I agree with sunshine-girl.

I was always told to test first thing after waking. My experience has been that this particular reading, which never dropped prior to the BSD has now been in the normal range for several months.

And my HbA1c has also dropped into the normal range.

Yes Michael, you should do the test before eating, even if you do eat at 5am. I used to have to get up early when I worked not you cant drag me out of bed before 8am. The snack should be something small like a piece of cheese or slice of cold meat and of course allowed on the BSD, no bowls of cereals like my nutritionist recommended.

Oh – and I hadn’t heard of the pre-bed snack – I’ll try it tonight
Mike

>>Michael Rolls, I am probably to blame for you getting up at 5am. You don’t measure your BG at 5 am – I repeat, your liver pumps out glycogen at AROUND 5am, but it could be 3.30 or 4.00 or 6.00, it depends on lots of things, like your weight, when you last ate, what you ate. Just do your BG at your normal time but make sure you have had a very small snack before you go to bed to help PREVENT the liver pumping out glycogen.
Enjoy a good nights sleep tonight.<<
I’m pleased to say that it’s not your fault – I’ve been up and about around 5 a.m. for 40 years or more!
It’s just the way that I am – dates back to the days when I had to be up at 5, on the road by 6 to get to the office for 7. Never shaken off the habit even though I have now been retired for over 20 years.
I read your comments on another thread about the early morning rush. Had always assumed that it would be logical to take the BS reading early before eating, as I presumed that it would be affected by what I ate, which could differ from day to day. Interestingly, having taken the DS reading at about 6 this morning – it was 7.1, after reading you post, I took it again at about 11:30 and it was only 5.9 – now I’m really puzzled. Obviously both readings are ‘correct’ for when they were taken – but which one reflects where I really am in relation to being over/ not over the D2 limit?
Mike

Thank you everyone that is very helpful!!! Have a great day!

I don’t add sugar to anything – the ‘added sugar’ is the description used for items whihc aren’t just natural sugar (like an apple or a parsnip or whatever) as opposed to sugar which is part of the manufacturing or production process. It’s not something that I can control other than not eating the products concerned – for example a 100g of Greek Yoghurt has 5.3g of sugar in it. A single Rich Tea biscuit has nearly 2 g , and and so on.
Mike

Great news Verano. *does happy dance for Verano*.

Hi katb

Some diabetics on here have dropped their carbs to around 25g daily to normalise blood sugars. It’s an individual thing – you’ll find your level.

Michael Rolls, I am probably to blame for you getting up at 5am. You don’t measure your BG at 5 am – I repeat, your liver pumps out glycogen at AROUND 5am, but it could be 3.30 or 4.00 or 6.00, it depends on lots of things, like your weight, when you last ate, what you ate. Just do your BG at your normal time but make sure you have had a very small snack before you go to bed to help PREVENT the liver pumping out glycogen.

Enjoy a good nights sleep tonight.

This can’t be true, a shortage of courgettes and other veg. I heard it was because of flooding in Spain but I can still get as much as I like here in France and there have been no problems in Spain. Do you think the EU is trying to tell you something, although starving Brits of salad like vegetables would hardly bring them to their knees. Present company accepted as we all love our veg.

One day at a time MK. That’s all any of us can say or do.

Well done for today.

Good for you MK. Isn’t it funny how people think you are judging them by your food choices. Someone told me I was trying to be superior by not drinking and making them feel bad. I don’t care what they eat and am trying not to look so I don’t get tempted but I certainly don’t think I am better than they are.

Hi katb
Not sure about amount of fats and proteins, but I am certain that just about everybody is trying to stay under 50g carbs each day. If you follow the recipes then you will be getting the right amount of fats and proteins. Some say you need 1g of protein for each kg of what would be your IDEAL weight.
As for the 800 cals – yes, you must stick to 800 calories or under each day. So if your energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate sums to 2,500 cals a day that is a deficit of 1,700 cals a day and you should lose half a pound (8oz) of body fat each day.
Nancy x

Welcome Katb, you are in the right place to reverse your diabetes and you are lucky enough to have found this plan so early after your diagnosis, though not lucky to be diagnosed. I assume as you are newly diagnosed you have not been put on medication but have been given the chance to control with diet.

Others will come and tell you the percentages you are looking for. I just stick with 800 calories and keep to under 50g carbs but absolutely no white starchy carbs – I’m sure you know the list.

The calorie total of 800 is all you get, doesn’t matter if you exercise or not. In fact, you might find exercise a bit of a push for the first couple of weeks. If you have to slow down this won’t stop you from losing weight or reducing your BG. If you find you are flagging at 800 or feel weak for shaky after exercise try to snack on something BSD friendly, I find a couple of prunes and some Greek yoghurt (a couple of spoons) will bring the BG back up, just keep a check on yourself. Before BSD I used to think I had to eat something sweet or carby to avoid low BG but all that did was stop me from losing weight. Eating more to compensate for exercise didn’t work for me then and I don’t do it now.

Good luck and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is sometimes quicker for you if you do a search first by putting your question in the Search box at the top right hand of the page. If you don’t find what you want, then ask away.

Funny old day today, and sort of chimes with theme of ‘going back to a ‘normal’ diet post BSD.
Was out with a work group who ordered panini, chips, pudding, with a glass of wine each while I chose a smoked salmon salad and coffee with some fizzy water.

Usual ‘ooh, she IS good, making us look greedy but we’re only doing this for a treat’. They’re all size 10 and gorgeous, o’course! I didn’t rise to it but I do sometimes wonder why women do this to one another.

Anyway, not so very long ago I’d have tucked in to the communal fries with my salad and been relatively ‘good’ for lunch – but would then have had a cake to be sociable.

Today I really didn’t want what they had, and I can’t imagine wanting it again. All I have to do is think of that diabetic foot…..

I’m sure that one day a carby treat will wink enticingly and I’ll give in, but not today. Not today. MKx

Well done Verano, although I don’t know how much better than ‘normal’ you can do. I want to be ‘normal’ but without meds and that is a way off for me yet. Here’s hoping. You just keep on keeping on, whatever you are doing.

End of week 6 weigh-in:
Down 30 pounds today. Did my monthly measurements: have lost between 2.5 – 4 inches everywhere, waist, belly, hips, chest, even arms and thighs lost 2.5 inches.This week I did better at sticking to the 800 calorie limit. Am close to hitting the 12.5% goal. I still have sixty pounds to lose to get to a healthy BMI. Only 2 weeks left on the original 8 weeks! We’re probably going to extend the 800/ week for at least a couple weeks, if not longer.

Whoopeee, Verano, what fantastic news. As JM says, above, a real Zippity-doo-dah moment 🙂

It is so wonderful to share in people’s triumphs, as well as their pitfalls.

Now dying to know what your GP says when you tell her about BSD!

Sounds like a double Zippity-doo-dah moment to me!

Hi! I am brand new to the program. Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a week ago. Watched Dr. Mosley’s video online and have been trying to follow the basics for a few days. Recieved the book yesterday and ready to start full on Fast 800 today. Have read the book but i still have two questions to which I cannot seem to figure out the answer:

1. What is the percentage of fat, protein and carbs you should have daily? I have been trying to stay under 45 grams of carbs daily since diagnosed, however based on some of the posts I read is that way too many?? I am juicing a lot of veggies and a few suggested fruits and pretty much all of my carbs are coming from that. I am also eating protein with every meal. Would appreciate a specific guide as I will not be able to only eat the recipes suggested in the daily menu.

2. Are the 800 calories “net”. Am I supposed to adjust my caloric intake for exercise, ie: if I burn 200 calories exercising do I need to cosume 1000 calories that day?

Thank you in advance.

Just wanted to share my news.

I had an HbA1c at the end of October and it had come down from 44 to 37, normal! My next one is due at the end of April but I had a strange ‘turn’ in hospital and my BS was down into the 4’s (in old money) which is unheard of for me. So, when my doctor decided to do a blood test last week I ask for an HbA1c as well. Results are in …. 38 , so almost the same as last time despite the fact that I have not been as strict with carbs as I had been for the three months prior to the last one.

She was ecstatic at my results saying how marvellous it is that I’m ‘normal’ . It was lovely to find that my BG has stayed low but also that she was delighted. I’ve not spoken to her about BSD yet but I will. I was waiting for my April test before discussing reducing my metformin. Now I will go ahead and have the conversation in April if I’m still on an even keel and there’s no reason that I shouldn’t be.

Also, somebody actually noticed I’ve lost weight!!!! Yiiipppeeee!!!!

At the moment it’s all looking worthwhile and very positive.

I’ve had multiple bouts of nausea, some of which lasted a few hours, others dragged on for a week. The last bout was around Christmas and I actually vomited (we had guests over for dinner, so that was fun). I felt much better afterwards and haven’t experienced any nausea since.

Since I find it almost impossible to eat when I feel like throwing up, I have little food advice to give you. I stuck with mugs of chicken broth dusted with a grating of parmesan because my mom used to make that for me when my tummy was upset as a kid. Also, I found that a tablet of Dramamine helps. It works just as well when you’re stationary as it does when you’re being jostled in a car or boat.

There are courgettes around in some supermarkets. Morrisons have them but they are really pricey. Not sure about the other stores.

Angela, any old full fat plain yoghurt will do for cooking, as the taste is lost amongst the other ingredients, but it gives the same sort of richness as cream.

Prior to BSD, I always used supermarket’s own (generally Asda Greek). I only use Fage because it was recommended on here, so I tasted it and it is soooo delicious that I now have it for breakfast, with berries, every morning, so I always have it in the fridge. Plus it is a bit lower in carbs and calories than other plain Greek yoghurts. For example, 125g Fage (which is my breakfast serving) contains 6.25g fat (Asda’s 11.75), 4.75g carbs (Asda’s 8.25), 11.25g protein (Asda’s 6.38), and 120 calories (Asda’s 156) And, let’s be honest, on BSD800, every little carb / calorie saving helps 🙂

Mind you it is a lot more expensive so I guess I ought to really keep a carton of supermarket’s own for cooking with, and for the dogs for that matter, who get a portion each as a treat a couple of times a week, and also love to lick the cartons out as and when I finish them.

Butternut squash is pretty high in carbs are 11.3g per 100g and not sure how cucumber would fair. Rather than spaghetti style substitute, how about cauliflower rice/couscous or mash?

Kelp noodles! Some people hate them — they come out of the bag crunchy and smelling like plastic — but I’m their greatest evangelist. You just have to put in a little effort in prep to get the texture and taste right. Once you’ve done that, they are incredibly versatile replacements for spaghetti or long noodles of any kind. Most importantly, a 12 oz bag of them has a grand total of 24 calories, 4 grams of fiber, zero net carbs. You could literally eat the whole bag and it wouldn’t even register on the calorie/carb log. That gives you all kinds of leeway to make delicious creamy cheese sauces and other calorie-rich toppings like a real Bolognese.

The trick is to thoroughly rinse the noodles in a colander, threading your fingers through the strands to unwind them from the block they’re in when you open the bag. Then soak them for an hour in a bowl of hot water (I use a kettle-full) with the juice of a half a lemon or lime. Drain and rinse again and set aside until they’re ready to be mixed with the dressing/veg/sauce/whatever. The acid in the citrus and the heat of the water soften the noodles so they lose that plasticy-crunchy texture and can be twirled on your fork like proper spags. They also clear away any weird flavors from the brine and bag.

I posted my recipe for shrimp lo mein using kelp noodles in this thread: https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/fab-food-for-february/#post-55215 .

One of my two go-to brands of kelp noodles is available on Amazon.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-Tangle-Noodle-Company-Noodles/dp/B00CPQ1C54/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1486998875&sr=8-1&keywords=kelp+noodles

Day 13:
Somebody today mentioned chicken skin improving. I too have noticed that the skin on my arms is looking quite alot smoother and younger looking – is it because we are better hydrated?

Hi Shanshu
I’m used to drinking quite a lot of wine, most of friends like a drink too and social meetups are usually quite boozy – probably how I got this fat in the first place (start: 17st 8lb).
You are doing brilliantly getting your steps in. I’ve managed to crank it up to walking for a good hour each day which I think is about 6,800 steps.
Race you to the bottom!
Nancy x

Don’t be disheartened Rozy, try to get back to the BSD basics and perhaps have a close look at the carb intake, to see if you can budge yourself off that plateau. Get the hydration thing sorted too, as we all know that is important for BSD progress.

Well done on that 2lb loss cmawp – getting really close to that main goal now! With luck and a fair wind you could well be there by this time next week.

Hope everyone else is doing okay.

Also good luck with your weigh-in tomorrow NancyB

What are you adding sugar to? Eleven grams of sugar is a lot, and the premise of the diet is that the refined carbs — flour, rice, potatoes, cereals, sugar — should be eliminated. It seems to be you’d be better served to cut out all the sugar, even reducing the natural sugars as much as you can, reduce the overall daily carb count to 50 g or less (a goal you could almost attain just by cutting those 11 g of added sugar) and replace those calories with some lovely filling healthy fats, like olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds and cheeses.

Hi,

anybody else starting the 8 Week Plan Fast 800 today?

the coins are a good idea…. My friend brought me this little phrase. I am putting it on my fridge
“Most people fail
rather than succeed
because they give up
what they want most
for what they want at the moment”

Love the idea of taking photos thanks! I keep 8 coins in my left pocket and move them over to my right pocket as I eat throughout the day. 1 coin = 100 calories when the food bank account is empty it is time to stop eating.

Just wondering how things going for all you first dayers. I am thinking up tasty meals to make this a pleasant experience. I am also photographing the meal to keep on record. What I didn’t do was add up the calories. I wouldn’t say I have had that many, but 800calls won’t amount to much food . considering I eat like I worked on a building site. Have done my aquarobics and walked the dog. Now I must get the ironing out of the way. Evening will be hardest

JulesMaigret – nope, definitely not taking any of those things. Guess my body is having a weird bump but it’s good to know it’s happened to others too. It’s so disheartening when I’ve been so good!!

NancyB – I’ve gone strictly no booze. Not really an issue for me as only tended to have the odd glass of wine anyway some weekends so I’m just stopping for the 8 weeks.

I gave up the booze for the first eight weeks, but I have an ‘all-or-nothing’ view to things, so it was easy to introduce a complete embargo.

Also I preferred to eat the calories rather than drink them 😉

Interesting point about the salt JM. I tend to oversalt, will cut down a little.
On the subject of appetite, I read some research that fizzy water triggers the appetite which figures as it does taste slightly salted.

Hi everybody!
Alcohol?
I’ve had 4 or 5 G&Ts with diet tonic during these first 12 days of the diet, and this weekend was very good, I think, had just 250ml red wine in pub with friend Saturday night and 125ml red wine with restaurant meal yesterday Sunday lunchtime. I have since read that alcohol should be completely avoided during the first month of the diet to give the liver a chance to start functioning properly. Oh dear – will now endeavour to forego alcohol from now on. What are other people doing in this regard?
Two week weigh-in for me tomorrow Tuesday at 6pm. Will post result.
Nancy x

Thank you, Theodora, for the cooking tip. I have eaten greek yoghurt but not tried cooking with it. I can’t get Fage just the Nestlé which to my taste buds isn’t quite as nice.

Unlikely to be muscle at 1lb in 24 hours, unless you’re taking ARMs or strong steroids, which I’m guessing you aren’t or you’d probably have mentioned it. More likely to be the body responding to the change in diet/weight by storing a bit of short-term water. I have said it before, but the body is a very complex and resilient thing and can behave in a wholly unpredictable manner.

In my first solid eight weeks, I lost at an average of just under .7lb a day which is, I understand, quite an aggressive drop. This was however far from linear and I did have the oft-mentioned plateaus, but now I try to take a longer term view. I’m now at around 2lb a week and am very happy with that as I drift towards my target, having met my primary health objectives.

Thanks for that – I’ll have a look at carb intake – one of the problems that I seem to experience is trying to find items of food that, whilst ‘good’ in one respect are bad in others.
I have upped my water intake a bit – can always do more.
One intriguing thing – I read on another thread the idea that measuring blood sugar in the early morning – I have been doing it around 05:30 – 06:00 (I’m an early riser) is measuring the fact that the liver is releasing sugar to combat perceived hunger. I read that after I had measured my sugar this morning – 7.1 – so have just checked again – about 11:30 and it is 5.9. For the time being (I measure my sugar twice a week) I think that I will take two readings each time, one at my existing early hour, the other a couple of hours after breakfast so that I can build up a comparison
As for fats – not having any obviously fatty foods
Thanks again
Mike

I made a couple of good choices and a couple of disastrous ones this weekend. It is time to become serious about my diet and I will try my best with incremental steps.

First step – get more vegetables in my meals. I am pleased with my progress with this – I’ve made soup for lunches again this week (celeriac and roasted peppers this week).

Second step – get more moderate exercise into my days. I walk for half an hour most mornings and now the evenings are getting lighter I will try to do half an hour in the afternoons as well. I will also try to restart my extra flights of stairs at work.

Next step is to reduce carbs little by little. I’ve had very little success in past attempts so I’ll do this gently this time.

Fage is also on sale in Asda at the moment (£2 for a 500g tub)….

Angela, Captlynne and K8sgettingthin – just on a point of interest, re cream and / or crème fraiche, I have ditched both in favour of Total Fage yoghurt and now never have cream in the house. I have it for breakfast every morning, it is just sooo delicious, even o/h has started eating it – not for breakfast, but as a substitute for cream with desserts – it’s all I ever offer guests too, and they all eat it without any adverse comments, don’t think they even notice. I also cook with it and any recipe at all which includes cream or crème fraiche, I just use the equivalent amount of yoghurt and it works a treat. The pork with mustard cream sauce has long been a favourite in this house, and I have made it regularly for about 25 years, with the addition of mushrooms, and have always preferred it made with yoghurt.

Now nuts (Brazils in particular), on the other hand, are my downfall, and haven’t yet found any suitable subsititute 🙁 I do try to limit myself to 10 a day.

So I’m 25% through the 8 week programme and so far so good. Mainly…

Except this morning I weighed myself as I have every morning since starting and instead of losing 0.8lb as I did every day this week, I had put on a whole lb. Why?? I’d like to think it’s muscle because I’m exercising more but does that sound right to other people?

Anyway my stats for Week Two:
Weight loss: 5.6 lb
Boobs: Down 3 cm
Chest (beneath boobs): Down 3.5 cm
Waist: Down 4 cm

Total so far:
Weight loss: 19.8 lb (incl. 4lb from cutting carbs the week before diet started)
Boobs: Down 10 cm
Chest (beneath boobs): Down 15 cm
Waist: Down 5 cm

So everything is going in the right direction I think (bar the extra lb this morning). Maybe the weight will stop coming off my boobs soon and start coming off everywhere else!

Hi FindingMe – I definitely don’t mind advice. I’m just not convinced I was tired so much as lazy.

Anyway – well done for getting back on the programme. I anticipate having an ‘oopsy’ day tomorrow as I have a funeral to go to and then it’s Valentines so we are having a meal out. I have a plan to keep close to the 800 calories having perused the menu in advance but it may all go to pot on the day. Hopefully I’ll be able to get straight back to it on Wednesday.

Good luck Bainsey. My BP was very high just before Christmas, and although not pre diabetic, probably not far off it. I already had the 8 week BSD book and the recipe book months before but hadn’t acted on it.

Now just over 6 weeks in and I have lost 20.5 lbs! Would like to lose at least another 10 lbs, but I feel this is achievable. I have only ever lost around 10 lbs in 3 months on previous diets and then fallen off the wagon so this is a vast improvement for me.

BP down from about 160/120 to 130/86.

Good luck to you, and keep checking in on the Forums.

Thank you Captainlynne and Angela06, you have made me feel so much better as I am addicted to cream – I also have a spoonful when I happen to go to the fridge…. which can be quite often. I also made the huge error of buying salted cashews promising myself I could just have a small handful now and then – it’s amazing how quickly an entire bag can disappear…… Both will be left of my shopping list and out of the basket from now on as I cannot be trusted. Struggle with butter also. If I’m going to shift my huge amount of fat, I need to be more vigilante – the weight loss is not happening and I can only blame myself!

I want to get back under 73 kg, just 0.3 kg to go. I know it is not much but my weight has been 72.8 then 73.3 then 72.9 then 73.5, get the picture, so getting under and staying under is my current goal.