Thank you for that, was worrying a bit. Its such a drastic change for me, but as a newly discovered type 2 diabetic I simply have to make these changes to lower my blood sugar and my weight.

Have been looking at so many foods to see where the carbs are hidden and as I suspected they were all in predictable places so I don’t even have ignorance as an excuse. The weird thing is its made me so more determined than any other type of diet change I’ve ever tried and in conjunction with weightwatchers (great online site which gives the carbs per 100g of any food) I feel like a new door has opened for me. I have my annual Bupa check at the end of May and would hope all my results would be better than last year. Looking at the recipes too and will follow some to spice things up. I must say, the book totally opened my eyes, I found myself nodding in the early chapters saying ‘that’s how I feel’.

B: Flatbread-17gms(7gms of fiber)
3-egg whites
2-tsps Parmasean
1-wedge of Asiago cheese -Cow
-1tbsp Agave w coffee

Well after last weeks blip I lost another 2 pounds this week, that puts me at 14.5 stones, 30 lb weight loss, and 1 stone to go to my first target weight.
Blood sugars are in the 6’s fasting and in normal range the rest of the day.
Oh not to forget, I’ve now lost 6 inches off my waist measurement. (there will have to be a major shopping trip before my holiday in June)
I’m now confident of reaching my eventual target of 12.5 stones or so by September so everything is going swimmingly.
As I’ve said often before, if I can do this, anyone can.
Onwards and upwards!

I found the flatbreads a bit soft though tasty, but now put them into the toaster. Result, a crispy biscuit great with marmite, with curry or topped with fish or meat.

Take the reading before you eat and then again 2 hours later, it gives a good idea of how your body is coping with food while the pre food reading shows how you are doing before eating. The difference between the 2 readings gives an insight into how your diabetes is performing.

Hi Simon
Completely normal, the headaches don’t last long and lot’s of folk have reported having extra energy, so much so that, if they slip up and have carbs one day, they feel awful the next day, it really does affect your body like that.
That weird taste you have may just be a sign of ketosis or fat burning, if that’s the case you can check with Ketostix, about a fiver from the chemist.
Well done on the first week and heres to some amazing results by the end of the 8 weeks.

Hi Lucia, A few words words of encouragement..I was not that heavy – 11 stone (154 pounds) – but I’m only 5’7″.
Being told I needed additional medication made me look again at what I could do myself. I started the BSD 8 weeks ago. My last hba1c reading had been over 9 (62 in medical speak). I felt I could not do as little as 800 calories a day so I did what I felt I could do – i.e. low carbs, more protein, portion control and a bit more exercise. Although I already rode my bike for about 40 minutes 2/3 times a week and played badminton, I have added the “HIT” idea mentioned in the book. I walk more and do 15 sit ups 3 times a week. I also fast at least 12 hours overnight every day, often more like 13 or 14 depending on my will power! I now weigh 10st 1¼ (65kg). I had my first quarterly check up since starting the BSD this morning following my blood tests last week. I knew from my own readings I was doing better but was pleasantly surprised to be told my average for the quarter was 44 – the uppermost point of the non-diabetic scale (26-44). I am going to ask to reduce my medication. So, even if you can’t get as low as 800 calories (and you do feel the hunger pangs less the longer you stick to it). The one time my readings went back up was when I slipped into having a bit of milk in tea and porridge. I read this: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy-insulin/ and it is highly insulinogenic. I dropped it and my readings improved again.
I’m not that strong willed – if I can do it anyone can. Go for it!

After reading with interest lots of your posts and various threads and topics I realise the best way forward for me is to plan, carefully, and set a date to actually commence the 8 week BSD. This is to reduce or get rid of hurdles (aka excuses) and give myself the best start at achieving a decent outcome.
Have read the 8 week BSD book twice through and so far have done my BMI and have purchased a pedometer.
I am not diabetic but looking at my female relatives and family tree they are all built like wardrobes and in later life have an impressive collection of metal ware between them in the form of various joint replacements. Several have had leg ulcers and one has had an amputation above knee.
I have twinges of a hip and back problem and a crunching knee mainly due to having one leg slightly shorter than the other. This is now getting worse due to the fact I am way over heavy.
I took early retirement a couple of years ago after having a busy and active job and seem to have overindulged in recreating “weekend mornings “i.e. getting up later, extra toast and freshly brewed coffee, newspaper and not getting dressed much before lunch time. Marry this with extra outings to lunchtime eateries with friends and more socialising involving cake/coffee mornings etc and it is no surprise to me now that the two dress size increase has occurred ….thank you Dr.Michael for giving me the mental “slap round the chops”. In my head I am young so don’t want to have the restricted mobility of an elderly, unfit person as I want to enjoy my retirement and not have to go to medical appointments etc.
Yesterday my baseline steps measured a shocking 3,750….aaargh!
Today I thought I would go for a proper walk before lunch and have clocked up 4895 already.
I am lucky enough to be able to be going on a short holiday in the next few weeks and will have access to a small swimming pool so will definitely try to take advantage of that.
My first day of 8/800 BSD will be Monday 23rd May.

Hi, read the book, loved it and it proved to me I’m addicted to carbs. So I got on board and started to eat low carb, ditching bread, pasta and cakes instantly. I’m 49 and have been eating the same way for years

Starting weight 18stone

After a couple of days I was really sweaty and my headache was awful, however it lasted about a day
My appetite seems to have slowed a little
Got a weird taste in my mouth
But seem to have lots more energy
Have lost 5lb in a week
Feel mentally stronger than in ages

is this all normal or should I be worried ?

Hi Judith,
I also have acid reflux and diverticulitis, and I swell up at the slightest bite from anything!
I haven’t had a problem with the first two since the diet, not tested the biting bit yet! We will see!
Christine

I was wondering if anyone had started off with shakes, Dr Mosley talks about the study groups using shakes as it’s more controlled and suggests that I could do that, even if it’s only for the first few weeks.

I wondered what brands people had used, which they thought were better and whether they worked for them??

Thanks,

HairyD

btw, Stevia as found in drinks isn’t really very natural. It does come from a plant, but is heavily processed – just like white sugar and flour and we now know these things aren’t very good for us.

Morning, Judith, Lynne, Lucia et al!
It’s a lovely sunny day here today too, Angela is out in the garden, I’ve just had lunch, (that’s why I’m on here and not shopping etc) and alls well with the world, you can tell I’m pleased with myself.
Today I had a couple of cups of tea, (both went cold)!while unpacking! Lunch was a two egg omelette with spring onion and tomatoes with a bit of cheese, that’s all that was left in the fridge!
Christine

Lostgirl, don’t drink something that’s not on the diet plan and which you don’t really like! If you’re going to have something ‘naughty’ it might as well be the kind you do like – but try to cut it down as much as possible. By continuing to have sweetened drinks, you’re making things much harder for yourself in the long run.

Excellent – well done!

Hi julia18togo
Great word though shrinkwards! Let’s hope we all shrinkwards!

Hi penny
I did a bit more than snack on water! Was well pleased though, I will be back on strict rations this week, while not going hungry.
Christine

Sorry about the incorrect times, I’ve just updated the site to British Summer Time. It should stay correct during future switches now. 🌞

Hi julia18togo,
I was sooo pleased with the scales this morning, I honestly thought I would have put at least five pounds on, not 1lb 6oz!
My hubby is amazed too as I was having the odd ice cream lots of green and blacks chocolate for my ‘supper’ I also had a couple of chips and a couple of half slices of white bread toast!
Will be ordering the spiraliser when I get organized too.
Christine

Thank you Cherrieanne and Orchid. It’s so nice to get advice. This appears to be a very friendly and helpful forum. I had thought it might be impossible to do this diet as a vegetarian, but all your ideas suggest otherwise. Really appreciate it!

Hi, I saw the programme as well, I thought I remembered her pointing out to two dishes one was in lentils and the other chickpeas, and saying it is in both, but that you needed an awful lot of both to get the full benefits?
I was disappointed that the programme did not mention the low carb approach to losing visceral fat taken in MM’s book, especially since Chris van Tulleken was co-presenting!

Hi!
Other bs800 bloggers may come up with a solution, surely other diabetes sufferers have bought holiday insurance.
Come on gang, let’s get the best info for Hashimoto.

We will get you covered and wearing a hat with corks possum!

Sorry, I just had to.

Love Lucia
Xxx

My first weigh in after 7 days and I have dropped from 86 to 79.2 thats a loss of 6.8 kgs also my fasting BGL has dropped from 8 to 6.2 woo hoo.

That should read a loss of 6.8 kgs

Natalie
That 8.3 you mentioned you say in prediabetic range ??
Is that same as uk and do you consider 8.3 pre diabetic range or am I mixed up
Alan

Thanks Odette C, We all on here are so different and yet have so much in common at the same time. The act of”Mediterraneanizing” for me is more about adopting a new and self-enforced active lifestyle that is fueled by substitutes refined (bad) carbs and added refined sugars with quality protein and some more oils/polyunsaturated fats. I had a bit of a worry today when I made lunch without using the scales, but I’m confident that the 10 weeks training in the principles will guide me to eating more and safer calories and thus prevent a slide into a risk of under/over-nourishment. I bought an olive oil spray that is a great aid to making salads from Dunelm. I also bought some measuring cups that I do not need to use now I am familiar with quantities & weights v calories in the foods that I eat. If we accept that added sugars are in everything and only millimeters and milliseconds away from us, our subconscious will take over – it’s a bit like what is called in Human Factors “environmental capture” like when we drive home in auto-mode and don’t remember the journey – it just happened? Having good genes helps and I think mine are basically OK. I know now that can easily go back to the Fast800 for a while if the 5:2 does not work for me or I need to again after a holiday for example or a long sail where fresh food is not easy to come by. I reckon if I calorie count when away from home and be sensible it will do the job. Back soon…

Cherrieanne, these are lovely. I am making another pot of the Creamy Cauliflower Soup from the recipe pages – and thought these would be nice on top. So I dry fried (lightly toasted) the sunflower seeds (10g) and added 1tsp tamati sauce – they are scrumptious :-). I then tried it again with pumpkin seeds, this time I sprayed a little oil in the pan first then repeated as above. They work as well – now some crunch for my soup.
thank-you!

Only 1 lb loss this week. Thought it might be worse though as I put weight on for two days running.

Haven’t been weighing stuff or counting calories and am obviously being a bit too generous with portion sizes. I’ll have a word with myself!

Hello – I’m on week 3 day 1 and would just like to express my appreciation for this regime and also the helpful advice I’ve seen on the forums for the past couple of weeks. I’m T2, diagnosed 2 years ago and managed to get off insulin within a couple of months by following a very low carb way of eating. I love to do research and found the LCHF community to be very helpful in my journey towards normalcy. Unfortunately, I took the HF part of LCHF a little too literally and over the past 2 years had regained about 15lb of the 30 I managed to drop. Following the 800 way of eating for the past 2 weeks has been incredibly easy and I’ve so far lost 9lb. But even more important for me, I’ve seen a significant drop in my fbs. Down to 100 this morning, which is the lowest it’s been for quite some time. Anyway, just wanted to add my ongoing story to those that i’ve already read here and on Facebook. It isn’t difficult, it can be incorporated into a busy life and it DOES yield results! My mantra always used to be Onward and Upward but I’m thinking of changing it to Onward and Downward!

Hi Nella,
LIke Cherrieanne, I have completed the 8 weeks and now 3 weeks onwards. It is harder as pulses which provide a lot of vegetarian protein are high in carbs, so getting a very low carb (under 50) means you have a lot of eggs and cheese!
It is doable, but needs a bit more readjustment than I expected when I read ‘eat lots of veg’ :-). As a veggie, that should have been easy!
There is a cauliflower rice for sale in most major supermarkets, I was not too impressed, but others have found it to be good. The other product is ‘barenaked’ rice. I think this is what Cherrieanne is referring to. I have a packet, but not yet used it. I am more likely to try it in the 5:2 phase as I am full enough when I make a stir-fry without needing any extras.
Good luck and just ask when you need help. There are quite a few veggies around!

Re travel insurance – you can always walk into a high street insurance broker and ask them to get you quotes. Sure they get a commission out of it from the underwriter, so you might not get quite as cheap as going direct, but they earn it by knowing which companies are the best for varying problem – it’s their job.

It’s also up to them to handle the negotiations and do the paperwork.

Worth a try.

John

Hi Nella,
Welcome to the forum. The BSD is just the best remedy for diabetes 🙂
I’m vego too and completed the 8 weeks with no problems. Have your usual foods but substitute something else for the carbs. Cauli mash instead of potato, no carb noodles or ‘rice’, I forget the brand name used in the UK but it’s made of Konjac root. Frittata instead of quiche. Try the gram flour flatbreads with curry instead of naan bread or rice. Soup and fried haloumi instead of bread or croutons. You could come up with heaps of ideas once you start thinking of low carb but filling foods.
There are also quite a few veggie recipes on this site you could try.
Keep in touch, there are quite a few vegetarians on here who can help out. Some diabetic, others wanting weight loss to prevent diabetes.

Christine,

That’s a splendid result – you must have worked hard to be so good whilst such temptations were all around.

Onwards & Downwards.

The flatbread recipe is in the “Recipes” section of this website. It’s on screen 10 or thereabouts.

John

Judith,

It sure is.

Mind you, I don’t think I’ll try the trunks I bought to “Wow” them at the beach at Monte Carlo back in the long-lost distant days when I used to go there for a Reinsurance gathering. (I always wondered if it would have been so well attended had it been held in Frinton.)

BTW – any response from the team on your Forum re-jigging suggestions?

🙂

John

Hi all,
Whoppeee, just got on the scales, after a 1pm bedtime last night after our return from Tenerife, and I am 13.1.6.
That is brilliant, even if do say so myself! Only 1lb 6 oz gain, that’s even after having two or three ice creams, and on our last night meal I had a tiramisu!
I did do lots of walking also swam, plus two sessions of Aquarobics!
Judith, can you please let me have the flatbread recipe? I would like to try them, I’m not that keen on the cauliflower rice.
Now have to trawl through all the post, 90% of which will be thrown!
Christine

Hi Hashimoto, have you tried Explorer Insurance? They were by far the lowest when I used them last year, in spite of asthma. Jules x

B: cheese, cucumber, tomato, tea. (Shopping day so I didn’t have a lot of choice of proteins in the morning)
L: rotisserie chicken thigh, salad.
Snack: watermelon, tea.
D: bolognaise on zoodles (zucchini strips).
798 cals, 28 g carbs

Hi Toofastblack, could you do the pancakes out of gram or coconut flour? You could eat it as a brunch maybe, with cream or yoghurt and berries. That would keep your son happy. Use one of the flatbreads recipes on this site perhaps. 🙂

Janet, thank you also for replying. I’m enjoying reading all the posts and learning lots of tips. Laughing at some too
Feel better already 🙂
X

I’ll check that as well, thanks 🙂

Hi Bill
Thank you so much
I’m sitting here surrounded by recipes and planning the next week…feeling positive and your words are encouraging
Thanks again x

Thanks for reply re high morning but what’s pre meal readings I’ve been doing it two hours after a meal
Thanks Alan

Hi Rhiannon and welcome to a whole new lifestyle.
Tell you what, if I say, in 2 weeks time, if you stick to the plan, you won’t be wanting chocolate, would you believe me?
No?
Lot’s of others didn’t either, but the fact is, once you dstop easting carbs and get them cleansed from your body, you don’t crave or even want them.
Give yourself a fortnight and see how good you feel then.
Best of luck on your journey

You did 🙂
But someone else did too.

Oh I didn’t realise that. Thought I had invented it lol 🙂
I enjoy the crunchy saltiness though so probably wouldn’t grind it.

Alan the morning readings will be erratic due to the dawn phenomonen which won’t be combated in a week.
Your body will need a chance to repair itself and get rid of all the glucoze stored in your organs before that happens.
If I were you. I’d concentrate on your pre dinner readings and see how they go.
Fasting readings can drive you insane if you let them.

One last thing Judith, check all other policies you have – house and contents etc. You are likely to be covered under them for say £1000 for valuables you take out the house, and possibly money theft. You don’t need that on your holiday insurance, you can’t claim off of both policies so you will be paying twice!
🙂

Hi David, great results
I’m with the girls on this one, with those results you can just keep what you’re doing.
If the weight loss slows or the sugar readings rise, you have a 30g daily carb buffer that you can reduce.

You can either use international mmol/l (millimoles per litre) or times by 18 to get the American version mg/dL (milligrams per decilitre). 150 in mg/dL would be 8.3 in Australian money. In the prediabetic range.

HI Judith,
At least you will get a baseline to compare others from. Hope it works – also sometimes you get a reduction if you have some other insurance with a company! I got a 15% reduction when I took my 2 weeks UK holiday insurance cover through LV as I had car insurance with them. That was by far the best quote for me.