I really AM going to Low Carb this time...

[WilfSell]

And DH has promised to join me. But not until after our big night away without the kids next week. So lots of time to procrastinate plan ahead I've ordered India's book. And have an old copy of Atkins' upstairs.

I will need a sugar substitute I think. And, ahem, fibre. Are linseeds low carb? Can you eat them in induction? And I will need to plan my snackage.

And how to get through the first week or two weeks? What helped you not cave in at the first cravings or headaches? And did I read somewhere you can test your piss? Or is that not strictly necessary?

I;ll join in!

have been half-arsed low-carbing since NYE. Full induction starts Monday!

good thing I love omlettes..

I am starting go lower when it arrives. £££ i know

I have lost weight doing low carb before but put it back on.

I am def going to keep it off this time.

linseeds are low I think
yes you can test your piss with ketostix-from ebay, helps to keep you motivated as if you cheat you go out of ketosis so stop burning fat

you need Custardo for low-carb advice. Ground linseeds are zero carb I believe (please search old Atkins threads for recipe - can't find it meself)

Good. That's a few noobs/restarters. We have 11th Jan pencilled in as our start date

Is it better just to cut out completely and go cold turkey, or is it possible to gradually reduce? I'm such a carb addict that I think perhaps it has to be all or nothing.

I'm thinking I just have to think of it as being 'ill' for a week and then it will get better.

If you're going to do Atkins (or India/Nerys) then you will, effectively, be going cold turkey for the first stage. Usually (but up to you how long) two weeks.

If you make sure that your carbs come from salad leaves and vegetables then you should be OK in terms of the fibre intake. And make sure that you drink plenty of water too - this will also help prevent constipation.

Ketostix are not really that helpful, as if you're drinking plenty of water then you will be washing the ketones out of your system.

Re the sugar substitute, part of the thinking behind the initial phase/2 weeks is to get you out of the habit of eating sweet things - and so you're not encouraged or not allowed (I forget if this is the case) to eat sweet stuff. That said, you can buy low carb/low cal jellies which are nice. Hartleys, I think. Sainsbury and Tesco sell them.

But the best rule of thumb/advice I would give, based on years of low carbing, is to aim to eat natural, i.e. not processed foods. So, meat/fish with salad/vegetables that you have cooked from scratch.

You should find that once you're in the swing of things that you're not actually hungry in between meals, and therefore snackage is not necessary. If you are hungry though, the mantra is eat. Pieces of cheese or ham are good, and I always have a couple of hard boiled eggs in the fridge.

But one of the great joys of low carbing is that you aren't hungry - which means that you stop obsessing about food. It isn't uncommon for me, when I'm being good to actually forget that it's lunchtime and not get round to eating till 2 or even 3 o'clock. Something that never happens if I'm calorie counting!

It's great that you and your DH are doing it together as that does help to keep you on track. But if you do it 'properly' you should also see such good results within the first couple of weeks that that in itself will keep you on track.

Just beware that it is not uncommon to find that in weeks 3, 4o or 5 that weight loss does stop/slow down significantly. Don't change anything you're doing, and you should find that the weight will start to go after that - albeit more slowly than in the first 2-4 weeks.

And another thing to bear in mind, some people find that diet drinks or low sugar chocolate products can cause a stall. There is a theory that they can 'fool' the body into producing insulin in the same way as sugar.

Good luck! I am back on the wagon from tomorrow as well.

or BIWI is full of good advice too
~waves~

Can I join too please? I did Atkins a few years ago and lost a lot of weight and found it quite easy to stick to after the first hellish week! Had a baby, the rest is history.... put it all back on and then some. Other diets just make me obsess about food and I always cheat. On Atkins I know I can't cheat at all and it keep me focused. I have about 3 stone to shift before I go on holiday in July so if I get stuck in now I think it's feasible.

3 stone by summer seems like a good goal. In the first place, I'd be happy to shift a stone. And can then work on the others one at a time. I guess a stone is roughly a dress size too?

So I can eat steak and salad, and bacon with tomatoes, and grilled fish and vegetables. And cheese. Are full-fat things (cream, yoghurt etc OK in induction? I can't remember...) Is it you that uses vanilla essence BIWI? And now that you have taught me to cook delicious steak, I think I can probably cope.

OK and since I'm going to be starting a week later than y'all, could you post your experiences on this thread please, so I know what to expect

I would say watch out for things like mints and chewing gum and stuff like that. You can think they're harmless but they are loaded with carbs. The same with tomato sauce/ brown auce etc. Only one that's ok is mayonnaise I think. It's the little things that can mess up your carb intake. Found that out the hard way last time did Atkins

Full fat is definitely OK - Atkins would say that low carb doesn't work if you restrict your fat. I think, though, you need to go easy on the cheese - but worth checking that out if you've got the book. I need to re-read it as it's such a long time since I was really good!

I use vanilla essence in yoghurt - put it on top of stewed rhubarb or berries - but not during induction.

Will report on my menus for the week if you like! Tomorrow's dinner is going to be roast chicken with roast vegetables (leeks, courgettes, peppers, carrots in olive oil), with salad. Breakfast will probably be a couple of boiled eggs. No idea what I'm having for lunch, but as I had a lot of eggs about to go out of date it might also be something egg-based.

And no white wine ...

Sal - I can recommend Neris and India's idiot-Proof Diet Cookbook.

The only problem is that they don't give exact carb counts, so if you're trying to do Atkins and count the carbs it's not as easy. If you're just doing more general cutting down, it's a great book. The soups they have recipes for are:

Roast butternut squash with parmesan and bacon
Lettuce with parma crisps and basil oil
Thai green avocado soup
Courgette with gingered onions
Curried cauliflower
Spinach
Mushroom
Oven roasted onion

If you'd like me to type any of them out I'm happy to do so!

Got half a stone off before Christmas (thanks to BIWI's chart) and haven't done too much damage - gain of couple of pounds over Christmas.

I'm just getting through the Christmas cake before restarting...Why am I though? I really don't like this bloaty feeling...And after running for the train the other night for the first time in weeks I felt awfully shaky - doesn't happen when low-carbing.

It's a weight chart that BIWI does on Another Site but it relies on people actually sending in their weight each Monday. It kind of died in the run up to Christmas but it was encouraging seeing a general downward trend (when it wasn't busy being stuck on the same number for weeks on end....)

Hi everyone, can I join you please?

I have been doing Go Lower for about 3 months now and am finding it so easy to do.

Sal - sorry, have not been around much today and didn see that you wanted the recipes. If you don't mind, I'll do them tomorrow as I'm a bit cream crackered now.

If anyone wants to join in, I've started a three week challenge, which will begin on Monday. I'm not going to do a chart for this, as it seems a bit pointless for only three weeks, but might consider it from February!

Basically the thinking is that there are three full weeks from Monday to the end of the month, so that gives us all a chance to do induction/have a strict start - whatever suits you best - with the aim of losing half a stone.

I'll link to the thread and if you want to join in that would be fab!

Here you go!

OK - first two soup recipes, courtesy of Neris and India's Idiot Proof Diet Recipe Book:

(Actually a lot of recipes/most of recipes were created by Bee Rawlinson, an early member of the website pig2twig, who was so resourceful/creative in her cooking that they asked her to get more involved with them)

Roast Butternut Squash with Parmesan and Bacon

serves 2

1 butternut squash
olive oil for brushing
500-750ml veg or chicken stock (cubes are fine, Marigold bouillon powder is better)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
4 rashers of crispy bacon

Pre-heat oven to 190/GM5

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthways and brush with olive oil. Bake for an hour or so - it's ready when it's soft.

Scoop out the flesh and whiz in a blender. Put it into a pan with enough stock to achieve the consistency that you prefer.

Gently heat through for 20 mins or so

Serve with a heaped tablespoon of Parmesan per bowl and some crispy, crumbled bacon

---------

Lettuce Soup with Parma Crisps and Basil Oil

serves 2

8 slices of Parma ham
a large bunch of fresh basil, tough stalks removed
120ml mild olive oil or groundnut oil
50g butter
2 tbsps olive oil
1 leek, cleaned and finely sliced
4 flat lettuces (the soft, floppy 'old fashioned' type), washed and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
500ml veg or chicken stock

preheat the oven to 230/GM8

Put Parma ham on a non-stick baking sheet and bake until browned - this doesn't take long so keep an eye on them. allow to cool - they will crisp up as they do.

Put the basil and the 120ml oil into a blender and blend thoroughly to a puree. Line a small wieve or tea-strainer with kitchen paper and place over a bowl. Tip the contents of the blender in and leave to filter through the paper.

In a large saucepan heat the butter and the 2 tbsps olive oil and fry the sliced leek gently until softened but not coloured

Add the lettuce and stir around for a couple of minutes until coated with the oil and butter. Stir in the mace. Put a lid on the pan and turn the heat to the lowest possible setting on the smallest ring for 10 minutes or until fully wilted.

Add the stock and bring to a simmer. cook for another 5 minutes and then blend to a smooth velvety consistency.

Served drizzled with the basil oil and with the Parma ham crisps alongside.

mummymels- I too am doing golower , on day 3 now and in the transition into ketosis so feel a bit rough. The food is really yummy .
How much have you lost having been on it for 3 months ?
Do you use the golower forum -seems really quiet there.

I can't recommend the India/Neris book enough. I loved the 'diary' part of it, as it tallied exactly with me feeling crap, but they tell you why you're feeling crap at that point.

Lost nearly a stone before Christmas very easily,and am back on it now. And like SantaClausImWorthIt says, I don't feel hungry at all now I'm having proper meals.

And India/ Neris is very good for dealing with overeating through boredom/ tiredness/ bad mood etc.

I got my copy through the library, and it saw me through 3 weeks of induction. Then I found the cook book in a charity shop