I’m not sure how to post a link, but the latest diet doctor weekly meal planner is a sub 20g carb one, published on 5th November I think, may be worth a look for some ideas. In fact they seem to have quite a few keto meal planners, and you can sign up for a month free to try them out. I am going to sign up and have a look for some inspiration in the run up to Christmas I think.

Thankyou, SunnyB and Esnecca for the suggestions though Esnecca, that sounded like a whole new language to me! I have never liked sauerkraut but as kimchi is spicy I thought it might appeal. OH is interested too. I’ll let you know how I get on…going shopping tomorrow for ingredients.

Bluelampshade – warmest welcome.

I started Monday and I had no side effects apart from being hungry 😋 not felt faint or had headaches. Just finish mine fourth day, and it does get easier. The main tip is to prepared, prepared and prepared. I have even got my hubby and son doing it with me. There has been some hits and miss.

Wish you all the best and look forward to hearing your success ane what works for you. Like you I am thinking ahead to Christmas 🎄 have a wee break then back on it for the new year. This will be life changing for me.

Keep in touch
Welshannie

And all the stuff that everyone posted about exercise and adding weight – damaged muscles and retaining water – it’s facinating! Never knew any of it – thanks – brilliant to know this stuff

Seconded Allie. Thank you Verano. Didn’t mean to open up so much lol.

Mary
xxx

Welcome to the maintenance merry band CC, 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀 now you can just increase your calories gradually and you will give yourself some wiggle room while preparing your metabolism again for eating at or around your normal TDEE.

Thank you, V! You’re a lovely, compassionate woman. So
happy to know you 🙂

Allie
xoxoxo

Very many congrats AngS on hitting the 8stone something – so well done! You should be so proud of yourself x

AngS, congratulations on your first of many low blood sugar readings 😁 keep on keeping on and your diabetes will soon be a thing of the past.

2BD, it is exactly a mirror of your first week, the huge by comparison losses you saw then are due to water loss from various sources of water retention, especially the glycogen stored in your muscles and organs that is used up first when you start a low carb and low calorie diet. During the week off these stores will have been replenished and starting again with the low carb should bring equally rapid weight loss again. It isn’t fat, and it doesn’t show on measurements. I have had a couple of months ‘off’ counting and logging and still fitting into all my new clothes, even the tightest, but still weighing myself and when I hit my trigger weight of 10 pounds above my target and I started being mostly low carb again I lost 7.5 pounds in one week.

Will do and thanks.

When I do some baking (very rare) I intend to use glucose rather than table sugar as apparently the result is less sweet and the body can use it directly rather than all having to be processed by the liver like fructose is. I read somewhere that some chefs are using it to make desserts that are less sickly sweet which sounds good to me with my new taste buds. I think my first big test will be this year’s last minute Christmas cake variation, which I am going to do some BSD friendly modifications to, like switching to buckwheat flour as well. It isn’t lower calorie particularly using glucose but shouldn’t cause too much visceral fat rebound, being processed differently.

I don’t often read this thread but today my heart bleeds for you all. Mary I’m so pleased that you now feel blessed. After reading all your posts today, for one of the very few times, I’m overjoyed to be an ‘only child’. I lost my mother 24 years ago and miss her everyday but have never had to contend with abusive, maybe evil, siblings. Well done to you all for coming through the pain and emerging, hopefully, to a much brighter future. My love and thoughts are with you.

A Friend sent me this..long but great info and advice and some very good points worth noting…

“Guessing that you’re fighting an inflammatory response.

To get as low as 20 g per day would likely require weighing your food and entering the ingredients into a food tracker that converts that information into the amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein contained in that food. What this process reveals are sources of hidden carbs such as those found in something as non-carby as tomato sauce, for example. It’s very easy for these hidden carb sources to add up to far beyond 20 grams.

Realize too that protein, beyond your body’s immediate needs, is quickly converted into glucose. Again a suitable food tracker reveals this.

Another possible step would be to consider using a glucose meter to test your body’s reaction to various foods. That way you’ll know to either avoid them or to cut down the serving size to what you body will tolerate.

Both of these methods and the full rationale behind them are well detailed in a book called
Keto for cancer by Miriam Kalemian
Don’t let the title of the book put you off. There’s a wealth of well-written, easily understood information in that book that applies to everyone wanting to lose weight (for better health, quality of life…), that also have a willingness to apply proven steps that can get you there. That you’re researching and reading medical studies(!!) is absolute proof that you are one of those people.”

HI CALIF GIRL! Glad the massage has helped yr mum. Im hopng i can get some on NHS as i know i cant afford it on a regular basis. Even just one or two treatments and then they show me how to do it myself wd be useful.
In meantime im doing some youtube massages!it wd be wonderful to quit wearing the Monstrosities!!! I dread wearing them in the summer months,they must be hellish!
Hi SUNNYB,thanks for yr good wishes. I admire you intrepid 20g carb folk so much! Quite looking forward to giving it a go myself now that i have some ideas of how to eat.thought i knew it all doing 50 g..how wrong was i!
Iust go and look at the refocus thread tomorrow!
Thanks guys,lovely to hear from you all xxx

Thank you everyone for your kind words and for waving your Pom Pom’s, the dancing girls and the back flips. However, I know that this isn’t the end of BSD for me but the start of my new healthy low carb forever lifestyle. I’ve just bought a low carb vegetarian cookbook (Rose Elliott) for some inspiration going forwards.

Will of course be continuing with this challenge and hope to lose another pound before the end if possible.

The plateaux, the slow losing and the ups and downs are so worth it when you eventually see the number you want to on the scales and fit into the clothes you are aiming to wear. Please let my story inspire you if you’re struggling. Slow and steady but never giving up!

Just leave the nuts out, it will mean you have extra calories for things you can eat.

Verano you might also want to have a look at UTube Kristin Neff on Discover the Power of Self Compassion.

Hi guys!

Well what can I say. Kazz I hope you enjoyed your food after 48 hours. I almost had a go last night, but gave in and had surf and turf with veg.

I am not going to go into details…but you are not alone with having sisters who are a little odd. I used to say that my sisters first words were “I hate you Mary”. My brothers used to belittle everything I did and my parents told me I was too stupid to learn another language, understand Shakespeare…I would never Ice Skate because I was too clumsy and couldn’t enjoy ballet because I had thunder thighs! (I am the first person in my family to go to University and get a degree!) On top of that I was told I would never keep a man because I talked too much. (Just to remind you Jovis and I have been together for 42 years and neither of us have strayed). My father died when I was 18 and I didn’t grieve much, I thought it meant I wouldn’t be beaten any more, how wrong can you be? Mom was just as abusive and hit me until I was 21 and married. When I told her if she hit me again I would hit her back. I reminded her I was fitter, bigger and angrier than she could believe. She never hit me again. My brothers stopped hitting me as they left home. The last time was when I was 18. My last fight with my sister was when I was 22. I won! Even the dog bit her lol. I hadn’t talked to her for 12 months because she told a load of b*ll*cks about me having loads of affairs before Jovis. Evil spawn of satan that she was!

I guess what I am trying to say is, blood relatives we cannot choose, but families are what we make of them. One of my brothers actually apologised for how he treated me and admitted he didn’t know I was such a lovely person (his words). I am so sorry that my story echoes how traumatic your sisters have treated you. You don’t deserve to have that happen to you. I had 4 siblings growing up. I now only have 2. One Brother and One Sister are no longer on my radar. Guess what….I DON’T miss them!

We have to rise up and know we are the better people. I would never treat any of you that way. Allie…my heart sank reading your story. Take comfort in the knowledge you have what she will never have. She is to be pitied.

Julia, words fail me. To cause such unhappiness to you is unforgivable, but to cause pain to your son as well is pure evil. You also have far more than your sister will ever have. One day she will realise how awful it was of her. It is her loss that she doesn’t have your lovely self in her life.

Wow. It has been an emotional day for all of us. I have only skimmed the surface of the abuse I received, but I can just give you a happy ending. When I met Jovis, I knew instantly that I would love him forever. He is the most attentive, understanding, wonderful, remarkable man I have ever met. My siblings (apart from the eldest who has had his own troubles) are all divorced and have had some really awful times in their lives. I HAVE BEEN BLESSED. My lovely girls, beautiful grandies and my lovely Jovis. I have the best life ever. I think it might be time to watch ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ Is that a bell I hear ringing?

Love you guys
Mary
xxxx

Marie123, I didn’t mean to neglect your post, but it’s been a little
intense here today. Thank you so much for commenting with respect
to my Mother and yours. I think you may well be on to something
about the reason you’ve been resisting giving up the comforts of
your tea. Would it be utter blasphemy to take it with unsweetened
almond milk instead of cow’s milk? I’ve been resisting getting rid
of tops that my Mother gave me as gifts, even though they’re 6 sizes
too big. My attachment is sentimental, I know.
I’ve read other of your posts on different threads and I always
read you as a gracious, caring and supportive lady. I’m glad you
enjoy following our fiercely honest stories. Please join us! I
think that the name of this thread is very unfortunate, particularly
because we are about so much more than alcohol related war
stories. Sugar, carbs, alcohol, etc. all impact on regaining our
health and well being. It’s all about moving forward 🙂

Hope to see you again!

Allie

Julia, bless you for your candid reply. I read your story and internalized
all of it, my pulse rate elevated thinking about what you and your son
had experienced. In a way, it’s like living in the “Twilight Zone”, isn’t
it? For brief moments we even think we’re the crazy ones…accept
anything to keep the peace! I had to take a walk to clear my head 🙂
I’m so sorry you know the road that I have traveled! My thoughts are
rushing now, so I hope this doesn’t spew forth as gibberish. I com-
pletely agree that family trauma is at the core of our weight issues.
Several years ago I had the tv on early evening while I was out in
the kitchen rattling the pots and pans. It was one of those talk shows,
Oprah or something (I’m not a fan) and there were 2 experts on, a
psychiatrist and a psychologist, and a panel of 5 women who were
all obese. I wasn’t paying any attention, until a discussion of trauma
came up with respect to how it impacted on obesity. These statistics
were brought to light, i.e., not every woman who has had trauma
in their lives becomes obese, BUT 95% of obese women have trauma
as the core issue. I turned off the cooktop and sat down to absorb
this. I’ve never forgotten it. Your observations just reminded me of
it. Not only have we become healthy physically, but by bringing
our experiences forward into the light with our sisters here, we are
healing ourselves in emotional ways as well. Not to mention
saving $$$ in therapy bills 🙂
Our shared Williams experience is amazing. My favorite time
of the year to be there is in the Fall. I like the idea of getting your
husband to buy a retreat there! I can be there in under 2 hrs……
Other selling points are the skiing, and Tanglewood Musical Festival
and Jacob’s Ladder for dance in the summer. All we have to do is
figure out a way to acclimatize him to the winter cold! My favorite
climate is the S.F. bay area. I hate heat and humidity!!!!! I’m so happy
we are on the same path to wellness. I see bright lights and sunny
days ahead for us all.

Much love,

Allie

Thanks s-g I’ll take a look. I also need to read that chapter in the BSD book which I’m yet to do!

Allie glad there’s someone still here with me! I know Caron is as well. They say it takes 21days to make a new habit but apparently that’s only with something easy, like drinking a glass of water. Why do we all have so much of a problem doing it? More difficult habits like exercise can take much longer! Fingers crosssed you will get there but it may take longer than these 4 weeks. To be honest I’ve not really been conscious of how far I’m walking I just know that I can walk and stand for much longer than before my surgery. I’m never going to have the joy of ‘going for a walk’, for me it’s more a case of getting from A to B without as little trouble as possible! But hey it could be worse at least I can walk.

Hello, I am starting on Saturday 11th.
Read the entire book yesterday and will do a shopping list tomorrow.
I’m aiming for 6 weeks to start with, takes me until just before Christmas. I haven’t dared to weigh myself but have a class booked at the gym so will do it then on their special machine. Worried about feeling hungry /faint. I must remember to drink water. Luckily i’ve been going off tea and coffee at work anyway recently, prefering herbal tea/ water and the odd black coffee . I still like a milky coffee in the morning and often have hot milk before bed (especially with a bit of hot choc in it- however i can ditch that ok).
well good luck everyone. I shall make the most of what i eat today and tomorrow

I have tree nut allergies, which means any nut grown on a tree I cannot consume as it causes me to go into anaphylactic shock and having to use an epi-pen and head to the ER. So, alot of these recipes use walnuts and other tree nuts. Got any suggestion as to what I can substitute?

Hey, Allie – get a dog, or like me two – the bigger and bouncier the better, then you will have no choice but to walk (at least once a day, mine demand twice, or even three times some days!) regardless of weather. My three hours plus of walking every day, up hill and down dale, has certainly kept me far fitter over the years than my non-dog owning friends, even when I was carrying the extra weight.😜

Well done on all your additional exercise though, somehow I just don’t have the willpower to do that (or the time, frankly, after all my walking)

Verano, well done on dropping to 2 meals a day, I’m sure it will help. I have late breakfast (after dog walk) at 11am then go through to an early supper at 6pm, unless we are entertaining or dining out, in which case it is generally nearer 8pm. On the odd day I’m lunching out, I skip both breakfast and supper and stick to just the one meal. Works for me😊

Day four on the BSD

Weight 14:4
Blood sugar 6.7

OMG … this BSD does work with your blood sugar levels. On Sunday I was 22:5 fasting and drum roll…. this morning I was 6.7 that makes me happy 😃 maybe I will be able to reverses the diabetes.
I am doing this for my blood sugar – the weight will be a lovely bonus. This result is driving me forward and onwards.

Not too hungry today and I think energy level is increasing..but it was my first day back at work so I am on a high… I will crash later and hopefully have a good night 💤
Chicken with almond and basil for tea. Did the no carb Bircher for breakfast and hubby and I liked it a lot – my son, Markie boy not so keen on the Bircher . He had the blueberry and green tea shake. He likes that one.

How is everyone doing today?

Keep in touch
Welshannie x

Not all misos are created equal. Check the nutrion panel to see how many carbs per teaspoon are in the one you bought. That will determine how much of it you can use. I make a quick soup out of mine, similar to what SunnyB described only I use chicken broth instead of water. Once it’s heated, I stir the miso in until it dissolves and then I add some fresh greens, mainly sunflower shoots, pea shoots and broccoli sprouts. I like it thick with vegetation so use a solid half ounce of each of them in a single mug. It’s crowded at the beginning but you’ll soon slurp them up and you get to enjoy the change in texture as they cook a little in the heat of the soup.

I also like to add a teaspoon of miso to certain salad dressings. I do a fermentation madness salad with an all-ferment dressing of miso dissolved in pickle juice with pureed kimchi. Sometimes I’ll add a couple of ml of olive oil if it needs emulsifying, but it’s not necessary. To that I add whatever salad leafies I have handy, more sprouts and shoots, and top it off with a serving each of garlic sauerkraut, kimchi and horseradish leek kraut. I figure that’s my gut biome seen to. 😀

Go Kazz on your 48 hours fasting! You have joined the big leagues — I would like to try to soldier through 36 hours but I will probably have to practice a bit. It will be interesting to see how much you lost and I remember Theodora said her longer fasts continued to have effects for a week or more. Let us know soon! And really good job!!!
Allie, your sister is as awful (and worse) than mine — what a cruel thing to do to toss you out of the house and during such a vulnerable time. I might have been sceptical that sisters could be that mean but I had my own “event” with my older sister when she rented a condo on Maui for a week and invited me to share with her two boys (ages 6 and 8) and my son (age 11).
When we showed up, they had arrived earlier and took all the beds (turned out there were 2 rooms only and three beds) so my son and I had to sleep on the living room couch (not a pullout — just cushions) and the cushions from the couch pulled out and put on the floor for me. We could have put the two little boys in the queen bed and she and I have a twin bed each and my son could have made-do on the couch (he was only 11) but she insisted her boys have “their own room”.
That sort of set the stage for the rest of our time together which lasted only two days — during which she almost ran the car off the road when her son opened the car door at 50 miles an hour and the other son threw a little creamer pot at her during dinner which hit her in the face and spattered all over everyone at the table.
Both of those would have been grounds for discipline in our family but she just roared on until she finally lost it with contorted rage and screaming over something else that she found to be mad at and ordered me out of the condo so I just packed up and left.
My son and I flew to Honolulu to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial, then we just flew home. At that time I didn’t have enough money to rebook my own condo so it was really cruel to my son as well.
Many many years later we have patched it up but there are always new “events” every time we get together so we never make any real progress and my other siblings are done with her.
You know, I am thinking that some of our weight issues could very well be connected to all this family chaos. Part of embracing the BSD is letting go some of those worst memories that just don’t serve us any more.
Kazz you are going to enjoy 1984 but it is a chilling read and much of what he writes about is well underway.
Mary — I’m with you — anyone who says “downsize” and give me your money to invest isn’t trustworthy.

Verano, I’m with you on the second half of this challenge, too. I’m
sure upping the water will work for you. I’m just the same, losing
track of which days I’ve been using my 5lb weights, doing multiple
sets of squats, leg lifts, etc. I keep meaning to get resistance bands,
so thanks for reminding me. I have an out of town friend who makes
it a priority to walk every single day, regardless of temperature or
precipitation. Usually at 6:00am! I know I would be a much more
disciplined person if I lived next door to her. Have you been able to
increase your distance without stopping this week?

Love,

Allie

Kazz, of course I remember your post about your alcoholic friend!
You went far beyond what any friend could be expected to do. I
felt so sorry for her son(s). It told me lots about you, though 🙂
I can’t wait to hear what you think of 1984. My husband teaches
a course on “Principles of Mgt” and he assigned this book as part
of his syllabus. When I asked him why, he told me about how mgrs.
can manipulate their employees by similar methods to those outlined
in the book. More of a large BEWARE, on his part.
Such techniques are currently being employed by the
mainstream media on a relentless, day to day to basis in the U.S.
to further the progressive agenda. There is much in there that
applies to every day life. I’m looking forward to hearing what
you think re “the memory hole”, etc!

I’ll be back…………………

Allie

Hi V, the Mindfulness course is a follow on from the first 4 weeks I did but it is also advertised as a stand alone. Worth looking at, I enjoyed the first one.

Hey Rebecca – if you need to take painkillers take some, nothing to be gained by suffering if you don’t need to. Make sure you are keeping your hydration well up, as this helps on all fronts and is very important in the body functioning at it’s optimum. I’d say try not to rely on shakes for all the same reasons mentioned before. Making your own is a much better option if you want to include shakes as part of your BSD plan. Could you maybe make a shake the night before, to take to work with you?
Hope the withdrawal doesn’t hit you too hard and you will soon be feeling clear and energised, in the meantime, be kind to yourself and rest as much as you are able – work and children allowing!
Best of luck with it all and shout if you need advice or encouragement, ‘cos there are lots of folks on the forum who will step up to offer support.

Jeez Allie – I’ve just read your post with my mouth hanging open in total disbelief. It’s upsetting just for me to read that your sister did that to you, even worse when you were beside yourself with worry, so you must have been in total shock to be on the receiving end. I should imagine you would be on auto pilot at that time and only think about getting back to the hospital and stay there, close to hubby. I’m so grateful he pulled through. Did you ever get the photo back? Have you got others? The closest I’ve come to that sort of irrational bonkers behaviour was from my ex friend who became an alcoholic.

Well, fancy that, I didn’t realise you had a “PA” string to your very creative bow! I’m not sure how I cope to be honest sometimes – Autumn and Spring are the busiest times, and when it goes crazy and I’m being bombarded, it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we all have peaks and troughs so there is always someone able to help me out and likewise, I do the same. We look after each other as in our team, the 4 of us have worked together for years! I actually wanted to be a hairdresser! 🙂

We had book club today – the next book is George Orwell’s 1984… theme was “cult classics”. I suggested Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susanne – read it 35 years ago (superb read), alas, it was not picked! I’ve never read 1984 although it always was on my list ….

Ok, best get back to it, bye for now and see you tomorrow.

Kazzeeexxx

Hey Angela06 – you can make a very simple soup, simply by putting a generous teaspoon of paste in a cup and adding hot water. If you want to make something more complex, you could get some dried seaweed online and crumble some into the soup, or make a soup in a pan adding finely chopped spring onion as well – cook just long enough to soften the onion.

I tried making kimchi, but wasn’t over impressed with the results, might have been something I didn’t do right, although I have tried buying kimchi as well and wasn’t too keen on that either – prefer sauerkraut. I do make kefir, which is something you can make at home, once you have some grains – you can get these online. Once you have them, they keep going and going – I always have more than I need! You can also make live yogurts, although again you need to have a starter culture for that as well.

Hope your kimchi is successful and that you enjoy the miso. I used to drink a lot of miso, but cut back as it’s a little high in carbs, so only have it occasionally these days.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

Thank you for your reply sunshine girl, that’s sounds a pleasant combination perhaps something I could try on a weekend, I am only just becoming acquainted with seeds, the children aren’t kean. On day 1 I was surprised how tasty everything seemed with the last of a sugar drenched day, felt very little hungry although craving were heavy the first evening. Dr Mosley in his book presents light meal replacements shakes as a option whilst get to know the 800 plan and keeping to the calorie intake. I share your reserve about quality of meal replacement . I plans to use shakes whilst I am at work in the first couple of weeks for breakfast, soups/salads (or what other recipes I can find) for lunch , followed by a freshly prepared dinner. Day 2 , I have a niggle headache to I think the withdrawals have commenced, any tips? Rebecca

Oh Kazzi, 48 hours? I’m speechless! Not nice to tease us with the
results on the scale, however 🙂 I’m very impatient for Sat. to arrive
when you reveal all. If you forget, I’ll be out looking for you!
Thank you for your thoughtful words about Mother. I’d like to
believe that she knows, too. I certainly felt her presence when
OH was in the hospital in March. The hospital and Drs we choose
to use are 1 1/2 hrs from home, so I made the very poor decision
to stay at crazy sister’s house, just 10 min. away. I brought my
favorite picture of Mother with me to give me strength, and set it
on my night table. Day 13 into the hospitalization my sister threw
me out of the house, and locked me out of my room. All my clothing
was thrown in a wrinkled heap outside my door, and when I was
able to get back in (thanks to her husband) I found that she had
stripped my bed and confiscated my photograph. What was my
crime, you may ask? “Disrupted her life by waking the dog at
3:30am” when I got up to get some fresh air to try and manage a
panic attack. Have you ever seen anyone in the midst of a full
out narcissistic rage? Imagine someone with arms akimbo, face
contorted, screeching what a selfish bitch you are. My definition
of toxic and bat shit crazy 🙂 Probably a good case study for the
psychiatric journals under “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”
as well. Well, I wasn’t planning on divulging this episode of what
happened while O/H was literally fighting for his life on 2 separate
occasions during a 3 wk hospitalization, but it’s what we do here,
isn’t it? 🙂 I spent the next 9 days sleeping in a chair in the Cardiac
Care Unit, no shower, no clean clothes, no sleep, no wine, etc.
Thank you lots for telling us all about your profession. In terms
of responsibilities, it doesn’t sound too much different than my
being a PA for a group of surgeons, wearing 10 hats at one time,
feet never touching the ground all day long. However, that was
30 years ago and I was much younger then! My hat is off to you
for being able to keep up the pace. Doing this for 48 hours without
any food is a marvel.
Next week when you’re off I hope you will share all that you’ve
been learning about autophagy and cell replacement. I’m so glad
that I reminded you to get your books out of the Amazon cart!

See you later, my sweet 🙂

Allie
xoxoxo

Whatever it is/was Allie it worked and more amazing is that you were following BSD and didn’t know it! Today I am going to do my best to stay at 20g. I hadn’t realised but since I started the refocus thread I’ve stopped eating breakfast and I no longer miss it. So today I’ve only had chilli prawns, watercress and a tablespoon of Hellmans salad cream which altogether are just under 4g. First problem is that I have homemade Thai chicken curry for dinner tonight. I have no idea how many carbs are in it. I have that with sliced asparagus and broccoli so I’m just hoping that I’ll stay within 20g. I know there are about 6g per 100ml of coconut milk so I should be ok.

If I manage without anything else, apart from water, I should stay within 800/20. Jus interesting to see how hungry I’ll be???

Thank you Theodora for all your waving … it keeps me smiling while keep you fit!

Caron thanks for raising a glass something I’m stopping from today unless it contains water!!!

I have just realised that during this challenge I have actually stopped having breakfast which makes my overnight fast much longer. Hopefully there will be rewards over the coming weeks.

Today I am aiming to stay at 20g of carbs. No breakfast and lunch of chilli prawns, watercress and a tablespoon of Hellmans salad cream, my latest craze, and altogether less than 4g! So who knows maybe I can do it if I really try hard. I’m going to pop over to the 20g thread for some inspiration from Allie and Esnecca’s posts. Will report back on my carb progress tomorrow.

Hi Tasberry – welcome to the forum.
Sadly, not all calories are equal and even foods that fall in to the ‘healthy’ bracket and relatively low in calories can be surprisingly high in carbs. So, it’s not always as simple as counting the calories, you really do need to look at the carbs as well. Hopefully once you start to do that, you will see the weight start to fall. Try to aim at around 50g carbs per day and you should see good results quickly.
Best of luck and shout if you need any pointers, lots of lovely folks on the forum will be happy to off advice and encouragement.

Hello, I’ve been reading more and more about the importance of gut health and am thinking of introducing some fermented food into our diet. So I bought some miso, white the packet says but it looks more ochre to me. Trouble is I don’t really know what to do with it! Please can someone point me inthe direction of a soup recipe without any exotic ingredients? I live in France and round here pak choi is about as exotic as we get (without a drive)

I’m also interested in making kimchi…there’s an easy recipe on the BBC good food page which I’m going to try. As I’ve always avoided preserving food for fear of botulism, this is really going to take me out of my comfort zone!!

I would love any suggestions, pointers or favourite recipes (easy ones) that anyone would like to share. I know there are a few fermentation fans on these boards 😉

Really pleased for you, Lynchic, well done on your achievement todate. For those of us able to stick with this WOE through the tough times, it is completely life changing.
Enjoy getting rid of those baggy clothes and remember when you are shopping for your new wardrobe, that you no longer need to buy loose garments to cover a multitude of sins – something I am still trying to get used to myself. However, I ordered myself a jumpsuit today, something I never thought I’d even consider before I started the BSD.
You’ll soon be able to report hitting your target and I hope you won’t need to wait too long for that day to come around. Best of luck to you!

Hi, Verano! I don’t really know if willpower was involved, maybe
just willful stubbornness 🙂 Two months in I hit an 18 day plateau
(on 50gm of carbs) so something drastic was called for. I actually
didn’t discover these forums until very recently, so I just did my
own research, only to find out that I’d been doing BSD Fast 800 all
along! How crazy is that? Unfortunately, mainstream medicine
here in the States is woefully ignorant of the Newcastle studies
or MM, for that matter. It’s up to Californiagirl and Esnecca and
me to spread the word! 🙂
See you later over on the Refocus thread………

Allie

Hi Yowser
Sorry you have had this medical set back, frustrating for you to have to re-evaluate your eating patterns again, having made such good progress to date. Still, as others have already told you, 20g carbs a day is doable and that is the level I have use for most of the time I have been on the BSD. The menu advice Esnecca gave is spot on and more or less what I eat myself.

Hopefully you will be able to make the adjustments necessary and have success with improving your leg situation – best of luck!

Luvtcook – You’re up early today!! I’m an early riser too, but not
by choice. I’ve got an alarm clock built into my head that sounds
off between 3:30 – 4:00am each morning, whether I like it or not!
The coffee maker goes on, and I start the day finding out what
happened here overnight, coffee mug in hand. I’ve never used
artificial sweeteners so I have nothing to offer on that front.
A lot of us find that our tastes change eating this way though,
and the desire for sugar no longer has any appeal. The uniquely
american holiday of Thanksgiving is almost upon us, so time to
get a few strategies in place for the holiday! Have you given it
any thought yet? And are you responsible for the meal this year?
By the way, I don’t think age affects results with this WOE. I’m
a newly minted 69 yr old. I think you’re going to do great. You’re
well on your way because you’ve already found us maintainers! 🙂

Have a wonderful day!

Allie

Thanks to everyone for your support and congratulations. Your comments made me feel quite emotional. To reverse my diabetes is such a big deal for me and MM says we need to lose 10% of our body weight for it to succeed. When I get to 8st 11lbs I will have done it, so only a couple more pounds to go. I will have lost a stone and, although it doesn’t sound a lot, when I only weighed 9st 11 lbs to start with, but looked fat, it makes sense. I have a very small frame and was 7st 10lbs for years, back in my 20s. I wish… lol. Thanks again to you all.x

Thanks all for your comments on the artificial sweeteners. Even when I bake with them, I give half of what I make to my son (who is also a low carber) and would eat my stash very judiciously. I never felt it impacted me but MM is pretty down on them and there is a lot of speculation in the press as to whether they actually cause weight gain, so I thought I would check in with all of you. When the glorious day arrives that I have hit goal, I think I would do as your do Theodora, use regular sugar and eat sweetened things sparinly. I will forever use almond flour and flax seed to replace the flour, but hope to give up the artificial sweetners and simply have such things far less often.

Well done to you AngS. Give yourself a huge pat on the back. Another milestone for you with the end in sight.

Not really, never use them but I do make my own using spinach, berries, yoghurt or almond milk adding fibre with some chia, pumpkin, linseed or sunflower seeds. Only good to replace breakfast so I eat normal for every other meal. I know some people have tried shakes but most of the ones bought in the chemist are full of either chemicals or hidden sugars. Also, it is not easy to maintain an eating plan that doesn’t allow you to eat. People miss having real food. Hopefully someone else will come on to help you.

Yowser, this was a great idea for a thread. Thanks for starting it.
I don’t think the MMosley book provided any guidance with regard
to carb levels, though the prevailing wisdom here seems to be 50 gms.
Most keto diets, although a little different, seem to recommend 20
to reach ketosis, burning your own fat as your primary fuel source.
The accepted wisdom on reaching this state is that it takes 3-14 days,
sometimes 3 weeks in stubborn cases. I achieved it @ 10 days,
and the limitless energy that came with it was very noticeable.
As a long time suffer of CFS, it was miraculous. Some manage this
on 50gm of carbs, but I wasn’t one of them! 🙂

Best of luck,

Allie

Huge congratulations Cathy – best Christmas present ever!! 🙂