Hi BigP, from my rudimentary knowledge your meal plan looks spot on. Especially given that you are doing cardio. The danger in doing cardio is that your body can go into a catabolic state which means that your body may look to your muscle mass as a fuel source, rather than that pesky fat.

Eating carbs pre workout is a good way to prevent this, so you are spot on there. I would be tempted to chuck a boiled/poached egg into your breakfast too. Your body will need essential amino acids (“usable” protein) post work out to help repair/build lean muscle mass (and more lean muscle mass means faster metabolism). From memory eggs have more usable protein than any other food source, something like 28g of usable protein per 30g of protein.

I know what you mean about adding the calories. Only thing I would say to that is if you are adding more, add it protein and good fats. Also, it’s not all about the weight, but the removal of fat. Don’t forget lean muscle is twice as dense as fat, so your weight could stay the same, or even go up, but your body fat could go down too!

Hi Syb, yes that is my understanding too. Saying that, I’m not diabetic or pre either, so my knowledge on the topic isn’t as much as others!

Hi Halicarnassus, I haven’t read those books but I’m aware of the findings in them. I personally wouldn’t ever want to give up eating meat for good, although I have found that my land based animal protein consumption has reduced quite a lot on this diet (apart from the juicy steak I had last night!), whilst my consumption of oily fish has gone up.

But that’s a conscious choice I’ve made. One thing I have done is give up all processed meat, with the exception of bacon/sausages but then I only get those from a local farmer who uses the traditional method of curing the pork (i.e. with salt and not nitrites).

If you really want to go down the non animal protein route, then you can get what you need from plant based foods, but the temptation can be to fill up with starchy carbs as your choices are more limited. There is a very good extract in Holfords optimum nutrition book which details how to combine foods (an in your case plant based foods) to make sure that you are getting enough of the essential amino acids for muscle repair. And that is the key to it. Lots of food have “protein” in them, but unless that protein is made up for the 8 essential amino acids then they aren’t any good for the body.

The older I get the more I realise that everything comes down to a balance and moderation. The Chinese don’t drink milk, but they do eat beef/chicken/fish/pork. But the probably limit their consumption compared with Western cultures. Weightlifters look healthy, but cardio wise they are screwed. Cardio freak will have great hearts and veins, but their bone density and joints will suffer.

So my approach is to base most of my food around naturally growing vegetables and wholegrains, with a bit of organic meat/eggs (I have my own chickens) and fish. Red meat I normally restrict to once or twice a week (saying that I’m definitely having it twice this week, lol). Same with exercise. I do a mixture of running, swimming, cycling and weights and I’m about to start pilates too.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the responses, it’s given me a lot of food for thought (pardon the pun), and also congratulations to all at whatever stage you are at.

To give a better insight to how i currently tailor my meals on a workout day I’ll run through a typical meal plan:

Pre workout – Porridge (oatmeal) – 220kcal – I have this around 5am and start my workout at 6am
Breakfast – Yoghurt, berries, peanut butter – 175kcal – post workout around 8am
Lunch – Brocolli and Tuna (or Chicken) – 155kcal
Dinner – Cottage cheese, Chicken (or tuna), tomato, spring onion – 250kcal

Before starting at the gym i never had the porridge and would add calories in the other meals, but from the reading I’ve done your body needs the carbs for the workout to get you going. To be fair I always burn off that amount of calories on the cross trainer, so the hope is the rest of the workout starts using fat stores in my body.

If i’m being totally honest the hardest part about adding more calories on a regular basis is mental. I’m not sure how others feel, but for me the the control aspect of the diet, coupled with the rapid results, are addictive. There is an inherent fear that by adding calories the weight loss will stop, or at the worst increase, and being so close to a healthy BMI makes this even more daunting.

The realist in me understands that even at say 1200 calories a day (on work out days) my weight will still drop, but really convincing myself of it is another matter.

It’s a non workout day today and generally I don’t get very hungry outside my regular meals, so I’ll take some more time to think about what I’ll do next, and if anyone can add more insight I’ll be happy to take it on board.

Jeeez, Timmy! Not Tummy! Bloody autocorrect on this phone puts Apple’s in the shade I tell thee!

Oooooh well that’s a glowing endorsement if I ever saw one! I had steak the other night and I had to pretty much starve all day to accommodate it but it was worth it. Creme fraiche is fantastic for cooking, I should use it more. How’s the beach body coming along Tummy? Are you speedo-worthy yet??

Thanks Ziggy, nice to know I am not the only person that read the book this way.

Thank you all for your opinions and comments. I would like that miracle cure and know this was not that but I guess I hoped by the end of the 8 weeks I would be totally off meds and could occasionally indulge.

Caramba, were you diabetic or prediabetic?

Timmy, it was supposed to be a reversal that if you moved onto the mediterranean diet, kept you non diabetic. I am planning another 8 week full on fast 800 to hopefully remove any remaining internal fat and hopefully more of the visible stuff too 🙂

Syb

OMFG. So I slightly overdid my front crawl sprints in the pool last night and dragged myself out of the pool feeling like I was going to throw up.

Got home and needed something substantial to eat. Holy sh&* balls! I tried the steak with peppercorn and creme fraiche sauce from the BSD book. I’m not kidding when I say it is probably the nicest meal I have ever eaten/cooked.

I had it with steamed broccoli instead of salad and I also added in two thinly sliced chestnut mushrooms to the frying pan. My steak was a bit smaller than the one in the recipe which made the meal about 550 cals, but DAMN it was worth it.

If you can save up your cals for a big meal in the evening then this is well worth it. I’m cooking it again either tonight or tomorrow! (got 2 steaks in a pack from Aldi so then need eating!).

90.4kg today. Boooom. I think yesterday’s must have been off a bit. I measured myself 6 times too, just to be sure.

50 lengths in the outdoor pool last night probably helped. So close to the magic 80’s!!!

Hi Ziggy, I didn’t mean that the 800cals was a way of life, but the principles of the BSD and Med Style way of eating. I.e. stop eating refined and starchy carbs.

Thank you for being there.
I managed to limit the damage to just the chocolate which was great.
Words of wisdom SuunyB. I got weighed this morning and I’m down 0.4lb this morning! Not that I think eating chocolate helped me achieve this!
I’m back on that horse again today with you , loopylou!

I’ll be up at 5 she says, famous last words…

Wooooooooop well done Tokyo! You little star! And see, the sun even came out to say well done 😊 you’ll have that last kilo in no time, you watch!

House is chaos, three late kids running around like headless chickens, and hubby is a git for not putting alarm on. I feel daft now you know when you wake with a start? Coffee…

Hi Saloh
Wow really impressed by your running. Only think I can manage a small trot! Think will shift your weight pretty quickly but you do initially hit a bit of a wall. My Diabetic nurse suggested eating a banana…but that is not a very good option on BSD so nuts would be good. Anyway when I went to a cardio class I kept forgetting and now I have lost more weight I don’t seem to run out of energy in the same way. I’m sure you will need to work out what feels right for you.

Hi Californiagirl
I really envy your skinny waist. I keep hoping for the Jessica Ennis torso but i can only manage slightly flabby bulge!
I certainly think that exercise is really important and I also think you need to mix it up a bit. The 3 S’s.
Strength, suppleness and stamina.
Ie: something weight bearing/ lifting….could be a Body pump class, the Gym or swimming.
something to stretch your joints …like Yoga, Pilates or the Gym
something to increase your heart/lung rate……anything cardio that has some intensity in a short burst…HIT

Note to self. Need to work on my waist more.
Off to a spin class this morning and as I haven’t been for weeks the Instructor will know that the red and puffing pensioner on the bike at the back is not putting up the resistance too high.

Hopefully she will smile indulgently to herself and note that I am wearing jazzy leggings !!!!

Oh verano, I did the same thing only worse! I bought my boys big bars of choc and they were sitting in the fridge. I had some of each (so that I was fair!) and then decided I had blown it so may as well have a carb day! So ate toast and finished it off with a bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes. I thought I would be able to get straight back to BSD when I got back from my hols, but clearly needed to re-engage my head! I soooo want to lose this weight.
So today is a new day. I’m not going to beat myself up, just get back on that horse.

Hi Penny, good to hear from you.
Well done on the number of steps and avoiding the communal biscuit tin!!

Sorry, I’m posting day 3 late as I had a very busy day too!
Yes, definitely found day 3 easier. I had:

Breakfast: 1 Poached Egg and Flat Mushroom
Lunch: M&S King Prawns & Salmon Salad
Dinner: BBQ Sweet Chilli Chicken Thighs with 100g Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato
Snacks: 20g Cashews
Total: 879 calories, 47g carbs
Water: 1L
Steps: 10,952
Active Minutes: 59

I’ll be back later tonight to let you know how today went.

Yes you can have real cream 🙂 so long as you count in the calories Figment!

Hee hee, worth saying twice 😹😹👏👏

Hi Halicarnassus
Not able to give you a professional scientific answer ( apart from Prof Taylor’s ‘ Newcastle Study’ that supports this diet) but it has worked very well for me and so many others on this forum.
Read their success stories and ask for their advice.
If you can fast for 4 days…. this will be a doddle.
You have great will power.
Welcome and good luck.

Hi Halicarnassus, it sounds like you’ve read a lot so not sure I ha e the expertise to advise really but just to say that after 8 weeks on this, at 800 calories I find it’s mostly veg I end up eating, with limited amounts of protein and good fat. even if you did have concerns about eating dairy and meat, on this plan it’s kind of hard to eat much of anything except lots of over ground veg and at least the benifits of eating more vegetables is one thing nearly all the dietary advisors seem to agree on 😀

Definitely worth a go I’d say, and hopefully one of the longer term bsd-erswill be able to encourage you about long term effects they notice. Lots of luck with your choice anyway👏🏻👏🏻

so excited i wrote two versions of it !!!! doh !!

Swizerland, very pleased that you think you will enjoy the books and link 🙂 I’ve read Big Magic twice, and I will read The artists way again too. Woohoo that you are just overweight and not obese! A huge achievement! Thankyou for the sleepy vibes.

Good Morning ay caramba 🙂

Figment! I can’t believe you’ve spent all that time reading my thread lol, but I’m happy if it helps you in any way at all. There are many other diaries here where people have lost much more than me, so there is plenty of other inspiration here as well. Now… technically your friends are wrong. Actually if you go back in history there would have been a time when food was only fuel, fuel to live. If we eat right we feel better, making us free-er to LIVE and enjoy other things. I do agree though that it helps to enjoy your food, but I have to say I really do enjoy mine. Following BSD doesn’t mean you have to grieve too much for all your old favourites, there are many alternatives that the lovely people here have found and everyone is quick to share. As you will see from many threads here we certainly feel alive here at BSD, and many feel they are enjoying life more than ever with increased energy and clearer minds. I never thought I could get my weight down to ‘healthy’ either, but a few weeks into BSD I realised I suddenly had faith in myself that with this plan I CAN. I will, it will just take it’s own time. I agree with Switzerland in breaking it down into chunks. I generally set my target 7lb’s away, then once I’ve achieved it, reset it to another 7lb’s away. Good Luck with your own journey and please ask if you need any help.

Now on to todays food… I’m almost finished my morning shake, with a mix of strawberrry and raspberry today, and lunch is going to be soup again ( I really love the lentil soup I made at the weekend) Dinner will be hunters chicken one of my favourites 🙂

Well I best get a move on, have a nice day everyone 🙂

1) book group at mine yesterday, low carb nibbles went down well!
2) off to my caravan in Pembrokeshire with the family, feeling (reasonably) confident that I will stick to low carbs.
3) jammin’ in the kitchen to Bob Marley!

GoodMorning
Well the results are in from brendas bathroom another 1.2kg down or 2.6 lbs !!!
thats 5.5kg or 12.0 lbs off in four weeks !! absolutely thrilled!!!!!!
and a inch of everywhere too
i am 1kg off my first proper goal then i shall recalculate !!!
i am amazed all this weight loss without any proper exercise !!!!
i started this for the health reasons to loose the weight after my illness last year i have now done that i weigh now what i weighed before that all kicked off!!
hoping the 1kg comes off next week or as near as possible
i feel a cinderella moment coming after cleaning and windows!!!!!

Great news Toyko, congratulations 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Hi can anyone recommend the vlc shakes . I have been looking at slim fast but they have high carbs and sugars . Lost 10lbs in total but been stuck for about 3 weeks now with no weight loss. Been looking on line and there are so many ranging in price and nutrients. Help would be appreciated.

up early and the sun is shining and birds twittering

I made breakfast last night with small amount of oats, chia seeds and berries and it’s on the fridge waiting for me

Going to the cinema tonight with lovely friends

(+one extra, my cat is sitting on me purring away😂 And giving me a adoring looks – he’s just been fed😹)

Hi Izzy
Good luck on moving on to your next goal… only a few more pounds to go.
Think of all those new clothes available to you. 🙂

Good Morning !
Well the results are in from brendas bathroom and at the end of week four i have lost another 1.2kg or 2.6 lbds!!!!!!
in total thats 5.5 kg or 12lbs amazed!!
another inch from everywhere !!!!
absolutely amazed !!!! without any particular amount of exercise either well and truly gobsmacked!!!!
i am now 1kg from my first goal
so hoping to hit that next week !! then will set another goal
i did this as i wanted to loose the weight i had put on after my illness last year and i have i now weigh what i did before so anything more off is a bonus !!!
i feel a cinderella moment coming on ladies after cleaning and washing windows !!!!!!!!!

Hi Switzerland
Massive congratulations on moving into the ‘overweight’ BMI category.
Sounds mildly ridiculous when you write it down like that…..but we all know what a huge achievement it is.
Great news 🙂

Hi Figment, Welcome to the forums.
It may be helpful for you to break your BSD journey down into small, manageable bits. I’ve recently moved into the ‘overweight’ BMI category – cause for celebration as I’m no longer obese. I have a long way to go to get to my ideal weight. You may be surprised how your mind changes towards food the longer you eat this way.
I never thought I’d think this, but I now see simple, starchy carbohydrates as so damaging to me that I just don’t want them anymore.
Please reach out for support if you need it – enjoy ‘Izzy’s 8 week diary’ – I do.
Myself (and many others) see the BSD as a way of life now.

Hi Izzy,
This is some of what I wanted to say yesterday. Thank you for the book titles and the URL. I’m excited by all of them and should have time to watch the talk in the next few days. I’m going to budget for the books/check the local library catalogue and read them.
I was also sending out positive thoughts for you to get a good night’s sleep. Being a Mum, it’s not always up to you if you can get a decent amount of sleep, but as you’ve discovered, it’s so important.
I hope you’re well rested when you read this.

Current Day 14/07/16

Week 1
Day 4

BMI: 29.1
Weight 18 Stone 0 Pound (114 Kg)

Hi HappyLife,
Your tacos sound great. I’d attempted tacos a while back and replaced the tortillas with lettuce cups. It was OK but corn tortillas sound yummy.

Hi Christine,
Well, we tried to see you. I watched the highlights this morning and established that the sprint in Pezanas was @ 49 kms from the finish. I’ve just been watching the stage replay and sadly, couldn’t spot the tourist office or you. BUT there was reference by Phil Liggett/Paul Sherwen that Thomas Voeckler had a rear flat tyre……..but they just said it, there was no footage. At the time the helicopter was hovering near the church ?Collegiale de Saint Jean.
Never mind – we were there in spirit and when you live in Australia you just have to accept that.
In 2010 ( imagine my joy) when I was hiking to Grand Saint Bernard (Switzerland) and the riders names were still painted on the road from when the Tour had gone through the previous year! That’s as close as it’s been for me. (Sad, but true).
Anyway, enjoy Bastille Day in France in 2016 and let us know if you’ll be at any other stages.
Just stick to as close to BSD as you can and remedy the situation when you get home.

Hi Everyone
Glad to be here.

Enthused – Ever since I watched the Eat, Fast and Live Longer documentary about fasting, I have been a Dr Mosley fan.
Today I completed by seventh 4 day water fast since I first tried them in January 2013. I truly believe the fasting health benefits, specifically in terms of cell damage repair, are genuine and backed up by solid evidence.
I tend to lose around 4kg when I do a 4 day water fast. Having done this several times I have come to know a couple of things. The first is that I can do them! The evening of day 2 is always hell for me, but I pray and get through. So that is a positive which I can exploit: I have short term willpower.
The second thing I have learned is that I always put the weight back on again.On Sunday night I weighed in around 106kgs and at 184cms, I am embarrassed to say I have crept into the obese range. Although my blood pressure is normal, my cholesterol is in the 6s. As far as I know I am not a diabetic, but my health can’t be good. I have been a complete failure in avoiding junk food like bread products, pies and the like. So when found out that Dr Mosley had released a new book: The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet, I knew that this might be the thing that could stop my recidivist tendencies around poor food choices.

Confused – Having also just finished reading Dr Mosley’s The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet, I am even more confused now about what represents good advice on dietary manners. For perhaps the last decade, despite not following their advice, I have found that that research of Colin T Campbell PhD, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD, and Joel Fuhrman MD on plant based nutrition has been impressive, whilst their work with patients has been highly beneficial and well documented. I have read the China Study and the evidence seems quite compelling that those who had a low protein diet avoided the affluence diseases of their Chinese peers like cancer, stroke, heart attack and diabetes. In everything from that area has suggested to me that animal proteins and dairy products kill you. So the dietary prescriptions within Dr Mosley’s book are almost alien to me. I admit that I have had some anxiety that this was another Atkins type diet. I do want to lose weight but I also want to do what is best in the long term. You can see where my confusion comes from I hope.

I wonder if Dr Mosley or anyone else has any thoughts on the above. I am going to give the diet a go anyway. I need to lose weight and at 800 calories a day, the maths is easy.

My new shed is complete ready to be filled with more trash!

I devised my first low carb meal chorizo chicken and lentil soup and it was yummy

I decided to stop being a hoarder and clear out what I don’t need .

Can we really have real cream. If so this is fab news thanks

I’ve been busy painting again

I did an interesting thing at work today, it made me late but still I quite enjoyed it.

I have some new ideas for a story I’m writing.

Hi izzy and all . I think it’s taken me 3 days to read your diet account and you’ve been an insperation as I have just started week 2 . Keep it up somehow I don’t think I will manage to get down to my ideal weight . My friends always said to me “you don’t eat to live , you live to eat”
Love Fig

Yay for being able to post! I didn’t check in this morning as I was running late.

yes I’m sure I can shift these next 3 lb’s soon, thank you both for your support and encouragement 🙂

taco’s sounded great Happy!

Today’s food- strawberry shake, pickled eggs, cherry tomatoes, nuts, pork stir fry.

I’ve been in my loft finishing off a dream catcher coaster, and doing a dragonfly one 🙂 I’m pleased with the result and I will post them on my blog tomorrow. For now though I think it could be time for bed!

Thanks Lucky!

Hello!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it was a crazy busy day.

Day 2 and 3 have been pretty similar:

Breakfast; yogurt and blueberries
Lunch; 2 poached eggs and hot smoked salmon
Dinner was a recipe from this site: Halloumi and a quinoa, chickpea and bulgar wheat mix. I didn’t have tomatoes so I added olives instead. It was very tasty – I thought the portion size was very small but I was full afterwards.
I have also had a square of 70% dark chocolate.

Tuesday: kcal 849 & carbs 52g, and today: kcal 782 & carbs 44.7g (I was a bit stricter with my portion sizes)
Total steps Tuesday 7161, and today: 10050
Very happy I’ve finally hit the 10k steps!

I have struggled with hunger, but I am lucky to have some very supportive colleagues and have so far managed to avoid the biscuits – mainly by covering the communal biscuit tin with a jumper so I can’t see it (true story!).

An unexpected struggle was when I also forgot to tell a friend who was staying over that I had started the diet and they brought a bottle of wine. I had to push against the ingrained need to be hospitable and have a glass to be polite, but I did say no and it was fine (of course!).
Thank you for posting your diary, reversing_prediabetes, I hope today was easier for you.

Very proud to have managed 3 days and definitely feeling lighter.
Let’s keep going!

Even I’m feeling a little bileous at the broccoli idea now 😷

i am sticking to my yoghurt !!
over and out brenda !!!!

I don’t know, Janey… you’d need iron guts to cope with fart bread in the am.

i was just sick at the very thought of it brocoli for breakfast !!! bread that smells of farts wrong on so many levels !!!!!

It’s a Scorpio fest! At least we’re all different.

Will an egg go on my fart bread for brekkie? Or squeaky cheese? Can I even do broccoli for breakfast????? 🙄

Yayyyyy another Scorpio to add to my collection 😀 I’ll be up from around 5 am if you weigh early and are excited lol

no i have done my bit for the ill this week back next tues cleaning andcwindow washing tomorrow !!! woo hoo
i shall be here reporting in !!!
and for the record brenda is a scorpio !!!

Haha Josie, that’s a good one, that can definitely go in with a pot of hurrah and tutting at wilted kale. Can just imagine Janey stood over us as we cook like Gordon Ramsay, barking ‘KEEP YOUR CHICKPEAS CHUNKY!’