Interesting cherrianne
that gives me 12 stone 5 pounds, much nearer to what I feel comfortable at.

Thank you Cherrianne – excellent site, very helpful as I think BMI belongs in the same deep hole as sugar…..

Hi lynne have you tried the nhs healthy weight, bmi calculator? It takes variables such as age, gender, exercise levels, height etc into consideration. It is the one your practice will use.

Sianyb well done 🙂

Hi Lea71
Welcome! I can crave sweets at night and what I have had the last two nights is a small bowl with a couple of tablespoons of coconut yoghurt and a few blueberries and raspberries…eat it with a teaspoon … very yummy 😏

Hi Lynne,
There is an ideal weight range calculator at halls-md/ideal-body/weight.htm
You type in your age, height and gender, and it will give you a weight that most people in your age group consider to be ideal.
I think it is a bit more realistic than other sites which often have a 20 kg range. The site shows my ideal weight to be above my actual weight and I’m not skinny! I agree with the others though, the weight that you’re happy with and which enables you to keep your blood sugars in the non diabetic range, is the ideal weight for you. We all have a ‘personal fat threshold’, the place at which our fat levels are sufficiently low enough to enable us to eat well and maintain good blood sugar control. For some it may mean staying quite light, for others a loss of 10% body weight will be enough.

Hi JWS!

All my soups start with garlic & onion fried gently in a little olive oil. I now use stock instaed of milk as the fluid.

Try:

pea & watercress or spinach
Tomato & basil
Beetroot & butter bean (or cannellini )
Mushroom & thyme
Spicy bean ( any old cans of beans will do) chilli to taste, add cumin, cayenne & oregano along with celery
Curried celery with lentil
Onion and almond (modified Spanish recipe)
Aubergine & mozzarella

You can tell I like soup…….

Got a brilliant book some years ago called The Complete Book of 400 Soups – I have just been altering & adapting the recipes to exclude off-plan ingredients. When we aren’t eating soup, we eat a lot of salad. Sick of salad but not soup!!!!

Hi jackiemac quite a few of us have posted to fb. The more people hear on tv and radio etc the more people will notice it on fb and vice versa.

At the mo the majority of people haven’t heard of the diet or think it’s just another fad diet.

The more noise we make the sooner we will be heard. 🙂

175 signatures now 🙂

Well done for starting. Plan meals ahead and make sure you have yogurt, berries and lots of veg in the fridge. I am trying all sorts of veg and my husband is delighted with the new varieties being brought into his diet now and he isn’t on the BSD ! Good luck and wait for the complements even after 1 week!

Well done thepolly and Bill! 🙂

Don’t worry Leeanne
If you were here I’d even let you prick my finger to show you 😉

I don’t really know the answer but I have heard someone mention optifast and also people have tried slim fast. Sometimes people have mentioned being hungry while having them which, for most people, isnt a problem after a couple of days on the bsd. Maybe if you are only planning to use them for a fortnight while you get organised, you should be ok. Alternatively, everyone here will help you get your head around the bsd if you decide to jump straight in.

Hi Bill, Yes I’m hoping it will sort itself. Damned blood sugars! Pesky readings! It’s frustrating though.

TWSAndy and MrsTWSA – I also started yesterday, after a few days practise.

I too cringe at ‘diet’, however a recent blood sugar reading after a recurring virus and associated illnesses gives me the motivation to reverse it asap. I prefer to think of BSD as a scientific experiment as per Michael Mosley’s documentaries, with me as the subject.

My wife is still working and finds it more difficult to not eat carbs as so much food outside of the home is carborific, hence some pre-planning seems essential. I [already] endorse Bill’s “keep the carbs under 50gr / day, eat full fat products, and drink at least 2 to 3 ltr of non sugary fluids / day”.

Good luck.

Djdaussie, if you get fage ff carton it contains 190 calories. 2 oz blueberries is 32 calories a total of 222 calories. If you get a large pot of different ff yoghurt you will need to calculate it. A teaspoon of flax seeds isnt very much.

A 2 egg omlette won’t come to many calories – about 180 for 2 large eggs and oil for frying 🙂

Hi CazP1965 – we have been having the no-carb Bircher most mornings, for all sorts of reasons. I use coconut water from Waitrose instead of apple juice (too sweet for me) & chop up 1/2 Apple into it (shared between the 2 of us) for texture. After the initial bigger weight loss, I am now losing a steady 2lbs a week, husband is more or less doing that too. We BSD for 5 days a week pretty strictly, but have significant work related commitments which tend to scupper the remaining 2 days, (but we do try hard, rejecting bread & desserts etc, wine is another matter….) despite this we are still losing fat & our tummies are diminishing.

I honestly wouldn’t get too worked up about 26 calories, 200 calories, yes, I’d need to balance out the ‘food-book’ but 26 in the great scheme of things isn’t going to cause havoc with your weight loss goals.

You might find an egg based brekkie suits you better, from what I have read in the postings there’s all sorts of adaptations & modifications going on, people are changing foods around, swapping, experimenting – but still sticking to the food group principles. If more protein floats your boat, then I’d go for it.

Do you eat yoghurt? If so, that’s a great breakfast with some fruit and/or nuts. I find it just as filling as the cereals I used to eat and it’s not exactly a hassle to prepare.

Bread is trickier to give up, I think, as it’s so handy for a quick meal. Gram flour flatbreads are the best alternative I’ve found. They aren’t really like bread at all – more like pancakes, but they’re helping me not to miss bread so much. Good with curry instead of Naan or rice. They’re also good as wraps instead of a sandwich.

It’s that week 4 /5 figure again
the readings will stabilise again. Mine shot back up to 9.8 after steadily falling.
2 – 3 weeks seems to be how long it takes to get normal again but my FBS this morning was 6.6 so persevere, it will sort itself out
Others have discussed this in the rising blood sugars thread.

B- plain yoghurt/10 cherries
L- Apple, 25g cheddar, 2 sl ham, half tbsp pickle
D- pork chop, onion bhaji, salad

Teas ( swapped to stevia sweeteners by hermesetas as found others spiked bs).

Vicfish37, I wholeheartedly agree with all the others. You are an inspiration! If you can do this after 30 years of being diabetic it is proof positive that age and length of time since diagnosis, needn’t be a barrier to success.
You and your lovely wife are to be commended. Thanks for posting about your journey, it is night time here in Aus, and your story has just topped off what has already been a lovely day!
You will go on to lose the rest of the weight, and your Dr will be amazed at your results. Hope you have a wonderful 80th Birthday, and many more healthy years to come.

I have 2 friends who have been on 5:2 for an age, works brilliantly for them and they are sticking with it, 1 has got to her ideal weight & does it once a month to wipe out any misdemeanours, the other is still on it & is 2stone down, 1 more to go.

I have shown them what I am doing with BSD but they prefer to stick with the eat-anything approach of the original 5:2 to eating Med long term.

I prefer Med long term and once I have shifted the next 1.5stone will be looking at it for life. Tried original 5:2, got so ‘hangry’ every afternoon that decided my marriage was being risked. The BSD is a dream diet for me, if that’s possible!!

I was hoping that I would get a few more calories to have a morning snack and not go over my 800 but according to me I get no benfir at all from the lo fat and light substitutes and I’m 26 cals up 🙁

I’m concerned about the calorie count in the Breakfast Bircher recipe. When I add up the calories each ingredient separately, I get a heck of a lot more than 180 / serve and I even used Fat free greek style yogurt and light cranberry juice instead of apple.

50ml Light Cranberry juice 10 cals
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds 60 cals
1 tbsp raisins 42 cals
2 tbsp no far greek yogurt 35 cals
1 tbsp walnuts 59 cals
Total 206

Anybody else add this up? Am I missing something ? It was delicious but not very satisfying. I was hungry again by mid morning.

I’m positive I get this. In week 1 I started at 11.0 down to 6.7. Week 2 , 7.9 down to 5.2. Week 3, 8.2 down to 6.2. Week 4, 7.8 down to 7.2. I’ve just begun week 5 and am struggling to get below 7. However the readings during the day have mainly been well below 7. Surprisingly I forgot to take any tablets at all yesterday until 11pm when I just discarded half of them and my reading was 6.8 but on waking today it had risen to 7.4.

Thank you Hopeful and Bill, I must definitely try that bread too! Does it freeze well?
I have tried Nairns oatcakes, Venusflytrap, but the main problem is only eating just one! They are too more-ish, and my OH finds it well nigh impossible not to eat at least 5 at a time! So I don’t buy them anymore. My thoughts on bread are that if I freeze a sliced loaf, then it’s more of a faff to defrost a slice or two so less likely to eat more than we should!

I was very successful on the 5:2 and lost 10kg. I fell off the wagon and have now put back on half of that !
I started yesterday with a fast day. I am trying 2 fast days per week with about 1000 calories on non fast days but using the BSD.

I think this will help as even on fast days previously I craved sugar and would resort to diet desserts. I am hoping to break the sugar craving and balance my blood sugar but more importantly I have family history of heart disease so might get a few more years than my parents !
I have never joined a forum before but know that reading others posts helps to stay motivated.

Thanks both. I think (hope?) the whoosh fairy is paying me a visit. Certainly feels that way… 😉

Hi venusflytrap,
You don’t have to drink your tea and coffee black. You just put 150 mls or so of milk in a separate container in the fridge. Add this to your carb/ calorie count and use it for your drinks. Bill has a cappuccino and he’s had fantastic results. 🙂

I give up, Internet crashing.
Will natter later.
Love l ucia
Xxxx

So I am sticking with airborne veg not buried veg.

Love Lucia
Xxx

I understand bananas are bad with sugar and some chemical, helium or potassium or something.

Love Lucia
Xxx

The internet is rubbish today.

I was saying carbs in apples.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Thanks hopeful, I’m definitely going to try that.
Toasted cheese’n’onion sandwich
YUM

Some vegetarian protein products follow Chinese vegetarian ideas and use a washed gluten fibre. That’s what a lot of the non quorn pretend meat products are, like own brand vegeburgers and vege sausages. Not sure how that would sit with coeliacs or how it would affect the carb content. It might be that the carb is what they are washing out and it is the wheat protein that remains. Quorn is made from a mushroom like plant so there can’t be any problems with the actual protein for a vegetarian, unless you are allergic to fungi. You might want to check which eggs they use in the process as when it was launched they were unable to get enough cruelty free eggs, if that is an issue for you. The great thing about quorn is that it comes nicely portioned and it is low in fat, which keeps the kcal down. Fats are added to the burgers, for instance, to improve the mouth feel. It might be that I am way out of date on many of these products as it is a long time since my diet was vegetarian. We’ve been using quorn in the BSD, this week because we always use some quorn products. It seemed to be as satisfactory as the chicken we forgot to buy at the beginning of the week. Certainly much easier to cook! Of course, most pulses taste better as they actually have their own flavour. Quorn is a bit like tofu in that you need to add the flavours yourself.

Are you sure he’s gone ?
it’s not just the internet connection ???
😀 😀 😀 😀

Hi Bill, LIVLIFE is great, really fills you up and nice tasting!!
Hopeful!

Hello Bizzylizzy,

I keep posting on this site about LIIVLIFE bread 3.9 carbs a slice. Only a small loaf but full of seeds and very filling.
Costs £1.50 from Morrisons or Waitrose.
I love bread, and I eat this all the time, I only need a couple of slices at a time and it doesn’t spike my blood sugar.
Hope this helps
Hopeful!

I have sad news, my best friend has left me, ours was a fleeting relationship, we went everywhere together, we were so close. And now he’s gone, he didn’t even say goodbye.
I am devastated.
Crushed.
A wreck,
Fred, I send you all my love wherever you are. 💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

How do you all feel when your blister heals?

Love Lucia
Xxxx

Should have gone to specsavers 😀
We were all worried about you L
Glad you’re ok
It’s ok I’ve rang the Criminal minds team and they’ve turned the plane around.

I struggled to drink water to start with, but am getting better. I have a rule of always drinking a glassful as soon as I step into the kitchen for any reason. I find it best to just drink it straight down. It’s almost become habit now and as I have to go through the kitchen to reach the garden and it’s where the washing machine is, I get through quite a few glasses that way.

I do feel better now I’m drinking more water.

liz i’m going to pop to Waitrose when I get a minute and pick up a loaf of livlife bread
3.8 g carbs per slice but hey ho
I’ll let you know what it’s like.

Hi gang,
Sorry but there wasn’t an Internet connection in work so couldn’t sneak out of the office and blog you all.

Anyway, I am here now.

All through the night, I have had a headache behind my right eye. Took a few headache tablets but couldn’t get back to sleep.
Is it the headaches everyone has at the beginning of the diet. Am I so dense I am weeks behind everyone else?
So I am making an appointment with the opticians. Hopefully with one that hasn’t had a ton of garlic the night before.
One that has dreamy eyes that I can lose my self into their depths and then as he rips of HIS corset, please god I wake up!!!😳😳😳😳😳
Love Lucia
Xxxx

It might be worth checking out oatcakes. I bought some yesterday and they are about 0.9 carbs each. The only ones I could get included about 30% wheat flour but I am sure some of Nairns are 100% oats, which might be better. I know a biscuit isn’t bread, but it might help. Have you considered looking at low calorie breads? They are nearly always smaller than ordinary bread and so might give you more slices for your carb total. I don’t know the answer to this one, as I haven’t checked yet. They were thoughts I was going to check out next time I’m at the supermarket. Just checked and Hovis Nimble Wholemeal Loaf slices do come in lower than a lot of its rivals. So maybe you can fit in the odd slice now and then. It freezes well, and just about defrosts in the time it takes me to make the sandwich or meal I’m having it with. Or it toasts well from frozen too.

Quorn is great (if you can stomach it) but check the ingredients on products before you buy – the sausages in particular have a fair amount of wheat in them which is not what you want. The mince and fake chicken pieces are fine.

Hi Lucy, We’ve only been going a week so newbies to this although experienced dieters otherwise! We’ve had lovely meals and are just having what we fancy but following the guidelines. We have mostly come in on or around 800 kcal. Our carbs are all over the place, very low some days and well over 50g on others. But we are logging the meals and will soon have enough information to plan the day’s intake by putting a high carb breakfast with a low lunch and a medium dinner and so on. We’ve learned an oily fish day can’t also be a cheese day for us. Our only slips have been one no added sugar muesli and nut bar each, finishing the low fat yog and sticking to a little skim milk as we really don’t like full fat. Our meals have been fab. We pinched a lot of ideas from the what have you eaten today thread. Such a helpful lot you are. I am so full, I often don’t feel like having another meal! I used to prowl the dining room and kitchen looking for things to munch up to an hour before meals were due. Isn’t it great? I have problems with drinks too. As someone who used to drink pots of tea and coffee, I’ve found switching to black has reduced the amount I want to drink of them. I now keep a pint glass of water handy. Having discovered I like it warm or hot. Who knew? I am managing round about 3 pints a day, just by remembering to keep my glass full. A cup of coffee/tea means a glass of water too. I really didn’t think it would be this easy. But it is just never feeling hungry, it transforms our lives. Onwards and downwards.

Hi Everyone again!

Thanks so much for your helpful replies!

The ideas for meals were great thanks! It all looks like a lot of food! (thank goodness!)

I have always had problems with portion control. But luckily, I usually make nearly all of my meals from scratch so although I put weight on, my cholesterol and blood pressure have been ok. I have never been tested for diabetes but I am worried about developing it due to my weight. I have stopped drinking even low/no calorie fizzy drinks and am limiting myself to only a couple of cubes of dark chocolate a day. I have now stopped drinking alcohol – I was having 2 glasses of red wine a week with a can of cider.

Lets hope this weight loss continues…

Lucy

Thanks for you r welcome hashimoto, Magpiemag, Cherrianne and Bill. Day 1 done! I took a scary lot of measurements this morning and hope to see a significant reduction in the numbers at the end of 8 weeks. Managed well although did find it hard smelling the cupcakes my 13yo dtr made today. Proud to say I did not eat a crumb! Craving something sweet after dinner and had 1 small piece of dark chocolate. Managed 2+ litres of water and herbal tea plus my beloved coffee. Looking forward to day 2.

Diabetes UK Twitter feed too
*Waits for the storm*

Oh 170 now 🙂

Another 4 Twitter football groups and a USA diabetes support group (b1ofthe9) have the petition URL now
I thought the USA thing may help with publicity.

Hi just resubscribinh