Hi,
So I’m pretty new to the BSD, I’m marginally overweight, a vegetarian, but a mass exerciser.
I’m considering doing the BSD so having an introductory week to try a few things out before I decide whether to go full throttle!
I’ve been trying to do low carb, but I’m hungry, like all the time.
For breakfast I have an almond milk, protein powder, peanut butter and cacoa shake, and for lunch I’ve had salad with dressing, feta, olives, butternut squash. I could eat a horse!
Obviously its early days and new to me and so it takes time for my body to adjust, but lots of people talk about not being hungry at all!!
I drink tonnes of water so that’s not an issue!
I am a sugar addict in whatever form it takes and I want to feel like I have more control over my carbs/sugar.

Even if I decided to do the med style diet I think I would struggle!

Slightly complicatedly I exercise a lot, I swim a mile about twice a week, cycle 16 miles a few times a week, sometimes do 90 mins of spinning or in the gym doing weights.
Is it a sustainable diet when you do this much exercise, or do I just need to bear with this hunger knowing it should improve?!

Thanks so much, the forum has been very educational. I’m a GP and want to understand this lifestyle so I can recommend to my patients.

Kate

Hi Kate, I can’t answer your question about exercise, but can about hunger 🙂
I was absolutely starving a lot of the time in the first 4 days or so, but rarely since then (am up to Week 6). In those early days I made sure I had healthy snacks on hand – things like veggie soup which was low cal and filling, or I’d have a small piece of cheese, spoonful of Greek yoghurt or say 5 almonds. Also drinking a cup of coffee with full cream milk mid morning kept me going till lunch. I rarely need to snack between meals now, although still have my coffee!
Then I tried different breakfasts and lunches and realised that when I have porridge for breakfast (steel cut oats especially) I can go for 6-8 hours without feeling hungry. I have a big salad for lunch, and include protein
Like boiled eggs, tuna, salmon etc plus some cannellini beans.
I think it’s all about spending your calories wisely, definitely not all calories are created equal! A boiled egg I think is around 80 calories, but so much more filling than say a few crispbreads or a biscuit, which is what I would have eaten before.
I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth but when I feel like something then fruit teas are nice – Twinings Loganberry & raspberry is nice hot or cold, or I’ll have a small nectarine or a square of 85% dark chocolate.
I have tried so many diets in the past and can say that this eating plan is so much more satisfying than any other I’ve tried 🙂
Also there are other options with BSD not just the 800 calories.
Didn’t mean for this post to be quite so long! So to recap – the hunger definitely doesn’t last 🙂

Welcome to the forum Kate. You are certainly putting in the exercise! Reading you food diary for today, it would seem you are eating the right things to keep low carb, providing the peanut butter and butternut squash are in small quantities. I think from what you say the reason you are ravenous, is because of your carb addiction.

It will take a while to get this monster packed in a box and while you’re trying to tame it, it will be screaming out to be fed carbs and making you feel hungry. And the thing about carbs is, if you eat them, you are going to want more, because your body will demand them – these days, the only time I ever feel really hungry, is when I decide to allow myself something high carb. The rest of the time, I very, very rarely feel hungry at all. If you stick with it though, in a week or two you won’t be craving the carbs and the hunger pangs will subside.

Not only that, but after a few weeks you’ll probably find your palette completely changes and you don’t want the sweet stuff and things you used to adore eating, will no longer taste as good. I really don’t enjoy eating sweet foods these days. Really the secret to this way of eating is keeping an eye on the carbs, including enough fats as this helps you feel sated more quickly and stay feeling that way and staying hydrated – but you’ve got that one pegged!

I’m sure someone else will advise on exercise and the BSD – getting motivated to do serious exercise is my bete noire. Have read on the forum that others successfully undertake serious exercise regimes whilst following the Fast 800, but as I say, I’m not well situated to advise. Meanwhile, you can use the search box at the top of the page to search for relevant posts though, which might help.

Good luck with your quest and I hope you find the answers you are seeking. If you stick with it, do let us know how you get on by posting your progress.

Thank you to both of you.

Certainly most helpful and the way you describe the carb monster is so so true!!

I used to be fine with my morning shake but this morning I got hungry cycling to work and it didn’t take long after breakfast for me to be ravenous.
That said I am distractable.
Thank you. Even though it’s early days I do want to push through.

My friend runs ultra marathons and eats very little carbs and sugar so it’s obviously possible. Just feels very against what I have brought up knowing. Both at home and in medical school!!

Hi Kate

I don’t think I exercise quite as much as you but I certainly clock up a lot of kms running rowing and swimming 3/4 times a week (85 so far this year).

If you have weight to lose then the BSD800 shouldn’t be affected by the exercise, at least while you have fat to burn. Personally I do get hungrier on the days that I exercise but this is a new thing since my BMI is now 20.9 so that’s probably why – it certainly didn’t affect it in the beginning. Fat is probably the answer, and in the form of nuts (steer clear of cashews if you can), avocado, cheese etc. Try to steer clear of carby veg like the squash and make sure every meal has fat and protein in it, and give your body some time to get used to it. Like others have said, the carb monster doesn’t give up that easily, it’s like any addiction, takes time and patience and (for some) an iron will.

On an unrelated subject, I am ecstatic that you are a GP and that you want to find out more. Hooray for you and you must be encouraged at all costs 🙂

Thank you!!

So stupid question: what veg is best?!
I presume the cashews are high carb?

On paper I eat a good diet, but I cannot resist sugar and carbs to excess when put in front of me. And I have zero control.

Absolutely. The area I work in has very very high diabetes and it’s horrific what the patients think. Lucozade as standard.
I want to be able to give good education which is clear and easy for them to follow.

Cashews are, simply put, the carb devil incarnate with 27 grams of carbs per 100 grams. Pecans and Brazil nuts are the carb angels of the nut world at just 4 grams per 100.

Check out Diet Doctor’s charts for an easy at-a-glance list of low and high carb veg, legumes, fruits, everything.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/nuts
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fruits
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/snacks

That’s such a hiliarious description!!

And those diet doctor guides are incredibly helpful!

Welcome Kate

I echo what TC says above – it’s great that you are getting on board with this way of eating and, hopefully, will be able to encourage your diabetic or overweight patients to do likewise.

As far as exercising is concerned, no problem but be aware that for the first week or so, you may feel very tired / drained when exercising, until your body goes into full ketosis. I walk 5 very hilly miles a day (high energy dogs!) and for the first week, I really struggled with this and had to stop frequently. On one or two days, it took me an hour or two to recover afterwards. However, after the initial body adjustments, this soon eased and, 5 weeks and 4 days in, there is no stopping me, and I complete the 5 miles faster than I ever have before.

If you struggle, try increasing your fats and protein, it really does help both with both energy and to keep you full. I also make sure I drink a pint of water before meals which, not only helps with the hydration, it also makes me feel fuller.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Hi Kate, although I don’t do masses of exercise you will find me swimming 2 or 3 times a day as I have my own pool. It was June when I started the 800 so well into my swimming time. I would swim around 30 to 45 mins after breakfast and that was fine. I had lunch at 12.30 ish and my afternoon swim was around 5 pm so I had gone a few hours without food. Pre BDS is would follow my doctors instructions and eat high carb before my afternoon swim but this seemed contrary to him telling me to exercise to lose weight. On BSD I found I could get my BG up by eating a couple of prunes and a couple of tablespoons of Greek full fat yoghurt. This was to stop me from having a hypo and you are not in that situation but the same advice applies if you are exercising and flagging eat something but make it low carb. Now I am used to the BSD and still do the 800 I now time my exercise to coincide with meals, so have a swim 1 hour after lunch (instead of 4 hours after) or I swim in the evening an hour after dinner. I adjust the exercise to suit the diet, not the other way round. Fortunately, I am retired so can do it whenever I feel.

You ask about the best veg to eat, oh my, could I go on and on here: spinach, courgettes and red peppers are my mainstay veg, but also leeks, aubergine, celery, celeriac, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, cucumber, asparagus, mushrooms, all green salad leaves like endive, lettuce, cress, then there are carrots and butternut squash but not too often as they are higher in carbs. I only ate about 4 or 5 of these before BSD now I just love veg of all types.

Good luck, I hope this helps you to understand how you can help your patients. There is a paper you should read about nutrition in general but I will have to search for the link. Phew got back in time to edit this. You should read the paper by Public Health Collaboration UK on Healthy Eating Guidelines and Weight Loss Advice for the UK. Although not specifically about BSD it has changed a lot of the advice regarding low fat diets and changed to low carb. This paper has been accepted as good practice by NICE but they refuse to implement the changes to the advice doctors etc can use as they say it would cost too much to re-train all practitioners. You can become our pioneering doctor.

Thank you. I shall read the paper.

Once I have got to grips with it I would like to do a presentation to my colleagues and change the way our practice deals with diabetes.
Ultimately it could lead to better outcomes for our patients and money saving for us!!!

There is a link posted on the forum to another study which was reported on the BBC today on pancreatic regeneration in mice when put on an intermittent fasting regime as well. Not news to us on here of course 😊 I hope eventually all practices will be as proactive in addressing this diabesity epidemic, using this way of life.

Hi Kate

Not much to add to the excellent advice you’ve already had, but I just wanted to say that I am always surprised by how much exercise I can manage on restricted calories. I will go mountain biking for a couple of hours once or twice a week, and apart from needing extra layers because suddenly I’m feeling the cold, I can sustain quite tough riding for ages. I pack a Babybel in case I struggle but rarely break it out, and now 5 weeks and a stone and a half since starting I’m finding the climbs considerably easier! My water requirements are massive though, I’m much thirstier when exercising, so that’s worth bearing in mind.

Understanding the science of weight loss and obesity is eye-opening and will change the way you practice. I think it also has the potential to change the way society treats the obese, although we need official bodies to lead on that one. It will come.

A big part of any diet is managing the hunger, and, for me at least, this diet does that with its combination of high protein, medium fat, and lots of bulk from vegetables. Protein is the key though and for vegetarians that is harder to get, especially high quality protein. Greek yogurt is very high in protein so it would be a help. Also, don’t forget that you need extra salt on this diet.

You could possibly achieve your goals with a higher calorie limit considering how much exercise you are getting.

Thanks for posting that paper Sunshinegirl. I enjoyed reading it (and have book marked so I can refer to it.) Agree original Babybel’s make a good nibble snack ShrinkMe81. I just have to make sure I do nibble it and not put in in one go 😊 As I have been known to forget I’ve eaten one when I forget to nibble.

Hi Kate, you say you might save your practice some money. I think if every doctor gave out the BSD book when patients are diagnosed as pre-diabetic or with T2 they could save a fortune. My HbA1c has gone from 8.2 to 5.9 and I have reduced both insulin (from 38 units to 22 units daily) and glycazide from 90mg to 60mg. The pharmacy cannot understand why I didn’t need any insulin on my last prescription (here in France it is a 3 month prescription). That has saved the French health service just under €200 for the last 3 months. But we need doctors like you to talk them through it, or a practice nurse that you will have trained up.

Hi Kate
Some great advice above.
I’m 57 and post menopausal and I bush walk between 75 – 125km per week (I live in Australia) + yoga twice a week + a couple of softball games a week, nothing more strenuous (I’ve built up to this SINCE I started to BSD, before that I only played softball).
I found no problem after the first couple of weeks and was still walking and playing whilst completing a 48 hour fast (water and bone broth only).
I concur with the others about the carb monster. I was a cake/chocolate/ sweets addict and now I just don’t want it. I’m usually not hungry and eat high (saturated and monounsaturated) fat (I steer clear of highly refined polyunsaturated vegetable oils), moderate protein and low carb (only vegetables). I limit my protein to around 75g per day as any excess not used by the body will convert to glucose through glucogenesis and will tend to spark insulin and hence hunger. (Limit protein to between 1 – 1.5g per kg of IDEAL body weight.)
I am amazed that I although I eat high fat, I’ve managed to sustain my 30-32 kilograms loss and I put it down to cutting out all added sugar and staying low carb.
I was never diagnosed with insulin resistance, pre diabetes or T2D.
Hope this helps, it’s great having an MD on board!
Cheers
Linda