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

Thanks – I did wonder!

Personally I think that the odd ‘replacement’ bar is fine but absolutely not in the first few weeks. After 18 weeks on this plan I am fine with having the odd one (and I mean odd as I think I’ve had about 4 in the last 16 weeks) but in week one? Probably not – you need to wean yourself off the ‘need’ for sweet stuff because, let’s face it, it’s not a need, it’s a want and you can break that habit by not feeding it.

Molzify, you’re doing really well, have you weighed yourself yet – that can help with motivation, otherwise you might want to think about upping your fats for a couple of days until your carb monster succumbs to the relegation zone. Make sure you count the calories and make them as low carb as possible but that should help with the hunger. Nuts, lean meat, cheese, cream, things like that. Maybe beef jerky at a push (not highly advised because of the processing but if you’re desperate and on the run or in lectures a lot). Not sure how tight money is but hope that helps
TC

Hi thanks for your reply.
Where is the recipe for falafel please?
Yes I need to have some ready snacks !
I need to do this diet but I hate cooking!!

Your post reminds me on the differentials between sizing, I did a project in the summer of 2013 near Sacrmento. There was a big outlet mall near there. In the UK I wore 3XL/2XL but in the mall I seemed to be able to get into XL – now that was an, albeit delusional, ego boost.

Sorry should be ONE falafel

Hi Tubbypooh (great name)

I share your pain. I am in a house where Mme Maigret and two teenage sons who are all thin and , in Mme Maigret’s case has perfect Blood pressure and BS.

Not many tips to share but only the experience that it gets easier. I made the family pizzas and sticky toffee pudding last week and wasn’t tempted in the slightest. I had caponata and no dessert and I didn’t even think about it. If any, the BSD snacks to hand is a good idea then if you are strapped for time you can create a mezze type meal for the two of you whilst everyone else has “fussy” food.

My go-to snacks are boiled eggs and falafel. If you’d told me six months ago I could eat on falafel and be Ok, I’d have said you were nuts!

Well, it’s day five for me and my first weigh in day…lost 4.6lbs which is amazing -nearly a pound a day! I’m still feeling peckish, but not starving, and the grumps have about gone! I haven’t been very strict about weighing and measuring this week, but am going to be more so going forward as I am probably eating more than I think I am at the moment. I am going to spend some time meal planning this weekend as I am a bit concerned that as Jules Margret suggests I will end up only eating the same meals for convenience.

Hi Angela! I love the South of France. We travelled through Marseille, Cassis, Cannes, St. Tropez and so on one year during a 21 day vacation. It was so much fun and beautiful! I would love to go back and do it again without our kids this time around!!!

Wow! That was quite the long period of time to go without eating!!!! 17 hours. Did you feel hungry during that time?
I have to get a blood test next week so I’ll have to fast but hopefully only for about 12 to 13 hours. I can do that! The lab opens at 7 am so I should be able to get it done on the way to work. I’ll just have to make sure I remember to not eat or drink any calories from 7 pm on the night before.

Sounds like you’ll have two Friday’s this week! Nice!!!!!

Palo Alto is a very nice place to live and as I’m sure you know, very expensive to live there. It would be great for you to get to visit your brother there. Stanford University is a beautiful campus and the old part of downtown has so many wonderful shops and restaurants.

I had to giggle when I read the part in your post about the clothes in France catering to tiny French ladies. Every visit I’ve been on in other parts of the world have had tiny clothes. Living in the U.S. , there are clothes to buy for every size! On average we are a lot bigger here in the U.S. We eat too much junk food and don’t do enough exercise! There is a huge shopping outlet here that caters to tourists from other countries. Tour buses fill up the parking lots! One day I was shopping there and couldn’t find any clothes in my size; in fact most of the clothes were size small, or x-small, or xx-small. So I asked the clerk why that was and he told me it was because those were the common sizes of the tourists. Darn! There were some cute clothes but not much to find in my size. Now I might have better luck shopping there but there would have to be some medium sizes. I’m not in the small or x-small sizes—Yet !!!!

PEAK: Work was enjoyable and I was very busy so I didn’t get hungry. I was able to keep my calories down to a decent count.
PIT: I didn’t get a chance to work out yesterday and my iwatch lost power before the day was over so I missed out on some steps. It lost power before I made it to 10,000 steps. Shoot! I’m not sure I made it to 10,000 steps yesterday. Oh well! Today is another day.

Enjoy your weekend everyone! I’m hoping to just relax and enjoy being home without too much of anything planned. I still have some of those Christmas decorations to put away. Ugh!

It’s just not me. There is 4 of us , 2 are fussy eaters and not on diet . So I have to have food for them .
Yes I need to get organised !
I will get it together in the end .
I so don’t want to take medication .

Iwanttobeslim, it is not as ridiculous as it seems. Withdrawal symptoms from sugar and carbs is very real, it produces a hormone (I forget which one now) which gives you a high (serotonin???) and releases endorphins which make you feel good. It can be as bad as giving up cigarettes how many people here talk about having carb flu. These people have been put in an unnatural situation and they cannot just grab something to overcome the withdrawal whereas we can ‘slip up’ if we need to. Having said that, I still don’t have any sympathy for the muppets who are just doing this for the money and publicity and not really for their health.

Hi libbyohno!

How exciting that it might snow! I hope it does for you. I love the snow; probably because I haven’t had to live in it :–).
Where do you live?

Sorry about eating those cashews and how it brought up your calorie total for the day! I have eaten way too many cashews and pecans this week. I managed to cut back yesterday and only had 10! I think nuts seem to satisfy me as a substitute for refined carbs. I will have to keep working on not letting myself have too many at a time. My favorite nut is the macadamia nut! I could eat the entire container if I didn’t care about the calories. :–) I also have to try to not eat too much cheese as well! I love cheese now that I’m not eating refined carbs or too many carbs from any source.

Good luck with your food and drink today!

Does anybody know if there is a simple food list to use when following the BSD.
and when following this list, we get the necessary nutrients etc
I think the menus in the book are too complicated.
I would very much like a simple list to create our own daily simple meals.

Tubbypooh, it is not that you have no willpower, no-one has when faced with certain circumstances, tiredness, lack of time etc. One main aspect of this diet is that it needs organisation and forward thinking and planning. Clear the house of temptation if you have no willpower, make sure you have plenty of BSD friendly go to snacks, make some meals to freeze or keep in the fridge or have a few recipes that are quick and easy. You could have made an omelette, maybe you had no eggs, that’s what I mean about being organised, write a weekly menu plan and make sure you have all the foods you need plus staples for emergencies.

You say you got in late and tried to put something together but it sounds as though you had time to go to the chippy or wait for the take out to deliver so it was not TIME but lack of preparation. Take the weekend to sit down and get organised and be ready to go on Monday. Better still, take today and be ready to start tonight.

Good luck, there is always help here.