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

Have you seen the Ditch the Carbs website. Some great recipes to use/ adapt.

Have you heard of a cider called scrumpy jack, well I just had a little bit of it.

Wonder if I am drunk or merry?

Nope , I don’t think I am with three fingers of cider.

It was nice, but I am thirsty after it. So I am now having my usual hot water.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Everyone. I’ve not been online on the BSD site for a few weeks, but I now need help.

I’ve found the BSD plan great. No hunger, no desire for chocolate, not missing pasta, managing to drink 3 litres of water, exercising with walking and swimming and managing (just) to keep my focus. I struggle with focus in everything, but my issue here is I’m getting bored with the food I’m preparing and am starting to switch off.

Breakfast is fine. Lunch is OK. I have an allergy to seafood and fish I don’t really like, but am managing to eat at least one portion of fish a week, so I feel that I’m now really limited for things to eat and I am starting to stray back into rice/pasta recipes.

I had good results for the first two weeks, but the last two weeks I have struggled.

Now desperate!

Good Luck to you too Yorkshire Pud! 🙂 I definitely need all the support I can get lol.

I’m going to weigh myself tonight and measure my waist (scary :-o)

It was ssssoooooo hot today.
Even when we had a little cloud , you couldn’t breathe.

Then at tea time, a beautiful heavy shower and a peal of thunder.

Guess what I went out to bash?

Yup, you guessed it.

Love Lucia
Xxx

I’m starting tomorrow morning too! Feeling really positive for this diet, which to be honest is unusual cos I am rubbish at dieting. Hope we can support each other along the way!

Good luck xxx

Hi Peter perkin.
Your birthday eh?
A Gemini?
There are two sides to your life and story.
Looks like you have left one story and now are starting on a new one.

So Peter , happy birthday 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🍾🎂🎂🎂🎂🍾🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🍾🍾🍾🍾🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

And do enjoy the new part of your life
Love Lucia
Xxxx

I found this diet because I was recommended by my doctor to do the Optifast 800 diet. It is a diet of five Optifast drinks that total 800 calories. I would be on the diet until I lost the 80 lbs that I need to lose and they projected that to be February 2017. I started last week but the drinks are disgusting and I cannot imagine drinking shakes for the next 9 or more months of my life. Has anyone tried Optifast? How dies this compare? I think I will be switching,

Hi All,

I put this in the Fast 800 board, but I think I should have put it here :s

My partner and I are going to try and start the Fast 800 tomorrow. He’s been a type 1 diabetic since childhood, so he won’t be following it exactly, but I want to stick to it fully. We both need to lose a couple of stone each in total (I’m 12 st 6 lbs/80 kg, he’s 16 stone/100kg) and we really need a kickstart to get us going and have more motivation. I know that once he puts his mind to a diet my partner can stick to it, but I on the other hand, always fail/sabotage everything by the weekend! 🙁

We moved in together about 3 years ago and in that time we’ve both put on 2-3 stone each by just being comfortable and lazy. We also live in the city centre, so restaurants and take aways are easy temptation for us. In this time I’ve gone from a size 10 to a size 14 and I’m really unhappy with the way I look. We’ve ended up throwing most of our clothes out or giving them to charity shops as nothing fits us anymore. I live in the same t-shirts and jeans every week.

I have plantar fasciitis/flat feet which in the last year has become really painful and stopped me from walking to work or doing much exercise at all, which I think has also contributed to the weight gain and makes the pain worse. My physio referred me to Slimming World, but I’ve not stuck to it at all! We also have 2 close friend’s weddings coming up next month and want to lose some weight by then and we would also like to go on holiday (I haven’t been abroad for 4 years) but we’re too embarrassed about our weight to wear shorts/swimming costumes.

I took the quizzes and my addiction to carbs and sugar is really unhealthy. I need to make changes now, before I put on even more weight! My main concern is that I’m going to fall of the wagon without my trusty sugar and carbs!

An example day for me could be:

Cereal or toast for breakfast
Tea/sugar free squash throughout the day
A couple of portions of fruit
Lunch of salad or soup or jacket potato
Yogurt

All seems pretty healthy, then as soon as I get home I binge on everything I can. I’ll have a family sized bag of crisps, packet of biscuits, chocolate bar, bottle of diet coke etc.

Any advise/tips for someone starting out and how to beat the cravings for sugar and carbs?

Thanks! Sorry for the life story, but I feel like I needed to write it down and get all my feelings out!

Someone’s started a blog here called frog diet.

Does anyone know how many carbs are in a medium sized frog?

Also, did anyone watch the Simpsons when homer licked the frogs and went on a mind trip?
If you find yourself walking on the ceiling like spider pig, just be careful getting down.

Love Lucia

Xxxx

Thank you for your advice, I’m actually looking forward to starting!

A perfect dozen.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Frog, thanks for the reply. Yes, I’ve been on the slow release version the whole time of taking them (4 years or so), ever since the first fortnight on the normal ones kept me practically glued to the toilet seat and doubled up in pain – the SR ones don’t give me quite so much gut ache, but I still get the squits, albeit not as bad.

Not tried the Branston low sugar beans, the ones we have at the mo are supermarket own brand, perhaps they’ll taste a bit better with some tomato puree, a knob of butter or some herbs in (we bought a 4-pack, sadly!). Will get the Branston ones next time.

I’m an emotional eater, so when something upsetting happens, as it has been quite a lot lately, I tend to reach for comfort food. I guess the answer is not to have any naughty comfort food in the house. Non carb snacks (it would have to be something I really enjoy eating) would be a good idea, thanks.

I have no idea how many carbs in a frog, and no plans to eat any!

Day 17 – I’ve lost 4 kilos since I started, slower than I’d hoped, and my weight frustratingly hovers and see-saws up and down.
Generally in the right direction though, although I occasionally think about buying new scales.

Pre BSD I ate loads of carbs – even when dieting, I’d eat toast or bread instead of cake or chocolate – so I’m surprised that I’m finding it relatively easy to stick to, even when eating out – although that is leading to a huge reliance on Prezzo and Japanese for sashimi.

Short term goals – a further two kilos by next Sunday, exercise and/or long walks on at least four days this week
– I managed 16k steps on a walk today, about 8 miles, and not in the least tired – hopefully I won’t be stiff in the morning!

Long term target – get to 55kg – that will be 50kg loss in total, half the weight I was in 2013, and would give me BMI of 21
– or size 12 – I have no idea what size I might be when.if I get to 55kg, so will review this as I’m losing weight.

Oh, forgot to add, I tried branston low sugar baked beans last week, and liked them a lot better. I mix them with a can of cannellini beans to further reduce the carbs in a portion – although I have noticed that when I have them without added beans, there’s lots more sauce left behind on the plate, so assuming that;s where the additional carbs and sugar are, maybe you’g get the same effect by draining off the surplus sauce.
Not something I eat when not dieting, but they’re my ‘toast substitute’ with poached egg for breakfast.

Hi Sooze-
I had ghastly side effects with metformin – then my GP switched me to the extended release version, which has been fine – have you tried that one?
Just forgetting it when it goes wrong and starting the next day anew sounds like a good plan – the only thing I’ve tried to do other than that is think about why it went wrong, and think about how I can avoid the situation in future (my biggest one was thinking I’m not hungry, skipping a meal, then consuming far more calories than the the meal would have been, and sometime around midnight).
Keeping non carb snacks handy might help?

Congratulations on the 3lb, and lots of luck with resuming BSD

Re the 5:2
I’ve been relaxing a bit at weekend and being strict during the week as I’ve done my 8 weeks (2 stone loss)
Hopefully it won’t creep up again,anyone tried this.???
Still on full dose metformin but hope to reduce pill by pill slowly.
My BP is down ridiculously now coming under 118/78 pulse 65 ish
May see Dr about cutting BP pills too
Onward and downward folks. Alanhypno 😇

Hi Collie!! Thanks so much for your post as I was just going to write something and thought probably no one is reading my diary. And there was your post!! Yeah!
I think that quote is from Maya Angelou.
I hope your friend heeds her doctor’s advice!
Re Hanging on to your clothes. Let them go when you are ready otherwise you are telling your subconscious you plan to return to the higher weight and it will self sabotage to make you go back up there. I know this from my profession.

What I was going to write is that I had to find a shirt that fits this morning so tried some smaller shirts on and lo and behold I tried on one I haven’t been able to wear for two years since I bought it. Why? Because it has an empire waist and it went right across the middle of my chest, no where near under like it should. I tried it on and the empire waist is well under my chest and where it should be and my husband said the shirt seems too big. But at least the shoulders for better than any shirt I have been wearing! This shirt is four sizes smaller than ones I have been wearing. It’s like getting a new shirt so I love it!

Have a happy day! Thanks for reading my posts!!

I’m often hungry at bedtime too and/or if I wake up in the night so at first I would keep some nuts beside my bed and eat 3 with a glass of water. Now I can resist the snacks and try to be aware that hunger is just a sensation and I can live with it more easily! I consciously think ” there are worse things than hunger”
All the best to you. I’m on week 5 and it is easier by now.

Haha Sandie, not sure a balloon or group hug would be met with anything other than howls of derision and a definitive chant of ‘we want cake’ in our household! I’ve found it easy enough today to get back on course though. The most delicious poached egg on haloumi for brunch and a bread free BBQ this evening. It’s much easier when the weather is warm and sun is out 🙂

Hi am interested in hearing how vegans are getting on . I have just bought the book online. I know that many traditional sources of protein for vegans have more carbs in compared with meat and fish and cheese which have none or very few.

Hi All,

My partner and I are going to try and start the Fast 800 tomorrow. He’s been a type 1 diabetic since childhood, so he won’t be following it exactly, but I want to stick to it fully. We both need to lose a couple of stone each in total (I’m 12 st 6 lbs/80 kg, he’s 16 stone/100kg) and we really need a kickstart to get us going and have more motivation. I know that once he puts his mind to a diet my partner can stick to it, but I on the other hand, always fail/sabotage everything by the weekend! 🙁

We moved in together about 3 years ago and in that time we’ve both put on 2-3 stone each by just being comfortable and lazy. We also live in the city centre, so restaurants and take aways are easy temptation for us. In this time I’ve gone from a size 10 to a size 14 and I’m really unhappy with the way I look. We’ve ended up throwing most of our clothes out or giving them to charity shops as nothing fits us anymore. I live in the same t-shirts and jeans every week.

I have plantar fasciitis/flat feet which in the last year has become really painful and stopped me from walking to work or doing much exercise at all, which I think has also contributed to the weight gain and makes the pain worse. My physio referred me to Slimming World, but I’ve not stuck to it at all! We also have 2 close friend’s weddings coming up next month and want to lose some weight by then and we would also like to go on holiday (I haven’t been abroad for 4 years) but we’re too embarrassed about our weight to wear shorts/swimming costumes.

I took the quizzes and my addiction to carbs and sugar is really unhealthy. I need to make changes now, before I put on even more weight! My main concern is that I’m going to fall of the wagon without my trusty sugar and carbs!

An example day for me could be:

Cereal or toast for breakfast
Tea/sugar free squash throughout the day
A couple of portions of fruit
Lunch of salad or soup or jacket potato
Yogurt

All seems pretty healthy, then as soon as I get home I binge on everything I can. I’ll have a family sized bag of crisps, packet of biscuits, chocolate bar, bottle of diet coke etc.

Any advise/tips for someone starting out and how to beat the cravings for sugar and carbs?

Thanks! Sorry for the life story, but I feel like I needed to write it down and get all my feelings out!

Hi all, I posted a couple of weeks back saying how despondent I was over putting back on most of the weight I’d previously lost, due largely to being switched from Metformin to Gliclazide (my nurse had warned me it would most likely make me put on weight….she was right!). I had some encouraging replies, thank you. I was so down about it that I decided to drop the Glic and go back on Met, despite the annoying side effects, as I just couldn’t cope with putting on more weight. Well, the good news is that I’ve stopped putting on weight and have actually lost 3lbs in the past week, which is a good little boost. The trouble is, though, I’ve never been able to diet successfully (having dieted for most of my life) unless I put my heart and soul into it and concentrate on it 100%….and life (and lots of it) just keeps getting in the way. I do try to do a weekly menu plan – all well and good, but on some days stuff happens and the plan goes out of the window (am having some family and personal problems which are ongoing and keep taking my mind off the plan, resulting in the odd sandwich or slice of toast here and there).

Been having a think about it all today….I don’t think there’s any point in beating myself up about it or being unrealistic – if I cannot stick to the plan 100% because of other things going on, well making myself miserable because I didn’t stick to it will only set me up for even more failure (in the form of a bag of crisps and huge chunk of cheese, probably!). So I reckon I will try and follow the plan as much as possible (I don’t bother counting calories, can’t be doing with that, I find the best thing for me is to cut out all the bad carbs and cut down quite drastically on portion sizes), but on the days when it doesn’t go according to plan, just forget about that and get back to it as soon as I can.

I notice some of you have your own personal diary threads on here…..good idea, hopefully that might help me. So here’s mine. Had scrambled egg and low sugar baked beans (which were blooming horrible, shan’t be having those again, will stick to tinned toms in future!) for brunch, will be having roast lamb with a couple of small new potatoes and some green veggies for dinner. Will sit and do a menu plan after dinner.

Hi Happy Life
I am enjoying your diary it helps me enormously. I am in awe that you stuck so well on your travels, I to would like to get rid of big clothes but am hanging on to them with white knuckles what is that about. Just had a very interesting chat with a friend who has recently been diagnosed with lada this is an autoimmune type 1 diabetes ,late onset so defo not type 2. However her Consultant is all for her to be low carb and getting her weight in the lower end of the bmi, she is a normal weight for height. He is a new young dynamic dr. It was interesting listening to the advice she has been given for her diet , low carb ,full fat etc. (she is on insulin and reacts like a type 1 so will not be cured) The change is a coming though how exciting, I feel I am at the beginning of this food revolution . Sticking pins in all the low fat low etc diet gurus and slimming clubs where I appear to have wasted my time and money. ‘However we did what we did when we knew what we knew but now we know better ‘Can not remember where this quote is from so apologies for not acknowledging them. Thank you Happy Life.

Plumptious, Isn’t it strange that we celebrate birthdays, weddings, Christmas with cake and or alcohol. What could we find for a non calorie substitute? Balloons? They come with different issues i.e. environmental problems. Chinese hot air lanterns again environmentally unsound. Bubble blowing or of course a group hug might be the answer. Do you have any other ideas?

thank you californiagirl

I have the chicken roasting in the oven and veg all prepared
and as it is now finally warm weather, I am drinking more again

I am reading ‘protein power’ which is the same way of eating as this – it is a cheap used copy I got from amazon, but it has a great list of fruit/veg carbs in 5g portions so that might help me a bit

Cake confessions all round then lol!
I was “forced ” to eat a slice of well known supermarket ready made chocolatey child’s theme cake at my grand daughter’s birthday party. To be honest I didn’t enjoy it…way too sweet but didn’t want to be a party pooper. Boy, did I really know afterwards though and felt yuk for two days. It was only a small slice so thought I could get away with it. I definitely won’t be doing that again.
Apart from that I have been good and tried hard to eat healthily within the principles of the BSD.
I got myself a fit bit and signed up to” myfitnesspal” too so have been twiddling away with those and they have helped me keep busy.
I have lost almost two pounds this week ….would have been more I reckon, if the cake incident hadn’t interfered with things.
I feel less out of breath when going up hills etc and have hit a more than 10,000 step walk midweek, which I am pleased with. I feel much better within myself all round so will keep on beavering away.
We are enjoying nice weather so it is really nice to be out and about more.
Bring it on week four !!!

Another question: How do you deal with feeling cold? I’ve been consciously trying to eliminate refined carbs before finding BSD. I’m constantly feeling extremely cold, and researching online many folks say it’s a symptom of low carb. I was thinking I would try to stay at 100g carbs before finding BSD, and now I’m not sure – lol.

I never used to feel cold, always hot. Lived most of my life in Florida (20yr) or California (25 yr). Then I moved to the Pacific Northwest, and started consuming less carbs at the same time. Needless to say, the last 2 years in Washington I’ve been a bit miserable with feeling cold all the time.

I do have weight to lose, and was thinking to do the 800 cal to get the weight off fast. But as I sit here again with my wool socks and my feet on my heated foot stool I’m questioning my sanity 🙂

That last supper eating is so familiar Brisbane67.
I took myself by surprise this time and bought the book; went food shopping and started the diet all on the same day, no prevarication or ‘tidying’ non-diet food into my mouth.
At 15:20 day 2 I’m feeling fine, surprised to find I didn’t wake up feeling ravenous this morning.
Dropped 1.5 pounds since yesterday, I know it’s just fluid but it looks good on my scales.
Hot drinks and instant protein hits like a hard boiled egg or piece of chicken seem to banish the hunger.
W/B

Hi Frog and HappyLife

Great to feel the sun again😃

Yesterday we were out all day & visited a trattoria mid afternoon. Friends ordered: anti pasti for all, pasta for them. Then explained what I could eat. So I had some salami, ham and cheese (antipasti) then pork in a cream sauce. Scraped most of the sauce off. Nothing else until a mini frittata and slice of ham just before bed.

Visiting friend’s family now. Lunch was osso bucco. They had rice. I didn’t. Then a little well-aged Parmesan (very little!)

Soon going to visit someone else. Another meal😱

Great results both of you.

Thanks for your replies, they were helpful. I recently discovered that dairy is affecting my sinusus so I’ve avoided it for about a year now. I thought the dairy was important in the BSD diet, was just wondering how to get around it. Although I could manage having the diet with dairy, like you say the cheese is important, and see how I go. It will be interesting to see how I get on.

Really helpful, thank you

Hi Lynne!!
So glad you are doing well on vacation! We just got home yesterday after 2.5 weeks on ours and we both still lost weight and inches during vacation except the last week when we were stagnant. However, I already lost another pound since getting home.

Just focus on the carbs for sure on vacation and it really helps and you will
Feel so proud afterwards that you stayed on it.

So glad you can walk better!!

Hugs💜🌷

I agree so much Izzy! We are saving so much money on this program! We can use it to buy our new clothes! 💜
Also agree re your sharing about your depression and I hope it’s better for you soon. It’s important to let people know there is nothing shameful about any health issue. Period!
One thing: maybe your meds need adjusting since you are doing so well in the diet.
I can’t believe you are playing with the carrot cake. You have got guts girlfriend! I couldn’t do it. Eventually it would drive me to the cake shop to buy one. I have to be super strict which makes my life simple. Simple is best for my program.
I lost another pound today! Finally back on the downward trek again and glad to be home after the 2.5 week travels! Yippee.
See my diary for my goals this week and let me know your thoughts!
If you feel down imagine I am there smiling and laughing with you about our success and giving you a big hug!
💜🌷💖

Yeah, down another pound today!! Still moving in the right direction again!!
Goals this week!
1- After today we don’t have to eat out as today is a family event. We will stay on the program as always but you just never know what’s out there in restaurants like extra butter brushed on fish, etc.
2- try to achieve 5000 steps each day if knee allows.
3 – start going through clothes and donate what items are now too big!! My fave for the week!

Excited to be back home after 2.5 weeks traveling albeit we had a ton of fun and met new clients and friends along the way.

I am super proud we stayed on our food plan the entire time as well!

Here’s to the new me coming soon! 💜

You’ve had some great advice so far and I would echo it. log everything you eat, plan your meals, drink plenty.

I’d also say try lots of new things, don’t be scared about experimenting, and read and post here. Valuable advice and support everyday 🙂

Sugar free gum also helps me along, and copious amounts of water and herbal tea.

courgetti and cauliflower rice I’ve been pleasantly surprised at…

Good luck 🙂 and welcome.

hi Lynne – hope that you’re having a great holiday, from your other posts it sounds as if you’re doing brilliantly with sticking to BSD

M – congratulations, 3 stone is an amazing achievement.
As to the best post target options – you”ll only find out when you get there!
If you do start gaining weight again on 1200 calories, maybe try 5:2, or a variant of that – you don’t have to put back on all of the weight you’ve lost on BSD before you do something about it. Big thing for now is to get to whatever target you’ve set yourself.
If you’re finding 800 easy, I’d say stick with it, as Lynne has – if you find it a real struggle, experiment with 5:2 and see how that works for you.

I read somewhere around the time I started BSD something along the lines of “weigh yourself regularly, and if your weight is up by more than a kilo, have a say or two of eating less to bring it back in check” – I know that may sound perfectly obvious to some people, but it was a real ‘light bulb’ moment for me.
I’m really trying to see this not as a diet, but the new normal in terms of eating and living more healthily. I’ve always been overweight, even as a child, and have lost count of the diets where I’ve lost some weight only to pile it back on again; as I’m getting older, I am finding it harder to lose weight, and am becoming more aware of the impact on my health, so need to avoid yo-yo dieting of the past. And with Yo-Yos, they always end up at the bottom, with the string fully extended – until you make the effort to wind it up again,

You could save some calories for a milky drink at bedtime, or have your last meal a bit later.

But Igora is right we need the fat 🙂

The thing that satisfies and fills you up is full fat foods.

Have you reviewed the breakdown of carbs, fat and protein on an app such as MyFitnessPal?

If you have your evening meal with plenty of fat in it – add some full fat yoghurt, or cheese, or avocado, just as suggestions – you should find that this fills you up.

If you are still feeling hungry – and this does lessen as you go on – focus on making sure a good amount of your 800 calories is fat. Honestly, does work!

Good luck!

My thoughts are that when I get to my target I think less about calories, focussing just on carbs. Like I’m doing now on holiday. And being careful with portion sizes. Hashimoto has done that already. Others, including Bill, have focused on carbs rather than calories with great success.

Thanks Igorasusual 🙂

I aim to please! (and help if I can)

I’ve become quite passionate about the BSD lol

You know one of the things I love about BSD and Michael Mosely? I was thinking about it the other day. It isn’t about the money.

Obviously he will have earned cash from book sales but he hasn’t exploited his ideas for richness.

You go to weight watchers or slimming world or any of those and it’s £5/ week for the support of a person to weigh you and give you the advice that we get from the book (which is a one off purchase) then the website and the group support is all free.

Ah you’re welcome science monkey and well done to you and your partner! another scottish person I’m guessing from the ‘wean’? lol

BSD is great 🙂 I’m sure you will both reach your targets!

Hi all!

Just finished week 1. Still struggling with hunger but during the day I can keep busy and distract myself. At night is a different story.

I’m using recipes from the book for all my meals, drinking herbal tea in the evening and a big glass of water before bed … But so hungry while trying to fall asleep. Not coping!

Any suggestions?