not at all I don’t think anyone ungrateful. My dietician could have had other health issues too, it isn’t like she would tell a patient that sort of thing. I wasn’t meaning to be so judgmental my post came across as harsh.

denton
please share it is the reason i follow the forum it helps inspire me and hearing stories and struggles is beneficial. Everyone need a hand at time either to lead or guide wether it is by digital or in person. Some lose all the time some plateau ( thats me ) it helps to hear the variety so you can identify and keep going in a world desiring you to partake of carbs and sugar .xx

Hi
Shamanic
I always thought we had to have breakfast but after reading the book have experimented with waiting until truly hungry. I am time poor on work days so the night before I have started to cook an omelette store in fridge and eat with a few cherry tomatoes , yes cold na did tastes good. I was surprised a do add a very few chilli flakes peps it up.Also the face yoghurt and berries si good. The key is to eat when hungry. Good wishes if you come up with any other ideas let us know . Everyone on here seems to be inventive Im going to make the crackers this weekend .

Izzy
Oh how i so agree with you , all the healthy slogans on food stuffed with additives and sweetness. To be honest I knew this but was truly addicted. I still miss them but don’t want them I have made huge strides but am working on the longing almost like a bereavement for carbs!! How sad is that.
The adaption process is about re learning what gives the same feelings – definate work in progress.
Sometimes at work we get healthy food gifts but 99% are chocolates hence this health professional being fat. I do not expect gifts and am very grateful that people are able to think of others while vulnerable. Please don’t think we are ungrateful.

Yummm Izzy that Granola looks great! Will have a try too.

So glad it’s Friday! :-)))) Going out for friend’s birthday dinner but not planning on undoing all the good week’s work – just having a great time! (well, that’s the plan anyway!) It helps when scales go down, it’s helps my will power a lot…

Hope you all having a good Friday 🙂

Weescotty
Ha sadly Im a midwife so lots of pregnant women and Im elderly or getting that way xxxx

Freya absolutely adores foals – infact there is no better mother than her – and she will “tell” mares and foals that they are not doing a proper job! She lives on a polo stud,She is either in a field with the mums to be, or with the yearlings looking after them. (they can hide behind her if there is something scary!)
I am thinking that potentially the food intake is going to be off kilter on show days a bit of porridge will keep me going until I find the right food. 30g of oats at stupid o’clock is actually quite a lot! come the winter I may change my mind though. However, whenever I eat porridge I have two dogs that tell me they need to share. If they are poorly it is their comfort food. so basically if the horses don’t want it the dogs do! (they also love carrot and apple!)

times have changed and evidently not for the better.

I hope the health guidance starts to trickle through now that some research has shown that our old advice is not just outdated but harmful and causing obesity.

When I think of the dietician I saw at the end of last year she was a lovely lady but I just got the same old advice when I was hoping for something more targetted towards insulin issues. She was overweight herself. If the professionals can’t stay healthy knowing everything that they think they do, isn’t that a big sign that something has gone wrong?

Hi Claire you may well find your scales are spot on! many people do lose a lot especially in week one and you’ve done all the right things. Good idea to avoid the temptation of the shopping! I’ve never fancied making the bircher.

I had to make the granola in two batches as I only have a small blender, it’s in the oven now and smelling yummy!

Hope it turns out well!

What wonderful support and good advice from this community! Thank you so much.

Hi Izzy – totally agree about the yoghurt. I was shocked when I went to buy full fat yoghurt to find that I really struggled to find it – 2 cases of fat free, low fat – I eventually found some full fat Greek Yoghurt, but I really had to hunt. I also wanted some sour cream, which is usually well hidden and picked up the one brand there. I was really shocked when I got home to find that the sour cream was low fat! When I used to look for it as a low fat product it did not exist….. times have changed.

Hi Maefly, congratulations on coming off of Metformin – well done!

Just had a visit to my lovely diabetes nurse. Having lost 10kg since February, 7 of which were in the last 7 weeks on the Fast 800, I now have a HbA1c of 40 (5.8) and can stop taking Metformin. Woo hoo!
I am so pleased. I have been finding the 800 tough for a week or so now, my weight has been up and down and the carbs have been calling. I have three weeks to go until I have a long weekend away so I am going to save my remaining Metformin and take that week to mitigate the pancakes I have been promising myself.

Hi All!

I am definitely a BSD diet convert – day 3 and I feel great – headaches gone and a clearer head and bags of energy. I had the no carbs bircher this morning – I’m not really a raisin fan but it was nice enough! I made myself the beetroot falafels last night to have for lunch at work today – I didn’t have a food processor though only a nutribullet so mixture a bit sloppy but still worked out ok! I have lost some weight according to the scales its 8lbs but I’m wondering if they need a new battery!?! as that seems quite a lot in such a short space of time – although I have noticed I am not so bloated. Managed to fend off the craving for a nice glass of vino with my partner last night after a stress day at work – I made my shopping list on ASDA website for week 2 to keep me busy and focussed. I found this was really useful for this week as I did click and collect to keep me away from buying anything naughty – so only have BSD things in my fridge.

CC

Actually I’ll be doing the quick version… I thought it said cook at low for 4 hours but actually it’s 24! I can’t have the oven out of action that long as I’m needing it to cook a chicken later.

Most of the local supermarkets I can think of have the fruit and veg closest to the entrance (maybe the occasional special offer of muffins or donuts plonked immediately inside of the door. Maybe they think you;ll start of virtuous and then give in to cakes and chocolate.
Not being one to make lists, I prefer to choose my meat and fish, and then go back and decide what vegetables I want with them, so lots of criss-crossing – but loads of superfluous aisles now.

I agree with you on the yoghurt front – and someone was saying on another thread that her local supermarkets rarely stocked full fat cottage cheese.

it’s this recipe Frog.
https://elanaspantry.com/granola/

and I’d probably have room but don’t have kale and unlikely to find any in our local shop lol. I’m not sure I fancy them but I might try it sometime because you never know and it’s worth trying new things I think. That’s what I keep telling the kids anyway!

Hi Izzy
Is it a recipe from one of those paleo diet websites, or maybe written to appeal to those following it, maybe? They have guidance on not cooking at high temperatures.

If you have the oven on really low, there’s a recipe for kale crisps on a recent thread – or will the tray of granola fill your oven?

it isn’t just that they are full of rubbish food, they are designed to entice. The first aisle in the store my husband works in is full of breads, cakes, cereals, biscuits and cereal bars. You have to run that gauntlet just to make it to the fruit and veg!

Our co-op has a long stand open at both sides that houses all the chocolate and sweets, and where is it? right where you queue for the check out. I use the self service most of the time so I don’t need to stand beside it but you can’t avoid walking past chocolate. There is also a costa coffee machine in the same area to entice (I don’t like coffee but love a hot choc)

I’ve trained myself to just not look now. I have ‘shopping tunnel vision’ !

The thing that really annoys me isn’t so much the chocolate and sweets. We all know that those things are unhealthy. The thing that really gets me is that there are so many things we have been told are healthy that really just are not. Low fat products for example and wholegrain cereals.

aaand before I stop my rambling. I’m always shocked in the yoghurt aisle 95% of the yoghurt available is low fat and you really have to look to find full fat yoghurt!

I just googled images of Percherons and Suffolk Punches – they look amazing – good luck with the baby! Poor Freya, having a squealy thing underneath her! My sister did a course at Wimpole hall a few years ago on handling heavy horses that she really enjoyed (she doesn’t have any, only a dog, but likes horses)
I think the answer is making sure you get a share of the carrot and apples!
there was a thread about porridge yesterday – the jumbo oats that you soak overnight are OK in moderation.
30g contains around 17g of carbs, so a bit highish for everyday – and 30g of oats is lowish until you get used to it, I think the recommended portion on the packet is 40g (and I used to ignore the portion size mostly, or look at it an laugh or thing “Really??!!”)

I made the shake with frozen raspberries and I will definitely add that in to my breakfast choices 🙂 recipe added!

Now… off to make the granola… the recipe says for ‘live’ granola to bake a long time at a lower temp. alternatively a shorter time at a higher temp but not live.

I’m guessing that’s to do with presumably healthy bacteria? I’m not well versed in these things. I think I will attempt the long version anyway 🙂 I will see how it goes.

Well said! I look at ppl in the street or on telly and then see old tv prgs & photies and the difference in so short a time in our body shape is alarming. I too appreciate variety and have had to make an effort to root out suitable recipes that are not expensive and – important for me – do not create a mountain of washing up. Which I hate. I really don’t think I could cope well eating the same for days.
I live in a town pop approx 50,000 and we have ONE greengrocer. We do have butchers and a farm vending machine in our shopping mall.
Buying fresh at supermarkets is tricky as now lots bagged in too large quantities for me to eat through without getting fed up.
I did try to keep cost down by joining an internet site that gives access to coupons for money off all sorts. Virtually nothing is ‘healthy’ so so far not used a single coupon!
P.S.re milk, how many pregnant elderly women do you know? 🙂

Yep. Definitely smug here too. Have you noticed that supermarket shopping is a lot quicker when you only have to go to the vegetables, meat and fish counters then off home.

I just had breakfast and weighed the beans – I did weigh initially, then have been judging by eye for a few days. My portion size has gravitated DOWN from 100g to 80g – that’s less than 40% of the recommended portion size on the can!

Weight stuck at 96.7 again – late night snack attack on the open packet of artichokes won’t have helped with that.

Hi Frog – I think the girls are wonderful, but I am biased! 2 Percherons and a Suffolk Punch. Having said that hopefully soon to increase as Freya goes to stud in the next few weeks! Thank you very much for your suggestions. Carrots and apples tend not to last to long as the girls can sniff those out at 20 paces! I will certainly try your suggestions – if I remember to take them out of the fridge at stupid o’clock! I very rarely get out of the horse lines. Unless we are staying over and have stables the girls are tied to the lorry, so cannot really be left unattended. Public are often allowed into our area to learn more about the wonderful horses, which is great, but not everyone has the sense they were born with! Last week I turned round to find that a lady had positioned her little sweetheart UNDER Freya’s tummy so that she could take a picture! She didn’t ask if it was OK, as these are animals that do move, and had Freya stepped on the said child it would have been a very nasty accident that would not have been her fault. They are mostly very gentle, but like us, they can have their moments! You would not go up to a racehorse and stand under it (sorry off target there).
Hog roasts do come my way and I never chose the stuffing option, so that could also be the way forward. I think my main issue is to actually stop an drink and eat – when you are busy it is all to easy to just think “I will do that in a bit once this class is over” then something else comes along. I did manage to up the water uptake yesterday, so hopefully this will also help.
Had the mushrooms and goats cheese for breakfast today – still not quite sure about goats cheese.but it made a difference to cereal. I am a huge fan of porridge and in the summer I soak it overnight, add a spoon of yoghurt and fruit but I need to look at alternatives there too maybe.

you know that game where you look at what other people have in their baskets at the checkout queue?
I used to do a supermarket shop & feel a bit embarrassed (and with buying cakes, biscuit and chocolate top ups in local mini supermarkets).
Now I feel incredibly smug with a trolley full of vegetables, plain fish and meat & healthy dairy.

I haven’t seen kale crisps available to buy, but they are easy to make. Wash and dry (thoroughly) some shredded kale. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and salt and put in really low oven (pretty much the lowest it can go) for 10-20 minutes. Done.

They don’t last long though, either because you’ll have eaten them or because they go floppy after a couple of hours. I have heard (but haven’t tried it) that you can store them for up to a couple of days in a sealed container that has some dry rice in some of that fine material stuff (I’m a bloke and I don’t know what it’s called!). I’ve no idea on how effective it is.

Hi BSD’a
Is it me or are we really surrounded by rubbish food! I may be a bit slow but have just realised that supermarkets are just full of it , I now shop in the fruit vegetables aisle ,meat and dairy aisle, washing etc household aisle. And that’s it!
There are 100’s of square feet full of what? Sugar and Norty carbs. I feel I should campaign for the return of green grocers and independent butchers. Just taken an order of full fat organic unpasteurised milk( not suitable for pregnant elderly) tastes delicious really lovely. May get some healthy bacteria in my gut !
I am so hoping this way of life grows and grows, don’t get me wrong it’s not easy this way of life I crave carbs and am hungry at times. Just learning to live with small portions , real hunger, and realising nothing bad happens if you go to bed hungry but wake up not hungry what’s that about?
I am trying to go for variety not get stuck in the same old same old as its a way of life.
Our bodies are amazing my weight loss is so not linear , it seems to come off in little chunks followed by static periods but during the static periods the inches reduce!!!
I am starting to like me and my body wow that was hard to say. I am starting to trust my instinct so if I’m really hungry wait and still feel hungry eat a bit more , still lose weight. So listen to your bodies peeps but really listen with all,our senses. Ok that’s my saying for the day .
Favourite word of the day Omelette!!!!
Have a good one my ramblings are done for now , must go for a ramble with the collies!!!
🙋🏻🐾🐾💜🍓🍋🍗🍆🍊🌶🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄

Elena’s pantry has a few recipes for bread. I haven’t tried any yet myself but I will soon.

https://elanaspantry.com/?s=bread

You should post it in the recipe section Timmy, sounds yummy!

Wow BSD’s thank you some great ideas.
I’ll defo try kale crisps and the sesame seed crackers , just need to be careful as I still crave carbs , especially after any exercise . This is such a process , I had no idea when I started this way of life , that I would feel so differently about food. I do feel good but like most of us I Guess struggle in social setting, especially when I’m hungry. Thanks 🐾🙋🏻🍓

I made my own marinade for some bbq chicken legs and thighs on day one and was lush.

A couple of dollops of yoghurt in a bowl, then the juice of one lime, a fresh red chilli finely chopped, a thumb of ginger finely chopped and a couple of garlic cloves also finely chopped. It easily covered the 3 legs and 3 thighs that I had and would cover a lot more. It would also work well on strips of skinless breast and stop them from drying out. Best to leave it marinade overnight.

Oh MARG38 those chickens also have monosodium glutamate added

Morning all 🙂

My son came in and woke me at 0740 which was fine as that’s a lie in here lol. I’m up before 0600 on work days. However he did interrupt a dream that I wish I couldn’t remember so I hope the memory of it fades soon. We have chilled together in bed ever since as his Daddy is at work so it’s just us and he is watching a movie on my ipad. I’ve been downstairs three times as my son is a hungry monster. First time I brought us up a cup of tea (he likes a cuppa haha) and a chopped up apple for him. Then he asked for strawberries, so back down for a generous helping of those, then he wanted grapes and I thought well… I think that’s enough fruit for now! So he is now eating a rowie (a ridiculous high fat/high calorie flat bread thing popular in this area-I hate them)

We will get up soon and start the day properly and I will try my shake experiment. I have a pain in my side for some reason that is annoying me so hopefully it will fade soon along with the crappy dream.

It’s a rainy day here for the moment but we will be out later. I saw an idea on facebook to use a cheap tent to make a kids sandpit, so I ordered a tent and bucket and spade which will arrive tomorrow and I’m popping to argos today to pick up play sand to fill it. My mission this summer is to sort our garden out better, it will be good exercise and just nice to have it nicer 🙂 I’m not planning on spending much it’s more a bit of hard work that’s needed rather than investment but there are a few things I will buy too.

Also later today my daughter will be back from her residential school trip so we will wander up to school to walk home with her and hopefully she will have had an amazing time. I loved all those adventure type activities when I was young too, canoeing, abseiling etc. This was her first taste of it and I really hope she has enjoyed it.

I’ve just had one of those moments where I realise how lucky I am in my life. I’ve had plenty shit things happen but I have my kids, my husband and family, enough income, a comfortable (if messy) home. I’m happy with my lot.

Hi all, I’m struggling with the transition from Fast 800 (which I did for 10 weeks, losing 2 stone nearly) onto the 5:2. I would rather just be on 800 everyday!! I got so used to it, wasn’t weighing much as I know quantities and wasn’t hungry or craving. I find I’m getting cravings back now which I didn’t have during the 800 daily regime. For example, I’m so much hungrier in the mornings, I guess because my body is getting to used to more calories on the feast days and so my usual practice of not eating from 7pm to 9am is getting harder and I’m feeling grim on my commute. Also, whilst I know I can still be low carb and just add in a few more carbs now, it just makes me feel either shaky or bloated. I haven’t reintroduced rice, pasta or flour but have had a few potatoes as I figured they were least processed. But even one of those makes me crave more. I’m worried about returning to old habits.
I just feel like my body is shifting back to wanting food it has survived perfectly well without for 10 weeks! So I guess I’d like any advice on maintaining now that I’m on 5:2 and also, how often can you go back to 800 a day and for how long should you do it? I’m thinking that one week a month I might do 800 with the other three being 5:2.
Thanks for your help.

MARG38 please beware that some of the ‘bbq’ ed chickens done at the hot cabinet at the supermarket have been steeped in a sugared waterbath and then drenched with sauce. The chicken is so much more sweeter than natural even when you have removed the skin.

Hi Clover best of luck to you. There are many great stories here to inspire you and give you ideas for your own journey.

I’m on week 8 myself and I’m a convert. I’ve lost 17 lbs (which is on the low side many people lose more) I’ve surprised myself at how much food I can eat for 800 calories, how full and satisfied I am, and how excited I am about food again. I’ve found so many recipes that I enjoy and new healthier alternatives to many of my old favourites.

I hope you enjoy BSD and if you need help please ask, lots of lovely supportive people here.

The hunger fades so don’t be scared of it, try to ride it out over the first few days.

In the book Mr Mosely suggests if you struggle to sleep to try having your meal later than normal. I find herbal tea helps me along and a few nuts would be better than an oatcake but may help too. Daytime hunger can be helped with sugar free gum I find but that isn’t as useful at night lol.

The cooking doesn’t need to be complicated, there are many simpler recipes. Let us know what you like to eat and maybe we can give you some suggestions 🙂

Well done Tracy ann you’ve done a great job. It is hard when the scales don’t move but we have to have faith that it’s still working and be patient.

Are you going to keep going or are you at your target?

I think the true secret is to change our habits forever 🙂

I don’t think there is any official guidance in the book other than excluding all the obvious. However here people have tried and tested what works for them.

I sit a bit higher than many and that may be why my losses are a little slower but I am happy with my balance and have anything between 30-60g per day.

Some impose a limit of 50, others 30.

experiment and find what works best for you 🙂

I’ve lost 17 lbs in 7 weeks, many people lose more but I’m happy with that and I’m enjoying what I eat. I could perhaps lose faster if I stuck to 30, but I wouldn’t be as happy with my meals so it depends on what you like I guess.

Hi Marg. I’ve been experimenting with my meals adding different things to find alternatives to sauces and coatings on chicken (and everything else)

If you google BBQ sauce recipes there are many you could try, just substitute the sugar for sweetner, and avoid the ones that add ketchup as there is sugar in there.

I like dipping my chicken in olive oil and then a thin coating of seasoned coconut flour tastes great oven baked, or I make batches of crackers with almond flour and crush those up for a coating as well. I’ve really enjoyed my BSD journey and part of that has been the discoveries I’ve made, I’m excited about food again! Don’t be scared to try different things 🙂

Well done on your start I hope you see a nice big loss when you weigh in.

How many grams of carbs advised

I forgot to say… Good luck when you start! Personally I’d recommend getting organised and starting asap, get those first days over with and get yourself established. I started on a Tuesday, I knew if I left it until the following Monday I’d have eaten lots of crap knowing it was coming …

fage total yogurt is lovely and appears to be the yoghurt of choice for most of us. It’s an interesting discovery (well I thought so) to realise that 95% or more of the yoghurt on the shelves at the shop are all low/zero fat, so make sure you get full fat.

How about boiled eggs? they only take a short while to boil and if you like them cold you can do them the night before too.

I also sometimes make a batch of these… and have them with a few mashed berries

https://elanaspantry.com/silver-dollar-pancakes/

I make a batch in advance and then divide them into portions and freeze. They freeze well and if you like them warm just 30 seconds in the micro should do it, then spreading the mashed berries on like a sloppy jam.

Also do you need breakfast? I prefer to eat breakfast but many on here prefer to just eat twice per day later in the day, prolonging the overnight fast. I prefer to eat twice a day with smaller meals. You could try different ways to see what suits you better.

Lastly think outside the box, breakfast doesn’t have to be traditional. You could have a portion of chicken salad if you wanted, last nights left overs etc. So long as you are sticking with the basics of the plan and ensuring you have good nutrients.

Thank you Frog, yes it is from a supermarket and so far I have been dodging the skin so it sounds as if it it is the right thing to do. Love reading the posts from the different bloggers as I find you are all so helpful. Haven’t weighed in yet but I do feel a lot better in myself so hope I am losing weight as well. Can’t walk all that much at present but am hoping that once I have lost a bit of weight my old arthritic knees won’t hurt as much.

these are lovely and easy to make if you are willing to bake a little. I usually make a batch of these at the weekend and they last all week in an airtight container. I have them with cheese, dunk them in soup and crumble them to use as a coating for chicken at the end of the week.

Even my kids eat them and my daughter is fussy!

https://elanaspantry.com/sesame-crackers/

Week 8 gone for me and couple stone off but need to drop more.
Now I finds last two weeks it’s sticking pound on pound off thing

Am carrying on past eight weeks,holiday July first so would LOVE to drop half stone for then.

Another point is exercise,I haven’t done much walking but still lost it so back to my walks and may stick a couple swims in too,but realistically I want this to become a lifestyle change not a diet which I think is temporary so normal manageable exercise is the answer or it goes back on !

Big push coming
Alanhypno

Re high sugar levels after 8 weeks
I believe stress levels may affect bs levels,also was the aimed weight loss achieved ?
I think the aim of diet is for fast weight loss and if only couple pounds lost maybe this isn’t sufficient to lower bs levels .

I use half a ryvita (wholegrain) on my salad if I’m craving crunch. I just crush in my hand and sprinkle over. It feels like I’m having crutons but only 17cals and 3g of carbs. If you have the calories/carbs spare you can have a whole one with some avocado on. Thats what I have if I crave toast. Be careful though as I find letting stuff like that in regularly brings back my hunger and carb craving.

Hi gang,
you make me laugh,
you think it is so hot that cold soup would be the order of the day!
It’s raining here and is cool again.
My coat is out… Again.

Jealous of you having a holiday fir the queens birthday.

They have just issued a new photo of them. Aged 90 and 95 . Even if you don’t like the royals, it’s a nice photo and they are not sitting at home, they are out and about.
Keeping busy keeps you young
Xxxx

Love Lucia