Hello,

I’ve finished my 8 weeks this morning and just thought I’d post my results as an encouragement to others. I’m 49 and have been on some sort of diet every year since I first got taken to Slimming World when I was 8 (it may have been weight watchers).

At the start of this diet I was 19 stone (at 6ft 2in) and a type 2 diabetic with good blood sugar control over the 2 years since diagnosis.

On my weigh- in this morning I was 16 stone, a loss of 42 pounds, and I have lost about 4 inches of my waist. Blood sugars are still good, blood pressure is better than it was, although still a little high. Cholesterol I haven’t had done, but I have a diabetic clinic due so I shall find out soon. The loss has been fairly steady, although in week 6 I didn’t seem to lose anything. My biggest allies on the diet have been:

Lots of water – a Brita filter bottle has been a constant companion, and I worked up to about 3.5 litres a day. On the downside, when I walk the dog I’m looking for a wee more than he is.

Walking – just the right intensity without making for light-headedness. The dog is very happy.

Weights three times a week, but mainly bodyweight, press-ups and assisted pull ups.

Greek yoghurt – I eat the fat free stuff but add the fat and calories back in with nuts and flax seeds. The Fage stuff has no added sugar. I add in some frozen berries as well. I’ve also used it as a salad dressing mixed with marmite (no really), or with lime and chilli

Kale – a huge bag of it steams in the micro-wave and makes you feel very self-righteous.

Tinned oily fish. A lot of calories but anything that smells that bad must be doing you good.

Loads and loads of leaves.

Turkey steaks fried in spray olive oil, with…

Peppers, courgettes and mushrooms.

Eggs. Especially in a ‘frittata’.

Black coffee – the ritual of making it fresh seems to help, as does having it made for you in a coffee shop; keep your eyes off the Granola though.

Marmite as a hot drink. Lots of B vitamins and it’s almost like eating.

The challenge now is to keep it off. I plan to stick to the Mediterranean diet and maybe fast a couple of days a week. I want to keep up with the water. I’ll have a drink when I’m out (a rare thing) but give it a miss at home. I’ll also let my self go a bit if I’m out for a meal.

Thanks to Dr Mosely and everyone on here for being a reference point and support. Good luck to all of you.

Hi Lucia

I love your posts 😃

Probably the calories in a swoon would balance out those in a toasted mouse 😳

Not noticed the birds yet, but the cows have reappeared in the field at the end of my street, and one of the horses has been out cutting the grass nearby.

Thanks for always putting a smile on my face 😃

Hi Aly,
The rolled oats will be good when they get there. Am amazed the French don’t have them?! Makes me think we might actually have a food culture!
As an alternative I came across the idea of mixed grain porridge recently like… damn can’t post the link,
Quinoa porridge, or Quinta oat mix. Means a Lower GL more protein so feeling full longer for less carbs.
A bit of propper wholemeal toast rye or wheat, with butter and marmite or other not jam toppings is OK too I guess better than jam and honey.

Hi Judith,
You would have been a wonderful teacher planning all those hands on experiences for your students. Sounds like lots of fun. Messy play is just the best play, even though there’s lots of cleaning up after. My own kids would much rather be doing stuff like that than watching TV or using a play station.
I volunteer at the school a couple of mornings a week and while most of the children bring fairly good lunches, some of them are shocking. I’ve seen cold McDonalds food in lunch boxes. Not even appealing when it’s hot lol! One little girl had two packets of high sugar and artificially coloured biscuits, one pack of processed cheese dip and crackers and a muesli bar. Wonder why she has trouble sitting still and producing any work! I’ve seen cold chips, obviously left over from the night before. So sad. The schools here all have ‘fruit time’ at about 9.45-10.00 am, where the children sit on the mat and have some fresh fruit and listen to a story or have show and tell while they eat. This is separate from their morning play time snacks.
We watched Jamie Oliver’s school dinners series and it was really shocking. Obviously at the extreme end of the spectrum, but that sort of prepackaged processed stuff is creeping into Australian supermarkets. No excuse for that when we have an abundance of lovely fresh foods produced right here.
We all pay the cost of cheap foods somewhere along the way, to our health or the environment, or our spirits.
Oh well that’s my rant over lol.

Lucia, I think you are wonderful. I hope you continue to update your progress, because it is people like you who give people like me the enthusiasm to carry on…..

Hi matrika – burning fat but weight increase? I suspect you are retaining some water which when it goes should show a sudden weight loss. Well done for staying so positive! 🙂

Hi hellforheather, very wise words! I look at my falling fat % as well. I like to visualise visceral fat just melting away. That and falling blood sugars for diabetics are two very important results!
Now that you have highlighted falling fat % it is something we should all be bearing in mind.
Well done on your melting fat ! That’s a great drop! 🙂

Hello Mandy, I am a slow loser too. I only dropped one pound in week one. But do you have a scale that measures body fat percentage? Because I do, & I know these things aren’t entirely accurate but while I saw and felt no weightloss, my body fat percentage has gone from 45 (where it’s been showing on my scale for as long as I can remember) to 36%. 30% is considered the ‘healthy’ zone, so I’m thrilled to be a bit nearer. Whatever you see, feel or measure in weightloss, remember you are doing wonderful things you can’t always see within for your body. Stick with it x

Great to hear that tinforest, it sounds like you’ve come out the other side now. Someone on another thread described that feeling as “carb flu” which sounds fairly apt.
You are just going to be amazed in the next few days about how much better you will start to feel. More energy, more clear headed, much more in control and food tastes so much better without all the carbs and sugar.
Hope to hear of weight loss next time you post 🙂

Good morning or should I say afternoon? Cherrieanne fantastic news! Sounds like you have cracked it! 🙂

Everybody’s posts are so encouraging – it is these that make the diet I’ve never known anything like it. Thanks guys I will stick at it as it doesn’t feel much like dieting. xx

Hi Toofastblack,

That’s just fantastic news – very well done – what a motivator!!! Don’t assume it will taper off – you’ll be surprised – I’m just about to start week 8 and yes my loss has tapered off but only in the last few weeks to be fair. I suggest you do try the receipes, can’t recommend that highly enough as they are inventive, and quite frankly delicious and have been a saving grace for me……………..we have the stuffed aubergine every Monday evening as we love it so much ooh and the prawn curry which I’ll add bok choy to.

Well done!

I’m with Janet1973. I use Rapeseed oil for frying as it doesn’t smoke and burn like Olive oil.
Keep the extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on your salad’s and veggies.

This is the one meal I really struggle with. I cannot eat savoury food first thing. Although I am still working my way through my stash of cheap Tesco porridge, bought on my last trip, I have some jumbo oats ready. Dr M says jumbo oats are better. So I always have a bowl of porridge made with full milk and add a little local honey. ( next year I hope to have my own honey). This keeps me full for ages and out of the biscuit tin. I can do without my toast, butter and marmalade, but I do miss it. I have several decades of conditioned behavior to deal with. Breakfast is cereal and toast!

Hi folks, my breakfasts always used to be oats cold, or porridge hot!, since I’ve been doing this I’ve had a few good cooked breakfast type dishes, eg poached eggs & asparagus, mushroom omlet, smoked salmon cream cheese omlet… etc.
But I really find these small calorie dense meals less satisfying than a plate full.
I’ve had Mexican eggs (stir fried peppers onions and spinach with a couple of scrambled or fried eggs) which hits the spot.
As it’s initially only for 8 weeks I’ve also been having salads and tinned or smoked fish for breakfast. Sometimes with pickles, or soy & sesame dressing.
If I get hungry I want to binge, but by eating loads of colourful vegie and salads with a good protein hit I’m not feeling.

Tried the ketostix, show mild ketosis, so I don’t know…gaining weight but fat burning.
Interesting and motivating.

“I’ve yo-yo dieted for 30 years and have always suffered from “hunger” before. Mid-afternoon and late night snacking have so often been my downfall.
To my surprise, I don’t feel hungry on this regime. It almost seems too easy.
This is my first low-carb diet – could this be something to do with it?”

Dear stringbreaker, I think it may be to do with dropping your insulin levels…insulin triggers hunger when blood sugar levels drop and but when your blood sugar levels are stable due to fewer simple carbs triggering insulin surges, you don’t need to feed the beast. 🙂 I don’t know if this is so, I’m no expert.

I know this might be weird but try soup. In winter I sometimes have eggs, mushroom and onion poached in miso soup.

Also fibre takes longer to digest and keeps you fuller for longer.

Dates are the candy of the fruit world and are quite sugary. There are other fruits you’re able to use instead. It is advised to steer clear of them because it is hard to stop at one.

It’s a matter of your own preferences. I had to lower my amount of lactose because of arthritis so I use almond milk in my cuppas, this allows me the occasional treat of ice cream or milkshake.

Try raw cacao from a health food or organic food store. I get a powder and sprinkle it on stuff, I also get blocks of chocolate that are very satisfying after having only a square or two.

With any oil you firstly need to know how it’s extracted, Olive Oil is cold pressed from the olives. But some such as Rice Bran Oil are chemically extracted from the bran and that leaves residue.

It’s always a balance with oils. I use coconut oil, olive oil, butter or nothing depending on the dish. Just remember that the oil helps the flavor profile of your dish.

Most tropical fruits are very sugary, but some aren’t. It’s probably best to google their nutritional requirements before you decide to get the fruit. I ate rambutans without a problem, but only because I had a few.

Hi Aly, welcome back to the fold! I have been wondering where you were and how you were doing. That chest infection really knocked you around didn’t it?
You seem to have regained some enthusiasm and motivation so keep building on that and you’ll soon be back on track. 🙂
Welcome allychat, you’ve made a great start, good to see you posting on here 🙂

Soy milk is okay if your eating other dairy and nuts to get enough calcium. If not almond milk has calcium in it.

Unless you’ve got a big hand, it’s about the size of your closed fist as a visual guide.

Offal is no different to any other cuts of meat. Be brave and go for it if you want it, I’m not letting this diet stop me from enjoying a wide variety of foods.

You might need to retrain your palate to unsweetened or low sugar. I slowly cut down my sugar in my coffee down to one of raw sugar, my tea was easier. I had always used sweetener and just changed to it’s stevia version. The hardest change I had was getting used to almond milk, I missed the heaviness that cow’s milk gave coffee.

If you’re used to something sweet start with a normal full fat yogurt and over a couple of week blend it with greek yogurt. I have always had sweet ones but need to get off them so this is how I’m going to do it, also your fruit choice helps the yogurt’s palatability.

thanks Cherrianne Bill1954 and hashimoto. I am pleased to report I feel so much better today. Yesterday I felt like a drug addict coming off an addiction – which is essentially what is happening of course. I thought I was heading for an afternoon in bed. But it eased, I didnt go to bed, and today I feel so much better. Hungry and look forward to food, but not the horrible fevery feeling that made the thought of food intolerable. No weight loss still (day 7) but onwards and upwards! Thank you so much for helpful support!!

In many ways Michael Mosley is like Columbus, sailing into the unknown with getting this accepted. The more of us that get on this diet and change our lives for the better, the easier it will be for the medical profession and the public to accept.

The headaches are withdrawals from all sorts of bad things as well as changeover to the new fuel.

As for your problem Trishart, that’s your guts getting used to the new foods. Some bacteria will be dying off while others are starting to grow, in time the smell will settle.

There are heaps of prebiotic foods available too. I enjoyed sauerkraut with some foods and am going to try kimchi next.

When you make big changes to habits of a lifetime, it takes awhile to retrain to new habits. I went low gluten years ago because of arthritis and I still occasionally crave certain items. This is where mindfulness helps, I mentally divert those thoughts for awhile and if there still there after a few months I give in to that craving. But I am finding the gaps are longer and I’m not enjoying it as much.

Wow carsong, you must be on cloud nine with those results. There’s nothing quite like getting your blood sugar levels down is there? Really makes you feel like you are in charge of the diabetes not the other way round.
Hi tinforest, the first week should be the worst you ever experience doing the BSD. Your body is going through some huge changes, not just from carb/ sugar withdrawal but changing over from using carbs for fuel (easy fuel), to burning fat ( more effort). So it’s going to kick up a fuss and find it tough going. Your whole eating pattern has probably changed too, and instead of having frequent sugary snacks it’s got to manage on less.
It’s becoming a bit of a mantra now, but here it goes: keep up your fluid intake to 2-3l day, make sure you include fats in your diet, as much as your count allows, and watch out for carbs sneaking in. Rest and treat yourself kindly when you’re going through a rough patch and stay in touch! 🙂

Using an app makes life infinitely easier. I’m using Easy Diet Diary for iOS because I can set goals on it. At the moment I’m making baby steps in my dietary changes because I also have my diabetic mother to consider with dinner meals.

Hi Natasha,

I’m recording all my food in My Fitness Pal……..http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and it calculates all your food calories for you and so far the calories stated in the recipes are almost spot on according to my diary in MFP. I have been very precise with the recipes too, as I’m very serious about reversing my T2 diabetes…….it’s worth getting a set of cup and spoon measures to be sure.

Hi Natasha, that’s tough being cold and uncomfortable in that unfamiliar environment.
Funny how we all reach for the comfort of food in those situations, all humans are the same at that basic level aren’t they?
Can you get a nice hearty soup where you are? That might help. Or extra veg with your meal that you can add butter too and indulge your body with the fats.
The hot bath is a good idea too. Something hot to drink with cinnamon is comforting, like proper chai tea ( not powder), or lemon and ginger.
We are with you in spirit, cheering you along. The weekend will soon pass, and you can let us know how you managed. Might help someone else through a tough patch. All the best, 🙂

Flaxseed ground (you can buy it) is a Great coating for anything you want to fry……plus it’s good for you too and carb-free.

ann077 I don’t know if this relates directly to you but perhaps worth a scan for the insulin info

http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/reactive-hypoglycemia.html

ann077 I have lost no weight either (I’m gaining) but my blood sugars are looking better yesterday and that is progress for me…I am not in my second week yet…if you are prediabetic you may have very high levels of insulin (as I still do, however I am well and truly diabetic). If that is so, things like dried fruit or fresh fruit or rolled oats will interfere with weight loss because they trigger insulin in some of us…and insulin instantly puts the kaibosh on fat burning for anyone with insulin resistance, so it is a harder battle.

You can get insulin levels taken at the same time as you do the 3 hour blood glucose tests…but you usually have to insist that the doctor request them…most GPs unfortuantely don’t recognize the importance of insulin measures…I have been told it is useless and the information wont tell me anything. Not true at all and reason to change doctors and find a better informed one.

Best of luck and keep on collecting your responses to different foods and tracking your blood sugar levels cause they will indicate what triggers what.

I am going to try the ketostix that I’ve seen mentioned on other threads, they sound like a good idea to show exactly how few carbs we need to hit in order to create fat burning.

Hi captain Lynn,
Cat girl and I need the toasted mouse calories in case Bear needs to skinny babes to go out under the stars with.
We need to count our calories.
How many calories in a swoon?

I have been out and about walking yesterday and today.
Had steak last night and chicken today. Asked for a slice of toast, I cut it in half, ready to enjoy it , took a bite and didn’t enjoy it. So I passed it on.

Seems the stuff I couldn’t live without, I can’t live with now, that’s great. I am really happy over it. So I am now ready to explore other foods. My life is really evolving now.

It’s been cloudy today, but have noticed birdies with twigs in their beaks, ready to build, without planning permission. Anyone notice this going on?

Love Lucia xxxx

Hi All, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think I can say now that I’m through the blood sugar spikes. Last three mornings have been 5.2, 5.3 & 5.3 again today.
So for those who are still going through it take heart. Mine lasted just over three weeks I think.
I hope there are no more nasty surprises in store. All the best to those of you still having the high sugar levels

Coconut prawns sounds just the thing when I have the munchies.Just hope I don’t burn the house down!

Hi Sunnyb, if you were still around 23 g carbs including two glasses of bubbly then it shouldn’t matter what your total calories were, you should be fine. But even if you do put on, it will only take a day or two to go again. A reasonable sacrifice for your celebration I’m sure!

The only times I get the shake’s is when there is no alcohol to drink! 🍷🍻🍹 cheers.

Like you, I have had a wobble today. Had a celebratory meal for my daughter’s 30th, so there were a couple of glasses of champagne, food wise to dodgy things were one small parsnip, peas and gravy. Felt over full and guilty afterwards – ate at 3 and still feeling too full! as far as I can guestimate, I was about 120cals over for the day and 3g carbs above my recent consumption of 20g per day. Now I worried I might have trashed the 2lb loss I seemed to have consolidated this week.

Tomorrow’s another day and I will be cautious and make sure I keep tight control of things. Weekly weigh in is Monday morning, so the truth will out soon!

thanks hashimoto

doing better this morning – don’t seem to have a headache threatening today. and have lost a little weight, but the pants are feeling looser, and that’s an all day reminder things are moving in the right direction.