A novice low-carber has some questions..

[notasize10yetbutoneday]

As per my other thread i've just started low-carbing and feel 100% better and slimmer, but I just have a few questions I was hoping some more experienced low-carbers might be able to help with?

1. I've been having rice krispies for weekdaybreakfast because I can't face a morning without cereal. Is there another cereal I should be having instead, or would I really see results if I moved away from cereal altogether to have just fruit (which Im niot sure would be filling anough?)

1. I take it home-made popcorn is a complete no-no? (Lives in hope)

1. I am going away this weekend and will be on a long train journey so I really need some snacks which will stop me from being tempted by the buffet car- I don't think just fruit will do it. At home or work I can snack on mini-babybels or some ham but I don't think they'll keeop too well in my handbag for several hours! What other portable, no-fridge needed snacks do other people have please?

Thank you in advance!

I did a really good low-carb diet about a year ago called 'Nery's and India's Idiot-Proof Diet' and on that you could eat nuts (not the dry roasted or salted variety obviously). The thing is that nuts are quite high in calories, so you'll have to limit them.For breakfast they also encouraged you to have a fry-up like sausages and bacon and eggs. I'm not sure about popcorn as I reckon it's classed as a carb, but it's got much less calories than crisps.... Good luck!

I am on a low carb diet and have granola for breakfast which is really tasty if you mix it with full fat Greek yoghurt and some berries.

You can buy snack from the Low Carb Megastore. They have a website and I think you can pay extra for a quick delivery if you need it before this weekend.

Sorry I don't know about popcorn but I think it may be high in carbs.

Step away from the popcorn and the rice Krispies. They are not Low Carb.

I agree with Helen196, the Idiot proof diet is the best to follow.

I have protein shake for breakfast. It works for me as long as i have enough cream or coconut oil in it.

Sorry to hijack but since there will be low carbers posting here, I wondered what people have for lunch. Salads are a no-no for me because of my IBS, and apart from soup with pulses or meat I'm stuck for ideas.

Chopped meat and cheese with mayo. Egg mayo.

Ibs gets better once carbs are cut right back but i can't think that pulses are either low carb or helpful to ibs?

Alouise....may i ask for details of your protein shake please?

i think one of these would be perfect for me...or if anyone knows?

are they bought or home made?

Granola or shakes are good for brekkie, or I like beans and poached eggs on a weekend when the others are having full cooked.

I tend to have soup or rye bread/ryvita type crackers with lots of protein (mackerel etc)

Can you get a small cool bag, OP? Then you could take prans and sweet chilli for dipping, or cheese, or ham.
Otherwise boiled eggs keep, but stink, so possioibly not great.
Nuts and seeds are good, and take ages to eat as they are picky, sunflower, pine nuts, pumpkin etc, quite fatty but tasty.

I use the Holland and Barrett vanilla body fortress.

1 scoop in a decaff coffee with a dash of cream or coconut oil mixed with a stick blender. It's like a creamy vanilla latte and i love it. Other people mix it with soya milk or lactofree and ice cubes for a cold shake.

I absolutely love it.

ooh that does sound nice....i find just a coffee in the morning with cream keeps me full til lunchtime on this diet!

ooh how much are these protein shakes please aloiuseg?

Usually about £24 but they are often on offer for half price. They last for a long time and actually work out as cheap protein.

I have tried myprotein and natures best but I preferthe H & B is my favourite.

thanks - do you make them up yourself or are they pre-made?

It comes in powder form in a big tub so you make it yourself.

thanks!

Thanks everyone, I'm going food shopping tonight so will have a look at which seeds/nuts are the lowest in carbs. Will also get some granola too.

Granola won't be low carb. How many grams of carbs are you aiming for a day?

Cereal, granola, fruit, popcorn are all too high in carbs, so you're not following a low carb diet if you're eating any of these.

You've discovered one of the hardest things about low carbing - travelling/being out and about!

Nuts are OK, although you have to be careful how many you have (check the carb count on the back of the packet!)

If I know I absolutely won't find anything on my travels, then a couple of hard boiled eggs travel reasonably well and won't go off in your bag.

But above all and beyond this, get a book so that you know more about what you're doing and how many carbs you can eat. Atkins or The Idiot Proof Diet or Charles Clark's High Protein Diet are all good.

After first coupla weeks on Idiot proof diet you can introduce berries (strawberries, blueberries) which - with double cream! - are lovely for breakfast.

I do protein shakes too - slash of cream, soya milk and sometimes some ground flaxseed for fibre.

i also sometimes bake breakfast muffins: either just ground almonds, cream, eggs and splenda, or chuck in some butternut squash puree. Recipe for muffins/cakes in the IPD cookbook and if you low carb pumpkin muffins you can substitute squash for pumpkin - is the same thing!

The US versions have spices and cream cheese in the middle and are BLOODY LOVELY (mmm must make more)

Quick brekkies: bacon, boiled eggs, ham and cream cheese, nuts.

I eat salted nuts quite a lot meself: my luxury!

cereals are high carb, porridge is alright though as it's slow release.

no to popcorn and fruit is no good if you're being strict. European fruit is lower gi than tropical fruit, so an apple or pear is not too bad in an emergency. otherwise nuts really, low carb isn't particularly good for snacking. You could take a packed lunch for something more substantial cheese (but no biscuits), lentilly sort of salad, quinoa is high protein, avocados are good.

no popcorn, no fruit no cereal - its full of sugar. the low carb diet = really low sugar intake. you will see a difference.

i have some info on my MN blog re: low carbing in general.

i follow the diet to the absolute letter and have lost over 4 stone.

snacks = pepperami, cheesestrings, tuna salad, chicken salad.

i have travelled for work today, not knowing what facilities werw available to me or where the nearest supermarket was - i simply poped a can of tuna in my bad - its small enough, and just ate that for lunch.

lowcarbmegastore.com has low carb bread = toast for brekky if you want.

also i know that people are advocating nuts - but if you really want to get into it - i would leave out nuts altogether - they are relatively high in carbs - whatever nuts you choose.

i am of the opinion that i work trez hard making sure i eat the right things, making sure that i am in ketosis, preparing meals etc - so far away from my buy it shove it in gob mentality of where i used to be ...so i don't like to fuck and fart about dithering in the middle. either your on the diet - do it properly or it wont work - or your just wasting your time.

chose a carb intake and stick to it - i rad on anothe thread that someone picked 50 carbs and stuck to it - and i don't get it - i dont see how this can work.

i suggest 20 carbs to start with - you can raise it as atkins suggests to get your ideal weight V carb intake its rail and error.

i reached a plateau and still needed another 2 stone to shift - so i lowered mine to 10.

Thanks all- I hadn't picked an amount of carbs to have per day, I just decided to completely cut out flour, pasta, bread, rice and potatoes. 20g really doesn't seem a lot so I am sure I would see dramtic results with that (especially given the low fat yoghurt I've just eaten has 10g in it- so that would be half my daily allowance!)

However I need to be realistic about what i can practically live with- I love fruit and i just can't imagine not eating a lot of it.Also would be worried about DH losing weight as well (he is a 30inch waist ).

Greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast sounds manageable long term whereas I think I would soon fall off the wagon if i had to makebacon and eggs at 6am every morning!

I've ordered the Neris & India Idiot Proof Diet book and will take it from there.

Thanks for your good advice everyone

PS Well done on losing 4 STONE Custardo! You must feel completely different.