I watched the Panorama programme and it made me very sad. Sad that people are not being offered this diet or, failing that, proper dietary advice. But I do know that Birmingham Endo and Diabetes department are running a trial on this diet as my daughter met a nurse on the plane over to see me and they started discussing it. Big tick for a step in the right direction.

If you read the paper by Public Health Collaboration UK and their recommendations to NICE (www.phcuk.org search for Advice for Health etc etc) the main reason NICE are not willing to implement this dietary advice is mainly one of cost. They are not looking at the big picture of how much diabetes and heart disease etc are already costing and how much money they could save once they have trained the medical personnel to advocate LCHF, not necessarily 800 calories, but the principle of it. That would more than outweigh the costs of training.

Lynne, I think the reason the childhood diabetes is much more aggressive is because it is more difficult to get a child to control their eating, exercising behaviour, they are too young to understand the future implications so carry on with the soft drinks. Think of the mentality of smokers, especially young ones, the young are going to live forever. Yeah. Also if you get complications at age 60, 65 or 70 you might have another 10 or 15 years to live and get to 70, 75 or 80. If you get complications age 20 you might not see 30. Terrible. The programme made me cry and I used to be a nurse, but I have never seen an amputation and its outcomes. Bless the chap who was cheery to be called Hop Along Cassidy, what chance did he have. Bless the young chap whose sister thought his sugary drink was good for him as it contained Vitamin C. Bless the woman who said she did nothing to help her husband, she fed him decent meals and found chocolate wrappings in the car and pasty wrappers all over the house. Can you really blame her.

And, finally, yes we should all take responsibility for our own health but when we are given such rubbish advice how do we help ourselves.

This is the start of a revolution but it takes strong will to take up this challenge, this diet is not an easy solution, it is hard work and takes guts and motivations to do it properly and we are doing it. So bless all of us too. (By the way, I am not religious).

Day 2 and it’s going quite well, so far.

Breakfast: yoghurt, raspeberries, strawberries and berries
Lunch: minestrone soup with parmesan
Dinner: planning fish and veg or some sort.

I am drinking more water but haven’t given up on tea. Reducing carbs, caffine and sugar in one day seems too much. I am counting the milk into my daily 800 allowance. I have no idea how many carbs I am having but I know I have knocked all the rubbish out of my diet. I am doing what I can to get me through the first week and then I might look at the carb/calorie ratio. I had a real mid day slump. Dealt with it b chomping blackcurrent Airways and decluttering bedroom cupboards. I am on leave from work this week so it has been an easy start. It’s weird, I have never been able to lose weight for vanity reasons but thinking about the long term health benefits is motiviating me, so far. I keep telling myself that 8 weeks is challenging but not as challenging dealing with poor health further down the line.

Krysia, I have just done an average of my bloods for the last 15 days and I am running at 5.1. If that is the result of my HBA1c, due beginning of November but having it done end of November to allow for the holiday, I will be very happy and you and I will be having conversations. I will need your help.

Stacey, see you have read Prof. Peters Chimp Paradox. Sometimes getting what we really want takes sacrifice. I am happy to sacrifice simple carbs for the sake of my health, this is not a case of I don’t want to be fat or I want to look nice in a bikini. We are of the same mind, I don’t want to be ill. Good for you and good luck.

In the book – the 8 week Blood Sugar diet – Dr. Mosley says there are three core principles of the diet:

1. Going Mediterranean
2. Getting Active
3. Sorting out your Head

In the documentaries I’ve watched – he has said several times – THIS IS HARD.

What I took from this: If I want to be successful, I have to be mentally HARD (or equal) to the challenge. I think you have to mentally have a large enough reason. In order to get this mental toughness, I have to have a rock solid reason.

One phrase from the documentary “Eat, Fast and Live Longer” (which you can find on youtube) one of the doctors said: “You have to make a decision now – in your case – what do you want to do? There’s a lot of drugs you can be taking – and is that what you want to do – and if you do so …. in a few years you will be one of the typical 65 year olds in Europe that takes 8 drugs a day”.

My rock solid reason for doing this? I will remain active until the day I die. I will not put myself in bed so that others have to take care of me and wipe my butt because I cannot control my diet or my activity level. I will not be dependent upon prescription drugs when I am 65, I will not put myself at the higher risk of EVERY type of cancer (I really, really do not want cancer). I will not put myself at the higher risk of heart disease. I will not put myself at the higher risk of getting diabetic neuropathy anywhere in my body that would cause me to lose my sight, lose a limb, kidney function, etc, etc, etc.

So for all of you fighting that “Chimp” in your head, knock it out for these 8 weeks with a rock solid punch. Find your reason! Make it bigger and stronger than you reasons not to. THIS IS HARD!

I think this is such an interesting question. I got the impression that the op was offered almost as a realistic cost saving alternative to the financial costs of treating a future 40 years of diabetes. Much of what is currently being written about weight loss is that it is not just a question of willpower but a complicated hormonal issue complicated but a culture that pushes sugar and white carbs at every opportunity. But (I don’t have diabetes so have no first hand experience) what a lot of BSDers suggest is that the diabetes diet advice is currently just plain wrong so I have sympathy for those people to some extent.

What does seem clear is that we don’t have the money or organisation to tackle early diabetes and reverse it. But then I also believe in personal responsibility too and what would be interesting to know is what changed for us as a group that made us ready willing and able to change our way of eating? I for one have been overweight for years so why now? But also I was sad to see the young teenage boy who had been bought a drink by his sister who appeared unaware that he shouldn’t be having surgary pop- surely the family received enough diet education to know this was wrong.

It is so complicated. Hurray for the film which I think was great in raising the true awareness of what diabetes involves. It made me even more determined not to get it. Sad it didn’t look at the BSD

Finally do you think there are diabetics out there who are still in denial watching the movie saying things like amputation will never happen to me?

Couldn’t resist so weighed this morning and it looks like 2kg have gone! There again the amount of time I spent in loo had to count for something. Other half found it kicked in for him as he got up three times in night lol. Today I had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast, soup for lunch and now about to have a feta cheese salad. Feeling brighter and less bloated. Onwards and downwards.

Hi to Emily and all 1st October starters!

I started the BSD two days ago and would also like to join this group for support. I have just finished reading the book and a number of your posts and I’m feeling very motivated.

I’m mid thirties, 5ft 6 with a starting weight of 16 stone, eekkk! a long way to go to get to my ideal 11 stone, and back to feeling great on the beach!! Also looking forward to feeling fit, healthy and energised again.

Hi everyone, well it’s going well so far and hubby and I went along to get the key ingredients for most of the recipes so the cupboard is well stocked.
We had the salmon for lunch today with lemon nutty crust on bed of med roasted veg was yummy 🙂
I don’t know about anyone else but still suffering shocking with headaches so I guess it’s the body reacting to sugar withdrawal. Drinking plenty so I’m hoping these will subside after week 1 when the body has accepted it.
Still smiling and hopefully losing weigh in is Sunday! X

Hi Captainlynne.

Just watched the Panaroma programme and I agree wholeheartedly that this programme should be shown to all non-compliant and prediabetic people, who should then be given a free BSD book and BSD recipe book. I am sure that the cost of this would be far cheaper that the cost of the surgery shown in the programme.
I realise that there are some individuals who would still not take any notice and change their lifestyle (we have a close relative who would easily fit into this category) but at least they would have been given the opportunity.
Sorry if I have offended anyone but I don’t believe that the cost of operations to fit gastric bands or removing parts of the stomach is the way to go when it is obvious that the person could have lost the weight themselves. I think in the programme it states that the lady lost weight in order to have the band fitted!!!! There are so many people out there who are desperate for operations for conditions they have no control over and their operations repeatedly get cancelled.

Hi Mytime

The easiest way to measure carbs is with either an app or PC program. I use Fatsecret as do several people here. There is a uk version, fatsecret.co.uk and a US version fatsecret.com. Not sure which of these would suit you. I did see another one on one of the threads that another Australian was using but can’t remember the name! Sorry! Think it may have been eat….. something!!!

There is also Myfitnesspal , but I found that a bit messy.

Just weigh your food pop it into the program and it will throw out the carbs, calories, protein etc.

Hope that helps.

I found it really scary also. I didn’t expect it to happen and it happened so fast – I think it was not knowing what to do was a bit scary. What I found really helpful was carrying glucose/dextrose tablets with me everywhere so I could avoid blood sugars dropping too low, and I kept on testing to check what was going on. I did end up with fingers like pin cushions though.

I think you will do really well while you are away – although I do agree that the restaurants are a lot easier than meals prepared by families.

Your trip sounds as though it will be fabulous – and you do have another week before you go.

Will try. Thanks

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your encouragement, it means a lot and really works!! I am now losing again, hooray, and back on low carb. Not quite back to 800 cals but I think if i can stick to very low carbs I will be ok as my hunger is much reduced. Just need to watch my nut intake!! How are you all doing this week? X

Jules, Maybe if my class mates were French but there is a mix of English, French, Reunionaise, Russian and North African. I think actually you might be right. Sorry, edited, I missed out the Japanese girl.

Hi, I would like to join you for the challenge! How do you measure the carbs?

It would be good as she can run pretty fast when there is a rabbit in sight. But I don’t think I’ll ever get my ribs out like that, no matter how much I lose. No I think a BMI in the healthy range would do.

Sunshine-girl, surely that would have added to the authenticity…..

If you keep the slices thick and just bake them until they slightly change colour they keep their shape and “vegetable” texture.

Jules that sounds much more to my taste, even though I don’t like aubergine!!!! Do they go slimy when you bake them because it’s the texture rather than the flavour I dislike ?

I find a cup of miso staves off the hunger pangs for about an hour or more if you add a chopped spring onion and a chunk of tofu.

Try & go with the flow Canidoit & try to ignore any hunger pangs. Sipping water helps or a hot drink, my oh & I have Bovril instead of soup because it gives some salt & savoury flavour because we are all drinking much more water & a little salt helps stop dehydration. I hope your mouth is not sore?
Like Frog I weighed first thing this morning before drinking anything without clothes!

Moment of truth!!!!!

Just had my diabetic review appointment for October 31st. I think I’d lost 2 or 3 kg at my last check in May and the nurse was pleased with that, but have probably lost a further 7kg here. Sooooo … my new target is to lose another 3kg this month to make it a nice round 10!!!!

Looking forward to the review with trepidation especially my Hba1c!!!

Having lost so much weight last week I know that it will slow down dramatically but hopefully 7lbs in 27 days is doable!

19 weeks and 41 weeks….I hope I’m going to last even half as long as this! Thank you both for the advice you’ve posted throughout the forums – it’s very welcome!

Heather, there is no such thing as no carbs in 2 of the recipes. I think you have taken it too literally, the no carbs refer to 2 meals that normally have a whacking great chunk of bread (the ploughman’s) and I hate to get you started on the no carb bircher, meaning it is not made up of the usual grains. It is a title not carved in stone, which you wouldn’t really carve in stone, but take it with a pinch of salt so on and so on. I repeat it is not to be taken literally. For the purpose of yourself let’s change the name to low carb ploughmans – if you really want to get into semantics, it is not even a ploughman, that is a man who ploughs not a plate of food. Like igor I wish you well on the plan but picking holes in it does not help anyone. We have been more than happy to answer your other questions but you seem to be dwelling on this.

Not sure that you need all that oil, I reckon it must give the aubergine a weird texture. I make a similar curry but bake the aubergine (occasionally with a spray of oil). I dry fry the spices first before adding the tomato and a chunk of paneer.

🙂 Are you aspiring to be as skinny as your dog?!

Rhubarb’s not so bad, I had it with mackerel (no sugar the acid cuts through the fish oil – fab!) and I think it came in at 5g carbs for a decent portion. I’ve got a big bag in the freeze and will use it with yogurt/porridge when the weather gets bad.

Also a chunk is great in a cup of green tea!

Just checked the aubergine curry …. mmmm …. not sure it’s for me … all that oil … aaaarrrrrggggghh!!!!

That’s okay I already replied

I’ve been on the diet 6 weeks now. But the dog has the right to judge us both. Rosie is a lurcher and quite skinny.

Hi Frog

Thanks for the recipes. The salmon is similar to one I make but being a bit lazy I put the salmon in an oven proof dish, pour over the marinade with the addition of some lime juice and fresh coriander. Leave to stand for a short time, cover with tinfoil and bake for 15 mins ,180 fan. I just sling the ingredients in without measuring but for the sake of BSD I will measure in future!!

Like the idea of the courgetti with anchovy but not sure about pine nuts. Will give at a go!

Let me know about the aubergine …. it will have to be ‘wonderful’ fir me to try it!

Hi Poppetini, Greenjanet, Izzy, Yowser …. and eveyone!!

1. Retirement continues to be great …. if sometimes challenging esp. just sitting home with a cold!! But it’s a great problem to have.

2. Reading The Great Reckoning by Louise Penny one of my favorite authors.

3. Discovered yet another great herbal tea …. pear and pineapple. I am taking it with a bit of local honey, for the immune effects. So i am taking some Metformin … my blood sugars have been a little high … perhaps the stress of being sick and more or less inactive. At least my blood sugar is under control …. a had been just taking 1 now and then so i think it still works. When i’m feeling better and being more active i’ll stop with the Metformin crutch and get on with the BSD.

Hi Canidoit
you may find it best to weigh first thing in the morning, before you’ve eaten or had anything to drink (and you’ve had a pee)
aside from the lightest time of the day – you’ve just fasted for 8 hours (assuming no fridge raids in the night 🙂 , its also likely to be the most consistent time of day to weigh yourself as well. The additional benefit is that you’ll either have no clothes, or nightwear is likely to be a consistent weight.
good luck

How nice …. a new starter on your team!!!

Got a cold … so i am really appreciating my new pear and pineapple flavored tea!! Swigging some of my liquid multivitamin/mineral …. taste is not so great though!!!

So far today i just had bacon and eggs and some roasted pumpkin seeds …. although when this bacon is gone i think i will confine my bacon to restaurants … it’s too tempting to have more than 2 rashers.

Half way through The Great Reckoning by Louise Penny …. one of my favorite authors. Very sorry to see that her husband has dementia (gotta do all we can to avoid that) … but she and Michael seem to have found multiple silver linings!!

Gotta look up that rhubarb compote …. we used to have that in our garden growing up … my mom made lots of good things with that.

Wish i was well enough to got to the pool and do some aquabics …. but i am sneezing like crazy … and using up boxes and boxes of tissues!!

Hachoooooo!!!

mauricem-sorry, but I don’t think I’ve found the perfect carb chart yet!

Some folk on here use MyFitnessPal or a similar app. Or you may like Carbs & Cals – either as an app or in book form. Otherwise I Google for the information. I do try to stay with one site, but some have more American foods than UK foods. Wish someone would develop a specific UK site!

Hi Baristagirls 😃 *waves*

I’ve just checked and I’be been on this journey for 41 weeks😱

Of course you can give wise advice! We all have different experiences and relate to different people😃

I watched the Panorama programme too. If that doesn’t keep us diabetics on the right path nothing will. I’m just thinking “guillotine amputations” to keep me focused!

Silver gold – since the 1960s we have been told to eat low-fat, high carb. And when did the obesity epidemic and diabetes epidemic first begin? Low-fat products often have high sugar content.

Slimming clubs have gone down the low-fat route and, in general, do not encourage healthy eating. Their products are low-fat, but often high carb.

Even many of the sliced cooked meat products we buy today have added sugar!😱

Being “good” and listening to the advice given is what led many of us to where we are now😱 Or where we were when we started our BSD journey. It takes a lot to reverse the low-fat, high carb way of thinking. But many of us are living proof of the benefits.

Krysia, can I say that I am so frightened, I don’t know what happens next. One thing, I do know is that I am going away next week spending time with my husbands family in Scotland and I am worried about what I will get to eat. I also know that there are restaurants booked in Birmingham on the way up, in Auchmithie (near Arbroath) where we are staying then in Leeds on the way back down and then calling in to see friends near Wimbledon and they too have booked a restaurant. Forgot to mention meal in port on way up and meal on ferry on way back. I have tried to explain my eating habits for when I eat at their houses and the restaurants will be easy enough to manage. Might not be the best time to start reducing insulin. Whatever happens I will be straight back on the plan on 26th October, the day after I return. Let’s not worry about that yet, we have another week to improve on things.

Frog asked where in Scotland, on the way up we stay with hubbys stepmother (his dad died in Jan 2015 at the age of 93) and she lives in North Berwick, not quite Scotland but you can see the Eildon hills from her house, just a hop away. Then we are going to Auchmithie for a couple of nights taking his S. mum with us. Then back to Berwick. And the rest is above.

I started May 23rd so on my 19th week. Gracious that sounds surprising! I did just have to look that up haha, as I have not been counting weeks since I went into the med style. Still losing the last pound or two to be my ideal target but finding that it’s working and suited me better than anything I have ever done. Still quite excited about meeting old friends! Couldn’t count on myself to give wise advice like CaptainLynne but I guess I really have had some experience now.

You are doing better than me then @wendy1947 I got on the scales and was a 1lb heavier than yesterday. I’m not going to weigh myself for a few days now. Just been to the dentist and he’s told me not to eat for 1 1/2 hours and I’m starving it’s 3.30 and I haven’t had lunch yet! 😆

Sounds like we are all off to a pretty good start! And, guess what–not paying a monthly fee to participate! Hope the hungriest & headaches subside soon. Love this communication & support!

Thank you! And pleased to hear it’s still going well for you too 🙂 I like hearing from people who are further ahead on their 8 weeks than I am as it gives me hope I can stay the course! What kinds of ups and downs are you experiencing?

Durrrr….just realised the heading of this thread….Please ignore previous question!

Hahah!! That has really made me laugh 🙂 I think I’d prefer resistance to the naughty step and judgement by pets. My cats already know how to give me the cold shoulder…How long have you been doing BSD?

Ok thanks
I lost 2 pounds this week. Slow progress but least it’s going in right direction.
I’m 3 weeks in now.
Having my ups and downs but it’s obviously par for the course.

Well done again on your weight loss. Brilliant!

Hi Verano
I have posted the teriyaki salmon recipe – 210 calories, 3g of carb (2 without the honey!)
I haven’t posted the courgetti recipe; it was just courgetti, sugar snap peas or mangetout, chopped ginger, shallot and garlic with sesame oil. In the class yesterday, a bit short on time, and just stir fried the courgetti and mangetout in the remaining marinade. which tasted fine.

the aubergine curry I think may break the copyright warning on BSD site
google “lake palace aubergine recipe” and its saved on lots of places – Ann said she uses lots less oil, when I have sorted out having all the herbs, I’ll make it and see how little it can be done with.
From the book, it was suggested as a side (for 6 to 8), but we had it as a main, and Ann froze some, so would easily serve 3. We had it with lemon dhal (lovely, but a bit carby) and a side of spinach – it would be fine with cauliflower rice rather than dhal.

Thanks randam I think I will weight more often too 😊 Might be first time in a long time that the scales show a loss!

Oh couegetti for dinner apatch yum! I’ve still got to try that, close your eyes and pretend it’s pasta! Hehe! I come from an Italian family, so the med diet ok but the lack of pasta…hard going!!
I am doing the coconut milk lime chicken tonight, adapted for me and rest as normal for the family. (It’s pudding time that’s hard whilst on 800 cals..as I’m not having one!)
Well done everyone, sounds like going really well. 😊