Oooh christine you will have such fun with your spiraliser!

You need chickpea flour – it has a number of different names so you might have seen it under another name – besan flour, gram flour, garbanzo bean flour. Hope you find some.

🙂 🙂

I’m doing a shopping list later and looking for inspiration with you guys who are more experienced with this way of life 🙂

So tell me your favourites that keep you contented please!

Thank you

If you’re only in danger of being slightly over the 800, I don’t think you should worry too much. Better to eat a little bit more if it makes you more likely to stick to it longer term.

Good luck,

Hi gonnabedazzling,
Wow that’s a great start to your journey, I don’t say diet cause it’s a new way of life, of eating, well done and keep posting
Christine

Lucia
And for tonight’s meal I had celery, yellow pepper, walnuts, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, 1 fig, then blueberries, strawberries, and some single cream, nothing else til morning other than a drink before bed.
Hope you got your dining room started. What sort of ice cream was it?
Christine

Wine is OK once you’ve lost the weight, Paula so you can look forward to a glass in a few weeks time – mybe to celebrate buying a dress you look great in?

Judith
Can I make those flatbreads with any other non carb flour or is it just chickpea, I have all sorts of gluten free flours but no chickpea!
Christine

Hi Lucia,
Our walk this morning was wet, sunny, windy, cold, then sunny! English weather for you.
Hubby ( David) has decided he will join me on my diet starting in the morning! He just feels he needs to lose a bit of weight, so I have got a partner now, before he only ate what I ate plus all the other stuff ie carbs!
Our daughter has taken over the gardening, I could do some, however I don’t think Angela would be too happy at me interfering with what she sees as her garden while she is living with us.
Oh I would love to be able to re-decorate, although until Angela finds her feet, ie job, home, life! We can’t do anything, she has a house bunny! It has caused havoc in most of our rooms, we have had to hitch all the electrical wires halfway up the walls, put stuff all around the lower edges of the rooms she’s allowed in, the bunny that is not Angela! She still manages to chew our wallpaper off!
So when you have finished your dining room, you are most welcome to come and do mine! Plus our sitting room, hall, and two of the bedrooms, she got in when the kids were here and left the doors open!
JUDITH
My spirilizer has come, Sunday evening six thirty!
Back to being strict on the diet tomorrow, I want to get that sparkles sliver bracelet you see Lucia!
Christine

Thanks Paula, Janet once suggested sparkling water with ice, lime and mint. It’s lovely.
You can swirl a mint tea bag in the water and add a splash of lime juice from a bottle.

I cut fresh lemons and limes into slices and freeze them – so as not to waste any, but it also means I have some in stock, and the frozen slices can act as ice cubes as well. If I buy a packet of mint I put it in a glass of water on the kitchen windowsill as it roots and keeps growing. Can you tell I’m a canny Yorkshire lass? 🙂

You’ve done well to exceed 10,000 steps 🙂

Hello folks
I intended to post on here when I reached the 8 week mark but it has been a bit busy over the last few days so I’m a week and a half late!

At the 8 week line I had lost 30 pounds, and now at 9 ½ weeks I have lost a further 5. I can’t believe this! I have struggled with my weight for decades, but this way of life is amazing. I have had some hungry days, but most of the time I don’t think about food until I am coming up to a mealtime, and I am astonished at how long I can go between meals without more than a little stomach gurgling. I have had to adapt a lot of the recipes due to other issues – food intolerances and IBS – but I am well into it now, and it’s no problem. I have also bought some Mediterranean style cookery books for new ideas – obviously they have more carbs than I want but the flavours are good.

I recently went to visit a friend whom I hadn’t seen for some time, and she had lovingly baked a gluten and dairy free cake for me. I couldn’t disappoint her so I had a piece, and enjoyed it too. But I didn’t feel I had missed out by not eating carbs all these weeks, and interestingly didn’t feel I wanted more.

I thought I would just mention a few of the benefits I have found from being a good deal lighter, some of which I had expected, and some I hadn’t. Apart from knowing I am reducing my chance of having a stroke, heart attack and developing T2 Diabetes (my brother is a diabetic), and being kinder to my knees and hips, I have noticed many things I can do much more easily. These include getting in and out of a car, turning over in bed, getting out of low chairs, getting down on the floor and up again (to play with grandkids), bending over without getting breathless (shoe laces and gardening), eating at a table without tucking a napkin under my chin to catch spills (tummy no longer gets in the way!) and happily I am able to walk more briskly and with less effort.

I have also recycled or sent to charity shops 5 bin liners full of clothes!

My immediate family are very supportive, and I have a family gathering next weekend with people who don’t know what I’ve been up to so I hope to amaze them!

I am continuing with the 800 calories for the time being – up to 12 weeks anyway, as several posters on here are already doing successfully – and may go on longer.

I am a bit scared about what happens when I finally decide to come off the 800, as I don’t trust myself to take Michael’s advice and not count calories if I do 5:2. I have got my eating wrong for so long that I think it will be safer if I continue to count, but gradually increase the amount of what I eat until I find the level that will allow me to maintain my new size – though what that size will be is as yet unknown. I would like to lose 5 stone in total. If I achieve that I will then see if that feels right, or if I think further loss is possible/desirable.

I haven’t posted often on here, but I do read other posters’ contributions, and have found all your experiences both interesting and encouraging. I’ve never hankered to join any kind of slimming club, but this forum is friendly and easy, and I’m glad to be a member.

Hi smudgeymum,
I lost 5 kilos in 10 days, then only 1 on the following 7 days, so I know how you feel. And during that week weight kept going up and down, it didn’t make any sense to me. I’ve decided to only weigh myself once a week, plus measure waist and hips/stomach. Something will be going down!
I too get hungry some days. We’re all different, so don’t despair. I’ve never been on a diet in my life or been off booze for so long- it’s hard. My mouth is craving even when my stomach is full 🙁
I read somewhere that you lose a lot of water the first week. Plus at various points the fat comes off/out of organs which can do funny things, like raise your blood sugar. We’ll get there in the end.

Hi Hashimoto, thanks for the advice. I will make sure I keep my fluids up. Day two has gone ok and I’ve been busy – I’ve surpassed my 10,000 steps 🙂 Would love to sit down with a glass of wine but I’ve settled for a herbal tea instead! Feel pretty positive and I really appreciate your advice -it’s a great spur! Thank you 🙂

Lucia being able to sit and enjoy your garden this summer is a massive benefit from this diet.

Tea and toast. I’m wondering if the chickpea flatbread with sweet herbs/spices would cut the mustard with a cuppa? I was thinking rosemary, cardamon, lemon zest and caraway seeds. If you have s really small frying pan you could make treat size breads. They freeze well so you get 20 very small ones out of the recipe. Just a thought xxx

Oh and another thing.
Old expressions
Eg
Tea and toast.
It gives me the image if something cozy to share and enjoy.

Now when I say to hubby, shall we have tea and toast,….. I get hot water and yoghurt dolloped on berries🙂.
Weird isn’t it?
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Christie
You are doing a great job.
It is difficult when others are tucking into our old menu, but you are so strong to ignore the naughty bits.
I am proud if you.
Keep going.

Love Lucia xxx

Oh and I had a visit to a fast food establishment last week.
Don’t tut yet.

I went to the subway shop. Sandwiches, rolls, etc.
I had a chicken and bacon salad in a round plastic container, it was yummy. So if you get dragged there, you can find a healthy option.

No bread, no sauces, I did it,🙂
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Oh and while I was out today,
I had …… An ice cream . I loved it.
No wafer cone, no chocolate flake, but just ice cream it w yummy.
Yes it is a treat, but I walked the legs off myself.

Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi team,
It sounds as though we are all moving about and getting fitter too.
It’s been cloudy, then sunny, then rain. The temperature is colder here.
So now, I am ready to sort out the dining room. Ready to attack it. I have been thinking about it for…. Years I suppose.
My goodness where am I getting this energy from? It’s wonderful.

Also previously , my garden looked like a jungle.
I would have to sit on a crate to reach the weeds, and only manage a short area, before I was uncomfortable reaching and bending.
Now my garden is already in order, this year , for the first time ever, when we hit the summer, I will be able to sit out and appreciate it.
I haven’t been able to do that as it was such an eye sore so didn’t bother with it.

Love Lucia xxx

L – 2 rashers bacon, 2 sausages, scrambled egg

D – broccoli & cauliflower cheese

S – fage yogurt & cinnamon

799 cals, 22g carbs

I am concerned that you have been feeling hungry. Because we have had no hunger whatsoever on this diet. Are you eating enough protein and fat? You can actually swop to full fat dairy on this diet. That will keep you fuller.

I do think the weight loss slows down when you are losing just fat. This is the stage you are probably at. I am sure that you didn’t imagine you would lose more than half a stone every week. So you knew the second week and beyond would be slower. First of all don’t worry until you have followed it for at least a week and had no loss at all, without knowing why. Keep a food diary so that you can review your intake at the end of each week if you need to. You could do this via photos, it doesn’t have to be written. Make sure that you continue with portion control to keep the carbs down as low as possible. Drink plenty of water, that sometimes makes a big difference. Think about the drinks you are having, do they fit in with the no sugar, few carb criteria? Are you eating enough low carb veg alongside your protein and fats? They will give bulk and will also help you feel full. Try adding a serving of home made vegetable soup starter plus a sugarfree jelly pudding to both lunch and dinner. These would help you feel fuller for longer. We are having the odd extra soup portion or 40g of berries plus 25g of 10% fat Turkish yogurt occasionally if we are getting hungry late afternoon or late evening. That does seem to help.

I do hope some of these ideas are chiming with your experience. Losing 8lbs is a great weight loss even if you spread it over 2 weeks. Wouldn’t you have been thrilled if you had known you were going to lose that before you started? Give your body a chance to catch up and focus your energy in enjoying your meals and not feeling hungry.

Hi plumptious those homegrown courgettes willcome in very handy!
It was Barby who found the free kindle recipe books, she’s a star!

Hi Janeycd, I. Hope your 10 year old has done his homework! 🙂

We were worried about this too. We have always eaten a lot of vege meals although we aren’t vege at all these days. I do think you would have to eat very oddly in the UK to manage to be short of the RDA for protein. After all, it’s in pulses, nuts, seeds, etc. Not sure whether he eats quorn, dairy and eggs. If he does, then you aren’t going to have any problems otherwise, just mix up your proteins within meals to get the most benefits from what you are eating. We found if we aimed for 800 kcal, the rest seemed to take care of itself. We did do lots of checking initially, more to ensure that we were under the 800 kcal and 50g carb limits. But we soon realised that we were, so there’s no point in checking except maybe when you think you have had too little or too much. We have honestly never been hungry and have had no problems sticking to the diet from that point of view. We have had some little blips, and had something we shouldn’t have about twice a week. The losses have still been great. As far as fibre is concerned just pile on the low carb veg onto each plate and that won’t be an issue. It is well worth taking your water intake up as that makes a difference. We have always measured oils in tsp and now weigh every small helping of full fat yog and other dairy products. So the fat intake of our diet has automatically gone up as we have excluded low fat dairy. It honestly just seems to take care of itself within the 800 kcal limits. Try it and see.

Thanks so much for the advice Cherrianne. I’ve just got home and optimistically thought I might manage to cook for tomorrow but all I managed was a vague thinking about what to eat and got stuff out of the freezer instead!!

I’m so much better at 5am!!

I’ll up the fat with avocados and cheese tomorrow I think. I’ve printed off a lot of recipes but am worried I may go slightly over 800 calories. But as this is for life, and has to be sustainable with my lifestyle, I’m going to try not to stress about eating 900 instead!!!

I’ll Post if I lose anything in the next few days!!!

Ali 😊

Am a bit excited cos I found this website and think it’s why my carb counts have been up on myfitnesspal (or down) as I’ve been going by their counts. It explains the fibre thing and also has a recipe section which may be of interest, I may try making the flaxseed ‘foccacia’

Hi Imogen

I have felt hungry today but I posted what I ate in another thread and although the carbs were low, there wasn’t enough fat, so that is most likely why. Maybe you need to eat more fat too, as you say?

It’s only day 1 for me do no doubt I’ll find my rhythm eventually!! Good luck!!

Ali

Thanks Cherrianne for your lovely words. 👍🏻

You are very organised! I bought a few more things in preparation today but I have to say that even before knuckling down properly, I am feeling the benefits of the Med diet. Ok I haven’t been an angel this last week..nevertheless I had to do a double take when belting my jeans yesterday as I was once belt hole slimmer!! Today has been more trying. Battling with a 10 year old to get his homework done (ongoing as I write) would ordinarily mean reaching for the biscuits or chocolate.. But I’ve remained strong. Although I may have just broken the Hoover by sucking up a rucksack strap whilst arguing with said 10 year old..ho hum, resist, resist!

Today I have bought a cuizine spiralizer ( as recommended by Hashimoto …Thanks) and got the free kindle download yesterday-sorry can’t remember who put that on but thanks whoever it was. I haven’t read it yet ,but ,as we always have a glut of courgettes and have planted some butternut squash amongst other things, I know I will enjoy using it.
I’m still doing bits of reading and researching of recipes and ploughing my way through the forums as there is so much information and experiences to soak up. I think I have just about cracked menu planning and just need to finish off designing a two part shopping list as I plan to shop twice a week to ensure the freshest veg & salad .
I am confident I can do this but know to try and start before my holiday and during it would be a mistake and I wouldn’t be as successful. Normally I am a “jump right in” person and throw caution to the wind….not this time cos I want to give myself the very best outcome.

Thanks hashimoto,
Hard to break old habits, but will try increasing fat… may adjust eating times also😃

Hi Imogen, welcome to the forums 🙂
I felt hungry the first couple of weeks because I avoided eating fat. You really need to!
I tend to not have breakfast ti 10 or 11 then lunch at 3ish and supper at 7ish. Depends what your routine is. I was going to bed early during the first two weeks 🙂

You’ll soon feel really well and find this easy! 🙂

Hi, I’ve just started – tried 5:2 diet previously but found carb craving too difficult in swapping between fast and regular days. Am doing well on 800 cal diet, so far! No carb cravings – despite a teenage son keeping a stock of very tasty treats in the house.
Am I the only one who gets hungry on the diet? Most posts say that hunger not an issue… sure I will adjust if I keep at it though. Not weighed in as yet – trying to not obsess. Blood sugar levels still in 7.5 and up range. Have been doing some serious digging of vegetable and flower beds, and a few walks. Know that I need to increase my exercise levels some more! Hope that the feeling grotty stage passes soon.
Great to read all the positive news on the posts…so inspiring.

Hi AliB
Welcome to the BSD. It’s your best chance to lose even more weight and get off the meds for diabetes. We’ve also had several people report improvement in various auto immune diseases so hopefully you’ll see a difference too. 🙂
No need to do without milk. Just measure out a portion in a separate container, add it to your count for the day and use that for your tea and coffee. If you deprive yourself of things you enjoy, you won’t stick with this way of eating.
Your total carbs and cals for the first day look good. You aren’t getting enough fat or protein though. The key to burning fat is to keep your carbs low ( which you’ve done) and your fat intake high. It’s very hard to get enough fat on low cals, but perhaps consider adding avocado, oily fish, cheese etc. which will help with protein and fat intake. Eggs are a good low cal and carb source of protein. You could make a frittata to eat with salad for work because it can be made in advance. A small can of tuna with salad also good for packed lunches. Soups and stews and curries can all be made in large batches and frozen. You could adapt some of your usual meals to make them low carb too. You do face a challenge with those long work days, I’m not sure I’d be up to cooking 3 meals at 5am! You have my respect.

Hi Actionmum, Well, you do not need to use the recipes to cut out bread, pasta, cakes and potatoes. You will need more fresh food though somehow if you are to truly “Mediterraneanize” your diet. Good Luck!

Hi Jani123, there are those who count everything and those of us who already ate healthy food but in the wrong quantities. A lot depends on why you start. If you are type 2 it is a bit more serious to ensure a good nutritional balance. In my and my OH’s cases we just cut out bread and flour based products, and potatoes. We weighed foods and counted calories in meals taking care to avoid sugar as far as possible (most hidden) and I managed 11 weeks on less that 30 gm sugar per day averaging <850 kCal/day. I lost 16 kg. I never counted carbs or protein or anything much for that matter. For me a veggie or worse still a vegan diet is not a healthy option but as you have noted there are several who are and they manage well enough it seems. Search the forums from search box and you will find this has been asked before and lots of similar stuff too. Good luck to both of you.

Hi I’m very new to this program. As I do not live very close to shops, I bulk shop mostly – once a fortnight. As you can imagine I have to make do with what ingredients I have at home. This makes it quite hard to follow all recipes both in the book on this site. So hence I will need to count my own calaries. What is the best way to go about this? Would appreciate any help.

Hi AliB this diet will do it for you 🙂

Hi joannC, there is a massive difference between what you used to eat and todays menu!

Well done on your weight loss so far 🙂

Now you can save money on Gaviscon lol

A number of us no longer have acid reflux so if you find in a few weeks that is true for you could you post your improvements in the ‘list your improvements here list’? 🙂

Day 1 113.9kg 5’7 tall (down from 129kg on high doses of steroids)

I can’t believe I have just told you what I weigh!!! My husband doesn’t even know!!

My GP says I look a good 20kg lighter than that, but I’m HEAVY and want to get rid of the steroid-induced diabetes for good.

Fingers, toes and eyelashes crossed!!

Good luck everyone!

I had Greek yoghurt with apple and berries for breakfast, Jewelled pepper with feta for lunch and courgette with prawns for dinner. I had a little bit of milk too (naughty) but if this is for life, I will manage better with a splash of milk in tea sometimes!

Calories 911 (the milk!) Carbs 38g, fat 9g, Protein 18g

Does this look ok? I will wean myself off the milk!!

Breakfast – Small bowl of porridge made with almond milk – I know we can have cows milk but it makes it taste ‘greasy’
Snack – Apple.
Lunch – Quinoa and avocado salad with cherry tomatoes and a boiled egg.
Snack – Square of 85% dark chocolate and 4 brazil nuts (yum)
Dinner – Lentil soup.
Supper – a few grapes

Compare with what I would ‘normally’ have had on a Sunday

Breakfast -2 or sometimes 4 crumpets with butter
Snack – caramel biscuit (or 2) Coffee
Lunch – Cheese and onion toastie with mayo
Snack – Banana.
Dinner – Take Away Pizza – Medium Mushroom pizza with olives and half a spicy tomato bread, or Chinese Take Away mushroom Foo Yung Chips and a carton of curry sauce 2 glasses of wine.
Supper – Gaviscon tablets x 2 – not joking here.

I have been following this diet for 8 days now and I have lost 7 lbs, and I have had no heartburn or reflux at all this week, I don’t have a problem with my blood sugar (yet) but I do have a lot of abdominally carried fat, and a number of type 2 diabetics in my immediate family.

Hi Lucia,
It’s 1.15pm, we have been to church, counted the collections, got lunch organised, then we went on a 50min walk, another of my favourites, near home a woodland walk with wood anemones and bluebells, we saw a vole, a curlew, and lots of horses and one dog with his Mrs!
Now just waiting to finish lunch off then eat! Today I am having beef, carrots, broccoli and gravy or if you’re posh jus! Hubby and Angela also having roast parsnips, and potatoes and yorkshires, with red wine, then trifle for pud.
I don’t mind, really!
Christine

Hi everyone

I am on day 1 of the 8 week BSD.

I have steroid-induced diabetes that has come about from putting on a lot of weight very quickly (30kg) on high doses of steroids for two years for auto-immune disease. I currently take Galvus Met 50/850mg, have never had a hypo (so far, and wouldn’t on these meds anyway?) and my BS fasting is between 4.5 and 5.3, and after my jewelled pepper and feta lunch is at 5.2.

So far I have lost 18kg on my own but have been researching low-carb, Banting etc and the 8 week blood sugar diet looks exactly what I need! I would love to reverse the diabetes and have always had a pretty good diet. I am intolerant to wheat, gluten etc and before I was officially diagnosed with AI, put on weight whenever I had a “flare-up” of pain.

So far I’m doing ok but am feeling a bit hungry and need to dash to the bathroom every few minutes due to the water I am drinking! Sorry TMI! My only concern that I may fall off the wagon comes from the long days at work I have (plus a family) which entail getting up at 4.45am, at work by 7am and like tonight I won’t be home until 9pm and have to do it all again tomorrow. I’m useless late at night (blame the AI!) and this morning cooked up 3 meals at 5am, which I know will start to wear me down after a while. Plus, my family want different food, so I’m faced with temptation as well as tiredness!!! Any tips? Or any recipes that won’t take hours to prepare or can freeze well so I make batches at weekends?

Anyway, good luck with your journey’s and thanks for listening!!

Ali 🙂

I understand about cutting carbs and have been doing the 5:2 fasting diet for a month (loosing half a stone). Now my OH is thinking (with my encouragement) about doing the BSD. He’s vegetarian so I’ve been studying the recipes here (thank you everyone who has contributed to them) and I am also quite good at creating and adapting existing recipes.

But although I can easily count the calories, I want to ensure we get the correct protein, carbs (and sugars) etc. What should be our limit for these each day? I saw something here about 50g for carbs but couldn’t tell if this was all carbs or just the sugar element.

TIA
Jani

Well done Denise! 21lbs!!!! is fab! 🙂

Hi Fatty, you will soon start feeling better and in control again now that you are back on the wagon!!! 🙂

Thanks for signing Barby! Just start with going up and down the stairs during advert breaks on the TV or stuff like that. It’s amazing how much fitter you can get in a short time just doing simple things like that and you will build up to going up and down a few times without being completely out of puff. I found a pedometer helped. I kept checking to see what I had done through the day – a couple of trips up and down stairs, to the end of the garden and back, a walk to the corner shop for 1 item and back – it soon starts adding up. 🙂

Your mum is so good to you Lesley! 🙂

You’ll be cooking up some fun on Tuesday Izzy! Better get plenty of courgettes and carrots in!! 🙂

The petition for the NHS to encourage T2s to follow this diet. Just search for the thread ‘Please sign our petition’ 🙂

Walking and jogging is more than I can do!! My damaged knee just puts up with walking! 🙂

When I am doing well I weigh almost everyday.
My parents have been the biggest help, mum cooks an extra portion of their evening meal for me to collect on my way home from work – I have since made my own curries etc and frozen them for when I work late shifts.

Honestly, having a dog gave me the motivation to walk, I don’t think I would have done it without her – especially her enthusiasm at 5:30 in the morning, gives me a kick up the backside.

I am 24 and dropped a lot of weight, my mum and dad are 46 and have noticed it is taking them longer than it is me, my mum really struggled at the beginning because she wasn’t seen much movement, so we started interval jogging in the mornings and that is where she started dropped a couple of lbs a week. We cannot sprint and then jog, so we have started walking then jogging then walking…etc to build ourselves up.

What petition is this? I think I saw on one of the other forums…I will have a nosey now. xx

Lesley – I took a while to start properly too. I did the diet to some extent for a couple of weeks without weighing …couldn’t face knowing!!!)

I first weighed 12 days ago, and have lost 6 pounds in that time. I have been disappointed I didn’t get a drastic loss, I am still in same size clothes though they feel a bit looser. I do retain water generally and also am older, and must confess I have yet to do the exercise. On previous diets, 3 pounds a week would be good for me, so I am just plodding along.

I have been surprised how I seem able to stick with this, even being veggie, as normally I have no self control. I often don’t eat until about noon, and yesterday when out had goats cheese salad instead of usual something and chips, OH had them and I wasn’t bothered. Unheard of before.

I have really changed in that I hated cooking before, now I’m regularly cooking up soups etc, I have accepted I need to.

Next thing is to start walking, that will probably make all the difference, you are certainly a shining example!

I have felt so very unfit I couldn’t face a walk, I was tired just walking short distances and going up stairs. But now I will.

These forums help so very much. I think because many of us are doing this for really serious health reasons, not just vanity, we are all more determined to make it work, even if we stall at times. Love the way every one is so supportive.

PS Hash have signed petition 🙂