Very well done the 2 of you.
I love coming on here reading all these success stories from happy people.
So different from another diabetic forum that I looked at over the weekend. Very clannish, folk arguing black and white, and nothing very good to say about the BSD, in fact some dire warnings about it being dangerous !!!
I think I’ll stay here with all the happy and enlightened people. 🙂

That’s awful! I know how it feels to go to the gym all the time and be so careful with what you eat yet not look like you do – it’s so frustrating. I’ve tried lots of things that work for other people but just not me but I have to say this is working for me. Maybe it’s finding that thing that works for you. Have you considered metformin? I know it’s better to fix the problem through lifestyle but it it helps?
I also did TheBody Coach 90 day plan last year and that was great. It Ramps up your metabolism and makes the exercise I did much more effective so rather than go 7 days a week I went just 4 and had a much better effect. The principles are v similar to on here -high fat/ protien and low carb except post workout but with loads more calories.. It has a lot of success with losing weight around the middle. Have. Look on his website. I think one of the reasons this is working for me is that doing that first -training my body to eat a lot more and then doing this is creating a massive calorie difference. The face book page is called The 8 week blood sugar diet and people on there are lovely and others I think have had the same experience.
You can also email people on here and ask them if they have any advice as they have probably come across this before. What’s motivating about this diet is most people see quick results but maybe for you it will come with time if you can just keep going. I know sometimes my weight takes a bizarre amount of time to catch up. I though I had got away with my Christmas lessening up but a month later my weight shot up- defo a case of delayed onset of Christmas wickedness! therefore I bet it works the other way too that you may get the loss all at once-finger crossed. X

Update, I am now one week in, I have had a mixture of days of fasting all day and eating in the evenings, made a big crock pot full of steak mince, carrots, onions, leeks, barley and lentils and had that for a few evenings. Actually had a takeaway on friday night but ate less than half and chucked the rest away. Also had some low cal cottage pies in the freezer with swede mash – no butter and had them a couple of nights. Have got some frozen weigh watchers desserts in the freezer and did have a couple last week but have since checked out the sugar content and they are 24% sugar, since then I cannot bring myself to eat another.

Yesterday my shopping delivery included egg pasta which apparently is okay if looking at low GI, it was delicious, I also had unsalted cashews (probably more than I should have had) and I still registered a loss this morning but smaller only about .3 of a lb. However my weight loss for the week is 6.3lb so am very happy. Just another 40 or so to go!

Hey everyone. It’s weigh day in this Leicester house. And me and the Mrs are grinning.
I’ve lost 5lbs and her self 5 lbs too.

Much high fiveing has gone on as it means she’s now ‘officially’ not over weight according to her Bmi.
Well done Mrs!

And this despite me having a sneaky weigh in in the week and being up!

Keep it up folks and pile into the veggies. I’m convinced this is why I’m not hungry as I’m giving my body what it needs rather than fueling it with empty carbs that leave you hungry because your not feeding it (just adding calories.)

Hi, I’ve been following this forum with great interest as like Che_Knight I’ve been struggling to lose belly fat, despite doing REALLY well, (as far as I’m concerned, any way)having lost a stone in 2 weeks, which resulted in a little dance around the bathroom this morning! I also am SO used to low fat diets that that it’s programmed into me to maximise what I eat by using low fat alternatives, so I’m tending to have low fat +low carb. Reading the posts has inspired me to send away for a recipe book for further inspiration and I’ll get husband to download the Jenny Ruhl book (I don’t have a kindle, I stubbornly refuse!!). Obviously I need to clear out the fridge and start again, with full fat products. Meanwhile to keep an eye on the carbs, could anyone please advise how many carbs I should be aiming for in a day? I think I need to be keeping more of a close eye on how much I’m consuming.
Penny

Thanks for posting this squidgy. My blood sugar this morning is 11.7. An MRI confirmed I have a very fatty liver, so I can continue to expect high readings until my liver cleans itself out. I don’t want to hinder it’s progress so I will continue my 12 hour night time fast.

Hi teej not to worry. I only had s few seeds with me. Otherwise it would’ve been chocolate or crisps out of the onsite shop. My husband came to this show also on Sunday, so I drove home behind him. Not too bad and took it slow. I only live about 30 miles away. But from now on I will definitely have decent snacks available in my van for these types of situations. Still shakey and achey today. But like people have said, what things must I have been eating to cause such withdrawal symptoms . Also I don’t appear to have lost any weight. Perhaps 1lb. Mind you I don’t trust my scales. I am going to stick with it and go by my clothes.

Hi hashimoto 😉
Yeah the menu possibilities once you have made the flatbreads are huge and their are oodles of other recipes on the net for this flour.
Good to see someone else using it.
As to my eyes, my right eys as you know had a bleed 4 weeks ago, recovery time for this is normally in the region of 8 weeks so I’m halfway through it. My eye is at the stage where I am starting to be able to see things, albeit through a thick fog and better at night in artificial light as sunlight causes problems due to light sensitivity after the operations.
Come on folk, if you have any recipes that could help fellow travellers on the road, get them posted !!!

Hi Time4Change, on two occasions I have put ‘weight’ on. Once two pounds, once 1 lb. Then suddenly one or two mornings later there will be a ‘loss’ of 2 lbs or more. You could be right about water retention so don’t be disheartened, ‘keep right on til the end’

Well done to all the “losers”😀 My scales isn’t my friend right now. I’m up 2 pound since Friday, I know it’s not real- just water/salt retention but it’s messing with my mood. Feel very frustrated, I’ll just have to keep on keeping on I guess

Yeah Squidgy, that is a cracking read and will put a lot of minds at rest.
I was thinking something similar last week, the liver only has a finite storage capacity, so if it is releasing sugar every night and it isn’t being replaced, there has to come a point where the sugar readings go down.
Just stick with it, it may take another week but yours will reduce as well, in the meantime, just conssider it as poison leaving your body.

Hi All, Posted on 23rd Feb that I had stalled, have just weighed in and lost 2.2lbs in the last week so I’m pleased with that, my fasting blood sugar is still down to 5.4 and overall on this 8 week plan have so far lost 1st 6.2lbs (even the .2 is important!) 4 more weeks to go and so glad I didn’t give up when the weight stopped dropping. Mind you, I just like the diet…………go out for a curry every weekend – that’s my treat – just have chicken tikka or shashlick with a poppadom and glass of red – really enjoy it!

Totally agree about the chickpea flour flatbreads, Bill, they are delicious! I added rosemary, chilli and caraway seeds to mine (you can add any flavours/spices you want) they were still savoury with a slight citrusy taste. I managed to get 10 out of the batter mix and froze 7 of them for easy meals in the future.
I also made your coconut flat breads this weekend – equally delicious. I thought I might have one today but with a sweet topping of whipped cream and strawberries ( a good fake cream tea!) I made a triple batch of them to store plenty in the freezer!
Good news about your weight loss. How are your eyes at the moment?

Week 4 weigh in and another two and a half pounds gone even though I was innactive with a bad back and had a cold too.
Fasting blood sugar remaining in the 5 – 6 range so everything heading in the right direction.

Keep it up guys and keep glugging the water! Helps with dehydration headaches.
Week 4 weigh day and again I wasn’t expecting too much as I was still failrly immmobile with my sore back and I also had a cold last week (real one not withdrawal symptoms)
I was really happy to see I had lost anoth two and a half pounds for a total loss of seventeen and a half pounds 🙂
I tried out the chickpea flour this weekend, dead simple to do, basically you mix half a cup of chickpea (Gram) flour and a pinch of salt with enough water to make a thinnish batter and cook them just like pancakes. 3 – 4 mins per side until golden brown. (this makes 1 flatbread the size of a 28cm frying pan)
Used them for a sandwich and a burger and they are quite tasty and hold together well. The real bonus is the versatility of them. They can be used for wraps, as chapatis, for dipping, or, cooked a little less until just pale brown, they make a very acceptable pizza base.
Well worth a try
Onwards and upwards !!!

Hi Rubytuesday, I’m glad to see that you are doing ok too 🙂

Constipation is a big old problem for some of us isn’t it! I’ve got flaxseed now and pychullum sp? which I have a spoonful of each. It’s not having much effect yet I must say. Note to self to go back to using Colon cleanse. It’s got alow vera in it so at least it’s natural.

Well I’ve lost at least a pound since Saturday. I say at least, as it will be more when I eventually make friends with my loo again 😉

Yesterday I had 340 kcals and 36 of those were carbs. I did my Davina fit in 7 first thing, swam later and went for a walk in the afternoon. I also nipped to the shops and bought one of those fitness bands to measure steps etc.

oh and in the morning, I also read bits from a book (will find the name of if anyone is interested, it’s on my Kindle at the mo) 2 Drs = extensive research on low carb diets. the following bit I found most interesting and I hope might help others in the same situation.

“when humans cut back in calories, they tend t lose weight quickly at first. Some of it is water due to reduced glycogen reserves (the body stores 3-4 grams of water along with each gram of glycogen. But then if all subsequent weight loss comes from fat, and a 500 kcal per day deficit results in a pound per week of loss, this weight variability within a 4 pound range can lead to a great deal of frustration for the individual.

this 4 pound range in weight variability could completely mask 4 weeks of excellent diet adherence at 1 pound per week of fat loss. some people are clearly sticking to much more stringent diets, plateau for up to 2 weeks and then abruptly show a 5lb loss This is explained by the unpredictable shifts in body water content”

So, that describes me I think. I am waiting for the whooosh effect!

Hi, Just about to start on week 5 – have lost a wonderful 1stone 6.2 lbs so far – and fasting blood sugar down to 5.4 so thrilled to bits. Have to say I love the food on this diet and am following the diet really well except for the odd glass of wine! Was stuck in a bit of a plateau for a week losing nothing but seems to have righted itself now. Each week I’ve had to travel away and stay in hotels for 2 -3 days and still I’ve managed it! Feel energised and actually look forward to standing on the scales! My aim is to have lost 2 stone by the end of the 8 weeks – hmmm, can I do it????? Have made my own smoked mackerel pate which I just love!

Yes I did watch sugar free farm and was horrified at the reactions some had. It was one of the things that spurred me on with this. I could not eat all my porridge this morning but the cat finished it so no waste. I feel a bit better having eaten something. I very much hope I do not feel like this for two weeks!

End of week 4 weight is down 18lbs waist measurement is down 8cm and FBG down from 6.9 to 4.8 blood pressure also down. Have stuck to it like glue and am thrilled. Going on holiday in 4 weeks and for the first time in years I wont be hiding from the camera! Well done everybody keep up the great work

Hi Aly and all,
I’m just coming out of a miserable fortnight of carb flu/ sugar withdrawal. I’ve have ached so much and had to go back to bed for a couple of hours most days. Stick with it , it passes. Yesterday was my first day without horrible leg aches and exhaustion. I hope I’m now on my way up. 😳

Sorry to hear you have had a bad night Aly. Keep on going as you are right about withdrawal from the sugar addiction. Did you see The Sugar Free Farm? Two of the women had to go to bed for most of a day when the lack of lots of sugar made them feel ill. The more they had eaten of the white poison in the past the more the withdrawals affected them – and Mark Labette really earned his title of The Beast because he was really ratty in the first week until the withdrawal symptoms settled down. It shouldn’t last long Aly, and the benefits are amazing when things settle down.

Thanks to all of you. Not a good night, woken with an awful headache again. My body is aching and I feel sick. It has made me realize how bad sugar is if it has this effect when given up. I am struggling to eat at the moment which is unheard of for me.
Will keep going and hope this illness passes soon.

Looking to start 8WC on <800 cals per day. Commencing 1/3/16, last day Saturday 30/4/16 (corperate triathalon). Current weight 94kg, approx BF% 22-25. 176cm tall 40yo male.

Thanks Squidgy, I think that’s the best explanation of the dawn phenomenon I’ve ever read.

‘auntylil’: Thank you so much! Heading to search now.

edit: Your link and search suggestion are perfect. Just what I was looking for!

cheers.

53 yo male – At start of BSD: 178 cm, 109 kg, Fasting Blood Glucose 6.8, BP 147/83
End of week 7: 99.7 kg, FBG 5.2, BP 125/76

Haven’t been religious about calorie counting, ( sticking to the breakfast suggestions, lunch is tuna and salad and some ricotta or hummus, dinner is a little bit of protein chicken or salmon and steak once a week, with unlimited salad of veg,legumes, seeds and a matchbook sized serve of feta with dressing or unlimited steamed veg. Still enjoying a couple of glasses of wine each night and exercising 2 or 3 times a week on a stationary bike. Weight did plateau a few times but then there was a big drop the next week, so just believe in the science. You can’t help but lose weight on a calorie restricted diet with exercise. there have been times when I craved a biscuit or slice of cheese, but I’ve just drunk more water or had an apple or a carrot and been fine with controlling the evil urges. But they are few and far between.

So far, so good!

Hi,

that’s sounds interesting. Still no weight loss, not even today. I do suffer from water retention a lot.
I burn around 3000 calories a day(according to my Fitbit, which isn’t accurate but it gives me an idea) so my calorie deficit is roughly 2000 cal a day. It doesn’t make any sense. I am a terrible ‘apple shape’ as most Pcos ladies are and the fat around my middle just won’t shift. I almost underwent gastric bypass but then the surgeon said I wouldn’t lose more than 5-10 kg so it wasn’t worth the risk. I was even asked to sign up for a research as the doctors were puzzled why it is impossible for me to lose weight. My blood pressure is great, I am not on any medication, very rarely get sick. It is extremely tiring and energy draining to try and always ending up disappointed.
What Facebook group are you in?
Have a good week.

If you can search for the UK newspaper ‘Daily Mail’ – they ran a series of articles with some meal plans by Dr Mosley – here’s one –

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3407500/Eat-beat-diabetes-week-week-watch-weight-fall-Dr-Michael-Mosley-explains-changes-experience-follow-800-calorie-diet.html

which I expect you can cut and paste into your browser address box. I think were about three or four others you can look for. The meal plans have nice appetizing photographs. I googled Dr Michael Mosley Daily Mail and it came up. All the best to you – it will work.

This mirrors my experienced almost exactly. Two weeks in and 11 lb lost, 7 lb in week one and 4 lb in week 2.
So much more energy and not even hungry anymore. Good luck on week 3.

Shadow, you can buy a spiraliser from asda for about £5.00. I like cali rice but I like cauli mash even more. Just mash up cooked cauli with a masher or blender and add a knob of butter. Season with salt and pepper or a tiny pinch of ground nutmeg. Its amazing how creamy cauli is when it is mashed!

Don’t get discouraged Aly, as the others have said, this stage soon passes. Two roast potatoes out of a day’s healthy eating is not so bad. Just try again, don’t give up altogether. To be in the fat burning stage so soon is great news. Treat yourself kindly, rest when you need to and drink plenty of water to help you get through the funny feelings. Let us know how you get on.

Hello everyone:

I’ve just registered on the BSD site and am anxious to get started. However, I am in the U.S. and do not yet have access to the book. I have ordered it, but won’t have it in hand until 22 March. I wanted to ask if someone would mind posting a brief outline of the meal plan-what I mean is something like: Breakfast: X amount protein, X fruit, and so on. I just need a basic idea about this to get started while waiting on the book.

For now, best of luck to everyone and thanks in advance for any help.

Jeff (Boog23)

For years I used loads of weight watchers products never realising the amount of sugar in them. I can remember having 2 or 3 yoghurts a day because they were low in calories and I now am wondering how much all the weight watchers products have contributed to my present sugar situation. I find it hard to have full fat milk but have gone onto semi skimmed.
i have been to my daughters this weekend and she bought courgette spaghetti from tesco which was courgette cut by a spiraliser (not sure exactly what that is) and she cooked with bolognaise sauce and it was an excellent substitute for pasta and woud definitely get them again or just cut cortgette into very thin slices. I have yet to try the cauliflower rice but will try this week.

Keep going Aly, I also had terrible headache the other night and had to eat a bit more but feel ok now.

I had really bad calf cramp that woke me in the early hours the other night. Apparently it is caused by sodium deficiency. So I upped my salt use. and also slim line tonic water is good for cramps, it’s the quinine content!

Good point shrinky! Full fat yoghurt tastes soooo much better than low fat and full fat products are encouraged on this plan, win-win!

HR check the label on your “low fat” Greek yogurt. They normally have added sugar!
Could mess up what you are trying to achieve.
Best wishes.

By the way, it would be much better to go over your 800 than to risk any driving accidents – I’m sure you have already thought of that. 900 cals would still be a very low calorie diet and those extra hundred might make you feel better when you are on the road. Be safe!

It is indeed a strange day, I am really struggling. I have gone up to 900 calories but only on some extra roast chicken which I couldn’t resist this evening. I decided that at least it is still healthy and I was only at 750 yesterday so it will even out a bit. My daughter wafted a piece of wholemeal toast past me just now, it was all I could do not to gobble it up off the plate! Normally I would give in to a little treat and think I would get back on track tomorrow but it’s different this time as it is about my health rather than vanity. Sorry Tamznlaws, I have hijacked your thread. I am sure we will feel better tomorrow 🙂

Well done Tamz, you’re doing great. I guess it is all part of the body’s transition from burning carbs to burning fat. This is pretty much the change of a lifetime for most of us so its bound to feel major. I had pains in my legs that woke me up in the middle of the night and then I couldn’t get back to sleep but they did pass. It just makes me wonder what was I doing to myself all these years if this is how bad the withdrawal can be!

I feel for you Aly, lots of us have been through similar trials but if you can keep going now, it will get easier. And ketosis means fat burning so you should be on for a very nice weight loss which is why you are doing it! If you give in, you might have it all to do again so stick with it if you possibly can (and you can!)

Yes I did some investigation today and seems it is carb flu! Doesn’t really encourage me to continue as I feel really rough! It would seem I have gone very quickly into ketosis. I know in the long run that is good but am wavering right now. I had two small roast potatoes for dinner but will try to pull it in again tomorrow.

Thank-you so much for this, i will away now and see what kind it is i have.
and thanks for the sympathy re the egg – i almost cried!!!! dog was delighted!!!

Aly, your cold might not be a cold, it might be withdrawal symptoms so will probably pass quicker than a cold. I am totally with you on the weight watchers thing. I ‘invested’ a load of cash just after christmas with them on all their latest gadgets and now I wish I hadn’t!

Rose Elliot’s book ‘the vegetarian low carb diet’ says you can go down as low as 20g a day for two weeks for a ‘carb cleanse’ and then 40-60g is still low enough to lose weight. Bear in mind to keep your protein levels up as well though, to at least 60g a day.

What I’d give for a latte just now…

Aw Laura, I’m so sorry about your egg!
On the sweetener front, evidence is apparently emerging that some sweeteners can raise blood sugar levels, thus having a negative effect on weight loss, amongst other issues. Stevia is supposedly a natural plant-based sweetener which you can buy as tablets and apparently doesn’t have any side effects. Personally, I don’t like the after taste but its an individual thing. I use Splenda as it was recommended by Rose Elliot in her low carb vegetarian recipe book and I find the after taste with that is better. Rose says it is made from sucrulose so is better than most others but not as quite good as Stevia. Aspartame is said to be the one to avoid at the moment with the jury still out on xylitol and others.

I’m sure its not too good to be true Yael, I think you have every reason to be pleased with your results so far. Although you might not always find the weight comes off as fast. But again, that’s nothing to worry about. Keep going on your journey and you will achieve your goals. All the best

I believe it’s betweem 50-60 per day. Some of the recipes are well worth trying. Wishing you all the luck x

Hello – i really love my coffee. not excessively but a few cups a day. since reading the book i have stopped having sugar or agave syrup in it and started sweeter, but this morning i read that sweeter is rubbish for you too. Any suggestions? tried just not having anything sweet in it but it’s not the same!
p.s – dropped a perfectly poached egg on the kitchen floor this morning – :/

Thank you to everyone that has posted to me. I did eat some seeds I had with me. I will definitely make sure I keep nuts in my van. I think they’ll be a better snack option. I have made it home after packing my van. Took a lot longer than normal, plus driving home wasn’t great as I felt I had to concentrate extra hard. (very strange feeling). I too am having strange feelings in my muscles, but I have been trying to walk 10K most days. But the feelings today could be from lack of carbs. I will definitely but the book thank you Kev. Unfortunately Janet1973 I gave up coffee nearly two years ago, I only drink fizzy water, herbal tea or red wine! obviously the not the wine at the moment. Thank you to Celsa and Teej for you comments also. I now feel like I’m two people and can’t quite get one of me to work if that makes sense. Just hope by sticking to it tomorrow will improve.