This is the last week of April, so let’s make it count !

Hubby was allowed to come out of the physio centre for the weekend and is fretting because there is so much to do in the garden ! Silly man, his recovery is priority !

I think that’s a good message ….we are priority .We owe it to ourselves to be our healthiest version of ourselves , so on we go !

Keep sharing and supporting … never give up !

All the best to new members of our merry band .Don’t be afraid to ask questions ! We have no doubt made the same mistakes 😉

Here’s to a happy, positive week !

Wendy xx
(Sunny and sunshine girl are still away )

Hi

I have followed you to here.
It’s my day one, I got through it. No chocolate or cake or biscuits etc and none in the house
I have done extra stairs just a few
Scrambled eggs and mushrooms
I have now stopped eating for today
My aim is to not gain this week. Bonus would be to maintain. A miracle would be losing that .8 of a pound.
Small steps so no stress today
Regards
Lucia

Thank you for setting up the new thread Wendy & I hope your husband is making good progress!
Well done Lucia on completing your first day & resisting temptation 👏👏
Margaret

Hi everyone,
Thanks for setting up the new thread, Wendy. Glad your husband is healing. I understand about stressing about all the things that need doing this time of year. I will have to mow the lawn for the first time this week as we had lots of rain on Sunday and warmer weather (finally) to follow for the rest of the week. So I have to add that to all the spring clean up that I haven’t completed yet, and the 400 limonium plants that needed to go out in the garden this weekend that I didn’t get to before it started to pour rain. Oh well. We’ll get there eventually.
A sort of ok day today food-wise. I didn’t eat until noon because I was rushing this morning before work to get the horses de-mudified before the farrier was due at 10am, but then they rolled again as soon after I was done, so after answering some e-mails and calls, I had to go out again at 9:30 and do it all over again. Then tonight was my mum’s 85th birthday, so care went out the window with burgers and cake. I did have my salmon burger in lettuce though instead of a bun, so could have been worse.
Well done on day one, Lucia. I will join you tomorrow in resisting temptation. I only have healthy things in the house right now, so that should help. Just have to find the energy and inspiration to actually make something out of them.

Hi
So day two and I am well on my way.
I weighed myself and have lost 1.2 pounds. Fantastic, but I won’t weigh myself for a few weeks as I am expecting a plateau and I don’t want to be hung up on numbers .
I am more interested in the carbs and sugar I have not ate in day one that caused a 1.2 pound weight loss.
So I am eating sensible today, I have eggs, ham, frozen veg, tinned soup etc until I understand what I want to eat and the quantities for my next shopping trip.
I am not thinking about fasting at the moment, maybe next week . I am more interested in stopping eating after my evening meal- no grazing , no munching mindlessly whilst watching the Tv. No snacking.
I will do more extra walking up and down the stairs.
And today I am not stressed.
Little by little.
Regards
Lucia

Hi Guys,
I have been pondering the issues I am encountering within the NHS with the nurses in the cardiac department prescribing drugs that have very nasty side effects if you do not eat a carb high diet, or the information in the pack indicates they are incompatible with fasting. – It has slowly been dawning on me just how unusual we are in being willing to avoid processed food and modify our eating programs.

All of us on this path need to give ourselves a big pat on the back just for being willing to take action to improve our health.

JGwen I think you’re so right ….. we are unusual!
I thought I was pretty ‘savvy’ about additives but after reading Chris Van Tulleken’s articles I realise I’ve still be stuffing myself with ‘additives’.
Yes, big pat on the back for all of us .
PS hope you sort your health problems out soon.

Well last night of our holiday tonight, before I start again ‘full throttle’ on Thursday.
I’ve eaten a relatively high carb diet over the last week but probably still low carb compared to the ‘average’ diet.
We’ve eaten lots of fish, salads and vegetables but interspersed with the odd canary potato and a slice of toast in the morning.
I’m happy to get back to my own food though. Holidays are great but I do miss green vegetables …. who’d have thought! Missing broccoli! Something must be working!
Hope everyone has a good week.
I’ll be back in the ‘fold’ on Thursday.

Wendy hope hubby is continuing to recover. Soon be all over and he’ll be a ‘new’ man!

Hi

Finished eating for today
Ham and eggs
Done my stairs
Not stressed
Going okay

Regards
Lucia

Hi
I did it without thinking .. I got on the scales and have lost one pound.
And then I thought about it, what else do we all do without thinking?
Keeping stress free
Having soup at lunch no bread
Tuna and veg tonight
Doing the stairs
Stay happy
Regards
Lucia

Hi Verano, Apparently one of the Van Tulleken brothers is publishing a book this week on the topic of processed food and the health impacts. – I think it could be a positive move forward as it needs to be highlighted how the processed food industry is effecting health.

I was feeling a little down yesterday regarding the progress with the heart issues. The first set of drugs prescribed appeared to have impacted my bodies ability to control fluid. – Despite half of the month being fasting days, and light meals the rest of the month I gained nearly a kg that month. – Its taken a few weeks after stopping that drug for that effect to resolve. I am hoping that the higher than normal number of visits to the loo is my body resolving that but I need to blow the dust of my bathroom scales to find out.

I have managed to find a private cardiac clinic in the UK who say that they could help me with my questions, but the initial appointment would involve not only the fees for a consultation but also paying for another ecg and echocardiogram so it will be about £800 for the initial appointment. I am going to see if I can obtain a copy of the ecg and echocardiogram done on the nhs to send them to bring the costs down. I feel that perhaps the solution is to try a little longer with the nhs system, and in a couple of months if I am not getting anywhere pay for the private consultation. I just think it is very telling that anyone who wants to work with a healthy diet in the UK has to look for a private clinic that will support this as all the nhs service is focused on presuming that people are going to be eating multiple carb high meals three plus times a day.

I am using the nasty cardiac nurse as inspiration to help me really dig in with extended fasts ready for my next appointment with that team on the 11th of May. – I think that showing a weight loss over the course of this month as well as an improvement on blood pressure is important.

While there are papers published showing that a month of adf had a positive impact on blood pressure, the only paper published on fasting and improving heart health is a case history of one person who was facing heart surgery and decided to jump instead into a 40 day fast carried out at home. – While he did improve the output of the heart from 40 to 50% efficiency with the single fast, he also ended up in hospital for treatment because of electrolyte imbalances and needed to be on a drip towards the end of his fast. – So not really a path I want to follow or a piece of research that I want to put in front of the cardiac team to show that fasting does improve heart health. I am keeping my fingers crossed that targeting autophagy but doing it over a longer period will be equally effective.

Hi everyone, I am here in body but not in mind. Need a few more days to get my head back into ‘dieting’ mode. Not concerned about any gains but happy my BG has remained reasonably low. Thinking about your hubby Wendleg, I have a lot to do in the garden with tomatoes to plant, courgettes, strawberries already in and doing well. Also bought a load of geraniums and marigolds. Need to put up my two large above ground planters so I can get some soft herbs and veg (like lettuce and radishes) planted. Hubby needs to get around to putting up our new pergola but first needs to dig a set of holes for a cement base to go down for the legs to be secured to. He wont even discuss it as he sees it as such a big problem. I have a young man standing by to help him but he wont make a decision. How many other husbands are like that, put something off because it seems too difficult. It has to be done.

I will probably get back in the swing of things on Monday, 1st May seems like a good time.

BTW my surprise party never happened. 3 main people invited happened to be away and it didnt seem worth it if they couldnt be there. My daughter still doesnt know I knew about it so it hasnt been a disappointment to her.

JGwen good luck with your continuing combat with the NHS I much admire your approach & tenacity👏👏👏Having worked for them albeit before my retirement in a non medical role I know how long any changes in approach take time to be implemented. At last they do seem to be recognising that a change of diet to low carb & fasting for Type 2 Diabetics is a positive move but of course anything medical still needs to be proven with clinical trials & unfortunately with pharma/drugs trials they are often male gender based rather than female but hopefully that is also changing.
My husband & I are heading home today after a couple of enjoyable days away & hilariously but sadly the food included in the Beefeater attached to where we are staying does not include a selection of vegetables because we were told they have stopped serving them! The only vegetables included with meals are fried tomatoes, mushrooms triple fried or skinny chips & salad oh & peas that my husband had with a pie. I had salmon for dinner with vegetable rice that did have some sweet corn & red & green peppers in it which was tasty but I will be fasting & eating lots of vegetables when I get home😀Being practical & realistic everything has increased in price particularly fresh vegetables but frozen & tinned vegetables are cheaper. Oh well on we go as best we can!👍
Margaret

Hi
Hospital appointment today so left very early and didn’t weigh myself – good
Have stopped eating now until tomorrow
11647 steps today walking to a further bus stop, and waddling around the shops. I didn’t realise what I had done .
No stress today
In a good place
Keep going
Love
Lucia

Hi
In pain after hospital so just looking after myself today.
Hope to do food shopping tomorrow. Please can I ask what food items ate regularly on your shooping list .

I am thinking
Chicken breast
Chicken thighs
Bacon
Eggs
Possibly a few sausages
Mince meat
Thanks
Lucia

Hello Lucia
I’m sorry to hear you are in pain after being to the hospital & hope you will soon feel better.
The standby food I have is salad ingredients such as red peppers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce or young spinach leaves mushrooms & I particularly like lambs lettuce with olive oil & cider apple vinegar to make a salad dressing. I also have tinned tuna & tinned chickpeas for a salad & adding to meat dishes, tinned black beans, flageolet beans that are good with fish, plenty of tinned tomatoes to use as a basis for many meals, eggs, full fat Greek yoghurt, fresh fruit or tinned fruit in juice to have with yoghurt or dried fruit for my occasional breakfast or something for a pudding. Rolled oats for making porridge & oat milk. Milk & a hard cheese & a full fat cream cheese or Boursin for stuffing chicken to bake. Meat wise fresh chicken pieces so thighs or breast to freeze & minced beef or lamb & herbs & spices for cooking with. I also have some wholewheat couscous & bulgar wheat for some carbs to cook & serve small amounts with meat or bean chilli & lots of veg for making soup most days a favourite being broccoli & spinach soup & Keto chunky courgette, leek & prawn soup. We eat homemade soup or salad for lunch most days & have a protein & veg for supper with some fresh fruit for a pud. Oh I’ve recently been buying some Heinz tinned tomato soup to have as a standby quick lunch when I have no time or energy to cook something. It’s not a perfect list but I find it useful to have all this as a basis but I also make stir fry’s from my veg & always have fresh garlic & when I remember fresh ginger to add & soy sauce. I also have some herbal teas & coffee. Oh frozen baked potatoes so my husband can have one to eat with his protein & veg for supper if he wants.
Good luck with your shopping.
With best wishes
Margaret

Well I’ve just weighed & have gained 2.25lbs in weight because of being away for three days & not being able to eat my usual low carb diet with lots of veg. I’m not surprised but nevertheless disappointed because I had hoped to weigh below 12 stone by the end of April but of course I will keep plodding on trying to get down to my goal weight of 10 stone. I can certainly see a difference in my body with the weight I have lost unfortunately looking unattractively flabby on my stomach & thighs that I hope will change over time with toning my muscles. I have excavated my exercise bike that doesn’t have much resistance to change up to but have found my ankle weights to wear. I’m appalled & amazed that the Beefeater we ate at next to our Premier Inn no longer offer a side dish of extra vegetables apparently due to no demand!! I ate steak one night & then salmon with a choice of a baked potato, triple fried chips, salad & they came with fried mushrooms & tomatoes. My husbands pie did have peas!. I must admit I did have some chips & dipped them in mayonnaise 🙀but did resist any desserts😀 They helpfully list the calories of each dish which added up to treble my usual daily calorie intake so I’m not surprised I’ve gained weight 🙁😂
Back on track now trying to make May a much more positive month for my weight loss because of June being another difficult month with more social activities & being away. It is so challenging for me to lose any weight once off piste with my diet.
I hope you all have an enjoyable Bank Holiday weekend & the sun is shining here in Sussex today although rain is coming on Monday but I’m going to be planting out some red white & blue plants in advance of the Kings Coronation next weekend to cheer up our front garden.
Margaret

Hi
Took Life very easy today. Ham salad. Then one small pork sausage and egg. One slice of gi bread.
Pottered and sat in garden
Haven’t ruined my way of eating.
No stress

Regards
Lucia

Hi everyone,
Just a quick check-in in the middle of a very busy weekend. We’ve gone from pretty cold to pretty warm in the blink of an eye. Officially it was as warm as 27 C today, but I have a temperature sensor out in what was my low polytunnel (plastic removed for now and shade cloth up to protect my cool season annuals from getting fried!) and it was reading as high as 34 C. That was in the sun, mind.
I started work in the garden early today to try to beat the heat and managed to get 200 seedlings planted and watered before my dad showed up at 11am. We then worked on my deck for several hours as we’re resurfacing it with vinyl so I don’t have to paint it every year.
Lunch was egg salad with cucumber on the sour rye bread that doesn’t spike my b.g.
Followed that up with my horse chores and got lots of water on everything again, and discovered that my asparagus has rocketed up out of the ground in the warm weather the last 2 days. So it was a nice treat to have that for dinner along with a piece of salmon fillet that I found in the freezer when I was cleaning it out the other day. Yogurt and berries for afters.
Not being used to the warmth, I have only been able to wear my compression tights in the mornings. Yesterday I was fine in the afternoon without them, but my legs are tired and a bit swollen today. Tomorrow I have 200 more seedlings to plant and I will direct sow some veggies as they should definitely germinate now. Can’t believe we still had some snow on the ground at Easter, and now this!

Goodness me arcticfox that all sounds exhausting! You must be using lots of calories being so active & well done keeping on track food wise. I’m going to the garden centre to get a few flowers to plant & my current success is the purple sprouting broccoli producing enough tops for us to eat & is continuing to grow. Lunch will be baked pesto fish with ratatouille & possibly some sweet potatoes with strawberries & blueberries for pud with some creme fraiche. It’s continuing to be mostly sunny here & warm but not hot so quite pleasant!
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend.
Margaret

Hi
Been able to move today so sorted four kitchen cupboards out.
Delighted my snacks are reducing .
No stress
Do you know who much gi bread I should have please? I have had one slice today
Regards
Lucia

Hi all, I am still around and reading daily. Arcticfox always puts us to shame with the amount of outdoor work she does – keep it up. Just to compete – not really – this week I have planted out 12 tomato plants, 2 different varieties – just for a change a golden one. Also planted 6 courgettes expecting that at least 4 will die but I will still be inundated with courgettes. And planted golden marigolds around all the veg to keep the bugs away.

Lucia, not sure what your hospital appointment was for but glad you are feeling better. I am still in pain and some swelling 3 months after the surgery. No idea what gi bread is but I don’t eat any type of bread. BUT did anyone see the Nordic seeded loaf Mary Berry made on TV yesterday. 4 eggs, no flour and lots of nuts and seeds. Going to give it a try.

Many of you will know I do food courses from time to time with an organisation called futurelearn. It costs nothing to register and nothing to do the courses which are usually short – 3 or 4 weeks of around 2 hours a week study or reading. Just signed up to do one called From Waste to Value: How to Tackle Food Waste. So far it is fact and figures but we apparently waste 53% in the home so it is a good chance to look at what we do with our food, planning, menus etc. I have printed a chart to fill in to see how much I waste each day. Dont think it will be much as I am too mean (moneywise) and reuse or save lots of things for another day. Worth having a look. I have already completed week 1 in one day so it is not a lot of work.

I will be back on the diet tomorrow although I have lost nearly a kilo this week just by being back home and eating my usual meals. Enjoy the bank holiday Monday, for us it will be just the same as usual.

S-G planning is the key to food waste 😜.
I plan my meals weekly and then write my shopping list from the recipes I have planned. That means I only buy what I am going to use.

Hi Elle, I guess a lot of us on diets do that too, it is second nature to make a menu plan and shop accordingly. I think everyone should do this course, seems like the ones doing it are already aware of how to save food waste but there are a few who have learnt something by doing it. Watched someone cooking the other day – not saying who – and they threw half a leek in the bin because they didnt like the dark leaves and there was dirt in the folds at the top. So they only ate the white of the leek.

Oh dear s-g that sounds just like me!
I always cut off the old dark green leaves from the top of leeks!
I never plan a weeks meals!
My OH does most of our day to day shopping and although I write a list we often end up with more!
Maybe I really NEED the food waste course more than most!
Will take a look.
I’ll be back on track from Tuesday. Put a few pounds on while away but they have virtually gone.
Time to get serious again!

Hi everyone,
Apparently eating the green parts of leeks provides a good source of fibre for your gut microbes as well as reducing waste. I remember seeing that in a documentary with Tim Spector a few years ago, and since then I’ve made sure to use them.
Margaret – yesterday was very exhausting. Luckily I slept well and was able to get back at it today. Well done with your purple sprouting broccoli. I wish I could get it to over-winter here, but unfortunately we are too cold in the winters. Even my kale didn’t survive this year. I’m actually at the same latitude as you, but much more of a continental climate.
S-g – that sounds like a good amount of tomatoes and courgette for your own use, for sure. I will probably plant 10 or 12 tomatoes for myself and will sell the rest (I have 96 started inside so far) as seedlings in a few weeks time. And definitely not meaning to put anyone to shame. With a property this big, I feel like I work and work and still don’t get anywhere near enough done. The outside work takes priority over inside work too, so don’t even ask how dirty the house is now!
I managed to get my 200 seedlings planted this morning, so that is a win. It’s much cooler today, so I will be back out after lunch. Lunch was a black bean salad with lots of veg in it and a tzatziki dressing. Very tasty and quick to put together.

Arctic, I understand that your garden is a work area so not trying to compete :). My 6 courgettes will soon become 2 and I will get enough tomatoes to eat and freeze for sauces and gifts for the neighbours. The strawberries are also coming on good even though I only planted them about 4 weeks ago, they usually take a season to settle in. My garden efforts are a hobby and I dont mind feeding the magpies (cherries and tomatoes) but do object to feeding slugs, hence the marigolds.

The dark green on the leeks is ideal for the recipe Spanish chorizo soup. I also save the ends of broccolli and cauliflower and grate it into salads. Just learnt that we should eat the skin on kiwi fruit, sliced very thinly and you dont notice it but not sure I can so that far after only just learning it is a super fruit.

Evening all. Nice to see so many of you regulars and some new faces. Have been lurking for a while. I’ve been back on the plan for three weeks snd had lost 12.5 pounds by Tuesday. I’ve been away since then, but tried to stay on plan and will be interested to see if I’ve had any further discards when I get on the scales tomorrow.
It’s been a pretty good week, but this evening and tonight I have been really struggling with hunger. It’s the start of week 4 tomorrow and I really want to do the full 8 weeks. If anyone has any tips for ignoring the hunger that would be great?

Hi
1st may – white rabbits
I have been slowly changing what I eat and what I do and how I feel.
I haven’t been stressed out over it as I said I wanted to do it gradually.
So here is to phase two – changing it a little bit more, a little better
Regards
Lucia

White rabbits LUCIA ! Pinch and punch.im just calling in to say hello everybody and to say LUCIA i remember you from back in the day,2016,I always remembered you because you were very positive and encouraging, lovely to see you again x
ARCTIC FOX I feel for you re lymphoedema,I have it too,in my legs,its not much fun,specially in warm weather X

Hi all
All the homegrown vegetables sound really lovely!
I’ve been lurking for the past week or two. I’ve hit a bit of a plateau and keep losing and regaining the same few pounds. Blood sugars are thankfully back to normal (no longer prediabetic) but would love to move past this! I did my first 24 hour fast on Friday which went better than I expected- probably because I kept myself super busy and had no time to think about hunger, and also because I expected the hunger at the 18 hour mark, which I just ignored.
I also think that I am having too many vegetables which may be contributing too many carbs to my daily count, but I really need the veggies… not sure what to do.

I’ve been referred by my GP to a weight loss and exercise course at my local leisure centre, because of my obesity. I was curious what it was all about, and because they offer a 3 month free gym membership for all group participants, I thought why not get my weekly swimming for free?

Anyway the course started on Friday and I was cringing at the nutritional advice… 50% carbs!!!!!! Tiny amount of fats!!!!! And there are people there with diabetes and hypertension, and they’re being told that it is possible to reduce your medication through weight loss, and that exercise and making use of your gym membership will help you with your weight loss- yikes. I would love to take a copy of the Obesity Code for the other group members to read but I’m not going to cause any trouble!!

I don’t even know why I am so surprised. This diet is the exception to the rules out there… Oh well.

You are all putting me to shame activity wise because I’m taking it easy & have sore knees & ankle so just pottering around doing washing & cooking with a not very low calorie lunch & I ate Greek yoghurt, a banana & some kefir for breakfast because I felt hungry so giving myself a day off from calorie counting & I will get back on track tomorrow with a fast! I will also be going to my physio pain clinic exercise class tomorrow.

Hi all, day one back on plan for me. Weighed in with a 2kgs gain from my holiday, I could have been less if I’d got back on track but I just wasnt in the right head space. So I am here and rearing to go. Logged all my food on MFP and it came out at 850 cals and 50g carbs so, before I eat it I have knocked the 10g dark chocolate square bringing me back to 800 cals and 48g carbs. Daughter and one grandson are coming out on the 28th May so that gives me a full 4 weeks to get back on track.

Happysnap yes it is a shame that those who are supposed to know are clueless, just keep your head down and use the gym for swimming, although I have heard the NHS is bringing in a diet of 800 calories but they insist on liquid form i.e. shakes and soups, no one can live on that for long but maybe better than trying to get someone to count calories and carbs for themselves. It is a start.

Planted out some geraniums today. Forgot to mention that when we got back from the UK I discovered I have ‘lost’ my asthma inhaler. It was a new one still in the box and I have no idea what has happened to it. Searched everywhere, daughter searched at her house. No sign. I do have a secondary inhaler which is for times of exertion or stress on top of my daily burst and that seems to he helping. I am in 2 minds to go back to the pharmacy and ask them for a new one when I have only recently had one or just carry on and manage.

Have a good week and enjoy the day off.

Hi everyone
I am just going to set up the new thread and catch up later as I have just got in . I was invited to lunch today with a French family, my son’s “in laws’ if you like so it was a bit excessive , aperitifs, duck breast , potatoes, cheese and dessert,all pretty tasty French fare but carby
Hubby is still in the physio centre, hopefully this will be his last week .

It’s 1st May so it feels a good time to get back on track if there have been holidays, celebrations etc .

See you on the new thread !

Hi Happysnap,
How to respond to medical staff who are out of date with their advice has been a topic on the Dr Fung facebook group recently. Some people feel that the fight club rule that no one talks about fight club is the only way to keep the peace.

Others think that there is a duty to mention that you are following the latest research when talking to medical staff. Because if we don’t we really can not complain about them not learning. – I watched a video of a discussion between 2 people who regularly speak at low carb conventions. They agreed that when they first started the only medical people present at these conventions would be other speakers. The audience was completely made up of people who had been using the internet to search for advice and help which had led them into the low carb community. However, in America medical staff are required to undertake additional training each year and they get credits for that training target if they attend low carb conferences so nowadays about half the audience is a medical professional. They described how when the first patient stands up and says their success is due to low carb the medical staff will ignore, but over time as that goes from 1, to 2, to 3, to the 50th patient who has been demonstratively successful with low carb then they stop ignoring and start researching and advising other patients to go low carb.

I have been thinking about how I deal with cardiac nurses who are recommending that I follow a protocol of drugs which are only appropriate for people who eat 3 high carb meals a day. I really don’t want to be awkward, but I figure that if I say my piece to the medical staff, it means that the next time a patient who is following this path ends up being treated by them they will not have to fight so hard to be heard. I realise this is probably my Aspie view of life, but I would speak up in a class like that because I would imagine how I would feel if I was a member of a group where the lecturer was not providing accurate information that was important to the quality of my life.

Hi

Yowzer 49 nice to hear from you.
I think your state of mind is important , it can fail you. That’s why I declare where my head is at. When I am low I hope you will all jump in and hold me steady.
I don’t care if I eat the wrong item once but I don’t want to stick eating bad food all the time.
Also exercise is a biggy. I can’t run a marathon from the coach but I can add a little every day and get there
Keep in touch everyone
Regards
Lucia

Hi
Lost more weight yippee but not getting hung up about the number. I am interested in a healthy way of eating for life.
Ham salad yesterday
I am eating less snacks and realising I don’t need them – it’s just boredom or a habit.
No stress today. Sun is shining .
Regards
Lucia