Welcome FabMand! The more the merrier.

I popped into the supermarket on my walk to buy more vegetables, I bought an enormous amount on Monday but apparently it wasn’t enough to last a whole week! The person in front of me at the checkout had a jawdroppingly “perfect” collection of food. Brown rice (instant), gluten-free pizza bases, coconut flakes, kale, low-fat yogurt, protein bars, low-fat cream… (yes I stared a bit). All that stuff we are told to eat. And nearly everything processed. I was smugly looking at my collection of fresh vegetables and wishing I could tell her she’s got it all wrong, but then I looked at her. Thin and fit! Could wear yoga pants in public and look good! Can you imagine a fat lady telling her she’s the one making bad food choices? Lol. She was young though, I hope for her sake (and everyone else’s) they change the official rules soon on what we should eat.

End of week 1 weigh in….. drumroll please…….
***2.8kg/6lbs***!!!! 😮🙃😝😄

Just ecstatic!!! Been dancing around the room. And how am I going to celebrate?!! I don’t know, but it’s gotta be good. Be back later, too delirious to make coherent sentences!!! Can’t believe the scale is actually going DOWN!!!!

Finally had my week 1 weigh in and was nervous. Had a few days when I dawdled over my limit with little extras and there was that one night (that I will refer to as wine-gate#1, There’s gonna be more…) But despite my slip-ups I was happy to see I had lost 2.8kg (6lbs in the old money) and my body fat percentage was down by almost 2% since earlier this month!
Deliriously Happy!! Congrats too, to @happygirl for your awesome day 12 loss. I bet that made up for all the earlier frustrations. I get the whole being discreet about doing BSD. Science has shown that telling too many people about a goal makes it less likely that it will be achieved because talking about it stimulates satisfied chemicals that interrupt your motivation for action. I’m glad I have this forum, though so I can celebrate ups and seek support for downs with someone.
So @Miranda- don’t worry about your wine incident, just make a u-turn straight away and you’ll still be fine. I’m living proof.
@wendy1947 – that zucchini carbonara with yoghurt instead of cream sounds awesome, I’m making a note of that!
@carb_addict – New business, big move, brave love life decisions, THAT’S A LOT OF CHANGE! I’m amazed you even remember your own name, much less have the energy and resolve for BSD. I’m so impressed and inspired.
@healthyh – hope you feel happier soon, tired and grumpy isn’t fun. My cure for that is to listen to good New Orleans funk, or if the sun is shining I pull weeds out of my garden. I bet if you think about it you’ll know your own fix.
@fairyface – I’m impressed with your forethought and careful planning. I’m going away for a big work road trip at the beginning of week 3. I’m going to eagerly follow your progress. Any tips will be helpful. I will have some access to cooking facilities but not always. But I have an awesome car powered fridge that I intend to take advantage of.
@missziggy – Yay for more energy and enthusiasm for other areas of life! Enjoy that glass of wine on fri night, but get someone to hide the bottle when you are done 😉 I might have one too!

Hi everyone! I also started BSD on 10/10 and hope you won’t mind me gate crashing your party 3 days in.
There are some great posts here and it’s so good to see all of the positivity and support here.
Glad to report that I have stuck to the 800 calls per day 100% and strangely for me I’m not even tempted to break out.
It’s been a little repetitive so far due to working until 8pm this week so I took the easy option and prepared meals together.
Breakfast has been alternated between Greek yogurt with nuts, seeds and berries, and scrambled eggs with mushrooms.
Lunch a Sirt superfood salad which I regularly have, only to make it in line with BSD calorie load, I’ve left out the avocado and Medjool dates.
Evening meals have been the Easy Bolognaise with courgetti which certainly doesn’t make you feel you’re on a diet.
Today I will be trying the egg muffin for lunch and the carrot, lentil and avocado salad in the evening.
All recipes (except Sirt salad) are from the BSD recipe book which is wonderful for providing lots of choices.
Really looking forward to see how we all do over the 8 weeks!

Good morning Day Four!

Plan for the day:
B: tasty cheese, half an orange (decided a whole one was too carby), half a cucumber, tiny baby carrot
L: cream of chicken soup, leftover roast veges
D: spicy pork and sage casserole with cauliflower rice

Cup of tomato soup if needed, two cups of tea with milk, lots of water with lemon.

I’m heading out for a walk to mail a letter in a minute.

I weigh myself each morning and I was up a tiny bit since yesterday but I think that is because of the time of the month. Still more than a kilogram down after first three days.

I’m a bit nervous about how well this is going. Usually I would have given in to chocolate cravings by now, then given up entirely. What is different this time? It hasn’t seemed hard at all (no, universe, I am not trying to get you to test me! Be nice!) even though I am dealing with that time of the month, my fibroid issues, the headaches, and some bureaucratic hassles. Oh well, I’ll just enjoy it! Trying to be prepared for when it suddenly gets hard. I hope I’m truly in the groove by then.

Lesleyp different people are def doing variations. I don’t like it when some seem to lay down laws that are NOT from the book. I mean, do whatever works for you but don’t claim it’s BSD canon! I am generally following the book but I don’t use those recipes at all and I do count carbs. The book only talks about cutting out processed and unhealthy carbs, it has plenty of lentils and the like. Some people have been shocked at the carb counts from the recipes when they work it out, but nowhere in the official diet does it say you have to stay under 50g. I am, because that works best for me. I also don’t each much fish or exercise enough or meditate, so I guess I’m not pure BSD!

I think if I hit a long plateau, as some do, I’ll have one day where I eat more calories and carbs (not really bad ones) to “shock” my body and also reassure it that there is still food in the world! But actually I’ve been feeling pretty full so far with all these
veges.

My goodness I do ramble on, don’t I! Off for my walk.

Hi everyone
I’m still here and so glad you all are too.
I had gone off plan a couple of days. However for the last 3 days have had the most violent diarrhoea bug. I have not stopped pooping and have hardly eaten a thing. The good point is that I feel that I have been relaunched back into the BSD way of life. Light eating!
I feel like I have hit the reset button. If I can even get 800 in tomorrow I will be going some!
Tattiescone x

FROG whats got into the cats! Ziggys been very naughty yesterday and today!
Yep i made appt with my GP soon as i got 24 hr bp date..earliest i could get was 3 Nov,as she is very popular.
I’ m sure she’ll phone me before then if she has the results tho, as she always goes the extra mile
Ive heard before that Lidl yog is yummy and cheaper than Fage..i must try it!
I saw an Ethiopian food stall recently at a market and my friend had some Ethiopian stew but i cant remember the name..dor…or doro? Said was lovely.
Night everybody ..sweet dreamzzzzzzzzzzz xx

Thanks Natalie!

That is a great result! (Except for the fasting blood sugar.) lots of weight lost and feeling happier in your skin are awesome.

I really struggle with this too! I’ve managed to get treat-type foods to Friday only, they have fruit for recess most days. But lunch is harder. My daughter won’t eat sandwiches (she likes bread in any other form!) and we’ve tried cold chicken, sushi, cheese rolls (bread roll with cheese cooked on top by the bakery), she’ll like something for a while then get sick of it. My son has been happy with sandwiches this year but has suddenly gone off them. This week he has been having vegetable sticks with a little pot of dressing (he loves salad) and a few crackers (the kind you have with cheese, but he doesn’t like cheese). It seems pretty healthy but I don’t know how long it will last! And is it filling enough with no protein all day after cereal for breakfast? He is an active nine year old. He seems ok and doesn’t eat much in the afternoon but usually has a huge dinner then keeps asking for food until bedtime.

My final results. After 8 weeks on Fast 800 I lost 29lbs. 6 inches off hips and 4 inches off waist. My fasting blood sugar levels are worse! I know these are not always reliable so not going to worry too much about that just now. Will look at HbA1c instead. Weight loss has slowed so to boost things will get serious about exercise. Also going to cut carbs as low as I can and eat more fat. Have been looking at Real Meal Revolution recipes as well as new BSD recipe book. I am still counting calories sticking to 800 as I have a lot more to lose. I don’t know if I can eat more food anyway! My appetite and portion sizes have really changed!

Other results…I am no longer addicted to carbs. I am not bothered if other people are eating them and don’t crave sugar. I don’t feel hungry all the time and when I am hungry I am at still in control. I have more energy and don’t feel any discomfort in my knees going upstairs. I don’t feel so conspicuous and am holding my head a little higher.

Hi Jan – glad that it was good news from the appointment on Monday

Yowzer – if your GP practice is anything like as busy as mine, find out how long it takes for the 24 hour reading results to get back to the GP, and schedule in an appointment to discuss them if you don’t have one already.

Feeling very very stuffed – went to a Vegan Ethiopian Cookery class this evening – amazing food. Most of it fairly low carb – I will work out the calories, carbs etc and post some recipes here when I have time. Several pots of left over nice curry and veg in the fridge too.
A staple of Ethiopian food is a bread/pancake thing called injera, made with Teff flour – didn’t eat a whole one, but tasted some – not that different to good old gram flour pancakes.
No on was vegan, so we had yogurt with it -tasted amazing, and turned out to be from lidl – seems to have even fewer carbs than fage.
Froglet is cross because I’ve been out all day, and she keeps biting my feet, so I’m going to go to bed and watch GBBO while I am too full to be remotely tempted to eat anything, and my feet will be safely under the duvet.

Day 9 & my husband & I seem to have managed to stay around 800 calories although with different suppers because he was out & had to have a take away because we have just about run out of suitable food!
So he had a small cod & mushy peas from the fish & chip shop & I made half of the courgetti carbonara recipe using the lower calorie full fat yoghurt instead of double cream because that is what I had in the fridge. I highly recommend this because it was delicious & I didn’t miss pasta because the courgetti tasted so good coated in the sauce.
Tomorrow is grocery shopping day & so far we have loved eating more avocados, prawns, salads, houmous & have found favourite recipes in the recipe book. Last week I overshopped on broccoli with the 3 for 2 offer & had so much left over I have made two litres of broccoli soup🤔😂 however the cauliflower rice was a great success with the steak stir fry so I will buy more cauliflower.
All of you are doing so well! We still feel as though we are part of an ongoing experiment but both of us have been recruiting people to change to this from seeing our own example & so far one each👍👍👍😎😎

Hi
I have two kids – 10 and 6 at school. And I’m really struggling with putting something in the lunchbox for recess and lunch that isn’t loaded with hidden sugars and that they’ll eat! There’s a sandwich for lunch, sultanas, fruit, cheese and crackers – but if you add all that up its still got a fair bit of sugar. Any suggestions for a healthy school lunch that is quick & easy to pack in the morning (I’m a working mum and don’t have much time) and that the kids will actually eat (I have fussy eaters too!). Thanks

Mind you … even though it i confusing everyone can work the program in the way that is best for them and i wish that however it is done it works wonderfully for everyone!

HUGS

I find it confusing as well.

I think people use the term BSD very loosely and they mean different things by it.

I’ve been reading posts on this site since approx. Sept 1 … and i tried the 800 for a few weeks but didn’t succeed most days, got sick, gained weight back … so i’m going with the plan that seems to work for most. I am doing this to reverse diabetes and get healthy … it’s a must for me.

I am doing 800 calories and 50 carbs or less. I’m sure i will fail sometimes.

I’m trying to make sure i get some fibre every day … helps with constipation.

I am also going to try and reduce my coffee/cream. I tried to just reduce the cream … but i don’t like it so i am going to try more tea drinking … i don’t like just water usually.

Hello again,
Nickix- if you are having problems going to the loo, try eating
kiwi
When I was pregnant and couldn’t go, my gynie told me to eat 2 a day.
It worked!!!

That’s what I thought.
I’m sticking to the book myself, although if I’ve worked out hard like tonight I do allow the 100 cal protein snack.
So are people here just doing lo- cal and not BSD? I find it confusing reading all the interpretations tbh.

Hi everyone
I am down 3 kilos.
Yippee!!!
One small step for man etc etc
Delighted, over the moon, thrilled. Could go on forever.
It’s been hard work over the past 12 days.
Tomorrow I have to go away to an adventure centre for 2 days with my students where we will be eating what we are given due to the nature of the trip.
Packing a salad for 2 days doesn’t cut it.
I’m also being discreet about my diet. I just don’t want to draw unnecessary attention to my actions. My colleagues are great but I don’t want to share what I am doing just yet. Maybe I don’t want to jinx it.
So, I will do the best I can for the next 2 days.
Life goes on. The way I look at it is- I’m having time out.
Hope all goes well.
Good luck to everyone
Cheers

My diet today :

3 very small chicken drumsticks, no skin (i actually weighed the chicken meat on the scale … it wasn’t even 2 oz.) of meat …. i looked around for calories/carbs … i allowed 200 calories 0 carbs.
Coffee with cream : 60 calories ; 2 carbs
Cauliflower soup (bit of celery too) … 25 calories ; 2 carbs

Salad with grilled chicken … some egg, cheese, pecans, bacon bits, chopped tomato, bit of ranch dressing, salad greens …. ate 1/2 of everything and took rest for tomorrow … 300 cals ? 20 carbs? …. i will have to hope this is reasonable.

Chia tea

Wow that’s fantastic. Well I will be going for it on Monday. I love cooking so hopefully can cook lots to freeze. Thanks for advice..

Lesleyp 🙂 ….. i don’t think everyone is doing the same thing …. yes bread, even whole grain, is on the AVOID list (see the book on why).

NO EXERCISE DOES NOT OFFSET CALORIES OR CARBS … You are expected to do reasonable exercise within your calories/carbs … unless you are climbing mountains and such.

Sometimes i see posts where people are not loosing weight, hitting long plateau times, etc. Although your body needs to stop and take a few days to breathe every once in a while … and people don’t loose even while still being within their calorie and carb limits.

But a lot of the time people are kind of winging it … diet-wise.

Really … for most people … you need to count 800 calories or pretty close … and 50 carbs or less (this 50 carbs or less is not from the book … it is what people here on this site have learned through experience).

Poppetini 🙂 a run sounds good … so far i am just up for a walk!!!

Switzerland 🙂 … no snakes sighted … that’s like no bears sighted here

1. cold but Sunny now!
2. Got a new bank account … my local bank is moving so i signed up at the next most convenient place
3. Lunch at Boston Pizza …. had salad and grilled chicken with a teeny bit of dressing / saved half for tomorrow!! Polishing my halo now!!

I’ve noticed quite a few people are using bread in their daily record. I thought that bread was really off the plan in at least the first 8 weeks as there are too many carbs? What does everyone think?

Hi everyone – sounds like everyone is making their way. I think it depends on how you were eating just before you start this plan as to what effects it has. As I had done it before and I am mainly decaf I think I sort of slid into it with out going cold turkey on anything.
I’ve had a good day 3…. A bit peckish but had healthy things available at work if I needed them. As well as the lunch thing I described yesterday there is an honesty tuck shop too!!!! I have relocated my business for some building work to be done to a local community centre and these are the temptations of being around other people!
Breakfast – protein shake
Snack protein bar
Lunch yummy chorizo sweet pot carrot soup
Supper chilli and cauli rice + yog strawberries.
Went to the gym after work and actually had more energy that usual!
Do others count their exercise calories against food or take them as a bonus? I tend to just maybe add another 100 or so on the day if I’ve used about 500 calories.

I’m a newbie around here but have decided to go for it after seeing a friend do so well. I tried the 5:2 a couple of years ago but found I was eating more than usual on my non-fast days! I think I am an ‘all or nothing’, type person so I am going to go for the 800 and see what happens! I haven’t got high BS but I do put on a lot of weight around my middle very easily. I have fibromyalgia and a hiatus hernia and feel more unhealthy and weary than I have for many years. I’d love to hear from anyone who has either of these issues and seen success! Any top tips very gratefully received!!! 🙂

I’ve just reworked it out I’m actually day 1 of week 16, I’ve lost a few weeks somewhere. Hehe

Well you are certainly in the right place both mentally and physically. Physically you are here with us and we are here to help you, I sound like an evangelist, sorry. Mentally, you have been through it and you are ready to put things right. You should be able to achieve everything you want on this diet. It is not a miracle worker but pretty near to it. At least medically your life will improve even if we can’t improve your love life, that will come.

Enjoy the journey, it is well worth the effort, the carb blues, the hunger (although not for me) and the flak you will get from your doctor. Put a message out to all of them, you are doing this for you.

Good luck.

Right well end of day 1 week 14
Cals 756 carbs 50 and 5532 steps, good day, kept busy. On plan and loving it. 🙂🙂🙂

Oh I don’t think I posted yesterday. Had a blip. Was treated to dinner last night. Actually felt dreadful afterwards. Didn’t sleep all night. Nothing to eat today until lunchtime. I had homemade pea and broad bean soup with bread and butter. Supper was salad, super grains, hard boiled eggs. Stuffed now but in a good way. Drank plenty of fluids today and even got some exercise in. Went swimming and had a morning walk.

Total cals consumed today 819.
Mangetout are those flat pea pods.

Have a great evening, everyone.

Not one for every day but ended up in Nando’s with my son and his mate. Butterfly chicken and mixed leaf salad was borderline in the spirit of BSD but made a bit of a change. After 22000 steps wandering around a university open day, I reckoned I could cut myself some slack.

Hi HealthyH,

There is an interesting study on the correlation between high carb intake and prevalence of diabetes in Japan. They looked at the amount of white rice eaten and identified a clear correlation in women but in men the correlation was only “suggested”. If you look at the statistics in the paper there is a clear gender difference. So physiology certainly plays some part.

Miranda, sorry you’ve had a bad day. One glass of wine is really 👌 ok but if you had a bottle that would be a whole different story. Just get back to your diet asap. 😉

Ziggy

Thanks!!

Staying focused on the theme of positive thoughts thread:
1.Spring in the mountains is delightful. The waterfalls are all running well due to recent rains.
2. Fine weather made for very pleasant bush walks, aiding mindfulness and all other aspects of BSD.
3. No snake sightings today (I know they’re around but it’s nice not to encounter them).

Fallen off the wagon and had a drink as had the worst day ever

Okay, so you have got rid of the bad carbs, you are going low calorie and you are losing weight . I don’t think you are doing much wrong. We all make mistakes and even after 15 weeks I am still learning. Keep on with the diet, it clearly suits you and look forward to a healthier future. Keep asking questions, there is always someone to help.

My GP is a waste of time. The only approach to dealing with him is to tell him what I’m doing. When I told him I wanted six months to demonstrate that I could regulate my blood sugar by diet/lifestyle, his response was to add a note to my records saying I had “declined” medication. Typical a**e-covering public sector middle manager.

My diabetic nurse on the other hand is an absolute star. She had heard of BSD but didn’t have a patient trying it. She is impressed by the results (down 44lb in 10 weeks, 5 inch off the waist and blood pressure down into normal) but has asked me to do a V-something blood test which will test to make sure that I’m getting all the right nutrients. Sounds sensible to me. We have agreed a target weight and she has recommended doing some weight training as new muscle typically is more sensitive to insulin. She quoted the Johns Hopkins study and it looks good to me. She’s looking forward to the next HbA1C test in December.

Without getting on my hobby horse, most medics are quoting current best practice, it is not “out-dated”. The Newcastle research is not yet complete.

I would suggest simply talking to them about outcomes not diets….

Hi, Billingebabe! Thanks for the nice welcome! Thanks, too, for the great ideas and suggestions! I agree on all of the above! So excited to be here! This is really something special going on!!! Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Hi all nearing the end of day 3 and feeling a bit more confident about recording carbs/calories, the myfatsecret app has really helped, thanks Shalimar😊. Good luck for Friday Natalie, hugs and hope all goes well.

Made chicken breast stuffed with spinach and feta for my dinner, recipe from Pinterest and it was yummy, 380 Cal’s and 3g carb, lots of crunchy stir fry veg so it was nice and filling😍.

Hope you’re feeling better Bluemoon, keep strong fellow 10/10’s, we can do it💪

Sorry both of you. Wrong way round . fruit is a problems I know that. I used to eat a lot plus 1 or 2 bananas a day .I am eating a lot of good non starchy vegetables. Its working for me, but I am one of those people who has to understand the ins and outs and totally understand in my head how these things work !!

Hi there…! Like many people here, i plateaued round end week 2 / week 3.. Its disheartening,we all can understand how you feel! But keep going! If you join myfitness pal or mynetdiary,they will calculate yr cals and carbs for you,so you know what youre having every day and can alter things round if need be so you only eat the amounts youve decided to eat.
i go for 800 cals and 50 g carb a day…had to learn that the apples and pears i love were no longer foods i can eat freely..the carb content is pretty high! I only have a handful of berries a day now and keep an eye on veg too..a small apple is a weekly or fortnightly treat now!x

SPUDDY lots of advice here to help you decide,so all i want to add is that before I began,it seemed a terribly harsh regime to me. I wd never have started except my friend had done it and had wonderful results.
I was very apprehensive and felt quite down about beginning it,but begin it i did, and was amazed and pleased to find that after a day or two,i didnt miss bread or any other simple carbs at all…and i was really enjoying eating more nutritious foods,specially the full fat foods. I am now on week 14 so have gone far beyond the 8 weeks that once seemed un doable and impossible. Last weigh in I had lost 40 lb and i expect to hit at least 42 lb next weigh in which is due now..so that will be 3 stone off and several inches from waist,some off hips and a much much flatter tum! Give it a go,ease in gently if you want to..people do it all different ways..different strokes for different folks! X good luck whatever you decide!

I’m not diabetic or prediabetic, but I’ve got a spare tyre (truck size!) that I’d like to get rid of because I have a hiatus hernia and the extra fat round my middle does me no good whatsoever.

You should be cutting out simple carbs and eating complex carbs, what are you eating. Maybe you have just got the terminology the wrong way round, simple carbs are potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, sugar and cereals. Complex carbs are found in vegetables, pulses like beans, soya protein like chickpeas, and nuts. Fruit is too carb dense and contains too much sugar so should be avoided if you are on the 800 cal 8 week diet. Although you are allowed berries, even tomatoes are high in sugar and carbs. Complicated, yes, but you soon get used to it. I don’t miss simple carbs at all, except when I walk past the fresh bread counter in our supermarket.

Complex carbs …. you don’t eat any beans, lentils, non starchy veggies, nuts, seeds?

Ah thanks everyone. I don’t think I’ll weigh and measure myself until after the weekend.. I just wondered if results are better if you are pre-diabetic/diabetic or it doesn’t make a difference. All I know is if I cut down on carbs, I feel so much better. My downfall has always been bread…especially tiger bread.. oh and cider so a definite no no..

The diet doesn’t actually specify a carb allowance, as I understand it, but lots of people here try to restrict the net carbs they eat because it encourages greater weight loss. Some people go for under 50 g, others 30 g. But it isn’t part of Dr. MM’s plan, as I understand it.

I plateaued, like you, but someone suggested I start measuring things other than weight. And it was true: even though the scales showed no change, my waist did shrink a couple of centimetres.

Thanks for reply Shalimar, I totally agree with you. The book doesn’t make quite a few things clear. I feel it assumes a lot. But hey ho.

MM says in the book that they welcome comments- but where? I would like to think he, or somebody else involved would read these forums every so often.

At my recent health check, I had a job getting g them to have thyroid tested within the bloods they had taken. I have NO chance of getting g the tests that MM sugessts. We are not qualified doctors married to a GP!
I have not eaten any complex carbs at all, but am having 2\3 pieces fruit daily and 1/2 pt ski med milk a day. I k now what to do if I need to reduce my simple carbs.

Hi,

I have been using the USN Diet Fuel Ultralean cafe latte flavour. I chose to go down the shake route as I found that getting the calories correct and balancing getting the correct minerals etc. was very hard and lets face it one of the reasons I got large was because of my lack of portion control ability.

Another reason was that on week three my weight loss stalled and continued for two weeks. I found that I was consuming less than 800 calories per day and this was having a negative impact. I started at 19st 11 and I am currently on week 6 and weight in at 17st 7.

The annoying thing with the meal replacements shakes is that in the majority they contain some form of sweetener. USN has fructose in small quantities and I can taste it. The alternative I am using is Sanatagen protein powder from Boots but it tastes of nothing so you need to add flavour and that is hard to do when not at home or fresh.

I am now extending my 8 week plan to 12 weeks and use steely mindset to get through it. I have found that you definitely need to exercise more and more and if you set goals and targets it makes it easier to monitor the increases.

“Persevere and you will succeed” and “8 weeks is worth it for a lifetime of benefits” are statements I repeat daily as most of the negatives or reasons to give in come from the mind.

I hope this helps