I started the BSD diet last Sunday 8th January. I am a vegetarian who has tried various diets over the last thirty years with limited success and found it a slow and difficult process. I have found my first week on this diet quite easy and have enjoyed the food I have eaten. Ate avocado for the first time and enjoyed it with eggs for my lunch! I have not felt hungry. I have drank a lot of water. This morning when I got on the scales I was 4.5 lb lighter! Looking forward to week 2. I am going to try and up my walking this week to help with my weight loss. However I have a bad knee so will take things steady! . I feel really motivated by reading the success stories on this site. Just off to have home made lentil soup from the recipe section of this website. Looks delicious! Good luck everyone!

C’mon Wend 1947 we are with you on this journey. Like MissZiggy says….kick your plateaus butt…..hard;-)
Good advice Mixmatch.

WEndy…..don’t get sad get even!! Kick your plateaus butt! …..hard👍🏻

MIss ZIggy 🙂

I do so feel for you. Unfortunately it is very, very easy to underestimate calories in something like a piece of cheese. Personally I have found that guessing only works if you restrict yourself to salads with no dressing or similar. It’s only for a few weeks, and you might find the weight loss reward makes the weighing a bit less of a chore. A lot of things don’t really need to be weighed, only the calorie dense. Good luck

per person, so no you cant have the fruit sponge pudding thinking it is only 350 divided by 4. Yes you could eat your whole days allowance in one meal, you just have to plan very carefully.

Thanks Marsie, there is always fish and salad on the buffet and I have generally avoided desserts, potatoes,rice and bread. I have had a couple of small slices of a very dark bread that seems to be made mainly of seeds without any BG issues. But certainly more calories overall than usual!

Yes Snoop, it was 0.88 of a pound, my error was that it took me to 11.7 and a quarter so that was on my mind as I really wanted to be 11.7 exact.

This may be a silly question but does the calorie measure shown against each recipe in the recipe book represent the calorie measure per serve or for the whole recipe; eg pork chops with red cabbage, serves 2, has a calorie measure of 420 calories, is this the measure for the whole recipe or for each individual serve? If you then have roasted Mediterranean veg, serves 4, calorie count 130, with the pork chops, as an individual serve would give a total of 550 calories.Then, if you had fruit sponge pudding, serves 4, calorie measure of 350, you would have ‘achieved’ your 800 calories in one meal! is this correct?

I have read the book and I am keen to try the 800 but I don’t want to weigh everything I eat. I have two toddlers to look after. Has anyone done this and roughly estimated things and lost weight? Cheers

sunshine-girl, might you have lost more than you think? Or have I misunderstood? 0.4 of a kg is nearer a pound than a quarter of a pound.

The muffins look brilliant, Esneca – I’ll be trying them for work lunches next week (already batch cooked for this coming week! )
Some great ideas here.
Julia

The peeled ones are definitely all hard boiled, having said that I find it hard even with the unpeeled ones done myself to get that yolk consistency. I will try making some mini scotch eggs with some some time, sounds like a great idea for healthy finger food.

Well I have heard the saying ‘life is too short to peel a mushroom’ so why not quails eggs. I would be worried as to how soft or hard boiled they were when you want a nice oozy yolk.

I have a question about apps. I don’t have a mobile phone let alone a super smart one. Can these apps be downloaded onto my computer instead. I know you are all laughing at me, my daughter does.

Rosebery, spent a memorable week on one of the Hurtigruten Line ferries a few years ago. So stunning, but I do remember the food as being a little carb-laden…..so, well done you for staying in control. That is a good feeling👏👏👏

many thanks
does any one else have any more ideas ?

Oh thank you Mixnmatch I had forgotten about plateaus because my common sense went out the window! Yes of course I will keep going & fit in a little more exercise today😀I hope you are doing well.
Margaretxx

I can’t answer re the effect on blood sugar or pressure, but I used one Centrum Performance supplement every two days while on the 800 fast diet.

Hi Margaret, don’t give up hope, it sounds like you are on a plateau, and that can be followed by quite a considerable whoosh if you just stick to the plan. Go over everything again. Are you drinking plenty, 3 litres a day is what I try to stick to but some people have gone as high as 4 for a short period. Weigh ingredients, in the early days you can quite easily get amounts wrong if estimating. Plateaus can happen because the fat you are burning is replaced in the fat cells by water molecules and these take up less space, so it can be helpful to measure instead, inches will go while the weight doesn’t change at all. Most of us had one or more plateaus of a week or more, and the weight still went. Finally don’t worry about it, stress can cause water retention on its own so is counterproductive. Just keep on keeping on, check your size change against tight clothing or measure. Good luck for the next few days and that whoosh moment.

Getyourcarbon
Very good weight loss so far, I also used your soup and feeling good my weigh in tomorrow , well done

Oh well done Fairyface & hope your day went well Sarah
Margaretxx

Sunday 14th January end of week 2.
I have lost 1/2lb which I am very disappointed about😿😿🤔!
My husband has lost two pounds eating more than me & returned to within a pound of his ideal weight but his blood today was 8 but he had a beer last night.
I am feeling very fed up but I suppose I haven’t gained weight. I had hoped to lose seven pounds this month & it doesn’t look like I will manage that. I am aiming to first reach a BMI of 29 to be in the overweight range & then to weigh less than my husband! So to achieve the former I need to lose seven pounds & the latter to lose thirteen pounds.😾😾
At the rate I’m going I won’t even manage that in my first eight weeks block. I feel like having a tantrum like a two year old & swearing like a trooper but probably don’t know enough swear words😂😂

Hi everybody, new and old.

It is amazing to see the activity this thread is receiving! I have heard it said that statistically the 2nd weekend in January is when many people give up on their new year resolution diets. Well I say most of those people don’t have the BSD to follow and a bunch of like minded and fabulous individuals on a great forum like this one. So don’t be tempted to become a statistic and keep up the good work. For myself I am still very enthusiastic and for someone who in the past did enjoyed very little the whole cooking routine, I am experiencing quite a conversion.

Down to the facts that matter, Sunday weigh in :
Weight lost since last Sunday : .2.2 kg
Total weight lost since the 1st : 5.3 kg
I am happy with that.

My target for January’s end is 6kg, so looking forward to not only reach it but surpass it.

Keep losing!!!

Noel

Gettourcarbon and toby101 great going! You have both lost similar I think (we’re not all great at metric here in the UK!!) but looks about the same, and I have weighed in again today (daily works better for me) and lost another pound, so am now 12 7 down from 13 02 starting 6 days ago. 9 pounds so I think that’s a 4.5kg loss. I had 450ml wine on Friday and 250ml yesterday, but won’t have anymore now til next Friday or Saturday. Also didn’t calorie count t yesterday, need to have the weekends off that stress, especially with young children around, but will be strictly back to 800 cals and counting at work tomorrow.

Now I have to get my head around making a pancake brunch for family and not being tempted! Bacon and blueberries for me!

Good morning, just on day 11 of my 12 days on the hurtigruten ferry up and down the coast of Norway. Have tried to mostly keep low carb and all my clothes still fit including belts so hoping that the damage is minimal. Blood sugars all normal except on waking, that’s usually in the low 6s and drops as soon as I eat. So still some work to do on the liver. I guess! Weighing in on Tuesday when I get home, fingers crossed!
.

Wow.
Tigs, Mixnmaytch and Daisiesmum you are inspiration for us all. It’s so great to read about everyone’s achievements.
Topcac – loved reading about your snowy sauna experience post exercise. How wonderful. Your post has motivated me to get back into exercise more. I don’t naturally enjoy many forms of exercising (anyone else like me?) so really struggle to motivate myself. swimming and walking are my ‘go to’ activities so I have promised myself to up the anti and do more! Enjoy the feeling of being lighter everyone!

Thank you that is reassuring – I think it was a little too low so had an apple!

Woohoo – 13 days in 1 stone lost – I appreciate this will slow down but this is way faster than I was expecting – especially with Saturday night booze cheating. So motivating

Hello everyone,

I just thought I’d add a recent personal experience here: a few days ago I woke up very early very hungry…normally I try to wait till 12.30pm for my first meal and this time I knew I wouldn’t manage. In that situation I usually end up stuffing my face with whatever I can get my hands on.
So I had a small portion of porridge oats and was great, very happy till 11am when the cravings hit and lasted all day. And such bad temper with them!
So next time I wake up ravenous I’ll have fish, sardines or mackerel. The Greek yoghurt wouldn’t have come close to satisfying me that day.

The moral of this is that any type of carb, not matter how friendly will always turn round and bite me!

Avila – well done for maintaining your 10kg loss since September. The 2kg you had put back on is highly likely to be water weight and will go very quickly.

I am very similar to you – pasta, potatoes and rice pose no threat at all to me and I am not even tempted by them.

In some ways I am lucky because I had already been quite damaged by this horrible disease and the future wasn’t looking good. So I have two choices. Choice 1 is to eat theTesco finest cookies (that I used to absolutely adore) – the results of which would lead to insulin injections, eye injections, numbness in my right foot which had been getting worse at each annual review leading eventually to foot amputation (thank you Panorama for spelling out that particular scenario so graphically) because – as all of us sugar/carb addicts know so well – one cookie is never enough.

Choice 2 is no cookies or anything with sugar or bad carbs. The result is no diabetes, no retinopathy, no eye injections (my particular phobia), no insulin injections. There are many more fantastic benefits. The joy of wearing size 10 clothes, the complements I am receiving for my weight loss, the increase in energy and feeling of well-being – I could go on and on. So as you can see I don’t actually need any willpower to choose option 2.

But – and it is a big but – I know that taking that first mouthful of the cookie or any other sugary item could very quickly lead to disaster. My feelings towards the sweet stuff are very ambivalent.

I feel that I would be disgusted by their sweetness but I have a long track record of one bite leading to a million more so I am not sure what would really happen. I still look at the displays of cakes when I am queuing for my coffee and wonder what they would taste like. I sometimes do pick up a packet of biscuits or a cake and am disgusted by the huge amount of carbs there are in the packet but again I wonder what they would taste like – it feels like I am handling some really dangerous material so I put them quickly back on the shelf.

So what I think I am saying in a very long winded way is that I do understand why that packet of cookies fell into your hands and then into your mouth because that has happened to me so many times pre-BSD. My feeling is that for some of us the sugar addiction is very powerful and will always be a trigger. For me the only way I can easily deal with it is not to have even one mouthful – ever. I am really really envious of the people on this forum who can eat one biscuit from time to time and it doesn’t lead to a carb fest.

Hi
can anyone recommend a multi vitamin tablet i can use on this diet which wont distort my blood sugar and blood pressure readings.

Weigh in this Sunday morning after starting Jan 1st
Start 93.1kg
Current 87.7kg
Loss 5.4kg so far

Start Waist 110cm
Current. 103cm

Well on way to 77kg where my BMI should be 23

During the week I’d only lost 0.2kg but stick to the 800 calories or thereabouts and it will always work out

Still love the celery (5 good sticks) soup with low salt chicken noodle packet soup with onion garlic and tobasco sauce ! It’s a rippa

My wife has lost 3.8kg but has had one or two days at 1200 calories ( she hasn’t read the book) but she’s going strong

Good luck

Julia, they probably thought you were in practice for carrying the Olympic torch!

Hello everyone!

TIGS and MIXANDMATCH amazing achievements! Isn’t it a treasure to have found a new healthy and tasty way of eating that not only gives us such great weight loss results, but also produces so many other health benefits. I’m hooked!

I’m still .2lb away from my ultimate goal and still hopeful I will make that by Tuesday! I have found it helpful to put myself under a little pressure to keep me focused for that final push. It’s very exciting to be looking at a bright and healthy future with a comfortably slim body and a new confidence.

I still need to increase my overall fitness level, it’s not bad but I could do better 🙂

Have a great BSD Sunday all.

This diet works best if you eat most of your calories as fat and protein. They stick with you and they don’t cause insulin spikes. These spikes trigger an intense desire for carbs which is very difficult to resist. You learn what to eat and when to eat it to best keep yourself feeling satisfied. It really is an exercise in “managing your hunger.”
I have coffee in the morning, then 2 eggs at about 11am., about 150 cal.
I can then usually hold off eating until 5pm when I prepare supper. I will often snack on broccoli or cauli stems, or chunks of cabbage while cooking. They are quite filling and help you wait until dinner is served. Supper will be 400 – 500 cals.
Over the evening I will snack on 8 almonds plus 175 grams of 0% fat Greek yogurt mixed with 2 tablespoons of wheat bran. About 150 – 200 cals. That is very filling and I go to bed feeling full.
Keep some cabbage with you to munch on. It is filling and actually surprisingly satisfying.

Hi
Just done my first week weigh in and have lost 3.5kg (7.7lbs). I have struggled to lose anything for 6 years so very very happy today. Have had some tough spells but not anywhere near as bad as I thought it might be as a vegan and I’m really enjoying the food. Long way to go but not worried as this plan feels right to me.

Wishing everyone well in achieving their goals.

You could try Greek yogurt or Skyr. They have a lot of protein, much more than plain yogurt.
2 eggs for breakfast and 175 grams of Greek yogurt for lunch and you have taken in 24 grams of protein. Skyr will give you even more.
Beans and lentils are good but they do have a lot of carbs. However, much of that is in the form of fibre so it isn’t as bad as it looks at first.

It’s Day 7 and I am sticking to the 800 calories today. The 21st birthday party last night was finger food only and nothing that is OK on the BSD. I was worried when I stepped on the scales this morning – but the good news was that my weight stayed the same as yesterday (it must of the been due to my effort during the week). So I guess I can say that this week is a 6:1 week. Hoping to see a positive result tomorrow morning (the end of week 1). I hope everyone has had a good week.

When I started BSD I didn’t clear the house of carbs or particularly struggle with cravings, but in hindsight that may be because several previous diets had me severely reducing the amounts of carbs I ate for quite long periods, I also never experienced anything like carb flu or the ‘hangry’ feeling. I still have many carbs around the house and occasionally eat some of them, always counted and rarely on an 800 day, but I don’t experience any pull to eat more usually. I can think of about two occasions when I ended up over doing it on calories though, after a few different starchy foods in a day, so regard the carb monster as very much still hanging around, I am just more aware now that I need to be careful if I indulge. I know that people with type 2 usually stay in the total abstinence camp, I know that if in the future I find myself unable to control my eating with the carbs, it will be a simple matter to give them up again. As i have said before, between fasting, mindfulness and the identification of too much starchy carbs and sugar as the villain of the piece I have all the tools I need to stay this weight for the rest of my life.

JulesMaigret – I was at a residential conference last year. We chose our menus for the evening meal at breakfast time. I always crossed out the dessert and made best choices (with some alterations) for starter and main course. One evening the waiter was concerned that I had only eaten half (if that) of the meat (I think it was half a cow!!!). I told him it was lovely, but I just couldn’t eat it all. His response? ‘Oh, you must be saving room for dessert.’ You should have seen his face when I told him I wasn’t having a dessert LOL.

Thanks to you too Julesmaigret

Very reassuring. Even after 8 days I’m not craving so much but it will be a great day when I am just not bothered by the carbs.

Thanks for your time.

Just to echo Lynne’s comments and with a slightly different perspective.

Like Lynne I went ‘cold turkey’ as my personality doesn’t recognise the “well, one is enough” concept. I have a house with two rugby playing teenage lads who eat as a competitive sport and I do a lot of the weekend cooking. But after a couple of weeks, I could quite happily make the family pizzas, sponge puddings, staples like shepherds pie (they had a potato topping, mine was cauli) and lots of other traditionally carb rich meals and seriously they did, and do, not appeal to me. It is really weird but your total taste and preference for food types will completely change.

Also the volumes you can eat really drop. I went out for an Indian and ordered the tandoori grill and ate at best two thirds of it. In the past I’d have had the lot with starters, Naans and rice.

It is hard at the start but really all I can say is stick with it and keep drinking the water.

I am stopping nearer the top end as i have now lost most of the belly fat and the hips and thighs are going to the extent that I managed today to pull off my size 12 jeans without undoing the button 😮 thank goodness for belts! I think no more than another half stone or so.

Can I jump in?

I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic some years before the BSD and was ‘diet’ controlled, following standard NHS guidelines. The recurring threat of medication was very real. Then I found the BSD book in December 2015 and started to follow it immediately.

Prior to the BSD, my fasting blood sugars were high and nothing I did could bring them down. I had been testing my blood sugars before and after different foods to see what effect that particular food had on my levels and discovered that carbohydrate rich foods (even the so-called ‘healthy’ ones such as whole grain bread or real porridge) spiked my blood sugars. Again, while following the standard advice, I was always on the lookout for food. If I was out shopping at lunchtime I would panic if there was nowhere to get food quickly.

It was only being on the BSD that brought my fasting bloods down. Now they, like my other test results, are in the normal range and have been for several months. I normally eat only breakfast and evening meal, not being hungry in between.

Also, various other health issues, such as an irritating cough and joint pains, have disappeared. I think more clearly and have better concentration. My energy and mobility have increased. And my mood is much better, less irritated than when eating the carbs.

Now I have reached my target weight I’m slowly increasing calories but still avoiding carbs.

Fabulous achievement Mixnmatch! Great to finally make it so far. Just a smidgen below and we will be ‘normal’ range. I still have quite a bit of belly fat going on so hoping towards mid BMI/a few more kilos will shift it.

Thank you captainlynne

It does help. I suppose I was just after a bit of reassurance from someone who has been through it.
Thanks for your time.

Hi Way of Life

I think it’s different for each of us. I’m an ‘all or nothing’ person so went cold turkey on giving up the carbs, and found I had to stay very low carb to reduce blood sugars. That meant that, for me, carb cravings soon disappeared.

It also helped me, certainly in the early stages, to not have the carbs in the house. Why put temptation in our way? Now, when family visit, I can have the carbs around and they just don’t appeal to me. Same when queuing in a coffee shop.

Like many of us, carbs used to make up the greater part of my food intake so I can say with certainty that if you stick with the plan, reducing your carb intake, that the cravings will go.

Hope this helps.

Thank you Julia👍

Hi Bombalone,

I know that I can be very obsessive about weighing myself. I have tried the BSD before and did weigh regularly. When I didn’t lose I ate to console myself. I’m trying it differently this time. So far so good. It certainly wouldn’t work for everyone though.

Funny you should ask if I still feel hungry. Was thinking just half an hour ago that is the first day that I haven’t been so hungry.

I do feel lighter, less bloated and more confident.

I’m still thinking about carbs though and have just posted on another thread asking some experienced BSDers when these cravings may subside.

Hoping they stop soon.

Enjoy your lunch tomorrow. I’ll be interested as to how you get on. I haven’t had to experience a meal out/family outing in the past 8 days.
You’ll make the right choices!!

Hi Way of life

At the end of the 8 weeks eh?! wow that’s hardcore! I’m impressed. You are so patient!

Have had a good day thank you. Feeling in control. Not feeling too hungry although early evening a bit tricky. Drinking far too much tea!

Tomorrow will be a challenge as going out to a family lunch. Not only a food/drink challenge but general “so what diet are you doing NOW jokes”. Deep breaths.

Do you get hungry still on day 8? My hunger is much less but still popping up occasionally.