Hi thanks for your reply.
Where is the recipe for falafel please?
Yes I need to have some ready snacks !
I need to do this diet but I hate cooking!!

Jenni, thanks for your response. What I am struggling with is that it defies sense that 800 calories should be the figure for everyone regardless of their starting weight/level of exercise – it must surely be an approximation to work towards?

As I understand it, 800 calories is a minimum designed to allow a nutritious Med style low calorie diet, while keeping vitamins and minerals high enough without over supplementing. I know Michael suggests one multivitamin every two days as possibly desirable while on the 800 fast diet, and I did follow that advice, but with 800 calories and a sufficiently varied selection of food there shouldn’t be any major lacks in vitamins and minerals without doing that. Some people who struggle to manage on the 800 have used slightly higher calories with some success, however since the only study we have, as well as the years of anecdotal evidence that the bariatric surgery 800 calorie diet acts the same, most have used this figure, ranging from petite ladies to really tall gentlemen. The main reason most have stated for upping the calories slightly is intensive training, as this really can put a strain on the nutrition, particularly as the proportion of protein must be higher and therefore to stick to 800 calories the proportion of fat must be lower. Over my 8 weeks I averaged about 850 but that included 1 day off where I ate and drank at a dinner party, trying to make good choices, but definitely having a lot of alcohol.

Hi everyone,

I am starting on Monday 16th I have bought the book and the recipe book. I have spent most of my life on a diet.

We can do this

Good luck everyone

xx

Hi all – I’m just responding to earlier comments regarding the support or lack thereof of GPs and nurses in your local surgery and just wanted to add my experience for comparison/contrast.

I didn’t have a specific GP until the end of last year – I basically saw whoever was free. I’d walk in with a sore throat and on more than one occasion, male doctors both permanent and locums tried to start a conversation with me about gastric band surgery despite this not being the reason I had visited and without having any knowledge about my personal history and the possible causes/factors in my weight gain. (I should point out that whilst I am overweight, I was a size 22 so would have thought that it was better to be talking about dieting and exercise at that weight rather than surgery at that point?) One of these doctors put me on metformin before I was diabetic because he said it would help if I wanted to get pregnant in a few years. It made me feel ill so I came off.

When I had a routine blood test a year and a half ago, it returned a diabetic level reading. The male doctor told me that they needed two readings at that level to diagnose diabetes. Instead of giving advice, referring me to a dietician with the goal of running a blood test in a few months to confirm the diagnosis, he just told me to go back on the metformin even though it upset my stomach.

Which I did. For awhile and then stopped when the tummy troubles were just too much. And then eventually knew that I had to push the issue myself and saw a nice female locum who agreed I should have another blood test and advised me to see a particular female GP at the surgery who specialises in my condition (PCOS). I had the blood tests before Christmas and wasn’t called by the surgery so thought they were alright. I booked an appointment with the new doctor anyway over something else and asked about my results when I was there and when she looked at them, she gave me the diabetic diagnosis.

She then immediately told me to go out and buy the BSD diet book so I could attempt to reverse it before going down the medication route again. This doctor said that most of the surgery were promoting the book to their patients who they thought would benefit from it (this was confirmed by the nurse I saw later that day who also told me to get the book).

So maybe the word is starting to get out there…

No it doesn’t help really Jules Maigret. My interpretation of your regular comments on this is an undermining of its science. How long are you suggesting that normal after meal BGLs and normal HbA1c’s for up to 5-6 years aren’t reversed. Yes those of us with longer than 5 years of diabetes may not stay ‘reversed’ but at least for now we are. Call it remission if you like but not having it is not having it.

Well, Jenni, I’m afraid your interpretation is just plain wrong. Before I embarked on the BSD, I spent some time looking at the public sources for studies supporting the theory and whilst there is a good basic body of scientific research, that’s what it is, a number of small research projects.

So I believe the science – I wouldn’t be doing the diet if I didn’t, but my “belief” is no substitute for the hard clinical studies and detailed evaluation with representative samples of the wider population and the results subject to full peer review. I’m willing to put faith in it for my health but I don’t believe that means we should expect national health authorities to change their policies until there is the evidence.

My view is that medical professionals will, and probably should, err on the side of caution until there is conclusive evidence. Consequently, that’s why even though I do not have a lot of time for my GP and I similarly value my nurse’s professionalism and constructive challenge and healthy scepticism, but I equally understand why they aren’t yet going to run out and recommend it to everyone who walks through the door.

I have issues with the UK approval process and the current funding model for academic clinical trials, but I would rather the time was taken to ensure that this is suitable for a wide population and has no unforeseen side-effects for the general population or for groups with other common health problems.. History is on my side – remember: thalidomide was an effective treatment for nausea and was therefore prescribed or recommended for morning sickness. That scandal led to a tightening of the clinical studies regulations in the US, UK and Germany.

I know there are fast track processes for new drugs (flu vaccines, Ebola, AZT etc) but new non-drug treatments seem to pose a problem.

I trust that this clarifies my position.

Can I ask Jules Maigret why you are on thus site?

I totally agree that government guidelines shouldn’t be revised and enforced without some kind of process including extensive trials…. but the problem is that current guidelines were based on very little science and are clearly wrong and endangering health and lives. So where does that leave us? Do we stick with the old rules for now, or give no advice at all, or does each doctor, nurse and diabetes “expert” pick whichever diet they think sounds best and promote that?

Oh and I think Jules has every right to be here, he is following the diet and says he believes in it, he just doesn’t think there is enough evidence YET for the government to change guidelines for the whole country.

People new to this BSD eating plan should not be concerned by JulesMaigret’s analogies of dangerous drug outcomes. This eating plan does not involve drugs, emphasises healthy natural food and is successful in halting or reversing dangerous T2 Diabetes.

Let’s all take a deep breath and focus on how good we are feeling with our individual decisions to embrace BSD and the Med way of eating. Such an awesome approach to getting so much healthier and the successes we are reading on here are truly astounding. This forum is great for encouragement and to be able to work our way through to reach our goals. Keep on keeping on… 🙂

Is it me or as most people are 2 weeks in to the diet then we’re seeing a few more feisty posts lol
Most diets collapse within 12-18 days I reckon so we may lose a few and see some people hanging on
I could have binned it today for my own invention of a diet !!!
However I drank a litre of fuzzy water and lime, chewed some gum and sunbathed listening to Arcade Fire.
Thankfully at 5pm I have managed to avoid caving in and feel better about food
Weigh in tomorrow morning so let’s see

I’m sure everyone 2 weeks in will concur that this is a tough new regime and takes some strong will power

Maybe try the forums daily for motivation ?

Let’s try and keep it all positive and many of us will get where we need and want to be

I’m loving my cherry toms on fried mushrooms for dinner

Shanshu
It was lovely to read your post about the recommendation from your new doctor to go out and buy the BSD book. Good luck with your BSD journey. This forum is brilliant and you will find it a huge help – I couldn’t have achieved what I have without it.

I had a very similar experience when I had my last annual review with the hospital consultant where it was confirmed that diabetes was now in remission. The consultant was absolutely 100% for this way of eating and said that I must not keep quiet about how I had achieved remission by following it.

I have been diligently following that advice but may soon be in the same position as Sunshine-girl whose husband has banned her from talking about it on evenings out.😀

GetyourCarbon – can we swap places – it is freezing here in the UK.

Hello everyone and happy weekend!

I’ve been following my own version of the diet (see below) for 10 days now and have lost 6lb already, which I’m delighted with! I’m not diabetic but wanted to lose weight and radically reform my eating and drinking, which were spiralling out of control and the weight has been piling on. I want to lose another 2 stone and am giving myself till my birthday at the end of April to do it. So far so good!

As well as the weight loss the main benefit has been a feeling of control. I now feel in charge of my own destiny again in terms of being confident that I can actually lose weight – whereas before the weight was escalating and part of me just accepted that and didn’t think there was anything I could actually do about it. But I now feel so much more positive and willing to really reform the way I eat. So if you’re just starting out on this be excited because it will work for you 🙂

I’ve found it relatively easy so far but as I said above have adapted it slightly to fit in with my lifestyle. I’m sticking to 800 calories during the week but relaxing it a bit at weekends so I can still have a bit of a social life 😉 So I guess I’m doing a 2:5 800! Having said that though, even at weekends I’m eating and drinking very moderately compared to what I used to, and very much along the Mediterranean diet lines. Still well within a healthy calorific and carb range.

The other thing I’m doing is building in a couple of snack times during weekdays – all within the 800 calories. I know my weak points! I’m a teacher and previously was skipping breakfast then gorging on cakes and biscuits at coffee break. So now I have one scrambled egg for breakfast then a snack of something like carrot batons and hummus before I get up to the staff room: and I can then laugh in the face of all that evil sugar 🙂 Also I have another small snack eg a few almonds before heading home because my other bad habit was coming in from work and pouring a big glass of wine straight away – partly as a psychological break between work and home, but also I think because I was feeling hungry and just needed a quick fix!

Anyway good luck to everyone! I love reading all your stories and tips on here though don’t get to post often. Here’s to a great weekend and keep on keeping on xx

Nice progress, Dreamscometrue. It’s it great when it all starts coming together and making sense.

To all January starters, and all BSDers, have a good weekend wherever you are. Angela

Had breakfast out with friends, got stuck into a mouthful of what I thought was vegetable frittata only to find it was full of potato, so my daughter ate it and I stuck to the black coffee with a dash of milk. So I had brunch instead which was the Mexican Hash, delicious. Dinner will be steak for my daughter and hubby as I dont eat red meat, cant stand the taste, so its salmon for me. The bag of dark chocolate Maltesers are still sitting in the wardrobe, untouched, 18 days into the diet and my fat belly is slowly fading away, this diet is amazing, after 46 years of dieting, I have never found a diet with such quick results and no hunger pangs. Keep up the good work everyone and think positive, we can do it.

Morning all, well I was invited to friends for Friday night dinner last night. They had made fish pie, but I said that I was saving my calories for 2 small wines, but they insisted on making me a separate ramekin of fish pie without the mash, and just a small handful of green beans and broccoli. This meant I went to 1450 calories including the 450ml white wine, but weigh in today after 5 full days was another pound down, so 8 pounds in 5 days. I am happy with this. Challenge is going to be sticking to it with the kids over the weekend and I have family coming for pancake brunch tomorrow 😱. Happy weekend all x

Mocnk

My last word on this matter.

To answer Lexy’s question.

I have been on the BSD seriously since September, when I joined this site. Since then I have lost 73lbs, reversed the symptoms of my fatty liver, reduced my BP into normal and nudged cholesterol into normal. I have over 260 posts, which even the most cursory check would confirm have been invariably positive and supportive. As a lifelong non-dieter, I have learnt a massive amount from the contributors on here who have followed the diet successfully and am hoping to contribute my own experiences to help others.

I have a particular opinion on the process that new therapies should follow before being introduced to the wider public, which I believe I have explained in a dispassionate way. Others may differ in their opinion and they’re very welcome to.

I also believe that these are public fora and the strength of them is the variety of situations and opinions people have and the way they are met with a uniformly positive, non-judgmental and respectful response from the members. When you’ve been around a bit longer you may appreciate that.

My last contribution to this thread.

See you elsewhere on the site.

Hi I’m starting diet Mon I’m just a bit worried about the metformin do I still take it or do I have to ask my doctor to come off it . I take 2 twice a day and a statin

Hi I started the BSD on Monday. I have stuck to it religiously and unbelievably have lost 7lbs! I have at least 2 stone to lose, but ideally would like to lose 2.5 – 3 stone. Will do for 8 weeks and see where I am. I can’t believe how tasty the food is and funnily, that I haven’t really craved the carbs. Good luck everyone!

Getyourcarbon, I agree this is when it gets though!

I’m having friends over for pizza and boardgames tonight and have decided to ease up on my restriction for one night…and one night only. So hopefully back on track again tomorrow. I’m determined to stay on this diet for a few more weeks!

Hi – I’m also a teacher and share all of your pitfall times of the day and staff room temptations! Good luck – I hope it all goes well.

I am still here and still at it. I must say I agree with Dreamscometrue and am easing up for the weekend. Must say also as a veteran of 5:2 my appetite has shrunk over the last year and no way could I eat the quantity I did prior to that.
So many interesting posts. Congratulations to all losers. My weigh in is Wednesday, 2 weeks of this!! 1 stone left to go!!

Hi con7, there is no easy answer to that one. Some people have stopped taking the Metformin with or without Dr approval, based on their own blood sugar tracking. Others have continued for a while, but usually had to come off it in the end. I have seen mentioned that the Metformin instructions themselves say it shouldn’t be used on diets of less than 1000 calories a day. The safest thing to do would be to discuss it with your doctor. Hopefully someone with personal experience can help you, or it may be worth reading some of the older threads, such as Bill’s ‘This has to work for me’ thread and Captainlynne’s story. You can find threads talking about Metformin by putting Metformin into the search box above.

I’ve always appreciated your input, JulesMaigret, and will be pleased to meet you on other threads.

I second Angela06’s remark, JM. I’ve learned a lot from your contributions and am glad you will be continuing to post.

Julesmaigret please don’t leave the thread, I for one, as a total newbie to this WOE appreciate your informed input, as others obviously do too. And I agree all are entitled to their opinions. Sometimes strong feelings and opinions can lead to things getting a little heated, but it would be a shame for anyone to leave a thread where their input is valued.

Mocnk

Hey Tubbypooch,

I know it can be difficult to juggle but at the end of the day we, as parents, make the fussy kids. I created two who are now old enough to get their own ( 19&22), but my 11 year old eats everything I eat including the cauliflower rice. He just either has more or adds extras such as a slice of bread or extra nuts and seeds.
Letting them eat foods that made us fat isn’t such a great idea, and potentially will lead them to be unhappy about their health in the future.
One in all in I say.
Clear the cupboards of processed crap, make snacks such as falafels and omelette slice which is ready to go and dig the heals in.
My sons favourite snack at the moment is yogurt berry pudding.
– layer a small bowl with frozen berries
– sprinkle with LSA
– layer with plain, Greek yogurt
– sprinkle with pumpkin and flaxseed
– cover and leave in fridge for a day or two
Measure your own out and make sure the gremlins know not to touch yours. The berry juice seeps through and the LSA and absorbs the moisture making it pudding like in texture.

Good luck👍

I hear ya Dreamscometrue!
I am also a teacher that doesn’t have diabetes but similar bad habits. Teaching is so draining mentally that the bottle was an easy and quick release.
I am following the 800 6 days and giving myself 1 1500 day. Not touching booze though as I was worried it was too much a part of my life. I am aiming for addiction free of all crap.
We start back after the summer holidays in two weeks and I have a year 11 and 12 heavy load. I really need to be on my game.
I have now done 2 alcohol free week but only 1 BSD week.
I lost 3 kilos fairly quickly but not much since.
I am thinking it may be because I have added a gruelling exercise plan every second day but really not sure.
Does anyone know anything about exercise and weight lose?

Hi Candoit
Good for you on the no-drinking alcohol front. A lovely glass of red is what I am missing most.
On the BSD and exercise front hope the following is useful:
I am into a second stint of BSD800 and last year lost loads while continuing to run (albeit I’m not very fast).
I am 2 weeks in this time round and have done 50 miles this year, a mix of walks and runs. 10k run yesterday morning before breakfast no problem. This year 5 kilos lost so far. So it works with exercise – but works faster if keeping carbs below or around 50g per day. My body has clearly learned to burn fat not carbs, yours might take a little while to adapt to burning fat. Lowering the carbs means more room for protein and fat.
All the best!
Julia

Hi, also starting hopefully this monday 🙂 – Lydia x

Can anyone tell me how to store the cloud bread and how long does it keep please? My husband is going to try and make it for me
Thank you
Val

Thank you Julia👍

Weigh in this Sunday morning after starting Jan 1st
Start 93.1kg
Current 87.7kg
Loss 5.4kg so far

Start Waist 110cm
Current. 103cm

Well on way to 77kg where my BMI should be 23

During the week I’d only lost 0.2kg but stick to the 800 calories or thereabouts and it will always work out

Still love the celery (5 good sticks) soup with low salt chicken noodle packet soup with onion garlic and tobasco sauce ! It’s a rippa

My wife has lost 3.8kg but has had one or two days at 1200 calories ( she hasn’t read the book) but she’s going strong

Good luck

Hi
can anyone recommend a multi vitamin tablet i can use on this diet which wont distort my blood sugar and blood pressure readings.

Woohoo – 13 days in 1 stone lost – I appreciate this will slow down but this is way faster than I was expecting – especially with Saturday night booze cheating. So motivating

Gettourcarbon and toby101 great going! You have both lost similar I think (we’re not all great at metric here in the UK!!) but looks about the same, and I have weighed in again today (daily works better for me) and lost another pound, so am now 12 7 down from 13 02 starting 6 days ago. 9 pounds so I think that’s a 4.5kg loss. I had 450ml wine on Friday and 250ml yesterday, but won’t have anymore now til next Friday or Saturday. Also didn’t calorie count t yesterday, need to have the weekends off that stress, especially with young children around, but will be strictly back to 800 cals and counting at work tomorrow.

Now I have to get my head around making a pancake brunch for family and not being tempted! Bacon and blueberries for me!

Hi everybody, new and old.

It is amazing to see the activity this thread is receiving! I have heard it said that statistically the 2nd weekend in January is when many people give up on their new year resolution diets. Well I say most of those people don’t have the BSD to follow and a bunch of like minded and fabulous individuals on a great forum like this one. So don’t be tempted to become a statistic and keep up the good work. For myself I am still very enthusiastic and for someone who in the past did enjoyed very little the whole cooking routine, I am experiencing quite a conversion.

Down to the facts that matter, Sunday weigh in :
Weight lost since last Sunday : .2.2 kg
Total weight lost since the 1st : 5.3 kg
I am happy with that.

My target for January’s end is 6kg, so looking forward to not only reach it but surpass it.

Keep losing!!!

Noel

Getyourcarbon
Very good weight loss so far, I also used your soup and feeling good my weigh in tomorrow , well done

I can’t answer re the effect on blood sugar or pressure, but I used one Centrum Performance supplement every two days while on the 800 fast diet.

many thanks
does any one else have any more ideas ?

I started the BSD diet last Sunday 8th January. I am a vegetarian who has tried various diets over the last thirty years with limited success and found it a slow and difficult process. I have found my first week on this diet quite easy and have enjoyed the food I have eaten. Ate avocado for the first time and enjoyed it with eggs for my lunch! I have not felt hungry. I have drank a lot of water. This morning when I got on the scales I was 4.5 lb lighter! Looking forward to week 2. I am going to try and up my walking this week to help with my weight loss. However I have a bad knee so will take things steady! . I feel really motivated by reading the success stories on this site. Just off to have home made lentil soup from the recipe section of this website. Looks delicious! Good luck everyone!

I started almost 2 weeks ago and while i last 6lbs in wk1 I have stayed the same this week. How can that be possible on 800 cals a day?!

I was a massive snacker who lived on chocolate, wine and pasta so the shift in diet had been dramatic. Has anyone else had a slow time of it. I’m trying not to get disheartened…

Hi Kiddo, to be honest I am totally expecting the same kind of result for myself this coming second week, I have lost so much this first week (9 pounds in 6 days) that I know my body and it tends to have a big initial reaction and then stalls, I just think you need to hang on in there in the absolute knowledge that it will restart, I don’t know enough about the science to be able to tell you why, but I have watched enough diet programmes (notably Biggest loser) and had enough of my own experience of dieting over the years to see this happen frequently.

Are you a man or woman? If a woman could it be hormonal related? I gain weight (water retention?) before my period. Or maybe it’s possible to retain water for men too?

Could you try a burst of exercise? A brisk walk up a steep hill and see what happens tomorrow? It is disheartening though when the scales aren’t showing numbers that encourage! Have you measured yourself at the beginning? Are you tracking that too?

You are experiencing a plateau. It is totally normal if a bit frustrating, but if you are sticking to the 800 calories, you are burning fat. What happens I believe is the fat cells do not collapse until they have emptied completely and they replace a fat molecule with a water molecule. This means that you will lose weight in whooshes, where a whole fat cell gives up the water at once and your weight can change by 2-3 pounds overnight. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water, some people have reported that upping their intake to 4 litres can help, add a little extra salt to your diet if you are not already doing this, and it can help reassure you that the fat is going if you use measurements rather than weight during a plateau. Are clothes feeling looser? Has your belt gone in a hole or two? Water takes up less space than the fat so many people report these things happening while their weight does not change. Search for plateau and whoosh on the forum to see just how common this is 😊

Thanks you two! I’m a 42yr old woman; 5ft 9 with two stone to lose. I know I won’t get the dramatic losses that some will but was going for something steady.

Tbh my period is 12 days away so maybe that hasn’t helped. I didn’t take any measurements apart from weight because I hate my body I can barely look at it let alone be confronted with measuring it… 😕

I am determined to continue. Tuesday is my proper weigh-in day so maybe I’ll have had some results by then.

On the plus side, I’m loving the food and am beginning to accept that mild hunger is the new normal.

Kiddo, you sound similar to me, I am a 44 year old woman, needed to lose just over 2.5 stone, it’s what I have gained over the past 2 years when I stopped doing 5:2. I’m 5’6″ I have now lost 9 pounds first week (but think some of that loss because I finished my period), am trying out doing 800cals during the week then not cal counting over the weekend. But still strict low carb (except the 3 glass of wine!) I may knock that on the head if I plateau for too long at any point, but am hoping in another 5 weeks I can switch to the 5:2 version as calorie counting long term will wreck my head!

Fingers crossed your scales show good results on Tuesday!

Ps I find when I have cravings I just eat a couple of Brazil nuts and they go away again

Hi kiddo, I lost 7 pounds in the first 6 days and nothing in the last 8 days so don’t think you’re alone. We just have to persevere. The body can’t hold onto the fat no matter how hard it tries, we will win 😄