Sorry you’re all finding week 2 hard as well but you’re right, it is a relief to hear I’m not the only one.

Fantastic weight loss MooLoc. I’ll hang on in there with you through this week and hopefully we will be full of life in week 3.

Housework DemiMondaine. what’s that? *grin* I’m enjoying the thought of losing 6st in 8 weeks though – I’d be quite thin then. I’m knitting at the moment to keep my hands occupied, Not very good at it yet so I have a long scarf like thing with lots of holes (as haven’t mastered picking up dropped stitches) that is nearly 7 feet long

MrsG27715 8lbs gone is of course brilliant but I know exactly what you mean about the 1lb being disappointing when you are ravenous. I’m hanging on to the thought that others on here do say it gets easier if we can just get through this bit.

Looking forward to the first post from one of us saying we’ve suddenly burst into life and energy

http://realmealrevolution.com/recipes/almond-and-poppy-seed-bread

Easy to make, full of fibre and tastes good. Use a 1lb loaf tin as it comes out more loaf like, a bit flat in a bigger one.

End of day five and I am feeling flipping fantastic!
I have so much energy and am not at all tired as I used to be in the day (which I thought was normal! ) Been to zumba which I loved. I’m usually an active person- I run, go to zumba and yoga but since starting the diet I felt to tired/low in energy and knew that would change so went easy on myself in terms of exercise as my body was adjusting. Today was my first session of exercise on the diet and I loved it! Still buzzing!
Am finding the 800 cals pretty easy, and actually loving the food and my renewed interest in food and cooking. Today I made the beef and feta burgers- absolutely delicious! Did find myself craving carbs today but jist kept telling myself that it’d normal and it will pass. I did buy a bar of green and blacks dark choc with ginger and have had 3 squares (50 cals) which was divine! Much nicer than a whole big bar of normal choc I would have scoffed without thinking. Anyway, feeling very positive today and ready for tomorrow…going to makeep Izzy’s hunters chicken xx

Hi again, bumblebee,
You sound like you’ve got your head screwed on right! Keep thinking like that & you won’t go far wrong.
Sorry you’ve got a bad head – if you’re feeling a bit foggy, don’t forget to keep hydrated (that’s one of my problems).

Car is back in my garage – still to settle up with the garage, but I’m sure it will cost more than the car is actually worth! 🙁
Oh well, I’ll be researching a new one, so long as this one lasts long enough to get my finances ready!

Take care.

Thank you DemiMondaine for your reply.

Yes, I am tracking my food on the LoseIt app. Some days last week I was under 800 and some I went up to 850. I usually don’t drink on the weekends, only if I have an event to go to. I didn’t think the calories from the alcohol would matter since I’ve only eaten one meal on Saturday and Sunday. I also make sure I am eating plenty of vegetables everyday. Hoping my second week will be better, its been very challenging but this is my last hope for a program to work, so I have to give it my ALL. Please let me know how how long you have been on this diet and what your results are.

Hearing about everyone’s success stories is a real motivation to me! Please share everyone, thank you!

GonnaBeDazzling – I just downloaded a pedometer app onto my phone, as it’s almost always in my pocket!

JabbyGirl – well done, that’s fantastic!

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone, it really does help.

Well I calculated that if I kept up my current weight loss I would have lost 6st some by the end of week 8, so let’s say that’s not going to happen!

You may not quite lose 10% in the 8 weeks, if that is your question. You will certainly lose more slowly than someone who is heavier – I started at around 149 lbs, and finished week 6 at 138 lbs, a loss of 6%. I had to stop the diet for unrelated medical reasons, but I doubt I would have lost another 4% in the last two weeks.

Don’t forget we’re all different, so you might find you lose a lot the second week.

Are you counting all the calories though? It’s horrible the way small things add up. I made the mistake of buying a bag of Brazil nuts the first week: 30 calories each. Also, I would cut down on the booze – there are an awful lot of calories in beer. I had two cocktails over the weekend but they were the kind that mostly contain spirits with a bit of lime juice, so only about 170 calories each. Still a high proportion of my daily intake, but worth it as an occasional indulgence.

I’m filling up a lot on vegetables, I mean a LOT of vegetables. So I might have 50g of hummus, but with that I’m having about 500g of raw vegetables. I’m not eating any carbs as such at all, just what I get from beans and fruit.

Hope this helps.

I have a question about this too. Is half a tin, half of a small tin or the larger tin?

Hi is it really OK to eat half a tin of Heinz baked beans (albeit low sugar) on Portobello mushroom….see recipes. It seemed very sweet and I would not normally choose something with “sugar” as an ingredient only not much in larder tonight! Clarification please maybe there are tinned baked beans that I don’t know about? Thanks Tofa

When calories are given for more than 1 serving like scones is it for 1 scone or all?

It depends on your goals.

If you are trying to follow the blood sugar diet because you are attempting to induce diabetic remission based on the underlying research, the diet is 800 calories coming from a variety of nutrient dense mediterranean style foods, including “good” carbs. No specific carb limit is recommended by the author – and if you follow the meal plan in the book, the carb count varies considerably from day to day.

For those of us who are diabetic, many of us are uncomfortable eating enough carbs to elevate our blood glucose above a certain level – and some of the recipes here push the limit. Although I seem to be able to tolerate more now, at the start I could not tolerate more than 20 in any 3 hour period. So that is my personal cap – but it is not one imposed by the BSD.

If you are not diabetic (or pre-diabetic or have another condition tied to carb intake), there is no medical reason to limit your carbs. Limiting your calories to 800 will cause you to lose weight, even if 100% of those calories come from carbs. But eating that many carbs wouldn’t be consistent with the diet, which encourages a well-balanced mixture of foods (including “good” carbs). In addition, many people find that limiting carbs and eating relatively more fat make it easier to stick to eating only 800 calories. Trial and error has caused many people who post here to adopt a cap of 50 grams as a quantity that works well for them.

💗day 12

Amazing transformations from 2.5 weeks on this diet so far are:

Losing inches
Losing weight
I bought clothes two sizes smaller 2
days ago and they fit already
I am wearing pants that I could not fit
before at all
My stomach seems to be healing
I don’t have joint pain
I have a lot more energy
I need less sleep
I can stand in the kitchen and shower without hip and back pain
BS went from 116 to 80
No hernia issues

Almost a relief to read this post! Been thinking it was just me!
I’m also in my 2nd week and feel like I have absolutely no energy at all. My arms and legs feel heavy too.
Was pleased with how my first week went …losing 7lbs, and no hunger pangs. This week I’m ravenous! And seriously missing wine.
Disappointed to have stepped on the scales this morning and only lost 1lb so far this week.
I’m usually so quick to give up a diet that’s not going the way I want it to, but I’ve felt more determined to stick with this one …well, until today!

well actually, eureka, the simple carbs don’t seem to bother me – indeed my reflux got better the last 2 weeks when I was back to bingeing and eating rubbish

I got the reflux book today – but it has just added to my already stressed and addled brain
loads of the recipes include bread or wheats and bananas so I don’t want to eat them
and then on their ‘DONT’ eat list is half the stuff I eat – berries/yog/
oh
and then they start all the stuff about throat cancers which I realise but REALLY don’t need to read about
so now I am in a totally mess as to what I should do

I was doing nicely with berries and yog, even if my throat does feel a bit odd – but not after that

its things like this which make me spin out of control and back into carbo land

Hello All,

This is the start of my second week on BSD and I’m already feeling discouraged. The start of my first week was strong. I started last Monday and by Friday I was down 4.8 lbs. Friday night I attended a party but only had a quarter of a plate of food and and two glasses of champagne. Saturday I walked for an hour on the tredmill, and my only meal was dinner at 8:00pm which was a small piece of steak with salad, and I had two beers. Sunday same thing, had one meal all day which included roasted peppers, 2 oz. piece of meat and some tomato salad. When I weighed myself yesterday, I was up 2.2 lbs. and I hardly ate! Not sure if it was from the few drinks I had but its crazy how fast weight or water weight can come back so fast!

Started strong again yesterday with 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch, and chicken stir-fry for dinner. Also had a couple of nuts for a snack. Today for breakfast I had a small apple with 2 tbls of peanut butter, and lunch I had the chicken walnut wraps which is a recipe from the book. For dinner I will be having chicken stir-fry again, and also will be talking a zumba class. I’ve been noticing that I’ve been feeling hungry about an hour after eat.

I’m feeling discourage because many of you have reported a huge weight loss the first week, and I didn’t. I know everyone’s body is different but I feel I should have lost more. I have about 40 lbs. to lose. I weigh 190 lbs and I am 5ft. tall. I’ve struggled my whole adult life with weight and hoped this diet would be my answer. Eating 800 calories per day is drastic but I need to do something drastic in order to kick start my weight loss and keep it off for good. Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

B Vega nutritional shake
L 1 oz cheddar – strawberries – 2 T yogurt
D green salad – 3oz crab – 2 T Caesar dressing – 3 oz ahi
🌷

Hi Imogen,
Love the idea you went to the supermarket and had a wrestling match with the labels.
In most uk supermarkets, they put the fruit and veg first,not make you feel healthy.
The milk is usually on the other side of the world.

I have made a quick sketch of aldi, morrisons and tesco’s, like one of those maze puzzles that you have to find the shortest way out.
I plan it so I don’t go through the bread as I CRAVE it if I sniff it.
I also avoid chocolate and again I go crinkly around the edges if I smell it.

I have thought of buying one of those synconised swimmers nose clip to stop me smelling those evil, wicked things.
I have had some strange looks as I walk through the frozen veg section with my water wings on.
I find I lose weight with this idea, as my flippers won’t let me get near the freezers!! 🏊🏻⛷⛷⛷🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hello….I’m starting the BSD on 25th May once I’m back from visiting family/friends. Any advice or encouragement would be great as kinda finding 800 cals a day a bit daunting. Just one thing, where low carb veggies are concerned, is there a limit to how much we can eat or can these be piled up on plate?

Hi Jabbygirl – you are right of course to be cautious saying that a lot of that is fluid and that your weight loss will slow down……the great thing is that when you see a massive change on the scales it does give you so much positivity I think and an element of excitement – so much more motivating than ooh 1/2 a lb in 2 weeks – yaay! Don’t get me wrong, any loss is great but………………..

Having said that – I weighed in yesterday at the start of week 15 for me and I lost 3 lbs last week, 3.4 the week before and 3.8 the week before that – I know that is staggering compared to any ‘normal’ diet. Yes I have had a couple of plateaus – my worst week was losing just .8lb and that happened on 3 separate occasions – not motivating when you’re doing the right thing (oh I’m forgetting Easter and putting on 6.6lbs through sheer stupidity and mini creme eggs) but then to see it kind of pick up momentum again is so rewarding now that I’m totally back on track.

So keep that strong frame of mind and 1 1b a day (plus a bit) is absolutely amazing – well done!!

All foods contain energy measured in calories when it is released. Bill gives good advice. As an example I have now lost 40 pounds by keeping my sugars to <30 gm/day and my average calorie intake was 850 for 11 weeks my BMI is in the normal range now. Sugars are densely packed calorie packages refined sugars being some of the worst.

Hello, you need to decide where a BMI of 25 would put you in terms of weight. You do not have to be obese to lose any % of anything – you CHOOSE to be the weight that is right for you and the easy way is by adjusting your carb intake when you reach your target weight. If you keep to the guidelines you will be in good company and can ask for support and advice on here at any time. If you are already familiar with 5:2 you may just need to watch what you eat a bit more carefully and it sounds that you my not have far to go. If you are no longer on meds then relax, eat well, exercise and enjoy the knowledge that you can be whatever weight you choose to be with a little application and will power. It would be good to re-read the book I think?… Have fun.

Oh well done Peggy.
I am on day 10 and I have lost 10.5 lbs (a lot of that will be fluid) Really pleased though with such a good start. I know my weight loss will slow down now but I am in a very good and strong frame of mind to continue. The help on here has been brilliant. Thanks everyone

Good luck everyone for this week

Hi Sue1234
Persistence paying off. Well done. Those pesky blood sugars may just have been waiting for you to be 9 stone something! Keep on. . . .

thanks bill, I will look at her site

I took some of the coconut flatbreads into some people today – 2 of whom are gf – and they all liked them

Hi Kassa81
Welcome. You are wanting this for all the right reasons, but you really must talk to your GP & at least give him/her chance to fully support you. Taking insulin makes a difference. See page 117 in the BSD book & dr Mosley’s advice.
You can do this but be safe. See posting by BSD on Forum – Starting the BSD, Topic – WARNING, on 7.5.16 re Ketoacidosis.
Looking forward to your posts.

Dunno how I missed that post…Thanks Bill you made me feel better! A maintenance plan means not having to worry on holidays, dates and going out and socialising with friends so now I feel less scared.

I have a yukky headache I can’t shake and feeling a bit foggy and dull in my brain which would be fine if it was a Wednesday and I’m travelling but today its just UGH.

Yay good news Rozy, happy the car is ready, you’re so right – eating doesn’t fix it but for me I think it was a coping mechanism of stuffing down my fears and stress with food and if i ate enough i pushed it down…starting a new job I’m scared out of my mind I made a terrible mistake but I’ve decided not to let a mistake make me fat. Instead I will look at this as an opportunity to show myself I can stay in control and find a solution that is good all round and wont harm my health and sanity – I looked at my weekly shop bill as compared to previous weeks I spent £20 less this week. So in the long run I can see myself saving money being on the BSD – maybe I’ll put those savings in a jar for a bikini beach holiday 😉

Hi RozyDozy
Thanks for the link. Very interesting & one to keep on the BSD

Hi Peggy

What great results! You should be very proud of what you’ve achieved do far. Stick with it! We all I think struggle with this diet at times. It isn’t easy at first but seems to become easier as you go along and feeling and looking so much better is the pay-off. The downside? Having to buy new clothes in smaller sizes – but then some problems are good ones to have!

Keep up the good work!

Hi all,

I’m starting the BSD next week (book is on it’s way!), I have around 5 stone to loose and 37 and pre-diabetic (it runs in the family), I have everything crossed this will work for me.

Quick questions though, I’m dairy intolerant so use alpro and rice milk. Is that ok as a substitute?

Many thanks

Lou

My BP readings are staying startlingly (for me) low and halving my lisinopril dose 2 weeks ago has made no difference. I’m going to see what happens without the other 10mg daily. Having a good arm-band BP monitor gives confidence that monitoring will be accurate. I always thought wrist monitors were dodgy on accuracy and a waste of money.

I’m also noting that my blood glucose readings are now mostly in the fives. That’s on a DIY halving of my metformin dose two weeks ago. I’m going to stop taking the other half at the end of this week – by then I’ll have completed Week 6. HBa1c is now 37 (It was apparently 87 when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 last year!).

This is so empowering. At this rate the only tablet I’ll be taking each day is a multi-vitamin pill! Thank you Michael Mosley.

Glad you liked it. Pity that bad habits are quicker to learn than good ones! 🙂 Much of it is just plain common sense but sometimes it just needs someone to state it.
The article seems to be aimed at emotional eaters (I include myself as one) – and I think that is a bit of a wild card for some of us, when something happens that knocks everything out of kilter. But at least on the BSD it’s a long-term thing so it gives you time to relearn the good habits.

Bill makes a very valid point about low fat diets & their lack of a maintenance diet & that the BSD does have a maintenance side. I think that is why I am still following it after 3 & 1/2 months and expect to be for a good while yet. It is a long-term thing – just what we need for developing good habits.

As for the car, just had a phone call to say it’s ready for collection. Didn’t dare ask how much the bill would be. Whatever the financial damage, I know that stuffing my face won’t help! So, Rose, be strong while wandering round Tesco. And bumblebee, keep on feeling empowered.

Hi Dinkydo! Oh man, those pesky lard globules just hold on like crazy. I sometimes imagine them hanging on to their homes with all ten “fingers” as I seek to eradicate them. They are especially resistant in the beginning when they think they own the place 😜! You said you have dogs — well, after so long your fat thinks it is in the alpha position. Time to reestablish the pecking order! All kidding aside, your results are stellar — firstly health wise with your lower blood sugar and secondly, 20 pounds in 6 weeks is almost 3 pounds a week. That is practically impossible on your average low calorie/low fat diet — you’d be lucky to get 1 pound a week. I would venture to say that you are responding extremely well. Think of how big and heavy a 20 pound bag of dog food is!! (You can see I have dogs too — an Australian shepherd and a little white rescue mutt).

Thanks Pam and Bill for speaking B to the plateaus as it will really assist when I hit mine. That’s the hardest time for me.
Right now I am really focusing on how much healthier I am in less than 3 weeks and thinking of the weightloss as a great side element.
Blood sugar down to normal
Had to buy 2 size smaller shirts
And today, best of all, tummy seems healed!! This is huge for me!!

I stood weighing daily since many wanted of plateaus as seeing even .5 lb loss a week is better than freaking out due to no weight loss daily when it happens.

We also bought a little scale to take on our trip just to keep on track of everything.

One funny note: when I got the two size smaller shirts I also got 2 size smaller undies as mine were way too big after just two weeks on the diet. The two size smaller ones were SUPER TIGHT as all get out but I wore them and two days later (today) they fit!!! I am shocked. I measured because I couldn’t believe in and I lost another inch on my hips so all around still melting – yippee!

Thanks for the kind support and positive replies. It’s nice to hear from so many going through the same. Good luck to all.

Okay you are 8 hours ahead of me, do you mind saying where you live just so I can think of you there when we chat? I am in Seattle, Washington.
Have a nice walk with your friend!!

London has been rainy, muggy and miserable all day…Its almost 4pm and I’ve not felt the need to have my soup yet which is great I can try some for dinner.

Strawberries….runner beans…growing them yourself…Ooooh that has to be so exciting! Hope your car is ready and no more stress days.

on the article – yes always good to make the effort, i feel so empowered and strong when I am doing something good for myself. I feel like each second is an investment into the rest of my life – just need to cut the smoking out now ha ha! I read somewhere once it takes 10 days to break an old habit and 11 days to implement a new one – I am thinking of doing something that will ensure even on weekends I can stay focussed – only thing left to do is think of what. Hmmm

Nail on the head Izzy
the thing is, with most diets you feel like you’re missing out on the “nice” things. I’ve never felt that way on this one which is why I started calling it a new lifestyle rather than a diet.
I can watch people eating loads of what I used to think was lovely food and it doesn’t bother me one iota now.
I just can’t see me ever going back to eating that way. I’m more than happy as I am now 😀

“80% of those who lose weight put it back on again”
The trouble with that is, the vast majority of folk have lost weight and put it back on have done it on low fat diets with no maintainence plan to follow.
This is different in that there is a maintainence plan, but not only that, cutting the carbs for 8 weeks tends to stop you wanting to eat them, lots of people who have completed the course will tell you that their former likings for sweets and high carb foods have vanished so that in itself will help keep the weight off.

That’s the trouble with inspirational examples – they capture the imagination and the headlines – but we are not all going to achieve the same spectacular results. It’s not a criticism of the BSD/8 week book at all, it seems to be what other authors/publishers include as well. We are all different – your spectacular success was the reduction in your blood sugar levels, the weight will catch up eventually. 🙂

The day is a bit damp – went up to the allotment to plant out the first of my runner beans and got wet walking back! But it looks like I will have a good strawberry crop… Otherwise I’m waiting for a call from the garage to say my car is ready for collection (the car was the source of 2 of my stress-inducing disasters in recent days).

Thought the BBC article was interesting in that even when people put on most of the weight they’ve lost, they are still doing themselves more good than if they hadn’t lost the weight in the first place. So it is always worth making the effort.
And it makes the point that good habits can take time to develop.

Hey Keeptrying
if you Google for Coconut mama then go to her site there are oodles of cocnut flour recipes on there.
Some are no good as they use sugar but still lots to make 🙂

Good plan Bill if we are doing what we should with the food, then there is little else we can do to control it, an element of acceptance is needed really. It’s got to be a long term change for us.

That’s a lovely idea to remember your Mother I hope you enjoy your day.

Yes we will be hours ahead it’s 1510 right now so my work day is getting near to done. I’m sat just now waiting for work as I’ve run out and the office is trying to find me something. Not allowed to just go home lol.

Planning a walk with my friend tonight so I am looking forwards to that.

Hi Izzy
Know what you mean, I went the whole 8 weeks losing regularly then plateaued on week 10 😮
Started losing again week 11 and still going down 🙂
I looked on it kindly and regarded it as my body taking a rest before the next big push, keeps me sane anyway 🙂

Yes it seems to happen to lots of us I’m lucky so far though as I’ve never past my official weigh in day without a loss but it could happen and I know to stick with it.

Hey Izzy,
You are doing great and read Pam1954’s post. She lost nothing for two weeks and now started dropping again!!
💜

Pam1954 – 1954er here too!
Congrats on starting to lose weight again as even more on hanging on through the last two weeks!! You have done amazing!!
I love
That you had to donate clothes and just plan on getting a special new pair of pants when you are at your goal weight or get one now to wear a while until they are too big!