Back from a lovely visit with family, my positives are:-

Love my family
Nice to be back in my own bed and on my own time
Thank you Verano for trying to keep the site scam free – they come thick and fast

hi all, already lost 3lbs since Monday. Plan is to lose a total of 14lbs by 18th December. Bon chance a tous.

reported carterbishop as well

Hi Red.panda, I agree that a pinch of salt might sort you out and rebalance your electrolytes. But, just one question, are you diabetic. If you are then you probably need a snack and again, I agree some cheese or hard boiled egg.

Just popping in to say hi. Back on Sunday night but sitters wanted to stay another night. Then first thing yesterday we had a message from house agent that she was bringing people today. Meant instead of relaxing we had to unpack loads of shopping and get our cases emptied so we could stash them away. Managed to get everything ship shape in time. Result was they thought our living space was too small but agent pointed out that as a holiday home they would be using the outside space more than inside. Hey ho.

Weighed in and gained 2kgs so back on the old routine. Now 12 weeks to my next trip to UK for Xmas.

Arctic, not had much time for trying the Yerba Mate but will start on it again tomorrow. I worry that it says ‘safe to use for 12 weeks’, why is that?

Shetlandlace, great that you are on maintenance now. I did a bodyscan in the gym the day after being to cinema and eating salted popcorn and then a Wagamama Duck and noodles and it showed up as carrying excess water – lots of it, so it is not just the carbs.

Verano, I would never prick so soon after food. I always do it first thing in the morning before food or drink. Exception to that is if I am feeling weak and shaky. However, after our cruise and extended holiday my HbA1c was 7.2, never been that high since starting with BSD. Back down to high 6’s but hopeful for a much better result in 10 weeks.

Will see you all tomorrow.

So glad your day went well Wendy. SL – thank you for your keto advice – much appreciated. I am working away ( UK) in a few weeks and there is an excellent Halal market close by so I will definitely investigate Yerba tea. Any one tried Bullet proof coffee? Verano – wishing you a lovely holiday – hopefully the fires will soon be sorted and you can enjoy your time away. Pootle we need an update please! SG also! My keto is going really well, my mindset is good, blood pressure good, much more relaxed and not even worried about weighing because I feel so good. I was aware of keto before obs. but that 4 day water fast sling shotted me into ketosis and I am hooked 🙂 Hope everyone is doing well 😉

Well today was a wake up call for me. I haven’t finger pricked for a week or so. I’m on holiday. This morning I thought I should do a test. Did it after a breakfast of Greek yogurt, blueberries and milky coffee and it was 11 !!! I can’t ever remember seeing that number. May just have been too close to breakfast but must admit to carby things over the last few days. Anyway back down to 6.1 two hours after lunch so feeling a bit better. Just need to be very mindful …. holiday or not.

On a sad note there are fires here up in the countryside of the western Algarve. They are quite a way inland, apparently started deliberately by a farmer, who has been arrested, but the smoke is really strong down here on the coast. It started Sunday night and is obviously still out of control as the smoke down here is pretty dense and strong smelling .The weird property laws they have have probably led to the fire being started in the first place and the fire service consists of ‘volunteers’, so all in all not the best of situations. Fortunately, although there has been a lot of damage to land and property, I think there have only been a few minor injuries, so far. Let’s just hope they can get it under control soon.

Hope everyone is well and following a healthy way of eating, whatever that might be.

Calling Sunshine-girl… hope you’re ok?

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Hi all,
Sounds like you had a lovely day with the family, Margaret, and congratulations on both the stairs climbed and the weight lost! Also sounds like you’re doing all the right things for your gut health, so hopefully you’ll be feeling much better really soon🤞I did laugh when I read about your knit & natter project, though – bats?? I thought it was a typo!🤣
Antigone – I find that if I keep my carb intake around 25g per day, that puts/keeps me in ketosis, so that is what I did. I did take a daily green supplement &/or multivitamin, as well as fibre supplements, because I couldn’t eat enough fibre etc and keep carbs that low.
For those interested in trying yerba mate, if you have a shop that sells middle eastern/halal groceries near you, or has a South American grocery section, maybe have a look in there. Our local shop must have a dozen varieties of yerba mate on the shelves, and it’s not very expensive at all.
Pootle – hope you’re ok and survived your week away ‘winging it’, especially after your sad loss.
As for me, I’ve officially been on ‘maintenance’ now for 2 weeks. But I went out on Saturday with friends and had a bit of a blow-out – ate naan bread, curries etc and thoroughly enjoyed it! Weighed myself the next day to find I was a kilo heavier, down to all the extra carbs I imagine (I hadn’t eaten bread in 3 months!). But just like many of you have said, that extra weight was all gone in a couple of days. I’m still logging everything in my app, and I think that’s a habit I’ll keep up for a while – that way I can track what’s working and what isn’t.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on a lot today! Hope everyone is well,
Take care of yourselves,
Lacy xx

HEIDI very well done for your amazing loss and for being so consistent despite your difficult circumstances. You’ve done really well. I hope that everything improves soon for all those that you are caring for, and that you manage to get some rest and relaxation for yourself.

YOWZER I’m sorry to hear about the potential anaemia, and hope the blood test can start getting things sorted for you. You’ve had so much to deal with recently and I hope there is some positive change very soon X

Hi everyone! Thank you DCT and HEIDI for your comments,I just want to echo all that you both said X
Havent the energy to write much,going for blood test on the 30 th ( cdnt book a sooner appt) Doc thinks I might be anaemic as Im so tired and i keep having muscle spasms and jolts and twitches.
I’ve never been anaemic in my life,but apparently anaemia following slapped cheek syndrome is a thing.
Love and best wishes to all,and specially to CCATHY xxx have a good week folks as we sail into autumn / spring!
ship ahoy! XX

Hi DCT, and all of us here. I just wanted to echo your post. Really hoping that CATHY gets reassuring news. And that DAWN gets a date soon. ARCTIC FOX I hope that feeling of lightness continues, and wish you and all well for the coming week.

It has been 10 days since posting but it feels like a month! I have been caring for my mother in the UK while my father has been in hospital. As they sometimes say, old age is not for softies. It has been a distressing and exhausting time for everyone and may well continue to be. But I have had to refocus on my husband’s cancer treatment for now. Apart from one bad evening of comfort/stress eating, I have managed to keep on track. My best NSV is just looking decent again in size 16 trousers, and getting the compliments. As well as knowing that I am now at a normal BMI for my age, which makes me feel healthier. This week I shall start some exercising, continue to eat healthily, and probably not lose weight. And I shall tell myself that that is OK!

For my own record though, I am noting that I have been eating healthily for 17 weeks, and have now lost 13.7 kilos.

ARCTICFOX how are you doing? I’m really pleased that the EMDR therapy seems to have gone well, and also that you have a bit of down time this week. Take care of yourself and take things easy. Every one of your posts is inspiring and a positive move forward.

DAWN I hope you get a date sorted soon for your surgery, and that it goes well for you when it does happen.

CATHY if you’re reading this just know you’re in my thoughts and prayers. Sending love x

I’m doing ok. Slow and steady. Deliberately so, as I have lots of social things on at the moment. So am being strict when I can and allowing myself some leeway when out and about.

I’m also more concerned with NSVs as I’m increasingly realising how fickle scales are. When putting mine back in my new bathroom I did a bit of an experiment and took weight readings in several different places. Would you believe 3lb difference between them all! So I’m still aiming for my pound a week loss between now and Christmas but am more concerned about changes I can see and feel rather than numbers on the scales.

Hope everyone is ok and that next week goes well for you X

Hello everyone & it was a lovely day yesterday seeing all our family. My daughter in law brought the spaghetti Bol so I didn’t have to cook that although I provided nibbles of prawns, vegetable samosas & an M & S Mexican dip with sweet potato tortillas that all was appreciated & quickly disappeared. I didn’t eat any of that because of my iffy tummy but did have wine & a small portion of spaghetti Bol & a small piece of chocolate torte. I felt that I still had to avoid the cheeses but ate a couple of cheese biscuits. For breakfast today, which I don’t usually eat, I had one weetabix with oat milk & some kefir plus an Optibac prebiotic because I am seeing how I tolerate that all! Because of my four weeks of antibiotics I am having difficulty trying to help my gut recover but trying different foodstuffs 🤔😀. I weighed yesterday & have lost one pound so trying to get back on track & this morning I managed to climb a few stairs with my new knee so I am feeling very pleased with myself😀.
My new village knit & natter project is knitting bats to be sold at a bat talk on saving them in a couple of months! It keeps me busy!
Keep on going everyone I love hearing your news & I will look at the fitnesspas thank you S-G.
Margaret xx

1) I’m appreciating the moderators who have deleted all the irritating adverts and spam. Thank you!
2) I have managed to stick to healthy eating despite a very challenging time over the last 10 days. Just one blip.
3) Friends are solid gold.

A couple of positives after my absence!

😄😄😄Just finished my ‘heavy’ working week !! Had a long soak in the hotel bath… deep enough to float… and am currently lying down with my feet up on a pillow!! 🦶🦶

🥐🍩 Managed the week without going ‘off low carb eating’ more than 2ce!! A croissant on Thursday… and a treat chocolate dessert and glass of Prosecco tonight! 🥂🍾

Very tired… but yay the satisfaction that I have done it. Managed to keep working ! 🎉🎊🥳

Hi everyone,
Just checking in quickly as I’m in the middle of reprocessing after a very deep EMDR session earlier this week. I’ve got some very interesting feelings and sensations this time. Sometimes it can bring up a lot more bad memories and emotions, but this time I’m feeling really, really good. I’ve been a lot more open to people, for instance, and smiling at everyone in the supermarket. But I feel quite vulnerable with it too, so I’m keeping myself to myself for the weekend at least. I have next week off work but will be taking a day trip on Tuesday to deliver garlic and see some old friends, so that will be nice.

Glad to see Heidi and Arctic posting … and you too Verano. Thought it time I added some positives too, so here goes ….
🌸🌸 home again for a few days, having been at my Dad’s for the past week. Good to be on home territory for awhile.
🌸🌸 having scavenged some fig leaves from a friend’s tree, I’m in the process of making fig oil. Also have a batch of confit garlic slowly cooking.in a cool oven.
🌸🌸 looking forward to an evening out tonight, a social event at our village hall to celebrate it’s centenary.

That’s it for me at present …. do you have any positives to share?

Arcticfox good to see you posting ‘positives’! That’s a really great step in the right direction!

A couple from me …..
☀️🌤️☀️ wonderful sunshine here despite a few drops of rain at lunchtime.
🥗🌶️🍅 had a virtually ‘simple carb free day’ today which is not that easy in a hotel with all the temptations……
🍕🥪🧁 I know these things aren’t really for me so just have to be strong and ‘resist’. In truth though, they aren’t really that ‘tempting’!
If you have a positive please post … one is fine!

A few positives for me:
1) record breaking warmth for September means I haven’t come close to having a frost yet, so everything is still growing nicely in the garden. We could use some rain, but that is in the forecast for the weekend.
2) Had an amazing and very intensive therapy session yesterday. Felt like something cracked open inside of me and let a lot of negative emotions out that had been stuck inside. We’ll see if it lasts!
3) A neighbourhood feral cat moved her 7 kittens into one of my outbuildings so I have been feeding them as both she and they are quite skinny. They are starting to trust me and I was even able to stroke one of the bolder ones last night!

Gosh it is quiet here.
1) Hasn’t it been a gorgeous golden day today? At least in Europe. All the fuchsias and salvias in the garden are popping with colour.
2) I’m enjoying the new choir season, as we rehearse Handel’s Messiah and Faure Requiem. One particular jewel is Rheinberger’s Abendlied. See if you like it on Spotify.
3) My mother is managing reasonably well while my father is in hospital. And I know she has been enjoying the sunshine too.

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Your week is nearly over Pootle..hang in there! How lovely to have your family altogether Wendy. Looked up Yerba Tea..the caffeine would be an issue for me but I wouldn’t mind the ‘bliss’ hormone! Starting a fast today (or tomoz), 3 days this time, 4 is too long I think. I’m very interested in keto dieting for all the side benefits but it takes me around 48 hours fasting to enter ketosis..so some experimenting to do there. Thoughts?

Some of us have found that a bit of salt can help. Apparently eating low carb and drinking more water can mess with your electrolytes. In your place I would go for a salty snack of some sort – a cube of cheese or a hard-boiled egg dipped in some salt (not artificial sweetener which I did by accident a few months ago!). There are some threads on this site which tackle the issue of feeling dizzy etc. NB this is not medical advice. If you are diabetic, there might be other issues at play which need more expert advice.

Mainly bumping the thread above the advertising again, but s-g, I now have yerba mate in my cart too. Do let us know if you see any effect. After figuring out that even when I get my insulin levels down through the fasting, my liver is still releasing a ton of glucose into my system and driving a huge dawn phenomenon, I think I need to try it too!

Bumping the thread up above the advertising again.

Oh, and the other thing you could try would be to add some spices, particularly cinnamon to your morning yogurt. That helps to blunt the glucose spike and the subsequent insulin release.

Hi Red Panda,
Do you have reactive hypoglycemia by chance? Is the shaky feeling happening 2-3 hours after you eat? This is what happens to me as my body releases too much insulin after I eat. For ages dieticians, doctors etc. just said to eat snacks and keep my blood sugar up. If they weren’t outright denying that such a conditions exists, lol! I proved it by wearing a continuous glucose monitor for 2 weeks, and actually the scarier thing was how hypo I could go overnight if I was on a glucose rollercoaster during the day. Also, that lightheaded, shaky, not able to concentrate feeling that sent me on a hunt for sweet snacks in the afternoon was highly correlated with my post-lunch crash.
Anyway, try to get waaaay more fibre in your morning meal as that will help. I can’t do just berries with yogurt either. Blueberries in particular are too glycemic for me. I am ok with raspberries though as they have more fibre and less sugar, and I add some chia and hemp seeds for protein, fibre and iron, and sometimes a bit of flax (linseed) for more fibre and a bit of omega-3 fat.
And nothing wrong with having eggs at lunch and breakfast for a few days to see if it evens you out. I would sometimes have eggs with spinach or avocado for breakfast and then boiled eggs with salad or mashed up into egg salad on lettuce leaves for lunch. I can’t have eggs now sadly, so I am mixing up proteins by having scrambled soy-free tofu on mornings when I eat breakfast and then fish at lunch in the form of salmon salad (can’t stand tuna!) or sardines with salad.
Hope this helps!

Hi! I’m on week 2 of fast BSD and loving it so far. I really enjoy eating veg (missing potatoes not going to lie!). My one problem is feeling very weak, shaky and like I’m going to faint/collapse mid morning on days 8 and 9. I usually have full fat greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast then something egg based for lunch. I really need to save my eggs for lunch time though as when I’ve tried a soup or salad for lunch, I’ve had that weak shaky feeling in the afternoon. Any tips? Should I have a snack of something if I feel like that or ride it out? Ty in advance!

Apologies for not posting here recently and thanks for checking in Verano. Back at Dad’s now after my week back home. My positives are …
🌻🌻 only a couple of rain showers here today despite a very grim forecast thus morning
🌻🌻 I’ve completed the order of service booklets for Mum’s funeral … Good to get that ticked of my list
🌻🌻 enjoying hunting for a winter sun break, looking to go somewhere we’ve not been before.

Hope you are managing to find some positives… why not let us know what they are?

Hello everyone & I know I haven’t messaged much recently. I have mixed news my knee is improving & I know I am regaining feeling on one side although it’s still numb on the other & some continuing pain as it heals. I’m sleeping better & have stopped having to take most hospital meds apart from my helpful nerve pain one! However I’m still having an upset stomach & disappointingly have gained some weight despite my trots to the loo.
My good news is all my family are coming to lunch next Saturday including our grandson that we don’t see very often who I am sure will enjoy playing with his two female cousins. I am making a spaghetti bolognese because it’s easy & everyone likes it & will also do some courgetti spaghetti. I am able to stand longer & spending more time in the kitchen now trying to get us back on track eating more normally with fewer carbs & more fresh vegetables & fish.
Keep on going everyone despite ups & downs 👍🤞🤞
Margaret xx

Hi All- so sorry to hear about your dog, Pootle x
Another month- I will try to get back on track. Love to all x

Morning all,
I think I have proven that BG readings go up with stress/distress! I have been very strictly sticking to the diet, but fasting readings have been up since Tuesday!

Well, my week of ‘winging it’ starts today… I know I will get loads of exercise and I have packed a variety of foods that are low carb.. so watch this space! It will be a stressful week but not distressing.. so I will be interested to see the outcome next week!
I weigh every day, so am going to get withdrawal from that… I am not taking scales!!

Hope you all have a good week.
K xxx

That is very cool, Arcticfox, and inspirational (my eating plan has gone awry at the moment) 🙂

Hi everyone,
Just catching up on some posts. Firstly Cathy, I was so sorry to hear your news and am not surprised you were shocked, I hope it turns out that it’s a different diagnosis and that you find out soon. I’m doing ok thank you, no date for surgery yet, I may ring to chase up if I haven’t heard by later in the week.
Arctic fox I’m pleased you found out why your bg was high. Sorry you’ve been having such a difficult time, it’s good that you have supportive people around you.
Heidi, your weight loss is inspirational, congratulations on reaching a healthy bmi:) I’m about to do a food plan for this week, I could have stuck to last week’s better than I did but it was helpful having it there.
Lacy, congratulations on reaching your goal, I seem to remember there was a thread on maintenance a few years back.
DCT, I’m thinking I too should probably start doing more exercise, I’ve been putting it off waiting for my operation but maybe now’s the time I should start using my daughter’s treadmill!
Yowzer, I hope you are ok and that your sciatica has eased.
Hope everyone has a good week. Dawn XX

ARCTICFOX it sounds like so much is going on for you, and I’m really glad you have a strong support network around you. And it’s so good to hear about your insights into insulin and blood glucose, and also your NSV victories : hopefully that is all a real boost for you right now.

HEIDI very well done on achieving a healthy BMI. That’s great news! I hope you time with you mum is going / went well.

DAWN any news on your op yet?

And CATHY you are in my thoughts and prayers daily x

Hope that everyone has an unexpectedly positive week in some way. My thread-related goals for the week are to lose my weekly 1lb target and also get back into exercising more regularly, now that my builders have gone.

Wishing you all well X

Two NSVs to report this week. The first is that my belt came in another notch. The second is that I wore my overalls out on the farm for the first time in months, as I have been wearing shorts in the warm weather. The overalls were loose around the hips where they were snug before, and they are quite baggy at the waist. This is good going into winter as I will be able to fit layers under them again. I wasn’t able to last winter, but we were lucky and had a warmer winter for a change. Now I’m ready whatever the weather will be!

So sorry to hear what you’ve had to deal with, Arcticfox, and very glad you’ve got plenty of support.
I shall watch what happens with your refeeding with interest – I’ve just reached my goal and am trying to work out how to adjust my macros to a sustainable way of eating rather than ‘diet’ mode. I’m scouring the forum archives at the moment to see how other’s have dealt with this. I’ve kept my carbs very low, and never considered it could cause low insulin issues. Oh well, you live and learn!
Cathy – I’m so sorry to hear your news. Nobody is ever prepared to hear that as a suspected diagnosis, but your dentist is far from certain, so I would hang on to that! Sending you lots of positive thoughts and good wishes. And good luck for your interview next week🤞
And I want to wish everyone a relaxing and (hopefully) enjoyable weekend.
Lacy xx

Have a relaxing time catching up with family, Verano – and good weather always helps!
Hope everyone is at least getting time to catch their breath this weekend.
xx

Hi there,
Sorry for the absence. I’ve been busy with the garlic and I was blindsided by more stupid stuff going on, having to take steps to protect myself, and feeling quite down about things. I talked through the situation with several people who have direct knowledge of all the players, including my godmother, and I had a session with my counsellor that really helped. I won’t go into details but things are pretty bad, so let’s just say that it is good that I have several credible witnesses on my side this time, and an incredible support system that is stepping up on my behalf, and leave it there.
I’m really tired, so I’ll just say that I figured out why my bg was high in spite of fasting – low insulin. I knew my insulin had gone down because my waist circumference has shrunk incredibly over the last few weeks. My belt has gone in another notch again this week. And also, some of my newer skin tags have shrunk and changed colour. I was watching a podcast with Ben Bikman and they hit on the reason for elevated morning fasted glucose when you have low insulin such as when fasting or on a keto diet, and it is that you can’t clear that morning bg spike that results from cortisol very quickly due to the low insulin. Anyway, for a bunch of reasons, I started my week of refeeding a few days early and my numbers the last two days were 5.0 and 4.7. So lower after eating days now because I’m getting enough of an insulin spike to clear the glucose. Fascinating to see this play out in real time.
Cathy – so sorry about your diagnosis, and I hope that it isn’t truly the case and that you find out more soon.

That sounds super Verano. Where are you jetting off to? I think we’ve got unsettled weather over the weekend…youve reminded me I need to send a birthday card! Wishing you all a good weekend 🙂

Just wanted too bring this thread back up to the top above all the spam!

While Im here just want to say to Sunny hope you’re all coping.

And so to so positives…..

🧺🧺🧺 all my washing almost done. Only have a small amount so just a small amount of ironing,

🥬🥦🧄 roast lamb, not my favourite, but with lots of veggies tonight so pretty healthy.

Have a good weekend everyone.

I’ll try!
Having daughter, her husband and grandsons for lunch on Sunday. My shout so Greek mezze with lots of ‘healthy’ stuff.

Have to admit to lots of ‘easy’ food over the summer like dusted cod etc. It’s become so easy to take ‘something out of the freezer’ and add a few vegetables. In some ways I’m pleased autumn is around the corner because I can go back to cooking from scratch…. soups, casseroles, meat loaf, meat balls as well as my beloved fish.

Just a few more days before we jet off to see our son and family and celebrate two birthdays all together… a rare treat. And the added bonus of good weather!

Have a good weekend !

Cathy my thoughts are with you. Only wishing for a positive outcome for you. Take care.

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I think we all need some good news ( especially Pootle)…anyone?