Help! Non-meat eater trying to low-carb - any advice on what to eat very welcome!

[barmbrack]

Hello all, would be extremely grateful for any advice about what the heck to eat.

've never tried to low-carb before, but I know it will be great for me, I am a real carb-addict.

Breakfast is usually cereal and toast and coffee. We have no eggs in the house. Am I stuck with just a glass of milk for breakfast??

I eat fish, but not meat. Please can you give me some ideas/tips that are easy, quick (we have 16 month old twin boys!) and straightforward to adapt into family-friendly meals.

Thanks so much in advance.

Eggs
All sorts of fish
Quorn - mince / chunks
Tofu
Textured vegetable protein

You can't have milk on low carb diet as it's high in carbs. If you must have milk buy the lactose free one or alternatively unsweetened soya milk.

I suggest not starting this new regime until you've done a big supermarket shop and bought lots of eggs! I had no eggs this morning so had cod for breakfast!

eeek! Thanks forever. I am eating a greek salad I picked up on the way to work. Odd breakfast choice but I think that is OK, am I right?

I've got a prawn salad for lunch. Also some hummous and carrot sticks - tough I guess hummous is high in carbs.

We're out for dinner so I'll have some lovely fish.

Thanks again, keep the ideas coming!!

Probably best to buy a book... eg I'm doing india knight's idiot proof diet - "pig to twig" (its free in this months cosmo) and carrots and houmous are not allowed initially as both too high in carbs.

I'm veggie and have read about low-carb diets but never actually tried them as most of my protein sources also contain carbs - tofu, beans, lentils etc - and I couldn't face a daily diet of cheese and eggs. I also don't think anything that tells you to cut out so many different vegetables and eat so much saturated fat can be healthy long term either.

If you eat fish I suppose that makes it easier, but if you want to cut down on carb-overload without doing an intense low-carb diet, it might be worth looking at low GI diets - you cut out all the refined, highly processed carbs (white bread, pasta, white rice etc) but still eat wholegrains and lots of fruit and veg.

Thanks forever and exexpat. I have never tried low carbing before and I know it can be a very unhealthy diet but I have just read the book "why we get fat and what to do about it" and as a biologist it made perfect sense to me. It's well worth a read as low-carb used to be the way people were always advised to lose weight. The book describes how low-fat came into fashion after the war and has remained so. Also has lots of referenced info about the benefits of low-carbs versus low-fat.

Also, my doctor has told me I am insulin resistant so it seems like a good idea to at least cut right back on carbs. I would never cut out fruit and veg , but low-gi sounds good too. I will look into that.I am a total carb addict at the moment and I think any sort of cutting-down has got to help!!

Low GI started out as a diet for diabetics/pre-diabetics, so if you have insulin resistance it might be a good thing for you. The GI Diet book is a good place to start.

Barmbrack - the GI diet is good, but if you are a carb addict might be an idea to start with a low carb diet, and then gradually introduce low GI carbs back into your diet.

If you eat fish and eggs then a couple of weeks without fruit, pulses, pasta,bread,rice isn't going to be a problem.

Start with fish, tofu, quorn, eggs & low carb veggies (ie no root veggies) for a couple of weeks.

Then introduce dairy, the root veggies, then pulses then low GI fruit, then other fruit, etc then once you have lost all the weight you want reintroduce low GI carbs

I am veggie and back low carbing again.

Check out Rose Elliot's vegetarian low carb diet book here

Vegan options are also covered in the book if you don't want eggs.

Another good option to consider is the Harcombe diet here

I started out on this but I have a real problem with carbs so have stuck with low carbing for now.

Have a look in the local library first, I always try before I buy my diet books these days

Thanks Frazzled. I will look at Rose Elliot.
Done 5 days so far and lost 5 lbs - can't argue with that and I have found it pretty easy so far, too.

I just keep thinking of my insulin shooting up and making whatever I've eaten turn into fat and it keeps me on the straight and narrow (or at least it has so far).