Hi everyone, I’ve had ‘unexplained ‘ sudden weight gains over the last 6 months which the doctors are struggling to identify why. So after seeing a locum she advised to try the 8 week blood sugar diet, saying that her other patients had great success in losing weight in a short period of time. I’ve been tested for everything under the sun but nothing is showing up as a likely cause. so today I’m off to the grocery store to stock up on ingredients. I’m pretty nervous about the process and also worried that having 4 kids ( 2 which are elite athletes) who eat us out of house and home that there will be so many temptations and I’ll find this process pretty difficult. I know it’s for my health and I’ll be a much better and happier mum but I still worry..
I was wondering who else out there has done the BSD in these circumstances and also if there are any tips or any advice you might have that could help.
I’m looking forward to having this online community for support so thank you in advance!

You are starting in the right place and are lucky enough to have no real health issue except the weight. Dealing with family is difficult but you will have to ask for their support. It is just me and hubby but I cook us both the same meals except I do a bit of carb for him although more and more he says not to bother with any rice or pasta for him. If your kids have forbidden food like biscuits; chocolates etc around ask them to put them away.

Good luck and keep posting.

Hi Elizzy – welcome, there’s no need to be nervous about embarking on the BSD, it takes a bit of getting used to thinking in terms of low carbs and full fat, rather than the low fat and high carb philosophy that has been spouted at us for decades. Not many doctors are yet embracing the science behind the BSD, so kudos to your locum for recommending it to you. You don’t say how old you are, but I personally found that the pounds started ramping up as menopause set in and sadly, it was years before I found the BSD and the solution to the issue.

As sunshine-girl says, try to get your family on board with your quest and ask them to keep foods that you will not now be eating, away from you. Once you get passed the first couple of weeks, you will probably be surprised how quickly you will settle into this new way of eating and hopefully, will not be so tempted by the non-BSD foods in the house. Also, try to keep things simple with a similar approach to meals as sunshine-girl – indeed, this has been my personal approach as well. There is no need to be cooking a multitude of different meals, just make whatever you will be eating and then add in a carb element for the rest of the family.

Be sure to make good use of the forum – use the search box at the top of the page to search for particular topics, but failing that, just shout out if you need advice, support or just need to vent. We’re a friendly bunch and someone will offer some wisdom, encouragement or a pat on the back, as the occasion demands.

Best of luck to you …

Did they test your insulin levels? I ask because I too experienced slow and steady weight gain over the course of years and it turned out to be insulin resistance. I went to numerous gps, ob/gyns, gastros, obesity specialists, even endocrinologists, and none of them specifically tested my insulin levels until I demanded it based on research I’d done. They just tested my blood glucose and since it was on the high side of normal (very high side at times), they never delved further into how my body was metabolizing sugar.

For me, the BSD showed almost instant results. It was immediately clear that carbs were the locus of my enormous weight gain. Cutting them drastically to less than 20 grams a day and striking out all wheat, grains, sugar, cereals, root veg, any other higher carb veg and even legumes and pulses was the solution to reclaiming my life.

Your situation is a thorny one, however, because of your family’s needs. Not that they particularly need bread and pasta, mind you, but presumably they will resist change and you have so much to juggle already the last thing you need is arguments over who gets served what. I honestly don’t know what I’d do in your place. Probably tell them all to fend for themselves for a change and leave you alone with your chicken salad. 😉

Actually, I wonder if you could have a family meeting and open the discussion to their input? Is that something they’d respond to? You’re all in together, after all, and I’m sure they want you to be as healthy and happy as you can be. Your athletic kids could even conceivably help you achieve your fitness goals, and maybe you could drum up some kind of pitch-in-on-the-cooking plan as a family?

Hey Elizzy

Are you UK based? I ask because I believe that the NHS tests may not pick up insulin resistance. I am similar to you, in that I am a mum with 2 kids, just getting fatter and more and more tired. I went to a private clinic thinking I was peri-menopausal and eventually got tested as insulin resistant, which is on the way to Type 2 diabetic but not as bad. The clinic told me the NHS don’t test for it (so I may be wrong, maybe the do) only for actual T2. Don’t know if that’s your experience.

Anyhow, I am 5 months into this way of eating and I am 19kg down, in the middle of my healthy BMI and a size 10. Bags more energy and very thankful I did it.

I have not much modified what we eat, I tend to cook meat and veg with carb on the side, which I don’t have, the kids are very positive about it as I sold it as me needing to do it for my health. They do moan when I forget the carbs, but they have seen the positive results, y know what I am telling them is true. My OH is an Ultra runner and he totally gets the training your body to burn fat not carbs.

Best of best luck, it has it’s ups and downs. You may feel really crappy to start with, but hang on in there, it becomes progressively easier. Xx

Hi guys,

I can’t start to explain how happy I felt when I got up this morning to see that someone/ anyone responded to my post and that you were all so encouraging and supportive!

A little background: I’ve turned 40 this year – not sure if that matters or not lol

I live in New Zealand and I don’t think I’ve been tested for insulin resistance. I’ve had ‘full blood tests’, my hormone levels checked to see if I was pre menopausal but that came back normal. I’ve also been tested for thyroid problems and those tests seem ok too. I should look into insulin resistance once the holidays are finished here.

Weight loss is my main focus but I do have arthritis in both my hips with bone spurs from years and years of manual labouring with my work.I find that being over weight has increased my pain in my hips so that’s another reason I need to get back to a healthy weight.

My weight gain is a bit of a mystery as I’m pretty fit and active – swimming over 2km three times a week (masters swimming club) and walking 7-10 km 4 times a week. I used to bike with the kids, but have found that with the extra weight and sore hips I tend to not do that anymore.

Having a family meeting is a good idea, then everyone is on the same page. I’m going to be using the meal planner in the book and some of those meals are for 2 so hubby has said that he is happy to have what I’ll be having (plus extra I’m guessing) so that will help. I’m hoping that once I get confident about what I’m doing the whole house can have the “same” sort of meals. We are in summer holidays here , hubby has 2 weeks off work so hopefully I’ll have an ‘on tap’ support system during that time. From what I’d read and what you have all posted the first couple of weeks are a bit tough.

Thank you guys for the responses and support and I look forward to posting updates as I continue on! 🙂

Hey ElizzyB, sounds like you are in a good place to do all this. If the book seems a bit much/overwhelming, as it did for me to start with, then the key things are no obvious carbs (good rule no rice/pasta/bread/pastry/sugar) or root veg and no half fat/no fat stuff – full fat is king and important to stop you being hungry. Lots and lots of water. I started like this, then after a few days of feeling crap (carb flu, it’s a thing) I eased into working out how many carbs and calories. The amazing thing with low carbs is how you don’t feel hungry on 800 cals. But fro me the key thing is the low carbs, as for at least a week of my 8 weeks I couldn’t count calories or carbs as I was on holiday in France and I still lost weight sticking to the ‘principles’. I really haven’t found this process hard, it’s been so liberating.

There’s a lot of debate on this forum about how low carb you need to go, but I think the answer is ‘it depends’ – on you and your own personal metabolism. I’m quite low carb through preference, others get good results with more carbs, just see how it goes, it’s a beautifully flexible thing. So see how you go and then adjust accordingly.

Best of best luck, you sound good to go to me! X

Hi ElizzyB, I read your post with interest as I was where you are a year ago (I started BSD Jan this year). I’m 52 now but in my late 30s I was putting on a lot of weight. I didn’t want to be “fat and forty” so I went on a low carb diet and lost the weight by the time I was 39 – only to put it all back on again by 40! Over the next decade my weight kept going up. I had blood tests when I was 45 and was diagnosed by my doctor as pre-diabetic. I’ve had a few health issues since then and my weight was up and down (mainly up!), and I hit my heaviest weight ever last December. Then I found BSD… I’ve lost 12.5kg so far and have another 16-18kg to go. My loss has been slower than others, which I partly blame my medication on (am on steroids which cause weight gain).
I have a lot of joint pain and inflammation because I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, but the symptoms have greatly improved since I started following BSD – I noticed an improvement in the first 2/3 weeks, so it wasn’t weight loss, but avoiding foods that trigger inflammation (wheat and sugar for me).
I’m a mum of 4 with 2 of my kids still at home. I found it easier to cook our usual family meals, with a few tweaks (cooking Bolognaise sauce from scratch for example, instead of using a jar of sauce). My family still have pasta and I just make zucchini noodles to have with mine. BSD soon becomes a way of life 🙂 Good luck and I look forward to seeing how you get on 🙂

Well fellow BSD peeps I’m one week down and feeling pretty o.k.
Only a couple of days when I could of killed someone for food round that 3pm mark but otherwise all o.k. Drinking LOADS of water which helps I think. Trying to get through about 2 1/2 L per day.
I’ve lost a total of 3kg (6.6pounds) which makes me feel great and that it’s all worth it. I’m actually in a pretty good mind set and trying to get the family in on it too. When dishes say for 2 or 4 people (Weekly meal planner) I’ve added it to the family meal or divided it up for myself in containers so it’s easy for next time.
my issue this week is that I have a new denture plate which I got today and will have to eat very soft foods for the next week or so. Tricky with working off the meal planner so I guess it will need to be jiggled around a bit and my food cooked right down till everything is nice and soft. It’s so hot here at the moment(28+C – 90+F) so soup is out of the question. So I don’t think this week the loss will be as big but any loss is better than nothing and I am keeping my sights set on the end goal!