I have just read the book and am getting organized to start. I have been checking out the recipes, but I am a vegetarian so was wondering about things I can substitute for the meat in some of the recipes. I don’t really “do” fake meat and am not sure how I will affect the calorie count if I start messing about too much. Any advice please

Hi Maggs. I’m starting out too, and want to follow the veggy option – but there isn’t one. I was wondering about Quorn, as I use it quite a lot anyway.

I think fake meat might be your only option. I am veggie and must say would find it challenging without Quorn. I am eating a lot of soups and salads and eggs. Have lost 3lb in the first 2 days and blood sugar is down from 6.9 to 5.4 this morning. Good luck and if you have any recipes please share 😀

Thanks for your response, Woobear45. I agree that Quorn is going to be a bit of a lifesaver! Eggs are OK by me too, I’m buying organic eggs as now I’m dumping the bread, sweets, etc. I can afford to (I realise how much money I waste on junk!). I hope that eventually I’ll be able to afford some organic veg.Well done on the loss of 3lbs in the first 2 days – that’s excellent. I need to get a test kit (I am pre-diabetic) but not sure which is best one to go for, any suggestions? I’ll look at my recipe chart and share some that may be suitable – I have a lot of vegan dishes that are great but spoilt with the usual accompaniment of brown rice or brown pasta, but I guess those can be replaced with something else.

Hi kbskylady, I have a one touch select plus which is simple to use. Ask your gp surgery the practice nurse might give you one. If not they are all pretty cheap to buy but its the test strips that are expensive, Have a look on ebay and amazon and go for one that the test strips don’t cost the earth for. Good luck!

No need to over complicate things peeps. 800 calories max per day, try to be low carb, so no sugar, bread pasta rice etc. Three egg omelette, less than 200 cals, boiled swede at 11 cals per 100grms, lots of every day foods within reach!

Thanks, Woobear45; I will check out eBay and Amazon. Impressed about the 3 egg omelette, bennyboy, that’s low and for quite a lot of food!

I live in rural France where there are no quorn products. When I go back to the UK I stock up but have learned to cook veg meals without. I have chickens, ducks and geese with loads of fresh free range eggs daily. One of my favorites is to roast lots of veg in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve with two eggs. Frittata features a lot too.
I will have to work out calorie count though. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has a great book ‘River Cottage Veg’ that has helped. He uses no quorn! I have been on a mission for some time to eat only clean food and try not to buy anything made in a factory! This is the next stage for me to tackle my weight.

Hi Aly. Sounds like you are doing really well. I’ll check out RCV, I like Hugh and he has done some fantastic veg cooking on his TV shows. I’d actually like to quit Quorn as a processed food, but later, further down the line. Got to start learning to cook with lentils!

I have been a vegetarian for 40 years & have struggled with my weight all my life . However I am determined to make this work & reverse my type 2 diabetes.

I would recommend that you take a look at Rose Elliots Low Carb for Vegetarians , there are 2 different books to keep your diet varied but within the 800 .

Cauliflower rice makes a really good alternative for brown rice and spirallised courgette and carrot replaces brown pasta quite well. There are websites and apps which will give you calorific values for fruit and veg and stuff if you want to create your own recipes and work out the calories.

Thanks for that. Just found it in Book depository, I always use them as there is no delivery charge.
Am in the UK at the moment picking up the car hubby bought. Just been to a gastro pub and had a lovely meal..spinach and cheese roulade with a parsnip cake and buttered veg, also a sauce of finely chopped leeks in a butter sauce. So yummy but no good for weight loss. Home on Friday when the diet begins!

Hi

I’ve just found this forum thread after starting a new topic on vegetarian options – I had looked in the book and on this site for vegetarian and vegan options and surprised there weren’t any. I’m a little concerned about using lots of eggs as I have high cholesterol but may be I have to revise old habits about all that too.

I dislike fake meat although I do like some of the Cauldron products. I can’t have dairy – born lactose intolerant – so used to challenges but still grew old overweight and unhealthy. Tried the cauliflower rice this evening with the veg curry and prefer it to real rice. I like Rose Elliot’s cookbooks the most but looking forward to experimenting and changing old habits.

Got to source coconut flour for making muffins with courgette as emergency rations as I can foresee a crisis looming. Does Waitrose stock it I wonder – I’m in a rural location where the usual supermarkets within easy travel distance don’t have the greatest of ranges. I had not idea coconut flour existed!

Try amazon for your coconut flour. You can get absolutely everything on there!

I found coconut flour at Asda. Maybe an online shop if there isn,t one near. They do quinoa and bulgar wheat too.

As I live in France where such things as coconut flour are unheard of it is very difficult. Whilst I am in the UK I will see what I can find. Amazon often charge high delivery prices. Doves farm deliver to me so will look there too. I have yet to try cauliflower rice. Maybe I should invest in a spiral gadget thing too!

Thanks for this great tip. I have a number of Rose Elliot’s books but had not heard of this one, so I am off to seek it out! Good luck with your weight loss programme.

Coconut flour and almond flour quests today! Thanks for your suggestions. The first vegetarian cookbook I acquired was by Rose Elliot and it’s held together with sellotape now; I delve into her Low Fat Low Sugar one a lot and will be adapting some of the ideas for this diet and for afterwards. Third day today and I’m feeling rather weak and light headed and need to summon energy for some over due housework. I haven’t weighed myself yet, think I will give it a full week before I do. On the plus side I am sleeping a great deal better already and think my face and fingers are less puffy. I like the feeling of having some control over my body. I’m also liking the idea of being part of this community 😉

The simplest replacement for meat in a vegetarian diet are beans/lentils, then you do not have to resort to quorn etc. Also a book I have used in the past is Rose Elliots Low-GI Vegetarian Cookery. You can modify the amount of olive oil and dairy depending on where you are in the diet. Good for using with the 5+2 … for the 5 day part!

I found coconut flour at Waitress – expensive but a fairly big bag

I bought coconut and almond flour.. Have tried to make the pumkin seed muffins from the book… Obviously did something wrong. The mixture was really dry and ended up going to birds …… Any suggestions would be appreciated…..maybe try the brownie mix next ….

Well I made the muffins last week and popped them in the freezer ready for yesterdays day conference where I knew the lunch would be sandwiches, samosas crisps etc… I can’t say they were moist like a blueberry muffin, they were much more crumbly – but they weren’t too bad – not sure if freezing them released more moisture from the courgette and apple.

Well months later I am back! Lots has happened in the last few months but the time is right and on the 12 th September my partner and I started!
The effect on his bloods sugars is great if this goes on might have to see about reducing some of his medication but ten days in I guess it is a bit early yet.
Any others out there who can share their medication reduction story?

Hi Maggs
Good news that the BSD is working so well.
Was on insulin (Lantus to cover the night and Novorapid with every meal). I was prescribed insulin as soon as I was diagnosed but no other medication.
I lost a stone between first of May and end of August. This got rid of the retinopathy but I was still injecting insulin as before.
On 3rd September decided to get more serious about the BSD. Downloaded Fat Secret, weighed all my food, kept to the 800 using my own recipes, and kept carbs below 50g (for me it seems to work better at 25g to 30g.
Started losing weight very fast (have lost 11lb since 3rd Sept and it looks as though all of it was off waist and tummy. Within only few days I had to come off all insulin as my own insulin is working perfectly.
My original goal was 10stone 7lb but I have just gone past that and it is very clear to see that there is still more tummy and waist fat that needs to go.
So I don’t know if it was the 800 calories and lower carbs that got rid of the visceral fat or that it only went when I got closer to my goal. My fasting is now 4.5 and I do drop to 3.7 at times. After a meal my readings are not going over 6.6. This is so amazing I can hardly believe it.

Great results KrysiaD! 🙂 You must be thrilled

I def think that the kicker is the low carbs – it worked for me re weight loss – though of course everyone is so variable it doesn’t work for all, indeed some people don’t need to cut the levels so low.

Keep on keeping on – now on maintenance, I’m really happy with my current weight, which is 4 lbs lighter than my original target and 8 lbs lighter than what I thought I might possibly achieve! 😉

Thank you Igorasusual. I think you are absolutely right it was the much lower carbs that worked for me.
You must feel so good – you have lost more weight than you originally intended and have maintained that weight loss in maintenance.
I am looking forward to being on maintenance also. Have you found you still need to keep your carbs very low on maintenance?

That all sounds fabulous! It has just been impossible for my partner to loose weight his medications just make it worse. He was started on the injectable to help him lose weight by making him nauseous! An effect of the medicine but only short lived…. He did not loose weight.
KrysiaD you must feel as if you have got your life back that is amazing. Is it five months you have been doing this?

KrysiaD – re your maintenance question:

My target calories for maintenance are just over 1500 per day (as defined by http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com, which I’ve found really helpful), and I’m finding that I’m generally eating as much as I want but coming in slightly under that total calorie count.

I’m still keeping carbs low, sometimes 30-40g per day and sometimes 50 plus (yesterday was 78 as I concocted an absolutely yummy cauliflower daal with split peas and coconut milk as well as all the Indian spices for dinner, which was 33 carbs on its own)

Haven’t wanted/had bread except a slice of high protein seeded bread with my breakfast eggs (good for digestive transit 😉 ) and don’t want potatoes either, or rice.

So I suppose my answer is I think I will keep carbs to 50g per day or so, not really because I’m trying to, but because it suits me. if that makes sense.

Yes Igorasusual that does make sense. I think I will have to do the same as lower carbs really seem to suit me. I dare not ever again go back to the starchy and sugary carbs as that’s what got me needing insulin. Going up to 50g carbs sounds a very good maintenance programme. Thank you for the info on the keto calculator – It is really helpful – I can now start planning the next stage.

Hi Maggs – it is wonderful, although I still can hardly believe it. The reason it took me 5 months is that I didn’t do it properly for the first 4 months. Because I didn’t weigh anything I was probably doing the fast 1800 rather than the fast 800m