Low-carb diets support thread

SHEILA54

marrbett - I hope that dd had a lovely birthday. I made a lowish carb chocolate cake for my daughter (33 not 14), and it was nice. Used a can of black beans as a base.

durham_mim - Thanks for caring when you have problems yourself.

breakfast - soft cheese and ryvita
lunch - broccoli & blue cheese soup
dinner - turkey with ratatouille
snack - almond pancake with raspberries and cream, 86% chocolate, nuts with almond butter

KittyBoo_2

I'm new to this and am determined to lose some weight. (there's plenty of it too - about 7 stones).
I'm working my way from the start of the first post and getting lots of useful info so now it's time to set off.
I've done 2 days and now done a big shop and stocked up on all the lovely things I can have.
If it's ok with you all, I'd like to post what I'm having and would really appreciate your thoughts on whether I'm going in the right direction.
I've always been a carb addict and all my meals were based on bread, potatoes, porridge and other high carb foods but I also love meat, veg , salad and fruit.
I've also been a 2 sugars in my coffee/tea kid of person too so I've got a bit of adjusting to do.
I'm looking forward to this and hopefully it will be the success that many of you have had.

SHEILA54

Hi KittyBoo and welcome :hello:

Please feel free to ask anything as we all believe that low carb is the way to go, although we may vary on how we do it. I myself lost 6+ stone by following low carb, having never managed to lose more than 2 stone before. It works but if you stray significantly then it is easy to put it back on again . I am now just over a stone heavier than my lowest last year and trying to get it back off again.

Are you following any particular plan? Also, if you have just started be prepared for feeling rough in a few days when you body adjusts to your new way of eating. Don't give up at this stage as you will come out the other side and feel better for it Also please remember that you need to drink around 3 litres to flush out the toxins. When I started I kept a 2 litre bottle of water beside me and made sure that I finished it.

There are many wise people who can tell the the relevant science behind this e.g. daska, murphydog, Skymist, Mercy.

Suffice to say that my GP now endorses it where she was against it when I first started and offered me gastric band surgery. I am so glad that I didn't go down that road. The swing of medical evidence now shows that it works better than a low fat diet.

breakfast: almond pancake with raspberries and cream , yogurt with flax / pumpkin seed, gojo berry mixture
lunch: half avocado, prawns, cucumber and mayo
dinner: turkey with cauliflower cheese (low carb), courgettes, 2 cherry tomatoes
snacks - nuts, almond butter,1 sq 85% chocolate.

According to Fitday this will give 33g carb + 18g fibre.

I will weigh later as I didn't get there yesterday so fingers crossed xx

Have a great day everyone.

Mojisola

KittyBoo wrote: »

I've always been a carb addict and all my meals were based on bread, potatoes, porridge and other high carb foods but I also love meat, veg , salad and fruit.
I've also been a 2 sugars in my coffee/tea kid of person too so I've got a bit of adjusting to do.
I'm looking forward to this and hopefully it will be the success that many of you have had.

Good luck!

Apart from cutting out the carbs, the other thing that can be difficult to get used to is not worrying about fat. Forget all the low-fat versions of foods; they are usually bulked up with sugars to compensate.

KittyBoo_2

I must admit, I really struggle drinking all that water.
Today I had
B Scrambled eggs and chopped up pepperoni
L Feta cheese, salad and a couple of baby beetroots with Sainsbury's french style mayo.
D Roast lamb, cabbage and cauliflower cheese.
I've been drinking some water and had 3 cups of coffee with cream and sweeteners (I usually drink tea with milk and 2 sugars).

To be honest I've not really missed the bread, potatoes, porridge etc. and I've not had my dinner yet because I'm not hungry.Very unusual for me.
I've amazed myself really because I'm quite partial to those Lidl hand cooked crisps and also toast and butter as a snack.
Anyway, I'll keep reading through your posts and get some more ideas.
I did do Atkins years ago but it was a bit extreme in the first couple of weeks so I thought I'd just aim to do low carb.
You're very inspirational on here and if I can lose a few pounds before I go to Ireland in June, then I'll be very happy.
Missing out on the Irish stew and Guinness might be a challenge, but I'm determined to do it this time.

durham_mim

Hi Kittyboo & welcome. I have been doing Low Carb for almost a year now and have lost just over a stone. I started out needing to lose about 5st. Even without any weight loss I feel so much healthier eating this way.

Menu:

Breakfast: 2tbsp flax, 2tbsp blueberries, lactofree cream.
Lunch: Corned Beef, lactofree cheese and green salad. Peanuts
Dinner: Smoked Haddock in cream cheese sauce, roasted celeriac and roasted green beans. 85% chocolate.

SHEILA54

Lost 5lb so pleased but not the 8lb that I was hoping for.

KittyBoo - how did you make your cauliflower cheese? I make mine by melting single cream, little mustard and grated cheese together. The water is a must and it will be easier when it gets a bit warmer.

I found these recipes for you
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4512870/A-Recipe-for-Today-Low-Carb-Irish-Stew/

LOW CARB IRISH STEW
Serves 8

Warm, filling and flavorful, this stew is a delectable main course meal for your St Patrick's Day party menu. Traditionally, Irish stew is loaded with potatoes; this low carb recipe replaces the high carb potatoes with low carb cabbage, celeriac and celery.

Ingredients:
8 small lamb chops
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon each whole peppercorns, rosemary, thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, white part thinly sliced white
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups celery stalks, diced
Vegetable broth
8oz celeriac / swede , diced
2 to 3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup peas

Directions:
1. Season lamb with salt and pepper and set aside. Tie parsley, bay leaf peppercorns, rosemary and thyme in a piece of cheesecloth and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Brown pork chops on both sides. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

3. Add onion, leek, garlic and celery to the saucepan and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft and lightly browned.

4. Add lamb chops, celeriac and cabbage to saucepan, stirring to combine. Add enough vegetable broth to cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until lamb is cooked through and potatoes and cabbage are tender.

5. Add peas and simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with fresh parsley to serve.

KittyBoo_2

KittyBoo - how did you make your cauliflower cheese? I make mine by melting single cream, little mustard and grated cheese together. The water is a must and it will be easier when it gets a bit warmer.
Made the same way but without the water. It was lovely as I used all the bits of cheese that were lurking about in the fridge.
Thanks for the Irish stew recipe - I'll make some when we get there and will enjoy it knowing I've not carved in to the carbs.

SHEILA54

I don't add water to my cauliflower cheese, I meant that you must drink more than you are used to

Have a good day

KittyBoo_2

SHEILA54 wrote: »

I don't add water to my cauliflower cheese, I meant that you must drink more than you are used to

Have a good day

I thought you meant add the water to the cauliflower cheese as it helps it when it gets warmer.
I got weighed this morning and have lost 4 pounds and my BMI was 42.81 and it's now 42.11. ( I did it on the WI fit thingy and it tracks it every time I use it).
Can someone enlighten me about how to make sense of food labels and carbs.
I've tried to look it up but most sites use American way and I know that's different.
I don't use much labelled stuff but it's always useful to know.
Many thanks for your replies and suggestions.
It all helps a newbie like me.
Not sure what that means but as long as the numbers are decreasing them I'm happy.