Hi everyone

Weight 14 stones 5lbs
Waist 45 ins
BS 22.5

I start tomorrow. The BSD. Why.. at 51 I had a warning.. a minor stroke and it has scared me big time. I have been 2 type diabetes for several years and not controlling it properly. This is it. Time to take control. Only I can do this.

I will be posting my results regularly, good or bad for the next 7 weeks ( Christmas in Seven weeks ) and I hope to have lost 20 lbs by then. My family will be doing this with me as well. Hubby needs to lose weight ( not sure if he will manage this as he drinks… a lot ) and my 23 old son will be supporting me too. So big changes for the family as well.

So the first 6 day menu planned and shopping done ( except for Spinach… still need to get that..).

I did some research for shopping list for the BSD and decided on using an app called MealPlan. Cost 3.99 and took a couple of hours to get the hand of it and set it up for a shopping list.. worth looking at it as it will become easier ,quicker to use , plan ahead and get that important shopping list.

Have a good week everyone
WelshAnnie

Hi WelshAnnie

A very warm welcome to you. There are many people here with extensive knowledge so you are in the right place. That must have been very scary for you all. Take comfort – you have made your decision, shopped and got organised and have your family on board – that is wonderful. Lots of support here so anything you need to know, just ask. I hope your first day is going well? Don’t forget to drink lots of water. See you tomorrow!

Hi KazzUK

Thank you so much for your welcome and good wishes.

I think the hardest part for me is sorting out the food plan and doing the shopping list. So that has been done and I hope as weeks go, it will be come easier.

Will keep you all posted with my journey. And my family as well. They are on board at the moment 🤗
First day done, organised for tomorrow.

Positive thinking.
Welshannie

Hi, I too am starting the BSD tomorrow! (I have breakfast sorted but probably need to do a bit of planning!). I’m 52, 5’5”, 13st 10, on BP tablets, narrowly avoided being prescribed statins by my doctor last week and pre diabetic! So unless I do something and soon I think I shall be in the same boat as you (frightening situation).

It’s incredibly scary though because I have many failed dieting attempts behind me and my mind wants to tell me why do you think this time’s going to be any different? But I have to try again so that I don’t feel quite so helpless.

Hubby will be doing this as well as he’s been diagnosed with kidney disease and needs to lose weight too (he has an iron will and no problems sticking to it; what is it with men?!!!). I don’t think my two grown sons will take kindly to it as they have quite physical jobs.

I shall be relying on the book and this site as I don’t have a smartphone (about the best mine will achieve is the calculator function!!).
I love cooking (part of my downfall) and am looking forward to making some of the recipes.

So I will follow your posts with interest and see if we share the same experiences.

Tootlepips and have a good Tuesday!

Marianne

Marianne

A good website is fatesecret.co.uk where you can record your daily intake of calories carbs etc and get great nutritional information about all sorts of foods. Also you can put in your own recipes into the ‘cook book’ section and it will work out the carbs etc for you. Some of the recipes in the book don’t have accurate calorie etc, counts so be a bit wary. Best of luck to you and your family on your journey.

Verano, many thanks for that, all help at this early stage gratefully accepted!

Hello Welshannie and Marianne
I am a 6 November starter too, so climbing on your wagon for the ride if that’s ok? Actually a I am a returner as I lost 20 lbs in 4 weeks back in May 2016 and kept it off for ages but slipped a bit and gained half back. No more slippy slope! ( not good for wagons). The good news is yes this is different and it is a great and successful diet and I am hopeless at dieting so if I can do it anyone can! I not only lost the weight but my ( pre diabetic) bloods returned to normal and my blood pressure came down a lot. Added bonus …I stopped taking Meds for acid reflux as my stomach loved me for feeding it this way. To this day if I eat carbs I gain weight and get heartburn…they are the very devil!

My top tips. Cook for yourself and ask your family to feed themselves for this period: spoil yourself with non food treats like days out or head massages: yes, use this inspirational forum.
Starting at 12st3 dripping wet…the only way is down ladies – onwards!
Jill

Hi Jill! Jump on board!!! I am a sort of returner too (did it just from the book, I haven’t used the forum before) as I lost over a stone and managed to keep it off for about 3 months, but as always with me, once I hit that 3 month point I seem to do all I can to sabotage my healthy eating regime and before I know where I am I’m back at the starting point! I really am my own worst enemy sometimes.

I will probably try and feed my boys the same food but give them bigger quantities. One of my sons is into healthy eating anyway and has quite an open mind when it comes to anything different.

I have been very inspired by some of the recipes on the site; I filtered to show the most highly rated ones as I thought they would be the best bet and some of them sound lovely- can’t wait to get cooking!

Onwards and upwards; bring it on!!

Love Marianne

Thanks Marianne, look forward to the journey

Hey Jill / Marianne

Warmest welcome to you both.

Marianne – I totally understand about failed diets and that your mindset has already set you up to fail yet againso why bother?

The reason I need to do this is to live a heathy life for me and also for my family. And maybe that is also the same reason for you too. Just take it one day at the time or in my case one meal at the time!

Jill – well hello – so please you have jumped on as well – especailly you had success within 4 weeks of doing the BSD back in May 2016 – what a fabulous result. 20 lbs. WOW in just 4 weeks. There is hope for me and my family. You must have been so perfect. Thar will be my downfall – when I am good – I am very good.. when I am bad… oh boy am I bad. Then beat myself up … I am sure you know how the rest goes….

My hubby had suffered from heart failure which was cause mainly from drinking – he is an alocholic. You would have thought that his health issues would finally make him sit up and do something about it… but he struggles with the drink. He just been on a two week binge. Stop drinking Friday as he was starting to have problems breathing again. He has been dry for 3 full days. How long will it last? No idea. Maybe losing weight and getting energy back will help him. He is such a good person and lovable when sober, generous, funny, smart, loyal, and hard working. He just struggles with drink in the same way I struggle with food. As to your comment about men having no problem sticking to the diet… my hubby is the same with food.. WHY? Because maybe we have done the hard work. The shopping and planing ! All they have to do is eat it.

My son, 23, just started he first job – and is over weight by 3 stones so it will help him too. He is keen to support me but he also loves his food. ( he only been on the BSD for one day and is thinking about BurgerKing! ) I know my son will start looking up food and recipes to have for more control on what to eat as so far the food I prepare is been ok ish

For me , I had a fright, a warning, a very minor stroke, so I need to bring my Blood sugar levels down as well as my blood pressure. I need to turn this round. I want to turn it round.

So my goal is to get to Christmas 21 lbs lighter

That is enough for now
Have a fabulous day
Anne x

Hello Verano

Will check the website out. Thank you so much for your input, hope to get to know your story, success and tips. I love the non foodie treat ideas. I will book a facial if I stick to the BSD for 10 Days. A small goal with a treat to aim for.

Anne x

Anne you sound as though you have a lot on your plate …. so to speak! You know there is no harm in a burger but without the bun. It’s amazing what you can do with a lettuce leaf! I know it’s not quite the same but a burger wrapped in an iceberg leaf with some tomato and mustard/mayo is pretty good. I make deconstructed egg mayo ‘sandwiches’ on lettuce leaves but cos or romaine are better as they are ‘boat’ shaped and sliced tomato. You could do tuna mayo or any manner of filling that you used to have between two slices of bread. There does come a point where bread and potatoes etc. no longer have any attraction and substitutes, like cauliflower, are really acceptable. Have a look at the thread ‘101 ways with cauliflower’ just search in the box at the top right hand side of the page. It does become easier after a while.

Enjoy your journey!

Arghh… me and computers!!! I’d just more or less completed an entry only for it to disappear on me!

Anyway, rant over. For now.

Anne, you have a lot to deal with at the moment. I do hope and pray for you that your husband finds a way through, it must be such a worry for your family to see him like it. My son is probably what can be labelled as a functioning alcoholic, along with liking certain illegal substances, and it’s like sitting on a ticking time bomb. You never know what state they’ll come through the door every night and what mood they’ll be in.

I think you’re right about men and food; I’ve often said that if someone else was making all the decisions, cooking my meals and presenting them to me three times a day it would take all the decision making process away from me and I wouldn’t have a weight problem! No more buying multi packs of crisps and chocolate bars and stuffing them all on the way home from shopping so that hubbie doesn’t see!!! I think in my warped mind, if he hasn’t see me eat it then it hasn’t really happened! Can anyone else relate to that?

Anyway, onto this morning’s breakfast. I enjoyed two Portobello mushrooms with a poached egg. The directions were to ‘drizzle’ a little oil onto each mushroom. So while ‘drizzling’ the oil onto each mushroom (more like pouring if I’m honest), I read the calorie content of said oil only to discover that it contains over 800 cals per 100g!!!! So note to self; use a pastry brush in future if I’m going to drizzle. Did anyone see Nigella’s tip on poached eggs the other night? To prevent all the stringy bits in the water she popped an egg (from the fridge) into a sieve to let the more liquid elements drop through (not much came out) before popping it into a pan of very still water. Worked a treat! My egg had that professional look and no stringy bits! Feeling as if I haven’t eaten anything though so I’ve made myself another cup of tea.
I guess it will take a few days for my stomach to get used to smaller portions again.

Will catch up later, do please share what you all eat as it’s great to get inspiration from everyone!

Have a good day,
Love Marianne

Marianne you must have pressed the return arrow (top left) which takes you back to where you were before you posted. You should always use the Forums key and go back to the main menu.

Welcome, lovely ladies, to this forum! You will look back on Nov. 6th
as the day that changed your life. I’m now a maintainer of 6 1/2
months who managed to lose an extreme amount of weight (140lbs)
in 10 months time. I’ve lost an additional 6lbs while in maintenance
and am currently 12lbs under target with a BMI of 21.69. All things
are possible with this way of life and the generous support from
the formums There is nothing we BSDers enjoy more than sharing
tips with newbies, so please feel free to present us with any
questions you may have going forward! It’s a learning curve, so
just take it one day (or one meal) at a time. I’m so happy to see
you here. Just jump into any thread if you think I can be of any
help 🙂

Annie and Marianne, I can so relate to the uncertainty you live
with each day. My husband was diagnosed with stage 3 heart
failure in 2016 and underwent 2 complicated stenting procedures
in june 2016. From time of diagnosis I was on a mission to
change our diet to prevent his condition from worsening. I
studied heart healthy diets and the particular nutrients that
supported it. I knew of course that heart failure wasn’t reversable
but I was hellbent on preventing any more plaque to build up
in his arteries! The other promise I made to myself was not to
ask him to make any changes that I wasn’t willing to make myself.
Thus began our journey. Alcoholism wasn’t part of the equation
for us, Annie, but I feel for both you and your husband. Having a
TIA on top of it must be terrifying.

Best of luck to you all on day 2!

Love,

Allie

Hi also to Jill and Marianne – welcome!

Marianne – yes I did see that tip about the poached eggs and tried it out at the weekend. Fantastic! I wish I’d known about that years ago as my pet hate is the stringy froth!

I’ve been doing this since the middle of August. Lost 19 lbs so far and had a 3 week plateau about 3 weeks in. That seems to be quite normal. I stuck with it because even though the scales didn’t move, I could tell in the way my clothes fit that something was happening on the inside! Hard to describe, but I just felt thinner on the inside! Plus after the first few days of feeling hungry and a bit grumpy and tired, I began to feel energised, could walk quicker, my mood lifted! The hardest thing I have found is having to un-learn all the stuff we have had drummed into us over the last 40 years regarding low fat! My MM book is in my bag at all times so I can refer back to it or remind myself of something.

Anyway – good luck to you all and I look forward to cheering you on!

Kazzeee

Thanks for that sunshine- girl! I really don’t know what I did, one moment I was typing and the next everything had disappeared!

Wow! Thank you so much Allie and Kazzeee; what amazing success you’ve had with the diet, it’s so very encouraging to us newies! Particularly in awe of you Allie, what a result! And to have maintained it for that period of time is very heartening for someone like me who has never managed to get beyond the 3 month mark. Tell me, have either of you had any weak moments and eaten stuff (usually the buffet isn’t it?) that doesn’t gel with the BSD principles, and if so how did you get your mind back in the zone?

Thanks for the 3 week plateau tip Kazzeee; I shall be prepared for that and probably avoid the scales for a week or two.

Do you weigh yourselves regularly? I think in the past the scales have been a double edged sword for me, sometimes they don’t seem to reflect the effort that’s gone in but others I get a pleasant surprise.

I felt 10 feet tall and very virtuous shopping in Asda a little while ago, I so enjoyed filling my trolley with ingredients for the recipes I’m going to try, and it didn’t even occur to me to slink a chocolate bar or pastry under the salad leaves!!! Deffo helps going with a list as you get round quicker and if it ain’t on the list, it ain’t going in!

Enjoyed a lovely Waldorfy type salad for lunch (from the book), very tasty! Asda do an 80g pot of cooked roast chicken with just a bit of salt, nothing else added, which I put in with it too. Perfect size for one!

Onwards and upwards!

Love Marianne

Allie, something I meant to ask you, as you have reached your target weight, where did you go from there? What ‘rules’ did you follow? The book leaves you a bit high and dry.

Thanks,
love Marianne

Yes, Kazzi! the lifting of mood and endless energy we have when
ketosis is achieved, i.e., the burning of fat instead of glycogen
for our primary source of fuel, is utterly fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone : )

I started 6 November too – do you have room for one more by any chance? Like Jillf I am a returner, having had success earlier in the year but losing my way after that and not really trying maintenance properly. I now weigh more than I did before I lost : ( Seems I’m either in healthy eating mode or stupid eating mode – and it’s been the latter for the past 4 months. So now – this is it. I need to fix things and get into habits that will become a long term fixture, not a phase.

I’m 51 in 5 weeks and would like to have lost 9 pounds by then. It doesn’t sound much but I know I tend to lose the first few fairly quickly then it really slows up. I do find not weighing myself every day helps and try and weigh in once a week. That way there usually is a drop, even if it’s only a pound or two.

So far so good. Yesterday was fine and I drank a lot of water. Right now I feel a bit funny – spaced out and nervy so I think I need to be drinking more fluids.

Well done to everyone for making it to this point – the next 2 weeks might be challenging but we’ve made the biggest step and we have fantastic sources of help and inspiration here on the forum to see us through tough times.

Onward and downward!

P.S. I chose the username Juliet as she’s what I’d love to be – the epitome of loveliness and adored by her lover!! (well you can always dream!) I won’t tell you my real name!!

Marianne- –

yup I get that with computers especailly in work.. then I looks like I have done nothing for 30 mins.

Sorry to hear about your son. You have hit the nail spot on. The tension and stress is unbelievable that you don’t realise you have tensed up. At the moment it is calm and relax at 🏠 hubby is drying out. We are on our fourth day. I have been through all the emotions with hubby. I am very lucky to have a great sensible son. He should not have to deal with his dad when drunk but he does. Thank you for your understanding.

I have been guilt buying a couple bars of chocolate 🍫 while paying for petrol ⛽️. Eat them very quickly ( thinking if I eat them fast it would not count ! Draft or what) or do a McDonald’s on the way home from work, just before tea. Then eat tea and then have seconds.

Now that an idea with the poached 🍳 I will try that over the weekend. And let you know if it worked for me.

So half way through second day and I am so hungry.
Did the blueberry and green tea shake yesterday – the boys were fine with it – me ugh
No carbs ploughlunch was fine did not miss the bread or crackers
Soy and ginger salmon with veg very tasty but by teatime starving so anything would have been 👌

Today did the mushroom with goat cheese- not a favourite, my son is not keen on 🍄 but he ate it.
Lunch was the peanut butter dip . I hate peanut butter but you know what with soft cheese it was yummy 😋 I knew the boys will like it too as they eat peanut butter straight from the jar.
For tea veg curry looking forward to that.

Take care
Annie x

Hi Juliet and a warm welcome to you also! 🙂

Marianne – I only weigh once per week on a Saturday usually, just because I’ve lost quite slowly and if I were to step on the scales every day and not see the digits move, then it would annoy me! I know what I’m like. Buffets are tricky – we had one a couple of weeks ago at work and it was totally refined carb laden. Not even any salad garnish! I knew in advance so had brought in a BSD friendly lunch box which I should have eaten beforehand, but I thought there would be something I could have. There wasn’t so I ended up have 3 mini veggie patties, minus the buns! I’ve learned from that!

Night all….
Kxx

Verano – Wow had not thought about using lettuce like that. Mmmm ideas for pack lunches are getting better. I will tell my son – butter king is fine just chuck the bread. I can see him doing that. He loves his food especailly meat and fish .
Salmon is our house is called chicken of the seas. He is also started talking about what we will be having for Christmas dinner !

Allie – Big WOW – loved your story, especailly about the hubby, hope he is on the mendWHAT a fantastic result with your weight lost , you must be a completely new person. And new wardrobe! I hope your hubby appreciates you and what you have done for him. He is one hell of a lucky man to have you and your support.

Question ladies ( for everyone) energy levels? Ones that have started..are you feeling very tired and could sleep into next week? ( then wake up thin on the outside and inside … 🤪) and the ones that have done the BSD for more than a couple of weeks – do you real get a burst of energy and start feeling better, good ,great? Have read a few threads and this seems to be a common themed. Is the burst of energy due to getting more active? And is exercise a big part of your life? I am okay with exercise.. will be going back swimming and gym when I am back in the driving seat. ( can’t drive for another few more days, need to wait for 4 weeks after having a stroke ) my son is okay wit him excerise but the hubby…hell no…no way boyo.🤨

Have a good evening catch up again tomorrow
Welsh annie

Oh forgot welcome on board Juilet do I need to learn some Shakespeare. Or not, that is the question?🤣

My best buffet tip is quiche, and pick up a teaspoon to eat it with, leaving the pastry. You end up with a bit of carb debris, but nutritionally it isn’t far from an omelette or frittata.

Marianne 🙂 Thank you, but first let me say that I am not at all
different from many others who have had life changing successes
here, including putting T2D into remission. It took me 17 yrs to
become obese category III, and occurred after I became disabled.
Somewhere along the line I guess I just accepted it, and if I hadn’t
been confronted with O/H’s health issues I might still be in that
shape. I used to feel 80 yrs old. Today I would say I feel 40!
Let me see if I can address all your questions……..Kazz, where
are you, we should be doing this together 🙂 There are so many
ways to do this lifestyle, which is the ultimate beauty of it. I
was very strict, found I had to restrict carbs to <20 to achieve
the results I wanted. Planning and being prepared is the key.
I never found myself in “bad food land” because I always had
hardboiled eggs and 10 almonds in my handbag. Others here
often ate their BSD friendly meal before going out for the evening
and had something like a salad when out to dinner. I knew
I was running a marathon, not a sprint, so I just kept my head
down and put one foot in front of the other each day until I got
to where I wanted to go. No excuses, no exceptions! Also
water, more water, and more after that. I weighed myself daily
during this period, but now I’m trying to discipline myself to
once a week. Different strategies work for different people,
and you will find what best suits you. Regarding maintenance,
I’m still a work in progress. I’m finding their as many ways to
do that as there are personalties. What I’ve done is start increasing
calories 50-100 a. day and stay with that for a week, then repeat.
I don’t ever expect to eat carbs again, but the magic that happens
along the way is that you lose all interest in them. There is no
carby food that can compare to feeling really and truly healthy
again. Being able to wear cute clothes again is just a bonus!
If you think of anything else that is on your mind, just shout..
Keep coming back to the forums, it’s the secret weapon we share.

Love,
Allie

Hi Juliet, always room for one more, lol!!!
Good luck in the target you’ve set yourself; I’m sure you’ll achieve it.
What did you eat today? I too am feeling a little weird; very slightly headachey and a bit light headed. Can’t drink too much more now though otherwise I’ll be up in the night!
Love Marianne

Annie, I’m glad I’m not the only one having computer probs! (I’m very lucky to have a brother in law who is a bit of an expert so I just run to him with any probs!).

It made me smile to read that you experience the same problems as I do when buying petrol! Why do we do it to ourselves?!!!

Apart from the rather dodgy sounding shake and goat cheese (just a bit too goaty for my taste) it sounds like you had a good couple of days food wise. How far do you plan ahead with meals? I’ve been jotting down a lot of recipes I like the sound of from the site and the book to make it quicker and easier to plan ahead.

Feeling a bit spaced out so time for tea me thinks!

Love Marianne

Juliet, I think that I too will only weigh myself once a week; they can become a bit obsessive can’t they?
We have a big family buffet that I’m hosting later this month (everyone brings a plate and the table can end up looking a bit beige). Always a danger zone for me and has led me off the straight and narrow on more than one occasion to the point when you throw your hands in the air, declare yourself a failure and put it down to yet another failed dieting attempt. BUT, I shall plan ahead! I think I’ll make some individual quiches and a big salad, I may even make the very yummy salad I had for lunch today. I’ll make sure everyone takes their leftovers with them and anything beige that gets left will go straight in the bin.

Allie, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions of which there were many!!! I found your carb restriction interesting; I haven’t really thought about that, just picking recipes from the ones shown although avoiding very obvious carbs like bread, rice, pasta, etc. It would be interesting to sit down and work out the carbs in a typical day. I remember when I was on it before also losing all interest in carbs and I can’t wait to get to that stage again! How many calories do you eat a day or are you only counting carbs?

Have a good day fellow BSDers!

Love Marianne

Have a great day everyone

Annie x

I started on the 6th Nov, and I have always had trouble going to the toilet during the night to do a wee due to prostate problems. I have been drinking all the water that I should and I am now going to the loo about six times a night. Will this tail off as I become acclimatised to the extra water, I certainly hope so. 🙂 I am retired so can rest during the day but I hope it gets better.

The night time toilet visits should reduce as your body adjusts, but try to drink the bulk of your fluid intake during the day and limit intake an hour or so before bedtime, so that most of the necessary elimination happens before you settle for the night. Hopefully that will help to limit the number of times you need to get up during the night.

Taurusmmuk – warmest welcome, – wish you the best with the BSD.

Thanks 😎 SunnyB for helping Taurusmmuk out. Hopeful the night trips to the toilet will settle down.

Now that is a idea with the buffet – go for the quiche and leave the pastrybehind. Gives me an idea to make some on the weekend without the pastry to keep in the fridge.

Back to work tomorrow after been off for over 4 weeks after mine minor stroke. So lunch ready and breakfast planned. Looking forward to getting back to a routine.

I thought I would tell you guys about my dogs. I have two dogs 🐕 both German shepherds, one is ten and the other one is two years old. And THEY ARE NOT HAPPY with me and my family as there are no scraps left on the plates as we are eating all our food. Image what they may be saying to each ‘ no leftovers again …😠. The older one, Misty, is so hopeful and keeps giving us her paw 🐾 even after we have finish eating. And the younger one, Daisy, sneaks in to the kitchen behind me and tries to lick the plates as I put them in the dishwasher. 😁.

So day 3 has been the best one so far as I do not feel hungry today.

Have a good day tomorrow
Will catch up with everyone e tomorrow.

Kind regards
welshannie.

Thanks SunnyB, it never occurred to me to try drinking the bulk of the water earlier in the day. I will try that starting tomorrow, I try to drink about 3 litres per day plus one or two cups of coffee. I know that I should drink this amount every day but it is hard from a very low base, but I will persevere and win….. 🙂

Hi alliecat,

I enjoyed the positivity of your post, as I am on my first week I feel that I am floundering a bit but determined to keep on to finally sort my weight and diabetes. I get one diabetic checkup a year and very little support from my medical centre. I have never been offered a healthy eating course or if I need podiatry I have to pay £38 out of my pension, also in this area you definitely can’t see a dietician because I was told by a doctor “they are only for seriously ill patients”. I don’t feel seriously ill but I think that I should have access to a dietician. The only advice I have had from the DN, it use the eatwell plate and when I told her that I am going to do the Blood Sugar Diet I was warned of doom and destruction. But I have remained almost pre-diabetic for the past 4 years so they can all sod off until they get their head around this WOE, I will plough my own furrow with the excellent help of this forum.

Thank for the welcome Welshannie I really feel at home on this forum.

I had reserve response from my district nurse at my DR’s but that is only because of my dietabes and meds, I was recommended to try this by stroke nurses. Due to my minor stroke, I am getting lots of support from the DR ‘s and the stroke unit at the hospital. It is ok for people to have options but the thing is, folks, we are taking control of our Health. This may not work for everyone but to me it is worth a try.

Annie x

Day four on the BSD

Weight 14:4
Blood sugar 6.7

OMG … this BSD does work with your blood sugar levels. On Sunday I was 22:5 fasting and drum roll…. this morning I was 6.7 that makes me happy 😃 maybe I will be able to reverses the diabetes.
I am doing this for my blood sugar – the weight will be a lovely bonus. This result is driving me forward and onwards.

Not too hungry today and I think energy level is increasing..but it was my first day back at work so I am on a high… I will crash later and hopefully have a good night 💤
Chicken with almond and basil for tea. Did the no carb Bircher for breakfast and hubby and I liked it a lot – my son, Markie boy not so keen on the Bircher . He had the blueberry and green tea shake. He likes that one.

How is everyone doing today?

Keep in touch
Welshannie x

Hello, I am starting on Saturday 11th.
Read the entire book yesterday and will do a shopping list tomorrow.
I’m aiming for 6 weeks to start with, takes me until just before Christmas. I haven’t dared to weigh myself but have a class booked at the gym so will do it then on their special machine. Worried about feeling hungry /faint. I must remember to drink water. Luckily i’ve been going off tea and coffee at work anyway recently, prefering herbal tea/ water and the odd black coffee . I still like a milky coffee in the morning and often have hot milk before bed (especially with a bit of hot choc in it- however i can ditch that ok).
well good luck everyone. I shall make the most of what i eat today and tomorrow

Bluelampshade – warmest welcome.

I started Monday and I had no side effects apart from being hungry 😋 not felt faint or had headaches. Just finish mine fourth day, and it does get easier. The main tip is to prepared, prepared and prepared. I have even got my hubby and son doing it with me. There has been some hits and miss.

Wish you all the best and look forward to hearing your success ane what works for you. Like you I am thinking ahead to Christmas 🎄 have a wee break then back on it for the new year. This will be life changing for me.

Keep in touch
Welshannie

Hi bluelampshade and welcome!
I too was worried about the initial effects of going from thousands of cals per day to hundreds! Day 1 wasn’t too bad, gnawing hunger at times but felt ok. Day 2 my head began to feel very strange, similar to a headache but not a thumping one and not too bad to deal with, again hungry but I didn’t get that bad that I had to do any inbetween nibbling. I felt a bit light headed too and spaced out but I embraced it as I knew it was just a reaction to the carb withdrawal. Day 3 today and I feel much better. Headache gone, I’m not really feeling hungry at all; empty, yes, but not that gnawing hunger that prevents you from focussing on anything else! It’s amazing, only day 3 and already my stomach has shrunk and I’m full after just a modest amount of (healthy) food!
So feeling very positive and love reading the posts on here as they are so very inspiring!
Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to share! xxx

Annie, brilliant result with your bloods, what more motivation could you possibly need with a result like that!
Well done! xxx

I went through a lot of the recipes and have made a note in a separate book which I will keep for the purpose of all the ones that appeal! It will make life so much easier when menu planning for the week.
I did a tuna melt with salad for lunch today-Tuna mixed with crème fraiche, mustard, s and p, topped with mozzarella and heated; yummy!

Hi,

I too started on 6th November and was hoping to gain and share info here. After a tough time this year with family illness and bereavement I have pulled on the weight (my fault completely) and now want to start a healthy lifestyle and loose approx 5 stone.

I had a couple of questions hoping someone might help with? Can I skip breakfast and would this help getting into ketosis? Generally happy to skip breakfast in the week, and do something nice at the weekend.

Also, how do you know you are in ketosis and how can you stay in it?

Doing ok so far. Have the book and did the Medi platter for lunch minus the anchovies. Felt really naughty eating all that feta!

Also, is there an approx weight of veg you can add as a side generally for your main meal? I do like veg and tend to eat a lot of it!

Thanks all and good luck. Clare xxx

Hi guys

Five days in.

Warm Welcome Clare

I am new to this diet so will not be able to answer your questions. Hopeful someone will be able to help you. It sounds like you have a very difficult year. And an emotional eater like me.

Years ago when the atikins diet came out, I was able to get test strips from my Dr,s to test for Ketones in my urine which is a by product of your body using up fat stores. You may be able to buy testing kit over the counter.

Skipping breakfast? Not sure about that one. I only started on Monday and by the morning I will eat anything. I hate yogurt but I am enjoying no carb Bircher.

I love salads and veg too. I did the spicy turkey burger for dinner with salad 🥗 but I think I have over eaten on the salad, so an interesting question, how much is too much?. I know you have to be careful with the some of the root veg.

Been so good so far, second good fasting day with blood sugar level at 6,8 this morning. But I have not lost any weight so far. But I can feel the difference with my body. So sticking to it.

Now that I am able to drive again and started back to work.. it is time to start the gym again . Love swimming but not so keen on weights. I do walk my dogs 🐕 but need to come out of my comfort zone.

Found today hard to stay on the straight and narrow so say speak. First day thinking about mars bars! ( even when I ate rubbish, I did not buy mars bars! ) But I need a good result again tomorrow morning with blood sugar level.

Have a great weekend
Welshannie

Hi Welshannie,
Thanks for your reply and info – hopefully one of the experts may be able to answer the other questions raised.

Stick with it. You will only regret the chocolate! Maybe factor in a square of dark chocolate into your day?

I have just planned the lunch and dinners for the next week. Have added the turkey burgers!

I’ve lost 3lb, but have been doing a bit of exercise (from YouTube) there are some good low level walking ones for just 15 mins that are good to get started!

Good luck and have a fab weekend. Xxx

Hello all : )

Apologies for not posting the past few days. I really have been feeling dreadful and by the time I sat down at night and had time to post I felt so washed out I couldn’t face writing! I’ve been aching all over. had a painful face – under my eyes, in my cheek bones, muscles. I’ve felt sick (can’t spell naus…nauseu..) dizzy, light headed and hungry. And today (day 5) – all change – yippee!! I’ve felt great, no hunger and really positive and in control. So for anyone just starting off – do persevere through these initial few days – your body is adjusting to the massive changes you are putting in place for the long term and that’s worth putting up with for a few days. It will get better!

Pinkclare12 – Hi! You were asking about breakfast – in the book MM says you don’t have to have breakfast, do whatever suits you best. Since doing the BSD last year I never have breakfast and regularly fast from around 6.30pm until 12.30pm the next day when my daughter comes home from school for lunch. I find the mornings very easy to get through on just coffee, lots of water and the occasional mug of Bouillion if I’m struggling. I notice that once I start eating I feel hungry a lot of the time so putting off that initial meal seems to help me. After that I try and pace myself, drinking fizzy water with a slice of lemon if I’m hungry between meals. I tend to be ravenous by 4pm and that’s when I eat most of my cals and carbs, then a light supper and I’m fine. It doesn’t work every day, but I for one prefer to give breakfast a miss, otherwise for me the day just seems too long for those few carbs!!

Good luck and well done to us all for making it to Friday! Stay good over the weekend : )

Hi Juliet,
So glad you are feeling better and thanks for the update re breakfast. X

Hi all,
we have almost completed a week and I have lost some weight and I do feel slimmer, but my official weigh-in day is Sunday. I have not been as careful with the 800 calories as I would have liked but I have a considerable amount of frozen chicken and bean stews that have to be eaten or they will get frost damage. I have been estimating a reasonably small bowlful at about 500 calories and the rest is taken up with a good amount of steamed veggies mainly frozen, but some fresh depending on what I have lurking about. I am so glad I have found this forum, it has been instrumental in keeping me on the almost straight and narrow foodwise

One problem I thought that might encounter is that I have cut most of the crap out of my diet a long time ago and that this would make it harder for me to lose weight , but I am hoping that as I had a really bad habit of eating good stuff on a LCHF diet as espoused by many eminent doctors, but far too much of it, but my take was, if it’s good for you more is better. I just love butter and cream but luckily have shunned margarine for years as an unnatural product and it seems that I was right. Even though I definitely had enough to eat during the day, I always had a substantial snack in the evening which mitigated against me losing any weight.

I hope that we have all had a good week and next week will be better, and we all go from strength to strength and lose fat bigtime. 🙂 I will evaluate my progress and lower my calories and watch more carefully what I am eating. I was on a blog this morning and it didn’t fill me with joy making me feel that I haven’t prepared nearly enough for this WOE, but we are all on a steep learning curve. I included a small snippet of the blog below, and have included the web link if anyone wants to read the full article.

Quote
[“According to psychological research, your willpower is like a muscle. It’s a finite resource that depletes with use. As a result, by the end of your strenuous days, your willpower muscles are exhausted and you’re left to your naked and defenceless self — with zero control to stop the night-time munchies and time wasters.”]

https://journal.thriveglobal.com/willpower-doesnt-work-here-s-how-to-actually-change-your-life-9fb9a85762ca

I had better end now it’s almost time for bed.

Kind regards, taurusmmuk.

If you’re anything like me, your estimates are almost certainly wrong, like, by miles. Beans in particular can be shockingly high in carbs and calories. Count first, and that means counting everything that goes into your mouth, ideally before it does.

Muscles don’t deplete with use. They deplete with disuse. That’s what atrophy is. I think it’s true that willpower is similar to a muscle in that sense. You have to work it out to develop it. People seem to think it’s something pre-determined, something you either have or you don’t have, but one thing the BSD has taught me is that willpower is your choice to make. It’s 100% mental. And I say this as someone who sat on her ass for close to 20 years until I was so hyperobese (300+ pounds at 5’2″) that getting up to walk 10 feet to the bathroom was a monumental effort. That was a year and a half ago. This morning I weighed 122.4 pounds.