Bill
So sorry to hear your devastating news, hope MRI scan is a bit more positive. My thoughts are with you, take care.

How are you doing carommartin? Just thought I’d check in to see how its going.

Thank you.

Just can’t wait for the book to arrive . I’m eat fairly good but I think I found my problem. I drink Pepsi max and ok no sugar but according to hospital it’s worse as apparently I’m drinking crack cocaine of the sugar world . I do like sweet stuff so hope there is something .

I really hope it works as 1 friend has lost a stone in 4 weeks!!!!! Other one is doing really well.

Hi. Julia, welcome to the over the 8 week line and over, what fantastic results you have had so far! Don’t forget to keep posting your progress!
🙂
Hi captainlynne, wow you did so fantastically on your trip, especially as the right food was a bit harder to source than here in Britain! You are a role model for us all 🙂

Lucia,
you should write for a living! Your enthusiasm shines through, there are some really poetic images and humour too!

I hadn’t noticed, but I’m in the middle of week 2. I am not far behind you in the weight and inches, but got there on 2000 cals/day despite all sorts of exercise. I’ve always said I’d be the last to die in a famine because a little food goes a long, long way with me! I have lost 2kg in the first week, plateau for a couple of days, now another half a kg down.
Good luck!

Hi all
I have just finished the 8 weeks🙌
Started out in mid December at 93 kilos. Less some days, more others… weight tends to fluctuate but that was the worst number I reached. Had a nasty 3 weeks with flu from 31st December so restarted the 8 weeks once over that. Now at 82.5 kilos and hoping to stay around here and lose another 10-12 if I can… something I’d lost hope was even possible for me last year. No diabetes yet (had blood test last year) but it is hugely prevalent in my family. I am now back to running and working on upping exercise levels to keep things moving in the right direction. Not to mention staying with this way of life permanently.
These forums have been inspirational as so many have said. We all sound like scratched records but I cannot express how much they have helped me when I have fallen off the wagon, as I have many times.
Best wishes for continued progress to everyone on here!
Julia 😊

Welcome! I wouldn’t get hung up on ingredients. Frozen veg often cheaper than fresh and no wastage. Ditto berries. Lidl and Aldi have many things at good prices. Main thing is to read these forums avidly as they will provide loads of support and there are additional recipes here too. Good luck and hope to be hearing great news from you soon. I have lost over 10 kg with the fast800 BSD and would have been more if I hadn’t had a few slips along the way. Have not been this weight for almost 10 years despite many attempts at losing weight.

Draw a line under the pizza and move on. Stay focused and get back on track. You will be seeing better results soon.

Thanks for your replies 🙂 It’s nice to know it’s not a problem unique to me, but demoralising all the same. I will keep on with it (despite the slice of pizza I had for lunch today!).

Dear Gabby67′ my husband and I are also on day 2, I don’t feel too bad but he is light headed and feeling lethargic, the way I see it is that these early days are not just about getting used to a low calorie low carb diet but after all the unhealthy food and alcohol we have previously put into our bodies(hubby and I) but also about detoxing as well which is bound to make you feel yuck! Stick with it and see what the next few days bring. Good luck.

Yesterday I was told I will die soon unless I change my life.

I have mobility issues and due to problems
In nhs I have gained weight over the years

I need to loose weight I friend is on a his diet and I’m trying it.. Have ordered my book but is there anything I need to get?? I already eat veg and lean meat

Yes MaryR I found the same dry, undercooked but even cooking them longer didn’t help. I am going to try the brownies so any tips appreciated – the recipe is too basic; I assume you have to chop the dates and cacao nibs although it says neither!

Hi sunnyb, i have had several pedometers over the years but my favourite is the one I. Bought a couple of years ago, it’s the CSX, you can find the details for it on the resources tab on this website. If I’m short on steps i walk to the corner shop and back -2500 steps. Sue1234 I f. I don’t want anything from the shop i just walk past the shop and loop back by another side road. No one could tell i was walking for the sake of walking – and if they did? Well, I’m walking for my health, that’s a good enough purpose for me. Watching the steps accumulate is a buzz as you get close or overtake your daily target.The CSX also shows the number of steps you do in a week 🙂

I didn’t think much to these either, though I’ve only tried them once and was not inspired to try and modify it. The mix was very dry, even with adding extra liquid, and the result pale and uninviting; the cooking temp and time seemed out as well. I have to say that I think the chocolate brownies are a much better bet, and are my go-to emergency treat when necessary, a batch always in the freezer in small bites , 100 cals each. It did take 4 attempts to perfect the technique though- I’ll post it if anyone’s interested.
( I think there was some discussion about the courgette muffins in an earlier thread- voicing similar opinions!)

I am just over two weeks into the BSD and have lost half a stone and 3 inches – yes inches! – off my waist. I am generally, genuinely enjoying the food using recipes from the book. BUT the courgette and pumpkin seed muffins have to be one of the most disgusting things I have ever tasted!! I do bake and have heard of cakes made with courgette, like carrot cake, but I have no idea what these were meant to be. Needless to say they have ended up in the bin. I wouldn’t mind but they were not cheap to make, coconut flour is not cheap and there were four eggs in this recipe. I am actually finding the whole diet quite expensive but am persevering as I know it will be worth it. My advice would be don’t bother with these muffins, they are not worth it and you don’t need the calories!

Thanks for the tips, Cherianne! I hadn’t thought of trying chilled herbal teas before so I might give that a shot, and the soda stream idea is great. I’m going to ask some of my local friends if they have one I could borrow 🙂

Sue1234, have you tried exercising with a friend or family member? I am a runner, but have terrible motivation – it really helps to arrange to meet someone because it makes me get out of the door, chatting to someone else is so much more interesting than running by myself, and my friends and I motivate each other to keep going too. There are also loads of walking groups around that you could join. Good luck finding a trick that works for you to get you exercising regularly – it’s really worth it.

That’s brilliant news Bill. 🙂

Hi Lucia. I am really not an expert and only in second week. Someone who loves her food and have managed to loose 3kilos so far in 8 days. Most days I go over my allowance, but I exercise and walk a lot. Just wondering if you are having enough fat! Only questioning it as your lunch and evening meal seem to be just veg and salad and meat, where is the fat. Are you recording what you are eating, it’s such an eye opener! Some fruits and veg are very high in carbs. I have under 40 carbs a day and usually this means sugars are very low too, under 20. I have always had a sweet tooth and struggle with not eating daily chocolate, this week better than last and now have berries with sprinkling of seeds, for fat or nuts, all weighed and that seems to work, I noticed a lot of natural yoghurts still have a lot of carbs, I have found a sheep milk yoghurt, so much lower in carbs, but fats and protein higher. You have done a great job, I have read your blog up until now, amazing steps. Just think what you are now putting into your body, great stuff. Keep going but check your labels and record your meals, maybe too low in calories! That won’t help, how many calories do you have a day? Probably a blip, but keep positive, get moving and check what you are eating. Don’t give up if I can do it so can you! 😀

Hi guys
Happy to say that my readings seem to be stabilising now.
Last few days fasting has been 6.9 to 7.1, pre meal 4.6 to 5.2 and around 6 an hour after food.
Just got my HbA1c results back from the blood test taken 4 weeks into the diet.
HbA1c 46mmol/mom down from 51
Cholesterol 4.3 down from 4.9
Weight 95kg down from 105
Kidneys 0.6gmol down from 1.7
eGFR up from 78.2 to 83.1 (higher is better)
So all in all a pretty pleasing set of results and all the motivation I need going forward.

Get your backside out of the sulking chair miss!
All that’s happening is your body hasn’t reacted as quickly than most to the low carbon assault that you’re putting it through.
You know you’re doing things right, keep glugging the water and weigh again in 3 days.
I have a feeling that you will be one of those that, when the weight loss hits, it will hit hard and fast.
People have reported losing 5 lb in a day, you may well be one of those.

Today my resting reading was way down. Surprised I did not keel over. It’s just all over the place, will track for another week or so and see if things settle down.

Hi lucia you are doing brilliantly, don’t despair, we women can have strange increases in weight at times :(. You will probably find you are minus a few pounds in a day or two 🙂

If you would like to walk a dog you could try http://www.borrow my doggy.Com. we have found some lovely walkers for our pooch. The dog owner pays the site and you are matched with dogs in your area.

Hi, so into the bathroom I went, no it’s okay to read on, nothing unpleasant , except for me.
Have I lost four or five stone since Saturday? Nope, I have put 1/4 on !!!!!???!!! 😮
Now I can do two things.
A. Stuff my face with chocolate, to comfort myself with the shame of it all. All that effort OMG.
B. It is only a tiny amount, but look back at my blogs , I have self taught some huge lessons.
So, I went into the kitchen ( after getting washed and dressed – no streaking here) and had an apple with one large tablespoon blob of full fat Greek yoghurt.
I have just finished lunch, pork and salad. Two slices of lean roast pork, 75 Grams, one celery stick, one spring onion, and three big leaves of iceberg lettuce.
Tonight it will be chicken or fish with sprouts and broccoli.
I am happy that , this is all I want to eat. I am not starving, and this is big lesson in itself. I am saving £5 each week doing this myself ( not going to ww or sw. )
I am not perfect, I did mutter a few naughty words, but I am not typing them here, that was to my scales.
So onwards and upwards as they say.
How did you get over your bad times? Were you able to cope, or did you do more damage?
Don’t get me wrong, if a large bar of fruit and nut had of walked into the bathroom at that point, maybe the outcome would be different. But all that stuff is two miles away from my home, at the supermarket.
Stay positive, stay together, and we will all get through this.
Love Lucia xxx
Just going for a sulk now …..

Hi SOS

Fatsecret does have a facility to record and track progress, but you have to become a member to use that facility. It is free of charge, but it’s one more site sending emails etc. As you say, there is variation of info from site to site and this one is no exception. Think it is best to find a calorie/carb calculator you feel comfortable using and stick to it as you have. At least that way, the values are consistent.

Hi penny, I want to wish you a lovely trip to India. I haven’t been on the forums for a few days courtesy of a nasty viral infection so don’t know what the troll attacks were but want you to know you are a very valued member of these forums and your contributions are much appreciated x:)
Judith

I want to wish all the new BSDers a hearty welcome, I’ve been ‘off the radar’ for a few days and will need some time to catch up with you all 🙂

Bill, I’m so very, very sorry to hear the bad news about your daughter. As a mother I can only imagine what you and your wife are going through and my thoughts, love and prayers are with you all. As cherrieanne has said you have inspired a lot of love and friendship around the world in a short time as well as inspiring us all to reach our personal goals. X

Hi Lachlan
I can understand that this is quite distressing for you. I’d be pretty upset with a reading like that too.
How long are you fasting for overnight, and what are your blood sugar levels doing during the day? It might be an idea to continue to skip the fasting tests but test two hours after a meal. Choose a different meal time each day to test after. This will give you a better idea of how your body is dealing with the food you are eating.
I think if these levels are reasonable, then continue to believe in the theory you posted above and just wait out this period of change. If they are also outrageous then you would need further advice from your GP. Just a random thought, as I have no clue about your age, but given that you are newly diagnosed could it be possible that you are a later onset type one and not type two? No need to disclose personal info, but if all your blood sugar levels are raised despite sticking to low carb. and you are in the 30-50 age group it might be worth checking.
Do the random tests over the next few days and see how you go, it might help you get to the bottom of this.

A bit glum at the moment about morning/fasting BG levels. Interesting to read others experiences in this thread.
When I (Steve) started the diet my morning BG dropped to 3.9, in the first week, from my old usual 6 – 6.5, which did surprise me a lot. Settled at about 4.5 after a couple of weeks, which I counted a success at the time.
Now Ei is not diabetic, according to the doc, just wants to lose weight, and hers were anywhere between 5.0 – 5.7. So the “normal” one had a higher/fasting BG than the diabetic!
Then in week 7, suddenly, I get 6.0 one morning. I had tried to re-introduced a bit of wine to my diet, and it had slipped over the “small glass with dinner” threshold sometimes. Was this the reason? Unfortunately, diet-wise, we have been on holiday for week 8, but stayed on track with food. Kept wine to just one glass a day. Came back to a 6.7 reading!
After 8 weeks diet I am now as thin as a racing snake, but with morning/fasting BG levels similar to before I started.
Lost my way a bit.

What puzzles me about the recipes in the book is that many of them are not particularly low calorie. It says earlier in the book that the calorie count is per portion I believe. Turkey burgers are 460 even before you put anything with them!

The scales say 1lb less to day, but I’m not cheering yet – let’s see what the result is at the end of this week. Hopefully it’s going to continue to drop and I can report a couple of pounds loss for this week, but we’ll wait and see. Not counting chicken yet. Thanks for the advice and support though Janet1973.

Hi Catgirl

I’ve been using the forum since starting the BSD and have found it invaluable – especially when things get tough and you need a little support. There’s lots of useful tips and info on here, so make good use of the threads and if in doubt ask the question, someone will respond.

Welcome to the BSD losers! Good luck to you both.

It is tough eating out while you are on the 8wk diet. I had two dinners out last w/e. I managed to save most of my calorie allowance during the day, for the dinner in the evening, limited myself to one small glass of red per meal (and a whisky one evening when I got home) also chose things not being served with heaps of carbs. I did my best to work out the calories each day and I know I was over, but not too seriously – approx 200clas over the two days. Anyway, net result was no weight lose …. but no gain either.

If you make your menu choices carefully and try to off set a bit by saving calories before each event, I’m sure your weight will not suffer too badly from the dinners out. Good luck with it, I’m sure you can make it work.

Really like the idea of drawing cups/glasses to cross off through the day, pmshrink – excellent idea! This would certainly help me to make sure my fluids are up, as it’s easy to forget if you’ve had three or four cups. Shall definitely be adopting this method – thanks!

Weighing in after finishing week 2. Not as good as week 1, but that was my own fault for not counting the milk for my coffee and the extra bites of this and that when I felt hungry. I pulled myself up, began counting everything and I’m back losing again. So it’s a total of 2.8 over the two weeks, but would have been more if I’d been more careful.
Unfortunately I have three birthday dinners in three weeks coming up, plus a family lunch at Easter. And I have no will power usually when I’m eating out. I won’t make rash promises to stick to the 800 calories on those days, but I’ll certainly be very choosy over my decisions. I’m very confident that at the worst, they will only slow my weight loss down, not cause me gain.

Hi BeckyCrew

Yes, I too experienced a plateau in week two, only dropping a pound towards the end of that week. Then in week three nothing lost at all. It is demoralising when the scales don’t shift. Using other threads on the forum though, it seems this is normal and people experience these plateaus at various points in the 8wks, but particularly in weeks 2 & 3. The collective wisdom is to keep going, as at 800cals a day you can’t fail to lose weight at some point.

I am just starting in on week four and because of the poor results in the last couple of week (lost 6lb in week one) I am this week, checking my carb intake as well as calories, to make sure I am genuinely getting my 800 for low carb foods.

Don’t waste time beating yourself up for the piece of cake and don’t be discouraged by the poor showing on the scales, it will happen as long as you stay determined and focused on making this change work for you. Make the most of these forums when you are wavering, as there is loads of advice and support here.

Good luck on more success this week.

Hi Sue
If you don’t like walking without a purpose, what about downloading some podcasts of radio programmes and listening to something while walking? You can tell yourself you are educating yourself/being entertained while walking! My form of exercise is jogging, I still haven’t learned to like any form of exercise – although I love the feeling afterwards!) but get through it by fixing the headphones to the ears and off I go… and I’m finished almost before I realise how far I’ve been.

Hi BeckyCrew,

I had the same issue, lost 7lbs in the first week & nothing in the second week. Now into week 3 & I have lost another 2 lbs. On the other hand my blood sugars have been brilliant & I have so much energy.

Also there is a weight plateau thread which has people saying similar things. So please don’t be demotivated & keep going!!!

Good Luck !!!

Hi, I now also keep my milk measured out in a separate container. I did really well in the first week, but over the next few days I put back 300 grams. I realised that I wasn’t counting the milk at all, telling myself it was only a splash two or three times a day. Yes, 1/4 of a cup splashes when I measured it. Also the odd extra bite of this and that, saying it wasn’t much, would hardly count. Now I’m back to losing again and am just starting my third week 2.6 kilos down from when I began.

Hi Lynnie62

Well done on progress so far. Blips in weeks two and three seem to be normal – certainly that is what is being reported on other threads and has also been my personal experience. It might be worth just checking that you are keeping the carbs low, in case there is anything you are consuming that it unexpectedly higher than you might realise. It’s possible to make a porridge from any grain, so if you really miss it, why not try making one from quinoa and topping with a few fresh raspberries? The texture would be quite different, but it might work to damp down the cravings. I’m just starting week 4 and really am not missing the sweet stuff at all, so your cravings will almost certainly lessen with time, so don’t despair. You’ll get there, as long as you stick with it … good luck.

Just checked my blood levels his morning and it was a whopping 11.5! Very disappointed and finding it hard to stay positive bearing in mind I’m now into week 7 but … I’ve not been taking the readings over the last week in order to not get too stressed out about it but I think the anticipation after such a long time is having the reverse effect and making me more stressed out. Any encouragement gratefully received!

Hi Lynnie62. Read the forums on rising blood sugar levels – stored sugar seems to rise at different points in the diet for different folk. I would keep at it and up the exercise to kickstart the weight loss. Or try mindfulness techniques – you might have seen on these forums folk reporting just how much stress levels can cause big rises and halt weight loss.

But good on you – you have still lost 10lbs and that is not to be sniffed at!

Hi All,

I started the diet a week a go and have found it really easy to stick to. I lost 6lb in the first week, which is amazing and this has encouraged me to keep it up.

However, over the last couple of days I haven’t lost anymore – in fact, I have gained a little. I’m not sure why as I’m still doing the diet and apart from a piece of cake at the weekend have been staying away from the naughties!

Has anyone else experienced this? I don’t want it to carry on as I know how easily I lose motivation 🙁

Thanks!

Hi Mick,
I agree with so much of what you are saying. There is a misconception that type 2’s somehow are responsible for developing the disease. Yet most of us are far from fat and lazy, but poor dietary advice coupled with insulin certainly does nothing to help weight loss.
You are absolutely right that the focus is on treating the symptoms ( reducing high blood sugars) rather than dealing with the cause. We are doing this ourselves though, quite successfully on this way of eating. The more vocal we get to our GP’s and diabetes nurses etc. the quicker the info will get out there.

Hey Gabby67

Welcome to the forums – you’ll find lots of help and support here, so make the most of them. Yes do make use of the recipes on the website. As long as you are sticking to the 800cals a day, you can use any recipe you like – needs to be low carb as well of course.

If you are feeling lethargic, be kind to yourself and don’t push the exercise for a couple of days while your body is adjusting to the new way of eating. Lots of people report lingtheadedness, headaches and lethargy during the first few days, so this is all normal. It won’t take long for you to adjust to the new regime and you will soon find you have the energy for exercising again.

Keep posting and checking the forums for info, someone will be able to offer help. Good luck, you’ll soon be seeing results.

Hi all, I’ve just started week 3, week 1 I lost 8lbs, and my blood sugar went from 5.8 to 5.7, week 2 however was only a 2lb loss but my bsl had gone up to 6.6😳 which was a shock. For the 2 weeks I’ve felt really hungry all the time but realised (with help from this site) I wasn’t drinking nearly enough. After the initial emotional feelings (upset etc) of my week 2 results and the fact my husband has had 8lbs then 5lbs weight loss (and I’ve got so much more to lose than him, he is doing it to support me) I have realised that this really is a life change for continued good health, I just need help with management of the odd cravings like porridge with fruit, fizzy orange squash being my main 2😊

Hi Sue1234

Sounds like you are forging ahead and making progress. Why not try a generous sprinkle of cinnamon on your porridge, rather than sweeter? It’s gives flavour and an illusion of sweetness without any calories. I’m finding myself looking to my herb and spice draw more and more on the diet, to give various dishes a lift or tweak to alter them slightly.

Hi I am on my second day and feeling very light headed and really tired and lacking energy to go for my walks.
do you have to keep to the diet in the book ? Can I use receipts own this web site ?

Great start Toofastblack! Amazing how quickly you get used to resisting carbs. Pretty soon the craving for them disappears altogether.
Messyhen don’t be nervous, be excited to meet the new you and your new energy filled life 🙂
We are all in this together so there’s lots of support and encouragement here.
Aussielou, lots of us on here now so if you need any advice about low carb foods in Australia or whatever just ask. All the best.