Hello All!

Thank you all so much for your posts… I was so tired after my exercising I went to bed early!

I have got up early and gone for a walk and enjoyed same

I worry that my carb intake is usually ok but I don’t seem to reach good protein or fat levels. Perhaps it will take a little time to tinker around with food to get it right.

Well at least I’m doing well with water! In the past, I have not been good at drinking water – although I give out good advice to my patients! I used to drink zero calorie fizzy but have reduced this to one or two cans a week and hope to stop ASAP.

Anyway, I am really grateful for your replies and will try to update as I go!

Lucy

Thanks Bill and Eureka. I’m sure I will have a fabulous time and I’m seeing someone tomorrow about my hip and shoulder.
I really hope my friend is OK too. The timing of the op while I am going away couldn’t be worse but I got a ‘take away’ phone tariff so at least I should be able to speak to her while I’m on my hols.

: )

My first week (last week) I lost 7lbs too. Well done both of you! On to week 2….all the best!

Hi – I’m on my 2nd week too ( lost 7lb last week) and am also tired but then I am always tired! But I’m dizzy too! Glad it’s not just me but hope your dizzy /nauseous phase passes soon.
Great results for last week – well done!

Hi ay caramba
Impressive. Well done. All this should really help your general health.🏅
I’m hanging in there, 9,500 today ✅. Being specific about marathon steps ( don’t want to cheat the BHF). It’s been an erratic week! Think I need to eat the worm!!
Yes , BBQ tasty ta. Had it with home made lamb kebab Mushroom, tomato, lamb. Marinade was, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic & chopped fresh mint, salt & black pepper. And a chicken thigh in home made BBQ sauce. Olive oil, malt vinegar, tomato paste, few shakes of Worcestershire sauce more garlic, salt & pepper.
Keep going, me too 👣👣

I simply don’t know what to do with myself in the evenings (please don’t suggest housework). I’ve also cooked big batches of calorie-counted food, soup, chili etc so that I have no excuse when I get home from work for not eating properly. Like you I lost a lot of weight the first week, 5kg which is 11lb. That is normal for me if I stick to a diet. Interested to see what happens on Saturday when I weigh in again!

Hi hashimoto
Don’t want to miss saying have a great hol. Hope your friend is ok. Look after that shoulder too. Enjoy ✈️

I will try that neohdiver thanks. I have certainly lost a lot of water which is great (12 lbs loss first week) and I didn’t think about needing to replace salt

Thank you DemiMondaine

Obviously I wish you lots of energy very soon but it is comforting to know that this tiredness is normal. I’m hoping that the euphoria and energy will kick in any time now – well…not before bed *grin*

You are so right about food being a crutch – I’m glad I’ve had such a busy week as strangely I’m not bothered about eating if I have the diet food but I know that being around a big plate of carbs would be too much temptation.

Normally I love my veggies and even when I’m not trying to lose weight, really enjoy a big plate of carrot cucumber, peppers, olives etc with cheese and hummus and so on. But I ate this yesterday and again for lunch today and couldn’t finish either plate. It is POSSIBLE I am trying to eat as much as I used to and simply can’t, but I was surprised. Anyway tonight’s dinner is chili and cheese and plain yoghurt on it.

So weighed in this morning at 11.8 & 1/4lb. Couldn’t find a tape measure but I’m a size 16 if it’s a big 16. I’m only 5 ft so need to loose around 2 & 1/2 stone.
Tried to drink as much as possible today ,so far 1 litre approx of water and about 600 ml of green & herbal tea.
B= no carb Bircher
L= hummus with cucumber & yellow pepper crudités
D= 1/2 avocado,1 tomato , 30 g goats cheese ,5 olives, 3 tablespoons of FF Greek you,raisins and walnut pieces( probably about 2 tablespoons)
Feeling tired but so glad to have started

To be honest, if there was a plate of raw veggies plonked in front of me, I probably wouldn’t feel like eating it either! There are plenty of things I would eat before resorting to veggies. If you’ve been eating a lot of veg recently maybe you are suffering a bit of fatigue and your body is craving the carbs that a pile of toast would give you. It will pass. If you don’t feel hungry that’s good. Maybe try eating something different to keep variety in your menu and give veg another go after a bit of a gap.
There have been times when I have eaten a BSD breakfast and I have felt hungrier afterwards than I did before I ate it – but that feeling passes, maybe like your delayed satiety. There have been times when I couldn’t face things made with coconut oil/milk so I just had a break; I went back to them, but only use them occasionally.
I don’t think there’s anything for you to worry about – probably just your body adjusting to what it’s processing.

Thanks Californiagirl, had my first diabetic clinic today and the nurse said it was refreshing to talk to someone who was being pro-active since diagnosis (although I’d started eating this way about a week before I had my first blood test). So it was far better than I thought. Am having a hba1c blood test in 3 months time.

I was most impressed that in the week between the first and second diagnostic bloods they took I had managed to lower my blood sugar level by just over 1 so that is great 😀

Opened the pamphlet thingy that the nurse gave me when I got home and every meal suggestion bar one involved bread, potatoes or pasta… sigh

Ordered a blood pressure monitor and extra test strips today. The nurse said I didn’t need to monitor but then I explained that someone on a different forum had discovered she was getting sugar spikes from yogurt and walnuts which she wouldn’t have known otherwise.

So onwards and upwards, I look forward to obsessive testing.

Also managed a 2.5 mile walk up and down mountains averaging at about 30 mins/mile. Not bad considering I’ve been walking a lot less since driving.

Drink lots of slightly salty fluids. Sounds to me like you have keto “flu” – especially if you have been following the advice that many give here to stay below 50 carbs a day. It is your body adjusting to burning fat, rather than carbs. This will pass, and it will pass more quickly if you stay hydrated by drinking fluids that add about a teaspoon extra salt to your diet a day.

Hi Matthew Charles
Welcome. If you are wanting to use shakes see my post to : nonnie on Forum – Starting the BSD, Topic – Starting again. Posted May 9th at 19.00

It’s about the Optifast shake used in the original diet trial. Look at the contents of the shake & match it as best you can with shakes you can get in the US. Optifast is an OZ (Australian) shake, we can’t readily get in the UK. It was devised by medics & nutritionalists in OZ.

Prof Roy Taylor, Newcastle uni, used Optifast in the original diet trial, but he said you could buy what you wanted to shake wise. See – http://www.ncl.ac.uk
Good luck
Eureka

Do you feel interested in eating cooked veg? Maybe it is a smell thing as raw veg doesn’t smell as inviting as cooked food.

There are quite a lot of recipes about online and I’ve just found eatlikethis.com it’s a really cool site and you can sign up for free. Basically you tell it what you are eating or want to avoid and it works out meals for you – not really played much with it yet but I think it might help when I get more bored with what I’m eating

15,000 steps a day is very good going. I manage about 10K on a good day but today I forgot my Fitbit so used it as an excuse not to walk very much : S

I’m at exactly the same point as you and finding I haven’t got as much stamina as I usually have. I am realising what a crutch food is for me though! Haven’t got that to turn to and wondering what I can replace food with (I’ve had many looong baths in the last week!). I’m sure you’ll cheer up – maybe you’re a bit off-colour too?

Hi, glad Day 1 was successful! Like you, I find being at work can be helpful – at home I have to keep occupied – do anything, even housework – to distract myself from thoughts of food.

As for my day – I’ve been a bit headachey (too hot yesterday, and I got hot again today mowing the lawn) but it’s passing off now. I allowed myself a bit more to eat today and I’m sure that has helped with the bad head. (That’s not falling off the wagon, that’s just being kind to myself!)

Hope you are planning Day 2. Failing to plan = planning to fail!

Good luck – take it one day at a time. Keep going!

Thanks so much for that info dazzling
Only 60 cals over today so not too bad
Alan back on it after slip up weekend

Basically, I don’t really feel hungry. That said if you put a pile of toast in front of me, I would demolish the lot in minutes. However a pile of raw veg (for example), I’m just not interested in eating.

So am I just sick of raw vegetables? Or do I actually not know how to feel hungry properly? I have problems with delayed satiety, I don’t feel full until 90 minutes after I stop eating. However it’s new to me to look at a plateful of food and not feel like eating it.

Hello all

Second week on BSD 800 and I’m struggling. I had a completely unexpectedly fantastic first week – my BS were down from 10-12 in the morning to 4.7 – 5.7 by day 4 and I’ve managed to lose 2 1/2 inches off my waist, as well as being absolutely amazed I wasn’t consumed by the growling hunger I’m used to.

(My reasons for starting are that I’m a type 2 diabetic on 2000mg metformin with morning FBS usually in the 10s and peripheral neuropathy that is getting worse. I’ve never been able to stick to a diet for more than a day and I’m ashamed to admit I’ve been living almost exclusively on simple carbs toast, crisps, chips etc with a tiny bit of protein and fruit for months now. You can imagine I am desperate for something to work)

So I should be so motivated but week 2 seems to be really hard. I feel weird – dizzy, nauseous and everything is an effort. Perhaps it’s the heat but normally I’d reach for toast or chips to cheer me up. Is this normal for week 2 – will I cheer up? Really hoping for some encouragement please.

WOW this is going to be me in 7 weeks and 6 days! I’m so glad I found this thread I now feel so motivated.

I started last week Monday, messed up yesterday eating crisps and chocolate but back on the fast today and done my day 1 @790 calories. Reading all your journeys has given me strength and motivation. Thank you and see you in 7 weeks and 6 days.

well now we know
thanks for that

End of day four

B: none
L: 2 smoked salmon muffins and cucumber, tomato, feta salad
D: courgetti and quorn bolognaise with cheese

Tried courgetti for the first time today- not what I expected! It grew on me as the meal went on, will give it another go I think. Did microwave it first (tried the packet bought version) but wasn’t very nice so fred it in a teaspoon of olive oil with salt and pepper- did improve it.

Now got some cals left for pistachios and a fizzy water to keep me going this eve. Am feeling more energetic now today is over and don’t feel hungry (though wouldn’t mind something sweet!)

Hope you have all had good days. We can do this! X

Awwwww Rozy you’re so sweet!

Thank you so much for asking.
Day 1 went well, stayed on the wagon n feeling good for it….realised boredom n staying home is my enemy, at work I’m fine.

Did 790 cal today, feel full so not going to hunt down 10 calories… Thinking of it as my contribution to the mishap 🙂

How was your day?

Thank heavens for Google:
http://www.teffco.com/what-is-teff/

they cost more in pennies
but then lots of the ‘cheap’ ones cost more to our lives I think!!
and also some of them use far less to be filling

I also wondered what ‘teff’ was – I keep reading it as ‘tough flour’ – bit off putting

Hi bumblebee,
It’s virtually 24hrs since your last posting – I hope Day 1 went well…..

Hi – well done for taking the plunge! Some weeks will be more difficult than others – well done for aiming to do 15000 steps/day. Don’t worry about feeling a bit flat – sometimes my energy levels slump too, it’s OK to have a bit of a rest, recharge the batteries. But as the weight comes off you will feel more of a spring in your step – it’s all poundage you are not carrying around anymore.

If you ever feel that things aren’t going well, don’t despair, just send a distress signal to this forum and someone will try and help out with advice & encouragement.

Good luck – you can do it!

Thanks for the link to the Flour Chart – not seen it before – interesting to read. There are so many types of flour available – what on earth is Teff Flour???? And I reckon most of them cost a lot more than the supermarket “value” stuff.

Hey, welcome to all the new veterans 🙂
I haven’t been around much the last few days due to an immense workload, Lucia…….. Baby, told you we’d see you here 🙂
The transition from nervous girl to BSD mentor is complete !

Some amazing results from you folk, and adding to the reason this thread was first made, to be the most inspiring thread on the site 😀

Hi nonnie
Your post is helpful re your calorie breakdown.
See page 132 in the BSD book, “The standard recommendations for protein are around 45g a day for a woman, and 55g per day for a man”.
It’s working for you on your carbs & calories per day, that’s good.
Daily Protein recommendation is the only guide I can find in the BSD book. For fats & carbs it’s been a general consensus of opinions by the original veterans on what their amounts of carbs & fats would be. It’s not written in stone & we are still all feeling our way through this diet.

I have posted several times the original Optifast shakes daily carbs, protein & fat intake to try & give people a standard to work to if they want to.
Optifast Shakes used in the original diet trial, see, http://www.optifast.com.au
Serving 54g. Per shake. Energy Kj 870. Energy cal 207
Protein – 17.5g. Fat – 4.5g. Carbs – 22.5g. Sugar – 17.8g. Dietry Fibre – 3.6g. Gluten – NO. Lactose – YES
GI – 24 – 33
600 calories per day in shakes & 200 calories = non starchy veg 250g

Therefore Daily CARBS. 22.5g x 3 = 67.5g + other carbs in veg.
Daily PROTEIN 17.5g. x 3 = 52.5g ( standard recommendations as above)
Daily FAT. 4.5.g x 3 = 13.5g
Daily SUGAR. 17.8g x 3 = 53.4g
Hope this is useful info again for you & others
Eureka

In other news I have jars, pickling spices and vinegar to make pickled eggs 🙂

Hi Alan

I have found I need to weigh everything, as spoons vary so much in size – and how high you pile the yoghurt makes a huge difference too!

My digital scales are in constant use – but I know just how much I’m eating.

Most foods have their calorie count on the packaging so calculating is easy. One irritating exception is Sainsbury’s fish, where the calorie count given is for the fish when cooked as they dictate! Back to Google to calculate calories for raw fish.

In the UK:
Medium eggs (still in their shells) weigh between 53g and 63g
Large eggs weigh between 63g and 73g.

An average medium sized egg contains around 70 calories
An average large egg around 80 calories.

Hi purple penguin,
Thanks for that.
With me being new to the vets area, I will be asking questions, but still nipping back to my old blog.

Any more tips and hints pleas.

Thanks
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Thanks for the advice and support, will carry on, if i cant lose it on this diet there isnt any hope on any other!

I’ve got a pizza in the oven at the request of the kids.

Give me strength not to eat it!!!

On a positive note I’m noticing my work trousers getting loose!

I thought I posted this morning here but I surely didn’t send it whoops lol. Oh well.

I’m excited that this is the last day of week 3 and tomorrow is my official weigh and measure day. Who could have thought I’d look forward to Tuesdays lol.

Today I have had 2 boiled eggs for breakfast.

Lunch some chicken, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Salt and vinegar chick peas and 2 strawberries.

Dinner is going to be hunters chicken and courgetti. I will not eat the pizza, I will not eat the pizza, I will not eat the pizza….

Thanks JackieWilsonSaid

The chia seeds sound like a great idea.
Also from what you’ve said, I don’t think I’m drinking enough: 1 litre a day if that so I’ll try upping that.
You’ve done really well – I hope you get past your stalling weekend. You must be a lot more committed than me to exercise. I can’t imagine how you would 800-900 cals in a session without dying!!!

Thanks for the advice and pep talk.
Good luck for the rest of your 8 weeks and beyond.

Hi Peggy,
Eating a breakfast with protein and fats does wonders. I supplement with 100mcg chromoprecise organic chromium yeast to curb sugar cravings and and blood sugar crashes, which I find helpful in the afternoons to eliminate cravings.

Hi,

I started the BSD 3 weeks ago, in a bid to lose 4 stone and to become much healthier. I’m not diabetic/ pre diabetic, but am v v overweight.

I didn’t dare to weigh myself at the outset, but lost 6lb in weeks 2 and 3. I seem to be full of water at the moment, but I’m hoping for some sort of whoosh at some point, when my body settles down.

I’ve read nearly all the posts on these boards, you are such an inspiring lot!

I’m enjoying the diet on the whole, the recipes are delicious and I’m not often hungry. I’ve just started proper exercising though (just walking, but trying to do 15,000 steps most days) and am feeling a bit flat.

Anyway, I’m darn well going to complete my 8 weeks and then will assess things from there. I expect I’ll need a further 8-16 weeks after that, before I’m anywhere near where I want to be!

You kind of need the reward of seeing changes in order to motivate you on what at first seems a difficult journey, but which then turns into a way of life. For the first time in 5 weeks my weight loss seemed to have stalled at the weekend, so I can empathise. So far ~ 18lbs lost. When you weigh yourself, levels of dehydration, how long after meals etc makes a difference.

With respect to food I’ve shifted from excess carbs to avoiding them where possible in order to try and burn fat for 8 weeks.
I now really enjoy the crunchier and tastier way of eating and have felt 100% better since day 1.
I would endorse drinking LOTS of water, I try for 2 – 3 litres per day extra to other drinks. It seems to help your body adjust.
My favourite breakfast was porridge but have skipped for BSD, as its pretty calorific and carborific, although still on the good side of the fence. Instead I have proper Greek yogurt which is filling with berries etc. The rhubarb recipe in the book is also surprisingly nice. Add a small amount of linseed/nut/gogi mix [Aldi] and a couple of spoonfuls of chia seeds. It’s worth reading about the latter to see how good it is for you [Omega 3s etc] and the seeds also swell and make a small bowl of food into a filling brek – good for digestion too. I also exercise and burn 800-900 cals three times per week. If desperate for a sweet-ish snack on those days I have celery with peanut and almond butter [in the past that would have been toast and peanut butter/banana] and occasionally some fruit. A spiraliser helps – substituting courgette etc for pasta.

Good luck – commit to the 8 weeks and trust in the process.

Hi Peggy Carter Rogers! I remember your thread and I wonder how you are doing? Are things going well with you?

Ideally – as long as you have enough strips – you do both. Testing around meals (I do before, 1 hour after, 2 hours after and (if hour 2 is higher than hour ) 3 hours after. You are correct – that is a better measure of how you are responding to food. I use those tests to tell me if I need to cut out foods that create an undesirable response.

The test first thing in the morning is a better test of whether you are making progress overall. Fasting blood glucose, drawn first thing in the morning (and for many of us continuing until mid-day), is the last thing to decline when you start getting your BG under control. So when you see it going down you know you are making progress. On the other end, it’s one of the early warning signs for diabetes (and a repeated high fasting blood glucose is one of the criteria for a diabetes or prediabetes diagnosis).

Thanks Tallyhoo, this is really helpful.

Hi This is my first post. I’m female and 11 stones. I started the diet last week and sfter 4 days had lost 2pounds. My question is: as Im not considered obese by BMI measure can I still expect to lose 10% of my body weight? Ive followed the 5:2 diet for three years but started over eating on the 5 days! I have what my diabetic nurse calls “resolved diabetes”. It disappeared after 3 months on the 5:2 so no more metformin.

Well Guys the results are in. I ate very healthy on Saturday but I had a sliver of cake sans most of the buttercream icing and took in about 1000 calories on Saturday. On Sunday, Mother’s Day Brunch was the only meal I had. We ate at 12:00 pm. I had prime rib, a little fruit in chantilly cream, a tiny potato, a little bread pudding and ice cream, and a sliver of cheesecake. I was full for the rest of the day. That meal was less than 1,200 calories. I don’t have the exact number because I ate at a restaurant. I still managed to lose 2 lbs this weekend even though I never got a chance to exercise. I’m so proud of myself for the restraint I had. Now my Monday is off to an amazing start and I’m right back on 800 calories without feeling deprived.

Thank you so much! I know it will pass but it’s good to hear from someone who’s come out the other side.
I will definitely try the berries with yoghurt.
Congratulations on your results: weight loss fantastic, reducing meds even better!
What are you planning to do after the 8 weeks?

Don’t despair. I hit the same and when you are being so conscious of what you eat it can be demoralising.
Drink more water, eat fruit, berries this time of year are great or the frozen ones in yogurt ( full fat remember) or porridge oats, jumbo rolled organic sort. Maybe you are a little blocked? I bought a nutribullet and zapped up some berries, seeds and spinach . Looked yucky but tasted great and helped the movement of weight and other nasty’s!
Keep at it, I am 8 weeks in and 2stone 4 lighter, it does work and my diabetes medication reduced, my doctor couldn’t believe it !
Dig in , it really gets easier

BigP

You are my new hero… substantial weight loss takes so much dedication, strength and endurance……. go you!!!!

Fatty