Mary, what a wonderful friend you are, not only here but in terms of your
“real life” relationships as well. I really hope that your “bestie” will embrace
this way of eating, and it never hurts to be a role model for her. Husbands
are always another story!!! I was called “the food Nazi” around here
(affectionately, of course 🙂 ) for a good 9 months. I almost fell over in a
dead faint during jim’s hospitalization when he said that the food they
delivered to his room was inetible, (sp?) and he couldn’t wait til we got
home so he could eat “my food”. No more grimaces, etc.! Is your Sat.
night dancing challenge almost over? Unfortunately Doc Martin has
begun reruns of the season. I’m thinking of having our first wood burning fire
tonight in the fireplace, instead. Going to hunt down some old newspaper,
I’ve already found a cache of hard wood logs out on the porch. Enjoy
your evening, everyone!!

Allie
xoxoxo

Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are one remarkable women and I have great admiration for you!

Esnecca, how wonderful for you! I have not worn a dress in over 15 years (my bottom so much bigger proportionately than my top, separates always work better. Slack and tunics have become my uniform).

I dream of the day I can buy a pair of petty tall leather boots to wear with a skirt. My calves are just too big to do that now. But I know that day will come.

I hope you dance the night away and make your OH so very proud to have a glam goddess on his arm!

FFBB…I didn’t know BP tablets could have an effect. I had the Psoriasis before I took the tablets though. But I would be interested to know which type your mother took? Kazz and I take the same ones …Losartan…and they have lots of side effects (don’t they all?). Be careful crossing that road, but enjoy your lovely Red coat.

Allie…shame about the weekend, BUT…spend the money on the clothes. If you are anything like me you have lived in baggy “comfortable” clothes for years! You deserve to feel good and dressing up can do that. That skirt sounds lovely. When eating at my daughters on Sunday, I wore a dress that I haven’t worn for ages. Jovis commented that it was longer than before, because my stomach wasn’t lifting it up. It was hanging on me and I used to stretch it…I felt very good. I haven’t lost the weight I gained last weekend and don’t think I will this week. I am going to relax tonight and begin again tomorrow or Monday.

When my friend came around last week, she noticed I had lost a little weight and I told her how. I bought, both the recipe book and the 8 week blood sugar diet and left them inside her porch today. She phoned me and was so pleased. She is going to read them over the next few weeks. Like I said, even if she doesn’t follow the WOL she can still use the recipes. Her husband has arthritis and carries a hell of a lot of weight around his gut. I am hoping she will be able to persuade him to join her, but I don’t think he will. He enjoys his indulgences too much.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Love from
Nonna Mary
xxx

I did it in stages, V. Every time I got to the point where I could no longer keep my pants up, I went through my closet and dresser and filled a box to donate to Goodwill. I found it very helpful in keeping me looking forward and not stuck in the sad billowing black polyesters of my past. I would buy exactly two pieces every 4 sizes or so I went down: a pair of black pants and a pair of sweats. The shirts I could work with for as long as it took, but your bottoms really do have to at least kind of fit. The last major purge was in September and it made way for the lovely new clothes I snagged at the Labor Day sales. Now I’ve added a ton of winter clothes to the mix so the few big sweaters that managed to survive my ruthless purges have gone to Goodwill too.

To all…..just watched several Jason Fung MD videos with great data from a number of research studies that show basal metabolic rate does indeeed go UP for fasters (studies he looked at did alternative day fasting) where as the poor schlemiels that did the old fashioned calorie restriction diet saw their metabolism fall.

More good news….those fasting saw their hunger hormone (grelin) drop over time, whereas (you guessed it) old calorie restriction dieters saw their hunger hormone steadily increase with weight loss. His point: calorie restriction is truely a recipe for failure. Fasting data is a plus in every column. AND….the rate of weight loss is the same for men and women who are at the same weight. And there was no plateau for those who stuck to the regimen (over the long haul….I am sure there were many stretches where nothing showed on the scale only to fall off the following week, etc).

And for those who might ever want to try it, if you do a multiple day fast, the rate of weight loss actully goes up from Day 1 up to Day 4 and then starts to gently slide/taper off. I had started a 3 day fast this morning and now have talked myself into seeing if I can extend it to 4 days. Will let you all know how it goes.

For any wanting to watch the video, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iatPAjf5I_Y

I feel like I have been given the secret password to unlock the treasure room. The treasure if free for the taking.

Thank you! I have been so busy today I didn’t get to either the mayo or the tuna! Only got to the ironing and following on from another thread, I keep washing, ironing and wearing these far too baggy clothes ….. why? When did you start to get rid of your ‘bigger’ clothes. Was it early of late on into your weight loss?

My favorite way of using chia is to grind it up in my spice grinder and it to coconut, hemp or almond milk (all unsweetened, of course). A quarter cup of chia to a cup of liquid is the usual proportion. Let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes and it’ll thicken all on its own into a pudding. Absolutely delicious. For a big treat, try it with coconut cream. It’s high in fat and therefore calories so you can eat much of it on the 800 cals, but the carbs are virtually nil and the rich, custardy mouthfeel feels like an indulgence of the highest order.

Other sources of fiber without a carb hit are flaxseed crackers, lupini beans, rapini/broccoli rabe, spinach and sprouts (just the kind from low carb veg like broccoli, alfalfa, clover, etc., not the kind from beans). I eat at least two items from this list every day.

Hi,

I’m a newbie and have been reading through this thread. I am trying to do the 20g carb challenge but am struggling to get enough fibre. Are any of you able to share some of your meal plans on what you have been eating? I have added chia seeds in the last couple of days but can’t say I love them.

Thanks everyone and keep up the good work.

Clare x

I have recently become an expert in insane online shopping sprees and I strongly encourage you to BUY IT ALL. But if you can, wait until Friday-Monday because that thousand dollars could be cut in half come Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

I bought my first dress in 20 years a few weeks ago. Because my thighs are weird, as my cat keeps reminding me, the dress is midi length which is very much on trend anyway and looks great with a pair of hot pumps or tall boots and ankle boots. I also bought a gorgeous skirt at White House Black Market that is festive but conservative (it’s black with gold jacquard embroidery and wide box pleats) so I can look good on my OH’s arm when we schmooze with his new employers at the office Christmas shindig. They both fit like a glove and make me feel like a teenager dressing up for the big dance.

In conclusion, Allie, treat yourself! How much have spent on clothes in the past 17 years? I’m guessing pennies. After all your hard work, now’s the time to invest in looking as great as you feel. 🙂

WOW Esnecca – Awesome! Congratulations on your fantastic achievement. It must have stunned you this morning to see such a low figure. Amazing news.

Good grief, Esnecca, you’ve actually done it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t be happier for
you 🙂 🙂 🙂 Enough, now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The scale told me I weighed 120.6 lbs this morning. I stared at it for a solid minute to make sure I wasn’t seeing things or still asleep. I ate 3 oz of cheese yesterday! And 15 grams of peanut butter! I expected the scale to go in the other direction. I still can’t quite believe it. When I’m a little less stunned, I might have to run around the house yelling “GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL” like a Spanish football commentator.

Thank you Verano, I have a smile on my face and feel so much less guilty
at the moment! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I wear a lot of black too, and a cold shoulder top
DOES detract from the bingo wings! I’ve been eying a pencil skirt with a
black lace overlay for the party season. Now I’m just going to go for it!
Black suede pumps, etc. Your a bad influence, but thanks so much! I’m
not sure o/h will be as pleased about it as I am, but he will just have to
adjust to the new/old me! 🙂

Hi Allie

Just sat down after doing a mountain of ironing before we go away next week. I hate to leave any washing/ironing before we go. But I can identify with the clothes problems!

Why not have a dress ? I don’t wear dresses because I have loads of scars but otherwise I would and you absolutely should! Go on be a devil!

I have disposed of so many clothes many still with labels on. Too small when I bought them but thinking ‘ I will lose weight’ and now that I have they are too big!

If you are buying online you can always return unwanted items so go on spoil yourself and have a day of trying on and twirling and deciding which clothes really suit you the best. I have had loads of stuff over the last few weeks trying to find a party outfit. Most of it but not all, has gone back but I have chosen, sorry, a black cold shoulder strapped top which hides the ‘bingo wings’ but still looks quite dressy for my party. I know it’s still black but it just seems appropriate at the moment.

Sorry your weekend has been spoilt but there’s still time to spoil yourself!

That’s great, Verano! I have indeed posted it before and I didn’t want to search for it either, which is why I forgot an ingredient: 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Gives a little zazz. Enjoy your tuna salad. You can throw caution to the wind with this mayo and make your tuna as creamy as you want. There are so few things you can do that with on the Fast 800.

Hi Both – the BSD is very much sustainable over the long term. There are lots of us on the forum who have been with the BSD for a year, 18 months and 2yrs. Some have reached target weight and are moving into maintenance and some are still on their journey. We are all unique and will lose at different rates, even if we have similar amounts to lose. Keeping low carb is key, so religiously tracking both calories and carbs is important and of course, keeping an eye on the all aspects of your progress is important too, as not all achievements are on the scales, so check your measurements and be conscious of health improvements too.

Best of luck Paloma and you too arcticfox. Make good use of the forum for advice and support and please join in on other threads, including the four week challenges, as these break up the eight weeks stints and makes them feel more manageable.

Kazzi ?

Hi, everyone! My weekend plans to spend it with my cousin and his wife seem
to have fallen by the wayside. Bronchitis has invaded their home, so here we
shall stay. Instead, I’ve been filling my online shopping cart at jjill, a U.S. Co.
that has clothing that caters to “women of a certain age”, yet plenty of style
for me. So far, I’ve loaded $1100 US dollars of merchandise into my cart,
which is ridiculous, so I’ve got to start winnowing down! I haven’t had a dress
or skirt on for a decade and a half. Should I risk it????????? I don’t want to
go crazy here. Where do I think I’m going to go anyway? I over bought in
the Spring, and am embarrassed to admit that several garments still have the
tags on them. Don’t want to do that again. Hmm, what to do…I’m no good
at decision making.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend. Let’s “talk Christmas”!
What sort of festivities do you all have planned?

Love to all my sweet sisters,

Allie

Yes of course she has …. I was hoping she might post her story too. I think it’s good for us to remind each other, and ourselves, every so often, of just how far we have come with our health. We need to be proud of our achievements because we have done ourselves really proud and we are still …. keeping on …..

Hi Verano – Sunshine girl has also been hugely successful. She was on very high doses of meds and insulin and has cut them dramatically. She is now only on half the doses she was on initially and is still steadily reducing both her meds and insulin.

Sunshinegirl. Well done on losing 3lb during this challenge so far. That is a lot of weight. Do you remember when I saw that old 4lb weight in a vintage shop earlier this year and picked it up, I was amazed at how heavy it was. You’re doing everything right. When I weighed myself on Tuesday this week I had only lost 0.2 lb but then on Thursday for no reason whatsoever I had lost 1.5lbs. My scales are up and down the same couple of pounds and that has been the pattern of my slow weight loss. It’s very frustrating. This is a life long way of eating for us now so you’re right to be strict about not letting carbs in. I am the same. If you keep on with the plan you will lose even if, like me, it is slow. Keep on doing what you’re doing and you will keep your weight slowly moving down. I think your plan to try new menu ideas is a great idea. One thing I did when I got stale was to psychologically pretend I was starting again. I was so excited when I started back in January because I didn’t know if this would work for me and when it did I was so happy. Like you I became a little stale of the same old same old as time went on so I read the book again, reset myself mentally and pretended I was starting again and it really did help. it may sound weird but it worked for me. Keep strong sunshine girl and keep on keeping on with your low carbs. You’re doing everything you can and it will happen – I am proof that this way of eating does work even if for some of us it is a painfully slow process and a test of our resilience!

We really must be creatures of habit! That sounds nasty Allie at least the water that poured out of my steamer was cold!

You are right … yes let’s just do this. So let’s call this Day 1 and start all over again. So far so good for me hope it’s the same for you both as well.

I think you may have hot the nail on the head s-g. We have been eating this way for an eternity and whilst I enjoy the food and don’t eat refined or simple carbs I have lost my motivation. I am still trying but it’s pretty half hearted despite all the challenges BUT I won’t give up! Nor will you! Yes let’s just keep going ….

Hi crabbycans. herbs and spices are virtually anything free but if you want to count them just at 10 cals per meal. That is about the average for some oregano, basil and bay in a bolognaise. Just for fun (yes I have a boring life) I checked out oregano. It has 265 cals per 100g, sounds a lot but if you think you use a teaspoon in a meal then share it between 2 people you will be getting 6.6 extra calories in your meal, the fat (yes fat) is 0.10g per serving and carbs are 1.72g per serving. So unless you are eating your herbs and spice by the 1lb dont worry about it. And, by the way, garlic is about half the values in herbs so stick it in and enjoy.

Best to also flap your arms around at the zebra crossing, FFBB, just to be
on the safe side! We really can’t afford any more accidents to our merry
little band. The grey and pink linen coat sounds beautiful!

Allie
xoxo

Hi all, I am up half a pound this morning so still hovering around a loss of 3lbs total for the challenge but stuck right now. I dont eat anything that I shouldn’t as I almost fear white carbs and dont have a sweet tooth so never crave chocolate brownies. Where I do go wrong is portion control and too much of the things I can have. Cheese, parma ham, rich charcuterie, that sort of thing, and of course wine. Although I have not had any in the past week but it doesn’t seem to make a difference whether I do or dont. I wonder if I have a glass of wine I am not so likely to search out some ham and cheese in the evening. I know I do have an empty feeling, like something is missing and I know that I could fill that hole with something like toast and jam BUT I never do. I cannot allow myself as I am so uptight about the whole carb thing. So I am going to relax, do some meditation, allow myself a glass or two of dry white wine and not feel so bloody guilty all the time. Monday is a new week so I will get my head back into it but doing my menu for the week tomorrow and try adding something different instead of the same old same old.

Sorry for the rant, just feeling a bit down with myself. Oh and I have still been exercising 4 / 5 times each week, even if it is just a brisk walk but mainly aerobics in front of the video. Enjoy the rest of your weekend all. And keep on keeping on…. I am trying to.

Good morning, my fellow water nymphs! Changing any habit, even how much
water to drink and WHEN isn’t as easy as I thought. Like you Theo, I thought
I’d make up for it later, but I ended being 2/8-10 oz glasses short for the day,
and I wasn’t about to chug it at 10:00pm!. When I was ready for lunch I
actually had to wait to eat it because I’d already downed a glass of water.
So, I have now placed a rubber band on my wrist to remind me to keep track
of the time. (simple plan for my simple mind!) V, what a day. We all have
them. Recently, I turned on the coffee maker at 5:00am, only to have the
10 cups of heated water explode out of it. After that, the plumbing backed
up and the bathroom flooded. All in all, a day when I would have done well
never to have gotten out of bed 🙂 Or at least learn how to appreciate tea!
Let’s do this, my friends!!!!!!!!!

Allie

Morning all, I’m with you again Verano, up half a pound this morning so still 1lb to the stone mark and 1.5 to be under. You and me have been at this for so long that, although we never give up and pile it all back on, we have lost our enthusiasm to keep going for the long haul. I can do a week and lose then I mess around after that. Monday is a new week and I am going to relax a little over the weekend (by that I mean have a glass of wine or two) while keeping my food BSD friendly and then back with gusto on Monday. Just looking at the calendar and I have 3 weeks from Tuesday before my next medical appointment. I really have to get back to what I was at my last appointment. Hopefully my BG will be okay but I have had one or two spikes. Keep going girl, I’m still with you.

A lesson to be learned indeed, V. Though one I think we already knew.

I had fully intended drinking my normal compliment of water yesterday, just not before meals. But, being out of routine and also having to go out unexpectedly for several hours meant my water consumption got left by the wayside. Literally didn’t think about it whilst so busy, whereas usually it is a habit to down a pint while preparing food. I shall try harder today – it’s a case of forming a new habit of drinking after meals instead of before. But I’ve had 2 pints today already, as well as a mug of black tea and 2 of coffee, so hopefully restoring full hydration.

Sorry both you and Krysia had “one of those days” yesterday – we all have them sometimes. Hopefully today will be better for both of you – and keep drinking the water. 😉

Hi Allie,

You are so right, my red coat is fun. I am also realising that I really suit blues and greens. I have a lovely size 16 linen coat from Per Una as my next non scale goal. It is soft grey with a pink lining and I can now put it on and fasten the bottom button so I think another 2 stone should be enough for it to fit nicely and losing 2 stone by March/April is doable.

My office is situated at the end of quite a dark road and I had a near miss on the zebra crossing so I figure they will see a red coat better.

FFBB X

Good morning

Well after a 2lb gain this morning I decided to look back over the last 23 days of my current 4 week challenge and the upshot is 7lb gained 6.6lbs loss so an overall GAIN of less just than half a pound! All that effort for nothing and really just a waste of over 3 weeks. I have been yo-yoing up and down like this for the last 5 months and dread to think how much I’ve gained and lost. I am certainly not working that one out!

So back to the drawing board now with 3.9lb to lose to drop into the next stone but with very much more resolve …. no more ‘playing’ at this, no more keeping on keeping on ….. time to knuckle down and ‘JUST DO IT’!!!!!!

Krysia …. today is another day and it WILL be better!

Thanks Krysia and yes it is a really good feeling. I know how well you have done and where you have come from to get to your present healthy state, but I hadn’t realised you were taking insulin as well. So doubly, doubly well done you certainly do need to congratulate yourself. You deserve all the health you have now and I can understand how you wouldn’t want to lose all of that.

I guess my journey has been much simpler because I didn’t have any health issues, apart from my metformin controlled diabetes which wasn’t causing any problems. I suppose with the set of circumstances at the time I decided it was just time to lose weight and get control of my health without drugs. I am now part way there. Diabetes under control without drugs and some, well lots of weight lost, but more to go. However, having reached my first, and main, goal it’s proving more difficult to ‘just’ lose weight for the sake of it. I will persevere though.

Seems Krysia that you and I could be the only diabetes success stories still posting. I hope that between us we can give hope to anyone tackling their diabetes with BSD at the moment. It may take a lifetime of BSD vigilance to remain healthy BUT we know it works and it’s worth it!!

Verano – I had one of those days yesterday. I spilled a cup of copy over my mouse and it went absolutely crazy – hopefully it has dried out now.

Theo you beat by a few moments I was just about to confess all! Amazing that you have gained half a pound by not drinking your usual amount.

I had a really bad day yesterday water wise, worse that normal. It started with my steamer breaking down and blowing all the sockets in my study with computer etc all going off. Fortunately all was well when we reset the fuse but that was the beginning of ‘just one of those days’. It ended nicely with good food, Thai, and good company but has left me with a 2lb gain this morning.

During the 23 days of this challenge I have actually gained 7lbs and lost 6.6lbs. What a total and utter waste of time and effort. If I hadn’t had the ‘bad’ days like yesterday I would have had a good loss overall. But your day yesterday Theo, and my salty food day, without enough water really point to how very, very important it is to stay well hydrated. A lesson for us all maybe.

So Theo what are you planning for today? It clearly is not good if it makes you feel less than your best when you limit your water intake. Maybe to start with you could try to not drink anything for 30 minutes before meals but drink during and/or afterwards.

I promise to try much harder today and at least make my goal of a ‘pint’ before meals and extra will be a bonus.

Hope you had a better day Allie.

Thank you both. I know so little about tofu I just thought it was a good idea to add some to my shopping list …. it just sounds so healthy! I think mayo it is! Thanks Esnecca I’m going to try that later and have it with some tuna. It sounds like an amazing substitute for mayo both calorie and carb wise. I’m sure you have posted that recipe before but I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to look for it now. Will let you know how it works out.

Luvtcook I did eat Thai last night and had mushroom Tom Yum I have never fancied tofu in it I think because I’m not sure I would like the texture. The soup was lovely though!

Good morning V. Just wondering how your water consumption went yesterday? Did you manage to drink more?

Not being allowed to drink liquids before meals sent my consumption way down,
as being out of my normal routine meant I kept forgetting, which has resulted in a 0.5lb gain this morning, which I’m sure is water retention as I’m feeling dehydrated this morning. I had intended drinking the same amount, just not before meals, so must try harder today. Obviously we are creatures of habit.

Hope you managed at least the extra pint before dinner and bedtime?

Hope you enjoyed your Thai meal last evening and o/h managed to resist the rice?

And what about you, Allie? How did you get on?

Hi articfox, your post came in as I am about to leave for the day – I’ll add more detail this evening once I am home again! If you are UK, got Hemp Powder from Planet Organic online, but I am sure at the time Sainsbury’s had it as well. Your protein is absolutely fine at 60g per day! That is on the high end unless you are very tall – I need 55g at 5ft 8″ (173cm)!. I can find references for you this evening on that, likewise on eating the whole egg not just a part of it.
Your exercise regime sounds great – I wish I could keep that going in that way 🙁

Hi Esnecca, thanks for your information. I wasn’t able to find any ready made seitan, so was saved from going down that path. Only one shop had wheat gluten and it was quite expensive and I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen over the last little while anyway. Not much luck with hemp protein either. I can find seeds and oil, but not protein powder. I could probably order it online, but I’m doing a bit better at the moment anyway. I found a protein powder based on pumpkin seeds which only has 2g net carbs, so bought a couple of sachets to try. It’s not bad, but I prefer Vega One. I found out that Vega does offer an unsweetened variety that is available online. I still have 1/2 a tub of what I already have to use up first though.
I am doing a moderate amount of exercise, but focusing pretty heavily on building up core strength at the moment. So three pretty tough strength workouts with a HIIT component for cardio each week with lots of walking and some swimming in between. I have managed to increase my protein intake by about 10g per day, but am probably still 15-20g short per day. So sitting at about 60g per day when I think I would be doing better at 75-80g. When I was doing quite intense amounts of exercise I needed to be getting around 110g per day to not feel run down, but should be able to get away with less than that now that I’m not doing so much.
I’ve been using RBeany’s idea of having lower fat dairy products but adding in healthy fats, and that is working well for me. I might do something similar and use egg whites rather than whole eggs so I get a high quality complete protein but add healthy fats back in. I’ve also decided to not worry too much about my cholesterol for the time being as it didn’t become elevated until I put on the weight, so hopefully just taking the weight off will help.

As you said you need ideas for helping vegans so i would recommend you to check out http://www.beegans.com/ where many ideas and articles related to vegans are available.

I had a similar incident several weeks ago with a small chocolate brownie at a work lunch, SueBlue! Luckily I didn’t have any non-BSD food in the house that evening because I was ravenous. I went way over my calorie limit that day though as a result. The sugar+fat combination seems to be very lethal for me. I have control with 90%+ cocoa chocolate, but not with anything with more sugar in it. A curse on all those people at work that keep bringing in sweets! Well, unfortunately it may catch up with some of them eventually and that would be too bad. When I was away for my work meetings last week, I could not believe how much of the sugar and simple carbs my colleagues were able to stuff away without any apparent ill effects, while I ate a much more moderate amount and ended up with a stomach ache and feeling tired and hungry.

Hi Paloma, and welcome. I am a non-diabetic with a family history of type 2 as well, and I am in week 7 and I have lost 7.5kg so far, or 16.5 lbs, so more than a stone. I had 20kg or just over 3 stone to lose when I started and it seemed like such a big task, but now I’m more than a third of the way there. Sometimes it seems like I’m losing slowly compared with others, but when I stop to think about it, I’ve lost the weight quicker on the BSD than anything else I’ve ever tried. The last time that I lost a lot of weight, it took me 6 months to take off 10kg and that involved a horrendous amount of exercise and I was hungry a lot of the time, and I couldn’t keep it up so I started to put the weight back on again after a few months. Now I’m only doing a moderate amount of exercise and as long as I keep my carbs relatively low I’m hardly ever hungry, so it’s been much easier to cope with and more sustainable for the long term I hope.

Mayo! In my experience, silken tofu doesn’t work at all in applications that require it to retain a recognizable solid state. That’s what firm and extra-firm are for. It is a fantastic low calorie, low carb shortcut to creaminess. Here’s how I make my fake mayo. Drain a 1lb block of silken tofu in a colander or sieve for 10-20 minutes until all the loose liquid drips off. Toss it in a blender or food processor with a clove of garlic, the juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper and smoked paprika (or herbs of your choice). Blend until smooth. I add a half teaspoon of plant gum or konjac powder to thicken it so it won’t separate after a couple of weeks in the fridge, but that’s not necessary. If it separates just give it a quick whisking and it’ll be right as rain again.

A tablespoon serving has 8 calories and .25 grams of carbs. You have to use a quarter cup of it to reach even a single gram of carbohydrate. This is why I bother. I use it as a replacement for high-calorie regular mayonnaise in egg/tuna/chicken salads, but it also makes a great addition to anything that needs a creamy element, like salad dressing and dip.

Thanks for the update. 🙂
I’m still trying to find what suits me best, but I’ve habitually ‘fasted’ for 12 to 14 hours for years, as I only get round to having breakfast by late morning. That wasn’t combined with calorie counting until this summer though.

Arcticfox I found this week, to my detriment, that even a small sweet induces carb cravings! I’ve been doing BSD for about 10 months now, and I’ve got used to not eating bread, cakes, chocolate etc. however at work this week, someone brought in a box of chocolates for the team to share, and put them on a shared desk, which is right next to mine. All week ignored them, then on Thursday felt like something sweet after lunch. I thought one small chocolate won’t hurt, I’ll just eat less at dinner. Boy oh boy did I pay for that chocolate! I felt so hungry by dinner time that I was snacking on cheese while cooking dinner and then had garlic bread with my meal – usually I don’t have it, but the rest of the family who are not on BSD do, then I spent the evening absolutely craving sweets, luckily there was no lollies, ice cream, chocolate or biscuits in the house. I dug out some pitted dates & had some of those! The next morning I felt so much hungrier than usual. I couldn’t believe that one small chocolate could send me totally off plan like that! You would think I’d know better after so long on this WOE. Lesson learnt though, and I was back on plan yesterday.

I do a lot of cooking but to be honest, have never had a ton of luck with tofu. It seems like so much work to make it taste like anything!

But my favorite local Thai restaurant has a lovely Tom Yum lemongrass soup that you can get with chicken or, you can order it a la veggie (my preference)….tons of large veg pieces (that goofy ear of baby corn, a slice or two of carrot, a few of broccoli, onion and some ginger), and a couple big cubes of siken tofu. Lots of cilantro tossed on top. It just feels like good health in a bowl. I love tofu that way swimming in a spicy citrusy steaming bowl of broth.

Sorry to be of so little help. Sounds like time for a good Google search.

Hi!
I have just finished the book and am planning on starting tomorrow – anyone else for moral support?
I am not diabetic (although I suspect I am high risk for type 2) – I am mainly doing the diet to lose weight and get back to a healthy weight. Just wondering how muchnothers have lost doing this for 8 or 12 weeks? I know everyone is different but just wondering on average what people have lost. I’ve got a good 3.5 to 4 stone to lose. It feels like such a mountain!!
Thank you!

Verano – well done – your results are so good. You must be so pleased that your diabetes is in remission – hopefully your OH will follow your excellent example.

For over 4 years I injected fast acting insulin after absolutely every meal and snack I ate because my pancreas was so worn out (probably clapped-out is a better description of my poor pancreas). For a whole year I haven’t had to – and it has been a wonderful year.

OK – I do have to keep even the good carbs quite low – but the freedom to eat lovely food without having to work out just how much insulin to inject with each meal is wonderful. They call it fast acting insulin – but it isn’t really because carbs release glucose into your blood stream much faster than the injections of ‘fast acting insulin’ can deal with it.

So you can have massive spikes – and massive lows. It was so easy to miscalculated how many carbs you have eaten and how much insulin to inject. All very stressful.

My Hba1c may never be as low as yours because it is quite likely that I have had undiagnosed diabetes for many many years – but I am really happy with how well I feel and that I will keep my eyesight and my feet for the foreseeable future.

So it is not surprising I stick with BSD friendly foods – to go back to eating bad carbs would send me back into a nightmare scenario. How lucky we are that we have the tools to keep ourselves healthy – the BSD and this forum work so well together.