I started this 8 week blood sugar diet 10 days ago and have been sticking to the recipes from the book and 800 cals religiously. I lost 3.5 kgs in the first 5 days but for the last 5 days I’ve put on weight every day. I’ve been walking and active and haven’t had any sugar, rice, pasta, bread, biscuits – nothing bad at all – and I’m eating only healthy food including things I’ve never eaten before. I can’t understand why I’m not losing as I’m at least 30kgs overweight. I’m not hungry or craving anything, which has amazed me. I don’t even want to eat my meals but make myself eat them. I can’t believe that I’ll be able to achieve the average 14kgs weight loss in 8 weeks that is advertised on the front of the book. After a great start I’m very disappointed and disillusioned. Why isn’t it working for me? I’m doing everything it says.

I believe a stall or weight gain in week two is common. Push on to week three and I think you’ll be fine. Well done on your progress so far. That’s an amazing start.

Is it TOTM? I only ask because this always caused a gain for me due to hormonal water retention. If you weren’t as active prior to starting the diet then you could also be building muscle. If you are, this is a very good thing for weight loss in later stages as the more muscle you have the more fat you burn, but particularly in the formation and repair stages is heavier than the equivalent volume of fat. So my advice would be to take measurements, and you may well notice that the inches drop even if the weight doesn’t. Don’t worry about averages, you are not average, you are an individual with your own responses to this, but just bear in mind that this is the healthiest and best way to lose the weight and get fitter and healthier. Good luck with the rest of your time with us.

Many thanks for your encouragement. I’m still hanging in there despite no progress. Week 2 coming to a close.

Many thanks for your thoughtful response. I particularly liked the last two sentences and about not being average. You have helped me to stay motivated and I am continuing on with it to see what happens. 😺

Even if you’re not losing weight as quickly as you’d like, you’re eating more healthily, which is a good thing.

Are you drinking enough plain water? I don’t totally understand why, but that really does seem to help with the weight loss.

Yes I’m drinking tons of plain water and some black tea, which is what I drank before anyway. I don’t understand why it’s not working for me. I’m doing everything I’m supposed to food-wise, walking most days and have had 3 or 4 long sessions in the garden yet I haven’t lost a thing in the last 8 days. I used to lose more on my regular diets. Before I started this diet 13 days ago I ate cereal, bread, rice and pasta all day and during the night every day plus large quantities of icecream, biscuits and chocolate every day. I haven’t had a mouthful of any of those things since I started. I’m not really missing them either but I’m so disillusioned. I’m over it.

Welcome, Kimocha. I can feel your disullusionment, and it must be hard to bear. If you are highly insulin resistant,
MMosley’s recipes may be too high in carbs for you. Many of us have had to learn to reduce them significantly
below the choices in the recipe book. The book is well known for underestimating the calorie counts given, too.
In the many months that I’ve been here, I’ve never known anyone to fail at this. There are many of us very experienced
BSDers that have tweaked the program to make it work for us. If you would like to share your eating plan, we’d be
happy to review it and offer suggestions. There are alternatives to what is presented in the book. I hope that you
aren’t really “over it”, and just need a little guidance. Perhaps your macros are what are giving you the problem?
Don’t give up on it, and we won’t give up on you 🙂

Allie

Hi Kimocha, welcome to the forums. I’m glad to see that long-time maintainer Allie has stopped by.
I’m a three year veteran and I agree with Allie, DONT GIVE UP!!
You are closer than you know to true success — it’s just a matter of figuring out what is going on hormonally in your body — you are going to rock this but it is going to take a bit of experimenting….
You are currently running high levels of insulin (your fat storage hormone) in your body — anyone with significant weight to lose will have high insulin levels.
Insulin is a useful hormone and probably ensured cave-men lived through winter to see spring every year, but it doesn’t help those of us living in a high-calorie world.
Insulin acts like a gate-keeper — I call it the “sheriff” because when insulin levels are high, your body locks away its fat stores and will not release them. It keeps your fat (your calories, your energy!) all safely locked away in your fat cells where you can not access them.
How do we lower our insulin levels and “release” our fat stored calories for the body to burn? The key is carbohydrates — you need to lower the amount of daily carbohydrates to the point where you can lower insulin levels.
This is where the “experimenting” comes in — every body is unique and everyone has their own sweet spot carbohydrate threshold.
Mine is REALLY low, around 20-30 grams of carbohydrates per day and I think Allie might be even lower than I am.
Some people can lose weight at 50-80 grams of carbs per day but I cannot, and maybe you are like me, and you need to drop your daily carbohydrate intake to 20 grams.
Start measuring carbs and try to get to 20 grams per day and see how your weight loss goes. You can add more back in over several weeks to find your own sweet spot.
Don’t give up!!! There is incredible new research on this and it works!!

Hello Kim! Welcome aboard and hang in there! There are some truly AMAZING stories to be told and many yet to be written – all in this forum 🙂 I read with interest you say you dont even want/feel like eating what is on offer. Well then maybe you dont need to? Perhaps fasting might work . . .? This past four days Ive been away from my comfort zone of home. Each day, Ive had only one meal . . . and one snacky intake . . . and havent been hungry. (Today was a mixed greens salad with atlantic salmon portion and feta cubes. The snack was the remaining lowcarb olive dip and some pork krackles. Two cups of coffee – one followed each “eat” – and it will be water from now until whenever I feed myself again). Today was 21 hour fast . . . the longest I can remember doing and Im feeling energised and satisfied . . . even though it is 41oc!!! After my recent endocrinologist visit . . . thats what he advised me, ” If you arent hungry . . . dont eat. If you make a meal and dont feel like eating it all . . . dont. No one says you HAVE to!!” And maybe . . . just maybe . . . you are expecting too much of your body to soon. Allow it to adjust and work at its own pace. Unless you have a must do goal . . . just start out with little steps and little measures of gratitude for what you have been able to achieve!!! We are ALL here with – and for you . . . we have either walked . . . are are walking . . . or are beginning on the track to better health and well-being . . . and we are all prepared to offer our suggestions, encouragement, empathy, sympathies and well-intended advice gained from (our individual) experiences . . . no matter how short!!! (Ive been on board since June 24th 2018 – the first day of the rest of my life in my diary!!!!! 🙂 )Yes Ive DISCARDED 13kgs in that time . . . first 12 then put on a little . . . then obviously it dribbled away while I wasnt looking or checking – and now down another 2 this week. I DONT CONCENTRATE ON HOW MUCH HAS GONE!!! I KNOW my clothes have dropped several size . . (thank goodness for charity shops to supply more while these changes are taking place 🙂 ) I see the weight discard as a bonus to the good BSL’s I now carry. SO . . . BSD is a VERY individual thing . . . evidenced by the many and varied reasons we BSD’ers all find ourselves in different carriages on this train 🙂 Some take the city to city express . . . others take the overnight sleeper carriages . . . some all stations which obviously take a little longer BUT . . . they all reach their destinations eventually. Here’s a ticket on OUR train . . . a hand up and a smile to keep you going 🙂 Check in soon please!!!

I am so relieved to hear this! I have literally written down everything that I eat and drink… somedays Im coming in at only 700 or so but still nothing but I am definitely eating more than the carbs you mentioned…

12 hour fast then

1 apple, and 30 pistachios (180 calories)
1 slim a noodle lunch with turnkey mice (183 calories)

count on us/balanced for you ready meal around 350 caloires and extra veg / or 100 calories potatoes, mixed veg and meat/fish

maybe I will try no more potatoes for a week…

Mrs K

If you stick to the 800/day you will lose weight. Its a basic law of physics. However. 14kg in 8 weeks doesn’t happen to everybody. It took me 14 weeks to lose that.
It really is important that you cut out all potatoes, rice, wheat, sugar and alcohol. Taking in these simple carbs will interrupt the body’s fat burning process and stall the weight loss. Eating some complex carbs from beans or other vegetables should not be a problem but I would try and limit my consumption of root vegetables.
The first few weeks are really tricky. After the first week’s water weight loss, the body needs to change from using stored glucose for energy to using stored fat. This process is not the same for everybody. I went through a period of slight depression for a week, but by the third week I was over the depression and my body had settled into using fat for energy. I was losing about 2 pounds a week, which seems about average, and is the equivalent of a stick of butter each and every day, which is fun to think of.
I tried some of the recipes but I soon stopped bothering with them. I had 2 eggs for breakfast, no lunch, and for supper I just ate a lump of lean protein, and a huge plate of vegetables. Cauli, brocolli, shrooms, kale, spinach, green beans, and some peas and carrots. I often had 7 different veggies on my plate. My wife got fed up cooking all these veggies so I ended up making supper most nights, a practice that still happens 1 1/2 years later!
I am no expert but I just wanted to share what worked for me.
Good luck,
Jan

Just one observation from me re ready meals. The calories are highlighted on the front. Pre BSD (and I’ve only just very recently started) I would not have thought about turning the pack over and looking at the smaller print, which gives carbs. I looked again at 461 calories ready meals I have eaten; that doesn’t sound so bad. But turn over and look at the finer detail and in that little pack were 46g carbs and an alarming amount of sugar.

Brava, sixturkeys! Examining the nutrition panels on all prepared foods is so important. Sugar masquerades under
at least 21psuedonyms, so it’s an excellent habit to get into..scrutinizing labels. One day I googled “alternative
names for sugar”, and I was shocked by the number of possibilities… I am most comfortable preparing clean,
whole foods, and avoiding convenience products all together. They tend to be landmines, as are all shakes. Sooner
or later we need to learn how to prepare a healthy plate of food on our own, and not rely on ready meals, if we are
to make this a way of life. I hope things are going well for you! Best,

Allie

Allie, no ready meals here from now. It has been eye-opening. I have just started on the BSD, tho at my age (57) I feel I should have known better and not just coasted into increasing dress sizes as if it were an inevitability. I must say that a particular inspiration to join the forums here was reading the posts from CanadaLiz., and I think you were a regular on that forum. As good if not better than James Thurber at his best in observation and picking out the everyday absurd so that laughing out loud just can’t be suppressed. I was very sorry to see from scrolling on that she had a major health issue. “Liz says no” could become my mantra, just on the basis of the posts I read.

Sixturkeys, it’s marvelous that you’ve been around for quite awhile, and that you are at last posting! I DO remember
the thread you referenced, but I haven’t posted there in over a year. We can never know who will resonate with
us, but I’ve had the great good fortune to make wonderful friends there that are now out on the wider forum. I hope
that you find an active thread too, so we can have the pleasure of getting to know you better!

Allie

I first looked at this site 12 days ago – but CanadaLiz drew me in (I may have searched “alcohol”,,,) It coincided with the daily mail (free site which I look at occasionally though frankly if it wasn’t free I wouldn’t ) mentioning Fast 800…which caught my attention. The same free online site is now promoting weight watchers. So maybe I was just lucky to look at when I did.

sixturkeys – me too – I love that thread and have laughed out loud reading it

Sometimes I just thought it was mean.

It became that way around the holidays last year, Julia, which is why I moved on to greener pastures, too 🙂

You are so right – none of us is average.

I knew I liked you Allie! I’m glad to hear that I wasn’t alone.

I must have missed that bit – the sections I read were just full of humanity, but each to their own I guess.

I have to agree with you Jenny, I laughed and cried but saw nothing that could be described as “mean”. Spats and cat fights on other threads, but a lovely warmth on that one.

I too seem to have stalled, but I have only been 2 weeks dieting. I lost 5lb in the first week, then nothing since! Despite turning down doughnuts and chocolates in the office:(

I’m going to keep going another week and see what happens.

If a stall last more that 10days, it’s worth checking your daily carb intake as maybe tweaking it a little if need be. The other thing to be sure of, is that you are including good fats and keeping well hydrated, as these things are important for weight loss too. Don’t be too despondent, it will come right.

Hang in there Savannah! Rome wasnt built in a day and body adjustments take time – just the same way. 5lb is a great start . . . thats 5 cans of baked beans!!! Line them up and see how much bulk they are! or a 5lb bag of potatoes or onions. A baby even!!! Seems to me thats the excess baggage body didnt need anyways 🙂 Then it said . . . “oh right so now you want me to do things this way . . .? Well let me get used to that cos I havent done it this way before . . .” and think of your body as you would another person . . . learning something new and needing instruction, directing, tuition, nurturing and encouragement. Not giving into a craving might be the hardest thing youve ever done . . . even if just once . . . so be firm . . .and have something which is low-carb – some nuts, DARK DARK cocoa choc, pork krackle chips, like giving a child a choice . . . this or this . . . NOT THIS . . . 🙂 6 weeks isnt a long time . . . (unless yr locked indoors or in a hospital bed, hanging by yr ankles or fingernails!!!) – and as an older member here . . . I can admit and share it has been easy for us as adults to just simply do as we please without a load of discipline. The benefits Ive received from changing just a few major things – (which Diabetes “experts told me were OK!!!) – 6 months down the track I have NO WISH to go back to where I was. And the thinks I used to have and ave discarded. . .? Ive replaced with things FAR MORE interesting, decadent, inviting and satisfying!!! That alone was worth it! Thank you MM and this forum!!!

Thank you to you all for your wise words, especially Woodduckie, Californiagirl and alliecat. I didn’t realise I had any responses so I haven’t been back to the forums for the last week.
To my great surprise I actually don’t have diabetes, yet. While I was reading Michael’s book I went to have the blood test and it said my blood sugar and cholesterol were fine but I decided to start the diet anyway as the theory made sense and I thought dieting this way might be better than my usual diets and I want to lose about 17kgs.
Today is the end of week 3. I haven’t lost anything this week although I have been following the recipes religiously and keeping the carb count low. I can honestly say I have not had any cereal, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, junk food or sugar. The only exception was one home made muffin and I made my guests take all the rest home with them. I have been walking and working in the garden and doing the usual housework so I have been active.
I’m not as despondent now as I can physically feel that I have lost weight, especially around my middle, but I’m keen for the scales to back it up.
After 3 weeks though I’m still experiencing the aches that some people call carb flu. Particularly in my arms. Today was really bad. It hurts even raising my arms to hang out the washing and I still have no energy. I’ve been very thirsty all along and have been drinking heaps of tap water and black tea but I don’t seem to be peeing it out even after 3 weeks.
Unless I have some sort of medical crisis with this diet I’m planning to stick it out for the 8 weeks to see what happens.
Thank you all for your support. 🐾😺

Not sure how helpful you will find this but I thought I would share it with you. I started BSD on 23.11.18. I had no choice. Shocked when I had a blood sugar test done as part of other blood tests and it came back high. Not quite in diabetic range but just about! My doctor said I didn’t need any treatment but I had to lose weight or the next blood test at end of Feb would show I was diabetic. She told me about BSD and said she would see me end of Feb. Bought the book that day and started. I had lost weight a few years ago but put it all and more back on (my mum had been very ill for 6 months before she passed away). I stopped looking at my own health. I have lost 2 stone 1, 13.2kg in the 8 weeks. I didn’t have the big initial weight loss and have lost between 3-5 pounds every week, except for week 5 when my weight stayed the same. I did feel frustrated at that point but stayed with it. I stuck to the foods/calories religiously (even Christmas Day!) because I didn’t want to upset my blood profile. I did start to exercise regularly which was difficult at first because I had become so unfit and at 62 was beginning to feel old. I have turned that around. I joined a local sports centre (luckily I have a great one within walking distance). I took the full membership which costs a reasonable amount because I was sure I would go more if paying more (my logic). I am retired so can be flexible about class times. I used to do a lot of Zumba but felt too unfit to go back but forgot Zumba caters for all abilities, so just adapt. I go to 3 Zumba classes a week, 2 Pilates, 1 hydrospin, I walk 10,000 steps at least 5 days a week. I sold my car (excellent public transport) and walk as much as I can. I feel great, almost back to how I felt 4 years ago, but about a stone still to go. For me, the exercise has made the difference. I don’t think the diet on its own would have worked so well for me. I need the exercise. To be honest my aim is to have a normal blood sugar test end of Feb. not what clothes size I am or weight. I am going to keep going for the next 4 weeks with the BSD and hope that the blood test is good news. Sorry about the lengthy reply and if it doesn’t really help you out. All I would say is just keep going, weigh your food and exercise if you can. Don’t give up. All the best.

Hi Dee, apologies for the delayed response. Your post was indeed helpful. And congratulations on your fantastic weight loss! With that sort of loss and all the exercise you’re doing you must surely get a top result in your blood sugar test at the end of Feb. That’s exactly the sort of loss I was hoping for myself. And you sure have taken the exercise on very seriously. Up until about 5 months ago I had a very physical job, which I’d been doing for 9 years, so I was getting 25+ hours of hard physical exercise each week and so didn’t do any additional exercise (which I loathe) apart from the usual housework and working in the garden. But then I sustained another hand injury requiring surgery so not only was I not able to get my usual work exercise but for some time I couldn’t even do my usual house and garden things. I’m at the end of the 4th week of the BSD (weigh in tomorrow) and have only been walking for exercise and back to housework and most work in the garden. But my body is used to doing so much more physical activity and is missing it so I think you are definitely on the right track with the comment on keeping up the exercise. I have done some research on local exercise classes and the plan is to schedule in 2 a week once I get more strength in my hand and can do some weight bearing and impact stuff with it. And to keep walking of course. I also bought Michael’s fast exercise book but I think I’ll leave that until I get a bit further along with the diet and my fitness. I do have a bike, which has been neglected for the past 9 years while I was work exercising, and I foresee becoming reacquainted with it in the not too distant future but the thought terrifies me as my memories associated with it are all of pain, sweat, all over body redness and possible heart attack!. Aarrgh. I have resigned from my job because I just can’t keep injuring my hands anymore. I need them for my non-work life.
I intend going on with this diet at least until the end of the 8 weeks and probably further until I lose my goal weight, even though I was really counting on losing it all by the end of the 8 weeks but that 14kgs clearly isn’t going to happen for me. The thing keeping me on it is the self-knowledge that if I open that pack of biscuits and have just one, in reality I will eat the whole pack, then go off the diet altogether indefinitely and then somehow I will then need to find the motivation to start this or another diet all over again and get into the routine for what must easily be the hundredth time or more in my 53 years. So I’m clinging on to the thought that if I give up now it’s only going to get harder. That and the thought of a holiday I have booked next January – I want to be able to wear all the nice clothes in my cupboards and feel confident!!!
Thank you for your support.
Kimochka🐾🐾