Hi Jande, well done on 11 months maintenance.

Like Allie, I embarked on BSD purely for weight loss and to feel healthier, and have no BS or any other health issues and I too have been in maintenance for 8 months. I agree with her that we all find our own ways to maintain, which is essential as we all live different life styles and this WOE can only work if we can adapt it to our personal circumstances. I too drop pounds far too easily if I don’t eat to my TDEE, but I am a little stricter with myself Mon – Thurs, and then relax a little from Fri – Sun, purely because we tend to have very sociable weekends, out to dinner with friends most Friday and Saturday evenings, and invariably either host a Sunday lunch party for family/friends, or go to one. So on a Monday, I am generally a pound or two up, and by Friday I am down again. Since entering maintenance I have never come close to going over my target weight (8st 7lbs), and invariably sit approx. 6 — 7lbs below, although at one stage I was 13lbs below, which was far too thin. If, however, I ever do come too close to my target (after holidays etc) I will have no hesitation on going back to BSD800 for a few days – haven’t had to do it yet, although we have been away several times, , but do have a rather nice “all inclusive” holiday planned in the Spring, so I may even do 800 for a week before we go, to give me the extra wriggle room to accommodate a little over-indulgence, rather than upon our return.

I eat approx. 55g protein a day, and keep my carbs between 20 – 60g, which seems to be working (lower end during the week, upper end at weekends), which probably averages out to much the same as Allie’s daily allowance. I rarely eat refined carbs (although I have been known to pinch an occasional chip from o/h’s plate) as they really don’t overly appeal any more. I do, however, indulge in wine every Fri/Sat/Sun (which definitely contributes to the extra carbs at the weekend), and did so every single day over the 12 days of Christmas – some days far too much – without too much damage showing on the scales (put on 2lbs during that time). However, I may not drink alcohol at all for the next few weeks as o/h always does “dry January”, so I may join him, but that will entail increasing my calories from other sources if I don’t want to drop pounds and as I am already eating to satiety, that may be difficult, as I really don’t want to increase my appetite again. So I shall see how it goes.

I will be interested to read other maintainers’ strategies.

I was sure I’d posted here already today … Anyway, what I meant to say is that it will probably take a bit of trial and error to work out exactly what works best for each of us.

No headache for me today and I feel fine. I’ve mostly avoided snacks (had one satsuma) and have stayed off the alcohol. Total weight loss now 5lb – which might be all water!

Milah in Mint is a great idea.. Basil and cucumber is also good.. its the weekend.. i need to go get lemons and limes! .. i did look at that ‘Trust me I am a Doctor’ programme on fizzy drinks/ fizzy water last night.. I do drink it, but the evidence is interesting… even the tendency to e want to eat 140 more cal a day (which is i think what they suggested was the result of fizzy water) adds up on this WOE . So as I am not that worried about the fizziness of what i drink I am now going to start just having plain water with ice lemon etc etc ..

Am slightly miffed because .5lb is back again.. Wah! (but i know it fluctuates, depending on time of day water etc.. 🙂 I am on the right path again, I know it .

Salmon and prawn courgetti for me tonight.. pasta for them.. ill have to cook the sauce separately
Nothing eaten so far today I will have a couple of eggs in a up with butter in an hour or so ..

Thanks Chewsnoo. I will certainly give it a go. Hopefully it might help with leg cramps too. I agree with you ref carb values and cals. If we stick to the cals it is supposed to be effective.

I’m the one who watches cricket here (in Sydney), my husband is so sick of it! But maybe he thinks it’s not as bad as all the house hunting, renovation, and ‘tiny house’ shows I watch in the off season! Hmm, just asked him, and he can’t decide which is worse! I nap to test cricket, so soporific, but I’m really into Big Bash 20/20 games – watching it right now. My team, Sydney Sixers, are not playing tonight and they are doing really badly this year, 0 for 4.

Milalin we used to play paddock cricket on my grandparents farm, into the river was six and out.

I haven’t had any headaches but then I’ve been drinking copious amounts of fluids. 13 glasses today, I need to stop or I’ll be up all night!

Milalin, that sounds like a bad news/good news story …. commiserations on the need for emergency admission, but congratulations for addressing your needs with this WOE and reaping the rewards of good numbers. That is sure to be a boost to your confidence. Not so long, really, before your op and i guess that having the 3 done at the same time, while complex, might cut down on the to-ing and fro-ing to hospital. Best wishes with it all and with your 4kg goal.

Oh, Marie, I’m laughing at your Ashes situation. I do the same in reverse, exc it’s me downstairs watching, when it’s ‘your’ turn to have them. At the moment they’re in Sydney which is 3 hours ahead of us in Perth so the tv was on at 7.00am today. That’s mainly for OH as I tend to carry my little radio around with one of the earbuds plugged into an ear. That way I can at least get on with stuff instead of being stuck in front of the screen.

Verano, when that first non-stop flight was announced it was booked out within a couple of hours, Perth-London. Don’t know about the reverse flight. And I don’t know about subsequent bookings. Also, I don’t know if I want to be in that cocoon for 19 hours. These days we try to break our journey midway for a couple of days. Seems to help with the aches and pains and jetlag. But who knows, minds can be changed.

Since Tuesday’s expected, but still disappointing, weigh-in I have been seeing little losses. So moving forward successfully at this stage but I won’t tempt fate by recording now, I’ll wait until I can see the full week’s result.

Keep going everyone. MFODAAT 😊

No, WilLuck, the headache is a withdrawal symptom from simple carbs
and sugar! It generally is short lived, so you just have to power through
it. Keep really hydrated, and add a little salt to your diet. Both will help!
Alcohol causes fluid retention, so it’s not generally accepted on the Fast800.
Folks doing a simple Mediterranean diet are allowed red wine I believe,
but I’m not certain of that. In any case, alcohol will slow down your
rate of weight loss.
Best of luck to you 🙂
Allie

Good morning, Jande! You will probably get as many different answers
as there are maintainers here 🙂 Congratulations on 11 months of having
achieved that goal. I’ve been in maintenance for @ 8 months, after losing
147 lbs. What constitutes “balanced” for me is 50-55gm protein, 20-35gm
carbs, and the rest is healthy plant based fats. Now, if I don’t eat up to my
TDEE I continue to lose weight, and I’m too thin to want to do that. I don’t
have any blood sugar issues and took on this WOE for weight loss alone.
I no longer see bread or other bad carbs as treats, so not eating them is
easy for me. My tastes have completely changed, I do allow myself
wine on occasion, but only if it doesn’t push my calories above where
I want them to be. I’ve eased up the weighing and measuring of every-
thing, but won’t hesitate to get right back to it if I start to see any “creep”
on the scale. Please let us know your plan, as I’m always interested in
how others manage maintenance!
Allie

I didn’t know headaches were a side effect, is that because of the low calories?? It’s the drinking that I’ve found the challenge with. Work functions all the time is simply a test of will power, but I’ll get better at it.

If you do indulge in alcohol, what is the least ‘evil’ on BSD?

1. Two more or less perfect BSD days in a row … winning streak!
2. Afternoon swim in our beautiful new-ish (our first summer) swimming pool with some extenteded family over for the afternoon.
3. Best bit of dinner was side dish of zucchini noodles in garlic cream sauce!

I have gone for a more balanced diet certainly, as someone with no diagnosed medical condition but a lot to lose. It took me a long time to get to the shape I am now, at the start of my fifties, and I know that I need to keep control going forward but I am a great believer that a little bit of what you fancy does you good, and for me this does include many foods that are on others banned lists. I use as a rough guide 60-70g protein a day and try to keep carbs generally low without specifically counting. Nutritionally I think anything below 150g is regarded as low carb and I am almost always well below that and often at around the same level as the protein. I don’t log day to day anymore except when on reboots etc.

Good morning! It’s so good to read all these positive posts. I have had to share a bathroom and have still made it to 48 years so that’s definitely not the secret for me!

Another sleepless night here and it’s stii dark but today is my eighteen month birthday of eating the BSD way can’t get much more positive than that!

So to yesterday ….
1. The sun was shining all day.
2. I also signed up for Future Learn courses but I’m doing three…. the same two as Theo plus Liver Disease: looking after your Liver. Think I need that one most!
3. We had friends join us for lunch which is always nice.

Stay positive and have a good day!

Hi Sarah,
I had CFS/ME with fibromyalgia for 11 years, but managed to kick it to the curb quite a few years ago now. I still have the occassional relapse of fatigue, but I can usually catch it before I get too far down the line now that I know what works for me. I have been lucky so far that the fibromyalgia has never come back. I think one of the most important things is to ensure that even if you are keeping calories low, that you keep your nutrient levels up to normal, including micronutrients. Using more precise nutrition software than what can be found for free online might be a good way of ensuring that you are managing this. Some of the CRON (calorie restriction, optimal nutrition) sites offer nutrition software that provide levels of all essential nutrients. They can be difficult to use if you are consuming packaged foods as the manufacturers don’t list a lot of the details, but if you are eating mainly whole foods they work quite well.
There seems to be some thought with CFS/ME that the body, or at least the mitochondria, do not utilize energy (calories) very effectively. It is interesting to me because although I haven’t had much time to dig into it in depth, it seems to share some similarities with insulin resistance, although the mechanisms involved may be somewhat different. I’ve lost 10kg since starting this WOE in September, and I was really feeling fatigued all the time prior to starting and I was getting concerned about a relapse, but I think this time I may have been dealing with insulin resistance and possibly even working toward pre-diabetes. Since I’ve lost the weight, I have regained a lot of energy and have been feeling more rested after a night’s sleep as well.
I would say to go carefully, and just make one change to your diet and exercise routine at a time. Maybe start by cutting down carbs without cutting calories, and then if you handle that you could start cutting calories back bit by bit. I wouldn’t add in any additional exercise beyond what you currently do while you are losing weight. Once you reach maintenance mode that would probably be a better time to gradually build up your exercise, and keep it within your tolerance level so you don’t get into that post-exertional vicious cycle.
Good luck, and keep us posted with how you are doing!

Many people have came to this diet to control their blood sugar. Many others used it as a good way to lose weight.

Now that we are at our goals, is there a difference in the two groups’ way of eating to maintain what we have achieved?

I am a blood sugar person in maintenance for about 11 months, and I still eat low carb, medium fat and medium protein and I still watch my calories daily. The main difference is that I allow myself a treat occasionally, like a glass of wine on Saturday night, or a sweet treat every couple of weeks, plus two slices of whole wheat bread fresh out of the oven every week, just to check the bake :).

Do the weight loss people still keep their carb intake really low, or have they gone to a more balanced diet, medium everything?

Marie, hahaha I’ve been a ‘cricket wife’ once or twice in my life!
It’s great for my dad as we have both tennis and cricket which he loves and used to play. He’s recently moved into care and I’m sure watching sports has made the transition a lot easier. It’s 12.30pm here. I’m on the dialysis machine another hour … then freedom.
Another favourite memory esp Boxing Day picnics. We didn’t have a cricket bat but a piece of paling fence that had broken in the right shape to use as a bat. That with a tennis ball at picnics on George’s river and Royal National Park, which also had tennis courts. Childhood memories…❤️

Hi Mitalin

Oh, I didn’t know that about potassium – thanks for explaining it to me, and I can understand about focusing on what needs to be done, and small steps – that’s how I tend to deal with things.

Yes, I remember – body surfing, Bora Bora and Moorea – and you could hear the love you have for your Dad when you talked about going to the beach together.

It sounds to me like father, like daughter. x

n.b. It’s 1-15 am here – my husband is downstairs listening to the Ashes – England vs Australia (or vice versa ) – I’m off to bed before he comes up and starts giving me a detailed account of how things are going!

Thanks Marie, they didn’t check the HbA 1C yet but I know it will be good too. Potassium too high or low is a huge problem. In renal failure it’s one of the main things our kidneys can’t remove. Phosphorus is another. I had v high potassium levels which put me at risk of sudden heart attack. As I’ve already had 2, I certainly don’t want another. Plus I have the surgeries coming soon.
I just do what what I need to most of the time. I have to focus on small steps or I’d be overwhelmed. 3 of my conditions are predominantly genetic . One, PKD is a genetic kidney disease. My family had no history of it so I’m the unlucky mutant. Having said that, I have made the most of the many years of reasonable health. Getting past al that is ahead of me now there is the chance of a new life after transplant . Many don’t have that option. I might be repeating myself, but my dad is my hero . He has survived many major medical emergencies including cancer and heart conditions . It all started dramatically in his 60s. He’s 89 and so positive and encourages me. He always says I’ll be alright because I’m a fighter like him when it comes to hospitals! Thanks for your v positive message and best wishes for your success x

Esnecca, I have been using Netrition for about 5 years and am very familiar with Buttoni as she was one of the very earliest of the low carb food writers ( I still have a largely unused 5 lbs of einkorn ancient wheat flour per her experiments using that after the Gary Taube, Davis and others suggested the changes in modern wheat were potentially responsible for the obesity explosion in the late 90s). But I apparently overlooked the lupin flour recipe (too distracted by all her dumpling and noodle recipes for chicken and dumplings…..a old weakness of time ).

I have added regular baking yeast into low carb flourerless recipes solely for the aroma (found a great low carb Belgian waffle recipe that was my Sunday brunch celebration recipe for a while and wanted the aroma of yeast in it as well) but I have never used the nutritional yeast.

Also don’t have smoked salt on hand, but a pinch of pimenton smoked paprika should add a similar smokey tone and compatible with the cornbread, jalapeño and onion theme.

I agree with you about the coconut flour. I’m not nuts about it but use it in some recipes where it is a minor ingredient and when the flavor is dominated by say ground golden flax, which I like a lot. I guess part of it is that I tend to like substance over fluff and coconut flour is all about the fluff. And just so ya know…the ONLY thing I use canned parm for is coating and cauli mash (where it soaks up some of the excess moisture). Regiano all the way otherwise. Love just nibbling on a shaving of that fine stuff. It and aged gouda….love the salt/mineral crystals in the good stuff.

Lastly, I am SHOCKED…..so shocked….to hear that you modified a recipe. Noooooo. Can’t be.

Will have to try the lupin cornbread….my prior attempts were mosly coconut flour and a big disappointment. Now that we are in chili season a good piece of faux cornbread sounds perfect.

Milalin

I’ve just seen your post. I’ve been wondering how you were doing so I’m so pleased to hear from you.

I’m genuinely thrilled for you. Having perfect numbers so quickly, that’s fantastic. I read before about the potassium levels dropping but didn’t comment because I wasn’t quite sure what it meant ! – but it’s obviously good.

You are one impressive woman.

Take care
Marie x

Butterlover – I’ve still got a pram hanging around in our garage – now, that is going back some! Clearing out the garage is one of the things that go on my list of things to do every January for March/April. In March/April I decide it’s the garden that really needs doing. De-cluttering and losing weight – double well done that woman!

JulesP – At my heaviest I was 14st 4lb. When I started BSD at the beginning of August I was 13st 1lb. The only way I could go was to set small, but meaningful to me, mini-goals to begin with. After a few weeks I set a goal to get to the top of my healthy BMI (9st 11lb). Like you, it’s only now when I’m close to that goal that I’m beginning to think about the 8’s.

I definitely want to get to 9 stone. Then, I’m going to see where things are at. Like you right now I’ve still got a lot of fat around the tummy. I’d like to reduce my visceral fat and get to a good waist measurement.

Being at 8st something would be brilliant. 8st 7lb has a nice ring to it – and isn’t a pipe dream, Jules.
We can both get there – we only need to lose 1 stone and then a little bit more. Yeah!

Hope everyone is doing well – stick with it over the weekend.
Marie x

Thanks all for info, bin reading around and think I’m gonna aim for between 30-50g carbs and not worry too much about the others but keep cal close to 800, playing around with my meal plans I was struggling to get enough cals with too little fat.

Willothewisp found some tips for headaches! Half teaspoon of salt in a large glass of water (I don’t mind taking the extra salt as obv no processed foods at all at the mo) I had one a couple of hours ago and it did ease the headache, having another one now in hope of a better nights sleep as the headaches have been keeping me up. I’ve had it in warm water and actually quite enjoying the savoury hit, sites have also suggested bovril or meat stock as it’s high in salt. Science is cus your insulin is low your kidneys are excreting more water (I.e. The water weight loss) but at the same time more sodium so that is making the dehydration worse. The additional salt helps the body rebalance.

Hi everyone. I hope you’re all having a good week. I just want to update a bit and say how much I love seeing the notifications come up for this thread. I feel a bit mean that I’m not joining into the conversations more. But just reading others comments and discussions has really cheered me on.
Now having said that I’ve been having another iffy week. I haven’t settled down yet but I’m sticking to the principles . So I’m not posting a weight loss yet but given that I’ve been quite unwell and that involved an emergency admission I’m actually doing okay. Lots of tests revealed just how successful this is. I wrote before about my renal dietician being very sceptical of this diet for me. Yesterday she said my numbers were perfect . So she can only talk about exercise now! My potassium had dropped to 4.3 which is great for me. It just meant instead of my huge salads I am having small ones and now boil veges before I make dishes to wash off the potassium. I’ve worked out how to do it all successfully. I’ve also lost blood so I’m allowed plenty of protein. So I’m enjoying steaks.
I also saw another of my surgeons on Wednesday and it’s now planned to do 3 operations in one with 3 surgeons on the 25.1 he was really pleased with my weight loss and I’m aiming to lose another 4 kg before surgery.
Meanwhile with all my medical drama I haven’t had energy to cook and I’ve been in hospital so my go to is a variation on the no- carb ploughmans plate and when in hospital I order 2x sandwiches and just eat the fillings . In renal they are high protein mixed and no salt etc beef, egg, cheese, chicken etc I start the day with yoghurt and fresh berries. My snack is 10 almonds. I feel I’m going ok but a bit over on calories when I have extra nuts. Okay I’ll stop raving on now. Enjoy your journey, I eat the best I can afford and as fresh as possible. When I can I shop at a farmers market. Right now I’m enjoying fresh raspberries every day. Wishing you all every success, good health and happiness x

Great to read all the updates. I’m still on plan. Forgot about the headaches early on in this woe. I must be doing something right as I got a banging headache earlier today. Also this is the first day in a long time that I got through a 2 litre bottle of water. That used to be so easy to do. I did it. I’m feeling better. Hopefully the scales will show some movement shortly too. I’m back to skipping breakfast. Just coffee until 1ish when I had berries, yogurt and a homemade seed mix sprinkled on top. Dinner was mediterranean chicken. Continued success everyone!

Hi Laska I have mint as well and it’s my fake Mohito. I did add sweetener and 1/2 nip of Bacardi over the holidays but I’m back to the basic mint soda lime and ice now. With our hot weather I make a long glass and continually top it up. Works a treat as my fake cocktail in the evening. Best wishes

Hello All
Have posted this as a response to sunshine-girl on another thread – forgotten the name already – but makes sense to re-post here.

Hi sunshine-girl
What a pain about your Amazon account. I know I’ve had a couple of attempts on different accounts, too, hence my interest.
Here is the address of the cyber-security course I mentioned in the earlier post:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/introduction-to-cyber-security
It’s titled Introduction to Cybersecurity. The start dates: 8th Jan, or 7th May. It runs for 8 weeks, 3 hours per week – run by the Open University.
To be honest, I started this course last September and unlike the other courses I’ve done, I gave up the ghost part way through – probably because it’s a course I feel I need to do rather than want to do. But I’m starting it again on 8th Jan – I’ve started so I’ll finish etc. But this time I’m going to take Esnecca’s approach and ‘romp through’
When I was looking for the above just now I also came across this course which might be worth looking at:
Cyber Security: Safety at Home, Online, in Life
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cyber-security#section-overview
This runs for 3 weeks 3 hrs per week – run by Newcastle University
You can join now, 5th Feb or later….
I might well join this one at weekend and try to whizz through it before Jan 8th. May not need to do the longer one!
Hope this helps. Let me know how you get on.
Marie

Zolou you are standing firm on that surf board, well done! The oats sound good sueblue, I’ve always stuck to my Greek yoghurt and berries but think I’ll invest in a packet of oats, it’s gotta be good if no hunger pangs, even at 25g carbs. I agree I should just ignore the ‘snacking’ habit and do some mindfulness instead 😌. Feeling good about the BSD, good luck everyone.

You’re all so positive and doing so well!
I read a post this morning that mentioned ‘carb flu’ and it has played on my mind resulting in a bit of a lapse (wine and cheese) – I’m still under 800 calories but not very healthy. I tend to overdo it when I start and I know that can lead to over compensation but I have prematurely over compensated (POC) this time lol! Positive news I can feel that my tightest jeans are looser yay!
Loved Laska’s posts – sums it up for many of us I think. Well done MrsGettingthere with the biscuits! Natalie, SUNBURNED!, ha! not likely in my part of France any time soon.

I weighed myself…. 15 2! So 3lb down since Tuesday 😁
Weekend is going to be a struggle… we usually go out on Friday night and I’ve got all the little bods ( grandkids) on Saturday wanting sweets/ popcorn lol
So not weighing myself till Monday now. Fingers crossed I survive the weekend 😁

KazzUK, I don’t think you should only stick to green vegetables, you need a variety of vitamins and minerals from plants. Eat the rainbow, if only in small amounts. A couple of cherry tomatoes, a few carrot sticks, baby corn in a stir-fry. They are high carb compared to leafy greens but it doesn’t add up to much in small quantities. Just my opinion.

Hi everyone, I’ve managed to take back some control of my eating habits and have amazingly not found it too hard (even resisted freshly baked biscuits that I made with the kids)! I’m weighing myself every morning at the moment which is motivating me so much as I’ve lost everyday but I’m aware my losses will slow down and i need to remind myself not to suddenly become disheartened and undo the good work. Everyone is so supportive on this thread and it’s lovely reading all your posts 😊keep it up bsders

TC, I’m pleased to say the zonkdom is behind me now! At least the cheese won’t have messed up your blood sugar hormones, so hopefully you won’t have another withdrawal to go through.

Feeling heaps better today – still a bit blurry around the edges, but no problem with hunger (skipped breakfast which may have helped) and walked miles. First week done! Had the veg curry and cauli rice – everyone in the family enjoyed it. Also served up the egg and smoked salmon stacks at lunch and DH said it was a real treat.

I’m not diabetic or pre- as far as I know, but do have a hiatus hernia, which behaves much better if I’m not overweight, so that’s my motivation. This diet is perfect for me, because of the portion control as well as the macro balance. Sugar can be a factor in weakening the sphincter apparently, and those low-fat diets I’ve been on in the past where you can eat masses of volume can’t have helped.

Mmm SunnyB, lamb chops or steak, good plan, hope you enjoyed and that your scales fall back into line.

Well I had a ‘perfect’ BSD day yesterday; low calories and carbs, lots of water, gentle exercise. And I gained 0.2 kg! I think that’s about the same as your 0.4lb, SunnyB! I think I might be retaining some water because I got a bit sunburned yesterday at the zoo despite sunscreen and hat (I’m very fair). But I’ve gained two days in a row. I admit I was expecting a big loss in my first week, not this wobbling. Regardless, I’ll just keep going and know the weight has got to go sometime on this level of calorie intake.

Thank you for the support, I also have fibromyalgia and an autoimmune disease – so I am very concerned with how my body is going to react to such a massive change, but to be honest it cannot be worse than what the last 10 years have thrown at me!

I’m in, started in the 2nd to allow for a birthday party in NYC… I know who has a bday party on new years day. I last committed at the turn of the year 17, and lost 13kg in a few months. I kept at it for a while without being too strict. Felt great, bought new suits as I dropped a waist size, but then got complacent. Put 7 kg back on and just felt silly for doing it.

So here goes. Early days, but thanks to everyone for sharing and supporting.

Hi sunshine-girl

What a pain about your Amazon account. I know I’ve had a couple of attempts on different accounts, too, hence my interest.

Here is the address of the cyber-security course I mentioned in the earlier post:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/introduction-to-cyber-security
It’s titled Introduction to Cybersecurity. The start dates: 8th Jan, or 7th May. It runs for 8 weeks, 3 hours per week – run by the Open University.

To be honest, I started this course last September and unlike the other courses I’ve done, I gave up the ghost part way through – probably because it’s a course I feel I need to do rather than want to do. But I’m starting it again on 8th Jan – I’ve started so I’ll finish etc. But this time I’m going to take Esnecca’s approach and ‘romp through’

When I was looking for the above just now I also came across this course which might be worth looking at:

Cyber Security: Safety at Home, Online, in Life
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cyber-security#section-overview
This runs for 3 weeks 3 hrs per week – run by Newcastle University
You can join now, 5th Feb or later….

I might well join this one at weekend and try to whizz through it before Jan 8th. May not need to do the longer one!

Hope this helps. Let me know how you get on.
Marie

The nibs do not disintegrate. They barely soften, truth be told. They just lose that chip-like crunch but are still plenty toothsome. There’s even some flavor left after a 10-minute boil; just a lot less of it. I like the idea of using them as a fiber source. I could easily pop them in my dehydrator and dry them right back out to keep them shelf-stable. Then all I’d have to do is grind them to make a powdered fiber supplement.

Oh man, lupin cornbread muffins are one of the greatest of all bread replacements. Lupin flour comes from the lupini bean, not the fuzzy colorful flower. Because lupins are basically poison as picked, they need to be soaked for two days to be made digestible which is why the beans themselves can be hard to track down, and the flour even more so. Online is your best option. I get it from Netrition (https://www2.netrition.com/lopino_lupin_flour.html ). Check out the nutritional panel. Is that not a thing of beauty?

Here is the original recipe I found for lupin cornbread muffins: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/lupin-flour-corn-muffins/ . (A ton of great low carb recipes on that blog, btw, including some phenomenal baked goods. You should definitely have a browse.) I probably don’t even have to say this, but I modified it a little (okay, a medium amount). I don’t like coconut flour in savory recipes, so I replace 1 Tblsp with oat fiber and the other Tblsp with ground psyllium husk. I also throw in a Tblsp of nutritional yeast ground to a powder. It injects a small additional hint of breadlikeness that I appreciate even when nobody else notices. I add one minced jalapeno, 1 minced green onion (16 grams or so), 1 tsp garlic powder and use two cheeses, 3/4 cup extra-sharp cheddar, 1/4 cup microplaned Parmegiano Reggiano (not the can kind; the fluffy texture and sharp, aged real stuff is necessary). I also replace two Tblsp of the olive oil with my homemade tofu mayo, although I bet drained silken tofu alone would work a treat as long as you blend it up until it’s creamy. Last but never, ever least, I add salt, 1/2 tsp Applewood smoked. Unforgiveable oversight that it wasn’t in the original.

The lupin flour is quite a happy yellow, so it works on every level to look like real conbread. When you make other kinds of breads with it that yellow tint can be a little jarring to people who are pining for Wonder Bread or whatever. I can’t imagine giving a rat’s ass, but takes all kinds, I suppose. It’s a little dry and there is a legumey flavor to it, so you do have to make a blend with other subs to get the breadiness you’re looking for. It is truly a blast to work with and I can’t wait for you to try it. 🙂

I tried making the broccoli bread. I think I used a too-big pan as it ended up thin and rather dry even with a runny egg on top. I don’t think I’ll be eating it but I will try making a half batch with the almond meal I have left, but thicker. Or is thick more like a little broccoli quiche?

Allie, the baked fennel with orange zest sounds great….something more interesting with fish than the same ole same ole I have gotten into a rut with.

I am on a jag with Spanish mackerel right now….love the stuff and its so good for you. It is now on a rotating with salmon with a very infrequent tuna steak now and then. And some sea bass.

Really miss orange roughy, which is too vulnerable for commercial fishing. Boo hoo.

Red snapper just too pricy and rarely seen in my fish market really fresh (plus investigations have found it is highly highly being substituted with less quality snapper and sold at the higher price falsely labbled as red snapper).

Bored by tilapia unless really jazzed up.

I grab up skate when I can find it. Need to give monkfish another go as I recently saw it at my Korean market looking much nicer than at our big upscale grocer.

Do rockfish and grouper once in a while but you need to buy them whole….which is a stretch for one person.

Any other favorites out there that I am missing out on? I love fish and am only limited by my laziness in needing to go to the market to buy it fresh the same day I want to have it.

I think the cocoa nibs tea is brilliant….you are so right that it would give you the dark bitter edge.

As for using them later….all depends what is left after brewing (do they disinegrate into nothingness) and if something is left….what does it taste like? I not much, then can use them for the fiber benefits in just about anything you want.

But lupin cornbread muffins are new for me….what are they? Do you have a link to a recipe for them? You have peaked my interest. Never even heard of using lupin in cooking. You amaze me with the diversity of stuff you know about. Hats off to ye.

Hi, all. I agree with Esnecca on the formula for establishing the moderate
level of protein that is compatible with this diet. I’m at ideal body weight
and have been in maintenance for 8 months. My protein is set at 50-55gm,
carbs 30gm, and the rest is allocated for healthy plant based fats. Excess
protein turns into glucose and then gets stored as fat.

I was very frustrated by the recipes in the book – but the actual recipe book gives proper food values, and a lot of the recipes look very adaptable.

Hello Esnecca, thanks for the advice. I will alter accordingly.

Chewsnoo, yes, that’s right. MFP is a US-based app and they follow the USDA’s atrocious labelling laws. That’s why you have to manually deduct fiber grams to get the net carbs.

I stay under 20 grams a day, a very strict limit because I am insulin resistant. Most people on the forum seem to aim for around 50 grams a day. It’s a bit of a sweet spot for remaining in a fat-burning state instead of the body reverting to burning carbs for energy. Anything in the 50 or fewer should work for you unless you have blood sugar processing issues.

WillotheWisp, Your protein is a little high, I think, depending on the amount of intense exercise you do and your goal weight. For most people a range of .5-1 grams of protein per kilo of ideal body weight is more than sufficient. Unless you do a lot of heavy weight training or Iron Man competitions, you don’t need more than that. Whatever protein is not needed for mucle building and repair will eventually be converted to glucose by the body. You could use more fat anyway so you can shift the excess protein grams over into the fat column.

Jackie and Marie, thank you for the sweet window into your childhood! We
could have had our own play group way back when 🙂 I guess that I’m still
at it now that I’ve essentially retired. So, it’s never too late to set our hands
in motion once again….Recently I’ve been working on handmade greeting
cards, some of which are multi dimensional, using die cut shapes and
embossed paper created with embossing plates. I ship them in clear 1″
card boxes. Yes, I must really get an iphone!!! I don’t need all the bells
and whistles, but a decent camera. Any suggestions would really be
welcome. Help!
Liz, your work is beautiful. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Herman Miller
office chairs! I use to install them in board rooms and in private offices.
What a nice memory to recreate in miniature. You have clearly been busy
with your hands for decades and are multi talented. I liked the cat story too!
We’ve always had a pair of siamese, and they are particularly creative at
disturbing those still asleep at 5:00am. We used to own a large home in
rural Connecticut with a full basement. The felines would crawl on top of
the forced hot air heating ducts and locate field mice that found their way
in over the winter. The best part is that they would carefully transport them,
very much alive, and deposit them on our bed! I’m sorry that you’re having
a problem with hair loss. Have you tried entering “hair loss” in the search
box?
Kazz, yes my friend I got your email. I’ve been having problems with that
program today and a reply is on the way. Alert me on the usual thread if
it doesn’t turn up! I didn’t know Belle made specialty celebration cakes…
I think she might enjoy seeing my sugarpaste flower decorations for wedding
and anniversary cakes?

Have a great evening, everyone,

Allie

Glad things are going well Nick C. Will look forward to reading your results – keep up the good work.

Hey V, I’m here, I have posted about this on a couple of other threads and given info on the Science of Nutrition courses running in Jan and March to a couple of interested people. I wont be doing anything myself although someone mentioned a cyber security course which I will look at as I got hacked over Christmas (very painful). I want to concentrate on my French and I have 3 courses in the pipeline which I never seem to get around to. Always interested in FL courses and they send me emails every week so if I see anything interesting I will post here (or other thread). By the way, I still have the Science of Nut on my computer as I completed it last year so could dip back into that but might see you in March.

Hello Chewnoo, I have just read on another thread 20g of carbs a day is the magic amount, but also read watch how much protein you eat. I have altered my amounts accordingly.

Having seen the ‘talk up’ of the Tom Kerridge programme on breakfast TV, I didn’t have the patience to watch the actual programme. It struck me that there was a hypocrisy in advocating something different to the method he had used to lose his weight, but also using himself as an example of what can be achieved. He also mentioned during the interview, that this ‘new’ diet was more inline with NHS guidelines – for me that said it all really.

I will continue to keep the faith with the BSD and advocate it at any opportunity.

Couldn’t agree more, Allie – and yet another thing we have in common 😊