I started on Monday 9th and have come to the conclusion that I really don’t like fish!

Anyhoo …. weighed myself this morning and after 4 days I have a weight loss of 4lb … in 4 days! Isn’t it wonderful to get up every morning and look forward to getting on the scales! I know that they say not to weigh yourself every day but I’m finding it so motivational – together with reading all of your posts.

Off to get the tape measure out ……

I hope you all have a wonderful and nutrient filled day!

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/starchy-foods.aspx

The world has not moved on….This is on the NHS healthy living webpage and a direct link from their weight loss pages (which tell you to increase your starchy food intake to lose weight) – astonishing really.

No wonder people are messed up with so much directly contradictory advice floating around…

Hi everyone🙂For some reason I am not getting notifications of these post via email at the moment even though I am subscribed to them. I thought you had all gone into hibernation!!😮Anyway it’s nice to catch up with you all and your progress. I am still doing okay and by my clothes I am doing good. I can still pull my old jeans off without undoing the zip and button. 👍🏻👍🏻 Yesterday I went met a friend for lunch and we went to GBK. I chose the “go naked” burger which arrives without a bun but with a side salad and coleslaw. Washed down with a glass of wine. I really enjoyed it. Last night we ate oven baked salmon with a salad. I found a recipe online for sweet pepper quiche which is basically quiche egg mixture poured into half peppers and baked. I will we doing bacon cheese and onion mix in mine for lunch. A few weeks ago I bought size ten jeans and was so happy to be able to do them up and can still do them up. Last week I sent off for tankini two piece swimsuit size 12 and it’s way too tight😭Oredered another and it’s too tight. I was so dissapointed then my friend pointed out that i ordered them on Amazon and that were posted from China and in her experience clothing coming from china is always tiny! That cheered me up a bit.👍🏻
Hope you are all doing well….
MIss ZIggy

Granny happy to report another loss of 1kg, that makes a total of 3.5 since 2 Jan, VERY happy with that!! Another 10 or 11 to go but know i will do it this time😀, great support and motivation on this forum! Not happy about cals/carbs being wrong in the BSD book but learnt my lesson and will check and log as you suggest China2013. Great start Cher and welcome Britt and your mum, good luck on your journeys. Good choices today everyone👏.

Ha ha! I spoke too soon about the snow!

Well done Daisiesmum that’s so exciting! You should be very proud of yourself. Especially since you seem to have changed the way you think about food and the triggers for eating the wrong stuff. Enjoy the maintenance phase!
Frog, I was down at my daughter’s in Cardiff when the Tom Kettridge book arrived yesterday so we flicked through it over lunch. I must say it does have quite a few recipes that we will have a try of and has the carbs worked out for each. It makes a nice change to see a recipe book and think ‘I can cook most of the meals in here’ rather than have to avoid 90% like most books. I think she got it on Amazon for £12.50 (ish).
We have approximately 0.25cm snow. Obviously I would take to my bed, but I have 1 tonne of logs arriving at 09:00 that require shifting and stacking. Extra cheese for my lunch, I feel!
Enjoy the day, fellow BSD’ers.

Greetings to everyone. Like FROG I hope you aren’t suffering consequences of wild weather! Where I live seems to be the only part of the UK not to be expecting snow 🙁 .

I am inching ever closer to my ultimate goal – ONLY .8lb to go!!! Only 4 days to my target date!!! I’m working out my maintenance program carefully because I’m so NOT hungry on averaging 800cals that I need to make sure I eat enough.

Tea tasting sounds nice FROG. I have gone off the taste of milk in my drinks since BSD. I used to go through 3-4pts in a week, now I buy in 1pt and it sits there going off! I use fruit teas to flavour my 2-3lts water (just put teabag in the jug of cold water for half an hour or so). I might try some more delicate blends that don’t require milk as my taste buds have changed so much.

Happy BSD Friday everyone, stay safe. Keep warm or cool, depending on which weather phenomenon you are facing in your neck of the woods.

hi Everyone
Newbie here started No Sugar diet on Monday feel fantastic, no sore feet from insulin, no moodiness, no sadness, can actually see the light through the tunnel. I hadnt realised how sugar is so addictive and challenging to humankind. I am loving feeling like my self again however with Energy, Motivation, Determination to kick sugar forever. Thank you for the Blood Sugar Diet read the book and brought another and I have reduced my blood sugar levels from 15+mmols to 8mmols just in five days and lost 1.1kg ooh happy days………………..

Hi Jacks, I use Easy Diet Diary and find it quite intuitive although it is an Australian app so may not be as useful for everyone. I have also found quite a big discrepancy in the calories so I have entered them in my EDD recipe section so I don’t have to re-enter every ingredient every time I use that recipe. I’m sure MFP would do the same. It still takes time to plan meals, write up a shopping list and log everything but for now I need it as I’ve only just finished week 1.
So one week down, 5.9kg (13lb) lost, although when I measured my waist, it was 2cm bigger 😩 I must have made a mistake when I measured my waist last week because that can’t be right! Had another migraine today, that’s 3 this week which is really draining along with headaches every day although they have subsided in intensity substantially over the week. I am hoping the migraines and headaches will be gone for good in week 2.
Britt71638816, welcome and good luck to you and your mum. I don’t have diabetes but was heading in that direction so either way, the program is worth it to at least keep blood sugars under control and lose all that dangerous visceral fat.
Week 2 starts today and its time for a chicken salad for lunch, yum.

Beatthebelly
I think most people lose around 10% in the first 8 weeks. I lost a bit more, but I was pretty hard line and didn’t cheat, walked everyday, drank heaps of water and got as much sleep as I could.
Depending on how much you have to lose will also impact on how fast you lose it.
Good luck
Linda

Lynne, as a vicarious user of the forums for some time, I just wanted to tell you what a huge inspiration you have been to me. Not sure if horrid nurse is a bad nurse or just not a very nice person in general and sadly there are people like this in every profession. Take heart, you have been such a positive influence to so many of us and I am ready and willing to join the team to virtually harangue the nasty peep who upset you!

Keep us posted Bambalone!! 😀

Hi,
I thought I’d share the results of my first week on the diet. Down 3.4 kilos or 7.5 pounds in 6 days. Feeling pretty chuffed that it is working so well. Got another 13 kilos to go and feeling strangely confident. 😊
Have a great day everyone!

Ps — move husband to BSD — much better for his health and brAin and you can cook just one meal!

Do not move off the 800 DaiseyMay!! It is going to get easier and easier as you move forward. It’s like learning a new language — you mispronounce words and use the wrong tense, then suddenly your brain “gets it” and it’s all much easier. You don’t have to be exactly 800 every day — I think most days I messed up and ate closer to 950 but it totally worked. So you don’t have to be perfect to do it right! Aim for 800 but be glad you are anywhere in general vicinity on those bad days! It’s a goal, not a grade!!

Hi I would like to start in January too. I am currently waiting to hear back from my mom since she is waiting to find out if she is diabetic as well. But am looking forward to starting soon too

Still hanging on in there. 6th day successfully completed.
Not finding it easy though. Craving forbidden foods.

Any experienced BSDers that can advise when it is likely these cravings may subside?
This has to be a new way of life for me but it is a struggle at times. I am a positive person but wobbling a bit.

Thx

Hi
hope everyone is well – and not flooded/snowed in
bit of sleety stuff here, it rained earlier and it’s cold, but nothing dramatic

I got the new Tom Kerridge low carb book today – I had a flick through in Waterstones and it has a scattering of non-recipe recipes (ie steak and salad – duur!) but some interesting stuff.
If you go into Waterstones, the book is the full price of £20 – but only £13 on their website. They match the price if you ask – well Islington store did, but I’m sure it’s an organisation-wide policy.

AND – the tea tasting evening tonight! It was really good, I thoroughly enjoyed it – lots of different types of tea and information – and an earl grey gin and tonic and a matcha green tea champagne cocktail. They are planning to run them monthly, so look at Yumchaa’s website if you’re in London.

Day 4 was a killer for me too! I have had carb flu but it’s settling down a bit now but really struggling 11 days in! 6lbs off in the first week now nothing and have had more calories than I am supposed too, not masses but a 100-200 so fell down about it. I might switch to the low carb Mediterranean diet with 2 days at 800 as fed up feeling like this. I am fasting every day until 1-2pm and am having a dry Jan so it’s all going on except in the number 2 dept where nothing is going on !!! I think those of you sticking to your 800 for the 8 weeks plus are amazing, will try again tomorrow, it’s another day ! Guess it doesn’t help my husband is on the diet doctor and I am cooking his amazing food and trying to adapt to lower fat and therefore calories for me. On the plus side I thought I would get my blood sugar tested on a American unit and it came out at 81 which on the internet says no problems with diebetics, just the stone and a half then !! Saw Tom Kerrage on TV today 11stone off on low carb so it works and yes his book looks great. Onwards and downwards. Best if luck to all

So
What happens if you , say, have a bag of chocolate, you know the family bags for a pound of revels or cadburys button or minstrels. And you eat the bag.
The day just goes weird after that. Then you step in the scales and gain one and a half pounds.

Now , let’s just take a step back and loom at the situation.
We have been doing this for nearly two weeks.
We have had a wobble or stumble.
Should we give up and go down hill.
Or should we acknowledge the wobble and get back into the programme?
I know what I always used to do, I would say I have fallen off the wagon.
But actually, I have just caught my toe and stumbled.
I don’t have to pick my self up off the floor.
Now I just have to steady my wobble and watch out carefully for the next few days that I didn’t catch my toe again.

It is SO EASY to give up.

But if you can just catch yourself, and carry on the plan, it would get you to your goals of being of the medication and into size 12 or just less blubber.

You tell me one person who hasn’t had a wobble and I will show you a gazillion who have.

Keep going, keep enjoying .

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Well done! I have exactly the same starting weight and losses as you! How much do you think you will lose in the 8wwks?

I started on Jan 2nd and have lost 10lbs so far. Really pleased with this,.
I’m eating between 800 to 1000 cals per day and going to the gym 4-5 times a week which I assume is helping on those days when I eat over 800.
I need to lose another 3.5 stones to be within a healthy BMI – any idea on how much I will lose in the 8 week period? Thanks

Thanks Mixnmatch, I’m sure you’re right re carbs and water retention.

Had a better day today and my resolve has strengthened :o)

Jacks

It could quite easily be the Christmas cake, although it won’t be added fat. Carbs seem to need extra water so eating very carb rich items like that can cause water retention almost instantly, but the water will drop away again as the diet continues. I can’t help on either MFP or the book recipes as I don’t use either 😊

I’ve just got the Tom Kerridge low-carb cookery book and he has an interesting recipe for chocolate chia pudding.

I think you’ve made the acquaintance of your carb monster. It is insistent that it needs feeding now, but can be ignored as it is not hunger, just cravings. The good news is, after a week or so it hides in a corner and sulks until you eat something it likes, at which point it starts shouting at you again. Don’t give in to the carb monster, it only encourages it.

You could try cocoa nibs to calm the chocolate cravings, or stir a spoon of cocoa into Greek style yoghurt, that worked for me. Bread is more difficult as practically nothing has the same texture, but maybe try half a slice of rye bread toast. It won’t be as destructive as white bread, but you don’t want to do it too often.

I don’t regard any of my breaks from weightloss in this last period as a setback, instead they were an integral part of my learning curve. Previous occasions where I lost 3-4 stone on restrictive diets and then put it all back on again, they were setbacks because I didn’t learn and stopped trying. This time it really is different. I love the food, the carb monster has joined the inner chimp firmly locked in their cages, and I know this is it. When I reach my goal, I will maintain my weight, increase/maintain my fitness and keep on keeping on, even with more regular treats, and if the weight starts to go on I will fast again, because I know now how easy it is. I know it seems odd to say it but this is the easiest diet I have ever tried. It just suits me and felt right as soon as I started. (I was one of the lucky ones who avoided carb flu). If you have one day when you simply must break the diet, do it but remember that nothing is broken. The diet can still be a success, and it takes over 3500 calories over and above your daily expenditure to put on a pound in fat. I don’t think many people could do that in one day after they have been fasting for a while, so dust yourself off, get back on the wagon and call that week a 6:1 with 6 good days and only one bad day.

Janet, what fun buying new, smaller size clothes. It must be such a satisfying feeling. I’m still wearing some smaller stuff from last time I passed by this size but I’m really looking forward to hitting the shops preferably in the UK as shops here tend to cater for tiny french ladies. It’ll be a long time till I get there.

I’m nearly through week 2 having lost 7lbs in week 1. I weighed myself yesterday and have put on 2lbs despite following the recipes religiously … albeit with a very small piece of leftover Christmas cake, which was a mistake but wouldn’t have added 2lbs. I’ll see what happens on Saturday morning for my weekly weigh.

So I started calculating the calorie values to find what others have commented on, that those given in the recipe book are often significantly lower than reality. Finding MFP really annoying to use so resorted to looking at the values on each packet, bag etc and weighing each ingredient which is very time consuming.

Not sure how to feel about this. I do believe BSD has a huge amount of benefits but I want something that I trust and run with confidently. That said, even if calorie values are higher I’m probably not more than 900-1000 cals/day which is still an improvement.

Have others upgraded on MFP or using the regular counter?

Jacks

Brilliant news, Lynne. I’d go for that final review in the summer if it were me – with a view to educating them! Brilliant use of resources – she might just have realised by then that BSD works, and is sustainable!
Julia

Libbyohno; what a shame about the nuts…best to stick with walnuts..

Janet..so sorry for going on about my walks…so frustrating for you especially as you used to be a hiker. Good luck with the knee. I hope the weight loss will help but will that solve the problem?
I am a British expat, live in the South of France, been here for 31 years. The climate is very similar to that of San Francisco, I believe, long periods of drought followed by a lot of rain. At the moment we’re feeling the tail end of the cold air that’s over the UK. It’s cold at night but was around 13 degrees this afternoon so not so bad. I’ve never been to the USA but my brother lives in Palo Alto. We are 4 siblings and between us we live in 4 different countries and on 3 continents. My poor mother really suffered.

Peak today….I managed to go about 17 hours without food..from 8pm last night to 1pm today and if I hadn’t had to cook for others I might have even skipped lunch. Result!

The pit today was that all afternoon I’ve thought it’s Friday…..such a disappointment!

Hope your rain stops and you have a great end of week..Angela

Lara. I am totally with you on the benefits of fasting. I also have the book by Dr Jason Fung and it is full of good information. I am surrounded by food when I am at work. I have accommodation here as I work week on week off. I cook every second week so it is very difficult to avoid food. I am working towards doing a 2 day fast. Probably easier when I’m at home. I have been inspired by your experience to give it a go. Thanks for sharing.

Its on page 61 Bsd recipe book Cyster. Thanks for help everyone, feel annoyed if ive enjoyed a lovely meal but the cals/carbs are wrong!

I’ve read elsewhere that it’s best to check the calories and carbs, that they are often adrift..

Hi Californiagirl and Mixnmatch,
What amazing helpful, kind, supportive people live in this zone out there on the internet. I am bowled over by your responses and kindness, thank you so much.

Caliorniagirl thank you for your welcome. You are so supportive, your positivity and confidence immediately give me strength. I think you – and Mixnmatch – are probably dead right about avoiding the scale. Your emotions go up and down with those numbers daily it becomes a rollercoaster. I started weighing again because giving up the scale is what lead me to put all my weight back on – so I felt I should keep a close eye on it. But I guess if I am doing the BSD there is little risk of my weight going up! So, I will get back to the tape measure / tight trousers! The thing that really helps is when you said “It is not the single day that counts, it is the day-to-day keeping on that works”. That is what i need to focus on, the keeping on. And stopping the critical mind. As you say, we are too quick to evaluate everything – I need to trust in it and go with it. So thanks for that I really needed to hear it.

Mixnmatch thank you so much for that incredibly useful and well informed info. I am not constipated and I am drinking lots but maybe I should try the 4 L for a bit and see what happens – worth a go and I love drinking water (?pre-diabetic?). My carbs are super low (below/around 20) and I am eating fat – wouldn’t cope without. Only problem with fat is that it reduces your quantities as it is so dense in calories, so I find it is a balancing act. I have done low carb before but never on so few calories – that’s what I am hoping will swing it this time, as the diet that actually works! I will definitely do as you suggest and give it 2 weeks without the scale and just get on with it. Thank you again very much indeed for the support and guidance.

It is so good to know there are people out there that can and will help, it’s amazing and very touching. This is the first time I have ever used a forum for a diet. I think it could make a huge difference for me, rather than going it alone. It’s great. I have long bored family and friends about my dieting – they are well and truly done with that conversation!

Where is the recipe granny i cannot find it in the book?

Hi Bombalone, there are two possibilities. If your metabolism is reasonably okay you will be burning fat, so the reason you are not losing more weight must be water retention or solids. If you are not constipated (quite common on reduced carbs), it could be water retention which can have all sorts of causes.

The reasons people lose a huge amount when they first start the diet is because the body gives up the water it has been hanging onto ‘just in case’ if you are drinking plenty then it no longer needs to do this. Carbs cause water retention, so make sure you are aiming at low enough carbs for your body. Also try not to worry. Stress causes cortisol production which causes water retention. Later in the diet you will find there are periods where although you do not lose weight you lose inches, due to the replacement of fat in fat cells with water. Another ‘just in case’ cause. It is possible that your body is already in this state prior to the diet as you mention previous dieting. If you are not burning fat at this level of nutrition then you may have a more serious metabolic condition, but I doubt it.

Give the diet two weeks. Measure instead of weighing for those two weeks. and track bowel movements, upping fibre if you have to. Drink at least 3 litres of water a day, some people have successfully started losing weight after increasing this to 4 for a short period. Make sure you are adding a little salt to your diet, as your electrolytes may get depleted with all the drinking. Try upping the percentage of fat in your diet. It sounds counterintuitive but it really seems to work.

Hi ive lost 7 pounds first week and 4 second week Mumofcrazynamedkids
Hi granny ive heard on other forums that the book recipes are inaccurate. I will add it into fintesspal and check too. Hope it helps

You haven’t mentioned nuts and seeds, I am not vegetarian but I have seen these mentioned as sources of protein, also some pulses. Hopefully some of our vegetarian contributors can help with specific recommendations.

Help….does anybody know if the cals/carbs for the satay chicken kebab recipe is correct? I’ve logged the ingredients separately on the fatsecret app and its coming out way higher than the recipe book.

Hi Everyone
It’s lovely to read about all the success stories and the slip ups, it makes me feel as though I’m not alone 😊 Today has been awful, I could kill for a large bacon butty! I haven’t given in and just had a lovely stir fry and chicken. Today is by far the worst day but having read some of your posts about you feeling bad gives me strength. Thank you
Val

On day 4:of bsd 800 fast and glad to say it has been fine – but I know it’s early days !
My only concern is getting in my daily recommended protein ( I am a vegetarian ).
For example on one day I managed to get 50% and another day 75% of my protein target ( 46g). This is from egg, tofu, cottage cheese and fetta and counting all the protein in small amounts in food e.g .36g in a peach (!).
How are other people coping with the protein angle ? Using protein powders ?

Lots of good lossss on this forum👍 Well done everyone. Agree with alot of the posts, recipes from the book have been delicious, love the satay chicken and very filling. I’m finding that around 8pm is the ‘tempting’ time, its not that i’m hungry but more just want a taste in my mouth,, if that makes sense! So have had an oxo cube in boiling water and that seems to satisfy. Managing the 800 cals and 50g carb ok, feel lighter round the middle but shall see what the scales say in the morning😊

Hi Cyster, thanks, what has been your loss so far? I haven’t read all the pages of the thread as I only joined on Monday! Need to try and catch up!

I always have plateaus no matter what diet I do, so just v glad it’s working so well now, but any moment it could stop!

Result of HbA1c back today. It was 5.1 (32 in new money, but I still use the old unit of measurement).

To put that into context, here’s how it’s changed on the BSD.

December ’15 (immediately before starting the BSD) 9.6
January ’16 (don’t ask – a sneaky test!) 8.7
April ’16 it was 5.5
July ’16 it was 5.2
Jan ’17 it is 5.1. And that is after a few months of maintaining, eating more nuts and dairy.

Can’t help wondering what the diabetes nurse will have to say about it, she who blows hot and cold. (Not the one who did the blood test). She who said the BSD was not sustainable. Who said I’ll have to stay on the diabetes register, the go won’t take me off it. Mmmm ….. could be an interesting conversation or two in the future!

I may, just may, go for the diabetes review in the summer and have those conversations then. A whole year of evidence. But after that – probably not. Why waste my time, their time, and their resources? Ho hum!

Mumofcrazynamedkids and TumTumP lovely to hear of your successes. Am continueing to be careful of carbs and eating 800 cals a day. No loss this week so far though im half way through week 3 so think i might be seeing a plateau.
Feeling motivated to continue from everyones positive comments and results. Hopefully the weight will continue to shift. I have pcos wonder if its partly due to that.
Good luck everyone and keep it going.

Hi Bombalone, welcome to the posts and the BSD. I have just a minute before I have to head to work but I wanted to squeeze in a quick post because I can hear your frustration with the slow loss so far and I don’t want you to quit.
I am almost a year now on BSD and at goal since June (now maintenance) so I am speaking from experience.
This diet is going to work, even if it does so slowly for you. Everyone is different, and you may be a slower responder but very soon your body will start to respond and the weight WILL come off.
The best thing to do is to put your critical mind on hold, stop getting on the scale and just follow the guidelines. We are too quick to criticize and think it’s just not working because we are all so well trained to evaluate things! This is a moment NOT to evaluate — just do it for a bit and weigh in ten days or a week or don’t weigh at all — I never weighed because scales are abusive — I used a tape measure and that was always more gentle mentally.
Try to stay as low carb as possible (as low as 20 grams per day for now) (you can add in more later) and eat full fat foods to control hunger.
If you are just too hungry, eat a tiny bit — I probably messed up more days than I did right and I still lost all the weight. It is not the single day that counts, it is the day-to-day keeping on that works.
You are going to find that you get better and better at this as you go in — we LEARN how to do this — it took me four months to learn it well.
Measure your food, use a scale. Eat full fat, stay calm. This WILL work for you. Don’t fret — this is the most satisfying way of eating and maintaining ever.

After the difficult appointment on Monday I’d not heard from the GP so guessed the blood test results were normal. Not that I had thought otherwise. But I’d been told I could ring and get the result.

This afternoon I rang. The receptionist couldn’t access the results and said he’d get – guess who? – to ring me back. I just didn’t want to speak to that nurse so said not to worry about it.

Yes, you’ve guessed. She rang me. Yes, the nasty vampire rang me! Said she assumed I’d called about the results, checked and said in a very matter of fact way that they were normal. So my question was? What’s the HbA1c? It was 32. I just didn’t ask her to translate – I still work in the old units. But I’ve checked, and 32 equals 5.1 in old money.

So, I’ve just checked my own records. Just before I started the BSD a HbA1c in December 2015 was 9.6. April ’16 it was 5.5, and July ’16 it was 5.2. The diabetes nurse at that point said that was the lowest she’d seen at this practice. Then this current test reads 5.1! And the nasty nurse just wasn’t interested.

But I’m happy. After a few months of maintenance, eating more nuts and dairy, and the HbA1c result had dropped. *does a very happy dance*

maybe try something that always works for me – imagine the wrong food entering your body, rubbing its hands together and with an evil look on its face asking “now where can I create most damange in here, big toe, eyes, heart goodness the world is my oyster this one just loves to live dangerously” I weaned myself off crisps by telling myself it was just a bag of fat with salt (which it is). Be good 80% of the time after you manage to bring your eating habits into line. Take a positive stance in your head and write it down if you need to reinforce it. Boredome is a killer quite literally knitting would be good or painting something that keeps your hands and attention. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your help Sunshine Girl.
Best wishes.