Hiya! This is not really helpful (sorry) , but slightly related if Quorn is not allowed 🙂 My partner is veggie and when he moved in, I switched to being veggie too(about 95% of the time) as it was easier. However, Quorn doubles me up with stomach pains, so I can’t touch it. I seem to be able to eat the soya mince, but i find it has a weird taste.I am not keen on tofu either.
I don’t know if Quorn is allowed, but I personally ( and I am not suggesting that everyone would agree) like the idea and challenge of trying to use less processed ingredients. I quite like the idea of myself being more imaginative with fresh food, as for many years I really didn’t like most veg and ate with very limited ingredients. I have trained myself now to like most of them, and instead of making a Quorn curry, I will do a vegetable one with lots of ” meaty” mushrooms, but add some seed and nuts for protein, along with quinoa ( I think this is a complete veg protein? ) i then use the leftover quinoa to make a tabboulah type salad for work the next day too.However this is more time consuming and I have not yet done a calorie counted version. I was going to add ” and not as convenient for sandwich or burger fillings” but you won’t be having any of those (sandwiches) lol.

I have several stone to lose, and bought the BDS book for myself at xmas. I was so excited to get started that I didn’t even wait until 1st Jan when everyone traditionally starts a regime; all went well and I was losing weight, my blood pressure dropped and I started to run up stairs instead of puff up them. That was until this week, when I had to deal with my husbands birthday (my 13 year old daughter made his very delicious cake), and I had a business trip where the selection of food on offer was mainly buffet style lunches and high calorie dinners. As much as I tried to minimise the damage, after the one small slice of cake, sandwiches and unhealthy carbs, I gained 8lbs and I’m once more craving bread.

Has anyone else had this result over just a 1 week period? I know I have to just accept it and start again today, but falling off the wagon had a far more damaging effect on my plan that I had anticipated. I guess the lesson here is plan better!

I am pre diabetic harassed mother of four (although as I have actively ignored the GP requests to do the 3 months retrospective blood sugar test, am pretty certain it would confirm Type 2). I have fatty liver disease, am in the perimenopause (just started bio-identical HRT) with 5-6 stone to lose. Fabulous!

Day 1 Friday, Day 2 – blown, new Day 1 today! I am using Cambridge Diet meal replacement shakes (is anyone else?), although for how long I am not sure as I have to get to grips with food again at some point. Where possible I follow 16:8- any other 16:8 people, do you do this all week? Or should I give it a rest once in a while?

I am a huge fan of all things Michael Mosley and am fired up and determined but have the strongest inner saboteur. Here goes . . .

Thanks. The strips do seem to cost a lot in some cases!

I am an overweight vegetarian trying to work out if this diet will work for me. Is it ok to replace meat and fish with quorn if I make sure I stay under the 800 calories or would it be better to replace with pulses?

I’ve found a few paleo recipes that contain arrowroot or tapioca (also in gluten-free recipes). Just wondering if it is considered any better or worse than regular flour from a BSD perspective?

Hi Luis
Brown rice doesn’t spike your blood sugar because it takes longer to digest even though it’s the same calories as white rice. Re honey- it spikes your blood sugar. It may be after 8 weeks you won’t want sugar in your coffee!
Penny

I stopped having white rice some time back, I have been eating a brown and wild rice mix. Having said that Tilda do a wild rice but it is not cheap, which is why it has been a treat up to now, it is high fibre and supposedly has a low glycemic index so now I am following the diet have it where it is a rice option.

It freezes very well and as my wife doesn’t eat rice at all it lasts (or at 2 tbsps. a meal will last) for a long time.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that it is not actually rice but a grass but whatever it’s origin it is has a lovely taste. After starting that sentence I googled and it is indeed a grass.

I put up with quinoa, but in truth would rather eat cardboard with lots of chilli sauce.

I didn’t get a sugar crash, and I haven’t read anywhere on this forum of anyone else getting one either, so you should be ok. Don’t forget you will still be eating sugar, but in a more natural form. We are still getting sugar from the food we are eating, especially the fruit. If you really get a craving for something sweet then do what I do and mix a heaped tablespoon of raisins up with some plain unsalted peanuts and have that as a snack treat.

I do that in the evenings when I start fancying nibbles. Obviously I count that in my 800 calories though.

Zandranna, thank you for the tips, will give it a go and see how I get on. I’m worried about the sugar crash thou 😁

Yes, I don’t find it hard to stick to 800 cals at all.

What I have been doing is posting all my next days meals ahead of time on myfitnesspal. That way I can make sure that all cals add up to 800 before I even start eating anything.

If a recipe is going to take me over the 800, I will work out if perhaps eating only 3/4 of that meal will bring the cals down to where I want them. Or if I want to have a fairly high cal evening meal that day I will look to see what I have chosen for breakfast and cut that down.

For instance, today I would have gone over my calories, but I was able to juggle it by only having half a greek yogurt and flaxseed for breakfast instead of a whole one.

I think the secret is planning what you are going to eat for the whole day and counting the calories ahead of time. It’s 9am here now and I am just about to go to myfitness pal and fill in everything I intend to eat tomorrow.

I started today. I have read most of the book. I took my blood sugar and at 4.7 I think that is ok. Hope I am right. I have 5 stone to loose so I need this diet plan. It will inspire me if I can drop some weight quickly also walking every day. Good luck everyone and keep posting diet tips and blogs..

Oh and just to add – stew is great on this plan. I’ve had both chicken and beef stew. Thing is, once you’ve added up the calories in the ingredients you don’t have to keep doing it if you make a note of what you added and keep quantities the same every time you make it. Yesterday I made a beef stew that was 360 calories for a pretty big portion – 200g of beef, carrots, leek, onion and some stock – and it was great. Plus it meant I had another portion for today (I made it with 400g of beef).

Meat and two veg is fine, actually – perfect in many ways. Eggs and bacon would presumably be another thing he’d like, with maybe tomatoes and / or mushrooms? Eggs are about 90 calories each if boiled, and around 130 cals or so for fried or scrambled with a tsp of butter.

The key is simplicity – you don’t actually have to cook complicated recipes. If he’s into ping meals make that work for him by buying prepared veggies that can go in the microwave – you know, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, leek and cabbage etc – anything like that, as the calorie count is on the bag. Can be served up with chicken breast, lamb/pork chops, 4oz steak etc. If he likes tea with milk, a drop of milk in a mug is about 20-30 cals.

Hi zandranna
Are you managing to stick to the 800 a day? I’m going to use the recipes in the book but most days they are about 900 to 920 calories ?

I’m pleased the list helped Vicky.

I seem to be losing almost a 1lb a day at the moment. I’ve got a feeling though that for me, that may slow up to 4lbs a week. I would be over the moon with that though.

Michael says in his book that he has reversed his diabetes. Does this mean you can be “un-diagnosed” if you succeed in getting your blood sugar levels consistently within the “normal” range? Would Your GP be prepared to agree to this? Or is the view taken that once a diabetic always a diabetic, a bit like alcoholism?

Hello, just wondered what weight loss you are all achieving?? I’m committed but a little apprehensive , thanks vicky

Hi,

Try ‘code free’ on Amazon. The monitors and strips are fairly cheap and they usually do a deal on the monitor and test strip package.

Beans and pulses are great – as Cazzowary says they contain complex carbs and a good amount of protein.
There is a bit of confusion about carbs as this is not a very low carb diet, and it certainly isn’t a low fat diet. We encourage you to enjoy a moderate amount of healthy fats, including full fat dairy products. Will be writing a post for The Blood Sugar Diet about the recent research in the area.

That is great advice, and the list really helpful many thanks x

I have started today and so far so good. Have read the book twice. This morning I had cottage cheese, pear and walnuts for breakfast. Surprisingly enjoyable and filling. For lunch had the mushrooms with goats cheese, and I added a poached egg which was delicious. That was really enjoyable too. Have had lots of drinks, although need to drink more water. Have Type 2 diabetes, which is the bane of my life, hence starting this diet. Do feel a bit hungry. what do people do for snacks? not sure what/how much to have. I need to make sure my blood sugar doesn’t go too low or the diet will go out of the window in a blink! If you cook the meals in the books, can you add more above ground veg to your dinner, without counting additional calories?

I am still drinking as much tea as I usually do but have gone from semi-skimmed to full fat. I measure the milk in the cup each time and that milk counts towards my 800 cals. I”m also drinking coffee but with no sugar of course. I’m also having my night time cup of cocoa made with water and a little milk if I have enough cals left over at the end of the day. All that adds up to 7 fluid ounces of whole milk.

To stock up on the basics I have:-

Vegetables all grown above ground. Along with sweet peppers, mushrooms, garlic, onions etc.
Tomatoes, cucumber and a bag of mixed lettuce (love those ones with baby spinagh
Berries (strawberries, blue berries, raspberries)
Oranges and Apples
Lemons
Raisins
Sunflower seeds
Unsalted peanuts
Flaxseed (mainly for me to mix in with yogurt)
Eggs
Ryvita crispbread

For the Fridge:-

Butter
Cheese (chedder full fat)
Humus
Quark
Full fat milk
Greek style natural yogert

Tinned food:-

Pilchards
Tuna
Mackerel in olive oil
Chopped tomatoes
Plum tomatoes
Heinz baked beans

What I need to cook a daily main meal I figure out the night before what I want and then nip to the local shops the following morning to buy anything special I need for it.

Hi Vicky if you also click on Newbies under forums there are other posts where people are asking questions so might be worth having a look in there.

What I believe is that we can’t trust anything on the web at the moment because all the old information tells us to eat low fat or fat free. Even some of the 5 – 2 diet websites are giving recipes using skimmed milk and specifically listing low fat ingredients.

I think it’s going to take a while before information starts slowly changing around the web as more people realise that fat isn’t bad for us but sugar is.

Hi I am also trying to work that out !I am guessing that its a good idea to follow the guide in the book as they have worked out how many calories are in each meal and also what things you need to eat to make sure you have the correct proteins, minerals etc.
I have just been reading back through again and can’t find anything that says you can do your own version if you keep to the 800 calories a day though

From reading the book i think one cup of coffee a day is ok but mainly herbal teas or water. but need to drink 2-3 litres of water a day.

can’t find anything about milk, so not sure if you can have that. Fruit is rationed, but if you have it go for strawberries, cherries, blackberries and blueberries.

stick to leafy veg broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, lettuce, kale, chard, and cauliflower, peppers and mushroom also good. eggs, fish, chicken, nuts, eggs and spinach.

I guess if you are able to work out a menu plan for yourself using those ingredients to value of 800 calories a day you should be ok.

Im just going to go through all of the menu plan as there are some things I don’t like too. So Im going to pick the meals I do like and they have already given us the calories for them meal and I will make up a plan that way.

Don’t know if this has been helpful !
think it may be a bit trail and error to start with, but one of the key things is making sure you drink the 2 – 3 litres of water to prevent headaches and constipation.
Good luck!

Hi everyone, I too have read the book and intend to start Monday, although I am a little confused as what exactly to buy, I know there are the recipes to adhere too but can I produce my own recipes as long as they are within the same calorific value?? Also I am a little unclear to exactly what foods are allowed ?? Can anyone help please ??

I haven’t been following this slavishly, but have lost 4kg since starting a few days before Christmas, albeit with a huge blip over New Year when I was totally floored with cold/cough/temp for 2 weeks, and consequently my self control was at a very low ebb! I am now back to exercising (mainly running) and think that will shift things faster. I had a diabetes check last year at 41 and was told all was fine, but loads of family members have type 2, going back through generations before folk were as overweight as we tend to be these days, so I was keen to do this to reduce my weight to healthy levels (at 86.6kg I am still 16.6kg more than I was in years gone by). I managed to lose 20kg 10 years ago, but put it back on when a family member was very ill. I am now older and wiser to the risks of regaining weight and determined to keep it off this time. I find the menus are not complicated – if you stick to the right weights of protein, you soon get to know you can eat a fair bit of veg, and breakfasts for me are simple with either natural yoghurt fruit and seeds or an egg on red pepper or mushroom ‘toast’.

Some posters comment on their dislike of natural yoghurt. I find that natural yoghurt seems to cary hugely in taste across different brands. I can highly recommend Pakeeza live set natural yoghurt which I found at the orange supermarket!

To bean it is then. There are very mixed messages, as you would expect, on the WWW.

I made a chilli using 5% minced beef and kidney beans so I’m hoping that’s OK. I’m definitely losing weight but its early days as I’m in my first week – day 7! What I’ve done is make meals, use only complex carbs, lots of green veg, lean meat, lots of spices and herbs. Perhaps I should stick to the meals in the book?

I too am eating beans. Next week I plan to make a 3 bean casserole. As far as I can make out when reading Micheal’s book, pulses are an important part of the diet. They contain good carbs and also protein.

How about subbing seeds for nuts? Pumpkin and sunflower should work…

Beans are in the Mediterranean diet and they are certainly in the book so if you like beans, eat beans. They have carbs but they are not simple carbs, they’re complex carbs with a good amount of protein so they’ll give you energy for a longer period of time. From what I’ve seen, some people seem to be following a traditional low carb diet and hence some of the posts about too many carbs but I’m following the diet as written by Michael- I know I find traditional low carb/ketogenics too hard to stick with.

Enjoy your beans 🙂

Hi, I bought the book today. Just reading in bed and off to the shops tomorrow to buy veg!

I bought the book on Tuesday from Whsmith it was half price at 4.49 – bargain. I also bought the kindle version but returned it as the recipes were too hard to search on the kindle version.

I am starting the New Me on Monday and I don’t want to use meal replacements. Ideas please for complete meals that I can make ahead, freeze then microwave at work.

I like pulses, especially mixed beans, am I wrong to have these as a meal? I tend to have about 100-120 gm chillied for a meal.

Will this be ok as I am getting mixed messages as to the carb content, I thought beans were ok, high fibre protein with low carb.

Oh thanks guys, that all makes sense and good to know what works for you.

Hi
Today is my first day. Have about 31/2 stone to lose which has got more each new regime I try. Have been trying low carb high fat but some of websites gave been so nasty to each other it was really off putting. Reading the book I can identify with a lot of what has been written, although not diabetic, it’s my personal fat distribution system that is there in black and white!
Have had a lovely day, food delish, water glugged and emptied fridge and restocked. Fully intend to stick with it and have really enjoyed reading the posts. Good luck to all!

I am starting tomorrow, and feeling a bit nervous. Worked out my own menu for the first week and have been shopping – loads of veg no pasta bread or spuds in any format.

Hi Hopeful,
I am also cooking quinoa, but I prefer rice so the brown rice was ideal as it is on the low GI range.
Thank you.
Luis

Hi,
I’ve bought the book on kindle while on holiday and planning to start when I get home. My question is about flours.
I know that all flour, because it is milled, i.e. broken down/ partially digested, is higher GI than the grains that it’s made from, but are all flours equally bad? I am thinking of lentil flour (used in south Indian dosas) and chickpea flour.
I see that coconut flour is suggested in some of the baking recipes. Is there a reason for this?
I am very fond of pancakes, such as korean kimchee pancakes, and would like to try adapting sime recipes to reduce the GI. Is there a list comparing different types of flour anywhere?

Hi Hawkeye,
Use Greek yoghurt and where possible add spices to make it more flavourable.
Regards
Hopeful

I think that any full fat natural yogurt is fine Hawkeye. I love yogurt but hate natural yogurt, but I have found I am getting used to natural yogurt (3 days on the diet) by first mashing up about 6 raspberries then stiring that in the yogurt. Any soft berries will do.

I don’t really eat meat and my protein comes from fish, cheese and eggs mostly. I am still eating full fat hard cheese (cheddar) and I believe that as long as it’s all counted in with the 800 calories it’s fine. For soft cheese I bought some Quark, which is between a soft cheese and thick yogurt. I spread it on a ryvita and then layed slices of strawberry on the top to give it a bit of flavour as I found the Quark to be quite flavourless. I might not buy that again but find some other soft cheese that is allowed to be part of the diet.

At the moment I’m not sure what soft cheeses are counted as processed and what in natural if you know what I mean.

The thing is, we are so used to having sugar in our foods that our taste buds now have to get used to not having that. Over a few days we should find the bland tastes a bit more flavourful as our taste buds get used to them.

At the moment for me, as I am still learning, I am just making sure that I don’t eat any processed foods, only eating vegatables grown above ground, eating pulses, seeds and the occasion peanuts. As far as I know all meat, chicken, fish, eggs and cheese is ok.

I am eating nothing that is low fat or fat free and that includes skimmed milk. I only have whole milk now.

I”m hoping I am doing the right things to make sure I get a balanced diet.

Thanks veggie2. I will add that to the list! Good luck Monday!

Thanks Hopeful. I don’t need a fancy one as I have not been tested, but am curious as I suspect after reading the book that I may test as pre diabetic. I see that some do all sorts of things. I looked at the Aviva one that you could click the link to on here ( the one with the cartridge ) and this was where I saw quite a lot of people reporting an inaccurate reading. I will look at the strip prices thank you

Hello Lisa,
I am Type 2 diabetic on Insulin and have been using the Freestyle Freedom Lite which is very good, but be aware that the testing strips can be expensive(I get mine on prescription)you may use 4 a day, I test before each meal and before bed.
Can I suggest you go on Amazon or Ebay and type in ‘blood monitoring testing strips’ and see which are priced reasonably then go for that make of tester,I think most of them are pretty accurate, or speak to your diabetic nurse at your surgery and she may be able to help, may even give you a tester!!!
Regards
Hopeful

I too am starting on Monday. I could not get the book as it is unavailable on amazon, but have the kindle version, not good for following recipes. So I have the menus from the Daily Mail. Will shop on Sunday for the first three days. I like the Total greek yogurt (not 0%), as the texture is nicer.

Hi, I started th diet 5days ago now and immediately noticed that a lot of the foods weren’t really my kind of foods. I do cook a lot and am a bit of a foodie but from a Yorkshire background we like our meat and two veg in large portions as well. I’ve basically gone off piste this week making all my recipes from scratch not the book but incorporating then stuff I don’t like very much ( don’t know if they are correct nutritional but hey it’s working and I’ve lol 3kg already and my blood sugar is trending down daily) not been hungry once and strangely feel absolutely fine, no headaches etc. I’d be willing to share my recipes with you if it helps. As for frozen veg, this is just as nutritious as fresh providing the are low starch and there’s much less waste. As for not being able to use the scales I would suggest getting the book carbs and cals for him as its in association with diabetes uk and is a brilliant book generally as it has info along with pictures of portion sizes, for me it’s an invaluable resource I use many times a day. I got mine from Amazon and th ISBN was 978-1-9082610-6-9
As for cost, it doesn’t cost a lot to be on this diet for me. I didn’t buy loads of stuff, I am ploughing through loads of fresh veg though but that’s my choice, and I do supplement with frozen berries and veg if I run out of fresh. The portion sizes I make usually make 2 or 4 and I’m freezing the spare ones so this might suit your dad as well.
Anyway good luck, and a huge well done for taking on the challenge

I notice a lot of the recipes contain nuts; all very healthy but what do you do if you are allergic to them? For the recipes that contain nuts, do I add more protein and should I add a multi- mineral to maintain balance across the 8 weeks?