Good morning. Great news Nonna Mary! It’s great when you get into ‘remission’ but for me I then lost my impetus to lose more weight. However, today I have hit my top ‘trigger weight’ so no more messing around otherwise I will become one of the ‘returners’ and I’m not going there!

JM I think I need a dose of your self control! Not that I think I would need much control to refuse jellyfish! I don’t think any airline is BSD friendly but I’m sure you’ll manage, it’s just one day.

So yesterday ……
1. I was taken back to another time in my life when I was often asked “How can you live without potatoes and bread?” I was asked the same question yesterday but just ignored it. Partly because the person asking has an OH with diabetes who neglects himself, and I didn’t want to cause an argument. Cowards way out maybe.
2. Almost finished my book, Catherine Alliott “About Last Night”, not as funny as her other books but a good light holiday read.
3. Finished the first week of the Science of Nutrition course. Hopefully it will get better in week 2!

So I’m off now to have my first half litre of water and plan my menu for today then I can report a successful day in tomorrow’s post. Have a good day!

Morning,

today -0.1lb.

Keep on everyone

x

Linda and Natalie – I did the drink once. Never again. Although it led to diagnosis of insulin resistance, it really does seem bizarre to load an ill person up with what ails them. You don’t get offered that on the NHS, just a blood test. Which is infinitely less disgusting. Presumably the drink is a more sensitive test, or at least a more expensive one? 😳😉

Thankyou NonnaMary, learning fast here! Informed anectodate very useful. What a terrrobel experience for your husband. Illuminating thought about the liver, thankyou.

End of my second week today. Here are my results:

Steps: Hit the average 10,000 steps target (in fact it was 12,900 because of yesterday’s adventures).
HIT: Did my 3 days of 3 HIT sprint bursts
Strength: Still doing daily yoga
Weight: Lost 3.2lb (Current: 156.6; Start of BSD: 167.2; Target: 133; Overall loss: 10.6)
Waist: Lost 4″ since beginning – didn’t measure last week (Current: 40″; Start of BSD: 44″; Target: 33″ – half height)

Overall, weight stalled at this point, but still feeling confident in the programme and good – sharp and energetic – and loving the food.

Hi Marie
Your Galway experience sounds about right. Us Galwegians love visitors and are very proud of our town! You are more than welcome to join our growing party….😀

Woke up tired as usual. Roll on Monday, when my weekend starts. I hate on call weekends!

L x

Mine are about self control and good choices.

Went out for a meal with clients in China last night.
1) No rice or noodles – just one “good luck” dumpling.
2) No booze – stuck to a fabulous range of local teas
3) Ate lots of sensible proteins – lots of fish (whole and steamed), great seafood (including the unfortunately named “Penis worm” – Fat Innkeeper worm for those who eat Korean) and jellyfish and loads of fried and steamed veg.

After 22000 steps yesterday, I may have destroyed today’s calories count but still think I’m onto a winner. The challenge will be the flight back tonight – Air France is not really renowned for its BSD friendly menus.

You never know!

I got into tea to replace wine during my first BSD800 and it satisfies the need for a variety of beverage tastes and a nerdy level of knowledge.

You had me at “raspberry fields.” 😀 I’ve long had a dream of a big ol’ BSD party where we get together and indulge in a sumptuously low carb feast with a little something for everyone. LTC do I recall correctly that you’re in the northeast somewheres? If there’s any way to make this happen, we should get to work on it. Open invitation to all our BSD brothers and sisters across the world, it goes without saying. Just imagine coming the US and not having to deal with the horrors of making judicious choices in the post-apocalyptic strip mall landscape that is so hard to avoid here.

Here’s a reliable source for defatted peanut butter powder, Allie: http://www.holdthecarbs.com/low-carb-staples/low-carb-peanut-butter-powder . It weighs very little, so you get a lot more bang for your 2 Tblsp buck than you do with intact peanut butter. That same site, btw, is also my primary source for inulin (high fiber, natural sweetness http://www.holdthecarbs.com/low-carb-staples/inulin-fiber ), glucommanan/konjac powder (high fiber, instant thickener http://www.holdthecarbs.com/low-carb-staples/konjac-glucomannan-powder ) and these unbelievably delicious gems that, I discovered today, are AMAZING ground up with tamari almonds to make a butter: http://www.holdthecarbs.com/low-carb-baking-essentials/toasted-coconut-chips-unsweetened . They also sell the best coconut cream I’ve ever had ( http://www.holdthecarbs.com/low-carb-staples/coconut-cream ). It’s so lush and thick it’s basically like eating ice cream before you do a thing to it. No need to refrigerate it to solidify the cream and separate it from the water. There is no water. It’s all cream. This is the secret weapon in my chia pudding.

Thank you, LindA for the links that you have posted. Since o/h has done
so well on our plan, I haven’t thought about doing additional research
on sat. fat. However, I’m always interested in keeping well informed
on anything and everything that could have an impact on my husband’s
long term prospects, so I appreciate having access to more information.

Best wishes,

Allie

Hey, Judy! I’m rather glad that you started this thread, because now I always
know where to find you 🙂 You sound like you’re off to a very good start,
and aren’t finding any of this too difficult. Whereabouts in the midwest
are you? It’s been frigid here (CT) too, and a real impediment to walking
outside, earlier in week. I never noticed the cold when I was morbidly
obese, so this winter has been a shocker! A 10lb loss is an impressive
start. I am curious about one thing, however. Did I somehow miss why
you are opting for the 5:2 instead of the Fast800?
Please keep in touch,
Allie

Linda I have that 2 hour glucose tolerance test every year (because I had gestational diabetes 11 years ago) and not only do I have to drink that disgusting sugar but I have to “carb load” for three days beforehand to get accurate results. Apparently a lot of clinics don’t do carb loading any more, but mine does. Someone asked why I have the GTT and not a HbAC1 or whatever it’s called and I have no idea. I will discuss it with my new doctor when it comes around this year. My fasting bloods are always fine, it’s only the bottle of sugar that makes me spike and feel very ill.

Congrats JulesP!

‘Evening, All! Thanks to the gastronomical geniuses around here, my
interest in re-engaging in creative cooking has been peaked. I think
it’s time to seek additional fat + fiber options beyond avocado and
seeds and nuts. On the outer threads Essie was talking about defatted
peanut butter power (sugar free). Any ideas for sources, anyone?
Or recipes? I’m a very respectable cook, just haven’t done much of it
in a few years because prior to the BSD I never had the energy and
couldn’t stand long enough to have it be an enjoyable activity. Nothing
is fun when you’re in pain every day 🙂 I’m more interested in the savory,
not snacks or treats. Any ideas or recipes would be much appreciated!
My current fantasy is to find Essie and Luv together in a kitchen creating
a one of a kind meal, and the price of admission could be to offer my
skills as a sous chef, and chief stork for retrieving items residing on
upper shelves out of their reach! Oh yes, and tour guide to the
raspberry fields….Not sold yet? I can probably think of a few more…

Allie

JulesMaigret when I visited China I went to a tea tasting. I don’t recalled what their weight-loss one was called but it smelled like manure-filled stable straw. I’m not in a position to compare the two tastes as I’ve never had a brew of stable straw, but didn’t like the tea. Maybe you lose weight because it puts you off eating?

That’s interesting about marinara sauce, in Australia it definitely means it contains seafood and Aussies overseas get very disappointed if that is not what they get when they order it!

Hi Esnecca,
It’s not so much about being filled up or feeling full. It is more about hitting those buttons in my brain that say “I’m really satisfied.” I also use pure peanut flour. Its annoying that a PB2 adds sugar but at first that was all I good get.

Jan

As a tea geek, an interesting point, the Chinese drink Pu Erh when they want to lose weight. This is a “red” tea which has been left to mature and has quite a rich taste, so an option as well as Green Tea.

VictoriaM – I can completely relate to the whole chocolate bar scenario – I used to love milk chocolate but hadn’t had a piece of chocolate since August, and was fine about it. I’d read on here about people having 1 or 2 squares of Lindt so bought some for Christmas. For some bizarre reason, I assumed I’d respond differently to dark chocolate – hmm, that now sounds a bit like Esnecca’s Twix tale – but nope, ended up wolfing down most of it in one go. So, now you’re no longer that person and neither am I !

Btw, am I the only person who finds the idea of a dirty little assignation in a pay-by-the-hour motel strangely appealing? I’ve often wondered, Esnecca, if you write, either for a living or for pleasure.

Verano – I think we’ll just have to agree to differ on the blood glucose monitoring

JulesP – great news about getting into the 9st’s…. I’m still at 10 stone but I’m hoping to get there by Tueday’s weigh-in.

I’m away to a surprise birthday party from tomorrow. It involves a 3 day hotel stay but it’s only bed and breakfast so I’ll be fine. It will also give me a chance to go for a few long walks which, as a previous couch potato, I’m genuinely looking forward to.

Have a good weekend everyone

Also on the quarter-pound thing, remember that scales are not that accurate and will vary on their own internal temperature, angle of pressure on the load cells etc. I paid about £10 for my scales in a UK Supermarket and I have no delusions that they have the cheapest load cells and converters on the market so I stick to the round pound number which is likely to be near the mark.

Hey there all.. just checking in on this thread I started. I’m hanging in over here in the frigid U.S. A week in and I lost approx 10 lbs.. Of water weight I know, but that’s okay. My knees are thanking me anyway! I say “approx”, because I couldn’t bare to weigh myself on day #1. It was a number that would freak me out totally and I didn’t want to start the week depressed.. So, I weighed a couple of days in, and that number was expected.. And, then a few days later I was 5 lbs under that. So, I’m thinking between 8 and 10..

I’ve yet to do an 800 calorie day. My attempts have come in at about 1,000.. which for a larger girl like me, is pretty good. I’m trying not to get down on myself.. if I have to ease into it, so be it. Hopefully next week I can get a few solid 800 calorie days and do the BSD 5:2 as intended.

I’m making good choices both at home and when out.. so, no complaints here. I hope everyone else is doing well! Thanks again for the support!

Judy

I think Bulletproof coffee makes it more of a fasting mimicking diet rather than a true fast, although I stay clear of dairy on my FMD so would have to use another plant based oil as well as the coconut (maybe Walnut? I might try it next time) I do find the bulletproof coffee very satisfying for a long period.

Great work, now you just have to keep it off and keep that blood sugar under control. Congratulations on reaching this stage of your ongoing journey to a healthier lifestyle. 😀😀😀😀😀😀

I agree that quarter of a pound is totally insignificant, in fact my daily variation at the moment is mostly in the more than a pound bracket which is much more noticeably water, but quarter of a pound of fat is about 800 extra calories over TDEE, if you just look at what ‘fuel’ you have had extra on that one day it was far from that much. Keeping on keeping on myself at the moment, and finally starting to drop some of that water, about 4 pounds down this morning.

Just to complete my update…

Made it to week 8 and beyond 🎉I have enjoyed a good few high calorie treat days over the Christmas period but I’ve now settled on approx 1200kcal day. Still loosing weight although I’ve not got much more I can afford to lose. I never thought I’d be saying that 😀.

I’m down to 76kg making it a loss of 16kg (35lbs) with my BMI at a healthy 24.

Hopefully tracking my BSD journey here (..yes there is a typo in the title!) will motivate new starters who are now, where I was only a few months back. It flys by so stick with it and reap the rewards is my only advice. 👍

Jules, congratulations! Way to get back into single digits. I’m so pleased you found the Slotin analogy useful (to the point of research, no less!). Long may the thought of accidental atomic annhilation keep your dragon at bay. Now on to the next mini-goal and the next until the endpoint and maintenance and a lifetime of real liberation instead of being stuck in a loop of old patterns and self-harm. It’s a beautiful thing. Pat yourself on the back!

Same goes for you Victoria, Laska, everyone. We so easily fall into the trap of berating ourselves, punishing the parts of us that seem to be actively undermining our goals. But those are just fragments. Every one of us, taken as total humans, have accomplished great feats of strength. It’s so important that we well and truly feel the steel in our spines and take vocal pride in our successes and achievements, be they mental, emotional or physical.

I use goats milk butter in the absence of grass fed. It has a distinctive flavour that I like very much. Readily available in Waitrose. NB I’m off to buy a cauli tomorrow

Hard to imagine that black coffee can break a fast when green tea doesn’t. Must confess I tend to use Marvel in my drinks, because I just have not been able to acquire the taste for black tea or coffee. The amount I use, especially for tea, is minimal. I find that I really don’t like the taste of fatty milk any more and wet milk both goes off before I can finish it and makes tea cold.

Laska, you rock. Good for you for staring your dragon down, recognizing that he lives inside of you and has spent decades honing his ability to use your most painful memories and fears against you. My dragon was paralysis, depression, a certainty that any success I’d had as a youngster was sheer dumb luck, not drive or intellect or ability. I would tickle his tail by miring myself even further in the quicksand. Good thing he turned out to be the laziest dragon in the world. He couldn’t do shit to me once I cut the sugar, found real energy again and simply got up and walked away from him.

He’s probably still there somewhere, snoring throatily and farting in his sleep. I wouldn’t know, of course. Not one step backwards.

Hi Kat…

I started the fast 800 about 11 weeks ago and have had some amazing results. post here: https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/new-t2-tacking-my-bsd-fast-800-journey/

I too had similar concerns as I typically burn between 2500-3500kcal a day, so 800kcal was a huge deficit. I keep strict track of calorific intake via my Fitbit. Looking back at my records I would say most days I was at around 900cal with even the occasional 1000kcal. I lost 15kg (33lbs) by the end of week 8 and I am in a healthy BMI range (24). I also felt very lethargic and lacking energy for the first two weeks and carb flu hit hard. I struggled to exercise at normal intensity levels, which to be fair I expected to be the case. However my body did soon adapt. I don’t think upping calorie intake just a little will do any harm for somebody active like yourself. I suspect you would still get greater losses and find it as tough (or tougher) than somebody less active on 800kcal.

Good luck with your efforts. I know everyone says this, it really does get easier the further along you get. 👍

That’s the spirit, Victoria! You are nobody’s cheap date, least of crap chocolate’s. It amazes me how easily we bond to things that are objectively terrible — grainy third-rate chocolate, high fructose corn syrup, chemical flavorings. I deserve the honeymoon suite at the Ritz, a massive bouquet of long-stemmed red roses and a filet mignon with a side of asparagus and hollandaise. Here’s to knowing your worth, owning your life, standing your ground no matter what or who comes at you and never again having to settle for garbage!

I had a weakness for mini Twix bars back in the dark days, which I managed to fend off until Halloween when I told myself I was getting a couple of bags for the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. In 5 years, no more than a half-dozen kids ever knocked on my door. Those Twixes were always destined to go down my gullet one after the other, let’s face it.

I knew things had changed radically for me when my OH bought something like 10 boxes of Girl Scout cookies and I didn’t eat a single one. They stayed in the cabinet for MONTHS. I kept waiting for the day I’d crack, but it never came. He finally brought them to work and his office mates polished them off for us.

Mary – That’s brilliant news. Bloody well done! you must be rightly thrilled. It also makes getting to 15st 7lbs by your birthday so much closer. Go for it.

Leelee – if you don’t mind me calling you that – reading about Galway made me smile. We were there many years ago for a weekend. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast. Wherever we went the B&B owner would insist on calling her brother, who lived 15 minutes away, and he would come over and give us a lift – neither of them would take a penny from us for it. Can I come, too? Hope the blood tests help.
Cheers
Marie
x

Sorry about that, Jim. The good news is you can make the butter lake caulimash yourself whenever you like. 😀

At 50 grams of carbs for 100 grams, chickpea flour is a big screaming no for me. There’s no reason to destroy your numbers for the day just to thicken a soup. You’d be far better off using a fat (creme fraiche, heavy cream), plant fiber (guar gum, xantham, konjac powder) or animal gelatin (collagen). There’s no downside I’ve found to low carb eating. From my perspective, it’s all upsides as far as the eye can see.

Dr. Fung acknowledges that any calories ingested break the fast. He just doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal depending on what you’re eating. I don’t recall him advocating bulletproof coffee during a fast, just normal coffee. BPC has an enormous amount of calories so it doesn’t seem like much of a fast to me if you guzzle hundreds of calories worth of butter or coconut oil every day. If you eat nothing else, I suppose you’d be doing a form of IF. A sort of 24 hour fast, if you will.

Thanks, LTC! We’re going to have to team up to write the BSD fanatics recipe book. 😀

I keep a supply of defatted peanut butter powder in the house. I add it to sauces for a satay sort of thing, sprinkle it on my square of unsweetened bakers chocolate with flaked sea salt for dessert, and occasionally reconstitute it with yogurt or hemp milk and eat it by the spoonful topped with cacao nibs. Very delicious. You have to be careful with the brands, though, because the most popular one (PB2) adds sugar. I get mine from an organic shop and it has no additives whatsoever, not even salt. That’s fine by me. I have a half-dozen gourmet salts in my pantry and I’d much rather add my own to my liking.

Jande, it is not a coincidence that peanut butter comes close to filling you up. Guess what’s in it? Fat and fiber. Your meals sound great, but stir fries, no matter how vibrant, don’t really check all the boxes when it comes to feeling full. They’re light. Since you’re in maintenance, you can afford to ramp up the calories every once in a while and enjoy a plate full of healthy fats and high fiber veg or seeds.

Hi MnM, I wouldn’t call quarter of a pound noticeable weight – as I usually say it is only a poo or a wee away from sticking. I have been hammering the water and feeling bloated so it could even be that. Really it is a matter of jumping on the scales daily and seeing the fluctuations you wouldn’t see if I weighed weekly, so I dont get upset about it or change my mind set. If we want to be academic about it in a non-scientific way just by using previous observations I can report that this morning I had a big drop in blood glucose reading and a small increase in weight. I have noticed in the past that this can happen as can the converse – or is it obverse) that if I have a big weight loss my BG can go up – I just see it as my body making its own adjustments to a changing situation. Tomorrow or the next day the weight loss will start again. Isnt that what we tell newbies who are having a stall and it is true. I still think that when we are on such low calorie plan (or any reduced calories) the body soon gets used to it and detects even small increases in that allowance. Which is why people regain weight if they return to ‘normal’ eating. I will report my results tomorrow as usual, good or bad, I know I am sticking to it, I just need my body to catch on too. 🙂

Hi alliecat
Have you looked through pubmed to see what studies are out there?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/?term=saturated%20fat%20heart%20attack&page=2

I assume you also know about the science studies that dietdoctor.com publishes on their website?

https://www.dietdoctor.com/dietary-guidelines-dont-reflect-science

Cheers
Linda

And very glad you had a great day with Noodle xx

Always pleased to talk to you Lee.

Mary
xxxx

Mary, that’s bloody marvellous. You always said you weren’t doing well, but can’t argue with those numbers. Doesn’t sound like you were full blown diabetic at all but you have sensibly avoided what may have been in your future and that can only be a good thing.

With regards to my gp, I was actually being complimentary. He really did a very thorough examination. He really was stumped and I’m actually thrilled at the number of tests he’s ordered. You would normally start one by one due to the cost but he’s ordered the full range (about £3000 worth) so I don’t think he could have done more today. I actually rate him very highly. He always runs about 30-60 mins behind because he always takes his time with each patient. That’s why I never mind waiting!

Always room for you (now a very small one) in Galway. Full (veggie) Irish on me 🤣🤣

Planning is the key for me too. Just did my on line shop and menu plan for next week and will batch cook at the weekend, so I won’t have to do it when the fatigue hits! I love veggie food and eat it a lot, but would find it hard all week to hit my protein goals I think.

Mmmm, paella. I miss that. I really miss rice!

Yep, let’s go to Canada. I miss my other mentor. Though you and Allie do a sterling job for me!

L xxx

Verano, your positives sound great to me!

Mine for today are:

I spent 4 hours with my lovely granddaughter today.

I was signed off Diabetes with “In Remission” in my notes.

I have been weighed at my Doctors and weigh 3 pounds less than I thought. Result!

Take care everyone

Lots of love
Nonna Mary
xxx

If you have adapted to fat burning then your energy levels should be fine with no light headedness, even on 800 calories, and even if you are exceptionally active. People have run 10k on 800 days and I regularly do two hours of badminton practice/social games in a day which is quite a lot of activity, maybe almost as much as my intake when the rest of the days activity is taken into consideration as well. This may be a drawn out version of carb flu, in which case, although you shouldn’t up your carbs, no harm will be done to the process by upping your calories, and in fact if you up the healthy fats it may help the adaptation. Try a couple of days at 1000, higher fat or protein but low carb, and keep going. Hopefully it will settle down in the next few days.

I’m eleven days in to a six week attempt at the 800 calories a day diet. I am very active, walking on average at least five miles a day and I am riding my horse some days and mucking out stables for an hour a day which is quite heavy work. I am 5’3” and weigh 10.9 ( I started at 11.9!) does anyone think I should maybe up my calories to 1000? I am suffering from weakness and I’m very lightheaded .

We are retired and spend a lot of time planning and preparing our meals, and we use a large variety of herbs, spices and sauces to help make our meals special. We started this to help make the BSD easier to follow, and we have continued this way of cooking after we went into maintenance.

One side effect is that we find ourselves less satisfied with dinners out. A nice meal that we would have enthused over a few years ago now seems rather ordinary.

We went out to a high end Vietnamese restaurant last night that we loved in the past. I realized that the dinner was as good as it always was, but really it wasn’t any better than what we regularly have at home. We often have stir fries full of fresh ginger, garlic, onions and soy sauce and it is hard for any restaurant to improve on that.

So my appetite has more or less disappeared- I know it is only D4. It is 8.30pm and I am ready to crash out, I need sleep but still have 215 calories to consume!

Hi JackieM
The fasting glucose test I had done was not the horrible 2 hour one where you have to drink the glucose, it was just a blood draw to test glucose levels after I had fasted for 12-14 hours. My doctor wanted to give me the other one but I refused as there was no way I was deliberately putting glucose into my body!

My sister lives in the UK and she just sent me her results and they didn’t report on the triglycerides at all, just the non HDL reading which includes both LDL and triglycerides which is useless. You may have to go private for those.
Cheers
Linda

When you put noticeable weight on from just a small over calorie like s-g did it must be water weight, and a reaction to a higher than normal carb intake. It usually leaves almost as quickly as it arrives for me. I think when you are low carb long term you are permanently running with your liver and muscle glycogen in a depleted state and extra carbs are diverted there rather than being turned into fat (apart from fructose, which is only ever converted into visceral fat according to some sources, although maybe only when the liver glycogen is replete, as it can only be processed by the liver). The calories-in hypothesis suggests you need to overeat by about 3,700 calories to put on a pound of fat, although eating low carb I can eat above my TDEE and not gain anything.

A stick of butter is 1/4 of a pound here in Canada.

I am very happy with the control this way of eating has given me over my weight and blood sugar, but sometimes I feel I have been sentenced to a lifetime of denial. We eat very well, and our food is full of flavour, but I have yet to find a food that triggers my satiety hormones the way carbs do. Peanut butter comes very close, but it is very calorific. I am experimenting with dry peanut butter that has most of the fat removed, and it may be part of the answer.

Allie: to your question, no do not use avocado oil Use either light (color) olive oil (not the fine dark green EVOO) or peanut oil (if Asian dish).

Hey ho! Still no downward sign in the scales which I admit I am finding so frustrating but keeping going. This is my last weekend of holidays, maybe the change of routine next week will do something.

For the fermenters out there, I saw a kimchi recipe the other day that uses the whey from making yoghurt instead of brine as the fermenting agent. Any experience of this? I thought it might be a good use for all the whey that I currently tip down the sink 😱

Hi Hackie, 9 is high but mine went up to 7.8 which is also high and caused a flurry of concern to my doctor. I was actively losing weight then and declined statins. 6 months later it’s still high but lower, I think 5.9 and triglycerides around 1. LDL is still a bit high but improving, HDL is good. For myself, I’m glad I gave it time.

Now you’re in maintenance, hopefully it will all settle. Fingers crossed!