I’m excited to join this thread 🙂 just at the end of week one. I’ve lost 6 lbs and now I’m looking forwards to next week 🙂

Official week one results are in!! drum roll please…..

I’ve lost 6 lb’s, 1″ off my waist, 1.5″ off my bust and 1.5″ off my hips.

Fasting blood sugars although not particularly high starting at 5.1, has dropped to 4.5.

I’m totally happy with that 🙂

Lets bring on week 2 🙂

Well after so many good reviews I appear to be the exception to the rule. I have posted before about my slow weight loss and early plateau. It’s my 4th week. 4lb lost in the first 4 days, nothing for 10 then another 2,then nothing. I’m following the rules and have been in ketosis from day 4. I’m truly gutted. I was doing this for weight loss. I’ve got to loose weight (3.stone) so I’m guessing this diet isn’t for me. I’ve been waiting for my woosh and tried upping my fat but to no avail. It’s time to face facts that despite my best efforts it’s time to go. Yes this post is negative and for all successful dieters I’m sure you won’t believe me, but I can honestly say I’ve given it my all. Good luck X

The health improvements are amazing. I hope Dr Mosley and Prof Taylor read it too! 🙂

Hi Napangardi, well done you!
Hope today goes just as well 🙂

Subtract fibre from carb count wow this gets complex,I’m following the diet and myfitnesspal app says I’m having around 50g carbs is this correct
Alan in uk

Hi Toni, 10 kg is not that much. Many of us have lost 16 kg+. Take it more slowly and don’t feel guilty it is what is known as a “zero value added activity”. Fluids are important as is good fat and protein. We are aiming for a better balance all round. This British weather does not help either. Bank holiday coming and winter weather everywhere. I often you used to get ill if I took time off work and relaxed – it was then the colds and stuff used to hit me – as if they had been just under the surface waiting for an opportunity to surface and make my life miserable. Reducing carbs is good it is what you replace them with that makes the difference. Substituting sugar with sweetener is not that good an option but for creatures of habit it may be a way to see just how much they were dependent on sugary carbs. Alcohol is a habit that just needs breaking, we all can drink but not every day. Use your excess energy wisely, any exercise is good walking is also good for the mind. Have fun and don’t beat yourself up, look after your body – you know how to…

Well today 18 days into this one stone off but fasting up to 8.0 following the plan exactly.
Don’t know wether or not to go back on the metformin ?
Thanks Alan

Hello! I have completed day one of BSD and I am wide awake, can someone tell me how long this is likely to last for – until my body adjusts? I also realised I only ate 600 cals so will get it up to 800 tomorrow. For now I will continue to try and get some zZZZZZzzz!

Hi neohdiver
Hope everyone gets their act together as much as you have got yours, on all fronts! Weight loss & blood sugars pretty good ( extra stress included).
It will be good for you to have all the info & op date sorted ASAP. Genetics are a bummer you can’t control, just have to deal with it! Sorry it’s so for you.

Fingers crossed re everything x
Eureka

No, that doesn’t sound like too big a fall. 🙂 and you landed on your feet.
Sounds like a good weekend. mmmm to the smoked peppers!

Hi Napangardi
Well done. Small steps. No one has to apologise for this diet. Your results will be evident soon enough!

Hi Jackle WilsonSaid
Captainlynne will be proud of you. You know about the flea bite on the lion’s bum? Fleas multiply & lions don’t like it! Let’s all keep nibbling away

B- 1 egg omelette with 20gms finely slice ham 50gm mushroom and 10 gm cheddar chesse

L- 100mls cauliflower and broccoli soup with blue cheese

D- Stir-fry chicken with carrots, capsicums, spring onions, baby spinach and cashew nuts

S- Milo

Fell off the 800 wagon over the long weekend, wasn’t too big a fall I think it was the spiced apple cake that did most of the damage along with a bottle of Last Shepard Pinot Noir………..climbed back on the wagon today, also order so Keostix’s which will show if I am in Ketosis (i.e. burning fat) will leave lost till later in the week.
But loved the weather over the weekend, did a couple of big walks, painted the fence, and fired up the Big Green Egg BBQ to roast/smoke a stack of peppers and tomato’s for lunchtime soups

Hi hashimoto
Me too. It’s a great toy for cooks!
PS told my new GP about your great health improvement & of many other medical conditions listed on this site too. Hope he reads it

Hi Hawks
Ta for that one. My family love cauliflower cheese so will add Parmesan & good to go

Hi Frank
That is a real result! Very well done. These stories are the proof needed that people have the willpower & tenacity to change their lives & medical prospects given the right information & course of action to take. We want to be better & help ourselves.

Hello partners!
I am a very new member of the program – not quite a week so far.
I am about 10 Kgs overweight, not diabetic – but I would be surprised if I did not have a degree of fatty liver – even fatty pancreas?
I started the diet after having a holiday where I had everything I wanted and a fair bit of wine.
I was ready to take the plunge.
The biggest challenge for me was giving up the nightly glasses of wine – about 5 o’clock the desire for wine could become
preoccupying! I had a sense of shame about this craving and felt controlled buy it.
So, the good news is that I have been following the diet plan devotedly, and managing to avoid that 5 o’clock craving by having dessert before dinner – eg plain yoghurt and rhubarb coulis with a sprinkle of xylitol.
I have lost two Kgs. But I have managed to catch a cold and a headache for about three days – detoxing? – which, with the constant getting up in the night to urinate has meant I have not had good quality sleep.
I checked out the book this morning and there was the suggestion that headaches might relate to not taking in enough fluids so I will try that even though I already visit the toilet so often in 24 hrs.
I have, however, had a lot of excess energy – the trouble with not drinking at night is that it is hard to sit still in front of T.V. Ha ha!

Starting week 5.

Well, another week has gone by!

Last week was filled with medical visits and frustration at the ineptness of the administrative staff who – so far – have not gotten one thing right. My blood glucose went up far more due to avoidable glitches than to hearing that I have breast cancer.

Still good prognosis. Hormone receptor positive – and HER2 negative. A teeny chance I will need both chemotherapy and radiation therapy (based on the oncotype of the tumor) – but a much larger chance that I will only need radiation.

We’re waiting on genetic testing to decide between lumpectomy and bilateral mastectomy. If my particular genetic make-up puts my risk of recurrence or a new primary tumor at 60% or greater, my surgeon would recommend the more extensive surgery. (I could have one tomorrow, just based on family history – but I’m comfortable waiting for the test results so I have more information to make the decision.) It looks like surgery will be the week of the 16th or the 23rd of May.

So that’s my fun and games this past week. I may need to put the BSD on hold – I’ll talk to a dietitian tomorrow. Not that I necessarily trust the dietician if her focus is diabetes.

Here’s what my world looks like, so far. Pretty remarkable, given that 1.5 of the 4 weeks have included the added stress of a cancer diagnosis.

Week 1 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 5.05 mmol/l, T: 5.28 mmol/l W: 5.06 Th: 5.39 (highest in months) F: 4.44 S: 4.39 Sun: 4.44
Week 1 – Starting weight: 150.2 lbs – Ending weight: 147 lbs
Week 1 – High for the week: 7.72, Low for the Week: 4.06, Average for the week: 5.5

Week 2 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 4.83 mmol/l, T: 4.72 mmol/l W: 5.11 mmol/l Th: 4.79 mmol/l F: 4.83 mmol/l S: 4.33 mmol/l Sun: 4.6 mmol/l
Week 2 – Starting weight: 147 lbs – Ending weight: 144.8 lbs
Week 2 – High for the week: 6.83 mmol/l Low for the Week: 3.5 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.27 mmol/l.

Week 3 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 4.61 mmol/l, T: 4.72 mmol/l W: 4.67 mmol/l Th: 4.9 mmol/l F: 4.5 mmol/l S: 4.33 mmol/l Sun: 4.66 mmol/l
Week 3 – Starting weight: 144.8 lbs – Ending weight: 142
Week 3 – High for the week: 7.22 mmol/l Low for the Week: 3.9 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.5 mmol/l.
Note: High stress precipitated by early stages of cancer diagnosis.

Week 4 – Fasting blood glucose: M: 5.05 mmol/l, T: 4.83 mmol/l W: 4.61 mmol/l Th: 4.67 mmol/l F: 4.67 mmol/l S: 4.67 mmol/l Sun: 4.33 mmol/l
Week 4 – Starting weight: 142 lbs – Ending weight: 140.8 (2 lbs from a normal BMI!!!)
Week 4 – High for the week: 8.39 mmol/l (in the wake of incompetent administrative stress) Low for the Week: 4.33 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.27 mmol/l.

Note: Formal breast cancer diagnosis came on Monday, before my fasting BG reading. Might be why it was a bit higher!

Weight loss on Low Carb/Moderate Protein (179 days): 47.1 lbs Average BG 6.0

Weight loss on 800 Calorie Mediterranean Style food with 16:8 intermittent fasting (28 days): 9.4 lbs Average BG 5.39 mmol/l (lower, even after the breast cancer diagnosis and follow-up that came in bits and pieces starting the middle of week 3)

Hi Ali,
Some people weigh daily, others weekly. It’s up to you, some people say they lose motivation if they weigh daily and the scales don’t move.
I weigh maybe once a fortnight as I’m maintaining my current weight. I’m now experimenting with how many, and what kind, of carbs I can eat to keep my blood sugars in the non diabetic range. Obviously not having any processed or sugary carbs, just increasing the amount slowly until I’m happy I can have a bit more fruit in my diet.
I’m sticking with this way of eating for life! So happy to have blood sugars in the non diabetic range. 🙂

Christine – congrats on the weight loss. Snap on 13 and 3 weeks!
Enjoyed cauli rice as part of a pizza base c/o supportive wife – with buckwheat [it’s not wheat honest] and ground almonds – light and tasty. Liking Greek yogurt with blueberries or rhubarb or frozen strawberries/raspberries, spiralized veg instead of pasta, more pulses and soups etc.
To be fair much alternative low carb food is good when you stop and taste it.

Well day one ended well! I visited my cousin and brought tea for us vegetables stir fried in chicken stock and some haloumi. I drank water with lemon and finished off the meal with some blueberries and strawberries. I did not mention I was dieting as this would only cause rolled eyes so I am saying for health reasons I am not eating carbs at the moment. This morning I feel the better for it.

M&S coconut water [250ml, with low carb salad]

‘Simple & Refreshing , pressed from the fruit…
‘never from concentrate’.

Discovered later in the small print on the back –
Ingredients: 99% coconut water, SUGAR, antioxidant [ascorbic acid]

I complained, pointing out that it was coconut water not coca cola they were selling. They sent me a refund, but customer service would not agree to a proper reply. Head of Food apparently has lost the will to communicate.

Hi Dania I hope it was a good first day for you. Best advice is to keep the food varied and interesting to avoid boredom

Hi, all.

I’m not diabetic (that I know of!). I am doing the BSD to lose weight and get my health in order.

I understand the ‘under 50g carbs’ advice (and I understand it’s not in the BSD diet itself). I have read messages in the forums saying that, if you’re in Britain, you should subtract fibre from your carb count to get your ‘net carbs’. Why only in Britain? Are carbs counted differently elsewhere? (I’m in New Zealand).

Thanks in advance – am really impressed with the friendly help everyone seems to give and get on these forums!

3 weeks in and 13lb lost, delighted. Feel great and not at all deprived. Expected to be longing for bread and bananas but not a problem. Helps to have a supportive husband who is happy to have no bread or biscuits in house. Using the Cauli rice a lot despite turning up my nose at the thought of it. If you have enough calories left it is great flavoured with a bit of Tahini paste.

Welcome Dani,
We all feel a bit nervous to start with, it’s such a radical change to the usual recommendations for managing diabetes. There’s a lot to learn but you’ll find lots of good tips and advice on the forums, and if you need help the lovely folk on the forums will come to the rescue. 🙂

Frank, congratulations! Those results are so inspiring. I bet you are so proud of yourself 🙂
The diabetes nurse who witnessed your success will be recommending the BSD to others no doubt. So you’ll indirectly responsible for other people reversing their diabetes too 🙂

1. Week 3 was a bit tougher, after the initial excitement, but weight loss continues with low carbs [ok -13lbs, as you ask].

2. Another fab new BSD gadget is the Spiralizer, spiralizer, spiralizer, ooh [sung to the tune of Womanizer – Britney Spears].
Courgetti spaghetti never tasted so good and guilt free; it’s a simple method of food prep, with easy cleaning afterwards.

3. Toast never tasted so bland. As a treat, and out of curiosity, on Sunday I had a half slice with honey as a starter at breakfast. Missed the crunch of healthy stuff and realised that my appreciation of food has changed very quickly. Toast is going to have to up its game after the BSD.

4.The nurse at the Drs was more receptive than expected. She listened politely to my lecture, skipped the encouragement to go low fat, and requested the title of the BSD book. We meet again at the end of the 8 weeks for an HbA1c test and gasps of amazement.

5. Obligatory Mindfulness plug.
The BSD involves a huge change in habits. I think it is massively interwoven with and complemented by mindfulness.
Much of what we do, we do automatically, and as a result of old habits. We can only change in the present. Hence if our mind is distracted when we eat by stress, TV, or random thoughts, we tend to eat on auto-pilot, based on past habits.
Through increasing awareness, to control stress and reduce our distractibility, we can start to prepare and eat what we need, not what we automatically reach for. We can eat less, of a higher quality, and have a diet that is more balanced and nourishing.
See Mindfulness Forum for more links and to join in.

6. Prince.
Now cracks a noble heart. Goodnight, sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Hi Sofagirl,
This is probably the most common question on the forums so you’re definitely not alone. So common that I call it the week two blues.
Many people have a good loss initially, then their weight loss stalls going into the second week. You may notice other changes in your body during this time though that will show you that the BSD is working. You may find your clothes are looser or your shape is changing, maybe better sleep or energy levels. Your body is making a major adjustment from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat.
All you can do is persevere with the diet, make sure you have plenty of fluids 2-3 litres a day, and increase your intake of healthy fats. So full fat dairy, oils and butter, cheese, oily fish, avocados etc. within your calorie count.
You’ll be posting better results soon 🙂

Hi ladies
I’m type 2 diabetic & don’t have PCOS, but I do want to offer all of you encouragement You have obviously got big hurdles to overcome & are all to be praised for giving this diet a good go. Do what you can & don’t worry about the speed of weight loss. A lb off is great news. Slow & steady often wins the race.

Most of us on here have been so busy caring for others we’ve forgotten to look after ourselves! This has to be our time now. We should matter the most.

ColleenDeas, yes love yourself – lots. If you/ we slip up on this diet / life improving journey, then we are human. No forgiveness necessary, just grab the nearest hand to help you get up again. There are lots of hands ready to catch you!

You are pioneers who will be the experts helping others with PCOS very soon.

Well day one has started…I’m feeling quite nervous and excited and a bit scared…my biggest issue is failure..I’m good at that..the amount of times I start a diet or change my eating habits and then for whatever excuses I go back to bingeing…while reading the forums one of the messages I did get is that it is only 8 weeks..not really a huge sacrifice in time considering I’ve been on this earth for 51 yrs…my blood sugars are high, my cholesterol was high and my thyroid is playing up..so it’s time to get real…let the journey begin 👍🏼😊

Well I never had time for lunch today but had a nice stir fry for dinner. Then massive walk tonight in the wind /rain/hail/snow with my friend, we did 11000 steps along the coast and really enjoyed it despite the weather!

I’m having a hot choc now as I was low for carbs and calories so still within limit.

Tomorrow is weigh day and day one of week two ☺

Thanks for all the tips and info 🙂 hopefully tomorrow my new toy will come and everything in the fridge will be spiralised lol.

Hi eureka, I have her book 🙂

Hi julia18togo,
How are doing with lucia’s challenge? I see by your posts that you are being very active with running Pilates and gardening, you are putting me to shame! I have done a good bit of housework today, so much so that it didn’t leave me any room for excercise, I look at housework on a Monday as my daily workout!
Keep up with the challenge, and good luck,
Christine

Hi all spiralizers
Take a look at Inspiralized.com Ali Maffucci has some great recipes. Good how to book

Hi Judith,
We had an hilarious time this evening with the spirilizer! I was busy making meat balls for tomorrow’s meal with the girls, (they come for tea on a Tuesday after swimming,) I am out on a Tuesday until after 3 so have to be organised for the meal, anyway I was multi tasking doing the washing, drying, folding, making meat balls, and making the fish and pea sauce, so I asked Angela to have a look at doing the courgette spirals, it ended up both her and hubby trying to work out how to use it, then of course me putting my two pennath in! Needless to say it was a shambles, we did get some spirals and I got the fish and sauce on the plates, it was just a bit of a disaster all round, I think we need to practice a bit more!
Even so we didn’t break our diet we just ploughed on and dished up what we had and ate it.
Will have to get some gram flour, I have all sorts of flours, (gluten free stuff) however not one of them is gram flour!, oh well maybe I can get some on Wednesday cheers for now
Christine

Thanks Hashimoto/ Janet / Paula! So good to hear that weight loss is possible and that losing a stone and a half is actually possible. I’ve read a few success stories and amazed at folks results but so sceptical that that would be the same for me. But I’m really going to stick to this and cut out the carbs. I love cereal so going to give that up. I’ll keep everyone posted. All the best to you too Paula 🙂

I started last week and pretty much lost a pound a day- have an 8lb loss at end of week 1! Am delighted!
I know it won’t carry on as much as that but a great start and motivating. I actually find I’m enjoying the dinners more than my normal meals!

Thanks SkyWalker, I think I will re-read the basics, that’s a good idea. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced the same problem.

Hi feistychick, It was a lovely autumn day, wasn’t it?

Just a note regarding cold smoked salmon. I used to buy the packs of cold smoked salmon pieces, Southern Ocean brand, from Nelson, which are almost always a lot cheaper per kg than the slices, but have just noticed they list sugar as an ingredient! Why oh why would they put sugar in salmon???
I might email them.

Thanks Eureka,
One thing about the internet – we all can access the same things, no matter where we are! I had come across that site too! They look really great and I am tempted to try some, but the recipes required things I didn’t have in the cupboards, or had a bit of carb as thickener, so I ended up using a slightly modified version of the one here:
https://stepawayfromthecarbs.com/low-carb-white-sauce/
because I had the ingredients! (I subbed reduced cream for heavy cream.) I can recommend it.

Thanks Imogen 🙂

Hi Hawks
Have a look at http://www.thehealthychef.com/white-sauce-10-ways. You might like the ideas

I’m on day 3. I go to Woodbridge quite a lot

Just started this week. I am in Bury St Edmunds.

Well done that is such a good effort. You have done so well.

Hi jillyB
Lest we forget. . .Recessional 🇦🇺 🇳🇿