New to low carb

Options
hmg90
hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
in Getting Started
I don't have a LOT of weight to lose but I now want to try to cut carbs/atkins/whatever you call it.

I cut sugar out of my diet a while back so now I don't crave it. I've never been a junk food eater either. But carbs are my biggest vice - I love baguettes, pizza, pasta...

I still love seafood and meats and vegetables so I'm thinking that I'll cut out the "white carbs" and just have a small amount of high fibre/wholewheat carbs.

Those of you (successfully) on low carb - how do you do your foods "on the go"? I have an irregular timetable and I really can't prepare every meal carefully. What do you eat during the day when you need something quick?
My uni only serve sandwiches and there are limited options.

Replies

  • ChiaGnome
    ChiaGnome Posts: 179 Member
    Options
    So I have a modified approach to the Paleo style of eating. I eat meat, veggies, and fruit without having to worry about portion control, because the diet does it for you. It's very hard not be to satiated on a protein/fiber heavy diet and I find myself eating much less of more high quality foods. I consume dairy, potatoes, and nuts in moderation. So on-the-go snacks for me look like hand fruit mostly. I make sure to eat a breakfast with meat (usually eggs, bacon, and veggies), make time for a good lunch (usually a salad) and make a delicious dinner of meat and lots o' veggies. To be honest, when you follow this routine, you crave snacking less or not at all - and this is coming from a former binge eater. I follow my personal list of "no thank you" foods and have lost almost 40 lbs with very little increase in exercise. But if you're going to do this, you have to understand that this "diet" is probably how you're going to eat for years if not the rest of your life. At least that's how I see it - A lifestyle change. And honestly, removing "gluten" from my diet has given me 10X more energy and a better outlook/mood (even before the weight started falling off).

    What I don't eat:
    Bread or bread-like foods
    Cake
    Chips (US)
    Pastry
    Pasta
    Beer and Soda
    Granola (store bought stuff if pretty bad for you), including granola bars

    Good Luck and Have Fun With It!
  • goodnamegone
    goodnamegone Posts: 237
    Options
    I make boiled eggs, cook meat and vegetables and put that in a plastic container to take with me, salads with smoked salmon, walnuts/dates/blueberry combinations are my treats. Apples, bananas, carrot sticks if you like those.

    Can't think of anything else. I'm pretty boring and repetitive with my food choices.

    I also don't eat pasta/bread/rice/pizza/dairy ect

    Never eat junk food I don't have an attraction to it.

    Only drink cola once or twice a year.

    I will have to have a pizza this year it's too yummy not to!

    I still crave bread and cheese sometimes but then if I eat some walnuts the craving goes away.

    I have lost weight like this but I've also tried my best to stay under the calorie goal and have recently increased my fitness activity. So my choices are mainly health based than to lose weight. It works for me not saying anyone else has to do this.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Options
    any diet that says a whole food group is "bad" or tries to eliminate a whole food group is idiotic IMO....
  • JeralynSh
    JeralynSh Posts: 139 Member
    Options
    I've lowered my white carbs and eat only whole grains now. I haven't cut out carbs completely, but try to keep them @40g a day. Sometimes it's more and other days less, but it all evens out in the end. I don't stress if I go over.

    I always have hardboiled eggs in my refrigerator now, and they are a great and quick "go-to" if you're stuck for a snack on the go. Atkins also has some good stuff now as opposed to when they first came out.
  • lyminge52
    lyminge52 Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    You may lose weight on this diet, but long term it is not healthy so cannot be sustained, you then put all the weight and more back on!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Options
    You may lose weight on this diet, but long term it is not healthy so cannot be sustained, you then put all the weight and more back on!

    same applies to any diet then.
  • hmg90
    hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
    Options
    Thanks for the responses.

    I already eat fish and seafood but will increase it. I'll eat more lean chicken (skinless), lean pork and occasionally red meat. Combined with eggs, beans and vegetables.

    I really want to cut white carbs out of my diet - I figure some oats or something occasionally just to get SOME carbs will be allright?

    How do you feel about dairy? Do most people on low carb eat yougurt and stuff like that?
  • goodnamegone
    goodnamegone Posts: 237
    Options
    You may lose weight on this diet, but long term it is not healthy so cannot be sustained, you then put all the weight and more back on!

    Umm ok thanks for sharing....
  • mommyblessed7
    mommyblessed7 Posts: 72 Member
    Options
    i have done a few whole 30's and it cleansed my system. I didn't do it for weight loss I did it because I have autoimmune issues that cause flair up in my skin as well as inflammation I can't see. Anyhow, I eliminated sugar , carbs such as bread and pastas and all processed foods. I was able to clear my psoriasis that hadn't gone away in 4 years!! It has only flared up once in the 2 years since I started eating paleo style, I was also able to lose the last of a few pounds that I thought wouldn't go away ever, and I saw muscle tone that I had been working so hard for all these years!! I run , and lift weights and Im not talking sissy weights ;) but couldn't see a cut like I did when I changed my diet!

    P.S. The flair up I did have was when I got pregnant , I had to add some carbs back in my diet because of sickness ,and extreme hunger. Its now under control :)
    Good luck!
  • hmg90
    hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
    Options
    I looked up the Paleo diet and it looks pretty interesting.

    I don't want to be one of those low-carbers who end up just shoveling in the bacon and steak - I have heard the number of young people with heart disease has multiplied after people started going low carb.
    I will try to balance it and primarily focus on lots of veggies and lots of seafood.

    What surprised me about the Paleo solution is that you're not supposed to eat legumes. I don't see why this is? I thought beans were a great way of supplementing a meat dinner in absence of potatoes/pasta/rice.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Options
    I eat meat, veggies, and fruit without having to worry about portion control, because the diet does it for you

    The various low-carb forums are littered with the shattered hopes of people who thought eating "paleo" (or whatever) would mean they don't have to pay attention to the amount of food they eat. Tons and tons of people gain weight eating like this, so make sure you know what you're eating, and how much.

    The "regained weight" stats for this approach are also quite bad (as with all other diets), so when you transition off, be very very careful.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    Options
    You may lose weight on this diet, but long term it is not healthy so cannot be sustained, you then put all the weight and more back on!

    Do you have peer-reviewed studies to back up your claims?
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    Options
    any diet that says a whole food group is "bad" or tries to eliminate a whole food group is idiotic IMO....

    Carbs aren't eliminated. They are LIMITED. BIG DIFFERENCE.
  • hmg90
    hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
    Options
    Why do people always talk about the ridiculousness of "eliminating a food group"?

    Maybe this is a language barrier as I am not English by birth, but surely the expression should be eliminating a "nutrient group".

    I think you should consume a lot of water, a lot of protein, some fat, some carbohydrates, enough minerals and vitamins.

    As long as you get all the nutrient group, I don't see why anybody has reason to say that excluding certain foods are a problem?

    "Dairy" is not a nutrient, what's wrong with cutting it out. And as long as you get a little bit of carbs - which practically everybody does - what's the problem?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Options
    "Eliminating a macronutrient" would be more accurate for low carb, but the dietitians mantra is that diets that eliminate a food group are fads - so a no dairy, no wheat, or whatever diet is scorned.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/5/951.2.full may be of interest... "The theoretical minimal level of carbohydrate (CHO) intake is zero". ( a statement also found in US DRI value documentation)

Categories