Hi all, hope you are all having a wonderful day / evening (sunny and lovely here in South Australia). Sunshine-Girl, so sorry to hear of a further lockdown. Looking forward to the day this is all over, though to be honest, we have been so lucky here that the disruption has been minimal. Our thoughts definitely go to all of thise around the world who have been impacted far more heavily.
Last night, I am afraid, I buckled. I was home alone, and the Easter chocolates hidden in the wardrobe for the Easter Egg Hunt this Sunday beckoned far too loudly. Eek….needless to say the scales went up this morning and I am back to where I was two days ago. Never mind.. it was a craving filled, and what I did recognise is that ‘just one’ leads to ‘just a dozen’ (mini eggs). Moderation has never been easy for me, which is why I guess I am in a position where I need to lose 10 more kilograms and don’t drink alcohol at all!! I will be glad when the temptation is out of the house.

JGwen, I really liked the quote you shared … the perfect response to any queries I might get 🙂

Aw hopeful never mind about the Easter eggs, if they are mini eggs like we have in the UK I’d have probably succumbed too, they are my fave!

Get back on that horse, if I’m managing it then so can you!! We’ve all got your back!

JGwen, thanks for the advice re OMAD, that’s interesting – I’m glad I don’t have to try and force 800 cal down my neck in one go!!

Hi everyone, feeling good and still with TRE, did 14 hours and BG down to 3.7 even after reducing insulin. Still thinking about the science of fat burning versus the fact I dont add a further 100 to 150 cals (all counted) in the evening. Accounted for but can sometimes tip me over the 800 whereas now I am almost dithering around 700 to 750. Dont really care what the cause/effect is as long as it is working and will continue to do it. I am feeling hungry around 11 pm but it might just be that urge to have something. It passes.

We dont feel too bad about a further lockdown. Nothing much has changed for us except I cant go clothes shopping. Still no restaurants but we are used to that and can still get the take outs if we want them. Went out to get pool chemicals and potting compost and I hear the garden centres are allowed to open. Guess that is because growing your own food is a way of life here in the countryside. Wine co-operative is open if I get desperate 🙂 🙂 Lets hope this gives France a chance to lower the infection rates while increasing the vaccination programme and get this thing done and dusted for good.

Plan for the month. Clean the house from top to bottom – typical Spring clean but didnt quite get around to it last year (my house is clean with just the 2 of us). Clean out last years pots and add new compost. Hopefully, go and get some geraniums later in the month. Dig over my 2 small veggie patches ready to plant tomatoes, courgettes and lettuces. The strawberry patch needs a good clear out and start again. We have 2 men coming on the 6th April to cut back a 40 foot eucalyptus that got out of hand and dig out my display of lavendar which is well past its best and hopefully we will replant soon. Looks like I am going to be pretty busy for the next few weeks. Havent even mentioned opening up the pool. We have a 12 metre x 10 metre heavy winter cover to get off first. That will be fun – NOT.

Weekend is upon us yet again and I might not be popular but I dont understand this Easter thing. Surely it is just an excuse to eat chocolate. That’s why I dont care about Easter, I dont like chocolate very much. Please keep on buying it and especially the eggs – you are keeping my daughter in a job. I am joking and know it means more to people for the chance to have a break from work or school, get together with family and friends and, yes, eat chocolate. Have a good holiday weekend and enjoy it whatever it means to you.

Hi Sunshine-girl,

Glad that TRE is working for you. I don’t think it can just be the 150 calorie difference. If 1lb of fat = 3500 calories. then its will maybe have 1lb effect every 3 weeks. I think you said that the rate of change is better than that.

Hi JGwen, I think the weight loss is an added bonus and has slowed down (lost 1kg in first 2 days) but my BG is dropping even when I have reduced insulin. I normally run at around 85/90, rarely go over 100 but have been at 63 yesterday and 72 today. I have reduced insulin from 27/28 units and last night took 24. The article you posted for me said I could cut by half but I dont want to have a sudden rise and then have to increase again. Slowly, slowly, as long as it is working.

Hi Sunshine-girl

Excellent news on the drop in BG. – I am glad that the article I found helped.

Sorry to hear France is going back into lockdown. – Its all a bit silly here with Welsh politicians determined to use it as an opportunity to create rules that are different to the English rules. –

Although 40% of the Welsh population live within 20 miles of the border with England (and probably cross it regularly with work) we have rules at present that Welsh people can travel within Wales, but not into England except for essential journeys and English can’t travel into Wales. – Then on the same day that the travel restrictions lift, pubs in England with outdoor spaces will be allowed to open, but Welsh pubs can’t open for an additional 2 weeks.

When journalists question the logic all we get is – our experts are reading the same research as the English experts and our experts tell us this is what should be done. – We are following the science. = They are like children in the playground – my gang is better than your gang…

RubyG – thans a lot for the easy chicken dish recipe – really good. One can add whatever.
Sunshinegirl – thanks for the funny April fools day story – I’ve told it to many people – it makes us all smile – fantastic idea. Homeoffice-humor at its best.
The last two days has been good, so inspiring to read your posts. I walk about two hours daily and have a goal to reduce my weight to have a normal BMI (a long way to go – one step at a time), but honestly – eating healthy (and tasty) food in the right amount makes me feel so much better. So I am actually happy . I haven’t touched any chocolate and the house is full of it. Best not to taste as I manage to eat it all if I plan to taste just a little bit. Typical habit. Today the sun was shining – it is spring (I live in Norway) and although it’s lockdown – I live near the woods and the sea and manage to enjoy nature and go for long walks everyday. Wish you all a happy Easter. By the way – does anyone have a good idea for breakfast (not eggs/yoghurt – need variation) that is fast to make and filling.

Hi Quetzal,

I don’t eat breakfast but sometimes have breakfast for lunch and I have chia pudding probably once a week – really easy to prepare, you just mix a milk of your choice with some chia seeds, stir and leave it to set for ten mins or overnight. I like using either coconut milk or almond milk, 85ml and 20-25g chia seeds, you can add spices or things like vanilla extract to the pudding to give more flavour, and then top with nuts or seeds or berries or a combo of the above, but there’s literally thousands of recipes if you Google chia pudding – it’s having a real moment. It’s quite filling because lots of fibre and lots of healthy fats

Ps Norway!!! So jealous, that’s on my list of places to visit!

Lauren x

So excited!!!! Have been missing green vegetables, particularly broccoli of late, given a relatively high carb count (I am trying to stick to 20g of carbs a day). I have been reading through some old posts, and found one by Esnecca who talked about broccoli rabe. I searched that up – am not aware of its existence in Australia. But then I discovered that bok choy and pak choy, which I LOVE, are incredible for this diet – 100g of bok choy has 19 calories, 0.6g of carbs and 2.4g fibre (does that basically mean no carbs??). I am just a bit too excited about this……..
Lauren – thank you for your lovely message. I have indeed let the ‘mini-egg’ disgrace fade into the background, onwards and upwards!!!
Wishing you all a amazing Easter x

Hi All,
been enjoying reading about your antics and how things are going 🙂 Got some shopping and cooking to do today, so may not be around. Thanks for the chia pud recipe, Lauren – will certainly try one of these days. Chia is very “in” and very healthy I’m sure I will benefit from it.
Weigh-in week3: current weight 105.8kg loss this week: -1.1kg Total loss: -6.2kg.
I just realized my Wednesday fast was 36hrs long and not 24 – silly me can’t even count, just shows I haven’t ever fasted a lot 😂
Happy Easter!!

Hi all, happy Easter. TRE from last night was 16.5 hours. Was going to be 14 but got chatting on WhatsApp with daughter and realised it was 11 am so too late for breakfast and waited through to lunch. Weight blipped up but it could be carb fluid as, not having had many calories yesterday, I decided to have cheese and biscuit – biscuit not biscuits – and had one oatcake. Reduced insulin to 24 and BG is still down to 3.6 so will reduce again tonight. As I have said, I could cut to a lower level but if I get up and my BG is very low I can eat to combat that. If I get up and my BG has jumped up very high it will take me 3 weeks of high dose insulin to stabilize. At least that has previously been the case when I have eaten something naughty like over Christmas. Takes me ages to get back on track so would rather be careful.

Thats all folks – lovely sunny day so going to get my bedding hung out and after a coffee maybe do a bit in the garden. Enjoy your long weekend.

Ok restarting today. I didn’t gain since the pandemic but I feel fluffier. Menopause. Not comfortable in my skin and I’ve decided to do a wardrobe overhaul. Got rid of most of my things and will buy all new when I’ve lost the 15 pesky pounds. Theres no denying I feel so ashamed of the weight – I saw pictures from 10 yrs ago and I looked great. The truth is none of my crew have gained. I’m the heaviest, which is shocking to me – this is a first. My mother is obese and I hate how her weight has limited to her. I was always fit and thin. Summer is coming and I live at the beach (east coast usa). We are building a new house and I’m not walking into my new house chubby. So the husband has left for 3 weeks (quarantine required w the travel) and I’m going to buckle down. No excuses. He lost 17 pounds in the fall and I’m so down on myself about not being able to do the sane. My 15 yr old son is easy to feed, so I can focus on me. Thanks for being my accountability buddies. Happy Easter if you celebrate – and happy spring regardless.❤️

Hello Lauren – thanks a lot for the recipe – I now have gotten a (small) bag of chia seeds and will make it tomorrow. Today it started so well, but my children had made me an Easter surprise (chocolate coated almonds and licorice) and I ate it all (not large amounts, though)! So disappointed by myself – but I dropped lunch and had the perfect dinner and had three lovely hilly walks. So back to start again.
And Daisybean, I think you are on your way to reach your goal, making a decision to change something about your eating habits is so important and the first step. First of all, you didn’t gain any weight during the pandemic – that’s good. Then – don’t think about what you didn’t do this fall (when your husband lost weight) – instead – plan ahead – and be kind to yourself! Have several smaller goals you can tick off towards the main goal. Still, you will feel better when you eat more healthy food that is good for you. Also, try to become more active (if you are not now) – I wish you the best!

Quetzal, I made chia pudding today and tried something new – I used coconut milk but gently warmed it first and then infused a vanilla chai tea bag in the milk as if I was making a small “latte” for a while, then used that flavoured milk to make the pudding – it was lovely and really sweet because of the vanilla and cinnamon in the chai but no sugar at all, just the carbs in the chia seeds and milk.

Never mind about the Easter treat, doesn’t sound like you went too mad!

Well done on your progress with your insulin SG! That’s fab

Welcome Daisybean!

L x

Hi HopefulinOz
Just been catching up on posts and noticed that you had been avoiding broccoli because of the carbs! I’m not sure where you are getting your carb measurements from, but broccoli is pretty low carb. When measuring carbs there is the Total carbs – which includes fibre (lots of fibre in broccoli) – you subtract the Fibre carbs from Total carbs to get Net Carbs. It’s the net carbs you need to count.
In Australia all food nutrition labels show carbs and this is always NET CARBS. In other countries the nutrition labels list total carbs and you have to do the maths to get Net Carbs.
These are a couple of sites with Australian NET carbs for broccoli :
https://www.calorieking.com/au/en/foods/f/calories-in-vegetables-fresh-broccoli-raw/QlRnM0eFQGW-07wIftoPSA
https://shop.coles.com.au/a/richmond-south/product/coles-fresh-australian-broccoli-florets
I use an app called Easy Diet Diary to keep track of foods. It is Australian and has lots of Australian food brands listed. It lists 100g raw broccoli as 32 cals and 0.4g carbs.
Brocolli is one of my staple foods along with cauliflower, bok choy (or similar), mushrooms, celery, brussel sprouts, green beans (small serve), silverbeet, etc
I saw you also had a question about milk in coffee ☕☕☕☕. I just have to start my day with 2 coffees (plunger) 😋😋😋 and I can’t stand it black. I use Vitasoy Protein Plus Unsweetened (Woolies) – 100 ml is 2.2g carbs and 54 cals – so that gets me my 2 coffees and I count that in my daily count. It also has 4.2 g protein and as an over 60 woman I like the extra protein.
Hope you are having a lovely Easter – wonderful weather all weekend in Melbourne.

MerryMelba – I think you just changed my life! Thank you so much – this is great info. I have been so confused over the net carbs thing because a lot of people seem to say ‘count everything’, but I do miss my broccoli. So happy to hear this. Last night I made the Cardamon Chicken from the Fast800 recipe book with some steamed bok choy, and it was delicious. Thank you so much also for the recommendation for Vitasoy Protein Plus Unsweetened. I have found it really difficult to find a ‘milk’ that doesn’t separate in the coffee, so this has gone onto my shopping list for tomorrow. I really appreciate it:)
Today hasn’t been as difficult as I feared, even with chocolate all over the house. We had a family lunch, so I cooked MM’s Simple Steak and Salad, and even weighed my portions out without embarassment in front of family. I keep hearing Esnecca’s ‘Not one step backwards’ motto in my head from old forum posts I read through. I am catching up with some dear friends at the start of May, and am aiming to lose 8kg between the time I last saw them and this occasion, so that is my mini-goal at the moment (which would also put me at the high end of a healthy BMI). After that, 5-7 more kg to get smack bang in the middle of a healthy BMI.
Glad you are enjoying sunny weather in Melbourne also – I keep savouring the sunshine knowing that this might be the last ‘summer’ we get for a while.

Just a quick note to say that similarly, in the UK nutritional labeling also shows net carbs, with fibre shown as a separate value, so we do not need to make any additional calculations here either.

Have a lovely Easter weekend folks.

If you use the fatsecret app to log food it takes the fibre into account when recording carbs.

Hi everyone, Happy Easter. Hubby has just broken into his chocolate egg, he is like a kid. Not at all tempting me as I am a funny person who doesnt really go for chocolate unless it is super dark and bitter. At least 75%.

No movement on weight although I did have a couple of little drinks last night. Just feeling deprived and fortunately did no harm. In fact my blood glucose was the lowest it has ever been without causing hypo symptoms. Down to 3.1. Still doing TRE but not last night as I read it doesnt have to be every day. Back on with it today although I did do 12 hours yesterday having brunch at 11 am.

I have noticed a few posts concerning the carbs in vegetables like brocolli and I am glad someone has already helped on that issue. I know this is supposed to be a very strict diet and definitely low calorie at 800 and low carb. You will notice Dr M doesnt prescribe a magic number of carbs and I think if you cut out all the really bad carbs like bread, potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice etc there really is no need to deprive yourself of good carbs. In fact, I think it does more harm than good. Normal carb intake for someone not on this diet is around 300g, in fact a nutritionist told me I should be having at least 350g daily to prevent diabetic hypos – a load of rubbish but we live and learn. If we cut out all the crap, for want of a better word, then we are well on our way to a low carb healthy diet. If you cut out all those beautiful but slightly carby veg like brocolli, carrots, even tomatoes, you are cutting back on so many nutrients and possibly making your life so difficult and miserable. You have to look at the overall picture. For example, brocolli contains 31 cals per 100g and 6g carbs and it also contains iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K and a good array of B vitamins including folic acid.

Also, and thanks for clearing up the net carb question Merry, Sunny and JGwen, not all carbs are created equal. If you want to use this as a quick fix diet or have a medical need then keeping to between 50g and 100g is acceptable as being low carb. Most people do 50g and a few do 20g – which I find too low for me to juggle with i.e. calories vs carbs. If you want to use this diet in the long term you need to eat to be healthy and dont get too hung up on cutting the carbs that are good for you.

Hope you are all enjoying the long weekend. I am cleaning out my flower pots at couple a day so as not to do my back in and will be starting a Spring clean in the house tomorrow. Oh happy days 🙂 Keep on keeping on…

Thanks Sunshine Girl – that all makes a lot of sense. I don’t know why I got so stuck on the 20g carb thing – I think it came from reading a lot of old posts and seeing the huge success some people had when they kept their carbs to 20g or less. And I guess was my thinking was that I could do that until I hot my goal weight, and then reintroduce more of the ‘good carbs’ like the tomatoes. But what you have said does resonate loud and clear. Thank you 🙂

Curious if you weigh yourselves daily or weekly? For example, I followed everything exactly to plan yesterday and gained .4 lb. which makes me want to throw the scale out the window and say why bother changing my diet. For the most part, I eat an anti inflammatory diet (or at least focus on those food lists), so sneaky junk isn’t a problem for me. Today’s Easter basket will be a threat, no question! But curious about those of you whose journey seems more dynamic than linear….

Personally I weigh daily, but I often find a 2 day lag – for example, when I have gone out to dinner and eaten off plan, it isn’t the following morning that it shows on the scales for me, it is the one after that. Same with losses. I don’t know if I am just imagining it, but it seems to follow that pattern fairly regularly!

Hi Daisybean,

I’m sure JGwen will be along in a while to share her wise advice regarding using the scales as a measure, she explains it beautifully!

In the meantime, 0.4lb is really nothing, remember if you weigh at different times of day or even wearing different clothes that can make a difference as well as whether you’ve been to the toilet, how much water you’ve drunk, how much food is in your digestive system, hormones etc. 0.4lb is about 200g – a pack of butter!! Pick it up, it’s literally nothing.

Many of us weigh every day but others just weekly or a couple of times a week, I weigh every day but I have to be aware of the fact that weight loss is not linear, if you weigh every day you have to be prepared for fluctuations and if you don’t deal with that well then just weigh weekly.

Also look for “non scale victories” – measurements reducing, skin clearing, digestion improved, more energy etc.

Keep going!

PS Happy Easter to all who celebrate, we’ve got my family coming this afternoon which will be lovely and the sun is shining!

Lauren xx

Daisy, I assume you are weighing daily which is something I do. In order to cope with that you have to have the mindset that if your weight drops in one day you are super motivated to keep on. If your weight goes up in one day you are super motivated to improve on that. Think of this. You weigh daily and have those little blips – fluid, not had a pooh, just bloated etc and it makes you think you have gained – then the scales move down again. Take the daily weight an indication not a set in stone gain or loss. Your measure of loss is your weekly (or even monthly) numbers. If you cant use it in that way and it makes you want to give up or throw the scales out of the window or affects you mood and self worth in that way then DONT weigh daily. Also remember the scales can lie and they are not the only indication of success. Take measurements, try on some trousers that were tight, think how you feel in yourself, mind, body and soul, all count for success.

Hi everyone ! I hope you are having a happy extended weekend . Today was the first day I got out my linen tablecloth and napkins for an “al fresco’ lunch . It was lovely .Broccoli and brussel sprouts were on my plate . I too find it strange to eliminate healthy veg because of the carb count but I am not quite as strict with the carb monitoring these days. It has become second nature to never eat rice, potatoes, bread , pasta etc but I won’t deprive myself of broccoli . We still have chard in the garden which is a great spinach substitute . Hubby had parsnips and new potatoes with his roast but I don’t feel any urge to eat them . So far so good . I do find it hard to limit fruit though and I mean even the humble apple so I occasonally have a treat of an apple sliced up with a spoonful of almond butter, purée ? ( it’s just ground almonds in a jar like peanut butter ) I keep saying I am trying to limit my nut consumption and there I am buying almond butter .. oh heck !

I haven’t had an Easter egg for years , certainly can’t remember having one in France . It’s easier I suppose because the supermarkets are a 25km drive away and not a daily occurence. I honestly think I get better value from my bar of super dark choc.
I am a very rare weigher nowadays but when I started out I weighed myself once a week . It depends how you respond to fluctuations, as SG has said . I do have the tight trousers as my target !

EC I was mortified when I realised I hadn’t responded to you in one of my recent posts . I am so sorry to hear of your health issues but relieved to hear you have a great medical term and you are clear about options of surgery and chemo . Just do what you have to do and you will be bouncing back in no time . I hope you are enjoying your camping weekend . My boys are spending the weekend on Magnetic Island up in Queensland !

Hi Merry ! Lovely to see you and I am glad veryone is going well in Melbourne now . Love to all the Aussies on the thread ! We can’ t wait to visit your beautiful country but there is still lots of uncertainty as the situation in France is pretty dire . Like SG , we are not too badly impacted as we have space in our rural areas and access to most essential items but travel is severely restricted . Who knows if we will be able to get to the Uk for a July wedding this year ?? If it means hotel quarantine then it won’t happen . We are still waiting to see if the Uk will put France on the red list as far as travel is concerned …ho hum .

I am with you on the TRE and safe, manageable fasting . It’s a very personal thing but as I have said before , just to recognise true hunger is a great tool . Unlike you Lauren I have never gone off my food and to rediscover my on/off switch is vital to me .

About Esnecca. She is something of a legend on the forum and it is well worth reading through her posts if you are looking for inspiration. She had many debilitating health issues which she overcame with low carb eating and she had a very rapid, successful weight loss. Esnecca was evangelical in her weighing and monotoring of carbs and was incredibly focused and determined . She never entertained any form of carb indulgence as her theory was there was nothing magical about sugar and she made amazing ,delicious meals which to her were far superior . Indeed ,her mantra was ‘ Not one step backward ” I would love to know how she is doing . She was always very generous in sharing her advice and experience

However, even if we can’t all be as consistently focused as Esnecca all of the time , we are doing pretty well so be proud !! So much positivity and support . Welcome back Daisybean ! I love your description of feelinfg ‘fluffier’ 😉

However your weekend is going , one of Easter Excess or Economy ….don’t let anything hold you back and remember a new week begins on Tuesday .

Thanks Denise as always for contributing so thoughtfully to the thread . So pleased to hear of your continuing success lowering your insulin . You are in the Esnecca league as far as inspiration goes !

Well done everyone for just being here and for continuing, whatever the challenges and disappointments . If we haven’t heard from you,; please check in .
Enjoy your Easter Monday , especially if you are getting a day off . I will be back to start the new weekly thread tomorrow

Wendy x

A great morning this morning – after avoiding Easter eggs (successfully) all day yesterday, I registered a 600g loss on the scales this morning in one day – the ‘whoosh’ effect presumably.I even checked twice to make sure. Needless to say, a happy dance in the bathroom occurred 🙂
Well done all of you who also ate far less chocolate this weekend than you might have done in previous years – yay us!
Quick question – does anybody have any great low-carb hints on how to thicken a sauce in a meat dish? Normally I would have turned to cornstarch/cornflour, but realise that is not really an option anymore. I have read about Xanthan Gum – has anybody used this with success? Thank you!

Hi Hopeful – DietDoctor seems to use cream or butter to thicken the gravy – https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/low-carb-sunday-lamb-roast-with-gravy-and-roasted-vegetables
Hi Wendy – your al fresco lunch sounds wonderfully French! And I’m with you on the occasional apple – I like them with a couple of pieces of cheddar. That said – just finished a low carb wrap with 100% crunchy peanut butter. Delish, as I am painting a large louvre door today (painting is not my thing!) and the peanut & wrap was an enticement to keep going and get this %$# thing painted today!
Happy Easter to you too Lauren – hope you had an enjoyable family day. And chai tea bags are now on my shopping list!
Hope you are getting good weather Sunshine-girl for all your gardening tasks.
🌞🌞🌞🌞

Hi all.

Well done to everyone who was restrained in their eating yesterday…..I um, well, to be honest, the less said about my Easter weekend eating, the better….so, onwards!! Today is one of my 2, 800 cal days per week…..I like my coffee milky and have been guesstimating my mls, so today I have measured myself my milk in a pot to last the whole day…hopefully this will make my overall calories a good bit more accurate.

Love to all xxx

Hi Daisy,
The topic of using the scales to measure progress often comes up on the forum. Many of us are inspired to take up this way of eating to loose weight, but its not the best way of measuring progress. Our body needs to store water to process carbs, and releases that stored water when we start to cut out the carbs. So you can get a large weight discard at the start and then people get discouraged when the slowdown happens. Others get discouraged if they don’t see a change in the scales every day. Some of the reasons it simply doesn’t work like that are.
We are encouraged to drink 2 litres of water a day, each litre weighs 1 kg, so depending on where you are in your water in / out cycle your weight will fluctuate by up to 4.4 lbs.
Your weight includes the weight of the food in your digestive system, 800 calories of celery weighs much more than 800 calories of cheese and different types of food pass through digestive systems at different rates.
When our insulin levels are high it not only controls fat storage, it also blocks the body from healing / repairing damage. – So as soon as we have a period of keeping carbs low enough to keep insulin low our bodies start to catch up on maintenance on the strength of bones and can build muscle in response to exercise. – Obviously stronger bones and muscles are good especially as we get older, but they do weigh more.
We need to be realistic on the amount of weight we will loose from using fat as fuel. – Each lb of fat = 3500 calories. Especially if we have been yoyo dieting while eating carbs in the past we will have damaged our metabolism so are able to live on lower calorie intake.

Hi folks, I would like to chip in my two pennyworth into the debate on carb levels.

The BSD book does not give any guidance on carb levels, and it also makes it clear that this is an eating plan for an 8 or at a stretch 12 week program. – It recommends that we should not follow this way of eating for longer. So those of us with a lot of weight to discard have to make our own decisions on where to go after that 8 or 12 week program.

Many of us who have been on the forum for a long time have been inspired to read the research and work out a program that fits with their specific personal situations. However, there is one fundamental fact. that we need to incorporate into our plans. Insulin is like a switch, when insulin levels are high our bodies can not access our fat stores and is trying to push excess sugar out of our blood streams into storage. When insulin levels are low then our body can access our fat stores for fuel. If we keep calories low and at the same time insulin levels are high our body is put into a situation where it has to adapt and reduce our metabolic rate. – That’s not good. So we don’t want to try to combine 800 calories and high insulin for any period of time. – Read the research into the impact on the metabolic rate of the Greatest loser program, I think they followed all the contestants on the 16th series.

Which raises the question if we have a lot of weight to discard, what level of carbs can we tolerate and still have insulin levels low.

– There is no one answer that fits all. – Elite sporting cyclists can be in ketosis on an eating program which includes 100g of carbs a day, while those who are very insulin resistant have to be under 20g of carbs a day and a single day above that means it will take 3 or 4 days of being below 20g of carbs to return to ketosis.

Personally I have used one of the cheap breathalysers to work out where I am on the scale of carb tolerance After following this way of eating for a couple of years and at the point of having discarded over 40kg, I was still at the point that 26g of carbs a day was my limit, any more than that and I was out of ketosis and even with time restricted eating and being under 20g of carbs it took me upto 3 days to return to ketosis depending on the level of physical activity.

Can that be improved, can you in time support your body in healing and tolerate a higher level of carbs. I believe so, I believe that by staying in ketosis for extended periods of time, and by increasing periods of fasting you can help your body to heal. By improving the mixture of gut bacteria (reducing the percentage of carb digesting bacteria through not feeding them) and helping the body to improve on insulin sensitivity. one cell at a time as the body renews cells.

So in summary, I think, that the best for anyone to do is to measure their response to carbs and make a plan for themselves.

Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying your Easter holiday although not much different for most of us who have not been working anyway. I know my daughter will have been sat at her computer at some time over the weekend, silly girl, but she enjoys her job.

My experiment with TRE seems to be giving results. My second week is up on Wednesday so will leave it until then to give my assessment.

Hopefulinoz, you question about thickening sauces. First of all it depends on how strict you are being with carbs. 128g of cornstarch has 117g of carbs so nearly pure carb. If you just use a teaspoon in a gravy or a stew that is about 5g so 5g carb. Then it is shared between the number of meals so you might only get about 1.5 to 2g carb. Okay so you want to be strict. Stir in a tablespoon of tomato puree but count the calories (100g = 38 cals and 9g carbs) although you would probably only use about 15g per tblsp. Stir in a knob of butter – again, count the calories. Stir in an egg yolk although this works better for creamy sauces. Finally, if you have the patience, allow it to reduce down naturally. Oh and xanthum gum (spelling) should be limited to 15g per recipe or you will end up with solid gravy and it can cause stomach upset, bloating, wind and diahorreah.

Managed to clean out a few pots yesterday. Cant just tip out the soil as it is solid with plant roots and I also have to rescue the drainage stones from the bottom so I am doing it slowly. Also so as not to hurt my back. 4 down, 36 to go. I really wanted to pay someone to dig over my veg plots – they are quite small with one at 6 foot x 6 foot and the other is just a triangle area which holds 6 tomato plants. Cant get any help from hubby as he says it is my area – flowers and food. What he really means is he is too old to be digging which is why I want to pay someone. Maybe put an ad on the local website for someone to do it. Starting on the house clean tomorrow which is also my area. I think someone might just get a kick up the backside. If you are wondering what his jobs are it is putting out the bins, cleaning out the cat litter (our old cat has started peeing everywhere), cooking dinner twice a week (after some negotiation and a bit of screaming) and sitting on a mower going round and round the garden.

Bon week-end tout le monde.

Hopefulinoz, I’m like sunshinegirl and consider cornflour to be ok in small quantities so I do use that to thicken sauce, or cream or just super reduce it. Puréed veg can help – think cauliflower, and I have used psyllium husk but go light as it’s a good thickener! I’ve tried xanthan, not for me it’s like gunge!

Lauren

Thanks once again JGwen for your wise words and clarification . I do sometimes struggle with carb levels when it means that healthy foods can push me over an acceptable limit . I don’t see myself as ultra low carb/strict keto . I think I would have to be carnivore to reach that and I don’t fancy that . I love my veg . Indeed, we all have to find our level depending on insulin resistance and targets .

About thickeners . I have only ever dabbled with psyllium husk or xanthan gum when I had a go at making chaffles . You only need a tiny bit of xanthan gum and I couldn’t discern any taste .

I am about to set up the new thread .

In regards to the ketosis post ⬆️ (V informative btw): do others check for ketosis on the regular as well? And I’m assuming you count net carbs. Wondering if I should make the investment for testing. I have 15lbs to lose.

Daisybean, just a quick reply to your question on ketosis. Dont bother buying the sticks, they are very unreliable. Someone here has a breathalyer which seems to work but dont know the cost. Another thing, after a while in ketosis your body becomes efficient in using the ketones to replace the glucose energy it is missing, especially in the muscles and brain, so it doesnt show you to be in ketosis. Some people swear by it, I no long bother as I am more interested in my BG and cant be bothered doing even more testing.

Daisybean,

As already mentioned, don’t bother with the pee sticks, they just show the surplus ketones your body produces at the start.

You can buy expensive testing gadgets which test your blood for ketone levels, as well as the cost of the machine there is the cost per testing for the testing strip.

You can also buy expensive breathalyser testers for the byproduct of burning ketones. Or you can buy one of the cheap breathalysers from Amazon, the best one is the AT6000 its about £15. Don’t worry, you will not get false positive tests with the official testers used by police, its just the cheap ones which can double as a ketone tester.

I have put links to different articles on the Take a Look at This thread in the past on using the one and comparing the accuracy of the cheap breathalyser with other testing methods. If you search for AT6000 you should find them.