Hi everyone

You may have seen that we are on the lookout for people to share their success story and help to spread the word and inspire others. The Daily Mail will soon we running a series of articles and they are keen to include a few, brief success stories.

If you have reversed your T2 diabetes and/or had great success with weight loss and lowering your blood sugar levels, please email info@thebloodsugardiet.com if you’re interested in taking part.

Many thanks!

Just starting but if successful with 8 weeks wd be happy to share my story.

Will be starting tomorrow…the question I have is, are we supposed to count our carbohydrates?

Sandralea, the BSD simply advises no refined carbs (bread, rice, potatoes etc as you will have read)

However many people on these forums find in addition that restricting the allowed carbs to 50g or less within the 800 calories can help kick-start weight loss. You can track nutritional contents of your food with one of many apps available. I found MyFitnessPal (free) very helpful in keeping track and recording meals each day.

Do use the SEARCH facility top right for any particular queries – the forum members are great sources of info abs guidance as we all have either done the BSD or are doing it ! 🙂

Hope that helps.

Thank you so much for getting back to me…I have been a yo yo dieter my whole life it seems…all info and support is much appreciated.
I will have to re read for sure about carb amounts. I have done the alternate day fast with 500 calories every other day so this will be easier. I am also a cook so I’m use to making food for all different lifestyles medically and otherwise. (That has been part of my problem..always into foods)
Was just diagnosed with prediabetes and my blood pressure has increased so it’s time to buckle down and be serious …
And I use fitness pal as well…so awesome!
I am excited to begin tomorrow…and looking forward to getting to know you all…thanks again

I read the Newcastle research results after receiving a Type 2 diagnosis (7.3 mmol/L) and decided to give the Blood Sugar Diet a try. Blood sugar had gone from pre-Diabetic to Diabetic over a 16 month period and I turned 50 last week. Did the diet for 7 weeks, plus a three weeks of transitioning to normal eating again. I lost 17.5 kg, or more 18% of my body weight. BMI went from 30.2 (Obese) to 24.6 (Healthy). Lost 5 inches around my waist (nothing fits in my wardrobe anymore). Blood sugar reading dropped to 5.5 (top end of normal). In all honesty if I’d know three years ago that a diet like this would work so effectively and be so easy to do (I didn’t really feel all that hungry after the first 4-5 days) I’d have started it back then. My results were better than the Newcastle patients and six weeks after finishing my transition to normal eating my weight remains stable. This diet really works!

How wonderful and encouraging your post is! I have cleaned out my cupboards and ready as today is day one. May I ask what foods do you think really helped you that you thoroughly enjoy? Is it advisable to go more than eight weeks if you need to lose more weight ? I have much to lose and hopefully this will be the last.
I’m so glad to hear that this works for you…I hope to say the same!

When will the Mail be publishing this article, I would like to read it so would need to buy it then as I don’t buy it regularly?

I managed my diet program in highly structured way. I prepared a spreadsheet on which I recorded a weekly menu with calories for every food item (plus a protein calculation to ensure I was eating at least 67-70gm of protein daily); a weekly diary and a progress table for recording and charting my weight and BMI. I officially weighed myself before b/fast every Sunday morning and recorded this weight. Once I began my three week transition program back to normal eating I changed to weighing myself after b/fast so that I had a better sense of my “average” weight with a normal gut full of food.

The spreadsheet took a bit of time on a Sunday morning to prepare but it really kept me focused on the program and helped me work out creative substitutes to keep meals interesting and varied. it also kept me honest and it made it easier to make last minute changes to the diet plan as the week unfolded as I could immediately work out how to shuffle my eating plan if my day got busy or social events cropped up. After the first couple of weeks I also had a two week eating plan that I could start to cut and paste daily menus from to make it easier to build the next week’s menu.

I discovered several interesting things as I went through this program. First, drink lots of fluids regularly. This stops hungry pains and constipation. It also increased the rate at which I lost weight. Second, weigh everything and be kind to yourself if you have to exceed your calories on the odd occasion. I had family gathering to attend and international vacation scheduled during my diet. I tried to keep as close to the eating plan as I could but there were days when my calorie count hit 1000. However, I noticed that the rate at which I was losing weight didn’t seem to be affected by the occasional calorie boost. If anything this seemed to encourage more rather than less fat burning. Third, winter set in halfway through my diet and I noticed I was getting hungry again. After a week of this I suddenly realised that the colder weather was making me burn more calories. I added 50-75 calories daily to my eating plan and the hunger disappeared again. In other words, listen to your body. The extra calories were being burned by colder temperatures and I avoided a situation that might have tempted me to abandon my diet plan. Fourth, throw out all of your high calorie pantry items and replace them with lower calorie alternatives (or don’t replace them at all!) After three months I cannot recall what was in the pantry before I started and not having any reminders of the old eating habits has made it easier to stay on track.

I got very good at reading food labels and identifying substitute products or brands that allowed me to either have larger portions of the same food or use the calories saved to add another tasty item to my weekly diet plan. For example, I found a whole grain bread that had 8 calories fewer per slice. This meant I could increase the amount of avocado or yeast spread I put on my toast; or let me grate some hard cheese over my scrambled eggs. Some types of fish have less calories than others. Choosing the lowest calorie fish (with a reasonably high protein count) let me increase the weight of steamed vegetables I could have with it. I soon learnt that I could fill a plate with the right sort of vegetables and end up with a large volume of tasty food on the plate with surprisingly few calories.

I also discovered lots of low calories meal ideas that stopped my food feeling bland or monotonous. For example, I starting roasting capsicum and asparagus at dinner time for a tasty addition to the plate (coated with sprayed oil to keep the calories down). I found a very low fat Feta cheese that I could add to salads to give them a salty/savoury favour burst (and increase my protein count). I swapped real balsamic vinegar for a diet dressing version – same flavour but less calories (or more spoonfuls for the same calorie count making for a moister salad).

I found that a cooked breakfast with 2x eggs (removed one yolk and kept one) made a tasty omelet or scrambled eggs. I also tried to keep 60-100 calories aside for a sweet treat most days. This might be a small piece of fruit or a diet yoghurt. It was just something that made me feel like I was still enjoying fun foods.

I used lots of spices and herbs to keep the flavours interesting. For example, I added fresh parsley to salads; finely diced red onion to scrambled eggs, chopped chilli to salad dressings, dill or cilantro to canned tuna, lemon pepper to grilled fish and so on. I also bought a Cajun spice mix that I would sprinkle on fish and chicken before oven grilling.

My plan was to average 750 calories a day as defined by the food labels on products I bought (or calories counts I found online). I chose this number as I thought I’d probably be eating more than this given the food labels are average counts and the calories in fresh items can vary. I learnt a lot about portion control and just how much food you really need to avoid feeling hungry.

IMHO the transition period at the end of your diet is as important as the diet itself based on what little data I could find. If I understand the research correctly it helps reset your metabolism and helps maintain a discipline of healthy eating (and portion control with each meal). I struggled to find any good data/plans online for managing this transition but I was convinced that it couldn’t be good for you to shift from 750 calories to 1800 in a few days. As a result I ate an average of 950 calories in the first transition week; then increased this to 1150 by the end of the second week and then to 1500 by the end of the third week before returning to a normal 1800-2000 (for a male of my height/weight) in the fourth week.

Since I stopped the diet I have maintained the practice of avoiding all white carbs (white bread, pasta, potatoes etc); especially at dinner time. This seems to be not only keeping the weight off but may also be helping me continue to lose a few more pounds. I weighted myself before b/fast today (76.3kg). I was shocked to see my weight at a new low since I began this whole process. Five months ago I was almost 95 kgs (and this was down from a peak of +100kg last year).

Thank you for all that info…sounds a lot of what I am doing…so glad to hear you are doing so well in your transitioning period…so encouraging! A big WOO HOO to you…what a wonderful post…thanks again

One more thing I forgot to add. I told everyone what I was doing. I found this a great discipline for keeping myself honest and on track. It’s harder to abandon a diet plan like this when everyone keeps asking you how its going. Family and friends also went out of their way to offer “diet friendly” menus for family occasions and social gatherings.

I also shared a summary of the Newcastle research paper with them so that they could see I wasn’t doing a fad diet but was participating in a scientifically tested weight loss/blood sugar correcting program. The funny thing is that now family and friends are noticing programs on TV and stories in the news about the program and they copy me on all of this.

My mother in particular was impressed by the research and encouraged that I’d opted for a proper eating program rather than substituting meals for Optifast. To be honest I couldn’t have done the “drink a milkshake” thing (I’m lactose intolerant) and hated the thought of abandoning food altogether. Besides how can you learn about sensible portion control and healthy eating by drinking a shake?

Another great hint. Cauliflower is actually a rather tasty food if you roast it; or mix it in with other vegetables in a salad. I’d stopped eating this vegetable years ago and now I wonder why I did.

Ok – one more hint! I found it helpful to cut my food into small pieces during meals (if this made sense for food I was eating). Eating smaller bite sizes; then pausing for 10-15 seconds after swallowing before taking another mouthful helped me feel like I was eating a larger meal and gave my stomach more time to signal it was getting fed.

In other words, I trialled techniques that encouraged me to eat each meal slower and make each meal feel like it was going a little further. I’d also wait 15 minutes at the end of dinner before I has my sweet treat (fruit or yoghurt) so that my stomach felt fuller for longer after each meal time. I guess you’re getting the picture that I trialled every trick in the book during this diet to make my meals interesting, increase portion size without adding calories and leave me feeling fuller after every meal.

I probably sound incredibly disciplined. If truth be told I’m not a person who enjoys a regimented lifestyle at all. However, I decided to go the “full Monty” for eight weeks and really stick at it. My rationale was that if I was going to undertake such a tough diet program I wanted to do it once and get the best result so that I never had to go there again. Otherwise, it was just going to be a miserable experience that wouldn’t really change a thing.

I’m glad I stuck with the discipline and made myself do things like the weekly diet plan spreadsheet as the results speak for themselves. I still cannot believe I reversed ten years of crappy diet, eating habits and health risks in one condensed ten week period (7 on the diet, 3 on a transition diet). IMHO it was worth every hard won moment when I held my ground and refused to let myself wavier when temptation presented itself.

Not much to add to the excellent description from AMGSyd, but my two pennies worth:

I have reactive hypoglycaemia, rather than diabetes, but still therefore needed to stabilise my blood sugars. I found I could maintain my weight with 5:2 and had done so for a couple of years, but really wanted to get to a healthy BMI, as mine was 30. I toyed with the idea of this shakes thing for 8 weeks, but I love my food, so when I found this plan I thought I would give it a go. To my delight, I found it easy to do after the first few days and did not feel hungry. Rapid weight loss followed and this is a great motivator to stay on track. After 8 weeks I had lost sufficient to have a BMI of 24.8 and started to replace the 800 cals a day with normal eating on the 5 days, but with no refined carbohydrates and 800 calories for two days a week. I have lost a further couple of pounds, unintentionally, and eaten well. My weight loss has been from 13 stone 2 lbs to 10 stone 11lbs.

What works for me is:
Three meals a day and no snacks
Not trying to replace bread, cakes, sugar etc with low carb alternatives. They don’t taste the same to me and only prolong the misery of abstinence! I’m fine without now and don’t miss them.
I drink 8 pints of fluid a day and have quite a lot of salt on my food
I plan meals and shop accordingly, so I never have to stand before a fridge and think ” what can I have?” Which usually leads to bad choices on my part.
I try to do 10k steps a day and I’ve started doing the exercises from the BSD book each morning.

What works is a very individual thing. I feel so much better with a stable blood sugar and I have much more energy now. Maintenance is the hardest part of any behavioural change, but I feel I am getting there.

I forgot one of the most important aids and that is these fora. I find reading about everyone else victories and crises inspiring and there is always some advise and chivvying along to be had. Couldn’t have done it without all the contributors here.

This will be my last post I promise. I thought I should mention that I also took a series of supplements during my diet program. While the jury is probably out on whether they help or not I wanted to ensure I was getting enough essential minerals and vitamins despite undertaking a VLCD program. My full blood test at the beginning and the end of the program showed a healthy balance of essential vitamins and minerals so the supplements may have helped. My liver and kidney function tests were also normal and my cholesterol count improved noticeably.

During my diet program I took 2000gm of Vitamin C; 1000 in the morning and the rest in the evening. I read research that suggests higher doses of Vitamin C can help control insulin levels. I took a quality multi-vitamin once a day, usually at lunch. I also took an iron supplement in the evening with my vitamin C. My doctor thought it would do me no harm to take this for 8 weeks and would ensure my iron levels remained stable despite eating much less meat; especially high calorie red meats.

As an aside, I was taking a sugar free version of Vitamin C that was sweetened with an artificial sweeter. As a result, this supplement ended up becoming another “sweet treat” during my day if sucked it slowly in between meals – but a treat without the calories. It ended up being a clever way to “reward” myself while actually doing something healthy.

Finally I took Fish Oil tablets twice a day to ensure I was getting plenty of good fatty acids in my diet. I also wanted to reduce the risk of gout which I suffer from by discouraging inflammation. As I said at the beginning of this comment, these supplements may not have been strictly necessary but I thought it best to err on the side of caution.

Thank you so much for your brilliant posts – what a success story and you were so well disciplined and organised!
My main problem with the diet (I’ve been stopping and starting again for months) is that I lose focus and become bored with my meals. I find it so time-consuming logging every single tiny little thing into MFP, although I will do it but then I get bored with the food.
I would be so intrigued to see your 2-week menu plan from your spreadsheet – are you able to share?

Again, very well done! I am re-inspired!

Hi Susieb,

Here is a link to the Excel file I used to manage my program: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qb4tk1flffkb0jz/Blood%20Sugar%20Diet%20Progress%20Tracker.xlsx?dl=0

This is a Dropbox folder. You’ll need to adjust the file to match your circumstances and metrics. I am in Australia so many of the foods listed may need to be substituted for a local alternative. I used the nutrition panel on food labels to help me calculate the calories and protein count.

Thank you for sharing such a comprehensive and impressive spreadsheet! Your organisation shows such a sense of determination and discipline.
This will be an invaluable tool to help show newbies the course of progression and what can be achieved on this programme.

Thank you. You have inspired me to start my own journey today. 🙂

Just wanted to say thank you for your inspirational posts AMGSyd. So many helpful tips and it always helps with my motivation when I read about someone else’s success. If I had been told a year ago that I could do an 800 calorie diet there’s no way I would’ve believed it but I’m doing it, and not suffering like I thought I would be!

AMGSyd, what wonderful and helpful hints! Thanks so much for your insight!

I started the Eight Week diet in late May and in six weeks lost 16 kilos and my fasting bsl dropped from around 9 down to 5.5 to 6. I have now stopped my Metformin. My Emphysema symptoms have dropped dramatically and i can easily manage a daily 5 to 10 Kms per day walk. I feel like a new man. I am monitoring my weight and using this to adjust my daily food intake. Looking back at my weight/diet history I have naturally fallen into a 5/2 rhythm of eating.

I cannot believe what a wonderful difference this has made to my life.

My highest regards to Dr Michael.

Good evening All! One thing I can say is that this diet has really made a difference in my lifestyle. Allow me to recap. So back at the beginning of August 2016 I had a routine doctor’s checkup and was newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. In addition to that my cholesterol was high(7+) and weight was at 245lbs(I stand at 5’4). Healthwise, I had trouble walking for long distances because of aches and pains in my knees. Occasionally I’d have gout symptoms on one or both my feet. Sometimes I couldn’t walk properly and was always tired. Not sleeping well at night, having to use an inhaler to control my asthma. Doc had said that my health was spiraling down due to poor nutrition. Furthermore as my dad was diabetic, I had a chance of inheriting it sooner or later. For a while, I was denying the tests and feeling down. I realized then and there that first, I didn’t wanna be relying on medications for the rest of my life. Second, I wanted to live a long and healthy life.

For a month prior to beginning the 8 week diet, I had undergone an herbal detox(Cleansesmart). I ate as healthy as I possibly could and cut down on sugar, carbs, junk food, etc…and drank a lot of water and herbal tea(Bojenmi) Also took to being more active at my full time job keeping on my feet and finding extra tasks to do rather than sitting. After a month I dropped 20lbs.

September 10th 2016, I began Dr Michael’s diet. Honestly, at first I was having a bit of trouble adjusting to this but as I had finished my detox, my cravings toward my typical favorite foods dwindled down and reduced as each day passed by. I was surprised at my daily weight losses. Other days there weren’t any. So I took to working out at the gym and lifted. Also combined intermittent fasting with this program. I also continued drinking plenty of water and select herbal teas, eating wild game meat as it had less fat in it.

October 10th 2016 update: I sleep better every night now and wake up feeling well rested and with an abundance of energy. There are no longer aches and pains in my knees, no more gout symptoms, skin is clearing up, no more bad food cravings, and my weight now reads at 185lbs. I’ve reached the halfway point in this diet and will strive to continue to follow it precisely and as a accurate as I can and may continue it…until I reach a healthy weight, and set my blood sugar and cholesterol levels to normal.

OzzyPete and Omnipinoy, those really are impressive achievements. Congratulations.

I am about 6 weeks into the 800 diet and have lost a stone. I wasnt overweight to start with but felt bloated and lumpy after gourmet breaks in Italy. I am enjoying the recipes, they are so tasty on the whole. My husband is being converted as well and his snoring has decreased. A blessing! Some days are harder than others, especially as the cold weather kicks in.

I have lost 55Kg using this method before, during 2013. Then I managed to maintain my weight for a while, until 2015, to be honest, when I decided I was ready for chocolate again. I slowly climbed my way back 25kg and now I’m starting over!

I started this a couple of weeks ago. I never thought I’d be able to stick to 800 calories…but found it easier than any other diet I’ve been on. Not only have I lost nearly 6 kegs, but I feel better mentally. I have had depression for years, and am on medication, but have started discussing coming off it slowly with my doctor😀

New Zealand story … the recipe book caught my eye at the book store, and I started the diet around the 3rd Oct, weighing 95kg (BMI 28), and in my mid 40’s. My only health issue is having high blood pressure (and being overweight which is a risk factor for future health issues) — I also get a gout flare-up once every 2 or 3 years. Not sure why, cannot track it down to anything specific.

3 1/2 weeks into the diet, my weight has decreased from 95kg to 89kg. That is in the right direction, was hoping it might be a bit more….but , I will just stay on the diet until I reach 75 kg or so (BMI 23). Blood pressure is unchanged so far.

I have stuck to the recommended diet foods although I think some of the meals in the recipe book underestimate calories, my daily intake is between 700 and 1000 calories, doing just 2 meals a day , sacrificing one meal in favour of a bit of snacking (a small handful of almonds is my snack of choice) .

The one unclear ‘vice’ I allow is coffee (no sugar, just a dash of milk), and I find the aftertaste helps suppress hunger. And, I am hungry a lot …. the first week hunger was the worst, but, even heading into the fourth week I still get quite hungry.

The recipes are delicious, but time consuming to do each night. Funny, I bought the ‘NZ edition’ of the recipe book which has a trout recipe, but you cannot buy trout for consumption in New Zealand…. all trout must be personally captured haha.

Anyway, overall I am very happy with this and will continue to follow the diet until i reach my 75kg. There are challenges heading towards xmas, there are lots of upcoming social events involving food and alcohol. But, apart from the odd ‘glitch’ I will remain on this diet until I hit my 75kg , a number I haven’t seen since 2003 haha.

Hello

I have been doing this for just over two weeks and have lost 9lbs. I took my fasting blood test on day one and it was a shocking 12mmol/L. This morning it read 5.3. I nearly cried.

I am doing the exercises every morning and have bought an exercise bike which I am using also. For the first time, probably, in my life, I feel as though I have control. If Carlsberg did diets, this would probably be the best one.

Good luck to those just starting out. It all seems a bit daunting but it can be done; I have zero discipline generally, so it has come as a real shock as to how good this is.

This is so impressive and inspiring. I plan to start this monday 31st October. Hope I have as much success as you. All the best. Jan x

Good luck Jan, it is great once you get started. First week might feel odd, change of lifestyle, but the results are well worth it!
Drink lots of water!

How wonderful!

AMGSyd, congratulations on your amazing effort and thank you. How amazingly helpful to sign on here for my first time and find all your wonderful tips and tricks. They have made thinking about starting this journey far less daunting. I am in Australia too and wondered if you would mind telling me what type of Burgen bread you used and what brand of feta cheese and muesli please?
Thanks so much.

Oh and muesli brand too please 😃

Hi TrixieS,

Feta Cheese: Minerva Light Feta (but I think they have just stopped making this version)
Museli: Dorset Simply Fruity Museli (quite expensive so I sometimes swap for this brand which has about 30kJ more per 100gm: Lowan Light Natural Museli)
Bread: Burgens SoyLin (has the lowest calories per slice of all version).

I recommend you read the nutrition label on everything. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to swap to another version of the same product and instantly reduce the average calories you consume. For example, Praise Italian Balsamic Dressing Fat Free has 205kJ per 100ml while real balsamic has 328kJ. In other words, Praise tastes very similar on salads but you save 1/3 of KJ.

Thank you so much. I so appreciate your help.

Hi I would like to thank Michael for his excellent research and advice. I have read several of the FAST books and have been putting it into practice, with a few of my own modifications, since I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes this July. As many of us do initially I researched several healthy living and diet plans including Palao, Atkins, low carb, high carb, you name it – several seem completely contradictory and at first it was most confusing but I decided to try as much as possible to follow the evidence and the evidence led me in the direction of interventions that don’t just target sugar/carbs in isolation but in the context of Insulin resistance – particularly carefully paced high intensity exercise combined with intermittent fasting and a healthier diet overall.

So I started out back in July overweight (BMI 29 – not quite obese but at risk of becoming so) and found myself peeing a lot, which took me to the GP who did a urine test and my blood sugar was a whopping 18. Sent me to get a HBa1c screen and that was 96!. Very embarrassing to admit. tbh although I was cycling daily even then and did enjoy things like hiking on weekends I was spending less and less really pushing myself (often too tired to do that) – I was also very much a sugar junkie and had settled into a particularly bad pattern of spending too many sedentary evenings binging on TV and snacks. The GP wanted to put me on insulin straight away but I argued him out of that and we settled on Metformin and I told him I would see what I could do to manage my condition through diet and exercise.

The ‘plan’ I settled on in the end was based on what seemed to work best for me taken from several sources but Michael’s books were a huge help and probably the biggest overall influence – both in terms of diet and exercise. This is what I did:

1) Going cold turkey from anything sweet whatsoever (i.e. no sweetener cheats or even fruit) for the first 2 weeks was really important as it first showed me that I could do it and didn’t need my sweet ‘fix’, but also it retrained my palate. I now find many previously enjoyed foods too sweet and much prefer some nice cheese now for a ‘dessert’.

2) Looking after my gut microbiome was something I added into the FAST plan. We often forget that it’s not just our bodies that help us process food or that determine what happens with it but also our microscopic fellow travellers. In fact it’s possible to tell if someone is obese or not just by examining their gut flora, a diverse flora seems to be the key. So after those 2 ‘cold turkey’ weeks I began to increase my overall fruit, vegetable, nut and seed intake, not just in terms of quantity but also diversity which encourages in turn a more diverse gut microbiome. I also try to include more wild foraged foods and foods from farmers and local markets rather than supermarkets, stinky cheeses, fermented foods, live yoghurts, anything with good bugs in. I have also radically increased my fibre intake and all of this has worked wonders on my bowel habit – I now do epic poos!.

3) I’m also eating a lot less red meat and often have days or weekends of going veggie completely, although I don’t think I could go full on veggie as I do like meat. However I am also eating lots more fish, especially oily, to bump up my omega 3s.

4) While I’m not buying into the whole carbs/grains/gluten = bad argument of the Atkins and Palao crowd, I have reduced the intake of both, but not to extreme levels. Same with dairy. So I may have a couple of slices of bread every few days but not daily and always wholegrain/seeded (preferably dark rye sourdough). Plus an occasional bowl of muesli but again not daily.

5) My intermittent fasting plan combines 5:2 with 16:8 – ie I fast between 8pm and 12 the next day, but twice a week I go a whole day without any food until the evening (maybe at most a piece of fruit and some nuts if I am very active) but just drink plenty of water and green/Roibos tea. And those are the only days I actually count calories to keep them under 600.

6) Finally exercise. I still cycle daily (I don’t drive a car so cycle or walk everywhere) but try to include some HIIT bursts into my cycling on straight stretches. Every 2 days I use the gym at work and do a HIIT plan on the rowing machine which I am gradually increasing reps and resistance on. I go to a yoga class to strengthen my core muscles (floppy belly) and improve my overall flexibility because that was dreadful. I got into Nordic walking on weekends. I enjoy badminton weekly and help run a weekly dance group for older adults with dementia that also incorporates some yoga based warmups and cooldowns and lots of exercise.

So the ‘success story’ is – now after just over 3 months I have managed to pretty much reverse my Type 2 diabetes, in fact my doctor is quite amazed. My latest HBa1c test taken 3 weeks ago was 44 which is close to normal (if they took it now I suspect it would be normal). The person who did the blood analysis at the hospital had attached a note to the practice nurse saying ‘amazing diabetic control – discuss with patient’. I have lost 13 kilos so far, my BMI is back in the green, and my blood glucose has been steadily between 4 and 7 for many weeks now. I find I can even have the occasional treat and it still stays good (in fact I went on a 15 mile hike a few weeks ago and treated myself afterwards to an ice-cream as it was a hot day – my first and only one since I started the plan – tested my bloods when I got home and they were the lowest they had been so far). I’m still taking Metformin but don’t bother with it on fasting days and so suspect I don’t actually need it any more. I am exploring Berberine though as an alternative supplement (been taking it a week now, no ill effects but too soon to tell if it helps).

I’m also much healthier overall – even my skin is clearer and I get less infections and even my asthma and mood have improved (in fact I am coming off anti depressants too).

Great stuff, Monad. Not just weight loss but improvements to health in several areas.
You must be really pleased. I hope the practice nurse and your GP have taken note for others in the future. You obviously have lots of willpower, but sometimes people need more than that by being pointed in the right direction. There are so many opinions, some of them conflicting, as you say, it’s hard for ordinary folk to know where to start.
So, my thanks too to Dr. MM and Prof Taylor. And congratulations to you, Monad.

Yes, congrats Monad. It seems like you are really embrassing the change in lifestyle which seems to be so important for sustainable improvements. Very inspiring.

Thanks, I know it does take some will power to stick to a plan but I think it also very much depends on how well you integrate it into your lifestyle. As an occupational therapist I understand that having the volition isn’t always enough if you also don’t adapt your habits, routines and skills, and any changes have to be meaningful, and realistic, for each person. Otherwise making such changes can seem difficult for people because they think it’s all a matter of will power and that they see themselves as not having enough so don’t try or set themselves goals they can’t achieve, when in fact if you are able to make some relatively small changes in your habits and routines that fit into your everyday life meaningfully you can achieve much more than just trying to will yourself there. When you see those small initial changes having an impact then you can start to expand your horizons and see for yourself that you can do it. I have a busy job and am doing a research doctorate as well so I can’t spend hours at the gym so I needed something that I could do in 30 minutes or less and also to just change how I do things like cycling to incorporate HIIT principles and running up the stairs as fast as I can at work instead of the lift etc.

Self esteem is also important; one downside of losing so much weight is I have dropped nearly 2 clothes sizes so I’ve just been out clothes shopping and now I find I am choosing nicer looking clothes because I feel more confident about how I look whereas before I would just throw on any old thing that fitted.

Loved your story Monad. And the strategies you adopted are something we can all learn from. Well done and how exciting!

Hello – I am going to share! Next week is the six month mark from when I started the BSD. I love this diet. I truly do. It is the only way of eating that I have managed to lose weight on and actually change my eating habits in the long term.

The first 8 weeks were oh so hard. I only had 2 stone to lose but for me – that was 2 stone too much. I was in the late overweight category of BMI as I have heavy bones. I was unhappy with my looks. More unhappy than I realised for when I look at myself now, I realise how much confidence I didn’t have. Thank you BSD for giving me back my confidence! I had carried this extra weight for about 4 years, and every diet I tried I strayed because I was always too hungry.

BSD happened when I knew it was now or never. The reasons it is so successful for me:

1 – The fats allowed fill me up and stop me wanting to chew constantly. They make meals tasty. Other diet meals had always been so boring. No mayonnaise, no butter, no oil, no cream….

2 – Carbs were my issue. My big issue. On slimming world I would consume lots of pasta and potato because it was “free”. So of course I was hungry.

3 – I have/had candida. To kill the monster it required the extreme Fast 800 and v. low sugar levels. Now killed, my cravings and uncontrollable binges have slipped away. After every diet attempt, this issue would still linger and I would sabotage the pounds I had lost.

4 – I easily tripled my water intake and kept everything flowing through. Water infections have often been an issue for me and this has started to reduce them 🙂 As well as flushing all the fat through.

I have quite a few digestive health issues and this diet has really helped to calm them down. Feeling so much better physically has helped me to stick to the diet and stay in maintenance for nearly 4 months now 🙂 I did a little online quiz the other day about what diet was best for me. The answers I plugged in were the ones I would have given pre BSD. Guess what? It told me that intermittent fasting and low carb is the way for me. If I had read that before, I would have given up, having never been a faster. Now it is my way of life. Thank you so much BSD!

Hi Barista girls…

Well written diary of your months to date, hear hear for many of us. The ease and results just WORK well for most of us. Eleven mates have now asked for info, most have bought the book, however some still read FAST as days without food and switch off. Once they understand about the low cal and the wait between meals is THE FAST they try it. I guess for most people who are overweight the idea of not eating something all day all night at will is a challenge.

I can remember you struggling a bit in the early days, how is the other girl of the girls going? I am now on the 36th week and won’t stop yet, I feel too good and am not struggling, maintaining is the game now. Yesterday I had a rear CDO and PDO combined. Calorie day off, pedometer day off. I survived but did a few calculations in my head from time to time, may or may not have to break that habit. My confidence is back like yours, I walk differently, I feel worthy, why I wonder because I have always been worthy, I think I am more authentic to myself of how I think I should be, and could have been if carbs had been dealt with when I was a kid. I feel a chunk of the population is predestined to obesity purely because of the slavery to them.

Enjoy the rest of your BSD journey.
N

Hello Nettle, thank you 🙂 and I am so glad you are reaping the benefits too. My mum is the other girl 🙂 and she’s plateauing at the moment but pushing on with the intention of another 8 week Fast 800 as she had more to lose. She looks so different already though 🙂

Hello I’d like to share my story. I have just completed 8 weeks of BSD. I started because I was diagnoised as prediabetic and wanted to change my lifestyle before it was too late. Initally I found the 800 cals a day very tough, no carbs was a real challenge, I love bread, pasta, potatoes! I did find that I had “carb flu” in the first week, but increase in water helped this. I had a holiday during the 8 weeks and still managed to lose weight, never be for has that happened! I have now realised that my mindset has changed. I eat delicious homemade food (love cooking and find different ways to make meals work without carbs) The biggest difference now is when I feel hungry I have a drink of sparkling water (drink 2 litres a day) and most often I’m not hungry. I don’t eat anything low calorie foods, I strongly believe that the diet “stuff” does make you feel more hungry. I don’t get a “starving” feeling any more. I can control my hunger like I never could before. I have lost 30lb so far and have another 30lb to go. I have changed my eating and my lifestyle so will continue with this eating plan. I love it, I feel healthier and exercise is much easier. My husband came along for the ride, he’s only slightly overweight, he has lost 7lb also, he also enjoys the new dishes.
I am a 53 year old lady who has been on a diet most of my adult life. At last I have found out why those diets never worked.
If I can offer any adivce – if in doubt drink water, keep away from “low calorie” foods, they are not helpful and write a journal.
Finally I have a blood test due next week, so fingers crossed I’m no longer in the prediabetic range.

Good luck everyone, it’s worth the journey

HI AMGSyd, me again, after now reading the book I have noticed that you decided to keep bread and also vitaweats in your diet, whereas it seemed to me in the book they are discouraging bread. I would obviously prefer to keep bread too but I was just wondering why you decided to do that? I don’t really like the idea of giving up gluten completely. Thanks

Hi all, I hope you don’t think I’m a bit of a fraud but I wanted to share my story (though nowhere near as impressive as some of you on here!) I’m a 54 year old woman and I’ve always had a tendency to gain weight and like so many on here, I have probably tried most diets (except WeightWatchers and Slimming World and the like because I think they’re just a big con!). I starred the 5:2 in 2012 because I liked the science and I did it more for the health benefits because I’m not actually ‘over-weight’ – BMI 24. However, many years ago, I realised that carbs just make me want more carbs! The whole thing about having breakfast? If I had toast, cereal etc, I would be chewing my own arm off by 10.30, so I just stopped having breakfast and found I could easily go until lunchtime, but then that would still be sandwiches or other carb-loaded stuff. I also love baking, especially cake and I was becoming more and more a sugar addict.
Last year, I read Sugar, the Sweet Poison, by David Gillespie and realised just how much a ‘poison’ it really is, I started doing Primal – which actually is sooo similar to BSD! Then of course, a few weeks ago, I discovered the BSD – my weight had slowly crept up and I was close to being my heaviest ever, but still in the ‘normal’ range. So I measured my waist – what a shocker! Well over the ‘half your height’ recommendation. I realised then that I am a TOFI so really embraced the BSD. I am now at my lightest for many, many years, (BMI 23), I have a tonne of energy and I don’t think I have felt hungry once. My waist is now less than half my height. I still want to lose about half a stone more because I think I am still carrying too much belly fat. But I wouldn’t go back to any other way of eating – I don’t even want carbs, don’t eat sweet stuff, not even fruit a lot of the time and I feel great.
I think I just want to show that this way of eating (I don’t like the word ‘diet’ – it has too many negative connotations) is for everyone. I suspect that some people may dismiss it because they are not diabetic, or like me, not even ‘officially’ over-weight. I am positively evangelical about it and will tell everyone I can. I wonder how many low-level health/energy/ problems could be eradicated if people embraced this – and the health authorities actually brought their advice up to date!
Sorry for the long post!
SSB

Hi SSB, how well I relate to everything you’ve said here. Well done, more power to you. Let maintenance be your friend (i’m not there yet, but I will be). Thanks for sharing.

Hi All, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in September 2016. I’m 52 male, weigh 76 kg & 1.71m tall with slim built. The Doctor immediately wanted to start me on medication. However, I requested that she gave me some time as I was already on Cholesterol medication and didn’t want to take more medication. So the Doctor told me to get off sugar and will have a blood checked in December before going onto the diabetic medication. I went off sugar immediately and was struggling to reduce my weight despite my daily walk a jog. After 2 to 3 weeks I lost about 0.5 to 1kg but it was still fluctuating. I then came across Michael Moseley’s 8 weeks Blood sugar diet in the book store in early October. I started the diet after reading the book on the 14th October 2016 and completed my 8 weeks on the 9th December. The first week was quite difficult because you felt hungry but after that I got used to 400 grams serving for Lunch and dinner. I have rolls oats for breakfast mixed with strawberries and blue berries and 3 fruits & some nuts between morning tea and lunch. I walked approximately 3 km daily. Just by adhering to the BSD diet I lost 6 kg within 2 weeks and was at the ideal weight the doctor wanted me to be.
I had my blood test done and visited the doctor last week. I was very anxious as to the outcome because I didn’t want to take the diabetes medication. The doctor took my weight and I was 68kg which means I lost 8kg. she was also rap with the blood test results and mentioned that in her 40 odd years practice, she has only seen 1 person who managed to revert type 2 diabetes and now I’m the second person. I now don’t need to go on diabetic medication. She also mentioned that even the cholesterol level were down.
I would like to thank Dr Mosley and his team for publishing this diet and also to take this opportunity to encourage all those who are on this diet and suffering from pre or type 2 diabetes to stick to it . Wish all of you the best and a Merry Christmas.

Hey Joshua

Many congratulations what a great Christmas present! It must also raise your GPs spirits to have a patient who is motivated and informed enough to change their diagnosis.

Joshua, what a great outcome. Congratulations. A fantastic achievement. Thanks for the inspiration. Best wishes for the holiday season and for the future.