I have slightly raised cholesterol and I usually have a Benecol yoghurt drink each day. Can anyone tell me if this is allowed on the BSD diet? Thank you,

Hi Floraellen,

thanks for that, they are really filling and you can flavour them with whatever you’d like ie Mexican spices and use them instead of tortillas to make an enchilada or fajita,

Indian spices, or coriander and have with curry

You could also put cooked veg in the finished batter,

Let me know how you get on with them

take care😎

Lunch: tuna crunch salad, mix tuna in spring water with finely chopped red pepper, onion , mix in a little Philadelphia light cream cheese , add pepper, fill and eat with crudités ( can also make with sardines or smoked mackerel , or serve n lettuce cups ( makes two portions form a regular size can)

Chicken, bacon Ceaser salad, , half a lean chicken breast, poached or dry fried, a rasher of lean back bacon, lettuce, small sprinkle Parmesan, drizzle with a small amount of dressing

Apple, walnut, celery, and a small amount of cheddar, salad leaves

Soup, lots of veggies, low salt stock, and some beans

Hi ingenue
love your recipe for the flat breads most certainly going to try this it is good to have something to put something on when a slice of bread is not an option and oh how l love (loved) bread

A few ideas for meals :

Breakfast : scrambled eggs, add what you like for variety I’ve smoked salmon, mushrooms, onions, a small amount of Parmesan or feta, tomatoes

Cottage cheese with diced apples or pears with a slice of ham chopped up

Yoghurt with berries ( I add half a tsp of date syrup to sweeten)

A couple of rashers of lean back bacon , grilled ( fat removed) with mushrooms, tomatoes, or beans or egg

Frittata, with veggies of choice and a sprinkle of Parmesan

Mushrooms stuffed with chopped leeks , spinach and a small amount of Wensleydale

Hi Bill….I think Floraellen is right, haven’t found this to be like the Atkins diet. The fats are good healthy ones not icecream, cream and all the horrid fats in carb rich foods.

Thanks Jane will try some

Hi Bill. Its a bit like the chicken and the egg, which came first the diabetes or the high cholesterol. I feel that the amount of fat in the diet is minimal and used to emphasise the flavour and l think thank goodness l can now put olive oil on my salad without the guilt. I am not using much butter as l am not eating bread. I am no longer using those low fat products full of fat producing carbohydrates.

Recipes sound lovely so do post them…..I’ll be bored and need a change of menu by next week!

Sorry Aliba predictive text in last reply decided your name was Alina! Apologies.

Thanks for the support Alina. Unfortunately I can’t eat eggs! Your suggestions look very interesting though. I usually keep a batch of soup on the go for lunch.
I am lucky enough to know a farmer at a local market who sells his own ground linseed which I use every day on my breakfast too. My aim is to have fish twice a week, we have a new fishmonger visiting locally. Next week I plan Mackeral baked on fennel and gooseberries and a Morocco baked sea bass. Hopefully if the recipes work well I will post them on the forum.

Hi all,
Thanks for the food suggestions. They are brilliant. I did the shakes entirely last time with 250g leafy veg. This is so much better as I am mixing it up a little. I hope I still get the loss I need.
I think you are right about staying off the carbs. I tested my levels going to bed and they were 4.8 which was good. There is something really good about going to bed with a near empty stomach. I keep thinking about all the food my body needed to process overnight. I too have slept a lot better the last two nights and this was the same the last time I did it. It’s great to go to bed and sleep until 5am anyway.
I tested my level this morning before any food and it had gone up to 7.7 😒 I then realised I hadn’t taken my met forming dot 2 days so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Well done on another day (nearly) under our belt.
This was what was missing when I did the diet on my own. This is a great blog!!! Keep on trucking 👍👍

Good luck WillotheWisp…..it’s not as daunting as you may think…..have a look at my post on what to eat if it will help….welcome to the club!
X

Hope this will be a useful thread for us all as it can be a bit daunting so here goes my last few days:
– I hard boiled 6 eggs and peel one and take to work in foil….emergency in case get really hungry and has helped at times.
BREAKFASTS –
– 2 tablespoons of full fat Greek yoghurt, 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (aldi or lidl) a few frozen cherries(‘sainsburys) alternate on some days with Bircher muesli from the book (get ready night before and just mix in the morning)
– 2 hard boiled eggs and handful of cherry tomatoes (portable too)
-2 scrambled eggs, few slithers of smoked salmon and tomatoes and or cucumber
LUNCHES
– make up the dressing in a jam jar 1 tablespoon grain or Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon olive oil, one tablespoon cider or white vinegar….makes enough for two lunches so I halve and take separately
– Smoked mackerel fillet, tomatoes, cucumber, rocket….have sometimes thrown in an egg and changed up the mackerel for sardines, chicken, tinned tuna and even cooked bacon one day( chuck on dressing and eat)
DINNER
-chicken breast stir fried in non stick pan, till cooked..add 2 tablespoons coconut milk, 1tablespoons fish or soy sauce and a pinch of chilli flakes….add chopped up pak choi/cabbage/green beans/broccoli -whatever there is. Add two tablespoons cooked rice….have used brown or wild (ready cooked microwave rice) and pour into a bowl
– salmon steak coated in a bit of oil, add five spice powder or cumin or mustard powder and pan fry, serve with pak choi or cabbage or broccoli or green beans chucked in pan with a bit of low sodium soy or full fat yoghurt as a
Sauce.
I’m no great cook and I need quick tasty food……that’s it…a hot drink if desperate (coffee, tea, pepermint tea) and if that fails….a hard boiled egg or a few almonds (5)
Probably too many eggs but as no cakes or biscuits or any other rubbish whose counting!
X

Hello All, I am staring on Sunday Feb 7th. (I have a pre-arranged meal to attend Sat, so feel its sensible to wait).I am following the 800 calories a day eating plan,using MFP to log my meals and among other authors Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall books to cook from,adjusting the carbs etc in the recipes. I need to lose 2stone 5lbs to reach a reasonable BMI.

Hi all
To all you newbies, It’s really great that you are all doing this diet and welcome!
Andy…that’s and amazing result for you…well done.
Penny…did you start on Monday? That’s only a few days so please don’t be disheartened…could be fluid retention? Not enough fluid?….body adjusting? You’ll do it and a pound off is way better than a pound on!
Have had to get the food thing down to a fine art with the planning or I would easily fall off the wagon with work and late meetings!
This is my priority and my pesky pancreas is going to get what’s coming.
I’m starting a new post….what I ate today because although Michael’s recipes are fab a lot of us need ideas that are simple (me included)
X

I’ve tried 5:2 before, but because I have high blood sugar (pre-diabetes), I just couldn’t stick to 500 calories on my fasting day. I have the Blood Sugar Diet book, and it’s heartening to know I can eat up to 800 and still lose weight. I did lose weight before on 5:2, so I know it works, but like I said, that blood sugar can just make you feel starving, and after a while I just gave up on my fasting days and gained back weight.

This time I’m sticking to the low carb recommendations in the book and also focusing on protein on my fasting days.

So, I’m already into my first day of low carb fasting, and I can tell you, that extra protein makes all the difference.

I can do this!

Hi everyone! As Penny posted no weight loss after first week but I have not been very active as a cold has left me very chesty and breathless. With all your support I will keep to the diet. I feel better first thing. Previously I spent the first hour of the day getting going!

Hi Chinta
That’s great
I’ve only lost 1 lb so far. On day 3. My sister is on day 5 and not list anything. must be a family thing. We will trudge on. 😁

I desparetly need to lose weight. since being on high doses of 2 different types of insulin I have put on so much weight. I am at my heaviest of 17 stone 4. as I am disabled I cant do any exercises, even walking slowly is out for me. please if any one has any ideas, I would really be grateful.

Hi Floraellen
That’s what I do too. It really helps. Trying not to think about the salt but not having any other salt so think it’ll be ok.
Penny

Wow! Started Monday morning, haven’t felt hungry once & lost 6.5 lbs in 48 hours!!! Hope everyone happy and doing well…

Andy.

Hi Auntieambel
Welcome to the forum.
Penny

I started on 1st February too. Saw the book advertised on Mumset, bought it, and here I am. I’m 5 foot 3 and weighed in at 18st 9lb. Struggled with weight for 30 years, I’m 46 now. I had blood sugar tested and it came back at 4.8, so no problems there. I’d love to keep checking in with you all if thats ok, it will keep me motivated. I’ve not felt hungry yet so far either, its amazing, considering I was a total carb-monster!

That sounds really nice !

I may have missed this somewhere in the book, but I, and I suppose many other diabetics also suffer from high cholesterol. I take statin tablets for it.
Won’t the use of dairy and fatty products in the diet lead to an increase in cholesterol ? and if so, what can we do to combat it ?
Be just my luck to lose the weight, get the blood sugar down, and have a coronary. 🙁

My current GP is the one who found I have diabetes and he has been more than helpful ever since. I get regular check ups not only for the diabetes but for my eyes and feet too.

My Fasting BS has been dodgy for a few years now. My fasting BS was regularly over 7 and sometimes over 8. My cholesterol is high too. We have 2 lady GPs in our practice. The first one told me not to worry although my Hba1c is 48. The other one 3 weeks later wanted me to urgently go on statins and get my fasting BS done again. I have now changed to another practice. I started the BS diet over 2 weeks ago and I have lost 11lbs and my fasting BS is now 5.7 😄

Hi everyone,
Does anyone have any other ideas of what to eat other than eggs or cottage cheese for breakfast. I have tried the yoghurt, Apple and mango which is great but any other ideas I could try because I don’t won’t to get board with just yoghurt and eggs etc. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone who has posted about hypo experiences. Since mine started about 4 years ago I feel as though I have lived in a constant state of anxiety, afraid of what is going to happen every time I go out. It comes from not being taken seriously, and people (including me!) not really understanding. I plan every outing around when I’m going to need to eat. However, on the positive, I’ve just gone 4 hours, including going shopping, with no crash, and feel good. Just had lunch, but need to be careful now, as only got about 300 cals left.

Pmshrink..thanks for letting me know. On day 3…it’s nice eating filling foods, now to try some out on my son

I’ve had a few hypos, interestingly enough, if my blood sugar is 4 or above I’m ok. As soon as it hits 3.8, the hypos start in the same way as others but I find that I sweat a lot as well when having one. I keep a packet of glucose tablets with me for these occasions.

I have found a hot drink of bovril or marmite has helped my night cravings. It just seems to have a calming effect and the saltiness of the drinks seem to help. I haven’t looked into the health side just don’t want to give in to snacking

I have been riding mine out. I hadn’t really bothered about them before, felt a bit light headed, heart racing, yawning constantly all of these and as soon as l had something to eat, a big sandwich preferably the symptoms would go. So l am riding them out. I am on day 9 lost 6 pounds, blood sugar at last going down a little so hope l am over the worst. I suppose we have to train our brains that they are no longer going to be fed lovely carbohydrates to satify the cravings. It must be like an addict withdrawing.

Starting day 3 and I’ve lost 2kgs so far. That makes a total of 6kgs since Christmas because I was following the low card/high fat diet anyway, just fewer calories in this one. Yesterday I told my diabetes nurse that I had lost 5kgs and she said “well hopefully you’ll have lost 10 by the time I see you in September.” I’m hoping it’ll be closer to 30!!!

Thanks Penny. Its great having this Forum for the support from people in the same situation. This has helped me far greater than my Diabetic Nurse during the course of my diagnosis. To all of you on here Good Luck and keep up the loss !!!!

Well, 3rd day in. Yesterday I had home made humus with a half carrot and a stick of celery for lunch. For dinner it ws a small grilled chicken breast with 2 flat mushrooms sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese. I had a small handful of mixed nuts as a snack at about 8pm
Blood sugar at bedtime was 5.9, woke up this morning to a reading of 12.0 !!!
If this is the dawn effect I can only assume that my liver is releasing stored sugar overnight as I’m not putting very much in so, hopefully, we’ll get to the point where there is no more stored sugar and my fasting readings will start going down.
It’s great to get some support so thanks for replying folks, we’ll do it together and get there in the end.

Morning! That’s exactly how I feel, pmshrink, and you are right that very few people have heard of it, never mind understand it. My doctor didn’t have a clue, sent me to an endocrinologist who didn’t have a clue either, so have done extensive reading, and learned to manage it on my own. I have never actually fainted, but have definitely come very close on a couple of occasions. Thanks very much for your encouragement, as I gave never really found anyone who properly understood. As for today, onwards and upwards, with everything crossed for success! Good luck today to everyone!,

Hi Robyn
I have a Nutriblend and make a smoothie. I have discovered a book written for the 5:2diet with lots of very nutritious low carb recipes. It’s called the 5:2 low carb Nutribullet recipe book by Susan Fotherington. Kindle edition about £3.
Penny

Hi Freda
Since my sister and I have been doing the BSD we are more able to wake up.
Hope it helps you too.
Penny

Hi Bordercol
On My Fitness Pal you can write in what you’ve done and it works out what cals you’ve used.
Obviously you have to time yourself but it can be linked to various monitoring gadgets.
Penny

Hi GofH
By crash or hypo we mean our blood spikes then goes too low. The effects are to start feeling like your brain isn’t working properly , you can feel disorientated, get lost in a familiar place, feel confused and unable to think. Decision making is impossible. It’s a really horrible feeling. Quite frightening and we ve learnt to deal with it by eating carbs- the more easily absorbed the sooner we feel better. Of course this leads to more of the same.
Is this how you feel Malkay?
And it’s made worse by the fact that people in general don’t know about it or understand it.
Penny

It took me quite a bit of experimentation to see what worked and what didn’t. For better or worse, I am mostly home bound and that is making it easier for me to handle the difficulties as they come up.

Wishing you both the very best.

My doctor is writing a little paper on teaching the body to be fat burning rather than protein and carb burning – important for athletes with hypoglycemic reactions. He states that hypoglycemia is better controlled with fats than with proteins. I truly don’t understand all that he is saying. I am urging him to get the information out there. But in the meantime, perhaps increasing healthy fats might help.

Thanks, both of you! I am definitely going to try to divide my cals out the way you suggest tomorrow, pm shrink. II’ll let you know how I get on. When Im really careful I definitely feel better. I think I just need to be more organised. It’s definitely easier when I’m home all day.

Hi Malkay
I ve always had this as long as I can remember – and my son has it more than I do, and definitely had it as a child. Neither of us has ever passed out except once when he cycled up a long hill.
I think the key is definitely eating as often as you need but in a planned way so there’s no carb temptation and you stay on your 800.
Penny

I feel in over my head on this one, Malkay. Penny sounds like she may be of more help.

Hi Again Malkay
Maybe you don’t need to go more than three hours without eating, but could spread the 800 out differently. I definitely didn’t go longer than that today. I have a snack allowance out of the 800. So breakfast and lunch are 200 each, snacks are 100, and dinner is 300.
The snacks were non carb.
Hope this helps.
Penny

Are you diabetic? What is your blood sugar when you feel lightheaded?

To explain the pancreatic diabetes. I have chronic, progressive autoimmune pancreatitis. Steroids help control it. There is some thought that the Mediterranean diet lowers inflammation as does weight loss.
I am surprised that today quite a lot of prednisone was needed and i am not particularly hungry. Used to be i could eat the frig door, forget the food. I think the low carb is helping.

I have to be careful with fats (my pancreas loves olive oil – but not much else), but find that 1/4 C full fat milk added to decaf makes me less hungry. I have it with a meal that leaves me wondering if i’ll be satiated. The trouble is then later, i don’t feel like eating, but must eat to take meds, lol. This doesn’t help crashes to the best of my knowledge.