Male
Height 171cm
Weight at the start 69kg
Weight at the end of week 1 – 67kg
Target weight – 63kg

Not really counting calories in a strict sense. Just an overall sense. Try not to eat anything in the morning as far as possible. So may eat an apple by 2 pm and another around 4 pm. Then evening have some lentils or beans and almond milk, strawberries.

Hunger is not a problem as long as occupied with something. Already noticing changes – people reactions in terms of appearance. Let’s see how this goes.

Excellent result in week one, test1, hope you continue to see success. Personally think your menu sounds a bit carby, but if it’s working for you that’s fine as you haven’t said that you are doing this due to diabetic concerns. Keep us posted on progress and best of luck to you.

Hi

Thanks a lot for your response.

I am not diabetic but the blood sugar in a recent test was on the higher side ( though still within the acceptable range ) which I would like to bring down. Being a vegetarian – finding it difficult to reduce carbs.

Week 2 – want to really make effort to reduce the carbs. Any suggestions most welcome

looking to get some inspirations from this

http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/low-carb-as-a-vegetarian#section7

would like to avoid complex recipes.

Do you eat eggs or dairy? If yes, these are good options as they offer a whole range of meal options. Tofu is a good option as well, as this is relatively low in both cals and carbs and has a reasonable level of protein and fats. Finding a way to get enough fat is important, as this helps with feeling full more quickly and staying feeling that way for longer. Avocados are a good option and they contain lots of good fat.

Stir-fries are a good option – easy to put together and quick to cook. Be cautious with things like onions and tomatoes, as they are relatively high in carbs so are best used in small quantities and avoid root veg in large portions as these too are carby. Likewise, be cautious with fruit as they tend to be sugary and thus quite high in carbs, sticking with berries is best – even the humble apple is quite carby, at 14g carbs per 100g. Similarly, use things like lentil, beans etc. in small portions, yes they contain proteins and fibre, but are also carb heavy. Quinoa is fine in small portions too.

Not being a vegetarian myself, I’m not best equipped to advise in any detail, but I’m sure someone who is and is successfully combining the BSD with vegetarianism will be along to advise soon. I’d advise having a browse of the recipes on this website, to see what suggestions there are there, as there are allsorts of recipes posted, some of which at bound to be vegetarian or be adaptable for a vegetarian diet.

Hope you manage to find a way to lower your carbs successfully. Best of luck.

I am a strict vegetarian and have been following BSD since January and have lost 36 lb. here are some of my easy meal suggestions

Breakfast:
Greek Yoghurt with berries and chia seeds or Yoghurt with passion fruit
Scrambled eggs or omelette
Quorn sausage, mushrooms, eggs
Poached Eggs with spinach and pine nuts

Lunch
Boiled eggs and spinach
Hummus and roasted pepper lettuce wraps with pine nuts
Cheddar ploughmans
Cold omelette used as a wrap with quorn sausages inside
Full fat cottage cheese with walnuts and slice apple
Avocado and hard boiled eggs with olives
Mushroom soup with cream

DInner
Roast vegetables with halloumi
Greek salad with feta
Quorn stew
Cheese Omelette
Cauliflower pizza from the book
Skinny lasagne from the book
Cauliflower cheese
Roasted red peppers with hallloumi
Quorn chilli served cauliflower rice

It seems strange when you first start BSD eating so much fat but fat is filling .

Hope these ideas are helpful to you.

thanks a lot. I am Lacto Ovo vegetarian so can eat eggs and dairy. Will give these suggestions a try.

So far good progress in week 1. Since I have not much to lose – can live with slow and steady weight loss. However, I want to ensure I am not losing muscle mass or get into starvation.

Also, how does one ensure one gets enough nutrients? Do we take multivitamins or other dietary intakes that will help ensure that?

Another question, if one has occasional gaps due to social obligations etc – how does one recover, what’s the impact?

Don’t worry about starvation, as long as you stick with the 800 cals you’ll be fine. Taking some exercise will avoid the loss of muscle mass. If you are unsure you are getting the correct nutrients do take a multivit.

Life happens and there will be times that social events put a kink in our eating plan, however, if you stick as closely as you can to the principles – good hydration, including good fats, avoiding high carb foods and not drinking too much alcohol – you should find that any impact will be minimal. And all you need to do afterwars, is get right back to the regime as soon as you can – weighing, measuring and recording everything consumed. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to get back to it.

Have a good w/e.

Thanks very much. After a break yesterday and today – thankfully haven’t gone over 1600 calories on either of the days – looking to get back to BSD 800.

Good that I have got to lose only 3 more kilos.

back on track….also good to see the weight is still on downtrend @ 66.5 kg

I have always been vegetarian but great to explore so many possibilities of low carb diet being vegetarian. Also realised papaya is an option in terms of fruit @ 11g per 100g – not too bad. Eggs, spinach, nuts, cheese, yoghurt, cauliflower, hummus, little bit of lentils / beans / legumes – and many more – and their combinations ensure that the diet is never dull.

found this excellent site….this helped me clarify a lot more – especially the beginner section

https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight

Papaya would be too hefty on carbs for me, but if you can work it into you regime and still lose weight, that’s great. You seem really enthused about getting rid of those 3kg and I’m sure you will get there with that mind set and focus.

Had a bit of break (not complete) for a week due to business travel. Now resumed – weight now 65.5kg. Still 2.5 kg to go. This week have settled on eggs, yoghurt and nuts to make up 800 calories. Also doing 16:8 – so no food until 1400, some snack at 1400 (1 small pot of full fat yoghurt), some nuts in between and then dinner at 1900 (cheese omelette). Also taking a multivit tablet. Lots of water. Let’s see how this goes.

weight 64kg this morning so almost there. It feels good – though I would have expected to be leaner than I feel – but that may happen in next 1-2 weeks.

1. what next after the goal is achieved? will it all come back if I go back to normal calories consumption?

2. what are the long term impacts of this. I see internet is full of adverse impact on brain function, muscle mass etc of low carb diets?

https://www.drcarney.com/blog/entry/can-low-carb-diets-impair-brain-function

“Several studies have emerged noting that restricting the intake of carbs can impair short and long-term cognitive performance.

For example, the study Low-Carbohydrate Weight-Loss Diets. Effects on Cognition and Mood conducted on women and published in February of 2009 in the journal Appetite, revealed that after one week of beginning an Atkins-type diet the women performed worse on memory-based tasks. Their reaction times were slower and their visual-spatial memories were affected. Prior to starting the diet, the women were tested to measure long- and short-term memory and attention. Testing was repeated at one, two, and three weeks after beginning the diet. These impairments were alleviated after the reintroduction of carbohydrates into their diet. The data suggests that memory impairment occurs when carbohydrate (glycogen) levels are at their lowest and highlights the importance of adequate blood glucose for crucial brain function. Researchers concluded, “It is plausible, therefore, to propose that very low carbohydrate diet plans may have longterm effects on cognitive functioning in individuals following such diets in comparison to individuals consuming adequate levels of carbohydrate.”

In a similar study conducted on rats where carbohydrate-rich foods were restricted and replaced with high-fat foods, the rats exhibited severe brain impairment when learning and memory tests were performed.

As a side note, with regards to declining glucose levels in the brain and how it affects cognitive function, an interesting study published in the journal Nutrition suggests that “impaired brain glucose metabolism may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.””