So a friend had huge success on the BSD and lost two stone very quickly so I decided to give it a go. I started I think about six weeks ago and in the first four weeks lost about half a stone, but I slipped into drinking a bit more and gradually fell off the diet wagon although I didn’t gain back the weight I had lost.
This week I think no excuses, I’ve got seven weeks until we go on holiday, I’d really like to try to lose another stone so I’m being really strict. I’m using My Fitness Pal to monitor calories, I’m weighing food for accuracy, I’ve cut out any lo cal snacks, I’m not drinking at all (booze), I’ve had zero carbs (no pasta, bread, rice, potato, no baked foods at all – just protein & veg).
I’m eating between 600 and 800 calories a day and on top of that I’m exercising between 150 – 300 calories a day. Weighed myself this morning (four days in) and I’ve actually slightly put weight on.
How is that even possible?! This is the story of my life. Even when I’m not dieting I don’t have a sweet tooth, I don’t eat cakes or biscuits or bars of chocolate. I don’t drink fizzy drinks or fruit juice, I don’t eat high fat foods or loads of hi cal snacks, I don’t eat takeaways so I don’t have lots I can cut out which would make a dramatic impact on my calorie intake.
I just find it so dispiriting and it really contributes to my struggle to stick to the diet because I just think what’s the point in being so restrictive if it makes no bloody difference? MM says that rapid weight loss is virtually guaranteed if you follow the guidelines, which I am, religiously – yoghurt, nuts, grains, fish.
What do I do? How do I keep the faith? What is wrong with my body? Everyone says if you create a calorie deficit you will lose weight, so why does that not apply to my body?! It’s so frustrating. (I tried the 5:2 a few years ago and really struggled, a) because I find it hard to be hungry all the time and b) because I got rotten headaches.)
Any ideas or words of encouragement? I’d be really grateful.

Hi sqweno, welcome to the BSD. I think where you have gone wrong – no, not gone wrong just what your body is doing. You did well and lost weight then you slipped into your old habits. Now back on the diet your body is saying ‘oh no, here we go again’ and is hanging on to what it can in anticipation of being deprived. This is not the time to give up, you will lose weight. Maybe as you have been digressing you might have lost touch with things such as weighing and measuring the food, portion control etc, simply because you think you are doing what you did before. You might need to think of this as totally new to you and be very careful in all the measuring, recording etc.

I too, after a short break from the strict diet, gained 11lbs since Xmas, so not all of my weight back on. and started out again a week ago. I was losing well so thought a glass of wine would be okay and still lost, so had another couple of glasses the next night and still lost. So I thought I had got away with it. Came to weigh in on Tuesday and I have only lost 1.5lbs (so I had gained). Okay, back strict on the diet and, bang – Wednesday morning another pound back on so a total loss of half a pound. This should have sent me to the biscuits or whatever people eat when they go off plan but I stuck to my guns. One day later and I have lost 3.25lbs (the quarter is very important). Anyway, you see where I am going with this. If you stick with it your body will have to accept it and let the pounds go. Just dont give up and, as I always say, keep on keeping on…

Thanks Sunshine. I know you’re right. I just really want that big early weight loss that everyone talks about to keep me motivated.
If you see results then you’re keen to keep going. If you’re just sacrificing and sacrificing and then have zip to show for it you (well, I) become inclined to think what’s the bloody point?! I might as well just keep enjoying the odd bag of popcorn and lump of cheese and a glass of prosecco! Because it’s kind of miserable just being so restricted and not eating what everyone else is eating and then having nothing to show for it.
Hey ho. I guess I’ll keep plugging away.

Hi Sqweno
In addition to Sunshine Girl’s very useful comments, my immediate reaction :

You wrote :
“MM says that rapid weight loss is virtually guaranteed if you follow the guidelines, which I am, religiously – yoghurt, nuts, grains, fish”

Are you eating grains ? What sort of yoghurt ?
How much protein ?
You say you don’t eat high fat foods ? So what fats do you include ?

I ‘m not going to say ok, give up, it’s no working because it it really will. Maybe just a few things to check out to be sure you really are staying low carb with moderate protein and good fats ( avocado, olive oil, oily fish, full fat yoghurt etc and nuts but be careful of quantity )
The calorie deficit is not the most important factor ….
The rotten headches are the result of weaning yourself off low carb . Do you drink enough during the day ?
Stay with us .There are lots of experienced people on here and they will be able to comment based on what they have seen on BSD

Don’t give up ! I know you want to lose a stone but focus also on the health benefits.You can do it, Sqweno !

Remember also that the significant weight discard in the beginning will be more apparent for those who have a lot of weight to lose so it might not be helpful comparing yourself to your friend.

You don’t have a great deal to discard so your body is maybe as sunshine says, hanging on to stored fat to prepare for any more restriction.
I think also it might help not to reason in terms of being ‘deprived’ of certain foods like popcorn etc ( and the prosecco ) but rather in terms of healthy foods you can enjoy and which you can happily choose and which will ultimately be more satisfying as you continue.

You don’t have to worry about what everyone else is eating if your choices are better for your health ?

Thank you for your replies. As a positive, I will say that bizarrely, once I switched to the BSD my hot flushes stopped. No idea if it’s related but it’s a definite bonus!
I am on the full fat plain Greek yoghurt. And that’s good, I really enjoy that. I have about 50g of it for breakfast.
Nuts is usually just 10g of plain unsalted cashews.
Protein, My Finess Pal diary says yesterday I had 46g (which was some smoked salmon, egg, Quorn, fish sticks, nuts), on Tuesday 49g of protein, on Monday 37g.
Protein is my highest intake according to the diary.
I’ve not eaten much cooked food to be fair this week, so no olive oil, nor had a lot of grains – some cous cous and a Bol lentil pot thing. So I could revisit those things.
Highest fat thing, apart from the yoghurt is I had about an ounce of cheddar cheese. And the nuts of course.
So yes, I could maybe reduce some of the protein in favour of some more grains.
I really want to get some edamame that’s more than just a small snack pot. Does anyone know where I can find them?

Good afternoon, lad1es! Just to add a few thoughts to the excellent adv1ce you have already been g1ven, Sqweno.
1n read1ng your f1rst post, what struck me was f1rst was your rate of loss for the f1rst 4 wks…1/2 stone 1s cons1derably
below the average, wh1ch 1s generally @ 1 stone. Th1s makes me wonder 1f you m1ght be qu1te 1nsul1n res1stent.
1f such 1s the case, you w1ll need to be extra str1ct w1th count1ng your carbs. They lurk everywhere, and are part1cularly
h1gh 1n lent1ls, couscous, and of course vegetables that grow below ground. Add1t1onally, you d1dn’t ment1on water.
Two l1ters per day 1s essent1al, and some dr1nk between 2-3. F1nally, the problem m1ght be that your macros need a
b1t of tweak1ng. 1 have 3 years of exper1ence w1th the BSD, so have read thousands of posts here 🙂 There are many
of us “old t1mers” on s1te, and usually between all of us, we can d1agnose the cause of slow we1ght loss. Welcome
to the commun1ty, and tell us about your carb load each day. Above all, don’t g1ve up! We can help you sort th1s out 🙂

All1e

Ahh, thank you. I appreciate your advice and support.
I did the Dukan diet a few years ago and had great success with that. (Which as a mostly veggie, non meat eater wasn’t easy.) And as a PCOS sufferer I tend to gain weight a lot if I eat carbs.
But since then no restrictive diets I’ve tried have really made any difference.
I had a blood test late last year and that apparently showed no issues regarding pre diabetes or thyroid or anything.
I could definitely stand to drink more water. I might not be hitting 2 litres.
If I’m not eating grains or legumes or carrots what can I eat though? I think a diet based mainly on green veg would make me weep.
What are macros please? 🙂

,Hi again! Macros are the distribution of protein, carbs and healthy fats. Many of us here use th1s to determine
what our protein requirements are based on th1s formula: 1 gram of protein for every gram of ideal body weight.
That of course will vary from person to person. I’ve always used that as a number to not go above, because
excess protein gets stored as fat, much the way that carbs do. Thinking in terms of 50-60 grams a day is
a reasonable place to start for most women, though. A low carb diet is generally accepted to be one where
your carbs are below 50g/a day. For those of us who are insulin resistent or slow losers, 20g./a day seems
to be the magic number for rapid weight loss, however. The final element, i.e., healthy fats, make up the
difference to get you to the 800 cal. a day. Most begin @ 50g of carbs, and then adjust downward from
there depending on how our individual bodies perform. PCOS suggests to me that you ARE insulin resistant,
and other suffers here will be along to confirm that. Does the app you are using calculate carbs for you?
I know that fatsecret does. Sqweno, there is a steep learning curve for ALL of us when we begin to make
these permanent changes in our lives. In short order it all becomes habit though, and I can promise you that
the day will come when carbs/sugar will have no power over you! It may be hard to imagine today, but if
you stay with this (and us!) it will happen 🙂 I think it might be of great benefit to you if you try to think of
it all as a marathon, not a sprint, or another quick fix “diet”. It’s really a long term way of life. If we drift back
to eating carbs again, the weight will return. Congratulations on cutting out the alcohol!

Vegetables..I eat a lot of steamed or sauteed spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, courgette, brussel sprouts, asparagus,
green beans, etc. They compose 3/4’s of the space on my dinner plate. The remainder is high quality
protein. Vegetable stir fries are any easy way to keep the veg. interesting…Another little tip is that it is the
healthy fat, not protein that keeps us feeling satiated. Do you like avocados? They’re excellent for plant based
fat and fibre. Nuts and seeds (like Chia) too! Never underestimate the power of water to keep you feeling full 🙂

There are no “silly” questions here, so shout out if you need help. We cover many time zones, so there is always
someone out and about…Very best to you,

Allie

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply with such detailed information.
My app does apparently record info on nutrients and macros and is telling me that for example yesterday I ate 46g of Protein, 54g of Carb and 51g of fat.
This is intriguing to be honest because I honestly can’t think where the carbs would be hiding. Further exploration reveals that there are 12g in the carrot sticks I ate. Other bits have less than 10g a piece but are still present.
Hmmm. Lots to think about.
And yes, a big fan of avocado.

Absolutely Sqweno! That’s why we always refer to it as a learning curve…. 🙂 The grains and legumes are always
a shock, as 1/2 c. of cooked couscous tallies in at 17g of carbs, and quinoa is a hefty 19g. An innocent looking
apple is @ 19, and lentils at 1/2 c. = 11. You will get the hang of this soon, so don’t stress too much about it.
The vegetables add up too, but you will do very well if you get into the habit of counting carbs each day. This is
only my personal opinion, but I do believe the carbs matter far more than the calories. I’ve been in maintenance for
over 2 years, and I continue to eat essentially the same way I did for the 10 months of the Fast800 that it took me
to discard 10 stone. I just use different portion sizes now . Please let us know of your progress! We like to
celebrate on these forums 🙂

Which of Dr Mosley’s books have you read/ are you following? Have you read the book again as you restarted? Do you have any of the linked cookbooks? Dr Mosley encourages a diet that is very varied and properly balanced for everyone. This should not feel restrictive or depriving.

Ideally eat the full rainbow (blue/ purple, red, yellow/ orange, dark green) of low sugar fruits and non starchy vegetables. Families that tend to be lower carbohydrate include cruciferous, alliums, squashes, berries and leafy greens.

Chia seeds, ground linseeds and almonds are lower in carbs and/ or much higher in filling fibre than cashews. Hazelnuts and macadamia nuts are rich in the same fatty acids as olive oil.

Dr Mosely recommends at least 50g to 60g protein each day in the ‘Fast 800’ book. Ideally natural wholefoods: there is often hidden sugar/ carbs/ salt in processed products such as seafood sticks, vegetarian ‘meat’ and smoked salmon. The sugar and salt may encourage your body to retain water, and/ or mess with your appetite. Eggs are great, also fresh fish fillets, canned fish in tomato sauce or water, jumbo prawns and other frozen seafood.

You do not say which country you are in but, here in the UK, shelled edamame beans can be found in the freezer section at Morrisons and Asda. There is a huge variety of frozen vegetables and fruits available here: ready prepared, often cheaper than fresh, the carbohydrate content per 100g is on the packaging.

Do cross-check the labels on the food you buy/ eat with any app that you use, because different subspecies or cultivars, or foods produced in different countries can have quite different macronutrient content (carbs/ fat/ protein).

HTH!

Hi Sqweno. All good advice above. Stick with it and you will get results. Just throwing in my “two penn’orth” (**Allie something for you to Google 🙂) but some simple changes can help as in swapping cashews, one of my old favourites, for almonds, walnuts, Brazil’s, or pecans as they are lower in carbs. – still need to watch how many though.

You will also see mention of the Diet Doctor website (dietdoctor.com). If you haven’t already take a look as there are some good visualisations of low to high carb foods which are a great help (use the search function to look for visual low carb guides).

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your tips and advice.
As well as cashews I do have walnuts and hazelnuts so will switch to those. I also have sunflower seeds.
I am in the UK. I don’t have an Asda or Morrisons that near me but will check out some frozen sections for edamame.
Allie that is seriously impressive weight loss. Many congratulations.
I would like to lose about 2 stone. But was aiming for one in the first instance. Will see how it goes.
It was Blood Sugar Diet that I read, although I have read some of the 5:2.
I will pay closer attention to the carbs in things.
My problem is that I am not the cook in the house. My OH does most of the cooking. So I am leaving him to cook for him and the girls while I do my own thing but usually I can’t be arsed to cook so tend to grab things I can just eat small bits of. Hence buying things like fish sticks which mean I can grab a small bite of protein for a snack rather than crisps or popcorn which I might usually grab.
I don’t eat meat, hence the Quorn stuff. I do eat quite a lot of eggs and fish and prawns.
I should get better at making myself salads and veg.
With the app I tend to scan the bar codes on the food to get the nutritional content. I assume that’s more accurate than the ones that people have uploaded themselves which often seem to vary in their estimates.
Thanks again. Will keep plugging away, try not to be so lazy with my meals, and try to learn to spot the carbs.
Cheers everyone.

I would definitely recommend reading ‘The Fast 800’ book or reading the ‘Blood Sugar Diet’ again.

You have identified a key issue as needing to prepare or cook food separately to the rest of your household. You might get into batch cooking meals and snacks (blended soups/ slow-cooked casserole or curry/ herbed or spiced fish fillets/ veggie frittata/ hard-boiled eggs/ non-leafy veg salads). Then portion, refrigerate or freeze.

Alternatively (or additionally) working with your husband to make some elements of each family meal shared. That should be easy because the way of eating Dr Mosley advocates is Mediterranean/ wholefood flexitarian/ pescatarian. Most medical or healthcare professionals agree this is a healthy long-term diet for the whole family.

A couple of vegetable salads I make are adaptable and family-friendly, partly because the colours are pretty!
– Coleslaw (red cabbage/ carrot/ red onion, *optional* green apple, *optional* any hard cheese)
– Waldorf-ish (red cabbage/ celery/ green apple/ hazelnuts, *optional* dried fruit, *optional* goats cheese).

Although Dr Mosley encourages full fat milk and yogurt, it is possible to choose certain lower fat cheeses and remain true to the spirit of the diet. Camembert rather than brie, 30% less fat cheddar, Greek feta rather than Wensleydale cheese are reduced fat but nowhere near ‘low fat’, still natural not processed.

Lastly seeds … sunflower seeds are the worst of the bunch, nutritionally speaking. Consider making up a seed mix with chia seeds or cracked linseeds (both very high fibre) and pumpkin seeds.

HTH!

Hi Firefox. Thanks for this.
The family eat healthily and my OH cooks foods that are leaning towards Mediterranean, or he does fish and stir fries or whatever. My oldest daughter is trying to be vegan so we are accommodating that too. But I have little oversight on amounts / weights / oil etc when he cooks so I can’t monitor what I’m actually eating. That’s why I tend to do my own thing, rather than because they’re eating nuggets and chips or something! 🙂
Will put some brain power toward finding food options which are varied and also avoiding the hidden carbs.
On the plus side my scale did finally nudge down by 2lbs, so the week did make a difference eventually.
Thanks all for inspiring words and encouragement.

Ah that makes sense!

Is your daughter old enough to share some responsibility for food preparation? If so you and she could take turns making a large cooked vegetable dish or large salad dish to share.

You eat the shared dish with animal protein, she eats it with beans and grains. Being vegan she will need to weigh and measure, because it is a challenge to get the right balance and variety.

Hopefully that would motivate you both to put the effort in to meal prep? Depending on your personalities you might make it a friendly competition. Try a brand new ingredient (veg/ spice), try a new recipe …..

I need to stop waffling about imaginary food and go real life grocery shopping! 😮

Hello, Firefox, and welcome. Not much is revealed in your profile, and I’m sure that we’d all like to know a bit more about you 🙂
Is your objective controlling BGL or weight loss? A great many of us have had phenomenal success with both, and we’re
always delighted to get to know new members. Best to you,

Allie