JGwen – Am taking 500mg l-carnatine. Very interesting that you say you feel hot when you take more. When I started the l-carnatine I had to cut the Co-enzyme Q10 by half because I didn’t quite feel right. Couldn’t pin it down to anything specific but I felt much better on half a dose (I take the very bio-available version of it which works for me as the ordinary Q10 didn’t do anything – so it might mean that by adding the l-carnatine it made it much more potent, which didn’t feel good.)

Very interesting to read that you felt too hot if you took more l-carnatine. Up to this morning I hadn’t noticed if I felt hotter or not. But this morning – which is much cooler I did the early morning dog walk without a jacket and felt perfectly warm. Husband was concerned because I am the cold one and he is the warm one and he said it was cool enough for a jacket. Another dog walker said the same.

Thank you for the link – at the moment my new computer won’t play it so I need to look further at the settings.

Allie – I also find that if I have a coffee instead of a missed meal that I don’t feel at all hungry or miss the meal so it makes the 2 meals a day do-able for me. I must confess though that I add cream to mine which feels very wicked after all those years of low fat. I think the naughtiness of it helps also because I feel I am having a special treat and I don’t in the least bit feel deprived.

\by the way – my rings are now safe – so thank you for the info on adjusting ring size.

Thanks Mrs T, 16:8 worked well for me so far today. I was hungry at 11am so had some hommus and veggies. Lucky I did as all my meetings ran late and I didn’t get to have lunch until almost 2pm, then I had dinner at 7pm. So now I’ll wait at least 16 hours before eating again.
I’m lucky that I don’t have a sweet tooth – one of my colleagues bought in a box of donuts but I was able to refuse easily. I do find a lot of foods taste “too sweet”. My vices are cheese, wine, nuts and chips!
Hope everyone else is going well 🙂

Good Morning Zoomers
Been a hectic week so sorry not to join earlier been reading the posts as and when I can.
this week I have not lost any weigt due to several social events but much to my suprise I have had a NSV!
A dress I bought last year was slightly too small and would gape around the bust area. It now fits and I can wear it I am so happy.

JGwen and KrysiaD I am really interested in the information that you have provided on L-carnatine. apart from using it myself I can see this could be of great benefit to my father who is starting to struggle with his memory. I will need to discuss this with my mother but thank you both very much.
I had never heard of this as a supplement ( though I know of carnatine from my past life as a biology student), it sounds as if this could be very powerful
Anyway joining this thread and going to KOKO
MM

So I’ve just started Week Five, so far I’ve lost 17lbs which is great and I’ve done this largely by sticking to the BSD diet book but avoiding the heavier carb loads. For the next four weeks I’m seriously aiming and planning to stick to around 20g carbs a day. It’s not easy, requires a lot of planning (which I really hate) but hopefully it will pay dividends as I would really like to lose another 14lbs in the next four weeks/month – any advice/help is most welcome.
I’m drinking between 2-3litres of water a day, more days around the 2l mark though. I’ve upped my complete couch potato status and I’m doing 3-4 exercise classes a week – hoping this will help too.
One thing I am noticing is that my skin is pretty dry – has anyone else experienced this?
Tonight my main meal will be salmon steak and avocado salsa. Lunch was scrambled eggs and a slice of ham.
Well good luck for the next four weeks everyone. Please do share your meal options, it helps us newbies!

Great losses so far toddy! Congratulations! I too am halfway through week 5 so a similar stage to you. Yes any meal ideas that anyone has would be very welcome as I too am running very low on ideas, and it’s a real help for newbies to steal some ideas 😊

Hi everyone. Total newbie here on day 1! Aiming to get control of my PCOS so I can have kids in the near future. Everything I try just leaves me even bigger than before so I really hope this works. But I know I need to commit to it.
Anyone got any tips for a newbie?

Good luck lolly t. This will work so stick with it. I have tried many diets over the years and this works. Lost 34 lbs in 9 weeks still going half way there. I have had IVF and had to get BMI to 30 8 years ago did Weight Watchers but was always hungry. Not on this though. Recommend you look up Zita West fertility expert. My staple foods are eggs, spinach and Berry smoothies portobello mushrooms with goats cheese and chicken. Lovely wrapped in pancetta. If you haven’t got his recipe book buy it. Ooh and cauliflower cheese is lush. Good luck Catherine
😀

Ladies, those of you who are eager for new meal ideas…Have a look at a thread that’s entitled
“GOOD EATS…” It’s a wonderful resource for low carb cooking!

Allie

Hi lolly! I’m halfway through my 5th week of the diet, and it does work. When I started I had zero confidence in myself and my ability to stick to it. Thanks to the kindness and encouragement of those on this forum I have stuck with it and have lost over a stone, with my goal weight in sight. My experience so far was that initially it was tough. I felt rubbish, I didn’t think I could stick at it but by around day 4/5 I had started to get into a rhythm with my meals and a routine of set meals and it somehow got easier. I started seeing changes to my weight very quickly which helped spur me on. However it hasn’t always been plain sailing. I have fallen off the wagon several times…I absolutely adore sugar and the comfort I get from chocolate, biscuits and cakes is indescribable. I think that will never change. Anyway I don’t feel qualified to give any “advice” but I would just say;
1. Take it one meal at a time. Congratulate yourself for each meal you’ve done well and know that it slowly adds up
2. Know that you will slip up but the important thing is not to give up but to just make the next meal a good one
3. Drink water and have something in place for when cravings hit e.g. Herbal tea, a good film to watch, a long bath, or just going to bed early
Good luck with it, I hope your first day has gone well! There are lots of very knowledgeable people on this forum so I would learn from them and take their advice!

Thanks Allie…have found the “good eats” thread!

Welcome LollyT!
I’ve no personal experience with PCOS but this way of eating has definitely helped me with the raging hormones, I used to get really, really bad PMS which has been toned down to slight crankiness and some bloating so I’d imagine this could really benefit PCOS sufferers.

I’ve been getting back to my fasting frame of mind this week and feel so much better for it.

Guys I’m wondering if any of you follow any other fora or Facebook groups compatible with this lifestyle? Any recommendations?
I’m much more used to Tapatalk type of discussions where you can quote, pm, share pics etc and I’m also finding there to be a bit of a vibe I don’t care for here at the moment… :/

Crikey I’ve not felt any vibe! Is there anything specifically that’s bothering you? Xx

Was just wondering th same thing Mrs T.
Amarela I belong to a closed FB a group called 8 week blood sugar diet friends, there’s about 15k members on there and we share recipes, ideas etc. but to be honest I find the forums friendlier.
I was in another FB group but had to leave as people got really nasty towards one another if they didn’t agree on things. I find my forum friends a lovely, friendly, supportive bunch and we have the added bonus of anonymity here 🙂

Thank you everyone for all your kind comments and tips! Already feel so positive and supported! And weirdly after just 1 day I feel a lot better – calmer hormones, bloating gone, cravings going 😀
Yesterday I’d decided not to tell my other half about this, as I was worried he’d get annoyed – we’ve been together 3 years and I’ve constantly been trying new diets and ways to battle the weight and PCOS only to end up fatter and fatter. Last night I caved and told him because I knew it’d be tricky to keep it a secret and he was so supportive! Fingers crossed this is the last time I have such a huge amount of weight to lose.

Amarela, I think I understand what you mean. The format isn’t great and it’d be good to be able to share photos etc more easily, but you do all seem like a really friendly and supportive small group, which is less intimidating than the massive facebook groups.

Hi All — I get sad when I read that perhaps a “bad” vibe has somehow developed on our forums — there is no way we can be here on such momentous issues in our lives and not knock heads now and then — these are hard, lifetime problems for most of us and we are literally trying to change lifetime habits and mindsets.
This is BIG work! This is NOT easy. Everyone here is doing an amazing job of just FACING the problem of our weight and diabetes. We are taking full responsibility for ourselves in a way we have never done before. I am SO proud to be a part of this group and be honored with the struggles that people share with me.
We aren’t perfect — we will disagree and get mad and write less than perfect posts. But it’s good for us because we are often, for the first time, also finding our own unique voice. It is part of our work on the BSD — to find our new inner selves.
Anyone feeling frustrated, please stay — your voice is very important to all of us.

Well all I’ve experienced here thankfully has been positive, so I’m genuinely interested in what you’ve found negative Amarela. Maybe it’s on a board that I’ve not seen?
There’s so much stress in the “real” world that the last thing I will tolerate is stress in the “virtual” one. We need a safe place to ask questions, learn and express how we’re feeling as we go through this process as those in “real” life who aren’t doing it can’t particularly relate. Let’s keep it supportive here…we need to be helping and encouring each other to get through tough times and slip ups that we inevitably make on this journey. If we’re not doing that then there’s no point to this forum.

Hi Zoomers.
A few months ago I saw a suggestion that thinking about WHY we want to loose weight is far more powerful than just setting a target in lbs. – Its much easier to stay motivated if you focus on a bigger aim, which can be about a personal passion for an activity, or a looking good for a special event, than the reading on the bathroom scales. Some of us have discussed our WHY’s on the forums at different times,
The zoom and weekly challenges, where we report progress on weight targets in on a weekly basis has proved very helpful to many of us. I thought it would be worth setting up a similar idea focusing on our None Scale aims.
The title is My NSV has set me free! I’ve got a non scale victory! The initial idea is that its a place for people to share their WHY and report in on progress on a weekly basis. – As each person’s why is likely to be different, I don’t have any strong views on the details, such as should the thread run for a set period of time. – Lets see what works for us and go from there.
Lets have a different day for reporting progress to the weight challenges. – How about having our non scale report day on a Monday.

Hi everyone.
I thought that Zoomers had gone all quiet on me, but it turned out that I hadn’t press ’email me everytime someone posts’. So I’ve been missing out!
I’m still here my goals are still health and healthy weight, healthy eating for a long and happy life that’s evidence based.
Looking forward to Tuesday as I seemed to have stalled with no weight loss in week 4 and this will be week 5 on Tuesday. Surely something will have moved!
Though NSV of being told I’m looking good and colleagues noticing my more shapely self is nice.
KOKO!

Got on the scales this morning… Bugger. Still at 198.
I think I’m going to have to consider smaller salads and take more notice of the peas and beans I’m putting in them. My broad bean crop is eaten now anyway so it’s just the French left.
And it’s one piece of grilled chicken in the salad not 2 today.
And this is while I’m doing 16/8!

Any suggestions?

Hi @theblackspot I’ve had the same thing. I’ve fluctuated by 2-3kg for the last 10 days with no true downward movement, despite being strict about my 800 calories for a good six weeks now. My waist measurement has gone down by 2cm (7cm/2.7 inches in total), so there’s that, at least.

I’m still weighing all my food, but I might adjust my macros from 30gm to 20gm, and try to add in a longer walk each day. I wish I could pull off 16/8! I’m like 14/10 but hopefully will get to your level soon.

Has only else hit a plateau in during the two month period? Interested to know how long they last for.

Well done SueBlue, wishing you every success. You’ve got this!

MrsT your dream made me laugh 😄

Theblackspot
Plateaus are really common – but it’s really annoying when the scales don’t budge. Even if the scales don’t budge at least you know that really good things are happening inside your body and you are moving closer to your real goal of living a happy and long life.

A good idea to look at portion sizes and carb levels. For me it is usually an increase in the good carbs that stops the scales going down.

At the moment I am having the reverse problem. Am trying to slow down the weight loss as I am just hovering over 9st. and don’t want to go very much lower.

So decided to increase the cream in my coffee to increase calories. Not a good move because after meal blood sugars shot up to 7.9 when normally it would be between 5.5 and 6.6. Am OK with 100ml of cream a day but it looks like more is not OK. The next thing I tried was adding a couple of extra tsps of coconut oil to meals which resulted in blood sugars plummeting down to around 4 for about 24 hours. It did drop to 3.8 – but as I am no longer on insulin I didn’t correct it by eating. I thought it would correct itself – and it did. Everything running smoothly again with blood sugars not going lower than 4.8 or higher than 6.6.

Have lost another half inch around waist and can only think that I am getting rid of some stubborn liver fat with the 18/6 which is making everything work better but it is still a bit hit and miss. So am still learning what works for me – even after a year and a half on maintenance.

Hi Sydneysider and theblackspot.
This topic comes up quite often on the forums. – First of all your initial weight loss will have been water loss, after a time you move over to fat loss. The body doesn’t empty a fat cell at a time, instead it works on an area of fat taking a little fat out of each cell and replacing it with water, when all of the batch of fat cells have lost all the fat they collapse releasing all the water, look up whoosh effect.
Secondly muscle is more dense than fat, so if you are feeling better and being more active so you are building muscle your weight will stay the same but your size will be reducing. – Building muscle is good, it raises your metabolic rate so will make it easier to enter maintenance.
My personal experience is that I started in october 2017. Initially I was loosing weight, for the last couple of months I have lost a dress size and only 1kg.
My advice would be to not fixate on the numbers on the bathroom scales that no one else sees, lift your head up and take notice and advantage of all the other positives this WOE brings, how much energy you have and enjoy life, as long as you keep eating low carbs and keep your cals down your body will continue to improve at its own pace.

Hi Blackspot and Sydneysider – there’s two things that should make a difference; cutting carbs down to 20g and making sure you’re drinking enough water. Also, are you including enough fat in your diet? I know there isn’t massive scope given the calories we’re juggling but It’s really effective at keeping you feeling full.
Maggie

Thank you all for the great insights! You all really help me to keep the motivation flowing 🙂

Fats are a challenge but I generally have 1 or 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, 20g full fat feta and tuna or salmon most days. I track food in MFP and keep fat at 50 percent of my intake.

20g carbs, here I come. Does anyone else worry about eating enough veggies at this level? I’m normally a five serves a day girl but that’s not really possible with 20g.

I also think plateaus are very common at around the 4-5 week mark, KOKO and it will come off eventually. Agree with Maggie that going down to 20g in carbs and upping water helped me at that time.

Coconut oil, how do you all use it? I’ve a jar sitting in my cupboard but not sure what to do with it. I think it because I think of sweet things when I think of coconut, like a bounty bar hah 😄

Sydneysider you should be OK with green vegetables – remember to subtract the fibre from the total amount of carbs.
Maggie

Amarela I mostly use coconut oil in my coffee., but it’s fine as a frying oil. I think some people may be more sensitive to the flavour than others, but I find it OK.
Maggie

Hi sydneysider! I’m always late to the party because I’m in the states… I had exactly the same experience.
Two months in I hit a plateau that lasted for 18 days! I dropped the carbs to keto levels (<20) and upped my
water intake, and never had another one 🙂 Weight loss was a very consistent 3.5lbs a week after that.

Allie

Maggiebath, you just said something great that I had not thought of. Take the first off the carb total. I’m guessing thats because it’s not digestible?
I will try being much stricter on all areas and increase the water intake. Initially I was drinking 3 litres a day, but that has dropped off a lot as.my body has got used to this woe I think, I’m just not as thirsty!

Non scale victory of the day, just measured my BP. 126/82.
2 months ago it was 180/100.
This is a huge deal for me, and I am actively recomendi g the BSD book and forum to my patients as a result of how well things are going.
Would still like the scales to shift though!

That is amazing Blackspot! That blood pressure is life changing – wait till your GP asks you how you achieved it 😄
Another thing I slipped up on was exercise – it’s been so hot lately I haven’t been walking long distances with the dogs, I wonder if some of these small things sliding has a cumulative effect.
And yes, disregard the fibre element because as you say it’s indigestible.
Maggie

Amerala – I use coconut oil for stir fries – it’s especially nice with Thai style
Stir Fries and curries. I’ve also added I to porridge – there’s a recipe in the 8 week BSD recipe book for it along with a good explanation of fatty acids and studies on how they improve weight loss.

Hi Sidneysider! Regarding eating enough veggies while very low carb, eat lots of greens! Chard (chop fine, slow sauté with butter), spinach (steam then top with olive oil lemon juice and salt), collards (sautéed or steamed with bacon), bok Choy (steam and top with soy and ginger), parsley (sautéed with olive oil and top with capers and almonds) etc etc…
You can get all the veg you need with greens! I don’t even count the carbs from greens — they are so few after you subtract the fiber.
And they are PACKED with nutrients.

Excellent news, blackspot! I’m glad that you are re-connected with the forums. Similar experience for me
also, re BP. Mine changed from 160/90 to 120/70. This lifestyle is nothing short of miraculous 🙂 After decades
of high bp, I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, so I’m very grateful to have found a way to get the strain
off my heart! In what capacity do you work with patients?

Allie

Allie, I’m a paramedic.
As such I get a to spend much longer in peoples homes than a GP spends with them in a doctors examining room.
Seeing how everyone in the house lives, and what is ‘normal’ food & behavior in the family…
Having useful advice and references that I can give to people, based on my own experience is really useful and powerful.

That’s wonderful, blackspot! You are making a difference every single day 🙂 Hopefully the NHS will catch up
eventually, but in the meantime, we have people like you on the front lines, spreading the word. It must be very
rewarding work! Hats off to you 🙂

Allie

Just posting my results for this week. 1lb down to 9st and a half pounds. Another half an inch lost around my waist and blood sugars lurking in the low 5s.

Great results KrisiaD!
I’ve not been on the scales yet today, due to a horrificly early start. Off work tomorrow so will check in then. Fingers crossed!

Hi fellow zoomers. I am in a quandary! I have been on this forum since I started and am now on my second round so in total been doing it 10 weeks. Loving it feel great now lost 38lbs. Joined a FB blood sugar group who are dead against repeating the 8weeks and pointed me to the life after FB group which I joined. I have another 3 stone to go and feel fine and consistently losing I am worried about changing cos why mess if its working. Would I damage my health if I kept going?
Thanks again for any advice
😀

Me again this is what I was told based on thousands of members experience and it has alarmed me….

Should you do a round 2 of the 8 weeks @800 calories a day?
Our advice, based on members experiences & long term health & success is a definite NO
Why?
– we’ve had people with major hair loss
– we’ve had virtually all people regain the weight lost on subsequent rounds later
– we’ve had many people lose hardly anything on subsequent rounds
– we’ve had many women suffer with hormone disruption
Why is this?
– 800 calories is insufficient to give your body the nutrition it needs to function
Yes, 8 weeks is amazing to get you your 10% weight loss and the brilliant health benefits this brings
BUT after that your body will start to fight against it and it will win the argument. Even if you have willpower of steel eventually you’ll lose the battle
Please please for your own health and to keep your body amazing join us on the life after page and learn the forever way of life to continue your amazing journey to full health and don’t be tempted to do subsequent rounds. Many of us have been successful on diets before only to lose the battle later….don’t let BSD be another disappointment 💪💪💪

Hi Catherine, I’m really interested in responses to this. I’m only on the first round but have 6 stone to lose before I’m a healthy BMI, so was thinking of doing 3 rounds and seeing where I am then. But that is quite alarming. In the book he recommended going onto a second round if you needed to didn’t he? maybe if you have a few weeks break in between of 5:2 it’s okay?

Hi Lolly that’s why I wanted to ask experienced zoomers for advice. I thought that you could repeat till you got to healthy BMI. I will email the man himself I think 🤔

great idea! Just flicked through the book again and it’s really unclear if you can keep going after 8 weeks. But he doesn’t explicitly say no…

I fully intend to keep up until I reach my healthy weight and I know there are several forum members here who have done several rounds back to back without any ill effect.

I think we’re all adults here and know if it’s working for us or not… for me personally I’m not hungry, I’m full of energy, cycle is regular, skin and hair better than it has been in 10 years etc so I have no qualms about it.

I’ve lost 50lbs now and am still overweight so I think my body has enough fat to sustain itself for a while longer 😉

Thanks Amarela, needed that burst of optimism! How long have you been doing it now?

Hi Lolly and Catherine – Michael Mosely said in the Mail this weekend that 12 weeks is fine. I really don’t have any time for that Group – you’d think they invented the BSD they’re so bossy. When I contradicted some particularly crass advice on eating 1 – 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight per day and linked to supporting evidence they deleted my post on the grounds that it was promoting sexual violence!
So, I think it’s just an ego thing on the part of the admins on that Group.
On the issue of repeating I’d just say beware it doesn’t become misread by your body as calorie restriction. My understanding is that can happen after 12 weeks, but it doesn’t mean it will.
What I’m doing is intermittent fasting, which I’m sure you know all about, but basically making sure my body has the opportunity to be in a fat burning state; I also make sure I mix it up, no two days the same. Another way of approaching it is time restricted eating, fitting your meals into a limited period of time, the earlier in the day you stop eating the better. Obviously that’s something that needs fitting into your life.
Must fly, but any thing unclear just ask!
Maggie

I’m on week 3 of round 2… I think? Summer holidays and the heat have me very confused about days and dates 😀
I did sort of have 2 weeks in between my round 1 and 2 as we were abroad but I found it very most comfortable to stick to the BSD principles and maintained the weight lost.

Sure the weight loss is slower now than it was in the beginning but I’m past the halfway point to my goal weight so I guess it’s normal.

Hi Catherine and LollyT,
Thought I’d post my experience.

I just carried on through on 800 cals/20g carbs from August 17 to April 18. After 5 months I started feeling tired and posted asking people for advice about continuing on 800 cals or not. Here’s the thread with people’s responses https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/5-months-in-is-it-time-to-up-my-800-cals-or-not-quite/ – ignore the chit-chat!

I felt fine for most of the time, brilliant in fact, but when I posted this question I was starting to flag a bit. With hindsight I think I just wasn’t eating a wide enough variety of foods (I’m the same now!). While I’d started BSD well, I’d ended up just eating the same meals over and over for quickness and wasn’t getting enough nutrients, maybe.

In this post I decide to stop for a while, but after a couple of weeks I changed my mind and decided to carry on with the 800cals/20 carbs until I reached my initial 9 stone goal. I was more careful about eating a wider variety of food and I felt fine. I lost 5 stone in total. I’m 5ft 2ins and I still need to lose a wee bit more to get my waist size right etc but for now I’ve decided to stop, rest, let my body catch up with me a bit.
One of the other posters, Liz, did decide to pause before she did another round and she’s been equally successful. As JackieM used to say, listen to your body and I don’t think you’ll go far wrong; and as the brilliant Esnecca advised: You do you!

Marie xx
nb I know Jason Fung talks about any restriction in cals eventually lowering your metabolic rate but if that’s the case mine will have been buggered up years ago. Still, Maggie’s advice about changing things up might be good to bear in mind.

I will be interested to read anything you get back from MM’s team xx

Well I’m just setting out on round 2 . I don’t follow the book precisely but I stick to 800 Cals and around 40 g of carbs some days less . My downfall is the water I still don’t drink enough but I try . This WOE suits me and it’s not too difficult when eating out . We are away again this weekend so I willbe careful but this WOE is easier the longer you do it . When I think about what I would put away at a free help yourself breakfast bar I cringe! Eggs are always a good fall back or grilled toms with mushrooms.
Goodbye toast and hash browns I don’t need you any more !

I’ve just re-read the thread I posted – didn’t realise how much of it is ‘chat’ – sorry – but the advice is still good.