Low-Carb - No alcohol 30 day diet. Anyone want to join?

[SpringFollows]

Does anyone want to join me on my quest to eat low-carb and ban alcohol for 30 days? I am transitioning to vegan, so my 'low-carb' version REALLY means no bread, pasta or potatoes, but I will keep rice in and fruit and veg.

I have all these great intentions, but have a glass or two of wine and fall off all the wagons! I think i need support!

I am considering joining WW next week, but in my heart of hearts i know that my issues are - enjoying wine - and eating like it is Christmas every day. Sigh.

If anyone wishes to join- starting tomorrow, I would be so pleased! Mutual support guaranteed! :)

Me- I am 5 ft 5, 40's, weigh as of this morning 10 stone 12. (I know it is more- I was really dehydrated this morning- i suspect really 11 stone).

Goal weight- ultimately 9 and half stone. Not sure where I will get after 30 days!

Hope to see you!

Day 1 of 30 (wonders if bolding worked).

Okay today i start, and of course I just HAD to start on a friday, when I have a day off and am meeting friends at the pub!

Plan:

Breakfast- weetabix, soy milk, 2 dried apricots
Lunch - I will just do the best I can with the options in front of me! Luckily the pub we are going to is very flexible so i can probably negotiate
Dinner- Takeaway- Thai. Thai vegetables and coconut rice, (small rice portion). DH and DS will probably go wild over the various fish dishes. :)

I know I am calling this 'low-carb' and it really isn't, I should probably name the thread as the 'no bread, no pasta, no pastries, no pots and no alcohol diet'.

I worked out last night that as i share a bottle of wine with DH every night, and we sometimes have a G7T beforehand, i am consuming about 400 calories a day in alcohol alone- and then I get hungry and EAT.

I'll join

I'm 2 weeks in to my version of thelow carb diet (No bread/pasta/spuds/pastry/rice/crisps/cereal/any other foods in the 'beige' food group ) and I've lost 11 lbs. Have totally cut out chocolate, ice cream and any other crap foods.

I'm not cutting out alcohol completely just limiting it to a few gin and tonics on the weekend rather than the 4+ bottles of wine a week before .

Am drinking at least 2 litres of water a day, going to the gym every morning and have to say am feeling like a new woman . Don't miss the stodge at all. Don't miss struggling to get into my Size 14 clothes. Don't miss hangovers. Don't miss being bloated and never really feeling properly hungry as I was mainlining carbs from dawn till dusk!

Went out for lunch with DP and DD yesterday and had mineral water and a gorgeous goat's cheese/roasted pepper and pancetta salad. Before I'd have had wine and a cheeseburger!

Hi Bunny, so glad to have you on board!

I am afraid that although I did end up ordering veggie fajitas but without the tortillas, i did have a large glass of wine. .

Love the idea of avoiding beige food groups though. (rethinking rice with tonight's Thai).

11 pounds in 2 weeks??!! That truly is amazing. I am hoping for 12 pounds at the end of 30 days- 3 pounds a week, but know I AM being hopeful.

I definitely need to up my water intake. I usually drink coffee, coffee, coffee then 6 pm, wine.

Off for a pint of water now.....

oh can i join please - wine is most definately my down fall - i drink too much on the weekends and make bad food choices - (I get the munchies and raid the cupboards)

I dont drink in the week at all and eat fairly healthy but come Friday nights and its all over.

I am not going to cut out carbs completely but cut back - if i cut out i crave and then go mad on them.

I would love to join, I am trying to follow the IPD. I'm on the second week, I lost 9lbs on the first.

Ideally I would like to lose two more stone and keep it off. Vodka is my downfall, I just want to cut it out for a while.

Whats IPD?

Idiot Proof Diet - India knight and Neris whatshername.

I won't join your diet, but I'm just popping by to say - stick with it, it really works!!

I started low-carbing last year, losing about 20lbs in all (I wasn't massively overweight to start with), and I have stayed at my target weight ever since, and low-carbing is now my way of life. My diet was a bit like yours, Bunny (no beige!), but I also used IPD for inspiration.

Spring, I hate to say it, but to really see success you should lose the rice and weetabix too. Have eggs or greek yogurt/fruit/nuts for breakfast, and instead of rice eat "cauliflower rice" - whizz raw cauli into crumbs in a food processor, then saute in butter til soft. Instead of pasta, eat courgette "ribbons". Or just have extra portions of veg. Eat more protein; that's what keeps the hunger at bay.

Great to have you all on board!

Spots my downfall is white wine. I love it. And then I get the munchies too.

Chocco.... yes, in my heart I know you are right. I was low-carbing, inspired by the skinny Spanish woman thread and lost my belly, then went to France last week (I exercise a 'Paris-exemption-from-all-diets clause') and now my stomach is BACK.

Waiting for Dh to get home from work then Thai. Will think about putting lovely thai main course over thai veg. :)

My weigh in day is Tuesday......

I'm a weight watchers leader but despite that I did a 30 day no booze, low carb diet and lost 15lb . Am now back propointing.

Very good point, Spring, not only does your body burn off alcohol instead of the fat it should be concentrating on, but also your resolve goes out of the window when you've had a couple of glasses. Those chocolates in the cupboard go from being merely tempting, to being completely irresistable!!

Anyway, best of luck.

spring low carb does not mean weetabix for breakfast! i have lost loads of weight (47lbs) and last stubborn stone and half was low carbing - did have low fat yoghurt though and occasional fruit so not as strict as others on this board. Not sure low carb is very compatible with vegan diet though - and I have found eating out means meat or fish so think winging it as a vegan in a restaurant might be hard. Probably better as a vegan to aim for low GI/GL or try - IMO no point in restricting say wholemeal bread if you are going to eat weetabix or rice.

All sounds promising, it's very easy to do. I'm always full too, which is bonustastic.

Are you going to go the whole hog now Spring?

Cripes, didn't notice the vegan thing, Spring.

I couldn't do this without all the protein, so it'll be tougher for you, I think.

Yes the vegan thing does complicate it! A few weeks ago I was eating lean animal proteins and vegetables and salads and lost 5 pounds easily. But the time is right, mentally, I think, to return to veganism. (Last time a vegan was 5 years ago, nearly 2 stone lighter). So, that was why my version of low-carb was really I guess no bread/potatos/pasta. Although I did notice this morning that I bloated after eating weetabix, so had started to rethink it. (Soy milk smoothie alert).

I will look into low GI/GL... maybe that is more the sort of thing I mean. I have a terrific low GI vegan cookbook lying around somewhere.

But the key thing will be no booze. :)

suwoo you have inspried me. :)

Right. Yesterday roundup. Generally it was okay, except for the wine slipup at lunch. But the rest of the day I drank lemon juice in sparkling water so am reasonably happy with that.No excuses today though, alcohol-free.

Plan;

Breakfast - melon slices. (Not hungry this morning).
Lunch - beetroot, spinach, cannellini bean and onion salad with balsamic vinegar dressing.
Dinner - felafels, tabouli, cucumber and tomato salad and hummus.

Drinks- coffee with soy milk; lemon juice and water.

I have found my low GI vegetarian/vegan cookbook and it will be easy to adapt if I am avoiding 'beige' foods.

How did everyone else do?

Was fine yesterday, had over 2 litres of water, tuna salad, buttered chicken in the evening. Plan for today:

Breakfast - Almond bread with organic unsweetened peanut butter
Lunch - Probably a tuna salad again (love putting dark soy sauce on it)
Dinner - Cauli mash and some sort of fish.

Drinks - Water and tea with lacto free milk.

Sounds like you're getting organised Spring

Hope so Spots!

Almond bread sounds gorgeous!

Cauli mash- now that is a great idea. Possibly having a vegetarian roast dinner tomorrow. Cauli mash woul be a great alternative to pots.

I was very good yesterday and it's paid off - another pound off this morning making my total loss 12lbs so far!

Yesterday I had

Breakfast - a roast chicken breast with tomato chutney (sounds weird but had leftovers)
Lunch - anchovies in garlic and olive oil. Bowl of tomato and red onion salad
Dinner - 2 bowls of roasted red pepper and tomato soup with a drizzle of low fat sour cream.
Snacks - big bowl of melon and blueberries with greek yogurt. Handful of walnut halves.

Gallons of water and 6 hours running about like a woman possessed at work last night have helped too!

DP is at shops getting WW bacon, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms for breakfast - can't wait!

That is an amazing loss, Bunny. 12 pounds!

Friends dropped around with a bottle of white unexpectedly. I used driving to B&Q later as an excuse and had water. Very pleased with myself about that! I was tempted though!

I am desperately hoping there has been a downward shift at weigh in on Tuesday.... fingers crossed!

Woohoo no wine last night

Did ok with the food to although i cant remember what i ate now

I am already looking longingly at the Sancerre in the fridge.....

[Slaps hand. Puts wine in bottle rack so not nice and cold...]

grrr. Why is it that everything you have to love is either bad for you or fattening or both?!

STEP AWAY FROM THE VINO!

I know, calorie/sugar/fat free crusty bread or alcohol would be lovely...

Dinner was yummy, just have to gulp down some more water and am done for the day.

I kind of feel like I am drowning in the bloody stuff by this time of the day!

Sure there was no wine invlolved racmac? Well done!

That's fab Bunny, how long has it taken to lose the 12lb?

I did step away from the vino in the end, but it was hard! Ended up eating the same salad for dinner as lunch as I was busy and forgot to go and buy the ingedients!

Today, not sure.....I was inspired by Bunny's Sunday breakfast plans and have developed desiring thoughts about tofu sausages and fried mushrooms... mmmm. With mustard. Possibly for brunch. Dinner possibly Vietnamese rollups with lost of carrots, cucumbers, avocado, peanuts and chilli and soy, and I would wrap mine in mettuce not rice paper. Will have to consider.

I think the no-alcohol bit is going to be the hardest. When faced with a salad, i think 'this would go so well with a glass of...'. suwoo did you lapse at all in your 30 days?