Afternoon all,
I’ve just finished the book for the second time.
I’ve decided to take the plunge and try it out!
I’m 33, 6FT and weigh 117kg (18st10) – my BMI is around 35 – so QUITE scary really! I used to have quite an active job – but I’ve recently moved jobs and as such – my lack of movement is also quite scary!

I’ve got two young children and another one the way – and I really need to get healthy to set a good example and make sure I’m around!

My wife is a GP and is very supportive of me trying this out – it’s clear that the opinions of healthcare professionals are changing….
I’m not diabetic in any way – not pre-diabetic either, but i do have a rather large midriff which definitely sets alarm bells ringing.

I lost about 6 stone 10 years ago – reaching 13st8 – a combination of eating lots of chicken and rice, salmon and cous cous and veggies – but I was doing 2hrs in the gym 6 days a week – not sustainable. I ran a 10k in under an hour 2 years ago and I’d love to be able to get back to that level of fitness.

I like the idea of limiting my chances of developing diabetes and other related illnesses before I have a limited ability to do anything about it!

Anyway – if anybody fancies joining me – let me know!

Take care,

Tom

Hi Tom, you lucky man, not only 2 lovely little uns but a GP for a wife. I hope she is supportive of this diet and is helping you with any questions. You will get lots of support on here so if you need anything just shout up. Good luck. By the way, you are only 33 so I hate you already. Jealousy.

Ha! You could say I don’t normally get away with anything!!
She’s really supportive. My sister is a PT and she has extolled the virtues of intermittent fasting for a good while.

The support is definitely in place – it’s up to me to smash it!

How do people feel about picking the start day so far in advance?!

Thanks for your lovely reply – I’ll aim to post updates when I start.

I like your sense of humor, Tom1985! I don’t use an ipad or iphone, so I don’t have access to emoticons,
but imagine me displaying “clapping hands” for your decision to be a healthy Dad who is teaching your young
children healthy dietary habits! You haven’t explained your decision to postpone your start date to July 16, 10 days
into the future, but it’s never too early to begin cutting back on the refined carbs/sugar and getting into the
habit of drinking lots of water, even if you aren’t measuring and counting calories and carbs yet. It’s a good
strategy for minimizing the possibility of dealing with “carb flu”. We’re all looking forward to getting to know
you, and sharing in your journey. Very best to you,

Allie

Hello!

I’ve picked a week on Monday as we’re away on holiday next week with the whole family and a birthday while we’re away!

I was hoping to use this week – as you say – to not go mad but I know we’ve got an alcohol and carb loaded week ahead!

I’m thinking of it as my last hurrah for 3 months – my 12 weeks would coincide roughly with my wife’s due date – so I think it’s a good aim!

We’ll see. My big love is popcorn and houmous – I can easily eat a whole lot myself!

Portion control is probably my biggest issue and has been since I started cooking for myself!

Looking forward to it!

Thanks for all your kind words!

Tom1985, what a blessed event, the birth of your third child! Much happiness to you and your family. Enjoy
your holiday, but don’t go wild 🙂 Please join us on either the weekly or monthly challenge when you officially
“begin”. There are lots of experienced BSDers there, and you will be made to feel very welcome. See you then 🙂 🙂 🙂

Allie

It’s probably sensible to delay starting properly if you know it will be particularly difficult over the next week.

Good luck.

Thank you for all your words of encouragement!

I’m happy I’ve picked a date – I always seem to find deadlines useful.

How do you folks manage the cooking?? Do some of the meals lend themselves to batch cooking and freezing or is it best, if batch cooking to consume the remainder the next day?!

What a lovely bunch of people you are!

Thanks for your words of encouragement!

I do the batch cooking and freezing for any suitable meals. It’s great to have healthy, portion controlled ready meals in the freezer for when I’m short of time, or don’t feel like cooking (especially as previously that was always an excuse for pizza).

Hi Tom, and welcome to the forum. Your starting weight is one pound lower than mine, but I lack your height so my starting BMI was 42, stage 3 obese. I am now over 18 months into maintaining my new shape (Although not my target weight, once the glycogen stores got filled again when I restarted eating some but less carbs than I used to, I put on nearly a stone) and a few new bad habits have led to another half a stone of gain which is currently a work in progress. You mention wanting to get fitter again, my advice would be to start some exercise at once, even before you start the diet properly, not pushing yourself too hard but building up gradually what you do, as muscle is an excellent aid to weight loss, so the more you have, the easier it is. Strength training is particularly important. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the success so many on here have. I just wish I could persuade my OH to have a proper go. He lost two stone just eating what I was eating but could really do with tackling the midriff area.

That’s the trouble with being the cook, you only cook things you love to eat. When I still lived at home it was so easy to be as skinny thin like I was as my mum was a terrible cook. Her way with cauliflower was to cook it for half an hour in a pressure cooker. It looked beautiful on the plate, white & firm, you put your fork in it & it turned to mush. In fact everything was cooked in the pressure cooker & you knew the day of the week by the meal,exact same every week. Mondays were a highlight, cold leftover lamb from Sunday with hot brown gravy, boiled potatoes & her specialty cauliflower, a real rainbow on the plate 😀
I do cook extra & freeze or store till next day. I also have three dogs who can definitely help in a calorie controlled diet.

I think that sums up why I’ve stopped faffing around with courgetti and cauliflower rice Airenwen
I’d rather have some crunch and texture in my veg (not to mention more of the vitamins left)
I used to make them them all the time when I started the diet a couple of years ago – now I’d much rather have fish, meat or whatever with healthy steamed vegetables than something chopped or spiralled into miniscule pieces and overcooked just to that it gives the appearance of looking like rice, pasta or whatever.
I do have the luxury of eating at work a lot, where we have a healthy eating ethos and an excellent chef.

Wow – thanks for all the replies guys and gals!
In terms of fitness – I’m actually not that unfit in the “I could go for a run without doing myself a mischief” kind of way… I could clearly be fitter – and that is definitely my aim! For me it’s a mental thing too… My wife will tell me to go out and I’ll just kind of grunt at her… But she won’t take no for an answer – so I’m lucky in that sense! I then find I hate it to start with and then find I really enjoy myself! I am definitely my own worst enemy!!

I really enjoy cooking – I can never do it within the times provided by the recipe(!) but I have fun. My wife is vegetarian, so I eat vegetarian at home too – although I’m definitely going back on meat to make full use of the recipes – so I’m quite handy with a vegetable rice and 1 cal spray – i just need to change my mindset and think about the carbs!!

Does anybody have any suggestions as to what recipes work well being frozen??

Are there any hard and fast rules about when to eat.. what times?? Breakfast is pretty simple for me, as is lunch – but dinner becomes quite tricky. We normally feed the kids (I don’t come home until 6pm most nights and my wife – who works part time comes home after 7.30pm 3 nights a week) first and then after bedtime, we’ll eat our meal. So often we can’t be bothered and will just see whats left in the freezer. Do I need to be eating earlier? Is 8,9,10pm too late to eat?? I deffo know the answer!!

Might also sound like a daft question – but what kind of bottles do people use for water? I’ve seen the ones that have times on them… any good? Or gimmicky!?

Thanks again!

The late eating definitely makes a difference blood sugar wise, I think the best plan is to try eating earlier, fasting later, although I know how difficult this can be while work dictates our hours. I try at the moment to keep to one or two meals a day, and not eating later than 8pm but can’t always manage it.

Thank you!

I think I’ll probably just have to prep my dinners ready for when I come home!

But I definitely want to eat earlier if I can!

I can see it’s difficult for you when you’re both working those hours. Easier for me as my husband is retired & I work at home with livestock.
I’ve never eaten breakfast. We have lunch around one after I’ve seen to all the animals & outside jobs & dinner around six so all my meals are in that short window. I try to resist snacking in the evening but that’s hard, I’ve never had much won’t power & my husband isn’t on a diet so he’s no help with his peanuts, beer or single malt, so I try to at least keep it to a few nuts, Greek yoghurt or a baby bell cheese instead of the crisps I used to eat.
I don’t use a bottle for water, just a pint glass.

Thanks for all the replies so far folks!

I’ve had my last week of debauchery – although to be honest – I’ve not eaten badly at all – in terms of volume – just a fair bit of bad carbs and sugars – packed lunches whilst we’ve been out and stuff like that.

I’m looking forward to my new start on Monday. We’re just finalising the menu for this week – so watch this space.

Thanks,

Tom

Hey ya!
I have read the book again too and this time starting…. I am an Aussie, 43 yo weigh 105kg and 5 foot 8….
Day 1 tomorrow. I am going to use My Fitness Pal to help track my habits. I have compiled a shopping list and off to the shops to stock up on some foods so my week is planned well.
My sister in law has just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and we are doing this together but know I will need any support tips advice I can access. Mel

Welcome to the forums, BeeHealthy! Find a thread that you enjoy, and
you will be made most welcome 🙂

Tomorrow is THE day, Tom! Very best to you and your wife. I look
forward to following your progress!

Allie

Good luck Tom and BeeHealthy – do let us know how you’re getting on.

Hi BeeHealthy,
I would suggest a couple of things, I would suggest taking a full set of measurements from ankles upwards. There will be times when you find that the scales don’t change, but you are changing in shape, and it can be reassuring to know thats happening.
There are a couple of challenge threads that it would be worth joining one or both, there is a weekly challenge and a 4 week challenge, where we set ourselves a challenge on the amount of weight we want to loose, and then report progress. Both of the threads have members who range from new comers to those who have been following this Way of Eating (WoE) for some time.

Good luck.

Today is the day, Tom! Wishing you all the very best.

My tip would be to plan, plan, plan, particularly in the first couple of weeks, till you get into the rhythm of it. Decide your meals in advance, if you need to, then make them in advance. That way, you dont have any decisions to make on the day, you just eat what you have decided. I use MyFitnessPal to pop my meals on in advance, then all I need to do it have a look and see what I’m eating that day.

A BPA free bottle is a good idea, but you probably wont need one with times on it, just drink as your body needs.

Have fun seeing the numbers go down 👍🏻

Well… I’ve survived until lunchtime!
Had the (dis!)pleasure of the melon, blueberry and spinach smoothie thing for my breakfast. To be honest, it smelled much nicer when I made it last night! This morning it was a bit ‘Juice Plus’ for me… But I’ll give it another go!

I’ve just enjoyed a Courgette, Spinach and Feta salad for lunch – and I really enjoyed it! Feel very full so, so far so good.

Harissa Chicken for tea – and my mum (bless her!) has made some breakfast, soup and some bolognese recipes from the book – so pretty well prepped for this week.

I’ve noticed three problems…1) I have big hands – so my handfuls of greens are massive – although I cant imagine thats much of an issue?! – I think I’ve tried to guestimate! 2) What is a ‘sprinkling’ of nuts… I’ve no idea!! 3) My fitness pal does not allow you to put a ‘sprinkling’ – so i could do with a conversion to g or cups for commonly

So far so good, drinking sparkling water with wedges of fruit. I know exactly what I am eating for the day – so I’m not worried about the bubbles making me more hungry! Probably drunk about 1.5L so far…

We’ll see eh!?

Sounds like a good start!

Large handfuls of greens shouldn’t be an issue, but big ‘sprinklings’ of nuts could be more of a problem. I’d see how many calories your daily food is without the nuts, then work out how many grams of nuts you can have to get to around 800 calories.

Thanks Squidge – to be honest, I think if anything I’m underestimating the nuts – but I hadn’t thought of going at it backwards – so that makes sense!

What are the thoughts on Coffee? I only ever drank black coffee – with 1 sugar – but i can happily drink it with no sugar. Does the diuretic effect of coffee cause issues – or am I just reading too much in to it?

Thanks again,

Tom

I drink tea and that seems fine – I have some plain water as well though. Depends how much you have, I suppose.

Hi Tom – coffee’s fine, it’s high in antioxidants so it’s good for you too. If you wanted to you could add a tablespoon of coconut oil to give an energy boost.
Maggie

Thanks for the quick replies! I hadn’t thought of adding something to sweeten it up / boost the energy! This forum really is a wealth of information! And you’re all marvellous!

Tom

Tom, your “Mum” sounds lovely, willing and supportive! How nice of her to cook from the book! Family support
is so important when it’s “early days” 🙂 These forums are full of other Mums too, and between us we have
a wealth of experience to share….Best of luck,

Allie

Right.. end of Day 1 thoughts… Promise I’ll only post weekly now!!

I struggled with Breakfast – didn’t really enjoy it at all. I’ll give it another go – but I think the Melon, Spinach and Blueberry shake might be reserved for the bin – any tips!?

Lunch was the Courgette and Feta salad – completely the opposite – loved it and felt really full.

Dinner was a change – I went for the Courgetti and Tomato Meatballs – very filling and very tasty!

I genuinely didn’t miss my usual binge on popcorn that a Monday normally brings…..

I was going to go for a jog last night – but decided upon a brisk walk instead. I’m still thinking about how best to exercise on a low calorie diet – I could go to the gym for an hour and easily burn 400kcals at my current weight… Any thoughts??

Managed my 10k steps too so all in all – a good start.

I know it won’t be plain sailing – but so far, so good!

My tip re what to eat is to try everything low carb you think you might possibly like (not all at once!) and see what suits you best. I like yoghurt with fruit (usually berries) for breakfast.

If you’re already exercising regularly it seems to be fine to carry on.

What a great start you’re making tom1985, you sound really motivated. I’m just starting too, so like you, I’m learning every step of the way. All the best to you 👍

Afternoon all – a quick update!
I’m on day 4 now – and to be honest – apart from the odd chocolate craving (some lovely person in work has brought in about 3T of Easter Eggs!) I’m doing ok!

Thanks Squidge – I managed to buy 3 passionfruit for £1 – a steal! So I tried the Passionfruit / almond / yoghurt this morning – it was lovely, so that’s definitely on my list.

I’ve kept up my 10k steps and I’m doing at least 30 minutes a day.

I’ve not felt hungry – all the food has kept me filled – it’s just a case of changing my behaviour around snacking.

So far – I’ve stuck to it rigidly. I went over the 800 yesterday – but will be under today so its swings and roundabouts.

I know that some of the recipes are a bit off with the counts – but to be honest – unless it looks glaringly wrong, I’m not minded to check – purely because it’s clear that the type of foods I’m now eating – are MUCH MORE beneficial for me – so I’m happy so far.

I’ve purposefully held off weighing myself – I’m going to weigh in weekly I think..

Lynnedb – welcome! I’ve only been posting a short while – but everybody is amazing and an absolute fountain of knowledge – I’m just trying to soak it all up!! Best of luck!

That’s really great, Tom. Well done, you’ve got this sussed.

Thank you for the welcome tom1985😊 it sounds like you are getting on ok. Very pleased for you. I’ve been trying the recipes out of the two books, and like you, so far I’ve really enjoyed them. Keep up the good work 👍

WEEK 1 UPDATE:

Morning all! As of this morning – I’ve dropped a whole 14lbs, 1st, 6kg – and I’m made up.
I’ve not really struggled with feeling hungry except on a few occasions – water, or a black coffee has sorted that right away.

I had a bit of a culinary nightmare with a frittatta – where I put a whole can of chickpeas in – but then, as the thing was so big, only ended up eating a 1/4 of it – my wife had a 1/4 and then I ate the rest as my tea last night.. I’ve only worked out calories roughly for this meal – somewhere around 400 – but I’ve had an average of 775 calories this week.

Meal prep has been the key, I think.

I’ve ensured that I’m drinking around 3L of water a day.

Overall, I’m happy with where I’m at.
Hope the rest of you are having good weeks!

Tom

Yay! Great result, Tom.

I agree that planning your meals and plenty of water are both useful when it comes to sticking with this.

Hello Tom
Congratulations – that is a fantastic result!

I too started almost a week ago and I haven’t found it too bad. I’ve lost about 3lbs and I feel a little disappointed but will keep going!

I’ve also had a couple of culinary disasters – I thought I’d make some ‘guilt-free’ brownies and didn’t put enough fat in the mix. They are unfortunately heading for the bin!!

Keep going and keep posting – it’s great to hear how others are doing.

A whole stone, Tom!! In a week? Fantastic result 👏🏽👏🏽. You must be delighted!

Tom and Sthommo – welcome to both of you. Wow Tom, what a first week loss! Fantastic!
Sthommo – some of us it takes a bit longer to bed in… I was one of them! 3 lb is a very respectable loss so excellent work! “claps”.

Sthommo, 3lbs is still a good loss, so well done!

Thanks guys and gals – to be honest, I was quite shocked – but very pleasantly surprised.

Hello sthommo! Welcome aboard! I’ve read sooo much on these boards about peoples losses. Sometimes it’s big, sometimes it’s small in terms of numbers – but its still a victory – anytime the scale goes down is a mini victory! Also think about things like how you feel – I don’t think you can put a price on that! I felt like inhaling a Snickers Duo on Saturday…My cravings were that bad… but I went out and bought some stuff to make the brazil and pear chocolate brownie thing.. and ate a (very) small square of that – and that really satisfied me. The fact that I didn’t go and get on is a little mini victory!

I’ve been successful at diets in the past, but ALWAYS put the weight back on. I think this whole way of eating / living is revolutionary. I read somewhere – not to think of it as a diet!

I’m now just “eating less carbs”. Or something like that!
Well done!

Quite right, Tom! And I urge you and sthommo to take your measurements from the ankles up. Sometimes the scales don’t move but the tape measure does!

Fantastic result for week 1 Tom, very pleased for you 👍 this pear and chocolate brownie thing sounds ok. Might have to give that a try. I agree with you, preparation is vital. I wouldn’t like to guess how many times I consult my boooks over the course of a day!
Welcome sthommo, and congratulations on your first week. Hang in there, when you think about it, there’s a lot for the body to get used to all at once. We are totally changing the way we eat
I agree with KazzUK on taking measurements, I use centimetres because I loose more of those than inches, so it’s more motivating!

That’s a great result for week one, I have dodgy scales but that’s sorted now, 3 days to go and 4lb down, can’t wait a full week! I have fro breakfast, 100g full fat Greek yogurt, tastes so creamy after eating fat free for years, I love it, with raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, Omelette, ham and greens for lunch, need to be a bit more organised on packed lunches so I don’t stray! Good luck all.

Your meals sound very appealing Gill. I found exactly the same thing when I switched from fat free to full fat Greek yogurt. All the best for continued success

Thanks Lynn, I have never counted calories so find I am searching now before I buy or cook, I love the iPhone for it’s apps! PS I use centimetres too, and lbs!

Hi Gill – Well done!! You’re doing great!

I’m the same – I never counted calories, or carbs – just picked what ‘looked’ healthy and then ate loads of it… didn’t really work until I was doing 2 hours in the gym each day!

I also agree with the full fat greek yoghurt – it’s a revelation!!

I’m on the lookout for more soup recipes. I’m trying to keep my carbs under 30g daily – and my fave soup is 22g on its own… any ideas!?

Thanks Lynne – I’m the same – I have a spreadsheet…yes, I’m THAT person (drives my wife up the wall!) – so I can just pick from a list of foods and it automatically populates the calories, and nutritional values – good for my nerdy side!

In regards to the chocolate brownie thing – I’m told that it tastes a lot better having been frozen and defrosted… I’m having my next treat on Friday! Yum!

I’m still only weighing myself weekly – something to look forward to.

Keep going everyone!

Hi Tom one of my favourites

Serves 6, approx. 94cals and 7.7g carbs per serving(this includes 100g spinach)
PEA SOUP
1tbs olive oil
2 small leeks or 1 medium onion sliced
400g frozen petite pois
2 vegetable stock cubes dissolved in 800ml water.
85g watercress
sprig of mint or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Sweat leeks in the olive oil until soft.
Add peas and stock and cook gently for 5 minutes or until tender.
Add watercress and mint and wilt down.
Blitz… may need a little more liquid at this point.
Add salt and pepper as required.
Spinach (100g) can also be added with the watercress to make a more substantial soup
You can substitute milk for some of the stock or add a teaspoon of cream or yogurt before serving.
Really easy soup and very satisfying.

I haven’t worked out tha carbs etc for this one but it’s great especially in hot weather….
Based on a Jun Tanaka recipe. There are lots of ingredients but it’s simple to make.
1kg ripe plum, of other, tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 a cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
300ml tomato juice
75 ml good red wine vinegar
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
10 drops of Tabasco or to taste
1/2 bunch fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/4 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
1/2 a clove of garlic minced, half really is enough because it isn’t cooked
Salt and black pepper to taste
100ml of good olive oil plus extra 2tbsp
2 Red peppers, cut into 2cm pieces.
1.Place all the ingredients except the red peppers and 2tbsp of olive oil in a large bowl and mix well.
2.Heat the 2tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and fry the red peppers gently for a few minutes until they soften slightly.
3. Remove pan from heat and add the rest of the ingredients from the bowl.
4. Leave to marinade for at least an hour. This is important for the flavours to blend together.
5. Whizz in a blender or use a stick blender.
6. Sieve. Place in sieve and press down with the back of a ladle or spoon.
I like mine without any of the ‘bits’ but you can leave some if desired. If Esnecca was here I’m sure she would have a good way to use up the ‘grounds’ after sieving. I’m afraid I just dispose of them!
7. Chill really well and serve with extra basil.