A late hello from me today. I’m working from home as it took my father (he lives with me) and I two hours to dig out my car and driveway (and my neighbour’s). We got over 20cm of snow last night/this morning.

-14C with the windchill, but the shoveling gave me quite a work-out as the snow was quite heavy, everything was toasty warm except for my fingers, lol.

Sun is now out, the world is sparkling white, and I have accomplished more work today then I usually do at the office!

Thank you all for the Whoots 😉 I know I’ve said it before, but it cannot be said too much…THANK YOU. Without this forum I don’t think I would be nearly as dedicated to this new lifestyle without the generosity of the people on this site.

Eureka – I have read your post and am very glad that you have returned from the wilds 😉 Thank you for your tip about the shakes – I am off them now, never really liked them as they didn’t fill me up as much as I hoped. They allowed me to ease into the diet, but I am full on “real” food this week! Thank you for those references. As someone who researches everything (to death if you ask my friends) I will certainly be adding these to my TBR pile (to be read). You will be right near my work when you visit Toronto, not even a block away (we’re on the NE corner of King Street West and York Street in the Exchange Tower). If you need any ideas for your stay, let me know, I would be happy to help!

Bill1954 – My second favourite Bill (my Dad’s the first, sorry). I must force myself to stay strong and not give in. LOL. The ones I have are serviceable, but not pretty 🙂 I may, however, change the pedicure and massage as I had a good look at my feet this morning and don’t think my socks will last until the 20lb mark 😉 Besides the chairs at my salon are massage chairs.

Make today a great day!

Cheers,

Deb

@newlife

((hugs))

In week three now and found during last 3 days that hunger has disappeared! Find I’m quite happy with 2 meals a day, didn’t have the dinner I’d planned yesterday. Long may it last! Also just realised I haven’t craved chocolate or crisps once since starting the BSD – truly amazing 🙂
Heard rewards mentioned a few times, great idea. When I get over this plateau and lose my first half stone I will start yoga regularly. Had to stop going as there’s a lot of kneeling down which is a problem with osteoarthritis but my knee is so much better since BSD so will try again – can’t wait!

Well done all you ‘losers’!! 🙂

I lost 2lb this week – a little surprised as I’ve done pretty much the same as last week with a little more walking, if anything – but happy all the same. Onwards I go!

L – bacon, black pudding, mushrooms, tomato, egg
D – Greek yogurt, strawberries

hi again Karra,

Are you sure you’re Type 2? There is a tendency for the medics to lump us all in the same boat, when actually it’s not quite that simple. What medication are you on?

TP

Way heh, leeanne, that is a BIG milestone!!! Congratulations!! 🙂

Omega, great weight loss but even better news is that you have had no migraines!! When you first mentioned them it dawned on me that I have had no migraines on this diet either. They are not really regular – can go a few weeks and then get them 3 days in a row so I am crossing my fingers for both of us. 🙂

Wow neohdiver you really have been thrown a few curved balls in life. It is so hard when you know something is wrong with your small child and no one is listening. I sincerely hope she is OK, it sounds as if she has had a lot to contend with.
I send all my good wishes to you over the net XXX

L – homemade cauliflower cheese

D – McDonalds chicken salad

Beverages – water (lots) and zero coke (660 ml)

Hi Karra

You are working very hard & not seeing the results you want, that’s not fair. I don’t have all the answers, but I know a woman who might

Jenny Ruhl author of Blood Sugar 101, second edition. Go to, http://wwwphlaunt.com

She is very knowledgeable & looks at & reports on most diabetic research & trials. She is type 2 diabetic, diagnosed 1998 I think. She is highly regarded in the diabetic world by medics. She is American

I’m sure I read that you can go too low on calories & put your body into starvation mode. Your body will then hang on to every scrap of nutrition. Also, we have an “ideal” weight in our heads that may not marry up with where our bodies think we should be. Read the book / site, she explains things very well & helps

Maybe you can get those bloods you want along with the body with just a bit more help
Good luck & persist
Eureka

Beginning of week three and have lost in total 3,6 kg (8 lb).

First week 2 kg.

Second week 1,6 kg.

Also no migraines and have more energy. Really motivated to keep going!

Hi Bill, Thanks for that. Logically it felt like that, and if I had sat and had breakfast before I went up for my shower, I may have prevented it. I test my blood weekly – Tuesdays now and it is normally 5.1 ish. I will definitely try to have some thing before I go out. It may also be that the last thing I had to eat on Sunday was at 6pm and that was a ratatouille with beans and some parmesan cheese on top, with a splash of milk in tea, so 13.5 hours since any sustenance.
Lets see what Wednesday brings! I may take along a couple of square of 85% chocolate with me just in case :-).

Hi Vicfish37,
what a wonderful achievement – congratulations. Hopefully you can now be med-free in the near -future!

Jpscloud – it means this isn’t another faddy diet, its a way of life. Well done to you for coming so far so quickly!

Hi Vicfish37
The best part of your story for me (apart from all of it) is when you said you had type 2 for 30 years which will be a really big encouragement to anyone who has had type 2 for a long time that they can still improve their situation. Really well done. I’m also going to have a look at the website you mentioned. Thank you for posting.

Hi peanutbutty

What a very good friend you are. Wishing everything good to new mum & baby. You will be needed for a long time yet.
Now it’s time to be your own very good friend. Wave bye bye to excess carbs, they are nobody’s friend. You can do it & still make great food for others. Put yourself first, make sure you know what you will eat. Make it tasty, then feed the rest.

It’s your turn now. Look in the mirror & say Hi to your new best friend !
Eureka

Thanks Bill 1954 I have been wondering why 800 and not less… makes sense when you remember the body chemistry involved…
Cheers

hashimoto – It’s mostly a matter of survival for my family. When my daughter was 3-4, I spent a year arguing with our GP that something was seriously wrong with my daughter, and asking for a referral to a specialist (back before the internet – so I couldn’t easily research). I kept being told I was an overly obsessive mother. I finally demanded to see a specialist – I was handed a phone book and wished good luck in finding one who would see her. Once I got her to a specialist, she was diagnosed within 2 weeks – it only took that long because it required a test that took most of a week to prepare for. That was my daughter’s first “zebra.” Not necessarily an uncommon disease for adults – but it is rare in children.

I vowed never to let that happen to anyone in my family again. Ironically – her “unicorn” was missed 14 years later by the specialist who rescued her at age 4 – until I figured out what she had, pulled the, “when she was 4” card, and insisted on the test that I knew would demonstrate it at least well enough to convince him to take my concerns seriously. (He ran it, it demonstrated exactly what I expected it would, and he then started taking it seriously.)

I have a lot of really wonderful doctors, some of whom appreciate the research I do. But I’ve also has too many that are unwilling or unable to think outside the box, and unfortunately our family frequently lives outside the box.

Now started week 5.
Weigh in today was 12st 13lbs so have crossed the stone milestone at last!

Thank you al also much for bringing Konjac to my attention…. I FOUND IT IN THE SHOP HERE !!!! super happy – for those days when I really need to feel full…

B- plain yoghurt/strawberries
L- 1oz wedge cheddar, 2 sl ham, sliced up apple, tsp pickle
D- roast chicken breast, 3 sprouts, tbs peas, gravy

Cups tea/apple/handful almonds

That’s it til 9 am tomorrow – and today is a hungry day!!!!

Dead easy karra
If you are keeping the calories down to 500 per day, you can’t be putting enough fat in your daily intake. Try adding 300 calories of fats and see what happens.
Giving your body fat to burn instead of carbs will help it into ketosis and that is where you want to be.
Give it a go, you have nothing to lose but maybe a lot to gain.

Sunny, yes its’ very frustrating as I’ve managed to lose weight off other diets and even managed to lose 1 stone last year by sitting on my butt snacking on takeaways and eating junk food, so this has really got me stumped. I tried the 5:2 diet last year as well and lost 8lbs before I gave up.

I have been keeping close track of what I’m consuming, the portions aren’t large, not forgetting anything as I like to keep records of it all and since Day 8 I’ve cut down to around 500 calories per day. For some unknown reason my body is hanging onto every inch and pound it possibly can. I honestly have never struggled so much to lose weight on a diet before. If I don’t lose anything by the end of week 2, it will be a change once again to making taking in those bad carbs as in potatoes, though I never ate a lot of them before to begin with. I know a lot would disagree with that, but I have to try something else as it’s just so frustrating doing all this and not seeing any results, when so many others are posting such great results. I’m really pleased for all of you as I know what hard work and determination it’s taking to change those nasty habits and having the support of the forum is just fantastic, it’s a place to learn, to share and not shame anyone.

tree-peony my starting weight was 9 stone 12½lbs. I am now at 9 stone 13lbs….go figure!

hugs
Karra

I have spent a lot of time googling! I just wondered if anyone had personal experience of any low carb breads, or tried any recipes. Thanks for looking.

Hi Vicfish37

Astounding & triumphant! You & your supportive wife are BSD heroes. High five! High EVERYTHING!!

Hope you have spotted this posting , Michael

Eureka

Fab idea Bill1954 – will do!

Thanks, that’s a good idea.

thank you Hashimoto for your good wishes, we are thrilled too. the secret is observing and recording every thing you eat, it really helps keep me motivated, so many good comments on this site have really helped and encouraged me through the tough times.
Personally whilst paying attention to the 800 a day recommendation, the vital target is a very very low carb limit, seemed to be the way to drive down my blood sugar level to the normal range.

Hi JWS – re soups, good combos are courgette and garlic ( you would fry some onion before adding courgettes and lots of garlic). Serve with big dollop of cream cheese.

Asparagus soup – just onion, asparagus, stock. After blitzing add some double cream.

Cauliflower soup with blue cheese. Again add the blue cheese to the bowl of blitzed soup. Can do the same with brocolli

Basically as FiFip said just use any permitted veg! Oooh and roasted red pepper and red onion soup is nice too.
🙂

Karra,

What weight are you starting from?

TP

Welcome to the forums LynnM, if the first few days are tricky don’t worry it soon gets easy and becomes a way of life. Good luck and shout if you want advice!! 🙂

Hi JWS – garlic, chilli, cans of pulses & beans, the odd handful of barley (well rinsed) , mountains of celery, cauli, peppers, you name it we have had it!! MAke bulk & freeze is my hint, otherwise you end up spending too much time in the kitchen.

Oriental soups with a base of miso (or stock) get sprinkles of seaweed & sesame, with chilli pepper, comfort soups get parsley & chives, Italian ones get balsamic & a teaspoon of pesto, have fun & best of luck!

Hi JWS, welcome to the forums and the BSD way of life. As you have already seen people have their own preferences for weighing/measuring/recording. I keep an excel sheet and weigh daily, first thing in the morning. I have lost 2 stones 9 lbs during my time on BSD and like others see this as a way of life not a diet.

Most people are of the opinion that you do not replace calories burned – but heh, you do what you think – if you want to sneak a few nuts in to help you if you feel weak. I did the first couple of weeks but not now. I don’t feel the need. If you don’t feel the need you will get even faster results!

Don’t forget you can add a dollop of yoghurt or cream cheese to most veggie soups to increase your fat intake. Or a good drizzle of olive oil goes well on some soups!
🙂

JWS sorry but no, it’s 800 whether you exercise or not. There are plenty of more athletic people than me managing ok so don’t worry too much about it.
Once you are a week or so in, you should find your appetite decreasing to the point where 800 is more than enough as long as the carbs are low and there is fat in there. I found eventually that I had to force myself to finish a meal.

FiFiP
– I am off to make a big pan of soup in tribute to your 35lbs of collective willpower. If it works for you…

Thanks Bill, that’s brilliant, you are really getting the news out there.
Thanks to Lucia who got signatures 154 and 155. We are now on 156!! yaaaay

Bill, so glad you posted your ‘story’ like that, there are so many people joining the forums who need to hear it for inspiration! 🙂

SkyWalker – thanks and congrats to you too on the 2 stone. I can see a target emerging.
Thoughts on calories useful – I may be more interested in them that I imagined. Who’d have thought a mere 1 slice of toast with jam is 170 cals and carborific to boot.

Do you take the calories you burn into account?
i.e., add them to allowable total for food – when deciding on what to eat, or regard them as an extra loss?
For example, in theory I’ve burned 900 cals at spin and gym today but aren’t overly hungry to want to eat them as a bonus.

Wow, neohdiver, no wonder you are so well read and research so much. I am very impressed 🙂

Peanutbutty, what a wonderful friend you are. To even try to stick to plan a little during the experiences you are going through is highly commendable. I hope everything becomes easier for you and more bearable for your poor friend. Wishing all the best for the two (should I say 3) of you 🙂

My salads generally run around 60 calories (100-150 grams of romaine lettuce, 50 grams of cauliflower, 50 grams of broccoli, 50-80 grams of cucumber or zucchini, and up to 50 grams of pepper). and around 13 gross carbs/7 net. These are pretty large salads (`/1 – 2/3 of a bunch of romaine lettuce.

I typically just use a low calorie dressing, since I like lots of dressing. That adds a few carbs, but I save the calories/fat for places I enjoy it more.

Congratulations on your wonderful achievement. I’m on day 1 and found it highly motivating!

Vicfish, I am delighted for you!! What a lot of work you put into your research and diet. You richly deserve the rewards you have gained! I hope your practice is bowled over by what you have achieved!! 🙂

Lucia – thanks for getting those 2 extra signatures. I’m dying to know how, of course 🙂

Brilliant weight loss catgirl. Re week 3 – I guess our bodies have had to accept a lot recently and just grumble a bit sometimes! 🙂

Christine we probably have a lot in common as there are 2 things already! 🙂

I had dry skin before starting and it’s improved since I’ve been on the diet! Just shows we’re all different, I suppose.

Bill – thanks – and guess what it says at the bottom of my e-mails?! It’s a favourite that was playing after daughter was born.
I’m having the big soup idea – save a bit of messing. I look cooking but not 3 different meals a day…
Congrats on the 2 stone! seems almost unbelievable but also logical so helps overcome any doubts.

It seems very odd that after 11 days of only 500 – 800 calories per day and increasing your exercise, that you’ve gained weight. Could you be miscalculating calories somewhere? Sometimes people forget to include them in drinks, or add dressings to salads and miss those out.

Hi alexginda
Great news on the weight lose, you must be really happy. Whether you decide to stick with then BSD 800 diet or swap back to 5:2, I hope you will continue to make good progress. You maintenance band is where I am aiming for, but I have a bit to do before I get there.

Best of luck for the weeks to come

Well the thread I posted on a business forum has caused quite a discussion. There was one poster who took issue with me claiming that the doctors are correct and we should all be nice kids and do what we are told. I’m reproducing this post from someone else, it’s typical of the replies he got to that statement.
“There is always someone who swears medical science and the medical system is perfect, and beyond question, online and in real life.
Until someone has repeatedly suffered at the hands of gross incompetence, vested interest, or simple indifference, then I doubt it’s possible to explain that there are chronic problems with the medical system.
I would certainly be dead a long time ago if it wasn’t for the doctors, and would certainly be dead or crippled if I’d listen to the 95% of nonsense that they spouted to me.
It’s unfortunate that folks who are deeply fond of doctors, choose too focus upon the tiny weeny little bit of good they did, and ignore the huge amount of damage. ”

There is a lot of support out there, we just need to find it.

Hi liz
Low carb megastore has some, they say this about it
Servings: 17 slices (approx)
Serving Size: 1 slice (20g)
Net Carbs Per Serving: 2.9g
Protein Per Serving: 4.3

A bit expensive at £2.75 a loaf though
I just googled for low carbohydrate bread uk and got loads of results 🙂

Karra, how frustrating for you! You seem to be doing everything right and really trying, so it must feel really unfair you are not able to post any positive news yet, but Bill is right. It is likely you will suddenly see a big loss and it’s not possible to maintain 800 cals a day and not lose weight eventually. Please don’t get disheartened and stick with it. I wonder if upping your fat intake a bit might help to push you into fat burning mode – might be worth a try.

Hope to be reading some positive results from you soon.