Hi
Probably another silly question from me but I am concerned that on the 800 cal diet I might not get enough vegetables. I am trying to follow the 4 week meal plan from Dr Mosley’s book and wondered if I am supposed to add green salads or non starchy vegetables to the basic recipes. Some of the daily menus seem very low on veggies. Can anyone clarify this for me please?

Hi Lucia:

I like what you said above about slowly changing old habits . That speaks to me as I tend to be the type that wants to go from 0 to 100 instantly. That tack, frankly, has never worked so well for me as I inevitably become overwhelmed. One of my mantras is ‘progress not perfection’. It helps me to keep in mind to be gentle with myself to counter my other tendencies. I was glad to read that you are proud of yourself for starting, you should be. You are neither ‘slob’ or ‘dope’. I get that though, as I tend to be very hard on myself. As a matter of fact, I would never talk to a friend the way I sometimes talk to myself.

We should all be gentle and patient with ourselves.

stay great
jeff

I am a big Fan of Easiyo Greek Yogurt – the kind you make at home from powder and water. I bought a kit a few years ago in Lakeland when it was on offer, and it is one gadget I use every week without fail. If you don’t fancy making your own, Rachel’s organic and Total Greek are pretty good too.

Hi Cherrianne
I’m an aussie too living in Australia. I found the app you suggested and it looks excellent- just what I was looking for. Thanks again for your help and support.

Hi

I’m just about to start, does it make any difference if you space the 800 calories over the day (say 200, 200, 400) or fast until late afternoon then have the 800 calories?

thanks

Hi again
Thanks for positive comments
To add my pennyworth re meals, has anyone tried cook in the bag recipes. I had Mediterranean chicken, total of 350 cals including sweet potatoe wedges.
Found when time is short, it is really handy.
Made the hummus ( pea and mint) wasn’t to keen.
Fish recipes are working really well.
I do not know where my appetite has gone, has anyone else found that their desire to eat has lessened.
Finally, the mention of Rye bread, I have eaten a couple of slices (organic) when brunching and found it really filling ( still kept within 800)
Regular BS fasting checks have confirmed a slow continual fall
All in all everything good, from Saturday changing to “Good food 14 day healthy diet” which basically Mediterranean just more calories.
Total weight loss 15lbs to date, probably 1 more by Saturday.
Will update next week how things go.
This a good thread and very informative
Cheers and we’ll done all, support is vital
M

Hi lachlanh & Bill – It’s good to know it’s not just me.

I’m in week 7 now and the weightloss is still going well – 16.5lb, the lightest I have been for about 20 years and around 7lb off my target weight, but I’m seeing the same rise in blood sugar levels and not only in the morning now.

On Sunday as it was Mother’s day I thought I’d go for the brunch and dinner, as suggested in the book. I measured my blood glucose when I woke up and it was 6.9, the lowest I’d seen for some time. However around 3 hours later, just before brunch, it had gone up to 8.7! I’ve also had a few readings above 7 before dinner this week.

So I’m still a bit puzzled, but I’ve seen higher readings when I was on more medication, so I am trying not to worry too much.

Thank you Cherrianne for you reply.
It’s day five and i’m feeling pretty good and 2 kilos down.
I spoke to my Doctor and she cleared me, she feels it could only be a positive step in regards to my Bipolar, so if there is anyone else out there suffering from mental health ask your Doctor and give it a go.
I have had no symptoms this week which is fantastic, fingers crossed.

was recommended this BSD by my GP today, have looked online and ordered books from Amazon, which should be here on monday….is there anything i can do until then to start myself off or is it best to wait until i have read the books, its a bit of a do or die situation so i dare not screw up…also which is the best way to start…..fasting or med style? thanks in advance……

Hi Janet

Thanks for the reply, good advice I will give your suggestion a try.

To answer your question I did 30 minutes on a windtrainer at 32km/hr and then rode for about hour at 30km/hr to and from work.

I will be ramping on those times over the next few weeks and doing some long runs as well so it will be interesting to see what the tipping point is

Can I ask which Yoghurts everyone is using?

Thank you 🌺

I did the couch to 5 K a few years ago. I love running now. Once you master 5 K, even if you don’t run for a while it is easy to pick it up again. I never had to go back to run-walk etc.
I’ve joined parkrun now. There is a parkrun in many large towns on Saturday, it’s free, and a great community thing. Mind you it’s totally addictive.

Mosleyfan your scones looked great, but must say that mine were very runny, flat and very “eggy” to taste. What was your secret to success!

Hi nat,
Good luck tomorrow, please write all about it as I start on Saturday. I too, have prepared, increasing my steps.
Do you have a menu sorted yet?
Love Lucia xxxx

Hi Bill.
Sorry to hear about your daughter and I’m sure your she will be fine. Many women have lumps and many turn out to be fine. I had breast cancer in 2009 at the age of 39 and I am still here, and if the news is bad, the treatment options now are amazing. I know how worried and stressed you are, but try and remain positive. How old is your daughter? My thoughts are with you all xx

Good luck to you. I have just done my first day, so hope yours goes well tomorrow 😊

Hi, the book has been read, the cupboards have been emptied and restocked with healthy recommended options, and I feel ready to get started. No sign of diabetes but have a fair few lbs to lose. Exercise regularly, about 5 times a week, so this could be interesting . Can’t wait to start seeing the results, from what I have read on the forum it won’t take long. N

Hi Sarah
I know what you mean about calories! I brought red peppers this week and they were massive so am worried about going over by a few calories. I’m finding the diet easy so far and haven’t been hungry at all but am struggling to give up coffee!
How are you getting on?

Hi missay, thanks!
I felt it was too big a step from a chocoholic slob to BS 800. So this week I am slowly changing very old bad habits. I hope anyone who thinks it is too difficult, will read my comments, and take a prep week too.
It’s great to write things here. And then read them back. I just want to tell Lucia (me) that you are a dope. You must have known it was all bad for you but you blindly carried on. I also who tell Lucia that i a proud that she has done something about it.

Missay, where are you with BS800? Are you on it, or thinking of starting?

Love Lucia xxxx

Hi everyone. Full fat is recommended as it keeps you fuller for longer as many have said already. Also, low fat yogurts have sugar added to make them taste better…even natural yogurt in some cases! I have always been a butter, full fat milk, yogurt and cheese kind of girl. It’s been the sweet tooth that’s been my undoing. I have had another good day and not been hungry at all, or craving anything.

Struggling giving up the coffee though! 12 hours shifts require coffee!

Hi Lucia,

Well, I think the walk challenge is a fine idea! I’ve not been tracking my waking, but I have a tracker and will start wearing it tomorrow. We could see how far it is across the ‘pond’ , say from New York to Liverpool or Plymouth (?) and give it a go! Maybe we can start a thread for the walk?

cheers,
jeff

Ahh thank you all so much for your wonderful support. I have three daughters at home and they have busy lives, and they like their snacks so it’s really hard to get them out the house, but with all your tips, I will try and avoid them completely. Thank you all so much, it means so much to have people rooting for me!! 💐💐💐

Dr Mosley doesn’t suggest anywhere that you should add extra calories because you are exercising. However, there have been conversations on the forum about whether you need extra calories if you are doing endurance-length exercise. Probably the best advice is to aim for 800 and see how you feel on it. If you start to suffer with weakness, low blood sugar, feel like fainting then take extra calories at that time. How long do you have to cycle to burn that many calories?

My wife and I have had porridge for years, but rolled oats from our health food shop, 1 cup oats, 2 cups water, one cup semi skimmed milk, mixed together and done at half power for 10 minutes in the microwave. I have nothing else on it, which You get used to.
Am I right in thinking that this is ok?
On the BSDiet so now having bircher, which is great, filling and tastes better, but the info on porridge, everywhere is sketchy!

I only have this on a Saturday now as I usually go Montain Biking which is 25miles and 2000ft climbing coming down some steep bits….and I dont want to feel lightheaded coming down these!

Hi Lucia,

That sounds like a fabtastic shop today (‘fabtastic’ was actually a typo for fantastic, but I think it is a great description of your lovely attitude, so I have left it in). Your sense of humour and positivity shines through in your posts. I am really looking forward to following your journey on the BSD.

Hi Hashimoto.
Many thanks for your reply. Yep, I am feeling pretty smug with my shopping. I have a fresh food bowl now. I have mushrooms and feta, so I am going to do something with them tomorrow evening.
I have enjoyed reading your messages and threads, you are one of a few people that helped me take the first step.
X
Hi boog 23, don’t worry with not being able to help with you being the the USA?. Do you fancy a challenge?
Shall we walk towards each other and meet in the middle? I don’t know how long it will take but wouldn’t it be fun. We will have to look up how wide the ‘pond’ is. I am walking 6500 steps a day. Soon I will get to 10,000. If you are not a walker, you can always row the way, or use a cross country machine.
Does anyone else fancy a walk?
X
Hi scottgran. Yes, the bakery is my weakness too. Especially crispy crunchy bread. I don’t miss it so far. Do you fancy a walk over to boog 23, I wonder what size we will all be when we reach the middle meeting point , and more importantly, how healthy we will be.
Love Lucia xxxx

Breakfast: Greek yogurt and mixed berries

Lunch: Salad of lettuce, tomatoes, gherkins, olives, pickled jalapenos, celery, basil, hummous, mint, sour cream

Afternoon: A bowl of cauliflower, courgette and lentil soup with white and black pepper

Dinner: Tuna fishcakes, made with roasted cauliflower and celeriac, shallot, garlic, ginger, basil lemongrass and an egg, with courgette and broccoli and a garlic and chilli sauce

Snack: Half a Pink Lady Apple

Water, two coffees with milk

Calories: 810

Reading that back, I find it is quite amazing to get what is basically 4 meals and a snack for around 800 calories!

Hi Fred
You have done amazingly well in a short space of time. It sounds like some of that army determination is still with you. I wonder whether this diet can also reverse the need for drugs like warfarin? Best wishes for the rest of your journey.

Hi holoso if you can manage to stay away from any sweet stuff the most amazing thing happens – after a few days the flavours from food just explode in your mouth, everything tastes so much more intense. Don’t be surprised if you get withdrawal symptoms for a few days but it is well worth keeping going. We’re all rooting for you 🙂

Hi tree-peony

I think you can name the product on here, then we can search for it online to find out the rest of the nutritional information such as what sweeteners are in it etc. Thanks for posting.

I’d be less worried about your actual calorie intake than the fact you are missing out on a lot of fibre, vitamins and minerals by not eating much veg. We often do lose our appetite when we are ill, don’t we? But this is precisely the time when we need to eat for nutrition to get over the illness. What you are eating sounds fine but I do think you should try to get some veggies in there. Coconut flour is also good for fibre as well as protein and a little bit is very filling – I made Bill’s flatbreads today. At the very least, take a supplement for the vitamins and minerals your immune system needs. I hope you get over the shingles quickly, its not a nice illness (if there is such a thing!)

Hi Holoso and welcome, you will find that your sugar cravings disappear quite quickly once you’re a few days into the diet.
The key is to make sure you have plenty of full fat food in your diet. It also helps to stay away from sweet tasting substitutes for the sugary stuff. Somehow even the artificial sweeteners seem to trigger the cravings.
Most forum members seem to stick to around 50g of carbs per day to lose weight and keep blood sugars stable.
Some kind of app or food tracker will help you stay on top of your intake.
All the best for success

I’m with you on the gluten free pasta. This one is sounding better and better though!

Is it possible for you to get things like the demon digestives out of the house? (I’m lucky because hubby and I are doing this together, but I know it’s not always possible if you have other people to cook for and feed as well.) I didn’t get bad sugar cravings, but from reading what other peope have said, I think you’re more likely to feel hungry if you give in to sugary carby stuff, and less likely to feel hungry if you snack on something with fat/protein – cheese, olives, piece of meat, full fat yogurt could help.
One digestive is not much in the grand scheme of things though, and you are heading in the right direction! Going to bed is a good way to get away from the kitchen.

I don’t think there is a carb level recommended in the book, but there are a few threads on here about it. I can’t remember the names, but if you try a search you’ll probably find them.

Good luck for tomorrow.

Missay I. Have not liked any gluten free pasta that I’ve bought but this has a very similar texture to normal pasta, it’s a bit thicker but smooth. I’m going to make a spicy sauce to go with mine tomorrow 🙂

Hi I did the NHS couch to 5 programme. You download the podcasts from their website and the music is OK (most of it anyway) and you are talked through it by a very lovely sounding woman called Laura (UK accent). She even anticipated when I got a stitch and soothed me past it. Helpful tips along the way. There are tonnes of couch to 5k programmes out there but I found this one excellent, manageable and what’s more did 600k last year. For an exercise-phobe such as I was that’s miraculous.

Hi

I travel a lot for work and trying to be prepared in foods I take for breakfast and lunch is at times proving tricky.
I read in the book that you can have a meal replacement shake for breakfast and lunch and then a meal in the evening.
What shakes does anyone use please? I want to make sure that I get the right thing, though I am not doing the diet to lower my blood sugars specifically. I am not diabetic nor pre diabetic.
I just need to lose weight, and finding it all so tasty!

Thanks
Chloe

Hi there,

Yes I did start today!! I have found the sugar craving very hard to handle and have given in to a digestive biscuit tonight. I am going to go to bed early to try and help not eat anything more. I am hoping it gets easier. What is the recommended carb level over the 800 calories?

Fantastic, Jeff, I will follow this thread to see how you are doing – and I know you will be doing great and see amazing changes in your health as well as your waistline! 🙂

Ah thanks Hashimoto. That sounds quite straightforward. I’m not sure why, but I expected it to be more complex and with a lot more ingredients than ‘standard’ pasta. Is it gritty to eat, like gluten free pastas often are? I am hoping not, as the chickpea pancakes/flatbread/pizza bases aren’t.

Breakfast: 1 220g Tin Baked Beans
mid morning snack : Long black coffee with full cream (cream not milk) the fat takes the edge off your appetite
Lunch:1 tin of chilli tuna, some olives and a tomato(very good for men worried about prostate a tomato a day)
Afternoon : a 1 inch square of cheese and some olives
Dinner: some grilled chicken and steamed brocolli

Thank you so much hashimoto. I posted a bit in a new thread under ‘Welcome to the BSD’. I will be posting often as I find you and so many other folks so inspiring and helpful [and I am sure I will have a boatload of questions 😉 ]
I am amazed at my positive attitude about doing the BSD and think in large part it’s due to the folks in these forums.

stay great!

jeff

Hi jeff, so pleased you have started your new way of living today! Really looking forward to hearing how things are going for you 🙂

Lucia well done on the Morrisons shop. I still have to look to the right at the gardening and kitchen stuff as it is across from the in store bakery! I bought a little plastic set of measuring spoons in Morrisons, shocking how little in a tablespoon. 79p well spent! I bought. “Bucket” of Desi whole milk yogurt set today, will let you know how it tastes. I am not fond of really thick yogurt,. I am also trying to walk a bit more and to really stride out as I normally amble about.

6 weeks in and I have lost 7kg and am down to 85kg, Since the Autumn and with my pre-diet changes the loss is nearer 13kg and the diet has helped me tremendously as I had stuck. 2 more weeks should get me down to around 80kg I’m then intending to keep on until I get to 75kg and the weight I was in the Army 30+ years ago when I could do the 1.5 mile runs in less than 10 mins, in boots, and before they took my knee apart. I don’t monitor my blood as I am not entitled to a monitor (my surgery won’t give them to Type 2’s) and I can ill afford the new test strips so will have to wait until July and my next HbA1c test.

What to do after? The med diet is looking good, I love the seafood bits of my diet, but too much greenery is playing havoc with INR and Warfarin dose. I will be counting the calories in myfitnesspal which has helped me enormously.

Hi Lucia:

I can’t help with the shopping unfortunately as I am in the U.S. But I found your description above so endearing I had to respond. This is a great effort you’ve made! Keep it up! I’ve been on the forums for a few days but today (Thursday) is my first day on BSD. The forums have been a great help and I want to congratulate you for asking for help here.

best of luck,
jeff

Hi lucia isn’t it good to feel so virtuous! Well done you! I particularly like fage yoghurt, it’s so thick and lusciously creamy !
Fantastic that you are fitting in more steps – you will be unrecognisable soon!
I am still surprised that I. Seem to miss half the aisles out these days!
Looking forward to your future posts 🙂

Hi team,
Just had a weird experience. Went to morrisons and stopped in the fruit, veg and salad section.
I didn’t zoom through to the confectionery!!! What have I done?
Fish, prawns, salad, celery, apples, chicken breasts. My trolley looked is if it belonged to someone healthy??😇
Looked for those 97% sausages but couldn’t see them.
I wanted some red peanuts. I could find sliced almonds, crushed almonds, halved almonds, but no peanuts. went to the baking section, no, went to the crisps section ( the bags were asking if they could come and play. NO!), I could find bags of chocolate covered peanuts and raisins. So got a small bag of unsalted pistachios.
Oh and I think I got full fat Greek yoghurt for breakfast tomorrow. If anyone can start me off with a brand name and if it is in tesco’s or Morrisons etc. until I know what I am looking for please.
No chocolate, no crisps, no cakes, no biscuits, boy have I done a 180 degree turnaround?
Ready for the weekend and starting to count the calories.
Oh, and I found my kitchen scales in the back of a cupboard. I have washed the dust off, so ready to go.
I am still walking trying to go a little further each time.
Please help with my shopping, keep it simple for me though.
Love Lucia xxxx

Bill

So good to know it’s not just me! Thanks for that. I’ve deliberately not taking my blood sugar levels for the last couple of days because it was stressing me out too much. Interestingly I have been doing some jogging since starting the diet but haven’t done it for the last week or so. I started again this morning. I’ll see if it makes a difference and let you know. Good to know it normal part of the process. I think it’s very important to stay positive and motivated so thanks for finding out about that.

I have some buckwheat flour, noodles, and pasta if you’d like some hashimoto…… ; )