New to Low carb and have a few questions :)

Jennym93

So I'm trying to reduce my carb intake to under 100g (I'm not doing too well but it's lower than it was) as I have PCOS and maybe insulin resistance and and increased risk of diabetes because of that(although don't quote me on the last two as I'm not 100% about those) so I figured that going low carb might actually shift this weight
Anyway, my questions are:
What are the basic foods you'd recommend always having in your house on this kind of diet?
How do you deal with cravings (specifically sweet stuff)?
Is it ok on the heart to eat fats in this way?
What kind of percentages should I go for, I'm currently at 30% carbs and protein I think is 40% but I can't remember off the top of my head, I think I'm already feeling better at the amount I've reduced it to.
Any additional advice?

wabmester

This diet was made for you!

Go-to food for me: eggs!

Snacks/sweets: nuts and dark chocolate.

90% of the game: Just Eat Real Food.

robert65ferguson

Look at the announcement section of this group and follow the link to the Launch Pad. Read over the threads in this group which will answer most of your question. When you're ready to ask questions you will find lots of support here.

baconslave

robert65ferguson wrote: »

Look at the announcement section of this group and follow the link to the Launch Pad. Read over the threads in this group which will answer most of your question. When you're ready to ask questions you will find lots of support here.

Righty-O!

There are many FAQs there as well as suggestions for videos, books, and recipe sites.
Read over this one first as it specifically addresses your questions.

community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10039486/what-is-low-carb-an-overview-and-guide

It talks about different plans, and macros.
Check out the Dietary Fat FAQ as well. I love using Recipe sites to give me ideas. Or looking at low-carb friends diaries.

HTH.

Jennym93

baconslave wrote: »

robert65ferguson wrote: »

Look at the announcement section of this group and follow the link to the Launch Pad. Read over the threads in this group which will answer most of your question. When you're ready to ask questions you will find lots of support here.

Righty-O!

There are many FAQs there as well as suggestions for videos, books, and recipe sites.
Read over this one first as it specifically addresses your questions.

community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10039486/what-is-low-carb-an-overview-and-guide

It talks about different plans, and macros.
Check out the Dietary Fat FAQ as well. I love using Recipe sites to give me ideas. Or looking at low-carb friends diaries.

Thank you

Dragonwolf

I second the suggestions to look at the launch pad, but I feel like directly answering the questions. Maybe one day, I'll consolidate it all and finish my "low carb, whole food diet for PCOS" blog entry that I've been slowly working on.

Jennym93 wrote: »

So I'm trying to reduce my carb intake to under 100g (I'm not doing too well but it's lower than it was) as I have PCOS and maybe insulin resistance and and increased risk of diabetes because of that(although don't quote me on the last two as I'm not 100% about those) so I figured that going low carb might actually shift this weight

Yep, we're at increased risk for diabetes, especially those of us with insulin-resistant PCOS.

What are the basic foods you'd recommend always having in your house on this kind of diet?

Meat, fats (butter, lard, coconut oil, olive oil, etc), berries, above-ground vegetables. Those are your staples. Some people keep low-carb tortillas or bread around, especially if they have higher carb allotments. Personally, I prefer ditching the grains altogether -- especially the gluten grains -- for the PCOS, at least for a 4-6 week trial. In my time researching, there's some evidence of higher rates of gluten intolerance among women with PCOS. It also helps tremendously in getting into the mindset and habits that can successfully do the 100g carb cap.

How do you deal with cravings (specifically sweet stuff)?

Tough it out the first couple of weeks, find new replacements, eat plenty of fats. Dark chocolate is an awesome treat. Lower in sugar, higher in fat, full of antioxidants (especially if you find dairy free varieties). The darker you can get, the better. Go for the high quality stuff, and a small square is usually sufficient to sate the chocolate craving.

The act of lowering your carbs and dropping the processed ones for at least a while will, itself, reduce the cravings, especially if you eat plenty of fats.

Is it ok on the heart to eat fats in this way?

Take everything you learned about fat and heart health and throw it out the window. The launch pad will go into the details about this, but the Cliff Notes version is that all the hype about it has been purely out of political motivation, and has gone completely against what the science has actually been saying for the past...oh...nearly 75 years.

What kind of percentages should I go for, I'm currently at 30% carbs and protein I think is 40% but I can't remember off the top of my head, I think I'm already feeling better at the amount I've reduced it to.
Any additional advice?

Protein - about 1g/lb of lean mass. For women, this comes out to around 100g (give or take) or about 25%. If you don't want to do the math, just use that as a starting point. Protein isn't a fuel macro, so you don't need nor do you want to make it too large a proportion of your regular intake, or you'll start having compliance and GI issues (no, this isn't going to happen if you eat 120g instead of 100g, but neither do you need it to be 40%+).

Carbs - whatever you're comfortable with at the moment. 100g is a good place to start. There's no minimum for carbs that you need, so long as you're getting sufficient fat, so don't worry if you don't get up to this number.

Fat - Fill in the rest. Yes, it will be high. That's okay. It's also okay if a good chunk of it is saturated fat. Saturated and monounsaturated fats should make the bulk of your fat intake, while polyunsaturated should be moderated, and avoid trans fats (seed oils, hydrogenated oils) like the plague.

Jennym93

Dragonwolf wrote: »

I second the suggestions to look at the launch pad, but I feel like directly answering the questions. Maybe one day, I'll consolidate it all and finish my "low carb, whole food diet for PCOS" blog entry that I've been slowly working on.

Jennym93 wrote: »

So I'm trying to reduce my carb intake to under 100g (I'm not doing too well but it's lower than it was) as I have PCOS and maybe insulin resistance and and increased risk of diabetes because of that(although don't quote me on the last two as I'm not 100% about those) so I figured that going low carb might actually shift this weight

Yep, we're at increased risk for diabetes, especially those of us with insulin-resistant PCOS.

What are the basic foods you'd recommend always having in your house on this kind of diet?

Meat, fats (butter, lard, coconut oil, olive oil, etc), berries, above-ground vegetables. Those are your staples. Some people keep low-carb tortillas or bread around, especially if they have higher carb allotments. Personally, I prefer ditching the grains altogether -- especially the gluten grains -- for the PCOS, at least for a 4-6 week trial. In my time researching, there's some evidence of higher rates of gluten intolerance among women with PCOS. It also helps tremendously in getting into the mindset and habits that can successfully do the 100g carb cap.

How do you deal with cravings (specifically sweet stuff)?

Tough it out the first couple of weeks, find new replacements, eat plenty of fats. Dark chocolate is an awesome treat. Lower in sugar, higher in fat, full of antioxidants (especially if you find dairy free varieties). The darker you can get, the better. Go for the high quality stuff, and a small square is usually sufficient to sate the chocolate craving.

The act of lowering your carbs and dropping the processed ones for at least a while will, itself, reduce the cravings, especially if you eat plenty of fats.

Is it ok on the heart to eat fats in this way?

Take everything you learned about fat and heart health and throw it out the window. The launch pad will go into the details about this, but the Cliff Notes version is that all the hype about it has been purely out of political motivation, and has gone completely against what the science has actually been saying for the past...oh...nearly 75 years.

What kind of percentages should I go for, I'm currently at 30% carbs and protein I think is 40% but I can't remember off the top of my head, I think I'm already feeling better at the amount I've reduced it to.
Any additional advice?

Protein - about 1g/lb of lean mass. For women, this comes out to around 100g (give or take) or about 25%. If you don't want to do the math, just use that as a starting point. Protein isn't a fuel macro, so you don't need nor do you want to make it too large a proportion of your regular intake, or you'll start having compliance and GI issues (no, this isn't going to happen if you eat 120g instead of 100g, but neither do you need it to be 40%+).

Carbs - whatever you're comfortable with at the moment. 100g is a good place to start. There's no minimum for carbs that you need, so long as you're getting sufficient fat, so don't worry if you don't get up to this number.

Fat - Fill in the rest. Yes, it will be high. That's okay. It's also okay if a good chunk of it is saturated fat. Saturated and monounsaturated fats should make the bulk of your fat intake, while polyunsaturated should be moderated, and avoid trans fats (seed oils, hydrogenated oils) like the plague.

Thank you so much, this is really helpful stuff

I've had a quick look on the launch pad but I need to have a proper look around.

gerrielips

It takes time to read and process the amazing info available on the launch pad. I'm also learning from the folks who contribute questions and answers on the thread. Good luck and don't expect to comprehend it all at once. I just listened to the YouTube lecture #1by Jason fun and plan to learn from all of them (6 total) I think.