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.

This is a really nice pork chop recipe. I used a 300g tub of philadelphia and 100-150ml of cream, it made enough sauce for me to have cauliflower cheese and for DP to have a massive plate of macaroni cheese.

Mmm Queenstromba that looks yummy... I like pork loin steaks with creme fraiche or cream, onion, mushroom, a little mustard and green peppercorns. Delicious!

I have overdone the carbs today 58g, so low carb dinner of tuna with roasted peppers. I will have it early and go to bed early so that I have a chance to reduce insulin levels while I sleep. I had too many strawberries on a picnic today, was really tired and had some dark chocolate too.

Did anyone see Dr Michael Moseley's documentary on fasting? Interestingly, the alternate day fasters made no difference if they ate low or high fat on the feast days.

Good article in YOU magazine about Jeff O'Connell's Sugar Nation showing how bread, pasta, rice makes your blood sugar rise. Dp was shocked, but I nodded my head knowingly .

It might just be like when you buy a new car all of a sudden you see the same model all over the place but it really does seem to me like the message that low carb is healthier is starting to get through. I remember when Atkins was big news about a decade ago the reports were about how it might make you thin but it's really unhealthy. Recently though people seem to be talking as much about the health benefits as the weight loss benefits.

I found a like to Yudkin's Pure, white and deadly which was first published in 1972 and got through most of it in a day. It's quite clear from how he talked about it that back then when people wanted to lose weight they cut out sugar and if that didn't work they cut out carbs. Because of the ridiculous government guidelines we forgot that. When I told my granny I was low carbing I expected her to be dismissive of it but she told me that any time she wanted to lose weight she cut out sweets and potatoes (she was of an age where pasta and rice just wouldn't figure into her diet unless she was eating out so potatoes were the biggest dinnertime carb).

What do you do to motivate yourself when not hungry? I think I hit ketosis very easily, even after quite a bad weekend, I'm not craving.

Today I had a 3 egg, mushroom ham and Philly omelette at 11am, a few brazil nuts, and I just forced myself to eat a ham salad. Can't get the impetus to cook because I just don't want anything!

Presumably I'll get hungry eventually?

One of the Atkins rules is eat when you're hungry, don't when you aren't. The reason ketosis suppresses appetite is that once your insulin levels get low enough fat can come out of the fat cells and once it is in your bloodstream it is no different to fat that you've just eaten. You will get hungry at some point because food isn't just for energy - you still need protein, minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids.

I am having second thoughts now after watching that fasting program last night. They did say a high protein diet wasn't good for a long life. Also I am eating alot of fat and am worried about my cholesterol etc.
Maybe they meant high protein with carbs as well?

Wasn't my weigh-in day today but just thought I'd give it a go and another 2lbs gone! I was just over 12 stone when I started about three weeks ago and am now 11 stone 5 1/4lb!!!!
I don't feel particularly hungry and love not to have to think how many calories are in something.
Yesterdays menu
Breakfast- egg and bacon
Lunch- cold meats, raspberries and double cream
Supper- Steak with creamy pepper sauce and green salad.
Any coffee I have with double cream and drink loads of water too. Have had wine most days this week as I'm off work until Friday night.

Don't worry about your cholesterol topsi - low carb diets improve your blood lipids. If you are in ketosis and losing weight then even if most of what passes your lips is protein then you aren't "eating" a high protein diet because most of your energy is coming from your fat cells. When you get to maintenance then you have to start eating a lot of fat if you haven't already been because it's physically impossible to eat enough protein to cover your energy needs and eating more than about 200g (800kcal) will start causing problems anyway.

topsi I think it's not a high protein diet but an adequate protein diet, I am eating about 30% protein/100g a day. I think Dr Briffa talks about research into red meat including processed meat, so high meat diet is not necessarily bad. Would be interesting if they looked at people who ate good quality meat/diet to see how they faired.

Lots of primal/paleo literature talk about grass-fed meat being healthier. Does anyone know where to get grass fed meat?

We have free-range chicken, though.

I am re-reading Arthur de Vaney's New Evolution Diet which is paleo. He founded it based on his wife and son having diabetes. It's a bit strict for me, as it's no dairy or seeds. But he talks about intermittent fasting and interval training too.

Quirky, your supermarket should have an organic section that sells grass fed. If not, ask your butcher if he has any.
I only eat grass fed. It's revolting to feed animals things they wouldn't naturally eat and can't digest without medication. It's expensive though, so I tend to buy one joint and get several meals out of it.

I have lost NO weight. Have been trying for 2 weeks now! What am I doing wrong? I have had a short holiday in between and there has been 2 birthdays in the family which has meant meals out. Today I have had:
eggs, bacon and mushroom, coffee no sugar, left over chicken curry with about a table spoon of brown rice, steak and broccoli for tea, just had bowl of black berries and greek yogurt with about 1/2 tsp honey, have not needed to snack today except 4 cocktail sausages.
Am I not being strick enough?

Do your clothes feel different Topsi?

Thanks LookBehindYou. We have also got a local organic butcher that we don't often use. We dp buys buy most meat from waitrose, so often free range/organic but I'm not sure if beef etc. is grass fed. Though, I know lamb tends to be.

topsi you could be putting on muscle which would lose inches rather than weight as muscle weighs more than fat.
Also, from your meals I would say you are low gi rather than low carb. Maybe cut down on the honey, berries and brown rice. It might make all the difference.

Had an interesting experience with mfp where my daily carbs seemed really high. The carbs for mini chicken breasts came out as 29.9 per 100g . But normal sized ones were 0.2g - I think someone put in the wrong values, maybe for breaded chicken? I have adjusted.

Aaaaagh
SIL is organising MIL s birthday on Saturday and has asked me to bring garlic bread, she is making lasagne ! They are all much heavier than me and would not understand why I am low carbing . not sure how i am going to get out of this one but I will. Don't even like lasagne . All Dh's family think it is a great idea

Have been doing so well

It looks to me like you're trying to do high fat and only lowish carbs topsi which isn't going to work. If you want to eat bacon and lose weight then you have to get your carbs down really low. You'll probably have to either lower your fat or lower your carbs to lose weight.

colette why not bring a salad and garlic bread (for others). You could eat the salad and the lasagne without the pasta (bolognaise)? I ate out today at a cafe in a museum. Not much choice, so I went for quiche with salad and left the pastry and couscous salad. Effectively, frittata and salad. Hth.

Can you say that you've given up wheat for health reasons Collette? You could bring along a salad and try to just eat that. Or say that you don't want to be a pain so if they just left you a bowl of the sauce to one side you'd have that with some cheese and salad.

Thanks QC and QS. Sil will bring lasagne already made so will be difficult to split up , will bring salad as well as bread and eat loads of salad .
May consider saying I have given up wheat. ILS already think it is strange I have decaff tea sometimes and herbal teas.

I am easing into lo-carbing, as well as ditching a diet coke addiction, so have been doing no potatoes/bread/rice for two weeks. Can you give me some guidance about tomorrow's menu:

Breakfast: 3 egg omelette with mushroom and cheese. OJ
Lunch: M&S Fruit salad
Dinner: Beetroot salad - probably with chicken

Think I should be reducing the amount of fruit.
But what's missing?
And is blackcurrant squash a no-no, as that's what I've been drinking mid-afternoon instead of a diet coke, otherwise it's a glass of OJ in the morning and water the rest of the day.

X posts queenstromba

colette I have a similar problem with mil. We alternate Sundays for afternoon tea. I have fought a longstanding battle to get sandwiches for dds rather than just biscuits and cakes. Mil is diabetic but refuses to stop eating white bread and sugar. I tend to bring something I can eat and make no fuss but obviously don't eat the sugary stuff. I love herbal tea, quaffing camomile as I type.

QC sounds spookily similar , FIL is also diabetic, has not changed diet at all . I brought chickpea curry round once MIL hated the smell ..

Olympicnmix - the fruit salad will be absolutely loaded with sugar and will have barely any protein or fat. What about a side salad and something from the deli section? They've got loads of chicken, salmon, ham, salami and calamari type things.
The orange juice in the morning will also be loaded with sugar. Maybe you could swap it for one of those Vitamin C and Zinc effervescent tablets? Tesco's own brand are less than £2 for 20 and the last time I bought some they were on 3 for 2.
Beetroot is fairly high carb but would be ok to have as your only high carb thing in a day.
The blackcurrant squash wouldn't be too bad if it was sugar free stuff. Sainsbury's use sucralose in their no added sugar ranges which appears to not have the unwanted side effects of some of the other sweeteners and isn't as artificial tasting. Best to try and get out of the habit of having sweet stuff though - from the sounds of it you have a wee bit of a sweet tooth.

I have read thread from beginning and was really hopeful that by gentle low carbing I would be able to get the hang of this. I have weight to lose and also the health benefits seem fantastic.

However I feel dreadful even if I cut down a small amount of carbs. I have always had blood sugar issues - I know see why. But even if I eat loads of protein I feel dreadful.

Is there anything else I can do to prevent this or am I just not able to low carb?

Hi wobblyagain. You are the exact sort of person that really does need to low carb for the sake of their health - the harder you find it to give up carbs the more you need to do it. Also, low blood sugar is normally caused by your body producing a lot of insulin in response to a high carb diet.

Can you run me through what you eat in a normal couple of days (and be honest - don't forget sugar in tea and any sweet treats). I used to low GI before I low carbed so I should be able to suggest substitutions that will help stabilise your blood sugar enough that you'll be able to start cutting down the carbs without the bad effects.

QueenStromba thanks for your help and time. A typical day for me would be (hides head in shame!)

Low sugar alpen, toast and marmalade

Banana snack

Sandwich often cheese with yoghurt and fruit

Afternoon snack Usually feeling dreadful by this time so grab toast and marmalade

evening home prepared meat veg type meal

porridge in evening.

I was encouraged to eat regular carb meals since I was 16 due to blood sugar but I can now see this is just doing me more harm than good.