Hello,
I have just started Dr.Mosley’s 8week BSD but find it difficult to be on my own. I am prediabetic & trying to lose 10-15lbs. I have GI issues to begin with & eating a lot of fiber makes it worse. I have got the chills & feeling very hungry at night.

You’ve now got about 50 diet buddies DeeMac! Its quite common to feel the cold more at the start, its probably your body getting used to the reduced amount of fuel you are putting in. Over the next few days you will learn how to budget your calories across the day but also your appetite will decrease naturally due to the reduction in carbs. Have a look at the ‘what have you eaten today’ thread as there are loads of good menu ideas in there. Keep your carbs as low as you can, keep your protein moderate and make sure you now eat full fat everything and all of that will help keep you satisfied. And ask any questions you have, there are plenty of people here who will have the answers for you. Best wishes.

Thank you so much Janet1973. I am surprised that someone responded so quickly for I was just about to turnoff my laptop. Your response is very encouraging to me. Initially, the diet was not a big change for me for I was already on a low-carb, low-salt diet and I did the 5-2 diet before. This morning however, I was light-headed when getting up from sitting & got the chills. I thought my BP was low for I just had taken my medications. Diastolic was 60 but systolic 139, so I was concerned. Your insights have been helpful & now I am treading along.

I love being a part of these forums. We have a real mix of people here. It tickles me that, as we have such a strong Australian contingent, they take over through our night time so you are never more than a couple of hours away from support. Sometimes to my shame, I am still awake in the early hours reading their posts when I should be asleep!
I wonder if your issues this morning were to do with the severe calorie restriction we have on the bsd 800. Again, I would expect it to settle down but if it doesn’t, don’t despair as there are other things you can try. You haven’t got a large amount of weight to lose and some of us here only count carbs not calories so that could be an option for you if your symptoms persist. But see how you go over the next couple of days and keep us posted.

Yes, it probably was from the calorie restriction Janet. You are a gem. I will increase my total calorie intake to 1000 & see if that works better. Will update the result of that change. Have a good night.

Janet, I do the same over here, I get caught up in what you are all talking about and it gets later and later here. I should be asleep instead of disturbing my husband by laughing out loud at some of the banter going on. I’ve never been on a forum before, don’t do Facebook or anything. I just love the support and humour here.

Hello,
I am preparing to start the BSD on Monday, so am trying to buy the correct ingredients for my first weeks menus. I’m planning on keeping it simple for the first week, in order that I don’t slip up. My question relates to how much and what kind of veg I can have with my evening meal? Assuming I am eating a protein portion ( eg chicken breast), is it ok to add salad and/or French beans to bulk up the overall quantity of food? I understand that I need to avoid root and starchy veg, but I’m not clear if veg like French beans, Mange Tout, cauliflower, broccoli etc is ok to eat without weighing it out first?

I’m also slightly nervous about any possible effects regarding my blood sugar levels dropping rapidly and continuing use of my Diabetes medications – I’m currently on Victoza, Metformin and Gliclazide. I am due to see my Diabetic Nurse in 5 weeks, but are there any symptoms that I need to watch for that might indicate I need to see her earlier in order to get my meds adjusted? I am hoping to lose 5 stones overall, so I’m in the obese category, but I walk between 6-10 miles at least everyday, so I’m concerned that rapidly dropping blood sugar levels without tweaking my medications could result in an Hypoglycaemic crash? I have told my doctor that I’m going to do the diet, but I didn’t get much of a comment other than ‘ that’s good’.
Can anyone advise please?

Hi Izmoll1,
I would ease my medical concerns first before actually starting the diet. Try to get as much professional advice as you can be it from pharmacists, other doctors & nurses. I know what you mean about not much comment from your doctor because mine is the same way.

After all that’s said I would start by just cutting down on carbs & increasing greens. I don’t weigh spinach, kale, cucumbers, sprouts, lettuce, broccolli, cauliflower & pile them on my plate. Unfortunately my tummy can only digest so much fiber, with my wild rice & quinoa, so I have to process/blend my veggies for easy digestion. All the best to you.

Cherrianne, I don’t do any other forums either. I dislike facebook as there are always pictures I don’t want to see with no warning. I think this site is much more productive.

Hi izmoll1,
I would definitely be consulting your health professional about dropping your victoza and gliclazide before you start because you don’t want to risk hypoglycaemia. You may have to print off the information for health professionals from the link in the book. Try and see the diabetes nurse and see if they will monitor you a bit more frequently at first. Maybe your GP responded like that because of lack of knowledge about the BSD.
You will certainly make a dent in that 5 stone you need to lose, over the next eight weeks and after. There are quite a few continuing with the fast800 beyond the first eight weeks to achieve their goals.
Keep posting, you’ll get loads of advice and encouragement. 🙂

Hi Janet1973,
Those are the reasons I don’t like FB. You can’t control what other people choose to post so you are confronted with the profane and pornographic or racist and violent.
I believe in the GIGO principle lol; if you put garbage in you get garbage out 😉

So true, that’s how I ended up with two stone to lose!

Hi Janet and Cherrianne

I am on FB but have changed how I use it over the years. Now it’s mainly family, real-life friends and colleagues. It’s a way for me to keep in touch with folk in different parts of the country and world. I have removed lots of groups and individuals for a variety of reasons. I now spend more time on here than on FB 😃

I have been on a couple of other forums too – WW and DiabetesUK. Used to get too many trolls on WW, spoiling it for everyone. Not been on the Diabetes forum after my first few weeks on the BSD when I posted there about this.

This is the most supportive and friendliest group of people and it is a pleasure to ‘know’ you all.

Lol janet, your last post made me chuckle – but it is so true for all of us:)

Izmol1 you don’t have to stick to the recipes in the book if you don’t want to as long as you stick to the principles. Of 800 calories, 50g of carbs or less, 2-3 litres of water a day and full fat. A lot of us like fage greek yoghurt with berries or seeds for breakfast 🙂

Hi DeeMac,

I’ve just started too and I’m FREEZING!!! Got the blanket on my knees with a heater under the desk. Shivering burns more calories so I suppose we should be gritting our teeth and living with the cold but I don’t want to.

With regards to GI issues, I’m also there too. Luckily I did an exclusion diet under the supervision of the FODMAPS discoverer and dietitian Sue Shepard and no longer eat the things that trigger me off. So no cauliflower, mushrooms, peaches etc and careful with wheat, barley and rye. I’m NOT gluten intolerant; it’s the fructose that sets me off.

Good luck!