I'm going low-carb to have more energy

jennifershoo

Hi everyone!
I'm a MFP newbie but I've been tracking calories on another website for the past 4 months.

I decided that I want to go low carb, but I'm lost and don't know what to eat, especially for breakfast.

To me, it's not really about losing weight. I've been losing consistently staying under my calorie goal.
However, I realized that eating pasta, bread and other whole grain foods make me feel like crap.
My heart rate raises and that high blood sugar depletes me from any energy.

I'm fairly new at educating myself about nutrition. I never knew that carbs turn into sugars in the blood. I thought as long as I avoided pure sugar, I'd be fine... well no.

Do you feel like having more energy on the low carb lifestyle? (don't like to use the word ''diet)

hbunting86

Hi

I'm new to this group too - and also pretty new to low carb.

I don't eat refined carbs, as like you they make me feel bloated and generally rubbish.

For breakfast I tend to have scrambled eggs (done in the microwave) and throw in some chicken bacon, fresh tomato or feta cheese - basically anything I have lying around in the fridge/cupboard! They only take a few minutes to do, and keep me full until lunch time.

Would be interested to hear other breakfast ideas though

H

jennifershoo

Hi hbunting86!

Is it real eggs that you put in the microwave? Or something like egg beaters? I've never heard of cooking eggs in the microwave!

I also would love new ideas for breakfast!

cramernh

I decided that I want to go low carb, but I'm lost and don't know what to eat, especially for breakfast.

To me, it's not really about losing weight. I've been losing consistently staying under my calorie goal.
However, I realized that eating pasta, bread and other whole grain foods make me feel like crap.
My heart rate raises and that high blood sugar depletes me from any energy.

I'm fairly new at educating myself about nutrition. I never knew that carbs turn into sugars in the blood. I thought as long as I avoided pure sugar, I'd be fine... well no.

Do you feel like having more energy on the low carb lifestyle? (don't like to use the word ''diet)

First things first here.... make sure you arent too low caloric-wise especially in combination with exercise.

Carbohydrates ARE sugar. The type of carbohydrates you consume have different properties... you have your good carbs (foods in their natural form), and your bad carbs (highly processed, boxed foods, frozen meals that are processed, food additives/preservatives, high-starchy content, etc).

Bad carbohydrates would be the type of foods that your body dumps large doses of insulin to rid the body of it - and about 5-10 minutes later, you are hungry again... The "whites" of the starch-related families such as potatoes, rice, pasta made with processed-bleached flours, corn (is a grain, not a vegetable), convenience meals, boxed foods, processed foods, high sugar fruits, etc.

Good carbohydrates would be found in your vegetables, some cheeses depending on how they were made, fruits, etc.... these foods MUST be in their natural form. When consumed, your body does not need to dump so much insulin as opposed to a potato - they take longer to digest due to the natural fiber content thus keeping your insulin leveled during the digestive process.

The EFFECTS of carbohydrates can be easily explained via the Glycemic Index - that is the effect of carbohydrates on insulin, the body reacting to said food-item, etc.

Low Glycemic Foods - take the longest to digest, stabilize your blood-sugar and insulin levels

Medium Glycemic Foods - take a standard amount of time to digest

High Glycemic Foods - take the quickest amount of time to digest, its effects on blood sugar and insulin are much quicker - (see BAD carbs)

I would highly recommend "The Glycemic Index" for good reading.. its fairly easy to read and understand and gives you a great breakdown of carbohydrates as a whole. Amazon.com has GREAT used-book prices also!


CramerNH
V-Mod

cramernh

The effects of having energy will be different per person.. but, I defintely recognize a physical/mental change when I eliminated the bad carbohydrate-related foods.

Ive been eating clean for quite a long time as it is, and discovered I had sensitivities/allergies to said-foods...

I 'feel' so much better!

jennifershoo

cramernh: Thank you very much for your input!

I will take a look at the Glycemic Index book you're taking about. I definitely cut down the processed food for the past 4 months and I eat more veggies.

When you say ''these foods MUST be in their natural form'' what does it mean? Can't I cook my veggies? I eat a lot of raw ones, but eating raw all the time is not something that I enjoy. I get bored with it!

cramernh

In other words, REAL food... not boxed, canned-into-a-salt-lick-from-hell, (LOL!)...

When fresh vegetables are high priced (which is normal for us in New Hampshire in the winter), Ill grab the frozen varieties because they are frozen with just the goodness of ice-cold air, no preservatives, yadda yadda yadda... 16oz bag of rainbow pepper strips for $1.00!!!!!!!!!! Come on!?!??! Thats insanely awesome! They go right from the bag to the wok and the flash cook perfectly - no mushy issues whatsoever..

Flash-frozen greenbeans - store brand, tends to be about 1.00 per 1lb bag... Im actually a bit of a germaphobe, I wont go grabbing fresh because you just dont know whose dirty cough-on hands have been in that bin of beans to begin with... I like the frozen to be honest... (*****rocking back and forth in the fetal position)

jennifershoo

In other words, REAL food... not boxed, canned-into-a-salt-lick-from-hell, (LOL!)...

When fresh vegetables are high priced (which is normal for us in New Hampshire in the winter), Ill grab the frozen varieties because they are frozen with just the goodness of ice-cold air, no preservatives, yadda yadda yadda... 16oz bag of rainbow pepper strips for $1.00!!!!!!!!!! Come on!?!??! Thats insanely awesome! They go right from the bag to the wok and the flash cook perfectly - no mushy issues whatsoever..

Flash-frozen greenbeans - store brand, tends to be about 1.00 per 1lb bag... Im actually a bit of a germaphobe, I wont go grabbing fresh because you just dont know whose dirty cough-on hands have been in that bin of beans to begin with... I like the frozen to be honest... (*****rocking back and forth in the fetal position)

LOL you made me laugh with your fetal position! :laugh:
You're right! Frozen veggies are great too! Thanks for your answer! I really appreciate it!

joyfulteach

I've been going low carb for almost 3 weeks, so I'm very new to this. The first 3 days were the hardest. I was exhausted and had headaches, but now I'm fine. I don't crave sugar and sweets like I did before. I still get tired a few hours after dinner, but I wake up early and ready to go. :-)

cramernh

LOL you made me laugh with your fetal position! :laugh:
You're right! Frozen veggies are great too! Thanks for your answer! I really appreciate it!

Im a freak when I see the sales flyers come through and it reads "10 bags for $10.00" - I cant get to the store fast enough! I grab the spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, green/wax bean combo, brussel sprouts (OMG SO GOOD), baby carrots, onion-pepper mix, stir-fry mix, you name it, I grab it! OHHHH corn for my husband.. he loves corn.. it always lasts long in our house because I dont eat corn... lol