Joy of joys, just got up and forced myself onto the scales – 9st 13.8!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m in heaven, welcome back my friend and I promise never to treat you the way I did before again. Third time lucky. Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement you wonderful people.

Marie 123 life is full of trial and error and I see a good discussion as very positive in giving people food for thought. The two foods you mention are both high carb so a carb calculator might have been a less ‘painful’ way of discovering that they would be likely to cause blood sugar spikes in, probably, the majority of people. I guess at the end of the day it’s ‘horses for courses’.

Hi Alliecat, I’ve been in two minds whether your message was for me or JulesB who is a newbie but since she isn’t on this thread and your message comes soon after mine and mentions self sabotage I don’t want to ignore it in case it was meant for me, JulesP, sorry if I’ve got it wrong. There are least 4 Jules’ on the forum now so could get even more confusing.
The fear of success rather than failure is a fascinating idea. I’m going to search back and see if I can find the previous posts you refer to, I’d love to read what has been discussed, see if I can get more insight. Apologies again if your reply was meant for the other Jules.

Hi Zolou, I loooooove halloumi – and it’s so versatile. Have you had it as ‘bacon’ with eggs and mushrooms?
Yes, I’m still on track – my only ‘vice’ now is my one daily cup of really good coffee – I am struggling to give up the sugar in it (the only sugar I have). I belong to a Facebook keto group and have had all sorts of advice about giving up the sugar and reducing the dairy but part of me thinks this is one daily treat and I don’t know if I want to give it up – I’m quite sure if I really wanted to, I could train myself to drink it plain and black.
I was reading somewhere that when you first start this low-carb stuff, your emptying fat cell retain water ‘just in case’ they’re needed for fat again (as I understand it, you don’t ever lose fat cells, they just get smaller). Eventually, they release the water and you get the ‘whoosh’ effect. I’m sure this way over simplified but it sounds plausible.
Keep going – you can do this!
SSB

Hi Zolou, I’ve scared myself so much tickling the dragon’s tail (I love that expression Esnecca, have been thinking about it all night and am lying in bed researching it now!) that I probably won’t be risking any more unknown treats until I get to maintenance. Amazing that I’ve longed to be in the 9’s for most of my adult life yet scuppered it within days both times I made it, our minds are strange and fragile things. I know there are some cracker recipes on here which will be very low carb and no doubt delicious and which I should have made instead of getting shop bought, that will teach me to be lazy.

Hi Benns
I was wondering what you decided to do in the end and how you are getting on with it? I would do both swimming and yoga as both offer different benefits. I also find Yoga helps me in ways other than just physical leaving me feeling less stressed, more balanced and less likely to overeat for comfort.

We are all different though

Morning all

Today + 0.7lb, this isn’t too disappointing or even that surprising as yesterday’s low felt like rather an artificial one as I really just hadn’t eaten enough for a couple of days. Still happy with my progress.

Marsie, so sorry yesterday took a turn for the worse in terms of chocolate. I guess this is when keep on keeping on really bites. Thinking good thoughts for you today.

Busy bee, hoping your refocus is going well.

x

Where everyone gone? SSB, how did it go for you after your fasts – did you manage to keep on track? How is everyone feeling?

I’ve had no losses for two days and I’m feeling limp, but at the same time I don’t have any urge to stray from the plan, so I’ll just stick with it. Two week review tomorrow, looking forward to seeing how much I’ve lost round the middle as I haven’t measured since the beginning.

Had the warm halloumi salad yesterday, very tasty.

Hi Natalie, glad you are feeling better, thanks for reporting in to let us know 🙂

Jules, thank you for sharing your cautionary tale! I wonder if you’d have any more luck with the treats in the BSD recipe book.

That sounds like a plan, LTC. Clearly the water content is the big issue. It seems like a pretty loose recipe just at a glance. I wonder if adding a whisper of something like flaxseed meal would help firm it up. Maybe replace the coconut flour with something that doesn’t suck up water like nobody’s business? Then again, konjac is already a gelatinizing miracle so you’d think it would take care of those issues.

I secured more and better macadamias today. Much fresher and crisper. I’m going to make a new batch of the butter and then use it as the filling of itty bitty sandwich cookies. The outer pieces will be the simple cacao butter, soy milk powder and vanilla powder again only spread ultra-thin on a silicone mat and frozen solid. I’ll break off wafer-thin pieces, spread the macadamia raspberry butter on them and top them with another piece of the thin choc.

Let the mad science continue!

Marinara in the sense of tomato sauce is a reference to it having been the preferred sauce of sailors in the Bay of Naples. Immigrants from the area carried the coinage with them to the US and the name stuck even though in Italy as a whole it’s not commonly used to describe tomato sauce (the simple “sugo” or “al pomodoro” are far more widespread). Carbonara has a similar origin as a dish named after the people who popularized it (coal burners, ie, poor people) rather than the ingredients (eggs, pancetta).

In the US, cilantro is the leaf and coriander the seed of the same plant. I’m very glad it’s a distinction we make lexically because I quite like coriander and I abhor cilantro.

Jello is a brand name that has entered the lexicon as a general word for day-glo colored, fake flavored, aggressively over-sweetened gelatin molds typically served in hospitals, to our eternal national shame. Jelly is fruit that has been cooked down, strained and gelatinized with natural pectin to create a smooth spread for toast. Jam is different because it isn’t strained. There are still fruit chunks in there.

Well my pet peeve (not used on this forum that I’ve seen) is when people from the US call a sauce ‘marinara’ when they mean tomato and there is no seafood present. Marine means the sea!

But a quick scan of the cooking thread got me beets (beetroot), cilantro (coriander), skillet (frying pan?) and ground beef (beef mince). They are all pretty obvious though, I couldn’t find one I didn’t know.

There’s also jello (jelly) and jelly (our jam) which I’m unlikely to see here.

The whole onion family is a weird one, shallots mean the non-bulb green onions in my particular state NSW but not elsewhere in Australia I believe. Eschallots are the little brown skin ones. Green onions are young bulbs with the stem still attached. Step over the border and it’s all different.

Oh we call shallots eschallot – these are the often double bulbs with brown coloured skin and thai shallots are similar but red skinned. I was very sad to discover their carb rating as I often substitute them for red onion. A more complex, softer flavour. Although I did use sparingly on those wonderfully dressed oysters. Oh that reminds me ….

That’s funny because I had to look up “turn the grill on” just today in a recipe….for us grill is either the BBQ outside or a grill pan with ridges that is a stovetop thing that mimics it leaving “grill marks”. What the recipe was telling me it to put it under an overhead flame…..broil to us in the US.

Kosher salt is a medium grain “pure salt” that has no additives (no iodine added to prevent goiters in the thyroid) and is coarser than normal table salt….not so coarse that it needs to be put in a salt mill….but coarse enough that you can keep an open tin or ceramic jar of it next to the stove and gab a pinch of it to season things and see how much actually landed on the food. It was originally used by Kosher (Jewish) butchers to treat/ salt down raw chickens to draw out the blood per Kosher law. Also used to make Kosher pickles, and the perfect thing to top freshly baked soft pretzels.

You have every right to be confused by green onions. Too many similar members of the same family of onion. Green onions are also called scallions. Lowest in carbs of the onion family. Spring onions are similar but not exactly the same because they do have a small bulb at its end, and the spring onions will grow full bulbs at the end if allowed (turn into real onions) and the scallions / green onions do not. But when they are young, they are used somewhat interchangeably.

Shallots are a whole different thing and worth getting to know because they are WONDERFUL. They look like a small spring bulb covered in brown “paper” from the nursery that you are meant to plant (like a tulip bulp or narcissus). Often come as a compound bulb that you can pull apart and use in halves. They are sweeter than an onion but allas, also are higher carb than regular onions, and a good bit higher than the scallions, which are the lowest (and least sweet) of the lot. The shallots are usually used in fairly small quantities finely minced to flavor a sauce, and almost never used as an identifiable vegetable in a recipe. But they have the most lovely taste and make a great vinaigrette when minced and added to oil and vinegar. The French love them.

Arugula…same thing as rocket for you, roquette for the French. I think arugula is the Italian term, and the US has inherited the term from them.

Oh kosher salt – not idea what that is and green onion. Are these shallots or spring onions? Actually I think shallot and spring onion are often mixed up here.

LtC, broil and arugula are pretty common ones. I always have to look up broil.

Natalie, just curious….what foods are we in the US calling by different names (other your biscuits are cookies to us, and our chips are what Brits call crisps….on the other hand, your chips are our French Fries. And there is the whole courgette / marrow/ zucchini thing. Cornflour vs cornstarch. Icing sugar vs powdered sugar. And pudding as a whole course vs our “custard” dessert. At this point I have used up all my food translations (we will leave the boots vs the trunks, lifts vs elevators, holiays vs vacations for another day).

Have to admit, I am a British TV junkie well beyond the standard The Great British Baking Show and Downton Abbey. The US is currently gripped with both The Crown (Amazon’s homage to QE II) as well as Victoria for the moment. Just finish bing watching Doctor in the House. Loved it. Also get some wonderful Aussie crime series. I do think TV is helping us shrink the world a little bit and allows us to get to know each other a little better. These types of global forums certainly help. Luv em.

Essie, Jaques Torres had better look out for you.

Re the noodles and the baking powder: can only think she want to lean toward noodle dumplings (hense the photo) and not noddles for soup. I am going to give it a shot tomorrow without the baking powder and only add as much water as I absolutely need to in order to make it pliable. Stuff the first batch into my rices and squirted out 2 inch noodles for chix broth. Way to puffy and fragile.

Sound like we are both mad scientists with alchemy projects over the next few days.

Allie: berry picking sounds like heaven right now. Although we have warmer weather for a day or two, right back to true winter over the weekend. Nutty winter this year. Ah well.

I’m afraid to say my positive for today is a little narcissistic, please forgive.

After the somewhat confronting news that my ageing spine is causing me to shrink, I discover that this actually improves my leg to torso ratio. Combined with weight loss and not bad posture, my legs look longer! Quite a good thing for a shortie!

Glad to hear you are on the mend Natalie.

As far as having some around the house, it’s definitely a spoonfulls of creamy deliciousness situation. For guests, because I like to pretend I’m way fancier than I really am, I plan to serve it as a kind of dip with fresh and dried fruits and dehydrated flaxseed cinammon crackers. I am also going to make it the surprise in the center of white chocolate coconut truffles which I’ve never made before but will experiment with this weekend. I will also add it to my fella’s nuts and seeds faux oatmeal.

If you build it, they will come!

That sounds truly delicious, Essie.

I’ve never even tasted a nut butter, let alone one as unctous as yours, and am tempted to make some. But…..errr…..sorry, other than eating it by the spoonful, what would (or could, because if it’s as good as it sounds, I’m quite happy to do that) I do with it?

PS Better still, please can I be added to your Christmas present list? 😜

Report: macadamia nut, cacao butter, dried raspberry and vanilla butter is one the greatest culinary accomplishments of my life. Not an overstatement. Macadamias are by far the easiest nut I’ve ever buttered because its fat is expressed so quickly. It liquifies almost immediately. I added a pinch of Maldon sea salt flakes and vanilla powder and let the food processor run until it was creamy and even and practically pourable. I melted 1 oz cacao butter in the microwave and added 1 tbslp of soy milk powder and another .5 tsp vanilla powder. Stirred it all up and poured it down the hopper of the food processor while it was still running. When everything was combined and nicely emulsified, I ground up 9 raspberries to a fine powder, a sort of smashed the tenth one so it was a little bigger and crumb-like. Tossed those in the processor and pulsed a few times to distribute, then put everything in wee containers in the fridge to set for 24 hours.

I knew yesterday from my testing of the various stages that it was a knock-out, but y’all, even more magic happened overnight. I’ve never eaten anything like it. I didn’t add a single drop of sugar or sweetener. The raspberries add a single gram of sugar to the total batch. Same with the macadamias. That means functionally there is no sugar per tablespoon serving, but you’d never in a million years call it bitter or even NOTICE that it’s sugar-free. The cacao fat is soft and unctuous and warm and beautiful. The vanilla scents everything. The raspberry jumps up and slaps your face with its sudden rush of sweet-tart vigour.

This was a small test batch. I’m going to source better macadamias (these had a bit of a cardboardy undercurrent that made me question how fresh they were) and then I’m going to crank out Essie’s Macadamia Cacao Raspberry Butter by the metric ton. I hope my friends and family are prepared for next Christmas because I know what I’m giving them.

I have one big positive this morning: I feel well again after a tummy bug. So lovely to not feel sick!

Mary, you continue to inspire us all!

I’m slowly getting back into the rhythm of things this week. Made a delicious veggie curry for lunch with cauliflower rice and a tablespoon of chia seeds. Kept me going all day. Well that and copious buckets of tea!

Off to the doctor tomorrow to see if he can offer any help with my fatigue and back pain. Got to the stage that I can’t wait for the endocrinologist appointment at the end of Jan. Bonus is that I will be home from work earlier than normal and will cook up a batch of food to keep me going over the weekend…

Booked a trip to Galway next month to see my aunt as she turns 90. She lost her twin in September, so hoping my ugly mug will make it a less lonely day for her. So expensive to go though as it’s half term. I really need to start saving money, not spending it! Still, at least the full Irish breakfast is BSD friendly.

Hope everyone is doing well

L xx

Allie I have difficulty with the American language too! Especially food ingredients when you guys post recipes. Often things we don’t have here in Australia or else call by a different name.

In all seriousness though, in this episode he revealed one of his dieters has type 2 diabetes. That was just before the low fat puff pastry, apple and maple syrup puds!

The episode opened with his low fat pasta dish because “The pasta isn’t the problem it’s the sauce ” Argh!

I could go on but I won’t. I did feel sorry for the nurse who plans to loose a load of weight before her wedding and a honeymoon cruise. I’ve never been on a cruise but all I ever hear is it’s like being at a feeding trough all day.

JGwen – Thanks for posting the links. I’ll definitely have a read of the information.

Luvtcook – I’m also interested in what you’re doing so it’ll be great to hear about what you discover.

Verano – I’d like to offer an alternative view to yours on the value of BSM for T2 diabetics.

As I posted earlier I’ve used a blood glucose monitoring kit since August when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (5 months). Using the BG monitor has been valuable in a number of ways; seeing my daily blood sugar levels made the diabetes diagnosis very real and got me immediately focused, and kept me focused, on getting my levels down. By testing before and after meals, it’s helped me understand how different & specific foods affect my blood sugar levels. Maybe I’d have got this as general info eventually if I read enough, but testing has been a quick short-cut and has personalised it to me.

An example of this is when I was making the meals from the BSD book. I found a single portion of the beetroot falafel, while delicious, spiked my blood sugar. I tried half portion but it also led to a spike in my blood sugar. Something – maybe the beetroot or the chickpeas? caused that reaction. I’ve yet to go back and test those foods, but I will. It did make me change to eating very simple meals where I could test individual items more easily. I now have a long list of foods/meals and portion sizes that I’m fine with. I don’t test around these meals anymore.

There are limitations to blood glucose monitors as has been said, but my personal view is that using one has still helped me get my blood sugar levels back from very high into a normal range.
I’m not advocating that anyone else should use one but do want to offer a different perspective.

Good morning everyone, I’m back to full health today. I had one day of feeling really sick then one day of mostly physically better but bored, grumpy and miserable. And I ate some bad things in that state. Most notably when I was angry at my husband for making too much noise when I was trying to have a nap. I actually thought something like ‘this will show him’ as I wolfed down more cheese and crackers. I was punishing him by eating? Sure, that makes a lot of sense…

The mini Magnum ice cream I had later made me feel ill.

Weighing in on the BSM chat, sunshine-girl you’ve said a couple of times that it hurts but I don’t find that at all. Tiny prick with a fine sharp point gives a huge drop of blood for me. Thin skin I guess. I barely feel it. But the couple of times I tried to test my husband it took several tries to get any blood, had to up the needle length, and it hurt him. That was with a brand new sharp needle. So depends on the person I guess.

I have a test kit from when I had gestational diabetes, I now have pre-diabetes/glucose intolerance. Fasting levels fine, blood sugar levels vary depending on what I eat. So I’ve actually found the kit very useful to narrow down what affects me. For instance anything made of rice (eg ‘healthy’ rice crackers) send my bs levels very high. It may not be professionally accurate but it gives me an indication.
I don’t use it often, just occasionally. Even without it I can feel if my bs is high, in my eyeballs. Or if it’s too low I get weak and shaky and churlish. That happened a lot more often when I ate badly, sometimes a reactive hypo (where you feel a big drop from a high, even if it doesn’t go below 4). My body tells me when something is wrong.

…bleh! 🤮

Lock the door Esnecca, the only food on the bus is tacos, rice and low fat cheese sauce!

Hi all, I am almost back on track after Christmas. I tried to stay on plan but although I was much better than usual I was waylaid by a small amount of chocolate and potatoes and a moderate amount of biscuits and put on 1.5Kg, but usually at Christmas I would be much heavier, but I am back on plan now. Before Christmas I vowed to follow the Esnecca method of strict counting and not one step back, but I didn’t quite keep to it but I am back on track now and keeping a strict count of carbs and drinking my prescribed amount of water.

I have a question about gram flour. Is it low carb, it does seem to be quite high on the carb counters that I have looked at. I am going to try it as an additive to thicken soup and see if it causes me any problems with BG levels. I have been making sure that my carbs are as low as possible and wonder if there is a downside with very low carb?

I was on YouTube today and I watched a video about fasting, and this trainer said that anything that you drink other than water or green tea during a fast breaks the fast. I have read The Obesity Code by Jason Fung and I am sure that he advocates bullet proof coffee during a fast, with no adverse effects. I will have to do my own clinical trial so watch this space.

Esnecca, your description of sumptuous mashed cauli with organic butter is almost too hard to take, it is making me hungry. I think that I will have to go to bed quickly.

At least Krusty had the decency to take the campers to the happiest place on earth … Tijuana! When Tom Kerridge shoes up at my door with a bus full of y’all and sombreros aplenty, then and only then will I forgive him. 😆

Esnecca, thank you so much for your amazing, thought provoking response! I don’t think I will ever look at my self sabotaging in the same way again. Not going to give in to it this time. Pushing through to find new ground.

Reminds me of a very early Simpson’s quote:

Bart:
How could you, Krusty? I never lend my name to an inferior product.

Krusty:
(gasps and sobs) They drove a dump truck full of money up to my house! I’m not made of stone!

Hi YSYG don’t dismiss cauliflower steaks, they are quite tasty (although I’ve never bought any, just cut up a cauliflower). Brush with oil and any spices/herbs you fancy and roast in the oven – delish 😉. There is actually a thread (use the search box as I can’t add a link at the moment) 101 ways with cauliflower, it might give you a few new ideas.

Fair warning: tomatoes are very high in sugar. I still eat them when they’re in season (my father is an avid gardener and raises spectacular heirlooms every year), but no more than 2 oz at a time, mostly in Caprese form with buffalo milk mozzarella and all it’s lovely fat to offset the sugar hit.

Good luck finding killer olive oil. If there are any international markets — Middle Eastern, Greek, Italian — that’s where you’re likeliest to find the small manufacturers with the highest quality products. You want the oil to be green. Not yellow, not light green, an intense, dark Robin Hood green.

While you’re out and about, look for grass-fed pasture-raised butter too. You can tell at a glance that it’s not like regular butter because it is deep yellow and has an almost tangy finish. A teaspoon of that added to broccoli with a grating of Parmigiano Reggiano and you’ll get a ton of flavor for comparatively little cost in calories. I once had mashed cauli for dinner — literally a plate laden with mashed cauli — with a well of melted grass-fed butter in the middle. It was pure sumptuousness. Good luck!

…and MM next week talking about carbs for breakfast or carbs for dinner – really?!

He is so annoying. Smugly announces that he lost his weight by cutting out carbs, but makes money telling others to eat low fat, even going to the lengths of recommending that awful 1 cal per spray oil. Talk about do as I say, not as I do. His scrambled eggs looked quite nice though, as did the courgette fritters.

I’m off to look for strong flavoured olive oil. Can’t wait for the more interesting varieties of tomato to come back into the shops – I ate pounds of the huge coeur de boeuf tomatoes they had in M&S last year.

One other thing I find really helpful is cauliflower. Mashed cauli was a revelation to me with the taste so different from the conventional veg where the florets seem to be stone cold the minute they hit the plate. It seems to thicken soup really well too. I draw the line at the latest M&S offering of cauliflower steak though.

JGwen, regarding the underlying issue of getting enough protein on a low carb veggie diet, have you explored tofu and hemp products? What about whey (assuming you’re not vegan) protein? Chlorella? Spirulina? Algae in general are protein powerhouses. There’s a gram of protein per gram of chlorella powder. You could easily get half of your daily ideal protein in a single smoothie using a combination of hemp/nut/soy milk, dried and powdered algae, silken soy or hemp tofu, whey or plant protein, raw cacao nibs and whatever other flavor elements you enjoy. Beans are not the be all-end all of options for vegetarian proteins. It’s just what people are used to relying on until they find they’ve put on 50 pounds despite their “healthy” diet. That’s how it was for me, at any rate.

That’s so cool, Sandy, thank you! I don’t know how I wound up a motto person, but between “act as if,” “eyes on the prize” and “not one step backwards,” I have come to realize that certain refrains can resonate deeply enough to be a motivational shortcut in getting over day-to-day obstacles. I’m pleased as punch you’ve found it helpful on occasion too. By all means, stalk on. 😀

Just caught a snippet of Tom Kerridge – baked apple on pastry and a dish served with white rice! Have the state food police kidnapped his family…..? 😡
SSB

My two cents..I’m a newbie to the BSD, but not to low carb. I’ve read many books and internet articles over the years. I have found that there are experts out there (Rob Wolff – Paleo guru, as an example) who recommend BSM testing as a good way to fine tune a persons’ diet – even for non-diabetics. Especially after we are at a desirable weight. Since all “good” carbs aren’t created equal with our own chemistry, my body may favor sweet potato over blueberries or oatmeal. If I had the same breakfast of say 2 scrambled eggs in butter with sauteed spinach and 1/2 avocado.. and then each day added one of the above at the end.. and had differing results on the monitor 2 hours post meal – wouldn’t that be an indication? All else is equal, so even if it’s not absolutely correct, it would provide some useful data.

Last time I was serious about low carb I bought a basic BSM, the strips and learned what carbier foods I could get away with. Note, I wasn’t and am not currently VERY low carb or keto.. If I was keto I wouldn’t be trying the foods mentioned – but I’ve been averaging at about 30 net a day. I’m not playing around with legumes yet, but eventually will and will take out my trusty BSM and see what it says.. A few years ago, I didn’t stick with LC long enough to make any long lasting dietary tweaks.. but, I hope to this time..

TC, your post about eating in the toilets has made me howl with laughter!! As quite a shy person in certain social situations, I can totally identify with the embarrassment of drawing attention by ‘being awkward’ and not going with the majority. This was touched on in one of Esnecca’s posts in the Santa’s Elves thread, which I’ve just spent the last 15 minutes hunting down! If you do a search on ‘Act as if Victoria’, you’ll find it easily. Act as if really stuck in my mind, and I’ve been trying to ‘Act as if’ ever since, with some degree of success. Have a look, you may find it useful. And Esnecca, I’m really not stalking you, honest! Just find your experience and advice so helpful and constructive…along with all you other amazing people on here x

Hi, all! As a non diabetic, this conversation today has been very interesting
from a strictly intellectual point of view. LTC, I’m going to be quite curious
to hear how your body reacts, so please remember to post the results of
your tests. I flirted with the idea of blood testing when I was trying to
work out what levels of ketones I had, particularly after reading how
unreliable ketone strips were. The entire exercise was moot, because I
felt such a dramatic change in my energy levels after 10 days of <20
carbs, because that was the day that I entered into that desirable state
of fat burning. I’m always interested in increasing my knowledge however,
so thank you to everyone participating in this discussion today!

Esnecca I love your post about the chain reaction!!

Part of me is starting to wonder if life is too short ……. for all this testing etc. If not absolutely necessary!

Can I also add that the more current thinking is to look at the insulin response versus the blood glucose level for non diabetics. To do that, you essentially are looking at ketone levels that drop when insulin is triggered by a certain foods. This is more important for weight loss and addressing insulin resistance as some foods trigger an insulin response that do not cause a rise in blood glucose….high injestion of meat for example, hense the often heard caution about keeping your animal based protein intake moderate.

The ketone tester are not that expensive ($50 for tester and a starter set of test strips) but the test strips are quite pricy. I recently bought a pack of 30 for $50. Ouch. But I wanted to see for myself how my body was reacting to various foods, especailly meats and fishes and exactly how big the reaction to moderate inclusion of pulses in my diet.

The testers can do both ketones and glucose, depending on which type of strip you are using.

I am just getting started on all of this and want to establish a baseline at different times of the day, but will let you all know what I am finding after I get enough readings to make some sense of it. And of course there are going to be differences from one person to another. I truely feel I am very sensitive to carbs, at least refined ones. But I want to see what the response is to low carbs with/without fats and to carbs that are very high in fiber. I want to see data and let that dicate future food choices.

I will add one more voice in support of higher fat. I have no regrets whatsoever of ditching the carbs to make room for healthy fats. The fats go hand in hand with more veg on your plate…you are eating broccoli with butter, and roasted veges drizzled with EV olive oil. That and moderate protein and you have the basis for a very healthy diet high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And fiber fiber fiber. Very few dieters are happy muching raw celery sticks for long. Toss a bunch of broccoli or cauliflower or brussels sprouts ….or all at the same time….onto a sheet pan and roast then at high heat for 20-30 min….add spices and olive oil and you have a satisfying feast.

The fats also do not trigger a rise in insulin….they are the most metbolically benign of all the foods you could eat.

Its a huge change in your thinking….but look at the total calorie count and not the volume on your plate. An avocado smashed on low carb toast and drizzled with some olive oil, salt & a squeeze of lime (and maybe a bit of hot sauce) is amazingly filling and so very very good for you.

A broiled chop or piece of fish with a huge salad on the side nicely dressed (well coated but not dripping) will keep you full …promise you.

JGwen, I looking into something similar a few months back when I was considering testing my BS reaction to certain foods (beets, primarily, because I love them so much and miss them) to see if they could reintroduced once I was at goal. S-g told me much the same thing she’s telling you now, and my initial forays into the home testing kits confirmed that the results were really only significant and useable for people with diabetes because the blood glucose spikes and valleys can quickly become medical emergencies.

I haven’t researched home testing devices thoroughly, but I find it hard to believe that any of them could truly replicate the results of a constant monitor used in a study. They are not even remotely in the same neighborhood of accuracy and they rely on self-testing at varied times, so the data gathered is on a completely different scale as well. It’s like the difference between the mapping of an individual’s genome and the ancestry DNA kits people buy to find out the ostensible percentage of their ethic makeup. One is a precision instrument; one is a lumbering lummox that is so often wildly off-base that they should be legally required to admit to the sampling error rate.