Lovetcook, well done on your fast so far. I agree, once you get your head around it, it’s not actually that difficult – I certainly never feel actual “hunger” and I have learned to consciously enjoy that “empty feeling”. Fasting is also a great maintenance tool to have in one’s armoury. I know you aren’t there yet, but you WILL be, I know, and then it comes in very useful, once or twice a month.

I enjoy fasting and have found that after one day, I generally lose a couple of pounds, but a longer one can result in much greater losses. My longest to date was 49 hours and it resulted in 4lbs loss initially, but it seems to have a kick on effect and I lost another 4lbs over the course of the next 3 – 4 days, even though I was eating normally (BSD friendly, obviously, but not weighed or calorie restricted)

In fact, I am 18 hours into a 36 hour fast atm (started at 7pm last evening), just because I was feeling rubbish after challenging Verano to change our water drinking habits – she was to drink a pint before eating, I was not allowed to drink anything at all for at least an hour before eating. This has resulted in my water consumption going way down, and my body water percentage has dropped a whopping 3% in just 3 days! So today, it’s water only for me as I really need to get hydrated again. I would continue the fast for longer, but my favourite niece and great niece are visiting tomorrow, haven’t seen them since this time last year so really looking forward to it, and we are all going out for a family lunch, so that is when I will break fast – actually it will be nearer 41 hours by then!

Good luck with the remainder of your fast – I’m off to have yet another pint of water!

PS Verano, great on your BS fall – yes, just take it and run. How’s the water consumption going?

Esnecca it looks like it could be fasting that has made my BS fall to it’s lowest ever despite no longer taking metformin. The week or so before my last HbA1c I was only having two meals a day so probably doing 15:9. I don’t know if that counts as ‘proper’ fasting but my diabetes nurse did mention fasting as a possibility for lowering BS. Anyway, I’m just going to take the new lower figure and run with it!

PS Allie: even more weird is that I also have two cats (not classy Siamese….mine rescues). Yes, our stories sound very similar.

My ex-husband (and still good friend) also a college professor. He was in town last week for a national neuroscience seminar and after having dinner at my place together with our son, had a fainting episode later in the middle of the night in his hotel room on the way to the bathroom and fell. Called me in a lot of pain (thought he had cracked some ribs), so I fetched him and spent the next 3 hrs with him in the ER doing EKGs, X-rays, blood work, the lot, to try to figure out what happened. Yep…..our stories sounding all too much alike. Note: he is fine and on the mend, hospital still not sure what caused it, suspects maybe dehydration and blood pressure change standing up too quickly from bed.

OMG! I have been absolutely freezing! Especially my hands and feet. And I’m normally the one telling everyone else to turn the heating down, being a menopausal woman and all. 50lbs is an amazing loss Theodora – that’s about the same that I’m aiming for. I just use kilos because it sounds less!

I’m managing to remember to drink enough, but you and luvtcook have mentioned the salt thing, so will need to keep an eye on that. Have just had a surprisingly satisfying lunch of home made borscht and a bit of feta. My main worry is lapsing into snacking when I’m at work as there are always biscuits and cakes brought in by well meaning colleagues.

I’m eating out tonight so have already checked the menu online and decided what I’m having so I don’t succumb when I arrive and am hungry.

I’m a coffee fiend too – double espresso for me every time, so never had to bother about counting milk. But I’m sure it would soon add up if you have more than a cup a day, so do please account for it.

Good luck.

Hi Brava – Welcome to the forum! I’m also a coffee fiend. I now drink my
mugs black, but when I started my quest to lose 50% of myself and began
measuring my carbs with exactitude, I switched to unsweetened almond
milk to use in my coffee. I even got o/h to make the switch. If you measure
out 1/2 c each day to use in your coffee, you will only add 15 cal. a day, and
no net carbs. The very best of luck to you!

Allie

Good advice already, alibalibee, and a great idea to have a thread for newbies..

I think you are right, once we are used to this way of life, it is often difficult for us old-timers to remember how hard it was in the first week or two. I started BSD800 way back in January and suffered quite badly from carb flu. I felt weak and tired and headachy, and in fact struggled to even give my dogs a short walk! But the very worst thing, and what made me very nearly give up, was how COLD I was – all the time – didn’t matter how many clothes I wore, how high the heating was turned up, how many hot water bottles I cuddled, I couldn’t even take the edge off the cold that was pervading my body. Fortunately, the good people on this forum kept me going, and it passed within a week or two and I started feeling amazing. Haven’t looked back since, did 2 rounds back to back and lost 50lbs and have been in maintenance ever since.

Drinking loads of water is crucial, you need to keep really well hydrated, but as mentioned above, you will also need to replace some salt, which gets washed out because of all the extra water consumption, otherwise it is easy to suffer from cramp.

Weighing and recording everything is important whilst trying to lose, but now I’m in maintenance, I don’t weigh anything, just stick to the principles, and it’s worked for me.

Before long, you will find you become totally energised and wonder why no-one told you about this WOE years ago! Good luck, just keep on keeping on and it will eventually become second nature.

Allie, touching base with you and a handful of other regulars has truely become a bit of sunshine in my day that I look forward to. You are right, it becomes a sisterhood of support and encouagement.

I am no where close to hitting 100lbs down (not unless you count all the weight of I have lost, then regained, over the last 10 years, then yes, I am a full member).

Currently am down 33 lbs with 67 to go, but have re-lost 15 of those 33 in under a month on BSD which far exceeds anything I have done before since hitting age 50. I am now 2 lbs away from the lightest I have been Oct 2007. I have been tracking every diet I have been on since 2007 on an excel spreadsheet (new set of columns for each year, each new diet). It is practically a case study in the failure of the traditional calorie restriction diet….because each new diet is successful…but stops a little short of the prior low point, and the next diet starts a little higher than the last. It looks like a staircase when viewed in toto….but unfortunatley the staircase is going up not down.

Hopeing this will be the last “biggie” and that after this I will be operating within a normal and manageable 5 lb gain/loss range.

I am very hopeful about this WoE. It makes absolute scientific sense and the success stories of you and other who have done it complete the loop. It works in real people, and really, the toughest of the tough who are insulin resistant, T2 or pre-diabetic, whose metabolisms have been damaged by years and years of dieting.

The good news for me is that, unlike you, I found this forum at the beginning of my journey and not at the end.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to celebrate BSD losses with a low carb 3 day cruise annually….a supportive reunion with 1, 5 & 10 year pins awarded for KEEPING IT OFF. We should do it virtually if unable to in reality. I take that back. I vote for reality. How wonderful to have everyone that has kicked T2 diabetes and/or lost over 50 lbs on BSD to all get together for a meet up with Michael Mosely and Roy Taylor & other T2 BSD and therapeutic fasting advocates (Jason Fung) …and have a photo of a sea of people fist raised in success…none of whom are are blind, none missing toes or feet. There should be a big banner overhead estimating the total $$$ saved on medication for the lot. I’d happily pay to fly to Great Britain to do that. I think the euphoria from the water fast may be kicking in….but I truely believe this is a revolution in the understanding of obesity and of T2 diabetes. Finally. Its about time.

WELCOME BACK EC….I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH…

Thank you for the links. I have read them and I am although I do take multivitamins…I am going to make sure I get VitD tonight and take that daily. I have used the VitD creams, but they can damage the normal skin. So you have to be very careful.

Sorry you are healing…take it easy for goodness sake! It must be getting very hot there now… quite the opposite here, the central heating is on and warm clothes are being worn. I know you are busy, but please pop in occasionally and let me know you are ok. Well done on not going back to carbs. I can’t see the point even though I am having problems losing.

I don’t have much to report here, so I will just wish you all the very best and will be back soon.

Lots of love,
Nonna Mary
xxx

Thank Esnecca – I know what you mean about estimates. I did a bit of experimental weighing of foods before I started this and was shocked to see that my helping of muesli was actually three times the size that it should have been. No wonder I now need to lose at least 20kg!

Coffee is water, basically, because you don’t eat the grindings. Milk is not. You should weigh it and count it on FS. It’s high in sugar and there have been several posters here who discovered to their dismay that they’d been drastically undercounting calories and carbs because what they thought was “just a splash” of milk added up to many ounces a day.

Good luck!

Fasting lowers insulin and blood sugar levels dramatically and takes hunger with them. I’ve only been genuinely hungry once on an extended fast. I just spent a lot of time planning my break fast meal and let the fantasy combinations carry me through to the endzone. I hear you about wanting to shed those post stat. I had so much weight to lose and my life on the line. I’d already wasted two decades getting hyper-obese. I had no more time left to waste.

Last year at Thanksgiving was the first time in a decade that I could do up the airplane seatbelt without needing an extension. It was a close call, though. I had to suck it in, Shatner style. Now coach feels like business class did. 😀

Ancient Weaver: correct….doing a 4 day water only diet (with some extra salt). I am now 2 1/2 days in having started Fri night around 7 pm as last meal, and it is going fine. More of a head issue than a stomach issue…..very boring with no meals to punctuate the day. Lost two pounds for my regular weekly weigh-in on Sun, but another 2 lbs since then, so I would count those extra lbs as a loss of 1 lb a day on the fast so far. As I said, really doesn’t feel much differnt than doing the 800 except for the desire to eat something interesting rather than any real hunger.

I can see myself doing a 4 day fast maybe twice a year for health (immune & disease resistance) reasons, but may do a two day fast each month to augment the BSD diet as I have 67 lbs to lose and want them GONE. Am now 33 lbs down from my max weight but have gained/lost/regained/lost ect ect the same 20 lbs for years now. So yes, I am trying to turbo charge the diet at this point. Am at 215 now and am aiming to get under 200 lbs by New Years Day. My birthday is the end of Feb so shooting for another 15 down by then. After that am going to have to get more creative to find some goals to finish off the rest. Maybe will need to plan a big trip. It would be exciting to actually fit in an airplane seat comfortably. Over the years they have gotten smaller and I have gotten bigger. Not a good combination for pleasant travel.

I’m glad you’re beginning to see the beginnings of that special BSD energy that descends like a transfiguration. I had already cut the white carbs for a few months before I started the BSD, so I was spared the flu. The most challenging thing for me on week one was simply developing a new process in the kitchen that introduced the brave new world of weighing, measuring and counting calories and carbs. It cramped my style, a style I had down to a science because I’ve been a committed home cook for a very long time. Using MyFitnessPal to record everything immediately added more complications to what had been an efficient moving system.

It was all worth it. By the end of the week, I was actually enjoying all that data gathering. It was enlightening. I still do it daily even though I’m at my goal weight and in maintenance. And I’m still terrible at estimating. 😀

So count. Measure, weigh and count everything you eat. Whatever your current calorie and carb intakes, you cannot trust your estimates to be even in the ballpark of accurate. I was shocked by how wrong mine were. That’s not to say you have to lock yourself into the 800 cals right away, but you have to know the full reality of how much and what you are eating. Then if you want to make adjustments down the road, you’ll know where you stand.

Keep your eyes on the prize, Ali, and good luck!

Thank you once more Verano, I am drinking coffee, my addiction of choice, with not much milk so am counting it as water +. Maybe this is where I’m falling down as far as rapid weight loss goes. I have changed what I eat since using fat secret, so no more Carb Free Bircher or Beetroot Falafels, much as I enjoyed then, and even though that is what I was eating when I had the initial loss. I like the detailed info on fat secret and the easy ability to change portion size etc. It’s an interesting journey and I’m grateful for the comprehensive discussion on these threads.

Thank you Luvtcook – those are some really helpful tips, and I’ve loved reading your posts on here. Yes, this is my first time on a low carb diet – I was one of those who always believed that carbs were healthy and that eating them for every meal was necessary. I confess that for a long time I though low carbers were cranks – sorry! I can absolutely see that it makes perfect sense now – why is this not wider known?

I had read something on another forum about upping fat intake at first so have been doing this over the weekend. One thing that I found that helped when I was feeling really miserable was to warm up some milk (we only had semi skimmed) and add some cream and cinnamon – it was really comforting. I doubt that I’ve been keeping at 800 calories, but haven’t been too far off. I reckon anything under a thousand is OK just now.

Every time I feel tempted to give up I give myself a stern talking to – why would I want to put myself through this again? And thanks to you, I now know that I won’t ever lose weight like I’m doing at the moment, so that’s really good to know! That hour of feeling great this morning has given me something to hold onto!

Tony, hats off to you !!!! What you have done is amazing given you are traveling. This diet is challenging enough when you are on your home turf in can be in control of your schedule and your meals. To do that on the fly is heroic. Good for you!

Ali, yep, you have the low carb flu. The good news is that you should be within a couple of days of getting over that (the really crummy part) and in another week should feel pretty good.

It sounds like this is your first time doing low carb. If so, you have in your grasp what low carbers call THE GOLDEN TICKET. You only get this once as a newbie….but you will lose weight like crazy, and it will never happen again. Once your body figures out what is going on and learns to switch over to burning fat and ketones, it will remember that forever. If you chuck it in now and start eating carbs, if you try giving a low carb diet a shot again it will work….but not as fabulously as your very first time. Of course you will not feel like total crap on future go arounds. But that is the price you pay as a first timer….but the rewards are amazing if you can stick with it a few more days. You are almost there.

You might try upping your salt intake a good bit Often the headachy stuff is from a salt/mineral impalance and drinking some salty broth helps a lot.

You could also try eating a bit more so you are not dealing with both the 800 calories and the low carb at the same time. For the first 10 days you will lose enough with just the low carb alone and then could go back to the reducing your calories. Eat something fatty and filling….up your fat intake. Have more butter on your veg. Try a brown butter sauce (cook 1 Tbs butter in a skillet until it turns a golden brown and then add a squeeze of lemon) over some cooked fish or chicken filet.

Just be a little bit easier on yourself……an extra 400 calories right now to help you through this is better than dumping the diet. So do only what you can handle. Its a marathon not a sprint. It is a whole different ball game once you get over the low carb stuff. Hang in there…good luck!

Four weeks in now. I am on my way home to Australia again, this time from a UK trip. Haven’t weighed myself for a week and a half but had to buy new jeans in the UK!!! (For the right reasons…. :-p )

It will be nice to have some “proper” food again, having lived on protein shakes and bars with the odd salad and eggs thrown in – plus plenty of tuna and salmon.

I have managed to keep up the cycling, on hotel exercise bikes, averaging 80 mins a day over the four weeks. No alcohol for four weeks either and that has been difficult on the long haul flights. I feel pretty energised though.

Blood sugar readings are averaging around the 5.1 mark for fasting over the last three weeks. I know that I shouldn’t read too much into that but it is keeping me going.

I am surprised, but shouldn’t be having read the posts here, that I don’t really feel hungry, and actually have plenty of energy.

Day one here too, 12 hrs after you Melnz. Ended a weekend of walks with cheese and wine with the extended family, but also cooking a pot of butternut squash soup for lunches in the next few days. Short run this morning, then a berry/almond smoothie. Excited about this.

Hello all

I decided to start a thread for those in their first week to discuss problems that we’re having (if any) to get support from each other and from all you who have been through this already. I felt like that there wasn’t too much on here about the negatives of starting out and so thought we might be able to help ourselves through the tough times. The more experienced BSDers on here are really great, and I love reading all the threads with loads of great advice in, but I think sometimes it can be easy to forget what it’s like in the first week when you’re denying your body everything it craves. I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time on here reading everything that I can, partly to keep me busy because at the moment it seems to be an awfully long time in between meals!

I’m on day 5 now and have had horrible carb flu this weekend – really bad headaches, feeling nauseous all the time, and being really irritable – I gave my son a half hour angry lecture about not doing one piece of homework, and nearly stormed out of the super market because it was full of Christmas cakes and pastries.

And yup, got the keto halitosis as well, although I was strangely elated when my husband told me, very gently, that my breath smelled really weird – I knew that meant I was going into fat burning. I’ve read it doesn’t last very long, but also that it’s due to eating too much protein, which is weird, cos I’m mostly veggie and don’t eat very much protein i thought.

There is light at the end of the tunnel though: this morning I woke up feeling great, not particularly hungry and full of energy. Ate my breakfast of yoghurt with berries and seeds, was raring to go. This only lasted as long as the cycle to work, and I’m now back feeling dizzy and weird, head aches again, but the fact that I experienced that this morning gives me hope. I guess that it’ll take time to get rid of that carb flu feeling altogether, but I’ll get there.

And I’ve already lost 3kg, which is motivation in itself, as is the fact that I didn’t have to strain to get my cycle jacket done up this morning. It will get better! In fact, it is already!

Rant/spiel/monologue over!

Ali xx

well, …..a whisper from the far south!
break needed for multiple reasons….mostly work deadlines and attention to other priorities (mind you, I write this listening to an interview of one of the founders of “black lives matter” after the Australian marriage equality “survey” which thankfully resulted in a resounding yes vote!! and I still struggle with the personal/political!!)

anyhoooo….just read assiduously through probably weeks and weeks of old posts and hoping to be welcomed back to the fold 🙂

me….recovered broken rib…still recovering broken toe (sorry …and seriously sympathetic, Heather re slow healing injuries and work!)….more than enough people staying and while mostly on BSD friendly eating….not counting Kg etc

However, Mary. I really wanted to add a hopefully useful input re your psoriasis

Some years ago, I attended a great seminar by a prof Hollick who presented alongside other things, some very interesting research on vit D…and interestingly, since then (as I think I posted some time ago), there’s also interesting research on Vit D deficiency in both obesity/insulin resistance and depression

see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130965/

http://drholick.com/

hope some of it may be of use

Me…I’m OK if hankering some “quiet” time after too many visitors and deadlines!!
weight….not down as stopped “diet” but not up (well, 1kg) as still on “principles”….just over 4 weeks to Christmas so still hope for the 70kg weigh in !

Summer here….my busiest time re work but will try to check in, as….well, it’s a good thing and you’re such an amazing team!!

I’m very close to 11,4 so I should be there by Wednesday, but I’ll be away from the internet by then, until at least Thursday, more likely Friday, and away from my scales effectively until Saturday, as my most meaningful weigh ins are always first thing in the morning.

Esnecca, Luvtocook, do you really mean three/four days of no food at all? (Other than water.) :0

Good morning

I had a mixed day yesterday. We were eating out last night and I didn’t drink my full quota as a result. I find that, subconsciously, I drink less when I know I’m going to be away from home. It the past I have been to a restaurant that doesn’t have toilet facilities on the ground floor, and although this is very rare, it can cause huge problems. So, I tend to drink less water on the days I know I may have a problem. There is no excuse today though as I’m home!

Have a good day….. just 2 left now!

Krysia you are absolutely right. I just wish more people would post just to give encouragement to those just starting on their BSD journey. We know it can be done and whilst the medical fraternity are, in the main, still promoting outdated ideas, I guess it’s up to us to help spread the word.

Brava I also use fatsecret as I find it less complicated than MFP. Water is very important but other liquids also contribute to the over all amount you should have each day. I’m not sure what the exact amount of fluid is but strangely enough we are conducting a little ‘experiment’ with water on another thread. Theodora has reached her goal weight and gone under it and is also finding it difficult to gain a little. She drinks lots of water but with a lower consumption she has started to gain weight. On the other hand I, who don’t drink enough, find that when I increase my intake the scales move down. This is in no way scientific but I guess the best way is to try it and see!

When I commenced the BSD on the 1st of September 2017 I was a type 2 taking novamix 30 12 units pre breakfast and 34 units pre dinner. I weighed 104.6 kg which is in the obese category for my 170 cm height and my hbac1 in August was 7.6.
After following the program for the last 12 weeks I am now 91.4 kg’s and last weeks hbac1 was 6.1 and I am no longer injecting insulin morning and night. I am still taking Byetta 10 mg pre breakfast and evening and Diabex 1000 with those meals. My bgl figures have tracked steadily throughout and I can’t believe the difference in my well being following this lifestyle change,
I have dropped two trouser sizes and have had to purchase some new clothes but am very happy to do so.

I am thinking of switching to 5.2 from the first of December but may continue on the BSD path asi continue to my goal of 72 kgs. My doctor was amazed with my results when I saw him this afternoon and I plan to continue to shock him when I go for my next hbac1 in February next year.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to these forums as the support network and willingness to share the ups and downs of the journey is invaluable.

Good luck on your own individual journeys

Best wishes

Cameron
Melbourne. Australia
20/11/17

I wondered what that blur of shocking pink was way over yonder. Thank you, Theo. I’m sure you’ll cheerlead this even more wildly: I bought a pair of black suede Calvin Klein ankle boots with a 3-inch stiletto heel to celebrate being under 120 lbs for the first time since puberty. Embossed with a tiny slightly metallic snakeskin pattern, no less. I asked my OH if they were hot and he nodded soundlessly with his mouth hanging open. Now that’s what you call a NFR. 😆

Thank you, SunnyB! I am enjoying it so much that not even my mother’s plaintive plea that I eat her mashed potatoes and pies at Thanksgiving on Thursday could dull my glow.

Good luck Melnz! My first few days have been up and down. First day was easy, very hungry the next day, then the carb flu hit good and proper. I feel as if I’m coming out of it though, touch wood. Have managed to successfully fight the voice in my head telling me that I don’t need to do this and that surely eating a piece of toast wouldn’t be disastrous. I was practically weeping in the supermarket yesterday looking at all of the Christmas goodies! I’m heading into day five tomorrow, and have lost at least 2.5 kg already. Hope you enjoy your salmon!

Thanks SunnyB, I’ll keep you posted 🙂

An update 10 days later. I’m using a tracker called Fat Secret, awful name but very useful programme. It works out fat, protein, carbs and calories and with its help I’ve stayed at around 20g or so carbohydrates and only once gone over the 800 daily calorie allowance. I’ve plateaued again with the net result of a 2lb loss since I started this thread. In a way, I don’t mind. I know I’m eating far more healthily and I expect there is some impact on my pre-diabetes blood sugar. Clothes alone indicate a change in shape even though the recent weight loss is so low. I’d recommend the tracker, much simpler than MFP seemed to be, but still useful. I read lots on these threads about drinking vast quantities of water, I’m not doing this really, I find it hard to see if it would promote weight loss, but what do I know? Advice welcome as always.

Hey Martie – that sounds like foods for a really great start, go easy on the quinoa and you should be fine. Don’t worry about getting the carbs super low right now. Get yourself used to the pattern of things, keep the calories as close to the 800 as you can and once you are in the stride, start looking more closely at the carbs. Most people get on fine at around 30g to 50g, but I personally find I need to push much lower, if I want to see real results but as I said, give yourself a chance to get the basics under control and any carb withdrawal issues have settled first.

Best of luck for a great day one tomorrow and we’ll look forward to reading of your progress.

Woo Hoo!!! Way to go, Esnecca! After all you diligence and hard work, you so deserve this amazing achievement. Enjoy it!!!!

Onetowatch, I’m with you. I’ve been following this cycle for almost this whole challenge. I’m good for 6 days then one blow out at a social event and back to square one.

I went with friends to a Chinese restaurant on Friday night. I always find Chinese tricky and everyone decided on a banquet rather than individual dishes so I limited myself to small amounts of dishes that didn’t have obvious sugar glazes and avoided the rice. No dessert but there was a cocktail and some scotch and soda as well. Then a 48 hour fast over the weekend and today up 1.5kg from Friday. Disappointing! I know it will go again in a few days but I seem to be further than ever from the final goal. I am thinking I might be better off just being happy with the level I am at, the frustration would be a whole lot less.

Here we go! Day one. I am like you Roo76, I need to get my exercise in early before I know what I am actually doing! I went to the gym this morning, had a breakfast frittata ready for afterwards, and have planned salmon salad for lunch and chicken with asparagus and mushrooms for dinner. I had a very indulgent weekend away and while I walked a half marathon, I more than made up for it with food and wine! Like all of you, I have noticed the weight creeping on and my clothes just don’t feel comfortable anymore. I actually feel excited – even though I know this will not be easy.

There you are, luvtcook! It’s very nice to know that you look for me each
day….I look for you, too 🙂 I have very high hopes for you because I recognize
your desire for knowledge as well as success. I wish I had found this forum
before I reached maintenance, so you are well ahead of the game in that
regard. I’ve just printed out your recipe for cauliflower and roasted red
pepper soup. Time to leave my summer eating plan behind and focus on
winter fare. Are you on day 3 of your full out fast? I definitely believe in
trying this once a month, but I’ve got to get my weight stabilized first. It’s
interesting to me that we are of similar age, and also packed on the weight
over a similar time period, 17 years. Who would have ever believed that
could be reversed in a mere 10 months? Jackie has expressed the thought
that there might be a book in all of these success stories. I’ve been trying
to gently push Esnecca in this direction. Her food is inspired, even for
an accomplished cook like me (I’d hope so, after 48 years of entertaining
family, friends and business associates!). It’s great to have another BSD
foodie in our ranks. Do you know what drives me crazy? The USDA is still
recommending a food pyramid that includes 8-10 servings of whole grain
products at the base. My cynical self sees this as the work of the grain
and sugar lobbyists. Today’s grains are 80% genetically modified on top
of that. Our ancestors never ate a contemporary diet, why would we want
to? RUBBISH. Even the American Heart Assoc., although recommending
a mediterranean diet, suggests 6-8 servings of starch ea. day. Have I
missed what your weight loss goals are? Do you have the 100 club in
your sights? You will get here, I believe in you!

Allie

KrysiaD, your are more honest than I am. I am pre diabetic and rather than go into a big explanation….I just tell them I am diabetic.

But your are right. Servers are much more accomodating when they understand you have a reason for your special request rather than just being “high maintenance”.

Maybe some day when the world begins to understand that all the sandwiches and the starchy sides that come with every meal are not really good for us, lighter options will be offered as a matter of course. It is rather discouraging to open a menu that says “no substitutions” and offer fries/chips as the only option. My favorite Thai please is now used to my telling them “no rice” and pulling out my little container of cauli rice to replace it.

Hi Verano
Have been thinking about the BSD as we had a lovely – but bitterly cold walk around the parkland at Oxburgh Hall. It’s not just coming off diabetes drugs – there are many many posters on this forum who have avoided going onto the drugs and insulin in the future because they have followed the BSD and sorted out their blood sugar issues. They will never get diabetes – which is a real success story also.

In the National Trust Cafe they only had filled bagettes or Jacket potatoes. The new thing I have been doing is to say that I am managing diabetes without insulin and please could I have some extra salad leaves with the sandwich filling – but no bread. This always results in a lovely salad.

Esnecca, congratulations. I’m with you – what you ate and drank yesterday sounds pretty much like an average day for me, and it WORKS. Well done you, how exciting, jumping, shouting, cheering, dancing and waving my pompoms for you,

PS I’m all for hallucinatory comas, if they give us results like this😁

Make that 10 pounds lost since the end of September. I was 117.9 this morning. I’ve only seen big daily drops like this during an extended fast. Yesterday I ate an omelette with one duck egg and one hen egg, 2 full oz of cheese (that omelette was literally bursting with melthy goodness), two strips of turkey bacon, 2 tbsp of peanut butter, at least 3 oz of Greek yogurt, roasted turkey breast, a whole head of chickory, 5 oz spinach, butter, olive oil, an array of my trusty fermentation products and a big ol’ 16-gram square of 100% cacao sprinkled with sea salt flakes. It was fat-tastic! I also drank like a camel, 105 fl oz or 3.1 liters.

I’m pretty sure I’m trapped in the Matrix or in a hallucinatory coma, but I can’t say I don’t love it. In two days I’ve reached the unattainable goal AND added wiggle room to boot. I feel a homemade grass-fed sirloin mushroom and Swiss burger coming on.

Hello everyone! Am enjoying catching up with you all – and welcome newbies too! I’ve been struggling I have to say- I have three days at 800
And then 3 at 2000 and then a fast for a day and off I go again. Any ideas how to halt this cycle?

Good morning, everyone! I’ve been a little slow out of the gate today. Seems
that I needed a full mug of coffee to get my brain in gear before sharing the
contents of such this morning 🙂 Thank you all for thinking of me. I’m just
fine, however.
I like the water nymph idea too, Theodora! Maybe we can get a routine
going with synchronized swimming? I recommend dusk as a good time
of day……I don’t want to scare small children with my pleated skin! I
understand EXACTLY how you might be feeling seeing the scale move
up .5 lb. a day. I’m deliberately holding off a weigh in til Weds. It will
be the last day of the challenge and time to see what effect the new water
management plan has made. We are really walking a tightrope of our own
devising though, aren’t we? Thanks to my low tech rubber band reminder,
I made it to the full 12/8-10 glasses of water yesterday. No time like the
present to get started again today, however!

See you all later, my friends

Allie

Hi Martie! I just wanted to pop in for a moment to tell you that quinoa freezes
very well. No need to feel compelled to finish it up if you’ve made too much.
I’m one of the one’s Verano mentions in terms of <20 gms of carbs a day,
but I’m very insulin resistant (also very impatient to succeed) so this was
highly successful for me. 10 stone in 10 months……
Very best of luck to you on your journey!

Allie

Ladies, I don’t have a shadow of a doubt that you both will!

This is encouraging news, Verano! I’m going to convert you to a water nymph
yet! 🙂 Listen to that butterfly on your shoulder………….she’s a pest, but she
means well. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I really enjoy reading the quotes from your daily inspirations book. They
are a great way to get focused for the day, aren’t they? Along with chatting
on the forum, of course!
Talk to you later,

Allie

Luvtcook, when I break fast (regularly do 48 hour ones, with nothing but water) I have whatever I fancy (BSD friendly obviously) and never bother with “phasing in” either. I do know a couple (not BSD, not overweight) who fast for 7 days twice a year just because he believes it to be beneficial, so she goes along for the ride, and they don’t bother phasing either.

Pleased you managed more water yesterday, V. But, like Allie, I’m struggling with remembering to drink it at odd times between meals and, therefore, am falling short – seems to me (though of course we are all different) that drinking before eating anything (not just meals, but snacks too) is a much easier habit to form, as preparing the food acts as the “reminder trigger” for me. But another pound on today, so at this rate I will zoom above my target weight!! If there is another increase tomorrow, I may go back to my usual “pint before eating” habit, which I found really easy and effective.

Allie, loving being thought of as a “water nymph”😀 Unusual not to have had a post from you this morning – how are you doing? Hope everything is ok?

Hi Martie some people do cut their carbs to fewer than 20g a day but that’s the exception rather than the rule. This is a ‘low’ rather than ‘no’ carb way of eating and it really depends on what your goals are and how quickly you want to reach them. Also, it’s quite a personal thing because some people can manage quite well with few carbs, but for others it’s much harder. I think the important thing here, especially if you have diabetes, is to eat the ‘right’ sort of carbs. So it’s a case of trial and error to see what suits you best. I think lots of people use 50g as the maximum number of carbs a day, but 30g is a popular amount. Have a look at Diet Doctor for some ‘graphics’ of low/medium/high carb foods. Also get yourself an app or computer program such as myfitnesspal or fatsecret which list the carb/calorie content of many, many foods.

Thanks Verano. I guess I’ll just go easy on the quinoa (I have made rather a lot though! :D) One thing that’s puzzling me is that people seem to be cutting out carbs altogether, have I got that right? If so, is that really necessary, or even a good idea?

I wear trousers with elasticated waists so I can hang onto them for longer! I suppose the battle has really just begun … we may have both achieved a new ‘status’ but it’s keeping it that will be the real test!

Hi quinoa and rice have similar carbohydrate values but the quinoa has more fibre. So yes better in some ways!

Well done on the rest of your shop sounds great.