Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Low-carb diets

Share advice and experiences of following a low-carb diet.Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Hello! Day One Done - anyone want to join me?

721 replies

SharkSkinThing · 29/09/2015 20:43

Just wanted to say hello and see if any other new starters wanted to buddy up for support and advice?

I've got 3 - 4 stone to lose, all gained AFTER having my DS who is now - god help me - 5. All down to long-term sleep deprivation and sugar reliance, and forming terrible habits. And wine to help me cope with the sleep deprivation,

Anyway, hoping to finally turn things around now that he's finally sleeping (sometimes until 5.30am!). Would love to chat to others who are finding that this WOE works for them.

xx

OP posts:
SharkSkinThing · 10/11/2015 14:19

Hello all!
Wow, lots of lovely posts and discussions, what clever and industrious people we (well you lot) are. I can barely keep up! Everyone is sounding very happy and positive this week; how lucky we are to have such good vibes and ideas to share around!

This is a just a quick post from me as work is terribly manic this week and I have a lot of writing to do tonight if I want to have tomorrow evening off and stuff myself with Thai curry (and salt and vinegar nuts, eh rosa?!).

I did a good aerobics/circuits class last night, will be in the gym tomorrow, and will swim before Friday this week as my spin classes have been changed this week, but I don’t want to use it as excuse to do nothing!

Friday morning will be an outdoor swim (heated pool, but barely), so hopefully that’ll burn some extra calories.

I had a sneaky weigh this morning, and it flashed briefly on 13.13, so if I break though that barrier you will hear me screaming from Sussex!

Catch you all later this week, and good luck with it all. xxxxx Smile

OP posts:
devoncreamtea · 10/11/2015 19:50

Hey all!

Today I did my first bit of work for approx 370 years and went into a sixth form to talk about arty stuff. I was petrified and felt unprepared, but when I got in there it was great and I really enjoyed it!

I am so knackered now, train got stuck at some points on way home, hadn't seen baby all day so he was cross and house mess as dp had to take others to dentist. V. Busy. It is amazing how my venturing out has such an enormous effect! I have come upstairs to fold washing, but I am too tired! How will I ever work again??

On the food front - loving breakfasts as have smoked salmon (quite posh) scrambled eggs and avocado and green tea. It is ace. Lunch is a bit strange as sometimes not that hungry and also lunch is just weird, it interrupts everything, I can't treat it as a real meal! Teatime is insane with the rampaging beasts, and I prefer it if dp and I eat later on, but that sometimes leads to wine...!!

Glad everyone is enjoying the thread, I am, it is nice to check in with other people! I am rooting for that barrier smashed shark !

SharkSkinThing · 10/11/2015 20:17

Just popped on for a quick break from writing (really, I've got a timer on and everything, well, DS's stopwatch!).

Way to go devon!!! That's great news. What is it that you do (other than the thousands of other things), in context of the arty stuff? I am intrigued! Big hug and a whoop for stepping away from the carnage....it's so hard..especially when the carnage seems to have multiplied on your return half an hour later!

Thanks for the root. I am really feeling the inches going, and want the scales to catch up. I need facts!

Love the sound of your breakfast...I often have an avocado and mayo salad at lunch with lots of green kale and chard. I know what you mean about it interrupting...I often find I'm fine with just breakfast (always scrambled, buttery eggs), salad/quorn at lunch and a yogurt for dinner.

Roll with it, I say! Grin

Right, back to the books....Confused

OP posts:
Thefitfatty · 11/11/2015 05:30

Good job devon and good luck on that barrier Shark.

I'm having a frustrating day. Put on a pair of pants that I haven't worn in months and they are tight :( (They used to be quite loose). I've tried to convince myself the weight I've been gaining over the past few months was down to muscle from weightlifting. Can't convince myself of that anymore. :( Trying to focus on that 5 lbs I've lost and keep going.

FavadiCacao · 11/11/2015 08:25

Happy Birthday, Shark! Wishing you a fabulous day. :) Flowers Wine

Lovely to hear you have enjoyed your day, devon. (and I'm nosey too as to the arty stuff)

I share that frustration, Fit. I'm in the same boat with the only pair of jeans I can fit in at the moment. 5lbs loss is still a loss! :) When did you start Low Carb?

Thefitfatty · 11/11/2015 09:28

I'm half way through week three Favadi but the end of last week and the weekend was a bit of blow out due to a bad case of the flu. :( So I'm pleased. But kind of mad at myself for letting myself gain the weight in the first place.

FavadiCacao · 11/11/2015 10:53

mad at myself for letting myself gain the weight in the first place.

Tell me about it! Blush

5lbs in less than 3 weeks is very good; it can take up to 4 weeks for a woman to get keto-adapted and you have also being ill. Low carb dietiing is notorious for its non-linear weight loss! Your body will be still adjusting to new diet and exercise regime combo. It is notoriously difficult to gain lean muscle whilst losing fat, hence some athletes choose carb refeeds; new research is suggesting carb refeed might be unnecessary ( Prof Noakes and Dr Phinney on 'Cereal killers: Run on Fat, available on youtube)
As an example of weirdness: I have only lost 1Kg in 10 days, however I seem to measure about 1/2" less on my the waist and my scales tell me I have lost 11% fat!

Thefitfatty · 11/11/2015 12:56

I haven't been craving carbs at all. I keep thinking I will, but the idea just has no appeal to me. With the exception of my horrid sinus cold I feel great. I suppose being on AF certainly doesn't help.

It's so funny, every other thread on here you will see me telling people to just stick to it, and don't make decisions till you've been doing it for 6 weeks, and slow and steady, blah blah blah Grin

But I can never take my own damned advice!

FavadiCacao · 12/11/2015 10:09

How are you doing today, Fit? :)

No carb craving is really good. Are you following a particular low carb plan?

AF can make a huge difference, I used to have up to 5Kg of water retention before starting on Primal/Paleo (50-80g carbs) when it went down to 1-2kg.
It sounds silly but I'm recording different measurements daily as I would like to track how differently my body reacts in Keto (trying to make sense of the perimenopause!!!).
On a very positive note I seem to have lost 1.6" of my waist. Grin A bit depressing if I think my waist was under 30" just this February gone.

Thefitfatty · 12/11/2015 10:40

Pretty good. I'm doing the Diet Doctors plan. The only thing that I don't like about it is I wish they did some weekly plans or something, just so I could get adjusted. I'm not sure if I'm eating enough fats, or just too much meat.

FavadiCacao · 12/11/2015 14:21

Enough fat, too much protein?
A very good question and a difficult one to answer as it tends to be very subjective. This is the first time I'm paying strict attention to protein but I started by accident. A few weeks ago I found a good batch of avocados, so I bought quite a few and I noticed that, after a few days of eating 1-2 a day, I was no longer craving fruit and I was eating a lot less meat/fish. When I calculated the carbs I realised that I had been eating ~20 carb/day (all veg) and yet didn't feel ill, as in the past when trying to get into ketosis and I had lost a little bit of weight. Yet, once the avocados had gone, the cravings returned, meat consumption went up trying to resist carbs and I regained the weight loss and a little more.
I tend to put weight in the summer going into autumn, I assumed due to fruit, starches (from the garden) and silly genius bread this year and chilled wine sipped on warm summer eves but I now wonder if there is more to it.
In the sumer the meat stock we buy direct from the farmer runs very low and we supplement with supermarket meat, which has a fraction of the fat. We barbeque a lot to acquiesce those primal instincts of sitting and cooking on and around a wood fire. Not only the carbs creep increasingly higher as the summer progress but the proteins do too, whilst the fat takes a serious plunge -with the exception of some olive oil is in the side dishes.
Luckily is the new season at the farm and we are almost restocked (waiting for beef).

In regards to meal plans, I rotate the types of proteins: eggs, fish, poultry, beef, lamb, pork and game (currently at its cheapest as it's in season). Lamb and game account for once a week as they're expensive (Cost of 1 lamb=1/2 pig=1/8 cow). My style of cooking is very much Italian, which means the vegetables are rarily plain (my opportunity to add extra fat!) but I love Thai and Indian curries. Tonight I'm cooking Amatriciana sauce (hot tomato sauce with lardons) to pour over roast chicken and cauliflour -10 mins prep, the rest is up to the oven and hob.

SharkSkinThing · 12/11/2015 19:07

Thanks, fav. Had a lovely day and even managed to get to a spin class.

Loving the chat you and fit are having, very interesting!

I feel like I am stalling so wondering if I need to to tweak. I'm not going to weigh this week, and then have a very strict week with exercise upped again and then see what the scales do on Saturday week. Think I'd be utterly demotivated if it's a half pound loss again!

How is everyone else doing? xxx

OP posts:
devoncreamtea · 12/11/2015 20:04

Having another rubbish week! No reason, not craving, just not bothering. I am not being outrageous but I have eaten bread yesterday and jacket potato tonight. Annoying myself really as I liked how I felt without starchy things and tonight I feel heavy and tired. I expect I will stay stuck at 10 again...!!

I am enjoying the food talk. Especially the fat bit. I think I need more fat, less meat too. I was having coconut oil with coconut milk and cacao powder at first to combat horroble sugar cravings, but stopped in wk 3 as they had gone pretty much. I think the coconut oil was doing the trick though. I have an avo everyday too.

I think I might go back to 'bootcamp' next week and see if I can remotivate.

My dp said he will start teaching me kettlebell exercises. Actually he has some videos up on vimeo (he is a functional movement specialist) which I could link to if anyone wants? He is v. good, but also never here, which is why I haven't benefitted from his expertise!!

RE arty stuff...I am an 'artist' but no one has ever heard of me!!

FavadiCacao · 12/11/2015 20:05

Yeah! to good birthdays! Grin

Tweak away: it can be become addictive as you learn about your own body! :)

demotivated @ half pound loss again

Don't be demotivated, please!
At a push, I could gear up to motivate myself into doing the Scarsedale again (low(ish?!) carb, low fat, high protein: lost over 10 kg in 8 wks) but I would be back here again, soon. The easiest -not the fastest-, long lasting weight loss I have achieved has been on low carb. Primal has and continues to leave a lovely taste in my mouth! :) (My weight loss journey started at almost 100kg/over 15st)

FavadiCacao · 12/11/2015 20:08

Cross post, devon :)

FavadiCacao · 12/11/2015 20:20

The avo is very comparable to 'spoon at hand', I was reading in earlier threads, to regularly raid coconut oil and almond butter jars. Grin

I boast quite a few of unknown artists on my walls, love attending end of fine art course yearly exibs, ....could you show us some pics of your art, please, pretty please with lots of avo's on top?

Queenbean · 12/11/2015 20:48

Hello all

Can I please join you? I have gradually crept up the scales over the last year or so and have hit 12 stone, am 5' 7" and now a quite round size 14. Not one of those gorgeous, curvy, glamorous 14s but a plump one with a round belly and chunky upper arms. Now is the time to change!

I'd like to lose a stone and a half. Haven't been to the gym for ages but once I get back in the routine will be going a mix of HIIT with weights, spin and Pilates.

I am also low carbing. Started on Monday and have given up all sugar too. Got a nutrininja over the weekend and I love it so much! Am having a green smoothie in the morning, a protein based lunch with avocado and green veggies, then either an omelette, another veggie / berry smoothie in the evening. Tonight had a picky dinner of mixed crudités, green beans with Parmesan, hard boiled eggs, avocado with sesame and chilli flakes. Sounds rank but was delicious!

Had headaches and was a bit wobbly for the first few days but I am starting to feel pretty good. I am eating plenty of healthy fats (nuts, avocado etc) and really surprised at how full up I am eating 1200 calories a day. My sugar cravings / mid-afternoon slump has gone and I definitely feel better.

Feeling pretty positive right now but would love some support and someone to share the journey!

devoncreamtea · 13/11/2015 13:32

Sounds like you are doing really well with it queen

I found coconut oil and raw cacao and coconut milk made into a warm drink helped cravings, I had it everyday for the first couple of weeks. Also as fit says above, lots of fats.

As predicted back on my lovely 10 stone ledge again! I will have to get serious to get below this I think. Dunno why I find it so hard, I like the food on low carb!
What is everyone doing this weekend? I hope to get my garden sorted for winter and transplant a few things. Also a long walk alone with the hound....possibly wine. (Not on the dog walk, that is borderline hip flask territory and I do not have the wax jacket/ancestory for it...!)

FavadiCacao · 13/11/2015 14:54

Hi Queen, you seem to have made a great start.

Saw these weekly plans on Ketodiet blog and thought of you, fit.

I'm hoping to sort the garden too, devon. All the planting has been done but I have some pruning, tidying and collecting the last of herbs, veg and flowers that are about to die or go dormant. What are you planting?

As I'll be drinking tonight I thought I sneak in a weighing and measuring this morning: I lost another 0.9Kg and 2 cms of my waist -that's almost 2 1/2" in less than a fornight.

devoncreamtea · 13/11/2015 19:52

Wow fav well done you!

SharkSkinThing · 14/11/2015 08:51

Welcome, queen, lovely to have you here. Sounds like you are right on it!

One off for me this week, now 1.2 stone in total, so slightly closer to smashing through the 14 stone barrier! Happy with this as birthday this week so have had quite a lot of wine and a take-away. Head down now for the next few weeks now and aim to get half a stone before Christmas. Would be so amazing to be in the 13's!

Well done, fav, you must be feeling great! I love that feeling of clothes getting looser.

devon, sounds like a great weekend, well done on the garden. Mine's all sorted but looking a bit scruffy, but that's ok - I tell myself the bugs like it that way for hibernating! I have an allotment but nothing's happening there at the mo!

Right, I'd better get my arse in gear and get DS out of the house for some fresh air. Looks like rain, though...Sad

xxxx

OP posts:
FavadiCacao · 14/11/2015 11:06

Well done, Shark.

I wish my clothes were looser! I'm still down to 1 pair of wearable jeans and now I have a muffin top instead of a full overhang. Grin It would be lovely to fit in 2 more pair of jeans and my warm coat by the end of the month.

SharkSkinThing · 14/11/2015 20:33

Keep going, Fav, you can def get there!

Let's have a really focused week together and keep on track. Safety in numbers! Grin xx

OP posts:
Thefitfatty · 15/11/2015 05:33

Interesting Favadi. I live in Abu Dhabi, so lamb here is dirt cheap, and luckily I love lamb! I generally think most of our meat and veg is fairly naturally organic as it's sourced from local farms in the UAE, Saudi and Oman which don't produce the type of mass amounts that farms in the West do.

Now is our BBQ seasons, with the weather finally getting cool enough to sit outside, and I'm afraid I succumb and had 2 beer last night while sitting outside (I had no wine in the house). I think the only thing I'm really having a hard time adjusting too is no beer.

The rest of the weekend was pretty successful IMHO though, as was all of last week. I'm not sure if I feel like I'm losing weight though. :/ However, this could still be the effects of AF (I tend to bloat the week before and the week of. Blah).

Butter and whipping cream are my fats of choice, as I've no idea what to do with coconut oil! LOL. I really need to look for some more low carb recipes.

Generally my days are like this:

2 scrambled eggs with a bit of goat cheese for breakfast (today I added spinach and sundried tomatoes) and a coffee with a bit of sugar and cream (can't cut out my sugar in coffee, been trying for years).

2 baby bel cheeses as a snack before the gym

(1 hour & 45 minutes at the gym 5 days a week).

A bit of Chicken, Lamb or beef sausage for lunch with a salad and a diet coke. Although thinking of dumping the meat for just a big Greek Salad.

Dinner is chicken, lamb, steak, fish or bacon with lots of veg (green leafy stuff, or broccoli or zucchini, or seaweed with the fish). If I can I had a nice buttery sauce, with a glass of full fat milk.

Loads of water throughout the day.

The weekends I switch scrambled eggs for a medium sized bowl of berries & cashews with whipped cream, and since I don't exercise on the weekends I don't really snack or even eat much of a lunch usually but rather a bigger dinner.

If the above is any good, I feel like this is almost too easy.

Thefitfatty · 15/11/2015 05:45

Well done Shark and Fav!! And really good start Queen :)