Day 10, 7lb down but boy I am drolling for a sponge and custard! I made the fish with nuts and brocolli again tonight. The first time was yummy but this time horrid. Doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. The hunger I can deal with and seems better but still lacking energy and such cravings for something sweet, I know that will be the straw that breaks the camels back

So sorry you are going through the carb ‘flu so badly Bobbi. It’s tough in the early days making that adjustment when your body is screaming out for carbs. It feels like little consolation to hear that it WILL get easier, but honestly, it WILL and eventually not only will your body give up demanding carbs, but the idea of sponge and custard will not appeal at all.

Hopefully there is some comfort in knowing that it shouldn’t take much longer for you to reach that point. Do you best to hang in there and ‘keep your eyes on the prize’ as they say. Meanwhile, come and vent about your struggles on the weekly thread – One Week at a Time – to be sure of lots of support and encouragement.

You CAN do Bobbi, you’ve already made good progress and I’m certain you can continue to do so.

Thanks sunnyb- How is it going for you? I know I will stick at it although the day sponge n custard doesn’t appeal seems impossible. I think I need some variety. I love my veg to bits but getting a little fed up with it. It doesn’t help with hubby eating everything under the sun 😂😳 whilst I eat dust!
I do miss my cereal so much too. I think the book is great but recipes quite limited.

Try thinking up some low carb dressings to add to veggies perhaps. I have rediscovered a sauce made with soy sauce, lemon juice, chilli flakes or finely chopped fresh chilli, a little chopped garlic and if liked some ginger too, you can also add a little fish sauce as well. Even just a teaspoon of this can transform a bland vegetable, but it’s great over charred broccoli or cauli.

Do you make stir fries at all? It’s easy to add in different flavours with this sort of dish, with various herbs and/or spices. Even a little drizzle of flavoured oil, or flavoured or balsamic vinegar can make a huge difference. There really is no need to be eating bland food on the BSD.

I’m doing okay thanks, still trying to drop a couple more pounds so that I have some wriggle room for our visit to Turkey in the spring. It will happen as long as I stay focused and mindful, just as it will happen for you too.

Brill thanks. yes I am doing stirfry’s with salmon or chicken. I am just getting fed up of veg…brocolli and spinach which as a veg lover is surprising,. For eg I have made a cottage pie for hubby tomorrow night with sweet potato topping but it was everything thrown in a pan which I would love to have but don’t have the time for calorie counting.
I am pleased you are doing well and thanks for the positive vibes.

When I make something like cottage pie, I calculate the cals and carbs for the whole dish and then make two portions – one for OH and one for me – and then just halve the total cals and carbs for my portion. For pies like that, I use cauli mash for mine and that works really well.

Don’t get despondent , Bobbi ! Check out the dietdoctor.com site for some interesting lowcarb recipes. Do you like prawns ? There is a lovely recipe with stir fry prawns and ginger and lime juice. Omelettes/frittatas are good, quick meals too.I like a 2 egg omelette with smoked salmon.

You are a bit isolated on this thread.As Sunny said, why not pop over to the One Week at a Time thread so you can shout out in any weak moments ? . I fear you are in danger of talking yourself into that sponge and custard. I look at carbs as an addiction that has to be beaten. It really is insiduous and the more you give in to the cravings, the more your blood sugar will spike and the vicious cycle continues.It is hormonal. You have to get your insulin down and the carb cravings will ease. It does mean cutting right down so your meals are moderate protein and healthy fats and low carbs. Have a piece of very dark choc if you fancy something sweet but the more you can fight the cravings the better you will feel. It’s an investment for your future good health and you can do it !

Bobbi Here is a very informative post from Californiagirl who explains the process of insulin /carb addiction very clearly . Hopefully it will help you .

posted by Californiagirl
on 6 Feb 2019 at 15:42
Hi Rhj — these posts above are really good advice and they are from some of the most successful long-term BSD’rs!
What I might add is that the research on eating low carbohydrate continues to mount up on the positive side for EVERYONE and ALWAYS, not just for eight weeks and if you are diabetic/overweight.
This started out as a “diet” for me but the more I read and the more I watched how my body responded to carbohydrates, the more I began to realize that this is a way of life for me. I am almost exactly three YEARS into this now and I’m still maintaining my initial 3 stone loss and for the first time ever in my whole life I can eat enough food to feel full and I have incredible amounts of energy and I’m still keeping my weight stable.
Before the BSD, my story was depressingly similar to all you read here, up down up down, but mostly up and heavier every year …I was in despair about it because all my old “tricks” weren’t working and even non-stop exercise wasn’t controlling the upward trajectory.
The research being done on this is fascinating and it’s new — the studies are focusing on how insulin affects your weight — insulin is your “fat-storage” hormone and many of us have high background levels of insulin. You might have inherited them, or caused them to rise because of eating too many carbohydrate or they’ve gone up because of body fat levels, but one way or another they are elevated.
As long as your insulin levels are high, it will be very hard to lose weight or keep it off or even control your appetite.
Insulin “locks” your energy (your fat stores are your energy) into your fat cells and won’t release them EVEN WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY.
The only way to release them is to lower your insulin levels.
And that’s where carbohydrate comes in — when you drank a lovely hot chocolate (very sweet and milky) you raised your insulin levels, so now your body couldn’t mobilize your fat stores, so a few hours later you wanted cream crackers (more easy sugar) and so on and so on — been there, done that, got the T-shirt!
This is why the 5-2 doesn’t work so well for some of us; the days with more carbohydrates just destroy our ability to stay low calorie the other days.
You have a PERSONAL threshold of carbohydrates that your body can tolerate. Your job is to figure out what that threshold is — and the only way to do that is to go very low carb for a few weeks until you are steadily losing weight and then add back in small amounts until your weight loss stalls.
Mine is around 40 grams carbohydrate per day and others here are lower or higher. You will discover what works for YOUR body.
There are some great podcasts on this research — look for Dr. Bikmans podcasts and Jason Fungs podcasts — they will also help with the understanding of fasting and how that helps with insulin control.
Don’t despair — you are going to amaze yourself!
By the way, low insulin will also protect your brain from Alzheimer’s (says the research).

Thanks for all your replies and very helpful and encouraging indeed. My weight loss is encouraging me to continue for aure.
I cannot eat seafood (allergy) so does narrow my margins a little as many are crab or prawns but am adjusting them with chicken.

Pleased you are managing to stay positive and focused, Bobbi. Hope today will be easier for you and also hoping to see you on the weekly thread too. One way or another, please keep us posted.

Hi there, Yes thankyou. Seems the days I have my porridge for brekkie the day is easier 😁. Hope you are OK too

Wendleg and CG! I loved reading your post . . . SO gently described/explained, simplified and sensible. Nothing scary or unknown . . . totally reassuring to anyone. Someone just recently suggested/asked about setting up a reference thread for newbies? May I suggest THIS reassuring outline of the whole purpose and body functionality of carbs, calories, insulin and fat be the first thing they read . . . as I believe the task ahead would seem less daunting or challenging. Fantastic 🙂