Getting used to the low carb thing

GingerPwr

So I'm trying to cut out white, starchy carbs - bread, white rice, pasta, potatoes. I'm HUNGRY and starting to feel a little crabby about it. It's only been a few days. I hear friends say that it takes a while for my body to start feeling full on protein and veggies.

If you're on a low carb or no carb diet, can you tell me how long it took you to adjust to it? Am I only hurting my system by denying myself? Will my body react badly if I do indulge once in a while? I don't want to think of a world where I can't eat pasta EVER again.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Unless you're medically restricted, it doesn't matter. You get more nutrition with whole grain carbs, but I'm not sure if you're cutting those out too. If you're trying to cut out all carbs, your body will be depleted of glycogen and you'll get a false sense of weight loss. Once you eat carbs again, it will all come right back until depleted. Your body burns carbs for energy more efficiently than protein, so I wouldn't deny myself - but I'm a biased, athletic carbivore (~300g/day).

Eat what you want, eat in moderation, and try to hit your macros.

husseycd

I cut out bread and grains a couple months ago and I love it. I felt pretty crappy for a few weeks actually, but now I feel great. If I do eat really carb-y items, like bread, I just feel bloated and icky. Sometimes it upsets my stomach a little but nothing awful. It's reduced my sugar cravings, and when I used to eat a meal with a lot of bread (like pizza) I just felt hungrier after. I don't have that problem anymore.

I'm not low carb per se, but my carbs mostly come from fruit and veggies... and alcohol. :blushing:

faeryblights

Maybe unrelated, but try, Explore Asia black bean spaghetti. It's a great substitute for pasta. I found it at our local co-op.

faeryblights

Alpina483

Took me about a week I guess. More water, protein and fiber = less hunger. An occasional piece of bread.. erm... yeah, bloated might be the word. You don't want it, after a while not such a big fan of pasta, so no tips here.

Alpina483

{oops}

Chokis

Shiritaki Noodles? They're low carb and many people like them as a substitute for pasta.
ANother option is to use spaghetti squash instead of pasta.
They also sell low-carb tortillas.

As far as breads, there are so many recipes for low-carb bread and deserts, you just have to get some low-carb cookbooks or even go to low-carb websites. You can use soy flour, almond flour, flax-seed meal, etc.

Are you eating enough fats? They're supposed to make you feel full and satiated. If you're hungry, it means you're not eating enough.

KarenisPaleo

Everyone is different, you can get through it!

Substituting beans for pasta will keep you craving carbs.

Eat more healthy fat to satiate yourself.

And of course you can cheat and eat spaghetti, but not while you're still struggling during this initiation phase.

When I eat pasta, very rarely, I don't crave it the next day. The next day, Back on the horse, so to speak )

Bakkasan

Do it how you like, that is all that matters. It takes a week sometimes two to get over that initial hump. 40% of the people here will want to burn you like a witch for wanting to LC, the other 40% will cheer you on. Then that last 20, they won't care anyway!

ladymiseryali

I've adjusted to low carb rather well. I'm doing keto, or at least trying. The first two days I had a headache and I'm a bit sleepy every now and then and sometimes suffer from "poo-brain" or fogginess, but I haven't been all that hungry because I make sure my fats are high and my protein is moderate. So try to get to up the fats some more.

poohpoohpeapod

why cut out whole food groups? Low glycemic good carbs are useful. Think baked sweet potato, quinoa, whole grain , spelt bread these are veryy easy on the body. It is very difficult to maintain a meat and veggie only diet. If you re on a diet fine, if you want to change your weight and be mopre satisfied, and maybe be able to maintain it, you may want to rethink things. Good luck!

lmarshel

I started a low-carb program a couple of weeks back. My main reason was to combat side effects of a thyroid disease. The disease tends to create increased appetite, and the low-carb plan seems to help with that. I haven't been hungry at all. Of course, I'm eating about 2500-3000 calories a day. And a great side effect is that I have lost 6 pounds in the process! :bigsmile:

Did you cut out starchy foods and just continue eating everything else you wer eating? Or did you replace those calories normally from carbs with something else? Are you eating plenty of vegetables with very meal? Those are the kinds of things that have helped me. I also try to get a little dairy every day, aside from the cheese. Low-carb yogurt and cottage cheese are great options.

Good luck to you in your pursuit of a LC lifestyle! :flowerforyou:

fleetzz

The first week stinks--we are used to eating lots of high carb low nutrition garbage. It will get better, just drink lots of water, broth, and it is ok to eat non-starchy veggies. Most of your initial weight loss will be water (dropped along with your glycogen stores from your liver). Don't expect the weight to drop as quickly as it does the first 1-2 weeks.

Stick with it, the cravings eventually decline significantly.

jojo86xdd

I did the low carb thing at first, but the minute i had a bite of pasta on vacation i gained like 3lbs. so now i substitute pasta and bread with whole grain pasta and bread. i eat bread every day and i also enjoy my regular pasta from time to time and it hasn't slowed my progress a bit. try to be realistic and don't cut out things you know you can't stay away from. just have them in moderation and if you can, make substitutions

tomcornhole

Takes a week or two. Then it's all good.

For those saying that low carb is not sustainable, I can't argue with that other than to say I have been doing it for 17 months. Does that count as sustainable?

MaryJane_8810002

And what is wrong with whole wheat and brown rice?

ndj1979

carbs don't make you gain weight, eating more than you burn makes you gain weight...thats all I got ...

eileen0515

Compliance is essential to successful weight loss. If you're miserable, compliance will fly out the window. Find a way to meet your caloric goals and include your favorite foods. Learn to prepare them healthier, and eat them in the proper portions. Not necessary to cut out entire food groups.

weigh your food, track your food, eat at a caloric deficit. Watch those empty calories, they'll mess you up for sure. Try to not drink your calories.

Good luck

JisatsuHoshi

there is not one diet out there that will work for everyone... If OP wants to do low carb approach then let them experiment...

Anyways I do a cyclical ketogenic diet. I eat less than 25g net Carbs for 7~14 days then have a 24 hr carb refeed (I lift often which is why I do this carb cycle to restore muscle glycogen and keep strength up for gym). Rinse and repeat.

When starting low carb you have to give your body time to adjust. Can be a matter of 2~3 Weeks. The first week will be hell. Fatigue, lethargic, weakness... But as the body adjust you'll pull free away from those systems.

The degree of those symtoms depends on "how" low carb you go. Keto (50g Carbs or less a day), 100g, 150g?

astartig

your diary is closed so I can't see what you've been eating but the fats and proteins should be filling you up. They did for me right for the start. Are you eating enough? I start the day (usually) with half a carton of egg whites and cheese with some veggies and it keeps me going for 5 or 6 hours before I start feeling hungry.

it's the main reason I go with a low carb high protein diet. the low fat low calorie diets usually have me starving. but different diets for different folks. If you're not feeling full and having the ketosis appetite suppressant effect it might not be worth it for you.

I think (and I am sure others will correct me if I am wrong) that you need the high protein in combination with the low carb to get the appetite suppressant effect of ketosis. are you getting enough protein? it should be something like at least 80 or 90 grams a day. combined with very low carb (from all sources) A lot of people complain that they don't feel the appetite suppressing effects of keto if they go over 30 or 20 carbs a day. I am averaging 35-50 carbs per day after fiber deducted and have been remaining in keto.. So get some keto sticks to know where you're at.
If you're not maintaining a diary I recommend you do. the first day I was on this I thought I was well under 20 grams of carbs but I was pushing 50. You don't realize what you're eating until you see it in front of you. (at least true for me)

astartig

there is not one diet out there that will work for everyone... If OP wants to do low carb approach then let them experiment...

Anyways I do a cyclical ketogenic diet. I eat less than 25g net Carbs for 7~14 days then have a 24 hr carb refeed (I lift often which is why I do this carb cycle to restore muscle glycogen and keep strength up for gym). Rinse and repeat.

When starting low carb you have to give your body time to adjust. Can be a matter of 2~3 Weeks. The first week will be hell. Fatigue, lethargic, weakness... But as the body adjust you'll pull free away from those systems.

The degree of those symtoms depends on "how" low carb you go. Keto (50g Carbs or less a day), 100g, 150g?

It depends on the person how many carbs they can take in and remain in ketosis. Some people can go up to a 100 grams a day and be in keto still. you have to experiment with the keto sticks to know how it works for you.

Jenny9000

Eat carbs. You need them for energy. Thats why you feel like garbage. Just eat HEALTHY carbs. Like whole wheat bread,pasta,etc and fruit. You have no reason to cut out carbs.

JisatsuHoshi

there is not one diet out there that will work for everyone... If OP wants to do low carb approach then let them experiment...

Anyways I do a cyclical ketogenic diet. I eat less than 25g net Carbs for 7~14 days then have a 24 hr carb refeed (I lift often which is why I do this carb cycle to restore muscle glycogen and keep strength up for gym). Rinse and repeat.

When starting low carb you have to give your body time to adjust. Can be a matter of 2~3 Weeks. The first week will be hell. Fatigue, lethargic, weakness... But as the body adjust you'll pull free away from those systems.

The degree of those symtoms depends on "how" low carb you go. Keto (50g Carbs or less a day), 100g, 150g?

It depends on the person how many carbs they can take in and remain in ketosis. Some people can go up to a 100 grams a day and be in keto still. you have to experiment with the keto sticks to know how it works for you.

I envy those who can handle that much Carbs and still be in ketosis... Lol

booyainyoface

eat fat! lots of it, it will fill you up. i cook everything in bacon fat, butter, and coconut oil. yumm.

JisatsuHoshi

eat fat! lots of it, it will fill you up. i cook everything in bacon fat, butter, and coconut oil. yumm.

^ this

Yes you need the fats for low carbing. I pretty much drink EVOO from the bottle! Put butter in my coffee (black only), and make fat bombs with coconut oil.

22dream

Unless you're medically restricted, it doesn't matter. You get more nutrition with whole grain carbs, but I'm not sure if you're cutting those out too. If you're trying to cut out all carbs, your body will be depleted of glycogen and you'll get a false sense of weight loss. Once you eat carbs again, it will all come right back until depleted. Your body burns carbs for energy more efficiently than protein, so I wouldn't deny myself - but I'm a biased, athletic carbivore (~300g/day).

Eat what you want, eat in moderation, and try to hit your macros.

my life would be HEAVEN if i could eat 300g a day with no problem!!!!! tuh smh

22dream

Takes a week or two. Then it's all good.

For those saying that low carb is not sustainable, I can't argue with that other than to say I have been doing it for 17 months. Does that count as sustainable?

THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!!!!!

Barbellgirl

You'll need to replace the carbs with healthy fats unless your comfortable just increasing your protein to make up for it. If you do, be sure to drink a lot of water.

P.s. read up on ketogenic diets, carb cycling, and carb back loading. Figure out what sounds like the best approach to you and give it a try. Our bodies are very resilient and can adapt to different fuels unless you have a medical condition not mentioned.

GingerPwr

Thank you, everyone for all the tips and advice. Just to clarify I'm not trying to cut out ALL carbs, just the white starchy ones, so I'm definitely going to cook with brown rice and whole grain pasta, just not white pasta and breads.

I started this in earnest on Sunday - eating meats and nuts, more veggies, and getting my carbs and natural sugar from fruits. I have already lost 1lb, and (this sounds weird) actually tucked in my shirt today and was able to wear a belt around my ACTUAL waist. I know lots of people won't understand the significance, but trust me, that's big.

I'm concerned about the backlash of this type of dieting still - saw lots of people say that if they indulge in bread or white pasta they instantly gain weight back or feel bloated and icky. I really don't want that.

Tubbytucka

I've been LC/ketogenic for about 4 months now - I cut out all starchy/sugary stuff, even wholemeal pasta etc - and I feel great. I have lost 15lb or so, not dropping much weight-wise the last couple of months but my body is definitely changing. My belly flab is much less and my thighs are getting bigger as I cycle a lot.
I didn't have much trouble cutting the starch/sugar as I was pretty low carb any way, I used to eat a bit of quinoa, squash and some wholegrain bread but I wanted to get rid of them too. I eat lots of dairy, meat, non-starchy veg and generally stay under 30g carbs a day. The fats make me feel fuller for longer so it's easy to eat at a calorie deficit.

Some folks believe you need carbs for physical stuff but I regularly ride 2-3 hours without carb loading and feel fine after it; I am feeling fitter than I have ever been and regularly set new PR's on strava.

As far as reintroducing processed starch/sugar I'd say try a little at a time, and track your quantities, then you'll be able to see how many grams you can eat without gaining weight/bloating.