Visceral fat IS the hardest to get rid of, but we WILL get there!

Don’t know why but that’s just reminded me of one of my favourite Fast Show sketches…

“What’s for tea mother? Shadows and lies on toast?!”

It was a gut measurement, that’s true, maybe it will eventually shift. I definitely look thinner elsewhere

its to go with a cup of excitment !! ( its been a long day and i am hungry )!!

I like the sound of a pot of hurrah!

What waist measurement are you doing? I do two, the bit where my trousers sit, and what I like to refer to as the gut measurement (i.e just under the belly button.

My trouser waist measurement has defo gone down. I know this as my trousers are definitely looser. My gut hasn’t really changed at all though, even though I’ve lost a stone and a third, with only 1 stone to go. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost from my moobs and jowls though. I’ll measure those tonight (not my jowls, I didn’t actually measure them).

My theory is that because visceral fat is the hardest and last to shift, the gut measurement will be the last to reduce.

that should say pot of tea !!!! its like i left it blank for you to fill your own idea in !!!!!

good afternoon
well on my way home after a day out and managed to avoid all temptations just had a pot if hurrah !!
but will eat ny tea tonight !!
am out tomorrow but its a brunch date and just looked at menu and scrambled egg and bacon or full english without toast and sausage !!
so will handle that one ok i think !!
its a tricky old buisness this eating out !!! but keep going girl i tell myself as the cookies and cakes were calling me !!!!

I don’t know what I’d do without eggs. They are a staple of my diet. I’ve got 3 chickens in the garden which is even better ’cause it means my eggs are even more awesome!

As frog says, lean meat and fish are your best bets.

I’ve got to ask, do you not eat eggs out of choice or do you not like them/alergic to them?

Hi Bill, I posted today for the first time and someone recommended I read your posts. As far as the ‘Dawn Effect’ goes, try to save a little of your daily allowance to eat just before you go to bed. For instance, my b/g were down to 125 (6.9) on day 2 but back up to 178 (9.8) on day 3. That night I saved just a couple of mouthfuls of the veggie frittata and half of beetroot falafel for a bedtime snack. The next day it had gone down, then down again the next. Eating breakfast will help too , try having a blueberry and green tea smoothie if you cant stomach a meal.

Good luck.

JCH187 shake on it, I haven’t lost any inches round my waist since I started. Can’t understand it!

So we are all off on holiday tomorrow… Cases packed ( well almost) cat off to the cat hotel. House tidied ( well almost) and I did my last official weigh in before we go. Originally My target was to be 11 stone and then I decided that wasn’t enough and I wanted it to say 10 something. I weighed in at 10 stone 13 1/2 !!! Yippee yippee yippee!!! I’m not finished though so work will continue whilst on holiday 🤗 Actually it doesn’t feel like work anymore and I don’t miss those carbs at all. I am looking forward to wearing all those lovely new clothes I have needed to buy 😉 Good luck to everyone currently on or about to start the BSD. Best thing I have ever done. Fact.

Right, I’m joining the club!

Current weight is 91.7kg or 14 stone 6lbs

Target weight is 85kg or 13 stone 5lbs

I started off a few weeks back at 99.5kg (I was NOT 100kg) which was 15 stone 10 lbs, so I’m well over half way there.

Only one other thought – have you investigated what your Base Metabolic Rate is, to see how many calories you actually need to maintain weight?

There are a few different methods of calculating this – you need to use your height, current weight, age and activity level as information – I used this site
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com

and was somewhat surprised to learn that I only need 1382 calories per day. Thank goodness I’m not planning on adding in doughnuts, is all I can say.

I’m not eating that much currently, but it was quite helpful to know that figure. Surely if you keep the carbs down, average around the target maintenance calories, the weight should stay level?

Captainlynne has started a thread which is called, I think, TARGET WEIGHT, so that people can post to keep themselves on track.

Hope that helps 🙂

Congratulations! What an absolutely fabulous start, sunshine-girl, you must be thrilled! 🙂 🙂

So pleased you have discovered the BSD and started your journey back to health – there are lots of inspirational threads on here, would recommend you look at Bill54’s thread THIS HAS TO WORK FOR ME – just enter it in the SEARCH box at the top. Also Captainlynne has been a total inspiration. Let alone Lucia. So many people.

If you have any questions do post – someone will get back to you, and has probably experienced the same thing and can give you advice.

I have just finished my 8 weeks and lost 12% of my starting weight – not Type 2 or otherwise unwell, but just wanted to eat better and get into control. I feel great – hopefully you will add the ‘feeling great’ to your aubergine enjoyment as one of the unexpected benefits of this change of lifestyle.

Good luck! 🙂

I agree with that Timmy.

The other thing you can do for a ‘snack’, is have three small baby plum tomatoes – they are juicy, sweet and if you eat them slowly are really nice. 8 calories, 1 carb for the three – which is sugar of course, but not so bad as the apple crisps. You could have 6 if you liked!

Nuts are good because of the fat content, which makes you feel fuller. In general, make sure you are eating more fat – yes, it’s counter-intuitive, but it does work. Things like cheese are good – fat and protein but no carbs. For example, a Babybel cheese is 70 calories, 5g of protein, 6g of fat, but zero carbs.

You will get into the swing of it. 🙂

Firstly, welcome to the forum, secondly, hurrah for the doctor that has recommended the BDS!!

The one thing you really need to drill down on food is the carbs and the sugars. So much stuff is made to look healthy but in reality is can be the opposite!

Looking at those apple crisps, they have 23.4g of carbs of which which 21.9 is sugar, per 30g bag. I’d say this is a definite no no. They are basically nearly 100% carbs and would eat up half of your entire daily carb allowance.

There’s quite a few snack suggestions in the book. Personally if I feel like snacking, the first thing I do is have black coffee or a massive glug of water. If I’m still feeling like a snack after 10 mins then I will have an apple or small handful of nuts. I’ve got a technique with the nuts, which I’m going to call the squirrel technique. It’s basically to eat them one tiny nibble at a time, taking time over each nibble and really savouring them. I find that way I don’t eat as many of them.

What is it with the late night munchies? That was when – in my old life – I used to have two large slices of bread and butter just before bed. No wonder I couldn’t wake up in the morning and felt so groggy.

Still have snack cravings but now ‘binge’ on baby plum tomatoes (mmm yummy) and also cheese. I have taken to eating a small wedge of St Agur blue cheese with a spoon! I swear it is just like a piece of cheesecake! So long as the carbs are low, the calories very rarely get much over 1000, and that (on average) doesn’t seem to affect me.

God bless the fat. 🙂

Hi all,

I’m new to the BSD – been referred to it by my doctor although not for diabetic reasons, but to lose weight.

I’ve been following the plan for a couple of weeks on and off (due to me being a major emotional and comfort eater, and having a few ‘troublesome’ moments in my life recently). Anyway, I’ve kicked my bum into gear and have started over this week and I’m sticking to it!

I wonder if any of you lovely people have any great low carb, low sugar, low calorie snack ideas? I have been able to go without my desserts, but sometime I really want something ‘sweet’ to hit the spot. I have just seen in M&S, apple crisps. Would these be ok occasionally on this plan? Their 104 Kcal for 30g serving.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Awww, thanks Switzerland.
Breakfast- greek yoghurt, blueberries, chia and linseeds
Lunch- tuna and chick pea patties with homemade tzatziki on salad
Dinner- chorizo, chilli and tomato sauce with whole meal pasta and salad.

Planning my meals ahead seems to be the way to go. When I know what the next dish is I don’t want to snack.

Also I’m on week 2 of Couch to 5k! It’s hard though!

Note to self….MUST DRINK MORE WATER!

Happy Tuesday all.
Love Hels x

I had scrambled egg with pesto in at the weekend (and smoked salmon on the side)
Delicious!

Should also add that I haven’t lost any inches off my waist since the first week which is annoying me! Despite being around the 800 calories every day and weighing everything!!

Hi Cherry

I’m having a really up and down couple of weeks!! Work has been mega stressful and I haven’t been sleeping well which is making me crave a quick sugar fix, I’ve had a couple of pieces of cake and have been bad a drinking the water. I haven’t put on anything but haven’t lost either, it seems to be birthday after birthday in the office and I’m surrounded constantly by cake 🙁

I am 21lbs down but I’m generally feeling hungry – I know that’s the lack of water and I’m trying to have a better day today.

Shopgirl wishing you great success on your journey! Regarding the lymphodema, I have regular reflexology treatments for it and it is by far the best treatment for it that I have found but you need a really good practitioner. There is a lot of info on line on the benefit of reflexology for post operative cancer patients. I live in Hampshire UK and have a wonderful reflexologist.

This is a brilliant forum with so much encouragement and support. Lots of tips and good info as well. It certainly helps if you are not alone on this journey.

Warmest regards and welcome,
xx

What Syb said!

Also, well done Manxsprout. I’m doing the same as you, with the odd fast day thrown in. I’m working a treat for me!

It must be the night for it sydneygirl! I’ve spent the last two hours convincing myself not to have anything to eat, it’s my worse night so far in relation to desiring food. Like you I am going to stay strong and go to bed early.
Sounds like you have coffee sorted!
We can do this 🙂

Timmy the dip sounds yummmmmmmm, love full fat yoghurt and rave over pesto, must try it!

Hi everyone,
This is my first post and I am starting the program tomorrow morning. I must say reading about everyone’s amazing results is very encouraging and I am looking forward hopefully improving my post cancer surgery lymphedema as well as dropping some 20 kilos. I’ve got the book on my bedside table and healthy food in my fridge so I should be good to go!

Cheers for that Janey. Yup, the dip defo went well with my burger.

1. Feeling achey after beasting myself in the gym yesterday (I love the achey feeling after heavy weights)
2. I’m back on track as of the weekend and have lost another 0.8kg
3. The sun is shining!

I misjudged the amount of water in the gram flour flatbread this morning- I’d got it down to a fine art, but a few days of not making any and it was a bit disastrous. I thought the water would just ‘steam off’ as it cooked, but when I went to flip it over and it was still a soggy mess – I cooked the rest in a smaller pan and it was sort of OK.
Also, I put cherry tomatoes in the egg poaching water at the end of cooking – it warmed them through nicely, with none of the mess from cooking them (and no added fat or oil).
– so one success, one fail! the stuck on gram batter came off the pan quite quickly after soaking.

Ooh Timmy, never thought of a burger in a wrap! I’ve been having BBQs with no bread involvement at all, which isn’t too bad, but a wrap around a sausage would be perfect.. or does that sound wrong???

So, paleo cookies. You need to visit Elana’s pantry! Here is the link: https://elanaspantry.com/crispy-chocolate-chip-cookies/
I used coconut oil instead of palm shortening, and I reckon you could do away with most of the coconut sugar as they are very sweet. Add some Willies cocoa drops, bung ’em in the oven.. LET THEM COOL.. and bingo! Almost legal cookies. Just make sure you only eat one!!

Dip sounds interesting.. that’d deffo go with burgers too!

1. Give thanks for living in a democratic country – counting continues following federal election 02/07.
2. Realised 100kms from home, on a 200km journey that I’d left my handbag at home – so grateful that the journey was safe and I wasn’t stopped and asked for ID/licence.
3. Grateful that chicken and salad is a great BSD lunch and is easily obtainable even when away from home.

thanks Switzrland

Is your machine a Singer Izzy?
I acquired my Mum’s sewing machine when she died – she’d replaced it at some point because it wasn’t working, and I paid to have it serviced to no avail, and eventually threw it. I came across the foot the other day, and put it to one side for electrical recycling, but still have it if you want to give it a try.

Oh and if anyone is missing dips/ketchup etc I’ve invented a LUSH dip/sauce. It’s really difficult to make though.

Get a big blob of yoghurt (full fat of course). Add in a blob of pesto (your choice of which, make sure it doesn’t have added sugar though, some of them do!). Stir. Done!

I am a July starter too! Hubby and I embarking on this challenge together, which does make a huge difference. Started yesterday following the plan suggested in the book – I do find it easier to plan and shop when it’s in black and white. We do have a bit of a challenge on Saturday as have an invite to a birthday tea – as we are such foodies people will notice that we aren’t eating anything – any tips on how to explain as don’t really want everyone at this stage to know that we are on a diet. I have been on so many it’s slightly embarrassing 🙁 to tell people that I am on yet another diet. Really feel this will work to kick start weight loss and at the moment need to see fast results. We have a holiday in 7 weeks time so will probably only be able to do seven weeks but aim to get straight back on the Med Plan as soon a we get back.

Paleo cookies? Linky please! I neeeeeeeed some cookies.

Bought some actual real life gram flour last week instead of trying to make my own. Made some wraps with them and they are great! Not sure if I had the consistency right though. The wraps seemed to disintegrate when I had fajitas, but who cares, I HAD FAJITAS!! Yum.

I also had a bbq at the weekend, and wrapped one of the burgers in one of the wraps. It was great!

As a 63 year old (4 foot 11 inch shorty) type 2 who was managing really well with a few low readings, I was put on a carb with every meal diet by a nutritionist and quickly gained 3 kg and blood glucose was higher than I have ever seen (180 / 190 and sometime 230). For the past 2 years I have been desperately trying to lose the weight and get my b/g back under control. My HBA1C had gone from 5.6 to 11. I have managed to get it down to 8 on my last 2 tests but still struggling. Over this 2 years I have lost sensation in my 2 big toes and have been practically starving myself to improve. Then I came across the book The 800 Calorie Blood Sugar Diet. I read the book from cover to cover in just 2 days, worked out a menu plan for week 1 and did a shop for all the veggies I didn’t have already.

Week one result – I have lost 3.5 lbs and my morning blood glucose has been coming down from 180, to 153, to 125 to 90 and today to 70. That is a 60% reduction (hubby did the maths). It is quite unbelievable. I recognise that 70 is too low but it is a sign that it is time to start reducing my nightly insulin injections from 37 units to 35. Hopefully that is just the start as I intend to continue with the diet for the full 8 weeks. I have been following the meal plans to the letter as I don’t feel confident enough to start playing around and by doing this I have discovered that I love aubergine (not had it in 40 years).

Lets see what the next week brings.

Quite right Igorasusual! Health “experts” are nothing of the sort in a lot of instances!

Not sure if I’m correct or not, but I feel that there will always be a bounce back up when coming off the 800. I’m only doing the 5:2, but I’m thinking I want to lose slightly more that I need to in the first instance in the knowledge that I’m likely to put on a couple of lbs when I go onto the Med Style

Hi Izzy,
When it comes to weight and waist measurements as long as the numbers are going down you’re successful.
I totally understand what your’re saying about sleep. My entire life I’ve needed a minimum of eight hours sleep. Apparently when I was a toddler I used to just walk myself off to my bedroom and put myself to bed! ….still doing it now! I think I’m the only Mum on earth that at times went to bed before my kids (it’s OK, their Dad would settle them).
Your loft sounds like it’s coming together nicely. Did you get the flooring down?
Happy day everyone.

Hi Frog,
Congratulations for succeeding with weight loss while away.

Muahahahaha… according to the Krooked Spoon website, gram flour ‘can be mixed with yoghurt to make a face exfoliant’…. the (dirty) mind boggles… upload your pics here ladies!!!!

Congrats on the loss Julie13! Well done you, you are certainly on your way and you will help inspire me too 🙂

Thanks Igorasusual, your helping to keep me motivated and accountable!

I can relate to the emotional connection to food, it’s definitely the hard one to crack. I am feeling a real need to eat this evening, just feeling a little tired and out of sorts for some reason. I made chicken and vegetable soup and wanted to devour the whole pot! It’s in the Tupperware for tomorrow lunch and I’m on the couch so disaster avoided. Might be time for an early night.

After my detox I’m back on the coffee like a demon. They have almond milk in the cafe which is only 60 calories per serving (I scanned the carton using myfitnesspal!) so I don’t think it’s so bad…

Ohhhhhhh I’ve created a gram flour monster with the pastry discovery haven’t I??!! It was not bad at all. I am not a great lover of pastry (it gets in the way of cake!!) but there’s definitely a BSD option there, isn’t there? I will have a look at that link in a minute Lucky. If it says ‘cake’ I’m interested! BUT… no, we must put that word to the bottom of our vocab list….. 🙁

I had king prawns with veg and courgetti stirfry last night while my OH hoovered up the leftover noodles from our ill-fated Chinatown meal. Although his noodles looked more substantial than mine (stop it!) I didn’t feel that my day off previously had left me hankering after them. I do agree that we shouldn’t get into the ‘just this once’ mentality though because it would be so easy to backslide into carb chaos again..

My son has requested that I make ANOTHER batch of the paleo cookies for him and his mates.. praise indeed! Almond flour is going down far too quickly though, whereas the coconut flour is still sitting there waiting for its moment. I need to experiment to see if it can replace almond flour or can be mixed with it, thereby making my money go further! H&B must be loving this!

Hi everyone,
This is my first post and I am starting the program tomorrow morning. I must say reading about everyone’s amazing results is very encouraging and I am looking forward hopefully improving my post cancer surgery lymphedema as well as dropping some 20 kilos. I’ve got the book on my bedside table and healthy food in my fridge so I should be good to go!

Hi Lucia, All is well here. A beautiful 15C today and sunny this afternoon after a rainy start.
B – chia pudding and strawberries
L – chicken and green salad
D – salmon and salad

A special welcome to Hels.

Well done Julie for your 4lb loss, that’s great! On your way!

Keep a cool head at the family events – fizzy water or just water before you go to fill you up? Looking for the good stuff amongst the treats? Only having a little portion, instead of a whole whatever it is? You can do it!

And even if there is something so tempting you absolutely have to succumb, then you are right, you can get back on the wagon as soon as you’re able. May be interesting to note any effects you have from the extra sugar/carbs you’ll be taking on….I know people here have tried stuff, and then thought “well, that wasn’t worth it” at the after effects.
Which helps!

Good luck! Keep on at it 🙂

What great results from everyone! I don’t think the actual size of the weight loss is what matters – it does vary so much from person to person and indeed day to day – I found that my shape altered considerably whilst weight stayed the same, and therefore it’s good not to get attached to the actual poundage. Feeling great is the best measure. And getting the hang of how what you do may affect your body, which is definitely trial and error.

Timmy – yes, I absolutely know that carbs aren’t the thing which give you energy. I think I’ve read much of the same stuff as you have, and the hormones within the body are very capable of using stored fat within our cells to run our bodies very efficiently, so long as we don’t give them lots of refined carbs to use first. It’s just that health professionals seem not to have been brought up to date, and if we can’t depend on their expert knowledge, it casts most people (who don’t research the subject) into the outer darkness of what they should do.

And it takes courage to go against medical advice, as many people have found over the years.

I’m wondering if we are on the verge of a complete breakthrough in thinking, which will turn the ‘low fat’ conversation on its head. And then all the things we’ve been told over the years will suddenly be ‘wrong’…..

You’re doing absolutely great Bissell and one week is totally not undoing all your hard work. You can’t undo your hard work as it already done and you deserve to praise yourself for your perseverance. Now it’s the next step in the process, working out how to maintain and what works and what doesn’t. I’d say there’ll be a few ups and downs along the way, but that’s normal enough as it’s a bit more random than following the plan of 800 calories that’s already tried and tested for us. But doesn’t mean we wont work it out for ourselves and then continue to do great.

Can imagine I would start freaking a bit if feeling I was going to pile the weight straight back on so I totally get your feelings. But I think I’ll do 5 days of 800 calories and 2 days of sticking to the principles and adding more healthy calories and see what happens. Still another week to go but then will start then. Will keep you posted! Definitely no bashing yourself for slidding or giving up or failing – you are way ahead of most people – have made it on the long journey of 8 weeks and the rest is just finding out what works. A process!

Hi Keeptrying, are you doing the 800, the 5:2 or just the BSD med style low carb?

To answer your question about how to speed up your metabolism, the only way to do this is to increase your lean muscle mass. And the only way to increase lean muscle mass is to exercise. Specifically anaerobic exercise. Walking is a great fat burner for the calorie deficit whilst you are walking, but strength exercises (weights, pilates, etc) will build your lean muscle mass which in turn will burn fat more quickly.

Contrary to popular belief, cardiovascular exercise isn’t very good at burning fat. It can often also use muscle mass as an energy source. That said, cardio is an important part of exercise as the name suggests, it keeps your cardiovascular system and heart healthy.

My approach is to do a combination of cardio, HIIT and weight training, so I’m getting the best of both worlds. HTT