Hi all Aussies 🙂
There are some great low carb alternatives available to us.
Please feel free to list any you might know of.
Bread: Herman Brot bread is very low carb at 2.3g carb and 111 cals per slice and freezes well. In SA it is available at Foodland and IGA stores. It isn’t cheap but our health is worth it, if you can’t live without an occasional slice of bread. This bread is delicious and you would never know it was low carb from the taste or texture. Check out their website for online ordering or a store near you.

Pasta: Herman Brot also do a low carb dried pasta, I haven’t managed to find any locally yet but will do an online order and let you know.
Coles and Woolworths sell Slendier brand noodles. Made from a vegetable called Konjac they are less than 1g carb ( yes really!) and 12 cals per serve. They come in noodle, fettuccine or spaghetti style. There is one that is like rice apparently but I haven’t had any luck finding it. The drawback is they can’t be frozen and have to be used within 3 days once opened. The recommended serving size is 125g but they are very filling and this was too much for me. In Woolies they are usually on the very top shelf of the health food section.
Hope this thread will help us with low carb alternatives to our favourite foods.

There is also a useful app for those who have an iPhone or iPad. It is called the Australian Easy Diet Diary. It is free, and will track your daily intake, your weight loss,it also has a list of foods and their nutritional info. You can scan barcodes or enter your own foods and store the info. Type in recipes and it will work out cals/ carbs etc per serve.
The icon looks like a blue spiral bound notebook with a picture of a pear on it.

Well, thanks Cherrianne., very handy app. I was wondering though do we count calories or carbs for the best results. Some foods are high in calories low in carbs eg rockmelon. Any suggestions? I’m relatively new to this plan 😀

Hi Chicatwist,
The BSD counts calories for quick weight loss, possibly because it is what people are used to, and it is what the original research used.
Those of us who are diabetic are keeping our carbs low because this stabilises blood sugars quite reliably. Anything under 50g carb per day will lower blood sugar and achieve weight loss.
You will lose weight either way you choose to go. If you are diabetic, I would recommend counting carbs. It is a good way of educating yourself about which foods and what size portions are best for blood sugar control once you have lost weight.
Keep posting, and reading, you will pick up plenty of advice and your successes will inspire others. 🙂

Hi Cherianne and Chicatwist, Another handy low carb alternative to traditional pasta is Spaghetti Squash. In the cooler parts of Australia they’re being harvested/almost ready to harvest depending on your exact location. 1/2 cup cooked spaghetti squash has 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fibre and 21 calories.

Thanks for that Switzerland, it’s pretty cool here in the Adelaide Hills and I’ve seen a sign at a roadside stall for spaghetti squash. I’ve heard of them but no idea how to prepare or cook. Any tips? I’d love to try it as we are vegetarian and always open to trying new veg 🙂

Hi Cherrianne, there are several ways of cooking spaghetti squash: bake, microwave, boil. I’ve only ever baked it using the following method. Heat oven to 180C. Pierce the spaghetti squash all over, smear with olive oil (like you would eggplant and capsicum), place on baking sheet whole and bake for 40 mins – 60 mins depending on the size of the squash. Then cut in half, remove seeds and strands of flesh resembling spaghetti. I’ve only ever used it as a spaghetti substitute. There may be others out there that have different uses.

Thanks for that Switzerland. I stopped off on the way home from the beach today and bought the last one on the stall. I was hoping someone would tell me what to do. Shows you can rely on the forums 🙂 always someone willing to help.
I’ll have a go at baking it tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.

Hi All,
Shopping in Woolworths SA today I found a type of potato called ‘Spud Lite’. It says it’s 25% fewer carbs than other potatoes ( is not GMO), and has 8.9g carbs and 208kj or 50 cals per 100g. So a smallish 100g potato wouldn’t blow the carb budget if you ate it with other low carb foods and didn’t exceed the allowance you’ve set yourself. I allow 50-55g carbs a day to keep my blood sugars in the non diabetic range.
It’s grown by Zerella Farms in SA, who supply Woolies with other veg ( pretty sure I’ve seen their name on carrots). Hopefully Woolies or Safeway in other states will have them 🙂

thank you Right on top x

Well, it’s been so informative so far on this forum and I believe I’m getting it right at present. Just counting calories seems to be easiest. I’ve found this the best program and with quick results. 5 kgs in 17 days ! Very motivating. Is anyone adding exercise and if you have, are you adding calories to the daily 800 to make up for the shortfall and maintaining weight loss? Thanks again

Hi All,
Just joined site today. I’m in week 5 of the diet. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to products sold at Coles or Woolies try your local asian food shop. You can find Konjac noodles sold under lots of different names for a fraction of the price. I think last time I bought a packet it was only $1.50 and I’m pretty sure it last for more than 3 days.

Thank you al also much for bringing Konjac to my attention…. I FOUND IT IN THE SHOP HERE !!!! super happy – for those days when I really need to feel full…

Hi Chicatwist and forum readers, I’ve been going for a 30 minute walk each day – not too strenuous – but there is 1 steep hill to get up. No ill effects and I find it ‘clears the head’ in a mindfulness kind of way.
Hi Cherrianne, How did the spaghetti squash go? When you said you’d purchased it at a road side stall it reminded me that there is some lovely fresh produce available at the various farmers markets. I came across a rockmelon sized zuchinni (courgette) at our local farmers market last month (I’d not come across one before).

Hi Switzerland, haven’t cooked the squash yet. I planned to do it Monday but the weather turned quite warm so I had something else. It’s only going to be 19 tomorrow and I’ll be home all day so I’ll cook it then.
I always have quite a few giant zucchinis, they hide under the leaves and get enormous. Finding new ways to cook them became a big joke in our house because we’ve had a bumper crop this year and they’re still going. Even our chooks got sick of them 🙂
I’ve let a few grow big deliberately because I slice them lengthways and use the slices as lasagne sheets. I’ve posted that recipe. You can also cut off one end, scoop out the middle and stuff it with eggplant, capsicum, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella and Parmesan. Add mince if you’re not vegetarian. Replace the cut end and bake until tender. Delicious. They make fantastic soup too, with veg stock, onions, garlic and fenugreek. Cook until tender. Whizz with a stick blender, add a tub of cream cheese and whizz again. Freezes well, and very low carb.

Hi Cherrianne, Stuffing the zucchini is exactly what I did. Before BSD I always added brown rice when stuffing vegetables, but now it’s lentils/chick peas depending on the size of the vegetable. A lot of the dietary changes are ‘tweaks’ to existing recipes.
I must tell you I spotted your recipe using zucchini strips for lasagne – haven’t had a chance to try it yet – it looks delicious!
I’ve noticed there are never many posts in the Mindfulness section. If you (or any other BSDers) have a chance can you have a look and maybe help get the conversation going?

Hi Switzerland,
If you miss lasagne it’s definitely worth trying zucchini instead. It’s a very similar texture.
Yesterday I found the rice/angel hair/lasagne Slendier noodle replacements in Coles. Forgot to note which section they were in but probably the health foods.
I will check out the mindfulness thread. Thanks, enjoy your Wednesday 🙂

Hi All,
There are a few new Aussie BSDers so we need to keep this thread near the top so it doesn’t get missed.
Pecans are a good low carb nut I have discovered. 1.0g carbs and 142 cals per 20g of nuts. I buy the pecan pieces from the baking/ dried fruit section of the supermarket. They are cheaper and the smaller pieces make you feel like you’re eating more. 🙂

Thanks Cherrianne – that’s good to know. I love pecans!

Bopping up thread Oi Oi Oi
Isnt anyone in NSW? I want some of those low carb spuds and that bread!

Hi Saelaine,
There are quite a few BSDers in NSW, some in Vic and a couple of us in SA and only one, I think, in Tassie.
You can find suppliers of the bread on their website. Not sure where you’d get the spud lite from in NSW, you might have to google that one.

I tried the Herman Brot low carb bread recently – it was good! Had it with soup, and also made chicken avocado sandwiches with it for a lunch to take to work. If anyone fellow Australians on this forum live on the Gold Coast, I found it at Goldsteins Bakery, Reedy Creek. They get it in twice a week, and if you want to you can place a regular order.

Hi Cherrianne,

Cacao nibs – use them in the guilt free brownies from the recipe in the 8 week BSD book. I’ve bought them from the health food shop and the organic aisle at the major supermarkets.

How are you going Cherrianne? Strange, but I was thinking of you last week-end when we had smoke everywhere from ‘controlled burn offs’ in the national park. I’d remembered you mentioning about smoke from bushfires in one of your posts.
Best wishes.

Woolworths have low carb potatoes in NSW, I’ve been buying them for years. Still mostly avoiding them during the BSD.

Hi to our fellow Aussie BSDers. You can add two Queenslanders to the tally – my partner (Saga on this forum) and myself.

FeltWicked

Hi Switzerland and other Aussies,
Have been snowed under with house renovations for the past month. High stress time with mess and building materials everywhere and nothing in the right place!
No chance of smelling smoke from burn offs here. It has been so wet, the season broke early and we’ve had torrential downpours. Delayed the start of work on our house and consistently holding up proceedings. Still, we are only on tank water so at least our water supply is getting a boost. 😀
Blood sugar levels have remained in the non diabetic range though apart from one slightly over, after a meal higher in carbs than I thought. I’ve been popping in and reading the posts now and again and reading about everyone’s progress.
Off to Perth in a couple of hours to meet up with Hashimoto and see what that city has to offer BSDers. At least I’ll escape the plaster dust for a few days lol.

Hi Cherrianne,
Have fun in Perth with Judith. You know we expect a full report (travel guide style) of BSDing it in Perth!
Reno’s certainly are time/money consuming and of course when it hasn’t rained for months – down it comes.
At least by eating low carb med style you have the energy to deal with it all.
Have fun and say hi to Judith for me.

Hi Switzerland,
I said hi to Judith from you. She’s as lovely in person as she is on the forums 🙂
It was fun exploring a bit of Perth together, there are huge changes in the city since I was last there. We were both impressed by the public transport system once we’d summoned up the courage to try it. Very cheap and user friendly.
Enjoyed a lovely walk in Kings Park on my last day, with lunch outdoors ( falafel for me, steak for Judith) overlooking the Swan. Great views, good company, and a nice sunny day.
Now looking forward to showing Judith around my part of SA when she flies over here.

Hi Cherrianne,

It sounds like you had a great time in Perth.
I don’t know about you but when I started this BSD journey my thoughts surrounded the food, exercise and mindfulness meditation (this has stayed with me).
The forums and the global community that they foster are such a delight and a surprising benefit of the BSD.

You are absolutely right Switzerland, I’ve never joined a forum before but the friendship and encouragement on this site is pretty amazing.

Yay! I’m in Margaret River WA! I feel like the only peron in WA on BSD but I just found out my neighbour has been doing 5:2. So glad there are more of us in Aus. I’m going to look for those noodles in woolies tomorrow. May be we can start and aussie chatter forum if this one disappears.

Hi Aussies!

I’m just about to start the BSD 800, husband and I have been trying to conceive for 7 months and after a recent blood test I discovered my BSL was at pre-diabetes level. So feeling hopeful that I can head off diabetes and improve my chances of falling pregnant at the same time. Any encouragement and tips would be much appreciated!

Hi Cherrieanne, I’m a Perthite and am so glad you found my cherished Kings Park. I’ve only been doing BSD for a little while, an inconsistent while. I wish I’d been doing it longer, I might have been able to show you and Judith a little Perth hospitality. I certainly appreciate your forum posts. Happy and safe travels.

Cheers Marilyn

Hi to all the aussies on this thread, how are you all going? I’m trying to bring in mindfulness/meditation to my day, see if I can bring down stress levels. I do struggle with emotional eating and with health problems newly arisen for 2 close family members and ongoing support needed for poor, confused, forgetful 93 yo mother, I’m reasonably pleased that I’ve managed to hold at 1000-1200cals over last few days. I’m still below start weight but not impressively. I’m hanging in and the forums are great. Thanks to you all xx

Hi Marsie,
Hang in there, you will find it gets easier the longer you are on the BSD. The trick is to resist the carbs and the craving will disappear like magic. If you get a craving for something you shouldn’t have, choose to eat a small portion of protein or fat instead. So have a few spoonfuls of full fat plain yoghurt with some berries, a piece of cheese, some olives or nuts, even strawberries and cream. Choose sweet or savoury depending on what you are craving, even if it takes you a bit over your calorie count. Also drink a full glass of water and then go and do something that will keep you occupied until your brain registers the fact that you’re not hungry. Distraction does help with emotional eating, you might have to pack some water and a snack and go for a long walk or something to resist temptation and clear your head.
It would have been nice to have met up with you in Perth. Judith and I both found everyone there to be quite helpful and friendly. We loved the public transport system, very cheap and easy to negotiate. I never use public transport at home because we have to use the card system, but it was so easy to hop on a bus and pay the driver a few dollars and get advice on how to get to places. I think the quay down by the Swan is amazing with all the paving, landscaping and street art. I loved the coloured lighting at night. I’m not a city girl at all but I was impressed with all the gardens and Kings Park was just beautiful. I only got to see a tiny portion but you are very lucky to have such a huge garden in the middle of your city.
Now I’m back to the reality of house renovation and Judith is back in England tackling her overgrown lawn! I do have functioning bathrooms finally lol, after we all had to shower in one of those mobile showers you can hire. It was a bit chilly emerging from a hot shower into a cold rainy day, doing a mad dash to get indoors. Never a dull moment.
Good luck with the BSD all my fellow Aussies 😀

Hi Cherrianne,
My goodness your spoiled – an inside shower – absolute luxury!

Hi Switzerland,
Yes it feels like a luxury now to have a shower again. It will be a long time before I take it for granted. It wouldn’t have been so bad in the summer but Autumn hit with a vengeance in the Adelaide hills. What was scheduled to take two weeks to complete took well over two months!
All is well now though.

Thanks Cherrianne, encouragement/motivation gratefully accepted. Marilyn

Thanks Cerrianne for the link to this thread. It’s been very useful especially about The bread. I will ask my daughter-in-law to check it out in Alice Springs and her Mum too who we’ll be staying with in Hervey Bay.

I started using konjac noodles 3 years ago when I was doing the 5:2 so it’s good to know they’re on the shelves in Australia. Used to have to buy them when visiting the UK or get them shipped over to France but now they’re available here too. I found the rice unpalatable unless it’s mixed in with chilli con carne but use the noodles in spaghetti bolognase.

Hi Aussies!

Confession Im actually Irish 🙂 I’m living in NSW 3 years now. It’s great to see this thread.

For a long time I’ve wished we could get spaghetti squash here, looks like I need to go to Adelaide!

Will keep an eye out for the noodles in the Aisian shops. I’m in week 1 so will give it a few weeks before adding them in.

C

Irish? Irish?! Okay, that’s cool:) Love the Irish, my OH’s family (and my surname now for 49 years) is from Irish heritage although in Australia for several generations now. Walked by their ancestral graves at the Rock of Cashel. On another trip took my niece and her Irish husband to see the Rock of Cashel while we were driving around Ireland on THEIR honeymoon – a story for another day.

Good luck with BSD, sydneygirl.

Thanks Marsie. Sounds like you had a great time in Cashel. Would you believe I’ve never been?! It’s on my bucket list when I make a return trip!

On my third day now and looking forward to seeing results on this diet so I will be ready for Southern Hemisphere Summer 🙂

Turnips. Are they low carb? Does anyone know?

Hi brrrr
According to the EasyDietDiary app, they are 3.7g/100g
Cheers
Linda

thanks.

Hi all, I am preparing myself to start the diet – possibly the 5-2 as I am on insulin/metformin. I have a GP appointment to discuss everything and hope my doctor is receptive. I developed type 2 diabetes at the age of 39 and am now 60. I have had success with weight loss in the past, but due to mental health issues, find it extremely hard to maintain ongoing health and low bsl’s. Now I feel I am once more approaching “the zone” where I can successfully follow the diet. When reading the 8 week blood sugar diet, I was struck by Michaels’ reporting of doctors telling diabetic patients to eat carbohydrates. As a patient at RAH diabetic clinic when first diagnosed, I told them in vain that carbs put my bsl’s up, but was dismissed, even when I pointed out that, duh, carbs are converted to sugar in the body. (This was 21 years ago). Sometimes the inflexibility of accepted medical opinion is scary, as our lives depend on doctors’ advice. The other priceless advice by one GP was a lecture on how there were no diabetics in Auschwitz because everyone was starving, and if I stopped eating, I would be cured. Needless to say I was totally humiliated. I am sure this forum will be a more supportive experience!!

Just found this post yeah! Well since I started my first 8 weeks in April, ive lost 6 kgs, i’ve become fairly ‘relaxed” on the BSD recipes. But am still watching what I eat mostly, and am pleased to say the weight has stayed off. This is my first consistent weight loss ever!
I’m almost half way through 4 1/2 months of full time work – which is soooo sedentary, unfortunately my exercise is not happening.
My GP has started me on metformin, and was very pleased I had lost weight. So encouragement is good. Looking to get started again slowly and surely back on the BSD a bit more religiously. But I’m pleased so far my choices are going ok. I will look out for more posts. I tried the noodles that start with K, they didn’t tickle my fancy – its hard to have a substitute some times. Am totally loving hummus. stay well everyone. cheers

Konjac noodles? I haven’t tried them, they don’t look very appealing. I have zoodles (zucchini strips) with pasta, quinoa or cauliflower rice with Asian dishes (or just a little bit of rice), lettuce leaves instead of tortillas in Mexican food. I haven’t found a substitute for fresh warm bread slathered in butter yet…

Hey all aussie here nsw east coast. Nice to see fellow aussies. Im starting tomorrow im terrified 😊

Hi ziggyszombie
I’m in Sydney, welcome!
Don’t be terrified, it really is a lot easier than you think.
I’m now down 21kilos in 14 weeks and if you follow the basics, you can’t help but succeed:
No added sugar – at all, and that includes honey, agave syrup etc
Drink 2-3 litres of non cal fluid per day. A lot of mine comes from herbal teas.
Aim for 10,000 steps per day. I got a fit bit to monitor this.
Weigh and measure everything and log it into a calorie counting app. I use EadyDietDiary.
Keep your complex carbs to under 50g per day.
No simple ‘white’ carbs eg potato, rice, pasta, bread etc
Most veges that grow under the ground have higher carb levels than those that grow above the ground.
Be careful of what fruit you eat, check the carb levels on your app before you eat it, apples are particularly high. Berries are good.
Stay away from ‘lite’, ‘low fat’ foods, eat full fat everything. This is important, you have to keep your fat levels up in order to go into ketosis.
Treat this NOT as a diet, but a new way of life and embrace it, don’t fear it.
In the first week, you may experience some headaches or aching limbs, brain fog or other symptoms of carb ‘flu’ from your withdrawal of eating carbs. Be kind to yourself, take some Panadol and ease your way through it, once that goes, the fat will keep you full and you won’t get hunger pangs.
I find that monitoring the forum helps me stay motivated and on track.
Good luck and keep posting, it really helps.
Cheers
Linda