My DH and I are planning a trip to England in August for our 30th anniversary. We are very excited and are really looking forward to it. However, since planning the trip we have started the lo-carb lifestyle and it is working really well and we don't want to blow it while on vacation. We have no desire to eat high carb stuff and maintain that we can go on vacation and still lose (or at least not gain.) We are planning to walk a lot (though we will have a car), so the exercise part will be easy. But does anyone have any insight into British food, restaurants, pitfalls? good things to choose -- not to choose?

TIA
Peggy

I live in Ireland, but we eat pretty much the same food here as in England.

Most of the time you should have no problem. Stick to the basic fish/meat/chicken with salad or green veg and you'll get fed anywhere. One thing that is different is the classic "Great British Breakfast". This is generally a mega meal that will literally feed a family. Go for it, but stick to the eggs, rashers, mushrooms and tomatoes, and just leave the beans, black (blood) pudding, sausages, beans and toast.

There are lots of sandwich places now, but most of them will do a salad without bread if you ask them. McDonalds etc is the same as in the US, eat the salad or the burger, dump the bun.

There's a lot of really good local cheeses in England, so try some of them.

Try to avoid Chinese or Indian or other ethnic restaurants unless they've been recommended by a low-carber. If you eat Italian, get large portions of antipasta. Spanish restaurants that do tapas are often good for LC.

Have a great holiday

I live in England (West Sussex, on the south coast) and have been low carbing for 3 years. I guess I'm used to everything here, but I have no problem eating out, pubs and restaurants all do salads, veggies with fish, meat etc and will leave the carbs off if you ask. Just avoid the obvious high carb stuff, sauces that may have hidden carbs and try to stick to unprocessed things.. We're not much different from US foodwise really.

Of course, most day restaurants and cafes do the tradional "Full English Breakfast" which is Atkins friendly, providing you dont have the fried bread or beans!!

Tescos, the big supermarket chain and Boots do low carb chocci!!!!!

Enjoy your trip, i hope the weather holds out, we're having a heatwave here at the mo

You should not have too much trouble. I don't think we have as many freely-available "replacement" foods as in the US e.g. low-carb muffins, but generally portions are smaller and there is a big movement here for wholesome food at the moment, so you should be able to eat low GI from any menu of reasonable quality. For fast food, Pret-a-manger do breadless sandwiches which are low-carb. Do sample a "full English" (leaving out the bread!) but I have to say that black pudding is a big favourite of mine (pigs blood with oatmeal I think). Indian food, which is our national dish now, is not so bad as long as you leave out the breads, rice and puddings - you could have say, shami kebab and raita for a starter and lamb rogan gosht or chicken balti with a side order of vegetables e.g. aubergine & okra for a main. We do have great cheeses such as Wensleydale from my part of the world, but if you drink, it would be a shame for you to miss at least tasting some of our wonderful local ales (in the North) and ciders (South West). If you visit pubs in rural areas for lunch, perhaps try a portion of home-cooked steak in ale and just a bite of pastry? England is very walker-friendly, we have a huge network of public footpaths and being a small country you are usually near a public transport route so that should not be a problem. The national parks of the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and South West are particularly beautiful and well-served. Have a wonderful visit!

Go to a chip ship/kebab shop and ask for "kebab meat(I get mixed) in a tray". No sauce. This a low-carb life saver.