Hi Autumn,
Like you I am vegetarian and yes, it is harder as a vegetarian to get to the low carb limits some people do as we need the pulses which are carb high – but these are not bad refined carbs, they are good ones!
I started at a BMI of 33 and a self diagnosis of ‘about to be’ pre-diabetic’ when I took my FBS with a blood sugar monitor. It was a shock, and I got started on this within a week. I had two initial goals (I started 1 Feb 16); one was to get my blood sugars down, the second to get my weight down so I was not classified as obese. My blood sugars were down within 4 weeks and my BMI was under 30 in 5.5 weeks. I did 10 weeks of the 800, then have had a break and been doing 4:3 or 3:4 with a few weeks of 800 depending on where I am and what is going on. I am now 20 kilos lighter, my FBS is down at 4 – 4.5 and I should be getting into normal BMI in a week or so – I am also 3-4 dress sizes down.
I did not get the ‘carb flu’ (sounds like what you are experiencing) that you hear people talking about when I started the 800 as I started using Shakes for 3 of the meals and one meal of veggies or soup. This was close to the Newcastle approach to the diet, but without the help of their Shakes which are high protein as you cannot get over the counter in the UK. The ones I took turned out to be high carbs so I was on 100g carb or higher for the first two weeks! I was losing weight (steadily) and not inches off of my waist. I asked the forum and was advised to look at my carb intake. I then went onto my own meals, but after doing some digging on info, decided to aim for 60g a day carbs as this allowed me to balance my diet with enough good veg carbs to get 40-45g protein a day. I also found I was getting dizzy and had severe leg cramps overnight if I dropped below 50g a day carbs.
You may find you are better to increase the carbs to 60g for a few weeks to see how it goes and if you feel you need to cut further the go down slowly to 40g. The key is to remember we still need our 5 a day and 40-45g protein a day so you need enough cheese, full fat dairy, pulses, tofu etc to get that. The revelation is eating FF yogurt and cheese again – and yes a lot of eggs.
Hope this helps = happy to chat more if you want more detail.

oooo fab cake Janey – full marks :-)))))

Leanne, thank you! Knowing that this may be completely normal, and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, gives me hope :). I’m happy to keep going if I know this weak feeling eventually alleviates!

FRIDAY 22 July

OMG! I felt so alive today! 10:00 Am and on my way to Opening Day at Saratoga Raceway and CASINO. No, I am not alive today from the raceway park. IT IS FROM MY START AGAIN ON PANCHAKARMA< AYURVEDIC INDIAN medicine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG1TakLZCio

A video to watch above on it. It may look crazy getting herbal remedies massaged in skin and steam baths. But, it beats any other way of getting rid of toxins in your body and extra fat. 6,000+ years of Ayurveda Medicine.

I feel so alive because:

Mucus gone in nasal passage
skin is smooth
digesting much much better
less hunger pains
hair is smooth silky and shiny like a diamond ring

It is worth every penny doing this once a week. Maybe I should do it 2-3 times….. but gets costly.

My Ayuveda Doctor said keep it up on your Kryptonite: Dairy and cheeses. Cheese and Ice Cream: My Kryptonite. What is your KRYPTONITE? Chocolate and sugar I can live without. But not dairy foods. GREAT TO HAVE A DOCTOR SUPERVISION ON THIS STUFF. Yes, they are doctor, just like accupunturists.

I never used Indian medicine before moving there 5 years ago to Pune, India. I was healthy then. And then life changing experiences came and made me gain 80 pounds in the past 5 years when moved back to Jersey Shore. Time for a change. That is why we all are
here today.

CHANGE IS GOOD! KEEP IT UP!

Up to you if naturalist doctors are a good ingredient for your health success. I love it and find it worth every penny.

Daniel, The PrincetonianStud

Timmy, I’m hoping this image works. But if not, it’s mostly eggs, fish, veggies, and fruit.

[IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/2uei6xg.jpg[/IMG]

And no, this past week I haven’t exercised at all. I’m just too dizzy and weak to even attempt it.

40 more minutes (just enough time for a cuppa) then I’ve got a 2.5/3 hour car journey to look forward to. At least it’s sunny and I can get the roof down. Although I’m not sure I fancy no roof on the M25.

Hi Autumn, I’m now on week 21 but felt quite ill for the first 2 or 3 weeks. No energy, tired, aches, etc. I put it down to my body adjusting to a lot less food. I even couldn’t keep up with my 3 miles walking each night as I felt so worn out. This did improve though. I found upping my protein helped with the lack of energy. Keep at it, it’s still early days and it will get easier.

Hi Julie13,
Don’t panic. Some weeks are better than others, and if you are in the UK just now and in the heat-wave zone, you may just be retaining fluid! The body is designed to retain fluids as the heat goes up and not let them go until the temp drops for a few days! I always put on a kilo or so when the heat goes up suddenly – for me in Herts it went up 10 degrees in 2 days! Once it comes down a little, the fluid goes in a day and my weight drops!
I am also a comfort eater and yes, there have been some days that I have had a coffee and cake when out. I have avoided having cake in the house, so it is never more than one slice when I am out. Other than that I find a couple of pieces frozen fruit (eg rasps) defrosted with a tablespoon greek yogurt & cinnamon is a help when I ‘need’ something sweet. I also take cocoa twice a day – no milk or sugar only hot water and 5g cocoa powder (I use Green and Blacks Organic) and it is 17 cals per cup, 1g carb, 1g protein, 1g fat. I started taking this over a year ago, long before this plan started, when there was talk of it helping with dementia. Without milk, it was an acquired taste, but I now really like it and it does give me a chocolate fix during the day and does fit in with the long term goal for a Mediterranean diet. I rarely if ever go for chocolate now when I am out.
In terms of what is likely to be the 800 – If you were disproportionately more around the waist than you used to be, and you find your waist has gone down more than the rest of you, that is likely to be the 800. In the past I have found I lost proportionately over my body, but this time, I was almost like a tube not an hourglass and the first changes were weight loss around my waist as I was losing the visceral fat there faster than elsewhere.
As you say – you are not hungry, yet you will be eating a very balanced diet – what’s bad about that! Keep going…. and have a great weekend!

Hi Autumn, sorry you’re feeling rubbish. what sort of foods are you eating? It sounds like a typical carb crash/withdrawal but I would have thought it would be nearing the end by 2 weeks.

Also, are you doing much exercise?

Hi Embob,

If you are eating more protein that might be taking longer to digest – or else requiring more stomach acid to work on the meat? You might need to experiment a bit.

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to get some advice. I’m almost done with my 2nd week, and aside from one day that I went over by 150 kcal, I’ve been consistently between 750-850 kcal/day. My problem is I’m feeling very weak, and more than a little faint. Moving around seems like such a monumental task, and climbing the stairs to my apartment (4th floor) is soul draining. I’ve been reading all the lovely posts of folks who feel awesome on this diet. People have even said that they have *more* energy…but I’m really struggling!

A typical day is looks like this: 250 kcal for breakfast, 200-250 kcal for lunch, 300 kcal for dinner, and a coffee mid afternoon. I’m a vegetarian, so it’s been rough getting my carbs low enough (although eggs are my best friends just now), although I’m usually around 35-50% carbs. I’m also drinking about 2L of water a day not including my coffee or tea. Does anything jump out at anyone? Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong?

Even though I’ve already lost +8 lbs, I’m just really getting discouraged. Maybe this just won’t work for me 😔
Any help or suggestions would be *greatly appreciated*! I really don’t want to stop the incredible weight loss.

I try to drink several ordinary sized glasses of water each day, usually between three and five of them. Despite criticism of the value of drinking plain water, I’ve found that three glasses of water (drunk over about half an hour or so) help settle heartburn. I try not to eat a heavy meal in the evening, and try to eat before 7pm to leave time for dinner to digest. I take two spoonfuls of liquid Gaviscon before bed if I need to. I no longer take anti-reflux medication. I try and relax my stomach to help my digestion. The other thing is to deliberately eat more slowly.

i am having a real dolly downer day again bloody fridays !!!! i cant even spell now !!

A LIVELY cake?! I like the sound of that 😆

Hey Izzy!!!
I’ve been reading your posts in my email but haven’t had time to get on with clients and launching website items this week. I will get on at least once a week I hope. So happy about your new uniform and your taken in top!! Yeah!!! I am so proud of you my friend!
I can’t believe we have been at this for 12 weeks Izzy!! 3 months and it still seems super easy and no cravings at all for me. We are melting. Literally melting our fat off – haha!
All my clients on it are doing fantabulous as well!!! In just 4 weeks one lost 35 lbs, another had to buy smaller clothes twice as she kept shrinking, another lost 6.5 inches in her first week – it just honestly seems to work for everyone no matter what their history is with diets and weight issues.
Today is my first day of week 13 and here’s all my stats at the bottom of this post in case they help anyone.
Hugs and best wishes to all my fellow fat melters!!!!
Overview since I began in case it helps anyone… Stick with it!!
🌷Weekly weigh ins and loss in inches
Week 1 – 9 lb / 4.5 inches
Week 2 – 3 lb / 5.25 inches
Week 3 – 5 lb / 4.75 inches
Week 4 – .5 lb / 1.25 inches
Traveling/stayed on program
Week 5 – nothing lost
Traveling/stayed in program
Week 6 – 6.6 lbs / 1.75 inches
Week 7 -1.4 lbs / 2.25 inches
Week 8 – 4.6 lbs / 1.25 inches
Taken off all BP meds by Dr. 😄
Week 9 -.8 lbs / 0 inches
Week 10 0 lbs / 1.75 inches
Week 11 – 3 lbs / .25 inches
Week 12 – 3 lbs / 1 inch

M&S is a definite life saver for me. Bought my lunch there today. Sainsburys also do some good low carb meals (salads, bean salads, etc).

Haven’t actually eaten out yet but will be doing so for the first time tomorrow. Going for a curry. I’m just going to ditch the rice and opt for popadoms instead (which are normally made from lentil flour or gram flour). Most French and Italian restaurants (proper Italian ones, not cheapy chain ones) should be ok to avoid the carbs in too.

yes janey that looks like a lively cake well done x

(1) The cricket is on and no one else in the office – listening to TMS at work!
(2) Seeing my mum and sister this weekend
(3) Coming out the other end of a stinking cold!

Lynne, fantastic job – you are amazing! So happy you also are off your BP meds and even if they don’t know your blood sugar will stay low, YOU DO!! And that’s really all that matters for now. Some day they will absorb all the miraculous changes and understand it’s the real deal and you have manifested a new healthy (and permanent) life for yourself. It takes the medical community years to come around (even my doctor said that this week albeit she’s now telling her clients about BSD because of me).
Re being shorter – ugh – I went from 5.6 years ago to 5.4 a while back and so did my husband! It’s just gravity pulling us down it seems. Ha.
You are a shining star always to all of us in here with you and as always I thank you for your ongoing and kind inspiration!!
💜🌷💙

if you eat fish Michaelmas then Pret a Manger’s nicois salad has been a life saver for me. I think they also do “protein pots” with avocado and boiled eggs? Them and m&s as Orchid says are my go-to places if I am trying to find something on the go.

But I have now taken to bringing my own hard boiled eggs with me if I am going to be anywhere new with work in case I can’t find anything for lunch.

It’s amazing once you start looking for low-carb lunches, how carb saturated all the normal lunch options are!

Still losing again after 3 week adjustment or body to getting off all BP meds! Here’s my total overview and I hope it inspires anyone to stick with the program. I have many clients on the program as well and they are all doing splendidly.
Overview since I began in case it helps anyone… Stick with it!!
🌷Weekly weigh ins and loss in inches
Week 1 – 9 lb / 4.5 inches
Week 2 – 3 lb / 5.25 inches
Week 3 – 5 lb / 4.75 inches
Week 4 – .5 lb / 1.25 inches
Traveling/stayed on program
Week 5 – nothing lost
Traveling/stayed in program
Week 6 – 6.6 lbs / 1.75 inches
Week 7 -1.4 lbs / 2.25 inches
Week 8 – 4.6 lbs / 1.25 inches
Taken off all BP meds by Dr. 😄
Week 9 -.8 lbs / 0 inches
Week 10 0 lbs / 1.75 inches
Week 11 – 3 lbs / .25 inches
Week 12 – 3 lbs / 1 inch

Overview since I began in case it helps anyone… Stick with it!!
🌷Weekly weigh ins and loss in inches
Week 1 – 9 lb / 4.5 inches
Week 2 – 3 lb / 5.25 inches
Week 3 – 5 lb / 4.75 inches
Week 4 – .5 lb / 1.25 inches
Traveling/stayed on program
Week 5 – nothing lost
Traveling/stayed in program
Week 6 – 6.6 lbs / 1.75 inches
Week 7 -1.4 lbs / 2.25 inches
Week 8 – 4.6 lbs / 1.25 inches
Week 9 -.8 lbs / 0 inches
Week 10 0 lbs / 1.75 inches
Week 11 – 3 lbs / .25 inches
Week 12 – 3 lbs / 1 inch

I agree, it is really difficult to go into most of the lunch outlets as it is all high carb based. The only place I have found so far that has a filling veggie lunch is M&S – there are two ‘super food’ take away meals with beans and spinach amongst other things that fit this diet, but most other outlets are very heavy on carbs, even when it is quinoa etc. The other alternative is soup – depending on the description, it is a better option and filling, having said that they all come with a very large chunk of bread that needs ditched!
I now ask for a salad instead of chips/potatoes and that helps a bit, but you sometimes get salad plus salad that way 🙁
Some people take a sandwich and ditch the bread, but I do struggle with that. At the gym last week – where they pride themselves on having ‘healthy food’ on offer, all there was I could have was some spinach with two hard boiled eggs!
I take my own lunches with me almost all the time these days…….

Oh now that does look good! Probably best not to cover it then.

Apparently less sweet? What the what? I think not!

Brilliant!

Week 12
Body finally adjusted to getting off BP
Meds and I am going down again in weight!! This week I lost 3 lbs again and also 1 inch. Yeah!!!
💜

I don’t know about you, but that’s a proper cake to me! Yum! If I could be bothered I’d make ganache. But it’s too hot and will be in the car for 3+ hours so I’m not risking it.

Yes, like for like swap plus a sprinkle of stevia as coconut sugar is apparently less sweet..

I’m able to make satisfying, veg filled meals containing modest amounts of carbohydrates at home (20 – 25g wholegrain basmati rice, 30g pasta portions, little amounts of potato, etc) but eating out can be a problem. When I’m in town I’m mostly faced with eateries where bread/chips/pasta bulk up meals. I can find places that have salad bars but it can be disheartening to sit in an air-conditioned ‘restaurant’ eating chilled salad (avoiding the pasta and sauce combos) or the bread buns. Alternatively there are coffee outlets selling cheese toasties and pastry based savouries where the carb count goes from 16g to nearly 50g a portion, and still leave me feeling peckish to the point where a follow-up sponge cake with soft icing on top makes sense, and I reach the end of the afternoon feeling grouchy and snappy (what do they do? – it seems to me that they fill the carbs with air so they feel less substantial!). Fat helps fill us up so the melted cheese fillings seem a good idea at the time (having them warmed is so tempting in air-conditioned, cold cafes). Still, this evening I’m cooking lemon sole fillets with raw chopped fennel and with baby spincach wilted down in the frying pan with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a sprinkling of freshly crushed black peppercorns, plus a new potato (smallish), then strawberries and a small dribble of double cream…then possibly a small bit of cheese and one or two oat crackers, and a third of a small glass of white wine, plus a tumbler of sparkling water. I do notice that keeping the starchy carbs low keeps my stomach more comfortable.

Yayyyyyyyyy! Did you do a like for like swap Janey? It’s very sweet isn’t it?

A bit broke of the edge ‘while I was checking it’. IT TASTES OF PROPER CAKE! Nigella, we love you still :*

Just crossing my fingers that swapping satan’s sugar for coconut version is ok..

Eps, as a general rule I don’t like people, children, babies, animals, insects and several (most) celebrities. It’s a catch-all situation. It’d be easier to tell you who I like rather than who I don’t. Hubby goes mad at me. He’d get on with a tree, him. But women can be shocking. I was sat behind a trio on Sports Day and some poor bo was copping it (like that? Can’t do the accent on the o though lol) the bitchiness was shocking and whenever any of the in-crowd were passing it was all ‘Hiya!’ and kisses on both cheeks. Sort of behaviour they should have left behind on the school yard. No thanks. I’ve always got on better with men, but I get on much better with women online. My husband however, monopolises my RL female friends. If they phone up to speak to me, he’s on the phone with them for a good half hour before I get the phone 🙂

Fingers crossed on the cake Janey, I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s Nigella.

Well I was going to say about man logic, but I’m scared of you lot so I didn’t.

I’m liking Timmy’s idea of trimming the circumference.. that’s a man’s logic lol…

It’s still cooking.. come on cake! There IS a lovely chocolatey cake smell in the house though, which is promising.

Most of my working life has been in male orientated industries (handy for husbands!) and I much prefer it to the bitchiness of an office full of women. The one job I had where that was the case (inside sales manager for a well known buggy manufacturer) was just cattiness central! And I also avoid yummy mummies at the school gate!!

cake is DONE. I’m leaving it to settle a bit in the oven – it’s almost moussey consistence.. but cooked!

Or take a couple of mm from around the entire edge so it’s still a circle?

hee hee all you lady haters :-))))) I find it’s people in general that can be quite annoying really – Is that better? 😉

You could slice it down the middle Janey, and then remove a good chunk for tasting purposes, and then put icing in the middle ;-)))

Well I couldn’t find an antipasti thing in M&S so I had a quinoa and spelt nutty thing with soy sauce and ginger. Lush. And, I also had…… wait for it…… a scotch egg! Boom. Big protein hit. Feel full now.

I’ve got a small pot of cashews in case I feel peckish this afternoon.

I don’t think you’ve missed too much Tokyo, I still haven’t made my cakes yet, youngest is bored to tears, so I’ve promised him we’ll plan and book our camping trip in a mo, just need to check my diary and see what dates aren’t taken with something.

I agree with you Janey, completely. Some women are shocking. I am very, very selective where my female friends are concerned. I don’t care that I’ve only got a few of them living locally, I’d rather quality than quantity. Never been one for standing on the school yard being false and fickle. Like to know who I can trust. Three of my closest friends I actually met online, two I’ve met, one I haven’t yet. Nobody has yet been murdered. Result.

Yes, they will notice. Unless you take a good quarter of it, cover it in yellow fondant icing… Bingo! Pacman cake!

You’re welcome.

Present company excepted, women are a pain in the ****! That’s why I am the only woman in my office!!!

Well, the cake is looking pretty good although still not cooked through (always the same with Nigella recipes) Annoyingly I forgot to leave a bit of the mix to cook seperately for tasting purposes.. do you think anyone will notice if a cut a small slice?! 😀

😊😊😊

i wrote something trying to correct a persons posts regarding what i went through last year someone was quoting stats and figures that just were not true and i have corrected them and in the process kicked a great big blinking hornets nest of quite nasty opinions !!!
its not like here all safe and warm i tell you !!!!!! blinking ladies !!!
back to BSD matters what have i missed ??

Sorry to hear your sad news. It is so hard to come to terms with a sudden death, hope the two of you are managing to stay strong.

Congratulations on your great achievement to date. You should be really proud and your determination is an example and inspiration to us all. Like you, I have an ultimate goal – which I am taking one stage at a time – and I will keep going until I have achieved that ultimate goal, regardless of how long it takes.

Keep going – can’t wait to hear how you progress.

Hey Tokyo, stand tall and ignore to negativity out there. Just because the trolls are writing, doesn’t mean you have to either read or take on their comments. You are as entitled as anyone, to your own opinion. Don’t permit this negativity to poison your life. Try to take a little time out for some mindfulness, to help get yourself refocused. Stick with us here and we’ll be sure to offer a hand up, rather than squashing you down.

Take care and have a great w/e.

It’s a good idea to save a few calories for an evening snack – or maybe just save part of your dinner to use for that. If you make sure you are drinking plenty and have enough fat in your calories, you should find you don’t get the hunger pangs quite so badly. It might not happen over night, but your body will adjust, it just needs to get used to being deprived of those simple carbs.

Stay positive and it will eventually come together. Keep us posted.

Noooo.. Tokyo, don’t take to your bed again! Ignore trolls – everyone is entitled to an opinion. Just because it isn’t theirs is not your problem!

The cake is in the oven! It looks like a cake, but I have to be honest, you wouldn’t want to lick the bowl (is that a euphemism?!) 40 mins till I see what the oily goop metamorphoses into. My boy came home, saw me cooking, and said ‘ it’s not going to be like those brownies again is it?’. When I reassured him it was a Nigella recipe ‘just like the Guinness cake’, he cheered up a little 😉

Now.. lunch. What do I need to use up? I have humus and cottage cheese.. ooh and some crackers from yesterday. Add a bit of salad (I eat it EVERY DAY) and I’m sorted! Although Timmy’s antipasti sound nice.. *wistful sigh*

Oh God Tokyo, Fridays are becoming a disaster! Oh bugger, was it something controversial you were giving your opinion on? Best sometimes to just shake your head and let the keyboard warriors tear themselves apart. Stay here. We’ll be nice to you 🙂

Hi Daniel. I can’t eat dinner later as I eat with the kids but I am thinking of saving a few cals for an evening snack. By eating extra at lunch I didn’t have enough for a decent dinner and then got too hungry and had an attack of the f*uck its! I wasn’t even hungry at lunch I just wanted to eat. Grrr. Feeling better today just need to get used to my new eating pattern.

After previously doing a vlcd I know it’s a head game and if your head is in the right zone it’s easy – just need to get there now! I might go and try on my too small dress that should do the trick.

well i am having a bit if a morning of it !!! in future i shall stay in bed on friday !!! been to m and s and picked a few low carb things up popcorn of all things !!!! little bags of salted popcorn !! 10 g carbs but may just do for a treat !!!and some mini poppadoms crisps !!!!
and i am also been is it “trolled ” on a website !!!
i have put my opinion on a post written and all merry hell has broke loose !!!!!
should just have said nothing !!!!!!!!
is that my bed i hear calling !!!!

Just after I wrote the last post I got a phone call to say my husband’s cousin had died suddenly and unexpectedly. It has thrown us both into a state of shock. He was fit and active and only 62 years old. It always puts it into perspective when someone dies how precious life is.

Sorry I have taken so long to update, but will do so now and make an effort not to leave so long in between in future. On the positive front – I have lost more weight. Negative front – my blood sugar meter has been playing up and I am due to get a new one in the next few days so will post an old meter reading and a new meter reading when it turns up.

Monday 11 July – Day 142 Weight 9st 11lbs
Blood Sugar 8.2

Day 143 Weight 9st 9lbs
Blood Sugar 9.3
(Blood sugar has a habit of going up when the weight goes down)

Day 144 Weight 9st 9lbs
Blood sugar 10.8
Wore size 10 jeans all day 🙂 🙂 🙂

Day 145 Weight 9st 8lbs (22 pounds lost 🙂 only need to lose one more pound and I will no longer be officially overweight)
Blood sugar: 8.3

Day 146 Weight 9st 8lbs
Blood Sugar: 9.8

Day 147 Weight 9st 8lbs (end of week 21)
Blood Sugar: 10.1

Day 148 Weight 9st 8lbs
Blood Sugar: 8.6

Day 149 Weight 9st 9lbs
Blood Sugar 8.4

constipated for 3 days

Day 150 weight 9st 10lbs
Blood Sugar 8.5

went to loo after weigh in

Day 151 Weight 9st 8lbs
Blood Sugar 8.3

Day 152 Weight 9st 8lbs
Blood Sugar 7.9

Today Day 153 Weight 9st 8lbs
Blood Sugar 8.1

Its taking longer than the initial 8 weeks I thought it would, but I am keeping going until my blood sugar goes down to where it should be. Husband says I can keep going until my size 10 jeans are loose and then he will start feeding me up, but if my blood sugar isn’t sorted by then, I will buy a pair of similar size 8 jeans (not tell him) and keep going. 😛