Remembering with fondness the time when you could do up your shirt buttons

Love lucia
Xxxx

Hi,
It’s great to find a group that are looking at cholesterol levels as well. I’ve just started the blood sugar diet but can’t do 800 cals daily due to medications I take. With my doctor’s permission I’ve reduced carbs right down and have heaps of veg and about 2 fruit serves a day along with a small amount of protein like nuts and some meat. I’m also gradually increasing my water intake as well. I’m averaging around 1300 cals per day at the moment.
With a cholesterol of 10 and a serious addiction to carbs I’m on a mission to get this under control. My dr will run another test in 3 months time.
sunshine-girl I’m very interested to read about your Science of Nutrition course and the effect of carbs on your liver and cholesterol levels.
I’m finding the diet very satisfying and think I could maintain this quite easily overly time.

What kind of noodles do you have, Verano? Kelp noodles don’t try to imitate wheat/rice/refined carb noodles which is a good thing because they neither look nor taste anything like them. They can just be made to physically function like them. That’s the miracle of the sea vegetable. They can act as crisp salty snacks, wraps or noodles very effectively, but there’s still no confusing them with the starchy originals.

Which reminds me, I’m contemplating making some kind of sushi roll using caulirice. I have no idea if it’ll be any good or if I can make caulirice behave anything at all like sushi rice, but I do so miss sushi so I might just gird the ol’ loins and give it a go.

Hey everyone – Theodora I know that’s hard but week three losses should be really good! I had the same sort of thing happen as you and IWillDoIt I had a great loss first week 2.5kg but week two only .8kg.
I also had a big blowout day where I ate badly and had some wine. But like everyone is saying I’m not judging myself or hating myself for it – just getting back into it! Planned all my meals this week which I hadn’t done in previous weeks and today I went for a run with a friend – something I’ve really struggled to do lately.

Just on the struggle side has anyone else been experiencing light-headedness or dizzy spells?? I’ve had them a lot lately and so made sure I started taking multi vitamins. Any other suggestions or similar experiences?

Some really interesting recipes!

Esnecca I guess you could also use cooked shredded chicken. I have some ‘noodles ‘ in the fridge but just not sure I fancy them. Also I just don’t eat refined carbs so maybe they will be a bit too much like my ‘old’ food.

JM it’s really weird because I love fish but I hate ‘cooked’ fish that should be raw like smoked salmon. I really will give it a try and eat it with an open mind!

The meatza sounds lovely will definitely give that a go.

Eileen my guesstimates at portion size are lousy! I did count religiously until November and then lost my way. I aimed at 800cals and less than 30g carbs. That worked well. I was just getting back into counting but upping my carbs to less than 50g when I took ill. While I was in hospital I did my best to keep low carb but since I’ve been home I’m just eating within BSD principles but not measuring or weighing. I am actually looking forward to being well enough to start counting ‘properly’ again. For me low carb is more effective than calorie counting. What do you do?

Think tomorrow I’ll be making a big pot of pea soup … love soup!

Health/Ren65 – :-))

Good start. Hope headaches go soon.

I don’t know if it’s of interest to anyone else but these are the apps I’m using on my iPhone to help me track changes (in the hope that this will help motivate me). All are free to download:

Fitbit (connected to my Charge 2) – this tracks my steps, exercise, stairs, active minutes and resting heart-rate throughout the day

Sync Solver (synchronises Fitbit with Apple Health daily

MyFitness Pal (I love this app) – I track all food and water here throughout the day (really easy to keep an eye on calories and carbs). I have the Pro version but there is a free one

1byOne – this links via Bluetooth to my 1byOne scales and so I can easily track my weight daily. It also does BMI, BMR, body fat percentage, water percentage and visceral fat (although how reliable that is I don’t know)

Sleep Cycle – tracks my sleep daily

Progress – here I record my current measurements (neck, waist etc) and can save and overlay photos of myself to see if there is any difference

Apple Health – most of the captured data from the above apps updates to this one app. I add my daily blood pressure, pulse and fasting blood glucose here. This then sends updated info (with my permission) directly to my GP via the Patient Access app

Hi all. I have finished week 2 and lost 5kg in total. During the second week my loss slowed right down but still managed a small weight loss. So keep at it and don’t get too disheartened. I still miss my bread and a biscuit with my cuppa on a night. Hunger during day improving and I still find the meals from recipe book delicious. Think I have only had one disaster! Have now bought the second book for more recipes and inspiration.

Hi All, my first day gone well too. Although helped hugely by fact I am also full of a cold and not feeling like eating. Drinking lots of water with help of WaterMinder app. Hope everyone doing ok. Roll on tomorrow.

Hi all
First day going well. Under 800 cals and 50g carbs. Drinking plenty of water but still feeling a bit of a headache! Think an early night is on the cards! We can do this!x

Hey Ciao Bella – that sounds really positive. I also worked from home today (and tomorrow which has helped a lot) but tomorrow I’m going to need to make up meals for the rest of the week.

Am just eating my meal tonight. So far, so good. Being ill means I haven’t really been hungry (am struggling to eat dinner because my throats hurts so much). Despite counting my sugarfree strepsils (10 calories each), I’ve come in 100 short. That may change later depending on how many strepsils I need.

LizV. I cannot imagine how difficult things are in the US right now, here in the UK, we had similar with Brexit, I was on a protest March earlier this evening against trump and the UK government offering a state visit. The world seems to be changing rapidly, and in a horrific way right now, and I totally understand the powerful desire to use food emotionally. I guess the thing to hold onto, is that it won’t make any of those things feel better. And it will probably only make you feel worse longer term. You don’t have any control over the political world, or about the Friends death, but you do have control over you, and your body, what you put into it, how you nourish it and look after it, and the better you do the better (physically) you will feel.

I would say find people who think and feel like you, be there for them in these tough times and they will be there for you, and I think your thoughts to reduce the high energy exercise might be a good idea, could you try swimming or pilates?

Take care of yourself x

So how are we all doing at the end of day 1 (or day 1-ish)?

I think that i have had quite a good day. I was working from home, so I could choose what I ate. We have a small cafe at work, and usually i eat there (food of varying quality and good choices not always available), but this evening I made something to take with me tomorrow. I will be away for work from Wednesday and Thursday, so am a bit nervous about my food choices.

Overall though, I think that I had a good day. I kept within the 800 calorie limit and am feeling good on it. Lots of water and lots of peppermint tea.

How did you guys do?

Hello, I want to start with BSD as soon as I have celebrated my birthday this week. I have not finished reading the book, but I really want to start as soon as possible. I am a bit scared to give up on all the good food and my bad habits, but I want to start the new year in a good way. I have busy days with 120% work and three kids, so I wonder how I can cope with all the new things. I really wish that I had all the recipes in my own language (Norwegian). So if there is someone out there that have some easy recipes, I would be grateful.

LindaA, thank you so much for the salt information and for your continued presence here. It’s very helpful and encouraging to hear from you.

TumtumP, right there with you! Not much progress in weight this week. Here’s to a great week five!

End of Week 4 results:
This has been a difficult week mentally for me. My weight dropped very fast just in time for last weeks weigh in and then has been playing catch up all week, so this weeks weigh in is about the same. Still, it’s a good result: 24.5 # since Jan 2, 27.5 # since mid Dec.

My blood pressure is down to a healthy measurement 117/75 and my pulse is down. I am really happy about this!

Overall body fat percentage down from 52% to 47.7%, which seems good, but also is a little discouraging because I still have so far to go. (Is it even possible to get down to 20-25%?!)

I lost another inch around my waist and around my belly.

Confessions: I probably average 1,000 calories/ day. I’m fairly active and this is what feels right. This has also caused me quite a lot of mental stress this week as I joined a new gym and did some very demanding workouts. I had a couple 1200-1300 calorie days, and absolutely needed them. (All within diet). I think I’m going to go back to just walking, getting my 10,000 steps and some yoga, until the 800 portion is done, because I really want the low calorie benefits and I just can’t do it when I work out to peak heart rate. Anyone have any thoughts or info about this?

Challenges: Have been noticing how much I want to use food for comfort during difficult circumstances. We attended a particularly difficult funeral this week (a family with young children). I really wanted to binge eat after that. Instead I drank cream in my coffee as a treat. It worked, but the next day I was cranky and craving carbs.

It has been VERY stressful politically here in the US. I have dear friends and family across the spectrum who are very upset and angry, family members not talking to each other, lifelong friendships ending, things feeling very uncertain. My community is a sanctuary city, very diverse, immigrants are a vital part of my neighborhood and city. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the upcoming days. I’m needing extreme stress management techniques. Maybe it’s ok to eat more calories in particularly difficult times (like after the funeral) as long as they are in diet? Or maybe just continue to walk off the stress, go to yoga, etc? Any thoughts on that? Any resources that you would recommend? The political stress is unlikely to go away for a while so I know I’ve got to figure out how to deal with it. Any ideas that you all have would be greatly appreciated!

JulesMaigret – I reckon it is the same with me. It can’t be a coincidence that when I upped my exercise over Christmas I ‘reset my system’ and suddenly become a warm person.

The food’s good though and terribly BSD-friendly. The good thing is that if you subsequently go to the cities around Madrid with their “RP” pronunciation, their Spanish sounds so clear and slow.

The first time I went to Seville, I was totally flummoxed. Supposedly I spoke some Spanish but I couldn’t make head nor tail of what was being said.

Hi Snoop

I’d probably say “como ya dices”, but it sounds odd with the second “ya”. Then again I learnt my Spanish in Seville so I’d also do it in an impenetrable accent. 😉

Just so’s we’re clear, I wasn’t the original sockpuppet. My remark above is only meant to be friendly.

Week 1 completed and I lost 8.5 lbs

Feeling really pleased with myself. I’ve struggled with portion sizes and took a while to understand the ratio of carbs etc but the forums really helped me. I’m sure the next couple of weeks will be tough from reading the forums but I’m motivated.

It’s an internet forum phenomenon where posters pretend to be someone they’re not. It often manifests itself as posters creating new, multiple logins to make inappropriate or insulting posts. It’s generally seen as bad form. The give-aways tend to be a new poster whose first post doesn’t contribute to the discussions and is just provocative or insulting.

The idea is that the new login is just like an empty echo of the original poster.

It’s also expressly against this forum’s posting guidelines.

I apologize in advance for this very, very long post. I get a tad obsessive about recording the precise details of how I made something, because I spent the first 30 years of my life making stuff and forgetting how I did it. Add the calories and carbs counting and the details wind up a tad long-winded. It’s worth the read if you make the dish, though, I swear!

I made a version of my favorite Chinese takeaway, Shrimp Lo Mein, last week and while it doesn’t taste exactly like the standard because I could not use sugary oyster sauce or lo mein noodles, I was shocked at how delicious it was. It’s also one of the lowest calorie dinners I’ve made despite being very filling. You can literally eat half of it for 250 calories, and usually I end up eating no more than a third of it (a quarter for lunch). Oh, and also, like the original takeaway, it’s even better cold out of the fridge the next day.

Shrimp Faux Mein

8 oz crimini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
2 oz snow peas, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 clove garlic (5 grams), minced
1 medium green onion (16 grams), white part minced and green tops chopped
1/2 lb medium or large cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tblsp fresh lime juice
1 package (12 oz) kelp noodles
3 tsp toasted sesame oil
3 tblsp soy sauce
1 tblsp hot chili garlic sauce

First a word about kelp noodles. A lot of people don’t like them because they say they taste plasticky or fishy and the crunchy, translucent noodles are hardly nonna’s hand-made fettucine. I love them. If you put a little effort into the prep, they come out great. They taste like nothing, absorbing everything you put on them, and can be twirled like spaghetti no problem. The entire 12 oz bag is 24 calories and 4 grams of fiber, so zero net carbs, which gave me very, very good incentive to figure out how to use these guys right. What follows is my system established by trial and error.

Drain and rinse the kelp noodles in a colander. Thread your fingers through the noodle mat as you run it under hot water, separating out the strands as much as possible so it looks more like a bird’s nest than a brick. Squeeze the lime juice in a large bowl. Add a tea kettle full of boiling water. Put the drained noodles in the lime water and let sit for an hour. When the hour is up, strain again and let them sit in the colander until they’re called for.

Next up is the dressing. Combine soy sauce, two teaspoons of the toasted sesame oil, the chili garlic sauce and the minced white part of the scallion in a small bowl. Whisk. Set aside. If you have a low carb thickener (I use a combination of plant gums that is shockingly effective and leaves zero trace of itself in taste and color), you can add no more than a half teaspoon and whisk until the dressing clings to the whisk. It’s totally optional, though. You don’t need to thicken it for it to be awesome.

Put the last teaspoon of sesame oil in a large pan, heat on medium and sautee the mushrooms. Lightly salt and pepper to help them release their juices. Once they’ve softened a little, add the snow peas and sautee for a couple of minutes. I like them still crunchy with a bit of that delicious raw peapod taste. If you prefer them softer, cook an extra minute or two. Add the garlic and sautee for a minute until fragrant.

Add the shrimp. I buy them already boiled, but you could use raw. You just have to cook them first and readd once you’ve sauteed the veggies. You only sautee them with the veg for a minute or so to heat up.

Add the kelp noodles. Add the dressing. Mix everything together in the pan. I use one of those spaghetti claw thingies because it’s the best at distributing wet material through long noodles. The noodles will change color to the brownish red of the dressing wherever it’s mixed in thoroughly, it’s easy to tell when the sauce is well-distributed.

Serve topped with chopped green parts of the scallion. Or pack it all up and have it for lunches and dinners starting the next day.

Counting this as a feast for two (and it really could easily serve four), it’s 250 calories, 6 grams net carbs, 4 fiber per serving. It’s even lower in calories made with chicken rather than shrimp. Other veggies also work in this. It’s very versatile and adjustable to personal tastes.

Hi Theodra
I am justing week 4.Normally a warm person since starting i am cold all the time. The first week i lost 7lb but only a 1lb in week 2.
Good news is I have lost 4lb in week 3. I havent done anything differently just followed the weekly diet plan as set out in the book.
So please do not give up hope. Sorry dont have any tips about the cold
Good luck
Baz

Jules, i’m not down with the kids, what is sock-puppeted

Hello guys, I would also like to reach a similar weight. I just started today. I was prediabetic, 42 mmol/mol but now 39. But I still weigh 78kg and my waist size is 37 inches. I will be doing the diet for two weeks starting from today.

Hello everyone, I have just turned 41. The NHS now does over 40’s health assessments which involve a chat with a nurse, blood sugar test and weighing. I was told that my last blood sugar reading had been 42 mmol/mol which is apparently normal. When I realised that this was a prediabetic warning, I was horrified. My results are now back and it is now 39, still not great. I also have a waist size of 37 inches. I am on a mission to reduce this to 31 inches.

Y como bien dices… might be a bit more natural. 🙂

Happy Tuesday! yesterday was anniversary day in Auckland, so no posting. Starting weight for the week is 124.2. hmmmm!! have to go back over my food as all I had last week was salads and fruit. May have overdone the fruit as my favourite summer fruit is here! Golden Queen peaches and nectarines. Hubby is doing well, down 2 kg for the week, so all is progressing as it should be!
However for any league fans out there, this weekend is the NRL Nines! and we go every year. All I look forward to (which is crazy) is hot chips with tomato sauce. Yeah I know – will have to make up for that before we go!! I always end up with no voice and sore hands from clapping – can’t wait LOL!!
Onwards and downwards!!
KJ

Riley’s – Mmmm!

SSG – as ever, spot on. My Diabetes Nurse, who is a star, always says that she is amazed at the number of people who turn up with no interest in the condition and who just want a pill to make it all go away, or simply to fend it off and let them carry on as usual.

Y, como dices, ya veremos.

PS – If I get sock-puppeted again, I’m going to blame you ;).

Just looking back at my notes and horrified to find that when I was first diagnosed I was taking 4 glicozide tablets a day. Now one is too much. 4 Metformin. Now 2 is enough. In 3 months. That seems like such a long time ago, though.
Note to self. Just look at how far you’ve come!! MKx

Maharani kitten – the dietician at the patients meeting last week said very much the same words – that it is too hard to do for most people.

So could it be that we have superhuman powers that enable us to succeed where everyone else fails? Actually I really doubt that. Of course you all may have superhuman powers but as a serial (or cereal) failed dieter I know this way of eating is just brilliant and reasonably easy to follow and to succeed with.

A haemorrhoid! Snort! Snort! Just spat my cinnamon tea over my keyboard. 😂😂😂

Nigel Slater did a scrummy looking courgette ribbon, garlic, chilli, pine nut and olive oil plate while I was watching and ironing yesterday. Small glug of oil, crush garlic and cook gently, add chilli flakes and 25g pine nuts, toast lightly, add courgette ribbons done lengthwise with potato peeler. 3.5g carbs by my reckoning, looked lovely, trying it tomorrow. Love Nige, lots of his stuff low carb. I think it’d be good with cauliflower or broc too.

Also, Nigella’s Meatza – essentially a pizza with a minced beef, onion, egg, oregano and pepper base (she put breadcrumbs in but I’d leave those out) cook in oven 20 mins till browned,, put beef tomatoes mozzarella and basil on top. Nice with salad if you’re a bit hungry and a lunchbox contender in slices. Very low carb though cals would need care. Mkx

Jules, I agree with what you say, quoting Prof Taylor is better than some diet fad that is going around. My doctor is also with yours on statins, when I moved to France I was on 60mg and nothing could bring my cholesterol down, they should have realised something else was going on and tested me for diabetes, I had all the symptoms but was diagnosed with stress and given antidepressants, which I threw in the bin. When I arrived in France doctor insisted I had full blood works (it is routine here for new patients, especially with no medical records to refer to). He discovered I have diabetes and also cut the statins to 40mg which is the max dose allowed in France. He has since cut to 20mg and would prefer me not to be on them at all due to my suffering from cramps – now my cholesterol is right down to 3.7.

However, we must remember that we have gained so much knowledge and carried out our own research. To be fair to doctors most patients don’t have a clue, don’t want to know and prefer the easy route of taking meds. Also, not many people with diabetes would be willing to give up their beloved chips and mash or a Chinese with sticky rice. My doctor said he could not ask a French person to go without their baguette.

MK yes I object to being called a diabetic, it is as if I am defined by that label. I read someone saying if I had haemorrhoids would I be called a haemorrhoid, a person who has had a heart attack is not called a cardiac and so on. I try to refer to myself in terms of the illness as a person who has diabetes, for now. When I say the ‘for now’ bit people look at me as if I have 2 heads. Hey Jules, on verra.

So it should MK. It was always drummed into us nurses never to say ‘a diabetic/epileptic/any other disease’ but rather a person with diabetes/epilepsy etc. No one should be labelled by their health. Semantics to some, but I think it’s really important.

Don’t let the b*st*rds grid you down! 😀😀😀

@theodora – I am from the North East so I love Newcastle and I was working in Tynemouth which is really lovely – some great restaurants including a fabulous fish restaurant in a shack on the beach, however – the sunshine is certainly lacking up there! 🙂

Yes, it will be a trial to have my first alcohol since NYE but not go too mad, I seem to be fine when I quit completely (like dry Jan) but not sure how I will get on when I let myself have some but not loads. I did consider keeping up the no booze ban for a whole 3 months but I realise that it isn’t realistic to fly long haul and also stay in the wine region and not drink at all! I think as long as I keep the food good I could count any days that I do drink as my day in a 5:2 type plan….. Fingers crossed! 🙂

Also, does anyone else get as cross as me to be described as ‘a diabetic’ ? I see this as a temporary state and I simply hate being labelled. Even though I know that technically, this is what I am….

Well said, Jules, my view exactly.
I’ve spent a bit of time this pm making notes of the things I want to raise and how I’ll frame them.
Interestingly when I first saw the more ‘helpful’ GP he mentioned the Prof’s research but said it was too hard a path for most. So he knew about it. However, he put on my notes in December ‘ask Mrs Kitten how she’s got her numbers down so quickly’. I told him and he seemed more convinced. And impressed. But obviously not on my notes if the locum’s response is anything to go by. MK x

Yay well done TC!! Glad to hear the chocs have gone, even if you did end up eating a few more before ditching them. Here’s to achieving that 1.5lb loss this week – hope you have a good week and can report in at target next Monday – good luck!!

How’s everyone doing on Weigh In Day?

I’ve just completed 2 weeks, really strictly, but I am disappointed to say that both my scales and my tape measure record nothing at all lost in week 2 🙁

A little discouraged, but will keep on keeping on in the hope of better things this coming week.

Nowt wrong with Newcastle, Fraggle – fabulous city, just love it and visit on any occasion I can (which is many as my lovely son and his wife live there) It’s got everything anyone could ever want, except perhaps the sunshine 🙁 And vineyards of course 😉

Enjoy your trip to SA – just don’t be tempted by too much wine.

Make that 11 chocolates before I finally managed to dispose of the rest…..

Crikey, Clarity, what a fantastic loss in just three weeks – I’d be happy with that at the end of my 8 weeks!!!

I am only on day 1 of week 3, and I had a great loss of 8lbs in my first week, but I’ve hit the wall since my week one weigh in and 8 days later haven’t lost any more, not even inches, despite being really strict. Everyone hits a plateau at some time or other, and I was prepared for this, but wasn’t expecting to hit it after only one week, so you have been lucky that you got to week 4 before it hit!

Sadly no advice on how to break through again, other than hydration and to keep on keeping on, which is what I am doing, in the hope that this week I will see another good loss, particularly as I go away next weekend for 10 days.

But congratulations on your loss so far – as Topcac says, totally bonkers amazing 🙂

Hi Topcac – many fond memories of Pittsburgh in January – unbelievably cold, but really great people and a lovely atmosphere.

I have to go to Durban over the next few months, but I’m stalling a bit until it cools down a little.

Sorry, Verano, just seen your post on the other thread.

Mackerel is lovely in an omelette. Probably nicest if you keep the omelette a bit soft, or even runny. It can be tastier if you put a bit of curry powder on the mackerel and fry it off in a bit of butter before you add the eggs.

Hi all
Weighed in today at end of week 4 and a bit disappointed with just a 1lb loss and nothing off my waist. Sticking rigidly to diet and under 50g CARBS so hoping it’s a plateau. I’ve averaged 4lb a week so 17lb off but only 5lb since week one. Feeling abit impatient as I’ve 4 stone to shift but going to keep at it. Good luck those weighing in today