Happy BSD anniversary Theodora! What an inspiration you have been to me and many BSDers! You really do shine on here and I love your vitality and enthusiasm. What a great ambassador you are for this way of eating. Well done on your fantastic weight loss and thank you for your positivity throughout our journey together. Like you I am at goal and maintaining. I didn’t lose as quickly as you did and still struggle to stay at goal weight and my aim is to try to get under (can’t seem to manage it) to give me the wiggle room that you managed to achieve. Congratulations Theodora and thank you for the help and support. Here’s to another year ahead! Who’d have thought this time last year what we would achieve!

Awww, bless you Essie. Thank you for such a lovely response, all the more treasured because not only do I count you as my valued BSD friend, not to mention fashion mentor, you are most definitely one of my BSD heroes. 😊

Allie, I need to get my dad a pith helmet for his bald pate! He still wears the bear hat I got him in the USSR in February of 1990 (the last year there was a USSR). It’s the hottest hat in existence, he says, which is why he looks like Brezhnev whenever he shovels snow. 😀

Happy anniversary, Theo! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you accomplished something grand with the BSD and with maintenance. It thrills and inspires me to see how far you’ve come, how generously you support other BSDers and perhaps most of all, the flowering of your wardrobe.

May your second BSD year be as exceptional as your first. 🙂

Don’t look backwards and don’t abuse yourself in thought, word or deed. What’s happened has happened. You absorb the hard lesson and use it to fortify your resolve as you move forward on the BSD. You need all your resources and strength to take on a lifestyle change of this depth. Mortifying yourself will only debilitate you and hold you back. This is an active thing, stingle. You have to stop morbid, self-hating thoughts in the moment. I mean, literally stay “STOP!” out loud and then redirect your thinking to emphasize your successes and to plan and organize your meals for even more success.

You’ve done the BSD before and you rocked it out. Once you get past that first week or so, the carb flu, the cravings, your confused body unsure of what it’s supposed to do now that you’ve removed its laziest source of non-nourishment, you’ll have energy galore to propel you towards your weight loss and fitness goals. No fear. No living in the past. Not one step backwards.

Good luck!

This week it’s my turn to celebrate my first BSD anniversary, and what a terrific find both this WOE and this Forum have been.

I began on 16th January weighing 11st 7lbs, hoping to lose about 1.5st and, in my wildest dreams, 2st but never actually believed that was possible. Yet by the end of 16 weeks I had lost a phenomenal 3st!!!! I entered maintenance in early May and yet went on to lose another half stone whilst increasing calories slowly, but keeping carbs low. I can now easily fit into my wedding dress – and I got married in the late 60s!!

So here I am one year later, weighing just 8st, with a BMI of about 20, and body fat of just 22″% I did in fact, at one point, when we were undergoing rather a lot of stress, drop as low as 7st 7lbs but happily I soon regained those 7lbs, and have held steady ever since. My method of maintenance has been to stay low carb, but I no longer count calories. Monday – Thursday I am “careful” of what I eat, but I relax Friday – Sunday, and even allow myself s few glasses of wine on each of those days, as we have quite a sociable lifestyle, and eat out 2 – 3 times a week, but I always stay low carb. I can’t remember when I last felt this good – healthy, energetic and full of vitality. Thank you MM and Prof Taylor.

I have disposed of every single item of large baggy clothing I possessed, and my wardrobe is now bursting at the seams with wonderful size UK8s, and I have become far more adventurous in my choice of clothing (see the Phoenix thread) – now it’s a pleasure to shop!

Not only have I lost more weight than I ever dreamed possible and settled happily into maintenance, I feel as though I have made so many new friends around the globe. So thank you to everyone, for your support and friendship. Long live BSD.

My positives today are:-

1) Today is my first anniversary of starting BSD and finding this forum, and making new friends.
2) I have spent the entire day (7am – 4pm) doing a house clearance (not mine) which I had been dreading, but had to be done. 😭 Nowhere near finished, but feel as though I may have broken the back of it.
3) Came home absolutely exhausted, feeling grubby and dishevelled and emotional, to find a cup of tea waiting, and that o/h, who has NEVER EVER IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE done it before, had groomed (or at least attempted to) both of my exceptionally hairy dogs, to “try to take a bit of the pressure off you” he said, when I nearly burst into tears. After nearly 49 years of marriage, he still has the power to surprise me.💕

Sounds ideal Mary. You can always wear your dress in your own private setting!

Hope Jovis feels better and you both enjoy your birthday x

Tilly

It just sounds perfect, Nonna Mary 🙂 🙂 🙂
Enjoy!

Welcome, stingle.
You have come to the right place if you need to offload / rant, or could do with help, support, encouragement, and yes, sometimes a kick up the backside if necessary.

One of the best things about this forum is that nobody is judgmental and no matter how many times you fall off the wagon, someone will reach out a hand to you and pull you firmly back on. You can do this – you’ve done it before, you can do it again. Start NOW.

Good luck, and keep us posted on progress.

So we are staying in. Jovis has had a sinus pain all day and I am feeling tired, so we are going to have steak and vegetables done a la Jovis. Lovely.

Mary
xxx

Hi Allie! 😀

Well whatever sunshine girl, your response to the condition is inspiring!

My daughter rarely sees a chocolate as she is either working in the research department, developing recipes (that’s how I know what goes in Cadburys) or setting up systems for production – she is an engineer. As for me, I cant stand milk chocolate but love a high cocoa dark with a minimum of 70% which Cadburys dont do except for the Green and Blacks.

Hello, stingle! I completely agree with californiagirl’s (Hi Julia) literary
recommendation. Taubes book changed my life to the tune of 148lbs
lost and maintained for 9 months. From that point onward, I’ve never
looked at any food with the same eyes as before. Best of luck to
‘you!

Allie

Well stingle you do have someone to talk to -US there are lots of here listening to you and knowing exactly where you are coming from. I myself lost 25lbs then slowly put back 10lbs with various visitors and holidays and a cruise and Christmas – it just keeps adding up. Although I have never truly left it as it controls my blood glucose, I have at times stopped counting the calories and having too many wines with the odd one turning into the odd 2 or 3. Hey ho, we are all human. Lets get back on it with determination and motivation and just go for it. AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. Or as I usually say, keep on keeping on…

Thanks Allie for that.
Jean

Hi toby101 far from being demotivated it was a big boost to me. Being on insulin makes it doubly hard to lose weight and my doctor was thrilled that I was able to lose anything. But for me the big motivator was a BG from 190 to 80 in around 5 weeks and I still continue with that even though I have the occasional glitch over holidays. I finally lost a total of 25lbs but managed to put 10 back on with various holidays and that feeding trough called a ‘cruise’ but I am now well on my way to losing that. My BG on my HbA1c was 6.0 and that is up from 5.6 so Christmas did take its toll. I always try to live low carb but sometimes stop counting calories and have the occasional wine or vodka but hardly a piece of bread has been had and I sometimes nick a couple of oven chips from hubbys plate but no mashed or baked potatoes, rice or pasta, no matter how good it might look.

Jean, there isn’t any specific reference, other than a small statement
that it may help stabilize blood sugar. There are a whole host of other
nutritional advantages, but I wouldn’t rely on it to alter BSL. I consider
it an unsubstantiated claim at best, and may not even apply to humans.
No quick fixes, I’m afraid 🙂 The BSD is by far and away the best way
to get things under control. Best of luck to you!

Allie

Good morning from California stingle. I am reading your post at my kitchen table with the sun just lightening the sky — the dogs are licking the last of their breakfast and the cat has gone off to find a warm spot for his all-day nap.
Having been where you are, I know exactly how frustrating it is and how mad you are at all of it (and yourself).
My advice is to just “start again”. That’s the only way I got there. I had a steep learning curve and it just took me some time to get the BSD principles into my head.
I had to read and re-read the BSD book over and over and I “started over” day after day after day (after day).
Can you get a copy of Gary Taubes book, “Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It”? It is the perfect companion book to the BSD and somehow understanding WHY I had struggled so long made all the difference to HOW I saw myself and the BSD diet.
It became a new way of life for me, not a diet anymore and that is how it finally “clicked” for me.
Start again today. Every day you keep at it, whether well done or not-so-well-done, will build up over time and you will get there.
just start again

Luvtcook, if I understand you correctly you have just had 4 days complete fasting following 3 days of 800 calories? That really does not sound at all healthy to me and your body could be reacting in all sorts of not necessarily good ways to being faced with virtual starvation.

THanks Allie
I cant see any reference to BSL. Is there a specific section on the website.

Cheers
Jean

Hello, Seaviewjoy. I know of maca to help with low energy levels,
but read this link for any reference to BSL

https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/powders/organic-maca-powder/premium.htlm

There is also red maca, as well as a gelatinized version.
I hope this helpful!

Allie

To all those struggling with plateaus and slowdowns…..there just is no predictibility is weight loss. Patience is the only option.

I have been losing pretty predictibly overall (3 lbs a week, recently aided by 2 days of fasting a week on top of 800 cals a day the other 5), but have had some short stalls followed by a bigger loss.

This week….no loss whatsoever, so I extended my fast from 2 days to 4 days. My payoff after 4 days of fasting…a total loss over the last 9 days of 1 lb. One pound ! Go figure. But there really is no alternative but to keep on keeping on. It will show up eventually, but it certainly tries your patience. And this is alcohol free and under 20 carbs a day with moderate protein.

I have also been monitoring my blood ketones these last 4 days and all readings are in the nutritional ketosis / optimal ketosis range. So fat burning IS going on. And my clothes continue to fit better . I have one “aspirational” coat that I try on every week and note how close to “full buttoning / easy drape fit” we are getting to. Improvement there as well. My scales have just NOT gotten the message.

Just saw this in the medical news this week. Reported a finding that obese subjects may have addional difficulty losing weight due to “scarring” in the fat deposits. It almost sounds like a mesh of tiny scars in fat that inhibits them from being metabolized as easily as the fat of thinner subjects. I frequently wonder about the mechanism that allows 3-5 lbs of weight to drop off overnight. If the scarring does in fact “hold it in place” even though it is weakened and riddled with holes from dieting, maybe this accounts for it finally collapsing and showing up as a big loss. Someday maybe science will figure it out.

For those interested in the article, below is an excerpt and the link:

TROUBLE LOSING WEIGHT? THIS MIGHT BE WHY

” Some people find it harder to lose weight than others, but why is this? A new study has identified a molecule in fat
cells that could be to blame.”

“On further investigation, the researchers found that the increase in … expression of a specific molecule (LOX) which
…was driven by an increase in oxygen deprivation and inflammation in fat cells, which occurs when fat cells become
larger.”

“Unfortunately, studies have shown that fat tissue fibrosis can make it harder for individuals to lose weight. “But this
does not mean that scarring makes weight loss impossible,” Dr. Kos emphasizes.”

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320622.php

Hi S-G – I lost 15lbs in my first ever 8 weeks and was on cloud nine so I actually think that 13lbs is brilliant. Remember the tortoise and the hare.

I think that a slow loss teaches you more about yourself and your body and gives you time to adjust fully to maintenance when it comes, which is a massive challenge. I got to very near my goal weight within 3 months and maintenance has not worked for me at all, barely managing a few weeks before bad habits crept back in and the weight crept back on.

To anyone who is a slow loser, it can be discouraging to read about others’ massive weight losses but this plan is a marathon, not a sprint so just take it one day at a time and your results will be just as valid and taste just as sweet as any others – maybe even better.

Does anyone have any knowledge about Maca Powder being an effective food for lowering blood sugar?

“Can I also say that I am a slow loser – when I started this plan in June 2016 I was rigidly strict (no Ryvita) for the full 8 weeks and lost a total of 13 lbs”

Bad luck. You do brilliantly not to be de-motivated by that.

Hello all
Just on my way home from my lunch out and so pleased with myself, I had fresh tomato and basil soup (without the bread) as that was the best option on the carb leaden menu and even resisted the very tempting cakes. No idea of the ingredients, calories or carbs which is a bit tricky for an OCD weigher & measurer like me, but I’m very happy to have jumped my first ‘eating out’ hurdle, just hope I stay full up till dinner.

Jande9 I know EXACTLY what you mean. We all love those carbs, which is why most of us now find ourselves on this diet. I think its the texture that is so hard to replace….the great al dente of good pasta, cruchy baguettes, dumplings etc.

I guess what I was trying to say is you may have to trade that particular zing for another. It pushes a different button….but at least you are pushing “a button” and walking away satisfied.

And yes I have used the konjac noodles. They work for me in soup and to a lesser extent in Asian dishes, but they don’t do it for me in Italian dishes. I am fiddling with a homemade konjac noodle/dumpling that shows some promise. Giving tweek #2 a go this evening in a Hungarian caulflower soup for supper. Will let you know how it goes.

Another thing that has worked in some recipes is to use a pasta replacement for 75% of the dish and real pasta for 25%. Made a wonderful Mac and Cheese with 75% cauliflower and 25% maccaroni pasta which had the mouthfeel that I was looking for. It seems I only had to hit a bite of pasta every now and then to make the whole dish feel more substantial. But even that has to be kept to a minimum or will blow your week. If the homemade konjac noodles work, that would be a good place for them….filling in between the cauliflower.

I also find that something like Eggplant Parm (with low carb breading) scratches that itch….it feels substantial, has the cheesy goodness, and the tomato sauce punch.

I was on this diet 2 years ago and IT WORKS without doubt , I got off insulin lost 2 stone and felt fabulous.
Now I have not been well recently, I hate this time of year and have proceeded to eat as much rubbish as I can fit in to my big fat mouth over the last few months resulting in high sugars , lethargy and an enormous amount of self loathing .
I need a real kick up
the behind but feel I cant talk to anyone as I’ m so ashamed about undoing all my hard work – Any advice?

Hi everybody!
I am starting the 800 BSD today. I did quite well last year started 1st Feb and lost 2 stone. However since then I have put some back on. I am age 58, 5’8″ tall and weigh 16st 10lb. I have two big weddings this year, one exactly 16 weeks from today (can get in two cycles of the diet by then) and another just under 24 weeks away (three cycles of the diet by then).
If I stick to the diet properly how much weight do people think I could lose in 16 weeks by the time of the first wedding?
Looking forward to your replies.
Nancy x

True Tillybud. I have a dress I bought years ago which now fits and I really fancied wearing it and getting dressed up. Jovis loves to dine out and I have so many rain checks that I could paper a wall with them. At the same time, I am being lazy and don’t want the fuss. I am in two minds about everything. So daft. I think I will wait until later and see how I feel then.

Thank you

Mary
xxxx

Thanks Sunshine Girl. I’ll probably join the next four week thread but wanted to write my progress here as I don’t want to clutter other threads with my dull statistics!

Nonna Mary, now you have decided ‘no wine’, you have to decide which would feel more special. Staying in with your lovely Jovis and having your own special meal which he will cook and you know exactly what will be in it in your own private restaurant or a meal cooked for you both but won’t be as intimate and there’ll be others there sharing your space. OH and I don’t enjoy eating out, preferring to eat home cooked and so we can have a little drinkypoo too if necessary. Only you can decide which is right for you, but I’m sure you’ll have a fab time whichever x 😘

You can call it a plateau but after such good losses in week one your body is wondering what the hell is going on. Although there is no such thing as starvation mode, unless you really are starving and we are not, your body registers a lack of what it is used to so hangs on to what it has got just in case. Keep on with the plan and your body will soon realise there is food coming and you will start to lose again. First week I lost 4lbs, week 2 just the one but hopefully it will pick up again next week. When a plateau hits some people get frustrated and give up but have faith, it does work and the weight will start to come off again.

Hi there and welcome. I too did pretty much the same, lost weight but kept to the low carb rules and kept my BG reasonably good but managed to gain back half the weight as I stopped counting calories. Now back on it in the reboot 800 thread so following a similar journey.

Good luck, it is worth it.

Try the search box at the top of the page as this is often asked and some people have given really good answers. Another good source is dietdoctor.com especially on good carb veg and bad carb veg (and fruits). My basics are red peppers, courgette, cauliflower, spinach, leeks and mushrooms.

Hi everyone,

Don’t mind me – I’m just trying to keep myself honest so putting a little area on the internet where I feel like maybe someone is keeping tabs to track my daily efforts. I’ve found in the past it helps if I’m working towards a Monday weigh-in that I record on here as it stops me from cheating. Same with the tracking of calories each day as it makes me push myself more. So I hope no one minds if I do that here – any encouragement as I go along is most welcome (but I also won’t be offended if you ignore me either!).

I first did the 800 last year around this time after a Type 2 diagnosis. Went for about 12 weeks creating my own meal plan but sticking to low carb 800 on a daily basis. I lost 42lbs if I recall and was very impressed with myself. Plus I lowered my Blood Sugar, Choloresterol and BP all to very healthy levels. Then there was a series of holidays and general laziness and I put half of the weight back on. I tried to get going again last October but a series of birthday parties followed by some personal drama was enough to put me even further behind than I was when I started again in October.

Now I have to do it all again. Well not ALL again – I am lower than I was when I started but I’ve still got a long way to go before I’m back to the weight I was when I finished the 800 last time (and then I have a long long way to go after that to get to my target weight). However, I know I can do this. I just need to do what I did last time and go from there.

So yesterday was my first day back on and I did about 950 calories less than 30g carbs because I had an unplanned cheese snack before bed. I also didn’t do my 11000 steps because it was raining. I did just over 6000 in the end. And I was rubbish at drinking water. So not the best start but I know I can do this – I just need to get back in the habit. I’m on track for steps by the end of the day I think and so far so good on the eating thing. I need to get cracking on the water intake though.

Allie, you are so right as usual. I am taking this advice on board. So no wine. But now, whether to go out or not. The restaurant does amazing fish dishes and salads so I can be bsd friendly, just not calorie wise….never happy am I?

Thank you.

Mary
xxx

Nonna Mary, what I have to offer you today is a bit of what we call
“tough love” on this thread. It concerns me and all of your true friends
here that you have elevated liver enzymes. I’m also cursed with the
reality during my weight loss phase that 2 glasses of wine would
instantly result in a 1.5lb weight gain, and on the 2 occasions in
10 months that I made those choices, it took me an entire week
to get rid of it. Only you can decide if it’s worth it to you, however 🙂
Others can have the wine without repercussions, but you and I
don’t appear to have that luxury! Best wishes to you on your
special day. Enjoy every minute of it, whatever you decide.

xoxo
Allie

I’m looking online for the most comprehensive list of the foods that can be eaten. Most of the lists I have found are quite short, leaving many items out. I make my own food rather than follow recipes so I would like something accurate to consult.

Basic guidelines are detailed in the book but I would like more range and details of their relative values if poss.

Any advice or tips please. Thanks!

Forgot to say it is much easier for me to follow diet as do not have children. You must have fantastic willpower traceyanne! I am in awe, don’t think I could have resisted toad in the hole and mash. Well done.

Yes, i would assume you have to weigh the extras and add the calories. I know I do with spicy bean burgers page 209 for e.g. I had them with cauliflower rice and veggies last week.☺

Hi everyone,

My partner and I decided to start the BSD on 2nd January. We are both classed as “obese” on the BMI scale, and my partner has type 2 diabetes, so we thought we’d give it a go after I read MM’s book. Doing it together means we have each other’s support, and can plan, prepare and eat the same meals, which is helpful.

We had a really successful first week – I lost 8lbs and my partner lost 6lbs. But we have just weighed ourselves this morning, and neither of us have lost any weight at all. In terms of eating, we had a really good week, although I did treat myself to a glass of pink G&T on Sunday night! I read somewhere that on weeks 2/3 of a VLCD, weight may plateau, and to expect another big drop around week 4. It seems odd to me that we have literally halved the amount we eat, but didn’t lose anything at all.

I just wanted to check other people’s experiences in the second week?

FluteToot

Hi Y’all, and thank you for the birthday wishes. I sit on the horns of a dilema and boy is it sore! On Saturday the family came around and we had a lovely meal. I cooked it and know what went into it and it was low carb. Then Jovis and I had a little drink on the evening. I then find I have gained 2 pounds. Which I have NOT lost, despite doing back to back 24 hour fasts!

My quandary is this. Should I go out for a celebration meal with my lovely Jovis, to our favourite Italian Restaurant? Or, do I stay in and have a lovely meal cooked by Jovis? I would imagine, that either way, wine will be on the menu…although I am feeling quite anti-vine! If I do have a meal and drinkypoo, will I gain another TWO POUNDS that take a week to lose (for me anyway)?

I would be pleased to hear your views on this. I hope everyone is keeping well.

Lots of love
Mary
xxx

a challenge last night…..dinner for the children, toad in the hole and mashed potato, two of my favourite foods!!!! 🙁

But I over came the challenge and enjoyed my chicken in parma ham and some lovely green beans and spinach!

Quick question for you all, I have the recipe book and some of the recipes say to serve with…………… In these situations I’m assuming you have to add extra calories to the total as they haven’t been included? 🙂

Hello all and we’ll done with loss so far. I did really well on this diet in April 2017 so hope i can join you and succeed again.
Unfortunately, blood in urine led to tests and treatment. Feeling fighting fit again now. I am on hormone treatment to prevent breast cancer reccurence so know diet can still work JuliaV. 🙂 Kept weight off until thyroid issues led to depression before Christmas and i ate badly for several weeks. Mental state is SO important. When really low you just don’t care about yourself. Planning to do the meditation recommended.
Started diet Monday 8th. Lost 3lbs the first week, now into my second. Hope to lose 3lb per week (or more if i can!). Good luck to you all. For me, I found planning was the key (obvious I know).

Hello all and we’ll done with loss so far. I did really well on this diet in April 2017 so hope i can join you and succeed again.
Unfortunately, blood in urine led to tests and treatment. Feeling fighting fit again now. I am on hormone treatment to prevent breast cancer reccurence so know diet can still work JuliaV. 🙂 Kept weight off until thyroid issues led to depression before Christmas and i ate badly for several weeks. Mental state is SO important. When really low you just don’t care about yourself. Planning to do the meditation recommended.
Started diet Monday 8th. Lost 3lbs the first week, now into my second. Hope to lose 3lb per week (or more if i can!). Good luck to you all. For me, I found planning was the key (obvious I know).

Good morning!

Just popping in quickly whilst no one is around. Was off yesterday and 7 of us went for lunch. A lot of these places don’t seem to provide good old fashioned veg! Everything is either chips/fries/wedges or frozen/mushy peas! I ended up having a chicken breast (minus the burger) with the most boring green salad you could imagine! That frilly lettuce stuff! What is that? Impossible to prong with the fork and get in your mouth neatly! 🙂 No dessert! Just one black coffee. I think in future, we will have to go to a carvery!

Don’t despair Nonna Mary, you know it will come right, it always does – forget about it and enjoy your birthday today. Are you doing anything nice or was that at the weekend?

Marie – imagining myself emerging from a chrysalis is the only way to get through winter!

Well done, Tilly! Keep going! 🙂

Have a lovely day everyone 🙂

Kazeee xx

Mine are back down (after a Christmas rise) to 84 which is 4.6 and that to me is perfect. I know when I have my 3 monthly HbA1c that will translate to around 5.5 so it is not as low as we were led to believe.