Starting tomorrow but no booklet?

Hi everyone :newbie:

I've been lurking here for a few weeks while I've been thinking about whether or not this diet is right for me.

I'm now all set to start tomorrow but I opened my box and there's no booklet. I've read the booklet online - is that the same as what's normally in the box or am I not missing a leaflet? I don't think it matters as it's quite obvious as to what I need to do, but there are one or two things I'd like to check if you don't mind.

I understand I can have black tea of any leaf variety but not fruit teas, water and fizzy water. What's the rule on other types of drinks? I have seen citric acid mentioned but what other rules apply other than no citric acid?

I'd also like to know if there are any types of sugar free mints or chewing gum that are okay to have as I'm worried about bad breath.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Thanks for your help - looking forward to sharing my experience with you!

I think you've kinda got it covered, TBH.

You've got the teas right. The citric acid thing is that it apparently affects ketosis, according to one of the other major VLCDs. I've got no source for that factoid personally, (although it's piqued my curiosity again and i'll have a good web trawl in a bit) and I can't say I haven't sneaked the odd can of diet coke in the past when I'm feeling extravagant, with no ill effects. Perhaps it's quantity related.

As for breath, it's more obvious to you than to other people. you have to live with a change of breath 'taste', and therefore you tend to be very aware of it. Sadly mints and the suchlike are out, but you can use a breath freshener spray. Boots to quite a decent one.

And... no booze. not even on a friday

From The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald....... (Robbed from aother forum)


Citric acid and aspertame

In all likelihood, problems with diet soda relate to one of these two compounds, both of which are used as artifical sweeteners in diet producs. Citric acid may inhibit ketosis and diet sodas containing citric acid or apertame are not allowed for epileptic children on a ketogenic diet(14). However, there is some debate over this point(15). Possibly citric acid might affect ketosis by effecting liver motabolism, primarily the Krebs cycle. Some individuals report that citric acid prevents them from entering ketosis but does not affect ketosis once it has been established. One study, examining very low-calorie diets, found that the consumption of citric acid inhibited ketosis and increased appetite in many individuals(16). Ultimately, individuals will have to determine for themselves whether citric acid or aspertame has any effect on ketosis, appetite or fatloss on a ketogenic diet.

References....

14. Gash At. Use of the traditional ketogenic diet for treatment of intractable epilepsy. JAm Diet Assoc (1990) 90:1433-1434.

15. Brunett A. Should diet soft driniks be restricted on a ketogenic diet[Letter]. J Am Diet Assoc (1991) 91:776.

16. Krietman S. Factors influencing body composition during very low-calorie diets. Am J Clin Nutr (1992) 56 (suppl):217S-223S.

Hi Skinny G!

Good luck with the diet! x

The booklet can be downloaded as a pdf from the website (I think it's in the "resources" section) if you need it.

You have grasped the gist of how it works though!

No mints or gum but you could chew the occasional leaf of parsley, or if you're anything like me just clean your teeth often!

Anything else you're not sure about do ask, between us we either know or can find out the answers to most questions about the diet..........

Coke Zero and Dr Pepper Zero have no citric acid ... although I wouldn't have too many of them!

Good luck .......
I'm also about to start this diet not sure whether to start on friday or monday.
Fingers crossed it'll work for both of us xxx

No mints or gum I'm afraid


that mouth breath freshener is good-the spray type

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies and welcoming me!

I'm glad I'm not missing anything crucial by not having a booklet.

I've had all my three meals today and really liked the mushroom soup - I'd eat it again out of choice. My soup and my shake were quite lumpy eventhough I whisked them. Are there any tips for that? I put the powder in and then added the water so I'm wondering if I did it the wrong way round.

Thanks for confirming the no gum or mints rule, I think I expected that. I was suprised though to read in somebody's thread that you can use sweetners, is that right? Sugar free mints like Smint are made up of similar stuff to sweetners I thought so is it true you can have sweetner?

Thanks all

I'm going to update all my stats and stuff now and get a ticker

Yeah, put the water in first and it should mix a lot better.

Dunno about the sweetener thing, I suspect it's probably that the amount of carbs in a tablet are way less than in sweets or gum because it's so much smaller.

I doubt it would hurt if you had the odd stick of gum, you could always try it and if it affected your weightloss don't do it again!

Thanks yambabe. I don't need to worry until I'm in ketosis but at least the bad taste / breath will be a sign it's working.

I've been reading your blog - it was one of the things that helped me decide to give this a go :thankyou:

Also, although there is practically no sugar content in mints, there is plenty of other ingredients, some of which potentially may be carbs. Also, most sugar free sweets are made using a different sweetner than that 'allowed'. (sugar free sweeties are usually made of sorbitol, a sugar-derived alcohol molecule, that's slowly metabolised and doesn't upset diabetics. But 'sugar-free' doesn't mean it's 'calorie free' )

Consider at the size of a tablet sweetner (for that is the type of sweetner that's allowed, not the granulated sort), and the size of a sugar-free polo. Wonder where the rest the content comes from? Geddit? Cool.

skinnyG said:

I've been reading your blog - it was one of the things that helped me decide to give this a go :thankyou:

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Thank you for the compliment.

A few people have now said that my blog has inspired them to give it a go, either with Exante or other weightloss plans. You have no idea how much that means to me! Helps to make the bad days a little more bearable and a lot more worthwhile somehow...........

Hi SkinnyG,

Lovely to meet with you and looking forward to sharing your journey. Most of the good advice has already been imparted so I will not add much but when I mix the soups I tend to add the water slowly and mix to a paste first and then gradually build it up. If I am at home with the shakes, I use an electric hand whisk else if away from home I just try to add water slowly.

Love Myr xxx

piggy piglet said:

Good luck .......
I'm also about to start this diet not sure whether to start on friday or monday.
Fingers crossed it'll work for both of us xxx

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Forgot to add earlier - sorry chuck, wasn't ignoring you, brain a bit addled.

Depends what you're up to this weekend. If you're having a quiet one at home, I say start on friday, and get some DVDs/books in. days 2 and 3 can potentially give you a bit of a hard time, so if you can sit it out on your sofa rather than at your desk, then that may be better if you have the choice.

If on the other hand you were planning some fun and/or hectic stuff, do it and enjoy, and start the spacefood on monday.

Also forgot to add - SkinnyG - I have spare booklets here, if you want it I'd gladly stick it in the post to you.

[email protected]

lumps - nasty! I hated slurping my way through a milkshake 2then suck up a lump of powder! I dont even have a whisk! I always chill my water in the fridge overnight, then when i fancy a shake i pour half the water into my sons old drinks bottle, followed by the powder then the rest of the water. I then put the lid on &give it a damn good shake!! I then pour it into my glass through a sieve to get any rouge lumps out! I hope this helps

Can highly recommend a stick blender - only about a fiver from tesco/asda/argos/wilkinsons/the usual economy places...

Miss Demeanour said:

Can highly recommend a stick blender - only about a fiver from tesco/asda/argos/wilkinsons/the usual economy places...

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Yep - get a whisk! It totally changes them - makes them so much nicer. They're well cheap too, as Miss D says.

I feel really funny, carrying my whisk and container around everywhere with me in a carrier bag!

Ikea
99p battery whisk


I have an electric one stick whisk for home too-is a "rachel some-one or other" that I don't recommend as the button is fiddly & its hard to change the attachments