Well! Week 1 down and lost 5kgs. I must say, not sleeping very well as I have a burning hole in my stomach. I’m hoping that this will sort itself out the longer I am on the programme. I love the food, and seeing quick results really is a motivator.

Cheers for now 🙂

Thanks so much hasimoto and MerryMary for your responses and support. I will definitely follow up on the tests you suggest hashimoto as I already have asthma. May I ask did you or do you have hashimoto’s disease. I have a friend whose 20 year old son has been diagnosed with it and is terribly depressed. If the BSD helped you I will pass this on to mother and son. And thanks for the fish recipe, I must have been tired when I read the recipes in the BSB book as I did not realise there were so many. I downloaded a copy on my kindle but am going to buy a hard copy to day to make it easier to organise my shopping lists and food decisions each day.

MerryMary, good to hear that you are travelling to, its a good incentive. I have lost 1.5 kg already and 2cm from my waist. I think the real test will be once we are away. Its not too hard to do the BSD when you are at home and like you I am feeling committed and encouraged by hearing about everyone else’s success stories.

Fantastic Switzerland on your results, you must be feeling encouraged.

Welcome to all the other new started. Look forward to hearing about your progress over the next weeks.

Hello everyone.

Long-time listener, first time caller. I just wanted to say hello and celebrate that yesterday (Sunday) was my ½ point in the 8 week bsd. Yey me! I also wanted to express some of my concerns I had when I stated 4 weeks ago.
I am reading over some notes I made on day one. “serious doubts as to if I can do this…but I have to do something now, I’m foggy headed, overweight and emotional, and so angry, I have recently put on 15kg in 6 months after I reached the healthy weight range on weight watchers, for the 4th time!, and I am so embarrassed to see friends, instead of the constant “ you look great” you get when you are losing weight I am getting the silent looks… where I am filling in the silence with my thoughts “… you no longer look great”

I also wanted to add level of anxiety I felt on day 1 when reaching for the full fat milk and leaving the ‘skinny milk on the shelf. It made me realize how brain washed I (we) are into the thinking low fat, low fat…low fat, and slow and steady weight loss will ensure one can maintain. Well I am one (of so many) proving this is not the case …It was the lines on page 19, the ‘need to embrace some radical ideas’, ‘rapid weight loss means you end up putting it all back on, well no.’ and I so love the quote by Mike Lean p98 “doing it slowly is torture”. Just before I came across the bsd I was psyching myself up to commit to ww again (weeks of self-talk committing to starting Monday and bingeing on the days leading up to Monday…and lasting till Wednesday and putting on weight week after week. So thank you so much MM for introducing me so some seriously radical ideas.

Anyway going on too much, just wanted to say, after a few dizzy days and headaches early one , I feel great, am 7 kg lighter (for a start weight of 73kg I think that’s pretty good) and going strong.
T

Hi Everyone, I’m in Sydney and on Day 5 lost 3kg already. First few days are hard but starting to feel better already.. The quick and easy options are really great. I wasn’t that overweight maybe a kilo or so but my blood sugar was in the prediabetic zone and at 23 that was bad. Happy to see some other Aussies on here ! Really cool side effect of the diet I’ve noticed already is normally I have lots of floaty dots in my vision ( hard to explain) but don’t have any the past couple of days

Thanks, Penny. More water, fat and salt sound good to me! And BP measuring normal, so not too serious.

I’m going to document my attempt to put my diabetes into remission in this thread, using the fast 800-8 week diet, combined with fasting for 16-18 hours most days. I’ll add a post to this thread (at least) once a week, with a weekly statistical update.

[Feel free to add your experiences, if you feel like it. I just wanted a place in this community to document the journey so making a thread I could keep adding to seemed to make the most sense. But I don’t mind at all if others chime in with their own journeys!

Week 1

Fasting blood glucose: M: 5.05 mmol/l, T: 5.28 mmol/l W: 5.06 Th: 5.39 mmol/l (highest in months) F: 4.44 mmol/l S: 4.39 mmol/l Sun: 4.44 mmol/l
Starting weight (this week): 150.2 lbs – Ending weight: 147.0 lbs. Loss 3.2 lbs
BG High for the week: 7.72 mmol/l, Low for the Week: 4.06 mmol/l, Average for the week: 5.5 mmol/l

I have been eating 1200 calories a day, and fewer than 20 net carbs in a meal for 6 months, so I didn’t expect a dramatic weight loss, or any of the symptoms that accompany starting this diet cold. My weight loss is actually a tad higher than I expected, since I have been losing at a rate of around a pound a week and I only added a new deficit of 2800 calories (less than 1 lb). I would have been kicked out of Roy Taylor’s studies, since he required a 3.9 lb weight loss in the first week! As I predicted, I experienced none of the symptoms some experience (headaches, hunger, fatigue, chills, muscle cramps). I didn’t have many 6 months ago when I made the big dietary change, so no big surprises that a comparatively small change didn’t create any.

I got a fitness tracker, and plan to increase my steps gradually – as suggested in the book. I’m undecided about the other exercise recommendations. Not for now (no time) – but perhaps later.

Food is yummy – but the many of the measurements in the recipes are too fuzzy to make the calorie counts useful – and the carb content in many items is at the top of what I can eat without kicking my BG out of the normal range.

(No, the fuzziness of measuring by the handful etc. is not an American thing, as I’ve seen suggested – except among people who learned to cook at the knees of their Baba from the “old country.” We may use funny tools (tablespoons for butter, for example), but aside from some spices (“to taste”) our recipes typically give precise measurements.

But – never fear – I’ve been tracking every bite I eat for 6 months, so I have good mental estimates and the tools to adjust the recipes as I’m making them.

I am making an effort to include proportionately more healthy carbs than I’ve been eating rather than take the easy way out and subsist on carb-safe cheese and nuts. I only had two days where I had to resort to emergency rations. (I considered delaying the start a week, due to a weekend conference that just ended, so only 2 days was better than I expected). On the whole, this diet means more carbs than I have been eating. I’ve been pushing my personal limit most meals. Ironically, by comparison to what I have been eating, this is a low fat diet 🙂 (I went from eating around 80% fat to around 40% fat – since the 400 calorie cut came primarily from fat.)

In a small hopeful sign – I had 2 days this week where my BG never went above 5.6. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the carb days really pushed my limits. I have not seen 7.72 in a LONG time, and I saw it this week. I adjusted the carbs in the recipe down a bit – but have decided to be a bit braver with carbs from pulses, at least. Overall – even with the high carb days – my average for the week was 5.5 (with more, and more evenly distributed, testing than is typical). Off to a good start! (And I already have meals packed for two days next week.)

Background:
Diabetes diagnosis October 2, 2015.
A1C: 7.3.
Cholesterol 231 mg/dl
HDL: 46 mg/dl
LDL: 151 mg/dl
Trig: 171 mg/dl
Weight: 197.3

Check-up on March 8, 2016 (after 5 months low carb-moderate protein, capped at 1200 calories)
A1C: 5.7% (normal)
Cholesterol: 173 mg/dl (normal)
HDL: 55 mg/dl (normal)
LDL : 99 mg/dl (normal)
Trig: 94 mg/dl (normal)
Weight: 154.4

Since the day of diagnosis I have been following a low carb-moderate protein diet (which also means my fat consumption is high, since limiting carbs and proteins means the calories have to come from the only remaining source: fat). This diet (obviously) works for me to keep my blood glucose in the normal range, but it is intensive dietary management, not remission. I am not looking forward to maintaining such tight control over every bite I eat for the rest of my life.

Roy Taylor’s studies on remission intrigue me. I am troubled, though, by the fact that he has extended his observations about the possibility of remission to losing weight by any means, without a single (reported) controlled test that it is weight loss – not the timing and manner of weight loss – that makes the difference.. I have now lost 50 lbs (25% of my original weight), and have no less insulin resistance than the day I started. I am well beyond the thresholds he has suggested, so if weight loss, alone, was going to trigger remission, I should have seen an impact. After my own literature review and other research, I have decided that I will lose the last 19 lbs, at least, on an 800-calorie a day diet consistent with Mike Mosley’s fast 800 diet (mimicking the post-bariatric surgery diet that Roy Taylor modeled his study on). I believe that the magic, if any, is in the dramatic, sudden, decrease in calories – or perhaps fasting (or near fasting) for sufficient periods of time to deplete the liver’s glycogen stores – hence the 16-18 hour/day fast. I’m perfectly fine not eating until mid-day – so stretching it a couple of hours following a late-night supper is no big deal.

Subsequent posts in this thread will be shorter. Promise!

Yea! Just got HbA1c results. One year ago 7.6. Now beginning of week 6: 5.8!
She said, “What you are doing is good,” but not really interested in MM. “So many diets.” Will have a follow up test August. THEN I will give her printed info. ALL her diabetic patients should know about this one!

Hi Cherrianne, Franash and Sharoni58, I’m in Perth and at 53 I’ve been putting on weight ever so slowly since I was 31 ( pregnancy) but now my baby is nearly 22 ! My doctor recommended the 5:2 for me but even though it’s easy I didn’t lose any weight really, maybe a kilo, but now into the first week of the 800 I down 2 kg. I’ve ordered the book but atm just using MFPal to track calories. Next I’m going to use it to track carbs . I’m ovo- vegetarian, and I love this way. 7 weeks to go!

Breakfast: two poached eggs, cucumber, orange, tea with milk (this was actually too many calories for a breakfast for me, I think in future if I’ll either have two eggs with no fruit, or one egg with fruit)
Lunch: rotisserie chicken thigh, homemade roasted tomato soup
Dinner: tacos without the shells (pile of salad with spicy mince, a little cheese, jalapenos, salsa, yum)

Hi CallMeDeb
Belated welcome. Been off piste for a while. Congrats on your first week , excellent considering your dietary restrictions!
Optifast by Nestle was the original shake used in Prof Roy Taylor’s type 2 diabetic reversal trial. Know you’ve moved on now though

I posted Answers & Info topic in Fast 800 forum on 22.1.16. You might find some help there. The new revised edition of Blood Sugar 101 by Jenny Ruhl is out now. Go to http://www.phlaunt.com for excellent advice about why & when to test blood sugars before & after meals. Also the healthy range we should try & aim for to avoid damage to our organs etc. It’s lower than the UK tell us ( if they tell us at all)

My 8 weeks up today! I’ll total the figures later.

Turn the fire up, I’ll be walking the PATH by the Sheraton Centre, Queens St, in June. Can’t wait
Eureka

Great results MerryMary. I hopped on the scales this morning to a pleasing 2kg total loss (today is Day 4 for me). It’s such a relief to find an eating plan that works.

Bill how are you doing? How is the retinopathy?

Hi again, I thought I would mention to “Desperate” that we are also going overseas this year. To the UK and Italy late August/ September. I will be well mediterraneanized by then ready to eat yummy Italian food!!! Hopefully I will be a more comfortable weight too so that I can enjoy walking all the ancient steps in Italy!! Also want to feel as comfortable as possible in my “economy seat” on the plane!! 😊

OMG I just weighed myself and I have lost 2.3 kgs in 3days. I worked those days which I thought would be a real challenge as there are always chocolates around at work kindly given by grateful patients (little do they know they are slowly killing us!) It s a beautiful day today and I am on 2 days off. I’m taking my niece and little great niece to the Science museum in the city for the day so there will be lots of walking. I am so excited. This really works! And I am feeling fine. I have had a couple of periods of real hunger pains but have pushed through with water and a little block of cheese a couple of times. It was actually kind of nice to feel hunger pains instead of just “topping up” all the time with food. I’m having a pear at night which is satisfying for enough sweetness and is great fibre for the bowels!!! On that note I need to get ready! Have a great day my new friends 😊

Hey all,
Breakfast – large pear with 2 tbsps cottage cheese ( full fat ) with handful of crushed walnuts.
Lunch 2 plums with a snack sized bar of Cathederal city cheese
Dinner- roast chicken 100g with 1-2 tbsp carrots, broccoli, and instead of roast potatoes, I had celeriac and leek mash. Celeriac is a very low carb root veg. I boiled about 200g with a leek and a tiny knob of butter and mashed it- it was loads, and really was 2 portion sizes worth but it worked out at 18g carb only got the lot and 84kcals so you can’t argue with that!! I can post the recipe if anyone likes? Splash of gravy on the whole meal and I didn’t miss the roast potato at all!

Hi Anthmart, just noticed your post. I like to cycle but nowhere near your level or a racer. You must know about how to keep yourself going and that high intensity interval training is a scientific way to achieve fitness and increased endurance. I suppose if you are racing at or above your anaerobic threshold you will soon be spent. What sort of distances do you race, which heart rate monitor do you use and have you some weight to lose? I have always used Polar gear but not the current pro stuff. Using CS300 and M400 just now – care to discuss?

Hi sue, you can buy tinned blackeyed beans from sainsburys. I used to substitute a tin for the weight in rose elliotts recipes. I’m in bed so can’t help re dried beans 🙁

Pharmacists usually have a good idea what other pharmacies sell. Chances are adisgruntled patient has said ‘ I’ll go to morrisons they always stock it’ 🙂

I’m another who shops at Aldi and I’m going into week 5 today and I’ve not bought anything different to what I’d normally buy…..to be honest if I had to buy new ingredients I’d get put off.

I’d agree with the above and say just adapt what you already like to eat, I’m assuming you didn’t eat only ready meals and junk food, so you should be able to reduce your spending.

The only thing I buy more of is veg, This weekend saw me buying a cauli, cabbage, broccoli, green beans and asparagus. There’s only me! In the past I would maybe buy some broccoli and I’d eat it within two days and then I’d have no further veg for 5 days!

Day 43 weight 10st 5lbs
Blood sugar 8.9 (lowest reading for a long time)

Cooked leeks with broccoli and melted cheese on top, had this with cooked chicken. I have been wanting to eat chocolate for the last few days but have resisted and chewed on sugar free gum instead – definitely not as good but it lasts longer. I’m going to make chilli on Thursday, the recipe in the book has a tin of black eyed beans – I could only buy dried ones – any idea how much dried weight makes the tin weight of beans?

It been a long time since I cooked and I’ve quite enjoyed it. Although I enjoy raw vegetables now, more than the cooked ones and I’d rather have the vegetables than the meat which is really weird for me.😱

Thanks Hashimoto nice to be here. You appear to be one of the lynch pins on the forums, I don’t do other social media but, to thank Doc Mosley et al I will contribute where I can. I noticed after I wrote it that many do not use the profile page much but I edit mine regularly to show progress. cheerio for now,..

Thank you

Hi, there are 2 references to liquorice in Fast diet on pages 145 & 211 but just about using unfamiliar flavours and something to chew (root) but maybe the next edition might include a ref if this thread is seen? I used to eat lots of it before I realised just how much C12H22O11 I don’t like to mention the “S” word too much and this reminds me that c12 +h22 looks like a lot of carbo-hydrate!

The pharmacist at boots told me to go to the chemist in morrisons. I don’t know how she knew but she was right!

Welcome to the veterans club skywalker! 🙂

144 signatures, fantastic, lets keep the momentum going 🙂

Its my pleasure and thankyou all for your posts has been very interesting reading now waiting for next 6 month check to see how blood sugar has reacted

Oh, my son sells them in a small independent pharmacy, I assumed therefore that the big ones would. They are an otc med but my son has them behind the counter.
Best get them from amazon 🙁

Hi Jimbob. I finished today too, click on me to save me repeating my stuff but. Well done. I wil keep going too as I have 3.5 kg still to go. Funny how it gets to be easy and enjoyable if somewhat time consuming. All the best…

Boots don’t sell them or Lloyds chemists 🙁

Hi Lucia, like you I would like more info please! I went onto the Boots Online site thinking I could get them and info there – put in ‘ketostix’ and that came up were pregnancy testing kits! I doubt that is what we are needing 🙂

Hi Christine I got mine from amazon but you can get them from pharmacies.

They show whether you are in ketosis ( fatburning). The various shades show the degree of fat burning – or not 🙂

They are definitely worth using. They tell you if you are burning fat or not. Yesterday I had a small piece of chocolate, a slice of white bread and a few glasses of cider (it was a works reunion, not my normal eating pattern these days). I thought all of that was bound to ruin my diet but the ketostix showed I carried on burning fat the whole time.
You can,get them from the chemist in Morrisons or from amazon for around a fiver. I only have two addictions in life now – coffee and ketostix!

Welcome to the veterans jimbob. Great weight loss 🙂
Thanks for sharing your 8 weeks 🙂

Hi Christie 1948

All I know that they are like a litmus paper, when you tinkle on it, it changes colour. They colour reveals if your body is in the mood to lose weight.

I am sure someone will over a more scientific description.

I do not know if they are worth using.

Can anyone help with these answers please.
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Sunnyb, I can’t believe how quickly your holiday crept up on us! It seemed like it would be ages away when you first mentioned it. Will we be able to keep in touch with you?

First ever post on final day of eight weeks so hopefully as encouragement for those not so far down the line or just thinking about it here is how it panned out. Had been on 5:2 for 2 years and initially lost almost 2 stone from 244 pounds but found the fast day hard with nothing at lunch time and seemed to plateau which developed a small incline. Purely by chance heard the very end of Dr Michael interview which just said that type 2 need to lose weight quickly so found the book and had started before even getting the stories read by going straight to diets. Found it really easy, though giving up on occasional treat not quite so and have to admit to occasional whisky and square of dark chocolate however have managed to drop from 15st 11lbs to 13st 12 lb as of tonight and fitting clothes not worn in 10 – 15 years(I have a big wardrobe and don’t buy many clothes) but regretfully had a kilt made in my tartan last May for daughters wedding which is now too big. Never really set a target until probably last weekend when I thought 2 st + was easily achievable but wouldn’t you know it fell short. What to do now?Actually sad have reached this point as have enjoyed the disciplines I set myself and reading the blogs on here so think I will take it on for maybe another few weeks as delayed a 2 day holiday we were given at Christmas so that I could complete the diet so that might be next milestone and still have a few pounds of belly fat which could go and it will give me more time to plan future diet. A further point to note is that excercise though desirable isn’t absolutely necessary for the diet to work as just 2 days in I developed extreme pain in my knee from wear and tear of 64 years almost to the point of imobility and though it has improved not much walking has taken place but still lost weight. That’s it folks time for another dram to celebrate!!!

Hi hashimoto
Where do you get these ketostix from and what do you do with them and why?

Hi cherrieanne I posted and thought I should have spelled it out but hoped you would with your superior knowledge. It’s always better to have some idea of possibilities so you can determine what you are dealing with. Even if it is hard at the time to hear at the time.x

Hi Kate_is
I shake up crushed garlic or Dijon mustard with lemon juice and olive oil in a jar. Then sprinkle onto salad as needed. Just shake the jar each time before you use it.
Balsamic or herb infused vinegars are nice on their own on a salad too. You can make your own herb vinegars by putting a sprig of rosemary in a bottle and covering with vinegar. Leave to infuse on a warm windowsill for a few days then taste.
Tsatziki or hummus, thinned down with a little water make a nice salad dressing too.

Hi Needtoloseweight
Cherrianne is right, best to jump in now and get a couple of week under your belt before the holiday. That way you will be a little lighter and have a handle on the new eating regime by the time you go, making it more possible for you keep some control whilst you are away.
Good to know you are going to give it a go. Be sure to let us know how you progress before you go away.

So glad you noticed that Lynne. I’ll have to stop recommending it. It says nothing about it on either packet of tea that I have, and I’d never heard that about liquorice. So pleased you’re on the ball, thanks 🙂

Thanks a lot , going to give it a go !! X

Hi Needtoloseweight,
Welcome 🙂 my advice would be to jump right in and start the fast 800. With two weeks before your hols, you will be over the tough first couple of days and well into losing weight. You’ll enjoy your holiday much more if you’re lighter and have more energy.
It can seem daunting at first but there are plenty of people here who are willing to support and advise you.
Lucky you are self catering, you’ll have much better control over what and how much you eat. If you want a slightly more indulgent meal you can eat less before and after to compensate. By two weeks in you will be much more savvy about what foods are best, and once you taste success you probably won’t want to spoil your diet. You may be the first person to come back from holiday lighter than when they started 🙂

Hi Kate_ls
Well done on getting back on track after you slip. Whilst it’s disappointing for you that it happened, you have refocused and moved on, which is good. I’d have thought an average size salad to be approx. 30 to 40cals, with carbs about 2-3g (this is a guestimate you understand). Lemon juice and sea salt really zings up a salad for pretty much zero cals, but remember that you need fats on this diet, so some olive oil included in a dressing would be a good idea. Or you could use some yogurt thinned down with a flavoured vinegar and some added herbs perhaps.

Hi Magpie and Judith,
I did wonder after I posted whether I should have mentioned dementia. It was after the 5 minute edit period and too late. Sorry, it was the ex district nurse in me rearing it’s head 🙁
I have seen too many older people frantically covering up any shortfalls in their ability to manage, and pushing away the very people who could help them to remain fairly independent. Most are very good socially and only very close family ever get suspicious about what is really going on. So your Mum is lucky that you have her well being in mind.
I think that you are right about leading by example. It should help to open up some discussions about healthy eating once they notice your weight loss and improved energy. 🙂
The other thought that occurred was about how much time she spends out doors. Does she have a comfy, sheltered spot to sit outside now that Spring has sprung? Vitamin D has an important role to play in mood/mental health as well as blood sugar control. Levels are easily checked by blood test at her next GP appt. like I said, just a thought…

Hi Jackie WilsonSaid,
I meant to mention that there is a really good Creamy Cauliflower and Bean soup on the recipes section – very tasty and filling. It made 4 portions and I will make more later this week!

We are off to Turkey at the end of this week and it is quite common for people to eat soup at breakfast there – usually lentil, lentil, mint and tomato, tripe, or – my favourite – sheep head and tripe. They usually serve their soups with a side salad, so makes a healthy and substantial meal.

Get some ketostix lucia, you haven’t got enough to do in the bathroom, inject a bit of science fun xxx

orchid,
Thanks for the input and glad it has worked for you. I guess you’ll get used to weighing less!
Soup I think is a great idea for lunch – every time I make a tasty soup I think I should make more, so the next 8 will provide an incentive.
I’m still pondering the FBS/weight measurement etc issue – in a way I’m fascinated as it’s all about me/me/me, but maybe I’ll just look at myself in the mirror a bit more! ha