Lynne it comes to something when you’re glad the hotel food won’t be very good lol 🙂

Hi lachlanh
You have tried hard with this diet & I’m sorry this isn’t the result you hoped for. A lower HbA1c is really good.
Perhaps you could still post occasionally to tell us how you are. Best wishes to you.
Eureka

Glad to hear day 2 went well Paula 🙂
I was thinking the freezing lemons/limes would be good on the island.

I got sick of wasting half lemons what is why I started freezing slices 🙂

I started yesterday. I must admit I’m a bit hungry but I guess I’ll get used to it. I’m having headaches from lack of sugar but I’m motivated. Hi everyone.

Hi Judith,
Can’t remember if I have said thank you for the heads up about the gram / chickpea flour, so thank you!
Christine

Lachlan I’m so sorry to hear your news and wish you the best 🙂

Hi Lucia,
My favourite ice cream is pistachio, last year at Cromer I found one called salted caramel, so it’s a toss up now between the two!
I hope you enjoyed every last slow morsel.
Christine

Hi Ali,
Patsy is quite right. A little bit over on the cals won’t matter, you are keeping the carbs right down and that really is the key to good blood sugar control and weight loss. Rather you than me with the 5am starts lol 🙂

Hi Izzy, I agree with Patsy – but make sure it is full fat Greek (style) yogurt. I add seeds (linseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds) and almonds to it with a little cinnamon. Lovely breakfast and very filling.

Hi peteSuffolk, welcome to the forums!
Do yoj think you think you could give up bread and wine for, say, 4 weeks and see how you go? You’re likely to get some fant results. 🙂

Hi Cherrianne and all

Sorry I haven’t been on this for a while. I have tried the low carb approach for a couple of weeks but still getting the high readings unfortunately. I have been to see a specialist consultant and with great sadness I have to tel, you all that it seems my diabetes is not reversible. So I’m back on the metformin and looking to manage my condition. The good news is that my second hba1c result is drastically less than what is was when first diagnosed I have the blood sugar diet to thank for that. I will be getting a scan to confirm my condition but because of my weight ( i.e. I weigh so little now) it seems most likely that my pancreas is just not working well enough and there is little I can do. However, that is not to say that this can’t work for everyone else I certainly hope it does so I wish you all the best with continued progress.
Lachlan

Great tip Hashimoto. I have just made myself a glass of iced sparkling water and lemon. Love the sound of mint and lime… That’s one to try for sure. I’d never thought of freezing them either – very canny lol and on the Island it pays to be able to stock up in advance….

Thanks Patsy, yes that’s very true! It’s certainly something to aim for. I’ll certainly feel like a little celebration if I can fit into a dress without a fat belly lol.

Well Day Two has nearly passed and I don’t feel at all hungry or deprived. It’s quite astounding how well you can eat on 800 calories. Here’s to Day 3 and thank you for your support 🙂

Yoghurt with fruit/nuts keeps me going until lunchtime.

Bruno you and lynne are really losing a lot of weight! 🙂

should have read “want to lose another 3 stones”

Thanks for your replies. OH does eat dairy and eggs (and will eat Quorn although doesn’t especially like food that looks/tastes/pretends to be meat). Thanks for confirming the 50g carb limit Venusflytrap. I know when he starts he will become quite obsessive about measuring everything but we originally became vegetarian when on the (original) F-Plan diet many years ago so this low-carb dieting is another complete turnaround for us.

Well done!

Hi everyone,
I’ve not posted for a couple of weeks.
That’s me at the end of week 11, and on my weigh in on Friday I had a total weight loss of 41 pounds, one more pound and it would be 3 stone in total.
Weight loss has been a bit slower over the last 3 weeks, still managed 6 pounds though, 3 pounds, 2 pounds and 1 pound in that order. Hope it doesn’t level out and start going the other way 🙂
Still got a long way to go as I wasn’t to lose another 3 stone.

Hi Petesuffolk…..welcome ! I’m lucky enough not to be diabetic or pre but 6 of my friends and I started to change our eating habits after reading the book. That was 8 weeks ago and between us we have lost just under 10 stone! I love red wine and have carried on drinking throughout the last 8 weeks as I see this as a lifestyle change and I need to set myself realistic targets. I put all my food and drink onto the my fitness pal app and hey presto 21 pounds lighter. Look on line for meal ideas or on this site as there are loads of delicious recipes out there that are low carb, low calorie and you won’t feel like you are missing out. Good luck 😊

Hi all,
Start my 8th week tomorrow. Weight loss good. However I just can’t seem to get my morning fasting levels to drop below 7.
Looking back through my notebook they fell to the 5s and 6s for a few days but these readings were short lived. I fast from 7ish onwards to about 9am. I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong. I halved my metformin about a week ago but the higher readings were occurring before this time. Not all bad though as when I first started the BSD my fbs was 11. Just wondered if anyone else had suffered prolonged highish readings, not the common blips which I felt I’d also had.

I am just starting too. Our usual diet is pretty good. Low meat, plenty of pulses, plenty of veg. Take outs very rare, zero ready made meals. We cook all from fresh and I bake my own bread from organic flour. Sadly the bread consumption is going to have to drop, not sure I can cut it altogether. Is crispbread ok to eat or is it just as bad? My blood sugar was ok but the other reading -haemoglobin or something, indicated prediabetes. I could happily skip breakfast most days, it is not my favourite meal. Can I add the calories to dinner? Is wine a complete no, no? I love my evening glass of red. So many questions! Sorry.

200g Greek yog/strawberries
Poached egg and tiny tin baked beans
2 sl roast pork, tbs stuffing, brussels, runner beans, gravy
Teas to drink

https://www.verywell.com/low-carb-diets-4014695

sorry I thought I’d put the link it to it..

Lucia I am with you on the McFlurries. I used to scoff them in a similar manner but now consider a better option a ball or 2 of real homemade Italian stuff. More flavour and less junk, and more satisfying when eaten mind fully. My justification for this treat is that my dad always found that if he had eaten a low GI meal then finishing with an ice cream had no adverse effect on his blood sugar. So I reckon the odd one is a good thing – although it no doubt slows down the weight loss!

This is my query too! Crispbread like Ryvita don’t seem to get a mention in the book so I don’t know what the attitude to them is? Better than bread? Avoid altogether?

Hi lucia, I’m fine – bit busy planning my hol to Oz – a lot to sort in a short time! I tried one of my swimming cozzies on today – i will need some new ones – theres loose material where my backside used to be lol

Sounds like you enjoyed your ice cream! Mindfullness is great.

Lynne I don’t know that coconut flour would work – I think they would glue themselves to the frying pan 🙁

Hi team,
Anything happening in Australia?
What’s the weather like?
What are you eating?
Glad you are here on this website.
Love luciaXxx

Hi string breaker,
I know you are absent until June, just a little note here, to say I am thinking of you and wish you well.
Love Lucia
Xxx

CaptainLynne
I have made pancakes with a mix of coconut flour and chickpea flour and they are yummy so I suspect that the flat breads would also work with the mix. However I wonder if you’d need to use much more liquid if using only coconut flour as the stuff absorbs a lot of liquid on standing?

Where are you bill1954.
I wonder if your eyes are still sore and you can not spend much time on the keyboard.
Missing you.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi captain Lynn.
I love some of the herbs and flavours you are mentioning.

Last week, I said I was getting a little fed up of what I was eating, so I put lemon and rosemary on chicken last week.
I put mint in my yoghurt.
Just little touches but they change the personality of the. Eat.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi Hashimoto.
How are things with you?
Hope you are well and happy.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi. Christie,
Just plain vanilla.
I used to have , in one sitting two or three McDonald’s mcflurry icecream several times a week.
I justified it as they were only 99pence each.
So I totally cut them out as I felt… Addicted to them.
I don’t want and will not allow myself another one for. Month.

I ate it slowly, and focused on it. I didn’t want to throw it down my throat and not notice it.

I Think if you don’t focus on it, you don’t notice it, you don’t know you have eaten it, so you will not believe you are full, you just carry one eating more.

Boy , hasn’t my way of eating changed so much.

I am the better for it.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Thanks Hashimoto😊

Just heard the food at the hotel I’m staying at from tomorrow isn’t as good as in previous years. That might make life easier 😳

Hi youaredazzling! What a success story!

Having reached a weight I am happy with I still eat the BSD way, I just have more calories but no starchy carbs. 🙂

Judith, do you think the flatbreads would work with coconut flour?

Oooh christine you will have such fun with your spiraliser!

You need chickpea flour – it has a number of different names so you might have seen it under another name – besan flour, gram flour, garbanzo bean flour. Hope you find some.

🙂 🙂

I’m doing a shopping list later and looking for inspiration with you guys who are more experienced with this way of life 🙂

So tell me your favourites that keep you contented please!

Thank you

If you’re only in danger of being slightly over the 800, I don’t think you should worry too much. Better to eat a little bit more if it makes you more likely to stick to it longer term.

Good luck,

Hi gonnabedazzling,
Wow that’s a great start to your journey, I don’t say diet cause it’s a new way of life, of eating, well done and keep posting
Christine

Lucia
And for tonight’s meal I had celery, yellow pepper, walnuts, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, 1 fig, then blueberries, strawberries, and some single cream, nothing else til morning other than a drink before bed.
Hope you got your dining room started. What sort of ice cream was it?
Christine

Wine is OK once you’ve lost the weight, Paula so you can look forward to a glass in a few weeks time – mybe to celebrate buying a dress you look great in?

Judith
Can I make those flatbreads with any other non carb flour or is it just chickpea, I have all sorts of gluten free flours but no chickpea!
Christine

Hi Lucia,
Our walk this morning was wet, sunny, windy, cold, then sunny! English weather for you.
Hubby ( David) has decided he will join me on my diet starting in the morning! He just feels he needs to lose a bit of weight, so I have got a partner now, before he only ate what I ate plus all the other stuff ie carbs!
Our daughter has taken over the gardening, I could do some, however I don’t think Angela would be too happy at me interfering with what she sees as her garden while she is living with us.
Oh I would love to be able to re-decorate, although until Angela finds her feet, ie job, home, life! We can’t do anything, she has a house bunny! It has caused havoc in most of our rooms, we have had to hitch all the electrical wires halfway up the walls, put stuff all around the lower edges of the rooms she’s allowed in, the bunny that is not Angela! She still manages to chew our wallpaper off!
So when you have finished your dining room, you are most welcome to come and do mine! Plus our sitting room, hall, and two of the bedrooms, she got in when the kids were here and left the doors open!
JUDITH
My spirilizer has come, Sunday evening six thirty!
Back to being strict on the diet tomorrow, I want to get that sparkles sliver bracelet you see Lucia!
Christine

Thanks Paula, Janet once suggested sparkling water with ice, lime and mint. It’s lovely.
You can swirl a mint tea bag in the water and add a splash of lime juice from a bottle.

I cut fresh lemons and limes into slices and freeze them – so as not to waste any, but it also means I have some in stock, and the frozen slices can act as ice cubes as well. If I buy a packet of mint I put it in a glass of water on the kitchen windowsill as it roots and keeps growing. Can you tell I’m a canny Yorkshire lass? 🙂

You’ve done well to exceed 10,000 steps 🙂

Hello folks
I intended to post on here when I reached the 8 week mark but it has been a bit busy over the last few days so I’m a week and a half late!

At the 8 week line I had lost 30 pounds, and now at 9 ½ weeks I have lost a further 5. I can’t believe this! I have struggled with my weight for decades, but this way of life is amazing. I have had some hungry days, but most of the time I don’t think about food until I am coming up to a mealtime, and I am astonished at how long I can go between meals without more than a little stomach gurgling. I have had to adapt a lot of the recipes due to other issues – food intolerances and IBS – but I am well into it now, and it’s no problem. I have also bought some Mediterranean style cookery books for new ideas – obviously they have more carbs than I want but the flavours are good.

I recently went to visit a friend whom I hadn’t seen for some time, and she had lovingly baked a gluten and dairy free cake for me. I couldn’t disappoint her so I had a piece, and enjoyed it too. But I didn’t feel I had missed out by not eating carbs all these weeks, and interestingly didn’t feel I wanted more.

I thought I would just mention a few of the benefits I have found from being a good deal lighter, some of which I had expected, and some I hadn’t. Apart from knowing I am reducing my chance of having a stroke, heart attack and developing T2 Diabetes (my brother is a diabetic), and being kinder to my knees and hips, I have noticed many things I can do much more easily. These include getting in and out of a car, turning over in bed, getting out of low chairs, getting down on the floor and up again (to play with grandkids), bending over without getting breathless (shoe laces and gardening), eating at a table without tucking a napkin under my chin to catch spills (tummy no longer gets in the way!) and happily I am able to walk more briskly and with less effort.

I have also recycled or sent to charity shops 5 bin liners full of clothes!

My immediate family are very supportive, and I have a family gathering next weekend with people who don’t know what I’ve been up to so I hope to amaze them!

I am continuing with the 800 calories for the time being – up to 12 weeks anyway, as several posters on here are already doing successfully – and may go on longer.

I am a bit scared about what happens when I finally decide to come off the 800, as I don’t trust myself to take Michael’s advice and not count calories if I do 5:2. I have got my eating wrong for so long that I think it will be safer if I continue to count, but gradually increase the amount of what I eat until I find the level that will allow me to maintain my new size – though what that size will be is as yet unknown. I would like to lose 5 stone in total. If I achieve that I will then see if that feels right, or if I think further loss is possible/desirable.

I haven’t posted often on here, but I do read other posters’ contributions, and have found all your experiences both interesting and encouraging. I’ve never hankered to join any kind of slimming club, but this forum is friendly and easy, and I’m glad to be a member.

Hi smudgeymum,
I lost 5 kilos in 10 days, then only 1 on the following 7 days, so I know how you feel. And during that week weight kept going up and down, it didn’t make any sense to me. I’ve decided to only weigh myself once a week, plus measure waist and hips/stomach. Something will be going down!
I too get hungry some days. We’re all different, so don’t despair. I’ve never been on a diet in my life or been off booze for so long- it’s hard. My mouth is craving even when my stomach is full 🙁
I read somewhere that you lose a lot of water the first week. Plus at various points the fat comes off/out of organs which can do funny things, like raise your blood sugar. We’ll get there in the end.

Hi Hashimoto, thanks for the advice. I will make sure I keep my fluids up. Day two has gone ok and I’ve been busy – I’ve surpassed my 10,000 steps 🙂 Would love to sit down with a glass of wine but I’ve settled for a herbal tea instead! Feel pretty positive and I really appreciate your advice -it’s a great spur! Thank you 🙂

Lucia being able to sit and enjoy your garden this summer is a massive benefit from this diet.

Tea and toast. I’m wondering if the chickpea flatbread with sweet herbs/spices would cut the mustard with a cuppa? I was thinking rosemary, cardamon, lemon zest and caraway seeds. If you have s really small frying pan you could make treat size breads. They freeze well so you get 20 very small ones out of the recipe. Just a thought xxx