My diet book was delivered this morning, I have read all apart from the recipes. It was highly recommended by a friend of mine and makes a lot of sense to me.
I am not sure of my blood sugars, but need to reduce my cholesterol levels (6.5), and rid my liver of fatty deposits.
Currently 200lbs, 5′ 8″, BMI of 30.4, Male, 60 years of age. Not overly active, lots of aches and pains. Have been suffering with sciatica for the last 6 weeks, going to see bone cruncher on Monday again
I have always been a serious drinker, apart from a 14 month break when first diagnosed with fatty liver. Couple this with my love for food, and the fact I make Cider, Mead and Gin for a living, I need to do something now, rather than later so I am hoping this will help.
Will the 800 diet help, or should I be looking at something else? Keto maybe? I really don’t know which way to go.

Spooky how quiet it is in here for a rainy day, does anybody monitor the Forums?

Hi Clothahump, yes it is quiet, maybe people are on holiday. As an old-timer (3 years on the site) I dont post daily as my story has been told over and over. However, your story mirrors mine in some ways so here goes. First of all I came to this diet because I am a long term T2 diabetic and wanted to reduce my BG numbers – that I have done and remain in control although not diabetes free. The other side to this is I have always suffered from high cholesterol and a fatty liver- I am talking in the 7’s and 8’s and that was on high does statins (60mg) which did absolutely no good. My doctors have said i should have started with different parents and there was nothing I could do about it without drugs. I also like a drink a bit too often. I have always been on a diet and always went with low this that and the other, especially low fat. Moved doctors and he said 60mg was legally too high a dose and put me on 40mg. My CH (shortened the word) did not go up or down on this dose. Jump forward to finding this diet and on my second blood test after starting and my CH was 6.4, then down to 5.8. My doctor asked what I was doing different and I said I was eating good fats and never low fat. He was not happy. I ignored all medical advice and my doctor insisted on doing a CH test every 3 months along with my normal diabetes check and my cholesterol and it continued to go down. Over a period of 3 years I have reduced my statins slowly and my CH has still gone down. On my last test 3 months ago my CH was 4.2 – up a bit after a 3 week cruise – but is normally around 3.9. Go figure. I am only on 10mg of statins as, being diabetic I am at very high risk of strokes and heart disease so I take it as a precaution.

My diet includes butter, full fat cheese, full fat plain Greek yoghurt (no fruit yoghurts which are a sugar minefield), cook with rapesee oil, use Olive Oil to make my own salad dressings, eat small amounts of nuts, avocado occasionally and I even have a little bit of the skin on chicken if it is nice and crispy and eggs are no longer limited. This is what I do, you have to decide for yourself.

As for your choice of diet I would say that the BSD, the Fast 800 and keto are all pretty much the same in principle. Low carb and good fats. At 200lbs you are not very overweight but it would do you good to try to eliminate as many of the white carbs as possible. So chuck out the potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, and definitely no breakfast cereals – one bowl of cornflakes contains 6 teaspoons of sugar before you have even put sugar on it. If you really must eat carbs go for the brown ones although, honestly, they are just as bad. Carbs turn to glucose in the blood and glucose is stored as fat but it is more about getting rid of visceral fat around the organs. Specifically the pancreas (for diabetics) and the liver. If you are going to go for the 800 cals you are not going to be able to fit carbs into your menu so try to live without them for a few weeks or at least wean yourself off of them. So the main thrust of the diet you need is less carbs and more GOOD fats.

Hope that is not too overwhelming. Shout out if you have any questions. Oh, and by the way, no-one seems to monitor the site. There is an admin team but they know nothing about the diet and the same team (I think) respond if there is a breach of rules like advertising but we usually have to flag it up to them.

Good luck.

Hi Sunshine, many thanks for responding, I am in quite a dark place at the moment with my health, both physical and mental. I know I need to change things, and it is going to be hard but try I must.
I have kicked bread, pasta, potatoes etc, had my last bit of toast and roast potatoes on Tuesday. The rest of my diet has always been quite healthy, I love my fruit and veg, but have been eating the wrong sorts I have now learnt, and far too much food in general.
To get me started I am avoiding heavy carbs input, that bit is easy for me. Never have been a massive fan of bread and pasta, but do like rice.
Going to restrict all input for a few days until I see my Dr, not had any alcohol for 3 days, very hard when I am surrounded by it, and earn my living by making it.
I think it best not to calorie count at the moment, just reduce intake until I have my head around the new regime. I had about 50% of what I would normally eat since Tuesday, drinking more green tea and black coffee, copious amounts of cider vinegar ( over 1,000 litres knocking about) with warm water, plus Dandelion and Milk Thistle for my liver.
Gently fried some chicken breast last night, then added chopped tomato’s with basil, garlic, black pepper and a veg oxo. Accompanied this with Onions, red peppers, broccoli and cauliflower, sautéd in olive oil and butter with plenty of black pepper.
This, I hope, is the sort of thing I need to be doing.
Still wondering if the 800 is the right thing for me, or should I just carry on doing what I am doing now?
Dr wants to put me on statins, I don’t want them.

Hi Cloth. One of the reasons people go on this plan is the rapid weight loss and as you are not looking for that, more interested in better health then you should take it a bit easier. I dont think you are in the right place mentally (excuse me for saying but you did say it too) to put so much pressure on yourself. Have you looked at the Mediterranean diet where you eat all the good stuff like you have mentioned in your menu above. Lots of bright, colourful veg and salads, fresh meats, grains and pulses and a limited amount of carbs. In truth the Italians dont eat a lot of carbs, maybe a very small portion of pasta and a piece of bread with a meal. Which book are you working from, if you have the BSD 8 week plan there is a section on the Med diet but there is also a section on here under Getting Started. Alternatively there is the 5:2 where you eat a balanced Med style diet for 5 days and a very low calorie diet for 2 days (they dont have to be consecutive days). A lot of people find that works as they dont feel they are on a really strict diet all the time and can cope with the 2 strict days. What you are eating now sound fine. Whatever you decide, just be kind to yourself and take your time. You are not trying to rush to get into your beach clothes, you are trying to get yourself well, so take your time. You dont get ill over night so dont expect to get better in days or even weeks. Just believe me, if you put in some effort here you will see improvements in your health. Talk to your doctor about what you are planning. I went in with a plan and basically told my doctor, this is what I want to do (ie get healthy and stay off statins) and this is how I am going to achieve it (a balanced diet plan) and ask him/her to give you 3 months grace from the statins to prove you can do it. You can.

Also take a look at http://www.dietdoctor.com for some great advice and meal ideas.

Thank you very much, will have a read on diet doctor website. I think I know where I am going, just need to make sure I get it right.
Tim

Hi Tim,
It sounds like you are off to a very solid start.
I know there is a lot to take in at first, but as you move into this way of eating it gets easier and easier. Then, you will begin to FEEL so much healthier and you will quickly find it becomes more and more desirable to stay on track.
You need/want to get control, so I would suggest you try the 800 and see how it goes. If it is too much after a few weeks, you can modify a bit but I think you will benefit from the 800 mindset.
Carbohydrates are the obvious, like bread and rice and potatoes, but also the non-obvious, such as fruit and milk and ground vegetables. Check your carbohydrates on an app of your choice and try to stay less than 50 grams per day to begin with.
As you move forward, start reducing your carb intake until you are (possibly) as low as 20 grams per day — remember, this is EFFECTIVE carbs so SUBTRACT the fibre from the carb count to get the true carb count.
Add in quality protein, like fish and chicken and steak/pork/ lamb and use quality oils and fats like grass fed butter, olive oil and avocado, nuts, seeds.
You can also have a bit of double cream (calories allowing) in coffee which is a perfect treat.
You can even have a bit of your lovely alcohol — just not too much, and try to avoid beer, high in carbs.
This way of eating works brilliantly — and you are already started in the right direction.
I see Sunshinegirl checked in, she has deep knowledge and experience from the diabetes angle. I am not diabetic, but I found the BSD to be the solution to a lifetime of being overweight.
As you move on, we can recommend some good podcasts to support your new point of view.
Hang in there! Good start!
Julia

Luckily I avoid things like cream and beer, have suffered badly in the past with IBS and now have diverticulitis.
I will have to give up alcohol completely, or keep drinking. I reckon giving up completely will be the best thing for my health.
Had a bash at cauliflower rice earlier, very yummy indeed. Always enjoyed cooking from scratch, with fresh produce.
My main problem has been the amount I eat, snacking on sandwiches and pies while out and about.
I will beat it, I know. Feeling better by the minute. knowing there is a way forward.
Tim

Hi Tim, glad you have some clarity and know how you want to approach this. Good luck.

Currently making long lists of recipe ideas from the diet doctor, will need to ensure my wife gets the proper nutrients as she is quite small in comparison to me. Easy enough by addition of pasta, rice etc.
Once again, thank you. 🙂

Hi Tim
Just wanted to add in my support. When I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, my cholesterol was also 6.5 . I weighed over 200lbs (about 208lbs). I did the Blood Sugar Diet (Fast 800 wasn’t out, then) and lost all my extra weight. My total cholesterol was 5.7 at my last annual check (due another one soon) so dropped a chunk – still not the level the health care team would like to see it for someone with Type II, but better than it was when I started (btw, my ratios, e.g. trigs/total chol ratio – which some experts say are what really count – are perfect). My fatty liver also reversed. Like so many on here I’m healthier and happier than I have been in years. It’s all completely do-able.
Because of my Type II diagnosis I did 800 cal/20g carbs per day but I agree with sunshine-girl and Californiagirl, the most important thing is sticking with it, so doing what you can as you can. It sounds to me that you’re doing great.

Btw, if you haven’t come across them yet, the visual guides to carbs in different foodstuffs on diet doctor are great.

For what it’s worth I turned down the statins but obviously that’s a personal choice.

Have a good weekend.
Jennie xx

Hungry this morning, made my favourite health drink for breakfast, 1/2 pint Soy milk (unsweetened), handful of Raspberries, blitz until smooth, add tsp of turmeric, mix well, add 50gms of psyllium husks and drink immediately. Been doing this on and off for years, cleanses the colon lovely.
Just demolished a bowl of Raspberries with Greek 5% fat Greek Yoghurt, the real stuff. 😉
Need to still visit Dr’s on Monday, after seeing my Chiropractor/Osteopath to hopefully crack my back into place so I can move a bit better.
Oh the joys of a misspent youth, and getting old. 🙂

Yes, it comes to us all if we are lucky enough to live that long 🙂 You seem to know what you are doing, keep it up or as I am known to say, keep on keeping on…

One of my favourite saying, that and, “Onward and Upward”. 🙂