Hi All,

I started my journey on the BSD diet on the 22nd August after advice from my doctor who was concerned about high blood pressure readings (albeit not high enough for medication).

I have to say week 1 was the hardest, I discovered I had a serious sugar addiction. I was having serious sugar withdrawal, it was all I could think about, I almost left the house to buy sweet treats! I was so surprised at how much I was craving sugar and all things carb! A few days later I suffered from some horrible mood swings. I’m normally quite level in my moods and generally upbeat and happy but the sugar cold-turkey turned me into a grumpy monster, looking back I feel very sorry for my boyfriend who continued to be supportive despite being Italian and missing his pizza and pasta. The great british bake off didn’t help, which instead of being an enjoyable treat turned into some form of sugar torture. I survived but only after having one square of dark chocolate (on day 3 of the diet). I got to the end of week 1 and discovered that the sweet cravings became less severe and I had lost 3.5kg, which was all the encouragement I needed to continue!

Week 2 and sugar cravings were under control, great british bake off still felt like torture but I managed to great through it without turning to sugar, which felt like an achievement. This week was tough in the sense I was quite constipated and seemingly lost no extra weight. This was most likely a result of not drinking enough water…

Week 3 and I’ve become a lover of lentils, as a vegetarian I felt this was a good choice as they are high in protein (and the all important fibre) and hey presto, bowel movements back in action and an extra 0.7kg lost! Woohoo! I almost made it through the entirety of great british bake off without even wanted a baked treat! Progress!

I’m now embarking my week 4, I know that I need to increase my protein intake and lower the carbs, so if anyone has some tasty vegetarian recipes (I eat dairy and eggs) then I’d love to hear from you! Also, any struggles and how you’ve got through them will help me feel less like a crazed sugar addict!

Lis

Re tasty veg recipes:

I suggest frittata with lots of different veg. I also do a fab version which has cumin seeds and chilli flakes (or perhaps a chopped chilli pepper) in with a couple of chopped spring onions and 6 baby plum tomatoes. (Plus garlic if you like. Once you add the eggs this makes a lovely Spanish version.

I used lots of chillis in my BSD – try veg stir fry with a chilli fried in (yummy)

And you can also explore the whole curry gamut- last night I did a really great veg curry with spring onions (just two) with garlic, ginger, turmeric, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and a chilli pepper. Then added some (cooked) cauliflower and let it all get browned. I heated up some courgette and runner beans in oil in the oven and when soft added them in. OH loved it. You could also do with uncooked veg and add some water or veg stock.
I appreciate not all the spices necessarily to hand but following my chilli discovery we invested in some and I am exploring all sorts of Mexican/Indian/my own made-up recipes.

You could also fry courgettes in a little gram flour batter – add spices and you get Indian veg pakora type things. Or lentil daal?

I’ve finished my BSD very successfully but am keeping carbs low and thoroughly enjoying new cooking!

I hope this may give you some inspiration! 🙂

PS bought some mustard oil off the Internet and it gives an authentic “Indian” flavour!