Why is Low-carb so High-cal?

debi_f

Sorry for the rant, but...

I love the low-carb way of life. I feel better eating low carb. My hormones feel more in sync eating low carb. I've lost all the weight eating low carb.

But...

Why is it that so many of the great recipes out there are so HIGH calorie?! I found an awesome looking recipe for cheesy skillet bread, and just had to make it. It smelled so wonderful coming out of the oven. It tasted so good eating that first piece... Then I entered the recipe into the data base (mistake number one was entering the information after making and eating the bread). Even though the original recipe said that it should serve 10 people, I cut the portions to serve 12, so the serving size was smaller than the original. Even so, each small serving (a piece of heavy roughly 1 inch by 2 inches by 3/4 inches high) has 236 calories!

What? Really?

I had 2 slices of low-carb BBQ chicken pizza that totaled 286 calories. Two slices!

For dinner, I'm having spaghetti with meat sauce (subbing the pasta with an entire medium zucchini, of course), and an entire serving has only 248 calories. That's an entire plate of spaghetti!

And this wonderful cheesy bread isn't alone. What about that heavenly CarbQuik cheddar biscuits? Only about a million calories each. ;-(

And I've made this AWESOME low-carb fudge. SOOOO yummy that even thinking about it makes me drool. Again, each 3/4 inch piece has about 80 cals.

Don't even get my started on the joys of peanut butter or almonds or cashews... and the calories.

I want to maintain my weight loss, so I know I'm allowed to up my caloric intake a bit, but I'm terrified of making any of these wonderful recipes. Sure I can have one piece, but then what do I do with the rest of the batch? And if I just don't make them (or just don't buy the peanut butter/almonds/cashews/etc.), then how do I safely up my calories without upping the carbs? And, no, my freezer isn't big enough to store everything. I live in Europe where the fridges are the size of the cupboard where my mom in the states keeps her coffee mugs.

AHHHHH!

Okay, I feel better now. Just had to rant for a minute and get it off my chest with a group of people who may understand! ;-)

SweetxCatastrophe

200 something calories for 2 slices of pizza sounds good to me, as does the spaghetti with zucchini noodles. The average "regular" slice of pizza is 200+ calories A SLICE, and a whole plate full of spaghetti can easily run 400+ calories. I don't eat any of the carb quick stuff so I can't say anything about that, but I find it hard to fit in my calories on low carb with the amount of veggies I'm eating..since we all know veggies are low cal.

Have you thought maybe to do just meat, veggies and cheese instead of the low-carb goodies like breads and fudge? If you're worried about calories, it's going to be from foods like that rather than regular, non-processed type foods.

CandyAppleCockers

I agree with the post above. I don't consider any of the calorie values for things you posted bad.

My calories a day are 1200-1300. Generally I drink tea with heavy cream 4-5x a day have a snack and a meal. To have 3 average person meals a day.. then the calories would be problematic.

debi_f

Sorry my rant was so unclear. Yes, the pizza and the spaghetti are wonderful and low calorie. It was more the "goodies" that throw me off.

And of course, goodies of any kind are not going to be low cal...

I just so love to try new recipes to keep meals interesting, but it's hard to find things that are both low carb and low cal (like the pizza and the spaghetti).

shar140

200 something calories for 2 slices of pizza sounds good to me, as does the spaghetti with zucchini noodles. The average "regular" slice of pizza is 200+ calories A SLICE, and a whole plate full of spaghetti can easily run 400+ calories. I don't eat any of the carb quick stuff so I can't say anything about that, but I find it hard to fit in my calories on low carb with the amount of veggies I'm eating..since we all know veggies are low cal.

Have you thought maybe to do just meat, veggies and cheese instead of the low-carb goodies like breads and fudge? If you're worried about calories, it's going to be from foods like that rather than regular, non-processed type foods.

This.

Why are you worried about so-called High calorie foods, when you've been under your calorie goal by at LEAST 500 calories every day for the past week, up to 1300 below? :huh:

The Atkins bars have almost the same 200-someodd calories are those meals, btw.

wildfirediva

I get more protein, good fat and less calories with my morning egg white protein shake mixed with almond milk (along with my supplements)...[if I add a little coconut oil it goes up a bit. (from 170ish to 250ish)], than you get in your Atkins bar.

There are healthier lower cal higher nutrition options out there...

Akimajuktuq

Well, I eat low carb/paleo/primal. Low carb stuff usually has more fat. Fat has more calories than protein and carbs. Fat is good for us (well, not ALL of the kinds we consume nowadays) and makes us feel full... so one needs less food when eating a higher fat ratio. If you've done research in how the body responds to different foods, it actually makes sense that fat is more filling even though it's less volume for the calories.

Since changing to my low carb/high fat way of eating, I have no trouble staying under my calorie goal. In fact, I usually have to eat at bed time to get my caloried up. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's true. I aim for 65% fat, 25% protein, and 10% carb.

No more battling constantly with hunger and my food tastes great, but I'm not driven to over-eat. It's win win all the way around.

Disclaimer: my diet is based on a majority of unprocessed foods and healthy fats.

Akimajuktuq

I get more protein, good fat and less calories with my morning egg white protein shake mixed with almond milk (along with my supplements)...[if I add a little coconut oil it goes up a bit. (from 170ish to 250ish)], than you get in your Atkins bar.

There are healthier lower cal higher nutrition options out there...

I agree with you, and I wouldn't touch an Atkins bar ever (they were even trying to send me some for free)..., except one thing: why do you avoid the egg yolk in your shake? I hope it's not because you think it's unhealthy?

debi_f

Hi all. Yes, i have to admit that I have a bit of an addiction to those Atkins bars... I am a chocoholic!

I don't drink shakes, but maybe you're referring to the fact that I use egg-whites in place of the whole egg. I do it for the cholesterol count. My family has a history of high blood pressure and bad choles. levels, so I figure I don't really need the yolk parts (though I've never had my own blood levels checked...).

And yes, I stay below my calorie allowances every day if I can (think I've only gone over once or twice and felt AWFUL!). I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around adding in more.

TheVimFuego

Low carb is just a means of helping to remain low cal by controlling blood sugar (cravings, hunger, etc).

If you're struggling to maintain a deficit then maybe upping the protein is a good move.

I gained weight in ketosis purely on calories, and not that many more of them either.

I agree with the advice to stick to meat and veggies and less snacks.

SweetxCatastrophe

Blood cholesterol really isn't affected that much by dietary cholesterol: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-10-things-you-need-to-know-part-1/

Eating the whole egg not only provides vitamins that the white doesn't have, but it is going to keep you satiated for much longer also.
http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-strategies/ask-diet-doctor-egg-whites-vs-whole-eggs

wildfirediva

I get more protein, good fat and less calories with my morning egg white protein shake mixed with almond milk (along with my supplements)...[if I add a little coconut oil it goes up a bit. (from 170ish to 250ish)], than you get in your Atkins bar.

There are healthier lower cal higher nutrition options out there...

I agree with you, and I wouldn't touch an Atkins bar ever (they were even trying to send me some for free)..., except one thing: why do you avoid the egg yolk in your shake? I hope it's not because you think it's unhealthy?

I don't avoid egg yolk in general. I use an egg white protein powder as I am sensitive to whey and dairy. It is formulated for those doing high protein/low fat regime. That is generally why I end up adding a little coconut oil (and supplements) to get back in some good fats.

Akimajuktuq

I get more protein, good fat and less calories with my morning egg white protein shake mixed with almond milk (along with my supplements)...[if I add a little coconut oil it goes up a bit. (from 170ish to 250ish)], than you get in your Atkins bar.

There are healthier lower cal higher nutrition options out there...

I agree with you, and I wouldn't touch an Atkins bar ever (they were even trying to send me some for free)..., except one thing: why do you avoid the egg yolk in your shake? I hope it's not because you think it's unhealthy?

I don't avoid egg yolk in general. I use an egg white protein powder as I am sensitive to whey and dairy. It is formulated for those doing high protein/low fat regime. That is generally why I end up adding a little coconut oil (and supplements) to get back in some good fats.

Thanks for the explanation. The "avoid egg yolks" mentality drives me a bit crazy because it's based on misinformation that has been debunked but some of the "low fat, avoid cholesterol" mentality continues to persist.

To the OP: the cholesterol in an egg yolk is actually good for our bodies. Too much cholesterol in our bodies is not related to dietary cholesterol. (Yes, I just made a blanket statement and there may be the occasional exception, I am sure.) Strangely, many people who are eating paleo/primal (lots of animal products and saturated fat) see their bad cholesterol reduced and their healthy cholesterol increase.