Hi all, thank you everyone for your kind words and congratulations, I am definitely doing the happy dance!

VERANO yes it is easy to get singularly focused on weight loss when there’s so much more to living la vida healthy. The weight loss payoff gives us a real boost, but a gain or even static scales can send us down in the dumps if we’re not careful. For all my successes I still have a way to go in the area of fitness. I have lost my focus there completely and the occasional walk or HIIT is not where I want to be. So my goals for this next phase are to set a regular exercise routine and focus on fitness. I think it is especially important if I want to come off my bp meds altogether! I’m hoping that being able to eat a few more calories will give me more energy; that combined with my higher thyroxine dose!

I’m off to dig out my exercise gear… now, where DID I put those leg warmers…

Hi bal17,
there are a few ideas in this thread https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/needed-800-diet-ideas-to-help-vegetarians-and-vegans/
good luck.

Hi Jande9,
As Esnecca says, some veg is very high carb. If you are currently losing and comfortable with your progress then carry on, but if you find progress slowing or stopping, then definitely weigh everything for a few days and count the carbs – they are more important than the calories. The veg to watch out for are the root veg (unfortunately for the winter soups 🙁 ), but salads, green leafy veg etc are fine to just eat – watch out for tomatoes, they are higher than you think.

Hi Way of life,
It happens to us all and what is important is you realise and get back on the wagon – which you have done – well done!

So a quick update, I started on Monday and by Tuesday saw a loss of 4 lbs – I didn’t trust that I’d lost it so quickly so I’ve bought new scales! My weight tends to fluctuate by a few lbs at various times of the day so I have to weigh myself at the same time on this diet. From his morning I’ve lost 6 lbs. The new scales arrive today and I’ll be more confident on the figures with them, I’ll also check my waist measurement tonight and see if that tells the same story.

I found Day 1 very difficult, I was moody and felt a bit lost, didn’t see how I would keep going if it’s that bad. It didn’t help that I had the courgette carbonara which was tiny! Last night I had steak and made the red cabbage coleslaw and it was so good, feeling optimistic now.

Thanks Granny, Dreamscometrue and Angela have just put in an order for the recipe book, so looking forward to more variety in the diet.

Hi everyone

Daisiesmum that’s really great news. Amazing how we now see a ‘celebration’. Wonderful isn’t it !! Reading through your post made me realise that I’ve lost my focus.

When I started BSD 6 months ago, it was because I have diabetes and a friend of mine , who also has diabetes, had lost one toe in 2015 and was having a problem with a second one. So I started to research and found and read ‘ the book’ and decided that I needed to lose a minimum of 10% of my body weight in order to control my diabetes and with the eventual aim of coming off metformin.

Today, I seem to be more concerned about the weight itself than the reasons for losing it. In part, I think this is because my HbA1c was ‘normal’ at my last review in late October. Since then I’ve stuck to the principles of LCHF but have only lost a further 5lbs!!! I still have lots that I could lose but seem to be on the 1lb on/off merry-go-round.

I need to get back to weighing food, logging and planning but keeping my main goal in focus …. controlling, or even reversing, my diabetes.

Have a good day.

Wow shadynook – those are awesome results and I bet that half the population (without T2) don’t have BS results of 39 – that’s amazing – well done!! And the weight loss can’t be bad either – you should feel extremely proud of yourself.

And Daisiesmum – I feel a bit like I’ve been waiting for this appointment with you, following your journey to target, wanting to get there before yesterday – and you did!! And it paid off in spades – doing a happy dance with you 🙂

My 2lb gain over the weekend is stubbornly sticking around – it will not derail me, it will not derail me – don’t think about the two boxes of chocolate in the office cupboard….do NOT think about them….

Hi Lynne

I hadn’t realised, but as far as I can remember, that was the first time I’ve eaten any bread in over 6 months!!! Equally I’ve not had any rice, potatoes or pasta. So I suppose I am really sticking quite well to the ‘principles’. I have to be honest and say that I very rarely miss any of those carbs just very occasionally when my OH is eating something carby!!!

My main ‘downfalls’ are oatcakes and red wine. Also, I think I’ve become so used to ‘guessing’ the weight of food, apart from breakfast which I weigh every morning, that I’m now completely out of the habit of logging my carbs and calories.

I will start logging again.

Glad to hear you’re keeping busy hope it’s not too busy!

Still can’t work out why it’s such a roller coaster even when you are doing it properly! Miss Ziggy you are s lovely x

Hi everyone

Mixnmatch the mind ‘boggles’. Is it even possible to carry 50kg?????? You have done really, really well. A slightly easier way to help you remember where you’ve come from maybe to measure out a piece of ribbon the size of your waist at the start of BSD and slip it round your ‘new’ waist …. the ‘slack’ will be amazing!

It’s so long since I last thought of mini goals. I’m ‘treading’ water’ at the moment, staying with the same couple of pounds. Think maybe I should decide on a mini goal …. I just need to lose 2.5lbs to drop into the next ten … so that’s my goal.

Wow! What a difference BSD makes! Well done everyone.

Non scale victories for me include:

Dr cut my blood pressure meds by 50% to be reviewed in a few weeks with a view to reducing further or even stopping altogether!

No more sensitive teeth! I have even stopped using sensitive toothpaste with no ill effect so far (2-3 weeks).

Before Christmas I made myself a perfectly fitted front buttoning jacket, now having lost only a few pounds more I have had to turn it into a crossover front!

So many other non-scale surprises like energy levels, overall wellbeing etc etc! Keep posting everyone, these triumphs are really encouraging!

Hi everyone. Only just got back on this site since Christmas and happy to see so many familiar names from Verano’s last forum.
Also happy that Christmas didn’t make a lasting impression on my weight – I’m lower now than I was on 24th December.
My next mini goal (I have LOADS of them!) is to get my BMI under 29. It’s currently 29.1, so not far to go.

Well done, MIXNMATCH – you’ve done fantastically well. An inspiration!

Hi SEAVIEWJOY, I have been BSDing for about 3months and living on my own most of my cooking/food prep is for one. In terms of variety my freezer is my best friend. I usually buy fresh meat, fish etc that has the snowflake symbol, I don’t overload the freezer, so get through it reasonably quickly. I sometimes buy fresh veg in larger quantities and freeze. For me freezing in portion sizes is the key, I just have to remember to get stuff out of the freezer ahead of time, but I have found that with BSD forward meal planning is a massive help, so I’ve become used to it now. Occasionally I use food from the frozen section in store, but I prefer to see what I’m getting before I buy. I usually have a few tins of sardines, mackerel and tuna in the cupboard.

Fresh veg and salad always fill my fridge, green leafy stuff for the first few days after weekly shop and more hardy veg like celery, cucumber, tomatoes for later in the week.

I have just reached my weight goal and am well on the way to my health and fitness goals. I have come to adore the BSD way of eating and I hope you find it helpful and beneficial on your journey. All the best to you!

Some brilliant victories posted there. Very inspiring. Congratulations everyone!

Hi ebs, yes i would highly recommend the recipe book, i’ve only had mine a week and am finding the recipes very filling and easy to do once you stock up on the cupboard essentials. I bought it on amazon for £7.99. The only thing i would say is that the nutritional value is not always correct, and other people have commented the same. So now when i use a recipe i put the individual ingredients into my app (fatsecret) so i can double check against the book. It is a bit of a pain but once the info is entered i can save it for future teference. Agree totally with dreamscometrue re portion content and trying new foods etc. Cyster – was thinking about wether to buy a spiraliser too then discovered that morrisons and tesco do spiralised veg and aldi now sell cauliflower rice! Really good to hear everyones story, keep up the good work guys and good choices today everyone.

I have a spiralizer! Mine is rather like a huge pencil sharpener, it’s not one with a stand. Does the job. Personally I use uncooked cougetti and the heat from the sauce cooks it enough for me.

I’m also considering the recipe book…

Today is day 3. Blood sugars are good, but I’m resisting the scales and the tapemeasure till day 7!

Hi Ebs just to say I bought the book and would really recommend it! I was a bit dubious about it as I tend to buy cookery books on a whim then never open them, but I use this every day! I don’t eat red meat either but most of the recipes in there don’t include it anyway (or if they do you can substitute quorn). There are some really good recipes in there and I’m discovering lots of new flavours, ingredients and combinations, and it also gives you a clear breakdown of calories/carbs/fats per portion. As a newbie it’s also helping me to get a gut feel (pardon the pun!) for calorie content and portion sizes so then makes it easier to concoct your own recipes.

Everything I’ve made from the book so far has been really delicious and it’s given me a positive spin on the diet ie looking forward to trying a new recipe each night rather than feeling restricted by what I can’t eat. The only disaster has been the hummus which broke my blender but I think that was probably user error 😉

Well done Pat👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👌👌👌👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽🍾🍾🍾🍾
MIss ZIggy

Veggies can be surprisingly high in carbs. If you’re anything like I was when I started the BSD, your estimates are likely to be way off. You might consider weighing and measuring at least once so you have the facts at your command.

Since most veggies are very low calories I have just been estimating them. I only weigh the proteins. I am steadily losing weight so that seems sufficient. I have pointed myfitnesspal at the on line recipes to estimate their calorie content but I don’t cook too many complicated things.

Jan

Hi Ebs,

I have no experience of spiralisers…not that keen on cooked courgette but if you’re looking for information there is a search box up in the right hand corner. Type in spiraliser and you’ll see all the threads where it’s mentioned.
Angela

That is what I’ve been doing. I’m retired and my wife is still working, so I have been doing most of the cooking. Lean protein plus lots of vegetables, and then a starch for her. She says she has been getting enough to eat and I am losing weight. We have been doing this since Nov 1 and since she likes vegetables a lot it has worked out well.

The only issue is all the pots and pans from the 4-5 different veggies every night. Too much washing up!

Jan

Hello all! I too started on Jan 9th, and had a good first week with a loss of 2.5kg. I’m 54, and need to loose at least 25kg. My ultimate motivation for starting this way of eating was the fact that a friend of mine is having gastric sleeve surgery soon. (not that I don’t want to lose the weight for myself – goodness knows I’ve tried!!) but the thought of her dropping kilo’s ‘effortlessly’ (as she keeps reminding me!) spurred me on to do some research. I learned that the average calorie intake pre and post op GS is around 800 calories, give or take. So I figured lets try it without the surgery. I’m eating once daily – I find if I eat at breakfast, I stay hungry, so am finding it easier to stick to one good, healthy meal daily. I’m actually find it quite liberating to only have to think about food once a day, instead of ‘what can I have for breakfast/lunch/snack’! Drinking heaps of water. Fighting the wine urge ( and winning, so far!), and have pulled my bike out of the shed, and am quite enjoying spinning around the neighbourhood! Everyone’s stories are really motivating, looking forward to seeing how we all go!

I find the fewer carbs I eat the less hungry I feel, protein and fats make you feel fuller. But if I feel really starving I make myself a huge noodle dish using thin konjac noodles.

But I had to buy a size smaller in shorts today woo hoo !!!

Hi Cyster I also asked the same question but didnt get a reply. I tried cutting up the zucchini with a potato peeler, too slushy, then just chopped up really thin strips with a very sharp knife. I think the zucchini was too big as again it was slushy and I didnt like the texture, I think its best to try with a fresh, hard zucchini then perhaps it wont be so watery and taste yucky. There are quite a few spiralisers on the market, I tried out a few at the local household store but they were hand operated. If you have good strong hands and wrists any of the 3 that I tried would be OK, but I dont so will have to go for an electric version. Kenwood do one which is $120 here in Australia, which is roughly 60 quid in the UK. Hope that helps.

Angela, you are so right! A good night sleep is a wonderful thing. I woke up a lot last night! Tomorrow, I don’t have to get up early since I don’t have to be to work until 12 noon. We have a nursing orientation for our newest class and their families are coming for a dinner at 5 pm and I need to be there. I won’t get home until about 9 pm but I don’t have to work on Thursday. Rain is once again in the forecast for the next week. I hoping it won’t be a serious rain tomorrow night as it’s already hard enough to drive in the dark for me, let alone driving in the dark in the rain. Yikes!

I got up at 3:30 am and left for work about 4:45 am. It was cold outside! 32 degrees this morning. The Sierra’s are supposed to get more snow this coming week. I’m glad I don’t have to hurry off to bed tonight. I’m enjoying relaxing with the fire going and watching one of my favorite tv shows, “Fixer Upper”. HGTV. Love it! Since my husband is gone until tomorrow night, I can binge on the shows I love to watch.

I like how you mentioned remembering why you are doing the BSD and how nice it feels to fit comfortably in your clothes! I will remind myself of both those things. I too love fitting into smaller clothes and don’t want to regain the weight I have fought so hard to lose.

PEAK: Got about 6500 steps in at work. Worked out on my stationary bike for 1 hour when I got home from work today. Then I vacuumed the house. It’s a big house with 4200 square feet, so it takes a lot of time! My sister and my mother are both coming for a visit this weekend so I wanted to get things in order for there visits. I decided I didn’t want to spend my entire day cleaning on my day off on Thursday. I have a doctor appointment that day which will already eat into my free time so getting some of my chores done now will give me a little more time to myself on Thursday. So now at 8 pm at night I have accumulated over 10000 steps not including the hour on the stationary bike.

PIT: I think I have a small tear in my chest muscle and it has been causing me a lot of pain. I keep putting off getting it looked at because I really dread having to get an MRI done. I think I injured it about a month or so ago weight training–not sure–but need to really cut back on carrying things on that side and not lifting heavy things. Weight training is out for the time being! Shoot! I feel so flabby– I really miss weight training! :–(

Has anyone bought the 8 week blood sugar diet recipe book and if so what do you think of it? I have only been following the recipes in the 8 week blood sugar diet book, which are brilliant but after 3 weeks am now looking for a bit more variety, I also dont eat red meat.

Scales went up one pound today! Haven’t eaten or drunk off plan….

Also general question does anyone own a spiralizer? would you reccommend it or not? wondering if i should buy one.
Found a recipe for carb free pasta that i liked if you want to try
125g cream cheese
1/2 cup psylium husk
4 eggs
blend together until smooth. leave for ten minutes to thicken.
roll out like pasta using coconut flour to dust. make shapes you want and boil for a minut t to cook. Nice as a treat as high calorie.

link to video below.
http://realmealrevolution.com/real-meal-tv/carb-free-pasta

Hi everyone checking in again. Lovely to hear about everyones journeys. Good luck to everyone.
discovered salad/lunch in a jar this week so have prepped a week worth of lunches with loads of fresh veggies. Has been so helpful.
Tried stuffed peppers for the first time too was delicious.
Had no loss most of last week which was week 3 for me then on sunday lost a pound and a half.
Have now hit the first stone lost milestone. Really happy as i have never been able to lose that much before becasue of the pcos.

Ive heard people saying the lose it app is good Claregetsthinner havent tried it myself. I use MFP as im used to it

Nice to hear from you granny
Mumofcrazynamedkids and TumTumP how are you progressing.
K8sgettingthin like the idea of imagining fat cells exploding

thanks very much. good luck to you too.

I bought a book on Amazon called “The Essential Blood Sugar Diet Meals For One” which is a “Quick Start Guide” and it looks pretty good although I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet.
What I plan on doing is making the same food for my husband and son as I am having, but serving them rice, pasta, potato etc in addition to what I am having.
Good luck!

Hi Mixnmatch… hehe, yes I spotted it in the recipe book when I got home. I usually can’t resist the lure of bacon, sausages and black pudding so surprised myself! BUT next time…. 😉

have people found ways to economically cook for one while still having variety?

Hi All, i wonder if i could join in too. I am on day 2 seriously now. Had a few false starts last week. I have about 30 -40kgs to loose. Last night my bp was very high. I want get serious about my health. I have a gp this afternoon. I know WOE will help and im ready to commit.

Hi Candoit, I’m a Melbourne girl and well done you on losing 10kg last year. I’m not sure if I could survive with no food until 11am but it’s worth a try. I usually start setting my alarm to ‘school time’ the last week of the holidays to get my body clock back to work mode so it’s not too much of a shock to the system. It’s 10.15am now and I’ve been up for an hour and a half, doing some planning for the first 2 weeks back and then reading through the thread. Just having breakfast before I head to the gym.

Marion53, you made me laugh. I too do not want to be part of the ‘Starting January 2018 thread’!!!

For all those wine lovers out there, I discovered 2 things yesterday. After a serious chat with myself in the car about whether to turn left and buy wine or turn right and go home, I made the choice to buy wine. When I got home I had 2 big glasses of sparkling water and did not feel like the wine at all, however………because it was there, I drank it, with some help from my hubby. Chastised myself, beat myself up and then decided, stuff it, it was one hiccup, get a grip and move on woman. So the 2 things I discovered, sparkling water may be my savour to replace the craving for wine (just like you SueBlue), and the obvious, if it’s not in the house, I can’t drink it.

I’ve got 2 days until weigh in on Friday for the end of week 2 and if I’ve put on, so be it. There’s a bigger picture at stake here, my overall health and wellbeing which includes losing this 60kg of extra fat I’ve been carrying around for years, (54.1 left after week one). So I’m in it for the long haul knowing there will be hiccups along the way but as long as I don’t dwell on them, I’ll do just fine.

Keep on going everyone, love reading about your successes and learning from you all.

Full English breakfast is surprisingly BSD friendly, if I am at a hotel I usually choose it, without toast/hash browns of course.

Hi All,

How’s everyone getting on? I’m delighted to report that there’s no sign of the headaches anymore – whoohooo!! I had a difficult weekend as staying in a hotel and evening party followed by a lunch party BUT I managed to only have one glass of wine and avoid the many bread/cheese/garlic bread type bits that were on the buffet and Sunday starters… I even resisted the full English breakfast, Yorkshire puds and roast potatoes (virtuous eh?).

I’ve lost only about 5kgs but my shape is changing and I’m feeling more energised. Am doing more walks but restricted by my damaged ankles to do anything too strenuous but pleased that I’m doing way more than I did before this BSD so all good.

Enough about me… what about everyone else? How’re you finding it?

AnnaGoAnna

Buckwheat noodles generally have about 20g of carbs per 100g. It is unfortunate but noodles are almost all made of refined carbs. My favourite is Singapore noodles and I find I am glad when it’s time for the takeaway to close so I cannot order a huge portion. But I console myself with the thought, as Kate Moss said, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. I want that feeling back please

Wise words Verano and woohoo Shadynook and Daisiesmum, double woohoo!!👏👏

Mixnmatch I have to offer congratulations. Well done. I do not think that you can carry a 50kg rucksack, but I am sure that you will not need to.

Mini goal, get back under 11 stone (70kg)

If I want to increase my fats, I usually try to have salads with avocado and oil & cider vinegar dressings, or I have mashed cauliflower with a little cream stirred in and a bit of butter on top.

Thanks all,

Depression shouts for the sugar and for the no think foods. Maybe need to take one battle at a time – still aiming for BSD principles but not beat myself up if depression self medication is a big pack of salty crisps. I know the seasonal effects of it will ease in a number of weeks, then can refocus.

Reduced stickers at the supermarkets – yes yes yes that is me, if it is such a bargain then… Though some are good. Last week I got a huge punnet of cherry tomatoes for 5p – yes for the price of a carrier bag! They had loads of them to clear. Tonight the co-op had packs of 3 leeks for 20p, I brought 3 of them! Have just made ‘Supermarket Sweep Soup’ with the various bargains…

Hi K8 Try and stick to the recipes in the book, both my husband and I only follow these recipes alternate between eggs, mushrooms and the shakes for breakfast and we have soups and salads for lunch for dinner everything has beans or legumes with it. We dont count carbs or fat we only follow the recipes. Just started week 4 and have losses between us of 9.5 kgs, so very pleased. Keep up the good work.

Right.. Here I am again.. I am totally sick of myself because this is the THIRD time I have had to lose this weight.. I was successful at 5:2 fasting diet about three years ago, maintained for a while , then put a load back on, so then I did BSD this time last year and nearly ( but not quite) lost it all again. I stayed pretty much ok until the late summer when it started creeping up after a summer of white wine and Bbqs .

But now I’ve put it all back on again (with 14lb of that only in the last couple of months!! ) .. I have a wardrobe of clothes that dont fit, and I am totally, utterly disgusted with myself because once again I need to lose at least two stone to get back to a reasonable weight (and ideally more) .. .

So I’m back again.. I do know what to do to lose the weight .. (mainly keep off the wine,) , I want to be slim. (Oh, more than anything) . I am lucky that I dont have prediabetes (yet), but I am 59, an apple shape and I hate all forms of exercise..

Ive re-read the book and have started again today .. am under 800 calories , and am posting to commit doing this until I have lost it all again.. 34lbs is the first goal (though 10 lbs more would be fabulous.. ) .

I read these posts last night and thought “I’m so glad I don’t have to lose as much as 50lb”. I’m aiming to lose 20kg but would need to lose 26kg to have a BMI of 25.
Then I realised this morning that 26kg is well over 50lb as each kilo is something like 2.2lbs! Doh!! 😂😂
Just as well I’ve started the BSD this week!

I think many of us slipped during the holidays. Isn’t is amazing how quickly you can gain weight! I have put on 10 lbs and ready to start again. I miss that feeling of being in control and feeling good about myself.

Great news, of course all our best non scale victories are to do with our health. 😀 I had an interesting one today, bought a new top (well new to me, from a charity shop) it was on a hanger marked as size 12, and I wore it today. It looked great, but was very tight about my biceps, I thought little about it, I know my biceps are quite big due to the strength training and badminton, but when I got home and checked the label it was uk size 6 😮 😊 I assume the sylph like former owner must have donated it when it stretched in the wash, as I don’t think I’m a size 6 candidate, ever!