Well, after a chat with a nurse last week I decided as an experiment to drop my Exanatide (Byetta) injections this week.
Pleased to report that the blood sugar readings are still (Fasting) between 5.6 and 6.2 and in the 4’s before dinner.
Feeling a little more hungry at night but nothing I can’t cope with.
So it looks like that’s 1 of my meds gone, just need to work on the Metformin.
Wow wouldn’t it be good to have a life that didn’t include those horrible Metformin “moments”

Morning Penny. I’m not eating much fruit, just a handful of blueberries on my morning omelette, with some Greek yogurt. I do have a very good breakfast! My other carbs come from veg, chickpeas, and occasionally a small portion of lentils. For lunch, I’m generally having a small salad with chicken, prawns,feta or falafels. Evening is a small portion of whatever the family is having, minus the carbs. I made a similar stew to yours at the weekend, tonight is salmon and stir fried veg. My evening treat is a small cup of cocoa made with half almond milk, half full fat milk – I don’t think too many calories. So apart from the treat, think its ok. I suspect I’m not exercising enough, although my job in a busy shop means I am on my feet all day. Not in today, so just off for a walk! Thanks for the encouragement, and hope it is going well for you.

Hi Day 3 I’ve woken up hungry and tired. I decided to jump on the scales. They reckon I’ve put 1/2 a kilo on. So taking control I’m not getting on the anymore. I’ll judge my weightless on my clothing instead. (just incase they’re lying). Any ideas of how to get rid of the headaches without drugs ?

He He, Jahooly did I not say last week that you would be excited about your results
Keep it up, you’re well on the way.

Thanks Penny! One day at a time 🙂

I think I’ve found another problem, I’m not eating enough fat. Old habits die hard! I’m still trying to make my meals as big as I can for the allowable calories but I seem to be making low carb and low fat meals.
What sort of parallel universe have I entered where I actively look to add fat to my food??!! Haha. Time to redo my meal plans!

I found the UK diabetes website quite informative. Lots of recipes which have calories, fat, protein measured out and they seem quite big on the low carb way to managing diabetes. There is a 10 week low carb program you can join and you don’t have to live in the UK to do so (I’m outside the UK).

http://www.diabetes.co.uk

I would be weary of eating too many Carrots, as they have a high sugar content. As do Parsnips and Swede.

Hi James,

I’d love to join in! I just discovered the blood sugar diet today and plan to start straight away. Good luck to everyone!

Doing great, Teej!
Penny

Hi Natasha
You could work them out by googling the ingredients. Then you d know…
Penny

Hi Malkay
Sorry- I’ve recommended it to all and sundry so couldn’t remember. It’s so great having the facts, really helpful probably you would do better being more accurate for a while.
Where are you getting your carbs?
Mine are just non tropocal fruit plus veg, so I just check on the ‘Nutrition’ bit of Myfitness pal to see how they’re working out. Today it was 29 grams. That was one small Apple , one orange, kale, lettuce, carrot, beetroot. Plus tiny bits in just about everything.
Penny

I have had the blueberry and green tea shake, chicken with butter beans and walnut salad a d crab cakes for 3 days in a row (tomorrow is my last day!!).

This would present a problem if I didn’t love crab lol

I’m completely intent on sticking to the menu plan too, so I totally understand where you’re coming from lol xx

Ps, omg I love the Bircher too, so delicious.

Hi Penny.
I did read the book you recommended. It’s really helpful, particularly the bit about going above the ‘ketogenic boundary’. That may be my problem, as I’m not measuring my carbs very accurately, but I’m not eating any starchy carbs at all. In the book, Michael doesn’t actually talk about ketosis, so I wasn’t sure whether we need to worry about it. I was trying to avoid having to weigh everything and be too strict, but maybe it’s just time to up my game and get a bit more serious!

Think I’ll leave the crab cakes Natasha, Not a huge lover of crab ….. Lol. But so Intent on trying to stick to the menu plan…..must learn to lighten up 😍😍. Ha
Good luck all, tomorrow is another day on this journey ……
Ummmm dreaming of no carb bicher tonight ..😊

Yes it all helps us. The more info the better.
Penny

Hi, yes a buddy would be good , on day 8 and 12 lbs lighter , feels good and most imif time not hungry but when it hits find it hard to resist but so far other than a few olives and squid I e kept to it and. It does it work ……. Have another 5 stone to lose which seems like a mountain to climb but help and support from buddies would be good ……..

Catch you soon And good luck this week

Hi Che
Great isn’t it. Very empowering to know facts. Once I d read the book I could see people on the forums struggling because they don’t know this stuff. ( so of course I tell them about the book !)
Penny

Yes I really like that site and quite inspiring to read the case studies.

Videos!

Aliba- have you seen diet doctor. Com? Interesting stuff with good vudeos.
Penny

Hi Aliba
Us and millions of others!
Now we know- but most people still don’t, and the low fat message is so engrained…
Penny

Thanks Penny, really interesting, especially the bit about fat being needed to regulate blood sugar. I’m totally convinced of it after eating low fat for decades, ended up nearly 5 stone overweight and diabetic!

Seems like they have… But Michael also says it’s ok to have slightly higher one day slightly lower the next. But I think we need to check the calories ourselves in any recipe.
Penny

Marvellous Natasha!
Penny

Good Nic. ☺️

Aliba- I love your list! Mine would be similar but soya instead of dairy. Also some red meat to cook delicious stews in the slow cooker. And pears and occasionally a bit of watermelon, and oranges.
We re so Lucky to live in such a well- provided society!
Penny

Hi FatCat,

Thanks for your response.

I have measuring spoons and level off portions with a knife by dragging it over the top of the spoon.

I think they should state that in the book, that regular cutlery tablespoons are totally different to a tablespoon size a measuring spoon gives.

I am losing weight pretty fast since I started 2 weeks ago and have had the Bircher several times, so I **think** the calories are correct. I hope so anyway!!!!

That should have read ‘ the bad effect’!!

Hi Malkay
Did you have a look at this book?
‘Low carbs problems solved’ by Jenny Ruhl.
(£3 on kindle)
If you haven’t it might help you.
Penny

Hi, I said my no carb Bircher came out at nearer 300 cals (not 180), but it’s a recipe that’s given in tablespoonfuls – so the size of the spoon (tablespoons vary, I don’t have a measure), whether they’re heaped or level, makes a big difference. So in my case, I think it’s my measurement error – I need one of the ‘official’ spoon measures I think.

Hi Aliba
Interesting stuff here about the bad ever take of low fat dairy.
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-skim-milk-will-make-you-fat-and/
Penny

Hey there,

I just saw in a thread that some people on the 8 Week BSD have complained that the calories in some of the recipes in the book have been incorrectly stated.

Does anyone know if this is definitely true?

I’m really worried as I am being absolutely precise with my weighing and measuring and would hate to think the calories are not accurate.

Would anyone happen to know and be kind enough to specify which recipes have the incorrect calories so that they can be avoided?

I know there will be many who would be absolutely gutted going to all this effort and expense for it to be wrong

Hey Cherrianne,

Thanks for asking, my weight is going down. I need to lose 35lbs and have lost 11bs in the first two weeks

I am not diabetic – I tested my blood sugar when I started the diet and my levels were in the normal range. However, with the diet I had been consuming for the past couple of years, I was on a fast track to getting T2D.

What worried me the most was my stomach; with no exaggeration I looked at least 7 months pregnant. I also felt constantly tired with very low energy (often sleeping until 4pm and not wanting to get up), very irritable and depressed and my sugar and carbs cravings were off the scale uncontrollable. knew these were serious danger signs, and that is what motivated me to change.

I had watched all micheal mosley’s TV programmes and am a huge fan. I also really trust his research.I thought the 8-Wk BSD sounded absolutely amazing, so here I am!

I am not as organised as your sister, and cook my meals 3 times a day. I will, however, always make sure I have my next day’s ingredients the day before so I am not caught out. This also helps plant the seed in my mind that next day is bsd day, and so on.

I also like to follow the daily meal plans and recipes to the letter. I’m pretty obsessive about it and won’t substitute meals or ingredients or do my own thing and use guesswork. I don’t trust my judgment lol. I need to know this is going to work by following everything exactly what it says in the book. So far so good with the results.

I’m so jealous you get to grow your own veg AND you’ve had gorgeously hot days! Your homegrown zucchini and tomato recipes sound delicious.

Yes, I loved the Aussie lifestyle and you are a friendly lot! I’m hoping io visit Melbourne again in the not too distant future.

How are you getting along?

I meant to post my reply too – along similar lines:

I would recommend taking it easy initially while your body adapts to the lower carb intake.

Your body can use fat as an energy source during exercise, instead of carbs, but it takes time for your body to adjust. Indeed, if you are type 2 diabetic, it can take even longer for your body to adjust to the different energy source.

The catch 22 is that you need to do exercise with low carb intake to help your body adjust to a different energy source.

You will know your body better than anyone and you should listen to it and how you feel. If you feel able to undertake the exercise then you should be fine but don’t overdo it if you’re not sure you’re ready.

Good for you Malkay 👍

Thanks Penny 🙂

Thanks for the encouragement, Aliba! These last 2 days I have been working, and although I have taken lunch, I have snacked a bit in the afternoon. However, I am at home tomorrow, so I shall be gentle on myself. I’ll get up in the morning with a renewed sense of positivity, and make sure I keep to 800 cals. I’ll report back at the weekend!!

Forgot to add – apples and frozen berries!

Thanks Cherrianne, that makes sense and is reassuring. I’ve given blood and had it taken a lot without a problem. Will definitely drink more water to avoid my embarrassed apologies to the surgery nurse next time. It’s the first time I’ve felt woozy since giving up wine for this diet 😀🍷.

Hi GinDibs,
That all sounds delicious, I’ve yet to try them. Can’t wait!
I have my calculator at the ready to work out for the bigger dishes what I would need when making 1 portion.
It would probably make life much easier and be far more time-efficient to cook as in the book and divide the dish into portions and freeze them as you are doing.

Malkay it might just be that your body has to adjust – I didn’t notice the weight loss from my waist until the end of week three (I’d also lost 18lbs in the last year before starting this using other diets and no reduction in waist size) please don’t be despondent….7lbs is a magnificent achievement in just three weeks. Give yourself a few days sticking more closely to 800…perhaps until the weekend and see what happens. Sometimes we plateau for a few days and then lose more.
Who hasn’t done slimming world, lost four pounds and then put it all back on and even more a couple of weeks later….this is about complete re-education. Be kind to yourself and your body…you can do this….you know you can! X

Pmshrink – re calories….. no way 😮😮😮😮😮

This is not good news.

According to today’s meal plan of green tea and blueberry shake for breakfast, chicken, butterbean and walnut salad for lunch, and crab cakes for dinner, the total calories for these 3 meals is 810 calories.

Have they miscalculated the meals?

Hi Nic,
Feeling lightheaded and like fainting happens to a lot of people when having blood taken or injections. It’s called a vaso- vagal response and quite surprisingly it’s usually the big burly rugby player types ( in my experience) that it happens to. Of course they are the ones I didn’t have a hope of catching if they fell lol!!
Don’t be embarrassed because you have no control over it. Just make sure next time you have blood taken that you are well hydrated before so it’s easier to find a vein. You can drink a litre of water before a fasting blood test. Lean well back in the chair while you are having blood taken and flex your calf muscles/ rotate your ankles to keep good blood flow in your legs. It will all help!

GREAT NEWS!!!

The recipe is OK and it worked out this time.

I made the crab cakes again tonight and this time I made the crab mixture in the morning so it had all day and evening to chill through in the fridge.

I only added a quarter of a lemon – half is way too much and makes the crab mixture wet and useless.

I was more generous with the flour and I used a smaller non-stick pan with a little more oil than yesterday.

I flattened the entire crab patty so it filled the circumference of the frying pan. This also thinned it out so it became more like a fritter.

And voila!

DELICIOUS and money hasn’t been wasted!

I guess some of the recipes are trial and error

If you try making crab cakes again, let us know how you get on 😊🦀🦀🦀🦀😊

Hi Natasha
Good idea.
Jahooly- a lot of the recipes have the wrong calories. I’ve read people complaining about it.
Penny

I have done 3 weeks, and lost absolutely nothing from my waist. I lost 7lbs in the first 2 weeks, but not sure where from. The last couple of days I have become a bit demotivated due to seeing no change. Although sticking to low carb, I know I have gone over the 800 cals. Its much harder to stick to when you’re not seeing the results that everyone else seems to be getting. I find it very difficult measuring the exact amount of carbs etc., but I work on the principle that if I’m eating no starchy carbs, and eating considerably less than I used to, I should be losing weight and inches. I need a bit of a kick up the backside, and a bit of reassurance. Especially as my friend has just lost 4 lbs this week at Slimming World!!!!!!!

Pmshrink that’s a simple but clever idea. Think I’m going to adapt and give myself gold stars 😀

Well done Jahooly, that is fantastic! It makes all the hard work worthwhile 🙂

Hi Natasha,
Just wondering how you are doing with your weight/blood sugars. You sound like you have got all the planning and organising under control. My sister also does a weekly plan and has her week’s meals and snacks sorted on Sunday afternoon. She cuts up her cheese allowance and boils eggs, weighs out nuts etc. and puts stuff into zip lock bags in the fridge or freezer ready to grab on her way to work.
Glad you love Aus, it’s a great place to live and a great lifestyle for families. There are lots of things to miss about England but lots happening I’m glad I’m not there to see!!
It’s definitely moving into autumn here although we’ve just had two days of 35+ degrees as a last burst of summer. Back to cool and rainy today. I have a million zucchinis and tomatoes to eat up from my garden so am madly making ratatouille, zucchini soup etc and freezing it to use them up. Good job it’s a Mediterranean diet.