I’m in to my third week of the Fast 800. The progress up until now has been fast. I stopped taking meds on day 1 and have gone from 8,4 in fasting sugar to as low as 6,1 a couple of days ago. At the same time the waist has gone from 108 to 100 cm and the weigt from 93 to 87 kg. But now the last few days I’ve come to a stand still in weight and waist, and even a raise in sugar (up to 7 this morning).
Does anyone have this experience? Any recommendations?
I’m pretty strict with fast carbs and snacks, but the calories might somedays be 800+ , but not more than 1000.

Hello JanneB
How much water are you drinking?

About 2 litres a day, maybe. Mostly tapwater, green tea and some coffea. No sugar.
Come to think of it, maybe a little less the last few days.

I would aim to keep it between 2-3 ltrs at least, it’s definitely key for me keeping off weight, perhaps others could advise.

JanneB, when I hit my mini-plateau (12 days with no weight loss, so didn’t seem that “mini” to me 🙁 ) various people on here advised me to increase both my water and my healthy fat consumption. I now drink approx. 2.5 litres of plain tap water, on top of my other drinks – tea, coffee etc , which I have always taken without milk or sugar, so drink as much as I like – generally about 5 – 6 mugs of tea (which I like very weak) and 1 or 2 cups of coffee (which I take very strong) which probably constitutes up to another 2 litres of liquid. I increased my good fats to almost half of my daily intake – for example, today my 800 calorie intake breaks down as 45% fat, 40% protein, and 15% carbs.

Anyway, once I did this, within a couple of days, the Whoosh Fairy paid a visit and I dropped 3.5lbs literally overnight! 🙂 That was 2 weeks ago, and since then I have dropped about 2lbs per week – not huge, but steady and am prepared that the same may happen again.

I hope this helps, and that you get a visit from the Whoosh Fairy soon.

Thanks for the advice!
Theodora, in what week were you when you hit the plateau? And did it effect your sugar levels?

JanneB, I was in my 2nd week – lost 8lbs in my first week, then nothing. I am neither diabetic, nor pre-diabetic so have no idea about sugar levels, sorry.

I have now lost just over 16lbs (7.2kg) in 4 weeks and 2 days which, if one takes into account a 12 day plateau followed by a 10 day holiday, isn’t too bad going.

Good luck, and hang in there.

2nd week in and I’m in the same place now. 1st week lost 9lb and then nothing for 3 days and this morning I’ve put on 1lb!

I’m doing around 800 caloried or less a day. Maybe I’m not drinking enough so I’ll try drinking more and see what happens. Trying to stay positive because I feel so much better.

I had this in week 4, went up a pound but hadn’t done anything differently.

There’s a ton of info – including posts on here – about hitting a plateau in weight loss when dieting, or even weight creeping up. It’s a well known phenomenon and everyone dieting tends to hit it sooner or later.

Doesn’t make it seem fair though. I had a complete hissy fit after that weigh in

‘how is it physically possible to put on a pound if you’re taking in fewer calories than your body needs to survive’

I raved whilst generally throwing my teddy bear out of my pram. The fact is, for reasons scientists would probably enjoy boring us with it is possible. It’ll pass, just grit your teeth and get another week done.

Thanks for the intel.
I’ll start with the liquids and see what happens. I guess it’s just to dig in and be persistent. Maybe add some moore excercise.
Love to hear some moore war stories about plateus since it’s, as you all say, really a downer and disheartning.

Hi, I know how you feel. I am at the start of week 8 but have only lost 11lb in total so far (I have 10 stone to lose!). I have been having 800-900 calories a day and kept my carbs around 40g a day. I have also been making the recipes from the book/site. My day consists of:

greek yoghurt with raspberries for breakfast of the Chia Mocha breakfast
sardines with salad for lunch or a soup
Bolognese, chilli or chicken tikka for evening meals with veg (no potatoes, bread, rice, pasta etc)
2ltr water each day as a minimum

Plus I have a personal trainer twice a week!

I must be doing something wrong because at my weight I would have thought I would have averaged at more than just short of 1.5lb per week.

My GP is happy for me to continue for another 8 weeks on the BSD but if I don’t lose more than 1 stone again they have advised I will need to find an alternative which is a shame because I really like this diet.

Keep up the good work, I am sure you will lose more weight as the weeks progress.

Hi natast
You won’t have to find an alternative, just keep going till you’ve lost as much as you want.
Many of us old timers have stuck to it for many months, including CaptainLynne who has lost over 100lbs over nearly a year.
Cheers
Linda

I think you were all right about the water. I drank more yesterday and lost 1.5lb today.
Although maybe it’s the water combined with the additional exercise of more toilet visits 😂

Natast – just a thought – there are some of us on this forum who need to drop our carbs lower to lose weight. I had to drop to around 20/25g before I had significant weight loss.

Hi KrysiaD

Thank you for your advice, I will drop my carbs and hopefully the stones will drop as well.

Kind regards

Hi natast – try not to judge you achievement against the success of others, as some of us are slow losers and that’s just how it is, but that doesn’t diminish your achievement. I also lose slowly and though it can be a little frustrating, I am still pleased to see the scales showing any kind of positive result.

I don’t understand the attitude of your medical advisors, as the accepted NHS party line is that weight loss should only be at a rate of approx. a pound a week anyway. It is also hard to imagine what alternative solution they might offer which could increase the rate of your loss, given that we all now know that their high carb/low fat diet advise is what has got us all to the point where we desperately needed to lose weight in the first place and have been on the treadmill of failed diets over the years.

As LindA says, there are lost of folks on the forum – captainlynn is a prime example – who have been on their BSD journey for many months and achieved wonderful results.

Stick with it, drop your carb intake, be sure to stay well hydrated, eat enough fat and I’m sure you will be posting positive results soon.

Am in the same boat where I’ve experienced 2lb weight gain this week (3rd week started Monday) after losing 16lbs in the first two weeks. Totally agree that’s it’s very disheartening but I’ve had a few posts of support in the thread I’m tracking my weight loss in – plus I’ve read this and a few other similarly titled posts which suggests that I’m not alone and that I’m not doing anything wrong per se – it could just be normal fluctuation.

Today I’m going to drink more water and add less salt to my food. Given that Fitness Pal says I should be aiming for 2300mg of salt per day and I’m generally logging more than that just from my raw ingredients (not counting my seasoning) then perhaps my salt intake is affecting things. Anyway – no more seasoning (*quietly weeps*) and more water and we’ll see how that helps.

I also need more water – although i’m having 2.5L a day – water is all I drink generally. So either I need to add some herbal teas to get it higher or I need to drink more water I think.

Good luck JanneB, Carol Miller and Natast – let us know if there is any change and I’ll do the same xx

Shansu, what you’re experiencing in week 3 is very normal.

Your body has just finished purging water and glycogen from your muscles and is about to get in gear for ketosis. You’ll find yourself becoming thirsty quickly, so up your water intake and stay on the 800.

From experience I wouldn’t take salt out of your diet. In fact with the increase in water consumption, you’ll need it more than ever.

It’s one of the counter-intuitive requirements of BSD. You need a new way of thinking, so you must let go of the ‘salt = bad’ way of thinking

Shanshu
cmawp is right, don’t drop the salt, this way of eating without processed foods and additional water means that we need to consume more salt, not less.
I aim for 2 teaspoons a day and when I don’t get it, I find I suffer from cramps in my legs.
Cheers
Linda

That explains all my leg cramps this week and the fact I’ve up my water intake and tonight I’m thirsty.
Thank you. This forum is fabulous x

Thanks for all the great suggestions on this thread.
I took the advice of drinking more fluids and without changing the diet (even cheating a bit on the calories during a weekend in London, but still very low on fast carbs) I had dropped 2lbs (1 kg) this morning. So now I´m going into the 4th week with some good feelings 🙂

Hi JanneB
I also drank more and lost 2lb this week 😊.
I’ve also invested in a blender so I’ll see have drinking shakes for breakfast affects this week.

This seems to be the pattern! I lost the 2lbs that inexplicably went on and an additional 2lbs.

A very annoying blob but at least I know I’m not alone. I don’t think I upped my water intake much to be fair. I kept meaning to!!!

I’m still drinking coffee with milk, and at least five to six a day. I have a feeling the milk is slowing down my weight loss. I’ve upped my water, with lemon intake and, discipline myself to four glasses of red wine per week. Dies anyone else drink milk with coffee?

You might consider swapping the milk for cream, as it is lower in carbs than milk and although higher in cals, you only need a little, so it balances out. I actually use coconut milk in coffee and tea these days – the one I use is 181 cals and 3.6g per 100ml and I find just 15ml (27.1cals/0.54gcarbs) is enough to give a creamy taste.

Maybe you should consider dropping the red wine for a while. I find that alcohol, even in small quantities, completely screws upthe progress of my weight loss. If you could ditch it for a week or two, you might well see an improvement in the speed of your weight loss.

My weight loss has slowed down quite dramatically despite following the diet properly and I guess when we do compare our slow losses to others who are having big losses it is very disappointing. I am now in my seventh week and have lost approximately 2lb in the last three weeks – 14 lb in total. I am following the 800 diet plan and drinking lots and I mean lots of water and keeping my carbs between 30-50. I haven’t had a drink of any alcohol since starting on 8th January! I have been feeling fine on the diet until this week but I now actually feel drained and exhausted and because i am not losing weight am beginning to wonder whether to have a diet break. I know that the advice is to keep going but I wonder if a break will help kick start the weight loss when I restart say after a week or so. Any advice from experienced BSD dieters would be welcome. Thank you

Hi ClarinetCathy, I too have had a stalling in my weight loss. I am in my 8th month and have been doing fine until Christmas, then I gained but have managed to lose that so I am back to where I was before Christmas. I have been doing the menu plans but leaving a little extra for snacks – so 650 or 700 for the day so I can have something in the afternoon and evening. However, what I have noticed is that my snacking has grown from sometimes needing something to just having it because….. Also my controlled snacks have become a handful of nuts rather than 6 nuts and I have been eating more cheese at my evening snack both the nuts and cheese being quite high in calories. My point is, there is always something you can point to which might just need adjusting. Are you okay on portion sizes, are you eating the right things, are you keeping your carbs lowish (50 grams is good for me) are you drinking enough water and what about exercise, as you get used to the low cals you can start increasing exercise even if it is just walking.

I would not recommend a break of a week or so, you could easily gain back a large proportion of what you have lost and you would be so cross with yourself. I too had a break, just 5 days over my birthday period and it was like I had been let loose and gained as much in the 5 days as I did over 2 weeks of Christmas away. If you need a break just take a day out and still plan carefully for it and be ready to get back on the plan the next day.

I have just been taking my own advice and have lost 0.2 kg in one day, not much but enough to let me know that I am back on the right track, so no more snacks for me unless I am really needing it (diabetic low BG) and then carefully measuring what I have, and no more cheese for me for a while.

Good luck.