Also, my skin was still bad while I was on the GI Jeans diet. The improvement now in just 3 weeks since cutting out sugar is amazing!

Penny, thank you. That’s just what I need to hear.

The only other diet that seriously worked for me was the Rosemary Conley GI Jeans diet. It was excellent and I stuck to it like glue and lost 4 stone on it.

However, ‘treats’ could be chocolates or sweets and dessert was often a sweet ‘low fat/sugar’ pudding. So it did nothing to curb my sweet tooth, and when I came off the diet I went straight back to eating sugar. I also remember being hungry a few times on the diet and having uncontrollable sugar cravings resulting in mass chocolate binges. This hasn’t happened on the BSD. I am fairly confident that it won’t happen because my body seems to be getting everything it needs from the designated meals.

What I love about the BSD is that it zapped my sugar cravings in 3 days. I’m into my 3rd week now and so far so good.

I REALLY do hope the BSD will indeed be the turning point.

Hi Hummingbird
I think there’s quite s few hypothyroid sufferers on the forum. They seem to be ok! Maybe start a special thread?
Penny

Day 9 weight 10st 11lb
Blood sugar 11.7

Got the oldie moved in new Care Home today. Cheated with a battered fish and 6 chips. Back on the journey tomorrow. All of his stuff will be up with him tomorrow. Hopefully that will be the end of the drama’s for a while and I can concentrate on getting my weight off and my sugar down.

Hi,

thank you for all your information. I will look into it.
Yes, I tried Metformin but it made me sick and I felt really awful while I was taking it so I had to go off it.

I invested into the Nutribullet 900 as some PCOS ladies recommended. I was very sceptical and thought that it was another fad. Well I’ve had it for 5 days now and am hooked. I am very careful with fruits though so most of the smoothie contains mainly vegetables…it is low calories and and it fills me u[ for hours, plus is energizing. Also past 2 days I managed to cut down to 700 calories and only lost 300g which was probably only water.
I hope you are doing well.

Bill- you have me a shock for a minute there!
Penny

Hi time4change
I had water retention too. I got some hawthorn tea from Amazon. Amazing! I make it at bedtime and drink two glasses in the morning. No water retention at all.
Penny

Thanks Penny!

A few prunes did it for me.

Hi Spirit
Re constipation.
Michael advises also balance magnesium by taking milk of magnesia.
Penny

Hi justabloke
Fantastic results!
Penny

Thank you. Any help and guidance is very much appreciated. I need all the help I can get!

Hi TBS
I quite agree!!
Penny

Well I am now at a loss as to what to try next. I am getting very demoralised that I will ever lose any belly fat. I am now 5 weeks in, lost half a stone (nothing this past week), but not a single millimetre from my waist. I eat no starchy carbs, use full fat everything, and am pretty much sticking to 800 cals. When I get the chance I walk, probably not enough, but am on my feet all day at work. I started this to lose belly fat, as I’m not carrying weight anywhere else. My only positive is that my blood sugar is more stable, so it has been worth doing for that. However, I know that unless I lose belly fat, the improvement is not long term. Have gone from very positive to feeling more depressed than before I started – at least I felt then that I could do something about it. Now don’t think I can!! Sorry this is so negative, but that’s how I feel tonight.

Hi Kinahan. Don’t apologise! You can write what you like where you like. I was just giving you the information in case it would help you. 😊
Penny

I’m not using shakes.and am doing most of the cooking for me and the OH.
Bagged leaves with extra salad vegie with tinned smoked Mackrel with a little pot of soy sauce lime wedge & s&p to add to it make a really tasty 200-250kc lunch that’s easily taken to work.
Grilling or frying a steak, or liver of baking fish in foil with herbs & serving it with nice veg and or more salad is really quick and easy.
I really think eating actual food with nutrients your body recognises is a grate way of not being hungry and dissatisfied on the diet. It’s why we all over ate before. Your body was saying “I need nutrients feed me” but we just gave it more empty carbs, so it stayed hungry and then we gave it more.
Fresh tasty multicoloured vegie with a steak/ wedge of cheese/ whole avocado? What’s not to like. Just make them small steaks…

Hi Natasha
My pleasure!
I don’t think you ll go back because this diet is so different. The others were so hard, slow, effortful and wrong!
Penny

Apologies Penny. As i said im not too sure where to write! Thank you for your message of support Bill.

Hi kinsman
There is a thread already for people who ve had a binge!
Penny

Thanks for the great tips Penny!

I actually think I’d be happy to follow the book for 6 months to a year following the 8 weeks. My fear is losing the weight I want to lose and then slipping back into old patterns and going back to square one.
At the moment I cannot imagine that happening, but I’ve said this before on other diets. I’m determined not to let this happen again!

Thanks Squidgy. That is a fascinating article about the dawn phenomenon and now so much makes sense to me.

I am still getting higher results in the morning despite trying the late night fatty / protein snack but I figure I need to try it a few more times yet to make it work. However, I’m feeling very pleased at the moment because my levels overall are most definitely down. Yesterday my pre dinner level was 5.6 and tonight it was 5.5. I think I might actually be on the road home! But I’ve had disappointments before so holding back the celebrations till I’m sure it stays that way.

For three days now not been able to go to the loo. Drinking lots of water and Red Bush tea.
Eating plenty of green veg and salad. But nothing’s moving!
Anyone else experiencing problems?
Advice please……

It’s my weigh in day. I’m dead chuffed as I’ve lost another 5lbs. Have felt quite tired today which surprised me, as I’ve been feeling great on the diet up till now. Think I’ll be drinking more water…
Can’t get on with Greek yoghurt for breakfast while I’m doing the 8 weeks. For 200 kc it’s just sooooo small. Tastes amazing, berries or tosted seeds on it etc, but it’s tiny! I’m going back to breakfast salad with smoked Mackrell tomorrow. It’s nice to have something on my plate which takes a while to clear. But I’m not a gluten. Honest.

Hi Penny
You can download kindle on your smart phone
Penny

Hi Anita,
I’m avoiding starchy carbs while I’m doing the 8 weeks.
After, knowing what I do now, then I think I will use /make polenta, Bulgar wheat, sweet potatoes jacket spuds and the like. But for now, it’s only 8 weeks. So I’m avoiding it all. After they will be on the plate but never the main event.
I’ve been eating loads of fishy things, in salad. Mushroom omlet, fried chicken (see my recipe, it’s not as bad as it sounds), etc etc all with loads of salad or veg, and drinking water like it’s going out of fashion.
There’s loads of good things to eat on the shelves without looking for a way to add carbs back in, yet
Good luck on your journey.

Hi All – great to see everyone doing so well.

I”ve just finished week 5 and really pleased with progress. Dropped 15.5lb so far, over 10% of my starting weight. BMI down from 29.6 to 26.7, 4 inches off my waist and really feeling a difference.

One unexpected benefit is my resting heart rate (measured with my fitbit when I’m sleeping) has significantly dropped – was between 95 -100 the week before I started which is awful, and between 75-80 now which is definitely going in the right direction.

My fasting blood sugar levels are still on the high side but the rest are fine, and I have reduced my medication.

All going well, but ironically I’ve been quite hungry today, most unusual for me, and I’ve been having some cravings for naughty stuff! I’ve had a few much seeds and a little cheese and I think I need an early night so hopefully it will pass!

I’ve tried a few, but wasn’t happy with any of them so have gone back to writing everything down! I love technology, just not for this.

You could always try it and see how it affects you. As Squidgy says, not the instant sort. If you’re diabetic you might want to test to see how it affects your blood sugar. I find they spike my levels, but my son can eat them! We’re all different 😊

Hi Hashimoto. I’m writing down everything I eat anyway, so will take my notebook with me and do my best to record everything I eat. I don’t drink so alcohol isn’t a problem.

Sorry to hear about your infections, hope you stay well and get to Australia.

Know what you mean about the sandwich without bread! Years ago I asked for a burger without the bun. Now that seems quite common, but then it was almost unheard of LOL. And my friend is allergic to cheese, so asks for pizza without cheese. That’s fun anywhere, but we went to Italy! She really struggled at lunchtime.

I’ll let you know how I get on in Prague when I get back. Won’t have much internet access while I’m away though.

Hi all, i got started properly today, took my fasting blood sugar level (5.3 so I’m not pre-diabetic, which is good to know) and then searched on the site for a tracker similar to the one on the 5:2 site, to record my blood sugar, weight etc.

I couldn’t find one – are there plans to provide a tracker as part of the site, or can anyone recommend a handy site to record all that (including blood sugar)?

Yes it does, its just that it doesn’t appear in the menus or meal plans, so was wondering if its OK?

Hi Elgordo

The book says “oats are good as longs they aren’t the instant sort”.

I occasionally have a small portion (30g) of chunky oats for breakfast with blueberries and chia seeds.

Good luck

Hi captainlynne, I am now 6 and a half weeks in so it won’t be too long before I join you in eight week line and after. It will be good to hear how you get on in Prague. I’m hoping to go to Australia in a few months but won’t make definite plans as I have only been free of repeated chest infections since I was put on antibiotics three times a week in late December. I want to be sure I am consistently well before having to cancel another holiday last minute! The freedom from infections has given me the energy to go with this diet and I feel like I am going from strength to strength on it. All this weight loss may just give me the confidence to don a swimsuit and get in the water! So far if I have had lunch out I have asked for a ham sandwich without the ham, left the chips and eaten the salad. The request of a sandwich without bread does cause some bewilderment lol

Hi ally, just wanted to say stick with it! I had awful headaches and achy all over for first week but now well in to week two and am feeling brilliant, more energy and sleeping like a log. I was definitely addicted to sugar , so stick with it , I did take paracetamol to get me through when I was feeling really bad and had one day feeling really tearful! A bit of time and strength and you will get there. 😊

Hi Penny
Diet doc is much more strict VERY low carb. No fruit, no beans. Did you see the first shopping list? A mountain of meat!
Penny

Porridge doesn’t appear in the BSD book recipes at all. Is this acceptable in this diet?

Thanks Kimgall. No, family don’t know! My son is type 2 on meds, eats carbs. The twins say what they think, so it should be interesting when they see me after Easter LOL. If comments from my son and daughter-in-law are repeatable I’ll put them on here.

Off to Prague next Monday. Checked out eating places at both airports, so gave an idea what I can get there. Should get lots of walking done 😃 (Especially trying to find something I can eat!).

Lynne

Hi Yorkshirelass – well done on your achievement, 5lb is 5lb in the right direction and you can see the positive in the blood sugar level as well, so you have every right to feel pleased with yourself. I too carry weight around my middle, but luckily, have no serious pre-diabetic concerns, however, I felt it was definitely time to get serious about getting my weight under control.

Like you, I am finding the diet surprisingly satisfying, given that the portions are much smaller than I would normally eat. It’s been fairly easy to stick to and so far, I haven’t had any real cravings for sweet stuff and have only had the odd hunger pang. Haven’t tried the blueberry and green tea shake yet, but it’s on my list. Think tomorrow, I’ll be making a veggie soup, with whatever is in the fridge that hasn’t much longer ’til it’s only fit for the bin.

Anyway, hope you have a good week and an excellent result at the end of it. Good luck.

Eureka : Hi all Type 2 Diabetics

Re: broadcast Public Lecture by Prof Roy Taylor. To find :
Go to ncl.ac.uk Reversing Type 2 Diabetes. See, Information for people with Diabetes. Public Lecture on reversing type 2 diabetes ( 4 th November 2014 ). Can be viewed ( press) here

This is how to find this really important information for type 2 diabetics. Listen to the whole thing including Q&A’s at the end. I also took mob pics of the slides off my iPad Don’t know why I missed this from my first posting!

Anyone not type 2 would find this helpful too. It’s’ all about his first trial & findings , which has inspired this BSD diet we are all now on!
Eureka

HivSpirit
That book sounds interesting. What s it called?
Still waiting for the whoosh effect myself!
Did you mean you only ate 340 cals in all and did loads of exercise? I suppose it’s safe if it’s not for long as people literally fast and don’t eat at all.
Penny

Thanks, Sharon … 16lb is brilliant in 3 weeks. I am sure your grandchildren will thoroughly enjoy a more healthy and agile grandma!! 🙂 I just want to be able to keep up … even a little bit would be good!!! 🙂
Kim

Hi Ruby
You could try Floradix for iron – doesn’t cause constipation!
Penny

Hi Natasa
I think calorieKing is accurate.
Re MFP. You can put in one teaspoon for example then have half a serving ie .5 of a serving. That’s what I do. Though usually grams. ie I put things in as 100 or 10 grams or mils then have multiples of them. ie I have 200 mils of soya milk every day so it’s 2 servings etc.
Good you’re getting to grips with everything in such a detailed way. That’s what I like too but I do t like to be tied down to those recipes.
Penny

Lynne … thank you … and very well done!!! 31lbs … amazing!!! Good on yer!! Do your family know what you’ve been doing, and how much you’ve lost? They will be so very proud of their grandma/nan!!

You going to Prague this week? I hope you have a wonderful holiday … you’ll have fun looking for different foods!! 🙂

Kim

Monday weigh in, starting week four and 12 lb down – 8lb week 1, 2 3/4lb week 2, 1 1/4lb week 3. Happy as away last week Monday to Friday in a hotel with delicious food which I think I managed quite well. Did have a treat a taste of my husbands deserts two nights, but only a tiny taste. I went to the gym before breakfast (husband stayed in bed), swam and we walked miles so that helped. Really enjoying variety of new recipies.

By carbs in the evening, i mean legumes with veggies. Sometimes a kiwi. Always with fat. The pulses (legumes) are protein.
This afternoon i added a small mandarin orange because my blood sugars were 71 (i have never used meds for the pre-diabetes).

Hi Hashimoto and Kim. Good to see you. Looking forward to you joining me on here – getting a bit lonely.

Opps that should of said Kimgall

Hi I’ve just completed week1 I have lost 5 lb in 9 days-which isn’t a vast amount I know but having done slimming world diet before, I had already cut down on carbs and never ate sweets apart from dark chocolate(1 small square a week).

I thought I would miss rice, toast and pasta, but I have loved all the recipes that I have tried and they have been quite satisfying.
Normally I would be waiting to have lunch bang on 12 but today managed a rugged 4 mile walk with the dog and easily waited until the homemade soup was ready well after 1pm, having had spinach and pea omlette for breakfast.
I particularly liked the blueberry and green tea shake, portobello toast with goats cheese, pepper with jewelled feta.
My blood sugar has come down from around 6 plus to 5.6.

As a person with mother and grandmother who were diabetic, being a low birth weight baby 3lb 9oz(also a risk factor), having given birth to 2 largish babies nearly nine pounds, and carrying any extra weight around my middle I feel this diet is my best chance of not becoming a full blown diabetic.
I am to become a grandmother in June and hope to welcome the new addition to the family in great shape, THANKS TO MICHAEL AND CO.

How long did this feeling last for everyone? I’m on day four and the low carb flu has well and truly gone and I’ve never felt as good in years! I know I’m fortunate that the feeling horrible bit didn’t last long for me. (why does the flu stage last so long for some people, and not for others?)

I assume I won’t always feel like superwoman on this diet?