Low Carb Diets Support Thread

Angelfeathers

Lessonslearned, glad I could help! I think it's always useful to know what people actually make regularly, rather than just browsing repicies. :-)

I veer towards Paleo too and try to be mostly grain-free (though I made a conscious decision to ignore that and just enjoy myself over Christmas), but it can be difficult to be both Paleo and low carb. I would suggest that since you need to lose such a lot in such a short period, it might be worth considering ditching the sweet potatoes. I know they're a staple of the Paleo community, but they're actually higher in carbs than normal potatoes. You might want to limit the butternut squash and carrots too - green soups or mushroom soups or good old cream of chicken soups might work better?

Sorry, don't want to sound like I'm preaching - just advising what I've discovered over the years! For instance, if I make a pie for my family, I generally just have the filling, myself, with no 'pastry' at all. I have had some success with almond flour pastry, but tbh it's a bit carby too and I try not to overdo the nuts, so ended up just going without. Luckily, I love creamy or rich sauces so it's not too much of a hardship!

lessonlearned

Thank you Angelfeathers. That's very helpful.

I am doing Paleo mainly for health reasons, the weight loss, whilst important, is secondary, so if I don't manage that 2 stones by May I'm not too concerned. 1 stone would do me just fine. It's only vanity that makes me want to lose that much so I look good as "mother of the groom":D

I'm also trying to do the "protocol" bit of paleo to reduce inflammation for fibromyalgia and joint pain, so this also means nothing from the nightshade family - potatoes, aubergines, tomatoes, peppers.

I'm doing fine, don't miss potatoes but do find sweet potatoes useful sometimes - not that mad keen on them TBH - can only manage them once or twice a week so I think I could cut them out if necessary.

I think I'm right in saying that, as a general rule of thumb, most root vegetables are more starchy than leaf vegetables, therefore higher in carbs. Correct me if I'm wrong.......so maybe i ineed to reduce root veg. It's just that they are useful in winter.

I find summer easier when salads seem to be a bit tastier, especially if I can grow my own.

True paleo means no dairy but I do have a little. I think we need some for calcium and I think if I followed the "paleo protocol" to the letter I would find it too restrictive to be sustainable over the long term. I think I might need to look lacto free though.

My goal is to improve my health. Of course this also means losing weight but I would rather lose the weight slowly if needs be. I've lost 1 stone so far, took about three months. I'm ok with that. I'm no longer in the obese range, just overweight and I can feel the benefits already.

I'll get there. I'm "quietly confident". I just want to expand my repertoire a but, much as I enjoy my bacon and egg breakfasts, it will be nice to be able to ring the changes, so pancakes and a bit of granola now and then would be good.

Thanks for taking the time to advise me, I really appreciate it. I think a lot of it is trial and error isn't it. It's all a learning curve.

lessonlearned

Pamsdish......your holiday sounds great. I wouldn't worry too much about what to eat on the cruise. If you use the self service buffet it's easier.

I have just recently returned from a 33 day cruise round the Caribbean - yes it was Fab.:D. I found it easy to stick to healthy eating, just said no to the puddings (well most days:rotfl:) ate meat, fish, veg and salads, and went easy on the alcohol.....I only gained 2 lbs so I was pleased with that.

Hope you have a wonderful time. I fancy Nola Myself. I'll have to,put it on the bucket list.........

lessonlearned

Today's menu.......what do you think.

Breakfast. Greek yoghurt

Lunch bacon, egg, mushrooms

Dinner - home made chicken korma curry, (coconut cream and Pataks korma paste, not a jar of curry sauce), Cauliflower rice

Snacks.....hopefully not too many. Some fruit, a few nuts and seeds.

Going to have a go making those coconut flour pancakes today.

msauk

So glad I found this thread, and the recipe list in particular.

Me: 39yo male, cycle to work daily (about 7-10 mile suburban round trip, depending on route). I haven't actually weighed myself, but at 5ft10, after 2.5 months of low-carb-hi-fat lifestyle (since December 2015), I am impressed with how much tighter my belt has become since starting.

I have some thoughts to share and some questions to the esteemed panel here.

1. Ditch the carbs has been a great online source of recipes for me. The lemon coconut cake, made with xylitol (available in sainsburies, or holland and barrett, or Healthy Supplies) is a staple pudding at home now. I placed an order with Healthy Supplies recently and look forward to making my own choc granola (I've been a convert to raw cacao powder for a long time before I discovered low-carb-hi-fat)
2. I thoroughly recommend people read: The art and science of low carbohydrate living by Jeff Volek and Steve Phinney - both scientists who can make crediblle biochemistry understandable if you have a basic understanding of science. Helps you to understand how to get "healthy" essential fatty acids (oily fish, coconut oil, olive oil). The book explains the kinds of symptoms you are likely to get when your body switches to fat metabolism/ketogenesis. Their expectation that you pee more and need a bit more salt in your diet has been my own experience - for example, if I stand up quickly after crouching and feel a bit light-headed, I know that I need to add a wee bit more salt to food
3. Consumption of veg has shot up in our household. This can only be a good thing. I found with 5-2 dieting that my bowels didn't thank me by becoming a tad irregular immediately after the fast days. We now always have leftover veg that we turn into a salad to take to work. The Volek and Phinney book has recipes in it and I thoroughly recommend their home made blue-cheese dressing (when home again I will dig out the recipe and post here), which we freeze in portions, and put in lunchbox in the mornings, ready to enjoy by lunchtime.
4. About a month and a half into the lifestyle, we bought some take-away fish and chips. It was a big mistake: felt full and stodgy after less than half of what I normally would consume from the same chip shop.
5. The switch to hi-fat did trigger some right sided upper abdo pain, which has passed: i think this is a sign of one's gall bladder 'waking up' and is probably a good thing as your body learns that more fat is going to be the norm and keeping bile secretion into the gut regular - theoretically decreasing the risk of stone formation.
6. Breakfasts need a lot of variety to break the monotony of steamed kale + poached eggs in the morning (my partner was a committed oat muesli 'addict' until we both went hi-fat-low-carb). We have invested in a waffle maker, and I'm looking forward to trying the chia seed breakfasts.
7. On the matter of waffles: any good recipes out there? I guess pancake batter could be used? I looked at amazon for low-carb recipe books (there are a few), but the "low carb gourmet" by Karen Barnaby caught my eye. When you "look inside" on amazon, you eventually reach a waffle recipe on page 23 that I'm looking forward to trying. The book, helpfully, has nutritional info for each recipe (many recipe books do not, which puzzles me!!).
8. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the recipe at the start of this thread for ground almonds+sesame crackers. So easy to make and they have helped us with our post-dinner craving for cheese with biscuits!
9. Above all, after 2.5 months of low-carb-hi-fat I have noticed my palate has decidedly become more sensitive to sugar/sweet tastes: more than a couple of teaspoons now "feels like too much", particularly the crappy ice cream you get commercially. The whole lifestyle has made me more creative in the kitchen at home, with particular regard to making desserts (a nice base-free cheesecake recipe in the Volek and Phinney book which requires gelatin to set is worth trying).
10. We have also re-discovered meat and fish based slow cooking, using cauliflower, or mashed swede, or mashed celeriac to replace rice or potatoes.

So, in summary:
a) Any good low-carb (hi-fat) recipe books with good nutrional info people here can recommend?
b) Any waffle recipes? Trust me, your toaster and breadmaker (if you have one) will gather dust once you switch - unless I'm missing something.
c) A recipe that I've tried recently - amazing for dinner or breakfast, or lunch (suspend any fixed beliefs about what counts as 'breakfast', or 'lunch' or 'dinner' when moving onto low-carb-hi-fat).

Veggie Breakfast Frittata - Recipe
Low carbohydrate brunch recipe.
Filling and substantial.
Can be made gluten-free.
Serves 6-8 people.
Ingredients




1½ tsp of Onion Powder

1 tsp of Garlic Powder

2 pinches of Rosemary

2 pinches of Thyme

2 pinches of Oregano

3-4 Tbsp coconut oil.
Other Ingredients

350g fresh Cauliflower, broken into large florets.
150g cherry tomatoes, chopped in half.
150g button mushrooms.
8 large eggs.
3 vegetarian sausages of your choice.
3 rashers of vegetarian bacon (optional).
6-8 Tbsp milk or milk substitute.
Method

Line a deep brownie tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment. Pre-heat the oven to 190°c/ 180°c Fan/ Gas Mark.
Heat some of the rapeseed oil in a non-stick frying pan and gently fry the veggie bacon and sausages until they have coloured.
While these are frying place the cauliflower florets into a food processor with a metal blade. Blitz until you have loose crumbs of cauliflower. Set to one side.
Remove the cooked sausages and bacon from the pan. Set to one side. Then pan fry the mushrooms.
Finally fry-off the cauliflower rice in a little more of the rapeseed oil.
Whilst the cauliflower rice is steaming - remember to keep stirring this on a medium-low heat - beat the eggs a little.
Then add the garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, oregano, and thyme to the egg mix. Beat (by hand) again until it is all well combined. Any lumps of powder should easily be smoothed out with the back of a plastic spoon or spatula.
Spread the steamed cauliflower evenly over the entire base of the baking tray.
Slice the sausages on the diagonal and cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Arrange these over the surface of the cauliflower followed by tomato halves and whole button mushrooms.
Pour over the egg mix and place in the centre of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top and the egg mix has become firm - test this with a knife.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting into 6 or 8 rectangles. Serve with carb controlled portion of baked beans, salad, ketchup or low sugar relish of your choice!

danielbrain

There are a lot of misconceptions about low-carb diets. Almost every "anti-low carb" information or news report says the same thing: reduced-carb diets don't have enough fruits and vegetables, and even often draw an image of people eating unhealthy diet.

pamsdish

Got back from my break, had a great time, we had the food and beverage package lessonlearned so indulged ourselves a little, usually had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast, not too bad considering, had gained a stone on my return, all those mudslides, I knew I had water retention, lost 7lb after a few days, finding it hard to get back "on" properly, today I am determined to stop playing and eat sensibly,

lessonlearned

Hi Pamsdish. Glad to hear you had a good holiday, 7lbs overall weight gain is pretty good, especially when it's a cruise.....

I need to join you about getting serious, so we're on......:rotfl:

I have been messing about too and frankly I feel awful, abdominal cramps etc. I have had them since my holiday, I just can't seem to get back on track.

Anyhoo after a really bad night last night (caused by pop corn??) I had decided to up my game and make sure I eat clean and go back to my regime.

Then I spotted your post. It's a sign.:rotfl:

So let's be each other's guardian angels and support each other.

I finally managed to get some dry plain uncooked quinoa - much cheaper than the ready prepared stuff which whilst nice was incredibly expensive so need to practice with that.

Have bought some lacto free milk and need to try the cheese for cooking. I think dairy is not helping my tummy problems so thought I would try going lacto free.

Msauk. Lots of helpful tips there. I need to try some chia seeds and have just gone back to xylitol.

I think I just need to get in that kitchen and start experimenting.

Danielbrain. I think you are right - there is a lot if scaremongering attached to low carb eating. I think if done properly then you do get to eat plenty of fruit and veg.

I am having some fasting blood tests done tomorrow, it will be useful to get Some measurements.

I also need to drink more water.

So starting today it's back to clean eating and drink more water.

pamsdish

Hi all, how`s it going, I have been eating "properly" for a few days and this morning went under 11st, I said I would like to be between 11st and 10st 7lb when I started, that makes me a comfortable size 14, have reviewed my target and think 10st - 10st 7lb would give me a better lee-way, so onwards and downwards,

lessonlearned

Good mornjng everyone

Good progress there Pamsdish. It feels good when you get under the next stone marker doesn't it. Unfortunately I've got a way to go yet to get down to 11 stone.

However the good news is I've lost 1lb this week and TBH I've not been especially "good". My tummy has taken a long while to settle down after my cruise because I picked up a bug.

I've had severe abdominal cramps for nearly two months. Just awaiting the results of the blood tests. This week I decided it might be worth cutting back on dairy so I've been quite strict with myself - No nice stinky French cheeses:o

I have bought some lacto free milk, creams and cheeses and have been trying these out and pleased to say it seems to be doing the trick. Also taking some probiotics and lots of good yoghurt so I think I'm finally getting there.

I've bought some uncooked quinoa to try. I have been buying the pre cooked stuff but it's really expensive. I've also bought some chia seeds to try and make some chia "porridge" for breakfast. I have to limit my egg intake so need some alternative breakfasts.

I'm actually just having a break from re-organising the kitchen ready to get to grips with Paleo and lo carb cooking. I think I have a good selection of grain free alternatives so am ready to start experimenting.

Hoping to make some real headway now. I would like to lose a stone by the end of May. That's three months so hopefully I can do this.

Yes "onwards and downwards":D