Hi cattie, well done to you for supporting your oh. We all, on here, appreciate how much hard work this diet can be, thinking, planning, shopping, cooking and so on. You too will benefit even if you dont have to lose weight or improve an illness. You dont say why your husband is on this particular plan, does he have any underlying problems with his health or just overweight.

There are things that can be had on this diet that I consider treats. For example, a glass of red wine at the weekend. Also I eat 1 square of really dark chocolate (70% or more) every now and then. It rather depends on what he likes to eat and can he control what he eats once he has something – i.e. can he stop eating. For me having succulent roast chicken (not the shop bought chemical stuff) in the fridge to pick on. A small square of cheese every now and then and my favorite is berries. If he is looking for stuff like pastries, cakes, pies etc then limit the amount in the house and make sure there are alternatives to eat. Let us know more about his circumstances and that will decide on whether it would do no harm to have a small treat now and then.

I hit 40 about two weeks ago. As I said before, very close in numbers 🙂 xx

So, do you mean a friendly competition or race to 150 lbs?

Wow, we are the same size. I am 62, how old are you?

As I said before, we’re very close in numbers, let’s go on a chase of the desired numbers on the scales 🙂

I am 5’4”

Hi Harry – the supermarkets are full of pitfalls!
The commonly quoted protein amount is 1g/kg of ideal weight.
Maggie

I’m 1.68m which is 5ft 5in. and you?

I would love that!!! How tall are you?

my oh is doing the diet, I prepare all his meals for him and am his cheerleader but he is an emotional eater and also sees food as a reward how can I help with this without sounding like a nagging mother – any tips would be welcome

Violinist, looking at the numbers (and using the calculator – LOOOOOOOL) it is very much as my weight, although i’m about 3lb heavier. My ideal weight would be 149.6lb and that as soon as possible but hitting the wall over the past few weeks I will take it by 1st September. We could buddy up and get to that number 🙂 xx

Hi Woodduckie, your story is very much like mine. When I was diagnosed my doctor said it had to be pills as my readings were so high (11.2 HbA1c) that I must have been undiagnosed for years and needed urgent treatment. Like you the pills made me very ill and spent most of my days in the smallest room trying to set a world record on how many times a person can ‘go’ in 24 hours. I think I got to 36 on one day. Finally, doctor told me I could by-pass my digestive system by injecting insulin. 12 years ago, not knowing any better, I went for the insulin option. Good for you for being strong although you are lucky there is so much more information out their now. Thank you Dr Mosley but I have never managed to get off the insulin but I have halved the dose and I am grateful for that. You are also seeing the sort of results I had 2 years ago. Within 3 weeks my HbA1c had gone from 8.2 to 6.9 and my finger prick readings were dropping rapidly – which frightened me a bit but I am now used to it. You will get lower readings by sticking with this. Just one word of advice – sweet potato is just as bad as real potato except it is slightly more slow burning but it has as many calories (86 compared to 77) and higher in carbs (20 compared to 17).

I am 172.4 this morning

Hi Skinny,
Doc wants me at 154 lbs when I see her September 21

Just getting in here very quickly before the electric goes off again – I hope I am joking. After coming back on at 9am yesterday off it went again around 2pm. After an hour we decided to go out shopping for a new gazebo, very hard to find at this time of year as everyone has bought theirs at the beginning of summer so stocks have dwindled. After visiting 5 shops we saw a DIY shop on passing and thought ‘okay last chance and then we are leaving it’. Happily we found 2 to choose from so hubby is outside now putting it together. I time for our visitors in 3 weeks time, Yikes where has the time gone.

Jumped on the scales this morning not expecting anything, at least not downward after the picnic in the dark fiasco. Lost that pesky quarter of a pound and I am now back under the 77kg mark at 76.9kg. BG is still settled around 5.2 so sticking with the same amount of insulin. Really enjoying my course and might have contact with several of members from this site as they are commenting all over the place about Dr Mosley. I am saying hi and KOKO but it looks like our anonymity might be causing confusion as we use real names on the course profile. Anyway, hi to anyone who is doing the Food As Medicine course.

Bjorn, you may also try this one https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/fish-pie/ (I cannot stand Jamie Oliver, but again, I did like this fish pie), you may substitute the mash potatoes on top for cauliflower mash or take the mash off and re-calculate it. This is one of the most pleasantly tasting fish pie. You can add more herbs or chilli to soften the fishiness of it.
One fish at a time and eventually you may get there.
All the best, Bjorn
xx

Violinist, quick reply because nobody’s in my office today 🙂 You go girl, align your weigh in with this challenge and hop on the scales on Tuesday morning and you might be in for a surprise. How much do you need/want to lose? xx

OK! will do skinny-to-be! That was a fast reply!!

Hello all! Into week three and cant believe how well I feel. HUGE BS reading in March sent doctors scrambling for pills. I asked or further investigation but no – pills. Violent reactions to three – resulted in “well it has to be insulin injections.” I dug my heels in and said I need more investigations please because my feet, eyes etc etc have no signs of problems but at least check my medical history – (a rare set of circumstances which 6 years ago resulted in a stay in ICU, in an induced coma for 8 weeks and 24/7 intraveneous antibiotics all that time and three weeks further after being brought to consciousness again. Long story but to here. A friend mentioned their issues with BS – and their Endo had suggested no carbs. Well here I am . . . and have HALVED my BS readings in less than 3 weeks. Biggest spike for me came from good old ROLLED OATS!!!! Rarely ate potato – and then only sweet potato! and always hi-protein bread. That is pretty much all I have knocked out. Confirmation I was on the right track came from finding the book in a charity store! Yeah!! Looking forward to lower levels in weeks to come and the appointment I insisted on having with an Endo in three weeks time. Thank you!

No fish for me since last I tried, Skinny. Thanks for the reminder, though! I might try that salmon recipe again tonight! Too bad that healthy eating is not as alluring as the bad choices.

Hey Maggie. i didnt realise that! looking at myfitness pal ive been averaging 40-60 of protein a day.

what would be a good target?

As for the protien cheese, i do try to have small portions! (i say i try!) lol i normally have about 40g a day as a treat. i generally stay between 800-900 calories a day.

thanks for pointing that out! ill make sure i dont over eat it! be interested to hear your thoughts.

Harry.

Good morning Florida Violinist 🙂
Make it a continued week and, stick to it and weigh yaself on Tuesday morning. You may be surprised. any loss is a loss 🙂
xx

Hi Harry – just looked at the cheese and it is very high in protein- 37g/100g. What are your protein targets because excess gets stored as fat.
Maggie

Hey Jo.

i mainy go for long walks in the countryside. im going twice a day at the moment.

ive been getting up early and going for woodland walks to avoid the heat! its far to hot from midday onwards! I then go for another when it cools down around 7ish :).
i always make sure i do this daily. i also find going for a walk in the evening helps take my mind of cravings!

also ive been thinking of staring swimming from next week.

Harry.

Hey Arianwen.

its a difficult diet to start, its taken me months to get into the right frame of mind! youve done great to loose 6lbs! ive not lost anything else since my last post. From doing it previously i do remember having a week like you where i didnt loose anything.
try not to be disheartened!, youve still lost weight!

how are you finding sticking to 800 cals? im a bit of an all or nothing type. so ive started weighing and counting calories religiously. i have the odd evening (like last night) where i eat a bigger potion but that a once a week treat.

ive got 2 secret weapons for cravings.
protien cheese (from morrisons) gives you your salt and cheese fix (its like 3g fat per 100g and half the calories of normal cheddar!)
and when i cave in for a beer i have a becks blue (alcohol free) its like 32 calories a bottle and low carb!)
hope that helps.

keep going!
Harry.

Good early morning from Florida, folks!
So it is Friday. My first week was way to up and down. Great one day, bad the next. I wonder if I should call it a practise week and start again today or Sunday or make it a poor week one with two more days to rally. Suggestions?

Caronl – absolutely, HALF a tonne of bricks 🙂 , it just felt heavier than half a tonne, but was needed 🙂 xxx

Hi Skinny-to-be. Good to hear that the week has taken a turn for the better and that those kilos are melting away again. KOKO. By the way, I think we came down on you like HALF a tonne of bricks after being on this WOE!

P.s – Bjorn, how’s your eating fish going? Have you learnt to love it now? I am having the green beans pesto cod for dinner tonight. xx

Hi Arianwen, also have a look at our own MM’s book on exercise ‘Fast Exercise ‘ – it definitely advises against the long, moderate exercise model often advised elsewhere; the evidence is that this type of exercise only increases carbohydrate craving and can lead to weight gain rather than weight loss.
Also try intermittent fasting – there’s is increasing evidence that this is as powerful as anything for both weight loss and health.
Good luck – you’re in the right place for support – there are some really knowledgeable, supportive people on here.
SSB

Good morning all,

Hello Bjorn, long time no see. You made me smile reading your bread eating exercise yesterday 🙂 It makes me feel good. And not in a nasty way. It just warms my heart that I am not the only one with the monster inside that can eat up the whole house and my neighbour’s garden in one go 🙂
I absolutely agree with you regarding the weighing in more often at the beginning. And also, later on too. I was very disheartened this Tuesday as I, suddenly (I wonder who stuffed that food into me? – LOOOOOL) weighed 82.5kg. I was giving myself this week as a last week and maybe step away to sort my head out. The old-timers and newbies came onto me like a tonne of bricks 🙂 and I’m grateful for that, not to give up. I think I am slowly but surely finding myself now and since Tuesday morning and after yesterday’s 36-hour fast I was 79.2kg this morning. I have lost, so far, 3.8kg, which is a half a stone in 4 days. As the girls were saying if it comes on very quickly it gets off very quickly too, but maybe just this is the biggest motivator for me NOT TO WALK AWAY, at least for now and KOKO. Maybe there is a time when I eat the carb monster and it won’t bother me anymore.

Zinny, I haven’t come across your name (apologies for that) until this week but you sound very knowledgeable and experienced with this WOE and WOL. Did you have a lot to lose or did you have a health scare to get on this diet? I love reading people’s stories as they are my another motivator.

Wishing you both and all the people logging in today a wonderful Friday.
Here’s to the another hot day in the UK and the weekend ahead.
Lots of love,
Skinny to be
xx

I too weigh every day . I had to go abroad unexpectedly and guess what I took those scales with me in my case! As Bjorn says it is extremely motivating to see the numbers going down. If I see a movement the wrong way, well I could take action to get going the right way again.
I know at my biggest weight some years ago I just could not face getting on the scales. Every morning I would use the bathroom and resolutely ignore the scales. It was as if as long as I did not weigh myself the weight was not piling on, although my clothes were soooo tight and getting a size bigger every time I made a purchase..
This is what works for ME, it may not be right for everyone but I shall continue because I don’t want to go back to my biggest weight. Just before starting BSD I had been avoiding the scales for the exact same reason, so it’s back to the daily weigh for me and so far so good!

your dogs sound lovely Arianwen!
Read the Poppini diet book, its fab on doing exercise – it doesn’t say “don’t” or try being a couch potato- but does point out the futility of running however many miles to “burn off” a 100 calories or so,

2 years – well done verano
used to love big storms when I lived in the south of France Sunshine Girl

just in from a not so abstemious night out. I looked at the menu in the afternoon, passed on my favourite spinach borek; wisely chose the haloumi salad – probably no carb apart from a single cherry tomato, and I eschewed the bread, rice and potatoes.
Only to discover the salad contained LOADS – I mean half a brick – of haloumi.
It was great, I ate it, enjoyed it.
then the three bottles of wine – but that was between three of us.

V strange (young & good looking) bloke on the way home v insistent that I go for a drink with him. I didn’t, but that’s the third time in recent weeks. Sort of flattering I suppose – but there are distinct disadvantages of losing weight.

Hi Sunshine girl,
Thanks for your reply, but I’m not afraid of fats – I eat only full-fat yoghurt, I love butter and olive oil, nuts and seeds etc., it’s just that I like balance. And the reason for this is because I have been analysing and adjusting and tweaking my diet since I was a teen – due to digestive issues I’ve beeen struglliing with all my life – so I’m not new to the whole ‘healing through nutrition’ approach.

Oh and I like rather bigger volumes of food, which is another reason why the ‘feeling full on little fat’ really is no consolation!! 🙂

Best,
C.

Hi Cyberry, to add to all the useful answers you have had already. We all are meant to believe that we need carbs and by that I mean grains, starches to function, to provide all our daily requirements and to feel full and satisfied. First of all, starchy carbs do make you feel full but they are a quick high to your blood sugar and you quickly drop back down making you hunger again quite quickly. The drop in blood sugar gives you that craving for more of what made you feel full and satisfied again, more starchy carbs. It is a vicious circle of highs then plummets – this is what is known as carb addition. As you are not really overweight you might, eventually be able to allow yourself some of the slow burn carbs like oats, lentils, chickpeas and even brown rice or wholemeal pasta, when you have got this under control. For now, to get your diagnosis reversed, ditch the carbs and give this diet a go.

As for feeling full and satisfied, this is where the fats come in. They have the ‘mouth’ satisfaction and they give you the calories you need to satisfy your hunger – although, remember, not too much as they are very high in calories. It is so much more satisfying to eat a full fat yoghurt that a low fat version, have full fat milk in your coffee instead of skimmed and to be able to cook your omelette in a bit of real butter rather than a synthetic miasma of chemicals called margarine. I used to be really afraid of butter and oil and now it is a wonderful treat. It is difficult to get your head round but it really works. My BG is down 50%, meds down 50%, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure also down. I am not so great on the weight loss as I dont have that much to lose (well maybe a bit) but in the first 2 weeks I lost 5″ from my waist and that is a great sign.

Dear Arianwen,

Thank you for taking the trouble to mention the matter of energy to me – I think this is my biggest concern and a bit of reassurance helps so much!

Best,
C.

JGwen, I dont know about this type of diet reducing BMR but from a personal observation, I generally eat the 800cal day if I come off plan and eat say, 1500 I will gain weight. Pre diet I would probably have eaten 1500 to 2000 a day and maintained the same weight. Why would it be that I cannot eat even a little over the 800. I guess it is what my body has got used to and it is bound to have an effect. I am reminded of a Dr Mosely Trust Me Im A Doctor programme when they took a ‘fat’ family who said they were big bones and had very slow metabolisms. They were tested extensively and found their bone density was the same as anyone else and rather than slower metabolisms, they had a high metabolism. This was explained as being the amount of energy being expended just to keep their bodies functioning even without any extra exercise. The conclusion was that fat / obese people have higher metabolic rates than slim people. So, in theory, was when we lose weight we need less calories to function so the lower calories have a lesser impact. Thank goodness for Dr Mosley, Dr Fund et al, for explaining these things to us. In conclusion I think I will always have to be careful about how much I eat for my weight, true is, even before this diet, I always had to watch how much I ate.

Sorry Maggie, I incorrectly addressed my response to you as Allie…

Hello Allie,

thanks so much for your helpful reply. I think you and Maggie are right re the visceral fat; I have noticed my midrif expanding the past year and this is something that’s very new to me. Quite coincidentally, I concluded that this must be what it feels like to be fat aroudn the organs, since I had gained weight and grown in size but could not really see it; although I certainly could feel it.

Good to know that there is no eating back calories. Also good that cutting back on exercise is actually encouraged as I expect to not have much energy at first in any case.

Many thanks!

Best,
C.

Many thanks for your reply, dn Allie.

My concern stems from the fact that I somehow have imprinted in my brain that I need a certain amount of (wholesome) carbs, largely in the form of grains, to feel satisfied and centred. And I am not one of those people who swears by ‘the importance of carbs’ , on the contrary. I find them imporatnt purely for the sake of balance. Wholesome in my book means wholegrain, organic oats, mutigrain Wasa crackers, and the odd piece of sourdough toast (I follow a fairly restricted diet due to digestive issues I’ve had since childhood).
n any case, these limited carbs are not at all allowed according to my GP. Dairy. Alcohol is also outof the question. I don’t mind any of ths, I’m just trying to wrap my mind aroudn it all – 800 cals on top of this is rather challenging. If it makes sense and yields results I am happy to simply discipline myself.

Thank you again.

Best regards,
C

I’m not increasing exercise sorry to say. In fact shamed to say I’m doing less. It’s too hot! Not just for me, I have three dogs who I usually walk every day but they’re all knocking on in years & two of them have health issues, one is in remission from cancer ( which I’m SO pleased about as thought I’d lost him last year) & another has a bit of a heart problem, so I don’t want to add to any physical stress for them so all being couch potatoes in the shade. They’re all small, two tiny, & real Hairy Marys as well.
I’ve been trying to sort my jungle of a garden out in the early morning before it gets hot but other than that nothing really. Never in my life had a gym membership or been a jogger.

The thing that’s amazed me most, Im in my third week, was that after the first two or three days I wasn’t hungry at all even on restricted calories. It makes it all so much easier. No drop in energy either, I’ve worked all afternoon in the garden, I’ve an absolute jungle to get back in shape after a period of neglect.

Thank you. Fat cells filling with water instead, that’s a great thing to think about to spur me on. Explains the plateau too which I’m finding hard to keep motivated through.

Oh, just wanted to say to those reluctant to get on the scales; you are missing out on the extremely motivating rapid weightloss at the beginning. At least it was for me. Weighing daily and see 0.5-1 kilo go each day for the first week got me hooked on this diet.
After a while when the scale stopped moving daily I switched to weekly weighing. I did well on 50 carbs first 3-4 weeks then had to drop to 20 carbs to get the numbers going down again.

Hello! I just started 800 bsd too. I also did it in 2016 after returning to UK to live and saw a huge increase of carbs in my diet… so decided to do something about it . Did 5 weeks then went on holiday and came back and couldn’t get motivated again. So carbs took over my life again as my husband cooks and he loves the pasta, potatoes and rice!
This time my husband is on board as I’ve recently been diagnosed type 2 but no meds yet. I want to keep it that way, so I’m determined to lose weight and change my eating habits/lifestyle.
Food wise I’m enjoying the med style eating and not missing carbs. It’s the exercise I find hard to get motivated for. I like waliking but it’s been too hot lately (that’s my current excuse) I want a free way to get fitter.
What are you doing to increase exercise?

Brilliant weight loss, guys! I haven’t weighed myself …

Thanks
Jo in Hampshire

Hi all! I am still here lurking around. It is always very motivating to read all posts.
I am almost two months into maintenance and have kept myself around my trigger weight with a 36 hour fast each week (from dinner on mondays to breakfast on wednesdays).
Yesterday afternoon I had a big fall of the wagon though and downed a loaf of white bread (big one too, 800 grams) with hamburger sauce and 1 litre milk. Was gasping for air after that one… Loved every bite though :p.
Have not had those cravings for a long time so my goal for this week will be to not feed the carbmonster again no matter how much it begs me.
Good luck with everyones goal for the week!

Thanks so much for sharing Alibobs and congratulations on your amazing weight-loss. I hope you’re feeling great, I found myself smiling when you told us about throwing your clothes away – I sooo hope that’ll be me some day in the not too distant future. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to wear normal clothes and it’s really dented my confidence.
I’m just beginning Week 4 of the Fast 800 and have lost a stone (14lbs) so far but have another 3-4 to go. It’s really encouraging to hear from others who’ve made a success of things and transitioned to the 5:2.
I’m just getting into, “Why we get fat” it’s certainly an eye-opener.

BlackSpot that absolutely made sense to me, and the way you spoke about giving up smoking totally changed my view on how I approach my “failures” and slip ups. I know today has been a bad day, and I’ve been an idiot. I know it will happen in future. But as you say, this is a way of life and changing slowly what is the “normal”. Tomorrow is a new day…I can either dwell on my failures or take it a meal at a time and move forward. I choose moving forward. This is the difference between me now and me at the start of this journey…I’m a BSD all the way now…just sometimes I have an odd blip because that’s life and we’re human 👍🏻
BlackSpot you always have a good dollop of common sense!

Mrs T you remember weeks ago on this thread when I talked about giving up smoking? You’ve just done the whole hard thing. Instead of ‘I’m a fatty and out of control’ you’ve said ‘argh! I’ve been a daftie, but today I’m back on the good stuff!’
That is growth and development. This is a way of life and a way of eating, that will look after you for years.
In the future (11th July it’sy birthday…) I ‘may’ slip up. Liquid toast is another name for beer. And on my birthday am am going to have a few.
In the future I will be eating 2000+ calories a day when my weight is in a good place.
I may even have toast and jam on some Sunday’s. But they won’t be daily, or weekly normals.
I’m struggling a bit at the moment, as in my head ‘you’re doing so well. Go on reward yourself with another portion of this good low carb tasty food!’
The end results being a few days I’ve been over my 800kc up to 1200 or probably 1600.
It’s all been meat, cheese and olive oil dressed salads, but…
Watching the football on Tuesday I ”needed”to eat something due to the stress. (More emotional eating) managed to eat cheese instead of cooking up popcorn.
It’s an ongoing battle with food for me, as getting big from enjoying food is only part of the problem. But as a person who feels valued by cooking good food for people, rather than knowing I’m valued regardless my eating & cooking has been linked to my insecurities.
Which is also an ongoing journey! But that’s life for us all!
I hope this stream of consciousness makes sense? Apologies if not. It’s been useful writing it.
So Hurrah! I’m on a journey, but have new and good tools in this WOE, to not get sugared up.

Mrs T. I think it was Tate and Lyle who said
” you can have the first spoon for free, and when you want some more just come back to me…”
Addictive white powder.