OK, so here I am after years of being in denial. I’m a middle aged, overweight woman with a strong family history of diabetes. I’ve been telling myself for too long that I’m not that fat, that I eat healthily and exercise enough, I really am only a UK size 14 – honest! I can still (just about) fasten my jeans.

I’m awaiting the results of a blood test ordered by my GP after having several bouts of oral thrush. I’m fairly sure that I have type 2 diabetes, or am at least prediabetic : I’ve thought for a while that I might be but just ignored the tiredness, the small cuts that take ages to heal. But while I wait for the results, I’ve decided that I need to do something no matter what the outcome. If I am diabetic, I’ll do the full on eight weeks, if I’m prediabetic I’ll give it a go for at least four weeks and then go low carb, but even if I’m lucky enough to be OK blood sugar wise, I’m going to still do that.

So my questions for people here: have you all had your blood tested? Are there people here who aren’t diabetic? Have you managed to shock your body out of prediabetes?

I’m feeling quite anxious but also positive about starting this change in my life. I think I’m going to need some support…

Hi Alibalibee

A very warm welcome to you – you are in the right place for plenty of support and tons of experience knowledge from our veteran BSDers.

I’ve had the tests and am not diabetic although, like you, I half suspected I might be. I have psoriasis and diverticular disease which has been giving me quite bad IBS symptoms which is what lead me to this particular lifestyle change – giving up refined carbs really helps with the IBS type symptoms and my P is calming down now. I’m 3 months in and am 55. Lived on bread and drank way too much red wine! I was also a size 30 UK and am now a 26. After my first few days, I started to feel pretty amazing, no more unexplained twinges, creaks and aches, more energy, walking more easily. It takes a while to unlearn everything we have been told over the last 40 years, but once you do get your head around it, it’s pretty easy. Thinking ahead and possibly batch cooking when you can find a spare couple of hours works for me. I had my groceries delivered for the first couple of months because I could still be swayed by the bakery aisle and the wines on offer!

I’m excited to be able to support you and follow your journey. 🙂

Kazzzii

Hey there Ali, I am 48 and at beginning of August was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Like you I had size 14 jeans and they still fitted (ish) but I had just given in and bought some size 16 knickers. Approx 4 months later I am not overweight and need a belt for the jeans. Haven’t been retested yet but no longer ache, don’t need a nap in the afternoon, havevstacks more energy and feel so much better. 2 stone gone! Like you I exercised enough. I was also eating healthily – though then adding some really bad stuff on top!

Lots of others on here who have far more impressive stories than mine in terms of diabetes reversal and amounts loss, but this diet totally worked for me and radically reducing carbs is the best thing I ever did.

As they say on here – onwards and downwards!

Thanks Kazzzii and Jackie – it’s really heartening to hear from you both and know that others are going through the same thing. Did you both do the 8 week diet?

I think, my main worry at the moment is how I’m going to live without cake! And spaghetti! And toast! I think I have to change my way of thinking – I don’t need those things. And actually, cutting out all the snacking is going to do everyone in the family good.

Hi Alibalibee,
(I’m guessing you’re a Scot from that name!)
I just wanted to say as a fellow sceptic, Can there possibly be life without cake, bread and macaroni cheese?, Yes, there is!
I’d never have believed it. I feel so alive and awake and well. Reducing carbs (though, don’t tell anyone, not completely eliminating them) has been a revelation, and my tastes have changed, I think for ever. My partner too.
I hope you will feel similar benefits.
One day you too may turn up your nose at a Paesano pizza, an iced jam doughnut, a plate of spaghetti. 😀😀
Good luck!

Cheers Pancita – not sure if I’m allowed to call myself a Scot, but I’ve been here for 26 years now, so as good as.

I’ve not started the diet yet,but am trying a few lower carb days anyway and can’t wait til I can pass by a plate of spaghetti or say no to a scone. I’m not even going to think about doughnuts…

The longer you take weaning yourself off the bad carbs (wheat, sugar, grain, cereal, potatoes/starchy root veg, most fruit) the more painful the process will be and the longer it will take before your tastes adapt. Consider going cold turkey. It’s best for sugar addicts who literally can’t envision a life without their fix of poison, and I speak from many years of experience. Getting rid of my sweet tooth and discovering the high-octane joy of bitter, sour and salty foods has been one of the most enlightening, liberating experiences of my life.

Just go for it. Dive in, the water’s warm!

Thanks Esnecca – I suppose the reason I’m pussyfooting around at the moment is because I can’t fit in the full 8 weeks before Christmas. I don’t know if it’s OK to start and then have a break for a bit. Also, I’m kind of waiting to see what my blood tests say, although I don’t know why as I’ve decided I’m doing this anyway.I need to get myself organised to take the plunge…

Alibalibee – I don’t think you have to consistently do 800 calories for 8 weeks. I certainly didn’t, we were on holiday in Francein middle of mine. I lost 10kg during the 8 weeks and a further 3.5kg since following low carb, not counting calories.

I do think you have to be low carb – personally I’m planning on being low carb – very low carb – for ever. Though not quite as strict as during my 8 weeks. I had a bit of carrot in my fish pie last night, and just scraped the potato off, which I wouldn’t have done during my 8 weeks. We don’t have a white sauce with our fish pie, btw, I’ve definitely given up flour.

I think you have to give up pasta, cake, bread etc and feel rubbish for a few days, but eat something else – cream, bacon, whatever – full fat stuff. Then when you’ve adjusted to that start with the calories. The beauty of this diet is its flexible to what you can face.

Was contemplating Christmas yesterday – there’s not a lot of low carb in Christmas other than the turkey! Will have to make sure I eat my sprouts! And dark chocolate I guess. Oooh, though pigs in blankets …. yum.

Hope this helps xx

So Jackie, did you do a certain number of weeks, have a pause for your holiday and then resume, or just ease of a bit during your holiday but not go totally mad? I suppose I’m worried about not getting the full benefit of having eight weeks off. Is it feasible to do five weeks, have a break of a week and then do another three? And is it ok to mainline Christmas cake during that week off?

Hi albalibee every journey starts with one small step. Until you are on that road you will never know how you will cope with ‘life ‘ when you are low carb. It does get easier as you go along and, as Esnecca says, you lose your sweet tooth and enjoy foods you never thought you would. There is never a ‘perfect’ time to start. There will always be a birthday, holiday, meal out etc. etc. I guess the most important idea you have to get your head around is that if you have diabetes then this is a ‘way of life’ and not just a diet to stop and start when ‘life’ gets in the way. We learn to ‘live’ the low carb way and believe me you really do enjoy it and you may never want to eat cake again! Best of luck on your journey just take that first small step and you’ll never look back!

Thank you!

I need to lose the weight any way, but I’m going to wait til I get my results back on Wednesday to plan how I’m going to do that. In the mean time, I’m going to try no carbs and no calorie counting until then to get my head around not eating bread and biscuits.

If we are going to lose weight and maintain that loss, it’s necessary to understand that this way of eating is for life, because to eat as we used to, will have the same results it had before. We can’t expect to maintain our lower weight, if we return to the old eating pattern. Obviously life happens and there will be special occasions when we will eat things not on plan, but generally speaking even for holidays and such, it is best to stick with the BSD principles as far as possible – definitely no mainlining Christmas cake.

By all means do as many weeks as you can at one go – better to start now than wait – have a break and then get back to the programme. Have you week off, but stick with the principles being sure to avoid the carb laden stuff as much as possible and those carbs consumed, should be consumed consciously – i.e. make a conscious decision to consume the carbs and don’t mindlessly guzzle through loads of high carb stuff, before realising what has happened.

Of course, taking breaks will mean that weight lose happens more slowly, but it will still happen providing the breaks are not a carb-fest. It’s how I managed my BSD adventure and it took time but I did eventually hit target weight and am now maintaining.

Hope your BSD journey goes well, but be sure to use the forum for advise and support – best of luck to you.

Alibalibee – absolutely superb advice from everyone who has replied to your post. If you follow it you will be successful – just as they have been.

Hi Alibalibee

When I started BSD I didn’t know if I was pre-diabetic but I had a BMI of 32, was obese so most likely was heading towards it! My aim was to have a healthy BMI which I now have. I am a vegetarian and loved pasta. I have not eaten pasta or bread or rice or biscuits or cake since starting this way of eating and am amazed that I haven’t missed them at all. You might wonder what a vegetarian eats on the BSD but actually I have enjoyed all my meals and although I don’t have the same choices as a meat and fish eater I do eat healthy food and the amount of colleagues who comment at lunchtime that my lunch looks nice is amazing, it might be something simple like full fat cottage cheese and walnuts but the food is so filling and I can honestly say, I never feel hungry! . I am the thinnest I’ve been for probably twenty five years and enjoy cream in my coffee with a square of dark chocolate and I never feel like I need a biscuit or a cake. This way of eating is actually very liberating once you get into the second or third week. I hope you give it a go!

Hi there

I had a week of just not eating the obvious carbs and not calorie counting, then about half way through the next week. At that point I was doing things like making lasagne and scraping the filling off the pasta.

I realised the weight loss was slowing, so started using My Fitness Pal, which was really useful as you can look at carbs. I quite often went over 800 calories, but for a good 4 or 5 weeks I was on 20g or less carbs a day, and for a while I was on just under 800 calories and 20g carbs a day. I can honestly say I did not get hungry, once I was used to it. I tend to leave eating until near 11am and try to leave 4-5hrs between meals so your body gets to rest before the next meal. Prolonged fasting does not really suit me.

Then we went to France for a week, where I had steak with garlic butter and would check it was low carb, but did not measure calories at all. I did not once eat bread, cake, pasta, biscuits etc or root veg. I ate a lot of cheese and salami and full fat yoghurt and salad. We were in the mountains, so I walked quite a bit and that week I lost a kg, which was less than normal (but is still 2pounds). As someone said on here if I couldn’t find a low carb food, I didn’t eat.

To start with I did feel rubbish, I slept a lot, that I know now is ‘carb flu’. ThT lasted 2 days. As time progressed I got to understand some veg needed leaving out – onion, for example. That did make me sad! And I would have 100g full fat yoghurt with 10g flaked almonds, which looks tiny but does fill you up.

So in some senses I did not have a ‘break’ – I do not always count calories, but I do not knowingly eat carbs unless they come from green leafy veg, cream, or dark chocolate. A ‘break’ might be like yesterday when my steak came with wTercross salad with tomato and shallots and I didn’t scrape all the shallots or tomato off. When I accidentally eat too many carbs I get really tired, which scares me, so the motivation to eat differently is low,

Hope that helps. Dip your toe in the water, but you won’t get full benefit and will remain hungry and deprived feeling unless you bin all the wheat/sugar etc in one go. Then you’ll be really surprised how full you feel!

Oh and if you start now there’s a good chance you won’t like Xmas cake by the time you are offered some!

So, just logged on from a PC again instead of from my phone, and have found that none of the replies I did on my phone have appeared here! Agh!!! I’m honestly not that rude and I did reply to you all and thanked everyone for their comments and encouragement! Has anyone else had problems like that? I’ll know not to use my phone in future.

Anyway, I should get me blood test results back tomorrow: I think whatever they say I’m going to start the diet on Thursday. Strange day to start, but I don’t work Fridays so I’m figuring if get massive carb withdrawal symptoms I can distract myself with something that doesn’t require too much thinking. I give legal advice for a living so don’t really fancy having that brain fog at work. How did you all cope with it?

Onwards and downwards, I think I’m one of you now!

Hi alibalibee – glad you have decided to make a start regardless of you blood results and it really doesn’t matter when you start, as long as you do.

Carb withdrawal varies person to person, don’t know if the level of previous carb dependence has any baring or not, so its hard to know how hard it might hit you. For me it was a couple of headachy days and feeling dog-tired, but I know for others it’s been really tough for a week or more. Only advice I can give is to be kind to yourself, rest as much as you feel you can/need to, take painkillers if you need to and keep well hydrated, which is essential to our bodies functioning to their optimum.

Best of luck, both with the blood results and making good progress on the BSD. Be sure to keep us posted.

Hi as SunnyB says carb withdrawal varies from person to person but I was on the other side of the coin and I was very lucky because I never had carb flu at all! So try it and see!

Thanks both!

I’ve been trying to cut out sugar since last week and feel really lethargic and headachey just with that, so I’m preparing for the full on carb flu! If it doesn’t hit, so much the better!

It might be that with cutting down on sugar has moved you pasted the worst of the carb withdrawal, but I guess you won’t know until you get started properly.

I’m hoping so SunnyB . I don’t know if it’s because I’m becoming super carb aware, but there was cake at work today that I didn’t eat, which I can’t ever remember happening before, and I made pasta for dinner for the family, and then left most of mine.

Well done on the cake and not eating all the pasta. Hope that is the last pasta meal for a good while to come and that you will soon be through the carb withdrawal phase and well into the BSD proper.

I was thinking as I ate it “this is the last spaghetti I’ll be eating for weeks” and I was quite glad as I wasn’t enjoying it!

last night we had spaghetti bolognaise and I cooked my husband a 2oz portion of the real stuff. When it was just about done I took out one strand to test if it was ready. I asked him to try it and he said he wouldn’t know and would I do it. So I did, yes it would cooked, but surprisingly just tasted slimy. I had a big portion of couretti with a splash of olive oil and pepper and enjoyed it very much.