I lost 6 pounds my first week, 4 the second and today on week 3 only 1 pound! I have been doing more exercise this week (was walking 1 hour a day, this week I have been swimming 30 min on 3 days) so thought if anything it’d be more. I was kind of expecting not to lose much as I felt ‘bigger’ for some reason.. been sticking to 800-900, will I see a bigger loss next week?

I was planning on doing this for 4 weeks instead of 8. I am not diabetic or pre etc and my blood sugars are fine, but I have belly fat and felt I was at risk, this has been great to rid me of my sweet cravings, but I don’t think I could do it for 8 weeks – I miss being able to go out for meals with friends and want to be able to go to strength train at the gym which I can’t do on 800 cals. I just hoped I could get a stone off in 4 weeks and then go to 5:2 to lose another stone over a few months, eating more substantially and using the gym.

Hopefully next week I will have 3 pounds off and that’ll be a stone? Fingers crossed

Welcome rhj2322 – sorry to you are some what disheartened by your results so far, but an 11lb loss in three weeks is quite decent and to finish out week four with a stone lost is still a possibility. It is actually quite easy to eat out on the BSD. You just need to apply the BSD principles when making your food and drink choices and regardless of whether you are on the 800 or the 5:2 this is by far the best approach regardless of the dining situation.

It is normal for a stall or plateau to occur in week three/four, which this is purely due to your body adjusting, if you stick with the 800 it will come right and the pounds will start to melt away again. It’s worth checking you hydration, but I’m guessing as you have the exercise thing down, you are probably on top of that. Also, take a look at your carb intake and consider if that needs to be pushed a bit lower to help kick start things again. Most lose well at 50-60g carbs per day, but some people will need to push lower than that and there are a number of us here who need to be around the 20g mark. And finally, counter intuitively, make sure you are including good fats in your menu, as these help to kick start the fat burning process.

Hope something here encourages you to continue and that you will soon be seeing encouraging results again.

I have a similar problem. Lost 3lbs in first 3 days then nothing since or for past 2 weeks.
I have half a stone..7lbs..to loose. Massively frustrating as I’m fasting 15 hours a day as well as 800 calories a day…nit sure what’s going on? ?

Thanks! I weighed myself half an hour after posting (silly I know) and after a wee (tmi) and had actually lost 2 pounds.. apparently! But I’m just pleased with what I’ve lost, couple of pounds off a stone. Though I can’t wait to start eating a bit more normally and going to the gym!! One more week 💪

I’m having the same problem. I lost 3.5 kgs in the first 5 days, it took me 10 days to lose another kg then nothing at all for the past 2 weeks. I’m sticking to the recipes and the 800 cals a day religiously, walking and working in the garden in the blistering Australian summer heat. And nothing. I can’t understand why I’m not losing anything, let alone heaps, when I compare it to my previous food intake of large quantities of carbs and sugar all day every day. And yes, I’m drinking heaps and heaps of water. My motivation is seriously waning. Not to mention the fact that it is very expensive buying all the food for these recipes and labour intensive preparing 3 meals a day. It would be ok if I was getting results. Michael, why isn’t this working for us? I want to be one of those ones you advertise on the cover of your book “average weight loss 14kgs in 8 weeks”. Where does he get that statistic from?

I can understand it may seem disheartening, but you will find comments on lots of sites that weight loss is not linear; it’s not like an egg timer when the sand runs out at a regular rate when you turn it upside down. And what you’ve discarded is a very decent figure for such a short time. I don’t know about food prices in Australia, but I’m surprised that you are finding it so much more expensive to eat this way. Time may be a commodity in short supply for you, but can you batch cook some things? And something like an omelette with say mushrooms or tomatoes with a bit of cheese and a green salad on the side is tasty, filling and quick! Do hang on in there. There is no average individual and everyone’s weight discarding is different. And maybe look at the recipes on this site? Some look very tasty (and I have personally re-discovered how things like just a little bit of paprika can really jazz up a dish).

and a ps: I can totally relate to “why isn’t this happening”? I have been on diets before where I set out to lose 2 lbs a week, and then just got so disheartened when it didn’t happen – so just went back to old habits in a hissy fit. All the comments by others here has definitely prompted a change in me – tho I am far from perfect and have already had lots of slip ups. But I am being kinder on myself and less impatient and taking the long view…

Hello Kimochka – sorry you have been struggling too, but this is a really common issue and although it feels really disheartening (I remember it well myself), it will come right if you stick with it. If you don’t see things moving in the right direction soon, take a look at your carb intake and maybe drop it a bit, which should help to get the discard going again.

My advice re the cost, is to break away from the recipes in the book, some of which does require expensive ingredients. Of course, if you have bought any of these as store cupboard items, use them up, but otherwise think how you can simplify your meals. I have never followed the meal plans and have always compiled my own menus/meals. If I’m eating breakfast it will most often be egg or kefir based, lunch might be a small salad with cold meat or something like a frittata, evening meals are a protein source with veggies or salad. Most often I only have two meals a day though, so have something light early afternoon to break my overnight fast and eat my main meal around six in the evening.

Have you been measuring yourself as well as weighing? Oddly sometimes it’s possible to see shrinkage on the tape measure even when the scales aren’t showing any change. No idea how that happens, but it’s been reported on the forum many times.

Finally, the statistic is an average and comes from the offset of people who have a lot of weight to discard and for whom it happens rapidly and those of us who have less to discard and (or naturally) discard more slowly. Remember all of us are unique, not everyone will see the pounds/kg melt away at the same speed, however, once our bodies fully adjust logic dictates that the discard of unwanted weight will happen. Hope you will stick with it and that you will soon be seeing results that lighten your heart.

Do join us on other threads, where you will find lots of advice, encouragement and support.

Thank you SunnyB and sixturkeys for your feedback. I have been on many diets before, too many to remember or count, and have always had a reasonably steady weight loss of up to 1 kg a week on an ongoing basis. They certainly weren’t radical changes of eating like this diet so that is why I expected to get fast results, not the current limbo I am in. I have plenty of weight to lose as I need to lose another 25kgs to scrape into the maximum weight range for my height so that can’t be the reason.
I haven’t been following the menu plan in either Michael’s book or Claire’s recipe book but I am using the recipes from the Australian version of the recipe book for all my meals. I have eggs every day for either breakfast or lunch then a fish or meat dish with salad or vegetables for dinner. Only once have I had bulgar wheat with a meal as a rice substitute. I have learned to eat (tolerate) zucchini spaghetti with pasta sauces but the cauliflower rice made me gag. Conjac noodles are ok occasionally if there is enough sauce. I totally avoid any recipes that get near or over the 400 cal mark and when making my evening meal I always make 2 serves so I don’t have to cook again the next night. So I seem to be doing what I’m supposed to but not getting the results. I do a menu plan for 4 days at a time and try and balance out the eggs and other protein with the plant food and legumes. I couldn’t do it if I had to follow their menu plan as there are quite a few things in it that I wouldn’t eat even if I cooked them. Maybe if you follow the plan to the letter you get the best results. Interestingly, it doesn’t say specifically in either book that you should eat the meals as per the plan or what might happen if you don’t. It’s a bit ambiguous in both books. I did send them an email on this site just before I started asking them if it was necessary but I didn’t receive a reply. Maybe it is the balance of the food types in the plan that makes the difference, not just eating to the 800 calorie a day target.

Hi Kimochka. There are others on this site who have so much more experience of this way of eating, and can hopefully give some more specific advice about looking at carbs/calories. But there’s also the point that previous dieting experiences don’t mean you can always expect the same results. There’s age/how hormones and metabolism change etc. When I was younger I could lose lbs easily and quickly. I just can’t expect that now, and I don’t. And as others have said (and I’ve just posted on Kazzee’s Road Trip thread) you mustn’t just look at the scales – there are measurements and also maybe just a general feeling of being “lighter” and clothes that little bit looser. So all I can say is just try and ride the “limbo” out!

Hi Kimochka, I can only reiterate that a review of your carb intake might help. It is surprising whee they hide – tomatoes, onions, leeks, bnroccoli, to name a few unexpected hideouts.

I feel your frustration, as I too lost slowly and hit a plateau around week 3/4 when I started this way of eating. It feels like despite following the rules nothing is happening and some how that must be your fault. Truth is, for some of us the rapid large discards of unwanted weight doesn’t happen, even on the Fast 800. I have rarely seen more than a pound or so melt away in a week and that steady result was only achieved by lowering my daily carb intake.

What I can say though, is that this way of eating allowed me to rid myself off all my excess weight and maintain that status quo for almost two years now. I am without doubt healthier now than I was before starting on the BSD and there is no way I would abandon this lifestyle for my old patter of eating – after all, that is what brought me to the point of needing the BSD in the first place.

I do hope you find the strength to persist and that the results you are ultimately hoping for will follow.

A beautifully uplifting and supportive post SunnyB 🙂 Loved reading it . . . as I too have a slow release/discard body. The healthier me is more important 🙂 and I celebrate her everyday 🙂
(Duckie is highstepping and waving her pom poms today!!)

Thank you SunnyB for your encouragement. Today was the weigh in at the end of week 4 and after two weeks of no movement finally the scales showed -1.5kg. Relief … and inspiration to stick with it. But I realise now that I’m not going to be one of the lucky ones who can get it over and done with in the 8 weeks. For me it is probably going to be another 3+ months.
WoodDuckie, I think I read in an earlier post from you that you live south west of Sydney. I’m a bit further south west than you – born in Sydney but now very happily living in the beautiful Southern Highlands. Although not as beautiful as I would wish at the moment with the endless heatwaves this summer. Everything is scorched and I live in constant fear of bushfires, especially on hot windy days like today. Bring on winter – preferably with a polar vortex like they have in North America at the moment. I love the cold 🥶

Hi Kim! Lovely reading your post and sensing a renewed energy 🙂 Please consider the 8week BSD can do wonders in many areas as a starter kit . . . plus in the book and as mentioned here daily . . . there is maintenance and ongoing options explained. Many here consider it is a gateway to a new (permanent change) Way of Eating 🙂 (WoE) I belong to this group. Im eating better now than ever before . . . feel so much better within myself . . . and have NO INTENTION of reverting to the old ways. This in fact is easier than producing my previous menu . . . and is just so much better for my body. As for our locations . . .? I too am in the Southern Highlands – a northern village . . . so maybe one day soon we could meet for coffee somewhere! Maybe Mittagong Market Place? OH wouldnt that be fun to actually real time actually SEE one of the contributors on the same roadtrain or boat 🙂

Hi WoodDuckie – it would be great to meet up. I’m in the southern villages but Mittagong Marketplace would be fine. Can we leave it till about the middle of the month as I’m flat out in the next couple of weeks?

Have just spent a couple of horrible hours in the kitchen making the Indian spiced prawns and stir fried cabbage from the Australian recipe book – absolutely loathed it. Couldn’t eat it and had to throw the second serve away too. Destroyed the kitchen and filled the dishwasher. Took half an hour just to clean up and dispose of the rest of it. Can’t get the smell off my hands or out of the house. Really put me off trying anymore of the recipes, especially as I don’t enjoy cooking anyway. I just want to eat something familiar and comforting after that, especially with some icecream to cleanse my palate.

On the positive side today – it’s been deliciously cool (almost cold) and damp and misty here all day. Just love it. House surrounded in mist at the moment. Absolutely love it. Wish it could go on all summer.

I’m going to sit down and have a green apple now in an attempt to get rid of that taste. Will take a lot longer to get rid of the memory. Back to the familiar recipes tomorrow.

Have a lovely cooool night. 🥶🐾🐾

Mid month sounds just right 🙂 Ill be down there 13th Feb . . .for a 10am appointment . . . what about 11.30 Wednesday 13th . . . at the coffee shop on the LHS of the main entrance . . . How does that sound?

Sounds good but I can’t do Wednesdays unfortunately. Are Mon 25th or Tues 26th any good for you?
Another beautiful cold wet misty day here. Too wet to walk but plenty to do inside so I don’t succumb to my cool weather eating urges! There’s always some trigger!

Monday 25th is fine . . . 0405040501 might be useful 🙂 and yes . . . WET WET WET here too! AND . . . . . Ducks LOVE water 🙂 SO today Im happy happy happy!!!! Gentle soaking mmls overnight have the garden also sighing with pleasure and relief. Dont have scales, and refuse to be ruled by expectations . . . purely because I always put my best foot forward . . . so happy to be showing 3 less cms around my girth than three months ago . . . not what endo requested . . . (seeing him on 11th Feb) – but less is less! Most other places are shedding and refining so . . . with all things heading in positive directions . . . I am looking forward to my HbA1c revealing they have done or in the process of doing the same 🙂 ‘aveagreatweegend!

Kim 🙂 Hi there! Wondering if you are still interesting in meeting up for coffee and a chat . . .? If so is 25th still good to go? And is cafe LHS of main Marketplace doorway ok with you . . .?

I really appreciate this thread. I’m in the middle of my third week and I haven’t lost anything since week one. I’ve also been assailed by a four hour hunger monster that’s been at me since a reasonable two egg omelette breakfast. I rarely weigh myself but thought that might give me a motivational boost. What a bummer to see no change for 10 days grrr. So I thought I’d look for some ideas. And I found these good thoughts. Have lovely Sunday and 🙋🏼

Just check to make sure you have taken carbs bread, pasta chips off your menu. Results will come keep at ait

Good luck

Hey there GMoney! Grab a chair and sit a while with a coffee and chill chill . . . . c h i l l . . .! There now . . . *Congratulations for starting BSD regime. *Congratulations for sticking it out for 3 weeks with seemingly nothing to show for it! *Congratulations for sharing with “SOMEONE” about it . . . and *Congratulations asking for directions/hints/support. ALL POSITIVES. Here there are only discards. Never losses. Loss indicates we need to re-find!!! So DISCARD is the positive term 🙂 From my experiences . . . the “pangs” will subside . . . we need to FIND what alternative is it is we need (rather than want) – to GIVE our bodies when they “crave”. That of course is other than carb fixes. Ive been on the BSD train since 24th June, 2018 and at my last endocrinologist appt he told me he wasnt interested on lbs and ounces/stones/kilos etc., just inches/centimetres. Well if he isnt . . . why am I? So (for whatever reasons or excuses) – scales are important for some . . . arent necessarily so for others. Personally, I began this new WoE to lower blood sugars . . . (7-8 months on very successfully I say waving my Pom Poms cos here I have been dubbed and am aka Cheer Leader Duckie! ) – I dont own scales, and apart from blood tests, indicators of my unexpected weight discard progress were clothes. Re the hunger . . . Maybe a heavier protein hit and some good fat is required for the first food intake. (After all we are asking body to change to burning fat nor carb for fuel to keep going.) Plus I found (supported by my endocrinologist) – to eat when Im hungry. This sees me mostly eating two meals (my usual daily number these days – yours may be three 🙂 – in the space of 4-5-6-7-8 hours. (That leaves anything up to a 20 hour fast in between. Though please leave that just aside for now . . .) How I came to this conclusion . . . when the crave monster arrived . . . . after an offering of some nuts – maybe wait awhile then, a spoonful of peanut butter . . . some water . . . and/or a coffee . . . dont/didnt quell the need, I didnt snack further but ate my intended next meal. I usually have no further crave/hunger/food hunting urges for the rest of the day. I guess Im doing my best to outline a scenario . . . though at 3 week in . . . I was not unlike what youve described. BSD is an outline of basics . . . a toolbox if you will . . . and we need to USE those tools to get our personal bespoke job done 🙂 SO well done . . . you have begun chipping away with shaping what suits your individual makeup 🙂 If you would like to share your food choices maybe we can check if there are any hidden stumbling blocks there. Until then . . . go get your pom poms or if not yet in your possession . . , grab a teatowel, put on some favourite boppy music . . . bend your knees and do some cheerleading marches to clear your mind and lift your spirits!! Welcome aboard and . . . avagoodweegend!!! Quack! Quack!

As a 6 week “veteran” of the 8 week BSD I would like to share some of the knowledge I have gained with the new people who, like me, are finding that the weight is not melting off them as they were led to believe in the book. After much soul (and Internet) searching this is what I have discovered.

The BSD is basically the same as the Keto Diet. The idea behind both is that if you restrict yourself to a low calorie low carb diet then the body has to use its stores of fat to function and fuel itself. For me, and possibly many of you who are having the same problem and are really discouraged, sticking to the 800 calorie diet (almost religiously for me apart from 2 lapses) and completely eliminating bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, sugar and processed foods from my diet was not enough. To get your body into Ketosis (where it’s burning the stored fat) you need to eat a diet with a high level of “good” fats, enough protein (but not too much or too little) and the right amount of carbs (the amount of carbs required for each individual to lose weight can vary greatly). Getting the balance of each of these elements right for your particular metabolism seems to be the key.

I haven’t been following the menu plans in the book as I don’t like the sound of a lot of the recipes and I thought I would have a greater chance of sticking to it if I prepared foods that I would want to eat but all my meals have been chosen and prepared from the recipe book. So I suspect that’s why I haven’t been achieving the touted big weight losses – I definitely won’t be one of the people who achieve the “average weight loss 14kgs” in 8 weeks. For me also I seem to have a good loss then plateau again for 7-10 days.

Having said that, I still haven’t found the balance that puts my body into Ketosis (although I only worked out that this was probably the problem a week ago). You can go to the chemist and buy a bottle of keto sticks to find out whether you are in ketosis. Make sure you read and follow the instructions carefully or you might get a false reading. Basically you wee on a stick then after a certain period of time the end will change colour and you match it to the colours on the pack to see what stage you are at.

If you are not one of the lucky ones who has seen the weight melt off without too much difficulty then it might be worth eating the recipes as per the menu plan in the book to see if that makes a difference.

So I think I have worked out the problem but it will be up to each of us to find the combination that makes it work for us.

Good luck all!

Hi Kim! Read your post with interest and hasten to add a comment re the touted weight losses . . . When one states an average . . . its take the number of people – add their losses – then divides by the number of people or an average. Stress, exercise regimes, body mass %ages, reasons and mindsets, metabolisms, working/family situations, a small slim person isnt necessarily going to discard the same amount as someone morbidly obese. Add the tall the short – ages, into the mix, and the starting weight differences – they are all consideration factors – both in individual losses and collective. Given the printed average . . . there arent too many here unhappy at 8-10-12kgs – nor even several lbs. Why? Because that says something is changing and when the WoE is the only thing different . . . then there is proof of it making a change 🙂 Maybe those considering it a diet for a quick fix may be disappointed – though the old story of the tortoise an the hare comes to mind 🙂 – the body needs to adjust to the new fuel mix . . . before it starts kicking along 🙂 Please dont be disappointed if your expectation hasnt been reached . . . there may be a reason why . . .or it is just what was intended to happen 🙂 (The best your body could give at the time.) Im sure things will adjust to where nature feels its best 🙂 . . . and good you have done some research on how the format of BSD works. Thank you for sharing from your perspective. All information helps someone 🙂 BTW . . . are we still meeting on Monday 25th at 11.30 am for coffee? Quack Quack.

Thanks Duckie and Kim, I really appreciate the time and thoughts you’ve given me today. I’ll take up your offer to go over my food choices in a week or so if things haven’t righted themselves. And I’ll get my measurements recorded too.
Thanks again both of you.

Hi WoodDuckie – apologies for not replying to your earlier posts. Have been off the site and flat out with just trying to keep up with life (not succeeding) and this diet (somewhat succeeding). Yes Monday the 25th is good for me. Can we make it 11.15 if that fits into your schedule? Keep smiling 😀

Hi GMoney,
I was one of the fortunate ones who lost a lot of weight at the start. But that was simply because one of the side effects of eating a high carb diet long term can be that your body stores extra water, when you drop carb levels low your body will release that stored water.
It may simply be that you have not reduced the daily levels of carbs enough. Some people find that they have to be down to 20g of carbs a day, while others can loose weight at 50g a day. Once you get rid of the water storage problems caused by carbs and the weight loss is coming from your body using your fat you need to remember that 1lb of fat consists of 3500 calories. – So if you have yoyo dieted before you may be able to loose 0.5lbs of fat if you were water only fasting for 24 hours. – If you have yoyo dieted, that rate of loss will be slower because calorie restrictive diets result in reductions in our metabolic rate.
Additionally our body does not use all the fat from a single fat cell at a time. It takes a little fat from a range of cells, replacing that fat with water, once all the fat from the cells has been used the body releases the stored water. Search for whoosh effect.
The scales are not a reliable way of measuring progress. I posted a couple of links on the positives thread a few days ago on this topic that you may find helpful in response to a post from Duckie reporting her results. Basically insulin controls not just fat storage, but also puts the brakes on other systems such as growth hormones which control bone density and muscle strength. So as you get your Insulin under control other parts of your body will heal increasing body weight but in a healthy way.

Conventional wisdom is that only if you don’t see any weight loss or inch loss in a 4 week period is it a stall.

By the way, I wouldn’t recommend getting the pee sticks to monitor progress in ketosis, its a very unreliable method. The body only outputs unused ketones in the pee for a short period when you first start in ketosis, after a short while it adapts and doesn’t waste resources in this way.
A more reliable method is to buy one of the cheap breathalysers from Amazon. – When your body uses ketones for fuel one of the byproducts is released in our breath. The cheap breathalysers can not tell the difference between that an alcohol so once you have the knack of putting the last of your breath into the monitor you have a consistent way of testing for ketones as often as you want throughout the day and one of the testers costs less than £9. (Don’t worry, the professional grades of breathalysers used by the police can tell the difference.)
This article will explain more about testing for ketosis, it doesn’t mention the cheap breathalyser but if you search for articles you will find that it is as reliable as the more expensive purpose designed breath tester. https://drjockers.com/5-ways-measure-ketones/

By the way, to add to my previous post people may find this research paper on measuring fat burning by breath testing for ketosis interesting. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4737348/

Thank you to all of you who have given an honest reveal about your own weight loss when it is not super fast. I have found it most reassuring after stepping on the scales for the second day and my weight loss has stalled. I started on the 7th January on the Fast 800 Diet and have lost 6.2 kgs was 6.3 kg loss 3 days ago but for some random reason gained 100 grams. I do not cheat, measure, count etc and exercise, drink plenty of water etc etc I stick religiously to the diet and am bewildered by the recent stalling. Have hovered at this weight for a week moving up by 100 grams but staying around this.
Don’t get me wrong I am very grateful for the loss but the plateauing 2 weeks ago then small loss and back plateauing is hard to get my head round when I am not doing anything different. I am 58 years old, active but am on HRT. Would appreciate any tweaks you all could collectively recommend. In my reading of this wonderfully honest thread I have realised I may need to lower my carbs based on other comments and will try that.
Keen to hear your own experience and any suggestions. I confess I was seduced by the possibility of losing dramatic amounts in a short time period but realise that may not be my journey. I have found weight loss in my 50’s to be very resistive and challenging. So yes this is significant progress. BUT how do I get out of a plateau.

Good morning Tea Cosy 🙂 Why not grab a TEA!!! . . . come sit down and chill out for a few 🙂 Im 70+. 7-8 months into my new way of living . . . I now have no idea how much weight has been discarded – (not lost – discarded!) . . . its somewhere between 10-12 kgs . . . however the clothes size AND centimetres (or inches) have disappeared – (11cms in the past 3 months!) – BSL’s have dropped dramatically – (HbA1c was 12.9 last March. Started BSD in June – last week HbA1c . . .? 6.4) Energy levels are up, wellness overall is best Ive felt in years . . . I believe it is all to do with metabolism, how the body accepts switching from carb to fat for fuel . . . (maybe some of us have a donkey body which digs its heels in . . . before moving again!!! 🙂 – but Im asking you please dont stress or worry something is wrong. (THAT could CAUSE your body to hold on to its “life-line” – thinking “Ive not had a good amount of carb for a while so I better hang on to this spare fuel in case . . .?) There is no judgement or punishment here . . . only what we heap on ourselves 🙂 My personal perspective/suggestion is . . . forget the scales . . . and just for a second . . . consider HOW MUCH/WHAT DOES 100grams actually LOOK LIKE? (I know we can speak of gold, lead, feathers, all being vastly differing quantities of the same amount . . . but . . . (stab in the dark . . .?) 100 gms of yoghurt, or how MUCH water weights 100gms? Such a miniscule fluctuation is but a tiny piece in the whole picture 🙂 You mention lowering the carbs could be a tweak. Others here often speak of carbs retaining fluid on our behalf so THAT may well be a “refining” area to investigate 🙂 My OVERALL will never completely mirror anyone’s else’s . . . because we are all so different in height, DNA, weight, mindset, physical output, time of life etc etc.. So NO TWO stories or results will be identical . . . however we have been given the tools and the company to join in the mystery journey to an unknown destination with like-minded beings accompanying AND helping us. I suggest checking the carb content of everything you have in your pantry and fridge . . . drop them by here for analysis by the scientific gang if you like . . . and yes your formula may well be lessening the carb intake . . . (I organised what I liked and quantities over the first few weeks and now (guess-timately) stick as close as I can to 800/20 but I havent made it a science or religion! Im sure there are the odd variances of maybe 100 either way or 5-10 either way – like an extra coffee and the cream in my sauteed mushrooms, bacon and shallots for brunch yesterday . . . The day before I ate one meal . . . two small snacks so no where near my chosen 800/20 . . . but life is too short to be SO pedantic . . . ). If I was logging it all . . .(which Im not!) – I would average that out in my mind and consider what the average maybe over two/three days – or the week . . . and smile at the OVERALL wonderful results 🙂 It is a fun journey and you are so worthy of a ticket to ride. There used to be an email floating around years ago . . . something about not chasing a butterfly . . . just sit still and it will land on your shoulder . . . Another cuppa . .? Quack Quack 🙂

Hello and congratulations on your results! Late in catching up with so many posts, I was so enjoying yours until you wrote about going back . . . .:( I hasten to add I find the title 8 week BS “Diet” a little misleading. However IF considered in this context – (bovines have a DIET of grass . . . parrots have a DIET of seeds and nuts . . . etc.,) then THIS becomes a WoE down a chosen path to better health and wellness . . . eliminating that which is poisoning many of us . . . and not a fad (dare I say the word) – “DIET” – designed for an 8 week quick fix for an event 🙂 Going back to “normal” eating – (carbs, etc) – will only “fuel” your body to regain the discard . . . as SO MANY can relate to 🙂 . . . and maybe even more – just in case it is deprived of the carb easy fuel – AGAIN. So please Im asking not to view 8 weeks as when you can be freed of the shackles of a “diet” with a seemingly GREAT “weight-loss” due to low/no carbs . . . rather the time it (MAY) take to clear the pathways of carb craving which landed us where we are looking for or in need of a change for better health and choices 🙂 I am not aware if there is a reason (other than 800 cals) why you are not at the gym but seems many here do the different WoE and gym at the same time . . . maybe attend but cut back the length or strength of the workout? Im sure someone will be better advising than me on that aspect. 7-8 months in and my belly fat is moving . . . slowly – (as for many reasons I dont do any extra walking or exercising other than around my small home) . . . . and Ive been ably informed by many posters . . . it is the last to go!!! (However, Ive discarded/burnt 11cms in 13 weeks.) Hope this perspective helps you on your journey 🙂 There are plenty here to share it with 🙂 All the best. Quack Quack!

Hi Tea Cosy,
First to reassure you, Each litre of water weighs 1kg. So if you are following the recommendation to drink at least 2 litres of water a day your weight will fluctuate by upto 2 kg (4.4lbs) over the course of any day, add to this the weight of whatever is in your digestive tract and you can see why worrying about a 0.1kg gain is not logical.
Your weight loss hasn’t stalled, weight loss isn’t a linear process and its only truly a stall if you haven’t lost any weight or achieved any inch loss from any part of the body (not just the waist and hips) for 4 weeks.
1. I would suggest you search for posts on the Whoosh effect to understand why our weight loss occurs in steps.
2. I have also recently posted links to articles on a number of threads on the topic explaining why the scales are not the best way to judge success. – If you go to latest posts and go back a few days you will find this is a topic that has been discussed on a number of different threads recently.
3. Yesterday I posted on different threads to research on the benefits of using a cheap breathalyser to monitor if you are in ketosis, which is when your body has switched over to using fat as a fuel source instead of carbs. – One aspect of the research papers on this topic that has been echoing around my mind overnight is the reassurance checking that they are in ketosis gives to anyone who is who is disturbed by the fluctuations in weight over the course of a day. If you use a cheap breathalyser to ensure that you are in fat burning mode, and use an app to confirm that you are eating less calories than you are burning then, you know you are changing your body composition for the better and can just enjoy the rest of the process and don’t need to hop on the scales every time you visit the bathroom.

Hi I’m also at the end of week 3 no weight loss this week. But did t put on weight either. This is the point I gave up, last time when doing the diet. But, I’m going to keep going. I know I’m not on my own which I take comfort from. I have stuck to all the recipes even if I didn’t fancy any of them. Some have been surpringly tasty and other, only one or two, i would not eat again.
I wish the recipes were all for one person, as my husband won’t even try any of them. Which leaves me with a freezer bursting at the seems and only 3 weeks in. Thank you for all the positive comments. They keep me going.

Hi Mincemeat, stick with it, at least try to get to 8 weeks before you re-assess.
A couple of thoughts from your post:
“I have stuck to all the recipes even if I didn’t fancy any of them” – what do you like to eat? It’ll be hard if you’re forcing yourself to eat things you don’t like. There are many great ideas on the current threads of what people are eating, and it seems the new Fast 800 recipe book is quite popular.
“I wish the recipes were all for one person, as my husband won’t even try any of them” – all I can ask is why not? Does he think they are diet food? Or again, are the recipes things you would not normally eat? Is he a non-vegetable eater? It is very difficult doing this alone. Are you preparing 2 different meals for you both, 3 meals per day?