Thanks for the reply bill 🙂
I am pretty good at guaging my insulin requirement 🙂 i will keep a close eye on my bsl while i am on the 800calories a day 🙂
Kassa

Hi Lulu
you can reassure your husband that the carbohydrate cravings will soon pass, and, by the end of 8 weeks he won’t be tthinking of chocolate nevr mind wanting it.
Sugar is so addictive, it comes as a major surprise to most people to find that they suddenly don’t need it anymore.
Make sure you both are eating plenty of healthy fats from full fat dairy, olive oil etc, and it’s imperative to get those 2 – 3 litres of fluid inside you every day.
Best of luck on the journey to both of you.

Great stuff Sue
your perseverance has paid off, lets see more of the same 🙂
Hopefully your busy life will slow down a little.

Hi
the book does say that if you are taking insulin, to consult with your GP before starting.
This is in case your sugar levels go too low, your insulin would need to be gradually reduced in that case.
This diet does work, I’ve lost 2.5 stones in 13 weeks and I’m a long term diabetic. My last HbA1c tests showed my sugar levels tyo be in pre diabetic range after just 4 weeks on the plan and I have now stopped all medication and hoping to be pronounced non diabetic in September.
Stick to the plan and it will work.

Sugar content matters a lot, we cut simple carbs because they are easily processed into sugar.
As to the carbs / calories, you should try to keep carbs down to about 50g per day and calories to about 800 to get the best results.

Congrats to you – it all helps.
Me too: 1lb in the week, slower than usual to date, but all other signs good, so it’s like life – not a straight line.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. Perhaps having read the case studies in the book before embarking on the diet, I set my expectations a little too high. As stated, I am delighted with my blood sugar level reduction and I shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that this is why this diet initially appealed to me. I am 52 in a week or so and been diabetic for about 5 years and foolishly have not taken it seriously enough until now. I shall soldier on!!

hi all,
I am 35 and have a 2 year old. I have had type 2 diabetes now for 17 years and been on insulin for 10 years. I have been trying a few different diets but never seem to have success. My goal is to stop taking insulin and cure my diabetes. I am also trying to get pregnant again but would like to be less weight and healthier.
I am terrified about this diet but even more terrified that i won’t see my little angel grow up.

After 2 weeks of no weight loss I have now started to lose again – 2 lbs in last 3 days. Weight loss so far is 19 lb, or 11% of my total weight. It’s been slow, but this is a diet for life. No more ‘whites’ – bread, pasta etc. I don’t even miss them. If I crave a Bolognese sauce, it’s with courgetti. BMI is down to 30, which makes me overweight rather than obese. Target: BMI 25 or less. I am no longer pre-diabetic. Thank you, Doctor Michael.

Hubby, who has type 2 diabetes, refused to start the BSD but has more or less defaulted to it, apart from treating himself to potatoes once a week. He doesn’t weigh himself or test his blood sugar unless he feels unwell, but he has a lot more energy and he he’s had to donate a lot of his clothes to charity shops as they are now too big.

I’ve had to donate quite a few of my clothes too. I don’t mind that, but I’m still mourning a pair of snazzy yellow denims, never worn, which went into the charity bag in February, because ‘obviously, I would never get into them’. This was just before I started the BSD…

Hi dinkydo,
It must be frustrating for you but do not despair – 20lbs lost is 20lbs you are not carrying around anymore. (It’s taken me 3 & 1/2 month to lose 21lbs – OK, I was starting at 174lbs). The drop in your blood sugars levels is great. So plenty to be positive about.
Your body is adjusting (it will try and keep its fat reserves & try to thwart your efforts) – plenty of people go through what you have described. There is no steady, constant weight loss – it goes in fits & starts and, dammit, sometimes it goes back on before coming off again. Stick with it, the weight will come off again.
Good luck!

The change in blood sugar level is fantastic! I think that is the most important thing. Maybe weight loss will speed up again later.

Is it more important to count calories or carbohydrates, and then does sugar content matter?

I have been on the diet for 6 weeks now. In my first week I lost 11 pounds (about 5kg). Each week since though I have lost only one or two pounds and nothing at all one week. I weighed 302 lbs at the start of the plan so had plenty to lose! I have lost a total of 20lbs which is very pleasing but considering the amount I have to lose, my greatly increased activity level (a lot of walking the dogs) and the steadfast way in wihich I have followed the diet I would have thought I would have lost a lot more. I am a type 2 diabetic and started the diet with a blood sugar level of 18.8 and very quickly dropped to a level of 7 or 8 so I am of course delighted with this.
Am I expecting too much to expect a greater weight loss though?

Good for you, gal!
I’ve just posted a message about an article on BBC iWonder – have a look at it. Bite size chunks of useful advice about why people put weight back on – and what to do about it (basically, developing good habits).

Hi, Just seen this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zxm8v4j

It’s about losing weight and why so many people put weight back on. Might be useful for anyone who struggles – lots of useful info (which deep down we probably know already) to keep you motivated and on the right path.

Wow peggy that’s fantastic. I wish I could swim half a mile! Perhaps building the muscle isn’t showing on your scales but on a more sculpted you! : )

Hi RozyDozy,

Yep happy to get on the scale this morning and see 400grams off, was a bit down for a few seconds then thought, that’s almost a brick of butter minus hundred grams (I was able to visualise 100g because I bake alot – well I used to) so then I felt ok.

Yep need to find ways to keep busy when I’m at home. I bought a mindfulness colouring book and some felt tip pens to occupy myself when my hands need to be busy doing something. I’ve also cut down smoking so need to keep hands busy.

I agree with being kind to yourself, some days 800 calories feel so little so I’ve decided next time I feel hungry instead of eating junk I will just have another portion of real BSD food instead or eat some carrot sticks and hummus. As long as I stay away from the carbs it should be ok. How is your head feeling today? I noticed Saturday I didn’t have morning coffee I ended up with a headache so I’m guessing I have some kind of caffeine dependency – could be wrong ha ha.

Yes thank you Rozy, I planned last night for breakfast and Lunch with an open-ish option for dinner – the cooked veg portion I have prepared with either some home cooked salmon or some feta cheese and olives – Probably end up with the salmon as its rainy and going shopping before I get home sounds a bit of a drag.

I was however a bit disappointed, the shake I normally drink has sucralose in it. I never stopped to think to read the ingredients in the 4 months I’ve been drinking it. Today I opened a new pouch and up to now all I checked is the calorie content and the 103 calories per serving made me happy. I tried to take a quick look through the book index to read up on sucralose but my gut tells me it sounds like sucrose so its probably evil – I need to find someone to give it to or its £20 in the bin…maybe send an email round at work 🙂

Lunch I’m having a portion of my cooked vegetables (120 cal) and a slice of Edam Cheese from Sainsbury’s (78 Cal), got my 25 calorie afternoon snack of dried mushroom and seaweed soup (made the packs up myself to be sure what goes in) Thinking in a week or so I’ll try to stop the in between but afternoons get me peckish and the soup does the trick to keep me focussed.

Hope you have a great day Rozy!

Sue I am so pleased for you. If anyone deserves success you do as you have had to deal with so much right from the beginning of this diet 🙂

Yesterday day 79 weight 10st
Blood sugar 9.5

Had my shorts on in the sunshine and noticed how skinny my legs are.

Day 80 weight 9st 13lbs 17lbs lost 🙆🙆🙆🙆🙆🙆
Blood sugar 8.9

Pleased I carried on. Delighted that the weight seems to be moving quicker. I haven’t been exercising but I find I’m not sitting down as much, I try to get up and do something, even if it is going into another room to switch the radio on, or put something away. Blood sugar still not where I want it to be, but not as bad as it used to be.

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.😀