Hi all,

I am on day 5 now and really struggling… feeling hungry all the time and as yet hardly lost anything which is weird seeing as though my diet has changed so dramatically. I am hoping it’s just taking my body a while to adjust and it will start to fall off soon, it’s jist so de motivating! 😒
I keep waking up feeling really hungry and and shakey which I’m guessing is my body craving carbs and sugar?!
Has anybody else had this? Does it get easier?
I am following the plan from the book but thinking maybe my portion sizes are to big? Maybe that’s why I’m not losing much? It’s all so confusing!!!
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated! 😄

Sarah xx

Hi Sarah! This is going to get better. Probably you haven’t fully switched over to burning fat just yet and so you really are low blood sugar (which causes the shaky and hungry feeling, as you know!)
The best way to get to fat burning stage where you will get rid of the hunger feelings and have way more energy is to radically cut your daily carbohydrate intake.
The recommendation is 20 or fewer carbohydrates per day to begin with. As time goes on, you can add back in carbs and evaluate your own body’s response — is your weight loss slowing? Are you getting hungry again? These are good signs you are exceeding your personal threshold for carbohydrate.
Most of us needing to lose weight have high background levels of insulin. Insulin is your “fat storage” hormone and fat people usually have a lot of insulin — for whatever reason, could be genetics, could be too many carbohydrates, in-uterine experiences (yes, how your mom ate could affect your insulin), stress, environmental etc etc.)
When your insulin level is high, your body is pushing all the available blood sugar into your fat cells. So there is very little available to the rest of your body to fuel itself, and your body tells you this is so by feeling tired, shaky, cold and hungry!
As you cut the carbs, you will lower the insulin levels and your fat will become more active flowing in and out of your fat cells and your hunger will end. It is practically a light bulb moment when the hunger goes away and for those of us who struggled for a lifetime with hunger it is nothing short of a miracle.
Getting to 20 grams of carbs is a learning experience — you will need to learn carb values and many will surprise you. Lots of greens, meats, eggs, cheese, fish, fats, oils will make up you diet at first — later you can add in more veg and maybe some pulses — just start measuring EVERYTHING and google and follow all carb values. It will be easier and easier until it becomes automatic.
If you can, get a copy of Gary Taubes “Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It” for the best discussion of how carbohydrates affect weight — it is my favorite book to go with the BSD and changed my life.
Keep us posted and don’t give up! You are right on the edge of the break through.

Hi Calaforniagirl,

Thank you so much for your long and informed reply! It has really helped. I had no idea about the 20g of carbs! I have been using the meal plan from the BSD book but yesterday I logged everything on my fitness pal and I way exceeded the 20 of carbs it was around 60.
Thanks for the book recommendation, will have a look for it.
I didn’t realise how complex it was, the whole losing weight, fighting carb and sugar addiction!! Haha.
Yesterday was hard as I felt so weak and low energy and hungry all day, and I’m trying to go for long walks but when your feeling like that it doesn’t help! Also with it being Easter holidays I don’t want to be irritable with kids! 🤨
I’m glad to hear it does get better, I will google the carbs and stick with it, I’m determined to follow this through and not give in to my cravings!!!
I’ll keep you posted…
Sarah xx

Hi Sarah, I’m sure you will find a variety of opinions on these forums and as in anything in life it’s best to find what works for you personally.
I lost 20lb following the BSD, after the initial body-shock the weight loss journey was quite painless and quick. ( I did a 5:2 version, 5 days at 1000 cals and 2 at 500). Personally I didn’t count carbs (although if you are doing 800 cals or thereabouts it’s unlikely that any of your macros are high) but I made sure my carb portions were very restricted, no carb based meals. If you are hungry all the time it may just be the transition or you may benefit from eating more fat, it’s counter intuitive to those of us who have been indoctrinated with the low-fat myth, but as long as you stay within your calorie limit don’t be afraid of butter, extra virgin olive oil, cheese, nuts, eggs, lard, goose fat etc etc, eating fat calories and reducing carb may curb the cravings, if not you could just try increasing your calories slightly.

Hope that helps.

Hi Sara!
Please dont give up!
I had the same problem in the start and my trick was water and fat.
Try to drink a loot of fresh (tap-) water. I have at least 3 liter per day.
Like you, I find 20 carbs per day day extremely hard to do.
I posted this excellent forum on my carb-panic here 😆:
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/2-w-lost-3-9-kg-but-i-carb-confused-help-neded/

But I went too the store and bought myself a really good and tasting olive oil and increased the amount of fat.
Fat and water really helps me to get along and yesterday (sunday) I celebrated that I’m halfway through my 8 weeks on 800 kcal! I had 30 kg to go when started. 7 is gone.
FitnessPal is a “very good friend” and I bought premium as a way to tell myself I’m serious about my overall health.
Love apps and they are counting steps, weight and what not.😝 Very helpful! Maby you like apps to? Then you probably already log a lot.
BTW my cravings, low energy and shaking was a lot worse in my “before life”.
So dont give up! Hang in there and it will become lot easier!
Good luck!

Hi Buddhas Wife,

Thanks for your reply!

Today has been easier, I am drinking more water, I’m also logging on my fitness pal, it’s so surprising how many carbs are in things that I just had no idea before!! Until I started logging, I thought I was going carb free!!🤣

It will take me a while to work out what to eat and try to reduce my carbs even lower…. don’t suppose anyone has any meal suggestions for low carb? Would it be fish or any protein with greens or spinach??

I’m sticking with it…. don’t have masses to loose, about a stone or 7-8 kg.

Finding the forums has been a big help! Well done for getting half way through and your weight loss is amazing! I hope I can loose as much as possible in 8 weeks!! 🤞🏻
Sarah xx

Hi Daisiesmum,

Thanks for your post. I must admit this is a whole new way of eating for me, I’ve been used to slimming world and weight watchers so it’s going to take a while for me to get my head around eating fat!!

My hunger has been more manageable today, I’ve been trying to snack on nuts when I can’t take the hunger anymore but then you worry about the calories! I never realised how hard losing weight would be but if it works then it will be worth it, I definitely do not want to go back to my old eating habits!

Sarah xx

Hi Sarah, I was once a keen low-fat dieter – I was so careful to avoid any dietery fat of any description, I was even concerned when I read somewhere that oats have a trace of fat! The irony was that I gained weight rather than lost, lol! When I eventually added olive oil to my diet, without changing anything else I began to lose weight🤣.

There is a transition period when you first go low carb, for me it lasted about 10 days and then one morning I woke up full of energy and feeling 20 years younger (I’m 63) Because I followed the low calorie version of BSD there wasn’t room for big portions of full fat foods but boy, does it make everything taste soooo good! I have eliminated added sugars with the exception of a tiny bit of 85% cocoa chocolate each day, this has had the unexpected result of no longer needing to use sensitive toothpaste and not needing my teeth cleaned by the hygienist (no plaque)! It took a bit of getting used to looking for carb content on food labels but one day at the supermarket it just suddenly clicked. I also found I needed to drink about 3 litres of water each day and add sea salt to my food to avoid leg cramps!

I have been maintaining for over a year now and follow the Med style which includes small portions of healthy carbs. I love it!

Don’t be hard on yourself, it takes time to learn a new skill, it’s a process that your future self will thank you for!
All the best!