Hi all,
I am 44 and was diagnosed with diabetes in December, with a Hb1ac of 79. I weigh 10 stone 3 and I am fairly active with a demanding job. I have low cholesterol, low BP, and no family history of diabetes so at first the GP and practice nurse suspected it may be type 1 so they send my blood for antibody tests which came back saying it isn’t type 1.
The doctor initially started me on metformin which I couldn’t tolerate so was changed to gliclazide 40mg each morning. I already had a healthy diet but did eat too much of it and also enjoy binging on crisps and chocolate etc and I also decorate cakes as a hobby so bake loads! I immediately started to cut down on carbs. I was given a glucose monitor and my levels have come down from average of approximately 14 to more like 8-9 now, but I need them to be better still. That is why I bought this book and am going to give this 800 cal per day diet my best shot.
I have just got back from sainsburys with all the ingredients for the first week of the diet. I have got my green tea cooling in the fridge ready to make the blueberry shake in the morning and have roasted the pepper (lunch) to make it easier for me before work tomorrow.
I am worried about feeling light headed and hungry on 800 cals to be honest and hope I can stick to it, especially on the days I go to gym classes. Does anyone increase carbs for heavy exercise sessions?
I will do some baseline measurements and will post updates. I would like to lose about 1.5 stone but it is the glucose level below 6-7 that is most important to me.

Hi Joan, welcome to the forums. You have made the right decision to start this diet. The first few days can be a bit tricky if you are used to eating lots of carbs but stick in there it will get better and you will manage work. I have spent the day digging over my veggie patches ( heavy clay soil – and I have a bad back) and I have been fine, I have only had a total of 310 calories today so far. I might have found that tricky the first week but not now.

That glucose level will come down on this diet 🙂

Thank you Hasimoto for your encouragement.
In the book in the tests you should do before you start section it says that you can log your data safely and anonymously on this website, but I can’t find where to do this. Can anyone point me in the right direction or is the book wrong?

Hi Joan, I must say I haven’t tried. I just made an excel spreadsheet and logged everything in there. I just print it off and take it ( with my peak flow chart) to medical appointments. Until you posted that I didn’t even realise you could!

Have you tried the search button at the top of the page? 🙂

I don’t think that section exists – I think maybe the book was written with good intentions for it that didn’t quite materialise. Lots of people use other websites and apps for that but I use a paper diary and record everything – weight, measurements, bmi, fat burning score from ketostix, food eaten, recipes, cal and carb contents of food, how I’m feeling, revelations, light-bulb moments. Call me old-fashioned but I just find it interesting even looking back a few weeks to what was happening at that time. Welcome to our gang Joane!

Hi Joan, I keep a paper diary for my days food, it is always handy in the kitchen! the rest, weight, bmi etc goes on a spreadsheet. You may like to do it all on paper ! 🙂

Welcome Joanev! I’m on day 7 so not much ahead of you, and I had all of the same concerns this time last week about being starving all the time and not being able to exercise properly… but I can honestly say they were unfounded. I still can’t really believe that I can feel full on 800 calories, but by including enough fat and protein I really do – and without the sugar crashes carbs give you I have been really in control of my eating. I’m also enjoying eating far more than I have in recent times as I eat far more consciously than before.

In the book it says not to increase you intake for exercise, so I committed to trying that approach this week. I have been to 5 x 1 hour gym classes (different things, but all a mix of aerobic and strength training) and personally had no problem at all. I made sure that I was properly hydrated, and had no weakness or dizziness. The gym aside my days are pretty active as I move around a lot at work, and walk 4 miles getting to/from work each day – before I started I thought I would struggle with even this basal level of activity. I still don’t quite believe how this diet gives you so much energy, but it really does!

For the first 3 days I had a bit of a headache, which drinking lots of water definitely helped with, but other than that this week I’ve felt great. I honestly haven’t craved sugary food or crisps once – and liked you I used to love nothing more than bingeing on crisps and homemade baked goods!! So I’d say don’t focus on these worries, just get started and take each day as it comes 🙂 there are people on here who’ve come out the other end of their 8 weeks with incredibly motivating results and stories, and they’re very generous with helping us newbies so I’m sure they will have solutions to any hurdles you come up against. But fingers crossed it won’t be half as bad as you think 🙂

Thank you to you all.
Yes I think I would prefer to record on paper daily much quicker that way- I have a nice diary I haven’t really used yet that will be perfect. Then at weekends I could log into a spreadsheet so I can print graphs for motivation, hopefully.
Thanks Lauren for sharing your first week experience in relation to exercise, I will do the same, suck it and see! Better have something in my gym bag just in case glucose drops too much. Are you sticking to the suggested diet plan as in the book?

Hi, today was my first day of the diet…. Shake was interesting, lunch amazing! But dinner well followed the recipe and came out rather burnt and crispy……still ate it. Not feeling hungry at all today after that lunch phew filled me up!
I am worried about the cost though, the first 3 days have cost me £60, has anyone else struggling with the cost? Any tips of where to buy cheap, also seeing wastage (my pet hate, as I only buy what I use) will tehnini be used again?

Wow £60? In 3 days?

I don’t stick slavishly to the recipes in the book, though some are lovely. I tend to go with the general idea.

Ff greek style yoghurt is around 70p a large pot in Aldi
Half a dozen free range eggs 79p

I could go on. Coconut oil is cheap in there as is veg and blueberries.

I’m sure lidl would have similar prices.

Yesterday i made a big pan of chicken and veg soup, enough for 5 or 6 bowls. I chicken breast, handful of lentils, aldi cheap veg. Dirt cheap. Nuts and seeds are cheap too.

I actually spend less because I am eating less and not buying crisps,cakes, alcohol etc.

Look at the what i ate today thread and the recipes tab, there are lots of ideas.

BTW welcometo the forums and good luck on this journey 🙂

Make a batch of hummus to useyour tahini and freeze it insmall containers for easy future lunches 🙂

Welcome Joan and spendloven!

Like you hashimoto I do find I’m spending more on some things, but saving overall because I’m not buying all the junk. It’s actually a bit scary how much I spent on junk before. I don’t follow the book recipes either, I didn’t really find them appealing – it’s easy to follow this diet by having smaller portions of what I’d normally have (without the carbs though!)

I’m buying fresh raspberries, some low carb items that cost a lot (like coconut flour and ground flax) but last aaaaages – coconut flour goes on and on and on! Also expensive veggies like baby corn.

I’m only indulging in expensive stuff for the first couple of weeks while I’m off work, then when I’m back to work I’ll get some frozen berries and go to cheaper veggies as well – I just thought while I’m at home I will stick to it better if I get really good quality stuff.

Yes I agree, it cost me a lot today in Sainsburys! I am hoping I will use everything and not left with veg going bad at the end of the week otherwise the recommended diet isn’t well planned!
I really like the sound of the meals in week one, but not as much for week two so I will probably repeat some of the week 1 meals during week 2.
I hope the shopping doesn’t cost as much next week, I know Aldi may be cheaper but they probably won’t have everything and working full time means I don’t have time to shop around. I will try my best to go one evening to see what they do have.

Hi spendloven – I’m guessing the £60, included some ingredient items you perhaps don’t normally buy, but will now be in the store cupboard – at least I’d hope so. I’d suggest before shopping again, you have a plan for how to use what you are going to purchase and indeed all you have already bought for the BSD.

As hashimoto says, there are plenty of cheap options – I buy Turkish Style yogurt from Lidl at £1.38 for a litre and as it’s 10% fat this lasts approx ten days and adding a few berries makes for a tasty and satisfying breakfast. Gem lettuces as cheap and make a great base for an open sandwich – you could top them with a little of your homemade hummus and a little cold meat perhaps. Adding a bit of tahini to sauces gives a nice creamy result, or you could add a little to mashed veggies, cauli or carrot maybe.

Think what is nice about this way of eating, is you start to think outside the box with regard to food and making eating interesting again. I’m getting creative in the kitchen again and amazingly, I’m not thinking about the next meal even before I have finished the one I’m eating.

Joan be sure to use up veggies to make soup, rather than let them go to waste – and if you don’t want to use it right away, freeze it off for later. And remember, there is no need to be a slave to the menu plans in the book, it’s quite permissible to devise dishes for yourself, to use up anything you need to.

So, don’t panic about the cost, think about what you actually need to buy and how it will be used then buy wisely. But most of all, enjoy this wonderful new regime and let us know your results please.

Hi joan, the only things i can’t get in aldi are coconut flour, tahini and lentils. The ground flax seeds are £1.99. Sainsburys are £6. Aldi coconut oil is ££1.99.
You probably have all those things in stock now
Another benefit if you are busy is that thevshop is smaller and you can get round more quickly.

Sunnyb is right about thinking outside the box on this diet.

Make it easy on yourself. Some of the meals you would normally eat are fine. Curry without the rice, burgers without chips, bolognese without the spaghetti etc

Plain omlettes, beans and grilled tomatoes, fish and veg baked foil wrapped in the oven etc 🙂

I’m another who shops at Aldi and I’m going into week 5 today and I’ve not bought anything different to what I’d normally buy…..to be honest if I had to buy new ingredients I’d get put off.

I’d agree with the above and say just adapt what you already like to eat, I’m assuming you didn’t eat only ready meals and junk food, so you should be able to reduce your spending.

The only thing I buy more of is veg, This weekend saw me buying a cauli, cabbage, broccoli, green beans and asparagus. There’s only me! In the past I would maybe buy some broccoli and I’d eat it within two days and then I’d have no further veg for 5 days!

Thanks for the advice. I hardly cooked so the expense is the things I didn’t have in the cupboard, defiantly going to check put Aldi though! I’d like to stick to the book as much as possible to give everything a try as my palette is rather inexperienced. I’m a bit of a simple cook being just meat, veg and a potato or chips or just a tin of soup. I’m a big cereal eater though and love a snack in the evening. So strange having just meat and veg and actually having to cook a breakfast…. Hubby isn’t liking it at all lols!

It’s weird at first not having a serving of potatoes, rice, pasta etc. with a meal, but amazing how quickly you get used to it. I find that I have adjusted by having two different kinds of vegetables with the protein serving, so there is variety in the meal and it’s interesting to eat. I also use some of my calorie allowance on butter for the veggies and that makes them very tasty.

Good luck to all new starters! Hope you have a good first day.

Hello everyone – Husband & I are mainlining vegetables, we boost the dinners in particular with the veggies & anything left over goes into soup. We are eating lots of soup for lunch, it’s filling, tasty, transportable and uses up stuff in my groaning fridge.

We add a few legumes pulses to the soups and then use the remainder in the meal plans for the evening meals.

I totally agree with the other posters, relinquishing simple carbs has made me think outside the box for meals and I am going full pelt at adapting any family-favourite recipes. Lunch today will be homemade minestrone, minus the pasta. Tomorrow I am going to use that Gwyneth Paltrow Black Bean soup recipe from the Mail on Sunday magazine, adapted to exclude the tortilla strip garnish, yoghurt instead of sour cream as I only have yoghurt in the fridge . What I haven’t got in my cupboard, I stuff in something else instead, I am what my husband calls a ‘confident cook’ but do empathise with people who are less at ease in the kitchen, my motto is just to try, take adaptations slowly, use your favourite ingredients to flavour meals, introducing new ones slowly if they are off your radar.

Anything goes within the food guidelines, try it & see!

Hi spendloven have you thought of FF yoghurt with berries and nuts/seeds or ground flax? An easy no cook breakfast!! 🙂

Well today has gone really well. The blueberry and green tea shake was OK, I didn’t feel hungry until 12pm. The jewelled peppers were really nice but I used dried herbs that I already had in, it would have been even nicer with fresh herbs, I also enjoyed the lamb aubergine very filling. Let’s hope the rest of the 8 weeks will be as good.

They will be, joanev, they will be! 🙂

Hi Everyone,
Joanev I started this dietry change ytd and thought to make it easy on myself by following the book’s menu plan.
Wk1, Day1 was lovely. Two new ingredients for me eggplant and pomegranate seeds.
Strangest experience however was this mornings breakfast poached egg sans toast.
So far everything has been lovely .
Planning on joining the 8 week club in 8 weeks time. 😊
Red.

Hi Joanev
Good decision to join us on this diet!
Re lightheadedness, carbs and excercise. The idea is in cutting carbs right down you switch from carb burning to fat burning. This process takes 2-3 days during which time you ll probably feel hungry. After that you’re in fat burning mode, so you should feel fine, including when exercising.
Good luck
Penny

Hi red devil, welcome. Your nick makes me think of my favourite food – fiery red chillies.

I know what you mean about poached egg sans toast. I find a 2 egg omlette easier in that respect or an egg and some bacon and grilled tomato 🙂

Hi, I don’t mind cooking, love it actually. I do need to speed up though which comes with practise. I’m of the see food and eat it variety whilst the hubby has more distinguished tastes coming from a family of chefs so he’s the one that complains. I just get on with it lols. Definitely trying some simpler things and going to basics me thinks. Going to try the books brownies tomorrow

I’m preparing my shopping list to start the Fast 800 on Monday. I want to follow the recipes I have found in the book which have also been published online in some articles about the BSD. However, I’m finding some of the ingredients or quantities puzzling:

Pepper with jewelled feta (seeds from a pomegranate)
I love pomegranates, but they are considered a treat here (Western Australia) as they are mostly imported. The recipe calls for ‘seeds from a pomegranate’. Fortunately, it is the season for them here (to be imported) so I don’t think I will have any trouble getting them. However, I have never bought them to eat as ‘food’, only as a ‘treat’. Which means taking absolutely ages to peel and eat and getting very messy. Is there a way to prepare a pomegranate to obtain the seeds quickly? The meal is for a work lunch and I will be preparing it the night before, but obtaining the pomegranate seeds seems unsurmountable at the moment.

Aubergine (Eggplant), lamb & pomegranate (2 aubergines, halved lengthways)
More pomegranate seeds, but it is the size of the aubergine/eggplant each that is puzzling. Eggplants vary in size considerably see http://results.diggers.com.au/search?w=eggplant . It is the long purple or slim jim varieties that are available the shop. Is the recipe for two big or little eggplants?

Beetroot falafels (4 mushrooms)
What is the size of an average mushroom?

Sardine dip (2 tbsp soft cheese)
Does it matter if it is brie, camembert, cottage, or cream cheese?

Spicy chicken and lentils, Harissa chicken (chicken breast per person)
I’m sure size matters here. Currently, we buy free range chicken breasts and they are ~ 400gm each. Should I look up serving sizes on some of the health sites to find out what is a serving size?

For me, following the menu plans is easier apart from the questions I have about the recipes above. Hope you can help.

I have searched for ingredients online, but all of the pages I was able to find quickly were to do with portion sizes of raw vs cooked fruits and vegetables.

As far as I can remember, the trick with pomegaranites is to cut them in half, turn the half upside down, and hit it several times with the back of a tablespoon to release the seeds.
I may be wrong but someone will come to confirm that, I’m sure.

Yes Bill – you are right, Jacqueline, roll the fruit around to loosen the seeds (this is vital!) cut the pomegranate in 1/2, cut it in half, or score + tear it in half, hold it cut side down over a large bowl + tap/whack it with a wooden spoon, use a little pressure with your hands to squeeze – result!

Don’t wear anything pale when doing anything to a pomegranate….

Ref sizes, I go for a medium sized anything, chicken we tend to eat as 250-300g portions, fish about 250g, aubergines (goes to weigh one) are 250- 300g.

Hope this helps!

Hi I have been watching the forum and I am about to go for it. I think I will try the menus for the first week so now planning for Monday – all diets commence on Monday don’t they ! Thank you all for your post they have helped me in my decision making.

Hi collie, welcome to the forums!
Sounds like you are well organized! 🙂