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Low-carb bootcamp

Is quinoa low carb?

9 replies

dillite · 10/05/2015 10:34

I am starting to follow low carb diet and was just wondering whether I can still eat quinoa? I love it in salads and it just gives a nice change from just protein and veg.

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Dumdedumdedum · 10/05/2015 16:33

Hi there! I am not an expert and am quite new to a low carb diet, but I think quinoa ranks with potatoes, bread, pasta, rice and legumes on the 'don't touch with a bargepole' scale - apparently, depending on where you look, there are between 13 grams to 23 grams of carb per 100 grams of cooked quinoa, which seems pretty high to me if you are trying to eat less than 50 gms of carbs a day. Sorry

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dillite · 10/05/2015 16:42

Oh shoot. When I google low carb recipes quite a few have it as an ingredient so I was hoping it would be fine.

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Dumdedumdedum · 10/05/2015 16:53

I am not an expert at all, so maybe hope someone more knowledgeable than I comes along with more accurate advice? I am just working on the basis that the vegetables I should eat whilst low carbing should be less than 3g carb per 100g, so the quinoa seems to me to be proportionally much higher carb.

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CrabbyTheCrabster · 11/05/2015 11:09

No it's not. It's low GI, but not low carb.

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CrabbyTheCrabster · 11/05/2015 11:11

dillite BIWI's low carb bootcamp is starting today. Even if you don't want to take part I'd suggest reading the rules and resources for that as they're really clear and will tell you which foods are and aren't low carb.

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dillite · 11/05/2015 15:45

Thank you Crabby. I will stop by later tonight.

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CrabbyTheCrabster · 11/05/2015 16:17

No worries.

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AmyElliotDunne · 11/05/2015 16:27

I think there's a difference between low carb recipes you find online (i.e. trying not to eat too much sugar and eating fewer carby things in general) and actual low carb dieting, which tends to be much stricter.

I know they refer to it as a 'way of eating' rather than a diet, as it's supposed to change your eating habits for life, but later on you'd be able to eat a few slightly carby things without worrying, whereas when you're starting out and trying to get into the fat burning zone by eating very low carb, you are much more limited.

Quinoa may be LC compared to pasta for example, but not when compared to the veg on the allowed list, such as celeriac, cauli or courgette, which can be used as a pasta/rice/potato substitute.

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dillite · 11/05/2015 16:45

That's what I have been doing Amy- I am trying to phase out sugar/ carbs out gradually, as when I just stop I literally binge on sugar without even noticing that I am doing it. It's like my conscious mind just switches off. I have lost some weight, but it's been a minimal amount, so I don't count it.