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.

Hi flump
What a great ambition !
Penny

Thanks Cherrianne
I expect to see some spikes but if the overall trend is towards the normal range for bgl I’ll be happy.
My after lunch bgl spiked to10.8 yesterday after having sourdough bread with soup but 2.5 hours latrer (4.5 hours after lunch) it was back to 5.6 so I know that bread is a real problem for me.
I guess the trick is to be very aware of what is happening to my body by testing more regularly and that is a new thing for me.
My wife and I tried the Slendier noodles you mentioned in another post in a veg stir fry but found them pretty tasteless. Have you found a way to jazz them up a bit?

Hi eureka
But I was only eating 1200 before! So is it 800 forever for me?😰 !!
Penny

So where are you all?
Are you all adding to the different forum threads?
I have dipped my toes elsewhere, but I feel safe here, with my little thread I started so long ago.

Wasn’t it a lovely sunny day after the fog burnt off?

Did a two mile walk in my lunch time. You should see my little legs go like the clappers😀

👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣
Love Lucia
Xxx

Hi Janet
It sounds a bit exhausting – 8.30-430! Like being at work. ! Though no doubt interesting stuff.
I think I’ll stick to lazing around on holiday.
That Swedish guy on the website- I find him really funny. My son lives in Sweden so I’ve been there a lot but never come across a swede like that!
Penny

HI all – Just a quick check in before I head home. I’ve been battling with my head today (and yesterday).

The first part is the headache from the weather changes. Good news – the jet stream is moving letting us have warmth, Bad news – This means adjusting to the higher pressure, and the pain that come with it for a few days. So I’m not having much fun.

The second part is the part that wants to stress eat the headache away.

But I haven’t. And I won’t.

Have a great night – TTY Tomorrow.

Cheers,

Deb

I have eaten too many sprouts.
😷😷😷😷😷😷😷oops.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi hashimoto
I didn’t have any cream cheese in the house, so used ingredients I had in.

I tried coconut flour bread but it tastes too coconutty. I might try chickpea flour, if I can get hold of some. I live on the outskirts of a semi rural town and was pleasantly surprised to find several shops selling butternut squash! Never mind bring able to buy Quinoa!

Day 53 weight 10st 5lbs – so have put weight on again
Blood sugar 10.2

Started taking 5mg of lithium today, it is apparently very good for overall well-being. It might be the placebo effect, but I didn’t feel as wound up today and I seemed to get a lot done.
Got engrossed in my jobs and didn’t drink much today, will try harder tomorrow.

Oldie no better and still agitated and restless.

Hospital bed due to be delivered tomorrow morning so Mum due home tomorrow as well.

Bought a huge white cabbage today, so looking forward to lots of homemade coleslaw. 😀

Hi judith
A friend of mine took 7 years to get diagnosed. She had low thyroid but they said low end of normal meanwhile she was a wreck. A change of GP saved her, the new GP said let’s try you on thyroxin and see- she returned to normal.
Crazy
Penny

Hi John
You can easily up your cals by using fat – butter on your veg, avocado and bacon salad, full fat everything, oily fish, a bit of cheese , pork and lamb etc. I have a curry recipe that has 5 tablespoons of oil for 4 portions! I’ve never managed to put more than 3 in I have to confess.
It won’t make you feel overfull at 40 cals per teaspoonful.
Hope this helps
Penny.

I thought salmon was OK also green leafy veg ?
Isn’t this allowed
Cheers Alan

Hi Penny
Now that I have my membership I need to watch the films too. Definitely more extreme than bsd but I like having a strong direction to follow and there are good recipes too. Will have to save up for next year’s cruise I think!

Hi Janet
Me too, I like the films. They’re more extreme than BSD but interesting. Any extra info is good!
Penny

Well done Kingdoone, your experience is proof that we not only need to cut carbs for weight loss but for better health too!

Hi Christi1948
Yep I remember. 👍 Lived in Southport & Preston for a couple of years way back. February & a walk (blown) along Blackpool front by Roberts Oyster Bar. Just me & a mouse on the pavement! Liked it & the folks up there. Good cheese, Lancashire crumbly & Cumberland sausage, yum yum!
Eureka

Hi hashimoto and Lynn
I had the very same conversation with hubby today about a friend who is on slimming world diet, she has also lost one and a half stone, however the difference between us is I have lost a lot of my stomach, ( I still have a long way to go) and yet my friend still has a very rotund middle, she says she can’t sleep without having her bread, and she couldn’t live without her bread!
I have tried all the diets going, lost the weight then put it back on plus more each time. I just hope I can beat this diet lark and get to a weight i am happy with and conquer my sweet tooth.
Christine

Just for fun, this is the first day of lectures, presumably on a day at sea. This cruise is for some serious low-carbers!

Monday, May 2, 2016

8:00AM-8:30AM: Registration
8:30AM-8:45AM: Welcome and Introduction of the Low-Carb Cruise
8:45AM-9:30AM: Meet Your Fellow Low-Carb Cruisers
9:30AM-9:45AM: Jamie Caporosso – Keto-Paleo For Athletes
9:45AM-10:15AM: Darryl Edwards – The Power Of Primal Play
10:15AM-10:25AM: Break
10:25AM-11:10AM: Dr. Ted Naiman – Hyperinsulinemia
11:10AM-11:25AM: Ailsa Marshall — Personal story of beating diabetes
11:25AM-11:35AM: Break
11:35AM-12:05PM: Hanna Boethius – Lowering Your A1c Master Class
12:05PM-12:20PM: Kim Minert – Type 1 diabetes and KETO//OS
12:20PM-2:30PM: Lunch break
2:30PM-3:15PM: Dr. Eric Westman – Low-Carb Case Studies of Diabetic Patients and HEAL Clinic Update
3:15PM-3:30PM: Glen & Yael Finkel – Adapt Your Life
3:30PM-3:40PM: Break
3:40PM-4:25PM: Dr. Lucia Aronica – The Stanford study on low-carb vs. low-fat diets: Nusi, the A to Z study, and its follow-up
4:25PM-4:40PM: Closing remarks

I lost 7 pounds in my first week ! 1·5 inches off my waist .feel so much better and A good side effect much better digestion . I may have a gluten intolerance which was causing frequent trips to the bathroom about five times a day .
I am very happy and am managing so far .

Hi eureka
Hahahaha, very funny, ducks! I won’t be giving Coke to him anymore cause I won’t be buying it anymore, love the phrase, ducks delight , I’ve never heard that before, we call it corporation pop in Lancashire where I was born and brought up, I will forever call it ducks delight now! Thank you
Christine

Oh my goodness do I take my hat off to all of you! I think I just must be so pathetically weak with no self discipline at all. I have lost 4lb since starting on Monday so am delighted BUT I am really, really hungry. The dog keeps moving away from me – I’m sure she senses how desperate I am… I am going to have to go to bed so as not to eat anything I shouldn’t, but in the meantime all tips very very welcome please.

I am drinking lots of water and black coffee and keep trying to tell myself it’s not hunger pangs, it’s the sensation of my tummy shrinking : / Can anyone tell me please with the baking recipes can you substitute almond or any other type of flour for the coconut flour please as my husband and I don’t like coconut? Maybe a wee courgette muffin would stop me feeling so deprived.

Really glad you’re out there when I need you – thankyou for listening to my moans xx

Alan, not sure if you are following the menu plans. As jackiewilsonsaid said 😀 you might be best to follow those. Have a look at them and if it’s something you don’t fancy, pick something else with roughly same calorie count. The 5:2 diet book is useful too as it has calories for meals. Try to work out a full week’s worth of meals as it’s easier to stick to when you’ve planned ahead. Also you can do a shopping list and not buy stuff you don’t need.

The no carb bircher is good and filling although you need to ensure you are ok to use the flaxseed as some health conditions should avoid it and it can upset your tummy at first. It did me but I got used to it in a few days.

Try stuff you may be unsure of – the cauliflower rice is good, especially in the kedgeree. CourgettI Prawns are good as is harrisa chicken and the fish in foil. Turkey and lamb burgers pretty quick to make and tasty.

Keep going, it’ll transform your life and your figure.

Good luck to all of you just starting, it’s worth it!

Hi stringbreaker
Happy to help
Eureka

Hi Smith368
Ab Fab news! Excellent news & hope for us all. Welcome to Vets inc.
Eureka

Eureka,
Thanks a million for that.
Gold dust.
John

Hi all

I’m just finished day 6 of the BSD, I have so far lost 4kg, I was diagnosed in 2008 I have been taking metformin but stopped 3 days ago, my starting blood sugar was 7.8 and dropped to 5.6 after 4 days the last two days I have had a fasting reading of 4.6, today at around 09:00 I almost keeled over at work, felt really light headed and dizzy, I ate a banana that seemed relieve the symptoms after a few minutes.
I am assuming that even after my yoghurt and rhubarb breakfast my sugar level was low enough to bring on the starting’s of a hypo. I am assuming that I will need to up the carbs a bit at breakfast, has anyone else had this issue, if so how did you resolve it?

Mussoda

Hi stringbreaker
Prof Roy Taylor said,
“Once you are at your personal target weight, the critical thing now is to become accustomed to eating approximately 2/3rd of the total amount you used to eat. There need be no restriction upon any particular food stuffs, although naturally foods that re very calorie-dense are best avoided. The goal is keeping the weight down ( you may find your weight increases 1 – 2 kg over a few days on returning to a higher calorie intake; this is because your glycogen stores return to normal & glycogen is stored in the water inside your body).

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres. Reply from Prof Taylor on frequent questions asked. 22.06.15
Eureka

I think I’ll go just for the mankini alone!

How about us veterans offering to provide ALL motivational talks/lectures and Pilates etc classes on a cruise next year. The BSD cruise! Featuring Bill lecturing in his mankini to show off the full effects of the BSD. We could get so many of us along to show the multiple benefits of the diet quite apart from the diabetes reversal – Judith on hypothyroidism, and others on reduced blood pressure, reduced cholesterol, the mental benefits of increased exercise/walking… They could populate the ship with us lot by next year, mind you, so might not make much profit if there’s not room for enough punters.

This morning test level seems to be the hardest to get down ,did your morning levels take while to come down ?
Alan

Day Five
So two hours after evening meal salmon n greens it’s 6.7
Not sure what a satisfactory score is but coming down
Reduced calories as bit over 800 ,measuring even my olive oil now !
Cheers folks Alan

Hi Janet1973
Corr now you tell me! Going to Canada June. Maybe next year & I could lecture 😄
Eureka

2.5 stone lost, diabetes cured. Thanks Professor Roy Taylor http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm and Michael Mosley http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2kczjZKp8sGSDxSxKYzxsyr/michael-mosley

Hi DawnG
Welcome. Hurry on board the more the merrier.
First, put a big label on your cupboard saying ‘Mine!’ Keep your food boxes in the fridge & label the same. Your kids will be at the goodies & you’ve got em hooked!

Seriously, breakfast is a good idea but some on this diet don’t have it, never have. I choose to miss it on some days to increase my fasting time between meals. Read the book again & mark the really important points. I’m type 2 diabetic still on metformin , but reducing dose. My decision ,my dr not on board with BSD.

Maybe reduce the number of liquid breakfasts per week. It’s better to have the fibre & nutrients in unliquidised form. However, Plenish by Kara M L Rosen plenishcleanse.com is worth a look. I would always make fresh shakes so they kept all the goodness. I bought an auto Ninja but only used it once so far.

Try & prep the night before or get up a bit earlier if you choose to make breakfast. Boiled eggs & Parma/ Serrano ham are tasty. Scrambled eggs plain or ‘Spanish ‘ style ( no potatoes) are filling & quick. Thick Greek full fat yoghurt, soft fruit & nuts are popular too. Smoked salmon & poached eggs very good treat. Porridge, soak the oats the night before will hasten microwaving. But it doesn’t take long anyway. Oats spike my bloods sugars so not for me. Read the recipes in the book & posted ones.

Make a list of what you like & are willing to try food wise, then shop for it. Some people make a week long menu.
If you are really going to be rushed make something the night before & take it with you
Eureka

B – full fat yogurt & berries

L – last portion of red pepper and tomato soup

T – stir fried chicken, asparagus, broccoli & green beans

Could only manage 2/3 of my tea so will take rest to work tomorrow for lunch…only thing is I have unused calories now and I’m not hungry

You lucky girl Kathy! What a way to live!

Hi John, you have to make them but the recipe is in the recipes tab, 🙂 you need to start the batter a few hours before you make the flatbreads, but it’s easy 🙂

I do like a good cruise in the last eighteen months I have cruised round Hawaii and Alaska twice.

Hi Hashi,
Thanks for that – can you buy chickpea flatbreads or do you have to make them?
John

Lynne I no longer trust those border line results, they do tell you it’s normal! The cheap tests that hospitals use do not work for everyone if the condition is a bit more complex. It isn’t the doctor’s fault either, they can’t control the tests hospitals use – they can request the more sophisticated test but don’t always get it. NICE guidelines and all that. If you are told you are normal, but low end of normal, ask your doctor to specify which test you need doing. I would hate to think of anyone getting into the state I was in for a year where I was going into hypothyroid comas. I spent one summer – a hot one – in my thermals, layers of clothes on, wrapped in duvets, central heating on full, fire on and I was freezing. On my own and too ill to realise I was ill. Its not funny coming too when you were eating your dinner in sunlight and it’s dark and your head is in your food and you have no idea why it is dark as you don’t realise you been ‘out cold’.

Have you checked yourself against a list of hypothyroid symptoms? You don’t have to have them all to be hypothyroid.

A group cruise would be lovely, wouldn’t it! 🙂

Yup, Lynne, we’ve all been there!! Never realising why it never worked! 🙂