Just watching Fiona explaining how fried eggs don’t soak up the fat! Was testing cereals but admitted fried breakfast kept you fuller longer. No mention of sugar yet nearly 2130h. She does not seem to be aware of Doc M’s advice so far… Starting on drinks and smoothies now

Bought the 8-week BSD book and read it today. I know I have to do something. I don’t whether I am likely to have diabetes or not, but I do know that I have aching joints that shouldn’t be aching and the brain isn’t working at full capacity. I also know that I am 35 kilos overweight. I should be around 75-76kilos, and I braved the scales this afternoon to discover that I’d reached 110. It’s a lovely round number to start with. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to 14 kilos in 8 weeks, but I think I can probably make 10 kilos by July 28. I’d like to be under 100 kilos then, and give the whole thing another couple of months and see if I can get to around 80 kilos by late October.

I am assisted in the journey by the fact that both my husband and I are in this together, and weirdly, by the fact that he has to be away on a course from September through December, so we will be competing. Added to which, I am very disciplined and if I’m down to 95 kilos by September, I’ll be able to go running and get that HIIT going for me.

I’ve had phases of being very fit and entirely the right weight, but the past 3-4 years have chipped away at my commitment. It’s time to get my body back. I was pretty good at healthy Med-style eating, but bad habits and way too much chocolate/M&S cookies/ice cream have undermined the resolve. The part of the book that really woke me up was the Carbs quiz. I am very much in the wrong place regarding my relationship with carbs. But that is changing now.

Wow Orchid and Frog
Awesome walking going on with you two.
Great stuff. Pleased that you are managing your personal challenges so well.
Need to set myself a new challenge for June.

The only promote message givers and then with a pretence of balance have a guest with an opposite view that is less credible for the point they want to promote. Last week they were talking about fat in diets but did not even mention sugar in the clip I watched. It was a missed opportunity from our POV but as Doc Mosley is/was BBC medic making films and an investigative scientist and reporter, it could be informative. Of course for those who have already worked out what healthy means in our terms we do not expect to learn much. Labelling is dire, sugar and salt contents are wicked and the low fat message has been bogus all along. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised at their approach, but not putting money on it…

Thanks for the encouragement guys.It helps to get your support as well as the family of course. I will post when I have some measurable results. I’ve been reading lots of posts today, trying to regain a focused mindset and later I am going to go back to my journal that I started the first time and write down my reasons for following the BSD. >:D<

10 days into the diet and 13ib lost so far. Lost 8ib in first 3 days (!) then 2ib over days 4-7 and another 3ib over days 8-10. Simply sticking to the 800 calories per day (mix of recipes from book and replacement shakes) at the moment with only the occasional short walk in terms of exercising. Planning to start following the exercise recommendations from the book starting Wk3.

the ‘truth about healthy eating’ is on BBC1 tonight at 9pm

I wonder what their message will be??!!

We often eat at Wetherspoons. Most have 5* food hygiene ratings. I choose a skinny chicken burger without the bun (just chicken breast and salad) or for a treat the steak and salad. There are other options. Nice if you want to feel you’ve eaten out but not bust the bank – or the diet!

KP

Hi Guys! Your stories are so inspirational – reading them has given me a real boost I have been on the bds for 2 weeks now. Lost 11lbs the first week (very suprised) and then 3lbs the second week (a little disheartened). Can’t even bear to work out how much I have got to go so have decided to concentrate on the 8week mark for now , which also happens to be the day I go on hols. I felt shattered until this week (in the middle of week 3 now next weigh in Monday morning) but feeling much more energetic now and have upped my steps. Looking forward to supporting /being supported on the journey. X

Brilliant Bianca, what an achievement already!
I think you and others are spot on in saying this needs to be a lifestyle choice, not a diet as such. Like you, I am encouraged by the weight I have lost so far and can’t see myself ever going back to carbs, when I feel so much better without them.
Here’s to us all!

I thinks I’ll be relying on those bowl salads that supermarkets have, maybe with some additional protein and seeds. That might get boring after a few days, though. I’m sure there are things to eat that I haven’t thought of. I’ll be staying in B&Bs and moving on everyday so I can have open packets.

of course you are right
if I play by the rules, it will work

the rules are evading me
I feel uncomfortable and in need of ‘bad’ foods
I will come back if I can do this properly

I’d like to lose 2lbs in 10 days too, let’s see what we can do!

Rock & roll ; )

I’m watching with interest as I’m away for a few days next week too! I’ll be staying in a hotel but can’t afford to eat there every night, and won’t have refrigeration facilities. Interested to see what people suggest!

Hi all
I am one week into the Fast800 and pleased with my progress however I am off on a short trip in the UK and don’t want to de-rail. Do you have budget friendly suggestions for eating? I am thinking cottage cheese (supermarkets), boiled eggs (M&S, Boots, Pret), salad . I might have to work out what sort of things to eat before I go.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

Hi FiFiP
Thanks for the kind comments
I’m used to this sort of thing usually, it just hit me at a time when I was particularly low and that made me more upset than I usually would be.
Good news is the OH has rallied significantly today so she should be ok (last night it was “I won’t be going” 🙂 )
Again, I know my recovery pattern and can tell within the first few days how long it will take, this is going to be around the 6 week mark 🙁 but I’m determined not to let it spoil my holiday.
Turkey is fantastic for low carb high quality food so I’m looking forward to that, just got to lose that last 2 pounds by next week to hit my target.
Hope you have a fab time in Italy

Bill

Hi, I have been on the 800 cal diet for 2 and half weeks now. lost 11 lbs in the first week and 3lbs in the second (slightly disheartened after first weeks loss) I have stuck fairly rigidly to low cal/low carb but have had the occasional glass of wine. Felt absolutely shattered for first week but now have much more energy. Barista-girls mum, I have a glass of fizzy water on the go most of the time and constantly remind my self that its only for 8 weeks – even though I know I will need to carry on after that as have loads to lose after years of yo-yoing.

Would also like to thank Switzerland for pointing me in the direction of the Dalai Lama’s Cat! Definitely helped in the Mindfulness aspect!

Thanks Skywalker. Fortunately the Portugease health service proved to be fantastic and after a battery of tests she was diagnosed with a bladder infection and so armed with enormous antibiotics she was able to enjoy the rest of her holiday. I hope all goes well with your MiL.
I’m finding restarting the BSD more difficult, not craving carbs but just very hungry. I’m putting this down to still having sugar in my system and the unseasonal weather.

If you type shakes into the search box at the top of the page you will see what others have done and are doing re shakes …

I never used the recipes I just ate sensible food i.e. meat and 4 veg or porridge and fruit and lots of poached eggs and tomatoes. Cutting out cereals was my biggest change along with bread and liquorice, not to mention the Odd Guinness or Murphy’s. My biggest reward lately have been walnuts, cashews and raisins but not too many. Cheerio for now

Update

Had a small snack which did the trick and then the testing kit arrived. Couldn’t wait to try it and an hour after the snack I am in the normal range!! Brilliant. Had virtually calorie free soup for lunch so bring on the doughnuts.. (I hate doughnuts!) so I’m now doing this to lose the weight and stay in the normal range. I can’t wait till I wake up tomorrow and can do the fasting blood sugar test.

ouch – I use amazon for all kinds of random stuff – and i’m based in central London, so not exactly short on a variety of shops!
I did go to Waitrose this morning – and found 100% chocolate drops for making hot chocolate, no added sugar. Looking forward to trying those out!
I also tried some oat biscuits with beetroot and seeds – I’ve not been snacking very much, but I really enjoyed a couple of those with a coffee.

Hi everyone, today is day 2 for me! After working with a nutritionist/trainer for 3 months late last year and losing 1 1/2 stone. I had decided after that to continue on my own but obviously not doing too well… I have been dabbling with clean eating for a few months but honestly I don’t seen to be getting any results. A friend told me of this plan so I bought the kindle version and have been reading for the last week. The clean eating challenge seemed to be working for everyone but me. My biggest problem was consuming 2lt of water daily, but still I didn’t think that not getting in the full 2lt would stall weight loss to the point of it being non-existent! Also I think I spent more time trying out the new alternatives to “this and that”, rather than keeping it simple and sticking to the basics, so in crept things like raw chocolate, honey, spelt flour and so on and so forth until I was probably eating the same portions as before albeit using “healthier” ingredients.
Anyway I am going to commit to this 8 week program now. I have been quite impressed with the results posted on the forum and I am hoping that I could soon be sharing in the successes.
So my first question: I have seen the recent new official findings no longer embracing low fat food options and read on another site encouragement to eat chicken skin, I can’t remember seeing this in the book. Is the chicken skin allowed and just use within calorie limits?

That’s good news, Stacey – and just to let you know, it doesn’t matter how dark the colour indicator is, you are fat burning if you’re recording anything from the lowest fat-burning colour. Or so I established from Google. I am currently in a fetching shade of medium pink on my Ketostix 🙂

Hey Frog. Unfortunately Amazon in australia is just books, something to do with licencing and I believe they are planning on expanding but I managed to get a box from an aussie online chemist for $17 (£8.50) ! Yay!

are you on the right amazon site for your country Stacey?
I just had a look (I was interested when someone else was writing about them) and they were £5 with free delivery (UK).

HI Baristagirl
It might be just your body adjusting – I remember going to the cinema sometime in week one, and my tummy making awful rumbling noises throughout the film!
It was only the once, I’ve not been aware of it happening since.
I didn’t feel particularly hungry at the time, but I probably would have been tempted to eat something if I hadn’t been in the cinema.
Have a nice lunch, eat it slowly – and have something to drink if the rumbles start again in the afternoon.

Hi Bill, hope that DH rallies in time for your holiday.

I do empathise with the eye problem, my eye issues are hereditary but watching my mum go blind will stay with me forever & I know how upsetting bleeds and the like can be. Hopefully relaxation, a couple of glasses of something nice & a change of scene will do the trick for you both!

We are off on hols too in 10 days’ time, know it will be challenging diet-wise namely pasta type things (going to Italy) but Husband has already said that we’ll go for the meats & fish and all the lovely Mediterranean foods instead, cutting ourselves some slack for wine in the evenings! Am also determined to do plenty of swimming too, in-between the sight-seeing.

2stone gone now, Husband close behind me, we both have 1.5 to go and although we are closer to I,000 calories a day our weight-loss is still very encouraging, we know the last bits of stubborn fat will be the hardest, but this is now a lifestyle, not a short-term fix.

Onwards & downwards we cry!

Hello Beeswax…. day 3 was very hard for me!

Thanks Igorasusual, I guess because I stopped feeling hungry I thought it would continue – I did have a babybel mid morning which was lovely but didn’t seem to have the desired effect 🙂
I’m too pleased at my looser clothes to give in though…

Hi Baristagirls – daughter

You’re in week 2, aren’t you – did you have a good breakfast? Well you’re only in the start of kicking the carb appetite monster, so perhaps not surprising you’re hungry.

Keep on with the water – perhaps some hot water, as for some peculiar reason it seems to be more filling, or a cup of tea/herbal tea?

Or have a snack of some kind – I find those little Babybel cheeses are nice to taste, surprisingly filling, and only 60 odd calories, no carbs.

Keep with it!

Hello it’s the daughter here…. I’m truly hungry and a bit confused as to why. I know it’s about lunchtime but my stomach has been making fearfully loud empty rumbles all morning. I’m sure I have had enough fats and my water intake is as high as ever.

Thanks for your input SkyWalker,
I think you are quite right, I have been so busy looking at the calorific value of the foods I have been eating that I have failed to balance them out, I will follow the weekly menu plans in the book from now on until I feel more confident with my choices. I have had no problems with the fluid intake and sleep side of things and have cut my two a day banana habit to one a week. Keep posting I will.
Lellieteapot

Thanks Lillieteapot (love that name), I have since realised I was sick and I have a urinary tract infection. Bless that awesome husband of mine, he looked up things that can affect your BGLs ! Am now on antibiotics but not making a lot of progress, but don’t worry, I’m not giving up! Gina

I’m another that hasn’t tried all new recipes. Yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, salad and meat of some sort for lunch and meat and veggies for dinner. There is a recipe for egg muffins that are my lunch variety. Basically eggs, mushrooms and either cold meat or cheese with cottage cheese. Really nice warm, freeze ok and ok cold. With kids who aren’t big veggie eaters they often have rice/potato or pasta and I just have more veggies.

Good luck at your party!

Ketostix $22 but $43 for postage on amazon…hmmm maybe not!

If it’s of interest, my carb average over the last 16 days is 35gm per day (couple of difficult meals in there!) and my fat average is 48 gms per day. So far, up to today, which is halfway through my 4th week of doing the BSD properly – with MFP, targeted calorie breakdown, and measuring whether I’m burning fat – I’ve lost a total of 12 lbs which is 8% of my starting body weight.

My overall target for the 8 weeks is 22lbs, or 15% of my starting body weight. Fingers crossed and onwards and upwards – off to an evening party tonight, there will be wine!

Yes, I recognise your experience. Changing from sugar to fat can leave one feeling a bit jaded at first until the protein/fat/carbs/fibre etc balance is right and with plenty of fluid and lots of good sleep. It works though, so the concern may not be about calories but more of food group combinations and quantities. Keep posting and good luck. The search box will find others with similar issues/interests.

I’m in australia and I find many amazon sellers wont post to me.

Looks like I’m not far off, that website suggests
70g – P
50g – C
35g – F
and if I look back over MFP weekly averages that seems to be where I am at so I’m going to have that little square of cheese or spoon of yogurt and enjoy the small taste of yummy fat. Its not a bar of chocolate like it used to be!

Hi there, sorry nobody jumped in to your post to reply. If you have had success then this is what the forum is about – sharing knowledge and giving support. I guess people can be a bit squeamish when talking personal issues. There are lots of natural diuretics out there even normal tea has an effect. Many of us have found improvements in different areas of our personal health once we got into fasting and sleeping properly once we had the calories and sugar sorted. Hope all goes well, we have relatives in Oz near Brisbane but have never got over there yet. Good luck, this scheme works so in your parlance “No worries mate!”.

Thought it was high time I came in and said Hi to everybody,
I am halfway through week 4, I have my head held high and and my stomach held in…….. and breath. Start weight 88 kg now 85 kg, I have lost 2.5 ins from chest/waist and 2 ins from hips. The first two weeks went very well, I was bouncing about like a ping-pong ball. Last week however was a real struggled feeling tired, having no energy and a constant light headedness made me wonder if I would be able to continue. I decided to up my calorie intake to a 1000 a day over the weekend and that seemed to work. I am now feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed again. Bring it on. I shall return.
Lellieteapot.

Hi Stacey – got mine from Amazon. Very swift delivery, plenty of sticks and not too expensive, I thought.

Hi Gina2555,
I think it could be a week three thing,I am half way through week 4, I felt amazing for the first two weeks, then halfway through week three I was totally floored. I decided to do a few days on 1000 cals as in the 5:2 diet and have managed to regroup. Don’t let it get you down. I am not on any meds so am not sure if that could be a factor.
Hope this will be of some help.
Lellieteapot

wonderful information. Thank you so much. I have been trying to get hold of ketostix but nowhere has them in stock. My chemist said there seems to be a problem getting them in and I’ve even tried ebay with no sucess!

http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com

Hi Stacey – you could have a look at the website above, where you enter your stats, and your target calories. You then say what level of carbs you want to do – 50gms looks good – and it calculates the fat and protein for you, and then gives you the percentages (and a table of your likely weight loss over time).

You can then enter the percentages into MFP (My Home, then Goals), and it will recalculate for you. I think your fat looks too low, which might explain why you’re yearning for more. My target for fat, fyi, is 45 gm, or 50% of my calories.

This is what I did – I also bought Ketostix, which measure if you are fat burning in a very simple test, so I can see if I am in ketosis with lowish carbs.

See what you think!

Hey Igorasusual I’m am all over MFP and I have my levels set as

Protein – 80gms
Carbs – 50gms
Fat – 30gms

I made these up myself. should I lower protein and up fat?

Wow, Jill 177 – first week 5 lbs is absolutely great!

It may be a good idea to check your calories – I use MyFitnessPal app on iPhone and laptop, but there are other apps if you look – and you can check stuff easily as well as break it down to carbs, fat and protein.

It’s worked for me to keep a good eye on the carbs – many people here try to get between 30gm and 50gm per day, try it and suit yourself. But really important to keep the fat level up as it’s that which makes you feel fuller, and it does help burn the residual fat round your organs and round all the other bits, that we’re trying to get rid of!

Hi Stacey – maybe this means you are not building enough fat into your calories? The fat does fill you up and it’s not bad for you, as many of us have been told for years.

If you use something like MyFitnessPal, you can enter your food and see what the breakdown carbs/fat/protein is. Possibly you are having a bit too much vegetable carbs/protein, and not enough fat?

Going a little over the calories isn’t too bad – meant to be an average 800, not spot on each day – and if you do it with good stuff, like you say, then you should forgive yourself!!

Hi keeptrying

I think the scales can be the enemy here, we all get invested in those pounds/kilos.

My OH weighed himself the other morning and said he was a pound up. Then he measured himself again later and was 2 pounds down!

I decided not to worry about the scales but concentrate on the losses round the waist, thighs, etc – test by clothes and belts as MM suggests – if you are feeling looser clothes, then some fat is going from somewhere, even if it’s round your organs.

If you are keeping your carbs low, measuring your calories well (and checking on the calorie load of sneaky stuff like a bit of olive oil for frying), and drinking lots, then THE WEIGHT WILL GO!

Please don’t get discouraged – put the scales away for the moment and concentrate on feeling good and if you can doing a bit of walking.

Good luck!

currently seem to be putting on weight
not really sure why
not binged and not had masses of carbs
but then also not moved around much