Low carb diet but can’t eat fibre!?

[LumpySpaceGoddess]

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone is similar to me, I have IBS and I can’t eat a high fibre diet as it makes me ill and causes me so much pain.

I would really like to reduce my carb intake though.
Currently my diet consists of fruit, veg, chicken, potatoes, rice and pasta.
I try to avoid bread, I don’t eat crisps and I only have a tiny bit of chocolate everyday.

I can’t swap to whole meal versions so are there any alternatives or do I just need to carry on as I am?

I’m not trying to lose weight as such as I’m already slim but I want to tone up and loose some fat so I’m also trying to increase my protein intake but I don’t eat any fish/seafood either.

If anyone has ideas I’d really appreciate it as I know I have quite a limited diet as it is!

I’m exercising 3-4 times a week for 30/45 minutes with weights/cardio sessions at home (can’t afford gym).

Low carb diets tend to be lower in fiber anyway unless you deliberately seek out things like flax seed, phyllum etc.

Low carb can often be really effective at treating a whole host of conditions ibs being one of them so you may feel your symptoms improve by reducing carbs. This is because carbs/sugar are inflamatory and by cutting them out you can reduce the effect. My own bowl issues clear up completely.

Your diet already looks to be healthy and with it already being so limited I wouldn’t reduce it further. If you want less carbs maybe up the portion of meat and reduce the rice/ pasta. Choose berries over other types of fruit as the sugar content is lower.

Can you have dairy? Greek yoghurt and protein shakes are great for increasing protein.

One thing though is going low carb tends to cause a bit of gastro distress (politely put but it basically bungs you up to start with) not having much fibre too sounds like it could cause a problem?

With low carbon you don't swap to wholemeal, you avoid or massively reduce. Whole meal is only theoretically better because of a higher nutritional content. The amount of carbs will be very similar.

I eat low carb and also can’t cope with too much fibre as it upsets my stomach - my stomach issues are pretty much resolved when eating low carb.

I mean fibre is a type of carbohydrate so you wouldn't be including it in a low carb diet anyway would you?

With low carb you want to change the source of your bodies energy from sugar (carbohydrates) to fat. Here's a list of foods I eat / buy when I go low carb to loose a few lbs.

Fresh Spinach
Fresh Cauliflower
Fresh Broccoli
Bell Peppers
Mushrooms
Green Beans
Lettuce
Avocado
Red Meat
White Meat
Fish
Sausage
Salami
Prosciutto
Eggs
Single Cream
Double Cream
Hard Cheese
Soft Cheese
Butter
Olive Oil
Olives
Bacon
Humous
90% Lindt Chocolate
Raspberries
Strawberries
Peaches
Red Wine

Eggs are probably the main ingredient in most of my meals as they're very filling - 2 scrambled up with added butter for example as breakfast, or an omelette with peppers for lunch.

Is there anything on that list you can't eat due to your current diet?

Do you eat eggs or dairy? I would focus on increasing protein and some fat at every meal, including breakfast. You will find that you naturally reduce carbs as you will be too full to manage them.

I thought low carb meant high veg content?

If you have ibs I would low carb by cutting out anything with gluten/grains. If you eat carbs stick to a small portion of rice or potato which will be less processed. Avoid fruit except berries. Eat plenty of dairy and meat. Don't avoid fat or you will be miserable and hungry. Full fat natural yogurt with berries. Salad with meat/cheese and oily dressing. Meat and veg soups, baked chicken with creamy sauce and stirfried veg. Bacon and eggs, omelette. Fat is good for lubricating digestion if you cut most of your carbs you should not avoid them.

Oh ok! I don’t actually no too much about carbs so I’m learning still, thank you everyone, so really I should increase the meat veg and lower the amount of rice/pasta/potatoes?

I can’t eat cheese but I’m ok with a limited amount of dairy so I can drink tea though not too many and I can have porridge occasionally.

I do eat eggs and I’ve been trying to incorporate them into my meals but they make me feel sick sometimes so I can’t eat them daily.

I do eat spinach quite often and I love my veggies so I’m happy to increase them and reduce other areas, I’m not a big meat eater, it’s mostly chicken but I do eat some beef (like in a curry) and sausages.

Are flavoured yoghurts ok? I really can’t stand Greek yoghurt 😂 and do grapes count as berries because I can happily snack on them over an apple or a banana

I don’t really understand what you are asking.

A low-carb diet is not a high-fibre diet.
To lose fat you need a calorie deficit.
To tone up you need to exercise, ideally with resistance or weights.

If your diet is already very restricted I don’t think it is a good idea to cut out an entire food group.

No. Grapes are pretty much the sugariest fruit.

Oh no :( they are my favourite! What berries do people recommend? I do like to have fruit as a snack, I tend to only eat two meals a day as it is as I’m terrible with my time so I often skip breakfast!

Op do you realise that veggies and fruit are high fibre carbohydrates ? (Not just bran flakes etc) Is it ALL types of fibre you have issues with or only ultra processed fibres ?

If you're low carb and low fibre you'd be cutting down on veg and fruit as well as rice/ pasta/ potatoes.

That only leaves protein and fat which you can eat.

Raspberries and strawberries there are loads of keto or low carb sites. Otpr you can use Nutracheck to see values of foods you eat. Maybe try vegan cheese yoghurt etc I moved over to this recently as I can't have dairy and it's fine.

Yes I can only have a small amount of fruit, fruit seems to cause me more issues than veg, I tried to get healthier a few years ago and mixing more fruit into my diet was a no go, so if I do eat fruit it tend to be a handful of grapes or an apple or a banana, it’s only a small amount. If I have veg with my dinner it’s usually just a small amount of mixed frozen veg so I don’t know how I’ll cope if I do up my veg intake, I’ll try it and see how I react but I’m happy to cut down on the carbs and add more meat instead

OP, I mean this very kindly, but with such a restricted diet already I really don’t think you should be cutting anything out, especially while you are learning the basics of nutrition.

You say that you are slim so I assume you are a healthy weight. I think it would be much healthier and more sustainable for you to address your goals through exercise. For toning you could try Pilates or a body-pump style weights class, and for fat loss increase your activity levels, for example by fitting in an extra few thousand steps a day.

Yes! I’ve been experimenting with vegan cheese, I’m not the biggest fan if I’m honest so I’ve been leaving it out but I’ll definitely try some vegan yoghurt, thank you :)

Thank you, that’s essentially the exercise that I’m doing, using weights, doing Pilates along with my exercise bike and I found body pump on YouTube recently so I’ve been adding that in just to mix it up a bit.

I agree with PP that cutting out foods may not be great for you especially as you have a restricted diet (no judgement here, I do too). I wonder if it's worth concentrating more on gut health than cutting down on carbs? Megan Rossi has some good books on the subject and I think there is some evidence that having a more healthy gut biome is helpful for managing IBS as well as overall health. I'd combine that with weights/resistance training too (and that can be at home) as that's likely to make the most difference in terms of toning.

@mynameiscalypso thank you I will have at look into her, my family is riddled with gut issues so it sounds like it’s worth a read. As I’m getting older I’m trying to focus on being healthier and stronger, I know my core muscle strength is awful so I’m hoping the exercise helps with that as well, thank you