Is feta cheese ok and how much
Alan

Hi Mamabees. It sounds like you really started with an amazing first week’s loss. Congratulations! It’s always going to slow down a bit thereafter but it’s not always easy to keep motivated is it? I’m a second weeker too and I’ve switched my scales to kg as then I can see even a 100g loss (this morning). It’s only a few ounces but better that than nothing! I find dieting a bit like giving up smoking, there is a sense of loss, if that doesn’t sound over dramatic. Things I used to do,( like snack in the evenings) , just can’t be done any more and that made me sad. But I found with the smoking that after a while I just forgot about the old bad habits and deliberately found new healthy ones. So, treats of a different kind. An evening stroll in the sunshine ( yeah, right!) painting my nails, joining a choir, learning Welsh (!) all help to fill the time and became things I enjoyed. So I’m applying the same theory to the BSD. Hope that helps. Stick with it, we are all with you.

I would like to make crab cakes for dinner tonight. What type of crab meat do you use in the recipe? If you are using fresh crab meat (uncooked) do you cook it first?
Melita

Another second weeker here. I haven’t felt ill but a little tired. Not sure if its the diet, the cold (in Australia) or work. I have been seeing blood sugars in the morning in the 7s which is awesome from someone who was happy if it was less than 12 before.

Housework – urgh. Although I was thinking I’d like a personal chef to cook my low carb, calorie meals. Cauliflower only goes so far!

Syb

I am trying to come up with some winter recipes I can take to work. I am not a big fan of tomato soups so was thinking a pea and ham would be ok? I was also thinking casseroles with meat, stock and above ground veggies?

I’d love some ideas and opinions

thank

Syb

I have just signed up and getting ready to embark on this plan. Is there somewhere here where I can record my own statistics etc, a sort of diary? weight, body fat, water content?

Hi Christine
Very sorry to hear of your family’s sad loss. My sympathy & prayers are with you all.
Do hope you look after yourself & can post again sometime in the future. May you keep & draw on that strength you have found during the last 14 weeks.
I’m pleased your hard work on the craft stall was rewarded.
Make the best of every day, we never know what the future holds. Keep on keeping on. 🌹
Eureka

Well it’s day 12 and 3 weeks ago I couldn’t do 5 min on the exercise bike so today I decided to give it a try and I did two 10 min sessions with the HIT included. I know it’s not much to all I see here but it’s my path and for me it’s awesome.
I am shocked.
I am so looking forward to what activities the future will hold for me.
💜

Oh I am so sorry for your loss – sending many hugs and prayers for you and your family!
💜🌷

Wow 8 miles!!!!!!! Wow!!
I was just thrilled because I did two 10 min workouts on the exercise bike as I couldn’t even do 5 min 3 weeks ago! I added the HIT also!
Take care of your feet and great job with your quick dinner change!!

Hi janicem,
I don’t know what type of epilepsy you have but I know some types respond well to a ketogenic diet. I know of a child who finds it is the only way to prevent seizures. You should definitely talk to your neurologist though to make sure it is safe with your mess.

First diabetic clinic was on Mon and I was quite happy that the nurse thought I was well-informed and had looked into what I was doing with the diet. Also my blood sugar had gone down slightly in the week between the first and second hba1c’s so that was good.

Then I was handed the leaflet which under dietary stuff basically has cereal or bread at every breakfast suggestion and then all the lunches and dinners have potatoes, pasta or other carby junk.

Have my next hba1c in 3 months to check that it’s all going in the right direction. The nurse did say that I should think about meds though… to which I probably rolled my eyes (unconsciously)…

Hi Christine

So sorry to hear your news. Condolences to you all. (((hugs)))

Congratulations on the money made on your craft stall.

Just take care of yourself for now and down worry about the BSD. Come back when you’re ready.

Love and prayers.

Oh maaannn I’m so tired. I’ve just warmed up with a herbal tea after my walk with my friend and it will be off to bed for me in a minute. We walked around 8 miles and 20000 steps. Tomorrow we are going on a history tour in the city.

Minor update to food I didn’t have time to cook chicken and cashews, well that and my husband forgot to get cashews!

I fried up some bacon, added a spring onion to the pan (it was looking lonely in the fridge) then added a little garlic, then courgetti and cherry tomatoes, cooked through, finally a little tomato puree stirred through and a bit of chilli salt on top. It was actually yummy.

ok, bed for me, night everyone.

Hi, for anyone missing the evil versions of these foods, Groupon currently has a deal on ‘Better than’ versions of these foods made of the same stuff as the Bare Naked range,

https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/gg-groupon-goods-global-gmb-h-3522-merchandising-uk

Not sure how much longer this offer is on for

That’s a fantastic list, lots there to be pleased about and great motivation to keep going!

I’m in Scotland in UK, near the East coast. Our walk was fab tonight but my feet hurt! we did about 8 miles tho, along the coast. Really enjoyed the sound of the waves.

Christine
What a terrible shock for you and your family. Thinking of you at this horribly sad time. We will be here for you whatever you need from us and whenever.

Hi Christine,
My condolences to you and those effected by this tragedy. There are times when life makes no sense. I lost my 53 year old sister-in-law to breast cancer in January, one of my best friends at work died playing volleyball, aged 46, of a heart attack in October and another colleague also 46 died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve. All left young families and grieving spouses.
You will need time to grieve; to be angry and shout; to adjust to your loss. Take that time; and when the time is right, come back to the forum. We will all be waiting for you to help you get going again. Eat what your body says it needs and don’t worry about BSD for now.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Ruth.

Neat idea Peggy! Which app did you choose?

Hi all,
I haven’t been on the forum for a few days, however I have now caught up with all the posts, I’m not responding to any there are too many!
We had some bad news minutes before we left for the spring market at church, one of our relatives, of the Aunty Edna teas, had a road accident in a hail storm, on the 15th April, she had massive brain trauma, after lots of efforts to save her they turned off the life support on Friday 6th may, she was 37 an Oxford graduate and the whole family is devastated, as you can imagine. I have been unable to function properly since, it’s knocked the stuffing out of me and all the family are in different states of grief, so I’m not going to be on the forum for a while, it’s taken me a great effort just to do this post, however I am hoping that just writing it down, what’s happened and how I feel will help me move forward.
On a lighter note our craft stall at the church made £90 odd pounds,
I am still trying to keep to the bsd diet, I am finding it hard, I seem to be hungry and I think it’s the grief taking over. I will have to just keep a low profile for a while in all area of my life for a bit, so good luck to everyone and keep on keeping on, and a big thank you to all of you who have supported me along the way it will be 14 weeks at the end of this week.
Christine

Sorry you’re all finding week 2 hard as well but you’re right, it is a relief to hear I’m not the only one.

Fantastic weight loss MooLoc. I’ll hang on in there with you through this week and hopefully we will be full of life in week 3.

Housework DemiMondaine. what’s that? *grin* I’m enjoying the thought of losing 6st in 8 weeks though – I’d be quite thin then. I’m knitting at the moment to keep my hands occupied, Not very good at it yet so I have a long scarf like thing with lots of holes (as haven’t mastered picking up dropped stitches) that is nearly 7 feet long

MrsG27715 8lbs gone is of course brilliant but I know exactly what you mean about the 1lb being disappointing when you are ravenous. I’m hanging on to the thought that others on here do say it gets easier if we can just get through this bit.

Looking forward to the first post from one of us saying we’ve suddenly burst into life and energy

http://realmealrevolution.com/recipes/almond-and-poppy-seed-bread

Easy to make, full of fibre and tastes good. Use a 1lb loaf tin as it comes out more loaf like, a bit flat in a bigger one.

End of day five and I am feeling flipping fantastic!
I have so much energy and am not at all tired as I used to be in the day (which I thought was normal! ) Been to zumba which I loved. I’m usually an active person- I run, go to zumba and yoga but since starting the diet I felt to tired/low in energy and knew that would change so went easy on myself in terms of exercise as my body was adjusting. Today was my first session of exercise on the diet and I loved it! Still buzzing!
Am finding the 800 cals pretty easy, and actually loving the food and my renewed interest in food and cooking. Today I made the beef and feta burgers- absolutely delicious! Did find myself craving carbs today but jist kept telling myself that it’d normal and it will pass. I did buy a bar of green and blacks dark choc with ginger and have had 3 squares (50 cals) which was divine! Much nicer than a whole big bar of normal choc I would have scoffed without thinking. Anyway, feeling very positive today and ready for tomorrow…going to makeep Izzy’s hunters chicken xx

Hi again, bumblebee,
You sound like you’ve got your head screwed on right! Keep thinking like that & you won’t go far wrong.
Sorry you’ve got a bad head – if you’re feeling a bit foggy, don’t forget to keep hydrated (that’s one of my problems).

Car is back in my garage – still to settle up with the garage, but I’m sure it will cost more than the car is actually worth! 🙁
Oh well, I’ll be researching a new one, so long as this one lasts long enough to get my finances ready!

Take care.

Thank you DemiMondaine for your reply.

Yes, I am tracking my food on the LoseIt app. Some days last week I was under 800 and some I went up to 850. I usually don’t drink on the weekends, only if I have an event to go to. I didn’t think the calories from the alcohol would matter since I’ve only eaten one meal on Saturday and Sunday. I also make sure I am eating plenty of vegetables everyday. Hoping my second week will be better, its been very challenging but this is my last hope for a program to work, so I have to give it my ALL. Please let me know how how long you have been on this diet and what your results are.

Hearing about everyone’s success stories is a real motivation to me! Please share everyone, thank you!

GonnaBeDazzling – I just downloaded a pedometer app onto my phone, as it’s almost always in my pocket!

JabbyGirl – well done, that’s fantastic!

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone, it really does help.

Well I calculated that if I kept up my current weight loss I would have lost 6st some by the end of week 8, so let’s say that’s not going to happen!

You may not quite lose 10% in the 8 weeks, if that is your question. You will certainly lose more slowly than someone who is heavier – I started at around 149 lbs, and finished week 6 at 138 lbs, a loss of 6%. I had to stop the diet for unrelated medical reasons, but I doubt I would have lost another 4% in the last two weeks.

Don’t forget we’re all different, so you might find you lose a lot the second week.

Are you counting all the calories though? It’s horrible the way small things add up. I made the mistake of buying a bag of Brazil nuts the first week: 30 calories each. Also, I would cut down on the booze – there are an awful lot of calories in beer. I had two cocktails over the weekend but they were the kind that mostly contain spirits with a bit of lime juice, so only about 170 calories each. Still a high proportion of my daily intake, but worth it as an occasional indulgence.

I’m filling up a lot on vegetables, I mean a LOT of vegetables. So I might have 50g of hummus, but with that I’m having about 500g of raw vegetables. I’m not eating any carbs as such at all, just what I get from beans and fruit.

Hope this helps.

I have a question about this too. Is half a tin, half of a small tin or the larger tin?

Hi is it really OK to eat half a tin of Heinz baked beans (albeit low sugar) on Portobello mushroom….see recipes. It seemed very sweet and I would not normally choose something with “sugar” as an ingredient only not much in larder tonight! Clarification please maybe there are tinned baked beans that I don’t know about? Thanks Tofa

When calories are given for more than 1 serving like scones is it for 1 scone or all?

It depends on your goals.

If you are trying to follow the blood sugar diet because you are attempting to induce diabetic remission based on the underlying research, the diet is 800 calories coming from a variety of nutrient dense mediterranean style foods, including “good” carbs. No specific carb limit is recommended by the author – and if you follow the meal plan in the book, the carb count varies considerably from day to day.

For those of us who are diabetic, many of us are uncomfortable eating enough carbs to elevate our blood glucose above a certain level – and some of the recipes here push the limit. Although I seem to be able to tolerate more now, at the start I could not tolerate more than 20 in any 3 hour period. So that is my personal cap – but it is not one imposed by the BSD.

If you are not diabetic (or pre-diabetic or have another condition tied to carb intake), there is no medical reason to limit your carbs. Limiting your calories to 800 will cause you to lose weight, even if 100% of those calories come from carbs. But eating that many carbs wouldn’t be consistent with the diet, which encourages a well-balanced mixture of foods (including “good” carbs). In addition, many people find that limiting carbs and eating relatively more fat make it easier to stick to eating only 800 calories. Trial and error has caused many people who post here to adopt a cap of 50 grams as a quantity that works well for them.

💗day 12

Amazing transformations from 2.5 weeks on this diet so far are:

Losing inches
Losing weight
I bought clothes two sizes smaller 2
days ago and they fit already
I am wearing pants that I could not fit
before at all
My stomach seems to be healing
I don’t have joint pain
I have a lot more energy
I need less sleep
I can stand in the kitchen and shower without hip and back pain
BS went from 116 to 80
No hernia issues

Almost a relief to read this post! Been thinking it was just me!
I’m also in my 2nd week and feel like I have absolutely no energy at all. My arms and legs feel heavy too.
Was pleased with how my first week went …losing 7lbs, and no hunger pangs. This week I’m ravenous! And seriously missing wine.
Disappointed to have stepped on the scales this morning and only lost 1lb so far this week.
I’m usually so quick to give up a diet that’s not going the way I want it to, but I’ve felt more determined to stick with this one …well, until today!

well actually, eureka, the simple carbs don’t seem to bother me – indeed my reflux got better the last 2 weeks when I was back to bingeing and eating rubbish

I got the reflux book today – but it has just added to my already stressed and addled brain
loads of the recipes include bread or wheats and bananas so I don’t want to eat them
and then on their ‘DONT’ eat list is half the stuff I eat – berries/yog/
oh
and then they start all the stuff about throat cancers which I realise but REALLY don’t need to read about
so now I am in a totally mess as to what I should do

I was doing nicely with berries and yog, even if my throat does feel a bit odd – but not after that

its things like this which make me spin out of control and back into carbo land

Hello All,

This is the start of my second week on BSD and I’m already feeling discouraged. The start of my first week was strong. I started last Monday and by Friday I was down 4.8 lbs. Friday night I attended a party but only had a quarter of a plate of food and and two glasses of champagne. Saturday I walked for an hour on the tredmill, and my only meal was dinner at 8:00pm which was a small piece of steak with salad, and I had two beers. Sunday same thing, had one meal all day which included roasted peppers, 2 oz. piece of meat and some tomato salad. When I weighed myself yesterday, I was up 2.2 lbs. and I hardly ate! Not sure if it was from the few drinks I had but its crazy how fast weight or water weight can come back so fast!

Started strong again yesterday with 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch, and chicken stir-fry for dinner. Also had a couple of nuts for a snack. Today for breakfast I had a small apple with 2 tbls of peanut butter, and lunch I had the chicken walnut wraps which is a recipe from the book. For dinner I will be having chicken stir-fry again, and also will be talking a zumba class. I’ve been noticing that I’ve been feeling hungry about an hour after eat.

I’m feeling discourage because many of you have reported a huge weight loss the first week, and I didn’t. I know everyone’s body is different but I feel I should have lost more. I have about 40 lbs. to lose. I weigh 190 lbs and I am 5ft. tall. I’ve struggled my whole adult life with weight and hoped this diet would be my answer. Eating 800 calories per day is drastic but I need to do something drastic in order to kick start my weight loss and keep it off for good. Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

B Vega nutritional shake
L 1 oz cheddar – strawberries – 2 T yogurt
D green salad – 3oz crab – 2 T Caesar dressing – 3 oz ahi
🌷

Hi Imogen,
Love the idea you went to the supermarket and had a wrestling match with the labels.
In most uk supermarkets, they put the fruit and veg first,not make you feel healthy.
The milk is usually on the other side of the world.

I have made a quick sketch of aldi, morrisons and tesco’s, like one of those maze puzzles that you have to find the shortest way out.
I plan it so I don’t go through the bread as I CRAVE it if I sniff it.
I also avoid chocolate and again I go crinkly around the edges if I smell it.

I have thought of buying one of those synconised swimmers nose clip to stop me smelling those evil, wicked things.
I have had some strange looks as I walk through the frozen veg section with my water wings on.
I find I lose weight with this idea, as my flippers won’t let me get near the freezers!! 🏊🏻⛷⛷⛷🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hello….I’m starting the BSD on 25th May once I’m back from visiting family/friends. Any advice or encouragement would be great as kinda finding 800 cals a day a bit daunting. Just one thing, where low carb veggies are concerned, is there a limit to how much we can eat or can these be piled up on plate?

Hi Jabbygirl – you are right of course to be cautious saying that a lot of that is fluid and that your weight loss will slow down……the great thing is that when you see a massive change on the scales it does give you so much positivity I think and an element of excitement – so much more motivating than ooh 1/2 a lb in 2 weeks – yaay! Don’t get me wrong, any loss is great but………………..

Having said that – I weighed in yesterday at the start of week 15 for me and I lost 3 lbs last week, 3.4 the week before and 3.8 the week before that – I know that is staggering compared to any ‘normal’ diet. Yes I have had a couple of plateaus – my worst week was losing just .8lb and that happened on 3 separate occasions – not motivating when you’re doing the right thing (oh I’m forgetting Easter and putting on 6.6lbs through sheer stupidity and mini creme eggs) but then to see it kind of pick up momentum again is so rewarding now that I’m totally back on track.

So keep that strong frame of mind and 1 1b a day (plus a bit) is absolutely amazing – well done!!

All foods contain energy measured in calories when it is released. Bill gives good advice. As an example I have now lost 40 pounds by keeping my sugars to <30 gm/day and my average calorie intake was 850 for 11 weeks my BMI is in the normal range now. Sugars are densely packed calorie packages refined sugars being some of the worst.

Hello, you need to decide where a BMI of 25 would put you in terms of weight. You do not have to be obese to lose any % of anything – you CHOOSE to be the weight that is right for you and the easy way is by adjusting your carb intake when you reach your target weight. If you keep to the guidelines you will be in good company and can ask for support and advice on here at any time. If you are already familiar with 5:2 you may just need to watch what you eat a bit more carefully and it sounds that you my not have far to go. If you are no longer on meds then relax, eat well, exercise and enjoy the knowledge that you can be whatever weight you choose to be with a little application and will power. It would be good to re-read the book I think?… Have fun.

Oh well done Peggy.
I am on day 10 and I have lost 10.5 lbs (a lot of that will be fluid) Really pleased though with such a good start. I know my weight loss will slow down now but I am in a very good and strong frame of mind to continue. The help on here has been brilliant. Thanks everyone

Good luck everyone for this week

Hi Sue1234
Persistence paying off. Well done. Those pesky blood sugars may just have been waiting for you to be 9 stone something! Keep on. . . .

thanks bill, I will look at her site

I took some of the coconut flatbreads into some people today – 2 of whom are gf – and they all liked them

Hi Kassa81
Welcome. You are wanting this for all the right reasons, but you really must talk to your GP & at least give him/her chance to fully support you. Taking insulin makes a difference. See page 117 in the BSD book & dr Mosley’s advice.
You can do this but be safe. See posting by BSD on Forum – Starting the BSD, Topic – WARNING, on 7.5.16 re Ketoacidosis.
Looking forward to your posts.

Dunno how I missed that post…Thanks Bill you made me feel better! A maintenance plan means not having to worry on holidays, dates and going out and socialising with friends so now I feel less scared.

I have a yukky headache I can’t shake and feeling a bit foggy and dull in my brain which would be fine if it was a Wednesday and I’m travelling but today its just UGH.

Yay good news Rozy, happy the car is ready, you’re so right – eating doesn’t fix it but for me I think it was a coping mechanism of stuffing down my fears and stress with food and if i ate enough i pushed it down…starting a new job I’m scared out of my mind I made a terrible mistake but I’ve decided not to let a mistake make me fat. Instead I will look at this as an opportunity to show myself I can stay in control and find a solution that is good all round and wont harm my health and sanity – I looked at my weekly shop bill as compared to previous weeks I spent £20 less this week. So in the long run I can see myself saving money being on the BSD – maybe I’ll put those savings in a jar for a bikini beach holiday 😉

Hi RozyDozy
Thanks for the link. Very interesting & one to keep on the BSD

Hi Peggy

What great results! You should be very proud of what you’ve achieved do far. Stick with it! We all I think struggle with this diet at times. It isn’t easy at first but seems to become easier as you go along and feeling and looking so much better is the pay-off. The downside? Having to buy new clothes in smaller sizes – but then some problems are good ones to have!

Keep up the good work!