sorry that all sounds abrupt and maybe rude I don’t know
why am I here at all
it must be because I KNOW things need to change
I hate being fat
I hate food
I hate my diabolical and chaotic relationship with all things ‘eaten’

Hi jackiemac,
That web sight is really good, I have put it on my favourites.
Christine

woohoo week one done and dusted! well done Happy 🙂

Hi Lynne,
Mmmm that sound yummy, except for the chilli, which I’m allergic to that would be a lovely meal, we are having salmon tomorrow might pinch that for us lot!
Christine

Too high in carbs for this programme and taste like cardboard. Bin them and scold your husband! (joking about that last bit!)

Judith, in case you’re wondering 😊 I fried garlic, ginger and chilli, added courgetti. Then added some lovely cream cheese (with artichoke) from M & S – 1/3 carton. Then added the flaked salmon. Truly scrumptious 😃

Hi Florasalopia.

Long time since I’ve been there, but my father had family there, in Ludlow. Used to visit every year. That’s why I’ve wanted to go back for a while. Booked 4 nights in October.

Thanks for the welcome guys 😀

Best of luck Chocolate_ee. I can’t wait for my Fitbit to arrive, and if it works like yours, with luck I might not have to do any steps during the day 😁. Think I heard the words dream on lol……….
Which model do you have?

Thanks hashimoto; Sadly I think I HAVE to exercise this time. 3 years ago I lost 40 kilos (not sure how many st/lbs – think I’ve been here too long lol) doing a high protein low carb diet, and NO exercise. Got down to size 12 jeans, was chuffed to bits and quite proud 😊 when I looked in the mirror (specially for my age). After losing my job and through crappy eating I put back on 25 of the 40 – my mum always said “if a jobs worth doing, it’s worth doing well” and I sure made good job of this one lmao 😂.
So, I’m finding it harder to lose this time, and suspect even with masses of exercise I’m going to have dreaded s—y bits (🤐 can’t even manage the word but it’s got 2 x g in the middle) cos all my elastic’s gone 😱😳
I’ve asked myself whatever possessed me to get to this point again, but I’m still waiting for the answer lol.

Suffice to say I’m on the ball now – and I’m gonna build those steps a step at a time!

Thanks Bill, for the kind words. We were born the same year – hey hey!! 💜

Hi HappyLife, thanks for you nice comments 🙂 and sorry for coming across so negatively! It was a really interesting article and just got me thinking – when I first read the article it just made me realise what a huge struggle it is for so many people to maintain a weight that they are happy and healthy at. The contestants on the BL start off at a point of desperation, and work so hard over so many months to get to a point where they have completely changed their lives with the amount of weight they’ve lost. It made me really sad to think that nearly all of them had regained a huge proportion of that weight over 6 years, and that the glimpse of the new life they had wasn’t enough incentive to keep going (I don’t mean that to sound like I’m blaming them for this relapse, I think this article for me really highlights how complex our relationships with food and our bodies are). It also felt unfair that after battling so hard they were stuck in a place where they needed hundreds fewer calories than someone of the same size to maintain the weight!

But I know that we’re all different, and that life isn’t fair, and I would happily eat 500 calories less per day for the rest of my life to maintain a healthy weight (optimistically hoping I can stick with this plan until I get to that point!!). As for the science behind it all, there is so much conflicting evidence from different studies and a whole range of things that still aren’t properly understood. I definitely don’t have the time to read it all and make a rational judgement of all of the evidence, so I will just continue as I am doing as this is working for me at the moment – which is all any of us can really ask for. As we are undertaking this plan in a slower way, and we are in control of retraining out brains rather than being told what to eat / exercise, hopefully it will be easier to transition from the weight loss phase to the ‘rest of your life’ increased calorie maintenance phase than it was for those on the more extreme BL diet.

I think I was also just a bit grumpy when I read it as I injured my knee few weeks ago trampolining and had to spend a week with it elevated for most of the time, and then another week hobbling about! Got the ok from the physio to go for my first swim today though so being back exercising has definitely put me in a better mood 🙂 and actually although my weight loss slowed down without exercise (and limited movement of any sort!) it did show me that the plan still works, and that despite having a lot more time on my hands I was completely in control of my eating and not feeling sorry for myself bingeing on rubbish while watching daytime TV… pretty sure that’s what old me would have been doing!!

Thank you as always for the wonderful positivity everyone 🙂 we will get through this together, and hopefully in 6 years time the follow up studies will show that the BSD dieters are all still maintaining their goal weights… at which point Dr Moseley will be up for a knighthood!

I know how much sugar is in my cereal – which is very little
I also know it is high carb as are all cereals by their very nature
I know what it is

I tried yesterday I have tried again today (not quite the disaster of yesterday but not ‘bsd’

i just don’t feel strong enough

Day 7
9 lbs down bs 92
Today is my last day of my first week and it’s going great. My tummy is finally calmed down, I was able to add more variety of foods without incident, no joint pains, lots of energy, and pounds lost.
Motivated to keep going for sure!
Food today 889 cal 32 carb
B – Bircher
L – Cobb salad no bacon (salad with 1 oz blue cheese, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 egg, and dressing)
D – 2 egg salad with green olives and mayo
☀️🌻🍓

Do you mean the salt and vinegar chickpeas? Previously when I’ve posted links they seem to blank out but I will try it!

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/03/crunchy-salt-vinegar-chickpeas-recipe/

I really enjoyed them 🙂

I’ve changed my evening menu from salad to oven baked courgette, pepper, tomato and onion, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with crushed garlic and chilli salt alongside my chicken. I’m really looking forward to eating it in about 5 mins!

Hang in there Izzy! I probably have a LOT more to lose than you do!!

Thank you Lauren, its great that there’s so much support on here, how have things been going for you?

Rachel

Sorry you’re finding this difficult at the moment, I hope some of the tips here make things a bit easier in the next few days. I agree with Bill that increasing fat really does make you feel fuller and more satisfied, which will make this eating plan much easier to stick to.

I really wouldn’t be disheartened about a 9lb loss in just over 2 weeks though, that’s a great start. Some of the people who you think are losing larger amounts may weigh more than you to begin with, so they have a bigger calorie deficit when they reduce intake to 800 calories and would be expected to lose faster.

Stick with it, I’m sure you’ll soon find a way to make this work for you 🙂

oops, maybe my search wasn’t specific enough. Thanks Bill

Izzy hang in there! Your body is probably adjusting to losing a lot of water initially! Good job throwing out the potatoes💖
Yes you can eat too few calories which is why he says to eat 800 to ensure you get enough nutrition.
Stick with it! You are an inspiration to many…
🌷

Oh and at lunchtime a colleague showed me a mobile phone with an app my fitnesspal, that is free and adds up your calories, carbs and stuff.

Genius

Love Lucia
Xxxx

And don’t think I hadn’t noticed that the first people to welcome me and gently help me are the ones giving me a pat on the back.

🏆🏆🏆🏆🍾🍾🍾🍾🏈🍸🍸🍸🍸🏆🏆🏆🏆🎖🎖🎖🎖🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Love Lucia
Xxxx

My goodness I go red with embarrassment just thinking how hard I tried to weigh a dollop of yoghurt instead having a whole small tub.

Hey, I told you I was wired different than most.
Love luciaXxx

Lurkers always welcome!😜

Hi collie,
Your first week, wow, you have done the hardest thing… The first step. It takes a HUGE load of will power to take it, now it is easy, so easy.
You have a big family around you to walk with you on your journey.

I love the ideal you are a serial stalker. Don’t tell the others otherwise they will advise cereal isn’t do good for you, too many carbs have full fat Greek yoghurt and berries instead.

You must tell me what you have eaten in your first week.
I like eggs bacon mushrooms and tomatoes. This can be a main meal.
The another meal can be salad and chicken or a bit of cooked meat, or feta. Or if you prefer warm, veggies and a chop or something.
It doesn’t have to be hard.
I made it hard for myself, being too strict, got my knickers in a right twist. I had a time out for 24 hours were I measured just by eye.

I hope you will be around when I can zip up a size 12. I am saving to give a diabetic charity a gift.

The most important piece of advice I can give is to enjoy your life.
I actually went out and smelt the flowers.

I am here if you want anything.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Shropshire is the most under- rated county in the country. Plenty of great walking so getting in your steps will be no problem. How disappointing to read about your medical appointment but your friends on here will help you rise above it.

Hey! I had porridge with banana for breakfast, rise with broccoli for lunch and I am trying to think what to have for dinner. My favorite is potato salad: 2 boiled potatoes, 1 egg mixed and half of onion mixed with a spoon of mayo.

Hi Izzy,
Can you tell me where to find the salt and crispy garbanzo bean recipe you have made?
Thanks so much! On last day of my first week and reading all your posts has really helped me! 💜

Hi Eureka and Bill

Eureka – thanks for the flowers😃 I’m used to being off script in more than this😃

Bill – I was curious what the result would be, and delighted with it. Very happy to be under 6!

When all the blood results come back (always assuming they send for me when they’ve said) that’s exactly what I was intending to do. Like many folk on here, know me better than a lot of people I know in ‘real life’ 😳 Trust me – I can more than stand up for myself 😃

Oh Jackie thank you! I will follow your advice and hopefully start to feel better soon. Please let me know how youre doing too?

X

I think most of the menus are around 800 but not exactly so 100 here or there should be ok. First thing you need is to feel better, then reduce calories again I would say. Please remember this is my opinion, I’m not an expert by any means. Some of the others will be better advisors as they have blood sugar issues so have a better understanding of it all. I know one lady is also a medical person of some sort and often gives great help.

Do what you feel is right. I think the most important thing is to keep at it. If you feel crap you are more likely to give up!

X

Hi Lynne despite the useless doctor that is a great result on the sugar front.
Get your holiday booked then you can go relax for a while, you deserve it.
when you get back you’ll be close to July nd when those test results come back, demand a revised diagnosis, I don’t know you that well but I’m sure you’ll stand up for yourself 🙂

Thanks Jackie, wont that slow the weight loss, going over 800 cals?
Will try the kedgeree, it does sound nice.

Rachel

Hi general lynne
First da dah! Great results 😀 💐 You have worked hard for this, we know it.
Second you are off script & she’s just the prompt in the wings? We want the playwright ✍🏻 to CHANGE the script; write a new one.
Third the army of proof is gathering behind you & the other big hitters doing BSD. The results ( when they find them) are in your records! They can’t screw with that. But get a print out of your blood results so you have a copy too. EVERYONE DO THAT!
Change is coming, they just don’t know it YET.

Hi Judith.

I’ve thought a lot about it while I was out and about. She wants/needs to lose weight herself, so that may have something to do with it. Plus the patients she sees who don’t make an effort to take control of their health.

But what chance do you have when the doctor gets it wrong?

Oh well, looks like that’s an appointment less each month. They should send for me for the diabetes review. Let’s see if they do!

And, yes, it was all healthy food. Among all the sparkling water, coffee and decaff there was the Cranberry and Red Orange tea I saw mentioned on here and some salmon. That will go nicely with some courgetti soon 😃

Going tomorrow to book the train tickets to London for my holiday early June. Staying overnight at hotel near Heathrow, then flying to Bologna to stay with friends who live in Cremona. On Monday I reserved a room at a b&b in Shropshire for early October. Thought it would be better to stay in this country because I need to renew my passport when I get back from Italy. It expires next March and I want a holiday abroad early next year o need to get it sorted. We keep being told to make sure we take holidays away and I’ve not been good at doing that, so,trying to do that this year. Might go in travel agents tomorrow and see what is available January/February/March – with sun.

Like Bill says don’t fret too much about calories keep off carbs and your body will adjust.

Also if you like curry try the kedgeree, I love it!

I am happy with my results today. I am down from 212 pounds to 204 pounds today , even with my small moments of weakness. I ate just enough to satisfy that stupid “behavioral thought” of oh no I can’t survive without sugar or carbs. So I had a handful of my homemade low carb crackers on a fasting day and then yesterday I had two Riesen chocolate toffee chews to satisfy that agravating monkey on my back that was begging and bargaining away my need for a taste of chocolate and caramel! Lol
A lot of this for me is boiling down to Mind over matter
Out thinking old behaviors
Being smarter than the old me!
What are your thoughts about
Behaviors we develop in relation to eating? Do you believe you can out think your old behaviors?

Oh Lynne what a disappointment!

At least I know you well enough to know you shopped for healthy food even after that appointment .

She should be dancing that someone is taking control of their health and asking you to be part of a patient participation group x

I don’t know I’m sure the statistics and study’s are correct but I just believe that everyone’s body is different as is their thinking and their minds. I believe a lot of this weight loss battle is with ourselves and the learned and practiced Behaviors.
I believe that I can change because I am changing my behaviors and the relationship that I have with food.
.I used to Live To Eat.
Now I’ve began to Eat To Live.

Is Ryvita OK?

My husband bought some thinking it would be OK, carbs seem high.

Ingredients say (mainly) wholegrain rye, 10% pumpkin seeds and 10 % wholegrain oats, which doesn’t sound too bad.

Hi, I too had a terrible few days, no idea why but the wheel definitely fell off. I have felt such a failure that today is the first time I felt able to look at the forums again, was really feeling such a failure that I had no right to be part of the BSD community. Having seen how honest people have been I thought I should get a grip and have another go. Thank you to everyone for being so honest.

Love reading all these NSV, they make the change in lifestyle much more real and personal. For me the biggest change is in the amount of money I spend on food. I only buy what I need, mostly fresh produce and not expensive package stuff and ready meals and pizza, no more adding multi pack buys of biscuits, chocolate, sweets, snacks and cakes. I think I have reduced my food bill by at least 50%. Oh and I can bend down and get out of my chair without the accompanying moans and groans and oohs and aahs. Fab

I wanted to jump in somewhere. I’ve been lurking on the forums and so impressed with the advice, support and warmth of everyone.

I’m a Tofi and have been unable to lose weight and the fat around my middle despite eating processed free. I’ve been following this plan for a week and a half and have lost 6 pounds so far. Yeah!! My mother was a type 2 diabetic and I’ve always been deathly afraid of ending up the same. My sugar last tested was borderline high.

My goal .. is to become acquainted with my hip bones again… Lol… Is that bad? 😄

I’ll keep lurking and feeling encouraged.

Went for the results of latest HbA1c today. When I walked in the nurse was more interested in telling me about her holiday, how bad she felt and the problems with her car. Then she asked why I was there! When she looked on the screen she couldn’t find the figures for the result. But she did find a note from the doctor saying I was being overtreated! I’ve never had diabetes meds. That did it! I could feel the blood pressure going up!!!

Someone came to sort out the system and she found the results

July 2015 – 8.7
December 2015 (just before I started the BSD – 9.6
January 2016 – 8.7 (one month in, don’t ask – it was a sneaky test, they got confused!)
April 2016 *drum roll* – 5.5

She told me in the new measurements and had to find the conversion chart, saying she’d never seen one that low in this practice and that it was a good result.

She didn’t need the conversion chart for the older results. She *knows the high ones by heart*.

I’m not seeing her again until July for annual diabetes review, including another HbA1c.

She mentioned a diabetic male patient who paid to see a nutritionist privately and was told to eat lots of carbs 😱 My response was I’d teach a session!

No mention of revising diagnosis. Nothing positive.

Got the feeling that she was nice and encouraging in the beginning because she thought it wouldn’t last. Now she can see the results (weight loss and test results) she’s not happy.

Blood pressure up slightly (told her I wasn’t surprised and she should have checked it first thing) but in normal limits.

Ho hum. I should have gone to the Church coffee morning after the appointment but decided against it – just wanted to run away and lick my wounds! So went food shopping😃

Thanks Jackie and thanks also for the carb flu info. The link is indeed broken, however, I googled it and got some good info. As you and Bill advised, much more fat!! They even recommended chicken with skin! mmmm not sure how that will fit into 800 cals though……

Rachel

Hi Christine and thank you for your post. I find it really encouraging to know that you have also struggled with this, but have managed to keep going and succeed.
I have taken on board the fat issue and had some very buttery scrambled eggs for lunch together with my 50g of smoked salmon, plus halfway through my second large glass of water. I guess you just have to keep going……..
Thanks for yoghurt tip, Im using yeo valley at present, not sure how that compares carb wise but its the nicest ive found taste wise.

Keep posting your journey!!

Rachel

That yoghurt is by TOTAL who also make the 0% = don’t get that one! Container as Christine says is a large round one not the tall skinny one. Red white and pale blue. J

Hope it’s going well for you Lisas nanny – I’m right behind you , started on Tuesday.

I haven’t managed 10,000 steps yet – more like between 4000 – 5000 but they’re increasing bit by bit . I’m obsessed with looking at my FitBit readouts – it’s getting beyond a joke … as if by looking at it my steps will magically increase ! And the sleep patterns are fascinating too – I had to laugh this morning when my FitBit told me that I’d walked 0.04 miles since midnight! That’s me going to the loo at least twice a night – it must be all that water , so every cloud has a silver lining.

God Luck.

Yes I suppose we just need to keep soldiering on. Yesterday we had breakfast 50g full fat Greek yogurt with one weetabix crumbled over (119 cal) Lunch: 2 cherry tomatoes, 1/4 a cucumber, 12g spinach leaves, 50g red pepper, 50g iceberg lettuce, 50g raw red cabbage, 125g seafood sticks and 17g hot Mayo dip (243 cals) then tea I marinated 200g chicken breast in 50g Greek yogurt and tandoori spices, baked in foil with lemon juice served with roasted veg (no oil) 2 cherry tomatoes, 150g courgette, 100g mushroom and 100g of the Holland and Barrett low cal rice (409 cal) I was so starving by bedtime I had a slice of watermelon and some grilled chicken slices. The day before we had similar breakfast of Greek yog, Oaty flakes and half a grapefruit, lunch lentil and spice soup and one slice toast and tea baked fish with salt pepper and lime, small amount mustard mash and red cabbage, green beans and broccoli. Does this sound about right? I’ve just adapted what we and the children usually eat and had much smaller portions

Hi neohdiver
Just to let you know you are being thought about & wished all that is best, not just when you post
Eureka 🙏🏻 💐

Great job Bongo!

I’ve just started day 4 and I’m down 3.1 lbs. so far and I’ve been feeling great. I have about 40 lbs. to loose total, but I’m trying not to let that discourage me. I’ve been following recipes from the book and they have been really good. I made the steak last night with mixed greens, and it was delicious!

I have a party to attend tomorrow night with lots of food and drinks that will be surrounding me. It makes me nervous but I will just have to be mindful what I eat and drink. I haven’t wanted sugar or carbs as much as I thought I would crave them.

So far we are doing good and the key is to stick to this, its working great so far!!

Hi rachel62,
Forgot to say, I was recommended on here to get fage full fat Greek yogurt, it’s got less carbs in and is better on this diet, it’s in a big round tub with the other yogurts, but not a tall tub,it’s more squat! If that makes sense?
Hope that helps,
Christine