Hi Switzerland,
What have you been eating this past week.
Looking for ideas.
Bank holiday weekend. Not in on Monday , yaaaay.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi while we are on subject of carbs, Skywalker you let us in on the fact that UK English packaging labelled net carbs rather than full amount. Have just been given Carbs&Cal’s book by Cheyette & Balol recommend ed by diabetes UK…..very unclear whether this is net or gross carbs…anyone familiar with this know the answer? Thanks Tofa

Hi Chrisnor,
i’ve just started and just over a week into it. I’ve seen a decent loss in the first week but i too have felt sapped of energy and really weak although i’ve managed to keep active. The replies to your posts have encouraged me and i know that eventually this fatigue will pass once my body gets used to this new regime.

Keep the faith.

Trinity1814

Hi, i’ve been doing the BSD 800 for just over a week and already i’ve lost 4lbs. Although i’m finding the diet easy to stick to at the moment and enjoy playing with ingredients to make mealtimes interesting, i’ve always been a ‘snacker’ and find that i’m still doing that but this time munching on nuts and/or seeds, celery, mushrooms, peppers etc. Is it okay to do this as i still add it to my overall daily calorie count?

I also enjoy diet drinks but i’ve cut back completely because i’ve been told that the artificial sweeteners can cause the body to release insulin in the same way as sugars do. Does anyone out there drink the diet drinks on this diet and do the artificial sweeteners pose a risk as this is a sugar reducing regime?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Trinity1814

Just checked my numbers on Polar Flow from my Polar M400 watch and I am averaging 6h 54 mins of restful sleep out of a total average of 8h 27 mins per night – good or what? Changing my name soon to van Winkel.

control, yes that is how I feel. In control more than I ever was 🙂

you’re ahead of me in lb’s lost but I’m used to my body being a tortoise and don’t mind anymore lol

I hope your 22 lb’s has made you feel much healthier 🙂

Izzy 😊well done so far!

I have lost 22lbs though it is not always consistent. Had a period of three weeks in a row where I lost zero, tends to be a bit erratic despite sticking to low carbs and below 800 calories
I may have to play around with my carb levels a little, as on a rare occasion I have gone above on carbs and this has been followed by a higher weight loss!!!… Anyone else experience this I wonder…any explanation??

Pleased with effects on my blood sugar levels which have been much more stable and reducing!

Enjoying the whole BSD eating plan…so much happier to be in control of my food choices at last.

Imogen🌻

You’re all doing really well, please come and check back in, I for one, need support from people going through the same experience as me! As of Thursday I had lost 6lbs, Saturday is my one week and I’m hoping maybe to hit half a stone.

I hasn’t been easy but for the first time in my life I’ve cooked from scratch every night for a week!

I for example cut my carbs which really means sugar to less than 30 gms per day and it worked for me. Certainly you should be aiming for less than 50 and I would suggest that 30 is doable and much better but takes a bit of getting used to. In tables of Daily Allowances carbohydrates is listed as 300 mg per day that is 30 gms/day as stated. Since carbs make and store fat during digestion they must be limited and then there is room for some nourishing food calories. Mr Google knows about this stuff too.

I’m almost 6 weeks in Imogen so we are similar stages! I still have around 3 stone to shift but BSD makes me believe I can do it! I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this confident.

It’s funny but with things like the pancakes etc I work out how many I’m going to have for a portion, I’ve eaten them and enjoyed them but because they are lower carb and higher protein therefore filling… I really haven’t overeaten them. Same with the crackers etc. I may have had the odd one extra but not like during a craving.

In other news I have a pair of jeans a bit smaller that I couldn’t get close to fastening a few weeks back, I can get them zipped up now 🙂 they are still not comfy enough to wear but I reckon another 2 or 3 lb’s is all I’ll need yippeee!

If you are a British Citizen please sign our petition : )

Fantastic thepolly, well done x

Hi Izzy, and

hi fiftyfifty – sleep tight😴

Thanks guys for pointing me in the direction of Elana’s pantry, some of those recipes look fantastic…yum!

My serious carb/sweet addiction has kept me from exploring any baked foods during the BSD800 – at least for the time being – but it is wonderful to know that there are some great recipes waiting for me in the future – something else to look forward to!

I plan to keep eating the BSD way ( in some form) forever. At 6 and a half weeks in – I have a way to go to get to my healthy weight and off all medications – I get nearer to that goal each day!

Thanks for inspiration,

Imogen🌻

yes it’s up 😀

Reposted this on my facebook page and also posted about it on diabetes.co.uk but not sure if it’s up yet, needs moderating apparently

stick at it you guys, the time soon passes and you will be several weeks in and several lb’s lighter 🙂

sleep well fifty 🙂 sweet dreams and thank you

No worries Izzy. I want to try the pancakes too soon!
Have a good day (you’re doing so well and I enjoy your posts).
Bedtime in Australia 💤

Thank you fifty! I have to admit I was eying up that carrot cake when I was browsing. She does a recipe for carrot muffins as well, and I love the silver dollar pancakes.

I’ll certainly be having a look at that other site as well 🙂

I think if we want BSD to become a way of life and not just an 8 week thing resulting in re-gaining the weight once we’re finished then it’s important to look around and find things we enjoy making and eating, and to give us the variety so we don’t get bored.

Hi Izzy – I like Elana’s Pantry too. Last weekend I made her carrot cake recipe and it’s a keeper!
https://elanaspantry.com/nut-free-paleo-carrot-cake/
I made these as muffins, so reduced the baking time to about 25 minutes (and left out the currants).

I’ve also tried a few recipes from a site called CookEatPaleo which have also become part of my new repertoire.
The paleo recipes often use ghee, but I use coconut oil instead and the results are good.
Favourites so far are:

Lemon & poppy seed muffins
http://cookeatpaleo.com/lemon-poppy-paleo-muffins/

Blueberry muffins
http://cookeatpaleo.com/blueberry-paleo-muffins-recipe/

Chocolate brownies (great as a desert with a dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry on the side)
http://cookeatpaleo.com/easy-paleo-brownie-recipe/

Enjoy experimenting with your almond flour 🙂

thanks Polly I will have a look, I love browsing recipes lol.

I don’t mind adding a little sweetner to things I know Michael Mosely suggests trying to curb the sweet tooth and I do but I think at least making most of the suggested changes is going to be enough to make a big lifestyle improvement 🙂

I won’t be eating any of my daughters cupcakes and when I make the breakfast bars later it will be with tomorrows breakfast in mind! the recipe makes 12 so they will go in a tub to be saved. If they are good they would make a handy quick lunch as I’ve worked them out to be about 185 calories and 6.2g carbs. I had been thinking of buying some protein bars but never sure really if they are good for you or not, but something made at home I will know what is in it.

I try to have a quick walk during my lunch break but I only have 30 mins, and by the time I park up and eat I can only do a 20 minute walk. Something fast like a bar would give me more step-ability, but ya know they might turn out yucky.

HI Everyone,
I have had a mixed start.I had a party on the first weekend and gained 2kg.One week later and I am back on track, lost the 2kg and feeling better. I’m pre diebetic and my fasting BSL is still above 6. I’m feeling very hungry in the afternoons when my BGL is 4.9and Im feeling tired. currently managing this with afew almonds and a cup of milky coffee .Monitoring my BSL is helping me stay on track as I’m setting daily goals, exercise is not happening yet but doing around 7000 steps a day at work.Im not having any carbs but my portions are probably too large in the evenings. following this forum definitely helps ,cheers to all

Hi there. My fitness trainer is 5’6″ and is extremely lean with a bmi lower than yours and is aged about 47. She follows low carb but once/ twice a week has starchy veg eg. Sweet potatoes or butternut squash – both v healthful and a refeeed or carbs is essential for health. So she follows mod protein, lots of low carb veg but a diet high in healthful fats – ghee coconut oil. animal fats etc etc ( about 65% of her calorie intake). She has followed this for years and is never I’ll and expends much energy in her job as fitness trainer! Hope this will reassure you.

Yummly.com is a really good site, have found a load of recipes on there and you can filter it in the search bar, I tend to put in low cal, low carb. My latest search was for chickpea flour and found a lovely baked onion bahji recipe so may try that tomorrow 😀 Also a few chickpea cracker recipes.

Have fun making cupcakes.

My only frustration with some ‘healthy’ recipes is the use of sweeteners or dates that I’m trying to avoid. They are even in the low carb and free to download book on diabetes.co.uk (which also has a big low carb community)

Last night had rib-eye steak topped with stilton on wilted spinach and watercress with onions, mushrooms, chilli, garlic and a random raw carrot – was lovely and a lovely low 15 carbs

Decided to have 2 meals today so had prawn cocktail (bought pre-made) on a pile of watercress with a splash of extra tabasco. Not sure what to have later as I’ve already blown 582 cals on that – just goes to show I shouldn’t buy pre-made things although I mostly just check carbs/sugar info first. Only 7 carbs, none of which was sugar so far. Probably just have a fage yogurt later or omelette. An easy thing anyway

only trouble with the almond flour pizza base is it’s high in calories. So today I’m going to allow myself 1000 calories but the carbs will be low still so I’m pretty sure a flexi day will be ok 🙂

I’ve eaten half of the recipe and that was plenty I feel really stuffed! I topped it with tomato puree, mozzarella and a few slices of pepperoni, my half pizza was 435 calories but only 5.1g carbs so it was ok. I may eat the rest tomorrow or get the kids to try it. It was nice but obviously a bit high in calories for us just now.

If I hadn’t eaten breakfast it would have been ok, and I don’t want to skip dinner. I know some people like to fast but I know if I don’t have my dinner I will be hungry and more likely to eat something I shouldn’t. I’ve had 633 calories so far which isn’t too bad really. I can probably have a nice meal tonight and stay around 900.

Obsessed? me? lol

Hi nannoo, I’m not sure why your dr would want you to still take meds if you weren’t diabetic, wouldn’t that be a bad thing for your health? Sorry, I really hate drugs and have refused to take any at all. Happily for me I’d started doing fast 800 before I was diagnosed type 2. They could see I’d lost weight and my hba1c although still in the diabetic range was lower than the first one had been a week earlier. My diabetic nurse agreed that I could keep doing what I’d started doing and to take a hba1c again in 3 months time. Also bought a meter to keep track of my BS levels and am happy it’s come down.

Good luck with getting off meds – Polly x

Started the week at 76,7kg. Now sitting at 75,5kg.
Don’t remember dropping over a kilo in a week without dire consequences, and still 2 days to go. I know the rhythm has to drop but it’s seriously encouraging. No energy sapping doziness or anything close.
Refreshing to see food from another perspective again 😎.

Aye, those were the days.

The long winters were the best, we hibernated!
The good old days, when you never left your village. You never married above your status.
You only had the one outfit.
You bathed once a year.
Ironing wasn’t invented yaaaaay.
You threw the chamber pot contents out of the window.
You didn’t have glass in the Windows.
Water was poisionous so you had weak ale all the time.
Those were the days
Love Lucia
Xxx

Very well done Pukeogirl. Brilliant to be NORMAL.

Arrgghh, watching GP’s behind closed doors and just saw a type 2 asking for help to lose weight being told that it’s because he eats too much… So I got onto their facebook page and left the link to this website and said that they could also refer the patient to read ‘the obesity code’. Don’t know if they will refer the patient onto this or indeed if my post will show but I just felt really badly for the poor patient who was also on several drugs including insulin and metformin 🙁

Thank you for your reply. I hadn’t thought that I could ask for this. I am speaking to my diabetic nurse today, so I will have a chat with her about this.

ooh links… I can’t link the pizza base as it’s from a book.

https://elanaspantry.com/salt-and-pepper-crackers/

https://elanaspantry.com/breakfast-bars/

I generally just add a bit of sweetner rather than agave, which I don’t happen to have.

Thank you 🙂 I’m feeling very positive!

My daughter wants to make cupcakes, so those will be something I just can’t eat. However I’m itchy to make some stuff with my Almond flour stash so I’ve downloaded a few recipe books.

So.. I’m going to make a pizza for lunch (almond flour base)

I’m going to make salt and pepper crackers

and breakfast bars full of seeds and raisins (I know I will need to watch the carbs in these)

I think I will try at least one new almond flour recipe each week in an effort to transfer the kids over from wanting high sugar/carb/shop bought biscuits cakes and cereal bars. Have you noticed even the ‘healthy’ ones are full of sugar and carbs.

This plan seems to work well for us, my husband likes the higher protein things for after workouts etc, and I just add extra carbs to his plate. My son pretty much eats anything and the experiments I’ve done are hit and miss with my daughter but I’ll celebrate every hit 🙂

I’m hoping that if I find enough healthier recipes that she likes (she likes almond flour pancakes) that in time I can stop buying wheat flour altogether. Elena’s pantry is a great website including even recipes for proper cakes so don’t even need wheat on birthdays lol.

right off to the shops I go for the ingredients we are missing!

Wow Tallyhoo that’s fantastic! How rewarding for all your hard work, especially being asked to pass on your knowledge to others. Brilliant.

Hi glevesque. You’ve made a great start in losing 1.5kg in a few days. Like you, I assumed I wouldn’t go below, in my case, 12 stone. But that’s because I assumed I would have given up by then! I’ve been on the diet for 4 weeks now and literally have had no bread, rice, pasta etc. Occasionally more than 800 cals. And I’ve lost 16lbs and am 11 stone 13lbs! The main thing is I feel so much better, no cravings, clear headed, full of energy. I’m not trying to show off (well, only a bit) but what I am saying is that eating 800 cals a day means eventually you will lose weight. I’m better at abstinence or full on, rather than moderation, so for me no bread etc. is better than a bit.
Keep it up and amaze yourself! You can do it.

Thanks all for encouragement ,I think I may go back on half meds but not taking that one pill a day I can’t remember name of !
So roll on week 8 next week,and once again big thanks to people on here for all help your amazing
Alan 7 weeks two stone five pound loss looking great ,aiming to carry on beyond 8 weeks 😅

Hi Lucia,

……I remember the pottage….and the going to sleep when it was dark and rising with the sun…..the long Winters were the worst.
But, I did get a lot of exercise milking the cows….and I never got smallpox, thanks to the cowpox (there would have been a medieval nobel prize for medicine in that if they’d existed!)

Seriously though Lucia – I have a parsnip recipe that dates from those times – not low carb though (mashed parsnip, cream, nutmeg – top with fresh breadcrumbs, dot with butter and bake.) Definitely not on the menu thanks to the parsnips and the breadcrumbs!

I’ve just finished dinner – cauliflower pizza – home made pizza is a Friday night tradition in my home.

Have a great day.

Wooohoooo to Switzerland, congratulations!! – it’s like a massive healthy makeover body and mind. 🙂

Impressive work Alanhypno on all that weight loss! – I hope the bs must come around eventually – there’s probably a lot going on inside that you can’t measure and some day soon it’ll catch up.

Tallyhoo funny about tankini maybe you could hang on the kitchen wall :-))))

Can’t believe it’s the end of my second work week on this – feeling absolutely fine, well fed and happy! (And for all you starting out, I complained of feeling like a zombie for the first week so it doesn’t take long!)
Hope to be on here Monday morning with another bit lost – weekends are harder and easier at once – more food options (but that’s a good thing really! as more choices), and more chances to get outside and exercise. See you all Monday morning!! And even if I don’t lose a huge amount, I’m just going to be patient, follow the principles and wait for it to happen because it will!! And I will mentally line up those bags of sugar of what I have lost too :-))) Have good Friday everyone!

Thanks so much for the advice – is there a maximum number of carbs we should be having? I couldn’t find any figures in the book, but it might be helpful?

Fabulous! Congratulations! So encouraging to us new starters!

First four days and feel great. Had one small ciabatta roll last night and one the night before, but still have lost 1.5 kg. Can I really lose more? Haven’t been able to get below 71 kg. in close to 20 years. Will check in every few days as I need to tell someone about what I am doing!

Hi Switzerland,
All we had was pottage.
Like veggie casserole.
With all the manual work, it kept my weight down but I probably was a TOFI.
The good thing about the days, was, I got up with the sun and went to bed when it went dark.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Interesting that this topic went to the dogs (ha, ha)…but actually found the same for my dogs. Have one dog who has suffered with severe skin disorders for years…lots of steroids, etc. Finally put her on a raw diet, and she is great! Now I’m on the BSD and feeling pretty darned good, too.

Encouraging! Keep up the good work. I started the diet only four days ago after a real chocolate pig-out the night before. I have already lost 1.5 kg. I have also started climbing the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator. It’s not a big deal – only 4 stories, but it is at least something. Also trying to stand up every 1/2 hour in the evenings. BTW, I’m a new Kiwi!

Great beginnings

I am much in the same boat as you. Not diabetic but overweight with family history. I am now able to eat free of the ‘big’ carbs. I plan to eat at 800 for eight weeks from the 1st June and feel a bit scared of the weighting food and calorie counting bit. At the moment I am losing weight at a pound a day. I don’t miss the bread, cakes, rice, pasta, sweets, sugar nor the alcohol.

Hello JCH187! I will have finished my first week end of Sunday. Mum has lost 7lb 1oz already and I have lost 5 and a half pounds. We’re both motivated although I am finding it more difficult than mum. We’re not diabetic either but we both need to lose some weight and have past problems with carb and sugar cravings.

Morning Collie, yes my 2 are really healthy on their raw diet. My vet was sceptical but reluctantly agrees now. Dogs definitely weren’t made to eat lots of carbs. I’d rather have your breakfast than theirs! I had Greek yog, chopped cucumber and mint and paprika. A sort of riata. Delish!