Hi Trina
SunnyB and Mixnmatch are absolutely correct in what they say. Although apples and pears are not considered ‘simple’ carbs, they are on the high side. When I felt like one, I would cut a small one in half and have the other half the next day. It’s really up to you what you want to eat to keep your carbs under 50g per day (remember that is just a starting guide, I did fine on this, but I’m not T2D or insulin resistant and others that are have found they have to eat less).
I’m in Australia and buy the Tamar Valley full fat Greek Style yoghurt as it only has 5.8g carbs per 100g. It’s really important to read the labels as they are all different.
Cheers
Linda

First time I have ever joined a forum conversation on any website- the support and tips/ advice is great. I skipped breakfast today and found it surprisingly easy to get through to lunchtime. Preparing a simple stir fry this evening took an incredible 45mins as I carefully weighed everything and balanced out the carbs on MyFitnessPal! So far so good. Hope everyone doing good and feeling in control. Roll on day 3!

Hi everyone – Day 2 is nearly over!!

Hello to the new joiners to the thread (I think I saw two?) and thank you to the ‘old timers’. Some really interesting stuff there.

Today hasn’t been too bad. Again working from home so have the time to measure and log everything. Once I finish eating I’m going to make up lunch for tomorrow as I have an afternoon meeting.

Here’s the thing – I feel like I’m still eating too much. I am counting everything – right down to the 1 cal squirts when frying but I feel full after each meal. Is that normal? I’m not saying I don’t get hungry between meals but not massively.

So today’s stats:
Calories: 740
Carbs: 34g (lesson learned – don’t make the Jewelled Feta Pepper – that accounted for most my carbs. Next time I’ll cut out a few of the ‘salsa ingredients’ and swap the pepper for salad or spinach)
Water: 2.5L – a bit low today 🙁
Steps: 12,649 (but will be 13,000+ when I go to bed)

So how was your day?

Heath – I’m also finding it’s taking forever to measure everything out. I cooked chicken with pesto (as per the book) and it took me about 45 mins to get it all sorted.

And now I feel really full. It really makes me wonder if I’m doing this properly but I am counting and tracking everything. I guess when I have previously eaten carbs and low fat – it doesn’t really fill me up.

34g is fine for a days carbs, this isn’t as extreme as Atkins. I expect you will have a few higher and a few lower if you carry on following the recipes in the books, but rest assured that for most people the carbs in the book recipes are sufficiently low to lose weight well. If you do not lose weight later on you always have the option of going more extreme then. On 800 calories I used to average about 45g carbs and lost 26 pounds over the 8 weeks, ending up very close to my goal weight.

Oh and yes, feeling full and satisfied after eating is perfectly normal. Fat and protein both send these signals, but carbs tend to drown them out with the blood sugar response shouting ‘I want more!’

I’ve just finished day two of the diet and found that I’m surprisingly not hungry. The only thing I’ve noticed is that it does involve a lot of cooking and preparation… I suppose the idea is to make big batches of food. Has anyone got good recipe recommendations from the book that have turned out well? I tried courgette spaghetti, it wasn’t great but maybe because I bought the dried version rather than making it myself, it had an odd taste. The Vietnamese Pho soup was very good and even my kids liked it. The spicy baked bean dish wasn’t my favourite. I think I’ll do roast chicken tomorrow. My kitchen has never seen so much action!

I re-started yesterday so I’ll join this thread – though actually I always just comment on any thread I feel like if I have something to say! I struggled with hunger on day one (actual hunger with a grumbly tummy) and I ate a bit extra, ended up 980 calories and 41 g carbs. I’m fine with that, I’ll bring it down more today. Lost 0.5kg overnight. I am (for about the fourth time) within 0.1kg of my lowest BSD weight, I can’t seem to push past it but I will this time! At least I’ve been maintaining (more or less) for months not gaining it all back. Today I need to; eat less, drink more, exercise.

On the subject of batches – anything that takes a bit of effort (e.g. dinner) I make double portions and put that in the fridge to be eaten the day after next.

As for good recipes – I enjoyed the chicken with basil and pine nuts that I made tonight.

I’m now through day 3 and really very surprised at how much I am enjoying my meals and how full I feel, I’ve never felt like this on any other diet. I’m struggling a bit working out calories and carb amounts – have tried my fitness pal but after registering it wouldn’t let me have lower daily calorie count than 1200. Do you all pay for the upgrade to be able to lower the daily amount- or am I just doing it wrong??

Evening all,
Mixnmatch – may thanks for your feedback. I’m trying hard to get to 2L of water or more, but I am finding that so difficult. Today, I only managed 1L.
LindaA – What comprehensive advice!! Thank you!

Today’s summary:
Calories: 919
Carbs: 51g
Water: 1L
Steps: 11,000

Bit disappointed with my calorie intake, but that’s because I had a handful of nuts!
Starting to get a headache – possibly carb flu.
Tomorrow I’ll aim for 800 cals with less than 30g of carbs.

Hi All,
I also started on the 31st, I am not diabetic- just looking to lose around 15-20 kg as I am a 6 foot 3, 46yr old male who weighs 112kg. After a very active working lifestyle which kept my weight down and fitness high, I now find that with a job involving sitting on a chair for 9 hours a day is not great for one’s health.
Whilst I am not finding it too hard to keep to my BSD goals, the headache that I have had for 3 days is a tad annoying. I am utilising Aldi shakes for the first few weeks to assist me, as the rest of the family are eating their normal meals.
Really glad for some of the advice on the forum- LindaA- a great read!

I too started on 30 January. I am on a mission to lose 10 kilos so that when I do some big walks (305 km and 156 kms) in June and July this year I will enjoy them and my knees won’t pack it in. I am finding I get VERY hungry before meals. Reading this forum when I am starving is a great support and distraction. Thank you everyone for sharing. I am sticking to the 4 week plan diligently so far. Hopefully by next week my body will have adjusted…..

I’m starting today 1st Feb – I’ve been going it alone but it’s too easy to cheat so would welcome company on the journey back to health and fitness

Annepod, you can set your calorie limit to 800 with a free account on MyFitnessPal. It’ll just yell at you when you click on “Complete This Entry” button at the end of the day. At first I ignored the yelling and went about my business. Now I don’t even bother to click the complete button.

Thanks for all the help!

Shanshu – Thank you for the welcome and all the best to you.

Linda – thanks for all those great tips and thoughts for us newbies.

Day 10 just finishing for me and I’m still feeling good, no headaches or lightheadedness or anything. It’s so weird! I even felt like going for a 40 minute walk before work this morning, though the heatwave we are having here in QLD means we have to be careful with that 😊

Hello!
I’m starting this week (today) too. I had a little go at this at the end of last year but got a wee bit side tracked with Christmas.
I’ve a fair amount of weight to lose to get into the healthy BMI range (a little over 3 st to shift to make it), which is a key goal, but mostly I want to shift my tummy. I’m not diabetic but my mother is and I know that carrying weight around my middle is not a good indicator of things to come if I don’t do something about it now. I’m late 30s and determined to get my weight under control before any health problems set in.
I know I’m going to find reading everyone’s progress really useful and I’m glad to have found people starting out the same time as me 🙂
Laura

Hi Laura78 – welcome to the thread. It’s so good to have other people to talk to isn’t it? And so many handy hints and tips from others who have been successful. When I hear how well others have done, it really helps me to imagine that success for myself and keep me on track.

By the way, I just had the courgette and feta salad for lunch. Absolutely delicious and came in at 241 calories once all measured up (I used half a courgette – didn’t think I could manage a whole one). Anyway that’s a definite repeat for me. LOVED IT and certainly seemed like it was full of goodness.

Thank for the cream in coffee suggestion SunnyB, I will give that a go, especially when Im back at work next week. I was busy in the garden this morning at it was easy to go right through to lunch before eating, when Im sat at my desk next week not cracking will be harder. Im not going to tell my work colleagues Im on a diet. I have 1 competitive colleague who is quite obsessed with weight I just dont want to get into it at work so will be keeping quiet.

Re the amount of cooking and batch cooking suggestions. Im a big batch cooker myself, only cook every few days generally. I made the fish pie with precooked prawns so realised I coudnt reheat it. Ive had it cold twice and its actually fine – helps that im actually hungry when I sit to eat! I try to minimise waste which is more important now as I cant fill my basket with cheap rice and potats, for a little example, if I buy a pack of fresh dill I need to make sure I use it – I have planned a few recipes from the book that require dill until its used up – I then probably wont eat those recipes again for a couple of weeks so I dont get sick of them.

Things such as the skinny chilli can obviously be batch cooked but ive been looking through the book and whilst a lot of the recipes dont look batch cookable, the prep can be done in batches, provided you dont mind eating it a couple/few times that week. For example, the foil baked fish, perhaps just prep the ingredients in one go and pop them in tubs and store in the fridge, then when ready to eat the other piece of fish the next day or the day after the ingredients are already prepped and it just needs to be throuwn together. Same with the warm salads, the salad part can be prepped a few days before and the warm part just cooked when ready to eat it. Skinny bean burgers can be made up and stored in the fridge until ready to cook and eat. I quite dislike cold eggs, I will be having veg fritata for the next 2 days, all the prep will be done tonight but Ill only combine half of it with the eggs, cook that today and cook the other half tomorrow.

Im planning on making a few soups ahead of time and putting them in the freezer, If I get caught unprepared and am really hungry I will be able to just heat them through and eat.

Ive checked my blood sugar (im not diabetic but my cat is so I have the kit) and its fine, Im not sure why I feel quite shakey then. Not long and it will be time to cooker dinner.

I hope you all feel well today.

Today has been a bit harder for me. I actually felt hungry for the first time around 4pm and actually felt physically sick. However I’d just embarked on a 3 mile walk to get my steps in and it seemed to disappear after about half a mile.

Dinner is just a case of reheating my stirfry but then I’ll need to prep breakfast and lunch for tomorrow as in the office for the first time since the diet started.

Hi everyone.

I am hoping to start tomorrow (2/2), this following a T2 diabetes diagnosis, which will be confirmed in the next week or so.

I am clinging to the hope that it can be reversed through diet and I totally understand others comments re feeling “overwhelmed” by the diagnosis. I would add feeling pretty scared too if I am being honest.

Well, I now have a solid gold no excuses acceptable reason to stick to a diet and with my wife’s help, I hope to manage it. (I have in the region of 100lbs to lose, so I have no choice really)

I wish everyone the best of luck.

Shanshu- will def try walking the hunger away if I am struggling. I am still full of a cold at the moment and don’t feel particularly hungry. That said, I made the Moroccan meatballs from the bsd recipe book this evening – delicious and far quicker for me to follow a recipe than start from scratch. Taking all the advice about batch cooking and put three extra portions in the freezer.
Looking forward to hearing how everyone else is doing.
Gillykins- thanks for starting the thread- lots of great support. how are you doing?
Good luck for tomorrow

Hi Heaphster

I was in your position last July. Diagnosed T2, but also high Blood Pressure, Slightly high Cholesterol and symptoms of fatty liver.

Started in August/September with a weight of 329lb. As of now, Blood pressure and cholesterol in Normal level, no symptoms of fatty liver and HBA1C of 35 so in normal – also lost 77lbs, so 23 lb to go to my target. My one tip is to be bloody-minded, it can be difficult at times but it is doable.

Just keep the faith.

Heaphster – I have a lot of weight to lose too. Probably over 100lb to be honest but that would certainly put me a good deal lighter than I’ve been in well over a decade.

Heath – thanks for the meatball recommendation. I might do that for next week’s plan which I’ll probably put together on Sat.

JulesMaigret – oh wow, that’s so good to hear. And well done. I hope I can do as well!

Possible recommendation?

I found some crispbread in Boots (Atkins Advantage). 20 cals a slice with 1.8g carbs. Tastes nice enough and useful if you want to do something quick (like a small amount of soft cheese or the salsa you make for the pepper with jewelled feta).

Also it was on special offer – less that £2 for 20 slices.

JulesMaigret – have you done the 8 wk diet permanently or do you come off for a few weeks and then go back on (if you don’t mind me asking)

Don’t mind at all – I just carried on because I was feeling great – fitter, more mentally sharp and just full of beans. My personal version is actually about 900 calories but an average of just under 50g of carbs.

JulesMaigret – that is so good to hear. I also have nearly 100lb to lose. My motivation is higher this time because at my last over 50s health check my blood sugars were much higher than previous time. Completely predictable, but I was still shocked and determined to tackle my eating habits out once and for all. I have tried to lose weight so many times, but always struggled with feeling tired and lacking energy and reaching for the sugar and carbs. Hoping for full of beans very soon!

Evening all,
Thanks for all the tips on using MyfitnessPal. It sounds like a good app to use.

Laura78 – totally agree with you, made changes now – before you’re forced to.

Shanshu – Where can I find the courgette and feta salad recipe? Is that in the book or recipe book?

JulesMaigret – well done, success stories like that help us when it gets difficult.

Today’s summary:
Calories: 712
Carbs: 31g
Water: 1.5L
Steps: 11,570

Still struggling with the water intake, but hoping I can steadily increase the amount – until I get to 2.5L

JulesMaigret – thank you. You and every other success story on here is an inspiration. It makes me believe I can do this. I don’t think I’ve ever thought that about losing weight before.

Hi Fighting T2 – it’s in the original book. Although I’ve got the recipe book, – lot of people here have said that the calorie count is a bit off so I think I’m going to need to spend more time counting everything up to make sure I can safely add it to a meal plan.

So today is done for me – I’ve just finished prepping breakfast and lunch. Time for bed I think.

Today’s summary:
Calories: 793
Carbs: 24g
Water: 2.75L
Steps: 13,464

Well done everyone – good luck tomorrow.

Morning all.

First day in the office since I started the diet. On the plus side this means that I have already prepared my lunch and breakfast so I’m ready to go. Also it means that it will be easier to do my step count as I have at least 6,000 steps to do to get me door to door and back so just need to do a few additional walks around the block in the day and I should easily make my 11,000 steps target. (I should probably point out that at 5’2″ I do more steps per mile than most people!

On the downside I can’t really face people commenting on my food choices. The second I explain what I’m doing they’ll be straight in with advice (none of it particularly well-meaning).

Hi everyone,

How’s everyone getting on? Hope you’re all doing okay. I’ve had a couple of very grumpy, headachey days but am pleased to report that now seems to be subsiding and I have a bit more energy today as well. My calories seem to still be over the 900 mark despite my one shake / one meal each day, but i’m not having anything but water or coffee until around 2.30-3pm each day and am not feeling desperately hungry – though I was rather “hangry” last night as was trying to sort out food for the rest of the family before my own…

I’m only hitting around 30-35 carbs a day despite the calorie count, and despite my intention to only weigh weekly I succumbed this morning and have lost just over 2kg. Not getting too excited about this though as I know from past experience I might actually not lose any more by next Monday!

I started at 79.6kg and want to get down to 66kg to be in the healthy BMI range for my height. I’m not diabetic but have a family history, an ever-increasing abdominal size and polycystic ovaries, so at 48 years old I feel like a bit of a ticking time bomb!

Shansu, I know exactly what you mean about the advice, even when it IS well meaning it’s often annoying! I only work 6 hours a day so don’t usually take a lunch break, and people don’t know I haven’t had breakfast either so it’s not too hard to keep it under my hat at work, but have been there before so I do sympathise…

Hi guys and gals!

So far so good. Day 3 and no adverse complaints. I have felt hungry, but have managed to distract myself.

I’m not weighing myself daily, was going to do it weekly. What are others doing?

I’m so far just having 2 meals a day, and really enjoying a bit of melting butter over my veg. Seems very indulgent, but allowed!

Quick flyby cos I’m ravenous and need to eat…

JuJu68 – glad the headaches are clearing and 2kg loss is a great start.

Gillykins – I am weighing myself daily but that’s kind of because I’m setting up a new routine for myself which is to get up and take the following measurements:
1) Blood pressure
2) Blood glucose
3) Weight (and a bunch of other measurements that my scales send directly to my phone)

Then on a weekly basis I’ll be taking photos and measuring neck, waist, chest, hip etc

I have no idea if weighing daily is a good thing. At the moment I’m seeing a decrease each day which whilst minimal still tells me things are going in the right direction. When that slows and there isn’t a daily change I might be more despondent.

To be honest – it wasn’t the daily weight I was checking but the body water. I’m low for a woman but since I’ve been logging my water (and increasing intake) it has risen slightly.

Noooo – there’s a courgette shortage in the country! No wonder I couldn’t find any the other days.

Courgette is a staple for me!!

Sorry for over posting but…

In other news, I made the courgetti with salmon and creme fraise. I had calories to spare and doubled the salmon. It was tasty BUT there was nothing to it. I feel like I haven’t eaten anything. The crime fraise takes up too many calories in this recipe which could be used by veg to bulk it out. I don’t recommend it.

Courgette shortage due to bad weather in Southern Europe this winter that has greatly reduced crop yields!

Shansu, you are not over posting, I find what you write really encouraging

Tonight I had a seasoned chicken breast on a 300g heap of cauliflower “couscous”. I livened it up with some small pieces of red pepper and a few shakes of soy sauce. 350 calories, possibly a bit less (I am still getting my head around detailed calorie counting, as I only got my copy of the Blood Sugar Diet today. However, I believe I am below the 800 calorie limit for today.

I am also drinking plenty of water and the corresponding number of trips to the loo have risen substantially 🙂

On the subject of how often to weigh yourself. The BSD book references studies that seem to show that people that weigh themselves more frequently lose more weight and keep it off better. I intend to weigh myself every morning.

I have one question, I am going to buy a blood sugar monitor and I was looking for suggestions regarding makes and models? I think something simple and robust is what I need. Any suggestions out there? Thanks.

All the best

Well after three months of trying to get back on the BSD wagon and using my “lowest weight” as a trampoline (I’d get down to it then regain and bounce back up) I’ve finally broken that barrier! Back on the BSD properly for three days and I’ve already whooshed down to 0.5kg below my previous low. This is a big deal to me after three months of trying!

I’ve been struggling a bit with hunger and having some extra cheese before bed, taking me over calories a little but it doesn’t seem to be hurting my weight loss. Sticking to BSD approved foods. Increasing the water but no exercise yet.

Ive given up chocolate until Easter, last night I dreamed I ate some, then realised what I’d done and was so disappointed! Glad to wake up and know I hadn’t really.

Hi Heaphster – the cauliflower cous cous sounds nice. I also saw something similar done with broccoli for sale in Sainsburys the other day so I might try something with that next week.

As for Blood Glucose monitors, I can only tell you what I have which is the SD Codefree starter kit which is on sale from Amazon. It’s cheap, the strips are cheap and you can use any 28mm lancet. Is it any good? Well it’s simple to use and although I had a problem with the lancing device in the beginning that may have been my issue rather than the products.

The really important thing is accuracy. The reviews on Amazon are split on this. Some say it isn’t accurate – others swear by it. It is saying my BSL is significantly higher than when I was tested a few months ago BUT I was on a low carb kick at the time so maybe it was lower at that point and cranked up to ‘usual’ levels with Xmas. Either way it’s coming back with consistent results each morning. And when I tested my bf it showed a much different (non-diabetic result) and same for my housemate too (who then fainted but that’s another story).

My view on this is – I am hoping to identify a downward trend (nothing so far) so I don’t necessarily need 100% accuracy. That would be very important if you are trying to manage your levels throughout the day.

Hopefully someone else will see your post and have other thoughts.

Hi Natalie – that’s great news re: the weight loss.

Btw I had that exact same dream Sunday night (despite not starting until the Monday) and I was so upset with myself when I woke up that I’d ruined the diet before I started.

So today my boyfriend decided to do the diet with me in solidarity. We don’t live together so whilst he’s been eating the same food as me on the evenings we are together, he’s been eating heartier meals the rest of the time. Anyway he found it hard but stuck to it. And it was nice for me because it was my first day on diet in the office so it was good not to be alone whilst everyone stuffed their faces around me.

As I said earlier, dinner left me completely unsatisfied but thankfully I had just enough calories left on the 800 to allow for two of those Atkins crispbread with 8g of primula cheese scraped across them and I feel a lot better now.

Didn’t walk as much today as having to commute in and out of London took too much out of my day.

Today’s summary:
Calories: 800
Carbs: 39g
Water: 2.75L
Steps: 11,843

Thanks Shanshu,
I’ll look for the recipe in the original book. I have the recipe book too, and tried the Thai Red Curry – it was gorgeous!
I work in an office too. Do you mind sharing what you prepped for breakfast? I find that the most difficult meal (whilst at work).

Glad you’re feeling better JuJu68!

Felt OK today, was a bit peckish in the evening and had a few nuts. Although nuts are good for us, they are my downfall. I find it difficult to have just a few!

Today’s summary:
Calories: 904
Carbs: 48g
Water: 1.5L
Steps: 11,628

Off to bed, before I eat anymore nuts.

FightingT2 – I just did a simple yoghurt so:

100g Total (full fat) Greek yoghurt
50g Blueberries
1/2 tbsp mixed nuts (chia, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin that I mixed together)

Total calories: 158
Total carbs: 12.1

I actually took everything in a separate pots as I weighed it the night before and then combined at work but only because I wasn’t sure if the seeds would lose their texture if immersed all night. It probably didn’t make a difference.

End of day 3 and I’m managing the 800 calories and have cut out cereals, potatoes, alcohol, chocolate and bananas but I can’t see what the guidelines are for the amount of carbs per day – can anyone advise me
Thanks

Susiesew there aren’t any official guidelines and Dr M includes quite a few complex carbs in his recipes. But most people on here go for under 50g of carbs a day or even lower.

Hello everyone….I just found (and started) the BSD, then found the website, then this group. I hope it’s not too late to join you?!
In late December I decided just to quit sugar, which was fine and I lost a little weight, about 3kg, but 10 days ago my sister told me about the BSD and how good it has been for her. I live in Australia and she’s in the UK, so sadly it’s not so easy to support each other. As I started to read the book it made so much sense… I’m 63 and have yo-yo dieted since I was in my twenties. I had basically given up hope, and believed all the lies exposed by Dr. Mosley’s work.
All to say that I’m actually finding hope now! Over the last 10 days I’ve lost a further 3 1/2 kilos, I’m not hungry, energy levels are rising and I’m so, so grateful for this new chance to deal with my weight once and for all. I have another 30kg to go, and it’s so encouraging to have this world-wide community of determined “losers” who know what this is all about, and can cheer each other on 😉

Hi Susie3 – the more the merrier!! Well done on the loss so far.

Also I totally agree with your statement that it’s nice to be able to talk with determined ‘losers’ who understand what the diet is about! What’s great about this forum (or so it seems to me) is that there isn’t the competitiveness or judgement I’ve seen associated with other weightloss programmes so I feel relaxed here.