I have several stone to lose, and bought the BDS book for myself at xmas. I was so excited to get started that I didn’t even wait until 1st Jan when everyone traditionally starts a regime; all went well and I was losing weight, my blood pressure dropped and I started to run up stairs instead of puff up them. That was until this week, when I had to deal with my husbands birthday (my 13 year old daughter made his very delicious cake), and I had a business trip where the selection of food on offer was mainly buffet style lunches and high calorie dinners. As much as I tried to minimise the damage, after the one small slice of cake, sandwiches and unhealthy carbs, I gained 8lbs and I’m once more craving bread.

Has anyone else had this result over just a 1 week period? I know I have to just accept it and start again today, but falling off the wagon had a far more damaging effect on my plan that I had anticipated. I guess the lesson here is plan better!

To put on 8 lbs in actual fat in a week is unlikely since that would mean you’d overeaten by about 28,000 calories! A lot of it will be water weight since carbs and water go hand in glove (I can’t remember the right words for it but water molecules are attached to carbs when it is stored in the body).

After a few days the real effect will be apparent – I had a similar day today when I couldn’t control the food I had access to and I ate what was there so tomorrow I’m going to drink a lot of water and return to eating 800 calories. After a few days the weight should sort itself out and the real amount of possible weight gain, if any, will show up.

There’ll probably also be a lot of peeing! (sorry, but it’s true- that water has to come out somehow!).

Thanks Cazzowary, I’d rather hoped it’s mainly water, but didn’t want to kid myself. Time will tell how much damage I’ve done, but unlike previous diets, I don’t feel the urge to go on a chocolate (or worse) binge just because I’ve broken the diet. My acceptance and resolve to carry on is a revelation and a massive change in previous behaviour. I’m beginning to feel this is the right diet for me and one I can live with long term.

I feel the same way- at first I thought I’d die if I ate 800 calories but it’s actually really easy to maintain and today, even though I know I’ve gone over, I’m not thinking of throwing in the towel (and I’m a holy terror for stopping and starting different diets once it’s been broken!). Good luck Chris- fingers crossed the damage isn’t much 🙂

I am struggling with 800 calories to be honest I feel hungry so I have dropped back to the 5:2 but on the other days I am aiming to eat 1500-1600 calories

Jane H you haven’t blown it and well done you for starting day 1 again. Once you have been doing it religiously for a week you will be motivated! It’s not easy when your family are tucking into carbs around you but hey ho I’ve decided my health is more important at this stage than a dollop of mashed potato! I’ve tried to adopt some of our regular meals into the plan so for example where we would have salmon, veg and spring onion mash – I’ve just given up the mash. I’m also weighing the salmon and the veg now so that I can get a more accurate calorie count. The secret is to plan your first week out – according to your lifestyle, use an app like my fitness pal to enter everything you eat (you can enter meals in advance and you can scan the bar codes of the foods you eat to make it even easier) and then stick to it for one whole week. Measure and weigh yourself first and weigh yourself every day – you will be inspired and motivated by the weight loss on the scales each day. Good luck – I look forward to hearing your progress.

Hi Loobylou – are you eating enough protein in your 800 calories as this what keeps you fuller for longer. Also if you do feel hungry try a hot drink and find something to keep you busy. I like crafting and this keeps me absorbed for ages and not thinking about food.

I have been following Michaels meal plan so I hope their is enough protein. I am currently training for a half marathon. I feel happier on a 5:2 style diet

Thank you TraceyH31 ! Sugar free chewing gum is my friend at the moment – it helps me gnash out my angst.

I know you are 100% right about the meal planning but I am on Cambridge shakes at the moment – in a few days they will just become automatic rather than my having to make the right meal choices. My main problem is that no matter how much I know, learn and understand what is right for me and my health, my weak willpower/mental demons, call it what you want, is so powerful that the struggle is SO much harder.

I was diagnosed T2 at the end of August. After crying for 3 days and reading loads on the internet I decided low carb was the way to go. So I started ditching the carbs and finding new ways of eating. I’ve been eating about 1000 cals a day and tracking everything via my fitness pal. I have been increasing my steps using my iPhone step counter. I have tested blood sugar regularly. I have lost 5 stone and my last Hba1c blood test but me in the normal range. It does work! I am now gradually testing some carbs for their impact on my blood sugar to see if I can reintroduce them. I had cut all legumes, root vegetables, fruits and pulses. Reading BSD convinced me to try oats and I’m fine with them and beans again fine. I still have 5 stone to lose so will be continuing!

Jane, what is 16;8 please? Is it 16 days “off” and 8 “on” ? ( as in 5: 2 )
Thanks

Goldiespring, I think that is very impressive, and very encouraging to me at least. I have found that instead of potatoes, using a tablespoon of brown rice hardly makes a dent on blood sugar levels. Maybe you could try that in your carb experiment?

I have started the Fast 800 today . I have been diagnosed Diebetic but not on any medication yet . I am very very overweight so I hope this is going to help get me health and happiness back .

Good luck Karen, I’m really starting today – had a dip into the meals late last week and enjoyed them.

Good Luck let’s keep in touch , I need a buddy

Will do and now I have to be honest!

Wow Goldiespring. ..5 stone since August is fantastic!!! Well done x

Hi Lisa,

16:8 is a timescale of intermittent fasting within a 24 hour period – i.e. eating within an 8 hour window and not eating for 16 hours.

For example, breakfast at 10am and finish eating for the day by 6pm, or 11am-7pm etc etc.

I find it very effective and a good discipline – possibly the only thing I am disciplined in!!

Jane H

I have just posted my story on Facebook so all my “friends” know what my weight lose will be each week .

Ah thank you Jane H! I had that totally wrong haha! 🙂

Hi, Can anyone help please?

Has anyone made the recipe for no carb pancakes/waffles, I made this using the 2 egg white and one whole egg and milk but there seemed to be far too much coconut flour. Should the recipe say 2 tsps.? It tasted nice but was more like the consistency of mashed potato and not pourable at all. Maybe it’s me? Am going to try it again with 2 tsps. and see what its like. Had them/it with yogurt and blueberries which was very nice, also good and filling (although I only ate half).

I’m a big fan of Michael’s, he always makes sense and seems to look at things logically in a way I find interesting and motivating. Loved the 5:2 and in the last year have lost 2.5 stone. My doctor, who said he did not recommend diets advocated the 5:2 saying all his friends (doctors) were doing it purely for the health benefits. So thank you Michael a diet (5:2) that is for me doable long term, after of course, giving this 800 a day a go to alleviate my high blood sugar…..

Cooking with coconut flour can be a bit of a challenge as it sucks up liquid and it all depends on how big your eggs were etc. I think 2 tsps might not be enough but it is probably best to add a little bit at a time so you get a pouring consistently. The longer you let the batter rest the more it will thicken as well. I haven’t made this receip but other coconut flour pancakes I have made used 2 tblsps.

There is a website called sugar free mom that is also a good resource of recipes

Hi All, I started with the Fast 800 today. Although my last fasting glucose was 5.2, I’m a prime candidate for T2 diabetes – a lady heading into her 40’s, several stones over weight and I’m carrying a lot of abdominal fat.

I’ve been calorie counting on and off for many years, with varying degrees of success, only to lost the plot and put any weight I’ve lost back on. So I’ve been looking for something to give me a bit more motivation; and the short sharp shock of the Fast 800 seems like a fab idea – and if I can lose 10% of my weight in that time, I’m on target for being where I want to be by the time I go on holiday in May.

I’m choosing to do mainly real food, though for ease I’m having protein shake on a morning for breakfast.

I’m a real carb addict, and no doubt I’m going to be a bear for the next week or two. Fizzy drinks and caramel lattes, chocolate, bread all used to feature heavily in my diet, and I could lose weight eating them, but I think it’s probably time I cleaned up my diet once and for all!

So it’ll be 2 weeks exactly in the morning. I lost around a stone in the first five days, but the scales haven’t really moved since then, I’m hoping for a bit of a result tomorrow. Does anyone have any packed lunch ideas? I need something I can make in advance to take to work with me! I’ll let you know what the scales say tomorrow.

Almond Flour – I bought some from Ocado – https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Carbzone-Low-Carb-Organic-Almond-Flour/248825011?ULP_CAMPAIGN_ID=3&gclid=CNzdyo-cxsoCFZKZGwodfpUC2w&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKDJ04-cxsoCFdOoFgoduasHWQ

Hope this helps.

Hippo

Hi Cvrus
That was really bad luck. Hope things go well now you’re back on track.
Penny

That’s a great attitude.
Penny

The peanut butter and cream cheese dip is a great lunch. I take that in a pot with carrot, celery and pepper. Very satisfying. I have had it everyday and am not fed up yet.

Michael could we have some recipes for home made meal replacement shakes using real food please? Many of us dislike the chemical after taste and high amounts of sugar and artificial sweeteners in the commercial diet shakes. 8 weeks is quite a long time to be using 2/3 shakes a day if they do not deliver balanced nutrients; it’s easy to knock up a tasty shake or smoothie within a calorie limit but quite another matter to make sure all macro and micronutrients are included in the correct balance.
Vegan and vegetarian options gratefully received please!
Thankyou.

I started this diet on 27th Jan & I’ve lost 7lb so far. It’s slowing this week but I think that’s because I’m on holiday so not running around as much. Still last year it took me a year to lose a stone so to do half that in 10 days is very encouraging! I’m struggling if I’m not organised. But I skipped breakfast today to have a lovely lunch of figs, mozzarella, tomatoes & prosciutto – 200 cal. Small plate but felt indulgent & so nice to have proper buffalo mozzarella. Fingers crossed work doesn’t derail me next week!

Hi Bordercol
There’s a book I’m using called The 5:2 Diet Low carb Nurtibullet recipe book by Susan Fotherington. Lots of info about nutirients. You wouldn’t believe the amazing nutrients in a leaf of kale or a strawberry! Really encouraging- and UK based I think. Gives cals and basic nutrients for each shake. They’re each about 250. They often use protein powder of various sorts which are a bit prices but last for ages. I get mine from Indigo Nitrition through Amazon. I haven’t lost much in the 4 days I’ve done, but enough to just move me from’obese’ to ‘overweight’ and feeling very perky with all these nutrients.
Penny

Hi Melanie
Sounds like you’re doing really well. Envy you from here in grey and rainy UK!
Penny

Hi Debs
That sounds amazing and not diety! Can’t have dairy but will find substitute.
Penny

Hi Casey
Welcome to the forum. You sound a bit like a lot of us! Hope it’s going ok.
See my post to Bordercol re shakes you can make yourself which are fantastically nutritious.
Penny

Hi Karen
If you use My Fitness Pal we have a group there called BloodSugarDiet which is very supportive too.
Hope yr doing ok.
Penny

I’m really happy to have lost a stone in 6 weeks. I realise that is not as much as the rest of you, but for me it’s amazing, I had a hic-cup in week 3 where I was on a business trip and had to eat what was provided, and the last diet I used, (weightwatchers points), I gained weight! AND it’s relatively easy to stick to – yay!

Well done any weight loss is excellent and a stone in 6 weeks is great. I’d be happy if I can lose a stone in 6 weeks. I’m about 2.5 weeks in and have lost around 5lbs so far but I’m happy with that and feeling great.

Day 3 of diet and got an fbg of 6 which I am pleased about. Lost 2 inches off waist and about a pound. Downsides are the headaches and going to the loo every half hour!

Hi this is day 6 and I am finding it okay. I am not a big eater. My challenge was eat healthy and avoid sugary snacks and I am managing fine. I work shifts so it complicates it for me a bit, but I have used my protein shakes as an emergency if I run out of time. I must admit I feel better eating this way and look forward to first weigh in. Weigh-in always makes me nervous as although I know that I have been good sometimes the scales don’t represent my hard work… I am what is typically a yo yo dieter, having lost 5 and 6 stones only to put it back on very quickly. Hoping this diet helps me re evaluate my eating. Thanks for your inspiration Michael.

Hi Meggy
Michael recommends weighing often. Even every day. At least you d get less nervous after a while! But apparently people do better weighing often- not what we ve been told on the past.
Good luck.
Penny

Hi Nettyrim
I suppose the headaches are from clearing stuff out. Apparently the answer is to drink even more!
Good luck.
Penny

Thanks Penny. I feel better this evening and am drinking lots of water. Had quorn, kale and a tomato sauce . Didn’t eat it all so have left half. Might eat it later or tomorrow.

Day 4 of week 1. I am accepting a margin of error this week as I adapt as I had some root vegetables to use up for the first three days so it has been phased. I have adapted the Skinny Chilli to be vegetarian and slow cooker friendly (hopefully, it’s in there now). I had the mushroom toast but with feta as I forgot goats cheese and loved it. I loved cottage cheese with walnut and pear and I really really love no carb bircher. I like the snacks and can use my Nutri Ninja Lite on the shakes and probably on cauliflower rice so I feel like I am making headway on the recipes. This week I have to eat out twice and have been a bit chaotic but I still started it as it eases me into the mindset. I have some aubergine to do a vegetarian version of the lamb dish and I am planning pea omelette tomorrow. I don’t follow recipes religiously because I am vegetarian and very busy but I do what I can and track on my fitness pal. I work from Wednesday as I prefer a mid week start so hoping to see results by mid of next week even though it’s been a bit bitty this week. I am in London at the end of the month but the breakfast in the hotel is continental so I am confident I can cobble together a bircher. My goal is 15 lb off by my 40th in May and I need to lose a whopping 9 inches from my waist. Almost all my weight is belly and I am only 5 lb overweight. I did 5:2 2013/14 and lost a lot so this is more of a targeted process for me.

Hi Jojo
Sounds like you have a handle on it!
Penny

Hi Netty
Sounds good
Penny

Jojo I’m vegetarian too so having to adapt the recipes ( well my husband is). This morning I have lost 3 lbs down to a weight I havent seen since 1992! Fbg was 6.4 . No spikes in sugar readings during the day. Body fat down 1.5%.

Hi all,
T2, diagnosed 4 years ago
I’m in week three of the Newcastle diet; I can honestly say the results have been better than expected.
Two weeks ago I was 102.6KG with Ave BS of 9.7. Yesterday 96.7KG with Ave BS of 4.5!

I’m on metformin 3×850 mg, pioglitazone 30mg x1, and Victoza 1.2ml. I have already dropped the pioglitazone, and reduced the metformin, hopefully the Victoza is next.

Hunger pains no longer bother me, on wards and upwards !

I read the BSD 800 calorie book and was totally ready to change my eating habits firstly to get my BSL lowered, secondly to reduce my medication and thirdly to lose weight. Within 2 days I had reduced my blood medication by half, yes half even my GP was shocked! I have been doing the diet for 5 1/2 weeks. My BSL have dropped, I reduced my insulin and my weight has come down a little. I am very active at work, lifting heavy boxes and pushing cages with stock and pulling pallets so it is like going to the gym. When I get home I am also my feet except for eating dinner and going to bed. I have stuck to the diet exactly and it was only today that I broke the diet and had a guilt free brownie from the book. So what am I doing wrong? I read on 1 of the forums that the recipes in the book have the wrong calories? Is that right have I been having too many calories? It’s hard to stay positive when I read how fantastic everyone is doing on the diet in the forums . I have to just remember it is about the BSL levels and medication and maybe one day there will be better weight loss!

Hi Lin
my weight loss was really slow after the first couple of days – it’s progressing now. I made a real effort to increase the amount of fluids I was drinking – and more exercise, but it sounds as if you’re pretty active already.
If you’re not sure about the calorie count of recipes, just calculate it for yourself for the individual ingredients that you put in. Sites like myfitnesspal can be a bit variable, I often use sites like waitrose or sainsbury

I wouldn’t worry about the odd lapse – I ate cake yesterday, just a one off treat – I included it in my calorie count, and a bit over on my carb target. I don’t know about you, but my excess weight has been there a long time, it will take a while to shift it, but as long as its going in the right direction that’s good.

The other thing you can do is check what your carbs are within your calories – MyFitnessPal does this – and then if you can keep carbs below 50g per day, you might kickstart more weight loss.

30-50g of carb, with then more fat and protein to make up the calories, seems to be helpful. Has been for me!

Good luck!