Hi Lynne

I guess there are probably lots of people who take painkillers regularly, hence the program!

I am from a family of ‘no medication unless desperate’ people . So I only take pills when I absolutely have to which is why metformin is a necessary ‘evil’ for me and if I can get rid of it I will!!

I don’t know why you have pain but I’m glad the program has made you think. I do suffer with lots if aches and pains from my disability but about 18months ago I started to take a turmeric tablet each day and this has really helped. Take a look on the internet. The secret is a high level of curcumin around 475mg per 500mg pill. Lower amounts don’t really have much of an effect. My husband has peripheral neuropathy and his legs have been tons better since he started taking them!

Maybe as you come if the painkillers you could try turmeric it may just help.

Don’t be scared about losing painkillers. You lost your carb and sugar ‘addiction’ you can do this too!!!!

Please keep us up to date with your progress.

I love the idea of the trouser test!! Must do that.

Interesting to hear you describe the carb flu symptoms kookaburra. Today is day 5 for me and I do feel like I’m getting flu!! Tired and achey all over, after having a pretty ok week so far. I shall stick with it and hopefully soon come out the other side – roll on the weekend!

Shalimar – I love fried catfish when I’m that side of the pond. With fried okra😃

I always tried to have something to eat with me – just in case – but now I don’t need to, because I just don’t get hungry between breakfast and my evening meal.

Well done MENTAL4EVER x and welcome ARTHURCONANDOYLE ! I hope you find bsd elementary! 😄😄😄 sorry,cdnt resist a little joke..i love yr name! x

Morning everyone.

Verano – I’ve probably been taking pain killers for longer than that! At one point I was taking the maximum allowed each day, but when the condition flared up there was nothing else I could take. So I gradually lowered the dose until I was still pain-free but able to temporarily increase the dose if needed. The regular blood tests I have anyway show no damage from the painkillers.

The programme last night really made me think about this. I’ve routinely been taking two Paracetamol morning and night for many years. Two years ago I hurt my back and had to add in Ibuprofen (eased the pain, but it still hurt!). Now I’m taking two of those morning and night.

It’s not cost the NHS because I buy them myself. When I’ve been to the USA you can buy packs of 1,000 so I bring a few back.

After last night I think this is my next challenge. First to go will be the Ibuprofen. Not ‘cold turkey ‘ with these, but a gradual reduction. Then I’ll look at the Paracetamol and work on reducing or eliminating those.

Strange to say, but that’s almost more scary than starting on the bsd😱

Is tiredofthis still around? I hope you’re doing ok – is it day three for you. If you’re having a rough time just come on here and we can maybe help. Let us know how you’re doing xx

Sunshine Girl, I apologise for mentioning the X word. I think it was brought on by going to choir and we started a new song for our christmas concert – yes, a Christmas song while it was 28 degrees outside! I promise , I won’t mention it again till December!

Re the bread, I used to get a lot of headaches and they are definitely less frequent now. I wonder if they were linked to eating high carb food (bread specifically – I was a bread monster).

Kookaburra, Hi and Well done. Great loss.

I know it is not weigh in till next Wed but I had a cheeky step on the scales today and Ive lost another pound – thats 1 1/2 stone gone. Whoppee! Now it’s on to the 12 stone somethings.

It is pouring here. I think tennis will be cancelled. And my dog walk will be a soggy one!

Enjoy your day, whatever it holds.

HI susieb – you know what – whatever you do, it’s got to be better than what you WERE doing. For most, a 1200 calorie day is a brilliant day so keep positive and best of luck for today (not that you’ll need it I’m sure)

Day 5 and I feel a bit rough. Not hungry but tired and achey – I think it’s the final carbs letting go, unless I’m actually coming down with flu (unlikely)! When I got home last night my OH had made another shake for our breakfasts (we’re doing this journey together) stating that we had only used half the ingredients so needed to use up the other half. Grrrr….I nearly went all control freak on her but then decided I’d give it one more go and then that’s it – worse case scenario I lose more weight!!!

Drinking water like it’s my second job so that’s working well and flushing everything out. Have a walk planned for lunchtime with a colleague so hopefully will hit my 10k steps today – with two dogs as well, I usually make it!

Have a great day all xxx 🙂

What a great example JAN..yeh cut grass smells lovely but wdnt want to eat it..will defffo bear that one in mind next time i’ m tantalised by the smell of baking bread in the supermarket 👍🏻
KOOKABURRA Many congrats on crossing the 8 week line! 🎈⭐️🎈⭐️🎈⭐️🎈⭐️ Xx
And INDY gonna remember yr quote,” the pleasure will be momentary while the regret will not be”! X

Debs

Where are you in your journey? On maintenance? Still on the 8 weeks?

Individuals are very different and have different sensitivities.

Tell us a bit more, including how many carbs/cals you have been eating, and how many you are targeting and how many your pub meals were? Perhaps people here can then advise from their own experience?

Don’t despair! [virtual hug]

AVILA well done on swerving the chips yesterday ..wd have been so easy in that situation to get caught out x

Congratulations Arthurconandoyle for your first day safely over.

I have weighed today and lost another 2lb making a total of 8lb in 2’weeks. 🎉🎉🎉. Could not be happier.

Thanks to support here earlier this week when I was feeling a bit down.

Love all you guys and galls 😍😍😍

Heh, heh, guys. Brilliant news all round. Especially Chookymama. Great achievement!

As for this end, I’ve broken the 85 kg barrier, just! In other news, OH has said he’ll join me on the diet. He’s prediabetic, so this is fantastic news. It’ll make me look at the carbs again more seriously. I had a hundred grammes of blackberries yesterday with yogurt. Good for fibre and had the desired effect, thank goodness. Will have to slow down on those, mind.

Is anyone looking at their fibre intake? Mine has been pitifully low, despite all the veg I’ve been eating (well over five-a-day).

Today’s yesterday:
84.9 kg
-0.1 kg
Overall change -3.6 kg

Yesterday’s food and exercise
797 cals
74 carbs
Moderate walk for 30 mins, 10 mins gardening

Big gardening blitz due this weekend. So that might give me a head start before trip back to see my folks. Hope so. More exercise definitely required. Pedometer ordered from Amazon now dispatched, so that might encourage me too.

Onwards and inwards, guys!

We are now on week 10 and going great. Hubby really into it. Great weight loss and blood sugar drop. But hubby now doing 600 per day. I’m making sure his diet is good, but worried it’s too low. I seem to be losing more weight & eating more calories. Anyone advise me please.

I have found that if I do eat any carbs at all it piles weight on, I had one pub meal this week and I have put 1.5 lbs on even though the rest of the week I have stuck to the plan, Wales every day and done 20 minster hiit a day. I feel really disheartened that my body is supersensitive to carbs and I am struggling now.

Hi

I saw that program last night too. I was fascinated that somebody could take pain killers for 20 years!!!!!!

It wasn’t just the length of time but the number she was taking everyday! It was obviously an addiction but what sort of doctor would continue prescribing pain killers like that! The cost ,not just to the woman’s health, but to the NHS must have been astronomical !

I had sciatica a few years ago and was prescribed co-codamol. After about 3 months I had a repeat metformin script and there were the co-codamol as well. I had to ring the surgery and ask to have them taken off future repeat prescriptions! My GP practice is one of the better ones so goodness knows what the bad ones are like!

Will be really interested to see next weeks .

Hi Indy I can agree with that I’ve come to the conclusion that high carb sugar things smell and look delicious but tastebility insipid, same with cut grass love the smell but couldn’t entertain eating it hehe.
We’ve evolved I feel like I’ve finally grown up 😀😎😀

Well done Kookaburra!!!

Glad I saved you from yourself Yowzer!

It seems, Jan and Indy that we’ve all had similar experiences with bread! I’m not sure that I will eat it again as part of my diet. I had a piece about 6″ long and the carbs worked out at a fraction under 50!!!!! I could do so much more with that number of carbs and have tons more flavour and satisfaction!

Hi Ruth, fellow Aussie, I’ve been watching you! ‘Captain Lynne and many other wonderful people’ includes you, and I’m so grateful to you all!

I had a slice of toasted burgen soy-Lin the day after I finished the 8 weeks… It tasted boring, and a couple of hours later I got the most amazing ice-pick headache in my eyebrow. Cured!

Earlier on in my journey I made the tiny little loaf of Elana’s rye bread (almond flour, seeds etc), cut it up into 20 or so tiny thin slices, and froze it. Was thinking ‘good grief, $20 million dollars for a tiny little loaf, what a waste of time’. Wrong! It has lasted me the whole 8 weeks as I only wanted a slice every so often, ‘toasted’ from frozen in a sandwich press. So much yummier than wheat bread!

Josie and Yowzer – high fives, keep skipping.

Jane I will look for David Gillespie’s other books. I found it fascinating, even though I had read some of Robert Lustig’s stuff. Maybe because he lost so much weight, but did not dwell on that in the book

So many of my ‘heroes’ seem to post on this thread, so let me say here a massive THANK YOU for all the thought and time and generosity that you put into sharing your knowledge and your journeys. I’m sure I speak for a huge number of silent people who are on their own journeys but may not be registered or posting… You are all a wonderful inspiration and such a kind and thoughtful community, so thank you for helping so much, on behalf of us all 💗

Kookaburra, welcome and congratulations. I think you should be in MM’s next book, along with CaptainLynne and many other wonderful people.

Indy I had bread a few weeks ago and was quite ill afterwards.

Frog not so hungry but I may still be eating too much – have to reboot!

Hey Lucy Jane, you’ve taken the first steps on an amazing journey, well done!! I’ve lost two stone (28lb) since May and have dropped from size 16 to a size 8!! I went to a family wedding at the weekend and was met with gasps!

Just think how you will feel at Christmas when you’ve done it!! Keep up the good work, and keep in touch!!

Captain Lynne, CONGRATULATIONS from an 8-week lurker than you’ve been a wonderful example and inspiration for. Thank you so much for sharing your journey, you are beautiful! x

Hi Happy Ozzie, YAY!!! Well done!!! That was the hardest week, and you’ve done it!
I used to love all things sweet too, but after 8 weeks, I don’t even want the old sweet stuff. Believe it or not, I now find full fat Greek yoghurt with nuts amazingly sweet and delicious! I wouldn’t even eat Greek yoghurt before because it wasn’t sweet enough!
Fingers crossed the carb flu symptoms are over for you. It gets easier and easier to keep going as you stop wanting the sugar/carbs.
There is such a wonderful volume of fantastic knowledge recorded on this forum that you can access on all sorts of topics by using the search box in the top right corner, that almost anything you will encounter is likely to be written about already…. And anything you can’t find, just ask! Good luck with week 2! (and don’t worry if the scale is not as exciting as in week 1, even if it’s not, the trouser test is often just as exciting). Enjoy!

Hi everyone! I made it over the 8 week line! 😃
Finally worked out how to register on here so that I could say Thank You! for all the inspiration and encouragement to continue (esp during the dreaded plateaux) that I received while lurking 💗 Thank you!!!
Had my 8 week BSD 800 weigh in on Tuesday morning, lost 16.3% = 13.1kg (2st1lb, 29lb).
Started at 80.5kg (12st10lb, 178lb) BMI 28.9, and ended at 67.4kg (10st9lb, 149lb) BMI 23.6. Feeling a LOT better! Constant maddening cravings to eat constantly gone. Caffeine consumption has plummeted. Portion sizes on the 800 plan are satisfying. Yayyyyyy!!!!!
My knees are a little dodgy so I figure the lighter I am the longer they’ll last. I plan to continue now with a 2nd 8 weeks to lose a few kgs more (with an interruption for Aussie school holidays that may be more the Med plan). Exciting to think of losing more from here as even being an option!
So there I am. Another success story for this wonderful eating plan, a massive thank you to MM, and for the beginner lurkers out there another happy person saying: I can see you, You Can Do It Too, Jump On The Bus!!!!!! 😃😃😃

Ha!
thanks so much Nettle, this really helped!

About a week after I finished the first eight, I went out to have one of my favorite things (next to pizza which just seemed like I’d burst into flames and perish if I ate because it’s so bad on every level): a burger AND a bun.

I was so excited and had planned for the bump and the fact that my weight might go up, etc. but that if I could never eat food I do love (with planning and care), I’d be miserable and liable to fail long term.

It wasn’t the worst burger I’d ever had – in fact, as burgers go it was one of my favorite places. But a) I couldn’t finish the bun and b) I didn’t really enjoy any of it. Trust me, I tried! But when the meal was over, I just thought, “Eh, what’s the point?”

On the other hand, most mornings I have plain yogurt, almonds, apple, and mango (passion fruit is too hard to find here), and almost every morning I think, “It’s amazing how much flavor this has!”

I still drool when I see pizza or smell bread baking, but I definitely think the pleasure will be momentary while the regret will not be. Though let’s give it a few weeks before I get too righteous – in October I may be telling you how I stuck my face in a bowl of Halloween candy and inhaled.

Hello,
I am at the end of my first week.
i lost 3.5 kilo . Happy ,Happy Joy, joy Dance, Dance.
I do 30 mins on treadmill every morning
i tried to measure myself but all the jubbly bits got in the way. So I will just keep trying on a pair of trousers that i want to fit back into.
The first couple of days were a bit rough…I truly love ALL things sweet…
but now after seeing my weight loss i feel great.
i may not need to lose as much weight as other people , but the struggle is still the same.

Remember:
You have always been Beautiful
Now you are deciding to be healthier, fitter, faster and stronger.

1 happy Ozzie

Hi Forkers

IT’S OK!

Don’t beat yourself up, think of all that Selenium your body is enjoying.

I just snipped this from GOOGLE: “Some of the most impressive and important health benefits of Brazil nuts include their ability to help stimulate growth and repair, improve the digestive process, boost heart health, balance hormone function, improve the immune system, lower risk of cancer, boost male fertility, help with weight loss, aid in skin health, and reduce the signs of ageing.”

How about that? You will be OK. I also find one of the few times I get hungry is after a good day’s work out. It’s better to have nuts than….anything that should not even be mentioned.

Today is the beginning of week 28 for me and I use the word EASY too.

Hang in there, next time try the easier “Slipper Camp.”
N.

Ok this morning was even worst but I suspect I um am a bit clogged up:-(. Not giving up yet. Feel better and less bloated but no major changes yet but it is only day 11.. Monday’s weigh in will be good and I am going to try for it to be a good one.

Welcome Arthurconandoyle! Congrats on getting underway!

Chookymama that’s fantastic! Love hitting a milestone.

Eternallyoptimistic have a great time! I leave in a couple of days for a week’s vacation. Not sure if I should bring the scale…kind of want the assurance that I’m not packing it on, but don’t want to lug it with me!

Made it through a rough day of hormones, and other than 3 greedy bites of my kids’ Mac n cheese I did great. Dull headache all day and starving (I’m out of nuts!), and thankfully so busy cooking for two friends who just are having babies I was too busy too be wildly tempted. Glad today’s over. I’m not usually hungry on this diet, but tomorrow should be better as the hormones calm down a little.

Today:
731 calories
42 carbs

I’ve binned food as well … usually bread. If i love a club sandwich i always get it on 2 slices of bread instead of 3 … and then i eat as little bread as possible. If i order a hamburger i get a knife and fork and just eat the meat with a bit of onion and condiments. I love some local corn fried catfish … i either order vegetables … or 1/2 or less of the french fries — because if the french fries get on my plate i WILL eat them. I do this a lot … even when i’m not dieting i do try and cut back sometimes.

Right now i bought some small tins of v 8 vegetable juice i bring a can with me everywhere …. just in case i need a little something to tide me over.

OOPS! WRONG SONG!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wREBD2og5iY&list=PL2PI3BtEVzA7TfhMFjeseXkYvVJpx__ia&index=9

Keep on losing the weight! We all losing pounds thanks to this chitty chatty forum!
One thing about Igor is that She (Not a he with a HE Name) gets around! We all get around!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wREBD2og5iY&list=PL2PI3BtEVzA7TfhMFjeseXkYvVJpx__ia&index=9

Nothing lost for me today. But went to an actual aquabics class with my sister this morning …. lots of exercise on my arm flabs! 🙂 🙂
Pretty much plan on doing some exercise every day … aquabics … and maybe some on the gym equipment.

Day 58
Thursday 15 September 2016

Breakfast: None

Lunch: 4 Egg Spanish Omlette

Snacks:
2 apples
1 Peach
Sunflower seeds ( i eat like Tweety Bird)
2 Celery Stalks with Cream Cheese

Dinner:
2 Bowls of beef broth (lots of veggies in it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqqjU7u5Yc

Cause I’m living in a word of love????? More like living in a world of weight loss. Almost 2 months….. 8 weeks. I should hit 24 pounds lost next week…I Hope!

Then my average is 3 pounds a week. If I can lose all that weight then I shall live according to the Vulcan Creed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu1qa8N2ID0

Nothing else on TV after SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. So, I am lazily watching the end of ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN. These are two of my favorite movies of all time. Yeh, it is up there with Magnificent Seven. I can not fathom watching Denzel Washington replacing Yul Brenner. No WAY HOSEA! And Steve McQueen!

They are making all these 4 star classic films all over and they are all FLOPS! I did not even want to see the Ben Hur movie. It lasted less than a month. Now if they make a remake of Paul Newman and Redford’s THE STING, I might lose my mind and go insane. And then when they do THE DIRTY DOZEN remake…….

Oh Well, I will be out of control. I might turn into Idi Amin or Trotsky! There is nothing that will stop me then. NOTHING! There is only one thing that will do me a calming down: The Sweetest Place On Earth……………. HERSHEYPARK!

Yeh, that is my number one Kryptonite! Hollywood crapola movies is not my yearning. What next????? They going to make another An Affair To Remember????? Who can they compare to Cary Grant today!?????? He is my role model on the Gentleman’s Dress Code! he even wore a collar pin.

Food probably didn’t feel fulfilling because you didn’t sleep enough …. it can make us feel stressed and grouchy.

I’m not getting enough liquid i think …. plus i don’t sleep that well … and i wake up NOT feeling great.

No weight loss for me today …. i think i need to stop looking every day when i’m at my gym.

Did actually take the Aquabics class with my sister this morning and that was pretty good … did more exercise than me just trying to to some on my own. Did you for a couple of short walks also but i felt kind of sluggish, when yesterday when i got home from the gym i was energized and actually wanted to do more!!

The Bircher sounds pretty good to me!

Have some fun tomorrow!!

I’m going to a small farmers market tomorrow a.m. and i hope to pick up some local honey. Getting local honey is supposed help your immune system against stuff in your local area.

Ok I am on day 10 today and not having huge success with the scales up this morning to 102 (start was 103.7). I def went slightly over on calories yesterday but no bad food. Anyway hanging in there and waiting for a drop. Aiming next Friday to be 100 and getting close to 99. By the end of September my goal is 99 and by the end of October 94 which would give me a bmi of 94. By the end of November I want to be 90. I am going to reintroduce alcohol after a month, moderately, but stick to this way of life, keep carbs down and and do 800 calories or less at least 4 days a week.

Gluck.

The software release went well but I didn’t finish until 7am. Then I managed 4 hours of interrupted sleep on the sofa. I worked from home for the rest of the day and I can’t remember how many times I walked up to the fridge, had a look in and then walked away reminding myself I couldn’t have anything. By 8pm I was really really tired and feeling very irritable and grumpy. When we finally sat down to dinner everything seemed to feel a lot better after the first few mouthfuls of food. Interesting.

Black coffee
Mushroom with goats cheese and pine nuts
Butternut squash salad
Steamed haddock and vegetables – I hate warmed up tomatoes and their juice so must try to avoid them. Love them every other way though.

Food didn’t feel very fulfilling today – I think that’s because we swapped the sardine dip for the salad – perhaps we could have used tuna or smoked mackerel instead of sardines. Tomorrow’s menu looks like you can at least get your teeth into something.

@shalimar – probably the best description of a real Bircher is the one given by Titanne in the comments on this recipe https://thebloodsugardiet.com/recipes/bircher-muesli/

Just caught up with the BBC3 programme from Monday night – ‘Obesity: the postmortem’. If I’d not already lost weight, that would make me want to do it. Absolutely fascinating, scary, and probably other words. The lady in question was 4 inches taller then me, but only weighed one stone more than me, so it was a pretty good idea what my insides would have been like. She died of heart failure, but also gas fatty liver disease. The amount of abdominal fat, and fat around her organs was astonishing. Well worth a watch.

Tonight also watched the BBC1 programme about the doctor trying to get patients off tablets. Interesting. It’s a two-parter, so have to wait until next week to see the end result. He’d probably like some of our stories – so many on here have reduced their medication, or stopped taking it altogether.

Day 1 is over and went quite well.
Calories :811
Weight this morning 74.6 kg

Thanks to this forum, I discovered Fat Secret, which I like. I had been using MyFitnessPal, which I also found really helpful, but in my opinion, FatSecret is easier to use. I liked the dropdown menu so that you can select your own country and they have specific products from there. I’m in Australia and love the Coles Kale slaw, so was pleased to find it listed.

Congratulations, Chookymama! 😃 Fantastic!

I’m really glad that I looked up the forums when I read about them in the book. I genuinely appreciate all the advice, motivation, encouragement and welcome.

Have taken on board 54andfatnomore’s advice to be strict on the 800 calorie front. Have a tendency to think “near enough is close enough” even though past experience should have taught me that this isn’t correct!

Hi everyone,
I’m coming to the end of my first week in my second stint at the 800 fast. It’s actually been EASY until I did s boot camp class and my hunger got worse after I ate dinner.
SO I HAVE NOW STUFFED MY FACE WITH BRAZIL NUTS and need someone to tell me it’s ok we all do it and at least it wasn’t carbs right?
I didn’t realise white how high they are in calories! I’m shocked tbh, nearly 200 cal in 6!
Well I had A LOT MORE THAN 6

There are different UP straps – mine is the hollow kind where it threads through itself and then hooks. I had read about the strap issues and hooked a small safety pin through at first, but I think it is the solid straps that as mentioned above are the concern and they offer an extra clip.

Well done on 5lbs down! I told you it would give you a boost!!!

I agree with you on shakes and smoothies – I just don’t get them! Real chewing food for me. I’m happy with my omelettes for breakfast, they do keep me full and I can vary them a bit.

I struggled with day 3 today, to be honest. I wonder if that’s because of the wine last night? It was a bit of a topsy-turvy day for me, I ended up eating my main meal at lunch and then only a light meal at dinnertime. All evening I’ve been ravenous and kept raiding the fridge. I tried to make all my snacking as low-carb as possible, though. I just needed to feel full. I snacked on ham and cheese and cucumber. In the end I made a hot drink and that seemed to soothe me…

So, over on calories today but still managed low carb, thankfully.

Day 3/56

BREAKFAST: 2 medium egg omellette, 30g smoked salmon Philidelphia, 50g wilted spinach.
Splash of skimmed milk in tea and coffee
LUNCH: strips of beef fillet stir-fried with strips of red pepper, onion and chili with 80g tinned black beans
SNACK: 1/2 pot activia natural yoghurt and 3 strawberries
DINNER: 1/2 portion bolognese with 200g broccoli, 10g grated reduced-fat cheese
SNACKING: pot of Greek yoghurt, 4 slices ham rolled up with lettuce, onion and 30g cheese, cucumber, a little philidelphia.

Calories: 1223 Carbs: 56g Fat: 60g Protein: 112g Fibre: 16g

Exercise: at the moment I’m on 6,500 steps at 10pm. I’ll keep pacing the house till I can get that up as much as poss before husband gets home and thinks I’ve lost the plot!

Hoping for a better day tomorrow! Hope you all have a good one.

Thanks Frog x
How’s it going Tired? x

Loopy, you are the second person to mention the ‘X’ word. Back of the class. But really, only 14 weeks ahgggggg. But I have already booked to eat out on Christmas day with family.

Wendyq – your fibroids sound awful, thank goodness everything turned out well for you. I am sure Natalie will also get great relief after her op.
Hi Cara54. I hope you find the BSD as good as we all do. It is making such a difference to so many peoples lives. I can honestly say I have not felt hungry since starting 17 days ago. Am feeling more energetic already, a great bonus for me. Cutting carbs really is the way to go, the rest is easy. Best wishes for your journey, look forward to hearing your progress.
Had a busy day cleaning again and sorting around. For lunch – boiled egg, hummus, crudites and dinner – aubergine and butter bean stew with cheese, then greek yogurt and raspberries. Hoping the scales are kind to me in the morning. Sleep well everyone, night, night xx

Hope your first day went well!

I agree JOSIE ! X

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn276/yowzer2008/image_zpsor8f6mz9.jpeg

Goodnight lovely BSD friends x