Low-carb diets support thread

cagneyfan

Arghh! This atkins lark is driving me insane. I've read the book but the induction phase is really confusing. It totally contradicts itself regarding what amounts of veg you can have. One minute is so many ounces per day and then two pages later it's a completley different amount.

And how on earth am I supposed to work out how to take off any extra carbs from the veg I'm already eating, when it doesn't tell you how many carbs you're eating. I'm just eating 'x' amount of ounces of veg like it says. I've just read somewhere that the two tablespoons of cream I'm having should be deducted. Another faddy diet that is totally confusing as far aas I'm concerned - although I know someone who has lost a lot!!! It's so damn frustrating. waste of £8.99

stacey777

Just got back into this again and since iv been on it before. I know the pitfalls and have went into
Deep ketosis dark purple. I'm not having hardly any veg(only green salad) no caffine no low diet drinks apart from lemon based as the others stopes
Ketosis.

So far iv lost between 8&11lb. Unbeliveable!!! in 3 and a half days!!!

I'm extremely tired and concentration not good quite giddy. Prob going to eat a bit more veg Tomo. All the best for everyone starting hope we get to goal by Christmas.

Pandini

murphydog999 wrote: »

Finally, carbohydrates are such a big subject, yet they are being talked about in the singular. There are simple and complex, starchy and sugary, intrinsic and extrinsic, and they all react in the body in different ways - some good, some bad.

Sorry, but this is not right. ALL carbs are converted to Glucose, which is sugar, regardless of whether they are complex, or what their GI is.

In most overweight people, eating carbs causes an insulin reaction which stores the sugar as fat, and then prevents the fat from being burned for fuel. This is why fat people don't have much energy and cannot lose weight - their body won't let them access their own fat stores.

For example, if someone has a full-on highly active job a 'low-carb' diet is not the ideal thing - they will be a necessity.

No again, I'm afraid. Your body is designed to run on ketones, and can work perfectly well without any carbs (in fact, studies has shown that the brain works better on ketones than it does on glucose)

If your body is running on ketones, it uses its own fat stores for energy. If it needs glucose at all, it can synthesise it from proteins.

I'd suggest you read Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes, which not only explains this very simply, and backs up the science, he also makes it clear that UK Government advice to eat lots of carbs only started in 1984. Before that, everyone knew (ask any old person!) that bread, potatoes, beer were what you stopped eating if you wanted to lose weight, and no-one had any problem with full English breakfasts, lard and dripping, butter and cream, and other normal food!

Pandini

stacey777 wrote: »

I'm extremely tired and concentration not good quite giddy. Prob going to eat a bit more veg Tomo. All the best for everyone starting hope we get to goal by Christmas.

I was like this for about 4 weeks, so be warned! I was still losing massive amounts of weight (still am!) but I felt tired, and my brain wasn't working properly.

Then - almost overnight - I stopped being tired, needed 2 hours LESS sleep per night, and my thinking became clearer than ever. I also found myself feeling happy - almost euphoric - at times!

I think if you've been eating high carbs for 40 years (in my case) it's going to take time to go fully into ketosis and for your body to fully adapt. I think three weeks is the minimum, and I don't think 4-6 weeks would be unusual. This is why it is essential that people keep at it during this time.

Once it stops being hard, it's easy!

beanrua

Pandini wrote: »

Sorry, but this is not right. ALL carbs are converted to Glucose, which is sugar, regardless of whether they are complex, or what their GI is.

In most overweight people, eating carbs causes an insulin reaction which stores the sugar as fat, and then prevents the fat from being burned for fuel. This is why fat people don't have much energy and cannot lose weight - their body won't let them access their own fat stores.



No again, I'm afraid. Your body is designed to run on ketones, and can work perfectly well without any carbs (in fact, studies has shown that the brain works better on ketones than it does on glucose)

If your body is running on ketones, it uses its own fat stores for energy. If it needs glucose at all, it can synthesise it from proteins.

I'd suggest you read Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes, which not only explains this very simply, and backs up the science, he also makes it clear that UK Government advice to eat lots of carbs only started in 1984. Before that, everyone knew (ask any old person!) that bread, potatoes, beer were what you stopped eating if you wanted to lose weight, and no-one had any problem with full English breakfasts, lard and dripping, butter and cream, and other normal food!

Brilliant post. So well explained, not that I need convincing. I've seen the incredible change in my body shape in just a few weeks - and I feel great. This is def the way for me - no hunger, no deprivation just staying focused and planning meals for a week in advance. This is so easy and effective.

margaretclare

In most overweight people, eating carbs causes an insulin reaction which stores the sugar as fat, and then prevents the fat from being burned for fuel. This is why fat people don't have much energy and cannot lose weight - their body won't let them access their own fat stores.

This is true, but some carbs are very easily absorbed and hardly register in the stomach as being 'full'. Diabetics know this - if my DH feels he's sliding into a 'hypo', a can of Coca-Cola has enough sugar and is absorbed almost instantly, or a drink of Lucozade. Other carbs take longer to be digested and absorbed - these are the carbs classified as 'low GI', or low glycaemic index. http://www.glycemicindex.com/

Taking in high GI foods which are easily-digested and absorbed does cause a 'spike' in blood sugar, which triggers the insulin response, which causes the body to hang on to the fat it has stored.

hannoja

cagneyfan wrote: »

Arghh! This atkins lark is driving me insane. I've read the book but the induction phase is really confusing. It totally contradicts itself regarding what amounts of veg you can have. One minute is so many ounces per day and then two pages later it's a completley different amount.

And how on earth am I supposed to work out how to take off any extra carbs from the veg I'm already eating, when it doesn't tell you how many carbs you're eating. I'm just eating 'x' amount of ounces of veg like it says. I've just read somewhere that the two tablespoons of cream I'm having should be deducted. Another faddy diet that is totally confusing as far aas I'm concerned - although I know someone who has lost a lot!!! It's so damn frustrating. waste of £8.99

In 'The Rules of the Induction Diet' section of the book I have ('Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution' 1992) it gives the first rule as:

Your diet must contain no more than 20 grams of carbohydrate a day. For most people, induction of ketosis/lipolysis can be achieved on this intake. This allows for approximately 170g (6 oz) of salad vegetables (loosely packed) or 120 g (4 oz) of salad plus 130g (4.5 oz) of cooked vegetables in the below 10% carbohydrate category.

Personally I couldn't be be bothered with weighing and adding stuff up, so I pretty much avoided veg. apart from mushrooms and lettuce mainly. I was often in ketosis, and lost about a stone, though rather slowly, over perhaps 3 months or so, on and off; and was just starting to wear trousers a couple of sizes down, though I believe excercise (Callanetics mainly) was a huge help with this.

I'm talking in the past tense, because I seriously fell off the wagon over the summer holidays: excercise dropped to a much slower dog walk a day (youngest son (6 yrs) isn't the best partner for a brisk walk!), and eating of the wrong foods (and drinks! :eek: ) increased too much!
Not sure where I'm at now, but gladly I've finally managed to get back into it, and feel so much better already after less than 2 days!

Here's a carb. counter which you may find helpful

Also Dr Dahlqvist's blog gives a nice, simple list of stuff you can eat/should avoid on her low carb. diet, which is very similar to Dr Atkins'. She doesn't seem to restrict veg. either (apart from potatoes), which makes things easier. Take a look and see what you think. You can always still try Atkins once you've got the hang of the whole low carb. thing

Nessynoo

Hi, guys and girls.

Please can i join in?

I started the Dukan diet yesterday, and this morning, I had lost 3lb! I'm assuming most of that is water. Despite drinking lots (as instructed), I am weeing like a racehorse!

So far so good. No cravings yet, but I can predict a yearning for something crunchy! Any ideas?
A few more days on the attack phase to go. Looking forward to some lovely veg.

All the best, everyone, stay strong!

gravitytolls

DH's Bday next week. We're having steak, maybe a creamy sauce, salad etc. But traditionally chips are served with steak. what's a good alternative?

margaretclare

gravitytolls wrote: »

DH's Bday next week. We're having steak, maybe a creamy sauce, salad etc. But traditionally chips are served with steak. what's a good alternative?

Who says you have to have what's 'traditional'? I've been doing the Dukan Diet since end July and in that time we've been out for a steak meal a couple of times. I just said 'no potatoes, thank you'. I was offered baby new potatoes or mashed potatoes but I politely said 'no potatoes in any form'. Usually you can get extra salad.

'Tradition' - in my tradition Yorkshire puddings are always served as the first course and not on the plate with everything else, but I never get them that way unless I cook them at home. I shan't be having them ever again, in any case, but that is something that always annoys me whenever 'tradition' is mentioned.