Hi Lucia. Love the idea of carb-squitos!

Mosquitos always know I’m on the way and tell their friends, then they sit around waiting for me to arrive so they can bite me. Just like carbs, waiting to make me poorly, raise my blood sugar and gain weight😱

Hi there,

Don’t beat yourself up too much. It happens to all of us. Just think tomorrow is another day and of course you can start again. I myself haven’t started yet but I am waiting to see my consultant tomorrow hoping he will give me the go ahead to start. I have been reading all the posts and just go through them and they will inspire you to start again.

Best of luck,
Polly

Hi Boombatty,
Thank you for your support
It’s a scary but exciting prospect to be able to shed these god awful pounds and feel like me again. It’s the sweet tooth that I shall have to ignore but i know I’ll feel better.
I’m sure you will be “back on the wagon” in no time and best of luck xx

Hi Rhiannon,
I started last Monday and had a really good week. I lost 7lbs but I fell of the wagon yesterday ( mum in laws birthday party), I have felt rubbish all day, I’m thinking it’s did to all the carbs I ate last night, so I’m back on it tomorrow and determined to have a fabulous week, I’m sure you will too.
To be honest I was wary that 800 cals wouldn’t be enough but I can honestly say I was never hungry, I too am a chocoholic but I had a square of greens and black high cocoa content which curbed my cravings.
Enjoy your first week I am sure you will love it x

Hello.

I started fast 800 last Saturday and had been so proud of myself all week. I find it much harder than j thought. Felt hungry a lot and 800 cals a lot less than I expected. On Friday j got drunk on two glasses of red wine and ate a whole cheese board at a friends then a whole pack dark chocolate. The next day I felt horrendous. Not sure if was dehydration or the carbs or the alcohol. I don’t normally get drunk off two glasses of red wine. Then I got in a horrible mid set of well I have fallen off now and as a friend was visiting as a rare treat I thought I would have the day off. Beer. Cakes. Fish and chips. Awful. Today it’s been hard not to be ravenous and I even had two portions of children’s birthday cake. I can’t believe it. I feel like such a looser failure. Can I start again? Has anyone else fallen off this badly? Do you start 8 week again. I think no booze has to be a a big rule for me. I still feel awful … Any tips to help me get back appreciated. I was 12.3 went down to 11.9 in under a week. Now of course gone straight back up to 11.13 1/2. Huff huff huff

Hi, would you please share your Yorkshire pudding recipe.

Hi, I am starting this NEW WAY OF LIVING as of tomorrow and would appreciate any support, information or ideas you might have. I feel in the right place emotionally to embark but am nervous about “failing” again. I am a chocoholic (its my drug of choice) and having had a very difficult number of years use it as a comfort and crutch I guess.
I am 4 stone overweight and don’t see myself in the mirror any more. Im sure I am not the ony one who has felt this way and would love to hear your words of wisdom and experiences.

Hope you manage to get some relaxation time on your trip Janet1973. Have to say the ketostix are a bit of a comfort-blanket at the mo, as without scales, I only have them to give me any idea if I’m on track or not. Haven’t had the diet really tested yet – that will happen soon, when we visit with some Turkish friends, where they’ll expect me to eat bread, pastries etc. It’s going to be difficult to refuse without offending, so wish me luck!

Just tried hashimoto’s courgette in cream cheese as can’t be bothered to cook after walking 13 mile this afternoon…it was very tasty and so quick to make, will definitely be making it again!

Hi,
If it was jus, then hubby would insist on bread to mop it up😕

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Sounds lovely sunnyb, well done on those keto readings. You’ve obviously got this cracked and I bet your summer shorts are looking good too!

Off on a working holiday myself tomorrow for four days. Probably not going to be much sun though, just up to saltburn on the north east coast until Thursday. I’m not taking my scales, only my ketostix a la sunnyb! But I have bought the same foods I eat at home so it should be no different apart from a few lovely seaside walks!

Have a great week!

Barby,just only just started its a learning curve.
Unfortunately I can’t cook these recipes so having the foods in basic form ,but it makes it easy to calculate it !
Salmon is salmon eggs are eggs !
But I will ha a a go soon at some the easier dishes.
Alan ,on the first step of this journey

Thank you Lauren. This has given me some hope. I had been worried about what I’d eat but knowing you’ve managed to do it mainly meat free is encouraging!

Hi Whoopsie Daisy
I have not stuck to the diet menu, but have stuck to the spirit of the diet, eating 800 cals a day, keeping an eye on carbs and making sure to keep fluid intake up. Think many on the forum are working this way and seeing good results, whilst training their bodies to accept a new eating regime to stand them in good stead going forward. So yes, cook the meals you normally would for the family, but keep your portions in control, so that you meet the 800cals (or there abouts), using leafy veg and salad to replace carbs. Make sure to keep you fat intake up, as this really helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer and helps your body to kick into fat burning mode.
You can do this and be successful. Use the forum for advise and support and to post your results.
Good luck!

Hi Orchid and Janet1973
Thanks for responding on this thread. I thought it would be easier for me than trying to track all that’s posted on the ‘Weigh-In’ thread. Still managing to keep the keto reading in the + zone, but as I said before it’s in the lower band. Think it’s going okay though. Had a little blip the other day, which I put down to over indulging on cashews and pistachios. Lesson learnt and will be keeping those in check.
Meanwhile, just relaxing in the sun and reading!

Eggs, any sort of cheese you like, all the different Quorn products, beans, lentils, tofu… There are other threads on here with veggie suggestions if you search for them, and also some recipes in the recipe section. I’ve only eaten meat twice since starting 3 weeks ago and honestly it hasn’t been difficult at all – you soon adapt to no carbs 🙂 one recent thread to look at is called ‘NEEDED – 800 DIET IDEAS TO HELP VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS’

The plan officially says….

‘Cut right down on sugar, sugary treats, drinks and desserts: No more than once or twice a week and preferably less. You can use sugar substitutes like stevia and xylitol, but try to wean yourself off your sweet tooth.’

So I would try one of those and gradually reduce the amount you use if you can’t go cold turkey on the sweet coffee, but you might surprise yourself at how quickly your taste buds adapt if you just switch straight to unsweetened drinks 🙂

Errr, I don’t know. I haven’t been thickening mine!!! More of a jus ( just to pretend to be posh!!)
xxx

You are not alone in thinking that, Lucia!!! perhaps not on as ambitious a scale as you though!

xxxx

And,

Told you I have been thinking.

You know these jazzy flours, I have heard about.

Which one is the best one, to substitute for corn flour, for thickening gravy etc?

Love Lucia
Xxxx

I’ve recently been diagnosed as diabetic and am keen to give this diet a go. However I am a vegetarian who doesn’t eat fish either. Carbs have been my main diet, which is probably partly what has got me into this mess. Does anyone have any advice on what I could eat on this diet beyond just salad? Any help appreciated. I really want to start this diet.

Oh, and I could wear my size twelve.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Hashimoto,
I think we could all meet up.
I would love us all to get together, but as we are so far apart. If we were going to do it say next year, 2017, we need to give plenty of notice to arrange holidays, travel, accommodation etc.
Could we get Michael to give a lecture? And book signing.

The middle of the U.K., Manchester or Birmingham.
Somewhere where the accommodation is inexpensive.
We would need a hall, but how big, in the summer, so we could be outside mostly. Or a few big tents.
Like a weekend barbecue.
A few stalls, for Michaels books, recipe books, gadgets such as the spiralizer.
Food tasting,
Medical advice on how to test blood.
Food stalls, herbal teas etc.
A meditation area.

I merely flick this out there into the ether to see what the universe thinks of it and it it is a GO. Or no.

Love Lucia
Xxxx
Told you I had been thinking.

.

This is definitely doable 🙂 I think doing exactly as you described is a great option that will fit in with your lifestyle with minimum disruption, which will make it easiest for you to stick with. I’m nearly 3 weeks into this (lost 12.6 lbs week 1, and 4.8 lbs week 2) and haven’t used a single recipe from the book. Instead I carefully record everything and stick to the principles of 800 calories per day and less than 50g of carbs (all coming from veg and pulses etc, no bread rice pasta etc etc). Go for it, you won’t regret it!

Jack the answer is no!!! You need to ditch the sweeteners on the sugar free diet!! After a few days you won’t even notice the lack of sugar! Some sweeteners appear to be more damaging than table sugar.

If you quit sugar and sweeteners completely you will be surprised how naturally sweet a lot of foods are. Quitting the sweet stuff will also help you deal with no starchy carbs 🙂

Hi Happywife – I saw the same Angela Rippon programme. I know it’s the roots but I am the very devil for adding edible leaves, flowers and seeds to salads etc. Even certain weeds in my garden are not safe from the pan! Nettle soup? Delicious and nutritious. Then there is the pesky goose grass, that’s been wilted in my frying pan more than once 😉

I’d also like to know about the efficacy of inulin 🙂

Carb-squitoes – I’m with you all the way on that description Lucia. In fact it actually made me laugh out loud for real!
They’re terrible pesky things. Without them I have :
no acid reflux
improved asthma
no flare up of diverticulitis
no weight gain

I’m beginning to think those nasty little things cause a lot of damage to our bodies.

I laugh in the face of carb-squitoes.

Let’s have spinach yum yum yum I adore the stuff. I must be the only person who used to beg for spinach as a toddler. I think it was something to do with popeye?

xxxx

Hi folks,
Any suggestions for sweetners for my coffee?

So you naughty carbs,
A 4inch raw spud = 284 calories and 64.5 carbs.
Even if I do a dish with it and share it between hubby and me, it is still 142 calories and 32.3carbs.

How can you do this to me? I thought you loved me.

Cauliflower is a nice quiet friend, this quiet, unassuming, little thing will offer me for 9.3 ounces only 66 calories and 14 Grams of carbs.

I can use cauliflower for the old fashioned dish, mince and mash.

I am so sorry after so long, our relationship has dwindled and is no longer, goodbye potato, goodbye. Think kindly of me
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Lol, I’m guessing ‘meh’ is Canadian for ‘not great’ is it??

Thinking of stuffing a chicken breast with spinach.
Feeling a little onion may jazz it up.
I am enjoying my onions these days, wait until I talk shallots.
Love lucia
Xxx

Potty not pity.
Unless it’s a pity I have been thinking.

Love Lucia.
Xxxx

Hi Hashimoto,
You know I told you I had been thinking as I walked.

Well, here’s one.

I am having difficulty with the carbs?
This poor little fluffy creature, how never wanted to hurt anyone, just wanted to be loved, now, I have to hit it with a. Big stick.

Oh dear, I am so sorry, there poor little mites.

I am trying to imagine them as mosquitos, those buzzing , horrible things, who, as soon as I hear them, I roll a newspaper up ready to swat them.

Carb- squitos.

Told you I was pity.
Love lucia
Xxx

Hi, I too am very interested if finding out more about Inulin. I saw Angela Ripon talking about this on the recent programme and ordered some which arrived today, if Michael or anybody in the know could give us a heads up about it’s use it would be much appreciated as it would be good to get an evidence based approach to it’s consumption and dosage. Also, I believe it’s the roots and not the leaves Hashimoto that this is produced from……seems a shame to dig them up though. I think all of us BSDers are doing what we can to keep as healthy as possible but when you saw the lifestyle and how well Angela did with all the other tests the TOFI thing came as a bit of a wake up call to a lot of us.

Happy Sunday!

Week 4 stars now and I am excited to be adding strengthening excercises to my routine!

Lost another 4 lbs and .5″ , so I get my pedicure this week! Not a moment too soon!

I’ve made my lunches (turkey bolo and zucchini noodles) for the week and it’s so nice out I have my bedding airing outside 😄

I experimented with a low carb cheesecake last week, it was meh. Plus I had a small spike in my fasting BS the next day, so not worth it!

Make today a great day!

Deb

Lostgirl my answer to mucus is a mug of hot water with some slices of chilli and a slice of lemon!!! Works a treat 🙂

What a weird thing for your doc to say ……….
Wow, those steps keep mounting!!

I’ve been sat on my a… far too long – trying to sort out travel insurance bah humbug!! One site told me I was to old, knickers to them
Another site refused me when I filled in medical details errggghh
Another site wanted to charge me …what ?????? ‘You’ve got to be joking….’

Oh well, I’ll get there eventually if I don’t lose the will to live!!!!

I’d rather be walking than sat here pressing keys……. la la la la la

xxxxx

Fantastic, Deb 🙂

Hello Sunshine!

I love reading this thread as it is so positive and inspirational! Well done all!

Week three…

Down another 4 lbs and another 0.5″ on the waist!

Total of 11.8 lbs and 2″ !!!

Pedicure is scheduled for Wednesday!

Very happy 😄👍🏻

Deb

Squash contains a lot of sweeteners too so not really better than fizzy stuff other than no bubbles.

Sorry! Mistaken id! Judith not Lynne xx

Oh, and my doctor once said I had footballers knees.
I prefer the word cute.
But I took it as a weird complement .

23,851 at half four.
Marathons, oh NO , they are what made me fat, sorry, gravitationally challenged.
Twirls and mars bars too.
🙂🙂🙂🙂
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Depends on what results you are hoping to achieve.

The research that inspired this diet used 600 calories of liquid meals + 200 calories of low carb veggies. It induced diabetic remission in 100% of the obese, newly-diagnosed diabetics. The follow-up study was less successful (somewhere around 50%, I believe), with high success in newly-diagnosed (<4 years) and much lower with longer-term diagnoses. A third study is in progress to see if it is as successful with home implementation (less monitoring).

If you are only trying to lose weight, 800 calories of twinkies will accomplish that – at roughly the same rate as following the diet. You’ll probably struggle more (a lot more) with sticking to the diet – since twinkies often trigger cravings for more twinkies.

The beauty of this diet (for most people who are unable to stick to diets without feeling starved) is that it removes/minimizes strong hunger triggers (carbs) and replaces them with things that make you feel satiated for longer (fats and proteins & to a lesser extent certain complex carbohydrates). [This is not universally true – for me, fats trigger cravings, as does the lack of carbs. So I actually struggle more with this diet than with other diets. I’ve learned to sort out which fats trigger cravings (bacon, for one) and avoid them. But it is largely true for most people]

They beauty for long term maintenance is that you can easily scale up the principles (what foods to eat lots of, what to avoid) to a higher calorie level because you are eating real, healthy, food. You don’t have to make a change to non-diet food once you reach your weight loss goal – you just get to eat more of what you’re eating to lose weight.

You might be better off in the long run by feeding your family this diet, perhaps supplemented by things you shouldn’t eat – and just eating less of what you are feeding them. This goes to the last point I made – this isn’t diet food. It is food everyone can eat and enjoy that would generally contribute to better health for all of your family.

Wow

Just made a flour free Yorkshire pudding!!! Arrowroot instead!! Lovely and so light and crispy

I’m trying to psych myself up to start the 800 cal, 8 week diet, but I cook for my family and I am seriously wondering how doable this diet will be?

I have successfully lost weightbefore, 3 stones (and put it ALL back on again!) on a low carb diet, by eating family meals, but substituting the carbs with salad or green veg for myself and this seems to be more workable, rather than following the diet plan to the letter, which would necessitate cooking separate meals for myself.

If I still keep to 800 cals per day, but don’t follow the diet plan in the book, will I still achieve the same results?

Hi Jane, the BSD has already solved a lot of my problems. Like many people on here I had tried many diets which did not work for me. This did – and does!
I’m looking forward to hearing of your improvements 🙂

Very true, Janet – I forgot to mention that 🙁

Darn tried carbonated water…. With lime etc… I can do squash .. But thought th sugar free contain aspertame and that’s bad…:

This is my weakness fizz

Amazing that we celebrate our keto readings – but we do!!! 🙂 They’re wonderful, especially if you hit an 8! 🙂