The Unbelievably Good Low Carb Diet Thread

[QueenStromba]

The previous thread was getting a bit full so I thought I should start a new one while we could still link between them.

MiM is muffin in a minute.

30g ground flaxseed (linseed)
1/2tsp baking powder (or 1/4 tsp each of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar)
1-2 tsp sugar equivalent of sweetener
flavouring of your choice e.g. cinnamon, ginger, cocoa etc
5g butter
1 egg

1. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients well in a cup
3. Beat the egg into the butter and then mix with the dry ingredients
4. Microwave on full for 60 seconds
5. Cut in half and slather with butter/philadelphia/clotted cream etc

I buy my linseeds whole in Tesco and grind them as needed in a coffee grinder but you can buy them pre ground in the likes of holland and barrett.

Oooh thanks Queen! How many carbs in a muffin? That's a perfect brekkie for me.

I always have a MIM with philly for my breakfast as it is so quick and easy. I don't use the sweetner though and count it as 0.5g carb per muffin (0.5g for 30g flaxmeal).
Angryfeet for the half and half mim did you just use 15g flax, 15g almond flour and make as usual? and did it taste any different to a normal MIM?

yesterday I had:
Breakfast : MIM with mixed nut butter
Lunch: ham and cheesey coleslaw
Tea: Chicken fajitas with iceburg wraps and side salad
Snack: choc mousse

Today is
Breakfast: MIM with philly
Lunch: gammon steak, scrambled egg mad with double cream (lush) and cheesey coleslaw
Tea: pork stirfry with beansprouts instead of noodles.

I am really getting to grips with this woe and feel like it is becoming more natural all the time

GetOrf, you cannot possibly have put on that much fat in one week - so you must be retaining quite alot of water. That is what carbs do. It is something to do with storing glycogen in the liver & higher levels of water being needed to mobilise these, not too mention that carb products (like McDonalds!!!!!!) usually have masses of salt in them & that makes you retain too.
encyclo, I felt crap for 2 weeks this time around. It will pass.

GOML - I put 4lbs on in 4 days on my weekend away so know your pain but I lost it all in 3 days by just getting back to basics - loads of water, lots of green salads and lots of protein. It won't be as hard to shift as fat, promise. Also, measure yourself - I found that it had gone back on my tummy but not anywhere else so I'd lost fat and then just regained bloat. My tummy measurements went back down too.

.... can I be cheeky and ask for recipe for cauli mash? Have started low carbing today but not very organised! Had 2 boiled eggs & slice of bacon for brekkie, yoghurt for snack, chicken caesar salad for lunch. The cauli mash sounds tempting as I love my spuds and hope that would be a healthier option?

Blimey, I'm stuffed

Had to go up to college this morning to meet with my tutor, so took ds with me on the promise he'd sit quietly and I'd buy him a djembe drum in the Royal Festival Hall shop afterwards! But my tutorial finished at 11am and the shop doesn't open until 12, so we had to find somewhere for a snackette.

Hmmm, how about Le Pain Quotidien for someone on a low-carb diet?! A place that specialises in bread and pastry products in all their delicious, sugar-laden forms? Bring it on!

Well, I'm very proud of myself. Ds ordered a Belgian waffle with berries and chocolate sauce - I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon! It did come with three rather scrummy slices of toast but I didn't touch 'em. And I had peppermint tea instead of coffee. I would've loved to have indulged in the pastries and a big bowl of coffee but - would it have been worth it?

Lunch was Yo Sushi - a bit easier on the low-carb options. And now I feel as if I never need to eat again!

Im flouncing out of this thread, I'm a terrible low carber I just can't do it!!

I get all the pros and agree but can't stick to it.

Good luck to you all
X

Sorry to hear that, butterfly. Why are you finding it so tough? Can we help you?

I have no idea what is going on with me. I appear to be having my first period since last August which could explain some of the funny weight stuff.

I was up again this morning, back to 10.8 (and a quarter!) and I think I'm losing the plot a bit! Will just keep on keeping on ...

Oh dear butterfly, is it something in particular that you're having trouble with? Tell us and maybe we can help? I'm definitely not a perfect low carber but I feel like it's getting easier as time goes on - maybe you just need to give yourself a bit more time?

Realised that I ate edamame beans at lunch - only a few but doh! anyway. Am going to have asparagus and creamed mushrooms tonight, not v hungry atm though.

Was clearing out some clothes today and found a dress that's going to be my Goal Dress - it's a classic Grace Kelly style Proper Frock and I used to get so many compliments wearing it. Anyway I tried it on and couldn't actually breathe out. So, sod the scales, when that dress fits comfortably, I'll know I've got there!

Experts - is it possible to have too much fat?
I ask because at lunch I had salami/cheese/salad/cheese coleslaw and dinner cooking now is pork belly with cabbage and broccoli - have I gone overboard?

slot its easy peasy. cooked cauli, grated cheese of choice (imo, the stronger the better) a dash of cream, whiz in a whizzy thing and hey presto cauli mash. I add pepper or nutmeg.

That sounds fine - where is the too much fat, Creamtea?

I guess was worried too much cheese and in the pork belly - smells yummy though! :)

Cheese is something that you may have to watch - but it's about being dairy not really because of its fat content.

Pork belly is perfect.

I'm sorry if I sound like a cracked record, but please buy/borrow/steal a book about low carbing so that you really understand what this is all about!!!

It's always better to accompany your protein with fat, creamtea. Fat helps you lose weight. It's so hard to get your head around that after being told for decades that fat is the enemy, but it's true.

Cheese is the thing I do have to watch, because I LOVE it and it's definitely not carb-free! But I don't watch it that closely

Demolished the pork belly, lovely.
Have ordered 'why we get fat and what to do about it' by Gary taubes, for £4.78 from amazon - good choice? Definetly a bargain!

Not sure...
Have to admit I'm a bit confused on sone stuff like can I have cheese/yogurt

Also when I have fallen off the diet wagon I feel so guilty and rebellious that I won't just eat one malteaser I'll have the whole box! Then hate myself after...

However I have just come on my period today and I feel much better for it.

I'd cracked my diet in terms of hunger wise that I didn't crave food because I was full I think it was because I felt I couldn't have it.
Maybe a lot of it was because totm...

I've given up tea, milk and sugar (apart from choc) and I feel so much better! Much more energy.

I would love to do this diet really believe low carb is the way to lose weight.

I just don't know how to continue!

butterfly - do you have any books about low carbing? It doesn't sound like you do! Honestly, it will really help you, especially where you're confused about what you can and can't eat.

You can have cheese - just watch how much. If you're eating ordinary cheese (as opposed to processed stuff) it doesn't have any carbs in it
You can have yoghurt - just make sure it's full fat, and beware that it does have carbs in it.

I hope you're eating dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. Because if you're not, you're consuming a lot of carbs, and that will mean you don't go into ketosis and therefore you will not burn fat/lose weight.

CreamTea - I haven't read that one, but I've seen Gary Taubes recommended a lot, so that's probably a really good choice.

teaandthorazine - no carbs in most cheese - what are you eating that has carbs in it?

I'm a bit addicted to Philadelphia, BIWI - I know the carb count is pretty negligible but it's still there!

Ah. But you said cheese. That's different

Your right BIWI - no book

And I can legally have chocolate? ? Oh my gosh I may just be able to do this...
What's the best dark choc to have and how much per day can i have and can you recommend any books?

I would recommend Atkins "The New Diet Revolution" as this is really 'the daddy' of low carbing books. However, Dr John Briffa's "Escape the Diet Trap" explains how low carbing works compared with other ways of dieting, in a broader sense.

India Knight/Neris Thomas "The Idiot Proof Diet" is really good at dealing with the emotional/psychological aspects of dieting, and their diet is a low carb one, in three phases. But there is much less here about how/why it works.

You can't really have that much chocolate, and one of the points of the initial strict phase of many low carb diets is to try and curb your sweet tooth. But a square or two (max) of a high cocoa content chocolate every now and then is probably OK.

Thanks BIWI for book recommendations.

I understand what you mean about curbing the sweet tooth however at the moment I feel I need something like the chocolate to get me through on a mental level or I end up rebelling against it all and eating a whole box of chocs which I would normally not do iyswim?

But - and it's a mahoosive but - the whole point of low carbing is that it is a way of eating that curbs your appetite and satiates you.

You can eat lovely, satisfying food without having to weigh or count calories. And you will find, once you're past the first 3-4 days, that this stops you completely from obsessing about food. It is hugely liberating to find that you're not starting to gnaw your own limbs off at around 11.00 am every morning, and can get quite happily through to or even beyond lunch without having to stuff something (high carby) into your mouth.

But if you haven't read any of the books (sorry - I'm not trying to have a go here, honestly! ), then I would guess that you have been inadequately prepared for this diet - practically as well as emotionally.

Low carbing isn't easy on the practical front - especially if you're out and about during the day. You have to plan for it, which means a bit of meal planning, possibly - but certainly you have to know that you have easy access to the right kind of food. (And also make it easier if you can by getting rid of too-tempting, high carb stuff)

The first few days/first week can be hard - you are, essentially, going through a carb withdrawal, and so you need to be prepared for that to happen as well.

But ultimately, you have to decide if you really want to do this. Read Briffa's book here, and it will explain to you why low carb is a much healthier way to eat - i.e. it's not just about losing weight, even though that might be your initial motivation - and read The Idiot Proof diet for the emotional side of things.

I hope this helps a little!