I know exactly what you mean Shanshu, I bought things on too many whims and got tooo big. Nowadays, whilst it sometimes looks tempting, I just have to think, if I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it. On the other hand, for those times I might think I will cave and eat the wrong foods, I need a few BSD friendly whims in the fridge!

😀

Hi LindaA
Thank you for your reply. You’re so lucky your skin is so good.
Just had delish garlic mushroom 2-egg omelette for breakfast/brunch 200 cals.
Nancy x

Baristagirls – thanks. The thing about the Parma ham (which was why it felt like cheating) is because I bought it on a whim in the supermarket. I’ve been very good in planning my meals and my fridge only has stuff I’m allowed to eat and I’ve been good at no deviating from any planned meals.

So I want to keep the buying on a whim thing to a minimum because if I can buy Parma ham on a whim, I can buy a Malteaster bunny on a whim and I really don’t want to do that!!

Finding Me – the fact that you are still posting here and still trying to get back on diet is it’s own little victory. Perhaps this isn’t the same for you but every time I’ve ‘cheated’ on a diet, I’ve just walked away and said ‘sod it, I failed’ – possibly because I wanted it to fail because it was too hard.

But you are still here and still trying and that’s the important thing. Keep trying. It’s like quitting smoking – what’s the saying ‘Don’t quit quitting’? I tried to quit cigarettes several times and whenever I had a weak moment, I let that weak moment end my attempt to quit instead of saying ‘I’ll be better tomorrow’. Until the day I decided to quit and keep quitting and ironically that was the time I didn’t have a weak moment and I’m now I’ve not smoked in over four months and can’t imagine myself ever doing it again.

Keep on keeping on – I believe in you!

Hello Shanshu – parma ham – well that wasn’t too bad was it 🙂 low carb and well slotted into the diet. Congratulations on resisting the cake and takeaway. I lost 2 stone in 8 weeks so you’re well on the way to smashing that!
My first 6-7 weeks were so hard. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I did it. I felt so ill. It was the longest carb flu ever and sometimes I was just sooo hungry!
You can do this!

Thanks very much to Shanshu and MixnMatch. I’m still getting my head (and eating) back into the good place it was last week.

Hello Viola
I’d like to emphasise ShrinkMe81’s message on my fitness pal. This was my lifesaver.

I hate confusing diets so always try to look at them as simply as possible. In a way, this is the easiest I’ve ever followed. MFP totals up your carbs, proteins, fats, sodium, calories, everything.

So: I just focused on 3 things for the first 8 weeks. 1) 800cal. 2)50g or less of carbs to boost my weightloss. 3)And fats where possible – oils, full fat yoghurt, full fat milk, butter, cream, etc.

To me that was easy and all I had to think about while struggling through those eight weeks. And really I ate what I liked apart from refined carbs and sugar.

Now my life is even easier having reached target. All I think about is – small portions, eat when hungry, eat fats, and low carb. It becomes a habit. And I don’t log on MFP anymore.

I understand it’s different for everyone…… but give it a go and hopefully you’ll be amazed and surprised 🙂

Sleep is good for weight loss too, bloke41. Something to do with hormones I think. How many hours of sleep are you getting a night?

Lucia, a great idea, and I would run there right now. You should see what it’s like in my house in the mornings especially, husband, student and 2 teenagers all trying to grab (non BSD) breakfast at top speed so they don’t miss the bus, leaving the place in a tip! It’s pandemonium and I am knackered before I have even got to work myself. My yoghurt and seeds are waiting for me on my desk when I feel calm enough to have them…

Support? That’s what I get on these forums, not at home. Yes, let’s all move, to a detached house called BSD with a nice big garden, somewhere in the countryside far from the nearest vendor of Cadbury’s!

Hi Verano. My portions of protein vary in weight but are usually between 65 and 80 g. If I eat fish or meat for lunch, my evening meal protein will be based on eggs, legumes or a small amount of something like anchovies or smoked salmon. Today we’ll be having your courgetti puttanesca, which we love. So much so I even got a friend to bring over a few jars of nonpareille capers in salt from the UK! The ones we get here are in vinegar and nowhere near as good.

As far as veg are concerned, I’m a bit like Californiagirl. I do eat sweetcorn and peas, but in small amounts, no potatoes or sweet potatoes. But other than that, I eat just about every other veg you can think of except chard, which Mr Snoop can’t abide. Yesterday’s veg intake (including 85 g of tomatoes) was 785 g, plus I had an apple weighing 185 g. Total calories were 807. Net carbs came in at just under 76, fibre was a fantastic 23. In fact, the nutritional parameters I’m interested in in order of priority are: calories, fibre, net carbs. And yesterday’s supper was actually not BSD friendly as I’m using up puff pastry bought for Christmas, so we had a pie made with puff pastry, labneh (strained yogurt), courgette and a mixture of assorted seeds.

Everyone seems so good at posting – I have been so busy recently my posts have been virtually zero. But I have been reading now and then – been inspired by all who contribute. I am stunned that I’ve managed to lose 2kg so far in this challenge, in spite of some challenging times where I’d usually go to pot with food choices. Might make it beyond the 3 I’d hoped for by 21st… I keep losing and regaining, but it’s stayed off for the last few days so I am going to call it 2 so far!

Hi Viola

You may be trying to overthink this. It is based on previous and on-going research, rather than being part of that study. As such, your worries about the “protocol” may be a bit of a distraction.

Re: the ‘versions’ – there is the eight week Fast800 which is sub-800 calories every day for an eight week period with intermittent fasting
There is also a 5:2 version where the 800 calorie restriction is followed on 2 days a week with a less rigorous diet for the other five.

The 50g of carbs is not in the book, but is a level that a number of people on this forum have found to be effective in encouraging weight loss and improving blood sugars. As everyone is different. you will have to experiment to see what works for you.

It is a bit of work to plan what you want to eat and work out the cals and carbs, but it is achievable and many people have found it successful. I would suggest giving it a go and seeing how you get on.

SCALES HAVE MOVED BACK DOWN!!!!!

-3 since Saturday yaaay

x

Honestly it’s not that hard, or I wouldn’t have made it to week three. You do need to use an app to record food as you go though, otherwise you would be doing a lot of calorie counting and faffing. I use My Fitness Pal which lets me scan barcodes to get accurate nutritional info, automatically calculates my carbs and keeps track of calories. I’ve also found a small, accurate digital scale useful for weighing nuts and seeds etc.

* Keep under 800 calories a day.
* Make your 800 calories up from fats (full fat yogurt, olive oil, egg, butter, meat, cheese), above-ground vegetables, and berries.
* Don’t snack.
* Do this for eight weeks – by the end you will feel better and weigh less. Easy 🙂

Hi everyone

Yes thanks Bissell the cellulitis is improving it’s just the antibiotics, which are strong enough to knock a horse out, that are causing problems now!!! Anyway just three days left and hopefully all will be well again.

I’d not noticed the coq au vin recipe but it does look nice so will definitely try that one. It’s amazing that you think you have read the book and then other people flag up recipes you’ve missed.

Enjoyed the meatballs last night and tonight I think it will be fish with stir fry vegetables and maybe some fried cabbage.

Snoop I’ve been reading the posts on the current 4 week challenge thread with interest. I wonder if you can be over zealous with ‘counting’. I noticed that both you and California girl are eating a more ‘relaxed’ diet including lots more vegetables and, I’m guessing from what you’ve said, less protein. Last night I had two average size meatballs and I felt absolutely ‘stuffed’ afterwards. I only had cauliflower with them but I had that awful feeling you get when you’ve eaten too much. My appetite is definitely changing and I think you could be right about widening the range of vegetables I eat.

With regard to gout I’m just taking a short course of tablets and then I hope to banish it and all thoughts of it from my life!!! Fingers crossed.

Have a good food day.

Maccy, You have begun the process and that is the most important thing. Good luck and keep coming back to the forums because people are really helpful and supportive.

Hi NancyB
Re loose tummy skin.
I’m 57, lost 32kg over 25 weeks and have been maintaining since September. I started in size 16 pants and am now in a size 8 and I’m please to say there’s no loose skin. In fact, as time has gone on, it’s got better and better. Maybe it’s just my skin or maybe it’s because I walk a lot and do yoga, but there is hope. I wouldn’t worry too much now as I found that the tummy was the very last to go.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Linda

So many people doing so well, either losing or re setting. Thanks to everyone for their stories and discussion about how you all manage this process, they are fascinating. This week I have lost .6 of a pound overall – not as much as I’d like but staying in the 10 stone bracket so I’ll take that! My body composition scales this morning seem to have had a bit of a melt down. they have been reading visceral fat as 9 for weeks, this morning they read 7, so I did it again and they read 8 so I did it again and they read 9. Not quite sure what is happening there, however, the weight stayed exactly the same each time so I am assuming that is correct for now.

Hi guys
When we look back at pages 1-4 of this thread there is no mention of slip ups or sneaky wines or bad days etc

Everyone was totally on the ball in the zone

Myself included I think we need to re focus and have at least 2 full weeks of what we did in the first 2 weeks and I know we will see a better result

I’m still motivated but this 8 weeks programme is realistically becoming 12-14 weeks to get the goal I want lol

I’m imagining people sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to raid the kitchen for courgette and kalettes.

PS adding chia seeds to my breakfast yoghurt didn’t help – I was hungry again in a couple of hours.

Just read your post Maccy. Congratulations in taking step one to a healthier life. Hope your third day is going well. Warm thoughts (not just due to the heat in Melbourne) for your journey. Special best wishes.

Weigh in was yesterday, no loss, oh! well must have plateaued like others. My husband and I are in week 7, he had a big loss last week of just over a kilo, despite the fact that I found half a bar of Cadbury’s milk chocolate in his sock drawer when putting away his washing, I was tempted to eat a small square, but resisted, well done me. Must question him about this tonight! The plan is to stick strictly to the diet and increase the exercise over the next 2 weeks, as Michelle Bridges says the last 5 ks are the most difficult to loose, she even published a book about it. Good luck everyone and stay motivated, particularly those living in the Northern hemisphere, it is much harder for you as food is fuel and helps to keep you warm.

Thank you KrysiaD and Theodora for your kind comments about my mom! She is getting back to her normal routine and says she is working hard on eating her high calorie diet. I guess time will tell if she is able to stick to that and gain weight!

Theodora~ Happy for you that you are enjoying your holiday with good friends and still being able to stick to the BSD while still enjoying a little alcohol! The mussels sound delicious! Enjoy the rest of your holiday–you are doing great!

Angela~ Thinking of you–sure hope your granddaughter is doing better!

We had a pretty fierce storm here during the night and this morning with 40 mile an hour winds. I left the house, headed for work at 4:30 am, and quickly realized something was wrong with my car. It turned out that I had a flat tire! Luckily I listened to my intuition and drove back to the house. Instead of going to work, I ended up having AAA come and change the tire and then driving to a tire store to get the tire fixed. Turns out a large screw went right into the tire. The tire store paid for the repair and charged me nothing! Wow! When I asked them why they would do that, they told me it is because they want people’s return business. It was such a nice experience and I will definitely return!

PEAK: Thankful I didn’t try to drive on the semi-flat tire, in the dark and in the storm. It would have been dangerous to be on the side of the highway in the dark and in the heavy rain. So glad the tire fixing experience turned out so well! Got a work-out in today!

PIT: No pit! :–)

Wow. What a moving story.

You can now change the title of this thread to ” I’m slowly rebuilding myself”, and replace “embarrassed and ashamed” with “confident and proud”.

It is early days for you and you are still establishing your routine, but once you are slowly and steadily losing weight every week, the sense of accomplishment will make you feel fantastic.

Well, topcac, I weighed in this morning .6kg down. Yay, will take it. But can’t honestly say it was through carb control. However, while I weigh most days, I only COUNT the weight against my starting weight on Tuesday
weigh-ins.

Sorry, Haven’t been on for a few days as I’m on holiday, but JMarie41 I am so sorry to hear about your mother, what an awful shock, but I hope that this can be brought under control and that she will be on the mend soon.

Angela, how is your granddaughter now? I hope she is on the mend too?

Peaks and Pits…………….

PEAK – after yesterday’s torrential rain all day, when we were more or less condemned to spend the entire day holed up in a pub, beside a roaring log fire, today has been a gloriously sunny day, so lots of walking of the coastal path.

PIT – I KNEW I wouldn’t manage 10 whole days on holiday with good but very boozy friends without succumbing to the temptation of alcohol! So out for dinner this evening and I had 2 glasses (150) of red wine,. I really enjoyed it, and had a pint of water with each (not mixed, just alongside). And, more to the point, I honestly felt I had had enough – in the past, during the course of an evening lasting from 7pm til gone 11pm, I would happily have downed the entire bottle!

PEAK: To compensate for the wine, I tried to be really good with the food. I had a crab starter, followed by a starter portion of moules mariniere (boy were they good – but then I love seafood, and mussels and crab in particular 🙂 ) I declined both the yummy homemade bread and the chips which accompanied my meal – didn’t go to waste though, as O/H demolished both, on top of his own!!.

DOUBLE PEAK was when I got back to the hotel, dreading the damage I may I have done, I punched in my meal to FATSECRET and, despite the alcohol, I still think I came in under 800 calories 🙂 Think I may make mussels a regular feature of BSD, so healthy and low calorie.. Even my carbs came in higher than I have been aiming for (25g) but lower than the recommended 50g – as far as I could work out I had 43g carbs. Of course, it is really difficult to estimate restaurant food, I had to guess the ingredients and quantities, but at least I can go to bed reassured that, even if I have gone over, I have not totally blown BSD800 (today, at any rate 😉 )

Tomorrow is another day, and no alcohol will pass my lips. The forecast is good, and we will be walking the next leg of the coastal path.

Hope everyone else has had a good day too, with more peaks than pits. x

5:2 – that’s one option

Chrissie – You managed your food temptations so brilliantly even though you had an upset day – good for you. Isn’t it amazing that coffee without sugar can actually be a treat – it used to be whatever went with the coffee was the treat ! The Cologne Chamber Orchestra would have been fabulous and broken that distressed and sad feeling too.
How well you’ve done not needing insulin anymore that must absolutely be the most huge motivation for you -. And such a turnaround.
Hope your day today will be a happy and sunny one!

last week i had a Burrito Bowl with brown rice and beans and chicken. yum!!!!

Oh, thank you all for being so kind to me. I really was so sad yesterday, spent half the day crying BUT, importantly, I didn’t break the diet and just eat anything! And that is a first for me. Part of the motivation is that the sugar withdrawal was so awful I don’t want to have to do it again!! We went and saw a performance by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra last night and I saved some calories to have coffee after – which was a real treat and didn’t even need sugar in it (used to have 2 spoons). Small temptation to have a florentine but it was quite easy to overcome – again, a first for me. I’m not one to resist very hard! And 2 weeks not needing insulin is a big motivator too. I am not going to weigh myself again until I go back to the dietican on the 25th (she says – bet I do tho!). Thank you again, Inka, Suannah, Seasidenana, & TumTum especially, but all of you for being available and being caring. The support is amazing and really helps.
Big Hugs xxxxx

How many fast days are you using? Can you drop one? I will be using 6:1 probably to maintain, with 5:2 if I start to put weight on again. At the moment I am trying to stabilise but haven’t had any problems with losing weight I don’t want to yet.

I suggest you Google Martin Ankerl’s keto calculator to try to get some idea of what your protein requirements are. With regard to the tropical fruit in recipes, I haven’t used any, I didn’t get the books until quite late, but if the quantity in the recipe is very small, then I guess it is just a case of a little of what you fancy does you good.

I believe the protocol in question is the standard pre bariatric surgery diet, given a real food and Mediterranean twist and incorporating optional intermittent fasting.

6.7 not 6.2 for Blood Sugar readings. My readings seem to be all over the place.

Hello – today was hell. I was just hungry all day for some reason and then had a weak moment of eating a slice of Parma ham because It was 7.30pm and I couldn’t wait another hour to eat (fortunately though this wasn’t planned for I managed to fit it into my day by slightly changing the evening meal).

This evening all my friends were eating Thai takeaway and birthday cake as I watched. However, somehow I got through and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Today’s summary:
Calories: 775
Carbs: 26g
Water: 3L
Steps: 14,539
Average Blood Glucose Monitor reading: 6.2 (from 7 readings today)

I am now at the point where I have exceeded my original weight targets several times, overall I’ve lost 20kg, I’m comfortably inside the ideal BMI now for my height and age, and really don’t want or need to lose any more. I have struck a good balance of fasting and healthy eating and exercise and am feeling great. I don’t have any concerns that I may gain weight again, in fact the problem is the opposite, I’m still losing weight with my current routines so need to change something. What’s the best way to stabilise, change the diet, change the fasting, something else?

Awesome result Snoop, well done! The honey is not so bad replacement for the pizza, though l must admit l try not to go past any pizza places…. ACV is getting easier to take, though bit of struggle in the evenings though. Starting to get little buggered from all the exercises, though i keep on doing them, l sure could do with a sleep in big time, instead of walking the pavements. Got a surprise dinner planned for o/h this Saturday at a Mexican restaurant, hopefully l can find something to eat thats carb free.
Have a good one all!

Thank you Shanshu and Fighting T2! Just read through everyone’s comments. This forum is so informative and supportive. I have eggs on the ready for breakfast. For the recipes I have tried from the BSD books, they are surprisingly good. I am having the Thai fish cakes for dinner tomorrow. I am trying to prepare meals a day or so in advance because I am really tired when it gets to meal times, especially dinner and I don’t want to let myself down. We can do this!

Thanks Shanshu. Yes, 900 cals is a very small amount – compared to what I used to consume.
Well done with the four mile walk, I can’t imagine walking for that long!

Well done Nancy B, very encouraging.

Welcome Predhaynes, of course you can join us.

Hi Predhaynes – it was pre-cooked salmon fillet rather than smoked salmon I’m afraid.

I haven’t checked smoked salmon out but that’s a pain if it’s really high – I love smoked salmon.

Super quick flyby as with friends and I’m being rude!

NancyB – that’s fantastic news – well done indeed

Natalie – thanks for the info, I’ll look it up

Predhaynes – I saw your post and was going to drop by. Please join us – you’re very welcome.

Shantu, where can you can sugar free smoked salmon from? Every time I look at smoked salmon, the second or third ingredient is sugar.

Hello everypeeps. It’s been so informative reading all of the above posts. Well done to all of you who have seen losses or maintained. To all of you others, like me, who have been on a major detour since Christmas (the body has been willing but not the mind) do, do stick at it even when things go awry. I’m decided to mentally park the last few weeks and have now been fully back on track for 3 days. Phew. We can do it!

Just a check-in for my weekly weigh-in. 2.4lbs this week. Down to 250.4lb. Many miles to go but within sniffing distance of under 250lbs for the first time in quite some time. 17lb lost since start of November. I’m going slow but steady.

Blood pressure was in the normal range for the first time since I started!

I feel a bit sheepish as I’m not being strict as many of you are and know I could do better but need to take this at my own pace. I’m getting results and I’m not being tempted to eat the fridge! Need to focus on mindfulness in the next week for me. Stress about everything and reaching for the wine glass are my biggest failings.

Love all the posts, gets me through the day!
Scarlet

Hi Chrissie63
Oh bless you. I think we all have had those moments of despair. I’ve had a horrible day at work so was very tempted to have chocolate or wine. I’m also away on a work trip so eating whatever I can find in Marks andSpencer. They have LOTS of yummy things. What stopped me was thinking of my next mini targets. Rather than just weight, I’ve got targets on waist measurement, BMI, getting into nextstone. Perhaps you need to give yourself some mini targets of various types ? That way it’s less overwhelming-I’ve 4 stone to shift (5 if I want a ‘healthy ‘ BMI) on days like today it feels like a non achievable dream. But my mini 2lb goal feels doable. You’ve done the hard bit by starting the diet and that makes you amazing. Much love xxx

Hi All,

Please may I join this forum. I started my own last week but I am feeling a bit lonely there by myself now… I started on 30th too. Just after my over 40s health mot when I found out that I had been prediabetic for years! My blood sugar count it now lower but not low enough for me and I am determined to reduce my waist and BMI. This is my second week of doing the diet. I have to admit I have not religiously been sticking to 800 calories but definitely under 1000. Also I find weekends really difficult with family meals. The first week was really hard too, felt so ill and tired. I now think I probably had the carb flu. It’s really odd but I am finding the smaller portions filling, I am just struggling with stamina in my tone classes. I brought the book and the sauce for the chicken korma was lush! Just won’t be making it with chicken breast again 😉

Oh my goodness, this is so confusing. What is a small portion? What is moderation? I don’t understand how it can be so confusing. Apparently it’s based on studies, but no protocol could be this lacking in detail. I can write everything down, but how do I process this information? What do I do with the results?

I bought the book, the blood sugar diet, and read that twice. I saw a page with a box on which said about eating eggs and full fat and things. Not very clear. What do you mean by the versions? I have checked again and I can’t find the part where it says about 50g of carbs a day. How do I tell if I am typical?

I’m not sure if I had any clear expectations for this diet, but I assumed it would be possible to work out what I was supposed to do. For example, he says no tropical fruit and then some of the recipes at the back call for pineapple! How do I find out my protein requirements?

SallyNZ glad you’ve met the whoosh fairy!

Well done NancyB! And thanks Shanshu.

Regarding loose skin, there was a lot of positive discussion somewhere about rose oil (or rose hip oil?) helping so you could try doing a search in the threads for that. Sorry I don’t have time this morning.

This time round I’ve been finding yoghurt and berries for breakfast isn’t satisfying me until lunchtime, I don’t know why when I did this last year I found it very filling. Eggs are best for me but I don’t have them everyday, bacon as a treat once or twice a week (processed meats are to be limited on BSD or indeed any healthy WOL). Last night I mixed some chia seeds into a serve of yoghurt and raspberries, it tastes just the same and adds fibre and the yoghurt seems thicker so I’ll see how I go with that this morning.

Have a great day everyone!