Hi, I have just finished reading the BSD book and am pulling a plan of attack together for myself. I need to sit down with my DR on the meds side but in the short term going to drop alcohol (gulp) reduce bread and kick start the exercise. In the book it talks about using diet meals/supplements initially whilst you get your head around the menu’s, I would also find this useful at work. Are there recommended ones to use?

Great that you are going to speak to your doctor. If you are doing the BSD 800 you will need to also cut pasta, rice, cereal, all grains (one or 2 exceptions) and potatoes. If that sounds daunting, look for posts on here about what we eat to replace them. I love cauliflower mash and cauliflower rice and many more alternatives.

If you mean meal replacements then I don’t know anyone on here that uses them. The meals we have are so nutritious that we prefer to make proper meals from real food. If you mean liquid meals like ready shakes, again no-one here uses them. I think they are mentioned for the bariatric patients (stomach ops) who cannot manage real food at first. Part of the enjoyment of this diet is eating and chewing is a very important part as it triggers the ‘full’ response in your brain, liquids don’t do this and are frankly boredom in a glass.

Now if you mean vitamin and mineral supplements, it is recommended that a multi-vitamin might be of use, be see above, our meals are packed with all the essential nutrients so you should not need them.

If you want a great liquid meal maybe once or twice a week then the breakfast shakes in the book are great, I love the melon, blueberry, spinach and almond milk drink but would only have it for breakfast as it is only 100 to 130 calories.

I’m not sure this is what you wanted to hear but without ready meals and energy shakes we have all managed very well on this diet and enjoy the food more than we enjoyed the old way of eating. I’m sure you will have lots more questions so don’t be put off and good luck. When is your proper start date. We would all like to follow your progress.

I resort to using a meal replacement occasionally as I don’t always have time to cook. I don’t like having to use them though as they don’t actually fill you up for very long and they’re no substitute for proper food. I’ve tried a few but the one I use is USN Diet Fuel as the net carbs aren’t too high (10g). Also if I’m out of the house and need something to eat on the go Quest Nutrition Bars have only 5g net carbs. Both are around 200 calories. Best for emergencies only though because I’m sure nutrition wise they’re not actually good for you. They help me stick to my 800 calories though because otherwise I’d end up grabbing a sandwich or a bar of chocolate.

It’s not technically a meal replacement by any means, but I’ll make a protein shake sometimes when time is a factor. I use Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla. It tastes just like Galak white chocolate, I kid you not. 210 calories, all from protein, for a full serving of 2 cups water, 2 scoops powder. Between the water and protein, it fills you up like crazy. I make a half serving most of the time when I drink them after resistance training to help the ol’ muscles knit back together.