Starting Low Carb diet - confused!

lily2521

I just found out my blood sugar is slightly high, so my doctor is recommending exercise (which I also need to, and am going to, start) and a low carb diet.

I've Google'd low carb diets, but I'm confused by the different ones out there, and it seems like so much information I don't know where to look first. I just need a good starting point right now, and I'm in information overload. Can someone point me in the right direction just to get started on this low carb diet? I'm very confused, and don't know even the basics of what I should and shouldn't be eating right now.

Thank you.

Siansonea

Well, the Atkins Diet is the original low-carb diet, it's pretty easy to follow, I did it when I was young. I didn't have blood sugar issues though. Basically you'll want to limit your carbohydrate intake to a set amount, and really, that limit should be dictated by your doctor. I suggest you start logging everything you eat, and paying close attention to your carb totals. If you make a sustained effort to avoid foods that are mostly carbohydrates, you'll should be fine if your condition isn't serious. Cut out sugar, cut out bread, cut out pasta, rice, and potatoes. And there are lots of sugars and other carbs that lurk in sauces, soups, and condiments, so watch out for those. Best of luck to you, and don't deprive yourself any more than you have to. :drinker:

SueInAz

www.atkins.com if you're looking for something structured. Otherwise simply look through their "allowed" food lists for some good ideas of things you CAN eat while following a low carb lifestyle. Mostly you'd be eating lean proteins, vegetables, nuts and small amounts of berries. Avoid sweets, breads, pasta, rice, potatoes and anything else starchy except in very limited amounts.

There are also some low carb groups here on My Fitness Pal where you can get a lot of support and advice. Good luck!

TribeHokie

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

KarenisPaleo

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

@Tribe : If I ate 1200 calories of bread I'd be miserable and want 1200 more. I wouldn't eat it, but I'd want it. Glad 1200 calories of carbs works ok for you. Good luck.

@lily
Try reading posts in the Low Carber forum or the Primal/Paleo forum. Low carb posts usually getting mostly unsolicited bashing. I don't know where all the hostility comes from but WATCH OUT!!!!!

Sabine_Stroehm

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

South beach isn't a low carb diet. Not by a long shot. South beach does not use any "magic calculations". In fact, south beach doesn't require counting or calculations at all.

OP: to get support I'd agree with the poster who said find a low carb group here.

Siansonea

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

South beach isn't a low carb diet. Not by a long shot. South beach does not use any "magic calculations". In fact, south beach doesn't require counting at all.

Well, that sounds like a really dumb diet then. If you don't know how/why it works, and you just follow it, how do apply it to your life after you've lost the weight?

SueInAz

- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

This may or not be true for you, but it doesn't hold true for everyone. In addition, the OP is trying to resolve issues with high blood sugar by eating low carb, not lose weight. Low carb plans are very beneficial for those with blood sugar issues like diabetes.

Stage14

Does your doctor actually want you on a structures low carb diet (such as Atkins) where you cut out carbs completely to induce ketosis, then slowly add a small amount of carbs back in? Or does he just want you to limit carbs in order to control your blood sugar? H is diabetic and he eats less than 100g of carbs a day and avoids enriched grains. This is pretty simple and very different from following a regimented diet like Atkin's, which cuts carbs down to well below that and restrics certain foods completely.

Sabine_Stroehm

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

South beach isn't a low carb diet. Not by a long shot. South beach does not use any "magic calculations". In fact, south beach doesn't require counting at all.

Well, that sounds like a really dumb diet then. If you don't know how/why it works, and you just follow it, how do apply it to your life after you've lost the weight?

:happy: :flowerforyou: Who says the followers don't know how and why it works? Who says the followers don't know how to apply it to their lives? Where'd you get that notion? I didn't say that. I merely clarified that it wasn't low carb and didn't require "magic calculations" (or counting at all).

ETA: I lied. Apparently you do have to count nuts lol.

mike_ny

I basically eat a low carb diet, but I prefer to call it a high fat diet since it makes more sense to me to refer to it by the thing you eat the most of and not what you eat the least of.

The basics are to set a limit for how many grams of carbs to eat each day. Your doctor should give you a number to work with. I set mine at 100 grams which works well for me. Of that number, I try to use most of the carbs as fiber and complex carbs, so that's almost no sugar or white flour I the diet. It still allows one small to medium carb serving a day of bread, rice, pasta, etc... but that's about it. Some people only count carbs that aren't fiber in that number. I just count all carbs towards it. There are 4 calories per gram so multiply what your limit is by four to get the carb calories total.

Then make sure you get your required protein for the day which is somewhere between half a gram to a gram of your lean body mass depending on whether you're less active or working out active. Multiply this by 4 to get the total calories for your planned protein.

Whatever calories you have left in your daily calorie limit after subtracting the two previous combined totals is how much fat calories you have left for the day. Divide that by 9 to determine how many grams of fat to eat. The only fats to avoid are trans-fats (eat none if you can) and poly-unsaturated fats (limit these since they tend to oxidize fairly quickly). Saturated fats and mono-saturated fats are extremely stable and despite all the bad press they've gotten over the years, are finally being recognized as beneficial and having no links to heart disease.

The only danger of eating a high fat diet (or any type of diet) is if you don't burn all your calories. Continual excess of fat or sugar in your blood isn't healthy and will also wind up being stored as fat. As long as you burn it, there's no excess to be concerned about.

TribeHokie

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

South beach isn't a low carb diet. Not by a long shot. South beach does not use any "magic calculations". In fact, south beach doesn't require counting or calculations at all.

OP: to get support I'd agree with the poster who said find a low carb group here.

That's interesting because pretty much anyone who has looked in to the named diets knows South Beach is a modified Atkins diet. From WebMD:

"Both the South Beach and Atkins diets restrict carbohydrates. True, "good carbs" are allowed. But South Beach dieters must say goodbye to potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn for the first two weeks. After that, some of these foods remain strongly discouraged."

lily2521

Thanks. My doctor didn't give me a set number of carbs to aim for per day. Just said to start a low carb, low sugar diet and to start an exercise routine. I am not trying to lose weight, just reduce blood sugar.

@stage14: My doctor also didn't suggest a specific structured low carb diet, and hasn't suggested cutting out carbs completely.

I don't eat red meat so I'm also wondering if that could cause a difficulty with the low carb diet?

lily2521

Thanks for suggesting the low carb forums too..I'll check those out as well

Aelyssa1989

This might not be a sustainable way to eat, but look up the 4 Hour body by Timothy Ferris. It's a 'Slow carb' diet, not necessarily low carb. you get your carbs from legumes. Worth a read, lots of good information. He mentions in the book that this is a very good way for diabetics and people with blood sugar issues to eat, because it keeps your blood sugar consistent.

I went on this diet and lost 7lbs & 7 total inches the first week I was on it. Did it for only 2 weeks and dropped 14lbs. I kept it off for over 2 years. I was never hungry, and you never count calories.

SueInAz

Thanks. My doctor didn't give me a set number of carbs to aim for per day. Just said to start a low carb, low sugar diet and to start an exercise routine. I am not trying to lose weight, just reduce blood sugar.

@stage14: My doctor also didn't suggest a specific structured low carb diet, and hasn't suggested cutting out carbs completely.

I don't eat red meat so I'm also wondering if that could cause a difficulty with the low carb diet?

That's not very helpful of your doctor. If you have access to a nutritionist (my health plan allows one visit per year, I believe) take advantage of it.

There's no need to eat red meat on a low carb diet. Unlike popular opinion, eating low carb is not all steak, bacon and cheese. :laugh: Eat whichever proteins you normally do, just make sure you're logging everything you eat and watching the carb counts of those foods so you can learn what works and what doesn't.

QuilterInVA

You couldn't eat 1200 calories of bread and lose weight. If you kept it up very long you'd be dead. The body has no requirement for even 1 carb but requires protein and fat for life. What you eat is just as important as how much.

QuilterInVA

The ADA has reversed its opinion of low carb diets and now finds them helpful for diabetics and pre-diabetics.

Sabine_Stroehm

Not sure exactly what you're confused about but then again I've never been on a low-carb diet. Here's what I know:

- High carb foods are basically grains or anything with a significant amount of sugar
- Atkins, south beach, and other low-carb diet plans have some sort of weird magic calculation that involves fiber? to come up with net carbs
- At the end of the day weight loss does not depend on carbs. It is calories in - calories out. You could eat 1200 calories of bread every day and lose weight because you're still eating at a deficit

Good luck.

South beach isn't a low carb diet. Not by a long shot. South beach does not use any "magic calculations". In fact, south beach doesn't require counting or calculations at all.

OP: to get support I'd agree with the poster who said find a low carb group here.

That's interesting because pretty much anyone who has looked in to the named diets knows South Beach is a modified Atkins diet. From WebMD:

"Both the South Beach and Atkins diets restrict carbohydrates. True, "good carbs" are allowed. But South Beach dieters must say goodbye to potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn for the first two weeks. After that, some of these foods remain strongly discouraged."

TWO WEEKS. FOR SOME PEOPLE. If you don't have cravings you don't have to give up breads, fruits, cereals etc at all.
Regardless, discouraging beets and carrots doesn't make it a low carb diet. And no I've never read it's a "modified atkins". I'd always read it was just a heart health diet created by a cardiologist. But then, I've read all three of his books. If you don't have cravings or is past the first two weeks you're encouraged to eat THREE starches and THREE fruits a day while losing weight. Along with vegetables, lean meats, dairy etc. That's hardly low carb. He does encourage WHOLE GRAINS and high fiber starches which I know is not fashionable on here, but no, not low carb.

That said: I lost my weight before south beach diet, but did do a two week stint where I cut out all added sugars and yes, it helped me with cravings (so much so, I left them out). So I like that aspect of his diet. ymmv of course.

donjessop

When I joined MFP my blood sugar wasn't just slightly high, it was really high. Insulin shot level high. I didn't resort to a low-carb diet, I resorted to a lower carb diet. Just follow the parameters that MFP provides (bump up the protein count to 25% and take it from carbs) and then eat away.

I have bagels which are quite high carb, but I balance it out with proteins and it has worked for me.

Just because you are slightly high in your blood sugar doesn't necessarily mean that you need to go low carb, you just need to better monitor your carbs and reduce them from your current level. Easier to do.