Thank you igorasusual and SunnyB. Been away for a few days and returned to a check up at doctor with dire warnings about the risks of being border line obese at my great age 😟. My husbands response to my report-back was to bring a couple of Bakewell tarts home when he was out….. He’s old school and thinks all this ‘diet lark’ is rubbish.

Thank you for the reminder that it’s about addiction not self control. Planning seems to be the key you are all recommending. I like the idea of cutting the stuff my OH won’t notice first ie potatoes, bread etc. So far no weight lost at all. Tomorrow is another day…. Thanks again for all the support.

Hi
You could try mashed chickpeas or canellinni beans. Just have to check that they fit in your carbs total for the day.

Hi Sophors, congratulations on your upcoming wedding 🙂 This is a great eating plan, I’m on Day 33 and I’ve lost 26lbs already. There’s a great crowd on this forum, everyone is really friendly and helpful 🙂 Good luck to you 🙂

Hi Eps, oh definitely could have been a lot, lot worse than a coffee! Sounds like you’re pretty sensitive to caffeine then? One of my friends gets palpitations with it, she’s ok with decaff. I bet that’s saved you a fair bit of money then, bringing your own lunches?

I’ve never heard that saying before, but now that I have, it puts about 95% of my life into context! Haha!

Well, I decided on Lamb and mint chickpea wrap ‘samosas’ for tea but I was slightly foiled… chickpea wraps once again faultless now I have the right brand of flour, the lamb mixture gorgeous, but the wraps wouldn’t ‘stick’ together along a seam when moistened like pastry does. So… I will try this again with the nacho pastry (but this will make them a lot higher in cals!) another week, and for tonight I guess it’s lamb samosa filling and chickpea wraps lol. Hubby had one for lunch and he said it was lovely. Will make a little greek yogurt raita to go with, and a salad 🙂

Also peppermint tea aids digestion and helps prevent the dreaded bloat!

Hi all, calorie free drinks I’ve done most of my life by choice. It’s the solids I have trouble with. So, I’m giving a list of drinks that don’t taste like ass for certain times of day and life:
Green tea: There is a fair amount of caffeine in green tea. Sub it in for those extra coffees. You will find it calms and focuses brain activity all at once.
Coffee: I drink one a day. Instant or café made. Long black with a dash of full cream milk. I add raw honey for its health benefits. If you skip the milk and honey it’s still a good pick me up in the morning, and sometimes we need that.
Peppermint tea: Imagine you just cleaned your teeth. Do you still want to eat? That’s the beauty of peppermint tea. Great in the afternoon when snack attack hits. Also amazing for period pains, so you can go drug free even if it’s bad.
Chamomile tea: Very calming at night. Great if you still feel hungry before bed. Drink a cup, and feel the eyelids droop. You’ll sleep right through.
Water: Headache? Constipation? Drink some filtered water. This diet recommends 3 litres of fluids a day so get over how boring water is by adding some lime or lemon. If you’re adventurous add some fennel or cumin seeds and shake them up in your bottle. They add spice but no cals.
More to come in future posts.

Hi all, calorie free drinks I’ve done most of my life by choice. It’s the solids I have trouble with. So, I’m giving a list of drinks that don’t taste like ass for certain times of day and life:
Green tea: There is a fair amount of caffeine in green tea. Sub it in for those extra coffees. You will find it calms and focuses brain activity all at once.
Coffee: I drink one a day. Instant or café made. Long black with a dash of full cream milk. I add raw honey for its health benefits. If you skip the milk and honey it’s still a good pick me up in the morning, and sometimes we need that.
Peppermint tea: Imagine you just cleaned your teeth. Do you still want to eat? That’s the beauty of peppermint tea. Great in the afternoon when snack attack hits. Also amazing for period pains, so you can go drug free even if it’s bad.
Chamomile tea: Very calming at night. Great if you still feel hungry before bed. Drink a cup, and feel the eyelids droop. You’ll sleep right through.
Water: Headache? Constipation? Drink some filtered water. This diet recommends 3 litres of fluids a day so get over how boring water is by adding some lime or lemon. If you’re adventurous add some fennel or cumin seeds and shake them up in your bottle. They add spice but no cals.
More to come in future posts.

Hey! Most likely you’ve considered these and already do what’s right for you but, I’ll offer some advice anyway. 800cals is pretty limited, so if you’re not wanting to eat it all, a good multivitamin will at least make sure your body gets all the micro nutrients it needs. Another thing that people often miss is omega-3, it’s the fat found in oily fish and really important for brain function, amongst a host of other things. A few omega-3 capsules daily will up your calorie intake, and ensure your brain, skin, eyes etc are getting enough of what they need for optimum health. Read up on them, and think about adding some in, even post 8 weeks. Congrats on your achievement!!!

Hello Bill
Thanks for replying. Ok I’ll not worry and hopefully it will pass. Will try the adding extra fat tip, as it is so unpleasant trying to eat more when you don’t want it.
I’m 45 and have lost 30lbs so far, with 4 more days to go until I have completed the 8 weeks. Going to carry on as I have more to lose and I feel so good eating like this, loads of energy and no fuzzy brain. Have conquered the carb addiction, hooray!! which was why I was doing this!

Hi all, I’m getting married in November. I want to lose my middle! It’s made up of big macs and beer, and huge portion sizes. I’m not overweight, but looking in the mirror naked I have skinny arms and legs and a barrel body (like my type 2 diabetic Nana), so I want to kick that middle and get healthy, and look fab for my big day. I feel this diet offers science and support. Really keen to hear from others who feel they are leading an unhealthy lifestyle and help each other achieve our goals. Mine is 10kg in 3 months. Let’s do this!

Hello all. Today is week 3 day 7. Weight started at 225 and today it is 213. More impressive are the blood sugar readings. For the past few days my fasting has been consistently below 100 with one morning hitting 85! So exciting for me. I am loving this WOE. Very rarely hungry and keeping below 800 calories a day. So encouraged to read of others experience on the plan. Downward we go.

thanks for reply…yes its a totally different thing to SW. I thought this would be straightfwd, but it really is quite different…re my fitnesspal…im not sure I really like using it but i will give it a week or so and review. I thought i was pretty much on track with SW and thought the weight would drop off me with the BSD…not quite the case…maybe Im a late starter! I like the forum too so will check in now and then. Good luck to you too..sounds as though you have got your head round it all!

Out of sheer boredom at lunchtime (after I ate my sauerkraut and salmon and tomatoes and spoon of humous), I went out for a walk and found myself buying an americano… I don’t even like coffee very much! Also it seems to make my heart beat too fast and sometimes I really notice it the next day, a kind of frantic euphoria followed by a flat feeling. But anyway, just wanted something and it seems to have squashed all feelings of want and in fairness tasted quite good. Just flavoured water anyway, with a splash of milk so could have done worse:-) I went from getting lunch out nearly everyday to bringing in my own lunch every day for the last 8 weeks and it is really good but sometimes I just want to buy something!! That sounds like a bad thing doesn’t it – wonder why buying something is seen as a treat…
I definitely will have to get into meditation at lunchtime. Anyway, coffee fuelled now and ready for a productive afternoon – what’s the saying coffee makes you do stupid things quicker??… We’ll see….

Thanks Timmy,i will bear that in mind. I ended up having my lunch at 12.30 and now it seems a long wait until tea time. How long did you find it took for your appetite to reduce? Traditionally on a low carb diet it takes me 3-4 days but thats a looonng 3-4 days!

I think i will have to get up earlier and do my walk then as i have been spending all day trying to talk myself out of it – doing it in the evening gives me enough time to think of an excuse why i should put it off.

Hi caroline
I had same problem with my fitness pal I did eventually manage to change it but and this is not helpful as I cant remember how.I find my fitness pal(quite unuser friendly). Just to say it can be done.
I too did SW however the whole eating plan is different. So you will need to re train your brain. Eat when hungry eat approx 800 cals if doing bsd800. Avoid all complex carbs bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and processed foods bread biscuits etc. However you need to eat full fat products yoghurt, nuts cream cheese, olive oil etc. in moderation. This helps the eating plan work. Also keep you fluids up. Avoid snacking. Eat veg grown above the ground as a rule and small portions, avoid high sugar fruits if trying to lose ( banana etc). Everyone I think feels some withdrawal at the beginning mine took about 2 weeks but then I stopped feeling hungry and felt great. Everyone is different and we all do different things. Weight loss is a funny thing depending on amounts to lose, some lose very quickly and masses and some like me the weight comes off in blocks so I will be static for a week then lose a block. For example in 11 weeks I have lost 24 pounds I have 2 1/2 stone to go. I am now on the med style diet upping my cals from 800 to about 1200 but not being too obsessed. I don’t weigh too often now as it gets in my head but am losing as clothes loser. I no longer snack at all (trust me that is amazing), I do plan a lot. It is hard to train yourself re carbs as they are everywhere and if like me my plate was full of them albeit wholegrain etc. There are some amazing people on this forum who have inspired me with there ingenuity with cauliflower !!! I can honestly say though that I now never want to return to my old eating habits. Whilst SW gets the weight off slowly it does not address plate portions, processed food and how much food we think we need to how much we actually need. I am now only just starting to understand when I am really hungry ( after exercise etc) or mouth hungry . I am still shocked that I am functioning well on what appears to be such small amounts of food or maybe I am a pig.
Sorry this has turned into a long post hope your still awake it si different re read book I kept going back to check. It works thats all I can say Have fun good luck xx

I think what you need to remember is that this supposed to be a way of life and not a miracle cure. It won’t set you back to your youth again, but will hopefully get you off your meds and the continued deterioration and complications that come as a result of having T2.

I’m not actually diabetic, and as far as I know wasn’t prediabetic but I think I am/was a prime candidate for it. However I’ve made the decision never to go for refined carbs again. Whilst I may have the odd bit of brown pasta/rice/wholemeal bread the majority of my diet is going to be made up of slow release carbs from veg and wholefoods.

The other thing to take into consideration is that you may need to do the diet for longer for it to take affect? IIRC from the book, in order to get to stable levels you need to get rid of all the fat from your liver and pancreas. It might be that this still needs to happen?

I wouldn’t lose hear though. You’ve become healthier and your blood sugars are going in the right direction! Keep it up!

thank you for tip…just changed my fitness pal settings( seems so simple when you know how)..ref the fruit I can be far off with my calculations but will take your nut technique on board! thanks again for your help

Thank you loopylou, hope you enjoyed those cocktails.. I’d have fallen at them too 😁my head is a bit better today. I think you may be right regarding the caffeine as I have had none! I’m suffering from hunger yet but really missing carbs, rice, pasta, bread and potatoes.. I had curry with cauliflower rice last night and was pleasantly surprised. What does everyone else recommend as substitutes?

Just found it in Foodland in South Australia. Was not cheap but was in the f&v section.

Hi Caroline,

If you go into profile>goals>calorie & macro-nutrient goals you should be able to change it.

With regards to fruit, go for soft skinned fruit like strawberries and raspberries. Personally, if I get a snacking urge my first port of call is a few glugs of water, and if it persists a cup of tea or coffee. If I really am starving I’ll have 2 or 3 nuts and employ the Timmy patented squirrel technique which involves taking tiny nibbles of the nut and taking ages over eating them.

As for the beans. If you’re having 3 meals per day then 17g is about right assuming that your 3 meals are of equal quantity.

Have you been on the 800 cals with less that 50g carbs? Have you eaten ‘normally’ and then checked your sugars?

Although the figures look great :).

Going for my test this week, my last one was so scary my doctor booked me in with an endocrinologist and wanted me on injectable insulin.

I want it to work but a little disbelieving at the moment. Do love the weight loss too.

Hi..just joined the forum to get some advice…I have been doing the BSD for ten days now..wouldnt really say I have lost anything but I am not weighing until next Thursday…which will be three weeks since I initially weighed. I lost about 2.4 stone with slimming world but have stayed the same for the last year, so I thought BSD might shift an extra stone. I do feel as though I have stuck to the plan..but I have two issues…one on myfitnesspal app I cant seem to set my calories per day to 800…it just keeps reverting to 1200 even though i thought/think i put in all the correct info. Does anyone else have this or managed to change it.
Also its interesting that I just had a single portabello mushroom and the small small baked beans for my lunch…amazed to see that little tin had 17g of carb!! Quit a shock…so with that and a little fruit i had in my natural yoghurt I”m out of spare carbs now and yet that recipe appears in the book. I am pretty keen to do at least four weeks if I can and possibly the 8…..but when you dont loose its hard to carry on. With slimming world fruit a a big “go to” so I am finding it tough not reverting to that when I am hungry. Any help or advice on the app would be good and any other apps that might be better?

Thanks Timmy Darling (LOL) and Kes. In both of your cases the increase has been small and your indulgences minimal so see that as honest accounts of going off piste. I agree that there would likely be a slight gain when adjusting to life long eating plans and 1 or 2 lbs is acceptable. That happens with slimming clubs, etc.

I think you are less likely to have a massive regain on the plan compared to the milkshake, substitute, low cal plans people spend a fortune on, as the jump from no real food must be extremely difficult – with BSD, no matter which plan you start from, you are eating and encouraged to eat good protein and fats all the time so the body is adjusted to less food but nevertheless real food that you will always eat.

I think food diaries are a massive help and everyone should log absolutely everything that passes their lips – it is too easy to forget a few nuts here, an extra piece of fruit there, an unmeasured splash of oil when cooking. If anyone isn’t losing, or going onto maintenance, use a food diary to help you keep control and keep it real.

Hi Syb
Not sure if I count as a reverse diabetes!!!!
But my HbA1c at the very end of January was 9.6% when I was first diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic and put on 3 X 500mg Metformin.
Just checked the figures because I posted 8.5% but that test was taken a month later.
At the end of March I had another HbA1c which showed 7.2%. My last test in mid-June came back as 5.5% which is apparently normal!
This is my Week 24 on the BSD and I have lost 3 stones in weight and I’m very nearly at my healthy BMI.
I am now still taking 1 Metformin but if I am brave enough I may stop that tablet soon.
Whilst I may or may not have ‘reversed’ my diabetes I feel the BSD has been a huge success in improving my overall health.

Hi Sunshine Girl 🙂 That would be great, thanks 🙂

I’ve bought a bag of chopped frozen avocados as I’m sick of having a half bad one in the fridge, although hubby has agreed to eat the other half on the days I have some for breakfast. Not tried the frozen yet but will let you know.

Hi Bill

about 4 years, which I think still counted as recentish. But wasn’t the whole point to ‘reverse’ the diabetes? I think your theory, unfortunately, may have merit. I have borrowed a whole pile of Mediterranean diet books but I guess I was hoping that I could add the lowish gi carbs, like multigrain bread, back in.

I guess I need to keep working on my mindset. I have been giving myself a 2 week, school holidays break, in which to show I can maintain the weight loss before trying another 8 week stint and see if that helps.

thanks

In response to Bubblesdevere, I’ve been having a ‘Bad’ couple of months at least. In fact, since I completed the 8 weeks back on 3rd May. I lost 1st and 3lbs in the 8 weeks but have really struggled to get my head back into the diet proper since then. But the good news is that I have maintained my weight, sometimes gaining a pound or two but always dropping back down without any real effort. So I now know that it is possible to stay in maintenance mode as I am living proof that you can eat the odd potato or 3, drink wine (and beer in the case of my OH), have the odd sandwich and even a cream tea or two and still keep the weight off.

I don’t know if it’s the reason but we still try to fast for a long period from an earlyish supper before 8pm until midday the next day is now normal for us with just tea and coffee in between.

Fully intend to get back into weightloss mode at some point soon but really struggling to get motivation but thought I’d drop in and let you know I’m living proof that if you let things slide (and I’ve definitely done that lately) you can maintain your current weight.

Some people have found that with carbs too low they haven’t lost as much so keep an eye on that, and if needs be increase them up a bit, but not going over the 50g per day.

Hello darling (sorry, couldn’t resist!),

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I had a REALLY bad weekend a couple of weeks ago. I probably drank about 2 bottles of wine and several beers. WAY too much. I put on half a pound. Saying that, I stuck rigidly to the eating element of the diet and didn’t succumb to any cravings like chocolate or crips. I think I might have had a slice of pizza.

However saying that, I think that when people come off the 800 and go back up to a maintenance level of calories, I would expect there to be a temporary jump in weight. I think however this could be controlled indefinitely by introducing the 5:2 when required.

Hi Figment. Sorry for the tardy response! It can be a bit of a faff weighing everything out, but things like tuna in brine, steak, even coffee are all fine on this diet. You just need to log them to make sure you’re not going over your allotted carbs/cals.

I’ve downloaded Myfitnesspal but to be honest I don’t use it. I just rely on a quick google search.

Instead of rice, and if you get bored of cauli rice, you could try bulgar wheat or quinoa. It’s higher in carbs than cauli, so don’t go crazy on it, but hopefully it might satiate that desire! Well done on the weight loss so far. Keep it up!

Hi all, well done on those who have lost again and hang in there those that haven’t. I have a concern which I wonder if anyone else has noted – I didnt want to go through 28 pages of posts to check!

It seems that when someone has a bad day or weekend, they gain quite quickly which worries me – does that mean that when you come off the weight loss part of the plan, you will regain weight as fast as you lost it? Are we being honest to ourselves on how much we have over indulged on the weekend or lack of keeping a sharp eye on quantities and weights of things like carbs, fats or protein? While we all know the value of good fats and proteins, without measuring we risk adding loads of calories to our diets very easily.

Would value opinions here.

Thanks

I have just made a veg and gammon ham soup (using leftovers) and for dinner i will have a oven roasted chicken thigh with broccoli, so my totals come in at 800 cals and 20g of carbs. Just doing the countdown until lunch now, might hoover the house that should take my mind off of things! I am feeling a bit weak and hungry so off for another glass of water. Pesky carb withdrawl.

Wow Timmy thats a great loss, well done. I am fine not drinking in the week but i like my fizz fridays, i will miss them but alcohol knocks me for six when i low carb so probably for the best. I need to get back to my kettlebells but i think that will be next weeks mission.

I am happy with 20g of carbs, i couldnt go any lower without sacrificing some veg and good nutrition.

Good morning all
Jan and Ellen thanks for your replies.
Will persevere with the ap but for this morning I have started of the day with avocado and poached egg that was after a quick trip to the dentists with terrible news . Do I need a tooth out ? No . Do I need a filling . No…
My dentist is leaving boo hoo he’s the only one I’ve ever felt at ease with . So that news brought me to tears .
Anyhow it’s a bit nippy here in Lancashire this morning so decided to make a lentil and chorizo soup for lunch . Will let you know how that pans out later on.
As for now so glad to have the support of you here . I gave up smoking with an ap for support so hopefully between you all here and a little will power this time I will do it.
Bye for now love Fig

I AM CORNHOLIO. I NEED PEE PEE FOR MY BUNG HOLE.

I’m betting no-one on here know what the f… I’m on about.

Well done blessed. I’m about 5 weeks in. I’m not doing the 800, but a mixture of the 5:2 and the Med Style. I’m not really counting calories, but I’ve knocked drinking alcohol on the head, stopped snacking (apart from a few nuts if desperate) and reduced my carbs right down. The only carbs I’m currently eating is from veg and nuts. I’m probably averaging 1200-1600 calories per day and I’m doing a regular mix of swimming and weigh training with the odd run thrown in for good measure. I’m 6’4 and started off at 99.5kg and 5 weeks in I’m clocking 91.3kg. I’m only 6kg off my target weight.

This way of eating is phenominal. As Bill says, really drill down on the carbs first because that is the main culprit.

LMAO
I’ve had a few people enquire about my health because of the eight loss, and I agree, everyone seems to think that pasta, rice, and bread are good diet foods.
It’s really hard getting the message across when everyone has been brought up on the low fat drivel.

Damn those pesky scales! Got on them this morning and it went tantalisingly close to the 90kg mark, telling me I was 90.9kg. I got off and back on again, and it registered 91.3kg. I tried to make it go to 90.9kg again, but it said 91.3 every time, so I guess that is my weight!

Still, considering I had a bad weekend and went back up to 92.3 I’m pretty chuffed. Hopefully this time next week I’ll be in the 80s!!

Unless, of course, in the meantime someone can confirm if they’re awful or passable. Can’t see them being ‘best avocado ever’.

Oh no, are you no better? Dose yourself up good and proper. That was my initial reaction, I actually did a double take as I passed and had to go back and check that my eyes were not deceiving me. I suppose these products are checked though, and go through taste tests and consumer panels etc, so if they did go slimy when defrosted they wouldn’t invest in bringing the product out. Well, you’d think so. Stranger things have happened. We shall see. I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back to Tesco just to get them, but I will invest in a bag the next time I’m there.

Thinking of you. I too lost my son, so understand a little of how it feels.

Good morning from a snottering Coughdrop! I’m disturbed by a frozen avocado. It just seems… Wrong. But let me know if they ARE ok or if they turn into slimy frogs when defrosted 🐸

Morning
I’ve had this once or twice and I don’t worry about it at it isn’t a regular thing.
If it becomes so, you may go into starvation mode and the weight loss will falter.
If you truly can’t force yourself to eat more, try adding extra fat in the form of olive oil or butter to your meals to make up the calories.

Hi Bill, thanks for the advice. I am an experienced low carber so i know what i am letting myself in for. I have been cutting my carbs except for a blip yesterday but the next step is to get my calories down as on lchf i usually eat around 1700 cals. I drink loads of water but will have to give up my coffee with cream – boo.

I was thinking of yoghurt and berries for breakfast or green smoothies. If i have to have lunch i will make some chinese or thai style soups with green veg and then a small but normalish dinner – i generally avoid carbs and have cauli rice, courgetti etc. Going back to weighing and counting is going to be a chore but needs must.

My next big goal is going to be heading out everyday for a walk after dinner, i can do that whilst my husband does the bath and bed routine with my little ones but its getting off the sofa that is the hard part!

I am interested in how much weight people have lost in the 8 weeks. I dont actually weigh myself as it makes me a bit demented but i have a pair of jeans that i would love to get into and are several sizes to small – they are pretty old (about 15yrs) and are my goal item, they are so old they are probably back in fashion now.

Would also love any soup recipes if anyone has any quick and tasty ones. Thanks

Feeling great so far but its only been 4 hrs!

Hi Syb
how long have you been T2D ?
It does say in the book that this works faster for the newly diagnosed and long term sufferers will take longer.
I have a theory that, even after losing the weight, because we are diabetic, any simple carbs eaten will still tend to spike sugar levels.
The whole idea is to go onto maintainence and keep the simple carbs down and, as far as I’m concerned, this has to be my way of eating for life.

Your afternoon readings will be very different to your fasting readings due to the dawn effect.
I would recommend you test pre and post dinner and don’t worry too much about the fasting test.

Current Day 13/07/16

Week 1
Day 3

BMI: 29.3
Weight: 18 Stone 2 pound (115Kg)

Try increasing your fat intake from dairy products, olive oil, nuts etc, you must do this to encourage your body into fat burning mode. It’s also essential to keep your water intake up to at least 2 litres per day, more if possible.
Remember also that weight does fluctuate over the course of a day so try to weigh yourself on the same scales at the same time.

Last week I finished my 8/10 weeks. I was getting very unmotivated at the end of week 7 so took a weekend off and did an extra couple of weeks.

I have lost 12kg/2 stone which is around the 10%. My blood sugars are better but any real carbs (multigrain bread, rice etc) still bring my sugars up really quickly.

Has anyone else had any unwonderful results? Everyone seems so positive and I feel like I failed.

thanks

S

Hi and welcome
my advice is first to read through the posts on the forum to understand how this works and the pitfalls involved.
I would start my first week by concentrating on cutting out the carbs, then, after you get over any side effects from that (there are some) look at the calories.
Within a week you should be over any side effects and you will have registered your first weight loss.
This diet works and is sustainable long term.
Forget about low fat products, put any you have in the bin and make sure you replace the lost calories from the carbs with extra fat.
Be sure to keep your non sugary fluid intake up to at least 2 litres per day and we’ll all be seeing a happy post from you this time next week.
Best of luck on the journey.