Low carb bargains in supermarkets ?

SHEILA54

Hi

I have been low carbing since June last year as I had tried lots of other diets, including Weightwatchers, that just didn't work and need to lose weight for surgery. Since then I have lost over 4 stone and feel a lot healthier. I have cut my medication for a hiatus hernia and have more energy. First of all it was very hard and restrictive but I have adjusted to it now and devised or discovered recipes to make it easier. I even have a recipe for chocolate mousse that is only 5 carbs per serving and will have a few berries with it as they are the lowest carb fruit.

I don't use any low carb products but base my meals around protein, vegetables, ryvita (3 daily) and drink lots of water and low sugar Ribena. I also take vitamin supplements, as suggested by my GP. Cheese is necessary as I have about 2oz milk a day plus a small amount of probiotic yoghurt so I need it for calcium. I love St Agur Delice which I have with Ryvita but no butter and have an egg and sometimes a rasher of bacon for breakfast.

Surprisingly avacados are only 4 carbs for half and very filling. They are usually around 59p in Lidl but have to be left to ripen. Small amounts of nuts are a standby for snacking.

Most supermarkets do offers on veg but I find that Lidl and Aldi are usually the best.

I think that Iceland stock Youngs fish fingers.

I use this and have one in my handbag and one at home
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Gem-Carbohydrates-Everyday-ebook/dp/B003MQLZJ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328377559&sr=8-2

I try to stick to 50 carbs a day and my GP, who was sceptical at first and knows that I have been dieting for years, is now fine with it.

At first it is hard as your body adjusts to using fat instead of carbs as fuel and can put a strain on the liver and kidneys but all of my blood tests settled back to normal after a few weeks.

I will have a look at the health & beauty board as I didn't know that the thread existed. Thanks narabanekeater!!

stephen77

SOya milk at 62p a litre. Also for low carbs has a decent amount of fibre in. Plus some good protein and vitamins. Shame its not particular tastey.
Lidl eggs are a good price. Variety of omletes or fratartas as many vegs low in carbs but good flavours.

terra_ferma

I will be following this thread with interest.
I have a very low opinion of low carb weight loss programmes, like atkins, like any other system that doesn't promote better eating and long-term changes.
However low carbing is used for a number of reasons, other than weight loss, and I'm moving towards lower carbs.
Just for information for anyone who might find it useful, linking and balancing (aka insulin resistance diet) is a good alternative in some specific health related cases, if you struggle with low carbing. Not suitable for diabetes I believe (but some forms of prediabetes)

(Edw. I promise I'm not stalking you )

PM the book looks interesting.

Edwardia

LOL terra_firma, you sure about that ?

I've have never believed that diets work, because I've seen my mother try diet after diet in a fruitless attempt to change her pear shape and lapse every time.

My father had high cholesterol, did everything he was told to diet-wise and still ended up with heart disease,an angioplasty and a pacemaker.

I've got great cholesterol and blood pressure but my pancreas isn't so hot. All that low fat everything = high carb and eventually my pancreas couldn't produce enough insulin to process the carbs. I wasn't eating junk food or ready meals but I was fully into the low fat message.

I watched a lecture on YouTube by Dr Robert H Lustig MD. He's a specialist in paediatric endocrinology at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) hospital. He's a real person, a proper specialist, as I've emailed with him. He runs a clinic for obese kids and the first thing he does is stop them having sugar and cut the carbs.

So I figured if I remove the thing my body can't process, I'm removing the problem. While I'll always be classified as a diabetic, when I'm strict with myself about low carbing and take my meds, my blood sugar level is normal. I hope to come off the drugs eventually.

I feel that if we eat everything in moderation and don't veer in the direction of either low fat-high carb or high fat-low carb, our bodies should work. It's us tinkering with it and changing the balance that causes the problems, in my view.

By low carbing, I'm just trying to re-balance my damaged body, I guess.

There is a view, that some people who are overweight are already on the track to diabetes and that when they low carb, it takes the pressure off the pancreas. High insulin levels prevent people losing weight as insulin is part of the body's survival mechanism. I think more research is needed.

stephen77

edwardia - do you get more of the issues why you have high GI or High insulin response foods. or is more related to the toal carb quanity?
eg milk is low GI but high insulin response.

shykins

i have lowcarbed for years and lost 8stone doing so and feel so much better for it. i am not willing to get into rants about it but for me the proof is in the pudding. i cant see how eating lots of non processed meat along with veg and salad can be unhealthy but hey ho each to their own!!

i think u are best sticking to natural foods as many of the processed items contain sugars in one form or another. as someone else said stick to the outside aisles

morrisons sell pig skin very cheaply so u can make your own pork scratchings (very yummy!!). cream cheese is also on offer there at the moment which u can use to make cheesecakes and lots of other things including a bread substitute. oh and i did get the truvia (eek at the price) but havent tried it as yet

approved foods have lots of sugar free sweets on offer right now so they are worth a look if u want the odd treat

hth

VfM4meplse

Edwardia wrote: »

There you go again, assuming rather than reading. Personally I low carb because it means I can reduce the amount of medication I have to take.

There is a difference between low-carb and reducing your overall carbohydrate load.

I guess you may be referring to either medication prescribed for diabetes, or as a consequence of a condition exacerbated by excess weight? The answer is to cut out all processed foods (including fish fingers), have a balanced diet that includes 1/4-1/3 carbohydrate, in portions no larger than your cupped hands and unlimited non-starchy veg, and treat yourself to at least 30mins of exercise daily. You'll find the weight drop off.

There are some early indicators that losing excess weight can reverse diabetes in some cases. Matt is right, fads don't work, there are no quick fixes, and a healthy balanced diet will do you much more good.

VfM4meplse

shykins wrote: »

i have lowcarbed for years and lost 8stone doing so and feel so much better for it. i am not willing to get into rants about it but for me the proof is in the pudding. i cant see how eating lots of non processed meat along with veg and salad can be unhealthy but hey ho each to their own!!

i think u are best sticking to natural foods as many of the processed items contain sugars in one form or another. as someone else said stick to the outside aisles

morrisons sell pig skin very cheaply so u can make your own pork scratchings (very yummy!!). cream cheese is also on offer there at the moment which u can use to make cheesecakes and lots of other things including a bread substitute. oh and i did get the truvia (eek at the price) but havent tried it as yet

approved foods have lots of sugar free sweets on offer right now so they are worth a look if u want the odd treat

hth

There is no hey ho about it, cardiovascular disease is a killer (particularly prevelent in those with diabetes) and if you have a diet high in saturated fat then your arteries will be hardening nicely, there is also an association with certain cancers. You can reflect after you have a heart attack or stroke that leaves you permanently disabled.

If people just ate normally and did a bit of exercise then we really wouldn't have the shocking health statistics we have now. Your advice is uninformed and downright dangerous, but what I would expect from a thread asking for the ridiculous.

terra_ferma

The OP is simply asking tips on cheap foods suitable for the diet she is following for health reasons.
Nobody is promoting or advocating a diet over another.
The problem with the low fat push that we see in some nutritional advice is that it pushes people towards highly processed foods, full of chemicals.
I strongly believe that small quantities of butter are much better than using low fat spreads (which in turn may well be better than eating huge quantities of animal fats in various forms, but simply switching to low fat does not bring much benefit in my opinion).

However I can't see why people in this thread should be justifying their choices to people who are just butting in for the sake of it, if you don't agree say your piece if it's so important to you, no need to be rude or insulting other posters. Or even better start your own thread to encourage debate.

This advice is probably what is closest to my point of view, reduce animal fats but don't think they are public enemy no. 1, and don't replace with low fat alternatives. Also carbs are not bad in general, unless you have a specific health problem.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/healthy-fats/index.html
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/carbohydrates-full-story/

other interesting info:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1375687/Low-fat-foods-INCREASE-risk-heart-disease-nutritionist-says.html


However this is general advice, and some people will have to follow a low carb diet for medical reasons (diabetes, prediabetes, insulin resistance, pcos).

terra_ferma

VfM4meplse wrote: »

There is a difference between low-carb and reducing your overall carbohydrate load.

I guess you may be referring to either medication prescribed for diabetes, or as a consequence of a condition exacerbated by excess weight? The answer is to cut out all processed foods (including fish fingers), have a balanced diet that includes 1/4-1/3 carbohydrate, in portions no larger than your cupped hands and unlimited non-starchy veg, and treat yourself to at least 30mins of exercise daily. You'll find the weight drop off.

There are some early indicators that losing excess weight can reverse diabetes in some cases. Matt is right, fads don't work, there are no quick fixes, and a healthy balanced diet will do you much more good.

I take you are a doctor, a dietologist or suitably qualified practitioner qualified to give specialised nutrional advice to people with specific medical conditions, on the basis of a couple of sentences posted on a thread (a mind reader as well then?)

EDIT this is my last post about this issue on this thread, as the OP has only requested tips about saving money, but will happily contribute to any threads started specifically to have a debate about this issue.