I am not a vegetarian, but I just do not eat meat – this means I eat fish, chicken, turkey, eggs and dairy. I do not drink alcohol either (boring, I know). Most diets seem to cater for either for veggies or meat eaters and usually include a whole raft of ingredients I cannot eat. Bought the BSD book and read up on the things to avoid – only to find that some of the recipes include those items to be avoided (fruit juice, alcohol, dried fruit). So I am somewhat confused. I am trying to lose weight to stop myself become a type II diabetic and encouraging my father in the process to join in (he is a type II diabetic – I will not be directing him to the VLCD without his doctor’s approval). We did make a start on the Med-style Italian diet last November/December and managed to reduce dad’s blood sugar reading by about 25 points and lose some weight in the process, but the medical team did not reduce his meds despite encouraging him to continue. Dad is missing his pasta and his weight loss has now faltered. We both need to lose weight. Just need to know how “serious” the avoidance list of food is if the recipes both Dr. M. puts in the BSD book, the BSD recipe book and contributors put on the recipe pages include them, which sort of undermines the principles of the BSD. Does anyone know?

Hi,
I don’t eat meat, so many of the recipes in the book did not appeal to me. – I use the fatsecret app on my mobile phone to record all that I eat. I focus on targets on the level of carbs, protein and fat, and then devise my meals on what suits me. – Many people have had success following a simple formula. Aim for under 20g of carbs a day set a protein level in the range of 0.6 to 0.8g for each kilo of target weight, and make up the rest of your calories with healthy fat. I know that many others have followed the same system.

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There are people on the forum who had T2 and were on medication. I am sure they will pop up and help you in due course, but I would recommend joining the Week beginning thread. Only a limited number of us read all new posts, most people just focus on the weekly thread. On that thread you will find a wide range of people from newcomers to people who have achieved their targets and remain on the forum to offer a helping hand to others.

Hi constantdieter

I’m using the BSD recipe book. It has a section called ‘occasional treats’ and in there you find a few recipes that do use things like dried fruit, juice and even maple syrup. The book says that these are ‘occasional treats’ and basically there because although it would be better if you didn’t have them, they are still better than regular sweet carb-rich alternatives. But none of these recipes are in the sample 8-week menu planner for the diet. So in short if you can avoid them do, but if it is that or a pack of standard biscuits, go for the dried fruit and juice stuff. Personally I stay well clear of that section for now because these things wake up my sweet tooth.

Just as JGWEN I also use the Fatsecret app. But having said that if you eat fish, turkey and chicken you can cook pretty much anything in the book, just substitute the beef and pork (one of my favourite recipes is a beef stir fry except I mostly have it with chicken or prawns). I normally eat a lot of beans and pulses and I’ve cut down on those a fair bit because they are quite high in carbs.

On the pasta, rice and bread front I’m afraid there isn’t much good news… so if your dad really cannot manage without his pasta, this might not be the ideal diet for him. Having said that, while I have come to really like courgettes, cauliflower, cabbage and all the other pasta and rice alternatives, my kids have not and they don’t need to lose weight or anything so I’ll sometimes cook pasta or rice for them on the side. That’s a bit of a personal call I think.

Hope this helps a bit

Thank you to JGWEN and Britta. Will attempt to substitute meat for the stuff I do eat! Will also have to invest in an i-phone to use the app you mention. Thanks again.