Morning everyone

Well I’m in a quandary !!

I need to rethink now that we are at the end of 16 weeks. The first 8 weeks I was eating no simple carbs but not doing 800 and lost 14.6lbs.The following four I was on holiday for a good part of the month and stayed the same. The last four have been swings and roundabouts. My reboot was great, following 800 and 30g carbs I lost 6.6lbs, then 3.6lb the following week but the last 10 days I’ve lost my way and have put on!!! Anyway, in total I’ve lost 8lbs in the last 4 weeks!!

So what next????

Back to 800/30 if I can, up my carbs to 800/40 or increase everything to maybe 1000/50. Possibly even 5:2 for a few weeks . Can’t seem to stay within 800/30 at the moment. Just not sure. Don’t know!!!!

Anybody carrying on after tomorrow and if so which plan???

Hi Verano. I am carrying on. I will try to stick to 30g carbs , although sometimes I go over, although not sticking to 800 calories. Although there will be times when I go completely off plan , like next Saturday when I am going to afternoon tea in a swanky hotel for a friends birthday, but I will endeavor to get straight back on the bike afterwards. Would love to have you aling on the journey whatever you decide to do. I’ve still got two stone to lose.
Krysia, how do you test that you are in ketosis. Do you use the pee sticks? I have some (admittedly they are 10 years old from when I tried the Atkins diet) , but they are remaining resolutely negative. Maybe it’s time to refresh my supplies.

Can I join you for another round? I’m finishing my first 8 weeks tomorrow, but some of it has been totally off-BSD due to visits, marriage and poor planning.
Am due to visit my parents for a few days for my mum’s 80th birthday in mid-November and will probably slide a bit for my own birthday early December (big party of friends visiting). But am keen to keep going till Christmas and then review. I’ll undoubtedly need to carry on for quite some time after that, but an ‘official’ break will probably be good for my mental hygiene rather than just letting myself get away with it for a day here and a day there.
I try to stick to 800 calories but for health reasons I have to have lots of fibre in my diet, so under 50 g of carbs is nigh-on impossible for me (I can’t eat psyllium husk or chia seeds). Not diabetic or pre-diabetic, so the carbs are less important, and I’ve given up on the notion that I will see the rapid weight loss that some manage.

Hi loopylou and Snoop and anybody else who is carrying on.

I have done a lot of reading this morning and I realise my fibre intake is very very low with some days less than 5g!!!! So I’ve decided on a new plan for me. I’m going to count net carbs. I’m finding it very difficult to ration cauliflower or sprouts etc to very small portions because of their carb content but they have good levels of fibre, hence the net carb count is acceptable. Also when I checked through Fatsecret I found that the foods with little fibre are also foods we really shouldn’t be having much of such as dark chocolate and wine!!

So, my plan is to try and increase my fibre intake to at least 12g a day and keep my net carbs at 30g and calories at 800.

I thought of starting a new thread ‘Another 4 weeks anyone? Tuesday 25th October’ Then people who don’t read this thread also have the opportunity to join us.

Brilliant idea on the four-week thread, Verano.

I’m starting week 3 I am going to keep going until happy with weight 8 pounds down so far quick at first but slowed a bit will keep on though

Hi Loopylou
I test my ketones with the pee sticks. I think yours may not be working as they are a bit out of date. They look as though they only have a 2 year shelf life – or once they have been opened – 6 months.

Verano – great idea on the four-week thread. I will join it tomorrow and will report on my Annual visit to my Diabetes Consultant tomorrow.

Re: the fibre. I have been thinking lately that I am not getting enough fibre. What a brilliant idea to count net carbs. I bought some Chia seeds but haven’t used them because for a 15g serving they are 6.58g carbs – but if 5.70g is fibre you only have to count 1.12g of carbs. Have just tried 15g and as you chew them they quadruple in size. They have omega 3s and are supposed to be very good for you.

Hopefully they don’t have any unwanted side effects – although I have a horrible feeling they might have!!!

Hi kids, I’m back as of 2 hours ago and just cleared 370 emails from my in box but only a few from BSD as I only kept up with certain threads. I will be doing my confession tomorrow and will be getting weighed and I am certain I will be going right back to basics, using the menu planners and sticking to 800 calories for another 8 weeks. I will keep an eye on the carbs but if I am on only 800 cals I cannot be going too high and I wont have to get in a panic if I have one apple a week on my ploughmans or 15 carbs with my melon shake as I enjoyed the variety and found serious carb counting prevented me from enjoying the diet, I became too strict with myself.

Anyway, my calories have obviously been way higher than 800, I have been enjoying several drinks most evenings and still not eaten any bad carbs. My blood glucose has been between 95 (5.2) and 106 (5.8) all the time except one day I realised I had forgotten to take my insulin, I had also just had my breakfast but decided to test anyway thinking it would be disasterously high. It was 138!!!!!! No insulin and just had a cooked breakfast, that to me is brilliant. I did remember my insulin after that and kept to my usual low levels.

I will report back tomorrow. That is if I can find you all.

Helllo SUNSHINEGIRL was thinking of you yesterday..glad to see you back!
HECTORSHOUSEMATE ( i love yr name!) hope week 3 goes well for you..eight pounds down in two weeks is good going..youve lost the equivalent of eight packets of lard! X

VERANO i am about a week behind you cycle 2 folks..i think my cycle 3 starts first nov but will pop into yr new thread,same as i have done here,if thats ok xx
Isnt it exciting we’re entering phase 3! 👍🏻

HI LOOPY/KRYSIA ! x where do you buy pee sticks please? Can you buy at the chemists? I think for my phase 3 I will start testing x

Hi sunshine-girl

Welcome home! Glad you had a good time and enjoyed your treats.

Looking forward to see how you get on tomorrow Krysia mines next Monday!!

Nice to see there are going to be a few of us on the new thread …. sunshine-girl it’s Another 4 weeks …. I think .

See you all tomorrow.

Hi all, sunshine-girl, so good about the BS level. Verano I will be there for another 4 weeks. You did better than I – I only managed an extra 4.5 pounds, after the 14 in the first cycle.

Net carbs is a great idea, as I worry about fibre also.

Krysia – congratulations again.

ps Krysia you need to drink a lot with your chia just as you would if you were having psyllium. Otherwise they should be no problem

Hi Sunshine-girl – you sound as though you had a lovely holiday. Really good blood sugars – even on the day you forgot your insulin.

Yowzer – I get my ‘pee sticks’ from the chemist. They are called Ketostix – I think they are around £6 or £7 for 50 test strips.

Verano – haven’t slept very well because I am worrying about the doctor’s reaction to the BSD. It’s silly really as I am sure the doctor will be ok. Then I have been worrying – what if my blood sugar monitor is wrong and my hba1c isn’t good. It’s amazing what goes through your mind when you can’t sleep.

Thanks Ruthdownunder – I will drink a lot with them. They look as though they may be very good for you with more omega 3 than salmon as well as lots of fibre.

Yowzer, I got my Ketostix from Amazon – £5.40 for 50.

Thanks KRYSIA and LOOPY xx

Hi verano

Try upping your fats to break the plateau, look it up on ketosis diets which is what we are doing, it may help
😊

Hi
They sound very high on carbs I was drinking dolche chochinos and they were 16 carbs 😩😩😩😩 and trivia may give you a insulin spike as the body thinks it’s getting sugar, but okay I suppose if it doesn’t result in a increase in appetite, hope it doesn’t for you
😊

An update on my Diabetes Annual Review today – which I had got very very stressed about.

But now I am floating on air. I can’t even describe how good I am feeling.
Hba1c in March at 50 (6.7) on insulin injections at least 5 times a day.
Today absolutely normal at 37 (5.5) with no insulin for 7 weeks.
BM1 now 23.

I saw a wonderful Consultant I hadn’t seen before. She had been at Newcastle and had met Professor Taylor and knew all about the diet – she was so knowledgeable.

I was advised that I was now (after losing almost 2stone 7lb) at a healthy weight and should only, at the most, lose another 4lbs.

My Hba1c is now officially normal. The Consultant advised that I am ‘in remission’ but would not be able to go back onto my previous diet with all the starchy and sugary carbs. She said that my beta cells could not cope.

I had actually been thinking along the same lines. Although off the insulin it is very clear to me that my pancreas would not be able to cope with my previous diet.

When I started the BSD my long term goal was to prevent meal time spikes in an effort to reverse the retinopathy. I really believed that my body was so damaged by all the starchy carbohydrates and sugar I had eaten in the past and there was no way I would ever again have normal blood sugars or come off the insulin.

So now – thanks to Professor Taylor, Dr Michael Mosley and most of all this wonderful forum – I can live healthily on the wonderful Mediterranean diet which I have really grown to love. There is no way I would ever want to go back to my old way of eating. When I see sugary, starchy carby foods they hold absolutely no attraction for me now. I actually now think yuk – how can people eat that stuff.

The Consultant has asked if I would talk to diabetes patient groups about my experience. I am so happy to do so – I will do my best to ‘spread the word’.

She also suggested that I email Professor Taylor – which I will do.

It has been such a positive experience today. To be ‘in remission’ is a dream come true.

Hi, Krysia –

That is wonderful!!!! Well done! You must feel so good – it made me feel good just to read your post.

How lovely to have someone tell you not to lose more than 4 lbs at the most! What a fantastic gift you have given yourself (though I am sure it was hard-earned) and how nice that you are now going to share that experience with others who can benefit from it.

Really brilliant – thanks so much for sharing!! 🙂

KRYSIA! Your story is one of the best ive read here – and we all know there’s a LOT of inspiration to be found on this forum
Massive congratulations! You are an absolute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Xx!

Krysia, what a fantastic story. So glad this has happened – that you made it happen. And what a fantastic consultant. People like you will be helping to spread the message. Congratulations and best wishes.

Feeling a bit weepy now! – so wonderful for you Krysia – but at the end of the day it’s actually all down to you – only you control what you put in your mouth and you should be extremely proud of yourself – HUGS!!!

Hi Krysia

I’m also a bit weepy!!!! Absolutely marvellous!!! Brilliant !!!! Well done!!! What more can I say!!!

So it really does work … but we know that! It’s just a matter of ‘keeping on keeping on’ as Lynne would say.

In some ways the hard work is just beginning but I’m sure after such a marvellous turn around in your health you’ll make it in the long term. We’re all here to keep you going if needs be!

Maybe you could copy this post onto sunshine-girls thread … ??? What did your doctor say??? It will certainly keep us going when we’re feeling low or wanting to give the whole thing up!

Enjoy your great news!

Excellent news KrysiaD, well done you xx

Krysia, I actually cried (trying to outdo the others), because I do know exactly how you feel. When my HBA1c dropped dramatically and I got the piece of paper with my results on I danced around the house both laughing and crying. Really great feeling. BUT it was you that did it. Anyone can go on a diet but how many stay the distance and you also know that this is your lifestyle plan now. Also a big thank you to Prof T. and MM for giving us the tools to help us, the first diet to ever work. I am sure you will be such a good role model for so many new starters, just like Lynn. By the way Verano, it is me that says keep on keeping on. I will be popping over to the new thread now. Great to hear such good news.

Thank you all so much for your kind words – but I really couldn’t have done it without you all. Your support has been invaluable.

I had, over the last few weeks, a niggling worry that perhaps my blood sugar meter had gone wrong and wasn’t recording the correct blood sugar numbers. At 3am this morning I managed to convince myself that my blood sugar monitor wasn’t working properly and my Hba1c would be dreadful. So when the Consultant told me that it was 37 and normal – I got quite weepy.

Verano – you are so right – the hard work starts now – but I am determined to stay on this for the long term.
I will copy my post onto sunshine-girls thread.

Fantastic news KrysiaD well done you,I was talking to a colleague today who is over weight and diabetic but she wouldn’t listen I told her about the program last night her response was I turned the TV off couldn’t watch it to horrible wish she had the same attitude as you perhaps in the future she will want to take control of her life again. Congratulations keep up with the good work ⭐️⭐️👏👏

Hi krysia D

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏delighted for you. New life, new you. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊

Krysia, so many congratulations. I lent my book last night to an overweight friend with diabetes, and I also said he must look at the forums as well as read the book. Even more so now. You made me a little weepy also. I am glad that you are contacting Prof Taylor.

Krysia , I have just caught up with yesterday’s posts. Congratulations. How wonderful for you. Your results speak for all the hard work you have put into this. What an inspiration!

Krysia, I have only now read your post from yesterday here in Melbourne (Aus). Your story is fabulous. Congratulations. An inspiration to the rest of us. enjoy.