Well done on the weight loss. Good luck. As regards the issue of fat. As stated above use a little drizzle of a good oil in your cooking, I use extra virgin olive oil and for my desserts I have been mixing in berries with full fat natural set yogurt (Asda) which contains 65 calories per 100 grams. If at the end of the program you decide to go on the 5:2 diet, for instance, it will give you scope to introduce more good fat into your diet.

I used the Optifast shakes, which you can only get on prescription.

I think that as long as you take a good daily vitamin, you could use any shakes, or even make the shakes yourself. The multi vitamin I use now is Diabetone, which supposedly contains everything that a diabetic needs.

Thanks for your post Ziggy.
I am lucky enough not to have diabetes or pre-diabetes (to my knowledge). I started to get pain in my left foot and from reading various articles determined that it may be an indicator of pre-diabetes. I downloaded the BSD diet to my kindle and was impressed by the logic of the research. I then decided to take action and started the diet. I have also decided to do a conclusions rundown after each week to give me impetus to carry on to the next week. I became aware, by reading the book, that getting older and being overweight or obese could have serious impacts on my health as time passed.

hi manxsprout

you are doing really great!!

I do certainly think if my life was more active it would make a difference
as my mh affects me and I struggle badly with motivation
I do have an exercise bike which I use but not the past 3 days as it messed up my hip so badly I couldn’t hardly sit/move
anyway today it seems a bit better so I will MAKE myself go out for a walk
I enjoy walking but I detest getting sweaty and out of breath as it makes me feel very panicky

i know i need to build muscle mass etc but it is just another head battle right now

oh, yes i think i drink enough

Sorry for messing up your nice orderly post but congratulations – 8 lb in 6 days is BRILLIANT
You don’t mention whether you have diabetes or pre-diabetes/

Julia that was a great post. Hypogal I hope you can enjoy the forum and benefit from being here.

There have been a few confrontational threads around in recent times and in many ways I think we have to accept that these boards were in their infancy so the numbers here were small and it was quieter before. However as it grows (and it should and will) the numbers increase along with the diversity of the people within it.

A large group of diverse individuals will never agree on everything, the secret being a bit of tolerance and mutual respect.

We are all here to improve our health – type 2 or not, and the list of success stories among us is growing by the day. We can drastically reduce the risks of either getting or living with a life threatening condition and that is something to celebrate. I would rather get excited by that than argue over the details. This is about maximising our own health.

Current Day 16/07/16

Week 1
Day 6

BMI: 28.8
Weight: 17 Stone 12 Pound (113Kg)

At the end of week 30, another 2 pounds lost. Total now 76 pounds. Still a little more to lose.

Morning everyone. Checking in at end of week 30.

Another 2 pounds gone, making a total of 76 pounds 😃. Weight now 10 stone 8 pounds.

Since my fasting blood sugars stabilised under 5 I only do occasional tests. I tested this morning and the result was …… 3.9!😃 Before the BSD I could never get it under 7.

Have a great weekend.

I’m regretting my late night now… my son often sleeps a bit later at the weekend but this morning he was saying Good Morning at 0630.

After I made that post last night I didn’t go to sleep straight away I became distracted by another coaster I had started – my Mother in law requested a phoenix and I said I would have a go. I had started it earlier in the evening and left it to dry whilst I got carried away making the beanbag – which incidentally I just made up as I went along so I’m pleased it turned out well! I stole the beans from a massive bean bag we have downstairs so now I’ll need to buy more for that lol.

Anyway I did the classic error of painting the phoenix and thinking… it’s ok but I’m not happy with that wing… so I painted more on it… then the wing was too big… so I neatened up the edges with the underneath colour but it had lost it’s feathery quality… so I painted more and it went wrong as well! I ended up painting over the wing entirely in the underneath colour and leaving it to dry to repaint tomorrow. It was 0130 by the time I went to bed.

I’ve also realised that I get very cold up there and don’t realise it because I am engrossed in my projects, then when I come downstairs I feel really cold and can’t sleep even though I microwaved my wheat bag warmer last night and my husband was toasty I still felt cold. I will need to start to use one of the heaters I have up there, I have several for emergency heating as the heating in my old house was a bit unreliable. I’ll choose one and set it up so I don’t need to feel so cold.

My scales show another 1/2lb, 11st 1!!! I so can’t wait to see that change to beginning with a 10! I will really feel I have achieved something big. It’s going to happen soon! I have a pair of jeans jeggings style that I’ve been getting away with wearing all the way through but they are getting ridiculously saggy now so I’m going to have to give them up. I will pop them in my fabric pile but they have served me well. It would take a lot to adjust them and it isn’t worth it as I have others that fit better and more to shrink into still. I will try on the clothes pile again in a week or two.

Yesterday whilst my son played I went through a few chapters of the book I wrote before, editing and updating it. I think I will do a bit more of it today, there is a competition in September I might enter. I’m totally loving my recent burst of creativity. I really feel like I am on a path to a happier life. I just need a windfall so I can give up my day job lol. Need to start playing the lottery!

todays food is my usual breakfast shake, I think I will make a new batch of my fav lentil soup for lunch, and dinner will be the steak pie stuff that I was going to make yesterday.

Well I best be off and find my glasses, gave myself a headache yesterday because I keep forgetting to use them. I also need a cuppa.

stay happy BSD-ers 🙂

It’s so good that your sewing machine is up and running.

My Dad suffers from diverticulitis and often has diarrhoea, he keeps a pack of tablets on him for such occasions, I believe they are called lopradine or something similar, ask at the pharmacy. If I feel sick it usually helps to lie down. I’ve no other suggestions but the boards are quiet at this time of day and didn’t want you feeling alone.

I hope that you are ok and it wasn’t something stressful that sent you off the wagon, well done for choosing to jump back on, that is the real secret.

Hey what’s up Hypogal? With all due respect, your posts are rather stressed and they don’t seem to be focused on solving any issue here, just pushing back in a negative way. I am assuming that you realize that this group of people on these posts have all decided to do something about their health and weight and make the HARD effort to make the changes necessary to fix this problem, as much as it can possibly be fixed, whether a “cure” or a “control”. It is not easy to follow this diet and yet many are, and they are seeing amazing health and fitness benefits. Whether we cure or control diabetes does not really matter, and if the information is the “same old information we always knew but didn’t follow”, well, that is human nature. Sometimes information is put differently, so we SEE it differently, and that is how the BSD has struck people, a new way of looking at an old problem. I am hoping that all the posts are helpful to you and you also feel that this can be helpful to you. We have fun here, and there is a lot of shared and useful information — I want you to join us and feel supported — I am not sure if we can ever answer your queries as fully as you wish, but we are here to have your back if you wish to join us on this journey.
Julia

The “medical solution” as you put it, has been to lose weight gradually, using a low fat diet. The difference with the BSD is that it advocates fast weight loss through very low calories or intermittant fasting, with a reduction of carbohydrates rather than fats. A diet with unrestricted fat is tastier and more satisfying, making it easier to stick to and easier to accept as a long term way of eating. Reduction of viceral fat achieved through fasting, results in an improved sensitivity to insulin so that if you do start to eat higher levels of carbohydrate, your blood sugars will be more in control than before; a reversal of type 2 diabetes. Remember the TOFI (thin outside, fat inside)? You don’t have to be obese to be insulin resistant and therefore at risk of type 2 diabetes.

This is my understanding of the BSD.

I just made a beanbag 🙂 sewing machine working perfectly! Now my friend will have a seat when she visits me… now I think I better go sleep!

Day 17 in the bag, had a bit of a hungry, day, but stuck to plan, luscious Thai curry and cauliflower rice for dinner, my favourite .
Cals 744 and carbs 36 so all good.
Had a sneaky weigh this morning and have lost another 1lb so making it a total of 20lbs, I thought it would have slowed down by now, but no sign of that happening yet..

Still can’t quite believe this is all real. Onwards, long way to go yet.84lbs more to go, piece of cake, opps I mean fage yog and strawberries. Much nicer.

Don’t worry, not looking for sympathy just did. My main concern though is this and this has been an issue of mine for many years. If I over indulge in fatty, sugary foods, I often end up with diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting. It has been a problem for years, any thoughts?

Hi Penny,
Have been quite busy, so will provide Day 4 and Day 5’s menu below:

Day 4:
Was on a course for the whole day, so found it very difficult – since lunch was provided!! Plus there were loads of biscuits and sweets (which I do not know how I managed to resist)!!

Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch: 1/2 Chicken Sandwich
Dinner: BBQ Sweet Chilli Chicken Thighs with 100g Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato
Snacks: 100g Grapes
Total: approx. 673 calories, 46g carbs
Water: 1L
Steps: 14,329
Active Minutes: 101

Day 5
Normal day at work today. However, lunch wasn’t what I really wanted – as it’s difficult to know the exact calories (but hopefully it’s still under 800 in total)

Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch:Trout with M&S Quinoa & Edamame Soya Bean Saad
Dinner: M&S Sesame King Prawns & Rice Salad
Snacks: 25g Cashews
Total: 731 calories, 37g carbs
Water: 1L
Steps: 13,990
Active Minutes: 81

Definitely finding this much easier that I thought. However, I’m worried about the weekend – that’s when I normally ‘throw in the towel’!! Also, I’m finding not eating anything for breakfast quite easy.

I hope I can keep this up over the weekend.

I thought that was a given, and that would be the reason why all of you are here.

Well, I have been pro-active. I have cleared the five (FIVE!) coats that were hanging on my treadmill. One school bag. And one sleeping bag (don’t ask). There’s also a camping griddle pan wedged between it and one of the back doors. I am now going to turn it around and set it up. It’s a start, eh? And maybe on another day, I might switch it on!

Oh God. The chicken might have been crap too. Or maybe her husband made her a surprise fritatta seeing as she enjoyed the last one so much. That would have been the last straw.

Well she did threaten to. Maybe the Greek chicken was the final nail in the coffin?…

Wow, you mean that some of you here don’t know that Diabetes Type 2 is actually reversible and its common medical knowledge, well before the BSD diet came out, that the cause is obesity and inactivity? And the medical solution has always been weight loss and exercise?

The only thing unique, and somewhat controversial, about the BSD is the amount of calories that is recommended, which is well below the standard dietary recommendations. And the BSD does that because the latest scientific research has found that the faster you lose weight, the better.

Its a disease that we are NOT meant to have. Its in direct relationship to the rising world obesity rates.

Wow, I am really surprised.

I could eat something meaty.

Ah. See, I’d have wrestled the cat to the death for the pork tonight. Please God, tomorrow, let me keep it simple. I think Tokyo actually went to bed at half four, you know? 🙁

You make me laugh (you know, the ‘visual’ of crossing your fingers and backing away).
It’s great that you had a good holiday – it’s important for your well being.
The wonderful thing is you know exactly what to do to drop the +5.
Best wishes.

No I laughed at the cat. She is an unrepentant witch but lovable with it and at least it took my mind off the carb demon 😈

Hi Ruthdownunder so good to hear from you, how’s it going, good news about the reduction in your blood pressure, it’s all so amazing isn’t it this eating plan its a miracle, I keep telling everyone. I’m at risk of getting boring.
Keep posting.
Love Jan 🌺

That sounds more like the BBQ of Nightmares! I think if faced with a barbecue tonight I would have cracked completely. Yes, a small to medium cape of smugness may be worn. Did you swear at the cat?

I have had the BBQ of Challenge tonight (a new term?). This the BBQ where because of EFF (see list above) I had to literally hold myself back from devouring the whole meal rolls that were trying to ruin me. I had a chug of the OH’s beer but just a little sip (wanted a bottle to myself.. Boo hoo). On the upside, the fart breads saved the day when warmed on the grill and wrapped carefully around a sausage or two.

So I think I can wrap myself in a small cape of smugness at resisting the carb demon. Plus the cat legged it with an entire pork steak from the grill.. Stopped me from eating it!!

Sorry if this has been asked before but i am struggling to get my head around something….. I usually follow a lchf diet and eat around 1500 cals a day. However i am just not losing weight fast enough and i am falling back into my old carby ways, well enough is enough! I actually hate processed carbs (but love them when i do eat them but they give me IBS and make me fat) and i dont think anyone needs them but when i start i cant stop.

I want to invigorate my whole families lifestyle – we are all a bit chubby and i am worried my well covered yet small children (4 and 2) will end up fighting the fight i have my whole life. I am NOT putting them on a diet but i want them to have the right start with high fat, filling foods that their little growing bodies need – no one NEEDS pasta, right? Luckily they love veg and meat and dairy.

I am not diabetic but i had gestational diabetes x 2 and have the right sort of shape, i am a bit of an egg on legs. Also i am getting older and i fear its only a matter of time.

So here finally here is my question…. how do i get enough fat in so that i am not hungry whilst keeping my cals at 800 or there abouts. From doing my lchf diet i know keeping your carbs as low as possible is the key. I am strict, so limited below ground veg (swede mainly), usually no pulses, beans, no fruit ( the odd berry as a weekend treat), i even swap onions for shallots and limit tomatoes. I think dairy doesnt agree with me so i limit cheese to a sprinkle and rarely have yoghurt.

On my lchf diet i wasnt losing much on a regular basis (2st in 2 yrs on and off) and i think i got carried away with the high fat thing and had too many calories or i am kidding myself on my strictness – i really am not sure which.

So how do you get enough fat in to be full, whilst keeping carbs low but getting enough vegetables and protein to have good nutrition and keep below the 800 or so cals?

I am using this week and weekend to get back on my lchf diet (went on holiday) and then on Monday i will be starting in earnest. I have read the book.

Heee heeee

just make it out of grated courgette its fine

Ooooh yes Josie. I think I’ve found it

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/chocolate-olive-oil-cake

That looks do-able with coconut sugar but I would add it gradually and test the mixture. Reading the reviews, very promising indeed!

Pot of Hurrah – Commonly served after successful avoidance of cake all afternoon.

Tutting at Wilted Kale – When something doesn’t quite meet your exacting standards. See: KALE; YANKEE CANDLES

How Much! – See: HOLLAND & BARRETT; ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TEXTBOOKS; JO MALONE CANDLES

Robes/Capes of Smugness – Items of clothing worn by those feeling righteously smug. This can be for cake avoidance, getting into a lower size, or just because they are of a smug nature, ordinarily.

Shameful Veil of Procrastination – When you’re just sat looking at a PC/phone/tablet screen, waiting for someone to answer your last post, rather than baking the pumpkin seed bread.

Meat Knot – Ahem…

Keep your Chickpeas Chunky – self explanatory. Don’t blend them to a pulp. Fool. Said in the manner of Gordon Ramsay.

The ‘Well, That Didn’t Work’ Cookbook – For the time being, a mythical, but also very real cookbook of BSD recipes that we hoped would work, but didn’t.

Farty Bread – A brocolli based flat-bread that smells of fart.

Always eat your Tuna armed with a Laser Pointer – For when cat based psychology is required.

Don your Pashmina of Determination – For when the going gets tough and you can’t have a biscuit.

A ‘Lady Pound’ – that random pound, or seven, that suddenly appear, out of nowhere, at that certain point in the month.

Cafetiere of Pffffffffft – SEE ‘POT OF HURRAH’. Then imagine complete opposite of.

Epic Fail Friday – Specifically relating to Friday the 15th of July 2016, which felt more like a Friday 13th July. A day where everything you cook goes spectacularly wrong.

Slippers of Despair – The footwear worn on an Epic Fail Friday whilst sipping from the Cafetiere of Pfffffffffft.

Like Paltrow’s foo-foo after a Steam Clean – a bake that is unfathomably dry after using coconut flour instead of almond. Because it’s cheaper. See: JANEY’S COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS

Sounds like they need a weekend of practice Lucky 😂😂😂👏🏻

New terms? Yes 👏🏻

check nigella’s olive oil cake could be done i think could use coconut sugar maybe

Well, in theory anyway lol. Life usually has other plans though… I told my two eldest sons they were washing up tonight… Despite putting hot soapy water in a bowl ready for him, and everyone taking and putting their plates in the bowl, he still managed to wash up under the cold water tap (I made him do it again – degree level? My backside). And I think he may have used handwash to wash them too… And he asked where I kept the ‘flannels’ to dry the dishes. The younger son took about 15 minutes to dry 4 plates (we hadn’t eaten) and 4 sets of cutlery. Holding the plates like they were dirty and flicking the tea towel at them. So… not holding my breath for a weekend of R&R. No ma’am.

In other news, I have updated the FAQ’s to include new items. Interested?

I had a good day 5.

Breakfast was yogurt and blueberries again
Lunch was the same as yesterday: some chicken breast, a red pepper, 2 falafel balls and a tiny bit of hummus
Dinner was a recipe from the BSD book – the spicy bean burger. It was such a mess and didn’t hold together but it was tasty and I had it with a tomato and a bit of lettuce.

I was given a marshmallow chocolate bar from a friend and I ended up having half of it – only 80 calories but LOADS of carbs!

It means my total carbs for the day is a crazy 108.2g, but it was nice to have a treat and I went for a 5 mile walk, so I don’t feel so bad.
My kcal total was 871 and I was well over 10000 steps but I don’t have the correct total as I left my phone behind.

I hope everyone else had a great day!

Ah poor Lucky, well then it’s a mind yourself weekend and they’re important too 👏🏻👏🏻🛁🛋💐🙌🏽💤

Sometimes it’s the best motivation you need! I will try my best, virtually anyway. The reality is I will be mopey, in a haze of codeine and ibuprofen and hot water bottles, feeling very, very sorry for myself. But I will be there in spirit 😉

I know Izzy, you’re right. Hard breaking quarter of a century habits lol 😉 It’ll be fine. As long as there’s inch loss then the week won’t be a complete write off. And I know it will be a ‘lady pound’ anyway – fantastic.

most of us have weeks without losses, don’t overthink it just keep doing your thing!

Good one👏👏👏

Yes I think week 5 I only lost very little and I went into the following week with serious enthusiasm 😂😂😂 I’m going to do lots of exercise this weekend – you come too virtually 😹👍👍👍👍🙏🏻😂

I had it the other night, I really enjoyed it too! The works on the plate, even gherkins! The other option is Seekh kebabs, that I made the other week, they were lush too if mega-spicy, little bit of greek mixed with mint to dunk them in, salad and a chickpea wrap. Or pork meatballs in a paprika-ey tomato sauce. All tried and tested meals, no baking, no failures, no disappointment, no diversion from the plan.

I know I am facing my first week without a weight loss. I’ve only lost 1lb this week since last Saturday’s ‘official’ weigh in and that was back on today. I need to up the exercise, I know I keep saying it but doing it is another matter. Maybe I need a no weight loss week to give me that kick in the bum, because there’s no way it will be happening two weeks on the trot, I tell you! If those scales are the same or up tomorrow morning, I’ll be dragging that treadmill into position and going for an hour’s walk!

Hi Barrynk can I ask which shakes you used I have been thinking of going down the vlc route as my weight loss has stopped

Hee hee burger salad sounds delicious anyway. Could make some yum healthy coleslaw to go with it instead😀 I might have burgers too 😂😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Oh my, they keep that long? That’s brilliant!

Jeez, it’s been a day of it for us all, hasn’t it? Must be something in the stars or something! I’ve just looked at my meal plan and it’s burger tomorrow… I was going to attempt those smug sisters baps, but after today? You know what? I’m going to have burger salad. Lol >.<

So update on those chick pea biscuits, had forgotten them and re discovered in the cupboard this evening and they are pretty tasty! Think definitely improved since being left for a week 😹

Have also had an extra egg over budget as was simply hungry. Hopefully just herbal tea for the eve now😤

Hi Sunshine! Mine was lovely, and so pizza-ey but was it worth the calories? If I had mega pizza cravings and was about to snap and stick a pizza in the oven, then yes it was for the simple reason of knowing what’s in it is ‘good’. But as for making it again for an everyday tea? Nah. Sorry your cauli one didn’t work out, one thing this is is trial and error!

I think a chickpea dough would be costly in calories too… I did look into that as well but decided on the stuffed ‘bread’ one because I wanted soft pizza and after making chickpea pastry last week I had an inkling that chickpea dough would go crispy. I think these things are ok to take the edge off an extreme craving, but they’re never going to compare.

Bhajis, nom… so simple and tasty. Drizzle of raita on… Only thing is, I used to deep fry mine. I suppose there’s a baked version out there though 🙂 If I can make pizza out of egg and cream and coconut flour, and Tokyo can make cookies out of chickpea flour, then I’m sure we can bake a bhaji 😉

Hello.
I’m past menopause too, one of the reasons I piled on the weight in addition to responding badly to some life challenges/stress inducers.

I’ve been doing low carb Med diet rather than full BSD as I just can’t survive on 800 cals per day. I’ve had days when I’ve fasted by accident because I’ve missed a meal, but mostly, I’m on 1300-1500 cals per day. I exercise every day: 30-40 minutes of either cardio or resistance/HIIT five days a week and then 2 days when I make sure I walk more than 10,000 steps.

I started on June 2, so I’ve now done 6 weeks and a day, and I’ve lost 9 kilos, or 19 pounds. But it hasn’t been even or steady. Dropped a big chunk in the first ten days (four kilos) which tells you how much I was over-eating before! But since then, a steady kilo per week, no hunger pangs at all, and only occasional longing for bread. Last weekend, we had visitors and I did eat some bread and chips, but in very small quantities. I thoroughly enjoyed them, but was quite glad to get back to a stricter approach for the rest of the week.

Although the BSD book is quite calm about very fast weight loss, I am not so sure that it is a good thing – it’s encouraging, but as others have said, given that this is a lifestyle change, my feeling would be to focus on feeling clothes fitting better, much better sleep and concentration levels, healthier readings for blood sugar and the fact that there will be plateaus but that overall, you are getting fitter, healthier and slimmer in a natural kind of way.

I don’t know if this will help – it works for me, and that is to have short, long and medium term goals. My short term goal is to check that I eat under 1500 cals per day and always exercise as strenuously as I can. My medium term goal is to lose 4-5 kilos each month, and ideally, move down a stone, so for example, I’m currently just under 16 stone, but am aiming to be under 15 stone by the end of August. Because I’m a teacher, I work in half-terms, and my aim is to be under 13 stone by the end of October, and I’m hoping to be around 11 ½ stone by the end of the year. At that stage, my hope is that my new eating habits will be fully embedded, my weight will stabilise and I’ll maintain that weight indefinitely.

My questions would be –
Are you exercising in the right way? You really need to work up a sweat to get metabolic movement, apparently, so that’s why HIIT works. I think Dr M does cycling on a stationary bike – but weights/resistance training are also important, especially for older women as this really improves your bone density.
Are you drinking enough water? You should be aiming for 2 litres a day, ideally. It really helps with a) flushing out the system b) filling you up so you don’t eat excessively at meals.
Could it be a good moment to skip the weigh-ins and focus on feeling healthy? Sometimes, I take a break from weighing and then when you hop back on, there are really positive numbers to encourage you.

Don’t give up – you are doing really well and approach this as a marathon, not a sprint, and you will get there.

Lucky, I tried the cauliflower pizza and the base came out lovely and crispy but when you put the sauce and topping on and put it back in the oven it goes really soggy, so mega fail for that. I am going to try chickpea dough next time. When you think about it, onion bahagees (not sure of the spelling) are chickpea flour and veg so should be able to have that.