This should now be called Week 20, day 4.

Firstly I have now lost 2st 2.5lbs in 20 weeks. I went to see my endocrinologist for the first time since he pointed a finger at me and said “You are diabetic” five months ago. My blood sugar had spiked for one day only (which happened to be the day of my blood test) from pre-diabetic into the diabetic range. It has now dropped back into the lower pre-diabetic range. He was delighted that I had managed to lose so much weight and get my blood sugar down so I asked him whether I am still diabetic and he answered “emphatically no”. Last time I saw him he was concerned that I had a fatty liver and sent me for an ultrasound. I waited until I had been doing BSD for six weeks before doing the test. He looked at the result today and it says that there is very little fat round my liver.

So a good result all round. I still have a lot of weight to shift and I really want to get my blood sugar level right out of pre-diabetic so I will press on.

My husband, who is type 2, has just changed back from Januet (which is very expensive here) to metformin and we will see how he gets on with that.

Hey FatBloke!

Have wonderful images of you eating up all the sweet stuff in the cupboards! I haven’t done that yet although I’ve started the diet so I know there are still tempting items in there. Must clean it out!

I have ridiculous cravings. I always want something sweet after lunch and dinner (and most likely inbetween as well…). The things I am finding helpful are:

Sparkling water with no-sugar squash to give a sweet-ish taste
1 or 2 squares of really good quality dark chocolate
Peppermint tea (also helps with bloating and general soothing)
And peanut butter like Timmy. Although I haven’t even got the healthy natural stuff, just a jar from Asda. I LOVE peanut butter and could eat a whole jar, but that’s probably how I’ve ended up here so will have to restrain myself. A little teaspoon is ok here and there
Sugar free jelly – Hartleys do one (find in Sainsburys or Asda) which is only 10cals per pot
Hot choc (can make with water if necessary) – but definitely check the carbs and cals as all brands are not alike!
Small satsuma or a few berries

You will find that your cravings diminish. This happened to me before I derailed my first week on BSD by going away for the weekend. Now I’m back on the wagon and hoping that the cravings will reduce again. Sometimes it’s just a case of telling yourself no. Other times the cravings monster might be too big to beat, but try some of the alternatives and see how you get on. An absolute necessity is to keep drinking water. Lots of it and then some more again. The more you drink, the better hydrated you are but also the less hungry you’ll feel. If you can keep hunger at bay you will also tame the cravings better.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on 🙂

If you are using myfitnesspal what are suggested macros for a day?

Oh, so so to hear you had to go through so much so soon <3

Shalimar, if you don’t mind my asking, did you have a partial, or a complete hysterectomy?

If I went that route, I would need a complete, as I have both uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts :-<

*POSSIBLE TMI WARNING : I am scared of the downtime, the possible bad side-effects, but I am also scared of something else… I have heard many women say that a hysterectomy can not only reduce your libido, but hamper, ( eradicate even? ), normal sexual function, ( orgasm ) :-O

My husband is an engineer, ( high-stress position ), and he works a lot. Sadly, we are arguing more than usual, due to homesickness, and problems settling here. We both miss BC, ( Canada ), horribly, and are doubting our decision to relocate here. Sex, when it actually happens, is one of the few good things in my life right now. I don’t want to mess that up ={

😂😂 when Dr M said you need to clear out all of the sugary things in your house, I don’t think he meant into your mouth. You’re going to have one hell of a comedown!

Anyway, back to question. I can honestly say that I very rarely crave anything sweet now. Previously I used to smash in a chocolate bar/cake after every meal but I don’t fancy them any more.

I did have a cheat to wean me off them though, and that was peanut butter (meridian, no added anything). Although it isn’t actually seeet it satiated that desire, and was an absolute lifesaver for the first few weeks

Oh, no worries. My stepdad is from Cambridge; I have a lot of family down in County Cork, Ireland, and we were stationed outside of London, and over in Cardiff, for a bit, so I know all about the NHS! Need a laugh? I had a friend whose Mum was a retired NHS worker, and she used to whinge worse that anyone about it – LOL! I could always tell when she was getting ready to have a rant… It would begin : “Blimey, do you know what those bloody boffins have done now?!?”

Still… All kidding aside… Trust me, Frog – I’ll take the NHS, with all of it’s issues, or just good old Canadian medical, over the complete, and utter shite we have down in the States! It is the worst – all private, and damned expensive. Besides, many of the docs are “in bed” with the big pharmaceutical companies, and you can’t always trust the advice, or the scripts >;-[ ( For any overly sensitive people here – no, I am not Yankee-bashing. I love my birth country; I just hate the medical system. )

*To any non-US poster : If you really want to feel better about your healthcare system… Download a movie called “Sicko”, by Michael Moore. It details many of the problems those of us in the States deal with, as well has general issues facing users of privatized healthcare. It is a real eye-opener :-<

Hi,

I am starting BSD tomorrow and was wondering how have people dealt with their sugar addiction?

Today I am eating all the sweet stuff in the house … I mean someone has to do it right?

Thanks

Chris

MyFitnessPal will not let you complete your calories for the day if you are under 1200 for a man and 1000 for a women. Just means you do not get an estimate of your weight if you stuck to the same calories for 5 weeks.

It is useful for seeing the macro nutrients of your food.

Hi all – hope you’re all surviving post Bake Off temptation. We’ve only recently moved house, and NONE of the TV aerials work, so I shall be grateful for one less temptation.

Having said that, my two girls made a chocolate cake last night (to take into school today, thank god) …and I found myself having to submerge every last cooking utensil into soapy water as soon as possible to stop me licking, tasting or just throwing myself into the bowl naked …

DAY 5 for me today. I need more FIBRE, so had an omelette with mushrooms, with a side of broccoli and asparagus for breakfast. Off to make broccoli soup for lunch (not sure why I’m torturing myself with my least favourite vegetable).

Dinner tonight … either a steak hache (like a burger, from M&S yesterday) with lots of veggies, or a marinaded chicken breast …

EXERCISE – decided to see how long it would take me to do 10,000 steps … an hour and forty minutes of walking. Tiring all in one go, and maybe a weeny bit too time consuming for me. Anyone got any other thoughts?

Good luck today everyone (me included)!

Hi Shalimar – thank you for the link to the Palouse Mindfulness (in today’s positive thinking thread). I’ve been looking for a meditation to help with ‘difficult feelings’ and et voila, there was one on the link. A nice, brief 15 minutes to help me deal with something upsetting. Very timely. And very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, there is a kitchen as I work in a Turkey factory! Obviously very busy this time of year and we also get cheap (no pun intended) Turkey in the company shop. The kitchen is fully kitted out with an oven but it is usually used for just cooking up samples for taste panels. I tend to like to use the microwave as its quick and easy, will have to give the scrambled eggs a go whilst at work, just would not want the office to smell ‘eggy’!

Pamela – eek! eating breakfast at work is an added complication ( saying that safely from my retirement ) is there a kitchen? I believe you can microwave omelettes/scrambled eggs in special dishes. Might get a queue of other staff begging for some if the aroma pervades the building 😉 If you look at Izzy’s 8 week diary she makes her own Scotch eggs without crumbs, that might be a cold option? Something hot in a flask? We don’t need to hang on to traditions of what we eat when so soup/stew for breakfast could be an option ( also I’m not diabetic so don’t have that to factor in either ) and as you trawl the website you will get the drift that many of us have to test and try what ‘works for us’ as we are so different in our metabolisms/what is wrong with our bodies/what we used to eat….. I personally wouldn’t last long with a ‘shake’ but many find them filling and enjoy them. I try to find stuff that doesn’t need loads of washing up. Enjoy your planning and keep posting your progress.

Very timely thread, as yesterday ended up feeling like a black cloud day due to dog and husband … and once the black cloud settles, even when sunshine is all around, I find it hard to shift. So, thinking back to yesterday, and the GOOD THINGS that happened will be BRILLIANT for me:

1. Lovely 13 year old daughter was reasonable about not being able to do something she really wanted to do. Reasonable, in my 13 year old, is like, possibly the best gift ever!

2. Out of dastardly dog escaping, I finally met our lovely neighbours two doors down. They seem like darlings, and gave me a box of Celebrations to welcome us to our new street. How kind.

3. Girls made a chocolate cake last night (thankfully to take into school today) … and even TIDIED up after themselves.

Actually, now I’m re-reading this, wonder if they’d spotted the dark cloud above my head 🙂

The recipe book is great, Vikkia. My personal favourite so far is the Thai Red Curry but there’s loads more still to try yet.

I Need to get on to the techies then! 🤔🤔🤔thanks 1960

Hi Kristin
I too have (over) 100lbs to loose and it does seem really daunting, but I have got to the stage where i’ve just got to make this work. I am now on day 4 and so far it’s going ( much to my surprise ) really well. The scales this morning show a loss of 4 lbs, and my aching knees seem a bit better too !
I used to eat huge amounts of food, I love everything, and had got into the habit of 2-3 large glasses of wine every night. I didn’t think I could do this, but by planning, it’s very do-able. I drink loads of water, green tea, a low- cal dry ginger when craving something sweeter and a 39cal hot chocolate at night. I fill up with tons of salad or veg and make everything very tasty so you don’t feel deprived at mealtimes. Home made soups or even a bovril/oxo type drink between meals helps too. Good luck

I can see it Yowzer and thanks for the easy to understand destructions lol

1960 glad you could understand my instructions!
Can you see the pic yrself? If you can,i need to contact the techies coz i cant see my pix on here

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb35/halfpint1960/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpeg

Lunch today
Green Thai paste soup made with an avocado and green paste with Chinese veg yummy

A bit excited! I got the recipe book today, some of the recipes sound sooo yummy!

It’s real interesting so far …. loved the lack of duality because that’s also in A Course in Miracles which i had been working on as well. I can’t hardly wait!!! 🙂

Hi All, Verano, we have some nice restaurants that do a fixed meal for around 13 euros but this one was just particularly bad. They are okay in the evening when they have a bigger menu.

Frog, most lunchtime fixed price restaurants have at least a couple of choices or you can eat from the more expensive (but still a good price) menu, this place was take it or leave it, and I left most of it. Very good for the diet must go there again.

Well I have made a massive mistake this morning by having a melon, spinach and almond milk shake. I wondered why I was buying almond milk and today used real milk, then I saw the carbs and calories – about half as much again than the almond. The melon was 11 carbs and because I was using real milk I threw in a handful of real almonds. Total for one meal 28 carbs. So abject failure but lesson learned.

I have had to trim the rest of the day down in carbs but still could not stay under 30 so my total for the day will be 42 carbs. Calories 670, so maybe that will help make up for it.

Weight 74.9 the same as yesterday
Fasting blood glucose 5.5 (100)

Tomorrow is another day and frankly my dear I DO give a damn. To misquote gone with the wind, or was that the cabbage I had yesterday.

That’s brilliant Cdh1966
You are doing everything right. I would think it is just a blip – maybe because of your hormones – and I would carry on as you are.

shalimar
Good luck with the Palouse course, it’s full of practices that compliment behaviour change elsewhere.
Completing the suggested daily forms is pretty essential imho to record and understand your progress. The wider reading helps too.
Like the BSD it’s an 8-week process of gradual change and developing new habits, which only you can do.

Stay strong Lucy Jane. Big hugs to you. Just know if you stick to 800 to 1000 Cal’s it’s just not possible to NOT lose weight. It might be slower or might just suddenly show, but it has to happen.
I know I fluctuate a load due to time of month etc, so that might be some factor.
I have not had a good few days and temptation got the better of me…….still better than pre bsd so taking positive in that,…. but stress has definitely weakened me and slipping into take away coffee habit again.
Just touching base here tonight has strengthened my resolve for tomorrow…so thanks.
Husband away for three weeks now so that will help control what food comes into the house!

KrysiaD – the only carbs I get are from green veg, don’t do chickpeas, beans etc so would think I’m under 50g a day. Haven’t eaten bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, veg below ground for over 6 months now.

Hba due end of November want it below 141 by then – last one was 144

Cdh1966
You are so right about the hormones having an effect on your blood sugars.
Also – I found that if I increased my carbs that also had an effect on my fasting and daytime readings.

I am one of those people who had to keep carbs lower than 50g to lose weight and improve blood sugars.

1) grateful for the Mindfulness section here … and the free online http://palousemindfulness.com/selfguidedMBSR_week0.html
2) happy for the prospect of doing aquabics in a heated pool at the gym in about 1 hour
3) Hawaiian hazelnut coffee

Hiho…..please accept my apologies for not replying to you much sooner. I have been on holiday and part of it had no internet connection plus I had only limited opportunities to post. How are things going with you?
We did lots of walking and sightseeing and we made a positive effort to go long ways around etc to get the maximum effect.
I weighed myself this morning….held my breath, kept fingers crossed etc because I also had no way of keeping up with my fitness pal and didn’t take the fitbit with me because I knew in advance that it would be pointless. In a way it was a bit like swimming with no floats for the first time as I had begun to rely on my meal planning to keep me safe by using the amounts by the computer lol!
I needn’t have worried because by careful selection from various menus I have still lost some and am proud to say am now 10 stone 5lb and the green light area of the BMI chart has finally told me “I am normal”…..what a relief!
Have made a date with a friend to meet up in Manchester next week and finally buy those gap jeans I have been promising myself.
I can honestly say I have never felt better in my life and am now the same weight as before my son was born more than 30 years ago.
If any of you out there are flagging my advice is just keep on plugging away in spite of those fall offs/plateaus even when you begin to think perhaps you are not really meant to be any smaller/lighter/fitter or whatever your original goal was and you can do it. Don’t worry about what anyone else is achieving because we are all different….fill up on the (above ground) veggies and as many different colours of them as you can and guzzle the water (& step away from the cake shop window!!?)

Just a quick note, you can definitely make scrambled eggs in the microwave! Perhaps not as nice as done in a pan but doable nonetheless! Beat the eggs, add some butter and/or cream, season, put in microwave for 1 minute incremements and mix inbetween until you have desired consistency.

Fasting blood sugars were between 5.5 and 6.3, now 7.7 and higher. Have been testing for a couple of months now so I know they’ve increased. Am going to increase my exercise and am praying this is just a blip. The only thing I can think is that I’m due on and wonder if this could be having an effect? I’m not giving in, I just hope they start to go down again, highest reading last week was 5.7 and lowest 4.9 and before I started this diet they were generally always below 7 and always below 8 after eating – very very odd!

Forgot to say that the hb1ac is the test that truly measures how you are doing with your blood sugars. Are you due for another test soon?

Shalimar – you are so right about all the things – like stress and exercise – that affect your blood sugars and that it is not just the food or how well your pancreas is working.

Are you measuring your sugars at the same time of day? Same amount of time before and after meals … as well as meal content? Is the duration and type of exercise the same as before?

You say you are not stressed but stressing and being upset over this? That’s stress also.

P.S. Whenever i have a reading under 10 i am a happy camper.

——
What should your blood sugar levels be?

Once diagnosed with diabetes, your health care team will review your “target” blood sugar levels with you. You will likely be told to start checking your blood sugars at home using a meter. Normal blood sugar levels (i.e., people who have not been diagnosed with diabetes) are usually between 4.0 mmol/L and 8.0 mmol/L. If your blood sugars are at levels recommended by your physician or primary health care provider, then it is said that your blood sugars are “in control.”

For people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, the recommended target blood glucose levels are:

4.0 mmol/L to 7.0 mmol/L when measuring blood glucose fasting or before eating
5.0 mmol/L to 10.0 mmol/L when measuring blood glucose 2 hours after eating (your physician or primary health care provider may recommend a range of 5.0 mmol/L to 8.0 mmol/L if you are not at your A1C target – see below)

These are general recommendations – your health care provider may suggest different targets for you. In addition, pregnant women, the elderly, and children 12 years old and younger may have different targets.
————————–
http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/Channel/Diabetes/Managing-your-blood-sugar-levels/Blood-sugar-basics

I do eat the ‘real stuff’ Scott’s porridge oats normally I don’t like the all in one sachets they taste nasty to me. I do my breakfast once I am at work so cooking of eggs is not really what I could do at work with just a microwave. But it’s handy to know this for weekends when I have more time. Thanks for advice hoping to start in October when my hubby and myself are doing stoptober and giving up drink too. Which I will find quite easy. Wish me luck xx

Hi Cdh1966
Are you testing fasting blood sugars. There is quite a lot of information on this forum about it which you can search for in the search box. Bill1954’s thread ‘this has to work for me’ has quite a lot of info on it. He found fasting blood sugars very unreliable and changed to testing after meals.

I found that my fasting blood sugars were all over the place and so were my daytime numbers right up to the day before I suddenly didn’t need insulin anymore. That was 3 weeks ago and my blood sugars have been remarkably stable since 4.8ish fasting and no mealtime spikes. I had been on insulin for 4 1/2 years.

Everyone is different – but for me I had to almost lose all my weight before blood sugars improved. My tummy and waist started to dramatically disappear this month then I was off insulin altogether.

Hi Verano and others, to reach my knicker chucking goal I said I would have to be 11 st 7lbs, today I am 11 st 11lbs, so 4lbs. Hope to be that by the end of my 7 day reboot plus a few more days. Defo before I go away mid October.

Hello Pamela. I still eat porridge in Winter. Maybe not every day – I love eggs too. The book does mention as long as the porridge is the ‘real’ stuff = rolled oats not instant , it is good food. If you try the ‘search’ box at the top right of the screen maybe enter ‘porridge’ you can see all sorts of entries. There is also a thread ‘what have you eaten today’ which has loads of ideas. Hope you soon get into your stride. Best wishes.

Hi Pamela1602
Welcome to the forum. You will find lots and lots of good advice here.

I find omlette (with cheddar cheese), scrambled eggs, 2 hard boiled eggs with avocado or a fried egg, mushroom, tomato and a slice of bacon keep me going until lunch time. I would never have believed it because my before BSD breakfasts consisted of truly massive amounts of carbs and sugar. I thought I could never get through a morning without them but now I have absolutely no craving for them.

I found – when I was injecting insulin – that porridge sent my blood sugar readings sky high and I had to inject loads of insulin.

My special treat with my breakfast is a nespresso coffee with a teaspoon of cream (sometimes, if I have time, I have 2 coffees).

Half way through week 3 and my sugars are going up! Normally in the mid 5’s they’re currently running high 7’s and won’t drop below 6. I’m not ill or stressed and this is starting to upset me, I don’t take any meds and obviously don’t want to. I’ve lost 12lbs but am not heavily overweight. Has anyone got any ideas as to why this is happening? I don’t cheat and haven’t actually eaten carbs for months now so just don’t understand this. Any help gratefully appreciated.

Can you avoid the chips totally tonight? I was at an event where it was fish and chips as you ordered but could order mushy peas as well so I had the fish and the peas (ok they are processed, but better than the potato) do you have any options like that? In fact everyone with chips left lots as even the ‘small’ chip portion was huge.

Eating late will impact your morning read as digestive track potentially still dealing with it so some of that extra may not be staying….

Verano yes stress does have quite an impact on blood sugars and Igorasusual is right that it is the hb1ac that is the important figure. Also agree that blood sugar readings after meals are a much better indicator of how things are going. So good luck with your next hb1ac.

I had to take fasting and meal time blood sugars because I was injecting insulin at least 5 times a day and the variation each day was quite surprising. All sorts of stuff affected my readings but not in the same way each time. Sometimes stress made levels much worse but very very occasionally they actually improved. So it was quite difficult judging just how much insulin to inject for each meal – hence the roller coaster blood sugars.

Frog – have noticed the same also. A large weight drop one day then nothing for the next few days. It is really good to have a friend who is good at cooking within the BSD guidelines so do have a lovely break in Dorset.

Have had a lovely half hour this morning trying on clothes. I have lots of stuff in my wardrobes (I do have 2 1/2 wardrobes crammed with clothes – although quite a lot of that is work clothes). A lot of it is my fat stuff and there is other stuff that I bought when I lost weight on other diets and because I only stayed at the lower weight for all of 10 seconds the items have usually only been worn only once or twice.

The lovely pink trouser suit I slimmed down into for my daughters wedding in 2013 looks like I can get another person in it as well as me. Some other stuff I was desperate to get into is also now too large. There is one jacket that looks truly horrible, even though it fits. There are a few other items that look good now and there is one lovely red Zara jacket that looks really good. It does up and the colour really suits me. My daughter says that I mustn’t wear it if I ever fly Virgin.

What I have noticed is that this way of eating is really getting rid of the tummy fat in a way that no other diet has ever done in the past.

Hi all just joined the BSD site and wanted to know what you all have for breakfast? Each day i have greek yogurt and fruit usually strawberries in summer as they are plentiful and sweet and juicy, i have not yet started this diet but this is my usual breakfast, it goes down hill after that!! My usual winter breakfast is porridge, obviously on a low carb diet this really is not the thing to be eating but i do enjoy it and keeps me going till lunch and keeps me warm on cold winter days, but what could i have as a substitute instead of porridge that will be warming?

Hi sunshine-girl well done on reaching your mini goal and keeping the ring on! What do you need to lose to dump the knickers???

Marsie well done on resetting your goal too.

Well I’ve reached my first mini goal of losing the 2.6lb holiday gain plus I’m 0.2lb closer to my next goal. Just 0.7lb to get back into the next stone …. again!!!!

Doing a 7 day reboot so hope to reach this goal sometime quite soon ….. fingers crossed!

Morning everyone x
Thanks FROG for yr 24 hr bp experience…glad i can take it off overnight!
I remember years ago a taxi driver telling me to avoid trans fats..at the time i didnt know what he was talking about!
1960, just go to photobucket and choose the pic you want to use here and click on it
Four options will appear in a litttle list to the right
Choose Direct ( think its second option)
Click Select All to highlight the code,then click Copy
On the page here,click Paste..et voila! Yr pic!
( thats using ipad,not sure if exactly same with laptop)
Recently when i’ve posted pics i havent been able to see them here myself – i used to be able to – but now i just see the link code – but other members have said they can see the picture xx

Good luck. This forum is a fantastic source of information and inspiration. Any questions or issues you have, it’s likely someone else will have come across the same things and will have an answer or can share their experience with you.

I drink my fluids as sugar free squash (it has always been my stable, hot or cold as hate tea, coffee, hot choc, herbals etc etc) I am making it more dilute as drinking more, but not ready to lose all flavour. I am still losing weight although I was not yet diabetic so not testing effect on blood sugars.

Hi,

I’m just starting out on this diet and have not noticed any real drop in weight. I have Bran Flakes for breakfast before going to gym and then a small carton of coconut water with protein, and maybe a banana if I feel light headed. Lunch is usually a boiled egg with cherry tomatoes and spinach. Dinner consists of vegetables, chicken, egg, cheese and maybe peanuts.

I think the reason I’m not noticing any difference in weight loss (high visceral and Subcutaneous belly fat) is due to an imbalance of macros and portion size.

My target is to lose 7kg in 8 weeks without compromising on exercise (polar heart rate tracking indicates 900Kcal Calories burnt per session) but I’m struggling to find the right balance of nutrition, macro, portion size and exercise so I don’t feel hungry and light headed after training.

Any advise on what I should target for macro and nutrition percentages so I can still maintain this level of exercise and not feel lightheaded, and lose weight ofcourse.

Hi all
How is everyone doing was hard last night my fault was watching bake of so was mazzawazzawoo so I hope you didn’t fall off the wagon 😀 I got through it and not going to watch it again lol
im still going strong I am going to do this , then next year i am off to buy all nice clothes in normal shops off the peg as they say instead of buying from catologs or finding out if they have a plus size department so that’s my goal I have 5 nieces that are going to give me a make over lol and take me shopping ( will end up looking like a clown knowing that lot) but I don’t care So that’s my goal so I’m going to post my journey on here so I hope you don’t mind reading utter dribble you can tell me to do one. but I won’t do it every day 😀
Good luck and I hope we all reach our goals
Coady

Hey fionabloom!

Glad you are enjoying this thread 🙂 Don’t worry about your blip. You’re just starting out and figuring out how to make this work in real life, so ups and downs will happen (at least they are with me!). I think 28lbs will be easy to lose on this plan. Just remember to prepare, drink lots of water and don’t beat yourself up if you hit a bump in the road. Good luck!