Sorry to have been absent for a while folks. Some amazing progress from you since I last checked in here. Keep up the good work all. I have been reading occasionally but not much as other things took over recently. I have been out running more (not that this has helped the weight loss but then I haven’t gained either!) which helps me to cope when stress at home is high – as it is just now with a daughter facing exams. I do wonder how much lack of sleep and stress hormones affect weight loss since I have been reasonably careful.

You all are inspirational and it is great to see the numbers over the 8 week line growing.

Hi Just Do It – I’m in week 6 now and my weight lose has been erratic and just a pound or so a week. Just hold on to the fact that every pound lost is a pound in the right direction and try not to compare yourself to those losing many pounds a week. As Patsy says, those people probably have more weight to shift than you do. Stick with the diet and you too will see results to be proud of.

If you are really concerned about your rate of lose, do a quick check on the amount you are drinking, that you have enough fat in your diet and that your carb intake isn’t to high. Assuming all this is fine, just stick with it and keep us posted on your progress. And remember, your success is your success and you should be proud of it.

Captain Lynne – it’s the downside of the British culture not to comment. The other side of the coin for you is this: I am married to a Spaniard and every time we go over I am told how much fatter I have got! They don’t mince their words at all. We were over in February and I hadn’t lost enough then for it to be obvious. But hopefully next time. I am wondering if maybe when they are with you next week and it isn’t a rushed time they might notice. Or maybe they are jealous and that’s why they said nothing.

Just another note to let the BSD know that the Courgette & Pumpkin Seed Muffin recipe must be flawed! What a waste of so much high quality, high cost ingredients (I was stupid enough to do a double batch because I was so excited and was going to freeze a batch). The entire lot went into the bin (sad face). I tried to re-cook them with a nob of organic butter on top and still failed – raw inside (another sad face). I’m so upset… and now even though I have all the ingredients for the Guilt Free Brownies in my kitchen cupboard I’m too nervous to make them… or maybe I’ll just read the blogs before I go ahead this time!

Captainlynne

My heart goes out to you. I am desperate that when I get off the plane in France on 3rd May, my son is going to say “you look great Mum and haven’t you lost loads of weight”. Were your family aware that you were on the BSD because, if not, maybe they felt they really shouldn’t mention your weight loss in case it wasn’t intentional!!

However, as you say, you’re doing it for you, not for anyone else and your family on here are full of love and support. I’m sure your local charity shop will be delighted with the jams and chutneys that you will be donating to them once your grandchildren are safely back in their own nest.

Stay strong Captainlynne – we are all very proud of you, and incredibly grateful for all the help and support you give to us.

Janice xxx

Hi All,

I started the diet on Tuesday morning at a start weight of 21st 2 (eeeek!). I had a wee peak on the scales this morning as an interim weigh in before the full first 7 day weigh and was astounded to see a figure of 20st 3. It’s been 5 days. I am totally astounded.

I know some of that will be water weight and slight deviations due to times I weighed etc but the fact still remains. I’m really feeling the difference in such a small timeframe, I made a vow to walk to work as part of me getting more active. It killed me on Tuesday as where I live is really hilly but as the week has gone on it’s got easier. Hell, my wedding ring is even loose now! Very happy bunny and extremely motivated, just as the book says. So happy I started.

Hope everybody is doing good and enjoying the M diet =) I know I am.

What a day!!! Travelling was a nightmare but finally home.

For those who were wondering, the family said:

not a word 😳

Two adults and two children did not notice anything different!

Part of me did think ‘why do I bother?’ But then I realised that I’m not doing this for anybody but me. But it would be nice if someone occasionally made a nice comment. Those I see frequently, I can understand because they don’t see much change from week to week. When they do, they think it’s polite not to make personal comments. But the family haven’t seen me since about last October. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh!!! I’ve got the twins for just over a week before their parents come over – at the moment I don’t know how long they’ll be staying – that could prove interesting! Today, in the few hours I was with them, I was offered a chicken sandwich, a fried egg sandwich or a pasty. All were graciously declined 😃. Oh, and don’t forget the Mothers’ Day present of jams, chutneys etc from Lakeland that I was given today😳

Still, thanks to my family on here for your support and encouragement 😃

Hi Patsy,
You are correct, its a pound in the right direction. I had a couple of weeks when I lost a pound. I’ve lost a lot because I’ve a lot to lose. I want to (and will) lose the same again.
Keep up the good work !

Of course its great when people lose large amounts of weight but there are also plenty of us like you and me who are getting around a pound or two a week.

We certainly do generate a lot of chatter don’t we? Apart from my favourite threads which I am plugged into and which flood my email account constantly (!) I usually have a quick scan of the ‘latest topics’ to see what has got people going. It also means I can see how many posts are on each thread. If there is a new one that hasn’t had any response I can then add something encouraging, even if I don’t know the answer. As you say Judith, its nice to let the newbies know people are interested in them.

I know just what you mean jpscloud, I decided today I would have just a little bit of chocolate. I really enjoyed it and I didn’t go back for more. That’s a real achievement for me. In the past I would have kept going til it was all gone. And the great thing – I have done a ketone test since and I am still in ketosis! That means a little bit once in a while is ok – I’ve always been an all or nothing girl but I really think I can learn to control it like ‘thin people’ do!

Judith, congratulations on the shopping trip. I hope you will all be very happy together!

Day 42 weight 10st 5lbs
Blood sugar 10.8

Going to have salami and coleslaw again for tea and having the leeks tomorrow, not decided how to cook them yet – having them with chicken.

My husband knows and is very supportive. He’s mostly eating what I am, with carbs added (he doesn’t need to diet and isn’t diabetic). I haven’t told anyone else yet. Going out for a meal with friends tonight and will if they express concern about my food choices, but I plan to try to keep it quiet until I’ve lost enough weight for it to show.

I know several people who’ve been ‘on a diet’ for years and go on about it constantly, trying to talk people into trying each new fad, and keep gaining weight. It’s rather put me off saying anything.

I have found a source of literally hundreds of recipes at https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Recipes/. They are sub-divided into various groups, e.g. ‘Sugar Free’, ‘Gluten Free’, etc.

My main problem is that most cookery books use non-metric measures – a teaspoon of this or 1/3 cup of that, etc., particularly so with American publications. I always use metric and weigh everything. I use the UK ‘back of pack’ nutrition information entered into a database from which is extracted accurate energy and nutrition for the quantity of each food item used.

Since we are dealing with a small quantity of 800 kcalories per day, variations in ‘traditional’ measuring items – cups, spoons – from one country to another could result in a greater or lesser proportion of the 800 kcalories required.

Really helpful, Allychat. Thanks for that. This is the way we are going at the moment. Not far enough in to really know about weight losses yet. So nice to know it is working this way for someone out there.

Just do it, sounds as though you’re really benefitting from the diet, even if you’ve not lost very much weight. From what I’ve been reading it’s those who have a lot to lose and/or haven’t been dieting recently who see the biggest losses. You should still lose weight, but maybe not so dramatically.

Correction LOL – 2 chicken thighs not breasts!

Really well done to, Bruno, Lynne, Bill and Inka!

Only a pound for me, but it’s a pound in the right direction.

Re toothpaste.
Just read the back of kingfisher. No sugar or sweeteners. Pretty sure toms is the same.
Penny

Hi Judith and Inka
Check out the toothpastes in the health food shops. – kingfisher or Toms.
Penny

You’re right, shortapple – there aren’t any reasons not to give it a try.

btw, my autocorrect wants to call you chortle … maybe I will!

Hi Debi
I put the nuts and nut butters on a high shelf in the cupboard. I have to stand on a chair! So can’t casually eat them.
Penny

Thanks, Lucia.

It did give me confidence that I’ll be fine with the maintenance and won’t have to worry about measuring things then. Just need to be stricter with myself for a while first.

Yeh, janet, i use that every day but if you haven’t been on line for several hours you would have a few pages to trawl through. You can’t receive emails without posting and pressing the let me know about future emails at the same time. It makes it difficult to prioritize. I respond to received emails and check latest posts. This is the first and only forum I have used so I am a bit surprised by the sheer quantity of different threads. I would love to have it rationalized.

Threads for different nationalities makes perfect sense, same for 8 weeks and after,weigh in thread, petition (of course!), fasting bloods, just starting bsd, this has to work for me, first salvo fired and what I have eaten today – that’s all in the bsd category, I. Haven’t looked much at the others. Apologies if I have missed any others – i didn’t check all the threads first, there are so many lol

I like that analogy Janet! I am a wobbler (in more ways than one, sadly!!) and every few days I go off the rails. There is something about this diet that makes it possible for me to get back on straight away, instead of continuing to binge. I don’t know what it is, but it is working. Must be those abstinence muscles!

Hi Cherrianne & Janet1973, thanks so much for your replies and encouragement. You are absolutely right, great points re previous weight loss and benefits already realised, and I’m certainly not letting it put me off, I’m even more determined than ever to do well on this plan – just thought I must be going wrong when I read of people who’ve averaged a pound a day loss when I’ve only managed 4 in 16 days.

Amendment to my original post – fats are minimum of 50% of my daily intake, not carbs – duuurrrh!

Thank you

There is nothing in the bsd book that gives specific quantities of fat but the general feeling seems to be to have some fat with every meal. The distinction of ‘good’ fat is breaking down these days too. The only fat you need to avoid is trans-fat. A great website for this is dietdoctor.com.

Judith, have you tried using the ‘latest form posts’ button? Its under the forums tab at the top of the website and it shows you all posts made in the last few minutes, regardless of which thread they are on. Might help you keep up with the newbies!

Not at all John, I only find things out on this website by prodding stuff and seeing what happens! Any of the main supermarkets should have your fage yoghurt. Also has ‘total’ on carton. Make sure you get full fat one and not 0%

Stringbreaker you are not alone, I spent ages searching for first salvo fired.

I think we do need some rationalization. One would like to welcome and support new starters but with so many new threads starting they are very easy to miss 🙁

Janet,
I’m an idiot, I’ve just discovered the “search” box at the top RH corner of the home page – takes you straight there (as long as you can remember the exact name of the thread).
Doooh
You probably assumed I already knew that and wondered why I was being so dense.
Sorry
Just of to look for some “Fage” Yoghurt – sounds yummy.
John

Well done Karra!

I’m not aware of a fat intake limit but the BSD recommends “good” fats and full fat versions of foods like dairy. I don’t worry about how much fat I am having, but I do calorie count it all. So for example, I’ll have 2 tablespoons of olive oil as a greek salad dressing, but that’s about 250 calories so I have to adjust the amount of feta cheese I have with it, and adjust other meals in the day to allow for it as well.

So long as you know what the calories are and can make room for them, you should be ok. you might have to weigh your quarter cup one day to find out exactly how many cals/carbs there are and then include your milk too. They are quite high in carbs and some people find they want more bang for their buck – that was me. But see how you go, you can always try something different later if you feel its not helping you.

Hi Chris
I was much the same, having porridge and semi skimmed milk each morning. I am 7 weeks in to the 800 cal diet now and have avoided porridge totally. My reason being that it was not given as an option in the meal plans,. I intend to reintroduce it ( for cholesterol busting purposes) once I go on to the maintenance plan. I was in a similar dilemma at the start as you are, but I found so many tasty and tempting alternatives. Hang on in there. Between all the folk following this diet someone will be out there on their daily porridge. If you are needing to go v low / no carbs, then it might be best to avoid. I think 100g of oats is about 12g of carbs if that’s any help. Good luck and let us know how younRe doing. Much joy

Janet, when you say “find your thread” is there a direct way of doing this?
John

Chris,
Welcome to the community.
I’ve eaten porage for breakfast almost every day during the 8 weeks and lost 23 lbs.
It must be proper rolled oats and not instant porage. Rolled oats (such as Scotts “Old Fashioned”) are good-ish carbs, being low-ish on the Glycaemic index. They worked for me as they kept me full until lunch time.
Admittedly I always make it with water, but skimmed milk is not that different, I guess.
Don’t know what a “quarter cup” is, but I do know that I’ve kept the kCals to under 100
Hope this helps – it you want some motivation, go to the thread “This has to work for me” and read it right though – you will follow several peoples’ whole 8 week trip with all the ups and downs involved – it makes a great motivational read, even though it will take you a while as there are over 500 postings.
John

The other way I do it is when I am reading comments in my emails and I want to respond, the link just above the comment takes you to the thread

Find your thread, click on the last comment or the time of the last comment which is shown as a preview. That will take you to that comment. As you say, very useful when there are hundreds of posts.

Hi folks, inka and I have been shocked at the overwhelmingly sweet taste of toothpaste and as suspected the 3 types i have just bought contain saccharine. I am writing to the manufacturers.

I do not choose to have saccharine in my diet, i know we don’t eat toothpaste but we must be ingesting some through saliva. I for one am sick of waking to the sickly sick taste.

How does one go straight to a particular thread?
I wanted to catch up on this one, and had to page through over 500 postings on “Latest Forum Posts” to find a “This has to work for me”
The community must be getting huge – 500+ postings in under 2 days!
It’s a shame there can’t be some rationalisation, similar conversations are going on on so many different threads. Miss a day and you’re out of it.
I suppose it would have been a bit quicker to go through “All recent topics” but even that is not exactly direct.

Thanks, both of you.

He’s not keen on much salad, but we could have it sometimes. Had to look up kumara – never heard it called that.

A deli platter is an excellent idea – there are plenty of things he likes which I could include. Actually I couldhave salads with a little of the platter stuff and he could do it the other way round.

Inka i have bought 3 toothpastes and they all have saccharine in. I’m writing to the manufacturers! 🙂

Well I’m pleased to say that my blood sugar readings last night were 8.6 same as they have been all week, and this morning it was 8.4, so instead of rising like they’ve normally been doing they went down, so that’s good and I’ve lost ¾lb.

My carb intake yesterday was 30g

BTW I don’t think I’ve seen what the FAT intake should be per day, can anyone tell me please?

hugs
Karra

Cherrianne – welcome to the “Vets” – I agree that this really does seem sustainable – for the first time I’m not heaving a sigh of relief that the big effort is over and I can now reach for the beer and sarnies.

Captainlynne – brilliant results – I do hope you’re allowing yourself to feel a bit smug 😉

I’ve survived this week (Easter, my wife’s birthday and a pre-ordered “Champagne Afternoon Tea”) with no loss or gain – happy with that but determined to finish this job and get another 16 lbs off.

Burnt 610 kCals this morning on the bike so allowed myself a small piece of fruit cake at the destination cafe. A bike ride without cake is just not on.

Hi cherrieanne, what a shame about your breads. I hope the current attempt works!

I know, I can’t wait to hear what lynne s family say!

Well I went to M and S this morning to buy a loose white, fine cardi to go over summer tops/dresses. I saw two lovely dresses in the colours I can wear, in a style I would have avoided pre BSD. I tried on one with a zip up the back AND I walked out of the cubicle to ask an assistant to zip me up. I haven’t had the confidence to do that for YEARS!!! Upshot I have two beautiful new dresses in lovely colours AND a new loose cardi, or two, one white one navy and I had to go for size 12 cardies. I’m happy dancing!!!! Id sing if I still could :). 🙂

Only just found this thread – I’ll log my results here as I guess it is a handy place for MM to gather stats.
January – on 5:2 Lost 12 lbs
February – March – on BSD Lost 23 lbs
Male – 66 not aware of any diabetes problem
5’11 ish
Started 205 lbs
Aiming for 154 lbs

Hi everybody. One question before l start this diet. My normal breakfast for the last few years has been a quarter cup of porridge oats with cup full of semi skimmed milk. Can l continue with this for the next eight weeks, it keeps me going all day ,our follow the recommended breakfast in the diet programme?