Low carb, low sugar diet in England

I wish you had asked yesterday as I was in the Whole Foods off Piccadilly! I saw Clif and Luna bars but did not notice Adkins bars. However I was not looking for them so there may be some or an equivalent. I did see the shelf stable quart containers of soy milk and, again, did not notice if they had the small boxes.

They have beautiful looking fruit there and a wide variety of nuts but those are also available in the regular shops as well.

You also may be walking a lot more than normal which could have some impact on your blood sugar.

The only thing on your list I have never seen here is a brand name Adkins. Perhaps you could check their website before you travel and see if they market under a different name here?

I also don't know for sure the Fiber One, but I'm sure that an equivalent is available.

Everything else on your list is available at any supermarket, often in the Free From aisle. Even the small city centre shops will have all those. You don't need to go out of your way to find the very overpriced Whole Foods, nor health foods stores, although both of those would also have what you want.

You won't have any trouble here as a Type II. There are plenty of us here on the little island.

Sandra, I'm heading London next week and like you, I follow a low carb/low sugar regimen to maintain my ideal weight. I am taking 2 boxes of Adkins bars with me (one breakfast and one snack variety. I emptied the boxes into a plastic ziplock bag and packed them in my suitcase. I also carry a small bottle of liquid sucralose for sweetening tea and coffee. My plan is to maintain my diet as much as possible while in the UK, concentrating on protein (chicken, meat, fish and eggs) and minimizing carb intake, same as I do at home.

I'm also taking some of the small bags of Adkins trail mix in my carry-on bag. Good for a plane snack and a late-night hotel room snack!

I am profoundly ignorant on the subject of this diet, but shouldn't it be ATKINS, not Adkins?

Oh dear...my bad...It is spelled Atkins. I checked their UK site and they do have some of the same snack bars we have in the US. I am also thinking perhaps I could bring some in my bag as suggested.

I am sure all the walking will help keep my blood sugar low!

To complicate matters, I am also a vegetarian (though I do eat fish and eggs). The first vegetarians I ever met were some of my English friends years ago, actually.

Thank you all for your kind replies!

I think you will do fine.. you may have to be flexible..you may not find your exact brand of cereal.. but you don't actually need that exact brand really.. you just need to find a high fibre whole grain type and I am sure they have many that will do ..

I also bring Splenda.. but not liquid .. I like the little boxes ( like tic tac boxes sort of ) that dispense tiny tablets. I take a few of the small packages two.. I just slip them in a slot in my purse.

An breakfast of eggs ( not fried if going lo fat.. but poached or boiled) and some cereal will be easy to find.

I like some of the Atkins bars.. but since they are only basically no sugar ( they use substitutes ) you could probably find no sugar snack bars in London.

I find it very challenging to find food here in the U.S. There are a lot of gluten-free products and fat-free products, but it's hard to find high-protein and low-carb, low-sugar stuff.

I'll certainly consider the little tic-tac type sugar substitutes. Thanks!

My mother has the same condition as you, and she uses almost all the products and foods you mention except the snack bars. You should be able to get soy milk and artificial sweeteners from any large supermarket, not the overpriced Whole Food.

I'm not diabetic, but I do try to avoid too much sugar and arificial sweeteners.

No one mentioned Stevia so far. It's in green packets appropriate for an almost natural no calorie sweetener, rarely available here in restaurants, but easy to find in grocery stores under a variety of brand names.

I'm planning a solo trip to England, Scotland and maybe Wales for May. Is Stevia available in most grocery stores?

Yes.Lo, it is everywhere.