Hi Fifi and Flo – Tumtump is right, this was not a fail and we all have little blips, ‘cos we’re only human. You made good choices and kept control of the carbs and I think if you calculate it, the cals probably weren’t a complete disaster either. We are in this for the long haul, so some days you’ll go over the cals and some under – overall it will balance out. I am sure when you weigh and measure at the end of your first week, you will be pleasantly surprised. Please make sure you let us know your results.

Stop beating yourself up, ‘cos it is counterproductive and makes it more likely you’ll become despondent and era again. Just refocus and get back on track straight away.

Ah thank you so much for your replies. I did try to buy what I thought were Mediterranean style low carb foods but didn’t mean to eat the lot! But thank you for your support. Am sticking to the evening meal I’d planned so won’t be heading down the chocolate route 👍

Take a photo of the page and keep in a folder on the computer, just a suggestion, I have not tried it myself.

Hi

You can reset it to 800 calories and add whatever mix of protein, fats, carbs you want. Go the ‘My Goals’ section and select ‘Calories and Macros’. You’ll be able to change it in there. At the bottom of your daily diary , if you go to the bottom it says ‘Nutrition’ – if you click on there it will list your P F C percentages, show you pie charts of the split between the three by day and also a daily view of calories at each meal.
I’ve calculated ( please don’t take this as the only truth, I might have it wrong!) that 50g carbs is 25% of daily intake on 800 cals. I then split protein and fat in the remaining 75% to be slightly in fats favour. If my weight loss isn’t good I will swap it the other way.
I find writing down both calorie and carb content of foods useful -apparently its the low carb that is most effective.
Hope this helps

Thank you so much TumTumP for taking the trouble to assist with some thoughtful and great ideas…..I do think it’s all about adapting to this new way of life and eating….I think he’d love the idea of sliced meat as wraps …..I must admit I sent him some recipes I thought he might turn his nose up at……..but they’re all full of flavour and many disguised !
Thanks also for the breakdown in percentages very handy!
I abandoned the Atkins very early on due to Ketosis stinking breath!!!!!
Hope your New Year is great for you !

I was in Germany working and in the hotel reception they had a “help yourself” selection of leaf teas with little glass mugs. I tried a few and the tea tasted really good in them.

On a more prosaic note, it allows you to see the colour of the tea and some of them are a really nice colour.

Where are you in Northern California Raintoday? I’m in Morgan Hill and JMarie41 is in the east bay (Livermore I think) — just curious how you heard of the BSD?
As a non-initiated American, I am really appreciating the tea discussion and picking up pointers for my next trip to the UK. I love Earl Grey and last year was lucky enough to buy Earl Grey with real bergamot, not the Twinings bergamot-flavoring — that was such an eye-opener!! SO much better!! Now I am hooked but we can’t get that kind of tea here, have to buy in London.
MaryC — sorry you have a slow start but maybe reconsider the juice fast — juice is exactly the wrong thing to eat if you want to lower your insulin levels — it has all the sugar and no fiber. Better way to jump start is to go very very low carb. Hope that helps. Don’t give up!!
We are currently forecast to get a “storm of the century” in Northern California this weekend — we shelved our plan to ski due to road danger — I guess I will grub in garden instead — sigh.

Flew back from Dublin yesterday and couldn’t get the automatic gates at passport control to work. I had to go through the manual check and the lady on the counter looked at my passport photo and said – “you’ve changed a bit!”. I’m guessing losing weight on my face means the recognition algorithm can’t make a match.

I’m definitely not buying a new passport just to update my photo!

Sunshine-girl isn’t it odd that your BG goes up but maybe as you say the weight drop and the BG need to catch up with each other. Odd! Nonetheless you are doing really well and it’s good to see your doc has faith in what you’re doing.

Thanks Jules
I’ll try the Darjeeling and the Ceylon Orange Pekoe sounds interesting. I don’t like green tea but I do like Earl Grey and Jasmine tea. I like your idea of substituting wine with tea, that would probably do me the world of good!!! I had a look at the Suki tea website as Frog suggested. There are just so many teas to choose from I think it will just be a little bit of trial and error.
Why glass cups ?

Hi Lexy4france

I struggled with this one too as I hadn’t really been aware of the under 50g carbs thing when I decided to do this. I was thinking mainly about avoiding pasta, rice, potatoes etc. I Googled lots of sites but it is really confusing. On My Fitness Pal free version, it uses percentages rather than grams when it tells you your fat/protein/carbs breakdown. I stumbled on an article ( don’t know where) that gave you the gram amount for a certain percentage of carbs. I fiddled with number s- rightly or wrongly – and came up with the following ( which I logged in MFP as my calories and macro goals) 800 calories, 50g carbs is 25%, protein is 70g and 35% and fat is 36g and 40%. I wasn’t sure if I should give Protein or Fat the bigger percentage but I had read that too much protein can be the cause of you getting the smelly ‘Ketosis/ Atkins Diet’ breath so for now, fat gets the slightly higher per cent. If my weight loss is rubbish or slows, I will swap it over and hope I don’t start to smell!
His food favourites suggest things like Mexican and Italian to me. I’m a vegetarian . So peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach with lots of spices, some meat – served in lettuce leaf ‘wraps’ I like to add some cottage cheese at the bottom too. There is a nice ‘Carb Free ‘ Ploughmans in the recipe book – just walnuts, ham, cheese, apple and bit of pickle. Does he like olives? I’ve had a small handful today with a match box size piece of cheese and an apple. Packs of ham, tins of tuna, punnet of tomatoes or eating a pepper like an apple are all quick and grab and go. I’ve seen people use sliced meat as wraps for sandwiches – so cheese and tomato in a ham roll up, or avocado and chilli?
I guess in order to be most effective, the diet has to be manageable, so if 5;2 or 4;3 is easier to stick to and less likely he will fall off the wagon then it might be a better choice. This is about a new way of eating/ life so each person needs to integrate that in their own way. I wish you both lots of luck x

Hi Mary C
been there with the weight up, down, then just coming back – for me it worked out to be ‘transit’ ( or, frankly, lack of transiting) issues (and the occasional calorie lapse).
one caution w/ juice fast is that juicing removes the fibre from the fruit and veg so may not be as effective.
I ended up w/ psyllium capsules – 3 twice a day as advised on label – and plenty of water – (I started w/ 1 twice a day for a few days then 2 until my gut got used to all the new bulk – then 3 – having celiac, I have learned to ….. respect the power of my gut). I had to eliminate fruit for a while to get my BSs under control – had been eating an apple on each direction of my commute before.
Almonds and hazelnuts are my ‘go-to’ higher fibre snacks at this point.
I found it took a while to get my mind wrapped around this whole process, then my body started to follow ….. but it took a while. And patience with myself (definitely not my strong suit ! )

Hi Fifi and Flo
Don’t beat yourself up – its one meal and if the rest of the week has been ok it won’t have a noticeable effect. What is positive is that you went to the shop and came out with that NOT crisps, sandwiches, cakes etc. So well done for that and for making the start on the 8 Weeks.

Re: tea – raised up on Constant Comment and Salada (mother had a collection of the little ceramic animals that came in the box) -or got black tea in bags with lemon and honey when I was sick …. always in white mugs – not much on milk in tea, or cream …… that was more for coffee – though I drink that black!
Thanks for the feedback re: A1c – took a lot of the stress out of it for me – I will rely on my monitor and my new habits and not worry so much. I can’t tell with my doc/medical company here how much monitoring is appropriate; attitude seems to be ” take these meds and see you in 6 months” – eh? glad this forum and MM are here – very much appreciate all who post here .
I weighed in on Tuesday – 162 # (11 stone 8 lb?) . Clothes fit way different and I have a growing stack for the donations. It’s funny, I would go in there to shop and always got frustrated because there was never anything in the 14-16-18 sizes – always 4-10s – maybe as BSD catches on that selection will reverse – I don’t recall ever being those sizes – I will be quite happy at a 12 where it fits well enough that my belly doesn’t roll over the waist band ! And that was in “relaxed” cut style.
Took a leap and reduced the Metformin to 1 tab w/ breakfast and dinner – BSs have mostly stayed under 120 after a 4 day spike into 130’s-140’s – I wish I understood this all a bit better – maybe the pancreas is waking up ? In no rush to eliminate Met. – from things I read about its’ protective function against heart trouble, etc, thought maybe it ought to be a drink additive (lol).
Going out into the chill Northern California morning – waiting for the ice to melt (very unusual for ice on roads around here) – now supposed to pour for 2 days … love it – we need it. Thanks everyone, enjoy your weekend !

Natalie~So nice that you’ve got the Christmas decorations put away but crazy that the stores are already selling Easter Eggs! I need one of Santa’s elves to come get my decorations put away. I’ve almost narrowed them down to being all together in one room; all except for the tree and the outside decorations. We are expecting a huge rain storm starting tomorrow for the next 5 days so I really should get out there today and get those decorations put away. It’s just so cold! I don’t want to do it. I’m going to have to push myself hard to get it done.

Angela06~ Thank you for the congrats! I am feeling really happy right now about the doctor visit weigh in and am starting to think of trying to achieve the weight listed on my driver’s license. It has been there since my early twenties and even though over the years I’ve had the chance to update it, I haven’t. It says I weigh 125 lbs. I am only five feet tall so 125 lbs. really isn’t too low for me! Sounds like a really nice walk with your husband. Crummy that your battery failed in your tracker. It sounds like you were really busy and probably hit the 10000 steps for sure with all you did! Maybe got in even more steps then that!!! I forgot to wear my apple watch yesterday so didn’t get to see my activity. I felt really unmotivated without it so first thing this morning, I put my apple watch on. I have really come to depend on it for motivating myself to be active.

Hi Verano,

If you like lighter tasting teas that can take a bit of milk, then a leaf Darjeeling (possibly tippy, meaning it contains a number of buds) or a Ceylon Orange Pekoe can be nice black or with a dash of milk (don’t worry it doesn’t taste of oranges). Being a peasant at heart I can’t taste the difference between normal Darjeeling and “first flushes” and can’t believe that they are worth the extra costs.

I am an unashamed fan of puerh or pu erh but it is a more earthy taste, although the Chinese do recommend it as an aid to losing weight……

I’ve really got into tea since I gave up booze for BSD and see it as a substitute for wine.

BTW I am now into glass cups for tea, especially black, although I occasionally use my one pint Desperate Dan mug!

Hi Verano,

If you like lighter tasting teas that can take a bit of milk, then a leaf Darjeeling (possibly tippy, meaning it contains a number of buds) or a Ceylon Orange Pekoe can be nice black or with a dash of milk (don’t worry it doesn’t taste of oranges). Being a peasant at heart I can’t taste the difference between normal Darjeeling and “first flushes” and can’t believe that they are worth the extra costs.

I am an unashamed fan of puerh or pu erh but it is a more earthy taste, although the Chinese do recommend it as an aid to losing weight……

I’ve really got into tea since I gave up booze for BSD and see it as a substitute for wine.

BTW I am now into glass cups for tea, especially black, although I occasionally use my one pint Desperate Dan mug!

Hi Mary C I know it can be disheartening when things don’t work out like we think they should. I’m sure you will get good results soon. Some bodies just need a bit of time to realise you mean this 😀. Just a thought, are you drinking enough water, as in a couple of litres a day, and getting your fibre? From what you say your weight gain could be due to “transit issues” and once you have eliminated you will probably see downward movement on the scales. Don’t forget to measure too. I know I have had days when I’ve felt like an elephant but measuring has show that I haven’t been any bigger. Best wishes.

Hi just to say that if you go into Goals on the darker blue line at the top and edit you can put in 800 as your calorie goal. That is also where you can put in your targets for carbs, fat and protein – you just play with the numbers until you get the levels you want. Then save.

Good luck to all the new starters.

no problem – I have just replied to another thread called Newbie and have answered several questions which you might want to look at.

Rather miserable. I lost 1.2kgs on day one, then over the next 5 I just put it all back on. I did think I was being relatively good, but clearly not strict enough. I think my eating is ok, but there is a lack of exercise.

I have decided to do a juice fast for the next few day, I feel that I need the discipline and a kick start to the diet. I feel like my stomach does not belong to me, it is way to out there!

Well done everyone else who is sticking to the diet. My sister is on it too, and I am hoping my mother will join. She is stuck in a rut and needs to feel better.

Thanks for all the pizza tips (and advise to just take a different route completely).

Thank you sunshine girl. Very helpful. Good luck to you too.
Best wishes.

I have just noticed that my doctor has actually reduced my prescription for Glycazide (Diamicron). When I told him I was only taking 2 instead of 3 he still prescribed enough for 3 per day, next prescription the same. This time just enough for 2 a day so I feel like he has faith I am not going to slip back. Not only that, I have masses stockpiled so next time I go to the pharmacy I will tell the girl I dont need any for the final month of my prescription (we get 3 months here). Small result but still something.

LOL!! More or less. He knows he doesn’t eat potatoes, pasta or rice at home anymore. Bread is a different issue. Just don’t think he thought, apart from thinking it was my favourite and he was doing something ‘nice’ for me, but that’s all in the past!

That is not failing, it is making a mistake, we all mess up at times. One person questioned the calories in her meal which she had thoroughly enjoyed. Turned out she had eaten the meal for 2 people.

First thing to do is forget about it and start again at your next meal. Don’t wait until tomorrow and deffo dont wait until Monday. All I can see is you probably had too many calories, the important thing is the carbs and you have done very well there with your choices.

Keep on keeping on….

I couldn’t wipe my bottom on a puppy….

Can I ask a rather daft question?
what is the proportion of fat/carbs/protein within the 800 calories ….say we have 50 gms of carbs how much fat and protein makes up the rest ?
I’m trying to meal plan for my husband who works overseas and it’s proving difficult!
He dislikes eggs , pulses , cabbage, , celery and cauliflower, loves carrots, spinach ,cucumber avacados, fruits, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms , meat ,poultry and fish ….his staple diet whilst living in the West Indies ( due to easy prep and limited time and poor supermarket choice) is starches ….I’m wondering whether he should modify and do the 5:2 or even a 4:3 ?
It’s nigh on impossible to create a varied diet that satiates him ……it would appear that I need to increase the protein ratio to ensure he’s not hungry but bulk the meal up with the carbs he likes?
Help!!!!!

Well said, IWTBS.
In addition, when I was at school, food tech (cookery…!) was compulsory for two years for boys and girls aged 14-16. It taught not just how to cook, but meal planning, food groups, vitamins, nutrition. No more. I’m really horrified at the number of young people who don’t know the basics of making a nutritious meal from a heap of ingredients – over Christmas I made a moussaka from 6 ingredients – 15 minutes prep and in the oven – and my DIL looked at me as though I’d performed alchemy in plain sight. She even said ‘that’s quicker than going to Sainsburys’.

But it’s a life skill that everyone should learn, never mind bloody computer coding! I’m sure basic lack of knowledge is behind a lot of the convenience food culture.

Did anyone see that Rick Stein programme about Bordeaux which showed 8 and 9 year old schoolchildren learning about oysters where they were harvested, tasting them? They do a farm visit most weeks. Impressive, can’t imagine it happening here, even in a rural area like ours. MK x

Sabotaged completely. Will be starting again tomorrow! Sigh.

Hi folks. We have had a busy week so not been around much.
Had a sneeky weigh in this morning and 700 gms. up. I put it down to the g&t I had with dinner last night in London. Will see what I weigh Saturday morning as that is the one I record on my computer.
We went to a show and did other bits of sightseeing. Walked to the theatre so managed to get in over 10,000 steps in during the day. Absolutely shattered today and having an easy day food wise. We had a mackerel salad for lunch yesterday and dinner last night was a brie starter and salmon with beans and roasted veg on a bed of mashed squash. Last of the parties tomorrow night so will be able to just get on and think about ourselves for a couple of weeks before the next round of social activities appear on the horizon.

Sorry to read some of you are not well and I hope you get better soon.
Pleased to read reports of those who are back in the zone.

Ouch has OH been living in such a bubble not to notice the advent of BSD?!

Not quite as fixed on mugs for a time of day Bissell, it largely revolves around what is in/out of the dishwasher, but I do have a small mug that is particularly afternoon tea, and a cup and saucer that is decidedly breakfast.

Low cal doesn’t necessarily mean avoiding butter, oils, cream, avocado etc. How you use your 800cals is up to you, but making sure there are a fair number used on good fats, means you will feel sated sooner and for longer, than if you used the same number of calories on lettuce. It is all about balance and that means making sure fats, as well as proteins and fibre features strongly in your daily intake.

I’d never given it much thought to it before but I’m a ‘whity’ too. I don’t mind a small thin mug but it has to be china and its milk in last for me too!!

Talking about tea my OH went to Sainsbury’s earlier and came back with a box for me. Really very nice but my heart sank when I saw it was from the patisserie counter. Inside was a beautifully formed pavlova with strawberries!!! My favourite. It made me feel really bad when I told him that I don’t eat them anymore. Oh dear!!!!

I guess those 4 days are your first 4. Don’t worry about other people because you will soon discover that most other people are so involved in their own food that they don’t even notice what you’re doing!

Enjoy your meal!

I wonder how anyone can refer to, with a straight face, the “inappropriate reversal of diabetes”. If ever there was an oxymoron, this is the one that takes the (low carb) biscuit.

I think the food industry plays a large part in this, funding the pro carb brigade. After all, low carb eating consists basically of cooking from scratch. Perhaps if these companies concentrated on producing low carb ready meals, etc, we would all be healthier. I have to confess, though, that sometimes I get a little confused. I have been following low carb eating, and one of the good things is that you don’t have to count calories. However, when you change to the BSD all the things that are freely available on the low carb diet turn out to be fairly high calorie. Avocados, butter, cream, oil are now to be avoided or, at least, severely limited. But I will persevere because I know from past experience – in my youth unfortunately – that VCLDs work. However, if I listened to the not very knowledgeable diabetes nurse, I would be upping the drugs and stuffing myself with carbs. “You need them for energy” is the mantra and “You don’t know enough about nutrition to have an opinion” comes a pretty close second. Mind you, I know enough about nutrition to suspect that the breadth and depth of expertise possessed by the average diabetes nurse in a GP surgery is negligible. There may well be some who are trying to keep abreast of the latest thinking, but I wonder if they are permitted to stray too far from the party line in terms of advice.

meat or fish (incl chicken) yes, but cut any obvious fat off.
Vegetables, no, you cannot have starchy veg like potato, sweet potato, parsnips, swede or turnip, restrict also celeriac, carrot, beetroot and (for some reason) onions although spring onions or leeks can be used in their place. But I said restrict not forbidden. Click onto a website http://www.dietdoctor.com and search low carb vegetables. You will find you can eat so many like cabbage, cauli, brussels, cucumber, peppers, spinach, avocado, kale, broccoli and on and on. Warning on baked beans, dont eat the Mr 57 types, they are full of sugar and dont buy sugar free either but you can have beans canned in water (or frozen) and lentils but again, check out the carb rating and weigh up whether they are too high or not and how many carbs you are allowing yourself.
Skimmed milk is fine but has to be counted, both cals and carbs (see above). Almond milk is lower in carbs and delicious.
As long as you are not having double choccie whatever, never had a Costa coffee in my life so someone else will have to advise. Drink around 2 litres of water a day.
Cottage cheese is fine, just dont buy LOW FAT, and there are lots of lovely cheeses you can eat.
Porridge is allowed but you will have to adjust your portion size. I used to have 35 grams before BSD but now it is 25 grams. Also, not too often as with the carb warning for foods as above. Have you thought of having grilled mushrooms with a poached egg. Try lots of different things. I make it a rule to have something different every day if I can (but I dont work so not pushed for time).
You havent asked about fruit. Generally it is frowned upon due to high sugar content and just look at how many carbs are in an apple. Stay with things like berries. Also include some seeds like chia (for bowel movement) or pumpkin seeds, linseed etc and dont forget you can have a few nuts – again watch the calories there.
If you are at all concerned and have the book, follow the menu plans in the back as they do most of the hard calculations for you (although not 100% accurate). You might want to research a carb and calorie counting app or website. Lots of advice here on those.

Good luck and dont worry if you have more questions.

ah Ok – Thank you – just on day 5 at the moment to not entirely sure what I can and can’t have 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to reply though x

Lunch – as yesterday, Dinner – chicken and red pepper curry BSD and cauli rice, Greek yogurt and half a pink grapefruit, milk in coffees.
Yesterday felt abysmal, I think with my cold and low carbing again it wasn’t good. But today feeling reasonable again. Didn’t go for my walk yesterday as just couldn’t. Hopefully will manage a short one after work today. Another half a pound gone off of my christmas excess!!

Me too with the white interiors thin mugs and cups! And, (slightly OCD here) I have an early morning tea mug, a mid morning coffee mug and then a smaller tea mug and coffee mug for later in the day. Any swopping of these would be RIDICULOUS.
I’ve just picked up the Waitrose freebie weekly newspaper which, like everything else at this time of year, is full of healthy eating advise. Yes, you’ve guessed it, low fat everything, porridge recipes with 90 odd grams carb, even the low carb recipes are low fat too. I’m saddened and disappointed that the message is not getting through yet.

Been on the 800 cal since Tuesday, 3rd Jan. Making meals from menu planner in book. Been sooo strict. BUT Just went wrong 😓 Didn’t prepare for lunch at work. Got hectic and hungry at same time = trip to shop. Result – 1 pack sweet chili & lime roast chicken, a few baby peppers stuffed with olives, a couple tablespoons greek yogurt, 4 rasperries and 2 brasil nuts. All on diet but not all at once. Feel like I’ve failed and probably won’t lose weight round my tummy when I weigh/measure on Tuesday. Sorry to vent x

absolutely Daisiesmum
although I do like andrex loo rolls (white of course) with the little indents of puppies. I always feel a bit cheated if I buy andrex (rather than a cheap brand) and it doesn’t have puppies on.

My other thing that’s akin to “white insides” is that I can’t drink tea out of a mug that has a coffee slogan printed on the outside, or vice versa.
Makes the drink taste funny – but I do acknowledge that it is slightly mad; at least with the “white” thing, it impacts on the colour of the drink.

Hi everyone love this forum and how it challenges not only our diets but our mind sets and information choices!
As a Nurse who has worked ( but no longer) for many years in the NHS and in Public Health / Adult Social Services I can certainly say there is a lot of good thoughtful challenging practice out there related to tackling the “diabesity” epidemic and the chronic debilitating health that results but it is very fragmented country wide and good evidence and research is often swallowed up in wordy guidelines that Joe Public cannot understand.

I would urge people to read the NICE guidelines on Obesity in adults: prevention and lifestyle weight management programmes…..there are many ” Quality Statements” pages and pages of often duplicated statements and guidelines…but hey ho we want Action and Positive Outcomes!

Frog….I do not like to drink tea out of earthenware mugs (thick coloured ones) we have only white china mugs and cups here. Even have them in our caravan and motorhome.

the no carb bircher recipe allows raisins but only about a tablespoonful. Too sweet to have too often but once a week maybe.

Good luck and enjoy the ride. Dont forget there are hundreds of us out there if you have any questions. Warning, around week 2 or 3, after a big weight loss, you will stick. Everyone does so dont panic and….. keep on keeping on…

weight down another half a pound BG 6.2 – seems to be a trend, I drop some weight and my BG goes up a bit, almost as if the 2 components have not caught up with each other. Sure BG will be down again tomorrow.

Nothing much to report. Eating well. Scrambled egg breakfast, ploughmans for lunch (half an apple though not whole) and dinner is going to be vegi curry. All within 800 cals and 50 carbs. Have a good day everyone.

I agree with you Jenni but unfortunately the fact that high carb/low fat is proven to be ineffective, in the long term, doesn’t automatically mean that the direct opposite is correct. There may be a middle ground.

Please read the article above if you haven’t already.

BTW I’m all for BDS and it’s my choice to follow it but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everybody.

Wow, Frog, can I join the “white insides” club? Also, (mainly) white plates, white sheets, white bathroom suite, white loo roll, tee hee! You are not alone FROG, tea or coffee served in a vessel with a colour interior looks so unappealing to me 🙂

We hear what you are saying Verano, about the BSD not having the rigor of long term proof of effectiveness but what needs to be noted is the long term tested negative effects of high carb, low fat eating ‘pushed’ by health authorities in all English speaking countries. The negative effects should by now have put riders on the advice given.

Ahhh Thanks Verono :o)

I’m thinking that I may go for chicken tikka pieces, onion salad and the mint dip…. Best situation all round I think.

I know I’m going to get weird looks with what I order but frankly after losing 4lbs in 4 days I really don’t care – I’m so motivated right now :o)

Rebecca xx