Talk to me about low carbing - I know nothing...

[daisie4]

I've read on a few threads that low carbing is very successful, but I don't really understand what it is. Is there a set diet or a book I should buy and follow? What are typical meals? Do you still feel fullish or am I going to feel really bad for the first week? etc.

Thanks

It's basically cutting out or limiting things like pasta, potatoes, rice, flour etc. Dukan or Atkins are the most famous versions but you can probably find enough info on the various threads here to save buying the books (or try your library!). Typical meals are meat/fish and vegetables. I'm doing it and I do get hungry occasionally - whether you will depends how carb-heavy your diet is now!

Thanks for your quick response! Do you basically have meat/fish & veg for lunch and dinner, or can you have things like soup? And what about breakfast? I usually have porridge - is this out?
Did you body take a while to adjust? I'd say I probably eat a tyical amount of carbs - sandwich for lunch, pasta / potato based meals for dinner etc

I do a very light version of it. I don't know many people who have the willpower, or who feel well, on absolutely no carbs. Atkins is vile - all that ham and eggs and cheese . Dukan is OK, but I still don't think it is a healthy way to live.

My version is manageable for me, and when I'm sticking to it, I can lose about 4 lbs a week on it (and I went from 12 stone to 11 stone 7 lbs in the first 8 days of eating like this last month).

Rules are, roughly:

I don't eat bread (well, maybe treat myself to one slice at the weekend) or any crap - no biscuits, cakes, ready meals, takeaways, freezer food etc.

I eat fruit and yogurt for breakfast and soup for lunch. The only snacks I eat are fruit or veg. I have a normal dinner, but only a very small portion of carbs (rice, potatoes etc). If I get a carbs craving (usually happens about 4 days in) I allow myself a slightly larger portion of brown rice or wholewheat pasta for dinner that day. I drink shitloads of water.

It really works well for me, and if you add exercise to the equation the weight loss is even faster.

Shout for CUSTARDO as she is an expert on this and has lost loads on low carbing too!

Oh, and I allow myself porridge for breakfast if I feel like it. Oats don't seem to have the same bloating effect on me as wheat.

Oh the lighter version sounds good, I haven't got a great deal of will power if I feel bad - I know I couldn't do the grapefruit diet!
Is it quite flexible, so you can make a casserole with veg and meat, but not coat meat in flour, or are you best to stick to grilled meat and plain veg? Is there a good site for recipe ideas?
And what about lunches at work - at the moment I take sandwiches and I can't make soup - are there other good alternatives?

I am totally flexible. I make curries, casseroles, al sorts of baked or grilled fish/meat/chicken. I use plenty of spices, gsrlic, onions etc, just go easy on the olive oil and don't gorge on the carbs bit of the meal. Seriously, it gets easier after about a week. I am only 'off' it at the moment because I've got tonsiiltis and soup and bread is about all I can!

Lunch is the hardest meal for me. I work from home, so soup or an omelette with salad is the easiest option.

Other stuff I have tried:

• reduced fat houmous with veggie crudites
• Innocent veg pots (expensive, though!)
• salad with grilled chicken/tuna/salmon/prawns

My problem was always that I had to feel 'full'\ after a meal to feel satisfied, so needed that full-tummy feeling that carbs gives you. The hardest bit is learning that if you have just eaten a plate of chicken salad and some fruit at lunchtime, your body is nourished. You don't have to be full-to-bursting. It took a good few weeks to retrain my mind and body to recognise that. It's nice to feel 'light' after a meal.

I think my problem is the same Jawbreaker - which is how I've put the weight on. I do need 'retraining' so its a way of life. The houmous and crudites sounds perfect. Is there a % of carbs in a food I should be avoiding going above? I've just looked at the yoghurt in my fridge and it still has carbs in it.

I've lost 16 pounds in the last month by low carbing. I'm not normally hungry until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon at which time I normally eat left overs from the previous night's dinner. At 4 or 5 I normally have two boiled eggs and then have dinner at about 8. I've been eating a lot of homemade curry with grated cauliflower instead of rice - I use recipes for coconut, tomato and yoghurt based curries and leave out the vast quantities of oil they normally call for. I've also been doing casseroles and stews in the slow cooker and eating them with grated cauliflower or mashed swede. My total carb count for a meal is normally around 30g. I've made the jambalaya recipe from Antony Worral Thompson's slow cooker book a few times and eat small portions and fill up with broccoli and babycorn to keep the carb count low.

Thanks for all your advice - it sounds really encouraging - have just prepared crudites and houmous for lunch with a snack of cheese.

Had an apple and yoghurt for breakfast - is all yoghurt okay? I had greek style, but am not sure what I should be looking for - is there a % of carbohydrate which I should be looking to get below?

www.carbfree.wordpress.com

i dont understand those who do eat yoghurt, this isn't low carbing in my book.

you can't eat an apple

have you done any research?

I've found it really hard to find any info, I don't want to do the full ketosis, so I've cut out obvious carbs like rice pasta potatoes bread and sugar. I started Sunday and am doing well - I feel hungry but not in a ravanous I've got to eat now way, and I've lost 2.5lb in 3 days. But you're right I do need more info, the list I've got is just meat fish diary and veg. On there it said natural yoghurt is okay and apple was in the low to medium carb category.

Can anyone recommend a good website or book? I think I'd find it easier if I had a % of carbs to aim below.

I've only ever been able to loose weight successfully by doing a full on Atkins type low carb - this is where you are very strict - meat, fish, eggs, green veg, it puts your body into ketosis which is controversial but effective at shedding pounds quickly.

The lite version that other people mention that allows for brown rice, fruit etc sounds more like south beach type diets where you are only eating "good" carbs.

Either way you need to cut out crisps, cake, chocolate, chips etc.

Very supportive low carbers thread here

Hi Patty, thanks for your reply, I'll take a look at the south beach diet and the thread - will need an evening to read that one! At first glance the sbd looks low fat too - whereas I thought you could eat cheese etc - the thread might explain more.