Hi Spirit

I polished it specially for you, glad you like it 😃 Thanks for your kind comment!

Happy Monday all – Day One of Week Three and I am feeling (pretty) good!

The Good News: Lost another 3.4lbs and 0.5″ – Chuffed (that’s what you Brits say right?)

The not so good:

Had a slip up yesterday.

Background – I’m in my early 40’s, no kids, no husband, and my 78 year old father lives with me. We’re like a sit-com. He won’t eat anything I make since the garlic-coffee incident when I was 8, so we cook and shop for ourselves.

So Dad is getting a little forgetful (don’t worry, we’re keeping an eye) and keeps forgetting that I am doing this diet. He brought home a box of cookies, because they’re my favourite (and his) oatmeal raisin. I reminded him that I am being quite strict and asked him to hide the cookies. He did. In the oven. I found them when I went to make my lunches for this week (Chicken Breast, Salsa, Cheese). Yes, I did find them before I turned the oven on to heat (this time).

Then I slipped.

I ate one.

I then experienced what I call a food blackout, and came out the other side having eaten 5 in total.

Know what I did? I logged it. I got on the treadmill and walked for 60 mins (too cold to walk outside). Went back on the plan.

I got my revenge on Dad though. I made him sit through Star Wars: The Force Awakens, instead of the beginning of The Masters, and I didn’t let him fall asleep, not once.

He then offered to make me pizza for dinner, but I think that was just for spite.

Make today a great day!

Deb

Love the sound of that chicken Catgirl 😃

Hi suzie:

Any kind of salad – ie tuna fish, chicken, ham etc

The no carb ploughmans

Any of the dips from the book (the peanut butter/ cream cheese dip takes seconds to make )

Fritatta

Pot of FF yoghurt and some berries /seeds

A flask of soup

Piece of cheese and some nuts

Hope that helps! 🙂

Thanks Eureka.

Thanks Penny, I have ordered the book.
John I noticed that book on backs when I ordered the book on knees.

I go to Pilates for bad backs and like you I do the exercises as soon as I get a twinge in my back. I might order the back book after I have read the knees book 🙂

Hi hashimoto
You are a ‘can do person ‘ who always acknowledge & encourage others, thanks for that.
Eureka. 💐

Cheese is useful and easy to eat, I find it difficult to come up with packed lunch options for work which don’t include bread, are quick & easy to eat but filling. Have been taking hard boiled egg, 2 baby bell cheeses, a few tomatoes, some nuts & 3 or 4 oat cakes. Is this o.k.? Any more simple suggestions please. Thanks in advance!

Hi Christi1948
If you’re in Playa de Las Americas toss a coin into the musical fountain for me! I love the long walk from Los Cristianos to Bahia del Duque. Put your step counter on for that walk!
If you’re at Puerto de la Cruz, walk quickly past the ice cream parlour at Cafe de Paris. Enjoy it all. Buenas noches
Eureka

Janet,
Thanks.
John

Janet, I must be one of the luckiest people alive re my leg.:)

Eureka thanks for the heads up re Michaels blog. You’re a star!

Penny, thanks, I’ll look it up!

Hashimoto,
Keep it up! (And I think I now understand what “Stickies” are).

Penny, (and anyone with a bad back)
Another book in the “Treat your own” series is “Treat your own back”. I went to my physio a few years ago being hardly able to move, and after setting me back on the road he said that all I really needed was this book.
In the bad old days, when I got a bad back, I was in real trouble for weeks – now, as soon as I feel a twinge, I get down on the floor (even in the middle of tuning a client’s piano) and do the exercises. Result – the discomfort is usually gone in a few days.
I guess it all depends on the nature of the back problem.
Following up on the above, I have to confess that this post would have been better posted in “Coffee and Chat” if it existed – sorry for drifting.
John

B – 50g Feta Cheese with Pea shoots topped with two medium poached eggs – 300

D – 2 x Sesame crusted seared tuna steaks with 100g edamame beans, 1 red chilli and chopped coriander tossed in lime juice and a little extra virgin olive oil – 500

Tasty! 🙂

Yes John, you certainly did get us all thinking. I noticed you did a runner! Only joking! Stickies are threads that stay at the top of the list like the one MM put on about looking for American guinea pigs.

Wow Judith, you went through the wars didn’t you? I complain if I stub my toe!

Hi john I had already grumbled about the sheer number of new threads causing problems, making it difficult to help new starters. We obviously want to help and encourage new starters and some of us are spending a lot of time trawling latest posts to find and encourage.

Just as the grumbling died down you reopened the issue.

A number of us still want to be able to welcome new starters and it would be lovely to be able to point them to a thread dealing with common problems and the unexpected ‘blips’ , thinking of sudden blood sugar rises which seem to happen in week 4/5 last a couple of weeks then drop to pre or non diabetic levels. It savesa lot of worry.

With captainlynne we have 16 weeks of BSD experience! We are the experiment – real people, eating real food out in the world. We have a wealth of experience and tips to share.

I just hope it gets ‘stickied’ so it stays at the top of the threads – like calling all americans ( I think that is what it’s called).

So thankyou John for making me realise it really needs sorting and a lot of folks feel the same.

Now a work in progress! 🙂

Hi Michael,
A huge “Thank you” to you and the Prof for the BSD – I have had great results already, but much more importantly (as I’ve had large weight losses many times before) I really think this is a working tool for the rest of my life. Every other regime has been a struggle whereas this has genuinely been a delight.
Just a little suggestion – I know there are plenty of books out on 5:2 meals, but they are nearly all aimed at lower calories, being mainly for 600kCal fasting days. True, one can scale up the sizes, but a new BSD cookbook would be great – we have mined the recipes in the BSD book and found them superb and satisfying.
I do hope you’ve been trawing the forums – the success stories are many and amazing – “This has to work for me”, My 8 weeks” and “Over the line…..” should give you some great facts and figures.
When’s the TV programme on progress so far?
Thanks again
John

Hi Judith
That books called
‘treat you own knees’ by Jim Johnson
Costs about £5
Penny

52 grams is fine. A cup of tea with a little milk in an hours time won’t blow the budget nor will a couple of almonds or a small piece of feta cheese!
I worked out after week one that I needed a little put aside for picking at during the day and I took it off the days budget before I planned the meals. I don’t need it now, but it helped for the first few weeks.
Turn staring into the fridge into a ‘planning for tomorrow session’ 🙂

Third day over,ate correct all weekend but think over ate on correct food as pound up in two days !
Staying away from scales now and only use once week.
Strange but kept to it strict today and feeling ever so alert,even great sleep last night but can’t all be cos of three days on this .
Lovely salmon n veg tonight ,no bread !
Two litres water went in couple hours too.
Cheers folks Alan

Thank-you. Really useful Jackie WilsonSaid.

That’s great thanks so much for that ,so if I’m on 52 grams I’m not doing bad .
Couple hours before bedtime tho !!!!!
Ever find yourself just staring into the fridge 😋

Wow!
That will teach me to go away for a few days and not read posts!
Having dropped the pebble into the water, I see that you’ve all picked it up and run with it (if I can completely mix my metaphors).
Well done and thanks Hashimoto for taking it as far as contacting HO.
Light blue touch paper and retire – nowt else for me to do 🙂
John
(What sre “stickies”? – sickies with a cuppa?)

Hi Jackie WilsonSaid,
Great post – I agree – there are also a lot of other benefits when you realise that you are running upstairs again, and have the energy back for a few years ago.
Mindfulness – I’ve posted, but as you say – not much take up so far. I try to do 15 mins per day and it really helped me through a very stressful period in February/March. Normally that stress level would have detailed any new eating plan, and I would have been running to the local shops daily for a bag of sweets, or a couple of bags crisps. I started this plan 2/2/16, and kept it going without an issue. I am sure the Mindfulness played a part, as well as the lower sugar intake.

Hi everyone

Click on Resources on the toolbar to see Dr Michael Mosley’s video from Sydney Opera house.
Eureka

I pre-ordered your book, Dr. Mosley. I started following the plan last week, 7th of April. In addition to starting the lifestyle change, I took your advice and purchased a Fitbit. My profile says it all: I was pre-diabetic but was diagnosed with type2 the beginning of December. I made a deal with my doctor that I could reverse it with diet and exercise, otherwise she would put me on pills. She gave me 3 months. That was 4 months ago. I had only lost 5lbs. I need to shed more than 70lbs. Thank you for your meticulous research on the subject and for publishing the book. Love the Forums on this site which are an echo your encouraging tone from the book.

Go for it Pinklady51, I look forward to see you posting your starting weights and weekly losses soon! As I said, this has been a fun journey – it is always great to feel you are achieving goals.

Hi All,
Today is my first day and I’m feeling good. I’ve drank lots of water and had some delicious meals with a total calorie count of 699!!!
This is unusual for me as I usually eat lots of bread, crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks so it’s being achievement for me today.
I’ve being reading some stories of amazing weight loss and it’s really spurred me on. Well done everyone x

Hi Penny, thanks for that! I will try anything but the story is 21 years ago I had a serious accident, all the bones in my leg were multipley and compoundly fractured. My tibial plateau looks more like crocodile teeth and there wasn’t enough bone left to set my knee back in the correct position so my left leg is a bit shorter than my right leg now. I was told by the consultant that I would be in a wheel chair within 4 to 5 years. That was 16/17 years ago! I still go hill walking, when possible, and still do the gardening etc. A friend who is a physio came every night for months to work on my leg which is, I think, the only reason I have been so able since the accident. I was told under no circumstances to ever kneel on it and I am very lucky to have the degree of bend I do have (thanks to said friend) as I was told by the consultant that I would have great difficulty getting up and down stairs. I don’t.
I was also lucky that the accident happened in France and I was taken from the first hospital to a specialist hospital, even they didn’t fancy the chances of saving my leg so they flew in a surgeon from Switzerland! When I finally got home the consultant here said he would have had to amputate high above the knee because he wouldn’t have known how to fix it and it carried a 90% chance of developing an infection after the op!! He referred to the metal structures within my leg as ‘the Eiffel Tower’, it certainly looked that way!!
I count my blessings every time I look at my two feet!

But I will look at that book because who knows? 🙂

Day 8
1. Your tastebuds come alive. I can now taste the sweetness in tea with just semi milk in it.
2. A healthy snack is not something to be frightened of if you are doing hard exercise.
3. It is possible to eat 800 to 1000 cals [exercise day] each day and feel energised.
This from someone who was probably averaging 3000 cals per day for years, through thinking exercise would take care of everything. Muscle strength and full enjoyment of exercise has normalised again on Day 8.
4. It’s good to try new combinations of foods to reinvigorate one’s enjoyment of eating.
Who would have thought that stewed rhubarb and whole yoghurt would make a satisfying and tasty breakfast?
5. You don’t have to start the day with carbs.
This was the habit that I thought would be most hard to break.
My favourite meal was a breakfast of toast with jam, then porridge and fruit/nuts [and previously muesli].
Low carb is a pleasant change, with the brunches particularly enjoyable at the weekend.
6. The BSD book needs a bit of organising.
The route to the menus passes a week of menu photos – I thought that was the first week. It also goes past lots of recipes, so I stopped off and picked out healthy ingredients randomly, only later realising that the 8-week menus are at the back. Maybe by week 3 I’ll be following it instead of picking out recipes according to what’s in the fridge. However the direction is clear.
7. Losing weight [6 lbs] is gratifying but the other benefits might be more.
All the other things that I was growing to accept as a normal part of ageing: snoring, indigestion, lack of energy and enthusiasm, are getting better too. It’ll be remarkable if this continues. I am taking on faith the lowering of blood sugars since my Dr doesn’t believe in fasting glucose testing.
8. The Mindfulness forum is very quiet, with just 5 topics, two of which are about the No Carb Bircher and Portobello mushrooms!
I’m guessing you are all being mindful, but I posted some clues and links for beginners for anyone interested.

Hi Alanhypo – it does not say no carb, but low carbs. I aim for 60g a day carbs, many on the forum aim for under 50g per day as that definitely pushes you into fat-burning mode.

Hi pinklady51,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04j9gny/clips is the link to the Trust me I’m a Doctor series and there are a lot of clips in it you can look at now. I am not sure if he covered the specifics of this in the last series or if there were sections on eg fats that were relevant etc. It is nice to be able to go back an peruse them.

hi Lynne,

Love your shiny-new thread. xx

Huge congratulations on your continued success too x

Here is a list taken from MM’s book of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods.
No to :
• bread, pasta, potatoes, rice. Be wary of “brown” alternatives: the extra fibre can be negligible. Brown rice is OK, but some wholemeal breads have added sugar.
• most breakfast cereals: they are usually full of sugar, even the ones that contain bran. Oats are good as long as they are not the instant sort.
• Avoid margarine and use butter instead
• Treat root vegetables with caution – potatoes, parsnips, swedes/turnips are high in starch.
• Sweet tropical fruits such as mango, pineapple, melon, dates and bananas are full of sugar.

Yes to:
• Quinoa, bulgur (cracked wheat), whole rye, whole-grain barley, wild rice and buckwheat.
• Legumes, such as lentils and kidney beans.
• Full-fat yoghurt – add berries, (blackberries, strawberries or blueberries), for flavour; and or a sprinkling of nuts
• Breakfast/brunch – eggs: boiled, poached, scrambled or as an omelette. Add smoked salmon, mushrooms and a sprinkle of chilli for a change.
• Snacks -nuts are a great source of protein and fibre. No to salted or sweetened!
• Healthy fats and oils plus oily fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel). Add a splash of olive oil to vegetables, improves taste and the absorption of vitamins. Use olive, rapeseed or coconut oil for cooking.
• Butter and cheese in moderation is fine.
• High-quality proteins: oily fish, prawns, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, eggs, soya, edamame beans, Quorn, and hummus.
• Processed meats (bacon, salami, sausages) no more than a couple of times a week.
• Leafy green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, cabbage, lettuce, kale, chard, cauliflower, plus carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are rich in vitamin C and fibre and very low in sugar and starch.
• Sweet fruits: berries, apples or pears are fine in moderation.
• Add sauces and flavouring – lemon, butter or olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, chilli, gravy.
• Alcohol – no more than one to two units a day on average (a small glass of wine or shot of spirits is 1.5 units) and cut back on beer – it’s carb rich.
From: Dr Michael Mosley’s “The 8-week blood sugar diet”
Hope it helps.

Welcome Bungalow,

I am starting week 5 today and am 1 stone 2 lbs down with 6 inches off my waist but have a long way to go, I am certain this will work for you. From day one I have used the recipes but haven’t followed the menu plans, I have downloaded the myfitnesspal app which is great to track your calories and carbs. It takes a by of navigating for a technophobe like me but you will get there.

My tea tonight I am doing a chicken breast, about 200 cals with a boursin garlic and herb cube of cheese inside at 65 cals and wrapped in 2 slices of prosciutto at another 65 cals, having courgetti with it and perhaps another veg.

Our favourite form the recipes at home are the harissa chicken and beetroot falafels.

Good luck.

I’ve found similar problem same app my fitness pal says 52% carbs yet followed all food advice,today only fish oats cereal chicken (small amount)
It says no carbs on this diet doesn’t it ?
Where are they coming from
Also what do we do for roughage ?
Cheers folks Alan

Here’s another I don’t get
In the morning it’s higher but I thought it was the sugar/glucose made it high and if I’ve not eaten all night shouldn’t it drop ?
Also after five hours of a subway chicken salad bowl it’s only 6.7.

And lastly if I’ve not eaten sugary foods for 3 days why do I feel so damn good already ? Weird.
Not tired feel alert
Maybe psychological 🤔
Once again many thanks from a newbie
Alan

Hi Judith
This may be of help – a book called ‘you can heal your knees’ ( I think!) which really helped me.
Penny

Calling all British Citizens – please sign our petition! 216 votes so far! 🙂

Hi Christine
I’d like to say I’m not jealous but I’m green! Even your roast chicken with salad yesterday sounded lovely. I’m sure you’ll find something just as yummy and good for you tonight. I’m imagining lovely fish dishes!

Hi Bunga, welcome to the forums! I second what Bill said. Not everyone has the time for some of the recipes in the book – I have some firm favourites from it – but use a lot of my own recipes too. It gets you away from being afraid to eat out as you have got used to calorie and carb counting and can easily make sensible choices.

Find the recipes you like in the book at first to break you in gently! 🙂

That’s funny Marcus – I was thinking of doing something similar. Now I know it works. Thanks 🙂

Hi lostgirl it’s lovely to hear you sounding so positive. I think I’ll have a go at those celeriac roasties. What a clever idea! 🙂

I would cut your chocolate bars into small pieces and then freeze them – they last MUCH longer in the mouth that way without you eating too much 🙂

I’ve never heard of Yorkshire provinder soups, I’ll have to google them!

High five, girl 🙂 🙂

Hey guys, thanks for all replies, it’s fantastic to hear so much positivity.

I finally got into the complex carbs yesterday. We hosted ten guests for a gathering and rather than have my own food separately I served a mezze of dishes from the BSD book (augmented by some french bread and butter for the guests). It was absolutely delicious! Guests came back for seconds, thirds… and even fourths in a couple of cases. The beetroot falafel proved to be a huge hit and disappeared faster than the bread.

I think DR MM might have accidentally written an amazing party food recipe book!

By the way which MM documentary did you see? I’d like to track it down and watch as I found the 5:2 one useful

Hi Christine, the summer clothes really show off the weight loss, don’t they? 🙂

Thanks again. Maybe it’ll have to be courgette pasta instead! I have been talking to a friend today to try and convince her to try this. I have been thinking for the last few months that I needed something like a sharp shock to reset everything. A quick way so I wouldn’t get bored etc. so this is looking more likely. I am going to pick a date and start 😄

For the ketostix, the darker a pink colour it is the better! It varies during the day, Hashimoto has found for her it is highest in the morning, so she now tests once a day. If have found the same. I am mid-range colour mornings, and paler at night.
Squashes were one thing the book advised to avoid in the 8 week stage. The veg above the ground and better than those below ground (root veg and they tend to have more sugars) but carrots were allowed. I will try to extract a list of the veg’s from the book later today. Cauliflower rice is fine. I did buy some premade and would not get too excited about it, but if you make your own it may be better – certainly if you can get a good texture to is.
good luck with the journey – it has been a fun experience – strange way to talk about a food plan :-)!

Bunga,
I would use the menu plan as it saves thinking; you will already need to spend time buying healthy stuff and preparing different meals anyway. I started with calorie restriction using food in the house and avoiding junk and alcohol. Then switched to looking at the pictures in the book and thinking that was the first week and bought random other ingredients after flicking through the recipes later on. I finally realised at the back of the book that there’s 8-weeks of carefully planned menus, starting on a Monday and onwards that can be easily followed!
The great thing about them is that you have to try different things. Eating yoghurt and e.g., stewed rhubarb, for breakfast was a scary concept but was a revelation. Tasty and it fills me up. I was a lifetime ‘toast and porridge with fruit and nuts’ kind of a guy, which is reasonable, but carborific and calorific.
I love the BSD but think that the book could be better organised.

Day 2 of the wedding diet. Have eaten 420 calories so far…..what to eat for the rest?
Suggestions would be welcome👍
Also managed 30 mins swim.
Onwards and downwards…

Hi all,
As many of you know, I’m in Tenerife at the moment, I have just got ready to go out, at home I’m normally wrapped up in layers of clothes to keep warm, i have just put summer clothes on! Yippee I look like I have lost weight, even though I still have 1 stone 9lb to lose, so folks just wait till the summer and imagine how you will look without all those layers and weight! It’s something to look forward to, even when you have a blip! Like I did yesterday when I had that chocolate! So keep on keeping on.
Christine

Thank you so much Orchid. That was really helpful advice. I am going to look carefully at the kinds of foods I’ll be eating. Is there a definitive list of thos e recommended vegetables/fruits etc that one can have? I have seen for example butternut squash spaghetti which would be great to replace pasta. There are of course other things like cauliflower rice which one can use too. I really like the idea of going full fat again, trying to convince people that it’s ok to do that is hard going. I had known about full fate for a while but had avoided yogurts and most cheeses because that’s what we were all told! I am going to order the blood sugar monitor and ketostix. Is there information with the ketostix to explain what the fat burning range is?