Low-carb diets support thread

LittleMissAspie

Edwardia wrote: »

One of the experts said better to eat fruit than juice but even fruit is just a vitamin C tablet with sugar.

The expert said the latter bit too? I'm surprised. It boggles my mind how people think fruit juice is healthy. A glass of fat coke with a multi-vitamin tablet is healthier than a glass of orange juice, but no-one seems realise.

Not to mention that, here in England at least, it's not normal to eat lots of fruit. Originally we would have had seasonal British fruit only, and they would have been smaller and less sweet than today's fruit which has been bred for profit. Ever had an apple from an old tree in someone's garden? Very tart, not at all like one from a supermarket.

Sorry for butting in there.

nuttybabe

Edwardia - square burgers, well, a few months ago i started doing a montly meat shop at a huge butchers out of town. i usually buy whatever is on offer but try to stick to joints etc (got african ribs once, they were nice). i have chorizio burgers, minted lamb burgers, garlic chicken etc. anyway they had steakettes. pack of 24 for £4 or 2 packs for £5. so i got the 2 packs so 48 for £5. they look and taste like burgers but are square so ideal for sandwiches if you are not low carbing . nothing i have bought from the butcher has any nutricional value on it. but because they have the slaughter house out the back i just assumed it would all be low carb. the sausages are really nice and meaty.

mummyofboys - i think stuff like that can stall some people BUT it is still better than eating sweets or choccy.

my husband is one of them that think low fat is best etc. he has a smoothie a day (when he goes shopping as i refuse to buy them) so he gets 3 a day from that apparently. he tries not to eat fat and will go for low fat option even though it is high in sugar. the only time he has ever lost weight was when he was on atkins around 10 years ago. but he still doesnt believe it to be healthy. he is 'healthy eating' at the moment and has not lost weight. i may not be losing weight but i have a few lbs to go, he is now 20 stone with bad heartburn. i know what i would rather be eating!!!!!!! :rotfl:

sistercas

i rarely eat fruit other than the occasional berries , i do like my veg though . fruit juice is classed as a portion of fruit according to NHS guidelines , surely the whole fruit is better than just the sugary liquid which is often concentrate anyway

nutty babe those burgers sound lovely , if they are slaughtering their own meat you would think it was good and low carb , i made a sausage patty for breakfast yesterday , just took it out of its skin mushed it together and pan fried it , that made a change and i really enjoyed it

Eliza_2

I lost weight using Zoe Harcombe's basic principles last year but have since lost the plot a bit. I just used any free info I could find on the net. However I think I'd like to buy one of her books with an Amazon voucher I've got. Can anyone tell me which is the right one? Not the recipe book (or the one for men!) but which of the others will give me the principles and a good solid dose of motivation? I don't much go for the candida, hyperglycaemia etc theories but the rest of what she says seems sound.

So which book do you recommend?

Thanks

Liz

sistercas

Eliza wrote: »

I lost weight using Zoe Harcombe's basic principles last year but have since lost the plot a bit. I just used any free info I could find on the net. However I think I'd like to buy one of her books with an Amazon voucher I've got. Can anyone tell me which is the right one? Not the recipe book (or the one for men!) but which of the others will give me the principles and a good solid dose of motivation? I don't much go for the candida, hyperglycaemia etc theories but the rest of what she says seems sound.

So which book do you recommend?

Thanks

Liz

the one i ve got is 'stop counting the calories and start losing weight ' i think she has updated it since the one i bought , which i gather is now better , she also has a website 'theharcombedietclub.com ' but you do need the book to explain the diet but there is a good forum on there

mazzers

mummyofboys wrote: »

Hi everyone,

thanks for the warm welcome I am going to buy my shopping later on, so have had to just make do with whats in the fridge as I wanted to start today. I have had 2 boiled eggs for breakfast and for lunch chicken salad. Are you allowed those sugar free jellys at the start or is that as you have gone through. I don't think I am going to follow a plan as such but more stick to the list of food in that fantastic link !

I hope this works, I really need to lose the weight, I have been feeling awful

I've never done induction, not really necessary for weight loss and much too restricting, no point if it'll make you give up.
After the first two days i find it easier and then cut my carbs down accordingly, if i'm losing weight i'm happy.
I think it gets harder to lose if you yoyo lowcarb tho, certainly has for me, so keep at it, harder second time around

mazzers

Sistercas, i wish i could get back into IF, my breaks are different every day tho and it makes it difficult with a set time frame.

I was only drinking unsweetened coffee with cream during fast because of the sugars in milk, i would have sweetened tea during my 5 hour window then back to coffee/cream

Wouldn't even have sugar free gum as it gives an insulin response (had to buy breath spray )


I once read that grapes are worse than candy for raising BG.

Not feeling as tired today, strange really as it's a busy nine hour day in work, maybe the less i do, the more lethargic i feel.

Skymist

sistercas wrote: »

......do other peeps drink tea or coffee when fasting?

I do! I drink white tea with nothing added.

Edwardia wrote: »

The news report also quoted BBC Health correspondent saying that 5 a day was merely a marketing campaign by some Californian fruit & veg sellers in 1991 and never should have been adopted as a health mantra.

Much of the nutritional info these governments put out IS based on agribusiness wants rather than our nutritional needs

The same is apparently true of the "drink x liters of water a day" myth. You are supposed to take in that much water "FROM ALL SOURCES, including that which is in the food you eat as well as things like tea and coffee.

For the last two days I've been immersed in this site:-

http://jackkruse.com/

VERY INTERESTING and takes a LOT of time as there is so much new information!!

S

mummyofboys

Just had a yummy tea of broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and sirloin steak.
I did miss my chips on the side though! what desserts are ok, or is it best to avoid? Are we allowed sea salt?

daska

mummyofboys wrote: »

Just had a yummy tea of broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and sirloin steak.
I did miss my chips on the side though! what desserts are ok, or is it best to avoid? Are we allowed sea salt?

LOL, I just got my steak out of the fridge, I'm feeling HUNGRY!

Not only are you allowed salt you actually need to increase your salt intake, at least while the body adjusts. And drink plenty as well. Here you go, extract from Gary Taube's book about side effects and the importance of salt:

"On Side Effects and Doctors
When you replace the carbohydrates you eat with fat, you're creating a radical shift in the fuel that your cells will burn for energy. They go from running primarily on carbohydrates (glucose) to running on fat - both your body fat and the fat in your diet. This shift, though, can come with side effects. These can include weakness, fatigue, nausea, dehydration, diarrhea (sic) constipation, a condition known as postural, or orthostatic hypotension - if you stand up too quickly, your blood pressure drops precipitously, and you can get dizzy or even pass out - and the exacerbation of preexisting gout. In the 1970's, the authorities insisted that these "potential side effects" were reasons why the diets could not "generally be used safely," and the implication was that they shouldn't be used at all.
But that was to confuse the short-term effects of what can be thought of as carbohydrate withdrawal with the long-term benefits of overcoming that withdrawal and living a longer, leaner, and healthier life. The more technical term for carbohydrate withdrawal is "keto-adaptation," because the body is adapting to the state of ketosis that results from eating fewer than sixty or so grams of carbohydrates a day. This reaction is why some who try carbohydrate restriction give it up quickly. ("Carbohydrate withdrawal is often interepreted(sic) as a 'need for carbohydrate,' " says Westman. "It's like telling smokers who are trying to quit that their withdrawal symptoms are caused by a 'need for cigarettes' and then suggesting they go back to smoking to solve the problem.)
The reason for the side effects now appears to be clear, and physicians who prescribe carbohydrate restriction say they can be treated and prevented. These symptoms have nothing to do with the high fat content of the diet. Rather, they appear to be a consequence or either eating too much protein and too little fat, of attempting strenuous exercise without taking the time to adapt to the diet, or, in most cases, of the body's failure to compensate fully for the restriction of carbohydrates and the dramatic lowering of insulin levels that ensues.
As I mentioned in passing earlier, insulin signals our kidneys to reabsorb sodium, which in turn causes water retention and raises blood pressure. When insulin levels drop, as they do when we restrict carbohydrates, our kidneys will excrete the sodium they've been retaining and with it water. For most people this is beneficial, and it's the reason why blood pressure comes down with carbohydrate restriction. (This water loss, which can be a half-dozen pounds or more in a two-hundred-pounder, can constitute most of the early weight loss.) For some individuals, though, the body will perceive the water loss as something to be prevented. It does so through a web of compensatory responses that can lead to water retention and what are called electrolyte imbalances (the kidneys excrete potassium to save sodium), and the result is the side effects just cited. The reaction can be countered, as Phinney has noted, by adding sodium back into the diet: taking a gram or two or sodium a day (a half to one teaspoon of salt) or drinking a couple of cups of chicken or beef broth daily, which is what Westman, Vernon, and other physicians now prescribe."

Desserts are a bit problematic depending on whether you are prepared to eat sweeteners or not. A really simple dessert is to whip cream with a sweetener based flavoured syrup and/or cocoa or other flavouring - check the labels for the carb count - think adult angel delight