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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.

How much weight have you lost and has it stayed off?

11 replies

Parsley65 · 04/05/2019 12:31

Hi all.

I have 3 stone to lose and am researching how best I should do this. I have been successful before with 5:2 fasting.

A friend has been singing the praises of low carb and recommended it to me. At first the whole concept seems so alien, but I'm at the stage where I need to take action and ready to give it a go.
Please can you inspire me by telling me how much weight you have lost and if it has stayed off.
Thank you Flowers

OP posts:
nixso29 · 04/05/2019 12:42

I lost around 2.5 stone by calorie counting and tracking macros. I found this the easiest as you can still eat daily treats as long as they fit within your calorie allowance. At the end of the day weight loss is calories in vs calories out so no matter what diet you choose to follow all will only work if you are in a calorie defecit

BIWI · 05/05/2019 11:52

The thing is, it's like any diet really - if you simply revert to eating carbs when you reach your target, you will regain the weight. You need to change your way of eating totally to maintain the loss.

This doesn't mean that you can never have any carbs, but they have to be in moderation - and you'll need to keep a strict eye on what you're eating!

Countmeout · 05/05/2019 12:53

I lost around 2.5stone by a bit of low carbing a little bit of increase in walking and completely cutting out crisps and chocolate the latter of which was my weakness. Initially I also cut out my one bottle of wine a week. I have kept 2 stone off (a few Krispy Kremes and Christmas added 7lb back) but I’ve just got back into last years summer trousers by watching what I eat . You do need to change a large part of what you’re eating. I try to balance it out . If I have a slice of bread at breakfast I have a salad for lunch. I try not to nibble after a fairly early dinner. I try to keep an eye on portion size. I was very motivated to lose as I needed (and did) lower my blood sugar.
Once you lose enough to get some nice new clothes you definitely keep motivated well at least I did. I’m coming up on 2 years since I started. Lost the majority of the weight within the first 8 months
Good luck it can be done

Parsley65 · 05/05/2019 14:32

Thank you for your replies.

I'm tempted to start 5:2 again.

Low carbs would be great if it was just DH & I, but with DD still at home it would mean separate meals, more expense and more time in the kitchen Hmm

OP posts:
m0therofdragons · 06/05/2019 23:35

I've lost 1.5 stone since end January on low carb. I have 3dc so just cook rice, pasta or potatoes for dc in addition to the normal meal and I use baby spinach or cabbage as a base for my meals - baby spinach (raw) with bolognese and grated cheese/pasta for dc. It's working well and good for everyone.

BIWI · 07/05/2019 08:27

@Parsley65 you can easily do low carb with your DC - they don't need massive/frequent portions of carbs either! That said, while their diet could be lower carb it doesn't need to be low carb, as would yours be if you're aiming to lose weight.

There's no need to cook different things. If you go and have a look at the recipe threads (all stickied at the top of the Low Carb Bootcamp topic) you'll find loads of stuff that's all perfectly family-friendly.

Equally, you can simply add carbs to your DC's meals. So say, for example, you're cooking something like a roast chicken - you add roast potatoes to their plate but not to yours. The rest of the veg is lower carb, e.g. broccoli, cabbage, leeks, cauliflower with a cheese sauce (made with cream rather than flour so it's low carb), etc. But the core of the meal is the same for all you.

It also doesn't need to be more expensive as you would be, essentially, cooking the same meals as you were before, just with less of the carbohydrate element.

If, though, you have been relying on lots of meals based around pasta and rice, then this would mean cooking two different meals - unless you switch your meals. Again, though, there's an alternative - you can buy low carb/calorie noodles (Bare Naked Noodles - widely available in supermarkets) which you could use for you and DH, whereas the DC have normal pasta. These aren't cheap though. In which case, look to substitute pasta for veg - spiralised courgettes, or thinly sliced cabbage make great alternatives to spaghetti. Or you simply go without - when I make chilli these days, we don't bother with rice, but top the chilli with grated cheese, jalapeños and sour cream.

ExpletiveDelighted · 07/05/2019 08:37

I foumd it hard to fit around family eating too, my DC are fussy buggers and nothing was going to make them eat cauli rice, courgette spaghetti etc so it was extra cooking (we don't eat many meat and two veg type meals where I can leave the potatoes, we mainly eat pasta/rice/noodles/bread meals). Also I found the high fat aspect very hard, worried myself sick about my cholesterol levels and I just don't like creamy, buttery sauces on veg etc. So I gave up and the weight crept back on.

1Wildheartsease · 07/05/2019 09:27

So far I have lost 42 lb. I started low carb on BIWI's low carb boot camp last May.

It has not required great will power or miserable changes (or I wouldn't have stuck to it this long). It is 'low carb ' but so not 'NO carb' ( on this way of eating most carbs are from veg) so seems healthy to me.

I used to LOVE sweets and always included them in diets but could never have enough. (It was a constant longing- even when full) Now I find I feel indifferent to them. The craving has gone.

To begin with I cooked special meals but rapidly went back to eating with the rest of my family and just doing what BIWI suggests above.

I swerve away from the pasta but have the meat and veg sauce- eat the roast and avoid potatoes etc. I do have spiralised veg instead of pasta sometimes but usually have to share it because the recipe is delicious!

Small adaptions to recipes usual lower the carb counts without spoiling anything for the rest of the family.

When everyone else has dessert I am usually too full (all that butter/olive oil on the veg) but might have exciting cheeses and homemade low carb crackers.

I do treat myself to coffee with double cream or squares of 85% chocolate or creamy Greek yogurt with berries if there is any chance of feeling deprived. These are allowed and are very satisfying.

When eating out I have always found people happy to give me salad instead of chips or bread. (They are usually thrown when I also ask for mayonnaise as this doesn't sound 'slimming'😀)

I would like to lose another 15lb but slowly and with normal eating rather than by dieting. (Low carb is now normal eating for me)

Good luck with your efforts. (A new low carb boot camp is starting next week if you decide to try this)

BIWI · 07/05/2019 10:25

@ExpletiveDelighted yes, it's more difficult if you have fussy children! But I'd also be concerned that so much of their diet is based around high carb eating.

And if you had read up about the science behind low carbing you would have realised that high fat isn't a problem.

More importantly, you've acknowledged that low carbing was working for you from a weight loss point of view - but it's also a much healthier way of eating, and it's definitely worth lowering all the family's consumption of carbohydrates (particularly pasta/rice/sugar) where it's possible.

ExpletiveDelighted · 07/05/2019 10:46

I have read up on it in a lot of detail but nothing could get me past the images of my arteries clogging up as I reached for the butter dish. I think its a great way of eating in theory but it didn't work for us in practice. We have mainly brown rice and pasta, not too much sweet stuff so I'm not too worried about the DCs.

ExpletiveDelighted · 07/05/2019 11:12

It did work from a weight loss point of view BTW, I lost a stone quite quickly on it, but I just couldn't sustain it long term.

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