Low Carbers.........Talk to me! :-)

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I am currently following a low carb plan. Doing some carb cycling also. I am looking for friends who are doing the low carb thing too and people who can help me answer some questions quick that I see conflicting info on such as: 1. yogurt is good, right? Full-fat, not Fat-free! 2. Do you use real eggs always or egg beaters too? 3. Fruit at ALL? 4. Do you count calories and fat or just carbs? No potatoes and pasta EVER? lol Those are the kinds of questions I have. I hope you will add me if you are doing low carb also!!! Even if you're not, I love new friends!!!

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  • farmwife3815
    farmwife3815 Posts: 326 Member
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    I'm eating low carb. And we're already friends!! LOL. I don't eat yogurt very often and when I do I eat the Greek yogurt because it's got a bunch of protein. I just use real eggs. I used to use egg beaters but that got expensive. Eggs are cheap and I can sometimes get them free from local farmers. I eat fruit in the morning and maybe a small piece at lunch. I eat potatoes once in a while but not pasta. I use turnips and cauliflower in place of potato. You can substitute turnips for any potato dish. My husband made me scalloped turnips and they were so good!! The cauliflower I just boil and then mash. I use spaghetti squash a lot and also zucchini to replace noodles. Anything else you want to know!! LOL
  • ljfunkado
    ljfunkado Posts: 1 Member
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    I pretty much do the low carb thing; my body just doesnt respond well too many calories from starchy carbs
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    I am currently following a low carb plan. Doing some carb cycling also. I am looking for friends who are doing the low carb thing too and people who can help me answer some questions quick that I see conflicting info on such as: 1. yogurt is good, right? Full-fat, not Fat-free! 2. Do you use real eggs always or egg beaters too? 3. Fruit at ALL? 4. Do you count calories and fat or just carbs? No potatoes and pasta EVER? lol Those are the kinds of questions I have. I hope you will add me if you are doing low carb also!!! Even if you're not, I love new friends!!!

    Hi, TSB.

    I was low carb for most of my 100 lb. loss: 15% c, 30% p, 55% f. Once I became more insulin sensitive from weight loss and vigorous exercise, I switched to 30% c, 30% p, 40% f.

    My quick and dirty responses to your questions are as follows:

    1. Yogurt is fine -- full-fat is likely to have less sugar of course;
    2. I've eaten 3 whole eggs for breakfast nearly every day of my entire adult life, whether I was obese or lean, and no matter my macros;
    3. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but vegetables are generally better low carb options;
    4. Total calories and carbs. It's impossible to be low carb without being relatively high in fat and protein; and
    5. I generally avoid potatoes, pasta, rice, and bread, but I still have them occasionally. I just fit them into my daily numbers.
  • TakinSexyBack
    TakinSexyBack Posts: 300 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the info!!! I really appreciate it! I guess my question now would be how do you know what your carb limit is? Start low and add a little every week?? Once you stop losing you know you need to back down a bit? I dont reach 100 at all very often but I can still see losses as long as some of those were NOT bread, pasta, etc.
  • TakinSexyBack
    TakinSexyBack Posts: 300 Member
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    Thanks Pu too! From responses I got today in a FB group of experienced low-carbers........I guess the moderate protein, high fat is the way to go. I will find out next month when I have my cholesterol checked again!!!
  • iambuttercup
    iambuttercup Posts: 31 Member
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    Real eggs, real vegetables, real fruit (take with some protein to lower the bloodsugar spike) 2% greek yoghurt, almond milk, it's all good. I do not eat bread, pasta, rice or potatoes as part of my daily meals for a few years now. But do use them sparingly once in a while. They are a trigger food for me to eat too much, changing how my body feels as well, aches and pains show up fairly quickly after a day with them in it. So its more soups, lettuce wraps, omelets, veggies and smoothies.
    I make a large pot for my lunches/dinners once a week of either a ratatouille or veggie soup like carrot or zucchini or cauliflower blended with an immersion blender to make it nice and creamy, and freeze them as individual servings. Top with yoghurt or a sprinkle of crouton or cheese. Like the other posting, zucchini, cauliflower and squash are great fillers and will take on many flavors you need them to replace the unwanted.
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    My research reveals that most people need a "practical minimum" of 50 grams of carbohydrates a day to stop the body from breaking down protein to use as glucose.

    If you stay between 50 and 100 grams a day, you're likely to be in ketosis and reap the benefits of low carbohydrate living.

    If you start engaging in vigorous exercise like heavy strength training or endurance runs, things can get more complicated.

    Here's a link to an article that you will find helpful. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html
  • miracle4me
    miracle4me Posts: 522 Member
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    My research reveals that most people need a "practical minimum" of 50 grams of carbohydrates a day to stop the body from breaking down protein to use as glucose.

    If you stay between 50 and 100 grams a day, you're likely to be in ketosis and reap the benefits of low carbohydrate living.

    If you start engaging in vigorous exercise like heavy strength training or endurance runs, things can get more complicated.

    Here's a link to an article that you will find helpful. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html

    This ^^^^^
    I needed this info link thanks Poster above :flowerforyou: I did Atkins induction for 3 weeks and never got rid of the carb flu until I switched to 50 carbs. The 20 carbs or less was brutal on me and I never want to go through it again. I did lose most of the weight on lower carb of 50 but now I just stay under 100 carbs and count calories as well. My carbs are not table sugar it is Fruit and veggies.
  • TakinSexyBack
    TakinSexyBack Posts: 300 Member
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    Thanks Spartan!!! That helps a LOT!!! :-)
  • loveswalking
    loveswalking Posts: 354 Member
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    Check out Mark's Daily Apple blog. I also have found that I lose weight better eating less starchy carbs.
  • tabatanut
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    I had good results by cycling carbs.... Never worried about that fat.

    If your cutting both carbs and fat you will not get enough calories. You have to get the calories from somewhere.
  • emtron500
    emtron500 Posts: 102 Member
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    Yo! I'm doing low carb too. Going to add you :)
  • emtron500
    emtron500 Posts: 102 Member
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    Check out Mark's Daily Apple blog. I also have found that I lose weight better eating less starchy carbs.

    LOVE this blog
  • herrytews
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    I have been doing low carb for 3 months and have lost 50 lbs. Send me a friend invite and I can share some of my tips (and I have plenty!)

    Terry
  • teletubbie87
    teletubbie87 Posts: 78 Member
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    Hello there,

    First off let me tell you, yogurt is awesome. For me, I love Greek Yogurt, high in protein, and you can
    even get it plain. Fruits I do enjoy, mainly berries because they are high in fiber. The things I really don't
    eat is Bananas, and potatoes, deff not! Pasta is diff, I can eat whole wheat pasta, brown rice, but I really
    have small amounts and just add broccoli to it. Depends on what foods you like, you want something you can
    stick to long term. Look into foods that you like, just healthier options. I do not eat tortillas, but I enjoy whole wheat pita
    pockets in the morning with some mozzarella cheese and turkey breast. yummmm!

    Don't deprive yourself.. or you'll end up craving everything and falling off the healthy wagon!
  • cuteazz1
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    LOl at the variety of respones..just like with every other eating plan you will get MANy answers based on that persons experices..I believe in everyone finding out what works best for THEM! Calories in Vs calories out does NOTHING for me...Nothing! Actually calories in VS out does help me maintain but not lose weight..I Have to be under a certain number of carbs for continuous weight loss.My magic number is 90 grams per day..I found that number by doing the Atkins diet years ago...I'm no longer on Atkins,but I did lose a lot of weight fast and learned so much about my body on that plan. Its hard in the beginning to start a LC plan and you will always get a wide variety of responses..My suggestion is to just get a LC book from the Library and follow those rules then adjust it to fit your lifestyle and needs...A good book is-Why we get fat by Gary Taubes,THe Atkins books,and The South beach Diet book(this one is best if you love cooking). My favorite website for Low carb living is lowcarbfriends(the forum)...You can also find lots of videos on Youtube.
  • mgardiner288
    mgardiner288 Posts: 10 Member
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    I do low carb, but as i am not a big meat eater, i do find i have to have some carbs or I will starve, so i try and make my carbs count. I only eat sprouted wheat bread, the more fibre the better.