Hi All. I’m in.
Goal 1.weigh all food and get closer to 800 cals/day . 2 Increase exercise especially when not at work. 3 loose 1 KG /week and maintain a consistent loss. I’m feeling somewhat pumped, I lost 5 KG quite easily last year and I really want to do it again. Im keen to be generally more healthy and be responsible for my own well being,

Hi All, last post for this challenge.I’m still very much treading water, Today 84.3KG and Fasting BGL. 4.6 the best in months but I have no idea how I did it. I’m hoping it was extra water and massive salads. I see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel
On to the next challenge. Thanks to marsie for getting it started. cheers.

May be I need to get a dog!

My drink of preference has switched from wine to whisky – an old favourite anyway, but very much revived now and I have a nice little collection of single malts gathering in my kitchen these days. One of the reasons for this, is that if I feel I ‘have to have’ a drink, just a few mils of an excellent whisky if enough to satisfy that carving and doesn’t impact greatly on calories or carbs.

Having said that, I do find alcohol – especially more than one drink – seems to be very disruptive to my weight loss, so I do my best to resist.

So Day 1 and I failed at the first hurdle , only 7961 steps. But on the plus side it was x3 more than my base weekday amount and the solution is obvious – spend less time reading all the great posts on this forum and spend more time pleasing the dog .

I’m like you Rosebery, in that I normally see 0.2 to 0.4lb loss a day if I’m lucky. I confess though that my exercise regime is shaky at best and if I don’t make a conscious effort, hydration is also a problem area. My intention is to work on both of these during the challenge, to see if I can improve both areas and hopefully by extension my weight loss results too.

Hi again, jpscloud,
Thanks for the tip re the bread. I couldn’t figure out what the honey added to the recipe either – next time I make your recipe I intend lobbing some dried tomatoes into the mix.
To make you feel better about the roll you had, I succumbed to a coffee & walnut cake yesterday – not just a slice, pretty much the whole cake! I’d been feeling rough on Monday – a headache had a vicelike grip on my brain and I felt ravenous no matter what I ate or drank. But when I went swimming I felt it was less arduous than the week before – maybe I needed a bit of sugar to fuel the swimming – but today I’m feeling good. The recuperative powers of coffee/walnut (one of the world’s great flavour combos IMHO)…
Anyway, I think I have to class that blip as my stop at the motorway services, now I’d better get back on track!

You’ve got the desire – don’t get disheartened by any setbacks. If this was easy no-one would be overweight. It’s great that captainlynne keeps posting with her advice & encouragement. I don’t always follow my own advice but posting helps keep me honest.
Good luck with your efforts.

Hi, I am new too, I have been following this diet for 6 weeks and have lost 25lbs, I have to admit that I don’t really calorie count as I Iove Green veg and salad and tend to pile it on the plate! But stick to the Mediterranean principal….. At a guess I am on roughly 1200 calories, but quite active and check my blood pressure, pulse and blood sugar regularly, which are all healthy definitely due to the diet as I still weigh 14st 8lbs which for a 5’8″ woman is still 3 and a half stone overweight. It’s easy now as you can settle into a normal healthy eating habit for life, something that is sustainable. Good luck to everyone

Hey everyone! There are some amazing results being seen. I had been stagnating for a while. I am day two week 6 and my hubby suggested I try some HIT to kickstart the weight loss again. I started doing a shorter morning walk, 30 mins instead of an hour, and doing three bursts of 20 seconds of my version of running during that half hour. I have only done this twice and have lost half a kilo. I had been wavering up and down by 200 g and it was very frustrating. Just a thought for others who are a bit despondent at a lack of results. It’s only been two days, but hoping it keeps going.
Family dinner night is always a bit difficult, with everyone having drinks and a cheese board, but managed to survive another one. I love cheese and looking forward to some creamy blue when the 8 weeks is up.
🙂

Heaphster – that’s amazing loss. Well done!!

Golly, I weigh everyday and my usual weight loss recently has been maybe .2 of a pound at a time or even staying the same or bouncing up a bit. However, this morning I have lost 1.6lb in one whoosh so really pleased with this start to the challenge! BMI now 26.5 so on the way to the 25s but FBG still hovering around 6.2 first thing in the morning before falling into the 5s after breakfast. However, my meter and the online Hba1c calculator predict my next test result in March will be about 35, well in the normal range so still hopeful for that. I am putting off booking the appointment but I think I will have to do that soon.

Hello HanaBanana, welcome!
With regards to snacks, I didn’t do sweet or fruit either. Cheese was a favourite one, eg a Babybel, or 30g of cheese cut into little blocks to make it last. Another was 20g of unsalted nuts of any kind, pine nuts, pistachio, cashew, etc. Sometimes something like salami, or ham, or 100g natural yoghurt with no extras.
The peanut butter is great! It depends how you feel about eating the bread but I had to go completely cold turkey on that as I’d go off the rails and it isn’t really very BSD friendly! It might be better to spread it on something like a ryvita if you like those, which I believe is only 7g carb. Sometimes I mix some up with soft cheese and it makes a tasty if unusual dip! Its in the BSD book.
Or you could just have some on a spoon along with a boiled egg…..
The lower the carbs the faster the weight loss.
All the best.

Oh,
And yes I had a bad day yesterday.
My lettuce was so limp it was a joke.

But

I keep positive

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hello Fly,
It’s different for everyone. After reading a lot, when I launched into the 8week 800cal, I felt very ill for at least 6 weeks. I had a shocking carb addiction and candida problems. I had about 2 stone to lose, so less than most but a lot for me.
I was often tired, I nearly always had a headache, often felt faint and sick. Somehow (I don’t know how) I stuck at it, thinking, its now or never, if I feel this bad then I really had a problem with those foods.
And it finally cleared. But hopefully it won’t be that bad for you 🙂
I kept drinking plenty of water, adding salt to food, and maybe you could check your iron levels to see if you need a supplement? I got a little bit anaemic at one stage also.
Keep going 🙂

Hi,
Don’t worry about the number of your weight.
Focus on clean healthy exercised life.

Would you rather be a 10 stone and Ill

Or

14 stone and getting healthy and fit?

With time on the bs path and puddle bashing you will soon be there.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi All, What a great way to relieve stress and celebrate. I hope you don’t mind if I join in.

PEAK: I tripled my usual weekday step count

PIT: I didn’t make the 10k steps I was aiming for. Just have to do extra today to catch up.

Dear all,

Quick end of third week update:

So I have now lost just over 25lbs which makes me very happy. (My wife has also lost a really impressive 11lbs, so 36lbs between us in 3 weeks!!!)

I had to buy some new clothes this week and walking into M&S knowing they would have clothes on the rack that would fit me was something I haven’t done in a decade, as was digging out long unworn clothes to find they now fit. In the end, this diet is going to cost a fortune in new clothes, but what price your health?

Anyway I am now facing a real challenge, as for the next ten days I will be away from home at a very large industry convention, which consists of me rushing from meeting to meeting and grabbing food on the go. I am hoping that a solid, healthy breakfast and holding out until I can have a protein and vegetable rich dinner, such as steak, fish or chicken. I will also carry small packets of almonds to keep me going and drink lots of water. “Networking cocktails/drinks” without drinking are also going to be a challenge, but water or diet coke will have to do. Anyway if I return in early March with a few pounds off, or even staying the same I will be very happy.

Anyway, into week 4.

All the best all.

Hi all and very well done to Eb and others that are finishing and have achieved their goals! I’m just starting my 7th week but then plan to go round again as I have more to lose – I’m doing a slightly more relaxed version of the diet with strict 800 during the week then doing Mediterranean at weekends to give myself a bit more leeway. I think because of this pattern I’ve found it quite easy to stick to and – as others have said – the meals are great! I find that trying out new recipes takes the focus away from what you can’t have to looking forward to enjoying new things.

So will still see some of you on here and will miss the ones that are leaving us 🙁

PS apologies to seasidenana for getting your name wrong (seasideanna!) on an earlier post – spotted it just outside the 5 minute editing window this forum allows! Like you I see these first 8 weeks as the beginning of the journey rather than a one off thing, and am surprisingly enjoying eating less and eating better – and not craving most of the things I gorged on before!

My final weigh in on this thread. Weight today 11st exactly. Happy with that for this 4 week challenge. Heading over to the new 4 week thread. Thanks everyone for the inspirational posts.

Hi Seasidenana, I can certainly sympathise re slow weight loss. I think in my case being on steroids doesn’t help, but I’m not giving in – was thinking of the saying “slow and steady wins the race” – that can be our motto.
I like your plan to do the 800 intermittently moving forward – I may have to do the same as have a fair bit to lose and think it’s going to take another 4 or 5 lots of 8 weeks if I continue to lose at the rate I have been.
I agree with what you are saying with the meals and food – before starting the BSD I had become very bored with food and rarely looked forward to eating (although it didnt stop me lol!). I’m enjoying even simple foods now. I’m finding it easier to stick to the same/similar breakfast and lunch during the week (porridge and salad) and then mix it up in the evenings.
I’ll be in this thread to keep you company, look forward to hearing all the updates 🙂

LindaA thank you for the information on the choesterol. I’ll look out for the book on Amazon. I have monitored my bp for 5 days now and it is on the high side it ranges from 133 over 76 to 163 over 87. As lots of bsd ers find their bp dropping on this plan I think I will get my heart checked as something doesn’t look right.

Good morning,

Theodora….how I laughed at your peak and pit! Does your husband know you’ve changed your eating habits? I guess the portions will be really small and the ingredients carefully chosen…good luck!

Jmarie…what a lovely weekend away and picking up your husband must have been the cherry on the cake. As far as the eating plan is concerned have you considered the other options? The 5:2 is good for weight loss and the low carb mediterranean, both appear to be effective. Sometimes we’re just not in the right headspace for the fast 800 which takes a lot of focus. Or you could just tread water for a while until you feel better equipped to continue. Good luck. I have found this cycle quite hard at times.

My peak…was losing 1kg between Monday and Wednesday and the pit is knowing that this won’t stick and tomorrow no matter how hard I try the scales will bounce back up. Then down. Last week I visited and revisited the same weight 3 times! I wouldn’t be so surprised if I were near target but I’m 20kgs shy of that!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Hi LizV thanks for your thoughts. I am taking an iron supplement, and a good quality multi vitamin and calcium tablets. Thankfully the exhaustion symptoms have now passed. Weight loss remains slow despite sticking to the diet strictly. I think some of us do lose weight slowly and I’m one of those, although the rate on this diet is better than previous diets I have been on. I think the difference with this one is that the food is enjoyable, easy to prepare and quite simple to shop and plan. I can honestly say I’m enjoying my meals much more than I was before I started this. This means it’s likely I will have no problem carrying on with it long term. Once I get to my target weight I will still eat in this way, only I will add a few extra things. I can’t see me ever going back to my old eating habits.

I’m not drinking alcohol at all because I thought it best given the 800 calorie limit. I missed it at first, but now it’s not bothering me too much. After my 8 weeks is up I’m planning two 800 fast days a week, and in the rest of the week I will allow myself a small amount of red wine or a gin and tonic, along with a low carb diet.

I might do that for three weeks and then repeat the 800 for a week in every 4. I have a lot to lose, so the end of the first 8 weeks is only the beginning really.

Well done to all those who are reaching the end of their 8 weeks, some of you have reached targets already, well done everyone. I hope some of you are sticking around, it’s great to hear all your stories.

This wine stuff has a lot to answer for!! 😝 It’s really encouraging to hear people managing to moderate their drinking and I really like the tea idea. Thanks for that I’ll give it a bash.

JulesMaigret, I looked at your profile and you done amazingly in 4 months or so. Very motivating. Keep it up !

2 days down, soooo hungry but it will pass. Tomorrow’s another day!

Hey Guys,

I’m a newbie this week, just started this on a whim so have not planned any meals etc but really want to get somewhere and stick to a good diet regime for life. I’m tracking my diet using fitness pal too. I lurv bread and the occasional biscuit so this is proving to be so tough!

I used to be morbidly obese, I lost 13 stones naturally through mainly starting to move, from walking to then running marathons plus a complete lifestyle overhaul-no actual diet plan just followed common sense I guess and cut out the crap but no calorie counting. I’m now yo-yo ing around 65-75kg and I’m scared the weight will creep back on!
I really need to tackle the diet because of family history of diabetes and I’m sure it’s my diet that is my downfall!

I don’t run as much but I work out at the gym about 5x a day for a minimum of an 1.30hours mainly cardio so how does fit with a 800 cal diet?

This week I’ve been having 1 slice of bread in the morning only with some peanut butter -am I defying the object of the diet plan by eating the bread?

Can anyone recommend any snacks on this plan that I can stock up on – preferably sweet but not fruit! 🙁

I’m up for a Monday weigh in although I’ve not weighed myself in 2 years-out of fear of reality maybe! I’ve just been going on how my clothes feel and they’ve been feeling far too tight for comfort which has prompted me to sort this awful feeling out!

xxx

Jpscloud, I’m a daily weigher too! No headache tonight hoorah! Except I didn’t go to bed early and I had a chunk of goats cheese as silly me was watching Diners, Drive-ins & Dives! Bad move I know! 😜

Thanks captainlynne, very interesting that with previous weight loss you appeared gaunt, but not with this way of eating at the same weight – whichever way you look at it the BSD seems to be the way to health.

I have such a lot to lose (10 stone wouldn’t see me too thin) and would love to be as successful as you and others posting here. I may not walk a straight path to health, but I hope by keeping on trying I will make significant improvements. Today I didn’t manage to resist a roll while I was out at lunch, but I’m back home very late and no time for dinner as I’m having 3 month fasting blood test in the morning. Feeling good, though.

Thanks for your encouragement, I am going to stick around on the forums even if I fall off the wagon this time, I think it really will help me.

Hi
I’m on day 8 at the moment. Quick background – I’m using BSD not to ward off diabetes (blood tests all normal range) but to wean myself off carbs and drop 8-10kgs (getting back into a healthy BMI). I then plan to maintain with the Med diet and 5:2. I have done 5:2 before (twice) first time with good results (then got slack) but second time not so great. Weight loss motivates me so I thought the quick loss on this diet would suit me then hopefully I can change habits and maintain that loss. I am going well so far losing 3.5kgs in the first week and feeling good. I’ve upped my exercise doing a 6km walk or an aquafit class most days (mostly on an empty stomach to max calorie burn). I’m generally fasting from dinner until lunch then eating lunch and dinner (16/8) with lots & lots of limed water too.

My problem is I am suddenly so tired. The last three days I have had to have a cat nap in the afternoon (luckily I wasn’t working in the office but from home) as I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open and slept really really deeply. Also yesterday I developed a cracking headache and it is still with me this morning. Combined with that I have lost nothing more over the last 3 days.

Is this normal for the second week? I kind of expected this to happen the first week.

Hi Theodora, I’m still here, I post in another few threads as well and I think I have updated in there and not here.
Not much to post from me – I’m feeling very frustrated to be honest. Today I weigh the same as I did 2 weeks ago – I keep gaining and losing the same blasted kilo 😡 It’s gone again this week! I wish I was losing at a steady rate of say 1kg a week. I’m up to Week 6 now and have lost 3.9kg which I think is just over 8lb.
Still 2 1/2 weeks to go for the first 8 weeks for me. I’ll be following it up with a 2nd 8 weeks I think and see how I go with that as I need to lose at least another 25kg still. I suppose it’s like that shampoo ad from the 80s or 90s – “it won’t happen overnight but it WILL happen!”

Day five, slipped up and ate a roll while out at lunch. Back home late, and having 3 month fasting blood test tomorrow, so no dinner.

Feeling good, had a nice walk around country lanes with my cousin and not feeling too bad at all.

B HM Soup
L Egg mayo salad, roll, butter
D None

Monday weigh in sounds good to me too. I weigh myself every day but will record here on Mondays.

Today was a bit off plan – started well with HM soup for breakfast, but then I went to lunch with my cousin and had egg mayo salad, thinking I could resist the roll but of course I couldn’t! Then tried a bit of millionaire’s shortbread and it honestly tasted nasty, far too sweet. Having 3 month fasting blood test tomorrow and was late back home, so too late for dinner now. Even with the corner of millionaire’s shortbread I’m well within the 800 cals, probably more like 600 today.

Feeling hungry but not bad, and energy levels were good today too.

Gday ddraig_goch,

I got my exercises off youtube, if you just type in Face exercises, will come up with a heap. I try to concentrate around the neck area, thats where most of the lose skin tends to hang around for me. I’ve done it for about a month, l have noticed some improvement which is great. Have a good one.

I am up over 100g fat at the moment on my reverse diet at 2100 calories per day, so it is definitely nothing to be concerned about. The 50g carbs is an often quoted level at which most people are in fat burning mode, but if you have a calorie deficit and a healthy diet you should still lose weight at higher amounts.

Hi Pinklolly – my daughter was also recommended the book by her GP and used it as a ‘prescription’ She lost 20kg in her first 8 weeks and is still going strong and looking lovely! She inspired me to get cracking after Christmas – almost at 2st in Week 7. You can do it, you have the right attitude. Keep it up.

Welshgirl, as you are not diabetic or pre and you have opted for the Med diet, you don’t have to be quite so strict on the carbs as we on the 800 Fast BSD but decide on your calorie allowance and count them in. If you have cut out the bad starchy carbs then good carbs should be okay.

Thanks. It was a delicious lunch.

I’ve just done a search and there is very little difference in puy (dark) and red lentils. Per 50 grams red are 170 cals at 28 carbs, puy are 154 cals and 25 carbs. Both very high in carbs though so it will depend on which diet you are on and whether you are strict on carbs. Checked where you posted and you are doing the Med, so not as restrictive on the carbs or calories, just calculate it into your plan.

It is very hard to have lower than 50g carb as a vegetarian, as many protein sources are also quite carby, but some people have successfully lost weight at around the 50-60g carbs amount. I wouldn’t be concerned as such about that amount of fat but it is important to make sure you are getting at least 50-60g protein as well, particularly if you are exercising. I used to aim at 77g protein, but this will be different for different people.

Day 3 for me in Sydney, Australia and I am really enjoying the variety of the food and savouring every morsel. I found the no carb ploughmans lunch delicious, although I couldn’t find any sugarless chutney so had a small spread of it over the ham. I have had dull headaches every day but I am not sure whether it is the sugar withdrawal or the caffeine. Instead of wine I am having soda or mineral water with a squeeze of lime/lemon juice and lots of ice and it sort of feels special. Happy to do the weekly Monday weigh-in.

Keep some nuts with you, and if you can have hot drinks the occasional instant miso soup or Marmite/stock cube in hot water can keep you going during long days.

So at the end of day 2 and although I felt like I had a hangeover this morning (don’t think I drank enough yesterday), I am doing ok the recipes are great and allow me to plan for the week ahead. I do however work some very long hours and am concerned about this, any tips??

Sharon

I am going for a multi phase challenge again, seems to be a theme with me 😀 Starting today is my last formal controlled reverse diet week, aiming for an average of around 2300 calories per day, which should be slightly above my calculated TDEE. From Sunday I will be on holiday in Cornwall though, and won’t have my trusty scales with me for a week, so will be winging it from then, a slightly scary prospect. After I get back from Cornwall, I will spend the remainder of the challenge period trying to set my future maintenance pattern, including one 500-1000 calorie fast day, and one ‘free’ day, during which I can eat and drink whatever I like, even too much of the white stuff if I want to, as long as I keep control and do it mindfully rather than giving into cravings. See how the carb monster behaves on a bit longer lead. After the four weeks I will review how that has worked, if I have put weight on I may either add a second fast day or if the carb monster has been running amok will drop the free day to one a month rather than one a week.

Hi Paul

Like you I started BSD with 100lb to lose last September. Also like you, I enjoy my wine (currently a quarter of my investments are in wine!), but I cut it out completely for the first eight weeks, just to be on the safe side.

Now stick with me on this, I know it sounds a bit weird: I replaced wine with tea, of all varieties and styles. I now find I can appreciate the tastes, textures etc in the same way I appreciate wine. I occasionally have the odd couple of glasses of wine but make sure it’s something worth drinking – there’s a 2006 Opus One with my name on it!

Hi all, final weigh-in for my (modified halfway through) challenge, and I am 10 st 12 lb exactly. This is up from my very lowest, and up a pound from my target, but considering the reverse diet I have been trying for the last few weeks I find it impressively stable. I was a pound heavier in November after my 8 weeks stint, so have lost a little more after getting rid of the Christmas blip. This time next week I will be on holiday in Cornwall, and without my scales both for food and myself. Now I want to see if I can stay the same weight or very near it without the constant checking. I will be joining the new challenge thread, but given my program am having a mixed challenge again.

I have the recipe book and so far the recipes are fab. But ….
Is there a difference between green/black lentils and red? I really don’t like green so am substituting red lentils which I love. And only using dried red.
So curious to know if there is more protein in different colour lentils.
Sorry if I’m asking a daft question 😊

HI Pinklolly,
I started BSD after having the holy trinity of:
* High blood pressure – around 150/95
* High blood sugar HBA1C of 67
* High cholesterol – ratio of 5.4

Add to that a starting weight of 150kg and symptoms of fatty liver – the world wasn’t a great place and the threat of a swathe of drugs was very real!

I started on BSD seriously at the start of September. After eight weeks:
* Blood pressure – 115/70
* HBA1C of 54 (by Jan 17 it was 35!)
* Cholesterol at 4.7
* Symptoms of fatty liver gone

By nine weeks I had lost 21kg. Currently 35kg down. Not a linear drop so you just have to keep at it. These forums are a true goldmine of really valuable information.

So not easy but definitely doable!

Well Luckylinda, that’s certainly motivation for you! I just had a “pre-diabetic” warning from my doctor but that was enough.
I’m just finishing day 7 and actually some of my meals would be great for you, though I expect it’s the type of thing you make already. Veggie chilli and med veg with chickpeas, both filling and low in calories and great as you can make a batch to freeze.
I’ve been really pleased with how tasty everything’s been this week, I’ve used lots of chilli, herbs, some garlic and a great variety of veg.
I have been pretty wobbly many days though am feeling much better today, so the motivation and optimism is back, ready for my weigh in tomorrow.
Luckily I got the “sugar withdrawal” headaches out of the way a couple of weeks ago, they can be tough.
Planning is the key!
Oh and a really good non stick pan so that you use much less olive oil!
I’m finding this forum really helpful, thanks everyone 🙂

Hi Nancy – I started on 30th January so just two days ahead than you, although I lost 4lbs in the week before simply by cutting down a little on carbs so it wouldn’t be such a shock when I started.

So I was 17st 11 on 23 Jan and 17st 7 when I started BSD. Am now 16st 3 and am desperate for the scales to read 15st something because it’s been a very long time since that happened.

So 18lbs lost on diet and 22lbs in total.

Hi ye all
I got a call Friday night 8:30pm to be exact from my doctor ( a doctor who calls you on a Friday night – then it must be serious!) Told me I was diabetic and that he wanted to see me asap. You can imagine my surprise/horror/disbelief at this – so what did I do – well I was out having a lovely dinner and cocktails – so proceeded to double up my effort of a good time as I thought this is it – no more blow outs – so I did – until 4:30 am!
Saturday hungover and feeling woeful I did a bit of research and after reading a lot on Roy Taylor trials in Newcastle – I thought ok I can do this – I can change this – I WANT to change this. i went and bought Michael Mosley’s book and armed with information I went to see the doc and told him to give me 8 weeks – he was willing but I gather a bit skeptical (probably thought I won’t lose the weight) but he agreed 8 weeks exactly – so I’ve started. The book is great for ideas although I am a vegan and will have to adjust the diet – but I aim to follow it – well hoping I can follow it. So I would love to have support from ye all and perhaps give support also.

Hi Shanshu
Which date did you start the BSD? I started 1st Feb.
What was your start weight? Mine was 17st 8lb.
Nancy x