Hi all, been lurking for a while but just got round to post now. I’m not diabetic at all but the more I read through the book I became convinced I was sugar dependent and recognised that my diet was based entirely around carbs and sugar, and have been overweight on and off for all of my adult life. I had become the heaviest I have ever been at 16st 6lbs and felt terrible. I saw so many things in the book about how my diet was, in effect, killing me and at 46 knew I had to change quickly. I should say I have not stuck to 800 calories but have been flexible where some days I’ve been just under and other days I’ve been up to 1200. This isn’t bothering me at all as I am seeing results and it’s working quite easily for me.
I started to follow the principles of the BSD over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May. I cut down my carbs and sugar on the Saturday and Sunday and cut them out altogether on the Monday. I went to bed hungry each night and wondered how long I would last once I was back at work. On the Tuesday morning I had Greek yoghurt with Strawberries and Blueberries and took some cashews and blueberries to work with me. Lunchtime came and as I get to walk home for lunch, had scrambled eggs with tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach. I can honestly say that from around 2pm that afternoon I have not felt hungry since. I know when I want to eat as my tummy rumbles, but long gone are the shaky spells where I had to find anything to eat instantly for fear of passing out!
The main benefits I noticed almost straight away were that I felt so much better each day, was not sluggish or felt under the weather (despite having a bad head cold before I started the diet which lasted 2 weeks!) and I was sleeping better than I had for years, no achey legs or uncomfortable sleeping position.
Within 10 days I had lost 8lbs and felt amazing. My skin was no longer dry (without doing anything different to it) and my energy levels had gone from nil to claiming back my evenings by being able to do things after dinner, which was normally a ‘sit in front of tv all evening’ time.
And so this has continued for almost 5 weeks now and I have lost 13 lbs up to this morning, I’ve eaten out a few times and had a night away but stuck to it by making considered decisions on where and what to eat. I can honestly say I am not missing potatoes, pasta, rice, cereal at all, but I do miss bread. Not every-day sliced bread, but the crusty, seeded type. I’ve avoided buying any to cut down on temptation! I still cook potatoes and rice, pasta, for my husband and son, but as a consequence they are cutting down on carbs too and have both also lost weight!
Last week I started running (the old nhs podcast coach to 5k) and as I’m not a natural runner, it is hard, but I’m doing it as I feel I actually can do it now, being so much lighter! I’m on holiday in September and my goal is to be confident enough to put on a swimming costume and swim in the pool each day, something I love but won’t do while carrying weight. I also know that I will probably eat carbs while away but hopefully my body will be able to process them better now, and when I come home I can’t see any reason why I can’t follow the diet again – to be honest it hasn’t felt anything like any diet I have ever been on, I’m not hungry or grumpy or feeling deprived of anything. At this moment in time I can see me eating like this forever, feeling this good, why would I not??
So my meals are usually like this:
B Yoghurt and fruit in the Blend Active to take to work OR porridge with fruit
L Eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach OR cottage cheese with salad
D Fish or meat with veg or salad
Snacks – I’m loving snacking on berries and nuts, usually around 11am and 4pm, I know nuts are high in calories but these really do get me through the day. I’ve cooked better than ever and it’s been so much easier using fresh veg and salad, and have used many variations using similar ingredients. Oh and Lime and salt are amazing for salad dressing!
I hope everyone has success following a version of this diet, it really is life changing.