Well done, Fairyface – great stats and menu!

Just to say re the lunch – where are you going? Can you look up the menu in advance on the net and plan what you’re having?

Have a starter portion and a salad. Or two starters as starter and main. Or no starter and a protein laden main with a side salad and no potatoes. If you are drinking wine, get a bottle of fizzy water and drink it glass for glass (or two glasses water for one wine, depending on what sort of outing it is 😉 )

You will feel awkward and as though you are making a fool of yourself but, as Captainlynne here said the other day re her long stints in hotels for work – waiters are used to customers asking for different things (and no carbs is a very common thing nowadays), and other people are often far too worried about what they’re eating to take too much notice of what you’re eating.

You can say things like – I’m not too hungry this evening, had a large lunch.

You will be absolutely fine, and given you can’t lock yourself away for 8 weeks, you might as well just see how you go when out ! 🙂

Sooooogood to hear from you GREENJANET JAN! Arent you lovely trawling thru the messages,bless you
Big hugs and glad to have you on the bus ….beep beep!
Ps yes,pleased to report those curves are deffo getting smoother! Not such a Lumpy Lulu any more!
Stir fry sounds scrummy,i’ m coming round to yours for tea! 😋😋😋😋😋

It;s good to hear about others struggling with PCOS and accompanying insulin resistance – I’m on day seven of the BSD (although only second day on the 800/8) and have so far not lost a gram! Thrilled to hear about others having great results in their first week but it does make me wonder what’s happening inside me. Will keep plugging away but I hope I get some movement on the scales soon to keep my spirits up. At least I appear to be through the grumpy carb withdrawal phase!!

Carb ‘bloat’ from the little bit of rice round the sushi? Mmmmmm. Perhaps.

But I think more likely from any number of other reasons – and I say this because my own weight goes up and down in similar ways.

My main point was to say to you – if you fall off the wagon for any reason (congratulations on OH’s job, by the way :)), then you are VERY UNLIKELY to have done too much damage in one go.

So r – e – l – a – a – a – a – x (gosh that was difficult to type ;)), and just keep on keeping on.

Believe me, YOU WILL GET THERE! 🙂

Hello everyone and welcome to the people who have joined us all today.

Day 3

Breakfast: Smoked salmon and scrambled egg
Lunch: Big mushrooms baked with feta with a handful of watercress
Dinner: Garlic and rosemary fried lamb (page 130) with beans and quinoa

Breakfast: not a big fan of smoked salmon but I zapped it in the microwave for a few seconds to cook it and then added it to my
scrambled egg. Really enjoyed it.
Lunch: I had big mushrooms in the fridge, brushed them lightly with olive oil baked in oven with feta cheese. Had no spinach so
used watercress on the side. Really enjoyed lunch.
Dinner: Lamb was lovely, not keen on the quinoa so I would perhaps just dry seal a courgette if I cook this again.

Lots of water again today. Had a headache starting this morning so nipped it quick with a paracetamol.

Weighed myself today and I am 3lbs lighter than my start weight. So pleased.
Generally feel quite well. Slept well last night (first time in weeks) and managed to get through three hours of ironing done in one go. Not been able to do that without sitting down for over 12 months.

Before I found the Blood Sugar Diet I really thought I was going to die soon. Felt so slow and sluggish for a couple of years. Started to worry about having a fatty liver! Also not being able to walk very far without sitting down is very depressing. Clothes…….thats for another day.
I am out for lunch on Friday which I was going to cancel but my husband said go and have a lovely time with friends. Bit ‘iffy’ about it as Saturday is weigh day.

Hi all you lovely BSD bus peeps,

IM BACK!!!!!!!! Been to stress land and back, eaten carbs ++++++++ not the solution, so I’m on it and at it.

Yowser luvvy, don’t get despondent, the inches never seem to happen at the same time as the weight loss, feel the bod, are the curves smoothing out, keep up the good work 🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋

I’ve missed you all, and so I didn’t miss out have spent over an hour going through 330 emails to catch up, so we’ll done everyone, keep going, imagine Xmas with a slimmer bod. Woo hoo.

Chicken stir fry for dinner with courgettes, and spring onions, yum.

Am now going to order the new BSD book and a spirallizer.

🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋waving

*Onwards and downwards!
Oh, I hope so!

However, there is a odd phenomenon in the bodybuilding circles known as “carb bloat”. Basically, if you have been cutting, and keeping the carbs low for a long time, and you eat carbs all of the sudden – especially “dry carbs”, ( rice, pasta, beans, potatoes, cereal… ), it can cause a strange kind of bloat/retention. Perhaps, that’s what happened to me? I don’t know. I only know it happened, and now it is gone.

I saw something so “sad-funny” the other day, and it just kind of stuck with me. It was meme that read : “I no longer eat food; I eat numbers.” So true, everything these days is all about calorie, or carb count :-/

I hear you Heather Patricia…
I spent the morning reading the book and I am starting the 8 week BSD today. Now in a panic that I won’t have anything to eat! I have 30lbs to lose.
… Hitting the shops. Good luck everyone!

I found something…
*TIP FOR “HARD LOSERS”… ( “Hard losers” – god, that sounds bad, doesn’t it? Sorry. We are out there, though, and we have to go about things a bit differently :-<) Ok, here’s what I found – two things…

The 1st : Do you guys know what glucomannan powder, ( Konjac root ), is? It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless substance that can be used to thicken sauces, or soup. Also, it makes you feel full – very fast. To use, simply mix a small spoonful with cold water, ( use a whisk ), and add to whatever it is you want to thicken – stir well. ( Work fast, as the stuff sets up quickly! ) This can be found at the HF/NF store, or ordered on Amazon. Also, it can be purchased in capsule form. Take two with hot tea, or broth, for when your tummy is really growling, and you are “out of” calories for the day, or “saving calories” for a meal out,or something special. Calories… The new “currency”, eh?

The 2nd : A*k%n$ has something new out. It’s called “Lift protein drink”. I tried it over the weekend. Not bad! 90C/ 20g P / 1 cb. ( If you are really cutting, it is damn hard to get 20 g of protein for only 90 calories – just saying. ) I got mine at Walmart. It comes in different fruit flavours, and fills you up surprisingly well =] You can have one of those, and a big garden salad, and still stay under 200 calories, easily.

Any other “hard losers”, ( thyroid, PCOS, Cushing’s, Prader Willi, … ), on here? Feel free to post your “tips and tricks” ! This is tough going, ladies, and we need to support one another <3

Hi Mixnmatch,

I agree! I’m sure today’s starters will be able to spur each other on, and hopefully inspire.

We are organised in opposite ways. I know my weight, but am going to do measurements tonight… the food on the other hand, I’ve counted and noted with diligence.

Very best of luck with your BSD!

Nice to see some other new starters today, we can all help to support each other when we need it. 😀

Starting body fat today (according to my scales) 40.6% so at least this goal should be easily achievable 😊 Waist is currently 90 cm with my height at 168 that is a ratio of just under 0.54.

I have been already gradually working my way towards the fast 800 by adopting many of the principles in my own version of the 5:2 and have been increasing the fast days as I got closer to my official start date, hoping for a ‘soft landing’ and during September all of my weekdays were approximately 800 calories. I have been relatively low carb even on my non-fast days so am hoping to avoid any bad reaction to the longer term reduction.

I’ll detail my food a day in arrears as I am pretty disorganised and rarely have the details exact in advance. So today’s food will come with tomorrow’s weight. I will only track changes to the other two measures weekly.

Thanks everyone. I started week 2 today and have continued with the squash and also drinking more herbal tea to try and cut down my skimmed milk consumption. I successfully ate out for a lunch and a dinner last week and it didn’t hamper weight loss so I was pleased. I’m going away this weekend so looking ahead to the pub menu where we will be eating so I can plan what I will eat. I don’t trust myself to have a break yet, too early days. I can honestly say that I haven’t missed anything yet. I know I will and I will undoubtedly slump a bit at some point, but right now I am enjoying feeling energised. My skin seems to be brighter and the bags under my eyes are less puffy.

Oh Doordie – weight can go up and down by 2-3lbs overnight NOT because of having one evening of not-quite-BSD eating, but because of water, where you are in the digestive cycle, and all manner of things.

So it won’t be that sushi, it’ll be something which – given the mysterious nature of the human body – even an expert (you!) can’t diagnose.

So, don’t give up, life’s not fair, sure, but not because of this.

Keep on keeping on. I am known as Igorasusual ARE YOU MEASURING, because that’s what I always say when the weight sticks…..have you noticed any clothes feeling loser after your three weeks? Is your face looking just a bit thinner when you catch sight of yourself? Anything else changed? I know you’ve had some dreadful health issues – so sorry to read about it – but can you see some things getting just very very slightly better?

Your slight weight gain IS NOT BECAUSE OF THE SUSHI – have you got it???? No reason to despair.

Onwards and downwards! 🙂

Hi sunshine-girl, You really live up to your name! Thank you very much for the encouragement. I will take all your advice especially about the exercise and the water. Best of luck.

My sad little weekend story …

I’ve been adhering to the BSD religiously. I was so happy that I had finally lost a few measly pounds, – after three weeks ;-| Friday, my husband came home, and begged me to go up to Fargo, to have sushi with him, and celebrate a raise. So we went. Yes, I did eat some rice, but it was mostly sashimi, and seaweed salad. Somehow I gained EVERYTHING back in one meal! Yes, I got on the scale Saturday morning, only to discover that I had re-gained the 3 lbs overnight. I was so upset, that I “cut it to the core” for the rest of the weekend – just protein shakes, LC veggies, and broth – about 600 C a day, and have managed to lose most of the weight. But, damn… Just one freaking meal??? This morning, I am tired, sad, and angry. SOooo hard to lose, and so easy to gain :-< Yeah, I know life isn’t fair – suck it up, Buttercup. Sometimes, I just get tired of “sucking it up”.

I add a spoonful of chia or flaxseed to my morning yogurt to compensate for the drop in fibre in the rest of the diet.

Thank you very much everyone for all your replies. I suppose its all a matter of common sense – but some of it is very confusing and at times seems to be contradictory.

Yes, I had a nurse practitioner once – she was quite good. She actually listened, and tried to help. They can be better than docs sometimes.

Lanky, exercise is difficult on 800 calories so just take it easy.

Heather, oh dear, rock bottom is a hard place to hit but you know what they say, the only way is up, hey baby, for you and me girl da da da da. Sing along and dance around the house. Nothing to fear here and we all make mistakes, you should have heard me singing that just now, appalling.

Tips, measure yourself, not all weight loss shows on the scales. Plan and shop and plan again. That is probably the hardest thing about this diet, make sure you have everything you need so you don’t have to go off track. Ditch the low fat food, it is full of sugar if sweet or cereal if savory, think yogs or sausages. Drink lots and lots of water. Take it easy the first few days, don’t expect to do lots of exercise, and some people get headachy, ratty etc (although I didn’t) some people experience withdrawal, they call it carb flu. It is your body yelling give me spuds, you just have to say no. It is like any other addiction, never easy to stop but gets better.

You will make mistakes and you will learn from them, I am in week 12 and learned something new just this week, but in a few weeks this style of eating will be second nature. Enjoy. When you are laid in the gutter you are looking up at the stars. God, I’m smultzy.

The old CAP was good for a range of activities. The rugby club needed it for the insurance – I’m guessing that the risk of personal or third party injury doing Zumba is fairly limited. Although for me all that dancing would be definitely dodgy!

Oh, Frog – that banana sounds absolutely divine!

*Love aubergines! Miss my old curry house back home. Woke up viciously homesick this morning :-<

Thanks for the responses thus far, appreciate it. On the exercise side of things I will heed the advice and try to stay inside the 800 calories zone and then play it by ear as suggested.

Great to have this forum to and the support it’s members offer👍

Thanks Igor! Yogurt is one of the things I really want to like but haven’t been able to bring myself to eat. But I’m going to keep trying it! I suspect I will soon just be having tea upon getting up and then having an early lunch and then dinner. I haven’t always been a breakfast eater so that may work better for me!

Princess! Small world! Perhaps we actually know each other! Though “rural Missouri” covers a lot of ground! 😉

Hi Sunshine-girl
3.5 is an awesome number. When I was on insulin they drummed it into me that 4 is the floor. So when I came off insulin 3 weeks ago I panicked a bit at some 3.7 readings and spoke to a specialist diabetic nurse. She said that normal readings for someone without diabetes would go as low as 3.5 and they would stay within quite a narrow range so that readings that low were absolutely fine as long as I wasn’t injecting insulin. She said I had made her day as they didn’t often get good news at the diabetic clinic.

Obviously once more people start this way of eating they will be getting lots and lots of good news as people come off their medication. We might also save the NHS a heap of money as they no longer need to treat us. That might actually save the NHS.

Many thanks Igorasusual!

I know exactly what you mean – walnuts are hugely calorific, aren’t they? Luckily I’d only eaten 6… and then when I went to calorie count them, the measure I found was for 7 – so I decided I’d best be precise and have one more. They’re nice, but not daily snacks! I’ve made a note to myself that if I want a desk snack tomorrow I’d better bring something a bit lighter on the cals than walnuts.

Thanks very much for commenting on this and the advice – it’s very much appreciated, particularly from someone who has clearly done BSD very successfully!

🙂

I know, I desperately wish I was back in Canada, or the UK. I feel like I would have a better chance of getting this sorted. Oh, well – you live and learn, I suppose.

Captainlynne. I am loving the cheese and yoghurt, although I haven’t really partaken yet, too many other good recipes I am trying out! It’s nice to know I can eat it. Re the progress, well tomorrow is my official first weigh in (I have been on scales daily so won’t be too much of a surprise;), but yes, I will post, perhaps joining the newbies site to share on there.

Frog – OMG it is really bashing your head against a wall isn’t it. I am little surprised at the lack of info medical professional have re this as it’s such a big issue (no pun intended). But maybe over time things will change, here’s hoping.

Well, he only did very basic labs – checked for anemia, and general thyroid test :-< ( I wished he would have done a full lab panel, but he didn’t. ) Oh, well, I’m not in Canada anymore, and everything here is “insurance controlled”. We haven’t gotten the labs back yet. I am hoping it will show something.

SAD MOMENT : I’ve been adhering to the BSD religiously. I finally lost a few measly pounds, after three weeks ;-| Friday, my husband begged me to go up to Fargo, to have sushi with him, and celebrate a raise. So we went. Yes, I did eat some rice, but it was mostly sashimi, and seaweed salad. Somehow I gained everything back in one meal! Yes, I got on the scale Saturday morning, only to discover that I had re-gained the 3 lbs overnight. I “cut it to the core” for the rest of the weekend – just protein shakes, LC veggies, and broth – about 600 C a day, and have managed to lose most of the weight. But, damn… Just one freaking meal??? This morning, I am tired, sad, and angry. SOooo hard to lose, and so easy to gain :-< Yeah, I know life isn’t fair – suck it up, Buttercup. Sometimes, I just get tired of “sucking it up”.

Welcome PeacefulWarrior (great name!)

Wishing you all the very best with your BSD.

And I don’t want to be a party pooper, so please take this comment in the spirit in which it is meant……hope you haven’t got too large hands, as a ‘handful of walnuts’ could be more calories than you think.

They are dangerous little b—–s, and I usually say that 9 nuts (mixed nuts that is) is 10g, because even that tenth takes it over the measure, d—n it.

Onwards and downwards! 🙂

The Diet Doctor web site has good recipes (besides the BSD book and recipe book) also look at Nom Nom Paleo, which is nearly free of bad carbs.

Fabulous, quinnt and Mrs quinnt!!!!

Fantastic results you must be absolutely thrilled! So pleased your GP has seen the results and is impressed enough to recommend to other patients – we will get there in the end!

and 31 pounds in 8 weeks, whilst taking weight-gaining drugs!

YAY

well, that’s all there is to say, really! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hi all,

I’m starting today too. I have previously lost weight quickly and happily when trying out 5:2 for a couple of weeks, so I’m looking forward to doing the 8 weeks, for greater impact.

Today I’ve had:

– a handful of walnuts at 11
– grilled salmon and steamed veg for lunch

Dinner will be a quarter chicken and roasted veg. I will have just enough cals left for a small glass of whole milk before bed.

Very thirsty today, so I’m downing water!

Good luck everyone who is starting today – and those who are already making progress!

Welcome HealthyH

You need to take note of your own body and feelings, but I would suggest that you DON’T add in extra calories on the days you exercise.

You are changing your hormonal response whilst on the BSD to burn fat for energy and not quick release carbs. So if you exercise, but still stick to the 800 (average, you don’t have to hit it on the nose each day), you will lose that weight quicker and train your body to get the energy from those fat cells.

As you start, you may have a bit of ‘carb flu’ which you may have read about, and this can (but not always) lead to feeling a bit tired to start off with. But this should soon pass and strangely even on 800 calories (which some people think is a ridiculous level, I know) you will feel full of vim and vigour.

I did the whole BSD, exercising the while, on the 800 calories and can say that it was absolutely fine.

But of course, every individual is….er…..individual, so if you feel weak and weebly, then you may need to tweak your calories.
The main thing is, if you do this, to try and keep your carbs (the good veggie ones) at 50g or less per day.

And just to add, absolutely no issues with your OH and pre-diabetes. My OH was Type 2 for a long time until I bought this book (I needed to lose some weight and had no idea how to do it, despite success previously) and told him that he might be able to get off Metformin if he followed the instructions. He saw me for a few weeks, joined in, and now is Type 2 ‘in remission’ on zero diabetes pills, and feels wonderful. We are loving this way of eating. 🙂

Jules, I had seen my doctor just 3 week before but only after decided to join a Zumba class, so I had to go back and have all the same things, blood pressure, pulse, weight and a chat. Came away with my Certificat de non contra-indicative de practique d’un sportive – Zumba. Went to the class and they didn’t even ask for it. Going back tonight and will officially sign up and pay so they might want it then.

Wow you guys! What a great first week. Maccaslim and Caz ->10lb is amazing! How did you do that??

I’m happy though: Week 1 check in is 4lb down, 4 waist inches down, BMI 32.4. All going in the right direction and the cravings have gone.

Good luck for week 2 everybody.

Hello Primadawn! I also just read in Woman’s World magazine about this diet, AND also live in rural Missouri. Starting the 800 calorie today and wishing us both luck. Battled with weight all y life! Have lost well with Weight Watchers but have hit a plateau & need a boost to lose another 25 pounds. Here’s hoping we are both successful. Good luck!

The only thing to add is that you might – if your weight is too much – find exercise on top of a lower calories eating programme is too much.

So I would heartily recommend – in fact, I’d INSTRUCT you – to read Lucia’s MY EIGHT WEEKS thread about starting exercise.
I am considering nominating her for the Nobel Prize for Inspiration (there is one, right?) as she regularly expresses stuff in a way which fills you with both hope and intention and gets you up off your bottom in ways you probably never considered.

Please please read it – use the SEARCH box – and you will never give up on exercise again.

🙂 🙂 🙂

And tell me if I’m not RIGHT!!!

There are carbs in all vegetables and – as you say – in grains.

The BSD simply recommends avoiding ‘heavy’ carb things, and refined carbs (wheat, bread, pasta, sugar).

So that’s why root vegetables are specified and I think the grains you mention are to be kept low.

Many people here aim to keep their carbs at 50g or under per day, and ‘spend’ these carbs on various things. Obviously you could have, for example, lots of lentils, or some carrots – but these would add up quickly, and therefore you might prefer to limit the quantities a bit.

I’ve really enjoyed the pulses I’ve eaten, but find that the quantities recommended in recipes are a bit large for what I need.

Hope that helps 🙂

+1 for spring onions – lot of flavour for fewer carbs

P.S. ….. i see the recipe in the 8 week book …… i guess they mean almost zero carbs ….. Everything is relative.

Welcome Primadawn

I think the thing about ‘spending’ calories on eggs for breakfast, or whatever, is experimenting a bit to see what you need.

Lots of people seem to start their day with full fat yoghurt and a few berries, which keeps them going.
I am really happy with some white coffee (counting in the milk) and I don’t actually need or want breakfast till much later – at lunchtime! If I am at home, I have eggs then as a sort of brunch type thing.

So what might be best is to try a few days having a more calorie breakfast and then perhaps not much lunch and a reasonable size dinner.
Or you might find you are happier having just two main meals per day, with a much lighter third one.

But good luck with trying lots more things – loads of people here have tried stuff very doubtfully and then come on to say how much they liked them, and who knew?

🙂

Hi everyone..

just wanted to double check – I do have the book and read it a few times – doing the BSD
But why are Grains that come from wheat bad? – such as Farro Wheatberries and Freehah – although I think Farro (or the one I have) is spelt based – which I also assume is no go.

I have cut out all of the grains I have – I don’t normally eat wheat, bread, pasta or potatoes anyway – we have a lot of lentils and so on ..

I would like to know what is OK from a carb point of view – as its not 100% clear to me
I can appreciate that potatoes and Rice – do convert quickly to sugar
and anything processed like white flour based -such as bread, pasta etc (and even whole grain as its not really wholgrain) and cereal are definitely no go
but do the other whole Grains.. pass.

Thanks in advance..

Yes, all things in moderation is great advice JulesMaigret and I also think that viewing the calorie target of the BSD as something to ‘spend’ is really useful. You can choose, you see.

So – in answer to Heather Patricia – my two pennyworth is

An apple is 80 calories and 18 grams of carbs (approximately, depending on size of course, from MyFitnessPal), and therefore planned into a day is fine.
Onions – and I love a good red onion (or two) – are also relatively ‘carby’
You can ”spend’ and calculate these in

I decided during the BSD that an apple was a bit much, and got my ‘fruit’ fix from either 6 baby plum tomatoes at 16 calories and 2 carbs (for a ploughman’s – eat them v e r y slowly) or some raspberries/blueberries/blackberries (only about 20g of them for a more sweet based thing)

And for onions – well, I found that a couple of Spring Onions were a really good alternative for a red onion. Yes, I know they’re much smaller, but they bring a nice oniony tang and are less ‘expensive’.

I had always thought that fruit, in particular, ‘didn’t matter’ and you could eat it freely with no repercussions at all. Then at the end of a family walking holiday, I ‘ate up’ the remaining fruit which I’d bought for lunches. Two or three apples, and about four clementines. And then I added them into MyFitnessPal. The calories!!!!! The carbs!!!! The sugar!!!!!

it was quite a surprise.

Your choice, though – just don’t eat fruit mindlessly is my advice 😉

Apples have carbs and calories … so do onions.

You can just look up these counts on the internet …. or use MyFatSecret site … or other sites.

put
no carb ploughmans”” in the search button here …. this has been discussed

Apples are less carby than say bananas …. berries are the best for carbs.

“What you eat depends on how many carbs you want to allow yourself …. most people here seem to prefer under 50

P.S. there are carbs in virtually all fruit and vegetables except coffee, water, tea

Hello fellow dieters! After reading an article last week about the diet in Woman’s World magazine, I’ve decided this looked like a good fit for me (doing the 800 calorie). I live in the US in rural Missouri. I’m a 45 year old wife and mother of 3 girls-2 in college and 1 at home. I teach at a local college and love my job, but it’s fairly sedentary. I’m 5’2″ and starting this morning at 191 lb. Too much for a short girl!
I started my morning with 2 scrambled eggs and 2 thin strips of bacon and have had TONS of water already (I like drinking water so it’s not hard). For lunch I brought a mixed green salad with some grilled chicken (no dressing) and an apple in case I need something more before going home.
After entering my foods into myfitnesspal, I see that eggs may not always be the best thing in the morning since they take up so many calories. My problem with this diet (and nearly every other one I”ve tried) is that I am an extremely picky eater. I WANT to like healthier foods, but I have an aversion to certain textures and basically have the sophisticated palate of a 9 year old (pizza, tacos, fried chicken..lol. Hence my weight gain). So part of my journey will be really making a concerted effort to try new foods.
The POSITIVE is that I really do enjoy working out and have recently joined a local gym to do so more regularly. I will use this thread to post food and workouts and would love to hear from anyone else starting today (or recently) so we can be a support to each other!

My own view is that all things in moderation.

I give myself an allowance of carbs per day and if I want to spend some of then on an apple then fine I just have to cut back elsewhere.

Impressive numbers!

I think that you’re absolutely right that diet and exercise are inextricably linked and it probably isn’t worth trying to separate them out as that just leads to conclusions like “if I cycle for three hours I can have five doughnuts for tea”.

My own cholesterol has drifted into the acceptable range and I reckon that diet and increased exercise have both contributed.

My point, which I may not have expressed too clearly, was we cannot expect medical professionals to “make a judgment”, we expect them culturally to do the right thing and that can only be based on proper assessments. I understand the point about frustration, and my post was not meant to be a sweeping criticism of this forum, but more a call to be a bit more understanding.

Sunshine girl – you remind me of my experience when I worked in Paris. On the first day I arrived I had to go for a test to certify that I was ‘apte’ to work. The test included an audio test in French where you had to follow instructions recorded on a crackly old tape in French. I failed that section miserably as I had no idea what the person was saying. Still passed the test.

I went for the old Certificat d’Aptitude Physique to join the local rugby club. The doctor took one look at me, spent five minutes talking about that year’s England-France game, signed the form and charged me FF300 – showing my age!.

You have to love French bureaucracy.

thanks for the response Lynne, I have seen you name pop up on many posts, your a credit to the forum 🙂

Disclaimer – I’m not trying to lose weight. I’m trying to stay healthy, which is a different matter. (I’m a man of 69). That is my interest in the foods here.

My last NHS health check reported HDL=2.4 and LDL=2.6. (And Triglycerides=0.7). But I think this was mostly (not entirely) to do with exercise, (mainly HIIT), not diet. I say this because a few years ago the report was HDL=1.4 and LDL=3.6, and the major difference since then has been exercise, with changes to diet not so dramatic. (I don’t follow a STRICT blood sugar diet).

I don’t know how to disentangle the effects of diet and exercise. Or even whether it matters, since I’m certain that I need both to stay healthy.