So relieved to find this thread, I’ve been on 800 a day for 5 weeks, lost well over 1 1/2 stone. I had regular hot baths as felt cold to the bones every night…. I’ve just had an awful 2 weeks off plan for a number of reasons (stress mainly) and now hauled my backside back into action so I’m third day back on track ….have woken up 3.30am/4ish every night this week and lay awake till morning with restless legs. I’m arguing with my husband over the central heating levels and I’m wearing thermal undies and back to hot baths.
I’m off work with the kids today and I’m about to take them on the loooongest walk/jog to see if that helps tonight.
I think I’m possibly so very used to feeling lethargic, depressed, low on energy that my brain still remembers this but my body has moved on and I have to get with the program and use up that energy? Maybe it’s a metabolism thing. I’ve no real clue tbh but Fingers crossed !

Thanks everyone, this forum is priceless for motivation and is such a positive influence 😊

Hi, well end of week 2 and I have dropped from 120.1 kg to 114.1 kg that’s 6 kg (almost a stone in old money). Also 6 cm from the belly which I am even more pleased about. Have felt really good so far, more energy, better sleep and no foggy brain. The only things I have experienced is having to go and pee much more (even though I am drinking the same volume of liquid) and fingers and toes sometimes feel really cold. My worries are that I am tending to eat the same meals because I know the cal/carb content to meet the 800. I need to find more alternative side dishes in addition to salads and so need to scour the cook books and online. Just hope the progress continues and I can reach my first goal of a 10% reduction in weight.

Hi bizzylizzy, I think cherrianne and a few others just count the carbs. I know Bill hasn’t counted calories at all, just stuck to low carb. That is what I am about to do to.
How wonderful of you to follow the diet to support your OH!
Did you weigh yourselves before the diet? I know Bill just goes to the local pharmacy once a week to weigh himself because he won’t have scales in the house,

OH must have lost a fair bit already if he is on smallest notch of his belt!! 🙂

How many of you are using Ketostix, and what do you do when they indicate you are not burning fat, … and you have stuck to the diet? I have not bought them yet, but was just wondering! …. are they really necessary when we have all those other measuring tools and apps?

They certainly are Leeanne!! 🙂

Hi Ed you can order them of amazon, I did, then later found out my son sells them in the pharmacy!!
They come in tubs of 50 strips, the tub has a colour chart on the side. You dip the coated end of the stick in your urine in the morning and check it against the colour chart. If it turns a shade of pink or purple you are fat burning.
MIne cost just under £5 from amazon with free p and p. 🙂

Thanks hashimoto, these bodies of ours are very complex things aren’t they!😕

Monkeyescapade, congratulations on reaching a BMI of 24! That’s a huge psychological boost – as well as a health one! No I wouldn’t want to be at the lowest end of my healthy range either – been there (and under) when I was younger. I have aimed for the exact middle of the healthy range – then if my weight creeps up a little it won’t be too discouraging to return to the 800 as I know it won’t take long!!

When I started this diet my dream was to just GET to 25. I keep adjusting my goals with each little success. You will probably do the same.

Bill is now talking about a 12 stone goal by September – his goal was much less than that quite recently!!! 🙂

Hi What are ketosticks? How do they work and how do I get hold of them?
Ed

I hope this is the right place…….. I am near the end of the 8 weeks, doing the diet in a supportive role for my OH who is Type 2 and has recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He has been told to lose 1 and a half stone. He is controlling the diabetes successfully with diet so far, and is wanting to stay off meds for the blood pressure too, hence the diet. We have no reliable scales so are going by clothes – he is on his smallest belt notch now! But I’m sure he still has weight to lose.

Anyway, I am seriously thinking about changing from counting calories and keeping everything as low carb as possible, to just counting carbs. I have asked somewhere else on here about this but thought it would be easier to have a dedicated thread. I know the amount of carbs recommended is 50g a day. I thought it might be much easier to just count carbs, things are fairly chaotic at times here and get very stressful so the simpler the better!

Does anyone else do this? Is it easy and does it help with weight loss? I have the Carbs and Cals book and app so was thinking of continuing to use that.

Well it’s official a stone lost!

Ok gained a few pounds over Easter but I am
Back on target.

I can honestly say reading you comments have made me cry, laugh and just be puzzled.

What I can say from the bottom of my heart is they all helped xx

I have a long way to go. I have my licorice tea just bit nervous to try it!

I may b a carb and sugar junkie but with support we all can get through this.

When I next see my consultant I can hold my head up high. Weight loss doesn’t happen over night but he can’t be nasty with the weight I have lost

Just memo to self check meds and what I can’t eat first!

Thank you xx

Hi Ed, have you bought any ketostix, that way you can tell if you are still fat burning. My loss is slow now but I have reached a weight I am pretty happy with (BMI down from 28.3 to 21.7) but the ketostix show I am still fat burning and my waist has shrunk another inch while not losing too much more weight. I’m happy with that.

You may, of course, just be experiencing a plateau which will quickly resolve. So stay with it!! 🙂
Glad to see you will soon be one of the veterans, we are a growing group now!!

Hello to Oz from uk

We sound very similar minus the animals!!! — mine was toast and mimite and all things savory. I’m on week 10 and have lost 2 to 3lbs a week so I am very happy. One thing I have had very day for breakfast is a Xl boiled egg no toast but with a sprinkle so salt and this keeps you going until late lunch — I do have a coffee at about 10.30. But before BSD I would have laughed at the thought that an egg with no toast would satisfy me.
The other thing that got me though those first weeks was batch cooking and filling my freezer with little silver food containers so in the morning I just got out what I was having for lunch ie soup and something for tea. I also batch cooked for the family just to keep me out of the kitchen as much as possible and not have to think about food 24/7. When I’m out of the house I try a carry an apple with me and a few almonds which can keep you going and not have to go and buy a sandwich or something.
Well good luck and a few weeks down the line no bread and vegemite will taste as good as your new energy levels and new waist line. X

Fantastic lostgirl. It will make a huge difference to your BMI!! 🙂

Hi,
I’m in my 8th week of the diet and have lost 13 kilo. But over the last 10 days I have plateaued and not lost any more weight. Any advice?
Ed

Bill, shocking pink is very fetching but the dayglow orange might make you stand out more!!
Perhaps the orange mankini with shocking pink socks! That should get people noticing you as you dash through the chocolate aisles! 😉

Hi Kes – like hashimoto says, try using the stairs at home to get some extra exercise. As for water, like you drinking enough has been a stumbling block for me, so I now have a policy that I have to drink a glass of water every time I’m in the kitchen. I have a white board in there and I mark up each glass I drink – it adds up surprisingly quickly. Good hydration is definitely key to losing weight, so make sure to up you intake.

You’re doing great on the weight loss and the pounds will continue to drop, so keep focused and soldier on. I know what you mean about the tape measure. I have dropped 12lb now, but my tape measure only shows a 1.5inch decrease on the waist. However, I am very aware that the roll of fat between boobs and waist has decrease dramatically and its thinning out over the hips as well. It’s hard not to be disheartened by the lack of progress at the waist, but it will happen I’m sure.

Lostgirl, fabulous weight loss!! Scales sometimes do that, so just ignore it and believe your first early morning reading. That’s what I, and I suspect a lot of others, do.

Cherrianne recommended liquorice tea to people with a longing for something sweet. Perhaps you should buy some of those teabags.

Wow! You’ve ordered an exercise bike! Way to go, Lostgirl!!!

With regards to guests: what I do is make the food I eat on this diet, sometimes EXACTLY what I eat but they get larger portions. Occasionally I will bow to their carb needs and give them say, a small helping of brown rice to go with spicy foods or foil baked salmon or a couple of baby potatoes. No one has complained yet!!

For dessert they get Fage yoghurt with berries or if they are very lucky one of the coconut flatbreads to go with the yoghurt!

You will have weight loss next week! Do what Inka and Lesley91 are doing, go on the NHS BMI calculator, put in your pre diet weight and note the BMI then put in your current weight and see how much you have achieved already. It’s very motivating!!!

If you need to provide breakfast for your guests you can still stick to the BSD diet – yoghurt and fruit or fried, boiled, poached, scrambled eggs or omelettes. You can serve it with baked beans, grilled or tinned tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon or anything you have in. A big pan of scrambled eggs is probably the easiest and you can add a knob of butter to the pan – goes well with baked beans and your guests will not feel deprived!! 🙂

Just saw this
Judith ???? Mankini ???
Should I wear the shocking pink mankini or the fluorescent orange one ?

Ok moved the scales
And you can cornfirm

1 stone of blubber as left this place it used to call home!!

Come on Kes, neck some water!! 11lbs in three weeks is good. Bet you didn’t expect that much off before you started this diet! It’s not far from being a stone!!
I sometimes just walk up and down the stairs a few times to get myself going and the old heart pumping. Only takes a few minutes! You can challenge yourself – find out how many times you can get up and down the stairs before you feel you have to stop, the go for a higher target later in the day. 🙂

I’m still at it. Unfortunately the drugs I’m on are strong.. And have learnt to ready what I shouldn’t eat before I eat it and get side effects!!

I really don’t know how 19 min and no food or drink can tip the scales back up!!!

It’s a battle daily. My exercise bike arrives today! But now can’t use it for a few days . Will save you the details but you don’t want to know!

Not had breakfast yet only a brew this morning. As I have guests not sure what to provide.

I spend ages planning my day and my meals. I try to enjoy the cooking and planning and think what I am eating and why .

Yesterday again I wanted sweet but was full… I have strawberries in the fridge but I kept thinking your tummy is full! You can feel it’s full… So why are you wanting to add more?

I don’t know how much weight loss next week will bring but I’m just going to keep doing what I am doing and hope it works

Hi Inka, way to go! I am waiting to hear you say before I started this diet my BMI was…..but now it is …. I know I can get into the overweight range soon!! 🙂

Wow, I can’t believe the great results everyone is posting here, well done everyone. I also can’t believe all the support and help that is coming from here, it’s certainly helping me to stay focused. Only 1lb less after week 3 (11lbs down in total) but I do feel soooo much better in myself so happy with that.

I found the results from the scales a bit disheartening so I took to the tape measure and after I’d measured myself, not much had changed there either but then I thought, let’s put the tape measure to my starting measurements and that cheered me up no end. 2 inches doesn’t sound a lot but when you look at the difference between the start and now it looks really impressive.

Struggling to find the motivation to move myself about which is disappointing and only managing about a litre of water a day so I know I can improve things if I really commit.

PS. I’ve signed the petition too

Hi Lostgirl, I was thinking about you too, looks like Newlife and I were on the same wavelength!
It doesn’t matter if you have had a blip, you can climb back on that horse. of course you may not have fallen of it and are busy organising your life!!
Please post, we would love to hear from you no matter what your ‘news’ is 🙂

Thanks for the support.. I weighed myself and stone lost! Weighed myself 19 min later and not.. So will confirm tomorrow

I’m so so . Had the chicken tagine last night . 148cal a portion!! Only didn’t realise I shouldn’t have had one of the spices. It interacts with the drugs I’m on and ..: not good. Having to take the next few days easy as don’t want to end up in hospital.

Hi leeanne, Bill is right a few people have had that temporary blip in their blood sugars, then it seems to be smooth sailing!! You’re obviously doing all the right things if you are experiencing what Bill did at roughly the same time. Look what’s happened with him! 🙂

Hi Bill, I have tried to be more mindful of the long fast as well, I realised I was doing about 14 but I think I might aim for 16.

Well, my trip to docs did not go well. I was supposed to have appt with my asthma nurse to get my bloods done. When I got called in it was the phlebo who massacred my hand last time, it took 2 weeks for the swelling and bruising to disappear. My heart sank. God knows what she did this time, it was incredibly painful and she only managed to get enough blood for my blood sugar test!! so have to have another appt for my cholesterol and thyroid tests. Another 2 week wait. I went to the reception desk and pointed out I had said I was not to have appt with any of the phlebos because of a past bad experience ( both arms badly bruised and swollen and vein pierced all the way through, 2 weeks of not being able to bend my arms and a permanent small lump). I pointed out that when I made the appointment I made it clear that if it wasn’t a nurse taking my blood it would have to be a certain doctor who had said he would do mine after the bad experience.
Well, it is on my notes (again) that I won’t see the phlebos. I don’t know where they got their training because I have never had a problem when my bloods are taken at hospital or by one of the practice nurses. Long rant over.

Well almost. Now it will be nearly 3 weeks before I find out about my thyroid or cholesterol. Not a happy bunny.

Bill, it looks like your wife is eating more of the right food, you’re doing a good job there! Do you think she will change her mind and do the diet completely now she knows how the GP reacted to all your good stats? Now that she can see how healthy you are getting? 🙂

Hi Lostgirl, how are you doing?

I’m an addict too, as are many of us here. You have done SO well to address your issues and what a stunning weight loss 🙂

Keep posting, keep going, you can do it!

What, can I say, All! I knew I could count on you! The NHS BMI calculator it is! I will have a look and see what range I was before I started! …. Probably morbidly obese …. I really dont like the sound of that word: ” o b e s e” !!! Sounds kind of terrible to me. Once I am in the healthy weight range, I strike that word from my vocabulary!!!! :-)!

Bill that is great news. What a supportive Dr you have. By the time you’ve reached your goal he’ll be recommending the BSD to all type 2’s. 🙂

Cheers Bill, I’m hoping it’s a temporary blip in this marvellous diet!

Bill, the outcome to your GP appt was brilliant! It’s given me high hopes for my next review in June. You’re sort of left to your own devices diabetes wise at my surgery – just an annual review and little else – they don’t even supply the test strips, etc. Once again, I’m really pleased things have turned around for you.

Hi Time4change, I have noticed the lack of Irish signatures on the petition, of course it will apply to Northern Ireland only, but you are the only person who has mentioned Ireland at all. We need to get the word out over there somehow!!

congratulations on your 10000 steps a day, I often fall short there, you put me to shame!
Hope the weight keeps dropping off for you 🙂

Thanks Hashimoto and Newlife – some good suggestions there. Hadn’t thought about Babybel or mini cheeses. I have a little thermal lunch pack somewhere and ice packs we use when camping, which I could pack with items like that. Think while I’m away, I will concentrate more on carbs than cals, unless I feel like weight is creeping back up.

Hi Sunnyb, if you have an Aldi near you they do little packs of nuts and seeds, 32p,153 cals, 2.7 g carbs. Will help you keep track of your diet. What about a little pot of hummus and some celery sticks? That should travel well. Boiled eggs are good too and again you know your calorie content. As well as Babybel some supermarkets, can’t remember which, do little mini wrapped cheeses, something like 5 for £? I haven’t bought them for years so can’t remember all the details. If you take a cool box and put some small cartons of frozen juice ( for hubby) a range of nibbles should be OK for several days. 🙂

Have only told a select few – my husband knows and although he offers me a piece of chocolate when he has some (which I refuse once and it’s not mentioned again), he is generally supportive and very congratulatory about my results. Also told a friend, who like the rest of us is struggling to reduce her weight, in the hope she might take up the BSD reigns – not so far sadly. And finally I told my daughter, who was just plain horrified at the idea of 800cals a day and low carbs – ‘it will just all go back on when you finish’ was her comment.

As long as I have my OH’s support, I’m fine and he has been there in my corner from the off. He has even eaten the same foods in large quantity with the occasional addition of some carbs, to save me cooking different meals for him. Tonight he wants to have something from the fish and chip shop, but didn’t pressure me to do the same, just said he’d sort his meal tonight.

Bill, what an awesome (and well-deserved) response from your doctor 🙂

I’m so pleased for you!

Lesley91, wonderful news Lesley, you are definitely going to fit into that wedding dress! Going from obese to just overweight is a big achievement 🙂 And 5 BMI points disappeared! 🙂

Yesterday:

B: FF yoghurt, berries, mixed seeds
L: smoked salmon salad
D: 3 egg omelette with a sliver of goat’s cheese and green salad

Hi SunnyB, I’ve been using nuts in that situation and it works quite well for me. Another option might be cheese – babybel or similar.

Good luck to you too, Fch53! I bought a spiraliser to make courgette spaghetti and it is a revelation 🙂 There are lots or recipes available online for it too – not all are very useful for the BSD, but they give good ideas.

One thing I have noticed, a week on, is that I’m no so, um, windy as I was before {blushes} Not that I was horribly windy before, you understand, but it is now noticeably less! (And thank heavens, the same can be said for my OH LOL) Who knew? We always assumed it was the largely veggie diet we had, never for a moment thought it might be the carbs/sugar!

thanks for the encouragement!

Fantastic Bully, well done!

Question: We are just over a week away from our road trip to Turkey. I know my OH will want a stock of goodies in the car – biscuits, cereal bars and sweeties, which isn’t a problem as such, other than I know I am going to need something I can nibble too, so as not to be tempted to eat the bad stuff. I’m thinking of making some savoury sesame cracker and parmesan crisps, but I’d be grateful for any suggestions for alternatives.

Well, that experiment, with no eggs, and milk added wasn’t a success! Edible, and not awful, but not anything like a scone. Not like anything really ha ha!
I’ll try another version next week.

Hi there Inka, congratulations, go you! Here is a link to the NHS BMI calculator which I use, simple and straightforward:-
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/BodyMassIndex.aspx
I use the ‘myfitnesspal’ app to record all my measurements which I am now doing weekly, I weigh myself twice a week.

I agree that the range of ‘ideal’ weight is broad (no pun intended) and when I saw the range for me I thought that’s ridiculous. I was never the lowest weight in that range and wouldn’t want to be, now in my 50s I would look decidedly ‘scraggy’. So, I set myself a goal of losing a stone to bring my weight down to 9.5 stone, get my BMI to below 24, and being able to fit comfortably into my size 12s which over the last eighteen months got increasingly tighter and eventually pushed out of sight to the back of the wardrobe. I really hope when I get home in a couple of weeks that at least some of those clothes will now feel comfortable on me.

Good news on my own weigh in today, I’ve lost almost 2lbs, hurrah, broken the plateau stage it seems – I was a little anxious this morning before I got on the scales as if the weight had remained static for a second week I would have been right down in the dumps. My BMI is now 24 (dropped from 25 last week). So, onwards and downwards, half a stone to go.

Morning all from a sunny Ireland (any other Irish here?) I’m on W2D2 of my second 4 weeks (quick recap,started at 12.2.6- did 4 weeks lost 9.8lb, had a week off regained 3.2lb) I’m now 11.5.2, started my second 4 weeks at 11.10. Delighted with myself, had a whoosh of 2.4lb from yesterday’s weight.
I’m finding it easy to resist temptation, I’ll think I want chocolate or crisps, then I’ll pause for a few minutes & just say no! I think I’m strengthening my resolve and hope that the temptations start to decrease. Easter eggs galore here but I’ve hidden them out of sight. I’m religiously doing my 10,000 steps a day – half of its just the usual walking here/there but I get a 30-45 min walk in every evening if I haven’t hit the 10k mark. Well done everyone, feels like we’re part of a growing (but shrinking 😉) movement. Hell, there’ll be some fine slinky people walking about this spring/summer😁

Yesterday, no breakfast as usual
Lunch was a bowl of my home made chicken stew
For dinner we had chicken wrapped in pancetta and baked with asparagus and butterbean mash.
Skipped the late night snack as I didn’t feel hungry
It never occured to me before that, as I never eat breakfast, I have a normal fasting period of about 15 hours.
I can’t say that has helped in the past, I wonder if it does now.

Hi Leeanne
you’re not the first to have blood sugar problems in week 4, a few of us have.
It seems to take about a fortnight to resolve itself, so stick with it, you saw my results from yesterday and if I can do it, you sure can.