8 weeks in and no change in my blood sugar

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posted by dinabeth61
on 27 Sep 2018 at 11:58

Hi everyone
I just joined this forum today! I started the BSD 8 weeks ago and have so far lost 23 pounds (with probably about five stone still to lose). I had a blood test at 8 weeks and it is still at 6.1 (which is pre-diabetic). I pretty much stuck to 800 calories a day by following the Cambridge diet (meal replacement shakes/bars for 3 meals) and a salad with some protein as a fourth meal. However, I weigh on a Friday and do kind of fall apart after my weigh-in and indulge in carby treats. Do you think this might be why my blood sugar has not shifted or do you think it is more likely that I need more time to get my weight down further? I am reluctant to give up my treats on a Friday as I feel this is what helps to keep me on track the rest of the week.

Dina x
posted by alliecat
on 27 Sep 2018 at 12:25

Hi Dina! Congratulations on your weight loss to date! I’m confused by your post, however..
The BSD Fast 800 is designed around low carb, whole foods, not meal replacement shakes.
You’ll have to explain the Cambridge Plan. Have you been combining the 2 for the past 8
weeks? Many of us are very experienced with this lifestyle, and I feel certain that we’d have
advice to share, if we knew what sort of macro nutrient distribution you have been using until
now. Welcome to the community! I look forward to following your progress to lose the extra
5 stone. Please join any threads that seem interesting to you, and you will receive a very warm
welcome 🙂

Allie
posted by SunnyB
on 27 Sep 2018 at 13:14

Hello Dina – welcome to the forum. Well done on the weight lost so far and I hope you will decide to fully take on the Fast 800 and opt to make your own food from scratch now. Having looked at the nutritional values of the Cambridge shakes, they look really high in carbs, most of which is sugar and that is exactly what you don’t want if you are trying to lower your blood sugars. Unfortunately, in three meals of shakes a day, you have been having around 40g of sugar in approx. 51g of carbs overall. Most people on the forum try to keep their daily carb intake below 51g and those who are struggling with blood sugar issues and insulin resistance often opt for an even lower intake – some sub 20g.

Could I suggest a review of your approach and consider how you could change up your meal plans, to include more self prepared meals and tracking your carb intake as well as you calories? Even if you can reduce the number of shakes you use, should help but by avoiding processed foods and food replacements you should find you have better control and that – hopefully – your blood sugar readings begin to drop.

Whatever approach you choose, I wish you every possible success and hope to see you out and about on the forum. As Allie said, do join other threads and you will find lots of advice, support and encouragement available to you.
posted by dinabeth61
on 1 Oct 2018 at 16:25

Hi Sunny

Thank you so much for your reply which I really appreciate. I had wondered about the amount of carbs and sugar I was consuming. Yes, the weight is definitely coming off, but the whole idea was also to see a drop in my blood sugar, so I am quite disappointed. Cambridge do produce a small selection of lactose free products which have far less sugar in but then the flavours are limited and sometimes I find myself choosing the more interesting flavours and telling myself it is still only 200 calories! I think you are absolutely right and I should be choosing low carb as well as low calorie which I can easily do.
Since starting the plan I am definitely finding ways to eat proper food within the calorie limit – I am vegetarian and am fully aware of protein products that are low carb, which I can then bulk out the meal out with salad and veggies. I will talk to my cambridge consultant about keeping me on the lower sugar products and reducing the number – I do like seeing her and having a weigh-in once a week is helping to keep me on track.

Thanks so much for your encouraging words 🙂

Dina x
posted by dinabeth61
on 1 Oct 2018 at 16:36

Hi Allie

I think I am confused too! When I watched the TV show about reversing diabetes, the participants were on a replacement meal programme – and I think that must have been where I got the idea that it was okay. I have since realised that in fact the cambridge products are high in carbs/sugar so I will reduce the number of products I have in a day down to two and choose the lactose free products which have much less sugar in. I did it for ease really, but I think my calorie counting skills over the past couple of months have definitely improved so I should be able to go it alone more easily now. The shakes seemed easy as finding the time to prepare low calorie meals whilst also feeding my husband and son (who are both vegans) was proving difficult. My choice of low carb proteins would be eggs and fish – maybe some tofu – combined with some veggies and salad, whereas their meals are made up of plant proteins and pasta, rice, noodles etc. However, I have an idea now how to correct what I have been doing. I appreciate you bringing this point up and it makes total sense now how I have managed to lose weight and not see a shift in my blood sugar.

Dina x
posted by alliecat
on 1 Oct 2018 at 17:35

Hi Dina, it’s wonderful that everything is becoming clearer for you now 🙂 It’s a steep learning curve
for everyone, and there are extra challenges when you have to prepare meals for a family that has
different food preferences. Never feel that you have to go it alone, though…This community always
has wisdom and experience to share, and a generosity of spirit that it is present on every thread.
Please join any of them that resonate with you, and I can guarantee that you will be warmly welcomed.
Very best to you Dina..I look forward to seeing you out and about 🙂

Allie
posted by SunnyB
on 1 Oct 2018 at 17:57

Hi Dina – pleased that you are feeling more confident in being able to start to bring more real food into your regime and take more control of your carb intake as well as your calorie intake. As Allie said, you shouldn’t feel you have to do this on your own, the community here is very inclusive and supportive and will be keen to help you meet your goals.

When approaching preparing meals, try to think of a main element to serve your all, so you can then simply add in one or two elements for your OH and son and a little something different for you. It can take a while to get your head around it all, but you’ll soon find it becomes second nature. It’s good to get used to preparing meals on this new way of eating in the early days, as this will be very important knowledge when you get to maintenance.

Hope to see you on other threads soon and reporting more good results, including a drop in your blood sugars.
posted by dinabeth61
on 3 Oct 2018 at 11:03

Hi … me again. I have a bit more information now on the Cambridge products which I have been using to help me lose weight. The shakes all seem to have about 14g of carbohydrate per sachet of which 13g is sugar. Heck – I just didn’t realise that I was consuming so much sugar. I guess the diet works well for people who just want to lose weight, but my ultimate goal is to reverse my high blood sugar (with the weight loss being an added and welcome bonus). The lactose free products however are much lower in sugar – so a typical shake would be about 14g of carbohydrate with only about 3g of sugar. Do I need to be worried about the carb intake if I am following the BSD, or is it enough that the sugar is much lower. I was planning to have just two shakes a day (400 calories in total) and make up the other 400 with food?

Also, when eating low carb, I do rely on vegan products which I eatwith vegetables and salad etc. I think years ago when I first did the Atkins diet I read somewhere that you can deduct the fibre from the carbohydrate amount to get the total amount of carbs in a food product. Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks for your help 🙂

Dina x
posted by SunnyB
on 3 Oct 2018 at 12:28

Hi Dina – you are correct about the fibre, but if you are in the UK, this is already deducted on nutrition labels, so the carbs you are looking at are starches and sugars – both of which are the no-no items on the BSD. I believe in the US the fibre is left in the overall carbs quoted, so can be deducted.

If you are keeping to two shakes a day at 14g carbs each, providing you can keep your proper meal low carb it should be okay, but I would encourage you to get on to proper food full time as soon as you can. This would give you better control, more satisfying meals, less processed food and teach you what you can eat to constitute a real BSD portion of food.

If you want to maintain that interaction around weigh-in time, this forum is an ideal place for that and everyone is on the same quest. There are monthly and weekly challenge threads, where we discuss our progress, celebrate and seek advice. It was this support which got me to end goal and in maintenance. Do join in on one of the challenges, as you will get a warm welcome and find the support and advice plentiful.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 3 Oct 2018 at 12:33

Hi Dina, it must be so disheartening not to be reducing your BG when you think you are doing all the right things. Firstly, the original TV programme was the story of the gastric band people who were put on meal replacement shakes simply because they were unable to eat ‘real’ food. Also they went as low as 600 calories every day and had to have very careful medical supervision, i.e. they were in hospital. Finally, the meal replacement shakes were high in protein and other nutrients and not the carbs. You dont say how many calories are in your shakes.
You also dont say if you are or have been on any medication. Have you stopped or reduced any meds in the hope that the diet will be the answer.
You really need to stop the shakes or at least reduce them and eat real food which you will find much more satisfying. 3 per day amounts to 42g of carbs even before you count things like your 4th meal (even salad contains carbs) and maybe milk in tea or coffee etc. As SunnyB says, most of us try to stay around 50g carbs and some go even lower. If you have the book try some of the meal plans and recipes to replace a couple of the shakes. If you follow the principles of the plan you will a) feel fairly full, b) lose weight, and c) lower your BG. Good luck, we are all still learning.
posted by alliecat
on 3 Oct 2018 at 13:03

Hi Dina! I very much agree with Sunny, that whole food is the best option, so I hope you transition to it as
soon as possible 🙂 It’s a way of learning appropriate portion sizes, and finding out where all the sneaky carbs
hide! Are you using one of the apps to track your macros? I’ve been at this for 2+ years, and I do remember
being rather shocked in the beginning about the net carbs in fruit, or something as basic as an onion! It very
quickly becomes second nature to weigh and measure portions. Then you will have a blueprint for healthy
eating for life. Maintaining our losses or putting diabetes into remission is the big prize, and knowing where
the carbs hide is the single most important concept to master. Please keep in touch and share your journey!
You will meet other members of the community at all stages of the process, and the weekly or monthly
challenges are a great place to start. Looking forward to seeing you there. Very best wishes,

Allie
posted by JGwen
on 3 Oct 2018 at 14:21

Hi Dina,
I would really recommend going to the take a look at this thread and following some of the links to podcasts. – Particularly one I posted a few months ago by Dr Bikman and also links to podcasts by Dr Jason Fung. Understanding how the hormone systems respond to each of the macros (carbs, protein and fat) really makes it easier to come up with an individual plan. –
For example, you mention a different brand of shakes has less sugar, – but have you looked to see if they have replaced the sugar with sweeteners? Our bodies raise insulin levels in response to tasting something that is sweet, as well as sugar intake. —-
The simplest way forward is to use an app like fatsecret on your mobile phone. – Enter everything you eat and it will calculate the carbs, protein and fat levels for you.
posted by dinabeth61
on 3 Oct 2018 at 14:35

Hi Sunshine

I saw the TV programme quite recently – and the participants were all in one house initially, and then they went home to continue the 800 calories, and I have just found the section in the book which says you can start with replacement shakes. MM doesn’t actually give any details about the shakes – just that they should provide the nutrients – which the Cambridge products seem to have in them (they have products at either 150 calories or 200 calories). I am on various medications which have contributed to weight gain – such as HRT and Pregabalin and Amitriptyline for nerve pain associated with a prolapsed disc. The latter two I can try and come off at some point when my doctor thinks it is the right time to try, but the HRT has made such a positive change to my life that I won’t give that up. I will look more closely at this forum and see where it can help me with my weigh-ins . I like having that weekly goal to aim for. I think I just need to read the recipes and get to grips with 800 calories in food. I came into work this morning and looked at my sachet and felt I didn’t want to have the carbs and sugar, so managed to find a protein pot of boiled eggs and spinach in the canteen. So a good start!
I remember when I did the Atkins diet years ago (which although initially I lost weight, I felt it really hard to sustain in the longterm) I was on about 20g carbs a day but some of you have said 50g is a good number to aim for – and that would be manageable for me I think.
Thanks again for all your advice 🙂

Dina x
posted by SunnyB
on 3 Oct 2018 at 15:29

Good move on the egg and spinach, Dina and 50g carb a day is a good start point. You are right the MM says you can use shakes, it’s just that those of us who have been here awhile, know how helpful it’s been for us to learn about portion control, calories and carbs using real food, hence our recommendations.
There has just been a four week challenge kicked of todayf, with Halloween in the title and there a weekly challenge which is currently ‘I have a plan week 11’ and that started yesterday. We make ourselves accountable by say what we’d like to achieve, check in from time to time to say on how things are progressing and at the end of each week report on how we have got on. Without a doubt you’d be made very welcome on either or both of these threads and I’m confident you will find lots of good solid help and advice, as well as support and encouragement.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 3 Oct 2018 at 16:11

Hi Dina, yes I now know which programme you are talking about. If you find the thread Take A Look At This where we review and discuss new programmes, theories, newspaper articles etc., you will see that most people on this site were rather disappointed in the programme. They even allowed people to eat ‘healthy’ cereals for breakfast like Weetabix. I think the diet was very watered down but in a way to make people feel it was manageable to make lower carb choices in their lives. Also, it tended to keep within the NHS guideline for carbs which the real diet has decided (and most diabetics know this) do not work for T2. Some of us are quite evangelical about sticking with the principles of the 800 cal low carbs but there are so many variations like Banting, 5:2, Mediterranean etc that there is room for everyone on here.
posted by Verano
on 3 Oct 2018 at 18:06

Hi s-g hope You had a good holiday and that all is well with you.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 3 Oct 2018 at 22:05

Hi V, I am well and really motivated. Like you I have gained some weight and intend to get rid by Christmas. I started back on the plan (although never really been off it just not counting calories and cocktails). Hubby and I are doing sober October so that will be a great help to me if he isn’t drinking. I signed onto Boditrax at my daughters gym and it gives you a full body tracking including visceral fats which I am happy to say mine is quite low. My intention is to improve on all aspects – BMI, percentage fat, body age etc – by the time I go back there at the end of December. The pool has gone cold over the past few days so might be lucky to get in a couple more swims and I am doing two 30 days plans, strength with weights and a yoga for beginners to get me more flexible. Hope you are doing well and I see you are on a bike trip, enjoy and good luck.

Sorry to hijack your thread Dina, just having a catch up.
posted by Verano
on 4 Oct 2018 at 08:57

Hi s-g pleased you are well and everything sounds good and positive. Afraid I’m in a bit of a ‘black hole’ at the moment, partly because I find joining in threads is becoming counter productive. I will get my ‘positive head’ back on but may have to do it quietly by myself!
Dina, sorry to but into your thread, but anyway I’ve just read it through from the beginning. I agree with everything that has already been said. You sound a little confused and this way of eating does involve a steep learning curve as Allie says. After a lifetime of the low fat, calories in versus calories out mantra it can be difficult to get your head around low carb, healthy fat eating. There are lots of variations of low carb eating and I’m sure it would help you to just concentrate on one. Carbs are the ‘baddy’ when you have T2, as those of us who have reversed our diabetes can testify to, so you really need to concentrate on them. There is an excellent website The Dietdoctor which has great graphics of low/high carb foods and can be really helpful when you are starting out. In fact I like the website in general as there are often good articles. Good luck with your journey.
posted by dinabeth61
on 4 Oct 2018 at 12:04

Thanks everyone for all your advice again. I think I know where I am at now – I did a shop last night so this is my first day of counting carbs along with calories and coming off the shakes. I trialled a breakfast for dinner last night – and very quickly managed to throw some greek yoghurt, blueberries and chopped nuts into a bowl to bring to work – all weighed out and coming to 200 calories!! 🙂 I can do this!!! haha

I will certainly check out the other threads, websites and apps you have recommended.

Thanks again. I really do appreciate all the time you have taken to get me on the right track.

Dina x
posted by SunnyB
on 4 Oct 2018 at 12:30

Great to see you so positive about making your own meals, Dina. Looking forward to reading about your progress and seeing you on other threads too.
Best wishes to you for some great results.
posted by alliecat
on 4 Oct 2018 at 13:49

This is wonderful progress, Dina! Having a positive attitude and being fearless about making changes and experimenting
with new menu ideas are what keep this entire process fresh and a new adventure to embrace each day. Planning
ahead seems to be the key, and then everything just falls into place! Very best wishes for your success 🙂

Allie