Alan – my only suggestion would be that as you’ve come off your meds without chatting to your doc, personally I would check them very regularly – just to keep an eye on things, at least for a few weeks…….I check mine on a Mondy now – as I said am still on meds – btw – I’ve been doing this 12 weeks now and the amount I lose each week does vary and I have had a couple of plateaus which are really demoralising – interestingly – for me anyway (!) so far this week I’ve lost 3.8 lbs and it’s only Thursday! (weigh in Monday of course!) so should at least lose the extra .2lb which, this far into a ‘diet’ is – I think – bizarrely wonderful and so ultra motivating!

Would like to mention that one of my staple lunches is the Minestrone Soup which somebody (sorry, can’t remember who) posted in the receipes – have added some chilli flakes to it and it is delicious and so good and healthy!

Hi Christine and thank you for your message. I hope you are feeling loads better now?
I am being extremely strict and have planned the weekend and all next weeks meals so Im not tempted to stray. Also drinking way more water than I ever have. Just hope the scales start showing a reduction soon, its soooooo demoralizing especially when you feel so deprived. I havent had any alcohol since I started the diet (3 days) the grooves in the walls are nothing to do with me – honest!!!!!

Please keep me posted with how youre getting on
Rachel

Hi FiFiP I think thats an amazing achievement for you both on the 5.2 in a relatively short space of time and you must be really thrilled!! Will be very interested to read your continuing progress :))

Rachel

Hi rachel62
I’m feeling great, even though I’m on one of the dreaded plateaus! I haven’t lost anything really in a couple of weeks now, I know I have been on hols and put 1lb6 oz on, however not lost anything this week yet! I will, I just have to be really careful for a couple of days.
Good luck with your journey, and keep posting!
Christine

Hi AlanHypno

With my nurses hat on (which we don’t wear anymore) I think it may be unwise to come off your medication without seeing your GP or Practice Nurse. It would be good to talk to them about what you are doing and they may agree with your decision but if anything untoward happened and you needed emergency medical treatment the computer records we all use would show you as being on Metformin. I also think if you have stopped taking your medication you should do regular BS checks……nursing hat off!

Glad you are feeling so well and your BS readings are consistently lower 🙂

Hi Christine
Youve done well to have only put on a very small amount on your holiday, you must have been incredibly good!! Really feel for you with your plateau and hope it ends pdq.
My Husband is back tonight, taking me shopping tomorrow, we always but always have a ham and cheese toastie in M&S, so this is going to be a real test of will for me, I’m craving it so much I can taste it!!!

Hope you get back on track very soon and keep posting.
Rachel

Hi Rachel, I started by following some of the recipes in the book during the first week just to get a feel for the diet. There is nothing magical about the recipes – you just need to keep your calories at 800 and your carbs at 50g or below. So you can have curry – without the rice etc

I live on my own so I have to be a bit canny so as not to waste food. I grill all 6 slices of bacon in a packet then I will have 2 with tomatoes for breakfast, the next day I might have lettuce cups with bacon and avocado and the day after bacon crumbled over courgetti or salad

Hope that helps 🙂

hi rachel62
🙂👍
Christine

Oh no just got on scales every pound back on in my second week
Back to 19-10😱
Moved them all over the floor,changed room 19-10 all back on
Put scales away
Put in diary
Got out again ……what ? 18-10 !!!!! That’s one stone in two weeks not 19-10 it’s 18-10
In a fortnight one stone !!!😀😀😀😘😘👍👍👍👍👍😂😂😂
Is this normal loss ?????
My stomach right down so are my pants !!!!
Alan happy 😀

Congratulations Alan. I think that your weight loss is at the high end of normal for the first two weeks. You should expect that loss to slow slightly, so don’t be disappointed if the next stone takes three weeks!

Hi Alan that weight loss is so fantastic you couldn’t believe your own eyes!!! You must have just been looking at the pounds on the scale lol.
I’m so pleased for you, yet another brilliant success story and you still have 6 weeks to go ! 🙂

Great stuff Alan
You see? after all the worrying you are doing it right after all!
Congratulations, that is a brilliant result, here’s to many more

Thanks for all your help getting my one stone off in two weeks.
Surprising how negative some people can be though even medical profession
I simply show my BEURER app with blood pressure reading at optimal and graph of BS right down argue with that!
Oh you need carbs and you’ll put it back on or you only feel great cos it’s sunny (that was a nurse)
Alan onward and upward (or down !)

Fantastic Alan, what a result!

Good for you Alan, keep on in there, you do get carbs (under 50gr admittedly), but they are complex ones, not the nasty simple ones in white bread, pasta + white rice!

Once you hit your target weight + stabilise your BS you’ll be able to introduce more, quality carbs into your diet!

Wretched medical profession, you’d think they would be over the moon at ‘people doin’ it for themselves!!’

Alan I have heard it all ‘you only feel good because it is sunny’ OMG
Check the weather forecast and try and get an appointment during a spell of bad weather and bounce in like Zebedee on speed and shout ‘It’s raining and I feel great’ ! 🙂
You need to explain to her there are carbs in fruit, veg, yoghurt etc! She clearly doesn’t know as much as you 🙂

Beginning third week after a one stone loss,this mornings BS fasting was 6.7 don’t know if good bad or ugly I stopped my meds two weeks ago when I began this.
Strangely not had those head aches or been actually hungry yet.
Did get nibbles last night and ate too many nuts which were massive in calories 😱
Alan onward and downward ! 😎

Help needed ,fast ?😱
This morning fasting 6.7 then porridge

Lunch one hour ago salmon salad now 4.5,do feel bit shaky is this too low
I stopped my meds when I started this two weeks ago lost a stone felt great but this low reading worries me,do I need more food,fat in diet fruit etc

If I was taking full meds wouldn’t they make this even lower 🤔

Thanks Alan 😱

Alan I wish I could help but don’t really know anything about diabetes problems.
🙁

Alan, 4.5 is ‘normal’ so try not to worry. I think it could be one of two things (or even both.

Your body has been used to higher blood sugars, so when it drops you feel wobbly because you’re not used to the lower readings. I’ve not taken meds but would think they would drop your results further.

It could also be a reaction to the porridge you ate earlier. I don’t know what time you ate that, but if I eat porridge my blood sugar spikes and then drops much lower (that’s why I avoid carbs, including porridge, now!). Sometimes when we eat the carbs our blood sugars go up, then show a significant drop – making us want more carbs to make us feel better.

As I said 4.5 is perfectly normal (under 4 is getting into hypo territory) but if you think you need something to eat I suggest a small amount of protein.

Hope this helps.

Lynne this blood sugar thing is so weird!! Mine was 3.8 and I feel the best I’ve ever felt – admittedly I’m not diabetic. It sounds so complex I’m really glad it is a problem I do not have!

Yes, Judith. It is weird😳 It doesn’t really help when they move the goalposts for diagnosis either!!! They changed it here, and diagnosis levels here are different to those in the USA😱

Personally, I used to be really shakey if my readings went under 5. Now I’m almost always between 4 and 4.9 with no problems😃 It used to be really bad when it was ‘time to eat’ and I couldn’t find anything quickly enough. Now I normally just eat morning and evening – no shaking, no panicking 😃

Lynne until this diet I used to regularly get the shakes and dizziness when I suddenly needed to eat – but I would find it could take a couple of hours for that and the headache to go. I really should have had that test before I started!!! 🙁

Judith I’ve been known to be standing in the queue at a cafe, waiting to be served, only to walk out because it was taking too long and I needed food, and needed it fast. Then I’d be running around trying to find somewhere else. If nothing else, I learned that ‘fast food’ places are anything but😱

It’s really good now, being able to go out without worrying about finding something to eat😃

On Monday we drive to Ravenscar near Scarborough and we usually stop en route for lunch. I’ll be happy with my black coffee while the others tuck into their sandwich, chips or whatever. No more picking up shortbread biscuits at the coffee breaks (or wondering which container holds the milk) – black coffee again. In the free time I think I’m going into Scarborough with someone for a catchup. She’s not seen me since January! Black coffee time again.

In the past I’ve packed snacks for bedtime (as if three hearty meals a day, plus biscuits, wasn’t enough). This year I’ll just take some decaffeinated coffee (in case I need it) and a refillable water bottle. Prefer fizzy water, but it’s noisy when you open it – not good in meetings😱

Alan you are doing so well my Dad’s diabetic nurse always said the same thing about needing more carbs. But whenever mum added more his levels spiked (of course they did!) so in the end my mum and dad ignored her advice. Over the last 10 years of his life, every time he went to the clinic and saw the doctor he was told that he was the model patient in terms of his blood sugar. They knew what worked for dad. So keep on keeping the carbs low and maybe even consider substituting the porridge for something low carb. Some folk find it doesn’t spike their levels but others like Captain Lynne find their bodies don’t like it.

I bet your next HbA1c blood test results will be loads better.

Hi Alan I really like the full fat yoghurt for breakfast with a few milled flax seeds on top, very filling and low carb. failing that an omelette? 🙂

Great reminders for brekky cheers,making my weekly menu out now.
Think I’ve developed tunnel vision on this,even refused the pub this after noon and I enjoy a beer or three !
Only start week 3 but planned a few small drinks end eight weeks to celebrate lol !
And some smaller trousers . ( then back to work on it)
Alan 😋

Hi Alan,
I think Captain Lynne answered your lower blood sugar question.
When you eat carbs such as porridge it can spike your blood sugar, you then get a surge of insulin to deal with it. This causes that spike/crash effect that causes you to feel really hungry and shaky shortly after a high carb meal
( think takeaway Chinese meal).
The reason why those of us who have been on the BSD are ok with lower blood sugars is that we’ve learned what to eat to prevent the spike/crash effect.
The only way to learn is to do what you are doing. Try a food out and monitor your sugar levels afterwards. Experience is the best teacher 🙂

Hi everyone
Loved reading your posts – so encouraging. It’s Day 5 BSD and I really think that I have finally found the best eating plan for me. Love the receipes in the book. Carbs addict especially brown bread and tea thankfully without sugar. Eating walnuts daily which I think is packed with vitamin B and seems to be doing the trick. Boiled eggs are a life safer😊 or scrambled eggs when I feel a carbs attack!!. Feel a bit light headed in the mornings but it soon passes once I have eaten. Planning my meals a couple days in advance works well for me. No carbs ploughmans lunch is brillant when I’m on the go😊.. Lost 2 pounds, and put on 1 pound – late night chinese🙁!! Gosh I felt so guilty the next day, but back on track now. Good luck everyone. xxx

Forgot to mention after 5 days on BSD I look a lot trimer, my stomach feels flatter, skin feels softer and my clothes fit better😊 I exercise using kettlebelks for 10 mins least 3 times a week. I aim to do more exercise once my motivation levels increase😊…xxx

Hi Guy’s don’t have a downer on all health professionals please 🙂 I would never say anything negative if anyone succeeded with losing weight they wanted and needed to. I am all about positive reinforcement and encouragement! You keep going Alan and show your miserable nurse!

Hi Marcia, it’s wonderful that you are feeling the BSD benefits in just 5 days 🙂

Hi Embob, I am so lucky with my GP surgery, from the doctors to my asthma nurse, I have received only excellent care in the 38 years I have been a patient there. 🙂

Sadly some people on here have had different experiences with their medicos.

Thanks Hashimoto😊

Third week done
My weekly losses are,
Week 1 8ld
Week 2 8lb
Week 3 6lb

Have I reached a plateau ? 😱
I jest of course
Anyone tried Beurer app for weight Blood pressure,Blood sugar it’s brilliant

Alan strangely not hungry 😋

Well done Alanhypno😊

Alan, fanbloomingtastic! Well done, keep going, you must feel amazing after such a great achievement – think how good you’ll feel when you reach target! Woohoo!

Hello everyone and well done to those who are doing so well.
Unfortunately I cannot report the same results, now on day 17 and although Ive lost 9lb, (nowhere near what I expected given how strict Ive been) I havent lost any inches and I still feel dreadful. Absolutely exhausted and drained, zero energy, SO irritable and still really hungry. (not enjoying the recipes on the whole)
I just dont know what to do, Ive still got loads of weight to lose but I dont know how I will get through another 6 weeks of feeling like this. Would be so grateful for a bit of advice please.

Rachel62 xx

Hi Rachel
can you post a typical days meals for us to take a look at, then we may be able to help

Hi Rachel. Not sure where you are starting from but here’s a bit of my story

Started at 115.8kg 11th January , after 1st week following the menu plan in book 112.8kg, after 2nd week following plan 111kg, after 4 weeks following menu plan down to 108.9kg. Week 5 108.4kg, week 6 108.8kg, after 9 weeks 105.7kg (14th March). Weight today 10kg.
I think your 9lbs is pretty normal from what I have seen on here.

I had a few weeks of plateau but found when I increased the exercise and drank more water it started coming off again. I have not been sticking to it for a few months now due to various reasons. I will be getting back on it soon and my exercise will be increasing.

I have found it the best way of losing weight fairly easily and keeping it off. Weight has came off areas like the bat wings, that it didn’t come off from before. Also my stomach cannot tolerate as much food as it used to so portion sizes reduced.

I suggest you make a list of the foods you like to eat that are included in the menus and search for some recipes that suit better. I found the 5:2 recipe book quite useful.

If you really don’t like any of the food then you might struggle but I suggest you try things you think you may not like and you could be surprised. There are quite a few good recipes on this forum.

I love the no carb bircher. Apple with nut butter and seeds. Sardine dip. Courgetti Prawns, Spanish chorizo soup, fish in foil, turkey and lamb meatballs. There were some meals I didn’t like so I replaced with ones I did with same calorie count.

It does take a bit of getting used to but if you persevere, exercise and drink water, the weight will shift AND you will feel so much better. Onice the sugar is out of your system your taste buds will act differently too. I had to force a glass of wine down – it tasted very chemically and different. ☺ didn’t stop me mind ☺

It’s not easy resisting the sugar, but when you can go to the shops and try on something in a smaller size you will feel better and motivated to get more off.

If all else fails read bill1954s posts – his story is so motivating.

I am glad I don’t have diabetes to contend with, it’s affects sound awful and following this new healthy eating reduces the chance of getting it I hope!

Stick with it and you’ll get the results. Keep logging in here, you will get great advice and lots of genuine support.

Good luck, keep us posted.😆 Jackie

Good idea Bill! Wish I’d thought of that….

Hi Bill1954

Thank you for your reply. Difficult one as have tried a lot of the recipes in the book over the last 17 days. so theyve been quite varied.
I suppose what I have most of is as follows
Breakfast low carb bircher
lunch avacado and salmon on tomato
supper fish and veg or scrambled egg and smoked salmon – depending on energy / enthusiasm level.
I also have between 100 and 200 ml of milk as I cant stomach black or fruit teas and Im really struggling with the water issue as Ive never been a particularly thirsty bod.
Most days average out at just above or below 800 cals

Rachel62

Hi JackieMac
Thank you for sharing that with me and Im glad this is working so well for you and youve lost weight – afraid I dont work in kg so not sure what you have lost but it sounds good!!

Totally agree about the motivation thing and I think thats the second big issue for me, the fact that the inches are not going and so nothing feels any looser yet – I just find that incredible and so disheartening after 16 days of near starvation – or thats what it feels like. So that coupled with the complete lack of energy is compounding how low I feel.

Rachel62

Hi Rachel
Ok there is a little fat in the avacado but not a lot more.
Try increasing your fat intake and forget the calories for now.
The important thing is to replace the calories from the carbs or you’re always going to feel hungry and tired.
I know it sounds strange after all you have been told over the years but it really is impotant in this diet.
Unfortunately the fluid intake is also important. Some folk are flavouring the water with fruit tea bags to make it more palatable.

Rachel

1kg = 2.2lbs. Guess you’re in the US or Oz?

Ok so motivation – consider how short a timescale 8 weeks is out of your life. Not much. You know you can keep it up, bottom line is how much you want to I guess and it’s much easier said than done.

Are you able to exercise? If so do you have a friend who could go with you even for a short walk? Or get a fitness app you can use to measure your steps and try to better it each day. Even if you are just walking round your house! Get some motivating music on and dance around. Anything. They say exercise makes you feel better so just pushing yourself to do a little might pay dividends. The strength exercises in the book look good (note I haven’t done them yet 😈 but I do plan to).

So what foods do you like? Let us see that. …

Hi Bill1954
Thank you for that, Ill give it a go. I do have full fat yoghurt (yeo valley greek style) and whole milk and I eat a lot of salmon.

Thank you for advice and support

Rachel62

There’s something called carb flu, so Bill’s advice about having more fat is spot on. Check it out on Google.

http://low-carb-support.com/ketosis-low-carb-flu/

Some tips here
http://low-carb-support.com/ketosis-low-carb-flu/

Not sure link working

Low-carb-support . Com / ketosis-low-carb-flu

Hi JackieMac

No no, in UK, but of an age where we were taught lbs and ounces and Ive never converted!

We moved to our current location last year but due to a mental health issue I dont really go out at the moment on my own and dont know many people. I do have a pedometer though and count my steps daily.

Thank you too for your advice and support, its much appreciated

Rachel62

Rachel, try not to let it get you down – you have lost half a stone in 2 weeks – that’s great in anyone’s book! More than happy to help. Check out that website for tips.

Jackie