well actually, eureka, the simple carbs don’t seem to bother me – indeed my reflux got better the last 2 weeks when I was back to bingeing and eating rubbish

I got the reflux book today – but it has just added to my already stressed and addled brain
loads of the recipes include bread or wheats and bananas so I don’t want to eat them
and then on their ‘DONT’ eat list is half the stuff I eat – berries/yog/
oh
and then they start all the stuff about throat cancers which I realise but REALLY don’t need to read about
so now I am in a totally mess as to what I should do

I was doing nicely with berries and yog, even if my throat does feel a bit odd – but not after that

its things like this which make me spin out of control and back into carbo land

Hello All,

This is the start of my second week on BSD and I’m already feeling discouraged. The start of my first week was strong. I started last Monday and by Friday I was down 4.8 lbs. Friday night I attended a party but only had a quarter of a plate of food and and two glasses of champagne. Saturday I walked for an hour on the tredmill, and my only meal was dinner at 8:00pm which was a small piece of steak with salad, and I had two beers. Sunday same thing, had one meal all day which included roasted peppers, 2 oz. piece of meat and some tomato salad. When I weighed myself yesterday, I was up 2.2 lbs. and I hardly ate! Not sure if it was from the few drinks I had but its crazy how fast weight or water weight can come back so fast!

Started strong again yesterday with 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch, and chicken stir-fry for dinner. Also had a couple of nuts for a snack. Today for breakfast I had a small apple with 2 tbls of peanut butter, and lunch I had the chicken walnut wraps which is a recipe from the book. For dinner I will be having chicken stir-fry again, and also will be talking a zumba class. I’ve been noticing that I’ve been feeling hungry about an hour after eat.

I’m feeling discourage because many of you have reported a huge weight loss the first week, and I didn’t. I know everyone’s body is different but I feel I should have lost more. I have about 40 lbs. to lose. I weigh 190 lbs and I am 5ft. tall. I’ve struggled my whole adult life with weight and hoped this diet would be my answer. Eating 800 calories per day is drastic but I need to do something drastic in order to kick start my weight loss and keep it off for good. Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

B Vega nutritional shake
L 1 oz cheddar – strawberries – 2 T yogurt
D green salad – 3oz crab – 2 T Caesar dressing – 3 oz ahi
🌷

Hi Imogen,
Love the idea you went to the supermarket and had a wrestling match with the labels.
In most uk supermarkets, they put the fruit and veg first,not make you feel healthy.
The milk is usually on the other side of the world.

I have made a quick sketch of aldi, morrisons and tesco’s, like one of those maze puzzles that you have to find the shortest way out.
I plan it so I don’t go through the bread as I CRAVE it if I sniff it.
I also avoid chocolate and again I go crinkly around the edges if I smell it.

I have thought of buying one of those synconised swimmers nose clip to stop me smelling those evil, wicked things.
I have had some strange looks as I walk through the frozen veg section with my water wings on.
I find I lose weight with this idea, as my flippers won’t let me get near the freezers!! 🏊🏻⛷⛷⛷🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hello….I’m starting the BSD on 25th May once I’m back from visiting family/friends. Any advice or encouragement would be great as kinda finding 800 cals a day a bit daunting. Just one thing, where low carb veggies are concerned, is there a limit to how much we can eat or can these be piled up on plate?

Hi Jabbygirl – you are right of course to be cautious saying that a lot of that is fluid and that your weight loss will slow down……the great thing is that when you see a massive change on the scales it does give you so much positivity I think and an element of excitement – so much more motivating than ooh 1/2 a lb in 2 weeks – yaay! Don’t get me wrong, any loss is great but………………..

Having said that – I weighed in yesterday at the start of week 15 for me and I lost 3 lbs last week, 3.4 the week before and 3.8 the week before that – I know that is staggering compared to any ‘normal’ diet. Yes I have had a couple of plateaus – my worst week was losing just .8lb and that happened on 3 separate occasions – not motivating when you’re doing the right thing (oh I’m forgetting Easter and putting on 6.6lbs through sheer stupidity and mini creme eggs) but then to see it kind of pick up momentum again is so rewarding now that I’m totally back on track.

So keep that strong frame of mind and 1 1b a day (plus a bit) is absolutely amazing – well done!!

All foods contain energy measured in calories when it is released. Bill gives good advice. As an example I have now lost 40 pounds by keeping my sugars to <30 gm/day and my average calorie intake was 850 for 11 weeks my BMI is in the normal range now. Sugars are densely packed calorie packages refined sugars being some of the worst.

Hello, you need to decide where a BMI of 25 would put you in terms of weight. You do not have to be obese to lose any % of anything – you CHOOSE to be the weight that is right for you and the easy way is by adjusting your carb intake when you reach your target weight. If you keep to the guidelines you will be in good company and can ask for support and advice on here at any time. If you are already familiar with 5:2 you may just need to watch what you eat a bit more carefully and it sounds that you my not have far to go. If you are no longer on meds then relax, eat well, exercise and enjoy the knowledge that you can be whatever weight you choose to be with a little application and will power. It would be good to re-read the book I think?… Have fun.

Oh well done Peggy.
I am on day 10 and I have lost 10.5 lbs (a lot of that will be fluid) Really pleased though with such a good start. I know my weight loss will slow down now but I am in a very good and strong frame of mind to continue. The help on here has been brilliant. Thanks everyone

Good luck everyone for this week

Hi Sue1234
Persistence paying off. Well done. Those pesky blood sugars may just have been waiting for you to be 9 stone something! Keep on. . . .

thanks bill, I will look at her site

I took some of the coconut flatbreads into some people today – 2 of whom are gf – and they all liked them

Hi Kassa81
Welcome. You are wanting this for all the right reasons, but you really must talk to your GP & at least give him/her chance to fully support you. Taking insulin makes a difference. See page 117 in the BSD book & dr Mosley’s advice.
You can do this but be safe. See posting by BSD on Forum – Starting the BSD, Topic – WARNING, on 7.5.16 re Ketoacidosis.
Looking forward to your posts.

Dunno how I missed that post…Thanks Bill you made me feel better! A maintenance plan means not having to worry on holidays, dates and going out and socialising with friends so now I feel less scared.

I have a yukky headache I can’t shake and feeling a bit foggy and dull in my brain which would be fine if it was a Wednesday and I’m travelling but today its just UGH.

Yay good news Rozy, happy the car is ready, you’re so right – eating doesn’t fix it but for me I think it was a coping mechanism of stuffing down my fears and stress with food and if i ate enough i pushed it down…starting a new job I’m scared out of my mind I made a terrible mistake but I’ve decided not to let a mistake make me fat. Instead I will look at this as an opportunity to show myself I can stay in control and find a solution that is good all round and wont harm my health and sanity – I looked at my weekly shop bill as compared to previous weeks I spent £20 less this week. So in the long run I can see myself saving money being on the BSD – maybe I’ll put those savings in a jar for a bikini beach holiday 😉

Hi RozyDozy
Thanks for the link. Very interesting & one to keep on the BSD

Hi Peggy

What great results! You should be very proud of what you’ve achieved do far. Stick with it! We all I think struggle with this diet at times. It isn’t easy at first but seems to become easier as you go along and feeling and looking so much better is the pay-off. The downside? Having to buy new clothes in smaller sizes – but then some problems are good ones to have!

Keep up the good work!

Hi all,

I’m starting the BSD next week (book is on it’s way!), I have around 5 stone to loose and 37 and pre-diabetic (it runs in the family), I have everything crossed this will work for me.

Quick questions though, I’m dairy intolerant so use alpro and rice milk. Is that ok as a substitute?

Many thanks

Lou

My BP readings are staying startlingly (for me) low and halving my lisinopril dose 2 weeks ago has made no difference. I’m going to see what happens without the other 10mg daily. Having a good arm-band BP monitor gives confidence that monitoring will be accurate. I always thought wrist monitors were dodgy on accuracy and a waste of money.

I’m also noting that my blood glucose readings are now mostly in the fives. That’s on a DIY halving of my metformin dose two weeks ago. I’m going to stop taking the other half at the end of this week – by then I’ll have completed Week 6. HBa1c is now 37 (It was apparently 87 when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 last year!).

This is so empowering. At this rate the only tablet I’ll be taking each day is a multi-vitamin pill! Thank you Michael Mosley.

Glad you liked it. Pity that bad habits are quicker to learn than good ones! 🙂 Much of it is just plain common sense but sometimes it just needs someone to state it.
The article seems to be aimed at emotional eaters (I include myself as one) – and I think that is a bit of a wild card for some of us, when something happens that knocks everything out of kilter. But at least on the BSD it’s a long-term thing so it gives you time to relearn the good habits.

Bill makes a very valid point about low fat diets & their lack of a maintenance diet & that the BSD does have a maintenance side. I think that is why I am still following it after 3 & 1/2 months and expect to be for a good while yet. It is a long-term thing – just what we need for developing good habits.

As for the car, just had a phone call to say it’s ready for collection. Didn’t dare ask how much the bill would be. Whatever the financial damage, I know that stuffing my face won’t help! So, Rose, be strong while wandering round Tesco. And bumblebee, keep on feeling empowered.

Hi Dinkydo! Oh man, those pesky lard globules just hold on like crazy. I sometimes imagine them hanging on to their homes with all ten “fingers” as I seek to eradicate them. They are especially resistant in the beginning when they think they own the place 😜! You said you have dogs — well, after so long your fat thinks it is in the alpha position. Time to reestablish the pecking order! All kidding aside, your results are stellar — firstly health wise with your lower blood sugar and secondly, 20 pounds in 6 weeks is almost 3 pounds a week. That is practically impossible on your average low calorie/low fat diet — you’d be lucky to get 1 pound a week. I would venture to say that you are responding extremely well. Think of how big and heavy a 20 pound bag of dog food is!! (You can see I have dogs too — an Australian shepherd and a little white rescue mutt).

Thanks Pam and Bill for speaking B to the plateaus as it will really assist when I hit mine. That’s the hardest time for me.
Right now I am really focusing on how much healthier I am in less than 3 weeks and thinking of the weightloss as a great side element.
Blood sugar down to normal
Had to buy 2 size smaller shirts
And today, best of all, tummy seems healed!! This is huge for me!!

I stood weighing daily since many wanted of plateaus as seeing even .5 lb loss a week is better than freaking out due to no weight loss daily when it happens.

We also bought a little scale to take on our trip just to keep on track of everything.

One funny note: when I got the two size smaller shirts I also got 2 size smaller undies as mine were way too big after just two weeks on the diet. The two size smaller ones were SUPER TIGHT as all get out but I wore them and two days later (today) they fit!!! I am shocked. I measured because I couldn’t believe in and I lost another inch on my hips so all around still melting – yippee!

Thanks for the kind support and positive replies. It’s nice to hear from so many going through the same. Good luck to all.

Okay you are 8 hours ahead of me, do you mind saying where you live just so I can think of you there when we chat? I am in Seattle, Washington.
Have a nice walk with your friend!!

London has been rainy, muggy and miserable all day…Its almost 4pm and I’ve not felt the need to have my soup yet which is great I can try some for dinner.

Strawberries….runner beans…growing them yourself…Ooooh that has to be so exciting! Hope your car is ready and no more stress days.

on the article – yes always good to make the effort, i feel so empowered and strong when I am doing something good for myself. I feel like each second is an investment into the rest of my life – just need to cut the smoking out now ha ha! I read somewhere once it takes 10 days to break an old habit and 11 days to implement a new one – I am thinking of doing something that will ensure even on weekends I can stay focussed – only thing left to do is think of what. Hmmm

Nail on the head Izzy
the thing is, with most diets you feel like you’re missing out on the “nice” things. I’ve never felt that way on this one which is why I started calling it a new lifestyle rather than a diet.
I can watch people eating loads of what I used to think was lovely food and it doesn’t bother me one iota now.
I just can’t see me ever going back to eating that way. I’m more than happy as I am now 😀

“80% of those who lose weight put it back on again”
The trouble with that is, the vast majority of folk have lost weight and put it back on have done it on low fat diets with no maintainence plan to follow.
This is different in that there is a maintainence plan, but not only that, cutting the carbs for 8 weeks tends to stop you wanting to eat them, lots of people who have completed the course will tell you that their former likings for sweets and high carb foods have vanished so that in itself will help keep the weight off.

That’s the trouble with inspirational examples – they capture the imagination and the headlines – but we are not all going to achieve the same spectacular results. It’s not a criticism of the BSD/8 week book at all, it seems to be what other authors/publishers include as well. We are all different – your spectacular success was the reduction in your blood sugar levels, the weight will catch up eventually. 🙂

The day is a bit damp – went up to the allotment to plant out the first of my runner beans and got wet walking back! But it looks like I will have a good strawberry crop… Otherwise I’m waiting for a call from the garage to say my car is ready for collection (the car was the source of 2 of my stress-inducing disasters in recent days).

Thought the BBC article was interesting in that even when people put on most of the weight they’ve lost, they are still doing themselves more good than if they hadn’t lost the weight in the first place. So it is always worth making the effort.
And it makes the point that good habits can take time to develop.

Hey Keeptrying
if you Google for Coconut mama then go to her site there are oodles of cocnut flour recipes on there.
Some are no good as they use sugar but still lots to make 🙂

Good plan Bill if we are doing what we should with the food, then there is little else we can do to control it, an element of acceptance is needed really. It’s got to be a long term change for us.

That’s a lovely idea to remember your Mother I hope you enjoy your day.

Yes we will be hours ahead it’s 1510 right now so my work day is getting near to done. I’m sat just now waiting for work as I’ve run out and the office is trying to find me something. Not allowed to just go home lol.

Planning a walk with my friend tonight so I am looking forwards to that.

Hi Izzy
Know what you mean, I went the whole 8 weeks losing regularly then plateaued on week 10 😮
Started losing again week 11 and still going down 🙂
I looked on it kindly and regarded it as my body taking a rest before the next big push, keeps me sane anyway 🙂

Yes it seems to happen to lots of us I’m lucky so far though as I’ve never past my official weigh in day without a loss but it could happen and I know to stick with it.

Hey Izzy,
You are doing great and read Pam1954’s post. She lost nothing for two weeks and now started dropping again!!
💜

Pam1954 – 1954er here too!
Congrats on starting to lose weight again as even more on hanging on through the last two weeks!! You have done amazing!!
I love
That you had to donate clothes and just plan on getting a special new pair of pants when you are at your goal weight or get one now to wear a while until they are too big!

Wow that’s amazing! Great job taking one bite and tossing it! My daughter in law gave us two cookies she had made when we were out to eat. I put them in the car and left them there and then last night out them down the disposal. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do 😳
They smelled too good even a day old to keep here for the kids when they come over.
Usually whenever I get free desserts at a restaurant I bring them home and throw them in the freezer then when the kids come over I defrost them and they get some dessert.

Two pounds is great!! Remember everyone says it gets slow and then sometimes speeds up again as our bodies adjust.

Today would be my moms bday if she was still here and my husband and I always do something special for her. Today we are taking a day trip drive and a picnic somewhere. And I took the day off from seeing clients. 😃

Hope your day was or is awesome – I think you must be 8-12 hours ahead of me in time zones.

Keep going – we can do this!!

Hugs!

Thanks Bill. I keep telling him I’m sure it will pass, but it’s good to hear it from someone else. He is a total sugar fiend!

Lucia: more, smaller meals is a good idea. I hadn’t thought of that. I can get him a tuna steak at my supermarket sometimes (we live in rural France, so it’s pork country around here). He loves the food I’m doing, but just misses his potatoes, sandwiches and cereals, even apart from the biscuits and cake, LOL.

Morning Lucia, morning all,

Today I went to the supermarket …. this was the first time in over three weeks I had felt tempted to cheat on the BSD 800 … all those treats!! Avoided the temptation by giving myself a good talking to. Then noticed the strange looks I was getting (note to self no mumbling out loud) Reading the labels on some items left me appalled – why do they put sugar in meat?bread? – no more pre packed processed foods for me.
Latest wheeze to cheat my crazy mind…I have started eating my meals using chopsticks, slows my eating right down…enjoy my tasty food rather than bolting it. Course not great for soup!😄

Imogen

RozyDozy thanks for this! I just read through it just now… My key learning..? That new habits take time to form and replace the old habits.

I’m having my lunch (deviated from the cheese and having turkey breast instead but still under 300 cals)
Reading the article on BBC iWonder…80% of those who lose weight put it back on again that is so scary – going to finish reading it then go for a walk to get some steps in my food diary too 🙂

Hope your day is going well so far.

Hi all,

So I’ve survived day two with only the minor hiccup of a small piece of chocolate brownie. I regret it, but won’t let it ruin the whole plan as I would have done in the past. Tiny brownie? The week is ruined! I quit! May as well eat the whole plateful! Ha! I won’t lie, I was tempted.

Yesterday, day one, was wretched! I was so hungry and so tired and just generally hating life. Today was a bit better. Had a giant plate of salad for dinner and just a small piece of steak. Last week would have been the opposite, so I’m grateful for small victories. Perhaps I will survive this afterall. Yesterday I wasn’t so sure!

Hi bumble bee,
We will not wait here for 7 weeks and 6 days.
We are all walking beside you today, tomorrow and onwards, so we all step into the vets area with you.

Don’t worry about messing up, just carry on, have a look at my blogs , even if it is to laugh at me and my daftness.

Bill 1954 is fantastic with help, so is captain Lynn and Hashimoto. To name three, there are many here and WE are now your family.

Keep posting, keep moving, keep losing, and keep HAPPY.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

hi, lucia,

No, ordinary pasta doesn’t do that [ if it did I wouldn’t be so fat ]. There is a pseudo one that is made of konjac which does that …anything with konjac seems to do the damage. Bit scary, eh ?

jillyB

Hi lulu,
If you are hungry , can’t you have more smaller meals and spread it out over the day and evening?

I look for the foods with the least calories and fill up with them.

Do you think hubby may need something substantial to eat instead of what my hubby calls ‘rabbit food’?
If you can, get him a tuna steak, this is like eating a steak, you need a knife, and he will feel as if he is eating ‘man’ food. This with plenty of veg. Just an idea.

Make sure the tuna is from a sustainable source.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi jillyb,
There is a pasta that swells up if taken with a drink and may choke you?
I realise if you a re dead you will not put weight on, but I would rather us all live to fantastically old ages and have races with our Zimmer frames!!

I am going to paint ‘go faste’ stripes on mine🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi gang,
I have been reading blogs and talking to people.
What I find is, they say I will start when I buy a @@@@@@.
Eg. I need a pedometer first then I will walk.
Why?
Why can’t you walk around the block without knowing its 672 steps?
Why can’t you walk towards the shops/school/handsome veg guy shop, for say ten minutes and back?
Why can’t you walk until you need to sit down on a bench, bus stop seat, wall, etc? Then catch your breath and come back?
The gizmo is not needed to exercise.
I was doing yoga in my jeans, these were tight and nearly cut me in two, but I just undid the top button and started to knot myself up.
Now I have difficulty holding my jeans up whilst doing yoga.
So, because I am still doing it, after 8 weeks, I went to cheap primark and got a couple of leggings.
I got cheap ones as I am still losing weight and will out-shrink ( or what ever is the opposite to outgrow ) them.
Then I will go to the more expensive shops and buy stuff that I will wear for years.

I even put cans of baked beans in carrier bags and did cattle or kettle bell exercises with them.

I used a washing line to skip.

So don’t wait for the gizmo, do it right now. Well, maybe not if you are in work, or in a pub reading the blogs, but do it today. You may just love it and lose weight today.
Go for it

Love Lucia
Xxx

Sounds like you’re all ready for this Kassa
Best of luck and if you have any questions or problems, just give a shout 🙂

Hi Peggy
well done you!!!
Do you remember the girl who said “I’ve tried the GI diet (which seems very similar) a number of times and always failed – I’m terrified that I will fail this time too.” ?
Well you sure aren’t failing, you must be feeling heeps better about it.
Keep it up, you’ll get where you want to be

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.