Bill, your comment regarding carb cravings is so true. I obsess about them and food in general, and as a person who loves to cook and bake, and only has one other person to feed, that is not good! Cutting out carbs and having starve days has really brought home to me how often food is on my mind, and how often I use it as a distraction.
I am on an antidepressant that increases appetite and is documented for causing weight gain. When I went on it, this side effect was discussed with me, but the alternative was definitely the greater evil. It has been very effective at treating my depression, and gaining weight was not nearly as bad as feeling suicidal all the time! I am grateful to my psych for finding a drug that really helped, (after trying 6 others.)

Today:

Breakfast: One egg, cream cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, raisins, microwaved until set, with a spoon of sour cream and a sprinkle of xylitol

Lunch: Cream cheese dip with 3 celery sticks, 4 cherry toms, Greek yogurt with cooked raspberries,

Dinner: Stir fry with ginger, garlic, red pepper, mange tout, courgette, shallots, lemongrass, basil, coriander, tomatoes and a squirt of lime juice, plus chill beef strips, (fried with chilli and then dipped in beaten egg and a mix of coconut and besan flour, with salt, chilli powder, black pepper, oven baked until golden and crispy)

I was trying to achieve something similar to a chilli beef-strip dish that our local Chinese does. The taste was great, although the coating was a bit dry, but once tossed in a bit of lemon juice and mixed into the stir fry, it moistened up but didn’t go soggy. Delicious!

Snacks: One slice beef with gherkin, half an apple

Drinks: water, two teas with milk, buttermint tea, one coffee with cream

Cals: 856. Carbs:49g

In the grand scheme of things, it shouldn’t hurt. The book even recommends it. However, we will see in the near future what the verdict is about the effect sweeteners have on blood sugar levels. I don’t like gum myself as sweeteners make my teeth more sensitive and the gum pulls on one’s fillings! Sometimes though, you have to choose the lesser of two evils. If you need something then gum is a good no cal substitute. One final point, at the start of the diet most people don’t know how they will cope with so few calories. But I have observed many people who say they are not actually hungry a couple of weeks in. This is because carbs and particularly sugar give us false feelings of hunger. Once we stop eating them, we realise that we really don’t need to eat as much food as we used to. I understand, chezza, you have the added layer of quitting smoking in all this too. More power to you, you’ve made massive changes to your lifestyle. At this stage, if you want the gum, have the gum. If you have blood sugar issues you might notice if it affects you or not. If it doesn’t, keep the gum. wishing you continued success.

Ha ha, I’m not quite skinny jean material yet! I _am_ very close to not having to shop for clothes at larger size only shops though, so once that is the case I will be treating myself. I have been punching new holes in my belt, and look forward to each new one. The budget won’t reach to new clothes for all the sizes I have or will go through.
Others will have to wait on a sudden reveal to see the change.
One of my objectives is to get back to horseriding, which I used to do for exercise and fun, but they have an upper weight limit at the riding schools, so that isn’t doable for another 10 kg.

Diabeties is in my blood line, I’m still fairly young so i still don’t know if it will appear later in my life which attracted me to this diet but also I love the weight loss side it’s great 😄 Just worried that it’s stopped is all.

I will try to quit sugar, I just am not sure how much detail I should take, cut out completely? or is it ok to have things like almond milk as an alternative to all the other milks? Also in stir fry sauces and fruits? Or should I just cut out the obvious ones?

I do understand that muscle takes up less space than fat but given the low calories and exercise I just don’t see how my actual weight could go up?

My shakes have arrived will start it mon after iv done a week cutting down on the carbs and finished the meal plan and do a shop.

Hi hallie please, please don’t wait 8 weeks to post again, there are so many of us on these forums who would love to support you in your goal.

Your comments about energy, concentration and poor sleep resonated with me. You could have been describing me BEFORE this diet. Less than two weeks in and I was a new woman. You will be too.

I found my first week a bit difficult – hungry, headachey and light headed. I took paracetamol to cope. After 4 or 5 dsys things began to change.

Your current weight – forget it, it will soon be your ‘can you believe I used to weigh….’. weight

Please post every day, we would love to hear from you and you can just give us a shout for support or advice

Really am wishing you all the best x

Hi cuff sue, I found a fabulous guide on the diet doctor site about how many carbs in veg, essentially things that grow above the ground are fine but those that grow below have about 3 times more carbs, Eg sweet potatoes 17g per100g v’s cabbage at about3g, try the site as it was a revelation for me

Thank you captainlynne

I feel that I’m going into uncharted waters!! —beyond 8 weeks.
But I have had a good weekly weight loss for 9 weeks now and I don’t want to go back to eating all those foods that were making me unwell. I can’t believe I don’t get Hungary on so few calories and also the family are used to me eating the BSD with out question as they can see my rewards —so I’m going to take it one week at a time and see how it goes —Thank you Michael for writing the book.

Hi woof mum, my hubby and I started the BSD on 13th March, it was weigh in day today and I have lost 10lbs and hubby 5lb, we have both lost inches from waist and hips, we are not diabetic but both high risk pre diabetes due to excess weight and lifestyle, we started on the 800 cal Mediterranean diet, it is working really well so far so good luck and keep us posted.

Time to join in as I’m on week 3 now…

Yesterday :
Yoghurt with summer fruit berries
Mackerel in tomato sauce
Liver & bacon with cauliflower, sprouts & broccoli

Today :
Yoghurt with summer fruit berries
Frittata (bacon, kale, onion & peppers)
HM chilli with cauliflower, sprouts & broccoli

Hi denise, there should be plenty of choices:steak and salad minus the chips
Fish minus potatoes
Bolognese witbout pasta
Curry without the rice
Burger without the bread and chips

I now have no shame asking for a sandwich without the bread! In fact you tend to get a lot more ham,beef, prawns etc cos they feel bad giving you a sliver with leaves!

Good luck with your celebrations, after 22 years you deserve to enjoy it ( and feel holy about your food choices atthe same time!) 🙂

B no carb Bircher
L small packet(20g) cheddar, handful mixed unsalted nuts half a kids pack sliced Apple.
D Heck burger on portobello mushroom, salad.
To drink, lots of water 1black coffee 2 tea with milk.
Total calls 725 Carbs 26

It’s great to hear about about people doing well on it. I was curious if you could extend it if you have more weight to lose. I’m on day one and feeling hungry :).

I was 19st a few years ago and I’m pretty sure I was pre-diabetic. I was utterly shattered and taking loads of painkillers because of pain in my hip. I started doing the 5:2 and without changing much of the rest of my diet I lost 3st, the pain in my leg cleared up and I generally felt much better.

However just before Christmas last year, I suddenly started to feel really tired, listless, low mood, poor sleep. I stopped doing the fast days, stopped exercising, and ate whatever I could for energy. My memory and concentration started to go as well which was pretty scary because my Dad started to slip into dementia at the same time (caused by his diabetes). I figured I was starting to get diabetes myself, but then after my arm went numb I was diagnosed with B12 deficiency, which explained my symptoms and more besides.

My doctor’s great but lots of reading about B12 have me suspecting the guidelines for treatment are inadequate, so I’ve been following the protocol from the Pernicious Anemia/B12 Deficiency Facebook page and started self injecting myself regularly. As with this diet it feels a bit strange to be going off the beaten track of received medical wisdom but very quickly the fog started to lift and my mood began to improve. Such a relief to be feeling better mental but physically I’m left a bit of a wreck. Back to 19st, hip pain, shoulder pain, tired and terribly breathless (from the deficiency). It would be great to think I could make a significant difference in a few months. When you have so much weight to lose it seems like an unrealistic mountain to attempt to climb. With my injections, pills, glucose monitor, and now this I feel like my own one woman science experiment :).

Sorry for the marathon post. Just curious to see if I can make it to the veterans club. I’ve taken all my measurement and weight and I’ll post again in 8 weeks time with how I got on, if I manage to stick it out. Fingers crossed!

Thanks Hashimoto! I am so pleased and can really feel the difference. Wedding anniversary tomorrow and we’re going away for a couple of days so am a bit nervous about finding places to eat that aren’t full of carb loaded foods. I am going to treat myself to a glass or two of the red stuff though – I deserve it after 22 years of marriage 😂😂😂

Hi Janice and all,
Another tribal elder here 🙂 Week 3 for hubby and me and have hit a plateau the last few days with weight, but my BS finally hit the high fives 🙂 fasting and post prandial. The first two weeks the kilos fled, but now time to get serious and recommitted! The good kitchen scales and the EasyDietDiary (Apple app) make calorie counting very easy, just need to keep my mind off snacks and feel good about feeling hungry before eating. Amazing to actually feel full after a small plate of food! Indeed, it has taken many years for the accumulation of all that visceral fat challenging my pancreas. It can’t be lost without real commitment. Good on you, everyone for sharing and caring.

Yesterday :
B: greek yoghurt with sprinkling of pumpkin seeds and milled flax seed and unsweetened apple sauce
L: bacon and avocado lettuce cups
D: fritatta (onion, chilli, sweet pepper and cheese ) with green salad

Today
B: yoghurt with flax and pumpkin seeds and a few raspberries
L fritatta (other half from yesterday )
D: baked salmon with chilli,garlic, ginger and soy sauce served on courgetti

Hi Mosleyfan
What an amazing app that is. I have downloaded it, put in everything I remember that I’ve had today (hopefully not too much left out) and am delighted how easy it is to use. Only thing – is it going to have a go at me when I don’t reach my daily calorie target as set by the app? I was using My FitnessPal but I found that it’s not always in agreement with the calories/carbs shown on the packaging of most foods. I don’t have a lot of stuff from a package but it concerns me that if MFP doesn’t agree with the manufacturer (who I’m guessing should be right), how accurate is it when I put in veggies, or meat, or fish which doesn’t come out of a packet!
I’m guessing you’re a newbie Christi1948 and if your name is anything like mine, I think we could be twins!
Keep on keeping on…..

I do apologise, I don’t want to be a smarta**e. Its just the ex WW leader in me. I can’t tell you how many times I set up that demo of all the packs of butter or lard and said ‘this is your weight loss’. These days I would be saying ‘right, now tuck in!’

Hi mosleyfan,
I have downloaded the fat secret app today, I have found it really good for tracking my food and excercise so thanks for the heads up, still figuring everything out so watch this space!

Sorry Janet1973, I was one of the guilty parties there. It was lazy language and you put it so much more succinctly than the rest of us.

Wow, reideen you are very well prepared for your first 8 weeks. I am really looking forward to your posts! 🙂

Since giving up smoking in October I have been chewing copious amounts of sugar free gum to try and stop me eating all manner of rubbish. Can it cause problems with the diet or am I ok to continue with it. I dont want to start smoking again and I dont want to gain anymore than the 1/2 stone that Ive already gained. Any advice/comments gratefully received!!

Thought I’d post on this thread again, to bring it back into circulation, so that it those just starting out might see it.
So anyway, today I had:
B – yogurt, raspberries, blueberries and chia and flax topping
L – a deli platter of smoked salmon, chirizo, chicken, olives, and a small piece of Italian cheese (name of which escapes me)
D – a stir fry of bacon, chicken, baby sweetcorn, spring onion and kale, good dash of lemon juice and a hefty sprinkle of hot paprika

I have my grocery shopping done with all healthy food that’s on BSD so I’m all set for tomorrow, I have a weeks menu all set so I’m ready for the big step, I have even cleaned out kitchen of all time he unhealthy stuff. Onwards and upwards. Chat tomorrow😀😀😀

I’m sorry to contradict but I keep seeing the same untruth being written again and again. Muscle does not weigh more than fat – a pound of anything is still a pound. It is a question of volume. Muscle does not weigh more than fat, it takes up less volume than fat. The effect of this is that a pound of muscle is smaller in volume than a pound of fat but they are both still one pound. The effect in human terms is that the pound of muscle makes us look more toned and smaller, even if the scales have not changed The pound of fat makes us look bigger and more wobbly.

Bill
This is another old-timer here determined to lose the weight that has appeared from I know not where over the past 15 years. It’s like that game where one child faces the wall and all the others creep up slowly behind him/her and if he/she turns and catches another child moving they are out, but the careful very cautious ones, get to touch the shoulder of the one facing the wall and they win. That’s how the pounds have piled on – slowly and stealthily, they’ve finally tapped me on my shoulder, and now I am going to chase them all away. I’m just starting week 4 and have decided I need to be a bit stricter with myself cos I’m not seeing the weight loss massively. Having said which my trousers are loose round my middle, and the crotch is heading towards my knees, so I guess some has shifted. In fact I went trouser hunting on Saturday and managed a whole size down, and I didn’t even have to breathe in and hold that breath to get them done up…..
Good luck to all the newbies on here and a million thanks to you Bill, Captain Lynne, Hashimoto and all the other inspiring crew.
Janice

Hi Shyvarn you need to remember that muscle weighs heavier than fat and if you are toning your muscles that is likely where the extra weigh is coming from. If everything else is smaller i.e inches and looking smaller then youre on the right path keep it up.

It wasn’t a toning table.
It had a flat plate that you stand on and a framework around it for you to hold on to with a control panel in front.
Switched it on and it vibrated so hard my feet just sort of slid backwards and off the edge.

Dear Lucia, thank you so much, I can’t believe how easy it has been and I agree this is a new way of healthy eating rather than a diet. I have a long long way to go but feel so positive, I am sure there will be a wobble along the way and not just of the fat kind! My main issue is when I fall off the diet wagon and never seen to get back on board but it feels so different this time.

As you said to Reideen, we are worth it and it’s time to put yourself first and believe in you, we can all do it, go girls and boys👍

Reedeen,
Just give it a go, 8 weeks. Not long.
Give yourself the gift of this. You are special, you are worth it, just come for the walk with all of us, we can natter, growl, cry, laugh but most of all , get healthy.
What are you going to eat tomorrow?
Love Lucia
Xxxx.

Hi spirit,
I wonder if I got the kitchen stool, climbed on the washing machine, bent my knees on spin…….
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Keep happy
Love Lucia xxxx

Cat girl, or should I call you skinny?
WOW, what a result. Go girl!!!! 🙃😜😆🙃😘😝😘🙁😏😗😘😑😕🙄☺️😆😅😇😝😎😞
Delighted you had a dance too.

I think we should all cross the word diet out, because it isn’t.
It’s the real thing, the real way to live.
Isn’t that the truth?

I don’t know how I flipped the switch but I am delighted being off the junk, I feel GREAT in myself.
I feel a doing coming on….. La la la la… La la…. La, al la la……..

And I haven’t paid for meetings, nor any weird food either. Just normal ordinary healthy, ftasty food.
Yyyippppppppeeeeeeee!!!!!
Love Lucia
Xxxx

Hi Spirit they might look a bit raggedy because they haven’t had their winter coats clipped yet – or they might just be raggedy lol. I don’t think I’ll bother with a vibrating plate after hearing Bill’s experience! 🙂

Bill, I think you might be thinking of those toning tables that you lie on? They seemed to appear from nowhere a few years ago and have disappeared just as quickly!

OMG BIll, I had not better try then as I think the same would happen to me:(

wonderful news Catgirl, I’ll do a dance with you 🙂

Hi Lucia, I was the dancing queen dancing in the street and doing boogie wonderland after today’s weigh in, that’s my dancing day done for now! Thanks for your encouragement and great news about your blouse. Bet you can’t wait for the wedding in Florida, my favourite place ever!

Hi Reideen, this is the start of my 2nd week of the diet and I have been dancing in the street today, at my weigh in this morning I have lost 10 lbs in my 1st week and lost 2 inches off each of my waist and hips! I just can’t believe how easy it has been, just keep at it, use the recipes (did the skinny kedgeree last night) and get all the support you need from the forums. If I can do it with a starting weight of 16st 7lb anyone can! I am now down into the next stone bracket which is a massive psychological boost. I’m even looking forward to the week ahead, good luck

No, no mention of low carb. I was living in Germany at the time and the doc had practically the whole village diagnosed as diabetic. She signed me up for the diabetic programme and that was when I had to go on metformin and have regular HbA1c tests done. I think even she realised how daft it was when my results kept coming back in the normal region, so she took me off the medication. It is weird though. My last test I had done there (I now live in Romania and have been told to have tests done, but am wating until the BSD kicks in well) showed a fasting reading of 124 (6.9) and after the two hours, it was 108 (6.0).

I’m determined to stick with this and then will probably go onto 5.2 after the 8 weeks, if my weight is down enough. Up to now, I’m more than happy with the results!

6 weeks on the diet tomorrow, one stone off, waist measurement down four inches. I’ve been no angel, had a few naughty weekend evenings where I’ve had couple of glasses of wine which took me over the 800 but not by much. Had no goal in mind as I’m not diabetic but want to keep going until my BMI is healthy. It’s already down from obese to overweight so all in all I’m pleased. Easter weekend with the family at our seaside place, ice cream chocolate and fish and chips to be avoided. I’m determined!

You tell em Bill!
Penny👍🏽

Hi Matrika
I’m in UK. Well right now india!
As long as you have something that works…I like the beeping idea.
Penny ☺️

Hi matrika
What idiots some clever people can be. It’s not like there aren’t dozens of books about on this subject. I’ve had a book for about 15 years about sugar and the rise of diabetes . The graphs of sugar produced and diabetes diagnosed are Identical.
You’re right to ignore and avoid those people.
Penny

Hi hashi
Yes it’s great. Ten monkeys ran through the garden today at treetop level. Amazing!
Penny

Hi Schnauzer
It is the one!!
Penny

Hi reideen
Welcome!
Because we have been sold an addictive substance of course we re addicted to it. But as you ll see, it soon goes and things you lived taste horribly sweet and yr just not tempted anymore v
Good luck
Penny

Hi Innermonologue
I ve read that it means youre having too much protein. So reduce protein and increase fat. I think it was in Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle)
Hope it helps.
Penny
Ps its quite important too because too much protein can slow weight loss.

OOOO I used to be a Fit young muscly rugby player (I know it was stopped for the war before you start)
Knew nothing about BMI though in those days, all we wanted was BMW’s
God Janet I really hope that prediction comes true, I’m actually looking forward to the first WW television advert where they are promoting their whole new range of “New healthy low carbohydrate eating plans”

Ps, I don’t know if it was the bmi or another measure used in America but the definition of obesity was actually set by the insurance companies, not the medical profession. Begs some good questions doesn’t it?