Are you a bit fat? Want to low carb to lose weight? Pop in here....

[Baileysismyfriend]

I started the Charles Clark diet two weeks ago and have lost 7 pounds which is good but still have another stone and a half to go.

Anyone else low carbing?

Right - are baked beans low carb???

And would I be able to 2 weetabix each day on this diet?

We need practical and specific information - what exactly are you allowed to eat when you low carb?

Can you give us some meal planning examples?

And yes, am a bit fat and don't want to be.

Ummm no and no Im afraid.

I have found a recipie for low carb muffins though and they taste ok and are handy for a quicky breakfast - Im too lazy to get up even earlier to cook breakfast every morning.

Sorry previous reply was to MadameCastafiore!

Rules are:

No fruit - need to take Vit c supplement
No pasta, rice, crisps, cakes - are allowed one piece of wholemeal bread each day
Stick to no more than 40grams of carbs a day
No milk - but can have cream in coffee

Typical day for me is:
Toast with butter or low carb muffin or bacon and eggs

Homemade coleslaw with proper ham or ommlette or chicken salad

Homemade burgers with cheese in lettuce instead of buns or salmon with veg or gammon and eggs

OK, that is helpful.

Most low/no carb folks talk in terms of what you're not allowed, instead of saying what you can eat. More specific examples/menus would be hugely helpful.

What do you snack on?

I dont tend to need to snack as much on this diet which has really surprised me as I'm usually a big snacker, crisps were my downfall.

If I do need something I have a hand full of salted cashews, sugar free jelly, some smoked cheese or a piece of ham.

For the first week its quite hard to meal plan as its so different to a low cal diet but after that it becomes second nature.

Ooooohhh that is the fall down for me - I am allergic to eggs and spend my whole day probably eating fruit, nuts and dried fruit.

I only eat 2 weetabix a day and most days don;t have any more carbs anyway but I think the not having any fruit would completely bugger me up - and make me hideously constipated!

Could I eat canned tuna with mayo and pickle mixed in?

Grilled chicken breast?

Mustard, and/or catsup?

Need more menu ideas please

You could have canned tuna with mayo and pickle and chicken breasts and mustard.

There are lots of menu ideas online but I wil post s few more later when I have more time - just about to feed the baby.

I thought I would end up constipated but I havent so far at all.

I started low carbing last weekend and have lost 6lbs but I have a lot to lose. I'm excited though. This feels like a diet I can do. I have tried ww before but was hopeless at sticking to my points.

Today I ate
B: bacon x2, egg and mushrooms
L: salad with feta and small steak sliced thinly
D: Cauliflower 'rice' and chicken casserole

I feel really pissed off today so maybe its because of the diet. It maybe because DH worked all weekend and the DCs were driving me mental.

why no fruit? that seems mad.

Fruit has too many carbs, the body can't tell the difference between natural sugar or artificial so all is banned.

Wow 6lbs!! That has spurred me on!!

Be careful with low carb diets - especially those that tell you to cut out fruit and milk etc - I did it and by the end my hair was falling out, my skin broke out in acne (worse than when I was a teen) and I couldn't climb the stairs without my leg muscles being pure agony...and I hadn't had a poo for god knows how long!

Saying that, I'm a hypocrite because I've just gone back on atkins today

But I'm cheating - I'm still having milk in my tea/coffee.

I think you can relax the rules a little bit and still lose weight tbh. Low carbing DOES work though, I'll say that.

been low carbing....cream in coffee instead of milk is delicious!!!

but i have no energy!

Yes, that was another problem I had threenonblondes. I was living on sugar free red-bulls!

I'm on day 8 today and I feel so shakey and dizzy. I've had a really busy morning too so it was a bit stressful zooming around everywhere. I know that it is normal to feel crappy for a day or two at this stage but I hope I feel better tomorrow.

i was doing it full on though.....hardly any carbs. am being more sensible now though and eating some,see if that helps

Give me 3 examples of what you could/do eat for breakfast when low carb-ing....please.

I normally have-
bacon, eggs and mushrooms
cheese and ham omelette
greek youghurt with blueberries (although this is much higher carbs)

I am low carbing as of today.

I have done it before and find it a fab way of quickly shifting 1/2 a stone. I do it about twice a year. The only downside for me is, as someone that does loads of exercise, I find it really affects my stamina at the gym. I have never done it for long enough to see if this improves with time.

I had no breakfast but have just had an omlette with cheese and ham. Forgot to have black tea though.

Am going to have turkey & veg stir fry for dinner.

Earlybird - steer clear of pickle, I think it contains sugar? Not sure what catsup is but mustard prob OK.

Breakfast ideas

Omellette made with bacon and cheese
Egg mayo on 1 slice of brown toast
Flax cereal (acquired taste! beware)

Some people eat a normal meal for their breakfast, like pork chops and salad! not sure I could stomach that though lol

Fry up is always good - fried egg, bacon, low carb sausages and a small portion of baked beans? depends how strict you want to because on atkins induction phase, baked beans are not allowed.

Threeblondeboys, I was going OTT last time too, barely managing 10g carbs a day at one point. Bordering on mal-nutrition I think.

Doing it properly this time, being sensible, taking vitamins/minerals and eating the recommended greens.

omg just realised I called you threenonblondes in my previous post!! sorry I didn't mean to, wasn't being sarcky - I misread your name completely!

lol,no worries,hadnt even noticed!

hallo all

may I join? I did Atkins for about 10 weeks prior to going to Italy for my sister's wedding last week. It was nigh on impossible to low carb there plus I drank my weight in beer so am starting back on the wagon tomorrow.

For what its worth I really got used to a very low carb diet very quickly (although I did get constipated) and although after my holiday I was really looking forward to having some of the banned foods before starting back on the regime like pasta, pizza, rice and potatoes, imagine my surprise when none of them turned out to be the fantastic treats I had anticipated they would be.

I am actually looking forward to going all low carb again.

Those of you who find yourselves all weak and shaky - you might be having too many carbs to keep your body in ketosis. Your body will burn all the carbs it has available to it, when the level of carbs in your blood are insufficient your blood sugar gets low and you feel weak and hungry. However if your carb intake is very low your body will switch to burning fat for fuel and you will not feel weak or hungry (quite the opposite in fact)and you should be able to exercise just fine.

Personally, I think you either need to stay in ketosis OR eat enough of the right kinds of complex carbs to keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Good lots of low carbers, lovely.

Today I have had:
Breakfast - Bacon and tomatoes-made the evening before and ate cold this morning

Lunch - Homemade coleslaw with ham

Snack - sugar free jelly

With the Charles Clark diet you dont go into ketosis as the carb intake is quite high for a low carb diet - 60 grams is the limit but he suggests 40.

I have not been constipated at all, that might be to do with all the veg Im eating though, I also take a vit c supplement. I have cream and cheese so think I might be getting more calcium that I was before as I'm not very keen on milk.