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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Low carb for those of us who aren't hardcore enough for Bootcamp/Atkins induction etc

679 replies

QueenStromba · 06/07/2012 22:02

This is a thread for anyone who wants to eat fewer carbs but has either failed on plans than start out really low carb or just doesn't want to eat very low carb for whatever reason. I'm of the opinion that the high carb diet recommended by the government is the cause of obesity and related diseases and that any reduction in carbs will boost health.

While the Bootcamp threads are fantastic, I think a lot of people find it difficult to dive straight into eating very low levels of carbs which leads to giving up by day five. I did this myself when I first tried low carbing last April. I wasn't even trying to eat induction level carbs, just cut out the obviously high carb elements of my diet (rice, potatoes, pasta, bread etc) and I still nearly killed my housemates. It was about six months before I tried low carbing again and I went about it in a completely different way and have ended up eating induction level carbs through preference.

First I cut down my carb portions slightly in each meal, waited a week or two then cut down the portions even further so I was only eating about half the starch element that I had been in each meal. The next thing I did was completely remove the starch from one meal - I think it was breakfast I did first. I had been eating a poached egg on a slice of toast with a slice or two of lean bacon and some mushrooms or spinach - all I did was cut out the slice of toast and replace it with more veg or an extra egg depending on how hungry I was feeling. Once I was happy with that I started on dinner. Instead of rice I had cauliflower rice, instead of potato mash I had cauliflower, swede or celeriac mash and instead of noodles/pasta I had either shirataki noodles or thin ribbons of courgette. For the first while I still mixed in half a small portion of e.g. rice with my cauliflower rice. I normally made enough dinner to have leftovers for lunch the next day. I lost really well on that without worrying about how many carbs were in veg and I still had milk in my tea and berries with yoghurt. I also had a couple of beers a week and the odd slice of cake or whatever. I only went very low carb after doing a lot of reading and deciding that eating a diet very low in carbs and high in fat (including saturated fat) is the healthiest diet for us.

OP posts:
QueenStromba · 30/07/2012 16:26

topsi - waking up hungry meant that you are probably a bit too high carb and a bit too low fat. I know you're trying to do lower carb at the moment so how about having either kidney beans or brown rice with the chilli and making sure that you have a load of cheese, sour cream or guacamole to up the fat content?

OP posts:
Badvoc · 30/07/2012 17:30

Today I have had:
omlette and bowl of berries for breakfast
ham salad for lunch
nuts and choc at the cinema (instead of my usual revels and popcorn and cola!)
courgette pasta, tom sauce and meatballs for dinner

Not sure about tomorrow yet but need to go shopping so will probably make something with veg tomorrow evening.

janx · 30/07/2012 17:55

Hi
I am very excited to read about the roast potatoes - yum. Was feeling quite trim today and then a man on the tube offered me a seat... Kept thinking I looked pregnant after that.

colette · 30/07/2012 18:03

janx - he probably offered you a seat in because you looked trim and he was being a bit suave and old fashioned !
Qs which nuts are best other than almond and brazil? I have brought Tesco mixed nuts - almond, hazelnut, brazil, cashew, walnut .

Thanks

Badvoc · 30/07/2012 18:11

Me too! I love potatoes...sigh

CrunchyFrog · 30/07/2012 18:28

Today have had bacon/ mushroom omelette, then steak with masses of salad, avocado and chillies. Going to have raspberries and cream before bed with grated 85% choc on top Grin

Got to kick the diet coke habit, also the cider/ whiskey one!

Badvoc · 30/07/2012 18:30

Any tips te: constipation??
Sorry if tmi!

janx · 30/07/2012 18:38

Oh yes that was it - he was just being a gent. Felt light headed on the way home and bought a big bag of brazil nuts. Fish pie for tea Smile

jollymary · 30/07/2012 18:57

Keep going topsi! Thanks for reminder re. cheese, cream, Badvoc, fortunately haven't had much. Feeling v optimistic today, only 2lb lost but feel bit slimmer!!! Could be all in my head. Today:
B berries, G yogurt
L mackerel and big salad
T lime and coriander chicken, steamed broccoli and cabbage
Snacks: handful nuts, LOTS of water!! Feel much less hungry, sure will lose weight soon but actually just pleased to be feeling better and more generally awake!
Keep going, everyone!

jollymary · 30/07/2012 18:58

Are psyllium husks a low carb help for constipation?

topsi · 30/07/2012 19:39

oops had the brown rice and DH had the bad idea of adding baked beans to the chili.
Going camping tomorrow for a few days so will just have to do my best when away, am going to do eggs and bacon for breakfast and try to low carb the rest of the day but I do feel a fish and chips blow out on the horizon.
Have cut out my sugar in coffee now.
I want to be skinny!!!

milewalker · 30/07/2012 20:29

i'd really like to give this ago but not sure if i'm gonna be left feeling hungry/no energy. i run 5 miles everyother day and power walk 5 miles on the running day (5 miles run 1 way-5 miles power walk back, and am building upto running the whole 10 miles) on the days i don't do that i go to the gym and on the cardio machines cover a distance of between 15-20 miles as eell as using weights to tone and get stronger. i eat alot of carbs at the moment to fuel this. i've now lost 12 stone but lost nothing in the last 4 weeks (more or less since i did a marathon) i look different but am still overweight on the weight charts, will low carb help me loose the last bit and will it work for me with all the exercise i do?

quirkychick · 30/07/2012 22:34

Moving I use the impact whey protein. I think they do loads of flavours, but I prefer the unflavoured, or vanilla. I have previously used Solgar Whey To Go vanilla too. You can buy samples of the different flavours to try. hth

We went to the Olympic Park today, so I am shattered. I took loads of nuts and managed by having a prawn noodle (left the noodles) salad on the train, some cheese/bacon from dds' sandwich and a delicious chicken, pumpkin and jalapeno soup at the station on the way back. Needed some dark chocolate and greek yoghurt with berries when I got home as I have not eaten very much!

Viperidae · 30/07/2012 23:21

I've been good today for once. I had:
Bacon, sausage, egg, mushrooms for breakfast
No time for lunch but grabbed a bit of roast chicken (that is not normal but had a busy day)
Chilli con carne (without beans) served with cauliflower rice, Lemon mousse (from Atkins book) with a few berries
Small pack of macadamia nuts

I know I was low on veg but that's because of skipping lunch and although I have been tempted to eat tonight I haven't been hungry.

pregnantpause · 31/07/2012 07:47

Badvoc- I just checked and lindseed is 6 g carb per 100g, so a table spoon to help, er, loosen things up a bot, would be aroung 1.5. With a pint of water it'll sort you out.

Had a great day yesterday

Breakfast- mushroom omlette
dinner-pork and chorizo stew. With side salad.
Tea- roast chicken wrapped in bacon with roasted carrots and Swede mash
Snack- 8 strawberries with a tablespoon of Cornish clotted cream. Yum.

quirkychick · 31/07/2012 07:56

pregnantpause that sounds delicious!

badvoc I use lingwoods milled flaxseed (linseed). You can sprinkle it over yoghurt or salads. If you add it to yoghurt or protein shakes the night before it thickens them up. I think they do a linseed and nut mix too. I will have to source mine frim another shop as Julian Graves has just shut Sad. I think if you use whole linseed you need to soak them first.

quirkychick · 31/07/2012 08:01

milewalker I walk loads and if you change slowly you should be ok. I used protein shakes/ nuts as snacks to keep going, but once you are in ketosis and your body is burning fat as fuel you should be fine.

magicalrealistmum · 31/07/2012 08:52

Hi all

I'd like to join in, I have been reading the thread and it seems full of helpful tips.I have just over 1 stone to loose, after having lost one with mfp over the last year. Stalled in January Blush
I cycle 5 miles a day to and from work so I think a gentle ease into low carb would be useful. Started today with scrambled eggs(2) mushrooms and smoked salmon, coffee with cream
I went shopping for quorn (is this OK?) cauliflower etc last night. I eat fish but no meat

Movingforward123 · 31/07/2012 10:32

Ok I think I will defiantly need a protein shake, I have serious sugar cravings!

I've got a herbalife shake but I think that contains carbs does anyone know Confused

And if I am taking protein shakes but still having some carbs as easing into it (but not eating chocolate and cakes) am I still likely to loose weight?

quirkychick · 31/07/2012 11:48

Movingforward the myprotein unflavoured impact whey protein is 1.8g carb per 100g according to mfp. The flavoured might be more. They do things like toffee, chocolate coconut, raspberry, latte. If you low carb for long enough you will lose your sugar cravings and berries and yoghurt will taste very sweet! You could have a protein shake after a hard workout. Don't just do cardio, though you need some resistance work to build muscle/lean body mass.

magicaltealistmum eggs and fish are excellent sources of protein. Oily fish are full of omega 3 too. Not sure about quorn, I think it's frowned upon on the primal blueprint diet but someone who knows more can probably help there.

squoosh · 31/07/2012 12:15

I tried frozen grapes last night. They're delicious and much tastier than their non frozen counterparts.

Your brain is fooled into thinking they're sweets.

quirkychick · 31/07/2012 18:42

squoosh frozen grapes are really delicious, especially with feta or goats' cheese...

movingforward and queenstromba I use the unflavoured whey protein because I don't like the sweeteners/artificial flavours. I use it mostly mixed with greek yoghurt and flaxseed to eat with berries. A quick grab breakfast on school mornings.

I made feta, onion and pepper frittata today. Baked in the oven for lunch and cold for breakfast tomorrow.

quirkychick · 31/07/2012 18:45

Wow that took 3 goes to post. Phone was not liking mumsnet!

jollymary · 31/07/2012 20:50

Where can I get frozen grapes? Sound yummy!

Movingforward123 · 31/07/2012 21:33

Well today has gone well Smile i've had:

brunch - veg and cheese omelette + 2 slices of bacon
snack - 1 linseed toast with peanut butter
dinner - homemade sheek kabab with homemade veg curry and lettuce
snacks - yogurt

I thought i needed some carbs before going to the gym, so had the toast.

I did 20mins abs work at home, then went to the gym and did couch to 5k an burned 400cals Shock feeling great Smile