Hi Cherrianne,

It sounds like you had a great time in Perth.
I don’t know about you but when I started this BSD journey my thoughts surrounded the food, exercise and mindfulness meditation (this has stayed with me).
The forums and the global community that they foster are such a delight and a surprising benefit of the BSD.

Oh, so low today. My vision was really blurry so I checked my BS reading … 29 !!! Yesterday I had to go out to Sunday lunch with friends and I ate half a Yorkshire pudding and one roast potato with my lunch. And I had wine. Today’s reading made me realise that this is not an 8 week diet, these are changes that I have to make for life. Forever. That was an enormous realisation.

Hey all ,

Just wanted to pass on some info for those who suffer from water retention like myself and incredible moods and pms symptoms including painful ovulation and periods : I drink 2-3 litres water a day and still hold a lot of water ; that is until I talked to my pharmacist at the discount chemist regarding my problems two weeks ago !
They have given me natural products that have worked absolute magic and settled both down so much that I really have to share to help someone else out there that is suffering and no longer need to ! I am in Australia though I am sure you would have similar at your chemist where ever you are in the world !
Caruso’s natural health fluid away tablets –
Removal of excess water caused by fluid retention; bloating and puffiness ; joint stiffness and pain due to swelling !
I take one or two tablets a day and will never look back . Natural ingredients include dandelion, celery seed and vitamin b6 .

Second :

BCN’S Saffron capsules 2 x a day morning and night !
This is so incredible and has helped with the pms and mood swings so much that I no longer want to curl up in a ball away from the world every month !!!

I hope that if you are suffering from this please look into these natural ways to get back on track and not suffer any longer .

Bianca

Hi Switzerland,
I said hi to Judith from you. She’s as lovely in person as she is on the forums 🙂
It was fun exploring a bit of Perth together, there are huge changes in the city since I was last there. We were both impressed by the public transport system once we’d summoned up the courage to try it. Very cheap and user friendly.
Enjoyed a lovely walk in Kings Park on my last day, with lunch outdoors ( falafel for me, steak for Judith) overlooking the Swan. Great views, good company, and a nice sunny day.
Now looking forward to showing Judith around my part of SA when she flies over here.

Hi again, keeptrying,
Salmon & avocado sounds great – one of my fave combinations. And your tea sounds good too.
A good kip may well help, I like a bit of a lie-in on a non-work day just to extend my overnight fast period – your body does keep ticking over while you are asleep. And being rested does make the old noddle feel a bit clearer.
Nice to hear you like crochet – I’ve done a bit myself, but I’m more of a knitter these days. Not having loads of relatives to knit for I knit stuff for charity – it keeps my mind (& hands) occupied, and it does some good for people who need it.

Reading your previous message – OK, you may blame yourself for some of the things that have happened in your life (rightly or wrongly) but there comes a time when you need to accept that what’s done is done, it’s passed into history, so it’s important to let it go and move on. Easier said than done, I know – I’m guilty of running things through my mind months/years after they happened. Thinking things through to achieve an understanding is one thing but too much navel-gazing can just paralyse us.

Anyway, I hope you get your head together and things become easier for you.

Well done for getting to the finish line. I’ve just completed 10 weeks and lost 12kgs, reached my target weight of 70kgs and now having to shop for new clothes! Addicted to the gym: HIIT, spinning, yoga and weights, now thinking of bulking up a little, reducing body fat with toned muscle involves eating high calorie, high protein, low fat food while upping my game in the gym. Thinking of taking the 5:2 aporoach 2500 calories 5 days a week and dropping down to 800 twice a week. Thoughts and ideas on this appreciated.

I’m a few days ahead of you and was surprised to lose 4 inches off my waist in the first week, you might be pleasantly surprised by your measurements 😊

I’ve read and ‘digested’ the book and I’m ready to start tomorrow. First day planned – 150g Skyr yogurt with 50g blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon, 2 egg omelette containing peppers, tomatoes, red onion & mushrooms with a green salad then chicken and home made ratatouille for tea. I also plan to have half a grapefruit, 25g cheese and some kale ‘chips’ just for when I get peckish. Works out at about 800 cals. I’ll make sure I drink plenty of water and will switch to black tea. Does this sound okay? Got my exercise planned as well but starting slowly 🙂

Myself and my wife have just slipped into the second week of the diet and so far so good!!!! I have lost 1 stone 1lb in the first week with the wife shedding over half a stone ( I have a lot more weight to lose than her :). We have been very proactive and just bought a spiralizer today, so we are looking forward to sampling the courgette spaghetti and other delights which we can make. I admit it has been difficult sometimes as we both loved our food (the wrong type of food though) and going into the second week we have our weeks meals planned out. All I say to those thinking about it, is do it , you’ll feel better for it in the long run!

sparklyfairydreams, deetia52
I am not a dieter, nor a fan of preparing massively elaborate meals, but I found the book recipes and 4 week [repeated] plan gave me the discipline and sense of positive change that I needed. I followed many of the menus as set out at first whilst also using up stuff in the fridge and freezer. I found the buying and preparation helped get my brain adjusted and stomach ready for something different. In the end both myself and mrs JWS found the variety of food and relative simplicity of the menus interesting and tasty and filling enough to get us [mainly me] through the 8 weeks. After the first four weeks I could estimate and work out my own variations without counting calories.
The suggestions helped move me on from that business of needing something sweet after dinner, or from compulsory carbs for breakfast, to trying new things like proper Greek yogurt with everything from blueberries to rhubarb instead. Just the thought of excess bread or pasta or even too much porridge now makes me feel bloated. Lots of water helps since we often confuse hunger with thirst.

Good luck!

Not really.
My tastes and outlook have changed such that healthier LCHF food is what I want and need, and less is more.
Mrs JWS offered me some top choc with today’s morning coffee as a test [!] and I easily decided I’d just enjoy the coffee instead.
It is nice to be able to make a positive choice, rather than feeling compelled to eat and drink.
Separating nourishment and enjoyment of food from other things is a big benefit.

Summary:
-25 lbs/ 11.5kg, -5″ from waistline
-6% fat to a more normal 22.5%, and visceral fat down 2% to a nearly normal 13%
Oldie symptoms banished. Mood and energy skywards.
Meditation revived to a daily practise to complement food awareness
Tanita body composition/weighing machine is my friend.
Crab linguine made with spiralized celeriac and sweet potato is not a patch on the real thing. But many other spiralized variations like courgetti with Bolognese sauce and celeriac/courgetti carbonara have been a revelation.

Thanks all for ideas and encouragement along the way. I intend to continue-ish for another 9lbs but to gradually introduce some treats whilst monitoring. It’s a bit like winning the lottery I imagine – suddenly that dream car or vacation is less tempting – same with the treats!

Hi, Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

I decided to do the shakes as it was easier for me, I’m planning now for the Mediterranean type diet once I’ve finished on the shakes, I think my main problem will be the red wine later……

Hi I am now on day 5 and struggling with something sweet after my dinner. I know that I am not hungry. I think it’s when I have normal tea I automatically want a biscuit. I suppose I could try herbal or fruit tea. I have been ok up to now and it’s true when you have one thing that you shouldn’t it makes you want more . Anyway I have finally got my book in book form, not kindle so hopefully that will help because I can refer backwards and forwards easier, x

oh bless you californiagirl
yes indeed
pudding is really the very tiniest of my struggles
I am afraid my anger is coming through in my posts and I am so very sorry to everyone for that

your story is helpful although the people that the anger belongs to cannot be told
so I take most of my anger out upon myself in rather self destructive ways
and that has of course included food – which I am currently not using!!

I think – whether we are able to confront people in reality – or just in our head – it is such an important part of healing

recently in a mh group we had a discussion about forgiveness and I was telling them about someone who I had forgiven for what she did
it was a huge thing – but it needs to come from within us and actually helps US heal

but much of what has happened I blame myself for and despite whatever others say I don’t seem able to escape that
and so I have to be punished

the food
is a punishment as well as a comfort

really I am meant to be concentrating on overcoming my binge eating disorder
but I badly need to lose weight and it feels like this is the year I need to do it

I had gf sausages with veg for tea with cauliflower mash and a few strawberries and yog

I had a nice walk, saw a stone circle, went to shops and bought a few things for my son, a few things for my daughter and two new bra’s as my old ones were seriously getting too big. So one black and one white to keep me going until I need another size down 🙂

Now I’m cooking everyone eggs… I have some spare calories so I’m going to help myself to one of my pickled ones that I made before.

Also, I if you hear of a Scottish woman murdering her husband because he brought home two packs of malteser hot chocolate…. well that could well be me. Seriously my daughter made herself a cup and the smell is awesome! Alas I can’t afford to go near it.

Chilli later I think and some cauli rice 🙂

We are nearly at the end of week one. So far so good. I am not as hungry as I expected to be and have really enjoyed the recipes from the book. It’s great to see lots of new recipes to try here. Still need to measure myself , better go and get the bad news now.😀

Remember the kettle is always up to its neck in hot water,
And still sings!

Love luica

I can rise and shine,
But not at the same time
Love Lucia
Xxxx

A laugh is a smile that bursts!

Love Lucia
Xxxx

go on.

Hi Keeptrying — your posts reminded me of something that I thought you might benefit from — one of the things that has happened to me over the last 12 weeks on the BSD is that when I stopped eating all the time, I suddenly found myself facing and dealing with several old issues that I thought I had resolved, but obviously had not resolved because they came up again. One of them was anger at a difficult family member and I really felt, maybe for the first time, how much that person’s bad behavior had affected me throughout my life. And I got very very angry. But for the first time ever, I just sat with those feelings and let myself feel them. Then I made a plan on how to fix the interaction and I have been working on the fix-it plan for weeks. So far, it has been mixed results. The difficult person is himself very angry at me for changing the life-long pattern. And initially I was upset by his anger. But I just sat with the feelings and didn’t “stuff” them down. Every day the mental distress is less and I get more comfortable with the uncertainty and his anger (and his retaliation). Not eating food when I am stressed has freed up a lot of psychic energy to both look honestly at things and deal with things. Possibly your deep struggles are not about pudding but something else. I hope my story might be helpful. We all are sending you our positive energy. You’re going to make it — I’m sure of it. Be strong.

Completed 8 weeks now. Lost 26lbs, had hoped for 20 so very happy. Off on holiday in a week. Have plan to minimise weight gain then will get back on to lose more and try to reduce meds further. Weight loss slowed last 2 weeks but so much more effective than other diets and easy to take principles forward. Good luck everyone.

Well done Tallyhoo. 😃💐

Hi Switzerland

Thanks. 😃 Visitors always welcome. Just leave the place as you would wish to find it please 😃

Hi Christine

I don’t even possess a dress😱 Haven’t had one for years. And my only skirts are part of my uniform! I tend to live in trousers, even when I go on holiday.

In the past (long, long ago – when dinosaurs walked the earth) I normally wore separates, hardly ever a dress😱

Perhaps I need to be more adventurous with my clothes shopping!

Welcome to the 16 weeks clubhouse. Make yourself at home. Tea and coffee in the kitchen, just help yourself.

Welcom nine to ten pounds so fare in two weeks. I stopped drinking sodas that includes Seltzer. I have occasionally drank judice in a small round container, plenty of water, and mineral water. I replaced regular hot tea with ginger tea and regular icetea with Passionfruit tea.I joined the Akilly’s track club last week.I am glad this website exist because it is rough living with someone does not wish to encourage folks because they chose not to be in a romantic or intimate relationship withsomeone. Enough said about my personal life, I am only concern about my health right now.

Hey Izzy,
It’s a holiday in the US as well today, Memorial Day, to honor all those who died in service in the military. B
Sorry for all your troubles but isn’t it awesome you don’t have to eat over them now? You just deal with them!! Maybe you will get a pod person to help with the car insurance tomorrow!!
Take care!! 💜

Week 5 day 3
Still in California….
Well both restaurants yesterday had vegies I can’t eat with my tummy issues so I ate a little potato instead. Carbs were well over goal of 50 of course and we luckily won’t be eating at them again for those meals. Also the smoked salmon in the store here (Santa Barbara) is twice as high in sodium as the other towns we’ve been in so I seem to be retaining water since I eat 1-2 ounces of that for breakfast.
I tried to just have a salad the other day but that shot my stomach to craziness and I had to start meds again. I just can’t eat raw vegies at all right now.
Today we have better control of where we are eating so I won’t go over carbs today for sure. Still have to eat some of the smoked salmon for one meal.
Got to see a friend who has known me since I was five yesterday so that was awesome to catch up with her.
She really noticed my weight loss in my face and said it looks totally different. So fun!
Happy day to all!
💜

Talkyhoo! Congrats on goal achieved! Way to go!!! 💜💜💜

May do some sugar free jellies with fruit in as well.
These are just as backups instead of me buying the magnums.

Ther is a lot of sugar in the fruit, but I think a piece of fruit is a lot better for me than a bar of chocolate.

It was a carving for sweet, chocolate. Forbidden . Fattening, And all other words like this.

I now have to get past it. I failed myself, I am now drawing a line under it. And carrying on, not starting again.
It was within my calories.

So team, when you drop the ball like I have, lets just pick the ball up and carry on running with it.

Let is not be like the professional footballers (soccer) who, when they miss the ball, they act out ‘the dying swan’ even when they have not been touched.

Yup, I am human, weird, but human.

Live Lucia
Xxx

I think if there was COD icecream yesterday, I would have had it.
And told myself it is less calories.

It was a great treat, but I don’t want to call it a treat.

I had run out of home made frozen yogurt and fruit icecreams.

I have made lolly ices with low sugar juice , lots of water and tiny bits of fruit.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Thinking of turkey meat balls in home made tomato sauce for dinner later

I am sulking now as it is work in the morning.

Love Lucia
Xx

Hi nannoo I am on day 5 and started getting sugar cravings day four too . Plenty of water and I read some really good previous posts on the site really motivating. I also have my daughters wedding in 11 weeks and a dress that at the moment is one size too small. A walk upstairs to the wardrobe is extra steps and motivation. Stay strong you’re worth it 😊

Its a no to cod icecream though

Sat outside for less than an hour just to enjoy being still and getting fresh air.

I watched the clouds go by.

Looked for patterns and shapes in the clouds.

Now I am as red as a berry!,!
And it was cloudy.

I now look like a matchstick. Okay a book of matches.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Okay, I have heard it all.

COD has less calories than salmon.
Even fish can be fat!! That’s incredible.

COD, a white fish has roughly half the calories of salmon.
No one told me!!

I learn something new every day.

Love luciaXxxx

what a kind reply, thank you rozydozy

yes I did get out eventually, gone 12!!

you are so right about the getting started thing, I seem to get so bound up in the thinking and just drown in it

I have ordered yet more wool, for my crochet – so I guess that is a treat I can’t eat!!
I also have some more recipe books coming for grain free food

oh
and when I got in, I found a small tin of salmon, so mashed it with last avocado, had half of it in two lettuce leaves with some coleslaw
it was quite good – and no I didn’t make the coleslaw
of course my mouth is waiting for pudding

feeling very drained, may just go to sleep
wonder if that will burn any calories
well at least it will stop me downing any more

hope you are having a good day x

Skywalker, how do you know when you have that protein/water/fasting balance right? I’m on the 8 week diet, which I believe doesn’t have any fasting days (so far), but I would love to get to the stage when I could happily fast. How do you KNOW when you are doing this right?

jeez spent ages trying to sort out the car insurance issue and now at a dead end until tomorrow (it’s a bank holiday here so some services not open)

The optician couldn’t fit me in but I’m booked for 0905 on Friday morning which means I will still have free time, but I’ve also booked my daughter in so I’ll need to be home by 1600. That’s ok though.

I’ve had my soup and I’ve got a few hours left so I’m off to see a stone circle 🙂

KJ77
The frozen yogurt is a neat idea

Hi keeptrying,
Hope you managed to get yourself out of your flat and do a walk – hope breathing in fresh air has helped.

You sound like you are in a hole the size of the Grand Canyon – I know you have a right old assortment of issues to contend with and you can’t see the wood for the trees at the moment. But there is the adage that when you hit rock bottom there is only one way to go – and that is UP!

How about giving yourself a little treat (non-food!), give yourself something to look forward to, just something that will give you a little pleasure, try and take your mind off all these things that are bugging you if only for a short while. Then maybe you will see things a bit more clearly – a bit like looking for something that you know you’ve left somewhere, you go away and do something else, and then all of a sudden you find the thing you couldn’t find earlier.

When I feel overwhelmed with stuff what usually helps for me is to make a decision to do just one thing & get it done even if it’s just ironing, or washing up – that way I feel like I’ve achieved something for the day (I’m not exactly setting the bar high). Then when I’m in the groove I find I can get other stuff done. Yes, it usually requires thought, writing a list, planning what to do. The hardest part is not the doing, it’s making the decision in the first place. Do you have anyone close who could perhaps help with menu planning? Knowing what you want to eat should help with shopping – then you won’t buy stuff that could go to waste, or stuff that’s off-limits.

Don’t stress about lunch – just grab yourself a bite to eat to keep body & soul together. The afternoon is still to come…attack it with renewed energy & positivity.
Take care.

Congratulations! I weaned myself of the 800 after 10 weeks or so after reaching my main target. Part of the challenge is learning to prepare healthy meals of the right size without having to measure stuff. Some people do not get that if you do not change the way you eat and how much of what etc then the loss will not be permanent. I wonder how those on shakes substitute for food will get on. I am in week 16 now and on a rough 5:2 but continued losing a small amount of weight until I re-introduced some nuts and raisins and oranges with the occasional beer, wine and more red meat. It is true that I am a convert and want to promote this Mosley style diet but I have the good fortune not to have been diabetic. Maintaining the longest fast is probably the thing that I wish I did not have to do but if I eat more carbs one day or have a drink I notice that hunger reappears where it did not on the 800/day. Overall a brilliant success for us, Thanks again Dr M.

Can I suggest that you could use an app – such as MyFitnessPal, there are other alternatives – to log in your calories and see what the balance of (good) carbs, fat and protein is?

You could also use http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com to review how many carbs you want within your 800 BSD calorie allowance.
There are also things called Ketostix, which are readily available online, which you use to test your urine (very simple and quick to do) to see if you are in ketosis, and burning fat.

I started the BSD not because I had a really great amount of weight to lose, but because I wanted more control, to lose c 20lbs (ideal weight 9 stone), and to stop what looked to me like a bit of carbohydrate addiction.

After a week or so, I followed up (on advice from this forum) this balance of calories stuff, and have found that choosing a target grams of carbs per day (some people here work on 50gms per day, I am targeting myself slightly lower) to suit yourself will kick-start more weight loss. Although fat does seem to hang on desperately by its fingernails, doesn’t it.

Since then, I can see I am in ketosis from the Ketostix and am therefore definitely burning fat from somewhere. It didn’t show on the scales, no big losses, but I can tell from my body shape it is going. I also know that if I am burning fat then I am probably doing it from around my liver and pancreas, which is GREAT NEWS!.

I have also been told that, when burning fat, it is this visceral fat which goes first, and only then the subcutaneous fat (the stuff you can see). This makes sense when you don’t see a loss on scales, but are fat burning, and your waist size goes down. That’s the visceral fat starting to go. Only at the very end is the subcutaneous fat being lost from the most persistent spot – under the navel (the ‘belly wedge’ as it’s been called here.

So my advice is to do a bit more research on the constituents of your calories, and see whether in tweaking these a bit to up the fat and protein, and restrict the carbs a bit, that you can see more weight loss. But if you are feeling good, seeing changes in body shape, then not to attach too much value to weight itself – if your clothes are looser, you are definitely losing (and winning!).

Hope this helps.

Week 2 over and another 1.7k gone!! YAAAAAAAY!!! :-))) Week 3 I’m going to try to add in some more mindfullness and some new recipes!
So total since I started is now just over 8 pounds gone!
*mentally lining up those sugar bags and rejoicing!!*

Well done to everyone who has continued with this and to those who chipped off another bit of unwanted weight – however big or small – as I read yesterday – forward is forward no matter how slow :-)) (and there was a picture of a tortoise with it :-)))

Hi there, well done so far. There are many calories in a gram of fat and it is often quoted as 9 kCal/gm of body fat. That may be true but when we are in Ketosis i.e. fat burning mode we are still using other means of energy production. Exercising burns calories and can destroy muscle that needs to be rebuilt so we have a balance issue between eating carbs, protein etc and keeping everything in balance without even mentioning good fats and fluids. So, 11 pounds is a lot to lose and if you lost that every week you might be healthy but you might not unless all of your daily intake is containing the right nutritional content – I suspect that is one reason for using the shakes method? Once you get near to your target weight and need to increase calories again and maintain a stable weight, have you considered that you will need to eat differently than before and start to understand food better so as to give you the ideal ingredients that the shakes do for you now? I am sure you will do well if you have been this successful in only 2 weeks but keep posting as the support network here can be very helpful when things slow or stop. All the very best for now, this BSD works so there is no need to worry too much.

thewolf5 Sorry to hear that for you but glad for me I am not the only one in this boat!
I tried LCHF too but simply couldn’t lose weight on it. Nor did 800 cals a day seem to have any effect for me. I’ve not counted calories before so wasn’t aware how many I was eating, but it wasn’t a lot.
Most of my friends find my diet the healthiest they have encountered so there isn’t much in the way of food to remove…hence my next step being the meal replacements. I do think probably the healthiest way for me to go is the full broth fasting and one meal every two days…but it is a bit hard so am hoping this meal replacement thing will do it and then I can kick startt my metabolism with the broth fasting if it slows.
Still have dawn higher BGL til about 2 pm but HbA1c is normal and has been for awhile…and so is fasting BGL…as long as it’s not in the morning!
I’m keeping on with the 600 (or so) a day for a week and will let you know how it goes. I’m having 3 meal replacement sachets a day and one salad with green veggies like kale and grated carrot.

I’m hoping guthlac wwill come back and tell us how he’s getting on post replacements…:)

I really wish I had medical advice about how to proceed but quite honestly I can’t find anyone who knows much about diet at all…they all advise me to eat bread and fruit at which stage i switch off cause I know they are clueless when it comes to what will in reality work or not for me.

well done on losing 11 the first week, don’t be discouraged about the 2nd week as many people have a week or two without losses around week 2 or 3 it’s very common. On week 3 I only lost 0.5lb but I’ve gone on to lose 2-3/week since.

Great news on the insulin though 🙂

I’m not sure about the eyesight… To my knowledge this diet shouldn’t affect it however I know side effects of diabetes can and I’d suggest having that checked out by your doctor/optician, just to be safe.

Good luck with the weeks ahead, don’t give up!

Thanks for the info butterlover, My blood sugar is perfect…non diabetic levels for a few years cause I have been really disciplined and diet controlled for a long time now….just I am still overweight and find it incredibly hard to lose weight, because i am massively insulin resistant.

Well done JillyB and good luck with the next few weeks I’m sure you will get to your target 🙂

I think most of us will be lifetime BSD converts and continue with the mediterranean guidance longterm. I know that is my intention anyway. I’ll be on the 800 for a lot longer than 8 weeks I suspect! I’m just finishing up week 6 and like you’ve said the time no longer feels like an issue. The food is great and I feel changed 🙂

This website is fantastic for support!

My first week was great, losing 11lbs, but was very disappointed having not lost anything this week, or gained. I must say though that i’ve had to reduce the insulin again, so something’s working! My eyesight has deteriorated this week, I don’t know whether or not it’s a coincidence as I’m 70, and have never had to use glasses for reading, but now I do.