Can you eat as much salad and veg as you want, apart from root veg???

CaptainLynne – you’ll be great – don’t sweat it! In answer to your question, Australia. Good luck and have fun. 🙂

Hashimoto – definitely dancing emojis! That’s great news all round. 🙂 🙂

Have to say it feels great to have made it through the eight weeks!

Captainlynne, a belated bon voyage! Very good advice there from justabloke! Enjoy! 🙂

Hi Justabloke, an amazing thing happened to me yesterday. If I previously (old living style) ate as much as 1200 – 1400 calories I was putting weight on. So, I experimented: for three days I ate 900 calories and my weight stayed the same but yesterday I ate 1500 and my weight still stayed the same. Couldn’t believe the scales at first. Stepped on and off a few times. The almost 8 weeks of this diet has caused a rather fundamental change in my body. NO MORE WORRIES about coming off 800 calories.
So back to 800 calories for another week or so to lose the 9lbs I want to be rid off.
I’m so relieved and happy !
Once on my target weight I will stick to this eating plan but just increase the calories – it seems easy to do that. I had a few more nuts as snacks after meals and for the evening meal I had a plate of beef curry, full fat raita and 2 chickpea flatbreads AND a glass of red wine.
I’d put a dancing emoji on if only I knew how 🙂 🙂 🙂

Brilliant advice/information Justabloke. Thanks 🙂

Hello!

Just finished reading the blood sugar diet book and can’t wait to get started!

I’m a little concerned about how to feed the whole family as my 10 and 7 year old won’t be fooled by courgetti and cauliflower rice!

Just wondered how others go about cooking for the whole family and if there are any cook books with more recipes that anyone might recommend?

Thanks in advance 🙂

Hello Mandy, I’m glad to read you are sticking with it. I had the same problem as you after week 1 and had to make some adjustments. Can you have bacon rashers with egg for breakfast perhaps or a gammon steak with egg and mushrooms or similar for dinner? You are right, oily fish is good, but maybe just hoik back a bit on protein and increase veg? Steak with the fat on is another good one.

can you dribble some extra virgin olive oil on your salads? Have a look In the recipe section here to see if anything else grabs you.

x

Hi Justabloke. Thanks for such a great reply.

I’m off to start the journey in about 30 minutes but saw this 😃

Rationally I know I can do this. It’s only five days, but I’m leaving my ‘comfort blankets’ behind. Hence the wobble. I know what I can and cannot eat, and I’m used to much smaller meals, even missing lunch on many days (unheard of previously😱).

Then there’s the extra walking.

I normally visit USA or Italy, which have their own challenges so this is a different adventure.

Unfortunately I can’t use the shakes, so that isn’t an option. But I have my plan and try not to stress too much. At the worst, it will mean visiting food shops and eating in the hotel room. At the best I’ll find some great places to eat and great (on plan) food.

One of the penalties of being a control freak. 😳

Thanks again (btw what country are you in, noted your comment about Channel 4).

Waiting for taxi. May not be around much until Friday night/Saturday. Will be back on here then. *waves*

Just been for my morning run which has given me time to think. I do eat oily fish – sardines, mackerel, salmon with salad for my lunch isn’t oily fish fat? Can’t think of other ways to add fat to the diet – I’ve never been on a diet before nor avoided fat so I’m not sure how to do this. M x

Congrats and keep it up. I started today but have opted for a liquid diet for the first 2 or 3 weeks except for breakfast. Be careful doing exercises. I watched an hour interview with Dr Michael Mosley with live connection also to Prof. Roy Taylor. Roy insisted that there should be no training during the diet period.

Ok it’s day 2!

Yesterday was surprisingly easy, didn’t feel hungry at all, but did have a moment where I wanted something sweet in the afternoon and after tea last night.
This I think is more habit than actual need, I normally have some chocolate or snacks on a Sunday while watching catch up tv and a pudding after tea 😱

I had 4 teaspoons full fat Greek yogurt at about 8pm and that did it for me, yum, yum!

Anyway today will be a test of what’s to come, I start a month of overtime at work so 12 hour shifts here I come….both lunch and tea are going with me to reheat. Strangely I think the overtime may help me stay on track as I’ll be home late, it’ll be a hot drink and in bed within an hour of getting in!

Thanks for the advice – I need to eat more fat. What fat am I supposed to eat? I fry vegetable where I can in rapeseed oil. I’m dairy intolerant so can’t eat milk or cheese. I do drink a small amount of full fat coconut milk. I don’t know what other fat to eat? I can’t just glue oil from the bottle . Any advice greatly received. M x

Foodland and the bigger IGA’s have it here in SA, also the bulk bread making/ nuts/ dried fruit type shops. Health food shops charge lots for a small amount usually.
We have a shop in our Central Market in Adelaide called goodies n grains that sells it. I don’t remember if you have a shop like that in your big market ( is it Queen Elizabeth?), I’m usually too busy at the hippy clothes stalls to look anywhere else lol 🙂

Sounds like an idea. Where do you buy chick pea flour Cherrianne?

Only for weight loss. Thanks. Will do the quiz

Hmm Franash, wonder what they’d be like made with chickpea flour? My kids love vegemite scrolls and pizza scrolls to take for lunch. I haven’t been tempted so far but you’ve got me wondering….
My family have already decided that Bill’s flatbread recipe ( the coconut one but made with chickpea flour instead), with rosemary and garlic would make a great pizza base 🙂

Just ordered pure gluten flour (Made in Aus) from a Sydney website. Should be delivered tomorrow. I’ll experiment with adding this to chickpeas flour and other gluten free flours to give them, hopefully, the elasticity that wheat flour has. Don’t know the ration but after hours of searching someone suggested 1 tablespoon (15ml) to 2 or 3 cups of flour (480 to 620ml). Will let you know how it will turn out if you are not gluten intolerant.

Again, thanks to all for all of your feedbacks.

Hi Linda,
We have a forum member called Hashimoto who has the condition. She is nearly at the end of her eight weeks and has been very successful.
Not sure if there’s anyone with bipolar but I think if you are stable on meds you shouldn’t have a problem. Check in with your GP though if you are concerned. You might need a review of your meds if you lose significant amounts of weight.
Stay in touch, it will be great to follow your progress and might encourage someone else with the same conditions. 🙂

Hi Sarahg,
You haven’t said if you’re doing this for weight loss only, or diabetes management. Have you done the quiz on the home page? That might give you a better idea. 🙂

Hi joy4life,
Welcome to the forum and a better way of eating.
You’ve already mastered the first step which is preparation. If you plan your day’s eating then you won’t be caught out and grabbing the wrong food just because you’re hungry. If the recipe serves two, freeze the other portion, or double the ingredients so that you’ll always have a meal or two in the freezer for days when you’re busy.
Read through the posts as you’ll get a good idea of any challenges or successes to expect.
Some people, not all, experience a withdrawal period and symptoms may include hunger, tiredness, headaches or feeling emotional. Rarely lasts more than a few days though.
You can help yourself by making sure you drink 2-3l of water/ non sugary drinks and keeping your fat intake up. Take something for headaches, and rest and treat yourself kindly if you aren’t feeling your usual self. It isn’t really as grim as the above sounds lol 🙂
You will get plenty of support and advice if you need it so keep on posting. After just a few weeks there’s already a wealth of knowledge among members. Good luck with it.

Just a quick question. I am not sure if this is for me and which diet should I select. I did 5-2 fasting a few years ago but really struggled to lose weight. I only have a few kilos to lose and since giving up 5-2 I have gained a few more kilos so really would like to lose about 5 kilos.
Which plan would be best for me
Thanks

Captainlynne, I’m sure you’ll smash it! It must be tricky trying to keep to the plan while visiting another country.

There’s a series that we’ve been watching from your Channel 4 called how to lose weight well, and we watched the first episode yesterday. All of the diets essentially involved calorie restriction and just about everyone lost weight. The difference was how hard or easy they were to stick to. The (relative) ease of the BSD and the 5&2 modified Mediterranean plans seem to be in the fibre and fat content and in the Mediterranean diet, getting your carbs long term from whole grains or whole fruit so that you ingest some fibre at the same time as the starch or fructose. This is what halts the addictive “ingest sugar or fructose, feel hungry again really quickly” cycle.

Long term success for me is going to involve avoiding sugary snacks, any processed foods and sugar substitutes in all forms.

For you, what’s the worst that can happen when you’re in Prague? If you try and avoid the foods you know will give you problems and accidentally ingest something you shouldn’t, you might have a slight reversal in metabolic outcomes but it’s only short term.

If you’re really worried, take some of the recommended liquid shakes powder with you and have them for breakfast or lunch? You’ll be back home in a short period and you KNOW you can stick to the diet fairly easily so you’ll be back on track in no time.

The final thing that has really helped me to maintain some discipline is reading on and listening to some of the experts in the field. Prof Taylor from Newcastle university has a recorded speech on the ncl.ac.uk reverse t2 diabetes site that talks about the research that led Dr Mosley to the BSD. The researcher/doctor that started a lot of the debate around sugar and metabolic syndrome and t2 diabetes is Dr Robert Lustig. He is an American pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco and has written a book called “Fat Chance – the bitter truth about sugar ” (available on Amazon as a book or ebook) . Think of it as a really detailed explanation and examination of the information around our body’s response to certain foods that Dr Mosley summarised in his BSD book. I bought that as an audiobook and listen to it on my bike rides or walks. There are also some YouTube video’s of lectures by him – Sugar: The Bitter Truth, Fat Chance and Fat Chance 2.0: Fructose.

It was interesting to understand the reasons why I previously snacked, ate the way I did and the foods I chose and avoided moving and exercise at all costs.

Now I understand what sugar did to me, it’s really easy to stay on the path.

Good luck for next (this?) week and into the future 🙂

Hello All,
Positive start with healthy breakfast and 4k walk and I feel pretty good.
Does anyone know if it is ok to be on this Diet when you have hashimoto’s and Bipolar?

I have been overweight pretty much all my life, my sleep was terrible, I am not diabetic but was very concerned that my sugar consumption may be putting me at risk. I have been following the 800 calories a day and cycling approx 60 kms over the past six days, I have lost over 4 kilos and I’m sleeping like a baby!! Yes there have been times where I am hungry but I’ve had a few nuts and lots of water….will keep you posted!

Hi Penny, it really does make me sound like a Japanese man, doesn’t it? You made me chuckle with that one. It was that strange moment when asked for a username and you use the first thing that comes into your head 🙂

Good luck Denise47Jones! Welcome.
Bill1954, I’m in Victoria, Australia!
Glad Georgiarose, those olives were a good choice then!
I had a little speedhump last night – I find when I bake it hard to resist having some – I made vegemite scrolls for the kids lunches. i knew it would be a challenge, I ate one, but I guess its good I stopped at only one. First decent carbs in almost a week. Yep, my last day for the first week is tomorrow. Good luck everyone, keep at it.

Hi Marjorie- well said!
As I’ve said before, we ve all been sold an addictive substance for years and sometimes we re going to slip back. But we can beat it, and I’m sure you will.
Best of luck
Penny

Hi Fin
I’m really sorry to hear you’re suffering.
I wondered about the composition of slim fast. I had a look. It’s 6 g fat, 25 g carb, 10 G protein. I think that is not really the right ratios for this diet, which really is low carb ( people often aim for 50g, per day, if they’re measuring carbs) and high fat with medium protein. ( we ve all struggled with the idea of high fat, but full fat dairy and the fat on meat keeps hunger away)
Perhaps it would be better to try following the menus for a week, or a version of them that suits you?
As an example, you could have omelette or full fat Greek yogurt with a few berries for breakfast, oily fish and salad veg for lunch, meat and green veg for dinner- including the fat! That sort of regime would fit the theory. I’m sure people will pile in with suggestions, but on this type of eating we ve all found after a few days we feel really energetic and dont crave carbs.
Best of luck with it
Penny

I made it through! I had half of each scone, a sliver of brownie and cut a fairy cake in half and only just went over my 800 as kept the rest of the day low. I have proved to myself that this is a new way of life and the whole thing doesn’t go off track for one meal. Even better, the cake tasted really sweet and I didn’t feel like I wanted more. So, back to the new normal tomorrow!

Thanks for listening.

I’ve done my first day today and have enjoyed reading this! Very encouraging to see that the hunger pangs subside, and that the weight losses are steady. Very excited about tomorrow’s lunch, but not sure about the green tea and blueberry breakfast smoothie! 😯

Thanks Cherrianne. I’ll check it out more when I get back next weekend. 😃

Hi Mandy
Welcome to the forum
I recommend a book by Jenny Ruhl called ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle) which deals with this problem amongst others.
As Spirit days, you have to eat fat ( most of us have struggled with that at first after decades of anti fat propaganda)
to replace the carbs, which maybe you’re not doing. On Myfitness pal you can track your macronutrients.
Best of luck,
Penny

Hi Captlynne
Thanks. I know that’s true- judicious use of emojis!
Penny☺️

Well done Georgiarose, the lower blood sugars are a great incentive aren’t they?
Captainlynne, I had a bit of concern about the chickpea flour carbs too. Had a discussion with Bill who posted more info. I’ve made a few things with it and it’s had no effect on my blood sugars. I prefer it to the coconut flour for savoury dishes, and to be honest haven’t had much success with the coconut flour.
The worst disaster was the no carb waffles. Made some for my mum’s birthday to have with strawberries and cream but they were truly awful lol. Will have to look at the coconut mama website for more ideas.

Hi Hashimoto
Whatever I try to do with my head, in my imagination you are a Japanese man! ( as I hadn’t heard of the condition before)
Thanks for the support
Penny

Thanks Col
Penny

Hi Hashimoto
Thank you. I’m not leaving. People are being really nice. Just thought if I said something I’d get over it.
Thanks
Penny

Don’t be jealous, Fin, I haven’t lost weight this week, but my head’s in a good place. I’m really keen to get my ketostix as they will tell me something I have never known for sure, ie, whether I can achieve ketosis or not. Should be fun!

Hi Cherrieanne
Thanks.
Penny

Thanks Malkay
😊Penny

I am so excited, so motivated after my first week on Fast BSD. Basically within a week I have lost 5.1kg/11.2 lbs, there have been no symptoms of acid reflux – which has been plaguing me for weeks, and I feel a lot more energetic. I realize the weight loss won’t be as high as the weeks go past, but it’s great to see that it works.

I did have a bit of a headache at the start of week but now it’s gone.

I haven’t done a lot of exercise, which I will amp up this week.

Meal examples:

B – poached egg with tomato/avocado/mushrooms
L – Salads. For the first half of the week I had a Mediterranean salad with tuna, lately I have been a pulled pork salad with spinach, coriander, tomato and pumpkin seeds.
D – Protein (salmon steak/cutlets/grilled chicken breast) with salad.

Compared to another diet I went on, that was 1200 calories and meal planned, I haven’t been starving and have already had better results.

Whoopee!

Happens to us all at some point! I indulged today too but it is just one day. I won’t weigh in tomorrow either will leave it until later in the week. We know we can do this so back on the wagon tomorrow. Forget about today, it’s done and cannot be undone so leave it behind.
See you back on the wagon tomorrow!

Thank you all for the kind words of support.

Day 15. Weight 10st 9lbs (149 lbs). Converted to lbs as I’m putting my weight into a graph and it won’t work with stones and pounds.
Blood sugar 13.7

Mother looks a lot brighter and she has a little bit of feeling in her hand.👍

Hi Janet, yes Im a bit brocollied out! I’ve bought Brussels sprouts for tomorrow, all the veg I get is in pre weighed bags at 235g which is how exact I like things because I just open the bag and pop it in the micro, I add ten sprays of olive oil and pepper. I could go mad and change to butter for a little difference!! The caul mash sounds terrific, I’m going to make that for sure. I’m glad my daughter bought me flowers for Mother’s Day, not chocolate, I can’t eat the flowers, well maybe if I was that hungry!!. You seem to be going great guns, I’m not jealous, oh god yes alright I am😆. I’ve also bought some kefir which I hear is good for gut bacteria so that’ll be a change for mid week. Keep going, you’re doing great.

Oh dear – an early Mother’s Day dinner has just for me this weekend! I had offered to cook a meal for the family a while ago before I started the diet. Haven’t told my parents I am now on the diet as want to get healthy gradually without them judging me when fall off wagon. I tried to keep the meal a bit healthier than normal but also wanted to cook my mum’s favourites. It ended up being a night of indulgence. Baked Camembert and bread to start with; baked breaded fish goujons, homemade mushy peas and sweet potato wedges, then sticky toffee pudding and custard (although I couldn’t eat all the pudding as on the plus side it was too sweet after two weeks on the diet) washed down with some fizz. It was a lovely evening, I was proud of my cooking skills and my mum loved it. I went for a long walk today and tried to get back on track but don’t want to get back on the scales for a few days. Disappointed I may have undone my small weight loss so far after just one night. Grr ..

Hi Fin
I’m sorry its not happening for you just yet. I can only wonder if you need to add some fat to your diet? You are dead right that eventually the weight loss has to kick in but one of the principles of the 800 is the inclusion of fat. Could you go back over the bits in the book or on the website and have a look at the discussion about including fat, and maybe add some as olive oil on your broccoli? Btw, aren’t you sick of broccoli? Could you change it up? Maybe go mad and have some cauli mash with butter? Or some fruit with greek yoghurt? But anyway, stick with it for a few more days, surely your efforts will pay off soon. I, myself, am starting again with renewed vigour tomorrow after a planned off piste mother’s day, hoping that the sudden influx of extra calories will kick start the old metabolism again!

Well I start the 800 cal diet tomorrow. Today being Mother’s day I’ve pigged out!! Chocolates, roast lamb, chocolate torte and cream to name a few bits! I’ve done myself a menu for 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 teas, trying to combine the same main meal for tea with what I’m cooking for hubby. I’ve got my scales, tape measure and blood glucose meter ready! Wish me luck! Hope I can do this!

I’ve been wondering about pasta and olive oil when MM and many others talk about the Med diet. We are restricting olive oil to 1 teaspoon now on salads, but hubby did find that one olive is only 5 cals Franash, so a few certainly don’t hurt. Will check out the chickpea flour recipes, Bill1954. Coconut flour, oil, etc used by our Paleo son (blood sugar 4!) for several years now, so familiar with the coconut mama website and some good recipes. My bloods 6.9 this am, down from 17 last Sunday when I got scared into this diet! Keep travelling this healthy road all and thanks for your posts.

I’m an active cycling and typically carry energy gels w/me. Since they do contain sugar, what are you recommending? I can get some that contain protein(Accel gels) and I assume I’ll burn the sugar off, but I do need nutrition on longer rides(50+) and this would include even long hikes(6+ miles). What is recommended for a more active person? Thanks. – Marc

Hi Marjorie, it’s alright, it doesn’t matter, it cannot wipe out all your losses thus far. A lot of it will be water and will rid itself naturally after a few days, yes it might level out as a two to three pound gain, but get back on board and nail it. I haven’t lost any weight yet despite doing just shakes and veggies, but keep telling myself it’s got to come down at some point. Dust yourself off, it’s nothing but a blip, you CAN do this, we can do this! KEEP ON KEEPING ON.XX