How are you getting over the hunger ? I am only on day two so know it can be hard for the first 2 weeks. Yesterday was fine. I just feel a bit lightheaded this evening. I cannot drink any more fluids or eat any more.

Hunger is carb driven and until now, that is what your body has been running on. Now you have withdrawn the carbs, your body is demanding them – hence the hunger. Once your body is in full on fat burning mode the hunger will drop back and as you body adjusts, it may become a rarity to feel hungry – I very rarely do these days, although admittedly I have been with this way of eating for a long time now. To help with the hunger, be sure to include fats in your meals, as these make you feel full more quickly and will keep you feeling that way for longer. Even a teaspoon of double/heavy cream in a coffee/tea will help.

Keep going, it will get easier.

Thanks again SunnyB. I am having milk in tea (2 cups in the morning) and this morning had my 4 tbspn pf porridge but have soya milk. I haven’t had any yoghurt yet as I have completed my daily allowance. Not sure how and what to incorporate fats and when?

Hi Bobbi – if you can, consider ditching your porridge as these are really carb heavy and perhaps have full fat yogurt with berries and nuts/seeds instead. Understanding that not all carbs are equal is important on the BSD, so whilst you have counted the porridge in your calorie allowance, it may be pushing your carbs way up.

100g Oats = 389cals and 66g carbs, so even 30g of oats will contain 19g of carbs, given that most of us here aim for a carb intake of around 50g a day, you can see this is quite a chunk of that allowance ….. and some of us aim for 20g a day. By comparison 100g of greek yogurt is only 93cals with only 3g of carbs. Use nuts and seeds to add fats, either as part of a meal or as a little snack. You can also include oils as food dressing to provide good fats too.

Hope some of this is helpful.

Ok thanks. Why does this website give 4 tbspn of quaker oats as an option for brekkie. Also it says low fat yoghurt not full fat? Confused?

Just another question please….natural yoghurt, I am in France and I can seem to find the small pots of danone activia yoghurts but not big pots unless I am looking at the wrong thing,

Go to LIDL Bobbi and buy their Greek full fat yoghurt. I wouldn’t bother with the Activia
I am in France too and find most things here in LIDL and ALDI

Ok will have a look thankyou.

Hi Bobbi – some people do opt to have oats occasionally, but if you want to keep you carbs down, it really is best to avoid or only have them occasionally.
Definitely use full fat and not low fat yogurt, not least because low fat options often have added sugars or fillers for flavour as the fats have been removed.
Lidls greek yogurt is very good and if you can get that, it’s also excellent value for money.

Thankyou. I will note for next time, Unfortunately I have bought some low fat yoghurt as that seems to be consistant in the recipes. I will check out the greek yoghurt for next time. i have noticed though howmlittle fruit I am eating in my diet. If I follow a plan I may onky eat a banana for brekkie one day a week and apart from trying to fit berries in or half an apple or pear, not sure where I can fit it in?

As far as fruit is concerned, stick with berries as they are least carby and anything else should be only very, very occasional, especially sugar rich tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, papaya etc. Even apples and pears are surprisingly carby, so rather than wedging in more portions of fruit, increase your veggies, these are fiber rich but in general less carby, although do watch out for things like tomatoes, onions, leeks etc. as these are quite high in carbs too.

A lot to get your head round I know, but you’ll be surprised how soon it becomes second nature.

Thanks again. Certainly is, it is also tricky sticking to a meal plan as we don’t always have something in the cupboard or fridge which means changing things a little. Things like the nut and date bake doesn’t say what size slice to have. Not entirely sure when you have it? I presume that is a replacement for amlunch maybe?

12 portions…just seen it!

It’s okay to make substitutes, but be sure to calculate for yourself how that will change the calorie and carb values in the finished product, just as you would if you were concocting something of your own ‘design’ (sorry, can’t think of a more appropriate word).

Brill thanks. certainly is time consuming but effective! What is a good substitute for Kale please? I can just about get spinach although the choice is either old stringy stuff or prebagged (I get the latter), however just no kale anywhere. Not recognised here. I am alternating between Spinach and brocolli.

Hi Bobbi, I too am in France – bonjour. I buy mine from L’Eclerc. It is Delise and is a la Grek which of course means in the Greek style. Will have to have a look at the LIDL version. If you look on my new post ‘Superfoods’ I am doing a course about which ordinary foods have been overlooked in place of the more trendy (they call it hipster diets) and one is the fact that spinach is better than kale in nutrients. But, it also says, although kale is so good for you, so are any other dark green leafy veg, so think about chard and those other things that look like a giant celery stalk – must try them myself. Being in France you will be pleased to hear that Buckwheat is a highly recommended superfood for diabetics and has lots of health properties. Although I wouldn’t eat it every day, think about those buckwheat pancakes we get here from Brittany usually with a savoury topping. Just noticed you said the spinach here is stringy or in bags. Have you tried shopping in Grand Frais – they sell spinach loose and, although the bigger leaves, it is nice and tender and lasts a long time in the fridge. If you buy it in bags, make sure you push the air out and seal with a clip after opening as it makes it last longer.

Ok thanks. I normally cook chard with white wine and parmesan. I presume that is out 😝! I will keep on with the spinach then but I do love Kale though, so is just for some variety. Not a fan of celery, only is a casserole. My chickens get celery before I do…they love it.

Hi Bobbi – I would say you will be using so little wine for the chard that it won’t make a difference and the alcohol will be cooked off. Be sure to include the calories and carbs and the parmesan is fine too – as before, be sure to count the calories and carbs though.

The good thing about young spinach – bagged or not – is that it can be eaten both raw and cooked, so lends itself to variation.

I am eating the beans and pulses as well as nuts and the odd yoghurt but on 800 cals the additional carbs I would normally eat (rice etc) on a 5:2 diet I am not. Still not had quinoa either. Seem to be more veg based at the mo. I did have rye bread today!

Crikey, today is day 4. I am pooped! I have to take my dog out at least once a day. I live in a very hilly area and I am having to change my walk as I just cannot cope with the uphill, I have nothing in my legs. I have to say I am relying on the date and nut traybake! Today I have had herbal tea, egg and bacon muffin, feta and betroot for lunch and pear. I am fading. Any tips other than drinking water and adding salt to a few meals? TIA

Sorry you are struggling, but I’m afraid it’s a case of persisting and once your body is in full fat burning mode, you’ll fine your energy levels lift again and well most likely exceed their previous level. Have to say from reading your list of foods so far for today, I;m a little concerned about carb levels involved with date and nut tray bake, beetroot and pear – are you checking you carb intake. If it is small amounts of each there’s probably no need to worry, but if the carbs are too high, it will hinder you getting to the fat burning state.

Best advice in the early days, is be gentle with yourself. So changing the route of your walk to make it gentler is a good idea and if you need to go to bed early, do just that! What you are experiencing is completely normal and will pass, just keep going.

Have a good BSD w/e Bobbi and let us know how you are doing when you can.

Thanks for the reply. I am not very up on my carbs etc sorry and I am trying to recipes in the book and alternate my lunches etc, so not really sure what I should be eating instead. I have gone through a variety of the menus so presume I am eating a balanced plan. I have been eating the menus in the book, maybe todays is more carby but I don’t have the time to have a better understanding of the carbs etc, yesterday was berries, fish, cauliflower so think they are non carbs?

Very few foods come out with zero carb content Bobbi and berries and cauli certainly contain them too. Have you thought about using an App to try to keep track of your carbs, as this might give you a clearer picture of what you are consuming. A few people are using Car Manager, as this App prioritises carbs when calculating food values. It’s fine to swap your menu around and by doing so, you will keep things interesting, making it easier to stick with the BSD.

Bobbi, cauliflower is an excellent BSD friendly food. So many things that you can do with it! If you
enter “101 Ways with Cauliflower” in the search box, you will be able to access the recipes 🙂 Cauli
Rice is indispensable for BSDers. Have fun!