Yesterday:

Brunch: 2 medium eggs, microwaved scrambled with 20g dollop of smoked salmon Philidelphia, 1/2 medium (90g) tomato

mid-pm snack: 100g greek yoghurt, 62g blueberries
1 coffee with 2 tsps whipping cream
small amount of homemade coleslaw for something to crunch

Dinner: 150g trimmed sirloin steak with 100g butternut squash ‘oven chips’, pepper sauce made with 1tbs creme fraiche, and a little beef oxo cube and dijon mustard and 50g mushrooms and 1/2 grilled tomato (90g)

Totals before the wine: 746 cals, 43g carbs
250ml glass Rioja: 190 cals, 3g carbs

Only 11g of fibre, though. I’m really struggling to get the fibre in. I can get 20g in within the 800cals with beans, veggies, but not within 50g carbs. Any tips, please?!

Hi Fofi

I suspect there has been no response from the forums as no one knows of any bars which are nut -free. Have you tried asking uncle google if such a thing exists and where they are sold? Could you also try shakes or soups that you just add hot water too? I’m sure there is something out there that would work for you, all the best.

Yes definitely Silver, fill your boots! Most above ground veg are low carb, low cal, high fibre and full of vitamins and minerals so great replacements for the things we are now avoiding. My personal favourite is any kind of veg mash with butter – great comfort food!

Thanks for posting your total calories and carb grammes, Missay – that’s very helpful!

Ketosis is remaining steady at a dark pink 4. I’m chuffed about that. I suspect I could push it up to 8 or 12 if I went really low carb, ie 20g a day, but I don’t feel too inclined to do that at the moment. So I am nearly 4 and half weeks in to the bsd and have lost 7 and a half pounds. Week three was the worst where I gained two pounds back, partly self induced partly not. Like the half pound I gained yesterday but is gone again today.

I have had to abandon some dearly loved things like soya and sweeteners (the carbs were much easier to let go of!) but I am now drinking full fat latte with no sweeteners – I never thought I’d see the day for either of those! I have spent the week reading about soy and ifs effects on people with thyroid problems and have reluctantly concluded that it probably isn’t good for me. So I’ve had my last soya latte.

On the plus side I have discovered coconut oil. I’m not sure if I believe everything it is claimed to fix but this week I think it has helped keep me in ketosis and lose three pound in 5 days so I am going to continue to experiment with that. I can only wonder if everything in my life has to have a coconut aroma in the background from now on. Its lovely but I prefer my savoury things to be savoury. Maybe I’ll get used to it or plan b is just to eat it neat from the jar. Oh how decadent!

Week five here we come!

Hi all
It’s great to hear other people’s progress and thoughts on how you have tackled personal challenges.mlots of food for thought!!
I cut my calories dramatically early part of this week because on Thursday I had a corporate event at posh London hotel and didn’t want to restrict what I ate. In total I had 8 glasses of champagne over 10 hours (my old self could drink a lot more), for afternoon tea I had four finger sandwiches, a mini scone and for dinner I ate all my halibut starter, quarter of the beef fillet and only a teaspoon of the pudding. My old self would have eaten everything!! For breakfast I had a protein packed full English no carbs which kept me going all day. Both days went to the gym for interval cardio and some weights. After all that I have only put on a pound when my actually weekly weigh in is tomorrow. I am now back on 800.
This week (week 6) I will try 16:8 fasting every day and see if that accelerates the weight loss and inches off the waist. I’ll let you know how I get on
Trishadawn, I will heed your advice re constipation and fifo thanks for the info re fruit. Spirit many many congratulations on your dress fitting… That is fantastic news.. Just the sort of encourage you need to keep going to not only loose the weight but adopt a healthier life style for the longer term.
Swatsrswirl and hettyb keep going … You have both made great progress
Let me know how you all get on this week. If you are struggling… Post it here … Let’s see if we can help
Here’s to eating pears but getting rid of the pear shape 😀
Anita xx

Hi Silver, it does say at the very end of the recipe ( on the facing page) to serve with a green salad. So go for it 🙂

Hi Bill
Sincerely mope you and the family are ok. Wishing you all well x

Great results flump. Well done.

Thanks Silver. Hope your trip goes well.

Hi,
Many thanks for the replies.
To tell you the truth, I didn’t think anyone would read my ‘stuff’ and I was just going to use it as a Dear Diary.
Day one was good, my weight was 14 st and 3/4 pound. I had 967 calories. So I have to have more salad and less fish. No worries.
I have now entered Day two. Feeling good. Better half has threatened to go for a walk with me …. Little does he know we were going anyway.😚 Especially as I hit the 10k steps by lunchtime yesterday.
Going for two meals today to see if I can emotionally cope.
I was surprised to read that some people had headaches etc in their first few days, glad I did the prep week, it gently set me up for the 8 weeks.
Maybe that is the way to go if you are totally alien to the diet system.
When I think of the takeaway then huge bag of chocolates then crisps, pop etc, to what I ate yesterday, wow, is that a big change to my body, I am sure I would have got a headache too.

Thank you to everyone reading my weird ramblings. Come and join me on the eight weeks. Leave me a comment or even a go-girl!
Love Lucia xxxx
Ps have now got over the shock of the cold metal tape measure used on belly circumfrence. 😆

Thanks Time4Change. Where are you going in the US? I usually stay with friends in Texas, but we have done lots of trips together. I love NYC. When I was there late 2001 nobody could believe how far I walked – fuelled in those days with hot dogs!!!!!!

Probably one of the hardest things for me to do this last week was to either leave food on the plate (the bread & dumplings that came with the duck and cabbage) or to throw it away (the bread from Subway and on the sandwich at the station). All those years of being told not to waste food – and I’ve paid for it. But I had to think of how far I’ve come on this, and not want to undo any of it.

Hopefully you’ll be staying somewhere that provides some protein for breakfast, rather than wall to wall carbs like many places I’ve stayed over there. I found other meals easier most of the time (except one town where just about everything came deep-fried 😱).

Sounds like you have a good plan. Enjoy your trip and I look forward to reading about it when you get back.

In some of the recipes it says you can have a salad with them, and then in others it doesn’t stipulate. But I was dreaming of having the steak and I can see in the photo in the book it is with a green salad is to okay to add do you think anyone? Many thanks

It’s good to read about other people’s journeys on this plan – keep em coming!

Well I plucked up courage this morning and after my shower I tried on (for the first time) my mother-of-the-bride dress. I’d tried on the larger size in store and bought the size 12. So I’m happy to report that it fits!!

Still going to continue to lose even more though…

Thinking of you and your family Bill, hope you are ok.x

Aww sorry to hear the holiday had some bumps but brilliant that you didn’t have a gain (only temporary one by the looks of it) I’m off to the U.S. for 4 days from Wednesday and I’m a bit concerned about how I’ll manage. My plan would be to pretty much do as you did. I’m quite used to no bread/potatoes/pasta or rice now that it would be really hard to eat them now. My only failing would be the desire for an American pizza…oh boy, I’m going to have to be on my guard aren’t I😬 I’m bring my gym gear/swim suit and plan to keep super active, charge up the Fitbit and walk walk walk. Won’t weigh in for a couple of days after I return, I always find travelling mucks up my body so no point upsetting myself too unnecessarily. Thanks for sharing, gives me great hope that a holiday doesn’t have to screw up the success of the last 4 weeks – that’ll be a change for me, I was the same as you, taking months to undo damage caused by food/drink. Not this time!

Now that’s what I call a diet!

Think you have done really well – I have a trip coming up over Easter and so will take your lead.

Flump you have done so well. On Wednesday I will de into it 2 weeks and I share that excitement of making the food and enjoying the food – I feel I am truly appreciating food again. Its great. I have noticed a bit of a slower rate of weight loss in the 2nd week – has anyone else noticed this. In total since I started I have lost albs, which I am happy about but it has slowed a wee bit. Normal you think? I want to keep my motivation up and losing really helps 🙂

going into week 7 and 1 and a 1/2 stone down. As both my parents have type 2 diabetes I was concerned as I am heavy by 4 if not 5 stone. This diet has been the best I have tried and it has made me much more experimental in my cooking and I really enjoy the food that I am eating. I feel healthier,sleep better and have heaps more energy feeling very positive. It is so great to hear so many people doing so well you are all inspirational. When I get to my target wait I am going to learn ballet something I have wanted to do 🙂

Anita, good news pears are fine, and you can have some of your other fruits. Page 114 – “Avoid too many sweet fruits: apples, pears and berries are fine…”. So I think that you could have a pear every day if you wanted and the odd bit of the others would be fine too, providing you included the calories in your 800.

Hi all,

Tomorrow will be the start of week 6 for me so just 2 more to go – so far have lost 1st 11 lbs – my aim was to lost 2 stone in the 8 weeks. I think I will surely be able to achieve that…………..I can’t tell you how excited I feel – yes I was far too overweight which some of you won’t be, my blood sugars now are in the healthy range which they weren’t before I started even though I was on medication. I feel energised, more confident and I have been busy throwing away my ‘fat’ clothes which I never ever want to see again!

Yesterday I saw my grown up kids for the first time in weeks and my son was incredulous and said he hadn’t realised who I was to start with – joy upon joy!!!!

I still will have another stone and a half to lose after my 8 weeks is up BUT I really feel for the first time I have found a diet which works for my body and which I actually really enjoy. My favourite meal which my husband and I (he’s lost 1 stone by half doing it with me!) is the aubergine receipe for week 1 dinner – we have this every Monday as we just love it.

Haven’t been tempted with anything carb at all – have been staying away in hotels most weeks and still manage to eat carb free but have consumed more wine than I should have. Only exercise has been walking the dog.

Have plateaued for 1 week and got passed that…………last week lost 3 lbs and heading that way for this week – roll on tomorrow’s weigh in – for me (experienced dieter) I can tell you that 6 weeks in and still losing 2-3lbs per week is frankly astounding, normal diet would now be about 1/2 lb a week if you’re lucky so am delighted! Yes the weight loss has massively dropped but I rarely step on the scale and don’t see a drop of some kind – I weigh every morning at the same time.

Keep going everyone and enjoy the results!!

Ps bought a spiraliser which my husband enjoys using – courgettes so pretty

Just printed off your suggestions to take away. thanks again for all your wonderful help.

Good for you Bob fox…well done…its hard to go against ‘ medical advice’ but this works.

I’m a bit concerned about Bill too, if it was good news he’d surely have let everyone know by now.
Sending love and good wishes to you and your family Bill.

Wonderful to hear your impressive transformation Bob. What a huge achievement! I agree it’s sad that so many people are not getting access to the advice and information that allows them to do what you have done. Thanks to lots of people like you on the forum, we hope the messages people get from their professionals will change…all the best

SunnyB – the extra 3 pounds has disappeared 😃 . Never gone so quickly before! So now I weigh same as last Saturday. Total loss 30 pounds since starting on BSD. Only about another 50 – 56 to go 😱

Just reporting that the excess baggage (3 pounds) has disappeared and my weight has returned to what it was last Saturday before my holiday. 😃 Never disappeared so quickly before!

Well done Bob. Hopefully the positive examples on this site will help to change opinions.

Someone (carommartin?) asked about calorie apps. A nutritionist friend recommended Easy Diet Diary free for iPhones and iPads which I have downloaded yesterday and started using. Makes calorie counting and keeping a record of food eaten very easy. See http://easydietdiary.com/
There is a huge range of brands for each food you select! Great detail. You can send your data to your nutritionist too https://connect.easydietdiary.com/ I think there is a similar one for Android.
Warning: It can become addictive calorie counting down to the last quarter gram! LOL

Hi everyone, it was interesting to read of other people’s problems with constipation. It’s always been a bit of an issue with me, but after a few days on this diet, it was a huge problem. I thought it was just me. I thought I might have to go back to more cereals and larger amounts of beans, lentils etc. They always worked for my digestive system, but left me hungry a couple of hours later.
I started taking psyllium husks mixed into low calorie drinks, and eating as many high fibre/low calorie vegetables as I can fit into my 800 cals. Cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts and broad beans provide quite a bit of fibre. Also processed wheat bran, not wheat bran cereal, the raw stuff, can be mixed into yogurt.
I lost over 2 kilos in the first week, but had a few hiccups at the beginning of my second week. I’ve got them sorted now, and the scales have begun moving downwards again. I don’t mind if my weightloss isn’t as fast as others’, as long as I’m losing.

Hi. Congratulations on losing 14 pounds.

I asked the team that question when I was coming to the end of the 8 weeks. They said it was ok to continue on 800 calories for another few weeks as long as I felt OK and had no problems. But then to transfer to 5:2.

Like you I had more weight to lose so continued on 800 for a weeks. Just had a week on holiday eating low carb and now back on 800. Lots of folk on here seem to be staying on 800 if they have more weight to lose, others going on 5:2 or a variation of it.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck Toofastblack

I have just completed my first week and have lost 5lbs! Very thrilled.

I was diagnosed as pre diabetic six weeks ago, the doctor and myself decided I would try the eight week 800 calorie diet, the first few days were awful and I didn’t think I could carry on, however I persisted, I am sugar addicted. I am at the end of my fifth week and have lost just over 14 lb I am now only losing about 4 oz a day and I am always cold and hungry, I drink a lot of water as I can’t drink hot drinks with no sugar in, my worry is what do I do when I finish the eight weeks? I want to lose at least 28lb I can’t see me losing another 14lb so the question is do I carry on with the 800 calories after the eight weeks?

Hia everyone. I’m on day six. Lost 8 lbs so far. Not expecting much of next few weeks. Anything off is amazing. I have quite a bit to go. Not diabetic, but have been a carb and sugar addict since being pregnant in 2014… Gained weight and was at 17. 2 giving birth… Before starting bsd I was 14 st1 2. I’m currently 14. 4. I’ve had the most amazing headaches and dizziness along with catching a cold and being generally run down…. Must have been a terrible addict. I will say today that I had some iceberg lettuce. It was so sweet. I’m no longer craving sugar and my hunger pangs have reduced somewhat. Great… Weigh in next Sat… Will start more exercise after cold has gone. Currently walking pram approx 3 miles a day… 😄

Thanks all –
good luck Leanne!

Thanks for that TimeForChange,
I had a suspicion that this was happening at a similar point in time on the BSD for all of us.
It’s reassuring, and as Lachlan says, if our pancreas can do it once it can do it again 🙂

Hi All,
I’m staying away from the weight loss and exercise debate because I haven’t seen any research about that.
What I do want to say is that exercise is essential in helping to control blood sugars. It should be one of the tools that every diabetic uses, to keep their blood sugar in a healthy range.

Lucia reading your posts just makes my day!! I feel so happy reading of your achievements and your positivity just shines through.
You are a breath of fresh air. Can’t wait to hear of you and your hubby’s achievements over time 🙂

Lucia you are a legend. Well done on your journey so far. Love reading your posts. You are so honest. We are all on a journey no matter our starting or intended finish line. Whether we get there or not is I think less important than our intent. Hey! We are all heading in the right direction.

Yes – I’ve seen a reduction. I measured at the end of 6 weeks and was on the low side of normal.

Hi Jandz,
Amazing isn’t it? You’ve broken the hold that carbs and sugar had over you 🙂
Just goes to show, as someone else posted, that it really is an addiction.
You’ve also had some impressive weight and inches lost too.
Keep up the good work

Hang in there Hetty, I’m sure you’ll start seeing weight loss again soon. You’ve probably found the problem already in the cashews! I love nuts too but cashews are pretty high. I try and stick to 6 walnut halves or some almonds and I put them in a little ziplock bag with some sunflower seeds ( hulled). The sunflower seeds are low carb, high protein and taste pretty good. That’s my allowance of nuts/ seeds for the day to snack on.
I really hope you get the gynae appt. and treatment underway soon. The hormone changes around menopause are bad enough without your very excessive blood loss.
As OP says, you are doing really well! Stay positive, things have to get better soon 🙂

I too saw a rise in levels in week 5. Week 7 was the best I’d seen, then back up in week 8. Work was v stressful in week 8. I didn’t change what I ate and was proud that I hadn’t resorted to chocolate but blood readings were up and no weight lost. I wondered if the stress could be a factor or whether it was just a normal variation. Going to keep going and see what happens.

How fantastic Bob. Thanks for sharing your story. So inspiring to read of the great changes you have made.

OP

Hi Hetty

I think you are doing so well juggling all that you are AND still having your numbers move in the right direction (albeit slower than you’d hoped) . I hope you get some answers to the medical issues – sounds awful to be dealing with all of that. My 10 year old boy said – ‘Mum, women have all the hard stuff- having babies and pains and periods! ‘ (training him early 😉) – and he doesn’t even know about the crappy menopause stuff.

Sounds like you’ve already found some ways to begin to tweak things. I agree with Cherrianne, keep posting and keep up with the positive changes you are making.

OP

ok so Saturday has always been my ‘treat’ day when trying to lose weight, silly I know but it worked ok when I lost 4 stone in 2014.

Today I had to do my food shop, went to aldi, dropped lots of nice veg, fish, prawns etc into the trolley and then walked down the sweet aisle…..and kept walking, didn’t even feel tempted 😇 !!!!!

Saturday tea would normally be carb loaded along the lines of pizza, fish & chips, pie and chips…you get the idea right? Tonight it was baked fish & asparagus cooked in a foil parcel with butter, chilli flakes and lemon juice served with a side of broccoli!

If I’m hungry later I still have calories left over for some nuts…

What has happened to me?? 🤗

Hi Lucia et al. Sorry for the late welcome but I’m just back from holiday in an Internet free zone.

Congratulations Lucia, you are doing really well. I have enjoyed reading your posts and look forward to following your progress.

Hi gillmap.

I wear a uniform for work and back in December my skirt was cutting me in half and I’d moved the jacket buttons as far as I could but it didn’t look good. Started this on 19th December. My skirt started to swivel round my waist and I’ve dropped two sizes. The jacket looks better and I can even fasten the bottom button! Must start moving the buttons back to where they started soon.

I don’t drink alcohol so that’s a problem I don’t have. But I do sometimes go for training days etc where food is provided. Sometimes I take my own I case their is nothing suitable, but often there is chicken or cooked meat, and salad. I do have a hotel stay coming up but have a good idea what food will be provided so have prepared an action plan (or should that be risk assessment?)

I’ve just come back from holiday and made the best choices I could from what was available. Hotel buffet breakfasts often include some protein – except in the USA (at least where I have stayed).

At home I do try to keep my fridge and freezer stocked with foods I know I can eat on this plan: cooked meats, fish, cheese etc. No preparation needed. And eggs. I usually boil six at a time and keep them in the fridge (just being careful not to mix up the cooked and uncooked eggs! LOL). Having food like that available almost instantly has kep me from many disasters.

I don’t follow the meal plans in the book, but prepare my own, just keeping to the calorie count. And I write everything down.

Hope this helps, and look forward to seeing your progress. You’ll soon be in those clothes 😃

Hi,
Just went for a wander on this website.
Filled in the quiz. I had to work out and find out the answers first.
I now know that last week my bmi was 33.9 and today it is 32.7. I am in the obese category. It should be 25.
My waist is 38 inches. I am five foot five inches tall or 66 inches so my wAist should be 33 inches or less.
I only had a metal tape measure and by jingo was it cold. Should have put it by the fire for a little while or measured outside my teeshirt. 🤔

Looks as though I have started just in the nick of time.
So another aim is to move my bmi from red, through orange, through yellow to that nice green colour band.

And shave Five inches from my belly. Another reason to count the calories. I am just working them out now, so I know how to plan tomorrow.

Big learning curve. HUGE, in fact.
Now, how many calories in a stick of celery, off to google the list.
Love Lucia xxxx

hi all, reading your posts has encouraged me as i too am only losing around 1 lb a week but it is certainly better than nothing and cravings for the wrong things do seem to have stopped