Scottishgal and Patricia thank you. I still class it as a binge as it was uncontrolled, unplanned and not within my 800 cal or 30g carb limit. ..

i know it could have been worse, like the large fish and chips i had the night before i started the 800. … 😂😂 although I’m being honest and Yorkshire puds with roasties sounds almost better!!

I am so annoyed as i haven’t even been on the plan a week.

So tomorrow its onwards and upwards! I’m not giving up or being demotivated. Just rearmouring 😂

Perhaps it’s a cultural thing, but I have no comprehension of what you mean when you say that you hope I miss the best
city in England, Geordie. Care to elaborate?

You always leave us with a bit of wit at the end of your posts, JGwen,. I really enjoy it! You have all”bonded” so well
on this thread, and I think it would be marvelous if one of you came up with a a new set of dates and a title that
incorporated the phrase “Road Trip” in it. I am delighted to fly by from time to time to see how everyone is doing!
It’s the best way I have to see how everyone is doing! Can you believe it? Only one more week to go 🙂

Geordie it is a fabulous city although perhaps not the best football team??😆😆
Great going so far. X

Yes full fat. I don’t want to have the low fat stuff with the sweetners.

And thank you!

I’m feeling really positive for this week. I have to go away for work the week after and it won’t be anywhere near as straightforward 😂👍

I hope you do amazing x

Thank you so much omnyway. Thank you! I have saved your message! Is your yogurt full fat? I’m quizzing you to emulate your success!x

Hi thanks for message and hope you are missing the best city in England 😉
Allie
Shakes are convenient when out of country tbh I use a high protein one and it doesn’t spike my sugars

Sorry, just to add on fasting, I tend to eat an evening meal quite early (5pm) and don’t eating until say 7 if I’m going swimming or 8/8.30 if I’m not.

I’m so sorry to confuse you, Patricia, but the BSD WOE isn’t equivalent to keto. MMosley is very vague in his books
about a recommended amt of carbs per day, so the general assumption is that it’s <50g. Some of us have studied
keto diets as well, and they are compatible with the principles of the BSD, only we take the carbs down to <20g. It’s
not a question of either/or, but how we choose to incorporate the 2. Some people are very successful at becoming
“fat adapted” at <50g of carbs per day, but others of us only enter a state of ketosis when we go as low as <20g.
It varies from individual to individual, and you arrive at the level that works for you by process of trial and error, and
whether you are happy with your rate of loss, as well as whether or not you experience plateaus, i.e., no wt. loss
for more than 2 weeks at a time. Insulin resistance seems to be the determining factor. It’s safe to conclude that
you may be insulin resistant if your waist measurement exceeds more than half your height. By weighing and
measuring portions and carbs each day, we have a record of where we started, and what tweaks need to be made
to push us into fat burning mode. Good luck!

Allie

Thank you.

I’ve never been a big tea or coffee drinker so I’ve been drinking fruit tea. I’ve not had any coffee. I’ve not had any milk in drinks. I had a bowl of (very) sugary cereals one morning when I stayed overnight with a friend, with semi skim milk.

I’ve just drank water mainly. I craved some squash but it was horrible, really synthetic tasting.

I’ve had a lot of yoghurt – having it with fruit and nuts lots of mornings.

I’ve not been totting up how many grams of carbs. But this last week I’ve avoided bananas and carrots. I’ve been eating berries instead. I’ve read posts on here about having less than 50g or as low as 25. In my head I might be approaching that but I can’t know for sure. I’ve researched which fruit, vegetables and nuts are lowest and have been deliberately having those.

As I get more used to the diet I think I’ll need to be more exact but for now my conscious decision to wipe out the ‘worst’ carbs and eat healthier/follow BSD recipes has worked xx

Protein wise I’ve been eating prawns, chicken, mackerel, turkey, beans and loving it – meals adding up to around 800 calories each day as per the book. I’ve bought the accompanying recipe book which has arrived today and done my best to meal plan.

I am reluctant to agree with the review conclusion, when so many variables could explain the worse outcome for people on animal based protein version of low carb.

But as 40% Carb isn’t keto, it isn’t our WOE.

If long-term health outcomes of keto hasn’t yet been addressed, and so much confusion added by a review like the one I put up, it’s hard to see how this will become mainstream.

HappyHel,
That’s really not a bad day!
The foods you had are mostly on the plan and so you shouldn’t worry too much.

(Pancakes for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings with my tea, now *that’s* a bad day!)

That is incredible!!! well done. Very motivating for me to read.
Can i ask a few questions- do you drink much milk in tea or coffee? What is your fast / carb / protein daily intake?

Thank you xx

Allie I am hun, thank you, with all of you guys spurring me on with not just encouragement but with your very real and personal stories and accomplishments how could I not. No, no robots on here hun😛🤖. I am also at my mums and she has just cooked us the most gorgeous roast chicken from the recipe book. Thank you for all your patience and help it really is a god send. ❤️💞🦜

I don’t think there will be a single one of us on here who hasn’t had at least one bad day. I’ve had a few! And going by what you’ve eaten it’s not that bad. Could have been much worse. Don’t be hard on yourself. Tomorrow is another day…..and the start of another week

Ah that’s really useful, thank you. I haven’t had lots of extra fat. I’ve just added a little avocado to my chicken salads or an extra bit of feta and it appears to have made a difference. I’ll experiment this week and see how it goes. I really don’t want to do the full keto diet. I really like that you don’t have to give up any food group with this WOE.

Thank you allie for you kind and gentle words. I’m so happy that’s ‘all’ it was and i didn’t hit crisps or cadbury chocolate. Or bread even!!

I’m due to get weighed tommorow and i will, i just know i can’t let myself get silly over this. It was one blip and not one month of blips.
Much love x

Thanks Patricia. And yes it has definitely helped! Although being back at work tomorrow will be the test! I’m only working 2 days this week so hopefully it will be better than last week and easier.
I’m going to add my own positives here…..been meaning to do it for ages.
1. Made a start on my wardrobe tonight.
2. Surprised at how invigorating it was and how much energy I had……could have kept going but had to stop in time to watch line of duty tonight 😉
3. The Easter eggs are still hidden and untouched!

Scottishgal, it’s doing it when it’s hard that deserves kudos. So kudos to you, you proved able to reach 20 hour mark, so you are deep in ketosis.
Has this helped your comfort level in following low carb?

What sort of shakes are you using, Geordie? There can be all kinds of sugars hidden therein, and they masquerade under
21 different names. The sooner you learn to prepare whole foods for yourself in appropriate portions, the sooner you will
learn to arrive at a plan that will not only propel you through weight loss, but will provide you with a solid plan for a life
of healthy eating. Convenience products and meal replacements can’t do that for us. There is a learning curve for
each one of us, and the sooner you jump in, the farther along you will be. Wishing you much success,

Allie

Write off a bad day, Happy. You’ve learned something important, and you understand the way forward. Please don’t
feel “ridiculous”. There is absolutely no one who doesn’t have to scale the steep learning curve. It’s progress, not
perfection! Just keep moving forward, and you will achieve all that you hope and dream. Best, best, best to you,

Allie

Are you feeling a bit better, Birdy? As you can readily see, we all have our meltdowns from time to time. We would be
robots if we didn’t 🙂 We do see ourselves through, and these forums are how we do it! I remember a powerful post
from Essie last year, when she confided in us that she believed that her weight loss was the single most profound
accomplishment of her 45 year old life. That was a departure point for me, because I appreciated every word that
she was saying. I thought about it myself in those terms, and have decided that maintenance is my “glory moment”
and I mark tomorrow as my anniversary date for 2 years in maintenance! I’m ready to cartwheel around the forum
in disbelief, and I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone here that contributed to my success. 🙂 You have the “power”
too, Birdy, and you will do this! When you do, I will be standing on the sidelines, grinning ear to ear, and saying “that’s
my girl!”

Allie

Thank you again everyone for all the birthday wishes! Now that it’s behind me and I’ve been an eating binging disaster for several weeks, putting everything back on that I had lost, it’s time for my restart. I’m going back to basics with 12:12 for a week. I refuse to weigh myself today so as not to start on a negative note. Will weigh in next Sunday instead. So, yay for me for trying again and being in a better space this time!

Today has been just awful. I woke up with a nasty painful coldsore. Really big and swollen. Then i just lost track of time with the kids and didn’t plan. So there’s all my pathetic excuses before i ate terribly
Breakfast – full fat greek yoghurt. Almonds. Chai seeds.

Lunch- tuna . Lettuce . Olives in oil drained. 3cherry tomatoes.

Then….
Cheese. Cashews. 2 squares of dark chocolate. 4 cups of tea at least . More cheese.

Now i feel awful and fat and ridiculous. Its not even been a bloody week on the diet.

My main issue i have now identified is i have to plan and plan and plan . And meal prep. Big time.

hello!!! I’m very new to this, only started a week ago. Thought i would say hello and good luck as I used to work in Newcastle,!
Xx

I will I am only having 85g of roast chicken as I don’t want to go over in my protein. My mum is putting all veg and meat on the table so we can help ourselves and she is putting the scales next to me so I can weigh it all before I eat it🤣🤣. Bless her. I am salivating! Can’t wait as I haven’t had a roast in ages. No roast potatoes though for me or my mum and dad🤣💞🦜

Oh, I see. Well, it’s a tradeoff, I suppose. The proportions of carb to fat in hummus would be a problem for me because there are a lot more of the former from the chickpeas than the latter from the olive oil. Plenty of other people seem to do great eating beans and pulses, so it’s all about knowing what works for you.

On the general question of whether increasing fat consumption can improve weight loss, ketogenic diet followers eat fat bombs, small snacks extremely high in healthy fats with no carbs and very little protein, in the belief that it keeps them in a fat-burning state (ketosis) because it ensures that burning body fat is the sole source of fuel. The process of gluconeogenesis creates glucose from protein, so keeping the protein and carbs very low while upping the fats keeps your body reliant on ketone bodies from burned fat stores to function.

The thing is, fat is the highest calorie of all macronutrients, so if you’re doing the BSD and counting cals rather than the full keto diet which very explicitly does not count calories, then you don’t really have the leeway to go nuts (so to speak) on fat intake.

Do you record all your food? If so, maybe tweak your macros and see how your body reacts to an increase in healthy fats. Everyone is different.

I was referring to the oil content in n the humous. I make mine with olive oil.

I love roasting my Brussel sprouts- delicious. I am going to try roasted radish – supposed to be delicious too.

Less than 5 grams carbs per cup (88 grams) of Brussels sprouts, so yes, but keep an eye on the serving size, as always.

Well done Patricia! That’s brilliant! I struggled to manage half of that so I can appreciate what a great accomplishment you’ve made

Oh no no no. I had plenty of meltdowns before then. I’m just using that one as an illustration of how they don’t really depend on the results themselves which can be astronomically great. They are a purely emotional reaction to the natural ebb and flow of long-term weight loss. It’s an intense experience that we come to with so much baggage. Of course we lose our minds sometime. We have our ugly cries, post something crazy on the forum and then we move forwards, eyes on the prize. 🙂

Quick question Guys can we have Brussel sprouts in this woe? Cheers birdy. 💞🦜

Essie thank you and wow 100lbs down before you had a meltdown bless you. I think with me it was like it wasn’t real and the scales were lying and someone was gonna laugh and say that I am never going to be slim and healthy!🤣. I want this more than anything I have ever wanted. To be able to buy the clothes I love and look good in them. I know it will happen I have the proof with you guys. I still have a lot to learn but with you and the other guys I know I can. Thank you lovely lady for all your guidance and help. I really do appreciate it. 🦜💞

Hummus is a good fat? Chickpeas are quite low in fat and very high in carbs which is why I don’t eat them or any other beans despite the claims made about their ostensibly low glycemic impact. Grass-fed ruminant meat, wild-caught salmon, nuts and seeds, especially hemp seeds, are the best sources of good fats as far as I know.

I did increase my fat intake and lower my protein when I was first figuring out my daily macronutrient goals. Obviously it worked for me overall, but I can’t say 20 grams more a day of fat was the reason for my weight loss.

Thank you all so much for your answers. I really appreciate your help and suggestions.
Unfortunately I am in the UK so I don’t have an easy supply of Allergen free products. But I keep looking.
I am ok with some beans so I will try substituting them as suggested. I’m spending this week preparing. I’m going to make some egg and veg muffins that can just be microwaved quickly in the mornings.
I’ll also prep and freeze portions of the chilli, bolognese and maybe soup bases.
Can we freeze cauliflower rice? How about courgetti? The more I can have easily to hand the better my success will be.
I’ve also found a hummus recipe using butter beans.
Is it wrong to say I’m looking forward to starting?

I couldn’t help but smile at your frantic “is this working for me?!” post, Birdy. It was a smile of recognition and empathy. You just had a classic meltdown. They are completely irrational, triggered by anything from a few ounces shift on the scale to your hands looking puffy. I once gained two pounds overnight with zero change to my food intake. My OH ran in the bedroom when he heard me literally banging my head against the wall and wailing like a baby banshee. “I’m never going to reach my goal. All of this has been for nothing. [sob, slobber, snort.]” I had lost more than 100 pounds at that point.

Roll on, girl. You are doing fantastic by every possible metric. You are one of the lucky ones who has lost very quickly in the early stages. Your successes will carry you forward over the low points until you get where you want to be and look back in disbelief that this happened at all.

Ladies thank you and you are right. You are all amazing and have done amazing on this WOE. I truly don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t welcomed me into this amazing forum. We drove 2hrs my son and myself today to Kent to visit my mum and after his rugby match he was very hungry! We stopped and I gave in to him and bought him a packet of crisps! Omg my mouth was watering from the smell and the glorious crunching sound they made🤣🤣🤐, so had just bought two boiled eggs and ate them slowly why he scoffed them just to stop myself for asking for one🤣.

Thank you again Allie, Jgwen and Cathy for your sage advice and encouragement you are awesome Birdy 💞🦜

I did the Newcastle diet a few years ago and had excellent results but unfortunately at the time there was no follow on diet recomended.
I started the Fast 800 on April the 7th and to compound matters I am in Saudi Arabia (just to make things more difficult ) staying in a nice hotel with excellent food. I managed to locate a body building supplement shop and bought some meal replacement shake and a mixer.
On the first day I took my sugars at 3pm in the afternoon, it was 10.7. My weight was 15’3lbs. This weight seems to be my bodies preferred weight as it fluctuates very little no matter what I do. I am a prop forward type body shape and am 5’7″ tall and my ideal weight is supposed to be 11 stones lol. If i got to this weight id look ridiculous lol. On the Newcastle diet I just broke the 13 stone barrier but looked like a bobble head as my body shrank but my head did not lol.
The saving grace out here is that the hotel has an excellent gym so ive been having my shakes through the day, tbh i only need one as I have a black coffee for breakfast, then come in from work, spend an hour in the gym doing weights and some HIIT on a bike then I have a small meal made up mostly of protein and green vegetables. I find after exercise im less hungry which is a bonus.
Its now day seven, checked my sugars after gym at 1pm and it was 7.4. Normally after gym I get a spike but didnt today. My weight is down to 14’12lbs which im over the moon with.
This just shows me that this diet def works, its tough theres no doubt about that, but doable. Secret is to keep occupied and not think of food.
I return home in a couple of weeks and intend to continue the shakes and light meals in evening, as well as the gym routine.
Im nearly fifty so if I can do it, anyone can.
If anyone needs support of just someone to correspond with in the tough times let me know, its good to share a comment with a fellow dieter.
Cheers
Craig

This research paper defined a high carb diet as being carbs >70% of energy intake, and a low carb diet as being where carbs < 40% of energy intake. – So their definition of low carb is considerably different to a keto diet.

I will be up for continuing down the road for summer. – Does anyone have a particular date in mind or shall we simply head for the start of July?

Hi Dreamscometrue, I did blow the dust of my old boys randonnee saddle, and was a little embarrassed by turning up with a well worn, and unclean saddle in comparison to all the latest gadgets and high end saddles the others had with them complete with saddle protectors. But in the end it became a conversation piece, as they hadn’t seen a French custom made saddle designed for long trail rides before.
The class this week was very different, lots of exercises on mats and standing focusing on stretching and flexability in the saddle., its only going to be a 4 week long course because the instructor can’t fit in doing more classes. – Which is a pity as we are all enjoying it, so we are trying to find a way of holding additional classes but I don’t know that there are that many Equestrian Pilates tutors.
Thankfully I had been to weight training the day before so was not as sore as I would have been if I had tried to combine the two on the same day. I find that the leg presses and chest pulls at weight training don’t cause sore muscles (even though I am working at weights where I can not complete 3 x 10 reps) but the chest press is using muscles that I don’t normally work so they are sore for a couple of days afterwards.
I am noticing an increase in fitness levels, when I walked around the fields yesterday I could walk at a faster pace without needing to stop for a break (under the cover of stopping to admire the views).

Hi Birdy, you’re doing great- to put things in perspective for you, it took me 8 weeks to lose 17.5 lbs! At the time I was really pleased with that because other diets just didn’t work for me. We are all different In how we lose weight but there is no way you could continue to shed weight at the rate you’ve done so far week in and week out. I had to see a colorectal Surgeon last year and was advised to take Fybogel whilst following a low carb diet. There is no sugar in Fybogel just fibre to help things along. One thing I learned whilst following BSD was that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to lose the weight, just keep going. I was a slow loser but I got there, some of the people I started with in January reached their target a lot quicker than I did. Some of us are still plodding. Also, don’t let the scales rule your mood- this happened to me and now I don’t weigh as often.

Hi Birdy, remember that 1 litre of water weighs 1kg. – So if you are drinking a couple of litres a day as is recommended your weight will fluctuate by 2kg, = 4.4 lbs over the course of a day.

Then there is the weight of whatever you eat while it is in your digestive system 800 calories from cheese is going to weigh a lot less than 800 calories in celery.

So the scales will show a lot of fluctuation at different times of the day, and different days. Thats why its better to plot a trend rather than focus on a daily weight loss.

Secondly, there is a whole orchestra of hormone systems inter-related. It isn’t just carbs in =/= controls insulin levels =/= fat burnt. Insulin levels control levels of other hormones such as growth hormone which is responsible for bone density, repairing muscle after exercise. Lower insulin = Stronger bones and muscles = good for our long term health but they will weigh more. So sometimes you can have an increase in weight at the same time as a drop in inches. Thats what is happening to me at present.
So step away from the scales and instead of thinking about this as a WoE because that sort of includes the idea that its for the short term, think about it as a Way of Eating for Life. (WoEfL) so you don’t stress yourself out worrying about weight loss. – You have seen big drops in the scales so far, but that will come to an end as your body finishes releasing all the stored water and then changes will be a little at a time. There are 3500 calories in a lb of fat. Compare that to the average daily energy expenditure for someone of your size and build and it will give you a clue as to how much fat you can expect to loose in a normal week.

Very clever of you to take starting measurements too, Cutie! You really ARE ahead of the curve, you know. About
transit issues…What became the norm for me was to “go” every other day. This is partly because with he carbs
out, there is less bulk in the way of waste. Sorry to be indelicate, but it is true. Don’y worry, we’ve got you 🙂 There
has already been a lot written on constipation, so have a look through back posts by way of the searchbox. It may
reassure you, and anyone elsewho may be concerned, too xxx

Skipping, here is my progress so far. Wherever I say we, it’s DH doing the removal or putting things away. He enjoyed the fashion show so much, he is totally motivated!

Built in wardrobe has 2 closets. 5 X 1 sets of vertical shelves, one in each closet. They can’t be adjusted, although we could pull them out damaging the MDF wardrobe structure. To give an impression of the shelf volume, two of these boxes will fit on a shelf with total depth 55cm. B07F65FFGK
The storage area above the closets is divided into two sections.

We stored the winter coats, socks and jumpers, and stuff that I want to wear but I am still too big.
We put away the winter weight duvet. (Then took it out as it’s been hailstones and subzero for last 2 days.)

The shoes in the closet are still unsorted.
I have a pile of clothes for the charity shop.

We disposed of the ripped and “holey” clothes in recycling.

The remaining clothes are on hangers or folded on shelves. The built-in drawers are full of towels, sheets etc. The chest of drawers store bras, socks, tights in top drawer; lower 4 drawers are empty now.

I saw these boxes on Amazon, and thought I could use them for jersey and light weight woollens; Delicate skirts with sequins! Shoes.
I can label them to show what’s inside.

We removed the lower rail on both closets, DH’s jackets can now hang straight; my maxi dresses and coats hang properly too.

DH has been “storing” his jumpers and trousers on the bedroom chair. He has a wardrobe rail on wheels for ironed work shirts, but it’s falling apart. He irons every shirt so he uses the ironing board more than I do. Now there is space for them in the closet, and he has agreed to use it.

Sorry Allie. I haven’t been feeling good as I my bowel movements have been a bit sparse, I also think that because I lost so much so quickly then I came on and the scales said I have put back on I got a bit manic. I think I want to succeed so badly and discard so much weight I got a little unsettled and thought is this really working. It is and know that as I have just got my O/H to redo my measuring and the results are good.

I have discarded inches😄

Thigh half an inch
Hips one and a half inches
Waist three and half inches
Underbust one inch
Bust two inches
Upper arm half an inch
And neck one and a quarter inc.

You are right this a marathon and I promise I will have patience and just enjoy the feeling of all my clothes getting loser on me🤣😉💞🦜. Thanks Allie.

Hi Happyhel35 and welcome! You will find us a friendly bunch, all at various stages in terms of weight loss and our BSD journey. We all approach it differently, some on a very scientific and well-researched basis, others on more trial and error. But everyone has plenty of help and experience to offer. The thing I really like about this thread is that it is very open and honest – and non-judgemental when we do wander off the beaten track for a while!

If you are completely new to the BSD then I think there is some useful advice somewhere towards the start of this thread. The main thing is not to compare yourself to others but to find what works for you – and that in itself may differ from time to time. Hopefully being so near the start you will chalk up a nice bit of weight loss to start with, but don’t worry if it then slows down (or sometimes seems to stop altogether!) Everything is normal here 🙂

Cathy I definitely want to keep going so maybe we start a summer holidays road trip after this one? I think there are probably several on this trip who would also like to continue. I turn 60 at the end of this month and had hoped to finally get to my 133lb goal by then. I don’t think that’s going to happen now but do hope to get there in time for my next holiday at the end of May.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend? SueBlue, KazzUK, Jennie10, Jordan, JGwen, six turkeys, alliecat how are you all doing? And JGwen did you find a saddle for your Pilates for riders class? I loved the sound of that 🙂

Good morning/afternoon, everyone!

Birdy, I’m confused by your post today. Why do you feel “stuck” and write “this has to work for me”??? Sixteen lbs
lost in under 2 weeks is far in excess of the average, which is about a stone a month. What were your expectations?
Are you familiar with the “whoosh effect”? If not, type it into the search box, or google “whoosh effect” on the web.
What we often repeat here is that this process is a marathon, not a sprint, and you must believe in it and yourself.
It will happen! Patience, my girl!

Well done Patricia that is amazing!

My 3 are

1 I have not gained weight. My macros are on point too.😄

2 I have just got back from watching my sons team play rugby away to Hove and they won👊🏻😉. My boy scoring 4 of the 8 try’s! Awesome match the team played so well together.

3 I am off to Kent and my mum is cooking the roast chicken from the book and I can’t wait.

Happy Sunday everyone 💞🦜

Thank you Patricia1066 I do hope so. I hate being a Debbie downer but I really need this to work. My carb intake for the last days has actually been below 20g. I am going to go back to the things I ate in the first week and see what happens. I am so determined and I am not gonna cheat myself I am going to stick to it. My jeans are lot loser especially sour dough my hips! I am seeing subtle changes and the scales are saying 16s 12 and a half pounds, so at least it is not 18 stone which is what I was under two weeks ago. 🥰💞🦜