I hope you’re all well out there and enjoying the weekend. It’s nice weather here and I’ve been out clearing the garden..perfect weather for that. There’s a feeling Spring is on the way!

It’s been a quiet end of week here my peak would be the 12km walk we did yesterday. It was lovely and I’m pleased as I can’t remember when I walked that far. Slept well last night too..a definite bonus.

The pit my blood pressure is a little high so the doctor, thinking I suffer from white coat syndrome, has given me a monitor to record my bp every day. It’s higher at home than in her surgery! As my (good) cholestrol is also up a little and because of family history I have to book in for some heart tests, a scan, the bike test etc. Looking forward to that? Not much!

Have a lovely Sunday!

I don’t often make sauces these days , tbh that kind of cooking seems a bit irrelevant these days, but if I do I use a teaspoon of cornflour…it doesn’t seem to have much impact on my calories and certainly does wake the carb monster.

For moussaka and lasagne and the like, I use full fat Greek yoghurt and an egg, well seasoned and all whisked together with Parmesan grated on top. It sort of thickens up like a savoury custard and sets, cheesy and creamy, low carb. Find it best not to try to replicate, but find new things to like. I find flour thickened sauces too slimey these days. You don’t need much of a covering to make things tasty. Mkx

Keep on keeping on… You have found a life changer in this plan (it is not a diet it is a lifestyle), especially as you are a person with diabetes, this will save you from a future of increased medications, even injections and complications. I am also impressed that your doctor and nurse are on board with this, this is what we want all doctors to be like. Stick with it and welcome to the club. Paul, I think your doctor will be very impressed.

I did once read that bodybuilders/power-lifters and elite athletes are heavier in the morning than at night, but I can’t remember why….;)

I am still 73kg with BG of 5.4. Hoping it will shift by Tuesday. The only thing I have eaten off plan is 3 prunes and a chocolate liqueur. That was because I could feel myself slipping away and started sweating and knew I needed food. My BG was 3.8 after the prunes and chocolate so I think I was right to eat them. Surely, that would not cause weight problems as I was still around 800 cals. Oh well, at least I have stayed off the wine this weekend (and last weekend) so no nothing since birthday meal on 8th so doing okay and not going to beat myself up. Neither should you MK – it is probably like pregnancy when you eat weird things, it is your body telling you that you need something and your brain goes through its filing cabinet to find a food containing that thing (mineral, Vitamin or whatever) but can only come up with things it knows from your past eating. Blame the cavewoman in you.

Dr Michael Mosley was the person who came up with the 5:2 and I am sure he has a book on it. Just Googles and it is called The Fast Diet; lose weight, stay healthy, live longer – the revised edition. It is £5.59 on Amazon

Or try a little bit of chia seed, only half a teaspoon in warm water. It wont taste and it goes thick but a bit jellified. On whether it is better to use flour or corn flour, I would say corn flour as you only need a teaspoon to thicken a sauce. To be honest I would just make things like that as I always have but not have it too often, I doubt a little flour in a sauce will enrage the carb monster and one tablespoonful in say gravy would be just a few grams per person.

Okay so I beat you all, I am 4 foot 11 and a quarter inches. That quarter is very important to me, so at 11 stone 6 lbs you can see why I am classed as obese. Although I seem to have lost most of my weight around my barrel stomach and bust so look so much better than I did. I have very few wrinkles except a few around the eyes and quite a hooded low brow but that is a family feature. I would love to get rid of my wattle turkey neck but hey ho we cant have everything.

Please may I join you? I’m starting the 800 calories tomorrow. I’ve made my shopping list and heading out shortly…
First time trying this diet. Fingers crossed and good luck everyone!

I can’t pretend to be able to give advice on the BSD because I do my own thing most of the time while trying to get as close to the diet as I can, but I think the answer from most people would be “neither” because of the processed carbs in both products.

It depends on which version of the diet you’re doing as well… on the fast 800 roux and cornflour based sauces are probably best avoided, while on the med diet or maintenance you could use them occasionally.

There are some good BSD alternatives for thickening, such as egg yolks or psyllium husk (I tried the latter and it was horrible, but I probably should have given it more of a chance).

Most people weigh more at night. As Sunshinegirl says down to food, liquids taken on board during the day and are still in transit plus your body makes fluid doing what it does to keep us going. As ever there are exceptions my stepson being one who Says he is lighter in the evening. As the day goes along we also lose a bit of height as our bodies compress slightly (stretches out again when we’re in bed) so body monitoring scales would give different results at the end of the day to the morning – especially if you leave the height the same (I monitor my weight and measurements every morning but draw the line at doing my height as well). It doesn’t really matter when you weigh just keep it consistent (morning or evening, or if you must both 😀) and if you are clothed, weigh in similar weight clothing.

In this diet, is it better to thicken sauces using the roux method (with normal flour), to use cornflour or neither?
Thanks

Hi All

It seems this 1st week is all about working things out. I have to say using MFP makes it so much easier. I work out my daily meals the day before on MFP and it’s been working well. Having said that today I haven’t,but it’s Sunday. I do know I will have my favourite omelette (I used to eat this before the diet) it has cherry tomatoes, Spring onion, spinach and feta inside, yum! 284 cals 7 carbs, 19 fat, 21 protein. I have been doing my normall exercise of spinning classes, 3 this week which has been fine and I’ve added a little weight training at home. I find doing weights so dull but I need to do something for my upper body strength.

Week 1 has gone well, day 7 today and have lost 6lbs and 1% body fat. Have also lost an inch off my waist which is great as my waist was already under the danger zone of half my height. Feeling pleased but having read other threads I know I have prepare for plateaus in weight loss which will be harder.

Hope you are all doing well and seeing results😃

Hi all.

W5D2 here and I’m into the next stone bracket – hurray! 13st something for the first time in years. I’m now in the moderately obese BMI category, which doesn’t sound like something to celebrate really but it’s a big improvement! Another pound will take me to 1 and a half stones off so far so I’m really happy with that.

I’m inspired by your rowing machine wrestling Seasidenana 😂 nice to be able to exercise at home though, you can put on some music or a DVD and relax in privacy. I’m struggling with the exercise side of things a bit – I go mountain biking once or twice a week for a couple of hours max, and I walk a fair bit, but I could do with something more regular. I must I must …

Anyway, off in to work for a bit but hopefully it’ll be quiet enough for an afternoon cook up for the coming week. Soup for lunches and a big pot of stew for tonight’s dinner.

Actually I have done that before – it is a perfect treat. I like keeping the Lindt as a special treat so I can eat it when ever everyone else is eating all the sugary bad stuff and I never feel deprived because I can’t wait to eat and enjoy my chocolate. So limiting my consumption of it elevates it to something really special in my mind.

I know I am playing mind games – but for me it really works. The other food I do this with is clotted cream (only allowed on high days and holidays) and Meridian organic peanut butter – one teaspoon is the maximum allowed at one time.

The mind games really work for me. I remember years ago reading that Mary Quant cured herself of a sugar addiction by thinking that sugary foods were absolutely disgusting. At the time I couldn’t work out how she had done it but have now at last managed to turn sugary and starchy carbs into something disgusting in my mind. When I see displays of the sweet stuff – my mind pictures foot amputations and blindness (apologies if you are reading this while eating breakfast) so I have completely demonized the white stuff.

So on a more cheerful note – am now getting ready for a lovely walk in Sheringham Park – and then a coffee with my square of Lindt while everyone else tucks into National Trust cake at the cafe.

Hi all
I am just moving to the 5:2 maintenance diet and wondered if anyone knows of a good book that explains the 5:2 plan with recipes. I have the 8 week BSD book by Micheal but I’m looking for some more guidance…any recommendations welcome.
On a different note I am still trying to control by blood sugar reading in the mornings, it is spiking to 110 first thing, I have tried eating later in the evening, having a snack and even a night cap but to no avail, or is 110 first thing in the morning okay and I am just being a grumpy guts?! Any help appreciated.

Krysia how about Nespresso WITH a square of chocolate.!!!!!

5’1″ is indeed wonderful!

Verano – if you’re a “short arse” at 5’3″ a friend of mine must have been right when she called me a “dwarf” – I’m 5’1″! LOL.

Great result. 4.4 pounds 😀💐

The 90% is perfect after my evening meal. Usually one square but sometimes two. Luckily two is the maximum I can manage at one sitting.

Sometimes though – like this morning – I would like a square after my breakfast. I can usually talk myself out of having a square because I know that a cup of Nespresso completely gets rid of the wanting a square of chocolate feeling. In fact as soon as I switch my coffee machine on the chocolate craving goes.

Yes, I just kept on going – from December 2015 to September 2016 – to reach my original target weight. (Losing 6.5 stone). Since then I’ve lost another stone.

Since starting the BSD I’ve always kept my carbs low. On maintenance I watch the carbs but don’t worry too much about calories.

Normally I eat breakfast (around 8am) then nothing until my evening meal (around 5.15pm).

Hope this helps. Any questions, please ask.

MK 5’10” is wonderful!! At 5’3″ I really am a ‘short arse’!! Be happy you got the brains beauty, after all, is only skin deep!!!

Well I’m having a more relaxed BSD time at the moment. I have started logging my calories and carbs again but not seriously trying to restrict my intake. On the other hand I’m not going over the top. So the results over the last week have been quite interesting. I have averaged 903 calories with the highest day being 1060. Similarly my carbs have been 43g on average with the highest being 66g. I’ve lost 4.4lbs!!!!!

Maybe just going with the flow, within reason, is better for my body than the ‘obsessive counting’ merry-go-round I was on before. Or maybe it’s just sheer coincidence. Either way I’ll take the loss without too much analysis !!

Have a good day!

Good morning

I think this is my ‘fish’ week. I had a sea bass on Friday which I’d had in the freezer. It was ok but definitely better when it’s just fresh. Didn’t have Thai last night instead I had some cod loin. Spurred on by some of the posts here I put some pak choi onto tinfoil, added sliced ginger and some green pepper, then the fish on top then some spring onions and some soy, sesame oil and a tablespoon of chilli sauce. I topped it off with more pak choi and cooked in the over for about 25 minutes, it was a very thick piece of fish. It was really lovely. OH had beef madras and rice!!!!

I really fancy some smoked trout today but not altogether sure what I can do with it!

Have a good day!

Morning MK. Don’t be ashamed. You didn’t do anything amoral or wicked, you just ate some carbohydrates.
But it’s curious isn’t it, why we (and I’m sure most of us do it from time to time) as you say, self sabotage. If you are anything like me, you don’t even get much pleasure from wolfing down something you later regret. Why, why why do we do it?

Oh well, as Verona says, put it behind you and crack on. Enjoy your day and, if it’s anything like where I live, a fabulous sun rise of pink streaked sky. And your swim!

Ditto, Verano, have good skin and have always looked younger than my years, but as the ‘chubby duckling’ in a family of leggy beauties, (I’m 5’10 and they.call me short arse!) who was usually introduced by my (gorgeous, beauty queen) mum as ‘bless her, she didn’t get my genes like the twins, but she’s clever like her dad’ I’ve never been under any illusions! Like you though, am content with what I see in the mirror. Well. Most days…! MKx

Hi MK

I think it’s being ‘human’!!!!

Put it all behind you. Today is another day, clean sheet, enjoy …. but within your plan if you can!

I also get ‘urges’ to eat something sweet after my evening meal. I think lots of people do especially after something spicy. Now I have one or even two squares, if I’m desperate, of Lindt 90% chocolate. At 59 calories and 1.4g of carbs a square I find I can fit it into my daily allowance quite easily.

I know that some people find 90% a bit bitter so you could try the 70% to start. I actually find the 70% too ‘creamy’ now but it is still manageable within your allowances with 57 calories and 3.4g of carbs per square.

It does the trick for me far better than say a biscuit would because I would just keep eating them. Only problem would be if you can’t stop at a couple of squares!

Ashamed. Was foolish with food yesterday for only the third time in four months. First two lapses were early , as I got established. This one? Not sure why but I consumed thousands of inappropriate calories and silly carbs all at one sitting. Bread, which I know makes me ill. Fruit cake, which I keep in the tin for Mr Kitten, the only badness he’s allowed to have in the house because I don’t really like it. . Fruit juice, big glassful. No, two big glasses . No proper reason beyond some mad sabotage instinct which has been building in my head for a while. Mindfulness went out of the window, I knew what I was doing and kept going.

Upside was I went to bed (exhausted by sugar) and slept 10 blissful and uninterrupted hours. Downside is very sore stomach and nausea this morning, but FBS is only 5.8, I expected much much worse Go figure.

Up early for brisk walk, church and swim.

Grizelda won’t win, and I’ll be back on the waggon today. But I wish I understood what’s going on in my head. Mkx

Also, is our a.m. or p.m. weight our true weight?
Maybe halfway between the two?
I like to think of my a.m. weight as what I weigh .. guess that is vanity ..

I too have a hard time not snacking after supper. I found that a higher carb count at supper makes it worse. Once the juices flow, the urge to eat more gets strong.

I don’t eat lunch and try to save calorie room for after dinner snacks, like Greek yogurt with bran which is filling.

I also keep a head of cabbage in the fridge, and I eat that if I am desperate to eat something after I’ve had my 800. It is filling and low in calories and I actually quite enjoy it.

Hi Chrissie63 I bought a folding machine and hoped it would fit in a cupboard. It is much bigger and heavier than I imagined, so it will have to live in the corner most of the time. At least it folds. I have arthritis in both knees, so this is a good solution for me as it puts no strain on the joints. I can feel it pulling on my stomach muscles already, so I hope it will help reduce my tummy and also strengthen my legs.

Oh that made me laugh! But seriously, you have done heaps of exercise (especially cardio) just assembling the damn thing. I hope it works well for you. Does it take up lots of room? I have been thinking of an exercise bike but don’t really have the space. I need both knees replaced but I am too young and too fat so I am trapped by my own weight and pain in terms of exercise. Very frustrating. But this morning’s weigh in was 9.5kgs down. 20kgs to go! Tomorrow begins week 6 but I think I will stay on this WOE as long as I can. I have eaten out a few times and by ordering fish or veal, not eating it all, not eating the potatoes or carbs and drinking lots of bubbly water I have stayed under 800 every day except one. I’m pretty proud of that!
Could not have done it without the support of this group. So happy to have “met” you all!

I thought you may all be amused to hear my exercise story. I struggle to walk very far as I have MS, but I’m also very unfit and overweight. I need to exercise in addition to the diet. My friend suggested I get a rowing machine, and it arrived on Friday. I am an absolute dunce at assembling things, but was determined to make sense of all the nuts and bolts and instructions. Among the reviews on the website, people were claiming they had put it together by themselves in 30-60 minutes so I thought maybe 2 hours for me ?

Anyway, it took me 40 minutes just to get it out of the box ! It is very heavy and it was securely packed. I was tearing my hair out trying to assemble it, taking each step one at a time and trying not to get overwhelmed. After 2 hours I had managed to get most of it assembled, but could not get the last bolt in. I finally gave up and left it until Saturday. After struggling with it for another half hour, I decided to tap it gently with a rolling pin ! It went in after that and I was able to finish the assembly off within another 15 minutes and set up the computer. Phew !

My exercise journey begins ! I only managed 10 minutes on the first day as I was exhausted enough assembling the flipping thing 😂. I’m going to do 15 minutes a day, building to 30 minutes. I’m also doing a gentle exercise DVD. I’m keen to know if this exercise helps my weight and inch loss. I currently do no exercise really so must build up slowly. I will report in after a week to let you know if it has made any difference.

Rapid weight loss on this diet is more than just getting rapid results on weight. The effect the 800 calories per day has on a diabetic suffer’s liver and pancreas is different to just getting to that weight over time. In my case my BGLs reduced to the normal levels within days of commencing and rigidly sticking to the BSD. I had been those weights and below previously in weight loss programs and my BGLs had not returned to normal levels. This was despite following a fairly low carb diet (but not low calorie) to keep my diabetes in control for acceptable diabetes levels but these were not normal population BGLs .

Rapid weight loss just produces rapid results. The same results could be achieved over a longer period of time Prof Taylor says this. The whole point is to get rid of fat in the liver and pancreas by losing weight, enough weight to go under your personal fat threshold.

Hi everyone, I am a type 2 diabetic I have read the 8 week blood sugar diet book cover to cover and thought ,I could do this spoke to my doctor and diabetic nurse they sent me for blood test and said after results okay try the diet and return 1month so here I am.
I started on 13th of February booked a weeks holiday from work, got a swimming pool membership weighed myself I was 13st 3lbs and 5’5 tall not ideal!
First 3days very hard headaches ,tired , genrerly tough . Managed to go swimming,4 days I will be going every day in the evening ,I have been doing the 800 cal programme by friday started to feel normal, but have got leg and back ache think that might be the swimming .
Weighed myself Saturday morning down to 12st 9lbs yes 8lbs well worth the effort so far

Treading water for about 3 weeks. Needing to be stronger 😉

Hi fairyface I’m still here. Just been a bit quiet as I’ve been poorly for 9 weeks now and not been able to eat properly. Sleeping alot of the time when not working. I have an autoimmune illness which means it takes me longer too get better. Hoping to get back onto the next round soon.
Luckily I haven’t really put on any weight.

Always listening to you all and supporting you all in my heart ❤️ xx

Weigh in on this fresh morning in Melbourne

Start Jan 1 93.1kgs

Now. 84.4 kgs. Total Loss. 8.9kg. 19.5lbs

Waist round button of me Belly

Start. 110cm

Now. 99cm. Loss. 11cm. 4.3inch

I’m 5′ 11″” or 180cm. Aged 49 male

I’m not T2 but probably would have been in 5-10 years time

I have not exercised and I average 8000 steps a day with my office job

I may exercise soon as weight coming off is helping my osteo arthritic knees a fair bit
My 9 year old plays tennis 5x a week so I’m on the court a lot hitting back to her or collecting balls in her lessons lol

Next week is my last week so I am so determined to make it to 83kg

That will be 10kg loss

I currently weigh less than I have in 20 years

I have nearly finished a great read in That Sugar Book which follows up That Sugar Film

Incredible read and will change you more than the 8 week BSD book
Damon Gameau – buy it Asap

I have certainly not followed the 800 every day
I would say. 800 x 2. 1000 x 2. 1250 x 2 and a wine induced 1600 x1

My BIGGEST loss was in first 2 weeks also coincided with 800 x 14

800 is 800 and that’s my mantra for next 7 days as I try and see if truly sticking to the 800 x 7 gives a great result 7 weeks in with this plateau thing in the background

I am totally delighted with the 8.9kg loss and the 11cm as I am new belt shopping today

Also my Blood Pressure is down amazingly and my resting pulse as I type is about 53 which is a result as well with No Exercise

Suppose looking at the last week I think the education and impact of no sugar is incredible

Our cupboards are just about empty of processed foods and my 2 kids are slowly being weened off crap

Yesterday my wife made ‘ I can’t believe it’s Broccoli Soup’ from Damons great recipes

I can tell you now that it is incredible

She also made eggs spinach and tomato wrapped in bacon baked in muffin cases in the oven. They were an instant hit for all except me as I don’t eat meat.

So hats off to all the tryers out there and here’s to next week weigh in

Malbourne

Some people have breaks, some just plough on through. I only did one session of 800 fast for 8 weeks after working up to it with more and more fast days, but Captainlynne among others just continued straight through until they reached their goal weight without any breaks and felt good all the time.

I used to enjoy alcohol in my twenties and thirties, but no longer do. I do sometimes have a small amount but I’m lucky that it doesn’t make me want more. Sugar, on the other hand… wow, what an addiction.

Hi I’ve been sugar and grain free for nearly 4yrs but have still managed to put 3st back on over that time – proof that no matter how healthy you eat calories and moving more are still important. I’m a great fan of Micheal Mosley so I’m using BSD 800F to get things moving downwards again.

What I’d like to know is did you have any breaks before starting the next 8wk phase? How many cycles did you do? And what is your maintainance plan to keep the weight off going forward

Linda
That is really interesting. I am not surprised that sugar is harder than heroin to come off. I have stayed completely off sugar and bad carbs because I really don’t want to get hooked on them again.

jpscloud – my daughters have commented in the past that they are so pleased that I don’t like alcohol because I behaved exactly like an alcoholic around sugar and carbs and it would have been a nightmare if I also had behaved the same way around alcohol.

I never liked alcohol but made myself drink it to be sociable. Was so pleased when I became very allergic to wine and had a really good excuse to never drink it again because it made me ill. It is such a shame that our social world is driven by alcohol and sugar.

Thanks Mix match. I’m really looking forward to the full fat Greek yogurt and mixed berries in the mornings! I will have a look at Aldi’s protein pots too. So handy when you don’t have time to prepare a meal.

Thanks Linda! Yes, whilst fighting the urges to take the kitchen apart looking for sugar today, I noticed (not for the first time, but so clearly today) just how many adverts are about food, and how many are about sugar-loaded foods. What a world we live in.

I often chat to a recovering alcoholic and our feelings about our respective demons are so similar – we both notice quite sharply that our social world is driven by alcohol and sugar. It’s assumed that everyone wants to join in workplace cake-fests, and go out and drink alcohol, or what on earth is wrong with you?

Carbs amount is an individual preference. Several people have very successfully used the recipes in the book to lose weight without counting anything, and at the other end people like me have adopted the basic principles of avoiding the white stuff and played around with the delivery and rate of loss (5:2, 4:3, 2:5, Fast 800). My carbs vary depending on my calories in obviously but when I was on 800 calories a day I was aiming for 40g carbs, and roughly sticking to 40g per 800 calories on higher carb days, I have had a quick read of the new Atkins diet book and apart from his distrust of yoghurt it makes some sense. His view of carbs is more extreme than MM’s, but they are basically coming from the same place. I love the M&S protein pots, and they make an excellent meal/snack. Aldi do some similar ones as well now.

Fairyface – its great that you are still losing weight and having to buy smaller jeans/trousers.
I have felt hungrier also over the last few days but seem to have settled back to normal today. Bought some lovely stilton today for my brocolli soup – one of my favourite soups.

Wendy – just a thought about your husband’s blood sugars. Crackers, bananas, oranges and especially raisins would really push my blood sugars up when I ate them in the past. I used to use dried fruit if I was having a hypo as it really pushed my blood sugars up very fast. Maybe those foods are causing your husband’s high blood sugars.

Although I am at goal weight and am off the insulin I will never be able to bring those foods back. Because I probably had diabetes and pre-diabetes for so many many years before I was diagnosed my consultant said that my pancreas may never be strong enough to cope with higher carbs. She actually said that she didn’t think I would ever be able to bring fruit back into my diet. I am just so happy at being off all meds and feeling so well that it is a very small price to pay for my health both now and in the future.

Hi Jack
Start off by aiming for 50g or less of carbs.
Protein is 1-1.5g per kg of IDEAL body weight, so if your ideal weight is 60kg, then you can start with 90g of protein (reduce it later if you are not losing weight, same as with carbs), the rest is made up of fat.
Every body is different and everybody loses weight at different rates as there are far too many variables.
Just start and fine tune it as you go along. Remember that protein and carbs have 4 cals per gram and fat has 9 cals per gram. That will help you with your calculations.
Cheers
Linda

Hi jpscloud
Well done and stick with it. The cravings will pass.
It’s not you!
It’s the carb monster screaming at you trying to convince you that you need to feed it sugar. If you ride it through for the next couple of days, it will get much better, but if you succumb or cheat or give yourself a treat, he (or she) will come back with a vengeance and you’ll be starting this all over again.
Sugar is harder than heroine to come off, so remember, it’s not you. It’s the food industry putting sugar in up to 85% of processed foods to keep us hooked so we keep buying it.
Make sure you read the labels of everything you buy and if it has any added sugar, put it back on the shelf and eat real food.
Cheers
Linda

Hi VEB1943
You’ll find semi skimmed milk higher in carbs than full fat milk which will also keep you more satiated. Try not to go low/lite fat anything. Fat is the key to losing weight on this WOE.
Cashews also are particularly high in carbs so try and swap them out for macadamias or almonds or better still a small piece of cheese.
Also, are you drinking enough water? You need at LEAST 2-3 litres per day. Are you measuring your carbs to keep them under 50g per day?
Some folk on the forums find they need to lower that level if they are still not losing, particularly if you are insulin resistant, pre diabetic or have T2D.
Let us know how you go.
Cheers
Linda