Low Carb Diet

Daila78

For those of you that are on a low carb diet or have been in the past, when in your diet did you really start missing or craving carbs? I'm only 3 days in, but so far I don't miss them at all, and I used to eat a lot of carbs. I'm just wondering if I'm on a beginners' high, and I need to prepare myself for a hard road to come.

And if you did start missing or craving them, how long did it take you before you stopped or is it a never-ending battle?

Lsqueezy

I start missing them about a week in, but if you can work through those cravings it's pretty smooth sailing after that. I find little ways to get around everything. If I'm craving crunchy salty, I either have chicharones or home made cheese crackers. If I'm craving bread, la tortilla smart and delicious tortillas make a great wrap or taco. They can even be baked for tortilla chips. Of course they're not exactly the same, but they will do!

So I guess my answer is it's always a battle, but it does get easier once you learn a few tricks! Good Luck!

♥_Ellybean_♥

the first few days were really hard for me, once I got past the first week I was fine.. every once in awhile I crave them big time and cave... but I try to fit them into my day. I also am not SUPER low carb, I stay between 120-150

♥_Ellybean_♥

the first few days were really hard for me, once I got past the first week I was fine.. every once in awhile I crave them big time and cave... but I try to fit them into my day. I also am not SUPER low carb, I stay between 120-150

dls06

I do healthy carbs. I could never do no carb.

ChitownFoodie

I stay between 75-110. Vegetables and fruits are the vast majority of my carbs, and I also have oatmeal for breakfast. It's much easier to stick to a diet when there isn't as many restrictions.

Pocket_Pixi

I do healthy carbs. I could never do no carb.

Low Carb does not mean NO carb. I eat carbs, just not as many as I used to, and most of them come from fruits and veggies, and dairy.

To the OP, I found that when I made the switch I didn't crave them right away I was about a week into it, I just worked through them and once those few days passed it was clear sailing.

SailingMike

I lost 35lbs on Atkins a few years ago. Last year I got lax and started putting them back almost 20 of them in fact. I tried to do the low carb again but could not get motivated for it. I found MFP and just eating healthier and getting good exercise I have lost that 20 plus and I am looking to go where Atkins did not take me, down another 10 from my Atkins low.

Looking back, I honestly don't think it was "low carb" that was the key, it was giving up the sweets and chips AND starting to ride my bike (which I am doing again) that really was the trick.

I am now advocating NOT going on fad type diets of any kind. Just learn to eat healthy and exercise regularly in a way that you ENJOY. Moderation in eating, regularity in exercise.

Live Healthy.

cee134

I have done the Atkins diet, it works but you have to follow the diet really well. What works better is a low cal. diet. If you follow the Atkins diet, your suppose to mostly eat fruits and veggies which turns out to pretty much be a low cal diet. But here's the rub. Carbs are good for you. You should eat healthy whole carbs (processed is bad). Sometimes when people go on a low carb diet they don't talk to their doctor first and see if that is healthy for them. The problem is sometimes when people cut out carbs they are cutting out important nutrition that their body needs. There is no real way to tell what their body needs without tests that a doctor can give you. That is the safest way.

So if you do do a low carb diet REMEMBER, 1) a diet only works if you do it for the rest of your life, so make sure you want to do that forever, (which I wouldn't recommend due to the health benefits of carbs) 2) make sure if you do decide to follow the low carb diet that you eat enough fruit and vegetables and a verity of healthy foods, don't ignore any part of the diet (like eat more meat and not as much veg and fruit) because that is when diets become unhealthy.

lissa0040

I am on a low carb diet and I found the first few days easy too! I started to feel challenged the last couple days of the first week. I let myself have a "free" day once a week where I can eat what I want so that I don't feel deprived and wreck everything. Anyways, good luck with everything! : )

SailingMike

REMEMBER, 1) a diet only works if you do it for the rest of your life, so make sure you want to do that forever, (which I wouldn't recommend due to the health benefits of carbs) 2) make sure if you do decide to follow the low carb diet that you eat enough fruit and vegetables and a verity of healthy foods, don't ignore any part of the diet (like eat more meat and not as much veg and fruit) because that is when diets become unhealthy.

See this is what I am battling against... DON'T "diet." When we hear the word "diet" we think of a temporary solution to over eating. We need to think GOOD HEALTH, which is a lifestyle, not a diet. Fad diets do NOT make good lifestyle choices.

funkycamper

Eating low carb is not a fad diet. For those of us with hyperinsulimia (sp?), cutting carbs can be the most important step to getting healthier and losing weight.

As another poster stated, low carb is not NO carb. I low-carb by eating vegetables, limited fruit always eaten with a protein (like a couple of slices of apple with a bit of peanut butter), and limited whole-grains (usually about one slice a day). I am not missing any important nutrients as there aren't really all that many important nutrients in bread anyway. I do try to stay away from potatoes and pasta as they can be trigger foods for me but will occasionally eat a small serving. I tend to keep my carbs in the 60-80 grams/day range. Nothing unhealthy about that.

Since non-vegetable and non-fruit higher carb food tends to be more calorie dense and nutrient poor, there is really no nutritional reason why we should eat it. And minimizing this type of food makes it far easier to stay within my calorie goal. I mean, really, if I need to get in an additional 150 calories to meet my calorie target, what is healthier? Eating a big salad, a big plate of vegetables sauteed with garlic and a few drops of olive oil, or eating a slice of bread? Think about it.

ETA: To the OP, one of the reasons why I still allow myself occasional servings of whole-grain bread and, even more rarely, a bit of potato or pasta, is because I just really like the way this food tastes and would miss it if someone said I couldn't eat it for the rest of my life. In fact, that type of either-or thinking makes me crave those carbs. So allowing myself to eat just a bit keeps me from craving it and going on a binge. It does get easier as time goes by and this way of eating becomes more of a lifestyle choice than a diet. Hope that helps.

rw4hawks

I also have a question about Low Carb. I try to stay within 125g per day. However MFP increases that amount when you exercise. Do you Low Carbers stay with your actual goal or allow yourself more carbs?

Rain_Howard

I lost 35lbs on Atkins a few years ago. Last year I got lax and started putting them back almost 20 of them in fact. I tried to do the low carb again but could not get motivated for it. I found MFP and just eating healthier and getting good exercise I have lost that 20 plus and I am looking to go where Atkins did not take me, down another 10 from my Atkins low.

Looking back, I honestly don't think it was "low carb" that was the key, it was giving up the sweets and chips AND starting to ride my bike (which I am doing again) that really was the trick.

I am now advocating NOT going on fad type diets of any kind. Just learn to eat healthy and exercise regularly in a way that you ENJOY. Moderation in eating, regularity in exercise.

Live Healthy.

I so agree. Have you noticed what all the "diets" out there have in common? Every one of them shares one common factor. They're trying to sell you something. A book, a video, some form of food.

My body doesn't process carbs very well. Or perhaps too well, I tend to store them for the winter that never comes. However, I can't do a completely carb free (or what most people consider a carb free) diet, I get ill. Something many people don't seem to know is that most vegetables has at least a small amount of carbs in them.

Vegetable Carbohydrates
Asparagus 2g
Aubergine 2.3g
Calories in Beans 8-18g
Beetroot 8g
Broccoli 2g
Brussels Sprouts 4g
Cabbage 4g
Carrot 8g
Cauliflower 3g
Celery 1g
Chicory 3g
Courgette 2g
Fennel 1.9g
Gherkins 2.8g
Gourd 1g
Leek 3g
Lettuce 1.5g
Marrow 2g
Mushroom 0.5g
Okra 3g
Onion 8g
Spring Onion 6g
Parsnip 12g
Peas 10-15g
Peppers 1.6g
Potato 15-25g
Pumpkin 2.1g
Radish 2g
Spinach 1.5g
Swede 5g
Sweet Corn 2g
Tomatoes 3g
Turnip 4.5g
Watercress 0.3g
Yam 27g

funkycamper

I also have a question about Low Carb. I try to stay within 125g per day. However MFP increases that amount when you exercise. Do you Low Carbers stay with your actual goal or allow yourself more carbs?

All food, except pure fats, have carbs in them. So just by increasing your food intake, you're increasing your carb intake.

Once a week or so, I will purposely eat a higher-carb food as a bit of a treat but I don't do it on a daily basis. Too many carbs makes me lazy and lethargic and makes my brain fuzzy so I do my best to keep the carb count down so I function better. Too many carbs also results in uncomfortable edema for me. If you don't have those types of symptoms from eating more carbs, you could probably be more liberal with adding carbs. I think this is one of those types of things that people have to experiment with a bit to see how their own body responds best.

funkycamper

My body doesn't process carbs very well. Or perhaps too well, I tend to store them for the winter that never comes. However, I can't do a completely carb free (or what most people consider a carb free) diet, I get ill. Something many people don't seem to know is that most vegetables has at least a small amount of carbs in them.

True. Low-carbers usually eat lots of veggies. I don't think anybody here has advocated for a carb-free diet. That would be a 100% meat/pure fat diet. While there are a few extremists who claim to do this and be healthy, I don't see how that could be healthy. But those extremists are not typical low-carbers. Atkins advocated for eating vegetables and has a carb ladder for the ongoing phase of his diet where you add carbs each week until you find your own sweet spot where you can lose about 1-2# per week without hunger. Atkins also wanted you to eat berries during the first phases of the carb ladder and then gradually add in other fruits. There is a LOT of misunderstanding about Atkins and most other low-carb plans.

martinah4

I also have a question about Low Carb. I try to stay within 125g per day. However MFP increases that amount when you exercise. Do you Low Carbers stay with your actual goal or allow yourself more carbs?

I don't count calories at all, but I do notice them, because I can't seem to take that category out of my diary.
I don't increase my carbs even after exercising, because Low-Carb is not an energy balance diet.

Eating low carb is not a fad diet. For those of us with hyperinsulimia (sp?), cutting carbs can be the most important step to getting healthier and losing weight.

As another poster stated, low carb is not NO carb. I low-carb by eating vegetables, limited fruit always eaten with a protein (like a couple of slices of apple with a bit of peanut butter), and limited whole-grains (usually about one slice a day). I am not missing any important nutrients as there aren't really all that many important nutrients in bread anyway. I do try to stay away from potatoes and pasta as they can be trigger foods for me but will occasionally eat a small serving. I tend to keep my carbs in the 60-80 grams/day range. Nothing unhealthy about that.

Since non-vegetable and non-fruit higher carb food tends to be more calorie dense and nutrient poor, there is really no nutritional reason why we should eat it. And minimizing this type of food makes it far easier to stay within my calorie goal. I mean, really, if I need to get in an additional 150 calories to meet my calorie target, what is healthier? Eating a big salad, a big plate of vegetables sauteed with garlic and a few drops of olive oil, or eating a slice of bread? Think about it.

ETA: To the OP, one of the reasons why I still allow myself occasional servings of whole-grain bread and, even more rarely, a bit of potato or pasta, is because I just really like the way this food tastes and would miss it if someone said I couldn't eat it for the rest of my life. In fact, that type of either-or thinking makes me crave those carbs. So allowing myself to eat just a bit keeps me from craving it and going on a binge. It does get easier as time goes by and this way of eating becomes more of a lifestyle choice than a diet. Hope that helps.

I like this ^
It took about 2-3 weeks for me to get over cravings for good. Keep in mind, I have four kids and a husband who are not low-carbers, so we always have junk food in the house. It took sheer will-power at first. I stay at 20 net carbs a day (give or take 3 or 4). If I tried what Funky Camper does, I think the sugar would trigger cravings in me again and start an avalanche, and I would go crazy eating all that those empty carbs. I've found ways to control my sweet tooth, and cravings for salty, crunchy things (pork rinds are great). I don't have cheat days and I don't miss carbage at all.

rw4hawks

Thanks. I appreciate your help.