anyone doing low carb?

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jamie77
jamie77 Posts: 101
in Food and Nutrition
Good morning guys....

Ok, so I've been doing low carb for about 5 years now (off and on). It has worked for me in the past, I lost 90 lbs initially. Now I would like to lose 25 more, but the low carb thing is just not working now. I have absolutely no energy, just feel blah...not to mention, I'm not really losing a significant amount of weight. I have never tried any other eating method, so don't really know anything else.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...:smile:

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  • jamie77
    jamie77 Posts: 101
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    Good morning guys....

    Ok, so I've been doing low carb for about 5 years now (off and on). It has worked for me in the past, I lost 90 lbs initially. Now I would like to lose 25 more, but the low carb thing is just not working now. I have absolutely no energy, just feel blah...not to mention, I'm not really losing a significant amount of weight. I have never tried any other eating method, so don't really know anything else.
    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...:smile:
  • Fab140
    Fab140 Posts: 1,976 Member
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    :happy: Good job on the weight loss!!

    Low carb worked for me a couple of years ago, but I gained it all back (I love tortillas!!)

    For the low energy.....

    How low carb are you? No bread what-so-ever or just whole grains every once in awhile? You may be missing out on some necessary nutrients, so are you taking a multi-vitamin?
  • jamie77
    jamie77 Posts: 101
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    I'm doing about 30 grams per day. All in veggies. I never eat whole grains and I should take a multi vitamin, but not so good at that.
    I just can't seem to get out of this low carb mind set. I see how many carbs are in one cup of brown rice and I panic and don't touch it.
  • KrisKabob
    KrisKabob Posts: 1,250 Member
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    Well, I am not a low carb person, however, I am not a bread/pasta lover either. I always try to choose the "right" carbs by choosing whole grains, wheat, etc.

    Keep in mind that the fewer pounds you have to lose the slower they will come off. So, be patient with the last 20 or so. I agree with Megan, are you taking a multi-vitamin? I love Propel waters - they have a lot of b-vitamins which keep your energy up... not sure about their carb count.

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • fynendandi1
    fynendandi1 Posts: 122 Member
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    Hello!! Yes I too am on a low carb diet and the same thing is happening to me. i have been on it before and lost 40 pounds fairly quickly. I did stop and went back to my same old horrible eating habits and gained about 15 of it back (over a years time) now I am back on it and I do not seem to be loosing it as fast as i did last time. How long have you been back on it? I mean in the first week i always feel lathargic due to the loss of sugar. What I have done to feel more energetic is I am now taking vitamins and getting a little excercise. I am going to stay on this diet because it is the only one that has ever worked for me and since i can eat alot of the foods i like on a regular basis I can be successfull.

    Good luck and it nice to have another low carb dieter here with me!!! Let me know if you have any good recipes, I admit I do get a little bored with my foods sometimes:happy:
  • Fab140
    Fab140 Posts: 1,976 Member
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    I can understand the mind set. :smile: My mother has been stuck on low carb so long, she doesn't even look at calories right now.

    The low energy may be because your body isn't getting enough energy from just veggies. You may want to speak to a dietrician about your lack of energy. You may be overloading on protien or not getting enough good fats in your diet.

    And a good multi-vitamin would definetly help. :happy:

    And you may want to add at least one (small) serving of whole grain into your diet just to see if that helps your energy levels. I know, panic! But! Before you panic, think about the calories AND the carb intake. It'll help.
  • Fab140
    Fab140 Posts: 1,976 Member
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    O! And if you eat as many nuts and cheese sticks as I did when I was on the diet, that may be slowing the process because of all the calories in peanuts and other tastey, but calorie laden, nuts.
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
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    Been there--low carb--done that--lost weight--got the T-shirt--in a larger size because I went off it and gained back more than I lost.

    I have become a firm believer that a simple healthy balanced diet is much much easier. Your body needs carbs to move and live--it's that simple.

    That said, i am a diabetic and still have to seriously watch carbs, as they send blood sugar up as bad as sugar. Still, I eat about 100mg to 150mg a day and do fine with my diabetes. In fact, since starting to use MFP, I've been eating more carbs but healthy ones--apples, whole grain bread, etc.--and my blood sugar has been the best it's EVER been since I was diagnosed.

    Proof enough to me that all carbs are not simply "bad" for you.
  • jamie77
    jamie77 Posts: 101
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    You can get tons of awesome recipes on atkins.com
    Most of them are not easy and I wish they were a little less expensive, but they are so worth it.
    I have come up with a really good spinach stuffed chicken breast recipe:

    4 boneless chicken breasts - butterflied
    one bag fresh baby spinach
    4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
    1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
    1/3 cup parmesan
    4 slices bacon

    wilt spinach in about 2 tbls low sodium chicken broth, then drain
    mix spinach with cream cheese mayo and parmesan.
    stuff chicken with spinach mixture and wrap each piece with one slice of bacon and bake at 350 for one hour.


    It's very filling and so good!
  • kak1018
    kak1018 Posts: 183 Member
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    I've been following a low carb lifestyle for about 2.5 years. I have found that I need some carbs for energy so I always eat oatmeal in the morning it really helps give me a boost and it is very filling. If I find I am super tired or lethargic I always keep a South Beach bar with me.
  • fynendandi1
    fynendandi1 Posts: 122 Member
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    OOOO sounds yummy!!

    When i went off the diet I did not go back to eating just healthy food. I went back to eating a bag of chips 7 regulars sodas a day. A bag of cookies.....a bowl of spaghetti big enough to swim in, the whole half gallon of ice-cream....so yes if you go off the diet or any diet you will gain weight. I actually eat healthier now than i ever did. I eat alot more veggies and salads. I drink alot more water. When I have been on the diet for a while I will bring in things like rice and bread, but in smaller portions, bigger portions of meat. I eat a piece of fruit once in a while, it is just instead of 4 bannannas I will have one.
    It is the only diet that has ever worked for me, I do not have any cravings while on this diet.
  • Fab140
    Fab140 Posts: 1,976 Member
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    I've been following a low carb lifestyle for about 2.5 years. I have found that I need some carbs for energy so I always eat oatmeal in the morning it really helps give me a boost and it is very filling. If I find I am super tired or lethargic I always keep a South Beach bar with me.

    Yes, that's why South Beach has the three stages. To keep the energy up once your body gets used to the low carbs. This girlie just could never stick to it :happy: Good job!
  • robynlee
    robynlee Posts: 13
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    I find that fruit gives me alot of energy when I need it. It has alot of natural sugars,but they are carbs that are good for you!!! And you can eat as much fruit as you want during the day! But try not to eat fruit after 6pm. Then its too much sugar for your body to digest at night and you'll end up with a little pouch right below your belly button!
  • runawaybride
    runawaybride Posts: 400 Member
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    I too did the whole low carb thing with my husband when it was the "it" thing and yeah it did work I lost about 30 lbs in 2 months and my husband lost the same but then you start incorporating the carbs back in and before you know it the weight is back on. So for me it did not work because I like my carbs and the energy I get from them and it is going to be a lifestyle change then you want to do something that you can live with in the long run--so ask yourself honestly that. I think fad diets are overrated and not very healthy :frown: .
  • food_junkie
    food_junkie Posts: 434
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    Eating a balanced diet is best..I think so anyway haha. I feel like the more you cut out/limit yourself on something , the more likely it is you'll give in. I'm just speaking from experience because I tried the low carb thing and it worked for a while, but I wanted carbs SO bad so I gave in and ended up gaining more. Your body needs carbohydrates to function and it uses them to make a form of energy that your body can use to carry out its functions. I felt like when I went low carb that my head hurt and I learned that its because your brain utilizes a big portion of the glucose (simple carb, what carbs break down to) that your body has. With that being said, I think that you should let your body eat the recommended amount of carbs., but if you've been doing low carb for a while..you might gain some but it should come off again in no time! Anyways thats just my 2 cents :smile:
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I have done low carb off and on for so many years I quit counting. I cannot do it anymore, and I will admit I feel so free with this website, just being able to have a normal amount of carbs. No one can not eat carbs the rest of their life, and I know the Atkins thing is really to wean yourself off of the bad carbs you've been having, and then adding them back in slowly to find the level your body will utilize without gaining weight.

    I figured that on a low-carb diet, without counting calories, I was probably consuming only around 1000 calories a day, putting myself into starvation mode. I would always get very depressed after 1 or 2 weeks, and then would stop. I felt so deprived that I would overload on carbs and gain everything back.

    This is the first time I have been able to stick with it and consistently lose weight for more than 2 weeks ever in my life, and I credit being able to have that extra piece of toast in the afternoon with peanut butter on it..... or almonds..
  • Liana25
    Liana25 Posts: 31
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    I'm doing low carb right now but I'm eating six meals a day and I take a caffeine pill between 10 and 11 to get me through my workouts and I intend to add more carbs back as I get smaller (healthy ones though) because I'll have less fuel to burn from extra fat. If you decide to take a caffeine pill, I'd suggest trying one at a time at 30 minutes before or right around the time you feel the least energetic for morning to mid afternoon. Another thing with the foods I'm eating, I'm actually getting double the nutrients since I take a multi-vitamin and calcium supplement.
  • IndigoElectron
    IndigoElectron Posts: 143 Member
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    I'd recommed South Beach as a good alternative, which is not low carb but does restrict starch and grains to a certain extent, and encourages you to eat slightly more protein and fat. I had to tweak it to fit in with my calorie intake, but my percentages now are roughly 45% carbs, 30% fat and 25% protein. It seems to be working for me (I was doing a high carb/low fat diet before) and is really healthy, I eat lots of fresh veg and feel really good (and I don't feel I'm depriving myself either).

    A word of advice though, if you try it, don't rely on the book, look for some of the SB forums on the web (I like southbeachfriends.net and southbeach-diet-plan.com) as they're a good source of advice on how to plan your menus, and have loads of recipes too.

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