CATHY good luck with the changeover to your new hair when it happens. It sounds lovely and it’s also good to hear that you are feeling positive about it and have a healthy acceptance of the situation. I’m glad you enjoyed your first Oxfam shift too. Very well done for maintaining your weight with all that’s been happening this week.

No loss for me again, as it’s been a busy week socially. But no gain either so I guess that’s a positive. I am finally having my lip surgery next Wednesday, so that may slow me down a bit for a couple of days 🙀. Will report back in due course. But I’ve been exercising lots and also trying to make the most of this glorious weather while it’s still with us. Tried to view the eclipse on Wednesday but didn’t have the proper glasses so didn’t really see much. But it felt good to be out there observing nature.

ARCTICFOX you’ve had such extreme weather and I was so sorry to hear about your wildfires. That sounds very scary and I’m so glad to hear you are ok. And it’s great that your first face to face meeting with your potential partner went so well. I hope that you can both work the practicalities out if you decide you do want to be together.

Hello to everyone else on here. I hope you all have a good weekend, and here’s to a positive week next week.

Hello
What a very hot summer we are having in The UK! Today is roasting! I’ve had a week. Ì went to choose my new wig on Tuesday. I was very apprehensive and it wasn’t easy trying them one whilst wearing my hair system but i have chosen a lovely grey one and i am having a fringe cut into it in a couple of weeks,. Thank you for sharing your wig story Sue, it really was a positive experience when you wore yours for the first time. I’ve gone for a similar colour and style to my system but a little shorter. I am going to be open and honest about it being a wig if anyone asks. I have to accept my alopecia. I lost my hair when I was 13 after being diagnosed with Still’s Disease which is a juvenile form of rheumatoid arthritis.
My husband is away next week and i am opening up the Buddhist group he runs and i dont want to go with my new hair on my own. So we are going to attempt to remove the hair system when he gets back and i have an appointment for the fringe to be cut in a couple of weeks. I can always cut the hair connecting beads out from my hair if we cant undo the aluminium clips. I have very little hair on my head and my husband has never seen the extent of my hair loss so it’s going to be quire distressing for me. Anyway, it is what it is. We will be fine.
I started my Oxfam job on Wednesday and I loved it. I was only there for a morning but I enjoyed it. I was steaming clothes and sorting them. It’s a lovely shop. I am going in again next week. Because of the stressful week I haven’t lost any weight yet! I weighed the same today as I did last Friday. I ate a sandwich at the shop that the manager bought for me which was really kind and I felt I had earned it to be honest.
I will knuckle down next week and see if I can get under 140lb.
Hope you’ve all had a good week.

Hope your recovery is continuing to progress nicely, Verano and that your op will go well, Margaret.

Seems you have a solid plan, SG and sounds like you have dropped back after that blip on the scales earlier in the week, which must be a relief.

Yesterday got very busy, hence my not posting my weekly result as usual. Glad to say things are continuing on a downward trend, with another pound gone. This puts me at 13lb above target and 7lb outside of the right stone bracket, so still work to do. I’m determined to get as many pounds ditched as possible before our next trip away though, which will be towards the end of September.

Keep up the good work everyone 👏🏻 👍🏻

Hi Simon, how was the holiday. Hope you have come back full of motivation as you will have been able to achieve so much more than when you were xxx lbs heavier. Dont worry if you have had a gain. Its a reset. If you have managed to say the same or even lose then great for you.

Well I am back down into the 74’s but not quite what I was before. Always motivated and never give up. As I always say my BG is more important than my weight. Reduced insulin to 18 units and BG is still under 90 in the morning. Been doing post meal testing and still staying within the limits between 140-180. Scraped in yesterday at 179 so things are as they should be. Not going to do this every day, just a couple to see how meals affect me and how my BG behaves.

My new goal is to lose weight for daughters visit in 5.5 weeks, and for doctors visit in 5 weeks and blood tests in 4.5. Again, more interested in BG and want to be in the mid 6’s. My weight goal was 1kg per month but want to up that over the next 5 weeks. Not giving a number, just want to see the scales go down consistently.

Verano, when I use voice AI is speak to a man – thats on Gemini – but if I am just on google I imagine a woman. I asked a simple question about weight gain and my medication. She gave me an answer but then she prompted me by asked me a question – like, do you take other meds, do you have other medical problems. And the conversation went on until she knew my life history. One thing I didnt like is this morning I was setting my watch for timing my swim and it asked me if I had taken my Glicalizide and if so did I need some carbs. So now my watch knows everything about me. A bit scary.

All the best for your operation Margaret.

Enjoy the eclipse but stay safe. You are all around my age so probably experienced one before.

Thank you Verano I will post how I get on if I am still able to read with my existing reading glasses😀
Margaret xx

S-g I talk to AI all the time but I have assumed my ‘mentor’ is male!!!
Anyway glad you’re finding it useful. I’ve been using it for my sourdough starter and have to say it’s pushing me in the right direction! Glad you’ve had rain anyway even if it could have been better timed,

Wendy I’m 12 days in and have to say that I think this post surgery is easier than the last. I really don’t think the actual procedure takes more than 5-10 minutes it’s just all the time beforehand with eye drops etc. Very best wishes for next Monday I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’s just the beforehand that we have to deal with! It’s worth the stress!

So I’m now into week 6 of my Second Nature course. I have to say that there are lots of posters so that helps to keep the momentum up. It’s not really a weight loss ‘diet’ per se but more a lifestyle change for T2 or pre diabetics. So for us we already know about low carb so from that aspect not really helpful. But the daily ‘articles’ and the obvious enthusiasm really do help. Anyway, almost half way through for me and I will keep going, weight loss is slow but hey… it is what it is!

Have a good week.

WOW! I hadn’t realised how long it was since my last post.
So…..
Thank you Sunny for keeping this thread alive…..

So I need to find three …..

🧤🌳🪻gardener came today and has made a great job of the grass …. just wish we could still do it ourselves!

🥖🍞🥖 I know this isn’t really BSD friendly but my sourdough starter is now 6 days old and is looking pretty good. Today I gave it a name ‘Toby’ my first cat, a stray, about 30 something years ago! Anyway, Toby is doing well!

🥦🥒🫒 Eating really well at the moment. Not necessarily low calorie but low carb. I’m just glad that I’m back into the swing of keeping my blood sugar in check.

Hope everyone has at least one positive today.
Have a good week

Welcome Skulder & I hope you have a good week!
Thank you Verano and I will ask for pillows & a sedative for my cataract op😊 which is next Monday.
Gosh S-G well you at least have some rain but what an evening & I know what you mean about gentlemen needing a deodorant because I played short mat bowls with one who I found difficult to stand next to which was rather awkward being in the same team 🙁
The joust was interesting but my husband & I bowed out early after seeing the jousting event & being there five hours because we were becoming rather overcome by the heat & not eating very wisely with a sausage roll then after watching a cookery demonstration of making Tudor bread, a bread roll & butter🫣. Oh dear trying to do better today with a big mixed salad with some spicy chicken, chorizo, avocado, pine nuts & a little cheese plus some cubed beetroot that I had boiled after being given four by a neighbour. I have never handled or cooked raw beetroot before so a new experience for me 😂
Keep on going everyone & take care in the heat. My husband & I will be driving up to London for lunch with friends & the temperature will be 37c!
Margaret xx

Post from exclusive 4 you reported

Hi all, a few days ago I said I was down to 74.4 (for the second time) but after my Saturday meal I am up to 75.7. How does that happen. I had 3 courses and I eat very little, the waitress even asked if there was something wrong with the food. Of course I had several glasses of wine and a Kir. I know it is the alcohol but for heavens sake can I not have a meal and a drink once a month without ruining all my hard work.

I had a long chat with AI and I’ll say she – she told me my medication regime is the worst for weight gain or holding onto weight. She gave me a lot of advice about various chats I can have with my doctor and honestly I have already had them all. She suggested SGLT2 but what I didnt realise is they have to be taken with Metformin and Metformin makes me ill. So, new stragegy, she said my numbers are running so low I am almost hypo – I am at around 80 to 85, each morning fasting. She said I should be at 90 to 100. Plan is the reduce insulin by 2 units and not panic when I see my BG go up each morning. She said it will settle down when my body gets used to it. Also said I should do a test 2 hours after a meal and gave me a range I should be in. I have never bothered after meals checks but it is something I will do. We are all learning all the time. I forgot today and cant do it in the evening as it clashes with having already taken insulin so will do an after lunch test.

Concert last night was mixed. The cathedral is massive and there must have been around 1000 people. The music was okay but I was sat behind a man who insisted on draping his arm over the back of the chair and he really needed some deoderant. Directly behind me was a woman who clapped like a seal with flippers – nearly deafened me. When we left the wind whipped up and we were about to stop for a coffee at a bar when the tables and chairs when off down the road. So we quickly made it to the car before the heavens opened up and we had one hell of a storm – thunder, lightening from 3 directions and the wind. We drove home slowly and got home safe and were grateful for the rain. What an evening.

Take care in the heat everyone. We are absolutely sick of it.

Thought it time to post a few positives and bring this thread back to the top.
😄😄 stayed with my Dad for a few days, good to see he’s coping well and still getting out and socialising
🤗🤗 caught up with youngest son and his fiancée, haven’t seen them for awhile, so enjoyed getting their news first hand
🫂🍽 impromptu meal with friends last evening, very pleasant evening, sitting outside and chatting

Hope to be reading positives from others soon, so please post at least one if you have a moment to spare.

Re-reported

Welcome Skulder … hope you are settling into this way of eating and beginning to see results. Personally, this way of WoE which is similar to keto (but possibly a little less stringent) was the only thing that worked for me post menopause. I find it’s essential for me to manage the carbs if I want to see lower readings on the scales. SG and Verano are the best people to advise on any T2 issues with the BSD and I know they will offer you support if needed.

I’ve been away to stay with my Dad for a few days and given this meant a bit less control on the menu, was impressed the scales only read 0.5lb higher than when I left home.

Today is a fasting day, which I always find easier in hot weather and I’ll be reporting in tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well, look forward to reading your results soon.

SG, hope you survived the concert okay.

Cathy all the best for your new hair appointment 🙂
It reminded me of when I lost all of my hair 12 years ago now (through chemo) and I wore a wig. I was really nervous going to work wearing it for the first time, and I remember a colleague saying to me in the lift that she loved my new hair do! She hadn’t realised it was a wig.
When not at work I used to wear it with a baseball cap, it looked more natural, although my family teased me as I looked like a notorious criminal of the time!

ArcticFox- so sorry to hear about the devastating wildfires affecting your area. It’s frightening to think about having to flee for your life and to have to leave your animals behind. I’m glad you’ve met your new potential partner – let’s hope things can blossom.
Heidi- welcome back to the group and unlike DCT our super sleuth I had no idea of your previous identity!! Take things at your own pace and we are all doing it our way.
Mariet- hope your hand is getting stronger. Glad you’re joining us for a reset.
Sue- slow and steady wins the race. You will get there. Your determination and commitment to the process has earned you success over the years. Good nutrition is the way forward. I think youre being sensible and thinking about the long term.
Today I weighed 140.8 so a loss of 4lb this week. To be honest I didn’t give it 100% every day so I’ve done really well!
I am continuing my reset this week and I’ve got quite an exciting week ahead. Tomorrow I am going to a wig shop for a consultation. I am thinking wigs might be the future as I was so upset with what happened to my hair system back in May and it’s still not been resolved. It’s exciting but also nerve wracking! All my close friends know about my alopecia but many others dont! It will be difficult facing people with a wig. I don’t like the word wig so I am saying new hair! On Wednesday I am starting at Oxfam as a volunteer in a shop.
Looking forward to hearing how your first week as gone. Have a great week everyone

Hi Arctic, I was thinking about you as I know the fires have been pretty close in previous years. Things have quietened down here but we have yet another heatwave coming this week. Tonight we had a massive storm with heavy rain so hope that keeps things dampened for a while.

Stay safe and good luck with you new prospective partner.

Hi everyone,
Thought I’d quickly check in just in case people have heard about what is happening here. Since August 1st, there have been scary wildfires happening once again in my area. The Aug 1st one was within 20km of my house and people only had minutes to escape. In the end I was not affected but it was a tense 24 hours and we got lucky with a wind change. 230 people lost their home though, so it is tragic. Then on Friday, an absolutely huge fire blew up from just a few hectares to over 10,000 hectares in just a few hours. People did not have time to do more than just flee with their own lives. People had to let their livestock and pets go. An entire community was lost. It is incredibly sad for us. It has been hard with the natural disasters since 2017. It seems like we just get hit time and time again. I know Britain and Europe have been hard hit this summer too with heat and wildfires. It just seems that for us it is year after year and it is getting hard to cope with. Anyway, I currently have 2 evacuee foster cats in my spare bedroom. We all step up and try to support each other and if we are not immediately impacted, we do what we can for those who are as we know it could be us next and others will do the same for us.
In spite of all of this, I did manage to drive a few hours to meet my new potential partner half way between our homes yesterday. It went well. We need more time together in person to see if it will actually work or not. There are a lot of practicalities that will need sorting too. I got to spend a day in cooler temperatures and out of the smoke too as a result. We ordered takeaway from a cafe and had a picnic in a park across the street. So it was very nice just to sit outside under the trees together and not have to worry about anything for a bit.
With all the stress, I’m afraid I have fallen off piste with the food situation. It always seems to happen this way and more likely to happen in the summer it seems. But I have lots of veggies in the fridge for the week and will make a run into town later to pick up some soy free tofu and duck eggs.

I am on my way out to a concert in Bergeac cathedral. Classical. Just wanted to say hi to Skulder, and welcome to the site and our little thread. We are a few T2’s so are in a good position to advice you. Maybe a bit more info like meds, how long diagnosed, fingerprick or HbA1c numbers and a typical days meals. Only as much as you feel comfortable with telling us. We have all been at the start of this process and know just how frightening it can be. Take care.

Margaret well done on the weight loss. You will be fine with your operation, yes a sedative might help.

Got to go – BTW it is 36 degrees and 7.30 in the evening. Water and a fan will be with me in the cathedral although I hope it will be cool.

HEIDI hello! Tbh I’d worked out it was you
– bells were ringing – but wanted to respect your boundaries 😊.

Either way, it’s lovely to have you back, and I very much look forward to continuing our journey together.

Lots of love xx

Hi DCT. Whoops I used my previous user name. My cover has blown! I thought you would remember caronl too. 😀
I might as well stick with Heidi though, since there has been a lot of life and living since my caronl days.

I very much hope to stick more closely to the group from now on. Focus and energy continue to be my real challenges at the moment, even 6 months after my husband’s death. But that’s all the more reason for eating healthily, I suppose.

Anyway I love your realistic goals and commitment to this way of eating and a healthier way of life. Good luck with the reset!

CARONL hello! I remember you from a while ago. Good to have you back. And it’s great that you’re joining the motley crew for an August reset.

I’ve had a mixed week. Set myself the target of 150lb for the week and nearly got there midweek till I sabotaged it with curry and cocktails 🙀. I completely agree with an earlier discussion about allowing ourselves leeway for special outings, celebrations, holidays etc. My problem is that I think I overuse that leeway. I’m very lucky to have an active social life – particularly this summer with the combination of the glorious weather and now being fully retired. But that means lots of opportunities to go off piste.

But on the other hand I’m still comfortable with my MO of slow and steady. I’m hoping for 149 by the end of next week and as long as I have more days strictly on the WoE than I do off it, I’m hopeful of getting there.

Another thing I’ve been reflecting on is the importance of seeing this as a long term WoE and not a crash diet (even though it can serve as both). I want to try and continue to make realistic and healthy adjustments to my eating rather than just cutting everything out to try and lose weight.

Lots to think about but let’s all keep going in our own way and work towards our individual goals for this month and the rest of 2026 X

Wendy I’m sure I had a pillow under my head and also under my knees, I can honestly say it wasn’t as uncomfortable as a hygienist appointment. I was more stressed than I realised for my second one but actually the results feel better even just 9 days post op. A sedative might be a good idea though. Well done on the loss!

Skulder, hello and welcome. These boards aren’t as active as they used to be but you have come to the right place for help and support. There are a few of us who have been here for many years and probably stay here to stop us falling into our old ways again.

If I can give you one piece of information that I wish I had known a lot sooner it’s that carbs are the real secret to controlling T2 and not weight per se. Yes weight is a contributory factor but carbs are our real enemy: bread, potatoes, rice, pasta.

I found this Way of Eating back in 2016. I had T2 but my blood sugar was not that high really although I was on the highest dose of Metformin with the threat of another drug being added. I found Michael Mosley and I followed a low carb diet of 50g per day, roughly. At that time I was guided by my doctor and came of Metformin slowly. Anyway my T2 has been in remission for over 9 years now. I do eat the odd potato and I have low carb bread a couple of times a week, but I tend to stay away from rice and pasta and that seems to work for me.

You say you have ‘unprocessed carbs’ can you elaborate please. Having brown rice or pasta or bread doesn’t really work. If you check the carbs you will see they are still very high. There are lots of ‘tricks’ such as cauliflower mash instead of potatoes, even cauliflower pizza bases! I usually have sliced green vegetables as a base for curry and it’s amazing how quickly your ‘sweet tooth’ disappears. In time you will find lots of things are just too sweet. You say you followed a keto diet which is really just a very very low carb diet so I’m sure you will have no problem with the Blood Sugar Diet.

Good luck on your new journey!

Hi everyone,
I am popping in after quite a time away. Lovely to catch up on your posts and hear the achievements – walking, weight reduction, resets etc. I love the idea of an August reset, and will join you – albeit rather late and a bit tentatively. After two lots of visitors and too many slips, I am ready to pay myself some attention and feel healthier again. Have a nice weekend.

Hello, I’m new here but could not find an introductory thread. I have a huge amount of weight to lose but everything seems to be against me. I’m T2 so that’s the first issue I want to address as I feel tired ALL the time. I started on Monday with two shakes a day (not ideal, I know) and one small meal in the evening with fat, protein and unprocessed carbs. Going well so far.
In the past, when I was younger, I lost six stone in six months on keto – keto doesn’t seem to work for me post menopause!
Just wanted to say hello!

Hello everyone & amazingly I have lost a pound in weight despite going to a Michelin starred cream tea for our 52nd wedding anniversary on Monday & having some wine & puddings at supper this week. I had my Spa-Medica pre-op appointment on Tuesday & I have to go ahead with my second cataract op in a couple of weeks time. I do now find lying still with my head tilted back very uncomfortable particularly with not being able to move my head for twenty minutes as I found out with my hygienist appointment on Thursday so I suppose it was a useful practice session 🤔. Oh well needs must but I will ask for a sedative this time to try to feel more relaxed.
On the more amusing side my husband & I will be going to a Medieval Joust on Sunday which is a local annual event with a set up village with craft lessons & music, & sword fighting & jousting on horses.The temperature is on the rise again so taking water & using sun tan lotion although the village is set up in shade amongst trees. When we went before The Medieval Babes were singing which was very enjoyable but not sure who is this year.
Well best feet forward for next week everyone 🤞👍
Margaret xx

Mariet – no truer words said there than not being able to out walk a poor diet!
I’m a good case in point – I have been walking for 50 minutes almost every morning for the last 2 years and it hasn’t made any real impact on my weight – although perhaps to some degree it’s stopped me from becoming even bigger 😂
Glad to hear that your surgery went well.

I’ve had a good sort of week, have kept active and for the most part ate heathy, nutritious meals – my favourite breakfasts have been Choc berry porridge, apple berry crumble, baked protein pancake, and today I had carrot cake baked oats. This one made a huge portion so I just had half as I was full after that. I did also have a Hungry Jacks breakfast roll one morning when we were out early, but balanced this out by having no lunch and an early dinner.
I weighed in at 98kg on Friday, which is where I was at about a month ago. Im 5’9” so can carry a bit extra, but I’m a size 18 and prefer to be 16, so aiming for that. I have 10kg I’d initially like to lose, and then possibly another 5-10kg.
My first goal is to shed a few kilos and be under 94kg by the end of September.
I wish I could be as determined and focussed as you Cathy, but I’m just not!
So happy to take it slowly, I’m focussing on good nutrition and eating habits. One thing I have found since eating more filling breakfasts is that I don’t feel like snacking at all, and can skip lunch. As my husband and I get up before 6am we like to have our evening meal fairly early, so this works well.
Hopefully everyone else is having a good week. It’s a beautiful sunny winter morning here so I’m going to get outside and get some gardening done 🙂

Hi everyone, so good to hear hope you’re going and your results.
I had an operation on my hand two weeks ago, it was my dominant hand and it’s very difficult to manage without the thumb! Luckily the dressings are all off now and I can use it again. I think I was a little too self indulgent with the butternut biscuits and I have not lost any of the 2 kg I put on during my holiday a month ago. I am feeling good now though and ready to knuckle down to it. I am weighing daily again for a week and so how that goes. I am walking every day, 8000-10000 steps but I’ve noticed before that exercise has little effect on my weight- can’t out walk a poor diet!
Interested to hear how everyone is getting on.

Sunny I haven’t made the bread yet! Just started the starter today, so we shall see when it comes out of the oven! I’ve almost perfected the bagels but I only eat one a week …. my treat!

S-g I was just looking back today to when we first started here and yes I lost a quite a lot of weight and yes I’ve put quite a lot back on but I’m still a good 20lbs less than I was 10 years ago. So taking a long view, if we hadn’t been following this way of life how much would we weigh, how would our health in general be, how would our T2 in particular be???

I think we have to take today, wherever we stand as a win. Ten years on and, I’m sure, in far better health than we would have been without BSD.

Onwards towards better health and let’s worry a little less about the number on the scale!
Have a good weekend.

Hi there, just reporting in but no real news. Still at 74.4 or should I say, back down to. However, we are going out for a meal on Saturday and intending to enjoy it. It is because the quiz night was cancelled and we only go out once a month usually. We are going to a concert in the church in Bergerac on Sunday but no food involved – we might call for a drink after but as it is a Sunday most places will be closed.

Nearly the weekend so enjoy.

Hello everyone
Just a quick check in- no weight change today – 140.4. I wasn’t expecting another drop as I’ve already lost 4.4 lb since Monday! Today it’s Greek Salad for lunch and my evening meal will be two field mushrooms wlth garlic cheese and Mozzarella and salad. My August goal is 138 lb.
I am going to continue for the whole of August even if I get to goal beforehand just to see what happens. Once my mind is made up I am focused. Let’s rock day 4!

Hello everyone
Day 3 and i am down to 140.4 this morning. I haven’t felt hungry which has been a surprise. Yesterday I had coffee for breakfast and lunch was an apple and some peanut butter and I made some of the apple and cinnamon muffins from the fast 800 online recipe suggestion and ate a couple with my lunch. My evening meal was Halloumi, baked mushrooms and tomatoes and two fried eggs, I then had some yoghurt and raspberries. I ate a handful of seeds and nuts later on in the evening. Not strictly 800 calories but healthy, unprocessed food. I don’t actually count calories but I can tell through years of experience if I am doing ok. I felt hungry at breakfast this morning so ate a couple of the muffins with my coffee- delicious!.

Dawn, I know how determined you are so I have a good feeling you will be in the zone with us once your daughter’s boyfriend goes home and you can focus on preparing yourself the healthy meal options.

I am erring on the lazy side again which I am not proud of. My husband is away this week and I am using it as an excuse to slob about! I went to the charity shop yesterday and bought a pile of books. I am really into reading at the moment and have read some quite challenging books this last few weeks which Ive really enjoyed. I am currently half way through The Count of Monte Cristo, I read Piranesi last week and prior to that read The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Murukami. I feel like an English literature student! I really will have to get out walking today.

I always feel that when you’ve got the first two days under your belt, things get a little easier with ‘dieting’. Let’s hope we can make good choices today. I’m going to make some broccoli and cheddar soup for my evening meal I think and I’ll have some yoghurt and raspberries. Curry and book club will certainly be a challenge today DCT but like we said, make good choices when you can and enjoy parties, festivities and occasions for what they are. Book club is always a highlight of the month for me and so I like to indulge in the snacks! I had a curry on Sunday evening and the damage has already gone so enjoy and get back to business tomorrow. That is the recipe for success I think.
I will report back tomorrow. Have a good day. Remember, we’ve got this!

Hi DAWN good to hear from you! Have a lovely time with your family and I hope that you can then get back on track. Look forward to seeing how you get on.

I had a good day yesterday and am down another half pound this morning. Meals yesterday were a boiled egg for breakfast, salad of halloumi, smoked salmon, beetroot, tomato and lettuce for lunch, then fresh tuna and green veg for dinner. Just drinking black coffee and iced water. I may not lose any more today as I’m out for a curry later then it’s Book Club, but will do my best to make mindful food and drink choices and not go completely off piste.

I’m also making a determined effort to exercise everyday. My daily dog walks have been shorter recently due to the heat, but I’m trying to make my steps up either by building in an extra walk or by other activities such as gardening and housework. I’m also going to the gym every day. Monday it was Pilates, yesterday swimming and today Aqua.

Will report back in the morning,.

Hope everyone else is doing ok xx

Hi everyone,
It’s great to hear about all of your resets😀 Mine has stalled a bit as DD’s boyfriend has been staying with us for a week and my intentions to make myself separate meals hasn’t materialised, I have a fridge full of healthy ingredients though so will get cracking properly tomorrow. Cathy I haven’t tried the Fast 800 shakes but have found the protein bars helpful in the past and also the protein powder for adding to things I’m making to up the protein content. I will probably weigh myself some time next week. Keep up the good work everyone! Dawn X

Verano, you’ve much more will power than me to resist homemade sour dough! Glad to hear you’re doing well though.
SG, the call thing sounds very frustrating, but at least you now know you’d have gained little from it and comforting to know you have all the tools you need to move forward.
Thought I’d report in my result for the past week … no progress made … no loss, no gain. Did drip by a pound on Saturday, but that didn’t consolidate and the scales have blipped back up.
Onward and hopefully downward then. This week isn’t going to be a normal one, as from tomorrow I’m visiting with my Dad, which means a bit less control on the menu. That said, I shall be vigilant and try not to get too far off piste.
Hope everyone else is doing well … looking forward to reading about your progress. Keep going everyone.

Hi everyone

CATHY and SUE well done on your progress so far. I had a good first day and am down to 151lb this morning. Yesterday I had scrambled egg for breakfast (admit I did have half a slice of sourdough bread too!), a small salad for lunch with tuna, sweetcorn, feta cheese, tomato and avocado, and a prawn stir fry for dinner.

I seem to be coming across lots of articles about food at the moment too. One was in a recent newspaper about how the French way of eating is really good for you and you can still lose and maintain weight on it. The premise was that you can have some unexpected things like fresh bread, red wine and a variety of cheese but keep everything in moderation, and ensure you have lots of protein, veg and olive oil too. Basically describes the Mediterranean diet 🙂. But the key thing that struck me was making everything fresh and from scratch – ideally shopping day to day just for what you need that day (if that fits with your lifestyle, otherwise you could batch cook). But it concurs with one thing you said CATHY about your recent success, which was completely eliminating any kind of processed food. The article also stressed the importance of eating slowly and savouring food rather than just shoving it in mindlessly, which is another thing I need to take on board!

So my approach for the next few weeks is slow and steady and focusing on enjoying fresh and wholesome foods in sensible quantities. Will do my best to avoid sugars and excess carbs, and reduce wine which is usually my big bugbear.

Hope everyone else is doing well and that we all have a productive week X

Hi SueBlue
Great to read your day 1 restart news. I like that youre looking at a new approach too. It’s all about finding the magic trick that works for us . I haven’t tried the fast 800 shakes. I might give them a try – would be good to take to work for lunch. I can quite easily skip food for breakfast nowadays and I just have a cup of caramel Nespresso coffee – it’s a delicious flavour and contains no sugar. Feels like a treat for me. I started having them when I did my 12 week reset back in February. This morning I was 141.4 which just goes to show that my 144.8 yesterday must have been water weight. I did keep going to the loo yesterday so my body has responded to the keto 800 very quickly!
Dawn- how are you doing?
DCT- how was your first day?
To everyone else in the “we’ve got this”thread- how are you all doing? We have five months ahead of us in 2026 to make this year count. It only takes a few weeks to make a difference. It would be lovely to get an update on your journey.

Hi all, thanks for sharing your Day 1 update Cathy, it sounds like you are off to a great start 🙂
I had planned to re-join the online plan but am just holding off for a few more weeks. Earlier this year I kept seeing Reels and posts on social media about Filling Meals with Lindsay, and last week I borrowed the book at my local library. It’s not a diet as such, there’s no calorie counting, the plan is around eating filling meals basically, using foods that are nutrient dense, provide volume and are filling. It’s a lot different to BSD but I wanted to give it a go as lots of people in the Facebook group have lost weight following the plan.
The meals are around 500 cal each, but you can adjust serving sizes to suit your appetite. So far I’ve enjoyed the meals I’ve made from the book. I’ll continue cooking meals on this plan for a few weeks, mixed in with some BSD/Fast 800 meals and see how I go.
I had Choc berry porridge for breakfast yesterday (oats, chia + flax seeds, cocoa, maple syrup, mixed berries and Greek yoghurt), then some left over slow cooked beef and veggies for lunch (my own recipe) and then Haloumi kebabs (a Fast 800 recipe that’s become a family favourite) for dinner. I didn’t snack in between meals, I wasn’t hungry at all. I didn’t count calories but estimate they would have been around 1100-1200 or so. I also walked 5500 steps (50 minutes) in the morning.
I haven’t weighed myself yet as my scales need a new battery but am going to do that on Friday, which is my usual weigh-in day.
It’s now Day 2 for me and I had another breakfast from the Filling Meals book – Banana overnight oats. It was very filling and I’m going to either skip lunch or have a Fast 800 shake, and then have spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. My husband has his with pasta and I’ll have the sauce on veggies instead.
Hope all going well with everyone else 🙂

Hello
Day 1 of my August reset complete. It started with an early alarm clock awakening as I promised to help out my elderly aunt this morning. I weighed in after jumping out of bed and was disappointed to see my weight has crept up to 144. Not a surprise, I’ve eaten cheese pie and chips on Thursday, an ice cream on Friday and had a curry last night!

Today I had a cup of coffee for breakfast, I had an apple, some cheese and a few walnuts for my lunch and my evening meal was halloumi, peppers, kale and 60 g of mixed beans. I didn’t go for my walk as I walked a long way on Saturday and my toes were very painful.

Day 1 is done. 29 more August days ahead. August Goal is 138 lb. Feeling good, not feeling hungry which I am surprised about on day 1. How did you do today?

Hi all, so much for my Zoom call being free. Received a reminder to log onto zoom and she sent a short video to give me an idea of what it was all about. Straight off she said if you decide to go with my services there is an initial fee of £2,500. I contacted her and said it wasnt worth my time as I wasnt going sign up and she came back with the emotional blackmail – so you dont want to invest in your health. Funny thing is we ended up having a very long chat via whatsapp and finally convinced her that I knew as much as she does and she would not be of any help. So I have an hour free tomorrow to look at some cruise tours.

Quiz night has been cancelled due to lack of interest. A lot of people are away or dont like going to a stuffy restaurant in this heat. Good news is they are having air con put in so maybe next one on first Monday in September. We actually had some rain today – about 10 minutes. Yeah.

Glad you are doing well Verano but that sour dough will be very hard to resist. I know, my daughter makes it all the time, just the smell is enough to drive you to carb heaven.

Hello.
Just wanted to pop in to make sure I’m still ‘accountable’!

Things going very slowly here but definitely on a downward trend so all good really.
I don’t eat bread but have become obsessed with baking my own sourdough. I’v got all the equipment so now I just have to make my ‘starter’. Think this new hobby might keep me occupied for a while. Thank goodness for YouTube!!

Hope everyone is well and as we are starting a new week let’s make it a good one!

Good morning everyone
Reporting for duty too DCT. I am at my aunts house this morning as she has an internet issue so we are awaiting the repair man! I weighed in at 144.8 after a week of debauchery! So far today I’ve had a coffee with milk. I’ve brought an apple with me whilst we await the repair man!
I hope to be 138 by the end of August! Here we go. Good luck everyone. I’ll sign in later today once I am back at home and update you on my day.

Morning everyone. Just to check in at the beginning of this week / month – and of course for a few of us the Great August Reset! Reporting for duty and I really want to be accountable this month. As both CATHY and SUNSHINE GIRL say above, there will be occasions when we allow ourselves to go off piste – and I do have a couple of those coming up this month. But my downfall is that once I’ve had a day or two wining and dining I just then let that become the norm again instead of reverting back to the better WoE. So I hope to keep things more balanced this month!

I’m starting at a weight of 151.8lb and would hope to end the month at around 147/148lb. My longer term goal is to try to get to 138lb by Christmas. Here we go . . . . !!

Temp up to 36 today, sat out having brunch and had to come in as starting to feel sick. I dont do hot weather very well and France didnt used to be this hot.

Weight now down to 74.2 which is the lowest I have been in a long time but never really moved past that. So, besides a meal out tomorrow for the quiz, I am determined to get down to 73.0.

Not much to report. Weight is still dithering around 74.4, not quite got to my lowest yet which was 74.2. Still hoping for a 73.9 on the scales by Monday. We are going to our monthly quiz night so expecting a blip up. I have a zoom call with someone called Valeria Lopez who does a free consultation. She promises it is free and no hard sell. I have given her my details healthwise and I think she will say there is nothing she can do due to the insulin injections. We will see.

Finally got round to booking a cruise for next year. I have been wanting to go to Greece and Turkey but it is a long cruise and usually on a massive ship. It is 20 days but on a medium ship so hubby is okay and I have decided as a seasoned cruiser I dont have to do everything every day. I love dressing up for dinner but when you have done it 9 nights in a row it gets a bit wearing, after 12/14 nights I just want to go home. So it will be jeans (or shorts) and the buffet when I dont feel like making an effort. Also on P&O they do a lot more daytime events like cooking, yoga, bowls, lectures etc, so I will keep myself busy. Anyway, main point – I have a lot of weight to lose and something to do it for.

Still hot here at around 29/30 but that is so much cooler than 40. Enjoy the weekend.

I’m so pleased everything went well Verano 👏👏. I will find out on Tuesday why they don’t want to laser my left eye because I don’t think the cataract in my right eye is bad enough yet to need to be removed but I suppose I could have it done because it’s all NHS & availability etc. My optician seemed very definite that I should discuss my cataract so perhaps it is worse than I think & he didn’t want to discuss it with me since I looked so unenthusiastic 🤔
Thank you S-G & my toothbrush also has a timer on & I do try to stand on one leg but wobble & often lean against the towel rail😂. I have weighed & unfortunately gained 0.75lbs which is irritating because I ate carefully last week but obviously not carefully enough. However I will get out my Jane Fonda dvd & restart doing exercises with my hand weights!!
Take care Verano & I will take my sunglasses with me because I’m sure my eye will be dilated to examine it.
Have a good week everyone 👍
Margaret xx

Thought I’d check in with some pre-weekend positives …..
😀😀 two grandchildren visited this week and I bumped into another whilst out shopping today
💦💦 actually had a bit of rain yesterday … short lived, but was actually quite pleasant
🍽🍛 OH had a day off yesterday, so we went out for lunch .. so nice to do something a bit different during the week

Hope you all have a lovely weekend packed with positives.

Good afternoon.

Thanks for all your well wishes …. they worked! Procedure went smoothly and very little in the way of issues. I had a bit of an ‘ache’ last night and didn’t sleep too well because I was suppose to sleep on my back or the other side neither of which suited. Anyway, apart from light sensitivity all is well. It’s great not to have to wear contacts anymore!

Margaret hope all goes well with your pre-op. I had my first op in February and I must admit having this one in the summer with bright sunny days has meant I’m walking around the house with sunglasses on, a bit pretentious but necessary. Try and arrange to have yours done when we get a wet spell!

I can’t exercise at the moment but as soon as I can I’m definitely going to build some weights into my general routine.

Have a good weekend.

Hi everyone, hope everything goes well today Verano. You are probably home by now.

Received my beetroot supplements today – it has to be a certain type called rosabella – you open the capsule and if it is brown its no good, it has to be purple/red. Hoping for a return of my energy if nothing else.

Margaret, it is my daughter who has led me to weights although I have always used weights with some exercises like arm raises. But now I concentrate on the weights rather than aerobics. If you do a raise with a weight, instead of letting it down, hold it half way to give you more strength. As for balance. Every night I stand on one leg while brushing my teeth, my brush has a timer so I do 30 seconds on each leg. You can hold on because the point is to give your muscle more strength not just worry about your balance, that will follow. I can now stand on one leg for 1 minute, the thing that stops me going longer is my ankle starts to ache. When we start to fall we can now put one leg forward to catch us and it will be strong enough to hold us up, or at least break our fall.

We keep learning all the time.

I hope all goes well today with your cataract op Verano & coincidentally I am also booked into SpaMedica next Tuesday for a pre-op visit because they want to operate on the cataract in my right eye now before laser correcting my left one because cataracts take priority 🤔
S-G it’s interesting what you have said about weight training because I have weights & used to use them in my Jane Fonda exercises but have not done that exercise routine for awhile now 🙁I think I must get back to doing it all because it also includes some balance exercises & although I didn’t use my balance stick whilst playing bowls yesterday I am still rather wonky😂
I am trying to eat sensibly this week but I think my poor sleep does also affect ability to lose weight.
Take care everyone
Margaret xx