Frozen avocado sounds………challenging!

The egg process is the same as blue cheese, but it’s nice to add a shake of chilli flakes. Just bake until the white is set. Good with a bit of grilled fish.

Thanks guys…I thought the fibre intake should be ok as I’ve been only eating recipes from the book. I also have a personal trainer twice a week for an hour so I thought that would help. Can being on your period affect things?

Thanks for that 😊 I rebounded a little after the end of the 8 weeks and also put on a few more pounds over Christmas so am currently tackling that. My new target is 10:4 -10:8 giving me a bit of room to top up the glycogen again afterwards but still hopefully be under 11 stone. Still aiming for that April dress trying on session.

I bought some frozen avocado which are not very nice when defrosted – I will try baking them as the recipe looks really nice and they may be much better when baked.

I’ve not heard of any similar reactions at all. I’m sorry to hear of your problems but the diet itself needn’t be out of reach. If you have plenty of fruit veg and complex carbs on maybe one of the slower versions like the 5:2 or 4:3 or way of life, so just avoiding the damaging white stuff then you can still get the health benefits, just a bit slower. It may be worth a try.

I started the diet last Monday and I found the low calorie element quite easy, I am prediabetic so feel suitable motivated. However, I had the abandon the diet yesterday as I have started to suffer from severe anxiety and lack of sleep. Googling, it seems that insulin plays a part in producing serotonin and I think I have had a serotonin crash…. I am flabbergasted how major a response I have had. I have had some minor issues with anxiety in the past but this was quite a severe reaction. So I guess low carbs is not for me. Its so frustrating, I will still loose weight but it looks like a slow and steady approach for me. Googling on the internet I have found a couple of examples where people have had a reaction like this but it doesnt seem common place. Has this triggered anxiety or depression for anyone else on here? Cant believe I am unique

I use organic milk to make it. You ferment the Kefir grains in the milk for 24 hours – strain it so you can use the grains to make the next batch. The texture is like runny yoghurt. It is supposed to have more bacteria than yoghurt. I did check out the carbs per 100g online in Biona organic Kefir in case fat secret was wrong but fat secret’s info was ok.

The Kefir grains look a bit like scrambled eggs I got them from a client who had got the grains from someone else.

Take any avocado you think is ready to eat. I wouldn’t use a really ripe one, but that’s because I love guacamole! Split it in half, take out the stone, put blue cheese in the hole where the stone was, bake in a hottish oven (about 200 ºC) till the cheese is browned and bubbling. I presume it’s the same with eggs, just season, spice as required and bake till set. I wasn’t convinced when I first read the recipe with blue cheese, but it is as delicious as it is easy.

Here’s a sophisticated recipe on the web:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/11827738/Deliciously-Ellas-baked-avocado-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-pine-nuts.html

If you Google for baked avocados, you’ll find a whole load of recipes. Happy eating!

Thanks sunshine. I will give that a try. I have managed to skew my daytime and night-time, but I suppose a snack in the wee small hours will do the trick. My night/sleep time starts about 5.00 am and day starts at 1.0 pm ish. Not ideal, but I remember without regret the times I have gone to bed and worried about not sleeping because I was so aware of having to get up to go to work just when I felt sleepiest.

Hello fellow January starters, hope you’re finding your feet with the BSD.

Having been a skimmed milk devotee for decades, I was hesitant about switching to fuller fat. So, went half way and moved on to semi-skimmed a couple of days back in a macchiato. I’m amazed how much fuller I feel and it certainly keeps me going longer between meals.

Really enjoying this eating plan and I’m bulking up on larger recipes for days when time is shorter and I need a quick turnaround. Much to my surprise, I’m not missing carbs (or booze) as much as I expected. My energy levels are more consistent already and I dropped 7lbs in week 1 (with a 3 stone target). It also ties in nicely with a dry January.

Taking time to plan (when you’re not hungry) is really important. The only fly in the ointment was going out for dinner last night. No problem not having wine, but I had read the menu before and made my choices. Only to find they’d run out of both (and much more). Settled for a chicken breast, slaw – and a Diet Coke as a treat.

Have a good week everyone.

Hi Lexy x same to you!

I don’t have a weight target, Mine is mainly for my BSL’s – But I am loving the Chicken Satay from the book. It looks like cat sick the way I cook it but it takes gorgeous!

I’m just about to eat but I will write some more to you later 🙂

This post made me smile.

Well done you. What a massive achievement. It can be done. And you did it. Now I have to get off my butt and go on with the next stage.

Pretty good thanks, less than a stone to goal now, but taking it slower on a sort of 5:2 at the moment.

Great news, enjoy your trip to Fraser island. 😀

Thanks mixnmatch…Just going for a wander round the threads for inspiration…Hope things are going well for you.

I have never baked an avocado! How do I do that??? Does the avocado need to be ripe?

Welcome back on the wagon, there are quite a few new starters this January, so you have plenty of company.

I think we all went through a period of feeling the cold more at the start, before we adapted, now as Krysia says, I am more likely than I ever was before to not bother putting a coat on if I am not going to be out for long in the winter, as I know I won’t get cold quickly. It really does seem like the metabolism goes into overdrive to keep you warm once you have adapted fully.

Well it’s many months on and I don’t know why I stopped updating here. I did finish my 8 weeks and I lost about 1.5 stone or 22 lb in total!

(I started out about 3 stone or 45lb overweight.)

Not only the weight loss and dropping two dress sizes, but my energy levels were up, my sleeping excellent, suppleness improved and life was good. Much easier and more fun to exercise. My thick head and lethargy were much improved.

But. But. But. I’m a sugar junkie. And I went away immediately on a summer holiday.

There’s no other way to explain it but that I have a complete addiction to sugar… as soon as I allow little slips and indulgences to creep in as I did when the eight weeks was over, I lose the plot. I kept trying to get back on the horse properly. Now some 5 months after I finished an 8 week plan, I have regained half a stone. Which I’m really pleased about. I don’t know about others but quite often in the past I have regained all the weight I lost in short order. So I haven’t this time. I have kept some of the lessons I learned but not enough. And the lethargy, stiffness and thick headedness are back after some Christmas excesses.

Time for another round. I have about 30lb or 2 stone excess I’d like to lose.

I have been winding up, pulling back on the sugar and getting ready. Tomorrow I start. Round 2. 8 weeks takes me to 6 March.

Good luck to anyone else out there who is underway or about to start.

Cbizzle
I did feel the cold initially much more as I began to lose the fat layers. I was quite worried in the beginning as I thought that it would just get worse and worse as I lost all the fat. I am so pleased that it revved up my metabolism instead and I didn’t need the fat layers to keep me warm.

Lummy, JM. That is some result. Another nice avocado recipe if you’ve got the calories for it is baked avocado pear with blue cheese in the centre. Truly yumptious.

There was an article in today’s Sunday Times food magazine about a scientist that insists that breakfast is dangerous because it causes far greater blood sugar spikes than eating the same thing at any other time of the day, so maybe give breakfast a miss totally and perhaps give intermittent fasting a try as mentioned above. That’s assuming you get on all right with other BSD food.

Thanks for all the tips. For info, yesterday I did break the fast and had about 2000 calories and 150g of carbs. I could just tell I was putting my body under a lot of strain and had to eat more yesterday to give myself a break physically and mentally. But it meant it gave me so much energy and I felt so much better. It was also the first night I slept in just shorts and a vest! Every night before I wore every layer I could find and had to sleep with a heated blanket on all night. Plus today I didn’t gain any weight, and it’s killed my hunger which is nice. So I’ll carry on fasting and listen to body signals if it ever gets too bad again.

Thanks for all the comments! Glad to hear that for most people, it’s actually improved their metabolism. That’s a relief actually, so I will continue with the diet. Although like yesterday, if it gets too bad I will give myself breaks. Especially as I didn’t gain any weight today and for the first time in a while I’ve felt warm!!

Hi Lexy

I probably meet your criteria. I am 6’3″, played a lot of rugby in my younger days, and started BSD in early Aug but in earnest in early Sept, I started at 23st7lb and now weigh 18st5lb. Over that period, I have reduced my blood pressure to normal and reversed the fatty liver symptoms.

I am a bit of a data freak and since Sept I have eaten an average of around 930 calories a day and 41g of carbs. My go to foods are spinach and any other leaves either raw or fried. I eat a lot of eggs and fish, both white and oily, in frittatas or omelettes and a lot of avocados, feta and blue cheese in salads or bakes with tomatoes or aubergines. Baked avocados with eggs in the middle are great with a salad. Yogurt and herbs as a sauce with fish or chicken, with tinned or frozen beans.

Most places have a local leaf that can be used as a low carb filler for meals and to support a primary protein. One thing is that I have started to use a lot more herbs and spices as my tastes have changed.

If you could tell us where he is, that may help.

I work away from home a lot and have taken the approach of just not eating the white stuff on normal meals when i have no other choice, but focus on keeping the carbs low.

It is not easy for the larger chap, but definitely doable.

Well hi ho back to work today! I am welcoming meal routine though and looking forward to moving again towards my goal. I have maintained my weight from the day I finished pre Christmas to now, so that feels like a victory.

Was inspired by you Verano and started a wardrobe edit yesterday. Very big job as a good sized walk in space meant years of not facing the challenge. Well done you on sorting and culling!

Have a great week all xx

Happy New Year and Happy Monday!!! starting weight for the year and the week is 128.15.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year.
Have talked hubby into joining me – so that should be interesting.
Onwards and downwards!!
KJ

A cup is around 240 ml, I believe. Not sure what that is in grams as kefir is not exactly like water. It does sound like a lot though.

I may be visiting Hayle shortly, you’ll have to let me know where you find all these small portions. I’ve been conditioned by Trevaskis farm where a small plate could feed a family for a week, certainly in the early days.

Where is your husband, Lexy? What kind of veg do they have there? You might be able to use something like Fat Secret to determine nutritional values (calories, carbs and the like) to determine what he can buy locally that is suitable.

Being Vegan, a great deal of my protein (and fat) comes from nuts. Is it more beneficial or preferential to eat say 20g of nut butter (the pure stuff like Meridian) or 20g of whole nuts? I didn’t know if the pre breaking down of the nut makes it digest more readily or not?

Jmarie, thank you for thinking of me and for the link….I should have looked that up myself; I’m being lazy again!

Your exercise programme sounds effective indeed and yes I experienced the same on my first 8 weeker. Withdrawal? Perhaps. I found the only way I could manage the plan was by focusing on it 100%. And now exercise is easier and maybe you’ve noticed this too, the weight does seem to be coming off faster.

And the Christmas decorations are down! You have been productive. Probably best before the rain though. Trying to dry all the decorations before storing them would be a nightmare.

My peak..not really sure. I walked a walk I used to do with my dogs, sadly both passed now. It’s uphill and through the woods. I was pleased that I could get up without too much difficulty but disappointed that it didnt amount to as far distance wise as I’d hoped but my muscles were quite tired after.

The pit was that for some reason I have wanted to eat all day. Fortunately the house is empty of the real sinful stuff but I’ve eaten half a packet of walnuts, a few handfuls of dried cranberries and the rest of a piece of gorgonzola! Dreadful. This has happened before. I’d love to know why. I’d love to say I’ll skip dinner but I’ll be first at the table.

Well done with your soups; organisation is the only way to succeed, isn’t it? And there’s nothing quite as comforting as home made soup.

Have a good first day back…Angela

I’m not a breakfast person so I do a 16:8 fast which gives me an eating window between noon and 8:00 PM. I also love eggs so I’m always glad to have an omelette for lunch or dinner. That leaves me with only one decent suggestion for you: coconut cream chia pudding. Get a can of coconut cream, or if you can’t find it, get a can of coconut milk and put it in the fridge for a few hours. When you open it, the cream will have solidified. Scoop it out and put it in a bowl. Add a third of a cup of chia seeds, fresh vanilla or extract , a grating of lime zest and any of the coconut liquid left in the can. Stir everything together vigorously or use a hand-beater if you have one.

Chia releases a natural gelatin when added to a liquid. Let it sit for five minutes and it will turn to pudding all on its own. If you keep the chia seeds whole, you’lI get a tapioca-like consistency which I quite like, but most of the time I run the seeds through my spice grinder before adding to the coconut cream because I enjoy the smoother texture.

The great thing about this pudding is that it’s high in healthy fat courtesy of the coconut and high in fiber courtesy of the chia so it fills you up like nobody’s business. It is also incredibly rich, luscious and silky on the tongue like the creamiest of ice creams. A serving of 70 grams is 177 calories with only one gram of carb. I add a few blueberries sometimes if I’ve found some good ones (crappy supermarket blueberries aren’t worth the sugar to me, even in small quantities).

Oh you big fuss pot, you are just like my daughter, no mushrooms, no leeks, no eggs no food that squeaks or is slimy and on and on and on LOL

I just googled it to find out what it was and that is what it said, like any computer info it could very well be wrong. It talked about it as though it was a drink of fermented goats milk though, not a yoghurt. Or it could be a very big cup.

Pcoventry ……hi and Happy New Year Happy New You and well done!
Your post to Sue was really informative…..my hubby is struggling he’s 6-3 and overweight ( needs to lose 3.5 stones) he’s working overseas and by himself so hasn’t me there to plan, shop and cook…..he’s got the book and recipes and I think he’ll have to adapt ……having small quantities of potato and rice occasionally……his palate is certainly changing as he loves spicy cauli rice which previously he wouldn’t even look at !!!!!
I’ve given him lots of recipes from Diet Doctor which are really good ( low carb, gluten free and low cal) and he’s going to try and make the bread , which is Physillum husk flour.
It’s great your FBS is down to within normal limits……….have you much weight to lose? And how fab that your wife has lost 8lbs …….
Have you any tips on recipes you like? Hubby only likes eggs disguised ( ha ha!!!) hates celery, cabbage, kale, Aubergine ….loves peas, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, bread ,rice and pasta ……so it’s going to be hard especially where he is ( a small island in the Caribbean) …….thanks and well done again x

Iwanttobeslim, If you dont have something to eat late evening your body thinks you are being starved and the liver pumps out glycogen at around 5 am. This is called the Dawn Phenonomen (I cant spell it) and is very well known. Try to have a non carb snack before bed like a piece of cheese or cold meat or a glass of milk. I also read that a teaspoon of vinegar can prevent this but I have yet to try that as I always leave a few calories to spare so I can have my snack.

Just apropos of my recent post, I realise that I probably need to combine exercise with my low carb eating,

I wonder if anyone else finds that their blood sugar levels go up even when they don’t have any carbs? Last night my bs was 6.2, but this morning, without even a cup of tea, it was up to 7.1. Made me think I have a long way to go before my diabetes is reversed.

I read about someone who decided to limit their eating to an eight hour period in every twenty four, and decided to give it a try. I am retired, and have developed the habit of staying awake a lot of the night, and then sleeping until midday, and have been eating between 1.00 pm and 9.00 pm. I have noticed that this has led to me resisting snacks outside that period, and realised that much of the time I was eating for something to do rather than because I was hungry.

Sunshine Girl, your OH’s suggestion made me laugh out loud. Can’t be bothered to walk to the kitchen for a creme egg….? . Maybe you should suggest he changes the name to mal-mal dish ….

Hi Sunshine-girl
Not sure how much a cup of kefir is but that does seem a lot of calories and an awful lot of kefir. I have 100g a day at 53 calories which fits in very well with the 800 and I don’t think I would want anymore. Husband has the same and that is the maximum he would have in a day.

Carbs are a little higher than Fage Total Yoghurt but not a lot higher.

Lunch out – small chips, 4 meatballs and coleslaw, tea crudités and houmous with ham, greek yogurt and grapefruit. Walked 3.76 miles. Down 3/4 lb, only 2 and 1/4lbs of Christmas excess to go now, very happy.

Thank you folks! And thankyou @sunshine-girl for those breakfast tips!

I really dont like mushrooms, fish of any kind or eggs…. I’m beginning to feel that I’m not cut out for a Mediterranean diet!

It is really unfair that juices are so delicious, but immediately turn fruit into something which is almost pre-digested, anabolic as opposed to catabolic, and which slips down without effort, turning all its calories immediately to fat, with no energy required to digest. I was shocked at how sweet carrot juice is. I did find, however, that even if the fibre is taken out, the taste of pips, etc from fruits like apples, pears and grapes is very strong. Orange juice is my favourite, but because of the high carb content I decided to substitute slimline tonic water, with a slug of vodka (no carbs at all) and find that I don’t feel so deprived in terms of fruit juice now.

Hi Kizzie,

I could never gym on 800 calories I would end up passing out on the treadmill, so kudos to you!

Hi Sue 🙂

I started the diet on Sat 31st December. but I since had problems where I had to stop (4th Jan) . I then decided to stick to foods I knew were around the 1000 calorie mark. I keep an eye on my carbs and stopped drinking so much water. I actually went back to my usual drinking habits with coke Zero and a few glass of water a day. At this point I was 15.10.

Kept up cooking and eating from the book, I am addicted to Chicken Satay but we have it with Cauliflower Rice (homemade) and I just weighed myself and I am now 15.5 so I have lost 5 pounds in a week. I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day so I am not really active, but it’s still working.

My wife is not diabetic but she is doing this for weight loss. Believe it or not she’s lost 8 pounds since the 31st of December.

I am diabetic and my fasting levels this morning was 5.8 which I am well chuffed about (not getting the dawn effect anymore, even when not eating anything before bed)

We eat chicken and fish, I do my best to stick to veg grown above the ground, but yesterday for lunch I had some Salmon and peas in a bowl and it was delish!. We also have for many years ate broccoli and cauliflower with meals. Frozen which I always find cheaper and better ( got to love Iceland!)

As for the breakfast, my dad has had 2 eggs every morning for most of his life, she swears by them. We have 2 as well, straight out the shell and eaten whole, it fills me up no problems until lunch.

SO stick with it – it’s worth it, I have only been at it a week (4 days officially calorie counting etc) and I am doing great.

One problem I seem to have is that every 2 days I miss my daily metformin, which means that every other day I have really bad diarrhea which is bound to be helping with the weight loss lol.

Angela06, I forgot to congratulate you on your past week weight loss. That is wonderful! Here’s to another week ahead of more success.

Hi Lexy

If he can get canned brown or puy lentils they could make a good alternative to rice or potatoes. I make a dish which is basically fried onions with a can of tomatoes and herbs added just cooked down slowly then add the lentils for the last 10 minutes to warm through. Mary Berry has a lovely haddock (or any fish) with puy lentil recipe which is very easy to find online and is simple to make.

Also canned butter or haricot beans are great mashed with some butter and seasoning. Chickpeas make a good curry especially with butternut squash if available. Also good for making a dip ie. hummus. I know these sound very carby but used as a side with chicken or fish they make a really satisfying meal.

I am staying low carb also but have increased calories now I am on maintenance. A very interesting thing has happened with my metabolism or circulation – I am not sure which one it is. I have all my adult life really felt the cold and this has got really really bad as I have got older. Husband used to joke that he couldn’t understand how someone could be so cold but still be alive.

This winter I seem to be radiating heat – it is as though the 800 seemed to rev up my metabolism or something. So have ditched the layers and a lot of the time I am wearing my lightweight tops. Have also ditched the hot water bottle and various things I used to heat in the microwave to keep me warm. I now say words no one has ever heard me say – like ‘I must turn the heating down because I am too hot’.

Energy levels are also up significantly. I feel like someone 20 years younger now. Although I really don’t remember feeling this good 20 years ago.

Sunshine-girl/ BMEJPE…..I think my hubby is going to cut out the bad carbs now which will bring the calories down anyway…..he is going to aim for a 1000 cal /60 gms carbs now ….as he’s tall ( but is 3stone overweight) .

I always think once you’re on a mission to really alter your way of eating and way of life it will always work…it has to ! As one becomes more thoughtful about what one chooses ….one looks at the science and the evidence.

Michael Mosely is a wonderful and thought provoking doctor and journalist.