This forum is a lifeline for me as I need to read about everyones experiences. I am feeling a bit low today as on wed went to pharmacy for fasting test 6.7 (after drink of water witb slice of lemon , just didnt think), yesterday 6.5 and pleased. This morning with my new glucose meter 6.9. I am trying to do 5.2 med diet but in reality i am not much over the 800/1000 on those days because i am cutting out starchy carbs.. I had a bad night, very little sleep, itching all over and tingling/pain in my toes. It is only about 4 days that i have been doing an average of 7000 steps and seem to be worse since that. I had more calories yesterday but still kept within guidelines of diet but ate last at 6pm( steak and salad) and nothing til fasting test at 7am.

As this is such a different diet is it just my body getting used to it? I have been worried that there may be something wrong with my liver. Can this diet have an adverse reaction on your liver and body in general?. I have read bill’s comments and lots of others who all seem to gave similar problems and i am going to take on cherriannes comment about cheese and milk before bedtime. I am still determined to keep on unless as I have to make every effort to get my blood sugars sorted.

hi,

well i’ve just completed my third week. These last 2 weeks i’ve lost nothing at all. I’ve read the little book on why people stall and made adjustments. I’ve eaten less and less this last week and stepped up my exercise. I already swim 3 times a week, go for a walk lunchtimes and do the Davina fit in 7 most mornings.

I think what I am going to do now is go back to the 5.2 that i did successfully 2 years ago but with BSD adaptations. That is, i’ll do 800 cals 5 or4 days a week and 4-500 cals on the other 2 or 3 days.

I’m not diabetic, perhaps that has some bearing on it I don’t know. I never ate a lot of sweet sugary things anyway.

Thanks for that Yael! A wise father! I spent years following weight watchers, paying out for the meetings, online and foods. Even when I moved here to France I thought I could not be without it. I used to pay for boxes of weight watchers rubbish to be sent!
Then programmes started to be aired about fat not being the enemy and sugar corrupting our food and us.. They convinced me. I stopped paying out for weight watchers and set about cleaning up my diet. I read loads of stuff and changed my shopping habits. Now I am over weight but will not eat chemical laden food. I have real Normandy butter and full fat milk.
I have two type 1 siblings so need to address the fat tummy. Which is why I am here. I am adapting my food once more as being vegetarian it is a bit tricky. Also anything different I cannot get here, although I need to investigate an organic shop I know about. I have to make this fit my life style if I am to stick with it.
I am angry at politicians who preach the mantra about low fat and who wrongly advise diabetics about diet. So much rubbish comes from governments. I am convinced we have to get back to cooking our own food. My current campaign is to get away from anything that is made in a big factory.
My polytunnel has been ordered and my veg patch is ready for my organic veg I will grow. The chickens give me plenty of happy eggs, free range and from a garden where no chemical is used. Just my weight to sort out now!

Hi 🙂

I just started the BSD on Monday…I’m not diabetic, nor pre diabetic as far as I know, but I do have a lot of weight to lose.

I’m doing ok so far..but would appreciate some advice?

I’m aiming for roughly 50g of carbs per day (which works out at 25% of my 800 calories), and wondered if that is ok?

I should add that I am not following the recipes in the book, I’m just trying to eat appropriately..Yesterday, for example I had oat bran and low fat greek yoghurt for breakfast which was really nice and very filling (kept me going til evening)..40g of oat bran has a carb content of 18.8g and 6.2g of fibre (which I think you are allowed to deduct from the carb count making it 12.2g of carb)..is this ok to be eating? I don’t want to stall or hinder my weight loss, but I don’t want to give up something I could be eating that is legitimately ok.

Thank you for your help!

Yes, Penny, my father, a very healthy doctor (still working at 86, although he hasn’t operated for many years) has long said that low-fat was pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. And eggs and cheese are not the bogeymen of diet. He also thinks small amounts of butter are much better for you than dollops of margarine. For years he’s been warning people about the pitfalls of low- or non-fat yoghurt with fruit, saying it’s crammed full of sugar. He’s an intermittent faster – never has lunch. Advises people to get to know their bodies and not to eat if they are not hungry. Unlike me, he still weighs exactly the same as he did as a lean 21year old. He was a medical student & professional footballer.

Excellent, Bill! You might also have been feeling a stressed about starting such a hopefully life-changing adventure. I’m on my 3rd day. Keep us all posted!

A life without rice, pasta, couscous, bread? Unthinkable! OK I can do without bread, except for bagels. But I’m up for the challenge.

Day 3 today. Cannot believe that I am simply not hungry! I adore Greek yoghurt, & having 150g full-fat with 1 tablesp flaked almonds & macadamia is wonderful for breakfast or lunch. Adore eggs. So 2 eggs fried (in half a teasp olive oil in a non-stick pan) with heaps of approved vegetables (stir-fried with half a teasp cocoanut olive, ginger & garlic & a dash of soy sauce) is good. Try not to think about no bagel with mashed banana for breakfast, and no rice as the foundation of dinner.

Still having 1 coffee a day with reduced fat milk (just tastes better to me than full or skim), & tea with reduced fat milk, (1-2 a day, rather than at least 5). I love a teasp of honey in my tea, but have reduced that to half.

No mint or apple tea (they have to be a bit sweet, so I’d rather do without).

I’m vegetarian but will eat fish (with scales). Adore pulses, mushrooms, capsicums, Chinese broccoli, ordinary broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, zuchinis (courgettes), figs, apples, pomegrantes, pears, and eggplant (aubergines). And garlic, onion, ginger + spices and more spices. Not a big cheese eater, except for feta and parmesan. Do not like fizzy drinks or fruit juice but enjoy my pro secco. Hmm, a glass will have to be an occasional treat.

Sad about no mango, grapes, bananas, & other tropical fruits. Crying (almost) about no fresh dates.

I’ve done the 5:2 on which I lost weight slowly. Because I adore cooking & eating food, it was much better than a ‘diet’. But some of the weight has crept back on because I’ve had 4-5 months of semi-controlled ‘normal’ eating, but with a few too many treats. And I did feel deprived on the ‘2’ days, even if I knew I could eat normally on the ‘5’. I’ve lost 3 of the 6 kgs I put back on. But I want to see if I can lose 8 more, and wean myself of ‘naughty’ carbs because I’ve just found out that I’m pre-diabetic. I was not considered overweight for my height when I started 3 days ago: 62kgs (1.6 m tall). I have a small, high waist but a bit of lower belly flab. I have been very tired for a few months. Had a spinal fusion so it’s better if I am leaner. Now, it’s imperative.

But will I lose the weight quickly? I weighed 60.5 kg this morning, but suspect most of it is fluid loss. Keep you posted.

I take magnesium taurate from douglas labs. Also magnesium citrate works well. They help the body absorb calcium (along with vit D) and also act as a laxative. I was told to take 1,200 mg of calcium and 600 mg of magnesium – split doses during the day. the magnesium taurate was a life saver, lol :).

Hi GofH
Michael also recommended milk of magnesia to balance the magnesium levels, so I take that too.
Penny

I did have to work up slowly on the flax seed and am now up to the highest recommendation my doc said to take which is 3 Tablespoons of ground flax seed. a mighty 120 calories. I started out with my usual 1 1/2 Tbs, but have needed more as the diet progressed. That with greens and plenty of water and some salt per Dr Mosley. I’m allergic to psyllium, so can’t comment there. I’ve got 8 days to go to finish the 8 weeks, and my guess is that it will all normalize by going onto the 5/2 portion.

Well said Bill!
Penny

i looked up Extant shakes and had trouble finding out how much fat is in them. I’m not using a shake, but they sound tempting. My understanding is that we need fat in order to go into fat burning mode, not just ketosis. I can attest to this! Once i started adding fat and subtracting carbs, my weight loss and waist loss, lol, did beautifully.

Hi Ruby
Constipation is dealt with in Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle)
I’d recommend loads of green veg- michael says ‘half a plate full and don’t weigh it’- confusingly- also psyllium husk and ground flax seeds. Which can be sprinkled on anything! I have a tablespoon of each every morning.
Good luck
Penny
PS of course, being constipated will make you a bit heavier!😳

Hi Mrs J
Great – you sound like you’re enjoying it!
BTW michael is really anti skinny milk and in favour of full fat. Stops you being hungry and has less sugars.
I know we re so brainwashed about fat but he says fat is good!
Penny

Thanks Hashimoto
😊

Hi Blacklab
You could have a look at Jenny Ruhls book ‘low carb problems solved’ (£3 on kindle)
She deals with this.
Good luck
Penny

Hi Natasha MFP isn’t that accurate because it’s crowd sourced not from MFP admin. I look up the calories mainly on Calorieking. It’s U.S. Based But you can chose grams. Occasionally they don’t have something then I search around other sites for info.
I made my own ‘my foods’ list and ‘recipes’ list on MFP so I don’t have to deal with all that random information! The only thing is although you can set it to use your ‘my foods’ list, it still doesn’t for recipes. So I try to make my foods ‘ names distinctive, so I can find them in the random list. Eg I get free range meat from a shop called ‘Meat N16’ so I put that on when saving meat to ‘my foods’ – eg brand-MeatB16- description-lamb shoulder etc. then I can search for it for a recipe.
Sorry this is so long!
Penny

Hello, I am so excited about starting this new diet, read the book today which has made me cry in places, this book is just everything I have lived through for the past 30 years and now there is an answer to all my prayers however, I lost my Gall Bladder doing the Lighterlife diet and I was told that I had to now cut right down on high fat foods..My question is would I be alright doing the Med style low carb diet with all the olive oil etc??

Hi Aly,
I am vegetarian and haven’t found it hard at all. I used to eat a lot of brown rice and dense sourdough bread, which I’ve since discovered is horrendously high in carbs.
You can adapt many of your usual recipes to fit the new lifestyle.
Just keep an eye on your protein intake, which I am sure you are used to doing, as most vegos are very conscious of nutrition. We just tend to be over reliant on carbs to fill us up.
There are some great veg. recipes being posted on this site. Go for it, you can do it

Day 6 weight 10st 12lbs ( 4 lbs lost so far)
Blood sugar 10.4 (not great but going in the right direction)

Have eaten a bit more today – threw caution to the wind and had an orange.😀

On a positive note have found a good new care home for my oldie and he’s moving in on Monday.

Going to try to make a curry tomorrow. I haven’t been able to get curry paste yet so going hunting for it and a cauliflower to make the rice with. Never made curry before – how hard can it be – knowing me anything could happen 😂

Hi Bill – I’ll give a bedtime snack a go, thanks for the tip, and I always have greek yogurt in the fridge.

Notsosweet – it’s great to hear you having such great results after such a long time diagnosed. I’ve been type 2 for 8 years and so realise it’s likely to take a bit longer than those who are newly diagnosed. I’ve not noticed my blood sugar rise after exercise (not immediately anyway)

Aw auntylil, you do make me laugh! Now I’m imagining you to be like Catherine Tate’s Nan, only cleverer! And down with the mushrooms, I always knew there was a good reason why I despise them!

You are in no way a fraud though. You are just like the rest of us, looking for the best ways to be healthy. Although we have all embraced the bsd with an open mind, its still important to remember it is an extreme programme and was never intended to last forever for any of us. It is only 8 weeks (and maybe a little bit more) but I suspect that what will happen is that we will have re-educated our minds and bodies to eat differently even after the 8 weeks. For me, I think I will happily take on a few hundred extra cals but in the form of nuts, oils, fats and other stuff that is nutritious rather than pasta, bread and potatoes.

As you said, you have already learned a lot from bsd and I am sure that that is the long term goal of this plan and you will still lose weight by being on a low cal diet rather than a very low cal one.

As you noticed, I am still in very good spirits about the whole thing, maybe because I am sleeping better as well as having found some delicious meals this week, so I think we can both look forward to weeks three and four with a new sense of vigour! If not, we can just try swearing a lot, its bound to help!

Typo !! I made cloud bread in case you’re wondering !!

Day 2

OK, another successful day, a little harder than yesterday, woke up absolutely famished but somehow managed to wait till breakfast !.
I also woke up during the night really thirsty ?, strange since I drank 3 litres of water yesterday ? Anyway, food wise, I ate fairly similar meals to yesterday –

Breakfast – Green juice with kale, spinach, fruit, coconut water, half an avocado and some spirilina (yuck !)
Lunch – Tuna salad with an egg, cottage cheese (full fat) and tomatoes etc
Dinner – Fish with veg stir fried with courgette/haloumi combo, and some tinned tomatoes as a sauce.

I’ve also drunk 3 litres today of water, and have made so many trips to the loo !!

How am I feeling ?, bloomin awful this morning, but as I write this, I’m feeling really energetic and really positive about things !
Oh, I also made the cloud recipe earlier on with my 7 year old daughter, I liked it, (tomorrows lunch) but my daughters face was priceless !!, she has told me that I’m the worst cook in the world and am never to go near the kitchen again, success there then !.

Ive been reading through the posts on here, and picked up some tips,namely having a bovril drink if I get really hungry, and planning the next days food (or even the entire week). I’m only two days in, but I seem to have made friends with my tummy again, it’s not gurgling away like it normally does !

Anyway, second day done and I’m definitely on the up !!

Kev

Hi ptanna (and everyone else) I decided to use two meal replacements and an evening meal from Jan 1st (1200 cals per day). Had lost a stone by last Sunday. Started 800 on Tuesday this week and have lost another 3 lbs in 3 days! I am still (for ease and control on working days) using two meal replacements (Certaslim) for breakfast (131 cals) and lunch (133 cals) and a low carb meal, with lots of veg. (I am vegetarian) about 500 calories in evening (total just under 800). On non working days I will choose whether to have brunch and dinner. This is all working for me right now – intend to do the full eight weeks and then go to 5:2 and keep eat days to 1200. I guess the most important thing is to do what works and is healthy! as newmill said it is only 56 days actually now only 52! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Help please. 4 days in – I know the book says no diet coke etc. but can I have a Slimline tonic with a slice of lemon? (to replace my craving for a glass of wine or a g & t!)

Hi all, i have just posted a similar problem https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/pork-with-apples-and-shallots-450-calories/.

It is frustrating to learn that the calorie count in the book can’t be trusted as it adds to the stress of engaging in this new exciting way of getting healthier. Lesson learn’t – check before you cook.

Otherwise everything going totally in the right direction and am not finding myself particularly hungry (except for day 1 which was horrible!). Half way through week 3 now and really enjoying the plan. From my experience the secret is to drink loads of water and then some. It stops the headaches and makes you feel so much better – but you do go to the loo a lot.

Good luck to everyone on this exciting life changing journey.

Hi all…I am finishing reading the book this weekend and am starting tomorrow…. I’ve decided to think of these eight weeks as an ‘intervention’ …lol…. Knowing I ‘only’ have to do it for 8 weeks will help me stick with it when it gets hard. That is my rationale anyway! Hehe. But reading all your posts, as well as inspiring me, makes me think it could be easier than I thought! 👏🏻 Food wise I know I can do this, but alcohol (or should I say the lack of it!) on Friday and Saturday evenings (I work Monday to Friday these days, but I am a nurse so I do know how hard shift eating is!) worries me….. I will abstain for 8 weeks and consider how to manage it better when I’ve finished. Any advice about that from anyone?
Your posts are fantastic! Thank you so much. I already feel (under 2 hours into registering on the site) that there’s a community of fab folks out there -globally- who can be helpful, supportive, informative and funny!
Sarah

Hi Bill, I’m so excited with the results of this ‘diet’ (lifestyle) I’m already waving as I jump up and down for joy. Although my BMI is down to 24 I’m not taking that measurement too seriously as I have skinny arms and legs but a lot of fat round my middle and there is still quite a lot to shift! If the fat keeps disappearing I might treat myself to a dress!!! As you have said if only this information had been out there 20 years ago!
I think we will be on this forum for a long time to come because as we reach our personal targets we will have to all swap tips and advice on how to keep stable on the maintainance diet. Cutting out the carbs has felt like cutting out toxins to me. It will be interesting to see who, if any of us, can eat carbs in moderation as we complete this first phase of our journey, and how many calories we can eat but stay stable. You’re right again Bill, we are pioneers!!!

1 boneless rolled pork leg joint (approx 3.5kg)

Just prepared this dish, the book says that 3.5KG serves 8 which equals 437.5 grams per person. Mountain of meat. I ploughed my way through it then looked it up on the BitFit app and was amazed and disappointed to discover that this portion size of roast pork is over 800 calories. So now I’m 400+ calories over and feeling a little sick! Thinking it’s a good job that I went to the gym this morning!!!

I’m half way through week 3 and have lost 10 lbs and really enjoying the food – but I’m a little concerned that the book wasn’t properly checked before it was published.

Thanks ever so much malkay for this advice which I will definitely follow. This is being incredibly lazy on my part but can I ask what brands of sweeteners contain xylitol?

You need to give it time. The first week is the hardest. Just going into 7th week. Blood dropped to 5.4 from 6.9. Lost 32 yes 32lbs.

Hi captainlynne. Great that you lost so much! If you don’t mind me asking, how much exercise did you do? I’ve not lost much for 3 weeks but had done the first 3. Thanks Jackie

That’s the one I’m after!
Looking forward to trying it, I will see if our Tesco stocks it, thank you!

So is it third start lucky?
I have done much soul searching and recipe research and think I am now ready. I also invested in a fitgo..the cheaper version of Fitbit.
The recipes in the books I bought are too different and I cannot get much of it in France where I live. So…I have looked at what I usually cook..all clean food and cooked from scratch..and have adapted things. I will avoid potatoes, pasta and rice and even my much loved bread. I will have jumbo oats for breakfast having found some organic Irish ones on Amazon France at a sensible price for the oats and the delivery. It will get easier when the weather is warmer and salads are welcome. It will be hard being vegetarian and I know I will feel hungry but hope it will not last too long. I will still make bread and cakes for the rest of the family but will not eat it myself. I am encouraged by all that has been said about losing the longing for carbs. I enjoy chocolate but can do without easily.
Above all I look forward to being in control again, something I have lost big time over the last few years. I will make this work for me!

Very well done resisting choc chip bics & flapjacks. Week two is a funny one isn’t it after the first week when results are always so encouraging; I think our bodies have to adjust in a lot of ways not just losing weight. It would be easy to get discouraged and you don’t sound like you are.

Thanks for asking after me; I have sustained the weight loss of week one but not lost any more. Due to low blood pressure that I couldn’t offset by drinking water my calorie intact is more like 1000 to 1200 – still no refined carbs but some things different to the set diet. I have totally bought into a Med style diet and have bought Spelt and a few other new things and I’m loving the Peace & Parsnips book by Lee Watson. So I’m not on the Fast 800 and feel like a bit of a fraud.

As I’m not pre-diabetic or diabetic perhaps that’s why it isn’t right for me – after discussing with my gp I see that my high cholesterol, lactose intolerance and vegetarianism plus suspected pernicious anemia means I have to think and tread carefully; also my dear wise one – as you pointed out recovery from a shoulder injury and also surgery recently means I can’t exercise more even though I want to. Physiotherapy is challenging as it hurts too much! What a big baby I am, but at least I’m not currently getting any bigger because of what I have learned from this BSD.

Another unwelcome consequence is that all the mushrooms I started eating and Miso and Soy sauce per the BSD lead to thrush so I’ve binned them, and I have two huge cold sores. I am not crying into my fizzy water though. I am however rather ———— (obscenity) off. I think I have referred to myself as a foul mouthed old banshee before on this forum and now I am living up to that.

I started on the diet on Monday with home cooked meals. First two days were very hard and I feel like I am getting used to it. I just received my Exante shakes today. I am planning to have shakes for breakfast and lunch and combine it with about 200 CAL cooked dinner. Has anyone tried this? What are your thoughts?

And to you , Ella 👍

Liver freezes well both raw and cooked – I freeze in portions and it’s lovely cold with salad

Hi Ju
Coyo coconut yogurt is lovely, and Tesco sells it. A bit expensive, but a real treat.

Hi Floraellen,
My Mum turned 75 this week and has been doing the BSD with me. This weekend will start our fourth week on the diet.
She only had a few kg to lose but was quite concerned about finding it harder lately to get her fasting BGL’s under control. She has had some cardiac problems and is on statins. She loves the food and the feeling of being in control now.
Her GP this week told her that she was her star patient and was very interested in the BSD. The GP couldn’t believe the results that Mum had achieved in such a short time. Her BP was down to 120/60 and fasting blood sugars consistently in the 4’s and low 5’s. She has promised to read the book and has sent Mum for another lot of fasting bloods. We are hoping that her cholesterol will be down too and that she will be allowed to cease or reduce some medications.
So the short answer is that at 68 you are definitely not too old!! Go for it.

5.5lbs is a great start Jennie, really well done. I agree about the 800 cals, I also manage around 850ish a day. I did really well on my training day, I only had my own food and I really enjoyed it. I had no hunger pangs or lethargy and wasn’t even tempted by the chocolate chip cookies and flapjacks which were all massive. My weight has been a little up and down this week but I think I understand why so I’m not concerned. I’m at 5.5lbs in 14 days which I’m chuffed about. If I was still on weight watchers, where I routinely only lost a pound or even a half pound a week, I could expect to lose that in 37 days – that’s if I could keep the will to live!

I can’t tell you how much I love love love cauliflower mash!

How are you doing Auntylil?

Hi Salky. Don’t see any reason why not as long as the calories fit into 800. Partial to liver myself 😃 Need to visit a proper butcher to buy some – can only get huge amounts in supermarket!

Oh and the thought of a Mars Bat actually makes me feel a bit sick 😳
How amazing is that.
As you (I think)said somewhere else, I wish this had been around twenty years ago!!

Thanks Bill.
You’re a star. 😊

Hi Ella

Thanks for your advice. I did notice some lovely looking coconut yoghurt online this week, not found a stockist near me just yet, but I’m certainly going to continue to investigate. Unfortunately I’m not great with gram flour either;/ but I’m sure with more research I can find a way to make it work for me.

Great to hear that you have had good results already in less than a week, very encouraging!

Best Wishes

Jules

Ok I’ve stuck a tenner in, don’t spend it all on Mars bars 😀

Hello Ju,

I just found your question. I posted something about dairy. Although I am not allergic, I am pretty sensitive to dairy and I was told by a couple of fellow dieters that soy products as an alternative are fine (I have not tried to soy cheese yet but, somehow, matured cheeses like cheddar seem fine); I was also suggested to watch the sugar/carbs content and gluten in some of the soy products.

I heard of recipes for omelettes made with Gram Flour (made from chickpeas) but I have not tried it yet.

I hope you will have a go at the diet as, personally, I am finding great and in less than a week I have lost some pounds already.

All the best!

Hello Lolo and AnnaJennings,

Many thanks for replying to my posts!

I am using the soy yogurt and it works fine, I managed to loose about 2kg in less than a week so I am pretty happy so far.

Best of luck to you too!

Is it OK to drink de caff coffee with soya or rice milk whilst on the diet?

Plus, what is the rule on alcohol?

Thank you