That's it.... on low carb?????

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  • rlynnehawk
    rlynnehawk Posts: 71 Member
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    There is low carb and there is low carb. A healthy low carb diet is restricting the white and processed carbs. Sugar, white bread, starchy vegetables put on weight. Watch calories, sugary and starchy carbs...eat plenty of healthy vegetables and protein. Exercise is important too. Build lean muscle and burn fat.
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
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    i don't do keto, but do stay under 75-100 carbs. I don't eat beans or apples every day and I avoid flavored yogurts and Fiber one bars, but that's due to diabetes and some food intolerances. I'd suggest a greater emphasis on veggies in general, but overall think you're fine. 1.5 pounds in a week is cause to celebrate.

    My grandma had diabetes and she eat an apple a day. Her doctor told her that it was good and that she had the cleanest colon he had ever seen. I've honestly though about following a diabetic diet. I had gestational diabetes with my last 2 pregnancies and they told me to go no higher than like 125-140g of carbs a day. What do you normally eat? What foods have the greatest benefits for diabetes?

    My diabetes "diet" is low-carb ... 20% carb/30% protein/50% fat.

    As far as fruits go, I usually stick to berries (1/4 c) added to a smoothie or 1/2 an apple mixed with plain Greek yogurt. Other fruits haven't agreed with my glucose readings, especially citrus (even my beloved "healthy" grapefuit), bananas, grapes and stone fruits. The portion size would have to be so small that i prefer just to skip it.

    I eat 4-6 servings of veg perday, usually lettuce, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and celery. I adore greens - kale, spinach, turnip, mustard, chard, collards - but my husband doesn't so we only eat those if I mix them into a soup, lasagna or meatballs. If I'm craving starchy, I go with turnips or rutabaga.

    I love beans. Despite being touted as low-glycemic, all but a small portion raises my BG more than I like. I restrict those to 1/4 serving, which is enough to add interest to a salad or soup.

    I do strictly avoid grains. I have intolerances to wheat and corn (and peanuts, soy and shellfish) so it's not been exceptionally hard. I use flax meal, almond meal and coconut flour if i want to "bread" something, but I don't mess around much with trying to adapt breads and sweet treats. The time and expense just usually isn't worth the mediocre results. Non-wheat grains such as rice, quinoa (love quinoa), and gluten-free oats raise my blood glucose too much unless I stick with a T or so - not worth the bother.

    I adore cheese, nuts and seeds - probably a little too much :-) I started making a low-carb hot cereal from flax, chia and hemp - really delicious and helps me get the fiber I struggle with after eliminating grains. That 1/2 apple and some cinnamon make it an extremely satisfying breakfast.

    For protein, I tend to stick to leaner cuts of meat, despite not really needing to restrict fat. I spent too many years paying attention to fat grams to ever develop a taste for crispy poultry skin, dark meat or a well-marbled rib-eye and even as a kid, I used to peel the fatty part of bacon off, so that wasn't the part of low-carb that interested me. Lots of chicken breast, turkey breast, top sirloin, venison and pheasant. Hate salmon, but eat tuna or mild white-fleshed fish on occasion.

    So, for me, the foods that have the greatest benefits for diabetes are those that don't raise my BG more than optimal. Other diabetics have different target ranges, but I don't want my fasting reading above 100, my 1-hour peaks over 140 and my 2 hour post-prandial readings over 130. That's lots of non-starchy vegetables, a decent amount of protein and enough fat that I feel full.

    My last A1c was 5.5, my cholesterol was 172, and I've lost almost 100 pounds, so it seems I'm on the right track.
  • jilliew
    jilliew Posts: 255 Member
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    Let's just say that I am a little mad this morning cause here I go low carb and I weigh in today at only a pound and a half less than last week!! Really?! So I guess the whole low carb thing is a joke or something?? IDK! When I cut calories before and ate between 150-180g carbs a day before, I lost more than a pound and a half a week! Am I doing something wrong with this diet?! I will give you an example of what I have been eating: Breakfast - 2 egg omlet with cheese and a cup of coffee with a little half & half and a tbsp of pumpkin coffee mate. Lunch - a chicken salad with cheese and 2 tbsp of ranch dressing. Dinner - a meat, vegetable, and beans. Snacks (which I have 1 after lunch and the other one either a little before dinner or an hour after dinner) - an apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter and a fiber one bar or greek yougurt. Yes I know it's a bit on the dairy/protein side but that's what keeps me full and I love cheese and yougurt. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations BUT even my sister thought that with such low carbs I would of lost more!! Any advice??

    I had to read this twice to make sure I didn't miss anything...

    ONLY a pound and a half in a WEEK!? And you're complaining!? This is a perfectly healthy and acceptable rate of weight loss. It didn't take you a week to put the weight on, why should it take you a week to get it off!?

    Keep up the good work!!
  • chris1529
    chris1529 Posts: 315 Member
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    I adore cheese, nuts and seeds - probably a little too much :-) I started making a low-carb hot cereal from flax, chia and hemp - really delicious and helps me get the fiber I struggle with after eliminating grains. That 1/2 apple and some cinnamon make it an extremely satisfying breakfast.

    So, for me, the foods that have the greatest benefits for diabetes are those that don't raise my BG more than optimal. Other diabetics have different target ranges, but I don't want my fasting reading above 100, my 1-hour peaks over 140 and my 2 hour post-prandial readings over 130. That's lots of non-starchy vegetables, a decent amount of protein and enough fat that I feel full.

    My last A1c was 5.5, my cholesterol was 172, and I've lost almost 100 pounds, so it seems I'm on the right track.

    I LOVE cheese and dairy as well! I feel satisfied after eating an ounce of sharp cheddar block cheese! My favorite cheese lol! That is awesome that your A1c was that low!! And your readings sound great! :)
  • sclakeforest
    sclakeforest Posts: 1 Member
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    Check out qsuzie her story is amazing. I am doing atkins induction and was discouraged until I read her story a friend showed me. I do 1500 cal a day and 20 carbs. Reading the atkins book and learning just how bad carbs are for you, the bad carbs that is. White enriched, wheat enriched. They say oh it gives you energy but really they are learning that good fats and proteins is better. Bad carbs seem to just be bad blood sugar level spikes, That is what I have learned. Anyway I love the diet. Once you learn some fun recipes and get hamburgers protein style man you feel good. My loss has slowed to a pound if that a week but I feel great and am losing inches. I am also injured and am not working out. Have lost 27 pounds so far.
  • Casi23
    Casi23 Posts: 138 Member
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    You only ate veggies two times that entire day. Not all carbs are "bad". And as good as fruits are for you - they still carry a lot of sugar/natural carbs. Maybe substitute one of your snacks for a veggie-based snack and throw some broccoli/tomatoes in your eggs in the morning? I bet if you start filling up on good, natural carbs you won't need to depend on the dairy and cheese to help you stay full either.

    Just my two cents. I've had excellent results with a primal/paleo-type plan, eating whole foods, no grains and little processed foods. So obviously, I'm slightly biased. Do what works for your body.
  • Gerald_King
    Gerald_King Posts: 2,031 Member
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    Let's just say that I am a little mad this morning cause here I go low carb and I weigh in today at only a pound and a half less than last week!! Really?! So I guess the whole low carb thing is a joke or something?? IDK! When I cut calories before and ate between 150-180g carbs a day before, I lost more than a pound and a half a week! Am I doing something wrong with this diet?! I will give you an example of what I have been eating: Breakfast - 2 egg omlet with cheese and a cup of coffee with a little half & half and a tbsp of pumpkin coffee mate. Lunch - a chicken salad with cheese and 2 tbsp of ranch dressing. Dinner - a meat, vegetable, and beans. Snacks (which I have 1 after lunch and the other one either a little before dinner or an hour after dinner) - an apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter and a fiber one bar or greek yougurt. Yes I know it's a bit on the dairy/protein side but that's what keeps me full and I love cheese and yougurt. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations BUT even my sister thought that with such low carbs I would of lost more!! Any advice??

    coffe spikes your insulin levels ,cut out the coffee mate, beans apple fiber1 bar and greek yogurt and you will speed up your weight loss
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    Maybe I had unrealistic expectations

    You answered your own question.
  • rachelilb
    rachelilb Posts: 179 Member
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    The whole "no carb " diet is so silly. Losing weight is simple....calories in vs calories out. In other words, eat healthy and exercise.
  • Rodhands
    Rodhands Posts: 54
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    The whole "no carb " diet is so silly. Losing weight is simple....calories in vs calories out. In other words, eat healthy and exercise.

    Just using you as you were the last post but I am sorry, NO... just NO

    There is nothing wrong scientifically with a low-carb "Keto" diet, nothing proving that it is unhealthy for you. What it does do, initially, is cause you to have low energy levels and potential flu/cold symptoms due to your body adjusting to not running on carbs anymore.

    Does it work for everyone? absolutely not, but then neither does any kind of diet. The main benefit for me of the Keto lifestyle is that fats fill me up, so I can eat 1600 calories a day (a 1000 calorie defecit for me) and still be full for the day.

    All diets are simply a route to calorie defecit.

    OP

    You need to get an estimate of your BMR and then set your calorie defecit accordingly, for all we know you are eating perfectly decent macros but just eating over your BMR for the day.

    I would also advise cutting out the apples and peanut butter every day, you are getting plenty of carbs in lunch and dinner and I would be GOBSMACKED if you weren't over ~30g easy on the diet you said. I myself stick as close as possible to <20g carbs each day and my 1000 calorie defecit. In my first week I lost ~10lbs of water weight, and have lost steadily a couple of lbs each week.

    Alternatively your lack of weight loss could be because you weren't carrying the water weight in the first place, in which case 1.5lbs a week is AWESOME.

    Finally, NOT EVERY DIET WORKS FOR EVERYONE. I for instance cannot stand low fat diets, they make me over eat to feel full and cause headaches. That doesn't mean they are bad, it just means that my body does not work with them well.
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
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    You lost a pound and a half in a week- that's FAST! What were you expecting? :)
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    You need to get an estimate of your TDEE and then set your calorie defecit accordingly, for all we know you are eating perfectly decent macros but just eating over your TDEE for the day.

    fixed that for you....
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Calories in vs. Calories out.

    And any loss is a good thing. Even if it was just a half of a pound. That is still less than you weighed the week before.

    This ^^ Some people find low carb diets reduce cravings and so they eat less. And for some people carbs cause bloating so they may experience water weight loss at the begining of a low carb diet. But for fat loss it really is all about the calories.
  • Rodhands
    Rodhands Posts: 54
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    You need to get an estimate of your TDEE and then set your calorie defecit accordingly, for all we know you are eating perfectly decent macros but just eating over your TDEE for the day.

    fixed that for you....

    thanks dude, I dont have all the language down obviously!
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    Let's just say that I am a little mad this morning cause here I go low carb and I weigh in today at only a pound and a half less than last week!! Really?! So I guess the whole low carb thing is a joke or something?? IDK! When I cut calories before and ate between 150-180g carbs a day before, I lost more than a pound and a half a week! Am I doing something wrong with this diet?! I will give you an example of what I have been eating: Breakfast - 2 egg omlet with cheese and a cup of coffee with a little half & half and a tbsp of pumpkin coffee mate. Lunch - a chicken salad with cheese and 2 tbsp of ranch dressing. Dinner - a meat, vegetable, and beans. Snacks (which I have 1 after lunch and the other one either a little before dinner or an hour after dinner) - an apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter and a fiber one bar or greek yougurt. Yes I know it's a bit on the dairy/protein side but that's what keeps me full and I love cheese and yougurt. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations BUT even my sister thought that with such low carbs I would of lost more!! Any advice??

    For starters...............YOUR NOT LOW CARBING.

    These things are NOT included on a low carb plan when first starting out:

    Pumpkin spice coffee mate - cut out completely, processed sugary JUNK

    Beans - should be cut out until you have lost about 70% of the weight you need to lose, then slowly re-introduced

    Fiber One Bars - cut out completely, processed JUNK

    Probably sugar filled yogurt

    Apple with peanut butter - not good for just starting out, should be added in later


    True Low carbing looks something like this:

    Breakfast:
    Bacon / sausage / ham - nitrate free
    3 egg omelette filled with cheese and VEGGIES

    Lunch:
    Protein
    Green Vegetables

    Supper:
    Protein
    Green Vegetables

    Snacks:
    Cut up vegetables with a ranch dip
    Berries with whipped heavy cream
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    First, I'm with everyone else...stick with counting calories. Not that low-carb doesn't work (I lost over 65lbs on Atkins), but it is difficult to maintain for the long-haul (I gained back every pound and then some). However, what are you sticking to for your daily carb number? I stayed under 25 per day. The reason I ask, is because there are a few things on your list that I never ate when I did low carb...fruit, Fiber One bars, beans...

    You obviously didn't get past Phase 1 on Atkins.

    If you had completed the lifestyle going through all 4 phases of the plan - you would have been eating fruit, beans, grains as you moved up the carb ladder and the Atkins Phases of On-going weight loss, Pre-maintenance and Maintenance.

    Atkins was extremely easy to maintain if you learn your body and how it reacts to certain foods.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    thanks dude, I dont have all the language down obviously!

    No problem! BMR is keeping your autonomous system and organs going..... coma mode!
  • amber1533
    amber1533 Posts: 117 Member
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    1 1/2 lbs a week is a great weight loss. You should be happy. Nothing is ever going to be quick all the time. It doesn't mean it doesn't work it just means it doesn't work as fast as you thought it would. All the success stories I have read have been about how people have lost consistently but not tremendously. There is a reason everyone says slow and steady wins the race. It's true! Congrats on your loss!
  • jhall585
    jhall585 Posts: 61
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    You're upset you lost 1.5 lbs in one week!?
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    Advice: Adjust your expectations.

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