Hi Angela, I use a Withings Go rather than a fitbit, it just looks like a watch with a round face, but the pedometer is permanent and you press the dial to get it to show a conventional watch face for the time. I hate fiddly buttons too!

HI Pete
Try checking out Bill1954’s thread from last year – think it’s called this has to work for me. Might be helpful as he lost loads on this with type 2 diabetes and several diabetes related conditions.
Julia

Lidl have a fitness selection at the moment in their specials, no pedometer I am afraid but resistance bands, skipping rope and foam rollers etc.

Hello ,
I am hoping to start in a weeks time . Have reached my heaviest weight ever ( including pregnancies ) , I want to lose 6 stone , I need to lose 6 stone . Not expecting to lose it in 8 weeks though ! Don’t have a sweet tooth , but do love bread and pasta and potatoes . Fortunately I also love everything green . Have read the book once and was impressed by the science . Was hoping to change to a semi vegatarian diet , so vegi recipes would be very welcome .

Fantastic news Busybee, it must feel great to have made such a comprehensive improvement to your health and taking control of your life like this. Onwards and downwards.😀😀😀😀😀

Shadynook, you’ve done exceptionally well you really have! You have been motivated and committed to lose a vast amount of weight in a short time and over a traditionally difficult time! You are healthier and fitter and will undoubtedly see a decrease in your BG ! The doc or nurse should be exceptionally pleased with you……just think most people on traditional diets like WW or SW would take probably 6 months to lose that………even if they still diagnose you as T2D you can continue on the diet and maintain healthy sugar levels …there is so much research and evidence now that the short sharp fix of very low calorie diets works, and Prof Taylors Newcastle study is still ongoing .

The NHS unfortunately is way behind the times in many ways that’s why it is on its knees! The government would hate to admit that the nutritional advice given in the 80s is in fact wrong ( low fat is in fact high sugar) and it really is not in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies that we the people are fighting back and making their own health choices backed by sound evidence.
Please let us know how you get on next week and don’t be frightened . Alex xx

Interesting discussion on tea, I use a glass pot at work, and a Painted Lady insert type at home and haven’t noticed any difference in taste, although the teas I use vary from place to place. I mostly use herb and green teas at work, almost always in bags, but at home it is generally leaf. I drink quite a lot of Redbush, I really love the taste after a previous diet where caffeine was banned and I got used to it.

Hi Lexy

Whilst I completely understand your view, actually I would have preferred your husband’s doctor’s response than that from mine, whose first reaction was to go for medication. I had to tell him that that wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t, and don’t, want empathy and understanding (if I needed that I’d buy a dog), I want a sound and reasoned medical opinion. My diabetes nurse on the other hand is brilliant, she is totally focused on measures and outcomes. She has heard of BSD but has never had a patient on it before but is open but sceptical – which is great (she has concerns about getting the right vitamin and mineral balance on only 800 cals per day, particularly over a prolonged period – and I understand that concern). I’m seeing her in a fortnight after the next set of cholesterol and HBA1C tests and I’ll be interested in her view.

I guess we’re all different.

If anyone is interested, Lidl have a Sanitas blood sugar monitor this week in their specials at £29.99. I was slightly interested purely academically in tracking mine, but could do without spending the money at the moment, and am not noticing any issues even when the brakes were off over Christmas.

tea tasting evening booked!

Hi again all 😉

Officially given up the diet as far as calorie counting goes but we are still watching the carbs and fat etc, cooking as per the book and therefore eating the same stuff. I made the mistake earlier of having too many carbs too quickly for lunch and my mmol/l shot up 2 hours after a meal to 12.9. That was about 1PM. About 30 minutes ago (so 4 hours later) I started to feel hot,faint and have the shakes. I tested again and my mmol/l had dropped to 5.1!. I AM on my metformin also – is this going to be potentially dangerous for me?

Dr says take metformin with this diet,(although didn’t mention the low calorie intake) leaflet says no if 1000 or under. When I was told I was diabetic I have photo’d my levels being at 17.4 so I have come a long way since then , but I have never seen them at 5.1 when you consider my fasting (so from 7pm-8am) level is never more than 7!

My training has always taught me that 3.9 and under was Hypoglycemia – but could this have been possible? I will keep checking and I am about to eat the simple shephards pie for tea, But I wanted to see if anyone else with T2D knew what the hell was going on with me?

Thanks!

Pete

Hi everyone. One day to go then I’m starting Saturday. Just doing some menu planning and shopping list for tomorrow. Still very nervous about it, but this forum is great, really encouraging. Just been reading the post from Alex about no help from GP. Mine is the same. Told I was diabetic 5 yrs ago. The only dietary advice I’ve received is “you can eat exactly the same, just less of it. Losing weight is the key”. I’ve never checked my blood sugar levels myself, and they’ve only been done twice at the Drs since. I have no idea what you’re all talking about with regards to amount of grams of carbs to have each day. I’m just going to follow the diet from the book to the letter and see what happens!

I have been following the BSD for 12 weeks and take a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes every day and I have lost 2 stone and feel so much healthier. I’m having my first fasting blood test next week since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in October 2016. I just hope the result will be good as I couldn’t have tried any harder and the thought of having to start medication fills me with dread.

I would find it really helpful if there was an app that took the great recipes and generated shopping lists (or I might just be a bit lazy) . Are there any plans for anything like this or does anyone know if it exists already and I’ve missed it? It might also help keep newcomers like me on the straight and narrow!

Thank you Way of Life! And to everyone on this forum …..it’s like joining a family!
The stories, the weight losses, tips and recipes are very motivational!
I did the Cambridge diet with my hubby some years ago and we were very competitive each weighing in in the morning….he inevitably lost weight quicker than me but overall we lost 5 stone….
I’ll never forget the energy I had and how great it felt to put on a pretty green linen size 10 top I was ecstatic!
I feel so ashamed that I’ve become a lumpen, wobbly size 16…it’s really stopped me going out ….so I stay in and drink wine! It doesn’t help that my hubby is working overseas……but the dogs help !!!!

I think Michael Mosely is a wonderful credible and interesting journalist and doctor ….I always watch his programmes as everything is researched and evidenced based ……..I wish more GP’s were inspired by him.
My hubby went to see a GP recently and this is what has triggered us to really get cracking and get healthy and fit…..his triglycerides, cholesterol and Liver function tests were high, higher than they’ve ever been and he has a belly fat so very at risk! All the GP said was ” you’re an intelligent , articulate and educated man you should know what to do” well I was so aggrieved ! ……..where was the counselling, empathy and understanding ? None of us want to get overweight, be unhealthy at risk of chronic debilitating disease ……..this is WHY this forum is so great we can really bare all and be ourselves and be honest….facing overweight and ill health challenges us to open up and share……Good Luck on our journeys everyone ! I’m starting on the 7th ordering the shopping on line ( no wine clicked into the basket will be very difficult !) love Alex

Thanks 54togo – it took me a year to lose that on Slimming World!! and, like you, just put it all back on – this way of eating works for impatient people like me who like to see immediate results – in my first week I weighed after three days and I was 5lbs down – imagine!!

I have had my annual review today and am pleased to report my HbA1c is down from 45 to 37, all other blood results are normal, weight is down. The nurse had heard of BSD and has three patients who have had great results using this WOEa d her daughter, who is studying Diet and Nutrition says this is the best way forward. So the news is spreading.

For Pat C big hug…….
For Wendy big hug…..
🙂
MIss ZIggy

BfitB – sorry to hear about your feet. Chemo can be barbaric. I was able to complete my cancer treatment without it and consider myself very fortunate indeed. I have very few and relatively minor side effects from the treatments I was given (surgery, radiotherapy and 5years of pills). I hope your condition improves with time.

I am a very happy bunny!
The whoosh fairy visited yesterday and three of the 5 pounds gained has gone, which means only another three to make two stones off. (I posted one stone off not one and half the other day – how could I forget half a stone!)

However the really good news is I went for my annual review today and the results are great!
HbA1c is down from 45 to 37, liver, kidneys, and other blood results normal and lung function shows full expansion.
Obviously I weighed over a stone less but I had also put on another stone last year prior to BSD. The only downer is that I have lost one and a half height inches which doesn’t help the BMI calculation!

The nurse was so excited and asked what I had been doing and when I told her, she said three of her worst diabetic patients had lost lots of weight and reduced medication and Insulin with the BSD. Also she told me that her daughter is studying Diet and Nutrition and says this WOE is the best way, so gradually the news is spreading.
Sorry for the ramble, but I just had to share my news.
X.

Evening lovelies
Day 3 for me. Not been too bad – but was doing 5:2 before Christmas. Seem a little hungrier today. I try to hold off eating as long as possible and then aim for either 2 or 3 meals depending on my hunger level after the first. Feel abit tired and spacey but I read somewhere that someone else had felt rubbish on day 3 but woke up feeling incredible day 4. After today it’s nearer the end of week 1 than the start! I keep telling myself THIS IS NOT A CHOICE now. This diet is not about my figure, it’s about my health. It’s about not getting retinopathy, heart disease, nerve damage etc etc. So in weak moments I remind myself of this. And it’s 8 weeks after all. At the end I can do it 5:2 style if I’m famished all the time. But I will not be reverting to old habits cos it’s not a choice!!!
Love to all, now what’s for tea?!?! Mikki x

Hi lexy4france

Think positively now – We can do it!
I start on 7th too (only a few days behind the other guys).

Will shop for food tomorrow. I’m trying to think of what I can eat as opposed to what I can’t eat.

I’m a sugar/binger too. You are not alone.
See you on the 7th
Best wishes

I’ve made a note of Amanzi tea, and will try it out next time I’m in that area.

Yumchaa have a tea tasting evening coming up that looks interesting.
My cold is running its course slowly – every now and then the paracetamol runs out, then it takes an hour or so before taking more has any effect, so I have to put up with rally runny eyes and nose.
I seem to have got back to the place where they kick in again!
Glad yours is on the way out Maharani kitten.

Maharani kitten, glad you are feeling better. If it helps, as a staff nurse on a community ward, with therefore loads of T2 D patients, if they had a urinary infection or cold, for example, their blood sugars went haywire. The levels settled down again when they recovered. So hopefully your’s will too.

Thank goodness my cold has gone, it’s been a pretty miserable week, and though weight loss has been rewarding, it doesn’t make up for losing a week of my Christmas hols. Birthday on Monday and I’ve reached my birthday target of 5lbs since Christmas, though not in a nice way.

Do any T2Ds have an explanation for inconsistent readings during illness? Lack of any meaningful exercise, maybe, but I’ve had some of my highest readings for weeks while eating hardly anything but soup! Upped my meds a bit but felt really nauseous as a result. Hoping to settle down this week, but would be interesting to know if there’s a medical reason for this.

Natalie, I so feel for you with your ‘starting fresh’ every day, then running out of motivation as the day wears on. I know it sounds bizarre, but self-hypnotism worked for me. Info on the net about how to do it. Mind over matter and all that. I gave myself alternate treats – to read a chapter of my book in the middle of the day, for instance, or a walk along the beach, or a little bunch of flowers. This too will pass! MK x

Hi there everyone ! Virtual wave !!!! I’m also a newbie planning to start this weekend ( the 7th Jan) I have about 3.5 stones to lose…..I’m only 5ft 2ins…..I’m now utterly sick and tired as to how I look and what I have become , lazy demotivated and unfocused ! I drink far too much wine and eat sporadically ! Usually ready meals which I’m ashamed of as I’m a very good cook! I used to have a handspan waist , caught sight of myself in the supermarket mirror the other day (whilst walking to the alcohol aisle) and was shocked to see a puffed up shiny red face on a grey rolly poly body !!!!!
I am a nurse and have asthma, depression , and am at risk if T2D so I should no better surely?????
Anyway this site and forum is a godsend to us and will be our friend/ counsellor/ motivator and Inspiration as we are all in the same boat with the same goals and fears.
Let’s make 2017 the year of change !
Best wishes and Good Luck my darlings
Alex x

Hi Lowena, there are certain good carbs like oats and quinoa but they are too high in carbs and calories, especially if you are doing the 800 Fast. You have posted in the BSD so if you are not doing 800 calories a day and 50 carbs you can suit yourself as long as you avoid the devil carbs.

Lexy, I have had the chickpea flour flatbread from a long time ago when I did the Ian Marber diet – I have the recipe if you want it. It does have 85 g of carbs per 100 g but that makes 4 pancakes.

I don’t use an app for measuring I use a website called Sparkpeople.com, but lots of people will tell you which app they use. Verano did a list of carbs in fruit and veg if you can find that thread.

Congratulations to you both Slimlady and hubby!!!!! What an inspiration to us all!
My hubby and I are starting this after the weekend ! We are both tired of the way we look and our lack of energy .
He had a massive shock when his triglycerides and cholesterol results came back as very high as did his ALT ( liver function) he’s 18 stone and 6ft 3ins I am 5ft 2 ins and 12 stone. ( we both have diabetes in our families so are at grave risk of T2D.

One of our biggest problems is he is working abroad in the West Indies, tough stressful job only one day off a week to shop , plan meals etc ……his choice of food items is very poor, most supermarkets sell very highly processed or canned foods, fresh fruit and veg choice is poor and spoils very quickly ……..the restaurants and eateries cater very much for the Americans who visit the island in droves ( fast fried foods etc) so he and I are both concerned how he will cope!

He is registered now on here and I’ve sent him the book ……I’ve started planning meals for him that he can batch cook and freeze soups/ one pot meals etc , we both adore all the “white stuff” and do drink far too much ( I am worse especially as I’m by myself all the time and get lonely and down which leads me to becoming demotivated and unfocused )

I really hope we can do this as we want to live a long and healthy happy life , he keeps me focused and grounded so hopefully we we’ll get there albeit across the Atlantic!

Ooh savoury porridge I had never thought of that as an alternative starch! Thank you JulesMaigret.

Happy New Year to everyone ! What a wonderful inspirational and motivational site this is ! And what success many people have had ! Good luck to us all on our journey to health and happiness!

I’m brand new to this and am hoping to lose a significant amount of weight before my hols to the States in March !

My real big problem is I adore bread and potatoes it’s my Irish/Russian heritage …..so I m hoping to find recipes that will be good alternatives.

Has anyone made the Italian chickpea flatbread which is I believe gluten free and low carb ? Is there any app which lists carbs?

Frog,

I have taken a shine to Amanzi tea also in London – lovely teas to drink in and their packs of tea are seriously good quality.

I bought a glass teapot in the sales and am surprisingly impressed – gives a very clean taste.

Thanks so much for sharing! You have given me hope. I’m 6’0, size 2X, and started at 19 stone 2. Am in my first week and amazed at how little I can eat. Did you have any trouble continuing on with the 800 cal diet after 8 weeks? I hadn’t considered that but I’d love to be done with this!

Thanks TC

Totally agree re LL.

I’m feeling really positive about this year and my journey and believe that groups/forums like this can be a huge support 🙂

24lbs in 15 weeks is impressive – well done!

Hi 54togo

Well the excellent news is that 54lbs in 52 weeks is very doable! It may even take you less time than that 🙂 and, I hesitate to add, it’s MUCH better than Lighter Life.

I am your age and had 24 lbs to lose which I did in 15 weeks. I have a sedentary job and really have to work at the exercise part but it is really worth it.

Good luck – you will find this forum is invaluable so come here for tips and tricks, when you’re feeling crap, or great – there will always be someone here to help or advice or send you a cheery wave.
TC

Julesmaigret: yes it’s the galette des rois. Commiserations on the lost filling. I think I’d avoid it too after that.

And well done on the steps. I’ve been on my feet all day but am still only at 5 000.

Hi All

Day 3 for me. I’m on a mission to lose 54lbs this year. Can’t remember what led me to this site, then the book and the cookbook but MM makes sense with the lose it quick to help liver and pancreas etc work better. The visceral fat I carry is a big concern to me but I am a binger and drawn to sugar and carbs like so many.

I can’t say I’m finding this easy as I’ve been following a plan of 3 meals and 2 snacks (supposedly to keep blood sugar levels stable). I get a bit confused with all the conflicting information out there and am missing my snacks but I’m determined to give this a minimum of 2 weeks. 9 years ago I did Lighter Life – complete meal replacement plan and lost 4 stone in 3 months but then, as usual, I put it all back on and more.

Look forward to chatting to you all throughout our journeys 🙂

I always prefer to use a teapot – either with looseleaf or teabags.
Agree the comments above that most major brand looseleaf teas are cut too small for individual cup infusers.

My favourite is a zero japan teapot, which has a metal infuser that means that when you’ve poured the first cup, the leaves are then mostly out of the water so that the tea doesn’t continue brewing/stewing.

Just before Christmas I found an excellent tea shop in London (yumchaa) with lots of infused black tea; I had one with blueberries, vanilla and rhubarb, amazing.

Peak has been getting my 10000 steps by 8am this morning, despite getting up at 4am when it was -3C.

Pit – Like you Angela, we have an epiphany cake at home (Rosca de reyes/Galette des Rois for our continental friends) but I won’t be back till late tonight so it’ll probably all be gone by then. As I lost a filling to the feve inside one a couple of years ago, I’m secretly a bit relieved.

The best thing has just happened – I have got the Michael Mosely book which I am working to, but my boss (who told me about the diet and he has lost a stone and a half), has brought me in the recipe book to borrow!!

How amazing xx

Inspiration a go go ! :o)

On the tea question, you could always get a fine sieve and shake out the dust/fannings (ooh get me with my fancy technical terms) and then use the strainer. This should give you a less dusty residue.

Obviously full leaf, Pekoe teas will contain larger leaves, but they come at a price….

Yes, that shake was very watery. It could possibly be quite nice with less liquid.

That’s brilliant. Thank you! Ready cooked meat is such a good idea… think my brain has gone to mush after babies haha.

Started 1st Jan. Armed with the book I am following it to the letter. Food quite tasty except the nasty green tea and blueberry yoghurt shake for breakfast. Last night’s chickpea frittata wasn’t that nice either but I will tweak recipes to suit. My husband and I are both doing this for four weeks prior to a trip abroad. He has T2 diabetes and I am a bit fat. He wants to get off meds eventually and I want to lose a few stone. We will recommence in earnest on our return in March. Call this a dry run. We have given up booze for January.

I did find the calories a little confusing because when I added up the separate ingredients I couldn’t get them to agree. However, I just followed the meal plans and recipes in the book, one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner and I lost weight steadily and quickly, hitting a 23lbs loss in 15 weeks, with only that to lose. I’m now on maintenance (well I will be when I’ve lost the pesky Christmas weight!)

My advice would be that if it’s working for you just stick to the calories in the book.

Hi jmarie, well done on the weight loss, so nice to be back in the driver’s seat, isn’t it?

My peak was chasing my 4 year old ganddaughter round the park and doing 3km in the process…it really made a difference to my steps.

The pit well i have to agree with you about the Christmas decorations. I’ve been taking mine down too. A second pit is that we would normally celebrate the epithany with a marzipan tart…kind of missing that. Not so much the tart but the social stuff round it! But if I invited the family round for it I would so eat a piece of that tart!

Have a good day 😉

Toby, I think quite a few people have mentioned that the book is on the light side re the calories..best to do the weighing yourself. I rarely use the book now as we prefer some simple grilled fish or meat with lots of lovely veggies. Certainly my tastes have changed and I find the less time I’m in the kitchen the better…

In the words of Victor Meldrew ‘I don’t believe it’, but actually I do, I have lost 1lb since yesterday and my BG is back under 100 – 98 to be precise. Loving the feeling, I can feel the difference around my midriff and see my skin is brighter and eyes clearer with no bags.

On to the tea question. The tea leaves you are using are too small and you can buy large leafed tea. On the other hand you could do what my husband does, he buys loose tea from The Rare Tea Company and he buys paper bags which look like and elongated envelope, you put the tea in the folded part at the end, put it in the cup and the longer part sticks out to allow you to take it out without having to fish around for it. Perfect but means you cant use your little gift.

Got to agree with Jenni – caffeine is a diuretic but you take it as a dilute solution with water – the net effect has been demonstrated to be negligible.

I tend to drink black coffee now, more because my taste has changed and I prefer the stronger, purer taste – I’ve also started to prefer loose tea as a substitute for booze (he says drinking his matcha at a client in sunny Dublin)

HI Wendy

I’ve put it in savoury porridge – oats, water and parmesan. Let it dry out a bit and use it like a polenta – very nice as a side with steak or oily fish.

Daisiesmum —- I do have a rebounder, but currently can’t use it. A couple of my lasting side effects from chemo were a slight neuropathy in my feet, as well as the onset of Raynaud’s Syndrome in my feet (have had it for over a decade in my hands, but never in my feet until chemo). I have the strong tingling in my feet, but I can’t “feel” them, and have to watch them to make sure they are firmly planted on the ground and are pointed in the right direction. It is getting better, but will be glad when it is gone ’cause I’m getting tired of crashing into things with my head while I am watching my feet !!! Instead, I use a “stepper” which offers a solid surface for my feet, and resistance for each step —- but is not nearly as much fun as the rebounder !!!!

Did get my U.S. version of the BSD cookbook today, and am glad that, as hoped, it uses our form of measurement, and oven temperature. Have learned how to convert, but that requires thinking —- which generally flies out the window if I’m hungry !!! Wish I had more access to some of the ingredients used, but I live in a SMALL town on the Southern Oregon Coast, with extremely basic groceries. Will be going to a big city in March, and will look around there.

My take on tea (and it’s my major source of fluid on BSD) —- use a teabag in the mug for everyday, and a teapot with loose tea and a strainer for special occasions. Don’t use milk anymore, but do put in a bit of Stevia.