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Fasting / 5:2 diet

Talk about intermittent fasting and 5:2, including what’s worked for others. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

blood sugar diet thread 5

999 replies

yumyumpoppycat · 15/10/2016 17:12

Continuing thread for Blood Sugar Dieters:
Phase 1 lasts 2 - 8 weeks and involves restricting calories to 800 a day. Eating healthy fats is encouraged as is limiting carby foods (no specific guideline on this but some people aim for under 50g), small amounts of complex carbs are allowed but should be balanced ideally with green veg, protein and fat to lower the glycemic load and reduce the effect on blood sugar.

Tips
You may get headaches at first so drink lots of water, possibly try mixing a teaspoon of marmite into boiled water and having that to replenish salts etc
Exercise: aim for 10,000 steps a day and ideally consider adding in resistance training and some HIIT workouts.
Fasting some people find it helpful to have an eating window e.g 14:10 – 14 hours fasting and 10 hours to fit in the 800 cals. Avoid snacking and grazing - split your calories into 2 or 3 meals for potentially better weightloss.
Use the menu plans in the book or plan ahead on My fitness pal app

Foods to avoid
Sugar, sweets, milk chocolate, biscuits, cake
White bread, pasta, rice, chips etc
Processed Junky food with added sugar
Alcohol, fizzy drinks, juice etc
Diet foods, artificially low fat foods
High sugar fruit

Foods to eat
Full fat Natural/ Greek yoghurt
Fish in particular oily fish, Meat, eggs, nuts seeds
Non starchy veg, cauliflower, leafy greens, avocados, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli etc
Olive oil, coconut oil, rapseed oil

Berries and low sugar fruit (2 portions or less)
Lentils, beans etc

Foods to include in small amounts and be careful of
Full fat dairy is fine but some people do better with less of this
Starch veg such as sweet potatoes and squash
Wholegrains (quinoa, buckwheat etc) limit to 2 tablespoons
Low carb crackers and breads made with coconut flour, almond flour etc

Phase 2/ 3
for more sustainable continued weight loss and then maintenance add in some days with higher calories but still lower carbs, and have 2 – 5 days at 800 calories. Continue to avoid processed simple carbs like white bread, chocolate etc but possibly add in small amounts of dark chocolate and red wine or less sugary alcohol if you wish to.

Useful links:
My fitness pal
[[https://www.amazon.co.uk/8-Week-Blood-Sugar-Diet-Recipe/dp/1780722931/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476547726&sr=1-1&keywords=blood+sugar+diet Bloodsugar diet recipe book
BigChocs Fasting exercise thread]]

For full recommendations and lists of those who should avoid this diet please see the BSD forum

OP posts:
Thread gallery
40
yumyumpoppycat · 11/01/2017 13:28

Newaverage I have those exact peppers for later - they were reduced to 23p in tesco last night (out of date but less than 24 hours ;) ) let me know when you have seen sugar free farm!

Going to eat leftover beef and veg from sun now (can you tell I am not over fussy about eating old food Blush )

3 stone is amazing Oko, it was a very rare few who didnt gain over xmas. Good luck with the next 3 stone.

notso Flowers for your poorly household, looking after sick people and prob dogs, is harder than actually being poorly sometimes.

Good plan just to lowcarb and enjoy Ragz

Welldone tunnucks

Your food sounds deeeelish dia, I am really hungry reading it!

Worked out a lot today, still not got round to logging in MFP. I must start logging but am maintaining even if a slightly higher weight. I know if I suck it up and do this properly I could prob lose another 10bs and maybe get to 8.13 but want to go slow incase my face can't take it!

OP posts:
APlaceOnTheCouch · 11/01/2017 13:34

My food never stands up to photography. I made fish cakes for lunch which were very tasty but not photogenic at all. Grin

thenewaveragebear1983 · 11/01/2017 13:49

Yum yum they are one of my favourites! I find quinoa such a faff and sooooo expensive but I do like it so they are a nice treat for me. The stuffed flat mushrooms they do are also nice, plus I saw a kale and veg bake with cheese on which looked really good too. It's nice to have a few 'go to' convenience foods to just Bung in rather than having to cook from scratch all the time (or just meat/salad/egg ad infinitum.....)

The other convenient things I like are those little square frozen fish things in cheese or parsley sauce. I was raised on them, and mince not together!

yumyumpoppycat · 11/01/2017 21:21

Stuffed peppers were yum! had them with mixed leaves mushrooms in butter and some chicken mini fillets. Going to try the mushrooms and fish too newav good tip.

OP posts:
thenewaveragebear1983 · 11/01/2017 21:42

They are the food of the gods- I've told dh that the cheese on them is goats cheese not feta so he never wants to share them!

I've ended the day on 960 cals but 90g carbs as I went to PTA meeting at the pub and had a hot chocolate! Was yummy though. Not a horrendous day calories wise at least.
My Fitbit (copy) has arrived today so I'll be counting steps from tomorrow.

AccioNameChange · 12/01/2017 07:42

End of first week. Feeling so much more awake in the afternoons, seem to have broken sleepy / coffee / sleepy cycle.

Walking up every set of stairs I see, averaged about 900 cals per day, although trying to stick more to 800.

14st 10 last Thursday in clothes, 14st 1 no clothes today. Thank you all for this thread, feeling positive for week two.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 12/01/2017 08:05

Awesome accio 9lbs! That will motivate you for the week ahead! I know what you mean about the afternoon slump and I agree, I feel so much better on this plan. I also find I don't get the mindless eating cravings, probably not seeking out carbs because I'm tired, so it helps to break that cycle.

Off to an out of town retail park today, oh the joy, but I do have a tkmaxx voucher and a next voucher so I am hoping to treat myself. The problem will be food- there is a boots so hopefully j can get something low carb there, if not I will have to try and wait until I get home. Another 1lb off for me today, so that should keep me motivated- I am so close to a stone boundary that I could be in new numbers by the weekend at this rate. Woohoo!

Lovetunnocks · 12/01/2017 09:15

That's a fantastic loss Accio ! Well done - you must feel amazing!!!!

Good luck at the retail park bear , I'm sure you'll find something to keep you going (or can you take something with you?). If there's a Pret there you can get little snack pots that are pretty good.

Scandicat · 12/01/2017 09:39

Well this is the start of my day 6. I've lost 5 pounds this week and I've lost 2 inches off my waist. Like Tunnock, I'd also started on another diet in December though (mix of 16:8 and MFP 1200 cals). I was also finding 1200 and very slow weight loss depressing, so this feels so much better. In total I've now lost 9.5 pounds. I am so happy. Feel like I'm in touching distance of a stone now. Grin

That said, I'm not feeling great today. Had horrible diarrhoea this morning (sorry TMI) and feel generally really sick and shaky. I've been following the diet completely, eating bang on 800, so I'm not sure what to do. Any tips?

AccioNameChange · 12/01/2017 10:50

Thanks bear and Tunnocks, am feeling very happy. Need to keep going and not get complacent.

I have clothes that fit in about 5 pounds time, so really hoping I can get to them in the next two weeks!

Sorry you're not feeling great Sandicat. No suggestions but hope you feel better soon.

APlaceOnTheCouch · 12/01/2017 11:41

Well done Accio and Scandi - they're great weight loss results. It's one of the fab aspects of this WOE, the early results help to keep you motivated.

Scandi sorry you're feeling rubbish. No advice except make sure you drink enough and maybe focus on light meals today eg scrambled egg. I did notice my toileting changed when I first started BSD but very quickly settled back to normal.

Lndnmummy · 12/01/2017 11:52

I have lost a pound since Monday so a decent start for me. I am loving this light feeling and once again my "mind fog" has lifted. Great work everyone!

Scandicat · 12/01/2017 12:00

Thanks. Actually wondering if it's a bug now. Either way, it's going to be a low cal day because the idea of food is making me feel decidedly sick.

I have a long day to myself on Thursdays so have taken myself off for a solo cinema trip. Quite a treat and also quite a gentle day.

Hope everyone else is having a good Thursday.

LookingforHope · 12/01/2017 12:39

Hi all - looking in. Congrats on all the great losses so far. I am too scared to weigh myself again in case it utterly demotivates me. Trying to cut out all fruit and pulses to minimise carbs and eat just 2 meals a day, with a cup of bouillion if I am starving, but it does get me down that I don't seem to be losing like the rest of you and am wondering if something is actually wrong with me, metabolically speaking!

Scandicat sorry you are not well - hope you feel better soon babes!

Re: stuffed peppers - any recipes for these that swerve rice / quinoa / couscous as love peppers but trying to really avoid carbs. Tuna always appeals to me!

Just been shopping and stocked up on salmon and vegetables, so good intentions in place. Also went out for breakfast and ordered the only thing on the menu with no toast which was a cheese and ham omelette - it was bloody huge though, so will just be having a chicken salad for dinner and no lunch. Should be around 850 if I stick to that.

One good thing though is my appetite has shrunk as I would not have been fazed by such a large breakfast before, but today actually thought it was a bit obscene to serve such a large omelette and couldn't finish it. So small result... (and at least I am saving money by not buying clothes in the January sales as determined not to buy anything new until I have a chance of looking half decent. Will probably be in rags by next year at this rate though Angry )

Lndnmummy · 12/01/2017 13:24

Looking, try not to loose hope. Sometimes it takes a while for the body to adjust. Are you writing down EVERYTHING in the app? I have to do this as if I dont then i easily underestimate how much I eat and then end up on 1100-1200 calories which for me is maintanence intake. I only seem to loose when I record everything before it goes in my mouth.

LookingforHope · 12/01/2017 13:50

Yes, everything. Even each walnut half and cup of bouillion which is only 10 calories. SO demotivating! Even if I only lost 1 or 2lb a week I could live with it (grudgingly) but if that is all I manage on a good week then on weeks where I have to go on work dinners etc I will probably gain at this rate even if it is only 1 meal out of 21. Everyone I know can lose weight on easy diets like Slimming World too. So depressing. I think I am a freak of nature!

AccioNameChange · 12/01/2017 14:17

Looking I had the same as you at the start where I didn't lose anything for a few days, although not sure which week you are in.

It did all come off at the end of the week, I made a massive effort to drink lots more water and carried on putting every tiny thing in MFP. Others on here have suffered keeping carbs below 50g per day, I was surprised when I looked at things like blueberries how high they were.

AccioNameChange · 12/01/2017 14:18

Suggested not suffered!

APlaceOnTheCouch · 12/01/2017 14:21

Looking sometimes when I wasn't losing weight, I was losing inches so try not to be disheartened.
I know that when I eat seems to impact on my losses so it might be worth changing your eating window to see if it has any impact. I've also found my losses stall if I'm drinking diet soda rather than water.
You may already know all of this but I thought it was worth mentioning as it took me a while to realise all of these aspects impacted. Smile

AccioNameChange · 12/01/2017 14:31

Also seconding the when you eat, I've been doing 16:8 as well, purely because once I've had some food it just makes me want more. So trying to cope with sticking to it in a smaller window helps. Hoping to retrain my brain.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 12/01/2017 14:58

Oh hope, that's rubbish if you 'the feeling like that- how much have you lost and how many weeks are you in? Lots of things can affect my weight loss. When I did the first 8 weeks, I had three whole weeks pretty much when I lost nothing and it is very demotivating. Especially if you are feeling hungry, grouchy or 'wanty' (as in, don 't need it but want it)- if can make the days seem very long and leave you feeling very deprived.
Things that affect me: too many dairy carbs even if I'm within cals/carbs allowance; not enough water; too much fruit (again, even within cals/carbs); too many snacks/grazing rather than meals (imagine your insulin response kicking in every time you put food in your mouth- if you're insulin resistant that will be probably the wrong amount, so insulin is left floating around your blood- insulin is fat storage. You need insulin free time to burn fat, so reducing the eating occasions will increase the likelihood of that)
Plus, I need variety and tasty food to make it worth waiting for.

yumyumpoppycat · 12/01/2017 15:00

Looking could you be constipated? I only lose weight when I shift weight iyswim Confused If you continue not to lose its prob worth a trip to gp to get your bloods checked out. Don't worry you will figure it out and lose weight, different tweaks work for everyone even on the sameish plan. e.g I lose quite well if I include some carbs as it keeps me regular, I also lose better if I skip dinner rather than breakfast!

Hope you feel better scandi Flowers

Bear you need a trip to sainsburys - they have courgette and squash lasagne sheets, butternut squafles, squash crinkle cut chips! I am home from work and about to have an early dinner before picking up the kids from school - a squaffle or two, roasted peppers, some avocado and leftover beef (again gah) planning to fast after this on herbal tea till tomorrow - writing it so I do it

OP posts:
LookingforHope · 12/01/2017 15:25

Cheers for all the support Bear, Place, Poppycat, Accio, Lndmummy! Not constipated,- but then may become so if I stop eating fruit and lentils! May buy some Psyllium Husk. I like the idea of 16:8 too as I agree with Place, once I eat, I want to carry on eating, and breakfast is the easiest meal for me to skip (plus breakfast is often yoghurt, fruit and nuts so quite carby). I shall persevere, though have friends coming round on Sunday and I know it will involve wine - but I am going to do my best to moderate and have low-carb snacks at the ready rather than crisps and crap! Other 6 days of the week am being vigilant. Not got into exercising either yet though - bit more walking but no HIIT. The weather not helping much!

Scandicat · 12/01/2017 16:14

Hope - Is it period/time of the month related? If I start a diet at the wrong time of my cycle, I never lose anything at all. Or worse, I lose a pound and then a couple of days in I gain 2, even being really good. That is so demotivating, so I really get it. It seems unfair that you are losing out on one of the key things of this diet, the quick win motivation of the beginning.

But keep going, it will happen. Basic maths says you will lose weight if you only put in 800 calories. Have you worked out your resting calorie needs? (There's lots about this on some of the 5:2 threads I think - I don't really know enough to explain).

Scandicat · 12/01/2017 16:17

Oh, and just wanted to give a recipe tip. I'd got to 3pm without eating due to feeling so rubbish and still couldn't face food. I've just had greek yogurt with one of the BSD flapjacks crumbled up in it. Came out at 233 calories and 14g of carbs - a little carb heavy but God it tasted amazing. The first sweet thing I've had in 6 days. They are made with fresh blueberries and some nuts and seeds, so full of good stuff. Definitely recommend for a little sweet fix if anyone needs it, would make a good brunch.

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