Hi Inka,

You are absolutely right, as someone previously T2 but who has had the diagnosis removed I have still encountered issues with different Dr’s ….

Had pleurisy and saw a new GP, he said ‘oh and as you are diabetic we will need to be very careful with your medication’ . Me…..”um, that will be tough as I am not on any’. Dr ‘ well what about your Metformin and Amlodipine?’ Me ‘ hopefully if you check and see I haven’t had prescriptions for these for 7 years!’
Dr ‘ well I need to take your BP right away and send you for a GTT asap !’

Results….BP normal and all blood tests, he decided to run EVERYTHING to prove he was right…..cholesterol, sugars etc all ok. Funny he didn’t mention it next time I saw him??!!!

Anyway, I guess we all just keep eating this way and it will chip away at the resistance as the results here are proving it works. I’m back here because I got too slack and started eating badly, putting weight back and I want to get back to where I was, loving the food and feel this is food forever, not a diet.

Good to be here and get so much info and good news…….thanks to Bill for keeping an eye out on the ‘troll’ factor too !

Hi Loukc,

Great result! I am nearly at the end of week one and am happy to be down 5lbs right now, so many people here have stuck at it and proved the weight does just as Bill said above. Stick with it, enjoy the fab food and ideas and it will go! 😃

Hi Sue1234, like you I’m weighing myself every day and recording it. Sometimes, my reading has gone up a bit or stayed the same – but on those days I just turn back in my diary to a week earlier and pretty much every time my current weight is less than it was 7 days earlier. Weight & inches don’t come off at a uniform rate – sometimes it’s weight and then there is a period of acclimatisation when the waistline (or hips, etc) decide to catch up! If the overall trend is downward, that’s what you want! Don’t get negative about it.
Take care,
Rose

I am aiming for around or under 40g of carbs and between 60-70g protein, the rest of the calls I try and use as fat….isn’t is great to eat a full fat Greek yoghurt and be able to enjoy every mouthful without thinking you are breaking the low fat mantra!!!!

😀

It took me a couple of hours to compile a shopping list as I wanted to follow the 4 week plan . The biggest help was going thru and noting the page number of the recipes . Doing it seemed to help get it into my head that I was really going to do this and that it would be different from any other diet I had tried . Having my blood sugars start to normalise has made it all very worthwhile .

Great idea for a thread, already got some new ideas.

B – Coffee with cream
L – Hummus, celery and cucumber. 100g full fat Greek yoghurt
D – Chicken breast with pancetta, leeks and cheese, sprouts, courgetti (with my fab new Spiralizer! )

All in that is still under 800 so maybe a single piece of 80% chocolate as my evening treat…..really loving this way of eating and seem to be sleeping better the last couple of nights, think someone else mentioned this bonus 😀😀

We also have the Indian cookbook, and make a couple of the curries out of that. There is a great recipe for homemade baked beans on the Quirky Cooking website, but it does have a lot of sugar in it, so I’m not sure how that would fit into the diet. Next time I make it I might just half the amounts of brown sugar and dark treacle that goes in it.
Oh and I make a batch of harissa paste with it every now and then (and freeze it in individual packets) and use that as a marinade whenever we have chicken.

Hello Anita,
I’ve just made it to the 8 week stage – there have been times when the weight loss was slow but weeks 7/8 things seemed to pick up a bit. But currently I’m on a bit of a plateau – I’m hoping it’s just my body saying “give me time to readjust” and then I’ll see another drop. I’ve lost 11lbs so far – so you have done better than me already! I didn’t do 800 cals a day for the whole 8 weeks, rather I took a more relaxed approach to ease myself in so I could acclimatise gradually and accepted that my weight loss would be a bit slower. I will try and continue with the weight loss programme as I have more weight to lose to get into the “Healthy” part of the Body Mass Index scale.
You seem to be doing things right (your time fasting is similar to mine) so don’t worry, just persevere. I exercise when I can but I need to do more and maybe speed up my walking pace. Who knows, I may get the swimming cozzy out (when it’s warmer) and visit the swimming pool. The inspirational examples in the book are all well and good but not everyone is going to follow the same pattern. Spectacular losses get the headlines but I think some of us won’t necessarily achieve the same level. The important thing is that you are seeing some benefit. As for the fruits you are missing, well, I don’t think the odd one will hurt every now and then.
Good luck,
Rose

We’ve had a TM for a couple of years, and it gets loads of use! Some of our regular recipes that I think would fit in with the Med style diet are red lentil dhal, red pepper soup (I don’t know if they still do it, but it’s the one the demonstrator showed us when she did the demonstration), and we make pasta sauce with it a lot, which we use to make bolognese, or shakshuka on the hob.

Hi Loukc
nice start and don’t worry about next week, just take it as it comes.
Lots of folk have thought the same as you and then, one day, they jump on the scales and hey presto. weight has vaiiiinished.
Stick with the plan and you will get there.

Thank you healthenigma, this is very helpful!

Cherrianne
Thank you so much for the recipe! I am going to make it up this evening for breakfast tomorrow-it sounds delicious! Also, thanks to Cherrianne and hashimoto for the ‘Daily Mail’ suggestion-this will be a great help until the 22nd.

You are both so right about the forums, I’ve been reading them over the last couple of days and am so impressed with how helpful and supportive folks are-I am sure you all will be ‘seeing’ more of me!

until then,
thanks for your support and cheers from Louisiana, USA

Well done . That’s a lot of progress right there

I lost no weight after a week on optifast . But I am losing weight using the recipes from the book . As the guy in That Sugar Film (a must watch if you haven’t seen it ) found not all calories are equal . Very best of luck . I am sure you and your body can work it out . Don’t forget to feed your good microbes with things like chick peas zucchini and leeks . (Also from a programme with dr Mosley . )

Happy to report I am a week away from chocolate. I have cooked every night and loving the meals. Not cheated once. I think this is the longest I’ve ever stuck to a diet. I’ve lost 6.5lbs and although I’m over the moon about that, I did that in day 1 – 4 and it’s just stuck at that, not moved up or down. I cannot see me losing next week as it’s just stuck. Any ideas?

Not sure on blood sugar readings but I shall ask the doctor for a blood test. Excersise is still minimal, not even had my gym induction yet, but I work 12 hour days so they call me in last minute so keep having to cancel it, but I shall get on that.

Off shopping to get new stuff, coconut flour being one of them.

Happy Wednesday to ya’ll and keep it up. We our all doing amazing 🙂

Hi All, it’s great to read about your success! This is my first post on this Forum but my third week of 800. I’m 5ft tall and 51 years old. At the start I weighed 13st 5lbs, miraculously I’m not diabetic but I do have polycystic ovary syndrome. After just two weeks I have lost 1 stone! I have stuck strictly to 800 cals per day, higher protein and lower carb. I start my day off with a slice of Burgen toast with a laughing cow light triangle and a mug of tea, lunch is high protein I.e tuna or chicken, dinner again higher protein but I do have some carbs, for example I’m having two poached eggs, ham and microchips for dinner! I keep enough calories to have a 40 calorie Belgian hot chocolate in the evening, and a cup of tea at bedtime if I fancy it. I log it all on my fitness pal and usually have a few cals left over. Since starting I have been making sure I exercise regularly and I walk two very cheeky border collies 5 miles at least 3 times a week. I now fit comfortably into a pair of jeans I sadly put away a year ago. I weigh every day and, as advised by Dr M, have set myself a very unrealistic target in the hope of getting close to it!

Yesterday Day 17 weight 10st 9lbs & Blood sugar 10.8

Today Day 18 weight 10st 9lbs & Blood sugar 12

Disappointed that weight isn’t budging. Husband thinks Waist is getting less, as I’m constantly pulling my trousers up. Am making a conscious effort today to move more. I hope this helps. On a positive note I am still 1/2 stone lighter than when I started, which is approximately 3 bags of sugar. ☺

Hi fellow BSD’s
I won’t bore you about me, it’s on my profile.
Thought I would give you my view on blood sugar reduction and weight loss.
Couple of weeks ago discovered I was creeping into prediabetic range (6.2), also being overweight thought I would try this diet out for two weeks ( starting weight 15st 2lbs).
It has been a complete revalation to me, I am on day 10, been very strict and very active.
As a result I have a fasting blood sugar of 5.6 and lost 15lbs to date and I feel fine ( have had a couple of crappy days).
All my exercise is conducted at a fat burn heart rate, for me is from about 95 to 115 BPM.
I am sure there is a lot of water in this loss, but my calculations point toward a 10lb loss of fat.
Other than exercise and calorie control, I am lucky enough to be doing this with my wife, she has done 8lbs (not as active and lower weight)
We plan to follow that Mediterranean style diet after the weekend, with a ratio of 80% good and 20% not so good.
The reasons for this post is to help support and encourage readers of your thread. Hope you don’t mind my input (especially as a newby).
Finally I want add observations regarding post diet realities
Thanks

Hello Inka

I totally agree with your sentiments. I have no wish to class all clinician as the same but the issue you mention; ‘ it would be nice if doctors would be more willing to embrace innovation in medical science as long as it does not harm anyone, ‘ is true in so many departments. As someone mentioned in a previous message it would be good to hear if any Dr on here had some ideas, it is the same with regard to your message.
My next comment might get a reaction……. I feel there are a number of reasons for doubting this diet and here are a few of my thoughts.
1) Dr’s are trained in specific fields, there is so much to learn, to keep up with, it is difficult to give the time to something ‘new’.
2) Fear of taking someone off their medication and having something go wrong.
3) Drug companies pushing their wares…. do drug reps. still take clinicians etc. out to dinner etc???????

Ps, have you checked your weight measurements again?

As we often say in these forums, everyone’s experience is a little different. Stick with it, keep the carbs down and the fats up and you will have success. There are lots of us here who lose quite slowly compared to some but its better to lose slowly than not at all!

Yes it does, quite strongly. And yes, fresh mint should be even better

Hi Mosleyfan
that’s weird, just the fact that you are sticking to 800 cals should ensure you lose weight.
I’m wondering if you are one of those who will just jump on the scales one day and see a big loss
Stick with it, it has to work.

hiya all

newbie here. started BSD on Monday. I have been doing 5:2 diet since April 2015 and have lost 5st 3.5lb which I’m over the moon with but I was starting to struggle with motivation and needed to change it up a bit. I’m not diabetic but still have about 4 stone I want to lose, most of this is from my tummy lol. I will be sticking to 800 cals for the 8 weeks however I will be having 1 day a week that I go out for dinner so may not be strict on cals even though I do plan on sticking to Mediterranean diet. I’m not going to beat myself up if I have more than 800 cals but I do plan on sticking to this if I can. fingers crossed I still have good losses although I’m not sure how good they will be as have been dieting for almost a year.

fingers crossed!

Hello, I’m new too (on day 3). Just wondered if as well as calories you’ve been keeping tabs on carbs too as in my case (I’m type 2 diabetic) the least carbs the better for me. Good luck with it!

Good idea, does the mint really come out in cold fizzy water? I suppose fresh mint would work too.

Thanks Larpent, yes I can identify with a lot of what you are saying. I never get sick, I just get pain that makes me want to cut out my own stomach. And as you say, stress and depression start to make a vicious circle of the whole thing. Thanks for sharing, I wish you many pain-free days!

Meant 30 years with digestive problems, not 30 problems!

A mint tea bag in fizzy water with a dash of lime is quite a good ‘mohito’ too!

Hi Lynne
I have just switched my skimmed milk latte to a soya milk latte and found its actually really nice. I don’t even need to have my usual three sweeteners in it as it has a lovely creamy taste which is nicer than before.

The one thing I do miss these days is pepsi max (again, I am trying to cut out the artificial sweeteners rom my life) but I am just about ribbing along on fizzy water with a fruit teabag in it. You have to jiggle it a bit to get the flavour to release and it is very subtle, more of a fragrance than a taste.

The other thing I do is drink straight tap water in a tiny glass (I guess its a breakfast juice size glass). There are only three mouthfuls in each one so it stops me being over-faced by the thought of it. I try to have one every other time I pass through the kitchen. You should find that the more water your body gets, the more it will want to get, so building up in baby steps is easier than tackling a pint at a time.

Have stuck to 800 really easily…no slip ups…not diabetic etc and not even a slight movement of that scale indicator!!!
Fingers crossed…any ideas?? Have been drinking water and fibre foods too…

Hello. I’m not an expert but have lived for 30 problems with a lot of digestive problems, you do in the end just think well this is it and I have to live with it. I was told I had IBS at 20 and they just took out my gall bladder just for the sake of it. I continued with many problems after eating foods from severe pains and upset stomachs. Since finding out yes certain foods are related to IBS, like onions and garlic, major pain. Also saturated fats, at Xmas friends cooked lovely roast but all in duck fat, well we do live in France, they love duck products. Dire problems and very sick. With IBS they say fats cause you major problems, saturated ones that is. Look at Fodmap diet, very restrictive but some things really help if you cut them out. I have a gluten intolerance, again you could look into intolerances too, especially lactose if cream causes you pain, it might not be an allergy but intolerances are different, but are still very painful. I have never got to the exact cause of issues, but also stress and depression cause a lot of these pains too. Anyway I hope you get some answers soon, good luck.

I’m in week 5. So far I’ve lost 23 pounds. Really pleased with the results. My plan is to lose 5 stones. The hardest bit I’ve found is lunchtime as I’m a sales rep and in the car Monday to Friday. I get around that by taking the “ploughmans” lunch option. There have been times when I’ve not stuck exactly to recipes as I don’t have time or maybe don’t have all the ingredients. You get to know what you can and can’t eat. Got another 4 weeks and hopefully lose another stone or so. Then I’ll switch to a Mediterranean style diet and get out on my bike and back to being slim …. can’t wait !

Hi everyone.
It has been invigorating to read all the success stories and truly believe the Mediterranean diet with exercise is the best lifestyle choice. Well done to all who have and continue to see improvements in their weight and health,!!!

I have just started my 5th week (more detail are attached to my profile which you can view by clicking on my user name) but feeling a little low as I have only lost 2 inches around my belly button measurements and 11 lbs in total.

I am trying to adjust my mindset and be positive as this is all a step in the right direction but I can’t seem to be able to shift in to positivity! Having read bsd book, I now realise, I most definitely set my expectations too high and hoped to loose 20-24 lbs in 8 weeks but it is likely I will loose around 16 lbs.

Has anyone else had high expectations and is finding the weight loss slow and if so what changes did you make to help/overcome?
What do you plan to do after eight weeks follow the 800 till you hit your goal weight or something else’s?

I have not been diagnosed with diabetes and embarked on this journey to bring my weight down rapidly and then follow the med diet with a one day a week “carb treat” of bread, pasta or potato ( I miss my jacket potato)! I cannot decide whether I should continue with 800 after 8 weeks. I have enjoyed daily 12 hour fast (16 at weekends), whereby I finish eating at 8pm and then eat again till 8am… I will continue to do this. I have also enjoyed eating more veg (usually with protein) but what I have missed most is fruit, peaches, pineapple, mango, melon, kiwi, grape fruits and pears… All replaced with berries and occasional orange or grapefruit.

Please share your thoughts if you too are slowing down on weight loss and fast approaching the 8 week milestone.
Many thanks
Anita

Hi, unfortunately that’s a big problem for me I really don’t drink nearly enough, I am trying adding fruit to water, I’ve got a soda stream so I’ve fizzy water on tap, but I just don’t like water (previously I’d have orange squash, such a bad habit!!). I limit myself to one cappuccino (made with skimmed milk) a day now and have herbal tea, so any recommendations to “jazz up” water would be appreciated👍
On the milk note, I’m not sure I should be having it although it’s only half a cup?

Sarah you will be amazed but soon you will lose the need for sweeet things – honest
It depends on what facilities you have at work but if you have a microwave or some other way of heating food the possibilities are huge.
I’m just polishing off an omelette that I made this morning and reheated. Over the last few weeks I have used meals that we cooked up, portioned, and froze. Chicken broth, lentil soup, home made curry etc.
I’ve also use cottage cheese or humus with celery and pepper dipping strips, tinned mackeral with salad etc. Your diet is bound only by your imagination
Inka keep on with the discussions, we love it on here.

Hi guys
I’m going to ask you all something but I’m not holding out much hope of a successful resolution as I haven’t managed to achieve that in more than 30 years!

Ever since I was 10, I get terrible stomach pains (and I mean in my stomach, not bowel or kidneys, but right up in my rib cage). They almost always start after eating and go on for hours. Paracetomol and codeine are the only painkillers that have any effect on it. I have had many explorations done, lots of theories from period pains (!) to indigestion. The doctors have been useless (if we have any doctors in the forums I’d love to hear about any other possibilities). The only thing I can get any correlation with is eating fatty food – cream always sets me off the worst. But I have had an ultrasound for gallstones (which I had to beg for) and that came back clear.

I have done ok so far on this programme, perhaps because I have stuck to mainly unsaturated fats. Until yesterday that is, when, in my quest for ketosis, I had scrambled eggs made with butter (even my dog was salivating) and then salmon with veggie mash with butter. Boy, did the pain come back with a vengeance! I eventually fell into a codeine-induced sleep at about 2am.

As this is the biggest and most diverse group of people I have ever had the privilege to communicate with, I thought I’d ask, is it just me? Or do other people have a similar intolerance? I have never met anyone else like me (no surprise there) but 30 years of the same undiagnosed pain is getting a bit boring now. Are there any nutritionists, doctors, healers of any kind or fellow sufferers out there who might be able to shed any light?

I’m thinking I might have to try sticking to unsaturated fats so butter and other dairy fats may still be off the menu for me. Shucks.

Here I am describing all about Mediterranean Diet Plan.

Mediterranean Diet Plan accentuates eating foods like:

>>Fish
>>Vegetables
>>High-fibre Bread
>>Whole Grains
>>Nuts and Olive Oil
>>Cheese
>>Meats and Sweets

These foods are the rich source of monounsaturated fats, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Along with these, all you must follow the below given also.

–Eat Fish like salmon, tuna, lake trouts and herring at least 2 times a week.
–Eat a moderate amount of poultry and eggs weekly.
–Limit the Intake of Red Meat to only a few days in a month
–Limit the sweet dish to only a few times of the week.

>>Mediterranean Diet also includes Red Wine with 1 glass every day for women and 2 glasses for men.

If you need to know more you may visit: http://www.healthenigma.com/mediterranean-diet

Hi Denise47 Jones
I’d be really interested to hear how your shift goes, 12 hours is a long time when you have to try and fit in low calorie meals. If like a lot of us it is easy to ‘grab’ something to eat but often not good and on this diet it is likely to be totally off limits! My habit of a handful of grapes to help when I want sweet things has to go!

Thanks everyone, for your friendly Welcome. Regarding the media campaign you think should start. After reading all about the bad things which could happen if one develops diabetes, and often does not know until one has symptoms which can’t be ignored, I became more interested in what the medical researchers, scientists and scholars have to say about diabetes and how to treat or cure it: It seems that the jury is still out with many advocating for medication and not so many who suggest life style and nutrition changes only. It seems that this diet is viewed as controversial even though research and numerous medical trials indicate that diabetes is reversible with a low carb diet like this one. It does not make sense to me that so many doctors seem to want to prescribe a pill rather than supporting a patient’s life style changes? Michael Mosely states in his book more than once that many GPs are reluctant or sceptical about this diet. If it makes you better and healthier, than why not support it? I am not a medical person by any means, but common sense tells me that any improvement with minimum intervention is good, right? I understand that anyone on medication who goes on this diet should be monitored by a doctor because their insulin levels change which will have an effect on dosage, it would be nice if doctors would be more willing to embrace innovation in medical science as long as it does not harm anyone, of course. There are some who will support it, and I hope more and more will see the benefits especially when they see the results in their patients. Anyway, we all know why we are doing what we are doing and I whole-heartedly wish everyone a safe and successful weightloss journey! We all need this to get healthy,, and I, like all of you have embarked on this challenge, not because I want to join another diet fad, but because I want to be healthy and enjoy life again. I am not that old, but because I am so overweight, I often feel like I am 100, and to some extend disabled, because I cant move the wsy I ought to….. and I am sick of huffing and puffing when I have to change the linen on my bed :-(… Thanks for listening, just tell me to shut up if I get too annoying … I like discussions :-0

Hi fluffyslippers

I was stuck for almost the entire week last week, but right at the end dropped 2lb and an whole inch from my waist. This week, I am not worrying quite so much about not seeing the scales progress downwards every day, as you can’t fail to lose the weight eventually, if you are sticking to the 800 cals. Stay with it, as the collective wisdom is it will happen and plateaus have to be expected and endured – good luck!

Hello Denise47 Jones

Welcome, I have just started today, and sorry to say I don’t have any answers for you but appreciate your difficulty. I have just posted, (First four hours!), and will have a similar problem when I return to work in a few days time. So like you would appreciate any ideas people have.

Good luck!

Hi Larpent,
You’re off to a great start. Welcome to the forum. There’s another member, Aly, who also lives in France. There’s a few gluten intolerant members too.
As most of us are avoiding the easily digestible starches you’ll find lots of recipes using alternate flours, that would be beneficial to you.
There has been much discussion about counting carbs, some people do, others don’t but are still experiencing success following the recipes in the book.
The consensus seems to be around 50g of carbs per day , or under is the way to go.
Your sugar cravings will disappear on this diet. It has surprised many of us that it happens, and usually very quickly.
Keep posting, everyone loves to follow other people’s achievements, it inspires and encourages the next person.

Hi All, I am new to the forum and only started the diet on Monday this week. My starting weight was 🙂 96kg and this morning it was 94.2kg. I am amazed at this result on day 3! Invested in electronic scales which automatically send my weight readings straight to my fitness app. Which is really good, because sometimes my recollection of what I weighted in the morning until I have time later on in the day, to tecord it, gets a bit hazy. … But with my new scales, no room for error any more :-). Wishing everyone the best results ever! I am really glad that I started this and that I ssem to finally have found a diet that works and will make me feel better and healthier… Have not told my family what I am doing…. They want me to loose weight and be healthy, but I had soooooo many new “5starts on Mondays” that they no longer believe me that I will stick to this diet. So I will just show them. 🙂

Anyone else doing this that works shifts? I do 3 x 12 hour day shifts (7.30am – 7.30pm) and a 12 hour night shift (7.30pm – 7.30am), and then have four days off. Today is my first day doing this in work, but my 4th day on the diet so need coping strategies! It doesn’t help that there is a buffet here today for a leaving do – but I will resist!!

Hi Onamission
I started this on Sunday as I too am not diabetic, but have serious issues with Carbs and Sugar too. I already feel better – I suffer with indigestion and hearburn and this has already improved, and my energy levels are better. Today is my first day in work though (12 hour shift) so we’ll see how today goes!
Good luck

Welcome to the forums Inka! I felt the same when I did the diabetes assessment. I know how horrendous diabetes can be as I have a friend with renal problems and the renal ward usually has a lot of diabetics who have lost limbs and are often blind as well. It certainly scared the life out of me – I really don’t want to get it – so I am eating this way for life!!! Bill is right – there really should be a lot more media coverage about this and a massive campaign. I really hope it happens fast.
Good luck on this journey, we’re all in it together! 🙂

Hi GiCo, I’ve had friends round and managed using the diet recipes. One suggestion:

starter: either the grapefruit ,avocado cheese dish or avocado bacon lettuce cups or veggie soup

Main : home made curry with chickpea flour flatbreads or cottage pie with cauli topping

Dessert: yoghurt with berries or coconut flat breads with cream and berries.

I’ve tended to save up my calories and had very small portions OR I skip the starter and use the excuse of frying the flatbreads fresh so they are hot to have with a curry. For dessert I’ll have just a few of the berries.

People have really enjoyed these kind of meals – they don’t even notice the lack of carbs!! If one of your guests is diabetic they will feel a difference!!
Good luck!! 🙂

Hi Inka you bring up a good point
For years the public has had no understanding of the disease. When I was a kid if you knew someone who had it you said “oh he’s got sugar” and that was it.
It wasn’t until a friend of my dad’s who had it died after having various body parts amputated that it hit home just how serious this could be.
Sadly I know only too well how bad retinopathy can be, neuropathy and gangrene are also major risks apart from little personal effects that you don’t mention. The old adage “a diabetic wants to die with both eyes and both feet still intact” rings true
It’s about time that there was a massive media campaign in the same way as they do for cancer to inform people not only about the disease but to suggest ways of putting it right.
After all this is a world wide epidemic now and it needs to be dealt with ASAP
They say the human race is destroying the planet, we’re not doing too shabby a job on destroying our health!

Hi
I thought in the book it said you could store your info on this website, weight, measurements etc. (can’t remember which page). Anyone has any ideas please?