The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet: Lose weight fast and reprogramme your body (The Fast 800 series)

Further update: I have followed this principle, drank alcohol but with the sugar free mixers on most evenings plus the odd bottle of prosecco. It is week 4 and have lost 1 Stone and feel great. Most fulfilling diet I have tried and most successful for me. Very very pleased.UPDATE: I have followed this eating approach for 12 days now and I have lost 12lb. I have drank alcohol - spirits with sugar free drinks, but otherwise have stuck to a Mediterranean style but not necessarily the 800 cals recommended. I've walked the dog a bit further than usual, and yesterday I was a bit short of time so started jogging with the dog and to my surprise managed to jog- walk - jog - walk the whole way...... much easier without the then 10lb weight slapped on my belly. Clothes are looser, am mildly hungry but probably not much different from pre diet. Feeling dead positive to have found a tool which works for me, and can't wait to get back under the 10st mark (now 11lb 4 but been stuck in 12st land for 2+ years). Still loving the food, works for me, my partner is happy with the meals, and my mum has started and lost 6lb.INITISL REVIEW:I bought this book on a recommendation from someone who had just started it as I have been carrying 2 stone extra for 2 years and want rid of the jiggly belly. Having read the concept, it made sense to me, and I like the foods and recipes which were being suggested. I'd already tried to change my diet to lose weight but wasn't getting any success. Have tried slimmers world etc in the past but didn't suit so tried eating better but didn't get me anywhere. So I started on this, and lost 8lb in the first 4 days, have had two days where I've drank a bit too muh alcohol in the sunshine, but stuck to the eating style, and have maintained the 8lb loss. I am loving the food I am eating, my partner is enjoying the food and we have both got noticeably smaller bellies and I have more energy. Meals are more interesting and filling. I am needing to drink plenty of water as advised, and there is the odd craving to contend with, but easily overcome with a snack or by keeping occupied. I have also become less bloated (and less gassy). I'm not diabetic or pre diabetic, but am feeling healthier and am so glad I've rediscovered full fat yoghurt and cottage cheese as the low fat version has been so tasteless.I would recommend this if you are able to go without bread and spuds. Spiralized courgette is very tasty, as is butternut squash mash and roasted sweet potato.

I have always struggled with my weight and would consider myself to be a yo-yo dieter. As an adult, at my heaviest I weighed almost 18st 7lbs and at my lightest I weighed 9st 9lbs. For my 5ft 6 inch height I would ideally weigh somewhere between 10st-10st 7lbs. Recently, my weight started to climb. I could have joined a slimming club and no doubt would've been successful but progress would've been slower and I wanted to avoid the monthly charge. I saw online reviews for the 8-week blood sugar diet where people claimed to have lost weight quickly and safely while still eating food rather than resorting to shakes so I decided to give it a go.This book is aimed at people who are Type 2 diabetic or have pre-diabetes. I wasn't Type 2 but suspected I might be pre-diabetic so I figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. During the 8 weeks I followed a diet rich in protein, healthy fats, and I still ate a small amount of carbs, with minimal sugar intake. I found 800 calories per day easy to stick to and only experienced a headache on the 2nd and 3rd days. I didn't experience any real hunger pangs, other than the first night when I went to bed feeling hungry. A lot of people choose to stick rigidly to the recipe plans in the book but I made a conscious decision not to do this. For one, it sounded like it would've been more expensive and, secondly, I didn't want to spend ages prepping food. My typical diet consisted of either eggs or Weetabix with unsweetened almond milk for breakfast; homemade soup, chilli, curry, or salad for lunch; lean meat or fish with either a choice of veggies or leafy salads with peppers, garlic and pesto for my evening meal. I also snacked on miniature cheeses occasionally if my calorie count for the day was low. In terms of drink, I stuck to water or herbal tea and if I wanted alcohol I chose vodka. I logged all meals by using MyFitnessPal (free app) which was great because as well as showing my calorie count for the day I was also able to check my protein, fats, sugars, fibre and vitamin information. I was pleased to see that the plan wasn't deficient in nutrients.After following the principles of this book for 8 weeks, my results were:Starting weight: 15st 9lb Body fat: 42.7% BMI: 35.3End weight: 13st 12 1/2lb Body fat: 33.5% BMI: 31.3Total 8-week loss: 24 1/2lbsWeek 1: 15st 2lb (7lb loss)Week 2: 14st 13 1/2lb (2 1/2lb loss)Week 3: 14st 11 1/2lb (2lb loss)Week 4: 14st 9lb (2 1/2lb loss)Week 5: 14st 6lb (3lb loss)Week 6: 14st 3 1/2lb (2 1/2lb loss)Week 7: 14st 1 1/2lb (2lb loss)Week 8: 13st 12 1/2lb (3lb loss)I was slightly disappointed with some of my results because I have previously averaged a 2lb weekly loss when following plans that allowed me to eat 1200 calories per day. However, the difference with this plan compared to others I've followed in the past is that I lost a lot of stubborn fat from my stomach and my weight loss was consistent (in other plans I had weeks where I stayed the same or gained half a pound). Additionally, from week 4 onwards I was without a kitchen owing to home renovations. While I did try to stick to 800 calories per day, this sometimes fluctuated.The most unexpected thing for me was that I'd had a patch of ringworm on my arm for about a year that had refused to go, even after 4 tubes of cream from my GP. After week 6, it had disappeared completely. I later Googled 'blood sugar and ringworm' and saw that fungal infections can thrive on high blood sugar!In conclusion, I am extremely happy with my weight loss and, while I am now eating 1000-1200 calories per day and losing weight at a slower pace, I am continuing to eat foods free from sugar. I haven't missed it one bit and have found it surprisingly easy to eliminate from my diet. I feel so much healthier, happier, confident, have more energy, and I'm looking forward to losing the rest of my excess weight. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering purchasing it.

I had been concerned about by eating habits and weight gain and although I haven't been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes I'm conscious that I could be at risk in the future and wanted to take action. The book makes lots of sense and I got the gist of what I needed to do. Although 800 calories doesn't sound a lot the basis of the book is to change what you eat to ensure that those 800 calories are filling (and healthy) and to avoid you eating foods that cause a crash leading to hunger (which is where I, and most certainly others, have failed with weight loss in the past) . This knowledge is now learned and therefore has had immediate effect in terms of my choices. In addition to that there are recipes and menus giving you inspiration of exciting meals to eat.There is a menu plan for those that would prefer step by step guidance, but I preferred to create my own menu plan. Planning in advance has helped me no end in terms of keeping on track of things and counting calories. It meant when I came in from work I knew what I was eating and I had the ingredients rather than reaching for some unhealthy snacks and being too tired/ busy to think about it.The recipes give lots of inspiration and variety which is great news, however I often like to use up ingredients so organise the plan differently by keeping some of my evening meal left over for lunch the next day or cooking a different meal but with similar ingredients to avoid waste.This is only my first week but I am happy to report that I have lost 7 lbs. So far I haven't felt hunger pangs and I feel less bloated.I feel very determined to continue and follow the advise strictly. I have 3 stone to lose. I would recommend this book to anybody who is serious about weight loss. Yes it involves some changes, yes it involves some effort. If you are prepared for that then this will give you the advice you need. EDIT: I have just finished 8 weeks on the BSD and have lost 20 lbs and 2.5 inches round my waist and feeling very happy. I have introduced a lot of exercise too and I'm feeling and looking so much better. I'm one maybe two dress sizes smaller and eager to carry on with another 8 weeks. Because I'm doing a lot of exercise I'm eating 1,000 - 1,200 calories on this method and still losing weight. The cookbook is also good. The meals I make are very tasty and I've never enjoyed a 'diet' so much. In fact I'd call this a way of life now! Happy customer!

After having my blood tested recently, I found out my bad cholesterol was much higher than anticipated. After my shock had subsided and the harsh new reality had set in, I decided I needed to make some lifestyle changes. I have been eating too much sugar recently and was fairly blase about it. There are people in my family with Type 2 Diabetes, and I am now determined not to join them.I did some research and came across this book. I was greatly impressed and motivated by the many people who have lowered their weights by concentrating on making significant lifestyle changes, specifically, reducing their blood sugar levels.The book concentrates on blood sugar levels and how to keep them reduced through a strict, well-maintained diet. Emphasis is placed on only consuming 800 calories, which is a tall order, but which can be achieved. I initially struggled with getting my calories down but am slowly reducing my calorific input. I'm still some way from reaching 800 calories (I'm nearer to 1100 at the moment) but am confident I will get there. I have lost some weight, but I will only be satisfied when I completely comply with Michael Moseley's recommendations and permanently change my lifestyle. I want all the fat around my liver and pancreas to be removed for good.One part, I did find easy to grasp with is the 5:2 diet. I find it easy to give up food for 2 days a week and essentially fast for those two days. My sleep has already improved, and I can envisage that everything else will improve, once I follow the diet to a tee. It's advised to stick to this diet for 8 weeks to really see impressive results. I am mentally preparing myself for this and will start this diet in earnest next week. My biggest obstacle is my love of starchy foods like bread and of carbohydrates. I do eat fruit, so I just have to start drinking more water and making smoothies and soups, then I will have found the key. I have decided to do this with my wife, so we will both motivate each other. The countdown has begun.The book is full of great recipes, changing one's mindset, filling one with belief and purpose, and then instilling and implementing these change's in one's lifestyle. I would definitely recommend this book to those people serious about making changes to their diet to help improve their life. A brilliant book that sets itself apart from the many books on this subject. A fully deserved 5 stars.

My husband and daughter have Type 1, which has made me pretty clued up about blood sugar issues, so I came to this book feeling like I spoke its language and expecting to be able to relate to it. Also, I am a bit overweight and recently lost half a stone in a month of conventional calorie-controlled dieting, but it made me feel exhausted and unwell, so I had high hopes that this book would give me a healthy alternative for weight loss.It was an interesting read, and Mosley's narrative voice is as charismatic as ever, but I was expecting to a bit more meat (ho ho) and some more radical findings. It's essentially a reasonable lecture on the importance of adjusting our diets to avoid Type 2 diabetes, and the evidence is plentiful, particularly as, like high blood pressure, it can be asymptomatic until your body has reached crisis point. Mosley is an advocate of the Mediterranean diet, which I think is generally accepted as being A Good Thing now, and more controversially (though backed by an impressive array of satisfied customers) of an 8 week 800 calorie a day diet in which any carbs come from low GI sources such as lentils. A large part of the book is taken up with the recipe plan with a different dish for each day of the 8 weeks, and my main criticism of the book is the content of these recipes. I eat a broad range of foods and am not at all faddy, but I took one look at the recipes and was immediately disappointed, thinking "this is not for me" - they are too fiddly, featuring ingredients that I've never tasted before and don't have in my storecupboard, and a lot of them sounded unappetising. Some of them also seemed a bit pretentious, and reminded me of Gillian McKeith practically forcefeeding quinoa to everyone in her "You Are What You Eat" programme (of which I was a regular viewer and enthusiastic viewer till it started to get a bit repetitive.) If the recipe section had included dishes that would have a wider appeal to the general public, I would probably have rated this four or five star, but the sudden dip at the end, where, all fired up with enthusiasm from Mosley's narrative, to closing the book thinking I'd have to work out a new 800 calorie diet of my own, was disappointing.Even so, I have a feeling I'll still be up for reading any other book that Michael Mosley writes. (I just enjoyed his Clever Guts book which I have also reviewed.)

Four weeks in and I have lost 5.3kg, got my fasting blood sugar down below 5.0, blood pressure down from 150/90 to nearer 110/65 and haven't felt hungry once! To be honest, I can hardly believe it but the scales don't lie. I have been type II diabetic for 10 years and decided to take control at last four weeks ago but thought it would be difficult to stick to 800 calories a day and abandon the heavy carb load that has been my mainstay for years. The four week menu plan is useful but the calorie-counted recipes are a doddle to follow, quick to prepare and satisfying as well as tasty.Psychologically, it is easier to begin the diet knowing it is time-limited. I can do anything for 8 weeks, surely! Once you have followed it for a day or two it begins to dawn on you that you are not actually hungry between meals and are truly satisfied after each meal. Thereafter, it is just a habit and a new way of life. My other half and I have combined it with the equally interesting Fast Exercise and are assuming that this is also helping. I loathe exercise in all its manifestations so this is quite a challenge for me.My main criticism is that this diet is only for the relatively well-to-do person with easy access to all the ingredients. You could not live in a remote village (or even some small towns) on a restricted income and hope to follow this. Perhaps Michael Mosley could produce a follow-up for people on benefits with no access to a decent supermarket! I am quite happy to find substitutes if the pantry does not yield the precise ingredients and enjoy preparing food from scratch having always done so but I am well aware I'm in a privileged position.However, this approach certainly seems to work well and the scientific background is useful and interesting.UpdateAt the end of eight weeks I had lost 8.5kg and blood pressure had dropped dramatically. A few weeks later I had my annual diabetic review and hurrah! I am now "resolved". HBA1C down well into normal range, bloods all within normal range for healthy 20-year old, blood pressure also within range for healthy 20-year old. Weight loss 10kg so far and a few more kg to go. Eating habits dramatically changed, for the better I hope. This is now a way of life.

I bought this book in a job lot of three for £10, so I was unsure what to expect. I don't have any problem with my blood sugar (it is the top end of normal). I have tried every diet going, so I though why not try this. It is 245 pages, with a long preamble, and the actual diet stuff starts at page 103. What is different about this one is that there is a preparation stage before you start, as the book says 'Going on this diet is like preparing for an expedition', This involves measuring yourself , changing the contents of your cupboards, getting your friends on board, and even visiting your Doctor. Most of this is so you can prove your results. The 'diet' (and it is wrong to call it that) can be either making the recipes into shakes, or eating as solid food (it's up to you). What I like about this book is in the middle are some excellent full colour pictures showing you how the foods are expected to turn out (quantities, and look) It has loads of recipes which are split into the eight weeks. Also on this diet you are allowed sweets, such as cheesy scones and guilt free brownies. I have always eaten foods as per the Governments 'Eat Well plate', which suggests Fruit & Veg is 1/3 of your needs, Fibre is 1/3, and the rest is split between dairy, meat, and other. This diet cuts out the Carbs, so no potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread. The recipes are balanced to get you the fibre from other sources. For example I have been making Cauiflower rice (and it tastes great). At the beginning I did what most people probably do: flick through the photos and recipes, and I remember saying to myself: 'another starvation diet', as the portion sizes looked very small. I am two weeks into the diet, and not only am I managing, but I am constantly full (sometimes too full). Other diets found me wanting to add other things, due to hunger, but with this one I find myself saying: time for another meal already, I am not hungry yet. It is important you have the meal even if you feel full, because everything is geared to making sure you get what your body needs. I have found myself refusing snacks offered by others wthout hesitation because I couldn't eat anything else. This is not like any diet I've ever known. I eat about half of what I used to, but I've never felt so full. I am actually enjoying this diet, and won't have any problems sticking to it. I am already losing weight, which was my intention, but with very little effort, and I am still enjoying proper food. Sadly if this book hadn't come in the job lot I would have passed over this one, because blood sugar is not a problem for me. I am glad I didn't. There is a bit more preparation in this diet than others I have been on, but it is definitely worth it. See the photo below for the types of food in this diet. ***Update*** One month in, still loving this diet, and almost a stone lost.

I bought this originally for my mum who is type 2 insulin dependant diabetic. She has a whole host of other problems including COPD but her diabetic medication has made her put huge amounts of weight on and she can hardly breath now. So I'm hoping this book will help her to get her blood sugar under control then she can start to lose weight and breath better. It's a vicious circle! Glad to say she loves the book and has done some if the recipes which she says are delicious. Still early days but she lost 3lb in the first 2 days so we are optimistic!Based on her enthusiasm I downloaded the book on kindle and read it in two days and have now started the eating regime. I have about 7 stone to lose and am not yet diabetic or pre diabetic however I know if I carry on I will be very soon! Lost 5lb in the first week so, great let's carry on!all the years my mum has been diabetic and regularly seen by her diabetic nurse and doctors she has never been told to cut out these starchy carbs and that seems to be the key.Michael Moseley is not afraid to bring new science to us and I love that he challenges conventional advice.Update 23rd March3 weeks in I have been doing this style of eating but at 1100 calories a day. I have lost 12lbs. So if you can't cope with 800 I would just up it a little. My mum has lost 8lbs and as she is inactive that's brilliant. Her blood sugar is more stable than ever and it's looking good. No hunger for either of us and energy level is excellent.Update September 2016The advice in this book really really works. Pounds drop off even at a higher level of calories. I've lost stones!My Mums blood sugar has been more stable for the last 5 months and insulin has been reduced dramatically. Although she is not able to come of insulin all together because other health issues making an impact she has stayed off carbs and sugar, having lost 1.5 stone and is in much better state so Give it a go it could change your life!

I ate just blood and sugar for a week and the results weren't great.

Very informative and good recipes

This is another excellent book that complements the series from the author's previous works.

Great book

This is a must read book , it has helped many people who I know to get back good health by following this diet