Weight 10st 12lbs
Ran out of testing sticks so no blood sugar reading today, but now have some for tomorrow.

Made vegetable curry, used full jar of curry paste, 3/4 can water, good pinch of cumin, and the stalks off the grated cauliflower as a variation of the recipe. I managed to burn my finger and the cauliflower rice – but my curry stll tasted good. I have 3 lots of curry to freeze and 4 lots of cauliflower rice getting frozen. If you are thinking of making the curry allow plenty of time as it takes ages to chop all the vegetables.☺

Congratulations Scotgran! I also started off at 12 & 1/2 stone and have just reached 11st 11lb – I’m a little jealous because it’s taken me 4 weeks longer than you to get there! Like you, I’m feeling better and feeling more like taking longer walks as the weather improves. Good luck.

Hello this is my 2nd week on this BSD and my husband is doing it with me, we have both followed the diet as best as we can, we did take three days off the 1st week as we were away from home, we decided that we would not be able to follow the diet for that time away, but we got straight back to it on our return, we have both lost weight that we are really pleased with, I am used to cooking from scratch so it’s fun to follow some of these recipes, but I calorie count when I make my own soups, and dinners. Your polly tunnel sounds like it should give you some lovely organic produce, those happy eggs sound good too. Good luck in finding that health food shop.
Gail.

Hello

I have PCOS too and I am almost 2 weeks in. I find out so hard to loose weight but I have had fantastic results on this. I lost 7 lbs in the first week and another 3lbs so far this week despite being really ill and barely getting out of bed this week but still sticking to the food. I already did a lot of exercise and I did a lot last week but I am still staggered by the losses I’ve had. I am doing the 800 fast and sticking to it absolutely. Are you doing the low carb med or the fast diet?
Victoria X

Hello,

I just wonder if there are any ladies who suffer from PCOS, trying the blood sugar diet.

I was diagnosed with severe PCOS when I was a teenager. I have never been slim in my life and I was told by doctors after all possible tests and examinations that I am very unlikely to lose weight.

When I came across the BSD , I got very excited. I’ve been on the diet for a week, haven’t lost any weight :-(, but my sugar level is now 5.2 mmol. Down from pre-diabetic 5.6-7 mmol.

I hope to hear from someone with the same problem

Thank you.

just checked my TDEE score to see how many cals are needed just to maintain my current weight, and it is 1,590, well i’m having under half that every day.

shrugs

Found out that my thrush and cold sores may be because of high cortisol, the hormone released when under stress and/or low blood- glucose. One has to wonder about the stress of eating mushrooms! Also found info. re: Candida die-off which happens apparently when people with Candida overgrowth do the detox or candida diet which is low carb/no sugar as well as no blummin fungi. Mention of toxins coming to the surface. Sent off for Lysine and Zinc from beloved ‘Natures Best’ as they are supposed to help as well as Vit C.

Inspite of all the things I’m complaining about I have been sleeping much better too since attempting the BSD. I made some bread last night with Spelt which turned out like a house brick; also made some blueberry muffins using soya milk and Spelt and they are lovely. I shall allow myself one a day so have frozen a lot of them. Also had a small banana today so I am definitely not on the BSD. The use of coconut in the BSD and other nuts not so great for people like me as nuts have something in them that herpes simplex thrives on.

I don’t know – with the lactose intolerance, no gallbladder fats digestion problem, vegetarianism, dodgy thyroid, etc etc inability to do much exercise I wasn’t ever going to be much of a candidate for a BSD success so thank you for your kind words. You make so much sense, I salute you! Namaste

btw I can’t stand Catherine Tate – must be because her geriatric alter ego reminds me of someone… Apart from resembling a plague victim currently I am quite a glamorous pensioner so whilst in Boots earlier spending my pension on Canestan, eye drops, Cold sore lotions and patches I also bought a new mascara as I have to look my best for the physiotherapist and the man I am attempting to interest in painting my living room ceiling for me.

Can’t find Elvis’s chilli recipe. Would love to try it so please share. 🙂

Hi Lachlan,
Welcome. You are already achieving great results if your fasting levels were that high a year ago. Do try the protein/ fat snack before bed it really helps.
I’m also TOFI but have found myself to be particularly sensitive to carbs. It may be that you need to monitor your carb intake quite closely, rather than calories. Especially if you need to keep your weight stable.
Let us know how you get on. I’m sure we’ll be hearing about big improvements in your readings soon.

hi, I use myfitnesspal and my carbs are under 50 per day. so no idea why it’s not happening. Well the first week did, just not since. I’ve been out for the day meeting my daughter for lunch. I had a small mixed grill without the chips, but with 2 grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. That will be the extent of my carbs for the day.

Hi Aly,
I used to have oats for breakfast all the time but I love the green tea shake and find that very filling. I add a couple of teaspoons of psyllium to it which tends to thicken it and helps fill your tummy ( you can’t save any for later with the psyllium cos it turns gluggy), and vary the fruit.
I’ve also tried the baked beans and mushroom from the book, also filling. Yesterday I had half a peach chopped up with two tblspns Greek yoghurt, flaxseed meal and psyllium. That kept me going from 8.30 till 1.30.
There is a recipe on the forum for stuffed capsicum that sounds nice, page 5 I think, I’m doing that for dinner. I will post some recipes too when I get a chance. I love to invent new ways of cooking seasonal veg, which we grow ourselves. With 5 kids and a husband I have a ready made group of food critics to hone my skills on.
Do you use some sort of food tracker/ app? I find it really helps to type in recipes and then check carb, protein counts etc and tweak the ingredients or amounts until I’m happy. I also use the diary section to monitor my daily intake to make sure my carbs stay low enough.
Good luck with your diet and vegie growing!!

Welcome to the forums.
Try a fatty snack, I use greek yoghurt with berries, an hour before bed.
I had the dawn effect and that brought the readings down.
Constantly between 5 and 6 now.

Hi Yael
I also make every thing myself, put it in MFP ‘recipes’ so I know exactly what’s in it.
That way no hidden sugar or calories.
Penny

Hi Shadow
I m not sure how you’re doing the diet exactly but I wonder if you just did the BSD completely it would help you. Forgive me if I’m misunderstanding.
So no grains sugar or potatoes or tropical fruit. 800 cals and 10,000 steps plus other exercise, building up gradually. That’s it really. Plenty of fat. Full fat everything.
This diet is specifically designed to help your liver and pancreas so I don’t think it would be bad for your liver.
Did you have a look at Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’. ? (£3 on kindle) Maybe she covers what you’re concerned about.
Penny

Hi GofH
I agree with you. So important to watch the carbs like a hawk. No porridge!
Penny

I am no expert, but I don’t think slimline tonic is OK, it’s got artificial sweeteners, like diet coke. I’ve been trying to find a tonic which fits the bill for ages, for the same reasons as you, but no luck. Even the full fat Schweppes one has artificial sweetener as well as sugar! Some of the better quality “light” tonics have less sugar, but still quite a lot. Does anyone know if there are any tonics sweetened with xylitol which is fine, or one of the other acceptable ones? I haven’t found one yet.

Hi spirit
That was happening to me for the last week.im on day 26. i went through all the steps I’ve done every day looking at MFP. Found I’d only hit target 4 times in 24 days! I’ve stepped up my steps yesterday (8000) and voila today I have lost half a pound. Also now refusing tiny bits of my partners carbs as in ‘have a little taste of this cake’ etc.
I think Jenny Ruhl says this is the sort of thing that causes stalling (?). Anyway maybe it’s worked for me but sadly not for you. 😞
Good luck
Penny

Wise man!
Penny

Following on from last week’s post, I’ve just finished week four, 16lbs so far, 3 inches off the waist, feeling like a new woman with much more energy and brain fog lifted- due to no sugar or no wheat or both, I don’t know. Anyway , last week when I when I felt really hungry and with cravings returning, I decided on a cheat meal- but with rules. Main course and dessert had to be home cooked, healthy, no wheat, no sugar, new recipes, no second helpings, not calorie counted before I ate it! Small glass of wine allowed! The result was that I didn’t want the small square of chocolate I usually have afterwards; calorie count (afterwards) ended up at about 1500 for the day, no weight increase, and back on 800ish a day for the rest of the week, with no great hunger or cravings since. So my plan is that if the same thing happens again, I’ll repeat it, not more often than once a week, and in any case every two weeks just to keep the subconscious brain quiet.
I do hope you’re still on track, Hashimoto!

Just finished week 2, and have lost 11.5 lb in total, so chuffed with that. Weight loss slowed in week two and was 3.5 lb compared to the 8ish in week 1. Not put off though as the % body fat reduced from 27.5 to 25.5. Feeling much more awake on this diet plan and am really enjoying the food. Onwards into week 3, good luck to all, it definitely seems to be working. James

Hi. I lost my gall bladder many years ago and have just finished my 10th week on this with no problem. I’d suggest trying it.

Hi. Another pound off, making a total of 31. Fasting bloods seeing more 4s than 6s, but mainly between 5 and 6.

Had a few days ill – ate something that disagreed with me. Would normally have eaten toast in the past when I had upset stomach, but kept to the plan. Not having bread in the house really worked 😊 I’ve not touched any bread since I started this 10 weeks ago – bread companies will be going out of business!

How are you doing?

10 weeks on and another pound off. Total now 31 pounds off. Fasting BG usually between 5 and 6 with some in 4s and occasional one in 6s. One more week to go before I go to Prague.

Ill for a few days this week – something I ate didn’t agree with me. Pleased to report that I successfully avoided the toast I used to eat when I had a dodgy inside!

Hi everyone.

Just registered here on the website but already been on it four weeks. It’s working but these last stages seem to be frustratingly slow. I say these last stages as I’m a TOFI so wasn’t expecting to be on it that long. Perhaps a bit arrogantly. When I was diagnosed this last January my fasting blood sugar was a whopping 20! There was talk that I may even be a type 1. However, I started the diet and managed to get my blood sugar down considerably but not yet in the safe zone. I notice many people talking about the ‘dawn phenonomen’ and I think that is affecting my waking levels as they always seem higher then than before my evening meal so good to know I’m not alone in this. My lowest reading so far (before an evening meal) was 5.6 a couple of weeks ago but hasn’t been as low since. Currently averaging about 6.4. Nearly there.

Good luck to everyone here and happy to share anything if it of any help.
Lachlan.

Hi all

I actually find many of the recipes truly delicious but agree that they can be very time consuming to prepare and if you just have the ingredients etc ..

I reckon its much better to just learn to count the calories and do it yourself. That way I can fit in better with the family meals plus I’m learning just how many calories are actually in food so it will be easier to calculate quicker in llife in general (I’m thinking ahead when I get to the 5:2 / 6:1 diet – that’s the plan) and adapt to awkward social dinner occasions.

Just my two cents.

Lachlan

Hi all

I’ve registered so am new to this thread but thought I’d get involved. I was diagnosed type 2 about five weeks ago and have been doing the 800 calorie for four weeks now. I’m a TOFI and didn’t think I had a lot of weight to lose but I’m still on the diet as blood sugars haven’t stabilised yet.

I too have been experiencing higher blood sugar levels first thing in the morning and have just found out about the dawn phenomenon which would explain why readings are better just before my evening meal, but that wouldn’t be my actual fasting blood sugar level. My question is when does everyone think the best time to take your fasting blood sugar is? Have breakfast and then wait 8 hours? Can’t really do that every day. I’m still waiting to get my blood sugars below 6.4.
Any suggestions?

Lachlan

I am concerned. I think that this is too strict. I wonder if it would help if you looked at how many carbs you are eating? Most of us eat under 50 carbs – this triggers fat burning. Then we eat 50 grams of protein per Dr. Mosley and add fat to each meal. We don’t go under 800 calories. Many of us cut out grains for this short 8 weeks. Do take care.

Agree entirely, Aly. I’m moving towards only eating what I make myself, starting with ingredients that I can recognise. I make my own hummus. And I soak chickpeas overnight and cook them because the tinned ones have added sugar and salt. And I’m going to make my own chilli sauce because again, the bought product has a lot of sugar in it. I cook rice pilafs for my husband, but I don’t have any – or just have a tablespoon. He doesn’t eat meat either.

Thanks Cherianne
Being veggie does complicate things! I am sticking with my porridge for breakfast as it fills me up so well. I have ditched the toast and marmalade though 😥
Today for lunch I will have two eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes fried in a little olive oil. Tonight will be some sort of veg and pulse stew.
I am not calorie counting officially but am aware of them.
I need to plan ahead so that I am never stuck. It is easy to make a sandwich for lunch! I am used to using pulses and like them all. I have to retrain my head not to reach for a banana when hungry. I have bought fizzy water to fill me up and keep up my water intake.
I started with dinner last night so this is my first full day. I must get my head into gear if this is going to work. I have tried to get hubby to join me but have failed so far. He is a meat eater!

This forum is a lifeline for me as I need to read about everyones experiences. I am feeling a bit low today as on wed went to pharmacy for fasting test 6.7 (after drink of water witb slice of lemon , just didnt think), yesterday 6.5 and pleased. This morning with my new glucose meter 6.9. I am trying to do 5.2 med diet but in reality i am not much over the 800/1000 on those days because i am cutting out starchy carbs.. I had a bad night, very little sleep, itching all over and tingling/pain in my toes. It is only about 4 days that i have been doing an average of 7000 steps and seem to be worse since that. I had more calories yesterday but still kept within guidelines of diet but ate last at 6pm( steak and salad) and nothing til fasting test at 7am.

As this is such a different diet is it just my body getting used to it? I have been worried that there may be something wrong with my liver. Can this diet have an adverse reaction on your liver and body in general?. I have read bill’s comments and lots of others who all seem to gave similar problems and i am going to take on cherriannes comment about cheese and milk before bedtime. I am still determined to keep on unless as I have to make every effort to get my blood sugars sorted.

hi,

well i’ve just completed my third week. These last 2 weeks i’ve lost nothing at all. I’ve read the little book on why people stall and made adjustments. I’ve eaten less and less this last week and stepped up my exercise. I already swim 3 times a week, go for a walk lunchtimes and do the Davina fit in 7 most mornings.

I think what I am going to do now is go back to the 5.2 that i did successfully 2 years ago but with BSD adaptations. That is, i’ll do 800 cals 5 or4 days a week and 4-500 cals on the other 2 or 3 days.

I’m not diabetic, perhaps that has some bearing on it I don’t know. I never ate a lot of sweet sugary things anyway.

Thanks for that Yael! A wise father! I spent years following weight watchers, paying out for the meetings, online and foods. Even when I moved here to France I thought I could not be without it. I used to pay for boxes of weight watchers rubbish to be sent!
Then programmes started to be aired about fat not being the enemy and sugar corrupting our food and us.. They convinced me. I stopped paying out for weight watchers and set about cleaning up my diet. I read loads of stuff and changed my shopping habits. Now I am over weight but will not eat chemical laden food. I have real Normandy butter and full fat milk.
I have two type 1 siblings so need to address the fat tummy. Which is why I am here. I am adapting my food once more as being vegetarian it is a bit tricky. Also anything different I cannot get here, although I need to investigate an organic shop I know about. I have to make this fit my life style if I am to stick with it.
I am angry at politicians who preach the mantra about low fat and who wrongly advise diabetics about diet. So much rubbish comes from governments. I am convinced we have to get back to cooking our own food. My current campaign is to get away from anything that is made in a big factory.
My polytunnel has been ordered and my veg patch is ready for my organic veg I will grow. The chickens give me plenty of happy eggs, free range and from a garden where no chemical is used. Just my weight to sort out now!

Hi 🙂

I just started the BSD on Monday…I’m not diabetic, nor pre diabetic as far as I know, but I do have a lot of weight to lose.

I’m doing ok so far..but would appreciate some advice?

I’m aiming for roughly 50g of carbs per day (which works out at 25% of my 800 calories), and wondered if that is ok?

I should add that I am not following the recipes in the book, I’m just trying to eat appropriately..Yesterday, for example I had oat bran and low fat greek yoghurt for breakfast which was really nice and very filling (kept me going til evening)..40g of oat bran has a carb content of 18.8g and 6.2g of fibre (which I think you are allowed to deduct from the carb count making it 12.2g of carb)..is this ok to be eating? I don’t want to stall or hinder my weight loss, but I don’t want to give up something I could be eating that is legitimately ok.

Thank you for your help!

Yes, Penny, my father, a very healthy doctor (still working at 86, although he hasn’t operated for many years) has long said that low-fat was pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. And eggs and cheese are not the bogeymen of diet. He also thinks small amounts of butter are much better for you than dollops of margarine. For years he’s been warning people about the pitfalls of low- or non-fat yoghurt with fruit, saying it’s crammed full of sugar. He’s an intermittent faster – never has lunch. Advises people to get to know their bodies and not to eat if they are not hungry. Unlike me, he still weighs exactly the same as he did as a lean 21year old. He was a medical student & professional footballer.

Excellent, Bill! You might also have been feeling a stressed about starting such a hopefully life-changing adventure. I’m on my 3rd day. Keep us all posted!

A life without rice, pasta, couscous, bread? Unthinkable! OK I can do without bread, except for bagels. But I’m up for the challenge.

Day 3 today. Cannot believe that I am simply not hungry! I adore Greek yoghurt, & having 150g full-fat with 1 tablesp flaked almonds & macadamia is wonderful for breakfast or lunch. Adore eggs. So 2 eggs fried (in half a teasp olive oil in a non-stick pan) with heaps of approved vegetables (stir-fried with half a teasp cocoanut olive, ginger & garlic & a dash of soy sauce) is good. Try not to think about no bagel with mashed banana for breakfast, and no rice as the foundation of dinner.

Still having 1 coffee a day with reduced fat milk (just tastes better to me than full or skim), & tea with reduced fat milk, (1-2 a day, rather than at least 5). I love a teasp of honey in my tea, but have reduced that to half.

No mint or apple tea (they have to be a bit sweet, so I’d rather do without).

I’m vegetarian but will eat fish (with scales). Adore pulses, mushrooms, capsicums, Chinese broccoli, ordinary broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, zuchinis (courgettes), figs, apples, pomegrantes, pears, and eggplant (aubergines). And garlic, onion, ginger + spices and more spices. Not a big cheese eater, except for feta and parmesan. Do not like fizzy drinks or fruit juice but enjoy my pro secco. Hmm, a glass will have to be an occasional treat.

Sad about no mango, grapes, bananas, & other tropical fruits. Crying (almost) about no fresh dates.

I’ve done the 5:2 on which I lost weight slowly. Because I adore cooking & eating food, it was much better than a ‘diet’. But some of the weight has crept back on because I’ve had 4-5 months of semi-controlled ‘normal’ eating, but with a few too many treats. And I did feel deprived on the ‘2’ days, even if I knew I could eat normally on the ‘5’. I’ve lost 3 of the 6 kgs I put back on. But I want to see if I can lose 8 more, and wean myself of ‘naughty’ carbs because I’ve just found out that I’m pre-diabetic. I was not considered overweight for my height when I started 3 days ago: 62kgs (1.6 m tall). I have a small, high waist but a bit of lower belly flab. I have been very tired for a few months. Had a spinal fusion so it’s better if I am leaner. Now, it’s imperative.

But will I lose the weight quickly? I weighed 60.5 kg this morning, but suspect most of it is fluid loss. Keep you posted.

I take magnesium taurate from douglas labs. Also magnesium citrate works well. They help the body absorb calcium (along with vit D) and also act as a laxative. I was told to take 1,200 mg of calcium and 600 mg of magnesium – split doses during the day. the magnesium taurate was a life saver, lol :).

Hi GofH
Michael also recommended milk of magnesia to balance the magnesium levels, so I take that too.
Penny

I did have to work up slowly on the flax seed and am now up to the highest recommendation my doc said to take which is 3 Tablespoons of ground flax seed. a mighty 120 calories. I started out with my usual 1 1/2 Tbs, but have needed more as the diet progressed. That with greens and plenty of water and some salt per Dr Mosley. I’m allergic to psyllium, so can’t comment there. I’ve got 8 days to go to finish the 8 weeks, and my guess is that it will all normalize by going onto the 5/2 portion.

Well said Bill!
Penny

i looked up Extant shakes and had trouble finding out how much fat is in them. I’m not using a shake, but they sound tempting. My understanding is that we need fat in order to go into fat burning mode, not just ketosis. I can attest to this! Once i started adding fat and subtracting carbs, my weight loss and waist loss, lol, did beautifully.

Hi Ruby
Constipation is dealt with in Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle)
I’d recommend loads of green veg- michael says ‘half a plate full and don’t weigh it’- confusingly- also psyllium husk and ground flax seeds. Which can be sprinkled on anything! I have a tablespoon of each every morning.
Good luck
Penny
PS of course, being constipated will make you a bit heavier!😳

Hi Mrs J
Great – you sound like you’re enjoying it!
BTW michael is really anti skinny milk and in favour of full fat. Stops you being hungry and has less sugars.
I know we re so brainwashed about fat but he says fat is good!
Penny

Thanks Hashimoto
😊

Hi Blacklab
You could have a look at Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle)
She deals with this.
Good luck
Penny

Hi Natasha MFP isn’t that accurate because it’s crowd sourced not from MFP admin. I look up the calories mainly on Calorieking. It’s U.S. Based But you can chose grams. Occasionally they don’t have something then I search around other sites for info.
I made my own ‘my foods’ list and ‘recipes’ list on MFP so I don’t have to deal with all that random information! The only thing is although you can set it to use your ‘my foods’ list, it still doesn’t for recipes. So I try to make my foods ‘ names distinctive, so I can find them in the random list. Eg I get free range meat from a shop called ‘Meat N16’ so I put that on when saving meat to ‘my foods’ – eg brand-MeatB16- description-lamb shoulder etc. then I can search for it for a recipe.
Sorry this is so long!
Penny

Hello, I am so excited about starting this new diet, read the book today which has made me cry in places, this book is just everything I have lived through for the past 30 years and now there is an answer to all my prayers however, I lost my Gall Bladder doing the Lighterlife diet and I was told that I had to now cut right down on high fat foods..My question is would I be alright doing the Med style low carb diet with all the olive oil etc??

Hi Aly,
I am vegetarian and haven’t found it hard at all. I used to eat a lot of brown rice and dense sourdough bread, which I’ve since discovered is horrendously high in carbs.
You can adapt many of your usual recipes to fit the new lifestyle.
Just keep an eye on your protein intake, which I am sure you are used to doing, as most vegos are very conscious of nutrition. We just tend to be over reliant on carbs to fill us up.
There are some great veg. recipes being posted on this site. Go for it, you can do it

Day 6 weight 10st 12lbs ( 4 lbs lost so far)
Blood sugar 10.4 (not great but going in the right direction)

Have eaten a bit more today – threw caution to the wind and had an orange.😀

On a positive note have found a good new care home for my oldie and he’s moving in on Monday.

Going to try to make a curry tomorrow. I haven’t been able to get curry paste yet so going hunting for it and a cauliflower to make the rice with. Never made curry before – how hard can it be – knowing me anything could happen 😂

Hi Bill – I’ll give a bedtime snack a go, thanks for the tip, and I always have greek yogurt in the fridge.

Notsosweet – it’s great to hear you having such great results after such a long time diagnosed. I’ve been type 2 for 8 years and so realise it’s likely to take a bit longer than those who are newly diagnosed. I’ve not noticed my blood sugar rise after exercise (not immediately anyway)