Michael Mosley blood sugar webchat Thurs 10 March 1-2pm

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Have a two finger kit-kat ethel. Will tide you over excellently to the next mealtime. Only 100 cals too.

I've downloaded MM's book and I'm finding it really informative....so far.

I have a stubborn pre-diabetic DH and can do with all the advice I can get

I have read the book, found it very thought-provoking and have two questions.

The book says eat whole grains, but that breakfast cereals are bad news. My Shredded Wheat and Puffed Wheat packets say they contain only shredded and puffed wheat grains. Can I continue to eat them?

I am also confused by the expression a 'Mediterranean Diet'. Most diets around the Mediterranean are based on various kinds of rice or bread (often made without yeast) and pasta bulking out small amounts of meat or fish, and vegetables, salads and fruit. We are advised to cut out the carbs, and only eat fruits from a short list, which broadly could be described as what will grow in our northern European climate. 'Tropical' fruits are out. But grapes, oranges, dates, pomegranates and a lot of other such fruits are essentially 'Mediterranean'. So why are they excluded? I know they are high in sugar, so perhaps for diabetics and people trying to avoid diabetes they are best avoided, but for those of us just wanting to eat a healthy diet, are they OK?

Or does it really all come down to eating olive oil and generally being sensible?

Daughter has just told me that the number of steps for the 60-70s is 6- 7.5 thousand. A bit more achievable than 10,000

Would you recommend eating pasta and potatoes, cooked, cooled and then reheated whilst on the 8 week Blood Sugar Diet?

I have a problem losing any weight. I have tried everything, the last thing being the 5.2 diet. All my family lost 1-2 stone while i stayed exactly the same & yes i did stick to it & did not binge on the 5 free food days. I have really bad IBS & some days i hardly eat anything, even when i do i simply cant eat a lot, sweet stuff makes me worse, so why can i not lose weight. I had a stomach procedure 3 yrs ago & simply couldnt eat much for 6 weeks i lost 3lb while people on a website i was following lost stones, perhaps Michael has an answer for me?

Make that 4 vegetarians. I agree with the others.

I have just made a batch of the Guilt-free Brownies from the recipe in your book. To put it politely, they will be an acquired taste! My palate obviously hasn't yet adjusted to the lack of sugar. Will this improve with time? The only way to make the current brownies palatable is to spread them with Nutella I might try adding some Stevia if there is a next time.

I'm guessing your 'stomach procedure' wasn't bariatric surgery then Ajem ?

Dear Michael, my husband, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 7 years ago, did very well to start with, being careful about his diet and exercising more. Unfortunately 6 years ago he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and that rather took precedence over the diabetes. The result was that he ended up on insulin and recently that seemed to be less and less effective. A few weeks ago he came across a book about the Glycaemic Load Diet by an American doctor. He was very impressed by this an immediately started drastically cutting down on carbohydrates. (Obviously he would never have done this if I'd suggested it!) The results have been very good, his blood glucose is down to normal levels and he is using far less insulin.
I have been reading your book to get more ideas. I don't think he'll be doing the 8 week diet as the myeloma gives him enough to cope with but the thing that particularly interests me is reheating cooked potatoes and pasta. Does this really work? We've been using ready baked frozen jacket potatoes and eating a half potato doesn't seem to change his readings. Reheating pasta seems to have been all right (really can't face life without some pasta) and would it slso work with rice? If it does could I use the packs of microwaveable rice? Sorry this is so long but you don't often get an expert turning up just when you need him!

I can't get my head around this resistant starch/carbohydrates and zero carbs business. Are people saying cold carbohydrates like cold rice, potatoes and pasta have less effect on our blood sugar levels? What about the effect from a weight loss point of view? Presumably the calories are the same, but can resistant starches be converted into fat or not? Are they the same thing as Zero Carbs? Don't they count towards a daily carb limit? I'm really confused about this whole aspect of carbohydrates.

Surely people are overthinking this? Isn't this book aimed at those who are prediabetic or newly diagnosed and the purpose is to try to return their blood glucose levels to within a 'normal' range?

If good research has gone into the régime outlined in this book, and someone buying it is serious about trying to help themselves, then why not simply follow it exactly for the 8 weeks?

So what, if the recipes don't always make your mouth water? Just bite the bloody bullet and get on with it.

Hear, hear, Anya. That is what I am doing. But I would love a hot cross bun !

But how will you feel if you spoil it all and give in? Hang on in there BB

I agree with that Anya and also with the science and reasoning behind it. But...800 cals is very low and I struggle on less that about 1200 a day. I just don't see how I could cope on this for any length of time. I'm sure you get used to it eventually but I think that I wouldn't be able to cope with the first few days. I am another who gets very queasy when I haven't eaten enough and I have too much on to be able to take to my bed while my body learns to cope.

Which makes me think of another question for Michael actually

I was reading a piece by Jenni Murray about her gastric surgery yesterday and she talked about how she had tried all sorts of regimes and then as soon as she went back to normal the weight piled on because eating very low calorie for any length of time means your body goes into starvation mode and so when you eat normally afterwards it lays down fat quicker than it would have done before. Is this true? And what happens after the 8 weeks then?

Yes, Anya it is aimed at people looking to control their blood sugar, but it's also aimed at the weight loss market and the lchf approach to eating. And no, we're not over thinking it. I already know how lchf works, but only recently heard about resistant starches and I want to know how these work alongside my existing knowledge. It would make a big difference to me if I could eat resistant carbs, especially as I'm veggie which the book doesn't cover.

The whole point is we can ask an expert questions about the principles behind the book (which I haven't bought yet because I'm veggie). It's not about just biting the bullet, some of us are in different places with this approach to eating.

migs the eight week period is basically all about getting your blood sugar level under control. After that you should be able to maintain a healthy blood sugar level by eating a healthy diet.

I've read the book and understood the general principles. I'm applying these to my diet but not following the diet religiously. This is due to other health problems.

Basically I've more or less cut out carbs. I don't eat the big culprits like cakes, biscuits etc., i rarely eat bread or potatoes. I've cut out rice and pasta altogether. I do have porridge for breakfast.

I now make cauliflower rice and vegetable pasta with my spiralizer. I think this is a much healthier option than rice and pasta as it increases my vegetable portion.

But Wilma the message is clear....lower carbohydrate intake. This doesn't mean nocarbs but I think that to try to find a way around 'not having your pasta and eating it' (as it were ) for just 8 weeks is over-complicating things.

If you're just asking as a point of interest, then I understand that, but I note you haven't read this book and I'm not sure this point is in its remit.

VERY hard on veggies I agree.

Question for Michael following on from Wilma's very valid point.....what about a version for veggies in the future?

Anya I am asking about something that's not covered in the book, but it is related and he should know what I'm talking about. Although scientists found out about resistant starches in the 80s, it's only more recently that their potential has become relevant to low carb eating. Yes, the basic principle is eat less carbs, but there's ways to do this more efficiently being developed for every day eating. Michael is one of the 'faces' promoting this lifestyle.