Not before I got a nudge from my GP about both my blood-sugar levels and my weight, so I’m going ahead with the Fast800 BSD and intend to succeed. Looking at all available info around, for my (large) bodyframe shape, the ideal weight for someone of my height (5’8″) appears to be between 152 and 172 Ibs.

If I went for the middle of that range, I’d be targeting a goal-weight of 162 Ibs – in traditional measures that would be about 11st 8Ibs… Now, I’m starting at 226 Ibs (or 16st 2Ibs) so getting down to 162 Ibs would be a loss of 60 Ibs, which in percentage terms would be a loss of ~28%. Even going for a target of 172 Ibs, that would still be a loss of some 24%.

After just a 6 days, I can see the weight changing, and its not all water-loss as just 3 days in I went to the pub and drank 3 pints of soda and a slice of lime whilst my colleagues drank themselves silly (quite interesting observing them drunk while stone cold sober!).

I’m interested if this range of target loss % of between 24-28% is;
1) Acceptable (I think it is as I’d be a LOT healthier!).
2) Realistic (again I believe it is – but no doubt a pretty tough goal).

Thanks for any thoughts.

Welcome Russ, both to the forum and the first week of your new life. I’ve lost more than 55% of my body weight in just over a year on the Fast800, so yes it is certainly possible. I lost about 50 pounds (I didn’t weigh myself in the beginning so I don’t have the exact figure) in the 8 weeks, which tots up to about 16%.

I am much shorter than you (5’2″) and had a lot more to lose than you which is why I have kept going on the 800 until my goal is in sight, but if my experience is any guide, your ideal weight loss is more than achievable. It will probably take at least a couple of rounds of the Fast800 to accomplish. You don’t have to do what I did and go straight through without breaks. A lot of people do it in cycles, 8 weeks on the Fast800 followed by x amount of weeks on the 5:2 or just generally following BSD principles, followed by another 8 weeks of the Fast800. It all depends on what works best for you, how quickly you tend to lose, how good you feel, what kind of exercise you do, those kinds of things.

Has it been tough at times? Sure. Much more mentally than physically, and then only when the losses stalled, but if you can go drinking with the guys and chug half a keg’s worth of water while they’re pounding brews, that tells me you’ve got a steely will. I took a very disciplined approach. Others are more flexible to make the BSD fit with their families, lifestyles, work etc. I advise you get a kitchen scale if you dont’ have one, measure, weigh and tally everything you eat, at least in the beginning. Read the nutrition labels on everything before you buy it or if there is no lable, look up the information in an app like MyFitnessPal or Fat Secret. Cut white carbs, grains, starchy veg, cereal and most of all sugar right out like it’s trying to kill you, which it is.

Good luck. You can do it!

Welcome Russ – and well done on going to the pub and sticking to 3pts soda water.

Good advice from Esnecca, who is one of our BSD heroes.

Yes, that sort of %age weight loss is realistic, probably not in one round of BSD though. I lost approx. 27% of my body weight in 16 weeks, so 2 back to back rounds of 800, and have now been maintaining for 14 weeks. So stick with it and look forward to a healthier, slimmer future. Good luck.

Well, after 1 week I’ve lost 12Ibs, and I don’t believer too much of that is water – I’ve kept the fluid intake up and I can also see a difference in my, errr, silhouette!

First observations on this;

1) Feeling a lot less hungry than I’d imagined I would between meals.
2) Need some inspiration for breakfasts – doing a fair bit of greek yoghurt and berries – I like it but need variety.
3) Still haven’t settled into the new eating regime, so its not easy yet.
4) wife supportive and religiously following BSD Recipe book (and enjoying my 100% alcohol abstinence – I’m the nominated driver)

8 weeks seems like a long way away, but I can see the results and “get” the logic of the diet so planning to stick to this….

Russ.

Hey Russ – that’s a great result for week one, you must feel really chuffed with yourself. Hunger is largely driven by carbs, so once the body has adjusted, you should find hunger between meals much rarer. Keeping the proteins and fats high helps you to feel sated more quickly and stay feeling full for longer. It’s great that you are paying plenty of attention to hydration; have your wife’s support and that you are finding it easy to abstain from alcohol – these are all a huge help.

If you are willing to go ‘off piste’ when it comes to menu options, you could include veggie patties for breakfast – works with grated courgette (if using, squeeze out as much fluid as possible) chopped cabbage, spinach (pretty much any veg actually) you can include a little grated cheese, any herbs or spices you like, add a few eggs and then fry off table spoonfuls of the mixture with a little olive oil or butter. Be sure to weigh and measure everything put into the mixture, then calculate the calories and carbs in the total mix, before dividing these by the number of patties made to give you the cal and carb value for each one. They store well in the fridge and can be reheated or eaten cold – great with a little pickle, a rasher of bacon, smoked fish or a cold meats. I often make a batch and keep them in the fridge as a fall back. Cold, they are very packable as part of a meal on the run. Another breakfast option would be smoked salmon with scrambled egg, or a piece of poached smoked haddock and a poached egg.

Finally, try not to think in terms of eight weeks and the final amount you want to lose. Better to think in terms of ‘just this week’ and to set mini-goals to hit along the way – dropping the next 7lb, breaking a certain weight barrier, a smaller waist measurement, or getting into a smaller clothing size. Achieving these smaller goals helps to motivate and keep you focused and posting these intentions also helps to keep you accountable.

There will be times when the going gets tough and that’s the time to shout out for the support of the folks on the forum. Meanwhile, we’ll be looking forward to reading of more positive results from you soon – best of luck for week two and beyond.

I’ll have to check out my local Waitrose in Ipswich and get inspired on ingredients!

The book says the average loss is 7 kg, that’s about 15 pounds. Because I’m a small menopausal woman I’m setting my hopes modestly at 8-10 pounds. On a ‘normal’ 1200 calorie diet I tend to lose only half a pound a week. I suspect I’d last for ages if abandoned on an ice floe. I want to lose 40-50 pounds so I can see myself doing several rounds with breaks between. Or I might go at it straight and cut myself a little slack for big occasions e.g. A wedding, not just someone brought donuts. I’m now on day three. Three pound dropped overnight on the first day but I’ve been the same the following two. I use an iPad app called happy scale where you weigh daily and get a running average over the previous ten days. It takes the sting and the air punching out of individual data points.

Given that you have so much you want to lose, Laoighse, I’m sure you will be able to drop more than 15lb very successfully. Some of us drop the pounds much more slowly than others. I’m a slow loser, so sympathise with your normal half pound a week. Even on the BSD I have not had any huge losses, think my biggest loss in one week has been around 3lb. Regardless of that I have dropped a total of 31lb, a little over 20% of my starting body weight in approx. 18mths, with breaks for extended holidays, festive season etc.

Having the occasional break for a special event, is just life and we have to live it. If you decide to take longer breaks in between rounds of 8 weeks, I would suggest not making the breaks too long and when taking a break, be sure to stick to the BSD principles, so as not to gain back too much.

How ever you decide to apply the BSD to your lifestyle I hope it goes well for you and we’ll look forward to reading about your success.

I lost 26 pounds over the 8 weeks, and was quite close to my target at the end. 9 pounds of that was probably mainly water weight in the first week though. I think what the diet is that you are transitioning from makes a significant difference. Good luck on your first block, and whether or not you decide to push on or have a break before another block. That’s one of things I love about this WOE, it is so flexible.

That is very heartening to hear. I’m only 5’1″ so any weight looks huge. I started this time ( I’ve been trying to lose weight for 15 years, now 20 pounds heavier than original, ‘I need to lose weight’ weight, depressing) weighing around 160. It was actually 162.7, but I think that was up a bit from normal given I had just been to a wedding with much eating and drinking. Last month I was 158. This morning 158.6, so that’s encouraging. My first aim is to break under 150 and not bounce back up. Every diet I’m tried I got to 150 and relaxed, ‘”See, easy, I can do this” and then regained. It is all in your head, and I don’t just mean the mouth bit.

You are right, Laoighes, mind set is hugely important. Good move setting a mini-goal to see you under 150, but could I suggest you start to line up the challenge to follow that, so it is already at the back of your mind once the 150 is achieved. This might help to keep you focused and stop that ‘sitting back and easing off’ when you reach that point.

Like you I am 5″1′, so appreciated absolutely what you are saying about every pound showing, there really is no where on a frame that small to hide it is there. I was originally 159, had lost a bit before starting the BSD, so was 149 at the beginning of my BSD quest and am now 118lb (8st 6lb dead this morning) and two dress sizes smaller. Currently wanting to drop 2lb more, to give myself some wriggle room up to my original target weight of 8st 7lb (119lb). It’s taken a while, as I have had some breaks, stalls, plateaus and procrastinations, but I’ve found the BSD really work if you can focus and apply yourself. I’m confident that you can do this and achieve your goals – please keep us posted.

Wow you could be my twin. My highest weight ever was 175, it’s a lot on a little frame. I feel different about this time. Maybe this is it.

Thats great!

There is such positivity around the BSD and the forum, that has really helped to keep me focused and on track. I’m not saying that I haven’t had times when things have gone badly, but overall, this has been the easiest way of eating to stick to and has had the most positive impact on my weight, size and wellbeing, of any ‘diet’ I have ever followed.

Hope my ‘twin’ will soon be reporting great results soon. Best of luck Laoighse!

Little quote to help keep you focused: ‘Each second you can be reborn. Each second there can be a new beginning. It is choice. It is your choice.’ Clearwater.

I don’t know if I’ll hit my target weight in one 8 week stint, seems unlikely, so I’m taking the 8 weeks in successive 2-week chunks, adding in some exercise now and I have a total loss of 18 Ibs in 18 days. I know it’ll tail off as times goes on, but I can SEE the difference and that’s motivational. Weighing myself twice a week seems to work for me too.