I’m in my first week, haven’t weighed myself, relying on clothes to let me know. I think I’ve lost a little, but finding it hard to stay within 800. I think today I’ll be 900. I haven’t eaten anything obviously containing sugar, and have made lots of vegetable soups. I had an apple today and see it has quite a bit of sugar. I have/had a sweet tooth and that is the habit I’m trying to break. I don’t have any signs of diabetes, really just want to lose 10kgs and keep fit. I’ll keep checking in here!

Hi Linda and Nettle thanks for your quick replies. I will have a look for the Herman Brot for emergencies! But otherwise will stay away from bread. Hard to imagine!

Hi Olive Grace and Linda A too

I continued with 1 slice of gluten free seed bread for week one just to use it up…and probably because I thought I WOULD NEVER be able to go without bread! Week 9 now plus a few days now and cruising. I don’t think of bread at all. Hang in there Olive. Extra cooked vegies make a good grab snack if you are busy. I did make the Zucchini and Apple muffins from the book in the first week JUST IN CASE but 10 of the 12 are still in the freezer.

Hi Olive Grace
Just found Cherrianne’s post on the bread. I’ve copied it below:
“Herman Brot bread is very low carb at 2.3g carb and 111 cals per slice and freezes well. In SA it is available at Foodland and IGA stores. It isn’t cheap but our health is worth it, if you can’t live without an occasional slice of bread. This bread is delicious and you would never know it was low carb from the taste or texture. Check out their website for online ordering or a store near you.”
I hope this helps.
Linda

Hi Olive Grace
I’m 3.5 weeks in so some may have a different answer to me, but I would say no. All breads are high in carbs and not worth it. Although think Cherrieanne may have found one that she buys online in Australia. Where are you?
Cheers
Linda

Hi there this is my first day on the Fast800 – I’m trying to gather quick and realistic recipes for the week ahead and wondering if there is any kind of bread that is ok to eat. Burgen Soy and Linseed for instance? Would be very helpful on those super busy days. Any thoughts or opinions gratefully received. Olive

And the saga continues . . .

I am now formally done with the Fast 800 BSD until after breast cancer surgery (need to have enough calories on board to heal).

I’ve been carbing up for the last 4 days for a DIY Oral Glucose Tolerance test that I just completed.

The good news is that I AM NO LONGER DIABETIC (progress – yay!). The bad news is that I’m still glucose tolerance impaired, and close to diabetes . 10.21 @ 2 hours (Diabetes starts at 11.1). I won’t consider myself in remission until an OGTT is normal (below 7.77 at 2 hours. But there’s enough progress that I’ll have another go at 8 weeks-800 calories once I’ve healed from surgery. That will top off my weight loss – and (I hope) be enough to put me into remission.

As to surgery – new doctors; new eyes. She’s seeing more than my prior surgeon did. I’m grateful for eyes that see small differences, even though it may mean the cancer is more advanced than the other two doctors suggested. I’d rather have a few more tests up front so that these new observations can be addressed (or ruled out – as I hope). So I had another biopsy on Thursday, and have a 3rd (possibly a 4th) scheduled for Wednesday. If everything is negative (meaning good, in medical terms), surgery will be the 24th. If the results show micro metastasis, larger metastasis, or a second tumor, all bets are off.

Looking through the thread, I see I didn’t update the grand total for my 6 weeks on the BSD. So here are the final stats for now:

Week 1 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 5.05 mmol/l, T: 5.28 mmol/l W: 5.06 Th: 5.39 (highest in months) F: 4.44 S: 4.39 Sun: 4.44
Week 1 – Starting weight: 150.2 lbs – Ending weight: 147 lbs
Week 1 – High for the week: 7.72, Low for the Week: 4.06, Average for the week: 5.5

Week 2 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 4.83 mmol/l, T: 4.72 mmol/l W: 5.11 mmol/l Th: 4.79 mmol/l F: 4.83 mmol/l S: 4.33 mmol/l Sun: 4.6 mmol/l
Week 2 – Starting weight: 147 lbs – Ending weight: 144.8 lbs
Week 2 – High for the week: 6.83 mmol/l Low for the Week: 3.5 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.27 mmol/l.

Week 3 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 4.61 mmol/l, T: 4.72 mmol/l W: 4.67 mmol/l Th: 4.9 mmol/l F: 4.5 mmol/l S: 4.33 mmol/l Sun: 4.66 mmol/l
Week 3 – Starting weight: 144.8 lbs – Ending weight: 142
Week 3 – High for the week: 7.22 mmol/l Low for the Week: 3.9 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.5 mmol/l.
Note: High stress precipitated by early stages of cancer diagnosis.

Week 4 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 5.05 mmol/l, T: 4.83 mmol/l W: 4.61 mmol/l Th: 4.67 mmol/l F: 4.67 mmol/l S: 4.67 mmol/l Sun: 4.33 mmol/l
Week 4 – Starting weight: 142 lbs – Ending weight: 140.8 (2 lbs from a normal BMI!!!)
Week 4 – High for the week: 8.39 mmol/l (in the wake of incompetent administrative stress) Low for the Week: 4.33 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.27 mmol/l.

Note: Formal breast cancer diagnosis came on Monday, before my fasting BG reading. Might be why it was a bit higher!

Week 5 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 4.89 mmol/l, T: 5.06 mmol/l W: 4.83 mmol/l Th: 3.83 mmol/l F: 4.83 mmol/l S: 5.39 mmol/l Sun: 4.61 mmol/l
Week 5 – Starting weight: 140.8 lbs – Ending weight:140.0
Week 5 – High for the week: 7.05 mmol/l (High stress day) Low for the Week: 3.83 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.44 mmol/l.

Week 6 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 4.83 mmol/l, T: 4.17 mmol/l W: 4.56 mmol/l Th: 4.5 mmol/l F: 4.89 mmol/l S: 4.72 mmol/l Sun: 4.44 mmol/l
Week 6 – Starting weight: 140.0 lbs – Ending weight: 138.0
Week 6 – High for the week: 7.22 mmol/l Low for the Week: 3.94 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.28 mmol/l.

Weight loss on Low Carb/Moderate Protein (179 days): 47.1 lbs Average BG 6.0

Weight loss on 800 Calorie Mediterranean Style food with 16:8 intermittent fasting (42 days): 12.2 lbs Average BG 5.39 mmol/l (lower, even after the breast cancer diagnosis – which came in bits and pieces starting the middle of week 3, to the first day of week 4, with added stress associated with too little time to wrap up affairs before surgery mid to late May)

Just curious about everyone’s drug reductions. Went to my gp yesterday who was totally dismissive of my bs readings. (Fasting in the 7s) I want to reduce my metformin and glymperide but not sure the safest way to do it. Do I halve everything or miss out my morning or evening metformin?

Izzy I couldn’t have hot chocolate or the cravings would kick in I feel. You have good power!!

Thank you. Some great ideas here, thank you. Unfortunately my cooking imagination is a bit limited, so thank you hashimoto for giving me somewhere to start on Google. I found a cheap ham bone at the deli so a ham and carrot broth was last nights attempt. Cheesy broccoli is looking positive for my next foray.

B – 2 egg omelet with herbs
L – 2 oz salmon
1 cup strawberries
D – 3 oz salmon
1 cup strawberries
1 cup asparagus
1/2 cup tomatoes
1 t tartar sauce
1 t balsamic vinegar

Thanks Orchid, that’s what I thought. 💜

It is human to struggle. Just don’t quit. Start up again tomorrow. No one is perfect. Just start again.

Hi all, so I am worried a bit about your heart racing, Keeptrying, maybe check in with your doctor — you are doing so much right, you don’t want to be undone by a medical issue — get it checked out and keep us posted. We want you HEALTHY’ ER!!!!😄

Hi All, I’m writing as a grandmother, with two granddaughters and a memory/history of my child rearing and all we ate — so, what would be wrong with just including the young ones in YOUR new diet? The research supports it, children eat too much junk anyway, and you can encourage good eating habits. No pasta, no bread, just good quality protein, veg, and fruits and calcium (cheese, milk).

Go Barrelonlegs! We are happy to have you join us!! We probably ALL have fear of hunger, whether physical or psychological (😜😜) but we all understand the difficulties of changing our habits and lives — you are welcome here. Good wishes for the future. Settle in, write and share. You are in good company.

Hi Milky27
I saw last weeks episode on channel 7, well worth watching.
Enjoy
Linda

Hi Beth
Hope you had a restful sleep😀
I know exactly what you’re talking about regards shift work. I used to be a police officer in my younger days and I particularly hated night shift, especially when it was quiet around 4am as I just couldn’t stay awake!
7kg = 15.4lbs. There’s 2.2lbs to the kilo, so just over 1 stone in 3 weeks. I’ll take that!
I know all about you poms, my Dad is one! Escaped after the war and came here when he was 17 and jumped shipped from the English Merchant Navy, he’s 87 next month. My sister decided 20 years ago that she much preferred the cold weather of England than the hot weather of Australia (we’re in Sydney), so she has now made her home over there in Cheltenham close to my Dads family. I think she’s crazy, I hate the cold weather. Our winter is bad enough and most days are sunny with a max temp between 18-23 deg c😊
Are you in London? That would be hectic doing what you do.
Keep up the exercise and eat well, you will do it!
Cheers
Linda

Ooops – MM also on SBS1 Monday 19:30 but it’s a different program.

Hi Beth! The first days are sometimes difficult as you move to a new way of eating — just take it slow, be kind to yourself, and focus on just this day, just this meal — you can work your way into this eating plan slowly, don’t worry right now about all the weeks ahead, just focus one day at a time on what is healthy today. We are a big group of people who care about your outcome — you are going to do fine!

Thanks for that, not sure how much support I’m going to get! Going to take the book to my appointment and tell them I’m doing it !!!

Hi Milky27,

‘Sunday Night’ Channel 7.

Hi Linda,
I work on ambulances with paramedics. Used to be called EMT but now called EAC, its a money thing. So I do shift work which plays havoc with food and sleep patterns. We very rarely get meal breaks and have to manage on the 14 minutes we have at hospital. I’ve been having hummus, cream cheese, salad and Felafal so far but with the new 800 I’ll have to measure the amounts and take berry fruit salad. Its an adjustment. Problem is gonna be night shifts but I’m gonna be off them for 2
months so at least I’ll have the 8 weeks done. Can’t wait to start losing. Great job withvthe 7kg, it doesn’t mean much cos we use stone, I know crazy poms right!?
We have a lot of Aussy student medics that we stole cos we don’t have enough, they are great fun on the whole but non of them can drive tge ambos yet!
Feeling really positive and it really helps to have support like this. I’ve been very overweight for about 25 years. I have had brief times that I’ve been lighter but in the last 7 years I’ve gradually got up to 18 stone, I think thats about 115kg.
I must stop this chin-wagging and go to sleep it’s 00:12 here.
Gooday from you but good night from me! Heehee.
Beth.

Hi Beth
I’m now Week 3, day 5 and down 7 kgs.
I feel like I’m living and breathing this new way of life and not just considering it a diet. For me this is forever and I live it!
I’ve been up and down with my weight that many times, predominantly with low fat diets, and it frustrates me that the weight just always comes back on. My family (hubby and youngest who is now 23) are now eating my way by default. If they don’t like it, they can cook their own!😜
I find work the easiest time. I’ve always got leftover salad from the night before and I combine it with a boiled egg or a small tin of tuna and take it in a container. Voila! It keeps me going till dinner and is nutritious. The biggest pain is the 6 cups of herbal tea that I drink throughout the day and the subsequent visits to the loo, but it’s 55 steps and down and up a set of stairs to get there and back, so it adds to my step count!
I’m in an office 3 days a week, what sort of work do you do?
Cheers
Linda

BS meters
Did someone on here find the cheapest test meters ?
I find test strips most expensive
Any tips
Alan in uk

Hi All, I had planned to just have a nosy at the forums for a bit of inspiration, however here I am posting.
I was given the BSD book by my mum 2 weeks ago and gave it a halfhearted crack. Although my attempt was halfhearted I have lost 3.5kg in the 2 weeks.
I never get results like that, so am so inspired to do this for real (no cheating by day 3 this time). The past 2 weeks seem to have shown me that I have a massive fear of hunger. Is anyone else like that?
Seeing so many of you speak of exercise makes me realise that I must get up and get out for a walk (having a sleep in. Am in NZ so very different time zone to most of you I think)
Anyway just wanted to let you know that your second attempts have made me decide to do the BSD properly rather than continue my ‘sort of counting calories’ version.

Hi Linda, how many weeks are you in to it?
Day two I’ve had one brief headache but have been quite bad tempered at times (feels like PMT) but other than that going really well. I’m getting a lot of support from my mum, she’s done it already.
Yeah am drinking loads of water with lemon in and herb teas. I almost stopped eating carbs for three weeks before hand so this might have reduced the early simptoms I guess. Don’t feel hungry tonight, hoora. Worried a bit about managing things at work.
Hope all is good with you.
Beth 🙂

Great results sugarfree. 😃

How is everyone doing, drinking four million gallons of water an hour?
Or have you all let it slip.

Try and jazz it up,
Try with a slice of cucumber
Or lemon,
Get it fizzy or as one Italian waiter asked….eau, gas or no gas?

Try it hot, try it cold,
Try it as herbal teas,
But keep the water going.
It will…. How should I say it….. Keep you going . ( in the bathroom department).

Love Lucia
Xxxx

12.5 weeks in..2 stones down as of today. Now weigh 9 st 11lbs. Super happy..havent given up..very much a part of normal life now the bsd..delighted. also free from general aches and pains plus my allergies have eased. Only time I struggle is with hormones !! This is a lovely forum..

If pennies are tight,
Before buying a spiraliser, you can buy spiraliser courgettes from Tesco’s so you see if they are any help to your diet.
If you try them ready done, then see if you enjoy them, need them, cannot live life m, then go and buy a spiraliser.

Hope this helps.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi Befoon88
I had headaches as well on days 2 & 3 + had incredibly aching legs for about the first 5 days. At first I thought it was because I had started walking for about 40 mins per day where before I was doing nothing, but now I think it was withdrawal symptoms from sugar/carbs. Don’t worry, it will get better, stick to it and I promise!
Just remember to drink at least 2-3 litres of non calorie drinks per day along with your fats.
Good luck this week. 😀
Linda

Right , the one thing that helped me lose weight at the beginning, and I DO NOT recommend this to anyone is…..

New shoes.

I bought a pair of new shoes, didn’t break them in.
So when I wore them to walk, I couldn’t go far, so other than sit at my desk, I couldn’t nip out to the newsagents for chocolate, sweets and crisps,
Couldn’t get to the supermarket after work, just got straight home.
This is one of the many things that helped me on my way down the path.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Thanks Lisa
I’ve got a dinner to go to this Friday night, but fortunately it’s at a steak restaurant, so steak and salad it will be!!
I do find re reading both the book and the forums really keep me motivated.
Have a great week!!
Linda

Hi Imogen,
God do they slow my walking down, they give my calves a right work out
And
They keep me away from buying the food, just can’t reach it.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Day 2…So far I have cold (expected), general wobblyness/shakes, puffy hands and ankles, constant headrushes (have to put my head between my knees whenever I stand up)..Anyone else in the same boat?

I was still low tonight on both carbs and calories so I had another hot chocolate but instead of adding vanilla flavouring I added a drop of peppermint, it turned out nice.

It occured to me earlier that I am almost at the mid-way point of my 8 weeks. In some ways it matters little as I now intend to keep going, but it feels significant to have the 4 week milestone looming.

It’s a great forum, full of welcoming, helpful people 🙂

Just saw your post albeit 2 weeks after the event…. Sounds weird but a tiny sliver of avocado is my friend at carb-craving o’clock. And I am someone who could eat raisins by the handful and nutella straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Hello there. I don’t have ravenous kids, just a toddler who loves his cereal with raisins, potato anything, pasta with cheese, butter & cream… I got used to hoovering up all his left-overs and here I am a stone heavier than I want to be. Things that have helped – chewing gum as soon as I finish what’s on my plate; being ruthless about portion size (only giving him little servings and then more little servings when he’s finished the first one); composting the any leftovers straight away (those few pieces of butter-loaded fusili don’t look so good when in with the carrot peelings); having a sports bottle full of squash made with fizzy water that I sip while he’s having a snack. Enjoy the rowing…1000m intervals with a 30 sec break used to be my favourite torture 🙂

Hi again, bumblebee,
Well, you’ve still got Day 7 before you have completed the first week. I don’t think it matters what you lose, the important thing is that you are losing weight. People who’ve had a spectacular first week often get a really slow week 2 or 3 – it’s just the way the cookie crumbles (oops, shouldn’t mention cookies). I’ve never had a majorly huge weight loss on any week – rather, the bigger the loss, the bigger the upward bounce that’s followed, and then it resettles bit by bit. Your body is still adjusting to being on the BSD – it will fight back! Don’t get frustrated if it’s slow, you will get occasions when the wheel comes off the wagon, but you just start again – but it does get easier as your body gets used to the new regime. Better you have an insatiable craving for salmon with garlic & paprika than something loaded with the sugar demon!
Hope your trip to Tesco was successful – I still quite enjoy perusing the reduced counter because you can get some decent cuts of meats. I am able to ignore the sweet treats I’m happy to say.
My weekend starts on Sunday – I work Saturdays – so I hope to spend time up at the allotment planting out more runner beans. Things are coming along nicely at the plot – I’ll have to spend more time up there over the next few weeks.
Anyway, you have a good weekend!

Thanks Izzy. I think I will measure out some milk to use each day. This looks like an active forum so I shall look forward to logging in and looking for tips and support. Beth

yes you can, but you should count the calories of the milk and sugar if you use.

You will need to try to keep your fluids up though, so I’ve switched to drinking herbal tea most of the time as it can be counted towards your fluid totals.

Best of luck with your start 🙂

I have just read the book and am getting ready to getting started on the BSD. Can I drink tea and coffee with milk while on the diet? I have the kindle version of the book and it may have talked about tea and coffee but perhaps I missed it.
Suggestions/tips appreciated. Thanks, Beth

Hi again,
Glad the lemon polenta cake was a success! Glad you are feeling calmer (but I see from your later message that things were kicking off – hope things are under control again).
A racing heart must have been a bit worrying – if it keeps happening do go back to your doctor. I know someone who had some mh issues and she also suffered from irregular heartbeat occasionally.
I’m glad you had a decent night’s sleep – a good kip is so important. And Collie is so right about electronics – using a laptop late at night does not help. When I had trouble sleeping during a stressful time in my life, my GP said not to use my laptop after about 6pm.
Things seem to be OK with me, thank you – my ailing car seems to be fixed now. After a major pigout over the Bank Holiday weekend, I’ve been back on track and sticking to the BSD. So you just keep on keeping on.
Best wishes.

I’d love to be musical but I’ve not got the endurance to learn properly! I hope your kilt stays up tomorrow! Life will always get in the way sometimes but it’s great you were able to stick to the principles because at least you didn’t regain weight.

my courgetti is currently cooking, hungry now after going out for an hour long walk with my daughter 🙂

Thanks Cherrianne. Feels really strange to be 21 weeks into this. Don’t think I’ve ever stuck with any slimming club for this long. And don’t think I ever lost this amount of weight with any slimming club. All that time and money over the years😱

Can’t believe I’m actually looking forward to being overweight LOL

I think the rapid results at the start really helped. When you have 6+ stone (84+ pounds) to lose, the slimming club mantra of 1 or 2 pounds a week makes the goal seem impossible to reach, especially with gains and the weeks you stay the same. You’re advised to stay to class, where they push their produce. With one club it’s easy to incorporate ‘bad’ food, while another does not help with portion control.

With the BSD I’ve seen rapid progress and I’ve not been tempted to have any of the carbs I used to live on😃 I’ll soon be starting my fourth notebook to keep me records of what I eat, weigh, measure – and test results. The first three are spiral bound with perforated pages. Started using them in case I didn’t stick with this – I could tear the used pages out and use the rest for something else. Well. It looks like I’m with this for life, so I treated myself – to a Moleskin notebook. No way to tear pages out!

I’ll be in Italy for when I complete week 24, so next thread will be either week 23 or week 25. Now, do I start the new notebook and take it with me, or start it when I come back? Thinking at the minute is to start it the Saturday before I go away – won’t want to spoil it!

Hi Imogen. Welcome and thanks. You’ll be here yourself soon, helping those following behind us. It’s not easy to see the end in sight when we have lots to lose. I still almost pinch myself when I look at my results and see how far I’ve come and how far I need to go to reach my goal. Until you officially move in here, you’re always welcome to visit 😃🌻

Hi jess1471

Welcome back🌻

Glad that you are going to continue with the BSD, especially as you did so well before. So you had a blip? … put the last few weeks behind you!

As for your mindset – how is it different at this time?

I have a problem with my joints and find swimming to be good (if you can fit it to your schedule).

Imogen x

Hi captainlynne,

Just nipped over from the first eight weeks gang to let you know just how inspirational you (and the other long term BSDers) are!

I am in this for the long haul as I have a lot of excess weight to shed and reading posts from the ‘ veterans ‘ really helps and encourages… so keep on posting… we need you guys!!!

Thank you,🌻

Hi Orchid

Please remember that when I started this I was type 2 diabetic, diet controlled for 6.5 years, but being threatened with medication. I needed to lose between 6 and 6.5 stones (84 – 91 pounds). I need to avoid some foods that others can eat with no problem.

Today I’ve finished 21 weeks on Fast 800, not only keeping to the 800 calories, but keeping carbs as low as possible.

During that time I had 5 days holiday abroad and 4 days at a residential conference. During the holiday I made the best choices available, but gained 2 pounds, which disappeared after a few days. That made me realise I needed to concentrate more on portion control. I don’t normally eat at lunchtime, but at the residential conference dinner was much later than I usually eat, so I had a slice of cooked meat with a small amount of salad. I had my usual cooked breakfast (bacon, egg, baked beans). When given the menu to pre-order dinner I immediately crossed out the desserts (including the cheese board – it’s huge and comes with grapes, celery and crackers). Then I looked at the starters, trying to work out the best option, deleting carbs as necessary. Same with the main course. When the veg arrived I just took a small portion, ignoring potatoes and other root veg. The portions for the main course were huge and I couldn’t finish them.

To date I’ve lost a total of 49 pounds (3 this week). My fasting blood sugar has dropped from 10.9 to within the normal range. A recent HbA1c blood test also showed a drop – from 9.6 immediately before I started on BSD on 19th December, to 8.7 in January and 5.5 in April (within the normal range).

My BMI has dropped from 40.9 to 30.9. I only need to lose another 3 pounds to move from obese to overweight. I have also lost 4 dress sizes.

I still need to lose another 29-36 pounds approx to be where the medics want mr to be and will stay with 800 calories and very low carb until I reach my target.

After all this time, eating this way is a habit. I cannot imagine eating refined carbs again. I have also lost the taste for diet fizzy drinks – now I drink water (usually fizzy).

In a few weeks I’m on holiday in Italy, staying with friends. I’ve already told them I can’t eat pizza, pasta etc – so now they think I’m coeliac! They have a relation who is coeliac, so said they’re used to catering for it. Told them not to bother with special foods, I’m happy with meat, fish, cheese, veg and salad. When I arrive I’ll ask them to take me shopping so I can buy some food to help out their budget. And I’m taking a hand-held Spiraliser with me – introduce them to courgetti etc. 😃

At the age of 65 I feel better than in many years and wish I had found this way of eating many years ago. It is not a diet – it is a way of life.

Hope this helps. Any questions, please ask.