Well said Auntylil. From being taken to the shops for sweets after visits to the dentist (!) over 50 years ago, to the post-weigh in ‘treat’ after whichever slimming club meeting I had just attended, some foods were classed as ‘treats’.

Now my treats are experimenting with new foods, taking the time to explore supermarkets to find something that feels like a treat but is low-carb, and taking time for me (not always easy as I am in one of the caring professions). Even taking my own food to social occasions in case there is nothing I can eat available. Because I am so less irritable since ditching the carbs, any comments about what I’m eating don’t irritate me 😃

Well done Mike

Welcome Mrsjaffa13. 😃

Hi Paul

Sorry I don’t have the starting BP (only get it checked at GP. Been on meds for high BP for years (Bendroflumethiazide and Candersartan) which was keeping it under control.

After about a month on this BP was 117/87. Two weeks later it was 119/70, which the nurse said was low!

Sorry I can’t be more helpful.

Thanks guys, I’ll have a play about and see what works best. I train 2 days a week so on those days it might be better for me to have 2 meals rather than just 1. I suppose it’s all a case of trial & error 🙂

If I know where I’m going I check out the menu online, so can decide beforehand what I’ll eat. Think most of those do salads (ask for dressing on the side). Cafe Rouge may do poultry or meat with veg, not sure – a long time since I ate there! Not sure about Giraffe. A quick check online should help.

Welcome Mrsjaffa13! No one minds anything here – it’s very supportive and open. We look forward to joining your journey and have you help with ours 🙂

Welcome to the forums Mrsjaffa13
Stick with this diet, it will work for you.
If you need any help or advice just ask, there are loads of people at different stages of the journey that you are embarking on. Their experiences will give you a lift if you feel down as some do. Although none of us are experts, we are all going through the same thing and there is a real community spirit growing here.

Hi everyone, am a newbie just starting and have loved reading all your messages which are really motivating. Am needing to lose 2 stone most of which is round my middle and am higher risk of diabetes due to giving hubby a kidney! Put the weight on in last couple of years so need to reverse it and love the science behind this diet truly refreshing. hope you don’t mind me joining , you all sound very determined and in for the duration so hope I can be part of your journey and you of mine. 😀

I’m pretty sure you would absolutely need calories, even specifically carbs, on those days. Your body would need energy that is easy to access and burn, and I believe carbs are good for that – you won’t be storing them as fat if you’re being that active!

It makes me think of the fat vs sugar Horizon programme with the van Tulleken twins, where they cycle up a hill, and Chris (who was eating carbohydrates) fared much better.

Hi,

Anyone got any experience of endurance type exercise whilst on the BSD.

My hobby is Munro Bagging … as an example … a few weeks ago our walking club climbed Ben Ledi in the snow. A 6 hour walk with a climb of around 800m. My fitbit said that I used 4500 calories that day (probably an understatement as I was carrying rucksack / crampons / ice axe / flask of tea etc). This was typical for winter but we’ll soon be ramping up for longer walks as the days get longer. Usually 8 to 12 hours in the summer.

Just started the BSD today and I’m worried about the 800 calorie intake when I hit the mountains. Anyone got any experience or advice? Will my body cope or should I take extra calories on these days? I don’t think the mountain rescue guys will be too impressed if they have to carry me off the mountains.

BTW … joining a hill walking is a great way to exercise.

Thanks,
Martin

I never eat breakfast so stick to 2 meals a day and it has done me no harm at all.
The only small problem I can evisage is, as your sugar levels go down, you may be at risk of a hypo at times.

Hi there. Since day 1 (6 weeks ago), I’ve split my meals into two – a breakfast of fresh fruit, oats and nuts/seeds (about 230 calories), then have an orange early afternoon, followed by the remainder of my calories between 6-7pm. I found that this is a good way to split the calories, at least for me anyway.

Hi Paul,

I’m not a medical practitioner but a few comments …

1. BP measurements are notoriously fickle … even talking whilst you’re having your BP taken can give a false reading. Suspect that your resting BP is correct … ie … not the readings after exercise. Best to have it checked regularly at your GP and try to correlate their readings with yours.

2. Those readings look really high to me.

3. I read somewhere that an irregular heartbeat can cause big fluctuations in BP. Might be worthwhile asking your GP about this.

4. Biggest impacts on BP are salt intake and body mass. So pretty sure that this diet will help.

Hope that this helps.

Regards
Martin

Hi All, apologies if this has already been covered but, do you have to split the 800 cals between meals or can you just have 1 large meal? I’ve been following the original 5:2 and usually have all my calories at tea time, was wondering if I could/should do the same here. x

Well said auntylil, this thing about walking naked in the middle of winter, I’m reliably informed that the Finns make a habit of this and then they hit each other with sticks !!!
Each to their own, I don’t think I’ll be volunteering to buddy up on that. 😀

TO ANY ONE WHO HAS 5 MINS TO SPARE…

A few words about where I’m coming from… and I probably need to be open minded more but this is where I’ve arrived so far.

People can make changes – that’s not changing personality but habits because habitual behaviour makes us feel safe (like rituals) but we get stuck there even when we accept it is not doing us good, no matter how logical/rational the reasons. So that’s number one, everyone can make changes and we are doing that here in respect of carbs, calories and sugar. Lots of people are talking about this here and how they are learning not to berate themselves if they have some relapses.

Number 2, the psychologists/psychiatrists/counsellors/therapists/doctors are just the same as us, and Dr Mosley is generous enough to share his personal story with us. Most of them want to help and we fight them often don’t we? Plus they make us dependent on chemicals because they haven’t known about sugar etc. I know some doctors are unhelpful, ignorant etc but mainly they want to heal. We can educate them too.

3. We have our own ‘scripts’ but again we can change our behaviour. By believing then accepting that if you don’t make changes (ie. sugar is a poison, cigarettes, booze, going for a walk naked in the middle of winter!) ask yourself why are you hanging on to that behaviour. You will have reasons and you might need help changing it if it’s ingrained. Will power alone may not do it. Fear of letting go of habitual behaviour can feel very scary, so we may get defensive, stubborn, angry etc. If it feels like walking off a cliff seek help for goodness sake for the emotional stuff as it’s very powerful.

Another thing I know for sure is that being kind and gentle to oneself when feeling vulnerable and fragile, and that extends to others, is brilliant and that’s where success lies. Once I was fat, fair and forty and had to have my gall bladder removed, why I wonder did I continue for the next couple of decades to gorge on sugary stuff? My script was to be defiant, greedy, reward myself, become a foul mouthed old banshee if challenged. I’m still a bit of one of those but I am changing my behaviour and I feel pretty good about it. Hope you will.

This reply may be too late for you, but… you can always ask restaurants to prepare you something simple or to omit something off a meal. You can get them to grill you a piece of fish and steam some veg. If they are a proper restaurant they will do this. Even if you can’t get a piece of fish you could have some steak or something.

Doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy it!

I’ve not tried any of the recipes as I always tend to do my own thing. (Two of my meals per day need to be easily constructed the night before, thrown into Tupperware, then eaten cold at work.) That said, were I to follow any, I would calculate my own calories as I went – and check everything.

Bill1954
I follow your logic right up until where we realise that the things we refer to as ‘carbs’ – pasta, potatoes, bread, etc – are actually just sugars and these are the things diabetics are told to eat.

The reason for the high amount of eggs is that coconut flour absorbs loads of moisture and has no raising agents.
The eggs help the products to rise as well as stopping them being crumble

I’ve decided to cut out one of the Exanatide injections starting Monday and then take it from there.
Hopefully the Metformin will follow and soon I can be drug free.

Aliba that’s fantastic !!!
You hit the nail right on the head when you said it’s a way of life now, hand on heart I’ve never felt hungry or craved for anything sweet since I started this diet (apart from my grandsons birthday, there was this cake you see, but my wife talked me out of having any by telling me how proud she was of me for sticking with this), and I just don’t see any way I would want to go back to eating the way I did before.
It’s not just the lowered sugar or weight loss either, it’s the complete package, I’m sleeping better, feel far less stressed, and generally happier than at any time I can remember.
Someone tried to wind me up yesterday by leaving a box of crispy creme doughnuts on my desk.
I just took them back, smiled sweetly, and said just the one word…. Pathetic 🙂

Thanks Celsa, I’m going to give it a go starting on Monday (cos that’s the law isn’t it?). Not sure I’ll do a full 8 weeks, but coincidentally I go on hols in 8 weeks…think I’ll do the 800cal thing until my weight’s down where it should be & then adjust. My other half is Spanish so you’d think the M diet would be easy but he’s a total carb fiend! If it’s white, sweet or stodgy he loves it (probably explains why he’s with me!)

Having a bit of a celebration! Have just been to have bloods done….lovely health care assistant who is already recommending the 5:2 to people and was really interested in the results of BSD. Will get blood results in 2 weeks so fingers crossed. My BP was so good she checked it again!!!
I thought my weight loss had slowed so hadn’t weighed for a few days but when I stepped on her scales I had lost a total of 12 pounds in three weeks on the 800.
Have dropped 22lbs since I last saw her in May and 30lbs since I got my fit bit last January (it just gave me a certificate)
Feeling amazing, got into a size 16 dress yesterday and haven’t done that since 1989.
2 stone to go and I will be normal weight for my size
Have tried every diet in the world but this is a way of life now!
Good luck to you all and stick with it believe me I haven’t been a saint on this but the kind of food I eat or don’t eat has completely changed

It’s great isn’t it Cherrianne, all these people passing on their tips and recipes to each other.
I just wish that this had all happened 20 years ago, I wouldn’t be in the state I am now if it had.

peanutbutty – I’ve just come across this thread and read your opening entry. I love everything about it! From being ‘giddy with sugar’ to ACCEPTING. Fabulous!

Hold on a minute
This is the 8 week blood sugar diet aimed mainly at diabetics !
If you are diabetic then you should already have it engrained in every fibre of your being – don’t eat sugar – it can kill you.
If you’re non diabetic, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to stick to the same mantra – too much sugar is dangerous.

Jane H
Btw, I do love these forums, they have definitely made this first week a lot more fun and they are very motivating. Auntylil was the first person I ‘met’ here and we seem to have hit it off which is great as I’ve been told before that I don’t always play nice with the other kids. But please, feel free to join in with the chat whenever you want. Have a great day!

Thanks for that Bill. I have happily eaten spinach pakoras without too much effect on my blood sugars and they are made with chick pea flour in the batter. I cook with chick peas often and add tinned ones to my salads. I also make loads of hummus cos my kids devour it by the bowlful. So reading the high carb content of the flour was a bit of a surprise. I guess if the body processes the carbs in it more slowly then it’s safe for me to use in moderation.
I am very sensitive to even brown rice and whole grain wheat breads because their carb content causes quite a big increase in my blood sugar. The dietician had told me it was good to keep eating them, but it isn’t.
Every day on this diet, and on reading the posts here, I learn more about managing the diabetes than I have in the two years since I was diagnosed.

I don’t think I have ever had goji berries but I bet I wouldn’t like them either! I’m sure your weight gain is nothing to worry about, its probably water retention from that cheeky voddy or maybe just part of your natural hormonal cycle. There is no way it is fat though because you simply haven’t consumed enough to create a pound of fat overnight. It will be back off tomorrow I bet. I almost forgot about your squat news. Did you really only do one? Or are we talking about different things? Or have you tried for two yet?? Anyway, well done, anything is better than nothing!

So I’m chuffed I have lost 4 and half pounds this week. That’s way more than I ever lose in a week and it brings my total for 2016 up to half a stone. So just another stone and a half to go then! I’ve decided to grow my own lettuce and rocket this year. I’m not really green fingered but I reckon they should be fairly easy to grow and eat as I was put off bagged salad from the shops when I heard what their version of ‘washed’ means.

Btw my falafel last night was bloody gorgeous!
Have a great day.

Hi Jane H, I’m a week into the bsd and 4 and half pounds lighter which, for me, is just amazing. But I’m the same as you (I think there are probably millions of us actually). I have been known to binge eat, for example the entire easter egg and contents in one sitting, a whole battenburg cake, an entire packet of biscuits, I could go on. I don’t really have the answer as to why I did it, I just wanted to. Sometimes I have done that after a great weigh-in so its not just depression that makes me do it. For me though, I have had to learn to forgive myself and move on. Tomorrow is always a new opportunity, and as you say, so is today. I will say this though; after a week on the bsd, it is the easiest diet I have ever done and I have lost more weight this week than I have done on weight watchers for the first 6 weeks of this year. There is chocolate in my fridge and it has never once occurred to me that I might like some. I have been very happy with some fruit and yoghurt and some days I don’t even bother with that. Like you say, small, tentative steps…

Morning, it’s day 5 for me. I’ve had another bad nights sleep – restless and dreaming of cakes (no joke! Lol) the past 4 days I’ve been fine, felt ok and actually really alert. …. but this morning I feel terrible- shaky and weak. I’ve done many detoxes in the past, at least once a year and I always sleep badly on them all so that’s no different but I was not expecting to feel so rough today. I made myself a smoothie for breakfast with raw cacao and banana for a bit of a boost to see if it helps so here’s hoping. I have had an Epsom salt bath and it’s helped. I’m glad I’m not working today or I’d really be struggling 🙁
On the plus side I’ve been really good and stuck to the plan 100% (within the guidelines but doing my own recipes) I definitely have lost weight but I don’t know how much. I’m writing this as a heads up to people that this may not be a smooth ride but it’s not impossible- hang in there! . Someone on fb has told me they felt this way yesterday so I feel better reading that. I’m now tucked up in bed with the tv remote and my fizzy water- bliss!

Hi guess what .? I’m exactly the same weight as you , so let’s compare notes , I’m doing a 5km walk twice a week an I’m mobile in work all day I have lost 1.5 stone but now slowed up again , was 18 stone now hovering around 16 5 , doing the 800 a day , 4 weeks into diet

On the whole, olive oil is better for cooking at lower temps – at high heat it can degrade and so lose its benefits and arguably then become ‘unhealthy’. There are other oils that can cope with higher temperature – nut oils or canola. If you read wok frying recipes – which are at a very high temp – they are unlikely to suggest olive oil.

Extra Virgin can be used for cooking, but is probably a bit of a waste of money – keep this for salads and stuff and use bog standard olive oil if you’re going to throw it in a frying pan 🙂

I’ve seen a few people on these forums mention the improvement with acid reflux. Mine disappeared overnight. No big surprise – I know I have it when I eat crap and don’t when I don’t! That said, I hadn’t specifically made the link with starchy carbs, but there does seem to be a connection.

I prefer to look at all the folk in the Med countries that I have visited over the years and who use olive oil much more than us.
They don’t seem to have anything seriously wrong with them so I will believe that rather than some research found on the internet and probably sponsored by a food company.

I’m not diabetic either, just a bit overweight, and I read the book and started eating the Mediterranean style diet and the weight has been dropping off very steadily (3.7kg since 29/01. BMI now 27.2). I don’t count calories because I don’t have the patience for it, and I’m not aiming for 800 calories a day anyway, but just cutting out refined starchy carbs and eating more veg and full fat dairy instead seems to be the big difference. And the food keeps me fuller a lot longer (swapping my morning toast for an egg and tomato has been a huge help!) I rarely feel the need to snack. Also my nightly reflux, which seemed to be triggered by starches or sugars has almost completely gone.
I can’t be very active at the moment because of a foot injury, but once that’s sorted and I’m back to walking long distances and a bit of running I will up my carb intake a little for the calories I’ll need.

So, I recommend the book for the diet suggestions even if you’re not diabetic or prediabetic!

Ive always cooked with olive oil but recently become aware of information saying that it is harmful to health. Having browsed the web the information is contradictory so I am non the wiser. I assume that Michael Moseley is aware of the controversy and believes it to be safe to use given the dietary advice in his book. I would be very interested to hear people’s views. I hope to start the BSD diet next week.

Thanks Karen,
I’ll post on this thread next week. Yes I started on a Friday, normally it’d be a Monday preceded by a weekend blow out! But I thought I’d try and take ‘control’ straight away. Good luck with it.
James

Oh dear, so many of us with the same problem! I had counseling years ago to help me deal with a traumatic childhood but was not able to address the worst part. It is all tightly shut in the box in my head but we are products of our childhood. I did weight watchers successfully for years but abandoned it when I moved over to clean eating.
As I have mentioned I am also vegetarian. I bought Rose Elliots book, low carb veggie but to be honest am disappointed as it does not fit in with my clean eating principles. The BSD is so different from my normal eating it makes it difficult to get on with it. I agree that sugar is the real enemy and although I have siblings with type 1 diabetes I do not think I show any signs of being even pre diabetic. I am over weight but to be fair to me I am 59, had three children and six pregnancies and a total hysterectomy at the age of 44 for health reasons. So my tummy is bigger than it should be!
I lead a healthy life on my fledgling smallholding spending lots of time outside with chickens, ducks and geese. Soon we will add bees to our smallholding. Possibly this year a pair of in milk goats for milk and cheese. I cook almost everything from scratch…today’s bread is on the go just now..so it is hard to check the calorie content. I avoid factory made food as much as possible. I am comfortable where I am and it has taken a long time to get here. At the mere mention of diet I go into sabotage mode. There is far more to life than being a size 10.

I’ve got Sarah Wilson’s book. Thanks Janet1973 for your post – in fact I’ve just been reading/enjoying yours and antielil’s chat to each other on another forum (it is so easy to lose the thread so to speak!).

I am with you 100% – sugar is poison. My children are bored of what they call “lectures” and I call “education” but as a family we are gradually reducing the sugar intake significantly. The trouble is, when I am in the grip of it, I go underground and stuff it in secretly. I am finding reading these forums helpful – provided I don’t sit for hours reading them, which is also easily done.

Having stuffed my face this morning, I intend to drink lots of water with lemon, walk, fast for the rest of the day and cold turkey on the sugar tomorrow. Back to meal replacement shakes for a while, I think, as they remove the need to make any kind of food choices at all.

Tentative steps …. thank you ….

I’m doing this for two reasons – one, I’m about 10kg over a “normal” BMI and have been ever since I had my youngest child (who is now 14!). Two, my husband is type 2 diabetic controlled by tablets at the moment, but neither of us are getting any younger and we both want to live to a healthy old age. The first week on the 800 BSD was tough, but I’m pleased to say I’m 2kg lighter than when I started so that’s a big incentive to continue. I did lapse a bit when a colleague brought in some birthday cupcakes, but I found I didn’t really enjoy it at all as it was way too sweet and sickly. I have found myself craving toast, but I know it’s not actual hunger, more habit.

But now comes a bigger challenge than avoiding the breadbin – eating out.
Has anyone got any ideas for restaurants (chains like Pizza Express/Cafe Rouge/Giraffe, etc.) where there are low carb options that I could pick? We’ve promised to take our teenagers out for a meal so I don’t want to disappoint them, or put myself in the way of too much temptation…

Hi James,

I’m starting the diet next Thursday, I know it’s a random date but it makes sense to me! I’m reading through the recipes and I’m looking forward to starting.

I’m glad to hear it’s working for you, if you still want a buddy next week then I’ll be here.

All the best

Karen

Hi all,

Just finished my first week on the BSD, and lost 7.8lb and down to 228.4lb. Aiming to go sub 220lb (but 210lb is the ultimate target) as I do Judo and want to complete in the sub 100kg category. Good progress in the first week, but daily weight drop off slowed as per many of the other comments on the Forum. Does any one want a ‘diet buddy’ and to post weekly goals and progress towards them to keep each other motivated?

I put the shopping list together for week 2 last night. I must say that I’m surprised at how unhungry I have been particularly after the first three days. I’m really enjoying the food, and cooking.

Keep going for it everyone out there, I’m sure that by following this plan and lifestyle change we’ll all feel better for it.
Cheers James

Sugar is an addiction, a worldwide one, much bigger than drugs or alcohol or any other addiction. Probably 90% of Brits are addicted and it starts from the very first spoon of pureed fruit that is put into our mouths as babies. So Jane, its not that you are weak; you are fighting an addiction. Two excellent books on sugar addiction and how to break it are Sarah Wilson’s ‘I quit sugar’ and David Gillespie’s ‘The Sweet Poison Quit Plan’. Both are founder members of this new diet revolution which we are now part of with bsd. We all need to think about sugar in a different way. Its not a treat, its a poison.

Thanks for reply, auntylil!

I am brilliant at telling friends what they need to do nutrition wise etc and I have had counselling – have rattled and aired all the skeletons and am pretty well adjusted – no nasties! Just an iron willed inner saboteur. Like you, I treat myself with non-calorific goodies (!) but once I fall off the sugar wagon I plunge headlong into continual bad food choices. I need to adopt the “one day at a time” approach – the space it takes in my head and emotions is exhausting. Although no-one would have a clue as to how I struggle as I come across as one of life’s bubbly and cuddly people (aka slimmer person weeping on the inside) !!

I know what I need to do, am desperate to do, want to do, but I just fail at DOING it –aaaaagggghh !

3. Stabilizes Blood Sugar and May Prevent Diabetes

Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, not only lowers blood cholesterol levels, but it also helps slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. This is hugely important both for people with diabetes and for anyone else with blood sugar challenges or metabolic syndrome. Chickpea flour has a form of complex carbohydrate called starch that the body is able to slowly digest and use for energy over time in a much more beneficial way than consuming refined carbohydrates.

There’s a lot of evidence pointing to the fact that high-fiber diets are a much more effective type 2 diabetes natural cure than diets low in fiber. Legumes in general cause less of a rise in blood glucose than foods like potatoes or almost any sort of wheat-based flour food.

While refined flours can quickly raise blood sugar levels and lead to “spikes and dips” in energy, chickpea flour is a slower-burning carbohydrate that doesn’t impact glucose levels as substantially, which means it has a lower glycemic load. Eating more low-glyecmic foods is a way to naturally reverse diabetes, have more energy and prevent sugar cravings

Chickpea Flour Nutrition Facts

Eating more chickpeas and chickpea flour is a great way to increase your intake of fiber. And because they’re such a high source of fiber, many studies show that eating more chickpeas, and pretty much all types of legumes, can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes and even some types of cancer.

Chickpeas also offer a good array of vitamins and minerals. For example, they’re thought to have calcium and magnesium in an ideal ratio, a very high amount of folate — which is essential for a healthy pregnancy — good dose of energizing B vitamins like vitamin B6 and a decent amount of heart-healthy potassium. They even contain some of the powerful antioxidant mineral selenium, as well as iron and plenty of plant-based protein. Gluten-free diets are also becoming more popular, so you’ll love the addition of this flour to your pantry if you’ve recently decided to go gluten-free.

½ cup of chickpea flour (or besan) has about: (2)

178 calories
3 grams of fat
10 grams protein
5 grams fiber
5 grams of sugar (no added sugar)
101 milligrams folate (50 percent DV)
0.75 milligrams manganese (37 percent DV)
0.4 milligrams copper (21 percent DV)
76 milligrams magnesium (19 percent DV)
146 milligrams phosphorus (15 percent DV)
0.2 milligrams thiamine (15 percent DV)
2 milligrams iron (12 percent DV)
0.25 milligrams vitamin B6 (12 percent DV)
778 milligrams potassium (11 percent DV)
3 milligrams zinc (9 percent DV)
7 milligrams selenium (6 percent DV)

Hi Cherrianne
thanks for that, I’ll have another look at the flour this weekend although I’m sure I read somewhere that the carbs are the good, hard to digest ones. Either way, it’s still a lot better than regular flour.
I’m delighted with the way the sugar levels are dropping as that, to me, is by far the most importaant aspect of this diet.