About to complete the 8 weeks – on couple of occasions when blipped and had carb instantly gained- concerned for next phase……what have people done? Looking and feeling good so wish to maintain.

Huge thanks

Sharon

Hi Sharon, that depends on where you are with your weight loss and does your husband still need support. You can do another round of strict 8 weeks 800 cals or switch to 5:2 or Med style eating. If you dont want to regain the weight do not go back to old habits and regular carb intake as it is easy to let things slide so keep an eye on the carbs. Come and join us on SERIOUSLY DOING THE 800 – AGAIN, some are just finishing 8 weeks and some have started during that time but as there is actually no date stated it is a roll over thread. I for one will be continuing for a further week. By the way, I have been on the plan more or less for just over a year and even when I stop counting calories (holidays, Xmas etc) I still stick with no carbs as it has done wonders for my diabetes.

Good luck but stick around for support.

Only advice I can offer is to set yourself a trigger weight, at which you will return to the 800 to get things back under control. Then decide on an initial strategy, as mentioned by sunshine-girl and see how it suits your body, but which ever approach you choose keep the carbs in check and stick with the BSD principles.

There can be no going back to our old pattern of eating, if we are to avoid finding ourselves back where we began. Like sunshine, I have been with the BSD for over a year now, excluding periods for hols, etc. and am approaching target weight (for the 2nd time!), so there are lots of us in the same boat and staying with the forum for support.

Best of luck …

Thank you SunnyB and sunshine – girl – really appreciate the support. I am 5lbs from target so may keep with 800 for a little longer- husband has been amazing lost 2.5 stone and near to target . Will take on board your suggestions . Sharon

I finished the 800 four months ago and have not gained anything back, but honestly eating Med. style feels like I am still on the diet. I eat about 1200- 1500 calories a day (70 year old male) and if I splurge on carbs I will put on a few pounds right away. These are water pounds to be sure and they come right off but it is disconcerting.
Now I expected to gain some weight as my body rebuilt its glycogen stores in the liver, as glycogen is glucose chemically combined with water so it is very heavy. In fact, if I go out for a few beers and have a restaurant meal, I will not only put on pounds, but my belly will grow about an inch as my liver fills up (my theory anyways!). However, I still will do a few days of 1000 calories to get back to my post diet weight. Truthfully, its turned into a bit of an obsession but so far it is working out even though I haven’t really segued into anything like a “normal” eating pattern. I’d love to eat like my wife, who eats like a horse and has never exceeded 110 pounds, except when pregnant.

Jan

Jande, this is your new normal. Some of our bodies don’t do well on some carbs.

I believe my body is absolutely rubbish at using starch, or maybe it’s actually anything that breaks down to glucose. Before I discovered the BSD800 I had already cut out high carb foods, and on the odd occasion of a relapse (e.g. fish and chips) I would have a significant weight gain by the next morning! Maybe it is just because carbohydrate binds with water to be stored, but I don’t want to be storing more! Eating excess calories in other forms may stop me burning off proper fat stores, but at least it doesn’t make me put on weight. (I was eating around 1,200 cals and my weight was stable, unless I ate carbs.)
I don’t believe I have lost anything nutrition-wise, and I feel great. If anything I have lost a degree of irritability, probably due to more stable BS, so it begs the question: Why are we told to get, and I quote: “just over a third” of our calories from carbs?

In the supermarket the other day, walking straight past whole aisles of shelves that I wanted absolutely nothing off, cakes, bread, biscuits . . . breakfast cereals . . . I remembered that breakfast cereals are extremely profitable . . . maybe biscuits bread and cakes also have high profit margins?

Back to the main topic though, I find I have absolutely no reason to go back to routine consumption of carbohydrates, indeed, as even one portion makes me put on weight so I have to cut down to get rid of it again, I have good reason to keep away from them permanently!

Actually writing this post combined with my recent reading about different carbohydrates has made me think about what is it about starch that makes it seem so much worse than other carbohydrates. It’s possible that it’s simply quantity. I need to do some more experimentation!

I have noticed a similar reaction to extra carbs. If I have something a little out of the ordinary (that’s the new BSD ordinary), I can guarantee that I will see an increase on the scales the following day. This – for me at least – is undoubtedly water retention and I find a day of increased fluid intake generally sees a drop back to the former weight.

Like you, I generally don’t have any desire to revert to consuming carbs as the norm. I feel fitter for not eating carbs and have no intension of slipping back.

Keep with it Ancient Weaver.

There is NO medical reason to go back to eating highly refined carbohydrates or really, any processed flour products or breakfast cereals or the like. I know it has been raised many times but it bears repeating — the food guide pyramid (or your equivalent IN THE uK) is a POLITICAL thing and the recommendations have been influenced by large grain and sugar producers.
We ARE eating carbohydrate — but it is in vegetables mostly — Even high sugar veg like beets seem to be tolerated by my high-insulin body but eating bread and any sugar (would everyone please stop having birthdays so I don’t have to eat cake?!!) is an immediate disaster for me. Not only does it trigger my eating response, it makes me gain very, very quickly.
“White” carbs are not good for the human body. But if we really told people that, how would we feed billions of people?
It is going to take a sea-change shift of perspective for this to change — look at poor India — they are in epidemic growth of diabetes as they have adopted western foods and given up more rustic veg/pulses of their traditional diet.

Absolutely right, Californiagirl. In the UK we have a divided plate – a pie chart if you will, but the principle is the same as the pyramide, with the largest portion being given over to carbs. Not only is there no medical reason to return to the high refined carbs, but there is no valid nutritional reason to either.

And yes, it is going to take a sea-change for this way of thinking to be ditched and it makes me so sad when I see a MacDonalds / Starbucks / Dominos etc being frequented, in places where formerly they understood what real food was. Why have these corporations been allowed to pollute the planet on a global scale? It can only be political – they have the money and money corrupts.

At least the big corporations are driven by profit so if people begin to demand better food, they will be instantly responding — McDonald’s has a very thin profit margin and it is very competitive out there so if the public demanded something healthy, they would respond immediately.
But people don’t know any better because we are told to fill up on bad carbohydrates and that is unconscionable because it is our own selves, our own government, our own votes, misleading us.
I think McDonald’s would do a bun-free grass fed burger on a bed of kale and romaine with a sprinkling of Parmesan if the public asked for it. But the public is eating Toblerone and huge white scones — so why bother? I guess it is the old adage, follow the money.

Just a follow-up — I re-read my post and it sounds like I am saying our government food recommendations are to eat Toblerone and white scones — obviously not what I meant to say but poorly said — sorry.
My point is that in general we are not being warned about the danger of sugar and refined carbohydrate.
Good, I feel better now!! LOL!

I’m with you all the way Californiagirl. As for feeding millions, there’s no point feeding them food that makes them ill. Pulses are a far better choice, both for diet and the fields they are grown on! Also I found that eating more protein, my caloric need dropped dramatically. (1/3 to 1/2, with no weight loss and significant improvement to my energy levels and mh.) Incidentally, that adds to my theory that carbs do nothing for me, but my point is that maybe, like me, if they had better food they would actually need less!

Thanks to all who have responded- very much appreciated. Useful dialogue and insights.

Apologies for being late in rrsponding but have been away.

Regards

Sharon