Well done Jim, great results, well done! Please let us know if you are confirmed as clear of T2, as Bill says the more confirmed there are the better the chance that this approach can be pushed out through as standard in the future.

Hi Alan,
Maybe a quick review of what you are eating and your exercise prior to starting the last few weeks? I did that every couple of weeks and tweaked what I was doing as I went through. Check your carb intake – especially any foods you ‘assumed’ were good. If you can, up the steps a little each day.
You have already achieved a lot – 1.5 stone off and reduction in your meds, so don’t be too hard on yourself – celebrate what you have achieved as you go forward.

Hi Cicipops,
I was not disagreeing that porridge is a great way to fill you up – I have had oats in homemade muesli for years.
What I was pointing out is that the BSD book does not recommend the kind of porridge oats that are processed – and most that we now buy are processed. Porridge is fine if made with the oats that you need to soak the night before then cook next day – steel-cut or rolled oats.
There are many posts on this topic and some diabetics find they can manage oats, others cannot – please use the search engine and you will find the posts.

From the BSD book:
Page 34
‘In one study, he took 12 overweight teenage boys and on separate days gave them three different breakfasts. One was instant oatmeal with milk and sugar. Another was traditional, unprocessed oats, “steel-cut”, the sort your grandmother would recognise. The third breakfast was an omelette. The worst breakfast was the instant oats. After eating it, the boys’ blood sugar and insulin levels soared. This was followed a couple of hours later by a “crash” as blood sugar levels fell below where they had started. This crash was accompanied by a surge of the stress hormone, adrenaline. The boys felt tired, hungry and irritable. At lunch they each are a whopping 620 calories more than those who had had the omelette.’
P113
‘Avoid most breakfast cereals: they are usually full of sugar, even the ones that contain bran. Oats are good as long as they are not the instant sort.’
P131
‘Q There are carbohydrates in this diet, yet you say I should not eat them.
A There are some carbohydrates in the menus provided – but the right sort. As you will know by now, starchy carbohydrates are essentially concentrated sugars and are disruptive to blood sugar. You will find recipes here that include jumbo oats, and even brown rice – but in small quantities. It’s a taste, not a main component of the meal. These carbohydrates are the slow-burn kind, meaning they take time and energy to digest, which means you’ll feel less hungry.’

After reading this, I adapted my eating to the principles of the BSD diet and instead of breakfast with 30g oatmeal and 100g fat-free yoghurt plus berries and seeds, I now have 60g full fat yoghurt, berries and seeds and find that every bit as filling as the one with the oatmeal. The full fat yoghurt is what keeps me feeling full.

Hi I am finding I can now tell the difference between mouth carb hunger and the real need for food . Not sure I will ever lose my love of carbs but oh so feel better without them I think they were killing me slowly sorry if that sounds dramatic but it’s true for me . I truly believe I was/am addicted to them.

Hi Odette C
I have e mailed you , sounds interesting .

Just to add to this, have kept carbs well under 50gms for the last few days and a step on the scales this morning show 3lbs gone!

Will persist with this low carbs strategy. Still some way to go, but a better result than I’ve been able to achieve for some considerable time, and I’m not hungry and am really enjoying my food. Eggs, spinach and smoked salmon this morning – what’s not to like?

Hi I don’t feel shaky but certainly more alert and can think clearer. I have taken to camomile tea at bed time and no electronics as quite wired at night , feel so hungry as well and the two seemed to go together for me. I look on sugar as a drug so for me I am de toxing or de fixing as I don’t like that word . I am hoping that these will settle but as I am in for the long haul I am willing to give it at least 6 weeks before this settles I ate sugar for a whole lot longer . Wish you well

Hi All I went for my first bike ride in ages all good and felt the love with my bike. On a different note mu UP band has stopped working what fit bit step counters etc would people recommend . Loving the posts thanks for the motivation.

Hi Cicipops
Completely relate to your post. Well done on doing your induction at the Gym. I also felt terrible when I first went.
Go to a few classes now and have been going for several years……suppose I am a bit of a veteran.
I completely agree that the so called ‘easy’ classes are far from it…sometimes Yoga/Body Balance or Pilates feel positively evil…..though they are obviously not supposed to. However what would be the point of going if you didn’t push your body a little. After all our goal is to be healthier.

Certainly remember being positively purple at the end of the classes. Think I still am but people no longer come up to me
to ask if I’m alright…… more likely to be telling me, in the last couple of weeks certainly…… that I look well… aka lost loads of weight.

Moving more is a great goal and moving easier has worked for me.
Good luck to all the movers and shakers 🙂

I did like the 5:2 but it caused all my reflux issues to get worse so not sure it is the best for me
this way doesn’t seem to be so bad – so far

thank you for your reply and yes I agree that the emotional and weight etc etc gets very tangled and tricky

things have calmed a little in my head today so that is good

oh the lemon polenta cake was gorgeous and everyone loved it – really lemony and yum – and not a hint of wheat or gluten anywhere

I had a better nights sleep last night – I have a lot to catch up on from the past few days – so hopefully things will settle back down now

thank you so much for your support
I hope things are going ok for you

something that might help – if the issue is ‘upset’ stomach as in needing loo quick etc!!!!!!!!
lots of people find taking calcium tablets helps (after gall bladder removal)
but take just calcium – NOT the ones with magnesium added as that can make it all ‘loose’ again

I used to take some from Holland and barrett – and I still had a gall bladder, but had lots of other issues and they even helped me too

only thing was the tablets were big and not the easiest to swallow

After 2 weeks:

7kg off
7cm gone round my middle
Signs of a waistline returning
Feeling much better in myself
Not hungry so often
Dug a whole pile of tight clothes out of my wardrobe and some nearly fit again
Been clothes shopping 😉😀
Saving money

Only downside is my innards seem bunged up.

Week 2 weigh in and I’ve lost 2kg. Keep reminding myself that’s 4lb so not bad at all.

Hello, I’ve been doing the BSD for 7 weeks – great results and I’m on a bit of a mission to help others understand that reclaiming your health and vitality IS possible. I am starting a local group using my experience of being a coach and trainer so that we can explore the science, the food (mmm.. cooking and tasting), and how to create a plan to make moving more and reducing stress work for YOU whatever your starting point . You can find out more on http://www.8weeks.co.uk.

Hi Jim
Wonderful results for you, if your doc isn’t impressed by that, bin him.
I really hope your blood sugar results come back as well as your weight loss has. Make sure to let us know, anyone who manages to get a diabetes reversed decision is a cause for celebration in my eyes.

Hi everyone

Weighed in a day early as going out for alcoholic drinks this afternoon 😱

Anyway, end of week 10 and after my plateau last week it’s another 2.6 lb loss this week.

Pretty happy with this as I was out for dinner on Wednesday, and while I had steak and veg, I also had some carbs. My plan was to enjoy it, have a few chips etc if I wanted them but leave the majority of the carbs on my plate and it worked!

On a lighter note – in my obsession with the scales (I’m one of those who finds them motivating!) I stepped on again this morning and they say a pound and a half gone… Given I’ve only been back on the 800 BSD proper for a couple of days I am well pleased. Definitely need some calmer days though – I managed to prang the car on Wednesday, got it scraped on hinge of our driveway gate. All stress…
Hoping for better days ahead in the sunshine (even though it is freezing again it’s lovely to hear the birds singing).

You’ve done an amazing job even managing to stick to most of it through your husbands emergency, you should be super proud of yourself! That hospital sandwich would have been a much needed meal for you that day. Glad to hear he is home recovering and I hope he will be well soon.

Lynne you just keep going from strength to strength
Anyone following your posts can’t fail to be inspired by them, I always have been.
You’re going to be right where you want to be in the not too distant future.
Well done 🙂

Christine1948
I really hope things are getting slightly less raw for you. I have been out of touch with all the posts so only saw your news just now. Puts my daughter’s exam stress into perspective. Thoughts, hugs and prayers are with you.
Julia

Hi Happy! I also have no gallbladder and I’ve been ok.

The surgeon explained it to me. Usually our liver will create bile, and then our gallbladder stores it. When we eat fat it secretes the bile to help digest the fat. When we don’t have a gall bladder the only bile is whatever the liver can produce on the go, none is stored. Some will be lucky and the liver can keep up, others maybe not so lucky. However it does make sense that eating fat in smaller quantities spread out would perhaps be more manageable for our bodies than one large portion.

You could try low fat cheese for your cheesy meal, I know it isn’t quite in keeping with BSD ethos, but the protein and (still some fat) may still be enough to keep you full.

I wouldn’t say my diet is as high in fat as many, maybe that’s why I’m ok. I have my yoghurt and cheese, and I use oil to fry but a lot of my meals are pretty low I guess. That isn’t by design it’s just the meals I’m enjoying. I’ve always cut the fat off meat because I don’t like eating it. I know you’re not eating meat anyway.

Good morning! I started this diet on 4/5 and have had 2 slip ups along the way – an evening out on day 2 which involved a packet of crisps! And my husband having to have an emergency op and being in hospital on day 7 – this caused a hospital sandwich to be consumed as I had been stuck there all day. I have not managed to stick to the 800 cals every day but have kept my carbs to between 20 and 40g. I have done very little exercise because of hospital visits etc and not drunk as much water as I’d like and too much tea and red wine BUT I’m over the moon to report a loss of nearly 9lb and I feel so much better. No painful bloating stomach, clothes feel better and I love this way of eating. Husband is home from hospital now and will hopefully be on the mend so I will be trying very hard to stick to the 800 calls this week and see what the results are.

I’m determined to continue so that when I have my next blood tests the nurse will be happy with my results and tell me I am no longer pre-diabetic.

Thank you BSD 😃

Hi everyone

Just finished week 21, and the result this week is …….

another 3 pounds gone!😃

That’s a total of 49 pounds so far😱

Only two pounds to go until I drop into next stone, and five pounds to go before I become overweight instead of obese!

Fasting bs this morning was 4.0.

Safe journey Judith. Speak soon 😃

Hi everyone

At end of week 21.

Another 3 pounds gone, total now 49 pounds 😃

Lucia – I might be borrowing that white catsuit of yours. A pound down this morning after just a few days back on the 800 BSD. I need to cut my grass though this morning so can you lend it to me later on. I wouldn’t want to shock Jo Public wearing it while out jogging either 😁

Hi Poppyflower!
Thanks so much for your kind words and thoughts about what might help. I actually decided to try that starting tomorrow as I have been eating cheese for one meals protein since I am a pescatarian (only eat fish and no meat or chicken) and realized I should switch that meal out for fish or shrimp or something lower in fat than cheese
Fingers crossed it helps. I have a long trip starting next Wednesday so don’t want tummy issues.
Hugs for a happy day!
🌷

I am loving this thread, and reading what everyone is doing! Have to say, I’ve never been a very active person. Done a few hillwalks in the past (which nearly finished me, I was so out of breath!), but apart from that my only exercise was housework. Anyway, 2nd week on my diet, I decided I’d join the gym. (That was last week). I booked an inductiion and 2 classes. Never having exercised before, I was kinda scared of going along, but I pushed myself. The guy doing my induction was really nice – not at all judgemental about my ‘unfitness’, and showed me some gym equipment I could try which would not be too testing as a beginner. I’ve been 4 days out of 7 this week so far and quickly discovered my favourite exercise machine is the rower. Cos I’m not that fit, I can’t manage much timewise 10- 15 mins only, and even that with breaks to get my breath back! ( I cancelled an abs class cos I thought perhaps I was gettig ahead of myself, and went to a stretching class with my daughter who said it was easy? (Was she
Joking, or what???). But……..and this is quite astonishing really……I’ve lost 2.5 inches from my waist in just this week!!! The weight loss aint been so good this week, but so what. I’m sticking with the plan! Absolutely buzzing!!!! Keep at it guys, just doing what your doing, and in no time we’ll aĺl be where we want to be and will have changed our bad habits for LIFE x

I have a meal replacement/protein shake in the morning, takes 2 mins and you can drink it on the way to work etc and it curbs my hunger until lunch. Make sure you get one that is low carbs – ideally a VLCD one.

I find the first 3 days are the hardest while your body is withdrawing from sugar/carbs. Keep telling yourself its only 3 days and I am sure you will feel better by then. Once you see the number on the scales dropping you’ll get lots of drive to push through any hunger pangs but if all else fails – Cheat with meat hahaha Not sure where I heard that but a small amount of protein can help. I usually have half a tin of tuna if I am really hungry. Keep going!!

Hey Jim
Well done, that’s brilliant 😀
I bet your doctor will be thrilled! The more that get to know what is going on with this diet and how well it is working and helping with the type 2, the better. Let us know what the doctor says. Do you have much more weight to lose?
Cheers
Linda

Hi Befoon88,
This new lifestyle isn’t a torture chamber and if you feel like having the avocado that much then pop to the fridge, have a couple of mouthfuls and jump back into bed. I’ve been surprised how little of this kind of food satisfies my hunger and it’s not like you’re getting up to open a packet of biscuits! You’ve done the right thing on posting your thoughts here, there’s someone, somewhere in the world that can offer some support anytime of the day or night.
What country are you in? If you’re just going to bed, it must be late, so I’m guessing the UK?
It a lovely 24 deg C Autumn afternoon here in Australia, I’ve just hit back from an hours walk with the dog and my fit bit tells me I’m up to 15,000 steps for the day. Don’t worry, I’m 3.5 weeks in and I can tell you within the week, the hunger pangs will have diminished and you’ll be loving this new way of life😀
Please keep in contact and let us know how you’re going.

Hi happyLife, I also have no gallbladder and have no problem with the extra fat. However prior to having mine removed I did lots of reading and discovered that many people have problems with fats. I was prepared to have problems but I have been lucky.
Maybe try fats in smaller amounts across the day and see does that help. Good luck

Nonnie, you are so lucky. Another friend told me tonight she has lots of trouble with too many fats also.
I am patient so hoping my tummy figures it all out. 😄

Hi HappyLife, I haven’t had a gallbladder for 30 years or so, and have never had tummy issues. In between diets, I consumed the highest fat, junk-filled diet possible. I’m sure it depends on the individual; I’ve always thought I had a “cast iron” stomach.

I have just done my first day on the BSD. It hasn’t been to bad. Lots of support from my mum, who has already done it. Even after she left I was ok, watched a few programmes on the tv, all ok. Reading in bed; keep being distracted from my book, firstly just by thoughts of the day. Then by thoughts of food, then on needing the loo (x3). Now of thinking about the avacardo in the fridge full cottage cheese and me gorging on it! Feeling hungry. Not massively but normally I don’t think I allowed myself to feel hungry very often. Now all I can think about is that avacardo sitting in the fridge and how good it would tast and I feel like crying.

I’m still here. I’m on day 13 and have seen my nurse, who is delighted that I am on this diet and was really happy to see my 5lb weight loss. (My nurse told me that in the last few months, she has been on training days concerning diabetes and the advice now given to patients, is a low carb diet. I was thrilled to hear this and she has already made my appointment for my hba1c for the week after my 8 weeks, she is backing me 100%) I did have a wobble but it was only for one meal. I had a tortilla wrap from Tesco to be be honest just for convenience. I think if i’d chosen a bread sandwich I may have, been rather bloated and unhappy but as it was, I had no ill effects.

3 places I’ve found I can eat out and have low carb options; Whetherspoons, do a salmon salad, dressing on the side. delicious. Subway do a really lovely salad, with meat or tuna with grated cheese, its delicious. & also a carvery. I had a roast dinner with no Yorkshire, stuffing or potatoes and it was delicious and I was stuffed on basically turkey and veg.

I have had a couple of alcoholic beverages, I am trying to decide which red wine I like as I havn’t really drank it in the past, so my fella and I shared a bottle of tempranillo which was lovely. I have also tried those little single glass serving bottles of a shiraz (yuk!) and a Rioja (yum!). Last night I had 1 glass of wine and it lasted me all night and I added it to my calorie count as a snack.

So as I’m struggling through, I am finding satisfying meal (the first week I was starving all the time). The most satisfying meals to date. Scrambled eggs with bacon, No carb ploughmans and curried baked beans and lentils with chicken and green beans.
I have bought some pearl barley this week and will be making a vegetable curry, using them with beans.

sorry to waffle on peeps, but its been a few days. XX

I started the 8 week programme on 16 March 2016. It has been an easy way of life for me. Breakfast usually consists of a portobello mushroom grilled, with a little olive oil in the cavity where the stalk was removed, and one egg scrambled. Delicious!
This is followed by a cup of black tea and a glass of water.
Lunch is mostly soup and an an apple and another glass of water.
If I feel the need for an afternoon tea snack with the coffee, I eat a few black olives; two gherkins and a dessert spoon of cottage cheese.
Dinner is mostly a mix of stir fry vegetables : onion, two garlic cloves, cauliflower, broccoli, red or green capsicum (thinly sliced),carrots, some cabbage (also thinly sliced). This mix is done in olive oil, with a glug or two as the cooking proceeds. Half of a tomato, seasoned with a little salt and black pepper and a glug of olive oil is placed in the benchtop griller.
This is all served with a small amount of meat (chicken, beef schnitzel, lamb chop etc.) There is usually sufficient left over to fill two small takeaway dishes and placed in the freezer for another night’s quick meals.
Another glass of water accompanies the meal. Dessert is a few frozen blueberries topped with a little Greek yoghurt.

The result of all this is that I have managed to lose 10.2 kg in 9 weeks. I go back to see the GP on Thursday and I hope that I will be clear of Type 2 diabetes then.

This is the way I intend to continue. Thank Michael for your inspiration.

Jim

I just read people without a gallbladder have to have a low fat diet and that’s why I am having tummy issues due to the higher fat percentage of the diet.
Advice? Thoughts?
Thanks!

I have Ryvita for lunch with various stuff on top. I slice is around 45 calories. I think it depenfs perhaps on what variety you use. I find them really useful. Certainly much better for you than bread, taste better too, and they are also good for breaking up and adding to soup to help bulk it up. What’s not to like?

Thanks for Checking that neo, I had no idea, as I hadn’t read the label.

So I was told the weather is going bad this weekend, so last night I mowed both lawns to get more steps.
Now I am told its only going a bit cooler.
Oh well, it’s done and more steps to my totals.
Love Lucia xxx

So other than being a clown,
Let me tell you some ideas of what to eat.

Breakfasts
You know me and my yoghurt now, I have it with a different fruit, Apple one day, blueberries, even a satsuma.
On the weekends, I can have my controlled cooked English breakfast.
Sometimes I go for omelette with a variety of things such as ham, spring onions, prawns, etc.

Lunches
I love my salads, cheese, chicken, ham, pork, prawns, boiled eggs, any of these with salad.
Don’t forget salad isn’t just lettuce and tomatoes.
Think of pickled onions, red onions, cucumber, spring onions, pineapple, olives, lettuce , cherry tomatoes, beef tomatoes, celery, radish, beetroot, carrots, pine nuts, any type of nuts, apples, peppers, to name but a few, so you can have a variety of salad each day.

Evening meals,
I love bean sprouts in my stir fries,
Meatballs and spiraliser carrots, courgettes,
Tuna spring onion, grated carrots wrapped up in and iceberg lettuce leaf
Hunters chicken with cauli rice
Stir fried, chicken, cashews, Spring onions,carrots broccoli soy, stock

If I need to put something in my mouth, I go for sugar free gum
If I feel hungry I go for herbal teas, to see if that answers the question.

Ther is so much more to eat, but these were my regular meals at the beginning.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Week six started ,already !
Lost a sone and half in first three weeks,fourth week put few pounds on ,fifth week lost the few pounds ,back to same as week three now !
Three weeks to end of the eight can’t see me losing lots in that time so will carry on regardless.
Would love to crack over two stone loss barrier.😱

Hi barby
My apologies , l am new on BSD. I lost 3.5 kg /first week. Today is my day one of week 2. May I suggest a recipie of falafel, really delicious especially with yoghurt, tahini and lots of salad.

Evening everyone 🙂 another day over and I’m getting ready to sleep.

Dinner was steak pie for the others with potatoes and veg, I made the steak pie filling ages ago as I usually make it in bulk in the slow cooker then freeze portions, cheating by just using the shop bought pastry. So I made that for everyone else, but for me I took my portion of cooked diced steak and put it in a big bowl. Then I added chopped onion, courgette, cherry tomatoes, some garlic, and drizzled on some olive oil and some hot pepper sauce. I mixed it all together then poured it into an oven tray. Baked for around 10 mins, gave it a stir and added tomato puree, mixed it all through and then baked again for 10 mins. It was actually nice. No idea what I would call it lol.

I’m now sat here drinking one of these…
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/17221/low-carb-hot-chocolate.aspx?o_is=LV

and it’s quite nice. about the same calories as my other idea of making hot choc with milk, but a lot less carbs so this is my new treat. I’m actually quite often low on calories so this is something I may end up having semi-regularly.

I’ve written out a menu plan for the next week so I’m going to be super dooper organised.

Also (apologies for tmi) I’m menstruating, so I’m ever hopeful my weight loss will speed up a little (I can hope!) Never know when to expect it with my wonky ovaries, but oddly my body seems to like being 40. I’m been reasonably regular since my birthday in January lol. Now that I’m not interested in having more babies my body decides to work. Silly ovaries.

My question is around the reintroduction of carbs when going on to 5:2. I’m on week 9 of Fast BSD and will probably do another week. I’ve lost 4 inches round the waist and stone in weight with a few weeks where I’ve gained or stayed the same. The big bonus for me is how much better I feel when not eating flour, potato, rice and pasta. I’m nervous about being on 5:2 and how to keep the feast/fast principle while steering clear of those nasty starchy carbs.

Eureka….stay away from the Tequila (and the worm!)………think of all those carbs!!!!!
Your Marathon counting sounds rather complicated but you seem to have it pretty sorted so best of luck with your Marathon.
Well done on your 9,500 steps.
BTW the barbie recipe sounds delicious.
.
Orchid, you are doing great to have achieved your Marathon in Garmin miles already. Not sure about all this ‘calibrating’ going on with you two…….it makes my brain hurt just thinking about this!!!!
Did it rain on Wednesday and did you manage to get your walk in? Pity you weren’t still in Scotland because the weather seems pretty good there atm.

LD…..9 flights of stairs …..sounds exhausting to me!!!! Like Orchid I used to find Yoga a bit of a trauma with my pregnant-looking tummy but feel much more svelte these days and find some yoga positions uncomfortable, not because of extra blubber, but because there are bits of my body that are bonier than before. Keep going and look forward to feeling much more energetic in the future.

Best of luck everyone.

Orchid, I disagree with your comment about porridge oats. I have them most mornings for breakfast, made with milk and flavoured with spice, and find it fills me up for hours. When working, I am up at 5am and I find I am not looking for anything to eat until 12 noon.

Thanks for the replies – quite hard keeping under 800 everyday but if I can do it a couple of times a week and stick to low carb/med then I hope it’ll work out for me

Welcome home P and well done for doing so well in resisting temptation on your holiday. Seeing as you’re already ‘in the zone’ it makes sense to start a bit earlier on the BSD proper. I’m at the end of day 5 now and it doesn’t feel so bad without the carbs! I even sat smugly in Costa with my skinny cappuccino today, knowing I had resisted the lure of the muffins. You do have an awful lot of rhubarb compote to get through… Breakfast is sorted for several weeks!