Hi Barby, well done 🙂
Your tiny bit looser clothes will be much looser soon. It’s early days yet and some people do seem to get off to a slower start.
Keep an eye on your carbs and portion sizes to make sure you aren’t compensating for your disappointment by eating more.
Walking would be the best form of exercise that you could do without over exertion. Prof Taylor did say that strenuous exercise isn’t recommended when you are on such restricted calories.
You are sure to see those longed for results soon.

Thanks Patsy, that’s a good idea – thank you – we have courgetti and bolognaise for tonight, I think either a little snack before or after with low cal snack will help! I saw an article regarding what the Queen eats and low and behold she is a low carb eater!!

HI Lucia,

still here, today is day 12 for me and the day I found out that I am very probably type 2 diabetic… so it seems I did start this diet just in time.

The scales ( i think they are distantly related to yours) have been telling me that I’m heavier than I was at the drs. 13 st – can’t remember when I last weighed that.

I think I need to eat 3 meals not 2 which is what I’ve been doing so that I can have more calories at each meal. Think that 3 will keep me on a more level thingy so will try that from tomorrow 🙂

Bacon slicers are not the way forward!

Hi Jot,
The flu like symptoms and headaches, lightheadness etc are all fairly common symptoms of carb withdrawal. Some people also report feeling tired and teary or short tempered during this stage too. It does pass quickly, a few days should see you feeling much better.
As Bill advised, take some painkillers for the headaches and make sure you keep your fluid intake up. You need 2-3l of non sugary fluids per day. You will also feel a lot better if you make sure you are including a decent amount of fat in your diet. All your dairy products should be full fat, it stops you feeling hungry and encourages your body to burn fat for fuel rather than carbs.
You are nearly through the worst bit so hang in there. Great results so far too, well done 🙂

Lol, I made the skinny chilli from the book and ate it every day for a week, will have to cook the stuff in my freezer to make room to freeze the stuff I make too much of. I’m on day 12 today and it’s mostly going well. Think I need to eat more meals though with less calories in order to spread them out through the day more evenly as I’ve mostly been eating brunch and dinner. Lots of water does help.

I found out today that I’m type 2 diabetic so I’m glad I started eating like this already.

Hi Christine
Youve done well to have only put on a very small amount on your holiday, you must have been incredibly good!! Really feel for you with your plateau and hope it ends pdq.
My Husband is back tonight, taking me shopping tomorrow, we always but always have a ham and cheese toastie in M&S, so this is going to be a real test of will for me, I’m craving it so much I can taste it!!!

Hope you get back on track very soon and keep posting.
Rachel

Hi AlanHypno

With my nurses hat on (which we don’t wear anymore) I think it may be unwise to come off your medication without seeing your GP or Practice Nurse. It would be good to talk to them about what you are doing and they may agree with your decision but if anything untoward happened and you needed emergency medical treatment the computer records we all use would show you as being on Metformin. I also think if you have stopped taking your medication you should do regular BS checks……nursing hat off!

Glad you are feeling so well and your BS readings are consistently lower 🙂

Christine,
“Treat Your Own Back”
Frank McKenzie
Good luck
John

Hi all,
I am going to look for the book about back pain and the one for the knees, I have forgotten the author and the exact titles, can anyone remember and let me know please?
Thank you
Christine

Thanks Patsy, the hubbie just called and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner…..I told him I am having veggie curry for the third night in a row because I made enough for three!

Well done P!! Like you, in trying to mentally prepare by winding down slowly. I’ve not been an angel but low carb lunches and dinners for the last few days lead my to believe my trousers are not so tight in the waist! Yippee. It’s quite enjoyable eating different things too. Gram flour wraps are a winner… I don’t weigh myself but my goal is to get back into my M&S size 14 jeans before the 8 weeks are up (from 9.5.16!). Keep going!

I started getting hungry and craving carbs after a few days, but it didn’t last too long.

Everyone will keep telling you to drink lots of water and it really does seem to help.

Tandoori mixed grill, or any meat tikka – eat all the salad but none of the bread/rice. Veg side dishes. Onion bhajis, if made with gram flour are OK too.

Some of the sauces could contain a lof of sugar, so does mango chutney.

I looked up the breads (as I love Indian food) and all are made with wheat flour, so not good for us. Poppadoms are the same.

If portion sizes seem far too small, would it help to have a ‘starter’ or side salad of celery sticks, cucumber wedges, baby lettuce leaves etc and possibly a little salsa to dip them in? You could have lots of those at very little exta calories and carbs.

Being able to easily find them under different categories sounds like a good idea.

I have cut out extra toast at breakfast and cereals at supper, done extra walking each day since beginning my first post, drunk extra water also have had no sweets, chocs or “goodies” sticking to three smaller meals a day and to my surprise have lost 5lb. I know most of this will be water and some glycogen but it is still encouraging as I haven’t launched into the 800BSD yet.
I have been shopping and got a couple more store cupboard items, such as ground flaxseed, in readiness.
I have also told a few people I will be doing this. Hopefully forewarning them may help deflect any disappointment should I have to decline any social events where I know the main aim of the session will be to eat lots & drink lots of alcohol! lol. I think I need to find other social events or activities where the focus isn’t actually the eating.

Sorry about double post above, forum wasn’t showing my postings for some reason.

Just wanted to ask about your Mushroom and garlic burger Orchid, did you mean a large mushroom, or actual burger? Thanks.

Hi rachel62
I’m feeling great, even though I’m on one of the dreaded plateaus! I haven’t lost anything really in a couple of weeks now, I know I have been on hols and put 1lb6 oz on, however not lost anything this week yet! I will, I just have to be really careful for a couple of days.
Good luck with your journey, and keep posting!
Christine

Read on the internet:- Some say there is an increased risk of gallstones with low fat, low calorie diets.

Thanks Patsy and yes we are all different and I am doing okay but other half is struggling and any kind of weight loss at this point would be a great motivator but he doesn’t want to give up – just see some reward for the minuscule amounts that he has been eating ha ha! We will get there and I am sure we are only consuming around the 800 mark as logging all food in myfitnesspal so pretty sure! Will give it another 3 days then weigh again on new scales as digital ones were def playing silly you know whats!
Will give you all an update then….thanks for the help! x

Hi Fluff,
yesterday was total – 814 cals and 61g carbs.
Breakfast
Full fat yogurt – 60g
Rasps – 30g
3 Almonds chopped, 3g linseeds, 3g pumpkin seeds, 3g sunflower seeds.
Cinnamon
Lunch
Creamy Cauliflower and Beans soup (see recipes section)
Fried egg (in non-stick pan)
2 grilled Portobello mushrooms
5 cherry tomatoes
Snack
Goats cheese – 19g
Dinner
Mushroom and garlic veggies burger
Salad of cucumber, spring onion, tomato, red pepper and some balsamic vinegar for dressing.

I weigh everything as I don’t trust my judgement on ‘dollops’.

Hi FiFiP I think thats an amazing achievement for you both on the 5.2 in a relatively short space of time and you must be really thrilled!! Will be very interested to read your continuing progress :))

Rachel

Hi Beverley
My late mother had both gallstones & gout! She was type 2 diabetic as am I.
Gout has quite a familial trait. Uric acid crystals (from the breakdown of purines found in some foods) can collect in the joints eg toes & is very painful! My son, grandmother & great-grandfather all have suffered from Gout. Try & avoid foods & drink with high purine levels. Purines are also created through the natural process of cell breakdown in the body.
Uric acid is dissolved in the blood & excreted by the kidneys. If you are unfortunate & produce too much Uric acid, Gout can occur.
My mother found drinking more water, resting her feet & of course medication helped. Her attacks were sporadic but very painful. At no time was she told that she was more susceptible to either Gout or Gallstones because she was T2!
Her GP was not helpful or knowledge ( at least he never passed on warnings to her) as to what she should avoid for either condition.
Same old same old!
I believe some foods that were to be avoided with Gout are now thought to be beneficial?
Eureka

Hi Fluff, According to my app a cup is 148 grams. That is a lot of blueberries. I have 60g yogurt and 30g blueberries plus seeds in the mornings – blueberries 4.25g carbs, yogurt 4g. total 10g carbs out of my target 60g. Leaves plenty for the rest of the day. I would try to persuade your app to use grams or ozs as that is a more precise weight when every gram is precious 🙂 !

Yes, I’d start now too – and just keep it to a minimum when you go out socially. Also try and log what you eat, and be really good before and after. Having lots of water REALLY helps with hunger. I now drink soda and lime when I’m out. Good luck

Hi Christine and thank you for your message. I hope you are feeling loads better now?
I am being extremely strict and have planned the weekend and all next weeks meals so Im not tempted to stray. Also drinking way more water than I ever have. Just hope the scales start showing a reduction soon, its soooooo demoralizing especially when you feel so deprived. I havent had any alcohol since I started the diet (3 days) the grooves in the walls are nothing to do with me – honest!!!!!

Please keep me posted with how youre getting on
Rachel

Personally I think starting now and having those 5 days off would be better than waiting 5 weeks to start. Your results obviously won’t be quite as good, but hopefully you’ll see an improvement in that time. For some people there will never be a perfect time to start.

Good luck.

Two days is rather soon to decide it’s not working! Some people do see very big and/or rapid results but not everyone does. Hang in there both of you.

Definitely decrease the blueberries! I use 20 grams of pomegranate seeds, or 30 grams of blueberries or raspberries. They better than most fruits, but anything sweet is still relatively high carb.

On this diet, my protein macro is around 35%. I don’t worry specifically about the others. I keep my carbs below 20 in a given meal – unless I’m going over because of one of the recipes in the book.

Well done Marcus
Isn’t it strange how weight comes off like that?
It makes you wonder where it goes overnight, I’ve checked and it isn’t lying in my bed 😀

Good idea, as we get more and more added. Love the cottage pie with cauli mash (veggie version)

Quick weigh in:

2 weeks – 9 kilos down from a starting weight of 101.

Very happy. Nothing came off at all for most of the last week, then suddenly 2.5 kilos waved goodbye.

Three more drops like that and I’ll be done 🙂

Hi TeenaB,

Thank you – will definitely post some meal plans later on when more time, bought new scales this morning as also not sure if my digital scales are being a bit off but new scales showing the same oops! Hopefully things will start to show – wont give up! 🙂

Hi Bill1954,

Sure will do…hopefully we can figure it out!

Just in the middle of working so will post when free a bit later – thank you 🙂

Very interesting! if you are talking about a ‘flu’, does this also include a blocked nose?….trying to figure out if it’s to do with this diet or hayfever…

I did have the worst headache just above my eye this morning and had some paracetamol.

Thanks for the reply.

Totally agree, you can get a lot of the right kind of food for 800 cals.
I’ve been on the plan for 11 weeks now, lost 30lb, blood sugars almost normal now, and I have never once felt hungry.
This is someone who would have a large dinner, packets of crisps, choccy and biscuits every night so it does work
Best of luck for your journey, you’re not alone, we are all here to offer support.

I am useless at all things techie/techy/computery……but I do love the recipes but find it takes an age to trawl through them all and find something. Does anyone have any bright ideas as to how we could get them collated into categories like: soups, starters, breakfasts etc? Or am I missing something on the link?

I absolutely love the Minestrone which somebody posted btw!

Lots of people have jotsaroop, we call it the carb flu, the symptoms usually pass in a couple of days, until then make sure you get the 2 – 3 litres of fluid per day to keep you hydrated and take painkillers for any headaches.

Hi, 800 cals sounds ridiculously little doesn’t it – I’ve been doing it for 12 weeks now (except blew it over Easter!) and have got totally used to it and don’t need anything more now. On my ‘journey’ I’ve been away every other week eating out and staying at hotels and have lost weight subsequently as I’ve found mentally, as I don’t know the calorie counts I’ll eat far less than ever before – just in case! I usually just have a starter – protein and salad perhaps – with wine please note!!! And it hasn’t affected my weight loss as far as I can tell – have now lost 2 1/2 stone btw (this week – and it’s only Thursday – I’ve already lost 3.8 lbs – promise you – which is far more than usual – last week it was only 1.8 lbs – hey, I’m happy!). I have to say Iove the food and am so surprised at the variety. There have been many times when I’ve been staying in a hotel when I’ve cursed myself the following morning for having had 3 large merlots – still lost weight! And I’ve had full English breakfast at a Weatherspoons when away – only once a week but without hash browns and toast but had baked beans and extra mushrooms with bacon, SAUSAGE (!) and fried egg – still lost or didn’t gain and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Used to (years ago) have 6 sugars in my tea (OMG – wonder why I got type 2?) then went onto 3 canderel – now sweetener free! Still don’t love the cup of tea but have 2 every day with milk – doesn’t stop me losing!

I started following all the recipes in the menus for the first 4 weeks, then started to relax them and use my own ‘normal’ favourites but following the rules so am now happily adapting.

I am 58, have dieted since I was 30 and have no intention of stopping now. I am no longer on a diet but have found a way of living and eating which I enjoy, is right for my body, which I can sustain quite comfortably and has halved my blood sugars – my doc says they’ll have to think about taking me off meds!

Howzatt – so if I can do it – anybody can as I was always the one who fell off the wagon and never got back on again and ended up at my heaviest at 15 st 2. Starting weight was 14 st 12.6 lbs now 12 st 5lbs – can’t wait to get into the 11st bit………..!!

Don’t be scared of the 800 cals – just try it and you’ll be surprised – btw recommend the aubergine and lamb meal – I have it every Monday night as I just love it and it’s my treat after my (hopefully) good weigh in in the mornig!

Very best of luck!

Alan – my only suggestion would be that as you’ve come off your meds without chatting to your doc, personally I would check them very regularly – just to keep an eye on things, at least for a few weeks…….I check mine on a Mondy now – as I said am still on meds – btw – I’ve been doing this 12 weeks now and the amount I lose each week does vary and I have had a couple of plateaus which are really demoralising – interestingly – for me anyway (!) so far this week I’ve lost 3.8 lbs and it’s only Thursday! (weigh in Monday of course!) so should at least lose the extra .2lb which, this far into a ‘diet’ is – I think – bizarrely wonderful and so ultra motivating!

Would like to mention that one of my staple lunches is the Minestrone Soup which somebody (sorry, can’t remember who) posted in the receipes – have added some chilli flakes to it and it is delicious and so good and healthy!

Hi Lucia
Jealous! I still have a mitchellin man belly! Will never get rid of the folds, hope though I lose the fat and the finished result is better looking when clothed!
I am still struggling to get my weight off, nothing has moved for ages, I only put 1lb 6 oz on during my hols, it’s not coming off though, I’ve been busy washing shopping and looking after grandchildren so no room for excercise, except late at night when I am too shattered to do anything than go to bed!
Looking forward to the next post, if I half my age I would be 34, now I like that idea!
I love your blogs, you are so good at keeping us on our guard you never know what you are going to do or say next, love the idea of dancing, I could do that in the garden in the moonlight, then no one can see what I fool I am making of myself, I love dancing, just haven’t done any in years because of my health and weight gain!
Love you Lucia don’t ever change!
Christine

Hi,
I had a look at the replies to my first blogs and clicked on their name, this shows me their profile and what blogs they have created.
What happened at the end of March? Some haven’t posted anything in April.
If you are already registered, please reply or blog, it is so nice to hear so many versions of the same thing.
It’s like going to a. Party and meeting different people in each corner.
Come on , come into the middle of the party and boogie with me. Let’s all shake our stuff.
Well, it does burn more calories.

Love luciaXxx

Hi Boggis Welcome to a very friendly forum – I’m quite new too, so no expert, but sure you’ll get lots of support..

I have had a couple of days where I’ve “fallen off the wagon” and eaten too many carbs when out with people, BUT tried to keep them in moderation, and was really strict the rest of the day, and the next day. I started drinking soda and lime with ice, which is nice. I am learning to say no, cos I don’t want to mess this regime up for myself. I also made sure I logged what I ate on My Fitness Pal, however bad.

Dink loads of water – it really takes the edge off your hunger. I was hungry at first, I just said to myself that it means this is working.l

I’m veggie and used to eat lots of junk food. Now if I keep low carb, I seem to have lost the urge (so far) to eat bad foods.

The important thing is you start doing it and really look at the thread for what people eat each day, can give you good ideas. Good luck!

Where are you the polly,
What have you been up to?

Love luciaXxx

Hi,

I’m 29years old and recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My Blood Suagr levels were initially 52 but after a go at the 5:2 they dropped to 48.

I still have an amount of fat around my midrift. I’m about 80kg with roughly 30% body fat (according to my Fitbit scale). In the last 4 days its dropped from about 82.5kg to 79.9kg so something is working.

I’m on Day 4 and today seems to be the toughest. I’m feeling very tired, and dizzy. I’ve been calculting my means and they generally seem low carb.

Anyone else have or had this kind of issue? does it pass? should I do something different?

Thanks,
Jot

Christie and captain,
Told you, you were only young.

I have halved my age.
Now if I could only halve my weight………
Who said to stand next to a back on slicer then?
Cruel lot.
🙂Love Lucia
Xxx

Yes, I now have got over the shock of my pink blossom failing for another year to beat next doors tree.

Yup, I am sad, it’s the only exciting thing happening at the moment.

Oh , a bit of good news, you know my spare tyre? Well it started the size of a formula one tyre.
Then it went to a car tyre size.
I had a good look at it this morning, it is the size or a push bike tyre, the thick off road one, not the road one.
But hey, I am getting there.

Now tell me , you couldn’t visualise the sizes I meant.
If I said it was so many centimetres or this measurement or that, it wouldn’t have been as visual for you.

Here’s to burning the rubber!
( get it? A play on words, for my spare tyre and for working hard exercising to get rid of it,,,,,, don’t make me work this hard for a sample team)

Love Lucia
Xxx

Great idea Fluff – I must try the tamari sauce, I couldn’t find it in Tescos last night.

B 3 table spns Lidl full fat yoghurt + 1 teasp chopped nuts/seeds + 1 teasp round linseed + 1 teasp flax
+ 8 frozen blackberries, warmed

L salad lettuce/cucumber/celery/pepper 2 tomatoes hard boiled egg, 1 oz grated cheese + dollop full fat plain cottage cheese

D cottage pie and cauli mash from Recipes – I substituted quorn for meat – it was so lovely

Hi, firstly I must say Im totally inspired by everyone’s success and I have never ever entered a forum and just by reading everyone’s support and success I feel that being part of this forum will help me along the way. Im about to start the 800 calorie daily to start with and depending on how I find it will either stick (hopefully) or go to the next level of 5:2. I have approx. 5 dates, all in diff weeks where I know that I wont be able to stick to just 800 calories and there will be alcohol involved, is it okay to continue with 800 cals daily and on these particular days fall off the wagon so to speak but with caution, eg: not eat a pizza / choc cake etc, do as best I can. I am very familiar with Paleo diet and eat pretty much gluton free so I don’t feel I will miss the carbs, for me its the hunger and the portions (cant get much food for 800 cals!). Any advice welcome, Im starting this Saturday, wish me luck!

Hello. I started mine on Monday 18th and only lost a pound by Tuesday but………………when I weighed myself Wednesday morning I had lost a further 4.1/2 lbs. Weighed myself today Thursday, and haven’t budged but hopefully will show tomorrow. So don’t give up!!!!!!