Hi Fairydewdrop (what a great name by the way), I would recommend some targeted exercise. Some resistance weights (home weights are fine) for the tops of arms and some regular general exercise: walking is excellent and much underrated I think. It is brilliant for toning up legs. Abdominal exercises for tummy is good too. I’m not sure how much weight you have to lose, but any exercise will help toward toning. As this diet has the right amount of protein and is calculated towards fat burning, you should not be losing muscle mass. If you are a member of a gym, they can sits too with exercises to help. Good luck in your journey.

Captainlynne – that’s good to know that the ‘dawn phenomenon’ does go away.
Your hb1ac is fantastic now. I have been following your posts and you have been an inspiration to me – especially when I was losing so slowly in the beginning.

Verano – ok will have a go with the actifry – and will try to remember to keep an eye on it.

I think you are right that the waist is a real visual sign of the visceral fat going away but the pancreas is ‘out of sight out of mind’. I am still waiting to wake up though and find that this has all been a dream!

I am finding my 70% chocolate is tasting a bit sweet now and I found some 85% Fair Trade chocolate, the Co-op’s own brand, which tastes really creamy and is only £1.59. So taste buds are changing. I used to dislike tomatoes but suddenly am finding them really tasty and sweet.

Sunshine-girl 6.1 is still really good and it will only get better and better.

I’m new and only started on Monday so any ongoing support from others is great. Second week starts tomorrow. 8 pounds down so far and feeling great. Here’s to us all having success and feeling good!

Hi Determinedthistime

Thank you *blush*. I’m glad the article led you on to the BSD journey.

Please keep posting and letting us know your progress.

Went for my first lunch and dinner out having started this on Monday. At half a stone down I didn’t want to jeopardise my weight loss. Although I can’t very accurately calculate the calories I ate, I was able to guesstimate them well enough. I ensured that yesterday (the day after), I stuck carefully to 800 and no more. Weighed myself this morning and another pound down. As I had gone to a chain restaurant (Las Iguanas), I had hoped to be able to get nutritional information from their website, but no luck. My Fitness Pal had some of their dishes but not the one I ate! I really enjoyed it though, it was yummy. I offered to drive, so I was forced not to drink, otherwise the margaritas would have been tempting! The best thing about this for me, is the rapid first level of weight loss. I am used to 5:2 and got good results from it, but never as quick as this. I know it will slow down, but for me, it’s been incredibly motivating and will spur me on. I haven’t got masses of weight to lose and I have no blood sugar issues, but I’m going to stay on it until I feel that I have naturally achieved a weight that feels good. I then plan to eat to the ‘M’ principals for 80% of the time. It’s too much for me to think that I will never ever eat another cake or slice of bread. I feel so much better though dropping all the heavy starchy stuff and now I’m passed the headache stage, I’m feeling more energised. Roll on the next week; the success it partly related to being planned and organised otherwise I’m hopeless and wil grab anything vaguely edible!

Hi captainlynne
I think you are right. I wonder perhaps if people notice more when you are the fat one eating large portions and pudding, rather than the one abstaining.

Also, just wanted to say, saw the daily mail article, congratulations! I had the 5.2 book about 2 yrs ago, I found it tricky at the time and gave up, can’t believe that now. However, the article, with yours and the other amazing stories in it, spurred me on. Thank you!

Tell him to go with the cardiologist – they are the specialists! Very low blood pressure is not a good thing.

Hi captainlynne – well you look fantastic. It was reading the article in the Mail that set me off on this journey. I’m not on any meds, but have well over 100lbs to shift. Thank you for being such an inspiration.

Sunshine-girl

Think your Ryvita are a better bargain than my oat cakes …. Twice the size and twice the crunch!!

Hi

Just had brunch of omelette asparagus and smoked salmon …. really yummy so that could be my new Sunday morning treat!

Well done sunshine-girl it gets so much more difficult to lose as you get closer to target so 2.2lbs at this stage is great.

Krysia with regards to cauliflower in the actifry I think it may be that I just cooked it too long. I treated it like potato chips, because it’s hard , and cooked it for 40 mins without looking at it!! Maybe if you try 20mins you could have more success .

Well done on your waist measurement guess it’s more emotional because you can see your waist but not your pancreas … out of sight out of mind!!!

Blood sugars … some say fasting bloods aren’t meaningful because they fluctuate like mad and then there’s the ‘dawn phenomenon’ ! So I do mine every other day just to give myself another number to worry about!! As for visceral fat going …. well I have tons of it to go yet!!!!

And then there’s chocolate! I had two squares of Lindt 90% last night hence the high calories for yesterday !! Must admit my taste buds have really changed I now find 90% really creamy!!

sunshine-girl

If you read Bill1945’s thread ‘this has to work for me’ he talks a lot about his blood sugars. Just search for it in the search box.

That’s brilliant Vikkia. Well done. I still work in old money and I hit a stone this week after 2.5 weeks. My waist trimming has been slow but you can definitely see a difference.

Best thing I’ve ever done!!

Hi KrysiaD

I’be certainly found that my blood sugars don’t rise in the morning anymore, and haven’t for many months. I’be just checked back (glad I kept good notes) and my fasting bloods have been in the normal range since January – I started the BSD on 19th December.

Also, my HbA1c just prior to BSD was 9.6. In April it was 5.5 and in July it was 5.2.

Glad you liked the photos 😃

Forgot to mention my blood glucose 6.1 or 110, funny when my weight drops for a couple of days my b/g goes up a bit. When I gain a bit the b/g goes down. It goes back to around 5.0 after a day or so. Must keep an eye on that, anyway 6.1 is still good.

I ocassionally have a Ryvita, 27 cals 6.7 grams carb – wow really, just looked on the packed. Still it is about 2 per week.

Hi Willbeskinny

I’ve found that when I’m with others, whether for a meal or for coffee, they are usually too busy eating to worry about what I am or am not eating.

If a comment is made (which is rare) I explain what I am doing. In Italy I was with some friends and was taken to an excellent ice cream cafe. There were no sugar-free options, so I had black coffee. I was offered some strawberries and cream off one of their concoctions but refused with thanks. Afterward I realised that the strawberries and cream probably had sugar in anyway!

Best wishes for your progress.

8 kgs down, and 30.5 cms off my wobbly bits! Yay!!

Hi hi!

I started yesterday too. Hubby and I are both doing MacMillan Sober for October so when my friend (Dona Rosa on here) mentioned she was starting the BSD I thought I may as well join in that too. So I’ll be alcohol free for at least a month and aiming to stick to sub 800 healthy calories a day for 8 weeks. I have a friend’s 40th birthday party on 4th December so I’m aiming to be able to buy myself a nice, smaller, outfit for that.

Yesterday I wasn’t exactly organised until I’d been shopping in the afternoon so I had a Pukka Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey tea and an apple for breakfast. Lunch was very late on in the day after I’d made 3 types of soup which are now all portioned up in the fridge and freezer for later in the week. They’re all under 200 calories and one of them is under 100. For dinner last night I made a River Cottage Cauliflower & Chick Pea curry with a small portion of brown rice. My total calorie intake for the day was actually 675 so MFP gave me a telling off when I closed off the entry for the day.

Is it ok to post links to recipes/favourite recipe sites on here? I don’t want to get myself banned when I’ve only just joined!

I’ll post again later with today’s meals/calories, hope everyone has a great day whatever you are doing.

Hi Captainlynne
Of course – you are right, it is the dreaded ‘dawn phenomenon ‘ that messes up the fasting blood sugars. I haven’t had the ‘dawn phenomenon ‘ once since 7th September so I am assuming that once your blood sugars are in the normal range you no longer get it. Have you found that this is the case?

I loved your ‘after’ photographs in the Daily Mail. I am sure they will encourage so many more people to start the BSD way of eating.

Hi Sunshine-girl, well done for your weight loss and for tweaking your days food to get in a piece of 75% chocolate. I have enough carbs but not enough calories.

Thanks for the info sunshine girl I thought 40g was abut too much to eat

Thanks everyone, I hope I can eventually as restrained. The problem with me is that sometimes i overeat and I actually know I am not enjoying it, but i carry on and its left me v overweight. I guess I need to tackle the boredom element, kids in bed and hubby working away I usually plonk myself down for another episode of mad men / game of thrones…

Also, when you meet up with friends for coffee, how do you manage when they are all tucking into food. Do you find people a bit judgemental / uncomfortable if you sit there no plate?

I have started taking my children out for dessert after dinner, we live abroad and late nights in cafes very common. I can honestly say I feel soo overweight that I would be, and currently am, far too embarrassed to order an ice cream or pudding. I usually watch them wolf it down whilst sipping coffee, but I know that, despite not at all wanting it, if the same dish were served at home i would be wolfing it down with them. I know that i am one of those eat for the sake of it people.

Hi Pamela1602 to add to the porridge comments the book recommends that you have 25 grams of oats is you really want porridge for breakfast. If you look on the recipe in the book for Medium oatmeal porridge containing 25g oatmean, water, 75ml semi sk milk, coconut oil (why??) cinnamon and 1 fig, you are looking at 31 grams of carbohydrate. If you leave off the fig you get 25 grams of carbs, that is half your days allowance if you are doing the full BSD which recommends 50 grams per day. Working on that calculation your 40 grams would give you 40 grams of carbs (i.e. oats is all carb). Something to think about maybe.

Just a little P.S. 40 grams per serving is what they want you to eat so you finish the box quicker, it is not what you should eat. A bit like the shampoo bottles that tell you to wash your hair twice so you use twice as much shampoo and then, because your hair is stripped on oils, you have to use their conditioner. Savvy marketing.

Me too . This sounds a fantastic recipe, so I’m replying as much to ensure it gets saved into my personal posts. I love a crunch!

Morning everyone
I had already decided to start my diet after the excesses of French country living for the last three months when wine at lunch and dinner becomes the norm and those empty calories really help to pile on the weight. A reality check on the scales this morning !!!!!
So now having green tea making my recipe plan and shopping list then off to supermarket to stock up
Later planning a walk along the seafront and a glass of sparkling water xxxxxx

Thanks @sunnyb – loving it so far … have lost 4kg since I started, and have a lot more energy than when I started off. It’s amazing seeing physical results so quickly which is motivating. I’ve had a few slip-ups, as I’m the resident baker for work … but they were only small slip-ups and it was straight back on the horse again afterwards. Feeling great! Just not too sure what to do at the end of the 8 weeks, as I’ll be nowhere near by goal weight by then obviously. I presume I have to come off doing the fasting days for 7 days, and maybe move to the 5 days off and 2 days on?

Thanks for the support and advice 🙂

Hi everyone, happy Sunday.

I have logged all my food for the day and will be coming in at:-
610 calories
23 carbs
My weight today is:-
74.4 kgs starting weight 75.4, so have lost 1kg or 2.2 lbs

I am having Coq au Vin tonight but not quite from the recipe book. That comes to 510 calories and 10 carbs. My version comes in at 350 calories and 15 carbs. Cut out half the wine and throw in red pepper and courgette which are not in the book one. If I had followed her recipe to the letter I would have had 840 cals and 13 carbs for the day and I don’t quite like that balance. At least I have some calories left for a snack tonight and a piece of 75% chocolate (1 carb 58 calories).

Really pleased to have lost weight so far into any diet as we are into the half a pound a week zone but this still works no matter what week you are in and it is not even weigh in day yet.

Keep on keeping on.

Thanks for that , didn’t read it closely enough !

It did sound good – in hindsight I think it was probably the green tea that I wasn’t enjoying … I’ll try it one more time with coconut water instead and see how it goes – I need to amp up the bravery, though, first 😉

Hi Heleliz

It says on page 9 of the new book that calorie counts are calculated for a single portion (rounded to the nearest 10)

At 66 years of age I’ve lost nearly 7 stone on the BSD since last December. I was never going to have a flat stomach after 2 Caesareans. So the little extra skin around my abdomen isn’t a problem. I watch ‘Obese: a year to save my life USA’ and most go for skin removal surgery, but I am nowhere near needing that.

My arms and legs have a degree of loose skin, but I’m an old lady now LOL. Having said that, unless I was in a swimming costume would anyone see it?

So – the small amount of loose skin I have is certainly not a problem for me. If anyone else thinks it is, guess what? It’s their problem!

And thank you too Plumptious. I had forgotten about (dairy-free) pesto – I used to make a delicious one too! I was thinking about getting a spiraliser to make courgetti so you have just given me the incentive. Thank you!

Thank you so much. Love the lasagne idea in particular and will try it! I guess my my challenge will be learning to eat pulses in smaller amounts than I am used to (to comply with the daily 800 kcal) but seeing as this is all a journey of learning it will be good to revise my idea of a ‘portion’ in this regard too! Thanks again.

Day one yesterday was okay. I went to bed early last night because I was a little bit hungry.
Day two today and poached eggs on spinach with pine nuts was not to my liking. But this is what I expected, not to like everything. Trial and error. Will make sure I drink plenty between now and bed time.
I will loose weight this time. This diet makes so much sense I feel as though I am going to stick with it, with the help of this forum.

I’m another former cake fan. But now I’m not even remotely tempted😱

Even just walking past a bakery, the smell of the cakes is just sooo sweet it makes me feel ill😳

The longing does pass 😃

Hi happy to join this starter group I started yesterday. 54 year old female with roughly 6 stones to lose. I have never joined a forum but reading the posts it sounds really friendly and supportive. I have just ordered the recipe book to help out. Day 1 wasn’t too bad weighed myself this morning 2lb off already minor headache but I can live with that will drink more water today. Good luck everyone

Hi Lichfield 65

On that page (p18) it says ‘we have marked with asterixes the items we use a lot’.

On page 23 under ‘What do I do once I have achieved my goals?’ It says ‘So for maintenance we recommend the BSD Way of Life*’. The footnote says ‘*For more advice and support we recommend you join the active and well-informed community at thebloodsugardiet.com’

Hope this helps

Hi, I am starting tomorrow, would like to do 800 calories, but not sure so it may be 5.2

I never thought of my fasting bloods as meaningless. For me it was an indication of what was happening to my body. I could never get that reading below 7 prior to the BSD, but during the day the levels dropped only to rise the next morning. The dreaded ‘dawn phenomenon ‘. The day I started the BSD my fasting reading was 10.9.

What I found was that as soon as I dropped the carbs, even my fasting bloods dropped. Now all my blood tests are in the normal range. I was not any any medication for diabetes, although it was threatened, now they can’t say that anymore!

Mrs C has lost 1st 2lb and 3″ off her waist! She’s looking fabulous (as ever).

Hi *waves*

After 3 years of swimming lessons at school I still couldn’t swim. A friend taught me many years later – but I’be completely forgotten how to swim now! What I did learn is that I pull myself through the water with my arms, my legs didn’t do much work at all😱

I was once sent for physiotherapist in the pool at the hospital, but they bared me after two sessions – I was so tense I was aggravating the condition they were supposed to be helping😱

It seemed so much trouble, all the getting undressed and dressed! And I should admit to being scared of the water. I love being by it, or on it. But in it😱 My grandmother drowned when I was small. So perhaps that had a subconscious effect on me. Plus, while I could swim, I was swimming in a square pool with a 10′ deep centre. Going across it. When a man with a fierce crawl swam at right angles, leaving a huge wash behind him. I mistimed it, got caught in the ‘waves’ behind him and dropped like a stone. Fortunately my friend grabbed the straps of my costume and dragged me out. Needless to say it put me off! But I know it’s good exercise. Now it’s not the size of the costume, it’s the ‘old lady’ arms and legs!

I’ve not venture too far away from what I was eating. Hopefully I overestimate many portion sizes now, rather then underestimate them.

For me, it helps that I only eat morning and evening. It makes me less anxious about being faced with food situations during the day. And I always have something BSD friendly in the fridge to grab the minute I walk in, if necessary. Like you, Plumptious, I think my local takeaways have gone out of business!

My official weighing day is Saturday.

Hi Igorasusual *waves*

I think that after they sub-divided the original four seasons some of the colours changed slightly. My work blouses are white – although now there is a ‘mid-week blouse’ that’s pastel blue😃 (Love it!) – but my cardigan and jacket are navy.

Somehow I’ve never got into the habit of wearing a scarf although I know it’s a good way of putting a colour near my face.

Hi Verano *waves*

It felt strange to be in a dress. For far too many years I’ve lived in separates (whether skirts or trousers). Partly because it was difficult to find a dress that fitted properly and partly financially- I could get more use/variety out of separates.

It seems that the more I write on here at the moment, the more I realise how much I’ve changed over the last nine months. Ok, I’ve seen my weight and shape change – that’s the obvious part. What I’d not thought about is the way my attitude towards clothes etc has changed. After many years, I’m interested in clothes again. I had completely lost my way regarding what I wore. I’d had my colours done and a style class and tried to stick with what I learned. But at my starting weight it seemed pointless. I’d stopped wearing any makeup years ago – why bother! Now it feels the right time to start to change things.

One advantage of waiting for the make-over is that it’s an incentive (if I needed another one) to keep the weight off. So it’s baby steps for now.

First – see about the contact lenses. Start wearing makeup again (in easy stages so I don’t shock anyone LOL).

It seems reasonable not to invest much money in clothes at the moment – until my weight/size stabilises. And so I don’t make any expensive mistakes. I’ll aim to get the makeover appointment for early next year – then it will be time for shopping 😃 I might even go down the ‘personal shopper’ route.

Hi
Just reading the recipe book and on the cupboard essentials pages there are asterisks next to many of the items.
It then says later join the community for more info/advice.
What do these asterisks mean then?
Thank you in advance

I am not strictly veggie/vegan but eat a lot that way by natural choice. I think this way of eating really does lend itself well to this vegetable fest.
I also use a teaspoon of Whole Earth PB when I am getting very hungry or past a time when I usually have lunch and forgotten the time. This or the three almonds and glug of water takes off the pangs for me.
It is amazing how little tiny bit of home made pesto can taste up courgette too. Plus adding handfuls of either spinach leaves or kale and experimenting with a few spices can be made into a bowl of food.

I have just liked what I believe to be the official Facebook page ‘the blood sugar diet’, and found a link to the mail articles. Such brilliant before and after pics – you all look amazing!

Hi Rozydozy and Captainlynne!
Hugely well done both of you. I don’t know how to incorporate icons etc otherwise I would do!!
Ah the swimming…used to pose a lot of problems for me in the past . I am able to swim but never enjoyed doing it as I felt people were staring at me…I couldn’t pull myself sedately out of the water up the little steep metal steps at the sides to get out and can only imagine the frankly dreadful sight of very large posterior to anyone unfortunate enough to catch an eyeful from water level EEEEkkk.
The cozzies are limited in choice and frumpy for big girls and as I need one with a mastectomy type pocket in it ,cost a mortgage, so even though I forced myself to go earlier this year I can’t say it was wonderful. However I now have a different way of looking at it….yes, I have wobbly bits, yes, will never have the figure of Daisy Lowe, but guess what- I totally accept that YES! I am a granny, YES, I am as fit as a butchers dog, and YES there are lots of folk in the graveyard who would willingly swap places with me, so I have to get on with it and see it as a positive thing and investing n my own future health, wellbeing and the most thing of all – long term independence.
Captain Lynne you don’t have to ask to join us ….you are automatically most welcome. (So is anyone else reading this….the more the merrier!)
How is the recording of food but not necessarily the exact calories going….I am guessing your brain and eye are good at perceiving the portion size?
I find myself automatically looking at the calendar to see where we need to be out at events/church do/appointments away from our locality and plan those days more closely “food wise” to ensure we don’t come unstuck. Also I freeze a few portions of things such as the cauliflower and cannellini bean soup so that if we do have unexpected changes to daily routines or delays getting home we can just pull something out and do “defrost & ding” meal.
As you say Lynne it’s now a healthy way of life and not a diet. Quite a statement from me ….someone who loves Marks & Spencer food hall and Indian takeaway food. I think our old fave restaurant may have gone bankrupt lol!
I am going to use Sunday morning weight as a weekly benchmark and I will post either Sundays or Mondays. This week sees a further 2lb drop….so now am 10 st,3lb.
When I told my beloved I was over the line a few days ago, he replied…”No love ,you are definitely under it!”

Oh, not good re the allergy. Don’t do weight loss that way 😉

No problem in substituting any other protein source for the fish in recipes.

However as you may know, fish is surprisingly low calorie for the amount of protein so you will probably need less weight of meat to hit the calorie count

Are you weighing/logging on an app like MyFitnessPal to check the nutrient content of your food? Also really helpful in planning.

Hope that helps 🙂

Oh Lynne. Why would anybody be “sniffy” about ANY forum which tries to support others? Which this does, in spades.

Humans are odd in dividing into cliques and clans, aren’t they. 🙁

Not a vegan but just to say, I would continue with the pulses for protein but in as many inventive ways as you can.

Just for example:

Lentil lasagne with aubergine rather than pasta
Pulse (whichever you like) “shepherds pie” with cauli mash
Curries – did a fab green lentil and cauli daal myself yesterday. Loads of potential combos there
Chilli – lentils and red kidney beans

I also did a wonderful fried red snapper on a base of green lentils from a slightly modified James Martin recipe the other day (sadly no red wine to hand so the lentils were just cooked in stock, but nonetheless really really good)

So I would just look at all the possible recipes and think pulses. Not too many as they are very carby, but they are also very filling. The recipe above, for example, said 70g of dried lentils per person with the fish and I did 25g and all agreed that was the right balance.

Hope all that helps! 🙂

11 days completed. Bit of a glitch on Friday night with wine and cheese tasting but no bread or crackers passed my lips. Weighed this morning – 8lbs down but my waist has reduced by 4 inches! Bra is on the middle not the last fastening and my legs are also noticeably slimmer. Still very energetic and driving Mr BB mad.
Aria – I’m in Arundel. Very busy over the next few weeks but will try and arrange a meeting, complete with buttonhole for identification, in a couple of weeks. Shame that there is not a pm facility on this site.

Day 2 for me and I’m off to see a friend. I think that I’m going to struggle at weekends being 100% BSD, the lack of structure yesterday meant that I got in late and ended up with beans on toast!! I was sleepy soon after (it was only 8) so in some ways I think the odd carb heavy meal will keep me focused on the the benefits for me and how much I can be affected by my food choices.

This afternoon, I will be prepping and batch cooking for the next few days so dinner is ready when I get in from work. I usually take my purse to work and inevitably pop to the shops or someone picks something up for me, so I’ve decided to leave my purse at home. I’ve got a 2 litre bottle of water on my desk, again drinking enough at weekends is something I struggle with.

Most excitingly I bought a spiralizer yesterday so I’m looking forward to making meatballs and courgetti for dinner tonight!

Hope everyone has a good day