Shanshu, im planning to start in a couple of days I just want to be fully prepared. I’ll be doing my weekly shop to make sure I have plenty of veggies and protein. A go to snack or light meal that I enjoy is biiled eggs. They keep well if u leave the skin on until ur ready to eat them then just peel and enjoy with a tea or coffee low calorie high protein keeps u going till u get ur hands on a proper meal

Hi Chrysalis – that sounds a good idea. How are you finding it so far? You must be on Day 5 I’m guessing?

I detest all types of fish and seafood and don’t even think in terms of substituting. If I see a recipe or recommendation for a fish meal I just turn the page and eat something else. You can eat pretty much any protein on this diet so there is chicken, most lean meat, eggs, cheese, nuts, avocados, some of which will give you the good oils that fish do (google what to eat to get omega3 and 6) as well as spinach and lots of other things.

Chuck the fish back in the sea and enjoy your food.

I think the scales that measure fat only measure total overall body fat and are massively inaccurate, to measure visceral fat you need to have a scan. Not really possible but there is a body type called TOFI, thin on the outside fat inside (also toffee because you are shaped like a toffee rather than an apple or a pear) so even though you are tall and slim you could still be carrying a lot of visceral fat.

As for the diabetes diagnosis, you don’t give any figures (i.e. your HbA1c or even finger prick reading) do you know what they are. As for there being different types of diabetes, there are 3 types. Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1 you would probably have known about as it manifests from a young age or teens/twenties, Gestational Diabetes is developed during pregnancy so I doubt you have that, then there is Type 2 which you have been diagnosed as. If you numbers are quite low you could be pre-diabetic but without numbers I don’t know. When you see the nurse you might be given a glucose tolerance test at some time where you fast, then drink a sugary drink and have your BG tested at various intervals to see how quickly, or slowly, BG returns within a normal range. I personally had a HbA1c of 11.5 (very high) and my doctor just sent me for a second test with full instructions to fast although I had for the first as I was actually being checked for cholesterol but having a full blood works. My second test came back the same so I was put straight onto medication. Nearly 12 years ago diet could be tried but not at my level, it had to be brought down quickly, that was my downfall. Oh if only I knew what I know now.

Let’s assume that you do have diabetes (and I was slim when diagnosed 58kg but only 5 foot tall) and it is quite likely, although lets hope it is in the pre-diabetes range. Anyway saying that, here are 2 pieces of advice as you seem to want to know about it. 1. buy a book from The Dummies range called Diabetes for Dummies, it is excellent and simple and clear and easy to understand and goes through everything. Second, right now there is a course being run by http://www.FutureLearn.com called The Diabetes Epidemic. ust 2 weeks of a few minutes a day studying but you can take it at your own pace. It is free and open to anyone and should be useful to you.

If you have any more questions, I am not qualified but I used to be a registered nurse so know something, done the Diabetes course with FL and currently doing The Science of Nutrition with FL just because it interests me. So I dont usually talk out of my bum and if I don’t know the answer there are plenty on here who do.

Good luck.

Thank you to everyone who posted, you’ve mentioned things that I hadn’t connected with the BSD (so far I’ve lost 20lbs since November, well chuffed!) Sense of smell: mine seemed very poor and I always woke up with a ‘stuffy’ nose which seems to have cleared. I can smell the scented candles that I’ve been using since Christmas. I thought that they were just strong but now I’m going to take more notice. Looking forward to summer when I’ll be able to smell flowers in the garden again!
An irritating cough which used to start as soon as I lay down seems to have disappeared, maybe it was all of that weight on my throat and stomach!
Making beds is so much easier and quicker now that I can stretch further without my stomach getting in the way! as is using a dustpan and brush on the floor.
Wearing clothes that are so much more comfortable although some of them are just not wearable any more. Has anyone else noticed that tops are hanging strangely around their neck? I must have lost fat from my shoulders..! One of my motivations is to wear nice bras again, I’ve hated wearing horrible, broad strapped, digging in contraptions, and am looking forward to the day when I’ll be proud to hang them out on the washing line for anyone to see! I’m sure that my shoes are looser too. It’s a journey of discovery isn’t it? I’ll be forever grateful to Dr M 🙂

Hi Shanshu, I have started this week and would be happy to keep you company on the journey. Like you I often dont get a lunch break so taking protein smoothie for lunch on busy days, with spinach in for good measure (you don’t taste it but it is full of goodness) is fine as it is nutritionally balanced and is much better than snacking because you are hungry

Hi Roxanna – your story has given me a lot of hope. My starting weight is a fraction above yours and it’s been a few years since I was at your current weight and I’m very excited about the prospect of possibly being that weight again (and hopefully eventually much less).

I’m going to do my best to cut out carbs by the time I start the 800 diet starting tomorrow. I have several nights in hotels coming up a few night’s business, and the rest pleasure) so being low carb will be hard but I’ll give it a good go.

When are you planning on starting back on the 800 diet?

I tried a ready meal from Boots. It was made with konjac noodles and should have been an ideal low cal, high fibre meal. However, it was absolutely disgusting! Evidenced by the fact that when I took the others back and the girl on the till said food was non returnable she was overruled by the supervisor who agreed it was too disgusting for words. I must say I find a pack of konjac noodles stirred into a stir fry helps to fill me up.

The other thing I read about is XO sauce, for Chinese food. I used it instead of oyster sauce, which is quite high carb, and it was really good. There are cheap versions which are quite carby, but I bought the low/no carb version which was much more expensive. You can get it on Amazon but I went to a Chinese supermarket.

Actually I’m not such a dummy with computers, I just searched excel spreadsheet and found a post by hashimoto who claims to have created one, search hashimoto. Maybe I’ll just doze off again.

Have you searched in the search box, I know someone on here was looking to do the same some time ago. Dont know if they succeeded as I doze off at the words app or computer, I can only just about manage to type on the site.

A day of not eating much sugar (in the form of starchy carbs) can leave you feeling really down and grouchy. If I’d only had veg and spiralized courgette ‘spaghetti’ I’d be feeling both healthier for the veg, but very irritable at the same time.

However, having read the book Wheat Belly, by Dr William Davis, I would now not think it a good thing to have eaten a good portion of even freshly ground farmhouse wheat grain bread, or wholesome granola. The wheat would have provided the participants on Sugar Free Farm with plenty of sugar in the form of Amylose-A, which apparently has a higher glycaemic index than sucrose (sugar)!!

I found the recipe book really good, and during my 8 week diet tried a lot of the recipes and never got bored. The risotto using bulgar wheat was a favourite, and I still cook it regularly since I’ve completed the 800 calorie diet, and now on the 5:2 one.

The diet certainly worked for me, I lost about 2.5 Stone in 3 months and I just got my blood test back from the GP and my blood sugar level is back to normal – it was 7.1 after fasting before I started the diet.

Hi shanshu I’m also British, female and 36 years old. So almost a perfect match lol. I got diagnosed with type 2 about a year and half ago. Sadly my docs where not so supportive of low carb diets but I still went ahead and researched on ways to reverse diabetes when I found this site. I completed 8 weeks about 6 months ago and I lost a lot of weight. I started weighing 107kg and I know weigh about 85.5 kg. I still have quite a bit to lose but as I’ve fell off the 809 Cals I’ve not been losing any weight. I want to start back and I would love to share support and get some too. At the moment I’m eating low carb high fat. I’m trying to warn myself off of the carbs just as mixnmatch suggested. I’ve had my blood test done last week. Hoping to get some good news. Can’t wait to start the 800.

I don’t think I could have got through the diet without coffee, I drink about 5 espressos a day! I stopped having sugar and milk in coffee about 30 years ago, and the My Fitness app said there was only a few calories in each coffee, so figured it was safe.

If you’re looking for something a bit different, one of my Indian colleagues recommended Tulse Tea from Pukka, which is meant to reduce blood sugar. You drink it without sugar or milk and has a slight citrus flavour.

I wonder whether the NHS guidelines recommend starchy carbohydrates as a way to maintain blood sugar levels in patients who might suddenly experience real low blood sugar and who might even keel over as a result? Wholegrain carbs such as rice and quinoa and other carbs, can help people feel fuller for longer even if the amounts eaten are relatively modest (say, 25g – 40g per meal). A low-carb meal without any starchier carbs such as those mentioned above might leave a diabetic person at risk of lower blood sugars than perhaps a healthier person might experience.

For those who aren’t diabetic, a very low carb diet might be a tolerable way to reduce weight and fat quickly, giving them an achievable head-start to address weight and diet issues and to avoid developing diabetes. Not everyone can cope with the very low-carb diet though, and hunger pangs or cravings can crop up easily and so sabotage their efforts by leading them to easily available carbs such as bread, biscuits, sweets, crisps, and fries.

I would think that people with type 2 diabetes would be better off being supported in their efforts to reduce carbs and weight, as it can be quite difficult for many relatively well people to do this consistently without turning to easy to get carbs, especially as alternatives to bread often involve some preparation and cooking. It is just as well, that this programme recommends that diabetic people involve their GPs.

That said, general dietary advice to eat starchy carbs seems different from programmes such as the Blood Sugar Diet, and different from the advice in books such as Wheat Belly by Dr William Davis, and Eat Fat Get Thin by Dr Mark Hyman. The latter two suggest that it is fat and the condition of being overweight that actually make it very difficult to get slim. One points to the role of modern wheat in helping create obese people, while the other emphasizes the need to eat good fats and to reduce the use of starchy carbs and sugar which drive fat production in the liver.

Julesmaigret..if you’re heading to my neck of the woods next week bring warm clothes; it’s freezing just now.

I’m definitely envious of the shopping mall, Janet. My husband used to travel to Seattle on business and he’d bring back wonderful stuff. I’m still using some fabulous Ralph Lauren sheets he picked up in a sale. Super quality..Clothes sizes are just plain weird though. In France the sizes tend to be small because french ladies like to say they wear small sizes and they’re tiny anyway but I’ve never really worked out italian sizes. It will be nice to be mainstream is what I think.

Hopefully I’ll visit my brother one day. Up till recently he went back to visit our mother in the UK and we’d get together there. Now mum has passed away, we’ll have to organise things differently. He has less holiday than we do in Europe.

So pleased you enjoyed the South of France..I’m about 30 mins inland from Cannes. Did you come on an organised tour or do it yourself? We’re on the cruise ship itinerary too and the coast does get crowded in Summer.

Bad luck about the tracker. It’s astonishing how motivating it is though I’ve worked like a demon today but barely any steps to show for it…I will give it hell tomorrow!

Fasting: I built up to the 16 hours really, started by pushing breakfast later when I wasn’t hungry and after a few days found I work better on 3 meals closer together so I eat around 12.30, have a hefty (by BSD standards) snack round 4.30 then dinner about 7.30. Mid afternoon I could eat anything so I find actually acknowledging it with a meal rather than nibble at stuff works better for me. Your timetable is quite different to mine so it may not work.

My peak scales are continuing to inch down, more slowly than some but then I’ve never been hardcore!

My lowest point, forgetting to put my tracker on so all those leaves I swept up counted for nothing 😉

I wish you all a pleasant enjoyable weekend…Angela

I know this works – I lost 12 kgs in Aug/Sept. crept back since to being 10kg down from start. (10% of body weight). And off blood pressure meds. I need to loose more for healthy BMI but every time I try and get refocused I blow it.

Today I was perfectly on route to 800 cal and then the supermarket cookies fell into my hands and from there to my mouth. That is the story of January – almost but then…

I just can’t seem to get the starting oomph I did in the summer, despite having having more belief in this way of eating than I did then. Humans – we are a weird lot!

Some foods I cannot imagine eating again if put in front of me (mashed potato, pasta swirls), some I don’t care about (rice, white sliced) and the stuff that calls to me – fancy bakery bread, salt and vinegar posh crisps and cookies….

Do others have a mix of reactions to the banned items – some scary triggers while others are just a ‘shrug’?

Now if only I could apply all I know and actually get going properly… sigh.

I’m just going to add that I eat ‘real’ food all the time. I just eat too much of it and sometimes resort to carb meals because of convenience and unfortunately that plus a sedentary lifestyle has led to steady weight gain and eventual diabetes diagnosis.

I’m hoping that the shock of that will spur me to both do this diet and exercise more and, of course, reduce my blood sugar.

I’m loving the diet especially the fresh tastes and the health benefits for my family.
As the one that shops and cooks, I have been looking for an electronic meal planner where I can plan and select meals for the week ahead, see the calorie cost and generate a shopping list. So far I have found a pretty good excel pivot table and in the process of populating the recipes, ingredients etc.I wondered if anyone has already done this or are aware of a good site or program that would do this?
I’m happy to share the finished results.

Hi CaliforniaGirl – thank you for your tips. I love stir fries etc so was only thinking of shakes/bars when I’m stuck. My biggest concern about not having meal replacements to hand is that I frequently don’t get to stop for lunch or work late and I think that will make me more likely to reach for something easy to keep me going.

Whilst it’s simple enough to make up a salad, I don’t always have the luxury of a fridge to keep it cool (or I may be on the move). Any tips on easy lunchtime meals I can prep in advance that can be kept at room temperature?

5 days completed now and It is not as hard as I imagined. Having said that – I have really been averaging 900 calories. I am not skipping breakfast, just keeping it minimal (100g of yoghurt and 50g of frozen berries) I can see a decrease on the scales and will officially record at the end of the week. I do feel healthier already, a bit more energy and no side-effects so far. I went shopping with my daughters this week and have refrained from buying any clothes. I am reminding myself that it would be a waste of money ….. because I am going to lose all this weight and any purchase now will be too big soon (I hope).

My hurdle today is my nieces’s 21st Birthday party this evening. I will try to minimise the calories during the day and make good choices this evening. I am pleased that I have not eaten any “white stuff” and I do not miss it. To satisfy the chocolate addiction I have had about 4 squares of the 70% Lindt over the week.

So far so good. Thank you everyone for all the postings. I cannot believe that there are already 36 posts since I started this thread 5 days ago.

Thanks Shanshu

a year or 2 ago the gym I go to had a very fancy machine – loaned by the local health authority – which measured all sorts of things eg. blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat, etc., etc.. If I remember correctly, I think my body fat was around the 15-16%, however, I didn’t really checkout what this meant/how accurate it was

David

Hi Shanshu! Welcome to the forum — Mixnmatch gave you good advice, start NOW, even if only to cut out all sugar (in all forms), flour, bread, refined carbs, potato, corn, peas — anything high carb — and you will immediately benefit and probably avoid the more irritating aspects of “carb-withdrawal” when you start in earnest. It takes a bit of time to wrap your head around the low carb thing, so it’s good to practice!
I’m going to encourage you NOT to use any Atkins bars or other pre-made foods — making simple food is so easy and you don’t have to do any recipes at all — I never did the BSD recipes, just made simple things like 3 ingredient beef stir fry (green onions, broccoli and sliced steak — my “sauce” for that is 1teaspoon soy sauce, 1teaspoon catsup (organic so no high fructose corn syrup), 1teaspoon wine or mirin, a couple drops toasted sesame oil, dried ginger, red pepper flakes and dried or fresh garlic) (that’s for one person) or a chicken breast roasted in oven with a side of sautéed greens and some other green veg — I found simple food was much easier and more satisfying.
It is super important to start eating and making real food so you are getting nutrition and learning how to feed yourself and nurture yourself in a new way.

Hi, I am a newbie and looking forward reducing my weight/ losing fat as so many of you have succeded in doing.
However, I have a fish allergy and wonder what I can substitute for fish which seems to be an important part of the Med. diet?
Thanks.

Hi DavidA – I’m also a newbie (today in fact).

I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong but I’m sure most modern electronic scales in the £30+ range measure visceral fat by passing an electronic current through you.

Hi JennyD…as I am starting out I am learning too, but what is key for me is keeping my mind and fingers active. There are some helpful tips on here too…drink lots of water – I aim for 2 to 3 litres a day, and fruit teas too. I haven’t weighed food this week, but I’m going to start because it will be easy to go over 800 calories, people on the threads use my fitness pall or fat secret in the main. I felt rubbish for the first few days but stick with it because it does get better. There are lots of lovely looking recipes on here too if you need some inspiration, and I find checking in here regularly and finding out how others are getting on helps keep me motivated. I’m 50 in July so am hoping to lose a lot of weight before that. It would be great if you want to keep me company and we can help each other with some moral support 😊

Thanks donnyman

Interesting – I didn’t know there are other types of diabetes; so far the only option I’ve been given is to see the Diabetes specialist nurse @ the surgery

how do you get checked by a specialist? via your GP or go private

David

Thanks sunshine-girl

I’m 6’4″ & my weight varies between 82 & 85kg; I actually feel better @ the 84/85 kg level. As I work-out hard 3 or 4 times per week – & hoping to play league cricket in a few months – my difficulty is maintaining my weight eg on a Saturday morning – my toughest day @ the gym – I typically ‘use’ over 1K calories

I’ve vaguely heard of visceral fat but have no idea how to measure it; must check this out

I’ve obviously got a lot to learn
David

Exactly 2 weeks in on my second serious burst of BSD800 having lost lots last year over a 7 month period, but finding 7 kg crept back on in the latter few months of 2016. Life went a bit pear shaped and meds helped to increase the weight. However I’m now 5 kilos down in 2 weeks – being very strict with food and water intake as well as doing the #1000milechallenge. 44 miles so far, mix of walks and runs. Another 3 to get back to last year’s lowest weight and then I would like to lose another 6-9 kilos more. One day at a time…

I share your “interest” in Waitrose’s reduced section – Kale and spinach always seem to be available at about 20p a pack and last a good few days post-sale. Also an excuse to stock up on the Dominican Republic 90% choccy.

I’ve also lost all interest in the bakery section – too sweet. I’m at a client in the South of France in a couple of weeks so the French bread may be a bit more of a challenge!

For booze, I’m currently really not bothering, but I need to come up with a way of bringing wine back in, in moderation.

Good to hear things are looking better – hopefully you can have a good weekend and relax.
On the thermal vest front, that is yet another advantage of losing all the weight – you can now wear as many layers as you need to without being confused with a snowman!
Julia

OMG almond croissants are really my favourite pastry of all… I am so impressed that they don’t impress you. Booze is my weakness too. Wine every night – I always think of it as grown-up sweeties. However, am doing dry Jan – and hoping to keep dry until weight lost (other than for special occasions). Your talk of croissants and homemade Xmas cake is making me very hungry!!!! My carb monster is growling…..

Well, Jenni, I’m afraid your interpretation is just plain wrong. Before I embarked on the BSD, I spent some time looking at the public sources for studies supporting the theory and whilst there is a good basic body of scientific research, that’s what it is, a number of small research projects.

So I believe the science – I wouldn’t be doing the diet if I didn’t, but my “belief” is no substitute for the hard clinical studies and detailed evaluation with representative samples of the wider population and the results subject to full peer review. I’m willing to put faith in it for my health but I don’t believe that means we should expect national health authorities to change their policies until there is the evidence.

My view is that medical professionals will, and probably should, err on the side of caution until there is conclusive evidence. Consequently, that’s why even though I do not have a lot of time for my GP and I similarly value my nurse’s professionalism and constructive challenge and healthy scepticism, but I equally understand why they aren’t yet going to run out and recommend it to everyone who walks through the door.

I have issues with the UK approval process and the current funding model for academic clinical trials, but I would rather the time was taken to ensure that this is suitable for a wide population and has no unforeseen side-effects for the general population or for groups with other common health problems.. History is on my side – remember: thalidomide was an effective treatment for nausea and was therefore prescribed or recommended for morning sickness. That scandal led to a tightening of the clinical studies regulations in the US, UK and Germany.

I know there are fast track processes for new drugs (flu vaccines, Ebola, AZT etc) but new non-drug treatments seem to pose a problem.

I trust that this clarifies my position.

Hi leeha, I don’t follow the recipes in the book either. I tend to favour stir fries (in butter) as they are quick and easy. It took a short time to get used to thinking in terms of low carb high fat as opposed to low fat, but my goodness how much tastier everything is! Some people find low carb replacements for starchy things, I just go without.

In the colour section of 8 Week BSD diet book there is a picture entitled Blood Sugar Diet favourite ingredients, you might find it useful for reference.
All the best to you!

Thanks everyone. 😀

I was upset because I was very loudly and very publicly criticised for something so trivial (and basically untrue) that it should have been laughable. In fact someon spread it around the village here and folk seem to think it was funny – aimed at the person that said it, rather then me. I could have taken action that night, but knew it was out of chtracter and the person concerned has a lot of worries at the moment. But that didn’t stop me being hurt and upset, then losing lots of sleep. But I’ve had lots,of support from some colleagues and folk in the village so some good has come out of it all. And, of course, your comments and support on here.

Then, today, I was conducting a funeral. I kept a careful eye on the weather, in case it was going to snow. And it did. So I had on not one, but two, thermal vests! And wore my boots. But it was very cold and very windy at the cemetery. I have thawed out now. 😀

KrysiaD – I have offered on more than one occasion to go in to talk to the GP and/or a group of diabetics. The silence has been deafening. But a local Health Educator is hiring my hall for a ten-week course of sessions on exercise and healthy eating. Although she knows about the BSD, and supports it, she has to go with the party line because she works for the NHS. She’s just had some new training, so it will be interesting to hear what she advocates now! I might need to keep my mouth firmly shut!!!

On the other hand I made my own Christmas cake this year, and it is currently sat in my dining room, only half eaten by the family at Christmas. I will have a small slice with a fresh coffee and cream tomorrow afternoon and then no more until next week. Hopefully it will keep until I finish it in such small slices, as my OH has not got a sweet tooth at all. Being made by me, I did make sure it used Spelt and Buckwheat flour rather than wheat, but a 100 gram slice is still 365 cals and 46g carbs so it is a good job I am not restricted to 800/50 any more. 😀

Honestly I don’t really crave any of that stuff any more. I used to have a regular Waitrose almond croissant habit, with my Waitrose card they let you have a free coffee and almost every day I used to stop in on my way home from work and have a cappuccino and an almond croissant. I stopped today, I still go many days a week, because the reduced section is great for a really fantastic selection of dead cheap fruit and veg, I had a black coffee and went to look at my old habitat, they had been reduced, it was 39p, but my nose literally wrinkled. I didn’t fancy it at all. Far too sweet and sickly looking with all that icing sugar over it. I had a dessert with lunch today of one raw fig, one medjool date and a teaspoon of clotted cream left over from Christmas. It was lovely. Your tastes really do move away from sugar and that excessive sweetness after a while. Now alcohol is a different matter, and one yet to be fully addressed when I approach my goal. Luckily I am quite picky about what and when I drink at the moment, and I have hopes that I can continue this in some form into maintenance, for example only drinking on weekends maybe. At least now i am aware that a bottle of wine contains enough calories at 800 for a whole days nutrition, only without most of the nutrition 😁

My thoughts exactly Julia 😀

Mixnmatch it is reassuring to hear that you too have lost several stone and put it on again in the past yet you feel that this is the one, this is the one you feel you can maintain, have treats, get back to etc. long term. Also what you say about having a day where you must break it – and that all is not lost, in fact it’s a 6:1! I like your attitude and feel motivated by your ease with the diet and how you actually like it. Fingers crossed I can get to that place too – that’s where I want to be. My challenging question for you is this – do you REALLY TRULY think that carb monster is in its cage? Do you not walk past ***shop (***insert your fave thing in the world – mine: creme brûlée or pastries!) and think “if only”, or “when”?

Good luck all 9th Jan-ers!

No it doesn’t help really Jules Maigret. My interpretation of your regular comments on this is an undermining of its science. How long are you suggesting that normal after meal BGLs and normal HbA1c’s for up to 5-6 years aren’t reversed. Yes those of us with longer than 5 years of diabetes may not stay ‘reversed’ but at least for now we are. Call it remission if you like but not having it is not having it.

Hi MixnMatch – thank you for the excellent advice and welcome.

I will take your advice and start low carbs now. I do this most days because I know I should but I often have days off because of inconvenience and I’ll just make sure I’m stricter with myself. So thanks for that tip!

I’ve looked at the Atkins bars and shakes because they will be low carb as well as low calorie so may use them but will check out the shakes you suggested as well – thanks.

Hi all – I’m just responding to earlier comments regarding the support or lack thereof of GPs and nurses in your local surgery and just wanted to add my experience for comparison/contrast.

I didn’t have a specific GP until the end of last year – I basically saw whoever was free. I’d walk in with a sore throat and on more than one occasion, male doctors both permanent and locums tried to start a conversation with me about gastric band surgery despite this not being the reason I had visited and without having any knowledge about my personal history and the possible causes/factors in my weight gain. (I should point out that whilst I am overweight, I was a size 22 so would have thought that it was better to be talking about dieting and exercise at that weight rather than surgery at that point?) One of these doctors put me on metformin before I was diabetic because he said it would help if I wanted to get pregnant in a few years. It made me feel ill so I came off.

When I had a routine blood test a year and a half ago, it returned a diabetic level reading. The male doctor told me that they needed two readings at that level to diagnose diabetes. Instead of giving advice, referring me to a dietician with the goal of running a blood test in a few months to confirm the diagnosis, he just told me to go back on the metformin even though it upset my stomach.

Which I did. For awhile and then stopped when the tummy troubles were just too much. And then eventually knew that I had to push the issue myself and saw a nice female locum who agreed I should have another blood test and advised me to see a particular female GP at the surgery who specialises in my condition (PCOS). I had the blood tests before Christmas and wasn’t called by the surgery so thought they were alright. I booked an appointment with the new doctor anyway over something else and asked about my results when I was there and when she looked at them, she gave me the diabetic diagnosis.

She then immediately told me to go out and buy the BSD diet book so I could attempt to reverse it before going down the medication route again. This doctor said that most of the surgery were promoting the book to their patients who they thought would benefit from it (this was confirmed by the nurse I saw later that day who also told me to get the book).

So maybe the word is starting to get out there…

Hi Shanshu and welcome to the forum. It probably makes a bit of sense to start moving yourself mentally over towards the BSD way of looking at things by starting the Way of Life diet now, which is much the same foods as a general rule, but not counted. Just try to simply give up the ‘white stuff’ and added sugar straight away and it will help straight away as you start exploring alternatives. It may even help you avoid the carb flu that many people experience. There are some ready meals and soups that are of sufficiently high quality with no added rice, potato, flour or sugar, although they can be a little dear, and I swear by the salad as a work lunch even with snow on the ground as it was today. Get used to reading ingredients labels. I don’t think many people use shakes or bars, but some people may have some suggestions. I use a low carb high protein shake called ‘For Goodness Shakes Ultimate Protein’ which replaces my evening meal on days when I am training at that meal time, but I am sure plenty of others are available.

Hi – I’m 37 years old, British, female and about to commence the BSD 8 week Fast 800 for the first time on 30th Jan.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes just 2 days ago. I’ve probably been diabetic for a year and a half but my first diabetic reading was not followed up by my GP surgery and it was only at my prompting that a new blood test was done at the end of last year confirming my diagnosis (but again I had to chase my surgery for an appt to follow up on these tests).

On the positive side, my GP (once I finally got to see her) told me that she thought I had 3 years to get this under control and reverse it before it became much harder to do so. She recommended the BSD and she believes I can use it to reverse my diagnosis. So I read the book and now I’m here, getting a plan together and looking for someone planning to start on the same day so we can champion and support each other.

This is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. I have struggled with my weight for a long time. There are a lot of reasons for this – I have a sedentary job and am not a fan of exercise (other than walking which I love). I don’t often eat unhealthily (I don’t binge and whilst the occasional takeaway is enjoyed, I don’t live in McDonalds) but I do eat far more ready meals than I should and when I don’t I probably eat more than I need to. I’ve had polycystic ovarian syndrome since childhood and from that developed insulin resistance so the weight started going on in mid twenties and has crept up by about 10lbs a year despite frequent attempts to cut out carbs (always scuppered by needing to get a sandwich or a ready meal for convenience when working through lunch or working late).

I really enjoy eating fresh healthy food and whilst the 800 calories is a big drop in daily consumption I think I can handle it. My biggest issue is around convenience. I’m not good at planning meals in advance and my job means I don’t often get lunch breaks. I think I’m going to have to resort to meal replacements drinks or bars on some days when I don’t have time to stop.

I’m determined to do this because I don’t want this diagnosis or to constantly be on medication. I quit smoking just over 3 months ago on my own without any nicotine replacement therapy and if I can do that, I can do this.

I think.
With support.
And a new friend or two to share the challenge with me…

Hi everyone,

I am starting on Monday 16th I have bought the book and the recipe book. I have spent most of my life on a diet.

We can do this

Good luck everyone

xx

I don’t follow the recipes in the book (although I do have a copy now, and may try a few of those that have been particularly highly recommended) all you need to do in essence is cut out any sugar other than that in a limited amount of fruit and vegetables and full fat dairy, cut out all of the ‘white stuff’ which is white rice, pasta, potatoes and bread, and also non wholemeal wheat flour for me. The only other thing you have to do is count everything. It has been relatively easy to make a small repertoire of familiar dishes over to the BSD style using my usual freestyle cooking technique. Cottage pie (with mashed cauli), chilli con carne and cauli or broccoli (or both) rice or mash, are just two of our regular meals that I BSDised and are now favourites of my OH as well as me.

As I understand it, 800 calories is a minimum designed to allow a nutritious Med style low calorie diet, while keeping vitamins and minerals high enough without over supplementing. I know Michael suggests one multivitamin every two days as possibly desirable while on the 800 fast diet, and I did follow that advice, but with 800 calories and a sufficiently varied selection of food there shouldn’t be any major lacks in vitamins and minerals without doing that. Some people who struggle to manage on the 800 have used slightly higher calories with some success, however since the only study we have, as well as the years of anecdotal evidence that the bariatric surgery 800 calorie diet acts the same, most have used this figure, ranging from petite ladies to really tall gentlemen. The main reason most have stated for upping the calories slightly is intensive training, as this really can put a strain on the nutrition, particularly as the proportion of protein must be higher and therefore to stick to 800 calories the proportion of fat must be lower. Over my 8 weeks I averaged about 850 but that included 1 day off where I ate and drank at a dinner party, trying to make good choices, but definitely having a lot of alcohol.

Hi all,
Also a newbie to BSD started Jan 9 too, also new to forums so excuse my me if I don’t follow the etiquette. This week has been much easier than I thought possible and I am more confident than I have ever been starting a diet. Thank you for all the advice and positive comments, feels like a genuine support network. I hope to be able to join you all in this journey. I have about 15 kg to use (2stoneish I think) I live in Sweden so some things are hard to come by but so far using recipes from the bsd recipe book is going well.

Jenni, thanks for your response. What I am struggling with is that it defies sense that 800 calories should be the figure for everyone regardless of their starting weight/level of exercise – it must surely be an approximation to work towards?

Hi Chrysalis,

I am starting on Monday the 15th. I have spent my whole life on a diet I need to be in control before my 40th in March.
All tips will be appreciated

Good luck on your journey

xx