Hugs and love Verano, wherever you are! Hope all is well. x

Hi my name is Michael and I am from Southampton I started this diet on the 3rd Jan 2017 in this time I have gone from 18st 3lb I am now 16st 9lb, I am finding it very easy so far.

I have stopped drinking and I am not even missing potatoes or carbs. My blood sugar levels seem to be getting better and I am hoping to come off my tablets

Can I join too please. Hoping for a 3 kilo loss. I’m doing great on the the exercise front, not so strong on the losing weight front. Mainly down to portion size of BSD friendly stuff, not carbs. Working on reducing that now. Power to us all!

Julia

Lucia
I salute you… really admire your attitude to work. In fact, I really admire your attitude to life. Not setting a limit to much I do outside of work led me to a near breakdown end of last year. I’m now well, but it only takes a few unexpected additional stresses to panic me that I might be heading out of the calm space I now (mostly!) inhabit.

I am running at lunchtime when I can. Lucky enough to have a stream/woods/horses/cattle on the circular route near work. This is not me exerting tremendous willpower – it actually keeps me sane! The food has been less good: I was in charge of ordering food for an all day meeting today and decided to go for the ‘healthy salad 5 a day option’ and it was awful. Couscous in one half of the box, chunky croutons in the other, with a few roasted veg pieces through the croutons and some stringy leaves through the couscous. Hard to fish out the veg. No protein. The ‘healthy bars’ were full of added sugar. And huge bags of crisps. There was fruit, and I had a banana for breakfast. The best I could do. Lesson learned – even if told there is a healthy salad option, don’t assume that others know what ‘healthy’ means, and bring your own! Back to BSD800 from right now.

How are others doing? We are not all super successful here, but some things I have learned on the BSD journey which never clicked before is that while I have blips, they needn’t control me longer term. I am in control and I am not defeated. This is why my ups and downs have NOT led to me regaining all the weight I lost. Some goes back on at difficult times, but then it comes off again, and so does a bit more, and the general trend is down… because I keep plugging away.

Tomorrow I am taking in small bags to package the 2 tins of almonds I have in a drawer under my desk at work into carefully counted portions. I will then hide them on top of my colleague’s bookshelf, having put one portion next to me. This way I cannot to the rest without him noticing me getting up and walking over. (A particularly bad day last week led to me eating practically the whole of one tin, and I thought, what would Lucia do to beat that temptation?!)

Julia

Apologies for above post, I checked in here before the other challenge thread. Too late to edit/delete.

Sunshine-girl, glad your husband is keeping an eye on you. Time to go back to see the doctor?

Does anyone have any news of Verano? I hope she’s OK.

Buy some yogurts, I used to ask Mr Snoop. Invariably he would come back with fruit-flavoured ones because they were on special offer. They’re far too sweet for me. To stop this, I’ve started making my own plain yogurt. It doesn’t work out cheaper than bought yogurt but it is so much nicer.

And potatoes are just weird. What an odd texture. And I’ve gone off pasta. Much rather have courgetti.

Just gone really low, 3.1 which is hypo. But I didn’t feel like I was having a hypo, I only tested because I do it at 7 pm every day as well as morning. So I had a slice of ham and retested was 3.4, still too low so I had a couple of prunes, retested back down to 3.1 so my husband has been force feeding me Cadburys Roses and standing by with a liquid glucose tube. Dinner will be ready in 20 mins so I should be okay.

I think I haven’t eaten enough, had scrambled egg and cheese for breakfast but then went swimming for 40 mins which means I was in negative calories, had pho chicken soup with spinach for lunch (around 80 calories) and I no longer get afternoon munchies but I did have a handful of pistachio and almonds. I am hoping it is a sign I should be reducing my insulin. I know KrysiaD has talked about this before but it is strange that a BG so low gave me no symptoms i.e. blurred vision, numb lips, shaking, pins and needles in the hands etc. That is what makes it worrying.

I’m okay folks, always take care.

Hello Marsie – thanks for taking the helm of this new challenge. Please count me in.
My target is to lose 6lbs and increase my exercise (start exercising).
Wishing everyone a successful 4 weeks. We can do it!

hi human kind,
Glad you agree.
I found that I can’t manage a giant stride, can however do four baby steps instead.
This is my second blog stream.
Take a look at my first one from last year.
Since then I know a baby step is better than me being a slob on the settee eating junk food and chocolate.

What I find interesting is … if I don’t eat something like… crisps for a fortnight, when I taste them they are too salty, too greasy, too many E numbers. So then I don’t want to eat them.
I have slowly done this with all the bad carbs.

So, come on, blog some more, and keep me posted how you get on, good and bad.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Well done Julesmaigret, shall watch your progress with great interest.

I’ve only been at this for a few days, but I’ve found the recipe function on MFP to be invaluable. I weigh and record all my ingredients and save the recipe, giving me exact calorie counts for my actual meal. I can easily edit it if I change the ingredients next time. And it’s there for me to add quickly as I’m eating the portions.

Thanks everyone

Good morning Seadog! I am going to add my comments to the good ones Sunshine-girl has noted already — to begin with, you’ve got a good start going — even if you go four days and then have a not-so-good day, just jump right back on the BSD the next day — I had to LEARN how to do this and I got better and better at it as I went on. By my third 8-week stretch, I finally internalized the idea and it became second nature. Now I’m at maintenance and almost one year following BSD principles. So don’t think you are doing badly, you will succeed if you just keep starting again.
With regard to eating too much — try to identify the times and the emotions around when you lose control — you want to “pre-plan” those moments by having an alternative scenario in your mind that you can play out when the moment arrives. A good example for me is wine at a restaurant — my pre-plan is to immediately order a big bottle of sparkling water when I sit down. I actually practice that in my mind, so when I get to the restaurant, I am primed to do it. I find having sparkling water available slows down my desire to have wine and allows me time to decide if I really want wine at all. I do the same pre-plan and mental run-through for all my difficult moments, like going into Starbucks or eating lunch at a restaurant.
And with regard to lots of exercise, I am a sporty type and love to work out — I recommend you figure your calories burnt and add back in some amount of extra calories when have a big exercise day — I usually add back in about one-half of what I figure I burned on a big exercise day — otherwise you aren’t fueling your muscles and your brain and that can lead to failure because you really are very hungry. I also think that eating in response to a big exercise day teaches us to respond appropriately to the needs of our body — as opposed to mindless munching.
If it continues to be a problem, cut back a bit on the big exercise days — you can go back to those in a few weeks.

Hey Verano, you ok? Everyone’s missing you. Hope all is well.

Ah, JM that’s really heartening to hear that an optician expects further improvement as weight goes down.
Reading is my passion and I’ve been sad to struggle these last few months. Further motivation! Thanks.

BuffyLover

You’re doing great and I am impressed with your weight loss. I am on week 3 day 3 and have lost 8.5 lb which I am really happy with. Like you, I’ve been a member of slimming world and Weightwatchers over the years and usually only lose one pound per week and not every week so I am really really happy that this diet is working for me. I am working with girls who are doing slimming world and it will be interesting to compare our journeys. I’ve notice that they seem to eat a lot more than I am eating – one girl didn’t stop eating all morning today. She had shredded wheat and banana, then less than one hour later she ate a pear and then she ate an orange and sliced fennel and then ate a massive salad and low fat cottage cheese! I sat smugly next to her having had berries and full fat yoghurt for my breakfast and honestly didn’t feel hungry. This diet is really suiting me! I hope I can keep losing and my aim is to lose three stone over the next few months and then I will be 9 stone 7 lb. I am going to make low carb pizza tonight from the book – it sounds delicious!

Not long now til the January starters are at the end of their first eight weeks! Good luck everyone!

Hi SSG

If you mean the Yorkshire Three Peaks – I too did them when I was younger (I was born and brought up in Cumbria).

Whilst a slightly longer overall distance, the ascents and descents in the Peak District are fortunately nothing like Whernside on a wet Wednesday. I think the combination of training for the endurance and short bursts of intense exercise has got to be BSD friendly and will force me to stick to a more structured exercise regime.

Hi All,

I have bought a book from ‘Carbs&Cals’ which has been really helpful. It gives portion sized in grams and also has clear photos to match. It has the Carb and Cal nutritional info as well as protein and sugars etc. All very clear!

I got the Index version (list of foods) but also have the Salads version which is brilliant!

Enjoy!

Sunshine-girl – what an interesting course. It’s good to hear that your cholesterol is so good on this way of eating. Sometimes I do get a bit spooked by the eat saturated fat and get sky high cholesterol message so it is good to see your results.

Hi there. I would love to join you. Have been on the BSD since 9 Ja and have lost 4kgs so far and 5cm on waist..seem to be be on a plateau for a moment but realise this is the beginning of something great…good luck everyone..

Hi there, still hanging in there and setting new goals. If this is 4 weeks then I want to lose 3.5 lbs, not lots but hopefully continual. I have my birthday on 7th Feb so there might be a bit of alcohol partaken of.

While I am thinking of goals I have to remember I have my HbA1c first week in March which is 7 weeks away, want it to be 5.5. By then I want to be 11 stone which means losing 6.5 lbs. But for now the 3.5 lbs is well in my sights.

Jules, I used to live in North Yorkshire slap bang between the Dales and the Moors. In my younger days I did the 3 peaks, now I get out of breath going up the stairs although not so much now I have lost some of the weight.

Sunshine-girl – yes it isn’t like Verano to go missing.

Hi Sunshine-girl, Thanks for your reply – I wonder why doctors are still worried about eating butter and cheese when the advice seems now to be that full-fat dairy products are okay. I now get Kerrygold butter because it’s made from the milk of grass-fed cows, and we try to always get good cheese rather than highly processed cheese such as cheese ‘strings’ and so on. I bought a book recently, Eat Fat Get Thin, by Dr Mark Hyman (an MD), who also goes with the idea that carbohydrates, especially refined ones, and sugar, are what drive increased cholesterol, or triglycerides. Sadly these are the carbohydrates that underpin our Western diet and make so much of eating pleasurable. On holiday in France I noted that bread from many bakeries, as opposed to supermarkets, seemed somehow of better quality, yet I visited a traditional flour mill, and the best flour was very finely ground white..! I think the French use a sourdough starter in some of their bread and perhaps a slower method of production, but don’t know for certain. While on holiday I ate their bread and butter (a little rather than a lot), the odd patisserie cake, plus whatever I fancied from salad vegetables, small new potatoes, yoghurt, smoked salmon, and cold meats, and wine, and came home with a much flatter abdomen just a week later. I was walking around a lot though.

Bissell – I think I am in the same boat. I would love to be able to maintain without thinking and have a normal relationship with food.

In my case I have to learn first what I can eat and still maintain – my new normal. My old normal just didn’t do that and caused the diabetes. So really maintenance for me consists of 3 phases.

Phase 1. Find out exactly how many calories and carbs are needed to maintain and the only way I can do that is to weigh myself and my food and log onto fat secret. Phase 2. Once I find out how much I can eat to put it into practice until it becomes automatic and I can do it effortlessly, and that is when I move into phase 3 and maintain without thinking.

How long will it take – that’s anyone’s guess. I actually haven’t a clue. Although already I have moved away from my cravings for sugary starchy carbs – which is a good sign.

Even if I didn’t get past phase 2 it wouldn’t be a disaster. Maybe I will have to accept that I will always have to keep an eye on what I am eating and my own weight to ensure that I keep on track and I will never be able to maintain without thinking. A bit like knowing that I will never be able to reverse into a parking space even if I practice for another 40 years – annoying but I can live with it.

Such a beautiful part of the world JulesMaigret, last visited in 2000 but would love to re-visit. Couple of our friends spent one of their visits walking for several days in the general area. You’ll do it in a canter, I’m guessing.

Reading through these posts, also on our previous challenge and other conversations on these forums, I think it is wonderful what we learn about ourselves by participating and sharing our thoughts with others. Making me feel quite sentimental. I think you’re all extraordinary people.

Hiya! Only just seen this but I also had this issue last weekend when I was a couple of weeks in. We had a party where Lasagne and Garlic bread where on offer – Sides of olives and cold cut meats like Parma ham and salami – so I overindulged on Olives and Ham. Think I overloaded my system with too much of the same thing!

Haven’t had a problem since then! Hope you are feeling better!!

Hi everyone,

In Verano’s absence, hopefully temporary, I’ve opened a new topic which is open to all, of course. Hoping Verano is ok.

See the link below. Would love to see you all there….x

https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/our-next-interactive-4-week-challenge-ends-tues-21st-feb/

Morning topcac! You gave the 5:2 regime a try and it didn’t work out for you so no worries! I like that there are other options to try on the BSD. I haven’t tried the 5:2 plan but don’t think it will work for me either.

Michaelmas daisy, I have just been looking back over my results since starting this plan and they were Feb 2015 total/HDL chol 4.1, Aug 2016 total/HDL chol 3.7 – triglycerides Feb 2015 1.50, Aug 2016 1.21 – 1.50 is the top of normal and it had been higher at 1.87 in August 2015 with my cholesterol at 4.8. I normally get cholesterol checked yearly but my doctor is worried because I tell him I eat butter and full fat cheese etc so he is sending me for another test when I have my next HbA1c in March.

It is not the fat that causes the cholesterol problems it is the starchy carbs. I am doing a course of The Science of Nutrition and the carbs give the liver a heck of a lot of work (nearly as bad as alcohol) and that raises the triglycerides. I am hoping to learn more about eating good fats although it is still not recommended to eat fatty fat from meat or skin on chicken, just lean meats and good oils.

My doctor says the margarine with statins are just a good marketing ploy and the fact it is in margarine makes it high is chemicals and fats so is like trying to put a fire out by pouring petrol on it.

Thanks For The Info ( Much appreciated ) you are clearly getting the results you want with a mixture of both , truth is i never listened to the docs for years so it’s my own fault that now when i do want to listen understandably they don’t ! 6.6 is a great result for you from 8.2 well done especially reducing the meds too – I’m interested to find out next month at my next review the impact on not taking the meds as like you say my last result was whilst taking them along with diet & exercise

Henrik67, the HbA1c is the most reliable test as it is blood taken from a vein (capillaries in the finger) and it measures your average BG over a 12 week period, so it is accurate over that period. 5.3 is what one would call normal but you are on medication so it is a controlled normal which is exactly where you want to be if you are happy on meds. You are obviously not so what you want is around 5.0 with no meds and it is doable. Stick with the plan, especially the no bad carbs rule and you will see your BG come down on your self testing. As it comes down, reduced your meds (or do what Magmart did if you feel comfortable, you can always go back on them) and just monitor carefully. When are you due your next HbA1c – I get mine every 3 months but I understand in the UK it is every 6 months. My result was 8.2 before the diet but I had only been on the diet 6 weeks when my next became due and it was 6.6 and a further 3 months on down to 5.9m so it can go down fairly steadily, don’t expect miracles. I want to be 5.5 in March but I am still on insulin so it is not a natural 5.9 right now although since the 8.2 I have reduced insulin by 50% and also reduced oral meds.

Hi all,

Hope you are all ok – seems things are going really well for us January peeps!

Well today is week 4 day 2, I’m 13lbs down and have lost considerable cm’s from my waist and “rolls”. I am excited about this weekend as I’m hoping to get my stone and also my stone tips me into the next stone bracket… double whammy!!! Feeling on top of the world, especially as I am today wearing a top that 3 weeks ago I could not fit into.

Dry January is coming to a close. Before January I was quite a heavy wine drinker (bottle a night) so this has been a big deal for me to stop. I am currently planning on having some nice wine on the evening of the 1st with a lovely meal, probably Roast Lamb as a treat, and then I am dry until the 4th Feb (Lunch out for a birthday, will eat well but will have a vino) and then I will be dry until my holiday on the 18th… That’s the plan. I’m wanting this to be a lifestyle change and I feel this has really helped my dependence on wine in the evenings. Who knew peppermint tea could be so nice!!!

The only downside I have had is that my ‘womanlies’, for want of a better word, has appeared – considering I am on the pill where I don’t have any, this worried me, however my doctor says this is not uncommon with rapid weight loss and he wasn’t worried (just to re-assure if anyone else has had this!).

All I will say to any newbies – It works!!! I am someone that even when religiously sticking to Weight Watchers or Slimming World, I only lost 1lb a week or so and this was so disheartening and I ended up caving in and gaining more than I had lost. This diet, once planned in advance which is essential, is proving to be the best thing I have done. I am just excited for the future now!!

Much love and positive vibes to all :o)

Rebecca xxx

My husband takes a Statin drug and it works well in bringing down his cholesterol level. Several years ago we tried a low carb diet for a short time – all meat with its fat and bone marrow, and vegetable slow-cooked casseroles with no potatoes, and his check-up saw the nurses delightedly exclaiming that whatever he was doing he should continue doing because his cholesterol had improved even more than they would have expected from just taking the Statin. But his cholesterol was low and I wondered whether it was necessary to get it even lower. We returned to eating ‘normal’ amounts of starchy carbs and carby treats and continued fattier cuts of meat, plus cream with raspberries (now and again), and his cholesterol went up – not very high but higher than it had been, so the Statin dose was increased… shock, horror!! So now I err on the side of caution in encouraging him to eat ‘more healthily’. I’m hedging my bets on a lowish but not non-existent carbs ‘diet’, favouring unrefined carbs, with not too much fat and protein, but enough, and using a little butter rather than cholesterol reducing spreads, plus extra-virgin olive oil, and avocados now and again. We’re not perfect, but I feel that a lower carb way of eating is more sustainable than oscillating between very low or no-carbs to carb fests, and back again, as we’re inclined to do. I hope that we can control our blood sugars and appetites better this way (as far as I know neither of us has diabetes). The difficult part is providing some packed lunches during the week. I’m not an early riser on the whole, and it feels like hard work. But I guess it will be worth it.

Happens to us all – literally – I gained in my 3rd week but stuck with it and eventually lost 23lbs in 15 weeks (with only that to lose)

Stick with it – it does work – drink a little more water – that can help or if you’re really fed up you can restrict carbs even more for a few days – that can sometimes get things started again

Good luck

You’ll walk it JM – pun intended

I might sign up for that too!

Hi Seadog, you seem to be doing the right things. First of all I assume you have a start weight, have you also measured yourself, inches can drop off even when the pounds wont budge. 2.5 litres of water is a good amount to aim for and you will get another litre from food. As for the snacking, allow for them. When you do your menu plan try to aim for 700 to 750 calories and then you can have a snack. You can have a little bit of cheese or chocolate but if these are your triggers dont have them in the house. Aim for something like a slice of cold meat or chicken. Canned tuna is really handy, mix it with some cream cheese and put it in a tub in the fridge ready as a snack. The important thing is to avoid what ruins it for you and be prepared with healthy low cal carb snack. If you have the frittata serve it with a big salad and cut a small wedge to put in the fridge, cold omelette taste lovely. If you want cheese have some parmesan in to grate into soup or onto a salad, you wont want to munch on that (or would you????)

Preparation, preparation, preparation, failing that, come online and write to us or read a few inspirational posts.

As for the exercise, rather than increase calories you might have to reduce the exercise for a couple of weeks or, again, be prepared with a good snack if you are flagging, take some nuts on a walk , easy to carry just dont eat too many. My go to snack before exercise is 2 prunes and 2 spoonsful of Greek yoghurt. Hope this helps, there are tricks and solutions.

Hi KrysiaD, I was asking after Verano yesterday but she is still a no show. Not like her. Verano, where are you……

Technically today is the last day of my challenge as I started on a Wednesday 3 weeks ago and I have now lost just under 5lbs. I have found that if I weigh in the nuddie I am nearly half a kilo less, didn’t know my jammies weighed so much but I will still do the clothed weight as it is too blooming cold to strip.

BG 4.5

Just to add a bit of spice, I’ve just signed up to do the Six Dales walk in the Autumn. Twenty-six miles in 10 hours in the UK Peak District, so getting some training in advance of that has become a bit of a priority.

Hi Verano – hope you are o.k.. are you starting another challenge?

Hello Lucia,
I’ve been reading your posts for a while. Yes, you are right: something is better than nothing!
🙂

Yes please, I would like to join in here. My original target was 9 and a half stone, as that is what I weighed before having kids, oldest daughter is now coming up to 29! I started out at 11st 2lb back in Sept and reached 9st 8lb last week after maintaining at 9 9 all over Xmas. I have been keeping to around 60 cards but not really counting calories for the last few weeks.

This morning I have gained a pound so feel I need to be strict if I am going to reach 9st 7lb. Doing a retrospective count for yesterday I was over 1600 cals, and 98 carbs, so starting to slip. Back to the regular counting. However the big problem is I have a weeks all inclusive hol coming up, we are off to Jamaica next week, so I might just have to do my best and start again properly after we get back. Any hints as to how to manage eating on holiday?

I should add that I’m really into my walking, which I suspect may be asking a lot of my body when I’m only eating 800 cals ?. I’m averaging around 12,000 steps a day, with some hill walking. This may be a significant strain on my resolve to stick to 800 cals ?. I’m drinking around 2.5 litres of water a day, but I think I may need to increase this to 3.5 litres to ward off hunger ?.

I saw my optician last week and my eyesight has improved and probably should get new glasses but she recommended waiting for another six months as the improvement is likely to continue.

She should know because she lost 115lb on BSD last year and has stopped using insulin. I suggested that she join this site as I believe that she has, and pardon the pun, an interesting perspective.,

Hi all,

Could I please ask for some advice please ?. I start the diet with the best intentions, but the continually seem to fail after about 4 days, which is incredibly frustrating as I know that it gets easier after that. I get this wonderful sense of control and contentment on the plan, but then my evil side says ‘It’s OK just a little bit of extra cheese etc won’t hurt…’,wellit does, because I then seem to lose all control. There are certain key trigger foods that I know I must stay away from, cheese, chocolate etc. and anything overly sweet. My plan is to follow the 7 day recipe plan in the book, which seems to suit me.
I’ve been thinking this morning if there is anything that I’m doing that leads to this self sabotage, the only thing left is that I’m a coffee drinker, I wounder if I should give it up and drink tea instead ?.
Also, I’m a shift worker and work some weird and wonderful shifts which mean I get extremely tired, this can lead to bad food choices, but I’m getting to grips with thi and how to cope with it. I have some really tricky times, such as getting home at 3am absolutely starving then thinking it’s OK to have a little snack…
It is so frustrating as I read the success stories on here and know that this can be me, if I can just fully commit and stop sabotaging myself.
Sorry to bang on with self pity, but I’m so frustrated, and feel like I’m missing something obvious ?

I like WL, SunnyB. I hated WOE, so I personally call it my WOL (way of life). Altogether more positive than WOE (who wants a plateful of that?!).

And good luck, ShrinkMe81. My OH wasn’t on board at first, but when he started to see the results, he joined in. He still eats a fair bit more than me, but he’s off the usual suspect carbs and is losing weight. He’s also been very encouraging in recent times, when I’ve been struggling. So you never know. He might come around.

Hiya,

I am in my 3rd official week (1st week was a break in using online tools as I waited for the books to arrive)

Started at 15st 10lbs today I am 14 st 7lbs.

It is easy to worry that you have plateaued when every day you weight yourself and have lost weight! Don’t Panic! Keep going and next week will be better!

Luckily for me I do not struggle with ‘Water Weight’ as I am on prescribed Diuretics 🙂

Stay Positive!! xx

Count me in too. The last challenge taught me a lot about myself and I did lose a few pounds, though gained them again on holiday last week. Net result is 1.5 stone off since October which is not that good, but now I know what I need to do and am determined to do it!
My next goal is to lose the gained pounds and hopefully another 7 lbs – I hope that is not too optimistic as I am on a mission to lose 2 .5 stones for a wedding in May!
Onwards and downwards.
X B

I’m in! Like JM I need to properly sort regular exercise this month (and forever!)

43lbs down since October 10th, 16 to go and t2d so blood sugar stability is another key goal. It’s a bit wobbly just now, not sure why. Setting modest target of 5lbs, hoping for 7 and to hit target on 31st March.

I’ve invested in an adult micro scooter (thanks Laska!) and am scooting everywhere round the village. Really cheery activity and it makes people smile – recommended! MKx

Clarity, that’s so good to hear about your vision. This was my only symptom of recently diagnosed T2 and although I’ve seen a small improvement, it’s still not back where it was. I’m now 43lbs down since 10 October with about 16 to go, hope I’ll see better by the end.

I’m sure everyone already knows this but T2s should get a diabetic eye check once a year as lots can be done to preserve vision in early stages that becomes trickier later. My doc didn’t refer me and my optician wouldn’t even test my eyes till I’ve had it as she says you could end up paying lots for glasses or lenses that would be the wrong prescription. MKx