Hi my name is Moira and I will be starting the fast 800 program on Monday 25th. I thought I might try to ease myself into the eating plan this week by sticking to 3 meals a day (using some of the suggested meals from the book and this site). My concern is how am I going to resist eating in between meals and in social settings. I like to catch up with friends over coffee and have also decided to go for black coffee instead of flat white soy but is there anything I can eat when I have coffee?

Hi Moisie55, welcome to the forum. For snacks between meals I always do a weekly menu plan and keep it to around 700 cals which leave me with 100 cals for 2 small snacks of around 50 cal each. Another trick is to make a meal which adds up to the right number of calories and put a little bit aside for later. Of course, this only works with food that can be saved and eaten cold. My favourite is when I make a frittata – I always keep about 1 eighth back and it tastes so much better when it has set and gone cold. Today I will be having a Sunday roast (minus the potatoes or other carbs) and I will measure out my slices of pork and then take one or two off the plate to eat later.

Socializing is a different matter. If you are out for coffee with friends and you know everyone will be eating cake then either have nothing explaining you are serious about sticking with the plan. Or take a little something with you, again, saving the calories. My preference is a handful of almonds. If there is a buffet at a party try to find things like cold meats, chicken legs etc. I have even been seen to take the meat out of a sausage roll and throw away the pastry. If it is a meal or party at a friends then offer to do a course to share so they can try your diet or for a buffet make a plate of something BSD friendly. There will be times when you are faced with an impossible choice but try to find the alternatives i.e. a burger without the bun but with extra salad. I once told a waitress I didn’t want chips with my steak and salad. She very kindly brought me a separate dish of chips ‘just in case I changed my mind’. They went straight to the other end of the table and my friends were more than grateful. Seriously though, it is not easy and you just have to be determined.

Hi Moisie – welcome and congrats on the decision to embrace the BSD way of eating. It’s great that you are identifying potential stumbling blocks early and planning tactics to deal with them.

I agree with the advice provided by SG. In the early days I found I needed a little snack mid-afternoon so save a few cals and carbs for that, but it was amazing how quickly that need disappeared. You will soon find you can have a coffee with friends and not have any desire for ‘a little something’ to go with it. Meanwhile, take something with you to nibble while your friends are having their cakes. Veggie fritters, some almond crackers or celery sticks with a little pot of dip, or a little pot of full fat natural yogurt with a few berries – invest in a few tiny click-lock pots for using for these little treats, so they don’t leak in your handbag.

Dining out in restaurants, it will always be possible to find something that you can fit into the BSD principles by asking for the high carb element to be left off you plate. Yes, you’ll probably go over on calories on these occasions, but if you keep the carbs under control, the extra calories won’t matter too much. It can be more difficult when eating at someone’s home, but taking them into your confidence in advance and offering to bring a dish as a contribution, is probably better than trying to work around whatever is being served and offending by leaving things – or worse, eating them and then going through the self-hatred for doing so – although I’d advice not being scared to decline dessert.

I know if all feels daunting, but you will be surprised how quickly all of this will become instinctive and just ‘what you do’. I’m sure you’ll do great, but please make good use of the forum and join in on other threads. We’ll look forward to reading of your progress – best wishes.

Hi,
There are three pieces of advice I would give to a newcomer.
1. The book doesn’t give targets on levels of carbs, but most of us find that we have each low carb to get our hunger under control. That may be under 50g a day, or it may be under 20g a day of carbs. But once you have adjusted that you will not have the urges to eat that you are used to because your body can access your fat stores.
2. Work out your WHY. For most of us the reading on a scale isn’t a strong enough driver when faced with making the choice to eat or not to eat. – But getting fit enough to return to a sport you love, a special event you want to look your best for, or even wanting to be fit enough to play with grandchildren are all sorts of WHYs people have come up with as their motivation for loosing weight, and these are stronger when it comes to temptation. They are also ideas your friends will hopefully respect when you say no to the slice of cake to go with your coffee.
3. This is not a diet, where you are strict for a short period of time and go back to the way you used to eat, its about learning a new Way of Eating for the rest of your life. There will be times on that journey when you fall off the waggon. When it happens dust yourself off and climb back on, there will be helping hands reaching out to you from the forum to help you climb onboard.

Can I point out that you were asking about snacks specifically so that was included in my answer. The reason I have regular snacks (late afternoon and before I go to bed) is because I am diabetic and have to regulate my blood sugars so, unfortunately for me, this is not something I am going to be able to do without so it is important for me to know what the ‘good’ snacks are. If I were not diabetic I would never snack, it is not something I have ever done. Not for me the cup of tea with a biscuit in the afternoon or the bowl of crisps while watching TV, that is not the type of snacking I do.

hi Moisie55! Good suggestions here!
I also used to “practice” ordering BSD-friendly food and sparkling water to avoid the automatic responses — so for instance, when you are at home or driving in the car imagine yourself at a table with a waiter in front of you and say OUT LOUD, “ I’ll have sparkling water please” or “may I have salad instead of chips please” or “just a black coffee please” or “I’d like a green salad as my starter please” or “instead of rice can I just get extra vegetables please”… do it several times every day.
I know it sounds silly but it REALLY helped me from falling into automatic responses where I just accepted what they served.

My most recent experience was when I ordered a lemon and mint iced tea, thinking it would be tea with lemon and a sprig of mint. No, it was tea with lemon syrup. I immediately sent it back and ask for the same without the syrup. The waiter was lovely about it but I had to wait until my freshly made tea cooled before they could add the ice and fresh lemon.