sorry to hear about the facebook hack sunshine girl – sounds like a complete pain, I hope not too much damage (nice to know that we’re your “usual junk” 🙂 ), I had a vodka ‘forced on me’ the other day – someone had marinaded cherries from their garden in vodka for a year and decided that it was time to taste them; only one cherry and a spoonful of vodka, tasted amazing. well done on the weight loss.
i’m going on holiday today; not far, a cottage that I often rent. Trying to decide whether to put my scales in the car or not.
I’m enjoying the Pioppi book – a lot of it just makes sense when your head is aligned with BSD principles, but for anyone that picks it up that’s inured with years of low fat principles it must seem like science fiction. I read the bit about HIIT and the misconceptions about exercise and weight loss last night, really interesting.
i normally eat lots of bread with soup caravan sue, but had mushroom soup at work the other day, and didn’t miss it at all. For cal/carb logging I assumed it was similar to Covent Garden soup – made me compare it to the diet supplement mushroom soup; about a third of the carbs, no sugar, not to mention that it actually tasted of mushroom!

Well today is my first day of ‘Just starting again’. I have gained 17lbs since last October when I hit my all time low in many years, albeit for just one day! But on the positive side I have still lost 42lbs. So over the last 8 months I have had lots of time away, a significant birthday and the usual Christmas and New Year. None of these are excuses they are just reasons for my gains, which have been gradual over the months especially with each holiday away.

Today is ‘JSA’ day for me. I know what to do and I know how to do it. All I need to do is act and I will. So it’s back to two meals a day and weighing, counting and logging initially. I would love to get to the position where I am comfortable not counting because I am sticking to the plan like glue. That day is a while away yet!

Frog glad you are enjoying Pioppi. I find it just reinforces BSD but has a slightly different take in that there is no counting, although the principles are the same. I have my own experience of weight loss without exercise and it can be done. It may not be ideal not to exercise but ‘moving’ may just be enough to stay healthy. I think any low carb/healthy fat regime is difficult to get your head around. I would say it probably took me in the region of 18 months before I actually ‘welcomed’ olive oil, butter and mayo into my diet.

So I’m off to write a shopping list, make soup and get out my ‘Fatsecret’. Will report back soon definitely with a few of those 17lbs gone!

I’d say good luck Verano but that sounds wrong somehow. Perhaps lose well and enjoy being in control of your eating. You know you can do it 😀
Thank you for the recommendation of Pioppi; I downloaded it yesterday – the Kindle version is only 99p!
Maggie

Hi Verano
I’m sort of counting, in that I’m logging everything, but because I eat mostly at work, most weights are guesstimates – and thus the calorie/carb breakdown a bit imprecise (not a convincing argument to go back to the packets of dehydrated mush with their carefully measured sugar though!) and it’s been easier than I’d anticipated – 4kg in just under two weeks.
Now I’m going away, so it’ll be a week of cooking & weighing the food, but not weighing myself.
I’m sure you’ll do really well, good to see you back.

Hi everyone, Hi V, good to see you back on board – we will do this. I had a bit of a glitch and gained 1lb overnight even though I am back on track. Maybe the previous 2 days caught up with me or maybe, just maybe, it is the 15th of the month and my pre-men day when I bloat up. Anyway, whatever, it will be gone tomorrow but puts me back a little bit for my 14lb goal. Never one to moan, all will be well.

Hi all,
Hope everyone is doing ok – I’m on day 12 today and I am 9lbs down. Clothes are starting to loosen and I can see the difference in my body shape. Annoying thing is that I was 13st 12 when I started (I’m only 5ft3) so its was a long way to get into the next stone bracket which is such a mental thing to combat… Still, weighed in at 13st 3 this morning so not that far off. Also means that the next stone bracket and the stone loss are quite close together!

So when I did this before, the lowest that I got to was 12st 11 and a nice size 14. I have about 2 and a half weeks until I go on holiday so I feel confident that I can reach that and maybe even a couple of more lbs. 5lbs to my stone, 7lbs to get me to 12st 10 which will take me to my lowest. I think I can do that with the time I have before hols. The advantage is as well I am going to Croatia to they have a very good med diet so should be able to be fairly sensible whilst I am out there…. she says…

Motivation for me – I am allowing myself a gin and tonic (within my daily calories not surplus to) when I get to 10lbs and then a double, (within my daily calories not surplus to) when I get to my stone….

I hope everyone is doing ok and things are on the sunny side – also… ITS FRIDAY!!! :o)

Sending much love,
Rebecca xxx

I had a large lunch yesterday and didn’t eat supper – so when I had a late lunch at 4pm, realised a 26 hour fast.
Plans slightly awry – the cottage I’renting generally has fresh eggs waiting, but sadly foxes got the chickens a few weeks ago, so lovely baby chicks but no eggs so not the omlet I’d intended to make on arrival.- but the owner had still baked .
Very proud of myself, instead of eating all the shortbread, I cooked some rhubarb and had that with yogurt I’d brought with me and just one piece of shortbread.

Rhubarb! I had forgotten about how good rhubarb is with yogurt. I used to make a batch in the microwave with an apple and some ginger and portion it out in the fridge. Today the hunt for rhubarb will be on!

Frog don’t know if you’ve got to the recipe section of Pioppi yet but there are some great recipes. Lots of spice and chilles used which is right up my street. Also, I find it very interesting that they recommend a 24hr fast on around the 6th day of each week. I hadn’t thought deeply about this until I read that dinner to dinner is a 24hr fast. I already miss breakfast on most days so it sounds more than doable to me. I will definitely give a try next week.

Water, water, water today for me. I have just got out of the habit of having 2ltrs a day but I’m already 500cl in for today. Just 1500 to go!
Have a good day.

Hi Verano – yes, I just got to the end of the technical bit last night, but had glanced at the recipes earlier – there’s a Turkish vegetable dish with baked egg that I made at cookery school a few weeks ago, and a lovely sounding one with egg baked in avocado.
Looking through the recipes reminded me of how much when I did BSD last time I was a bit obsessed with bread/potato/carb substitutes – the cauli rice, gram flour pancakes and courgetti, etc – it really doesn’t bother/occur to me now – a plate with fish and vegetables doesn’t look as if it has something missing.
I was never convinced by cauliflower pizza!
At home, I always bake rhubarb in large batches – I’d never realised how fast it cooks in a pot, much easier to just cook what I need each time.
Sadly I think we’re getting to the end of the season, so do try and find some before it disappears.

Rhubarb, thanks for the reminder, I have loads in my garden and it grows, dies off and continues to grow. Just been out and picked about 10 big stalks which I will peel as mine are tough old green things, then I will stew with ginger and stevia ready to freeze. I have loads of strawberries and raspberries at the moment and rhubarb and strawberries together are delish.
Back on track and lost half of the gain and still hoping for 2lbs off but maybe not Monday on this weigh in, hope Tuesday.
Oh Frog it is terrible when you have a plan in your head and things go awry. Good for you for making a good compromise.
Got my doctor to stop my statins as I have been having cramps again. Not during the night as I have soap in my bed for that, but during the day and in my legs and arms. Anyway, I am stopping for a month to see if they stop, then I am going back on it to see if they start up again. He is also going to test my cholesterol again at my 3 month check up to see if it is okay without the statins.
Have a good weekend all.

Hi Sunshine Girl – I had a look for more rhubarb in a couple of supermarkets today – no luck! Lots of cherries about though
I’d never heard of soap being good for cramp – just googled it, how weird! Hope stopping the statins is helpful.
Verano – I’ve started drinking the water (when its cold) that I’ve steamed vegetables in, as some of the minerals will have leached out – I haven’t had any I didn’t like so far, and this mornings water from breakfast (asparagus and boiled egg) is really nice.
Not to mention the rhubarby juice from yesterday – that’s always amazing.
I tried one of the dark chocolate and raspberry protein bars that I bought online the other day – It wasn’t overly sweet, but stopped cravings, & I didn’t want lunch. It was pleasant-ish, but a bit messy because the raspberry had leaked out from the chocolate covering. Not something I’d eat regularly, but definitely an OK standby when you think you may not be close to a sensible low carb option when you’re out.

Hi sunshine-girl,

Just popping in to mention that carrying a cork in a pocket can help with cramp. Yes, I know it sounds mad – my acupuncturist told me about it and I have one in my pillow case and try to carry one around if I have pockets. my nighttime cramps only come back if I forget the daytime cork for too long. Just a thought!

Caro
x

Hello Day 3 for me today and so far so good.
Frog my OH found rhubarb yesterday and it’s sitting in front of me now stewed with apple and ginger. I find the tartness lovely but think my guests may need it a little sweeter! It’s amazing how tastebuds and ideas about food change over time. Not sure I fancy vegetable water but who knows!

S-g there’s an interesting chapter in the Pioppi Diet book about cholesterol. I can’t summarise the whole chapter but basically (copied from the book)

1.Cholesterol is one of the most vital molecules in the body; without it, we would die.
2. If you’re over sixty years old, high LDL cholesterol is not associated with cardiovascular disease and is inversely associated with mortality from any cause.
3. 75 per cent of people admitted with a heart attack have normal total and LDL cholesterol, but 66 per cent have metabolic syndrome.
4. The triglyceride to HDL ratio is a much better predictor of heart-attack risk than total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol.
5. If you haven’t had a heart attack, and you don’t suffer with heart disease, taking a cholesterol-lowering statin pill will not prolong your life by one day.

The next chapter “The Root Cause of Heart Disease: Insulin Resistance and Inflammation”, starts with this quote:
‘I think the condition we’re dealing with that encompasses all these diseases –heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia and even cancer –is insulin resistance.’ –Professor Timothy Noakes

Interesting reading and I’m sure there’s a lot of research out there on the effects of statins …… are you there JGwen????? Insulin resistance seems to have a lot to answer for.

Hi everyone, some interesting discussions going on today and yesterday. V. my doctor has me on statins because of the diabetes, my previous doctor prescribed because Total chol was around 8.2 (first diagnoses at 11.0) and historically my triglycerides have been very high too – so a combination of the three (diab, high chol and high tri) puts me very much in the risk area. Although not sure if statins actually reduce the risk since I have become cynical of any drug therapy as other than to boost the coffers of big pharma. Anyway, I am hoping this experiment without them proves I can keep my numbers down without it. I must say I had reduced from 60mg to 20mg, we will see how it goes.

Frog, I couldn’t get cauli pizza until I got the base right. Now I mix riced cauli with one egg and herbs, pepper etc. Flatten it out onto a proper pizza tray with a layer of greaseproof paper, cook for 10 mins quite high, turn it over peeling the paper off, cook again for another 10 mins. It might start to blacken at the edges but this adds to the flavour but it makes it firmer and eliminates the cauliflowery taste.

Carolthomas, I also have a cork in my fruit bowl as it absorbs the moisture – one downside is that dry fruit like passionfruit, dry out very quickly. The little packs you get in new handbags are also good for cramps and fruit – the ones that say ‘dont eat me’ – it is silica. People must think we are made but we have whole in the shell walnuts all over the house – the gas they give off repels spiders. Seems to work. Funnily without the statins I had terrible cramps last night plus the restless legs and I was freezing cold. Hubby said it was a cold night but it is June for goodness sake.

My weight is back to Tuesday’s level of a 3.5lb loss so not really on track for 2lbs this week but still keeping on….

I did make a successful one once – as you say, I think with egg in the base, but it was such a lot of faff, I ended up thinking I’d be just as happy with the topping and no base. I think I can go a few weeks without one! Other than that. all of the recipes in the Pioppi book look good – & BSD friendly.
I’m just did a ten mile walk – first time in ages I’ve walked anything like that far.
Unintentional; I got a bit lost, then made a diversion at the end to avoid walking on a madly busy main road. I was out for about four hours altogether.

Hi Frog, the thing about the cauli pizza is when I did a calculation it turn out to be around 400 cals – maybe I shouldn’t have eaten the whole thing!!!!!!! I have recently seen a recipe (I think in WW mag) for turkey pizza – you bash the turkey really thin then flash fry on both sides then top it with tom puree, cheese, veg – whatever you want and put it under the grill. My favourite is a quiche with no pastry but I finely line the flan dish with super thin parma ham and then add the eggs, cheese etc. Yum.

Hi Verano, you called. 🙂
I don’t have any experience of statins myself, and it hasn’t been an area I have been researching. – Perhaps I should have as there is a family history of heart disease on my fathers side of the family.
But I have been looking recently about the benefits of Intermittent Fasting v low carb v fasting mimicking . – It sounds to me like there is a useful summary on Dr Jungs website https://idmprogram.com/fasting-lowers-cholesterol-fasting-16/ of why intermittent fasting is the best option for drug free response to cholesterol, but isn’t as effective as the drugs. HTHs

The more I read the more convinced I am that the whole merry go round of CV diseases is rooted in visceral fat. If it’s not I’m going to be very disappointed! For an apple like me it’s going to mean going down to the bottom of the healthy weight range.
If I was a doctor in general practice I’d find it very frustrating that so much of medicine is just management of disease, not cures.

Thanks JGwen interesting.

Hi all, if we are weighing today I have lost half a pound taking my total loss to 4lbs. Still keeping on…. Although I have a meal out on Wednesday and the restaurant in owned by an Englishman (here in France) and he cooks what I call stodge. I have sent him an email asking to see what is on the menu (it will be a set menu for a quiz night, so no choice) and told him I have an intolerance to starch. Waiting to see what he comes back with. All I ask is that I get a bit extra veg or a salad and pray it isn’t something made of starch like a risotto – very hard to pick the rice out. 🙂

Found this is Asda last weekend for those interested, but I think I prefer the parma ham base quiche idea myself…. It’s a normal size pizza and half is 21 carbs. http://www.veganfoodandliving.com/vegan-and-gluten-free-cauliflower-based-pizza-launching-supermarkets-nationwide/
Just starting the Pioppi Diet book… I’m gradually wading through all the recommended reads and podcasts etc. I’m like a sponge…. I wish I’d shown just half this interest in biology and science at school….!
Fingers crossed for you S-G getting a favorable reply!

slippery slopes – bought a bottle of wine today – blame it on the Pioppi & guts book that keep saying red wine in moderation is good for you. Had made ratatouille & had that with smoked mackerel.
On the plus side, I bought a sweat shirt two sizes smaller than I’ve been wearing, (in a sale, choice of a size larger or two smaller) the arms are a bit tighter than I’d like, but generally it fits OK.

Good morning BSD world!
I have finally got around to making the decision to give this diet another go…
Its my own fault, I side tracked and back tracked til I fell off the track. Have recently been quite poorly too so that hasn’t helped.
Need to lower my blood sugar figures and lose weight…

Hope you’ll have me!!

Welcome back, of course we’ll have you 😀 It’s never too late to take control of your health.

Good morning all. Not the best of weeks for me but I really am ‘Just Starting … Again!’ today. I have just three or possibly four weeks to my next HbA1c so I really do have to make a dent in my weight gain. I just can’t face the “I told you so” face if my bloods have risen. This will be my first 6 month review since my diabetes was ‘reversed’. I am worried.
So here I go again …..

Me too! I blame it on early-onset-Christmas in November! It’s taken me till now to get my head back into gear but I started again yesterday and lost 2 pounds. We have 3 social events in the next 2 weeks, so I am really going to try and stick to it. I have checked the online menu for the pub lunch and the BBQ should be fine, it’s just the dinner with friends that might be tricky. After that it should be plain sailing. Hope your first week back is going well. Chin up, weight down 🙂

By the way, is there a printable daily/weekly record sheet on this site? I don’t want to have to buy yet another book.

Made an error with weight, my loss was half a pound but that makes 3.5lbs not 4 – oops. Anyway, still want to lose 2lb per week for the next 6 weeks when family arrive so I am still keeping on…

Today I found some threads about <20 carbs per day to help with more weight loss.
So, I started reading further and further and was soo pleased to see others were as confused as I am about carbs, protein and fat quantities.
I then downloaded the Myfitnesspal app and after jiggling the figures I think I may now be on the right path. If I follow the meal plans and tweak them so that I finish the day under 800 and around the 20g of carbs the weight should come off more quickly, right??
I think my brain is now in BSD overload 😅
My first week down and I have lost 2.1kg but fasting readings are all over the place.
I am not giving up this time.

If you like avocado then they are really great nutritionally and keep you full for a long time. Seeds are very good too, as well as the nuts, plenty of the healthy fat you need. I’d try to skip the grains totally if you can, they add very little nutritionally that is not available from other plant sources.

Hi Curlfitgirl,
I am a vegetarian, no fish or meat, so I understand what you mean about the difficulties in this WoE. We do tend to be starting from eating high carb diet because most of the commercially available products/meals are higher in carbs than they are for meat eaters.
I would agree with the advice to cut out all grains.
I would suggest using one of the apps like myfatsecret to log everything so that you give yourself the flexibility to make up dishes that you like by testing out the ingredient list in the app before you start to prepare it.
As well as nuts and veggies, Tofu can be a staple ingredient. – Luvtocook has in the past mentioned that there is a black bean which is low carb, if you search the forums you will be able to find out more details on that so you could have pulse based dishes and hummus.
Be careful on fruit, its easy to make a mistake and go over your target for carbs with fruit.

Personally, I had a lot more weight to lose than your target, – actually I still have more than 20lbs to loose – but my suggestion would be to drop all the obvious carbs and try to aim for around 50g a day while keeping a food log. Then use that log to help you work out what you could swap to reduce the carbs further if you need to.

I eat meat and fish these days, but you might want to look at books by Celia Brooks; she has a 5:2 one that I think is quite low carb.
She teaches occasionally at my local community centre; last time she came in we made an amazing lasagne using slices of celeriac rather than pasta – I genuinely wouldn’t have known.

printable daily/weekly record sheet – not as far as I know
I have used my fitness pal/fat secret in the past; but I’m a bit concerned about big data, and who’s accessing what.
I’m currently just using a spreadsheet; I record everything as a database (my column headings are date/meal/ time /Food/portion/cal/ carb /sugar/fat/protein/fibre )
then on a separate tab I’ve set up two pivot tables – one shows nutrition per day and per meal, and the second is just daily nutrients.
works really well – if you eat something frequently, you can just copy and paste for a new entry, and you just refresh the pivot tables to see summaries for the day.
on yet another tab, I record all the ingredients of a recipe, then calculate the nutrients per portion.

Well, been trying some of the recipes out from the Original book and forgot how tasty and substantial some are!
I now need to plan a weeks menu, and make a huge effort to stay on track throughout the day as am so tempted to pick at food ( even if low carb) although the medication am on creates a hunger that is at times uncontrollable!

I have the principles of this woe embedded in my brain , just need to create a menu showing 800 cals a day – will use ideas from menu in book.

Has anyone shared their daily menu on here?
How do you upload a picture?

Hi all, I have been reading the thread and admiring all your efforts.

I have been sticking to around 800/1000 (during the week)-1100 – 1600 cals (weekend) consequently since I last posted 9 days ago, I have lost the 6 pounds that I gained, so am back to where I was 5 weeks ago, with a 12 pound loss (logging on myfitness pal, so its a good way of keeping track of the highs and lows, I am still about 5 pounds up from where I was last year.

2 stone/28 pounds/12.5kg still to go though, and am really keen to get over this yo/yo of great initial weightloss and then blips of weekend drinking derailments.

5 weeks til my holidays now, so, even a conservative estimate of 2 pounds loss a week, would hopefully get me back into my summer shorts. I think for me, having the holiday target is good, it keeps me focused, also, I am very much aware that I will gain weight for the first 3.5 weeks of the summer holidays, so I am already starting to think about what I will need to do to lose again in the last 2.5 weeks before I am back in school in September. (I know, I know, stop drinking the wine!!!)

ps. confession time, I made home made pizza (very very thin bases) for teh kids at the weekend and I did give in to temptation and had one, but no breakfast and just salad for dinner (and 2 glasses of vino), so although bad, not too awful…?

Had a night out and gained around 1lb since Monday but no worries as the pool is warm and I had 40 mins yesterday and will do the same again today so that should have some impact. My BG was 3.8 this morning so insulin will be reduced again.

I decided to have a complete change of menu this week so I went through the BSD recipe book and made a list. So far we have had the Spicy Cajun Bean Burger – absolute slop but I didn’t firm them up in the fridge first. Tuesday night was Stuffed Red Pepper (stuffed with lentils) – again not great but would make again using a meat filling as the lentils are not much better calories and higher carbs. Tonight we are having the chicken wrapped in parma ham which I have made many time, so not exactly new. At least it should be good. Although not part of the recipe I will put into a tomato sauce with onions and red pepper and top with hallumi cheese and add on the extra calories.

you make the cajun bean burgers sound a delight Sunshine Girl
I ate at a branch of Bills Restaurant last night – I had a starter that was a salad of peashoots, a mix that crushed peas with ham hock, and a poached egg – tasted delicious (despite my forgetting exactly what I’d ordered, and diving in expecting it to be avocado, because that’s what it looked like). It’s not listed on their online nutrition info menu, so poss not in all branches, but seemed very BSD friendly.
I’m defrosting some cod for this evening – I haven’t decided what to cook with it yet though; have just eaten a salad of avocado, egg, prawns and spinach for lunch.
I’ve just been given a big bag of gooseberries – I’ve not had those before, will need to find a recipe.

Bit carby (5g in 50g of berries), but I had some gooseberries with the cod – most recipes had them with oily fish like mackerel, but I’m going home tomorrow, so using up whatever’s in the fridge.
I found recipes for a sauce, but I just topped and tailed them, rolled in a half teaspoon of stevia and baked them in foil with the fish – tasted really good, and also compensated for not having any lemon, as still a slightly tart taste.
I still have a big bag of them, so I’ll try it with mackerel when I’m home tomorrow.

Seems to be a theme of gains. I dont know what is going on but I have gained 1kg since Tuesday – that’s 2.4lbs. I know I was out for a meal on Wednesday but I had two small pieces of chicken and a large plain salad (toms, lettuce, cucumber and yellow pepper) I was so hungry I had the chocolate mousse – it was milk chocolate. I swam for 40 mins. When I got home I had a piece of chicken. Yesterday I had a very low BG at 3.8 so I ditched the idea of having a blueberry and spinach shake for breakfast and had 2 eggs scrambled with about 30g of Cheddar cheese. Lunch was homemade butternut and red pepper soup, then dinner was chicken breast wrapped in one slice of parma ham with a tomato, pepper and mushroom sauce. Snack was 2 chicken wings. In the afternoon, after swimming for 35 mins I took a reading and my BG was 2.7 – dont think it has been so low, and I had a bit of a panic and ate 1 Werthers Original, then a chunk (about 20g) of cheese, then a boiled egg. This got my BG back up to 3.5 and I was having dinner very soon after. All in all I dont see how this has contributed to 2.4lb in 3 days. I am going to take Dr M’s advice in the Mail on Sunday and have a 2 day break and relax about the diet – still no carbs – and not count the calories. I think I have to get myself used to the heavy exercise and get my timings right but it was too hot to go out straight after lunch so I went in around 6pm which was getting close to my mealtime. BG this morning was 4.7 so I will be reducing the insulin again, that might do the trick. Bless my husband, he said maybe I am developing muscle – 2 swims in 2 days, I dont think so.

Have a good weekend everyone and I will try not to do too much damage – at least I will know the reason.

HI SunshineGirl – hope your blood measurement settle down. Weight increasing inexplicably is a pain, but I try not to get hung up over individual days & look at trends.
That said, I’m home again now, and resisting weighing myself until the morning, the normal time of day that I weigh myself – time of day can mean as much as a kilo for me. I just tried on a dress that arrived a few weeks ago that was way too tight and fitted like a sausage skin (but I didn’t get round to returning). Now quite loose and drapey!
The journey home was a bit dramatic – Froglet (my cat) is always brilliant on the journey there and sleeps the whole way, but wails and cries on the way home. Combined with it being hot today, she got very stressed and kept panting madly but wouldn’t drink. After lots of stops, including one in a layby where I let her out of her travel bag to calm down & wander round the car, I doused her with (sparking) water to cool her down, which seemed to help. She’s now calm and fast asleep after drinking two bowls of catmilk and eating, so hopefully no lasting damage.

Glad your kitty is ok Frog!

T Hanks California Girl, she slept well, and has eaten and drunk lots, so I think she is fine.
And I’ve just weighted myself after no scales for a week; I lost exactly a kilo while I was away, so a bit slower, but there were a couple of “I’m on holiday” days.

Frog – have you got a cooling mat? I use it in hot weather for our Pugs and Frenchie and it does what it says on the tin!

Hello everyone, starting again, too. Did the BSD last year for two weeks and it worked really well. Am pre-diabetic and after the diet I was able to keep it under control with exercise and low-carb eating. Then I got a new job, moved up North and things just went downhill… Job was stressful and felt lonely in big cold city. Still eating low carb, only too much of it. And developed an addiction to nuts. Hopefully, the 800cal plan will re-adjust my portion sizes. And am hoping to lose 10lbs I’ve gained since moving. Will start on Monday because will have book club on Sunday with wine and snacks and since I have practically no friends here, don’t want to miss it.
How much do you exercise? I remember feeling extremely weak in the first few weeks, so not sure if I’d be able to do my workout.
Let’s do it but I’ll really need everyone’s support :-))

You will only feel weak until your body adapts / readapts to burning fat as a fuel source, after that unless you are very close to underweight (in which case you are advised not to do this diet) you will have limitless energy even if you do a total fast as I sometimes do. The bad news is this can take up to three weeks, so cutting back slightly on workouts may be necessary for those transition weeks. I have done 2 hours of badminton on a full fast day (just water, herb tea and black coffee) and did not feel any weakness or tiredness, once adapted.

thank you so much Maggie – I’d not heard of them before!
I just found and read about them online, so will add one to her next pet food order.
It’s not something I’d noticed with her before, other than once when she was a kitten, but driving back with her on Friday was so stressful that it will be a great standby.

Biasca – the Pioppi book in interesting on exercise – not saying “don’t do any”, but pointing out how many hours exercise it takes to burn not many calories. So as long as you’re fairly active, I wouldn’t worry too much.
I know most gyms are fairly soulless places, so how about looking for local walking groups instead as a way to meet new people? – just don’t undo it all with a big pub lunch on the walk!

Thank you, it’s a great tip. Just walking while still weak, then going back to kickboxing, once I feel normal again. Am planning the week’s menu (not much planning because I eat the same thing, so need only 2 meals, one for lunch, one for dinner). Found a great oven-baked paleo crab cake recipe but one serving is 300cal already, so would have only 100cal room for side. Now it comes back, how difficult the math was…trying to find something that’s bulky enough to make the most of those 400cal.

Hi all, still here although I had a short break over the weekend. In all I have lost 3lbs over the last 3 weeks of this challenge, so not great but not a disaster. I still have 11lbs to lose to reach my 1 stone goal and now have only 5 weeks to do it so hoping for another 3lbs this week. Have a good week everyone.

Here I go again, had a slack week and only into week 3, and fell side saddle and gained back some of what I had l Iost. Thought I could have my wine again and still lose weight – no way. So …… instead of waiting till Monday (as I have always started every diet on a Monday) I started straight away – unheard of for me. By sticking to 800 cals and less than 30 carbs how soon will I see the scales drop, as the first 2 weeks of this WoE I didnt worry about the carbs, I just followed the menu planner. I have my Hb1ac next week and do not want to go on medication.

I haven’t followed the menus, but just measure and calculate the carbs I’m eating – personally I find that more convenient – for me, it gives a better sense of what is high/low carb and make healthy choices when I eat out.
there’s a mix of both on this board, and everyone that sticks to it seems to have success, so you should start to see results pretty quickly.
Best wishes for your Hb1ac – but do remember that starting or continuing medication is always your choice. If you’re committed to following BSD, have that conversation with your Doctor, and just state that you’re going to give it a try before you go down the medication route. Although not quite at the start of your BSD journey, it will be good to have the results as a marker, so that you can see the progress a few months/weeks on, when you next have the test. I found that the diabetes nurse was very sceptical and discouraging, but the GP very positive and encouraging and keen to see the impact.
If you don’t already, I found getting online access to my medical records useful – they usually measure so much with each blood test, when it was verbal, I just went away with the headline number, but being able to refer back to results in detail was very helpful.

Hi Sunshine Girl
I remember you from my previous 6 weeks on the 600 cal diet. Saw all my weight loss regained. Have recently been diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica – the only treatment for it is steroids which really don’t play fair with my diabetes type 2 blood glucose levels.

So, I intend to begin the 800 cal diet starting on the 1st July. I have bought a 2 week pack form extante who provided the foods on The Fast Fix : Diabetes shown over here on ITV recently – so I can use them as top up/quick meals.

Nice to see a familiar name

😎

Hi Ziggy, if I remember rightly you are a bloke and you travel for work in Europe. Welcome back. If that is not who you are I do at least remember the name. Today is my 2nd year anniversary of doing the BSD and I am disappointed in myself. Since starting I have lost a total of 15lbs. Okay not a disaster but I was 25lbs down so have gained 10lbs. I am even more disappointed that today I have gained another pound. Not sure what is going on and I am going to have to start logging all my food and maybe try dropping my carbs. I have been swimming every day but only 30 mins but I thought that should make a difference. On the plus side my BG is currently around 4.8 and I have reduced insulin further – was 38 when I started on this thread now down to 30 units. That is a big success for me. Anyway, today is another day and I will just keep on keeping on…