My journey begun today and I can honesty say I’m really looking forward to making a positive change in my life. I need to lose 40kg but losing the 20kg that has crept on in the last two years would be a great start.

Had the toasted portabello mushrooms with goats cheese and pine nuts for breakfast. Then spent the morning prepping two lunches for the work week, cooking lentils and black eyed peas for dinners this week, and had the capsicum and jewelled feta for lunch – yummo! My husband and children are away this week (school holidays in NZ) so I can be completely focused. I work full-time while my husband is at home with the kids – he also does all the cooking so I will need to build in BSD recipes into the meal plan.

What are other people doing with family and children? I don’t want to make a big deal of mummy eating differently as I have two daughters (8 and 6) and I remember my mother was always on diets (which I’m sure has an impact on my relationship with food).

Looking forward to being part of this positive forum. Now I’m off for a long walk along the beach.

Hi feisty chick, good to read that there is another person commencing today with same goals . I am somewhat older as my children are 18 and almost 21. I am now on my own as have moved away to take on another position. I thought that solo living would be a good stimulus but an afraid I have put on a few kilos since January. Anyway, wishing you all success and here.s to a positive journey. I had the pea a, spinach omelette and it was really tasty. Off to lunch with friends tomorrow so am going to check out menu before hand and will calculate my calories etc. there is never a right time to begin so taking the first step is the best solution! Napangardi

Welcome Feistychick and Napangardi!
I hope you both enjoy the journey.
I can’t answer from experience about feeding kids, but one way to deal with preparing meals that suit others in a family could be to ensure that the meal has any carb separate, and leave that off your plate, and keep an eye on your portion sizes. I find I don’t miss the rice with curries, for example, if I make the sauce thick enough, by simply reducing it down a bit longer when I cook – no thickener.
Another option is to do a substitute for the carbs: thin slices of zucchini instead of pasta, for example. I did a lasagne that way and it was better than the pasta version. The sauce was a no flour bechamel and worked well too.

Hi Feisty Chick and Napangardi, I’m also starting today. I’ve got about 15kg to lose. I’ve got kids (12 years, 11 years and 10 years) and I’m still trying to work out how I am going to manage the family meals. I’m going to start by feeding everyone something similar to what I am having, with a few extras thrown in for them.

I had an aborted start yesterday as I had to be out for most of the day and while I started off well, it just wasn’t going to work for the full day. Yesterday I had the Mushroom and Salmon Stack for brunch. OMG that was so yummy!

Today I’ve gone been doing my own thing. Breakfast was yoghurt, blueberries and little bit of rolled oats. I had the Green Tea & Blueberry shake for morning tea. After drinking the shake I realised that the calories in the book are out … instead of 100 calories it comes in closer to 240 calories! I’m going to have to make some adjustments to the rest of the day to compensate for that!

Hawks, that sounds like good advice with the zucchini.

Good luck and welcome Feebeez and feistychick! 🙂

Welcome to the forums to all the new members.
Everyone has little concerns and questions at the beginning, but, now you have found the forums there is a wealth of information available to you, not from doctors, dieticians, or professional weight loss companies.
The information on these pages has all been provided by ordinary people who have taken the exrtaordinary step of taking their futures into their own hands.
Take a look at your own favourite meals and see how you could basically cook the same food as the family but modify your portion to take into the account the reduced carbs.
Check out the recipe section and the “What have you eaten today” thread for some fabulous recipes, and always remember, you are not alone, we are all on the same path, most of us further along, and we have experienced lot’s of pitfalls and found the answers to lots of questions along the way.
Should you have any questions that you can’t find answers to, there is always someone around to provide the answer, and if you have any bad cravings, give a shout out, support can arrive from the other side of the world faster than you can make a cuppa.
Best of luck to everyone starting this week.

Hi Hawks
Have a look at http://www.thehealthychef.com/white-sauce-10-ways. You might like the ideas

Thanks Eureka,
One thing about the internet – we all can access the same things, no matter where we are! I had come across that site too! They look really great and I am tempted to try some, but the recipes required things I didn’t have in the cupboards, or had a bit of carb as thickener, so I ended up using a slightly modified version of the one here:
https://stepawayfromthecarbs.com/low-carb-white-sauce/
because I had the ingredients! (I subbed reduced cream for heavy cream.) I can recommend it.

Hi Hawks
Ta for that one. My family love cauliflower cheese so will add Parmesan & good to go

Hello, I too took the leap today (well, official weigh-ins will be Mondays, but I had unfinished business with a packet of licorice bullets yesterday, so I began today)

I am sticking with shakes for the first fortnight, with one vege/protein meal at night. I HATE cooking (mess! volumes of food you have to finish up – boring) I know from experience I will be very glad to get off the shakes and take an interest in preparing food. I have never ever meal prepped before or shopped for a pre-planned week, and I suspect this is the only way I will get anywhere.

paying close attention to the what did you eat today thread to gather some inspiration 🙂 I hate mushrooms, but the meals which use them as ‘toast’ look good, I need to find something else. I hate eggplant and capsicum all by itself too, eat else could be flat? – lots of zucchini in my future I think.

good luck, I hope we all succeed!

Hi Chongolo, welcome to the forums 🙂
If you don’t like mushrooms I would give those recipes a miss or use some salad to put the ingredients on!

If you don’t like food prepping what have you been eating pre diet?
The recipes are tasty so you may feel inspired to do more prepping!

Good luck 🙂

Hi there,

Toast, steamfresh vege bags with ikea meatballs, too much cheese with crackers, naked coleslaw with protein – i have been in a yoghurt for breakfast phase at least. All just grab and go – minimal cooking.

my downfall is lollies and too many snacks, too many nuts – sky-high appetite! When I do cook it is curries and chilli – which I get thoroughly sick of eating afterwards, even if I only use a small pack of meat. I don’t ever pan fry myself a protein, I would buy a smoked chicken breast or a pack of felafels. Guess that has to change. I hate hate making a mess in the kitchen, I hate wasting time in the kitchen getting food and then having to waste more time cleaning it up again.

interesting revelation, really! I am being silly – fighting a healthy diet tooth and nail psychologically still. I have no-one to please but myself, this is part of the problem I think. Self-indulgent excuses ahoy! I think I need to have a ceremonial ‘putting the toaster away in the cupboard’ moment and spend this fortnight giving myself a good shake. 🙂

Chongolo, I guess you will have to start looking at this as helping to keep yourself healthy rather than it’s ‘wasting time’ in the kitchen.

Could you have a ‘preparation day’ making soups and foods you would like and freezing them in portions? 🙂

Hi Chongololo
Welcome. I think you’ve diagnosed your own problem. You can be clean & tidy in the kitchen. Clean up as you go along. Look on line for how to vids re basics like chopping food. I think maybe you would like the idea of preparing food in a professional chef way.

I have a tv in my kitchen so I can follow programmes & watch cooking progs too. Try a radio or music so you don’t feel alone while cooking. It matters that you take care of yourself & enjoy what you eat. Set the table nicely & sit at it for your meals. It’s better posture for digestion than a tray on your lap all the time.

Write down what food appeals to your eyes, nose & taste buds. Think about what new food you might be willing to try. I use cook books for ideas, I have a lot! I enjoy preparing for parties!
I will be cooking for four this weekend. My best friend’s wedding anniversary, she has to have low calcium food ( or it can put her into heart arrhythmia ) so it’s a challenge to feed us all well.

Enjoy learning about food, it can be fun. Delia Smith is a very good cook who teaches how to using her books; Delia’s How To Cook books one , two & three. Look at her web site. Also Jamie Oliver videos & books cooking in just 15 & 30 minute meals!
Try some finger food with no cooking. Also stir fry is very quick & only uses one wok or large frying pan. You only need a good chopping board for veg ( + one for meat prep alone is best) & a couple of good sharp knives. One large, one small. I prefer large prep knives. T K Max is a good shop for pans & knives at lower prices

You could have some fun & learn a new skill to impress by. Try it. Ditch the junk food & eat the real, healthy stuff
Eureka

Good advice, Eureka!
Like you I have LOTS of cookery books! Chongolo, you could enjoy looking through vids and books and choosing recipes which appeal to you. In books you can mark pages with sticky notes. If you don’t like mess the cuisique spiralise catches food in an integral jug and you can have a courgetti meal in 2 or 3 minutes of cooking in one pan. Any spiralised veg can be kept in freezer bags or airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days saving you a lot of time (and mess) for a few days! You will love the taste of freshly prepared meals. I do keep different veg in their own bags.
As well as TK Max, Dunelm mills and Wilko’s have bargain priced kitchen stuff. I would suggest a non-stick pan if you don’t like mess – they’re quicker to clean!!

I’m with Eureka –
Ditch the junk and eat the real, healthy foods!
Judith 🙂