As usual, Facebook turns into “in Your Face Book” — Catherine and Lolly, you can keep on keeping on for more than 8 weeks, usually with only good outcomes. There are many people here who have continued for several rounds of 8 weeks (including me) but clearly, if you are not doing well, you should modify.
That said, I think many many people already “modify” because they have bad days, eat too much at a party, go on holiday etc etc. — those are modifications anyway so probably most people “modify” more than they would like to admit!
I would think that the issue of regaining the weight is not because of the diet but because people returned to their old habits. This is not a diet per se but a new way of eating for the rest of your life.
Those people are just trying to get support for their own bad behaviors. I would just stop reading it.

Hi Amarela like you I feel great and what you say makes sense. You are doing amazing. I have another 3 stone so have decided to keep going after reading all your comments.

😀 Catherine

Thank you Maggie. I agree very bossy and no flexibility. I will try the time restricted approach when I start to plateau at the mo going down each week..

😀 Catherine

Hi Californiagirl I could hug you you talk perfect sense!! 😀

Hi Marie wow you have done fantastically. The comments are helpful and I will make an effort to widen my menu as I do tend to get stuck on favourites eg cod chorizo! I have decided to keep going being sensible. Will let you know if I hear back from Dr M! 😀

Hi Catherine70 I followed Fast800 from October to March and am now maintaining. My hair did get quite a bit thinner in the period April-June. I hadn’t linked it to this way of eating, but I suppose it could be related – perhaps too little protein? So I would suggest you take a multivitamin/mineral tablet and keep an eye on protein levels. By the way, I am having cod chorizo tonight!

Hi Caron good choice for tea it is 😋. I once lost a lot of weight quickly with the Cambridge diet was on 500 calories for 12 weeks and started eating and lost half my hair. I think not enough protein can be an issue so I make sure I have a big portion of chicken or fish daily. Also take a vitamin pill daily. Do you feel great you have done amazing
😀 Catherine

Catherine I feel absolutely fantastic! I thought by now that I would be used to my new shape. But it still surprises me now and again! A neighbour stopped me in the street last week to ask if I had lost weight. The people in my choir keep congratulating me… I have a size 12-14 summer wardrobe – unbelievable. I was last this weight in about 1984. So yes…I feel great! Good luck to you on your journey1

Thank you Caron. So good to hear you feel great and sounds like you look great. Wow to be size 12/14 enjoy the compliments you deserve them!
😀 Catherine

Hi Caron, it is so encouraging to hear that you’ve hit your 1984 weight; I’m on my final 6 pounds till I reach mine, and it’s slow but fantastic to know that it is doable 🤗
Maggie

The discussion about protein is interesting. As I progressed on BSD I found myself craving steak which was very strange as I had only ever eaten steak twice before I started the BSD last August. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve eaten it since last August. In fact, I’ve only just started eating a lot less of it and moved back to more chicken and fish. Looking back I did wonder if it was to do with needing more protein.

caronl – how fantastic – to be back at that weight again xx

In the protein and satisfying/ nutrient dense theme, I’m a fan of lambs liver…
I read about it being a much more vitamin packed meat.
It wasn’t something I’d had as a kid, and I approached it with caution, but…
Thinly sliced & lightly fried in butter it’s very nice.
On last months thread I was banging on about eating the rainbow and how narrow our diet had become. At the time I was thinking about vegies and salad leaves, but I guess it would apply to the protein we have too.

Some interesting discussion here about how long to follow 800 calories for. I started in Jan 2017, and some of the people I started with stayed on 800 calories until they reached their goal weight, so for some it was a year or more.
I know first hand how unhelpful ‘that’ Facebook group is. I’ve heard of people being booted out of the group because they mention porridge for example!
Nowadays I belong to a much nicer, more helpful and supportive one called ‘8 week blood sugar diet friends’.
I’ve had a good first week with a 1.3kg (2.8lb) loss. Now to keep going! I got up at 6am today so that I can make bolognaise sauce in my slow cooker before going to work. I love my slow cooker and use it all year round, but it’s especially nice in winter to come home to dinner already cooked 🙂
I batch cooked some soups last week, chicken & vegetable, pumpkin & chorizo and a green vegetable one, so that’s my lunches sorted for a few weeks.
How is everyone else doing?

Sue you are so organised!! Good for you, you’ve got the organisation down to a tee 🤗
I’m a bit odd, I could live on mixed leaves so don’t need to plan much, just to make sure I’ve got protein available.
So, you’ve been working with the BSD for a while – how’s it going for you?
Maggie

Hi Sue well done on your loss great start. I much prefer this friendly supportive forum than the FB group! You have inspired me to buy a slow cooker been thinking of buying one but you have convinced me. Good luck 🍀
😀 Catherine

Thanks Catherine, you’ll find a slow cooker a great investment 🙂 this is my favourite slow cooker breakfast recipe:
https://www.theyummylife.com/Slow_Cooker_Apple_Cinnamon_Oatmeal
I just leave out the maple syrup and sugar – as well as being not on plan, it really doesn’t need it as the apple and cinammon give it a lovely flavour (I always add extra cinammon).
Maggie – I wish I could say I was close to goal, I really should be as I’ve been following BSD for 18 months now! A lot of the time I’ve been sticking to the principles only and not counting calories, I’m also on various medications which interfere with weight loss, so my loss has been slow. Last year I lost 10kg, but I stalled after Christmas. I guess the good thing is that the majority of the weight I did lose has stayed off, although the last 2 months has seen a small gain.
I firmly believe in the BSD, I know from experience that it does work, I just need to be more disciplined (and drink less wine!) as I’d still like to lose another 10-18kg.

Well done on keeping that loss off Sue. It must be such a pain to have meds that are working against you 😕 Good luck with this month’s challenge, and as they say keep on keeping on 🙂
Maggie

This is such a lovely group! Can’t get over how nice everyone is and you all actually listen!!
Has anyone got any tips for fibre without adding too many carbs? Just realising I’m averaging only about 15g a day of fibre and my carbs are more like 80g. Would you all recommend reducing carbs a lot? They are mostly from vegetables and the odd piece of fruit.

Hi Lolly – this is a low carb way of eating, and low is accepted as 50g. There are plenty of low carb high fibre vegetables – think leafy greens, spinach, broccoli. Apart from celeriac all root vegetables should be avoided, as should peas and beans.
Fruit is a bit of a no-no because of the carbs and fructose. Really you should be restricting yourself to a small handful of berries as part of a meal. I know it’s confusing because we’ve always been told to eat fruit and veg, but they really aren’t good for you.
Maggie

Hi Catherine and LollyT,

I thought I would chip in my experience. I started in October 2017, I am glad that I have done multiple cycles as it took at least 2 rounds to break free from my addiction to carbs to reach the point where I didn’t associate eating low carbs as being deprived – and broke free from thinking this as a diet which would one day come to an end.
Over the months I have seen people join the forum who have only a relatively small amount of weight they want to loose and then they disappear again. My experience has been that it takes time to embed this change to the way we eat and its taken me time to realise the difference between fancying eating, feeling hungry, and feeling stressed in a way that makes me crave comfort from eating.
I have both lost 90lbs and reach my initial target dress size, but that just takes me back to the days when I was overweight but active. Now I have these tools I plan to continue to improve my shape and fitness.
There are a lot of confused messages about if sustained time on this WoE effects your metabolism. The impression I have gained from reading different sources of information is that if you stay low carb, so your body can make up the difference between Cals In / Cals burnt from your fat stores there is no reason for your body to reduce the metabolic rate, although there will be some changes as a result of not needed as many calories for activities if you are lighter. However, I haven’t seen any formal research on this topic, its a view I have come to from different articles by doctors specialising in insulin.
There is quite a lot of research suggesting that short periods of very low protein diets are helpful in dealing with loose skin through autophagy, but we are talking here about a few days at a time.

I would guess that the old low cal, low protein diets were also low fat diets were providing most of the cals from carbs.

Hi JGwen thank you for your reply hearing about your experience helps. I had 70lb to lose to get to 25BMI and halfway there. I have decided to continue aa I agree that it takes a long time to embed these changes. I have had a lifetime of sugar and carb addiction so will take more than 8wks to break this! Well done on your amazing loss
😀 Catherine

Hi Catherine70,
Just to add on to the advice you are mentioning from a facebook page. – Dr MM doesn’t give advice on the number of carbs in the 8 weeks in the books. Just to cut to 800 cals.
Many of the members of this forum have taken the time to carry out research / watch and share podcasts and videos from other doctors who are specialists on insulin and weight loss. – Most of us doing the 8 weeks not only count the calories, but we also count carbs. Jason Fungs videos that you will find links to on the Take a Look at this thread help to explain the significance of this difference quite clearly. – If you keep carbs low, so you keep your body in a keto state your body can access your fat stores. If your insulin levels rise your body can not access your fat stores so the low calories puts you in starvation mode and your metabolic rate is effected. That is why many of us talk about aiming for sub 20g, and definately sub 50g of carbs when there is no advice on this in the books.

Hi JGwen, thanks for clarifying this as I was a little confused, having just read the book. I think for the time being while I try to adjust to the M diet and 800 calories I won’t worry too much about carbs, but as I have nearly 90lbs to lose to get to a healthy BMI I’m sure I will have to adjust to low carb eventually. But for now, one step at a time for me I think. That being said, I’m 1 week in and I feel so much better. Inflammation is significantly down, I’ve lost weight, my plantar fasciitis is so much better and my skin has completely cleared up and I don’t feel as tired and groggy all the time. It’s like magic!

Catherine and JGwen you are both doing amazingly well. Such an inspiration!

Hi blackspot – interesting idea about the ‘rainbow’ of protein. I went back last night and listened to a podcast I’d come across not long ago. The person being interviewed, Prof Stuart Phillips, talked about how a lot of animal proteins are nutrient-rich. He talked about how red meat specifically has iron, zinc, B12 – things that are often shortfall nutrients in older people (I’m one). That just rang a bell with me. As I mentioned when I first started BSD I was eating fish and chicken (my usual protein) but as I continued on BSD I started craving red meat. I’ve also read that older people generally need more protein so I might need to do a bit of digging on this.
I did have liver as a child but haven’t had it for years. Might have to give it a go!

Marie123 I like it marinaded in olive oil and garlic/herbs than on the BBQ grill. Ever so quick to cook, so it’s still ‘pink’. Delicate and tasty.

I know it’s not weigh day, but… My scales have been static for over 2 weeks, and on Monday /Tuesday I’d ‘put on’ 2 lbs…
But today my scales match how my body feels. I’m 3 lbs down. Hurrah!
I think the ‘gain’ was water from eating salty stir-fry. And water follows salt…
😁

Ah, that’s good news Blackspot 🤗
I don’t know what carb total you’re targetting but you might find that dropping it down to closer to 20 will help. Remember that every gram of carb attracts 3 – 4 grams of water.
Onwards and downwards!
Maggie

Blackspot – great weight loss this week. It was well worth waiting before posting your weight so that your scales could show your true weight loss and not the water weight gain.

Maggie the stir-fry was courgette, onion, cabbage, carrot (2 between 2 of us) with a mushroom & garden pea omlett ( I’d call it fu-young, but that would be claiming my cooking was better than it is… No rice noodles etc. But lots of people Chinese soy sauce. Very salty.

Blackspot – yum, sounds nice – great news about the weight loss – it really helps when the scales behave how you feel they should be, doesn’t it!

Great loss blackspot!

I was at the beach earlier and came across an annoying acquaintance who started quizzing me on the weight loss, aaargh! I don’t really like to talk about it in real life because people seem to be so keen on pushing their own unwanted advice and sure enough was this busybody… calories in calories out blah blah, need your carbs etc, the full works… why do people feel the need for that crap?

Anyway, came home feeling a bit better since I just realised how easy it is to get up these days!
No need for using hands as support or any of that awkward grunting and hobbling, just up on my feet, voila! This weeks NSV 😄

Any plans for the weekend zoomers?

Amarela that’s such a great NSV! And screw that tart at the beach! You’re doing amazingly!
That is one thing that is good about losing weight fast (1 thing of many many good points!) – you really notice the difference it makes. When you lose it slowly the NSV’s are harder to spot. I can feel my foot pain getting better everyday and it’s such an empowering feeling!

Well, that’s quite funny.
LollyT – I’ve just read your post on Latest Forum Posts, saw ‘tart on the beach’ and immediately thought of pudding! – maybe I’ve not progressed as far as I thought I had.

Great to hear about your foot pain easing, LollyT, and, Amarela – great NSV, too. Getting rid of aches and pains and being able to move more easily are just such great benefits of this way of eating.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everyone.

Hehe, Marie! I’m still acquiring British expressions, and I still think of a tart as a petite confection, too! Something with
pastry and fresh fruit… 🙂 Put your dancing shoes on tonight, my girl…and I’ll join you in my kitchen xxx

Allie

Love the tart on the beach, Lolly! 😂

Glad to hear that your foot is getting better.
I used to have lots of foot aches and pains, high arches and extra weight don’t really mix well… I don’t even know when they disappeared, just realised one day out walking that I haven’t had them in ages.

Having a great week here, so much energy that I hardly recognise myself. Took the kids to ikea to escape the heat and maybe get a few flower pots and glass food containers and of course ended up buying a carful of stuff! (Thank god my husband had the bigger car!) so I’ve been running around like a mad woman changing curtains and cushion covers, moving furniture and assembling flat packs!

(Goodness that’s a lot of exclamation marks 😂)

Good morning, friends 😁
I slept 10 hours last night with only one wake up! That is a NSV for me. I’m quite amazed at how much fitter I am with all the gardening I’m doing at weekends. Yesterday was a bit of a marathon and falling into bed last night, tired and happy was wonderful! When I started all the chopping and clearing, it would take me a week to get over the aches! Now I’m fine to carry on the next day! Another NSV!
Glad to hear the scales have caught up, Blackspot!
Amarela, that happens to me at work sometimes when people see my lunch choices. They feel they can give me unwanted and out dated advice! I just change the subject! Smile and sigh inwardly!
I’m off to prep my veg for the week ahead, so enjoy your Sunday, lovelies! 😁
Kazzeexx

Hi Zoomers,

I thought I should just mention that I am likely to be quiet on the forum for the next few weeks. – I tend to read the posts and join in the chatter as a routine for a coffee break during the course of the day but my work load for the next few weeks means I will be carrying a bottle of water around rather than stopping for a coffee.

This must be your busiest time, JGwen. Look after yourself and we’ll see you as and when you pop in! 😁

Help/Encouragement needed

Dear all, I’m in the middle of week 5 and feeling very low with it all. I haven’t had any energy boost at all. In fact I seem to be permanently knackered with mornings the worst. Since 12 July or thereabouts I’ve been trying to stick to the 20g carbs a day and managing twenty-something. I’ve lost 21lbs but nothing in the last week, which is really getting me down. I’m also really struggling with an apparent lack of fibre with the inevitable constipated results.
I am keeping up with gym sessions 4-5 times a week, I’m not sure if this is making me even more tired but any help/advice would be greatly welcomed. I have a session booked with the doctor, but not until 6 August.
I’m mostly sticking to two meals a day, lunch around midday (scrambled eggs & ham) then dinner (protein & low-carb veg) and these are eaten within an 8hr window.. I make sure I get at least 2l of water a day but some days its so hot I’m easily at the 3l mark.

Any hints/tips? How are others feeling at this point? Is it just me?
Good luck with this week everyone, may the weight disintegrate,…

Toddy_67,
Your weight loss for the 5 weeks is excellent. I did wonder if you are eating enough fat though – or calories. I input your meals into fatsecret and the calories seemed to come out at a lot lower than 800 cals.

Forgot to say that I use ground flaxseeds and inulin to boost fibre. Chia seeds are good also. They all speed up transit time.

Hi Toddy-67. Just want to add my voice to Krysia’s. I have been on these boards for @ a year, and your rate of weight
loss is well above average 🙂 Congratulations! You should be feeling elated, and not discouraged. This entire process
is a marathon and not a sprint, and we all lose a different rates. Plateaus are common and to be expected, so just
trust in the process, and it will happen, I promise. Look for other NSV, like inches lost too. Lots can be going on when
the scales aren’t moving 🙂 Your exercise regimen sounds fairly rigorous. Have you considered cutting back to 3 x wk
to see if that affects energy levels? It might be worth a try. I think you are doing a fantastic job, so keep the
faith. It will happen!

Allie

I’m sorry…I forgot to mention that when we are working our muscles hard, they hold onto fluid so that muscle repair
can take place. In the process of working out, what happens is that we actually tear muscle first, before we can rebuild
it to be stronger. I would consider every other day, or 3 x a week. See if that would suit you. Sometimes more isn’t
better…Let us know how you are doing!

Allie

Thank you Allie and Krysia. You actually made me laugh Allie, and that’s not been easy recently. I PROMISE you that as a 30year couch potato with arthritic knees, my gym/pool sessions are not overly rigorous😀. However the last point you make is very interesting, its true my muscles have been taking a bit of a beating so maybe if I just walked or swam and cut out one or two classes a week I’d get the same benefits.
Thanks too to Krysia for the inulin tip, I hadn’t heard of that but its on the shopping list now. I am using Fitday to track everything I eat, really everything, to ensure I don’t cheat myself but it’s a good tip to check other sources for calorie comparisons. TBH I’m mostly taking the nutrition data from the items I eat.
I just wanted to say that I’m in no way competitive, so I’m not trying to be best loser or anything. I do have a short trip planned at the end of August where I’ll be seeing people I haven’t seen in years so I’m trying hard to be the weight I was when I last saw them, which means hopefully losing at least another 7lbs before I leave.
Thanks again everyone, seriously it really helps to read your responses. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s found this a lonely process and breaking a lifelong the habit of reaching for toast & butter/cake/biscuits is a daily challenge.
Your tips are really welcome.

Hope you feel better soon toddy.
Do you think you’re eating enough fat? I know it was really hard for me to mentally embrace the good fats after a lifetime of the “fat is bad” mantra!

Also I find magnesium citrate very good on the transit issue.

Toddy, I dont know enough to give you any advice, but I wanted to hop on and say well done for your 21lbs loss. I think that is amazing, and testimony to your determination. I too had a weird week, last week in week 6. I was hungrier than I have been, more tired and hardly lost anything. And I wasnt doing anything different. However this week, I feel that I’m back in the swing of things. So I guess it’s just a case of persisting, as you are doing. Anyway, well done!

Hi Toddy_67,
Yes, I agree about perhaps cutting down some of your activity. I only started exercising late last year so can’t speak personally, but I’ve read others on here who do much more than me (e.g. californiagirl) saying, as Allie says, this is a case where less is more.

I’ve felt tired/lacking energy a couple of times. First was when I inadvertently went below 800 cals – hard to believe I know but I was so focused on keeping my carbs <20g I didn’t realise I wasn’t eating up to my 800 cals (it was more like 600-650). This was a few weeks in and I didn’t do it for long!

The second time was when I had been doing the BSD for a few months and while I’d started by eating a wide range of food by that time I was just eating the same few meals day in day out. My mistake.

So, as everyone says watch your carbs and cals. You might even want to play around – upping your cals a little bit for a few weeks, and/or upping your carbs. I was watching a podcast yesterday where a nutritionist was saying not everyone doing low carb needs to go below 20g carbs (I did because I have Type II diabetes and wanted the quickest way to get my blood sugars down).

The other thing this nutritionist was saying was to make sure you have enough protein daily (apparently a common mistake amongst women is to go too low). Again, a mistake I made. Even though I ate the recommended daily amount, I don’t think it was enough for my body. (Mind, I’m in my early 6os which probably accounts for that).

Of course, none of this may apply to you, but I’d say follow your instincts (what your body’s telling you) until you see the doctor.
You’ve done fantastically well losing 21lbs – hurray!! – and I’m sure you can lose more before you see your friends at the end of August.

Take care
Marie
xx

nb – You’ve got my complete sympathy. I was in a similar situation a few years ago, meeting up with an old friend I hadn’t seen for 20 + years, and I was, by my reckoning, over 5 st heavier than I was last time I’d seen her. I dreaded it, but the irony was she’d also put on weight! And, of course it didn’t matter a jot to either of us – we had a great time.

Also, if anyone is interested in the podcast I mentioned, I’ll post it in the Take A Look at This thread after I come back in from being out.

Thanks for responding Ellem. Funnily enough I honestly can’t say I’ve been hungry but my tummy has been making some weird noises! There are times when I want to eat of course, mostly in the evening if I’m watching TV. I’m sure it would be harder if I was working but unfortunately I’m unemployed at the moment. This morning I had a little encouragement as the scales showed I’d lost 1lb so for now I’m focused. Are you taking any supplements Ellem?

Hi all,
Sorry to MIA for quite a few weeks! I’m not sure why I dropped out, I was staying low carb although not losing weight. After completing my 8 week stink I decide to maintain for a while. In that time, I’ve started C25K and have completed 5 weeks so far. I’ve also started other exercise, including Pilates and Barre. So I guess I’m saying I’ve been busy! Anyway, the reason for me posting today is to report that I’ve REVERSED MY TYPE 2 DIABETES! All thanks to the Blood Sugar Diet. I was diagnosed at the end of March and at that point my A1C was 86. I had blood tests again 2 weeks ago and last week saw my doctor, who confirmed that my A1C was now 35. That’s in just under 4 months. I had been taking my fasting bloods every day and wasn’t expecting it to be that good! I was expecting improvement but not total success. I’m amazed and so thankful for the BSD and for all the help and support I received here on the forums. My cholesterol has also plummeted from 9.3 to 3.3! I was taken off all my meds immediately. So, I’d like to encourage everyone – this WOE works and it is life changing!
Caro
x

Yes, Toddy, at the moment I take selenium in a morning, zinc and B12 at lunchtime, and Magnesium at night. What about you?