So I’m just entering week 4. In the first 10 days I lost 10lbs. Since then I’ve lost one pound. The diet is very manageable. I come in at 800 every day and I’m trying to exercise along with that. I suffer from extreme exhaustion but not ME so exercise is often very difficult – but so far the diet hasn’t made any difference to my energy levels. Any clues why this plateau is taking so long to shift? I’m not particularly losing heart as I know that if I’m only eating 800 calories a day, the weight has to come off at some point I’d just like it to start coming off in dribs and drabs! Thanks in advance…

Hi Birdy. Are you tracking your carbs too or just calories? Some people here seem to aim for 50g max carbs each day. The BSD book doesn’t seem to recommend a specific limit but some of the recipes can add up to quite a few carbs. 50 g was working for me then slowed down a lot so I dropped to max 20g for a week ( while eating more fat) and got a boost of -7lbs that week. My GP says I am carb intolerant so lower carbs needed. Hope that helps.

Hi SchnitzelVonKrumm (most excellent name, by the way!)
Thanks for replying – I haven’t been tracking my carbs, thanks for the idea. The only outright carbs I’m having are rice paper wrappers as I have summer rolls for lunch, all the other carbs are in pulses, quorn and starchy veg (although that’s only carrots). Could you recommend a good website to do some detective work, please? Unfortunately, most of my fat intake is via tahini (which is also carby) as I’m dairy free but I also use olive oil. Gosh it’s a mine field! Thanks again.

Have you downloaded a food tracker? I use MyFitnessPal. I couldn’t do the plan without it really. The calories and carbs in the books can be out be quite a lot when you actually come to make the food with your own ingredients. The carbs in rice paper wrappers (I don’t eat them so not sure) may be quite high and also it is a refined, processed food. Could you substitute a gem lettuce leave for these? Have you tried coconut oil for more variety? I would look at the veg I was having to see if i could go for lower carb stuff.

Also, I find vegetable soup really helpful. Very filling and low in calories and carbs (if you are careful – watch the quantity of onions and carrots). I add fat to keep me full by sautéeing the veg in olive oil. Adding cauliflower and blending gives a nice creamy texture.

I’ll download a food tracker but I always double check the calories anyway as I have to substitute any meat for a vegetarian option. Unfortunately rice paper wrappers can’t be substituted (I have tried lettuce leaves but it doesn’t work) – you’re absolutely right, I’ll investigate the carbs but they are the only processed food I eat as everything else is made from scratch (I am allergic to a lot of foods). That sounds like a big old whopper of an excuse but I will look at other lunch options, however I already eat more soup than you can shake a stick at! Thanks again for your help, much appreciated!
ps I like the sound of your GP, mine just tells me to bugger off…

Hi Birdy – I have just posted on the ‘pick a carb level’ topic as I am sure too many carbs are stalling me too.

Ooh thanks! I’ll have a look…

Yea GP, who was so encouraging and has read the research, is giving me the message that it’s watching the carbs that matters more than calories. For me the BSD is a low carb diet first rather than low calorie as it talks a lot about sugar and carb addiction. I don’t worry now if I go over my 800cals but keep the carbs down and the fat up. It is easy to eat 800cals but still have carb level that is slowing down weight loss. I am not a vegetarian and do eat dairy so I know I have more options!

Yeah, the options thing is quite difficult! All my non-allergic foods have a lot of carbs (with the exception of eggs). I’ll do some proper research and see if I can make up some kind of menu. Thanks again! B