I am new here and have not even read the book yet. But have been on utube and am convinced. I am interested in fasting. I have never lasted one day on a diet and hate the thought of counting calories . I have read some of your posts and you are talking about hardly any carbs!
But have to do something. And fasting i see as a possibility.
I have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromalgia and penial osteoporosis. I want to fast but am not sure how it will effect me as i am on metatrexate and one of the newer bio…something drugs. I will be stopping the metatrexate (wrong spelling) in about three weeks.

The only thing I can advise is to speak to your GP about this. Fasting is very good for you (we all eat more than we need to) but I’m pretty sure there will be exceptions to this. I would advise reading the book very carefully.

I would also advise that this is not a fasting diet – not really – it is designed to bring your Blood Sugar levels down quickly and is very successful in most cases. Losing weight is an added bonus and ‘fasting’ is incidental as you are advised not to snack, making the periods between eating longer than you are used to.

If you are OK to fast then I really wouldn’t do that until you are a few weeks into the BSD – you won’t need to in order to see results – and you may not need to take such drastic measures!

Definitely speak to your doctor with regard to your medication and do loads of research. Fasting has loads of benefits and is a whole lot easier than counting calories. However you do have to build up to it. Even just leaving a gap of an extra half hour before you eat is a start.

Cintac I would echo others posts here about speaking to your doctor, but just thought I’d share my experience with you as I have Rheumatoid Arthritis too. I’m just on Prednisone and mobic/voltaren at the moment, long story as to why, but I have been on biologics and methotrexate in the past.

I have been following BSD for about 4 months now. I don’t fast as such – i have 3 meals a day and stick to 800 calories 4-5 days a week and have 900/1000 on the other days, just fits into my lifestyle better. I have a lot of weight to lose (another 3 stone still, have lost 18lb so far). Prednisone is slowing my weight loss, and my rheumatologist was surprised I could lose any weight at all!

But here’s the best part – since stating this WOE (way of eating), my inflammation levels have improved, joint pain significantly improved, less flares and when I do get them they don’t last as long, I’ve also been able to come off blood pressure medication. The BSD foods seem to be anti-inflammatory also. Every time I eat bread/wheat products (which is rarely now), my joint pain returns so there seems to be a connection there for me.
Anyway, wishing you all the best 🙂

Thank you topcoat, cara54 and SueBlue for your replys. I was trying to look at the fasting to avoid the calorie counting. Hate it. But will read the book and get myself started before next monday. I am already reducing my carbs and not snacking especially at night. Low sugars but no portion control. I will check with my doctor about fasting. I will check in soon.

Hi Cintac! I know it seems like a total pain, but I want to encourage you to think about the carbohydrate count as you go forward. My personal experience over a year and a half (on maintenance since July 2016) is that carbs count more than calories — there is a huge difference between 150 calories of egg or cheese or meat and 150 calories of bread or potato or scone!
It is sort of a “disconnect” for all of us raised on low-fat diets but protein and fat just don’t raise your blood sugar levels and keeping those down lets you access your stored fat. Fasting can get you there quickly, but so can just following the 800 calorie BSD like Topcac says.
You could start with 800 and add in a bit of fasting as you move forward — I did find that I quickly lost weight with 18-20 hours of fasting plus low calorie. I never have made it to 24 hours — I’m sort of a “hungry” kind of person and by 20 hours I need to eat! I am amazed that some people can go for more than a day.
A good number to start with is 20 grams net carbs — that’s carbs minus the fiber (in the US we don’t have net carb counts and we have to subtract the fiber but I understand the UK counts on products are net carbs?)
I know that sounds low — but you can start there and add in more as you start to understand your own carb-threshold — the point where you start to gain or stop losing (takes a bit of trial and error over a few weeks). It can be a bit of work tracking it all but it will pay off — and some people even do spread sheets!😜