Hi Juliet, not sure if you missed the previous post but a recipe search has been added which should make things a little easier. It’s top-right of the site, just above the recent recipes.

L I’m thinking of getting a T shirt printed for my holiday with “I’m a loser” in big letters on the front and the website address on the back.

Oh and when you get it engraved with the 800, as the 8 looks like a Pair of ‘m’ s side by side ( mirrored image) it could be. Mm. Michael Mosley, initials. As a hidden tribute to him.

Or it could stand for. Mm
Mazing models

Mindful mass

Mini mannequin

Marvellous mates

Mad members

Can you think of more?

Michaels minions, oooohhhhhh banana.

Love luciaXxxx

My local diabetes organisation (in Australia) has one day a month when you can take your meter in to get it recalibrated so you could check if you can do that where you live. I think they test it against a standard sugary liquid. But I think there is variation in your blood even depending if you take it from the tip of the finger or further down, so it’s never going to be perfect.

This would be really helpful! I often find myself trawling through them with a certain number of calories ‘ left’. Is there any chance they could be sorted by calorific value as well as key ingredient? I know it’s a huge ask – I would have no idea where to start : / So glad the site is here though, as it really does make a difference feeling part of a community – thankyou so much : )

Christie, 1948.
Silver eh. You should wear it for our 2017 get together ( if Michael heard me asking for it)?
You will look stunning then.

It will be called the Diet convention but we will all be slender. It should be fun.

Looking forward to it.

Love luciaxxx

Hi gang,
Thanks for your kind words and understanding. Like all things , I think you can get ‘over enthusiastic ‘ people.

Yes, I am going to do what I usually do, I am going to gradually reduce my intake. Using a few days a week to be a vegetarian. I will let my body and time dictate if I should go further.

One family member was totally absolutely a vegan. During family meals, she would kick off. I don’t know why she came to the meals, if she hated what we ate so much.
I remember her telling my nephew exactly what little animal he was eating in his burger. He spat it out on my carpet and was ill, with stresss. I couldn’t believe it. He was still in huggies that’s how young he was. He had eating problems after that.

As I was brought up on a farm, I knew at an early age, it was explained simply to me. Nothing was covered up. But my nephew was from a built up area and never had it explained simply to him.
Sad isn’t it.

So I hope you understand me better now.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi! I’ve added in a recipe search to make things easier to find, I hope that helps a bit. 😀

Cherrianne that gelatine made me remember the time when I told a strictly vegetarian friend I was surprised at the wine she was drinking as it contained animal products. She asked her son ( a wine buyer for a company) if that was true. Guess what happened? The wine went down the sink and she had a G and T instead! 🙂

Now the forums have been running for a while and so many of us have completed quite a few weeks, the stories, like yours, Carsong just keep on coming. It’s more like a miracle than a diet! That feeling of well-being is wonderful.
Glad you shared your wonderful story Carsong 🙂

Hi Sue
I have 2 meters, admittedly both from the same maker but different models, the contour and the contour plus, and I have used both on the odd occasion when I doubted the reading, and they have always shown the same results.
I suspect that meters from different manufacturers may differ though.

So is it worse than a normal Yorkie..

It was so light and crispy.. It made a huge Yorkshire!!

Hi, I’ve been doing this too. It isn’t that hard. The whole family is eating more vegetables and slightly less carbs at family meal times (they still eat the same amount at breakfast and school or work), which I think is a good thing. We also have more brown and wild rice than we used to, no white rice – I have a tiny portion. When they have pasta I have the same sauce but with grated carrot or courgette – it isn’t as nice, but it is okay. Similarly when they have jacket potato I have grilled mushrooms as in the book. We are all eating more apples and berries rather than tropical fruit, again I have a small portion. We have added some other whole grains too. For some meals I simply miss out the potatoes – it is important for me not to cook too many so that there are no potato leftovers.

Thought for today – how accurate are blood sugar meters? I got my old Accu chek one out to check the battery is alright ready to take on holiday next month and got a reading of 9.0, then checked same finger a few seconds later on the Element machine I usually use and got a reading of 10.5. This isn’t the first time I have had different readings!

Day 62 weight 10st 4lbs
Blood sugar 10.0 (Element machine)

Having two shakes again today as going out for meal tonight – might even have a diet cola. 😀

Oh dear
Arrowroot is an easily digested starch 113g of carbs to a 128g serving and 457 calories.
I was so looking forward to a safe yorkie as well 🙁

Hey carsong,
You have listed some fantastic benefits that you’ve gained from doing the BSD. That feeling of well being that comes from ditching the carbs is priceless isn’t it? Has to be experienced to be believed.
You are very close to your goal weight. Great results 🙂

Hi Whoopsie Daisy
the amount of carbs isn’t actually mentioned in the book.
The 50 gram figure came from some research that shows that level of carbs per day will put you into ketosis or fat burning mode although it is still very possible to lose weight with an intake of up to 80 grams. The 50 does promote faster weight loss though.

Love the strawberries idea, could even have some cream with it.

Thanks Funky and everyone – I am trying to be a lot more active when at home, just up and doing stuff, the house will be so tidy! I then sit at laptop again for 10 mins, and have some more water while checking in here. I’ve been up and down stairs more than usual.

Also I sit all day at work, 3 days a week, plus nearly 2 hours in car, so terribly bad for me. I have started wriggling at my desk, just to move a bit – in fact colleague asked me did I want the loo!!! Been getting up more and walking around.

When you live out in the sticks and have to drive as nearest shop 3 miles away, it’s hard to build walking into daily routine. I can’t get off bus one stop early. But when doing supermarket shop, I will now park at furthest distance from door. I’m also trying to walk more briskly everywhere.

Little steps, will have to build on that. I do have a bike languishing in the shed somewhere. If I went on that now I know I’d need oxygen after a few minutes, but I will start soon, as even just up the road would be something for me.

Hi Barby,
Being vegetarian is a good enough excuse in itself for eating differently. It’s like a ‘get out of jail free’ card lol 🙂
You can do your own thing when on holiday and no one need know you are low carbing. You just explain that as a veggie you need to make sure you get all the nutrients you need and so you eat lots of veg, salads, dairy or whatever.
Eating out is always a challenge as a vegetarian as it usually comes down to a risotto or pasta dish. I ask for just the veg in a carvery/ buffet style restaurant. Sometimes if they offer a warm chicken salad, I’ll ask for the salad, minus the chicken, but with fried halloumi or another ingredient from a different dish on the menu. Most places, except the very snooty are usually happy to oblige.
Hope you enjoy lunch at your friend’s house, I’m sure if you took a really special cheese and some strawberries she would be delighted and you could happily tuck into that. As a vegetarian you wouldn’t eat trifle as the jelly is made with gelatine?

Thank you for your replies. I think that I am going to use the principles of med-style, low carb eating and use MyFitnessPal to record calories/carbs/fat.

Am I correct that the maximum number of carbs per day is 50g? I’m also confused about the meaning of “net carbs”, maybe I need to post separately to ask that question!

Chicken cooked, in a little mayonnaise with some lemon juice, black pepper, spring onions. Little gem lettuce leaves as cups to eat from.
Soup is good too if you have a thermos tub to keep it warm, with the gram flour flatbreads.
I like eggs, salad leaves, houmous and crudités too.

thank you both and yes I think sometimes a little bit of preparation can make all the difference but can’t spend too long and use ‘preparation’ as avoidance lol. That’s why I jumped in on Tuesday, I pondered the usual…will I start next monday? but I know I would have spent the week cramming in all kinds of crappy food and would have started a few lb’s heavier.

Hi Barby, I’m not losing the lbs like many on here, just 1-3 a week. But have lost 3 inches on my waist and look noticeably a different shape, both based on my clothes and in others reactions! I’m 6 weeks in and the cravings, hunger and routine have all settled and I’m finding it all very easy. So stick with it. It’s worth it.

Hi Tippytwo,
Welcome to the BSD. It is fine to swap recipes around as long as you stick to similar calorie counts. If there’s anything you didn’t like, don’t make it again. You can look at the recipes on here for ideas, or use your own recipes. You just need to avoid the potatoes, rice, pasta, bread and starchy veg mentioned in the book. Stick with the 800 cals and low carb foods, making sure you choose the full fat dairy options.
Ask for advice on the forums if you are unsure, and you’ll always get help from the lovely friendly members here. 🙂

Hi
you can eat anything you like that falls into the low carb medium fat regime and around 800 cals.
There are some great recipes in that section and the “what have you eaten today” thread has loads of yummy suggestions.

I’m in India right now and I love Indian food. Chicken Tandoori has been the meal of choice but today in a moment of weakness I had a small bowl of homemade mutton biryani one of the ladies in the office had brought in. It was sublime! I did go heavy on the mutton and light on the rice though. Salad for supper…although it’s mango season right now and apparently I need to try an alphonse mango; I never knew there were so many varieties.

I’ve seen my BP fall into the 130/80 to 125/75 range since starting on the BSD. I take Exforge for my high BP and will be asking to move to a lower dosage on my next check-up as I do sometimes feel light-headed and tired. I monitor my BP morning and evenings with an Omron wrist monitor and take an average of 3 readings. The mornings are always higher – my specialist told me this is because of our inbuilt “flight or fight” response – when we wake up we don’t know what to expect and are physically ready to swing a few punches or run away! Apparently this takes an hour or so to dissipate.
Hopefully after a few more BSD 8 week blocks I can come off the Exforge completely – another great side-effect!

Thanks, Barby! I’m going….

Alan I have heard it all ‘you only feel good because it is sunny’ OMG
Check the weather forecast and try and get an appointment during a spell of bad weather and bounce in like Zebedee on speed and shout ‘It’s raining and I feel great’ ! 🙂
You need to explain to her there are carbs in fruit, veg, yoghurt etc! She clearly doesn’t know as much as you 🙂

Hello again Bill1954,

All replies are gratefully receive thanks and I am sorry to read of your retinopathy.

No I haven’t noticed anything odd with my vision and on a recent visit to the opticians he also gave me the all clear, no pun intended.

Best regards,

Nigel.

Good for you Alan, keep on in there, you do get carbs (under 50gr admittedly), but they are complex ones, not the nasty simple ones in white bread, pasta + white rice!

Once you hit your target weight + stabilise your BS you’ll be able to introduce more, quality carbs into your diet!

Wretched medical profession, you’d think they would be over the moon at ‘people doin’ it for themselves!!’

Fantastic Alan, what a result!

ingred:
– 3 large eggs (room temperature)
– 1/2 cup almond milk
– 1/2 cup arrowroot powder
– 1/2 tsp. sea salt
– 1/8 cup + another 1/4 cup beef drippings

Hello Keje,

My most recent HbA1C test was 58, this is in the new digital format I believe?
It’s all relevant to me and makes me think longer and harder to get some form of resolve to this problem.

Kind regards,

Nigel.

Because of various other issues I have 3 monthly full blood screenings. My Uric Acid levels are normally around 400 umol/l and if I’ve had a lot to drink and too much of the high life (like after Christmas) they can be around 550umol/lt. My last blood test, 4 weeks into BSD showed levels up at 730umol/l. As you can imagine after 4 weeks of BSD I had not been living high on the hog and had not had a drop of alcohol for the entire time. I have my next blood test at the beginning of July and I’ll report back then. In my experience the BSD can can raise Uric Acid levels (and there are several web references to this) I do have a family history of gout (father and both brothers) but I don’t have any symptoms yet

Go Fatblaster – you’ll be living up to your name in no time 🙂

Hello – I started the Fast 800 on Monday and I am doing – oookkaaaay. However, due to work commitments and forgetting a couple of key ingredients from the list last week, I have had to have the same lunch three times from the sample week 1 menu in the book. I am assuming this is okay. There are definitely some things I like and some meals that I don’t think I can face again, with this in mind for week 2 do you think it is okay if I swap out some of the meals if I don’t think I am going to like them with a preferred option from the book, or should I stick rigidly to the menus?

Thanks duckstrained (what a name :)) That was my first thought. She is understanding (and has been cutting down herself) so if I ask her beforehand , she’d avoid the fruit/sponge when dishing up, and keep it small. I’ve never wanted to be an awkward person to have round for a meal as a guest, it’s hard enough being veggie.

I don’t honestly know if I’m in ketosis, I don’t measure anything, but no doubt that would take me out.

I also have a family holiday coming up in about 6 weeks, when we’re sharing a rented house in New Forest with sister and brother and partners. So there will a lot of cooking and eating out going on.That will be an even greater challenge, but I’m going to plan ahead with own food, and just do my best when we eat out. Being a veggie eating out is hard, but I can’t bring ,myself to eat meat again.

Hello Judith,

Yes they have made excellent steps these days in medication and will continue to do so.

Definitely believe in thinking positive and having goals to achieve, never be down and look froward to good times.

Thank you again,

Nigel.

Hi Nigel, yes I really admire your determination in taking control of your own health and hope your GP is helpful. I’m not an expert but believe physiological insulin resistance is nothing to do with type 1 but a phenomenon that can affect anyone on a low carb diet (whether diabetic or not) and actually seems to indicate more efficient fat burning. Maybe you need to ask for a HbA1c test which appears to give much more accurate assessment of where your blood sugars are at. My apologies if this isn’t relevant to you and just confuses things more!

Nigel, as a long term retinopathy sufferer, unless you have noticed black streaks in your vision, I wouldn’t worry too much about the eye tests.
If you have been recently diagnosed then it will be a preventative measure.
It’s much better to catch these things early while they are treatable with laser rather than having the op

Thanks for all your help getting my one stone off in two weeks.
Surprising how negative some people can be though even medical profession
I simply show my BEURER app with blood pressure reading at optimal and graph of BS right down argue with that!
Oh you need carbs and you’ll put it back on or you only feel great cos it’s sunny (that was a nurse)
Alan onward and upward (or down !)

Calling all British Citizens! Please sign our petition. 240 signatures so far 🙂

hi Izzy, welcome to the forums! You won’t be alone in beginning the diet with careful preparation – my neice and her husband have spent a week preparing to start on Monday and others on these forums have done the same. Lucia springs to mind! 🙂

Hi Nigel, my friend has done very well considering she had her transplant so many years ago when the drugs used were not as good as they are today. She is a positive person – as you sound to be – and that contributes to a healthy long life post transplant.
Wishing you the best possible outcome
Judith

From what I remember it’s 75g……. Hmm it was on a low carb paleo diet website

Good morning Hashimoto,

Thank you for your valuable advise.

On a separate issue it’s great to hear about your friend, please pass on my congratulations.
My Transplant was in November 1999.

Yes my Consultant is a great person and very forward thinking, so I am very lucky.
I really can only see good in this BSD and will take medical advise first.

Best regards,

Nigel.

I have read that gallstones can be associated with a very low fat diet. Your gall bladder releases bile to digest fat. If you eat little fat then it doesn’t empty itself regularly and stones form. Or something along those lines 🙂

Fatblaster, lots of us have had that strange experience of putting a pound on one morning – then 1 or 2 days later losing more than 2 lbs so don’t let it discourage you.
Keep on keeping on and it will all come good. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water.
🙂