My weight loss has tailed off too – almost the same losses as you and then finally I have moved a pound after staying the same for s week or more. I just keep thinking that it will all pay off and sticking with it.
All the best with getting the protein/ fat balanced – I still find it a bit tricky especially if I’m not being organised with my shopping!

not quite the same as alcohol, or perhaps it is
but I know that giving up massive biscuit binges was easier when I realised that my ‘need’ for the first biscuit was nothing compared to the NEED for the next one!!

next time, if there is one, that you have that first drink, really try to recognise if it satisfies a need, or just increases it

Just bought a marvellous treat from Waitrose – Puglian figs with buffalo mozzarella which I brought home & devoured all 250 calories of it without pause!
Now wondering if actually I shouldn’t be having figs at all?! They were semi dried. Any advice? Thank you!

I have just started the diet today. I am am fit but have over the last year put on over a stone after a hysterectomy. This all makes sense to me as I have a terrible addiction to sugar.

Can anyone tell me whether I’m in for a rough ride coming off sugar and carbs? If so how long and coping strategies to help? I have a 15yr in the house so can’t completely get rid of everything unhealthy..

Hi Jules, I’m a Jules too! I think you need to check your protein targets as I suspect they should be nearer 70g. If youre trying to get to 194g it explains why you’re not fitting in enough fat. Well done on the 12lb loss, that’s fabulous.
The other Jules x

Hello Sarahdawn,
Welcome to the club!
The great thing about this diet is that while it’s great for T2 diabetics, non-diabetics can do it as well. I wasn’t T2 or pre-diabetic but my weight was going up and, like you, I didn’t feel good at the weight I was at. My weight really started going up after an operation and, like you, I went from being active to having to work up from 5 mins exercise a day! I was too fond of sugary things and what made the decision to go BSD for me was the “sugarberg” drawing which is somewhere on this this website – I realised that I was eating so much stuff with hidden sugars. You can go the whole hog (i.e. the 800cals per day/8weeks) or you can adapt to something that suits you better. So, yes, it’s safe and very maintainable. (I’ve lost about 1.5 stone since mid-January.)

How you spread the calories through the day is up to you. However, it’s worth maybe saving a few calories for the occasional emergency snack/late night munchy if you feel desperate. Keep hydrated – very important. Your body will go through a period of adjustment – you may feel grotty for a few days, you may feel hungry at times (I know I did). You may start off with good weight loss and then things slow – you are NOT failing, so don’t beat yourself up (your weight loss may be slower than others since you are not terribly overweight). You may even fall off the wagon and pig out on off-limit foods – we’ve all done it – you just dust yourself off and resume.

Can’t answer about blood sugar kits – I’ve never used one.

As for a place for support – well, you’ve already found it. Any questions, just post a message – someone somewhere will probably be able to answer, offer support/advice. Lots of kindred spirits here!

Good luck!
Rose

Hello everyone, I’m new to this forum but started the 800 cal plan 3 weeks ago for weight loss, I have a lot to lose! After finding the forum and all the good advice I realised that I needed to watch my percentages of Carbs/Fats/Protein so the goals I have set in MFP are C-35g/F-55g/P-194g.
I have lost 12lbs in these 3 weeks and I’m delighted with that but whilst I’m managing to keep my carbs more or less on target I’m struggling to meet the fat & protein targets and still keep close to 800 calories. I was overjoyed to find the advice to have full fat dairy and have stocked up on yogurt and Stilton today but even planning a couple of days menus using these I’m still only averaging about 30g and my protein intake is regularly less than half my target. Because I have such a lot of weight to lose I’m a bit paranoid about sticking to the 800 cals, especially as I’m finding it so easy to do!
My weight loss has tailed off each week, 7lbs then 4lbs and 1lb this week so I wonder if I should be focusing more on the nutrition goals rather than obsessing about the calories in order to keep losing effectively? Any advice would be gratefully received.
I should stress again I am delighted with my loss so far!

How did you do it?
I have tried ( may be that’s the issue I am already using the language of failure) rather than saying I am going to
I have just remembered something my boss told me when I was a teenager
I asked how he gave up smoking and he replied he just stopped having the first cigarette of the day!

So that’s what I need to do just not have the first glass

I’m an all or nothing type person with quite an addictive personality, I used wine as a coping mechanism and ended drinking a bottle of wine a night to “help” me through a rough 6 months. After continually waking up feeling rubbish I decided to have a 3 month detox, 5 yrs 6 mths later I still haven’t touched a drop, don’t miss it, don’t need it. Why don’t you try giving it up for a month, see how you feel and take it from there?

Congratulations Frog
I too have managed to get a into a lovely pair of trousers that I bought and could not wear because of the belly

Well done GillyD
Rewarding yourself with wine sounds very familiar!

I have been here before
It all started so well but then fell off the wagon in a major way – or shall we be honest and say more of a bunji jump off a cliff.
When I started over three months ago I said I wanted to lose 2 stone – I have lost 8 and feel better but I could have lost a whole load more.
I can trot out excuses, mother not well, father in law having cancer treatment, OH massively stressed at work and taking it out on me, having to evict tenants from rental property and finding they were dealing drugs and trashed the property- but you know what these are just excuses.
The main issue is me and my relationship with wine.
I like the food on the BSD diet veg and meat are heaven to me
I dont have a sweet tooth (though crisps are my weakness!).
My problem is wine – I like wind and one glass is not enough
There I have said it
OH also uses alcohol to cope with stress which only makes things worse

So now I have faced up to what the problem is – I just need to work out a strategy!

Any thoughts all welcome

Hi, I am definitely a sugar addict- I have pretty much always been, and have a very highly sensitive nervous system ( and experienced severe trauma).

I am 5 ft 6 (female, 39 yrs) and my BMI is around 23, which is healthy but I am 10st 9 with a 33inch waist. This is 2 stone heavier than 3 years ago (before the trauma) when I was very fit, active, health conscious and could do pretty much anything. I am trying to connect with others via this forum, as I confess I am quite a loner and not really an on-line person but this diet really makes sense to me. And I have been drawn to is as I have had a really dependant relationship with sugar for years. I cannot move too well these days, I cannot run or do high impact anymore and avoid walking because it is slow and not so easy these days. I mainly cycle to get around instead of walking , and for exercise. And I find sugar and carbs very addictive and use them to self-soothe, and I get very tired with highs and lows.

I have some questions if anyone out there has the time to help me…?

a) I am not diabetic, and there isn’t diabetes in my immediate family, ( my family is very small) but I am sure my existing relatives could be pre-diabetic. And I don’t tick lots of the risk factor boxes I am overweight for me – it doesn’t look good, it doesn’t feel good, and my self-awareness tells me that I could be heading for poor health, but would it still be ‘safe’ to try this 8 week diet? Any advice/feedback?
b) What would be the best bit of blood-sugar self testing kit I could buy myself, to monitor my blood sugars?
c) If I use MYP to monitor calories/ keep track of carb & protein values how should they be distributed through the day for best results. One meal, two, three? What about snacks?
c) Is there a specific place on this forum for support & sticking with it when you are struggling? As I am on my own with this- no partner or close friends to support, especially when I am alone at home, or take myself food shopping!

Thanks so much!!

Hello Juss185, I hope you have had an encouraging start to your day. I am feeling hungry so I was reading through posts, it doesn’t exactly stop the rumbles but it inspires me not to mindlessly munch!

When I started (really only 2 weeks ago?) I was a bit apprehensive as to how I would get on without my carbs and sugar. I’m mostly addicted to things like crisps and chips and love white rice, more than sweet things. The first few days I felt quite ill, but strangely didn’t crave carbs, just had the carb withdrawal symptoms and was determined that if that was how I felt, I must break the addiction.

Keep at it and it gets easier and the food we can eat is truly enjoyable. I find soup one of the most filling things, and add little squares of cheese 🙂 I’ve lost 10lb and 8oz last weigh and the quick results help to keep you on the wagon. All the best

Feeling really good about everything right now, have done a menu plan so know what we’re eating for the next few days (so long as nothing goes wrong!). Going to spend some time tomorrow in the kitchen making mini salmon & cheese quiches, courgette & carrot bhajis and chickpea flatbreads for snacks or quick meals, so there’s always something handy in the fridge and the rest can be frozen and quickly defrosted.

This lovely hot weather (we’re in the west country….west of England, that is) is good in more ways than one – I’m drinking a lot more water, and the heat makes me so hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. This is actually a good thing because it makes me realise I’d cope with the heat so much better if I lose 3 or 4 stones!

I’ve been doing this for four weeks now and still going strong. I only lost half a pound this week but my weight is still going downwards and I have lost a total of 12lbs. The saga of the treadmill continues. We bought one last week and are awaiting delivery.

I had a strange dream last week. I dreamt I was walking around in a t-shirt with a map of Australia on it and people kept stopping me and asking if I was Australian. When I woke up I realised that it must be because we have such a large Aussie contingent. Either that or carb withdrawal giving me strange dreams.

congratulations GillyD – that’s brilliant.
I’ve just got a size smaller jeans out of the wardrobe today – I have no idea the last time I fitted!
Bit of an ‘overhang’ in the waist area, my tummy is far from flat,, so paired with a lose-ish top, but it’s such a pleasure not to walk around feeling the need to pull my jeans up every five minutes.

lots of luck with it supersteph – and the new job
You’ll be able to weigh the post sacks and relate those to the weight you need to lose – or have already lost if you don’t start for a few weeks. Sounds as if you’ll get plenty of exercise in your new role though – lots better than sitting at a desk.

I’m glad it’s resolved for you – though a 10 kg weight gain would be frustrating. I put on 10 kg one year when I tried depi-provera as a contraceptive. Damn those hormones!

Lol I’m the same with tea. I guess I really wanted the sugar! I’ve tried to give up a few times and find myself just not drinking tea at all, which makes me sad because I love the calming ritual. I bounce between no sugar, one sugar, half a sugar, no tea at all… I stuck with forcing myself to drink tea without sugar for around six weeks in hopes of getting used to it – it wasn’t quite so bad but I still went back to half a teaspoon once the BSD was over.

Hi all,
I am not that new here, but this is me starting this diet properly this time!
I did start doing it before but I just did it mon-fri and found it so hard to get back to it in Monday’s. So i am doing it 24/7 starting today.
I weigh 14st 5lbs and am 5ft 6ins which gives me a bmi of 32.4 (obese) and I am seriously addicted to sugar. I answered yes to nearly all of the quiz questions, so I guess I must be! I have 3st 4lbs to lose to get to a healthy bmi, and I am determined this time. I start a new job as a Postie in the next 6/7 weeks and I’d love to not have to lug all of this weight around when I start!

I was wondering if there is a resource for Africans, there are a lot of lovely recipes on here but I would like some specifically adapted for the African palate.

Hello everyone…. I thought I would let people know how I have got on as I am now at the end of the 8 week period… So I have lost 21pounds with BSD so far I have gone from 13 stone to 11 stone 7 and I am now 2lbs lighter than the last time I lost weight. I still want to get to 11 stone before I go on holiday in 4 weeks but have reset my target as I really believe I can do it this time. 10 stone 6 is my new target as I will be continuing with this way of eating from now on. I feel better, the brain fog has gone , I am looking at clothes 2 sizes down and people are now beginning to notice! I have been pretty strict ( just a couple of glasses of wine at the weekends) and have been swimming and going to the gym. I enlisted the help of a personal trainer for 4 weeks and he is putting me through my paces ( which I am loving btw!). So to anyone currently thinking about doing it I can honestly say that I am delighted with the results and although I wasn’t carb addicted I was wine addicted. I don’t miss carbs at all! The 8 weeks rounded off nicely with my husband and I going for dinner for his birthday and I kept to the principles even if I did have a glass or two extra and still managed 3 lbs!! Good Luck and best wishes to everyone out there… This way of eating really has been a life changer for me. Xxxx

Thank you, Natalie – yes, I’m pleased with myself.

I’ve been told, variously, that it takes either 30 days, or 6 weeks, not to notice the loss….I think I’ll be 6 weeks. But the good thing is that I’ve continued to drink the coffee, without sugar, rather than give up coffee entirely as I don’t like the taste unless there’s sugar in it.

But I have to say, in retrospect, the sugar was evidently the main incentive for my drinking it…..

Best wishes with that Natalie, I sympathise.
I had similar problems about five years ago – initially my GP just prescribed drugs to decrease the blood flow – worked wonderfully in clotting the blood and giving me DVT & on to warfarin – at least you’ve got as far as the fibroids diagnosis!

I did find that a moon cup (with back up towels) worked better for me with the heavy periods – contains a lot more, and gives you the advantage of being able to give a good estimate of the amount of blood loss if medical professionals aren’t taking the problem seriously.
I ended up going to A&E with a particularly heavy period one weekend, thinking that A&E wasn’t appropriate, but being admitted to a ward immediately and kept in for three days. Thankfully all resolved for me – without a hysterectomy, although I did put on about 10kg with the hormone treatment.

Wow congrats on giving up that much sugar! That is something I have really struggled with, even though I only had one teaspoon twice a day in my tea. You’re right, that’s a lot of extra calories to spend elsewhere.

Congrats Gaye! That is awesome.

I’m in Sydney too, and it turns out the house we moved into six months ago is weatherproof! Yay! But unfortunately the car isn’t. Since half of our garage is still full of packing boxes, the older car is parked in the street, and this morning it has 3 cm of water in it. My husband was out there with a mop and bucket, but how do you dry car carpet in this weather before it rots?

Well I’m still having painful heavy periods that go for three weeks even though I haven’t been sticking to the diet – and it turns out it has nothing to do with the diet. I have uterine fibroids (quite common but not everyone has symptoms) which I will need treatment for. Anything from hormones to surgical fibroid removal to a hysterectomy (don’t know yet). So if your problems persist, don’t just assume it’s your rapid weight loss.

Switzerland,

Yes, our newspapers, The Age and your Sydney Morning Herald are the same group….”under the same umbrella” so to speak.
Watching the news today and yesterday, I was thinking of you and Captainelynn as I think you are both from NSW. Glad to hear you weren’t one of the unlucky ones, I feel so bad for them.
Regards, jillyB

Hi 4stonetolose,
That’s the spirit, you go girl😀😀
Think of the alternative, staying fat and hating it? Besides, what else will you be doing with your time? May as well be losing weight and loving yourself.
Good luck
Linda

Hi all!

I have now read more about Inulin than I ever want to again! The papers & research I have looked at on the web seem to b epretty unanamous – that in the trials it had pretty impressive results however I have yet to find a trial on diabetics, apparently it doesn’t raise your blood sugar see – fca.com/Inulin-super-nutrient-against-diabetes

This is interesting http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpubmed/10655953 – based upon 10g a day.

I find it very sweet & sticky, & can only manage to use it on my morning youghurt/seed sprinkle breakfast as there is no way I can get it to dissolve into a drink!

Since starting BSD and not eating carbs to any degree, any er…….’wind issues’…… (Sorry) vanished completely, but shall we say that Inulin has a ‘cart-horse’ effect…….you have been warned!!!

Hi Debra46
I was at a BBQ yesterday for lunch and although I didn’t have any ‘bad’ carbs etc, I certainly over ate and my total for the day was 1369 Cals….the highest I have had over the 7 weeks on the BSD!
I had been stuck on 79.3, 79.4kg for over a week and I when I weighed this morning, I was 78.2!!! Go figure😀
No need to start again as such, just get back on the wagon tomorrow and continue to make the right choices.
This really works!
Cheers
Linda

Oh I also have the fast diet book and the BSD book by MM because my husband is a type 2 diabetic and is trying to control by diet. After my results he started yesterday, although he has reduced his sugar levels by 5:2. He had high hba1c readings but refused to take metformin despite the nurse leaving him prescriptions to collect and I had to field her telephone calls!

Hi Muriel
I have hypothyroidism and I also had an HBA1C reading of 49 and cholesterol of 7.4. I started for about 6 weeks prior to last Christmas doing the 5:2 diet. I lost about 3 kg and my reading for the HBA1C went down to 46 but my cholesterol rose to 7.4 from 7.1 last September. I was still using skimmed milk and low fat products. I had my annual thyroid test at the end of February and it appears that I was taking too much thyroxine. Approx 10 weeks ago I embarked on a regime based on the BSD but was not so restrictive on carbs in that I had occasional Rice, the rest of the principles I followed, including switching to full fat products, (my nurse said that I was crazy switching to full fat) except I am sure that sometimes my evening meal took me over 800 calories as It is extremely difficult to be 100% accurate. My thyroxine level was kept the same and I was retested after 2 months which was to also include a random glucose and cholesterol and liver function tests. I was just over six weeks into the diet. My random glucose was fine, my cholesterol was 5.1 and I have halved my daily level of thyroxine. one of my liver enzymes was up but apparently that is quite common and the doctor said it could just be a fatty liver and I am being retested after 2 months for that and to see if my thyroxine level is ok.
Now the thing that is interesting to me is that I have always been told that my cholesterol will always be around six because of the hypothyroidism and that the level of thyroxine I have been taking would never decrease! About 2 years ago I stated taking my thyroxine with a full glass of water at least one hour before food or a cup of tea in the morning. I have yearly been taking less thyroxine but the last drop was the biggest. I am looking forward to seeing the nurse in a couple of weeks to have the tests and make sure she knows my cholesterol level! After 8 weeks I had gone from 85kg to 73.4kg. last September I weighed 95kg. I am still continuing the BSD until my weight reaches 65kg which will only just take me into the healthy weight for my height 162cm but I am confident I can achieve this weight and maintain it. I even said to the Doctor that maybe my hypothyroidism would be cured! I am down to taking 75micrograms a day from 200 at my highest and I was diagnosed 24 years ago. So the whole way of eating and cutting carbs is really working. I saw on this site that someone mentioned a Dr Jason Fung and his book the obesity code. I have just purchased this to read having watched a number of his youtube videos and I have also preordered his book on fasting. I would recommend watching his videos as it really gives a good understanding of diet and fasting.
Be interesting to hear if anyone else has reduced the amount of thyroxine.
Good luck and keep going, its worth it!

😁

Thank you for that Frog I will do “listen again”

Gaye what a Red Letter Day for you. 😀

Discussion with Giles Yeo, a geneticist, about weight and genes – analogy was made to having ‘bad’ genes weight wise being like being dealt a bad poker hand – you can still win, but it’s harder than if you’re dealt a good one.
Don’t listen while eating – discussion of a ‘transpoosion’ – a real word apparently!

It was leading on a program on BBC2 tomorrow (Tuesday 7 June at 9.00pm) Horizon – Why Are We Getting So Fat?

Thanks Frog – no I don’t want another plateau – not for a while anyway. Hubby is off to France for the footie next weekend so I have two weeks to really stick to the diet while he’s away!

Congratulations Fi – on the weight loss and becoming overweight!
Hope the weight continues to shift now that you’ve broken that plateau

Yeah – LOTS of exercise yesterday – 16k steps was 7.5 to 8 mile walk to Victoria Park and back along the canal, and LOTS of fluid, and my weight is down 0.6kg – I know it could equally go up again, but encouraging!
Probably the most excercise and fluid since I started this diet – will aim to repeat & see if that is the key

Hi Muriel
I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis but because I cannot tolerate the medication…had several trials…I have had to manage as best I can. I have a feeling this BSD is as good as medicine. I am waiting a few more months to get a full blood picture but the energy and well being is rewarding. I have lost approximately a kg a week and find that good enough to keep me very happy. My body shape is definitely changed.
Nettle

Yipee. Today I visited my GP after doing the Eight Week Blood Sugar Diet and my results from my glucose tolerance test was wonderful. No more Metaformin! I feel better than I have felt in a very long time. Thankyou to Michael and the team for the book. It is a life changer

Hello Fussy – welcome! On the contrary, I love mushrooms but can’t have them because I get rather ill if I do. So that rules out that one, which is a shame as they do have lovely recipes! I’m sure there are plenty of alternatives to fish and eggs. But you could try mixing eggs in a recipe or adding cheese and butter to make scrambled, or would that still not taste good for you? Other foods you could eat…
Nuts and seeds
dark chocolate
Salads (there’s lots of recipes in the book, one lovely one is the jewelled pepper and you can add feta… yum)
Lots of meat other than fish, Morrison’s do a low calorie sausage, gammon, thin slices of beef, roast chicken, bacon
Soup. You can put such a variety of ingredients and it’s low calorie
Yoghurt and berries
I’m only starting my third week so some more experienced no doubt have plenty of ideas!

Hi everyone – yes I am still here – plodding along! Had a plateau for 3 weeks which was a bit discouraging and that is usually the point where I give up with diets but was determined to keep going and had a look at what I might have been doing wrong (probably taking the eating fat thing a bit too far). Anyway, finally I have lost 3lbs this week (now into my 17th week) and (big TA DAH) I am now out of the obese category and into the overweight category which is a big boost – have lost 2 stone 2 lbs so far. Saw my doctor last week and she was really pleased that I was doing something about my weight and agreed that low carbs was the way to go. She said I should wait until my hospital appointment (in October) about reducing my medication but she thought they would probably do that if I carry on doing what I’m doing. Best of luck to all of you and don’t worry when you have a few weeks when nothing happens – it will start going down again!

Hi all, I’m just start the BSD but I’m a bit concerned that I am a very fussy eater and 3 of mine main food dislikes are strong fish eggs and mushrooms.This really cuts down the available recipes, any suggestions ? Thanks

I join the over the 16 people today 😉
3 st 11.75lbs down….sooo close to that 4 st. line..well there is always next week.
How good is this.
We are going on hol to Herefordshire at the end of next week and I know I’ll be straying from the wagon…how far is the question. I haven’t fallen off in the last 16 weeks and am a bit worried about how hard it will be to get back on the straight and narrow. Maybe I’ll find I don’t enjoy the carbs as much as I used to, but must admit atm looking forwards to crackers and cheese, crisps and chips with my dinner, (not all at once) Cider with a pub lunch hmmm.
Hoping I try each once and don’t enjoy too much.

Hi Lucia,
How are you? How did your vegetarian week-end go?
We’ve had a lot of rain down the east coast of Australia. Very fortunate where I live – 165mm over the week-end. Believe me, that was one of the lower readings.
……it’s very hard to find shapes in the clouds when the sky is covered with clouds. A great solution to the rainy week-end was to shelter in the carport and blow bubbles…..you get the credit for that Lucia (from your previous posts).
What have I been eating today? B’fast yoghurt, walnuts and berries. Lunch poached egg on sliced avocado. Tea chicken breast and mixed leaf salad.

Hi jillyB,
The same article was in the Sydney Morning Herald today, but not on the front page. Great article.

Great results Sandie. It feels good, doesn’t it.

Hi Tallyhoo,
I’m pleased you’ve worked out the ‘problem’. It makes humble cauliflower rice seem like your best friend!
Also, very interesting the effect the slim rice had on your fasting BGL.
Best wishes.

This is working for me. I have a hang on the food, the numbers and am drinking loads of water. This morning am down 2lb and the scales tell me I weigh 12st. Me 12st! Onwards and downwards. The sun is shining and I am smiling.