Like Bill I remember doing the same. Mum would hard boil eggs – she would add the outer onion skin (brown) to the water and it would colour the eggs. She also tried tying lace around the egg to get the pattern onto the egg, but I don’t think we ever got that to work! Easter day there would be an array of coloured hardboiled eggs to take out to roll down a hill.
The chocolate eggs (usually from the aunties) were rationed – a little on Easter day, the rest smashed into a tin and handed out over the coming month.
No eggs for me this weekend, but I have just take delivery of 4 hot cross buns – I love the spices! All four have gone straight into the freezer and I will have one at the start of the 5:2 and ration them one at a time for the coming month.

Gee Bill, sad that your wife believes she has it under control. Sometimes we trust medical experts too much – it is harder for them to move with the times when they have so many guidelines to follow 🙁

I’m with cherrieanne with regards to your celebratory meal last night. Great choices. Just shows we can have normal social events and still be OK on this diet with sensible choices 🙂

Hi Hawks, I put my chillies on a tray in the freezer then bag them once they are frozen – keeps me in chillies for the whole year. They are so easy to cut straight from the freezer too.
I used to dry them in my dehydrator but found freezing is a much better solution – and faster.

BTW I’m glad your asthma has calmed down in a more rural setting – perhaps like me urban pollution causes you more problems than pollen.

I’m like Orchid, I eat cucumbers like a banana! I used to hate even the smell of them until I was pregnant and them couldn’t get enough of them. Strange.
🙂

EEk, susieb, That carb bloating is awful isn’t it. Well, it should be a good reminder not to eat it again. I bet you will have some lovely food on the cruise, you could enjoy lots of delicious things but be mindful of the starchy carbs at the same time -then back to it for real after your cruise. Just think how much better you will look in your posh frock without the carb bloating and wretched carb ‘flu’.
Hope you have a lovely time and that the inch disappears this week – but on the bright side it is probably due to the temporary bloating 🙂

Hi Hawks, I eat cucumbers like an apple! A 2-3 inch chunk and munch on it, that uses up the excess in the summer. Having said that, I have a recipe for Chilled Cucumber Soup with Dill and Chives that will freeze well and I intend to try it this summer if the weather is good enough to provide a glut of cucumbers. There are similar recipes on the internet that you can try, the one I have does not use potatoes so and adds plain yoghurt at the end. If you freeze it daily amounts before you add yoghurt it will last a while!
I have also made a cucumber pickle a few years ago which was great, but I can’t find the recipe. It comes out as a clear liquid full of sliced cucumber, sliced onion, mustard seeds and cloves. There is a lot of sugar in the making of it, but the amount you take – 1-2 tsps. at a time may make is usable. The contents were, cider vinegar, cucumber, sugar, onion, salt, mustard seeds, turmeric and cloves. There are a number of other pickled cucumber recipes on the internet if you search.
good luck with the growing

You really are getting good results now Bill. I don’t think the flatbread would do any harm in that small amount, sounds like you had good food choices at that restaurant. 🙂

Bill did you see the email I sent you last night? Your thoughts? 🙂

Hi Judith and Bill,
We only ever used to get one chocolate egg each too. My grandmother always used to buy us a sugar egg too (maybe an Italian tradition?). It was pure white, decorated with piped coloured flowers and scrolls. Tooth breakingly hard as a rock but it looked beautiful. Every year I would vow to keep it and not eat it, but always gave in lol. No taste to it except sugar though.
No desire for chocolate at all now, not even the really dark one I used to enjoy 🙂

Cherrieanne sorry to hear about the bug – nothing worse than having young children being so sick. Glad it is all over for you 🙂

Hi Judith and Bill,
Yes I’ve had a few sleep disturbed nights this week. My six year old brought a tummy bug home from school! Very virulent, kids and teachers going home sick. Five changes of sheets the first night from her being sick, needing cool baths etc to bring her temp down. Quickly spread to me and hubby, and three of our other kids. Luckily the oldest was away at camp and didn’t come home till it was over. So she scored 6 out of seven for spreading germs around lol. All good now though 🙂

Hi Inka, if you have a supplier near you, no need to do without bread. Google Herman Brot bread. 2.3g carbs, 111 cals per slice and a big 11.7g protein. I’m assuming from your post you live in Aus. apologies if you don’t for getting your hopes up! 🙂

I started the Fast800 diet on 14th March after umming and ahhing because I have a looming cruise at the end of this month. But, encouraged by you lovely people on this forum, I decided to go for it to lose a few lbs before the holiday, planning to do the entire 8 weeks properly on my return.

The first week went well, I lost 5lbs and 1″ off my belly. Last weekend I had a few glasses of wine (my downfall) but still continued to lose. Then, it started on Sunday night with a slice of pizza….
The last few days I’ve been off the low-carb wagon, seemingly eating for the sake of it, even though it made me feel crap.

This morning I have woken with new determination (and bloating) with exactly 1 week to go before my holiday. Overall, I am still 3lbs down from where I started so I am thankful for that – but the inch went back on.

So, let me be a lesson to you in how NOT do do this diet! Ha ha!

Right, let’s see how many lbs I can lose this week – and hope to get that wretched inch back off my belly so my posh frock looks a little nicer.

Watch this space….!

Hi, I’m 4 days into the BSD and have lost 5 lbs already so feeling pretty good about that as I have set a target of 10% of body weight which will be a loss of 20lbs.
So I have just finished my Easter shopping (by walking 3 miles to Tesco), my fridge drawers and shelves are now completely full of vegetables and salads, in fact the fridge looks like something green has exploded. It has never been so full which seems contrary since I’m on a diet!

Hi Lucia, I use Miso as stock for home made soups, Most supermarkets keep it now. I get it on two forms, both in sachets. One is powder and you add water for a quick drink. The other is a paste – about 15g per sachet and I add that to soup instead of stock – so in a similar way to using an Oxo cube. When I use it in soup I do not add salt whilst cooking as the miso has slat already in it and I find 1 sachet to 1-1.5 L of water works for taste. I adjust seasoning at the end if needed.
Both types have a full analysis of the contents in carbs/protein/fats and cal, so easy to see what you are consuming. I will have a look at H&B when I am in town tomorrow as I like the idea of a jar (recyclable) as opposed to the plastic sachets!

Hi Lucia,
Yes you use the miso paste just as you thought. Try a teaspoon in a cup of boiling water and add more if you want it stronger. Some have bonito ( dried fish) added, others don’t. It usually comes in three strengths and various colours depending on the regional recipe.
You can drink it straight or do as Hashimoto suggests. I add finely sliced carrot, mushroom, snow peas, bean sprouts and fried tofu to mine. Very low cal, low carb meal.

To all Australians; Dr Michael Mosely will be interviewed on ABC radio, Monday night in Tony Delroy show.. He is currently in OZ promoting his latest book – the BSD we are all following…. Just thought you might like to listen in. If you are not in OZ right now, I Think you can still find the ABC in digital radio world too.

It’s funny Bill I was just remembering the same thing – I used to love the egg rolling, I think it is a particularly Northern thing. We only got one chocolate egg each – if we were lucky!
All that fun we used to have boiling eggs with onion skins to turn the shells yellow – or raiding the baking cupboard for the cochineal! The painting and glueing etc
Apart from being much healthier it was so much more fun than just being given a chocolate egg.

Perhaps our younger BSDers might enjoy that as an easter activity this weekend. The kids would love it. 🙂

Good morning Lostgirl, don’t worry about that ‘weight’ it will be retained water, you might find you have a bigger weight loss tomorrow as it disappears.
Indian food – what about a chicken korma, it’s milder than most and it has dairy fat in it. Just avoid the rice and the breads, eat it slowly and savour it. There may be a spinach side you can have to compensate for no rice and bread.

At home throw the bread in the bin is the best advice I can give …if it is there in these early days it will tempt you. If you are having breakfast out go for the cooked English breakfast but move any toast away from you. Ask the others to keep it away from you. Stress on them how important this diet is to you, it’s about your life and health. I’m sure they will support you. At home try an omelette instead, you can even have some salad on the plate with the omelette or what about a bowl of thick creamy full fat yoghurt with some seeds and berries on it.

You can eat out and enjoy some food while staying with the principles of the diet – just keep of those starchy carbs!!!!

Have a lovely weekend Lostgirl x

When we were kids we spent the time before Easter decorating gard boiled egs which were used fof the hunts and for rolling down hills.
Chocolate eggs (we only had a couple each) were given to us after lunch but taken away and doled out gradually in small portions.
Not a bad way to work it looking back.

Half doses for me again yesterday Leeanne.
Went to our favourite Turkish restaurant last night for the annual 3 birthday meal, ( me and 2 daughters within 10 days)
Had humus for starter and I broke the rules with 2 small fingers of flatbread to scoop the humus, the a seafood gouvache for main.
FSB this morning was 6.8. I’m beginning to wonder just how much good these drugs actually do.

Hi Reindeen, have a lovely weekend and take a paracetamol as well as plenty of water so you can enjoy todays good weather 🙂

Hi folks
As hashimoto says, stick with it.
Loads of people have had plateaus, and yes as early as week 3 and they al came out the other side. One in particular lost nothing for over a week then had an overnight 6 pound loss.
Bad idea to weigh yourself on a different set of scales than your usual ones.
Couple of years ago I had been weighed on the chemists scales that I used all the time.
Next day I was having a diabetes review at the docs and when I got on the scales they showed me a whole stone heavier than the day before.
I objected loudly and the doc fetched the scales from the surgery next door. The stone vanished.
Moral ? All scales are not equal.
It’s very easy to lose weight without losing inches too as the fat drains from your internal organs and body parts that you wouldn’t usually measure.
Keep the faith, you will get there.

Hi Lucia, sorry that I can’t help with the miso in a jar but I bought 2 boxes of miso soup sachets in tesco, one yellow one red, not sure there is too much difference in the taste. We have tried both with baby sweet corn and pakchoi, I didn’t find it too salty but hubby found it a bit strange, at only 70 calories including the veg it was fine to stave off any hunger or as a quick fix if time is limited. Like you used to love oxo in a cup and calories but have you tried bovril in a jar?

Love your diversion tactic of a dust hunt instead of Easter egg hunt, will be following your lead as the sun streaming through the window is putting me to shame! Might then have a walk along the beach and blow my inner cobwebs away.🌪

Well, it might rain tomorrow so I am making full use of the doors and windows being flung wide open, a bit of housework followed by a bit of work in the garden. Loving it!! 🙂

Hi Lucia, I’m pleased to report that the sun is shining through my windows too. So far the third lot of washing has gone into the machine, the rest is happily, slowly flapping on the line.
Re miso, you can buy a box of little sachets in supermarkets, possibly cheaper then good old H and B!! It also has the advantage of knowing exactly how many calories you are having! All you do is tip the sachet in a mug and pour on boiling water. Simples! I can’t stand oxo cubes so all I can say is to me it tastes a million times better!!! I really don’t like salty food so I think you will be fine with the miso. The ones in sachets have tiny bits of Japanese style veg in it. The brand I get is called Clear Spring if that helps. I sometimes add bean sprouts to mine or little cubes of soya. Lucia, the dust!! How does it happen? I’m off to clean windows in a minute.

Oh and waking up at work times during holiday? I’ve been retired for over a year and I still do it!!! But I love not missing mornings like this – or as John Wayne once said ‘you’re burning daylight’ _ I wouldn’t want to do that lol

So Lucia, have a lovely weekend x

Hi, Mishmonkey,

I still use MFP even though it gives me a telling off for not consuming enough calories. I find it useful for tracking the carbs, fat and protein – and also for looking back on previous days to see what days menu works best for me.

Hi spirit,
Hey, did you have to tell me rain tomorrow?
Yes I will be out there soon.
Will have a wander in the fresh air. I have been doing it a lot recently.

Yes, I do feel different. I am trying not to weigh every day and live by my weight number, I am trying to enjoy the right foods, enjoy moving about and enjoy just ‘being’.

Okay, sod the dusting, I am just getting my shoes on, speak later.
Love Lucia
Xxxxx

Hi Inka, as the others have said, stick with it you WILL see the changes, you have to on this diet. Have a lovely weekend 🙂

Oh as well….

I was fascinated going into Holland and Barrett.
I nipped in when no one was on the door, keeping me out. The shop assistant yelled from the till, right across the empty shop to me, “are you all right there?” Now this expression confuses me every time I hear it.
I don’t like someone yelling at me, and yes do I look ‘not okay’? I would prefer, “may I help you?”
Now you have all started me off….
I hate going into restaurants or cafes with my hubby. “can I help you guys?”
I always say ” no, I am a girl, I am wearing a skirt”.

Anyway, getting back to hand b…..
The different types of vitamins and other tablets
The different types of nuts and seeds
The cereals, oats etc
Fruits like prunes etc
The huge tubs of diet whey ( you will have to explain that one to me)
Crackers oat biscuits.
Then there was bread without gluton, without flour, without yeast, without salt, without water, so surely it’s not bread then? This was far to technical for me yet.

It’s a great shop, but I will have to read up and ask you all for explanations before I buy from there.

So my first one is miso soup … See previous blog.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Newlife and Sharon, please don’t get stressed about the chocolatey weekend. If you do stumble and eat some then you will pick yourselves up, dust yourselves down and start all over again!

Newlife, whatever happens don’t stop posting!!! We are all here to support you. This is so much easier for those of us who have been on this diet for several weeks because you genuinely lose the desire to eat any of the brown crap!!! And I used to love the stuff!!

Can you both ask people to support you by not offering you any? If they do could you just sniff the chocolate and then ignore it? I know that sounds strange but smell and taste are strongly linked.

Hoping you both have a lovely weekend 🙂

Morning Lucia and happy Easter!

Never made miso soup so can’t help with that. Well done though on this ‘diet’ you are doing really well.

And sod the dust/housework, today it’s sunny and made to enjoy the good outdoors. Tomorrow it will rain!

Hi everyone,
As it is a bank holiday, I am off work. Instead of waking up at 5:30am I woke up at…. 5:30am. So I read the blogs on the website.
The sun is streaming through the windows, it truly is a spring Easter morning…… Boy can I see the dust on the telly , hang on…….. That’s better…… Oh the mirror over the fire…… Oh, the clock,,…….. Oh the coffee table………
Sorry, got carried away by the dust.
Yes, this diet, Ha!! That’s no diet, it’s great. It is wonderful. I am now addicted to Fage yoghurt, full fat. It’s so thick you could grout the bathroom tiles with it 😄😄😄😄😄
I bought it in morrisons.

I have a question for you all.
I went into Holland and Barrett and saw miso soup paste in a glass jar.
Do I use it like an oxo cube?
Eg a teaspoon full in boiling water, with say a little ham And pak choi? (hark me, I sound so with it, don’t I?)
I want something simple for clear, tasty soup.
Is it really salty like oxo cubes?
I used to enjoy an oxo in a mug of hot water a long time ago, but it’s lost it’s beefiness and is very salty now.

See, I need you all to help me.
Love Lucia
Xxxxx

Really well done Reideen, like you feeling great this morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and feeling wide awake which is a new feeling, happy Easter to all as well🐣

Thanks for your responses, Monkeyescapade and Julie18togo!
I use FitnessPal too and yes, I like it too. I will wait with rhe meaurements and will soldier on. Everyone’s success is sooo encouraging and it is good to know that others also encounter the same issue, worries and disappointments… But the main thing seems to be to keep going which has always been a problem in the past for me. I am beginning to get used to not eating the yummy crispy role or sourdough slice with butter on it :-0… I dont really have a sweet tooth, its the carbs, especially pasta and any shape and form of potato… I just love the starchy stuff….but I am learning to live withour it…. Keep your fingers crossed for me for Monday’ s weigh-in. Hope you all are doing well. Happy Easter everyone … Wishing you all the strengths to resist the easter eggs!!!! Will let you know how I went on Monday!

Happy Easter to all!!

Thank you for your lovely support messages on other parts of the forum.

Well Easter and family time. We are due to out for breakfast out then a meal out tonight at an Indian!!! Then Sunday it’s a roast day with one of my favourite puddings !!

Working out do I give myself a pass for these too days and not feel guilty as I know I will slip

I weigh myself every day and 2 pounds on overnight!! I’m gutted!! Really wanted the stone before Easter but now it seems impossible

Least no chocolate eggs this year!

Anyone got any recommendations for Indian food ??

Can’t take spice very well

As for breakfast I know my weakness is toast. I don’t have a lot but I know if it’s on the plate I can’t say nooooo

Any advice anyone??

BSD going fine so far a bit of a headache yesterday but drank loads of water and had a walk so it went. Feelling great this morning so looking forward to the day ahead. Hope you all have a wonderful Easter👒👒👗👗

I think that most preserves use either sugar or vinegar as the preserving agent. You can ferment some veg but I think cucumbers will be too watery for fermentation. Can you add them to a smoothie? Just sowed some seeds this week – lots of greens and my asparagus under cover is showing it’s head.

Hi there Inka and other friends – I can totally relate to your frustrations, felt a little down in the dumps myself this week as my waist inch loss got off to a flying start in the first week, 2 inches lost, the following week fluctuated down to 34 inches and now in my third week is back to 35 inches. I also came across scales at the gym in the hotel I am staying at earlier this week so took the plunge and weighed myself – first time since I set off travelling in January – I was so shocked and upset to see I weighed in at 66kg, the heaviest I have ever been – what was even more worrying was the fact that I have already been on the low carb diet for 3 weeks so goodness knows what I weighed three weeks ago. Anyway, thankfully am reigning it in now so it is hopefully, onwards and downwards! I am using myfitnesspal to record everything I eat/drink, am finding it a useful tool. I have also taken advise of many forum members in measuring/recording other body parts too like hips, chest, neck, arms. In various research I have done I’ve picked up is that one shouldnt measure waist (or other body parts) daily – advice is every few weeks or once a month – so I am going to leave it 3 weeks before I get my tape measure out as I find it too soul destroying to see my waist at a static 35″. I’ve pasted below the advice on measuring from myfitnesspal.
Onwards and downwards my friends.

To help track your progress, you should record your weight periodically. We suggest once a week because your weight fluctuates daily due to uncontrollable factors like water. Try to always weigh yourself at the same time of day – we suggest early in the morning before breakfast.

Taking your measurements can be an even better gauge of your progress because when you burn fat and build heavier muscle, your weight may not change or even increase even though your body is tighter and smaller. We suggest taking your measurements every 2-4 weeks.

Hi Newlife
I am worried about the weekend too, I don’t know how strong I am yet. Chocolate was my downfall I used to eat so much of the stuff. We are doing an Easter egg hunt with our 5 grandchildren and have lots of family over, it is going to be so hard for me to resist. If I do have any(I am hoping I don’t) it will be one day that I have a blib I will get right back on track,

Awake since 4am – worrying about the choc-fest. I’ve made such a good start and I really don’t want to spoil it. Danger time starts tomorrow so if you guys don’t hear from me you can assume I’ve fallen head-first into a vat of chocolate.

Inka- well done for what you have achieved so far. I would certainly stick with it as I didn’t see the results in my waistline initially. I certainly do now (11kg lost) but the extra fat first disappeared from my upper back, arms and thighs as well. It’s only 8 weeks (depending on your starting weight it might not even need this long?) and I feel and look so much better than before. I am one of those who has tried so many times to lose weight and this is without doubt the easiest way and safe too.

Hi Libby,
No need to do without bread, we live in the Lucky Country lol!! Google Herman Brot bread and find a supplier near you. It’s a bit pricy at around $6.50 a loaf, but at 111cals & 2.3g carbs you can indulge. It’s delicious and freezes well. Dark, moist, seeded real bread. Enjoy.

Thanks, Hashimoto.
Good advice. I’ll keep it in mind as things progress.
I hope your asthma stays controlled. Strangely, mine calmed down when I moved to a rural area surrounded by pollens and dust from trees and grasses. I wonder if the constant exposure helps. Fresh air can’t hurt.

Don’t worry if your ketostix aren’t showing the colour you would like. It can be for various reasons such as the time of day that you take the test (later in the day supposedly has better results). The important thing to remember about them, and why so many ketogenic diets tell you that their usefulness is very limited (but encouraging in the early stages) is that ketostix measure EXCESS ketones- if your body has used up all the ketones that it makes then there will be nothing to show up. Good luck and don’t worry- I know I’m one of those that only ever shows up very mild pink if at all 🙂

Hi All, this coming Monday, will be the end of week 3. So far I lost 4.8kg. Had a few social things going on this week, but tried to stick to the plan. When I weight in last week, i kind of felt lighter, and the scales confirmed this. I also measured my waist again, but there was no change…. How can that be? Am I loosing from elsewhere? I thought the waist would shrink first?… I am a bit worried sbout my weigh-in this Monday, because I dont have that skinner feeling this time… If a couple of glasses of red wine a one meal out, Chinese … and no, I didnt eat the rice and only picked out steamed vegies and the meat with my chopsticks, will make such a difference resulting in no weight-loss for my week 3, then I dont know if this will work for me…. I am at a stage where I have been so many times before: I go well for a couple of weeks, then the doubting Thomas syndrome gets me, I fall of the wagon, and start saying to myself: Why are you putting so much effort in when it does not work anymore… and then I get all frustrated and angry with myself and, yes you guessed right, go for the chocolate or anything I can find, all the bad stuff of course… Any idea how to overcome this if Monday’s weigh-in is no good? I know I should not be doubtfull before I stepped on the scales, but I am usually pretty right and understand what my body is telling me…. Could you hit a plateau in only eeek 3? Otherwise, I am fine… No headaches or cravings or hunger etc…. I want that skinnier feeling back …:-(

I am looking at my vegie garden, planted well before I started this diet, (corn on the cob is calling me -dunno what to do with all those on a low carb diet?) and wondering whether anyone can recommend recipes for a lower carb preserve for all my cucumbers that are ready at once. The stream of cucumber has been a go-to vegetable all summer, fantastic for quick, easy salads, but what to do with the last batch all ready at once? Most chutneys are high in sugar, and I don’t eat a lot of the purely vinegarish-pickle type of preserve. Are there pickles I can make with cucumbers that are more chutney-ish?
I also have a huge number of chilli I need to use, and last years sweet chilli sauce, while very tasty, is probably not the right thing to stock the cupboard with! I have made some green chilli paste, but that isn’t a longer term keeper, so recommendations welcome please.

Hi Leeanne,
Try reducing your morning dose first because you may find that your liver pumps out extra sugar during your overnight fast and your metformin should control that. If you can get your two hour post meal blood sugars under 7.8 consistently, then have a go at reducing the night dose.
Reduce the morning dose again and see
what happens.
Once your fasting level is stable under 7 you should be ok to drop the night time dose. Don’t worry if your levels rise again, see the thread on ‘rising fasting blood sugar levels’. It’s happened to many of us but it does pass.

Thanks, Nic, you really seem to have made the diet work for you and planned it with military precision!
It does show that there can be flexibility in this diet and it still works.

I’ve fallen off the wagon these last few days and I’m feeling really yukky. Eating for the sake of eating.
You’ve inspired me to get back on track! Thank you.

Cherrianne I think I shouldn’t have read this late at night, salivating! After Easter I’m heading off to buy kit and create a soup kitchen 😀

Cherrieanne it is so easy to get side tracked onto this subject. I was stuck in a traffic jam this afternoon and watched in horror as an obese mother with half a dozen obese children walked past each with a family sized bag of junk – and that included the toddler in a pushchair. I wanted to jump out of the car and preach, well grab the junk and bin it if I’m honest.

Well done bill, you’re really spreading the word. I love that your wife can show off your fridge of healthy food – perhaps we should all follow her lead!

I confess to being a supermarket trolly peeker too

It’s happened to me too – I’m guessing it’s the higher fat doses, something my body is not used to.