Enecca
Thank you so much for the roasted cauliflower recipe. It was a huge success yesterday and not at all watery like my previous effort – husband actually said the cauliflower was better than potatoes. So at last cauliflower has become a part of our diet.

Maharani kitten – what an interesting conversation you had with Professor Taylor. How great that he took the time to answer your questions. He must enjoy getting feedback that this way of eating really works and how nice to hear that he cycled to the event.

Raintoday – how lovely to be in the size 12 jeans. Although we are doing this for our health all the good that we are doing is hidden inside our bodies and as we don’t have our own personal MRI scanners we can’t see all the good we are doing. Smaller clothes are a really good way of measuring how well we are doing and it does feel good to get comfortably into smaller sizes.

Exercise bike is probably the lowest impact on knees, so I would try that, if you can get access to one.

Hi JM, I missed a bit there…don’t quite know how that happened. Such a pity you didn’t get to see your mother this time. Do you see her often? Did you have your anniversary dinner?

We’ve been quiet here, had my daughter’s partner’s birthday yesterday…I managed not to eat the cake and had a coffee with milk instead. Strangely enough it seems enough maybe because I wasn’t a coffee drinker pre BSD. But then a lot of my tastes have changed.

My peak, apart from not eating the cake, was a lively walk down by the sea yesterday. We don’t get waves too often on the Med but these were quite special and I came home with hair and sunglasses covered in salt. It put me in a good mood for the day!

The pit..nothing much comes to mind BSD wise..I’ve been quite careful food wise and I’m enjoying being outside. Today we’re due rain so we’ll see how enthusiastic I am about walking.

Have a super Sunday, enjoy your rest day! Angela

I’m just starting the 800 BSD and determined to fulfil every aspect. I’m thinking some of the exercises will be hard on my knees. Has anybody discovered some good HIT ideas which are knee sparing? Swimming is not an option.

Great news for your daughter, Natalie. I wish I had £1 for every person who ever told me how well they feel when they give up bread/wheat products. When I was seriously low carbing for more than six years, reports on the reduction in joint pain, digestive upsets, skin problems, particularly, were startling. Even if people I’d nothing else, losing gluten made a huge difference. Bread is always one of the hardest things for me to give up, and it’s cruel that we have an award winning artisan bakery 250 yards from where we live, Got to be done, though. Mkx

Hi Chrissie63
You’re going to be very much in touch with your body from now on so feel free to ask if you’re not sure of anything.
There’s a really good website that goes very much in depth into low carb high fat, check out dietdoctor.com.
http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8f9ee6ec773386bf9f3c99a1c&id=040e8fa0d1&e=c31378dea5
It gives heaps of advice, recipes, motivational stories from people all around the world that follow this way of life. I love it and will never go back to eating carbage!
Touch base every now and again and let us know how you are going.
Cheers
Linda

Hi Natalie – good news on your daughter – that gluten-intolerance /celiac is popping up all over – so glad the info is so readily available – I had the breathlessness after climbing a short rise of steps going into work – disappeared after a couple months of eliminating gluten (had other symptoms that caused me to see an MD which led to labs and diagnosis)
Sunshinegirl-the way I read your post about amylase was that the pancreas in a diabetic is impaired in production of insulin and amylase – the amylase lack causes starches to be incompletely broken down in mouth and stomach(?) therefore leading to blood sugar spikes. If amylase is supplemented, then starches (and likely other foods) would be more thoroughly broken down, resulting in less /no BS spike.
To me, digestive enzymes are in the same category as vitamins and an item I use occasionally if I get into some gluten. (gluten-ease). Not an excuse to eat off-plan on a regular basis – but a tool to mitigate the impact when I do. It’s plain to me -both from my experience over the past 6 months and what I’ve read on this site – that I have to remain committed to this WOE (we seriously need a different acronym(?)) in order to stay healthy and reasonably fit – but meals out, buffets, travel, and just plain old temptation intrude from time to time and having this sort of tool at hand makes sense to me.
Still think it would be an interesting experiment …….
Celeriac mash ? that’s celery root, right ? may have to give that a go – thanks for the idea !
Has anyone tried Salsify ? (aka oyster plant – a root veg)
We’re getting poured on here – think I will stay in and knit and cuddle sick kitty …. stay warm and dry, all !

Hi Anna-Maria — I think by the 11th of February you should be past the shaky/low blood sugar thing — but maybe watch yourself carefully during your training days to see and evaluate your own body’s response.
The really good thing about finally getting to the true fat-burning stage is that you don’t crash the same way — you are burning fat and it just doesn’t leave a person with absolutely no fuel.
But I would eat more food for sure — you will not wreck the diet by eating on the really big exercise days — you will burn off the excess and you will need the power.
Sounds very fun! You go girl!

Thanks LindaA for the reassurance. I guess I have not really been in touch with my body for years (history of child sexual abuse and violence so it didn’t seem safe to be aware of my body) so having it ‘talk’ to me now feels a bit scary. Congrats on your great loss and on maintaining it. Don’t think I will ever be 58kgs but losing 30kgs would be a great start!
Thanks again

Hi Chrissie63
I had the muscle pain in my legs for the first week. Just another symptom of the carb flu I’m afraid, it will pass.
I’ve more recently started getting cramps in my legs but that is due to my lower salt intake as I no longer eat any processed foods. Now that I’m adding more salt to my food and taking magnesium tablets, that’s getting better.
I’ve been on maintenance since September after losing 32kg and now float between 56-58kg by simply upping my fat and still going virtually carbless and sugarless.
Any questions, just ask.
Cheers
Linda

Hi everyone,
So great to hear of people’s successes but I’m also finding the “oops” moments comforting. I started Jan 16th so not quite a week and weighed myself this morning (I was trying to wait a week but couldn’t quite make it!). Amazed that I have lost 3.7kgs! Only found the first two days really hard, grumpy, tired, weak, but now feel much better. Had scrambled eggs with a bit of shredded cheese for brunch and it seemed like a lot of food!
My only concerns are some muscle pain in my legs and shoulders and, instead of constipation, I have had the reverse every day. Not sure what that is about as I’m not sick. Muscle pain might be magnesium (which I will start supplementing today) or sodium perhaps? Any advice gratefully accepted!
I will not post much but I read every day and I’m so glad to have the support of this wonderful community. Congratulations to us all!

Gday all, week 21 done and dusted, and first week of drinking cider vinegar tonic done,
Weigh in result: 123.7kg
Waist 126cm
1.6 kg lost for the week.
36.2Kg loss to date

Cider drink definally easier to drink in the morning with the honey. Gout still there in the back ground, though I feel like I have more energy. Have a good one all

Does anyone else hate that woman in wii. Who says you only have 4 minutes left, keep going.
I don’t want to know, I am knackered. Just keep quiet and say…done!

Love Lucia
Zxxx

Hello all I’m another Newbie starting the 8 week BSD on January 21st. After that I will be continuing a low carb plan as I have a lot of weight to lose.

Cravings just go if you don’t give into them. Distraction seems to be the key, either by having a drink instead, water or herbal tea especially are mentioned as useful, or just by getting busy with something else. If they persist, you can try a spoon full or two of full fat yoghurt, or a bit of peanut butter on a teaspoon to make them go away.

How exciting MK! Meeting a celebrity – well he is to us!

My twelve-year-old daughter had an assortment of symptoms that didn’t seem related and her doctor couldn’t find reasons for except to say they were just normal variations of the human body. Lots of pimple-like lumps on her upper arms, breathlessness that wasn’t asthma (she’s slender and fit) and joint pains. I found a claim on the internet that the arm bumps can be caused by gluten intolerance and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try eliminating gluten from her diet. She was very willing to try, and her own internet searches linked her other symptoms to gluten too. So no bread, biscuits, cakes (except specially bought gluten-free) etc, I thought a three week trial.

And after only two weeks, guess what. Arms completely smooth, which they haven’t been for at least two years. No breathlessness, no joint pains…

Wow Miss FSDog and Theodora, you are both doing so well! Loving the sound of the meals you are having 😊 I had a fast day today as not really hungry, drinking tea and decaf coffee then had pea and spinach omelette with salad for tea, which was delish.

raintoday, my aim is to get off tablets, not take something totally unnecessarily. To produce amylase just chew every mouthful 20 times.

MissFreddieSausageDog, your day’s menu sounds great, and what an amazing first week you have had – well done indeed.

I too had Greek yoghurt for breakfast, but with blueberries, which as become my standard breakfast – still cooked my O/H a full English though 😉

This evening I had 2 courses, and my day’s total came in at 819 calories and 40g carbs, but think it was too much for me. I am used to eating 2 – 3 courses for meals, but I felt quite bloated after supper this evening – maybe my belly is shrinking on the inside if not yet on the outside 😉 Supper was really tasty though, and consisted of Portobello mushrooms with garlic butter followed by a large portion of wilted spinach, topped with a 4oz fillet of undyed smoked haddock, and a poached egg, all topped with a tablespoonful of hollandaise. And we call this a diet!

I must say though, I have been freezing all day, but I warmed up after eating this! Feeling very optimistic that this is going to work – though I am missing my wine 🙁

Hope everyone else has had a good day?

*getyourcarbon* whoop whoop! Excellent progress and a lovely update to read. I allowed myself wine last night. But as was at friends then got persuaded to have chilli (without the rice) So the calories saved for wine meant I went over by approx 350 cals. And then today consequently I have felt like bingeing on carbs all day. I haven’t, but decided to not calorie count and just stick to low carb. Back on it strictly tomorrow, but I suspect this may well be my regular pattern….5 days 800, 2 days approx 1200, it has to work for me, so this seems doable. I will hate not seeing the scales move, but with any luck by Wednesday they will again be going 👇.

Up early for a walk in the morning.

Happy weekend all x

Morning all from a hot tennis bound Melbourne

Weigh in after 21 days

Start 93.1lkg – 14st 9lbs

Now : 86.5kg – 13st 8.5lbs

Loss 6.6kg – 1st 1/2 lb

Waist round belly button start : 110cm

Now: 101cm

Loss 9cm : 4 inches

I haven’t stuck to it every day

More like 800x 4 , 900 x 1 , 975 x 1 and 1150 X1

I also have a blow out planned for Australia Day and had one 2 weeks ago so just the smallest window of flexibility but a rareity.

800 is 800 and that’s always my intention

My wife has lost 5.1kg down to 85.2kg and she’s pleased and had a new outfit on for the Tennis yesterday

I’ve had 2 genuine full on weight loss comments

My advice : Remind yourself why you need to lose the weight regularly . Treat all days as the first day and the only day.
Eat a lot of sugar free chewing gum – saves me many times
Glasses and glasses of fuzzy water with lime lemon
Soup as a dinner works so well for me and on average 75 calories

Stick with it and if you’ve recently fell off the wagon then dust down refocus and go again

Good luck

Hi – weigh in today the 1st one and lost 6lbs this week and 2 inches off my waist. really happy with it. I actually feel better this week too having got over the flu the week before. If you have the recipe book its worth working out what to eat each day. loved the full fat greek yougurt with crushed nuts and some raspberries chopped up on top for breakfast. for lunch today was an asparagus omelette with green salad and dinner was the Thai fish cakes, found the mixture a bit sloppy but it tasted lovely. the rest is in the fridge so hope it will be a bit firmer for tomorrow. Certainly feeling motivated after the 1st week, don’t expect to lose the same amount of weight in week two but even 2 or 3 lbs would be fab.

Lovely to see the newcomers enjoying good losses and whoosh moments!
Hi there ORCHID and LINDA ! XX

Hiii CAP’N and KRYSIA xxx hope youre both enjoying yr weeknd.
I recently read we need to keep moving to delay ageing so you two are doing well keeping so busy!
LYNne, i am still losing after my 24 weeks on 800 cals.. lost 3lbs in the first two weeks post 24…. weighing tomoz to see if i have shaved off a little more..having 50 g carbs still but slightly more calories now..yesterday someone said i am ‘ vanishing!’
Nice to see some new year starter folk who are delighted with the lovely big first few weeks losses!xx

Whoo! I was feeling guilty coz i hadnt checked in..but it seems verrry quiet here ..
Just wanted to let Total full fat yog lovers know that tesco now have 170g pots..havent seen them before,only for the 0 % ..this is a handy size if you want to take one to work etc
I think theyre 75 pence per pot so three pots equals 510 grams at £2.25,so a slightly bigger amount of yog and a little cheaper than the 500g pots..theyre usually £2.40 in tesco when not on special offer,which doesn’t seem to happen often! Whenever i am browsing looking for the sometimes elusive full fat pots, two or three people always grab the % fat pots! Theres always plenty of them!
Hope everyone doing ok xxxxx

I’m not counting my carbs as I’m using recipes in MM book. I do keep a record of calories and stay roughly under the 800 but try not to get too obsessive about it as I figure once I’ve finished it will be easier to stick to the lifestyle change. Weekends are so hard. Took my youngest to a birthday party and had to resist cake! My wedding anniversary this week and we are out for dinner, going for tapas so I can avoid carbs!! Everyone sounds like they are doing so well. New Claire great to go to gym. I do weigh myself everyday as I have had a decrease and it keeps me motivated. May give it a miss after tapas though!!!

How do you all get over cravings? and so happy for you,,

Thank you Sunshine Girl for this “Basic Shopping List” It is very helpful as I have only started this BSDiet this week (Monday) and dont know what to eat most of the time. I have dieted off and on all my life but this is so different to anything I’ve done before – can eat butter! cheese! full fat yoghurt! haven’t eaten some of these things for years! So your list is very helpful as I am always wondering what to have for the next meal. I know I have to become more organised.
It sounds as if Sparkpeople.com is the same sort of thing as any dieting/fitness site/app (I tried to log into it but it wouldn’t accept my e-mail address for some reason) There are loads of these sites and apps around and it looks as if most are the same sort of thing you just find the one that is best for you. I have started using http://www.fatsecret.co.uk this week as I’ve found that is the easiest for me but it’s interesting to see what others are about. The advantage of having the app on your phone is that you can do it when/wherever you are and not have to wait to get home to go on your computer but yes you are correct in that they are the same sort of thing and I don’t think you are missing out at all. Thank you again for your advice

Hi – my fasting blood test was 51 in October that’s when the doctor said I was diabetic. She also told me I had a high reading 12 months before. I asked why no one had told me and she couldn’t answer! At that time the only thing the doctor told me was I had a fatty liver, he asked if I drank a lot of alcohol. I told him I didn’t but he never once mentioned glucose or diabetes, so for 12 months I wasn’t even aware I was pre-diabetic. Be strong and determined and you WILL do it.
Best wishes Kate

Thanks KrysiaD 😀

I don’t know if being busy keeps us young, but it keeps the little grey cells working!

For the record – since 17th December I’ve stayed between 8st 6lbs and 8st 8lbs. This has to be the longest (so far) that I’ve maintained weight loss. In the past it’s gone straight back on, with interest.

I’m not feeling deprived and can’t see myself ever going back to the old way of eating. I feel so much better, blood sugars are normal, and I can’t afford to start buying bigger clothes

Wow MK – meeting the Prof 😀

He seems really happy to meet us rebels!😱😀. He even replied to my email recently, and I’d already had a reply from someone on his staff!

Thank you Julia! the event is the 11 of February and the name is Kristinaloppet. I agree with you Norway is fantastic, been there a couple of times but only on summer. I wish you a lovely stay in Norway.

I hope that I have stabilized my BS at that time. Before I could have problems with feeling shaky and week after a training. I have not felt that this latest two weeks.
I will bring nuts and raisins with me and fill up with good proteins the day before. And take it easy.
Thank you.

Hi Anna-Maria — welcome to the posts and good start on your BSD journey! I like your Swedish-Lady-Classic — we need one of those in the US!
I’m a big cross-country skier (swimmer, hiker) and I have been on the BSD for a year so I have some good experience with big exercise days and following the BSD.
I seriously recommend that you eat more calories on your big cross-country ski days, but, and here’s the important point, eat your calories in a low-carbohydrate way — add in more fat and protein to compensate for your big expenditure of calories.
Also, take a flask of tea or soup with you on the trail and drink a lot as you go along to keep fully hydrated.
Where will your cross-country event be held? We usually ski in California but we are going to Venabu Norway next month to ski in the Rondane National Park — we love cross-country skiing there– it is incredible!
Best wishes for your cross-country event! Let us know how you do!
Julia

pile of potatoes or rice in the US with the dinner meal especially – to say nothing of the fancy-sounding breads for sandwiches …..
am happy to report that I have made it comfortably into a size12 jeans – not relaxed fit! – I feel good ! have kept the calories around a thousand – some days lower – nuts add up too fast ! However, w/ kitty sadness (she is parked on my lap and has been whenever I sit down – doing the gym is on hold for a couple days) this is a time when I would have indulged in (lots of) ice cream – thought of that as I drove home last evening – but didn’t buy any – BS 120 this AM .
Exercise today will be the Pink Hat Pussy march in town – meeting up w/ knitting ladies and putting ourselves out there – then back to kitty-cuddling …. the ice cream is a thought, not a craving …. like an old habit …..
Fennel ? love the stuff – it is sold trimmed to the bulb plus about 5 inches of stalk – not much greenery – I will have to get to a Farmers Market one Saturday and look for wilder-looking stuff so I can try that in my tea – one of my favorites is a licorice-root tea – but fennel in green tea sounds interesting.
Daisiemum- hope the back is better !
MK – how great you got to talk w/ him ! the word is spreading via actual users of this diet – because the results and benefits are “in your face” so to speak….. I have talked w/ several people at work who have asked me what I’m doing (even though I’m not much into form-fitting clothes, my loss is more obvious than I realized). I have written out the website and we’ll see how it goes ….
re: the amylase function – might be interesting to get some tablets and use a dose before a meal w/ half a recommended serving of a carb and see what it does to BS …. pills as an aid not an excuse to eat the big piles of carb as in the past …. having celiac (malabsorption issues) it figures that breaking things down thoroughly would be a goal to increasing nutrient availability …. probably overthinking that ….
have a great weekend, everyone – onward and downward !!

that still doesn’t tell me what an app is. I presume it is short for application and it is something you can put on your phone to do things but as I dont have a mobile or actually the one I have is 15 years old and only used to send texts and make calls, can I download apps onto my computer so I can use these wonderful thingies, whatever they are. My daughter talks about logging her exercise on a fitbit but I just type it into my Sparkpeople.com exercise page and it tells me how many calories I have used, adjusts the calories needed in my nutrition page etc. Am I correct that that is the same sort of thing. Would hate to be missing out.

You are not diabetic so it doesn’t matter if your blood glucose goes low but how will you feel. I suspect you will be weak and shaky on 800 cals and would increase the day before and have a good meal i.e. omelette with mushrooms and crème fraiche. Make sure you have a snack with you, something like nuts and seeds and raising, easy to carry and easy to nibble on. When I said go over the 800 cals it does not mean to carb load although you could have some porridge.

Others in your position i.e. non-diabetic and sporty, will come on and advise, this is just my opinion and not from prior experience although I do have a snack if my BG is low before swimming but just a couple of prunes and some Greek yoghurt.

Hi, I started BSD two weeks ago tomorrow, and it’s going really welI. I lost 2,6 kilos and lost 6cm round the stomach the first week and I’m looking forward to weight in tomorrow. Only 22kg to loos 😃 to get a healthier life, with no sugar addiction!! I lost my both parents in hart attach and stroke to early. They both were diabetics and not overweight.
To my question.. the 11 of February I have to do a cross country ski for 30km, can I go through with this on 800 calories ? I will be in my 5:the week. I really want to do this because then I have done the Swedish “Lady classic”
(This to be done in one year-100km cykling, 1000m swimming, 10km running and the last one ..cross country skiing ) Can you please give me some advice?
Thank you

Thanks for the encouragement SunnyB, very welcome!

I don’t eat breakfast. I’m never hungry when I wake up, though I do have a milky coffee about 9.30 am and that keeps me going till lunchtime. If I get peckish late morning, I have a miso soup (teaspoon of miso paste in hot water – not the expensive packaged soups). Because it’s so savoury, it makes me feel like I’ve eaten a meal. Very low cal and carb for the satisfaction it gives.

Mrs. Pink, Dr MM says in his book that the old advice about having to eat breakfast is bunkum. If you’re not hungry, why consume the calories?

I just use a free list App(lication) called Shopping UK. It works for me.

PEAK: Went to lunch with a few colleagues; nice to catch up on things with them! This morning I weighed two pounds less than yesterday; glad the water weight came off.

PIT: Didn’t stay on BSD track completely. I had a beer at lunch and some chocolate after dinner. My mom couldn’t make the drive down since she got snowed in at her place.

Afternoon all,

Great to see some of your phenomenal results, I salute your dedication! Well-deserved.

I rather fell off the wagon about 10 days ago – major work dramas, multiple birthdays and stressful visit to A&E. Excuses, excuses. Have tried to stay low carb every other day but there’ve been many bad things. So slightly shocked to step on the scales this morning and find I’m 2lb down in the last 11 days. I will happily take that though! Back on plan from tomorrow.

It’s picking yourself up and carrying on after these mis-steps that seems to have made a difference to many posters on here. Knowing that if you do just pick yourself up, dust yourself down and get on with it, you CAN keep seeing results.

Thank you for all your replies. I did get straight back on it and am so pleased I did. I have to admit it was easier than I thought. I wonder why with other diets I have always dine the “I’ll start tomorrow or Monday” thing. Anyway, whatever the reason am back on track and thank you for all your supportive words.

I hope you’re all doing well. FiB – I hope you’re back on track too. Sunshine – thank you for advice re: BG levels. And SunnyB for great PMA 👍😃

App, what’s an app. Don’t laugh, I dont even have a mobile phone. Luckily I do have a computer but it is steam driven.

Well done Chunkyd!! That is a really great result and I’m sure it will spur you on to continued success. Keep posting so we all know how things are going and shout if things get sticky, we like to encourage and support if needed! Good Luck.

Post number 2, update on the plan.

I have again lost a bit of weight and I am looking forward to Tuesday for the final result although I have spent most of this week undoing the damage I did last weekend, I still hope to have a good (ish) result. So my pledge is NO ALCOHOL this weekend.

My BG is back to my normal of 5.1 happy days, still keeping the insulin at 23 units (it was 22 before Xmas interfered) but I am happy with that – just under 8 weeks to HbA1c.

Have a good weekend everyone and keep on keeping on…

Yes Marsie, it think it is the western diet that piles on the carbs. The other countries that use a lot of rice (India, China, Malaysia etc) and facing a diabetic epidemic but they over eat the carbs because of poverty, which is why we used to fill up, in the days when we couldn’t afford meat every day.

MK you must have been thrilled, I quite welled up reading your post, he is real, this eating plan is real and now he knows we are following his teachings (sounds like a religious guru).

Hey Verano, I would look at the other nutrition course but my head is spinning with French, Spanish and The Science of Nutrition. I have found week 2 really fascinating, now I know why biological washing powders work and why I use it to soak burned on grease on casseroles, and it works. One very interesting fact was to do with amylase – no don’t all fall asleep, if you are diabetic this concerns you – amylase is the enzyme produced in saliva which starts to break down carbs, if you chew and chew something like a potato and try to keep it in your mouth it will start to turn into an sugar compound, the longer you keep it in your mouth the less work your digestive system has to do to break it down, making it less harmful. Next fact, amylase is also produced by the pancreas and we as diabetics have fairly knackered pancreases so it is ineffective at breaking down the sugars in CARBOHYDRATES in later stages of digestion. Not only can the pancreas not produce (enough good) insulin it is also struggling with amylase. Why have the medical / scientific community not cottoned on to this and realised it is carbohydrates that are the problem.

By the way, Dr Mosley is a contributor to this course but mainly as the person talking to the scientists and explaining in simpler terms.

What a thrill, MK, to meet that most forward thinking man (or do I mean the most lateral thinking?). And how significant that he was willing to answer your Qs on maintenance in such a straightforward manner. Think we should all print out and frame this post.

Re “He said it’s only in the UK that people feel a meal isn’t complete without a pile of carbs – spuds, rice, pasta – on your plate,” goodness, I wish it was only in UK. …. nope, it’s here in Australia too.

Thanks for sharing your experience.
Marilyn

When you find a swimsuit that comes with a free nip and tuck let me know please Miss Ziggy.:-)