Good advice topcac – thanks for the inspiration!

I’m inadvertently finding myself doing a 16/8 simultaneously, so having a late breakfast and not eating after 7pm whenever possible. I generally work from home so it’s easier to manage and get in the flow.

I agree, planning ahead works best to avoid a kneejerk panic when it comes to meals.

Definitely a lifestyle eating plan – and not a diet.

All the best,
Jacks

Hi Nettie58, I”m also in Perth, G’day, At first I just tried to follow the calories ,I use the S health app which comes with my samsung, Then, when I was not doing so well I started tracking the carbs.If I’m really disorganized I have 100gms of meat and a salad.Its not perfect but its better than eating a heap of carbs.what suburb are you at?would you like to get in touch?

Good luck blondebob

I started in September 2016 so, although I’m not as experienced as some on here, I do still remember my first week and because you don’t have the book yet some things may take you by surprise so here’s some tips I found useful:

Be kind to yourself in the first few days – the carb detox (also known as carb flu) will probably hit today or tomorrow. You may feel headachey, sick, dizzy, miserable and bad tempered. It’s perfectly normal and anyone who switches from burning carbs to burning fat will get it to a greater or lesser degree. It totally floored me at the end of day 1 and I had to take to my bed – having thrown up my dinner. I had the worst headache. This does not mean that this will happen to you LOL but just be warned that you may feel a bit off for a few days. Some ways to combat it are drink loads of water (for me this meant upwards of 3 litres – include tea and coffee in that) and to add salt to your food. Sounds weird but works 🙂 and rest and don’t be afraid to take a couple of painkillers either!

Plan plan plan – make sure you know what you are going to eat and shop for it – make sure, where possible, that you can rid your house of naughty stuff that may tempt you when you are feeling a little vulnerable in the first few days. If you do have the urge to snack make sure you have high fat/protein snacks like nuts around but remember that not all nuts are created equal – go for the lower carb ones like walnuts or macadamias

Don’t plan any exercise in the first few days – you may not feel up to it and you really don’t need the guilt! If you do feel OK, just have a walk.

Something that I also found useful was to try and wait as long as you can for breakfast. I now only eat in about an 8 hour window – so breakfast at 11, lunch at 3 and dinner around 7. It really helps the hunger pangs. Also, hot drinks suppress hunger pangs so if think you are hungry, have some tea!

Don’t just weigh yourself, also measure your body, especially chest, hips, tummy and thighs – later on in the diet, on those weeks that you may not lose as much, or anything, this will be a godsend because you will probably have lost inches – plus you can come on here and brag about it!

Lastly, if I’ve made it sound really crappy, I apologise but it is really only very temporary – by the end of week 1 you will feel fantastic! If you are really on it you should begin to see a difference on the scales in 3 days or so, so if you are lacking motivation just jump on and see what has happened.

That’s all I can think of for now – best of luck!
TC

Oh dear – those kinds of experiences don’t give you much confidence.
Lynn – I just tracked down your post about your colour day. It sounds fascinating. I have always fancied doing it but became doubtful of my local practitioner because she seemed to be adding a new business every week.
Not too sure about a great new start to the year (BSD wise) – I’ve been mostly good but there have been lapses! Nearly back to pre-xmas weight though and I’ve started running! I am surprised that it is rather enjoyable – who knew! Early days though – I’ve always been a bit skeptical about the benefits of high impact activity, but we’ll see. I have always enjoyed walking, especially long walks but I just don’t have the time in the winter. Re-reading the book for inspiration and ….carrying on!

Thank you granny for your reply, I really wasn’t about to jump ship. Honestly! Some fab losses coming through and I am hoping come weigh in Wednesday I will see a decent loss.
Wow people being advised by their doctor to do this too!!

Hi
I felt really washed out the other day but it passed. I agree with Mixnmatch – drink plenty of water to ease the headache.

Re the proteins – it is tricky for vegans. I find it hard to get enough protein (can’t get soya yoghurt and firm tofu until I get back to the UK next week) so I have been looking into this myself. I can make any number of sweet tasty recipes with silken tofu (which I can find over here ) but they all need sugar or maple syrup which I am now off obviously.. After advice on this thread, I tried using some silken tofu to boost my protein intake – have to admit it was awful. Today I came across a rare box of strawberries so tomorrow I might try them blended in to the rest of the silken tofu. Really I want to get away from desserts and sweet things all together so might just eat the strawberries on their own……

My husband’s favourite salad dressing is Goddess Dressing which I make from tofu so that’s an idea too. It certainly makes you think doing this plan as a vegan doesn’t it ?

Here’s a link to a page I came across which gives 25 sources of protein for vegans.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/vegan-sources-of-protein/
There’s a couple in there that were news to me – peas ??? I’d suggest you have a look at some of the recipes in the links on the webpage too – it’s a bit unwieldy but it made me think of other options and there are some interesting recipes like
MUSHROOM MUTTER MASALA: INDIAN MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEAS
and
MISO SOUP WITH GARLICKY LENTILS, KALE, AND MUSHROOMS.

I don’t know what you have tried with lentils ? I have friends who hate them (and beans) in any form. Personally I love them now – all colours and in many dishes but before I went vegan over 5 years ago I’d only really used them in my Mum’s chicken soup ! Lentil burgers go down well with non vegan/veggie friends, red lentil soup is a staple in the winter and one of my favourites for ease and taste is a casserole made using the large brown lentils cooked with onion, garlic, celery, carrots, tin of tomatoes, a little dried thyme, some hot smoked paprika and a little organic bouillon stock powder. It’s really tasty and warming.

Hope you feel better very soon.

Thanks SunnyB – I have a meal out this weekend too so looks like we will both be trying the ‘sensible’ route. I really thought that the last few pounds would be harder to shift but I lost fairly consistently thorough the whole 16 weeks that I was trying to lose. I put on a couple of times but there was always a reason and I firmly believe the reason I’m not there now is Christmas!! With that out of the way I’m sure we will both see further success

Onwards and downwards 😀

Hey TC – Well done on the 2lb drop whilst on maintenance. Will be good to have someone else on the final push – look forward to reading your posts along the way.

It is my birthday this Friday and we will be dining out, so I’m expecting a blip over the w/e, but I’m determined to keep it as sensible as possible.

Need to increase exercise levels, as this is always something I struggle with and know it’s a serious failing. Think shifting these last few pounds could depend on getting that sorted.

Good luck on hitting your final goal too.

Hi Matilda

I agree with the others, unless you have a blood sugar issue, and they don’t continue to drop, then just keep doing what you are doing. Also some people like to log everything that they eat but I don’t often have time for that. When I started BSD (starting week 17 now but trying maintenance) I just chose a breakfast, lunch and dinner from the book to start with (or use the meal plan in the back) and that seemed to work fine – I lost consistently – I don’t know how many carbs it’s based on but a lot of people have success with that too. Once you are more familiar with the plan you can strike out on your own a bit but for now, to make it easier, that’s my advice.

Good luck and well done on your losses so far!

Hi all – well today is day 7 of week one and I have to say I feel great!!

The hunger on the first couple of days was really hard but I had got so used to not getting hungry and topping up throughout the day, that actually I wasn’t “starving”, I was just letting my tummy rumble as it should before a meal. I have found sticking within the 800 calories surprisingly easy however I do put this down to planning ahead and planning a menu and doing the shopping in advance.

Last night we had the cottage pie from the recipe book and Wowsers!! It was absolutely lovely…. Had it again at lunchtime, (there are 3 of us at home, served 6 so all had some last night and some today for lunch)…. Will definitely be adding that to the repertoire! Looking forward to trying the fish pie next Sunday night..

Weigh in tomorrow morning so we will see what the morning brings, however I know that I have lost so just got to keep going… 1st week done, 5 to go (I’m doing 6 weeks on the lead up to a fortnights holiday and will then do a further 8 weeks when I get back).

I am so much sleeping better, and when I wake up, I am actually awake… I feel more alert and not as sluggish and I can see the difference in my skin already…

Lets keep going people – everyone is doing brilliantly!!! Whoop Whoop!!!

Much Love,
Rebecca xx

Hi and welcome blondebob71. How lovely your doctor has suggested this way of life.
Its not easy but there is always someone to answer your questions.
Planning, shopping and more planning and shopping is the key.
My husband and I do a meal plan and shopping list for about four days at a time. It does change depending on what we are doing. We also manage to ‘bank’ a few meals in the freezer which is really useful.

Onwards and downwards

Hi Mat – welcome aboard! Great results already – wonderful!! If you are losing, may be just keep doing what you have been and if you get stuck, you can then look to push the carbs down. Most people try to get carbs down to 50g or less, but if you continue losing at a good rate, I wouldn’t panic at the moment. Give yourself a little longer to get used to the 800cals first and tackle the carbs later.

Good luck and keep posting on you progress.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I am playing around with maintenance as I only reached goal this weekend (which was 9st 2lbs) – but am thinking a couple of extra pounds might be a good idea for some wriggle room (birthdays, holidays can’t be ar*ed days) and am looking at 8st 10lbs too. Currently 9st dead as of this morning so maintenance hasn’t worked so far!!.

Happy to join you

TC

I think the book concentrates more on the 800 calorie aspect and assumes if you are not eating devil carbs you will be okay. Some people on here have come up with levels that suit them and help with the weight loss and usually that is around 50 grams which is quite doable. For me I wouldn’t want to go any lower simply because it became too much planning to get it under 50 and meant cutting out too many other things I would have eaten, like apples, quite high in carbs but I allow myself a Ploughmans Lunch once a week with half an apple. You can go too low and this diet is set at a good balance.

Have in effect, been maintaining since September, as we took a long break in Turkey from Sept to beginning of Nov and then there was the run-up to and the Festive Season. Have been managing to maintain at between 9st 3.5 and 5lb, but now it is time to push for the last final goal. So I am starting the Fast 800 again properly from today, with a start weight of 9st 5lb this morning. I am logging all carbs and cals etc. – the full Fast 800 again. I have until April 9th to shift these last few pounds, to get me down to 8st 10lb, so please wish me luck.

Would love to hear from anyone who is also tackling their last push to achieving their final goal weight. If that’s you, please post so we can support each other to the finish line.

Hi I’m new to this site and after visiting my doctor today she advised me to start with this diet plan. Any help or advise would be greatly received. I have ordered the books from Amazon today, so I have some reading to keep me going for the next couple of days. I have looked at a few of the recipes on here and have zoomed off to Aldi to get the ingredients I need for the next couple of nights meals. Wish me luck !!

Hi everyone, I have started today too and aiming to loose 12kg in the 8 weeks. Going through the menopause so I put on lots of weight very quickly and now much harder to loose 🙁 and much hungrier than before. So I am really going to give this a good go!! I think water is key so will be drinking lots. Good luck everyone.

the diet is in the Sunday Express yesterday, mainly talking about Fixing Dad but with mention of Prof Taylor and a short piece by DrM. The word is spreading.

HI Everyone

I’ve started the 800 calorie diet today but have been following the principles of the diet WITHOUTcalorie counting since last Wednesday and as of yesterday had lost 8lbs! I was so happy as I have a lot of weight to lose and am a type 2 diabetic with high blood sugar readings, not only have I lost 8lbs but my blood sugars have dropped drastically, still not low enough but almost there.

I feel better already and when I am hungry its controllable, I used to binge eat carbs like you wouldn’t believe!!!

I still have one question, I read the book from cover to cover and cant remember seeing advice about how many carbs you can have a day. My meal plan for today says I will consume 76g, is that high? I did have an apple and pear at lunchtime as I was not very organised and when I looked up the calories it wasn’t enough, I’m in work so have to go for what was to hand.

Could you guys tell me how many carbs you aim to eat in a day.

Thanks
Mat

Hi Striving Mum – think Snoop is right here. Not all calories are equal and it is important that those the children are consuming are good quality, giving good vitamin and mineral content too. Try to wean the children off the sugary carbs and ‘junk food’, but still allow sensible portions of complex carbs – for instance green vegetables, whole grains and foods made from them, such as oatmeal, pasta, and whole-grain breads, potatoes, corn, and pumpkin, beans, lentils, and peas. It’s a good time for them to learn about sensible healthy eating, so well done on helping them to make a start.

Maharani kitten – in August I was 10 stone 7lbs and absolutely not confident that I would lose another stone so bought some lovely jeans and tops that fitted perfectly. The tops are now all at the charity shop – they were very pleased with the unworn clothes. Luckily a dressmaker was able to take the jeans in.

I never ever thought I would go down to 9 stone 6lbs – which is why I didn’t buy smaller sizes -but the BSD is not like any other way of eating as it really does work. So – I really wish I had bought the smaller size in the first place.

Thank you everyone for the posting so quickly. I feel that I am not alone and am happy to be part of a team all on the same journey. I am certain that we can all do this!

dusdavi

well done!

zucchini bread – much nicer to make and eat and lasts weeks. NO yeast etc so does not suffer from mould.

Corgette spagetti from tesco 3 for £3 lovely!

Hi everyone, yes I let myself down again over the weekend. I must learn to control myself. First I had a bad disagreement with my best friend which sent me to the wine, just a couple or 3 glasses. Then on Sunday I said what the hell and poured myself a vodka and tonic. Hubby was having red wine with our steaks so I had a couple of those too. That is really my only downfall, I do like a glass or two of wine.

Anyway it is in the past now and I have still lost weight though not as much as I could have. My weigh in is tomorrow so I am being super good today. My BG is back down to 4.3 and I will be dropping the insulin back down to the pre Christmas level of 22 units – I put it up to 24 just to counter the odd naughtiness.

Verano, I think we are very much on the same track. I too am doing the Science of Nutrition and I am learning Spanish in time for a trip to Alicante at Easter. I only want to be able to be polite and ask for a table in a restaurant so I am doing Duolingo. I still use this for a daily French lesson which takes around 10 mins but just acts as a reminder of things like spelling or where the accents go or is it masculine or feminine, then of course I do the advanced French class every Tuesday at a local college. I am retired and in winter there is very little to do here in rural France and it is too cold to be gardening and the ground is solid, so I spend my mornings shopping and exercising and my afternoons at college or at the computer learning something new.

Have a good day everyone and keep on keeping on…

Wow thats amazing cowpat well done! Welcome madmare and gd luck on your journey, i’m old school too so can associate with your blog😂

Hello! I’m starting today too, aiming to lose 13kg in 9 weeks or less. Should be totally possible, I’d love to do it before the 9 weeks are up! I’m working at home today which makes things harder I think (for me at least) – I have had a few little mouthfuls of nuts to keep me going!!! Need to stop snacking and just eat at meals or when I am actually really hungry. I’m determined to do this and to be healthier forever. Go team!!

Happy Birthday Maharani kitten. Hope you have a lovely day

Hi JulesMaigret

My GP – who I’ve never seen – put it on my records that I was being over treated. Great – but I wasn’t on any medication!

Thank you everyone & Fairyface how lovely to get complimented! Oh dear Sarah I do hope you manage to catch up on sleep your work schedule sounds completely bonkers so how you are managing to even plan how you eat anything is to be congratulated. Pat like you I did again become used to eating & enjoying some carbs particularly wine & mince pies😳 & I have missed having a glass of wine in the evening but I have pledged to complete a dry January & will try to be dry for eight weeks. I am also finding it difficult with my husband being able to eat more than me but we seem to have found the compromise of him eating breakfast, yoghurt & fruit, because I don’t eat breakfast saving calories for the rest of the day.
Today I am meeting up with my beading friends & lovely cakes are always provided & I will have one even though it’s carbs & count it into my daily calories. It’s probably just a mushroom omelette for supper today. I know for me it’s getting my head around this way of eating & I only have to look at an undressed me in the mirror to confirm I need to continue to lose weight. As an extra incentive I have bought myself a pale pink pair of slouchy trousers from Jaegar UK size ten! They are of course far too tight but I’m damned if I will not be able to wear them by summer.
I have also hung on my wardrobe door a pair of previously bought UK size 14 trousers to next be able to wear. I often buy Orvis trousers that are USA sizes & am wearing size 14 that are loose on me that gives the illusion of me already being smaller than I really am! It’s so daft & I know I’m fooling myself because I feel sure all the UK sizes are bigger than they used to be to make buyers feel happier about themselves!! But I tend to monitor how much weight I have lost by the trousers I can get into now because I am pear shaped with most weight on my bottom, stomach & thighs.
What are you all using as an incentive? & good luck everyone this coming week.
Margaret xx

Birthday girl today and thrilled to receive a lovely jacket from my OH that i’ve had my eye on for a while. It’s from Long Tall Sally, lovely clothes for us tall girls, but pricey.
It fits perfectly now, but having a bit of a tussle with myself about whether to go one size smaller – acid test – how confident am I that the last stone will come off and stay off? Still in stock… Advice ? MK

Ok. Never posted on a forum in my life before. Just starting today 9th Jan. Need to loose 26kgs. Lost 13 last year and put them all back on. This time it can’t be the same. Need to keep motivated and see results! Feeling very hungry today already – drinking loads of tea. Good luck everyone dealing with their own stuff. Let’s do this.

Cowpat – that’s fantastic! Well done you. Great encouragement for the rest of us.
Jacks

Carb_Addict……I don’t know how you manage to live doing whatever you do for a job. No fluids all day and working very late. I have done the no fluids for a day because of looking after a grandson whilst his mum was in hospital and also the job I did was hard to get to the toilet! You also, no matter how you are feeling have a kind word for people on here. Thank you.

PatC….its my husband who does the organising, I am so lucky. He is out shopping now whilst I am doing housework(!).
Inka, Happygirl, Carb_Addict and PatC…….thanks……I felt 6ft tall when people noticed I had lost weight.

Well done to everyone on weight loss and a really big (((((hug))))) to those who need one. If it was not for my husband and this group of people I would have lost my way months ago. Thank you all.

Hi Way of Life
Yep, a nagging headache pretty much every day last week. Had to take tablets on a couple of days, but it’s improving as I go into week 2. Keeping hydrated certainly helps manage them.
Have a good week,
Jacks

Hi All, starting today and also want to lose around 50lbs long term but my immediate goal is to shed some of this weight ready for my holiday of a lifetime coming up at the end of March! Currently munching a late breakfast/brunch of egg, mushroom and kale with smoked salmon and drinking my tea with Almond milk! Big changes! 🙂

Hello All
Another newbie here – day 1 and feeling like I can really do this. Like lots of others I’ve tried lots of diets but have finally got it through my thick skull that a diet isn’t ever going to work, I need to change my eating habits. So, day 1- I’ve managed to keep it to just under 800 cals and drink 2 litres of water. Tomorrow I’ll start the walking as well and add in a walk around the block before dinner.

That sounds good FROG xx
Please note everyone..Dr Michael Mosley talking on radio 4 at 12:15 today!
Have a happy BSD week everybody! X

Hi Collingwood, should have been clearer. I live in France now but lived in Oz in the 70’s and Randwick is a suburb of Sydney. We then bought an apartment in a place called Cammara (not sure how to spell now) and lived their for 5 years then I came back to England without my husband.

Oh my goodness that’s amazing! Thanks for sharing your success. I bet you feel fantastic. I get married in 6 months so I really want to lose weight quite quickly! You are a total inspiration.

Kathy – we can do this!!

Hi All,

I am brand new! I began on the 2nd January 2017. I had used information from the website Diet Doctor Low Carb Challenge in the first week to kick off whilst I waited for the official LBSD hand book and recipe book to come through the post. The Diet Doctor information has helped me to loose 4lbs in my first week. I am hoping the new recipes and information from official LBSD books will help me continue to loose the lbs!

I have Questions if anyone could help me please?

Question – Do I need to follow the weekly meal plans provided in the main book “The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet” exactly to the letter or can I pick and choose which meals I want to eat?? (as long as I stick to the 800 calorie limit)

Ideally I would love to be in control of my own weekly meal plan purely to keep my costs down, dieting can be expensive and I am on a low food/life budget!

Thank you in advance! Good luck on your weight loss journeys 🙂
Libby

Wow, thank you both for sharing your progress. It helps me to focus knowing that the diet does work. I want 2017 to be the year that I finally succeed and I want to keep the weight off for life.

Well Done Rachel – it really isn’t easy but you did it – I’m not sure I could have stayed off the scales for that long though lol – FAR too curious but looks like it worked beautifully for you!

I am back within half a pound of my Christmas Eve weight – but since that was 2.5 lbs under my target I’m delighted. Just got to get used to this maintaining lark – really isn’t easy. How much is too much, how do I increase my calories but watch my carbs and not awaken the carb monster inside – all these and other questions will need to be answered if I’m going to be this weight come 2018!!

Congrats again and have a great day!

Hi all, have managed to get through the first of 8 weeks and I have to say it’s been a struggle at times but kept my head down and ploughed on. I’m absolutely gobsmacked! Got on the scales this morning and have lost 10lb in a week, just the boost I needed. Onwards and upwards and good luck to everyone trying this.

I have lost 8lbs in about 10 days. The headaches and really feeling rough have passed although I do feel hungry but not horrendously so. I have had barely any carbs and the ones I have had have been in the healthy food, not bread, rice etc.

I have had no sugar so it is as limited as it can be. Monitoring it all on Nutracheck website as I am a member there.

My blood sugar has fallen. This morning was 6.5 – it hasn’t been that low in the mornings (apart from the odd lucky hiccup) for at least a year or so.

Feeling less bloated, slightly slimmer and hopeful of continuing well.

Unfortunately I do not like the layout of this website and find it hard to navigate and use the forum so will only be on here a limited time.

It is, however, working!

Hi Lynne

They can be stars at times, can’t they.

My GP announced that I should double my dose of Metformin, which was OK by me as I don’t take it!

I can’t help thinking that the whole primary care system would be better if they took a couple of minutes to scan the notes in advance as the time would be easily recuperated in the rest of the consultation.

Hello HulaGirl and New Kathy

Welcome.

Just thought I’d share a bit of experience. I started BSD around five months ago.

Like you Kathy I aimed to lose around 45kg, albeit from a relatively high starting point of 150kg.
Hulagirl- I have eaten on average just over 900 calories a day but kept my carbs down to under 50g per day.

On my weigh-in this morning I’ve lost just under 33kg, so, whilst not easy, it is achievable, if you keep the faith and drink the water!

Hey! I’ve just started too and keep tipping over to 900/1000 calories (finding it quite tough!) but so far I’ve lost 8lbs in a week so I’m happy it’s doing something! Hope it’s going well 😊

Hello to anybody reading this! I have just started week 2 of the diet (having been suggested it my by doctor) Ive lost 8lbs so far so really pleased but I work shifts and tonight will be my first of two 8 hr night shifts. Before I would of been hammering the chocolate and biscuits to just stay awake but can anyone give me suggestions on what to eat which won’t bloat me out but will keep me going? I was thinking porridge but not sure? Any ideas gratefully received! 😊

Hi everyone
A happy new year to you all lets make this the best on ever!
Well here I am again about to start the 8 week plan.
Last year I lost 12 pounds over 4 weeks then went on holiday but kept it off despite not keeping to the 800 calories but by watching the carbs.
Then come the dark nights when the clocks go back I went on a massive carb fest and have put it all back and more!!
Sometimes I felt like I was watching a stranger stuffing all that food inside me asking them why are you doing this?
I never got a sensible answer!
Over Xmas came down with flu and started reading The Chimp paradox by Dr Steve Peters.
Revelation time!!!!
(I don’t do self help books come from old school background of pull yourself together and get on with it)
Time to stop beating myself up and start managing
So in the spirit of new year new beginnings some truths (I don’t do blogs, I don’t reveal my inner most feelings to strangers or even those close to me!!).
I am 57, 5ft 6in and 12 stone 2 pounds
I caught sight of myself in the mirror when changing 5 days ago and it was not a pleasant sight!

Things need to change
From today
I will keep a food diary
At the end of the day I will think of three good things that happened today and made me happy
And if possible one thing that made me laugh out loud
perhaps we could share the laugh out loud (Lucia is responsible for my recent one see her blog)

So day 1 starts

Well … what can I say?

Yesterday was hard and someone really upset me. Result – no sleep before midnight and awake since 3.30am.

Just back from the practice nurse after being called in for blood test and blood pressure. First she called me the wrong name as I walked in. I corrected her. Then asked if I’d had an HbA1c before😱!!! At that point I asked if she’d looked at my records. She said she had, then went to look!

So, she took the blood. Then checked blood pressure. Needless to say, it was high – surprised it wasn’t higher after the last 24 hours.

Grrrrrrrrr.