Hi everyone,
I’m basically here for your help and knowledge!
I work in a very deprived area in the UK with a very high level of diabetes and obesity.
I am trying my best to provide patients with good dietary advice and alternatives to medication especially for those in the pre diabetic range of their bloods.
Like many of the UK my patients are very poorly informed about carbohydrates and so I am facing an uphill battle!
I’m less pushing the calorie controlled way, as the weighing and counting is unmanageable for many of them.
I would be really grateful for a list (this is what they are desperate for!!) of what things are good to eat, and what things aren’t.

I really appreciate this is difficult as it depends on your level of carb restriction, but I would really like to compile some sort of information sheet for them to help them start.
Many don’t have internet access or the money to buy the books so a lot of their information comes from me!
Anything you can give me or send me I would appreciate! I thought I would come to some experts first!

The best thing to do, and I speak as a diabetic of 13 years, is to cut out completely the starchy white carbs. These include bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, processed foods like the obvious pies, cakes and biscuits. However, I am sure you live in the real world and my friends look at me as though I have 2 heads and ask ‘how can you live without….. chips, crisps, whatever it is they love’ and to be honest not many people can. My advice would be to suggest that they use less processed versions and go for things like brown or wild rice, wholemeal bread or pasta. My other suggestion is that, assuming they cant or wont give up on the white starchy stuff is for them to consider it a small part of a meal rather than the bulk. Vegetables are a great source of our carbs as are grains and pulses. Chickpeas, lentils, beans of any kind but preferably not in sauce. If they can cook a hearty stew with meat and use things like beans in place of the potato it would be a good start. I could suggest they turn to quinoa or mashed celeriac or baked aubergine but, having lived in deprived Northern areas I know what the response would be. One tip for other healthy options is to never ever eat anything that says, low fat, lo-fat, lite or contains more chemicals than the periodic table – again, I know real butter and olive oil are expensive so you have a hard road to travel. Sometimes small changes can make a difference and if you try to get them to change their eating habits completely you know you will have a battle on your hands. For yourself I would say look at http://www.dietdoctor.com.low-carb as a starting point but there are lots of other resources like the Mediterranean website. Possibly stay clear of paleo or keto – although okay in themselves – they can be high in fats a bit like the old Atkins. Yes, you are right to come to us. A lot of people on here are diabetic but you will be interested to know that some of them have reversed their diagnosis either completely or are in remission or even come off all meds including insulin to return to being ‘diabetic with dietary control’.

I am sure lots more will come on and tell you their tips. Some of us are very strict in our approach to this diet as we know just how much it has reduced our HbA1c’s, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure, to name just a few benefits. For you to take just some of this advice to your patients would be a start. Can you also tell your colleagues that giving high carb meals to diabetics is like diagnosing a bottle of whiskey a day to an alcoholic. When the problem is high blood glucose why tell them to eat something that turns to sugar. Good luck with what you are doing and let us know how you get on.

How brilliant that you are looking at ways to help your patients with good dietary advice and not the outdated advice of basing their diet on starchy carbs and low fat.

When I started the BSD I was following the old advice on diet absolutely to the letter and injecting Novarapid and Lantus – but the diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema and numbness in my foot were getting worse. Before insulin my HbA1c was 125 – so my T2D was quite advanced.

I had cut out sugar, milk chocolate, sweets, fruit juice, cakes and biscuits when first diagnosed but that didn’t seen to help with the retinopathy etc. When I read the BSD book I realised that I needed to cut out the starchy carbs also – so cut out all bread, potatoes, rice and pasta and fruit like pineapples and bananas. I wasn’t strictly limiting calories or carbs – just avoiding the starchy carbs – but my eyes and foot dramatically improved. Luckily I didn’t like low fat flavoured yoghurt so I didn’t need to cut then out.

I then decided that I didn’t want to inject insulin anymore and that was when I had to strictly limit calories and carbs. To stay off the insulin I still have to limit even the starchy carbs but I do eat between 1500 and 1700 calories a day.

I replace the starchy carbs with spiralised courgette and cauliflower rice. The cauliflower rice we buy frozen from Tesco. A lot of people follow the recipes in the book – but we carried on with the same foods we loved – just no starchy carbs. If husband wants potatoes he has then – but he more often than not doesn’t bother.

Sorry this a bit long winded. Hoped it is helpful.

Hi s-g good to ‘see’ you!
KjBuchanan I don’t have much to add to sunshine-girls very comprehensive answer to your query. This is quite a strict regime and my guess is that unless your patients are really well motivated to follow this way of eating it will be very hard , or even impossible,for them. Maybe you could stress the really bad aspects of diabetes, the retinopathy, loss of limbs etc. along with the dietary advice and it may hit home a little more. There are lots of videos on YouTube that might help or a print out of a few graphic photos. Although I’m not sure about the ethics of that!
Maybe some recipes for low carb soups would be helpful. Soups can be cheap to make but are very filling. Low cost supermarkets are a great place for cheap vegetables now. Maybe just asking your patients to give up one starchy carb at a time would be helpful.
I just wish that my GP had been able to point me in the direction of low carb eating when I was diagnosed with T2 7 years ago instead of giving me the standard diabetes dietary advice. Of course 7 years ago low carb eating for reversing diabetes was still in the embryonic stage. Nonetheless, my diabetes is in remission and I’m drug free. As sunshine-girl has pointed out the diet doctor website is a mine of information and has some very good graphics. I am delighted to see a GP actively wanting to promote this way of eating and I wish you the best of luck

Hi KjBuchanan – there are many excellent ideas already posted here to help you get the ball rolling, but I very much wanted to congratulate you on taking on board the low carb message, which seems to be bypassing the majority of GPs, who seem to cleave to the failing low fat high carb model.

Verano’s idea of encouraging patients to abandon one starchy carb source at a time, seems to me a good one, as it will ease people into a low carb way of eating. I’d say one of the best things to do, is encourage people to avoid eating processed foods, which will go a long way to reducing cab intake – one only needs to read nutritional labels on this type of food, to see how this makes sense. Almost as important as anything else though, is getting people out of the low fat mindset and encouraging them to include good fats in their diet, as these help with feeling satiated sooner and staying feeling that way for longer. And of course it’s not just food, but what’s drunk as well, so encouraging people to drink less fizz (even diet versions) and more water is important too.

Wishing you every possible success in your endeavour to improve the eating pattern and lives of your patients. Shout out if you think we can offer anything else to help.

Some very good posts here. I must admit that after I posted I suddenly remembered (like Sunshine-girl) that some of my friends say that they couldn’t possibly live without crisps, potatoes, bread etc. etc. and they cannot understand how I don’t miss them. Some really good suggestions by Sunshine-girl, Verano and SunnyB.

Verano mentioned about the graphic pictures of complications. It was the Panorama programme on diabetes that shocked me to the core and really got me committed to tackling the diabetes. It was the heart wrenching footage of people facing amputations that kept me awake at night – especially as I was losing the feeling in my right foot.

I agree that the Dietdoctor site is an excellent resource – and so is this site. Any of your patients joining this forum will get so much help. There is so much expertise here and people are very kind.

Excellent suggestion re: joining this forum, Krysia. It is certainly this forum which gave me the support I needed to get to target weight. As you say, there is a wealth of experience, knowledge, empathy and encouragement here and we are more than happy to share that with newcomers.

Joining the forum is a good plan – and the internet is available for free at most libraries.

They key things, I feel, are to cut out sugar, bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits and white rice – but possibly even more important, avoid processed food and anything ‘diet’ or ‘low fat’. Those tend to be expensive and not very nice. Replace them with real foods – veg, meat, milk, yoghurt, nuts, seeds, beans …

Hi kjbuchanan89
It’s really interesting that you raise this now.
I have to budget really carefully.
I’ve put all of the both the Diet and Recipe books into and Excel file as I needed to know exactly what each week food I needs … & importantly vs what I have in my cupboards and what I can substitute initially … until my ‘bad foods’ are gone.
I can’t afford to throw away much.

I ‘started’ this diet about 2 months ago now and the 1st 2wks were to ‘start clearing fridge and freezer of the worst foods and those that’d go off first.
Then I’ve been looking to (in my case give to friends or lodgers) the rice and pasta, (unfortunately I’d just bought large bulk products), but even if one gave to the family perhaps, one could eat extra veg to help ….?

So at the moment I’ve lost over a stone even just on the ‘principals’ of the diet & substuiting more salads with the recommended proteins. I use Lidl 170g packets of salmon for all the salmon. Buy chicken thighs as theo=ir the best value for money from Farmfoods, etc…
I’d bought a load of fruit which I rapidly learned to feeze and take out 1 apple which I then use 2 days in a row for the apple/goji berries (still on the 1st packet that I bought about 2.5mths ago!) and almond butter.

I DO find the diet desperately (& sadly) isn’t very ‘few items friendly’!
For example Wk1=146 items Wk2=164items Wk3=178 Wk4 = 151
Many items for eaxmple (yes I do have a wk by wk and a full all 4wks list of all the food used!!) :
(I have selected different Quick Lunches and different recipies from the Selection Menu’s)
Wk 1 = 2 tbsp of Greek yoghurt
That means that you are going to waste the rest of it because the rest of the tub isn’t used!
Wk 1 = 25g of Feta Cheese
again the rest what goes to waste too ??
So I’ve been thinking that I’d need to have a Feta cheese week. Or a Cheddar cheese week.
I’ve found Mature Cathedral Cheese little ‘Squares’ and have been using those in my lunchtime salads.
Wk 1 = 30g of Goats Cheese!
Wk 1 = matchbox size Cheddar cheese
Wk 1 = 1.5 tins of chickpeas
Wk 1 = 1/2 avocado
This may help show how wasteful this diet can be.
I’ve had a brekky/lunch to help rearrange the diet foods to suit the food so there isn’t any wastage. But it’s going ‘off diet’ and probably why I’m no longer losing weight!
It clearly needs a very delicate plan to get this diet to work better.

I have found by entering it all into an Excel file it is infinitely easier to find recipes and to get a full list of food depending what I want to eat.
I’ve tried the red pepper hummous which was delicious but today it was just ‘turning’ so used it again – although I’d already put the Feta on my plate, so just ‘had extra’.

And I think (in my less experienced initial start on this eating path) that this diet cannot be ‘followed’ by those like me who simply cannot afford half the ingredients or can afford to waste so much food!
And from that perspective I find it gut-wrenchingly ‘bad’.

However having had a few week using the principals and lost a stone I have been thrilled. It clearly has the tools about right to really enable one to finally take better control of our eating habits and change them for the better.
I’m loking to simplify it down and source cheaper stocks as the year goes on.
I see this as a life time change of eating. I have to change since I’ve been comfort eating my way to higher and higher cholesterol figures. And I’ve been getting fatter and even more miserable.

I made a choice I either finally took control and did something or gave up and accepted the ‘fat’ and enjoyed the comfort foods ignoring the fatter bulges.
Happily I decided (as I’d had some success on the 5:2) that I’d prefer to try.
I love that it is scientifically backed with facts, to me that means a lot. But it does work.

BUT … I’ve lost next to nothing the last month, when I think I’m closer to the diet and the more simple salads before.
I’ve now bought the lintels and ordered the quinoa online.
I also dislike garlic so just ignore using it. Just add other herbs. Some things I still don’t have but just use what I do have. Nearly everything seems ‘more expensive’. But I believe that it will balance out a bit.
I’ve tried Kale but boiled it seems hard and not nice, but slightly cooked in oil it was far better.
But how bad it is to do that I’ve no idea, but it can’t be good.

And that leads me to another point. It’s hard to figure out some of the ‘little’ cooking ‘things’ that you ‘just don’t know’. Like fennel tonight – even on th epackage it doesn’t say how to chop it… so I trimmed the ends and chopped up the half including the leafy bit ! Maybe that’s OK or not. But it seemed ok. Then I found that I had no vegetable stock so I had to use a tiny bit of gravy as that was all that I had.
And I think it’s these ‘thing’s’ that add up psychologically, as you start to think ‘what’s the point’ I can’t even manage to find the simplist of ‘ingredients’.
However I’ve overcomet this by thinking – I’ll just cut it out. That way I’m eating less and so ought to lose more weight. My shape has been improving but I have seemingly hit a wall. I still need to lose 2 stone.
But I like the food as overall it’s only tweaking my ‘normal food’. But it’s the getting off the sugar that I must do and I hope so much that when I get the Dr to do another cholesterl check that it might be coming down!
Yeesh this is an essay! So sorry.

A PS to my already LONG post (sorry) …
But creating images of the easier recipes with the simple cooking methods could be really good. So creating Cooking Cards as you say they can’t affod to get online.
Maybe a few might get together and share one book and start a LBS Club?
I too agree that the lentils (frozen) and quinoa are the easier to cook in some of the recipes.
I have found buying fresh cauliflowers and red cabbage is far far cheaper and better value for money then freese them on bags. But some other veg are cheaper frozen. 🙂
I do still like my cups of tea.
The recipe book helps to show the ‘better snacks’ when you really need ‘something’ so that too might help.
I’d be happy to share the excel file with you if you have it and it could be helpful in planning their menus / food budgeting?
Maybe a local store might help to get in on the action to promote themselves? Maybe channel 4 might do a program on it ?
That might help motivate them?
I too think it’s great that you are looking to help them with this properly.
I have been appalled when I’ve asked for help and just ‘handed’ a good food sheet. When I’d asked for help with comfort eating and have a cholesterol of 8.3 !

Hi, jkbuchanan. I’ve read with interest the responses posted here today. I’m very impressed that you are
a forward thinking physician, and want to take the time with your patients to teach them healthy eating
habits. In my judgement, the challenge will be integrating healthy food within the confines of a budget.
I’m American, and the greatest incidence of obesity and diabetes exist in populations with limited
financial means here, as well. It’s a national epidemic. My experience with 2+ years of the BSD lifestyle
is that recipe books with a lot of ingredients are completely unneccesary. I eliminated all the white and
brown carbs, and ate very simply, i.e. 1/2 c greek yogurt, a small handful of raspberries and 1 tbs of chia
seeds for breakfast, a hard boiled egg and 1/4 avocado for lunch, and 3.5 oz of clean, lean protein and
2 low carb vegetables for dinner. Sugar is the real demon, as well as carbs that convert to sugar as soon
as they hit the bloodstream. If your patients don’t have access to the internet, with a little effort you can
compile a chart of everyday food groups, and the calorie and carb values for each of them. Most people
have no idea of how high the carb levels are in simple fruit!. Fatsecret is a good website to use for this
exercise. I spent a decade of my life as PA to a neurosurgeon. This is just the sort of educational task
that he would have entrusted to me, and if you have adequate staff, they might endeavor to put together
a series of sessions that might be beneficial to your patients as well. I highly recommend Gary Taubes
book. “Why We Get Fat..and What To Do About It” as an important research tool for educating your staff
on the premise that all calories are not created equal, and the old theory of calories in, calories out is
antiquated and been totally debunked. Other members of our community have offered great suggestions,
but I don’t think I noticed any comment on vegetables, though it is entirely possible that I might have
missed them. A very good rule of thumb is for your patients to concentrate on dark, leafy greens and
cruciferous vegetables, and avoid vegetables that grow below ground, i.e. carrots, beets, onion, potatoes,
etc. Obviously, no cakes, biscuits, candy or anything else containing refined sugar. I find putting
together a program for your patients to be an exciting proposition! If I can be any assistance, please
let me know. Over a 10 month period I lost 50% of my body weight, and have maintained the loss for
16 months. This lifestyle is life changing and life saving, and I’m somewhat of a passionate advocate
for it. Very best to you,

Allie

First of all I wanted to say welcome, and thank you on behalf of your patients for being open minded enough to consider helping your patients follow this Way of Eating.

Rather than finding a list of ingredients, I have found using one of the free apps for mobile phones (myfatsecret) invaluable, I can enter everything I think about eating and it gives me the information on the number of carbs. – I realise you mentioned that its a deprived area, a number of members of my family and friends have been living on benefits long term and they all have a smart phone so I guess that some of your patients would have similar phones.

One of the challenges for me at the start was working out menu plans. As a vegetarian most of the options in the book were not suitable, and having looked at the discussions on this site I realised that I needed to aim for under 20 g of carbs a day. I grew up in a household where my mother followed the tradition that every meal included bread and butter, or pastry, or potatoes, or Yorkshire puddings to help fill you up because we were living on a budget and these were the cooking skills to stretch a meal that she had learnt from her mother. – It was a challenge to me to break away from the “big white” carbs at the start, simply because I didn’t know what other options I could have. I think for younger people who have grown up in the era of ready meals, the need for cookery training is going to be even more central to their success. Is there a community centre, or community organisation that you could work with to put on courses or demonstration days showing different menu options, including tasting sessions and talks on eating this way on a budget. – Could you engage with the local food banks or one of the charities that collects food close to the use by date from the supermarkets?

Welcome to the website! You have already had lots of tips, but I just wanted to endorse the recommendation for the dietdoctor website. I find the picture guides a great help for showing healthy and less healthy choices – somehow more inviting than a list! I see that Dr Unwin is also running a course sharing his years of GP experience with low-carb. You might want to take a look at it:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb-doctors-introduction
I think your patients are very lucky people. And we are all ready to help here with support and advice.

The post by AuroraMagic really brings home the problems of how poorer families can cope with such a diet, which is why I suggested they dont even try to follow this plan but to be given advice on the principles. I too have been on the ‘breadline’ as a single parent living in Leeds making the sorts of choices like, do I eat or do I get E. some shoes from the charity shop. These are real problems that some people face every day that are difficult to understand in this day and age. There is also the problem of food preparation. it is no good saying swap and bag of chips for a plate of salad if chips are the easy option and a salad means buying 6 or 8 ingredients or asking people to cook a meal when they have never been taught. It is also no good telling people to cook with this and that if they have no idea how to prepare the ingredients and put it all together. It is also no good telling someone to cook something if the lekkie has been cut off and the chippy is just around the corner next to the kebab shop. This whole diet has to be simplified and made accessible to everyone who needs it. So it is going to be a hard slog with lots of different initiatives. I like the idea of recipe cards for example. Forget all the fancy ingredients, just stick with a few basics. My basics are mince and chicken. I can make a bolognaise for 2 meals, eat one then put the rest in the fridge. Next night cook chicken thighs (from any famous freezer outlet) with a few simple veg like carrots and onions and a tin of tomatoes. Eat half. Next night mince out of the fridge and add a can of beans (any type), next night have the rest of the chicken. Then there are eggs, cheap and can been eaten in lots of ways and no longer with the ‘cholesterol’ threat we were once told. One tip for getting rid of all those ingredients you have bought but now cant use is my ‘clean out the fridge’ night. Tonight I will be making a big 5 egg frittata for 2 people and I will throw in anything I have left over in the veg type range, toms, peppers, veg, mushrooms and so on. Most fruit can be chopped and frozen and then served with a yoghurt for breakfast.

This subject has opened up the whole question that we ask here which is why dont doctors recommend this diet to all overweight or diabetic patients. There are so many obstacles to overcome. We are coming at this from a fairly privileged position but there are also cultural restrictions to consider. When I suggested my doctor recommend this way of eating to his patients he said it was too rigid, strict and (as I live in France) how can I ask French people not to eat a baguette every day when it is normal for them to do that. As you are a member of the medical profession it might be a good idea to get in touch with Dr Unwin, he is based in the North East, somewhere around Newcastle, he might have some tips for you and he is keen to roll out this type of diet.
Good luck.

THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH EVERYONE!

I am a keen low carber myself but massively appreciate the simple reminder that one of the best pieces of advice I can give is to reduce starchy white carbs, and increase green vegetables.
Despite often being met with a blank face when doing this you have encouraged me to keep at it!

I am really passionate about diet and exercise instead of medicines, in fact I started a walking group today for my patients!!

Thank you especially for the cost saving and time saving tips you have all given and the websites.
I knew asking you all would be invaluable and I am so glad I did!

Hi Dr Buchanan, glad we have been of some help but, as I said, you have opened our eyes to the problems doctors are facing. After mentioning Dr Unwin I decided to Google check him out to find out exactly where he is. Low and behold he has a section on http://www.dietdoctor called low carbs for doctors. Havent looked at it myself (yet) but it might be just what you need. Wow, a walking group, you are an absolute star. You will be doing cookery classes next 🙂 🙂

Dear Aurora Magic,

I have lost my weight – at least 2 stone – by following the principles of the diet but none of the set recipes. In fact I haven’t even read the books! I live alone so only have myself and my needs to worry about. I’m not sure if that is the same for you. I eat eggs for lunch and a simple salad/veg and a piece of fish every day! I try different fish so that brings variety enough for me. I either oven cook it or pan fry if it is necessary. I follow Intermittent Fasting and eat only in about a 6 hour window. I have found that my shopping bill has gone down considerably and I don’t buy all the extras – the yogurt, the spices etc. I like plain food and it works for me and my budget. I also drink loads of water during the day/evening and have perhaps one cup of tea as a treat.
I hope that this helps you.

Hi Dr and welcome. I teach in a school in not too deprived an area and am appalled by the amount of high carb/sugary food which children are eating. I try to educate them about a healthy diet and cutting down on sugar but it’s an uphill struggle! I think community cooking sessions/food education sounds excellent. One of my friends is a Parent Contact in a school in a deprived area and she has held sessions where children and parents cook together ( simple basic meals which they can cook at home) after school and then they all sat down together and ate their tea. A combination of that and a talk/presentation might be an idea.
I saw on the local news the other day that a school in Margate Kent is opening its kitchen 3 evenings a week through the holidays to provide healthy food for families who are not coping because their children are not getting the free school meal for 6 weeks. They all sat down to eat and it had a community feel.
I am always appalled when watching TV programmes how little education there is about cooking basic meals.

Hi eatingforlife,
Yeah I’m alone (& 2 lodgers around sometimes), sadly since my partner passed away.
But yeah just cooking for myself. I think because during the blistering hot weather and with a cast on my lower leg, doing anything is/was hard. So had light salads and meat/veg dinner…. this is what I’ve eaten for years but the comfort eating (& esp been injured for months encouraged ‘easy grab eating of choc bars etc = overeating).
But when I was being a bit better & doing lots of DIY I had been more careful and had trimmed down a bit. I am delighted that I have lost 1 stone but curiously and in a way it’s ‘doing the principals’ that’s seen me lose the stone. However I don’t take this as concrete.
I have felt ‘weak’ & tired but had to be off hrt and this can easily give me these symptoms, and then post op too plus the heap of tablets! As usual – ‘who knows’ !!
I love fish and have it frequently too! 🙂
But becuse I hadn’t felt great I thought it might be to do with being too stingy / reducing the diet to very basics and so perhaps missing out on important extra ‘bits’. So thought I’d try it… plus I think it’s also becuase I don’t want to fall back into cooking the same old food again and again!
I need to push to cook much at all… but stick veg in steamer in microwave and pop a bit of meat/fish into halogen oven works OK. I can go get on while it’s all cooking.
I’ve tried a couple of the (IMHO) more involved meals and it was a right hassle – the aubergine lasagne didn’t taste that great but the spare will get microwaved so I’ll see if it improves.
I am struggling with ‘all of it’ if I’m very honest. Seems like a huge effort. But I love cottage cheese and so on but to just add CCheese into a lasagne seemed really wasteful. After all that cheese could have been a lunch … did it help the lasagne no not really. But then I can learn… but I worry I’ll be back into my simple basic boring meals all over again! 🙁
Anyway I’ve measured myself today and I am still shrinking a little… but I’d love to be shrinking a lot! But it’s finding the balance of what actually works (desperately important) and comfortable effort to ‘cook’. 🙂
But I find what you say to be very encouraging. Thank you.

Hi kjbuchanan89
The walking groups is what other Dr’s have done too and that (grr I’m terrible with names!- Sorry) but the Dutch sounding name Dr who also is trying to get ppl off drugs and using food as a cure. Think it’s great and delighted to hear you are trying this too, as it makes so much sense … after all as with good food, it’s all a whole situation for each person not just ‘a problem’.
I’ve never had my comfort eating tackled, no one cares. It’s my problem to solve.

I also thought .. whatever you tell the patients to try – ‘it’ (feeling better / losing weight’) must work or it’ll be rejected for them and all their friends & relatives… so I guess it’s down to how it’s sold.
That leaves the problem of money to ‘feel a bit better’, when they are happy to stuff a cream cake – which also and immediately makes one potentially ‘feel better’. So for me – it’s ‘feeling healthier inside’ … buying the right products to know that I could lose weight ‘without “trying” ‘ as it were.
Also that place with Angela Rippon where they did the what’s your true age ? That helped me question where I might be.
I know I was buying ‘wrong’ foods occassionally.
To me this diet no matter how hard I might still be juggling with it all, is showing me exactly what 2 doctors do actually mean by ‘eating properly’ and portion sizes. (I’ve bought smaller plate etc).
Maybe hold ‘What to eat’ and how to buget better’ evenings could really swing people around ?
Sorry had no intention of this being yet another long essay! 😀

Eatingforlife and AuroraMagic – me too! Single person, limited food budget. In fact, if a recipe has more than 5 ingredients, I lose interest! Check out Jamie Oliver’s recipe book 5 Ingredients. A lot can be adapted to this WoE. His salmon fishcakes are fantastic, minus the sweet relish! I just don’t want to spend up to an hour in the kitchen after my 11 hour working/commuting day! Although once a fortnight at the weekend I do try and batch cook but that’s mostly in the winter.
I also eat in a 16:8 window, preferring to skip breakfast. I sit down on a Sunday and plan my meals for the week ahead. I have invested in some store cupboard items, such as chinese 5 spice, chilli flakes, sea salt, garlic powder, ground black pepper, extra v olive oil, rapeseed oil. I would buy one item a week until I built up a few items. I have 2 fish, 2 chicken and 3 veggie dinners. I love the challenge of making tasty food but keeping it simple and the costs right down. 🙂 I’ve also recently discovered making omelette wraps for work lunches! Happy to share one of my weekly menu’s with you, Aurora, if it helps?
Kazzeexx

Sorry, didn’t mean to post this on this thread! I’ll repost it elsewhere….

Have been reading the posts here with interest and felt it worth pointing out that there is no necessity to spend big following the meal plans and menus in the Fast 800 books. Right from the beginning, I haven’t used them and have put together my own meals and menus. As long as you pay attention to the carbs, it’s not even essential to stick to the 800 calories, as long as you keep them below what is needed for your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Here’s a link to a site which will workout what that is for you
https://tdeecalculator.net/

Using simple things like spice rubs on meats, a few herbs etc. will add a twist to meals without adding carbs and helps to keep things interesting. Throughout I have kept things simple – yogurt with nuts/berries or eggs for breakfast/lunch and then a protein source and salad or veggies for evening meal, so cottage cheese for lunch or evening meal is perfectly okay if that’s what you want to do. These days, having been with this way of eating for over two years now, I tend towards only two meals a day, often eaten in a 6 or 8 hour window. Applying the principles of the BSD in quite a broad way works for many, without the need to pull the calories as low as 800.

If your weight loss has stalled, it could be worth checking your carb intake, as it’s easy for this count to creep up. Good hydration is also important, so worth looking at too. It’s important to remember we are all individual though and won’t necessarily lose at the rate as others and that weight loss is not linear, but will stall and plateau from time to time. It’s then it’s important to stick with it, because progress will kick in again.

kjbuchanan89 Have you had many people on this diet and lose weight and drop their cholesterol – too / yet?

There’s one topic we have talked about in the past, that may be particularly relevant when it comes down to Dr / patient discussions. – The reading on the scales is just a number, and especially when you are having to make the decisions on what to spend every penny on, it isn’t always a strong enough motivator. Many of us have found it helpful to spend some time thinking about WHY we want to be slimmer or lighter. – What we miss or want to do with our lives that excess weight blocks us from doing. – Focusing on that goal is more powerful than focusing on a 2 stone loss on the scales.
Also you may have seen the term NSV dotted around the forum. None Scale Victories are achievements from this Way of Eating to be celebrated, they help keep going when the scales are not moving. – Sometimes inch loss occurs without changes in the scales, sometimes its the body building up to a whoosh, but it can be disheartening trying to follow this way of eating if you don’t look out for them.

JGwen – I agree with all of that. There’s nothing like a NSV to motivate.

Yeah I meant to say to much of degree my scales are around 6lb out from what I can tell from hospital scales (if they are calibrated and correct!) … but I do know one’s ‘shape’ is part of it and weight is not ‘all of it’ ! 😀 Thanks for the jagon explanations! 😀