Hi all!

I have now read more about Inulin than I ever want to again! The papers & research I have looked at on the web seem to b epretty unanamous – that in the trials it had pretty impressive results however I have yet to find a trial on diabetics, apparently it doesn’t raise your blood sugar see – fca.com/Inulin-super-nutrient-against-diabetes

This is interesting http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpubmed/10655953 – based upon 10g a day.

I find it very sweet & sticky, & can only manage to use it on my morning youghurt/seed sprinkle breakfast as there is no way I can get it to dissolve into a drink!

Since starting BSD and not eating carbs to any degree, any er…….’wind issues’…… (Sorry) vanished completely, but shall we say that Inulin has a ‘cart-horse’ effect…….you have been warned!!!

Hi Debra46
I was at a BBQ yesterday for lunch and although I didn’t have any ‘bad’ carbs etc, I certainly over ate and my total for the day was 1369 Cals….the highest I have had over the 7 weeks on the BSD!
I had been stuck on 79.3, 79.4kg for over a week and I when I weighed this morning, I was 78.2!!! Go figure😀
No need to start again as such, just get back on the wagon tomorrow and continue to make the right choices.
This really works!
Cheers
Linda

Oh I also have the fast diet book and the BSD book by MM because my husband is a type 2 diabetic and is trying to control by diet. After my results he started yesterday, although he has reduced his sugar levels by 5:2. He had high hba1c readings but refused to take metformin despite the nurse leaving him prescriptions to collect and I had to field her telephone calls!

Hi Muriel
I have hypothyroidism and I also had an HBA1C reading of 49 and cholesterol of 7.4. I started for about 6 weeks prior to last Christmas doing the 5:2 diet. I lost about 3 kg and my reading for the HBA1C went down to 46 but my cholesterol rose to 7.4 from 7.1 last September. I was still using skimmed milk and low fat products. I had my annual thyroid test at the end of February and it appears that I was taking too much thyroxine. Approx 10 weeks ago I embarked on a regime based on the BSD but was not so restrictive on carbs in that I had occasional Rice, the rest of the principles I followed, including switching to full fat products, (my nurse said that I was crazy switching to full fat) except I am sure that sometimes my evening meal took me over 800 calories as It is extremely difficult to be 100% accurate. My thyroxine level was kept the same and I was retested after 2 months which was to also include a random glucose and cholesterol and liver function tests. I was just over six weeks into the diet. My random glucose was fine, my cholesterol was 5.1 and I have halved my daily level of thyroxine. one of my liver enzymes was up but apparently that is quite common and the doctor said it could just be a fatty liver and I am being retested after 2 months for that and to see if my thyroxine level is ok.
Now the thing that is interesting to me is that I have always been told that my cholesterol will always be around six because of the hypothyroidism and that the level of thyroxine I have been taking would never decrease! About 2 years ago I stated taking my thyroxine with a full glass of water at least one hour before food or a cup of tea in the morning. I have yearly been taking less thyroxine but the last drop was the biggest. I am looking forward to seeing the nurse in a couple of weeks to have the tests and make sure she knows my cholesterol level! After 8 weeks I had gone from 85kg to 73.4kg. last September I weighed 95kg. I am still continuing the BSD until my weight reaches 65kg which will only just take me into the healthy weight for my height 162cm but I am confident I can achieve this weight and maintain it. I even said to the Doctor that maybe my hypothyroidism would be cured! I am down to taking 75micrograms a day from 200 at my highest and I was diagnosed 24 years ago. So the whole way of eating and cutting carbs is really working. I saw on this site that someone mentioned a Dr Jason Fung and his book the obesity code. I have just purchased this to read having watched a number of his youtube videos and I have also preordered his book on fasting. I would recommend watching his videos as it really gives a good understanding of diet and fasting.
Be interesting to hear if anyone else has reduced the amount of thyroxine.
Good luck and keep going, its worth it!

😁

Thank you for that Frog I will do “listen again”

Gaye what a Red Letter Day for you. 😀

Discussion with Giles Yeo, a geneticist, about weight and genes – analogy was made to having ‘bad’ genes weight wise being like being dealt a bad poker hand – you can still win, but it’s harder than if you’re dealt a good one.
Don’t listen while eating – discussion of a ‘transpoosion’ – a real word apparently!

It was leading on a program on BBC2 tomorrow (Tuesday 7 June at 9.00pm) Horizon – Why Are We Getting So Fat?

Thanks Frog – no I don’t want another plateau – not for a while anyway. Hubby is off to France for the footie next weekend so I have two weeks to really stick to the diet while he’s away!

Congratulations Fi – on the weight loss and becoming overweight!
Hope the weight continues to shift now that you’ve broken that plateau

Yeah – LOTS of exercise yesterday – 16k steps was 7.5 to 8 mile walk to Victoria Park and back along the canal, and LOTS of fluid, and my weight is down 0.6kg – I know it could equally go up again, but encouraging!
Probably the most excercise and fluid since I started this diet – will aim to repeat & see if that is the key

Hi Muriel
I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis but because I cannot tolerate the medication…had several trials…I have had to manage as best I can. I have a feeling this BSD is as good as medicine. I am waiting a few more months to get a full blood picture but the energy and well being is rewarding. I have lost approximately a kg a week and find that good enough to keep me very happy. My body shape is definitely changed.
Nettle

Yipee. Today I visited my GP after doing the Eight Week Blood Sugar Diet and my results from my glucose tolerance test was wonderful. No more Metaformin! I feel better than I have felt in a very long time. Thankyou to Michael and the team for the book. It is a life changer

Hello Fussy – welcome! On the contrary, I love mushrooms but can’t have them because I get rather ill if I do. So that rules out that one, which is a shame as they do have lovely recipes! I’m sure there are plenty of alternatives to fish and eggs. But you could try mixing eggs in a recipe or adding cheese and butter to make scrambled, or would that still not taste good for you? Other foods you could eat…
Nuts and seeds
dark chocolate
Salads (there’s lots of recipes in the book, one lovely one is the jewelled pepper and you can add feta… yum)
Lots of meat other than fish, Morrison’s do a low calorie sausage, gammon, thin slices of beef, roast chicken, bacon
Soup. You can put such a variety of ingredients and it’s low calorie
Yoghurt and berries
I’m only starting my third week so some more experienced no doubt have plenty of ideas!

Hi everyone – yes I am still here – plodding along! Had a plateau for 3 weeks which was a bit discouraging and that is usually the point where I give up with diets but was determined to keep going and had a look at what I might have been doing wrong (probably taking the eating fat thing a bit too far). Anyway, finally I have lost 3lbs this week (now into my 17th week) and (big TA DAH) I am now out of the obese category and into the overweight category which is a big boost – have lost 2 stone 2 lbs so far. Saw my doctor last week and she was really pleased that I was doing something about my weight and agreed that low carbs was the way to go. She said I should wait until my hospital appointment (in October) about reducing my medication but she thought they would probably do that if I carry on doing what I’m doing. Best of luck to all of you and don’t worry when you have a few weeks when nothing happens – it will start going down again!

Hi all, I’m just start the BSD but I’m a bit concerned that I am a very fussy eater and 3 of mine main food dislikes are strong fish eggs and mushrooms.This really cuts down the available recipes, any suggestions ? Thanks

I join the over the 16 people today 😉
3 st 11.75lbs down….sooo close to that 4 st. line..well there is always next week.
How good is this.
We are going on hol to Herefordshire at the end of next week and I know I’ll be straying from the wagon…how far is the question. I haven’t fallen off in the last 16 weeks and am a bit worried about how hard it will be to get back on the straight and narrow. Maybe I’ll find I don’t enjoy the carbs as much as I used to, but must admit atm looking forwards to crackers and cheese, crisps and chips with my dinner, (not all at once) Cider with a pub lunch hmmm.
Hoping I try each once and don’t enjoy too much.

Hi Lucia,
How are you? How did your vegetarian week-end go?
We’ve had a lot of rain down the east coast of Australia. Very fortunate where I live – 165mm over the week-end. Believe me, that was one of the lower readings.
……it’s very hard to find shapes in the clouds when the sky is covered with clouds. A great solution to the rainy week-end was to shelter in the carport and blow bubbles…..you get the credit for that Lucia (from your previous posts).
What have I been eating today? B’fast yoghurt, walnuts and berries. Lunch poached egg on sliced avocado. Tea chicken breast and mixed leaf salad.

Hi jillyB,
The same article was in the Sydney Morning Herald today, but not on the front page. Great article.

Great results Sandie. It feels good, doesn’t it.

Hi Tallyhoo,
I’m pleased you’ve worked out the ‘problem’. It makes humble cauliflower rice seem like your best friend!
Also, very interesting the effect the slim rice had on your fasting BGL.
Best wishes.

This is working for me. I have a hang on the food, the numbers and am drinking loads of water. This morning am down 2lb and the scales tell me I weigh 12st. Me 12st! Onwards and downwards. The sun is shining and I am smiling.

Frog: yes sorry it was made from Konjac!

Thanks for your replies everyone…………..have lost 1.8lbs of that 3 lb increase and my blood sugar is returning back to normal – forgot to say before that my fasting bs is now a consistent 5.3-5.5 and it went up to 7.7 the morning after the slim rice! Now down to 5.7 this morning.

Thank you for your support – Igorasusual re fluctuations – that’s why I weigh myself every day at the same time and yes, I have lost inches especially in the last month but this was no normal fluctuation so I shall be throwing my other packet of slim rice into the bin after stamping on it and kicking it into next year! It was weird too – the consistency before cooking was quite rice like – after cooking it was like eating tiny bubbles filled with water – it certainly wasn’t nice and at the time I thought I preferred cauli rice – still it’s all learning isn’t it!!!

You’re right – 6 cups of either tea or coffee a day, with two spoonful. Sounds reasonable?

840 spare calories per week!

Or a salmon fillet (just an example 100 odd calories)

Given it up. Yay!

Just shows that you are human 😊 start again tomorrow – just like i’m going to do. I had birthday celebrations over the weekend and enjoyed it immensely 😇so back to it tomorrow. Try not to be so hard on yourself 😊

Morning all 🙂 I’ve popped over to your place for a snoop Happy and I think those plans are great. Love the idea of imagining you smiling and laughing with me 🙂

Well yesterday we went out with the kids to a local beach (it was HOT enough- in Scotland!) We had a great time playing in the sand and myself and daughter went in the water too but my son was too scared lol.

I wore a long dress I bought a few years ago and I felt huge but it was hot and I didn’t care. I normally go out always hiding in jeans and feeling too hot and not really able to paddle, I didn’t want that to be my story. Anyways the dress is now a bit too big but I have a couple of ideas of things I would like to do.

The past 1.5 years in my attempt to recover after my husbands depression have drawn out my creative side. I’ve written a childrens book (and more to come- not published but ya know- maybe one day) I’ve dabbled in painting and discovered I CAN paint! and now I’m interested in modifying/adapting/customising clothes. So much of my big stuff will still be sent to charity but I’ll be keeping some for my new little project 🙂

Maybe I will start another blog, to show before and after pictures 🙂

I’m still not quite my old self but I’m getting there. Perhaps to a new, better self. Certainly I’ve found that being creative is something I love. I’m tired today as I slept badly but that often happens on a Sunday I think I’m scared I will sleep in lol.

Well I best be off and wake my son! have a great day!

Thanks Sandie, that’s reassuring 🙂

I woke up this morning with a horrible stomach ache! Had an awful nights sleep as well because it was so hot. Gunna be a battle today I think! Fingers crossed I don’t go insane lol.

Good luck to everyone starting today 🙂

Whenever I’m sat here procrastinating, surfing online, I look up lots of low carb recipes. I have a bookmark file of them so I can look them up again to use later.

Cauliflower pizza is another good one. I like courgetti and cauli rice as well so definitely try those.

If you have any old favourites you are missing, post here and we will try to help you think of adaptations for it 🙂

Thank you all for your fab advice.

Yesterday was a bit of a disaster, but I’ve binned all the tempting stuff now. I put on 3lb last week (today was weekly “record it” weigh in), but the fight back starts today!!

I agree just stick to 800 and you will quickly undo any damage you may have done.

The real damage comes in the ‘I’ve blown it I may as well eat a tub of ben and jerry’s, a toblerone, crisps and a pizza’ attitude lol.

Be kind to yourself, it’s just a blip.

yay for Happylife!

I always read your diary too so it isn’t falling on deaf ears (eyes?!)

That’s a great feeling getting into smaller clothes and I do agree about chucking stuff out except I’ve been pondering various ideas lately… I’m going to keep some. Not to fit back into but to chop up, alter, customise or use for customising other pieces. It’s a project I’m feeling excited by 🙂

You guys have done such a great job sticking to this whilst away and although your weight loss may have slowed it’s fantastic you didn’t gain anything which would have been fairly definite had you gone off the rails there. You are right to be proud of you both! Now that you are home and able to monitor the salt etc I’m certain you will lose at a good rate again 🙂

It was nice reading your holiday updates too.

Hi Igorasusual, I just worked out that for your sugar calories (in coffee) to be that same as, say, a modest 100g fillet of salmon you would have to have been having around 13 teaspoons of sugar! Or is that 13 cups of coffee with 1 teaspoon each lol.

Hi Hashmoto,

I realised I never did get back to you on the above post, please accept my apologies!!! Yay, I started the 800 today after any weeks of deliberating (getting my head in the right place). I had your greek yoghurt for brekky, yum!

Hi all,

Im about to start week two…. so far so good. Wondering if anyone else has Hypothyroidism and im interested to see if their weight loss journey has been successful.
thanks in advance
Muriel

Hi Debra46 — you have just joined the biggest group on the BSD — the people who “blew it” for a day (or more)😜 — absolutely NOT a disaster. Start again tomorrow and just do the 800. I don’t recommend trying to eat even less — it will just make you sad, mad and frustrated. It shouldn’t be punishment. Just start up like you already know how. You’ve got this. You have already had 2 weeks of good time on target so you know what to do.

I think it is really, really, really important to suspend your critical judgment for the eight weeks — it is SO easy to get into that mental state where we want to evaluate what is happening, how far we’ve come, what we’ve lost, etc etc. I recommend just putting your more critical thoughts on hold for the eight weeks — commit to the eight– THEN at the end of eight weeks, you can evaluate where to go from there. It surprised me, at the end of eight weeks, how far I had come and how different I was about food, eating and just where my head was. We are all so well trained to bring our powers of evaluation out and scrutinize what is happening. Commit to the eight, THEN evaluate. You are going to be pleasantly surprised. I promise.

Hi all!

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I started the 8 week blood sugar diet. Today we attended a BBQ/Party for a friend and I gave in to foods I should not have eaten. I didn’t eat a lot but I know I went way over my 800 calories. Should I eat lees than 800 calories tomorrow to help undo what I did today? Will this stall my weight loss??

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/im-proof-that-eating-fat-can-be-good-for-you-20160605-gp3f0d.html

This was on the front page of our Melbourne paper this morning….I think it was also on a London one too.

jillyB

I was happy with the reduction in my blood glucose in the recent GTT, but apparently it doesn’t mean I can go back to eating whatever I want! Since finishing my second round of BSD 800 I increased calories and carbs – I actually find that very low carb makes me miserable and can trigger depression (but I do lose weight) and I’m happier with a bit more. Anyway, the other morning I decided to have two slices of low GI toast with creamed corn on top. Corn is of course also high carb, probably a bad choice. I didn’t weigh the corn but I guess the total carbs for the meal were between 45 and 60 grams, which is a lot for one meal. An hour or so later I started to feel a bit odd and unwell. Although I am “only” pre-diabetic I am quite sensitive to swings in my blood glucose. I checked at the two hour mark and sure enough I was 10.5 mmol/L – that is considerably higher than at the GTT when I’m pretty sure I drank 75g of pure glucose! Even though it was low GI bread, and corn which I don’t generally think of as unhealthy. I mean, it wasn’t a packet of Burger Rings or a box of doughnuts.

Still working out what I can and can’t eat.

Hi Tracey
Have you got a spiraliser? They’re pretty cheap on Amazon, I paid just under £10 for a basic pencil sharpener type one. Courgette as a pasta alternative, but I also have it in salads a lot, and spiralized carrot is great too,. I think if you pay a little more they are a bit more versatile – Apparently Cuisique is a good one to look at.
If you want to try it out before you buy one lots of supermarkets sell pre-spiralised courgette.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I found a good article on different methods of making cauliflower rice
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/whats-best-way-cook-cauliflower-rice

Something I make frequently is courgette frittata = 50 to 70g of spiralised courgette, microwaved and mixed into a beaten egg, then fried like an omelette – a single egg omelette is a bit paltry, but the courgetti really bulks it up. I also have it with mushrooms and cottage cheese inside the folded omelette/fritatta for a more substantial meal.

Hi Tracey,
I’ve been getting a lot of inspiration from two recipe sites: one is called Elana’s Pantry and the other is Cook Eat Paleo. Although I’m not trying to follow a Paleo diet, there are similarities with the BSD and both of these are good for ideas on low carb meals and baking.
Have a look and see what you think 🙂

Yorkshire Pud enjoy your journey

Juss185,
I haven’t found that I am starving. In fact for me since dropping the carbs I just haven’t had that panic need to eat and I am also drinking plenty of tap water. I hope you have a good experience.

Thanks Nettle 🙂

I know the first few days will be rough for me as can admit that I’m addicted to carbs and sugar 🙁 I’m looking forward to having them as an occasional treat, rather than constantly craving them!

I can’t get to the shops until tomorrow, so I’ll have to make the best of what I can get hold of. I should be able to get a pot of natural yogurt for breakfast and I have some apples and pears in the fridge. If I have time I might try and grab some nuts from the shop on my way to work. I have some full fat yogurt in the fridge, but it’s peach and apricot flavoured, so not sure if it would be full of sugar? Lunch will be a salad with chicken/ham or a soup from work (we have a restaurant that does fresh soups and a salad bar daily). Not sure what I’ll have for dinner, but I should be able to go shopping before then.

I’m already using my fitness pal, so I will continue using it to log my calories.

Hopefully I won’t be starving! 😀

Hi Just185

This is difficult to believe from where you are right now, but within a week you won’t have to beat the carb cravings because they will be gone! It’s one of the many great things about this plan. I am going to be interested to watch you and Yorkshire Pud as you progress, stuff happens quickly and your thinking changes rapidly to amazement. Measuring is a good idea, the results shout at you.

Don’t be suprised if you have one or two rough days at the very beginning, it’s your body purging those CARBS. After that it’s a new world folks. Do drink, if in doubt drink…water.

Nettle.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I’ll have a look at adding more fat.

We ate out tonight. Antipasto (meats and cheeses) followed by lamb and salad😃

Just did my first weigh in/measurements:

Weight – 80.2kg/12 st 6 lbs
Girth (measured the largest part of my stomach) – 101 cm/40 ins
BMI – 28.5 (female, 5ft 6 ins)

If I can get at least 6 lbs of in the next 4 weeks that would be a good start, but ideally I would like to lose a bit more.

Hi LGL

I have not and will not ever try shakes again. It is very old history but I found them revolting and the very thought now brings it all back. Recently on one of the blogs I saw similar reactions.

What I can tell you about this BSD is how simple, easy, and effective it is. I am in a land of kgs, have a goal of about 18kg loss total, about 35-40lbs by rough reckoning. I have averaged a kg a week, less than many on the program but @ 10kg down I am a different person. I have been on most diets known to mankind over the years all with similar hit and miss results. Not only am I losing weight on this I feel great, have a lovely energy to get out exercising every day. The support via the blogs is a huge help. Shakes work for some but once you come off them, food management is still to be mastered. Learn that as you go on the BSD. The plus side of not feeling hungry very often, enjoying the flavour of food in a new way, feeling full and leaving food on the plate to be taken away are all liberating experiences.

My fast diet cook books have bookmarks all the way through, great food.

Enjoying the journey as many of us are.
Nettle.

The daily mail sAys the Mediterranean diet may prevent breast cancer.

Love Lucia
Xxxxx