Auntie Helen

This is what we should all do. However, the massive and constant hunger that some of us have, plus not feeling full even when we have eaten much more than we needed, means ‘eat less, move more’ is a willpower thing. And willpower, for the rest of your life, is very hard.   For me, with my genes/insulin resistance, eating a Keto diet (under 40g net carbs per day) means I am not hungry. When my colleague at work offers me a twix I can easily say no. I am not hungry. When eating a usual carb diet, despite having had breakfast I am ravenous by 11am so say yes. With Keto I eat no breakfast but am not hungry at 11am so can say no.   This is a huge difference for lots of people who follow the Keto way of eating and it is why we get a bit evangelistic about it. For the first time in my life I am not constantly hungry. It is such an amazing feeling of freedom! Even if I didn’t lose weight on it, it would still be something I would like to stick at as it means I can be so much more relaxed about meal times, about refuelling on long cycle rides and more.   Lots of other people have natural appetites and feel full and stop eating when they have enough. They don’t need to consider Keto, unless they want the other benefits. But lots of us aren’t like this, and will power (when being bombarded with adverts) is a finite resource!

Oh, and as a follow up, I don’t see the need for any supplements if you are eating fresh meat, veg etc. Perhaps for some people, but it seems that the amount of veg I consume gives all that is necessary.   The only weird things I have bought are Mandelmehl (to use instead of flour for things like cake bases, pizza bases and brownies/biscuits), psyllium husks (Flohsamenschalen) which you can use to thicken sauces instead of starches (and also gives loads of fibre), stevia/erythritol for occasional sweetener use in cakes and Xanthan Gum (which I got from work) which I use in one recipe to bind shortbread together. I could do without the Xanthan and psyllium if necessary.   There isn’t much money to be made recommending that people eat fresh vegetables, salads and meat. If I see low carb cereal bars etc I ignore them - I don’t think they are needed and they are just adding unnecessary, processed foods just to try to make some money. Eat a few mixed nuts instead! People want to monetise the Keto way of eating, especially as more and more people are doing it, so you have to watch out for ridiculous health claims. As always, on all sorts of different diets.   weightwatchers worked for me 20 years ago (I lost 66kg) but I ate a lot of processed rubbish with low fat or lite versions of everything. The weight was back two years later. With Keto it is hard to stick to it, especially when eating out, but at least I am eating fresh, natural food. And although I have slipped into bad habits over the last two years, I never gained back all the weight I had lost in those first few months. This year I am trying harder. We will see!

Yes, i have done Keto on and off for 3 years, usually doing it properly Jan-March and then losing focus.   i find it excellent for my needs. Because I am the sort of person who is always hungry, it is an absolute revelation being in ketosis and not having to think about food all day. I think a lot of naturally thin people don’t understand this Heißhunger that we have, related to blood sugar/insulin spikes.   im on Keto again since 2 January and have lost 8 kilos. I eat about 40g carbs per day, and have remained in ketosis the whole time (according to my pee sticks and the lack of hunger). I fast from 20:00 till 14:00 (so 16:8) and find that really easy. I don’t need to eat breakfast as I’m not hungry.   The food we are both eating (my partner is also doing low carb although less strict Keto) is very high quality and healthy. Fresh cuts of meat, loads of vegetables, some berries, yoghurt, cream, butter. All really tasty! Plus I have a few good Keto brownies recipes, and i make a decent Keto Philadelphia Kuchen.   for many people Keto isn’t the right option for them, but for someone with the genes to be fat (my parents, grandparents and sister and nieces are/were almost all obese), and this is because we always feel hungry and never full, Keto is just brilliant. It completely frees the mind!   i liken my genes to a labrador’s. They are always hungry and will eat too much if you allow them. Going into ketosis and losing this constant urge to eat is just an amazing feeling, and if it’s right for you it can be brilliant. I feel much healthier on it too!

I think the JU flights at Mönchengladbach still take place. 

There was a report on this ages ago in the UK and it said that the US army is still paying for veterans, and the viagra is quite possibly for them (medically retired from combat, perhaps). Also that there are a very large proportion of men in the army, and not that many transgender, which is why the amounts for the viagra seem so high.

I pay 84 EUR per year for a Cockapoo (small poodle size) but that’s in NRW, I don’t know if Hamburg prices are different 

I seem able to change soundtrack language and subtitle language with no issues. It’s the little speech bubble icon on the top right (at least, on my iPad)

No-one is saying you have no 'right' to be a mother, they are suggesting that sometimes it might be in the best interests to choose not to have a child.   I personally have chosen not to have children. I don't think I have the best genes in the world and wasn't too keen to pass them on, although I also have no maternal desire which makes that an easy choice for me. But I am troubled that people do seem to get very selfish about having children - I have a friend whose father's mental health condition was clearly passed on to her, and they have both had an extremely challenging and difficult life. She has chosen not to have children as she doesn't want to pass this on.   This is something to think very hard about. Maybe you decide that the risks are worth it as you can provide a potential child with a good home and support, but you have to really weigh your personal wish to reproduce against the potential life down the line that a child might have.

It showed me my pension info straight away, and knew that I live abroad, so perhaps they’ve updated it since you last looked. 

Good point! I shall check periodically and see when it disappears...

I just finally logged into the Government Gateway website to check my pension contributions but decided to also check my driving licence, as I swapped to a German one 2 months ago and Germany took my old UK licence.   my record in Government Gateway says I still have a valid Uk licence. strange! 

My 5 years in Germany only happens two days AFTER Brexit so I can't get any of these documents whilst still an EU citizen. I will be a 3rd country national by the time I can apply.

Back to useful info on this thread...   As mentioned before, I don’t have 60 months Rentenversicherung as I didn’t start paid work in Germany until I had been here two years (I was freelancing before that). Everything I read suggests this is an absolute must for the Niederlassungserlaubnis.   Nachweis über mindestens 60 Monate Pflichtbeiträge oder freiwillige Beiträge zur gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung oder Nachweis eines Anspruchs auf vergleichbare Leistungen einer Versicherungs- oder Versorgungseinrichtung oder eines Versicherungsunternehmens.   Would a UK pension statement fulfil the second sentence? Has anyone used this document in place of the German RV? I have been paying into the UK pension for my working life in the UK, so 20 years.   many thanks for all the comments on these Brexit threads by the way, I am slowly getting things as prepared as possible. Main issue for me is, my partner’s divorce is dragging on and we may not have time for a short holiday in Denmark before Brexit Day. Oh, and the company i work for look like they may be going bust, so I may be unemployed on Brexit Day. Great.

I am in the happy situation that my 5 years‘ residence occurs two days after Brexit so I can’t get my EU permanent residence card before then. Joy.   I haven’t taken a Leben in Deutschland Test or a language test (I am C1 German) as I thought originally this would not be necessary. Now I am wondering.

I for one have booked a week‘s leave from work after 29 March (which realistically means 2-6 April because 29 March is a Friday and Brexit happens that evening) so I can wait in queues to get my documentation sorted. For me, the Arbeitserlaubnis is the most important, as I want to know that if something happens at work they don’t wriggle out of insurance cover etc because i was technically not allowed to work.   On 1 April I will have been here for 5 years but won’t qualify for daueraufenthaltserlaubnis because I did not pay into my pension pot for the first two years (I continued working freelance for a UK company). I fulfil all the other criteria though. I guess I just have to wait another two years and hope I’m not thrown out in the meantime!