Well done, Macloud. I suppose the object of the exercise is to reverse the diabetes. I’ve only lost 2-3 lbs in the first week, which I found disappointing as my hubby lost half a stone eating 1600 calories a day! Both of us have lost inches off our waists though, so it’s not all gloomy. Hard to do the red wine recipe with the steak on Saturday and not finish the bottle! We are going to give it to a friend of ours to finish. 😭

As we are travelling home from Devon to Kent today, we decided to have the Sunday brunch, rather than a light breakfast, so we won’t eat again until we get home. Had the salmon stack from the book which was 2 large mushrooms, smoked salmon, pine nuts, poached egg and a lovely creme fresh and Dijon mustard sauce. Yum.

Half way home and just a black coffee in Starbucks for me. Zero calories though.

Yes, 800 cals clocks up so fast ! (I have only 380 left for tonight !) But you are both doing well; it is a long road .. but worth it. And I really don’t envy your journey one bit !

Macloud.

I scrimped on lunch again – just a tiny scoop of hummas and some celery to make sure that I would be OK with eating out again – away with work again tonight. A sedentary working day (with a short walk at lunchtime and back to e hotel this evening) has left me with only 8000 steps and tomorrow I shall have a 3.5 hour car drive home, so can’t see myself being much lighter by the time I get home, but as long as my bloods stay low…

Having had a brunch of the Salmon Stack before we left Devon and were travelling, we had Harissa Chicken tonight, which was delicious. Totalled 810 calories as I had an apple at 5pm, as I went a bit shaky.

I thought I’d lost you all en route, as I accidentally pressed the unsubscribe button on the email, as I was on my iPhone which is tiny, but all is well. Will weigh ourselves and measure tomorrow, now we are back home in Kent.

Good to know you home safe AngS – hope you were able to enjoy your hols without food (or lack there-of) taking centre stage.

Becoming slightly obsessed myself – never done this calorie-counting affair before and it’s at the front of my thoughts all the time.

Hi, Anne. Thank you. Yes, looking forward to my own bed!

That’s the problem with dieting. We think about food much more – like all the time! Lol. After every meal last week, I wanted to know what we were having next.

Now we are home, we were able to get out our own scales and tape measure.
Beginning of week 2. 1 inch lost from bust, waist and hips. Dropped from 9st 11lbs to 9st 7lbs.
David has lost 2” from his waist.

Hi AnneF, I wonder if I can join you on your bandwagon? I managed the bsd a year or so ago and lost 42 pounds but then ‘relaxed’ and put it all back on again! Idiot! I started again last Thursday hoping for a significant loss in 8 weeks followed by a few weeks on 5:2 to stabilise before, maybe, another bash. I always lose quickly in the first week of any diet and, true to form, lost 10 pounds in the first 4 days. Yesterday the wheels really fell off! I managed a porridge breakfast with cinnamon and grated apple, followed by a 2 egg omelette with red chard from the garden. While preparing evening meal of pork chop with mustard sauce I had a desperate urge for carbs and went for a biscuit followed by a glass of red wine. After I had eaten, I weakened with the wine again and, for good measure, indulged in a piece of last years Christmas cake and a piece of blue cheese! Up only a pound this morning and back on the porridge. Hope you will allow me on board. I really think it might help to share experiences. Good luck to all!

hello there – yes, i just started yesterday! thought i’d check out the forum to see how others doing and the kind of support available – looks very encouraging! Ok so now it’s dinner time…hmmm choices, choices : )

We are having a lamb steak with courgetti and a spicy sauce made from a tin of chopped tomatoes, herbs and spices.
Have managed to cut down the milky drinks and can bear black coffee. If I fancy a drink in the evenings I have a diet tonic water or diet Pepsi.

Welcome aboard 2bigdave and dyingtotriet! All welcome here 🙂

Just remember when you fall 2bigdave just get back on again!

Well done on the getting used to black coffee AngS – I have never liked it with milk so didn’t have that problem.

Back home tonight I can’t wait to get on the scales tomorrow morning. I checked out the website for receipts and found an absolutely delicious pepper and bacon and tomato dish – can’t believe it’s diet food! But yeah AngS I have already checked out what I will be eating tomorrow for brekki and lunch (mainly cos I have an early start and have to take lunch) but still ‘interested’!

BTW has anyone else noticed changes to eye-sight?

Driving – for at least 2 years it has been much more comfortable to wear my distance glasses – today they made everything blurry and it was much clearer without

Reading / iPad / texts etc now need reading glasses to do everything which I did not last week. I can no longer read in bed without glasses, I have to get my glasses out when I get a text / email that I want to read on my phone and I wearing them to write this or post on Facebook.

What’s going on??

Hi, Anne. I haven’t noticed eye sight changes, but I do need reading glasses every day.

That bacon recipe sounds delicious. I’ll try to find it. We had a lovely lamb steak tonight, with trimmings, from the book.

Thank you for welcome AnneF. I had bacon and broccoli fry up which was lovely and filling! i then made the aubergine mash to store for tomorrow…shame i have to go to work as i don’t have time with all this cooking lol!
2bigdave – i have to get rid of temptation myself as i’m not that strong willed (yet) shamed to admit. I live alone so don’t buy anything ‘naughty’ …can’t see it, can’t have it
good luck ….Debs : )

Well I got rid of the wine temptation! No already started bottles so should be ok there. The Christmas cake is still there but it has been there since last December. It’s only now that it seems so desirable!! Pork chop again tonight but I feel really hungry. I feel an early night coming on!

I definitely found the ‘clean cupboards’ helpful. There is nothing exciting / forbidden in my fridge – not even a ‘not already started’ bottle of red!

Early nights (and hoping brekki comes soon!) is a good way of dealing with things 2bigdave – I tend to keep myself busy – got lots of sewing jobs finished and other projects too! Watching. Bake Off I did not find too helpful!!

I can’t understand why I haven’t been hungry, apart from Sunday lunchtime, anticipating the no-carb roast . I’m sure it will hit me soon. I moved all tempting food out to the garage and moved the wine, Bacardi and Gin to the garage fridge, so I can’t see it. Lol.

2bgdave – be determined to control the food you eat. Don’t let it be in charge of you, if you can help it. Perhaps the biscuits and cake ought to go as they’re full of sugar and carbs? Maybe try a handful of nuts and a 0 calorie drink instead. No carbs. Just a thought…

Thanks for the advice AngS and AnneF. I am a terror for finishing off any bits of anything left over. Now they have gone it should get easier. Bake off doesn’t help. Nor does my wife when she starts on her Patisserie Valerie cake. In some way it helps to have something to resist….I keep telling myself!

2bigdave It took me a really long time and battle with myself over wastage, but these days I throw food away rather than eat it up. Better of course not to buy it in the first place!!

Maybe your wife could eat her cake in the shop (lovely cafe!) and not bring it home to tease and tempt you.

I didn’t have a good day today as I drove 2hrs each way for work and so didn’t mange even 8000 steps, let alone 10,000 and I came home to no meal plan – luckily there is nothing so very wrong in my fridge, so I only managed to pull together a ‘salad’ of mange tout, halloumi, toasted hazelnuts and olives – not exactly dinner! But onwards and upwards

I weighed in at 1lb heavier this morning. What’s that all about? I’ve stayed within the 800 calories! However, I am not despondent. I have been very thirsty today, which I’m told means that my body is working hard to burn fat, which is good. Onwards and downwards – hopefully…

Oh AngS that’s harsh and very unfair, you have been so good ! Could it have been down to water ? After losing nearly half a stone in the first couple of days I have been static until this morning – when I was actually down by another single 1lb

Stick with it! I weigh every day and, while a loss is very encouraging, plateau or small rise will definitely be followed by a decent drop if you keep going. Out to friends tonight but not too bad. One week tomorrow so hoping for a decent drop.

Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason whatsoever to how the weight comes off. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve shaken my fist at the scale only to immediately beg it for its forgiveness so as not to enrage it further. Believe me, that one pound loss is going to look like paradise the first week you see the numbers bounce up and down like hyperactive children on speed. Bodies put on and lose shocking amounts of weight during the course of a single day. Water retention, transit time, hormones, menstrual cycles, muscle repair from workouts, fiber intake, and about a million other things can cause fluctuations in scale readings.

All you can do is be as zen about it as humanly possible (she said, recalling days worth of unrelenting sobbing) and keep on keeping on. This is just the way it works. The human body is too complex a system to be amenable to abstractions like justice, fairness and consistency.

Thanks, guys, for your encouragement and support. It’s great being able to share feelings and know others have been through the same frustrations. I am back to 9st 7lb this morning and looking forward to today’s meals from the book. Thursday week 2). No carb Bircher for breakfast, bacon and avocado for lunch, then a chicken dish tonight. Yum!

I think we may have to eat up half portions of this, that and the other, where we’ve only used a few grams of this and a tablespoon of that, from a whole tin of beans, or 50g of fruit/veg., before they go off and have to be thrown away. I seem to have a fridge full of mushrooms! Lol.

Have a good day everyone.
Ang.

I started on October 1st, using MFP to record my intake. I’m rubbish at planning food and so the shopping lists and recipes would really help, if I could find them…
I had a gastric band fitted 4 years ago (almost to the day) and lost 8 stone to start with but have regained 3 stone. I’ve never been diagnosed diabetic or even prediabetic but my blood pressure is managed by daily Ramipril. I quit smoking at that time, too.
This diet seems to make a lot of sense for a WLS patient such as myself. We are advised to eat small portions in our three daily meals. No snacking, nothing that can “go straight through” like soup or shakes. So I’m looking for meals that fill me up quickly and don’t contain carbs. The band prevents me from eating stodge like bread and cakes (it’s unpleasant, to say the least) so I haven’t had a piece of bread in 4 years and I don’t miss it!
I am rubbish with exercise too. I sit all day at work. I walk as much as I can at weekends. I do tai chi once a week but that’s not enough. I used to do Parkrun but coming last and seeing everyone else improve while I got worse was so disheartening I stopped going.
Looking forward to all of your success stories.

Hi, LucretiaUK. I looked at the MFP diet, but it contains too many carbs and sugars in their recipes for me, even though they are quite low in calories. I want to reverse my diabetes and lose weight too. The 8-Week BSD book (Which has all the recipes you need, so don’t need to buy the recipe book too) is the best diet I’ve ever done. I haven’t been able to stick to others due to hunger, but on this one so far (week 2) I haven’t felt hungry. Keep at it. Try a short walk every day if you can. You can go at your own pace that way and won’t feel humiliated. Every little helps. Keep at it.

Hi LucretiaUK

Good luck with joining this diet, the receipts are in the back of the book or on the web site, (although there only seems to be browse, no search function unless I am missing something) there are also loads of either low GI or diabetic cook books around, most giving calorie counts for portions.

I too AngS seem to be ‘developing’ a fridge full of h’halves’. I do think the eating plan could have addressed this – I know that it is looking to bring in variety, but it is quite wasteful (esp when there is only 1 to cook for and NO ONE to eat up the leftovers! Distressing to see food going bad because of ‘over shopping’

Better day for me, started with a brilliant swim – 20 mins full on hard crawl – up and down, up and down. Grilled apricots for brekki (used plums with allspice – bit off piste) and then home made carrot soup for lunch – even further off piste as probably a little too much natural sugars in the carrots, but hey…you gotta live a little!!

AnneF, well done with the swim. All I’ve managed today is an hour or so of gardening. I’ve got 2 gym classes tomorrow, back to back. The first is for older people, a very relaxed mix of light weights, cycling, hula hoops, with short bursts of aerobics between the stations. Then a ballroom and Latin dance aerobics class, which I love.

Am introducing my son and his partner to the scrummy chicken, butter bean and walnut salad, with the mustard sauce, at lunch next week. Hope they like it. We did and I can’t stand butter beans normally. It is a whole chicken breast, which should fill them up.

Ooo that sounds lush – missed that one. I have a chicken tagine to make tonight from one of my diabetic cook books – it’s really lovely receipe that I have made before.

Have fun with the classes – I did a hula-hooping class once on my niece’s hen do and whilst everyone else was happily hooping away I spent the whole hour constantly bending over and picking up my hoop from around my ankles – I could not get the hang of it at all! Don’t think I have ever laughed so much in my entire life! (The breakfast Twinkles cocktails may not gave helped!!)

I have said elsewhere that I tried the bsd before and then lapsed. I began by following the meal plan but as you have found, this leaves you with lots of half eaten bits and pieces. Abandon the plan! My wife isn’t joining me on this diet, although she has just nicked a few beetroot falafel from me as a snack! This means that I am cooking for one with recipes that are usually for two or more. Having abandoned the plan I either eat the same meal two days running or interspersed with alternative. I also stick to favourite dishes, sometimes for several days in a row. Beetroot falafel are fabulous and incomprehensible filling. I usually don’t like spin off cook books but a friend walked off with my original bsd book so I had a look at the bigger cookbook and found it surprisingly good. It helps you to choose your own plan and find and follow your own favourites. Meanwhile…end of first week…survived in spite of one bad day! Keep going everyone and keep in touch.

Well done 2bigdave – that’s the way to look at it – hope your stats show up the good work you have put in

Thanks AnneF.. Down 9.8 pounds on the week but I reckon 6 or 7 pounds will just be fluids. Next week is the real test.

That’s pretty fab though – don’t be too hard on yourself – give yourself credit for your acheievements!

Hi, folks. We are getting used to some of the recipes now and finding some favourites. We missed the beetroot falafels when we went to Devon, so will definitely have a go at making them now we’re back. We just had chicken with a tasty mix of cannelini beans etc and a side dish of green beans. We finished off the mange tout from the other day as well. A great meal. I may not have had a huge amount of weight loss, but I’m feeling a bit slimmer, thank goodness.

How are we all doing at the end of Friday?

I was really hungry today, but dinner is in the oven now! On my feet all day with client and a short after work walk, but I still only managed 7500 steps and 2x 2 hour driving journeys.

Activities planned for the weekend, hopefully the scales will start to show th results of all my privations soon!

Hi, AnneF. Two classes done at the gym today, so,burned some calories. I was 9st 6lbs this morning, so 5lbs off in a week and a half certainly beats any WeightWatchers or Slimming World diets, I’ve tried. Bizarre that I’ve actually accepted and got used to the idea that I’m just not eating vast amounts of food for 8 weeks. I am gradually cutting down my hot drinks, as I can’t resist a dash of milk in them for taste and a cold drink just doesn’t always do it for me.

Hi all sounds like you doing so well. Day 6 for me and just been making porridge although have to say im not waking up as hungry as i used to…blood sugars have been good this week and im so pleased with myself for keeping away from the works biscuit/cake area! Damn thing lol there’s always sommat there😡but i told team what i was doing and to throw a staplegun at me if i dipped in!
Ive lost 5lbs if scales are correct
Whoo!
Happy Debs x

Morning, all.

Well done Dyingtotriet! Willpower rules OK! Snap! I’ve lost 5lbs too. Stayed the same today, but not disheartened. I’m needing fewer teas and coffees, but still have one (with just a dash of milk) if I really fancy one. The weight loss may be slower as a result, but hey…

I thought porridge was good GI as slow release, but isn’t it carbs? It’s not there on Michael Mosley’s 8 week blood sugar diet. Maybe try a couple or even 3 eggs instead – without bread or anything. Even for a couple of days a week will help, if you do love porridge and don’t want to give it up. Eggs are filling and will keep you going all morning. Poached eggs are really quick and fine with salt and loads of black pepper. Keep us posted. Good that work colleagues are I on it. This blog is really keeping me going. So helpful to know others are doing it too.

I thought the same as you AngS, it’s something that I shall be back on when I go on to the maintenance phase. I kinda miss my porridge – just milk and oats, no sugar or anything – filled me up until late lunch!

Well done dyingtotrit tho’ on losing 5lb. Every loss should be celebrated! I am still stuck at the weight I went down to on day 3!

Interesting I met a lady who has done the BSD with her other half and they both lost weight, feel fitter and have kept it off. She said it’s well worth it, which made me quite motivated 🙂

Had a busy day, cycled to the community garden and lots more digging, had baked beans and mushrooms for breakfast and then just an apple and some pecans as a snack. I am cooking sweet peppers in the oven with goats cheese and will eat this with a big salad – early cos I am going out tonight – it will be water in a bar again for me!

Dear AngS
“It’s not there on Michael Mosley’s 8 week blood sugar diet”
Are we reading same book??? Ive taken a photo from the recipe book but dont think can share ..it gives 5 ways with porridge! 🤔 Debs x

Hi all

I am also a porridge fan and have used the cook book’s recipe with a grated apple and plenty of cinnamon. That’s fine for calories but your are right about the carbs..38! I have switched to half an avocado with a boiled egg. A couple of tips came back to me. Beetroot falafel is a great meal and very filling. There is a great ‘save’ on another bsd forum. If the mix is sloppy, use a muffin tin to keep it up together. Also, there is no need to grate the beetroot, reserve a third and blitz the rest. Just cut into lumps and blitz the lot..not too much if you want more texture just blitz less. I eat the spinach and pea omelette a lot. You will find left over spinach with this. Tesco’s frozen spinach comes in small balls. Use two or three of these.

Brilliant work those who have managed five pounds in the first week! I couldn’t avoid a Chinese last night but no rice or noodles and no actual setback this morning. Unavoidable Indian coming up tomorrow for a friend’s 60th. I’ll keep off rice and naans and try to keep portion sizes to a minimum.

Thanks again to AnneF for starting this off. It really helps to hear of so much success!

You must have a different book dyingtotrit – mine doesn’t feature porridge! Wish. You could share the photo…how do I get 200 cal brekki with porridge?

Good luck with the Indian 2bigdave I would recommend sticking to the tomato-based curry rather than creamy based to keep the cals.

I have a challenge tomoz – birthday lunch for my son and his mates at a lovely place. I have made a cake and will be taking it along. As I am doing this cheifly for diabeties and not for weight loss and my bloods are right down, I have decided that instead of fighting , I will have a salad from the menu and a small piece of cake and a small glass of red wine and then see how my fasting bloods are affected. I reckon that I need to know how my body will behave when I am on maintenance (which will include carbs (not cake of course!) and a glass of wine )

Well done everyone on nearly completing 2 weeks, I too have found this forum immensely supportive – I don’t want to bore friends and family and Facebook by chatting endlessly about what I am eating and my stats, so it’s really helpful to share our highs and lows

Anne I’d be happy to send you a pic and recipes.. i just checked the website and its odd that they dont have them on there…would be helpful..not sure how to exchange pics. You could email me?
dee4dum@googlemaill.com
Would like to help. Debsx

I had thought that I had read something about porridge being approved on the BSD. Checked my copy of the BSD book and could not find it. Then I noticed that the Hidden Sugars graphic on the BSD website does say that ‘Porridge is OK’. See https://thebloodsugardiet.com/hidden-sugars/ . Clearance to enjoy porridge is on the left hand side ! Yes, it is high in carbs but it is lower on the GI than many other carbs. Hence its endorsement for the BSD, I assume.

Macloud

Just back from dinner at our friends’ house. The hostess knew I was dieting, so had done extra veg, which was kind. I didn’t have any potatoes, even though she’d mixed sweet potatoes (yum) in with the jacket potatoes. I also resisted the chocolate after dinner, which I love, so that was hard, but I did have a handful of nuts before we ate. I’m hoping the fresh fruit salad didn’t raise my blood sugar too much.

Well done everyone. This forum is excellent for keeping me on track. To know that friends and family also know I’m doing this for 8weeks is making me more determined to keep at it. I used to do the 5:2 Diet, but after losing a couple of pounds, I used to forget to do it any more. Hopeless. Although my weight loss hasn’t been as drastic as I thought it would be, it has taken me only 2 weeks to lose 6lbs. When I did Slimming World in 2010 before my son’s wedding in Cyprus, it took me a few months to lose that much weight! One of their emergency snacks was a bowl of boiled, new potatoes in the fridge, to pick at whenever necessary. How ridiculous is that?

David has increased his calories as he doesn’t want to lose much more weight. Lucky thing, don’t we just hate him? Not really. Hes a gem, doing this with me for support. He’s lost half a stone, doing 1200 – 1600 calories per day instead of 800! We will definitely change our way of eating after the 8 weeks – without starving ourselves, I hasten to add. Almost 2 weeks down and 6 to go.

Whoop woop! Morning everyone…finally my scales have moved downwards…2lb below where I stalled at 10 days ago! I was beginning to wonder what was fuelling all my activity – I am pretty sure I burn more than 800 calories – and things have been changing – my waist is 3″ smaller, and I know I am not doing it for weight loss, but still… 🙂

How kind of your friend AngS, I find it really helpful to tell everyone, then in a way you are committed and also, but telling people and sharing the success you might encounter another person who needs this diet to improve their health.

My sister (long term diabetic) is coming to stay later this week and can’t wait to join in with what I am eating and see how her blood sugar levels are affected.

And thanks for the link Macloud, yes I understood that porridge is OK for long term maintenance as oats are a whole grain (and low GI) and milk full of protein, so makes an ideal brekki, but would not have thought that you could get a receipe for porridge that was under 200 calories for the 8 week period. Will PM you Dyingtotrit – thank you for the offer

Film night…snacking on the sofa…hummas with carrots and celery (this is dinner for me as we had lunch out) I soooo know how to live!!

We done 2 weeks guys!!

It depends on the amount of porridge you have. If I’m doing overnight oats, I only have around 10-13gms of oats. But breakfast oats are around 25 gms and 100ml milk (full fat) and 100 water which is a total of 130 cals which gives some room to add nice things. I’m using Flahavan’s original at the moment and it’s very creamy. I only have this after my long Sunday morning runs though. 1062 cals used this morning.

Yay, Anne F. Feeling more determined than ever to finish the 8 weeks. Had the Luxury Fish Pie tonight. Really good , but took us 80mins prep time!!!!! 😲 Had lost 6lbs in total this morning. Will measure tomorrow.