite inspired at the moment. I’m wearing skirts I haven’t been able to fit for so long. I didn’t realise how big I had got. I think my family can see the difference but no-one outside of it has commented! Keep going everyone.

i am chuffed to bits and the sun is shining here too and its pay day !!!!!
so another week down so onto week three shopping arrived fridge pack full of yoghurt cottage cheese veg etc just deciding what to do today maybe a wander round the shops
trying not to run away with myself too much in case theres a plateau lurking round the corner but its a good day today and thats what i am going with enjoy everyone !
P.S i may go and browse some ridiculously expensive ingredients from the ridiculously exspensive food shop !!!!

Well done Lynn

I thought something exciting was going on as my I pad has been dinging more than usual this morning !! I am so thrilled for you as we are on the ‘ same path’ weight loss wise and totally understand your joy and happiness — well done you..

Thursday is my day for recording my weight lose and I have have crossed a mile stone this morning of 5 stone in week 24 and I think I have 1 stone 10 lbs to go.

The weather might not be sunny — but we are……

Well done happy Thursday to you…x

Patrice

I was so proud to be able to buy size 38 trousers before my holiday just to find that when I bought some jeans over there, I had to get a 36.
Ho hum, trials and tribulations, but of the right kind 🙂

Hi Igorasusual, Happylife, Epspecially and the rest of the BSD world,
Thank you for your good wishes and encouragement.

Can’t really go around telling people my BS is now normal 5.5% and my Metformin prescription reduced……even though I am thrilled!
Think I am still a bit embarrassed by the T2 diabetes diagnosis. It was a huge wake-up call.

This community allows people to communicate their highs and their lows with people who understand.
Thank you to the forum. It has certainly helped me loads…..yuk sounds a bit schmaltzy….sorry!

Hi Lynne
just stay at a weight you feel comfortable at.
They tell me I should be 10 stone something but I would be far too skinny. I think 12 stone is a reasonable target for me ATM so that’s where I’m headed and I’ll reassess things if and when I get there.

Two weeks starting…..now!! Enjoy every moment of your jeans window Frog! X

While reading the book I found the receipt for “Butternut Squash” which I am guessing is Pumpkin (I am from Australia) I am looking forward to a piece for steak for dinner and would love some mash with it and would love to sub Pumpkin for potato. Is this OK?
Day 4 and maybe I am starting to get over feeling like I am going to get the coach and have stopped dreaming of fresh baked bread with melted butter – or maybe not

Thanks
Jeff

Hey Lucia
brilliant to see you’re off the meds now, you have to be proud of yourself for the achievements you have made.
From a nervouse first time poster you have become one of the most inspirational posters on the forum, so, you like challenges, here’s one for you.
Before and after pictures please, put them on my image thread. In fact, anyone who has the courage to do it, just do it.
As I said, a pic is worth a thousand words so let’s show all the newbies what we have achieved.
How to do it
To post images on the forum, you need to go to photobucket.com and open a free account.
Then you can upload images to your album by drag and drop. Once loaded you can click on any image and, to the right, you will see a series of links to that image.
Copy the direct link and paste into a forum post to display the image

There, that’s my challenge for the day 😀

Captainlynne- don’t let your age have any effect on the weight you want to end up at. Why should it?

There is no rule – as you well know – about the weight you “should be” at any age, so long as you are healthy and feel well.

I’m sure your “health professional” meant well but how reliable are lots of “health professionals” who are still saying the BSD doesn’t work, stick to the carbs?

You should carry on until YOU are happy.

Spoken as one who has a 9stone target only 4 lbs away.

Good lord, a woman goes to sleep and she wakes up to find success everywhere (except Josie’s soup haha 😉 just kidding Josie)

Firstly, wow Trebor, what a fantastic weight loss – nearly two stone in under two weeks! I bet you’re thrilled to pieces and I bet your diabetic clinic have a shock when they see you next! Never mind phoning them in two weeks time, I’d ask for an appointment, and have someone take a photo of the ‘jaw drop’ moment!

And then my lovely Tokyo – *high fives Tokyo* – well done to you, I bet you’re really chuffed! And so close to your first goal now too, an incentive to push on and keep going in the same vein! I know what you mean, I am the same but with WW. Original points, Propoints, Core plan, Filling and Healthy, you name it been through them all since 1992, I’ve invested thousands in weekly fees, monthly memberships, cookbooks, scales, pedometers, chocolate bars… and I still end up heavier than when I started. Doomed to failure. Never tried Rosemary though. Hopefully never will now we have the BSD lol 😀 Keep yourself bouncy today, you’ve earned it! The little chocolates are lovely, aren’t they? I’ve only had two but knowing they’re there if I want something is good.

Josie, is that just mixed together or is it frozen (the PB and choc chip and yogurt). I’m a demon for PB and chocolate together.

And the sun has just started shining! It’s going to be a good day for us all 🙂 I can feel it in me waters! What a lovely positive vibe 🙂

Well done captainlynne
You have done so well to reach the milestone that starts with a 10.
I am loving being there…. in a place I’ve probably not been for around 30 years.

Happy dance all round…….we all now have the energy to do one!!!!!

Thanks John 😃

I think there are already people who have reached their target weights, but many have disappeared from the forum.

Old timers like me have had a substantial amount of weight to lose. Perhaps one advantage of that is the amount of time it takes to lose the weight means we get into the habit of eating healthily.

For me, currently 7 months into the journey, the changes I have made to what I eat and drink still amaze me. I still face challenges, but can usually find ways around them. I have to accept that this is the way I eat not only now but for the future. Not only for me and my health, but to prove to the sceptics that this not only works but is sustainable.

An interesting question about a thread. I’ve settled into a pattern of starting a new thread after each 8 weeks and the next one is after 32 weeks. Posting on here certainly helps me keep my focus 😃. I had thought about keeping to that pattern after I reach my target, but may start a ‘target’ thread too. I’ve a few weeks to think about it. Roughly another stone to lose. Was heading for 9.7 as that’s what medics had always said – but at 66 is that reasonable? And a healthcare professional a few days ago said that would be too low. Top of my ideal weight BMI is 9.11, but the alternative figure of weight for age is 10.3. Being stubborn (Who? Me?) I’d quite like my weight to start with a 9😳 So there’s some wriggle room there. I’ll just keep on going until I’m closer to those numbers before making the decision.

I tried and loved the low carb bircher this morning but I am not keen on walnuts. Anyone found any alternatives?

Hi Lucia
Have started back -reading some of your wonderful posts.
Like the thought of your long term-relationship with Broccoli this morning.
Were you on medication before the break up with your doctor?

String breaker – I know what you mean, whilst I think a lot of people have in their heads what to do with this complete lifestyle change after they reach target, it could possibly be more difficult to manage.

I intend to try the 5:2 with 50-75g of carbs each day and less calories/20g carbs on the 2 fast days. My brother (who travels a lot abroad for work) finds that not eating at all on the 2 is easiest to handle for him. The difference I will make to my version is continuing to keep low carb, and of course no refined.

But OH and I still discussing how to get the fat into the diet on a regular basis so we get the 5 day calories without lots of carbs or too much protein. Intensive menu explorations going on here.

May well be worthwhile another thread in the future!

Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations Captainlynne!!! 🙂 🙂

So well done, what a fabulous fabulous milestone!!

I am thrilled for you – and I should say that whilst you are an inspiration for those with lots to lose, you are also inspiring me for my last (of the 8 weeks) push to lose my final 4lbs to target. Shan’t give up.

Thank you and wishing you onwards and downwards. 🙂

Hahaha Frog. Now got a picture on my mind of your reluctant cat looking woefully at plate of mackerel she doesn’t fancy. Bit salty for her? Sometimes too salty for me. I break it into bits on my plate and eat beetroot with it – I like the combination. Have been known to add cubes of peeled cucumber as well , helps dilute the saltiness.

Hi Lucia

Thought it was another description of constipation, ;), but I see not!

My dear old dad came through his hip replacement op under spinal anaesthetic ok, took a while to stabilise but he made it. He has been very immobilised after arthritis where he broke it years ago. Hoping he will be comfortable soon and hopping about soon after that.

I negotiated through a difficult situation for work and got a good outcome for all.

I had a portion of superseeds which hit the spot, low carb but with cacao so they soothed my sweet tooth. Been v good and urges are lessening but all those decades of sugar munching are not going to get forgotten overnight for me. It was good to find a treat which didn’t leave me feeling rubbish.

Anyone heard of dormant bottom syndrome?
Daily mail today
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi,
I need to tell someone
But
I don’t wAnt a fuss, because it was all my fault, my own doing. I was to blame.

So…..
I am not on any meds now.
My doctor and I have now finished our little regular meetings on bad news.
No treatments.
No tests

There you have it.

I am embarrassed to say it has taken me months to repair a lifetime if damage. I am not proud of the damage I did to myself. I knew eating rubbish was wrong.
I knew to ease off at least.

I knew broccoli should be my best friend, but I had a secret affair with cadburys.

Oh Cadbury was strong, handsome, alluring, always there for me, loved me no matter what. He had a certain temperature, not too hot , not too cold, just right. He took me to the wrong side if the tracks. While he was sympathising, he was having his wicked way with my body. I don’t care, as long as I got my fix. I felt cheap but stayed with him because he felt SO good.

I am now building my relationship up with mr broccoli, nice guy, clean living, fit, healthy, slim waist, nice teeth, you know the kind of guy. A head turner but you feel he’s out of your league.
We are taking it one day at a time. He knows my track record, but hasn’t said anything.

I hope he’s there for me in all my tomorrows and not mr sleezy Cadbury.

Please don’t judge me too hard.

Yours ashamidly.

Love Lucia
Xxxxx

i made the superfood soup, kale broccoli and chicken, very filling too much garlic and no room in my freezer for the rest. no one in the office liked the smell of it. It tasted better than i expected

Saw a recipe somewhere for greek yogurt tablespoon peanut butter and chic chips one to try when i have lost more weight

morning 🙂

OK for summer mornings on work days, my favourite breakfast is definitely a shake. I’ve stopped using fage in it mostly but not always, and sometimes add ice sometimes not, sometimes a chunk of banana sometimes not, etc so it varies it up a bit.

In other news I forgot to report the other day… I have a bottle of agave, which I had seen used in many recipes. It’s a natural sweetner and less processed than the other sweet substitutes we use. I found it in Tesco the other day when I was stocking up on my herbal tea bags. 1tsp is 14 calories so it’s very useable and you don’t need much. I didn’t expect to find it in tesco! You can use it in baking or drinks etc, I had a tsp in my shake this morning.

I’m still liking my hair in the morning light, looking forwards to having it tidied up a bit tomorrow though, and perhaps at the weekend I will add a colourful wrap with a bead. I bought some from hobbycraft last week 🙂

Tonight I have the doctor and will discuss how I’m doing with my depression, perhaps even see if it’s time to come off the tablets. However I’m not worried if I need to stay on them for the moment either.

My food plan has ended so I’m not sure what is for dinner lol. Need to get sorted with a longer one. I was going to but was distracted at the time. Lunch is cauli and bean soup.

Tomorrow is my daughters last day at primary school! We are invited to her leavers assembly in the morning and then lunch at the school – my daughter asked me what I liked in sandwiches and I reminded her I don’t eat them anymore, she said she would ask them to get crackers. I’ve decided that for tomorrow I understand the effort that both the staff and kids are going to, to provide us with food! I will eat a little and probably only when my daughter is looking lol.

I’m excited and nostalgic but not sad to see her grow, it’s interesting to see who our children become.

Well I gotta go get my son sorted. Tomorrow is FRIDAY YAYAYAYAYAYAAAAAY

oooh. I might go and get loft flooring tomorrow…

Lynne,
What a wonderful day – I bet you’ll drift around in a warm glow all day.
Bravo.
Do you think that we’ll eventually need a thread for those who have reached their ultimate target?
From my experience that’s when the REAL difficulties start.
John

good morning everyone
well just done my weekly weigh in and a further 1.4 kg down or 3.0 lbs so in two weeks i have lost 3.6 kg or 7.9lbs staggered and so pleased i am 2.9 kg off my first goal !!!!!
for me i have set small goals so my first was to loose 6.5 kg .i suppose i thought to do it this way as i had tried so many
” diets ” and been so disappointed every time , i usually lost a bit the first week and then a slump or very slow after that!! what i dont know about rosemary conley low fat diets isnt worth knowing !! the books i have bought oh my god i could start a library!!!
as you can probably tell very excited today !!!!!
and i had chocolate last night too only one of your lidl bars lucky but none the less i enjoyed every mouthful!!!!

*Happy dance*

This morning my weight starts with a 10 😃. I can’t remember the last time I saw that figure in relation to my weight. Started at 16 stone, today it’s 10 st 13lb 😃. Another milestone on my journey!!!

Hi Mrey,
LSA is linseed sunflower & Almond mix its ground fine. Made popluar with the liver cleansing diet it is available health food shops , coles, woolworths etc here in Australia. Its nice on salads with yogurt etc.

Certainly have Cherrianne – lots of great tips. Have bought some gluten free bread for the odd bit of toast, mainly for my husband; he’s still kicking and screaming!

Thanks Sydneygirl. I’m so looking forward to sampling café life in Sydney. Thanks for the tip on the coffee. I normally take it black but I do like a latte.

What’s ground LSA? I like the water element.

Will do Linda X

Thanks Hashimoto. Greek yogurt is my favourite

Hi Trebor
congratulations – what fantastic results, you must be delighted
how weird that your diabetic clinic were so dismissive – that must have been really frustrating for you.

Thankfully my GP was amazed at the improvement in my blood results and very encouraging about the weight I’ve already lost – even if admittedly a bit incredulous about my overall target loss.

G’day and WELCOME BACK HASHIMOTO

I was searching and wondering , I must have missed the bit where you said you were going to the antipodes. I am not far away you could have popped over!
N

Hi, I started my 8weeks10 days ago, I have lost 26lbs, and fit into trousers that I had not worn for years. I have been type 2 since 1991, and gradually got worse over the years, blood sugars were continually over 14, they are now steady at 6 – 7. I have always had a very sweet tooth, but with this diet I have not missed sugary foods, one exception I still have sweetners in tea and coffee. I had a diabetic clinic the other day, had some difficulty convincing them of the diet, but eventually they said I could continue but to keep in touch and phone them in 4 weeks. I’m sure they will be amazed at my progress, and hopefully make others aware of the BSD.

that looks very informed Linda
I’ve been using Stevia (not loads probably max of about a teaspoon a week)
– it’s not on your list though – has it got hidden nasties that I ought to know about?

Hello Frog! Sounds fab! I’m not even sure that I would have relishes anymore as I find things like that so sweet now…. It’s great when you can recreate old faves in the BSD style isn’t it?!

Hi Janeycoughdrop
Agree about there having to be some treats left!
Some better options for sweeteners include:
Glucose (may be labelled as Corn Syrup, Dextrose or Glucose Syrup)
Lactose
Maltose
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrose
Rice Malt Syrup – I use this and bought it from Woolworths in Sydney.
All of these sweeteners contain no fructose which is the addictive and damaging half of sugar.
Good luck
Linda

I wore some trousers today that were too small preBSD. I tried them on about three weeks ago and they fitted, but a bit too snugly.
Today – very loose and flappy!

As a result of this I worked through trying some old jeans on this evening, and found a excellent designer pair that fit brilliantly, no idea how many years ago they last fitted, I don’t even remember them at all!
I clearly wore them when they were a bit too small, as both buttons are missing from the waist.
I’m going to wear them to death now to maximise the window!

thanks weescotty – I’ll look out for those.
I suppose that I shop in waitrose mostly, and the packs always seem to have at least eight fillets in – even sharing with the cat, that’s a lot to get through (and she is less keen on the ones with pepper on top)
I just looked online and the 200g packs at Aldi look a lot more sensible – there’s not one really close, but there’s one that I drive near occasionally when I visit friends.

good luck annadongela
whatever the food allergies, I’m sure you’ll find this eating plan easy to adapt – you may even find that your intolerences lessen after a few weeks of wholefood and no junky carbs.

Well that’s my hair dyed 🙂 woohoo turned out nice. Hot drink and bedtime for Izzy. Night all.

Welcome Annadongela! Take a brave pill and give the BSD a go – you’ll be amazed how quickly you start to look and feel better. Plumptious and I are at the end of the 8 weeks but it has been a revelation to the extent that both of us will make permanent changes to our lifestyles long term. The forums are here to support you as well as giving advice or making you laugh. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your input it has been really helpful. I cleared out all the cupboards today and went shopping to stock up on the things I think I am going to need. I’m really excited to start on this life-changing journey and hope I do as well as so many others on this site seem to have done. I’m looking forward to cooking again and have found so much inspiration on here already.

Thanks SunnyB

Glad you had a good holiday, and that you’re back on track 😃

It’s a lot easier on the BSD than any other ‘diet’ I’ve been on to either stick to it on holiday, or to get back on track afterwards. And any weight gained on holiday seems to disappear quickly to! 😃

Well done captainlynne! Little envious you managed to lose even whilst away, but it just goes to show what can be achieved, even when you are enjoying yourself. I’m back on the 800 again and have lost half of the weight I gained while way, so I’m back on track again I’m pleased to say.