Hi Stacey – well done on restarting. The level where we go into fat burning is individual. I lost 33kg on BSD on 60g carbs and I was in ketosis at that level of carbs. I don’t eat any refined carbs and am veggie so eat more pulses that are higher in ‘good’ carbs which may be why I needed the 60g. I still concentrated on 800 cals as that was to do with portion size, but if, after lunch, my carbs looked too low for the day then I would adjust my next meal to get as close to 60g as possible. Likewise if I spotted that I was going over the 60g, I adjusted the last meal to bring it down.
There are quite a few people only counting carbs and they tend to be setting limits as 50g and lower for the day. If you are good at managing portion sizes, then this is simpler. Bill (who you may have seen has reversed his diabetes) sticks to 50g a day and his calorie intake can be 900 a day.
Having finished the 8 weeks, I continued to a couple more then took a break as I have holidays and visitors. I have just restarted this last week and as part of moving to a longer term plan, I am monitoring my carbs only and trying not to panic when I see the calories at 950 for that day. I am in ketosis and lost weight this week on that approach. BTW – we have all seen the – I ate more one day and suddenly lost a lot the next day! Not sure why – maybe something kick-started the body which was worried about the low cals, may just be enough gut fill to push through and empty the bowels!
You don’t say why you decided to make the change in week 6? Did you think you had reached a plateau, or were you concerned you were not losing enough weight?
I made minor adjustments as I went through the 8 weeks, mainly in food intake to make sure I was getting rid of visceral fat. If 40g is not working for you, it may be too low. Honestly – if you were losing ok before, why jeopardise it by changing as it if you are having these cravings you may well be below what your body can deal with. Try 50g carb a day and see if you can keep that consistent. From one site I read, keeping it consistent is more important than the grams as you can move in and out of your fat-burning zone which leave the body ‘confused’.
Hope that helps and good luck.

Hi everyone, well I’m back!
Having lost just over a stone just before Easter I have spectacularly fallen off the wagon and have become even heavier and even more addicted to carbs. I feel and look a mess and it’s time to start afresh.
I have the book and really love the suggested 8 week food plan BUT preparing such different meals daily is just not sustainable for me. I really need a menu plan of easy, normal meals…I don’t suppose any of you guys have managed to keep a food diary that you would be willing to share?
Many thanks Kitty😊

Hi all,

I’m brand new to the forum and almost two weeks into the diet. I think I’ve got the hang of avoiding certain foods and replacing with heathier alternatives, and I have managed to completely cut out sweets, chocolate, biscuits etc which is nothing short of miraculous! However, through reading the book I have discovered that I am clueless when it comes to the sugar content of natural, non-processed foods. I know I can solve this by googling but I do have another question I hope someone can help with…is there a recommended daily allowance for sugar for this diet? I’ve had a fairly thorough skim of the book and can’t see anything. The recipes in the book are great but I’d like to swap in my own recipes and I’d feel more confident if I had a better idea if there were guidelines to follow in this respect.

Sorry for the ramble!

Thanks all!

Fran

Morning Stacey. First of all, congratulations at getting back on board after a slip up. It’s been all too easy in the past for me to think ‘what the hell, I’ve blown it now” and give up. This is the first eating plan I have felt I can actually adapt for he rest of my life.
Secondly, I have found it helps me not to get too fixated on that days results. Sometimes I have been as good as gold and gained a few oz. Sometimes I have been cavalier and lost. But I reason that if I stick to the 800 calories, avoid any carbs that aren’t hidden in veg. then I cannot fail to continue to lose weight and (almost!) as importantly, feel well in myself. I’m on day 45 now and have lost 21lbs and am 3 lbs off target.
Stick with it and you will get there. I say this as much to myself as to you!
Pob lwc

Hey guys

I’m week 6 after restarting from a false start and a week ago decided to go a step further and reduce my carbs to between 30-40gms. I have ketostixs and have been pink/purple for 4 days now. My weight had stagnated for a week or so and has continued to stagnate whilst in Ketosis. The only times my weight has droped in the last few weeks has been after I have deviated from the plan. The first diviation was date night with hubby where I drank a few wines and the second was yesterday where I went to a bbq, i ate mostly meat and salad but couldnt resist a couple of homemade sauage rolls. On calculation in MFP i had stayed under 50gm carbs and was still in ketosis this morning but my cals was 1250 for the day. But today I am 800gms lighter. So I am questioning a million things. Is it that doing a calorie restrictive diet doesnt mix with a ketogenic diet? Is it “mixing your magics”? everything I read about ketogenic eating says you need to consume lots of fat but I struggle to eat fat and stay under 800. Since keeping my carbs low I find I crave fat and find myself snacking on full fat yogs, cheese and nuts. Is anyone else finding any of this or is further into it that can share their experiences?

I am on this to lose 20kgs of weight I gained having a baby and because on both sides of my family I have diabetes and pre diabetes. I can see the path before me. I want to make this a lifestyle but I want to understand what my “rule book” needs to be. Right now I’m confused!!

Hi Izzy, that is so cool that you only work four days! This is my first little section of taking four days off in a row and so far I love it!
Thanks for the kudos on the weight loss, I just can’t believe I’m still melting at such a high rate, but I agree it’s probably because I stayed on the program during my 2 1/2 week trip and I did lose some weight during the trip.
It’s funny when I write these in the evenings as most of you are all fast asleep in your parts of the country.
Sleep well!

That painting is gorgeous, I can see why you love doing it!
The thing about painting, or even drawing and coloring books, or doing ceramic painting my has been I do, is that it uses both your left brain and right brain which pretty much makes it impossible for you to fret, I think about your grocery list, problems with the kids or husband, etc.
My has been and I just went painting ceramics for four hours because we had to drop our dog off to get groomed and we had four hours free because it’s my day off!
Today’s food went great for me I pretty much eat the same thing every day but I pick things that I love so it doesn’t bore me at all.
Heading to pick up her dog now, he’s a miniature silver poodle, and there were heading out to one of her favorite places for dinner to share a salad and some shrimp and this really weird cheese that they put on the grill but it’s delicious!
Thanks for all your support and I wish I could magically take away any anxiety you feel!
If you ever want to try hypnotherapy for it let me know… We can do it on skype. It works amazingly for pain and I use the same technique for clients who have anxiety.
Wishing you the best always!
💜🌷

I don’t believe it’s productive to weigh yourself every day, weight varies every day. I have a book called ‘Throw Away The Scales” by a professional and he suggests best way to monitor weight loss is by your clothes. I haven’t weighed myself since starting six weeks ago and all my clothes are much looser now. There is so much advice on this blog I suggest you go with what’s best for you, your body and your lifestyle.

dinner was hunters chicken, one of my favourite dinners, and courgetti.

I’ve mostly chilled this evening whilst my husband watched the football and my favourite youtube paint tutorial artist has put up a new one that I’d love to try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC7Xqcg6jeg

I love her video’s and using them has helped me paint better than I imagined I ever could. She is such a positive woman and full of fun and spirit.

it’s good in a way as since I kind of fell into my slump at the beginning of the year I haven’t painted, or written anything for months so it’s good that desire is returning. However so is my anxiety I felt it on the up again earlier 🙁 Painting is something that works well because I really need to concentrate to paint, but it’s hard to find enough time to do what I want. Really need a couple of hours at least spare to make it worth getting all the stuff out, and it needs to be after the boy is in bed.

Having said that, my husband is home tomorrow so I could lock myself in our bedroom. Maybe.

Well I’m tucked up watching more x-files so I will check out for now and check back in tomorrow.

that’s interesting Poppyflower – explains why some things in the MFP database seem too high on the carb count!

I had that problem with spinach this evening, and had to make several selections to get an entry that seemed to have the correct carb count that agreed with the nutrition info on the packet.
I usually type in grams after everything, because I really don’t get measuring things in cups – it seems so imprecise, grams tends to return results that are UK entries, so likely to have the correct carb content.
I guess the other way of getting UK entries is selecting – or stating as a criteria, a UK supermarket,

I don’t care about the alcohol I go months without a drink regularly anyways but I did miss the crappy food sometimes.

it does fade and you will find it matters less 🙂

Strange evening out. Pub meal with 13 others to celebrate sister-in-law’s 70th birthday. I chose salmon salad but DRANK 5 glasses of wine and a g&t. Back home now 2 coffees and two glasses of water plus a dog walk so hopefully back on the straight and narrow. Happy Birthday s-in-l. Tomorrow is a ‘Street party’

👍😊

Congratulations captainlynne,

Staying true to the BSD throughout your holiday…great will power…and losing weight as well – phenomenal!

Welcome back

Imogen🌻

Same here – on week 2 now and was convinced that I’d cave in and have a glass of wine on second weekend. To be honest, I’d quite like one but not feeling like its a necessity so drinking my water and thinking about an early night instead (and feeling very content with that!).

This is the first saturday night in god knows how many years i’ve not had wine/rum & coke plus high carb junk food + nibbles! Thought i’d really struggle but not been too bad…..that’s not to say I’m not missing it 😀😀

If anyone is planning to increase the amounts that they are walking to up their exercise quota – get comfortable walking shoes!

I’ve been wearing flat plimsoll things, and making an effort to wear those rather than ordinary shoes. After a week of 10-12 thousand steps a day, my knees really feel it, and my feet hurt.
My proper trainers look really clumpy, but do support my feet and are well cushioned – I hate that the laces are hard to tie just right, but I’m going back to those for a while – until my new Skechers ‘Go Walk’ shoes arrive.
I noticed a couple of people in an exercise class that I go to have them – I tried a few pairs on in a store, but I didn’t like the styles that they had in my size.They have lots of slip on styles that are incredibly light, don’t look too clumpy – and are designed to walk in.
Can’t wait – hope they arrive before I go away!

Thank you Izzy and happyitsworking for your support and congratulations to you both on your achievements. I’ve done low carb and tried the 5:2 before without any significant success. People I’ve told about this think I’m mad and think it’s misguided not to do the slow, pound a week weight loss. I disagree, this is working for me and clearly lots of people using this forum.

Just back from a children’s party and for the first time managed to resist the crisps, sandwiches and party rings! An achievement for me!!

Probably the hungriest I’ve been for a while so off to the kitchen to make dinner now and hoping for a motivating weigh in tomorrow.

Sx

This morning I bought a nutri bullet so I can have juice (can’t bring myself to call it ‘nutriblast’ or ‘extracted nutrition’ !!) for breakfasts.

So today I had a late breakfast juice of spinach, peach, blueberry, half banana, almond milk and flaxseeds. In future the plan is to have avocado instead of banana ( more fat less carbs ) but no avocados in the house today and was just so excited to try it!!

Lunch – small salad from deli: avocado, tomato, mixed beans, lettuce

Tea – spicey chickpeas and cumin spuds from Simon dimmer vegetarian book, all the spuds went on boyfriends plate bien sur! So chickpeas, onion, garlic, chopped pepper, celery, bit of carrot, chilli, tomatoes, full fat yoghurt. Yum.

Strawberry herbal tea for “pudding” hmmmm…

Edit -carbs are well over 80 (curse that banana), cals just over 800

Sticky, sweet + guaranteed 100pc inulin, no added anything. Have persevered. Dire effect on bowels, awful, but reckon blood sugar more important than my bum…..

Fully concur re scales, MRI’s cheaper abroad, am investigating. Might try on nxt hols, better for me than idea of dodgy scales.

Hi Ann1960,

Just wanted to say hello, and welcome to the BSD.

I have not had a bypass, though was considering bariatric surgery until I found the BSD800. Finally found the answer to my ever increasing appetite, month on month weight gain and constant carb cravings…so happy to now be eating my way back to health…life changing.

Wishing you every success,

Imogen🌻

Well done Maefly. Just shows it can be done. Your news has cheered me up as I’m struggling with this plan as I was getting bored with the food and so, the carbs came calling! However, have got my mojo back and am ready to try again!

Hi there,

I’ve been swimming 2-3 times a week now. Monday, Wed. and Friday. Tuesday and Thursdays do all the housework and general life stuff – sometimes that’s a workout in itself.

Well done everyone on their efforts – we all know how hard it can be.

Hi All,

After confirming my suspicion that most folks here talk about Net Carbs, and struggling to find a way to track this easily for myself – I wanted to share what I found for us US members.

I checked a ton of the apps available, and found that none of them support Net Carbs well. What a pain…

Then, thanks to Reddit I found out about a way to make MyFitnessPal show you Net Carbs 😉 Here’s the secret…

1.) Make sure your “Nutrients tracked” in your settings are showing Carbs, Protein, Fat and Fiber. Those all must be there. The 5th can be whatever you want – I use Sugar

2.) Go here and install this ketoscript in your browser https://github.com/Surye/mfp-keto-userscript
This is only going to work in your browser, not in the app. You’ll have to first install either GreaseMonkey or TamperMonkey for your browser. Don’t worry, I use both of those all the time and have for a while (I’m a website developer and software programmer).

3.) After following their instructions to install the script – go back to your MyFitnessPal and WOOT – Net Carbs!

Here is a screenshot of what MyFitnessPal shows before you install the script:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9qbz3c4h78u1ugl/before.png?dl=0

And here is a screenshot of what it looks like after:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i02q176s55bj9sy/after.png?dl=0

Very happy I found this and wanted to share 🙂

Oh, and P.S. – I haven’t set a limit on Sugar yet – I swear I dont allow myself 45g a day – lol

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Have come out of my slump and am ready to try again.

You said you found inulin sweet and sticky, but are you using pure inulin? At first I bought Stevia which contains inulin and it was impossibly sweet. Then I did a bit of research and found that pure inulin is only slightly sweet so I bought three tubes of it and it hardly sweetens or flavours food at all. Mine is marketed as Swainson’s ultra inulin powder and I got it off Amazon. I have interstitial fat and I have high hopes of the inilin tackling it. The problem is monitoring the internal fat. I am doubtful any set of scales can distinguish between ordinary and interstitial fat. I really think an MRI is the only way. If I’m wrong, please let me know as MRIs are expensive!

Thank you Poppyflower – that’s what I needed and I think it explains I lot. Without removing the fiber amount, I’ve been eating less than I thought I was, and that would explain the constant cold feeling.

It also means that since I want to focus on carb count, I’m going to need to either find a different tracking app that lets me do Net carbs or add all the foods myself again in myfitnesspal instead of using the ones already in there.

thanks, captainlynne. I’ve been mostly eating a meal a day lately so have a very long fasting period. Mostly my blood sugar at 6.30pm has been between 4.5 and 6 so it is coming down. FBG is mostly in the 6’s. I say fasting but I do like a nibble of cheese at night sometimes, probably after reading the comments on this forum on morning glory or whatever the thing is that makes you burn lots of stored sugar in order to get you moving first thing :D…. eating a high fat thingy before bed doesn’t seem to affect this for me.

Glad your results were still lovely after your holiday.

actually 15.5g if you subtract the fibre

you’re almost half way to your goal already!

Can you do this for 8 weeks? if you want to, if you decide to, if you commit to, you CAN.

Or if you are lucky you may get to your goal before then, but try to maintain the good habits long term- the true secret to long term success 🙂

Good luck

I’m still procrastinating with another cup of tea and my son is on his 3rd pizza muffin lol

Hi I’ve not had a bypass but I thought I would bump your thread to make sure others see it. I don’t really remember anyone talking about one but that doesn’t mean there are not others here.

Not meaning to poke holes in your food but are you eating less than 800 calories? unless you are having big portions you might not be eating enough, also are you having some good fats? Have you swapped out the potatoes in your shepherds pie? Dressings of the right type would be fine if you like them, using healthy oils etc, a few nuts etc.

If you are regularly under on calories maybe add a small lunch.

I don’t like a lot of salad either but I love a tray of baked veg like carrot, courgette, tomatoes and onions, all tossed in a bit of olive oil and garlic and sometimes some spices. Be adventurous and check out the recipe threads.

Lastly are you getting enough fluid? ditching the fizzy drinks is spot on the right thing, but try to drink plenty water/herbal teas etc.

Even if no one else has had the same surgery as you, you will find great support here Best of luck to you with your journey 🙂

Sparky: Congrats on losing 3kgs your first week. I’m sure you will have no problem reaching your goal.

Tomorrow will be my first week weigh-in and the start of my 2nd week. Today after 6 days I’m down 7.4 lbs. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. I’m also committed to do this for 8 weeks to see how far I can come.

well done for controlling the toast! Hope you have a lovely day 🙂

Well I got the rest of the gravel cleared, the rubber mats pinned down, the tent put up and the sand in 🙂

I have a Happy son and he has a tired Mummy!

I made these for lunch…https://elanaspantry.com/pizza-muffins/ and they were good, quite hight in calories at 144 each though. My son has demolished two and the fussy daughter doesn’t like them grrr. I’m going to see how well they freeze as I’m always on the look out for other things that can go in his lunch box and these would work well.

Well I’m gonna finish my cup of tea and then I need to start on the mess that is my kitchen and decide what is going to be for dinner. Tonight I think I will try to plan my weeks food.

……and just wanted to say that I’ve been reading the forums for the last few days and the posts have kept me motivated – thank you!
Sx

Hi Frog and Trees

I don’t think I’ve ever lost weight during a holiday before! In fact I didn’t believe it possible. But, apparently, it is possible.

Living alone I was worried about staying with friends and eating out. There were challenges, but it seems to have worked out ok.

See you in the 23 week club soon Patrice😃

Hi, I read the BSD book after it appeared on my amazon feed. I read the reviews and couldn’t quite believe the results. I was on an all inclusive holiday at the time, drinking loads of wine and indulging in more food than necessary, plus eating the kids’ unwanted chips, pizza etc. For a few months I’ve felt that my carb cravings were getting out of control and thought it was fine to eat handfuls of sugary cereal at 10/11pm (whilst having a glass of wine).
I’m 39 years old, was 67kgs and a bmi nudging over 25. So, although considered to be in the ‘healthy’ range -a) I didn’t feel healthy and b) the weight was just creeping and creeping.
So I thought I’d give it a go for one week only and lost 3kgs on week1! A few headaches but they passed after 3 or 4 days.
Now I’m totally committed to week2 – hope to carry on until I reach my goal of sub 60kgs.
Sparky x

Hi Alan and thepolly

Before I started the BSD I could never get my fasting blood sugar below 7, although readings were good later in the day. I have never taken diabetes medication, but was being threatened with Metformin shortly before I started the BSD. The day I started BSD fasting blood sugar was 10.9. After 8 weeks it was 5.3. Since then it is consistently between 4 and 5.

For completeness, my HbA1c results were: July 2015 – 8.7, December 2015 (just before starting 800 BSD) – 9.6, January 2016 (one month into BSD) – 8.7, April 2016 – 5.5. My diabetes nurse had to look at the conversion chart because she’d never seen such a low HbA1c!

I have another HbA1c scheduled in July. When that result comes in I’ll see the GP and ask for a change of diagnosis from diabetic.

Some people do find it difficult to lower their fasting result (as I did) but I have found that – for me – going low carb has greatly improved that level as well as making the levels through the day more consistent. And lowering the fasting level can only improve the HbA1c result.

I do wish I could find a definitive book, preferably not an American one, on the predimed diet.

ok I have just worked out they are about 18.8g of carb per muffin (I did half the mix and it made 9)
of that 7.4 were the sugar
obviously they are not the crazy size of some café muffins – more the size of what I would call a bun or fairy cake (olden days!!)
I am loathe to eat one just because I don’t want to eat too many – so I will get my son to try them later and let you know his verdict
he OFTEN eats muffins (I am working on him and showed him the bsd book the other day and he was very interested and keen to know more)

BS STILL HIGH
So into week nine couple stone lighter BUT my bs fasting was 7-2 and two hours after my big breakfast 7-7 ,and now taking all metformin four a day.
Back to drawing board ?
Alanhypno little dispondant ,any advice

If we have burgers/bacon butties the horses eat the bread. Having said that Freya will mug people for anything. Ice cream is a favourite and if they put s glass of beer under her nose. After all she does have a weight issue to keep up! She weighs just under a tonne! I have got quite a good thermal lunch bag so will have to remember to take it. We have a quiet month show wise as we are usually gisling but come July it is every werkend and some midweek shows through to October. Then we start ploughing matches! So 5:2 would be very handy.

Hi Alanhypno, I’m also on diabetes.co.uk and I think I read on there that fbg is not the lowest of the day despite what people on there have been told. I think overall is probably more important as in the hba1c tests. Mine are not consistent really they seem to go up and down a few days of each. So I’ve not noticed a pattern in them really – related to food.

Might because I like to eat a lot of different foods in each meal 😀

Puddle by has such a friendly name.
I will go for that one.
In bakewell, Derbyshire for a day trip.

Stop groaning with the amount of carbs in the village name.

Used to live near here.

All the quaint village shops are gone.
They are all now tea shops and charity shops…. Sad isn’t it?

Having a mill and a mouch.

Speak later
Xxxx

Oh yes, keep trying, the M&S offer is much better than the previous offer. Nice and clean environment and I think good food generally – though some might think expensive.

I swerved the WHS as they are well within the “no choice at all for a healthy snack” cohort.

We bought some good protein pots from the M&S shop, one of which I will have for my dinner.

So sorry to hear of the loss of your dad. It is always a very hard time, and I wish you and your family well. It has comforted me to know that whilst you love and talk about your lost relatives and friends, you keep them alive in this world. I do with my dad, who died in 2002, and my mum who died in 1998.

Keep us posted with the chickpea muffins!

Ditto to Barby – the forums are helpful, and non judgemental which is defintiely what I need around weight/ health struggles.

Tibetan & Beverly, I am with you on an official ‘ Day 1’ too.
I had a few trials of starting and it lasted 2-3 days then I would get sidetracked because I wasn’t in the real woutine of it and theat is really essential. So I am going to write a list here of what I will do (some of which Michael advocates) as my commitment to helping myself:

Throw / give away the remaining sugary food I have at home tonight: Jam i can give to my friend, bread can feed the birds.
Take all my raw chocolate treats to my office and lock the drawer, give my friend the key.
Get my fitbit working and start tracking steps. Do at least one 30 minute walk down to beach and walk on sand every evening (classic overeating time)
Write my food plan/ adjust it on MFP every day to keep track of cals/ carbs & read these forums /post on the ‘new starter’ thread every day.
Do alternate nose breathing when I get the urge to binge.

Keep checking in- its good to know we are doing it at the same time!!

SarahDawn xx

To be honest, I think I will stick to the poppadum with the occasional melba toast or slice of bread. Stayed at son’s flat recently to find that he had bought a large white sliced which we hadn’t tried in years. He had butter too. We found we didn’t actually like it any more, even wrapped around as a bacon sandwich. Would have thought that was one of the UK’s icon dishes! So if I am going to have bread in future it will have to be a seeded or a good wholemeal. Found out I didn’t like semi-skimmed milk at all any more, when I bought huge amounts by accident instead of skimmed. Can’t rely on anything these days, not even my own tastebuds!

interesting you were there igorasusual, as that is the same hospital I was visiting during early march where my dad was
and at the time I was doing the 5:2 diet and basically managed on fruit that I brought in during the day
although I have to say – if you had been there in the past – the new m&s café was a vast improvement to us!!
and they did have gf options
obviously I wasn’t searching out low carb at that time, although I had to avoid most things because of the calories
their gf blt sandwich was over 600cals!!!!!!!!

I did notice they did a minced beef dinner with courgette spaghetti, though I never tried it
not really what you would want early morning though!!

actually what really struck me as desperately sad was the WHS next to it that was filled with chocolates and crisps and which I am proud to say I never resorted to (even though it was a very tough time as dad actually passed away)

we were all ill with bad colds and we couldn’t find hardly anything like cough sweets or pain killers or tissues –
but If I had wanted to kill myself with chocolate – oh that was fine

anyway – I guess I digress from your original point
I am happy to join the ‘LOW CARB SNACKS’ revolution for public spaces ESPECIALLY important in hospitals, maybe

I have just baked some chickpea flour blueberry muffins
OK I know that isn’t exactly low carb – BUT – way way lower than normal muffins
if I work it out I will let you know – indeed I haven’t tried them yet so they may taste horrid of course lol!!

Hi Igorasusual,

Very kind of you to answer me, I have done some measurements, and have no goal in kg”s, but in waist measurement.
Lovely that could fit into a smaller pair of jeans.

Today is my 4th day on BSD and I was wondering about the 10000 steps, as I have been doing this for years walking my dog twice a day.
So do I have to try for 15000 steps? Wonder were to find the time. as I also do Pilate.

Doddi