Definitely agree with the full fat cheese, particularly cottage cheese. Absolutely lovely on its own or in a mixed salad.

Hi,

I’m having fat in other dishes using extra mature cheese so I shave off calories wherever I can. I prefer 0% fat cottage cheese and it does help me to keep within the 800 cals per day. On Marmite issues, if you don’t like the smell I doubt if you’ll like the taste. Tesco’s own yeast extract is also tasty, both varieties are great with strong cheese.

Also full fat tastes soooooo much better. The only benefit, I think, of eating low fat dairy is that you can have a bit more for your calories but full fat every time for me as I find it filling – as well as tasting better 😀
I spread marmite on tofu to add to salads and also spread it on full fat cheese.
As you are eating full fat elsewhere (just posted and then saw your reply so I am editing) I can see where you’re coming from 😀 – but still full fat only for me.

Hi Pukkapies you should be having full fat not low fat. I had a lovely salad today from Marks and Spencer cafe which only came to 170 calories and was ok on carbs and fat. It was chopped salad with grains, feta cheese and chickpeas and came with a parsley and lemon dressing.

Luckily I feel quite satiated with fat free stuff as the cottage cheese calorie difference allows me 80 to 90 calories extra towards a boiled egg or mini omelette snack. I load up with large amounts of baby leaf salad as a staple. I avoid chick peas due to the carbs unless it is the main part of the meal I.e.chick pea dhal. I avoid ready meals as I don’t trust them. M & S fresh veg is great but watch out for their sugary ready meals.

Ah I see, it gives you extra calories to ‘spend’ elsewhere – I get that.

I discovered the delights of the humble mini babybel as a snack today – for only 61 calories it was immensely satisfying!

Hi MaisieMouse I too love mini Babybel cheese. It’s my go to snack, maybe with a Brazil nut, And one I usually grab when I get in from a run.

Well I’m back from my holiday and another 2lb down. We did a lot of walking but also a lot of eating! Fortunately there were loads of options which weren’t carb heavy so I ate a lot of fish and salad and had the occasional craft beer or cider (well you kinda have to sample these things when you do a brewery tour!) Back on it from tomorrow and hope to replicate my previous losses. Clothes fit better and I’m less tired and haven’t felt hungry once so I hope this continues as I don’t actually feel like I’m on a “diet” as such!
Good luck to all this week and if I can do it anyone can!

Well done elly for losing weight on holiday

Hi all, great to see you all getting along so well.

I’ve spent the last 2 week watching the numbers drop on my scales.

My measurements are down 5cm round my hips and 8cm round my upper thigh (no change to the waist, but I think that’s down to measurer error and me not really knowing where my waist was 2 weeks ago!).
My jeans fit better and I even managed to zip up a waterproof jacket that’s struggled to make ends meet for some time!

Yay!

Yesterday however, having spent 6hrs knocking my pan in gardening (8K steps thank you very much!) so I decided to treated myself to a grilled lamb kebab with salad. I was too tired to be bothered cooking and had to eat something as I’d been fasted for 8 hrs, with only water while I worked hard out in the sun. I even, literally, went the extra mile by walking there and back.
The numbers on the scale shot up 3lbs overnight! I’m hoping things have resolved by tomorrow and it was only the result of my heavy meal.

Either way, I’m back on track and looking forward to seeing the weight drop further. Such instant results are very encouraging.

Well I did see the figure 10 stone … then the scales settled on 11stone and a quarter of a bloody pound – how UNKIND!!!!
I will let you know when I reach the 10 stone mark which will hopefully be this week. Actually I wont get over excited until it says 10 stone something in the evening.
On the plus point I have managed to fit into some linen trousers which I purchased in Italy 5 years ago and which were a bargain at 15 euros. I said I would slim into them and yesterday they fitted – hooray!!

Hi everyone,

Week 3 day 3 for me, total lost so far 15lb! really pleased with my progress. Have averaged 700 cals a day so far. Finding brunch and dinner better than attempting 3 meals a day.

I made cream cheese pancakes for brunch today, quite surprised at how nice they were. Served with either berries, or could turn them into a savoury dish.

It’s gone very quiet is anyone there?

I’m back at work!
Of course there’s loads of sweets and cake but tbh I’m not feeling it. Everyone seems to be doing well so far. Keep it up!

I’m still here! We had a long weekend this weekend, so I was away. I ate terribly! There was scones, chocolate, biscuit etc. Not sure why, but I can just never say no to my family when it comes to food (probably how I got where I am!). Oh well, back to it today and looking forward to the scales dropping again.

Everyone seems to be doing so well, Elly, well done for losing weight on holiday!!! That is something I have never done.

Hi all
1lb off t.his week making 6 in total and onto week 3. Had a bit of a binge at the weekend (don’t we all) but hopefully this week will put my back into it. Still eating really well but night times are a bit of a pain trying not to snack or at least I must find some low carb snacks (I know we’re not supposed to).
Good luck everyone – let’s really go for it this week and see some super losses. We know we can.

Ugh, I’ve fallen off the wagon somewhat! Kebab on Saturday after my gardening session, yesterday buffet to celebrate getting a new job offer. I tried to make sensible choices, it certainly could have been much worse. Today I’ve just felt so tired and blah, when I came in I did a fair bit of picking while making dinner. Back on it tomorrow. I have friends coming for dinner tomorrow and little to they know they’ll be low cal and low carbing along with me (I’m doing a lovely halloumi salad). Fingers crossed I get back in the zone!

Try as I may I still cannot get my scales to say 10 stone something as they keep teetering on the 11 stone mark 😣

How about ignoring the scales for a couple of days? Drink 11 billion gallons of water (spend your life nipping to the loo) and then give them another chance. Or inform them that if they don’t read the right amount you will get new ones? Or change to kg for a bit? I went to kg as when I went over 20 stone it was just to humiliating….

Thank you I will try all your suggestions. It is annoying that my fitness pal increases the amount of calories I should eat if I do more exercise and if I dont eat them it says I wont lose weight. So … I will stick to 800 cals although tomorrow evening we are driving up to Scotland to stay with relations until Sunday and will endeavour to stick to my calories.
Scales now going to be switched to kg as they mean nothing to me x

Angie TW – in the settings you can tell myfitnesspal not to increase calories with exercise, but you need premium membership to do this. Also just don’t submit the diary at the end of the day. It still stays logged but doesn’t give you the “you won’t lose weight” message.

Doing ok here, Week 3 Day 5, had a bit of a wobble yesterday but stayed on plan. Managed to go food shopping today without purchasing any sweet treats, they seem to put them everywhere to catch your eye!

Ahh I’ve put on 1kg (2.2lbs) in a week!!!! I guess that’s what going off the rails on the weekend does. I need to get back on track.

Hi ginko do you recommend the premium myfitness pal?

Hi ginko Ive signed up. Please could you tell me where in settings I go to stop it increasing my calories please?

What has everyone been eating? I need some ideas!

Hi Nilesedge, today I have had grilled mushrooms and poached egg breakfast, grilled bacon and avocado on a salad of courgette and red peppers with a yoghurt, garlic, olive oil and lemon dressing. Dinner tonight chicken and mushroom ‘pie’. In case you dont have the recipe that is chicken and mushroom cooked down with crème fraiche and tarragon sauce topped with mashed cauli and cabbage with some butter and parmesan cheese and cinnamon to flavour.

Mediterranean platters of cold meat and cheese; salads with a protein source. Veggie patties made with a little almond flour, egg, veggies and herbs or spices. In fact, I am using more herbs and spice than I have for ages, as these help to ring the changes adding a twist to recycled dishes.

Your chicken and mushroom pie sounds great. Where can I find the recipe please?

Angie it is in the 8-week blood sugar diet recipe book by Dr C Bailey and Dr S Sehenker, as recommended by MM, he is married to Clare Bailey. Or I will repeat it here if that is allowed.

Thank you Sunshine girl I will look in the book

page 147, just finished prep and it is in the oven for 20 mins.

I invented something new for lunch today: deviled egg salad in a nest. The nest was made of arugula and broccoli sprouts so it looked exactly like a real nest. I made a dent in the middle of the greens and filled it with an egg salad I made using deviled egg ingredients (splash of white wine vinegar, three drops of Worcestershire, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, Dijon mustard, my homemade tofu mayo, chopped fresh chives, two coarsely chopped hard boiled eggs). The greens (2 oz arugula, 1 oz sprouts) I dressed lightly with a 2:1 mixture of the mayo and fresh lime juice, plus more chopped fresh chives and a touch of the same spices I used in the eggs.

It was eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-your-head good. There’s a strong chance I’ll have it for lunch again tomorrow. And the next day.

Totals: calories 201, carbs 4g, fat 12g, protein 16g, fiber 1g.

Angie – go to “goals”, at the bottom it is under the fitness goals. Change the exercise calories to off. Then you will see all calories consumed. Hope that helps.

I’m using a spreadsheet on my laptop to track everything so cancelled my subscription as I get more data using my spreadsheet. I still use my fitness pal as a starting point to get calories,carbs,fat etc. Then input to spreadsheet few times a week. It also allows me to trend my weight loss so I can roughly predict what weight I will be when. I like playing around with data.

I am averaging 20-25g carbs a day.

Sunshine-girl, that pie sounds amazing!! I think my local library has the recipe book so I might see if I can get hold of it!

Esnecca, that egg nest sounds amazing too! I don’t think we have broccoli spouts here, I will have to look.

I generally have eggs for breakfast with lettuce and tomato, salad with chicken or tinned fish for lunch and then some kind of protein + veggies for dinner.

My issue is snacking in the evening, often while I’m making dinner, and I end up way over my calorie allowance. Also weekends are just a write off usually. I guess I need to just plan my meals everyday, regardless of whether it’s the weekend or not.

Here is the recipe, I am sure Drs Sarah Schenker and Clare Bailey wont mind as I am acknowledging them.
Serves 6 – 250 cals per person with 9g carbs
Chicken and Mushroom ‘Pie:
2 small onions sliced, 2 tbsp rapeseed oil, 8 boneless chicken thighs or 6 breasts chunks, 200g mushrooms sliced, 1/2 tspn nutmeg, 1 level tbsp cornflour (I leave this out) 100ml chicken stock made with cube, 2 large tbsp crème fraiche, 2 tspn mustard, tspn dried tarragon. Cook onions in oil, then add chicken, cook till browned, add mushrooms and nutmeg, fry gently add cornflour (if using). Pour in chicken stock and crème fraiche with mustard and tarragon and simmer for a few minutes. Transfer to ovenproof deep dish.
For the topping – leaves of cabbage, small cauli in florets, 2 large leeks, 50g parmesan grated, 2 tspn paprika. Now this is where I differ as they layer the raw veg on top of the chicken mix, I find it doesn’t cook right through SO…. I boil or steam all the veg, give it a quick whizz in the processor or hand held thingie, not too much just to break up, spread over chicken mix then sprinkle with parmesan and paprika. Chuck in oven at 180 C for about 30 mins. Voila, you have a chicken pie. It says to serve with green veg but I think there is enough there already.

If it gets taken down then I know I am in trouble, enjoy.

Alfalfa and clover sprouts would work just as well, Nilesedge. My favorites before the BSD — bean sprouts — are higher in carbs than alfalfa, broccoli and clover, so I switched and haven’t looked back. They’re all dead low in calories, and even the bean sprouts are just 5 grams of carbs per cup. Still, one of those grams is sugar, and if I can replace it with a perfectly fine alternative sprout, then I’d just as soon ditch the extraneous carbs.

By the by, it’s extremely easy to grow your own sprouts of any kind. Get a seed packet as if you were going to grow the plant and put the seeds in a wet, folded over paper towel. Wait a couple of days, making sure the paper towel stays damp. They’ll sprout very quickly and then you can eat some of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world as fresh as they can be.

Thanks Sunshine-girl, hopefully you don’t get in trouble!! I will give it a try this week, thanks for the tip about pre-cooking the veggies on the top.

Ooh I might give growing my own sprouts a go! It does sound easy Esnecca 🙂

Having looked back at my calorie tracking app, I think I’ve gone wrong by having too many carbs lately which has just made me want to snack. Going back to basics and making sure my carbs are right down this week and hopefully I’ll get back on track and stop all the evening snacking. I might also try not having breakfast and just having lunch earlier.

Nilesedge – have you tried the excellent chicken korma recipe in Dr M’s book? I find it works really well with fish and beef too (I key all of the ingredients into myfitnesspal to keep track). I also do another curry which doesn’t use the coconut milk or almonds but has some tomatoes as a base and again works really well with meat or fish. Like someone else commented, I find that I am using many more herbs and spices and that the great (more natural) flavours really help with making me feel satisfied after eating. And more tumeric is highly recommended, if the various online comments are to be believed! I’ve also discovered the joys of Porky Whites sausages – they do a lower fat version (Porky Lights – which are just made with leaner cuts of pork rather than cramming in sugar and/or salt for flavour). They come in at 74kcal per sausage and a couple of them in a stew or a tomato base are delicious.

So many positive stories on here that are really inspiring. And everyone seems to be doing really well, which helped me get firmly back on track this last week (my 9th) and I managed to say goodbye to another 4lbs, taking me well past my interim goal of 3 stone by the time I next go for my weight and blood test at the surgery.

Good luck over the weekend everyone.

Hi everyone and thanks for the posts and recipes which I cannot wait to try out.
Visiting relations in Scotland this weekend and still trying to stay on track. Greek yogurt fresh strawberries and nuts everyday for breakfast. 2 egg mushroom and tomatp omelette yesterday lunch and fish ladt night washed down with 2 litres of sparkling water as I was driving.
Lunch today was half a lobster on the sea front at North Berwick and tonight chicken. Have resisted the chips which accompany some of the dishes. Had 3 thin breadsticks this evening washed down with 2 North Berwick gin and slimline tonics. Purchased smoked salmon and trout pate’ to bring home tomorrow. Fingers crossed for good weigh in on Monday morning.
Clothes now feeling BIG!!!

Esnecca, your nest sounds really good! I will definitely try it soon 😋

RobOnAMission – Ooh no I haven’t tried the Korma from the book, I will give it a go, I love curry.
I’m in Australia so we don’t have that brand of sausages, but I’ll keep an eye out, there might be something similar. Well done on your weightloss!!! That’s fantastic, I’m sure your doctor will be very pleased with you too 🙂 People’s success stories are really motivating, I’ve been reading other threads on the forum today and so many people are doing so well.

I had a massive success today, I had a meeting which I didn’t realise was going to go over lunch and be catered. Of course it was catered with sandwiches, so I just drank water and then had my salad for lunch when I got back from the meeting after 2pm. Ooh I was hungry and it was a bit weird just sitting there while everyone was eating, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world and I have stuck to my calorie goal for the day, so that’s the main thing! Last week I would have just eaten the sandwiches 🙂

I think hormones have a lot to do with me falling out of diets, there’s a week every month when I go off the rails, but I’m getting better at getting back on the wagon after that! Joys of being female I guess!

Angie TW – that lobster sounds amazing!! Nothing better than eating seafood by the ocean 🙂

I hope everyone has a great week.

Hi everyone well I am over the moon for the first time in I don’t know how many years the scales say 10 stone! Ok I am in the very very upper limits but it is still 10 stone.
Only 7 lbs to go

Well done Angie! 😀😀😀😀😀 I had much the same reaction when I got there, and my target was 10 stone 11 so I still occasionally see 11 on maintenance, but every time I get back into the tens I am happy to be back.

Brilliant AngieTW – really well done!

Thank you everyone for your support x😊😎

That’s brilliant. I’m so pleased for you. I’ve plateaued and seem to be just treading water atm. 12.5lbs off but can’t seem to shift any this week. I’m not doing anything different so I guess I’ll just gave to be patient which im not great at!

Hi Elly, I’m treading water too after 4 weeks, I guessing for me it’s the gallons of water I’ve drunk through this hot weather is partly why. I’m sticking to it as have faith things will start to move soon. You are not alone in your frustration!

I’m not going to go near the scales for a while as I found I was obsessing a bit. I feel ok about not losing as I look and feel so much better than a month ago. It’s been really warm I Belfast too and im drinking what seems like gallons of water and eating salads and virtually zero carbs so onwards and upwards I go

Well done AngieTW, that’s awesome!

Ellie Johnston and Pukkapies5, I read on one of the other threads on here that people actually recommend increasing your water intake if you plateau, although you may burst by the sounds of it!

Ha ha surfs up!