could I ask your advice, lovely diety ladies?

[colditz]

My friend suggested we go on a diet together, as we both need to lose weight, her a bit, me significant.

so the diet plan is - no carbs, simple or complex, unless they are in fruit and veg or low fat yoghurt.

plentyb of meat, fish, eggs, low fat dairy.

Not calorie watching.

This doesn't sound like it will work, to me. I have a large appetite and I cannot imagine that I will lose weight like this.

Eg for breakfast (v late) today, I had 2 eggs, mushrooms and some lean ham, a banana at lunch time. For a light tea witht he kids I had a no-added-sugar jelly, some chicken breast, 1 v thin slice of salami, 4 cashew nuts and a pear.

for my supper, I plan to have a large rump steak with a big salad.

will this work?

Sounds a bit like Atkins?

I wouldn't recommend cutting out carbs completely, you need them. Good carbs release their energy slowly to keep you satisfied for longer and stop sugar cravings.

I'd say you would be better off calorie-counting than cutting out an entire food group - particularly if you have a lot to lose and therefore will need to stick to the diet for a considerable amount of time. Best to go with sensible eating rather than something faddy.

I don't really get sugar cravings - haven't got much of a sweet tooth. My problem is, I binge on carbs, once I start withthem, I can't stop until i am so full I am uncomfortable. I thought maybe there would be enough carbs in fruit and veg? no? I mean a lot of fruit and veg.

sounds like she wants to do modified atkins.
it may work for her. depending on what her current eating habits are like.

if you do binge on carbs, then i would thoroughly reccomend atkins.
the two week induction will get you off your carb cravings, and you can then slowly reintroduce good carbs, from fruit and veg. this way you wont go back to the bad habits of eating lots of sweets and bread and pasta etc.

I can't limit my fruit and veg though, I just can't, it seems so unhealthy? Will I get any weight loss if I eat my fruit and veg?

So I've got one vote for more carbs, one vote for less carbs.

Any to tip the balance?

coooeeee

there's a carb reduscing thread and loads of people have done really well on it - I think it would work.

ahhhh

Is it the cambridge diet one?

You could do slimming world and have the best of both worlds. One day you could eat 10 chickens if you could along with as much fruit and veg but limited carbs. On a green day you could eat 20 sacks of potatoes or five plates of pasta and as much fruit and veg but with limited meats.

it really is a good diet, it sounds complicated but it soon clicks in and there are loads of things you can eat until you're blue in the face.

and you still loose weight, it's amazing

today I have eaten 1 banana, 1 apple, 3 tomatoes, double handful of mushrooms, handful of chopped ham, 2 eggs and a muller light yoghurt.

I want to go and lie in the bread bin.

And I don't feel any thinner!

colditz - if you are going to cut out carbs, do it thoroughly and cut out fruit too. It isn't unhealthy as you will still be eating plenty of green leafy veg and salad. Sugar is sugar and will have an impact on your blood sugar levels which is what makes you hungry even when you've eaten a meal. Eating a big lump of protein with each meal will help. The first few days will be hard and you may even feel ill but persist and it will get better.

I followed a low-carb diet for over 2 years and it was so easy after a while. Why I stopped I don't really know...but I did and I'm seriously thinking of getting back on the wagon again. Atkins is a good starting point but then when you understand it better you can create your own diet. I really struggle with low-fat and calorie counting diets.

If you want to take a look at some low-carb diets and recipes look on ebay for e-books. They are around $0.99 and you can find lots of low carb recipes, atkins type plans and the South Beach diet, which is a slighly modified Atkins, which makes it a little healthier.

However a plan like WW or the GI diet where you can have everything in moderation is better for you. Also if you swap refined carbs for wholemeal you may find you don't crave them quite so much.