Hi Heidi! I´m a young swedish woman who about a year ago began to follow the type O diet. I´ve always liked red meat (especially moose meat) so that part of the diet was no problem. I’ve also always been eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Potatoes are very popular food in Sweden, but they are not a big trouble for me - never liked them anyway. The challenge is to find good, healthy substitutes for pasta, bread and dairy.

I haven’t yet found anyone in Sweden who can determine my secretor status, but I’m assuming that I’m a secretor and I feel very well on the type O secretor diet. I have become more alert and experience that my brain works quicker. I am off my asthma medication and the sinus problems I’ve suffered from as far as I can remember has improved considerably. Even though I don´t have time to exercise as much as I would like to, I´m losing fat and gaining muscles.

My husband is even more exalted about the BTD than I am. Before he knew his bloodtype he realized that almost all the foods that he likes (except icecream) are listed as beneficial or at least neutral for type B, while everything he doesn’t like is on the type B avoid list. Guess who was overjoyed when he got to know his bloodtype - he is a type B!

There are some things that concerns me. My waist is getting smaller but I’m not losing weight. I was hoping to lose weight, as I’m far too heavy. I am overweigt, but I’m not considering myself as ”fat” even though my BMI is as high as 32! I’m 64 inches tall and weigh 187 pounds (hope I did the calculations right, we use other units in Sweden). When I have the weight where I’m feeling most comfortable I weigh about 145 pounds and it will make a BMI at about 25,5. I’ve had that weight before (about 10 years ago) and would like to reach it again, and keep it. I am robust, with a very heavy bone structure and I have always been very strong. It seems as I just have to think about exercising to make my muscles grow! Even before I was on the diet I was very muscular, now my muscles are growing bigger and bigger… …what am I going to look like?

I love exercising and I feel so good, so relaxed and pleased with myself after a hard training pass at the gym or after a fast inline-skating or biking race or an aerobic class. Can you please explain to me how to interpret the BMI-factor? In some places I’ve read that the BMI should be between 19-24, while others say that 18-19 is the optimum. Somewhere I’ve seen a table saying that if your BMI is above 25 it means that you are overweight and above 30 you’re defined as fat or even obese. Can it really be true that a robust person like me should have the same BMI as a slender person?

There’s also another thing that causes a problem for me - cheese! I love cheese! And as I’m on the diet, and convinced to stay on the diet, I just have to watch my type B husband eating camembert, cheddar and parmesan… …not to mention all the Swedish cheeses, those with small holes and a dense texture - some of them mild and some with a strong, assertive flavor… YUMMY! Well, I know cheese isn’t the best you can eat if you want to lose weight, but I sometimes have feta cheese or mozzarella, which are neutral for type O secretors. But now I would like to know: is there any difference between different types of feta and/or mozzarella cheeses? I mean, is feta made of sheep’s or goat’s milk more healthy for type Os than cow’s milk feta? And how about ”mozzarella di bufala” - the real Italian mozzarella which is made of milk from water buffalos - is it better than mozzarella made from cow’s milk? Most mozzarellas available in groceries in Sweden are imported from Italy and many of them are made of cow’s milk, while some more expensive ones are made of milk from buffalos. Goat cheese is also listed as neutral, but how about cheese (other than feta cheese) made of sheep’s milk? For example, in well-sorted groceries I’ve seen French sheep cheeses (they’re not cheap!) and ”pecorino” which is an Italian, parmesan-like cheese, also made of milk from sheep. What about those cheeses for Os? for other bloodtypes? (probably good for Bs anyway!)And how about camembert made of goat's milk? What is farmer cheese? It is also listed as neutral but I haven’t found it in any dictionary and have no idea about what it is. Can you please explain to me what kind of cheese it is.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank you so very much for your column. I feel both delighted and enlightened by reading your often quite humouristic answers to questions from people all over the world. Best wishes, Ylva.

Ylva! Now, here is an O close to my own heart: a full long paragraph of questions all about cheese! :-D I'll get to that issue in a moment.

First, I agree that 187 pounds at 5'5" is too heavy for you and that a full year on this plan should have done more than reduce your waistline. The BMI is useful for people of average bone weight, average build, and average muscle development ~ for everyone else, there are better means of ascertaining one's bodymass-to-fat ratio. You can monitor body fat loss by using calipers, which can measure fairly precisely the change in size of the "pinch" taken weekly at the same place on the abdomen or arm, for example. Or, if your physician is one of the rare ones who possess the necessary machinery, bioelectric impedence testing is a highly reliable method of establishing your true "mass makeup." Considering the relative costs, I'd go with the calipers! :-)

Weight loss for some individuals is achieved only through sticking 99-100% to the Beneficial list. It's possible you're one of them. :-} You did not mention what your representative daily diet & exercise routine is, but based on your results, here are some general suggestions.

(1) Diet: If possible, get hold of Live Right 4 Your Type. There are specific portions and frequencies listed for each food category (I'd adhere strictly to them). Until you have the book, use the TYPEbase 3 database on our main page here to check items individually. For a period of two months, eat only the Beneficials for secretors -- minimize the neutrals to as near 0% as you can, and avoid those avoids like the plague. Now you're wishing your arms were long enough so you could reach my neck, ;-D but believe me, this is not forever!! It's only to jump-start the weight loss AND to give you a reference point for your own ideal weight-loss diet. When you add in a neutral or two at the end of that time, keep a close eye on how your weekly fat loss rate compares to the Bene-Only period. If the scale shows stuck again, or wants to edge up a bit, or your "pinch" grew rather than shrank, you have learned something of great importance about specific food items that no one else could have told you!!

I also suggest you drink one gallon (say, nearly four liters) of pure water each day, away from meals. I will not cry if you drink only three liters instead, but promise me you'll keep the volume at least that high.

Emphasize seaweeds and dark green leaf veg among the Beneficial veggies, and have one to three cups of green tea daily. Fresh fish or red meat at least once per day.

(2) Activity: get one good workout every other day. Let me play that old broken record of mine once more: exercise is a full 1/2 partner in the BTD, and confers wonderful unexpected side-effects! ;-D Take advantage of your love of exercise!!

Now to the cheese questions: I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might tempt you to indulge in those lovely goodies!

{just kidding... sort of. ;-> }

When you've concluded your two-month ALL BENEFICIAL regimen, feel free to plan a once-weekly cheese treat. Any sheep or goat cheese is OK, except those camembert/brie or moldy (bleu) types. And only one ounce at a time. Aw, don't glare at me like that ~ I'm just reporting the portion/frequency allowances from LR4YT! :-D Farmer's cheese is nearly the same as cottage cheese without the noticeable curds ~ simple and fresh. Mozzarella di bufalo is the best sort of mozz! Mind you, if your sinuses send you a signal after eating cheese, once again you've made a personal health-enhancing discovery, for free! :-)

I am truly pleased that both you and your husband enjoy the BTD and are seeing benefits. Now, I'm looking forward to hearing your results on your 100% beneficials experiment, and a weekly caliper report! best wishes, dear!!

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i am o type.what is the status type for hibiscus, elderflower & rose? these ingrediants are regularly used in herbal teas and i cannot identify if they benefit etc.anywhere. please help in case i undo all my hard work by ingesting an avoid albeit unwittingly. ps;i'm tired of people telling me i'm becoming obsessed about food just because i want to choose to eat healthily (not just friends but even my blooming doctor said it!) have you got any suitable fresh retorts i can sling back as i'm running out of ideas, short of shooting them! thanks ~ debbie

Hello, debbie ~ :-D Rosehips are a wonderful vitamin C source for all types, so I doubt the petals (organic!) are harmful for you. Elderberries are beneficial, so I'd posit a neutral status for the flower. Hibiscus is a great "female balancer" for all types. :-)

About those maddening "friends and physicians:" I've found that

"When one who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, they will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest." ~ Anonymous

So, rather than a retort (stressful for the giver as well as the receiver) I suggest employing a light, mad giggle. Smile! Say, "Really?" Giggle again! "You don't say!" Big smile! Work on this in the mirror. Get so good at it that you can effortlessly switch to it at a moment's notice in the most "maddening" situation. If someone asks why you're laughing, shrug say "Just feeling cheerful, I guess!"

P.S.: You may want to keep your friends despite their conspicuous lack of support, but I'd get shut of the doctor. Being dismissed as a monomaniac is one thing, but paying for the privilege is adding injury to insult, I'd say.

;-)

take care, and enjoy yourself, dear! Happiness, after all, is the best retort anyone can make. ~;-D

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