I’ve also had an improvement in my asthma! I took my (long) peak flow charts with me to my bloods appointment with my asthma nurse. She was thrilled with the difference between 2015 and 2016 – it was all there in blue and red!!! Blue and red because I record morning peak flow in blue and evening in red. An average peak flow of 420 in 2016 but only an average 340 with drops to 220 in 2015. The lowest point in 2016 has been 3 recordings of 350 with most around the 420 mark and often as high as 440. Some of that difference will be down to taking azithromycin 3 times a week but some is down to the weight loss I have only been able to achieve on this particular diet, along with the improved energy levels and general well being. My asthma nurse once again commented on how healthy I was looking.
I know hypothyroidism cannot be cured but this diet has had a remarkable effect in that I could not lose weight before, I was permanently tired and foggy brained. All that has changed. When I say I was permanently tired it would better be described as total exhaustion!! Getting my morning shower would leave me shattered. I would have to eke out my jobs, i.e it got to the point I could shop one day, steam clean another, hoover another, garden another. It was crap!!!!
I can’t say enough that this diet has totally changed my life!

Like Bill says, don’t worry about weight loss stalling – it happens at times. Carry on and you will reap the rewards 🙂 🙂

Odette, I love your post. Well said! 🙂

Hi penny,
Yes, he is a bit odd but I kinda like his style. He’s funny for a doctor!

Hi Deb, I love princess cruises, they are the nicest people. I’ve been on the sea princess twice.

Well said Odette
a lot of us have experienced plateaux at some stage of the diet, fortunately for me it has just happened at the week 11 stage.
There have been various reasons put forward for this happening and remember, every diet I have ever tried has a plateaux somewhere. Is this the fault of the diet or is it a normal human bodily response to a new way of eating ?
I think it’s the latter as all diets are different but all seem to show this problem.
If your weight loss has stutered or temporarily stopped or if it is slower than others, what other advantages are you experiencing? If you are type 2, are your sugar levels reducing? are you sleeping better, feeling fitter, enjoying food more ? Ladies I’ve heard a lot of women talking about improvements to the skin, Judith has seen an improvement in her hyperthyroidism.
Summing up, on 800 calories and restricted carbohydrates, the majority of people have to lose weight, it is really unavoidable. The speed at which we lose it and the hiccups along the way are individual things.
This way of life does work, please persevere and the results will come.

Hello my first post on this thread, I read it because most days I don,t lose despite sticking carefully to the plan.

But a couple of thoughts…
I don,t think of giving up, because the mediterranean/lo carb way of eating is the ONLY option for obese or diabetic people if they want to retain their health. So if it takes 8 weeks or 8 months it doesn,t matter, because I hope to still be eating this way in 8 years time, or even when Im eighty!

However the first part of the diet plan, the 800 calories a day is a big ask, as your body is making so many adjustments to it,s digstive system, hormone balances, sleep patterns, blood composition and nutrition, it goes on and on, and these changes are all positive, though they won,t show on a set of scales. So worthwhile, even if your body is on a slower wieght loss pattern. AND You will lose weight .

Don,t think about giving up, if it really is too challenging, think instead about ‘swapping’. Where you move from 800 cals to the 5:2 + mediterranean. Michael Mosley does describe these options in the book, and changing to the less demanding route might be what you need to do, as I said , this diet is not for a finite period of time, it is until you are 80 and beyond, Very best of luck!

Hi Lucia
Just read your posts. How wonderful you sound. It becomes really easy to low carb after a while and the results are amazing. Originally you were asking about breakfast – I have 2 poached eggs which are amazingly filling and take no time to prepare. Sometimes I stick them in a cup and mash them with some butter or put them on top of lean ham. I also sort of semi poach them with the ham and some spinach in a covered frying pan with a little water . I usually buy yogurt in a 1l bucket from Lidls and use it in coleslaw etc. Good to hear you are doing so well

Thanks Sooziesuzy
I guess I have made the mistake of reading the label once and assuming that they would be the same thereafter. I will be more persistent in my research from now on!
We have a lot of blackberries on our land but they are finishing, (and I am about to try to reduce their number too) and they are particularly large seeded, being wild. They are not nearly as tasty or juicy as cultivars.

This morning my BSG was 6 and last night post prandial it was 5.8. In the morning it has been regularly in the low 6s now. Having made the original comment all I can say to everyone is be patient this does work. My average BSG is now 6, 5.9 being top of non diabetic and 6 being right on the verge. I am due another blood test at the end of the month so hopefully it will be below 6.
I started this diet in January which in a way was not the best time given that both my husband and I had significant birthdays, various family celbrations and a holiday. I have just come back from a week away again and yes I did have ice cream in the heat. What is more, having left 28C to arrive back to 7C rain and wind with several hours to wait on the ferry home, cold and hungry – I had fish and chips comfort food , fantastic treat ! I now know that I can do this occasionally and burn carbs off, or compensate with very low carbs after. However, 4 hours later when I got home my BSG was 5.8. Delighted ! Not that fish and chips will be or ever was my normal diet but treats are allowed and you can live a “normal” life on this diet once your BSG comes down and begins to stabilise – just compensate. Persevere this does work. We are all on our own journey with varied paths to the same destination and we will all get there in our own time

Sneaking out of the office to blog is fun.
My work colleagues who think I am mad , also now think I have should I say, a problem..😊😊😊😊

Rain forcast which means more calories burned.
Puddle bashing…

Hope you are all having a good day.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

To everyone who have supported me and offered advice,
I have just entered my third week, a little disappointed. I did well the first week, moderately the second and have now petered out. I was extremely disappointed that my weight is “plateaued” so early in the diet. Then I read that many others are in the same boat. So I am “soldiering” on . And , yes, I am drinking water [ somedays so much water is making me nauseous ] , lowered my carbs, upped my good fats and stopped counting cals which was the advice of a a few of you, which has certainly made life in the kitchen [ is there any other place to be ? ] better, I can actually get out into the lounge room a bit now. If weight loss is slowing down at this time in the diet, I find it hard to be positive for the next 6 weeks ! I read of all you good people starting to lose again after a plateau but can’t really believe this will happen to me, fingers crossed.
jillyB

I also seem to have hit a plateau (week 6, day 4). I’ve lost approx 10% of my starting weight so far but am now stuck. Eating the same, walking the same miles, nothing’s changed. At least I’m not gaining weight though! Stuck at 12st 12lb for 2 weeks now yet my clothes continue to feel baggy. I listened to a You Tube interview with MM and some people lose 30lb in 8 weeks – how brilliant is that!!

Hi Lucyjane…It sure was exciting losing that much. Now it’s just a waiting game for the scales to move again 🙁

Hi Lucyjane, day 15 and the scales moved after 11 solid days! 2lb down nothing today. My friend went sugar free (much like this diet) and it took her a good 5 weeks before the weight started coming off. Look we can’t carry on with such a massive calorie deficit without loosing weight, right? No we are not in ‘starvation mode’ as many friends have told me. I’m putting it down to a slow adjustment. Yes disappointing but still doable. Let’s get to the end of the 8 weeks together, stay strong x

The BSD book has an interesting recipe for cauliflower rice – has anyone tried it? I found this link on the UK Guardian website today and I think I’ll certainly give some of these a try. Looks like the recipes have been around a while – amazing what you can find buried in the depths of the internet http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/06/10-best-cauliflower-recipes.

I also have sleep apnea and uses a CPAP machine every night to stop me snoring. I am 6 weeks into BSD, 11kg lost so far and looking to kill of another 3kg over the remaining 2 weeks. It’s been a while since you posted this – how did you get on ?

Hi Hawkes
I had been concerned that my local blueberry supply, frozen when they were plentiful, was finished, however, I found 1 kilo bags produced by Gilmours, says “product of New Zealand.” These are smaller than my usual variety of blueberry but eminently edible. There is also Sujon, a Nelson brand, but you have to read the packaging each time as the country of origin can vary. Currently I have frozen N.Z. boysenberries from Sujon. And for my most favourite I get Windermere Farms frozen raspberries, which are from Wanganui. I find all these berries at New World.

By the way I think I will be sleeping in my lunch hour, not doing a 2 mile walk like you… but another kilo and a half off after a longish plateau so well pleased with that. It was due to lack of sleep as nothing changed much with the diet!

Good morning Lucia ! I woke early today to try and catch up with my backlog at work after a few days of annual leave. Hope you have a good day and have recovered from the sprouts. I had problems when I ate a wholebag of stir fry veg (mainly bean sprouts and cabbage) in one sitting and my husband suffered as much as I did even though he hadn’t touched them😷 .
The birds are singing up here and although it looks like rain I love to be the only person in the family up and able to listen to them without the girls squabbling and making demands of me!
Have a very BSD day all!

Hi David and fellow Aussies missing bread. Have you tried the Herman Brot bread? It’s a dark moist seed bread made with sweet lupin flour. Only 2.3g carb per slice so easily fits in a low carb diet. It toasts and freezes well. Check their website for suppliers near you. Apparently no good for people with peanut allergies, as may trigger allergic response.
I consider myself in remission from diabetes because I know if I ever go back to high carb eating I’ll have high blood sugars again.
If you are considering coming off meds, bear in mind that some of them work by stopping the liver releasing stored sugar. So you may find your blood sugars increase simply because your liver is doing what you want it to, and getting rid of it’s fat stores. It may only be the fasting sugar that spikes and your post meal ones stay in a reasonable range.
David, I tried the Slendier noodles and preferred the spaghetti type ones in a sauce. They are fine in laksa or in a home made pasta sauce. Not much cop in a stir fry as you found. I use bean sprouts or spiralised zucchini instead.

Hi Sandi,
A few people have found that the calorie count isn’t very accurate so I would add each ingredient. Does your app have a section for recipes? If you save it in recipes you can refer to it if you make the same meal again. I’m not familiar with the fitbit app sorry.
If you are doing the diet to lose weight and not because you currently have blood sugar issues then just stick with the plan and not worry about carbs too much. You will lose weight on 800 cals. It’s only when you move to maintenance that you might need to consider carb values of certain foods as well as calories. Those of us managing blood sugar levels, as neohdiver says, need to monitor carb intake.

Thank both for your wonderful answers they are a huge help. I will try those apps, I am current tracking food/calorie in take through the Fitbit app. I hope this isn’t a dumb question but when you input food do you add each ingredient or custome add a meal with the calories outlined in the book?

The BSD does not suggest or require counting carbs.

I do count carbs, because I have T2 diabetes and more than 20 carbs in a sitting (prior to this diet) took my blood sugar out of the normal range. The recipes here often exceed 20 carbs – and I am trying to use them as-is, because the theory behind this diet is that certain kinds of high density carbs should be included (brown rice, legumes are two). I’ve had one very successful trial with chick-peas (33 net carbs, with my BG staying around 110 (6.1), if I recall correctly.

I use myfitnesspal.com – I’ve tracked every bite since around mid-October.

Hi Sandy, well done so far…. I think you will find that most people are entering their food intake in phone apps…I use myfitnesspal which then breaks down each food entered into protein, carbs and fat. ☺

I’ve already booked a cruise for next March 🚢

Crown Princess for 14 days. Right now just me, I booked early so I can pay it off in smaller chunks. My friends tend to book last minute, lol.

You all are welcome to join me 😄 Help to keep me away from the scones 🍴

I’m serious.

Deb

Thank you! It’s the weekend that will be a royal pain – normal wait time for pathology is 2 days. Two days falls on a Saturday. The surgeon I see tomorrow co-authored a paper with our favorite breast cancer doc (out of network), so that’s a good sign.

Hi I’m day 4 into the 800 cal diet and going really well. While I don’t have diabetes I am at very high risk as I had gestational diabetes (4 years ago) and at a month off 40 years old, realise i need to act before it becomes reality. Lucky for me my hubby is on board (keen to remove a few kilos) and happy with the change in meals. I am following the recipes in the book and hovering around the 750-850 intake daily. My question is people are talking about 50g of carbs … how do you work that out? I don’t remember reading how to work that out. I am happy to keep on the meals in the book as I find them tasty and filling but I have no idea if my carb intake is right or how to work it out should I want to pick other recipes that aren’t in the book, thanks in advance, cheers Sandi

Penny I do know its a good result – just I have been here way too many times…When I am 10 k down I will be happier. I don’t trust myself to stick with it. Also have lots of family big social events coming up in 5 weeks..Don’t trust myself to stay with this.

Leanne, 5 kilos in one week. I am jealous!

Hello David,

Thanks for your reply… I started at 89 kgs and stabilised at 72 a couple of weeks ago. I expect to be 70 at the end of 8 weeks then I go on the 5+2.. 70 will be a proper weight for me but 2 years ago I was fat, bald and 95 kgs. Now I am not fat, still bald by choice (trendy to her shave these days)… Ugly?? Who cares… Yes all normalised.. My last HbA1c was 7.1 now after 6 weeks on the diet 6.6 which is brilliant compared to my steadily increasing levels prior to the diet. Weight loss is great. Cholesterol perfect and halved my statins meds (I don’t want to take Any statins and have been on them over 10 years)… BP looking good also so I expect to be off them as well ( need to be a bit more careful here).. But the diabetic medication can go… I will drop them tonight… I have already stopped the Dimirel… The Byetta and Diabex can go now and I will experiment like you have… The doctor will have to listen to me of bug off… Eventually I will find a doctor or diabetic educator supporter… I am 71, reasonable fit after ten years regular gym… And know it can all happen… It’s a pity about the conservative opposition.. The SBS Mosley interview was terrific. As you probably also experience the diet is actually not difficult to stay on.. About once a week I have a salad roll… About my only break…

Thanks, stay in touch

I experienced that spike early in the diet but it has stabilised really well now (at 6 weeks in). I am close to considering stopping my remaining two medications and continuing to monitor my blood sugar 4 times a day. I think it will be ok because even measuring my bs 30 minutes after a low carb meal it is normal. I also forgot my Byetta once or twice with no elevation of levels.

Hello Bill,

I am inclined to agree with you about controlled rather than absent diabetes. I am certain that if we had a Glucose Tolerance Test it would indicate diabetes, but we (or myself) don’t have the test because we know that diabetes is controlled by managing the intake of carbohydrates… Keeping them low or keeping them low GI or GL. It becomes concerning when we are labelled as diabetic for travelling and for insurance purposes – that’s where it gets unfair. Actually as I think of it maybe the Glucose Tolerance Test needs to be looked at. Is it still a valid test?

Hi Jim,
Thanks for that. I just looked them up and they have fruit grown in NZ, Chile and Canada. Thank you for the description so I can keep an eye out and see if my local supermarket stocks them.

Hey Neohdiver, so sorry to hear your news…. from a fellow breast cancer survivor, it’s a tough road but you will get through it… give yourself some time to come to terms with it all, sounds like your Mum will be able to be a great support…. good luck with your appointment tomorrow…D☺

Hawks,
I found some NZ frozen organic blue berries at Count Down here in Palmerston North. The brand is Trader Tom’s and they are in a plain blue plastic bag. We have had two bags so far and they are very nice. I also found some mixed berries but they were not so good.

Jim.

Hi neohdiver
It’s almost news. The postman hasn’t delivered yet. So put your gloves on for a work out & punch back! We’re in your corner & nobody has got a towel.
Eureka. 💐

I am halfway through week 5 and am finding my myfitnesspal app – which I’ve used for years – as invaluable.

Even more so since I just discovered some wonderful person has loaded a lot of the 8 week BSD recipes into the database!

Until today I’d been Barcode scanning and creating from ingredients lists. This is much more easy. Especially since I was trying to build up from scratch corguette lasagne that is for tonight. Myfitnesspal just assumed it was pasta based lasagne with courgettes as part of the ragu. Courgetti bolognaise a much better fit.

Thank you.

Hello, I’ve been looking for a place on the website to weigh in every week. Is there such a thing? I know there’s my profile. Do we just record our weight there? Thanks in advance for any answers.

Hi pmshrink
I’m not at my target weight yet so haven’t tried it. When I’m there I’ll gradually add more calories to the BSD until I reach tipping point. What I can’t do right now is add to the carbs significantly without spiking my blood sugar.
It is sense to me that I have a personal fat threshold & I’m not yet there to reverse my symptoms eg.too much sugar in my blood.

I think you know Jenny Ruhl’s work, Diet 101 The Truth About Low Carb Diets & ( Blood Sugar 101). She has lived with, researched & written about diabetes for a long time. I trust & concur with her opinions & conclusions. She has very good advice. If in the end I have to live not too far away from this calorie count that’s ok by me. Not all of us will be able to reverse diabetes I think. But I’m giving it a darn good try. 800 calories & I feel good 🤘

Diabetes is a symptom of sugar in our blood that is out of control. How it got to be like that differs with each person. Type 1 diabetics don’t have the luxury of trying this diet. So I’m already lucky.

As prof Taylor said, ” The essential point is that substantial weight loss must be achieved. The time course of weight loss is much less important”.
So good luck & perseverance to us all. And check Jenny out on increasing your calories
Eureka

I had a great start with 5kg in 1 week but I have come to a grinding halt too. Am just sticking with it as logic tells me I am eating way below the amount that kept my weight steady so I have to start losing again soon. The 2-3 L of water is way too much for me so try and drink 1L a day. Love reading all the posts as it gives me hope :).

Leanne

Just thought ‘d mention the muesli I found a while ago. Not cheap, but I don’t use a lot, so it lasts a while, and it is a NZ made one too: “something to crow about” is the brand, and the product is their Almond Spiced Coconut & Orange muesli. The bulk of it is nuts and seeds. Sometimes it is in the Gluten free section of the supermarket.It is marketed as a gluten free muesli, and is grain free too. I have it on whole fat yoghurt with a chopped up apple or pear. 13.5g of carb per 100g.

What I am looking for is a source of frozen berries that are all grown in NZ. Is there such a thing, and if so, where can I get it?

Hi Lucyjane
Some of us just lose slower I think. On any ordinary diet 6 lbs in 10 days would seem amazing.
Keep going, there’s lots of support here. Even at That ‘slow’ rate that’s a lot of weight you will lose in 8 weeks.
You may have to find the right reeks for you
Penny

Hi thanks for all the support everyone. Scales didn’t move again. I am hoping for another kilo again. So far 1 week 4 days and only 6 pounds. I was hoping for the big losses other people reported. Also frustrated as I spent 5 months on the 5:2 to lose 5 kilos which I then put back on the last few months. So feel like I am just stuck on the diet merry go round without ever getting anywhere. Also just waiting for the crack in my will power to happen! Been here too many times before. Is this the two week blues?:-( My goal is for 15 more kilos so I have a long way to go.
How is everyone else going?

D-Day for me was April 4, the day I started on my weight loss journey. I have been yo-yo dieting for years, but always revert to old (bad) habits as soon as I lost the weight. After reading the 8 week BSD book, it really scared me – not in a bad way, but a good way. I realised that I had been eating all the wrong foods, a lot of foods with no nutritional value. I knew at the time I was eating the wrong foods, but I’m a foodie – I love the stuff, and I also didn’t know when to stop. The book has awakened me. I feel extremely motivated, and not just for the 8 weeks, but beyond. It has made me want to change my lifestyle, not just lose weight. So, so far I have lost 3.4kg’s in 10 days – incredible. I haven’t craved any sweet things like biscuits or chocolate (both of which I love), however I have to admit that I am finding myself craving a piece of peanut butter toast. Strange, because I didn’t eat that very often at all. However, when this happens I just think of the scales going down. Before this diet, I didn’t even want to hop on the scales! Thank you Michael Mosley for all the hard work that you do in this field, and for debunking all the common diet myths. I have always enjoyed your books and doco’s, however this book has really struck a chord with me. The diet is very easy to follow – a no-brainer really. I will keep you informed of my journey and dare I say, success (I already feel like I have succeeded and I have only just begun).

Hi. fran, April and Marian
I’m glad you’re feeling better. I just came across this thread.
A little technical explanation. When you’re eating carbs you’re burning them for energy. When you stop eating carbs you switch to burning fat for energy but that takes different enzymes in the body, which your body has to make which takes a few days to achieve. In those few days you feel very hungry !
Penny

Hello Zendo,

Glad to hear there is someone else out there like me. Sometimes we think we are the only ones with our particular set of issues. Hopefully you’re not also short, fat, bald and ugly like me.

My doctor said that they are taught to aim to keep patients BGLs below 6 mmol/l by any means possible and that is their absolute priority. I agree that should be the aim but I just figured that if the only pathway to that my doctor could offer to that result was continuing medication I would eventually, inevitably wind up on insulin.
I was disappointed that he completely dimissed the idea that reducing fat in the pancreas and liver could help to reverse my type 2 because he said that the beta cells could no longer produce insulin. That seems to be the opposite of what Professor Taylors research has found.

I went off all my meds as an experiment and to prove the point to myself.
I may be wrong but I figured that if my meds were meant to reduce my BGLs then the only risk off going of them in the short term would be a hyper event. If that happened I have a cupboard full of diabex, diamicron and byetta to rectify it. I couldn’t see any risk of going hypo with what I’m doing.
I don’t believe I’m being reckless as I test 4 times per day, have glucose tablets with me when I exercise and I’m seriously counting carbs and calories to stay under the 800 calorie/day limit.
My one concern is getting carbs down to around 50/day which seems to be recommended for blood sugar control. Yesterday I had 2 slices of bread with soup for lunch and when I tested my blood 2 hours later it was at 10.8. I went for a long walk and 2.5 hours after it was down to 5.6. This told me that my body had metabolised the carbs and sugar in the bread naturally without the need for any medication. I’m hopeful that my natural insulin production and activity is starting to resume. This is what the doctor told me was impossible so I’m really encouraged by it.
As I said it’s early days. I’m less than two weeks into this journey and don’t know what to expect.

What are your results after 6 weeks? Have you lost weight and normalised your BGLs?

hi Mary
I would suggest checking your carbs using Myfitness pal, and upping your fats, as well as drinking enough. That’s what worked for me.
Good luck
Penny

Hi Bill
Re dairy
I can’t eat dairy, I have soya yogurt and add oil to it for the ‘full fat’ effect.
Penny

Hello David,

I feel I could have written this myself except I am within my 6th week on the diet, also Australian. I am very tempted to go off all medications. I have sought doctor’s approval so far, not without issues but we agreed on dropping dimirel within the first 3 days. I have halved my Statins. I am seriously thinking of doing what you do and dropping Byetta and Diabex also. My testing results daily have been consistently great and after 6 weeks my HbA1c is excellent… Thanks for the tip and your bravery. I will do it.

Hi psychicbiscuit
I use Calorieking. I’ve put all the foods I eat into the ‘my foods’ in Myfitnesspal, a bit of work but you only do it once! – either using Calorieking or the back of the packet. I did this after realising the MFP list is often inaccurate as its crowd sourced.
With calorie King, being American, you have to subtract the ‘fibre’ reading from the ‘carbs’ reading. In uk info it’s already separated. ( this is because the fibre is s carb but not absorbed so not counted)
I know it’s a bit daunting before you start- I took ages preparing- but it’s fine when you get going, and now the forums are full of people with the experience to help and advise, it’s great, very supportive.
Best of luck
Penny

Thanks all! The actual treatment was better than the administrative mess-up. But the bad news is that I do have a solid marble-sized mass. Visit to the surgeon tomorrow – likely accompanied by a needle biopsy to confirm what we all suspect (but they are being careful not to say – couching what they are seeing as “not good news,” “concerning,” etc.

Rats. I’d planned to have a it of fun tomorrow – go see a friend I haven’t seen in a while, not-eat a fancy meal at the event he’s hosting. That’s it – my body is just trying to protect me from myself by keeping me away from the meal! Just kidding. Even though I expected it, the actual (almost) news is packing a bigger punch than I had expected.

Hi Mussoda
You don’t need to eat a banana, that only keeps the problem going. A few of us at the start had some low sugar moments, people like me who suffered from reactive hypoglycaemia ( now cured!). but they’re not dangerous, only horrible to live through. It’s only if you’re on insulin that you need to do something about it like eat sugar. Have a look at jane Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ that should help you.
I know they make you feel panicky and confused but really, they will go away.
Penny

Hello Bill,
I’ve been reading your posts and your story is really inspiring so I think there is someting special about you.
I’m fortunate that I have had no eye problems whatsoever. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through.
We are planning to change to a different breakfast next week but decided to use Optifast as that was what was used in Professor Taylors study. We wanted to give ourselves the best chance at kickstarting rapid weight loss.
I’ll let everyone know how my results progress. Just want to stay free of medication.