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

[QueenStromba]

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.

nappyaddict, it would be nicer if you replaced the lasagne sheets with sliced aubergine, rather than emmental. Another way to do it is to mix ricotta and grated mozarella and use that in place of white pasta sauce. You don't need to use a made pasta sauce - you could just add passata and a glass of red wine with some dried basil etc.

I measured my waist hips etc on Sunday so 6 days ago, my waist was 31.5 inches and today is 29.5 inches!
So I've lost 2 inches off my waist and nothing anywhere else (could really do with it coming off my hips)

I think on Sunday my weight was around 10.2 - 10.4 and today was 10.1.8 so have only lost 1-2 lbs could that really take 2 inches off my waist?

Btw the lasagne sounds so yummy

Yum, hadn't seen the link nappy. It looks fab.

Fantastic difference Moving! If you're doing exercise and eating differently I can definitely believe that you would lose inches and not weight. It really shows it's working.
I quite regret not measuring myself at the beginning.

I've been doing 10 mins blast belly fat, do since first measurement did 50mins abs in total, on 3 different days and one run! It's not a lot really! If I had 2 inches off my hips I would be over the moon

Ok so first proper low carb day today:

Breakfast - mushroom and bacon omlette
Lunch - ham and cheese salad

Dinner will be steak with salad

Am off to a wedding reception this evening and plan to stick to vodka diet coke - is this allowed?

Also can I ask what would happen if I went low carb AND low fat. E.g. I made my breakfast with lean bacon and fry light oil, I only ever use extra lean mince etc. Should I be having more fat to increase weight loss (sounds bizarre) or will low carbs and low fat mean I lose it quicker??

LookBehindYou I was going to use passata for the pasta sauce but wasn't sure whether to make my own white sauce. I was worried it work work out higher carbs than the Sainsbury's own one mentioned in the recipe.

DP doesn't like aubergine or courgettes (unless roasted). What could I use instead of sliced aubergine?

I noticed today that Alpro plain yoghurt is even lower carb than the Total full fat yoghurt. IIRC Total is 2.8g carbs per 100g and Alpro is only 2.1g.

Also Morrisons clotted cream, extra thick double cream and double cream is only 1.6g carbs per 100g/100ml. I usually buy Aldi which is 2.6g for the double cream and I think 2.5 or 2.3g for the clotted cream. I didn't realise something like cream could vary so much!!

With a natural ingredient like cream I don't think you can trust the label to be an exact representation of the product. I've noticed that double cream is always listed as 1.6 or 2.6g per hundred. To me that suggests that two different batches of cream have been tested by two different companies and one came out as 1.6g and the other 2.6g and that which one is listed on the label depends on which company the supermarket bought the nutritional information from. There's definitely no reason to buy double cream from one supermarket over another because of its carb count. When there is a variation in carb counts between the big UK supermarkets for unprocessed food then I always assume that the highest carb count is the correct one.

Forgot to say that you can make a really nice white sauce with philadelphia and double cream.

What about yoghurt? I suppose that could vary because it could depend on the proportions of milk and cream in each brand?

I'd be more inclined to trust the carb count on yoghurt since each manufacturer is likely to have had their own formulation tested.

JobCarHouseNoBaby - I started out doing low carb and low fat and lost so much weight so quickly that I ended up with loose skin on my tummy and boobs. You also have to be a lot more disciplined to do low carb and low fat because you'll probably feel a lot more deprived if you are cutting out all of the highly addictive carby stuff and haven't replaced it with yummy fatty stuff like cream and cheese.

I managed to do low carb yesterday so not bad! But u had a work trial in a cocktail bar and finished after 4am

Now I am knackard and really fancy some form of carbs like lots of toast or beans on toast or something! And I'm Woking again tonight!

Some times the inconvenience of this diet does my head in! As you can't just eat something quickly on the way to work, as I feel like I have to cook at home all the time!

Any tips for food on the go?

Ok. I have worked out how to change my g of carb per day on mfp and to change my protein:fat:carb from 30:30:40 (which I had stopped doing anyway) to 30:50:20: though my fats are usually higher and my carbs are lower. Is there some way of working out how many g of protein you should have?

Moving I think the secret to this woe (way of eating) is to plan what you are going to eat. Small packets or tubs of nuts are useful in your bag when you're on the go. Someone mentioned biltong/jerky upthread too. Probably a good time to take a protein shake as they are quick and filling, too.

I think to start with your body misses the fuel from carbs until it starts to use the fat stored as fuel. I think that's why a lot of low gi/carb diets recommend snacks between meals to keep your blood sugar levels even. I didn't manage to low carb before because I wasn't eating enough protein/fat and so was starving.

I have stalled a bit with weightloss this week so I shall be watching my carbs very carefully. I might try some intermittent fasting too. Not helped by a shoulder injury which limits my exercise!

I've just had a big low carb lunch - why do I feel like I really need a packet of crisps?

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction QueenStromba, this thread looks great!

I've been low carbing for just over 2 weeks.. I'm loving it - I would go so far as to say that I haven't found it hard at all (which could be famous last words !). I've lost 7lbs so far, and am weighing again tomorrow.

My husband - who is a big fitness fanatic - was really skeptical (sp?) at first, but has just said that he'd like to join me - which is a real accolade.

Advice needed please:
I'm going on a 10 hour flight soon - I do not want to fall victim to the lure of airline food carbs.. does anyone have any suggestions of food to take on board the plane, in addition to the usual nuts? It needs to be something that can go through security!!!

Glad you could join us :)

How about:

biltong/beef jerky
olives from the fridge section in a plastic tub rather than glass jar
babybels
salami, prosciutto etc
Avocados (should be cuttable with a plastic knife if they're ripe)

I've also bought a salad nicoise from Boots in Heathrow which only had about two halves of a new potato in terms of carbs.

And how could I forget the ubiquitous boiled eggs?

Great ideas QueenStromba, thank you. Particularly like the bought salad option (the less effort the better!). I think I may leave the boiled eggs for a less enclosed space .

Got weighed this morning.. no change, grrr. However, I do feel thinner and it has been TOTM so maybe that's why.

Wish I had measured to start.. maybe will do this now, only 2 weeks in so perhaps not too late?

Also - now my hubby has decided to join, I've been experimenting with quick breakfast recipe ideas that he can take to work. Today's which the children have just eaten too has gone down brilliantly..

Take from a low carb website and improvised..

Low Carb "Egg 'Muffins'" makes 12

Fry some mushrooms and bacon in olive olive and butter (I also add garlic)
Microwave or steam some frozen spinach then mix with the mushroom/bacon

Mix 12 eggs in a jug, add pepper / salt if you want (and/or any other spices you want) you can use milk or cream too, I don't.

Put the bacon mixture into a silicone muffin tin / or firm muffin cakes
top with the egg mixture to about 3/4s full (they will rise a bit)

bake on 180 for about 20 mins, keeping an eye - bake for longer if not set

I made 12 of these last night, cooled and put in a tupper ware.
Husband has taken 2 to work, me and the children have had them for breakfast, microwaved for 2 mins... absolutely lovely

bbcessex my TOTM coming up too, so I will weigh next week.

I have just had bacon and spinach frittata which is very similar & baked in a big pie dish. Very quick breakfast!

Ok so first day on low carb at work - had scramble egg and bacon for breakfast and have a tuna salad with boiled egg for lunch. Forgot to get meat out of the freezer for dinner tonight do will have to pop to the co op on way home.

Am tracking carbs on mfp app, thought I did well yesterday but had 50g of carbs! My fault for eating corn on the cob, swede and tommy ketchup with my breakfast.

Am struggling for meal ideas other than meat plus veg for evenings that are filling - any tips?

Those egg muffins sound great but not quick enough for my mornings!

Bad weekend here, although there were some positives! DS1's birthday party, so I ate cake. The homemade stuff - I actually couldn't stomach the shop bought stuff, didn't want any sweets etc. gave myself permission to eat as much bread etc as I wanted - ate one slice!

I can't believe it but it seems that 2 weeks of low carbing have broken the bread/ processed carb addiction that I've had my whole life.

I haven't lost any weight, but look noticeably thinner. Happy with that!

Can I ask a question? Has anyone "felt down" since starting to low carb? I've been doing it for only 2 weeks and a few days; for the first week, felt tired and bit achey, but that went and I felt good.. in the last few days though, and I have felt noticeably 'flat'...very irritable and a bit teary! is this something to worry about?