How many grams of carbs a day?

[WoahBodyforrrrm]

I've just started low carbing for health reasons. I'm tracking on MFP and have just put in my breakfast and some of my dinner and have already reached my goal which is apparantly 17g according to MFP. Now I'm struggling to find anything else to have with my dinner let alone what to have for lunch.

Is 17g of carbs too low?

For breakfast today I had
25g of cheddar
33g of wafer thin ham
Some blueberries
50g of grapes (9g of carbs )
50g of 1/2 fat creme Fraiche

Does that sound like an okay low carb breakfast, I'll avoid grapes in the future?

I'm quite full and will have an early dinner so may not need much if anything for lunch, but ideas would be great fully received!

[pootlebug]

17g of carbs in a day is tiny….you should be able to have up to 40-50g and still lose weight.

It's easier not to count though - just stick to veg with less than 3g net carbs per 100g and you should be fine.

Yes, avoid the grapes! You really want to eat lots of veg, so it's best to stick to low carb ones so you can get plenty of nutrients from eating lots of it iyswim. You can add berries after 2 weeks if you switch to bootcamp light.

[BIWI]

Why 17g?! That's a ridiculously low amount!

And eating grapes and blueberries isn't low carb either.

And, don't go low fat - you should be having full fat everything. Low carbing is high fat.

Have you done any reading about low carbing and what it entails?

[WoahBodyforrrrm]

17g is what MFP came up with using my height, weight etc when I set my daily goals to being 75% fat, 25% protein and 5% carb.

I think this way of eating is going to be tricky for me. I had a brain tumour diagnosed and removed in August. While looking for ways of lowering the chances of my tumour (50/50 odds of reoccurrence) returning, I found sites that said about brain tumours feeding off glucose, so to cut out glucose and limit carbs and stick to complex carbs. At the same time, these sites are telling me that fruit (particulary berries) are anti-cancer foods.

I should have explained in my original post that I'm not low carbing for weight loss as such (though I put on 2st in the 2 months I was on steriods) I wasn't over weight before so am only slightly over weight now, which I'm keen to get off, but it's defintiley not high on my priority list these days. I've just turned 29, have four Young children (3,3,4,8) and need to give myself the best chance of keeping this bastard tumour away.

So I'm not really sure how to approach this. I was referred to a neuro dietician, who spent the whole hour telling me how to shift the 2st I've put on, by putting low fat or 0% fat shite filled chemical and sugar packed food into my body. She had no idea about changing my diet to keep the tumour away. I've been given details for a nutritionist who has dealt with tumour patients before so I'm waiting to see them and get advice.

In the mean time, what % of my daily intake should be carbs biwi so I can amend the MFP log?

[pootlebug]

I'm not a nutritionist, but I have eaten low-carb on and off for a while, and my husband eats low carb as it's a better way of managing his Type 1 diabetes.

I would:

• Turn off MFP. You don't need it. If you stick to some fairly simple rules of low-carbing you will lose weight and not feel hungry.
  
• I'd follow the boot camp rules….www.mumsnet.com/health/diet-and-fitness/low-carb-bootcamp but add in certain berries from the beginning because of their anti-cancer properties. Just stick to 100g of berries at a time (about 5g) of raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, red currants, blackcurrants. I use a mix of frozen berries in a smoothie for breakfast: 100g berries, 100g full-fat-no-added-thickeners-and-rubbish coconut milk, one raw egg - all blended up.
  
  Good stuff to read: 'The art and science of low carbohydrate living' by Volek and Phinney, or John Briffa 'Escape the Diet Trap'. It's worth reading more to understand what you should, can and can't eat, and why.

[StuntNun]

If you're eating low carb to prevent cancer then you.ll probably need to eat a ketogenic diet, i.e. no more than 20g per day. So that's 5% carbs, 15-30% protein and the rest from fat.

If you want to add berries for health then they should be your main source of carbs. Total full fat yoghurt is a good low carb choice, you can further reduce the carb content by adding double cream or full fat creme fraiche. You may need to consider not having too much dairy, maybe only at one meal per day; apart from butter which is unlimited.

I would continue to use MFP until you get into the swing of things. It isn't 100% accurate but it will give you a good idea of what works for you.

If you like eggs then they are a great low carb option and very quick to prepare. Eggs mashed with butter, scrambled eggs with loads of butter, omelette fried in butter... are you seeing a theme here?!

A good meal plan would be:

Breakfast: 50g berries with 150g full fat yoghurt and a splash of double cream or creme fraiche.

Snack: pork scratchings - the Awfully Posh ones from Waitrose (or Amazon) don't have nasty additives in, or celery sticks, or a hard boiled egg, or a small portion (1-2oz) of almonds/macademias/brazils, or a couple of squares of dark chocolate.

Lunch: an eggs dish OR salad leaves with oil and vinegar dressing and tuna mayo or leftover cooked meat or ham or a chop/steak. I like rocket, watercress, baby spinach as they are much more nutritious than lettuce which is basically crunchy water! Cucumber and celery are low carb if you want a bit more texture to your salad. Cherry tomatoes are carby but you could have two or three sliced up thinly to make them stretch further.

Dinner: Fish or meat (go for fattier cuts such as pork chops, sirloin, chicken thighs) with vegetables either roasted, cooked in butter, or steamed/boiled then with melted butter poured over. Mushrooms, celery (delicious braised), kale, spinach, broccoli and courgettes are all so low carb you can basically eat as much as you want without worrying about the carb count. Celeriac, leek and cauliflower are slightly higher in carbs but still good choices.

If you drink a lot of tea or coffee then you can cut carbs there by using almond milk. The fresh versions are less nutty in flavour than the UHT versions.

Make sure you are drinking a lot of water. At least two litres a day including tea, coffee, herbal tea, etc.

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor, merely an informed observer so do your own research on what is best for your particular concern. I do recommend joining a forum or support group as there are plenty of other people in the same boat and they will be able to advise you.

Good luck!

[WoahBodyforrrrm]

Thanks so much for your help stuntnun that sounds like pretty much what i had been doing, so really reassuring to know I'm on the right track.

I have switched to almond milk but have found it curdles in my tea and coffee, it tastes okay but just looks awful. I think it's the UHT one so I'll try the fresh one next and see how I get on.

I've had to take a step back from forums and support groups etc that are linked to tumours and cancer. I'm finding for me, the less I see and read about it, the less I worry about my future. And I need to stay positive so will dip in and out of this board and use MFP to try and keep my carb intake to under 20g.

Thanks again for your great advice!

[ragged]

dunno about carbs, but we bought a hemp milk substitute in Waitress that DH likes, and it seems pretty good in tea (no curdling yet).

[StuntNun]

Almond milk does go a slightly different colour in tea and coffee and you need a bit more than regular milk but it shouldn't curdle. The fresh stuff is definitely better than the UHT version.

I forgot to say that you should look into MCT oil or coconut oil. There are health benefits and it can be easier to keep carbs low if you're getting enough fat in your diet.

[StuntNun]

Oh I meant to say, if you brew your tea very strong then almond milk can give it a stewed flavour. I have to make my tea slightly weaker since switching to almond milk.