HI to all at BSD!
I’m new to this diet (5 days in) and thought I would check out the website to find new recipes. You all sound like such good people that I figured I’d say hello!

Both me and my boyfriend are doing the 8 week BSD and, only 5 days in, we are loving it. I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life and now – 32 years old and 15 stone 2 – I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been. Figured 2018 was a good year to do something about it!

I’m now down to 14 stone 8, (8 pounds in 5 days?!? what magic is this?!!) and have not really struggled. I’ve got hungry a couple of times in the afternoon but have managed to push through it.

I think the thing I (and my boyfriend) will struggle with is variety, so I’ve been looking for different recipes that we can use. Trying to keep it as varied as possible, without breaking the bank at the same time… (Not the sort of ‘pounds’ I want to lose!)

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also, planning ahead, next week it is supposed to snow, and I’ve been looking into warming, filling breakfasts that are ‘take-to-work-able’ since we both don’t have time to eat before we leave the house. The trouble is, even a bowl of porridge (40g and half a cup of milk) is nearly half my daily calorie allowance – does anyone have any suggestions? I prep the night before, so that’s not an issue.

Any help you can give will be gratefully received.

Welcome Gemma!

You might take a look at a thread called “GOOD EATS…THE LOW CARB WAY’ for some ideas. There are many
excellent links posted there, as well as many talented cooks.
Best of luck to you 🙂

Allie

Hi Gemma_Ellen – Welcome!! Fantastic that both you and your partner have chosen to make this wonderful life change together and that you are already seeing positive results and finding it relatively easy. Once you get into it, there is a surprising range of foods available on this way of eating and it challenges you to take a new approach to food. Have a trawl through the recipes on the forum, google low carb meals and check out the ‘Good Eats …. The Low Carb Way’ thread too and I’m sure you will find plenty of inspirartion.

As for the hot brekkie ‘on the run’, that’s a bit of a challenge, but I would say for sure that 40g porridge is not just high on calories, but really high on carbs too and they are very much our enemy on the BSD. If you want to include porridge, keep the portion to a 25g level and only occasionally. Might you be able to do scrambled eggs in a microwave at work? Homemade soup might be another option – I know in the UK the idea of soup for breakfast seems a bit out there, but in other cultures it’s not unusual. Try to avoid shop bought soups though, as these tend to be high in carbs too, much better to make your own, then you know what’s in there and can keep it low carb.

In the early days, it’s easiest to keep things simple, so your usual meals just without the carbs – meat/fish and either veggies or salad – but make herbs and spices your friends, as they can completely change to character of a meal and help to keep things interesting. And you’d be amazed how versatile cauliflower is!

Not sure I have actually managed to answer your queries, but I hope that some of it will be useful. I’m sure that lots of other posters will be along to offer suggestions and support. Will look forward to reading about your progress and I hope you will find ways to make the BSD work for you and that you’ll be reporting fabulous successes very soon.

Gemma, I second Sunny’s recommendations about porridge. If you like eggs, there are recipes for preparing
egg/vegetable mini frittatas that are baked off in a muffin pan, and can be reheated or eaten at room temp.
I’m nor really a breakfast eater, but if anything else comes to mind, I will return 🙂

Thanks for the great ideas! I’ll be sure to check out the GOOD EATS…THE LOW CARB WAY thread when I get home.
We’ve not had porridge yet and, actually, neither of us are big porridge eaters, but it seemed like a good go-to for colder weather, and to keep us full. (that seems to be when we struggle most – when we are at work)
Eggs are an option and one I will look into. We have chickens so get eggs freely, and eat lots anyway – but only at the weekend, since we never have time for a breakfast on work days. But we both have microwaves at work, so I’ll put it to A, and see if he’s interested.
As for the cauliflower, I love the stuff, but A hates all things cabbage/cauliflower/broccoli related, so I doubt he’ll go for that. (I did see a great ‘broccoli bread recipe that i HAVE to try! but will have to quarter the batch for a 1-person serving)
We are having greek yoghurt with blueberries and seeds/nuts right now, which is great. (I add a teaspoon of dark chocolate chips to mine – seems to curb my sweet tooth for the day)
Lunches have been tuna salad, alternated with homemade hummus and roasted red pepper in lettuce ‘wraps’. (both of which we can pack up in tupperware, so they are good for work)
Any idea on hot lunches that we can take to work would be great too. If its going to snow the chicken salad I’ve got planned for next week is not going to cut it!)
Dinners are varied, ranging from homemade mushroom soup with bacon ‘croutons’ through to steak with roasted veg.
I think my favourite so far has been roasting the veg (aubergine, courgette, 2 small carrots, 2 little onions, whole garlic cloves) and topping with feta (about 50g between us) and walnuts, drizzled with olive oil. I could eat that forever!
I’m a pretty good cook and have always ‘batch cooked’ homemade stuff to chuck in the freezer, so happy for complicated recipes that store well!

thanks again. good to know there are good people out there who can help us along this new path!

Gemma, my husband and I adore roasted vegetables, too, and roasting cauliflower florets that have been tossed
with olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and red pepper flakes transforms then into something delectable!
Your boyfriend might change his verdict on them if prepared this way? 🙂

My OH hates cauli and broccoli, but I gave him cauli mash and he declared it ‘not bad’. Think the garlic balances out the cruciferous flavour, making it more palatable to him. Roast veggies and cauli mash could easily be warmed up it the microwave for lunch, or make a few little cottage pies with cauli mash top to take to work. Soup is a great option as well or perhaps little moussakas with aubergine slices in the layers? You need to work out the calorie and carb content or course, so your keep portions the right size of course.

Once you start to get the hang of approaching food from a new angle, I’m sure you’ll be surprised at how many good portable meal alternatives you can think up. I’d advise trying to cut down on the chocolate chips if you can though, so that you can retrain your palate to not expect that hit of sweetness. Make the dark choc a very occasional thing if you can.

Hi Gemma_Ellen
Glad to hear it is going well. I think planning is the key, and experimenting to find out what you like.
Soup has been my staple lunch whilst dieting, I make it on a Sunday and divide it into small tubs and freeze it so it is no effort at all during the week. I also like the beetroot felafel with salad or courgetti with salmon, peas and creme fraiche.

I don’t know if it sounds too difficult at the moment but if you skip breakfast altogether, that gives you a longer fasting period which is good for your body and more calories left for the meals you do eat. Maybe you could start by taking greek yoghurt and blueberries to work but leaving it until 10 to eat it and then gradually push the time of your ‘breakfast’ later and later until you can do without it.

I have made the broccolli bread and actually have some in the freezer at the moment. Don’t bother to cut the recipe down just freeze the excess. Truthfully it is not as good as bread but to my mind it far beats a mushroom as a base for a poached egg. A similar recipe is pizza made using cauliflower as a base instead of dough. I was never too keen on over boiled cauliflower either but when it is blitzed in the food processor and then roasted in the oven it tastes very different. When it is then mixed with egg and mozzarella and baked in the oven before being topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella it is amazing.
Good luck

Hi Gemma and welcome.

As far as transportable food is concerned, you could cook a large frittata (10 – 12 eggs) loaded with masses of low carb veg – I tend to do this in a deep silicone cake pan and cook in the oven – then slice into 8 (or 6 if you’re greedy 😉) Wrapped in foil, this will keep for several days in the fridge; ready to grab and run (for breakfast or lunch ) every morning.

Good luck – with the support of each other, you’ll do just fine and probably amaze yourselves at just how easy this WOE is.

Thanks for the ideas! This is our first weekend on the DSD and I think this has been the hardest bit so far. My weight loss has been a steady pound a day, but was only down a half this morning – which is a little disappointing but due, I think to my water retention this week (scales confirm my water level is up)

My fat content is down 2.5%, however, from 47.9 (Almost half of me!!!) down to 45.3. I imagine this week will be tough as (TMI) my period is due – and its usually the point in the month where we indulge in takeaway and chocolate, when I get too stressed and tired to cook. (my hormone levels go crazy!)

Fingers crossed I come out the other side having not cheated the diet… But I’ll let you know! 😉
A is struggling a little this weekend too. He’s finding it tough to sleep as he is getting indigestion? Is this common? I guess without the carbs to ‘mop up’ any extra acids, and an increase in olive oil/vinegar etc, it makes sense… Has anyone struggled with this?

Also, I’m on the lookout for a replacement for my cup of tea. I love tea (PG tips, semi skimmed milk, 1 teaspoon of sugar) and have had at least 1 or 2 a day my whole life – but obviously can’t have the sugar in this diet. Since I just can’t stand tea without (although have been trying all week!) can anyone suggest a hot drink that might curb this craving? I’ve tried fruit teas and stuff, but, although they always smell amazing, they all taste horrible to me. The only one I’d found that I liked was sweet rhubarb – but even then, I have it with sugar or honey. Any help would be appreciated as I’d love to find an alternative that I like.

Hi Gemma,

I know that it will be controversial to say this, but according to the research not all the artificial sweetners have an impact on insulin. You can get stevia based sweetners which some experts say are fine. – Its not as sweet as sugar and has a slightly different taste but for me it was an important stepping stone in moving from coffee with sugar to coffee without. I think you will find that people recommend full fat milk rather than semi-skimmed. The carb to fat ratio is better.

At the start of this journey I would have laughed at anyone who suggested I would be drinking water during the day and prefer it to coffee. – But over time my taste buds have changed and now I am really into soda water with a slice of lime, and if I am craving something sweet in an evening I add a teaspoon of stevia to the glass.

I struggled to get to sleep for a few weeks when I started on this WoE. When I searched for information on carbs and sleeping I found various articles on the web which said that was a link between carbs and the bodies creation of the chemicals tryptophan and serotonin, two brain chemicals involved in sleep. After a few weeks I went back to not struggling to go to sleep, but I do find I have to get up to go to the loo during the night which wasn’t something I had to do before. Hopefully once my weight loss journey comes to an end the flushing out of my system over night will also end.

Hi Gemma. I am similarly unenthusiastic about most fruit teas. I have become a fan of verbena herbal tea. It seems to have a natural light sweetness combined with citrussy notes. It might be worth a try.

Good call on the verbena tea, my long time favourite when craving a little sweetness was liquorice and peppermint, but it has recently been supplanted by a lemongrass and lemon verbena blend that has almost a lemon sherbet taste, without being excessively calorific or sugary.

Hi
My go to drink is Waitrose rose lemonade tea, it is herbal smells divine like roses, and tastes as lovely, the bag can also be used two or three times, to maximise its use and economy.

Hi
Where do you get the verbena tea, sounds nice I love the lemon and ginger but not allowed ginger as on warfarin, so this could be a nice substitute 😊

Hi greenjanet. I live in NL so can’t really advise! Holland & Barrett here stock verbena tea (Pyramide brand), so might do it in the UK too. Otherwise Waitrose online and Amazon seem to supply it. No doubt others can chip in with UK addresses. Some supermarkets cross it with lemongrass – as you say – or mint. But I prefer the unadulterated version. It is also very easy to grow in the garden – but obviously not now in season. Good luck in your hunt.

I’ve not seen it on its own, the tea I have is one of the Rare tea blends that Waitrose do, and I bought up about 6 packets (loose leaf, rather than bags) when they were selling it off cheap after trying the first one I bought and deciding I loved it so may have a couple of years supply 😀 it is BB dated to July 19 so not particularly short dated. I haven’t yet looked for any alternatives as I have such a huge quantity of the tea.

I’ve just ordered some verbina tea from amazon (only place I can find it!) but will check out waitrose when I’m in the area next. Thanks for the help!
I might look into the sweetener. I know we are supposed to be trying to ‘reset our taste buds’ but I actually crave more sweet stuff if I don’t have my tea, so on that basis I’d prefer a sweetener … at least to begin with.

my official week 1 weigh in was this morning. I lost 9 lbs! Really pleased with that, so it will hopefully help me push through this week.

It’s already snowing and my office is freezing – shivering burns calories, right? 😉

How is everyone else doing?

Hi Gemma
Bril weight loss I’m also week one day 6, going well, I’m a repeat offender, but last successful go was summer 16, so redoing that weight gain and in it for the long haul, to get it all gone 💃💃💃
Had an amazing dinner yesterday pg 89 big BSD book
Chicken and cream cheese wrapped in bacon, so lush I had it 2 days running and I have one portion in the freezer😃
I also got in Aldi individual steam bags of cauliflower rice, the spicy one was delish but twice cals, good for when in a hurry. If I make it fresh I eat to much as I love it.
Making lentil soup for lunch pg 66 big book minus bacon as run out now 🙁 and I’m busy so no shopping
Keep up the good work 🙋

Just checking in!
We are now at the end of our 3rd week, and I’ve hit my first milestone – one stone loss!
Last week was tough, and I didn’t lose any weight for most of it, but I started to shift again so it’s going well. We are finding new recipes, and ‘hacking’ old favourites – although I admit sometimes we miss the 800 calorie goal.
A was struggling with Keto-flu’ but has got over that, and he looks like a new man now, having lost a stone, the same as me.
I’m still struggling with my sugar addiction, but am learning to control and deal with it in various ways. I tried the Verbina tea and hated it – sorry to all those who recommended it. It smells great, but I can’t get it to taste nice at all.
I did also try Stevia, but I can’t deal with that either. It has no effect on the sweetness of the tea, except to leave a super-sweet, artificial aftertaste, which I hate.

so, I’m back to sugar-less tea, (although I’ve dropped the semi-skim in favour of a teaspoon of cream) Any further suggestions are welcome! I’ll try them all. 🙂

Hope everyone else is well!

Those are some impressive results Gemma – you should both be really proud of yourselves! Don’t panic, the sweet tooth will lessen as time progresses. Good move using a little cream instead of semi-skimmed, as this adds in fats, but also gives an illusion of sweetness. Vanilla and cinnamon also do this, so maybe look at trying teas which include one or both of these as a flavouring. Like you, I hate stevia and all artificial sweeteners (yes, I know stevia is not classed as artificial, but it still tastes like it). If you are desperate for a little sweetness, have just a tiny bit of maple syrup, as for natural sweetening agents, this comes in at the lowest in both calories and carbs.

Having said all that, whatever you have been doing is obviously working for you, so keep plugging away and you’ll be reporting some more very impressive results again soon.