Low-carb diets support thread

Edwardia

In A Pickle, there is some research showing good results for diabetes on Very Low Calorie Diet so while it's not low carb I realise it works for some people in some circumstances.

Have you seen your GP about the fat digestion problem ? Some people with a dodgy/non-existent gallbladder can have probs digesting fat.

avstar's suggestions of chicken and turkey are good ones..I'm updating low carb offers on my blog at the moment and Co-op is doing a big variety of chicken breast fillets (whole,strips and diced) any 3 for £10 as an ongoing deal. From memory, you'll also find cheap turkey mince in ASDA as well as turkey sausages. Both Sainsbury's and ASDA do turkey drumsticks in their value ranges really cheaply. I buy these at Christmas because we don't like roast turkey but like it cold for a buffet on Boxing Day, and they're pretty good.

If you can borrow/photocopy a copy of The Dukan Diet, the sauces in it can generally be either low fat low carb or higher fat low carb depending on whether you use low/full fat yogurt or creme fraiche.

elantan - thanks for the link - I think the points about habit and leaving too many hours between meals are spot on ( she writes having demolished a bowl of strawberries with creme fraiche and now munching Lindt Excellence 90% cocoa chocolate) PS I don't get crab cravings but I sometimes really fancy some prawns and always when they are lurking in the very bottom of the freezer grr

There's one study out there that says that some low carbers get miserable because they lack serotonin, but I don't know of any others.

nuttybabe and gray malkin yep I think it's vanity sizing too !

globalds

hello everyone..

I am back on track this week.

Porridge for breakfast with manuka honey (on offer at home bargains)

Chicken liver for lunch /snack ..cooked in five spice and ginger

Beef stew for tea ..no potatoes ...are egg plants high in anything I should not eat ??..2 of them going in ..not a big fan ..so I would not be too upset if you tell me they are evil

Padstow

Hi back Edwardia. I too love tomatoes if they're the right ones. Most are thick skinned with a hard core. The best supermarket ones I've found are Red Delight from Waitrose.
A neighbour last year gave me the most amazing cucumber with intense flavour and few seeds, it didn't taste anything like a supermarket thing that is basically water.
As for the pack of beetroot from Aldi? No thanks, huge, old things that taste like wood. I've got one pack in the fridge, maybe I should make Borsch?

Have searched for North Atlantic prawns in the shell for weeks at my local Waitrose. No luck at at all and the girl on the fish counter at another branch thought they were mussels!

Found a couple of small packs at Morrisons. They too have had difficulty getting them.
Those peeled little squirmy things full of water bear no resemblance to proper prawns.

So prawns with homemade sauce, not with tomato ketchup. Hellmans, (we boycotted Hellmans untill they caved in to using free range eggs) tomato paste, Worcester sauce and and Tabasco.

Just eating at all is difficult. I haven't eaten all day as I can't stand what I can eat. I don't eat eggs,or meat. I could happily eat two Dover Soles plus spinach as I used to, but can't do that now.

Arh well, had the prawns and avocado but that is not a day's menu and am concerned that I'm not getting enough nutrients. One meal per day is surely wrong?

It is difficult eating enough.

In_A_Pickle

thanks for the tips everyone

I have no gallbladder hence the fat problem. If one more doctor tells me to go back on a low fat high carb diet I will scream! This is why I have decided to try and reintroduce meat. As a low carbing veggie I consumed a lot of higher fat dairy and nuts. I can't do that now and knowing that low carb is the right path for me to follow I need to try other options.

I'm trying chicken tonight with the family. I am hoping to try and introduce some healthier measures for all of us but I wondered how you all found trying to juggle a low carb plan with family meal times and of course money saving? I also want to be more aware of where any of the meat we are eating is coming from (and how it was treated/ended up in tescos!) - how I'm not sure! First step I guess is to avoid processed items such as sausages but what about chicken breasts etc?

elantan those are interesting points to consider when dealing with cravings. Habit is biggy for me i.e. Kids in bed tv on so it must be time to snack. I try to do a craft in the evenings now to stop the cycle. I'm sure I also read about cravings only lasting 20 mins or so. I find if I can distract myself and have some water it does pass unlike in my carb heavy days the cravings would be awful.

SHEILA54

I think that we all try to eat as healthily as we can but it can be dependent on budget. Personally I try to have free range / organic chicken and beef as they are often interfered with, so to speak. If I can get organic veg on offer then I do but it is sometimes difficult to source or expensive so I wash hard veg and peel before use but try to keep organic on soft veg or fruit e.g. strawberries. Additives abound in most produce, as Edwardia will tell you, so look at the packaging for nitrates etc. Nuts and flax etc can go rancid if the packaging is left open so seal it or put it in a sealed box.

Once you get used to a low carb diet and what you like then it is easier but some of this is trial and error. I couldn't have flax for a while as it gave me a tight chest and stomach problems but I am now ok with small amounts.

Personally I feel better, have more energy and have lost a good amount of weight so it works for me.

In_A_ Pickle - I also do not have a gallbladder but fat should not be a problem as you still have liquid bile to deal with it. The gallbladder just concentrated it and held it in store.

kafkathecat

Hi elantan - I find if I am hungry after eating or craving sweet food a milkshake with cocoa and protein powder works.

In_A_Pickle

not having a gallbladder does not necessarily mean problems with fat digestion but i have been having continued gallbladder type attacks since having it removed. Fat does seem to irritate it. Sphincter of oddi dysfunction is now the most likely culprit (gallstones may not have been the real problem afterall!!) I think having the constant bile in the system is adding to the problem aswell.

so I want to start out gently while cutting out all the rubbish carbs everyone is so keen to see me eating again.

chicken was ok. Feels so odd eating it though

murphydog999

SHEILA54 wrote: »

In_A_ Pickle - I also do not have a gallbladder

Good grief Sheila, you seem to have been though some trials!!

Edwardia

Padstow - I buy wild North Atlantic shell-on prawns which are cooked and frozen at sea, from a wholesaler for £6/kg which is much cheaper than the supermarket price.

kafkathecat - I splurged on some Hershey's unsweetened natural cocoa powder and it's divine, like drinking melted Lindt Excellence 90% cocoa chocolate.

In A Pickle - I've been asking supermarkets awkward questions about additives and GM ingredients If you have questions, please ask and that goes for anyone else.

OH says it's a no-brainer that we are saving money because there's a long list of things we don't buy now including wine, diet Pepsi, instant coffee, sweeteners, sugar, pasta, bread, pizza..and another list of things we now only buy for one person such as rice, naan, rolls, porridge and breakfast cereals.

I hunt for special offers and fill the freezer eg 3 packs of 2 Gressingham duck legs for £10 and 3 500g packs of British veal mince for £10 from Waitrose for example.

I don't get the logic whereby the person who does the lion's share of the shopping and cooking (the mother) often ends up catering to the whims of fussy eaters who can't cook and feeling guilty for giving them the expensive cr*p they want and don't need. I'm all for mothers getting tough and telling them if you want that rubbish buy it out of your pocket money

Padstow

margaretclare wrote: »

You might find that aqua-aerobics works for you. The water supports your joints and provides resistance at the same time. As I have replaced hips, one of them revised twice, I find this is better for me than e.g. jogging.

HTH

Lifting weights would be even more beneficial, seated if need be, as well as the aerobic and very important social aspects of going to the pool.
The older we are, the less muscle we have. I use a seated weight device which is brilliant and helps keep my joints supple. Without muscle we will keep getting fatter as muscle burns fat.