Watching this post with interest. I have been following BSD800 for 7 weeks now and although I am losing weight most of it appears to be from everywhere but my stomach/abdomen!! My weight loss has been erratic and had a prolonged periods of no weight loss. I am keeping my carbs between 40-50g and my calories below 800! Am now wondering if I will need to lower my carbs further…my Ketostix show trace or low amounts of ketones at best… what is optimum nutritional level – can anyone advise please?

Thanks,

Imogen.

It’s got a green door Imogen
I feel another song coming on
Lynne and Judith dancing the night away while we shiver at the keyhole 🙁

Thank you both! Like to think I’m fairly strong-willed, but I’ve had my two shakes and then succumbed to three Oreos (or rather OH-NOs). Nursing a headache, which I didn’t think possible at this early stage. Also feeling incredibly drowsy and irritable. Going to put Cookiegate behind me however and continue tonight with some exercise and a bowl of yummy veg for dinner.

Today’s action: left the work tea club as I always scoff the biscuits (and hardly drink warm beverages)…

Planned treat: first bubble bath in years!

Hi everyone,
As the title suggests, I have read the book, and have been lurking reading the forum posts, I don’t have diabetes, but have about 2 stone to loose, from South Wales in the UK. I have done many diets in the past couple of years, I have had three lovely babies, who keep me really busy but I am addicted to food, (thr wrong kind!) and sugar! … Chocolate, treats, sugary tea/coffee, all which I tell myself I need to run around after the little ones, and I work 3 days a week. Hubby is a shift worker – but is committed to starting this too.
I want to be healthier for my children, and loose some weight and feel happier, more confident again.

I have some nervousness around what to eat, and I think I am just thinking too much into the set recipes, and becoming overwhelmed, and think I just need to stick to the principles of the plan, low carbs, lots of good veg, 800 cals per day, full fat dairy, healthy fats, oils & nuts & seeds, and most importantly… water water water!

I have downloaded the my fitness app and will work from there.
If anyone has any pearls of wisdom .. fire away. and thanks for reading x

This Thursday I will be rolling into my 3rd week.
I’m doing this solo, but encouragement is all around me. I’m down 1 pants size in my uniform at work. I was wondering when anyone would start noticing! All of a sudden everyone was coming up to me, telling me how great I was doing. I had only told a select few that I was attempting this, and the rumor finally spread. Lol.
I haven’t been losing much tummy fat, which is a little frustrating to me . Im losing more around my hips, back, butt, and unfortunately my breasts. 😐. But I am losing inches, more then weight.which is nice.
Going super great with the cravings. I just stay focused on why I am doing this. My sugar levels are really great. Even fasting has come down to 150’s.. (from high200’s ).
I’ve been reading back and realized I am definitely suffering from the angry carb loss syndrom. Lol. Hope I’m easy to put up with now that I am aware….
Going to a baseball game tonight and all ready thinking about french fries. Maybe just 3…. (which I am capable of doing) but I would hate to lose my 3 week streak of not cheating….
Hope everyone is doing great ! Keep up the good work all!

Very interesting wcorey.

Within your diet, do you know how many grams of carbs you are having within your 800 calories? As you say, there is no recommended carb level, but keeping carbs to 30-50gm a day (I am currently trying 20gm for the short period of the BSD as I have less pounds to lose) should kick start weight loss. And are you in ketosis, do you know?

Hello Skywalker, isn’t 300 mg a day 0.3 g or do you mean 30g? sorry, just to clarify as I have been carefully counting my carbs, thanks

Well, there are no essential carbs as there are essential proteins and fats. But, to your question, I do try to eat a lot of green vegetables, be it broccoli or spinach or lettuce/carrots/onions in a salad. I do eat red meat but I can still keep to a 700 +/- calorie intake per day. Honestly, I am not especially hungry. Somewhere I read that the brain is terrible at distinguishing thirst from hunger which is, at least one, reason to stay very well hydrated. It helps with regularity as well. A lot of times when you think you are hungry you aren’t, you’re thirsty. So have 12-16oz of water and if, in 30 mins, you are still feeling hungry have a substantive snack or meal or tough it out as what fasting does is give the insulin levels a chance to dial back. Insulin resistance is caused by the persistent high levels of insulin in your system. That is the flaw in the 6 meals a day (3 meals, 3 snacks).

Goals, absolutely. Last July I set myself the goal of losing 100lbs in 12 months. I was secretly hoping to finish in 10 as that would be about 2lbs/week which should have been do-able. I think I missed it as I am 15 lbs off but close also counts in weight loss. Mathematically I should be good for wrapping the weight loss portion of this journey in the next 2 1/2 months.

Oh, and finally. Outstanding job on your part obese to not obese. I just crossed that threshold as well. I am hoping to cross the next, overweight to normal and then to land at or below a 34″ waist. What Dr Mosley flagged (TOFI) seems to support what I recall hearing ever so long ago, a man should have a waist no larger than 34″.

And with the exercise – start with doing a couple of walks, don’t have to be long ones – ease yourself in, and you will find that you’re increasing your steps without noticing it much!

Coconut flour needs a lot more liquid than the recipe gives. I kept adding watertill it felt right…ie like a normal cake batter.

It is early days and a good start is important, Good luck. We did it here and have new habits now…

Well done, it is difficult to maintain a high loss every week but it is great when you get off to a good start. We re all here from time to time to offer support and our experiences so eat well and stick to the principles and you will be able to replace us as I have been in Week 17 now, got to my target and changed my habits and menus. It really works, 8 weeks only seems like a long time when you are looking ahead rather than back…

Hi, keep going it works for nearly all of us. Daily Allowance for Carbohydrate is 300 mg/day. It can be tough when there are so many sugars and hidden ingredients to count so a ball park figure is all it can be unless you have more time and knowledge than most of us. It is sad that the white foods are so high in carbs but then nuts and fruit are so high in calories too – but it is not for ever on 800/day. Good Luck…

Sounds great, don’t forget to keep up the fats and oils to replace the carbs as you go along. You should be fine, it takes a while to make it second nature but most of us manage to deal with it and succeed. Good luck.

Hi CaravanSue, you don’t need luck just commitment and a good amount of involvement in searching out the nutritional data to make it a permanent memory item so as you will not have to weigh after a short while. The number of attempts don’t matter. Just reducing carbs is enough to get you motivated when you see results that will spur you on to a full blown BSD experience. Happy eating, keep posting.

Nice one Fred – post again when you hear what the Doc says – and have fun with him, draw it out a bit, enjoy…

Hello, welcome and don’t be put off. You will soon be healthier and lighter. I am willing to bet that when the penny drops all the way that you will overtake your boyfriend. Learning a new way to live makes this way of eating permanent. The odd slip-up is no big deal and it is easy to climb aboard again. Cutting right down on the white carbs is hard sometimes but pays early and great benefits. Get plenty of the good fats and oils and fluids and you will be amazed, quite soon.

Hi welcome back, you did it and you are doing it again because you know that these simple addictions have complex effects. Don’t beat yourself up, take a slower pace maybe. We know fewer carbs is good and when replaced by fat and protein we do get the hunger pangs. We all trip up occasionally but we know how to get back. All the best, Just Do it!

Yes it is a good thing and after 120,000 signed up I am surprised that only 80,000 are claiming success. I am having a duvet day today and whilst flicking channels this morning, I caught a fitness trainer preparing a meal, who endorsed HIT but then went on to say how he is not worried about the “white carbs” and how he burns them off – lucky him. It appeared to be a bit of a setup when the advert for the next programme was promoting a woman who was happy – now that she had gained 6 stones and was no longer a size 8 model for the LAD’S mags (that closed down and put her out of work). I am reading more now about carbs and sugar addictions along with metabolic syndrome (being hooked on carbs) and how drugs like Metformin are allegedly helping control blood sugar but keeping the patient diabetic, at the same time. It is about time we took action and this site is doing its bit but I fear it is not as widely known as would be ideal. It seems there are many sheep and ostriches grazing around us. Dr M of course is flying the flag far and wide, more power to him.

Fantastic josephsmum! Posting on facebook reaches a lot of people and hopefully they have already heard about it in the papers and news programs : )

Signed 🙂 294 signatures with mine 🙂 Shared it on Facebook.

Good luck, Just Do It, and welcome back.
Sounds like you’ve got yourself back into the right frame of mind. Have a plan and try to keep to it. I think just about everyone has had their wobbles/catastrophes/AWOL moments, none of us are saints – so long as you admit to yourself where it went wrong and restart you should get back on track pretty quickly. Personally, I feel I need a bit of relaxation with what I’m eating every so often so I can refocus and get things moving again.
My weekly weight loss hasn’t been spectacular, more slow and relatively steady, but it mounts up over time. I just keep plugging away. I guess some of us just have to be patient!
Best wishes for a successful restart!

The news about successful trials based on low carb/low calorie diets reducing Type 2 is being covered around the world. Let’s hope this petition takes off and the government starts to listen.
Let’s keep reminding people we know.

Or, Lucia, keep on with the cherry tomatoes as 16 cherry tomatoes is only 27 calories with 6 carbs only 4 of which are sugar.

In addition, I think you may turn red if you eat that many?!!!

I have to say, cherry tomatoes are my downfall if I get the fruity munchies.

Hi celeste

I’m just starting week three and have lost 5lbs in total although it was 7, I just put a couple back on after a difficult weekend that included eating out, ice cream and chocolate!!
My biggest fear was that it would be the end of my sticking to this, but I’ve decided to just view it as a blip, and simply pick up where I left off. So even while the struggle to change my eating habits forever continues, something has changed in my mindset, and I’m no longer thinking ‘its all over, I may as well give up’. More that it’s just part of this journey, and there will be days when it’s easy and days when it isn’t. Such is life innit?

Hi Lucia

Love your posts they are truly inspirational!

Don’t want to be a party pooper, but do you know that 19 grapes is only 34 calories, but 9 of these are carbs and all are sugar? (I know 19 is a bit of a random number, but that’s the selection MyFitnessPal happens to have for raw grapes).

If you fancy a grape because of the tasty and refreshing effect, maybe fizzy water with some lemon in would be better?

Only a (hopefully supportive) suggestion!

Onwards and downwards!

Hi Switzerland,
You just made me laugh out loud in a crowded canteen. That’s a few more calories burnt off.
Keep going mate, I will soon be slim.

I am feeling fitter, happier healthier.
But my weight isn’t dropping off as much as I would like it to.

So I am changing the things I eat.
Just having my salad now. It’s a big salad.
Lettuce toms cucumber and so on.

Not ready to eat the grapes. I thought I would be thirsty in work with the weather.
(After having all the windows and doors open at home, then back to an air con building is manky)

Oh and cherry toms are annoying. You can’t stab them as they ping to the other side of the room, you can’t put them on a fork, they roll. Being a slob and eating with my fingers !!!

Keep moving, keep losing, keep smiling

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Celeste, I have read all your posts and like you I too have had 3 ‘bad’ days, saying that they were a great improvement on my pre-BSD days. Sometimes life just gets in the way and it’s hard to stay focused in certain situations. This is my first post ever on a forum but I have been lurking for a few weeks, currently just starting week 3, I started on 12 stone and am now 11.7, not a huge amount but it’s good for me as I am a very slow loser! However I feel so much better and feel as if I’ve lost more than that hence I am going on stronger today and putting the ‘blip’ behind me. I am using myfitnesspal and aim for 800 cal and 50 carb which I have been managing until the bank holiday weekend – back on track today, I’m not counting it as starting over, just a continuation of the journey with a tiny setback and you have the most amazing reason to continue 👰

I started reading Lucia’s posts and have got hooked – I catch up with all the posts daily and have found a huge amount of motivation and support from other people’s experiences, I don’t think I could do it without the inspiration from this forum, the veterans inparticular are just so encouraging and probably have no idea of the lurkers like me that are drawing so much from them and you too who has also just had a little blip like me – so come on let’s put our blip behind us and go forward stronger and more determined!

I don’t have diabetes or pre-diabetes ( had blood tests recently for something else and blood sugar all fine) however I am overweight and after years of SW and WW which were never common sense to me, this way of eating just seems to make sense.

Hope you’re having a good day today – like you I’m hoping this will keep me accountable! 🤗

Have a wonderful time captainLynne, we will miss you!

What is all this about changing club houses??? I feel like I shall never catch up with the big kids…oh well… back to sneaking in when no one is watching😄😉

Imogen🌻

Hi Matrika
following on from recent conversations re your insulin resistance, have you tried messaging the team about it?
They’re normally very good at replying.

Love it Fredforest!! Congratulations!

Aaaaargh Lynne !!!
I just move into the 16 week house and you move out and into here – is it the aftershave?
Joking aside, you just continue to inspire me every day, I keep telling the OH I wanna be like you (I feel a song coming on)
Many congratulations and have a brilliant holiday.

Hello JCH187, I don’t think it would make that much difference but you never know, it may have helped. Good on the 3lbs! I weigh tomorrow and hope to have lost some more.
Sounds like your friend knows the kind of food you are eating now 🙂

Ooo I thought I was doing well that they were organic asparagus ;-)))) But yes will keep an eye out for local ones thanks Igorasusual. No fear of me eating too much of it anyway..

Another thing I’ve found great but forgot to mention is Nori sheets – the dark green sheets you use to make sushi with – they have them in the supermarket and in health food shops – and sooo tasty, low in nearly everything as hard to eat too much of it, but crispy and high in useful seaweed nutrients! I have a few for lunch 🙂

Hello
You obviously had a deep love for your collie and this was doubtless reciprocated.
I know that throughout his life you would have done every thing in your power to keep him fit and in the best of health, he would expect you to do the same for yourself.
I know the pain of losing a beloved pet but do to yourself what you did for him, you owe it to him.

Hi Baristagirl

My friend made a warm chicken salad! I ended up at about 950 calories yesterday and lost 3lbs this morning, I’m not sure an extra 150 calories would make that much difference?

How was your first day?

All sounds very tasty Epspecially – but just had to jump in and ask if you are anywhere close to a farm or pick-your-own that sells fresh asparagus? If you are, do try and get some really fresh and then you will not have to be unsure if you like it or not….

My family has eaten three big bunches of fresh asparagus from our local pick-your-own over the weekend (I didn’t have too much as there’s a lot of carbs in it), but it was absolutely yummy! When it’s in season, there’s no stopping us.

😉

Good luck with your new beginnings!

Yes, the kettle saying was great…don’t know about you Lucia, but I’m often in hot water.

Imagine if what you really craved you saw in the cloud formations. I’d get dinosaurs (yikes), rabbit and chickens and you’d get pork pies, chicken drumsticks and lollipops.

Seen on instagram tonight: Thor is the god of thunder. Chris Hemsworth is Australian. So, does that mean his nickname is the Thundah from Down Undah.

Good luck, Sue – follow the BSD guidelines, be inspired by the posts here, persist and you will win!

There are so many inspirational success stories here, it’s worthwhile hanging on in there, and getting back on the wagon even if you have a blip (bit of a mixed metaphor there, but you know what I mean)!

And you’ll be feeling better too. What’s not to like. 🙂

Very best wishes to you

Thanks Fredforest for a great inspiring post! Congratulations on achieving your target weight and losing the inches you wanted to, and even more congratulations for proving your point to your Diabetic nurse, with the GP now on the verge of reading for herself the effects of the Newcastle trial, inspired by your example.

I can’t really understand what’s so good and healthy about potatoes, rice, pasta, bread that people think you’ll grossly affect your health by abstaining from them for a few weeks? There are of course diet fads, but I think eating good, low GL carbs, isn’t in the same league as, say, a ‘cabbage soup’ diet, is it?

I’ve given up sugar in drinks (and am avoiding it in food via the BSD), and am very proud of myself for finally doing it after finding out just how many useless calories it consumed. Coffee is an interesting new taste! I was drinking the sugar before.

Ongoing good luck to you.

I was reminded by an article on the Daily Mail on-line website that I hadn’t posted on here for a few weeks.

I finished by 8 weeks (plus a couple for luck) some weeks back and had reached my target weight. My waist line is now back to what it was 40 years ago and my neck and chest sizes have also shrunk back. My shoe sizes have stayed the same 🙂

The better news is that I am now in the normal range for HBa1c. Not even in the pre-diabetic. It shocked my diabetes nurse who, when I told her I was doing the diet, said it was a waste of time and a fad. My GP is going to be even more surprised, as when I went to ask her for an out of cycle blood test, told me that these things are fads and not to expect a change. I am beginning to think that meds and diabetes treatments must be an earner for GPs.

No real change in my diet. I aim for 1200 calories at the moment. Still no sugar, starch, carbs, but I did have my first beer since January 28th this weekend, and very pleasant it was too.

It’s a lot better than them telling people to have an operation as that method may work but in the long term won’t change your eating habits. My partner’s ex mother-in-law managed to break a gastric band by overeating.

Sad news but you know he’s out of pain and had a lovely life.

You already have your own advice for regrouping and that is to be healthy for your other furry family and be able to run faster with them.

I’m still finding I want to eat without anything particularly bad having happened or even feeling hungry at all. Just out of habit.

The best way I think, is to just take today as you’ve taken all the previous ones. If you do slip then shake it off and start again.

Big hugs, Polly x

Just phenomenal results, captainlynne.

Have a lovely holiday. You deserve it for eating well in sometimes difficult situations where you had little control over the menu.

Polly x

You’d be surprised how many low carbers there are on diabetes.co.uk and a whole other load on the dietdoctor.com website too. Yet still more are following a ketogenic diet. All report a huge improvement.

There is slow, slow progress but the main problem remains that people that do not go looking for their own answers are stuck with the ‘official’ advice that many get from their drs or diabetic clinics.

At least the mail is jumping on a good bandwagon.

I fought in the punk wars too.

Daily Mail gets it right:
Diabetes patients defy NHS – Thousands rebel against guidelines controlling condition diet low carbohydrates
and quotes BSD supporter Dr David Unwin:
‘Many diabetics know not to put sugar in their tea but very few are aware that the toast they have at breakfast or rice at dinner may be wreaking havoc with their blood glucose. This is because when starchy carbohydrates like potato or pasta are broken down in the body by digestion the starch turns to sugar.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3617076/Diabetes-patients-defy-NHS-Thousands-rebel-against-guidelines-controlling-condition-diet-low-carbohydrates.html

Yesterday had two boiled eggs and asparagus for breakfast (never sure if I like asparagus or not! but good to dip in eggs)

Then salad with chicken breast (left overs from roast chicken dinner the day before), 5 olives stuffed with garlic (Tesco), loads of green leaves – spinach, rocket, kale, a scallion, and a tablespoon of olive oil and lemon juice. Really tasty.

Then for dinner… I not even sure exactly how many calories (but below 300) as my partner gobbled about a quarter of it because it was so tasty!! Spiralised one courgette (a bit eager on spiraliser as have only just got it;-)), then cooked 2 rashers with small onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and a few mushrooms, then added in the courgette with half teasp of butter, and cooked for a few minutes then added lemon juice and 10gs of Parmesan – soooooo tasty!! I think an egg on top of it would make this into a very nice carbonara! (I suspect this is not a new discovery for most of you but I just had to post it for anyone who hasn’t thought of it as it really was nice.)

Well the caravan trip is over and we are back home. I wasn’t very successful with my first attempt, although my BGL’s did come down, and I did lose some weight, but I want more!!! I want to get my BGL’s controlled once and for all and lose more weight 😀 So, at home I have more food outlets (fresh is best) and started again yesterday. I weighed in at 81.7kgs and fasting BGL of 8.5. Today I weighed in at 81kgs and fasting BGL of 7.2. So already I have lost weight and BGL is down. Wish me luck this time around😉