Hi Bill1954
It’s strange! Wonder if your Dawn Phenomenon has shifted?
I fast from 6pm – 8am ‘ish 15 – 16 hrs daily. 2 weeks off my meds but fluctuating FBS? I eat breakfast then only one more meal a day. Sometimes only one meal if stuff gets in the way! ( not good)
I noticed my FBS is higher before breakfast but lower if I test before midday if I move my first meal time for that day!
My reflux has gone so don’t want to eat cheese or yoghurt late before bed to jeopardise that.
It’s a suck it & see situation for me & obviously got to keep on top of monitoring my bloods. I’m nowhere near my personal fat threshold yet I feel.
You have done so well on all counts. Let’s hope it’s an aberration that you can quickly sort out

Glad to hear it. I had a blood sugar shock over the weekend but it’s went back to normal now.
There is so much we don’t know about the human body and mind that it isn’t surprising that sometimes things come out of left field that defy everything you think you know.
One thing I’ve discovered over the last 3 months is the only predictable thing about my body is it’s unpredictability

Wow Izzy!! 8 lbs is amazing!! Good for you and to lose another inch? Wonderful!! I hope to follow in the inches lost as well!
Great job and thanks for all your inspiring posts!!

Hi keeptrying
That’s very hard to bear & too soon to be coming out the other side just yet. Give yourself time. Many on this site are trying to cope with loss & severe illness, their own & others close to them. We’ve all walked those paths but here you don’t have to do that alone.

If you can have medical support to reference your desires & goals re this BSD, grab it with both hands. So many of us are/have been fighting for that.

We have to come first now because the decision, effort & change we want is monumental.

Hi Chocolate_ee
Loved your post..glad you survived your breakfast!! I don’t know if it’s any help but I have Rose Elliot’s Low Carb Vegetarian Diet book which has a pretty comprehensive list at the back of permissible foods and their carb and protein contents. The measures are in grams or ounces and are pretty easy to work out. I have 18 almonds every day ( don’t ask!!) and they are 2grms of carbs. There’s a lot of useful info on low carbing which goes along very handily beside the fantastic BSD book.
Good luck with this brilliant eating plan..you’ll soon be enjoying the huge benefits that it brings

4 choc mini rolls, eh? I scoffed a whole box of Dairy Box chocs on Sunday (plumbed new depths for me). Well, the evidence has been eaten – once it’s gone, it’s gone & it’s not in the house anymore. Yesterday & today I’ve been back on track.

Time to pretend you are Gone With the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara: After all, tomorrow is another day.

I’ve been told that I “internalize” – so it’s good to have something like this forum just to get things off your chest. There are plenty of people reading these message threads so I’m sure others will be able to chip in with advice & encouragement. I sincerely hope you find a way to deal with your problems.

Hi Jani123
You’re very welcome! I know that I always like to consider a product that someone has at least tried,tested and liked rather than stick a pin in and hope!! The Code Free kit comes with 10 test strips and 10 lancets..handy to start you off but you will obviously need a lot more. I think you can get a “package” deal on Amazon that gives you the kit plus extra lancets and strips. When you reorder them without the kit it pays to buy the two packs of each..really good saving. Yes..you’re right ..each test needs a lancet and strip and you are NOT ignorant..none of us have a clue when starting out on these things. I know I didn’t! I was just lucky to find a good product to begin with. If you have any other queries and questions then there are loads of friendly,knowledgeable and helpful folk on this forum who are more than happy to share. I’ve learnt loads just reading through the threads before jumping in and joining in. Good luck with everything !

Hello again all. I have been reading bits and pieces still but not able to post recently as home and work life has been particularly busy. Just logging in quickly to say I haven’t forgotten you and hope to be back once daughter’s exams are started properly and hopefully her stress levels are lower.
The very best wishes to you all – that stepping and stair climbing is admirable!

thank you rose
I have to say I don’t believe my current ‘mess’ is caused by dad, but my mh team do
I don’t seem to be feeling anything much, not even numb but they say it is my way of coping with such intense emotion
hmmm well been doing that for years!
can you believe it I have just had4 chocolate mini rolls! well there is only 1 left then they are GONE

So sorry to hear that you lost your father recently. Puts my recent problems into perspective.
Be kind to yourself & stay strong,
Take care.

I just started the 8-week blood sugar diet today. I have no idea if I have raised blood sugar levels or if I am pre-diabetic. There is nobody in my family who ever has been, as far as I know. But I have been putting on weight very slowly but steadily over the past ten years, and have found it hard to shift. I get so far on a diet and then fall off the wagon. I have been reading some of the threads on here and identify with many of the feelings about my diet/weight, for example, eating to avoid dealing with other things or to procrastinate, emotional eating, feeling a bit addicted to sugar and so on. I just want to get back to a place where I have a healthy, normal relationship with food, rather than a guilt-ridden toxic relationship. I have about two stone to lose, and given the fact that this diet seems to deliver fast results, I thought it might be the one for me, as typically I fall off the wagon on things like WW or SW after a month or two. The other major reason is that I need to reprogram my body’s relationship with carbohydrates. I definitely eat too many carbs and too much sugar, and it is just never enough. I always want more. It can only get worse.

So anyway, that’s why I am starting. I have bought the book and read it all and made menu plans for the next three weeks. I thought I’d just post on the forum to introduce myself. I think it is hugely helpful to be able to talk to people doing the same diet, and get advice and encouragement.

So hello! I am sure I will be posting soon with progress and looking for support/encouragement when I start craving sugar as I am sure I will.

Just one question … today is only the first day but I have quite a bad headache. I have drunk over two litres of rosehip tea. Is this normal at the beginning of the diet? Thank you!

I’ve been doing a workout 3 times a week since January, sort of on the lines of HIIT and started going for walks with friends.. My OH is in Nottingham so when she is in respite I get to stay with him for a week – gives me a break and a change of scenery.

It has made me a bit withdrawn as before that my ex- partner had throat cancer and the treatment he went through caused all sorts of complications and he ended up in int care for a few months each on 3 separate occasions so after years of that I came to look after my mother. My ex is as ok as he’s going to be and we’re still good friends but I still worry a lot about him.

So I think the last 7 or so years have added to my naturally depressive state and helped to bring on type 2 diabetes. It’ll all get better and I’m trying to stay patient with my mother but we’ve also had a strained relationship and she is a lot of the cause of my issues with food and weight.

Polly x

Hi HappyLife
The go to guru for me is American author & recognised diabetic lay authority ( she too has diabetes) is Jenny Ruhl. Diet 101 The Truth About Low Carb Diets. Also , second edition of Blood Sugar 101. Get the complete books not the shortened versions. She reads, dissects & makes sense of trials, reports & all things relating to type 2 diabetes we need to know. Read, mark & inwardly digest. She knows her stuff.
Go to http://www.phlaunt.com Jenny’s web site.

swimming through cr*p – oh yes!! – although I am not sure I would want to be seen sunbathing anywhere – it would be way too distressing for passers by!!

I have fairly serious mh issues anyway (and yes I know it says you shouldn’t sign up to this way of eating if you do)
and my father passed away a few weeks ago and a couple of weeks ago it all sort of started to cave in
that is when my 5:2 eating slipped into oblivion
today I was doing ok but have not come in and binged
but tomorrow I wont have those binge foods so we shall see

Hi Bill,
No need to apologise, I didn’t think you were being callous at all – sometimes it needs someone to point out the obvious, at those times when you can’t see the wood for the trees.
After a stressful few days, I’m happy to report that today everything seems to be back under control.

Hi zeus
adding seeds also adds calories quickly and is a great source of fibre too 😀

Hi Peggy, as Natalie says, it’s all about a different way of thinking, I quite like leftovers for breakfast/lunch. BLT wrapped in the L part is lovely with yogurt instead of mayo. I’ve binged for years usually to make myself feel worse and as a punishment type thing. Congrats on the weight loss and inches gone 😀

jabbygirl, sainsbury’s do miso soup sachets which are quick and very portable for lunch. Or homemade would be easy in a flask 🙂

Good luck with it as there is more variety than it seems at first

Hi zeus
800 is a scientifically proven figure, similar to that which post weight loss surgery patients have to stick to.
Going below that figure could possibly put your body in starvation mode and actually slow down weight loss, in fact a doctor would give out dire warnings about it.
If you can’t eat any more, it’s easy to increase your calories by adding a little olive oil or butter to your daily intake.

Hi RozyDozy
sorry if I sounded a wee bit callous but unfortunately that seems to be the way it is. Having said that, Californiagirl has it spot on.
Beating yourself up about your slip ups is counterproductive and can lead to giving up.
Just put it behind you, today is a new day and the start of the rest of your life, so jump back on the wagon and hang on tight. Everyone on the forums is here to help.

Thank you, Bill, for cutting to the chase and reminding us “that sugar is a dangerous, addictive drug and should be treated with everything else of that ilk”.
Maybe we should print off that line and stick it on our cupboards…

Hi Polly,
So sorry you are dealing with your mom having dementia, it’s so hard….
Maybe you could do some simple
Exercises at home to help with your stress release?
Remember to do something kind for yourself everyday as the caregivers often neglect themselves.
So glad you are here!!

Hi All

How critical is the 800 calorie daily limit? I’m now into week 4 and coping OK (except for the constipation, despite following the advice on here!). But – I’ve just looked back through my food diary and found that on quite a few occassions my daily intake has been under 630 calories.

So – are there any issues with this (further) reduced intake or should I always look to take in the 800?

Thanks

Thank you for your kind words, Eureka. Your swimming through crap analogy made me smile. Not sure how brave I am – possibly more bloody-minded! Think I need to put my Emotional Eater side of me into a straightjacket, lock her in a dungeon and throw away the key.

Hi all,
Would love to chat with someone who has done this the longest and lost the most weight. Getting keys from this people would be great information I think.
Anyone?

Anyone see the report of the study re the biggest loser contestants that were followed for six years after their major weight loss?
Results were their metabolism a were so slow at the end of the 30 weeks on the show and they stayed that slow or got slower and they all gained most f their weight back!!!!
This was daunting to read!
This was a study reported by NIH so should be valued as a reported study and properly monitored study.
My query is this: there is no way they kept working out six hours a day when they went back to real life or even kept eating exactly the same as they did on “the ranch”.
So it seems logical to me they would gain their weight back. What is shocking to the study panel and everyone is their metabolism got so low during the show and stayed that way. Because all of them gained a lot of muscle.
The results, they say, prove that our bodies will force themselves to gain weight back we’ve lost.
Now I could say I am living proof of this but it’s because I never stay on the plan once I achieved my goals. And I am hypothyroid and just from changing my meds recently it lowered my metabolism and I gained 50 lbs.
BUT there are long term studies following obese people who have lost weight and although only 1 percent keep it off its those who don’t deviate from their plan who keep it off five years plus.
Thoughts????????

Don’t despair Just do it — what you are doing right now is exactly what the Blood Sugar Diet talks about and is so common for those of us who struggle with weight issues — it’s called “catastrophic thinking” and we fall into it whenever we perceive that we have “blown it” — now that I’ve already eaten all that, I’m a failure and I might as well keep eating (and eating and eating…). I don’t think anyone on this journey has avoided a day (or weekend!😜) like that — just start again today. Don’t try to make up for it, or eat even less to compensate — just draw a veil over that nightmare and move on. It isn’t important. What matters is the bigger picture and your future health.

Thanks David,

I know that Bill. Hashimoto and others have had that experience… I hear what you are saying though about unnecessary meds…. I am just a little frightened I guess… have taken full dose of metformin today and maybe will for a few more days – and then give a weening off another go…. Not the end of my world if I have to still take metformin – I have no negative side effects so am very fortunate. Good luck with your health – keep up the good work…..I intend to!!! must be about week seven for me – I have lost count!

Fatty

Hi LIndy Lou
It’s correct that there are no figures mentioned in the book for carbs.
A lot of us try to keep them below 50g per day as that is the figure quoted elsewhere to put your body into ketosis or fat burning mode.

Very strange sugar readings yesterday.
After weeks of being in the normal range, I woke up yesterday toa FBS reading of 10.8, higher than before I started the BSD
By teatime that was down to 4.2
I’m not unduly worried about the high reading as the rest of the daily readings are ok but it did pose a question.
The FBS reading is taken at the end of your fasting period which, for most, is before breakfast, but I never eat breakfast so, should I be taking my FBS reading pre lunch as that is actually the end of my fasting period?
I know for a fact I’d get lower readings but would that be cheating the meter?
Open to the wise of the BSD to give their opinions. 😀

Hi eureka and ay camarba,
I’ve got the bug clocked up 14,000 steps yesterday and couldn’t stop walking. I went to the park and then went shopping. Highly addictive and loving it. a girlfriend commented on how well I looked😊 I was so pleased. Weight loss has slowed down but still motivated as my clothes feel more comfortable.

Hi Eureka
If I can walk im up for the London marathon😊

Hi all

I’m trying to find some substitutes for potato, rice & pasta as my husband is getting bored with extra veg & salad. (He also doesn’t like cauliflower)

Are grains such as quinoa, bulger wheat, pearl barley & lentils ok on this diet? Also I have seen butternut squash & sweet potato mentioned in good & bad ways on this forum. Thanks for your help 😊

I think we all need to get into our heads that sugar is a dangerous, addictive drug and should be treated with everything else of that ilk.
So many people are reporting feeling terrible after falling off the wagon, it sort of proves the point, quite apart from the folk who report feeling so much better after cutting it out.

Eureka
Just spotted your 10k steps from yesterday. You have got the Buzz!!!!
I’ll be staggering around after you.

Hi David
a few of us have seen temporary higher sugar readings in week 4 to 5. It was explained as being caused by excess glucose being flushed from the internal organs and takes, usually, 2 to 3 weeks to clear.
I’ll throw a real curved ball here, after weeks of having sugars in the normal range, and without eating anything I shouldn’t, I woke up yesterday to a FBS reading of 10.8, higher than when I started the BSD!
By dinner it was down to 4.2!
I’m not even going to try to understand that one 😉

Hi girls
that sounds like the symptoms we have decided to call the carb flu.
It is carb withdrawal symptoms and usually only lasts a few days.
Take heart in the fact that, if you have the carb flu, you’re doing things right 🙂

Totally understand – I allowed myself a little dark chocolate as a holiday treat about 4 weeks in, but having it in the house was a disaster. Cravings kicked in and it was a hard road to get them under control again. So now I just try and keep that kind of thing out of the house, don’t buy it or if someone else does, they don’t keep it in public view! It’s hard when I’m making packed lunches each day and even things like soreen malt loaf, which wouldn’t normally attract me suddenly become a temptation! Another thing is, we now do online delivery each week so I don’t go to the supermarket alone where I could be tempted to buy and eat stuff I shouldn’t, it feels drastic but necessary. I’ve lost a stone since 14th March and another stone since last summer doing 5:2. So I’m NOT going back! But we all have blips. Tomorrow is a new day!

I think this is going to be my regular (ish) diary to help keep me on track. Started yesterday, scales put me at 207lb ( light clothing) this morning came in at 200lbs.. I wee’d a lot overnight but pretty shocked at that number.. We’ll see, perhaps I need new scales :). Anyone else have a big drop in one day?

Have felt uncomfortable at times but not super hungry as I’d expected. Symptoms of IBS already starting to decrease and I was worried my CFS symptoms would start to show up but so far so good.. Plenty of energy but a little more grumpy than usual 🙂

Bfast: 2 spoons Greek yoghurt, one strawberry, 6 blueberries, 4 walnut halves and a teaspoon of true cinammon
Lunch: can of white crabmeat ( so low in calories!!) with yoghurt and mustard/lemon dressing in gem lettuce leaves with six olives..
Dinner: who knows.. salmon and veg or similar.

No headache, tonnes of lavender tea and a busy work day..

Back to it.. 5 minute skive over 🙂

Hi,

I have been a binge eater for most of my life too, it is not an easy and I have been dieting on and off for years. This is the first time that I have followed an eating plan like this. The first time I read the recipes and the meal plan, I put the book down and did not pick it up again for a while. However, just over a week ago I decided to go for it and am now one week into the plan and about 6lbs lighter, so don’t give up. It was daunting at first but I am getting used to it and I do actually enjoy the meals. Knowing what I am like for craving things I have tried the crayfish salad a few times, it is vinegary and stops me craving carbs or anything sweet, so is really good when I feel my resolve might wobble. Perhaps you could look at some of the recipes and see what would work in stopping some of your triggers.
What others have said about not feeling hungry is true, I haven’t either but I am feeling tired though.
Best wishes

B: Yogurt 60g, frozen berries (warmed with a little water) 80g sunflower, pumpkin and linseeds, 4g of each – all mixed together
L: 2 egg omelette with a mushroom, 1.4 pepper and spinach plus 25g cheese on top
S: nuts, kallo buckwheat cracker
D: 100g roast chicken, broccoli, carrots, peas

H there,

headache is so very very normal 🙂 as for a sore throat my glands have been up some days, as if I’m coming down with something (haven’t). keep up your fluids, and take a paracetamol/acetaminophen (speaking english and american here lol) if its very annoying.

as for tearful, that’s possibly hormones or just a down day – I wouldn’t worry too much. keep going and be kind to yourself, have a nice hot peppermint tea or something 🙂

scales said anotheer 0.6 this mroning, but I’m not banking it until official weigh in next monday.

A bit of a trying food day today, i forgot to take my reflux drug this morning, and boy did I notice it. It makes me hungry-ish and is uncomfy, so today I struggled the most of any day so far. I had two shakes, and then my comfort food – yoghurt, strawbs and nibs – as a ‘snack’ (plus I had a boiled egg in the early afternoon and the rest of my radishes too)

therefore dinner was quite spartan – chicken cooked on the stove with some tinned tomatoes and frozen spinach, garlic and italian herbs, and a small grating of hard cheddar on top to finish. Small serving, but worked out ok.

I have an apple for a treat for tomorrow, I took a lot of time to choose a small, shiny yet heavy one – I plan on enjoying it, I hope its really crisp!

overall so far i have been 10 to 60 cals over most days, plus I don’t count my milk dollops in coffee etc. But its working ok, so I can finesse that later. I also seem to have a LOT more protein, 80 plus grams usually. That’s probably the shakes. Don’t want to cannibalise my muscles for amino acids, but I should really give some thought to nixing one shake a day soon I think so I get more veg in.

oh well, onward and downward. remembering reflux meds tomorrow, oh MY yes.

Hi Fatty,

When I first approached this with my (less than keen) doctor he said that as long as I monitor my bgls 4 times per day and don’t go above 8 mmol/l consitently for 2 weeks I should not do any long term irreversible damage to myself.
I don’t know how accurate that is but I’m clinging to it and hoping that my bgls stabilise as others have reported here. I really don’t want to go back on my meds but I know they are in the cupboard if I think I need them. I am convinced I never needed Coversyl for blood pressure as I’m testing that twice per week and my results show BP is normal. I now wonder why I pumped them into myself for so may years without asking if I really needed them.
I was really disappointed to see my bgls rising but I’m comforted by the fact that others here have reported that phenomenon prior to theur levels stabilising and dropping into the non diabetic range. I intend to persist and wait for my liver and pancreas to get clean and hopefully see my readings fall again.
I can’t advise you what to do with your meds and I know that probably isn’t helpful to you but I do believe it is possible to reverse type 2. It may take longer for some than others but I hope you won’t give up on what is probably the best chance we’ve had in years to reverse this terrible disease.

Cheers

David

Ps. I look forward to seeing your handle change from “Fatty” to “Skinny”.

That’s so supportive and a side effect will hopefully be that they don’t get stuck into carb-addiction. Well done to you all 😀

This is day 4 for me. I’ve been feeling ok; finding the diet relatively easy, and haven’t felt hungry at all, which was my biggest worry! But today I don’t feel right at all – I have a sore throat, headache, and feel very tearful. Is this normal for this stage of the 800 diet?
Thank you.

Chongololo,

I really miss uni. Graduated in 2004 and my brain really misses doing something that brings me in contact with like-minded people. Am looking after my mother with dementia at the moment so sort of stuck in all the time unless the sitter is here or she’s in day centre. Have started walking with friends on the day centre days which is helpful but I don’t think I’m dealing with the stress very well.

Polly x

Hi polly,

Glad you are positive, just don’t let it get you down.
I am the same, previously, I would give up and put on about another hundred stone or more because I gave up.
I couldn’t reason with myself, that it is only one pound on, you can burn that in a few days, so by the weekend it would be gone and more, and I would be nearer my size 12.
Now I just say … My size 12 is just postponed from a Monday to a Saturday, but it will be mine, all mine, I tell you……
Sorry, haven’t got over me saying this morning… Engaging the core.
I wanted to say engage the Borg. Make it so number one, fazers on stun. Clingons on the starboard bow.

Yes I was a coach potato in front of the TV for many many years, so you will get a touch of telly or movie quotes.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi Izzy, yup visiting is nice and you get to see the pretty stuff. Have my first diabetic clinic appt on the 9th so not sure if that will show any difference in blood sugar levels or anything really. It’s mad though, this is not a new way of looking at diabetic diets but a very old one which somehow got lost somewhere, probably in profitability of disease for big pharma…

not that i’m cynical or nothing 😛

Have been reading a blog on the harcombe diet website from 2010 when another woman was tracking her results through low carbing and they were all watching her progress with much interest there too!

Just seems that this diet has been a lot more publicised which is great 😀

Polly x

Yup, mountain of work in my pigeon hole.

Thinking of running away, anyone want to join me?

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi keeptrying & RozyDozy
Do you both know how brave you are? Life keeps throwing c- -p into the sea, yet you both are swimming through it. Recognising, & voicing what a lot of us fear & drown in! Go to it girls. There is a fabulous island out there just waiting for you two to sunbathe on.
Eureka. 🏝 🏊🏻 🏊🏻