I’ve been told to eat every 2 hours so that’s 6 times a day otherwise my blood sugars crash. Isn’t the BSD only 3 meals a day? How have you prevented blood sugar crashes? Thanks

Thank you all. It is quite interesting looking at the distribution of the fat I have left. My trunk reading is down to 18.4%, at 6.8kg only left, my arms have about 1kg each, and my legs just over 3kg each. Apart from maybe a little more off the legs, I really don’t think it would be healthy to lose any more, even if my BMI is still quite high at 24.6. I will pick up on the weights work though to try to stop losing more muscle. It is such great stuff for driving the metabolism.

ClarinetCathy, Hi! It was kind of you to ask. I am sorry to say I drank six glasses of wine last night. Indeed I am starting to realise I have a bit of a problem. I don’t drink anything for about 8 weeks, Then drink way to much in one night. Binge drinking. That is the 3rd time I have done that in the last 6 months. Before I started the BSD, I would never have recognised this problem. I will experiment with restraint and the very occasional one glass and just see if I can do it. Otherwise I fear I may have to become a tee totaler. I don’t want to continue with unhealthy habits. Speaking of which, I have been good on the food front, managed to stop those dalliances before I let it all slip. Still on the BSD. Still intend to stick to this way of eating and still intend to lose more weight. I have only lost 1kg in the last 4 weeks and I am not entirely convinced that I wasn’t around this weight about 7 weeks ago.

Anyway, there are so many positives. I am getting lots of compliments, people are noticing my weight loss of late (really – one kg?). Anyway I will take it. I do look and feel healthier and the only way forward is sticking with the plan, albeit I have to be stricter and not let in any random mashed potato again!

ClarinetCathy, let me know how you are going, sounds like you are going through a rocky patch. Only 1 stone to lose – I could be so lucky! All the best
Bigeater

Great maintenance Mixnmatch. It’s always good to hear of people maintaining over a long period.

Oh dear!
Make that a gain of an extra 2.4lbs so that’s a total of 5.2lbs!! These holidays are not going me very much good. Just hoping my HbA1c will be ok. Best get myself back to 800/30 next Monday without fail.

Ann/pod, thank you for posting. Your results speak very much of your strong character. To achieve progress with weight loss, AND also becoming a non-smoker, in the face of clinical depression is very, very impressive. I hope your meds are now right for you.

Hugs and love to you in your continuing journey🙅💜 Marilyn

Started today too. I have read the book a while ago and picked bits and pieces …. and than life caught up with me and I was back on the chocolate. My doctor was please to hear, me starting this diet. I am travelling a lot work wise, I will be not home for weeks and that will be the difficult part. Luckily I love my veggies (but a nice sausage too), see how I will go and a forum like this can help and encourage.
Have a nice day everyone!
A

G’day all (yes we really do say that here!)

thanks May and Lee for your understanding yesterday. None of it was new news, but I’d just had long conversations with two friends going through the aforementioned and well, life’s fragility felt a little overwhelming!!

The good thing is that I felt so shabby this morning that I’m not in a hurry to repeat the exercise AND the only food I overate was frittata, so low carb at least!!

Dumpty…truly its safe to visit…we rarely get below zero…and its only snowed at my house two or three times in the twenty years we’ve been here….I actually really like that unlike some parts of Aus we actually get all four seasons

back at it holding all your hands spanning this wide wonderful world this morning…..freezer full of soups and am about to tuck into a piece (just one) of the leftover frittata. At a seminar tonight so out of temptations way!

Oh, and Mary…lovely to hear your whole story (and now curious about Jovis’ memory loss!)

Liz…your mum is obviously the from you inherited your fabulous wit from…heaven’s brass section!
….and I totally get the tea bit….A thermos has often been my salvation (sticking to the religious theme)

go well my lovelies
xx

Great news Mixnmatch!

That’s fantastic Mixnmatch!! Just really excellent. I am sure you are very pleased with your hard work!

My BSD birthday passed unheralded a week ago! I had to look back to make sure of the date but June 20th 2016 was my first 800 calorie fast day, replacing the standard 5:2 I had been on up to that point. My actual birthday is on Thursday this week, and there will be some indulgences over the next few days, as only seems fair. 😀

I went for a second boditrax scan today at the gym. Fat percentage was down a little from 22.5% in December to 21.8% now, muscle and hydration were also a little lower, but I expected that as I haven’t upped my exercise, and the exercise I am doing no longer involves hauling that extra weight around. Pleasingly the visceral fat reading was still 4, so the same as it was immediately after finishing the 8 weeks, and we’ll into the healthy range. I am still in the same thin/muscular zone on the body composition grid, so won’t be trying to lose any more weight just yet.

Today was the end of week 3 V.

Hi Spicycoffee!

I am starting tomorrow!!!

Excited and terrified! Read the book and done some shopping in preparation but I know it will be hard!

How has your day gone?

Wendy

Seems to me you have heaps of will power, Pod! Don’t worry about the excess calories today, you can get back to the programme tomorrow and today’s blip almost certainly won’t register on the scales, so just ignore it. Just keep on keeping on.

Thanks Sunnyb and clarinet Cathy, weight wise I’m doing good. Although I’ve blown today’s calorie count, apart from the potatoes and sausage, tonight eating coconut flour bread I made a couple of weeks ago, it was in the freezer. So at least didn’t give into the carb monster again, I did get a piece of OH bread out of the bread bin, went to put it in the toaster and thought ” what are you doing” and put it back in the bread bin! I must have some will power then!

Oh you ladies do have a way with words.

Hey Pod – sorry to read that you are struggling at the moment. Hopefully the new dosage for the anti-depressants will set you right and you will soon be feeling better. Meanwhile, excellent news about the 3lb loss and a big congrats on achieving a whole year smoke free. All-in-all you are doing brilliantly, despite the struggle with depression. Keep posting and we’ll keep supporting – onwards and downwards (weigh-wise that is). x

Yay Liz, I admire your restraint…I would have opted for the punch. A friend of mine was in Starbucks and asked for a tea…the assistant said…is that large or medium….my friend asked what the difference was….she was told the large was more expensive….my friend said you are charging me extra for hot water? This confused the assistant who said …no for the tea….my friend pointed out that whether the mug was large or small the tea bag was the same size so they were charging her for hot water. The assistant fetched the manager who explained….The larger mug holds more Tea therefore the price is higher…..again my frustrated friend explained, the only thing that changed was the water…Manager getting slightly arsy explained in a patronising tone, that my friend was wrong. So she again asked if she was being charged for the water….The manager laughed and said, no for the Tea. My friend left and went elsewhere.

Moral…of the story….There are pricks everywhere who don’t understand what Tea is or how to make it….we should tell them to Fuckoffee!

Haven’t tried cauliflower rice yet but that sounds like a lovely filling meal..,

Off to reflexology in an hour. It’s so cold right now, I could do with some really bad comfort food! But only got 174 cals for the rest of the day…

Damn these cravings!!!

Oh way to go to Liz. I could so go a burger right now….

Just a quick note from the McDonald’s parking lot…..

Just went through Mcdonald’s drive thru for a tea.
Me:(belting my order into the speaker) large tea with milk please.
McHer: is that everything?
Me: Yes thank you.
McHer: Would you like to try our McCarb/McFat/Super McCalorie summer combo? (or whatever she called it)
Me: Did we not just confirm “that is everything.” Soooo, just the tea please.
McHer: I’m sorry Ma’am I didn’t hear you. Can you repeat that?
Me: DID WE NOT JUST… oh fuck it–ONE-LARGE-TEA-WITH- MILK- PLEASE!!! NOTHING ELSE–JUST TEA.
McHer: Did you know you can use your tea in place of a pop with a lunch combo?
Me: SERIOUSLY?? TEA!!!!!. JUST TEA.
McHer: Would you like a hot apple pie with your tea?
Me: CAN-I-PLEASE-JUST-HAVE-THE-DAMNED-TEA?
silence…….
McHer: Ma’am, I’m just making sure you are aware of your options. Pull up, second window.
(I pull up)
McHer: would you like to donate to Ronald Mcdonald house……

I was hoping one of my options was punching her in the throat.
diet mood: maybe a little crabby.
diet success…..waning.
desperate for a pick up LIKE A TRIPLE BACON BURGER (old Lizzie used to get a kid’s meal and feel virtuous) but may try out murder for immediate satisfaction.
DICKHEAD TOLERANCE VERY LOW TODAY!!!!!
Seriously??!! What am I?? The fuckface whisperer?? What part of JUST A FUCKING CUP OF TEA WAS SHE NOT GRASPING??
But, as the eternal optimist I will pull success from this irritating as fuck experience–didn’t cave for treat, and didn’t punch the idiot in the throat.
Lizzie 1 – Cravings 0

Right, must drink my tea, only 2:25pm so another couple hours of work, then home, uniform off, bra off, under tit scratch, stretchy pants on, big loose shirt, feet to soak in a cold bowl of water, vat of tea and a bowl of homemade red pepper/cauli soup!
yours, L xoxo

Bigeater- how are you doing? Hope you’re still sticking to BSD. I agree with you that it is difficult to keep going and there is often a slippery slope to contend with. There are a few of us determined to get there by hook or by crook. I am still plodding slowly along the slippery slope and gripping on til the bitter end! Another stone or so to go so that might take three months but “I ain’t gonna quit” (Officer and a gentleman)!

Theodora- your maintenance has been amazing and very inspiring. How wonderful to be able to go on your gourmet break 5lb under your target weight and be able to indulge yourself. I dream of that being me in a few months time!

I lost another 2.4 lb this week and am determined to get to under 10 stone in the next couple of weeks. My BMI is 27.2 so I am getting to a normal weight slowly. Your journey is so inspiring but I have to say I am very impressed by how much walking you do! You must be an exceptionally fit person to walk those distances every day. Like you, I think fasting has a definite role to play in maintenance and I am intrigued by the science of fasting. Thank you for posting and inspiring us that this can be done.

HI Pod

I am so glad you did post today and congratulations on another 3lb loss. It is so difficult at times having to say NO to the nasty carb monster but I think you would feel a whole lot worse if you did give in. It can’t be easy living with depression but you have proved how strong your will power is by being a non smoker now for twelve months and doing so well on BSD. You are obviously a vey strong person. That is a massive achievement. Hopefully the antidepressants will kick in soon and you will be feeling so much stronger and ready to continue on your BSD journey with us all.. You’ve done so well losing an incredible three stone in weight and it won’t be long before you’re in those size 12’s. Sending you a big hug and hoping you feel better very soon.

Cathy

Oh ladies, what a day we are having!
Liz gets a visit from a heavenly choir and conquers satanic evil bitches!

Mary and Joseph pop in to say hi too. Obviously we are getting intervention from somewhere…..

EC, sorry you have had bad news. That always makes it difficult to prioritise ourselves, even though we know we should….

Snoop, I agree alcohol is often my trigger for eating junk food for recovery, it’s why I feel so much better now. No ups and downs or wicked cravings that are impossible for a weak willed me to resist!

Thanks all for your snack tips. I’m going to hit the Irish supermarket too and get some good quality deli meats. I reckon I will cope! Hopefully I won’t gain, but I won’t offend my 90 year old aunt and my 85 year old aunt by refusing their food. I will just try to plan around it! Alcohol will be the toughest. We are a drinky family!!!😱

Off to reflexology tonight, can’t wait! Need it after a truly mental day at work. The first item of food didn’t pass my lips til 3pm! Think the fast did me good. Evening bs is….6.1….

L xx

Hi all… nearly didn’t post today, as I am in the pits.
Unbelievably l’ve removed 3lbs this week, should be elated but I’m in the depths.
The depression monster has been baiting me for weeks. I tell myself something to eat will make me feel better, then tell myself it won’t and basically argue with myself constantly. Basically a comfort eater I’ve been craving carbs, basically bread, for weeks. I’ve managed to distract it with water, cycling , swimming and anything else I can do. Today I just couldn’t be bothered and tonight have basically given up. I was at the docs last week and she has upped my anti depressants, not what I want but what I need. I’m hoping to get it together and not beat myself up, have a long soak in the bath and start again tomorrow. Depression is sh*t and no matter how hard I try, it gets me in the end. Anyhow, hopefully be happier next week. Oh, and by the way today I haven’t smoked for one whole year, Who would’ve thought!,
Ann x

.

Hello everyone

This morning I weighed in at 143.8 lbs and have lost 2.4 lb this week. My BMI is 27.2. I have had a good week avoiding bad carbs but feel I need to start looking at eating more variety. My husband has “gone vegan” after being vegetarian like me for almost 30 years so that means a lot of the food I used to cook that we shared I no longer cook for us to share so I feel like I am just eating omelettes, yoghurt, cheese and salad. I am taking a good multi vitamin but I need to up my game now for the next few weeks. I am in my 24th week of BSD now. I am hoping that another round of BSD 8 weeks will take me to a near normal BMI.

MaisieMouse- it’s so hard when everyone else around you seems to eat and drink whatever they want and we have to make sacrifices. My colleagues have been ridiculing me at work this week for suggesting that instead of having a glass of beer in the lovely sunshine they choose to drink sparkling water if they want to lose weight! Like you my next mini goal is to get under 10 stone- I am about 4 lb away so next month that will be my main challenge.

Have enjoyed reading the posts today. Keep chipping away everyone. – we’re all doing so well keeping on keeping on!

Quick hello.

Not sure where I’m up to with this challenge but I think we’ve just completed 2 weeks. So, my goal was to stand still I think because I’m on holiday. I’ve put on 2.8lbs over the last two weeks but not too upset with that. I’m not weighing or counting or logging but eating with gay abandon but within BSD principles plus wine! Very warm here so I’m taking on board Mixnmatch’s theory that water retention puts on 3lbs in hot weather. So I’ve lost!!!

That’s my story and I’m sticking too it!

Hope you’ve all had a good week and sorry I’ve not answered other posts, but well done to the losers and for those of us still trying we just have to keep on keeping on….

Dont forget to add The 8-week blood sugar diet by Dr Michael Mosley to your shopping list. Essential reading to understand the science and the myths.

Thanks SunnyB – though I don’t know about “relaxing the rules” I think it was more like blasting them into the stratosphere!!

I didn’t indulge in refined carbs (other than on one occasion when I had a lovely savoury tart, do miss pastry, and another when I had a really rich ice cream) but other than that ate and drank whatever I wanted. To be fair though, I do think my appetite has decreased (though sadly not my appetite for wine – I still easily downed an entire bottle on a few occasions) but I struggle to eat more than one course these days, but do sometimes have 2 starters when dining out and everyone else is having more than one course.

Thanks for your good wishes about our trip, I am sure we will have a great time. It’s not often we get away without the dogs, so will be able to have a totally different type of break. Really looking forward to it, and posh frocks will be worn! I used to hate having to dress up, but since losing 3st (3st 5lbs now 😜) new dresses have been bought and I am really looking forward to wearing them ☺ I will even be wearing stilettos!!! 😝 Cor blimey, can’t remember the last time that happened!🤓

SueBlue, my 39 year old godson suffers from RA and his is more or less totally controlled by diet. He was diagnosed about 5 years ago and determined that he didn’t want to be on drugs unless he could help it, and is really strict about what he eats (not sure what his diet entails though), and it seems to be working, with only very occasional flare ups these days.

Interesting posts about microbiomes. Did anyone see the TV programme the other week, Doctor in the House, when the doc helped a lovely young lad (about 10 I think) who was obese, despite playing sport etc? The rest of the family were not obese, and they all got behind the diet changes implemented, but no huge weight loss was recorded. However, the doc took all sorts of samples (blood, stools etc) and finally decided it was the young lad’s gut bacteria which was at fault, introduced the relevant bacteria and about 8 weeks later the lad had lost a couple of stone without much effort! Just goes to show………………..

Anyway, I don’t think there is much wrong with my gut bacteria – think I put on weight through greed, pure and simple as I LOVE good food and wine. However, I am now almost 2 months into maintenance and, despite having just spent 18 days in two back to back holidays, I have come home 3lbs lighter than I went! So I am now 5lbs under target weight! Not sure how this happened as I indulged in alcohol every single day and on several days my calories were about 2,600 with carbs of more than 100g!!

I can only put this down to walking the dogs between 15 – 20 miles per day whilst away, and total fasting for 24 – 36 hours (consuming absolutely nothing but copious amounts of water, black tea / coffee) on all my travel days – so 4 days out of the 18.

Anyway, however it happened, I am happy to take it and will try to maintain the loss this week as, on Friday, we are off again for 5 days sheer indulgence, which will involve huge amounts of gourmet food and copious amounts of wine! Not taking the dogs this time, so there won’t be much walking involved to offset the damage, but even if I put on 5lbs in the 5 days, I will still not exceed my maintenance weight! Phew!

Wow, Theodora that’s an amazing loss considering you were away and relaxing the rules!! It’s great that you are under target weight – congrats. Hopefully, I can get there myself in the coming weeks, though not by such a big margin perhaps. Sounds like you only need to do some minor tweaking to be in maintenance proper and I have confidence you can do it just fine.

Have a wonderful time away and I’m sure you won’t gain much. Keep posting so we know how you go.

SunnyB – yes it is so easy to drop into bad habits. The great thing is that, for me, staying on this forum has helped me become aware of what I need to do to achieve long term success. It isn’t by being perfect – it is by keeping on keeping on and accepting that sometimes things go wrong but that it doesn’t matter in the long term.

So – I won’t stress over eating a whole jar of meridian crunchy almond butter in 2 days – even though it was an amazing amount of calories nor the pots of double cream I consumed recently. They are little blips on my journey to better health.

Well done for your weight loss this week and for anyone who didn’t lose – or put weight on – well done for keeping on keeping on.

Well done SunnyB, that 2.8lbs loss must be so encouraging for you.

Rozy, you just have to keep on keeping on, try not to get derailed and the results will come, good idea to try to substitute something else to comfort you when things go wrong, and yes, I think it is much easier when you are busy with no time to think about food. It’s a shame you can’t get on with fasting, because I am sure it has been key for me. But a shade over 10st is hardly disastrous, sill sounds pretty good to me, although I’m not sure how tall you are and can’t remember what your ultimate goal loss is?

I returned home yesterday from 18 days holiday (2 different back to back holidays), to find (and I hesitate to post this, when others are struggling) that I had LOST another 3lbs 😛 Quite how I managed to do that I cannot imagine as I did have a some very heavily over-indulgent days (max estimated consumption, repeated on several non-consecutive days was circa 2,600 cals with approx108g carbs, and I have to admit to drinking alcohol every singe day 😝) So much for this diet screwing up one’s metabolism.😛

In all honesty, I can only put it down to 2 things:-

1) Walking with the dogs between 15 – 20 miles most days whilst away
2) Total fasting (ie 24 – 36 hours consuming nothing at all other than water and black tea / coffee) on all the days of travel, so 4 days in total

I am now 5lbs under target, which I am going to attempt to maintain this week as on Friday we go away for another VERY indulgent 5 days, but this time without the dogs, so I’m afraid there will not be much walking involved, but there will definitely be a lot of gourmet food and huge quantities of alcohol involved! Shame really that we cannot take the dogs as we are heading to Northumbria followed by North Yorkshire, both glorious walking areas. Anyway, if I come back having gained 5lbs, I will still be exactly on target weight.

Keep going everyone, it does get easier – I was absolutely dreading maintenance but so far have not found it too difficult – says she, frantically touching wood!

Thanks for your sound advice, SunnyB! Main cause of comfort eating is work – when I get home all the worries are rattling round my brain. I’ve got some knitting on the go, as well as a book of Sudoku puzzles, not to mention working in the garden & allotment, to give my mind something pleasurable to think about. I stupidly break my own rule about not buying extra stuff in the first place – once the bag/box/tub of whatever is open, there’s no hope – that’s when I ought to knock back a glass of water, not food!

Fasting is not something I get on with – I can do it when I’ve been so busy at work that I’ve not had time to think about my stomach. But at home I don’t find it easy at all – I enjoy food, plain & simple.

But the days below 10st are increasing – this month has been the best so far. A short stint here, a short stint there, eventually they will join up. Like they say, look after the pennies and the £s will take care of themselves – it must be the same with weight.

Anyway, keep up with whatever it is you are doing!

Hello all,

Earlier in the day I had my post almost complete when one of the tradesmen working outside today (for which I give sincere thanks and also say “not before time!”) needed to consult. By the time I came back in the post had disappeared and here I am only getting back to you at 11pm. So a short post, for which some may give thanks.

I weighed in today at 63.9kg. 900 gms more than last Tuesday. Carbs, carbs, carbs. Posted earlier of my struggles this week. Did well yesterday until after dinner when I attacked the 85%/GF chocolate I keep in the house for OH, who, drat him, she says enviously, has always been able to have 1 square and walk away. Did better again today.

Too late now to comment on others’ posts, but I am always inspired by you all. Good luck this week, goodnight now xx Marilyn

Wow thank you so much there is so much to learn unfortunately my gp are like you are pre diabetic gp away and lose weight they are not much help but thank you very much for the help I will sit tonight and write a shopping list and plan for the week thanks guys it’s really appreciated.

See s-g you really have done so well in the last twelve months. Your stats are great in comparison to the old ones. Can you imagine how they would be if you’d not embarked on BSD a year ago!! Maybe you should make a poster of where you are today compared to where you were and look at it whenever you waiver. Anyway here’s to year two of a healthy way of life.

I’m a bit confused not sure if we have had 2 or 3 weeks of the 8. Anyway if it’s 2 I have gained a total of 2.8lbs. But working on mnm’s theory if I have a 3lb water retention gain I’ve lost!!!! Ok I know I’m only fooling myself. It’s still very hot here, high 30’s, but next week l’ll be back sticking to 800/30 like glue. I’m actually missing all that weighing and counting but on the other hand it’s been fun eating with gay abandon but within the principles.

Hope you’ve all had a good week.

Nectarines are so delicious. Unfortunately, they’re also quite a bad fruit, sugar-wise. Like sunshine-girl says, you’ll want to stick with berries for best results. Same with carrots, sadly. I’ll still have the occasional half carrot, but they’re not a great idea for daily sustenance.

You may find these at-a-glance charts useful to give you an idea of what kinds of foods should be in daily rotation and which should not. Good luck!

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fruits
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/nuts

Do you issues with your blood sugar? If so, you might want to aim for lower daily carb figure, 30 grams or even less. As far as figuring out how much of your 800 calorie you’re eating in carbs, I use MyFitnessPal to log everything I eat. I weigh and measure the food, look it up in their database, and input it in my daily diary. Then it adds everything up for me so I can see the macronutrient breakdown. A lot of people on this forum use FatSecret as it has a UK-specific database available.

This post gives you an easy way to calculate the amounts and percentages of carb, protein and fat so you can input those goals easily into MFP or any other diet tracker: https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/20th-feb-starters/page/4/#post-58403

Hi caz1973

Lots of good solid advise there from sunshine-girl. I would just add that good hydration is essential, so be sure to drink plenty – at least 2L a day and weigh, measure and record everything you consume and yourself too, so you can track your progress. And of course, make good use of the forum for advise, support and encouragement and let us know your successes too, so we can celebrate with you.

Best wishes for some great results soon.

Well done Lee! I would love to be a size 14 again!

I had a Chicken curry in the end with cauli rice.

Tonight is fishcakes and salad though!

Yesterday I had some lovely Moroccan cauli rice from Morrisons. I ate with ham, fried egg and a mushroom. Defiantly going to buy that rice again and try some different options with it as a quick dinner when I can’t be bothered to prepare anything.

I’ve had a very good day sticking to plan. Hoping I can keep it up! Determined to shift this weight and know I can do better than I have been.

Got a nice long walk in on Saturday with the kids. I’ve been feeling a little bloated due to that time of the month which explains all the cravings for certain sweets last week.

1st one off! I celebrated with a small bun
Onwards and upwards. Booked for Canada in Aug and want to lose another half at least so no more buns!

Just wanted to say, you have achieved so much S-g and you should be proud of how far you have come. You seem to have refocused and hopefully looking back on your successes has given you the boost you need to continue with your quest. You provide so much support and great advise for everyone on the forum, you just need to think on the advise you would pass on to someone in your situation and you’ll know for sure what you need to do.

Best of luck to you for more great success.

Hi everyone, I am still here and still determined. Thank you for the sermon Verano, just what I needed to make me think about what I want to achieve and, more importantly, what I have achieved. When it comes to food I can be super good but if I have a drink say on a Friday for a party, I tend to continue for the weekend. If I have a drink on a Saturday (again for a party) I will finish off what’s left on Sunday but I wont bother me that I didn’t have a drink on the Friday because there was no reason to. So, I am starting this week with no parties, no dinner invitations, no holidays and no visitors who are on holiday and think I am too (so do I). That is my first problem, so hopefully over the next 6 weeks before my family come out I have no distractions. I can take a drink or leave it, just with having 3 holidays one after another it has crept up as a habit again, so it has to stop.

Next, what did I set out to achieve. This will probably not mean much to non-diabetics but for me the important thing was to reduced my blood sugars – the clue is in the name of the diet, along with reducing my medication and insulin injections with a view to finally being needle free. I also wanted to lose 3 stones in total but not my main aim. So looking back my daily blood sugar readings were around 180 to 190 and made me cry every day. They are now around 80 or 90 and rarely spike. I know I will not stop being diabetic as I have had it for 12 years now but I still live in hope of no injections. To that end I have reduced my insulin from 38 units nightly to 23 units, so nearly halved the amount. I have cut other meds by one-third. I have reduced my blood pressure from 150/90 to 120/70, my cholesterol is down from 6.9 to 3.4 and my triglycerides are right down within normal. I have now lost 21 lbs which is have the weight I set out to lose and I am still going.

In all, I think I have done quite well, especially considering this diet is almost a matter of a good life or a lousy life and I am not giving up on that choice. I have to remember what the alternative is for me, more meds, loss of sight, heart disease, kidney failure, neurological problem like numb hands and feet or worse, gangrene and amputation. The list goes on. So I have given myself a good talking to and now will keep on keeping on….

Sorry if this was depressing and thanks again Verano for reminding me and being there when I needed you.

As for the rest of you desperados. How are you doing, do we have any scale or non-scale successes to report or has the heat got to you all. I had a swim this morning knowing that later it was forecast for storms and here they are flashing and crackling around our house. So glad I swam early.

HI Everyone, I had a very strange week, did well till friday when I started to want to eat everything.Surprising that on sunday I was down to 81 kg an all time low.celebrated with bread with jam and cream.a whole block of dark chocolate etc etc
Needless to say today 81.7kg and still trying to get back on track.Im not too concerned I know if I put in a good effort it will be gone in 3 days.Ive got a new theory that getting mad at my self would be too negstive and so Im just moving on.cheers to all who are doing well and dont giveto the rest.

Have a look at the thread called, Week 1 Day 1, here I go. You could join with that one.

Hi caz1973. Well the first rule of this diet is no bad carbs, so sorry, the Weetabix has to go. No bread, rice, pasta, sugar, potato in any form, no processed foods like pastries and no cereals except real oats but only occasionally and only 20/25 gr serving. Also you have to be very careful with fruit and it can contain a lot of sugar and calories so stick to things like berries and an occasional apple. Look for vegetables that are grown above ground rather than below, so avoid parsnips, carrots (although I still eat them), celeriac, turnip or swede and sweet potatoes. Other things banned on this plan are anything that says it is low fat or low sugar as we find it is either chemically enhanced (the body cannot deal with it efficiently) or is has been packed with other things, like low fat contains more sugar and low sugar has cereals included. Sorry it is such a big list of not to eats so what can you eat.

If you go onto http://www.dietdoctor.com he has a visual of all the things that we can eat (although he is not associated with this diet he is very good) and you are talking about things like salads foods, courgette, peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts, kale, spinach, aubergine, broccoli, kale phew…. such a lot. Each occasionally avocado and nuts daily if you can stick to half a dozen. That’s all the greenish stuff. You can eat eggs, chicken, fish, beans, lentils, any meats but avoid processes meats like bacon or smoked meats, hams, sausages etc. Remember this is low carb, healthy fat, not high fat, this is not Atkins. Eat full fat foods like butter, cheese, cream, yoghurt (Greek is best for flavour), olive oil for dressings and rapeseed oil for cooking (and the butter). No margarine.

Most people try to keep carbs to less than 50 grams but under 100 is okay. You will not eat too much fat as, for example, no bread, no potatoes, what are you going to use the butter for, so you wont be using that much. Plus keeping to 800 calories will stop you from going mad with higher fat foods.

I am exhausting my list but I am sure there is lots more you can eat so here is an example of a couple of days for me.

B = 2 scrambled egg & grilled tomato (200 cals) – L = Spanish chickpea and spinach soup (210 cals) – D = chicken stirfry (340 cals) daily total is 750 calories, leaving 50 for a small snack if wanted.
B = no carb bircher (180 cals) – L = chickpea and hazelnut salad (270 cals) – D =skinny chilli (350 cals) daily total 800 calories.
B = grilled mushroom with poached egg (100 cals) – L = feta cheese salad with raspberries (270 cals) – D = vegi frittata (320 cals) daily total 690 calories.
Recipes are in the original BSD 800 book which I hope you have or can get for about £5 online.

Good luck and enjoy and I am sure you will have lots more questions, just ask.

Hi Nilesedge,

Today I whipped around town in some distressed looking tights, dress, boots. I almost stopped traffic. One woman had to pause midsentence to appraise my outfit. Many many eyeboggling stares later, a man twenty years my junior asked me if I was single. So far fetched the notion, I thought I misheard. Best I could come up with was ……pardon?

Hey, it would be normal attire for Melbourne. I am starting to enjoy the notion of startling the populace.

You are welcome any time.

Sorry your day was a bit of a write off. To be honest, mine was no better – too much vino. But like my brother said – you have to live a little!

Back on the bandwagon tomorrow. Let’s see what it brings.

Best, bigeater

Sorry, yes Holland & Barret is here in the UK. I’m sure you could get the konjac produces online, but I’m pleased you are thinking outside the box as far as substituting goes.

Veggie patties/fritters are a good option, they can be made with a couple of eggs, lots of veggies – chopped chard, spring onions (scallion), grated courgette (zucchini), watercress, spinach, with the addition of any herbs or spices you fancy to ring the changes and if you have the calories spare, you can add some cheese to the mix as well. Just make a batter with all the ingredients and fry off on small patties. I make the small – about a tablespoon of mix per pattie – and they come out at around 38 cals with 1g of carb per pattie. They can be eaten hot or cold and added to lots of different meals too. It’s fun tweaking the recipe and adding in different flavours.