The Unbelievably Good Low Carb Diet Thread

[QueenStromba]

The previous thread was getting a bit full so I thought I should start a new one while we could still link between them.

BIWI, I'm doing a Dr Briffa, type of plan, but I'll phase 1 it with you.

I dunno what's going on, but I'm simply not hungry this evening. I ate a lunch of tuna mayo, loads of salad, some homemade coleslaw and a handful of olives. Really not felt hungry since. Had a tiny piece of cheese at 5pm, just because.

I really feel like I'm shrinking - I suppose I'm de-bloating?

An ya, exercise makes a huge difference definitely. I've been running and I think that's helping matters along too.

You're in ketosis, encyclogirl!

I just found this cake recipe and thought that if someone is au fait with Splenda/Stevia then they might want to have a go at subbing that in for the sugar, because this a flourless choc cake with a choc-cream ganache on top so could be made into a low-carb friendly cake as the rest of the ingredients are eggs, dark choc, butter, cream and vanilla! I've not used sugar subs before so not quite sure how to adjust quantities.

Although I am now wondering whether low-carb friendly cake is in any way remotely possible as an idea!

Really BIWI? Whoo hooo! Long may it last. I am not kicking myself out I don't care how much chocolate is in my house this weekend.

BIWI - I'll join you in boot camp.

I'll do boot camp. Tell me what and when.

Tea was tomatoes eggs and bacon all fried in a pan by my lovely dh. Sure the 3 glasses of wine haven't helped but hey it's bank hols.

OK. I've been formulating the 'rules' - if you think this sounds OK, I'll start a new thread. I'm thinking of starting it from Monday 16 April, which would give people time to sign up/plan for it, IYSWIM

Here are the rules:

The Rules

1. Eat three, proper meals a day. You must eat breakfast. It doesn?t have to be a lot, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you?re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn?t be hungry. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack)
2. Avoid processed food, and focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals ? meat/fish/eggs. Things like sausages, ham, bacon, pre-prepared burgers etc should be avoided as much as possible. Avoid foods marketed as low carb, e.g. Atkins Daybreak bars.
3. Maximise your fat intake. Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat ? e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!
4. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food ? this is where your carbs should come from. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. You don?t have to weigh/count carbs ? this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you?re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat
5. Minimal dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited). If you are still drinking tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day. You may eat cheese, but only in small amounts.
6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day. The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nuts/seeds
10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners

What do you reckon?

This is what I'm going to do, by the way - regardless of whether or not anyone joins me!!!

Oh, and this is the list of 'allowed' veg:

Allowed veg

Don?t eat any veg unless it?s on this list, and try and focus on eating those that are under 3g carbs per 100g:

Veg (raw) Carbs per 100g
Mushrooms 0.4
Watercress 0.4
Spinach 0.8
Celery 0.9
Broccoli 1.1
Asparagus 1.4
Cucumber 1.5
Lettuce 1.7
Fennel 1.8
Courgettes 1.8
Cauliflower 1.9
Avocado flesh 1.9
Turnip 2
Pumpkin 2.2
Runner beans 2.3
Swede 2.3
Celeriac 2.3
Bean sprouts 2.5
Carrots 2.5
Green pepper 2.6
Baby sweetcorn 2.7
Aubergine 2.8
Leeks 2.9
Okra 3
Tomato 3.1
Mangetout 3.3
Shallots 3.3
Brussels sprouts 3.5
French beans 4.7
Cabbage 5
Yellow pepper 5.3
Carrots 6
Orange or red pepper 6.4
Ginger (peeled) 7.2
Butternut squash 7.5
Onions 7.9

yep sounds good to me BIWI

I'm in on that except for the 'No nuts' rule although I will make sure I'm not going crazy with them - I find a few nuts (4 or 5) sometimes takes the edge off when I'm feeling dangerously snacky or deprived in some way. I'll start on Tues once bank holiday weekend with days out etc is well and truly over.

Start date would be Monday 16, lemniscate - to give anyone who wants to start time to plan for it.

We can be as strict as we like on this thread until then, of course!

Oh that works well for me too :)

I will join in the boot camp. I am confident in saying this as I think I will need a boot camp as I am currently eating cadbury's whole nut (and I am eating this because I am hafway doen a bottle of pinot grigio).

Oh it has all gone to rat shit.

I will start severe low carb on Tuesday.

I think the rest of the weekend will carry on down the same sorry vein.

Hi anyone know any advice about low carving following heart attack

Stress - I'm afraid not. Is this about you? You really should take proper advice about that. Whilst I can't see what the problem would be, I would not want to take responsibility for giving you inappropriate advice, as I am not qualified in any way.

I'm in for the bootcamp too. Have lost the half a pound I lost and put back on this week but that's all so a couple of weeks of bootcamp should get things moving again. But i can't do chicken skin and fatty meat . Love butter though.

Current Easter tally here: one hot cross bun (it was dripping in butter so at least one bit was diet friendly) and half of one of those small 60p pots of mini eggs. Even despite that, I was so restrained - we took the kids up onto the Downs yesterday as it was such a lovely afternoon and I didn't even have a lick of the ice creams they all enjoyed with gusto...

Stress - I suggest you/the person you refer to reads one of the more medical books like John Briffa to get a better idea of how the diet works and then talk with your GP or cardiac specialist before starting. Even if they think it's a good idea, they may have specific adjustments to the diet they would want to make first.

Hi thanks - it is about me and I have the John briefcase book - was just wondering if anyone knew any website etc. have cardiol appt next week so am going to discuss there

LOL @ John Briefcase! Damn autocorrect ...

Sorry to hear about your heart attack, by the way. Are you OK now?

Lol should be on the other thread that's running! I am doing ok thanks all a bit of a shock. Irony is I have lost 3 stone low carbing. Diet advice I have received so far is the standard eat complex carbs which I know doesn't work for me. Obviously eating a lot of sat fat would not be wise but think if ate chicken, turkey fish nd leAn red protein and got fat from monosat eg avocado olive oil etc should be ok. Heart attack due to stress test showed big vessels clear

@ lemniscate's 'carb-friendly' hot x bun. The Easter horror had begun here - am surrounded by chocolate everywhere I look! Have not succumbed so far... Dp bought me a beautiful bunch of flowers which thought were in place of an egg, but no, there was an egg there too!

Anyway, breakfast was scrambled egg and bacon, lunch was a plate of steamed asparagus with butter and parmesan. Plenty of water and a couple of cups of peppermint tea (oh and one coffee with dbl cream). I really dont want to succumb to the choc but am just about to drive ds to the airport and am dreading seeing him go . Must be strong!

BIWi was right, I am def in ketosis. 7lbs off since Monday! I simply can't believe the results. I am in chocolate Hell here too, but I won,t succumb.

breakfast was ham, Philadelphia and some almonds. Lunch was salmon pan fried in butter and a big green salad. dinner is roast chicken with avocado, salad leaves mayo and a few olives.

what's the deal with fizzy water? Yay or Nay?

By the way - have any of you discovered shirataki noodles?

www.shiratakinoodle.co.uk/

If you're missing pasta/noodles, these are definitely worth trying to track down. We have a Korean supermarket near us that sells them, or you can buy them online.

Tea, sorry to hear your ds is heading out, where's he off too?

BIWI I'm in for the boot camp too!