Hi, I’ve only just started (re-started) after a failed attempt before Easter. I was giving myself too many excuses to cheat so have put my wife in control of the chocolate and crisps for the duration and made sure I have no handy unopened booze! BUT it’s my birthday in four weeks and my plan is to treat myself to a very good quality fillet steak and scallops with mushrooms, tomatoes and the other trimmings – without the chips and onion rings. I’ll probably go over the 800 but will still avoid the carbs and blood sugar spikes.

Just wanted to say hi.

The DH and I (sort of) started the diet two weeks ago with the aim (for both of us) of losing weight and (for him) of hopefully reducing his arthritis pain. We don’t know if we have any blood sugar issues. Currently, we are only easing in – for instance, I let him finish up his normal fruit yoghurts and mid-morning bananas, etc, until they were gone 😉 – and we have not cut down as far as 800 calories – to tell the truth, I am not really calorie-counting, although we are definitely eating substantially less. We have both lost about 6lbs in two weeks.

I am having no problems with the diet – to my surprise given my fondness for red wine and chocolate – but he has only been on the diet properly for two days and is feeling nauseous in the morning until he eats – I take it this is normal and will pass? He is also craving sugar, chocolate, etc, like crazy and is feeling utterly miserable – desperate for the eight weeks to be over so he can go back to his pint of hot chocolate and biscuits in the morning, and huge mounds of spuds with every meal. Although he suffers a lot of arthritis pain, he is unconvinced that diet can help him, and he is not used to feeling hungry.

Breakfast is apple and fromage blanc with pecans; lunch is a stir-fry, grilled salmon or 100% beefburger or chicken, with steamed veggies, or a casserole, ratatouille or soup; dessert is full-fat fromage frais with berries; and dinner is a salad followed by yoghurt. I am full and feeling fine; he is just ravenous all the time. Is this because he didn’t cut out carbs two weeks ago like I did? Will it pass?

Any advice gratefully received.

Start of day five…five pounds gone! That’s such an incentive to keep going. Looked on the recipe section on here last night and planned the rest of the week. Off to the ships to re- stock!
Also, stumbled upon a TV prog last night ‘eating well with Helmsley and Helmsley’ os something like that- good recipe ideas! X

We are mainly eating stir-fries for main meals. Mushroom and courgette with a handful of cashew nuts or chickpeas is a favourite (usually Chinese or Thai-style), and also aubergine curry made with grilled aubergines, onions and tomatoes – you can vary the latter by using herbs instead of spices and topping it with cottage cheese, in which case it’s more Italian. I also do a lot of main-course soups such as carrot/ginger, celeriac/cinnamon and veggie minestrone. In the evening, it’s mainly salads – we’re not actually vegetarian and the DH has ham on his, while I stick to cheese or home-made hummus. Choucroute is another favourite main course – hardly any calories and very filling.
Good luck. It’s hard to be carb-free as a veggie. You might want to look at sites such as http://gluten-free-vegan-girl.com/ and http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com for ideas (you’ll have to skip the lovely recipes with added sugar, though, so beware!)

And another well done Peggy from me! So exciting – amazing weight loss – and it can just keep going and well done with the swimming half a mile – how encouraging when you can start to wear the old clothes you love and still have lurking.

Well done Peggy! I’ve done well on the food front, but I’m still not as active as I need to be. That’s my next area to focus on. I’ve got a step counter somewhere……

Hi Guys, Never really done a blog before so bare with me 🙂

I am 25 and live in Australia i currently weight 100kgs (220lbs) after suffering a back injury and requiring surgery in 2015. i still have a few ongoing issues but i hope by completing the BDS Fast 800 8 weeks i can come closer to a healthier lifestyle. Today was my first day and so far so good, i havent been craving anything or feeling like i ‘have’ to eat. its nice to be able to tell when i am actually hungry and not just shovelling food because im bored. ive split my meals into B:200 L:200 D:300 and Snacks:100 calories, and we will see how that goes 🙂
I figured i should blog my journey so i am held accountable and it encourages me to be pro-active about meal prep and willpower aswell.

Hello! It’s been 2 weeks today and I’ve lost 11.25 lb and 4 inches off my stomach! I haven’t lost anything in the last couple of days but I guess that’s ok after losing so much so quickly. I’m wearing a pair of trousers that I haven’t been able to get into since last summer, so that’s good.

I’m gradually increasing my activity – I’m now walking an average of 5000 steps a day instead of 2000 and yesterday I swam half a mile.

Yay! Lost 1lb. Maybe small but very welcome. It means I’m still heading in the right direction. Thanks for your encouragement.

Jackie WilsonSaid – hope you’ve got over your stall.

I agree with the water – my flat breads don’t ‘feel’ dry, but they make me very thirsty
but then they have lots of fibre, and that plus water is all good I think

if you have ever eaten GF bread, some of that is like eating a sponge, it seems to soak up all my saliva as I eat it, until I am almost gagging – and that ISN’T fibre

so this is better to me and for me I think, PLUS it stays together which shop bought gf bread doesn’t

hi Natalie,

Nice to hear from a fellow aussie. Yes this the one I mentioned on my last post. I purchased this in Woolies and found it with ease, yes, in the health section and the name is Slendier. It has the warning, which I have heard about konjac, drinking water while eating it because it swells up once in your mouth and can choke you !!!….nice !!! Probably why I haven’t tried it yet, also I don’t relish the idea of swilling water while trying to “enjoy” my “pasta”.
Thanks for the reply.
jillyB

Good morning fellow ‘life changers’ 🙂

So today begins week 4! yay!

Morning weigh in is 2.2 lb’s down. My waist and bust are the same measurements as last week but my hips are an inch smaller so I guess that’s why I’m feeling my trousers loosen. I forgot to do fasting blood before breakfast but I will do it tomorrow , it is only out of curiosity for me anyway not needed medically.

I’m really happy to be 10.2 lb’s lighter than I was 🙂 Hopefully the stone mark is only two weeks away, but I’ll keep at it regardless. I’m enjoying my food and I don’t really feel like my diet is restricted. I’m shocked looking back at how much crap I was eating and feel an element of shame but I’m trying to talk to myself like I would a friend. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I was carb addicted. I hope I’m not anymore but I guess as with any addiction it can rear its ugly head randomly so I will try to stay aware.

Todays food…

Breakfast yoghurt and raspberries

lunch cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, branston pickle, chickpeas

dinner chinese chicken with cashews and broccoli

I was going to have soup for lunch but it’s hot here again, well by our standards its hot lol. Probably cool for many of you at the other side of the world. I could probably do with a bit more lunchtime variety on work days but I will keep working on it and look for different ideas, because if I want to maintain my weight once I’ve lost it, BSD will need to be a lifetime thing.

Mooooorning awesome BSD’ers 🙂

My morning weigh in is 2.2 lb’s lost this week and I will be totally happy if it continues at 2/week. My total loss is 10.2 lb’s in 3 weeks. Slower than many but I’m kinda used to that. Every diet I’ve ever lost anything with has been slower for me than others, but ya know this is still fast! I’ll keep going, and I still have 5 weeks left so should be well over a stone gone by the end (I say the end but I will likely keep going after week 8)

Congrats to everyone else on their losses 🙂

hope someone can help you with the technical stuff! Yes I’m fine thankyou for thinking of me and I DIDN”T eat the pizza woohoo. OK so I had one bite… but then I threw the leftovers in the food bin. I’d never have stopped at one bite before!

it’s my weigh day and my official weight is down just over 2 lb’s bringing my total to just over 10 lb’s in 3 weeks. I’m happy if it continues at this pace that will be great 🙂

grab it to go food is a good idea. A lot of the success in weight loss is in being prepared, have a great day Happylife!

Hi JillyB I’m in Australia and I’ve seen konjac pasta in Woolworths, I think brand Slimpasta or something like that. Probably in the “health” aisle with all the low fat extra-processed stuff! I haven’t tried it. I did get a cup noodle thing once with konjac noodles, the whole thing was tasteless and I threw it away. But that is more the fault of the seasoning. It might be ok with a nice sauce.

Who wouldn’t feel smug! That’s an amazing loss! Brilliant, how inspiring!
Best of luck as you continue and let us know how it goes.

Hi LindaA
Thanks for kind reply, I will look for App and start carb counting, I have eased myself in last week. I compete in dog agility, really big sport here in uk, I camp every other weekend at shows. Managed to avoid burger van !!!! I will look up softball not a sport I know much about, good luck . Here’s to week 2

Dear thepolly,

Thank you for your reply but I am Australian and we don’t have those stores here as far as I know. But previously a kind blogger sent me a similar type of pseudo pasta, fettuccine, spaghetti, etc.. I haven’t tried it yet but found it easily, the blogger told me the supermarket, even which section and which shelf ! I am sure they must have been an aussie !

jillyB

Hi, can someone help me please? Whenever I am logged in and go to the last page of a posting I get logged out and it won’t let me log in again.
But if I go back to the page before the last page it shows me as logged in.

Thanks!

Izzy!! Are you ok as you didn’t post today? Did you eat the pizza?! I cNt log into your diary because whenever I get on page 3 it logs me out and doesn’t let me log in again.

Day

Calories 1028!! Carbs 37

What I learned today:

Decided to weigh in once a week instead of daily since people warn of ups and downs coming.

Learned to ask for butter sauce on the side!!!

I was under yesterday so should end up ok on weigh in day Friday.

Leaned if I have grab it to go food ready our daily picnics are easy!

Hi Chongololo
If it works for you, ‘just do it’ is what I say. If we can all get healthy from eating like this, so long as we can keep up the motivation then it’s got to be a good thing.
Ooh, Africa, I love it, what country did you grow up in and how did you come to be there?
I travelled there back in the mid 80’s and absolutely loved it and intend to go back. I went to Morocco, Algeria, Niger, Chad and Central Africa Republic on one of those overland holidays in the back of a truck. I’d like to go back and see Kenya, Tanzania and perhaps Ethiopia along with Egypt. That’s a lot to see in one trip, might have to go back more than once.😀

GAH, I left a “lo” off the thread title… silly me. A chongololo was the name for a very VERY fat black long millipede in Africa where I was a kidlet. They are funny heavy things, and liked to throw caution to the wind and cross roads, not very safe of them. about a cm or more in diameter and 10 or more cm long, the big ones. They were fun to follow, and rescue from all the scrapes they got themselves into.

Blurk, Linda, no chance of morning exercise in the freezing cold, I leave the house at 10 to 7 to head in to work anyway. I do my pilates class twice a week and that will do for exercise for now, I want to weigh significantly less before I add any sort of sustained carrying on, to ensure I don’t damage my joints at all. I have heard of early hip replacements (with long waiting periods in static agony waiting for surgery) that will NOT be me. Pilates and walking about will do for now 🙂

going ok, no hunger at all, quite easy to stick with as long as I’m busy. boredom is a big danger though, so far any cheating is done with veg or cheese or boiled eggs, so the cals may be well over (certainly still well below the magic 1200 though..) but it gets you through.

When you’re busy, then its easy to under-eat – I had to have a cup of milk before bed last night to plug a gap (even after my 70% lindt!) its because of the salmon salad for lunch – bulky but really low cal. I have a beef and vege soup today which is more, so no choking down a cup of milk at 10pm tonight!

goodbye all 🙂

oh, scales moved down a tiny bit today, golly 🙂 should manage a half kg for week 3, which would make me very pleased indeed! Wait and see. must stop jumping on the scales every day though.

*waves*

Ok, multi-coloured fairy lights it is. Are ones from the Christmas tree ok? But just remember I am from Australia so there maybe a few creepy crawlies stowing away in the box. Someone else can unpack.

I am on the final two weeks of my second round of BSD, I’m not sure if I’ve gone a whole two weeks sticking to it perfectly! I like to make things hard for myself by going off plan then going through carb withdrawal over and over. But this time I can do it! It is my/our wedding anniversary on Thursday and we are going to a tapas restaurant (if you don’t know, for tapas you order several small plates of different things instead of one main meal), I figure there are so many choices of bits and pieces I can find things to eat. I will go over 800 calories for the day I’m sure but I will stick to Med plan. But what about dessert? Hmm, maybe I’ll have crispy pork belly for dessert.

1. A mere 1lb weight loss for the week, but perhaps more muscle due to exercise? more hydrated, who knows?
2. But feeling great and visceral fat maybe tipped into the 13% level down from 15% at the start. Need more readings to confirm as it went back to 14% as I celebrated, but waist is 4″ less and clothes becoming a pleasure again.
3. On trend with chia seeds. Lidl sell them for £2.49 a pack whereas Holland and Barrett ask £4.50 with a smile, after discount.
4. Helmsley and Helmsley C4 8pm Mondays have some tasty recipes. Their buckwheat/almond flour/cauli pizza base is light and tasty. Their heuvos rancheros with guacamole is stunning, though undercooked for my tastes – peppers/tomatoes need more time.

5. Obligatory Mindfulness plug :
I’m starting week 4 of the on-line [Palouse] Mindfulness course to complement BSD. Last week was introduced to Mindful Yoga to alternate with meditation. This week all about mindfulness as an antidote to the stress response triggered by modern life.

To anyone tempted to try Mindfulness: the course is easy, free, educational, secular and eminently practical, being based on simple breathing awareness. You just have to start, as with BSD.
http://palousemindfulness.com/index.html

Morrisons also sells them for £2 a bag. One bag easily does two meals.

Well done that’s amazing ! Good luck for the next stint…!

Hi Linda thanks and no probs re name! Yes life without carbs is surprisingly good!!

Maefly I have even managed to persuade my husband that cutting down on carbs could help him feel less bloated ( and he doesn’t need to lose any weight 😬 !!!) The holiday is really a great motivator and I have 7 weeks left…!

thepolly I have applied the 5:2 principle to wine and only have a glass with dinner on those 2 days… How times have changed. I sleep better, my skin is better and I enjoy the glasses I do have much more now.. It is still hard to break that ” I deserve” rationale but am replacing with I deserve a new dress/ top/ trousers in a smaller size !

BSD I totally agree food just tastes so much better now! I have a smoked mackerel poached egg and salad combo at weekends and I just want to lick the plate it’s so nice ! I think we all have a personal wake up call that is a sufficient motivator for change and for me there were lots of little signs that my health wasn’t great and I needed to do something.

Good luck to you all in the coming weeks – I find the forums ever so helpful especially if you feel a waver coming on !

Hi Collie
Welcome to the family and well done on your 7lb loss. It’s really important to count carbs as I’ve discovered that they’re hidden in the most amazing places! When I was looking to buy full fat natural yoghurt it ranged between 3.9g/100g to 10.4g/100g! Now I read every label!
If you’re in Australia and you haven’t already done so, download the Easy Diet Diary app. You simply add in what you are eating and it calculates how many calories, protein, fats, carbs etc that you are consuming. From doing this, I realised I wasn’t getting enough calcium so am now taking supplements. If you’re based elsewhere, I’m sure someone else will advise on which app is best if you can’t download this one.
What are you competing in? I’m playing softball each weekend.
Linda

Hi jIllyB, look for a company called bare naked, they do noodles and rice alikes that are made from konjac flour (a type of yam) they have no anything in them – actually holland and barrett have them at the moment in their penny sale so you get 2 lots for £3 I think.

Hi Kilwinny
Same thing is happening to me.
I lost 4.6kg in my first week, then only 0.9kg in my second week. I’m following the guidelines to the letter and today is day 7 of week three and I’ve been jumping on the scales every day to keep an eye on things, but the scales don’t seem to be moving, either way. Tomorrow is my official weigh in day, so I’ll post again tomorrow and let you know.
I’ve been reading everyone’s posts and I just know this is going to work so I’m just going to be patient. I’m drinking enough water, doing at least 10,000 steps a day and keeping track of my calories, protein, fats and carbs.
In saying this, my clothes are feeling looser and I ‘feel’ lighter. I’ve decided that this is now my new life and although it’s frustrating that the weight is not falling off like some of the others, I’m just going to remain patient and have faith that this will work. I’m not diabetic nor predisposed to it, so I’m not checking my sugar levels.
Keep going, it will happen. Let us know how you go.😀

Hi I am a Ms G too lost 7pounds in my first week so that’s three of us ! Can not say I have not been hungry but I discovered waiting and not giving myself instant food which I would normally have done but promising myself something if I still feel hungry after 20 mins or so. Drank loads found it harder at weekend as was competing so quite active. Probably strayed over the 800cals but not too much. I am not counting carbs though. Where in the book should I find this? However no bread potatoes rice pasta or processed food at all. Well done all here’s to next week .

Hi,
I bought coconut flour a couple of weeks ago and have tried baking with it. No real success as yet.
Pancakes were very dry but on the plus side I had to drink a pint of water to wash each one down! 😉
Today I tried pancakes with some Almond flour. They were tastier but still not a great substitute.

I will keep experimenting and hopefully find something I can submit to our work ‘Bake off’. 🙂

Hi Judith.

I don’t swim😳😱. Finally learned as an adult but nearly drowned one evening, which put me off! When I finally hot back in the water I’d forgotten how to swim!

You’ll have a great time. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

Hope your friend’s op goes well. Glad you’ll be able to speak with her. 😃

I have been keeping my carbs below 50g a day and have managed to adapt quite well to a more med style diet. I have resisted chocolate bars, biscuits and icecream (all of which has been waved under my nose at work by well meaning colleagues!)

I am on day 19 and have lost 9lbs. I did have one day where I was actually down 11lbs but that changed the next day. You might think that 9lbs loss is really good. I would too but I have been the same wt for the last 5 days. I have 8 – 10st to lose so losing 9lbs for me is a dip in the ocean. 🙁

On the good side my fasting blood sugar has gone from 11.8 on day 1 to 8.1 at its lowest.

I was just wondering if anyone else has had a spell where they stayed the same wt for a few days. If yes, did a change in what was eaten help kick start the loss again?

Okay, are we alone?
Yes?
Okay, come closer, I don’t want anyone else to hear, keep your voice down.
So I undressed and stood in front of the mirror to see if I had lost the blubber, as I turned around, it was like slow motion,.
I turned then my blubber turned. Then it slowly wobbled back.
I can remember an expression from my dad ( he passed away in the 80’s)
He said….
Must be jelly, jam don’t shake like that!!!!!

So it looks as if I am on this path for a good few weeks more.

Quick, someone’s coming over .

Shhhhh, keep it to yourself…..
Love Lucia
Xxxx

I want to be able to walk into any high street shop, pick something off the rail, and put it on, knowing it will be big enough.

I also want to avoid diabetes of course, and be able to get fitter.

I haven’t felt dizzy but I went for a hike yesterday and I was exhausted after six miles. Usually I can do 10.

FAB job, from another smug person

Great post GillyD. I haven’t dieted in years as I consider them fads and the weight just creeped up (even though I wasn’t officially overweight – but border line) and I have never counted calories/weighed items, because my food was generally healthy. But being told I was diabetic was the wake up call I needed and the same for me its a ‘all or nothing ‘ approach I needed to keep motivated. I actually like most of the meals or have adapted some of the meat ones with Quorn (reduces the calories). Food tastes better and my attitude has changed, I really don’t feel I need to go back to old ways or that I am missing out (Like some diets). I think since I have hit my goals I will move to the 5:2 now to maintain it.

Thanks for this. Mindfully enjoying the meal I am having right now is a new habit I am trying to develop, as it is the reason the 5:2 wasn’t more successful for me (non-mindful eating on my ‘off’ days).

I’ve started practising Michael’s suggestion to put my fork down between bites. It has made a difference – I enjoy every bite, not just the first one.

Hello All!

Thank you all so much for your posts… I was so tired after my exercising I went to bed early!

I have got up early and gone for a walk and enjoyed same

I worry that my carb intake is usually ok but I don’t seem to reach good protein or fat levels. Perhaps it will take a little time to tinker around with food to get it right.

Well at least I’m doing well with water! In the past, I have not been good at drinking water – although I give out good advice to my patients! I used to drink zero calorie fizzy but have reduced this to one or two cans a week and hope to stop ASAP.

Anyway, I am really grateful for your replies and will try to update as I go!

Lucy

Thanks Bill and Eureka. I’m sure I will have a fabulous time and I’m seeing someone tomorrow about my hip and shoulder.
I really hope my friend is OK too. The timing of the op while I am going away couldn’t be worse but I got a ‘take away’ phone tariff so at least I should be able to speak to her while I’m on my hols.

: )

My first week (last week) I lost 7lbs too. Well done both of you! On to week 2….all the best!

Hi – I’m on my 2nd week too ( lost 7lb last week) and am also tired but then I am always tired! But I’m dizzy too! Glad it’s not just me but hope your dizzy /nauseous phase passes soon.
Great results for last week – well done!

Hi ay caramba
Impressive. Well done. All this should really help your general health.🏅
I’m hanging in there, 9,500 today ✅. Being specific about marathon steps ( don’t want to cheat the BHF). It’s been an erratic week! Think I need to eat the worm!!
Yes , BBQ tasty ta. Had it with home made lamb kebab Mushroom, tomato, lamb. Marinade was, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic & chopped fresh mint, salt & black pepper. And a chicken thigh in home made BBQ sauce. Olive oil, malt vinegar, tomato paste, few shakes of Worcestershire sauce more garlic, salt & pepper.
Keep going, me too 👣👣

I simply don’t know what to do with myself in the evenings (please don’t suggest housework). I’ve also cooked big batches of calorie-counted food, soup, chili etc so that I have no excuse when I get home from work for not eating properly. Like you I lost a lot of weight the first week, 5kg which is 11lb. That is normal for me if I stick to a diet. Interested to see what happens on Saturday when I weigh in again!

Hi hashimoto
Don’t want to miss saying have a great hol. Hope your friend is ok. Look after that shoulder too. Enjoy ✈️

I will try that neohdiver thanks. I have certainly lost a lot of water which is great (12 lbs loss first week) and I didn’t think about needing to replace salt

Thank you DemiMondaine

Obviously I wish you lots of energy very soon but it is comforting to know that this tiredness is normal. I’m hoping that the euphoria and energy will kick in any time now – well…not before bed *grin*

You are so right about food being a crutch – I’m glad I’ve had such a busy week as strangely I’m not bothered about eating if I have the diet food but I know that being around a big plate of carbs would be too much temptation.