Hi Leeanne,
You are right illness, infections, pain and stress all have an effect on your blood sugars regardless of what you eat.

Deb,
I love the rewards on your profile. Why don’t we all do that?
I’m going to spend the rest of the evening dreaming up some treats. (I’ve already done my 8 weeks but I have another stone to lose, so rewards will be a great incentive.)
The only one I already know is the final one – a white bread bacon sarnie. (It will be a “once a month” treat – no good trying to ban anything for ever)
John

There are no calories specified for the five days but you are supposed to still follow the med principles, so low carb, Hugh fat and moderate protein, as far as I understand it.

I’m with Lucia, re NCIS. Never really got into the Los Angeles and the New Orleans spin-offs, the original is the best!
Mind you I have to say, re Abby’s lab – in the real world you wouldn’t be allowed any food or drink in a lab, everyone would have to wear a lab coat, and I’ve lost track of the other transgressions… cross-contamination!
Hashimoto, just checkout the Freeview channels.. you can watch episodes from various series.

On another note – have managed to get the whole family happily eating low carb now. They haven’t even asked me for potatoes or pasta. Small victories…

Christi1948 how about smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls for you instead of sausage rolls? (Roll strips of smoked salmon around a blob of cream cheese). My solution to these type of meals is to have loads of cherry tomatoes and cubes of cucumber and avocado on sticks mini kebab style. Then nobody even notices there’s ‘diet’ food on the table.

Lucia – hope you are now relaxing and feeling a little bit better.

Hi hashimoto
Oh dear and I thought we had lots in common, you mean to say you haven’t seen NCIS? Gibbs is yummy,m not a youngster.,but oh so good to look at!
Lucia is right on all counts you must watch an episode of NCIS. Let us know what you think once you’ve seen him.

Cherrianne – I live in fear… LOL Eventually the weather will have to improve enough for me to wear a dress without freezing right?

Hi Debs14,
If you’re juicing apples and carrots together are you weighing them and counting the carbs?
The problem with juicing is you are getting the carbs without the fibre, so you are essentially turning it into a very easily digestible sugary drink. Which is why carrot and apple juice tastes so sweet.
Could it be the reason for your slower weight loss? Just a thought ….

Hi Nalin,
It’s the lower carbs that do the trick. So what you are eating now is the key to your success.
You may find your blood sugars get a bit erratic a few weeks into the diet. It’s happened to quite a few of us and lasts around three weeks. It’s a bit disconcerting but seems to be due to your liver getting rid of it’s fat stores. There’s more info on the ‘rising fasting blood sugars’ thread.
Once you’ve finished the eight weeks you’ll have acquired so much knowledge of what and how much food you can eat to keep your blood sugar in the desired range. After reaching your goals you should be able to eat a slightly higher level of carbs, but none of us can ever go back to our old ways.
I think your GP will be quite impressed with your progress so far 🙂

I have got another busy few days coming up, third daughter coming for a couple of days with her two children, so we are having a belated birthday party door Darcy who was13 at the end of March and an early one for me as its mine next Tuesday when I am in Tenerife, so it’s more cake! and the three girls who live near us have requested trifle, so that’s on its way. I will not be having any of either. They have also requested an ‘Aunty Edna’ tea, it’s been a tradition in our wider family for yonks, my husbands Aunty was a farmers wife and whenever we went she would put on this amazing spread all home made, salmon pate, sausage rolls, you get the idea? All home made cakes and puddings and we would all have a real feast.
So what do I have, I can’t eat any of the pastry covered stuff, or the puds and cakes, and I can’t very well cook a steak just for myself, I am in a quandary? I will have some salad but what else?
On an altogether different topic I wore my first pair of size 18 trousers today, and I got my daughters approval after being told yesterday to dump the clothes I was wearing!

On the 5:2 diet how many calories and meals should you have on the 5 days not fasted? I’ve not started yet looking into a bit of research first, all help is appreciated 🙂

Hi Hashimoto, where oh where have you been?
Your life is not complete without watching one episode of NCIS on satellite tv.
He is a mature, quiet, cool, could handle any crisis type of guy.
The type that would take diabetes, smack in around the head and get it working for a living, instead of picking on the innocent.

You must google him. You just MUST.

Abbey, is a fantastic character, she is a young, brainy well, genius, who has issues, she likes to sleep in a coffin, has tattoos everywhere.
To scare people on Halloween she dressed up as…. Marilyn Monroe🙎

You must watch NCIS.
Love Lucia xxx

Hey Deb, great blood sugar results, and NO INSULIN, Yippee!!
Love that it’s ‘warming up’ to 4C lol 🙂
I’m freezing my bum off at 11C!!!!
I love snow, within reason, I can drive 8-9 hours to where my brother lives and see it in the winter. I was born in England, and lived there again in my teens and part of my twenties so have experienced cold snowy winters.
It doesn’t snow in my state, except for a dozen flakes once in a blue moon. That’s the way I like it these days. I wouldn’t consider 20cm overnight reasonable though. Brrrr.
Glad you’re having a better day. Looser pants are what you’re aiming for, so you’re definitely winning the battle. Just don’t do a Captain Lynne and have your pants nearly fall down while you’re out and about!

Good for you Cap2000

Catgirl I hope you really enjoy your meal and Happy anniversary!!!

Lucia, get hubby to have that hot water bottle and duvet ready for you when you get in, along with a steaming cup of herbal tea?

Who on earth are Abbey and Gibbs??? I’ve never heard of either of them so I am not in any queue!! 🙂

Hi Alice, you really have to just jump in and see for yourself don’t you? There’s so much to learn, or unlearn, that it can seem daunting at first.
Bill likes to say it’s not rocket science lol. It isn’t, it’s just food as unprocessed and natural as possible. Low carb, no added sugar.
You learn as you go, and there is always someone on the forums to help.
Glad you’re feeling more confident and off to a good start 🙂

Hi crispy bacon,
Mayonnaise is fine, count as part of your allowance, and check the label for hidden sugars. The whole egg ones, full fat are best or make your own.
I also put Dijon mustard, olive oil and lemon juice in a jar and shake it up to add to salad, or crushed garlic, lemon and olive oil.
Thin down hummus or tsatziki with some water and use as a dressing. Balsamic, apple cider or herb infused vinegars are nice too.
You can whizz up some mayo and tomato paste or sundried tomato together for a different dressing.
Can you tell I love salads? With or without dressing they are yummy. Greek salad is my day to day fave.
A few ideas to get you started anyway 🙂

Hi Alanhypno,
Testing after a meal, usually two hours, gives a good idea of how your body is coping with the food you eat. Ideally blood sugars should be under 8.5 for type 2 diabetics, and under 7.8 for non diabetics.
The fasting one is useful but sometimes the dawn phenomenon can cause it to be elevated and so it doesn’t give a good picture of what is happening the rest of the day. FBS should be 4-7 for type 2’s and 4-5.9 for non diabetics.
A few random tests ie: before and after meals, before bed, will give you an idea of your overall blood sugar control, and how different types or portions of food affect your results.
Your weight and appearance can be very deceptive. It’s what is happening on the inside that counts. You can be quite thin yet still have stored fat in your liver and pancreas.
Keeping your carb foods low, 50g per day or under, will help you to lose that internal fat and bring your blood sugar down.
Write down the ideal ranges in your log book so you know what to aim for, do random tests on different days and you’ll soon learn what works for you.
Read through some of the other posts to see how other people manage, and for inspiration. Let us know if you need support or advice, plenty of people on here who are able to help. Apart from the book, these forums are a great source of information, and some of the most caring and friendly people you’ll ever come across.
All the best 🙂

Thanks for your nice comments everyone. I know that things will probably slow down in the second week, but I am determined to make this work for me and I will stick to the eight weeks and see what happens. So watch this space 🙂 I just wish I had come across this diet before and also that the book would be available in Germany. I live in Germany (after having spent quite a few years in the UK) and I just know that Germans would go crazy for this diet. Michael needs to get this translated into different languages!

I could, but I would be unlikely to finish it within its shelf life, once opened. I only want 30ml or 60ml a day. So it is easier to have cream or evaporated milk, both of which I prefer, in my one or two white coffees per day. But thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks FoFi, I have been wondering about the German rye bread I have in my freezer somewhere. I was going to dig it out and start a bit of research. It makes a lovely foundation for egg sandwiches, with any kind of egg. And one is really filling. Glad to know that it is low enough in carbs to be an option.

Woop! I lost nearly 4 lbs overnight, bringing my total at Week 3, Day 2 to just about 10 lbs 🙂 Week 3, Day 1’s results were no change in weight after the first brilliant week – but I wasn’t too bothered, as my whizzy new bathroom scales informed me that my %body fat had decreased by 1.7% from the start, and %muscle had increased by 0.8% (%water has also been increasing). So I figured things were going the right way. But I was much happier this morning, when that weight finally dropped off!

Could you not just buy a single carton of full fat milk for your own use? (Although I’m with the other flytraps – full fat milk tastes off to me too 😉 )

I sympathise with you Bill – it’s so maddening to get higher readings. You mentioned milk, I only ever drink full fat – can’t stand the others and I’ve had low and high readings as you know. I’m trying to link my higher ones with a recent chest infection which has taken a fortnight to clear up – are you well in yourself? Not sure if our general health is linked somehow to our readings??

and the mice still rule the world 🙂

no problems. As an aside, I was wondering if we should create a FAQ section where we can put advise that new joiners often ask. I used to know where the info was and was able to point people to that forum post, but there is soooo much now and we may lose it as people move on.

Sorry to hear you’re not well jpscloud. As you say, getting back to full health has to be your priority. Might I suggest though that rather than come off plan altogether, you just forget about counting calories. Stick to low carb and keep your fat up and your protein moderate. You have nothing to gain by reintroducing carbs (no pun intended)but you might surprise yourself that you could still lose weight just by following the med principles. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full.

Hello folks I will begin my journey in two days I’ve got the book,buying the food, taking measurements and weight .
Curious about blood readings as my nurse took mine AFTER a meal instead of normal fasting sample I wonder why.???? Any help here ?
I’m nearly 20-00 stone but six foot big build so even my doctor didn’t think I was overweight .
As mentioned before on here very little food advice comes from doctors and nurses some even contradict itself,they said diabetes doctors are like gods as it’s such a complex subject,so I’ve no chance then doc!

Just catching up with the discussion and enjoying reading your posts. The first few days doing BSD were just getting into the system and I found I was a bit all over the place with regards to counting carbs, but now that has settled down and I haven’t had any chocolate cravings, or low sugar episodes, so this must be working! Amazed at how many different types of food I can eat, certainly no excuse to say it’s boring or running out of ideas!

Have to agree that 5:2 suits my lifestyle and I have successfully lost and generally kept within maintenance range of 120 – 125 lbs and see that as my long term way of eating. I do like the fact that when I do stray over 125 lbs just an extra fast day or two gets results.

I do have cravings for carb laden foods, eg chocolate, desserts, sweet and savoury pies and I do enjoy making cakes, so I am trying BSD to try to even out the sugar swings and to get away from all these bad foods. I keep reading about the effects of sugar and insulin and the effect they have on general health and don’t fancy being on medication for something that I could have prevented.

So nice to read posts from so many people who have different experiences and goals, the main one being to improve health.

Well done for keeping with it. I started the BSD 800 on 4.4.16. I am 51 years old,6ft 1 and weighed 14st 11lb when I started 2 days ago. Weighed myself today and I was 14st 7.5lb. It’s dropping off me at the moment. Having realised that denial isn’t a river in Egypt, I’m determined to see this through then carry on with the 5:2. Good luck to you and your wife. Mark

Hi
I’m not a big salad fan but I know there are some on here who are.
As to the Sunday dinner, I have everything bar the potatoes (replaced with cauli mash) and yorkies.
It has never harmed me weight or sugar wise.

I need some advice what salad dressing can I use can I have mayonaise ?
And I’ve been invited to 2 dinner party’s this month ( typical )
Please let me know what to choose I think one is a sunday dinner. X

This is the way forward. Simple carbs are the work of the devil! I have lost 3.5Ibs since 4.4.16 when I embarked on the 800 cal aday diet. The Dr wasn’t interested in this concept. He was more concerned that I didn’t get along with Metformin! I do believe that the pharmaceutical companies put pressure on GP’s to peddle their products. I am keeping a diary so that when I DO succeed in reversing this disease it will all be audited in black and white.

Dear Christi1948,

So pleased to hear that your daughter is now happily remarried and hope that Thea can find peace within herself.

Not sure about the drink as we haven’t touched a drop since we started the BSD, it scares me as before even after 1/2 glass of wine I was like a truffle pig snorting around the cupboards for anything and everything to eat, it seems to get my hungry button stuck on empty and I just eat for England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Europe and the whole universe! Let’s just see how things go and will report back in the ,owning hopefully feeling suitably smug, if not will confess all and try to move on!

People !!!
Orchid has just posted a link to a BBC article on diabetes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35959554
At the bottom of the article is a contact link that lets you email them to tell them your T2D stories.
I’ve just given them the whole 9 yards including links to this forum and the petition.
Please everybody do the same. This could just generate the publicity we need.
The above may be a link to the BBC but the article is about T2D worldwide, so if all of our friends from outside the UK could send emails that would be a big help
An example of what myself and Lynne have sent is in the petition thread in the BSD Med Style Low Carb forum
Thanks in advance.

They like to take readings at various times of day, usually fasting (when you wake) pre food, and then 1 – 2 hours after a meal
It just gives a better picture of how you react to sugars.

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody, day 2 nearly completed and I’m feeling great. I’m impressed by your use of German Switzerland and Eureka, I was wondering whether there could be any Swiss folks on here? I will definite look into getting a spiralizer and had seen some really tasty looking recipes on this website. I’m not as nervous today, it doesn’t seem as hard as I thought it would be.

Re reading my levels my nurse asked to take my blood when I had recently eaten saying it didn’t matter if I’ve not fasted
What’s all that about ???
Any ideas folks

Thanks SunnyB, I’m used to making different versions of each meal as 1 daughter is a vegetarian while the other loves meat with NO veg! Guess I’ll soon get the hang of doing the same just minus the carbs for me.

Not that I’m into Gothic erotica or anything like that Lynne
I want her computer skills 🙂

I’ve been having the odd slice of “Biona Organic Rye Pumpkin Seed Bread” which I can get at Tesco. It is the dark rye sort of bread. It isn’t as low as some of the above in carbohydrate, but as far as I can extrapolate from some of the GI websites it has a reasonable GI and one slice is low GL. It freezes well. I like the taste, but I imagine not everyone will. There are other varieties.

Yes very naughty referring to it in the book and not then supplying it. I only started yesterday so not a good start to using the website!

Hi catgirl
My daughter is in her second marriage, she is now blissfully happy and the kids have settled in with their step sisters, our youngest lives near us now with her three girls having had a very rough time with her partner, all but the middle child, who’s 7, have settled, Renee was old enough to understand, Dana was too young to remember anything, so only Thea has had issues, she is getting counselling at school. The new son-in-law is the salt to the first husbands cheese, he is a breath of fresh air.
Anyway enough rambling have a great night and have one on me (a drink) that is!

Hi caz
I agree. People have noticed mistakes like that in the recipes. In fact there’s z thread on it. Also 20 g carbs! Too high I think. Need to invent your own version.
Penny

Alanhypno they don’t stay the same mate
My levels fell steadily over the first 4 weeks, I then had a 2 week blip as (so I’m informed) the sugar was draining from my organs. After that the levels fell again to the point where I am now classed as pre diabetic after just 4 weeks on the plan. My last couple of weeks have been in normal ranges, today is just a one off I’m sure.
Don’t worry about it, people who have the odd glitch are far outnumbered by those who aren’t.

After reading these articles about people losing weight but sugar levels remaining the same I’m a little worried about begging this weekend (new start new me )

Hi all
the above may be a link to the BBC but the article is about T2D worldwide, so if all of our friends from outside the UK could send emails that would be a big help
An example of what myself and Lynne have sent is in the petition thread in the BSD Med Style Low Carb forum
Thanks in advance.

That’s brilliant Lynne
If we can get a couple hundred emails of that ilk sent we may get a reaction.
I would add that although it is the BBC, the article is about the worlwide T2D problem so can we ask all our friends from outside the UK to mail them too and let’s try to get this thing rolling.