Hi Hayser what method of low carb did you use before? As Prettybird says, look at the Bootcamp rules. This method has been refined over several years and is an effective way to lose weight following a low carb way of eating. As a rule of thumb you want to avoid foods that are more than 5% carbohydrate, i.e. 5g carbohydrate per 100g on the label. Foods below 3% are ideal.
From your post you're probably planning too much dairy. While yogurt, cream, and cheese are all low carb they are likely to inhibit weight loss if you're having dairy at every meal and in creamy coffees as well.
How much cheese in a day is appropriate?
I would start out with two portions of dairy per day. If you're happy with your rate of weight loss then experiment with increasing it, if you like.
Cream in coffee?
Not a great idea if you're having six cups of coffee a day. I would try and get used to it black or some people switch to unsweetened almond milk instead.
Sausages- should i only have 2
It's important to eat to satiety on this way of eating. If you've been eating a standard UK diet then your body is used to running on carbs and it takes a bit of time and effort to switch over to using fat as the primary fuel source. This can lead to you feeling extra hungry and needing to snack more in the first couple of weeks until you can start burning fat efficiently. Once the process of adaption to low carb has completed then your appetite will naturally drop and you shouldn't need to snack as much or at all. So in short, eat as many sausages as it takes to feel full!
Heard different things but are the berries ok with a bit of double cream ie,Strawberry or raspberries etc or shall I avoid altogether
Berries are all fine. Cherries and some melons are also relatively low carb. Cream is okay but might be an issue if you're eating a lot of dairy. Full fat Greek yogurt is popular amongst low carbers.
Ham, would a couple slices of ham or sliced beef be ok with full fat cream cheese and a bit of rocket lettuce rolled up as a lunch?
That's not a bad low carb snack but you need to make sure that you're eating enough fat. So a better lunch would be salad with oil and vinegar dressing with the ham or beef on top.
what about veg? Is it mainly green veg that is best to have ie, spinach kale broccoli leeks .. but no carrots swede etc?
There's a list in the Bootcamp spreadsheet. But basically these are good: mushrooms, courgette, green leafy veg, salad leaves, cucumber, celeriac, swede, leeks, broccoli, radishes, celery, asparagus, aubergine, avocado, sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, shallots, bamboo shoots, fennel, pak choi, beansprouts, baby sweetcorn.
These are okay in small quantities: peppers, tomatoes, onions, green beans, mangetout.
These are high carb: potatoes, sweet potato, carrots, sweetcorn, peas, beetroot, butternut squash.
how much is too much protein ?when low carbing in past I felt I've ate too much meat
It's much harder to overeat protein than most people think. Generally protein is only an issue for people eating a ketogenic diet for medical reasons (i.e. to treat epilepsy or cancer) or for people with diabetes who experience high blood glucose levels when they eat a lot of protein.
how can I get more fat in my diet when I won't eat chicken skin etc and I don't eat things like belly pork ?
You might find that you like fatty foods more once you're eating low carb, because your body recognises them as a prime source of food. But there are plenty of other sources of fat: choose fattier cuts such as chicken thighs or drumsticks, pork chops instead of fillet, oily fish, etc. You can also use olive oil for cooking or salad dressing, butter for cooking or melted on your veggies, coconut oil, etc.
I sometimes have wine on weekends to lose weight should I cut it out completely
It's best if you can cut it out completely for at least the first two weeks. There are low carb alcoholic drinks (red wine, white wine, prosecco, spirits) but alcohol stops your body burning fat while it is processed, and it can add a lot of empty calories.
I'm always peckish and pick at stuff alot
That's often a sign that you're insulin resistant, especially as you're overweight as well. After a couple of weeks on low carb you will find that you don't get hungry between meals.
I'm a bit postnatally depressed (am on anti depressents) too so tend to eat for comfort
This is a common problem. You need to find other ways to comfort yourself, or at the very least make sure you're eating low carb foods if you are comfort eating. Head over to the Bootcamp threads and you can ask for advice on dealing with comfort eating.
I'm going to start swimming on weds will try to go a couple times a week.
Exercise is a great idea for your health and also for keeping your muscles toned as you lose weight, so that your figure will look good. It can also be good for your mood which may help with the PND. It isn't essential for weight loss though, so don't feel you have to do crazy amounts to burn calories.