Low Carb Plans
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lmjblues
Posts: 117 Member
Hi all...
I just joined your group yesterday, but I am far from new to the low carb lifestyle. I've generally followed the South Beach Diet when I've been on a plan in the past, but I'm just curious what everybody out here is doing. I know for a fact that as I've aged (45 yrs old) that my body has decided that carbs are the devil. HA! So, I'm trying to make a forever lifestyle change and I'm kind of researching and fumbling about trying to figure out what will work for me for the long term.
So, if you don't mind me asking (and you are willing to share), I'm just wondering what plan/no plan you are following? What's worked for you?
Trying to get my head in the right place.
Thanks for the add and the input!! Looking forward to getting to know you all.
Lisa
I just joined your group yesterday, but I am far from new to the low carb lifestyle. I've generally followed the South Beach Diet when I've been on a plan in the past, but I'm just curious what everybody out here is doing. I know for a fact that as I've aged (45 yrs old) that my body has decided that carbs are the devil. HA! So, I'm trying to make a forever lifestyle change and I'm kind of researching and fumbling about trying to figure out what will work for me for the long term.
So, if you don't mind me asking (and you are willing to share), I'm just wondering what plan/no plan you are following? What's worked for you?
Trying to get my head in the right place.
Thanks for the add and the input!! Looking forward to getting to know you all.
Lisa
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Replies
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Ketogenic, here...sending friend request. :-)0
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Atkins. I tried South Beach before but it was too liberal with carbs and carbs just don't like me. Atkins has worked better for me.0
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Hi Lisa! I'm only a 3.5hr drive from ya. Small world. I've been low carb on and off for about 2.5 years now since my doctor recommended it. Why I ever quit eating low carb is beyond me. This time around I've realized this diet is what my body prefers, so I need to make it a lifestyle. I don't really follow any particular diet plan per say. I just eat under 50g to lose weight, make sure I eat enough protein, and try to make healthy food choices such as lean meats, healthy fats, fibrous fruit and veggies, etc.
Once I hit my weight loss and fitness goals, I plan on slowly upping my carb intake and calories and see where I can maintain at. I've realized I can't eat modern wheat and I'll still need to limit my sugar intake and save it for treats. My body deals much better with natural sugar from fruits and veggies. Beans I'm okay with too. I can't wait to start eating potatoes again. MAN, I MISS POTATOES! I had one waffle fry Monday night. It was the best tasting potato I ever had! It took me 3 minutes to eat one fry, cuz I wanted to savory it. lol. I also plan on experimenting with einkorn wheat too once I've lost enough. I've heard good things about it.
I'm guessing maintaining is going to be harder than losing for me. Good luck to you on accomplishing your goals! Sending FR!0 -
Hi! I'm not sure I'm following any one specific plan. I've been doing this since the end of February, and I've played with my numbers quite a bit. I started out with less than 70 grams of carbs because I didn't want to go all the way down to 20 grams of carbs like Atkins induction. But then as I read more and more about Atkins and keto, I eventually went down to 30. Although I don't freak out if I occasionally go over. (and last Thursday we were low on time...we had pizza for dinner and a pretzel for lunch. That's my biggest problem...what to eat if we have to eat fast food)
The best thing for me is that the cravings for sugar, bread, pasta, pizza, Coca-Cola are gone, and they seem to go away for me when I keep my carbs down below 50. I was a true Coca-Cola addict. I haven't had a Coca-Cola in a month and a half...haven't even wanted one. That's one of my biggest accomplishments because Coca-Cola was all I was drinking all the time.
I've been trying to lose weight for 10 years, and this is the closest that I've gotten to my goal. It's taken some effort to figure out what's working for me, but it is working.
Good luck!0 -
No plan for me...just keep it under 100 carbs a day. I avoid things like crackers, pasta and other processed carbs.0
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Thanks for all the input ladies! Lots of different methods being represented. I'm kind of trying to find my own way as well... I just don't think I've found the magic carb number yet. I think I need to go lower...
Lisa0 -
I joined yesterday too because my trainer said I needed to get my carbs down lower than they have been. I've been watching my calorie intake but never really paying attention to anything else until I hit a HUGE several month long plateau in my weight loss journey. SO this is where I'm at, just joined this and Atkins groups to really grasp what I'm doing before I take the plunge!! A well informed person is better than going through the motions without knowing or planning...So welcome newbie, I am a newbie too Happy carb counting!! :happy:0
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It's hard to find your sweet spot. And harder still during midlife (as a woman) because things change so much! Good luck!Thanks for all the input ladies! Lots of different methods being represented. I'm kind of trying to find my own way as well... I just don't think I've found the magic carb number yet. I think I need to go lower...
Lisa0 -
Hi! I'm not sure I'm following any one specific plan. I've been doing this since the end of February, and I've played with my numbers quite a bit. I started out with less than 70 grams of carbs because I didn't want to go all the way down to 20 grams of carbs like Atkins induction. But then as I read more and more about Atkins and keto, I eventually went down to 30. Although I don't freak out if I occasionally go over. (and last Thursday we were low on time...we had pizza for dinner and a pretzel for lunch. That's my biggest problem...what to eat if we have to eat fast food)
The best thing for me is that the cravings for sugar, bread, pasta, pizza, Coca-Cola are gone, and they seem to go away for me when I keep my carbs down below 50. I was a true Coca-Cola addict. I haven't had a Coca-Cola in a month and a half...haven't even wanted one. That's one of my biggest accomplishments because Coca-Cola was all I was drinking all the time.
I've been trying to lose weight for 10 years, and this is the closest that I've gotten to my goal. It's taken some effort to figure out what's working for me, but it is working.
Good luck!
^ This! exactly what I went through in the past year, except instead of Coke it is beer that I used to drink all the time. Now, a glass of red wine is all I need (during maintenance).
I am so happy that I don't crave sugary stuff and bread any more. And I can eat tablespoons of whipped cream
Ganbaro! as they say here in Japan.0 -
Hi. I've been dipping my toes into low carb since Jan this year when I started atkins induction and stayed below 20 g carbs a day. I have to say I really took to it but my mind was definitely in the right place and kept it up until around the end of March when I had a week off work and decided I would 'treat' myself to some carbs...big mistake! Bring on the binge
I truly fell of the low carb wagon and am now back where I started in Jan (I put 16lb on in 4 weeks!).
I've been trying to get to goal after losing about 30lbs 2 years ago but have struggled keeping motivated. I think as I got into smaller clothes sizes, I'm now a UK 12 after being nearly a 18, I became complacent and slacked off too much. Since my binge I've done quite a bit of thinking about what plan to do and have decided this week to eat low carb, like <50 per day and stay off the processed food, added sugar and general crap that I've learnt is bad when doing Atkins. I feel like I need to manage for life and kick this binge/diet cycle once and for all and being on a particular plan like Atkins just makes be obsess about what I can't have. For me I just can't go without my lattes and if I want to have a healthy relationship with food and maintain once I've reached goal then I think that I should drink milk without feeling guilty. It's only been 3 days since I've made this choice so I'll see how I get on with slower weight loss
have sent you a friend request.0 -
Hey Ladies! Thanks again for the input and the friend requests. I think I'm going to start out in between some of your suggestions and go with 75gms of carbs a day and stay within my calorie goals and see how it goes. I just don't think I can go down to the 20's... I'm a very active runner/spinner and I fear the energy stores may not be there for my workouts. I don't know..maybe that's all mental too. But, I've been up over 100gms lately and that's not working, so I need to go a bit lower I think.
Oh... and not to plug another site but I've been having trouble getting my mojo going and staying on track so I found another motivator. I joined one of the games on Dietbet.com. Kind of a neat idea. You join a 28 day bet... put up $$ and if you accomplish a 4% weight loss in those 28 days you get to split the pot with the other winners. So, if I stay on track, and so does everybody else, the worst that can happen is I get my $$ back. But...I could actually MAKE some $$.
We'll see how it goes for me. But, I'm kind of excited about it!!
Lisa0 -
My doctor put me on a low carb (under 80 as I am just starting) and high protein plan. I am about 60 pounds overwieght and have a lot of Type 2 Diabetes in the family. I started Sunday, April 13 and have lost 6.2 pounds already!0
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I'm currently following the Ideal Protein (aka Simply Ideal) program with great success.
From what I am gathering, the program relies on low cals (800-900/day) around 30-40g of carbs and around 150g of protein.
I started in November and lost 50 lbs so far (my SO has lost over 60lbs).
There are no grains (no bread, no rice, no pasta), no root vegetables, no fruit and no exercise.
You eat two cups of vegetables twice a day, 8 oz of meat, a couple shakes and a snack.
Google would give more specifics.0 -
I almost never track my calories/carbs anymore but my carbs are low enough I'm in ketosis more often than not so I'd guess they hover around the 50g total mark. I aim for high fat, low carb and whole foods. Probably about 3 or 4 days out of the week I have something that people typically eliminate on low carbs diets like fruit (other than berries), beans, root vegetables and even flour.
I just keep the amounts measured and limit it to one "carby" food a day. Like if I make chili w/ black beans I won't have a pear or banana that day. If I make pot roast w/ potatoes, carrots and onions I'll have it au jus. When I roast a chicken I'll make gravy thickened w/ flour but only serve a green vegetable like green beans. Low carb IIFYM in other words.
I think the variety helps a ton with adherence (I love all of those foods) but I also think the bit of starch and extra fiber make for a healthier diet overall. Other than that, my carbs come from the typical low carb vegetables, berries, nuts and dairy. The basis for my diet, with an emphasis on whole foods, came from Diet Doctors beginners guide -- I've just tweeked it as I've gone along in order to make it a diet I could easily follow for life.
LCHF for Beginners
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf0 -
lmjblues: how's your quest going? Have you made any decisions about how to best approach eating lower carb?0
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I'm currently following the Ideal Protein (aka Simply Ideal) program with great success.
From what I am gathering, the program relies on low cals (800-900/day) around 30-40g of carbs and around 150g of protein.
I started in November and lost 50 lbs so far (my SO has lost over 60lbs).
There are no grains (no bread, no rice, no pasta), no root vegetables, no fruit and no exercise.
You eat two cups of vegetables twice a day, 8 oz of meat, a couple shakes and a snack.
Google would give more specifics.
WHOW!! im starving on 1250 calories...cant imagine going so low...but cant knock it since its working for ya!! congrats on the loss0 -
Hey Ladies! Thanks again for the input and the friend requests. I think I'm going to start out in between some of your suggestions and go with 75gms of carbs a day and stay within my calorie goals and see how it goes. I just don't think I can go down to the 20's... I'm a very active runner/spinner and I fear the energy stores may not be there for my workouts. I don't know..maybe that's all mental too. But, I've been up over 100gms lately and that's not working, so I need to go a bit lower I think.
Oh... and not to plug another site but I've been having trouble getting my mojo going and staying on track so I found another motivator. I joined one of the games on Dietbet.com. Kind of a neat idea. You join a 28 day bet... put up $$ and if you accomplish a 4% weight loss in those 28 days you get to split the pot with the other winners. So, if I stay on track, and so does everybody else, the worst that can happen is I get my $$ back. But...I could actually MAKE some $$.
We'll see how it goes for me. But, I'm kind of excited about it!!
Lisa
I ran half marathon every weekend last month on a keto diet, I average less than 30 net carbs most of the days. It's a big myth that you need carbs to be a runner. I recover much faster after race on low carb.0 -
Not really following a plan either. I just try to eliminate things like pasta, bread, potatoes, crackers, cereal, rice. Fruits and veggies naturally have carbs in them, and for me that is ok but not to much processed as far as anything else.0
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Hey All... Thanks for all the feedback. Very interesting to see what everybody is doing.
Leonidas... Wow! A half every weekend for a month. That's impressive! Nice to know the low carb lifestyle works with running and recovery.lmjblues: how's your quest going? Have you made any decisions about how to best approach eating lower carb?
Sabine... This week I'm going to stay between 50 - 70gms of carbs a day and see how it goes with workouts and how I feel each day. I have a full workout load this week and a race over the weekend, so it'll be a good test of energy levels and my normal routine. I'll keep ya posted.
Lisa
Lisa0 -
Sounds great. I'm going to focus in on my slow carb eating again. I've been a bit lax. I haven't gained anything, but I also haven't lost the last few "extra" pounds.Hey All... Thanks for all the feedback. Very interesting to see what everybody is doing.
Leonidas... Wow! A half every weekend for a month. That's impressive! Nice to know the low carb lifestyle works with running and recovery.lmjblues: how's your quest going? Have you made any decisions about how to best approach eating lower carb?
Sabine... This week I'm going to stay between 50 - 70gms of carbs a day and see how it goes with workouts and how I feel each day. I have a full workout load this week and a race over the weekend, so it'll be a good test of energy levels and my normal routine. I'll keep ya posted.
Lisa
Lisa0
