Hi, i’ve been doing the BSD 800 for just over a week and already i’ve lost 4lbs. Although i’m finding the diet easy to stick to at the moment and enjoy playing with ingredients to make mealtimes interesting, i’ve always been a ‘snacker’ and find that i’m still doing that but this time munching on nuts and/or seeds, celery, mushrooms, peppers etc. Is it okay to do this as i still add it to my overall daily calorie count?

I also enjoy diet drinks but i’ve cut back completely because i’ve been told that the artificial sweeteners can cause the body to release insulin in the same way as sugars do. Does anyone out there drink the diet drinks on this diet and do the artificial sweeteners pose a risk as this is a sugar reducing regime?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Trinity1814

Well Trinity1814 the bad news is snacking is bad and with nuts even worse during the fasting days at least. Diet drinks are still controversial. We are trying to kick the sugar addiction and reduce carbs. If you eat between meals your results will show it quite quickly. The learning curve can be steep but as you progress and really appreciate what your body responds to and how you will be strengthened and re-motivated. 8 weeks can be a long time but really it is not in the grand scheme of things. So good luck with the self discipline training – sorry to be a killjoy….

Hi Skywalker, thank you for your post, most insightful as i was under the impression that as long as i stick to the 800 cals per day, maintaining a mediterranean style diet i would be okay. I have significantly reduced my carb intake and only eat naturally sourced carbs found within certain fruits and veg and keep my protein intake high consuming white meats, lentils, oily fish, mixed nuts & seeds, kidney beans and chickpeas and so far no processed foods and i use rapeseed oil to flavour food and cook with. I will take on board your advice with gratitude and modify my mindset to eat slightly more calories at meal times rather than including snacks.

I know the issue of diet drinks is controversial so if i have any, it will be only as a treat every so often.

Just one more point; when reference is made to low carbs; is there a definitive amount in grams? I understand which carbs to avoid but i don’t know how many to include on the BSD.

Hope the above makes sense.

Thank you.

Trinity1814

Yes, the Daily recommended Allowance for Carbohydrate is 300 mg/ day or 30 mg. While this is strictly a Total Carbs figure anywhere near is acceptable as we are encouraged to eat lots of different foods and there are sugars, hidden sugars and renamed ingredients all designed to confuse us. The sugar lobby may be even more powerful than the oil lobby in my opinion. Just look at the way the news UK media twisted last week’s story about good fats and did all that talking and gesturing about healthy diet without even mentioning the evil and addictive properties of sugars.

PS I don’t know why exactly and it is not that relevant to this thread but, I am reminded of a little chemistry experiment from school in about 1965 when we proved carbohydrate was bound up in sugar, by burning some until it went black. We noted the formula was C12H22O11 and how the hydrate portion i.e the H and O converted to water/steam H2O and left just the cinder like Carbon residue C. So that is why I knew something about Carbo-Hydrates from an early age. It was about 4 years later when I found out how they converted to fats, when I was in sixth form studying Organic Chemistry having dropped Biology. Funny what comes back to you…

What about fizzy water instead? I’ve got a water infuser bottle which I stuff with frozen fruit then fill with fizzy water, you get the fruity flavour without the carbs.

I think ocassional snacks are ok, if you continue the way you are and consistently lose weight there is no need to change in my opinion. Perhaps it could be faster if you fasted longer periods, but if having to do that would make you give up, or make life miserable then I think a bit slower is ok.

I have snacks in the way you described, within the 800 calories and low carb. Not every day and not all day but sometimes. My losses are slower than many but I’m still likely to lose around 10% of my body weight by the 8 week end.

Most people here try to stick to less than 50g carbs, but the BSD officially gives no guidance to this only recommends cutting out the simple carbs and trying to manage complex ones better.

As for motivation I have my pile of smaller clothes that I want to get in to beside my bed. I browse things online and have a wishlist of things I might choose when I’m slimmer.

water is not naturally easy for me to drink, so I have two 750ml bottles. I try to empty one in the morning and one in the afternoon, then I drink plenty herbal tea so I know I’m always over 2 litres.

Sugar free gum helps me along as well.

well done on your 4lb loss 🙂

Hi Skywalker, you seem know your stuff and I’m sure i’ll be tapping into your experience again.

I’m trying the 2 meal brunch today which so far hasn’t been too painful but i’m making sure i take on board plenty of water to keep me hydrated and to ease the hunger.

Trinity1814.

Thanks JCH187; drinking the sparkling water is the only way i can make sure i drink enough and i have started adding strawberries and blueberries to it which certainly makes it more palatable.

I do like tea and coffee but i drink both black without any sweetener. Recently i’ve been drinking decaf Green Tea which i find very refreshing. Does anyone have have any views on black tea and coffee; does it count towards the overall 2-3 lines per day?

Trinity1814

Hi Izzy, many thanks for your advice.

I think it’s just a case of getting used to a new regime as i’ve always been a snacker and since i started the BSD it’s been celery sticks or a few nuts and or seeds. I have made a conscious effort to restrict the snacking but still had a couple of celery sticks today; my main meal will be about 8pm and then the next weigh in tomorrow. I’m not going to obsess over weighing so i’m going to do it every 3-4 days and that way should see the benefits of the diet.

I love the things you use to motivate yourself and i too have an array of clothing i want to wear again. when i hit my goal i’m going to treat myself to a pair of Levi 501’s. Nothing too exciting i know, but it keeps me focussed on the end goal; weight loss and health!

Trinity1814

Yep, Tea, coffee are OK for fluids f not ideal, caffeine may be an issue for some but if taken black there’s not too much in them if they are not too strong and most foods contain water so it is not hard to do 2 litres when you break it all down.

I too have cut out entirely the diet soft drinks (and have ongoing headaches as my reward) but I agree that they are linked with hyperinsulinaemia, and probably keep the fat on. As I have never drunk tea or coffee I’m now on the water only. And occasional red wine (but fitting that into 800 calories a day has proven impossible so far… I’d rather have food).

Good luck. I agree that it’s probably better to try and avoid the grazing. I took up sugar-free gum at the start of the BSD… a lifesaver for those many snacking moments of the day.