I think it happens to many of us that when you are putting in such a lot of effort, you do start to feel the strain, a bit fatigued, a bit tired and then the low mood can sneak in. Sometimes you have to take a rest for a short while and get your breath back. Then you can get back on your feet and start again with renewed energy. This is certainly the place I have been in this last week. I was tired of the effort and starting to lose focus. But, like Lucia, I had a short rest and now I’m back on top of things again. These are the ebbs and flows of life and I’m glad you (Lucia) are sharing yours and we can all share in this environment. Power to the people.

I love pecans, thanks cherrianne.

Thanks Bill, this was very helpful.

Hi, what did you make porridge with? I didnt see it in any of the books weekly plans or recipes so didnt know we could have it?

Hi, I’m on day 3 and so far so good. Ive mixed up a few recipes to make breakfast into something I actually like….and I have discovered I hate bluberries, so this mornni had plain yoghurt with some diced gala melon and have had handful pumpkin seeds mid morning. Lunch was 2 large lettuce leaves with a steamed portabello mushroom topped with grated beetroot, mixed seeds and feta cheese. So far I am not hungry inbetween meals so heres hoping that continues.

Wow!!!!! The. Flatbreads are amazing..: I halved the mixture and out stevia in , mixed then normal put on on grease proof paper.. Put a few sprinkles of coconut to let me know which are sweet

Heaven!! Think found my new snack… That’s what I needed an early morning quick snack

Wow, your amazing weight loss continues 🙂 your journey is definitely inspirational.
Your wife must be as excited about the BSD as you are, with getting extra help around the house lol.
Seriously, you are doing a great job, and your success is obviously well deserved.

Alanhypno,
To reinforce some of the above [from a day 9 expert!]
If you are anything like me [started at 18st 6lbs] much of BSD is an education in matters you’ve ignored like calories, carb substitution, achieving some sort of balance in your eating. For that reason I found after a couple of days that referring the suggested menus was easier. They also help change your outlook and taste – encouraging experimentation beyond your normal food.
You’ll have a doubt or two but persist, and for me by Day 8 I was feeling energised and fully enjoying proper exercise as well.
From the documentary two things keep repeating in my head:
‘Quorn is your friend’ – low cal and filling burgers in lettuce for example.
80% of weight loss is diet & 20% exercise, so keep moving too.
And 100% mindfulness [the latter was me, but pleased that Dr M. includes it] .

Good luck with the plan.

Thanks… My doctor of nearly 20 years moved away but he is not too far away.. I will make an appointment to see him.. When he moved that is when the trouble started and unfortunately the system means we need them… For referrals, scripts etc. if that fails I will give what you say a go… I might do that anyway..

https://thefastdiet.co.uk/
Google is your friend 🙂

Fine, and where is this website? Do you have an URL?

One of the things I struggle with is hunger. The dogs wake me 5 am ish and normally 6-7 walks . I come back or go on walk starved

Recently been having a scrambled egg and a tin of low salt and sugar baked beans but come 10-11 I am hank marvin ( starvin)

I then do one of my local cal soups if I can but looking at 150k Ish

Then dinner time soup…

Just made the coconut flour baps… Not bad!! Although tastes bit eggy.. Was wondering if I put some stevia would the taste any good!??

Kia ora from Auckland. It will be great to have some seasonal alternatives to the menus (can’t find pomegranates for love nor money at the moment). I think this diet is amazing, spreading the word madly!

Hi Desperate,
Great to hear you are doing so well, losing weight and happy with the food choices.
The gram flour recipe is on this website, along with a coconut flour one that Bill uses as a dessert. He spreads it with cream cheese and tops with strawberries. Gram flour can be found in Australia as Besan or chick pea flour, if you have an IGA nearby they usually stock it. Coles have coconut flour in the gluten free section, haven’t noticed if they have besan.
I’ve just discovered that Pecans are really low carb, 1.5g carb per 30g. I buy the pecan pieces from the supermarket baking aisle, the smaller pieces feel like you are eating more and they are cheaper.
Check out the over the 8 week line thread and you’ll see that we all agree that this is the way we will eat for the rest of our lives. It’s no hardship and feeling so well is just fantastic 🙂

As I have been here a while, my boss is replacing my shackles.

I am down a size,
Smaller ankles.

But the metal ball is a bit of a drag (joke)

Love Lucia
Xxx

Just people watching in the canteen.
It seats about 80 at a time.

The ones should I say larger than life have litre bottles of pop, chippy dinners, pizza, sandwiches.

The less than average ones have brought in their own salads or eating up veggie leftovers from the previous night.

I was in box a
I am now in box b

I know this is a generalisation and each to their own path.

But I haven’t noticed what foods were with each shape.

Was I blind? Why did I do this to me?
Thank goodness I found Michaels book.

Love Lucia
Xxx

orchid – pleased to hear that Mindfulness is making a difference; my daughter is having a go after years of my dropping hints, but it’s not until you try meditation and engage that you realise the potential.

Patsy – agree – habits and some almost a belief system!

Switzerland – interesting to hear your learning. I *knew* about full fat dairy but not to the extent of substituting carbs. I haven’t been able to grasp the walking thing yet, partly as we live on a hill [my excuse] but adjacent to lovely countryside and not far from a pleasant canal. I’m wondering if cycling might get me out more frequently once the weather breaks. Again my excuse is that I prefer cycling at the coast – very regularly visit my elderly mother. I even like to walk there – perhaps, mrs jws, it’d be better to just move..!

Down down, deeper and down 😀

Oh, tomorrow, I am nuking sprouts.
Tossing bacon and onion in a frying pan with butter, then putting the sprouts in to glaze.

Trying to jazz up my Brussels.

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Or
I have a booty that is jay-lo, Kim kardashian combined.

I can feel a song coming on,

My lady lumps.

You drive me crazy🎧🎼🎼🎼🎧🎤🎧🎧🎹🎧🎧🎤🎼🎻🎸🎸🎺🎤🎤🎧🎧🎧🎸🎸🎸🎧🎸
You’re spending all my money 🎹🎸🎧🎷🎹🎷🎸🎧🎧🎸🎺🎷🎷🎺🎻🎹🎹🎸🎸

Hi Bill 9154

I f I can’t call myself a fat girl, can I say there is a lot of junk in my trunk.

Yes, I am back.
Xxxx
Love Lucia

Hi, lunchtime, and I am feeling a lot brighter now,

I sounded desperate with the “it’s just got to work”
Searching for solutions.
Carbs
Full fats etc.

It just all got to me.

But I think I am through it now.

I am embarrassed at bearing my soul and showing how everything got to me.

But I am glad I did if it will help others.

Well on my way to my weight starting with 12 stone something.
Getting there.

Now, about is anyone else up for a game of football tonight?
⛹🏿⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⛹🏿⛹🏿⛹🏿⛹🏿⛹🏿⛹🏿⛹🏿⛹🏿
Love Lucia
Xxxxx

Hi Xrissy
I’m so glad your staying with the programme and encouraging others to do so. As a slow loser myself, I know the frustration!
Re your ‘day off’ – that would have taken you out of fat burning if you were in it which obviously slows things down. I ve started using Ketostix to check my fat burning. I found after the teeniest piece of birthday cake it took 5 days to get back into it. 😪 And I have never got into the deep red section on the chart yet!
Some of us are just better at hanging on to the fat. Probably our ancestors suffered famine and we ve got the anti famine genes.
I ve found intermittent fasting helps, ie no breakfast so there’s a gap of about 17 hours with no food. This apparently is good for getting rid of internal fat.
Have you looked at diet doctor.com? Worth a look if you haven’t. Also there’s s book by Jenny Ruhl ‘low carb problems solved’ which might help.
Best of luck
Penny

Hi Alan
You’re finding the added benefits of this lifestyle mate.
Yes you will feel more alert and you will sleep better
Yes you won’t feel the hunger, and YES it can all happen in just a few days
Enjoy !

Hi Lucia,
I’ve just let out a big sigh of relief. You had us all worried there, we missed you so much.
Very happy that you are back where you belong. YOU CAN DO THIS
I see a UK size 12 posh outfit is back on the agenda 🙂

Breakfast food doesn’t have to be “breakfast food” (a recent invention). I like having leftovers, a bit of cold meat with vegetables. Tomorrow I’m having leftovers from tonight’s tacos – no shells, a pile of salad with spicy mince, jalapeños, salsa and a sprinkle of cheese. It was 255 calories tonight, very filling, I’ll have a bit less meat in the breakfast version.

Thank-you Jackie WilsonSaid, I will have a look at that, although I did go out and buy the book from Waterstones – I was not about to give Amazon more money!
I started a new group of exercises about 3 weeks ago – focussing on ‘waves’ of movement through the body which I struggled with and had to go back through a couple. I also extended the sessions to 15 minutes. I got through the first 10 days ok, but was struggling keeping concentration on the next few so I repeated them. I have lapsed in the last week and need to restart so will have a browse through the other suggestions to kick start things.
Will post progress since there are now a couple of us doing this.

Day four
Porridge an apple, palm full nuts snacks. App telling me half calories used up !
Looks like lettuce for lunch !
Not hungry which is weird 😀

Aldi rolled oats 75p big bag mmm

Hi Karra
do you like cheese ? it’s great for upping the fats.
My treat is a coconut flour flatbread spread with Greek yoghurt and topped with slices strawberries, you could use whipped cream for added luxury (and fat)
Other options are Mascaponi or cream cheese
Hope that helps.

Hi Meredex
I really feel for you.
I m a terribly slow loser, but still I feel this is better than slimming world in the long run because of the science. I did lose in the end, now 15 lb in 10 weeks- some people lose that in week one! . I read lots of stuff to try to work out what to do. Do you know “diet doctor.com, and “low carb problems solved” by Jenny Ruhl?
For me really low carbs are absolutely key, so 25-30g, and lots of fat, about 50g, and adequate salt, but also periods of fasting, eg no breakfast so there’s a gap of about 16-17 hours with no food.
apparently this is very good for shifting internal fat.
I hope you hang in there, this is such a supportive forum and we ll all try to help and support you.
Best of luck
Penny

It’s a lottery Zendo, I’m lucky in that my GP practise is very supportive to diabetics but I have seen some nighmare posts on here about those who quite frankly, don’t give a fig.
I would ring the surgery and ask if they have a dedicated diabetes nurse (far more important than a doctor IMHO) and, if they don’t, ring around until you find one that does. Either way, make an appointment with him or her and take the book along with you. Also print off the notes for professionals from this site and hand them over first, they give a quick, easy to understand brief on how it all works.
You will get an instant reaction, be it positive or negative you will know where you stand.

Meredex, I feel your pain! It is pain isn’t it: reading all the posts of people dropping 10 pounds in the first week or so but then for us zilch after the first 3 days. I have been following Karra’s posts and glad to see she is having a whoosh effect.

I am going to give this until the end of May and try and stick to the rules ‘religiously’ and see what happens: I have been on this yo yo diet for so long I really don’t know how else I am going to lose the weight if not by 800 cal and low carb. Today I have eaten a ham parmesan omlette and oven baked chicken with spinach and pine nuts sauteed in butter…I have done a slow 45 minute jog..Don’t want to give up as I don’t feel like I have a lot of other options. I do wonder what Michael would say.

Thanks Karra for the update – there is some hope!

Penny thanks for the cheer. I will be pleased if I lose a solid 14 pounds by the end. I read that drinking lots of water can create the whoosh effect…Lets see what my fight with tomorrow’s scales say! I feel so shocked and outraged that they are not budging!

Hi all, I’m pleased to report that I’ve lost a further 1½lbs overnight, so that’s a total of 3 lbs in 3 days, considering it took 17 days to start losing them I’m very happy and hope it continues.
I made a few adjustments, one of them being taking in less water than recommended mainly because I was getting up 4-5 times during the night and it was really affecting my sleep pattern which then affected my overall general health, so now am drinking 3 – 4 glasses per day in addition to any coffee or tea I’m drinking.
Also because I am such a fussy eater, never been big on eating meat (and definitely not the fat on it) I struggle with finding foods high in fat. I started having Yoghurt 2-3 times a day to up my fat content, I’m sick of yoghurt at the moment, sick of eggs as well, so somedays my fat intake is pork scratchings which is 8.3g of fat per bag. Don’t need to worry about the salt in them as it’s 0.5g, they may taste salty but they don’t contain a lot of salt and the carbs are <0.1g, so I eat them for their fat content only, otherwise I wouldn’t be taking in that much fat. All my food I’ve been frying up has been done in butter or olive oil.

hugs
Karra

Hiya Lucyjane….

Wanted to tell you I am in the same boat. Lost about 5 pounds in first few days, stalled for a week. I had a day ‘off’ after week one, and I don’t know how much that threw it out, but like you, even if eating 1000, it’s still so lo, especially with low-carb factor, should be losing much more. It is very frustrating (hug!)

At 5’2, I knew from experience that I wouldn’t hit the same big numbers, but was hoping for better than I have had. I started on the 31st March, and from the 6th to the 12th, I’ve not lost an ounce. Men have it so much easier – it comes off much faster. Most of the stories in the book with big numbers are male. However, I will say that this morning, after a disheartening weigh-in, I looked in the mirror and felt I looked slimmer. I know I must be losing more than the scales say, as I took measurements, and am losing around the waist. Went from 36 to 34.5, now around 34, so it’s coming off. It’s not muscle as I’m not exercising much.

I say we just stick to it, however hard it is, and hope that it starts coming off. I think it’s hard in the beginning in week 2-3, cuz we’re not in the swing of things yet, and are bodies are trying to gauge what’s going on. Hopefully when it realises it’s not getting more food, then it’ll start burning fat. Surely, at 800 calories, we can’t go on forever not losing weight, I think that sounds impossible. We def won’t have the same results as the men. But…. you’re not alone! Other females are in the same boat as you.

I will not re-weigh until next week, start of week 3, and see where that leaves me, and will try to reassess at week 4, as I want to kick the sugar habit completely before I try anything else. Good luck, stay motivated, hang in there.

Hi Lea
When you say thinking of food do you mean wanting to eat or planning meals?
I think we re all planning away all the time but if you’re wanting to eat I would suggest you have more fat in your diet.
Best of luck
Penny

Judith- thank you for that recognition!😊!!
You can get long paintbrushes that are for painting behind radiators.
Penny

Hi Lucyjane
I’m glad you want to keep going. Often there are different difficulties, which is why ‘low carb problems solved’ is so useful. I m a bit concerned about the 4 litres- it may be too much. I go for 10 drinks a day which comes to 2.8 l. You don’t want to overwhelm your kidneys!
Penny

Lucyjane and Meredex, I’m pleased to tell you both, this diet works, even though it’s taken until Day 17 before anything happened. I lost 1¾lbs on Day 17, lost another ¼lb on Day 18, and now today I have lost a further 1½lbs. So 3lbs in 3 days. I changed my diet by increasing the fat intake to as close to 50g a day as I could, keeping the carbs low and not drinking as much water. I have only been drinking 2 – 3 glasses over the day in addition to my 3-4 cups of tea, as I found the water intake for me was way too much.
As I’ve said everyone is different, you may need to adjust a few things to find the right balance for you. Funnily enough yesterday I got a new smartphone and therefore didn’t do any exercise and still managed to lose the 1½lbs, so keep at it both of you, don’t be disheartened. Maybe the 3 of us do retain water as neohdiver was saying…….it’s worth a shot to find out.

Wishing you both a loss of lbs. xx

hugs
Karra

Christine,
To quote the song, “It’s your Birthday – anything goes”.
Have a ball.
John

Hi Alan, I don’t think there are any safe cereals apart from rolled oats. I have full-fat greek yoghurt with berries and seeds and it keeps me full for longer than almost anything else.

At the weekend I had a brunch of a fried egg , 2 sausages (97% pork) and half a can of reduced sugar baked beans and it filled me up for the rest of the day!

Deb, you’re doing great!

Happy Birthday Christine 🙂

How do I find a doctor who can join with me in monitoring my blood sugar and medications without using the conservative Diabetic Association’s guidelines, which are out of date and behind in research knowledge?

Zendo

Great tips! Thank you. Second day going well – coping with the hunger by snacking on a strawberry or nut.

Thanks everyone… I started the diet 5 weeks ago. After 3 days I stopped one diabetic medication by myself because the sugar results were consistently low and I didn’t want them going lower. My doctor agreed and I have stayed off the Dimirel with the results staying low. My blood analysis today revealed all quite normal.. HBa1c, cholesterol etc. my doctor wants me to test again in three months but that is not good enough for me. I don’t agree with him because I believe I can cut medications gradually right now. I would like to find a doctor who is not so conservative. Most follow the Australian Diabetic Association guidelines and they are known to be very out of touch. Any ideas welcomed. Do I continue to monitor myself and my drugs and/or find a “good” doctor? Is it wise to stop one drug ( I am on two at the moment) and constantly monitor my blood sugar to see what is happening?

Hi Lucia
Excellent weight loss. You are doing this for you in your time frame. You know how & are working through the why like the rest of us. To each his/her own.
Keep on keeping on
Eureka

Happy Birthday Christine, make sure you get yourself something really nice, you deserve it. 🙂

Happy birthday Christine! Hope you have a lovely day!

Reheating porridge – Yup it works. I refridgerated in portions and reheated one portion this morning – didn’t even have to add water, and it was perfect. So talk about a fast filling breakfast! 92 calories and 14g of carbs. (I did use cold milk to ‘dip’ each spoonfull into, about 3 fl oz max.

!I am in the UK, and bought Mornflake medium oatmeal from Sainsburys – I followed the instructions in the packet to the letter and for 100g of oatmeal I got 1000g of porridge. so 4 servings of 250g at 92 calories and 14g of carbs. Not bad and you could easily add flaked almonds, passion fruit, raspberries etc to make even more yummy. (even a tablespoon of double cream if you were feeling decadent!).