Well done Merseychic and charliebee!

It’s looking like those of us with not so much to lose are losing slower? After losing 8lb week one and then nothing for the following 2 weeks, as you know I embarked on the extreme version. Well not every day. But I have been well under the 800 every day, some more than others. I tend now to eat just twice a day. I might have smoked salmon with a poached egg and a mushroom for breakfast and then a piece of steak with green beans or a bit of fish. Occasionally i’ll have some yoghurt with blueberries.

So since last Saturday i’ve lost 4lb. I’ve now just got a stone to lose, but would prefer to lose a stone and a half. I’m on day 28 now.

I bought one of those vibration plate machines that tones up your muscles and helps with weight loss. It only arrived on Wednesday so i’m hoping that helps with water retention too.

Welcom wyrdisister,

Really it’s high carb foods – rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, exotic fruits including bananas and some root veg.

You will need full fat milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt – not low fat versions since they are loaded with sugar.

plenty of leafy green veg and coloured veg like red/green/yellow peppers etc

and eggs, lots of eggs. I can’t comment on coconut flour since i’ve not used it.

Hi Cas, if you’re doing this to manage diabetes then the white flour and pasta are out. See pages 87-90 of the book for an explanation of why easily digestible carbs are “baddies”. Sorry to disappoint you 🙁 I used to love ricotta ravioli too!
Perhaps you could mix the ricotta and Parmesan with some chopped spinach and do it in alternate layers of a ‘lasagne’ type dish but using courgettes sliced lengthways instead of pasta sheets. It’s the same taste and texture but much fewer carbs to wreak havoc with your blood sugar and weight. I’m just about to post my recipe for this. 🙂

Hi Nicky,
Given that your blood sugars keep on rising during the morning, I’m wondering about you stopping your lantus. Did you do this under advice or by yourself?
Is your GP/ diabetes nurse on board with you doing the diet? It might be better to check with them and review the best type of insulin for you if your diet has changed quite radically.
Lantus works by stopping the liver releasing stored blood sugar so you probably wouldn’t have experienced the dawn effect previously. Hopefully these spikes are due to your liver now being able to rid itself of the stores of sugar.
Depending on over what period your blood sugar rises ( ie: is it during the time your short acting insulin should be working), you might have to temporarily slightly increase your morning novo rapid until you’re sure you’ve exhausted all the stored blood sugar. Best to do this under guidance though, and with some frequent blood sugar monitoring to ensure you don’t have any hypos. Blood sugars in the 12-14 range will leave you tired and fuzzy headed. All the best 🙂

Is the grain Freekeh allowed? It’s wheat that has been harvested while still green and smoked.

I have been on the 5:2 diet since January with the support of an app called Lifesome which specifically supports this (& other) diets. Will the BSD 800 cal be accessible on this app? I hope so. It helps to keep me honest.

I’ve been on the 5:2 since January and lost 3kilos which has I’m happy about but am hoping to lose faster on the BSD5:2 method. Regarding bread, how safe is sourdough which contains no sugar?
On another related matter, I realise that commercial bread may have lots of sugar but when I make my own bread there is one teaspoon of sugar in the entire loaf. Is this harmful?

Thanks Cherrianne.

Swapping flour is no option. The end result will not be the same. This is for Ricotta Ravioli. Out of a batch I make about 330 fairly large ones. I mix 2 kilos of white flour with 10 Jumbo eggs plus 2 kilos ricotta for filling mixed with another 10 Jumbo Eggs and some parmesan cheese. To me it contains heaps of protein but in calorie/kilojoules term about 90% of the calories are from the flour. It seems to me that the impact should be minor but I don’t want to stuff up the diet plan once I start on it on Monday.

Regards

Cas

Hi Cas, Could you possibly swap the flour for a lower carb/GI one such as coconut or chick pea flour. Generally white flour shouldn’t be consumed on this diet because it is an easily digestible form of carbohydrate and high GI.
How much white flour is required and what were you making? Maybe someone will be able to suggest an alternative for you.

Thanks guys for all the great suggestions Much appreciated.

Is it Ok if on occasions one consumes a meal of 200 calories but which contain flour? I know FLOUR is a baddie but if it is still within the 800 calories for the day does it matter? By my calculation about 90% of the calories come from flour.

Look after yourself, Sue, and keep us posted x

Reading all your posts, one thing that strikes me is that if you had gone along to your unsupportive GPs and nurses, and not told them what you were doing, letting them think you were following their advice, they would be heartily congratulating you, not wagging their fingers! We are responsible for our own health and wellbeing, and we alone are in control of what we eat and drink. No one can force us to stop this diet and follow what we know doesn’t work just because the received wisdom say so! I do realise that I am lucky in not being diabetic or prediabetic, (as far as I know, anyway) and that it may not be that simple for those already on medication, nevertheless, no doctor or nurse can make you do anything you don’t want to do!
Seeing the success everyone is having following this programme is truly inspiring.
I was at a speakers club meeting this week, and someone was asked to speak about the book that has had most impact on their life- and guess which book he chose- he has just started. I suggested he join the forums!
MaryR

Hi all, read the book. Taking the plunge. Is there a clear list of foods to avoid, I know it covered it in the book but would be good to take shopping. Not sure where coconut flour fits? Any ideas?

Hi, I haven’t seen a shopping list with the recepies. I use spark people.com to track my food and exercise, i think you can enter the food in and save it. I have the feeling it can generate a shopping list for you. Its sad it wasn’t added with the book.

Hi, M and Eureka,
I have spent a happy half hour having a good look at the ingredients in all the tonics in Waitrose!
1. Fever Tree: Light is sweetened with fructose, so not an option a far as I’m concerned. All the other FT options, Classic, Mediterranean, and Lemon, all with cane sugar, and cals per 100ml all the same at 36.
2. Bottle Green: Classic, Cotswold Spring water, and Elderflower, all with sugar, and cals are 29 or 30.
all these are the same price, in 500ml bottles, apart from the FT lemon which come sin packs of 4 200ml bottles and is more expensive.
3. Fentimans: all have sugar, 23cals per 100ml, and more expensive than the others. And the “light”version appears to have exactly the same ingredients and calorie count!
4. The Waitrose own brand is sugar, no artificial sweeteners, but has quinine flavouring not quinine, is 31 cals per 100ml, and 50p/L
5. All the Schweppes ones have artificial sweeteners, so again no an option for me.
So, once the eight weeks are over (three more now!) it’ll be Bottle Green for me, since I don’t like Fentimans- too strongly botanical. Unless I decide to try that recipe!
Next question, whats your favourite gin? Cork ,or Bombay Sapphire Star of Bombay with lime, or Hendricks with cucumber, for me!
MaryR

Thanks guys, really appreciate the thoughts. It’s definitely a delicate balance to know how to proceed. I think that given this has been relatively easy, I’m going to continue with a calorie restricted 5&2 regime. Extra carbs from whole grains and fruit and dairy for the 5 days on (with appropriate protein and fat increase also). I’ll try a target of around 1500 cals per day so I continue the energy deficit each day. As I said ,I’m missing fruit through the day and a slice of toast in the morning. Add a cup of milk and a bit of extra dairy for the calcium and I think that’ll be pretty good! I’m only doing this because I want the extra weight gone sooner rather than later and to get back to a healthy BMI.

As Hashimoto noted that the important thing is to make this style of eating a lifelong commitment rather than fall back into the things that got us in trouble in the first place.

I feel that Dr Mosley’s thinking on the 5&2 is that there is less likelihood of a “backslide” if people only have to worry about the calorie count for 2 days per week, but I’m happy to remain “controlled” for those 5 days as well. This diet has changed my view on food from being a “Live to Eat” kind of guy to an “Eat to Live” zen master! It’s incredible that 8 weeks can overcome 5 decades of programming!

One thing I didn’t mention is that my legs have felt really heavy and tired in the afternoons before my walks or rides in the last week or so, so I think that my body is telling me that the 8 weeks is probably enough for me and I’m going to the 5&2 now rather than continuing for another fortnight. I really want to exercise but it’s been a struggle the last couple of days.

However, definitely going to do the 800 cal fast twice a week.

Keep us posted. I’m sure as more people finish the 8 weeks, there will be plenty of extra activity in this forum with questions and suggestions!

All the best!

Thank you hashimoto.

Last night I dreamt I ate a bowl of pasta and some other carb treat. I woke this morning feeling very disoriented as I believed I had done so and needed to rectify my lapse in discipline. What a relief to discover, I actually hadn’t done so!

I am nearly 3 weeks into the diet and feeling great. However, during the week I went to a bulk lolly and nut shop to purchase Easter eggs for my son’s kindergarten easter egg hunt and discovered a sugar free Belgian chocolate made with stevia (the brand is BelArte). I’ve never seen such a chocolate before so decided to buy a block (85g) of the dark chocolate & cocoa nibs. My intention was to eat it slowly at the conclusion of the diet. Well I couldn’t resit trying just one piece, and then wanted another, and another but did manage to stop at 3 pieces or one row (about 10g). It’s now in the baking cupboard with all the other cooking chocolate and sweet treats that I do manage to resist. I don’t think a small piece of dark chocolate (sugar free or not) every now and again is a bad thing while on this diet. It is certainly something I will return to as part of the long term maintenance program. And Michael is rather partial to the odd piece of the dark stuff himself! In fact, he mentioned in his interview this week in Australia on ABC RN Life Matters program that the PREDIMED trial out of Spain, allowed a small piece of dark chocolate and a glass of red wine (every day?)

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/02/25/172872408/spanish-test-mediterranean-diet-shines-in-clinical-study

Thank you. It just goes to show “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” John Lennon?

What has happened to Mum hasn’t really sunk in, but seeing the MRI puts life into perspective. I feel even more determined to get to grips with my weight and my blood sugar. I don’t want to be a 3rd generation female who has a stroke. My gran was well overweight and a smoker, my Mum is a non smoker and thin (a TOFI perhaps?), I am a non smoker but overweight. The only thing in my favour is my blood pressure is always normal.
Day 13 weight 10st 10lbs
Blood sugar 12.2

Have eaten more and drunk more fluids today, and although my tummy is making a lot of noise – I haven’t felt hungry today.

I’ve been obese since my early 20’s and I’m 62 now so I look on being diagnosed as T2 a blessing in a strange kind of way. I’ve yo yo dieted all my life but now I have a rock solid reason to keep the weight off for good. I have another 5 stones to go, but for once I’m looking forward to the journey.

Yes, we certainly are all in it together. I did slim fast very successfully about 16 years ago. I lost about a stone and half for my wedding.

I think it will probably give you an encouraging head start on your weight loss while you get your head around the diet.

I decided it had to be done when I heard Saint Dr Mosley talking about the way to success being rapid weight loss. I never lose rapidly, big then again I had never done 800 calories before! Its much easier than you imagine.

I’ve lost about 6 lbs in three weeks which is very good for me
(While its great to hear other people’s experiences, I never compare myself to anyone else in terms of weight loss, it would be too destructive). I hope to lose around two stone. I just keep meals simple and count the calories. If I come in around 850 a day, then I’m chuffed. I’m not doing anything like as much exercise as you. You may well find you have lots of people telling you you need to eat more than 800 calories but you will have to make your own mind up as to how many calories to have in your exercise days.

So I hope you enjoy your class tomorrow and you’ll soon start to see some results.

Way to go, pesco! Well done 🙂

Is milk ( skimmed) allowed or do you have to use it as part of the calories? Thanks

Lynne, you sound just like me lol 🙂

No worries Hashimoto.

I found this recipe disappointing. In fact, both the guilt free baking recipes I have tried have been awful and are a stark contrast to all the other everyday recipes which are overwhelmingly delicious. Also, I am renowned for my baking skills and I’m afraid to say that there is no substitute for flour (or almond meal), sugar and eggs!

With regards to the muffin recipe, owing to the coconut flour which absorbs liquids at a great knots, I added more fresh orange juice but this still didn’t fix the problem. As a result, the mixture was too gluggy and the muffins were dense and very boring to eat. Still, I’ve eaten 2 so far and have frozen the rest. However, I’m not feeling very motivated to get one out and eat it! (Although I am going on a long bush walk today so may take one with me.)

The brownies were likewise disappointing but this was more to do with the (lack) of chocolate flavour as I’m not fond of coco nibs. I’m slowing making my way through them by having one most evenings following dinner but more because I don’t want to through them out as I loathe wasting food (and herein lies, in part, my problem!)

Aly, don’t worry about ‘falling off the wagon’ today, antibiotics do make you feel awful – so does a chest infection. To be honest I am really impressed that you have been as successful as you have given your current situation. I always find I need to eat a reasonable amount before I take an antibiotic tablet or my stomach gets upset.
There are obviously a few of us older ones on here, I’m glad we found this diet before we got any older!
Tomorrow is another day, one blip out of a future life time on this diet is nothing. You’re doing well 🙂

Thanks Bill1954. I understand the dawn effect but when the rising occurs during the day despite exercise and usual insulin I am concerned that this regime will not work for me. Is it just a matter of persistence? I find it very difficult to deal with b.s. above 8. Also have no energy and definitely a fuzzy brain (more so than usual).

Hello Nuttella and others,

Although I am a metabolically fit and healthy person and my blood test results this week showed all is well, type 2 diabetes runs in my family. Both my normal weight father and his father acquired the condition following stressful life events in middle to later age. Now middle aged myself and weighing more than I would like, I decided to give Mosley’s 8 week blood sugar diet a go. I am nearly 3 weeks in and already the benefits are paying off. I have lost close to 5kg in weight and 5cm off my waist. I do not feel at all hungry or deprived. The recipes in the book are mostly incredibly delicious and although I am eating the same foods I would normally (just 800 calories a day of them and little to no carbs), I am cooking different recipes which keeps me engaged and interested in the diet. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Fin1965, I attend the gym 4 times a week and on at least 3 of those visits, I burn 500 calories. I do not make up the difference by eating more on those days. As I am also a follower of high intensity interval training (HIT aka Fast Exercise), HIT is known to reduce one’s appetite for up to 7 hours following a workout. This is definitely true for me. I am not hungry but make myself eat breakfast upon my return from the gym and then approximately 4 hours later, I eat lunch. By doing this much exercise, I will just lose more weight!

Hi Janet, my, I haven’t done any knitting in a squillion of years!, but it certainly might help. I love reading all the posts though, that’s a good idea of yours to sit down in my risky eating time to catch up on everyone’s posts. I’m using slim fast at the mo, they’re sweet, too sweet really, I’m more of a savoury eater, but I just think of it as fuel for the time being until I lose weight and re educate my relationship with food to being more normal. There’s not a lot you can do to Jazz the shakes up really apart from a cocktail umbrella or a fancy glass!!, no I don’t do that! I’m so looking forward to eating real food, nourishing food but more mindfully. So tomorrow, I must not take my first shake before ten, well it’ll be much later as I’ve got a body pump class in the morning. How are you tackling this, what’s your plan? Good luck, we’re all in it together.

Thanks captainlynne

Hi as I am about to start the bsd, I`am concerned about exercise and being on a low calorie diet .I walk mimium of 3 miles per day but I also run 3 times a week 2×6 1×10 miles ,will I have calories to cover this ? I haven’t decided which plan would be best.I am not a diabetic but have a awful diet ,basically eating too much suger ,carbs etc And feel pretty dreadful and look pretty dreadful to ! Any advice please

I have recently been diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic (my fasting results were 7.0 & 7.5) and after reading the eight week blood sugar diet am adopting lots of the ideas and strategies outlined in the book. I am not on any medication for my diabetes and will be retested in 3 months time. I have a heart condition and take warfarin and statins and my diabetes was picked up my annual blood test.
If i manage to get my blood sugar results back to normal by diet and exercise am i still classed as diabetic?
I don’t carry a lot of weight but am the classic TOFI and have lost an inch of belly fat and 3 kgs of weight in two weeks by cutting sugar & carbs and exercising twice a day and really would like to know if i achieve my goals will i still be considered as a diabetic?

Hi LauraH. I asked the team that question and they said it was ok to stay on the 800 for a few extra weeks as long as I felt OK and had no problems, then to go to 5:2.

Some folk posting on here who have more weight to lose are planning to stay on the 800 longer term, some moving to 5:2 or a variation of it (2:5, 4:3, 6:1).

It was pointed out earlier that folk with a gastric band fitted are permanently on a severely restricted calorie count, and that seems ok, so why can’t we?

Hope that helps.

Hi. I have quite a lot of weight to loose and just wanted to check how long I can stay on the 800kcal? Should I do 8 weeks then do 5:2 for a bit before going back to another 8 weeks?

Hashimoto – love that about food not poison. Must write that in my notebook 😊

Hi Hashimoto. Might try that on Excel when I get back from holiday next weekend. Not too familiar with it though, so might take me a while to get my head round it. Like the idea of taking print out to the GP 😃. If I can ever get my tablet, netbook laptop (all or any) talking to the printer again. At the moment it looks like I need a new printer 😱 Again, when I get home!

I do wonder how much the nurse has reported back to the doctor! Just hoping the new nurse is not going to be a diabetes nurse!

Glad you like the image of marching on with the flag. Folk don’t realise that when they push my back against the wall I might wobble for a minute or two, but then I come out fighting. They learn 😃

For fin65 The shakes sound like a great idea can I ask what one are you using. I want to get some in before I start on Monday. Just until I get the hangof the whole thing.

Aly, we’re hearing you. Sorry the wheels fell off! Tomorrow is another day! Hope you’re feeling better soon xxx

Fell off big time today! Maybe the awful antibiotics or just being ill. Will be back on it tomorrow.
I am 59 and feel every bit of it just now.

Well done Fin, you survived your first day!

I do find it much easier to start eating later in the day, its as though my tummy doesn’t wake up until I give it that first meal. But you will find what works for you over the next few days.

It sounds like you might benefit from finding something productive to do for a couple of hours in the evening; maybe being here and reading all the forums or perhaps some knitting or something equally daring?

All the best for tomorrow. Which shakes are you using?

Thank you for all your helpful comments & it is great hearing how well you have done & that other people are in a similar situation to myself.

It was very nice and my dog really appreciated getting the yoghurt pot! I really like that about having food not poison, will have to remember that one!

Hi lynne, great minds! I record everything i eat in a notebook too, and record all data like calories, steps walked, weight, body fat percentage, bmi on an excel spreadsheet then i can take print out to drs with me. My asthma nurse liked it. – especially the colour coding. When i see dr on 18th i will ask for print out to be added to my notes.

I think i will actually say to dr that if all the diabetic patients in the practice were encouraged to follow this the practice could run it’s own mini study. Sadly, as we have both been told, some people are just happy to take tablets..

I love the image of marching witb low carb flag! :). 🙂

I agree with everything sos has suggested. I’d also chuck in that maybe you are still going through a period of detoxing and your skin is the visible signs of it. It could well be the toxins that your liver is releasing during this period of cleansing and things will improve.

Its not vain to be worried; image and self image does matter. Having had terrible skin for the last thirty three years I know how low it can make you feel!

It also seems a common theme that weight loss will change/lessen at some stage during the programme. But those who have doing it the longest are still getting results by the end of their 8 weeks.

Just out of interest, has anything else changed? Are you busy at work? Doing more exercise? Sleeping badly? Using stimulants like coffee to get you through? Any of these could be having an impact too.

Well done on your achievements so far Rose.

Ooohh, Janet, sounds lovely. I will have some flaked almonds with raspberries with my brekkie yoghurt. It’s funny how some days can cause differing reactions from the same person. The smell of sweet stuff baking in a supermarket today nauseated me but two days earlier the smell of chocolate going past Thorntons was inviting but I had no problem turning down an easter egg the other day. Weird.
So proud of you not having that chocolate mint. You had food instead of poison 🙂

Hashimoto, I’m 65 so I’m with you, auntylil and Bill. The Golden (or silver) oldies 😃

Thanks for all ideas so far, I cook a lot from scratch but mainly meat dishes as five meat eaters in the house so been neglecting myself. Love mushrooms hummus most veg and soup.