At the beginning of June, I read the BSD diet book and made the commitment not to ultra-low carb 8-week, but to Med Style Low Carb. It’s been 22 weeks and I’ve lost 26kg or 4 stone quite smoothly and steadily. I have another stone to go, which I hope to shed in the next 8-10 weeks. My commitment at the beginning of June was to go low-carb, with a treat day every 8 weeks, until the end of the year and see what happened, because 6-7 months is a fair period of time to embed sensible eating and make sure I do the exercise.

I have really enjoyed the process, and have coped well with the inevitable plateaus that one hits in the course of a longer weight loss regime. But what has really struck me is how all the cravings have subsided, and I am quite capable of missing the ‘treat’ days. My first day off was at the beginning of August. I really enjoyed the toast, the roast potatoes and the chocolate pudding – but when it came to the next treat day, the only indulgence was a chocolate eclair from Paul’s and otherwise, I ate as normal. Because I do have a new normal. I was concerned that with winter coming, I’d have the urge to eat all the crumble, but thanks to soup in particular, it’s clear that the habits of resorting to biscuits, cake and puddings with custard have been broken.

I’m not sure what will happen once I hit my goal weight, in that I can’t imagine changing back to the way I was eating before – I will have the occasional piece of toast, I’m sure, and I’m going to Belgium for Christmas, so can’t imagine not having the odd praline or two, but it will be one or two, not one every day that I’m there, and certainly, I’ll be running and hitting my 10,000 steps every day, so the activity levels won’t drop.

Really this is just to say that if you do adapt to the Med Style Low carb, the weight will come off, energy levels will increase substantially and you will feel healthier.

Hi Manxsprout,
Well done on your achievement! I didn’t do the 8 week/calorie/carb count, I preferred the more leisurely route provided by the Med Style version of BSD, just following the principles to keep it as simple as possible. I also gave myself treats every so often – OK, if I’m honest, sometimes I overdid it but I have lost 2.5stone so far & I am finally in the healthy section of the BMI. The past few weeks things have slowed considerably (I probably relaxed things a bit too much), every time I was in touching distance of the 10st mark I seemed to go upwards. However, yesterday I finally broke through – first time in many years I have been less than 10st. OK, today I’d bounced up a little but that seems to be the story of my weight loss. At least I have shown myself that I can get below the 10st mark so I’m encouraged to keep going to achieve my ultimate goal of 9.5st, no matter how long it might take.

And all the above was just a long-winded way of agreeing with your final sentence!

Good luck with meeting your goal weight.

Nice to hear that you have had such great results following the ‘M’ plan low carb. Well done xx

I find it amazing that you have such great losses on Low carb. Do you really not count calories at all? I want to try this as well, I am just going to give myself a few more weeks on the 800kcal and then go over to Low Carb 🙂

Hello KerMit – I definitely do count calories, but I don’t limit myself to 800. My usual calorie limit is around 1550 per day, and usually, I eat between 1300 and 1450. I use a website called Nutracheck, and at the moment, I am one of the beta testers for their nutrient specific website. This means that I am watching my carb consumption and I eat between 80-140g of carbs per day, in the form of fruit and veg primarily. I do at least 30 mins per day of either resistance or aerobic exercise plus try to fit in the 10,000 steps.

Unlike many here, I didn’t do any of this under medical supervision – I just knew I was far too fat, lacking in energy, aching and definitely on the path towards causing myself serious health issues. So I just wanted to see what would happen if I really made the effort to go low-carb and cut out many of the processed and sugary foods that I knew were my downfall. My main concern was to switch to a long-term sustainable way of eating and exercising that would embed healthy habits.

My aim, which I hope to achieve certainly by mid-Jan, is to get to a healthy BMI. I’m on 27.4 at the moment, and aiming for 24.5, which would mean a standard weight of 75kg.

Hi
1st post on the forum. I have been on the BSD since September. I have no issues with blood sugar, however a decidedly junky diet has seen me steadily gain weight over the last 3 years. I turned 50 last May and hit the menopause around the same time. Crunch time came when my largest clothes failed to fit me any more & I decided enough was enough … anyway, getting to the point, I read the book & started on 800 calories very successfully, however I found that my brain got a bit woolly, which isn’t good when I drive a lot and have to be quite sharp in my work generally. So I gave up calorie counting and just stuck to the principles (plus slip in a glass or 2 of red most nights – sorry Mike!) and the weight has steadily dropped (10kg in 4 months). I’m staggered…. am never hungry….enjoy every single mouthful of food the I eat …. and I don’t miss the biscuits, crisps and other rubbish I used to trough in abundance. In fact I positively dislike the taste of it now!
So…in answer to your question about calorie counting, I don’t think it’s always necessary. I think that maybe stabilising my blood sugar has made my calorie intake self regulating, thus restricting calories I eat?

Hi,
Also my first post on the forum. I started on the BSD only 5 days ago. My story is so similar to yours Harleysmum that it would be pointless to write it down!!
Anyway I’ve chosen this thread because it resonates the most with me and I’d appreciate it if I could go on this journey in your company. So far I have not found the restriction of 800 calories hard – in fact I feel amazing and am absolutely gobsmacked that I am not hungry.
Most noticeable thing so far is the return of my senses – everything is heightened and even simple foods (a cherry tomato! How bloody good are they?) taste incredible.
My one struggle is with the calorie counting. I love cooking and inventing new recipes but I hate weights and measures plus I have a tendency towards obsession and it feels a bit unhealthy mentally to sit and log everything i eat.
It’s early days (already I have lost over 2kg in under a week) and I can’t see myself flagging on the way I’m eating but I can see myself getting sick of the calorie count and the logging. I wonder how I will go?
Please keep posting on this thread everyone. I’d really like to hear how you are going and I am finding your stories really inspiring.

Hi Mungbean
Well done on your weight loss ! I’m only on day 12 myself and progress is slow, but 4lbs down.

Re the calorie counting, are you using an online tracker like My Fitness Pal or similar ? It really takes the slog out of it because you can find foods quickly, copy to another day, save a meal you have regularly and log it again in one click. I love it !

Hi Mungbean
You are so right about the taste thing! I love the flavour in the veggies I eat. I got caught out the other day … breakfast on the hop, so I grabbed a bag of almonds and a bag of toasted coconut from a convenience store- the almonds were lovely, but the minute I tasted the coconut it was sickly sweet! Reading the label, they had added sugar. Go figure! Coconut is delicious without. Lesson learned!!!
If you really hate counting and measuring ( as do I) just try eating permitted foods without the count. I tend to go heavy on the veggies and a little more cautiously on the protein. E.g. I will fry up a big serve of chopped onion, peppers,courgettes,mushrooms etc in olive oil, add some chopped tinned tomatoes & seasoning, then poach 2 eggs in a couple of hollows in the mixture. Grill the top with a little added cheese and eat from the pan. No idea on the calories … it fills me up good & proper for at least 4 hours and often longer, so I would say it’s great value for my calorific buck! If you eat like this and still lose weight, then no need for the counting.
Good luck……

Hi Seasidenana and Harleysmum,
Thanks for your replies. I love reading the forums and it’s great to feel a part of it. So motivating.
Seasidenana I have been using Myfitness pal and it has been really useful – I like the way you can type in the ingredients for a whole recipe and hit “go” and it works it all out. So I use it to work out how I can tweak my existing recipes to be lower in cals.
I have found however that since going back to work after holidays and having the family to care for etc etc that I just can’t seem to find the time to sit down and type in everything I eat. I think the compromise I’ve arrived at is that after the first week I have gained a general idea of how much I should be eating of my favourite protein and oily foods and like you Harleysmum I go heavy on the right kind of veg to go with them.
I am still avoiding carbs like the plague (I am almost phobic in case they bring back my insatiable hunger!) and sugar is out. I have a bit of 85% chocolate if i need a treat (I do weigh that! 10g) and this seems to be working. I am still feeling pretty good and have lost a total of 3.7kg in just shy of 2 weeks.
Harleysmum I love the sound of your fry up with eggs. I am going to give that a go this weekend for sure! BTW I have a son called Harvey so our stories are sounding even more similar!
All the best everyone….

Hi Mungbean,

I feel the same as you about calorie counting. It cannot be the case that 800 is right for everyone regardless of size metabolism and exercise levels so it must, by definition be a fairly arbitrary figure designed to give you an idea of how much you should be cutting down. I calorie counted for first two weeks (although at 1000, not 800 – as a large active man 800 felt too low) and now just cook my own recipes estimating calorie count by eye and avoiding sugar, rice, pasta, potatoes and bread.

Hi Mungbean
Great weight loss! Well done….. your approach is obviously working. Toby101 is spot on… one size doesn’t fit all ( although I wouldn’t describe myself as a large active bloke!!!)
I have a confession though… Harley is my lovely pointer dog.(closest I ever got to motherhood !!)
Enjoy the eggs 😀

Hi all, wondered how you were getting on as this is exactly the kind of approach I want to take. Just can’t face calorie counting but very happy to avoid carbs for the rest of my life. How are you all doing 6 – 9 months on? I have 10kg to lose as I am insulin resistant diagnosed as of 3 weeks ago. Then I needed to lose 13kg, so am pretty happy so far!

Hi. I just started on Monday and like most of you i am not sticking to the 800 calories a day. I am using the M diet to change my eating habits and get rid of refined carbs/sugar. I am a 54 year old female, age 54 and started at 85.1kg. 3 days later i am 83.5kg. It feels great!

I am eating around 900/1000 calories daily but i expect that may increase a bit at the weekends. I am really enjoying my food and my husband is enjoying it too. However, he is tall and skinny so he is supplementing his food with extra carbs because if he doesn’t he will start to lose weight . Lucky him!

Hey Karso, great to hear from someone taking same approach as me. I had 13kg to lose and now have 10g so am very pleased! (3 weeks in) more importantly I feel so much better than I did, generally more wnergy and more room in my jeans!

Let me know how you get on. Be good to swap tips. My family are pretty good at supporting me (they’ve come to terms with no pudding!) but they are still eating carbs – my only real temptation to date has been buttery potatoes!