Hi all. So here I am half way through week four. The scales are going crazy, so close to that first stone and have lost inches overall. BUT scales driving me nuts. Do I need to drink more water? It’s hard when working as not in an office but standing on feet all day and school runs requiring the dash to the toilet. I just want to get that first stone.

Testing the scales to find best place, why do Victorian houses have such slopey floors! Each ways cause monumental weight loss or gain. I was sticking to 800/1000 cals a day but weight flip flopping so have been for last couple of days trying to aim at 800cals, 50g carbs etc. hmmmmm MyFitnessPal doesn’t like that! I keep looking at it and obsessing over the damn numbers. It’s amazing how many carbs you can consume even with no pasta, no bread etc. anyway weight not shifting, have a friend who has had barely any weight loss in 3 weeks.

I would like lose before beginning of July at least 21lbs if not towards 28lb. I am hovering around 12/13lbs…..this is a decent amount of weight especially as I have had two chest infections and two social functions.

Blood sugars super fine. What is going on? It’s hard as a veggie as every meat substitute has carbs, so is 50g about right for weight loss? So please peeps who have been through it all before please send over your thoughts/advice. From a very frustrated veggie.

I’ve just started week 4 and am not seeing much weight loss. However, I am noticing feeling lighter and losing inches, and since it’s impossible to eat 800 calories per day and not lose weight, I am imagining that the fat around my internal organs is being lost, and also that I am growing my muscle base.

Whilst keeping carbs to 20gm per day, and drinking the recommended amounts, it must eventually result in loss. Someone here talked about fat hanging on with its fingertips, and that’s what it’s doing.

Since it can’t fail, it must work if we keep persisting. So Keep the Faith, enjoy the food (which is, after all, really enjoyable), appreciate the control……..

Onwards and downwards!

Hi pinklady51,
I lost 12% of my starting weight (29lbs) over the 8 weeks on 60g carbs, 800 (+/-50 )cals.
I would forget your scales. I had scales a few years ago that did exactly as yours do – if I did not like the weight they said, I stepped off them and then back on and hey presto – a new weight – often lower! Your blood sugars are fine, so I assume you are really looking for a different dress size? That is best measured using a tape measure. The biggest high I had over the 8 weeks was when I realised I was a dress size down and could get into the ‘old wardrobe’ and needed to buy new clothes. It meant a lot more than the weight I lost.

If you have lost 12-13lbs in 4 weeks, that is good. You should be able to lose the same again in the next 6 weeks which will be July and if I have understood your target correctly, that would meet it?
MyFitnessPal does not like this food plan approach as it is too low in calorie. Ignore it, other than for info on calories in the foods.

Tips – keep a consistent approach. Don’t flip around too much, yes, some weeks are bad, but that is life. I found that once I decided on 60g carb a day and focussed on keeping to that, my weight loss was pretty consistent – plateau came at 10 weeks. I weighed everything and kept a tally of the carbs and calories in an app, but the focus was the carbs. There were days when I was already at 50g carbs by 5pm, so I made sure dinner was not taking me much over the 60g even if that meant my calorie intake was below 800. Other days, my calories were 850, but I was just getting to 60g carbs. So – for me, the carbs were the driver of each day.
I had a standard breakfast of yoghurt, fruit and seeds, 9g carbs. Lunch was soup and a salad with feta cheese (25-30g carb) or scrambled egg, mushroom and salad. Evening meal stir fries, veg stews etc. For the 8 weeks, I kept to a simple menu with not too many choices.

I have never looked at what I am eating as a replacement for meat, but as finding the right proteins for a balance, so I have never bothered with quorn etc. I use pulses, cheese, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds. Yes – it is hard with lentils etc being higher in carbs.
I know others who are meat eaters have gone for a lower daily carb count (50g and lower)- however, I found that almost impossible as a vegetarian and I was getting sever leg cramps. For me, 50g is would mean I do not get a balanced diet as I would not be having any pulses. I think what I have done (accidentally not planned) is in sticking to the 60g, but eating ‘good’ carbs (beans in soups, and veg etc) I am still getting the benefits as the carbs are the slow release type. Does that make sense????

It is worth doing a review of what you are doing every 2-3 weeks and making small adjustments. I read Jenny Ruhl’s book, Low Carb Problems Solved (Kindle £3.06) about 3 weeks in. it talks about try to keep a consistent approach – not going in and out of fat burning. It may be worth having a look at that book to see if that will help you spot anything else you can do to be more consistent.

The last 3 weeks I bought Ketostix which you may have seen being discussed elsewhere. They indicate if you are burning fat or not. I was, and that was on 60g carbs per week.

Last thought if you don’t ditch the scales – when I started I remembered reading about people losing 40-50 lbs in 8 weeks. I was going through this website and spotted that the expected weight loss was between 10 and 20% of your starting weight. To keep my expectations in check, I set up a spreadsheet which had both the total 10% and 20% (divided over the 8 weeks) calculated and then I plotted my actual weekly. I could see quickly that I was on target or not. I lost 12% of my starting weight. MM stated he lost 11%. The heavier you are to start with, the more likely you are to go to the 20% end of the scale – so I was very happy with that outcome.

Happy to try to answer any more questions if you want to chat about things further.

Very very helpful, Orchid, thank you for posting.

I have followed your example re working out 10% weight loss, 12% weight loss and 20% weight loss…..5% weight loss already after 3 weeks.

My target is 15% loss, but would be very happy with 12%

Hi Igorasusual,
Happy to have helped. I agree that on 800 cals per day you will lose weight. However, it will not necessarily come off of your internal organs unless you are burning fat. Initially (first 2 weeks) I was using shakes for 2 or 3 meal replacements. I noticed I was losing weight from my hips, but not my waist and I was not losing as much as some others were. I mentioned the fact I was not losing from my waist and someone advised me to look at my carb intake.
I did 2 things – one was the spreadsheet to see just how much I was losing in % terms – that helped reset my mind as I was losing 10-11%. Second thing was to look at what the composition of the my foods (shakes) was and I found out I was eating 80g plus carbs a day! Just low enough to be losing weight, but not enough to make the changes to burning fat and moving fat from the internal organs.
I then changed to the approach I described above and cooked my own food, aiming at 60g carbs a day. I did for a few days try lower than that, but it did not work for me so I stuck to the 60g and had a steady weight loss.
I found it important to measure everything I could – small changes in the tape measure when the scales don’t move are motivating. A dress size down was real buzz – I forgot any ideas of 20% weight loss when I found I was getting into one and two dress sizes smaller in 12% 🙂 .
This is a flexible approach and about getting it to work for you. Good luck.

Hi Orchid

Thanks again. I’ve lowered my carb intake to 20gm and testing with Ketostix I’m in kerosis.

Just completed a week with this low carb focus, having spotted – like you – that the calorie reduction wasn’t balanced.

Think the scales will start to reflect what I’m already seeing in person. But size in clothing more important, I agree!

Hi all. I am seriously struggling this week. Weight bugging me so I decided to stick religiously to the 800cal/50g carb and boy that’s smashed me down. Cramping legs walking upstairs, brain fog, irritable, serious cravings and totally exhausted. Feel like I am walking through treacle. This feels like a bad ME episode – I have ME so I know what that really feels like. My head is fuzzy and I feel like hell. Serious sweet carb craving. Nothing is denting it, not water, not herbal teas etc want that piece of toast!

So I may go back to my watching carbs and keeping to around 60g approx 800/1000 cals. I have abandoned MFP as it was freaking me out. Something has to give. I generally like the food including the Quorn mixes etc, will look into pulses etc. have loved proper yogurt as opposed to the nasty stuff I couldn’t eat as most of it wasn’t vegetarian. But seriously I could so do without this week and I can’t seem to eat enough to make up the deficit because I feel so hideous. Any helpful advice would be so gratefully recieved. Measuring my inch loss on Monday as I do it every 2 weeks, trying not to get disheartened by the scales……help please I want to enjoy it again! And to feel like this is all for something as opposed to diet hell. Ideal dess size loss for me is from now 16/18 to 12 and overall 12-12.7stone…

Hi Pinklady51,
I get leg cramps is I go below 60g carbs a day. Some people seem to be able to work through that and keep going and it goes away – I can’t. One thing that may help is quinine which you can get from drinking tonic water. I have tried it and it did help when I had miscalculated and looked like I was going to be at 40g carbs at day end. The cramps were milder than I have had, but it did add a chunk to my cals for the day. There is a post from Feb https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/slimline-tonic-ok/#post-3457 that mentions Fever-Tree as one brand that does have quinine and works.
The main thing is to keep to a fairly consistent daily intake – concentrate on the 60-65g carbs not the calories. Bill1954 and others never worried about calories and monitors his carb intake and portion sizes.
Not having had ME, I can’t comment on that – but there is something called carb-flu that some people get weeks 3-4. It does get better. It is your body adjusting. If you think this is taking you back to an ME episode, then clearly stop and look at either 5:2 or Mediterranean diet.
A final thought that might help you is using Ketostix so see if you are in fat burning mode.
The carb levels that different people need before they are in fat-burning mode differs. There was one person who reported being in fat-burning mode at 80g carbs per day. I was in fat-burning at 60g cals a day, others have needed to be a lot lower. You can get them from Morrison’s Pharmacy and ASDA’s.
Do an initial check to see where you are on the scale. If you are already in fat-burning mode – then you can increase the carbs a little and keep checking daily to make sure you stay there. Exercise definitely helps you with fat-burning.
Keep asking us questions – we will see if we can find any other ways to help you through this.
Take care.

Hi Orchid. Carb flu sounds about right. The ME is totally fine usual usual but this feels like those bad days. I am eating a slice of toast with marmite and it tastes good! Like Bill1954 I wasn’t stressed about calories but more carbs and portion and that seemed to work then standstill and weight on. So plan to go back to what I was doing. It’s very easy to get totally caught up in numbers but we all have to live the life we individually have. That’s why I’m not going to stress anymore. In four weeks I’ve had 3 slices of toast which is a total plus for me. I am a prolific baker normally and that’s been hard. But I love the full fat low carb because it makes total sense. It’s so depressing when you feel so ill. I hadn’t heard of carb flu but this totally is me right now. Onwards and upwards but not the weight!!!

That sounds like a plan! Good luck and we will hopefully hear good news next week 🙂

That’s what I was thinking too. I just did the most ridiculous thing just now. Had made the kids pizza for supper and desp wanted some. As I was cutting it up for my youngest I chucked the crusts on the floor so I couldn’t eat it as was too far away from bin! Crazy but it worked!

I also think part of this is because I have had less water this week so will up that again.

Please don’t go simply by the numbers on a scale, they are notoriously inaccurate, and they don’t reflect what is actually going on in your body. Your fat is melting away, you already know this by the inches you have lost. Your body weight isn’t just a measure of the fat you have, it’s also water, muscle, skin, bone, brain, hair,…etc etc. Your weight will fluctuate throughout a single day purely from the amount of water you happen to be carrying at the exact moment you get on the scale. Plus the volume of your muscle mass affects how big or small the numbers are on the scales. It’s just an arbitrary number that really means nothing, and yet so many of us allow it to affect our mood, and our resolve. Do yourself a huge favour and throw the scales away! When your clothes hang on you, and you need a whole new wardrobe you will know this is working.

HI Pinklady51,
just a thought – I don’t want to add another thing to look at – but your fats should be the highest intake per day. It took me weeks to get that right, partly because I was still on ‘low-fat’ everything. A spoonful of really creamy full fat yogurt might help with the cravings…….

Hi I am full fat everything bar coconut milk. If I have too much full fat milk it wipes my carb count. I have done ketostix test and only on 2nd pink block. If I lower my carb intake to under 50g it would be as hideous as this week so unsure what to do next. I did like your working out body percentages for loss though.

I know the scales can be counterproductive but it does help sometimes. A small win! Maybe. But will knock it on head for a once a week thing.

I will go back to carb counting and portion control and see what happens next

I also have realised my water intake has slumped so back on that big style

Hi all. I’m starting the 800 cal BSD tomorrow. I’ve read the book, doesn’t mention carb counting, only calorie counting but carb counting is all over the posts! How many grams of carbs should I be aiming for in an 800 cal day? Also what’s the best app for carb counting ? Hope someone can advise, thanks.

5 months in, try and follow the recipes in the book. I never worried about the food ratios because I followed the recipes. My focus was reversing the Diabetes, not the weight loss, that was just the bonus and counted the calories. I only read the BSD book, so not sure if the Carb thing is from the 5:2 diet. I cut out white potato / pasta / rice for the three months and only very occasionally have it now – but surprisingly don’t miss it.

I think you can tie yourself in knots. Its not like a diet that you just reduce the things you normally eat to count calories, its about changing the food you eat and therefore your taste buds forever.

Good luck

When I started the BSD 26 weeks ago I’d been type 2 diabetic for 10 years. I’ve learned that I have to keep my carbohydrate intake low even while on the BSD. But the result is that all my blood tests now are within the normal range.

There are folk on here who are diabetic or pre-diabetic, as well as those who wish to avoid those conditions or to lose weight, so each of us will have different needs. Some can eat more carbs than others – as I said, my carb intake is low.

Christie, you don’t say if you’re diabetic. If you are, I would suggest monitoring your blood sugars to see how they respond and change your carb levels accordingly.

Wishing you well.

Hi Christie

I started out the BSD and only afterwards started using MyFitnessPal to check on how many carbs I was eating.

As I have comparatively little to lose, and not Type 2 or pre diabetic, just wanting to get into control of my mild carb addiction, and eat better, I have restricted my carbs to 20gm per day. Many people here try and keep them under 50g.

I bought some Ketostix, which simply test whether you are burning fat, and even when weight stayed still, I could check I was burning fat, and understand it was going from my visceral fat, which was a great incentive.

There is evidence that restricting your carbs – you can experiment to see if you are best at 50g or can do less (don’t forget to keep yourself full with good fat – mmm feta cheese, helium etc – does produce good results in both losing weight and changing your body chemistry so that Type 2 can be reversed and you can get your blood sugars back in line.

I’ve lost 17 lbs and more than 11% of my body weight in my 6 completed weeks.

Hope that helps.

Just to say, when talking about cheese, I mean HALLOUMI not helium (doh, predictive text)

And reading Pinklady – have you tried a few things which are high fat, like avocados? 27 g of fat in an avocado, yummy and fills you up. And I love fatty fish too, so some smoked mackerel in a salad was also good. Cheese like Greek Feta and Halloumi (yes I know I’ve mentioned that before) is also good. And nuts!

If you balance it out with calories and fat, you can make it work – I promise you, I’m doing it myself.

Hi all, thanks for all the advice offered, it’s very much appreciated. I’m not diabetic or pre-diabetic, thankfully, but I know my weight and visceral fat isn’t going to end well so I really want to shift it. Got started today anyway! Feel very motivated by everyone’s shared experiences, it’s v generous of you all to put up such detailed posts about the difficulties that besiege every diet, the plateaux etc. Cheers, will let you know how it goes.

So hello everyone. How are you all? I have made good numbers and gone a little crazy but 8 weeks up and I have lost so far 19lbs, nearly 10% of start weight and lots of inches all over! I have had good days and bad days, carb flu, toast munchies and still have another 10 days before hols where I would like to be at 1st 7lbs down! This is a way of life now with all the usual stuff like going out for dinner and really bloody enjoying it, dessert and all! When I get to just before hols I’ll post my stats. I do get bored of finding a sweet thing to eat. That’s never going to go and I can usually placate it with yog and fruit but any ideas of helping with that would be ace. I haven’t calorie counted just full fat, as low carb as I can go and portion control which is sometime out! But big yay!