Hello
@charlie000
Sorry to take so long to reply. Had a very busy day and evening.
It appears to me that you have taken on board the popular NHS advice that eating fat makes you fat, and so you need to eat low fat, and have carbohydrate foods with every meal. This is the advice that has been given since 1980s, and yet it is since then that there has been the great increase in people becoming obese, and diagnosed with T 2 diabetes. Somewhere along the line you have got the message that carbs are not good if you have blood glucose levels in diabetes or pre-diabetes range, yet still haven’t quite grasped that fat is not the problem in our diet that we are led to believe. (Do forgive me if I am misunderstanding). It is a bit mindblowing to think we have been given the wrong information all these years, and get blamed for being overweight, and having diabetes. When I was first told that I should have low carb and increase the fats in my diet I really thought people were having a laugh at my expense.
So, I think you are hoping that combining low fat and low carb you will reach your weight loss goals more quickly? Sorry but that is going to be a miserable time ahead. You will feel deprived, especially as you say you already feel depressed at not being able to eat what the family are eating. Foods from Greggs that you used to enjoy. The solution there is to create healthy meals that you can enjoy. Your soups are a good start, but as others have said there are so many other great ideas, that will have family envious of what you’re eating. It just takes time and planning.
You need to do a bit of research first. If you are determined to follow Newcastle diet there are meal replacements that are low calorie, AND lowish in carb. (A popular one is
https://www.shakethatweight.co.uk/) . These work by causing a process of ketosis, whereby your body uses stored fat as an energy source. Another low calorie method is Michael Moseley’s Blood Sugar diet, (
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/), in which real food is consumed, so could give you some ideas for variety as a change from your soups. A very popular method used by many members here is Low Carb High Fat, or LCHF, were carbohydrate reduced, and fat is increased to replace the carbs. Some even go as far as eliminating carbs as far as possible in a ketogenic diet. Do you see what I mean about needing to do some preparation and research before launching into a particular way of eating. A very important point being that you will need to think not of a short term ‘diet’ but a long term way of eating, that will be sustainable for life. There will be no going back to Greggs etc, lifestyle if you want to remain healthy. If you can find alternative foods you are enjoying and are enabling you to stay healthy you are not going to want to return to those old ways.
Also, don’t get too despondent about the amount of weight you have to lose. You are young, and you have the motivation to succeed. Many of our members have lost considerably more, put diabetes into remission, and turned their lives around. Have a look at the Success stories sub-forum.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/
Also, if you are looking for ideas on what you could be eating, try reading this thread ..
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/unread
If you are on medication it is vitally important to have this checked by your doctor, as you lose weight the dosage may have to be reduced. Your doctor should also have information about how to access the DCUK Low Carb program.
Hope this has been of some use.