Low-carb support thread 2016 Part 2

it's just that it's easier to type flo!

Don't talk to me about Jerusalem artichokes Mamie ....I only tried them once. Never again, and I think you can guess why

People round here turn their noses up at topinambour too - allegedly they were used as fuel for vehicles during the war. I love them, especially roast.

Belatedly joining this thread. I have been going it alone for about six weeks and lost two stone. I'm finding it amazingly easy. I realised that bread and potatoes made me feel choked up and decided to do without them and all things with added sugar. I used to buy and eat chocolate. If I had it in the house I had to eat it. I might buy it for family or friends for Christmas but haven't been tempted to buy any for myself. I am a piscetarian and eat mainly fish and vegetables. Another stone off might reveal my missing waistline - 'hope springs eternal'.

Two stone?

In 6 weeks! That's amazing anno ...well done! IMO the piscetarian diet is a very healthy one, and I followed that myself for over 20 years, before I fell by the wayside after being seduced by a bacon butty

A bacon butty is the downfall of thousands of vegetarians.
That is brilliant anno I lost a stone in six weeks recently when I had my knee op but put it down to no alcohol while on painkillers, but I like my tipple too much to leave it off altogether

I used to make a very good Christmas pudding ice cream but it used crystallised fruit and mixed spices,I assume the fruits would not be acceptable on your diet. I will hunt out the recipe if anyone is interested.

Goodness Anno that's amazing. Well done you. The good thing is that you can have very dark chocolate. I make a mousse with egg, melted chocolate and cream. We only have it as a rare treat but it is delicious and really doesn't need sugar. You can freeze the leftovers.
Thank you annsixty but yes glacé fruit wiuld be too sugary. I used to have a Josceline Dimbleby recipe for Celebration ice-cream which was similar, so will try out a sugar free version.
The good news is that you can have dry wine on this diet. Not in the strict bit for losing weight, but fine in maintenance mode.

Thanks Mamie. I have one annoying problem which is that cream makes me sick, as I discovered to my cost, last Christmas when I had too much of a creamy trifle. I have gallstones which haven't given me any trouble - yet - but I'd like to keep it that way. So I try to avoid anything very high fat. But I do have cheese and eggs in moderation. I suppose (sigh) that at Christmas I will have to give way to persuasion and have a glass of wine....

You can actually leave the cream out completely. The recipe is one egg with the white and yolk beaten separately and thirty grams of melted chocolate. I use an 80% dark chocolate and find that I have to add a bit of cold water to stop it separating when melted (bowl over pan but not touching the water). It is a very intense flavour though.
Wine is fine. I recommend Lidl's extra dry champagne (10€ a bottle here).

Tonight we are having a hearty cassoulet. Duck, belly pork, sausages, ham, beans, tomatoes, onion and garlic. And lots of duck fat. And

DH is doing a lamb tagine, mine with cauliflower couscous, followed by the last of the blueberry cheesecake.

My cholesterol has been creeping up and is now HIGH - probably familial.

As an experiment and to avoid Statins, I've embarked on a 'low-cholesterol' diet. I know that foods containing dietary cholesterol are not meant to be a problem, but saturated fats are.

I've been a low-carber, Mediterranean Dieter, etc. for some time now so am in a bit of a quandary!

Has anyone reduced their cholesterol levels with diet?

I've lost another two pounds in the past week and think I am beginning to see a trace of my waistline! I'm lunching on my home-made smoked salmon paté. Aldi and Lidl both sell hot smoked Scandinavian salmon which I whizz with low fat soft cheese and that's a paté. I make a paté with canned tuna the same way with the addition of mayonnaise and lemon juice. I avoid bread but spread my paté on Ryvita Crackerbread.

Riverwalk I am not sure what to suggest. Cholesterol here went down with LCHF and probably more pertinently weight loss. Anyone else any ideas?
Anno that is great. We make paté too and have it either just with salad or on chickpea crackers (recipe is on here but can re-post if you want).
I have just made an enormous vegetable tagine. Last night I did shepherd's pie with celeriac mash.

Riverwalk if it is familial then it's very unlikely that diet will reduce it.

Dietary cholesterol shouldn't normally be an issue as your body will break that down anyway, but I've a feeling it can be with familial hyperhypercholesterolmia. You really do need to check this out with your GP.

Well done Anno - that's a huge loss!

I've seen the GP Anya - she thinks it's worth a try with the diet, and advised one of those Benecol drinks a day. The pharmacist also said it was do-able. Following extensive Google 'research' my diet for the past few weeks has consisted of:

Pearl barley
Rapeseed oil
Avocados
Tofu(!)
Benocol - one a day

All the above are supposed to have cholesterol-lowering properties. Plus, fish and occasionally chicken, and vegetables. Hardly any red meat. Completely omitted: eggs, cheese, ham, chorizo, etc.

I'll report back!

Hopes all you regulars and new people on here are well. We are fine and just waiting for the lawyers to do their stuff before we get a moving date.
My hair has stopped falling out. I don't know if it was the shock of losing weight so quickly or the stress of moving that was the cause. Anyway I took your advice, upped my vitamins and things have righted.
My birthday at the weekend so we are going out for lunch. Might have a pudding ?

Glad to hear that BB. Happy Birthday and enjoy the pudding!

You up early too Mamie?

Not up - awake with cup of tea, ipad and electric blanket, but also an hour ahead of you in France.

Glad to hear your hair is OK now BB have a great birthday weekend. It's my son's birthday today...my 'baby' is 44

Cake is counted as low carb provided it's your birthday!

Cake for me it is then. Thanks for the permission Anya ??

Wonderful lunch yesterday at a restaurant called Y Polyn near Camarthen.
I had a starter or Perl Las ( Welsh blue cheese) pear and caramelized walnuts. Thankfully withartichokehearts, cockles and capers. Then a large pannacotta with roasted plums. Tried hard to do LCHF and succeeded mostly I think ?

I thought I had checked that post Should have said Brill with artichoke hearts

Sounds fabulous! Am off to England tomorrow for GD1’s ballet show. Will involve lots of helping backstage, long hours and disrupted meals. Any ideas for low-carb snacks on the go? (Apart from lumps of cheese which are already on the list).