Low-carb diets support thread

marrbett

daska wrote: »

Scrambled eggs is another option, chuck a dollop of cream/ soft cheese (philly/brie etc) in there to give it a really unctuous mouth-feel.

A couple of options to give more variety:
-If she likes it, a scrap of smoked salmon goes a very long way tastewise. I buy it when it's on special, cut it up and freeze it in small portions.
-Add pesto to the egg mix for a green omelette - if she's into 'gross' things call it a 'snotlette'

DS2 went into meltdown when he saw his spaghetti had green edges, I really wasn't popular that night, but he loves it now. If you fancy trying the courgette spaghetti you could peel it first so that there's no green, mix it in the pan with the hot sauce or nuke it lightly (I do about 10 seconds for a large individual serving) and tell them it's a different brand

Re Constipation: Going low carb does funny things to your sodium/potassium levels so you need more salt. And fat! (I use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for dressings/pasta sauce, mild OO for mayo, butter/ghee/coconut oil as appropriate for cooked dishes.)

I'm not sure she'll manage scrambled eggs, think that might be a step too far.
The courgette spaghetti story is very funny, I'm tempted to give it a try.
I've been making my own butter from reduced cream, so will be sure to salt it well.
Thanks again.

Edwardia

Hi Marbett.. yep Arsenal FC low carb according to an interview with Sol Campbell in the Guardian as do Jenson Button and Novak Djokavic. The main cast of The Hunger Games low carbed as preparation for the film, Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt have done same for movies. Jennifer Aniston, Kelly Osbourne, Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellwiger have all low carbed to lose weight and/or prepare for movies.

sunflowersuffolk as Marbett seems to have plenty of suggestions I don't want you to feel neglected. I'm an ex-vegetarian (married a carnivore) and a veggie diet does tend to be a bit carb heavy. Low Carb Vegetarian by Celia Brooks Brown is better IMO than the Rose Elliot book.

Snacking all day just keeps your blood sugar high, which means that your pancreas is getting overloaded pumping out insulin to bring the blood sugar levels down. Eventually those beta cells in the pancreas will just give up and then you have diabetes. Insulin is the main hormone which regulates fat and also part of the survival mechanism. So high levels of insulin will both make you fat and stop you losing weight.

If you have lots of belly fat, then it's very likely that you have insulin resistance. Insulin pushes the blood sugar into the cells to give them energy and if the insulin receptors start saying Not On Yer Nelly Mate, then along with the high levels of insulin sloshing around in your blood you'll have high blood sugar levels which can cause all sorts of damage. And you'll feel knackered when your cells feel starved and want to eat.

I could sit here and spend a lot of time making suggestions but as you don't like cooking, are addicted to food, snack all the time and say that if it's not easy you'll give up, it doesn't seem like that would work.

The best advice I can give you is to go see your GP and ask for a Hb1Ac blood test. This will tell you how much blood sugar has been sloshing around in your blood. If you find out that you have diabetes or are very close to it, it will motivate you to do something about it because you then won't have a choice you'll have to do something.

And we'll all help you but we can't do that until you really are convinced that you have to low carb.

xxx

elantan

i've been doing a wee bit of reading about low carb and whilst i dont think it will be impossible for me i think i will struggle with it ... so will need to pester you all a bit ... hope you dont mind

i too am a vegetarian so that instantly puts me at a disadvantage ... but i dont mind cooking ... i aint great at it but i can manage to follow a recipe

i think my main problem is consuming all the fatty products .. i dont mind butter but i dont like cream or too much cheese ( can only handle about 100g a week as i feel yuck if i eat more) i can manage yeo valley greek honey yoghurt but thats about that for yoghurts ( will be willing to try some more if anyone can recommend some) .. i dont consume cows milk at all , i have been using soy milk but am currently experimenting with almond milk ( making it myself)

dont get me wrong i do consume fats , i know how important they are for my body , but i tend to consume ... if cooking coconut oil, for dressings evoo , i also consume approx 3 avacados a week and 40g per day of nuts made up of brazils ( for selenium) and almonds i also take 30g per day of sunflower seeds ... will be including flax seed oil for my omega's as soon as i can find a suitable one

i do eat eggs but tend to only eat approx 4-6 a week

i am hoping to go low carb with the carbs that i am consuming slow release ones ( the quinoa, brown rice, wholemeal bread, veg etc etc)
do you think this is feesible?

SHEILA54

Morning everyone, the rain is back

elentan - a friend of mine is vegetarian and follows the paleo diet. She eats quinoa, brown rice, lentils and beans but in smaller amounts and she has cut out bread, sugar etc. She is now 6lb off her goal weight and has been doing this for a year , having lost 2 and a half stone.

If you don't like cheese how about philadelphia or Ricotta which have a milder taste? Need to be the full fat version, not the light. Also the Lidl yoghurt mentioned is Greek yoghurt, same as Yeo Valley. It is nice on it's own but if you really don't like it 1 teaspoon of honey would add 6 carbs. Melt coconut oil with dark chocolate 70% + and mix in some nuts. Leave to solidify and you will be adding fat and it tastes good but carb count the chocolate and nuts. An avocado a day gives lots of good fat, nutrients and fibre.

There are several calcium enriched milks on the market which could be useful.

There are also links to low carb veggie recipes earlier.

Have a good day everyone. Off to weigh and then have a root canal done. Hope I lose as I am not looking forward to the latter!!

bossymoo

Hi All

Just a very quick update as I am at the paid stuff. First day of Dukan attack and I'm down 1.5lb of the 4 I gained on holiday. Yes it's mostly fluid, but I see that as a good thing as the swelling is gone from my ankles and they don't look like yorkshire puddings any more...

Sorry I haven't read all posts, will try to catch up, it's all very interesting...

Angelfeathers

Mmm, just had a scrumptious breakfast of 1 huge rasher of bacon from the butcher, mushrooms and home-sprouted mung beans fried in butter, and a couple of eggs scrambled in all the juices (with more butter)! Absolutely delicious. :-)

Also had courgette spaghetti with my bolognese last night - sooo much nicer than with spaghetti, where I always felt I was missing some green veg!

murphydog999

Quick question, as I can't find it, is the chocolate/coconut oil chocolate recipe just a melted mix of equal quantities, then left to harden?

Presumably the addition of nuts or desiccated coconut would add to the mix?

NO NEED FOR ANSWER.

Did 50g of 75% choc / 50g coconut oil / 25g of desiccated coconut / 30g-ish of mixed seeds / chopped mixed nuts, melted and mixed. My god it's gorgeous, it's made a block 1.5x bigger than a 100g bar and twice as thick. Wish I could stop eating it!!

SHEILA54

murphydog999 - sounds good

Went to weigh and lost 3lb that I had put on last week on but no more
Have tried cutting down carbs to 20, cutting out sweeteners, bacon, ham, nitrates, going higher carb and then cutting back down again, adding exercise, cutting protein and adding more fat etc. Adding coconut oil to speed up metabolism.
Lost only 7lb in 3 months and been hovering around the same weight for the past 6 weeks. I really am running out of ideas now

Root canal was ok but infected and smelt foul so needed doing. Sore now so soft food tonight I think.

I am going to the foodies festival at Hampton Court on Saturday with my veggie friend. Have to be good but like the cookery demos and hope to find some good quality organic produce. Managed to get 2 tickets for £13 on Travelzoo and we travel free so a cheap day out, if I don't buy too much!!

Hope that everyone is ok and having a nice evening :wave:

sunflowersuffolk

sunflowersuffolk as Marbett seems to have plenty of suggestions I don't want you to feel neglected. I'm an ex-vegetarian (married a carnivore) and a veggie diet does tend to be a bit carb heavy. Low Carb Vegetarian by Celia Brooks Brown is better IMO than the Rose Elliot book.

I could sit here and spend a lot of time making suggestions but as you don't like cooking, are addicted to food, snack all the time and say that if it's not easy you'll give up, it doesn't seem like that would work.

The best advice I can give you is to go see your GP and ask for a Hb1Ac blood test. This will tell you how much blood sugar has been sloshing around in your blood. If you find out that you have diabetes or are very close to it, it will motivate you to do something about it because you then won't have a choice you'll have to do something.

And we'll all help you but we can't do that until you really are convinced that you have to low carb.

xxx[/QUOTE]
Thanks for your advice and help Edwardia and others - I am afraid I may have diabetes, but want to give myself 3 months of eating low carb to see if I improve, then I will go to doctor if I have to. I have a fattish stomach but my main weight is on my bottom and hips/thighs. I am very lethargic and feel unhealthy so I must now do something, as my life is awful at the moment. I'm going to start some exercise, but know I need to sort diet first.

I will get the recommended book thanks, and will have a look at the paleo diet. I am prepared to cook meals, just easy ones if poss! I will read back over thread to begining, but any help with some easy meals to start would be great thanks.

This is such a huge huge change in eating for me. In the past I did well on the F Plan, + loved fruit/all veg -so this is entire opposite and very hard to not eat carbs like baked beans and jacket spuds.

I just don't know what to eat. I will get the Lidl yoghurt, with chopped nuts and seeds added, assume no apricots etc.

I love cheese and eggs.

Can I have hoummus and oat cakes? Can I buy ready made hoummus?

For a snack assume I can have celery, but no raw cabbage/fruit.

Can I have quorn fillets/quorn mince with loads of green veg?

Can I have Robinsons lemon squash? I drink it hot instead of tea/coffee. If not, could I have PLJ?

I was addicted to diet coke (several cans a day) I've been "off it" for over a week but still crave it - assume I shouldn't have it - it does fill me up.

I now I have to count carbs, but do I have to count cals also, because I could eat loads of cheese, and surely I wouldn't lose weight then?

I can make huge salad for work with cheese/ boiled eggs/hellmans Light Mayo - is that ok?

Sorry for all the very basic questions, but I want to start now, and need to get organised. I have just bought the book from Amazon so that will be a start. Thanks again everyone

SHEILA54

sunflowersuffolk - Yes you can have quorn with veg

Yes you can eat eggs and cheese but it is better to have hard cheese at first and only 4oz a day, which is still quite a bit

No you can't have oatcakes as they are high carb. Hoummus is chickpeas and they are ok later but quite high carb for the moment

Meals should be around 4oz protein with green or leafy veg, salad etc. Ommlette for breakfast with mushrooms and salad or veg, salad for lunch with cheese and mayo, quorn for dinner with lots of veg or stuffed mushrooms.. Soups with veg and boullion. Yoghurt with nuts / seeds also.

Make your own coleslaw and have cabbage etc as you can have raw cabbage but not fruit at first

If you cut out any bread, pasta, sugar, fruit, cereal, low fat items then you are on the right track

Low sugar drinks are ok but not very good for you due to the sweeteners. Try lemon juice in water or vegetable boullion eg Marigold for hot drinks, or herbal teas.

Cutting out diet coke will give you a headache due to caffeine withdrawal and this diet can make you feel a bit flu like for the first few days until your body adjusts. Just mention it so that you are aware if it happens.

Do not look at calories as they do not count, just carbs.

Make sure that you drink around 3 litres a day to flush out the by products.

This diet is made for people with diabetes and it should help if you do have it. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask. People here are very knowledgeable and have helped me a lot!!! They are a lovely bunch xx