Hi everyone. I will be starting the BSD soon. Just waiting for my doctor to return off holidays to get the go ahead and hopefully the support I am looking for. Regardless, I am determined to give this a fair go. I was diagnosed 2 years ago as diabetic. I did a short stint on Metformin and gained about 10kg in 8 months so I decided to come off the medicine and do more with lifestyle changes. My doctor, last visit, jumped up and down and said I should definitely be on medication with my average BSL being 8.3 I am doing the 8-week challenge to try and keep off the medication and turn this all around. If I lose any dramatic weight, personally I will be surprised as I have found it nigh on impossible to lose weight now for about the last 10 years no matter what I try! If I can stablise my BSL’s though I will be happy. 😊 Looking forward to keeping in touch.

Mine were 8.2 when I started this diet, within 3 months I was down to 6.9, then 5.9 and now 5.6. Stick to your guns, I foolishly went onto insulin, gained 15kgs and the rest is history, all the meds in the world dont improve your BG just maintain it while it still steadily goes up, the insulin goes up, the weight goes up so the insulin has to go up more. It is a viscious circle and offers no solution.

Panda Bear I have PCOS and was prediabetic when I started 8 weeks ago. Have struggled to lose weight for a decade but have just finished my first 8 weeks and have lost 15kg and blood sugar is now well within the normal range. I do have a lot more weight to lose but am overjoyed at how much I’ve been able to lose. It is certainly a motivator. I hope all of the success stories on here help and wish you luck on the BSD. There are many knowledgeable people on here happy to help with advice.

Yes sunshine-girl that’s what I have observed regarding medication too. I have a friend who has been diabetic for years. She has done everything the doctors have suggested and yet she is in a mess healthwise. I don’t want to end up like that. I want to have an active life. Thanks for sharing your story legreen. I am so thankful for this forum as I know I will need encouragement along the way. Family and friends while well-meaning don’t always understand or support what you are trying to accomplish. I have been really struggling with depression and fatigue which my doctor says is all connected to the diabetes. I have booked another appointment for next Wed to discuss all with my doctor and get the recommended blood tests done prior took starting and I am resolved to start on Mon 25 September! Just got some personal goal setting and menu planning to do now and I am all set. 🤗

Good luck Panda Bear, just dont worry if your doctor is not on board with this diet, most say it cant be done, too low calories, not sustainable, you will put it all back on, your will go into starvation mode, all the old myths – oh and dont forget the one that says you have to eat ‘carbs’ or your brain will dry up – forgetting the amount of carbs in apples, carrots, courgette – ditch the white carbs.

Anyway, if your doctor is not happy, made a deal with him / her, ask if they will bear with you on this and give you 3 months to try it out. Then arrange to be retested. You cant say fairer than that. But you will have vast improvement during that time. Keep on keeping on…

Hi Panda Bear,

I’m half way through the BSD and want to add to what sunshine-girl and legreen are saying. While I’d read all the stuff on this forum before I started I wasn’t completely convinced the BSD would work for me, but It has.

I was diagnosed as having diabetes at the beginning of August but I think I must have had it for quite a while as my diagnostic HbA1c test was very high – equivalent to blood glucose level of 15. I stopped white carbs straight away and started the BSD shortly after (either 9th or 16th August – can’t remember). Started checking my blood sugar levels around 23rd August and between then and now they’ve gone steadily down from 8’s and 7’s to now fairly consistent 5’s (I still get the odd 6 but also get the odd 4 – my fasting reading this morning was 4.8!) I ‘ve also lost about 15lbs. And I’m still only part way through.

My GP didn’t really have time to advise me about anything (to be fair she had fit me in to a full appointment list to give me my result) but when I saw the practice nurse she was against low carb diets and gave me a diet sheet which still talked about eating carbs with every meal. As she was talking I realised she didn’t have that much knowledge about diabetes. (I used to work in the NHS and, while not a medic, just from knocking around, I knew some of what she was saying was old stuff). I don’t think it’s her fault, she’s not a specialist, but I realised I’d have to take control of this myself which is what led me to the BSD book and the forum.

I think you’re right to try to get buy-in from your GP as much as possible – but definitely agree you should go ahead with this. It’s also true about family not really understanding – my husband and son are lovely and supportive but are finding it hard to get their head around – as am I at times, which is why this forum is so great. People on here have helped me (still are), including sunshine-girl, and they’ll help you, too. Best of luck – I’ll watch out for your posts.
Regards
Marie
nb There’s an information sheet that Roy Taylor (the guy who introduces the BSD book) has that can be given to GP’s that gives background to this type of approach – it might be useful to bring with you, or read before you go to see him/her. I can’t find the link right now and am on my way out – but if you can’t find it and want it let me know and I’ll look tomorrow.

Thanks for the encouragement sunshine-girl and Marie123 I am determined to proceed worth this diet regardless of my doctors reaction. I have never been one to just swallow doctors orders but feel it is necessary to think for one-self as well. I would like to get the tests done prior to starting though. I am currently in the waiting room of a naturepath hoping also to get some natural support not just for diabetes but my cycle as well. I intend to use this forum as a boost, a means of accountability and a journal of my journey. I hope my regular posts aren’t a source of another to anyone. If so, please just tune out. Looking forward to joining you all on this journey to wellness. xx

Good luck dear! I would like an update of result!

Thanks Rosable. Will do. Stay posted.

Hi Panda Bear
Good luck with your doctor’s appointment. .
Marie

We always like to know how other people are getting on – this is a sharing forum and it is all about the results BUT it is also a caring forum and many of us have got to know each other and offer tons of support whether you do good or bad – mostly we get good results because the diet works. Keep us up to date Panda Bear – love your name,

Morning! Thank you so much for remembering where I am at in my journey and for caring (Marie123 and sunshine-girl). It means a lot! 😀

I went to see the doctor yesterday. Not my regular GP as she was away but another doctor recommended to me by staff. I haven’t yet found a doctor who I feel is on top of his game with diabetes, who doesn’t treat you like a number and who is thorough. This new doctor has possibilities though I am pleased to report. He hadn’t heard of the diet but listened with a measure of interest. He accepted the print outs. Hopefully he will read them. He asked questions and while he was a little skeptical about the weight loss expectations (10-15% of your body weight in 8 weeks) he seemed OK with it all and he admitted that medications only become less effective as time goes on, resulting in increased doses and eventually injections etc. My blood pressure was good which is a plus.

After my initial positive attitude, I must admit I am feeling a little dubious about it all now but I am still determined to start this Monday! I have had a couple of dreadfully low days emotionally so that hasn’t helped. As I have been following the BSD principles it may even have been a bit of a carb craving as could have murdered a choocolate anything! I am pretty sure it is all due to hormones though. I have only a couple of things left to organise; goals, exercise regime and of course shopping. I will get stuck into these last bits and pieces and I think it will help me lift my determination levels.

Thanks again for your interest. xxx

Hi Panda Bear — don’t work yourself over too much on getting organized — you can start and get more into it over a week or two — it will be good just to start — I can recommend Lucia’s thread for just starting and working up to doing it — you can start just with carb control, then add in exercise then add in more calorie control — it is a bit of a learning process and you will LEARN how to do this well over a bit of time.
I see you are having doubts, but I want to encourage you to just start and don’t quit because this really IS going to make a huge difference for you — so many have benefitted and you can too!
Start and get the last bits organized as you go along — there is no “perfect” here.
Jump in on any thread that interests you and I will look for your posts!

A quick word about weight, just for the record. I weigh in at 88kgs (13 stone 12lbs). So to loose 10-15% my goal weight should be between 79.2kgs – 74.8kgs.

Like I said earlier, my foremost goal in this venture is to just try and get my blood sugar levels (BSL) down and not to focus on weight loss as past experiences in this area have only led to disappointment but I am going to document EVERYTHING!!!!

Thanks for the advice californiagirl! I can be a bit of a perfectionist that’s why I am taking the time to prepare my brain prior to starting as Michael suggests in the book. I have thought of just starting today but know jumping into things without being organised sets me up for failure. I know seeing results even the smallest will encourage me to stick with the program so will be documenting as I go. The thread suggested sounds good as I know I am not perfect and any suggestions that help keep me on track will be gold nuggets! 😃

Good luck with your journey Pandagirl xx

Thanks Spalmon.

Hi Panda Bear,

Sounds like a good meeting with the GP. When I started on the BSD mid-August I was also a bit dubious, not about the effectiveness of the diet, or people’s experiences, but about whether it would work for me, whether I could keep to it, etc. But, honestly it has worked, I have been able to do it, and my BG levels are coming down. I promise you if I can do it anyone can.

I’ve no doubt it will work for you. Get everything together, gird your loins (I’ve absolutely no idea what that actually involves) and start on Monday (or earlier if you want). I’m away next week, but look forward to reading your posts when I get back. Take Care. Marie X

I saw your posts panda bear and read them all. I wonder what has happened to you now? I of course noticed some of the same responders, to my meagre posts – namely Marie, California girl and sunshine girl. I am new to this diabetes thing also and intitially went low carb ( have successfully mucked about with Atkins and Banting in the past) and knocked off quite a few kilos and read the book twice to get myself prepared. Only officially started today. Have got used to eating far less and have had some breakouts, but stay pretty clean. Had some great BG READINGS INITIALLY, then they went to the pack, dawn phenomenum and just not good. Suggested on here, leave them alone for a while. I constantly fear this will not work for me and I don’t want to take meds, so am desperate for it to work. My daughter tells me my scales are not right – they do indicate I have lost many kilos, and it doesn’t seem so to me – inaccurate or not they are still a guide. I get myself very confused with all the stuff I read and the new challenge is the low calorie aspect of doing the BSD. My calories intake has been very moderate since my eating journey began on 25 September.
Post how you are going, you are a fellow Aussie in a glorious part of our country. I am pretty clueless but very interested!! Mind you I have not even told anyone I have diabetes. Plan to beat it before I have too!! I am short and fat and really looking forward to fitting into my several wardrobes of smaller clothes, I kept because I loved. Am going to keep plodding along, though my feelings go up and down like a yo yo. I gave my doc lots of print outs from the net and showed her the books and explained my plan to her, she seemed quite receptive and I hope as long as she sees progress, she will not put me on meds.
Hope it is going well for you. I notice people who are on here talk about successes, who disappear from the forums after talking about inroads with their health. I wonder what happens to them, do they just give up? Mind you that would be easy to do – but the alternative is abysmal. (Avoid insulin – which seems the ultimate end result). Would love to see more posts of your progress.
Donna

Hi Donna.

Thanks for your interest. I have been on the BSD now for 5 1/2 weeks. My progress is written up under another thread called “Panda Bear is out in the woods!” So far I have had some great results and a frustrating plateau but the break through is beginning I believe. I really want to encourage you to jump on the band wagon and do this! I had to get serious. Make sure you monitor progress. If you are not sure about your scales with yourself down town. Some chemists have scales. Get your doctor to monitor your weight too. Come on girlfriend you can do this! 😃

Hi Ohmy – and also measure your upper arms, thighs, waist, chest, hips. The scales may not move much sometimes, but you can see in inches/centimetres what is happening which really motivates and encourages you.

Good luck, you can do this!

Kazzee

Yes Kazzee am due for some measurements, will bite the bullet and measure. After this weekend am pretty peeved with myself. But I can and will do this, just settle and regroup. Where can I find your story?
Cheers
Donna