Low-carb diets support thread

Elliesmum

Hi all

I have been lurking on this thread as I lost quite a lot of weight doing the Harcombe and then I spectacularly fell off the bandwagon and over did the carbs and the weight is now piling on again…:eek:

The information about the grams of carbs to have in a day has been very useful and I am going to try and stick to the very lower end of the scale to kick start my weight loss again.

I too found Zoe Harcombe very interesting and I think the research she has done has helped me understand the lower carb principle – this is from someone who thought that Atkins was very, very unhealthy (however at the time I was a huge pasta eater…)

I am glad I found this thread as some of the recipes for sweeter foods hopefully will help me as I am a big cake fan and even though a bowl of strawberries, blueberries and cream for pud is lovely they do not cut the mustard when it comes to coffee and cake!!!

I did find the eating out bit challenging, however most places will do you a salad and meat/fish, subway do all their sandwiches as a salad and they do soup as well and I think they have their nutrition on their website and I have been known to buy some snack cheese and a bag of salad from a supermarket and sit in my car and very ineloquently eat them with my fingers – I have wipes !!

So thank you all – I have subscribed so you will be part of my life everyday as I read your musings etc.

EM x

SHEILA54

Hi

durham- mim - well done, 2lb is great :T

daska - doing really well to be nearly 14 stone. You will make it but as you have stalled before why not try upping your carb level for a few days and then go back down as it worked for me I have never worn jeans in my life but it is my ambition to try to get into a pair one day, even if I do have a large backside.

Gloomendoom - glad that I am not the only one. Have a good day today.

Elliesmum - nice to meet you. How many carbs were you thinking of having a day? I have 40 - 50, some under 20 and some higher but we all like to encourage each other. If you fall off any diet and overeat then it will pile back on as we make more fat cells and then they have the opportunity to fill again. I have done that all of my life. Perhaps we should call it healthy eating instead of dieting.
I have a sweet craving as well but found that when I made low carb cakes I ended up eating the lot in one evening!!! I now have an almond pancake a day with berries and cream + 1oz 70% chocolate and that seems to satisfy my cravings.

murphydog999 - never tried almond butter so will give it a try. Thanks.

Padstow - how is it going? There is no need to worry about offending as I think that things are calming down now. We need to have a balance of lightheartedness and sobriety to keep this thread interesting, in my opinion.

elentan - have a good time and don't stress too much x

sistercas, Mercy, aliasojo - are you suggesting a bun fight? Wouldn't we all be tempted to have a bite or two

margaretclare

Hello all

We've just had breakfast - I had 2 slices of grilled bacon and a grilled sliced tomato. Before that we had half a grapefruit each.

About the medical profession - well done and congratulations, SHEILA54 - just don't get me started. The number of times various ones of them have said to me 'lose weight, lose weight' but not one has ever given me any practical help, support or suggestions as to HOW! DH finds the same about his diabetes. In fact, on one occasion in hospital he was moved to say to one of them 'I can say with all seriousness, with my hand on my heart, that you know f*** all about it!' Departure of white coat at speed..

Zoe Harcombe talks sense and I can relate to it. In fact, she also says that after a while you will start to feel better, sleep better, have more energy, and I find that that is true. Surprisingly enough, as I am about to be 77 in a few weeks' time, I am feeling better, sleeping better and have more energy than at any time in a good few years now. Some of it, obviously, is due to not lugging so much extraneous weight around, enough to tire you out, like carrying your holiday luggage around with you everywhere, but there may be more to it than that. DH keeps finding photos he took of me (we didn't meet until we were both 62) and says 'there is a lot less of you now than there was!' I am shocked when he shows me some of them. I can't imagine how he was ever attracted to me - he says he wasn't looking at the outside at all, it was personality. He needed a woman to be kind to him, and when one was, he homed in on me like a homing pigeon! Well, maybe there was more to it than that, but certainly, it was a big surprise to him to find that a woman could be kind to him, after the experiences he'd had.

Anyway, about low-carb, I have practically given up on bread, even our lovely GI bread that the local baker makes and which is in such demand now word has got around, you have to be there early in the morning to get any. Zoe Harcombe's instructions not to eat carbs and fat at the same meal have meant I can't even have a cheese sandwich - the last one I had was over a week ago. We're going to a picnic from church tomorrow. If fine, in the park, if not (and looks like not!) it will be in the church hall. We have cooked chicken pieces - organic chicken of course - and salad, with Yeo Valley Greek-style yogurt and some fruit. Fizzy water to drink and that will be enough for us.

About 2 days a week we have a carby breakfast - bite-sized Shredded Wheat, milk and we share a sliced banana. Most of the time, other days, we have egg in some form, or grilled bacon. I was brainwashed for a long time 'oh you must cut all the fat off the meat...' now I enjoy the well-grilled fat on bacon.

Going to the once-a-month farmers' market in the local WI hall.

marrbett

Morning all.
Just checking in to report that DH has lost half a stone since cutting out grains/sugar/etc.
He's well chuffed, as am I-all my nagging is paying off!!

Everyone is talking about Zoe Harcombe-is there any info on her way of eating which doesn't require me to buy yet another book??

Off to cook my haloumi and eggs, with mushrooms.mmmmm

SHEILA54

margaretclare - have a good picnic tomorrow - hope that the rain holds off

marrbett - more good news, so pleased

http://theharcombediet.com/

I ran out of raspberries today and melted 10g chocolate in a little cream and had that with my pancake instead. Nice .

Gers

<peeping in again after a while away>

Morning!

Yes - been away a whole load for work and no end in sight, though no complaints even when I manage to get home, empty the suitcase, do the washing and then repack the same suitcase. Am not at home at the moment either...

As for LC -yes, still there (mostly). Life in airports and foreign places does make for some challenges which I sometimes overcome and sometimes don't. Wine is still my favourite carbs of choice.

I often find myself buying M&S sliced cheese and having that for lunch or even evening meal.

What I have learnt is that carbs have a seriously horrible effect on my digestion. Perhaps I won't go into details as it's still before noon but digestive emergencies with volcanic responses are now the norm after consuming naughty carbs. A moderation of wine is fine for me, however any dip in the black pool of pasta or bread is disastrous.

Breakfast today was a boiled egg and two slices of cheese
Lunch will be a bowl of strawberries and cream
Evening meal is planned to be some lovely crispy roasted pork belly and some salad.

I am so glad that things have calmed down - I almost began posting again a couple of weeks ago but desisted. Glad to see so many familiar 'people' and some very welcome new ones too.

SHEILA54

Hi Gers and welcome back

I have similar experiences myself when I go off track - wind, stomach cramps and back pain. I guess that it makes it easier to stick to

Gray_Malkin

Hi everyone.

Just dashing in and out (I'm supposed to be cutting the grass before it pours down again)


Just wanted to say well done to all the losers!! :T:T

And hi to the new(er) peeps :wave:

LondonDreamer

Just checking in. :wave:

I've been reduced carbing for two weeks now - I say reduced as I'm still having a carby breakfast to use up my porridge supply, as mentioned in my previous post. But I've been really good at avoiding high carbs at lunch by taking a salad to work everyday. And always low carb in the evening. Do tend to have more carbs at the weekend as I'm much more relaxed with my "diet" (helps stop binges) so if I really want say bread, I will have a little bit of a good quality loaf as part of an otherwise LC lunch.

Have lost over half a stone so went to Evans today for some new jeans, as current ones (size 22) were getting too loose - I'm quite short so it's a noticeable size difference to me. They have new "pear fit" jeans which are more generously cut around the hips and thighs, which are my main problem areas. First tried one size down but was actually able to go down TWO sizes, and walked out very happy with my new "tiny bit tight but still do up easily" size 18s.

sistercas

marbett no i think you have to buy the book as its not all explained on her website

home from work , thought i had walked into a squat it was so untidy :eek: anyway i have cleaned through , dusted and hoovered, cleared the floors and surfaces, done 3 loads of washing, decluttered a cupboard , made lunch and cleared that up too , I am now having a few minutes to myself

welcome back gers - missed you