Thanks for all the tips and advice. Mick, I know what you’re thinking, the diet always starts tomorrow but it really does 😀. Takes time to set up and my time is limited but I’m determined. Yes I’m overweight for various reasons (three babies in three years and basically being greedy!) so this is to loose weight and curb my sweet tooth developed after the birth of my twins. I feel like I’ve tried other things and not stuck to them so this needs to work. Perhaps extreme is what I need rather than diets giving you a tasteless version of a ‘normal’ eating plan.

Thanks again for all the tips! Actually looking forward to getting started now!

Hi Aly you have been so unfortunate to get that infection just as you were starting this diet. Hat off to you that you have managed at all. I hope that residual cough clears up fast for you – I know how tiring and draining all the coughing can be x

My OH sprinkles it into some of his glasses of water for the same reason. Every little helps I suppose!

Hi Susansilver I was a bit off it for first 3 days just a bit light headed and shaky. Don’t give in. Try going to bed earlier than normal because once you are asleep you won’t feel hunger!! I found I woke up not feeling hungry doing that!

Hi Missay, I was thinking of the idea that cinnamon is supposed to help with blood sugars, if it does you are creating an extra health boost!! Well done. I might try it in the morning!

Boyjon try this diet first before deciding it does not work. Modern science shows type 2 diabetes CAN be reversed and you may find you are no longer prediabetic yourself. This is working well for so many of us.
Like Bill I’m pleased for you if the diet advised by your GP worked for you but it is not for everyone – with or without diabetes. Cold (resistant starch) wholewheat pasta salads for coeliacs and gluten intolerants????

Welcome to the forums Lucia. You should be proud of yourself it sounds as if you have taken a huge step in the right direction! 🙂 There are lots of tips on here. Have you read the book ‘8 week blood sugar diet’? You will have to ditch the carbs, I’m afraid, but there are lots of delicious recipes in the book and on this website. There are tips for packed lunches – dips and veg, frittata, chickpea flour flatbreads (very low carb) which you can use for wraps and salads with egg/tuna fish/chicken etc.
You will see the extra weight just melt away if you stick to this.
Remember it is really important to drink 2 to 3 litres of water a day.
If you feel a bit headachy in the first couple of days just drink plenty of fluids and perhaps take a paracetamol.
Good luck 🙂

Can not be beneficial not will not, not too sure are you ?
You got a diet from your doc that worked for you – good
There are many people both on and off these forums for whom the diet is working and working well.
May I ask what your medical qualifications are to make such statements.
Nice backlink by the way.

Hi, I’m the wrong side of 200pounds. Feeling my age and fed up sitting at work then sitting at home.
I am ready.
This week I have weighed myself and changed plates. I eat from a side plate and not a dinner plate.
I am not counting the calories this week, that’s next week.
I gave stopped eating chocolate, crisps, biscuits cake etc.
So for example, yesterday I had a small bowl of cornflakes. A home made wholewheat wrap with turkey and lettuce, an apple, and in the evening chicken, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.
I am proud of myself.
I couldn’t convert straight onto 800 calories from what I was eating. So here I come. I will be 8 hundred-ing next week.
This is my 1st ever post. Hope to hear from you all with tips etc.
Love Lucia. Xxxx

Thanks Sabrina – anything that can help – going to try and cut down what I am drinking in the evening to see if that helps.

Many thanks hashimoto, I am feeling quite inspired! Will look at the flatbread recipes and will post how I get on.

Hi Mosleyfan,

Thank you for your message, Good to hear from you, i need all the support I can get!! No pain so must be ok but weight loss slow only lost 3lb ??
Hope you still doing ok?? 😀

I haven’t made these since I’ve been on the BSD. A quick look and it seems okay, slightly too much apple juice maybe. The recipe is based on a 500g bag of dried beans and makes too much for a normal pan. I am also missing one or two details (how long to bake!). I’ll see what I can do.

I’m not an expert Susansilver, but the beans/veg salad seems very low in fat, unless you had a dressing with it. As I understand it, the fat helps to keep you more satisfied and so less hungry. Maybe have a look at the thread on ‘What are you eating today?’ for some ideas to help with the next few days. Good luck – I firmly believe the results are worth working it out so it works for you.

Hi Bernie, I had the same problem. I was drinking 300ml of warm milk before bed & ended up getting up in the middle of the night. I reduced down to 200ml & have not had to get up. Hope that helps.

anthmart, I think that you should get some advice from someone experienced in your problem. I don’t think many on here are doing that quantity of intense exercise. I would talk to a doctor, coach, or sports scientist if I were you.

As an aside 15 years ago some friends did a rowing marathon and were advised to eat a high fat diet for several weeks in advance of the event to train their bodies to burn fat. (It is much harder to eat and drink when rowing than cycling.) They weren’t trying to win, just do a reasonable time.

It’s a very tasty addition to the blueberries, Hashimoto. Sometimes I also add a few scrapings of orange zest to the pan when I cook them – adds a nice kick to the flavour.

Hi all – is anyone else suffering from broken sleep from having to go for a wee in the night? The problem I am having is that I am really struggling to drift back to sleep again. I used to have this on fasting days for the 5:2 but it is every night on this diet.

I can’t think of a way to stop it but would be nice to know I am not the only one 🙂

Thanks Bill. I enjoy cooking, which I think has helped, but even so, I am amazed at how well we can eat on 800 calories a day.

I made the pancakes quite thin, and drying them out really did work well. They even cut into wedges with our pizza cutter, and were firm enough to pick up. They were very thin and crispy, but that is how I like my pizza bases anyway. Give it another try, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

I like the sound of the Besan flour pasta, I think I’ll have to give that a try too.

Green tea and blueberry smoothie ,capsicum and jewelled feta both from book then 80 g tin tuna in water 1 tbs baked beans large salad of lettuce mushrooms toms broccoli etc ie non starchy veg 9 cups water or tea

Thanks again Bill

Try a fatty snack before bed, full fat yoghurt or a piece of cheese.
It keeps the digestive system working and helps stave off the hunger.
The vast majority of folk don’t have a problem with hunger on this plan so maybe keep an eye on your fluid and fat intake.
What did you eat today ?

So hungry I can’t sleep . Completed day1 week 1 . Not expecting tomorrow mornings breakfast to make me feel much better . This is why previous diets have failed the hunger gets steadily worse until willpower collapses . How long am I likely to feel so bad .? Headache stomach ache in spite of lots of warm drinks ( teas )

No carb bircher for brekkie; mushroom omelette for lunch; and will be cooking the chicken with spring onions and coconut with lime from the book for dinner 🙂 yummy.

Much better thanks. Antibiotics finished but still a residual cough. Been struggling with the eating plan the last few days as not much appetite.

Hi Onamission – try the recipes even if you think you may not like them. I have been surprised how tasty most of them are. The smoothies are great, there’s one I really dislike but my husband loves (I won’t tell you which one), so always worth a try ! Good Luck and keep with it. It feels like a lot of work at first but after awhile it gets a lot easier (or seems to).

Hi – I got flaxseeds (Linseeds) from Amazon – a kilo was only £5.60! I then put them in an electric coffee grinder and store them for use in the mornings . No carb Bircher is definitely the best breakfast as it keeps me full until lunch time. I have to use dairy free yoghurt. I’m doing this more for weight loss than to watch blood sugars. I’m sure I read in the book that the allowable amount of carbs per day was 17g – or I could have dreamt that bit up ! I have crohns disease and distal colitis and I have found since starting this way of eating my symptoms have reduced dramatically !

A quick google tells me that it is an enzyme that helps digest carbohydrate so I suppose, yes it is blood sugar related but I would imagine that more is good if it helps get rid of carbs.
The doc should be checking you for an inflamed pancreas, just in case.

Hi there – I wonder if anyone before starting has been told that their amylase levels have been a bit raised? I am going to get a retest next week and wondered if anyone else has any experience of this? Is it blood sugar related? Thank you

Hi Penny, it’s bizarre isn’t it – we’re talking about a diet and all eating really yummy food! 🙂

It is a revelation isn’t it! Top tip on dry skin – use coconut oil – your skin feels amazing . Just put on a little like a moisturiser. healthy inside and out 🙂

Hi Aly, how is the chest infection? I hope the antibiotics are pulling you through 🙂

I am just a week in – first 2 days were hard in terms gof thinking about sugar. Like you i don’t have any BS probe (as yet) but I have a mega sweetie addiction that I had to break. Good news it gets much easier – much. I had a wee wobble today but didn’t buckle but thats the only one this week. Whats interesting is that i identified it as about to be emotional eating. So if I feel i need sweetness I use all spice in my food. The courgette and apple muffins are great and also peppermint tea is a great. The recipes are all delicious and I have really been enjoying thinking – okay what’s for today! Good luck Onamission! Oh yes I have also lost 5lb this week- so just imagine how you will feel next week. Feel the fear and do it anyway 😉 !

Stingle – brilliant results on your blood sugar readings! 🙂

Hi, I reached my first goal today and that was to get my BMI down to below 30. I am doing this for weight-loss to avoid issues, but having taken my blood sugar at the beginning was surprised that it was heading very close to being prediabetic. I have lost 9kg and fasting blood sugar is now 5.0 mmol/l.
I always intended to take the decision whether or not to move onto the 5:2 when I reached the BMI target. Given I have not found it hard to stick to, I have decided to keep going for the next 3 weeks – then move to the 5:2.
I also tried the 5:2 last year and found my work life was too unpredictable to manage. I was also staying in hotels for variable amounts of time so getting a regular 2 days a week was not possible. The days I did manage it I was eating breakfast, but an apple or two at midday then meal at night. I also kept going on drinking black coffee to try to not think of food. This time it is 800 calories for the two fast days, the extra 300 calories make a big difference.
For this diet you do need a period where you have control – I would hate to try it if I was not cooking my own food. No hidden sugars or carbs, I know what I cooked. You also need to be prepared to weight and record everything and really plan ahead. An App in the phone or PC really help to keep track. Some are managing without, but I find I am always surprised with just how small a tablespoon really is – especially oil!
good luck.

Missay – good idea that cinnamon!!! 🙂

It is slightly better than white flour because of the extra fibre and complex carbs content but still not the best.
Shrove Tuesday I had a wholemeal flour pancake with berry khuli and I suffered for it with a high blood sugar reading next day.
Look in the white flour thread. One of the regulars has posted a list of flours and their calorific and carb values.

Hi Sue 1234 – ALL wheat flour is off the menu on this diet as it is a low carb diet – i.e. no refined carbs such as bread, rice and wheat pasta. I would recommend looking at the chickpea flour flatbread recipe. Also you can make chickpea flour pasta (haven’t tried yet so can’t tell you what it is like) sorry to put a downer on your bread baking plans 🙁

Hi onamission, welcome to the forums! Like Bill said drink LOTS of water, herbal teas, fizzy water with lemon or lime even try hot water with lemon as it is comforting, you need that amount of liquid on this diet but it also helps with any hunger pangs in the first 3 or 4 days.
You’re doing the right thing – starting this diet before you get heath problems, there are many of us on here who wish this had been around years ago – before health problems began.
Good luck on your mission – I’m sure it will be accomplished!

Hi carommartin, No I just went with the recipes in the book ( the 8 week blood sugar diet by Michael Mosley) and adapted some recipes to suit myself.
You need to remember to drink a LOT of water/herbal tea etc 2 – 3 litres a day. I like fizzy water with a slice of lemon as well.
Some quick and easy meals: poached eggs with grilled tomatoes or mushrooms, 2 egg omelette with salad, full fat yoghurt with berries. Hummus and veg, grilled or fried chicken/fish/steak with leafy green veg. Home made vegetable soup etc Just don’t eat refined carbs (bread, rice pasta) and try to keep to 800 calories and the weight should melt away. I don’t know if you have looked at the drop down bars – but one has recipes people have uploaded and if you miss bread I could recommend the two types of carb free flat breads on there. In fact I am having home made curry with the chickpea flour flatbreads for dinner tonight. I have made LOTS of them and freeze them so they are handy. You can also use them as pizza bases. The recipe for coconut flatbreads is really good – I have used them for dessert topped with cream and berries when I have people round for dinner! But you can use them as buns for a sarnie etc
Hope that helps – I know some people have started off on the shakes but I just did not fancy them.
Good luck and there is plenty of help from people on this forum 🙂

Yesterday:

Greek yogurt with cooked blueberries and cinnamon

Chicken salad with romaine lettuce, rocket, cherry toms, herbs, yellow pepper, olives, jalapenos, a few sunflower seeds and chick peas, celery and chipotle ‘mayo’ (was actually sour cream with chipotle)

Courgetti with salmon, creme fraiche, peas, garlic, lemon juice and basil, sprinkling of chopped mixed nuts on top

Half a pink lady apple (amazing that half an apple is now a sweet treat!)

One cup of tea and one of coffee with a splash of milk. Endless water!

Well done first off for recognising that you may have a problem and you’ve actually decided to take action! So you’re all set to take the plunge tomorrow ( what happened to today?! ;0) ). Don’t worry, just bear in mind why you’re doing it and what the alternative may be. I presume you’re somewhat overweight? Well one of the advantages of the 800 is usually the rapid result which gives encouragement to stick with it. Do you have a target? It’s a good idea to set one rather than setting off aimlessly, and if you haven’t already, read the book for guidance and further encouragement. Well done again and good luck!
Mick.

Hi hashimoto – thank you for your prompt reply. Did you use meal replacement shakes at all? I can’t imagine being able to think of 3 meals a day without bread!

In the book it says that wholemeal bread is no good as it has a lot of sugar in it. But is it OK to use wholemeal flour? I don’t like the coconut flour, I find the taste lingers for days!.
I bake my own bread any way and wondered if I made some without sugar and only ate a small amount if that would be OK. Any thoughts?

Hi and welcome to the forums
Seriously, the best tip I can give you is to have a read through the forum. There are so many people on here at varying stages of the plan and they are all posting their experiences on a daily basis now.
Also checkout the recipes section for some mouth watering meals.
Don’t be nervous, just go for it, drink lots of water (2 – 3 ltr /day ) and keep up your fat intake to help combat initial side effects.
Look forward to seeing your week 1 results.

Hi,

I have been getting everything set up to start the blood sugar diet tomorrow. I am quite nervous about it as although I am not diabetic, I have developed a ridiculous carb and sugar addiction over the years. This is something I need to do for my health as there is type 2 diabetes in the family and I would be devastated if I developed it.

I just wondered if anyone had any tips? I’m guessing that keep busy to take my mind off it might be good thing! But at the same time, I feel I need to be a bit obsessed with it to keep me focused.

I’m nervous about how I will manage but excited that I will soon be shifting some weight!

Help and advice on starting out would be much appreciated! Thank you

Hi carommartin, welcome to the forums. A lot of us on here have hypothyroidism, I had weight loss failures on other diets but have lost 2 stones so far on the 8 week blood sugar diet. I. Would recommended doing the 8 week programme, you won’t regret it.

I have hypothyroidism and Pernicious Anaemia and also take a few tablets for heart disease. I have found it very difficult to lose weight since I was diagnosed and was contemplating doing the Mediterranean diet to see if cutting out a lot of carbs would do the trick. I’m not diabetic and don’t have blood sugar problems (yet!). Does anybody know how successful this might be or should I go the whole hog and do the LSD?

Yes, I think it will be helpful to compare notes Bill. More out of curiosity really, I’m just keen to know after all these years what’s really going on inside my body.

By the way, the article I have attached above talks about limiting saturated fats in meat and dairy but its worth bearing in mind, that might be the ‘old-school’ thinking on sat fats.