Latest forum posts

  • posted by  hashimoto on Please sign our petition
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Wow, Eureka, way to go! That’s brilliant! The chances are that she will know someone with diabetes and may pass the information along.

    Thanks for signing skywalker, only 97 but that’s more than there was in the morning! News will be spreading on social media and we have 6 months to run the petition. It would be fantastic if we had thousands of votes. Most people have not heard of this diet yet so I expected a slow start. If michael mosley did a ‘trust me I’m a doctor’ program about it I think there would be a lot more interest.
    But up the revolution we are getting the word out there! 🙂

  • posted by  melnz on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    I am just returning to this plan after a wonky few days.

    B – Greek yoghurt with chia seeds and berries
    L- Egg salad
    D – Lemon, mustard chicken thigh with salad and a small serving of feta.

    I find the morning and evenings ok – but struggle in the afternoon. Copious cups of green tea help a little.

    I have lost 5 kgs so far, really only in a couple of weeks. I struggle with weight loss so am very impressed. In particular losing it around my tummy is very motivating.

  • posted by  Inka on 'Weigh in' thread
    on in Fast 800
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    Hi Lolo, very interesting reading and some good tips if one must drink alcohol. I liked to have a couple of glasses of wine every so often, but have learned to mostly not to indulge. When I do, I really pay for it with my body protesting vehemently! I now get a worse hangover feeling from only one glass than what I used to get for quite a few more :-(. So, I tell myself, why would you deliberately bring about this horrible ill and achy feeling? .. and so far it has worked and I didnt even feel like drinking any alcohol. If I do have alcohol in a social situation, I have a white, mixed with plenty of soda water…. Tastes OK, makes me feel like I am not missing out on anything, doesnt make me feel sick, is cheaper because my drink lasts longer and best of all, it only has a fraction of the carbs and cals a full strengths wine would have. I also have done a bit of reading on a few health and diet related issues. I was interested how fat cells work and was surprised to find that apparently, our bodies stop producing them at adolescense. When we get older and fatter, they just expand, and they can do so to quite a large size. When we loose weight, they shrink again waiting for us to give them new excess fat to store. Apparently, they dont die and just sit there. Other sources claim that when they reach a certain enlarged size, they are able to devide…. That is a horrible thought…. :-(… For me, the take on all of this is, that these nasty little cells sit there and wait for me to eat bad foods again, so that they can grow again, and they are supposed to be able to do this very quickly, to make me fat and overweight again. I dont want to let them, so knowing their game, I can now be on guard not giving in to their commands. My view might be a bit simplistic, but it helps me imagine what my body does and also keeps me focused on doing the right thing for my body. We only have one after all, it serves us well and it really deserves to be looked after. Wishing everyone continued success ….. and here is to a rapid decline of our fat stores!!!!

  • posted by  Hawks on 2 weeks down and nearly 1 stone lost!
    on in BSD Way of Life
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    I recommend the book The Fix which is an interesting look at addiction and how things are carefully presented in ways that make it very hard to say no or avoid The current fad for extremely lavishly iced cupcakes, is one example.

  • posted by  Hawks on Biscuits?
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Hmm, perhaps make a few “crackers” that are purely parmesan. (Have you seen those?You make them by grating parmesan onto a greased or paper lined tray, and baking just till it melts together, then cutting into little crackers while warm. The cheese sets into quite neat little crackers with no carb.) Then decorate the cracker with a couple of slices of apple on top. It’s a biscuit, it’s flavourful, and the apple isn’t apple as he pictures it, but a topping. Pear would work too.

    As for it not going with the tea, I can’t comment, as I have never liked tea (or coffee), but tea has a bit of bitterness, which I guess the sweetness of the biscuit offsets, so maybe omitting the cuppa as suggested by Janet is a good idea! 😉
    He might get more used to the idea of apple with the tea after having a little dressed up with a cracker or a bit of cheese rather than thinking of it as a whole apple.

  • posted by  Eureka on Please sign our petition
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Hi hashimoto

    Just sent Anna Soubry MP ( she once held a post in dept of health) directions to petition, Newcastle Uni & BSD web sites. Also praised & pointed out the forums support (world wide) for this BSD & that we can’t wait & are doing it for ourselves!

    Gave a quick lesson on carb metabolism & insulin production & use of same. Also the fact that HIGH CARBS are TOXIC & killing us!
    Asked for her support for LOW CARBS/high fat BSD in the war on diabetes.
    Everything crossed!
    Eureka

  • Helllo, 7 weeks ago I was a typical meat + 3 veg + pudding man but now I have surprised myself just how much I have changed. I never cut carbs out completely although cereals were soon the first to go, followed by milk for the sugar content and then bread but I still enjoy an occasional slice and crispbread. I have lost over 25 lbs so far. I have cut my potato portion from around 200 gms in January down to 70 gms now and make up the bulk with typical British veggies. I have had 6 short plateaus and got quite annoyed but it is normal. I am much healthier and my blood pressure graph is brilliant too. 800 kCals is surprisingly plenty most days. Keep going…

  • posted by  Keetz on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Ooh I don’t mind AT ALL! This is all so helpful (I’ve never been on a forum before!)
    Some great ideas there, Hashimoto-that helps a lot! I have an app (My Fitness Pal) so calorie counting is fine, I was unclear on how you count carbs. I’ve just been reading around the forums a bit and found lots of people use a daily figure of 50g. I guess I can see that on the app?? Brilliant advice and encouragement – thank you!

  • posted by  Cherrianne on The planned day off diet
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Hi Lostgirl,
    I really hope you are getting over the craving for something sweet by now. How awful!! It’s your body’s attempt to force you back into eating carbs. It doesn’t want to kick over into fat burning mode because it’s used to using sweet, sugary carbs as fuel. Bill described that stage once as being like a toddler having a tantrum. That’s a good analogy. We can understand the tantrum but as adults we know what’s best so we can’t give in to tantrums can we? We can comfort a toddler ( or body) through one but we must stand firm.
    Next time you are shopping grab some liquorice tea, or if you don’t like liquorice Twinings have a ginger and apple one. Both liquorice and ginger help digestion and the sugar cravings. Strangely enough I found that a slice of lemon in hot water helped ease the need for something sweet.
    The cravings should pass soon if you can keep your carb intake low. I didn’t have a sweet tooth, apart from biscuits, before I started the BSD. Within a week though I was unexpectedly craving something sweet. Possibly because I was strictly limiting my fruit intake.
    There are many reformed chocoholics on here who will tell you that this stage will pass. You will surprise yourself one day soon when you realise it doesn’t hold the appeal anymore.

  • Hi HettyB, you are doing great. I consider myself to be premenopausal but haven’t had anything like the severity of symptoms that you have. I only posted this week about premenstrual weight gain making my scales go up instead if down- it’s souls destroying, but I can report that they have started moving in the right direction now! This forum is great too, as I read that plateau-ing is common at weeks 2 and 3, which is where I am at now. Hope you get some answers from your Bloods soon. It may also be a good idea to let your GP know you are doing this diet- if you are found to be anaemic, you may need to get that tarted first- just a thought. Good luck and hope you feel better soon x

  • posted by  lachlanh on Rising Fasting Blood Glucose Levels
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Cherrianne

    Getting really strict on the carbs here. Do you only allow yourself 50g of carbs in total or just carbs that are sugar per day?

    I want yor results!
    Lachlan

  • posted by  hashimoto on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi Keetz, I hope you don’t mind me jumping in. Some people have smart phone apps which help – I don’t have a smart phone so don’t have an app. I just google calories for a given food and you get all the info on carbs as well. Because I don’t have a smart phone app I have been compiling a list of foods I typically eat with their calories and carbs listed. I also check labels.
    When you are away I would just avoid the starchy carbs and choose things like omelette, salads without chips or crisps, curry without rice or breads. You could even have fish from a chippy if you remove the batter. You could have a burger without the bun or any number of combinations just keep of the carbs! 🙂

  • Weighed in this morning. I lost 1.7kg and my partner lost 2kg in one week. The first week was surprisingly easy. Not very hungry at all and not missing all the carbs. I already found I’m not craving food at all. Is going without the carbs the answer? I bought the book and I’m following the recipes and adapting a few of my own. My partner is not keen on some of the more obscure veggies but has been trying them anyway!

  • posted by  Sue1234 on Starting the journey 21/02/2016
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Hello everyone – the more the merrier.
    Glad your starting to lose again innermono!ogue. I’ve been losing painfully slowly, but I didn’t increase my exercise – so it’s my own fault really. However the weight does seem to be going in the right direction. I’m not sure if my liver or pancreas is emptying or not and I’m not sure if a lower fast reading or a higher fast reading is better at the moment?

    Day 37 10 St 6 lbs – have put 1lb on since yesterday, but I have eaten more yesterday and today.
    Blood sugar 10.3

    I test my blood every morning, I’m in week 6 and I had hoped for better results by this stage, or is my liver still emptying? I have ordered some ketostix as recommended, I’m not sure what they will prove, but I’ll give them a go. I didn’t manage to drink more today, in fact I did very little. Going to be more active tomorrow – possibly. 😇

  • posted by  Keetz on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    This is great to read Leeanne! I am worried that less time usually and a partner who generally doesn’t join in with this (plus 2 young girls) that I won’t always be able to follow the book recipes. How do you check your low carb, high fat stuff? Do you check labels? If so what numbers are you looking at. I’m interested to know how I can adapt especially when we’re away next week.
    Thank you!

  • posted by  hashimoto on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi rob, a lot of us eat following the principles of the diet, i.e low carb (and most of us count the calories). I. Have made some recipes from the book, but the basic ingredients can be made into a variety of meals. Some recipes. In the book take a long time to make – thinking of beetroot fa!
    I do make the fish baked in foil but I do it the way I always have – ie I add some soy sauce, ginger, chilli, onion, tomato and courgette. It’s easy that way and only a plate and cutlery to wash.

    You’ll develop ideas as you become confident about calorie and carb content. Keep going – you have already lost a lot of weight.
    Get your blood sugars tested as soon as you can or you won’t know the extent of your success 🙂

  • posted by  Janet1973 on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi Rob

    That sometimes happens with threads, they just seem to disappear for different people. If you get posts piped through to your email there is always a link to the post just above the text the poster has written. So if you ever lose your thread, you can pick it up again through your emails.

    The recipes in the book are only suggestions, so long as you stick to the idea of low carb high fat, you can eat whatever you like!

  • posted by  hashimoto on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Keetz, welcome to the forums. Sounds like you have made a good start on the first day. Don’t be scared we are all on this journey together 🙂

  • posted by  Leeanne on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi Rob, I’m personally a fan of just plain food so have not used any of the recipes in the book, as delicious as they sound. I try to incorporate mine & hubby’s meals to save on cooking and expense. I’ve stuck to low carb, full fat with calorie counting and it works for me. Week 4 now and a stone gone.

  • posted by  Laska on fats on a low-cal diet
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    I’ve actually found that if I eat extra fa , (i.e olive oil or butter) I lose more (im assuming its the ketosos factor) .. I know its a bit weird given that fat is high in calories (and Im not advocating you do this ) , but I havent really been worried too much about counting them in my 800 cals (not deliberately going over IYSWIM , but not worrying too much about how much I have had either ) ..

    ..Ive lost 19lbs and 5 inches off my waist in my 8 weeks (am happy with that , I had 2 stone to lose to perhaps not as much as some , also was not diabetic ) , Im keeping at it until I lose another 10 lbs though ..

  • posted by  08874 on Please sign our petition
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Have signed. I started this diet 2 weeks ago following receipt of a prescription for gliclazide from my diabetes nurse. My blood glucose when diagnosed with type 2 in 2011 was 9.1. In all that time on metformin the best result I have managed since is 7.1. In just 14 days on this diet my blood glucose has plummeted to 4.9. How can this diet not be standard NHS advice upon T2D diagnosis????

  • posted by  GwendolineAnn on 'Weigh in' thread
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi All, late signing in today, weighed in this morning and after 2 weeks I’ve lost 8.2lbs. I did have a couple of Hot Cross buns, but then wished I didn’t as they gave me indigestion. When will I learn this is one of the reasons that I am doing this diet is because I can’t eat bread. Haven’t lost any inches off my waist/buttonhole measurement, but as someone said in their Thread, have a lot to lose so there are plenty of places for the weight to be lost.

    I find it so encouraging reading all the posts and the replies of encouragement and hints and tips of how to go about doing this way of dieting. I do wish I had found this web site a while ago..

    I have found it easy to stick to, and also I don’t seem to be craving any of the sweet stuff, which is so good. I can actually go to my local garage and fill the car with fuel and not come out with any chocolate bars.

    I have 3 goals this year. Lose more weight before 20th April, as I’m taking hubby to London for his 60th birthday, we have a wedding on 25th June and the final goal is to visit my daughter in Australia in December.

    Hope everyone has a good week, and here’s to week 3.

  • posted by  Laska on 'Weigh in' thread
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Finished my 8 weeks and have lost 19lb and am back to ‘healthy’ BMI .. Hooray!. I have had a couple of ‘dos’ to go to though ‘ so admit to some wine being drunk in the last couple of weekends, otherwise I have been stuck to very low carb..

    I do still want to lose another 10lbs though, to get to my ‘happy’ weight of 10st , so am going to continue on 800 untl i get there , then ill start on BSD Medi 5:2.. (no more events for another three weeks so hopefully Ill be able to do it in that time )

  • posted by  Rob on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    I am a lost here,
    Been following the diet as it is written in the book ( hardest is eating the food that makes me gag )

    This is my 8th day and haven’t eaten anything more that what is in the book

    ( I have had 2 lattes in 8 days which is a huge improvement as I would of had 8 , if I was not on the diet )

    I was writing on a forum named lieghtweight / heavyweight ….but it has disappeared ??

    How comes your all eating meals that are not in the book?

    I thought if I read the book correctly that the meals they have written was to reboot the body??

    I think I lost 7kg in 7 days ( didn’t weigh before I started but I think I was 95 ) my aim is 78-80kg then switch to the 5:2 diet ( but I am frightened I have eat the wrong food for so long that I am pre diabetic?? Going to ask dr for tests once I get to 78-80kg

    All I can say ….I am 43 and this is the hardest thing in my life and reading the book and comments in the forum is the suppor/drive that is needed

    Anyone tell me where the last forum went??

    Hello to all))))

  • posted by  Catgirl on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Dear Keetz, don’t be scared as this actually works, I have just started week 3 today and thought at the start that I wouldn’t just be chewing my finger nails down to the knuckle but chewing my arm off at the elbow but NO! I have never felt hungry or tempted to pick, take all the support from the forums you need and we look forward to reading of your success.

  • posted by  Janet1973 on No weight loss happening?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    That’s why I stopped counting calories and switched to counting carbs only. I have no more than 50 g of carbs a day but that means my protein and fats are unlimited (no carbs in those!) I only have to work out the carbs in veg and legumes. I only eat when I am hungry and stop eating when I’ve had enough. Could also help you with your hunger.

  • Hey Guys,
    I’ve been doing some research recently on how the body processed alcohol. It’s pretty interesting stuff – essentially as soon as we touch alcohol, our bodies stop using the food we’ve eaten/or are eating for energy – all of that gets automatically stored as fat. This is because of the toxicity of alcohol it’s put first to burn off and use as energy as quickly as possible so that it’s eliminated from the body. This obviously means that everything else you eat in or around the same time is stored as fat – there were a few sites that said one way to help maintain weight would be to eat low carb, low fat and high protein on the days that you are going to drink alcohol so that less of what you eat is stored by the body. This seems to have worked for me, although I wouldn’t recommend this as something to do more than once a week.
    I also read that per gram of alcohol there are around 7 calories – and also found some alcohol calorie calculators – https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/understand-your-drinking/unit-calculator – these make scary reading! But is definitely an eye opener!
    I’ve cut down the alcohol since understanding this, although I still enjoy a good night out! 🙂

  • posted by  Desperate dieter on 'Weigh in' thread
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi all,
    it’s so encouraging to read about everyone’s weight loss. I’ve just signed the government petition as I think we must spread the word about this way of eating. I’m just finishing week seven and have lost 24 pounds. My husband is at end of week 6 has lost 26 pounds, his hba1c is down to 42 cholesterol 3, all medication greatly reduced, he’s having repeat bloods in two weeks but is thrilled. Waist measurements down by 4 and 6.5 inches too. We are going to continue beyond 8 weeks. Good luck . Much joy

  • posted by  Jandz100 on The planned day off diet
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Thanks Patsy

    I’ve had some roast beef, broccoli and gravy for tea and I feel somewhat better, going to take myself off to bed and start to read the book again to get back in the right frame of mind.

    Tomorrow is a new day, I’m back working 8 til 8, so I’m defrosting a portion of sausage & lentils from freezer and made a curried chickpea salad to take into work with me. Think I’m slightly over the 50g carbs but it’s a whole lot better than the last 3 days.

    Have a good week everyone x

  • posted by  Laska on Please sign our petition
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    Signed .. (and we’ve highlighted the petition on the BSD thread on Mumsnet..). This government ‘health’ advice is seriously flawed, (but then par for the course with this lot sadly).. Its just the Same old Same old..

  • posted by  Keetz on What have you eaten today?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    This is my first day and this thread is VERY useful!
    B: poached egg & half an avocado
    L: Half tin baked beans on coconut oil-fried portobello mushrooms
    D: chicken stir fry in tamari with ginger, & garlic.

    3 litres water, various herbal tea

    Waaarrrggghhhhh- I’m scared!

  • posted by  Kags on No weight loss happening?
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hi Janet,

    You could be right. I’m not averse to fats, but I do think I’m being more cautious because of the high calorie count of them. Will just have to try and include more where I can and see if it makes a difference.

    Kags

  • posted by  Lolo on 'Weigh in' thread
    on in Fast 800
    permalink

    Hey Everyone!
    Glad to see everyone’s doing so well still. I hit the start of week 7 tomorrow & am still really pleased with the results of this diet. I’m 17lbs down so far & 3 inches from my waist and hips – so really pleased. I wasn’t pre diabetic – but have tested my blood sugars recently and they are down to 4.8 from between 5.5-6, so again couldn’t be happier.
    These forums have been fantastic! Such a great way to keep motivated and get inspiration – well done everyone, really fab to see so much support out there & so much weight loss!
    My biggest vice on this diet has been alcohol – I still love a few drinks on a weekend with friends and recently did some research on how our bodies process alcohol. Really interesting to know that as soon as alcohol is ingested your body uses this as it’s primary fuel source. All other food is then stored as fat until all the alcohol calories have been used up. I read on a number of pages that 1g of alcohol equates to 7 calories – pretty hefty amounts! So advice was to eat low fat and low carb on the occasional day you are going to drink alcohol – this will mean that less fat is stored when you do treat yourself. It certainly has made me stop and think about the levels of alcohol consumed & why it makes people put on weight. I definitely will limit the alcohol more because of this – but it’s also great to know the processes your body is going through so that steps can be taken to help your body maintain it’s weight loss. Not sure if this was of interest to anyone – but thought it was worth a share 🙂
    Have a great week all! xx

  • posted by  Janet1973 on Biscuits?
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    How about just cutting back on the nice biscuits he enjoys having? How many would he normally have? If he has three, try just having one but really savouring it instead of it just disappearing in one mouthful (or is that just my husband?). There aren’t really too many alternatives that do the same job as the biscuit. But maybe if he can see the positive weight loss benefits from cutting back, he can be persuaded to go the whole hog. What really works for me is the volume of food I am allowed to eat. When I look at the one biscuit I could have and then look at the large bowl of yoghurt, fruit and nuts I could have for way less carbs, that is enough for me to choose the yoghurt over the biscuit every time. Or maybe you could ditch the cuppa; no cuppa means no need for biscuits.

  • posted by  jpscloud on Biscuits?
    on in Welcome to the BSD
    permalink

    You’re welcome, if he wants to ditch sugary biscuits it’s worth working on to get used to the taste – they’re not sweet but biscuity enough to be nice with a hot drink.