Because I am healing a broken leg, I am not able to exercise much. I am also trying to do close to a 24 hour fast most days, and eat only one meal a day, with the exception of weekends. Because of my lack of activity, I do not feel that I need 800 calories.

I do seem to need some starchy carbs (like beans, cooked vegetables in soup) to keep my system “moving.” I was close to diabetic last A1C check, am obese female (230 pounds at 5′ 7″) and have tried low carb type diets in the past. The main problem I had was keeping things moving in my system, even though I drank a half gallon or more of water per day. Adding unsoluable fiber did not help. My body seems to need soluable fiber.

I wanted to know if the macros for the one or two meal days that I am planning look OK:
Day 1:
Fat-17 g
Carbs-44 g
Fiber-12 g
Protein-50 g
Calories=520

Day 2:
Fat-22g
Carbs-47g
Fiber-11g
Protein-60g
Calories=660

Thank you in advance.

Hi Lisa — welcome to the BSD forum — hey, I’m concerned if you are healing a broken leg, that you should NOT be doing the BSD while the leg is in the healing process.
Healing bones requires healthy and large amounts of calcium and potassium and silica and a lot of other nutrients and while the BSD is healthy and fine for the average (overweight) person, you have very specific needs that are more important than losing weight.
I also might be concerned that your fat intake will be too low and your vitamin D might be too low — not so much for general health but for HEALING the broken bone.
The bone needs to lay down the fine substrate, then fill in with the heavy bone bit — lots of work going on already in your body. Don’t stress it even more right now.
I’m not a doctor but I think you should heal first, THEN join us in the BSD. In the meantime you can cut the yucky carbs and start practicing that part of the diet. You will heal fast and well with refined carbs banished from your diet.

Hi, Lisa W, and welcome to the forums. If I may, I’ve taken a look
at your macros, and several things are of note. Your fats are
quite low for a low carb – moderate protein – high fat diet.
Protein looks good. Fiber per day for a woman should be @
25gm per day. Avocado, seeds like chia, small portions of nuts,
raw cacao nibs, and raspberries are excellent sources of fiber.
So are greens like steamed spinach. The calories you’ve listed
for 2 typical days are more in line with a semi starvation diet,
rather than the Fast800. I completely understand your concerns
about your inability to exercise, so I’d like to share my own
experience with you. I began the Fast800 in june of 2016. I
was almost totally disabled at that time, and exercise was out
of the question. I weighed and measured all my food, kept carbs
to <20gm/day. I lost 140lbs in 10 months, and have added 8 more
lbs. to my losses in 9 months of maintenance. I fear that if you
consume so few calories you are taking the risk of shutting
down your metabolism and that your body will go into starva-
tion mode. Exercise is an adjunct to weight loss, but weight
loss is not contingent upon it. The objective is to get our
bodies to switch from burning glycogen to burning fat. Carbs
are an impediment to that, and fats facilitate it. There is a
wealth of knowledge and experience on these forums, and
many maintainers here like myself that are delighted to share
our experience with newcomers. Ask lots of questions, and
someone will always offer assistance.
Best of luck to you,

Allie

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

About the broken bone: It happened in late December and did not need to be casted. So, I have been wearing a knee brace or using a walker (rolling type) most of the time and walking carefully without any support in controlled environments (i.e. at home, my office etc.). I am up to walking a total of about 3000 steps a day (assisted). Prior to breaking the Fibula, I was up to 8000-10,000 a day.

I always take a raw food multi vitamin and 2000mg Vitamin D plus additional Magnesium. I have not been dieting at all since I broke the leg and have eaten a lot of calcium rich foods, most days, about 2000 calories a day.

My foot and ankle are still very swollen and painful but in the past, fasting has actually helped inflamation for me.

I have been used to eating only one meal a day on weekdays/wrokdays for about 4 years now. I do eat 2 meals a day on weekends and vacations. I like a lot of bulk so I tend to save all my calories for a 5pm dinner. I do not have a sweet tooth but I do love fruit and wine.

My main concern is that I am having blood testing done at the end of March. I do not want to be labeled Diabetic. The last test I took myself had me at an A1C of a 7. That is the highest it has ever been and I cannot have that happen again. I do not want to go on diabetes drugs. Doctors here in the USA prescribe way too many drugs and if you do not take them, the doctor might choose not to treat you. I thought 2 months of a low-carb diet might allow me to have a chance at being below a 7.

PS…I should also mention that I drink organic bone broth and collegen as a protein source to help heal the bone.

Lisa, I’m not diabetic or prediabetic, but there are many success
stories here, reversing these maladies. Sunshine-girl, Mare123
and Verano are our resident experts, along with many others.
I’m sure that one of them will be along to offer their insights
into your concerns.

Best,

Allie

BTW Allie that is awesome about losing 140 pounds in such a short time! I do not think I could do less than 20 grams of carbs myself as my right kidney will sometimes ache if I have too much protein.

Thanks, Lisa. By and large, most posters are very successful
keeping carbs under 50. I’m highly insulin resistant, though,
so for me it had to be drastic measures! 🙂

Best of luck,

Allie

Open to thoughts about a typical dinner for me, when I am in my version of low carb (but not Keto) diet mode. In cold weather, I crave a creamy soup, a wrap type thing to eat with it, salad greens and a fruit “dessert.” I could eat this as one meal in the evening aand be satisfied until the next evening.

1.5 cups
Pureed Celeriac Soup (similar to recipe found here)
w/ added Kale or Swiss Chard
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/recipes/leek-and-celeriac-soup/

Low carb wrap: (Note: It is a processed, grain product)
Calories:
60
Saturated Fat:
0g
Cholesterol:
0mg
Carbohydrates:
12g
Fiber:
7g
Sugars:
1g
Protein:
5g

–with 4 ounces tuna, 1/3 cup raw bell pepper and 2 TBL avocado

2 cups Spinach and Arugula, 1/3 cup cucumber with Champagne Vinegar and 1/2 TBL olive oil

1/2 cup berries or 1/2 grapefruit with a pinch of stevia

*If I am craving something creamy, I might also have 6 ounces of plain, 2% Greek Yogurt

Hi Lisa W

I’d like to offer a bit about my experience which I hope will be of help. I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes on 2nd August 2017. I’d gone to my GP as I suspected I might be diabetic so when it was confirmed I already knew one line of thinking was to cut out carbs. I started that day by cutting out rice, pasta, potatoes, etc as well as sugar. I got Michael Mosley’s book a few days later and started the BSD the next week, 9th August 2017.

My HbA1c result on diagnosis was 106 (pretty close to 12% on the top right-hand side of this diagram on the diabetes.co.uk website https://diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html). I got a home blood glucose monitor and started testing on 23rd August. My blood glucose results at that point had already dropped and were equivalent to an HbA1c of between 7% and 8% (in fact, mostly nearer 7%). I’ve just checked and by the beginning of November (so after two months) my blood glucose readings were consistently equivalent to an HbA1c of 5% – 6%. (Again, mostly nearer 5%).

I’m not sure if the HbA1c numbers in the USA are the same (I know the blood glucose ones are different) but my point is you can see how quickly the blood sugar levels dropped and mine were from a high starting point. The BSD does work.

I don’t know as much about the nutrient side of things but what I would add is I followed the ‘rules’ strictly so only had lowest carb, above ground veg. I’d also caution against going too low on calories – I certainly wouldn’t go below 800. While it’s good to do exercise, as Allie says, it isn’t strictly necessary to achieve either weight loss or a drop in your blood sugars.

Hope this helps – good luck. Marie

n.b. Hope the link works – if it does you need to scroll down to the HbA1c/blood glucose diagram.

Edited: Forgot to add – when I got my 3/4 month HbA1c tested at the GP’s at the end of November they were back in the normal range – 35 i.e. approx. 5.5%. xx

Thanks for sharing your experience, Marie. That is encouraging. I am a huge believer in how diet can change blood results within 6-8 weeks. One of the nurses, that used to work with my primary care doctor, told me (confidentially) not to get blood/lab work done until 6-8 weeks after a vacation or a “cruise.” I have had so many friends, who are NOT obese, come back with bad blood numbers after a vacation, cruise or Honeymoon. So, I do believe that blood markers can change after about 6-8 weeks of a corrective diet.

I have read Michael’s book but it just seems like too many meals for me as I am only used to eating once a day (4-5pm; dinner). But then I have also thought that maybe having smaller meals might also balance the blood sugar. I am also very worried about so much saturated fat (eggs, cheese). The only way I can choke down eggs (I do not like eggs) is to have cheese mixed in. Scary to me. I am OK having olive oil, avocado oil and avocado. I absolutely hate Coconut Oil as it has such a strong, sweet flavor.

I welcome and appreciate any advice :-).

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I really need to drop the weight, reduce the blood pressure, reduce the A1C and get the rest of the bloodwork in order.