# Newcastle-ish diet



## Windy (Nov 30, 2021)

Diagnosed as T2 at the end of October, HbA1c of 80!
I'm sort of following the Newcastle diet, except I'm making all the food myself, rather than using shakes/soups. My diagnosis was the wake up call that I needed to make changes to my diet and lifestyle. I cleared all the delicious but treacherous carbs from the house, and am on day 27. I have been having 800ish calories a day and limiting my carbs. The Newcastle diet isn't offered in my area, so I've written to my GP to tell him I'm doing it.

My starting weight was 100Kg and I lost 5Kg when I was weighed at the surgery a few weeks ago. I'm aiming for 15Kg loss initially, but have a target weight of 57Kg, and that seems like a long way off.
I know it helps to weigh yourself regularly, but I daren't in case I've not lost any weight, lose heart and quit the diet. I'm seeing the nurse next week, so will get weighed then. Suspect I've lost some more as my trousers seem looser.

I take inspiration from all of you that have already done it.

Goals: I'm hoping to go into diabetes remission, but if that doesn't happen, I'd like to drop from 2 x 500mg metformin to one, get my HbA1c down, get to my target weight, and reduce or not need the high blood pressure tablets I'm taking.


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## Leadinglights (Nov 30, 2021)

Weighing yourself every day is a good habit to get into just like people who test their morning blood glucose. You can't manage what you are not measuring.


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## Windy (Nov 30, 2021)

Fair point @Leadinglights. I'll try to brave the scales. Maybe start doing once a week so that I'm not put off by daily fluctuations.


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## Gwynn (Nov 30, 2021)

I weigh myself every single morning. I need to know what is going on as best I can and adjust things if needed.

However...

Body weight varies from day to day so when mine increases for no reason that I can understand, I put it down to extra fluids or a build up of 'number 2's', or just food over the last few days that has a higher solids content.

The point is I find it hard when the weight seems 'wrong' on the scales, or doesn't shift when I expect it to, so I really have to tell myself not to worry but to manage the situation over a few days.

But I couldn't manage the situation (whether real or not) if I didn't weigh myself.

So, take courage and see what your body is up to. Manage what you see. Aim for success knowing you are driving in the right direction.

Basically, it sounds like you know what you are doing, but just have a slight fear of things not quite going to plan.

Been there...Hmmm...still there


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## Windy (Nov 30, 2021)

Thanks @Gwynn. I have a massive fear of failing, as I've lost and regained the same weight and a bit more multiple times. I have much more to lose now I'm diabetic. 
I will try and embrace the scales as a helpful aid to weight loss and not as a reminder of past failures.


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## Vonny (Nov 30, 2021)

Just try and take one day or one week at a time @Windy. The thought of getting to your target will be so daunting that it will be easy to go off the rails. Well that's how I thought at least, I know everyone has different mechanisms for coping.
Also, if you get on the scales and haven't lost anything, as my friend told me: your scales don't know what day of the week it is! Your weight will drop, sometimes quicker, sometimes slower. Keep up the great work


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## Windy (Dec 8, 2021)

Saw the nurse today about something else and weighed myself, 91Kg, down from 100Kg in October. I know I've got a long way to go, but she was happy with my weight loss, and I was too.
My scales at home are a bit idiosyncratic and don't tally at all with the ones in the surgery. Time for new bathroom scales I suspect.


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## rebrascora (Dec 8, 2021)

Many congratulations on your weight loss. Slow and steady is the way to go and you are definitely heading in the right direction. Well done!


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## Mrs Mimoo (Jan 3, 2022)

Gwynn said:


> I weigh myself every single morning. I need to know what is going on as best I can and adjust things if needed.
> 
> However...
> 
> ...


I am also addicted to daily weigh ins but it's a slipperly slope when it goes up 200g despite your efforts.
Since 11 November 21 I have lost 7.3kg but I need to shed 15kg for Professor Taylor (my inspiration). I have been on exante shakes exante pot meals and exante soups. I supplement with 200g a day of green veg e.g. kale broccoli and cabbage. Lucky I love veg.


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## travellor (Jan 3, 2022)

Mrs Mimoo said:


> I am also addicted to daily weigh ins but it's a slipperly slope when it goes up 200g despite your efforts.
> Since 11 November 21 I have lost 7.3kg but I need to shed 15kg for Professor Taylor (my inspiration). I have been on exante shakes exante pot meals and exante soups. I supplement with 200g a day of green veg e.g. kale broccoli and cabbage. Lucky I love veg.



I can gain and lose half a kilo, depending on the night before.
I am dieting again, after all the excesses and lack of exercise last year, based on the scales, and the mirror though.


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## Ditto (Jan 3, 2022)

Congratulations on your marvellous weight loss.

I was trying to do low carb but I'm kidding myself. I am a food addict. Can't have it in the house but I've no excuse now living on my own with Mum gone. :'( So I'm going to try SlimFast again. I know I can't do it, but will try. Eating makes me feel so ill I don't know why I do it! :O

Where have the smileys gone to? They are usually across the top! I'm bereft of smileys.


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## Windy (Jan 3, 2022)

Sorry to hear about your mum @Dxxoo. Good luck on the slim fast.

I went through my cupboards and the fridge after I was diagnosed and bagged up anything that was unopened and tempting or carb rich (mini cheddars etc) and gave it to my neighbour. It really helps not to have things that will lead you astray.
I found some crumpets at the bottom of the freezer a few weeks ago, and really wanted them, but I took them out to the wheelie bin and dropped them in. I hate wasting food, but I've fallen off the diet wagon so many times before, so out they went.


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## Ditto (Jan 4, 2022)

Kudos. I always get rid of stuff by eating it!


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## Mrs Mimoo (Jan 4, 2022)

Dxxoo said:


> Congratulations on your marvellous weight loss.
> 
> I was trying to do low carb but I'm kidding myself. I am a food addict. Can't have it in the house but I've no excuse now living on my own with Mum gone. :'( So I'm going to try SlimFast again. I know I can't do it, but will try. Eating makes me feel so ill I don't know why I do it! :O
> 
> Where have the smileys gone to? They are usually across the top! I'm bereft of smileys.


You could try Exante, they taste nicer than slimfast. and have better nutrition.


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## travellor (Jan 4, 2022)

I did the original diet with Tesco shakes, I'm just trying to shed a few pounds for my New Year Resolution with Asda and Slimfast.
I prepare them with a stick blender, they come out quite thick, and definitely taste good.
Asda  Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate 
Slimfast Banana and Salted Caramel


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## Windy (Jan 4, 2022)

Dxxoo said:


> Kudos. I always get rid of stuff by eating it!


I was a bit less virtuous that I made out, as I scrammed down half a left over home made pizza that I had in the fridge as I bagged up the naughty food. Tasted marvellous. My last carb slurge before the diet kicked in for real.


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## Vonny (Jan 4, 2022)

Well if we are telling the truth....thank goodness the quality street box is now empty!


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## Windy (Jan 4, 2022)

even the yellow toffees?!


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## Drummer (Jan 4, 2022)

Windy said:


> I was a bit less virtuous that I made out, as I scrammed down half a left over home made pizza that I had in the fridge as I bagged up the naughty food. Tasted marvellous. My last carb slurge before the diet kicked in for real.


I am told that the low carb option of pizza tastes just as good, if not better than the bready one - if you are making it at home anyway you might as well do a 'fat head' dough anyway and go on enjoying your pizzas.


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## travellor (Jan 4, 2022)

Drummer said:


> I am told that the low carb option of pizza tastes just as good, if not better than the bready one - if you are making it at home anyway you might as well do a 'fat head' dough anyway and go on enjoying your pizzas.



Not on an 800 calorie diet you can't.
Mozzarella, cream cheese, egg, and some type of low carb flour?
150 calories before the toppings.
Not enough nutrients, not enough vitamins.
The Newcastle diet can't be done on junk food like that.
I'd kick that straight into touch on this diet.


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## Windy (Jan 4, 2022)

Cheers Travellor.
I could probably make a base out of cauliflower and egg or something, but it'll be a while until I'm able to eat such delicious sounding energy rich food. I'll stick to home made soup, omelettes and chick pea and aubergine curries until then. The 800 calorie phase won't last forever.


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## travellor (Jan 4, 2022)

Windy said:


> Cheers Travellor.
> I could probably make a base out of cauliflower and egg or something, but it'll be a while until I'm able to eat such delicious sounding energy rich food. I'll stick to home made soup, omelettes and chick pea and aubergine curries until then. The 800 calorie phase won't last forever.



I've been told by intensive low carbers on here even the shakes are low carb enough for a low carb diet anyway.
Around 20g per glass.


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## Drummer (Jan 4, 2022)

travellor said:


> Not on an 800 calorie diet you can't.
> Mozzarella, cream cheese, egg, and some type of low carb flour?
> 150 calories before the toppings.
> Not enough nutrients, not enough vitamins.
> ...


Maybe on your diet @travellor - but as I was suggesting an alternative to a bread based pizza and not something to be eaten on a 800 calorie a day regime, your criticism is not all that relevant.


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## travellor (Jan 4, 2022)

Drummer said:


> Maybe on your diet @travellor - but as I was suggesting an alternative to a bread based pizza and not something to be eaten on a 800 calorie a day regime, your criticism is not all that relevant.



Do you know what the Newcastle Diet is?
As per the thread title.
800 calories.
No need for high calorie junk food in it.
After that, any pizza will be fine in moderation, as it seem to be already.
Indeed, I enjoy a Dominoes.
And an amazing deep fried dough one in Hungary recently.
And I'd probably finish it off rather than bin it too before dieting.
Even though it was about a million calories.
Just asking, as you seem to bombard every low calorie thread with irrelevant posts of this type?


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## Drummer (Jan 4, 2022)

travellor said:


> Do you know what the Newcastle Diet is?
> As per the thread title.
> 800 calories.
> No need for high calorie junk food in it.
> ...


I was responding to Windy's post about eating half of a pizza from the fridge - I thought it would be relevant as Windy is the OP, even though I don't eat pizza myself I use the dough for other things and it is good for me and quite a few others.

Other opinions are obviously available.


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## Windy (Jan 4, 2022)

I took the recommendation of fathead dough pizza as one for the future. Both of you, Drummer and travellor have been helpful to me in responding to this and other posts of mine, and I appreciate that.
I may adapt the fathead pizza recipe with gram flour, or oat bran, or coconut flour or something, or just have a small portion of it. But that's in the future for me. Roasted cauliflower with hummus this evening, soup for lunch, omelette for breakfast today.
The joy of my Newcastle-ish diet is that it's time limited. I'll go onto 1500 calories when I've finished this phase, and will be able to widen my diet a bit. This too shall pass (by which I mean, the 800 calorie bit will end, and that's good!)


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## Ditto (Jan 12, 2022)

I'm still not on the Slimfast.  It's out on the side so that's a start... I have someone staying and she's a fabulous cook but I'm being ridiculous really. 

My thinking for today is I'll have one last stew tonight and then start tomorrow. This is the story of my life until it isn't. Good grief.  I am a very silly old woman. Before that I was a very silly young woman.


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## Windy (Jan 12, 2022)

Why don't you start with just one meal and swap that for slimfast? So instead of lunch, have a shake for a few days? Then build up from there. You can do it Dxxoo, you've just got to get started.


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## travellor (Jan 12, 2022)

I found breakfast was the first and easiest. 
Usually vanilla flavoured.


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## Briarrose (Jan 12, 2022)

Dxxoo said:


> I'm still not on the Slimfast.  It's out on the side so that's a start... I have someone staying and she's a fabulous cook but I'm being ridiculous really.
> 
> My thinking for today is I'll have one last stew tonight and then start tomorrow. This is the story of my life until it isn't. Good grief.  I am a very silly old woman. Before that I was a very silly young woman.


I feel your pain..... I have a box full of Exante and Slim and Save shakes and bars with all the intentions of starting and doing well. I did it on Lipotrim/Exante 10 years ago and lost 6 stone, but that, and more has crept back on over the years due to me being a stress/emotional eater.  I am currently sitting here almost in tears of despair and frustration because I know what I should do but it is just too hard and the motivation, despite being massively overweight, is simply not there !  I don't know where to turn because as soon as someone tells me - "you can't have ...... " I want it all the more.   I am not sure why it was such a success for me before, as I and a work colleague did it almost on a whim and both of us did really well. This time the thought of only having a shake/bar for meals is not appealing at all. I'm too uninterested in food to prepare anything more healthy and just grab at whats in the house or eat takeaways. I know what should be done but just cannot bring myself to do it.  I am quite angry at myself about it all as I know I must do something  - maybe a trip to be "told off" by my Nurse will do it !!


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## rebrascora (Jan 12, 2022)

Briarrose said:


> I feel your pain..... I have a box full of Exante and Slim and Save shakes and bars with all the intentions of starting and doing well. I did it on Lipotrim/Exante 10 years ago and lost 6 stone, but that, and more has crept back on over the years due to me being a stress/emotional eater.  I am currently sitting here almost in tears of despair and frustration because I know what I should do but it is just too hard and the motivation, despite being massively overweight, is simply not there !  I don't know where to turn because as soon as someone tells me - "you can't have ...... " I want it all the more.   I am not sure why it was such a success for me before, as I and a work colleague did it almost on a whim and both of us did really well. This time the thought of only having a shake/bar for meals is not appealing at all. I'm too uninterested in food to prepare anything more healthy and just grab at whats in the house or eat takeaways. I know what should be done but just cannot bring myself to do it.  I am quite angry at myself about it all as I know I must do something  - maybe a trip to be "told off" by my Nurse will do it !!


I wonder if your high BG levels are a big factor in how you feel this time around. I find that high BG levels make me feel more anxious and the anxiety makes my BG higher and the craving for comfort food worse. For me the answer is to eat fat to break the cycle. The fat is satisfying but makes you feel sick if you eat too much. It also doesn't raise BG levels, so it gives your body a chance to bring your levels down and then a salad is a whole lot more appealing and refreshing after you have eaten a lot of fat. I had a pot of Mascapone cheese the day after Boxing Day to regain control because I was craving like mad after indulging for a couple of days and my levels were all over the place. Cheese is another food that I use to try to regain control. Eating the sweet stuff just encourages the craving, so you have to change tack completely to break the cycle. Having extra fibre is also really important as that is filling and helps the gut. I use psyllium and chia seeds as a fibre supplement and it has improved by gut health enormously. You do need to drink plenty of fluids though!  

Changing things starts with just one small step. Don't look at the bigger picture. Just set yourself one small easily achievable target and focus entirely on that and ignore the rest. Once you have a little bit of success it becomes self perpetuating.


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## Briarrose (Jan 12, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> I wonder if your high BG levels are a big factor in how you feel this time around. I find that high BG levels make me feel more anxious and the anxiety makes my BG higher and the craving for comfort food worse. For me the answer is to eat fat to break the cycle. The fat is satisfying but makes you feel sick if you eat too much. It also doesn't raise BG levels, so it gives your body a chance to bring your levels down and then a salad is a whole lot more appealing and refreshing after you have eaten a lot of fat. I had a pot of Mascapone cheese the day after Boxing Day to regain control because I was craving like mad after indulging for a couple of days and my levels were all over the place. Cheese is another food that I use to try to regain control. Eating the sweet stuff just encourages the craving, so you have to change tack completely to break the cycle. Having extra fibre is also really important as that is filling and helps the gut. I use psyllium and chia seeds as a fibre supplement and it has improved by gut health enormously. You do need to drink plenty of fluids though!
> 
> Changing things starts with just one small step. Don't look at the bigger picture. Just set yourself one small easily achievable target and focus entirely on that and ignore the rest. Once you have a little bit of success it becomes self perpetuating.


Thanks, as am fairly new to the illness I don't have a way of testing BG levels and frankly don't want to start regular testing like my Dad did. I  know that it will help but I am in complete denial about the whole thing and still getting my head round the situation.  I need to get a grip but I suspect that other factors are just taking me over right now and making it so hard. I think also that I am putting too much pressure on myself to "do this" which does not help. 

Agree one small step at a time will be the way to go so might take the rest of this week and the weekend to plan out meals/food etc and then start with a fresh clean plate so to speak from next week.


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## travellor (Jan 12, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> I wonder if your high BG levels are a big factor in how you feel this time around. I find that high BG levels make me feel more anxious and the anxiety makes my BG higher and the craving for comfort food worse. For me the answer is to eat fat to break the cycle. The fat is satisfying but makes you feel sick if you eat too much. It also doesn't raise BG levels, so it gives your body a chance to bring your levels down and then a salad is a whole lot more appealing and refreshing after you have eaten a lot of fat. I had a pot of Mascapone cheese the day after Boxing Day to regain control because I was craving like mad after indulging for a couple of days and my levels were all over the place. Cheese is another food that I use to try to regain control. Eating the sweet stuff just encourages the craving, so you have to change tack completely to break the cycle. Having extra fibre is also really important as that is filling and helps the gut. I use psyllium and chia seeds as a fibre supplement and it has improved by gut health enormously. You do need to drink plenty of fluids though!
> 
> Changing things starts with just one small step. Don't look at the bigger picture. Just set yourself one small easily achievable target and focus entirely on that and ignore the rest. Once you have a little bit of success it becomes self perpetuating.



"The fat is satisfying but makes you feel sick if you eat too much"

That is true.
I bought a bag of warm pork scratchings at the Christmas market.
Probably the same size as my head.
I ate the lot as I walked around that night.
(I recovered in the bar on the way back)

But not a wise move, that's why I'm on the diet shakes  now!!

1 week in 10lb/4.5kg down


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## Windy (Jan 12, 2022)

Briarrose said:


> Thanks, as am fairly new to the illness I don't have a way of testing BG levels and frankly don't want to start regular testing like my Dad did. I  know that it will help but I am in complete denial about the whole thing and still getting my head round the situation.  I need to get a grip but I suspect that other factors are just taking me over right now and making it so hard. I think also that I am putting too much pressure on myself to "do this" which does not help.
> 
> Agree one small step at a time will be the way to go so might take the rest of this week and the weekend to plan out meals/food etc and then start with a fresh clean plate so to speak from next week.


It's difficult to get started if your head's not in it. Could you try intermittent fasting where you have 2 days a week of 800 calories, and 5 days of normal (but a careful sort of normal) for a couple of weeks and see if you can do that to ease yourself into a more planned weight loss plan? It's not a race, if you lose weight slowly and steadily, that's a start. You can do it, take little steps and get your plan sorted.

I keep emergency low fat baby bel cheeses in the fridge if I'm about to fall off the diet wagon. It's enough that I don't beat myself up, but not loads of calories. I've fallen off the diet wagon a few times recently, and a lot of times in the past. There's no shame in falling off, picking yourself back up, and trying again.


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## travellor (Jan 12, 2022)

I tried jackfruit in a bolognaise style meal tonight.
(Basically a tin of jackfruit, passata, an onion, and herbs)
On a cauliflower rice base.

It's surprising how little of anything there is in jackfruit, but it is very filling.


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## Ditto (Jan 24, 2022)

I'm still not on it. Good grief. Got SlimFast falling out of the cupboards...


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## Windy (Jan 24, 2022)

Dxxoo said:


> I'm still not on it. Good grief. Got SlimFast falling out of the cupboards...


Can you do it for just one meal a day to start off? It doesn't have to be all or nothing, you can break yourself into your slimfasts slowly.


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## travellor (Jan 24, 2022)

I find breakfast is the easiest meal to replace.
They are quite filling, and easily keep me going until lunch.


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## Leadinglights (Jan 24, 2022)

travellor said:


> I tried jackfruit in a bolognaise style meal tonight.
> (Basically a tin of jackfruit, passata, an onion, and herbs)
> On a cauliflower rice base.
> 
> It's surprising how little of anything there is in jackfruit, but it is very filling.


What was the jackfruit like, would it work in curry? What sort of texture is it.
Did you like it?


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## travellor (Jan 24, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> What was the jackfruit like, would it work in curry? What sort of texture is it.
> Did you like it?


It looks like a cubed grey pineapple in the tin.
A solid core, then more "wafery" edges.

I cut the edges off, which sort of made a mince meat, then chopped the core.
It has no great flavour of its own, and would be excellent in a curry.
Young backdrop (this type) is used for cooking apparently, as it matures it gets a lot sweeter, and is eaten as a fruit.


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## Ditto (Feb 6, 2022)

Windy said:


> Can you do it for just one meal a day to start off? It doesn't have to be all or nothing, you can break yourself into your slimfasts slowly.


I am going to try this as from today. I have to do something! Thank you for input.  

Plus I am fed-up of Slimfast clogging up all the cupboards...


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## Drummer (Feb 6, 2022)

At five years from diagnosis I really don't have trouble as my diet is pretty settled and I eat out of habit - though today I have found myself cold and hungry at lunch time for the first time in years - wearing a tee shirt on what must be one of the coldest days is probably to blame, we have turned down the thermostat by half a degree every week since the first warnings of increased prices. 
This morning at 8 o'clock I had a tomato and mozzarella cheese, and I am just about to make a pot of 'fridge finds' and veges, which will also do for dinner, I expect. I will also have the mug of coffee I neglected to pour out this morning. 
I find that making food quite ordinary seems to help - when the food you want to be eating is the usual stuff, made in the usual manner (I even have an unusual but always used bowl for some dishes) it tends to mean that it is easy to set about making it if I put the bowl ready to use next to the cooker.
If you always make yourself a cup of tea in the morning, try putting a shake and what is required to make/mix it beside the kettle the previous evening so you are prompted to use it.


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## Mrs Mimoo (Feb 6, 2022)

Windy said:


> Cheers Travellor.
> I could probably make a base out of cauliflower and egg or something, but it'll be a while until I'm able to eat such delicious sounding energy rich food. I'll stick to home made soup, omelettes and chick pea and aubergine curries until then. The 800 calorie phase won't last forever.


my 'pizza' is a two egg omlette, topped with mozarella, tomato and some chorizo thinly sliced!!!


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## Drummer (Feb 7, 2022)

After eating the beef stew and putting on more clothes, I was fine, did not eat again as not hungry, so still on two meals a day. 
Must put on more clothes as the heating has gone off - prevention is better than cure...


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## Windy (Feb 14, 2022)

Weigh in this morning at my three month diabetes appointment. 84kg, from 100kg in October. HbA1c from 80mmol/mol to 42 mmol/mol, nurse didn't want to change my medication, but was pleased with me that I'd done something about my weight and diet. 
Feel a bit emotional, which is silly, as this is what I was hoping for. Still got 24kg to go, it's such a long way, but I'm still going for it.
Cheers for everyone's support, I know we're all fighting our own battles, but I don't feel like I'm fighting alone .


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## Ditto (Feb 16, 2022)

That is excellent, well done.


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## mage 1 (Feb 16, 2022)

Windy said:


> Weigh in this morning at my three month diabetes appointment. 84kg, from 100kg in October. HbA1c from 80mmol/mol to 42 mmol/mol, nurse didn't want to change my medication, but was pleased with me that I'd done something about my weight and diet.
> Feel a bit emotional, which is silly, as this is what I was hoping for. Still got 24kg to go, it's such a long way, but I'm still going for it.
> Cheers for everyone's support, I know we're all fighting our own battles, but I don't feel like I'm fighting alone .


Amazing well done


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## Windy (Mar 20, 2022)

Had a medication review on Friday with the GP and asked to go from two metformin a day down to one, as my HbA1c was 42, which he agreed to. He also suggested that I go on statins, but my lipid/cholesterol levels are loads better now, so I asked to defer until the next time I see him, as I'm hoping to reduce my risk of heart attack/stroke by losing weight, rather than taking pills. I told him I'd lost 16kg since diagnosis and that I was committed to losing weight, and he said "well done Sarah", which is high praise from him.
I don't know if I'm being foolish by declining the statins at present. They reduce the risk of heart attack/stroke for me in the next ten years from 10.something % to 7.something%. It doesn't seem a massive reduction in risk to me, compared to me continuing to lose weight, though I've no idea what percentage benefit that gives.


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## Vonny (Mar 20, 2022)

Windy said:


> Had a medication review on Friday with the GP and asked to go from two metformin a day down to one, as my HbA1c was 42, which he agreed to. He also suggested that I go on statins, but my lipid/cholesterol levels are loads better now, so I asked to defer until the next time I see him, as I'm hoping to reduce my risk of heart attack/stroke by losing weight, rather than taking pills. I told him I'd lost 16kg since diagnosis and that I was committed to losing weight, and he said "well done Sarah", which is high praise from him.
> I don't know if I'm being foolish by declining the statins at present. They reduce the risk of heart attack/stroke for me in the next ten years from 10.something % to 7.something%. It doesn't seem a massive reduction in risk to me, compared to me continuing to lose weight, though I've no idea what percentage benefit that gives.


Hi Sarah, fantastic result and don't blame you for holding back on the statins. I tried them briefly and felt like I'd run out of fuel while walking, so I gave them up.


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## Eddy Edson (Mar 21, 2022)

Windy said:


> They reduce the risk of heart attack/stroke for me in the next ten years from 10.something % to 7.something%. It doesn't seem a massive reduction in risk to me, compared to me continuing to lose weight, though I've no idea what percentage benefit that gives.


If you play around with the tool which HCP's are supposed to use in helping determine risk https://qrisk.org/three/index.php you'll probably see that changing weight doesn't have much impact on risk if BP and cholesterol stay the same.

But that's a bit artificial - chances are that if you lose weight, BP will improve and cholesterol as well depending on what you eat etc.


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## Windy (Mar 21, 2022)

Eddy Edson said:


> If you play around with the tool which HCP's are supposed to use in helping determine risk https://qrisk.org/three/index.php you'll probably see that changing weight doesn't have much impact on risk if BP and cholesterol stay the same.
> 
> But that's a bit artificial - chances are that if you lose weight, BP will improve and cholesterol as well depending on what you eat etc.


Thanks Eddy. That looks really interesting. I'll see if I can work out the standard deviation for my BP and plug in the rest of my numbers.
I've got my cholesterol down from 6.4mmol/mol in October to 4.6mmol/mol in February, HDL 1.3 to 1.4 (good cholesterol?) and LDL 4.1 to 2.6. The LDL is still too high.
I'm planning to keep on my weight loss diet and hopefully, like you say, that'll have a positive effect on BP and cholesterol. Thanks, Sarah
Edit - ran the numbers - 9% risk, compared to 2.1% for a healthy person of the same age. It's not good, but not as bad as I feared.


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