I’m not sure, Eureka as I’ve only just come across him and I have hours of his stuff to watch yet 🙂 He seems to be good at explaining the science stuff simply. I need to read more on dietdoctor.com as well.

Today I am having a munchy day which is typical as I have drs or nurse on Monday afternoon. Made these chickpea salt and vinegar things that Izzy mentioned on her post… stupidly made them and they are much much too nice….

Suppose it’s better than eating really bad things

keeptrying, have you come across barenaked foods? They do rice and pasta-alikes. Not the cheapest but are made of konjac (type of asian yam) flour. I have got some of the rice (it’s more like a pasta but in tiny grains) they are 20 cals per 250 g and not much else. Not the cheapest of things but holland and barrett are doing the penny sale thing on them at the moment – the pasta variety so they are 2 for £3.

Polly x

I’ve just started my second week and I’m aware that progress will slow down. I won’t be able to resist weighing everyday, so I’ve changed my scales to kilogrammes as they show every 0.1kg lost, which is a lot less than 1lb. That should keep me encouraged. I also added a teaspoon of hot lime pickle to my no carb ploughman’s lunch. Phew! A little goes a long way and it certainly spiced it up. Both things helped me get through the day.
So, any good practical tips to share?

Brilliant results for you both. It is amazing what upping the water can do. I will really enjoy the crackers and thanks so much for posting.

Today I made some chickpea salt n vinegar munchy things but they are far too nice and picky. Probably should have waited to make them after my diabetic clinic on Monday – ooops.

I’ll post the recipe for them on the recipe page but I’ve no idea how many calories/carbs they contain.. probably too many for me to be munching them so much but at least they are low GI and not as bad as other things I could chow down on. I’ll follow your lead and drink more water I think

So glad it’s going well for you and hope your hubby gets on board too!!

Polly x

Thank you both.
Athorn223, I came across this diet by accident really. I knew I needed to do something about my weight, but have failed so many other diets. I googled ‘low carb, low calorie diets’ and this website was the first to come up. I read pages and pages of people’s own experience of doing the diet and decided to go for it. I know this way of eating can become a way of life for me, unlike previous diets I have been on. Good luck to you 😊
Bongo, I am eating food that I’ve avoided on other diets as I was afraid they were too high in fat, ie. salmon, avocado, olives etc. It’s been wonderful to eat these kinds of foods and still lose weight! I’ve never been a smoker, but I see where you’re coming from. Good luck.

Thanks jobeth – have now ordered some psyllium – I’m also finding nothing else is working.

Fingers crossed…….

ALMOND FLAXSEED CRACKERS

1/2 cup almond flour(meal)
1/2 cup flaxseed flour(meal)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2- Mix all the above ingredients together
3-place the dough ball on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Then place a sheet of wax paper on top of the dough.
4- using a Rolling Pin roll the dough out to about a 1/8 inch thickness.
5-Remove the wax paper then using a knife score the dough into bite size pieces and it make indentations where you will break the crackers apart once they are baked.
6- Bake the dough 15-17 minutes and keep check so they don’t burn.
7- Remove your lovely homemade creation and break apart into individual crackers.
PRESTO YOUR DONE
***my doggies loved them as much as I did too!

Hi Emptynestmama43
Very well done to you & your husband. My husband willingly joined me on my diet & has lost 21 lbs & 6 inches off his waist, now 34″. Great when that happens & easier for cooking too. Hope he keeps with you on this

Looking through the diary posts has inspired me to start on Monday 9th may. I’m going to try the 800 cal approach.
I think by keeping a diary on such a supportive site will really help me. I will measure and weigh in on Monday morning😎😎😎

Hi thepolly, hashimoto, cherrianne, and eureka;
I’m sorry I haven’t been ignoring anyone I usually am extremely busy and can only check in about every other day or sometimes every 2-3 days.
I am not real computer savvy thepolly and am not sure how to put links to recipes in my replys or posts yet so I will just write it out for you in a moment.
I love you guys! I am on CLOUD 9!!!
This coming Monday will be the beginning I think of my third week on this diet. It was slow going for me getting started but NOW, NOW!!! I am thrilled to tell you all that I weighed on this morning and I am down from 212 pounds to 199 pounds!!! I have increased my water intake drastically in the last 3 days and am in amazement at the weight that is falling off of me!
I have been maki g my husband eat this diet along with me do that I did not have to cook for him separately,and also because my hubby is also overweight,
He hasn’t stuck to the diet as I have when he is out at work he sneaks in things on his lunch break that are not on the BSD plan , but I am still pleased to report that he was excited for me but he also has weighed in and to his suprise He has lost a total of 5 pounds on the BSD plan. I am hoping that since he has witnessed my success that he will maybe get a little more serious and become more dedicated to yhis BSD plan and not cheat so that he can see an awesome drop in his weight as well. He has dropped from 258 down to 253.
And he carries it all right in front like a basketball it’s wierd because I don’t see him carry it in his legs or arms only his face and belly and butt.
His legs and arms are very very muscular…???
Anyway let me get back to you thepolly with the cracker recipe.
My love to ALL!
Emptynestmama43 OUT!

I’m not sure of the answer either but, with regard to you mentioning meat, there is no reason why you need to increase your meat on this diet, there are plenty of vegetarians following the programme successfully. It is not intended to be a high protein diet.

wowzers that’s fantastic! you’ll be over that first stone lost soon 🙂

Week 2 – Day 2
Sitting here in shock as I lost 3 lbs more since yesterday and that’s 12 total in 8 days!
Feeling great and started using the nutritional shakes for breakfast as well
Ate out twice in the last two days having salad with some protein and that seems to work well also!
Melting in a good way!! To that thin person inside me – you are on your way out!

Love your menu posting as you give great hints on what might and might not work!
Wishing you a great day!

Wow I am in shock! I had hoped to lose a pound today but I lost 3! That makes 12 pounds in 8 days and I even had to eat out twice the past two days.
My new eat out goal is just have a small salad with added crab or salmon or some sort of fish.
I can’t believe it! My adrenaline is still high from weighing in ten minutes ago b
I am melting and in a good way!!!
Even my tummy issues seem better today!
Wishing you all the best always!!

Wow that’s great Bill!! Congrats!!

well I just made the coconut flatbreads
mmmmmmmmmmmmm
its not often I like the ‘alternative’ things I try
but these are yummy
I made 4 small ones
and – I am sure this is NOT the intention, but I had one broken up with stewed apple and berries and a bit of yoghurt
yummy yum
please don’t tell me it is all forbidden in the bsd
but even if it is, it was yummy

and you are right – because of the coconut flavour, they taste ‘sweetish’ – or maybe that is just my permanent obsession with all things sweet

(fyi I had salmon and veg for dinner)

Bill that makes two of us. I’m not sure if I hit 16 weeks last tuesday or the coming tuesday : )

Hi Kath, I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t know what to advise in your circumstances. I hope someone can help 🙂

Hi Bill I’m crossing my fingers for you! You deserve to hit that 13.5 stones for your holiday 🙂

Thanks Hashimoto great to be here 🙂

Welcome to the veterans club purplepenguin 🙂

Hi all
I bought the book largely because I had managed to put on a stone an a half in weight since about 2012 (when I very successfully completed the Dukan diet). I know about low carb, and high protein diets (thanks Tim Ferriss), and am relatively fit and active, but efforts to lose weight didn’t seem to work, and somehow I was finding myself having cravings for eating bread, and also eating in secret.

My last blood test (about 18 months ago) was fine in terms of blood sugar, but OH is on metformin and I could see that if I carried on as I was doing – yearning for food, focusing on food, and not eating the right things – that I could go that way too.

I’m interested to set a challenging target for myself – I’m (female) 5ft 4in, and would like to get to 9 stone which needs me to lose 21 lbs. I didn’t reach that weight in 2012, stopping at about 9st 6lbs, but it would be great to get to 9 stone and see if the weight around my back and shoulders (never have seen why fat round there is a good idea) will drop off.

I’m nearly at the end of the second week, and haven’t seen a dramatic weight loss – would have been great to see 10 stone again!

So I’m not particularly heavy at the moment, and whilst I’m finding the diet absolutely fine (given up bread and sugar and fast release carbs and creating recipes for myself), walking miles and drinking lots, I wonder if others have managed to see a bigger drop in weight early on, when there’s not so much to lose?

On the other hand, I’m feeling so much more in control, which is great.

Good luck to others following the BSD!

3 weeks in and lost 10.5 lbs so pleased with that, not diabetic but big round the middle, and a family history of diabetes. Need to lose 6 stones in total to have a healthy BMI.

Hi keeptrying
I’m a gobbler. Always eat fast so I too need to show some mindfulness & slow down.

There are so many ways we use food when you think about it. Can you remember the film Tom Jones? Albert Finney 🍗 & Diane Cilento 🍗 sat opposite one another just ripping & devouring food in a sexually heightened scene of desire! Brilliant acting, no words, ( & directing). Funny how I can remember that scene. 😄 No comment!

And we use food as an act of rebellion & defiance, by eating or not eating it. It’s a deep subject when you really consider it. No wonder there are so many issues surrounding it. You have me thinking now.

Re : Reflux.
I’ve had gastric reflux for years. It disappeares when my carbs do! No reflux for all the time I’ve been on this diet! 😃I’ve been thinking about the physicality of swallowing. When something upsets me my throat tightens. And my neck muscles too. My mouth is dry. Hard to swallow with no saliva as lubricant. I can feel food sticking inside at about sternum height. The food won’t move up or down. Air is trapped & I feel I can’t breath properly & it brings on a panic! Really not a good feeling at all.

I’ve slept with 3 pillows for years to keep upright as I ‘ drown in acid’ if I lay flat. It’s terrible to wake at night like that & the pain is very bad. Coughing to get the acid out of your lungs. The acid scars the soft tissue in the oesophagus. Swallowing food gets more difficult & the cycle continues.
This diet is worth it if I never have that again. And what’s more, my mother , father & both sons had/ have it too. Oh boy these carbs!!
Deep stuff for a Saturday. Mindfull or what?

Lucia a dollop of yoghurt is free,I Nick it from my relatives fridge they never notice !

Hope it’s all going well, Emptynestmama43, ignore me – I was giving dubious advice 🙁 but Eureka is quite right 🙂

sorry, was confused. I know the 5:2 is a fasting diet. I tend to eat by 8pm and not until 11am next day so it may be a sort of fast.

Well done Tallyhoo and hashimoto, brilliant weight loss both.

I can’t see me ever fitting into size 12 anything, not really bothered about that but if I did , it would make me smaller than my teenage weight lol

You’re doing really given just how much stress you’ve had throughout!
Polly xxx

Hi thepolly
Wasn’t it Jason Fung that said carbs are like money in the wallet, easy to spend. But fats are harder for the body to spend as they are in the bank! I think that’s a great analogy for the way our bodies use energy & I think he said it. Probably should get the book & him to sign it? I go to Toronto in June.

Hi dumptynomore
Aw-shucks! Ta. You are no slouch yourself 😉 If it’s in your genes ( I think mine is, T 2) then I have to sleep with one eye open. BSD vigilantes, surppressing sugar. Like it.
Yep HM.Gov has much to answer for ( lol)! No, really! And we’re gonna make em pay 😠 Grrrrrr❗️

patsy and bill – yes i think it is easier for me to not count calories as i get crazy over it all otherwise
i have bought more fruit and veg today and think i will just go ahead with that and protein for the moment

i am not a ‘pulses’ lover, and actually they don’t love me very much either, so i will be giving them a miss, certainly for the moment

Hi, I have had a wonder around the different topics and I have seen a few of the same comments in the last day or so.
that you have fell off the wagon. Well all I can say is, act like men buying a new car, kick the tyres. If the car doesn’t fall apart, it is okay to buy and drive it.
So kick the tyres of the wagon. If you don’t fall apart (and I guarantee you won’t), then it is safe to get back on.

Because you feel down, this means you have the inner connection with your diet. You are sad you have done something daft, good, so kick the bloody wagon and hurl your butt back on it.
It won’t take long to actually get to the end of 8 weeks, (it caught me by surprise). The you are slimmer, but most important of all, you have retired your brain, you now know you can do it. You have read the manual (and I highly recommend you buy or down load Michaels book)

So, if you are down right now turn that frown into a smile. If you can’t make your face muscles make a smile then I dare you to do a yoga position called downward dog, your head will be upside down and it will look like a smile.
Or try standing on your head, but don’t do it when you wear a frock. Boy you should see the speed neighbours can get up to running away from you 😀😀😀😀😀

Keep losing, keep smiling, keep happy , why? Because I am.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

hashimoto – thank you for that brilliant list
I am a very fussy eater (despite all the junk I seem to consume) – but even I found things I like on that list!!

I bought some coconut flour today so will have a go at making some of the flatbreads later
I am not coeliac, but I do find wheat bloats me A LOT and can cause other issues, so i have got used to gf pasta and bread
it would be nice to find more recipes for coconut flour as even on the web it seems quite a ‘rare’ ingredient, unless me searching abilities are slipping

i actually enjoy grapefruit for breakfast (pink) and it staves of hunger really well – but for the moment, with all these reflux issues i think it is best avoided!!

Excited to be starting my 8 weeks of very low calorie Monday May 9th 2016. I don’t do a lot of cooking so I have a learning curve with recipes. My current thoughts on eating is this. Oatmeal or eggs for breakfast. Soup or salad for lunch. Steamed veggies/soup for dinner. Absolutely no bread, pasta, starchy veggies, or sugar drinks.
The book mentioned prepackaged shakes or meals that I would love to try just for the convenience factor. I believe real natural food is the best but I would like to have a fallback when I’ve been lazy and don’t get to the grocery. I’m in the US and if anyone can point me the right direction for the prepackaged items I would appreciate it.

eureka, thank you
and yes I have come across mindfulness re. mh
I have been looking at the threads on here and especially the one about the online free resources which really do look like I MUST take this more seriously
I try to be more mindful when I eat – which occasionally works – I eat slower, smaller mouthfuls, chew more, ‘listen’ to the feeling/taste/texture
it certainly makes food more fulfilling

I feel so very tired today, well most days,
I did go for a walk, for about an hour and half, by the fields – it was nice, but I seem so slow at the moment and distant

anyway, I need to reply to you good people, so here goes, I will do it in little bits and hope not to lose them
dumptynomore – I know that ‘whats wrong with me’ feeling as I posted on the 5:2 forum about my INCREASED issues with reflux and what the specialist had said, and people just said he didn’t know about fasting, and how I was obviously not eating healthy etc etc –
I have spent my life having my experiences and feelings denied, and it is SO triggering to me
I know the people concerned are kind and caring and were only trying to help, I know that – but it just sent me reeling
– as a result I prowled around this site and found a couple of people experiencing similar, was so relieved, that is why I joined here
I have been on a PPI for over a year and that has helped lots with tummy pain, and although I have not had the blood test – I do know that ulcer issues have run in my family, so it wouldn’t be a surprise
I have actually just stopped my ppi for the moment as I think it may be what has been causing my incredibly dry mouth
still taking the gaviscon though

I do think some of us are just not good on empty stomachs – I mean it worked BRILLIANTLY for losing weight, but not sure about the stomach acid effects

I have also been recording what I eat – on and off, but mostly on – for about 11 months
the reason being that I am supposed to be following a cbt plan to help overcome binge eating disorder – by recording – then planning WHEN to eat, etc
it is interesting and often depressing to see what has gone in my mouth !!

re. punishing ourselves WITH FOOD – oh yes yes
I have used it as a weapon of self destruction, along with others
eat to comfort – eat to fill the emotional void – eat to punish this vile being – eat to punish eating …. as I say – food frightens me, it is many millions of miles from the simple, pleasurable experience some people seem to enjoy

hi Eureka – thank you so much for your lovely welcome and flowers. Vets Inc. – I love it! I hope my plan works too! I have a 57 year old history of plans not working but I blame that on false governmental advise. Low fat, anyone? I guess the sad truth is that I (and I suspect a few others on here) can never really relax and will always have to be vigilant.

I’d like to thank you for being such a wonderful support to us newbies who have been warily moving forward – you are are a star! Many thanks

Hi over the eight week line and more guys did the eight weeks fine and lost 14.8 kilos so really happy decided to continue on and am about to start week two of second set of eight weeks but for some reason I am finding it harder and want to go back to old habits! Anybody got advice on this. I haven’t slipped at all but feel like I could right now 🙁

He he lucia, scroll up I beat you to it 🙂

hi polly
I have seen the videos Jason fung has on you tube – think there were 6, each about an hour long – all about sugar and diet etc – really good – and scary how much evidence has been out there for decades, which has just been ignored or twisted to mislead us all

Hi, I have come back to report.
I have been over there to the past eight weeks gang. It feels like I have moved from junior school to senior school.
I will see if they reply to me, if they want to play with a crazy dame.
Did you miss me? I was only gone a short time.

This blog feels like a pair of comfy old slippers.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi new play mates.

My name is Lucia and I am a sugarholic. I have been on the Wagon for eight weeks and a few hours.
I am an absolute genius on this BS800 diet, especially
how to fail and recover.
How to slip and get up.
How to be thick, not understand but ask questions, read and get help.
How to put a pound on and then work harder to lose it
How to be …..human.

So, after my eight weeks, I thought I would come here and have a look around.
I like what you have done with the place, maybe we could add a few more scatter cushions and Chinz drapes.
I don’t feel ready to move straight in and leave my old blog.
I will probably write on both as I continue.

One question, do you have any crazies in here?
Will I fit in?
Let me test you, how much is a dollop of yoghurt?

It feels strange being here, like the first day of school, where don’t know many people, and are unsure how you will be taken.
Do any of you want to come it and play?
Love Lucia
Xxxx

my book came today ‘the obesity code’ by Jason Fung, not read much of it yet but it’s really good. He’s a Canadian nephrologist so was at the stage of treating obesity caused type II caused kidney failure and started wondering about why doctors are handed down flawed wisdom and then end up treating symptoms and not causes. He also founded the dietary management clinic in Toronto and has a blog at https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/

Just for further reading, treating myself is now my newest obsession. Cos obsession can be a good thing if used in a positive way – probably

Polly x

Hi gang,
Here we are eight weeks and a few hours.
I am about to go to the other blog called after eight weeks.
I will put a message on ther, but I promise to come back here and carry on.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi dumptynomore
Many congrats & welcome to Vets Inc! A place on the board I think. Good plan, hope it proves so
Eureka 👌 💐

Wow that must have been a real boost wearing those clothes 🙂 I have a pair of jeans I keep trying on hopefully but I’m not there yet! I look forwards to it though. It is true that we have to do this for ourselves, but I’m sorry you don’t feel you have support around you. As others have said perhaps when they see how well you have done. Sounds like your husband is beginning to see. I hope so. I’m quite new here myself but I’ve found it to be a great support and very welcoming, Congrats on your loss so far and good luck with the weeks ahead.

captainlynne, your results are just incredible

BSD, I’m a non-compliant type of a person and hate tablets so I’m not going to go down that route unless they have VERY persuasive arguments and even then I’ll be disinclined to believe them. I’ve lost over a stone so far – 4 weeks tomorrow. Hoping that they do a glucose test on me Monday but I really don’t know what to expect.
Been looking at a few meters on ebay, the strips for yours don’t sound too expensive though so may go for that one.

I’m reading ‘the obesity code’ by Jason Fung which is interesting, talks about the entire medical profession having got the dietary advice wrong for years, etc. He’s a Canadian nephrologist and says the path to him is often reached after obesity turns to type II diabetes and then to kidney failure. Really good read so far.

Switzerland, I think I’m calmer too and not craving sugar or carbs really. Generally diets are not seen as medicine in the medical profession as far as i can tell, my ex was seriously ill for a long time with complications related to cancer and as a pescatarian, had really limited options for meals. Shocking in this day and age.

It, is true that the book does not list this potential life-threatening condition, and it is good to hear expressly what the risks are – especially since the attitude about diets is that (in general) they are harmless. Not enough food, and not enough insulin are two of the risk factors for DKA for any diabetic but especially Type 1 diabetics (which is why the suggestion to confirm that you actually are Type 2), or (much less common) insulin dependent Type 2.

That said, in defense of the book, it does explicitly state in the “Before You Start,” section that if you are on insulin or a medication other than metformin that you should “make sure you discuss your plan with your doctor” and that it is “particularly important to have your doctor’s buy-in, as he or she should be involved in monitoring you and tapering off your medication as needed.” Since the book was written by someone familiar with the health care system you are using, and it didn’t say “diabetic nurse,” or “member of your health care team,” I would have read the suggestions as literally meaning doctor.

I’m glad you caught your problem in time – and if you haven’t had a check to confirm you are Type 1, rather than Type 2, you might want to see if your doctor is willing to do further tests. (I’ve had friends whose Type 1 diagnosis came about because they had been diagnosed with Type 1, but later landed in the hospital with DKA, which is a presumptive indicator of Type 1 diabetes).

[Not trying to pile on, but I was apparently drafting my comments at the same time Eureka was, so when I hit post I see she made very similar comments that snuck in before mine.]

Hi Type 2
You have been very unfortunate indeed. Sorry to hear that & hope you are much improved now?

It does say in the BSD book, page 116, to read the book all the way through to the end, before you start.
TALK TO YOUR DR. “If you are on medication it is particularly important to have their buy-in as they should be involved in monitoring & tapering off your medicines”. Page 117

Caution – discuss with your doctor if any of the following apply:
You are on insulin or a diabetic medication other than metformin – you may need to plan how you reduce your medication to avoid too fast a drop in blood sugar. Page 117

All of the cautions should be read & understood before embarking on this diet.

If you observed all that was advised, you are indeed unlucky to have suffered in this way. Your posting will act as a suitable caution to everyone, so thanks for that

I have some mild retinopathy & read the caution re that. My then GP did not want to know at all about my starting this diet, 12 weeks ago. ” Eat potatoes & DON’T test” was my GP’s advice on diagnosing me 3 years ago!

I am Type 2 Diabetic on Metformin. I decided, taking full responsibility for myself, that I would try this diet to see if I could reverse my Diabetes. The prospect of that outweighed any reservations I had. Also I trained as a nurse ( 47 years ago) so knew I had to be vigilant whilst on this diet.

I do hope you are well. I also hope your GP & nurse can & will learn from your unfortunate experience re the 8-week blood sugar diet.
We need all medics to be fully informed & on board with our efforts & this ground breaking diabetic diet. We need to change the treatment of Type 2 Diabetics & give everyone hope & a chance to reverse this deadly disease
My best wishes to you
Eureka

The squash soup could be ok but it depends what else you add. I like to add onions and either lentils or beans and that soon adds up to a moderate amount of carbs.

There is a nice soup here on the recipe thread I made yesterday which was nice cauliflower and canelini beans, it was lovely. I’m on the look out for other low carb recipes too as I like soup 🙂 so I’ll be watching your thread to see what ideas others have.

I also made this once http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/14460/just-lentil-soup.aspx?o_is=SR and it was reasonably low in carbs and tasty.

The secret seems to be if you are using something higher carb like the squash, is to not add lots of other higher carb ingredients. Different squashes have different carb properties as well so it could be worth looking for a different squash to try as well. I’m also going to play with adding meat to my soup, like chunks of chicken, cooked mince, ham, making for a chunkier soup without adding extra veg.

I hope you feel better, and as an aside, if you are often lower in vitamin D it could be worth considering a lightbox. My husband uses one for SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

Adding things like cauliflower, broccoli, kale, courgette, mushrooms (I hate them though) are all generally lower, smaller amounts of onion, peppers are also ok. I use my fitbit app to try out combinations and look at the carb content before I commit to cooking. You can probably do the same with other online apps.