Right that's it -I'm going to diet using Zoe harcombe the lard must go...

[Stylelostinlabour]

Well I think it's time to stop moaning and get on with losing 3 stone so I've been reading up on diet and have decided the ZH one is for me.

I'm starting on Sunday 1st January if anyone wants to join me?

I'll do phase 1 for 5 days then I'm going to build in couch to 5k as well.

Anyone fancy joining me on the journey and sharing ideas and motivation?

I don't want to put you off Harcombe but from what I know about it you'd be better going onto something permanently possible like Paul Mckenna (BTW I lost 3 stone on it last year) and am still maintaining. I combine it with the blood type which is for my health. They both WORK

I will join you. Been on it and since letting myself eat anything and everything over Christmas I have put on weight and feel terrible. It works quickly and makes you feel great. ppeatfruit what do you mean by permanently possible? When you do phase 3 of Harcombe (ie when you have lost all the weight you want to) you can combine fats and carbs at the same meal but the principles of eating healthily and avoiding processed remain if you are to keep weight off.

Ppeatful - is the Paul McKenna one hypo? As tried hypo and it's really not for me.

Welcome muttimalzwei - when did you start it and how did you find phase 1?

The reason I think it will work for me is because with all 3 pregnancies I was gest diabetic and lost weight while pregnant (talking 2 plus stone each time) so think I have blood sugar problem. It's not enough to need insulin again but when I was on insulin the weight came off me and I was following a diabetic diet.

Also last year I was training loads for a big event but didnt lose a pound so the less in more put out that's she talks about really rings true for me. I was training 6 days a week and following a diet to help with challenge but nothing not an ounce went...

Right off to read up more and get really motivated it's been too long being fat apart from when pregnant and that's so not an option.

Phase 1 wasn't too hard. Came off cafferine and had horrendous headaches day 1 and 2 (took paracetamol) and day 3 had leg cramps from the lack of carbs which seems to be quite common. Bloating went straight away and by day 4 I felt so alive and full of energy. I did it very easily perhpas because it was summer and I ate yog for breakfast or eggs, salad and tuna/ham/cheese for dinner (loads) and meat and veg for tea. All food I like anyway. Went on fizzy water and herbal tea. Lost 9 lbs in a week then in total (I suppose I stopped doing phase 2 around November) I lost about a stone and a half. Went from a 16 to a 14 and my fat seemed to melt away. I enjoy t he food so it's not a problem and it really deos seem to sort cravings out. I wasn't hungry. BUT as soon as I have been allowing myself biscuits and chocs at Christmas etc I have put on about 5lbs and feel flabby and lethargic. I need to keep on this diet so I will happily start again Jan 1st.

And as soon as you go back on processed food and excessive carbs, the bloating is back and you feel puffy faced.

Wow well done you -I'm currently a 16 and aiming to get down to a proper 12 not vanity sizing! Looking at the diet I should be fine as love all the food just need to ensure I don't get lazy and forget what I can and can't eat also I need to ensure that if I lose 5lb that it's great but I still need to lose a load more.

What kind of things do/did you eat?

Porridge skimmed milk for breakfast, fruit mid morning. (boring but worked for me) When away would have full cooked without anything processed ie hash browns or sausages. Rice cakes, cottage cheese and chopped up salad veg, soup, humous and oat cakes, baked pots and cottage cheese, huge salads with chicken, ham, cheese for lunch. (ie no sandwiches) then tea would be whatever the kids were having but I would take out the carb. ie. spag bol woudl have all the mince but with veg, chicken/prawnstir fry veg, lots of stews and curries with no potatoes or rice. Lots of omelettes with bacon, peppers, mushrooms etc. Lots of veg pasta dishes with wholewheat pasta and things like ratatouille with couscous or brown rice. Fish or meat with veg, lots of roasted veg with everything! Ate cubed cheese and olives at night! and a bit of red wine and decent choc if I fancied.

Sounds great - I'm so going to do this in 2012. Have kind of started as suddenly really aware of food I'm eating

I think the added bonus with this is that it makes you feel so much better and even started to improve my mood and general outlook. You are what you eat basically, not rocket science but better for me than Weightwatchers which can see you relying on low fat artificial snacks to keep you going. My brother has lost 3 stone on it and is so chuffed with himself and honestly looks 10 years younger.

That's the kind of thing I need to hear before starting

Harcombe is good for some people but I can't eat too much protein it just makes me ill. I agree with no dairy and processed food, but I LOVE fruit and have lost 3 stone still eating a lot of it (the secret is to eat it on an empty stomach).

The hypnosis thing in paul mckenna is nothing much (you can do it without) But if you watch T.V. adverts, and or drink tea, coffee, alcohol etc. you 're altering yr mind without even being aware of it!!

I've been low carbing for a few weeks and have lost half a stone. Pig to twig mostly. However, I got the Zoe Harcombe book and will be using that from this weekend onwards.

Have to say, breaking my low carb diet over Christmas has been the biggest incentive to get going again. I feel bloody awful after having felt REALLY good for weeks.

The really hard part for me is coming off the caffeine, and I will do that slowly over the next few days.

Style - I also had gd in my two pregnancies and lost weight.

Low carbing has been a revelation to me. I felt SO much better doing it. No more falling asleep in the evenings putting ds to bed. No more day time naps. Vastly more energy. Some strange things too - I have plantar fasciitis in my feet and that went. Sinusitis better too. Last 10 days I've gone back to eating refined carbs and all my plantar fasciitis symptoms and tiredness has come back in spades.

There are some really good recipes in Zoe Harcombe. Particularly love the vegetable curries. And I don't miss fruit at all!

Can we include meal ideas in this thread?

Can I start with ideas for phase one breakfasts?

I like herrings roe fried in butter and olive oil, with salt and pepper.

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon also good.

Actually anything fishy.....

shagmund Lol at the name S'funny about that tiredness thing with carbs, I ONLY get it when I eat wheat i can eat porridge,rye bread etc. and feel fine yet after Xmas as you said I felt shxx 'cos of the wheat in the mince pies etc. Also it makes DH exhausted and grumpy!!

I was going for either:

Scramble egg and salmon
Porridge and water
Poached haddock

For lunch I'm wanting to find a couple of soup recipes and for evening meals I'll have:

Salmon and roast veg
Steak and salad
Roast chicken and roast veg
Prawns, salmon and salad
And more steak!

I think I've found what my intolerance is and it's wheat in bread as if bread is around I just can't leave it alone either that or it's butter?

I also remember that fruit used to send my blood sugars through the roof when I was doing pin tests 3 times a day - I used to be around 7.2 but if I eat say strawberries then my sugar level would hit around 17!

I had a go using her diet but tbh the stupid rules drove me mad and I'm not actually convinced about it anyway - although do agree with her views on phase 1 (ie intolerances/candida etc) and processed foods.

After reading many books including dukan, ZH, Adore Yourself slim, south beach, lean and clean, what works for me is low carb low fat (but not no carb, just minimal grains) and no processed food. I eat lots of fruit and veg, eggs, fat free dairy, lean protein, oily fish, nuts & quorn.

So breakfast - 2 egg omelette, fat free yoghurt with oatbran (inspired from dukan!)

Lunch - salad veggies plus usually oily fish (generally from tin eg sardines, mackeral, tuna, smoked salmon. Dressing yoghurt based.

Dinner - mountains of veggies plus protein (chicken, turkey, lean beef mince, white fish, tofu, quorn etc etc - sometimes as stir -fry, sometimes with with chopped tomatoes and loads of veggies.

Snacks - when hungry - apple, nuts (25g portion), yoghurt. Maybe couple of oatcakes or ryvita with cottage cheese.

What rules did you find drove you mad? Apart from fat/carb in phase 2 it all seems straight forward really and not dissimilar to most diets

Only bits that got on my nerves were the inability to have carb with fish. ie really missed prawn cocktail and jacket potato or tuna sandwich. Did start cheating and having tuna and prawns with (a bit of ) carb as got sick of only cottage cheese sandwich or jacket potato with Quark. Found myself having (good quality) bag of chips for lunch quite often as carb choice and that always made up for any feelings of deprivation.

I only did phase I of ZH - I thought I would have loads of symptoms but had none at all, just got very bored with bacon and eggs. I only lost 2lbs during Phase I and so got disillusioned as a result and stopped. Only had a stone to lose in total at most, half of stone would have been good.

Recently lost 6lbs in 4 weeks with little effort/thought and no fad diets - i've eaten more carbs and dairy (meant to help with PMS) and less fruit and veg (as I seem less hungry with more dairy in my diet). I'm very perplexed.

I think the body is so complex - I have never lost weight on slimming world or ww even though I followed to the letter and actually on slimming world I gained 6lbs in the first week!

The only thing I know works is getting my insulin levels sorted and killing the bread etc

I'll give it a go got nothing to lose apart from pounds I hope and what with doing c25k and shred I better bloody lose something!

Oh dear have just realised I'm supposed to start tomorrow! The caffeine deprivation after a (no doubt) hangover is going to be HARD!!!

Everyone (including Z Harcombe) seems to forget that WE ALL ARE DIFFERENT!!!! so we respond differently to diff. ways of eating or diets that's why I follow the Blood Type diet and paul mckenna.

Although the "not mixing protein with carbs" is good for digestion and weight loss.

Chestnuts you are probably an AB or B blood type who do well with dairy so don't be perplexed!!

Started today without tea and bread so hopefully tmrw wont be as bad