On the 16th July 2016, I started the 8 week Blood Sugar diet that is just 800 calories per day. I completed week 5 on Saturday 20th August 2016. Week 5 disaster struck, although overall there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

The lows. My work routine was tough this week, pulling me out of my normal routine and not being able to have my home made soups with me. I also made a few mistakes on the calories/carbs calculations meaning I was higher than expected on a few days. This has meant my weight has stayed the same this week.

The highs. Despite being static in my weight on the scales this week, I mustn’t try and forget that my overall well being is so much better than 5 weeks ago and that I have still lost loads of weight and more. I did lose half an inch off my waist this week, so sometimes the scales may not change, but your physical measurements do, hence why it is important to measure everything as below.

If you are reading my diet blog for the first time, my secret for living on 800 calories a day is to think positive. Phrase the journey in your head as it is only “8 weeks of my life” and “this is such a small amount of time in reality and in 8 weeks I could fix so much because of the diet.” Make sure you have plenty of support. And really important, plan like hell your meals for the next week(s) along with all the ingredients you need and make sure each day has the correct balance of nutrition needed. I have learnt a lot about the meals and now have mapped out every day for all the weeks remaining.

My breakfasts on work days are simply a healthy shake from one of the menus in the Blood Sugar Diet book using an Andrew James soup maker. (More info and Amazon link on the Andrew James Soup maker –  Click HERE. ) Apart from incredible soups that I create for my lunch, it also does shakes which makes light work of creating a superb shake each morning. The shake is made from Fage Full Fat Greek Yoghurt, Green Tea, Blueberries (sometimes I use raspberries or blackberries) and flax seeds. It may sound boring having the same breakfast and lunch, but I need simplicity during workdays.

However, this week I was away from home due to work and was not able to make my soups. I now realise I need a spare thermos for days like this so that I can save a meal and reheat in a mug if necessary.

To keep my body going to the loo properly, I am drinking 3 litres of water a day but obviously drinking that amount of water has side effects of needing to pee a lot. I also find if I can plan my day’s calories correctly to include a small banana, this helps with the other aspects.

Just as a reminder to help me make this diet work, I am using various gadgets to help me record and monitor accurately my progress. I am also taking selfies along the way which I will reveal the final before and after at 8 weeks. If you want to recap all the items I’m using , read my first post –  Click HERE. I also have a dedicated page where all my diet posts are being kept. This can be found using the Menu or Click HERE. . It is worth checking out each week’s posts as I also show a selection of the meals I ate.

Feedback. Thanks again for all the positive feedback received. All your support is really helping me keep to the plan. Every week more of you get in touch which is fantastic. I have spoken to many people who have reversed their Type 2 diabetes, which is incredible, lost lots of weight, feel healthier or who have just lowered their high blood sugar levels. I don’t have type 2, but my blood sugar levels were very high and close to being pre diabetic and my weight was too high.

As mentioned before I am using a notebook to plan my week’s food out in advance. I am using many of the of the suggested menus in the Blood Sugar Diet book. Amazon Link to Blood Sugar Diet book – Click HERE.

Below are a selection of my meals from this week, from lunch, breakfast and dinner. These are all from the Blood Sugar Diet book and or slightly adapted from the original menus by me. What amazes me is the fact that full fat items are used in this diet. The full fat helps keeping you feel full and is healthy. Who’d have thought that! Click on any photo to open the gallery to see photo in a larger size. Don’t forget to check out Result Week 1 to 4 Posts which have more food photos 🙂 The dish at the top of the page is falafels and salad with beans.

So how did week 4 go in terms of weight, blood sugar levels and more ? Below are the measurements from Saturday 20th August, exactly five weeks after being on the 8 week Blood Sugar Diet.

Here we go – 

– Weight – lost 0 lbs this week – Overall weight loss – 1 stone 11lbs. I am only 3lbs away from losing 2 stone in just 4 weeks!!. Start weight was 21st 10lbs, current weight 19st 13lbs.

– Waist – lost 0.5 inch this week. Overall 4 inches loss on my waist. My overall body shape looks a lot slimmer.

– Neck – Neck stayed the same this week. 2.5 inches overall since start of plan

– Blood Sugar levels – Continued to read at normal levels. That’s 3 weeks in a row now.

– Blood Pressure – My blood pressure is now just a fraction above the normal healthy range. My pulse is normal

– Body Water Percentage – now increased by 1.4% since the start of the diet.

As a consequence, my BMI and body fat has also dropped again.

Finally I would like to say thank you again to everybody who wished me good luck. It really helped keep my motivation up!

So all that remains is to complete the next 3 weeks. Amazing to think I am already half way through the diet. 

I was asked what egg boiler I use. Its an Andrew James Egg Boiler – link http://amzn.to/2bHIyzu

PS – Just to re-iterate I went to my doctor to discuss going on this plan as recommended by the book. My doctor was very supportive and offered a number of ways of helping me at different intervals. In fact, I was surprised just how helpful and supportive my doctor was when I mentioned I wanted to start the 8 week blood sugar diet. When I finish the 8 weeks plan, I will move to the 5:2 diet, which is no calories tracking for 5 days but still on the Mediterranean style food plan, and 2 days at 800 calories.