Hi Rachel, I have started using the fitness pal and it has helped me with the carbs. I am still going slowly but this is just me. I do however struggle with water… It is cold and I just don’t want to drink. Tomorrow am plan to drink 500 mls whils I drive to work and then another on way home.. I will keep thinking of ways to up it.

Hi Neohdiver – thanks for the advice, and also everyone else, it is appreciated.

I have now written up my preferred menus, just got to calorie count them now, but I won’t do the carbs also then, as I could end up making it a full time job, which I haven’t got time for.

Wow, three stone! Congratulations!! May I ask what you eat on an average day?

I have stuck to the BSD for three weeks now. I am unable to walk / stand so must lose weight purely by restricting my food intake. I have no high carbohydrates in my house at all. I have bought a George Foreman Grill and use it for most of my cooking, especially of asparagus and mushrooms.
I believe I am not eating enough fats as my skin has erupted in dry patches especially on my back but my major concern is ‘cauliflower rice’ – I am beginning to loathe it!
I have just seen a recipe on line that mentioned ‘broccoli rice’ which is no doubt just the florets blitzed in the food processor and then eaten raw.
I wonder do any of you have any further suggestions for similar ‘rices’ and herbs / spices to liven them up.
I do love the aubergine & minced lamb dish, the vegetable curry and portobello mushrooms which have recently entered my diet.

Tippytwo,

Many people choose to count carbs, but it isn’t part of the BSD. If you want to count carbs, you can use an online nutrition database to help you count. I use myfitnesspal, but there are a number of different options.

Hi
Just found this on ebay
I can’t quite make out the carbs from the packaging but any carbs in there will be the complex type
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Really-Healthy-Pasta-Organic-Chickpea-Fusilli-250g-Pack-of-3-/262361990899?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

Does anyone else weight daily? I am to impatient to weight weekly!

Day 1 – 77.6kgs
Day 2 – 76.8kgs

I completed 2 weeks on the BSD and lost 5.2kgs. but…. I had a relative coming from overseas to visit, I live in a region of wine, chocolate, cheese and all things wonderful so I decided to give myself 2 weeks off with them and start again once the visit was over. So on first weigh in day I was really surprised to find I had only put on 2.7kgs. Thanks to knowing how easy the BSD was to keep to and how quickly I saw results the 2.7kgs didn’t phase me at all. I feel so ready to start again. I am at the end of day 2 and that sugar monster is knocking at my door but I know if I get through the first few days I will feel great. Also on the plus side I weighed in again this morning and lost 1kg. If this was any other diet I would be so disheartened and down but I’m not at all. Bring on the next 7 weeks and 5 days 🙂

So don’t beat yourself up over one weekend!

Hi Cherrianne

Many thanks for the reply. It is interesting to hear others’ views. I am gradually introducing the diet into my day…… before I was diagnosed I was an avid 5:2 follower. I have not taken any insulin during the day for a number of weeks now and take the metformin when I eat my main meal. The only insulin I take regularly is the long acting at bedtime.
I figure if I don’t eat and don’t give myself any insulin and my levels are under 10 then I should be doing ok!
Watch this space, maybe the wrong diagnosis for me is what I need to get myself back on track!
TBH I am finding it difficult to sustain as I don’t seem to be losing any weight/inches at the moment – I just need to remember my fasting BS at 35 when I was diagnosed!
Will keep posting as it helps me continue to get healthier!

Hi Natalie, Ziggsmum and Bongo! Nice to meet some people also starting, or getting back on the wagon. Natalie, I have come to the conclusion after many years of falling OFF the wagon, that it is the getting back up and starting again immediately that counts. Everyone has blips. It’s when you just keep going after the blip that you are successful. Unfortunately, even though I know this, I have spent the past 5 years NOT keeping going after the blip!

Ziggysmum, I am a nightmare for the carbs/sugar. I just got into terrible habits. I have realized that it has to stop forever. Not all carbs but the binging on sugar and fat and carbs. If I continued as I was I would just get bigger and bigger and start facing health problems, and it’s not like it’s even more enjoyable when you eat more. I think it must be a bit like a drug. The more you have, the more you need to get the same feeling from it. So I just suddenly though enough now. Time to change. But it is daunting!

I couldn’t even face a run yesterday at first, Bongo … I would normally go before eating and eat after but I just couldn’t. So I ate a salad and then I went for a run and it was fine. I am guessing it will be harder though until I settle into this diet. Going to stick to 5k for a week or two before upping my mileage a bit, just want to be running 10ks regularly again (I was last year but an injury slowed me down since February). Running really really helps with my head, I feel less anxious/stressed/low when I run regularly.

Zoodles are really, really good! Buy yourself a spiraliser. I was dubious but I love them! I’ll definitely be giving myself days off my diet now and again – no blood sugar issues just doing it for weight and I want it to be sustainable. That said, at day 9 I haven’t yet wanted a day off.

I just saw an ad for a special on Sunday night (Sydney Australia) with Michael Mosley as one of three experts talking about the diabetes epidemic and whether it can be reversed! I almost feel like a celebrity myself – he’s my diet guru!

If you go to the bottom of the diary page on MyFitnessPal and push “Nutrition” you can look at how many carbs/prot/fat you have had for the day or a weekly average. I try to stay under 50g of carbs and then let the fat/prot do what it likes as long as my daily cals total is under 800. Not sure if that answers your question though.

HI Izzy. Love the diary. I am a huge tea drinker too so the first thing I do in the morning is measure out 100mls of full fat milk (67cals) and use that for my teas all day. I find I use the tea between meals to ease my hunger so i am happy to give up those cals and I actually record them under “snacks” in my calorie counter. I usually can get 4 – 5 cups of tea from that 100mls and if i don’t use it all then thats a few cals Iess that day 🙂

Hi

I started yesterday as well and also want to lose about 2 stone (or a little more if possible). I drank loads so didn’t really get a headache but I found that when I went for a run before tea last night I really struggled. No energy, or willpower to keep running and I felt very sort of “buzzy” all day (almost as if I’d drank too much coffee – but all I drank was green tea, water and one cup of proper tea in the afternoon).

So far today it’s not been too bad, I am hungry and totally coveting my colleagues baguette and cheese sarnie but I’m slowly eating an egg salad and have fruit and yogurt to look forward to as well. I’m skipping breakfast so I can have fruit after my lunch.

Best of luck I’ll be pleased to hear how you’re getting on.

Hi Everyone
Have managed the 10,000 steps each day in May so far…..even if it has meant going out in the rain and walking round a bit.
Been playing a bit of tennis but have been trying to walk around the house a bit more in order to reach the 10,000 steps on the Fitbit.
Have now put my computer up higher so I have to stand up to use it, as suggested in the ‘ Quitting the sitting ‘ site.
Amazing how much that stops me wasting time on the computer!!!
My personal challenge for challenge for May…..plus the Marathon of course….ha ha.

Have done about 14 miles towards the May Marathon for BHF.
No jogging yet……oh hang on…. I do break into a bit of a trot occasionally on the tennis court.
Brilliant everyone who is getting more active.

Anyone else doing a May challenge?????

Hi IonaJ, definitely the right decision. I would say just go with the fast 800, low carb it is easier than 5:2 as you have 800 calories a day instead of 500. You will be stunned at how quickly you will lose weight.

I would also say brave those scales and take a photo of yourself in your undies ( I know) but after 2 or 3 weeks you won’t believe the difference! Also write down your measurements as they often tell a bigger story than the scales in terms of loss!!

And GO GIRL, GO!!!! 🙂

Just pick your own meals and use an app to track things. I use easy diet diary and that tells me how many calories I’ve eaten per day as well as carbs etc.

You will need to have a basic idea of nutrition but you will pick that up quite quickly as you go along. No point making yourself cry over this way of eating – it wont be sustainable long term! I eat the lovely things I like (avo, feta, sardines, cheese, veggies) and ignore the ones I don’t (celery!).

Wow, Imogen!!! well done!!! I think courgetti is a must on this diet – you can have a plateful for so few calories!!! 🙂

Hello Brazilnut, I also started the BSD diet yesterday. I too have been eating way too may carbs and can’t resist anything with sugar, until now.
I’m excited to be on the journey.
May the 4th be with you (so sorry but it does seem apt).

Hi Ruby, I still have 2 mugs of nescafe with a splash of milk every morning. I just prefer nescafe to proper coffee these days. I have still lost 3 stones so I would say do not go without your morning cuppa!!! 🙂

Hi all, am in week four, all going well with the occasional slip up. Probably more than occasional, TBH, but working on the mental health, not just the physical. Tonight I watched a documentary ‘Food, Inc’. Well, I spent most of the show between dry retching and crying. I cannot believe the propaganda behind the food industry, and how we have been so sucked into this system. There’s some discussion about diabetes and ecoli, and the crap (literally) that we are eating. If you get time, have a look at this film. I just think that while we are all working towards a new lifestyle we should probably look at the ethics of exactly what we are eating. Not preaching, just food for thought.

Hiya thanks all for your help, I am going to spend some time writing my new menus up, I was interested Bill1954 how can I track my carbs, is there a limit on how many low carbs I can have a day or how many I should include. Any help and advise would be gratefully received.

I always feel sick and miserable on day three. I say “always” because I’ve experienced day three several times! I fall off the wagon and have to go through withdrawal all over again.

Hello Natalie, thanks for your reply and great I’m pleased to hear it can be done with family in tow.
Thankfully I’m not a great potato lover, but pasta is another matter 😰, ah from now on I must think about my future health and my waistline instead. Perhaps when I’ve lost two stone I’ll award myself a small bowl of lobster linguine.

hello 🙂

I have just brought a fruit infuser water bottle thing and am wondering if anybody else uses these? I know calories will be very low but wondering about carb content.. any info or feedback greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I find that tracking everything I eat really helps so I’ve decided to use MFP. From what I’ve gleaned carbs need to be 50g a day, protein I think 60g, but I could be wrong but I don’t know the figure for fat, is it 40g? It all has to add up to 100% before it lets me save the changes. Anyone out there able to help?

Hi Judith,
We went to visit our son in Sheffield on Monday, he’s having an extension and his builder was there, type two diebetic, has lost 6 stone, still looked really obese, and he was sat there tucking into big white bread roll sandwiches and crisps, well of course we got talking and I told him about the bsd diet and he wasn’t interested! That old phrase came to mind, you can take a horse to water etc! However went to have a drink with his mother in law and she was interested in the diet, she isn’t diebetic just likes to keep a check on her weight and likes to eat healthily, so I told her about the website etc, so hopefully she will have taken a look and signed the petition, that’s all I can do, but it’s a start for her to look into it.
Right must dash, cleaned the hall this morning, a quick drink and then a trip into town to get Dana her birthday present, she wants a boy doll with a dummy, funny cause it’s an all girl family and none of them had dummies!
Christine

Hi thepolly, Have already had the delightful chore of taking loads of clothes to the charity shop………….I personally would rather have the equally delightful chore of buying new clothes – not many admittedly – but this gives me so much pleasure it is part of the reward of having achieved the weight loss

Thanks for the update on the latest info from OZ… numbers are really helpful to me. Have not weighed again since early april… so rely on BSL to see progress. Have started back on full dose of Metformin… will give myself a few more days and start weening again next week… maybe just 500 at a time rather than 1000 was getting too disheartened waiting it out… and we always travel on weekends and makes it harder to be under 800 but surprisingly easy to be no/low carb… under 20 most days now…. except for the veg load…

Still looking forward to coming home.. arrival date is now about June 29… and then I think I will go to the 5;2 again to try and maintain. Very sad to hear the latest about how our bodies really do lower their metabolic rate in order to maintain weight!!!!… POO… thanks Cherrianne… Hope you continue to be well and remain as inspirational as always…xx

I cook normal meals for my family and leave the carbs off my plate. I wrap my fajita ingredients in a lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla, I have zucchini “zoodles” with my bolognaise while they have spaghetti, I don’t eat the roast potatoes at Sunday dinner (that one is the hardest!). That way I don’t really have to cook anything different for myself, or different to what I usually cook.

Hi tallyhoo and aye caramba, why not make charity shops your new best friends until your weight has settled down, you can often get some lovely things for cheap and give to charity in the process 😀

Thanks Cherrianne. I will try the water and lemon! I have quite a bad headache and am feeling really low today. I am unsure if it’s related to the diet, because I have been doing 5:2 with no side effects like this. Maybe coincidence.

Can you not have white coffee? I still have milk in my tea, though I’ve had to give up the sugar.

Hi Brazil nut,
A small serve of cheese eaten very slowly, almost left to melt on the tongue used to help me through the carb cravings. Also a slice of lemon in hot water, not sure how that worked but it did!
Congrats on starting the BSD, you’ll soon start feeling the benefit of this great way of life. 🙂

Hi hashimoto, I’m not good at sticking at things so the ‘everyday’ of a diet will be hard. The thing I’ll miss the most will be a few white coffees, I think. x

Hi Notsofatty,
I was wondering how you were doing. Hi from not so sunny SA! You are missing cold, rainy weather with winds nearly 60kmh past few days. Not really anything to be homesick about.
If your post prandials are still in the 7’s I wouldn’t be too concerned.
Blood sugar levels as per the NICE guidelines (& Diabetes UK) are as follows:
Non diabetic
Fasting 4 – 5.9
Post prandial under 7.8

Type 2 diabetes
Fasting 4 – 7
Post prandial under 8.5
The Aus Diabetes Assoc. has levels higher than this so I don’t go by them.
Hope this will reassure you somewhat. It doesn’t sound like you’re doing too badly with your readings so you might want to persevere a bit longer. It took me around 3 weeks or so to get good readings after they spiked.
All the best to you, and David6855, hope for better news next time you post 🙂

Congratulations IonaJ,
You’ve just taken the first step and you can be proud of yourself 😄 Take it one step at a time, but as you’ve already discovered, this whole lifestyle is a lot easier in reality, so GO GIRL. Keep going, one day at a time until you’ve reached your weight goal, then keep going so that you stay healthy for you and your family!

Thanks Bill1954. I had a terrible headache yesterday but took some ibuprofen and another litre of rosehip tea and it got bearable. It was okay this morning but getting bad again now. I am drinking lots. I was going to go for a run at lunchtime but I did a 5k run yesterday lunchtime and I think that may have caused the headache. Partly anyway. So maybe I will just do a walk instead. I am feeling hungry today. I think 9am-12 is my worst period in terms of wanting to stuff carbs in my gob! I have been doing the 5:2 for several weeks before starting the BSD and that is my danger time. I lost 9lbs on the 5:2 so it was obviously working in terms of weight loss but I wasn’t changing my habits. On the other days, I was not sticking to the low carb med diet and frequently eating high sugar, high carb, unhealthy foods. This is why I thought I could kickstart a good change to my habits by doing this diet for 8 weeks, then going back to 5:2 but sticking to the low carb med diet on the 5 other days.

Does anyone know if rosehip tea is as good as water for hydrating? It just has 50% rosehip and 50% hibiscus. I find it easier to drink throughout the day than water. I often drink it cold.

Also, what do you do when you get the BIG cravings for food/carbs/sugar? I am just drinking tea and I ate 3 nuts. But I am struggling still!

Hi,

I am on week 3 – so not a veteran of the diet. I read through the book, checked out the menu plan, looked through the recipe section… then chose my own 800 calorie, low carb menu. Works for me – I enjoy my food, have lost weight and blood sugars are lower! It is much easier to follow if you choose meals that you enjoy!! Keep going.

Imogen

Hi Tippytwo
there is a much greater variety of menus in the menu section of the site and in the “what have you eaten today” thread.
All tried and tested by BSDer’s so there should be something in there that you like.
If you go your own way remember to keep track of the carbs as well as calories

My book is at home, unfortunately, and my Kindle won’t help you, lol, but there is a section in there that talks about the kind of foods that are good to eat – nuts (obvs watch the cals!), leafy green veg, lentils, pulses, beans, that kind of thing, and what to avoid (white rice, pasta, bread etc). I guess it’s just a learning curve, looking at all different foods and finding out what’s good and taking it from there. I’ll try to remember to look at the book when I get home after work and message you again! If you use My Fitness Pal, it should help you with the cals and nutritional info too, making it a bit easier.

Hope the rest of the week isn’t too ‘painful’ (know what you mean about waste!)

I x

Thanks Iona – what page is the list of good foods on in the book – do you know or is it on this web site. I don’t really have a problem with the food on the menus – it’s more the combinations of some of them lol. So I think this week I will finish off what I have bought for the week 3 menu as I hate waste and re-plan my menu for week 4 using the recommended food types. It’s a struggle for sure this week.

Hello
I would definitely try to find things you like and count calories – just try to find things that are on the recommended list of ‘good’ foods? But then, I guess so long as you stick to the 800/day you can eat what you like? I’ve only really just started (though have done the 5:2 in the past) and I am just making it up as I go along and picking foods I like.

It’s definitely better you choose your own foods rather than be put off so much that you give up?

GOOD LUCK!
Iona x
Ps – 11lbs is FANTASTIC!

I started the diet yesterday 🙂
For breakfast I had the almond butter, seeds and apple which the book states as 110 calories. When I measure the ingredients and put it into my fitness pal and Fitbit the calories come back as almost 3 times that amount (1 Apple alone is 75 calories, let alone 2tbsp of almond butter plus seeds).

So now I’m on 309 Cals just on breakfast according to mfp- help! Why does the book state much lower cals? And what can I do for lunch/dinner to keep in the 800 zone?

Thanks in advance.

Hello out there, I started the programme yesterday – a work day – which went okay and I managed to stick to 800 calories. Woke up feeling virtuous.
Today i am not working and have been lurking thinking, “mmmm usually I would have had a snack by now”.
I can’t believe it but I haven’t felt hungry yet, I guess that will come… I genuinely love (should I say loved?) food, everything about it.
I’m not diabetic but I feel way too heavy and understand that at my weight I’m heading towards the probability of major health problems if I don’t sort it out.
I have very active kids (all boys, they are always hungry) and when they snack I have snacked. Plus when they leave the delicious food I’ve cooked for them on the plate I eat it. I can’t help it, seems such a waste not to. I’ve got to break that habit because I’m fairly sure that is my main problem, oh and that i can’t resist anything with sugar in it.
I can be fairly strong minded but the issue for me is whether my willpower holds out… I can also be easily tempted.
Any tips please? I have a slim active husband and think I will cook carbs for him and the kids and just leave them off my plate.
Some of the threads on here are so, so inspiring, I hope I can do it too. I would gradually like to get to 9 stone (from 15) that will put me in the middle of my healthy BMI range – am I being too ambitious? Five years ago I was 9 stone 😮
Okay, I am off to get re-acquainted with my rowing machine, which I haven’t been near for three years.

Morning all,
Yes, yes, yes….!!! OK, maybe I did get a little carried away for a moment.
Amazon delivered my cuisique spiral making thingy yesterday. Last night dinner of courgetti, cream cheese, garlic and herbs was so delicious, that I was sure I would have put on weight just by inhaling. (I am working hard at breaking the ‘all fat is bad’ conditioning).
Sceptic that I am I felt compelled to get on the scales this morning, even though had only weighed in yesterday… down another 3lb 😀 Happy days.

Hi guys!!
I’ve been reading this great thread with interest for a week or so now and thought I would finally be brave and post! I have a lot of weight to lose (not quite sure how much as I haven’t DARED to step on the scales yet but I know it’s bad just by looking at my enormous tum in the mirror!!). My mum had type 1 diabetes and so I witnessed a whole load of terrible things as a child (loss of toes, ulcers, hypos etc) – she died when she was 50 after a particularly debilitating stroke. I was 19 and I’m going to be 45 this year and have been telling myself for YEARS that I need to get my bahookie in gear or I shall end up the same! I am not diabetic (as far as I know) but want to avoid developing it – so far I haven’t really been helping myself!

Last week I did the original 5:2 diet (which I have done successfully in the past) but also bought Mr Mosley’s Blood Sugar Diet book and have started thinking Mediterranean this week and aim to do 3 x 800 days. Yesterday was my first and it was perfectly fine. I did feel a bit hungry but it actually felt good (I’m weird!!). Today – so far so good. And will do Friday too. The schools are being used tomorrow for the Scottish Parliamentary elections, so I shall be out and about with the boys all day and so I decided tomorrow would be ‘normal’ but trying to avoid the ‘baddies’ food-wise!

Lucia – I was just wondering – how long have you been on the ‘diet’ so far and how much have you lost? I’ve been intrigued. Sounds like you have heaps of willpower and humour!! Been loving reading your posts!

Cheers guys.
Iona x

Hello, I just thought I would share this with you, as someone who has felt the same may be able to advise me. I am the third week into my diet lost 11 lbs so far. I am sticking rigidly to the menu planner in the book – come what may and trying everything out, but this week I have absolutely hated some of the menus, so much so I feel like crying – actually crying because for lunch today, I have courgette ribbons, raspberries and I couldn’t face the sweaty feta cheese this morning so threw it in the bin and added a few pine nuts instead. I don’t think I can carry on with the planned menus any more as it is making me feel sick. Should I pick out what I think I like and count up the calories ? dunno what to do as I feel I should add variety, please help.

Hi All, I lost 7 lbs in the first week and only 2 lbs in the second, It was my son’s birthday and I did have a slice of cake and a couple of glasses of wine but having said that we were away for the weekend and did some fairly strenuous walks and bike rides. The weight is coming off my upper arms and thighs which look more toned now, but my tummy only looks a little bit smaller, I take fairly high doses of inhaled steroids for asthma and I think this can have an effect on fat distribution. has anyone else had not much of a weight loss in their second week?