Hi I am new to this forum and am way overweight at 18 stone and 5ft 8ins. I am starting tomorrow and am petrified to reduce my calories to 800 a day. I know that this will benefit me in the long run and it will take well over a year to get down to my 10 stone target but it is a fear of the unknown. I have 3 young kids and am so aware that I need to be healthy to be able to watch them grow up.

Hi Kaywall, I understand your fear as it is exactly how I felt. This is not like going on a diet, this is a lifestyle change, although think of it as scary like walking into a WW or SW meeting, full of trepidation and fear of the unknown. You are not standing on the scales in front of someone else, your weight is your secret (although not any more) and you are in a safe place. One of the reasons I feared the plan is because I am diabetic and thought I would be collapsing all over the place, going into hypos and possible coma….. Now that is a scary thought. You haven’t put up a profile so I don’t know your medical story, diabetic, pre-diabetic, high blood pressure, cholesterol or other problems so cannot advise how that side of things will be effected.

Just be sure, it can be done, look at all of us. I think you have found a diet that promises lots and you are afraid of failure, you might also be afraid of succeeding. You will be hungry at first, you might get weak, have dizzy spells, feel sick, dream about food, you will lose weight quickly at first, you will hit a plateau and stick for days and so on and on. Make sure you eat good nourishing food, don’t try to cut the calories by half starving yourself, it doesn’t work. On this plan I eat better than I ever did before just different. Have lots of lovely veg, you don’t have to live on salads, get the recipe book or look in the back of the BSD book. Get good fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts, don’t buy ‘low fat’ versions of food as it is full of chemicals, don’t buy ‘low sugar’ products to save calories as they too are full of chemicals. Eat natural, think spinach, mushrooms, red peppers, courgettes, the list is endless. Don’t skimp on good proteins and remember this is good fat not high fat so still cut the visible fat from meat etc. Drink plenty of water, around 2 litres daily, I always have a glass of water next to me and as soon as it is empty I refill it. If you get weak, dizzy, cramps etc add a little salt to food as your body will not be used to the fluid flush out and salt will become depleted slightly. Do not eat sugar in any form, processed foods in any form, avoid wheat, cereals (brekkie sort), potatoes, rice, pasta and bread. If you are on 800 calories you wont have any wriggle room for high carb food anyway as it is also usually high calories so don’t bother looking for replacements. Remember it is only 8 weeks in the first instance (I have done 8 months on and off) so just get your head around that and go for it.

Good luck and remember if you need to know anything there is a search engine at the top of the page as most things have already been discussed but that is not to say you might just want to join in and communicate so ask anything you like. There are lots of very nice, experienced people here but we are all just like you, people doing the diet, not medical or diet experts, just people who have been here and done it, or doing it. I do go on, please stop me now.

Just one more point, I see you have a young family. If they are too young to be eating adult food okay but if they (and hubby) eat ‘normal’ food you can still eat the same as them just dont have the carbs with it and add more veg or cauliflower rice or celeriac mash, the choices are there, and they wont really know the difference.

Don’t panic!

It might take more than a year to reach your target weight, but it won’t be anything like that long until you’re feeling healthier and weighing less. In just a week, the scales will show a weight loss, some of your clothes could be starting to feel a little looser and you’ll be starting to get used to this new way of eating.

Thanks for your replies and advice. I suffer from pcos and depression so hopefully this will improve these symptoms too

Just give it a try. Be sure to drink enough liquids. I found the shakes an easier way to start ( I’m American so using SlimFast, the newer kind with less sugar.) and all those veggies are very filling. I’m not having headaches or dizziness. Good luck! Don’t be scared about it. And don’t beat yourself up if you stray. Just get back on track.