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.

Way to go Lesley91
you’re getting great results and that dress is just going to slip on. Well done

Amazing!!! After getting back on the straight and narrow am 1 kilo down already!!!! Very motivated as slept much better last night without prosecco!!! Read on this forum that a spoonful of yoghurt curbs hunger before bed and this really worked for me!

So you made me wonder.. Just checked out my BMI and it was 34.3 and obese when I started.
Now it is 29.4 and overweight.

Woop woop 🙂

LOL captainlynne, I know what you mean about the local takeaway! We “were” very good customers last year to the point they gave us a bottle of wine with our last order just before Christmas!! I’m not a great veggie lover either so have been supplementing with multivitamins.

csmcnevin, how’s it going now? How did day 4 go?

Hey Denise47 and thanks for the welcome. You’re going great guns too! My mantra used to be “Life tastes better with wine”! but I know I’d have a fat life if I kept going like that (plus maybe a couple of choccy bars a day sometimes!) and the decreasing number keep me forging forward. I must say, I do look forward to my morning weigh ins now 😀

Alexiginda, yes, I agree, the 5:2 IF is like a foundation course for Fast 800! You can launch into it full steam ahead knowing what to expect with the added bonus of immediate results every day (mostly)

I love my sugary things too but this week have weened myself off the sweeteners I used to have in my hot drinks. Hot drinks still don’t feel as “comforting” as they used to but I am slowly getting used to it and I’m sure that will pass.

What I am still missing is my mega lunch at Mc Ds but I’ve done a bit of research and could go bun & fries free and opt for the salad as a side. It’s still low carbs (around 3) and full of fatty goodness!! LOL

Hi wedgie, great news re your first week. amazedbanana great results 🙂

Thanks for all the great comments folks I really appreciate them more that I deserve them.
I really haven’t done anything except follow the plan, the real plaudits belong to Michael and Prof Taylor.
The nicest thing about yesterday was, I have never seen this doctor smile before. I saw the first glimmer as I told her how much weight I had lost and she was positively beaming by the time I left. She even commented that it was a pleasant change to hear some good news.
Now I have my next target, med free by September, by which time I hope to be nearing weight target 2 of 12 stones.
That 13.5 stone by June is looking achievable now.
The patient advisor thing (I never heard of them before) was left hanging so I’ll wait and see what happens, if I get a call I’ll see how much time it will take.
What I really want now is to see everyone who does this diet having the same results, wouldn’t that be something ?

Lesley and inka – tape measure – don’t suck in, breathe normally then measure:)

Lesley keep going and that dress willl fit 🙂

Inka older people, slim body? Think Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma! I’d have her body any day!!!

You have already lost a lot of weight! Captainlynne has already done 14 weeks (42lbs gone) and quite a few of us are still following the diet now we are over the 8 weeks. Use the nhs bmi calculator and put in your old weight first – you will see how much you have achieved already. Then put in your new weight. I use it every time I lose a bit of weight, it’s very encouraging.

Remember NHS bmi calculator!!!! 🙂

Hi all, am currently mid week 4. In week 2 my FBS really improved – lowest was 5.9. Slowly crept up in wk 3 – lowest 6.9. I halved my metformin but only for 2 days as they’ve gone up. This week I’ve had 7.7/7.8/7.8/7.2. I’ve gone back on full dose metformin again (2000mg). The only thing that’s changed diet wise is I’ve not been drinking the 2-3l water but I’ve started doing 3 Mile walks 5 times a week. It’s all very strange but am hoping it’s the pattern before better things. (Pre this diet my FBS figures were in the 11s).

hi neohdiver
Reading your posts, you probably know a lot more about losing weight than me.
If it helps, I had blood tests taken 4 weeks into the diet, I am a long term T2D, or should I say was.
I have stopped most of the meds and take 1 metformin twice a day ATM but yesterday I was told by the doc that I am now in the pre diabetic range and on the verge of being med free.
Just a small demonstration on what can be achieved on this new lifestyle.

Hi to all our new Aussies!

Healthyanna the carb detox flu won’t last for long and then you will feel wonderful! 🙂

14kgtooheavy, stick with it, michael says that the first two weeks are the hardest, then the hunger pangs go and you will feel healthy and energetic especially when the weight starts dropping off. Watch those kgs melt away 🙂

Dorothy I ve tried other diets and haven’t even lost weight. On this diet I. Have lost 2 stones and 9lbs. I won’t put it back on because this quickly becomes a way of life. No way could i eat starchy food again. 🙂

Kooka, congratulations on the weight you have already lost. People often experience a plateau and then the weight starts dropping again 🙂

Hello fellow Aussies!
I live in Sydney and have been on the BSD for 5 weeks. I tried the 5:2 a couple of years ago but I found it a bit difficult to stick to as my hands tend to go cold in the afternoon as my body starts to conserve energy and the Air Conditioning gets cranked up on hot days. I haven’t been quite sticking to the 800 calories but I have been pretty good mostly. I have lost 6.5kg so far – plateaued a little around Easter. There may have been a bunny involved. But I like that I have been able to fall off the horse a couple of times and actually get back into the diet without feeling too bad … that’s something I have had difficulty with on other diets.

Hi all. I’ve just hit the big 55 and due to an illness last year piled on quite a bit of weight. Had blood tests recently which showed that I had developed Insulin Resistance and could be looking down the barrel of Type 2 Diabetes!

Needless to say I wasn’t interested in entertaining that little gem, so I started reading up on these topics and discovered the BSD. Have since bought the book and am at the end of Week 1 with a loss of 4 kgs under my belt (or over it 🙂 ) and blood sugar levels on the downturn.

I am enjoying the food and adding regular cardio exercise to the mix. My goal is to stay faithful for the entire 8 weeks (and beyond) and try and drop around 20 – 25 kgs all up.

Good luck to all the Aussies out there giving this one a chance. It certainly shows promise.

Hi Fch53, so glad you are already losing the taste for sugary foods 🙂

Hi cate ran away, welcome to the forums. This diet is already working for you, it sounds as if you have a supportive doctor, and your sisters should be encouraged to follow this diet after seeing your successes.

Just shout if you have any questions there will always be someone able to help 🙂

The NHS website has a BMI calculator (or it used to) I need to look at mine – I was classed as morbidly obese – and was always in denial about it!

I am continuing the diet for another 8 weeks as that will take me up to my hen do and then the wedding! At the moment my dress doesn’t do up – that was 6 weeks ago so hoping when I try it in 2 weeks the zip goes at least half way!!

I measured my waist..etc but same as you forgot the exact poisitioning of the tape measure, I can tell you for sure I have lost 2″ from my neck and thighs. * I do weigh myself almost everyday *

These forums have kept me going, thank you to everyone! Xx

Hi all Aussies 🙂
There are some great low carb alternatives available to us.
Please feel free to list any you might know of.
Bread: Herman Brot bread is very low carb at 2.3g carb and 111 cals per slice and freezes well. In SA it is available at Foodland and IGA stores. It isn’t cheap but our health is worth it, if you can’t live without an occasional slice of bread. This bread is delicious and you would never know it was low carb from the taste or texture. Check out their website for online ordering or a store near you.

Pasta: Herman Brot also do a low carb dried pasta, I haven’t managed to find any locally yet but will do an online order and let you know.
Coles and Woolworths sell Slendier brand noodles. Made from a vegetable called Konjac they are less than 1g carb ( yes really!) and 12 cals per serve. They come in noodle, fettuccine or spaghetti style. There is one that is like rice apparently but I haven’t had any luck finding it. The drawback is they can’t be frozen and have to be used within 3 days once opened. The recommended serving size is 125g but they are very filling and this was too much for me. In Woolies they are usually on the very top shelf of the health food section.
Hope this thread will help us with low carb alternatives to our favourite foods.

Hi to all my fellow Aussies.
I’m starting a thread for low carb foods available here. Please feel free to contribute any products you may know about. It should be useful to all the newbies.

Hello, I am also from Australia. I have always been a fan of Michael Mosely and his documentaries.
I am a fifty something Aussie female and I have been overweight for most of my life.
I am not diabetic and don’t want to be either, hence why I’m here.

I have been essentially sugar free (with a few lapses) since October last year. In that time I have lost 19kg.
I am into week 5 of the 800BSD because my weight had plateaued for a while.
After week 8 I will go onto the 5:2 BSD as I want to stay off sugar altogether.
It has taken me all of this time to realise that I was seriously addicted to sugar.

I am calmer and happier now and enjoying shopping for smaller clothes!

Day three and had 20g porridge with a tbsp of raisins and a springle of seeds. No sweeteners or sugar and it tasted yum. Definitely already finding sweet food taste wrong. Scales show 4lb off since Monday and like many I weigh daily as before I have noticed my weight fluctuates constantly. Need to add some of your suggestions to my food order for Friday and may try some of the recipes from the book too. Breakfast and lunch so far are the easiest to control as I am just cooking for me. Tonight’s tea is going to be paprika chicken (quorn for daughter) and veg for me but wedges for everyone else.

OK, I did it this morning! I weight and measured myself – and also created a spreadsheet like many of you suggested. So, the result of my weigh-in was -0.7 kg and 1 inch of my wait…. not sure if this is correct though… I cant remember how “loose” or “tight” I draped the tape measure across my belly button :-). So made a note, to help me remember this for next time. I am at W4D4 and so far in total have lost 6.5kg, or, according to my weight converter, 14.33lbs. I grew up with kg’s so I am not so good unterstanding imperial measures. … but I hope this is right.
A BMI calculator says that I am obese (class 1), whatever that means. The value is 33 :-(… It also suggests that my ideal wright is between 50kg and 67kg. This sounds a bit unrealistic … I was never ever in my whole live 50kg, even when I was much much younger and pre-children! It makes me doubt this suggestion as I feel that I would look like a “scarecrow”, if I was that light. In the good old days, I always hovered around 63-65kg, but I was so much younger then. Can older bodies still look good and healthy when reverting back to a “young weight range?” Maybe I should aim for that…. it’s a bit depressing to see that I have to loose so much more weight than I thought …. Instead of 20 something, I now should loose a further 5kg or so? There is no way, I can achieve this in the next 4 weeks, when my 8 weeks are over. Can I continue the BSD this until I reach my goal? Are all BMI calculators created equal? Which ones are better, the ones which also consider your age? Is there a good reliable app? I use FitnessPal for everything, but it doesn’t seem to have this. …. which one are you using, or are you using a formula to calculate it yourselves… and then there is the reference list which is supposed to help you find your ideal recommended weight range. They also seem to vary a bit…. What do you do/use to determine your weight/BMI stats correctly?

… Thanks so much to all who responded again…. your views and advice are truly appreciated … So glad that I have found this site and all of you :-))))!

Im also in Australia and this is my first read and forum for this site. I am getting ready to start this new lifestyle next week, Ive been reading and exploring making shopping lists and I hope this works! Ive tried soooo many diets and always put weight back on. I’m hoping I see some fast results to keep me motivated. I’m getting so organised I cannot fail! I’ve even convinced my husband to do this for 4 weeks to see if it works for him too.

Hi everyone, I’m Natalie and I live in Sunbury, Vic, Australia. 3 kids (12, 11, 9), two dogs (poodles), 5 budgies, 1 husband 🙂
Today is day 1 for me. I’m worried I won’t be able to stick to the diet, mainly because I’m worried I’m going to be feeling hungry all the time! My main downfall is bread (vegemite toast, national dish of Australia) and portion-size. I’m not into sugary or processed foods like biscuits/cakes/lollies/chocolate etc. but I absolutely love my savoury foods. My favourite meal has to be weetbix with soy milk (weird, I know) which I can happily have every night before bed. I’m not a huge wine/alcohol drinker so won’t prob miss that which is lucky. My biggest concern is whether I’m going to be ok on this diet to start a new job – newly admitted as a lawyer and trying to get a job at present, hoping I won’t be a flake on the job (if I’m lucky enough to get one soon) with ‘low sugar’ levels… will be checking in on everyone’s progress just to keep motivated I think.
Has been 45 mins since my lunchtime ‘shake’ and I’m hungry already! groan.
nice to meet you all 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi, another Aussie here too – got a lot of weight to lose (currently 122kg) and on day 2. Felt great yesterday, terrible today, but realise it’s a sugar/carb detox. Looking forward to feeling good soon! Wanting to get to 80kg in the long run, but taking it a day at a time! I’m following the plan in the book but am going slightly over 800 I guess due to some milk in my tea/coffee. But I cant live without it in the first week anyway! Will be good to share in everyone’s achievements!

Hi all, I just started on the 800 BSD, I have a family history of diabetes with both my oldest and youngest sister being diabetic, plus Dad dying early from heart disease brought on by type 2 diabetes. I have been doing the 5: 2 for the last month as suggested by my doctor and lost 0 kg but after two days on this 800bsd I already down 2 kg. I’m really looking forward to the next 8 weeks together.

Fasting until early afternoon

Lunch
Pepper with jeweled feta (from the book, without the scallions) 249 calories 20 net carbs
Jarlsberg cheese 28 grams = 0 carbs

Early evening
Romaine lettuce, cauliflower, and cucumber salad with low-fat ranch dressing 70 calories 11 net carbs

Supper (I hope – assuming I can find the last 2 ingredients on the way home))
Spicy chicken and lentils from the book 321 calories 22 net carbs (pushing my personal limit here)

Driving home treat: Tate’s mint chocolate chip cookie 70 calories/8 net carbs

Total (pending precise measurements for supper) 810 calories/61 net carbs