Well done, Stewart, what a fabulous loss – 26+ bags of sugar now stacked up somewhere else and not on you!

Great idea about 800 cals to spend each day, and your best meals sound great too.

Very best of luck with your continued journey – keep us posted! 🙂

Hi Aria.

I have also started today. So far so good, I plan to loose 7st 1 lb, so I’m in it for the long haul. I am planning on using the site to keep me inspired, we can all do it together. Just wish I had discovered this way of eating years ago. Look forward to chatting here.

spcox
Thank you for your post i agree with you. defo do not try to replace the ‘nortys’. They are there for treats on special occasions. Thanks

Bril I expect you are feeling on top of the world. Your thread is very helpful I am on day 1 week 1 so all inspiration is very helpful. Keep up the good work.

Have been to the posh town near by to get all the lovely ingredients I need for recipes for the next few days. I noticed when walking around the supermarket, I zoom in on high cal things, I spied some stacks of Pringles, and I was aware I zoomed in on them. But they are not interesting any more, my ingredients are far more desirable. Very strange experience. I managed the shop without eating something, or buying anything outside of my list. When I looked in my trolley I was so impressed, it looked like a slim persons trolley. I know I do way to much people watching. I live in an area where majority of the people are relatively slim, and always have this sort of contents. Hence why they are slim. So all good at the mo and have done about 4500 steps.
If you haven’t found the fitness pal app yet, then seek it out it’s a lifeline. Makes this so much easier. Side effect, lots of water so lots of visits, to the little room.
I’ve also worked out in my tea I have a tbl sp of skim milk, so I can enjoy as long as I have my spoon with me.

First tool for the healthy eater ( learning to be ) tablespoon. iPad and fit pal app.

Of to cook a lovely dinner.

Thanks Janey CD! Sounds like you’re going great guns too.
Your rollerblading sounds great fun -but I don’t have grace or good balance so would be a bit like Frank Spencer’s famous performance lol!
No , definitely not stopping at the end of the 8 weeks. My plan is to have a treat on the last day….of half a sliced banana and some strawberries (cor …in the old days that would be several Bombay Sapphire gins and full fat tonic plus nibbles and/or a box of chocs!!) then start again until I get to that normal BMI measurement range.
Not sure about the other half yet. He had less to lose than me plus was fitter and has lost 1 stone 8lb’s so far. Depending on how he feels we probably will continue the way we are now but he will increase intake a bit. He is desperate for some new potatoes dripping with best butter ( home grown from our allotment) so that will be his celebration treat.

I just wanted to share my experiences.

Today marks 8 weeks on the 800 calorie a day diet.

I have lost 54lbs.

My waist has gone down 6 inches.

My top tips

Think of the 800 calories as money to spend wisely, don’t feel deprived just enjoy allocating and spending those 800 calories each day
Get used to not feeling hungry
Get used to eating less, when I started I was eating loads of tomatoes, king prawns and celery as I was used to eating lots.
No I am used to eating a lot less

Best foods

Steak 8oz and salad 450 calories
King Prawns
Hot and sour soup
Chicken breast
Ratatouille
Eggs (Hard boiled are delicious and only 70 calories)
Subway do amazing salads

What next

1000 calorie weekends.
800 calorie weekdays

I want to ease off a little but hope I can keep loosing, I am weighing every day (FitBit Aria Scales) and will monitor carefully I want to loose at least another 40lbs so want to keep up the weight loss.

Ay Caramba that’s all I’ll say!!! :-)) Yes, you are a star patient – one who looks after themselves! Congratulations!! :-))

Congrats re the dry sheets Izzy! I love your hair color choice! I hear UK has much healthier hair dye than we have here. Much stronger rule on things that would hurt your body.
Good luck with the loft. Sounds like you are on a mission which is always fun as you progress.
Have a happy day!
💜

Wow congrats everyone and to ay caramba for the great results!!
💜🌷💙

Thanks – very reassuring to hear!

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments

Hey I’ve had several dexa scans for bone density at my local hospital but am afraid I don’t know what they showed picture wise. The first operator gave me immediate feedback but the second could have worked for MI5 and refused to give me any indication until I got the analysed results. I think the machines are fairly common in general hospitals but I don’t live in your area.

I would ring around if I were you – the private patients seemed to use the same machine so I guess they are too expensive for Bupa to put in all their hospitals

Hope this helps

Hi Nysilver! I did two rounds of eight weeks with about a week in between, during which I was not very careful about my choices of food — I found myself eating improperly so I quickly put myself back on another eight week plan. My second eight weeks were easier and I lost weight even more quickly than the first eight. I don’t remember if the very first week was fast — just overall my body seems to have reset metabolically the longer I have stayed on the diet. Now i am 17 weeks (more or less) and I am working more calories back in, but very slowly and this time I don’t seem to have the same problem I had after the first eight week period (eating too much/wrong stuff). good luck with your second round! It just gets better.

Oh, congratulations, ay caramba! What fabulous news, you must be so excited and happy!

You are an inspiration to others, not only for the blood sugar results (surely you must be on the verge of coming off metformin totally, and will see this after your next test) but for the weight loss and your new healthy lifestyle which you’ve established after less than 6 months!

So great to hear these success stories! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi Alanhypno
Well done on your good news. Need to report mine to add to this good news topic.
Just had the news of my latest blood sugar test which was 5.5% (normal range).
Was diagnosed with T2 diabetes at the very end of January and started BSD immediately. (Think the reading was 8.6%).
Week 21 on the diet for me. Have lost around 3 stones in weight and am now a couple of pounds away from my healthy weight.

Managed to book a phone appointment with a Locum Doctor who agreed that she was happy for me to come off or reduce my Metformin. We agreed on a reduction from 3 x 500mg to 1 tablet per day to test the effect.
She said it was highly unusual for someone to reduce their blood sugar like this and told me I must be a star patient!!! LOL.
She then asked me how I had managed to lose this weight and achieve these results so she could put it down on my records.
Of course I told her BSD 800 and MM.

Thank you so much Michael Mosley. This has worked for me.
Not sure if I have reversed my T2 yet but everyone out there. Listen up ….. this can work.
Happy days.

Cherry8
Well done! That’s good news. I will let you know how I get on. I am afraid I resorted to castor oil to clear the blockage – very unpleasant. But at least things should get moving now, in both senses!

FiFiP, I will try to find MM talking about diet drinks on the radio online, thank you.

Frog, good to know. I was reading about the salt thing too. It’s odd as it goes against what you’d assume, that is that salt would dehydrate you.

LMAO
Poster boy ???
Poster decrepid old fart more like but hey, you just made my day 😀

Hi this is my first time posting on this thread which is actually most remiss of me as this is my 13th week on the bsd!! Starting weight was 17st 13 and is now 15st 3. No change from last week but plateaux are part of the diet it seems!! Am now not really counting the calories just carbs. Having said that I log everything in MFP and most days it seems to come in around 1000 calories so not too bad. Onwards and downwards!!

Hi everyone! I’m Aria. I’m 36 years old and way too heavy for my 5’4″ frame.

Between 2012 and the end of 2014 I lost 40kg by quitting take-out, and as of January 2016 I had maintained that weight loss for a year, with a variance of five or so kilos. I had a breast reduction and brachioplasty to remove a huge amount of excess skin on my arms in January 2016. Prior to surgery I weighed 106.6kg; post surgery I weighed 103.3, and have not gained any further weight.

I used to be a gymnast, so am not afraid of my muscles, and I know that I’ll always weigh in heavy for my height because of them – but I’m so unhappy with the excess weight I still carry. I’m tired, have digestive distress, and though all my health tests come back normal (no problems with organ function, thyroid function, or cholesterol), type 2 diabetes is in the family, and my BMI is through the roof. I currently wear Australian ladies clothing in a 16 on the bottom and 12 or 14 on the top, but my BMI says I’m morbidly obese. I firmly believe this is because it ignores my muscle mass. That aside, I am still overweight. A lot overweight. I’m hoping to say goodbye to 30kgs or so.

I started the BSD two days ago, but only just now joined the forums. I’ve already lost a kilo…

TL;DR? 8/800 come at me! Healthy choices, controlled calories, new lease on life – bring it on!

Hi everyone, I’m a newbie that has been reading what everyone is saying but hasn’t posted until today. Just started last week on Wed, but I didn’t weigh myself until Fri, it’s been busy and I don’t think I wanted to see the number on the scale. Even with that I have a loss of 4 lbs. 🙂 I’ve done low carb eating before and had great losses, but also had great gains when I have quite and went back to regular eating. I hope to make this a reality now and I’m sticking to the 800 cals as close as possible.

Thanks for whoever suggested stirfries for supper because that has been my go to meal and it’s been great. 🙂

Hello everyone. So, I had a successful first round of Fast 800, managed to lose 21lbs and reduced my blood sugars immensely. For some reason I seem to panic when I get down to 179lbs – so I’ve spent the past three weeks gaining a couple of pounds so am going back to round 2 on Monday morning. Ironically, I find a great deal of freedom in knowing that I need to stick to 800 calories – it was when I ended my first round that my decision making became a little (ahem!) cloudy, to say the least.

Interested to know whether others who have started round 2 after a couple of weeks off have had the same type of week 1 results, or is the weight loss slower the second time around?

Thanks

Hi – when I was 29 I was diagnosed (after 5 years of symptoms) with Hypothyroidism – once on Thyroxin I was told that I would be back to being a whippet! As the only overweight person in my family I was relieved to hear it – it didn’t work like that and now – 26 years later I am even more overweight and a diabetic to boot. I didn’t eat too much and cut down on fats and ate far too much of what I thought were the foods that were good for me.

I am waiting for a really horrible abdominal operation that has been put back and back due to my weight. Almost by accident I read about this diet and began it four weeks ago. One stone down and my insulin has been cut by a third already. I may just have found a way to live with this! My aim is to lose another 5 stone and suddenly it doesn’t seem quite so difficult – I am so relieved and overjoyed. I have to ask though – why oh why was I not helped like this by the countless number of doctors and diet experts I’ve seen over the years?

Can anyone help ? I think I can get a referral from my GP to have one done but I need to know what hospitals/ reputable places do a DEXA Body fat scan. I am prepared to pay to have it done privately.

I am also not sure if it is entirely different from a bone density scan which is what the DEXA scan is, I think, usually used for. If you have information on this topic please let me know.

Thanks

Well done Boomer that is a great start. This is a fantastic site. I am converting others to the plan and think I may start a support group in my area. Has anyone else done that?

I have followed the recipes to the letter, and although they might be a little higher than what the book says I have still seen huge results.

It depends in what you are trying to achieve, if you need to lose the weight and lower the blood sugar, due to medical advice, then being as rigid as you possibly can, is a good idea.

However, if you are doing it for general health and well-being, following the recipes will still result in losing weight, and improving all the other stuff.

Once you have finished a couple of weeks, and realise you have a ton of unused veg in the fridge, make a soup, and have that for lunch, I haven’t counted a calorie, but i know that it wont be more than 200 calories, so i guesstimate, and then follow recipes from the book for breakfast and lunch.

not massively scientific, but the principles remain.

The biggest change i think you will find after a week or two, is how you dont seem to feel the need to snack during the day, as the food you are eating fills you up correctly.

Angieabe – happy birthday. I had mine 10 days ago. it looks like June is a good month to be born it. I was 38 this time 🙂
Looks like you had a great time yesterday.
Skinny-to-be x

Hi Switzerland,
I’ve read the MM books (the science; cook book; exercise etc) and now have decided to give it a go. My third day in and I lost just over 3lb which is awesome. Me going over 800cals is not that I eat carbs coz I don’t (which is surprising they have not attacked me in my slep yet coz I love them all) do much of them and if I do, it’s mostly veggies, but I probably go over the limit with protein. Havent’ found the pattern to stick precisely to 800 but I suppose it’ll come a bit later on when I get my head around it a bit more. On any previous diets (and I’ve done them almost all) I was looking forward to the time I was allowed to eat and was counting seconds for the opportunity to dig in. On this one it’s not even that I AM NOT HUNGRY but can go forever still feeling full. What’s that all about. I love it!!!
We went with my almost 3-year old little girl and my husband to a car dealership yesterday and today again coz something went wrong what’s been done to the car and they do have all that posh stuff out -> the coffee machine that makes any type of coffee + hot chocolate (my little ‘un obviously got the ‘ot choco’ as she says it) and I went for sparkling water from the fridge and black coffee. The biscuits and pastries on display calling to anyone ‘Come and eat us…’ (which I ordinarily would stand by them and would eat myself stupid)….AND I HAD NOTHING FROM THAT TRAY. I didn’t even crave it. When my wonderful little ‘un couldn’t finish her ‘choco biccie’ she gave it to me. I normally would finish it off but this time I put it down. What’s wrong with me??? I absolutely love it. I didn’t want to believe anyone who suddenly started saying ‘I’m full and cannot eat no more etc’ I thought they are just full of themselves showing off they can order themselves not to eat, which I never was able to. Well, I want to be in somebody else’s mind ‘full of herself’ when I don’t go for pastries and cakes and biccies.
God bless MM!
Before I started this dieting and measured myself my BMI was, well, probably still is 40%. Does it mean I am made of 40% lard?????
If so, then I’ve got to get that lardy body melting as you all are. And the sooner, the better.

I made a wonderful lunch today -> 100g chorizo, melt to get the fat out of it; fry onion and garlic in the fat; one can of chopped tomatoes; one can of red kidney beans and one can of chick peas. Add the chorizo in, a handful of chopped kale or spinach ( I did both today) and simmer for as long as you want. I did about 25 minutes after it was brought to a boil. Had a leftover of bulgur wheat from yesterday and oh boy, I’m still stuffed. 1.5 hour later.
I think once my mind gets reprogrammed I’ll the an awesome ‘Skinny’ and not ‘to-be’ – LOOOOOOOL.
thank you,
Skinny-to-be xxx

Thanks Loren! I see that you are much further along and having great success. Congratulations! Looking forward to the future.

Hiya Linda, thanks for your wise words. I agree that re-educating ourselves to avoid sugary tastes completely is probably the best way forward but I like to think I have a few treats left in life! Plus the family will submit an official complaint if I ban all sweet things! So might as well limit damage if possible!! Many congrats on your brilliant weight loss. I am in week 8 and have not felt or looked this good in many years! Long live the BSD!

Well I am all measured cor what a shock still onwards, had a lovely brunch from the book . cheesy beans substituted feta for the recommended it was lush. I am using my fitness pal, it counts everything, but especially the things I want to know, I come from a scientific background so like precision, it reassures me. So of now to the supermarket to seek lovely ingredients, having steak in peppercorn sauce this eve. Also have my iPhone set to pedometer, nothing is going to get past me. Can’t get over my motivated attitude in the voice of Yoda impressed I am with myself. Perhaps I was beamed up by an alien while I was asleep last night. Hehe🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙

Hi Leanne

I’m not an expert, but it seems from this forum that the key to improving blood sugars is losing the visceral fat around the organs, and ‘re-setting’ the insulin response, and this is best done by low carb eating. So not necessarily dependent on total weight loss. It’s resetting the hormone response inside you.

All my extra reading confirms that low carb can help a number of other conditions too.

So I think you should press on with this changed lifestyle – you might consider counting and restricting your carbs more, to ensure you are under 50g per day – and who knows, the results may work out for you. They have for lots of other people here. 🙂

Good luck!

Hi Sydneygirl

You can of course plan in a glass or two of wine into your calorie count. However I would just warn you that not only are they empty calories, doing you no good, and preventing you from eating ‘good’ valuable things for your body BUT THEY CAN ALSO CAUSE THE MUNCHIES!!

I fell majorly off the wagon by going out to dinner with ex-colleagues and having a couple of glasses of white wine (had planned for one glass of red, so difficult to resist what happened), ate sensibly and then on the way home felt the need to pop into Pret a Manger and buy a wrap and then ate two large slices of bread and butter when I got home. Still can’t understand what came over me.

I concluded that it would be safer to swerve the wine for the period of the BSD, so could you perhaps consider having fizzy water, or some other pleasant but non-alcoholic drink? Or if you must have wine, make yourself unable to have more than what you’ve planned and added in?

Well done Boomer53! Great start – that positive news will take you far. All the best for week two!

Hi greenjanet – respect to you for going to lose so much weight.

I have been a lot bigger in the past, before I started this diet I had lost about 2 1/2 stones over about 5 years. I am 5ft 1″ and before I started this diet – I decided that I would continue losing weight (basically body fat) until I get rid of my type 2 diabetes. My family have found it hard to get their heads around me losing so much weight and still being diabetic, I have had to continually explain to them that the weight is a side issue and what I need to get rid of is my internal body fat which is making my insulin not work properly, and it is stubborn stuff to shift!

If I lose another 3lbs I will be at the top end of my BMI. I am hoping that as I get in my BMI zone, that I will see a reduction in my blood sugar levels. I don’t care how long it takes I am determined to live longer and beat my diabetes!

When I started this diet I was happy in my own skin, I didn’t feel overweight, as I had been much bigger in the past. Now I have lost the weight and feel exited when I go into a clothes shop and can buy clothes in shops I would have walked past reluctantly in the past, I feel so much better in myself. As I am cleaning out my fat internally, I am also cleaning out my wardrobes and sorting out my cupboards and tidying my house and cooking my meals (bought ready meals apart from a couple of pizza’s are a thing of the past, instead of 4 times a week). I have changed my lifestyle.

greenjanet – don’t be put off by people who tell you that you either wont or can’t lose that amount of weight. It is your body and your determination that counts. If you have something you shouldn’t, it isn’t the end, just start again at the next meal and keep going. When people see how much weight you can lose it is inspiring for others. I ordered the book for one of my neighbours who is starting shortly and another neighbour has decided to lose weight after seeing that I can do it.
Please let me know how you get on. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Congratulations Bill on your hard work, you look great . Poster boy for the BSD!

Hi MREY
Sounds like a plan. Post again when it gets a bit closer and I’ll give you my email address and we can make some plans.
Cheers
Linda

Wow that’s great, congratulations! I’m starting today and also have about 2 stone to lose to reach a healthy weight (although realistically I’d like to lose 3 to get to my ‘happy’ weight). I’m also pre diabetic for the second time after my diet went down hill while I was pregnant. I intend to stick with the diet as long as it takes although I’m going on holidays in 7 weeks – hopefully I’ll have got in the habit of eating smaller, healthier portions by then so I won’t over indulge too much!

Good morning all! One week in today and I have dropped 5 pounds. I am a slow loser. Plus I was at a relatively dry weight when I began – no big water loss drop in weight. But I am very happy with that. Puts me at 219.8. But the really exciting news is my blood sugar reading. It has been over 200 fasting each morning. I just took it and it was 159!!!! Yes that is still high but it is fantastic for me. Looking forward to even lower numbers soon.

I am enjoying this plan so much – no hunger. I keep it very simple. Plus this is a friendly and welcoming site with so many knowledgeable people.

Onward and downward!

Hi Janeycoughdrop
I’m afraid honey should be off your list as well as it’s also very high in fructose.
Michael says in the book to steer right away from all types of sugars whilst on the 800 cal BSD and to only resort to artificial sweeteners if you absolutely have to. He says it’s best to get the taste of sweet foods completely out of your system.
I’m now in week 11, have lost 16.6kg (36.5lbs) and have just under 10kg to go. Once I’ve reached my goal, I’ll simply up my calories and continue to keep all sugars and simple (white) carbs out of my diet to maintain my weight.
The danger of fructose on our bodies had been scientifically proven.
If anyone would like more info, I can recommend David Gillespie’s books ‘Sweet Poison’ and ‘Eat Real Food’. I got them both off Amazon on my Kindle.
Love this thread, keep up the posts, it’s keeping me motivated!!
Cheers
Linda

I hope you’re right! I work from home so the fridge is a constant temptation, but as I’m the one who does the shopping at least I get to choose what I put in it. Sounds like you’re keeping it simple which is what I want to do as I hate cooking! Thanks for the inspiration.

Hi Catherine80

I have read same on the forums about the recipes being inaccurate and have noticed one recipe myself in the book where calories were definitely underestimated.

Im using Myfitness Pal for recording my daily meals and its great for counting calories. I think the book says you can have some higher or lower days but as long as it evens out its ok.

Im only 3 days in and have a question about the weekends and how people manage it. Usually its my time to splurge, do people usually include the alcohol in the 800 calories, wouldnt leave alot to eat I imagine?

Wowser Sue1234

Respect to you you are my role model now, I have 7 st 1lb to loose, how much more do you plan to loose.

I read somewhere that the calorie counts aren’t always accurate, and after counting the calories in my first BSD meal (I’m just starting today) I got 210 calories for the 180 calorie No Carb Bircher. I can cut that down I think by just using one walnut in future rather than 1 tbsp chopped walnuts.

How important is it to stick to 800 calories? Or should I just stick to the recipes and not worry about a few extra calories here and there? It’s all healthy foods so if a day ended up at 850 or 900 would that be okay? Maybe for best results I need to be super disciplined and add up the calories in everything just to be sure.

Monday Day 128 Weight 9st 11lbs
Blood Sugar 9.8

Baked quiches with a gram flour pastry base – a tea cup as a measure – 1 .5 cups gram flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup rapeseed oil, approx 1/4 to 1/2 cup water mix and roll out on a gram floured surface. I cut circles with the teacup to go in the pattie/yorkshire pudding tin. NB Make sure you grease the tin very well with rapeseed oil before you put the pastry in. Bake at 180 C for about 15 mins. Add your preferred filling and bake for another 20 mins.

I made a combination of mini quiches (eggs milk salt pepper grated cheese and bits of gammon) and mini pizza’s (tomato puree, sliced cheese and cooked gammon.

First batch I didn’t make sure the pastry had no holes or cracks in and I made a mess of my tins, but the second batch worked out a lot better. The salt in the pastry is essential.

Tuesday Day 129 weight 9st 10lbs Lost 20lbs in total 🙂 🙂
Blood Sugar 10.4

Wednesday Day 130 weight 9st 10lbs
Blood Sugar 10.0

Have had the munchies this week – have munched on nuts and most recently crisps – I still have some in the cupboard, but once they are gone I wont buy anymore, I have Quinoa crisps to work through after that – I bought 12 packs for £6.49 online so not too expensive. In the last few days I have had some “normal” mini pizzas and it was the day after eating one that I lost the extra pound!
I have 5 more reqular mini pizza’s in the freezer and will only have one a week from now on until they to are gone. I don’t like to waste food which is why I didn’t throw them out in the beginning.

I tried eating home made popped corn with nothing added, but that seemed to spike my Blood Sugar in the morning.

Any idea what I can nibble at night? For the next few nights I am going to try to add an extra drink, but I am worried that this will mean me getting up in the night to pee!

You will be surprised how easy it is to stick to. I usualy have just a coffe for breakfast the nothing all day until dinner . For dinner i have a Cup a Soup then 100 grams of natural greek yogart with some ground LSA. Othe days i may have 2 eggs & bacon no toast for brealfast no lunch & same dinner as above. At least once a week i have a small steak with brocalli . I keep busy and dont have any temptation in the fridge excep some trail mix . I have some diet Tonic water no calories for a drink at night pretend its a gin n tonic . Lol
Mike

This is really inspiring, thanks for posting your results. I’m just starting today and as kind of a sugar addict the prospect of sticking to this diet for the coming weeks is scary! I’m going on holidays in 7 weeks and I’m 10kg overweight so would love to at least get down to a healthy weight for my height in that time.

Hi I live on the Gold Coast see my post 4 weeks in .
Mike

Hi MREY

The paleo style cafe that I like a lot is Thr1ve. http://thr1ve.me/a/stores

They have excellent choices and are very BSD friendly.

Theres a few branches in Sydney. They had a branch near my job but they just recently moved and I was raging!

Hope you have a great time here. I love the cafes here in Sydney, I just have steer clear of the luscious banana bread but the coffee here is fantastic, my other tip would be go for a piccolo latte so you can get the shot without all the carby milk.

Those are fantastic results, well done. I’m just starting today so a bit apprehensive about the 7 weeks ahead (can only do 7 weeks as I’m going on holidays and definitely wouldn’t be able to stick to 800 calories a day). I’ve done a water fast before and would love to do it again.