This is confusing enough as it is. Can someone please have a look and confirm if i’ve got this right or wrong:

Page 215 – Courgetti Prawns. It states ‘serves 2’ and gives a calorie count of 390 (at the start of the recipes on page 183 it states all calorie counts are for one person). I have added up the calorie count for the entire ingredints from a variety of different calorie food tables and keep getting 380-390. How can this serve 2????

Please let me know what you think.

Not helpful

Oh dear, what a frustrating start for you elgordo. I checked it out for you on my app and it came to 558 cals but it is quite possibly more depending on what size leek or courgette you use.
The tablespoon of oil is 161cals, the beans are 160 cals and the prawns are 177 cals, that’s without the juice, veg etc.
The only thing I can think of is you may have missed an ingredient or typed in the wrong amount of something when doing your calculations.
The book does say the calories are rounded up or down to the nearest 10, and yes it does say the count is per portion.
You are right, there is so much to learn on this diet and everyone has their ups and downs in the first few weeks. Much of it goes against previous thinking on how to lose weight and manage diabetes but it is backed up by sound research from a variety of sources.
The forum is here to help and you’ll always find someone to give you advice or support. Stick with it, and when you find yourself confused or needing a boost just post on here. Good luck with it all, no doubt we’ll be hearing about your successes soon

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Exactly my point

So, half of 558 = 279. The recipe states that an individual portion is 390 so even with your calculation that makes the recipe more than 100 calories out as they state the recipe serves two.

100+ calorie inaccuracy is not rounding up or down to the nearest 10

This has also been my experience with the recipes and calorie count elgordo. I have counted the calorific value of several of the meals which has left me confused and I am now counting every calorie when making up the recipes. This is very time consuming and frustrating as the book should give exact weights and grams of each ingredient..after all, we are dealing with nutrition and an overall balanced diet for people with a medical condition.

I have lost weight but I found out in week one, that I would use the book as motivational sauce and guide rather than an accurate measurement of my food intake.

I wish you well on your diet. I have lost 13lb in 3.5 weeks, so it can be done. I just wish the recipes were weight and calorie counted for me and not so vague.

Adam

Agreed. It comes over as careless and unprofessional.

Onwards and upwards – just have to count it all out individually and treat the recipes with caution.

Maybe the recipe author was tired at the time??

No calorie counting here, just using the right foods mixed with a generous portion of common sense.
15lb loss in 3 weeks and blood sugar reduced from 9.8 to 5.6
Cut our the carbs first and then worry about the calories if you don’t lose weight.

Sensible advice from Bill. The BSD is going to become a way of life for you and it isn’t feasible to count calories every meal for the rest of your life.
Often people don’t stick to diets because of the weighing and counting calories involved. I can imagine it would be frustrating if that’s the kind of diet that suits you best, but give it a go because it has made such a radical difference to my blood sugar levels and there are so many others on this forum who report the same changes and weight loss.
Like Bill, I watch my carb intake and stick within a range that I know will suit me.
It is more the principles of the diet we need to learn, and the recipes are a guide and example of the range of foods you can eat. Many people are experimenting with healthy, unprocessed foods for the first time, so it’s good for them to see what can be done.

Many of the people are on here due to over consuming the wrong foods. I agree, lots of experimenting in my kitchen because the recipes that are included in the book are mainly dull and take lots time to prepare. I spent most of my time cooking. I often say to myself ‘thank god that I haven’t got children or a full time job’. I couldn’t do the diet if I had.
I have a few meals that I rotate because they are within my time and skill limits

Well done you and I get the spirit of what you’re saying and don’t disagree entirely, however if you read the book, which i’m sure you have, you will note reasons for sticking to 800 calories and that is the figure that is used from start to finish.

We are all doing this for different reasons. I am only marginally overweight (26 BMI) but my waist should be slimmer to be healthy as I get older, so for me it is about shifting that internal fat and not losing weight so much, although that will likely be a bi-product. So for me, keeping the calories to a minimum is important.

Further to the above; call me old fashioned, but I like things to do as they say on the tin!

BTW is everyone peeing like a horse too????

Cherrianne

I think the idea is to do it for 8 weeks and then just eat sensibly thereafter! I don’t intend to count out calories for the rest of my life. The point is this is sold or promoted as a plan – to have a plan you need to work off accurate information, otherwise the plan tends to fail.

He He
peeing like a horse ? Try an elephant 😉
It’s all down to the amount of fluids we drink. I quite like the idea of peeing the weight away.

I’m with Bill on the calorie counting, I have pretty much followed the recipes in the book and have lost 23 lbs in a month which gives me a BMI of 24 so I don’t think it is worth getting concerned about the precise number of calories in a meal. I only count if I am making a recipe not in the book. So just keep on following the plan and see the amazing results you will get and enjoy the ride. All the best

Just for an example, for lunch I’m having red pepper humus with celery and pear dippers.
It’s delicious but I don’t know how many calories are in it, just that it’s good for me.
hashimato, you are disappearing slowly, don’t forget to wave goodbye before you vanish altogether 😉

Sorry elgordo, I realise it wasn’t clear what I meant. The fast 800 is the starting point to lose weight and lower blood sugar levels. It is also the start of learning a new way of eating, cooking and thinking about what types of foods make up a healthy diet for someone with type two diabetes.
After the eight weeks we will still need to follow a low carb Mediterranean diet to maintain those results. We will have to adjust the calories upwards once we reach a desired weight. For most of us who are type two, this has to become our lifestyle or we will end up back where we started.

Hi Bill, I’m so excited with the results of this ‘diet’ (lifestyle) I’m already waving as I jump up and down for joy. Although my BMI is down to 24 I’m not taking that measurement too seriously as I have skinny arms and legs but a lot of fat round my middle and there is still quite a lot to shift! If the fat keeps disappearing I might treat myself to a dress!!! As you have said if only this information had been out there 20 years ago!
I think we will be on this forum for a long time to come because as we reach our personal targets we will have to all swap tips and advice on how to keep stable on the maintainance diet. Cutting out the carbs has felt like cutting out toxins to me. It will be interesting to see who, if any of us, can eat carbs in moderation as we complete this first phase of our journey, and how many calories we can eat but stay stable. You’re right again Bill, we are pioneers!!!

Hi all, i have just posted a similar problem https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/topic/pork-with-apples-and-shallots-450-calories/.

It is frustrating to learn that the calorie count in the book can’t be trusted as it adds to the stress of engaging in this new exciting way of getting healthier. Lesson learn’t – check before you cook.

Otherwise everything going totally in the right direction and am not finding myself particularly hungry (except for day 1 which was horrible!). Half way through week 3 now and really enjoying the plan. From my experience the secret is to drink loads of water and then some. It stops the headaches and makes you feel so much better – but you do go to the loo a lot.

Good luck to everyone on this exciting life changing journey.

Hi all

I actually find many of the recipes truly delicious but agree that they can be very time consuming to prepare and if you just have the ingredients etc ..

I reckon its much better to just learn to count the calories and do it yourself. That way I can fit in better with the family meals plus I’m learning just how many calories are actually in food so it will be easier to calculate quicker in llife in general (I’m thinking ahead when I get to the 5:2 / 6:1 diet – that’s the plan) and adapt to awkward social dinner occasions.

Just my two cents.

Lachlan