Hi Everyone, I am so motivated to do this but really fighting the hunger pangs on day three – couldn’t sleep last night for rumbly tum – any advice? does this “wanting to chew through my desk” pass?

Thanks!

Hi MaryMoo – I sympathise, it is hard the first few days but if you can hang on then your body will get used to the lower calorie intake. Make sure you’re having enough protein and high fat foods (I know – it’s so against everything we’ve been told before but believe me when I say it works) because they keep you fuller for longer. Ditch the skimmed milk and low fat anything, have eggs or full fat plain yogurt (Fage Total is best) with a few berries and a sprinkling of chopped nuts for breakfast. Use the food tips on here and in the Blood Sugar Diet book – assume you have it if not get it as there is a lot of information about nutrition in there which was my bible when I first started this.

And of course the best way to stave off the hunger pangs for a while is good old water. You’ll need to drink plenty of this especially when you first start while your body adjusts to the different way of eating. I find sparkling water better than tap water for killing off the hunger pangs. One of my tricks if I feel hungry is to give myself a time when I can eat so if I’m hungry in mid morning I tell myself I can’t eat anything until 12:15 then have an early lunch. If you are a snacker then it’s best to wean yourself off that habit if you can. Ideally this diet works best on 2 or 3 meals a day.

If you are uncomfortably hungry and it’s destroying your concentration then have a very small handful of nuts to hand although remember they are quite high in calories. I have about 8 cashews (around 100 cals) if I really can’t survive to mealtime although that’s really unusual now as I’ve been doing this for 12 weeks.

Just a proviso here – I’m not diabetic so don’t know if what I say above is correct from that perspective. Please stick with us – you’ll be among a great group of friendly and helpful people.

Many thanks old blue jeans – made it to lunch by throwing myself into work, so good all round! Good idea about the sparkly water, I will try that. The main thing is that it will not be like this throughout the eight weeks. So far, I am really positive about this. What are your results like after 12weeks? (blimey that seems a long time when only on day three!) would love to hear about your weight loos.

Many thanks, Moo

Good words OldBJ’s

I am now in my 4 week, I still feel mild hunger, cannot call them pains though, in the beginning I think part of the hunger is the body resisting the lower intake and missing the sugar big time. I used the same tactic I used when I quite smoking 12 years ago, and the same tactic I used on my children and still use on my grandchildren, if possible give your self something to do, diversions tactics, just a few mins is all it needs to get you mind onto something else, also mindfulness can help.

If you had told me a year ago I would be on an 800 cal diet I would have called you all the names under the sun along the lines of that’s not enough food, so now I am surprised. Ending week 4 and approaching a 2 stone loss, so stick with it, as it appears to be working for and old cynic like me. I also am not a diabetic, so do not necessarily no the medical complications you have to deal with, I do know diabetic’s who struggle to control their sugars, good luck.

Marymoo, I have not really had any hunger pangs on this diet. I probably eat more than I ever did before as I was always on ‘a diet’, usually living on soups and salads. I have masses to eat, are you sure you are getting enough, especially fats, some people have a fear of them and resist using them to their advantage. Give us an idea of what you eat in one day so we can better advise you.

Hello Marymoo,

Yes, as sunshine-girl suggests, it would be good to see a food diary from the last couple of days. It may be that you are not eating enough! Or that you could make some useful food swaps within your carb and calorie allowance. The advice about eating full fat is spot on. You needn’t worry too much about that as you’ll find that you can eat less of whatever it is compared to the low fat/low sugar version as it will fill you up more quickly and stave off the hunger pangs for longer. I am definitely a Fage/Total full fat yoghurt fan! Generally tend to have that every morning with either a few strawberries or blueberries and often with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Eggs are definitely your friend on the BSD too. Small amounts of cheese and nuts are good. Olive oil and avocados should feature (if you like them!). And yes, fizzy water is another good tip and has often been my lifesaver!

I agree …. drink lots of water. I like fragrant plain tea of all kinds. You can keep a small baggie of nuts and seeds … i like pumpkin seeds at hand.
Last night when i was hungry i cut up about 1/3 of an English cucumber in thin slices … so it felt like a lot. I love the smell of cucumber. Some small grape tomatoes are also a good refreshing snack. I also used to like to eat a celery stick with yellow mustard.

Full fat is the way to go. Love plain full fat yogurt with a few berries and seeds/nuts on top. I also love coffee with cream …. i may cut down to one cuppa a day … but i’m having 2 tablespoons of 18 percent cream in my morning coffee.

I felt fairly hungry yesterday …. but i took that as a sign that it’s working!!

I tend to go for the 150g Onken Yogurt Less calories and sugar than the Fage, with raspberries or strawberries for my breakfast

Onken yogurt Fage Yogurt
Typical values Per 100g Per 150 g serving per 100g
Energy 285kJ 428 kJ Energy 403 kJ
Energy 68kcal 102 kcal Energy 96 kcal
Fat 3.7g 5.6 g Fat 5.0 g
Of which Of which
– Saturates 2.4g 3.6 g Saturates 3.6 g
Carbohydrate 3.4g 5.1 g Carbohydrate 3.8 g
Of which Of which
– Sugars 3.4g 5.1 g Sugars 3.8 g
Protein 3.7g 5.5 g Protein 9.0 g
Salt 0.15g 0.22 g Salt 0.1 g
Calcium 119mg 179 mg Calcium 121 mg

Sorry the comparison charts did not look like that prior to posting

Probably doesn’t help, but you DO get hungry at first… and have to battle it! Plenty of good advice above

Thanks everyone – I feel so supported by all of your comments! Very much appreciated and I have skipped breakfast to then have two meals of 400cals and so maybe this is harder as well. The best news is that I will get used to it and I am already losing weight. Brilliant!

Great news MaryMoo – keep it up!

Hi Mary Moo – did you survive the weekdays OK? I’ve lost 2 stone over 12 (or it might be 13) weeks. My weight loss is slow because I often work away from home, sometimes for weeks (yep, still working despite being nearly 70). The good thing is I can do this while I’m away. Egg and tomato for breakfast, very little, if any, lunch and just meat and veg for dinner. When I’m at home I love ratatouille so make a large portion of it to last over three or four meals and I either have it as it is, whizz it into a soup (with a tiny bit of grated cheese on top) or make a veg curry with it and chuck a few chickpeas in. The other good thing about it is that if you are starving you can grab a couple of spoonfuls without eating loads of carbs.

I would think between us all we’ve got enough tips to cover most circumstances. This is definitely the best forum I’ve ever been part of so keep posting and let us all know how you’re doing. Good luck with your journey.