FreshStart what a great idea. Mentally that just sounds and feels a lot better to me rather than plugging away at week 5 lol. I’m going to do that too. My Phase 2 starts today!

here’s to Phase 2! 😉

I just downloaded the myfitnesspal app to track my calories etc, nutrition stats etc! what a great little app

Hi all, its Saturday here in Sydney and time to declare my results after 5 weeks (or 1 week into phase 2).
Yet another hard week of eating out and social occasions and next week will be no different. I was delighted to have got down to 118kg which is 9.8kgs off of my heaviest 2 days before starting this. The real result to me however was the blood sugar down to 5.8 mmol/L which I was delighted about and says a lot about my food choices over the last few weeks. I lost nothing off my waist which was a blow but this MUST reduce if I keep loosing the weight so fingers crossed. I am really motivated to push through the 10kg mark this week which is a big milestone for me so wish me luck.

I hope everyone else is doing well and getting results they are happy with.

Steve

PS I’ve been watching Tom Kerridge’s Lose weight for good which supports his great recipe book of the same subject. Well worth looking out for, the food is yummy and all low calorie.

Hi Steve
I hope you don’t mind me butting in! I highly recommend Tom Kerridge’s other book, The Dopamine Diet, which is about the diet he followed to lose a huge amount of weight. It echoes the good fat, low carb ideals of the BSD and the recipes are great.
The Tv diet programme was more NHS guidelines-based i.e. low fat and high carb. Many BSD-ers on here were disappointed that he had “sold out”!
Best wishes
P xx

Hi Pancita

Thanks, I already have the Dopamine book but have not yet made any of the recipes so I will definitely take a closer look. Agree the programme is a bit NHS Guidelines based but like most recipe books I pick and take from each. The BBC.com website is also great for searching a huge database of recipes and even categorises according to what style of diet you are on.

I had a very odd day today and didn’t feel hungry until about 3pm when I had some chicken slices and saved up all my calories for one main meal this evening. I am sure this is wrong on so many levels but it was very weird not feeling hungry at all for most of the day. I cannot remember when I last felt like that and drinking water all day with the occasional black coffee seemed to make it last even longer.

I read that MM recommends some resistance training during the diet but to be honest I really cannot be bothered. I’m trying to keep my steps up to 10,000 a day, again not easy with a busy lifestyle but for me that’s about all I’m prepared to do. I think I will feel like doing some exercise at the end of all this but at the moment I just don’t feel like it. Does anyone else feel the same or are you all being good and forcing yourself to do something other than walking?

I hope everyone is still motivated and focused. Have a great week.

Steve

Hi Steve.
I does take you by surprise when you start to experience the difference between hunger and food cravings doesn’t it. – Welcome to the advantages of eating low carb. Now you can start to build on the flexibility it gives you.
You can save your cals up to eat a wider range of meals in a smaller window each day, making this way of eating more sustainable long term.
Because insulin levels are not just driven by blood sugars, the body prepares by increasing insulin levels when you think about eating, and increase further when you put something into your mouth. You have the opportunity to increase the time of low insulin levels and give the body time to heal.
However the jury is out at present about the long term impacts of what is known as One Meal A Day. and its impact on the body’s metabolic rate. – If you look at the research into the long term impacts on the participants in the program the Biggest Looser long term calorie restriction does result in your bodies becoming more efficient and you need less calories a day. – Some experts suggest that if you are in ketosis your body will not respond to a long term lack of calories because it can access the fat stores to make up for the short fall, while others suggest that long term OMAD may cause a slow down in BMR.
Personally, I have found that this journey has lead on to a whole range of questions for me on how my emotions and life experiences are linked to my desire to eat. – Dealing with stress with work comes with a craving to eat, which I can now distinguish from hunger. So thanks for mentioning the Dopamine diet Pancita. – However, after what I observed with his last TV program I would probably prefer to research the science rather than turn to a cookery book written by Tom Kerridge.
It was very disappointing that Tom Kerridge put his own financial benefits before the health of the public. – A program promoting tasty low carb meals for the public would have been far better than a program continuing the myth of cals in / cals out. – Going on record to say that he was capable of having the resolve to keep his carbs down but it was beyond the ability of others to do the same was never going to go down well on this forum, but for me if he is prepared to publish books that ignore the science when it comes to carbs, I don’t know that I would trust him to have stuck to the science when it comes to dopamine.

Steve that is absolutely amazing! What brilliant results that reflect your resolve, strength and commitment.

Congratulations! 🙂

PS Steve
I’m doing fine too. Weight loss a bit slower as I reach closer to my goal weight, but I no longer crave carbs either.
As for exercise, 10,000 steps is awesome, maybe make a plan to do some sort of exercise you really enjoy or have aspired to learn/take part in when this 8 weeks is over.

WG

Hi everyone and its Saturday so its measurement day.

I’ve had the worst week since I started with a work conference and food and alcohol everywhere. It was really hard to resist the constant flow of meals, snacks and evening gatherings late into the early mornings. Unfortunately I didn’t resist so for 4 days solid I gave in. What was interesting was the way the diet kicked in from time to time, some meals I focused on proteins and kept my carbs to a minimum. That said I drank far too much beer and vodka and when I added it up some of the days I’m sorry to admit I was well over 800 calories (one day was over 2000 cals!!!)

So I am sure you can imagine I was dreading today. While I was away I didn’t weigh myself at all and I usually do this daily.

The results were mixed. I’d put on 600grams in a week but bizarrely I had lost a cm from my waist measurement so all in all I felt pretty positive. I’ve been back to 800 cals for two days now and am feeling energised to keep going. I don’t know what damage I’ve done by breaking the diet for 4 days but its a long term project for me and I am still as determined as ever.

I couldn’t take the blood sugar reading as my machine was driving me crazy (after 11 unsuccessful strips I gave up trying to get a reading).

Today is the start of week 6 ( I think) so with three weeks to go I am trying for one more big push.

I hope everyone else has had a better week and I’d love to hear your stories, I do find it inspiring. Thanks for listening.

Steve

Hi Steve. Well done you for getting right back on the wagon. Those kind of work events are a real challenge, and it sounds as if you managed to keep some control going food wise at least! The 600g will probably come off quickly as you start back on the low carbs. Remember to hydrate, and don’t beat yourself up. Best wishes for the next three weeks.

Steve I’m with you on a weird week…
I had several functions I had to attend and many difficult days to navigate with travel etc.
strangely I did the same… Some days ate more than I should and others I made sure to have protein and good fats. Overall I managed not to overdo the carbs too much, but I certainly had a lot more carbs than the last five weeks, and there were days when I went over the cals. I tried to balance days out as best I could. I was really conscious to choose as well as possible from restaurant menus in the main, but one night I had quite a bit of delicious pasta (at a beautiful Italian restaurant with people I see way too little of in my life- and they were really proud to share the food).

Another difference from the last few weeks was that I had more alcohol while socialising than I’ve had this last week. I have kept it to very little until this last week. That being said, I had mainly red wine and some spirits (and a cocktail or two… :).

You know, Steve I didn’t really beat myself up about it all that much, which is unusual for me. I realised that the BSD program of eating and way of life has set in and become the norm, and these little indulgences were fine and did not turn into a binge. I could look at it and realise I could be back to where I needed to soon. I sort of sense this from you, too… Isn’t that great?!!
I didn’t gain any weight, or lose any either, but I feel ok.

I think you are on the way to a really successful result after all this and in the future.
I’m sure the BSLs will be good when your machine works again- don’t exsanguinate yourself in the process, lol!

WG

This is all very odd. Weigh in day yesterday and I’d put on 400g in a week. Okay a bit disappointed but then I measured my waist and I’d lost a massive 4cm. Overall I’ve lost a massive 9cm from around my gut which I am delighted about. I can feel the difference with some trousers and my work shirts are no longer busting at the seams so something is happening. Blood glucose is 7.2 mmol/L which is better than it was but still not low enough.

The last two weeks weight gain are my fault, obviously, with the conference just over a week ago and last week falling off the wagon, I struggled to keep to the calorie limit and my carbs went through the roof so my focus this week is to concentrate on both of these. Less carbs and keeping as close to 800 cals will be a daily challenge but I feel if I can keep it going all week I will turn this around.

Not sure how the rest of you are doing, its all gone very quiet and we only have 1 week to go before the final count so its GOT to be a good week!

Good luck everyone and one last push….

Steve

Hi Steve,
While insulin controls which fuel source our body is running on, the process of burning fat as a fuel source involves other hormones, including growth hormone. IF has been known to increase growth hormone in men by 2000% percent and 1300% in women. While there doesn’t appear to be any research into the percentage increase from eating low carb, its clear there will be an increase. – This is the hormone responsible for increasing bone density and muscle mass. – That’s why the scales are not the complete picture of progress. – I have had a similar experience, when I started I lost 2 stone before I lost a dress size, but more recently I lost a dress size but only lost 1kg.

Hi Steve,
I’m trying to keep posting a little, but yes it has gone quiet… Helloooooooo!!?
I think that the loss of cm from your waist is really impressive, and as we know it has significant impact on your general health and cardiovascular status. The gain of 400g I Understand is disappointing but what JGwen says is true, and very interesting, thank you JGwen. Muscle has a different density than fat, and per unit mass does actually weigh more. Bone density increases will also show up on the scales as we build it. Remember also that small (few hundred gram) changes are a normal part of daily weight fluctuation. When this happens to me I make a conscious effort to be vigilant with the carbs, and then I move more physically. I might really add on those steps or so another set of MM’s little exercise routine which takes literally minutes.
Overall so far I’ve lost almost 9% of my body weight and I’m close to what I wanted. But even better than that I’ve started something that has become the norm for me in terms of my eating habits.

Keep going – have an amazing week!!

Hi everyone, especially Wolfgirl and JGwen who have provided huge support throughout the 8 weeks.

Today was my final weigh in and my final day of the 8 week BSD. To be honest I don’t think I’ve done it justice in the last 3 weeks with lots of social activities and easily falling off the wagon, this week was no exception. Melbourne Cup here in Australia is a big social day and last night I went to the first of many pre Christmas drinks evenings with lots of alcohol and canapes.

Okay, so my readings today are as follows: Weight 117.7kg, Waist size 118cm and Blood Sugar level 6.4 mmol/L.
My starting readings 8 weeks ago were: Weight 127.7kg, Waist Size 128cm and Blood Sugar level 8.8 mmol/L

So to conclude I have to say its been a great exercise and a great starting point. I see it as the start of something big. I am technically still severely obese and still diabetic so I have to think carefully about where to go from here. Taking into account that the last three weeks were pretty poor and I actually remained the same weight I feel I should try and do the next three weeks as strict 8 week diet rules on 800 cals a day and then review what to do before Christmas.

I hope everyone else has had some results they are happy with, I think I had the most to lose in the group and probably remains the case but this is a personal journey and I really do wish everyone else the best of luck.

Steve

Hi Steve,

I think that your results are outstanding. You are able to acknowledge how and why there are challenges to maintaining the diet and can address overcoming them. Just think, if you keep going at this rate, by early March, or even before, you will be under 100kg… Isn’t that great?

FreshStart said something at the 4 week mark that helped me. She said think of it as the start of the second half of the challenge.

Perhaps look at this the same way. Instead of imagining yourself slogging away at week 9, think of it as “BSD Part 2, week 1”. Then sit down and make some fresh goals and new plans around those goals. Note down what worked for you. Think of what you found extra hard in the last two months, and jot down some strategies to deal with those challenges next time, because you can be sure they will arise again.

I think a great way to make a plan is to start with a VALUE that is truly important to you. For example:
VALUE- ‘To be as healthy a man as I can be so that I honour the life I have.’

Then set a GOAL or an aim that aligns with that value- For example:
GOAL- ‘To get to 100kg by March 2019, so that I feel better, can be proud of myself, and improve my health in real and significant ways’

Then make PLANS on how to do this. For example:
PLAN- ‘I’m going to do the 800cal a day in this Second Part of the BSD and keep my carbs low.
I’m going to make a list and go shopping this afternoon (or tomorrow) and work my way through the recipes from week 1- to week 8 in the BSD cook book, so that I can keep on track and not “panic snack”!.
I’m going to get moving a bit more now by walking/swimming/doing the Michael M 10mins a day home exercise program/pole-dancing/latin ballroom/ whatever floats your boat …. 😉
AND I’m going to allow myself to stuff up sometimes and try not to beat myself up….

And,
Make sure you also take a moment to congratulate yourself for how far you have come Steve. Remember that we are human. As the great Leonard Cohen wrote:
“There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in”

WG