Yes, Theo! I’m an essentially a social creature, so I will imagine us sitting
outside on a warm summer’s day at your Hospitality Hotel, lazing about
in the sun, laughing ourselves silly, with a nice bottle of red in front of us.
Perhaps a few BSD friendly snacks (weighed and measured, of course) to
keep us company? Yes, I like the sound of that! 🙂 🙂 🙂

SunnyB, thanks for your thoughts on the kefir and kombucha because they pretty much confirmed my initial thoughts….kefir my best bet as it is so easy and I drink at least a quart a week regularly. Kombucha sounded intriguing but probably too much trouble to keep a scoby alive and happy for the limited amount I would drink. I understood that the sugar goes down the longer you ferment it, but that just adds one more degree of fuss to time it just right.

Thumbs up on the homemade kefir and will take a pass on the kombucha for now at least.

One last questions: I have a lot of saved plastic quart bottles from my store bought kefir. Do you find your kefir fussy about what you make it in? Kefir website I was reading recommended glass jars, which I would have to buy. If I can recyle and use the plastic bottles that would be lovely. Please advise. LuvTC

S-g saw a he doctor this morning and yes she was both surprised and pleased. She kept checking the computer to find my medication but there isn’t any!! They will all get the message in the end. I’m really looking forward to the next batch of results from the current research. Have a good w/e.

Luvtcook I don’t think we can easily get hold of liquid smoke but a little extra paprika does the trick, just have to add it to taste. Also the garlic is probably fine but I just don’t like garlic in soup, great in other dishes just not in soup for me!

@californiagirl, I’m totally with you when you say that it seems like everything causes cancer! I think as long as you eat balanced then everything is fine – also alcohol, sugar, meat and everything else that’s debated all the time. It’s just that some people consume huge amounts of it and don’t include vegetables and fruits in their daily meals.

Good morning, everyone! I’ve been off thread since early yesterday evening,
but I’m happy to see new friends paying us a visit 🙂

Kazz, we missed you here this week, but I’m happy that you feel that you
have recharged your batteries. Kazzi is a really talented self taught watercolorist!
I was lucky to see one of her paintings from beautiful Cornwall. Now I’m hoping
for a selfie to go with it 🙂 Really glad that you enjoyed your feast, even if the
scale registered +2lbs. That’s how it went for me, too, whenever I made a
mindful decision to enjoy a holiday with a glass or 3. Flush it with lots of
water today, and everything will be fine. You’ll be back on track in no time.

Mary, sorry that damn black dog is nosing around your house! It’s been
awhile since she’s paid you a visit, though, right? (I know she is a bitch)
You always do an excellent job of kicking her to the curb, so do the same
today. What you go thru with the psoriasis sounds so miserable. I’m
wondering if there are any new clinical trials going on over here that produce
new drugs that may not be available to you thru NHS. I’d be very happy to
do some research for you if you like. My brother in law serves on numerous
corporate boards, being in the biotech industry. I don’t know if he’s out
of the country at the moment, but he may know someone who knows someone
who knows someone. When jim was diagnosed with heart failure and initially
told he was neither a candidate for coronary bypass or stenting, Gus was on
the phone to the top cardiac hospital in the country, the Cleveland Clinic, and
had one of the top interventionalist cardiologists in the world vetted for us,
and that was the guy that performed the stenting proedures. He just
happened to be spending 1-2 days a month at the hospital we prefer to use
here in Connecticut. He is from Milan, so it was a really luck break for us.
Gus is an enormously successful guy in the biotech field, but to me is he just
one of my closest friends, a very genuine person, and was there for me in
every sense of the word during jim’s hospitalization. He called me every day,
twice a day, for those 3 weeks, whether or not he was in the UK, Cuba or
Japan. Have a think on it, okay?

Have a great weekend, my lovelies!

Allie
xoxoxo

Nonna Mary, you are an amazing woman. Don’t know that I could maintain such a positive attitude and deal with everything you currently are coping with.

You are definately a glass half full person, and I admire that tremendously. Hats off ta ye.

Verano: your way is certainly easier. The broiling adds a bit of “smokiness” but you could get the same effect with some smoked paprika or even liquid smoke (odd stuff….assume it is available in UK).

Yes to freezing….nothing in them that is fussy that way.

Still here but still stuck and the weekend is upon us. Only good news, if you can call it that, hubby has annual blood results and his triglycerides are high, not super high but above top of normal. Anyway, he is in a bit of a panic and he probably wont touch alcohol this weekend even though he doesn’t drink half a much as I did and even less now that I hardly drink. He has maybe 2 red wines on Friday evening, one whiskey and a couple of reds on Saturday and 1 or 2 reds with Sunday dinner (we eat in the evening), then nothing during the week that I know about. I think he sticks with me with no carbs but follows dinner with cheese several evenings a week. He also has this thing where he is being healthy and has a yoghurt after lunch but that is on top of his cake (just twice a week) – I try to tell him that I’m my eyes that is 2 puddings. What do you think. Anyway he is pooping his pants as he hates doctors anyway. It is good news for me as I wont have to be worried about being tempted by him pouring a glass or two of wine.

Welcome aboard Allie, but crikey ‘ you had me worried there for a moment,😱 When I agreed to no liquids before meals, hadn’t even considered that could include wine😨 Thank goodness our mate, Verano is such a tolerant and caring person – good answer, V 😉

Errr, exactlyhow much time does it take to glug a pint of water? Takes me all of 30 seconds😜

Sorry to hear about o/h’s diagnosis but if anyone can help him reverse it, it’s you. Will be much easier to do BSD together too. Very early days for him – tell him to fill up on water😉 Good luck.

BTW – I had to go out unexpectedly this morning so am only now having breakfast – usual yoghurt and berries – so still haven’t had my 2nd pint of the day. Really missing it, so will be necking it down any minute 😜

Hi V, good on ya girl, hope the nurse passes it on to the doctor. My new chiropodist said on Tuesday, are you eating plenty of carbs to keep your BG stable. I soon put her right, that is the second one who has said that. My normal girl is on maternity leave and it will be someone different next time (January apt) so I will probably have to preach it all over again. Hey ho, we are the winners in this.

It is crazy, Allie, but I know exactly what you mean😩

Haha on the alcohol front – and there’s me thinking my maintenance buddy was Miss Goody Twoshoes 😉😜 and putting me to shame😛

Now I know that’s not the case (though you haven’t actually admitted you’ve turned to drink!) shall we raise a glass (or 2) to each other’s hoped for weight stabilisation? 😉

Well just had my first failure of the day. Didn’t leave myself enough time to have a ‘pint’ before brunch. Result of a really bad morning! So for his first BSD lunch I made Esnecca’s shakshuka with spinach, mushrooms and home made tomato sauce and eggs. Well he ate, smiled and asked where the main course was! I’ve told him it gets easier but this is only day 1 and he’s already doubting this WOE. We are out tonight having Thai food and he’s already worrying about rice! We will see!

Whilst polenta might not spike BG and even act as a regulator, to my way of thinking, given the usual portion size for this type of food, the carbs come out way too high for a low carb way of eating. I would suggest avoiding or only having very small portions very occasionally until you move into maintenance.

Thanks, Verano. This will be fun! Did you hear that, Theo? V says we can have
a glass of wine 🙂 Does that mean with breakfast and lunch, too?? Only kidding,
of course! On the other hand 🙂 🙂 🙂 ……….Sorry to hear about o/h, though. You
are the ideal person to help him get diabetes into remission, though. I hope
that he’s more amenable to taking suggestions than my husband is. I’ve yet
to be successful in getting him to give up the cold cereal for breakfast. 25gm
of carbs, good grief! However, I switched him to unsweetened almond milk,
so a small victory there. Now that you’re on a mission on his behalf, maybe
this will be just the thing you need to help you refocus, yourself ! 🙂 I’ll keep
reporting in, regardless of what the scale registers tomorrow.

Have a great weekend All,

Allie

Hi Mokovex – strange how things fall into place like that, isn’t ? Do ping me a message and I’ll happily post you some grains next week.

Well done on your reported loses Marie123 and alibalibee. I’m down on yesterday but not counting chickens, so will wait until Tuesday to report progress – hopefully. Have been out gardening this morning, pruning back a couple of big buddleia and planting in some primula and Chinese foxglove.

Keeping busy is the best thing to do, to avoid giving into that little devil – that and another glass of water, or cleaning your teeth (the peppermint flavour makes eating less appealing).

Have a good w/e BSD everyone.

Thanks Marie.
Day two for me today – feeling slightly light headed but otherwise fine. Drinking water like it’s going out of fashion, and in 36 hours I’ve lost 1.7 kg. I know it’s fluids, but I numbers like that give me some encouragement, especially when the little devil on my shoulder is already telling me that it wouldn’t be so bad to go over 800 calories, what’s 100 calories between friends? Any idea how to shut him up? I think keeping busy might be the answer – I’m not at work today.
I’d forgotten that I’d ordered the recipe book and it arrived today, so have been planning what I’ll be eating next week. Need to go and do shopping now, which I’m not looking forward to…

Hello everyone, my first week is going well. I reckon i’ll be down 4 pounds tomorrow which for someone with only 18 to lose and almost 50 years old is good going.
I’ve been out twice , stuck to gin and slim line tonic one night, and had a sensible late night snack. Had a reception event with canapes another night (i couldn’t not try the canapes as they were made by SEN pupils and I wanted to try), i ate a few, only regret the two just before I left (as they were now cold and not so nice), had a small glass of red wine, didn’t really need it but i’m learning.
I reckon i’m probably closer to 1,000 cals a day, only counted the first two days. Mega busy at the moment so no time to count cals or exercise beyond my normal walk to work and back.
The first day was hard, the second I knew I had a lovely meal to look forward to in the evening so that helped. After the first two days its been far easier (little grumbling hunger ). I’ve been incredibly thirsty, a bit unhappier ( i use food to stop boredom and when i need emotional boost) .

Good luck with the running you two. Kind of wish I could say I was doing the same thing, but I’ve never managed to stick to a running plan, mainly because I seem to hate running! More of a walker and a cyclist.

Hope you’re all prepared for Monday!

Yes of course jump aboard Allie! No I think you should be keeping the wine. I know it’s ’empty’ calories but sounds like both you and Theo need all the help you can get!

I’ve just posted about my OH on another thread:

My OH has been pre-diabetic for many years but I really didn’t understand the implications of that. Anyway, he was given metformin about 5 months ago but it didn’t agree with him so he stopped it 3 months ago. His latest HbA1c shows he’s into the diabetic range now so has been given glycosides??? Anyway, with the diabetic nurse’s permission, I’m going to try and get his BS down with BSD. He was quite reluctant not to take the pills as he has an ‘if they are prescribed they must be needed’ attitude. Unlike me who won’t take anything unless it’s absolutely necessary! Don’t know how easy it will be because he loves bread etc. but he’s prepared to give it a shot and I will do my best for him. It may just help me as well to get back into full on BSD, who knows!

So that’s where I’m up to and hopefully with this water challenge and cooking more BSD friendly food for him, I will start to lose again too.

Marie I saw my Dr this morning and she really does think my diabetes is in remission. She asked how I’d done it and told her that in the middle of 2016 the practice nurse started talking about adding another drug to my metformin, a friend lost a toe to badly managed diabetes and at the same time I found the Blood Sugar Diet and Michael Mosely. I told her that basically I’d given up simple carbs which was hard at first but is now second nature. She actually seemed quite surprised but very pleased at the same time. I’m sure that this way of life will eventually filter down to all GP’s surgeries.

Marie it does work and you will get there. I just wish there were more people still here who have reversed their diabetes, who are willing to speak up and add weight to my experiences.

My OH has been pre-diabetic for many years but I really didn’t understand the implications of that. Anyway, he was given metformin about 5 months ago but it didn’t agree with him so he stopped it 3 months ago. His latest HbA1c shows he’s in the diabetic range so has been given glycosides??? Anyway, with the diabetic nurses permission, I’m going to try and get his BS down with BSD. Don’t know how easy it will be because he loves bread etc. but he’s prepared to give it a shot and I will do my best for him. It may just help me as well to get back into full on BSD, who knows!

‘Morning, everyone!

Theodora, with respect to wine, what gives you the impression that I haven’t
turned to it? 🙂 🙂 🙂 Haha – Certainly trying to not make it a daily habit, though!
Tomorrow is weigh day for me. I approach the scale with trepidation now…
How utterly crazy is that ????

Theo and V – Would it be okay if I join the two of you? For those who are
trying to stabilize or gain a bit, does this also mean no glass of wine while
preparing dinner, or are we only talking about chugging water? Sorry to
sound so thick! 🙂

Allie

Heather – it’s so good to see you posting again. You have been missed! So sorry to read about your mum and your relationship. You seem to have a good understanding of why you’re mum was the way she was. I hope she has found peace. I also hope you have too? I love the sound of your lifestyle with your chooks. My aunt and uncle have just recently acquired 8 brown hens and I love the way they run to me when I arrive. I know they’re only hoping to get fed but it’s a nice welcome even so!

Allie – woman, to grab your husband like that, he must have thought he was on a promise, how disappointing for him to know it was his nicotine and not his feramones that was driving you crazy! 😉😁

Ok, confession time….. as you know, I was spending Wednesday afternoon with my mum, then meeting my uncle later as he was taking us out for a long promised meal then staying overnight. Well it was a very fruitful shopping trip for mum. We went to one of those outlet villages just outside Evesham. I’d fasted all day and was saving myself for the meal. I was very good with my selection of sheekebab starter followed by tandoori chicken on skewers with a side of veg. No popadoms, rice or naan bread. BUT…. 5 glasses of red wine was drunk. I thought of Mary’s words… be mindful Kaz. Mary, I thoroughly enjoyed the wine and didn’t mind at all! However, I felt rather worse for wear yesterday morning! We had kippers for brunch and then I came home and snoozed all afternoon on the sofa! I peaked on the scales this morning and was 2lb up! It was worth it and I am back on track now. I finished The Obesity Code before I went and read all about fasting and feasting so I feasted weds night and now it’s time to get back to fasting! It says in the book that there will be occasions when feasting is unavoidable but the main thing is to enjoy those times, fairly mindfully, but importantly to get back on track.

It’s been a most enjoyable staycation this week and just what I needed to recharge my batteries.

I’ll be back…..

Kazzee xx 😘. Ooh look, I’ve found the emojis!!! ❤️

I answer to anything, lol xxx

Same for me. I’m trying to get a run in before work most mornings because then it’s done and I’m also more awake for work. I’m going to give the headspace app a go too – such a carb grazer when I’m feeling unsure or anxious. I reckon if we can get week 1 done, we’ll start feeling much better and more in control. Have a lovely weekend, all. Roo

Thanks Kazz

I’ll definitely give the Sudocreme a go.

Marie x
By the way is it Kazzee or Kazz, or do you answer to anything !

Aaah Mary. You’re in a right pickle with it, aren’t you? Try the sudocreme and also, I bought new pillows, new pillow cases and put a clean one on every day. A bit of a chore but I was willing to try anything. Xxx

Hi Marie. The antibiotics were oxytetracycline or something like that. They did work quite quickly and I took them for 7 months gradually reducing from 4 per day to one every other day. By this time I was using sudocreme as well. I’d defo try the sudocreme first. I don’t think long term use of antibiotics is particularly good for our gut flora! Let us know how you get on.

Kazzzeee xx

Hi Donna,

I’m away to see how my uncle is doing and will be staying with him for most of next week. Hope you’re going well. Will catch up with you when I get back.

Take care
Marie x

Many Thanks Kazz and Marie. I will have a go at Sudocreme..I will try anything! Mine doesn’t flare…it just exists and gets worse. At the moment it is creeping ever forward on my face. The most difficult bit is the eyelids. The flakes fall into the eye and cause conjunctivitis. I plaster myself in Vaseline and then have to scrape the skin off in the morning (sorry for graphics). Behind the ears are cracked and sore. Needless to say, I can’t wear dark colours lol.

Anyway…the sun is out and it’s frosty. It’s a good to be alive day!

Love you all
Mary
xxx

Hi Panda Bear,

Hope this week has been another positive one. I’m away now and for most of next week. Look forward to reading how you’re doing when I get back.

Cheers
Marie x

Oh, I missed your post, Kazz. That’s interesting. I have acne rosacea so I might try the Sudocreme. I don’t suppose you can remember what antibiotics you were given. I was given some stuff years ago but it didn’t really do much. Still, I’ll definitely give the Sudocreme a try.
Marie

Hi Mel, Ali, Roo,
I’m keen to start Monday too. Just ordered the books and then found this forum. It’ll be easier to do together. I’m 49, live in Belgium, and over the last few years have slowly put on kilos. Food and wine can be so relaxing after a day of work and I make less and less time for sport. So it’s time for a longer period of low calories, no wine and back to running, hoping for a visible result.
veerle

Take care Nonna Mary
Marie X

See I told you I’d keep popping back on!

Good morning my friends.

Well, off line for two days and what a lot to catch up on!

Mary, my psoriasis also flares this time of year. I really do empathise with you. A couple of years ago I had a particularly distressing flare up of inverse psoriasis and it was so painful I couldn’t sit comfortably or sleep. In desperation I cut out all wheat, dairy, alcohol and after 3 days it began to calm down. By 2 weeks it was 80% cleared. Trouble was I didn’t know what the actual trigger was. I didn’t care really, was just glad of the relief! My mum handed me an article about a new drug, not containing corticosteroids, that has just become available. Called Soratinex by Franklpharma.co.uk. Not yet available on the NHS unfortunately. Costs £121.05 for a large pack. Have a google and see what you think. I have no doubt the stress caused by your grandie’s chicken pox has not helped one bit. So sorry to read about that. I’m very relieved to see she is responding well to the antibiotics. When my face was really bad with acne rosacea, I was given antibiotics which did clear it mostly. Now, I can keep it at bay by using Sudocreme on my face every night. Would it be worth trying some on your face? It may help a little with it being an antiseptic cream. I’m sending you virtual hugs, my friend.

Allie and Heather…… I’ll be back to respond to you both in a bit….

Kazzeee xxx

I agree, Verano.

I was diagnosed with Type II in August. Of course, I’d prefer not to have diabetes, but from the beginning I’ve considered myself lucky to have been diagnosed at this point when there is this big shift in thinking and people like Roy Taylor, Jason Fung and Michael Mosley and others are providing accessible, evidence-based strategies for its reversal, or at the very least great control.

And, you do right to be proud of yourself. It’s richly deserved.

Marie x

As I said above, maintenance not easy. A pound down this morning again😢 So now only managed to hold onto 0.75 lbs of my much needed gain😢 Hey Ho – back to the drawing board!

Thank you Luvtcook. I appreciate the shoulder. I am ok now. It just gets to me sometimes. The worse bit was reading that Psoriasis comes and goes…mine just gets worse.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE! Let’s make it a good one!

Later peeps.

Back to normal Nonna.
xxxx

Hello Alibalibee and welcome – great news about the blood test results. Good idea about the photo – hope your first week goes brilliantly and look forward to reading how you’re doing.

Mokovex – Great to see you back in the game! It is an interesting discussion on Kefir. I think I need to concentrate on expanding on my low carb meals right now – I’m tending to eat the same thing over and over – but am storing this info away for the future.

So, I’ve lost another 1lb this morning so am now 10 stone 8lb. A plateau will be following shortly but it’d be great if I got to 10 stone 7lb beforehand. Roll on tomorrow!

I’m away now until late next week so will miss Tuesday’s weigh-in. Have a good weekend everyone.
Marie x

Well done, AnneF! And great to hear that everyone feels it easy to get back onto the BSD after “slipping”.

My computer has obviously been on strike! When I posted yesterday, the last post I saw was mine on 9th November. Hence my comments about it being quiet. Far from it! Today I can see all the posts up to today. Weird! Anyway, have enjoyed catching up with everyone.

Still 8st 13 lbs this morning. I do wonder if it’s because we are not eating as much fish this week, although we are staying within the 800 calories. But perhaps we haven’t been as active this week, as the weather in Kent has been pretty grotty or, as many of you agree, the weight loss is certainly random! Gym today though, so fingers crossed. Only a week and a bit to go…

Is it best to maintain on the Mediterranean or 5:2 diet? I know the 5:2 has worked in the past, but would like to try the Med diet. Which is easiest to stay on? I feel I don’t have to worry for 5 days out of 7 on the 5:2 and know that I can happily do 800calories on a Monday and a Thursday, for example. Any advice of great Med diet books would also be gratefully received. Thanks, guys.

Well done Theo! Just about to have my first tea of the day but will have a ‘pint’ before brunch at around 12ish. No I won’t start another thread at the moment as I’m going away on Wednesday so one thread will be more than enough to keep up with.

Quite excited to have a ‘plan’ involving water. Hoping it will help me to curb my wine habit too!

Check out the thread ‘101 Ways with cauliflower’ there are some great ideas. I’ve just checked my recipe on there and I don’t use garlic or thyme but I do use celery, just a slight variation.

Sounds like a plan V.

Just had my first pint of the day, will have a cup of tea in half an hour, coffee an hour after that, then no more liquids until after my breakfast at 11am.

Will leave the decision of the new thread to you.

Theo x

Hi I make a cauliflower and red pepper soup and it really is delicious. I use the same recipe as yours but I don’t broil/grill the cauliflower first and it still works a treat but with less work! Oh and I use vegetable stock!

I am a fan of Cornmeal and the research I have read rates it very highly in regulating blood sugar. Polenta (aka cornmeal) comes in 4 grades stone-ground, coarse, medium or fine which are made from dried and ground maize – the choice is personal but basically they are all the same thing. In the USA they also use the terms grits or masa harina. These are not to be confused with farina or semolina as they are made from wheat. To alter the texture of your polenta, mix different grinds to find a combination that you like. My favourite mixture for for polenta is 1 litre of boiling stock or water with 100g coarse, 100g medium and 50g fine, I don’t add cheese normally, but here is the basic recipe that I began with before tweeking it to my taste.
Polenta
Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
4 cups stock or water
1½ cups yellow cornmeal
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 375°F, spray baking dish with vegetable oil. Bring broth to boil in heavy based saucepan over medium heat then gradually whisk in cornmeal (I use an electric one) continue to whisk until mixture is very thick, about 3 minutes then mix in cheese. Pour into the prepared dish, smooth the surface and bake until top begins to brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot, feeds 4 but any leftovers are great with scrambled eggs, or cut into “chips” or “patties” and fried.
Nutrition Information
Calories:300,
Fat:5.3g
Saturated fat:2.7g
Carbohydrates:51g
Sodium:1281mg
Fibre:2.5g
Protein:10g

Thank you Allie and Luvtcook, and your grandmother was right! I have a ‘big’ birthday coming up one month today and my goal was to reach that and be drug free. Apart from a calcium supplement, because of my impaired mobility, I don’t take any other medication. So, yes, I’m feeling pretty proud of myself despite still needing to lose weight. But hey nobody is perfect. I’m just delighted to have reversed my diabetes.

I have just been reading this article and I think it’s time for anyone with type 2 to rejoice at the fact that the condition really can be reversed with a little perseverance and some hard work http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/news/2017/09/type2diabetesisreversible/. Just waiting for the full results of the current research to be published.

Well that more or less proves it…fasting bloods are, like Verano and 2BD said, COMPLETELY random (more or less!)

I am currently in deepest Cornwall (for work), so lots of yesterday was getting here – only just over 5000 steps registered on my (replacement)Fitbit . I was in a hotel the night before too, so breakfast was porridge ( but probably instant), I did manage to have just a salad for lunch, but already I am more bad carbs in than I wanted to be.
My sister lives down here so I offered to take her out for dinner. She booked a table at a pop up Japanese – wonderful, but no menu choice – they cook – you get food! So we ate Edem beans, huge bowls of rich pork and noodle soup and gorgeous basil ice cream. I even drank some Sarki . Mmmmmmm I was thinking – those rice noodles (bad white rice!)and the instant porridge and the alcohol and not much exercise at all…might as well right off my fasting blood level in the morning…

What does it measur today? 5.0 – a pretty much perfect score!! Stopped being frustrated tho given the comments – more faintly amused! Can’t wait to get my Hb1Ac next week.

AnneF I have reported on another thread but I’m really, really happy to keep saying my BG has fallen again from 33 to 29 after 3 months of being metformin free! My cholesterol has risen from 4.5 to 5.2 but overall my good cholesterol had gone up and my bad has fallen. Weight has risen very slightly but no surprise there and negligible really.

I have just been reading this article http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/news/2017/09/type2diabetesisreversible/ and it is very interesting. Have a read.