Hi everyone! 🙂
I got the BSD book yesterday and receipe one today. 🙂
I’ve watched with fascination Dr Michael Mosley over the years, looking into one diet (& many other topics) after another, and comapring results etc. Love it. Saw a wonderful program with Dr GIles Yeo re FTO’s the other day and how transplanted into larger people it worked and they became thinner! 🙂

I do love the scientific back up, which is so helpful and so cruical!
My comfort eating is my achilles heel, and recent problems have seen me indulge so much that I now must lose 2 stone, and try to reduce my very high (family) cholesterol. I know it’s far less of an issue, but I want to try, plus reduce my ‘need for sugar’. I worry that I’ll become diabetic if I don’t act soon!

Worrying of course helps me pile on the pounds, and usually as my bank accounts sheds them! Now if I could flip this about that’s be brilliant!
I did the scarsdale diet and atkins many years ago, and both taught various aspects about nutrients and proteins etc etc.
I’ve bought further reading materials too which have helped, but to be honest I really am no chef and although I like cooking once in a while, I’m always ‘too busy’.

Some of the recipies from Dr C Bailey’s (+) book are still daunting’ for me ingredients wise. I don’t know about a good third of them ! Although I understand that she has tried to be less expensive & more simple with ingredients I believe that I am going to have to remove many of the ingredients or it’s all just too daunting and confusing, and I dont want that ! But if I do am I losing cruical nutrients that they expect you to be consuming ?
Have others debated this ?
Or have people ploughed in and got to grips with all the new things and coped OK ?
Have you found the cost of all the foodstuffs massively increased your shopping bills or reduced them please?

So here I am close to starting (doing what I can already) … looking to first clear out some items from my cupboards, so that I’m less tempted, or put some into deeper storage! And happy that most of my little freezer contents are almost all very good.
But …
It says not to start this diet, if you are in recovery from surgery.
My foot is soon to be operated on, and I’ll then go through months of recovery. Cooking is not really possible so I’ve been thinking of pre cooking to get myself prepared.
But most importantly I wanted to get started, so that my head is focused on totally reducing weight and sugar. So then when I get the addiction -like comfort eat cravings, I can try and not cave in because of the bigger picture that’s ‘in play’!
(Even harder when you are bed and house bound though!)
I want to lose weight and reduce the need for sugar etc.
What are your thoughts & considerations ? Thanks.

Hi Aurora and welcome. I think the surgery question and reasons for not doing the diet are simply that you need your strength to get over surgery and very good nutrition to aid the healing process. I dont think cutting out or seriously down on the white carbs will do you any harm as long as you use your recipe book and cook a good variety of nutritious meals. The carbs are not good for healing anyway and cause inflammation. So just make sure you get plenty of the other nutrients like your proteins vitamins and some healthy fats. I’m not into all the macro measuring I just eat lots of the good stuff.
On the subject of cholesterol – I have never been able to control mine and it ran at around 6 or 7 even with statins. The only thing that has brought it down to around 3 is this diet and my doctor cant quite believe it and keeps testing and re-testing. I have just had 5 weeks on holiday – a week in UK at daughters, 3 weeks on a cruise and then another week in UK for daughters birthday. The 5 weeks were a food fest and loads of alcohol but I stayed off the white carbs and I have just been retested and my diabetes numbers are better than last time, my cholesterol is up by 0.1 and that was my good cholesterol that increased it and my triglycerides were exactly the same as my last test. Again my doctor couldn’t believe it. I have been suffering from cramps so my doctor has stopped the statins and I am going to be tested again in 3 months and I hope I am able to keep to the low numbers without the drugs. Good luck.

Hello Aurora and welcome. My thoughts on starting before your surgery are the same as sunshine-girl- your body will be in a better healing state without the refined carbs. I’ve found that minor scratches and bruises heal quickly since ditching the refined carbs.
On statins, there is no evidence that they have saved a single life; also high cholesterol is associated with increased longevity in women over 60. Statins are a $10billion a year con. There are endless YouTube videos about it.
It will only take you a week to do the hard bit of the BSD, of detoxing on carbs and then you will start to feel a whole lot better.
Maggie

A very warm welcome to you, Aurora. I’m sorry that you have a surgical procedure to face, but
I agree with others that refined carbs/sugar in no way facilitate healing. Another suggestion to
think about 2 weeks before surgery is to load up on vitamin C, Vitamin A and Zinc. When family
or friends are undergoing such, I always give them a care package of high quality vitamins to take
for the preceding 2 weeks, to be continued until 2 weeks after. You can also google “foods highest
in….” A or C, but Zinc you’ll need to augment in capsule form. I wish you the best of luck!

Allie

Thank you all for your kind and welcoming words. 🙂
I’m not on statins – I took for a month some while back now and refused to take more as they made me too ‘vague’. Although Zalig I think it’s spelt isn’t ‘as bad’ you have to go through 2 more before they prescribe it, which seems a bit silly to me. So I take nothing.
I want to try and pre-prepare the meals, as ‘cooking on one leg and crustches is a no no’, so have been looking though the recipes to see which might be best to freeze then just have to re-heat.
I take 100mg cod liver oil daily to help my knees but that’s been helping my good cholesterol too. That is so encouraging sunshine-girl to hear that you have had such a great success on this eating plan! 😀
I know that I am going to find this hard as I do so love my sweets but I know that I can do it! 🙂
I’ll check out the zinc & Vit A & C too.
I know another recent study showed that taking vitamins never had a lasting effect, although for short terms needs like this I am sure it could be beneficial! 😀
Thanks and any good food suggestions do say! (Esp for freezing and reheating!) 😀

I’m sorry, Aurora, but I’ve never used the recipe book, just adapted my own recipes and cooking style. Other members
of the community who do will be along with recommendations, I’m sure. I do know that cauli rice freezes beautifully,
though. I believe in getting my vitamins from whole foods generally, but the purpose before surgery is to boost your
immune system short term to assist with healing. Surgery also releases a lot of free radicals into the body, so extra
A and C are beneficial in that respect, too. When in your surgery date?

mince dishes are great, you can make them into bolognaise, chilli, mince and tatties without the tatties but with mashed cauli or celeriac. Chicken in tomato sauces and peppers, onions, garlic etc, beef stews are great too. One of my favourites is mince made into lasagne but with either courgette ribbons in layers in place of pasta or aubergine slices but cook the aubergine first or it comes out hard i.e. slice aubergines and put on a baking tray and cook in oven for 20 or 30 mins. My grandsons are too clever and told me ‘nana that’s not lasagne, its moussaka’, little monkeys.

The date is the 17h July – my right ankle broke last year and now needs 3 ligaments repaired, 2 with cords and 1 maybe not, then cartildage repair to the Talus and bone (Tibia) to be ‘shaved’ to allow full range of movement.
Thanks Alliecat & Sunshine Girl, (again) 🙂 Yes I’ve been looking at the minced meat dishes and thought that they ought to be good. And yes I love cauli so thought that I could buy frozen cauli – I’m guessing that I don’t need to ‘chop it up’ to make it into ‘rice-icles’? Or does that help things somehow ?
Never cooked courgettes or celeriac that I can think of – although I think that I did buy a celilac once but didn’t know how to prepare it or cook it ! 😀 I did something with it but it was a long time ago now.
I love tarragon and have been adding it to salads – I must try and grow more herbs! 😀
I do look forward to finding new mixes of foodstuffs that I’ve not tried before ! (My late fella did all the cooking!)
I like aubergines but have rarely ever used them!
I am worried about the cost of all the extra foodstuffs which I’ll need, but I think it’ll just have to happen slowly and just do what I can within my typical budgets ! Just substitute to keep costs very low!
I don’t see mention of peas, or runner beans etc ? I usually by frozen mixed veg but the receipes seem quite specific – does it really matter ?
I see that lentils are used too and I’ve only tried them once before, but they seemed pretty tasteless.
I’ve also had to cold turkey off HRT for my op, too so I’m hot flushing and so on ! I can go back on it after the Op though, so hopefully this break won’t be more than a blip on my system! Although the HRT gives me water retention inc at the ankles.
I’ve certainly got a lot to really learn, although the overall principal seems straight forward. I know I’ll miss my rice and pasta though! But it will be very worth it if this works!

Aurora, this isn’t an expensive way of eating because you eat a lot less to feel satisfied. The big psychological barrier is eating fat, because we’ve been told for so long it was evil, but you need it for satiety. I use a coconut oil, which though not cheap lasts for weeks.
Lidl’s Greek yogurt (full fat) is one of the best (it used to be my guilty pleasure – what a difference to find it’s a staple). Download Fat Secret or My Fitness Pal for nutritional values. Peas are high carb but runner beans are excellent, tons of fibre, no calories to speak of. I love spinach, fresh as well as frozen. Frozen ,cooked in a little butter or olive oil, seasoned, add a poached egg and some crispy streaky bacon and you’ve got a really satisfying meal.
Roast vegetables- courgettes, peppers, broccoli , mushrooms, onions and garlic with sage, rosemary and thyme – whatever you’ve got fresh – makes a substantial meal and leftovers can be sprinkled with olive oil and vinegar for lovely salad, sprinkled with some pumpkin seeds.
Like others, I have never used the recipes, just wing it. Going back to the time I was on crutches one pan meals were manageable so hopefully it won’t be as bad as you fear.
Dr John Bergman is worth watching on YouTube; he had a catastrophic crash when he broke both his ankles amongst other bones and found his own way of healing – first of which was allowing the body to heal itself by eating a healthy diet. I’m afraid I can’t point you to a particular video, but browse around, he’s an entertaining and inspirational speaker.
I hope some of that’s useful!
Maggie

If you cut out sugar, you’ll find you quickly adapt to eating less sweet foods and after a while you really will prefer them. It does take some getting used to, but so does any change.

I suggest you concentrate on cutting out sugar and other refined carbs (bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits, white rice), while you’re recovering from the op. Then, when you’re ready to start the diet properly, you’ll find it much easier. You could do a couple of weks of the BSD before the op though – you have time to lose a few pounds, which will help with your recovery.

Btw, I cook big batches of my favourite recipes from the book (the BSD one, I haven’t got a separate recipe one) and freeze in double portions (my husband eats this way too now) so whenever I’m in a rush, or don’t feel like cooking, I have healthy ready meals. In the past, those situations resulted in us having pizzas (a whole one each!) so you can see this is a big improvement.

Aurora sorry to hear about your upcoming surgery but hopefully it will be successful. I walk with crutches and can’t stand for prolonged periods but I have found ways around this. I sit at a table to prepare all my ingredients before I start cooking and I use a chair by the hob. It’s not ideal and cooking standing up is far easier and quicker. However, you just have to deal with whatever problems you have and find ways around them.

Lentils …. although quite high in carbs are very good for you. There’s a Mary Berry recipe for haddock with puy lentils. I use Merchant Gourmet 250g pack of puy lentils for the recipe and I think you will get four portions from that and it freezes well. It would also make a good accompaniment to food other than fish.

Take a look at the thread ‘101ways with cauliflower’ and also ‘good food the low carb way’ , I think that’s right.

Soup, wonderful stand by and 99% of soups freeze well. You will find lots of recipes for soups on the threads. Frozen cauliflower is fine but just make sure you don’t over cook it as it goes really sloppy. No problem with frozen vegetables but if you’re using mixed vegetables make sure there are no parsnips, potatoes or other vegetables growing underground in the mix. Maybe be better to use single vegetables and mix them yourself. Peas are fine but only in moderation as the are one of the higher carb veg.

As sunshine-girl had said, mince is magic for frozen meals.

Best of luck with your upcoming surgery. I can only agree with the others….. simple carbs are not good for the best nutrition and you will do better without them.

Hi Aurora,
I was a crutches with a broken ankle that I wasn’t allowed to put weight on for 6 months. I was fortunate enough that the bone fragments were still in the correct place so didn’t need an operation, but was under dire warnings from consultant to not put weight on the foot because of the risk of the fragments moving if pressure was put on them before the bones had healed.
One practical tip is to have some plastic boxes, a flask for hot and old drinks, and plastic cups prepared in advance and either a small ruck sack or plastic bag that you can hang off your crutches. Then you can carry food and drink from the kitchen to somewhere more comfortable. If you have insulated containers you can make a meal or drink last some time so you minimise the number of time you have to struggle to the kitchen each day.