Advice needed

[ilovedogs]

I have just come across this diet and it seems really good, however I have a few questions before i embark because I have done every diet you can think of, I usually lose the weight and then just put it back on, then I start another one and so on..... firstly if you can eat 'real' bread what can you have on it? also after the first week where does alcahol come into it? I like a few white wines on a Wed,Thurs and Frid the rest of the week I don't drink, also is decaf tea allowed? Does thhis diet mean if you have a fat meal then no suaces are allowed with it? I know I should just buy the book but I don't want just another diet book to ad to my already huge collection.

 

[MadamDotty]

I have just come across this diet and it seems really good, however I have a few questions before i embark because I have done every diet you can think of, I usually lose the weight and then just put it back on, then I start another one and so on..... firstly if you can eat 'real' bread what can you have on it? also after the first week where does alcahol come into it? I like a few white wines on a Wed,Thurs and Frid the rest of the week I don't drink, also is decaf tea allowed? Does thhis diet mean if you have a fat meal then no suaces are allowed with it? I know I should just buy the book but I don't want just another diet book to ad to my already huge collection.

Hi there, I'm still in Phase 1 of the diet but will answer you q's as best I can.

You can re-introduce bread in phase 2, but it has to be wholemeal rather than white bread as the idea in P2 is to eat no processed foods - e.g. white bread, white rice, anything with sugar in it.

You can have an occasional glass of wine in Phase 2, the drier the better and red is better than white.

If you're having a fat meal you can make a sauce i.e a tomato sauce to go with it as long as you don't mix your carbs with your fat meal (from Ph 2)

Caffeine is out anyway, so decaf tea & coffee plus herbal teas are all allowed.

It's still early days for me but I think it's a great diet as although ph 1 is quite hard (as it is on any diet really) it only lasts for 5 days and then you can eat more, but the good thing is that you're not hungry and even in Ph 1 there is plenty to eat.

I'd recommend the book, makes fascinating reading as it goes against a lot you will have learned about dieting over the years but it really does make a lot of sense.

Best of luck

Jan x

 

[ilovedogs]

Why is caffeine not allowed? I only eat greggs low GI bread but what would go on it? What happens if you fall off the wagon so to speak and binge out? Can you just get back on track or is it more complicated? When I was doing WW every now and then we would have a huge take out but it didn't really affect my weight loss. I have strugled with my weight since giving up smoking two years ago and I just can't seem to shift it, wine is really my only pleasure now.

 

[mommyB]

You can have Philedelphia extra lite,because all the fat has been taken out it sort of counts as a carb - i know this because i asked on the harcombe forum.

 

[jacsprat]

Hi

I have only been doing this a short time but I will try and answer your questions.

Caffeine not allowed as it messes up your blood sugar levels and therefore has an effect on insulin production. Too much insulin means our bodies store more fat. The idea on this plan is to keep your blood sugar at an even level to regulate insulin and get rid of cravings.

Be carefull with the bread. Most commercially produced breads will contain sugar and other processed ingredients. For fillings you could have very low fat spreading cheese with roast veg/salad.

You could have a cream/cheese sauce with any fat meal. So that would be meat, fish, chicken. You could only have a veg/tomato based sauce with a carb meal like rice/pasta/potato.

The idea of this plan is that you should not really have to fall off the wagon as you just wont want to eat any rubbish. Whether or not this actually is the case time will tell. I am only in my 2nd week so am being very virtuous at the moment. As you get further along I think the philosophy is that as long as you do not cheat by eating to much too frequently you should get away with the odd blip. You could go back and do Phase 1 again if your weight started to go up.

As for alcohol most people on Phase 2 seem to drink red wine. I am a bit perplexed about this myself. Dry white wine and red wine have similar alcohol/carb and calories. I think she advises red wine as it has other benefits and therefore is perceived to be more healthy. I think ideally this plan would work best without alcohol as all alcohol has an effect on blood sugar levels. But lets face it any diet that advocates that isn't going to be very popular or indeed doable for most people. She also states that you should not have spirits. But as everyone who has followed a low carb diet knows, spirits have the least calories and are carb free.

The book really does explain all of this far better than I can. I know exactly how you feel about not wanting to buy another diet book but a lot of us are hoping that his is the last diet we will ever have to do.

 

[MadamDotty]

Hi

The book really does explain all of this far better than I can. I know exactly how you feel about not wanting to buy another diet book but a lot of us are hoping that his is the last diet we will ever have to do.

Amen to that!!