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I'm confused between low carb and calorie counting. First time dieter

28 replies

crystalgall · 10/05/2016 15:11

Hello.

Hope someone can help me.

I'm trying to lose some weight..probably about 1 and a half stone. DD is 6 months old and I went from 8stone 12 to about 11 stone.

My problem is just constant eating through the day and snacking on bad stuff. So biscuits and toast on the morning, biscuits and tea in afternoon, something sweet and tea again! In the evening. Plus crisps. I also don't eat much fruit or veg.
Basically I have a shit diet and always have. It's only now it's finally caught up with me.

I'm using MFP to calorie count and cut out all the crap and also eat less food, less fatty food.

But I'm also trying to reduce my carb intake: bread, biscuits, chapattis (am Asian so we eat chapattis nearly every day!), rice etc. I think this is giving me a big tummy (along with massive c section over hang)

However from reading it seems if you are low carbing you need to eat a lot of fat which would mean a high calorie count right?

So which should I be doing? Calorie counting but eating carbs? Or reducing carbs but eating more fat in the way of milk/cheese?
What is the good fat I should be eating? I have an avocado everyday...

I have never dieted in my life and am so confused!

Help please!

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crystalgall · 10/05/2016 16:21

Anyone?

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JamieVardysParty · 10/05/2016 22:27

I low carb and find it quite difficult to eat over about 1600 calories.

I have things like avocado, salmon, olive oil on my salads, cook vegetables in butter, fattier cuts of meat etc.

If you have spent a long time calorie counting, it seems a really strange thing at first and I admit, I have days where I can't help but add up calories.

Today I had:
B: coffee with cream, some leftover chicken
L: 3 x scrambled eggs in butter with half an avocado, spinach, tomatoes and ham
D: Chilli-garlic chicken thighs with half an avocado, broccoli and cabbage sauteed in butter.

I find curries fairly easy to do (with cauliflower rice) with lowest carb chopped tomatoes I can find and either cream or coconut milk.

There are some great links on the Low Carb Bootcamp page, with loads of recipes.

The next Bootcamp starts on Monday, lots of people low carbing together and offering great support/advice.

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 09:43

Thanks Jamie.

I've been having around 1300-1400 calls a day and trying to low carb at the same time.
Is this ok?
I do feel hungry a lot thoughConfused

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JamieVardysParty · 11/05/2016 11:09

You shouldn't be feeling hungry on LC as the fat and protein keep you full.

I would probably up your fat intake. What is a typical day for you?

I would concentrate on LC first and foremost. Ignore the calorie count for now. It is fairly difficult to overeat on LC as the food can be rich.

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MsColouring · 11/05/2016 20:50

I think it depends on your lifestyle. I am veggie so low carb is near impossible for me. I am losing weight quite successfully using mfp counting calories (I am on 1200 calories a day) and look at the macros also to help me work out if I'm eating enough protein.

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lynmon43 · 11/05/2016 20:54

Hi I've just joined the low carb club...any tips I would be very grateful..

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 21:11

colouring what's enough protein on 1200 cals a day?

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idontlikealdi · 11/05/2016 21:15

If you're doing 'proper' low carb you need to be strict. You don't need to worry about calories and you do need fat but minimal carbs so not just the obvious stuff. Eg onions are quite carry, shallots are better, fruit is out at least for the beginning stages, no low fat yogurt, cream instead of milk.

Have a look at the bootcamp threads for a proper explanation.

If you cut carbs but are still eating carbs in fruit and sugars you won't go into ketosis which is what causes the weight loss when LCHF.

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 21:16

Today I had
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with some granola on top and blueberries. A coffee with half a teaspoon of honey in it.

Lunch: 2 soft boiled eggs, an avocado and a little smoked salmon

Dinner: some chicken and Indian lentils (Chana dal? Not sure what that is in English...still Chana dal maybe!) and salad
Everyone else has the dal with chapatti and I just ate it as it was with the chicken and salad

Snack: some yogurt with a linseed and blueberry mix thing on top in the evening.

I feel ok. Dinner portion was small and I could have eaten a lot more (which is my problem I guess) and I found myself hungry after hence the yoghurt.

It came in at under 1200
Cals but 72g of carbs. Is that way too much or OK. I'm ony
On week 2 of trying to change the at I eat.

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 21:17

So should I forget trying to low carb then?

Because I feel this was an excellent day of eating for me compared to
How I ate ony a week ago. I don't think I can manage on 20g of carbs clearly.

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MsColouring · 11/05/2016 21:17

According to mfp 60g. I struggle to meet my protein goals without eating stuff like porridge and noodles which are high carb but have a moderate amount of protein in too.

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Equiem89 · 11/05/2016 21:19

You aren't really eating low carb. Granola, blueberries, honey, lentils, linseed are all high carb

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 21:21

I know. I honestly have no idea about food. The granola/linseed was just today. I live with inlaws and they had it and I thought oh that looks healthy.
I am
Quite confused about what is and isn't good food Confused

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MsColouring · 11/05/2016 21:26

But low carb isn't the only way. Blueberries, lentils and linseed are healthy because they are nutritious. The granola may be high sugar. There needs to be a bit of common sense with whatever you do. I find mfp helps but it does lump all sugars together and common sense tells me that sugar from fruit is better than sugar from chocolate.

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Equiem89 · 11/05/2016 21:28

First of all you need to forget everything you've been taught that fat is evil and should be avoided at all costs. Once you get your head around that you can eat chicken skin, fatty bacon, full fat Mayo, cream etc it's so much easier.
When we eat carbs (which is basically sugar) you experience peaks and troughs in your blood sugar levels and it is this which makes you crave more sugar. When we don't use all the energy provided by the sugar it gets turned into fat.
If you eat a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet your blood sugar levels remain stable, you don't get the mid afternoon slump. If you cut your carbs enough you will enter ketosis. This is where your body has depleted it's glucose stores and starts using your fat as fuel. I love being in ketosis, I feel amazing!

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SpoonfulOfJam · 11/05/2016 21:38

I did low carb high fat to lose baby weight from DS1. I loved it. However I don't think it is particularly family friendly or budget friendly. I am now trying slimming world to lose baby weight from ds2. It seems easy enough to follow- not counting calories but filling up on fruit veg and salad. Can ear lean meat, potatoes and rice. Basically very healthy eating with some treats allowed. It will be cheaper, the whole family can eat what I cook and I find Indian dishes can fit the bill nicely. Ive only just started but at my group there are a lot of mum and daughter pairs who are having a lot of success. Might be worth considering?

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 22:02

Yes I have a feeling low carb may not be for me or the family. It's hard because mil and I take it in turns to cook and I can't make low carb dinners for the whole family and in turn I feel a bit bad about eating my own stuff when she has cooked.
I'm not sure I can sustain it and also being busy with two kids am
Finding it hard to figure out what to eat all the time.
Sigh.
I'm still going to cut out the big carbs
Equiem thanks for your post. Would it be possible to get an idea of what a typical food day would look like for you?

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 22:05

Thanks spoonful.
I didn't think about joining SW. Again Inhave v little time to go to meetings and the like. Is it still
Like that?

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Equiem89 · 11/05/2016 22:11

For breakfast I have two babybels, I'm not a big breakfast person.
Mid morning I'll have some pork scratchings
Lunch will be two chicken thighs (skin on) with some salad and some olive oil or mayonnaise.
I don't need an afternoon snack.
Dinner will be something like salmon and veg, I love leeks sautéed in butter. Spaghetti bolognese with courgetti. Homemade curry with cauliflower rice. Steak and sweet potato wedges, some people say sweet pots are too carby but I only have them about once a month. I make a cabbage carbonara, which is cabbage, bacon lardons, garlic, cream and Parmesan, it sounds strange but it really works.
I find it really easy. It makes you eat real food. From what I've read about diets like weight waters you can eat 'light' foods, these are laden with sugar.
I don't have children so I don't have to cook family meals but i think it is family friendly. So if you're cooking spag Bol just eat the mince and some veg, not the pasta.
We are starting a new bootcamp next Monday. Come and join us. You'll get lots of supports and there are more knowledgeable people on there than me

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Equiem89 · 11/05/2016 22:12

Weight watchers!

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crystalgall · 11/05/2016 22:18

Thanks equiem. I will come by

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pollyannahale · 12/05/2016 17:14

Just to clarify, there is nothing magic about low carb BUT protein & veggies are very filling so you're likely to eat less calories. Fat is obviously low carb but that's where some people go wrong - too much fat adds a lot of calories. Calories are king for weightloss.

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SpoonfulOfJam · 12/05/2016 18:27

I take littlest Ds with me to meetings. You can do SW online so don't need to attend meetings.

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pollyannahale · 14/05/2016 10:26

How does SW work? Isn't that just calorie counting (but calls them syns or something?)

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lynmon43 · 14/05/2016 11:21

We is really a low day diet and then you get daily suns...I tried it but you can eat lots of carbs which doesn't agree with me.but lots of people swear by it...I prefer to but the carbs n be able to have data like cheese and milk..

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