The Diet Doctor web site has good recipes (besides the BSD book and recipe book) also look at Nom Nom Paleo, which is nearly free of bad carbs.

Fabulous, quinnt and Mrs quinnt!!!!

Fantastic results you must be absolutely thrilled! So pleased your GP has seen the results and is impressed enough to recommend to other patients – we will get there in the end!

and 31 pounds in 8 weeks, whilst taking weight-gaining drugs!

YAY

well, that’s all there is to say, really! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi all,

I’m starting today too. I have previously lost weight quickly and happily when trying out 5:2 for a couple of weeks, so I’m looking forward to doing the 8 weeks, for greater impact.

Today I’ve had:

– a handful of walnuts at 11
– grilled salmon and steamed veg for lunch

Dinner will be a quarter chicken and roasted veg. I will have just enough cals left for a small glass of whole milk before bed.

Very thirsty today, so I’m downing water!

Good luck everyone who is starting today – and those who are already making progress!

Welcome HealthyH

You need to take note of your own body and feelings, but I would suggest that you DON’T add in extra calories on the days you exercise.

You are changing your hormonal response whilst on the BSD to burn fat for energy and not quick release carbs. So if you exercise, but still stick to the 800 (average, you don’t have to hit it on the nose each day), you will lose that weight quicker and train your body to get the energy from those fat cells.

As you start, you may have a bit of ‘carb flu’ which you may have read about, and this can (but not always) lead to feeling a bit tired to start off with. But this should soon pass and strangely even on 800 calories (which some people think is a ridiculous level, I know) you will feel full of vim and vigour.

I did the whole BSD, exercising the while, on the 800 calories and can say that it was absolutely fine.

But of course, every individual is….er…..individual, so if you feel weak and weebly, then you may need to tweak your calories.
The main thing is, if you do this, to try and keep your carbs (the good veggie ones) at 50g or less per day.

And just to add, absolutely no issues with your OH and pre-diabetes. My OH was Type 2 for a long time until I bought this book (I needed to lose some weight and had no idea how to do it, despite success previously) and told him that he might be able to get off Metformin if he followed the instructions. He saw me for a few weeks, joined in, and now is Type 2 ‘in remission’ on zero diabetes pills, and feels wonderful. We are loving this way of eating. 🙂

Jules, I had seen my doctor just 3 week before but only after decided to join a Zumba class, so I had to go back and have all the same things, blood pressure, pulse, weight and a chat. Came away with my Certificat de non contra-indicative de practique d’un sportive – Zumba. Went to the class and they didn’t even ask for it. Going back tonight and will officially sign up and pay so they might want it then.

Wow you guys! What a great first week. Maccaslim and Caz ->10lb is amazing! How did you do that??

I’m happy though: Week 1 check in is 4lb down, 4 waist inches down, BMI 32.4. All going in the right direction and the cravings have gone.

Good luck for week 2 everybody.

Hello Primadawn! I also just read in Woman’s World magazine about this diet, AND also live in rural Missouri. Starting the 800 calorie today and wishing us both luck. Battled with weight all y life! Have lost well with Weight Watchers but have hit a plateau & need a boost to lose another 25 pounds. Here’s hoping we are both successful. Good luck!

The only thing to add is that you might – if your weight is too much – find exercise on top of a lower calories eating programme is too much.

So I would heartily recommend – in fact, I’d INSTRUCT you – to read Lucia’s MY EIGHT WEEKS thread about starting exercise.
I am considering nominating her for the Nobel Prize for Inspiration (there is one, right?) as she regularly expresses stuff in a way which fills you with both hope and intention and gets you up off your bottom in ways you probably never considered.

Please please read it – use the SEARCH box – and you will never give up on exercise again.

🙂 🙂 🙂

And tell me if I’m not RIGHT!!!

There are carbs in all vegetables and – as you say – in grains.

The BSD simply recommends avoiding ‘heavy’ carb things, and refined carbs (wheat, bread, pasta, sugar).

So that’s why root vegetables are specified and I think the grains you mention are to be kept low.

Many people here aim to keep their carbs at 50g or under per day, and ‘spend’ these carbs on various things. Obviously you could have, for example, lots of lentils, or some carrots – but these would add up quickly, and therefore you might prefer to limit the quantities a bit.

I’ve really enjoyed the pulses I’ve eaten, but find that the quantities recommended in recipes are a bit large for what I need.

Hope that helps 🙂

+1 for spring onions – lot of flavour for fewer carbs

P.S. ….. i see the recipe in the 8 week book …… i guess they mean almost zero carbs ….. Everything is relative.

Welcome Primadawn

I think the thing about ‘spending’ calories on eggs for breakfast, or whatever, is experimenting a bit to see what you need.

Lots of people seem to start their day with full fat yoghurt and a few berries, which keeps them going.
I am really happy with some white coffee (counting in the milk) and I don’t actually need or want breakfast till much later – at lunchtime! If I am at home, I have eggs then as a sort of brunch type thing.

So what might be best is to try a few days having a more calorie breakfast and then perhaps not much lunch and a reasonable size dinner.
Or you might find you are happier having just two main meals per day, with a much lighter third one.

But good luck with trying lots more things – loads of people here have tried stuff very doubtfully and then come on to say how much they liked them, and who knew?

🙂

Hi everyone..

just wanted to double check – I do have the book and read it a few times – doing the BSD
But why are Grains that come from wheat bad? – such as Farro Wheatberries and Freehah – although I think Farro (or the one I have) is spelt based – which I also assume is no go.

I have cut out all of the grains I have – I don’t normally eat wheat, bread, pasta or potatoes anyway – we have a lot of lentils and so on ..

I would like to know what is OK from a carb point of view – as its not 100% clear to me
I can appreciate that potatoes and Rice – do convert quickly to sugar
and anything processed like white flour based -such as bread, pasta etc (and even whole grain as its not really wholgrain) and cereal are definitely no go
but do the other whole Grains.. pass.

Thanks in advance..

Yes, all things in moderation is great advice JulesMaigret and I also think that viewing the calorie target of the BSD as something to ‘spend’ is really useful. You can choose, you see.

So – in answer to Heather Patricia – my two pennyworth is

An apple is 80 calories and 18 grams of carbs (approximately, depending on size of course, from MyFitnessPal), and therefore planned into a day is fine.
Onions – and I love a good red onion (or two) – are also relatively ‘carby’
You can ”spend’ and calculate these in

I decided during the BSD that an apple was a bit much, and got my ‘fruit’ fix from either 6 baby plum tomatoes at 16 calories and 2 carbs (for a ploughman’s – eat them v e r y slowly) or some raspberries/blueberries/blackberries (only about 20g of them for a more sweet based thing)

And for onions – well, I found that a couple of Spring Onions were a really good alternative for a red onion. Yes, I know they’re much smaller, but they bring a nice oniony tang and are less ‘expensive’.

I had always thought that fruit, in particular, ‘didn’t matter’ and you could eat it freely with no repercussions at all. Then at the end of a family walking holiday, I ‘ate up’ the remaining fruit which I’d bought for lunches. Two or three apples, and about four clementines. And then I added them into MyFitnessPal. The calories!!!!! The carbs!!!! The sugar!!!!!

it was quite a surprise.

Your choice, though – just don’t eat fruit mindlessly is my advice 😉

Apples have carbs and calories … so do onions.

You can just look up these counts on the internet …. or use MyFatSecret site … or other sites.

put
no carb ploughmans”” in the search button here …. this has been discussed

Apples are less carby than say bananas …. berries are the best for carbs.

“What you eat depends on how many carbs you want to allow yourself …. most people here seem to prefer under 50

P.S. there are carbs in virtually all fruit and vegetables except coffee, water, tea

Hello fellow dieters! After reading an article last week about the diet in Woman’s World magazine, I’ve decided this looked like a good fit for me (doing the 800 calorie). I live in the US in rural Missouri. I’m a 45 year old wife and mother of 3 girls-2 in college and 1 at home. I teach at a local college and love my job, but it’s fairly sedentary. I’m 5’2″ and starting this morning at 191 lb. Too much for a short girl!
I started my morning with 2 scrambled eggs and 2 thin strips of bacon and have had TONS of water already (I like drinking water so it’s not hard). For lunch I brought a mixed green salad with some grilled chicken (no dressing) and an apple in case I need something more before going home.
After entering my foods into myfitnesspal, I see that eggs may not always be the best thing in the morning since they take up so many calories. My problem with this diet (and nearly every other one I”ve tried) is that I am an extremely picky eater. I WANT to like healthier foods, but I have an aversion to certain textures and basically have the sophisticated palate of a 9 year old (pizza, tacos, fried chicken..lol. Hence my weight gain). So part of my journey will be really making a concerted effort to try new foods.
The POSITIVE is that I really do enjoy working out and have recently joined a local gym to do so more regularly. I will use this thread to post food and workouts and would love to hear from anyone else starting today (or recently) so we can be a support to each other!

My own view is that all things in moderation.

I give myself an allowance of carbs per day and if I want to spend some of then on an apple then fine I just have to cut back elsewhere.

Impressive numbers!

I think that you’re absolutely right that diet and exercise are inextricably linked and it probably isn’t worth trying to separate them out as that just leads to conclusions like “if I cycle for three hours I can have five doughnuts for tea”.

My own cholesterol has drifted into the acceptable range and I reckon that diet and increased exercise have both contributed.

My point, which I may not have expressed too clearly, was we cannot expect medical professionals to “make a judgment”, we expect them culturally to do the right thing and that can only be based on proper assessments. I understand the point about frustration, and my post was not meant to be a sweeping criticism of this forum, but more a call to be a bit more understanding.

Sunshine girl – you remind me of my experience when I worked in Paris. On the first day I arrived I had to go for a test to certify that I was ‘apte’ to work. The test included an audio test in French where you had to follow instructions recorded on a crackly old tape in French. I failed that section miserably as I had no idea what the person was saying. Still passed the test.

I went for the old Certificat d’Aptitude Physique to join the local rugby club. The doctor took one look at me, spent five minutes talking about that year’s England-France game, signed the form and charged me FF300 – showing my age!.

You have to love French bureaucracy.

thanks for the response Lynne, I have seen you name pop up on many posts, your a credit to the forum 🙂

Disclaimer – I’m not trying to lose weight. I’m trying to stay healthy, which is a different matter. (I’m a man of 69). That is my interest in the foods here.

My last NHS health check reported HDL=2.4 and LDL=2.6. (And Triglycerides=0.7). But I think this was mostly (not entirely) to do with exercise, (mainly HIIT), not diet. I say this because a few years ago the report was HDL=1.4 and LDL=3.6, and the major difference since then has been exercise, with changes to diet not so dramatic. (I don’t follow a STRICT blood sugar diet).

I don’t know how to disentangle the effects of diet and exercise. Or even whether it matters, since I’m certain that I need both to stay healthy.

There appears to be some confusion about apples and onions. One of the meal plans in the book is “no carb ploughmans” which has an apple in it. Then on the forums it says that apples are too carby. Can someone clarify please? Also, what about onions? Are they full of carbs too?? Thanks.

Started last week without book, just dropping all the simple carbs and adding extra veg in their place…. already making a difference. will be glad to compare notes with others here! 15 st., 5’6″, aiming for 11 st for now. Fish & chicken eater, not red meat. have extended over night fast from dinner by 7 p.m. until breakfast at work about 11 a.m., as Michael suggests. it’s working!

Not sure what week I am on now but now down to 107.2kg. The blood test now showing my HBac1 is 39 after exactly 8 weeks so no doubt continuing to fall, the kidney function has improved since the last test, trying to walk up to 12 miles a week now and the claudication is improving and ED is also showing signs of improvement. My cholesterol has improved but needs further improvement but triglycerides are now 1.8 when a few years ago were 49.4. The Doctor has said that it was amazing seeing such a marked improvement which she has only seen with those who have gastric surgery. She was going to recommend this diet to her other patients. I know I don’t come on here very often but I hope that these results may encourage others who are just starting out on their journey. I never mentioned before but my wife has been following the diet as well, she is a non diabetic but last year was diagnosed with heart failure and she has managed to lose over 31 lbs in the same time, this is amazing because of one of the drugs she takes means she should gain weight.

Hi Frog and Igorasusual
I have been drinking loads and although I hate exercise and find it completely boring I have been walking as much as possible. I am impatient and no I haven’t been measuring but I will now (as soon as I can find the tape measure). I also haven’t really considered the carbs in green veg and have eaten shedloads of them as I assumed that as long as I was under the calorie count I would be fine. Definitely something to think about. Thanks for your helpful comments – I won’t give up!

Hi Frog

Hope you had a good weekend.

The menu sounds like a vast improvement on earlier weeks. I love teriyaki salmon but how do you make that without too much sugar?

Mrs Carby sounds like a hoot and if nothing else at least she brings a smile to all our faces!

All in all, sounds like an interesting group of women!

Hi All,

Count me in, great idea having this thread. I have started today, so kind of in the same group as everyone else here.

I am married man, 41, father of three, I am 5ft 8 and weigh in a 241 lbs. I honestly am stocky so some of it is bone, muscle etc 😅

Looking to get to 210lbs as my first target with the help of this plan and support of this community.

Good luck to all here👍

I guess I have hit another mini goal in that I have lost 14.5 lbs, just over a stone. However, 3 lbs of that was before BSD so a bit of a cheat but I am still well chuffed.

Next mini goal is, again, chuck out the knickers at my next 2.5 lbs. Will have lost 10% weight at the next 3lb loss – wow that’s a surprise. That will do for now.

Hi. Just started this morning and I’m terrified! I have “hit rock bottom” and I feel if this doesn’t work for me then I have nowhere left to go! I’m highly motivated but frightened that I will make some mistake with the recipes and that I’ll slow my weight loss. Any tips?
Good luck.

We know there is yet to be a ‘result’ on the Prof Taylor ‘experiment’ and the jury is still out though very promising. We are the ones who thought, what the hell, no one else is giving us alternative, let’s just go for it. So here we are.

BTW I know that LCHF normally stands for low carb high fat, but watching Dr Mosley in Australia, he calls it low carb healthy fat. That makes better sense as people always say, oh you are doing Atkins. Also, if you watch the TV programme he was on in Oz he is a lot more critical of the medical profession and of the drugs we are being given. Says doctors don’t even know if they work. He was a lot more outspoken over there.

Hello Rosieha, good questions. Your ideal weight is what you want to be according to your height and frame and possibly BMI but it is a bit iffy. You will find charts for ideal weight charts just from googling and they usuallly give a range. E.g. for me, I am 4’11” and small frame, according to the books I should be between 6 st 9lbs and 8st 7lbs. Never in this world would I ever be 6,9 and I once hit 8,7 when I was about 19. I know what I look like and for me 9 stone is about right. Have a goal in mind but if it is a big one, don’t get overwhelmed, plan for mini goals (there is a thread on this). You say you want to lose 21lb to take you to a mid BMI, just see how it goes. As for how you look, I know I will be a bit scraggy at a lower weight but I am diabetic and I know the alternatives, I’m 63 and would love a chin lift but just have to live with it.

Jumping the gun a bit, but on the subject of what to eat when you are on maintenance, check out captainlynne and igorasusual, I think they are both on maintenance. My plan is to go Mediterannean, not worry too much about the calories, keeping an eye on weight, but stick to the low carb principle which keeps my diabetes in check. If you go 5:2, on the 5 days, again I would say Mediterannean. For me, with another 10kg to lose, it is a bit too far away to thinks about.

Hello there
I started Sober October and 800 Calorie diet on October1st . I’m 57, 5ft8in and have now dropped to 12st13lb. I’ve been flirting with the diet since I discovered that I was more than 13st8lb a few weeks ago. Now I’m doing it for real. GP said my blood sugars are all good but I have gained 2stone of fat around my midrift since falling and hurting my leg this spring. I’m back to swimming walking and cycling now but the tummy and back fat wasn’t budging and I don’t like it. I did plenty of cooking and food prep on sunday and am taking packed lunches to work so that I don’t need to go into one of these fabulous tempting food emporiums around high Holborn . So far so good.

Hi JulesMaigret

I think you’re very fortunate to have had ‘uniformly positive’ interactions with medical professionals and I would suggest that you are, maybe, the exception that proves the rule.

Unfortunately, many medical professionals, think that they have the monopoly on ‘knowledge/intelligence’ and often don’t give ‘patients’ credit for understanding their own bodies.

Nobody here suggests that BDS should be ‘blindly endorsed’ but on the other hand the ‘established’ thinking of ‘low fat’ regimes seems to have failed. The obesity problem is growing by the day, as are the number of people being treated for diabetes. The only people to have succeeded in the long term, over the last twenty years or so, singing the ‘low fat’ song, are the owners of ‘slimming clubs’!!!

I have to agree with sunshine-girl in that we often get frustrated, and it’s that that you are reading here rather than ‘extreme criticism’.

I think the beauty of these ‘fora’ is that people from all backgrounds, levels of intelligence and cultures can share their experiences, good and bad, and come together in ‘discussion’.

Whilst we obviously need follow up studies, sometimes you just have to make a judgement, based on your own circumstances and experiences, and follow your own instincts.

The medical profession want to do it but NICE is holding back, maybe as Jules say, until the results are in. My own experience with the medical profession is mixed, a diabetic nutritionist who put me on a high carb diet which led to 5kg weight gain and HBA1c of 11.5 when I had been 5.6. I managed to get down to 8.2 myself by cutting carbs down but still ate the usual culprits. Then, thankfully, I found this diet and I am back down to 6.7 with hope of a further reduction at the end of Nov test.

My own doctor is an absolute sweetheart and he asked me what I am doing wrong, I showed him the diet sheet, he said he couldn’t eat that much carb in a day and, as a Frenchman, loved his baguette. When, a year later, I told him I was on 800 cals he was gobsmacked but asked me what I ate and I showed him a 5 day menu plan. He said, okay, it is working, carry on. I had lost 4 kg since my previous visit as well as improving HBA1c. I had to see him last week to get a fit to exercise certificate and had lost another 2kg. So he is well happy.

hello all.
Well I started yesterday to eat 800C daily, as shown in MM book. Early days but not too bad so far. A couple of queries though that I wonder if anybody can help with please. I have about 21 llb that will take me to mid BMI ( I am one of those people who go scraggy faced if really thin, haha) and not pre or diabetic – but could be as I age, as I love the wrong foods.
How do you know your target weight? Is it an individual thing?
Linked to above, MM talks about fat draining from liver and pancreas. How do you know when this happens? ( sorry if I appear a bit thick)
When I reach my target weight, how do you stay there? The book says perhaps 800 c one day a week or 5:2 or 6:1, but what do you eat the other days to bring your calorie intake up by probably 600 c a day, when you can’t eat bread pasta potatoes etc with your meals. I am confused a bit.
Thank you for letting me ask the questions, which to you all have obvious answers.

Hi JulesMaigret (great name by the way)

At the foot of this post is what sunshine-girl posted a little time ago, which I found very helpful in terms of research to date, and official advice.

Whilst I am very very very appreciative of the NHS in the UK and would not criticise it unduly (except as a critical friend) as I really would not want to do without it, I do find that GPs are not particularly well educated about nutrition and the various alternatives and are often prone to suggest that their patients ‘go away and lose weight’ without much advice as to how to do it. It is my view many many people would like an indication of ‘how to do it’, especially if it produces swift and measurable results, and can be undertaken without too much suffering of hunger. The other benefits are just ‘the icing on the cake’ and yes, I wish that was a more appropriate metaphor 🙂

Thank you sunshine-girl, I keep quoting this:

A page printed from the Public Health Collaboration on Healthy Eating Guidelines and Weight Loss for the United Kingdom. The site is phcuk.org, an official government site for public health.
Conclusion on page 24 said in 2008 “Evidence from this systematic review demonstrates that low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets are more effective at 6 months and are as effective, if not more, as low-fat diets in reducing weight and cardiovascular
disease risk up to 1 year. More evidence and longer-term studies are needed to assessthe long-term cardiovascular benefits from the weight loss achieved using these diets.” That was in 2008
Finally, in February 2016 the fourth specific analysis was published in the British Journal of Nutrition finding that “Compared with subjects on low-fat diets, subjects on low-carbohydrate diets experienced significantly greater weight loss, greater triglycerides
reduction and greater increase in HDL-cholesterol after 6 months to 2 years of intervention.”
So between 2008 and 2016 the medical advice on nutrition has changed from thinking low carb might be a good idea to 2016 concluding it is a great idea. They go on to say that they are concerned that NICE are not taking up this advice and, in particular, still advocating high carb, low fat diets when it has been shown that low fat leads to fatter people. Apparently NICE are waiting for trial to end so phuk have carried out their own trials and their final final conclusion is:
In light of this scientific evidence the Public Health Collaboration recommends thatthe guidelines for weight loss in the UK should include an ad libitum low-carbohydrate-high-fat diet of real foods as an acceptable, effective and safe approach,

That sounds eminently sensible. I’d like to make sure that I understand the basics properly and potentially go on from there.

I called on my “new” teacher and as I walked in she was balancing on one hand with her legs and other hand motionless in the air. I reckon that’s probably a bit advanced for me for the moment 😉

I still have my sore throat and painful sinuses …. i was debating staying in and reading …. but i’m actually staying in and eating. It’s a short walk to the Bulk Food Store …. so i’m going to bundle up and go get some nuts and pumpkin seeds … and just get vertical for a bit. So far i’m eating healthy easy to prepare food … almost no cucumber left!
I guess it’s not quite as sore as yesterday …. so i AM definitely peckish!!

Hi there Lastchancesaloon

I’ll do my usual comment which is ARE YOU MEASURING??????

I also didn’t have so much to lose – was after a 20 loss, but to be quite frank would have been happy with a stone.
26 lbs or more than 15% of my starting body weight later, I am thrilled and have been on (very successful) maintenance for 2 months with no gain back of the lost weight.

However, I was frustrated early on and the thing to do is TO MEASURE and TO KEEP ON GOING and – if you are up for it – lower the carbs you’re eating each day. I worked on 20-30g of carbs which I not only enjoyed, but I think helped me kick off the weight loss. You say you hardly ate any carbs – are you measuring really thoroughly with an app like MyFitnessPal? Because some (good) veg are very carby – I ‘fell over’ with a little bit too much cabbage! 😉

But be a little patient – your 3 lbs is a great start and you would have been hard pushed to lose that much in a week any other way.

You might like my thread “Not too much to lose…” as it records what I did. Hope that helps 🙂

In this context it means my interactions with the medical professionals have been uniformly positive, I do understand from some people’s posts that their experience has differed.

Jules, as an ex-nurse I am aware of the constraints put on the medical profession and I don’t think we are over critical, just sometimes a bit frustrated that we are not listened to. As well as my nursing experience (some years ago now), my brother has just retired so is quite up to date. When he heard about this diet he tut tutted, when he heard it was 800 cals he nearly had a fit, when he came to visit I fed him my diet and now he is on it. He is not diabetic but has some medical problems. Only thing is he sticks to the diet, goes to the gym every day then eats 4 bars of chocolate. Oh well, you win some etc…..

By the way what does YMMV mean. I get your mileage may vary but don’t understand it in this context. I’m not quite down with the kids and only just worked out TTFN. lol

I am paying for some yoga classes …. the ones at the gym are free BUT i’ve tried them and they are too advanced for me right now.
The one thing both my new yoga class readers stress is Listen to your body …. You should not be in pain and to go as far in a pose as you can … but try and improve your poses, etc. bit by bit.

Thanks Shadow2

Good to hear that you’ve maintained through the summer 😃💐

That 5 pounds will soon disappear when you get back on track. Possibly even with interest!

Please keep posting your progress.

my highest weight was 26s 1lb Feb of this year and since then I have lost 2.5 stones, 1.5 on BSD, the only one to notice has been my mother-in-law?

I personally think …. when you are getting used to a very strict diet, as in the 800 calorie one …. take it easy … your system can’t just go from zero to 60, especially if you are not used to that level of exercise ….. take it easy and work your way up to the level of exercise that you want. If you’ve been doing some walking don’t start jogging or running all in one step. Walk … walk a little more, walk more distance or walk quicker.

If you are dizzy or nauseous … stop … have some water, etc. And try again later or on another day.

Hi lastchancesaloon

It’s 3lb you probably wouldn’t have lost otherwise – and over a seventh of the total weight that you want to loose, so well done!
Many of the people posting here will be aiming/needing to loose a lot more than you are, so if they are more overweight, they will see weight drop away quickly at the start. Don’t get too wound up by comparing your weight loss to other people.
Lucky you that you haven’t let yourself get as overweight as many people here before finding BSD!

Things to think about:
Did you drink lots of water?
How’s your digestive system been? – lots of threads and constipation if you use the search box in the top right hand corner.
Can you increase the amount of exercise that you do?

Hi Verano,

I have my issues with medical professionals but these fora do have a tendency to be very critical of doctors and nurses regarding their lack of knowledge of/unwillingness to blindly endorse BSD. In medical terms, the research for the effectiveness/safety of LCHF diets is still incomplete as long-term, follow-up studies have not yet been done and subject to rigorous peer review. To have them accept all new ideas without these rigorous studies would be equally inadvisable, as the current debate over the real effectiveness of statins on a wide population probably shows us.

Saying that, all the medical professionals I have dealt with on this topic over the last few months have been nothing but supportive and made it clear what the risks and options are and that it is ultimately my choice. YMMV.

Hi Lastchance, don’t be too disappointed, if you have stuck to it it will come off. I only lost 3lbs in my first week and I am still a slow loser. I put it down to injecting insulin every night. Could there be any reason. You say you had barely any carbs, okay what did you have, this is not a no carb diet but low carb, did you count everything both calories and carbs can sneak in when you are not looking, milk in tea, a piece of fruit. 800 is very hard to balance so it is easy to make mistakes.

Keep on keeping on. You will lose.

Just back from DDCC today – quite a nice recipe, teriyaki salmon with stir fired courgetti and mange tout type beans (not quite mange tout, not exactly sure, have to google and find out)
Got to try out a larger model of spiraliser, which was interesting.

Importance of exercise was the topic for today – with a walk.
I went off ahead, varied the route, did an extra half mile and got back 20 minutes before the rest of them did – which is fine, I appreciate it must be hard arranging that sort of stuff for a very mixed ability group. BUT – for the ones that didn’t feel like doing a walk, the alternative was to join a pasta making class that was going on in another part of the centre 🙂

The woman that couldn’t possibly live without having pasta, and thinks it’s impossible to make salad without potatoes (but it doesn’t count because she only uses small potatoes), see earlier posts on this thread, will hence forward be known as Mrs Carby.
Gems today from Mrs Carby (who took the pasta class option) included “it’s too hard to keep a log of carbs, but I did it for one sandwich” “I looked it up and it said there are no carbs in tomatoes, so it must be wrong, because there aren’t”, and the final gem was “I’ve been doing this for sixteen years, so I know all there is to know about carbohydrates”
Bet she does, she stuffs so many down her throat!

One of the other women who did the pasta making course did it because she is going to the gym this afternoon – so she doesn’t need any more exercise today, and she thought everyone was walking too slowly for her. Could have come with me or done the same thing as me and packed in an additional 1.8 miles?!?

Well done Captainlynne I am so pleased for you, you have done fantastic. This is the first time I have been on this site for months as I have been on a maintenance plan. Like you I am 66 and , 5’2″ and got down to 9st 6lb which was the lowest I had ever been in my life. I have managed very well to maintain my weight and blood sugars in the normal range but after being away most of summer and just returned from holiday have slipped and put on 5lbs. Needless to say I am determined to get back on track as this way of eating makes me feel better than I have been for years. To all the people just starting, do keep going you will find its the best thing you have done but you will have a few challenges on the way, good luck.