Hi Syb,
This is one of those things that we each have to make our own decision about. Obviously, having lost weight & feeling so much better as a result of this diet, none of us want to ruin all the work and pile the pounds back on. Like you, I like a nice sandwich (Tesco’s remaindered counter is one of my favourite haunts! Sad!!) – but rather than being my “what shall I stuff myself with tonight” option, it really is just an occasional treat. While I was only ever just an occasional potato/rice/pasta eater, I am not going to deny myself the occasional risotto (with proper rice), or roast potatoes (if I’m eating out), even a decent loaf of bread. Darn it, I still like highly processed sausages – Quorn ones are OK but they just don’t set my taste buds alight!

I’m not diabetic so I guess my health issues are slightly different to yours. I have recently tried reintroducing a few things I’ve cut out. I also was a bit lax about late night eating. And I didn’t do quite as much exercise. Guess, what: my weight loss stalled, even went up slightly. So very quickly I restricted things again and have now got rid of the excess. If I want to reach my target then I can’t relax things too much. So the moral of this tale is keep an eye on the scales, snugness of clothes, any medical readings you might be taking (but no need to get obsessive about it) and if you find you are gaining weight again you know exactly what you need to do to nip things in the bud.

Everything in moderation. A little restriction to keep things in check is much better than having to start from scratch again.

Can’t say enough – MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE – much more reliable than weight.

I had some plateaux but I could see by my Ketostix I was still fat-burning, so I knew it was going from somewhere, likely my visceral fat, all around my organs.

The subcutaneous fat is the last to go, as the body burns the most dangerous visceral fat first. And apparently last subcutaneous fat to go is below the navel 🙁

It would be 😉

don’t give up – get an app like MyFitnessPal and log your calories and carbs, and if you keep an eye on the carbs and make sure they’re low (lots of people here try to get under 50g per day) that may also kick start the weight again. And, as previous people have said, drink.

Have you got some clothes you’re measuring yourself by? I’ve just got into some smaller jeans and that felt great!

Good luck

Alan, keep on keeping on, you are doing fine. Exercise will make you feel better generally, so is worthwhile doing even if it doesn’t have a direct effect on BS.

Have you experimented with non-fasting BS and read the threads (particularly from Bill1954) about the unreliability of fasting BS first thing in the morning, as this is apparently notoriously up and down, and not necessarily indicative of your overall daily BS?

Thank you Natalie. Yes, luckily for us it was indeed TIA and not a full-blown stroke. He is home now, only one night in hospital, but with a couple more tests as an outpatient. He didn’t sleep well last night, blaming the interruptions and noise on any tertiary hospital ward, but I’m sure the experience was on his mind. As it was on mine – every time I closed my eyes I saw the very close shaves we had. Must have given other motorists severe cause to pause!

Thanks again, Natalie. I’ve probably given you way more information than you needed.

To the point of these forums, I’m hanging by fingernails today – over the 800 before evening meal, but not a real binge as it was last night. Again, tomorrow will be a better day……

What a brilliant result, Stewart! You must be absolutely thrilled!

How great is this that – after perhaps the initial carb addiction struggle – we can get our lives back, and see the way to ending all the agonising about weight and lack of energy and increasing dependence on pills.

Congratulations again, and Frog, I think you’re doing well on 12 lbs after three and a bit weeks – whatever other diet/eating plan is likely to have got you there??? I am on 14 lbs lost after 5, but it’s the measurements that count – shopping yesterday and catching sight of a new slimmer me in Zara was worth its weight in gold. 🙂

Congratulations to everyone, fabulous results! Onwards and upwards

I am just finishing week 5 today, down 1 stone or 9.5% of my total starting weight, with another pound gone since last week.

Into my size 27 non-stretch jeans, which had never fitted since I bought them (under the impression that the stretch fabric of my other pairs didn’t make a difference….ooooh no)

My Target is another 8 lbs to go, which would be 9 stone and 15% of starting body weight – don’t know if I’ll really get there, or if I’ll just look at the measurements and stop when it feels right. There is still a flob (technical term) of belly fat to go, waiting with interest to see what will happen…..

In other news, OH got himself into size 34 jeans and a size M shirt yesterday (he generally wears size 36 slung low – if you know what I mean – and an XL shirt). Also needs another belt, as he’s got to the last hole on this one. Not losing much weight at present, which is fine by him, but the measurements are certainly shifting! Hopefully in the end this may get him off his two metformin.

Onwards and upwards/downwards everyone, and have a great day/week/ongoing journey with the BSD!

Yayy, great stuff Loren – go us! :-)))

Thanks,

I think I will certainly follow the recipes for the first week, then, i will have a lot of left over stuff, as you cant buy most of the ingredients in the small portion sizes you need, so i think I will then try to use up the things i have using the recipes on here and in the book.
that way i save myself some money aswell, as the ingredients don t come cheap.

I have one question. I did my blood test yesterday after 8 hours between eating, it read 5.6- this sits in the normal section, is it possible the result was incorrect or maybe that 8 hours without eating lowers it? I had done some work in the garden a couple of hours previously?

what do you think?

thanks

JK

Marsie that sounds terrifying! Both for your husband’s TIA (mini stroke) and then you having to stop the car from the passenger seat. I hope he is ok now.

Hi. Just read all your blogs and you have inspired me as have been struggling for 3 yrs. I am 62 and didn’t have a problem till I had cervical spine surgery and something change and now have 20 legs to lose to be health again and get blood pressure under control. Will start tomorrow and keep you all updated, I struggle with even starting as have read book 3 times and had for 2 months, so will bit the bullet and get on with it. Mermaid2

Hi I have PCOS and was totally addicted to carbs and sugar. I would spend the whole day needing sugary foods and was hungry the whole day. I have the same family history as you also. Well I am 6 weeks into the 8 week diet and I can say I am so happy to be doing it. I don’t have the cravings any more like I had and I feel like a new person. I have more energy and don’t find it hard getting up in the mornings (I used to find it hard to get my head off the pillow). I was on medication and am no longer taking it. I have lost 20lbs, my symptoms have started to reduce also. I could of lost more but need to exercise more. My hardest time on this diet was the first 4 days as I felt fuzzy in my head ( I think it was my body not having the sugar and carbs). It was hard at times and it was made easier by throwing out all the foods that tempted me. I have broke the diet twice as I was out with friends and it was so not worth it, I felt sick afterwards. If you do have foods that you should not don’t punish yourself, start a fresh day and continue with the diet.
I highly recommend this diet, it has really helped me and I am going to continue after the 8 weeks as I have more weight to loose. I have tried diets in the past and they have never worked. I was literally shocked when I weighed myself with this diet. I see this diet not for 8 weeks but as a lifestyle change. I never want to go back to feeling the way I did.
Good luck and don’t give up. Look forward to feeling better 🙂

Is 1kg too much? I got mine in Tesco in Asian foods = ‘Koh-I-Noor’ cream paper bag with red & green design.

Hi ashri, you have described the former me! I have PCOS, type 2 diabetes, had completely out of control eating habits and NO energy.
I have been on the bsd for 4 weeks. So far I have lost 10kg, which is unheard of for me. My blood sugars are almost in the normal range and am almost completely off meds.
I am way older than you at 41 and have 3 kids who sap my energy, but my energy levels are now so high. My housework is all done (I hate housework so would always put it off). My dog is exhausted from all of the walks I take her on. My boys are often embarrassed as they turn up at home with their mates to find me dancing around the kitchen, just cos I can. I have not had this much energy for years.
My mum bought me the bsd book and it has honestly saved my life.
I feel really excited for you in your new beginning. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks Frog. so pleased, and so pleased to be in new “thinner” clothes and free from carb hunger torment

Not quite Julia18togo. It’s been a mixed weekend. The readings are fast, my morning routine is : get up, go to the loo, get weighed and check blood sugar.

Friday day 111 weight 9st 11lbs
Blood sugar 7.9

I started sorting my kitchen and ate some sugar free chocolate chip cookies – this put my blood sugar up on Saturday due to the wheat they are made from!

Saturday day 112 weight 9st 11lbs
Blood sugar 9.9 😈

Saturday night I had two pieces of southern fried chicken (breadcrumbs)

Sunday day 113 weight 9st 12 lbs
Blood sugar 9.2

Sunday I was good and ate what I was supposed to

Monday day 114 weight 9st 11lbs (back down to 19lbs lost)
Blood sugar 7.3 😇

I need to stop thinking that as my blood sugar is coming down I can start to eat a bit of what I shouldn’t and it won’t make a difference, because it does!

My Mum has been getting worse in the last few days, to tell the truth she has been up and down since she came out of hospital. I know if I am stressed that my blood sugar goes through the roof, so I am trying to remain calm but it is difficult. In some ways she has given up, which is really frustrating when we all want her to get stronger so she will be able to have the operations on her knees which will give her a much better quality of life.
My motivation for this diet was to get rid of my diabetes, but a knock on effect will be me reducing my risk of heart attack or stroke, and my Mum is a daily reminder of the consequences of a stroke.

Hi everyone. I’m 26 years old, overweight, and while I currently have ‘normal’ blood sugars I have a family history of Type 2 Diabetes and have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which wreaks havoc on my hormones, weight and insulin. I struggle a LOT with a physical and psychological addiction to sugar and carbs and sometimes genuinely feel like I can’t control myself reaching for high sugar, highly processed food. I’ve bought the 8 Week Diet book and am waiting for it to arrive. Are there any other ladies out there with PCOS – or people who have done this diet who had similar issues with the cravings that I’ve listed above? Would love to hear from you and how you got through it. Would also like to hear from anyone who found waking up in the morning really hard but has seen improvements in that area.

Feeling nervous/excited about my upcoming lifestyle change!

Good luck James! You will eventually be fine without the crisps and nuts, they are my biggest weakness, but you can go for the unsalted nuts and they get surprisingly nice after a while. The recipes in the book are good although there seemed to be an awful lot of salads so we go for cooking joints of meat, and making different kinds of soup which are low calorie and awfully filling.
Check out the recipes on this site too, there are lots of good ones.

Hello JCH187, keep going – I hope the stage will pass too. When I weighed Friday I had lost a total of 12lb 8oz in just under 3 weeks but had a rather bad weekend so feel scared to weigh myself before midweek at the earliest!

Hello Flower55, as you can probably tell by the username, I am a bit of a coffee fiend and I fit my latte in every morning and still lose weight! Standard semi skimmed milk is 9g carbs for 170ml, not a small drink. The other carbs I eat are so minimal in other foods that I still seem to stay below 30g quite often. I know it’s different for everyone. But just in case you wanted to give it a go! (PS the latte is hand made as we have a barista coffee machine.)

I am back to semi fasting – not just weightloss but also general well being ! I am a bread addict and love homemade wholemeal bread … I have read Moseleys recent book and very helpful but I found the recipes a little limiting to me being a vegetarian and trying to live on a tight budget as I have a family with 3 teens in to feed. I have found that many of these recipes even get eaten by visiting teens – I will just add some carb variant for them – bread or rice, or some extras depending on the meal

A couple of years ago I happened upon this brilliant website which I wanted to share – just look for the 5:2 recipes

http://www.lavenderandlovage.com/ enter 5:2 in the Recipe and Ingredient search

My 2 other key websites (because neither has all my ingredients in !) are as follows (you don’t need to sign up for either)

https://www.caloriecount.com/
http://www.calorieking.com/

I think my biggest encouragement is invest in that week 1 and setting up and “costing” recipes you like and set up your recipe folder (mine is paper because I write all over it as I modify it and try cutting calories out). For me week 1 was hardest and time consuming. After that I stuck to those recipes I knew, and added a couple of new ones each week

Other learnings/Tips:

1 You have got to change your cupboard lots of pulses, tinned tomatoes, spices, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, right nuts – but you don’t have to do it all in week 1
2 I shop in Aldi with a large family for all my veg, meat and a big Asda – asian isle for cheaper pulses
3 I have a pressure cooker and a freezer – I bulk cook pulses, then weigh them out into approx tin size quantities and freeze in the cheapest plastic bags (I have limited freezer space)
4 Always cook double, measure out your meal and freeze your portions as required. I bought a lot of smaller sized Asda 450 and 220 clip top containers – they make my meals easy if I am doing non diet for the rest of the family
5 If your freezer is full – keep a ruogh list of meals in the freezer
6 Use a meal planner – even if just up to the next day but it is easier if you plan the week if you, like me do 1 main shop each week and run on a tighter budget – there are some nice looking plans out there on the internet to hack !!
7 In my recipe folder I have a copy of my Excel s/sheet where I have a record of my fav ingredients – quick Q (eg 1 cup 1 tbsp) the weight (‘cos even I can kid myself that I’m sticking to the measures !) and the cals – this is because I havelots of veggy pulses etc and find it easier to cook from scratch to avoid my food allergy of cow dairy)

Good luck everyone – all change is an effort but well worth it – let’s take back control of our health, bodies and wallets from the corporations and live better !!

Thanks for all help
Week 10 and am carrying on with more exercise as this was lacking in first 9 weeks
Maybe this will help my BS?

This is Day 1 for me after a few false starts. I’m not diabetic, but having read the book and watched related TV programmes I’m convinced that this is a good way to shift the 20lb I need to get rid of, and the summer is a good time to do it. I’m 64 yrs old with an expanding stomach which is probably hiding a multitude of problems, current or potential. My danger points are carb cravings, particularly in the afternoons, and the lure of alcohol in the evenings. Nice to meet other newbies here, and good luck everyone 🙂

Started a week ago today & my results are:-

Mon 6/6 15st 9.5 8.1 fasting bloods

Mon 13/6 15st 1.5 5.4 fasting bloods

So have lost 8lbs (stayed the same since fri) but am happy with that 😊👍

Lets see what week 2 brings!!

Well done Epspecially! That’s fab news. End of week 4 for me today too – 2.5lbs! Yay! 🤓

I don’t want to go completely back but I would like to find out if others have readded some of the ‘bad’ carbs

Kitty, wouldn’t it be nice? Or a chef for 8 weeks! I am way too lazy for all of these recipes. I modify the family meals. I have slightly less meat, no carbs and lots of veggies for dinner. I make a couple of leftover type meals on weekends, either eggs muffins or eggplant parmiagana types of things for lunches and berries/yoghurt for lunch.

Little planning and usually around the 800. Good luck.

End of week 4, another 1.8kg 😝😝😝Wahoooooo! Half way to 8 weeks, can’t believe how quickly time is going!

If anyone is considering starting today, give it a go, the time will pass anyway and it is really interesting to try out and could have exciting results! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

After posting on here a few days ago and getting some good advice I have lost 4lbs in the last 2/3 days!!
Water is obviously the key for me. I also put details of food on my fitness pal and was AMAZED at the amount of salt in ham.
thank you

Fat nurse, even at 1000 calories you will lose weight. People normally eat over 2000, so you still eating only half of what you are used to!

Keep trying 🙂

Tokyo, I felt exactly the same. Cereal and milk for breakfast and sandwiches at lunch for most of my 40+ years. It’s a really big mind shift!
I have moved to berries and yoghurt for breakfast and either salad/chicken or other cold meat or leftovers for lunch. It’s a lot of effort but worthwhile. Take a look at the egg muffins as a lunch alternative. Almost like sandwiches with cottage cheese/eggs and ham.

Good luck.

Rachbc keep with it. In the big scheme of things eight weeks is not long. Do you record your food and drink? Good to see that you are have you 30 mins walk. Do you need to up grade to a faster walk or a longer walk? I am going back to weighing food instead of guessing. Enjoy today.

I didn’t think that I did any over eating at the street party yesterday but today I am plus two pounds and have an acheing belly. On checking I was low with water drinking (I only had water or coffee), also I was low on exercise. With regarding food I was low on vegetables and I never had cake etc. For my dish of food to share I made a crustless quiche and took a bowl of raspberries with chopped strawberries. I perhaps was a little mindless with how many cold chipolates that I ate. Today I will be weighing portions instead of guessing. I have a Pilates Class booked for this evening. A new week, off we go, happy Monday. Do something funny today and enjoy.

Morning Izzy – when I move and have a big kitchen!
I was thinking the other day that I could create a lot more counterspace by putting the toaster away!

Hi Frog that is a shame that yours sits unused, perhaps you could sell it. Or put it in the attic and see if it becomes worth more cash in a few more years lol.

I was eying up a big one with lots of bells and whistles but I can’t justify the expense or the worktop space. This one realistically will do everything I want it to, without taking up loads of space and without costing an arm and leg.

Morning all 🙂 having my normal morning herbal tea and catch up whilst my world is quiet, need to get going in a few minutes though!

Food today- breakfast was strawberries and yoghurt, lunch is chicken and lentil soup and crackers, dinner will be courgettes stuffed with pork mince probably cooked with onions and passata.

It’s dull and raining today.

I’ve just remembered I have a meeting at work today 11-1300 so I hope they don’t serve food. I’ll just say I’m not hungry lol I like my soup! Rumour has it they are removing our normal toolboxes and asking us to take a small toolroll into homes in an effort to help health and safety. Both in the sense of engineers with back issues due to bad lifting and the occasional customer accident when they trip over the box (which does happen now and then)

However I’ve trotted about doing this work for 24 years. No one has ever fallen over my box because I’m careful where I put it down and I keep it a bit lighter than most so no back trouble. However my main problem is this… I use it to stand on ALL the time. I’m only 5 ft tall. So basically they might stop me bringing it but I’ll need to replace it with my small steps. In fairness they are lightweight so will be easy enough to carry but take up more space so someone could just fall over that instead! Got to laugh at people who work in offices making rules for people who work in the field.

Every house is different so impossible to have a generic risk assessment so we have to do our own as we go, why not just let us decide what we need? ok that’s my work moan and mumble over haha. Good to get things off your chest.

Well I best go wake my son and start the day. Have a good one BSD-ers.

I got mine from asda in the world foods aisle.

Many members have introduced changes slowly before fully embracing BSD and many think it helped them so if this is the right path for you then just keep trying. One step at a time and you will get there.

Potato would be a good thing to cut out when you are ready.

As for sugar, as Sassie said anything processed is likely to have some hidden but if you are cooking your own meals you should be ok.

If you want to add sweetner, stevia is thought to not cause the insulin response that some other sweetners are thought to. I use it in my tea.

lots of others here have similar experiences only to find it suddenly starts to fall off again. I think I remember one member saying they went 3 weeks without losing then lost a lot all at once.

Have you been measuring your body? this can help.

Are you drinking enough Rachbc? I thought I was drinking loads, but when I actually tried to keep a tally it was closer to two litres rather than three – it does help flush things through. Stick with it, good luck

Hi all. I started the Fast 800 plan 5 weeks ago and lost 14lb in the first 3 weeks, however since since then I haven’t lost anything. Despite sticking to it closely and walking 30 mins everyday and strength exercise every other day. The first week of no loss I put down to PMT and bloating but after another week I’m starting to loose faith.

Any ideas, suggestions or encouragement?

Enjoy the weight loss. You are doing fantastically well. Stop taking your blood sugar so often. It is undermining your positivity around the weight loss. Your blood sugars are not amazingly high and you should be proud of your achievement. Keep up the good work.

When I was diagnosed with type 2 the Dr said to avoid processed food like pasta sauces as they have hidden sugar. I have never bought a premade sauce since.

Health food shops often sell 500g. Holland and Barrett, that sort of place.

Sainsbury’s do 500gram in turquoise box in world foods section

I was really surprised – I though olives would be high on pretty much everything, but they’re OK

got in latish & not hugely hungry, so had olives, manchego cheese & some cashew nuts – all that would have improved it would’ve been a glass of cold, dry sherry, I can taste it now!

no, I ended up with a huge bag.
we used to have a store called “unbagged” or something similar, that sold stuff by weight – anything like that near you?
1kg seems to be the smallest in supermarkets

I got my last lot from a little local Asian grocery store, and they had different sizes beginning I think at about 500g

Where to buy small bags of gram or chickpea flour. I have seen only large bags and don’t have much storage space

WOW!!!
Stewart – 47lb in just under 7 weeks – that is amazing, well done, you must feel so proud – congratulations

If you continue losing at that kind of rate, you’ll be at your target rate really soon
Making me wonder what I’m doing wrong!
I’m hovering at around 12lb after three and a half weeks.

Thank you for your mail. I don’t think I am under 800 calories . With a bypass once you have had enough there is no having more as it just won’t fit. By me eating proper meals and not snacking I will be healthier. I am on a multi vitamin for the rest if my life and my dr is going to keep an eye on me. I am still having potatoe but not as often, I don’t want to go on such a strict diet that I won’t stick to in the long term. Tomorrow I have got a lovely tuna steak that I am marinating in olive with garlic oil , if I eat that I won’t be able to eat much else at least for a few hours . I can’t eat steak as it gets stuck I can’t eat spaghetti either, I am taking small steps to start with, like reducing my suger and trying to eat healthier but I won’t do it all at the same time or I will hate it. Any low suger tips would be great

thanks for your replys think its the no sugar in my tea is my first hurdle starting that tomorrow having a sort slow easy run in this week getting rid of all the choc etc seeing my gp tues just to get all clear to go ahead but cant see it been a problem think i may struggle on breakfasts and lunches as i am a cereal for breakfast then sandwiches for lunch guess its just getting used to a different way of eating !!!!!!