Hi Clairebear,

Welcome back to the BSD. There is an enormous amount of support available simply by being part of these forums. There’s usually someone reading the forums who will help out.
Today is Week 6 Day 6 for me and the BSD is becoming a way of life for me. There have been days that have been really difficult for me with cravings but pushing through the cravings becomes easier the longer I continue on the BSD. It’s great not to be driven by constant hunger.
As you can’t physically remove the ‘danger foods’ from your home, you may need to remove them from your immediate sight. (Can they be put in containers at the back of cupboards/fridge so they are less visible to you?)
You’ll find that the symptoms of carb addiction lessen and eventually disappear – that in itself is really empowering.
Best wishes for your BSD journey.

Just tried feta cheese stuffed into chicken breast wrapped in thin ham lovely oh salad too
Alan,as near to a recipe as I go !

This will be the second time I’ve started the BSD – I caved and had a massive week-long cereal/bread/sugar binge 2 days after starting last time. I’m too scared to weigh myself. I also have a skinny, sporty husband and a toddler so my house is full of the foods they eat. Getting rid of my “danger foods” simply isn’t an option (what toddler goes without raisins, oatcakes and Weetabix?). I desperately want to stick at it but have no offline support as no-one realises the extent of my carbohydrate addiction and how unhealthy it’s making me. I’m hoping to log in regularly and get “chat” with like-minded folk who aren’t going to tell me not to do some stupid faddy diet (as has been said to me already). Thanks for reading. Tomorrow is Day 1 of getting healthy.

Hi Rozy,

I didn’t know that about Ruby Wax’s background. Thanks for the recommendation- the book sounds interesting and I will have a read.

Toying with the idea of upping calories while still keeping carbs to 40-50g/day and see what that does. I got ‘The Obesity Code’ and it’s very interesting, especially as it says that decreasing calories in usually has a corresponding calories out whether or not you increase your exercise levels. Am enjoying it a lot

Hi bumblebee
That’s a really good idea to look at your blocks of butter – really brings it home what we’ve been carrying around unnecessarily.

Exercises in the book??? Eeek – I don’t remember those!! Mind you, I lent my copy to my sister and I’ve not got it back yet! Big sister is certainly not overweight but she’s worried about being a TOFI. It always makes me smile where I first saw the book – in a supermarket right by their fancy bakery section – I haven’t been in that bakery section since mid-January so something’s working! 🙂

I struggle with drinking enough – I know that by the time I’m feeling thirsty it’s too late & I’m dehydrated. It’s easier at home but at work it can be difficult. I know drinking makes a real difference – last week I started one day feeling really brain-fogged which wasn’t good because I was in a 1st Aid training session in an overly warm room. But I did think to grab a mug of water which I sipped regularly & kept refilling – by the end of the day the fog & headache had lifted. It was noticeable that I was able to concentrate much better in the afternoon than in the morning. Managed to bluff my way through to get a pass – let’s hope I never have to put the 1st Aid into practice.

The car is behaving itself so far – fingers & toes crossed it works for longer than the 50 miles it managed last week! It’s been a good little workhorse, I shouldn’t complain.

I’ve had a good day – nothing bad happened. Today I had a bowel scope screening (you get the invite from the NHS when you hit 55yrs) which was a novel experience – apparently everything appeared normal for which I am grateful.

You keep on keeping on, stay focussed, and think of how good you are going to feel as the weight drops off. I’d better sign off now (using a laptop too late in the evening doesn’t help me sleep well) – feel like a drink, too, where’s the kettle?
Take care,
Rose

I’ve not paid as much attention to mindfulness as I might have done considering I do get rather stressed at times. I have looked online, including the Palouse free course suggested by JackieWilsonSaid but I didn’t have the patience to get past the initial videos, I’m afraid.

However, I have just come across a couple of publications which interested me:

1) “The Little Book of Mindfulness: 10 Minutes a Day to Less Stress, More Peace” by Dr Patrizia Collard. Seems to be in nice bite size chunks that I can handle, and does include sections on eating. I purchased the Kindle edition.

2) “A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled” by Ruby Wax (yes, that Ruby Wax). This seems to have been well received, being humorous as well as informative. Ruby Wax has a Masters degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy so she should know what she’s talking about. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Hi Eureka

Thanks for the advice. It would appear that my pituitary gland was unharmed in the operation and my medic is only monitoring it and I am not on any medication. He is concerned by my blood sugar level though and my weight. I am determined that this will work but I will be sensible about any changes in my health.

Just to say, re breakfast, I also had a conversation about eggs being nothing without bread/toast.

However, this morning I had fresh spinach (little heap of it, well seasoned), with a slice of smoked salmon on top of it, and two eggs on top of that……divine, it was. 270 calories.

Another good one to replace the bread is a well cooked portobello mushroom (or two!), with some cherry tomatoes cooked alongside. Add the eggs on top. Yummy

I’m sure I’ve seen on other posts that it’s 20% carbs 30% protein and 50% fat. I could be wrong but that’s what I set MFP at when I read it. X

Hi Alan, a good standby for lunch are cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion, feta cheese and a couple of olives plus a drizzle of olive oil and or balsamic vinegar. That plus a bowl of soup and I am fine till the evening.

Well you learned something important, the extra carbs or gluten make you tired!! I will add this is extremely common for people sensitive to gluten of which I am one…. I stay away totally for that reason alone.
Now stay on board because you are my inspiration and I need you!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

It’s hard to have to let people know we are eating a certain way or have certain restrictions we want to take – I know – I have to go to three dinners with a huge Chinese family (my hubby) soon and we decided we will tell them I can only eat tofu and vegetables at each restaurant with any sauce on the side. It’s hard being the odd duck, so to speak, but hey, I WANT TO BE THIN and HEALTHY and MORE ACTIVE so I don’t care what anyone says or how they judge…

Have a great rest of your day!!

Thanks so much for that I love feta cheese ,bought a block with about 500 calories in so easy enough to work out .
Alan five weeks in ,three great weeks .one n half stone lost one bad week one pound on .fith week needs a turnaround 👍

I normally drink three cups of coffee in the morning – home made at just the right strength (mmmm), with milk.

I have given up taking sugar with these, and felt I was doing the right thing for the BSD.

However, I noted that in adding milk, the drink was 20 calories. So my three cups were 60 calories, which sounds fine but on one day made me miss out on my low-calorie but yummy miso soup later in the day.

Compared to what else 60 calories brings you, you have to think about whether the coffee is worthwhile! (It still is to me)

Just had Izzy’s hunters chicken- was delicious! Thanks Izzy.
off out to yoga later and still feeling good and suprisingly not hungry!

I tell you a really brilliant site to log food and exercise is sparkpeople.com. It’s free and there’s a great community on there, also you can join groups that will support you with your particular issues (eg for me it’s bingeing).

JSR I looked at the MyFitnessPal as I entered the food I was planning to eat, and noticed the heavier carbs on some vegetables such as chickpeas, red cabbage, lentils and so on. None of these is bad, and all are on the BSD diet, but perhaps having one portion per day is better than two, and keeping below the 50g of carb that way.

Dr MM was drinking coffee during the documentary Eat Fast & Live Longer, so I assumed OK. The general principles of giving your liver a rest apply, but more important for alcohol because of calories. So unless you are a Big coffee drinker you should be OK. Depending on the week, coffee is in the good or bad corner. A recent study of studies said that coffee drinkers had a 44% less incidence of liver disease.
In the recent Australian TV programme he points out that 1 latte = 5/6 teaspoons of sugar, which was a surprise to me. So I have 1 good cup of coffee per day with a modest amount of semi to take the edge off.

I just found Dr MM replies to commonly asked questions on fast diet co uk, which confirms OK.
It seems like posting the link caused this reply to get lost in hyperspace twice, so you’ll have to Google.

Hello everyone,
I’m am a beginner of the Blood Sugar Diet, wanting to do the 800 calories a day. I have no problem counting the calories, but am wondering what the ratios are between protein, carbs and fats. Please help, I want to do this right! Thanks.

Do I need to come off my metformin before starting the BSD

Hi BabsG
Welcome. First make sure your medics are supporting you on this diet. It’s important for you. Remember, your pituitary gland is the leader of your endocrine orchestra. You don’t want any ‘bum’ notes!
Glad you are hear & hope this benefits both of you

Janeycoughdrop hi & welcome to you too. You’re an old hand if you did 5:2. Enjoy the ride & get those jeans ready! The BSD will tame that sweet tooth if you let it
Good luck to you both. Bon voyage!

Sue – Interesting to read this.
My thoughts are drifting towards May 30th when I reach the end [of the beginning].
Pleased to hear that you are managing the transition, and still have a drink.
Congrats on maintaining weight etc.

my bad, I ate it! But in all honesty I don’t feel the need to punish myself. I’ve not suffered any cravings from it, I ate my normal lunch and I’ve added it in to my fitbit log of food and actually I can still finish my day on less than 800 cals, and my usual carbs 40-60g.

What I DID notice though was how tired I became a little while after eating it. Something I’ve not really suffered from recently during the day.

It’s only once a month I have this type of meeting normally, every other instance of eating out I will have a choice of things to eat.

I’m going to have a portion of cauliflower and cannelini soup that I froze last time I made it, and two boiled eggs for my dinner before going to pick up my friend. Looking forward to the history walk but it won’t be 8 miles this time!

Hi folks
There is hope! Just had my Diabetic eye test today. Told the lovely tester about the BSD diet & she said ( unprompted) ” We’ll have to put the details up here”. SCORE! I left all the details with her 😃 👍

Hi Bill, so true!! Thanks for the reminders!!
I hadn’t lost weight the past three days so measured my waist and had lost another inch!

Hi Rubyswallow
Just to let you know my son diagnosed today with Helicobacter Pylori! Explains everything. Starts antibiotics tomorrow.
Thanks for your concern & book details. Will look at it next week after christening
Eureka

Wow that’s great Athorn!! Congrats on all your success!! 🌷

Yes Pam, great thoughts re at least we are eating well and might be losing visceral fat! I can’t wait to lose liver fat also and shock my doctor who is a pretty negative thinking person unlike me. 😀 That will be fun and for every one of us who succeeds and edicDtes our doctors we will be able to have them help more people like us as well. 💜

Hi Caramba,
Thanks for all the hints and kind words! I think I will check those out once I can do a little more. Just so happy I can do so much more than 3 weeks ago!
💜

These are the real tests Izzy – try and remember the happy feelings after week 1, your blood sugar results look great, and you are really walking miles!! Those are worth a lot more than a bacon bum it seems.
Wishing you the best!!

Thanks for the tips Californiagirl! I’m going to check out that book. I’m going to keep going, this is my last hope to get this weight off. And I believe it will start coming off as long as I stick with it. I just need all the motivation I can get right now!

Hi happy life,
Thank you.
Christine x

Hi captainlynne,
Thank you, ironically this morning I reached my target of two,stone lost.
Christine x

Hi janet1973,
Thank you.
Christine x

Hi orchid,
Thank you x
Christine

Hi,
I have just looked up the recipe and it only says baked beans and not the make, and I agree, not the size. The calories are estimated at 260cals per serving. 2 Portobello mushrooms – estimate 40 cals, mozzarella – a handful (?) say 20 grams is 60 cals so that leaves 160 cals for the baked beans. I just looked up the Sainsbury’s website and for a 415g can of Heinz baked beans, half of that is 164 cals – so it is likely this recipe is for that size of can.
As to which brand you use and the sugar content, so long as you count it within your carb and or calorie allowance, then your own personal circumstances will dictate which you choose – the sugar may cause a spike for diabetics, but be ok for others.
Hope that helps.

Hi JSR! I was just signing off to get the day started when I saw your thread — as a serious lover of an ice cold draft beer (especially after hiking) I have had my own run-ins with carbs! My personal experience is that getting your carb intake down below 20 grams per day will really help. You might grab the book by Gary Taubes “Why We Get Fat” — a great carb discussion with good carb control recommendations at the back. And don’t fret about the weight loss — lots of us did not have any dramatic beginning but over time (I am 10 weeks out) we have all lost substantially (in my case, dramatically at the waistline, although interestingly, my muscle seems to be unaffected). If it messes with your head, just don’t weigh so much.

Thanks Bill. I need to lose at least 2 stone. I am trying to keep up the 3l a day of liquid, which can be hard, particularly those days where I am out of the house. Also trying to walk a lot.

I had this last night for tea. I worked out the calories from half a big tin of Branston beans (because they were in the cupboard) and my calculations were the same as the book. I added 1/4 teaspoon marmite to the beans too. Lush! So from a calorific point it was fine.

It is good to see your name back on the thread PeggyCarterRogers! You sound like a new person — your “voice” is empowered — what an amazing example you are setting for your children. They will benefit from this their whole lives (and their children and their children). Well begun!!

Thank you all for the great advice! I am going to start using MyFitnessPal, and reduce my carb intake. I always lost weight slowly and carbs are really my enemy, so maybe that’s my answer is to reduce them even more.

What foods exactly have you cut down on that contain a lot of the carbs?
Any meal suggestions would be very helpful also.

Thanks so much!

Thank you for your input Orchid.

If Bill1954 is reading this: I actually work in the computer industry. Putting the recipes from the book up online would cost absolutely Zero! It would cost them more to host this forum than put up a few tiny pdfs on an external site like dropbox or onedrive. Put a few pictures up on this site with links to an external download site is all that is needed.

Hi Alan – yes Feta is fine – pretty much zero carbs so as much as you want within your daily calories. I normally have 20-30g. 20g is 3g protein, 5g fat, 0g carbs, 56 calories.

Hi Syb,
there is a great recipe for Creamy Cauliflower and Bean Soup on the recipe section that is great and freezes well. I am veggie and like Bill, have kept going since March on daily soup. I make pea soup with frozen peas (1000g), onion, garlic, (lots of) fresh mint added at the end, stock. Blitz well and that should make 4-5 bowls of soup. You can use meat stick, or add bacon or ham as required.
Also – simple veg soup with onion, carrot, leeks, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry powder, tin of cannelloni beans. Again – makes 4-5 portions and freezes well.
good luck

Hi Jani, Tofa and Imogen,
can I suggest you read through the posting by Bill – you will find a lot of good advise and his experience of many of the issues you are having. It takes you through his 8 weeks and although now quite long – it is an excellent example of going from diabetes controlled by drugs to pre-diabetic and no drugs.
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/this-has-to-work-for-me/
good luck with the journey.

Hi Clive,
I copy the recipes I want to use from the website and paste into a word document. I may also edit to keep a standard style, and also add in the calories and carbs.
They are then in one place and I can print off a sheet if I need it and amend as required.
I am not the tidiest cook and all my cookery books are splashed with food so I am wary about taking a tablet or Kindle into the kitchen!

Hi,
I take 60g full fat Greek Yoghurt plus 30g blueberries (or rasps). The fruit is frozen, so I weight both out the night before and leave in cupboard to defrost and for the yoghurt to get to room temp.
Add to it 3g pumpkin seeds, 3g sunflower seeds, 3g linseeds, 3g whole almonds chopped plus a good pinch of cinnamon.
The seeds can also be weighed out the night before.
Mix all together when you are ready to eat – keeps me full till lunchtime.
Beware of oats on this food plan – only rolled oats are allowed and in moderation. All others – most that are sold for porridge nowadays, are very quick to release carbs and for those with diabetes or pre-diabetes, they often cause blood sugar spikes.
Good luck.

Hi, I have read something about coffee interfering with some process in the liver so can I drink coffee on this diet?

Thanks so much for your suggestions! The oats make me shudder but I think once they are mixed with yog and fruit I might be able to cope. Congats on such fantastic weightloss too!
Frittata with spices sounds excellent too, and if its in the fridge waiting for me, I can just dig in whilst bullying and cajoling the family out of the house!!

I have a fitbit flex it records all sorts – great piece of kit – if not then you can use a spreadsheet – I did