I am in need of some help to get me to stick to this way of eating.

I am a self confessed emotional eater and serial binger, I am by my BMI obese and my fasted blood sugars would put me as pre-diabetic. I also react extremely to refined carbs in that I often struggle to keep my eyes open, once nearly crashing on the drive to work as I was so sleepy after having some toast before I left the house.

I was on the other getting started thread but have started this one in the hope that you will all bully and cajole me towards sticking with this especially in the first week. I am fairly sure that if I can get through the first week it will start to break a lot of the habitual side of things.

Today’s plan which granted isn’t the best as I didn’t have a chance to get properly organised this weekend:
B-Greek yoghurt, strawberries and mixed seeds
L-Tuna salad ( lettuce, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, small bit mayo
D-Beans on Toast with cheese

789kcal
64g CHO
19g sugar

Hi there, Toast, what is toast. Are you still eating bread. All depends on which plan you are on, I am not advocating giving up starchy carbs completely but in the early days they are best avoided to help the body get rid of the glucose production and shock the body into better production of insulin. I am a big bully and although you have done well with calories, carbs a bit high but see above comments but why sugar. I am guessing it is natural sugar and can see from your daily menu that you have tomatoes which have sugar, beetroot high in carbs, beans high in carbs and BREAD….. This is not bad but to stick to the 800 calories you needs less bulk and more fats and fibre. Greek yoghurt great as long as it was full fat, cheese, again full fat but only around 40 grams. I can see you being hungry on what you are having and might be tempted to snack. Have you planned that in too. Food for thought hey, pun intended. Fats help keep you full longer and they also aid the fat burning process. There is lots of science around this diet and others will come on with more advice. Just keep up the good work and get organised./

Hi SG- Toast- I know!! Loads of food for thought

I wasn’t at all organised this morning and today is pretty much like a usual Monday but cutting out the rubbish so no there shouldn’t be any more bread appearing, unless I’m off the wagon again!

My plan is to follow the 8WBS plan, although aiming for 800kcal I am leaving myself and additional 200kcal wiggle room to prevent the ‘ I’ve blown it’ mentality if I have 810 one day. I’m sure I read in the book that as well as the M diet and 800 calories CHO targets are 50g- is that right?
The yoghurt and cheese are both full fat which in itself is quite hard when the ‘low fat’ message has been ingrained for so long.

I’m more than happy to be bullied if that’s what it takes to get me on track so feel free. I’m going to spend my time tonight crafting a plan for the rest of the week using the 8WBSD book and the recipe book. OH isn’t as into this idea as I am so one of the hurdles is to make a plan that will suit both of us without the need for making different meals.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.

Hello Dogless,
I used to find that if I was stuck, for instance, take the beans on toast meal, well leave out the toast and just have the beans and cheese!
It’s equally filling as carbs make me hungry sooner, and it also would at least halve your carbohydrate count for that meal!

Hi Dogless — I’m going to give you a lecture here, but you did ask for it.
I was an emotional eater and serial-binger too, and I’d warrant that pretty much EVERYONE on this site has been there/done that. So that’s no excuse and so toss that one out.
And EVERYONE on these posts have issues with carbohydrate, that’s why we were (or are) still overweight. So toss out that excuse.
And BEING pre-diabetic is terrifying, ask any person here struggling with full-blown diabetes — this is nothing to mess with if you can do something about it.
Which leaves you where? Right here where all of us are or have been — a person with uncontrolled eating, of the wrong sorts of food and compromised health.
So hey, no panic — you’re not alone and there is a fantastic answer here (which has incredible side benefits too, like size 10 jeans, clear skin, no inflammation, better brain function, calmness….. That’s just a starting list of the benefits).
The answer is following the BSD diet — and you don’t have to do it perfectly for it to work (read Verano’s story of success posted just this morning).
Look, you are in a dangerous place, health wise. You can change it right now, by yourself, with your own actions, nothing needed from outside yourself, no money necessary, nothing to buy.
Just do it for 8 weeks. Do it badly or perfectly or something in between but give it 8 weeks. Promise yourself you won’t criticize yourself, or the diet, until you get to 8 weeks, then you can thoughtfully evaluate the situation.
If you mess up, start again the very next day. Just don’t quit. I have told many people this — you are going to amaze yourself. You will change completely how you look at food. It will become your health-friend, not your health-foe.
It works if you stay the course. You CAN do this. Stay on the posts and get support.
Just do the 8 weeks.

Dogless, looking at meals to suit everyone (at least adults who are not picky eaters),. My husband is not on this plan at all so he has breakfast as usual, makes a sandwich at lunchtime and then sits down to dinner with me. Here is what we are having this week – yes it is already planned and shopped for – I type up a menu so he can see if he wants something different and he usually has a ready meal of some sort. So here goes – our dinners for the week are:-
Monday – chicken and mushroom ‘pie’ (that’s a cabbage and cauli topping not pastry)
Tuesday – pork in mustard sauce with cauli mash but he might have a few new potatoes – plenty of other veg added for us both
Wednesday – vegi curry for me with cauli rice – tonight he will have a ready meal as he is not keen on curry
Thursday – Fritatta, helps me clean out the fridge of veg, he will have a few oven chips
Friday – Skinni cottage pie – with a cauliflower cheesey mash
Saturday – Steak in peppercorn sauce with lots of veg or salad
Sunday – Roast chicken dinner – he has some stuffing and we both have lots of veg – I might have mashed aubergine.

Doesn’t even sound like a diet does it. By the way, trust us on the full fat thing, it is so good for your health, yes even the butter and cheese although in moderation but splash the oils, rapeseed and olive oil are great for cooking and dressings.

Good luck again.

Good morning.

So yesterday went wrong until I read CG’s post. It made me cry because I realised this shit is real I have to get this eating thing sorted. Today’s plan although haven’t added the NVs to MFP yet so going by the values in the recipe book

Scrambled egg and tomatoes 181kcal 3g CHO
Spicy chicken, courgettes and red onion salad 190kcal 6g CHO
Gammon steaks with red cabbage 420 kcal 16g CHO

I’ve got a few strawberries (100g)and a handful of nuts (30g) for snacking

Hi Dogless, todays menu sounds like you are getting it sorted. Keep on keeping on…

I’m sorry I made you cry Dogless — it was only my intention to answer your own post as honestly as possible. But I’m also proud of you that you could listen to an honest answer and not just walk away because those are hard issues for us.
I know because I struggled too and had those same beliefs but I am almost at a full year of maintenance and I KNOW this works and works for your better health.
But sunshine-girl is right (post above), that is a good sounding menu and that will get you where you want to go!
I just wanted to comment on one more item you raised in your first post — you stated that you’ve been eating low-fat cheese and yogurt and are finding it hard to accept the increased fat in this diet.
I totally get this! we have been brow-beaten about fat for decades.
The wonderful thing is, we get to eat fat again! Olive oil, full fat yogurt, good cheese, avocado, butter and even heavy cream — so enjoy it! Embrace it!
Search for LindaA’s posts about fat, she has some good info and there are 2 books I recommend to “rehabilitate” your mind about fat : “Grain Brain” by Dr. Perlmutter and “Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It” by Gary Taubes. Both have the new research on carb/fat/health axis. I have used them over and over.
We will all watch for your continued posts! Take care.
Julia