Cathy thanks for the update – you’ve been in my thoughts constantly, I can only imagine how worried you’ve been, I hope your appointment at the dentist went well and you start to feel better soon.

Yowzer I hope you are feeling better too!

It really has been an awful year for so many of us in different ways. I had such high hopes for this year, I recently turned 60 and had wanted to lose weight before my birthday, but sadly that didn’t happen and the scales went the other way! I’ve got even more to lose now 🙁 I am hopeful I can at least make something of this year though (diet wise) and am going to knuckle down and try to get back into healthy eating, so I’ll end the year on a lighter note!

Like a lot of you on here, I have a lot on my plate at the moment. My elderly father is terminally ill, so dealing with all of the emotions around that, we are also planning on moving and getting our house ready for sale, I’m also planning on retiring early in the New Year and so work is busy, and to top it all off I’m also dealing with some family issues. At least (fingers crossed!) my health has been generally good, apart from flu during the winter here. The immunotherapy treatment I’m on for RA is really working well, and I’ve been able to cut down on medications. It’s well worth spending a day in hospital every 6 months! The only downside is having impaired immunity but so far that hasn’t caused any major problems.

The one positive thing I’ve done this year for my health is to walk regularly – I walk for 45mlns to an hour 4-5 times a week.

I really need to go back through this thread and catch up on everyone’s posts, but in the meantime take care all x

Sunny that’s what it’s all about …reboot …take charge again in a nutshell!

Has been a sunny day, so that’s a positive … think I can find more though.
🌿🌿 GS helped me with some of the bigger gardening jobs on my list, like removing some branches from the lilac and giving the bay a serious ‘hair cut’
☀️☀️ we’ve booked two weeks of winter sun for next month
🧺🧺 only one wash load away from having the laundry up to date!!

What about you … what have your positives been today?

Nothing to report scales wise, but am happy to be taking control again…. it feels good 🙂

Hi everyone, great you got your Ipad back V, you will have to give it a whole range of new passwords which can be a pain.

Good news about your son Margaret. We are always parents. Grandson is working away from home and rang mum this morning to say he was unwell, sickness, stomach pains etc, he suffers quite a lot but the point is, he rang his mum and he is 20. Bless.

The agent never did contact me and I have left another message so I will be looking. Speak of the devil, he has just rung me and coming round on Wednesday morning. Gives me time to get the house PERFECT.

Nearly the weekend so enjoy. I am cooking a meal from Jamie Olivers Eat Healthy TV programme, chicken balls in broth, sounds delicious.

Well done S-G staying the same weight & it’s good having a night out. I hope you can get your iPad back Verano but it’s always good changing passwords because unfortunately there are so many scammers out there 🙁
I am also plodding along & I have two more days of these new meds which seem to be slightly helping no doubt killing off every bacteria that I have in my gut. I’m taking Kefir & Optibac hoping to counteract this 🤔
I am hoping that I have lost some weight when I weigh on Saturday but my clothes don’t feel much looser. It’s lovely that the sun is shining today & my maple tree is already in autumn colours & we have loads of berries on our plants that the birds will be happy with. We have a wide shallow terracotta bowl in the back garden for wildlife to drink from but one pigeon uses it at his personal bath 😂
My good news is that fingers crossed my youngest son will be signing a new work contract today 🤞We have been very worried & I have already bailed him out with a loan until he starts work but unfortunately can’t afford any more. You never stop being a supportive parent no matter how old your children are.
I hope you soon have some positive news on your house sale S-G 🤞
Keep on going everyone 😀
Margaret xx

Well done staying the same s-g and hope you have some success with your estate agents. House sales are always a nasty business.
Just plodding along here and just about to check out all my passwords. I realise that I need some sort of backup after my recent escapade!
Hope everyone is well.

S-g that’s all we can do!

Hi all, well my night out hasnt really done any damage, went from 74.2 to 74.3. I’ll take that. And we won again, we are usually a team of 2 who come 2nd or 3rd and we have joined the team of 4 who usually come 1st or 2nd – so we help them keep the winning streak. Looking forward to next month.

No real news, we have contacted another estate agent and he was supposed to call me this morning and he hasnt so that doesn’t bode well with me. I dont like people who let me down. We will see.

Hi V, despite my night out I have stayed the same but that means another week with no loss. Keeping on…..

Just one positive for me today ….. my iPad came ! Whooppeeee!
Hope everyone is well and feeling positive.

Oh Antigone. Not the sort of surprise anyone wants. Just a ‘blip’ onwards……

Hi all

Good to see your BS is down s-g.

Well I’ve been home 6 days, but had a 2 night hotel stay and a wedding plus Sunday lunch out with family yet still managed to lose my 2.2lb holiday gain plus 0.4lbs! Can’t work out why or how but I’m just going to run with it! Can only guess that just dropping most of my carb overload has led to a water loss. But, you know, I’ll take it!

Hope this second week of October sees everyone progressing towards their goals

Cathy so good to hear from you, and I’m happy and relieved that it appears to be an abscess after all. Though I share your anger and frustration about the way this has been handled by your dentist. I’m tempted to ask whether it might be possible to change dentist altogether – a different practice perhaps?

Anyway, good luck for Thursday’s appointment and I hope they finally begin to get things sorted for you.

Once all this is behind you I’m sure, with your determination, you’ll be able to focus on weight loss again. Let’s hope we all see some success in that department over the final few weeks of this cruise 🤞

Thanks Verano,
I changed the batteries in my scales and suddenly I’m 3 k heavier 🤦‍♀️ I wasn’t expecting that. I just had chaffles for lunch and might fast for a day or two. Must remember to drink more water! This time next week ladies…we will be lighter!😇

Hello everyone and thank you for thinking of me.
The dentist who I saw this morning in the Max Fax clinic thinks I’ve got a periodontal abscess and has asked that I get my dentist to do a deep clean and she will see me in four weeks. She said if things are no better in four weeks she will take a biopsy. Ive see two dentists at my practice who both told me I didn’t have an abscess. Why was it beyond my dentist to diagnose this? Why did he tell me he thought it could be cancer? I am angry. I’ve felt unwell for weeks and I had the trauma of a cancer referral. I don’t feel confident about my appt on Thursday and I will have to have an anaesthetic before he goes anywhere near my gum. It’s incredibly painful. For the time being this is good news and hopefully it will heal very soon. This started in July before my cruise! I went telling in them I thought I had an abscess!
Anyway, I can’t go backwards only forwards. This has totally scuppered my weight loss journey but that doesn’t really matter.
Yowser, sending you lots of love as you convalesce in your cabin. You’ve had a stormy few weeks/months. I hope you’re soon feeling tip top.
Sending good wishes to everyone: it’s been a difficult few months for a great many of us.
I’m looking forward to feeling better and getting back to normal.
Went out on Saturday to a 40th and met another friend who has had a lot of success using Mounjaro! It seems to be the easiest way to lose weight these days! It’s making me think! Seems so much easier for them than me! I wish I had the courage and finances try it. I haven’t weight myself for about two months. I don’t want to face the truth! I can’t cope with the truth whilst not feeling well. When I feel better I’ll get myself back on track. For now my health is more important.
Thanks everyone for your kindness whilst I’ve been off the grid.

Hi Verano … I’m jumping in and as of this morning I’m still 12lb above target weight and where I want to be. I’m hoping to see at least a pound or two ditched this week.

In an effort to move things along, I shall be keeping an eagle eye on the carbs and cutting out any snacking …. no more sneaking a few roasted nuts when passing through the kitchen! As you say V, little incremental changes.

Hi Sunny great to see you.
Well week 1 was kind to me I lost my 2.2lb holiday gain plus 0.4lbs!
I’ve set up the Week 2 thread. So just one more week to work on our short term goals hoping that little by little we will build lasting habits again.

Welcome to week 2 of the “reboot”.
Whether you’re jumping in with all guns blazing or taking the gentle route this challenge is for just one week. Then we get the chance to start allover again!

My aim for this week is to continue being ‘mindful’ of carbs and to add drinking at least 1ltr of water each day.

Please come.along if you need support or want to offer support.

Hello SunnyB – let’s do this!

Cathy, just wanted to say that I hope your appointment went well today and the Head and Neck surgeon has been able to give you some clarity and support.

Thinking also of everyone else who is struggling with difficult times for themselves, their families and friends.

I’m in need of some accountability, so came seeking a thread to join and found this one … hope it’s okay to join you V, SG and Antigone. I need a reboot and think at this point, a weekly thread will suit me better than the monthly one.

My situation is I’ve been coasting most of this year, as life has rather got in the way of me sticking strictly to the BSD way of eating … and more than the odd glass or two of wine has been embibed!

In the interest of transparency, after ditching a pound or two, I have in the last couple of weeks been maintaining at 12lb above target weight. So I’ve decided now is the time get a grip and start to whittle away those additional pounds. We are likely to be going away for a couple of weeks next month, so really need to see some progress before then.

Tuesday is my usual weekly weigh in day, so I be able to give a better picture of my situation tomorrow.

Heidi, so pleased your parents are being discharged from hospital. Hope they will both make a speedy recovery.

One positive from me for today …. a mooch around a couple of antique/bric-a-brac stores and lunch with my GS.

Hello all

S-g 5lbs is great and as we know only too well weight loss is never a straight line on a graph!

Antigone hope you enjoyed your lunch.

Well week 1 has been a decent start for my reboot. Lots of stress because of iPad loss on Wednesday and Thursday, then long wet motorway journey on Friday. Saturday ‘Amy’ nearly blew us of our feet. Also Saturday sat nav had us driving through a town three times and still not finding the wedding venue! All in all not the best of starts for a reboot.

On the positive side I’ve lost 1.6lbs of my 2.2lb holiday gain so that’s pleasing. I think that’s because I have been very conscious of carbs over the last few days. I did have a slice of toast on the two days we were away and half a roast potato plus a little bit of bread with some pate. Otherwise I’ve been pretty csrb friendly.

I’m trying to add one new aspect of a low carb diet each week. This week I’ve tried to eat fewer carbs and I think next week I’ll add in drinking more water.
Week 1 is almost over. Week 2 of the reboot will be another new start.
Only looking forward to the future!

Not much of a reboot as I am still the same as last Monday but that is 5lbs lighter so not complaining. Going out tonight but the food is aways quite light and the French dont really do carbs, just the bread on the table and the wine. After that I have a full week for recovery and hopefully a loss next week.

Have a good one.

Hi all, well today is not my weigh date but I am going out tonight so it will have to be. Still a loss of 5lbs and really cant complain.

Lacy, I dont have a food routine on Saturday and it is something different each week. I also dont indulge so no crisps of booze or anything my body is not used to. No, it is just Sunday morning. I can suffer with a stress stomach so I think that might be it. Not that I am stressed but because I have had problems with, say, eggs before and my body is anticipating it.

Looking forward to our quiz night. Have a good week everyone.

Hello all,
Glad you managed to find your ipad, Verano – I know I’d be lost without mine!
Hope you get your stomach issues sorted out soon, Margaret – they can really wear you down.
A good stock of home-made soup in the freezer is a great help, Pootle, – it’s a quick, easy meal when you can’t be bothered cooking, and much better for us than takeaway! My kids laugh at me because I freeze the leftover chicken carcasses after roasts etc, but they can’t get enough of the soup I make using them!🤣
S-G – what are you eating on Saturdays? I find I can get the trots next day if I’ve eaten something that disagrees with me, or that I’m intolerant of. Just a thought… Glad your BG is down again, though not great if your pen was contaminated.
Haven’t been around much as a bit of family crap going on, and I just had some very bad news about an old friend. The weather here is slowly starting to come good. Allegedly spring, but still very cold, windy and rainy. Seems like a very long winter this year, and am hanging out for some sunshine! Working on maintenance – my weight swings between 58.5 and 60kg. This morning I weighed 800g less that yesterday, and I have absolutely no idea why. I’d had a couple of glasses of wine with lunch and had expected to put on half a kilo or so. Oh well…
Anyway, best wishes to everyone,
Lacy xx

Good luck with your appointment tomorrow Cathy, and best wishes to everyone who is struggling with personal or family ill health and the issues surrounding that.
Lacy xx

How’s it going Verano? Tomorrow I have a work lunch…once that is done I shall be back on track…is the plan lol!

Hi folks,just want to wish CCATHY all the very best for Tuesday 🙏
Im just staying quiet in my cabin,curled up in my bunk,til I start to feel a bit better.
Leaving love n hugs for everyone,specially those struggling with one thing and another these days.
What a year it has been so far,stormy waters for so many of us.
Hang on in there…things can only get better! XXX
🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿 🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿 🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷

Hi mrsmmf and welcome! I’ve just had a look through the recipes and can’t see a way to favourite them either 🤔. Does anyone else on here know? All I can suggest is either taking a screenshot or maybe adding the link to the favourites / bookmarks in your browser. Sorry, that’s probably not much help! But good luck with your journey and it would be great if you posted on here how you are getting on. Food planning definitely helps. I tend to use the recipes in the books which always seem to work well.

Heidi good to hear from you but I’m sorry to hear about your mum. You’ve got so much on your plate at the moment, and it must be even more difficult hard being in a different country from your parents. You are being very wise about prioritising your time as you obviously can’t be in two places at once but I know you must feel pulled in different directions. Well done for staying on track through all this, and I hope there is some improvement in the respective situations soon.

You are right in that it’s gone very quiet on here! How is everyone doing? I echo all Heidi’s good wishes to you all, and Cathy I’ll be thinking of you on Tuesday.

I’m going ok. Plodding on and gradually managing to get back into better eating and exercise habits. Hope that everyone has a positive week X

Hi everyone, weight back down but means that so far I havent lost anything this week and we are out tomorrow. Still had a 5lb loss so not complaining.

Cannot understand why I have the trots every Sunday morning. Thought it was maybe the runny fried egg or the mushrooms so been cutting them out to eliminate them. Now I get the trots even before I have started cooking. Maybe I have food related stomach before and my unconscious mind still associates it with that. I am going to take 2 Imodium every Sunday morning to stop this. Any ideas.

Hi, I’m not sure where to post this question. I want to favourite some recipes for later but can’t see that this is an option? I’m not a fan of cooking and any small hurdle will just put me off! If I can get organised now with my favourites then go shopping hopefully I can start the week on the right foot in the kitchen!
Many thanks, sorry if this is the wrong place for this question!

Hi everyone. It has gone a bit quiet here. Perhaps we have all been blown away by Autumn gales!
Sending best wishes to CATHY for Tuesday’s appointment, and continuing get well wishes to shingles sufferers, Mariet and her hand, and to Dawn for pre-op health campaign. ArcticFox how are you getting on? Your last post was very upbeat, and I hope that all is well.

I have been a bit quiet too. My father is still in hospital, and then last week my mother was also admitted to a different hospital with pneumonia. Thank goodness my brother lives locally and has been a huge support for them. This has been a real exercise for me too in being clear on where I can actually make a difference, (supporting my husband), and trying not to get upset since it doesn’t help anyone.

Eating healthily and trying to get a decent amount of sleep have both been a godsend. I haven’t been able to start the exercising yet but that will come. But I have managed to stay eating sensibly – with only a couple of blips. I am bouncing round in the same kilo, despite all the worry, and I’ll take that! 19 weeks of healthy living. 14 kilos discarded.

Have a good week and I hope for good news for those who need it. xx

1. Our small garden is still full of autumn colour, despite the strong winds.
2. My mother has been discharged from hospital. Hoping my father will also be discharged this week.
3. I’ve done all the washing!

Great you have located your Ipad. You say your whole life is on it, if I lost my ipad or phone it would just be a bit of a nuisance although I do have a lot of family photos on the phone.

Let myself down last night as I was feeling rather stressed and poured myself a couple of large vodkas. Hence gained 1lb overnight. If I can stick back with the diet I hope that will be gone by tomorrow. Still holding a 5lb loss as I had lost another pound since Tuesday but not ideal. I just sometimes feel really deprived.

BG is back down to a normal level of 100 yesterday and 88 today so it is a good chance the insulin pen was contaminated.

Had a big clear out in the kitchen over the last 2 days and took 3 large boxes of pans, glasses, dishes etc and also a fair amount of plastic containers. Want to rid my life of plastic after reading an article about micoparticles in our blood stream. Must remember not to heat things up in plastic tubs so some of the damage is eliminated.

Pleased you located your iPad & I hope it can quickly be returned to you 🤞
I have just weighed & disappointingly I have only lost half a pound! My husband & I are going to our GP surgery for our flu jabs today & I will collect my new medication then because Boots pharmacy is opposite the surgery.
On we go everyone & I hope that we all have a good next week.
Margaret xx

Hello Antigone. One week at a time might just help you to become a little more mindful.
Well, my ‘virtual voice’ at the moment would be one long scream. Travelling down the M6 in heavy rain and even heavier Friday afternoon traffic! Progress at a snails pace. But, I was prepared so made a salmon salad for a late lunch. I have to say this is the first time in ages that I’ve actually made a low carb lunch to take with me when travelling. Lately I’ve just relied on a sandwich or similar that I could buy. Very lazy but now I am at least trying.
The best we can do is to try!

Oh Pootle, how exciting to have a new puppy joining your household!
Verano, amazing you’ve tracked down your ipad, bet you’re looking forward to having it back.

Positives from me today are ….
🌸🌸 took two bags of surplus items to a charity shop and managed not to buy any ‘new’ items to bring home
🌸🌸 doing quite well at working through all the laundry … estimate that another three loads should clear it
🌸🌸 have made a start on sorting out items for advent calendars

What positives have there been in your day?

Hello.
Just a quick word
Just one positive… my iPad .. left on a plane…lost forever… found in Jersey after a lot of phonecalls, emails and a bit of detective work!
Hope everyone else has only positives today.

Ahh Margaret what a lovely homage to your sister. Hope you get sorted out with your new medication.

S-g sounds like a plan to ditch your current pen. It could just be faulty.

Well, my October has now taken a turn for the better. The iPad which has my ‘life’ on it has been found. It’s in Jersey! Really no help from Easyjet in fact the lost property team really didn’t care. As my OH says they can’t make money out lost property so don’t bother. Anyway, we knew the flight was going to Jersey next and as a last resort, found some numbers to ring and hey! ho! my iPad had been handed in by the crew in Jersey. Now just have the dilemma of how to retrieve it but where there’s a will there’s a way!

So feeling much brighter. My gain for the two weeks was exactly 1kg, 2.2lbs. Sounds nutty but I’m really happy with that. So, onwards we go. I will do my best with cards over the next three days then on Monday I will start weighing etc again.

Thank you S-G for setting up this October thread & thank you Verano for suggesting I speak to my GP which I have done. He is prescribing another med, not an antibiotic he assures me, that helps an active gut that I am yet to get to take for seven days & if that fails I will have hospital investigations. Thank you also AnnieW for your kind suggestions.
I seem to be doing better at the moment probably knowing now that I’m not infectious with anything & the use of Imodium when needed. I think the brain gut axis is certainly something that affects me with the stomach butterflies effect if I’m nervous or I’d really upset rushing to the loo! It’s amazing how really interactive our bodies are & I taking kefir & probiotics. I am also again recording on a daily basis what I am eating trying to reduce my calories to get more in line with the BS Diet. I do hope that October will be a good one for everyone 🤞🤞
Verano Wendy was my identical twin sisters name who died when three weeks old because we were very premature so I also use her name 😀
Margaret xx

Thank you for reporting that stupid post. I saw it on my phone but only use BSD on my hard-drive. Oh what a bummer, hope your Ipad didnt have anything important on it. That’s why I don’t put stuff like banking etc on my phone.

Another reasonable weight loss today so now over the 5lbs. Still cant understand why my BG is in the high 140’s and 150’s. I am wondering if it could be stress, it certainly isn’t what I eat – example yesterday, 30g oats, blueberries, raspberries, seeds incl chia, then a Purition shake and dinner was 3 egg omelette with some parma ham. No snacks, no white carbs, nothing. BG this morning 144. I am sticking to my 18 units of insulin as doctor says I shouldn’t mess around with. Might throw out my current insulin pen in case it is corrupted. Trying anything.

That’s all for now.

Well my October could have started better. Yesterday I let my iPad on the plane!
Can’t begin to tell you where my head is right now. Anyway, we are off to the Midlands tomorrow for a wedding so something good to look forward to.
Monday I’ll be back into good ‘headspace’.
Have a good weekend everyone.

Reported post above.

Thanks for setting us up for the new month S-G.
Verano, Soups and stews great for autumn and winter…I made a huge batch of soup with the last of my home grown courgette, onions and chicken stock… 28 portions now in the freezer! 😁

I do find the colder months more difficult to ‘be good’ with the diet, but will hope to keep on the optimistic straight and narrow!
K.xx

My favourite soup/hearty meal recipe is the one for Spanish chickpea and chorizo from the original BSD book. I will put it here for anyone who wants a spicy chunky soup.

Weight down again but doesnt it go slowly when measured in kgs. Yesterday I was 4.95lbs down, today 4.98. Onwards and downwards.

📽️📽️📽️ Really enjoyed the spur of the moment visit to the cinema. Great ‘relaxing, don’t have to think much’ film!

🐩🐩🐩 Put the deposit down on the new puppy yesterday…arrives on the 13th!!

🫛🫛🫛 Picked a serving of beans this morning, it will be the last…but great to have had so many through the summer!

Hope you all have some positives in your lives today.
K.xx

Thank you for starting this post Verano – timely for me! I did well in September and reached my first goal in 3 weeks but I have been a little complacent this last week. Congrats S-G that is an excellent loss. When tempted, I like to imagine you folks reminding me to stay on track so..what are your virtual voices like? Is there a famous voice that would represent you? Lol

Not quite rid of the holiday gain as I have had 2 holidays in 10 weeks, was just over 72kg before the holiday and now 74kg.