Thanks Bill. 🙂

Guthlac thank you for that information and fantastically well done on that incredible weight loss. i will go search for the Newcastle protocol.

???Are you finding it okay as you came off the meal replacements? I am frankly terrified of getting a slowed metabolism while on the shakes and then having a rebound weight gain as I start to eat again. I know that with full broth fasting the metabolism ramps up rather than down, that’s why I have been using it as my control.

I am in Australia and there is a local replacement here that includes Omega 3s, reportedly better than the Optifast, a lot less sugar…it is covered by private health insurance companies for 20 weeks to treat diabetes, osteoarthritis and weight problems.

I recently joined a research study (for knee oseoarthritis) and got randomized into the diet and exercise group…”the diet” is meal replacements… hence my present acute and sudden interest. I got a box delivered today and I am sitting looking at a range of different flavoured soups and drinks. It looks pretty good to me but I’m still worried about the coming off back to food part of the process.

I’ll try to find the Newcastle study info.

Thanks again for the repsonses!

I agree. I can do abstinence or full on; its moderation I struggle with! But I really find I’m not that bothered about carbs any more, I certainly don’t lust after bread or cakes. At the moment! I couldn’t do the shakes thing either, I enjoy everything about food. Planning meals, buying food, cooking and of corse eating!

Have a good day.

Hi Izzy,
We saw many older building in historic Monterey today, it was so great!
I walked almost 5000 steps whoc is huge for me.
My hubby loves taking photos of me and we were just looking at them and I said, “oh gosh my fave shirt is way too big on me!!!” I thought it still fit okay but I can’t even use these for my business. So funny!
Then, I decided I want a new sweater as its chillier here than expected and I called around in the two coastal towns and there are NO chubby lady stores! Gotta love elite coastal California. So I guess I will wait till I get home and get one maybe another size smaller.
We are off to see the Hearst castle tomorrow. And then staying in a small town waterfront motel.
Stayed on my diet again 100% and this is the 2nd day my tummy is 100%!!!!! Maybe the tummy issues are over (fingers crossed!).

Thanks for all your input Izzy, it’s much appreciated!
💖

Hey Izzy,
I hope you get your energy back soon! Must be fun living in a village. I live in a small town but grocery stores are just a couple miles away.
You are doing so well!!!
💜

Christine, so glad you are doing better and hoping all things keep moving in a positive direction for you!

Lynne, so true, thanks for sharing not this! After my second week I kept saying to my husband, “I feel like I am getting the normal me back!” I kept trying to explain but it was impossible needless to say.
Glad to know others feel this as well. I think for me it’s many factors. Getting off the carbs and gluten takes away the brain fog, the cravings, gives us more control in our choices… It just makes life simple basically which is the old normal. Plus I can do so much more, need less sleep, etc.
We are all getting back to normal which is or healthy normal!
💜

Huge congrats to you all!
Thepolly💕💕💕
Celestee💕💕💕
LindaA 💕💕💕

Amazing jobs for all of you as you improve your lives!!

Thanks for being inspirations as well!!
🌷

Hi Celestee,
Wow, that is a lot of weight you have lost!! You must be so pleased 🙂
I’m looking forward to hearing about the rest of your BSD journey : )

Hi Lynne, that moment when we realise we feel better about ourselves quickly followed by the realization that we had not been aware our weight had made us feel awkward is such an amazing one. It happened to me in an m and s changing room the moment i stepped out to ask an assistant for help. I hadn’t done that for years.

It’s such a wonderful and liberating feeling.

You will have lost so much more weight since I met you I may not recognise you next time!!!! : )

same here Leanne & Bill
It does explain why preBSD I was staying more or less a constant weight, despite eating hugely over 2,000 calories – if you eat way too much to absorb, you don’t put it all on in fat, much of it will pass straight through.

I went to a restaurant with friends this evening – I’d factored in one glass of prosecco, then drank two, but overall only 850 cals for the day.
Delicious sea bass with tomato, aubergine and a courgette salad.

When we go to Thai – I stick to a Chicken Cashew Stir Fry and just take a tiny amount of rice to scoop up the sauce. Easy 🙂

Thanks Bissell,
Yes, I am feeling very positive. Previously, I have often had the attitude that if I ate something “naughty”, then I had spoiled the whole day and would get back on track the next day. Usually the “naughty” thing would be at morning tea time, so I had a lot of the day left to eat whatever. And this would happen every day! So I have changed my mind set about this also – and know that whatever I put in my mouth is something good for me (even the banana!). I guess I am just one of those people who cannot eat a single bite of something sweet and sugary or carby. I cannot have a single slice of bread even! I think it is really important not to feel restricted but I haven’t as yet (although I think if I was doing the shake option, I probably would). 🙂
Shaz

Going to bed now as I am up at 5:30 tomorrow.

Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!

What a weird expression.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Tonight I have been out to the pub with friends.
I laughed, joked, had fun and did it sipping one small Pepsi.

Calories were in my allotted 800.

I have come a long way.

One evening this week, see if you can go out in the evening, even if it is to walk to the end of your path, your road.
Enjoy the evening air.
Listen to the blackbirds having a fit.
Smell the scented stocks. Enjoy just being.

Go on, go for it.
Love Lucia
Xxxxx

Oh and drink a lot of water.
In the early days, it helps you in the ….. Bathroom department.
😊😊😊😊😊😊
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi sandie,

Welcome and come on in, the waters fine!
I think the best thing about my experience is that I have ENJOYED the ride.
I am a happier person.

I was miserable being a zombie watching the telly 24/7. Not moving, being indoors. Stale.
Now I am an official puddle basher and I am light hearted, I laugh, I overdose on fresh air it is GREAT.

So cut the carbs, count the calories, move a bit but most importantly SMILE.

Good luck, and like all your friends here on the website, we are waiting to hear and share in your successes and squiffy times.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi,
Now that I have found success on this diet, I want to tell everyone.
I just don’t understand why they are not doing it right now that I have told them about it.

But

Why didn’t I do it at Christmas, or last year or three years ago?

It is because I wasn’t emotionally ready to accept this.
I think your mind has to be ready to do this or you will never get past day one.

I do understand we want to help everyone as we have found something so magically special.
As long as you give them brief details and say you are ready to chat to them whenever they are ready.

I had people tell me for years it’s just cutting back food. I understand that but I wasn’t ready for it.

People reading these blogs may not be ready to start today, but their minds are slowly coming into alignment. Spending a few more hours and days reading the blogs, they will soon be ready.
They will know when, then they will come on board and enjoy doing it.

So so Christie 1948 , you are not flogging a dead horse, they are just needing a little more time to get their brains in gear. It won’t be long. In the meantime enjoy more of your journey so you can share it all with a lot more people.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Thanks for the link Matrika, will stick it on my facebook page for anyone that needs dietary advice, she explains it very well and simply.

Hi captainlynne,

Thank you for your post – it’s humbling and thought provoking. The BSD is such a learning curve. 23 weeks down the track and you realise you feel normal. I’ve had moments (sometimes days) of ‘this is how I used to feel’ (in a positive sense) over the past 7 weeks.

I totally understand the enormity of the costs of your new uniforms when you get to London. More importantly is the joy I feel for you when I read that your health, energy and thinking processes are so improved – you must be delighted.

Oh, BSD drinks in the 16 week and over club house for you captainlynne (yes, I am saluting you, captain) on achieving overweight status. Make room in the club house for the gang from the 8 weeks and over thread too…imagine walking through the doors and ALL of us are standing on the tables chanting ‘Captain, my captain’ (thank you Walt Whitman).

Hi Alanhypno, page 122 in the book gives these BS ranges

Normal 3.9 to 5.5 mmol/l (70 to100 mg/dl)
Pre-Diabetic 5.6 to 7.0 mmol/l (101 to 125 mg/dl)
Diabetic more than 7.0 mmol/l (125 mg/dl)

so going by that you are in the diabetic range.

Hi Matrika,
I just watched the Tedx talk – another inspirational doctor. Thank you. The great thing about these forums is that you can come and go as time permits. Pop in when you can.
Best wishes.

You could try some blueberries with natural yoghurt and a teaspoon of flaxseed on top it’s quite feeling but also very satisfying,as I am not a morning person I find this so quick and easy to do, I also prepare my lunch the night before aswell to save time I find prepping this while waiting for tea to cook saves a lot of time and fuss later on. Good luck I’m sure you will do great. X Julie

Thanks jul – I think the support on here will be key to success!

I have the worst sweet tooth ever and I can honestly say I’m not missing it or craving at all in fact I thought I was doing something wrong as I was really surprised. I’m on week 3 now and my toughest day was actually day one I’ve cut sugar from my tea and that was a big thing for me. I’m not the best cook either and didn’t cook my meal properly and was sick and quit unwell however I can say I’m learning everyday. I like you prefer plain food so have been eating lots of nice fresh salads and chicken and find I’m never hungry. I think you will be surprised by how quickly you will adapt. Good luck.

Just wanted to say thank you soo much for the encouragement last week I did feel quite down but determined to carry on and this week I lost 5lb which I am chuffed to bits with. I am doing sit ups and push ups and the other exercises and I feel really good. I love a good cup of tea on a morning proper tea but today at work I came across a box of gingerbread green tea I can’t normally stand herbal teas but as I am getting more adventurous I thought il give it a try, it was lovely I’ve also tried red bush tea aswell with a bit milk and it’s really nice especially if you like a strong cuppa. Thanks again for your support and good luck with the diet everyone.

Thanks SkyWalker – I don’t drink hardly any alcohol, but I do have a very sweet tooth which I have to work on.

You may find it easier with a slow intro by just attempting to cut down on the worst offenders of bread, cereals and alcohol. Sugar is the thing to cut down and studying the carbs as sugars in your regular foods will show the way. The rest is important but some progress is virtually guaranteed if you get into the not eating between early evening and morning. Good luck. Spouses will often be converted when you start to succeed. You cannot eat an elephant in one go but in small bites over time it would disappear!

Hi ClairyB,
Hmmm….lunch ideas for work…..no- carb ploughman’s lunch (recipe in BSD book)…..boiled eggs and salad…..hommus and celery sticks (or any other raw veg that you like). One of my favorites is to make frittata in muffin tins (easy portion control) and have it with salad (I have access to a microwave to gently heat the frittata). Soup to either re-heat and eat or take in a suitable thermos flask.
There’s probably millions of other ideas.
One day at a time is a great strategy. Best wishes.

Thanks for the tips – I’m having a browse around the forum and am finding it really helpful. Well done on reaching day 5! I’m doing my prep now so I can shop for the right stuff on Friday, then I can start.

I’ve just started (day 5), there’s a thread on Fast 800 called something like what have you eaten today, there are loads of ideas on there – I found it very useful as I’m not much of a cook. There’s also the recipe section which I’ve printed off a few ideas from (the cottage pie with cauliflower mash is lovely). Also lots of folks just add food onto regular posts so it’s worth having a good read through the threads.

I’m the opposite with eggs will only eat scrambled or an omelette but I’m regularly incorporating these into my meal plans now.

My best advice would be plan ahead and drink lots of water!

I have enough fage for 5 days eating lol, but have yeo valley ones still to eat too, I’ll need to check the dates on them to try and minimise the waste I might end up with. We live in a small village and we do have a small supermarket but it’s range is limited.

The nearest town isn’t too far only 20 mins in the car, nearest city is 40 mins. I like where we live though I’m not really a city person. Don’t mind visiting but wouldn’t want to live in it.

with tonights trout (I just baked it in the oven) I made some salsa, and baked some carrot and courgette in a little olive oil and chilli. It was nice.

I’ve headed for another early night as I’ve still felt tired today, but only one more early morning before my days off again.

On a more positive note I had to go to the library tonight with my daughters overdue books grrr, so I had a nice long walk around our village as it was a nice evening. Despite feeling a bit tired it was an enjoyable walk. I have a long walk planned with my friend tomorrow night as well (probably 8 miles again) so I hope I feel less tired tomorrow!

I have had type 2 diabetes for some years – probably about 6 or 7? I am overweight – I have a BMI just over 35, and from what I can tell I need to lose approx 6 stone to get to a BMI of around 22.5. Gosh that looks bad!

A friend of a friend lent me Michael’s 8 week Blood Sugar Diet book – I’ve just ordered my own copy. I was really blown away with the content. It’s going to be hard because my other half is not inclined to change his diet significantly (despite also recently being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes – although I suspect if he sees me doing well with it, he may get a little competitive and join in – at least that is what I am hoping for). In the mean time I will have to struggle to resist some of his food choices! I do have a ‘healthy’ appetite so will be interesting to see if I can stick to it.

I think I’ll be OK if I can get a rhythm going with my meals – I am a creature of habit so once I suss out a few meal choices that I like, I should be OK. I have a bit of a challenge because I don’t like mushrooms, and I only like my eggs boiled, fried or poached (I can’t bear to eat them when they are mushed up together in omelettes, scrambled eggs etc). However, I like most healthy food – veggies, salads and so on. I like fairly plain food too. Is there anywhere on the forum where people discuss meal options or ideas?

I do my shopping on a Friday or Saturday so I’ll start then – we have a self catering holiday booked in a couple of weeks, but I guess I can work with that – I can still have the protein with salads etc. I think my hardest will be lunches – especially on the go. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

So 7.3 before dinner 7.9 couple hours after
Not good ?
Alan ,opinion welcome (off meds now,my decision)

Me too Bill! Gone from several times a day to once! It’s heaven!!

Hi,

I’m on day 4. I’ve been having salad with left overs, today was chicken, yesterday was lamb chop and Monday was chopped steak. I’m going to try the frittatas tomorrow to take to work and eat cold. Then it’s back to chicken salad! Like you I would love some other ideas, working and only having a microwave, my lunches need to be lunchbox friendly.

Good luck with your journey. I’ve lost already and like you I don’t feel bloated.

For us all!!

Thanks Christine

I had a similar experience many years ago 😱 I was wearing a lovely dress (can’t remember if my mother made it, or if it was me!). It was yellow, a satiny dress with a lace over-dress.

When I went down to dinner one of the other (male) guests commented that “it was hard to find nice clothes for big people like us”! Needless to say, that dress went in the bin later😱

I’m curious to see if my friends recognise me at the airport next week. And if their dachshund still knows me😳 Last time I saw them was just before BSD.

What a great reaction from the craft club lady. No wonder it made you feel good😃

It sounds like a lot of us are putting past experiences behind us, together with all the lost weight, and moving on😃

we are alike you and I. I LOVE old buildings and history 🙂

Hope you enjoyed your day.

Hi Lynne,
What a lovely post from you, I think we have all felt the same feelings when we feel ‘fat’ I have been in situations where I have wanted to crawl under the table, we were once on a cruise and we were leaving the dining room when I walked towards a mirror and said to the woman I was with, “oh I thought that was someone else and it was me” she responded quick as a flash, “we don’t all shop at oxfam” needless to say I have never worn that dress ever again! And again, needless to say after that I sat as far away from her at dinner every other evening after that!
I now feel better about myself, I was in town today, just coming out of a car park, when I saw a friend from craft club, she was going to walk straight past me, I walked in front of her and said hello, she stopped, looked, then said oh sorry I didn’t realise it was you, you have lost so much weight I didn’t recognise you for a minute, I felt so good! It did me a power of good. I have always had confidence issues even when I wasn’t overweight, so now I feel ( a bit) normal. Thank you again Lynne for the pep talk, it does us all good to hear your experiences.
Christine

Hi Sooze39, you have my sympathy regarding the Metformin! I’ve been on it for 5 years – necessitating visiting the loo up to 6 times a day due to the gastro problems! Since sticking with the BSD for 12 weeks, those side effects have disappeared (due to the sensible eating) and I now “go” only once a day. It’s as if I’ve got my life back!! I hope you can get back to it – even for this benefit alone. Good luck.

I was so incandescent, I didn’t actually say anything. Mind you, this is the same practice where I was told not to low carb 4 years ago….

Hi any caramba,
Good to hear you are in a better place, love the phrase ‘keep calm and carry on’ I say keep on keeping on.
Christine

Hi Christine.

I look forward to that day for me too. Today I moved down to being overweight – another 28 pounds to normal weight.

But today I realised I felt ‘normal’ – or a new ‘normal’. Perhaps I mean being more comfortable in my skin, not worrying what people think about me or what they’re saying about me.

I wonder how I will feel when I get to my target weight?

Hi Fifip,
More good advice, thank you, I will try the eating’window’ I’m getting a few good bits of advice on the forum tonight!
Christine

Hi igorasusual,
Good advice, I will try and remember that next time that happens to me! Thank you.
Christine

Hi Keeptrying,

If I may just say…you seem a little hard on yourself!

A small binge (or even a large one) is not a catastrophe, just a difficult moment – though I know it feels horrible😞 – been there!
You have the knowledge and desire to succeed – so keep on keeping on! You are doing fine.

Imogen🌻

Hi Lynne,
Wow, I mean WOW!!! Well done, we all want to emulate you, I look forward to the day I can say “im the normal weight for my height and age” keep on keeping on.
Christine

Hi jillyb,
Well done, and well done to your husband, I hope you continue on the diet and get some relief from lack of sleep etc. I also have osteoporosis, however I haven’t any problems with it on the diet, so I can’t help in that department sorry.
You have to look at how much you have lost in the eight weeks you have been on the diet, it is good amount, if you break it down that’s 2lbs a week, I sometimes lost ounces! Which was very disappointing, I carried on though, had plateaus, then suddenly like this week I have lost three pounds, there is no rhyme or reason why this happens, so hang in there you will get there in the end!
Christine

Am having the same problem in week three. 11 pounds down the first two weeks, then, this week, nothing. Nearly lost it today, tired and despondent, but have planned a super soft boiled egg salad with humus and salsa for tea, which will just keep me on track for 800. Really hope that those scales start moving again soon.