Good morning everyone from another grey rainy day here in West Sussex. I have just weighed & lost 0.5lbs of the 1.5lbs I gained the week before so at least I haven’t gained more . Overall I’m obviously not yet back into proper losing weight mode 🙁 at least I can still get into the trouser suit I am planning to wear to the family gathering which fortunately is in a casual venue with two weeks to go now. I think because of the continuing grey rainy weather that I may have SAD back because I feel demotivated & lacking in energy despite eating balanced meals with occasional square of dark mint chocolate plus increasing my weekly step count. I know I must keep going because I’m not even back at my pre-surgery weight let alone anywhere near my goal weight!
Pleased you were able to get your mammogram done S-G & I had one last year after requesting one & think it is a couple of years before I can request another one here in the UK & I hope you enjoyed the film Hamnet .
Yes Becca I think that I must try to get back to 800 daily calories to kick start my body but it feels a fairly miserable thing to keep to at the moment without even relaxing a little over the weekend 🤔 I have 2 .75 stones to lose now & I hope that as the weeks progress with improving weather my mood & energy will improve but meanwhile I will keep plodding on recording & monitoring everything I eat.
Good luck everyone for next week 👍🤞🍀🍀
Margaret xx

That’s great DCT, I’m so pleased the code is still working. My waist measurement has been my main worry for a while with all of the implicated health concerns, my first aim is to get it under 40 inches which I’m hoping I can do in this first two weeks. I carry most of my weight around my middle, my arms and legs aren’t particularly overweight so if I can lose it from there, as well as being healthier, it will be much easier to find clothes which fit properly! I’ve managed not to go much off plan tonight so it shouldn’t affect Monday’s weigh in too much. Dawn X

Hi Dawn yes I’ve signed up too, and the code still works! I need to have a proper look but, like Mariet, it’s suggesting 5:2. It also confirmed I’m currently overweight – in terms of BMI – and that my waist measurement is “unhealthy”! And has recommended low impact exercise.

Will report back in due course, but hope it will help me ramp things up a bit.

Hope that everyone has a good weekend X

Thanks DCT, what a lovely surprise trip! If you decide to sign up for the 12 week online course I think the discount code they emailed me expires on Sunday. It was for 95% off and was PROGRAMME95. Dawn X

Hi all just a quick check in from me to say a huge well done to all our losers! CATHY DAWN SUE YOWZER BECCA amazing losses over the last week and/or this year so far. SUNNY I think you and I are both on the slower moving carriage at the moment but as long as the numbers are going downwards that’s fine by me!

I’m interested to read about several of you signing up to the 12 week programme and might give it a go too, as the offer is so good. I’d like a bit of a boost if I can, as I found out that the surprise trip I mentioned with my daughter is actually to New York! And it’s just over 3 weeks away So it’d be lovely to shrug off a few pesky pound before then if I can 🤞

Big hello to everyone else on this thread. Hope you’re doing ok. Do post and let us know X

Huge congrats and well done to Carhy, Dawn and Yowser, really great results! 🤸‍♀️🥳🎊
Keep up the good work and it’s great you all seem to have a plan to take you forward, whilst still enjoying special life events.

That’s great Yowzer, as Cathy says, maybe the reflexology gave you a detox. I can imagine it was tiring having to nip to the loo so often though! Hope you are having a more relaxing day today. Dawn X

Yowser- another lovely positive post. 6lb is a fantastic loss and the reflexology has obviously had a great benefit and possibly detoxed your system. We certainly have seen some great results this week. I really do hope that 2026 is the year that our group has fantastic success. Last year was a struggle for so many of us. I am committed to making things work and contributing to a successful journey for us all. 2026- I really do hope we’ve got this (once and for all).

Hi girlies,Oh wow! Some lovely results here! Massive congratulations!
Ive a feeling this is going to be a good year for us all xx
I had a strange but nice thing over the last few days. I couldnt stop running to the loo,I was going once an hour and I kept a note of the times..it was once an hour for 36 hours. Lost 6 lb in water weight. This was following a session of reflexology. It was tedious and tiring to go so often,but I liked the result. I never care if its only water,I just like seeing that number go down on the scale.
CCATHY enjoy your time with your aunty,you sound like a lovely niece!
🩷❤️💜 Happy weekend all xxx 🩵💙💚

Wow Dawn- well done on your 4lb weight loss! That’s incredible. Enjoy today and back on track again tomorrow. I’m sticking to a Friday weigh in so I’ll report back next week. We don’t need to punish ourselves for letting go every now and again. Slow and steady will work for me.

Hi everyone,
That’s great news Cathy, well done! I weighed myself this morning and I’m 4lb down since Monday so am really pleased about that. We have friends coming round tonight so I’ve chosen the ‘eating out’ option on my food plan and won’t be weighing myself again until Monday. As you say, we have to weave our lifestyle around events and I’m determined not to let one meal derail me and will just get back to the food plan tomorrow morning.
Hope everyone is having a good week, I don’t usually mind rain at all but we’ve had weeks of it now so it would be nice to see some sunshine soon🤞Dawn X

Hello everyone
Just reporting in with today’s weigh in result- I’ve lost 3lb since last Friday!! I’m really pleased with myself! Today I am going off piste as I’ve booked to take my Aunty for afternoon tea to celebrate her 85th birthday. It’s come at a bad time really as I am on a roll but as we have already mentioned on this thread, we have to weave our lifestyle around life events and so today is a special day for her and I’ll make sure I am back on track so that I lose again this week. My plan was to lose 5lb by the end of February and I have already achieved a 6lb weight loss since I started in January. I hope to lose another 1lb next week and that will take me to the half stone mark. Last night I was craving crisps! It’s a habit I want to lose. I am a crispoholic! I don’t crave chocolate or sweet things but salted nuts and crisps are my go to snack.
I won’t weigh myself again now til next Friday as I know I’ll be disappointed to see the weight pile on after my afternoon tea today. I’ve already decided that I won’t eat any cakes today- I’ll bring them home for my husband to enjoy. I don’t want to tell my aunty that I’m dieting but I can simply say. I’m too full today to eat them and take them home. I do think that eating a lot less calories has a significant impact on my success. I’ve been fasting til lunchtime with only a coffee in the morning and sticking to about 800/900 calories a day.
Have a lovely weekend everyone. I look forward to seeing how you’ve all done this week. I think having small goals is helping me to chip away slowly. I hope you’ve all had a good week.

Hi Mariet, that’s brilliant that the code worked for you too:) Enjoy your camping! Dawn X

ah Becca- finding a meal that fits all 5 family members’ requirements and that we all actually like it….the holy grail 😅

Hi everyone.
Looking to start the M plan (BSD). I’ve read a lot and eat a lot of M food but I’d like to understand a bit more around how many grams of protein carbs fat and sugar I should aim for. I’ve invested in an app and want to add it all in together with the 800 calories. Can someone help me with the suggested grams per day please:
Protein
Carbs
Fats
Sugars (appreciate this will help mostly fruit and not ones like pineapples etc)

Thanks everyone in advance for helping!!! X

Hi everyone, checking in although I’ve got nothing to report. I am camping by the beach for a fortnight with friends and being as good as I can. We are only eating two meals a day and there are no carbs but there is wine 😳 but also lots of exercise.
Dawn, I have also used your code and joined up with Fast 800, thank you very much! It has suggested I do 5:2 but I will look at it more completely when I get home.
Looks like many of us are giving this a try, it will be great seeing how everyone does.
Cheers all from the sunny South coast of NSW.

Denise, glad you got an appointment and have that out of the way. Sounds like it was a confusing mess for you trying to get it, though. I have to get my mammogram in a few weeks, as well. It’s not quite as scary as it was back in 2012 when I had a tumor (tumour) removed, but does still make me a bit anxious. I’m not sure how long they continue to offer mammograms here in the states.

Tulip, I truly don’t know how you manage to create all those different types of meals. Hats off to you. Hope they all appreciate it.

Margaret, sounds like you and I are in the same position with needing to go below the calorie level that is deemed as “safe” in order to take weight off. I truly wish someone would do a study and write a book geared toward us shorter, older, sedentary women, especially those of us like myself with a great deal of weight to lose and unable to do much exercise. Anyway, I’m back to aiming for the lower calories this week and will see how it goes.

Hi Cathy, it sounds like you’ve made a great start. I feel I’m not drinking enough so from tomorrow I will try to rectify that. I’m feeling a bit headachey tonight which is probably being caused by that and also maybe sugar withdrawal. I’m heading to bed early and will hopefully get a decent sleep. Dawn X

HI Dawn
I’ve opted for two meals a day and am doing the keto vegetarian version. I made broccoli and three cheese frittatas for lunch but I didn’t have any Parmesan so it was a two cheese frittata and tonight’s recipe was green eggs and halloumi. I’ve eaten four large eggs today!! The website is intuitive and I’ve downloaded week one of the changing habits course and completed it and put it in a folder. It feels like I’m starting again from scratch like I did in 2017 when I bought the BSD book. I’ve missed my yoghurt today. I’ve had a couple of cups of coffee with milk and a variety of herbal teas and sparkling water. I think I broke the rules this morning having milk but I can’t enjoy black coffee. Anyway, I’m using the programme as a tool. I go on holiday in 12 weeks and 2 days so the timing is perfect. I need all the help I can get so let’s see how things go.
SueBlue- it will be interesting to see how the programme inspires you too. I think you’ll enjoy the recipes. I am only really able to walk for exercise due to my rheumatoid arthritis but I went out today after my frittatas and enjoyed a nice walk in the park and got chatting to a man with a lovely whippet. I can’t see me making use of the exercises.
Hope everyone is on track for a good week. I hope to be 1lb down on Friday. I am determined to only have the scales going in one direction!

Hi all, sorry I have been awol for a few days. What has been going on. Well I ruined the weeks diet by having a few drinks on Sunday and gaining 2lbs the next night I went to the quiz night and had a meal and a few glasses of wine and lost 1lb, btw we won again.

Monday I decided to look for an appointment for my mammogram (every 2 years) and had a heck of a job understanding the computer instructions – one, they are in French, 2 I dont do computers. I had tried ringing for an appoint but it just directed me to website. Anyway after a few false starts and managing to scan and download my ‘prescription’ I got directed to the wrong radiographer, one several miles away. Tried again and the only appt was for Tuesday 3rd Feb. I thought it must be a mistake as there were no other appts available until October. Finally booked it so yesterday was a booby squeezy day. I could see why no appt till October as the clinic is being demolished and rebuilt. I must have found the one and only appt possibily a cancellation. Thats that done for another 2 years unless I move back to the UK where they stop at age 70 – here it is 75.

Tonight we are going to the cinema to see Hamnet – hope it is as good as they say. And yes, my weight is down again but it is a zero loss from last week. I have 47 days to the cruise so just under 7 weeks – still hopeful but have to get my birthday out of the way first.

Hope you are all doing okay.

Hi Cathy, I’m so pleased the code worked for you too, it really is a bargain, in my email it said it would be valid to use until 8th Feb. I really hope this gives us a boost🤞. I’m enjoying the meals so far, I had a basil and mushroom omelette this morning, the recipe included cream cheese but I used cheddar instead and made it a cheese crusted omelette (which someone first mentioned on the forums years ago and is really tasty) I haven’t done today’s HIIT exercises yet but intend to before lunch. You’ve had a good start losing weight since your Friday weigh in. Dawn X

Hi Dawn
I too have joined the fast 800 12 week programme and I’m really quite excited to give myself another boost. Thank you for inspiring me- I’ve been thinking about joining since the start of the year. The code worked so thank you. I weighed this morning and I’m down 0.4 lb from Friday when I last weighed. I’m embarking on my first 7 days with the plan so let’s see how well we all do with a bit of extra support and motivation.

Thanks Yowzer, hope you’re feeling a bit better. Sue you’re welcome for the code, I wasn’t sure about it working for anyone else but am pleased it did! Dawn X

Massive congrats to SUEBLUE and DAWN on their losses 👍👍 What a great start you have both made to 2026! ⭐️⭐️
Love to all xxx

Dawn – thanks so much for sharing the discount code! I had been thinking about joining the programme as it was 30% off or something here. Then I read your post so I thought I’d give the discount code a go, in case it worked, and it did 🙂 it’s $2.50 a month AUD for the first 3 months. To be on the safe side I paid with a card I have that has a
low balance on it, and that I have to manually top up…not saying it’s a scam or anything but in case that code wasn’t supposed to be used here or something.. anyway will give it a go, I’m particularly interested in the exercises.
I haven’t weighed myself yet this week, but when I weighed myself on the weekend I was the same weight I had been the week before – which considering the events I’d been to, I was happy with! So my January loss was 3.2kg, or just over 7lb.
Hope everyone else is having a good week 🙂

🌷🌷 OH passed his asthma review with flying colours
🌷🌷 completed the printing for our road trip ‘manual’, just need to get it all into a ring file
🌷🌷 saw a very small decrease on the scales today, but happy to see things moving in the right direction

Hope someone else will post a positive or two soon

Thanks Sunny and well done on your loss too. I’m enjoying the meals so far, had chicken fajitas tonight with lettuce leaves instead of tortillas and it was delicious. It’s nice to have some new recipes to add to my current ones. Dawn X

Hope the programme helps and gives you the boost you’re hoping for Dawn. You’ve made a good start with the 3.5lb drop though.
I’m reporting in with a small drop for the week, just a smidge less than a pound down …. better than an increase, so I’ll take it as a positive.
This week, I’m looking to increase fibre and start ‘exercise snacking’. Exercise is always my blind spot so I’m hoping the ‘snacking’ approach will help.
Looking forward to reading how others are getting on and what adjustments they might be making as they move forward.

Thanks Cathy,
I thought it might be a scam at first because it was such a huge discount! so I didn’t click on the email link, I went in via the website and the code they gave me worked fine. It said in the email that it was because I had made a purchase but it may work even if you haven’t made a purchase, the code was PROGRAMME95. I think I did try the online programme years ago but didn’t really use it properly and probably wouldn’t have tried it again if the hadn’t sent me the offer. I think it works out £1.50 per month for the first three months then I get the fourth month free then, unless I cancel, it’s £12 per month from then which is the maintenance programme. I filled in all of my details and it came up with a weekly menu plan but you can swap meals from an extensive library. You can also print out a shopping list from it each week. It has daily exercises (mine aren’t too strenuous for this first week as I said I didn’t do much exercise) There is also a community part which I haven’t posted on yet with being so happy with this one! There are daily articles with useful information too and also a mindfulness section. I figured for the price it would definitely be worth my while giving it a go so 🤞I don’t waste the opportunity!
Dawn X

Dawn- that sounds like a great deal from the Fast 800 website and I’d love to see what you make of it. It’s something I’ve been considering as a boost and support to my weight loss plan for 2026. I’d be interested in your thoughts. Well done on your 3.5 lb loss. I’m chipping away slowly. I am determined to keep losing bit by bit.

Time to post a few positives….
🌼🌼 it clean sheet night …. hummmmm 🛌🌙
🌼🌼 it didn’t rain today 🤸‍♀️🎊
🌼🌼 a Turkish friend managed to secure a couple of hotel bookings for us, which I’d been struggling with. These complete the plans for our 2026 road trip.🚗🚘
Oh and one more …
🌼🌼 close friends have booked to visit us in June while we’re in Turkey 🎊🤸‍♀️

What positives can you identify? We’d love to read about them.

Thank you Becca & I am also having trouble lowering my calories & am averaging around 1100 daily calories over the week but went a bit mad over the weekend having more to eat & wine plus puds with my meals. I am recording my calories on Nutracheck which suggests a minimum calorie count of 1200 daily calories which is ridiculous for me because I seem to inhale calories just by looking at food 😂. I must obviously really try to cut back to 800 daily calories & reduce my carbs although I am not diabetic but of course carbs encourage fluid retention 😢 I am playing short mat bowls today so some exercise & increased step count😀
Oh well keep on going everyone it is worth it 🤞🤞🍀🍀
Margaret xx

Hi everyone, sorry I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks. my first week back on plan went quite well and I lost 3 and a half pounds but I haven’t lost any more since then as haven’t really been sticking in as well as I could. Well done to all who are managing to stay focused. I bought some high protein items from the Fast 800 website a few weeks ago to help on the odd day when I feel I could use them and the following week I got an email from them offering me 95% off the 12 week programme and the fourth month free so I decided to take up the offer and have started that today so, hopefully, the added motivation will give me the boost I need🤞 I hope everyone has a good week. Dawn X

That’s a fabulous result Becca! Sounds like you are managing to navigate a good route for yourself. Can understand what you’re say about finding that balance though, but seems to me you are getting a feel for what works best for you.
For me, it’s necessary to push both carbs and cals low if I expect results on the scales, but my guess is that somewhere between 800 and 1300 cals is your ideal. Remember though, as this is a marathon not a sprint, it’s okay for the numbers to vary a little day on day and still see positive results.
Again, ideal carb levels vary person to person. You’ve already discovered what your upper limit is, so you can now experiment by gradually sliding lower to see where your best level sits.
Anyway, keep going Becca, you’re doing great!

Hi Becca, I’m still loving the app- it’s giving me lots of new cooking inspiration and making it easier to plan 🙂 Bonus also lots of vegetarian/ vegan meal ideas and as I have one lactose intolerant young adult and one vegetarian teen to feed along with the usual (plus my hubby is doing a low fodmap diet)- it’s helping with those things too. xx

Tulip, meant to ask, how are things going with the app?

Hi, all, haven’t been here in a bit. Interesting discussion you’ve been having about life fitting into the diet vs the diet fitting into life. Also that question of whether it’s best to just stay away entirely from the sweet stuff or try to include in moderation. I have no answers, just my own lifelong struggle with trying to figure it out.

In the same way, I’m still trying to figure out exactly how low I need to go on the calories and carbs to have steady and sustainable weight loss. The 800 seemed very restrictive to me and I was actually losing a bit too fast on that, especially when I cut the carbs way down. However, I apparently just maintain or even gain weight if the calories get as high as 1300, especially when the carbs also get up to 50. So, I am trying to find my sweet spot. Seems like when you’re older and very overweight and sedentary, the calculators aren’t quite as accurate,

However, even with the ups and downs and twists and turns, I’m down 34 pounds since October 15, about 3-1/2 months ago. Very happy about that, but I still have a lot (a LOT) to lose (about 150 more), so would love to just find the ongoing answer to all these challenging questions related to how to keep it going and do this in a slow and steady way that won’t leave my skin looking more awful than it already does, or my muscles more depleted than they already are. (Note to self: Starting to do some exercise seems like a given.)

Happy February, everyone.

Denise, that’s a bit scary about the low blood glucose. I’m glad you did what you needed to do. Glad it went well with your dress try-on, too.

Margaret, I understand the frustration with the scale. I have no loss to show for the last 3 weeks, so my loss in January all came from the first week, aside from one additional fraction of a pound. I had mentioned previously that I was staying between 900-1200 calories, which certainly seemed low enough to continue losing, but apparently not. The mathematics of weight loss is mind-boggling.

At the end of 2025 (October 15 to December 15), I lost 30 pounds in 2 months by sticking close to 800 calories and staying low carb. I was motivated by my upcoming labs, and it paid off with good labs and a huge weight loss that very much surprised me. I really didn’t like losing that fast, though. My skin got extremely saggy and wrinkly-looking, more so that normal.

Over the last 2 weeks of December I did not go crazy, but did take a break from tracking calories and allowed myself carbs, and weight went up 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Again, didn’t really make sense math-wise.

That weight gain must have been largely water weight from the added carbs, because when I restarted low carb on January 1, I lost 13 pounds that week.

Since then, even though my calorie level should have had me losing almost 2 pounds a week (per a supposedly very accurate calculator that takes all my details into account), my weight has zig-zagged up and down and basically stayed the same.

Now, with my annual physical 3 weeks away, I’m wondering if I need to go back to 800 calories and 20 gm carbs until I get more weight off. I’m starting to really believe that 1200 calories may be my maintenance level given how sedentary I am (and short, and in my 70s), and that I’m extremely insulin resistant after all these years. I may let myself have one maintenance day per week to reassure my body and keep the weight going down rather than stalling.

Will report back on my February progress or lack thereof. Continued good luck and best wishes to everyone.

Tried on 3 dresses. 2 look quite good, need to be a bit slimmer. But one just shows too much back-fat. Dont even think losing another half a stone will make it any better. I could wear it with a little bolero jacket but not on its own. Hey ho, Ill just add it to all those other clothes that dont fit. Good news is they dont need taking up.

reported Jamesharry

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— makes it easier to find a branch near you.

Of course you’re right V, we do all need to find that sweet spot, but I think part of the problem is lots of us have the mindset that if we aren’t “eating the cream cake” like everyone else, we’re somehow being deprived. Whereas, what we’re doing is prioritising taking care of ourselves.

Essentially, as all of us who have been on this path for a long time know, this is not a diet it’s a lifestyle. And yes, taking an occasional mindful step off the path is fine, but it’s a mistake to make that a new habit by looking for excuses to do so. And I have certainly been guilty of that, otherwise I wouldn’t be looking at the need to rid myself of almost a stone gained back.

Like an alcoholic can always find an excuse for a drink, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of frequently finding an excuse for something carby … it’s a leaving party, a birthday, Easter, Christmas, special weekend, etc. One can’t afford to do that consistently and expect to lose/maintain weight and stay healthy and unfortunately it’s been the route I’ve been treading for the best part of a year. So I need to change my mindset if I want to achieve my goal.

This post is essentially just a stream of consciousness and in no way a criticism of how others decide to approach things to reach their goals. We’re all different, have different goals, priorities, lifestyle needs and so have each made our own adaptions to suit and none of them are wrong, as long as we’re happy they meet our needs and will help us achieve our goals.

Hi everyone, just catching up with posts. Some very wise words all round!

It’s a tricky one isn’t it, getting the balance between living life to the full and yet also being aware of what we are eating and how well we are treating our bodies. And I know I fall into the trap of thinking that having fun automatically means having a few drinks and something wonderful to eat. Which sometimes it might, but it doesn’t necessarily have to. As you say VERANO, we all need to find our own sweet spot and make conscious choices between balancing a healthy lifestyle with allowing ourselves to have fun when we want to, whatever that means for us.

SUEBLUE big congratulations on your retirement! It’s something you’ve mentioned for a while now and I’m so glad it’s finally here. enjoy every minute. I found it a good idea not to throw yourself into too many new things too quickly, just give yourself time to catch your breath, relax, and then think about what kind of things you might gradually want to start doing.

CATHY it’s great that your weight stayed the same this week instead of increasing as expected. Well done! My end of January weigh in is a 2lb loss since the beginning of January. It had been lower during the month but bounced back towards the end. But I’m happy to see a downward trend, and have also lost 2 inches from my belly which I’m very pleased about. I’m going away with my daughter at the beginning of March for a surprise trip so would like to see a further loss by then. If I can lose 3lb in February I’ll be back into the 10 stone range so that would be perfect. We’ll see!

Happy February everyone! As SUNNY put it so well for us: “January is finished, so turn your back on the negatives it contained and step into February with new focus, determination and positivity.”

We’ve got this!!!

Can I just disagree with ‘life getting in the way’.

We’re ‘living’ ! Life doesn’t get in the way but ‘dieting’ does get in the way of living ‘life’ to the full.

When weight or dieting gets in the way, ‘life’ comes first, the size of your jeans …. well ……. that almost becomes irrelevant. There’s a happy balance. We each just need to find our own ‘sweet spot’ and not buy into the ‘hype’ or the ‘norm’.

We just all have to be as healthy as we can be and enjoy life as much as we can.

Hi everyone, jumped on the scales this morning and I am still the same as last week. That is good as I had a weird day yesterday. Had very low BG during the night so got up and ate some pineapple chunks and a werthers original. Had very little sleep so stayed in bed until 10am. I had to have breakfast as I was still running low but couldnt face lunch but made myself a tuna sandwich – yes, real bread, only one slice. Later in the day I still felt shakey so I had another slice of bread with the rest of the tuna. Friday is fish night as we had bought shop made (hand made by the shop not mass produced) cod in batter, so I had that, minus the batter with a salad. But I kept snacking on cold meats through the evening. So I was glad when I weighed the same. Anyway, I guess these things happen.

Margaret I am sorry you are having such low weight loss. I dont know if you can work out if it is something you are doing – keeping a food diary etc. Glad you hubby is keeping the weight off. The fact he still has neuropaphy in the toes is not good but without the diet and the effort he has put in he (and me) could be without those toes or even lost a foot. We are doing this for our own good.

Tomorrow I am going to try on 3 new evening dresses, not for fit but for length, so I want to still be good tonight and maybe lose a bit more just so they look better.

Think the secret is spin, Cathy … two sides to the coin and all that – where there’s a perceived negative, there is a positive on the flipside.

You’ve made it through January with a loss and you’ll be checking out at the end of February lighter than you are now.

Talk to yourself as you’d talk to your best friend. You wouldn’t tell her she should be ashamed for eating that dessert, you tell her it might not have been wise but was a small slip and she’ll do better tomorrow. So do the same for yourself.

Thank you SunnyB for posting these wise words. I really do want to be positive this year with regard to my weight loss and that involves being kind to myself. I also want to be honest to myself so when I have a bad week like last week I’ll be open and honest about it. I’m putting a tick on my January Chart and I’ll be putting a tick on my February Chart. I think thinking positively does have an impact on how well we do and how we dust ourselves down after we have gone off piste. February starts tomorrow so let’s make it count – we’ve got this.

Have just been reading a piece, about how we allow our internal dialogue to sabotage our weight loss, which I thought might be worth mentioning here, as the weekend is often the time we slip up.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that sometimes life gets in the way and we’re all human. Secondly, when we recognise we’ve gone off piste, not to use that as an excuse to just give in and leave getting back on track until another day. None of that “well I’ve screwed up so I’ve failed” nonsense.

Finally, be kind to yourself, give yourself the advice you’d give to others. “We all make mistakes, dust yourself off and get right back on track.”

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, make the best food choices you can and no negative thinking … if you’re having salad whilst others are eating roast potatoes, don’t look at it as being deprived, look at it as you’re taking a step closer to your goal.

Hello everyone & I have just weighed & unfortunately gone up in weight gaining 1.2 lbs which I find very disappointing. However S-G your last message is very inspiring how the Blood Sugar Diet has helped you. I have just asked my husband who has Type 2 Diabetes if his toes have recovered feeling but unfortunately not although his medication, not on insulin, has changed & reduced & he has maintained his weight loss over six years & he is well with no other health problems.
I realise how I still need to reduce my daily calories to achieve any weight loss which I am struggling with at the moment & it is frustrating because I have only lost two pounds since Christmas 🤔
Oh well I will keep trying & plodding on & am back making homemade soups which are delicious!
I hope everyone has a good weekend & next week.
Margaret xx

I’m taking part in A Letter in Mind – Brain Appeal’s envelope art fundraiser for 2026. Artworks on envelopes of any size up to A4, can be created using any medium the artist chooses.

All the artworks are all sold at the same price of £85 each, to raise funds for the support of those living with brain conditions.

Will you join me? This year’s theme is Spring Forward and you can register today at, aletterinmind.org and the deadline for submission of artwork is the end of February.