The 2 best things I have done for myself is buy a blood glucose meter, which I didnt know anything about, and joining these forums. I am starting to try out a lot of the recipes and find them very tasty. I have never tried so many different foods and the only thing I have not been keen on is the hummus. The help and support from everyone has been invaluable especially when it was a bit tough going.
I am thrilled to tell you that for the last 5 days my morning fasting levels have been down to 4.8 ish and I think that is due to having 20g of cheese and little yoghurt before bed. That is the lowest I have ever had so this eating plan definitely works for me so would encourage everybody to keep going. I have been doing 5.2 low carb meditteranean diet so my weight loss is nowhere near as impressive as most. This is well into my third week and I have only lost 4.5 pounds but just need another 4 or 5 pounds to get me to a BMI of 24.9. Its far more important to me to get blood sugars stabilised and I know I will have to keep a check all my life. I am hoping that even if the numb toes and tingling in my body doesn’ t get any better it wont get any worse.
I have been eatjng quite a few strawberries thinking they were ok but was quite shocked when I read LOUKC’s post and realised how much sugar is in them.
I am going to Hong Kong in 4 weeks and am wondering how easy it will be to eat low carbs with all the rice dishes. Does anyone have an suggestions please? I dont want to spoil 8 weeks of good eating in one week.
I have been eating yeo natural yoghurt which is not as fatty as fulk fat greek yoghurt but is that what I shoild be eating.
I have managed to do an average of 8,000 steps a day which is fab for me and I think that has helped my blood sugars. Going for a walk now and will get some chickpea flour, which I am told is the same as gram flour, to make those lovely flatbreads that Bill1954 was talking about.

Thank for your reply ……..I have already altered these from the default settings ( on fitness pal) on just my own estimations from the info I have managed to get from various sources …..but instead of my guesstimations I would like a finite amount to work to…….is that info on a thread that you have seen previously please?

In reply to Janet 1973 – I’m jumping up and down on a packet of Brazil nuts now… Completely done vegetarian cold turkey in respect of tofu too.

I suppose you’ll know the saying about Brazil nuts being good to stave off dementia? Trouble is when you go and buy some you forget where you’ve put them.

Hi Fin,
Yes I have found the grazing a hard habit to break too. I used to have three meals and three snacks a day so to go down to just three meals and sometimes just two does take a bit of effort sometimes.

My favourite way of tracking the changes is a pair of trousers which I knew were bursting at the seams when I started. They now fit me nicely and I plan to take my mum out to lunch in them tomorrow. The good thing about them is they show me where I have lost weight from my legs and bum as well as my waist. I have a whole wardrobe of dresses, skirts and trousers all waiting to fit me again!

Great start Col. Please keep us posted with your progress. We love to read the stories.

I don’t know, but I would reduce carbs, increase fats and possible slightly reduce protein. There is a thread on here which discusses this.

Hi Sue, sounds like you have done a tremendous job maintaining this way of eating while under such stress and your weight loss is terrific ! Best wishes to you and your Mum in these trying times.

Thank you Bill and Captainlynne, appreciate the welcome. Was delighted to see a loss of 2.5 pounds after day 1 and am aiming for at least a stone over this 8 weeks, will then either stick on the 800 for another 4 or switch to 5:2 depending on where I am, will check levels after a week to see if they have settled back to where they used to be prior to my all the carbs you can eat party months!

Reading both your stories with interest, well done for how much you have achieved 😀

Hi All, I have been on the diet for 6wks doing pretty well so far, things have stalled a little and I am trying to re-focus. I use my fitness pal to track my calories and nutrients, however, I would like finite percentages to work to for Carbs, Protein & Fats per day . I have searched the site and the book for this information and can’t find the info anywhere.
These are my settings at the moment ( which I have guessed at)
Calories 800
Carbohydrates 80 g 40 %
Fat 27 g 30 %
Protein 60 g 30 %
Can anyone confirm if this is in keeping with the BSD guidelines or not and if I need to adjust any…..which could be the tweak I need to kick start weight loss again.
Thanks for any help.

Welcome to the forums Debr! Good to hear about your results! 🙂

Yeh, I’ve always done that sort of thing, Malkay – boiled eggs in a salad with a bit of grated cheddar is another option. If you make a batch of the gluten free flat breads you could freeze a stack and them have one at lunch time with filling of your choice. Or a flat bread, piece of cheese and an apple. No sweat if your freezer is full. Or you could have an individual carton of greek yoghurt and take an apple or pear with you. There’s a lot to get your head round when you start this new way of eating 🙂

Hello all, i’ve just joined the forum. Have been trying the diet for 3 and a half weeks. Lost about 10 lbs and 2″ from waist. Quite motivated. I think the rapid results help. I’m not diabetic or pre-diabetic but have a big family history of diabetes. I’m overweight and carry my weight around my middle. Encouraged to hear people’s results on here.

Hi Janet1973, well I’m encouraged about your weight loss with slim fast and I hope I could match that. I went to my body tone class this morning and finished at half eleven and had my first shake. I’m not adding back any cals from exercising……yet!, I’ll see how I go and if I need another shake or another portion of brocolli, I’ll have it. This is my third day today, im not hungry as such, just used to going into the kitchen and taking a little of this and that from the fridge. Now I’m not doing that behaviour, it’s amazing how much time I have. When I look back I must’ve been constantly grazing without even a thought. It’s a hard habit to break but I must nail it. Weight wise nothing’s budged but I do feel thinner some how. I’ve also got a string measurement of my waist and will put it round myself every few days.

You can substitute any of the dips from the book for houmous to ring the changes. I usually take a salad in a sealable box, with some form of protein: chopped up chicken, tuna, feta/goat’s cheese or some falafels. Don’t forget you fork.!!

Fofi the courgette bhajis are just as nice cold . I take them cold on picnics.:)

Don’t know if you have a garden, but growing your own gives you pounds of the good old rbubarb. I have three varieties to extend the season and bake it in oven with some vanilla, freeze it so i can have a year round supply. I LOVE the stuff! Do you have friends who grow it – should be ready in april. Try 100g of strawberries 🙂

>Does anyone else take food to work and if so, what is easy?

I mainly take houmous and salad (cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper and celery – I used to take carrots but they seem to be high in sugar – how sad). Tesco sell 4x40g packs of houmous which stops me from cheating.

I did make the beetroot falafels to take to work but they were hard work. Waitrose sell a similar beetroot falafel (I haven’t compared all the numbers but they seem okay) which I have had with an individual pot of Greek style yoghurt. (Interestingly I found the Waitrose falafels on myFitnessPal when I went to enter the BSD ones!)

I am finding lunch a bit tricky as I can’t heat things up at work. I have also had a rye bread cheese sandwich.

Sometimes I have an apple or skip lunch altogether (but have porridge for breakfast) and then have a courgette muffin when I get home.

Thanks Hashimoto. 😃

Travelling has usually been difficult in the past because I’ve just not prepared properly. Easier to grab a sandwich and crisps.

This time I’ve tried to prepare as much as possible. Leaving home too early for me to have breakfast, so cooked some Harrogate sausages (128 calories each) and will keep 1 or 2 for Monday. And bought some mini Babybels because they travel well.

I’ve checked out airport eating places so I know what is available and can get a good meal before I fly. Shortish flight, so no problem there. Then it gets interesting.

I’ll arrive at the hotel about 6pm local time so I’ll need to find somewhere local to eat. Or a food shop. Breakfast is a buffet and seems to have protein.

There seems to be various cuisines available in the area so I can experiment.

Friday I’ll get breakfast in the hotel before leaving for the airport so I might grab something to eat there, possibly from the onsite supermarket. Landing back about 1.45, train home so should be in my house around tea time. And plenty of food in the fridge/freezer so I can get something quickly.

Hopefully I’ve covered everything. 😳

I just googled it actually if anyone wants to know.
Amount Per 500 grams
Calories 165
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1.5 g 2%
Saturated fat 0 g 0%
Polyunsaturated fat 1 g
Monounsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 5 mg 0%
Potassium 765 mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 40 g 13%
Dietary fiber 10 g 40%
Sugar 24.5 g
Protein 3.5 g 7%
Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 490%
Calcium 8% Iron 11%
Vitamin D 0% Vitamin B-6 0%
Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 16%
*Per cent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

24.5g of sugar omg, I don’t think I should swap the rhubarb for strawberries after all.

Nutrition Facts
Rhubarb
Amount Per 500 grams
Calories 105
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1 g 1%
Saturated fat 0.5 g 2%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 20 mg 0%
Potassium 1,440 mg 41%
Total Carbohydrate 22.5 g 7%
Dietary fiber 9 g 36%
Sugar 5.5 g
Protein 4.5 g 9%
Vitamin A 10% Vitamin C 66%
Calcium 43% Iron 5%
Vitamin D 0% Vitamin B-6 0%
Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 15%

Sugar 5.5g

Does anyone else take food to work and if so, what is easy?

Hi there, I was looking at making the rhubarb compote which is basically 500g of rhubarb and plain yoghurt, but as rhubarb is so expensive i thought i’d change the rhubarb to strawberries, but 500g of strawberries seems a lot. Would it still be the same calories?
I mainly want to make it for work so i don’t slip up as do 12 hour days.

Mine (non negotiable!) is the Fage Total natural Greek yoghurt, per 100g is 96 cals, fat 5%, sugars 3.8% I think it’s about £2.50 for 500g in Waitrose, I have it on my favourites, so down to £2.00. It also comes in 1Kg tubs. Since I am eating so much less of it, I am saving quite a bit overall 🙂

Fage also do a 2% fat version, for which I don’t know the sugar content, and is just about acceptable taste wise, and a 0% fat version which IMO is awful. Again, I don’t know the sugar content.

I’d only use “Greek style” if I can’t get Total, or perhaps for cooking purposes, and would then go for the lowest sugar content, irrespective of cost- within reason, of course!
MaryR

Great results Bill! 🙂

As I said I decided to try Tesco Finest Greek Yoghurt and it does seem to be thicker and creamier than the Tesco Greek Style, but this is from memory of last weekend rather than a side by side trial.

Interesting that you are very tired- I’ve found quite the opposite, loads of energy, which I’ve put down to either no wheat/gluten, and/or no sugar. Others have said they’ve noticed energy levels up, so let’s hope that’ll happen for you too a bit further in. Great that you’re not finding it too difficult, I am amazed to find that I’m actually enjoying it!

I managed to finish my bottles of both Bombay Sapphire and the Hendricks just before day one! (And no it wasn’t a binge 😉 )

WRT to the Q tonic, I’ve never heard of that one, but agave is another no no for me, organic or not, it’s still 90% fructose!
A good book to read for the lowdown on fructose is David Gillespie’s “Sweet poison” available on Kindle.

You have a good weekend too,
MaryR

Oh, Bill, that is a fantastic site. You’re a star. I’m dashing back round to corner shop to get more gram flour – never used so much in my life! 🙂

Thanks for the book reference I have ordered Sweet lies. Hope it will convince hubby to join me in this.

Thanks Bill, you are a legend 🙂

Wow lynne amazing loss, you must be thrilled! 🙂

MaryR so glad to read your post, I was coming on to have a moan and you’ve just nailed it for me, esp point 2 re fluctuating weight. I was so exhilarated after 3 weeks and weight loss of 10 lbs and have been despondent this week as there has been no loss at all, just a fluctuating up a pound down a pond routine. I feel better after reading your post, thanks x

Hi All,
Fabulous thread, second everything Kimgall said. At 64, I can relate to so much you are all saying! I’m 5 weeks in, 18lbs and 4″ off the waist. Things that might help others, that have helped me:
1. Taking on board what Michael says about dark chocolate, I have 1 square of dark chocolate (10g) almost every night with my tea/coffee after dinner. I eat it very slowly, small bits at a time, and enjoy every microgram.
2. Over the 5 weeks, there have been fours blips in the downward weight graph, where it goes up a bit, and then keeps on coming down, so I no longer worry (or wonder why) when that happens. It just does, and doesn’t seem to relate to anything I do, or eat.
3. The carb cravings DO go- just hang on in there!
4. At one point, three weeks in, on one day, I was ready to eat the chair legs. I felt that my primal brain had finally realised it wasn’t getting sugar/carbs and had woken up. So I planned and cooked an off plan meal, but keeping very carefully to the Med diet principles, no wheat, no sugar, no seconds, and not calorie counted. It turned out to be a 1500 cal day, completely cured the desperate craving , and it hasn’t happened since. And I had lost the next day! I’ll do that again if I need to.
5. Make every single calorie worth eating!
6. To keep you on track with the sugar/fat issues, books by David Gilespie, “Big fat lies” and “Sweet poison” both very readable and inspirational, and by Robert Lustig, “Fat Chance”, a bit more dense and scientific, but brilliant. Lustig also has lectures on You Tube.

And keep up the great support work- that makes so much difference!

For the record … Another 3 pounds lost.

One more pound and it will be 2.5 stone or 35 pounds off 😃

I’ll be weighing again tomorrow and Monday, then away until Friday so not weighing again until next Saturday. It will be interesting to see the results next week!

http://www.foodiefiasco.com/the-perfect-easy-grain-free-pasta-and-a-giveaway-winner/

Hi Col. Welcome to the forums.

Looking forward to reading your progress.

Ami, I have a lot of weight to lose and have been reasonably active and the weight has been coming off quite quickly ~ 2kg per week. I have been weighing myself daily and within that loss there are several periods without much loss and then sudden drops such as this week, not much at first then 300g yesterday and 800g today.

I do find it very hard when I have a few days of no movement though. Make sure you haven’t changed anything and persevere. Are you walking less? As you are now 1 stone lighter when you do walk about you are probably burning few calories – probably shouldn’t be a significant factor.

Hi Bill. You’re doing great.

You’ll soon be making a new hole in that belt – or pensioning it off!

Can’t tighten the drawstring on my trousers any more, so on to the charity shop pile they go. 😱

Hi cherrieanne, yes I grow tumbler here too, i don’t think there are any you can’t grow if you have a greenhouse. I bet you can grow them all year round there. My son won’t touch tomatoes once the home grown ones are over. Not too keen myself either.
I ll be googling that chickpea pasta! 🙂

Morning (or evening) cherrianne
Another pound and a half gone which I’m really pleased with. Given the way my blood sugar has behaved this last week, I wouldn’t have been astonished if I had o
put a stone on.
How did the market go ? Sell all the soya melts ?

I live in SA Hashimoto, in the hills, and yes those tomatoes were harvested today by me and my 6 year old. Quite a few accidentally fell into her mouth! Don’t know if you can get that variety, it’s called ‘tumblr’, no e. Very prolific fruiter and well worth growing. We’ve had kilos and kilos. The kids take 6 each to school most days with cheese and crackers for a morning snack. The zucchini is also fresh out of the garden. It’s one of the sneaky ones that hide under the leaves and grow and grow! That one is destined to become soup.
I can well believe some parrots have escaped and bred. Budgies are native to Aus and I’ve seen them wild in the UK. We read reports of wallabies over there too.
It can be heartbreaking to see family emigrate. It’s a lovely lifestyle here but the sacrifice of leaving home and family is tough. At least you’ll have some lovely people to stay with on your holiday! 🙂
Bill nearly always has the answers! My sister and I had chickpea flour flatbreads from his recipe and mushroom soup for a late lunch today. I will definitely search for a chickpea flour pasta recipe.

Hi Col and welcome to the forums
I love reading all these amazing stories from ordinary people.
No marketing budget here, no one selling anything, just a whole new way of life that really works
Soon, your own story will be inspiring others
Best of luck

Absolutely right, captainlynne- demonstrate the the proof – and that will take determination and persistence. I did not mean never tell them- just wait until you have proved it works for you, and then go on to show that it is sustainable. If enough do this, opinion must change, and the initial evidence is already there, from Professor Taylor and the Newcastle group, and others. And yes, if they see their drug costs reducing, they will like that!

Fofi, I do have complete sympathy with the medical profession- I was part of it. before I retired. They are between a rock and a hard place, with NICE guidelines to adhere to, imposed targets to meet, and an ever increasing regulatory workload. But I don’t have sympathy with those who are blinkered, think they do know everything, and won’t listen!

Great result Louck
I hate to say told you so but I’ll make an exception 🙂
You’re at the start of an amazing journey, enjoy the ride.

Well that’s the end of a weird week 5
After a meal out in which I avoided carbs my blood sugar levels went wild with readings of 9, 8 point something and high sevens. Got it down to under seven but last night I had a few nuts instead of the usual yoghurt and this morning 8.2
I don’t understand what happened but I’m telling myself I’m not eating anything wrong so the extra sugar levels are down to stored sugar being released and that can only be good.
I,m going to get some ketastix next week just to check that things are happening as they should.
So week 5 weigh day and I’ve lost another pound and a half and had to tighten he belt another notch to it’s last hole !! I started this new lifestyle on hole 1 🙂
Looking forward to seeing the results of my blood test this week although I know it will cover only 4 weeks o the plan, it will show if I”m heading in the right direction.
So week 5, 19 pounds lost daytime sugar readings n the high 4s to low 5s. Fasting readings have had a holiday but are expected back next week.
Best of luck to everybody having a weigh in today
Onwards and upwards

Another one here with no gallbladder!! Had mine out about 9years ago and have successfully followed a lower carb, higher fat diet to lose weight with no problems whatsoever …..give it a try and keep in touch 😀

And how long did it take?

Well I started Wednesday and was due to go docs yesterday and gym induction Thursday. I had to change gym induction until Friday.
Woke up Friday morning and my dog wouldn’t get off the bed to go for wee’s. So had to pull her off the bed only to notice her back end and her legs were completely immobilised. I took her straight the vet and they ruled out paralysis and said they thought it was more than likely arthritis. They gave her pain meds and she has been improving enough to actually have small walks and even managed to rip the post up. I keep meaning to buy a letterbox basket lol. It was quite a scare seeing her not being able to stand and I did almost turn to chocolate for comfort.

So gym induction re-booked as is doctors appointment.

But, today I weighed myself and have only gone and lost 6.5lbs since Wednesday. OMG, how did that happen? I am beyond delighted. I still have the chocolate craving as I’m not eating anything sweet.

So keep at it people, it does work 🙂

Hi everyone….started the bsd yesterday, was a good day and much easier than I anticipated. Been lurking here for a few days reading the posts and getting such great inspiration that I thought I would join in!

Prepared by reading the book through twice, going for the real food option and cooking all from scratch, looking forward to trying some of the recipes already posted.

Thanks a lot to everyone for the inspiration 😀👌

The flat breads idea sounds great to me too, that way you can still eat something your kids have made for you and enjoy it rather than feeling guilty/ pressured into eating something that you would rather not. Mind you, it really sounds like you have got this and if yu did have a bite it would not derail you from your long term plan…😀

You’re brill, bill 🙂

CAS you can make pasta with chick pea flour, I found the recipe last week, Google it.

MaryR you must have some sympathy for the medical profession. They seem to be wrong this time, but they spend their lives fixing problems made worse because people followed some advice on MumsNet or a magazine rather than finish a course of medicine that would have cured the problem straight away.

I know of so many people who have given up on a short term course of medicine which might well have cured the problem because they read somewhere that it was bad for them. I could never be a GP.

Anybody have IBS? I have been on the diet for 6 weeks now and managed to lose 23lbs which is great. However, I have had to introduce some starches with meals because the diet is too high in insoluble fibre and wondered how other people were managing and what they were eating?