Hi tokyo14
How you getting on? Mine very slow!! 5lbs off! 😬
Not going to be a good weekend as out every night!! 😳
Giz

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs
Lunch: prawn salad- lettuce, 2 small tomatoes, cucumber, prawns, 1tbs mayonnaise
Dinner:- small ribeye steak, salad, 6 feta cubes, balsamic vinegar, garlic olive oil!!😍

bless you

so sorry to hear you have been having so many ‘gut’ issues as well
hope this ‘diet’ is helping things improve for you

I have had a pear, and a gf cake thing so been bad today

will try to persevere, but feeling a real failure

The difference can be enormous! I don’t think anyone proof read the recipe section, never mind the calorie count!

Hi Winifred,

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

You do not need a pedometer. I didn’t when I started.

If you can, walk to the end of your garden and back,.
If you are not cream crackered from it, then walk to the end of your road and back.
Then go around the block.
Then a bigger block. Go morning noon and night.
I know that my local veg shop is x number of Miles away.
When I started out , I walked until I was tired, then I sat in a wall, or on the seat in the bus shelter or on a bench.
Then I waddled off again.
It took me a long time, but I did it several times a week.
Slowly I reduced how many times I sat down.
You get used to it.

I never counted the steps at the beginning , it didn’t matter, what mattered was I was walking and gently pushing myself to walk more.

Nowadays, I even walk backwards. This uses different muscles. Just be careful in case you bump into something.

Do different things. Walk up and down the stairs. Put a chair in the landing and one in the hall. So you can rest after each set of steps.

Skip, with or without a skipping rope.
Hop.

Use a yellow pages or a block of wood or a step. Step on then off, lead with different feet.
Do as many as you can.
If it is ten today, add one and do 11 tomorrow.

Do what you ENJOY. I love walking, I nose in everyone’s garden to see what plants they have, any water features. What designs. You forget how many steps you take, you suddenly realise you are at the end of your session so quickly.

So have fun!

Keep walking, keep moving, keep happy
Love Lucia
Xxx

My 8 Weeks. Lost 21.5 lbs, around 4 inches of my waist and have been able to drop my Metformin (HbA1c from 56 to 40). Going to do another week and then I am on holiday, so no promises. 😉

I love to Make a cup of coffee and pour it over ice. Add 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla milk and a tsp of sugar free Toroni’s vanilla syrup. It’s only 30 calories, 1 carb, filling and so refreshing.

No it’s more band-aid pink. Even watching him drink it made me heave 🙁

4 weeks and you will get your official smug star…countdown is progressing!!

Hi Gayn55
Don’t worry too much – I think many people get a second week plateau, I certainly did.
Making things from scratch is definitely the way to go – aside from knowing what you’re eating, I find its been really helpful in understanding carb content of ingredients, and thus being able to make better choices when eating out (or snatching convenience food for lunch from the supermarket).
Even if loss is slower than others, it isn’t a race – I find that it’s definitely got harder to lose weight as I’ve got older, but even if it’s going slowly, it is going in the right direction!
Have fun cooking

orchid – I do the same things with the food I freeze – everything counted and labelled, my small scales are on the side of the chopping board all the time along with the calculator. I have the book on my laptop as well as Kindle (OH did that for me) so I have printed out the relevant parts and put them in a file which I will use for recipes used. Just bought an Avocado and have chickpeas in the freezer so may try the hummus on Saturday – also got a large bunch of celery on the reduced ticket so celery soup it is tomorrow 🙂
The exercise class I go to are using a low GL diet but I can’t join them as none of them are veggie and it only makes it long winded for them if I keep asking questions so keep out of it but have been given a GL counter and low GL cookbook which has veggies in it so will look at them over the week-end.
Had your yogurt breakfast today and it was fine – no problem waiting until lunch time and also did an exercise class in between.

Happy,

Congratulations on your forthcoming graduation to over the eight week gang…onwards my friend… onwards! I have stuck with BSD800 – now in week 10 and still smiling😊🌻

Second week on diet and I lost 1 lb on second week . I did have a few bad days after being disappointed from first week low loss . After having some great advice on other threads I can see where I am going wrong . The recipes I used were low cal but very high carbs so I am going through new recipes as I make majority of my meals from scratch . IHope for better luck next week x

I’m going to be smug one day. One day soon…

Yes, I know what you mean. Bleugh. Is it green? What colour is it???

I am going to try the recipes on this thread so thanks to you all x I have spent the afternoon looking for low cal low carb recipes as my old recipes were high carb . I can see now why I was not losing the weight as I thought I was eating healthy for last two weeks apart for the few days I went down the dark path lol I have found lots of recipes on Pinterest so have starting pinning them on a board and getting ideas from Instagram where people are on this diet and posting the meals I have made within the cals/carbs on this diet on both sites to help me and others . also adjusting some of my old recipes to fit this diet x
Orchid I am definitely going to try the yoghurt and fruit recipe x
This forum is really helpful and a lot of kindness to new members thank you x

Hi everyone

Week 4 is going ok s o far.. It is something of a relief to be in control of what I’m eating rather than vice versa. I have a quiet week this week so can concentrate on myself for a change its rather nice. I have been trying on clothes for our holiday in ten days time and pleased at what fits and surprisingly not too despondent at what doesn’t as after all if I keep at it things will do soon. I think this diet ha s given me hope that together with my treadmill walks I can get fit and well again. What I’ve learnt from 18 months of illness is that instead of being busy and juggling ten things at a time that I can enjoy the slower pace of life so I have a new name of the zen lady!

Have had some phishing emails today purporting to be from lloyds bank but when I phoned they said it was going bonkers as so many customers had been targeted . Nothing too bad I didn’t lose money but there is a feeling of intrusion I don’t like.

Hope you are all having a good day and didn’t get flooded by last nights storms.

morning!

day three:

weight: 203.0 (diff: – 7.0)
calories: 836
carbs: 55
breakfast: black coffee
lunch: roasted broccoli, chicken breast & tzatziki
dinner: swiss cheese, pea shoots, turkey, dill pickle
snacks: 3 cups popcorn
exercise: 20min run, 30min weightlifting

oh dear just after i said no popcorn i had popcorn! it’s so hard. i think it’s the quantity. it feels like a lot & i can munch on it but it doesn’t give me a lot of calories. kept my carbs to 55 though, so that’s better! weight slightly up, but i think that’s just water; we’ll see tomorrow. i ran stairs today with a goal to lower my time by the end of summer. not feeling dizzy or weak or grumpy like the beginning last time!

celeste xx

Thanks Cherrianne, encouragement/motivation gratefully accepted. Marilyn

@ newstart, thanks for the recipe for tomato and butterbean soup – made it for lunch and it was great. Might try to add charred red peppers next time as I currently have a lot in the fridge! Another quick recipe I took/modified form the BBS website is Avocado Humus. One avocado, juice of one lemon, one tin chickpeas (I used Sainsbury’s packets in water), two garlic cloves. Salt and pepper to taste plus either tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper to taste. Whiz together in a blender and gave 3 x 120g pots. I will freeze them all and each pot will be for 2 meals. So for 6 servings – 71 cals, 5.1g carbs.
@gayn55, agree that the ‘healthy’ veggie books are all low fat and either need a lot of modifications or ignored 🙁 . Evan the low GI books need to be treated with care as some of the carbs they use are not also low GL – that is they release the sugars the contain quickly into the blood stream. The recipe I gave you above for yogurt, fruit and seeds could easily be done with strawberries, in fact it is 1g carbs less! I make it up the night before, seeds kept separate and mix quickly at breakfast. It is very portable as well.
@systema, the book is designed around calories not carbs, and avoiding high carb foods so by definition low carb. The carbs came from this forum. For each new recipe I use I just put it into my calculator at the time I make it with the real food amounts – ie 1 carrot is what I have used not a notional carrot size of say 70g when the ones I have are 100g. I do check each time I use that recipe and adjust so I have the correct info for that meal, but I am a bit daft that way! It also means I can play around with the amounts to get it to fit with the profile I need for that day. If you are using Kindle c&p is not easy, I did manage to copy a few to a word document as I do not like having my Kindle near where I cook. If you need help with a way to do that, let me know.
good luck all!

Thanks Imogen and Izzy, The changes seem to be helping but I’ll wait a week until I decide for sure.
Today is actually the last day of my eighth week!
I can’t believe it!!
Tomorrow morning will be my weigh in to see how much weight I’ve lost after the eight weeks. I would guess it’ll be 30 pounds, which is a lot, but even more amazing to me every day is that I can tell how much weight I’m losing just by how I feel, how my clothes fit, etc.
I plan to still stay on the 800 BSD planned because it’s work so well for me and I feel so great!
Thanks to all of you for your support and helping me walk through these last eight weeks together with you!
Wishing you the best always 💜🌷💖

Today I am down 17 1/2 lbs. I have been on the BSD for 6 1.2 weeks. Blood sugars are now normal, blood pressure normal, and no more acid reflux. I am thrilled and this has really changed my life. I got stuck many times on plateau’s but I never gave up. This way of eating does work! Like Nime says, Just Do It! You will feel better and will be a healthier person.

Haha! Missed that one, Guru Janey… oh that’s it now, lady…

Well done Ms Bloody Minded, you’re doing brilliantly. I know you know that yourself, but it’s nice to hear others confirm it for you. Glad to hear the scales are still heading in the right direction for you, mine are too after a teeny tiny blip this week when I put a pound on and completely lost the plot (but then lost three pounds the next day and felt like a bit of a tube). I’m only a day ahead of you 🙂

I do need to walk more though. Baby steps!

There’s actually a saying, isn’t there? ‘Strive for progress, not perfection’. Sounds appropriate 🙂

Oh yes.. look at me.. smugly breezing through week 7 😉

Seriously, it does get easier and food choices become less ‘conscious’.. and in my case, sometimes more malicious if cauliflower is involved. Muahahaha. I actually think week 2 into week 3 is the most testing time as its the body’s last ditch attempts to hold onto carb cravings. After that, you’re on a more even keel, plus you’re more aware of portions and danger foods.

By the way, my boss is currently creating the most revolting smoothie in the office. It’s the consistency that gets me (you know what I mean..) I’ll pass on trying it, thanks all the same!

Definitely the way to go. You’re doing fab. Ohhhhhhh I didn’t put two and two together about the cupboards! I thought you just meant like giving them a wipe down, I didn’t think about the contents. I went through mine last week and I put all the things I can’t eat now (pasta, rice, assorted flour and sugars etc) in a spare cupboard in one of my outhouses. The kids still eat rice and pasta and no doubt I’ll end up using the flour and sugar, even if not for me, I often get asked to make cakes or things for others. Given me much more room now for… for… tins of bloody chickpeas. Yay 😉
As long as your cat didn’t answer you, I think you’re ok 😉 x
You can do this! We’re all at different stages, and just think, one day we’ll be the ones inspiring people just starting. Hopefully. That’s the plan anyway… 😀

Timmy,

So sorry to hear that about your friend – must have been a shock – so young!
Not surprised you had a drink whilst processing the news, it can take a while for such sad news to sink in. Hope you are OK.

thanks linda and lucky think jotting stuff down whether on line or by hand is the way to go i used to do it years ago on my many low fat diets!!!!!
anyway completed cupboard cleaning i was brutal chucked allsorts out was so surprised how much carbs where in stuff only me and my cat at home today and i was like ” really how much”!!!
anyway thanks again for your support week 2 here i come !!!

Today I broke down and ate all the carbs … And now I feel terrible! 3 weeks in and lesson learned. Back on the wagon tomorrow 😜

Hello Keeptrying – don’t worry about appearing to throw it back at me – I get the same, people make suggestions and you know they’re no good! 🙂
I don’t have the obvious candida issue either but plenty of other things. I saw a private doctor once as nearly all the NHS refuse to admit it or bother to look for it. If they did, they would find it was causing a lot of other issues such as IBS etc. I had all sorts of NHS checks last year to find out why I had such pain and upset stomachs and patterns, all they found was inflammation and didn’t follow it up. I’d been vomiting mind! Not for no reason. Anyway it’s all a long story but I wonder if half the problem was the raging candida through such binge eating.
Remember we have been in the habit of bingeing for a long time. It will take more than 8 weeks to completely eradicate my habit.
I can understand your frustration about so little weight loss. I can’t understand it. But we’re all so different.

Day 12 – who would have thought?! Had a sneaky weigh in this morning and weight is still going down so I am very happy with that. I am now recording all of my food on MFP and it really helps to be able to quickly identify the carb content of food. I had 3 brazil nuts yesterday, but at 200 calories I won’t be doing that again. Really proud of how I have committed to this new way of eating and most days I am below 800. I have not binged a single time and have only enjoyed a single glass of red wine. I am walking more and feel wonderful that I walked up the Terrace yesterday when ordinarily I would have caught the bus. Even put my hand up at work to do a job that was a bit of a walk away, whereas before I would have tried to weazel out of it for fear that my knees would not have stood up to it. I am definitely more present in the moment. I have not been perfect, but I have made progress.

I did try Atkins very briefly many years ago, whenever it first became trendy – that was probably in the 90’s, when I didn’t eat meat, so probably wasn’t an ideal choice!
It may have only been an intro phase, but I found the restrictions on veg a bit unworkable, and to be honest, not particularly healthy.

What I like about BSD is that (aside from refined carbs, which don’t seem to have many benefits) no major food groups are restricted, so it is providing you the structure of a basic way of eating when the initial 8 weeks, or however long it takes to get to your initial targets, you can modify and continue that going forward.

What has disappointed me today is that I have just finished the 8 week blood sugar diet book and at the end of it there are plenty of recipes that are veggie and could use them but there is no carb count on them only calorie. Whoever wrote the recipes knew how many carbs there are in them so that they could be included in the book so I wonder why they were not included. Really annoyed me as I will now have to copy and paste them into somewhere to work it out when it would have been so easy to make a note of them for the book.

They go with everything! And if they don’t, I’ll make them go with it! 🙂 I’d be ok in my house as there’s 6 of us and my children are like locusts. I’m savoury over sweet any day of the week but I think if I only made them for a special occasion, I’d be ok. Dying to try them though! I think the more you can have as ‘back up’ the better, really? Like the crackers, the chickpea wraps, they’re all weapons in my low carb weight loss arsenal at the moment. If I had a cake too, I’d be laughing. No, sorry, if I had a cake too, I’d be grinning. If I had pastry, I’d be laughing.

Tokyo, I’m with Linda on this, you can’t say what size portion really. The food itself looks ok to me, but it’s only early days for me too, I’m still on week 2. I weigh everything too, and it is a PITA but a worthwhile one. I have a notepad and pen constantly with me in the kitchen making notes of what and how many grams I’ve used, and then I check the calorie counts as I go along online or from the packaging if possible, and work out what I have left for the day (rarely anything, usually a tad over!). It is time consuming. I suppose an app would be easier but I can’t get the hang of it, so this will do for me, for now. I do eat a lot less meat than I used to, and fill my plate with more salad and veggies to compensate. Good luck with the cupboards, my cutlery drawer is on my to do list, everyone dumps all manner in there! Especially hubby, there’s tape measures, screwdrivers, sellotape, nuts, screws, and the kids have managed to shove water bombs in too. What is wrong with them???? Eldest on way home from Uni, just gone to pick the rest of his stuff up and hand his key back in. Toddle off to vote. Sort tea. Take painkillers. Fall asleep in chair. That’s the plan anyway.
Great weightloss Linda, by the way! Well done 🙂

Well swum Wahlass. Yes, if I remember to get on this Forum that would be a good motivator for us.
I’m going to give it a go but may have to revert to 5/2 as my Doc says I should really be on about 1800 cals with exercise!
We shall see how I feel at the weekend.
Good luck and don’t forget to have a rest and meditate (if you can).
Phil

im on day 4 as well. Today im tired and wuzzy. I went swimming today and wasn’t as strong as I normally am. Im hoping it passes ive had a bit of fruit and yoghurt and just eaten smoked salmon and baby leaves.
We will encourage each other. I have 2 stone to lose

I always thought that Atkins was more about eating loads of meat. You can eat meat on this, but in reality it’s mainly about cutting out refined and starchy carbs.

Bizarrely after drinking most of a bottle of wine last night I weighed less this morning. Down to 92.4kg.

Wasn’t planning on drinking anything but heard that an old fried of mine passed away suddenly yesterday. She was only 37 🙁

hi there, and thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply

I don’t know about candida, as in I know what it is, but I don’t have the ‘obvious’ issue
and googling it, well the symptoms are so many and cover my ibs, my mh, ….

anyway, I am eating very very little sugar, apart from in berries and the occasional pear/apple

I was having some dark chocolate, but have now discovered I can binge on that, too, and it causes major reflux issues and insomnia

I eat eggs, I had 2 for lunch, with 2 rashers of bacon and 2 tomatoes (I like even numbers!!!!)

sorry if that sounds like I am chucking everything back at you, its not meant to – its just how things are
I totally agree about soups and I love them, although it is not so easy now that the weather is warmer, as it just increases my hot flushes!!

Thanks all. That is hugely reassuring. I ‘like’ Carb Flu; perhaps I can use that as an excuse for not to go shopping?
I’m using My Fitness Pal for food and exercise that I used on a previous regime and it is totally ‘honest’ when it comes to calories!
My exercise is a bit limited at the moment due to two physical conditions that await treatment. Nothing serious, just both prevent all but gentle walking, cycling, swimming and, when I don’t feel like I’m on drugs (the woosey head), upper body work at the gym.
Because I don’t like eating quite a lot in one go I am going to take Dinner as two sittings (like a high tea and supper I suppose.
Has anyone done the Brunch and Dinner idea at weekends or other days?
All the best to all of you and you keep telling me it works as I’ll be needing that.
Rams
P.S. had Corgette and Feta salad at lunch today. Quite appropriate (i.e. a bit Greek) for this particular day in our history 🙂

Keeptrying,
Are you having eggs? These at breakfast are filling and keep you going a long time.
although I have lost a stone, I have lost NOTHING around my waist! I find that strange.
I keep feeling tired. Irritable. Rubbish. Lack of energy. Sick. BUT the difference is I know why. I’m not saying this is the same for you. If you don’t know about candida, look it up and you might find you echo a lot of the symptoms. And it led to sugar cravings which has made me binge in the past.
The trouble is, when you start to kill or control it (like with low sugar diets such as these) you find that the symptoms get worse. Really bad while those candida cells are screaming out for what you are starving them with. So I insist on continuing to starve them. I can’t do much without feeling tired but it must go eventually. Try taking a small teaspoon of coconut oil morning and evening and don’t worry about the calories.
I don’t like lots of veg either. We make soup with it instead and add a chicken stock cube, its yum.
Another thing to make you feel good is a small square of dark chocolate. Keeps within calories and carbs and kills those cravings.

8kgs in 16 days. Exercise (30mins walk) every day. Not always maxing out 800 calories. Discipline to the letter. Even my birthday (day 6) was spent under 800 calories. That was very tricky, but got there.

Mike6
What a story. If you reread your story surely that will be motivation to maintain this new way of living. Living being the key word. I hope the medical personnel involved in your care are taking note and not attributing the results as anecdotal. You could be giving so many people the lift they require to carry on with this great new plan.

Thanks for an inspirational story.
N

I’m so glad I noticed this post as it has some great advice x newstart and Orchid thank you for replies x most of the meals I like are high in carbs , I was having a strawberry oatmeal smoothie every morning and then I saw how high in carbs it is . It is a pity that all carbs are lumped in together as some are good x will look out for M&S superfood salad . I only lost 1 lb this last week as after my low weight loss week before I had three bad days but back on track now x
Most of my healthy vegetarian cookbooks the recipes low in cals but high in carbs x was going to use shakes until I saw high carb values so may look up low carb versions . All the best to everyone on their journey here x

Breakfast – 2 boiled eggs
Lunch – Meal replacement shake
Dinner – 150gm steak with one and half cups of steamed veg

690 calories.

Discipline = results

Hi Saloh, I’ve got the similar goals, but very different exercise regimes. I’m just starting up with walking/jogging 6kms per day. I haven’t found any issues so far and managed to have enough energy with 800 calories to keep me going. Running 10kms is a bit different, so not certain they can be compared. I’m down 8kgs so far and about to break 100kgs. All the best.

It’s worth sticking to it. 4lbs in 4 days is good going.
– To combat the hunger, look for foods that make you feel fuller for longer, like eggs
– Measure everything. Calories are everywhere.
– Its not only what you eat, but how much you eat. Plates of vegs will still stack calories.
– 30 mins of walking can help a lot, but don’t push it

You’re putting your body through some big changes, so I agree with others, it will pass.

Good luck.

Wow Mike! You are a shining example of WHY people should change to this way of eating.. the health benefits are measurable and proven! You must be feeling a million times better than 10 weeks ago! Keep it up and look forward to the longterm benefits of changing your habits 🙂

17 days ago, I hit 108.9kgs. I had been skirting around 106kgs for months and tried the 5-2 with no impact. When I registered over 108kgs, it was time to act. BSD was the way forward.

In 16 days, I am now down to 100.6kgs. I’m targeting 85kgs and have 30 days to do it.

When I started, I flat-lined between day 3 to 6. I got strict and now keep to under 800 calories, often only getting to 750 calories. Things are back on track. I’ve really limited myself to not making meals too complicated. I often repeat meals to avoid getting frustrated with complexity and introducing hidden calories. My digital set of scales has never worked so hard. Everything is getting weighed, although I’m starting to know portion sizes.

I’ve also ramped up my exercise regime so I now briskly walk between 30 to 60 mins each day.

I haven’t felt better, more energetic and more alert for a very long time.

Good luck to everyone following this path. Stick with it. I hope it works well for you.

am actually coming to the conclusion that actually – this way of eating is not working for me

I don’t doubt its healthier
but I have not lost any inches, cm, mm, at all from my waist, in nearly 7 weeksI think that the pounds I have lost are only because I have cut back radically on sugar
I have only lost a few pounds
and I feel tired
I had far more energy even when I was more depressed and bingeing

the fat I was having in biscuits and cake is probably about the same as what I have now (only now it is healthier)

clearly I am doing something wrong
or I am wrong
and – long story – but in my head I am ‘wrong’ anyway, so it all fits

I KNOW that there is no such thing as ‘starvation mode’ – aka most professionals
but whenever I eat less, my body burns/needs less, and everything slows down
this has always happened regardless of what new thing I am doing

I cant eat a lot of salad, it makes me gag
I cant eat platefuls of veg, I like lots of veg, but I cant eat stacks of it

and to be honest right now I am just too knackered to do even the reasonable walks I was doing before

end of rant!!!! – hot, sweaty and feeling ****

My BMI is 30 btw, its not that I dont have any weight to lose! 😄

Hi
I know methotrexate it metabolised by the liver, hence my regular liver function tests. Can I just ask if anyone has experience of starting this WOE whilst on methotrexate? Does it affect the success?
I already eat LCHF but I am struggling to lose weight. I am not diabetic, but have T2 relatives.

Thanks
Beyond

Hi, I have been on BSD 10 weeks and in that time my life has changed dramatically. I had/have diabetes for 10 years. I was taking 70units of insulin a day. I had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment 2 years ago, which a neurologist said was not curable. I have been in hospital with heart problems, The cardiologists told me that I don’t get chest pain, just shortage of breath because my diabetes has damaged the nerves around my heart. To get to the point I also had other organs in my body that were not working as they should.
In week 3 of the BSD I noticed that my short term memory was improving and as the weeks went on the ability to process thought had came back, I could now do a lot of the memory tests that I couldn’t do before. Over the next weeks I noticed my other organs had started working. I have also lost 12kg.
My life has changed so dramatically for the good. I would welcome any comments to help me maintain my new life.