Hi Margaret sorry to hear you still need strong painkillers but hopefully as the weather warms up you will be able to do more outside which I think always lifts the mood. I know only too well how mobility can lead to low mood and it makes everything just that much more difficult. As you say you have a river cruise to look forward to so concentrate on that and don’t worry about your other knee until September! I know that’s sometimes easier said that done!

We were invited out for lunch yesterday and I was faced with plates of ginger cake, little dainty slices of cheese cake and strawberry scones all of which I love. I didn’t eat any! Funny how tastes/willpower can change. I’m no angel and certainly not stoic but the cakes just didn’t appeal to me yesterday!

Anyway, hope anyone that’s still reading this thread is doing well. New month just around the corner. Love ‘new’ anything always makes me feel like I have a new ‘beginning’.

Hi everyone,
Cathy, so sorry to hear what happened with the dentist. I hope you do mange to get it sorted. Dentistry wasn’t covered here on our provincial medical plan but now the federal government has stepped in for people without insurance. I’ve been fantastically lucky that my insurance plan for work covers pretty much 100% of all my dental care. It isn’t too great a plan for other things (like counselling 🙁 for instance) but I’m always grateful for how good it is when I go to the dentist and know most are not so lucky.
I’ve had an upsetting end to the day as I found out that job cuts have hit some of my work colleagues and one in particular that I have worked with for many years and rely on to do my job has had her position axed. It has shaken all of us. I’m only 5 years from my earliest possible retirement date and 10 years from receiving a full pension, but now it feels like I will be lucky to keep my job for the rest of the year (so maybe goodbye dental plan after all?). Anyway, I saw a retired former colleague who now works on contract for us (so he collects his full pension and gets paid!), just as I was leaving the building and he told me to not stress about it until it happens and that I will be able to cope with it if it does. So I’m trying to not think about it anymore this evening.
SueBlue – that is some very impressive walking you have been doing! And how good about the transit pass.
I did my longest walk today in ages as I asked my counsellor if we could try a walk and talk session today as the weather was gorgeous. We did 4 times around on a path that loops around a small lake in town. She said most clients usually just do 2 or 3 and that I walk at a pretty good clip! It was about 3.5km total, so not too bad. Maybe she will back off telling me that I need to stay fitter throughout the winter now! I think she was forgetting that although I do less cardio in the winter, I am still hauling water buckets and firewood and hay bales, so I stay strong. Also, I look so tubby that it might be easy to assume that I’m less fit than I am, I suppose.
Anyway, I’m feeling quite proud of myself today. I was really hungry after that walk and had to stop at the supermarket on my way home, but I just got Greek yogurt, cheese and a cucumber and stayed away from the carbs. When I got home, I had leftover tofu steaks with some avocado on top for breakfast, Greek yogurt with blueberries for lunch and then dinner was broccoli, cauliflower and a tilapia filet. So even with that upset this afternoon, I managed to stay on plan and have a healthy dinner when I really felt like crisps and lemon drizzle cake. I have a busy couple of days coming up, so hopefully I can keep on keeping on. And hope you all do too!

Thank you for asking Verano & my knee is still painful rising after sitting, after standing long whilst food prep in the kitchen, using stairs & in the evening & then in bed. I am back playing short mat bowls & I am walking now without using my stick but still carry it with me just in case of stumbling. I think the suture abscesses plus a UTI soon after surgery then all my side effects taking antibiotics for eight weeks really has slowed up my recovery & knee flexibility and I am still taking strong pain & nerve pain medication before bed. However I am slowly improving but it’s very frustrating & it would be lovely to have no pain 🤞🤞. Sorry for the saga but it has also affected my mobility & that is why plus poor motivation to concentrate on dieting why I have gained nearly one stone since my surgery last June. I know that I must address this because of both of my knees having to carry this extra weight & my left knee is deteriorating which is rather depressing so when I have a review next September I will be told that I need another knee replacement 🙁. I have a river cruise in June to look forward to & would like to lose weight before this to be able to wear all my summer clothes & attractive dresses plus being able to walk further on the various visits 😀. I need a good kick up my derrière to get my dieting motivation back 😂
I am off to play short mat bowls this morning & to have my hair trimmed this afternoon 😀
Keep on going everyone 🤞🤞🍀🍀
Margaret xx

Cathy so sorry to read that you are still having trouble with your tooth 🙁 I would be incredibly angry in the same situation! I hope you can get it sorted soon.
My daughter recently had to shell out $1500 for fillings, she’s not in a health fund so it’s all out of pocket. Dentistry is so expensive. I have quite a few missing teeth as when my family were younger and we were on a low income, it was far more affordable to have an extraction than a filling, so I’d have a tooth removed when it became troublesome!
Anyway, I hope you can get it sorted soon x
Yowzer sorry to hear you are still in pain – I hope you can get some relief soon x
DCT – how is your hand going?

I had a funny week last week, I tripped over and landed on my hand. Thankfully just had a grazed elbow and a cut on my finger, but also a bruise under my nail and in the nail bed, so my finger is still quite sore. Then a few days later I dropped a 5kg weight on my foot – luckily no injuries other than a nasty bruise!

Diet wise I didn’t weigh in on Friday as had a few off plan days. But I weighed this morning and have discarded another 600g in the past 10 days 🙂 SO this means I have finally lost the first stone 🙂 as since the beginning of Jan I’ve shed 6.8kg which is 13.86lb, or just over 1 stone. Anyway very happy with that!
I still have a long way to go but feel like I’m getting somewhere this time around.
I’ve had 2 big walks over the last week or so with my husband. We pick a destination, go there on the train and then walk around sight seeing / browsing shops etc. One walk (down the coast) was 16k steps and the other (a country town) over 20k. Because we both have seniors cards now our train fare is only $2.50 a day to go anywhere on the Greater Sydney network basically – this includes trains, buses and ferries. We are making the most of it and going up to the Blue Mountains on the weekend.
I’m still mainly following the online Fast 800 plan, but swapping some meals for my BSD favourites and tracking everything on My Fitness Pal. I’m also following the recommended exercises most days. I just need to keep going, as when this 12 weeks ends I’ll still have more to lose. Hope everyone else is having a good week!

Good evening.
It’s Tuesday and I have a couple of positives…

Had a phone call from a friend today so a nice chat.
Had an invitation to a party but will be away but nice anyway.
Got an appointment for a follow up lung scan but can’t make it but on the list for a cancellation so all good.

Hope Tuesday has been kind to you.

So I missed yesterday but that’s not a reason to give in/up.

Today cooked a roast… a very rare occurrence here! Only because our son joined us for dinner so positive number 1.
Having our garden ‘spruced up’ so even though we have a long way to go it’s looking much better.
The buds on my apple tree are looking almost ‘fit to burst’. Really looking forward to that.

Hope you have some positives too.

Margaret how are your knees doing? It’s been a while since your surgery but I do realise that knees take much longer than hips to recover. Anyway hope you’re going in the right direction.

Not much to report here. Just finding it really difficult to get back into a good rhythm again. Hopefully this coming week will be more productive. I think I may have found a new focus!

Aah Cathy that’s unbelievable and I’m not surprised you are cross, that’s so last minute!!!! I honestly don’t know what I would do in the same situation, yes it would be good to get it sorted on Friday but it’s annoying that you would have to pay 😡 Sending hugs too. Dawn X

Have a lovely holiday with your family Becca👍
It’s weird that I was able to log in today as usual but previously prevented🤔 I was trying to report my weight gain despite walking much more that my knees really felt but I will really try to do better diet wise this next week 🤞🤞
Keep on going everyone 🍀👍
Margaret xx

Cathy just jumping on quickly to commiserate. That’s awful. It sounds as if your dentist is as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot!! I’m so sorry, and also angry on your behalf. 🤬

I hope you can clear your mind and decide what to do next. In your position I think I’d be tempted to get out the credit card and pay to get it done on Friday. Then hopefully that’s the end of it. But you’re right, it should never have come to this point in the first place.

Sending hugs X

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes. I’ve just had a phone call from the dental surgery and they say that the dentist who is due to do my extraction this aftenoon has looked at the x rays and thinks it’s too complex for her and so they’re referring me to a specialist!!!! She said she could give it a go but it might not be successful! I’m fuming. Why did they wait until today to decide this. Also, I’m going away on 1st May and she said not to have an extraction two weeks prior to going away. There is no way I’ll get an appt for the extraction on the NHS within the next couple of weeks. However, if I pay £300 she said a private dentist will be going into the surgery and he can take the tooth out on Friday! This goes against the grain for me. It’s a lot of money. Is it a money making exercise? My husband is away this week. What a mess. The receptionist said they’ll give me antibiotics to cover my holiday and if the pain is unbearable she will attempt to remove the tooth (it’s got a curly root apparently) but in the meantime I’m being referred to a specialist dentist who deals with complex extractions! Is it me?

Hi everyone,
Cathy, I will add my wishes to everyone else’s that all goes well at the dentist today and also Becca hope you’re having a lovely time away. Yowzer I really hope your pain gets sorted soon, it must be very draining. Articfox that’s great news about your eating and sleeping! DCT it must be a nuisance having to shop from day to day, roll on Wednesday when your new fridge comes! I would normally weigh myself today but I went totally off plan over the weekend so will leave my weigh in until next week. I also didn’t try the two new recipes I had planned so have included them in this week’s food plan. I think maybe my HRT still isn’t at the right level since changing to the gel as certain symptoms are returning but I’ve read it can take up to three months for your body to adjust so I will see how things are by then. I hope everyone has a really good week. Dawn XX

Morning all! Just checking in and wanted to wish CATHY every success at the dentist today. I hope it goes smoothly and that you finally get your tooth sorted. Also hope you have a nice peaceful week with just you and Monty. And well done for further loss last week – you’re an inspiration!

I’m hoping to get below 150 this week 🤞 Was hovering just a little above it for.a couple of days at the end of last week then regained a bit over the weekend. Things weren’t helped by our fridge packing up on Friday! A replacement is coming on Wednesday but in the meantime I either froze (we have a chest freezer in the garage) or used up everything I could, but a few things have since been wasted. And I’m now shopping from day to day until we can chill things again. No major issue really, but it’s broken my newly gained habit of weekly meal planning, shopping and using leftovers so I’m keen to get back into that later this week.

ARCTICFOX I’m so glad that you are eating and sleeping better, and also that you are making time for fun activities too. It already feels like it’s going to be a much better year for you.

YOWZER always lovely to hear from you but I’m so sorry you are still in so much pain. Will be thinking of you and praying for you, and really hope that you see some improvement soon. And well done on starting to get back on track eating-wise in the midst of everything else.

BECCA not sure when you go away but hope you have or are having a wonderful time!

Hello to everyone else too, and hope we all have a positive week X

Hi everyone,happy Springtime! to most of us. Happy Autumn Equinox SUEBLUE and MARIET xx sorry if ive missed anyone out.
🌸Spring fever: the only fever you’re actually looking forward to catching.🌸
CCATHY I mainly came on to say,good luck at the dentists!X
And DCT,I’m glad you got sorted out X
Havent beenposting as havent had much to say,but have been reading all the lovely newsy posts as they pop up in my inbox. Im still very limited walking and in a lot of pain,have been referred to specialist pain clinic,not sure how long I’ll wait for an appt.
Seem to have got a grip now on the mindless eating and feel a little lighter,tho havent been on the scales. I cant actually get on them,as I can barely lift my left foot,so I’m too wobbly!
Have a fab week everyone andremember,progress not perfection! Love to all XXX
“May the dream of peace take flight across the world “

🐝 ¨*• ¸🌼¸¸ 💞🐝*•.¸🌼¨*•💞¸🌼 🐝 ¨*• ¸🌼¸¸ 💞🐝*•.¸🌼¨*•💞¸🌼 🐝 ¨*• ¸🌼¸¸ 💞🐝*•.¸🌼¨*•💞¸🌼 🐝 ¨*•

Hi everyone,
I have had a really good last few days eating-wise, and I’m feeling much better for it. The improved sleep was helping me make better decisions, and then eating better has helped my sleep further. Although I did shut off my alarm on Saturday morning, fell back asleep and slept for a further 2 hours, but they were nightmare-filled, unfortunately. I tend to have very vivid dreams so nightmares can stick with me even after I wake up. But last night’s sleep was good again.
I am basically eating all the healthy ingredients that I have in my store cupboard and freezer that I was continuing to buy even when I wasn’t eating it. I’m having my tray bake broccoli for dinner tonight, but instead of having lentils with it I have gone for the lower carb option of lupini beans. I had a veggie stir-fry with soy-free tofu last night. Pretty much keeping to the 2 meals a day but with a snack of cheddar cheese or some almonds in between if I get hungry. I am doing a 4 min tabata workout each weekday from my online gym and a walk after dinner now that the evenings are lighter. But this weekend has been full of quite hard core gardening with lots of moving wheelbarrows of compost, etc. so I’ve counted that as most of my exercise, and then I went swing dancing for just 45 min this afternoon (normally I go for 1.5 hrs, but too busy today).
Cathy – wishing you all the best with your tooth extraction tomorrow. Hope it finally fixes that issue for you.

Well done on finding three positives Verano. Strange isn’t it, some days it’s hard to pin down specific positives, even though it’s been a pleasant enough day.

Anyway, my positives for the last couple of days are…
🌼🌼 more gardening, loving feeling the sun on my back and having my fingers in the soil
🌼🌼 dinner out with youngest DD and her son, as a belated 40th birthday celebration for her
🌼🌼 neighbours brought round a dozen free fresh eggs for us, from their hens who apparently have gone into production overdrive with the sunny weather
🌼🌼 last travel element booked for our upcoming road trip to Turkiye …. only a couple of weeks now before we go

Does anyone else have some positives to share? Hope to be reading some soon.

Good evening.

Today I’m struggling to find three positives. ….
So, yes the sun shone and that was lovely
I had a lovely gift of an orchid.
I’ve had a ‘really need food’ day today and just wanted ‘carbs’ so had noodles and I must admit I really enjoyed them, so that’s good. Had my quota for this year!

Tomorrow us another day and it will be more healthy!

Becca enjoy your trip. Be mindful where you can. Don’t fret if you can’t. Next week is a new week and a new start!

Becca- have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy precious family time and don’t worry too much about food. You can get back on track when you get home. I am going to enjoy holiday times and special occasions and get back on track in between. We have to live our lives. Embrace getting back in the pool.
I’ve had a busy week invigilating and am absolutely shattered. I am going off grid for a week to recharge my batteries. I feel I want to be on my own! It’s not like me. My husband is away on retreat next week so it will be me and Monty (my cat) and I am so happy to have an empty diary apart from hopefully my tooth extraction on Monday – fingers crossed! I have lost 1.4 lbs this week and today I am 148.2lb. I forgot it was Friday yesterday so weighed today. I am happy with another loss! I was expecting to stay the same or maybe lose half a pound so this is great news.
The sun is shining and spring has sprung and I can’t remember ever feeling the need for spring as much as I do this year. Have a good weekend everyone. Hope you’ve all had a good week.

Hi everyone, I haven’t posted in a bit, but glad to see so many still having good success with the online plan, and thanks for mentioning the recipes you’re enjoying! ArcticFox, that’s great news about being able to eat eggs again. I’m curious, do they taste the same?

I’m headed off on vacation to the Arizona desert with my daughter and granddaughter tomorrow for a week. I suspect the roadside diners will not have the healthiest options, but will do my best. Planning on getting in a pool for the first time in decades!

When I get back, I look forward to starting back fresh as we head into spring. Have a great week, everyone.

Becca

Verano, this was a very well-written and reassuring post. I have kept off some of what I lost, but not all. I’m with you on wanting to learn the art of a more rational, level approach to it all.

I’ll be leaving for the Arizona desert tomorrow for a week with my daughter and granddaughter. No doubt I’ll be eating less healthfully than I should, given what’s available in all those roadside diners. But I plan to just do my best, enjoy the trip, get in a swimming pool for the first time in decades, and then come home with a renewed spirit, ready for a fresh start.

Have a good week, everyone, and I’ll see you at the end of this month. Here’s to springtime!

Becca

Sunny how you ‘feel’ is so much more important than a ‘number’. In fact that ‘number’ has such great power in ruling our lives I think we need to find a way to ‘disarm’ it!

So for me day 5 of week 1 and still making my three

Today
Bought weed killer and weed suppressant to rejuvenate a few ‘stone’ filled paths.
Had a delivery of Lindt chocolate. OK doesn’t sound good but my ‘treat’ is a couple of pieces of Lindt. Buying directly from them was the most economical way to do it just now …. even though it meant buying lots and lots of chocolate bars!
The blossom tree just outside of my bedroom window is 2seconds away from blooming! Hoping when I open the curtains tomorrow it will have ‘blossomed’.

Hope you have some positives today.

Positives from my corner …
🌹🌹 a sunny day ideal for enjoying my garden
🌹🌹 added some tai chi to my exercise today
🌹🌹 feeling slimmer even though the scales aren’t so sure
Hope you all have a weekend packed with positives.

We have 12 days of this month left so let’s make them ‘count’.

The first three months of this challenge, over winter, have seen me literally just ‘paddling water’. No gains but no losses to speak of. I find that the warmer months lift my spirits and also the need to wear ‘summer dresses’ definitely helps me to focus more! So yes, we need to ‘focus’ and maybe find specific, but achievable, goals for the coming months.

‘Achievable’. I think that is the real ‘base’ from which we need to start. Ok. I’d love to lose a stone in a week, who wouldn’t!!! … not ‘achievable’! We have to be realistic. One or two pounds a week is probably realistic. So maybe we should all set some goals for the coming months.

I also think that we have to remember to ‘live’ . Yes be low carb or whatever but also enjoy that birthday or wedding or other celebration just don’t go OTT. I must admit, although it’s taken me a long time, I can now just have one, or maybe two, spoonfuls of a dessert and not polish the lot off!

We also have to ‘live’ so we need to be ‘realistic’. It’s a balancing act. Most importantly health, rather than the number on the scale, is the key!

Good afternoon. Yet another sunny day! Life is so much brighter when the sun shines.

So day 4 of my journal…

‘To do list’ still going strong. It definitely helps me to do all the things I should like drink water! Who would have thought you need a reminder!

Back on track with meditation now. I’m sure my ‘to do list’ is helping there too.

My 30+ a week has been going really well for the last 9 weeks although week 10 has become a bit of a struggle. My notebook shows that I’m relying on the same few vegetables and fruits this week so I need to add a few berries and some seeds and maybe even an apple!

Have a good evening.

Hi everyone, just a quick update. I know many of you are aware I have not been able to eat eggs for around 18 months as they were aggravating my stomach. However, thanks to someone locally who raises duck eggs, I have discovered that I can eat them instead. This is huge because as a mostly vegetarian (sometimes pescatarian) I was struggling to find low carb protein sources and I was overly reliant on dairy products, especially cheese. I had a 2 egg omelet for lunch today and no stomach issues whatsoever! I’m so pleased because I will be able to get things back in the rotation like the broccoli sandwich bread without having to add heaps of flaxseed in order to get it to stick together. So for this week, I have soy-free tofu, lupini beans, greek yogurt and 2 eggs left as protein sources. It has suddenly warmed up here after cold and 20 cm of snow on Monday, so hopefully I will be able to finally harvest some spinach from the garden. Just have to set the tunnel up again as the snow collapsed it. Hope everyone has a good week.

SG, sounds like you’re all systems go for your trip. Have a wonderful time away, relax and enjoy every moment.
Verano, very happy to have you journaling your positives here and I’m enjoying reading reading them. Like you, I’m enjoying the sunnier days too.

My positives for today are ….
🌼🌼 my first one is related to sunny days, GS and I spend a goodly chunk of today gardening. Have so enjoyed having my hands in soil planting things and tackling weeds etc.
🌷🌷 am managing to build on my exercise snacking and enjoying using my rebounder
🌻🌻 have purchased Easter eggs and made a good start at sorting out cards and gifts for the birthdays which will happen while we away in May and June

If you have noticed any positives recently, please take a moment to post them for us to share.

OK. So day 3 of my journalling …..
Had our rendering cleaned today … well it’s spring?
New haircut and colour so feeling happy.
And yes the sun shone again today!
What’s not to like when the sun is shining!

Verano, I’m pretty easy about the title, but I also like a positive vibe 🙂

Think we have our wires crossed a little! When I said ‘we will survive’ I was talking about the three monthly thread! S-g suggested ‘April thru June: join us soon’ . Maybe we can combine the two …. any ideas?
A couple I have
April thru June: our time to bloom.
April thru June: survival is out tune.
Personally I’d like a ‘positive’ vibe just need to give it some more thought.

reported mikehayes

Quick check in to report an inexplicable 1lb blip upwards on the scales for the past week. Have no idea why this should be and am somewhat frustrated about it. However, am sticking with it and hoping for better things at next week’s weigh in.

Well done to all those who are seeing both scales and non-scales victories. Hope to be reading of lots of positives results soon.
DCT … hope your hand is getting better now.
Arctic …. hope you get the assessment results you expect and it’s helpful going forward.
Cathy …. all we can do is keep going, the results will come eventually.

Good morning,
The sun is shining here this morning, a welcome relief from all the rainy days!
S-g enjoy your holiday and good luck for the viewings and sale! 🤞🍀
Verano, I think the title for the next thread is very apt.
I am, once again, struggling to lose the excess weight I gained at Christmas with the carb cravings still having a major hold on me! I can go all day being very good then ruin it all and in the evening by picking at all the wrong things!
The worry of the past 2+ months, whilst it has eased, has had an unwelcome effect on my resolve! I just have to find the motivation to knuckle down and get ‘carb control’ again. Not so easy now my husband has filled the kitchen cupboards with very tempting treats!
Just hope I haven’t pushed myself back into diabetes!
Onward..
k x

Thank you Verano for agreeing to set up our next thread. I think surviving is rather apt certainly in my case because I am struggling to get back on track particularly after a carby Mothers Day family gathering 🤔
S-G I hope you have a wonderful holiday 👍🥂
I was prevented from logging on yesterday by a security message that I hesitated to respond to but did in the end so late responding to S-Gs happenings.
I hope everyone has a good week & the sunshine here is lovely🌝
Margaret xx

So I’m using this thread as my ‘journal’ at the moment. I have reinstated my ‘to-do’ list each day and this is now part of that list. So ……

Today my positives are …..

Having a few hours to myself without interruption!!!
Finally getting guest list for a small lunch finalised …. why can’t people just say yay or nay!
The sun shone again!!

Hope you can find a few positives.

S-g I’ve agreed to step in and set up the next thread so ‘WE WILL SURVIVE’! Thought the title you suggested will be fine unless anybody comes up with something spectacular……
suggestions please!

S-g 2nd viewings are good. You usually get a ‘feel’ for a place first time round and if it’s negative no second viewing, so good luck. Strangely enough we sold our last home when we were away. The viewers viewed on Christmas Eve!!!!! They went back on NYE and made an acceptable offer. They always say you can’t sell a property around Christmas but you know, when you see a property you want it really doesn’t matter! Best of luck with the sale.

S-g glad your appointment with the doctor went well. I’m being really naughty. I got a message from my doctor to have blood tests a few weeks ago but haven’t! Maybe I will soon,

Pootle hello again. So sorry to hear of your ‘worry’ but so pleased it was unfounded. The worry with these things can so knock you you can’t really concentrate on anything but the ‘outcome’. Glad yours is good.

Just a quick note to s-g and Margaret …. my scales stayed the same today too. Such is life! Next week is a new week ….. let’s work a bit harder!

Happy holidays s-g see you next month. Enjoy!

Hi Bushberry14 and welcome. My total loss on an 8 week plan was 13lbs. When you read of people losing that in a week it is often because they have it to lose. As Sunny says we dont know all the facts but for me the most important thing for weight loss is keeping the carbs low and 50g I my ideal too. Depends what those carbs are because as soon as I add say a slice of bread (just one slice) the fluid gathering can put the weight straight back on. If you keep going you will start to lose again. On the subject of PCOS it is possible it is holding you back a bit as you are known to gain with PCOS so it might be harder to lose.

One piece of advice when I am stuck is to stop eating after say 7.30pm and not eat again until 10.30am or lunchtime if you can make it. It encourages your body to turn to fat burning when it has used up the glucose calories. Good luck and keep going.

My final positives before I go on holiday for 3 weeks.

Viewing went well and they want a second viewing – we will be away but hopefully our sitter will keep the house clean and tidy.
All my packing done except for that feeling of ‘have I forgotten something’. Still got daily things like toothpaste etc.
Sun is shining and hubby is out mowing so it will be tidy for our sitter coming and also for our viewing (s).
Washing out on the line ready to make up the bed for our sitter. Bed is currently covered in suitcases.

SG, have a lovely holiday xxx

Also very glad you are ok Pootle 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi all, leaving on Friday morning so this might be my last post as still a lot to do. The viewing went well and it is between 2 houses. However, they are spending a week in France so have lots of other houses to see. Unfortunately, they want a second viewing while we are away. I am lucky enough to have a housesitter who is happy to keep the house clean and vacate when any viewings occur, plus I have a lovely agent who said she will come in before the viewing to check everything is as it should be. She said she would even do a deep clean if she had to. I am sure she would. Just want it to be super tidy. Just a thought, when we were selling up in the UK 21 years ago we had a viewing while we were on holiday in France – a reversal of roles – and that was the viewing that sold our house. Fingers crossed.

Doctors visit went as well as expected because it wasnt my doctor. A young man who didnt even know why I was there. He was happy with my results, I got him to decreases my statins due to cramps, and he didnt bother to take BP or weigh me. So I got away with not having lost anything since last visit. However, being stressed I was going to have a few drinks last night but didnt and stayed away from snacks (roast pork from Sunday) and I have lost a kilo. My total loss for this season is 8lbs and I am not finished yet. Still got 3 days to go.

It has come to the time to say I will not be around when this thread comes to an end and I hope someone will step in with just a few words and a new title. It is not difficult. Otherwise I will come back and find a very lonely place.

Have a good Spring and welcome to the Summer months. See you in 4 weeks.

Hello everyone
I’m plodding along and am still following the plan but I can feel that things are going to get harder and slower. I’m half way through the 12 week online plan and I can honestly say that this has been life changing in terms of shifting some excess after years of not being able to lose anything! I am being realistic now going forward that I’ll most likely hit a plateau but I’m 100% sticking wlth this. I have lost more weight than I expected to. I’ll weigh in on Friday – need new batteries for my scales! Hoping to be 1lb down but won’t be disappointed if I stay the same .
Keep going everyone. We have definitely got this!!!

ArcticFox- it’s lovely to see that you’re feeling positive and the little changes and tweaks are having such an impact. Well done! Sometimes the little things make a huge difference.
You’re doing great.

Good to see you posting again Verano. I agree that finding positives daily has a really uplifting effect.
Like you I’m noticing all the lovely spring blooms. There are several fabulous magnolia trees local to us and they seem to be especially full of blossom this year.

My positives are …
🌸🌸 had a bad migraine yesterday … the positive is that my lovely OH took care of me, checking in periodically and bringing meds and water up for me
🌸🌸 my DD gave me a lovely dusky pink spider chrysanthemum plant for Mother’s Day
🌸🌸 packing list for our road trip to Turkiye compiled and printed out … not long now!!

Hoping to see other posting positives soon.

Hi!

Definitely time for me to check in.

I was reading again today how important it is to find just 3 positives each day….. so here are mine …. amazing flowers from my son yesterday, daffodils under the tree outside my bedroom window are brilliant this year ….. another flower positive…… a ‘new’ magnolia has appeared on the ‘grass’ in front of our home…… apparently planted 5 years ago by a neighbour but this is the first year with blossoms!

Hope you are finding positives in even the smallest things.

S-g hope your appointment went well today. Just want to wish you ‘happy hols’.
ENJOY!

Hi everyone,
I’m still working on my sleep. I slept for a solid 8 hours last night with only one wakening that I recall. It is really helping with my energy level and focus through the day, so hopefully it will translate to better meal planning and then sticking with it. I made the appointment to see my GP next week about possibly getting the ADHD assessment done. Bit nervous about what he will say, but we’ll see. I scored really quite high on the self-assessment my counsellor gave me. I’ve been looking up some helpful videos and reading a couple of books on how to stay organized when your executive functioning is compromised and it has been quite helpful. For instance, I bought an over-door organizer last week and hung it on my bathroom door, and all my little things are staying organized and out of the way so it made it a breeze to clean this weekend.

SUE and DAWN well done for your ongoing losses, both on the scales and in measurements. That’s great news.

Like you both, and CATHY too, I’m enjoying the online plans. I’m sure they are helping me to stay focused and keep losing. More so than when I’ve gone it alone :probably just because I was getting stale and needed a bit of a nudge in the right direction!

CATHY I made the pear and walnut muffins. They were ok, but I want to make them again properly. I was in a rush so just threw everything in and estimated the quantities. So I think they were probably a bit more almondy than intended and maybe needed more pear, but will definitely give them another go. I’ll also try your apple ones and I noticed a recipe somewhere for banana and blueberry which I thought sounded nice. Hope your work goes well this week.

A big hit for me this weekend was the cottage cheese, smoked salmon and cucumber salad which was lovely and very easy to make. I also did the halloumi and veg traybake on Saturday night which was very tasty, and I did some pasta for my husband to have with it. I made the chicken cacciatore last night and cooked double so it can be reheated tonight : I do yoga on Mondays and get in around 7:15pm so am always looking for something quick and easy to have.

Thanks SUE for the tip about my hand. Tbh it still doesn’t feel right : the bruising has gone and there’s no visible swelling or anything, but it still hurts if I try to twist it. I think I’ll see how I get on at yoga tonight (downward dogs and all!). Perhaps I just need to exercise it, but if it’s still playing up tomorrow I may do an e consult and see if I can get it x-rayed.

Hope everyone has a brilliant week! X

Hi everyone,
I’m 2lb down and another half inch off my waist so am pleased to be back in the swing of things again. I have a nice week of meals planned, Sue like you I have done quite a few swaps as would rather not waste food and also mainly have things this week which are recipes which I have tried and liked. I am trying a couple of new ones but would like a steady week. I didn’t do many of the exercises last week but would like to get back to doing them daily so that is one of my aims this week. It is still really helping me that a few of us are doing the online plan, along of course with everyone else’s helpful posts. I would love in the next two weeks to get down into the 10s which would be a big boost for me as it’s been a while since I’ve been there! Hope everyone has a good week. Dawn X

Hi all, Margaret, my scales show I am exactly the same weight as I was on Sunday last week. So no gain but a wasted week. Got the doctor tomorrow so had hoped to be less than 74kgs which is what I was when I last saw him, now 74.7kgs. Just waiting now to get the viewing over tomorrow morning then I can get on with more packing.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Good morning everyone & I have just weighed & gained 1/4 lb so I am exactly the same weight that I was one month ago! There is no doubt that I am finding it difficult to get going again on losing weight & being mindful of what I am eating & drinking every day because it all feels such a faff!! Tomorrow I will be going to a Mothers Day family gathering at my eldest sons house seeing all three grandchildren & we will be eating pizza & drinking wine so a diet exclusion day.
Happy Mothers Day for tomorrow 💐🥂🍷
Margaret xx
Oh I had an odd message supposedly from BSD staff asking me for my email address to verify me for future logging on & was concerned so didn’t do that have you all had that today?