First time low carb dieting.. Help!!

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

Want do I need to know? Where do I start? Any pointers? Have just stopped bfing and am in a hurry to lose almost a stone and a half

I've been low-carbing since August, and have lost 2st 9lb so far - another half a stone and I'll have reached my target!

I started with BIWI's two week bootcamp (I'll see if I can find the thread in a min). It's a strict two weeks, but it gets you started in the right direction and quickly got me used to what I should and shouldn't be eating.

I printed the bootcamp 'rules' and the list of carb contents of different salad and veg items, and stuck them to the kitchen cupboard as an easy reference point.

I made sure I was having 3 meals a day (Normally greek yog for B, salad for L and meat and veg for D), and drinking at least 2lt of water a day.

One word of warning though, within the first couple of days you're body will go into Ketosis as it gets used to taking energy from fat rather than carbs. I had two days of being exhausted and shakey - but if you battle through your body will quicky adjust.

John Briffa's book 'Escape the Diet Trap' is also a fantastic intro into low-carbing.

Good luck!

Here we go...

Bootcamp thread

This will give you pointers for you're first couple of weeks, and if you look in the many other low-carb threads, theres lots of advice on where to go next.

I'll admit I'm a lurker on the low-carb threads more than a poster, but the advice from BIWI and all others is fantastic.

There's a great LC recipie thread here too if you need some inspiration for meals and snacks.

Thanks do much

Hello I am also a low carber follower of biwi we have a thread just now to chat over Christmas but the next strict bootcamp will start on 7th Jan. biwi will do a "sign up" thread before we start. Look forward to seeing you!!

Here's the sign up thread fish if you read through it you'll find links to the bootcamp rules and spreadsheet, hope to see you soon! Hope this works.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/big_slim_whatever_weight_loss_club/1646582-New-Year-Low-Carb-Bootcamp

Firstly - it works! You may feel bloody awful for a few days (headaches, shakes etc), but stick with it, you will feel so much better afterwards. Most people on a "normal" western diet are eating nothing much apart from sugar! By sugar I mean table sugar, other sugars and syrups, breads, cereals, rice, potatoes... all sugar, all mess up the metabolism when eaten in the quantities we consider "normal" in the modern diet.

As a long term low carber ( about 7 years now, apart from a bit of a falling off the wagon for a few months after the birth of DS4), my tips would be, do some reading into WHY a carb heavy diet is damaging, because weight loss is a side effect of getting blood sugar levels under control (which reduces hunger and binge eating), and understanding how/why can help you make better food choices.
Example, if I have an isolated high carb day, it gives me carb cravings for a couple of days, so I try to go for low carb treat foods even when I am having an "off day". Following are two links, with all the info, free! Also there are lots of very experienced low-carbers on MN.

robbwolf.com/
www.dietdoctor.com

When I first started, it was all about weight loss, but 6 stones later, it's the long term health implications which interest me now. For the first 5 years, I restricted carbs, but did not cut out any carb group altogether... but now I have cut out gluten/wheat and feel much better for it - in fact I eat no grains at all apart from some occasional white rice.

So, at the moment, my easy to follow rules would be, don't eat anything with more than 5g carb per 100g. No "low fat" products - eat full fat versions but less often! You will get more nutrition from eating leafy veg, carrots, onions, Cauliflower than from the bread/rice/pasta you would have filled your plate with instead! Cook from scratch as much as possible, and buy a slow cooker - great for low carb family meals. The family eat the same as me - but often with a little white rice or a few baby potatoes on the side.