Well done you and I get the spirit of what you’re saying and don’t disagree entirely, however if you read the book, which i’m sure you have, you will note reasons for sticking to 800 calories and that is the figure that is used from start to finish.

We are all doing this for different reasons. I am only marginally overweight (26 BMI) but my waist should be slimmer to be healthy as I get older, so for me it is about shifting that internal fat and not losing weight so much, although that will likely be a bi-product. So for me, keeping the calories to a minimum is important.

Further to the above; call me old fashioned, but I like things to do as they say on the tin!

BTW is everyone peeing like a horse too????

Many of the people are on here due to over consuming the wrong foods. I agree, lots of experimenting in my kitchen because the recipes that are included in the book are mainly dull and take lots time to prepare. I spent most of my time cooking. I often say to myself ‘thank god that I haven’t got children or a full time job’. I couldn’t do the diet if I had.
I have a few meals that I rotate because they are within my time and skill limits

Just looking through the contents of a Skinnylicious soup carton in Waitrose and they’re 113 calories per half carton with the second ingredient SUGAR! By comparison, New Covent Garden wild mushroom includes cream and wine, no sugar, and just 81 kcal per half carton. You have to be on your guard don’t you?
1 week in, 7lbs lost, 3″ off waist, only hungry when I’ve been to my mums, where fattening food is EVERYWHERE. Otherwise all good.

Hi Janey

What I do is to drink LOADS! I am majoring on fruit tea and fizzy water which seems to keep the hunger pangs away mostly. Make sure you’re eating lots of leafy green veg as well and you fat intake is very important, as fat triggers the Leptin response that turns off the “I’m still hungry” false message. Also it does seem to get easier after about day 3, so stick with it!

Good Luck!
TP

Sensible advice from Bill. The BSD is going to become a way of life for you and it isn’t feasible to count calories every meal for the rest of your life.
Often people don’t stick to diets because of the weighing and counting calories involved. I can imagine it would be frustrating if that’s the kind of diet that suits you best, but give it a go because it has made such a radical difference to my blood sugar levels and there are so many others on this forum who report the same changes and weight loss.
Like Bill, I watch my carb intake and stick within a range that I know will suit me.
It is more the principles of the diet we need to learn, and the recipes are a guide and example of the range of foods you can eat. Many people are experimenting with healthy, unprocessed foods for the first time, so it’s good for them to see what can be done.

How do you quantify a ‘handful’ a ‘sprinkle’ or a for a variation in food product size? I gained weight and became diabetic due to my over food portion size. I noticed that gradually I was adding more on this diet and therefore needed to weigh food before adding it to a meal. Everything has a calorific value and for this diet, they should have been calculated before publishing the book… for those that need to stick by rules. I’m sure that most people who are on this diet are taking it very seriously and want to tackle their diabetes.
I wouldn’t say being hung up about calories is a bad thing. Even if it retrains people to be aware of how much they are eating for years to come.

Hi – my blood sugar diet has started today. I am a busy mum of two on a teacher training course – and want to lose weight and sort out my blood sugars prior to my 40th birthday which is a big milestone for me in three months time. I am on day two and to be honest really hungry! I don’t know whether 800 calories is just too low for me or if I have just got into the habit of eating too much nd am used to it hence feling really hungry now! Any advice appreciated!

I hope this isn’t a daft question, but is the 800 calories important for any other reason other than it’s a low amount so will help us lose weight? Would eating slightly more calories but sticking to the principles of the diet have the same beneficial effects, albeit slower, as sticking to the 800?

The reason I ask is I’m on day 6 of the diet and surprisingly I’m not finding it too bad at the moment and am not overly hungry on it, but I’m feeling really knackered for lack of a better word. I have quite an active day including a daily 10 mile round trip walk to work, so I was thinking I might feel less drained if I upped the daily calories a little? I don’t want to do this though if the 800 has other benefits.

Alternatively, any advice on getting more energy would be appreciated.

Thanks

Steph thats a fantastic start, well done you !!!
It is amazing how easy this diet is to adapt to and the fact that you don’t really ever feel hungry.
You do need to have fat in your diet so full milk won’t harm you as long as you count it in your calorie intake.
Personall I stick to semi skimmed.

Hi Aliba,
Thank you so much! Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond.

Your words have been very helpful, I really appreciate the response. I am on day 4, and according to my scales have lost 8lbs already!! and I am finding it so much easier than I thought!! I even had a big steak with rocket and a big mushroom for dinner last night, yummy!

The only thing I’ve found hard is not drinking lots of coffee, I used to drink loads. But I’m trying different herbal teas, in between a couple of coffees. Ooh, I didn’t think about the full fat milk- I’ve been drinking skimmed, do you think I should switch to full fat? Isn’t that loads more calories? I suppose I would use less?

I’m the one rambling on now!! Sorry.
And thanks again!!
Steph

oh dear,
your body is just readjusting to processing the harder to digest carbs and probably extra fibre in your diet.
I had this week 1 but it settled down after that

I think you’ll find that most of the recipes were found elswhere on the web and replicated for the site.
Is it just me or are people getting too hung up on calories ?
The theory is that fast weight loss due to not eating the wrong kind of carbs will lower blood sugar . I don’t count calories but I’m losing weight and getting good sugar readings.
Cut out the bad carbs and see how you do, ifyou don’t get good results, then worry about the calories.

Firstly were you hydrated when you started your session. Some BP medications work by decrease fluid in the body. Also cutting calories and starchy carbs has a dialectic effect. Secondly, warm up for 20mins at a low intensity. Give you body a chance get get the fat metabolism going. The pt session should take in consideration your nutritional plan. If you haven’t all ready I would get clearance from your GP.

Five chips !!!! go and stand in the corner and wear the carbo hat !!
Ok you had a slight fall, today climb back aboard and continue the journey … Simples 😉

Oh no this is not good news.

I’m just past week 2 and losing weight pretty consistently, but I’m repeating the same meals in week one as I like to use up all the ingredients.

Is My Fitness Pal the best place for checking the calorie content of individual ingredients?

I wonder if anyone has contacted Michael Mosley and his team about this?

Do you have confirmation that it was a hypo, ie a blood sugar reading ?
It could be other factors that made yopu feel like this.
On the occasions that I have had a hypo it manifested itself with profuse sweating, a headache and light headed feeling.
I keep a packet of glucose tablets handy for these occasions.

No calorie counting here, just using the right foods mixed with a generous portion of common sense.
15lb loss in 3 weeks and blood sugar reduced from 9.8 to 5.6
Cut our the carbs first and then worry about the calories if you don’t lose weight.

Yesterday I suffered a major hypo – never had one before. I had taken a BP tablet immediately prior to starting my session with PT and not eaten as I read it would be OK. Its definitely not! Had to break the BSD and eat carbs. BP was low and pulse just 45! Nervous now about continuing this diet although I have lost10 over 3 weeks. Do you think it would be better to include a little carb like porridge or is this likely to have been a one off? I am not diabetic nor as far as I know pre diabetic but do have fatty liver, my main reason for this diet.

Adam

Agreed. It comes over as careless and unprofessional.

Onwards and upwards – just have to count it all out individually and treat the recipes with caution.

Maybe the recipe author was tired at the time??

I agree – only on week 1 but last night I found the courgette prawn was grossly inaccurate and ambiguous. Lots of confusion around served 2 but the calories did not nearly add up and I double checked with my wife, who is infinitely better with numbers than me. We also used a few different calory tables as source info.
It’s disappointing as this for me, is the most time consuming and confusing area for the whole diet. I will now count it all myself.
Maybe the recipe writer was suffering from low blood sugar??

This has also been my experience with the recipes and calorie count elgordo. I have counted the calorific value of several of the meals which has left me confused and I am now counting every calorie when making up the recipes. This is very time consuming and frustrating as the book should give exact weights and grams of each ingredient..after all, we are dealing with nutrition and an overall balanced diet for people with a medical condition.

I have lost weight but I found out in week one, that I would use the book as motivational sauce and guide rather than an accurate measurement of my food intake.

I wish you well on your diet. I have lost 13lb in 3.5 weeks, so it can be done. I just wish the recipes were weight and calorie counted for me and not so vague.

I stopped loosing weight in week 3 so I started logging all my food on mfp although still following the recipes in the book. The recipes with nuts are the main culprit – a handful of nuts etc so I have really cut most of the nuts out of them and just snack on a few nuts (weighed and logged) if I feel hungry. The portobello mushrooms with pine nuts did log the same cals on mfp so that one is OK. Now I have put the meals into mfp, it is quick to log the meal again as I eat it and check what adaptations I have made to keep the calories where they should be. I’ve had a couple of tricky weeks with family meals out etc where I have just stayed the same weight wise but happy to report the weight is coming off again.

Thanks for the tip. It is weak, but when it’s the only ‘coffee’ taste you can digest, you settle for it! However I haven’t touched it since starting so I’ll stick to my fruity infusions for now.

Glad to hear that – things are very unpredictable at the moment so I’m looking forward it settling down a bit. I’ve been on the plan for a little over a week and despite eating so much less I feel a bit bloated and peckish at the same time!

Wow Sue 4 and a half tablespoons of coconut flour ???
I followed the recipe exactly using one and a half tablespoons and my mixture was a thick paste rather than a batter.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Exactly my point

So, half of 558 = 279. The recipe states that an individual portion is 390 so even with your calculation that makes the recipe more than 100 calories out as they state the recipe serves two.

100+ calorie inaccuracy is not rounding up or down to the nearest 10

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/31/12-rules-good-nights-sleep

Link to 12 sleep tips.
The Headspace app is great.

There is an argument that dips in blood sugar levels during the night wakes you up, so eating your evening meal later may help.

Writing down concerns and things to do before you go to bed is a great help. So is keeping a note pad next to your bed so if you wake up with ideas going round and round in your brain you can jot them down.

I’ve adapted to my sleep patterns. I wake up at 4am, so that’s when my day starts. It’s a running joke at work.

Xx

Hi Penelope
Half a cup of oat bran is 23g carb and 167cals. Wheat bran is 6g carb and 84cals. The counts are for unprocessed bran. Even though the oat bran is higher I seem to recall that it has a lower GI than wheat bran. You will have to decide whether to use it or not. If you need it to add fibre to help with digestion then why not try psyllium instead?

Oh dear, what a frustrating start for you elgordo. I checked it out for you on my app and it came to 558 cals but it is quite possibly more depending on what size leek or courgette you use.
The tablespoon of oil is 161cals, the beans are 160 cals and the prawns are 177 cals, that’s without the juice, veg etc.
The only thing I can think of is you may have missed an ingredient or typed in the wrong amount of something when doing your calculations.
The book does say the calories are rounded up or down to the nearest 10, and yes it does say the count is per portion.
You are right, there is so much to learn on this diet and everyone has their ups and downs in the first few weeks. Much of it goes against previous thinking on how to lose weight and manage diabetes but it is backed up by sound research from a variety of sources.
The forum is here to help and you’ll always find someone to give you advice or support. Stick with it, and when you find yourself confused or needing a boost just post on here. Good luck with it all, no doubt we’ll be hearing about your successes soon

Thanks, great idea, I will download it now. Cut the carbs and dropped another 2.5lbs so now lost 1 stone! Just hitting a combo of flax seed, chia seeds and hemp seeds in my morning yogurt so hope that will start sorting out the issue!
I was hitting loads of greens but have not done so for a week or so, best get back on the case.
Appreciate the advice and hope it is going well for you too?

Hi , I wonder if anyone out there can tell me if oat bran and wheat bran are allowable, or whether they’re too high in carbs? I find the website recommended really hard to navigate, and they don’t seem to list raw ingredients. Many thanks!

In the book and also recipes from Fast Beach Diet (Mimi Spencer), favoured cheeses seem to be mozzarella, feta and goats cheese.

Thanks for this – I’ll take a look.

Hello, can anyone tell me what the best cheese to have is? Im so brainwashed by low fat foods i really dont know what to choose. I know full fat is ok but what one……
Thanks!

Shadow – I was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 7 years ago, after checking my blood sugar on a friend’s meter and had reading of between 18 and 20. My symptoms were that I felt like I was slightly drunk and my concentration was terrible and I had no energy. My friend was shocked at the readings and made me phone the doctor’s straight away. I have done a fair amount of research since. The average amount of time someone has diabetes before they are diagnosed is 10 years! The longer you have it untreated the more damage it does to your body. By the time mine was diagnosed 1/3 of my kidney function had been lost. I also found out recently that I have scarring on my liver due to the buildup of stored fat. Eventually you can go into a coma with too much sugar but it is a very very very slow process.

A long time ago (mid 1990’s)I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and went on a low fat (high sugar) diet. With hindsight this is what possibly led to later problems.

On a positive note weight today is 10st 13lbs ( 3 lbs lost)
Possiby because of stress my blood reading is 11.

Made coconut flour flat bread but used 4 1/2 tablespoons of coconut flour because mixture seemed too runny with the 1 1/2 it said in the recipe.

Also made some coconut flour biscuit/cake things with a recipe I made up. Will try one tomorrow and if they seem edible will post the recipe.

I’m finding The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by S Phinney and J Volek very clear and helpful. It is very much in line with the advice being given from this site but as in book form, it has much further depth and detail. It’s available in hard copy but I’m finding it easy to use in the Kindle format.

Amazing and inspiring bill .I fell off the wagon tonight and had fish without the batter on but then had about five fatty chips! We got our beloved campervan back after a month off the road with a fuel pump gone which had to be sent away so went on family outing to mudeford and had fish and chips! Hope won’t be that bad an effect on my first week weigh in tomorrow morning!
I feel a lot better after the seven days, sleeping better and seem to have more energy which you wouldn’t have thought on 800 calories! I love doing spinach with homemade dressings from the book and salmon, anchovies which I love and sometimes feta cheese! Also managed my 1000 steps easily this week with extra energy for dog walking!
Will post my first weigh in tomorrow!

Having read in the book that tropical fruits are best avoided due to high sugar levels, why are passion fruit, melon orange and mango included in the recipes?
I am now on day 4 , instead of chomping at the bit for lunch at 12.00 today i didn’t eat until 3pm -I was shopping until then but not ravenous. My blood sugars have dropped from 6.4 on sunday to 5.6 today-lowest they have been for ages.
I am enjoying the recipes especially the portobello toast with goats cheese, and the blueberry and green tea shake was nice. If I feel peckish out come the roobush and ginger and lemon teas.

I’m on day three and i have to say the recipes in the book are very inaccurate and confusing – grrrrr

This is confusing enough as it is. Can someone please have a look and confirm if i’ve got this right or wrong:

Page 215 – Courgetti Prawns. It states ‘serves 2’ and gives a calorie count of 390 (at the start of the recipes on page 183 it states all calorie counts are for one person). I have added up the calorie count for the entire ingredints from a variety of different calorie food tables and keep getting 380-390. How can this serve 2????

Please let me know what you think.

Not helpful

Hi I have been interested in this diet for a while now, I am currently on a hearble shake twice daily and a low carb meal once a day with protein snacks between meals, I am really struggling to loose the weight but feel very well and fairly fit. I am 55 next birthday and ideally would like to loose around 3 stone, I am 5’7″ & 13 stone 13 lbs 🙁

Is anyone else similar to me who could encourage me to embark on the BSD diet, the shakes suit my lifestyle, but maybe they are not helping?

Look forward to hearing from anyone

Hi Mooster, it’s amazing what hashimoto’s can do to you. I also have dry eyes, dry skin the hay fever all year round, chronic asthma, bronchiectasis, multiple triggers for my asthma and severe gluten intolerance. All these things happened after I was diagnosed with hashimoto’s. It was like being hit with a sledge hammer. Fortunately this diet is helping me to feel so much more energised. A friend who hadn’t seen me for a month was amazed today when she saw me, she commented that I looked really healthy and energetic. She was so impressed she took some recipes home with her and is trying the diet herself.
I’m looking forward to the 8 week mark – not because I want to stop the diet – but to see how much more impact the diet has had.
All the best

Hi Reynards, I’m just a bit wary because when I did the 5:2 diet and lost over a stone my blood test showed I was on too much levothyroxine. Then it had to go back up when my weight did. However, my GP is puzzled by the fact that my levels fluctuate a lot – he said usually you find that once you have titrated to correct levels of thyroxine it generally stays stable for life. It may well be that I am just odd. I have made an appointment for mid March so will see what happens then. It would be good to know what happens to everyone else’s levels as they lose weight. I have got to say that I find this diet so much easier than the 5:2 and intend to stick close to it once I have reached my target weight. Wishing you the best!!

Thanks Cherrianne. Good tip – I will do that 🙂

Hi Yumelda,
I don’t see why not. They are about 3 cals more and have less carbs than blueberries for the same weight. I’ve been using them in the green tea shake because they are abundant where I live. I find all the seeds a bit annoying so I leave the shake to settle for a few minutes so they go to the bottom.

Hi Landrews22. I make my own, but I think Yeo Valley and Rachels Dairy both do one.

Hi Natasha,
This weekend is the start of my fourth week on the diet and my blood sugars have become fairly consistent now.
The first week or so I forgot a few times and grabbed fruit from the bowl or absentmindedly nibbled a few grapes while packing children’s lunches for school. I had a revelation one day when I ate a nectarine and looked up the carbs to discover it had over 12g. So I am much more mindful now.
My Mum is also doing the diet as she found her blood sugars were getting harder to control and her cholesterol was going up. Neither of us wanted to start medication. She lost the couple of kg she needed to lose and is also back in the non diabetic blood sugar range.
It’s been harder for her to get her head around being able to have full fat products because of forty years of being told that low fat is the way to go.
I think we will both be able to avoid medication now, and we have a great GP who is willing to listen and very open minded. One of my cousins wasn’t so lucky and had to sign a medical waiver when he wanted to try the fast 800 instead of medication!
I agree with you that the food is great on the BSD and is more likely to become a way of life because it is varied and not special diet food. You get inspired to find ways of adapting what you would normally eat. Hence the zucchini slices instead of pasta when I’m making lasagne. Plus the fact that friends and family have started to groan if I offer them zucchini, my plants have gone berserk producing them. So I have to be inventive or I’ll have no friends left, even my chickens roll their eyes when I bring them the scraps lol.

Thank you for the replies which are most helpful. Still struggling with finding a full fat sugar free yogurt as even Greek style states a sugar content on the label, Any suggestions of the most suitable brands?

Bill1954
Thank you so much for your reply, it is very reassuring. I have ordered a blood glucose meter so that i can keep a check on it. Good lyck on your journey.

Hey Kev
Coming up to 4 weeks in, last weigh day I had lost 15lb, fasting blood sugar down from 9.9 to the high 5’s.
Never felt hungry but, like others, I have been feeling the cold.
Just got some chickpea flour so baking flatbreads is on the menu 🙂