Hi, This is my first post. I have lost 4.9 kilos in three weeks. I am pescatarian so really have to think carefully about what to eat as the recipes are primarily meat based.
Nevertheless, I have found the weight loss motivational and the concept of the diet easy to live with. I am not diabetic, just need to lose 3 stone in total.
My favourite lunch is the cottage cheese with pear and walnut, really tasty. I have made my own soup, incorporate lentils and tofu in my meals. I log everything on my fit bit app, which is invaluable for calorie counting.

This is my year of finally losing weight or bust!!! I aim to get off the blood pressure tablets, which I have been on for one year and in getting back to a size 10 by September.
It’s very encouraging to read everyone’s experiences – WELL DONE TO YOU ALL!!!

Oh, forgot to say aswell, I don’t think I’ve managed a single under under 800 cals, its always been around 840ish.

Helloooooo!!! I’ve got pcos too . we’ve been trying for baby number 2 for a while now and I feel that loosing weight is the key . ( number 1 came along when I was about 9kg lighter). I’ve also got diabetes and blood pressure so this diet ( hopefully way of life ) came along at the right time for me and makes absolute sense . I’m a few weeks in and only lost 2 kg but I know it’s because I’ve not been so strict as the weight loss happened in week 1 when I was following the plan to the letter . I just need to get back on the horse and be better . Would love to hear how all the other ladies with pcos are doing and would be great to support each other .

Hi Metta
Welcome to our world! I have only been following this website for a week and already I feel like I have met loads of people with whom I share things in common and I look forward to reading the new comments each day (a bit sad perhaps!). Well done on your weight loss so far, its a great incentive, isn’t it?
I use the nhs calorie counter on a daily basis, I prefer to check the calorie counts of everything as usually I adapt the recipes to suit myself. Like you, I do suffer with hunger in the evening. I know there are lots of people saying these days to stop eating by 6 or 7pm but thats just not going to happen for me, I find it easier not to start eating before 11am and sometimes I can push my first meal on until 2pm so that then I can have something like fruit and full fat yoghurt before bed. Sad again, but I actually look forward to it! On the days I do have actual breakfast I try to break the 800 cals into four meals instead of three. None of this seems to be doing me any harm, I am on day 5 and have lost 4 pounds and 2 and a half inches off my waist.
There are loads of great resources around and I would encourage you to keep on with the bsd book as it has pretty much all the answers in there. Wishing you every success as you continue. Keep us up to date!

Hi everyone,

I am in week two and have lost 4 kilo in total. I’ve not lost anything for a few days, but this morning my blood sugar was 5.8 – the first time it’s been under 6! I have found it hugely motivating to know that just because numbers aren’t moving on a scale, good things are still happening internally. Plus I have to keep reminded myself that 4 kilos is over half a stone, so not bad even if I am stuck for a bit.

I like to imagine maybe the scales haven’t moved because there was some initial weight loss from water which is now being replaced with “real” weight loss from fat? Who knows! But I definitely feel better – more satisfied and in control of myself, less governed by crazy sugar cravings. Down we go!

Hi Nutty,

Well done on that first week loss – brilliant.

I’ve just had the Med Platter from the book, (minus the anchovies – quite possibly the only food I never eat!) and it was delicious. It couldn’t be much quicker to prepare either – slice up a pepper and a piece of cucumber, put everything on the plate, eat and enjoy!

Natasha – just an idea, could you freeze the apple juice in muesli sized portions?

Thanks for the encouragement Bruce, yes I am getting a little light headed and have what I would call pangs of something – looking at it I am not sure if its a physical feeling of hunger or a psychological reponse to ‘ not doing what I usually do around food’ – ie eating too much of it. Need to drink more – got that and have already read the recommendations from a few of the forum people how important that is.
Coming back to the forum is going to be great. Still learning how best to do this and finding the planning really does take some time. I was wondering if some of the 5:2 recipes would fit the bill for this. They seem to follow the same principles. I can see I will need to have a few weeks to settle down and get into the swing of the BSD.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences…think I need to speak to my gp again and see if I can be a bit more persuasive. I’m guessing its probably up to individual practises how they allocate their money and test strip are obviously not on my gps agenda! And thanks nettyrim I’ll have a look on diabetes uk to see what they advise x

Hi don’t be despondent any weight loss is positive. I am very similar to yourself. I’m 51, not prediabetic and have 16lbs to lose. I’ve lost 7 in the last 4 weeks but my waist measurement is coming down and my stomach is flatter. I am now 10st 13lbs so have reached a target of being under 11st, have lost my first half stone and my remaining weightloss is now in single figures – only 9lbs to go. I’ve just started week 5 so my progress is also slow, but it is still progress. My next target is to lose another 1lb so that will be 8lbs ie 5% of my total body weight lost and I’m also half way to my total weight loss.

Louise, go get 28 half pound packets of lard and pile them up on a table.
Take a good long look at them and tell yourself “I lost all that fat in 3 weeks. I only have to do that twice again
If that doesn’t motivate you, nothing will.

Can anyone recommend any shop bought soups? I’m not massively keen on carrot and coriander… I’m 4 days in and lost 3lb and not feeling hungry, really enjoying it. I’ve had lots of time to prepare food this week and worried about when I’m in a rush and the potential to grab something bad, so would like some tinned soups in the cupboard as back up! Got 3 small children so am around food a lot 😕
Any other tips also welcome – I’ve mainly been eating courgetti, salads, tuna, smoked salmon, eggs, natural tog, green veg…
Thanks!

Hello this is day two for me, wasnt too bad. Though maybe a bit over 800 cals. But was amazed to find in 24 hrs had lost 2lbs or 1 kg. (I speak kilos). But I am finding I do feel hungry after the evening meal. Have to get on line and see what people are saying to distract myself.

Wanted to ask if anyone can recommend a good app for counting calories and how useful you find them? I am just really selecting the pictures of food that appeals to me and looking up the book recipes. I confess still have not read the book right through but am continuing to do so. Just that now I have found others I am distracted by checking in here. Its such a positive and encouraging space. Thank you all for your words.

Hi Misssay and Auntylil,

Thanks for your responses.

I agree, I think it’s easy to get carried away and splurge money for the sake of the diet. Sticking to 800 calories a day is the important thing, and I really don’t mind repeating the same days several times.

For example, the only not-from-concentrate apple juice (for the Bircher) I could find was from Waitrose. It cost me £2.85 and is 1 litre. Now, if I only need 50ml and I don’t have the Bircher for another 4-weeks – WHAT A WASTE! Same goes for the other recipes. So I’m happy to repeat a few meals again and again so that I know I’m not wasting wonderful ingredients.

As auntylil said, we are in a privileged position and I cannot justify taking food for granted, wasting food is a crime.

Thanks for both of your tips, I’ll definitely be trying those!

How’s it going so far?

Well done for getting to week 2 day 2 misssay! Exciting!

June ? Nah it’s only about ten years away 😉
Coconut flour flatbreads worked well, I’ll post the recipe later. Had 1 with my lamb and vegetable stew last night and a tuna sandwich today (heaven).
Because of the high fibre content they make you chew longer than usual and they definitely give you that full feeling.
Fasting sugar this morning was lowest yet 6.4
Think I’ll celebrate with a cream cake 😉

Hi bernie
It sounds great what you have planned. We plan to walk whilst away and hotel has pool and gym so no difficulty getting my exercise. Not sure of plan re puds. May have one, or just have a taste of hubbys each night! Love your idea of having your return week meal plan sorted before you go. I will use that idea myself, thanjs for sharing.

Really pleased with this lifestyle change so far, its day eight and 11lbs of weight has fallen off. My jeans love me again, but the way this
is going they will have to be replaced with some smaller ones! unless i can find a seamstress.

I’m glad that’s working for you orchid and I hope your weight loss stays linear 🙂 as you move through the 8 weeks. I’m in the last 12 days and 10% at this stage would be marvellous- at day 44 I’ve lost 7.3 kilos which is 5.8% (10% would be 12.5 kgs, 20% would be 25 kgs) and very non-linear- between weeks 4 and 5 I lost 0.1 kgs which kinda broke my heart. I also started a spreadsheet with predicted weight loss and actual weight loss next to each day which I guess is why I’m also disheartened. The only thing I’m holding on to is the Whoosh theory of weight loss whereby a whole bunch of weight disappears overnight. As back-up and to keep me going to the end of week 8 is also the fact that weight can vary by a couple of kilos due to water/food in the stomach etc.

Fat does get transferred to the blood, I’d refer to Dr Mosley’s participation in a test where he ate a fried breakfast and had his blood measured for the amount of fat in it. He found that exercise reduced the amount of fat alot quicker than no exercise, ie, a better metabolism cleans the blood quicker.

I am currently reading a book by Rose Elliott about low carb vegetarian recipes, which I think was written before the bsd book. She is saying a lot of the same things as Dr Mosley, including that cholesterol in the body is only 30% from the food we eat and 70% would be there naturally no matter what we eat. Some people generate more cholesterol than others and that cant be changed. She also says that the 30% we can affect by food is caused by high carbs and high fat together but we only have to cut the carbs, not the fat in order to reduce cholesterol. Would recommend the book, I got mine for 2 pence off of Amazon!

I live in Ireland and we get free monitors, test strips and needles and have been told by the hospital clinic to test every day. However, I test about twice a week which I think is fine. We have to take our book to the clinic appointments but sometimes they don’t look at them. I wouldn’t want to rely on the once a year test as you need to know whether your readings are going up (or down!) so that you can do something about it straight away.

Hi Sandy
Well done on your first week loss and good luck with week 2. It looks like I may enjoy cauli rice more than cauli mash!

Hi Julia,
I’m not an expert by any means, as I’m only on week 2 myself, but I would say my top tips are to try and include some protein and healthy fats at every meal (I have veggies with lunch and evening meal, but not often with breakfast, as they don’t go too well with greek yogurt!) I haven’t been hungry between meals, but if I had been I probably would have a protein-y snack, like a slice of meat, a small piece of cheese, or some hummus with carrot or pepper strips to dip. Top, top, top tip: drink plenty of water.

I also dip into the book every evening to re-read something or look at recipes, as it is so easy to forget bits and pieces of info from it. Mind you, that may be my age!

Best of luck.

Thanks barbarar

Hi, I am just at the end of week 2 and need to loose 25kg. I saw this forum at the weekend and it reflected how I felt at the time – it seemed to be the same rate of loss for the first 10 days as when I tried the 5:2.
I did some reading on the website and noted that Michael actually said that the expected weight loss would be between 10-20% over the 8 weeks, depending on where you start.
To help reset my expectations, I calculated what 10% loss would be in kg (or lbs) would be over the 8 weeks, then divided it into expected weekly weight loss chunks. To help visualise it, I plotted a graph (you can do it on manually on paper or electronically) of weeks (y axis) and weight (x axis). The plot has one line for the planned rate and another for the actual measurements. I discovered that I was about on target for week 1 and ahead of target for week 2. I now feel better about progress! I also added the 20% weight loss to the chart expected rate just to see how that looked. I am currently in the middle of the two.
I thought I would pass it on as It may help others with motivation! I also have noticed that the weight appears to drop in a step fashion, not a constant daily amount which is party why I only record on the chart weekly as you loose the days where it is a flat line.

Hello everyone, great to hear all of the weight loss stories! It’s exactly 3 weeks today for me, and exactly one stone lost. The last few days have been slow, only a pound a day, but from reading the forums a slowing of weight loss is not unusual. I haven’t found the diet particularly difficult due to the tasty recipes and complex carbs we can eat. I must admit my favourite breakfast is egg and avocado, which I seem to have stuck with, it’s easy to make as my husband has two eggs on toast at the same time ! I haven’t taken measurements but am now able to get into clothes that wouldn’t fasten before I started, so I’m really pleased. Keep it up, everyone, good luck!

Well done! I’m on day 8 and lost 1 and a half pound yesterday even though I went over 800 cals – it was one of those days when nothing seemed to satisfy me although I stuck to no carbs. Feel better today. Total lost 7 1/2 – I’m so chuffed!

Good luck! I’ve just completed week one & already feel good, less bloat & more energy.
Look forward to seeing your post next week

Hi Mik
It’s on p240. The arrabbiata on same page is very good although I think the 150cals isn’t correct for one portion.. Maybe for three. It’s good with spiralised courgette, zero noodles and King prawns… A small spoonful of creme fraiche makes it even better.

Hello everyone… I am 6ft tall and weigh in at 15.5 stone. Very unhappy with my weight. Suffering depression. I have polycystic ovaries and I suspect Sydrome X (Insulin Resistance) and struggle with tiredness all the time. I really like the concept of eating whole healthy foods rather than faddish. Bit concerned about coping with urge to eat and restricted calories but keep reading stuff that makes it sound very doable with a little bit of planning and healthy shopping.

Anyone have any tips?

Good luck everyone

Julia

Hi Metta, how are you enjoying the summer? I see that its been pretty full on. Yes, I know that when I was a kid everything was in stones and that there are 14 pounds in a stone, but never sure how it relates to KG. How has the second day on the programme gone? I am thinking about easing back to the 5:2 as I’m not coping with the lethargy and just have too much to do at the moment. As long as some weight comes off I’ll be happy, even if its slower. Hope you’re having better success, all the reports seem to show that the dramatic turn arounds come for those who are not yet diabetic, so its a brilliant chance for you to take total control of your health. Its really not fun dealing with diabetes, don’t take any chances now that you’ve got some options!!

Hi Everyone
I am day one of week 2 and still feeling positive. Lost 5.5 lbs the first week, so feel really pleased. The forums are inspiring !
I made cauli rice last week and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it ! Tomorrow I am going to marinade a chicken breast in yogurt and tikka spice, then make kebabs.
I also made egg and ham muffins on Saturday as I worked a 10 hour day and knew that I would need to have protein snacks. They were delicious and really filling.
Good luck everyone and I look forward to hearing how you all get on.

Good morning
Wow what a week. I’ve eaten some amazing food this week. I’ve lostv8lb as well & am just planning my meals for the next week to come.

I can’t drink coffee, neither standard nor decaf. Am I OK to drink barley coffee on the diet or should I leave it?

I haven’t tried them yet, but I know coconut flour soaks up a lot of moisture. I can’t remember if the recipe says to leave the mix to stand for a while? If it doesn’t, it might be worth a try?

Thank you Janet1973. Enjoyed my meal out and had a glass of red wine too. Not feeling hungry again yet and it’s coming up for 10am.

Re: exercise, I walk a lot already but it’s more of a stroll whilst the dogs run around chasing rabbits. If I had dogs like your adorable dach I could use them for weight lifting as I can’t lift mine up! Squats eh? What are they… I loath swimming and don’t fancy a gym. dvd a poss I suppose, oh I am a lazy daisy. I might take up yoga again or try pilates. I get so sweaty and flushed even attempting a jog and to think I used to be athletic in my teens, representing the county and all that. I think a tap dancing class might suit me. Remember the rolly pollies?

I love chick peas and tend to bulk buy the dried ones: I like a spinach and chick pea curry with lots of cumin, tumeric, coriander, garlic and green lentils. I have a bedtime snack sometimes of a few strips of red pepper dipped in lactose free Arla cream cheese – there’s so much to chose on this diet that’s guilt free.

Hope it’s continuing to go well for you.

Hi Everyone – you are all so inspirational. I love reading your messages – they keep me going. I finished my first week yesterday and have lost 5.5 lbs so am really pleased. It was so hard to cook a roast meal for the family on Sunday and then only eat meat and veg. Still on track and am feeling great. Keep up the good work everyone, we can do it !

I love making soup, but then often find once it is made, I don’t fancy eating it when meal time comes along. I suppose I am just weird! I am considering have smoked basa fillet with the cauliflower kedgeree tonight, instead of the smoked mackerel, as then it will seem a bit more like a real kedgeree to me. I’ve just finished half an hour of low impact cardio. I walk quite a bit, including to and from work, but as I am on holiday this week, I thought it would be a good time to start something more structured. 15 minutes in I though she (in the video) would quite possibly kill me, but by keeping going found another burst of energy, so it wasn’t too bad by the end! Off for a shower and to clean the bathroom now. Judging by the state of my bathroom at the moment, that will be a workout in itself!

Hope you have a good day

Anyone in Australia who is missing bread should rush out and buy some of the Herman Brot low carb bread! Tried some today, it’s not cheap at over $6 a loaf but I figure I’m worth it. It is dark, dense, moist, full of seeds, and delicious. I only needed one slice with cheese and tomato.
Really on a par with my fave breads. So low in carbs and available in nearly every Foodland/ IGA.
Thanks again Cazzowary for putting up the link.

Hi Natasha,

I think it is definitely a case of doing what works for you. For most of my first week (I am day 2 of week 2 today) I cooked our own choice of meals using the guidelines/rules from the book, but not the actual recipes, so I could use food I had in the freezer and pantry. You’re right – it would be crazy to waste the food you have if it fits in with the plan, even more so on a tight budget. Maybe, when you do your next food shop, you could shop for a different set of ingredients, to try a different set of recipes until those supplies are used up. That way you are less likely to get bored with your choices.

I know what you mean about the initial outlay on new foods and like you I have altered things so I don’t waste anything. As I’m veggie I don’t have to buy meat but used up quite a lot of petrol searching for coconut flour, and then when I found it it was 1000% more expensive than normal flour. I’m getting a little tired of courgettes, red peppers, eggs and mushrooms I must say as they are the cheapest ingredients but I pulled myself up sharp earlier when I read about a Nigerian 3yr old who had been abandoned 8 months ago and had been wandering alone scavenging to stay alive. Dear me, us in the West eh, how we’ve got used to expensive food that kills us. Found that the veg curry and cauliflower rice and the beetroot falafels freeze well. Have you tried the home made humus yet? Tins of chickpeas are really good value and the dried ones even more so.

Hi Newt2! That is the bread in question with slight alterations – thank you! I made it again yesterday as I promised malkay the calorie break down. So here it is – values as per the amounts used in my recipe above:
Sesame seeds:422cal; oats:373cal; pumpkin seeds:390cal; almonds:448cal; sunflower seeds:208cal; chickpea flower:235cal; poppy seeds:362cal; chia seeds:199cal; linseed:310cal; olive oil:270cal.
The loaf weighed 930g after baking – 3,235cal which works out 347cal per100g or 128cal per 37g slice. It doesn’t seem too bad as one store-bought gluten free bread lists a 36g slice as having 97 cal ( far more carbs and far less nutritional value). Hope this helps.

This is at the heart of this diet conundrum – is cholesterol raised by eating fat, as they’ve told us for a long time, and apparently based on experiments on rabbits in the 1950s OR is it raised by eating too much carbs that lay down fat in your internal organs, as quite a few, are now telling us. Is a, quite normal, level of 5.7 actually a problem, compared to high sugar levels? Pick your expert to believe!
I’ve never quite got the idea that the fat you put in your stomach causes the fat in your blood. I am going with this diet. It has got my weight back to age 21 (I’m 62) and my morning bloods to low normal.
Personally, many years ago, I was told to get my cholesterol down, and went on a very low fat diet. No cheese, very little meat, skimmed milk, more wholemeal carbs. It had no effect. A more recent go at statins gave me double vision.
I, like a lot of others, am feeling the guilt when I tuck into full fat yoghurt, eggs, etc., although enjoying them. Only a cholesterol test will tell. Try a chemist to see. I am hoping for the best – anyway, diabetes is the bigger enemy.

Hi all,

Only started yesterday and was quite surprised by how much food I was able to eat! And only slight hunger pangs before my evening meal.

But my gosh, the nausea last night was awful. I was actually sick a couple of times (sorry to be gross, but only a tiny amount!). I couldn’t sleep and have got up today still nauseous and with a headache. Drinking lots and I know people talk of that hungover feeling, but has anyone actually been sick?! I know it’s withdrawal symptoms (I am a sweetie and carb monster) but I’m taking solace in the comments here that it will pass!

I also have a hen weekend this weekend (not ideal). I will do the best I can but there will be lots of wine and drunken eating (meaning crisps and carbs). I will do my best over the weekend, but when I get back on the wagon on Sunday, will these withdrawal effects come back? I really hope not!

Other than that, Husband will be eating the same as me in the evenings, but I’ll just add a jacket potato or some other carbs to his meal so the diet seems quite simple as a couple – just need to get past this stage and keep it up!

Hi Niffer – you’ve hit the nail on the head with ‘enjoying life’.
I am confident that when on holiday I can control my carbs and not even have any on most meals but I am going to have a dessert on one of the days as we are booked into a very fancy restaurant on one of the days, which we have been waiting for 2 years to go to.
I have also already written my meal plan for when we get back which has helped me to see the holiday as a ‘treat’ and a temporary break from calorie counted meals and back to business when I get back.
Also planning on increasing my exercise on holiday as we will be doing loads of coast walking.
Enjoy you’re holiday and don’t beat yourself up if you have some nice meals – you are on holiday. 🙂

My doctor is quite happy to supply the monitor and the strips, I’ve just been lazy about testing because everything was a status quo. Now however….? Mrs.S, as to hypos, I did get them when just on metformin, if for example I missed a meal, or moved furniture etc. I’m wondering if this low calorie intake will mimic the effect of overexertion, ie burn up all the sugars too quickly. I’ll keep you posted!

Well done Paddy!, I’ve just started week 4 today, but my weight loss is only 8lb in three weeks, I haven’t got that much too lose, so it’s not a real problem.

I’m motivated to continue because I don’t want to have to start from scratch again in the future! Also, I really really really don’t want to be a diabetic, especially if it’s my diet that is the cause……

Well weighed in the day after and had lost 3.4lbs so was satified by my calculations that is what I was expecting. 9 days in loss is 4.8 in total. With regard to the WW comment that is considered a slow loss and Michael’s book is about fast loss. The mention of panic starvation mode again is debunked a a myth by Michael as the studies he quotes show this occurring at a very low level of calorie intake. For those that still believe in the starvation mode thing I watch Bear Grills the Island and they dropped shed loads of weight through not eating not one of them maintained as they were in starvation mode.

My doctor is watching my thyroid. i take Nature-Throid. He said that limited calories can negatively affect the thyroid, but so far it hasn’t. That’s one of the reasons that he doesn’t want me to continue the 800 calorie ‘bootcamp’ after the 8 weeks. but wants me on the 5/2. I’m into week 6.

My doctor is watching my thyroid. i take Nature-Throid. He said that limited calories can negatively affect the thyroid, but so far it hasn’t. That’s one of the reasons that he doesn’t want me to continue the 800 calorie ‘bootcamp’ after the 8 weeks. but wants me on the 5/2.

Congrats! I’m entering the 6th week and am planning ahead. My very knowledgeable and supportive doc told me to go to 5/2 after the 8 weeks because he didn’t think I was getting enough good nutrition in the 800 calories that I was eating (he saw my food diaries and i am trying to be thoughtful). How do you think your nutritional needs are going? Any suggestions? I’ll still have a good 90 pounds to go. I’ve lost 22.6 pounds and 4″ off my waist, so hopefully i’ll approach your numbers by the end. Down one dress size (24 to some 22’s) and blood sugars went from 112 to 83. I’ve just been told i can exercise a little bit now – so i think that should make a difference. But i must do it in incremental pieces.