My big fat 800 calorie blood sugar diet diary, all welcome

[GraceGildee]

I've started the 800 calorie Michael Mosley blood sugar diet today. I'm T2 diabetic, menopausal and need a sharp shock to do something about the way I eat.

Weight has crept up post surgeries over the past few years, I have low carbed before then caved in. I'm going to post what I eat and my progress on here as an incentive to stick to this for 8 weeks. Anyone else welcome to do the same.

Breakfast half a lavash bread, smear of tomato purée, lots of mushrooms and sprinkle of grated cheese. Very filling. 189 cal

Lunch. Little gem lettuce leaves with bacon, avocado, cucumber. 234 cal

Dinner chicken breast, sour cream with fajita spices, rocket, cucumber, avocado, celery. 337 cal

Drinking loads of water, a bit hungry.

I'd like to join on here too please. I bought the book but now need to read it. I'll read it this week & get started on Monday. i've got about 25-30 lbs to lose.

Hi DreamQueen, it's nice to have another person just starting too!!

Supper! Looks delish! (If I say so myself ). Now all that has to happen is ds2 to go to sleep! Met friends in Bath today, and they both slept on the way home, so now they aren't so tired!

A friend of mine has done this to reduce her blood sugar, it has gone from 8 to 5.7 which is fantastic for her, the nurse was very pleased. Also she list 28ilb.

Has everyone who follows this diet lose weight in the first week? Even just a little bit?
I decided to give this diet a go, I'm not diabetic or pre diabetic but I do need to lose some weight and everyone always has such good things to say about this diet. I've got the book and I've read it then I worked out what I was going to eat, mainly had eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch and then chicken/meat and veg for dinner. I stuck to about 900-1000 calories a day, couldn't quite get it down to 800 but it was much better than what I must usually consume. I didn't eat any carbs but I didn't lose any weight at all.
Any ideas where I went wrong? Surely I should have lost at least 1lb? You all seem to be doing so well on this diet I was sure it would work.
I haven't followed it last week or this week as I've been on holiday but I'm planning on trying it again next week. Any words of wisdom?

Linnet, could it be a mistake? batteries on scale need changing or the scale needs moving to a new position on the floor? Time of the month or constipation can certainly prevent weightloss? Have you been dieting leading up to this, if you were already low carbing or calorie counting that would impact. It might also be worth using a digital scale and weighing food to calculate calories on my fitness pal too incase there has been a mistake with calories? Very occasionally people havent lost the first week then lost the second week so dont give up!

Good luck new starters!!

Well done on 8 weeks grace and all your lovely meals photos!

No it doesn't matter where the scales are they always say the same thing and the batteries in it are quite new.

Although I didn't lose any lbs I have noticed that last week and this week (eating more or less what I want, although still trying to be sensible but have been eating carbs) I haven't gained any weight, but I do feel more bloated. I felt a bit thinner the week I followed the diet although I didn't lose weight. I will try again next week and keep going. I have a big party to go to at the start of September and would like to have lost at least a little bit of weight before then.

Linnet, are you drinking plenty of water? I was very constipated at first, my body was hanging onto the food as I was eating so much less. Try some flaxseed or preferably psyllium husk and plenty of water. I had weeks where I lost half a pound but then the following week lost several. Are you keeping a log of what you eat on MFP? It must be disheartening but try to persevere, once it kicks in it's so worth it.

I had a good day yesterday and went to the cinema late last night and had popcorn. I do love popcorn. Probably an extra billion calories though. But the teenager and I decided to walk home which took an hour and hopefully helped shift some of it.

Usual breakfast. This is lunch today. I used half an avocado and mashed it with a bit of mayo and soy sauce. A bit of halloumi, lettuce, carrot, red pepper and some cold roasted broccoli. Really nice.

Proper nice dinner. Made lamb meatballs with 250g lamb, some carrot, onion, spices, herbs etc. Had it with half a bag of veggie stir fry and some roast veg and houmous. Found some very dark (90%) chocolate in the cupboard from Hotel Chocolate, so I had a couple of bits with some salty pumpkin seeds. Mmmmmm.

That lunch and dinner look lovely Grace.
I was drinking a lot of water the week I tried, I know I'm a flake I need to try harder. I was working that week and I drink lot of water at work. Now I'm on holiday I don't drink as much water. I'm resolving to start again next week when I'm back at work. I find it easier to be good when I'm at work as I have to eat at certain times etc. Can I ask though about having yogurt for breakfast. Do you just buy Greek yogurt and add stuff to it? Does it keep you full until lunch?
I usually have eggs for breakfast, sometimes with avocado. This keeps me full until I have lunch at 1pm. I worry that if I was to have yogurt I'd be starving by 10am and never last until 1pm. But i wonder if the eggs are too much, although according to MFP they are only about 160 calories.

Just started yesterday! Yesterday was ok, stuck to 800 but today was trickier. Good all day but tonight's dinner was a different story. 1100 calories today, so a lovely dose of self-loathing before bed

My stats:

Starting weight: 225lbs
Current weight: 225lbs
Goal weight: 160 lbs

Grace I need to aim for more veg in my day - you are defo getting your 5 a day, anyone who claims this is a crash diet needs to look at your photos!

linnet if I had eaten what I liked on hol for a week I would defo gain a few lbs so that is a def victory and possibly reflects a loss the previous week which for whatever reason hasnt shown up when you did your weigh in?

Sailaway practically everyone on the other thread had regular days where 800 was more like 1000 so defo no need to feel bad - totally normal. Some days are just hungry days. Worked out my average on MFP over the 8 weeks I did it and averaged out at 900 a day.

Linnet this is my breakfast, I'm a creature of habit and I love having this every day. I actually use the fat free Greek yogurt for this so I have more calories for other stuff. Dollop it into a glass or bowl, add chopped mixed nuts, chopped apple (about a quarter of one), some berries - I use blueberries or cherries and sometimes I add pumpkin seeds too. Add a bit more yogurt and mix it up and leave to absorb the flavours overnight. I can't stand eggs so this is quick and easy for me. I find it very filling but if you're hungry have a bit of cheese to tide you over.

Thanks yumyum

So what's the general consensus on alcohol? I figured a small glass of dry wine would be ok if you still stay to 800, are others doing the same?

Linnet, have you lots of weight to lose? People whoa re 11 - 13 stone plus often lose a lot of weight quickly. If you are nearer the 10 stone mark I suspect it comes off a pound a week or half a pound a week if you're lucky. That has always been my experience.

Also we should all remember the maths - if you eat 3,500 calories fewer than you need then you lose 1 pound. So for me at my age I only need 1700 a day to stay the same weight. If I ate 800 calories a day I would have a 900 calorie deficit a day and it would take 4 days to lose 1 pounds ( 3600 deficit). IF I could stick to 800 a day. So someone like I am would lose just over a pound a week eating 800 a day. Someone very over weight or who moves a lot and is younger - say one of my teenagers who goes to the gym to work out , then does 2 hours tennis (what my boys have done in the last 12 hours alone! and then cycles home) they would lose more or someone with lots of weight to lose used to eating a lot of calories would probably lose more quicker too.

Now I'm back from holiday I might get going further at this - the holiday was a good chance to change habits and eat better - I would like to lose a stone if I can. I live with one teenager of 6 foot who is like his father's family very very naturally thin who is trying to put weight on. His 5 fot 10 father struggles to get his weight up to 10 stone (mind you their grandfather just died at 90 or 91 and he was slim all his life so it's a pretty healthy skinny build for that side of the family). My teenager forces himself to eat. He finds it boring and has better things to do and says surely it's more effort to get up and make food so our default should be not eating! Most of us have no trouble reaching for food however. It is interesting I can easily eat 1200 calories of nuts and raisins at one go or 10 bananas and he who struggles to get enough calories in would just eat a handful.
Anyway I feel much better for my holiday and eating better on it and this thread is very useful.

For me (and many others) eating lots of good fats, medium protein and masses of veg tends to be the way to eat that helps you feel full and eat fewer calories although the maths/science is quite clear as long as you eat that 3500 calories deficit you will lose 1 pound in most cases (except people on steroids, people eating a lot mroe than they thing (particularly if drinks are included), before a period etc)

Is there a daily carb "limit" as such?

sailaway I've added a picture of the ratio of carbs/fat/protein I try to stick too (loosely).

I didn't manage to get lunch until 4pm so I combined it with dinner which was great. Steak with mushrooms, onion, brocolli, cauliflower, cream and wholegrain mustard. It was amazing :)

Grace my laptop wont show your pic properly so I am getting 0% 0% 0%!! Glad you had a lovely dinner.

Today I had bf - omelette with peppers and spring onions
lunch smoothie greek yog chia seeds and frozen blueberries and walnuts after
dinner - stirfry veg from a packet, mini chicken fillets, ginger, chilli and a tsp of coconut oil
I had a few too many coffees so went over a bit to about 840.

girlgonewild, To be in a healthy range I need to lose at least 2 stone, even then I think I'd be at the upper end of healthy weight. To be honest to lose enough to drop a dress size would please me immensely. I'm not expecting to drop 7lbs in a week, but I thought I would lose at least1-2lbs and that I would be encouraged to carry on. I'm going to try again next week.

Carbs 30% fat 35% Protein 35% per day is what it should show :)

Usual breakfast and nice lunch of houmous and veg and cheese. No idea what to make for dinner yet.

Yes, keep trying Linnet as most people can lose a pound every week or two weeks if they eat say 1200 or 1000 and certanly 800 calories a day. If your period is due though you might not lose weight. I always put it on then, although that's usually because I eat more carbs then too.

Lovely pictures, Grace.

A photo of my lunch today but not of the prawn chow mein and chocolate brownie I had later on :)
I was trying to work out why some days I just want to go wildly off the 800 calories and it's usually when I haven't planned properly. It's not the end of the world and I shall be back on it again tomorrow.

I lost 5.5lbs in my first 5 days! Very happy. Still finding the calorie reduction hard, but this week's loss is helping me stay motivated!