The weight loss is amazing , I’m not T2 but Andy is ,,I am overweight though , you definitely feel your clothes looser after the first week . I wanted to do the diet with him for support and I’m so pleased I am . It can be quite time consuming working out what to eat each meal and keep to 800 calories a day , which so far we have and I’m getting a few meals in the freezer as well for back up . I think the challenge keeps you motivated , I’m hoping his sugars will start to come down a bit more over the next few weeks

After 2 weeks on bsd I was able to cut down medication to 1 x metformin per day and halve blood pressure meds. Blood glucose , before breakfast, is now 6. My bloodpressure isnow 111/66,but Ive lost only 2 lbs.j. It would be verydiscouraging but my clothes are looser and I appear slimmer. I am going to hang in there because I feel so good, I hope you do too.

there must be something better than cauliflower rice !! i wish i longed for cauliflower rice the way i long for hot buttery mash!! i did shepherds pie with celeriac mash ok but not hot buttery mash!!! and i added leeks in it to make it better!!!

Going to try your breakfast tomorrow as I have all the things in hand. Salad is my usual lunch with cottage or 28gms of cheddar cheese but will buy some feta tomorrow so will count the salad as 8 carbs and add those for cottage cheese as I usually have 100gms. We also have lots of soups but usually contain sweet potatoes so will change that.
I was also shocked at apples as I usually have one grated on my porridge but I don’t like cooked carrots and only have a little grated raw on salad. When I made the chilli I added more peppers and celery than she said, left out some of the oil and made it spicier.
Have 1 portion left for tomorrow so will have that with broccoli and cauliflower. I have a cottage pie recipe which I will look out which only has 40gms of red lentils in it plus veg like mushrooms and peppers and use it on it’s own without the potato topping.
Once again thanks for the input — learning as I go on.

Hi I’m a 39 year old mum of 2 and I have tried every diet known to man! I even paid for a gastro balloon once!!!
My dad is diabetic and my man was. I’m over weight 5ft 6 and on Sunday was 12 stone 7.
I read this on Sunday and thought the book made sense. I carry all of my weight on my stomach! I saw a muskuloskeletal specialist yesterday who commented on the fat around my stomach.
I’ve put this diet into action! Today I weighed 12.3 I know it will be water but it’s great to see it coming off. I did have some banana chips today because I craved sweet but that’s all I’ve done that I feel a bit guilty about. So far I’m not missing my carbs.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I think I’m going ok mainly living on eggs and salmon. Made some beetroot falafels and some bean burgers that I enjoyed.
I will keep posting weekly but I would appreciate support from anyone who’s been doing this a while

Also not a big Mcd fan however willpower would usually fail me in these circumstances and I would give in and have something far too sugary for its/my own good. By the way I found a horrifying recipe online for Brussels sprout and hamburger hash earlier. The mind boggles…

I salute you! While not a huge McD’s lover, I do like their 99p hamburger…

Well get me, little Miss Willpower. I’m sitting in McDonald’s with my white coffee while the boys pig their Mcflurries. I’m not bothered. Nope. Not at all.

I have days like that Josie, last night for example, with my awful kedgeree (cauli rice again!). I only ate about a quarter of it and I left it, and got myself a bowl of yogurt and strawberries 🙂

Winfrey, it’s approximately 5 miles. It takes me around 2 hours but I’m slower than FifiP! Most smartphones have apps you can get.

it was ok it sort of went brownish tried to kid myself that it had cheese on the top, life is full of disappointments. It was late and it was about 7 hours since i had eaten anything except a couple of almonds so anything would have tasted good

Try it with mashed cauliflower as opposed to cauli rice next time Josie, it’s really nice. I use frozen because it mashes up nice and it cooks quickly – plenty of black pepper in it and a pinch of sea salt. I don’t know if I’d fancy using the rice on top, did it crisp up?

Am on week 6 of 8 and my blood sugar only just starting to come down, for me what worked was ditching bread,potato, pasta and rice! Never thought I would be able to do this but I have! Good luck to you I am sure with all your support you will succeed!

i made a sort of cottage pie tonight and put the “cauliflower rice” on the top and just put it in the oven it wasn’t amazing but it was eatable.

Hi my husband has been type 2 for about 6 years , the day we started the BSD his readings were 18 and was taking 2 metformin 1000 a day 80 mg 2x twice a day gliclazide , 8 mg perindopril and 5 mg amlodipine a day , , we are now half way through week three and he’s taken no medication since the begining of week 2 , weight loss 14 lb , blood pressure every day is normal , blood sugars 8 to 8.5 , we also have the support of our doctor and diabetic nurse , who’ve asked me to keep a diary to show other patients which is very incorageing . What my husband is concerned about is that his blood sugars seem to be stuck at 8 how long does it normally take for them to start decreasing ?

How you doing Wishbone – i’ve managed to get back on track – 4 days now so really pleased. Hope you are being as fortunate?
Frog – hangover was very mild and i ended up doing two walks of 7 miles each so well exercised (lots of tea and water!)

Izzy, sitting having tomato & courgette soup after a day in Edinburgh where I attended my first ‘flashmob’ event- a lunchtime ceilidh at Holyrood. An attempt to lift the EUref mood. It was fun. I didn’t strip any willows but have arrived home with 18200 steps on my pedometer (smug face – all those Edinburgh steep streets/staircases) . I tried the ‘pastry’ as a top for chicken pie. It’s a bit on the sloppy side so would cool in fridge a bit longer and maybe not roll out so thin. Have a bit left so will try again with some beef mince tomorrow. Still tastes of coconut tho’. I used ground almonds as am baulking at buying yet one more ingredient new to me ( flaxseed meal ). Not sure how I would have manipulated it to make a pasty as it was breaking as I touched it. Going to have to be trial and error. Have managed to lose a couple of pounds this week so am happy. Another couple and I will break a ‘milestone’ on the way downwards.

Tokyo, the jury is still out with me too. I asked hubby before and he’d be prepared to try it again but – in his words – ‘it would have to be with something moist’. So I think we’ll be having it with curry on Saturday. That sounds like a good plan, that way you’ll eliminate hissy fits like I had in the week if your weight fluctuates 😉 Awwww bless you, don’t go overdoing the garden if you’re recovering. I haven’t watched BB in donkey’s years. Nothing at all against it, just trying to battle four other people for the handset, it’s either sports or Cartoon Network. So I just read instead x

Hi Winifred, is it full fat milk you’re using? I can’t drink that, I am on skimmed (for taste not health reasons) and I see 250ml of skimmed is 83 calories compared to 155 calories in full fat. I only have a few coffees a day now, because I can’t justify using so few calories on a drink, if you know what I mean. One or two in the morning to wake me up and occasionally one in the evening, but I mainly try and stick to water now, I’d rather have the food 😉

Thank you both! What a welcoming start! I’m intrigued now about this cauliflower thread!

Hi, I’ve just ordered the blood sugar diet book so don’t really know the whole idea but it looks a bit like atkins to me. Can someone explain the difference please?

hi all –

day two:

weight: 202.2 (diff: – 7.8)
calories: 911
carbs: 71
breakfast: black coffee
lunch: vermicelli and chicken
dinner: swiss cheese
snacks: 3 cups popcorn
exercise: —

calories were okay today but carbs were way too high! it was pouring rain & thunder & lightning so my run got kiboshed but that’s just life so i’m going to roll with it. popcorn has always been my losing weight go-to treat, but it’s just so high in carbs i think i need to keep it as a once and awhile treat, maybe once a week. that’s okay, i’m learning. i drink much more coffee than usual when i’m on this diet – i think because it’s low-calorie & it feels like a treat but it’s not really! i drink it black, no sugar or milk.

celeste x

Hi Nella, all contributions to the ‘Failed Cauliflower Recipes’ cookbook are welcome… you’ll find out what that’s about in another thread 😉

For me, 10k steps is an hour at a good pace. The rest of the day’s steps are an added bonus!

I do want to lose more weight, I feel more comfortable when I’m about 8st 10 but I’ll settle for 9st. I really do think I’m a TOFI and have gained a lot of weight in the past two years. The BDS has highlighted my dependency on sugar and carbs and I want to keep that in check.
I’m a veggie with lactose intolerance so most cheeses don’t agree with me (I can just handle cheddar).
I need to rethink this I think, thank you. I’ll carry on but try harder to up my calorie intake to 800.

Hi PRAL, I must say I agree with Janey. If you’re not overweight and not diabetic then I’m not entirely sure why you’re on the 800 cal diet? I’m not diabetic and I’m marginally overweight (BMI of 24.9) and I’m following the 5:2.

I would suggest that you shouldn’t count calories or carbs at all (unless it was to make sure that you are definitely having enough), but just make sure that you are eating the correct sort of carbs (i.e. non starchy) and following the BSD way of life by eating lots of vegetables, pulses, lean protien and good fats. Given your past diagnosis (correct or not), I think you should probably speak to a health professional regarding whether this is a good option for you, as none of us are experts by any stretch!

The good thing is that you don’t feel hungry on this WOE (way of eating- don’t call it a diet as that’s missing the point of it). The sugar spikes are what caused the munchies before so if you’re stable on carb intake you don’t feel the need to snack. Take it from one who has been a lifelong cake and choccie eater! I started very rigidly on the cals but as time went on (now in week 7) I’ve trusted my body and appetite more. Now I am pretty strict on week days but more relaxed at weekends, certainly as far as portions go. Still not eating all those carbtastic foods but not beating myself up for a glass of red wine or a bigger dinner! I don’t weigh myself but my clothes are proof that I’m doing the right things! And I’m in this for the long haul, not a quick fix!

You are educating your boy into good eating habits.. Congrats! But don’t get hung up on it; kids burn energy and need some carbs to keep them going!

Get some lovely Longley Farm cottage cheese or halloumi and enjoy eating it. I promise you, you’ll be full and fine!

You need to get a pedometer or a pedometer app for your smartphone

Thanks Janey, I started doing this because I realised I was eating way too much sugar and relying on carbs, I took the tests in the book and, going on their results, I think I am a TOFI. I was having 3 tsp of sugar in my coffee twice a day!
My son is now 5 and I want to show him how to eat healthily and he is now eating a better diet (not cutting carbs necessarily but definitely reduced sugar!) as a Super Healthy Challenge. He’s interested in what I’m eating too so I think it’s a good thing but I agree about needing to up my calorie intake. I’ve bought some whole earth peanut butter (no added sugar) and try to have a teaspoon with my evening coffee but the truth is, I’m not hungry and I’m now scared of eating too much!
Please say this has happened to others and that they have overcome it!

Hello, Please could someone help me, 10,000steps, could this be translated please or do you walk along counting? is that an hour/2hr/3hr walk? Many thanks.

Hi PRAL, welcome on board. You’ve done well with weightloss but if your BMI is already at 21 why are you trying to lose so much weight? Your calorie intake is too low, even for the 8 week version of the BSD. You should be around 800 cals not as low as 400. A spoonful of mustard is not going to make much difference for you! Maybe just following the principles and food types of the BSD is enough for you? You will feel better but won’t need to get hung up on calories so much. Good luck 🙂

I’m on day 15 of the BSD and have lost 13lbs with which I am really pleased. My BMI is now 21 so that’s good too.

My problem is this: I have been trying to get to 800 cals a day using only natural foods as outlined in the book. For example, for lunch today I had homemade hummus, steamed broccoli and asparagus, and a couple of tablespoons of puy lentils with a little salt and lemon juice. For dinner I’ll be having tuna and butterbean hash (my alternative to mashed potato, it’s really good and I recommend it!) and a green salad with no dressing. I haven’t yet reached 800 cals on any of the days I’ve been doing this; it’s almost like I’m scared of a lot of foods now, especially carbs. I track everything on MFP so I don’t go over 50g of carbs a day and I have bought some Ketostix to ensure I am in ketosis every day. I see others doing this diet but allowing themselves things like mustard and whilst I’d love to have some, I think it goes against the guidelines because of the added sugar. My calorie intake has ranged from between 400-700 cals a day since starting this.

Am I being too strict with this? I’m very much an ‘all or nothing’ person and I waited a month and a half to start doing this so I was ready. Now I’m a bit worried that I’m being too ‘good’ with it! I have a past diagnosis of anorexia nervosa which I completely dispute, I have something called emetophobia which led to me being frightened of eating about 15 years ago but I existed on mainly dry biscuits and toast, it wasn’t in order to lose weight, it was to stop myself from vomiting.

its uk and on food packaging its carbs and sugars

Hi Tokyo — don’t know where you live but in US it is carbohydrates MINUS the fiber for a “net carb” count. You don’t have to worry about the sugars if you track the carbs.

Welcome to the posts and the BSD Nella! You have arrived in just the right place! Best wishes for your continuing success and getting the diabetes under control. There is a lot of good support here (also humor, especially around cauliflower!😜) — keep reading, keep posting, keep losing!

hi can someone confirm when i look on nutrition values on packets of food etc
it says carbohydrates and then underneath sugars which figure do i go by the total carbohydrates or just the sugars?

Tapioca is a very easily metabolized starch. I have read that it is particularly bad for people trying to control blood sugar (I believe there is a discussion of it in Gary Taubes book “Good Calories Bad Calories”). Taubes may also mention it in my favorite book, “Why We Get Fat” (excellent and short discussion of refined carbohydrate effects on the body). Arrowroot is similar. I would avoid both if possible (no pearl tea!).

Hi Systema,
don’t worry too much – on 800 cals you will lose weight regardless of the carbs. The lower carbs are important for fat-burning and especially for those trying to reverse diabetes or avoid prediabetes. If you are not in that category, try the approach you have for the week, you may find that adjusting your portion size will be enough to bring the carbs down. There is at least one person on the forum who was fat burning whilst eating 80g per day!
The shock for me was apples and carrots. I had been using cherry tomatoes and carrots for a ‘snack’ when I got peckish! Likewise I had made carrot soup. I stopped having apples after that unless they were small ones and stuck to blueberries and have been having some strawberries now they are in season and the occasional do-nut peach (they are small).
If you follow the book you will see MM says forget about recording calories for salads and fill up on them, concentrate on not using the banned list of foods as they are the ones that cause blood sugar issues. What drives the carb counting and calories are apps like myfitnesspal! Also they do not differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad (sugars) carbs. A lot of veggie food is good carb, but you need to eat the pulses in moderation.
I used the first two weeks to get used to eating less and not snacking, which was why I started on Shakes. If you take that approach and adjust a little each day, then you will be fine.
The salads I have most often include cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions, celery and red-peppers, often with Feta cheese which is tasty, filling but with no carbs. – this typically is 7-8g carbs per meal. I also make soup and will have soup and salad at lunch. Todays soup was Pea and Lettuce – smaller portion than I used to have, but 13g carb giving me a lunch total of 20g. Breakfast (the one I described above) is 10g, leaving me 30g for the evening meal. I have the Rose Elliot Low GI book as well, I think that is where I got the Ratatouille from. I used to make her Chilli from that as well, but for some reason decided not to try that with this approach.
Good luck with the reading and I am happy to chat as you go along.

Hello everyone. I was gobsmacked to find 2 cups of milky coffee has so much fat and carbs! shall have to stick to one a day. Having trouble keeping to 800cals. More water perhaps to fill the gaps.?

i have to say i tried cauliflower rice last night not the same as rice and i tried to disguise it with bit of ginger and tumeric!!!! so not a hit with me but hubby liked it and i ate it as it was that or nothing !!!!!!!!
done more gardeni an hour an half just had a ham salad now shoving down the water!!
i think after tomorrow i will just weigh once a week and i have measured so will do that too, i am judging it on clothes too but prior to this most things felt tight so i guess i will know when they loosen up !!
quiet afternoon planned i have to take a rest as still have lingering effects of chemo but nothing more than feet up and trashy tv!!!!!
sorry but i love big brother so its that this afternoon x

Pretty much, yes Timmy 😉

Speaking of kebabs, I’d best go and make them. All well and good talking about them 🙂 I’ll put the pics up later this evening, thanks Janey, and husband just bluetoothed the Home Bargains one to me so that can go up too. I shall stick my head in later (…) behave and play nicely. No double entendres unless I’m here, please.

Both of my sons are Type 1. When newly diagnosed, Type 1’s are in the ‘honeymoon’ period, where the pancreas is still producing a small amount of insulin & it’s sort of hit or miss when it happens (very hard to gauge how much insulin to take during that time). I would say that ESPECIALLY during this time, the BSD / low carb would be helpful. My sons pretty much eat what they want (except NO sugar drinks which REALLY spike their blood sugars), then just count the carbs & cover it with the appropriate amount of insulin. They’re both on pumps. 1 son gets a lot of exercise/works out, which really helps keep his b.s. down (also a college kid). The other son, if he wants a snack at bedtime, but doesn’t want to mess up his b.s., will eat a no-carb snack such as meat & cheese. My sons are 21 & 14, so they need carbs for growing/developing; at 23, she may be able to do less. There are some groups on FB that are wonderful for support & info. There are some groups by type of insulin pump used, some just for Type 1’s &/.or their fam members. She can reach out to me also, any time. We’ve been dealing with this for a LONG time & many diff. situations, & 2 diff. insulin pumps. Also, 1 son uses a CGM (continuous glucose monitor). ~Michelle modom3232@gmail.com

Hi – I am going to have to do more research now – I had already planned today and have 92 gms carbs but the cals are fine. I always eat salad and that was a shock at 20 – I know veg contains carbs but not that many. Tonight’s tea is a variation on Rose Elliot’s Best Ever Chilli (left over from yesterday) which works out at 41 for the chilli and 12 for broccoli and cauliflower so 53 for tea leaves very few left.!! I have Rose Elliot’s Low GI book so will have a look at that and a friends has emailed me and said she has 5:2 Vegetarian by Celia Brooks which I can borrow so will read that over the week-end.
Fancy the cauliflower base pizza from lavender and lovage site so will carb that on myfitnesspal.
Thanks for all the info orchid – I have seen your name before in the forum so will find that as well – not going to have much time for doing anything but reading over the next few days. 🙂

Thanks so much for this!

Hi Timmy, Yes I’m very grateful that by following BSD I’ve been able to reduce my numbers hugely and the excess weight. I’m on week 16 now and have no intention of stopping just yet. You’re right in that they probably want to see a sustained level of good numbers.

Don’t mention the goats brains or they’ll all want the recipe!

Anyway Timmy, it’s her fault. She’s the youngster with all the trashy talk of kebabs and kedgeree..

Snow that’s been driven through a dirty puddle! 😉

curious too, if it’s allowed

Just wanted to document my experience so far. This is now week 2. I have not felt hungry at all or a lack of energy yet or even any low sugar moments, which I was worried about. However the first four days I did have terrible nausea, which was not a side effect I was expecting. Is this because my body is detoxing from the carb overload it has had for so long? Anyway the nausea was so bad I did contemplate giving up the diet. But thankfully I have stuck with it. Weighed myself at the end of week 1 and to my delight and surprise I have lost 7 lbs!

I don’t know what it has done to my sugar levels yet. I was diagnosed with diabetes in March (but probably had it much longer) and have an irrational fear of needles so cannot bring myself to test my sugar levels. The very thought of it stresses me out. I am on metformin, supposed to be working on taking my dose up to four tablets a day. Currently on 3 tablets a day but thought instead of upping it to four I will try this diet instead.

Encouraged by the weight loss so I am really really hoping it will reverse the diabetes too. Still a little in shock that I have been diagnosed as diabetic, and maybe a little in denial too. I don’t want this illness for life. More than anything I want this diet to work.

Anyway, to all who are just starting out or about to start, take hope, it has definitely worked in terms of weight loss so far for me. So here’s hoping it will work for each and every one of us!

I’d try and take it up with the Doc/nurse again. It may be that they want to see a more sustained period of these readings before they take you off them completely. It’s a step in the right direction that you have had a reduction though! Keep it up.

It’s that Janey, Timmy. I’m as pure as the driven snow, me… Bad influence. Halloumi, goats brains. Spunky coconut. Sounds like a bloody spell. Where’s me cauldron?? Where will it all end?