Hi Trishart,
I would suggest lots more water to flush the system out. Perhaps take some probiotics from health food shop, I’m no doctor but will increase the healthy bacteria which would help his gut. Good luck hope he keeps going. Best wishes

Hi Shrinkydnkyman!
Oh I wish!! No alcohol for us for a few weeks having seriously over indulged for several weeks recently but I shall keep that in mind for the future thank you!

Hi SunnyB,
Thank you some good ideas there, I appreciate you taking the time to respond, good luck with the diet hope it’s going well for you!

Hi Janet1973, thank you some good ideas there which I shall try! Hope your progressing well with the diet.

I am only on day 2 and had nausea and lightheadedness last night, swimmy head and mild nausea today… have been sneezing too so I think it may be a cold rather than withdrawal but also felt extremely tired. I just realised I haven’t had coffee since Friday morning, so probably a bit of coffee withdrawal as well!

An interesting thing happened today… I felt really twitchy and in need of food at about 11.30, so had some celery and carrot sticks with a tablespoon of light mayo (I will get full fat when this runs out). Then I made a huge salad, for lunch… and I can’t eat it! I’m actually full.

For someone who reached 22 stone last year and can eat 10,000 calories in a day… well slap me with a haddock. I would never have believed this.

Jandz. Sorry don’t know where the James came from

Wow… so impressed with those numbers and have also taken on board some food tips from the above. The no weight loss week 5 or 6 seems to be a common thing for many. But as you and others show it does get going again if you stick with it.

Hi James
Well done and good luck for this week keep up the good work.

Hi Lynne, just googled it – you can get games of Jacks from Amazon!! 🙂

Lynne, I thought of running something similar for parents but as you say food hygiene rules are so strict and there are tests to be passed. Now I am too tired/old/lacking in health/energy.
Why was a slow cooker ‘blackmail’ when the authorities have no difficulty handing out ‘certificates’ for courses? Isn’t that blackmail as well? 🙁 ?

I wish I could remember where I bought my jacks, it was only a few years ago. I’m wondering about it could possibly have been a garden centre or somewhere like Boyes? It wasn’t ToysRus because I haven’t been there in over 20 years.

We had cookery lessons at school – limited to girls only – but it was at senior school not primary. These days schools cannot exclude pupils on gender grounds so that is double the number of kids needing lessons using the same facilities and the pressure of all the other subjects. My son had 6 weeks of cookery lessons once a year at his school but that was not a problem as he had already learned to cook and bake at home.

Your mother sounds like my dad – he didn’t like food being ‘messed about’. He would eat a bowlful of tomatoes fresh from the greenhouse but he would not have tolerated them in a cooked dish!

Marbles is another favourite old fashioned pastime – I let my class devise their own rules indoors as they needed to make some kind of barrier come target – marbles all over the classroom floor would definitely be a health and safety issue!

Oh, Lynne, another one is knitting bobbins. Remember the ones we used to make from old cotton bobbins and four of dad’s nails? Well the bobbins are made of plastic now but I bought some knitting bobbins from Hobbycraft, they do require fine wool though or the long thread gets stuck inside.

Have you got a Junior Scrabble? My class loved that during wet dinner times.

Oh well, we can’t fix the world but you have two little ones who are going to love being with you and will be learning about healthy eating. I have never forgotten the time I stayed with my aunt and uncle (now in Australia) and they let my sister and I make ice-cream. In those days!! It was magical. When I reminded my uncle saying it was one of my best childhood memories he said he had been disappointed because it didn’t work. I only remember the fun of making it with him! Just goes to show! 🙂

Bill – hope the party was a great one!

Really interested to hear views on cookery at school. My first practical one was how to make a hot milk drink and toast – and no I’m not joking. My mum had me doing that at 5! My girls have just finished the compulsory home economic classes and loathed the lessons as the ingredients were substandard (they used stork in a totally tasteless crumble) but they agreed there were folk sorely in need of the knowledge.

This thread sems to have been somewhat derailed!

Wow that’s fantastic results you must be so pleased. That will be such a good encouragement to so many on here. I was feeling a bit down until I read your post it has spurred me on to keep going. I start week 5 today but haven’t loss anything this week, I was so disappointed and so nearly gave in to temptation. I had lost 16lb in the first 3 weeks. Your post has reinforced to me this way of eating does work so shall keep at it. Well done again.

Morning folks

Well week 2 is done and dusted, weighed myself this morning and another 3 lbs off 👍 Not bothering with the measurements this week, will leave that until next week.

Struggled a bit with lunches for work as went off the soup I’d made, think it’s due to having soup 3 weeks in a row, I normally alternate with sandwiches. So ended up with random bits like hard boiled eggs, cheese, nuts etc stayed within calorie count though so not too bad. I’m making a frittata later with kale, bacon & cheese so will portion up and take to work.

Trying to use up food I already have in rather than buy lots of new stuff, otherwise I’ll become discouraged. Last nights tea was sticky pork ribs cooked in slow cooker with cauliflower rice….lovely 😃

Tonight’s delicacy is liver & bacon in onion gravy with veg…so looking forward to it x

Hi Cherrianne.

It was the looming threat of Metformin (again) that kicked me on to the BSD. I politely told them that I did not want their tablets!

Fabulous idea to prescribe the book. 😃 After all, the medics here can prescribe classes at slimming clubs, or gym sessions, so why not this book?

Thankyou Lolo and chameleonbeetle for your helpful input you’re right things have improved it’s been 3 weeks and he is feeling better.

Awesome results
Even trying to picture 42 lbs as packets of lard is hard.
Your experience is going to promote massive motivation to all who read it.
Looking forward to joining you and the others in the 8 weeks and over thread when I cross the line next week.
I’ll follow how the maintainance plan is working for you with interest

Thanks Judith,
I really think I have. The threat of being put on meds is not one I ever want to hear again.
I think all type 2’s should have the BSD book prescribed instead! 🙂

Judith, this is something I’ve been looking at for the last few years. Before I moved here there was a good sized kitchen at work and I was looking at starting up some kind of healthy cooking/eating club. But the food hygiene regulations are now so strict, and it’s hard to find helpers because of the need for DBSs. Potential volunteers are getting older, with associated health issues too, and those who do volunteer are getting too tired to carry on because there is nobody to share the load.

Unfortunately my work kitchen here needs a refurb so is limited to the hot drinks and biscuits kind of thing 😱

I remember when I was at school, we had cookery lessons. One week we made a mixed grill, another it was Apple streudel. My mother was not impressed! She cooked everything from scratch and money was tight. Nothing ‘messed about’ as she would say.

A local project in County Durham runs an interesting 6-week project, free of charge. Called the Victory Programme. Dig for victory – growing veg, save for victory – budgeting & saving, and cook for victory – learn how to prepare and cook a meal, then take it home. Those who complete the 6 weeks are given a free slow cooker.

In a meeting I mentioned this, the local authority thought it great but one woman from the DWP said ‘the ministers won’t like it’. When I asked why her response was ‘it sounds like blackmail’. Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Head hits wall.

But I continue trying to find a solution in my small part of the world.

Brilliant idea about decorating the yogurt 😃

Keep forgetting jacks. Must see if I can find some (think shop at Beamish had them , but it’s a long way) and gen up on the rules 😳

Cherrianne, love the sound of your childhood. I grew up in a city with no garden so everything was shop bought. My father worked regular nights so everything I did had to be quiet. You’d not believe that of me now, would you LOL

Hi Aly,
Like you I am vegetarian and a savoury breakfast once a week is fine, but every day was making my stomach turn! I did have eggs either scrambled, poached or boiled every day for a few weeks, but I had to find an alternative.
I have modified the muesli recipe that I loved from the recipe book that supported the 5:2 book (Mimi Spencer and Sarah Schenker: ‘The Fast Diet Recipe Book’). The recipe is called ‘Fast Day Muesli with cherry yoghurt’. I removed the oats, oat bran, coconut and ground almonds and changed the yoghurt from fat free to Greek yoghurt, reducing the quantity to keep to a calorie count under 200.
I use 60 grams Greek yoghurt, 30 grams blueberries, 3 grams flax seeds, 3 grams pumpkin seeds, 3 grams sunflower seeds, plus 3 almonds shopped and a pinch of cinnamon. That comes in at 166 cals: 6 grams protein, 12 grams fats, and 10 grams carbs.
This was also the first time in many years that I have not used a low fat option for yoghurt (or milk) and yes, it keeps me full for 4 -5 hours comfortably.
I have just got rolled oats from the health food shop and will experiment with them for this muesli recipe once I start the 5:2; 8 days to go till the end of my 8 weeks.
I have also started planning for the ‘5’ part of the 5:2 diet and was looking for ‘Mediterranean – Style’ cooking. I remembered a French Cookbook I bought in the 90’s that had the most wonderful vegetarian stock recipes I have ever tasted. The only issue was they used 3 tablespoons of butter in them and as I never touched butter – too high fat – I never really used it again.
Given you live in France and, the French rarely us the terms vegetarian and French together…. I thought I would pass on the book details. You have access to the variety of fresh vegetables much easier than we do in the UK – eg Tian of Celery Root, Turnip, Fennel and Rutabaga; Fresh Fava Beans Baked with Whole Baby Garlic. There are a lot of lovely recipes, cooked seasonally and many look easy to make full quantities and freeze 3-4 portions for later consumption. Yes, she uses bread and potatoes in some places, but they are easy to substitute.
The author is a Californian who spend 50% of her time in France each year and did run a smallholding in France. The book is ‘France, the Vegetarian Table’ by Georgeanne Brennan, published 1996. She has a website if you search on her name. This book is out of publication, but still available for very little on ABE Books – one is £0.69p and £3.50 postage to France or Amazon. I also purchased ‘Potager – French Garden Cooking in the French Style’ by the same author, again out of print, but available through ABE books. A recipe I am going to try in this is Cream of Ratatouille Soup (minus the croutons).
Does anyone know the copyright situation for out of print books on closed forums? I have been reluctant to post any of these recipes I try as the author is still alive and publishing. I would happily give attribution when I post?

Loosejeans, 10% of body fat gone in just under a calendar month! Fantastic! 🙂

Cheers all. Don’t give up. I had a couple of slips myself. Just put them behind you and crack on, we all have to live in the real world after all, and there are so many calorie-demons out there !

Hi Janet1973
Great new on weight loss! Well done !!!!
I have fasted 16 hrs every day this week but like all weeks have monitored how g of carb, protein, fat and sugar I have had each day to derive a weekly average. The week when I gained 2 lbs my protein was low 5g, fat 24g and carb 49g average cal 860 (this was the week I ate what I liked at a company event). This week I have not yet averaged the nutrition.
All other weeks my carbs averaged to under 50g but I have not yet tried 20g as per DD strict carbs.
I think your approach is good but just watch the protein intake as well fat.
I still struggle to add fats to my diet.. I have had decades of cutting out fat, (butter, fat/skin on meat or fish, low fat everything) but started to fry onions in butter and will also try butter with veg too.
Could you replace your latte with coffe and full cream.. According to mfp mug of black filter coffee and 50ml of full fat cream is 3G of carb whereas espresso cup of latte is 9g carbs.
Anita xx

Lynne there is no way your family will fail to notice the new you! Your grand daughters will enjoy your new way of eating and helping you to prepare the recipes! They could have heaps of fun with decorating a bowl of yoghurt from a selection of berries, nuts and seeds. A blueberry smile, pumpkin seed hair and any myriad of ideas!!! Their imagination can fun riot!
When i took jacks and other fun activities into my class for wet dinnertimes the fights over whose turn it was to use the ipads stopped. They were left deserted. Its much more fun to do something for real instead of playing a game watching other people having fun.
:). :). 🙂

Well we are definitely singing from the same hymn sheet ladies!!
I started off doing paediatric nursing after I qualified and the sheer number of children who had no bedtime routine, no idea of how to wash themselves or clean their teeth was astonishing. These were children who were well and truly old enough to be reasonably independent in these. They would still be on the go, unless post op or very sick, until really late at night. Some didn’t own pyjamas, apparently their parents waited until they fell asleep where they were, and then put them to bed clothed.
A lot of them couldn’t recognise different fruit and vegetables and had obviously never tried them.
Nowadays even the children’s hospitals have a McDonalds in the foyer so what hope is there if the government allows that?
CaptainLynne you are building so many great memories for your grandchildren! They will never forget the special times they’ve had with you. Who knows what influence you will have on their futures. Both my grandmothers made a big impact on the way I live, from the Italian one came the love of big family gatherings, shared meals and general silliness and fun. My English one could make a meal from anything, fresh from the garden usually, and everything you could pickle, jam or otherwise preserve she could accomplish. A real countrywoman who taught me to knit and sew.
You are right Judith about the rewards of working with children, I help the ones with learning difficulties and autism and I just love it. So glad you have some sun at last, I know you’ve been longing for it. Now those tomatoes will seem a bit more achievable. Still around 20-21C here but getting very cold at night. Thoughts have turned to firewood supplies, and my husband has already had the chains for his chainsaw sharpened and had it in bits to service it. He’ll be buzzing away up in the scrub one day soon, and we will be stacking wood and hoping not to find any spiders or snakes up there lol.

Great results Col

At end of week thirteen I’ve lost another 5 pounds, total loss 36 pounds. That’s somewhere between 15% and 20% of my starting weight.

Morning lynne, so good that your little grand daughters get to play so much with you. I really do not know what the answer is to all the junk food people eat. There was a case a year or so ago of a 26 year old single mother who complained ‘the tax payer should give me more money so I could eat healthy foods’, that she needed moremoney because she couldn’t buy any fruit or veg. Then she allowed a newspaper to photograph her in her kitchen with the food cupboards open. I used mysupermarket to tot up the cost of the several tins of heroes, pack upon pack of chocolate biscuits. She admitted to several takeaways a week and weekly trips to McDonalds. 3 times the amount I spent for healthy food for two adults.
So, education is the answer,but who and when and how? Who pays for it? Schools in deprived areas are not supposed to ask parents to pay for school trips etc so who would pay the cost of the ingredients for 30 plus children in every class every week? As it is teachers dip into their own purses quite a lot, especially in deprived areas.
Speaking from experience I know that in primary schools there is not access to a kitchen equipped for a full class of children and that the curriculum is so broad there are simply not enough hours in a school week to cover weekly cookery classes. We tend to cover it by lunchtime or afterschool activities or, in my case, science or history lessons. In large primaries where there are 3, 4 or 5 streams to each year group it would not he possible to fit in every child every week into a kitchen classroom – even if one existed.
Also, when children have enjoyed cooking something in class they return next day to say their parents have said they can’t afford it at home. Lynne, I have had children work out the costs of a meal (maths skills) but the answer for most children is still a resounding no.
The problem is huge and I can’t think of a single viable solution to it.
If budgeting and cookery lessons were advised before pregnancy, in an ideal world that could be an answer but the couples who need it most would be the most unlikely to attend. So another idea down in flames.
TBH those kind of classes I would be interested in teaching if my health was more reliable.
Oh and that is my second long rant this morning. It is clearly something that you, cherrieanne and I have passionate feelings about

On a different note i had a chuckle about your skirt slipping off – the same happened to me with some jeans not so long ago. After the initial shock it is a joyous moment! 🙂

End of week four, 18lbs (8.16kg) off. That’s 10% of my initial starting weight.

Morning, I am a newbie looking for some advice. My hba1c reading was 36 so 1 away from prediabetic. I am slim so drs not concerned, but I am as my mum and nan both have late onset type 2, so I want to be proactive with my diet.
My bmi is only 19.3 and the machine at gym says body fat =30%, in range for my age. Book said don’t do diet if bmi less than 21. I am assuming that meant don’t fast but will it be OK to cut carbs significantly and follow Mediterranean diet if low bmi? But not cut them out totally?
. I hope that makes sense and I’d be really grateful for any advice. Thank you.

Thanks Sharon and Janet by the way! Janet that little devil is so naughty. I am thinking of him as my carb addiction trying to get fed.

I read Alan Carr’s easy way to stop smoking in my late twenties, and stopped smoking at thirty. One of the most convincing aspects of his book was that the addiction is a raging monster that gets smaller and quieter as you go on. Thinking of it this way really helped me and I never faltered, I went cold turkey and that was that.

I don’t think I will be an extreme low-carber, but I want to reduce as much as I can while I do the 8 weeks to give my liver and pancreas a chance to de-fat.

I made it! I felt a little nauseous later last evening but it soon passed after a cup of black tea. This morning I’m feeling weak and feeble, with a slightly swimmy head, but have just started sneezing and I think this all might be a coincidental cold!

FBG was 7.3 this morning – and I’m already down 3lbs in weight! I know it’s water, but hey… I’ll take it.

The little devil on my shoulder wants carbs this morning, of course. I’m making spelt and rye bread to take over for my mum who is borderline diabetic (at 82, so she’s done a lot better than me!) and although the aroma is making me drool a bit I’m staying steadfast. I’m going to have the mushroom omelette for breakfast again today, actually my whole menu is the same as yesterday. I don’t mind having the same thing several times in a row, fortunately.

I’m not over-hungry even though I’d normally have eaten a very large breakfast by now.

Tomorrow will be easy as I’m at work. I’m going to have Fage full fat yoghurt for breakfast with a couple of strawberries, chicken salad for lunch and fish and vegetables for dinner. I’ll also quarter an apple and have two quarters with breakfast and two at breaktime.

So at the end of week four, at the halfway point I’ve had a whoosh and as of today I’m 18lbs down! That’s 10% of my initial body weight. Bring it on!

Brilliant result- you’ve done SO well. Congratulations on your achievements.

It’s good for me to read this today as end of week 2 and I have slipped -two days in a row. Made my kids a meal last two nights that is a particular favourite thinking I wouldn’t have any and each time have broken. Have to just keep my head clear and recover from this and keep going.

Hi captain Lynn,

Love the swoon equals the calories in the mouse! ( this was just banter, I am not going out looking for a mouse and taking it to bears camp. No mice were harmed making this blog.)

The reason I mention what I am experiencing as I walk, is to show others just driving in cars, they are missing so much. It gives you something to do as you walk. I hope others get out and enjoy just being there.

I have had a wander through the website. Saw a few things…

Should I call it the bathroom department. I too stopped for a couple of days, used a tablet, got up to date, then stopped again. I found that on day three, my body just went naturally. I think it may be something to do with the volume. Or lack of it. I too have loads of water so it wasn’t that. I think it was just the change over. If I hadn’t taken the tablet I may have gone the next day.
Others say flaxseed, help the process of going.

Weight loss stopped. This happened to me, or actually it was a weight gain. I think of my weight as a personality. I stuffed it for years, then I took that away without saying anything. No wonder there was a pause. My weight didn’t know what was happening, so just held onto everything to be I the safe side. After a few days, it realised, oh she’s changed what she is giving me, ok fine, off we go again, and the weight came off.

Set backs. Mine was massive over 1/4 of a pound ( yes , that old chestnut.) be kind to your scales, I spoilt mine by putting a new battery in 😄😄😄 ( plus a few threats). Maybe sometimes it is not you, it is the other thing. Like it needed a new battery.

Keep exploring the website.
Love Lucia
Xxx

I have been on the 5:2 for 9 weeks now. I have been strict with it and in the past 3-4 weeks i’ve hit a plateau. I started going to the gym doing several high intensity interval training classes per week, it seems to be making me gain “weight” but i look smaller. I’ve started drinking a lot more water but i don’t know why my weight is jumping up and down so much (fluctuates about 4-8kg). I don’t count calories on my non-fast days but i never binge and rarely snack.

Day 28 weight 10st 7lbs blood sugar 11.4

Today Day 29. Weight 10st 7lbs, Blood Sugar 11.2

Athletes foot started a couple of days ago, which is a sign that my blood sugar is out of control. 😕
I keep looking at what I am eating and drinking, I’m wondering whether I was too optimistic in stopping the gliclazide. I’ll have a think and change a couple of things but if my blood sugar levels are still in double figures next week, I’ll contact the diabetic clinic and tell them why is happening and see if they want me to go back on it.

Hi cherrieanne I know what you mean, you would not believe how many children have nothing but chocolate and fizzy drinks in their packed lunches. The majority qualified for free school meals where they could have chosen from a selection of hot meals or the salad bar but wouldn’t eat ‘that kind of food’. School dinners might not be perfect but a hell of a lot better than the packed lunches which were taken in. Only one in about 50 were acceptable as lunches.
Cold McDonalds? Yup, seen that too! I took my class, 10 at a time, for a day walking in a forest with lots of fun activities, one mother was very concerned about her son who had a hole in his heart. When he opened his packed lunch I saw why he was obese – two, yes two, double mac cheeseburgers,an entire chocolate swiss roll, yes, really, a family pack of crisps, 3 chocolate bars and lots of other junk. Even the other children were shocked. I’m talking about 10 year olds. Can you imagine? One child asked him why he had a swiss roll because he didn’t have a plate or knife for it. Clearly puzzled as was I. He sat and peeled of the wrapper and ate it like a banana. I don’t think I have ever been so shocked.

What a shame junk food has reached Australia, I have fond memories of the lovely fresh food I ate there.

Schools here have fruit time too, but now just for KS1, the younger children also get milk. We regularly give out leaflets on healthy packed lunch ideas and 5 a day leaflets – but apparently to no avail. TBH I wish packed lunches were banned to give children a chance to try food other than cake, chocolate and fizzy drinks. I must add that I taught in a school in a deprived area and believe packed lunches in most schools would look quite different but I would still ban them, if I could, to give kids in deprived areas the opportunity of trying a range of healthier foods. Oh I have had quite a long rant but it is heart breaking to see what some kids eat every day and you are right cherrieanne,it does impact upon their concentration. Which leads me onto another rant- young children arriving in class so bleary eyed they have trouble staying awake. All but a handful of my class where still up long after I was in bed!!!!! And I’m talking about classes of 7 and 8 year olds as well as 10 and 11 year olds. How can young children be up til after 1am every night? Well I had better stop this rant or I could go on for ever!

I bet you really enjoy your time volunteering in school – it is so rewarding working with children and being there when they have a light bulb moment!

Well, I think I did too much on thursday and friday because I slept a whole 16 hours last night! I have woken to the sun pouring in like honey this morning! Out to the. Greenhouse now to see what seeds have awakened too

X 🙂

Great news and brilliant results.

Another person over the 8-week line.

Come and join us on the ‘over the 8-week line and after’ thread on this forum and keep posting your progress.

That particular club, I’m happy to say, is growing 😃

My twin 8-year old granddaughters come to me during some school holidays.

They bring their phone and tablets and I’m told how long they’re allowed to spend on them. So what do they do here? Play out (weather permitting) or inside, read, colour, sew, make cards or jewellery. Sometimes they come to work with me or, occasionally, we go out for the day. They depend nowhere near the amount of time on their gadgets as they do stuff home.

A few years ago I bought them a kids’ meal from Subway – within an hour or so they were hyper, nearly running round the walls. Their sweet intake at home is restricted to after meals and treats, but here they don’t often ask for sweets. Their Easter eggs last year finally went back to them in October!

Their family income is restricted, only dad (my son, diabetic) works, his partner is on long-term disability benefits, and meals often have lots of carbs. When I started this in December I was due to visit them between Christmas and New Year but knew it would be difficult to eat the right things so made my excuses and stayed at home to get the good habits established.

It’s going to be interesting in a few weeks to see their response (if any) to my weight loss, and to how the twins take to eating my new way.

In my experience it’s not only school packed lunches that aren’t healthy. I’ve been involved in providing food parcels for those in need and quickly realised that the food in those parcels is generally unhealthy (processed because of storage problems). But I was told of one man, given fresh veg, didn’t want it because he didn’t know what to do with it. And a woman given food who asked what they thought she would do with that – couldn’t they give her cash so she could take the children to KFC.

I have thought for a long time that education is the key. Cookery lessons on schools have generally disappeared, and a couple of generations now haven’t been taught how to cook from scratch, and they don’t learn at home either. As long as it’s possible to buy takeaways, junk food and processed foods more cheaply than healthy fresh foods I fear there will always be a problem.

When Jamie Oliver did his series on healthy school meals, parents were taking junk food and passing it through the railings. Now there’s talk of a sugar tax, which may help, but I fear manufacturers will find a way round it.

My suggestion would be to start teaching healthy (low carb) eating and basic cooking in schools. Perhaps then we could break the downward spiral in health in all our countries. But who am I? 😳

I’ll put the soapbox away now, folks.

Hi snoopy 73,
Many thanks,
I get a kick when people reply on my threads. I just ramble on to myself and love having someone comment. Other people’s blogs give me a different angle on life and make me think of things totally different.
I have been on the BS800 for only a short time, but it feels like years. At the beginning, (last week) I was panicking and weighing my self many times a day then leaving it for a while.
Today, my mind set isn’t one of someone frantic to check the scales. I know I have done my best to lose weight.
This week, I have tested myself with “old foods”, I was suprised to find my addiction is broken. Just in a few days.

So this week, week two, I am going to explore the taboo subjects of exercise. I would never have thought I could do anything like exercise as I was so out of condition. In just walking and doing tiny runs, and surviving them – makes me feel I can go to the next level. I May even go around to one of those clubs for skinny people, like think the technical name is gym. What should I wear to camouflage the blubber, bet I get put with a sknny Minnie. See , I have self doubt already. So I just need to find one and see if they will let me try them out.

How is everyone? Have you done your walk yet for me? There is still plenty of time today to do it.

I am going to plan my weekly meals soon, so I don’t just grab anything but the house has been cleared bad stuff. I am going to get ideas from the ‘what have you eaten today’ blogs.

I am also going to have another wander through this website as there are so many hidden treasures.

Finally, how is everyone’s Equinox today? I didn’t feel a thing did you? Wikipedia says it is when the earth goes through the sun? I didn’t feel it going through, it didn’t get to a zillion degrees here? Maybe it is because I am lighter than I didn’t feel it? If you didn’t feel it either it means you are lighter too. 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

Keep happy, keep with the BS800,
Love Lucia
Xxxxxx

Hello,

I’ve finished my 8 weeks this morning and just thought I’d post my results as an encouragement to others. I’m 49 and have been on some sort of diet every year since I first got taken to Slimming World when I was 8 (it may have been weight watchers).

At the start of this diet I was 19 stone (at 6ft 2in) and a type 2 diabetic with good blood sugar control over the 2 years since diagnosis.

On my weigh- in this morning I was 16 stone, a loss of 42 pounds, and I have lost about 4 inches of my waist. Blood sugars are still good, blood pressure is better than it was, although still a little high. Cholesterol I haven’t had done, but I have a diabetic clinic due so I shall find out soon. The loss has been fairly steady, although in week 6 I didn’t seem to lose anything. My biggest allies on the diet have been:

Lots of water – a Brita filter bottle has been a constant companion, and I worked up to about 3.5 litres a day. On the downside, when I walk the dog I’m looking for a wee more than he is.

Walking – just the right intensity without making for light-headedness. The dog is very happy.

Weights three times a week, but mainly bodyweight, press-ups and assisted pull ups.

Greek yoghurt – I eat the fat free stuff but add the fat and calories back in with nuts and flax seeds. The Fage stuff has no added sugar. I add in some frozen berries as well. I’ve also used it as a salad dressing mixed with marmite (no really), or with lime and chilli

Kale – a huge bag of it steams in the micro-wave and makes you feel very self-righteous.

Tinned oily fish. A lot of calories but anything that smells that bad must be doing you good.

Loads and loads of leaves.

Turkey steaks fried in spray olive oil, with…

Peppers, courgettes and mushrooms.

Eggs. Especially in a ‘frittata’.

Black coffee – the ritual of making it fresh seems to help, as does having it made for you in a coffee shop; keep your eyes off the Granola though.

Marmite as a hot drink. Lots of B vitamins and it’s almost like eating.

The challenge now is to keep it off. I plan to stick to the Mediterranean diet and maybe fast a couple of days a week. I want to keep up with the water. I’ll have a drink when I’m out (a rare thing) but give it a miss at home. I’ll also let my self go a bit if I’m out for a meal.

Thanks to Dr Mosely and everyone on here for being a reference point and support. Good luck to all of you.

Hi Lucia

I love your posts 😃

Probably the calories in a swoon would balance out those in a toasted mouse 😳

Not noticed the birds yet, but the cows have reappeared in the field at the end of my street, and one of the horses has been out cutting the grass nearby.

Thanks for always putting a smile on my face 😃

Hi Aly,
The rolled oats will be good when they get there. Am amazed the French don’t have them?! Makes me think we might actually have a food culture!
As an alternative I came across the idea of mixed grain porridge recently like… damn can’t post the link,
Quinoa porridge, or Quinta oat mix. Means a Lower GL more protein so feeling full longer for less carbs.
A bit of propper wholemeal toast rye or wheat, with butter and marmite or other not jam toppings is OK too I guess better than jam and honey.

Hi Judith,
You would have been a wonderful teacher planning all those hands on experiences for your students. Sounds like lots of fun. Messy play is just the best play, even though there’s lots of cleaning up after. My own kids would much rather be doing stuff like that than watching TV or using a play station.
I volunteer at the school a couple of mornings a week and while most of the children bring fairly good lunches, some of them are shocking. I’ve seen cold McDonalds food in lunch boxes. Not even appealing when it’s hot lol! One little girl had two packets of high sugar and artificially coloured biscuits, one pack of processed cheese dip and crackers and a muesli bar. Wonder why she has trouble sitting still and producing any work! I’ve seen cold chips, obviously left over from the night before. So sad. The schools here all have ‘fruit time’ at about 9.45-10.00 am, where the children sit on the mat and have some fresh fruit and listen to a story or have show and tell while they eat. This is separate from their morning play time snacks.
We watched Jamie Oliver’s school dinners series and it was really shocking. Obviously at the extreme end of the spectrum, but that sort of prepackaged processed stuff is creeping into Australian supermarkets. No excuse for that when we have an abundance of lovely fresh foods produced right here.
We all pay the cost of cheap foods somewhere along the way, to our health or the environment, or our spirits.
Oh well that’s my rant over lol.

Lucia, I think you are wonderful. I hope you continue to update your progress, because it is people like you who give people like me the enthusiasm to carry on…..

Hi matrika – burning fat but weight increase? I suspect you are retaining some water which when it goes should show a sudden weight loss. Well done for staying so positive! 🙂

Hi hellforheather, very wise words! I look at my falling fat % as well. I like to visualise visceral fat just melting away. That and falling blood sugars for diabetics are two very important results!
Now that you have highlighted falling fat % it is something we should all be bearing in mind.
Well done on your melting fat ! That’s a great drop! 🙂

Hello Mandy, I am a slow loser too. I only dropped one pound in week one. But do you have a scale that measures body fat percentage? Because I do, & I know these things aren’t entirely accurate but while I saw and felt no weightloss, my body fat percentage has gone from 45 (where it’s been showing on my scale for as long as I can remember) to 36%. 30% is considered the ‘healthy’ zone, so I’m thrilled to be a bit nearer. Whatever you see, feel or measure in weightloss, remember you are doing wonderful things you can’t always see within for your body. Stick with it x

Great to hear that tinforest, it sounds like you’ve come out the other side now. Someone on another thread described that feeling as “carb flu” which sounds fairly apt.
You are just going to be amazed in the next few days about how much better you will start to feel. More energy, more clear headed, much more in control and food tastes so much better without all the carbs and sugar.
Hope to hear of weight loss next time you post 🙂

Good morning or should I say afternoon? Cherrieanne fantastic news! Sounds like you have cracked it! 🙂