Okay, I am obese and pre-diabetic, and I’ve been on the BSD for nearly a week, but I have to admit that I’m worried because my BSL is continuing to increase. My vision is blurry, I’m tired, thirsty and … well that sounds like I’m already a full-fledged diabetic, right?

And come to find out, I borrowed a diabetic’s test stripes – and on the BSD – my Blood Sugar Level is INCREASING!

People in the forum keep saying, “Oh, don’t worry, you just have the carb flu.”

Well, I looked up here, just to be sure:

http://www.livingthenourishedlife.com/how-you-can-have-high-blood-sugar/

And I found out it’s not the “flu”. I’m not adjusting. My BSL is increasing. It’s called “gluconeogenesis”, or for those not savy in medicine, it means that my sugar is increasing because my body is eating itself to make sugar. And then my body is “dealing” with the results of eating itself very poorly.

I’d very much like to know why Dr. Michael Mosley never discussed gluconeogenesis in his diet book. It’s the reason why some nutrition experts don’t recommend low carb diets.

Yesterday was just too much. I was breaking out in sweats every 1/2 hour, and I was feeling faint, and I had terrible cramps in my legs. I was considering going to hospital. But instead I went to the BAKERY and bought 1 whole-grained roll, and ate it slowly.

And guess what!
I felt better immediately. Blurry vision stopped. And my BSL is down this morning from 124 to 107.

Conclusion: I think I will have to slow down on this diet, and up the calorie intake to 1000 and eat something like a slice of bread at least once a week. And I mean healthy bread or noodles, and not donuts or biscuits.

Glad you found the solution weissdorn, and feel better now
As you say, I guess it will be a case of doing things in moderation – maybe the mediteranean style diet might be looking at as an option?

How low had you taken your carbs? I try and average 50 a day which seems quite common, but some posters achieve far lower daily carb targets, and others have a target higher than 50. Reading around before I started BSD, I read that any level of carbs below 100 is considered “low carb”, and I think the UK RDA is around 200.
As well as taking things in moderation, it may be that you can reduce carbs slowly, allowing your body to adjust to a different style of eating over a period of weeks or months.

Good luck with it going forward – hope you find the right solution for yourself.

I really don’t know how many carbs I eat. I mean, I would fix the breakfasts mentioned in the book. Then lunch on a plain salad with some lean tuna or feta chunks – no dressing, no processed foods. Then I would not anything for say 6-8 hours. It’s a long time until I can get home and make dinner.

And to top it off, I have a fairly high stress load, and I take cortisone for allergies. I really don’t have that much time – I’m sorry to say – to study how many (or how few) carbs I’m ingesting. I’m just steering clear of breads, noodle, rice, potatoes, and anything that comes out of a bakery.

Still I think I may need, like you said, 100 a day until I adjust, then lower it gradually.

But then I think maybe I need to shed stress – though I really don’t know how to do it. Being unemployed was more stressful than working. 🙁

Like Frog, I try to keep at around the 50g of carbs a day, but it is often lower. However, I have found that if I push them too low, my weight loss seems to stall, so I look to stick between 25g and 50g. You’ll be surprised how many carbs sneak into things like tomatoes and there are even carbs in stuff like celery and lettuce, but maybe you have been reducing the carbs too drastically. When I first started on the BSD, I did a few weeks without looking at carbs and only did so, when I plateaued and needed some way of kick starting things again.

Are you able to put aside some time in the evenings to do a little meditation? State of mind is very important for wellbeing. Even just sitting mindfully for a ten minutes, concentrating on your breathing and relaxing, should make a difference.

Hi Weissdorn

Sorry you’ve not been feeling great.

If you have not been counting carbs, but simply following BSD principles and 800 calories as far as you can, i would be very surprised if you are eating less than 50g of carbs per day, because this takes some effort to achieve – because there are carbs and sugars in many foods.

I speak as one who spent my BSD time aiming at 20-30g of carbs (which worked for me) but needs planning to do.

I think your symptoms – and I’m not minimising them – are much more likely to be as a result of your hormonal response trying to switch from gaining energy from carbs to getting energy from your fat cells. Depending on one’s individual response this can proceed smoothly or cause quite disturbing symptoms which have been nicknamed “carb flu”.

If you think about it, if your body is struggling and wanting carbs, that is why your eating some carbs relieved the symptoms.

I have read extensively on the subject but am not a doctor. I suggest that you do not jump to conclusions, especially given the experience of many people here who have personally seen what their own version of “carb flu” is like.

The symptom is, after all, well documented, and also very understandable for the reasons I quote above.

If I were you, I would spend a little time looking at the nutrients, you can get the hang of this very quickly via a number of apps, and also consider whether your body response suggests you will be better cutting out refined carbs but not restricting calories simultaneously – ie following the Mediterranean Diet path rather than BSD limited calories.

But do not give up and draw conclusions too quickly.

Good luck