Need to make a major change so here I am!

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• posted by ellie666
  on 20 Jul 2021 at 17:16

  

  Hi,
  let me introduce myself.
  I am Elliott, 47, and I am an overweight type 2 diabetic.
  2 days ago I weighed 18.5 stone ( I am 6ft 0 to give perspective) I’m also a cpap users and am currently averang 135/85 on my BP.
  so after the tmi! why am i here.
  We’re finally buying our own house , still got another 7/8 months until completion 🙁 (it’s a new build) and i figured when i started looking at life insurance that as my premiums will be a fortune I should do something about it.
  I’ve also been told that i have signs in my eyes of vessels being damaged by high blood pressure and I don’t think my missus or dog would last well without me!
  I was a chef donkeys years ago so I know how to cook , what is good for me, bad for me etc but i have ZERO will power and love my carbs.
  I keep getting told by my doctors that i am young enough to repair this!! but i’m also eligibile for gastric (no chance) as i am 35 bmi and had the eye reports.

  So i’m starting the 800 this week, well yesterday and praying i have the will power to keep it up.

  Struggling so far with drink choices. I was a diet pepsi fan and although i like water i struggle to just drink that (yes i’ve flavoured it with lemon, lime, mint etc)
  I am nibbling on cherry tomatoes, mange tout and other salady bits, not sure if i should be!

  let’s see how we do.

  Wish me luck 🙂

• posted by RubyG
  on 20 Jul 2021 at 18:22

  

  Welcome Elliott, you’ll find a lot of support on here.

  There is a weekly chat thread (Forums-latest forum topics) with the date in the title where people drop in for hints, tips, advice, encouragement, etc.

  In Oct 2020, my 6ft 54-year old hubby weighed nearly 22st, high BP (and on meds) and pre-diabetic, size 44 waist. He is now 16.5st (ish, we’ve had a bad week), size 34 waist, BP normal (still on one med but haven’t actually measured his BP for ages now, maybe I should?) and I am confident that he is no longer pre-diabetic.

  We both hit the 8 weeks hard with a high level of focus and discipline, and tracked using myfitnesspal (other apps are available), his BP dropped within weeks, and he lost about 2st in those 8 weeks.

  For those 8 weeks, we cut out all white carbs – zero sugar, rice, pasta, potatoes, and alcohol. He allows himself 1 slice of homemade sourdough per week (yes, 1 slice of bread per week) and enjoys it very much with 2 poached eggs.
  We also aimed for under 50g carbs per day, and this is from fresh above-ground veg, nuts etc.
  Breakfast is always egg-based in our house (some people tolerate oats better than others from a carb perspective, we just stopped eating oats, and others have Greek yoghurt with berries or seeds but for the same calories this does not fill me as much or for as long as an egg or two with some sauteed mushrooms, spinach, etc.
  Lunches we tend to have an Asian style chicken broth a lot, without the noodles (even in this heat), with lots of aromatics, chilli, chopped pak choi, etc.
  Chicken breasts, venison, white fish, shellfish, are all your friends on 800cals, and if you don’t love cauliflower now, you will – cauli rice, cauli mash, cauli pizza (a faff to make, but does the job), cauli curry, etc.
  Snacking – if you can avoid snacks and just eat 3 meals this works better in 2 ways – snacks (even healthy ones) consume cals and carbs from your allowance, but also don’t give your body time to rest between feeds, even short periods of fasting (3-4 hours) are better than a constant intake of food (and resulting hormone response). I found it easier to be hungry, knowing I had a nice meal (even if it was only 300cals) planned after a few hours.
  Hydration – drink 2litres of water per day if you can. Fizzy water counts too. Diet drinks will still trigger an insulin response, so best avoided. Are you a tea or coffee drinker? Black coffee works for me, hubby alternates between black coffee and herbal teas.

  That’s a lot of detail I’ve posted, but I’m evangelical about this way of eating, and you’ll find your body and tastes adjust.

  Good luck, feel free to ask questions and you won’t look back!

• posted by SunnyB
  on 20 Jul 2021 at 21:07

  

  Elliott, welcome and thanks for giving such an honest picture if your start point. It is daunting when starting with this way of eating, as it’s quite a steep learning curve. Ruby has given some excellent guidance, not least flagging the One Week at a Time thread … the current one has today’s date in the title. Please do come and join us there, it’s a great place to find encouragement and advice, support and cheering as necessary. We’re a friendly crew, so just jump in.

• posted by freester
  on 23 Jul 2021 at 10:18

  

  Hi Elliot, and welcome.

  You can do this. Your story sounds very similar to mine over 18 months ago (48yrs 6’3″, 17.5 stone, High BP).

  I spent a long time kidding myself that I was big boned, could carry the extra weight (I did a fair bit of exercise – cycling and used that as a justification I could eat and drink anything I wanted).

  Loads of good advice above. My advice would be to cut out the snacking. 3 meals a day. As for drinks, green tea, black coffee?

  Stick with it. The first thing I’d say was I was surprised that more often than not I didn’t feel that hungry during the 800 cal phase. Once or twice (after exercise) I was but satiated myself using a few nuts (as Dr M says better to snack on plan than off). I never snack now, don’t feel the need.

  Your tastes will change. I don’t miss the bread / potatoes. I’m enjoying foods and meals I’d never have looked forward to before embarking on this WoE.

  Plan a week’s meals and buy the ingredients.

  You can do this – if I can anyone can.

  Freester (now 14 stone, no longer snoring, BP acceptable and better health all round)

• posted by ellie666
  on 23 Jul 2021 at 10:25

  

  thank you all for your messages of support 🙂

  so far not doing to bad, entered Ketosis after 2 days and am not feeling hungry really, just light headed a bit even though i am drinking litres of water. (flavouring it with cucumber, lemon, ginger,mint, raspberries, blackberries, limes, oranges – not all at the same time)

  my biggest thing i find hardest to do is going through the recipes and actually splitting them into portions as there is stuff my wife can’t eat (due to chrones)
  i am eating vegetables galore as extras so not sure i’m really sticking to the 800 calories from that point! 🙁

  it’s been 4.5 days now – let’s see how it goes 🙂

• posted by SunnyB
  on 26 Jul 2021 at 19:52

  

  Elliot …. the new weekly thread is up and running, why not join in there for general support and encouragement?

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