What do you eat if you're low carb?

[SkeletonSkins]

I need help :( I am so down and desperately struggling to lose weight. I have PCOS and I'm sure the only way I'm going to do it is really cutting the carbs and I've read lots of people say it's great as they don't feel deprived but my problem is I literally only like carbs and sweet things. I don't mean that I sit there eating chocolate all day, but I love fruit and tomato based sauces for example. I'm not a big fan of eggs at all (unless combined with bread to make French toast, carbs!!!) which really seems to limit some of the options. My background isn't great at all so learning to cook wasn't remotely on the agenda growing up, and i wonder if I'm just not good at cooking veg etc so it tastes nice?

So please, help me. I'm desperate. I exercise using HIIT or exercise class for 45 mins/1 hour and also walk my dogs for an hour per day. I have an active job, I only eat 3 meals and tbh cut down to 2 at one point as so desperate. I don't snack, I don't drink. Sugar is definitely my problem e.g. Eating a fudge bar after tea and obviously kicking that habit has to go but give me some ideas about what I need to buy and what I can eat for each meal to go low carb as the concept is totally alien to me and they way I eat at the minute.

How do you make porridge nice? I've had the ones like oat so simple in the little pot where you just add water but it was like sludge.

I know tropical fruits should be out eg pineapple but is apple okay? What can I have for snacks?

[SummerSazz]

If you head over to the low carb boot camp threads there is a spreadsheet on the first post of each which details out loads of low carb friendly foods. There is also a recipe thread too.

Good luck with it - as a woe it has changed my outlook on food completely. Oh and I've lost two stone 🙂

[userofthiswebsite]

Porridge tastes much better if you make it with milk.

[wombattoo]

Hi OP. Like Summer says above, have a look at the boot camp threads. Also, there is a recipe thread. Why not have a look there and see if there are any recipes that you fancy. Fruit is allowed in moderation but mainly berries.
I hope you find something that works for you

[SkeletonSkins]

Thanks for the replies I will definitely have a look at the threads now.

My issues is thinking about what to have. It's lunch time and I honestly can't think of anything to have that doesn't include carbs. How do you make salads tasty? I just really don't like the taste of lettuce etc and find I end up skipping meals rather than eating it. Pathetic I know.

[SummerSazz]

My favourite salad is fried halloumi, chorizo, asparagus and sometimes mushrooms on a bed of leaves with a couple of cherry tomatoes cut up. Salt and pepper and drizzled with basil oil (dipping oil from Tesco)

[MissBax]

I don't think your problem is carbs (all the healthiest foods are carbs - Fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, wholegrains etc), it's junk food.

[MissBax]

Have you looked at slimming World?

[Auchan]

Don't touch slimming world with a barge pole if you have PCOS. It's too high in carbs. All those "slimming clubs" are still in business for a reason. Most folk will regain the weight because it's based on pseudoscience of low calorie, low fat. Low carb keto is based on science so people lose weight and keep it off!

It sounds like you're a sugar addict. All the carbs you like are highly refined ... Bread etc. I've been low carb keto for 18 months, lost 8 stone and completely reversed PCOS. I still occasionally eat fruit that's lower carb like berries. Porridge is high in carbs so should be avoided.

Look at //www.dietdoctor.com to help you out. It's a great website and easy to navigate and there are meal plans. It feels overwhelming at first but you can do it!!!

[ReallyExhaustedLlama]

The 8 week low blood sugar diet book And/or the accompanying recipe book might be helpful for you. It is a low carb diet.

Our local library has it in paperback (and as an e-book) you can borrow if you don't want to spend lots until you work out if it would be useful.

There's also a Facebook group for it. It's used a lot be people with T2 diabetes but I think I've seen people mentioning they have PCOS on there too.

[RaininSummer]

I have just had a tuna mayo sale with avocado and lots of mayo and pepper was lovely. Breakfast was an egg pancake creation with blueberries. Dinner will be homemade mushroom and tufu curry with cauliflower rice. I have changed the way I eat a fair bit but really so long as you find good substitutes for pasta, rice spuds and bread you are halfway there.

[MissBax]

That's ridiculous - I have PCOS and endometriosis and slimming World worked perfectly for me and I finally conceived after ttc for 3 years. People have a very warped view of "carbs" - if you mean bread, pasta and refined carbs then yes, of course they're bad, but fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, legumes, wholegrains etc are all carbs and what any diet should be rich in.
To say "science" proves keto works is such a throw away comment - can you back this up with peer reviewed evidence please? Most keto / paleo diets are just a cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes ticking time bomb.
The best diet you can eat is a whole foods plant based diet. This is always inevitably high carb, low fat.

[Auchan]

Yes but you still have PCOS .... I dont. And many fellow low carbers don't. That's my point.

www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/nutrition/diet/goodbye-carbs-hello-high-fats-atkins-diet-back-time-called-keto/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_fb_tmg

nutritionadvance.com/hyperinsulinemia-insulin-resistance/

I have a million other scientific papers and links. Share yours please. Scaremongering is not evidence.

[Auchan]

Also you're on a thread specifically about low carb so if you're against it I suggest you don't read it.

[Oblomov17]

There are loads of low carb threads on MN.
We are the Micheal Mosley BSD thread. You are more than welcome there!!

[SkeletonSkins]

I think my problem is I need to find food that I actually want to eat. Low carb is great if you enjoy avocado, muschrooms, cauliflower, lots of veg etc but I genuinely don't enjoy it and so things like courgette spaghetti etc, just won't work for me as I'd rather eat nothing at all. I don't know if that will change as I eat less sugary food but at the minute it's really hard to motivate myself to eat that way as I don't like it. I hate that I don't like it and wish I could change it but I can't help my tastes!

I think I need to find a collection of low carb options which I know I will enjoy and cycle through them.

But then if I will actually enjoy the slimming world stuff, maybe I'd be better on that as I may actually stick to it....

[Auchan]

See the issue is that slimming world will suit you fine because it will feed the carb addiction and won't fix the PCOS.

I promise you that you'll come to like all those veggies. I was exactly the same as you, didn't eat much veg mostly sugary veg like potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes etc. Since cutting out all sugar and eating low carb I have changed my tastes completely. I eat tons of mushrooms now and as little as a year ago I hated them.

Have a read of this article. It really helps to understand why you feel like you do X

mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/well/eat/are-you-a-carboholic-why-cutting-carbs-is-so-tough.html?_r=0&referer=android-app://com.google.android.gm

[SkeletonSkins]

Thank you Auchan for your replies and links, I really am reading through them all and that article really explains it well. The thought of cutting sugar fills me with despair but then that itself shows that it is an addiction.

Right. I am going to study that website and make myself a meal plan of realistically what I know I will eat. Teas I think I will be okay as I often eat for example omelette with peas or a piece of chicken (not breaded or anything) and some veg.

What do I need to aim for my carbs to be under per day? I'm 5'9 and weigh 170lbs.

I don't eat a lot of junk, I really don't. For lunch I had one slice of toast and some cucumber. For breakfast I had a bowl of shreddies, for tea I might have a bowl of pasta or jacket potato with beans and veg or chicken in sauce with some veg. Sometimes after tea I will have something naughty which I know needs to go, like a fudge bar or sugary yoghurt. I don't drink high sugar drinks, don't drink alcohol, don't get take aways at all these days, and considering I am active I really do think the PCOS is impacting on my weight loss and I know that low carb is recommended for it.

[MissBax]

Actually I have reversed my PCOS - losing weight reduces fat cells, which is where androgens thrive.

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

Diabetes UK have a ten week low carb program that one of my friends is following, here. She has found it pretty straightforward so far, if you want guidance for low-carbing it seems to be not too severe and well researched.

[Oblomov17]

I think you might be surprised. Type 1 diabetic since birth here. The thought of giving up roasties or French stick for courgetti or cauliflower curry would have had me turning in my grave ..... but .....

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

I'm being quite low carb at the moment as my type 2 diabetes has gone out of control (it was well-controlled for years up to now). I have decided that I will NOT eat things that I don't like. I think that I feel more deprived if I have to eat stuff that I don't like than I do when not eating things that I do like. I'm not doing a 'diet' as counting stuff just makes me obsessive, and you end up eating weird stuff because you've used up all your carbs/fat/whatever earlier in the day so can't have a proper dinner.

I just don't eat between meals and eat very little carb with meals. I have the same dinner that I make for the whole family, but a small portion of whatever carb I've made and tons of green veg, and I eat until I'm full. I have to say that I'm not a big fan of making 'pretend' carbs, I prefer to cook to suit the ingredients. Courgetti is VILE and I won't eat it, but sliced courgette brushed with a little olive oil and griddled is delicious, for instance.

I'm focussed on blood glucose levels not weight loss, but weight loss is happening when I get my bloods right.

The first two weeks were pretty shit tbh, but it got much better after that. Nuts and cheese got me through the worst of the carb craving to start with, but I don't need them now.

[BahHumbygge]

Breakfasts

FF Greek yoghurt with double cream poured over. Add a handful of smushed berries or 1/4 chopped apple & shake of cinnamon or splash of vanilla. Chopped nuts or chia seeds would be nice. No honey/sweetener.

Selection of: bacon, egg, GF sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, 1/4 tin low sugar baked beans from Morrisons.

Poached egg/scrambled egg on a bed of spinach/chard

Smoked salmon/smoked mackerel/kippers with egg and a handful of watercress or lightly steamed greens

Cup of coffee with single cream

Lunches

Halloumi cut into 4 batons, wrap each one in a rasher of streaky bacon, fry in olive oil til nicely browned. Serve with watercress/salad (serves 2)

Selection of: bacon, egg, GF sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, 1/4 tin low sugar baked beans from Morrisons.

Tuna and white bean salad

Salad Niçoise… skip the potatoes

HM soup… use a chunk of swede or celeriac in place of potato. No bread. Add a good blob of butter/glug of olive oil/blue cheese/grated cheddar to the bowl

Snacks

Handful of nuts (unsweetened). Fewer peanuts & cashews which can be carby

A slice of presliced cheese (not the processed stuff… something like Gouda/Emmental from Aldi/Lidl). A piece of continental ham/salami/chorizo… roll together

Celery with pâté (check for sugar/carbs) or cheese

Crudités

Babybels

Mini chorizos

1 or 2 squares of 85% dark chocolate

Dinners

Thai curry… use FF coconut milk, mix of vegetables, meat, spoonful of curry paste. Don’t use jars of sauce, they’ll be very sugar laden. I just add lots of cauliflower florets to mine, rather than bothering with “cauliflower rice” which I don’t find very nice.

Indian curry… again use paste (or dry spices) rather than bought sauce

Lamb koftas, served with salad, oven roasted Med vegetables, smushed white beans, olive oil, sprinkled with dukkah or another spice mix

Premium burger, served with a slice of gouda or gorgonzola, big serving of salad or vegetables. Could occasionally have some roasted sliced sweet potato with it

Steak, fillet/chop of lamb or pork grilled or panfried. Serve with creamy mushroom sauce and huge pile of veg. Subtract the potatoes/rice… add extra veg!

Stroganoff… serve with a big pile of green veg

Stirfry… meat and vegetables. For flavour add chopped fresh garlic, ginger and chilli. Stay clear of sachets/jars of chinese sauce… very sugary. Just add generous splashes of sesame oil and tamari and a pinch of chinese spice mix.

Chilli… add a small tin of cannellini beans or kidney beans. No rice. Serve with avocado or guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese

Bolognese… I don’t bother with the “courgetti” thing… I find they go too watery and limp. You could roast a spaghetti squash, or a mix of Med veg like courgette, aubergine, tomatoes, red onion etc

Desserts

A small piece of fruit, eg 1/2 and apple or orange. But I find a lot of fruit too sweet now my tastebuds have changed after drastically cutting back on sugar. I like to have a little for the Vit C to absorb the iron from the meat.

Strawberries and cream (the proper stuff, not Elmlea or squirty!)

I made this crumble recipe recently which was lush, but for occasional use only, as it has maple syrup in which has exactly the same glycemic and triglyceride effects as table sugar… just use a light drizzle of maple syrup

www.unconventionalbaker.com/recipes/simple-paleo-gluten-free-vegan-apple-crumble/

Cheese and flax crackers or celery

Drinks

Tea with a splash of milk, no sugar (limit milk consumption if keeping carb levels down to keto levels, and make sure it’s full fat to maximise macronutrients in favour of high fat/low carb)

Coffee with pouring cream

Herb tea

Water

(Weekend or special occasion only) glass of red wine, 1/2 pint of dry cider, shot of spirits and diet mixer.

I don't count calories or carbs at all... I take a qualitative rather than quantitative approach. I eat only food which is fresh, unprocessed, grain free and generally fits the low carb-high fat profile. I give a bit of wiggle room to beans and fresh fruit in low moderation which aren't strictly low carb but are healthy for fibre/vitamins.