Blood sugar diet thread 7

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Here's thread seven for the Blood Sugar Diet followers.

It's 5 weeks and 5 days until school breaks up (may vary by region!) so let's get those bodies lean for Summer!

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.

Well done KTD27. Most people have a slow week around week 5 or 6 but it's usually followed by a bigger loss.
All this talk of cider vinegar has reminded me that at the start of BSD, I used a lot of chilli in recipes - another ingredient that is supposed to have lots of good qualities. I've got out of the habit of using it because I'm cooking for DH now too and he's not a fan but I might add it back in. I can always through a few flakes into my food after plating up DH's.

Hi, I am on another diet thread too but had a specific BSD question so thought I would come over here and pester the experts. I didn't do the diet for diabetes, just the weight loss, it has really worked well for me, and I am very evangelical about it!

I have been doing rounds of BSD since September last year
Did September to early December then had a break for Christmas
then Jan-March and a break over April - kept on plan but didn't watch cals so much.

Since April I have been doing a 5:2 approach with 800 cals on plan in the week in the week and then about TDEE cals at the weekend with carby treats aloud.

I got down to a healthy BMI in May (11st3) and have kept it that way since through this 5:2 method, but I haven't lost for nearly 2 months now I keep gaining and losing the same couple of lbs. I am 25, 5ft6 and 10st8 as of this morning (but I float between 10.8 and 10.4) I have lost almost 5st in total.

I would really like to lose a little bit more to take me into the upper 9's bracket and a stone within a healthy BMI but don't know if it is reasonable or healthy or even worth doing now I have a healthy BMI (23ish).

Sorry for the ramble just wanted to hear other peoples thoughts on this once they were getting to near target. I am going on holiday in 2 weeks and am considering doing another 8 weeks fully to get the last lump off when I get back. Is this OK to do now I am not overweight?

Hairspray technically yes. In the BSD books, Michael described people doing the plan just for two weeks and then not needing to do any further (although that was to reduce blood sugars not for weightloss), so in theory yes you could for a quick boost.

Sorry bear I think I haven't explained myself well enough, I am not bothered about losing the weight before I go, that is too close to crash diet territory.
I was just wondering if going back to the basic BSD for 8 weeks when I get back would be a sensible idea now my BMI is healthy?

Hello everyone! I'm sober now. Sorry for my drunken musings but I meant what I said so not that sorry. What I meant was we all have crap days and feel crappy about ourselves occasionally. It is hard to put emotions in perspective when it comes to weight loss.

I had a day entirely off plan on Tuesday as was at dd graduation in West Country, early start, no time for breakfast, long drive back etc. So had naughty carbs for the first time in 10 weeks. I had a mini croissant, a mini cupcake and toasted sandwich. I'm not sure if I had a reaction to it or not excepting toilet habits returning to normality. What physical (and mental) reaction do you lot get when eating "bad" carbs?

I loved the drunken musings!!

Tobee I loved your slurry motivational words, I am partial to a bit of soap box-ing myself. And totally agree with you, we I are very harsh on ourselves.

Hairspray oh I get you, in that case definitely- the weight boundaries are so broad that another round can't hurt if you are the top end of 'OK', you'll know yourself when you've reached your end point I'd guess because you'll likely plateau. This is not something I have any experience of btw as I've never reached 'normal' although I suppose I am teetering around at the very cusp of overweight/healthy weight range. I am definitely planning to keep going until I'm at the low end --this will probably take my entire life to achieve, but I will bloody well get there!

As per bear style, today I have tried very very hard but there's loads of nice things left over from yesterday. Sent a slab of cake in with dd to give to her friends at school, but there's still a box of Thornton's chocs in the fridge! Other food ok though, so hopefully the good will outweigh the bad!

Hairspray as you have had a decent break it would prob be ok to do another stint? I lost in a similar fashion to you. I got very close to my ultimate goal though and then regained and am finding it hard to get back into now so it is a tricky one to decide if its not just better to preserve the weight you have lost so far. I think like Bear says have a go and step back if it feels too much.

My problem with bad carbs is that they seem to have a domino effect and lead to other bad carbs. I have been reading the Obesity Code so am focusing more on fasting at moment, but the actual dietary recommendations (what to eat that is) in that book are almost identical to MM's.

I definitely felt more hungry after my bad carbs but wasn't sure if I was right to put it down to eating them.

I definitely find that it's a domino effect. More so, I find that if I have a controlled or deliberate amount of bad carbs (eg a slice of cake) one day, the next day or two I am just uncontrollable, and eat far more than on the actual 'naughty' day. It seems to always take me by surprise that this will happen and I don't seem to be able to plan round it. Like today- yesterday, planned a few treats. Today, completely off the scale. And yet it was yesterday that was the 'dangerous' day so to speak.

I suppose it is down to the insulin response and its subsequent cravings as a result; there must be some scientific reasoning behind it somewhere.

A bit of a recommendation for the daily weighers amongst us - I downloaded an app called happy scale. Free. It tracks daily weigh ins and then gives you an average trajectory. Helped me massively over the last few weeks when it felt like the scale didn't move or if it did it went up! Made me realise that actually the weight loss trajectory is super positive. Also - excitingly - it gives you a projected date of meeting whatever goal you put in based on you losing 1lb a week/ 2lbs a week or your current loss per week. Makes me realise it isn't unachievable!
Anyway - thought I'd share 😊

MIL is in the house!

Luffs that woman
She handed DS choc buttons, dh fancy fruit cake and me a beautiful box of thorntons and a plate of coffee cake

Can't tell her i'm off sugar now

bear i see you also have the Thorntons dilemma!

Thanks KTD downloaded they app. Now trying to understand it.

Yoohoo I did have a few of the Thornton's but to be honest they tasted a bit greasy, not the chocolate hit I was after. I wonder if they've changed the recipe? I have fobbed a few off on the dc and will probably bin the rest when Dh is at work tomorrow (as they were a gift from him!)

Ktd I had that happy scale app but i just couldn't work it out- it does averages or something doesn't it?

Yep!
I like the pretty graph at the bottom. And it allows you to set a target of weight loss a week - I chose 2lb - it tells you when you will reach your desired goal losing at that rate and also tells you when you'll reach it losing at the rate you're going at (in my case more than 2lb a week - for now!)

So it was my birthday yesterday, disaster few days off plan. Home now so hoping to get back on plan tomorrow. I'm definitely re-thinking how I will maintain as one off plan meal has led to a few days off plan.

Well...I am back, not quite with a vengeance!

As predicted I drank SO MUCH booze! Foodwise I didn't go completely off the rails after all.

I had a sensible breakfast, packed two small pots of measured Graze snacks, and some packets of seaweed snack.

I DIDN'T have a sandwich at lunch. And I DIDN'T hit the crisps. I just couldn't quite bring myself to do it!

After the funeral I did have some of the food laid on and it was very carb-heavy, but there wasn't loads anyway. I mostly did it to soak up the alcohol and because I was hungry. I took 3 cakes with me and had some later on, but at the end of the night I made toast for my mum and didn't have any myself.

Yesterday we went out for breakfast, which I couldn't finish because I was very hungover and very acid-refluxy. And I noticed that my actual appetite was a lot smaller than it used to be - but I suppose 11 weeks of small meals will do that! But I refused the toast and only ate a corner of hash brown (it wasn't that nice actually).

On the train home I got a chicken curry and noodles. I normally LOVE noodles, but they weren't all that. I had some on the train and some when I got home.

And I'm still really acid-y which is making eating quite difficult and unpleasant.

I weighed this morning and put on 2lbs over 2 days which is booze and will go pretty quickly (I hope), but I didn't enjoy the carbs that much really - not as much as I thought I would or as much as I wanted to, it didn't feel treat-y or pleasurable, I'd have been far far happier with some protein!

Today I'm ending on around 1100, and I can live with that, I'm still feeling fragile!

Thanks! I might pop back in after I come back from hols, it is weekends I struggle most with as we are total foodies and love going out for dinner etc.

I already don't eat meat so it makes my menu options very limited when we do go out. I think I will just have to insist on a few months of no eating out, probably better for the wallet too!

Well done Flighty! All in all, this was better than expected!

midlife cook book is 99p on kindle daily deal today - it is co-authored by Mimi spencer but doesn't really mention fasting. There might be some good recipes, but no cal counts - possibly not that big a deal if people are entering recipes on MFP anyway?

Hair spray, BUM is a pretty rough measure and the 'normal' range is broad.

My BMI has just gone below 25, but there is a significant cushion of fat sitting round my stomach which suggests the the diabetes risk is still there. I am also not very fit. One option would be to get a lot fitter, substituting muscle for fat, without reducing BMI, but that would require serious commitment. Instead I will try to lose weight so the obvious/excess fat goes, but not so much that I start looking older than I am. And get a bit fitter.... I suspect this will happen when my BMI falls to around 22.

Alcohol is proving a problem. I am getting very tipsy, indeed sometimes feeling quite unwell, with just a glass or two. That early evening summer glass of white wine is such a treat, but increasingly I don't want it.

I didn't really have a belly even at my highest weight I was pretty flat stomached, I tend to carry my weight on boobs, bum and thighs, my waist was never bigger than 34 1/2 in so just over 1/2 my height. It is currently 29in so definitely healthy. But like I said I wasn't really at diabetes risk just wanted to lose the weight as the GUM clinic wouldn't put me on the pill obese.

I do excercise, walking loads as I don't drive and I try to run at least twice a week, completed c25k in Feb and have just kept it ticking along.

I would like to get more weights work in but I am a bit afraid of the gym!

Not really a big drinker either.

bear it's interesting that you found the Thorntons' chocolates greasy. DH brought home some Lily O'Brien chocs at the start of the week and I found them greasy and soapy. Maybe our taste buds have changed or they have all changed their recipes.
But then he did bring home some Hotel Chocolat chocolates yesterday and they still taste amazing. . . so my theory doesn't really stand up.

Gah! Went out with friend I'd not see for a while. She likes wine. I like wine. We met in a pub. Food had not been eaten beforehand. Food is available in pub. You can fill in the blanks. The only problem now is I've been desperate for a fry up since. I know I can have a bsd version but it will be missing beans and bread.