Hi
Starting weight 10 stone 6lbs. Just 3/4lb lost last week. Fasting blood sugar today 4.8.

Carbs 22.4 cals 7.20.

Was at dentist late afternoon so did a lot of walking. Breakfast scrambled egg. Lunch was probably not that healthy – homemade Kefir and a square of dark chocolate. Dinner was better – a small portion of beef stir fry. Am back at work – will finish at 9pm.

Really looking forward to this week’s challenge.

Hello, all!

Wow, halfway through another 8 weeks – what a good reminder, Verano! It doesn’t seem like it has been 12 weeks, but time flies!

The last two weeks have been tough for me, work-wise, and last week I was out of town all week and sitting in meetings in a hotel all day, every day. Very little control over what I had to choose from in terms of food and almost no time (unless I sacrificed sleep) to walk/exercise, and I was really worried about what the scale would say when I returned. Oh, I should probably mention that I also drank more in that week than I have in the previous 12 combined – which is to say, less than my former life, but more than I should have done.

So I finally got on the scale this morning (I couldn’t face it yesterday after getting back late the night before) and was a little shocked to see that I’d gained less than half a pound. I was all set for bad news and self-recrimination, and my husband was standing about ten feet away saying, “Now, remember, even if you don’t like what you see, it is only temporary,” etc. because I’d confessed all my sins about food and drink and he knew I was anxious.

Weigh-in: Down a total of 8 lbs since the end of the first 8 weeks, 40 lbs overall on the diet, and 52.5 lbs since Jan. 1. 42.6 lbs to go!!! I really want to get to the “under 40 lbs to lose” stage!

What the last week taught me:
I am going to feel guilty if I am not exercising and I was almost paralyzed by not being able to control my meals, and that’s probably bad. It turns out I made ok choices, but I was far more worried about eating the wrong thing than the prospect of just not eating at all.

I think this means I need to make a few adjustments:

1. Most importantly, avoid these situations. I could have been very clear with the conference organizers about my food restrictions, but I hate to be a bother and figure it is my problem, not theirs. But I also could have gone to a local grocery store and made some purchases that would have helped me avoid the problem; and, I could have paid more attention to the conference schedule in advance so I was prepared to give up an hour of sleep in order to fit in exercise.

2. Give myself a break. I’m so afraid of backsliding that I’ve somehow convinced myself that any deviation from the plan is going to immediately result in a 50 lb gain or a slippery slope to it. I need to chill out. Of course, if moderation was my talent, I wouldn’t be in the position of trying to lose almost 100 lbs to begin with, right? 🙂

3. Be more open with people. I think, had I shared my situation with others, I could have counted on them to excuse me from some of the social things in order to take better care of myself. That’s not 100% true – one of my closest friends was there and there is a 1/1 correlation b/w being around her and my misbehaving! – but it’s largely true, and people understand and have generally been supportive when I have been honest.

I guess I just want to acknowledge that, even when things are going the right direction overall, food is still this scary presence in my life and, while I may have established the right habits now for eating and exercising, I may be a bit behind mentally and need to put some effort into normalizing my relationship with food and exercise!

HI ladies not good day today, hubby had unexpected day off so we went out for lunch!!!! I did however buy new blood sugar diet recipe book…looks really good so definitely back on track tomorrow

On 16th June 2016 I found out that I was a Type2 Diabetic, my HbA1c was 62, cholesterol was 4.9 and BP 144/92 and I weighed 13 Stone 13 lbs (88.4 Kg) with a BMI of 30.2. I was sent off with a bag full of pills (Metformin & Statin) and a booklet about Diabetes. Needless to say that was not the best news I ever had. So I took my pills and read the booklet, which still suggested that I can have loads of carbs and some sweet stuff!
I decided to do a bit of my own research and soon found lots of information on the Internet, some good, some bad and some controversial.
I found the Ditch The Carbs, Blood Sugar Diet by Dr Michael Mosley and Sugar Free by Karen Thompson and these lead me to look at a whole host of others including Diet Doctor (Andreas Eenfeldt MD), Professor Tim Noakes, Professor Roy Taylor, Dr David Unwin, Emily Maguire, Ted Naiman and Dr Aseem Malhotra. All these wonderful people have websites and social media that support diet and exercise and a LCHF or real Mediterranean Diet to improve your health.
After spending some time reading their websites and tweets I decided to give it a go and try Low Carb. I stopped the bread, pasta, potatoes and rice and started including more vegetables, some fruit (Berries, Apples, Pears ) and trying out some of the recipes from Ditch the Carbs and the BSD. I also started some basic exercise; I walked for 30 mines a day. Pretty soon began losing weight and feeling better. I mixed up my menus taking my inspiration from Karen’s Sugar Free book, Libby’s Ditch the Carbs website, Andreas’s Diet Doctor Website and the BSD book by Michael Mosely.
Over the last 3 months my cooking has had interesting results, as somethings I cook really well other were a bit of a disaster (Down to me not the recipes : ) I have become a big fan of cauliflower rice and I am now enjoying butter, eggs, cheese and some full fat yoghurts, cream and nuts and I am losing weight. Much to the bewilderment of family and friends. I have even now increased my exercise and I’m doing HIIT sessions from the fabulous Joe Wicks (Freely available on YouTube) whose 15 minute low impact workouts are fantastic and fun.
It’s now 24th September and I’ve had a 3 month blood test to see how I am getting on -The results are in!
HbA1c is now 39, cholesterol is 3 (LDL=1.3, HDL=1.3) I now weigh 11 Stone 9 lbs ( 75 Kg ) and my BMI is 25.6. At my review they have kept me on Statins and I am now down to 1 Metformin and my BP is now 131/84. With my Diabetes Nurse I have agreed a target weight of 11 stone and another HbA1c test in 3 months. I’m also now trying to get my BP down a bit more so I’m going to start some Qigong and Mindfulness exercises.
I’ve had a fantastic journey over the last 3 months. I’m no saint as I have had a glass of red wine and a couple of squares of 85% dark chocolate during the last 3 months (But not every day!!)
I’ve found a supportive and vibrant community on the Internet who keep posting their recipes, research and hold forums discussing the latest developments in LCHF and Diabetes. I’ve managed to watch The Big Fat Fix and the Fixing Dad (Documentary about reversing Type 2 Diabetes by Anthony and Ian Whittington) and I’ve just watched the fantastic 2 part program by Dr Chris van Tulleken – The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs. I’m now looking forward to the next few months of my new journey.
A big thank you to everyone in the LCHF community and to the Doctors who are supporting and researching this way of life.

As Albert Einstein once said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we create them”

Keep posting and tweeting.
Andy @Crixus1963

Hi Flash21

I don’t want to get you to be too confident. But I can tell you, for certain, that if you stick to the BSD and enjoy changing your lifestyle to accommodate the 800 calories and no refined carbs, ONE dress size down by January is ABSOLUTELY AND DEFINITELY ACHIEVABLE.

In fact, I look forward to catching up with you in a few weeks to hear how you’ve already done it and are moving towards the next milestones. 🙂

Onwards and downwards, all 🙂

By the way, if you type My Fitness Pal in the SEARCH box, top right, you get lots of threads talking about it.

Very useful, the SEARCH facility, as there is absolutely reams of great historical info here on the forum now. 🙂

I hope your husband is doing OK, Chookymama. I know all about well-meaning friends… we have one who spends long periods of time with us (he has a place very near us but almost no facilities – at least at the moment – so when he’s in the area, essentially he’s with us). During his most recent visit, I put on 6 kg, eating more but above all drinking more because he buys lots of wine and beer in ‘recompense’ for our generosity. When he arrived, I weighed 83.5 kg and that’s why it’s my mini goal. I’ll be going ‘properly’ downwards from there on. I have set myself a target of 25 kilos overall but probably ought to lose a few more after that. Good luck with your target.

Hi there Womble

Yes, many many people here on the forums use MyFitnessPal (me included) but there are many others, and I have heard FatSecret recommended by others as easier to use.

MyFitnessPal takes a little getting used to, but I find it quite reasonable to use as a diary, to record meals, to search for things by barcode etc. However, you do need to be a bit careful with its suggestions as sometimes all you get are ingredients by cups – not so good if you are UK based – and some of the entries aren’t accurate. A little bit of good sense is required.

However, I’ve found it really useful for planning ahead – as someone said here, if you don’t do that, you can find you’ve got 50 calories left for dinner, which is quite sad 🙁

Hope that helps!

By the way, you don’t need the paid-for version.

Have a look at Libbys site – ditch the carbs (http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/) some very good recipes on there plus an article on The Ultimate Guide To Low Carb Flours (http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2016/09/12/low-carb-flours/)

Was just wondering if anyone joined up to myfitnesspal and if it ok?? This was recommended by Michael Mosley as an aid to counting calories. 😃👍

I used to be 70kg Snoop – back in the day – well actually not that long ago (my OH was diagnosed with a life limiting illness three years ago. Very well meaning friends sent me chocolate by the TRUCK LOAD. Rude not to eat it. I put on 2.5 stones in 2 months. Three years on and it had not budged despite particpating in many foolhardy sporting events but finding them incredibly hard work with my new body size!)

SO – 70kg is my target. It is also at the higher end of the range for my height so I know that I am not being unrealistic. Quite a few websites that have BMI/weight calculators.

Ahhh, those white noise apps are great! They usually have a good variety of sounds – I found that the noise of a train on the tracks would send me off to sleep very quickly! Haven’t tried a podcast or an audiobook but others have reported them to work well so I might try them out too. I don’t suffer from “true” insomnia, just worry when I can’t sleep properly.

Hello all,

I’d like to join in too please! I’ve started my own diary thread as well in an effort to remain accountable throughout this process but it’s also fun to hear about how everyone else is approaching this 🙂 I got semi-started last week but just had a weekend away which derailed my (minimal) progress so am back on the wagon today and full steam ahead! Thanks to Igor and Californiagirl for the reminders to measure. I will get on that tonight, not that I really want to find out just how enormous I am! But my current mini-goal is to drop a dress size by 1st Jan, so I guess doing the measurements will spur me on. I’m also going to make more of an effort to try new recipes so I don’t just flop about complaining I have nothing to eat and then bingeing on crisps and the like. So, there is my plan of sorts! Good luck with everything everyone 🙂

Hello all!

Nomorepanic – good to hear you’ve had a successful day. I hope there were more to follow. I too often feel bloated but find peppermint tea helps when I get like this. And lots of water as Boli suggests.

Antigone – I’m also a forum addict! Glad to hear not just me 🙂

Comforteater – congrats on your 3 stone loss! You must feel wonderful. A small gain is not terrible. You know you can do this. I am definitely a self saboteur – lose a couple of pounds and think, oooh I’m doing well so will treat myself with xyz and then am back to square one. It’s a really annoying pattern but am determined to break it! I have some severe back problems which are currently hindering most attempts at exercise, so I know how you feel on that front. In fact, we are pretty similar! My target weight is also around 11 stone. We can help each other along!

Boli – 1.2kgs down is fantastic, congratulations! Hopefully this will inspire you to keep at it. I’ve read that cravings seem to start dropping off once you’re into the 2nd/3rd weeks so you’re well on your way. I also need to sort out portion sizes and get my head around the fact that a “normal” sized helping is not small and I will not starve!

Hello everyone,

I too have gained over the weekend, which is annoying but not surprising. I’ve reset some mini goals and by the end of December I want to be at least one dress size smaller and to have weaned myself off diet fizzy drinks. Or indeed any fizzy drink. It’s definitely comforting and motivating to read everyone else’s goals as it makes feel like I can achieve mine if I really put my mind to it. Good luck to you all! 🙂

Hello Hillybob,

How are things going? Are you feeling better now? I hope so! 🙂

So, I have been away for the weekend and in four days I have gained 3lbs. BAHHHHH. I thought all the walking around I did would have mitigated my less than wonderful diet but alas not. However, I did also want to try the local fare so I guess that’s the price you pay. Back on the wagon properly today, with some new goals ahead of me for Oct/Nov/Dec:

Drop at least one dress size by 1st Jan
Attempt walking home from work at least one day per week (am experiencing terrible back pain again and off to see consultant next week so only putting a small target in as really struggling)
Try some new recipes
Wean myself off diet fizzy drinks

I would like to add to these but need to think of some more first!

One question: does anyone know where you can buy full fat Fage/Total yoghurt in small pots rather than the big one?

Hope you are all doing well! Please feel free to drop in and say hi 🙂

Just to say that we substituted tofu for chicken in the Thai curry. Also put in less curry paste than it said, as it was really hot. The dish was delicious, not quite what we’d expected in that it wasn’t red. The coconut milk dilutes the red colour of the paste. It has lovely creamy sauce, that doesn’t feel like being on a “diet” at all.

We also felt that it needed more veg, though that would up the carbs and cals a weeny bit. Next time I’ll put in more green beans.

Hello Avila,

Apologies for my late reply – I have been away! Cinnamon yoghurt is definitely worth a try! Sounds like you stayed strong around all those sandwiches etc. I find train station offerings particularly difficult and M&S To Go is always hard to resist. I like their prawns with dipping sauce or like you I will get some cold meats. The open sandwich idea is not something I’d thought of so one to bear in mind if there are no other options. Keep on keeping on!

Welcome all new starters! Thought I might share a thought from seven months out (I started March, got to goal in July now on maintenance) — if you find your scale to be abusive like mine is (it just accuses me when i step on it) — you can go the whole way with a friendly and supportive tape measure! I have lost four clothing sizes and I still won’t get near that stupid scale — I refuse to get on it at the doctors office too. They are always so surprised but I point out that my belly is flat and I’m in size 8 jeans so they relent (although they give me dirty looks). So if you find the scale to be depressing and mentally limiting, just spend three dollars on a plastic tape measure — also your tape measure can travel! Try traveling with a scale….😁😜

Thank you, will try soon, sounds delish!

Hello all,

Day 3 for me. The first two days have gone well enough, and today at 3pm I am hungry … but a very containable sort of a hungry. I had yoghurt and raspberries for brekkies, followed by a 2 egg omelette with peppers and cucumber for lunch … and four spoons of high fat luxury custard (oops). So, either those pesky custard carbs have made me peckish, or perhaps i’m not adding enough veggies right now.

Loving the sound of the thai curry. Tonight am planning to do homemade chicken tikka, with a cucumber raita … if I make it to the shops I may also try the cauliflower rice. My lovely family with have homemade flatbreads, which will be a definite challenge for me.

I’ve managed an hour and a half dog walk, and am planning on a few mins on my children’s trampoline (someone mentioned using an indoor trampette to get their day’s steps up, so decided to have a go on the trampoline … it’s harder work that in looks even doing mini bounces).

The recipe book arrived today, and am off googling some more ‘sensible’ 800 cal day planners to stop me winging it, and hopefully ensure the nutrition is there.

How is everyone else today?

Hi! thanks for your reply, 39lbs in 12 weeks, that is amazing! Go BSD!! I feel full of hope! Good luck to all x

Hi Snoop
I prefer FatSecret to MFP (hate the name though!) and switched after using MFP for about 10-12 weeks – they do do pretty much the same thing though. I don’t follow the recipes either, just make my own up and aim for low carb; I can’t bear to plan out what I will be eating a week in advance, let alone follow a plan that someone else has put together – plus if you’re mainly cooking for one, you usually end up with several portions of something, whether you’ve cooked it or just purchased a packet of something.

Personally, I much prefer that ads are practically non-existent on FS, and most importantly that they have a UK site.
This means you don’t get tons of entries where the only measure available is a cup – probably OK if you’re based in the US and are used to that, but it always seems horribly imprecise to me. I understand that US nutrition states the Carbs including grams of fibre, whereas UK is the net figure – quite important if you’re carb counting.
On entering foods to the database, there are sense checks that I didn’t notice on MFP – eg you can’t enter foods without a carb value, even if that means typing zero, and the grams of sugar cannot exceed grams of carb. There’s also a delay from entering stuff and it being available on the shared database; presumably some further checking in the background that adds to the accuracy. I’ve certainly found a lot fewer duff entries on FS compared to MFP.

Hi ladies. I am watching with fascination but not joining you as I am away this weekend and won’t be in control of what I eat. However if you do well I will have my own 7 day reboot when I get back! Good luck!

Hi like many here I’m new.Just a quick insight into my background.Im 52 5ft8 & weigh 100kgs approx 15″10
I suffer with high blood pressure as well as reactive and osteoarthritis.I have tried loosing weight many times but just seem to sleep back into the same routine ..Skip breakfast, and eat mainly junk food on the go,I find evenings the most difficult as I seem to eat out of sheer boredom.Anyway I’m determined to see this thru and get down to my target weight by Christmas ( using it as a Christmas present to myself) I will be starting on Sunday as I’m currently laid up with a double ear infection and am on antibiotics till then.Look forward to sharing my weight loss journey with other members of the forum…..So good luck and let’s be positive,Never give up trying!
Regards Andy.

Hi Suoon2bthinner!

Thai red curry:
Calories 300
carbs 14g

serves 2

I large chicken breast sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1tbsp olive oil
I large garlic clove, diced
2cm root ginger, diced
3-4 heaped tsp Thai red curry paste
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1/2 400ml tin coconut milk
1/2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1/2 tsp lime zest or kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1/2 cauliflower, grated
Generous handful fine beans.

Heat oil in a wok or wide-based saucepan and fry chicken and onion. When begins to brown, add garlic, ginger and curry paste. Fry gently for a few minutes then add the red pepper, coconut milk, fish sauce and lime zest. Cook for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the cauliflower rice.
A few minutes before the end of cooking time, throw the green veg in the pan.

Enjoy! it’s delicious

The recipes in the book are often inaccurate. They can’t be accurate when they use handsfuls, or one [beet, chicken breast, red pepper, etc.], becase things like that are not all the same size – so the calorie amounts will be different if you use a large one v. a small one.

As for MFP – the data is entered by members, and not checked. You have to verify the calorie/carb/etc. values if you want to make sure you are counting accuragely.

As for the counts on packaging – make sure you’re checking the weight. The stated weight of the package is often lower than the actual weight – so if you divy up portions based on how many the package says it will make you are often undercounting the calories you actually consume..

Picking up on an old thread – I read this a while ago and decided to give inulin a try
I’ve been taking a teaspoon a day (about 5g) for the last week or so, and it is definitely working with digestive health.
I take it in a glass of cold low calorie grapefruit squash; I’ve not noticed any problems with it not dissolving if I stir it well.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism simultaneously with diabetes almost a year ago. I’m down 72.9 lbs. (Low carb, moderate protein for most of that time. BSD for 6 weeks (until my oncologists ordered me back to maintenance calories for 3 months during cancer treatment), and back on it again for the last 4 weeks.

I don’t notice a bit of difference losing weight this time than when I’ve lost weight on any other calorie limited diet.

As to testing for underactive thyroid, the most common test in the US is for TSH levels, which is an indirect test – at best. In order to properly adjust medications, you need to have your doctor test T4, T3, and rT3 levels. Synthetic T4 is the most common medication (levothyroxine). In a normal metabolism, T4 gets converted to T3 (a happy hormone, in my doctor’s lingo) – but if you have hypothyroidism, your metabolism isn’t normal – and often it mis-converts to rT3 (a sad hormone). So merely shoving T4 at the problem often fixes the TSH level (so you look properly adjusted) – but can’t tell anything about the important levels: T4 and T3.

I take 75 mcg of levothyroxine and 5 mcg of liothyronine (synthetic T3, to compensate for the fact that my body converts too much of the T4 into rT3)

Yeah , day one of the reboot (I’m forgetting the one at the beginning of the month that only lasted a week! – Didn’t happen!)
Kayaking this morning, and I’ve not eaten lunch yet, but having some of the casserole I made at the weekend, so that will take me to 21 carbs and just under 400 calories.
Planning to go to the gym this afternoon as well.

Good luck everyone – did you enjoy the rest of your holiday Verano?

Chookymama, how did you calculate your target weight? If your muscle mass is 57 kg, 70 kg doesn’t sound like it leaves much for bones and internal organs… I must admit, I can’t even begin to understand how scales can work all those things out.

Will post it when I get home, if no-one else posts it first.x

Hi Yowzer
congratulations on the top!
I only need an M/L buoyancy jacket for kayaking now, instead of XXL – and at the Marathon on Saturday I took a standard size T shirt instead having to ask for an XL one.

Actually look omelettey but do not taste so
Toasted for 20 seconds are just lush

Thanks 1960 x will give it a whirl! They sound delish and a bit meringue- y😛 Xx

Hi folks i am on50 mg levothyroxine per day and have been for several years..i never have any problem losing weight on BSD or when i Do 5:2 fasting. But then i ve a lot to lose! I have an unfortunate habit of regaining weight when i stop following a plan..in my case,thats down to greed tho rather than my underactive thyroid.! The medication should make our thyroid function just the same as a normal person. ( tho from what ive read the NHS blood test for measuring our thyroxine levels is not very accurate,so we’re possibly not prescribed the correct amount we need!)
I start week 12 BSD tomorrow and on the last weigh in a week ago,had lost 39 lb. so far..feel sure have lost at least another lb this week.
Good luck APPLEBOTTOM,HAZE and MARYMOO,welcome to the forums! XXX

DeeToby
I find restricting to 50g carbs relatively easy, and 30g a stretch – so I probably average 40g daily – but if 80-100g is working for you, that’s great, it’s probably easiest not to worry too much about what others are aiming for.

If you use the search box (top right hand corner of the screen) and look for “max carbs” you’ll find earlier discussions around this topic – there is an old thread “MAXIMUM DAILY CARBS/SUGAR” that may be of interest.

Yowzer thanks for the sympathies lol
Oopsie bread is divine ( also known as cloud bread )
I use the recipe found on lighter life and wirks out around 85 cals per round

It’s 3 large eggs separated
Whisk the whites with dash salt until stiff
In other bowl mix 3 ounces cream cheese or cottage cheese into the yolks
I also add a small amount of physilloum husk and chia seeds
Mix the yolk mix into the stiff whites
Oven is 150 degrees fan
Scoop 6 spoonfuls of mix into baking sheets that have been covered with grease proof or parchment paper
Bake 20 mins

Hi Dee

Yes, as you and I have both mentioned, many people follow the BSD as set out in the book and experience great success.

Some people choose to monitor carbs as well, and find that this helps with speedier weight loss. It may be due to their individual physical makeup as I have also mentioned.

The 50g is something which people have suggested, and there is as you will know quite a lot of medical research generally regarding low carb (i.e. no refined carb, and lower levels of complex carbs). If you read Volek and Phinney, various grams of carbs are mentioned.

With regard to ‘how you restrict carbs to under 50g per day’ (or 20g per day, as I achieved relatively easily) SHOULD YOU WANT TO DO IT (I appreciate it is just an option, and absolutely not compulsory), then I find it quite easy.

It might be that the portions I have of all the various vegetables are smaller, and I find them quite satisfying at that level. My calorie requirement for maintenance is just 1500 calories per day and I find that although this is rather less than i would eat prior to the BSD, it is perfectly filling, and I am very energetic in my daily life. I have become far more adventurous in cooking (lots of lovely spices!), and non BSD family members generally find our BSD type meals extremely satisfying and don’t want additional portions, or indeed extra refined carbs though these are offered!

But if the BSD is working for you, then please don’t worry about any of the any other carb conversations. Dr MM has made the BSD simple for very valid reasons, in my view.

Hi IGOR me neither re DM…. grrrr…!
I think maybe i am one of the lucky ones ! 👍🏻 I only had one day of feeling really bad on BSD and that was on the first day..after that,the cravings had mainly gone..some days later,a quite mild and swift passing carb flu. X
This is a fascinating eating plan,so many factors to muse on, tho like you said MM has kept it simple for us and we can explore as much further as we want..and we’re lucky here that we all share any info we find,and also that we have folk like yourself who have a lot of knowledge.
If we open yr minds to it,and get past the ” oh i couldnt live without toast” frame of mind ( which i had pre BSD)this is a fab way of eating on so many levels! I ‘ ll still give the cracker test a go if i can get my mitts on one single cracker..no in fact I might buy a pack and feed the birds with the rest! X

I’m not living on water-based veg. Quite the opposite. I have a full range of veg and legumes. That’s why my carbs are more like 80g-100g. i was just querying how people achieve 50g carb when eating the full range of veg and legumes as I’m stumped how they do that. As for all your other observations – yes I know what needs to be eaten on this programme and am having great success with it averaging 2 pounds a week (and I started at 13 stone and am 5ft 5inch). I had not considered trying to keep my carbs to 50g until I came on this forum and started reading people’s stories. That’s why I’m now querying where this 50g carb figure came from as didn’t see it in the book or any of Michael’s articles. Who came up with it?

Hi Applebottom,

I was so pleased to see your post because I am the heaviest I have ever been and seriously struggling due to Hypothyroidism, I have been on medication for over a year now and very low because of my weight. I am hoping this 8 week diet may kick start my metabolism – maybe we should keep an eye on each other’s progress?

That’s more or less what I have but as I said, I easily (with small portions) go up to 100g carbs. That’s why I assumed everyone on here who seems to mention this magical 50g carb number must be eating a lot of veg like cucumber, tomato, celery, lettuce etc which are mainly water constituent and very few carb count. Otherwise, I don’t see how they do it.

HI 1960… Sorryyou feeling a bit under the weather..hope you ‘ ll soon feelbetter..it IS very easy to want comfort food in this situation. I used to be awful for stuffing myself wiht biccies,sweets,toast but of course filling up with junk does nothing but give a temp lift..now i have some full fat greek yog with a few berries and a few crushed nuts sprinkled on..its just like a cornetto but has some goodness in it
Yr home made soup sounds good! But what on earth is oopsie bread…i want some! X😛😛😛😛

Another new starter here. Supporting my husband on the diet who is a type 2 diabetic , I am grossly overweight (bmi40 )with slightly raised cholesterol (5.7), blood pressure is in the danger zone of becoming high and my sugar levels are normal which I want to keep that way😊 drinking lots of water and scouring the recipes …good luck everybody x

Good attitude Snoop. Glad to see the scales are moving in the right direction for you.

Chookymama, all that sounds like me! I love getting creative with food. It works well for dieting, but I also am quite busy, and trying to resist a lot of things, so the less I think about food the better. Makes for some boring or weird meals sometimes. This week I’m returning to my sit down rule for eating. No standing up eating while I’m doing other things. Trying to get excited about herbal teas. If we do this long enough it will become a habit and a preference….

I don’t know about the percentages… interesting though! Depends on your height too. Do you have a healthy weight to return to that you were at before or is this unchartered territory? I’ve stayed in the 160s (lbs) for almost 10 years, never lighter so I don’t know what my goal should exactly be. You seem to be really active too, so all that muscle will skew things a bit.

Hands to the plow again today everyone : ) best to you all. Pumpkin season is here…and that’s a friendly ingredient to work with…

166 this morning 😂
-2 lbs since yesterday

Hope i can join you …. I supposedly started last week but that was one TOTAL bust.

I’m 67, female, diabetic for 20 years or so, 5 ft. 6 in. and probably weigh 235 again (i think i gained last week but have been sick so i haven’t been to the gym to weigh in).

I’m up very early, been looking up calories and carbs for stuff i usually eat.

Made a nice breakfast of 3 eggs over a tiny amount of chopped honey ham and onion. And a coffee with cream. approx. 345 calories and 11 carbs.
I may have corn fried catfish for lunch and a cauliflower and spinach soup for supper. Maybe some sugar snap peas.

Until i replace my broken oven and get a fridge with a freezer compartment i’m going with simple things i can cook on 1 electric element or the electric frying pan.

I’ll be walking to the laundromat several times today 🙂 … washer is broken too! Blew all my money on house repairs! But i am looking forward to cooking and roasting … soon

Thank you for the support Igorasusual…. Day one is over and went really well. No Carb Bircher for breakfast and could have eaten that all day long it was so yummy… I work from 6.30 to 13.30 daily and had this around 10.30 (only because I was busy..)
Lunch was Chicken 3 ways (lime and ginger from the book) with cauli cous cous, courgetti and mushrooms cooked in lime juice and 5 spice. while this was cooking I did a jog warm up, 1 min run and 1 1/2 min walk x 5 then 2 min jog and it took about 15mins. When I got home lunch was ready 🙂 boom…..
On Mon and Tue I work from 5pm to 8pm, then it was home for Lentil Soup (recipe from this site, only slightly adapted as I couldnt find garlic) so tasty I was impressed with myself, I had this with the Gram Flour Drop Scone also from this site. Thank you so very much to Izzy for the lentil soup recipe and also to pmshrink for the drop scone recipe.
Together with 3 litles of water and two cups of coffee, this concluded my day.
Made the Blueberry and Green tea shake for breakfast today and all is good.
Onwards and upwards 🙂

Afternoon!

Am sat here feeling sorry for myself – had the flu jab last week and think am reacting to it. Struggling to NOT dive in the biscuits and food I have to avoid but finding it hard. Had lunch – home made mushroom soup and a lovely pair of oopsie breads….so hoping it passes.

Yowzet that must feel so so good when others notice and we don’t lol