You know what this is about …renewing the supportive, friendly, weekly thread, open to all !!

Quick question guys I was just wondering if you guys found that when you began fasting for longer did you feel hungrier once you had your first meal of the day. I went 18 hrs today and then had an omelette as had two dog walks to do but feeling a little empty now. Nothing that I can’t manage with a hot drink and small handful of nuts. Cheers 💞🦜

Bless you, Wendy! If you ever need a break from hosting, throw out a net, and one of us will jump in to carry on. I’m
enjoying my break after several months, for it gives me more time to follow newcomer’s threads, and you know how
much I enjoy welcoming them to the neighborhood 🙂 I always send them here, though! We all know that this was
Verano’s brain child, and it is a brilliant concept. Everyone is going strong, and the enthusiasm that comes from
those that are just discovering what this WOE has in store for them, keeps this a lively and active thread. Experiencing
the growing confidence and amazing results through their eyes always keeps it fresh for me. Newcomers, you are
ALWAYS welcome, so join in anytime! You will be happy that you did!!!

Allie

Thanks Allie. I will be ‘away ‘ in the UK from 23rd April to 5th May so will need reinforcements then. I know you are always watching out for newcomers and the solid, practical advice you give is immensely useful to them. If anyone is hesistating and wondering whether to join us ..come on board !! It will be the best decision you ever made for your health and well being xx

Birdy , I don’t often do an 18 hour fast. I tend to do 24h or longer ( 36h or 48h) I really look forward to that first meal and more than anything I ENJOY the feeling of hunger as I used to just chomp constantly pre BSD, often without any hunger signals. I plan a satisfying , nutritious meal when I break my fast.
The longer I continue a fast, the less hungry I feel. Lots of fluids though.

Keep going Birdy, you are doing great !

Hello all. I started today. Had a school boy error in that i unexpectedly bumped into a friend and ended up going for coffee so that cappuccino ( was very small) was a lot of milk i wasn’t expecting.

I didn’t eat my lunch until 1.30pm so apart from the coffee i did a long fast. I had vegtable soup for lunch. Then a large tuna, salad with loads of veg, olives and a teeny piece (10g) of feta cheese.

This has brought me in at 731 calories and 45grams carbs.

I was wondering how much fat and protein people aim to eat? My fitness pal asked me for my goals. I am attempting to reduce my carbs daily this week and get to under 30 for next week x

I hope more come across this site and do join! I am a mug for random googling as a distraction from what I should really be doing, and the number of rubbish “diets” out there is mind-boggling – and worrying. Lose 10kgs per 7 days with the unbelievable apple diet! And who knew General Motors had also apparently developed a diet (Day four of which involves “ideally” consuming 8 bananas and 3 glasses of milk)? Just madness. I don’t know who on here mentioned chicken and walnut lettuce cups, which sounded lovely. I am having a made up version tonight; cooked chicken, capers and chopped cocktail gherkins, few chopped walnuts, in dressing of bit of light mayo, bit of oil, ditto Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and a spritz of lemon juice, served on little gem lettuce leaves. To be eaten with back doors open as it is a nice evening and a blackbird singing beautifully.

Hi Happyhel,
Welcome to the forum.
Some people find that 50g of carbs a day works for them, others find they need to go under 20g.
The usual formula for protein is 0.6 to 0.8g per kilo of TARGET weight.
With healthy fat making up all the calories not used by your carbs and protein.

6T light mayonnaise???? Full fat my lovely 😝😝. Remember low fat or light are out enemy 😋. 💞🦜

I know EXACTLY what you mean when you say that you enjoy that “empty” feeling when you’ve gone without food, Wendy!
It’s a very “clean” feeling, isn’t? I think one of the great lessons we learn with this lifestyle is to differentiate between
true hunger as opposed to peckishness and boredom. or believing that we must be hungry because it’s a certain hour
on the clock!
Sixturkeys, what a horrifying idea! 6 bananas? These bizarro “quick fix” plans are a disaster! As soon as one returnsto normal eating, guess what? The scales soar. Simply useless!
Happyhel, this would be called TRE (time restricted eating), rather than a true “fast”, which is calibrated upon a 24 hr period
without any calories. You are off to a fantastic start! Keep sharing your discoveries with us…

Allie

Allie – it was 8 bananas! Birdy, full fat dairy, with you all the way. Ditto virgin olive oil. But as mayo made with that is to my mind overpowering and that the H brand mayonnaise doesn’t I am sure contain olive oil any in any event, in view of price point, but rather other oils, I picked the Light. But happy to be disabused of that! And I know that Esnecca makes her own with tofu (E – I can send my usual terms and conditions for recipe compilation – 70-30 royalty split sound ok to you?) but opening a jar is easier…Blackbird still singing; so I hope my cat is behaving outside. He is a very effective mouser (don’t know how he appears to find them so easily in London gardens….).

Just thought I’d pop in to wish everyone a great BSD week. As I won’t be around for the whole week, I don’t plan to be part of the thread this week, but hope that you all achieve your goals for the week.

I have begun my menu planning this week so I go shopping for just the ingredients I need and don’t buy things I don’t need🤣. Also how many of you guys live with people that are not on this WOE. As I have mentioned my partner before eats only meat, potatoes, pasta, rice and onions, no veg and only apples. He is now 52 and like I said he does run and use the gym three times a week for cardio and muscles. He has a lovely body for a man his age, in fact a lot of 20 year olds would like to be in his shape🤣. But he is a little unhappy as his ability to shed weight is getting harder. From being on this WOE I am learning that carbs are bad but he only eats what he eats. I really want to help him discard but I am at a loss! Can any of you give me some advice please? Oh and he eats a small amount of milk chocolate twice a day! I know it is bad but he is a chocolate addict. Thanks 💞🦜

Hi Birdy, we are learning a lot about you, your son and your partner. I had not picked up from your previous posts that the latter ate no veg but only apples, nor that he too was looking to the BSD.

Allie – I think you have mentioned before that you’re also in the US, can I ask whereabouts? Also, is there anyone else in Los Angeles, that would be interested in meeting up in person for walks or coffee etc
Have a great week everyone!

Yes 6T I am a bit of an open book I am afraid🤣. He doesn’t want to BSD as such but I would like to be able to help him be happy in himself again, as we all know how hard it is to lose weight the older we get.

Hi! I’m taking the plunge tonight and introducing myself, as after lurking for a week it now feels like the right time.
I had my son two years ago and was about two stone overweight when I fell pregnant following a very food orientated first year of marriage! I’ve lost most of my baby weight, but still found myself 2&1/2 stone overweight and pretty down about it. Due to having a body that seems to fall apart without the right nutrition I’ve been eating for my gut health over the past year or so and have been fascinated by nutrition, the microbiome and how much better I feel! However, my weight hasn’t changed… Too much of the right stuff I suspect.
So, last Monday I weighed in and started the fast 800. I’m now 8.5lbs down and motivated! I’ve found it mainly easy, although the past two days I’ve been much more hungry than at any other point… I’m not sure why.
I’m not much of a social media user etc and so I can’t promise that I’ll be on here much, but I did just want to say hi and thank you for all sharing so much useful information and advice. It’s been great to follow… And a good distraction from the occasional hunger pang!

Kafin, I’d really enjoy meeting you for a walk or a chat, but I’m afraid that you’d have to cross the entire country for that!
I live in CT., so practically have one foot in the Atlantic 🙂 Offhand, I don’t know of any other BSDers who live in L.A.,
but there may be others who have yet to reveal themselves…I hope you made it through your week in Vegas
without too much stress. Having to be “on” for 20 hrs. a day is really tough when you are dealing with depression.
Take good care of yourself, please!

Good Morning Birdy, in reply to your Question about your partner, here’s what’s happening in my house. My husband wants to lose weight but is not very committed. So he’s cut out breakfast and the days when he used to grab a quick sandwich ( and probably a cake) he now gets a salad. He is away a lot eating fancy food and lugging down the beer. In the evening I’m trying to make things both I and he and the three kids can eat. This is only working about 50% of the time. For example if they have a takeawy pizza I have soup. Pasta sauce, grilled meats, egg dishes and curry type stuff I can usually manage to suit us all. He loves bread with everything and has cut down. I think his tea success is down to cutting out the booze Sunday – fri when he’s home. In the last 5 weeks he’s lost almost 5kg. It’s been very up and down because of the eating out, but he’s heading in the right direction. If I cook a family meal that is suitable for me I make sure that there are plenty of leftovers for me to eat when their stuffing their faces with the evil stuff. The other way in which he’s helping me is he keeps eating my special dark chocolate!

Oh. It seems that due to their make up
It’s just easier for men to lose more weight. I’m trying not to be bitter about him stuffing his face in far flung places, Honestly😂

I must admit tulips even though he moans he can’t drop the weight he does a little and it seems so much easier for him like you said. When we first moved in together he made me promise that I wouldn’t make pasta and other sauces with hidden veg as that would be a trust issue for him🙄☺️ I haven’t as I respect his wishes. I also think it is the beer that does not help him. We bought our house just over a year and half ago and one of the reasons we bought it was because the village pub is only 600 meters up the road🤣. As there is nothing more relaxing than going to the pub for a couple on a Friday night to relax and forget the stresses of the week! But there is where the problems lays! When we first went up there he would have two pints at the most and now he has no less than four and sometimes seven! Liquid bread!🤣. I have told him that I will buy naked noodles and rice as they have little or no carbs. His apple has what 19-20g of carbs he also eats strawberry granola for breakfast every weekday and eats either soft cheese and marmite on rivetas or white wraps with chicken, which isn’t a lot to consume for a man at all, but it is a high intake of carbs daily and weekly. Weekends he loves a bacon sandwich on white bread too. He really doesn’t consume a huge amount of calories food wise it is the amount of carbs he consumes that is the problem. He needs more than me as he is a runner, but I think he still eats too many.

Hi all
Newby here, about 12kg to lose. Been lurking abit.
Started Sunday and doing really well until my son called today needing help, has some mental health problems that are not quickly fixed. Went into my normal anxiety response and desperately want to eat and drink. Holding off giving in to the anxious eating for the moment. I would love some suggestions for managing this time, I’m guessing many people have different pressures.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Morning and welcome, I am no expert my son has ADHD and he can cause me anxiety at times, some of this is hoping he is prepared for school and that he eats and the other is out of his control and is that he gets bullied a lot. This is a constant worry for me. Does your son live with you? How old is he? I usually try and not worry until we are together and he has told what has transpired, I know it is hard but I I take some cleansing breaths and have a herbal tea and try not to play out too many bad scenarios in my head. I have also found since starting this WOE I am a little less stressed and a LOT more happier, which in turn keeps me calm and rubs off a little on my boy. Do you have support? I was on my own for 5 years when my son got diagnosed and if it wasn’t for my mum I think I would have had a nervous break down. Sorry you are going through this but I can assure you trying to do your best on BSD is all you can do, please don’t beat yourself up if you make a slip we all do and we all know we have the tools to get back on it. Like one of the threads is on here ‘one week at a time’.. you have also made the right choice of joining this community as we are friendly, nonjudgmental and if someone doesn’t knOw there will always be someone else along soon. Again welcome Cheeselover. Birdy💞🦜

Thanks Birdy, it means a lot that someone is there to respond.
My son is in his 30s and has had some issues for much of his adult life. He’s a lovely sensitive soul. He doesn’t live with me.
I live alone most of the time, my husband works away every week.
Anyway, thank you again for the welcome.

Hi Cheeselover( great name),
Firstly I m sorry your son is having a hard time and you too. I think there are others on here who are are facing similar things.
Like you said you’ve started well and you recognise that stress is one of your triggers for eating what and when you don’t need to. For me It helps to distract myself or just get out of the house when I’m feeling like stuffing my face. If it’s possible get rid of the things that your likely to eat but shouldn’t. I appreciate this isn’t always possible since I’m feeding a family. Salty snacks are my biggest weakness and I’ve just stopped buying them because I can’t trust myself.
Go for a walk, clean the windows,anything. In the next few days you are likely to see some movement in the scales and that will spur you on. If you slip and eat something off plan, please don’t let that cause you to give in.
I’m pretty sure that everyone on here has done the same and there are some amazing success stories. Don’t get derailed . You can do this

Hi everyone,

Hope your all very Woe well. Sorry for my disappearance sadly I never flew south for the winter. Had a very bad week and needed time alone to gather my head and get back in the game. Week 5 just ended and I’m proud to say 26lbs or 11.5 bags of sugar smaller. Still annoying it’s only my legs that it’s coming from still can’t shirts buttoned up around the tyre. Bloods are a bit higher than I would like but still in so much of a better level than ever.

Budgie79
\|/ \|/

Welcome, Welcome, cheeselover! That could have been my username, too 🙂 I haven’t eaten any in close to 3 years,.
but I don’t want to test the theory that it would now be safe to have it in the house, or I would now be able to have
it “in moderation”! Same holds true for crusty sourdough bread. Stress, anxiety and fear are certainly one of the
hardest things to manage. When my heart is pounding with uncertainty and panic, I grab a jacket out of the closet
and hit the pavement immediately. I think that we can all recognize when the adrenaline kicks in, and the only reliable
way that I’ve found to shut it down is to move, move, move! I have a nephew who is now in his late 30’s, and he was
diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7. Ten years later, the diagnosis was changed to bipolar disorder. I have a fair
idea how your days are ordered, depending on whether or not your son’s life is on an even keel. He will need you to
stay healthy, so please take care of yourself, and allocate some time in your day to use exercise to help manage the
stress. Sharing thoughts and feelings here can be a big help, too 🙂 Best,

Allie

Hello all! Day 2 here.
Breakfast- small scoop geek yoghurt with 5 almonds.
Lunch- tuna with salad, olives and a 10g piece of feta.
Dinner is going to be pan fried chicken with salad again i expect.

Have a great day everyone x

Thanks for your comments Skipping through the tulips and Alliecat, some great suggestions especially the walking or just getting out of the house. I’m hanging in there with the food and feeling a bit better. My son is not good, but the situation is under control. Is cheese a total no-no Alliecat? I thought a tiny bit was okay. Hard to stop at a tiny bit though…

Hi
Its humbling reading what you cope with on a day to day basis.
It puts the niggles of the day into perspective.
I have managed to lose another 1.5 pounds! This is almost unheard of over a weekend – had to say I watched myself like a hawk.
We went out for dinner on Sunday to celebrate a relatives 90th birthday – had a lovely lunch and was not really hungry so did not have any tea.
I was surprised how little I missed it with a couple of mugs of tea and coffee I managed to cope.
I am sure it was that that contributed to the weight loss and makes me realise that alot of my eating is habit.

Hi budgie, I like your signature! Budgie’s own tracks in the mud, or maybe snow in your region?

Well done with the discarding, that is a success even when you felt low.

I reread your replies and you said that when you work, you are surrounded with temptation, sweets crisps and eating out with non-keto people. When will keto become the norm? When will we just need to choose from the menu knowing that sensible food will come our way?

Eventually, the bacteria that lives on simple sugars will die off, replaced by other types conducive to keto. I’m waiting for the Clever guts book, which will help me understand this aspect. This is how we know that if you hold strong for long enough, for me it was 4 weeks, you won’t have these urges.

You may find that the binging behaviour will take a different path, like running or nuts (or both for me!)

All the best for your woe, and finding ways to avoid the stuff that is high carb,
Patricia

Cheeselover, measured quantities of cheese are perfectly fine 🙂 I just can’t have it around me because it whispers to me
from inside the refrigerator! If I know it’s there, I’ll be thinking about it, so I just don’t ever bring it into the house. I’m
the classic all or nothing person, so bread and cheese had to be banished. I think I have relegated them to a category
known as “trigger” foods, and I probably will never be safe around them! Just weigh and measure your portions, and
you should be just fine.

Allie

Hello – I just started the Fast800 yesterday (8th)
I’m a massive fan of the 5:2 which I followed religiously for 4 years from 2013-2017 – motivated by a looming hip replacement. I lost 3 stone which I kept off all that time but I started doing it less rigorously in 2017 due to lots of work travel, and this combined with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism has resulted in me regaining 2 stones. I’ve been trying (rather halfheartedly with occasional fast days) to lose weight for the last 10 months with no success at all. So I’m absolutely desperate for this to work as I can’t fit into many of my clothes and feel very miserable about my size.
The thyroid thing is a complete pain – but my medication dose has just been upped so I am hoping this will kickstart a new era of weight loss.
Amazingly I’ve managed to persuade my husband to join in. He’s a type 2 insulin dependent diabetic who has never dieted – so whilst he absolutely won’t do the 800 calories, he’s trying to stay under 1400 a day.
So how fast has anyone managed to lose weight – and is anyone else struggling with thyroid issues? 🙂

Allie I would love to meet you too and if I’m ever over that way, I’ll definitely let you know! I’m actually still in Vegas. Yesterday was day 1 of the conference and I have three more to go. We decided yesterday to do shifts and take turns coming in later or leaving early. I have two days of coming in later which helps a lot with my sleeping problems so I’m managing ok. Not doing very well with my food but once I get home, I’m going to do a restart so I’m trying not to worry. Loving reading everyone’s posts and keeping myself entertained with them during the day. I hope to be back in the fold of eating right and losing weight next week xx

Hello everyone. 1.5 lbs down and happy to report my BG is nearly back to normal. I cut the Omega 3 2 days ago and instantly went from 8.2 on Sunday to 6.5 this morning. Seems I have worked that out for myself. I also had a thought about hubby changing from semi skimmed milk to full fat (he read a Dr. M article in the Mail on Sunday) and thought it tasted rather sweet. However, they both contain 12g sugars per 100g, quite high but considering I only have a splash in my coffee once a day it is no more than 15g. Dont think that is a problem but I will keep a careful watch out.

Stopatthekerb, my daughter has an underactive thyroid and struggles to lose weight although it might also be something to do with the gin and Peroni she likes. She has started the Fast800 and lost 3kg in 2 weeks and is very pleased. So far it has not affected her medication although I am sure she will have to keep a careful eye on it and check in with her doctor from time to time if she feels she needs a new blood test to check the dose. Same might apply to your husband. When you say insulin dependant I assume he is injecting. What does he use, how often. I am on Lantus and during the course of the first 8 weeks of this diet I had to reduce the insulin from 40 units daily to around 26 units. I am now on 22 units and dont expect to get rid of it completely, just keep things under control. Also I was on 90mg glycazide which I have reduced to 60mg (with doctors eventual permission). Tell him to keep a check on his numbers and watch out for any signs of hypo. Even if he doesn’t do the full Fast800 he will do himself a lot of good just by cutting out (or seriously reducing) the bad carbs. He might be interested in The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet book, which is similar to the Fast800 without the Intermittent Fasting or Time Restricted Eating info and a lot more about diabetes and how the diet effects us. Good luck.

Wow, well done, s-g. I wouldn’t have imagined the Omega 3 supplement would be deleterious to your BG at all, never mind in such a massive way. Are there questionable ingredients involved? The labeling laws regarding supplements in the US are a free-for-all. You never know what the hell is in these things.

How about using cream or half-and-half in your coffee?

Hi all, Just checking in briefly today! Having a good week, down 15.5lbs now. I’m also a cheese addict, I find that weighing out my daily allowance of grated cheese then allowing myself a nibble when I get desperate works for me! I can’t live a cheese free life 🥴. Keep up the good work all!!
🍒

Sunny-g so glad stopping the omega3 has worked, also well done on the discard 💞🦜

Esnecca, no questionable ingredients, bought from a reputable company (Holland & Barrett) but when I googled Omega 3 and diabetes it said diabetics could have raised BG if on supplements. On the other end of the scale, for non diabetics, Omega 3 can help prevent T2. Complicated world. I think cream would be much the same as FF milk and I have no idea what half and half is.

Cream is actually much lower in sugar than full fat milk, .4g in a 15g serving. Half-and-half is a 50-50 mixture of whole milk and cream that results in .6g sugar in a 15g serving. It’s popular in the US with milky coffee drinkers, my parents among them.

I wonder if you ate something high in Omega 3, like wild-caught salmon, for example, if you’d see the same BG spike or if it’s only supplements that do it, like maybe the distillate or concentration of O3 can have a blood sugar impact that might otherwise be cushioned by the rest of the nutritional elements in a whole food?

Here I am again is that single or double cream for the coffee please. Thanks Essie.

Hi Sunshine-girl, wow your daughter has done really well then, that gives me some hope! I think that I assumed my old 5:2 regime would still work but it has been a massive struggle. It is only now that I have had more time after changing jobs that I’ve investigated more about hypothyroidism and realise why I’ve felt so awful for the last 18 months. It is always good to be informed! I’ve finally moved up to 100 mg a day so hoping to see and feel a difference.
You sound like you are doing well too and it’s interesting to hear how you are doing as a diabetic.
My husband is on Novimix 30 and injects twice a day, between 40-60 units. His diabetes has always been a bit of a challenge, as he was in denial for many years before we met so he’s only been really controlled for about 10 years (he’s been diabetic for 25+!) Unfortunately disaster struck 3 years ago when he cut his toe and ended up with gangrene and sepsis and in intensive care. The upshot was a toe amputation and severely damaged eyesight so he can’t work now, and will probably soon have to stop driving. The foot with the amputated toe is now misshapen with a chronic ulcer and he has developed Charcot foot in his ‘good’ foot so he’s been pretty much immobile for 6 months whilst awaiting orthopaedic shoes from the NHS. He has an Aircast boot so can get around, but it is heavy and uncomfortable – we hope to get the shoes within the next 6 weeks. As you can imagine the sedentary lifestyle, boredom, and lack of knowledge in nutrition has meant a weight gain of abut 3 stone so he’s feeling pretty bad. He’s now keeping a vey detailed BG diary so that he can adjust his insulin accordingly – for the first time ever! He’s only ever had 1 hypo but I’ll make sure he watches out for any signs. I think if he sees fast weight loss he’ll be massively inspired – as will I!!
Fingers crossed 🙂

I had to look that up, Birdy, because our creams are apparently quite different from yours. 😀 When I say cream, I mean what we call heavy cream, with is 36% butterfat. Your double cream is 48%; single cream, which we don’t have, is 18%. We do have a light cream that comes in at 16%. Now, all of these distinctions only really matter, it seems to me, when you’re talking about making cream do things like whip or make ganache or, heaven forfend, clot. For our purposes, you want something that will mix easily with coffee, so I’d think the less thick single cream would be the way to go. It breaks down to the same nutritional stats as the cream I was referring to: .4 grams sugar in a 15g/ml serving.

Thank you I did too and yes the single cream would be better and if it is better than whole milk in my morning and lunchtime coffee then I am all for it. 💞🦜

Wow the thread is buzzing today ! Just want to welcome members who have decided to join our friendly thread.
Welcome Happyhel35. It’s wonderful that you can share your experience and benefit from Esneccca’s knowledge.
You are coping very well there Kafin. Glad we are keeping you entertained 😉 Enjoy that swanky hotel !
Hi Katniss ! Hi Cheeselover ! Stay with us ..we’ll keep you company and answer any questions you might have.
Good to see you back, Budgie !
Hi madmare ! Good to hear of your progress. Keep going and you will soon discard two stones and get your blood pressure down.
Hi stopathekerb. That’s great your o/h is on board too. My hubby faced a diabetes diagnosis last week and is adjusting well so far. I hope your hubby sees some improvement. He sounds a perfect candidate for a BSD programme. Your description of his health issues brings home the real dangers of diabetes and I wish you both every success
Well done Cherrysoup ! That’s a great result. Hopefully the thyroid issue will continue to improve too ( and stay away from the custard creams 😉
Wishing everyone a very sucessful week. You will find all the knowledge and support you need here so keep posting !

I am sincerely hoping that Amz will post very soon . We are waiting to hear from you Amz xx

Hello all.

Advice needed on my dinner please-
I had chicken breast pan fried in butter. Im the same pan i cooked red pepper and green beans.

I seem to be having more protein than advised – i like tuna or ham /egg salad for my lunch and meat with veg for my tea.
Is this roughly ok? I came in on 770 kcals today 29g carbs

Xx

Happyhel, have you been counting grams of protein, too? Some of the chicken breasts we get today are humongous!
Your menu sounds great, just remember that this is a low carb, MODERATE protein, high healthy fat lifestyle. Excess
protein can interfere with weight loss.

Allie

Thank you Allie.

Today i had 61 grams of protein. And 44 of fat
Xx

PERFECT, Birdy!

Woops! I meant my comment for Happyhel! Your macros are looking just great 🙂