Dr. Bernstein diet on my own
 

Hi everyone,
Today I'm going to start the Dr. Bernstein diet without going to the clinic and paying the high fees. I've done the diet before by going to the clinic and following the diet religiously, and it certainly does work. Because of the cost, I stopped going and fell off the wagon. This time, my husband is going to go to the clinic, and I will just follow the diet along with him. I'm going to try to find the b6/b12 injectables at Costco or a drugstore, and I will also take the potassium and multi-vitamins. I'm hoping that posting here on a daily basis will help keep me accountable. I've already cheated by adding cream to my morning coffee, but I can't do without it:). Wish me luck!
Jan 5, 2015 - 197lbs

Good luck!













y

Good luck to you! You'll do great by following those principles.

Day 3
 

So after 2 days on the Bernstein diet, I have lost 2.5 pounds, which is to be expected at the beginning of any intense diet. On my first day, I ate one piece of squirrelly bread with a piece of light Laughing Cow cheese, 2 x 1/2 grapefruit, a 100g Source Greek yogurt (nonfat), stir-fried shrimp with broccoli, onions and bean sprouts (with ginger, garlic, lemon juice and light soy sauce.) I may not be following this diet 100% to the letter, but I'm very close so far. I haven't yet found the vitamin B-6 injectable, but I do have the vitamin B-12. I'll start injecting when I find the B-6.

Jan 7, 2015 - 194.5lbs

Day 4
 

Down another 2 pounds today - probably all water weight but that's okay. Yesterday I ate 1 piece of squirrelly bread, one piece laughing cow cheese, 1 orange, leftover shrimp stirfry, vegetarian chili with beans aaaaannnnddd had a mini-meltdown (well kind of a major one) at bedtime and got into the Christmas chocolates....

Oh well today is another day! I was able to order the B6 online, next step is to get the syringes and needles. This should be quite the adventure.

Jan 8, 2015 - 192.5

Day 5
 

So I got the syringes and alcohol swabs, and gave myself the vitamin B-6/B-12 injection this morning. I'm trying to follow the Dr. Bernstein diet as closely as possible and since my husband is going to the clinic for weigh-ins and injections, I'm going to do the injections at home. Down another pound today and feeling great. I exercise 5 days a week (when I went to the Bernstein clinic two years ago, the doctor there encouraged me to exercise.) I'm also taking the Swiss formula multivitamin and will start taking the potassium pills as well. I think the portion size of my meals may be too big as I'm not always weighing my food. I'll have to watch that.

Jan 9, 2015 - 191.5

Day 8
 

I took a break from posting over the weekend. The weight loss is steady at about 1/2 pound a day.
On Friday night for dinner I made pulled chicken with tortillas for the whole family (really just chicken with salsa on Bernstein approved Smart Tortillas.) Leftovers on Saturday, and the once-a-week approved beef on Sunday. I couldn't prevent my husband from stopping off at a family-type restaurant on Sunday for lunch - he insisted he was starving and couldn't wait until we got home. Well he had a veggie wrap with chicken but refused to ask for it without cheese and aioli. Also he went out for breakfast with a friend on Saturday and just couldn't find anything suitable to eat so just went ahead with the full grand slam! Needless to say when he went in to Bernstein for his weigh-in this morning, he had gained weight since Friday! I thoroughly scolded him without rubbing it in that I had continued to lose.:)

Jan. 12, 2015 190lbs

That is why I think you should start gradually with every diet or different eating habits. I don't see a point of diets if after it, you just return back to your old meals. You will return your pounds right away and you may even add some.
My advice is - start to search some healthy foods that you may like and include them in your meal every day!

I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in 2004.

I was controlling the diabetes with diet and exercise. What I mean by diet is the one I was advised to adopt

by the diabetes dietician, i.e. to avoid high GI carbohydrates - which I now know to be insufficient to

normalise blood sugar levels.

Unfortunately, I didn't know about the Dr. Bernstein diet until July 2013. I bought his book immediately &

started the diet in August 2013.

I have never been over-weight, but I do have sleep apnea & my vitamin D level was low; both of which I've

heard can cause diabetes.

Before starting the Bernstein diet, my weight was about 58 kg (= 128 lB) (we use metric in Australia).
After a couple of months on Bernstein's diet, my weight went down to about 52 kg (115 lb).
So I increased my energy intake (more fats) & I'm now 62 kg which is about the middle of the normal range for

my height.

Since starting the Bernstein diet, my HbA1c levels have reduced progressively from 6.3 to 5.8.

My GP (doctor) is aghast with the Bernstein diet (she said that "he may be a quack"), so I have been looking

for a GP who will help me with it.

Late last year, ABC television - in one of it's excellent "Catalyst" programmes - screened interviews with

people who recommend the Low-Carb Hi-Fat diet (LCHF).

It was apparently inspired by a series of talks by various experts given in Melbourne in August last year.
Here is the link to those talks:-
youtube.com/watch?v=9BFRi-nH1v8&list=PLrVWtWmYRR2CSIwJs3jUpuwO7TLslIGpJ&inde x=3.

One of the experts who spoke is a GP named Dr. Zeeshan Arain who does treat people who are doing the LCHF

diet.
So I made an appointment with him & he told me that my control of diabetes is remarkable given that I'm not

taking any medication & I have had diabetes since 2004.

You said in one of your posts that you are injecting vitamin B6 & are intending to inject B12. What do these

vitamins do?

Some years ago, my wife had chronic fatigue & was advised to inject B12. She did this for a year or two

until a naturopath told her that B12 is available as a mouth spray. She found that the spray is just as

effective as the injection, but of course it is much more convenient.

For those who want to lose weight, I recommend the books written by an Australian lawyer David Gillespie;

"Big fat lies", "Toxic oil", "Sweet Poison" & "The Sweet Poison Quit Plan". I have read the first 3 but not

the forth as I gave up sugar many years ago & now I don't like the taste of foods that have sugar in them.

I have attached a scan of his story for your information.

Len

Day 10
 

Getting in the groove now, with no desire to cheat. By cheat I mean eating fries or chocolate etc. I admit I do use a little olive oil for the stir-fry, as I really found the last time I did Bernstein that it was too low fat.

So a bit of a pattern for eating is:
Breakfast
1 slice squirrelly bread with Laughing Cow cheese (although hubby was told this morning that Laughing Cow has been taken off the allowed food list)
1/2 grapefruit
coffee (with a little cream)

Lunch
leftovers from dinner the night before or veggie/bean or lentil soup

Dinner
shrimp stirfry or chicken/broccoli etc

Snack
yoghurt (this is new to the allowable food list - couldn't have yoghurt last time)


I was searching for Bernstein blogs online and I found one which suggested chopping an apple, heating it in the microwave with cinnamon, and having with yoghurt. I just tried it and it was absolutely decadent. So I've already had my fruit quota for the day (for me that's a good thing because I don't really like fruit.)

I'm checking my urine with ketostix on Mon, Wed, Fri and it is showing good evidence of ketosis.

Jan. 14, 2015 - 188

Nice job! 9 pounds in 10 days is amazing.

Day 12
 

Just wrote a huge entry only to have the website tell me I wasn't logged in (which I obviously was as I had accessed the forum.) Soooo,\

No way am I typing all that again.

It was really a good one, too:)

Jan. 16, 2015 185lbs

Yes, I've been caught like that on other forums. So now (if it is a medium to long post) I do a draft in Notepad or Outlook and, when it is ready to post, I then copy & paste it to the forum. It saves a lot of frustration that way.

I do that too. It seems that it can happen on any message board because I've experienced it on several other message boards, in different browsers - no rhyme or reason to it...

Day 15
 

Well, it was bound to happen. Yes, I was a bad girl on the weekend and now I've gained half a pound. We had friends over for dinner, and although I stuck to the diet for the most part (had yoghurt for dessert instead of cheesecake, no potato at dinner etc.) I did indulge fully in wine!!!!

Anyway I don't feel like I have ground to a halt or anything. One day at a time, get back up on the horse etc.

I've been checking my urine for ketosis ( a la Bernstein) and I am still in ketosis albeit less so after this weekend.

I'm not finding it difficult to avoid the bad foods that really are the culprit behind my long-term weight gain. You know the ones - taco chips, chocolate, pizza, cupcakes. mmm mmm

This diet I'm following is actually, for me, a bonus to my system as I not only eliminate the foods with zero nutritional value, but I add foods that I normally do not eat that actually do have amazing nutritional value. Instead of only occasionally having half a grapefruit, now I must have two fruits a day, and I do now. I always have a vegetable for dinner, but now I would say I eat more.

I think the lack of refined sugar can only be a good thing for me, as my diet was very high in it before.

Jan 19, 2015 - 185.5 pounds

ha - it did it again but I had copied and was able to log in and paste

Day 1 Copycat
 

Thanks for posting this forum. I've also done Dr. B with great results but on my own, without the accountability, not so successful. You've inspired me to follow along, if you don't mind, and use this forum for my accountability and Fitday for tracking.

Day 1: 199 lbs.

Welcome MonetIn and mysachi! There are a group of us who post weekly in the Motivation and Support forum. We're all doing our own thing as far as weight loss goes, but it's great to have a place to check in for motivation and accountability. You'll find us in the Weekly Motivation thread (a new one starts every Monday, so check the date in the title to be sure you're posting to the most recent thread). Please feel free to join in!

Day 17
 

Down another pound and feeling great! I guess all the nutritious food and vitamin B is having a great effect on me. I'm in such a good mood - I would even say I'm a delight to be around lol (although my husband may beg to differ on that:p

I've been able to keep up the exercise (swimming and walking) without any problems.

Yesterday we had haddock and Brussels sprouts for dinner (much to my husband's dismay re: the Brussels sprouts.) The haddock is the Highliner flame-seared haddock with lemon.) The Brussels sprouts I trimmed, cut in half and roasted (tossed first in not-Bernstein-approved olive oil - just a little) then drizzled with balsamic vinegar after they came out of the oven (again, not approved I don't think but oh well.)

The package of haddock has four pieces of fish so I made enough for today's lunches. I don't love to cook, so if I can make one meal stretch two days I'm gonna do it!!!

Jan. 21, 2015 184.5 lbs

Day 19
 

We're getting kind of bored of the food we're eating - two days worth of Brussels sprouts will do that. My husband went on a search for fat-free mayonnaise but we decided just to use the regular kind in a miniscule amount.

So I made tuna salad for him with one small can of water-packed tuna, half a tablespoon of mayonnaise, lots of chopped green pepper and celery, and pepper. He loved it. I did the same thing the next day with boiled eggs, and I ate this too. It was excellent, and hopefully it didn't blow the diet completely. Well, I guess it did, but it was worth it, and we still lost weight, so there. I will stop all the "bad" things if our weight loss hits a plateau (which it inevitably will.)

Family dinner tonight, so we're going to have what we call "pita pizzas," which will actually be on tortillas, with pizza sauce, low-fat mozzarella (in teensy amounts) and lots of peppers, onions etc. The rest of the gang get full-fat cheese and actual meat! I always serve veggies and dip (low-cal dressing) so even though we're dieting, we don't feel like we're missing out on too much.

Still feeling great. My stomach was starting to hurt a bit, so I haven't taken the potassium pills for a few days in case that was the problem.

Jan 23, 2015 183 lbs

Day 22
 

Well, I did it again. Or should I say didn't do it. I didn't make it through Friday night family dinner without imbibing in the vino. Oh well. No huge damage done except I don't seem to have lost any weight over the weekend. Didn't gain any either, though.

I've stuck to the diet over the weekend, and my husband did too, losing a pound and a half since his weigh-in on Friday. Well, good for him, I say.

Made chicken cacciatore in the crock-pot for dinner yesterday, lunch today and probably tomorrow as well. Quick, easy, no fat, few carbs.

I met friends for coffee today, and I have to admit to having a latte (tasted good so I'm sure it was made with whole milk - the horrors.) We'll see what happens on the scale tomorrow.

Other than the couple of slip-ups I mentioned, it's not like I've been eating anything unauthorized, like chocolate or cake or anything, geesh.

I didn't get any exercise over the weekend, none at all, so I better make up for that this week.

Jan. 26, 2015 - 183

day 24
 

So after 3 and a half weeks, I'm down 15.5 pounds. I have set a goal of about 2 pounds a week from now on, but I know that will be hard to sustain going forward. We have a cruise booked (got a smokin' deal) at the end of April, and I aim to be down to 160 by then. It's good to have a goal, right?

I made the pork tenderloin again for dinner yesterday, this time with roasted cauliflower. I also made soup in the crockpot (large can of diced tomatoes - no salt added kind, 1 carton no-salt-added beef broth, lots of chopped celery and onions, Italian seasoning, ground pepper, Worcestershire sauce.) It's awesome. Oh, I also added a cup of green lentils, so it's also a protein source.

My husband weighed in at the Bernstein clinic this morning, he was down another 2 pounds. He's doing great. He doesn't have as much time to exercise as I do, unfortunately, but he's going to swimming now a couple of times a week. Baby steps.

Jan. 28, 2015 181.5

You're doing great! Good for you!

day 26
 

I feel like my clothes are fitting a bit looser now, yaay. I tried on my jeans, and I am proud to say I could get my legs in them. Can I do them up though? Not even close. I'll try again tomorrow....

We had stir-fried shrimp and broccoli for dinner yesterday (lemon juice, low-sodium soya sauce, ginger, garlic, onions.) Yummy.

My husband had his weigh-in today, only down .2 pounds from Wednesday, not sure why such a small loss. He says he's sticking to his diet, but I wonder what's going on when I'm not around to frown at him? hmm

I'm doing very well at giving myself the injections, only 1 bruise so far (and it was a whopper.) It's really not as hard as it would appear.

Jan. 30, 2015 181 pounds

Day 28
 

Well I would say that my weight loss has certainly slowed down, at least it feels like that. However, it is still steady, and I'm down another pound. I'm still on track for 2 pounds a week.

I've been able to keep up the exercise as I'm between jobs at the moment. One hour of swimming/aerobics five days a week and a half- to one-hour walk most days with my granddog.

A typical day's worth of food:
squirrelly bread, one slice toasted with laughing cow light cheese

half a grapefruit (I started buying bigger grapefruit, it's the only fruit I like)

a large granny smith apple, chopped, microwaved with cinnamon then topped with source greek 0pct fat yoghurt (100g) made with splenda, vanilla flavour

raw veggies dipped in low-calorie cucumber dressing (only snack on these if I feel hunger pangs)

maybe a leftover dinner serving such as soup, chili, whatever but equals a protein and veggie serving

a protein and veggie dinner such as pork tenderloin/roasted cauliflower or shrimp stir-fry. I made chicken tenders/steamed broccoli for our Superbowl dinner (we lost anyway.)

a jello juicy gel (made with splenda, 5 calories) if random hunger pains strike

So all in all, lots of food, 2 servings of fruit a day is 2 more than I ever eat normally, so that's good obviously.

Onwards!

Feb 2, 2015 - 180 lbs

Day 30
 

hmmmm.....I've been at the same weight for several days now. I'm doing everything I should be doing, maybe my portions are too big? It's possible I am overdoing the protein portions, I haven't even cheated any other way since my wine on Friday night. Well, okay, my wine on Superbowl Sunday, but I've been good since then.

Anyway, I'm still exercising hard, not for the weight loss but for the physical benefits that exercise brings. The diet is for the weight loss. I'll just keep plugging away, the food I'm eating makes me feel good. The weight loss will surely continue if I just keep at it.

Feb 4, 2015 180 lbs.

You're doing great!
 

I started at the same time as you, at the clinic, and have also stalled....:(. The nurses said to stay true and it will start up again. Question for you: what is the dosage you're using. Did you need a prescription for the vitamins? Are you in the US or Canada (prescription process could be different).

Stay the path.


Jenn

You lose very good weight 9pounds wow very good, once I lose 12 pounds in 2 week but I use hcg product
and after this losing weight I continue to lose , now I look amazing:)

Day 37
 

It's funny - I feel like my weight loss has slowed down so much - I feel like I have nothing to report here. However, in fact I have lost two pounds since I last wrote here so I really am on track. My weight seems to be down one day, up the next so day by day it doesn't seem encouraging. Maybe I should go to weekly weigh-ins or maybe just Mon, Wed, Fri like my husband.

I'm lucky in that I have time to devote to getting fit and I have been faithfully going to the pool five days a week and working hard when I'm there. Still can't get my jeans done up, but maybe in a couple of weeks I'll succeed!

I have to admit to having a cookie meltdown - my husband came home from a weekend away and without me there to restrain him, he bought little snack cakes and a box of mini oreo cookies. As soon as his back was turned, I sneaked the cookies out of the room and chomped them down by the handfuls.
Not a pretty sight, and I paid for it by weight gain for a few days.

But onwards.....

Feb 12, 2015 178 pounds

week 7
 

Well I've definitely hit all kinds of roadblocks.

I guess I overdid the exercise (duh) and now I've got lower back pain. I've had serious back problems in the past, and I know it can get much worse than it is right now. I've had to stop my workouts, and I'm icing my back, doing some back exercises and taking Aleve. I was doing so great and feeling fit...:mad:

At the same time, my weight loss has crept to a halt even started to go up a bit. I'm mostly still on track with my eating, so I'm not too worried. Pretty sure the wine needs to go...(What kind of Bernstein diet allows wine anyway? none that I know of lol)

My husband and I have gotten quite used to not eating out, not having junk food around etc. That really is a big issue as far as why we gained so much weight in the first place. A great added bonus is that we're not spending so much money.

We do miss our Sunday morning bakery runs though:(

Feb 26, 2015 175.5

week 8
 

yaay, I'm back on track, at least for this week.

I stepped on the scale yesterday and was thrilled to find I had dropped a few pounds. So thrilled, in fact, that I went to a new café to try out their scones. omg

Anyway, no harm no foul, I stuck to the diet the rest of the day, and I weigh the same today as I did yesterday. So for the moment I'm still pleased.

I'm still having back problems so I haven't been back to the pool for my aquasize classes. I might attempt it tonight though. I've been taking my daughter's dog for fairly long walks, which is good for my back.

Today's dinner - I didn't have any chicken so we're having pork cacciatore, made in the crock pot of course. If it can't be made in the crockpot, I have very little interest in making it! Unfortunately, the lovely aroma is all through the house all day making me ravenous. As long as I stay away from fast food and junk food, I'll be okay. The trick for me is to absolutely not have any in the house. I don't have willpower, I need to practice avoidance at all costs.

March 4, 2015 - 174 pounds

week 10
 

Well tomorrow is the day of reckoning....the dreaded dr.'s appointment for my physical. That is, after all, the most important reason for the diet...to try to avoid the scolding I expect to get. I had hoped to be about 3 or 4 pounds lighter by now to avoid this but it is not to be....


Steady as she goes, eh...

Our latest slow-cooker recipe is "pork cacciatore" (because I was out of chicken.

About 1 pound of pork, cubed
1 large can diced tomatoes (796ml, I think that is 28 oz, not sure)
1 small can of tomato paste
herbs and spices to taste (Italian seasoning, minced garlic, pepper, I throw in a little Worcestershire sauce)
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped

cook on low 6-8 hours

deeeelish!!!

March 10 2015 173 pounds

week 11
 

Well it was a very successful doctor's visit. Her scale seems to be lower than mine, so I weighed a pound less fully-dressed. Oh ya.....

Yes, she did say that I was still overweight, but no lectures as she was pleased that I was exercising (until the onset of my back problems anyway.)

I was also able to provide my bmi when asked, thanks to my handy-dandy app on my phone (it's called "weight diary" and it's another tool to help with motivation.)

We're still having trouble sticking to our diet 100 percent on weekends, but we have no problem now during the week, with Wed. mornings often showing the biggest weight drop.

So basically, lean protein, vegetables, fruit, no junk food, added fats or sugar, no processed carbs. Hmmm where have we heard that before? Ya just about every diet. Yes, Bernstein, when followed religiously, has strict guidelines and portion control, but the bottom line is really the same. Can't really eat out much and have to do my own cooking (via the crockpot.)

Oh, and I have not only gotten my jeans on, and buttoned up, but I can also breathe while wearing them. That's a real milestone and one of the things I'm happiest about.

March 18, 2015 167 pounds

week 12
 

Well, we're doing great, losing weight steadily and I think the pattern we've fallen into makes it easier. It's all about "just saying no" to the evil thoughts of treats.

It's interesting to see posts on other forums from people seeking magic, easy solutions for weight loss. As it is so easy to put the pounds back on (I should know) finding a way of eating that I can maintain long-term is what I need. I've found the best solution for me in the slow-cooker meals that have flavour (from garlic, herbs, Worcestershire sauce etc.) as well as stir-frys with low-fat protein like chicken and pork tenderloin.

This diet is certainly a lot more work. It would be so easy to say let's have McDonalds or pizza instead of cooking. But we're managing to avoid doing that. For us, the secret is to have the lean meats on hand in the freezer, have pound and pounds of veggies not just on hand, but cut up and ready to eat and/or cook with. We dip the raw veggies in fat-free dressing or low-fat tzatziki.

So far today, I've had my one piece of multi-grain bread (and boy do I look forward to that every day!), a slice of turkey sausage and an egg. Next I will have a whole grapefruit, then homemade crockpot soup (ground chicken and veggies/can diced tomatoes/no salt beef broth) from the freezer. Lots of water.

Just under three weeks to go until our cruise....and that will be the biggest challenge so far.

March 24, 2015 165 lbs

Good for you for working so hard at this. Can you tell me what the combo of B6/B12 you were giving yourself and how many times a week?

Thank you

Questions about the at home program
 

How did you know how much to inject? And where did you get the b6? I found the b12 at Costco but not the b6. I also just am wondering what size of syringe you used? Please let me know. I'd like to try this at home as well. I am on the program now and have lost 80 lbs but am finding the last ten to be really difficult. Thank you.

Just good luck with your hard and longtime job

Potassium
 

What amount of Potassium are you taking and how frequently?

I did the Dr. B plan on my own a few years ago and it worked, and I'd like to try it again, but cannot remember the amounts and frequency of the supplements!

Also would like to know where you found the B6 injectable.

Thanks! And Congrats!

Congratulations on your progress! Wow! Are you using a workout plan as well?

Good luck on this I try to use some hcg drops and good hcg diet plan

Congratulations for your progress so far! I am on the Rosedale diet and it's amazing for weight loss although I have started it also because of my diabetes. It's very similar to Rosedale. Don't give up!