Thanks David,

I know that Bill. Hashimoto and others have had that experience… I hear what you are saying though about unnecessary meds…. I am just a little frightened I guess… have taken full dose of metformin today and maybe will for a few more days – and then give a weening off another go…. Not the end of my world if I have to still take metformin – I have no negative side effects so am very fortunate. Good luck with your health – keep up the good work…..I intend to!!! must be about week seven for me – I have lost count!

Fatty

Hi LIndy Lou
It’s correct that there are no figures mentioned in the book for carbs.
A lot of us try to keep them below 50g per day as that is the figure quoted elsewhere to put your body into ketosis or fat burning mode.

Very strange sugar readings yesterday.
After weeks of being in the normal range, I woke up yesterday toa FBS reading of 10.8, higher than before I started the BSD
By teatime that was down to 4.2
I’m not unduly worried about the high reading as the rest of the daily readings are ok but it did pose a question.
The FBS reading is taken at the end of your fasting period which, for most, is before breakfast, but I never eat breakfast so, should I be taking my FBS reading pre lunch as that is actually the end of my fasting period?
I know for a fact I’d get lower readings but would that be cheating the meter?
Open to the wise of the BSD to give their opinions. 😀

Hi eureka and ay camarba,
I’ve got the bug clocked up 14,000 steps yesterday and couldn’t stop walking. I went to the park and then went shopping. Highly addictive and loving it. a girlfriend commented on how well I looked😊 I was so pleased. Weight loss has slowed down but still motivated as my clothes feel more comfortable.

Hi Eureka
If I can walk im up for the London marathon😊

Hi all

I’m trying to find some substitutes for potato, rice & pasta as my husband is getting bored with extra veg & salad. (He also doesn’t like cauliflower)

Are grains such as quinoa, bulger wheat, pearl barley & lentils ok on this diet? Also I have seen butternut squash & sweet potato mentioned in good & bad ways on this forum. Thanks for your help 😊

I think we all need to get into our heads that sugar is a dangerous, addictive drug and should be treated with everything else of that ilk.
So many people are reporting feeling terrible after falling off the wagon, it sort of proves the point, quite apart from the folk who report feeling so much better after cutting it out.

Eureka
Just spotted your 10k steps from yesterday. You have got the Buzz!!!!
I’ll be staggering around after you.

Hi David
a few of us have seen temporary higher sugar readings in week 4 to 5. It was explained as being caused by excess glucose being flushed from the internal organs and takes, usually, 2 to 3 weeks to clear.
I’ll throw a real curved ball here, after weeks of having sugars in the normal range, and without eating anything I shouldn’t, I woke up yesterday to a FBS reading of 10.8, higher than when I started the BSD!
By dinner it was down to 4.2!
I’m not even going to try to understand that one 😉

Hi girls
that sounds like the symptoms we have decided to call the carb flu.
It is carb withdrawal symptoms and usually only lasts a few days.
Take heart in the fact that, if you have the carb flu, you’re doing things right 🙂

Totally understand – I allowed myself a little dark chocolate as a holiday treat about 4 weeks in, but having it in the house was a disaster. Cravings kicked in and it was a hard road to get them under control again. So now I just try and keep that kind of thing out of the house, don’t buy it or if someone else does, they don’t keep it in public view! It’s hard when I’m making packed lunches each day and even things like soreen malt loaf, which wouldn’t normally attract me suddenly become a temptation! Another thing is, we now do online delivery each week so I don’t go to the supermarket alone where I could be tempted to buy and eat stuff I shouldn’t, it feels drastic but necessary. I’ve lost a stone since 14th March and another stone since last summer doing 5:2. So I’m NOT going back! But we all have blips. Tomorrow is a new day!

I think this is going to be my regular (ish) diary to help keep me on track. Started yesterday, scales put me at 207lb ( light clothing) this morning came in at 200lbs.. I wee’d a lot overnight but pretty shocked at that number.. We’ll see, perhaps I need new scales :). Anyone else have a big drop in one day?

Have felt uncomfortable at times but not super hungry as I’d expected. Symptoms of IBS already starting to decrease and I was worried my CFS symptoms would start to show up but so far so good.. Plenty of energy but a little more grumpy than usual 🙂

Bfast: 2 spoons Greek yoghurt, one strawberry, 6 blueberries, 4 walnut halves and a teaspoon of true cinammon
Lunch: can of white crabmeat ( so low in calories!!) with yoghurt and mustard/lemon dressing in gem lettuce leaves with six olives..
Dinner: who knows.. salmon and veg or similar.

No headache, tonnes of lavender tea and a busy work day..

Back to it.. 5 minute skive over 🙂

Hi,

I have been a binge eater for most of my life too, it is not an easy and I have been dieting on and off for years. This is the first time that I have followed an eating plan like this. The first time I read the recipes and the meal plan, I put the book down and did not pick it up again for a while. However, just over a week ago I decided to go for it and am now one week into the plan and about 6lbs lighter, so don’t give up. It was daunting at first but I am getting used to it and I do actually enjoy the meals. Knowing what I am like for craving things I have tried the crayfish salad a few times, it is vinegary and stops me craving carbs or anything sweet, so is really good when I feel my resolve might wobble. Perhaps you could look at some of the recipes and see what would work in stopping some of your triggers.
What others have said about not feeling hungry is true, I haven’t either but I am feeling tired though.
Best wishes

B: Yogurt 60g, frozen berries (warmed with a little water) 80g sunflower, pumpkin and linseeds, 4g of each – all mixed together
L: 2 egg omelette with a mushroom, 1.4 pepper and spinach plus 25g cheese on top
S: nuts, kallo buckwheat cracker
D: 100g roast chicken, broccoli, carrots, peas

H there,

headache is so very very normal 🙂 as for a sore throat my glands have been up some days, as if I’m coming down with something (haven’t). keep up your fluids, and take a paracetamol/acetaminophen (speaking english and american here lol) if its very annoying.

as for tearful, that’s possibly hormones or just a down day – I wouldn’t worry too much. keep going and be kind to yourself, have a nice hot peppermint tea or something 🙂

scales said anotheer 0.6 this mroning, but I’m not banking it until official weigh in next monday.

A bit of a trying food day today, i forgot to take my reflux drug this morning, and boy did I notice it. It makes me hungry-ish and is uncomfy, so today I struggled the most of any day so far. I had two shakes, and then my comfort food – yoghurt, strawbs and nibs – as a ‘snack’ (plus I had a boiled egg in the early afternoon and the rest of my radishes too)

therefore dinner was quite spartan – chicken cooked on the stove with some tinned tomatoes and frozen spinach, garlic and italian herbs, and a small grating of hard cheddar on top to finish. Small serving, but worked out ok.

I have an apple for a treat for tomorrow, I took a lot of time to choose a small, shiny yet heavy one – I plan on enjoying it, I hope its really crisp!

overall so far i have been 10 to 60 cals over most days, plus I don’t count my milk dollops in coffee etc. But its working ok, so I can finesse that later. I also seem to have a LOT more protein, 80 plus grams usually. That’s probably the shakes. Don’t want to cannibalise my muscles for amino acids, but I should really give some thought to nixing one shake a day soon I think so I get more veg in.

oh well, onward and downward. remembering reflux meds tomorrow, oh MY yes.

Hi Fatty,

When I first approached this with my (less than keen) doctor he said that as long as I monitor my bgls 4 times per day and don’t go above 8 mmol/l consitently for 2 weeks I should not do any long term irreversible damage to myself.
I don’t know how accurate that is but I’m clinging to it and hoping that my bgls stabilise as others have reported here. I really don’t want to go back on my meds but I know they are in the cupboard if I think I need them. I am convinced I never needed Coversyl for blood pressure as I’m testing that twice per week and my results show BP is normal. I now wonder why I pumped them into myself for so may years without asking if I really needed them.
I was really disappointed to see my bgls rising but I’m comforted by the fact that others here have reported that phenomenon prior to theur levels stabilising and dropping into the non diabetic range. I intend to persist and wait for my liver and pancreas to get clean and hopefully see my readings fall again.
I can’t advise you what to do with your meds and I know that probably isn’t helpful to you but I do believe it is possible to reverse type 2. It may take longer for some than others but I hope you won’t give up on what is probably the best chance we’ve had in years to reverse this terrible disease.

Cheers

David

Ps. I look forward to seeing your handle change from “Fatty” to “Skinny”.

That’s so supportive and a side effect will hopefully be that they don’t get stuck into carb-addiction. Well done to you all 😀

This is day 4 for me. I’ve been feeling ok; finding the diet relatively easy, and haven’t felt hungry at all, which was my biggest worry! But today I don’t feel right at all – I have a sore throat, headache, and feel very tearful. Is this normal for this stage of the 800 diet?
Thank you.

Chongololo,

I really miss uni. Graduated in 2004 and my brain really misses doing something that brings me in contact with like-minded people. Am looking after my mother with dementia at the moment so sort of stuck in all the time unless the sitter is here or she’s in day centre. Have started walking with friends on the day centre days which is helpful but I don’t think I’m dealing with the stress very well.

Polly x

Hi polly,

Glad you are positive, just don’t let it get you down.
I am the same, previously, I would give up and put on about another hundred stone or more because I gave up.
I couldn’t reason with myself, that it is only one pound on, you can burn that in a few days, so by the weekend it would be gone and more, and I would be nearer my size 12.
Now I just say … My size 12 is just postponed from a Monday to a Saturday, but it will be mine, all mine, I tell you……
Sorry, haven’t got over me saying this morning… Engaging the core.
I wanted to say engage the Borg. Make it so number one, fazers on stun. Clingons on the starboard bow.

Yes I was a coach potato in front of the TV for many many years, so you will get a touch of telly or movie quotes.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi Izzy, yup visiting is nice and you get to see the pretty stuff. Have my first diabetic clinic appt on the 9th so not sure if that will show any difference in blood sugar levels or anything really. It’s mad though, this is not a new way of looking at diabetic diets but a very old one which somehow got lost somewhere, probably in profitability of disease for big pharma…

not that i’m cynical or nothing 😛

Have been reading a blog on the harcombe diet website from 2010 when another woman was tracking her results through low carbing and they were all watching her progress with much interest there too!

Just seems that this diet has been a lot more publicised which is great 😀

Polly x

Yup, mountain of work in my pigeon hole.

Thinking of running away, anyone want to join me?

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi keeptrying & RozyDozy
Do you both know how brave you are? Life keeps throwing c- -p into the sea, yet you both are swimming through it. Recognising, & voicing what a lot of us fear & drown in! Go to it girls. There is a fabulous island out there just waiting for you two to sunbathe on.
Eureka. 🏝 🏊🏻 🏊🏻

Yay, goodbye cold assassin, welcome back to more good eating 🙂

Mindful eating makes it more yummy and filling at the same time. Great advice on the stair workouts. There is a fitness guy online who has made a whole workout series of going up and down the stairs, then again he lives in a tower block in New York so up and down once or twice and he’s done miles 😀

I’m still stuck at 13 stone… first thing it’s a couple of pounds under but then it stubbornly leaps back to 13….. still it’s lucky for me ‘cos that’s less than it was before

Polly x

Hi – I’d be interested to see the replies to this thread. I’m 47, 5ft 1, not diabetic (as far as I know) and want to lose about 33 lbs (I’m 10.12 and would like to get back to 8.7). Day one today and so far so good (it’s only lunch time though).

Best of luck with your diet if you start it. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Hi Hawke
a tsp full of milled flax seed added to your yoghurt helps with the constipation issues.
Under £2 at Aldi and lasts forever

B – nothing
L – 200g courgetti stir fried in garlic & chilli, cream cheese stirred in to create a sauce
D – liver & bacon with broccoli
S – mixed nuts 25g

Peggy I get sick of eggs very quickly ( especially when I can’t have toast with) so I tend to rotate between: full fat Greek yoghurt with berries, leftover meat from the previous night’s dinner with a cucumber and a tomato (“breakfast food” is a very recent invention), or bacon once or twice a week with some kind of vegetable. I’m not scared of the fat in bacon but processed meat isn’t very healthy and Michael says to keep it to a couple of times a week. So delicious though!

Mine was last week when I decided a tiny bit of sugar in my tea would be fine. Over a period of several days I reintroduced chocolate, then cheesecake, then just whatever the hell I wanted. It was definitely a case of the more carbs I had, the more I wanted. I’m clean again now!

Hi PeggyCarterRogers
You are doing it! Well done 👌

So last night I fixed asparagus with baked chicken and for our sugar free desert I made Stuffed baked Apple Cheesecake and I also made a sugar free caramel sauce. I was very proud of my dessert and my family loved it.
I have to really SHOUT OUT to my family because even though they did not choose this BSD Way of life they are fully supporting me and they are trying new recipes along with me and and my daughter who is tiny by the way has even joined in eating what mama fixes for meals. I just want to that other people’s family members who are taking this journey with their loved ones, The meal makers who have decided to go with the BSD WAY Of LIFE.

Hi Peteinthebayou
Welcome. Well done. Good thinking. My loss has been slow & steady. That’s ok, I’m getting there & not stopping travelling on this Mediterranean diet train. 🚂

woo! that sounds similar to my current weight and weight loss goals (looking at about 9 more kg, 2.6 down in first week). inspiring!

Hi keeptrying,
Like you, I’ve noticed similarities between different diets. I wasn’t able to get on with the 5:2 diet for some reason but you’ve had success with it. Since we are all different I guess we have to experiment to get the thing that works best for each of us. Like you, I don’t calorie count (I obsess about too many other things!).

To go back to your original post, and the question “why do we sabotage the good ways of eating” – there must be many reasons but to me there are two main culprits:

1a) Boredom – sometimes I tire of the foodstuffs I’m eating. While I enjoy trying out new foods, only some will stay in my cupboards. Others I won’t replace when I’ve finished them up. Variety is the key to maintaining interest, even if that does mean the occasional non-BSD-approved foodstuff. (And I mean occasional, not regular!)
1b) Boredom again – if I keep myself occupied, distracting myself from thinking about food, then I’m OK. Knitting while watching the TV doesn’t provide enough distraction – it has to be something physical, be it gardening or housework for me, or a long walk. A busy day at work, while exhausting, can help me stick to the right path.
2) Worry/Stress, illness etc – when my mind is clear and I’m feeling good, I can weather any storm. When I’m tired, ill, anxious about something I don’t handle things well and I can go off the rails (as I did this Bank Hol weekend). The rules that I follow to keep me on the BSD path can go out of the window in the blink of an eye.

It concerns me when I go off the rails but I also know from my own experience (and from others on this forum) that, ultimately, the solution lies with me. It’s me who has shovelled crap down my throat, it’s me who does my shopping. And it’s only me who can make me lose the weight I need to lose. It’s not just the food I consume, I need to address these boredom/stress issues, then maybe I will stop being my own saboteur.

There’s an awful lot of “me” and “I” in the above – I think I’ve just delivered a lecture to myself. 🙂
Take care,
Rose

Hi just do it
Put the GHRELIN MONSTER (hungry hormone) back in the box. He wasn’t fun to play with. Keep on keeping on 💐

Hi Gilliancrantock, welcome to the crew and your journey to health. You didn’t mention what your current bs levels are, but a couple of months ago i had to stop taking my meds (1x 500 glucophage, 1 x 100/1000 Janumet) for four days to undergo a cardio angiogram. There was no change in my BS levels in that time. I mentioned that to my endo and she said that metformin can take weeks or months to achieve stable results, and would probable continue to do so for a similar time if you just stopped. However, if there is no underlying positive change in your condition, such as achieving and maintaining an ideal weight, healthy blood pressure, cholesterol etc and of course exercise and diet, then soon enough your diabetic symptoms would return. i think this program is wonderful – I’m feeling better by the day – but I think it’s important to get your doctor on side, ideally an endocrinologist, and work together to achieve your best results. Diabetes is a very complex condition, and affects each patient in unique ways. I’m getting good results after nearly three weeks, with some super bs levels that I never thought would be possible,, but they cannalso spike for no apparent reason even as I lose weight and maintain a good diet an exercise. I will see my doc at the end of the month, by which time I’ll have six weeks of data to show her. But I’m staying on my meds regardless of the result until then (unless it’s huge, like a hypo).

Thank you HappyLass – this is just what I needed to know. I was going to purchase an Accu-Chek Aviva but discovered it has been discontinued so am worried that the strips will become (even more) expensive. And the Accu-Chek Mobile with the cartridge doesn’t really seem to last very long if you only want to do occasional checks. Like the OP I simply want to be able to monitor the changes as I switch to a low-carb diet.

But I can someone please confirm that I need the monitor, plus strips plus lancets? And each test uses one lancet and one strip? I’m sure it’s really obvious when you know what you’re doing so please excuse my ignorance. TIA, Jani

Since we are in a confessional mood, I too had a major falling off the wagon this weekend. In my defence, ladies & gentlepersons of the jury, the balance of my mind had become unhinged following a series of disasters in the past week and I’d just about had enough of everything. I broke my own rule about resisting temptation in the supermarket (reduced price choccies, crisps) so when the brown stuff hit the fan I caved in big time.
This happened on a day when I had actually hit a new low (in the good sense) when I weighed myself – of course, I’ve gone up a bit now. And I was within touching distance of my next milestone… gggrrrrhhhh!!!!
All the advice coming in from others is so true – I’ve even given the same advice to others who have experienced a wobble.
This morning, however, I have experimented with my own spicy/nutty trail mix so I can have something savoury & snacky to try and avoid crisps at least.
So climbing back onto the saddle…. Best of luck, everyone.
Rose
(And this is the 3rd time I’ve attempted to post this message – my PC decided to crash out on me so I’d better hit Submit before I lose everything again. I can understand why people become mad axe murderers. Someone up there doesn’t like me at the moment!)

Good thinking DemiMondaine. I will check out the local market.
Thanks, Imogen 😊

Thanks Izzy, have just read your diary. I am struggling with finding recipes that are not for an army. I live alone and quite a few don’t seem to be freezable. Will try the pancakes.One I just looked up needed 6 eggs and I think I would need to eat results for breakfast lunch and dinner for two days. I don’t fancy cold yoghurt for breakfast very much so that will be egg etc time ( live in north Scotland not so many heatwaves ) Am not diabetic & none in family but want to eat healthily and keep well so am moving to this from 5:2 where I seemed to have reached a plateau ( maybe getting bored?) Am slow in getting going as didn’t want to just bin all the food in my freezer and cupboards- but am now ready with coconut flour and packets of nuts to hand. I have a jar of Weight Watchers hot chocolate for fasting days ( found it in Tesco) and it doesn’t taste toooo bad. Do keep posting, you are inspiring lots of us.

Day one for me and I started with the Blueberry and Green Tea shake which I have to say was delicious although I managed to inhale a flax seed ( note to self , don’t talk whilst drinking this in future ! ) and nearly died choking – would have been a touch ironic !!

Anyway, I’m trying not to get too hung about weighing , measuring and calorie counting etc but at the same time I realise that its important to keep accurate records and not kid myself that a ‘dollop’ might not necessarily equate strictly to one tablespoon.

Has anyone worked out the carb values of the recipes in Michael’s Book ? I can see that the shake I had this morning for example should equal 100 calories but no mention of carbs. I’ve been on carbcounter.net to try and work out what a tablespoon of raw almonds might be but they give grams or cups so I guess I’m going to have to work out equivalent measures to my ‘tablespoon’ . I suppose over time, I’ll get more skilled at this but at the moment I feel a bit overwhelmed by scales, calculators, measuring devices and the like.

I realise this will bet easier over time, just wondered if anyone had already done the maths or can they recommend a good British site that recognises UK brands that we’d buy in a supermarket .

Made my first mistake ( of many no doubt ) in buying organic full fat greek style yoghurt ( Yeo Valley ) but realised it has honey in it . Maybe that’s why it tasted so good !

Hello!
Im a recently diagnosed pre-diabetic and have been on 500mg Metformin three times a day for a year.
I started the 8 week diet last week and lost over 4lbs. I mentioned this to my diabetic nurse and asked if I should stop taking my Metformin and she said absolutely not! It would be helpful to have some considered advice, please. By the way I need to lose a stone to be at my ideal weight!
Thank you.

Thank you for your response. It was very helpful. Now I know why the maximum amounts are not mentioned.

Hi Happy Life and everyone,

Just like the BSD diet, you can make your exercise challenge highly personal and appropriate for you.
Everyone reading, contributing and taking part in this forum is already part of a determined group of people who are looking after their own health.

After the continued successes of some wonderful weight losses.
What else can the ‘new you’ do??

Lots of scientific studies out there.
The big thing for me is that you can *feel* the difference. Mindfulness is about being, hence, if you practise you should have a lower stress/calmer reaction to a perceived crisis and/or recover quicker. Parallel: exercise and recovery times.

Good Morning Everyone, I hope this day finds you happy and healthier than you were yesterday 🙂 I have had an interesting week but have finally come to the end of it. As you know I started the BSD last tuesday after seeing my nurse for tests then I saw my Doctor on Thursday the 28th April 2016 and I have to say he was very supportive and even stated that this is the way everyone should be eating. I’m so excited to report that in my first week my fasting blood is down to 4.6 and I have managed to loose 9 ‘n 1/2 lbs. AMAZING !!! Feeling so pumped now for next week. I realize that this kind of loss won’t happen every week but still, “wow” 😉 I’m trying my best to stick to the plan, drinking lots of water too, I haven’t come up with any recipes and not sure that I will but if I do you’ll be the first to know. Wishing you all a great week xx

I don’t really have a problem with the supermarkets
if I am – as I am currently – it is head down and buy binge foods and get out
other times I make a list and try to stick to it
since I am EXTREMELY indecisive, if I don’t have a list I always worry that I look really shifty as I sort of wander around all over the place as my head is telling me all sorts
anyway
last night I began reading Gary Taubes book – ‘why we get fat’ which I bought a few weeks back
he of course is saying the same as Dr Mosley re. cutting carbs
so although I have already had my beloved carby oatibix cereal, I will try from today to cut back on the carbs
I don’t think I will count calories as that just makes be become majorly obsessed
I actually find it easy to eat meat/fish with just veg and no potatoes or rice – although I will have to watch the amount of root veg I eat
I don’t think I can do the fd at the moment as throat is still not right – although bizarrely it is much better when I am bingeing on biscuits/cake etc
anyway, I know I cant continue like this and I BADLY DONT want to put back on all the weight I lost since january

Hi all newbie British Citizens, please sign our petition urging NHS to encourage diabetics to follow this diet 🙂

Hi tallyhoo, fantastic results!

Type the name of the thread into the top right hand search button

🙂