Need Help with Low Carb!

Hello there!

I saw my doctor yesterday, and was told to start doing a low-carb diet as I am showing many symptoms of PCOS & that I should go ahead and start doing the low-carb thing because of that

Anyways...........

I need some help with maybe some recipes & I honestly would like to know what kind of grains I actually can have cause I have to feed others who are not low-carbing or I am trying to substitute some of my normal recipes so I would like to know of a couple of grain options i can use in moderation.

I changed my TDEE numbers according to a keto website, so I have about 5% Carbs, 20% Protein, & 75% Fat...not sure if that's how it should be but that's what it had told me to do for keto/low-carb -- I am allowed about 1850 cal's a day total

Please help!

Thanks!!!!!! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • thelowcarblady
    thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
    *BUMP*

    Nobody??? :sad:
  • homemadehippy
    homemadehippy Posts: 44 Member
    Grains are tough, because they are mostly carbs. I choose to get most of my carbs from vegetables and fruits, because of the extra vitamins and nutrients. I do have a whole wheat tortilla for lunch if it fits in my plan and I have rice a couple times per week. I have a sweet potato once a week. My motto is: "Eat from the rainbow." and I try to do that most of the time. So, sweet potato...orange...in the rainbow. White potato...beige....not in the rainbow.
    Lastly, here is a pretty good list of protein to carb ratios in grains: http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/grains-highest-protein-carbohydrate-ratio.php.
    Hope that helps.
  • thelowcarblady
    thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
    Grains are tough, because they are mostly carbs. I choose to get most of my carbs from vegetables and fruits, because of the extra vitamins and nutrients. I do have a whole wheat tortilla for lunch if it fits in my plan and I have rice a couple times per week. I have a sweet potato once a week. My motto is: "Eat from the rainbow." and I try to do that most of the time. So, sweet potato...orange...in the rainbow. White potato...beige....not in the rainbow.
    Lastly, here is a pretty good list of protein to carb ratios in grains: http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/grains-highest-protein-carbohydrate-ratio.php.
    Hope that helps.

    Thanks so much! I'll definitely check into that!
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
    I don't know how many carbs you want to eat in a day. Standard American dietary recommendation is 300 grams per day. Atkins is 20 or less grams NET CARBS per day. I eat 50 or less NET CARBS per day and am able to stay in ketosis.

    If you are going "low carb", you probably can't afford to eat grains. Just 1/3 cup of rice (a very small serving) is about 15 grams of carbs. It is better, IMHO, not to eat grains at all and go cold turkey. Give it a few weeks, and you won't miss them.

    I don't eat many carbs, but cook for people who do. Honestly if you make dinners that are meat/protein, veggie, and carb, you are fine. You eat double veggies and leave the carbs to your loved ones.

    There are substitutes for traditional carb goods that can trick you. You can granulate cauliflower into a rice-like texture, or make mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. Also, there is a product called shirataki - it is a japanese item made from some kind of yam, that is turned into noodles and rice, and has no carbs. The long skinny noodles are good to substitute in pasta dishes and lo mein.
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
    You should also consider seeing a registered dietician. They know how to help you transition to low carb.
  • lotr4000
    lotr4000 Posts: 25 Member
  • Ashes_To_Beast
    Ashes_To_Beast Posts: 378 Member
    75% fat seems really high to me.. I would ask opinions on this one.. Off the top of my head if you have to stay at 5% carbs, you should be around 45% protein and 40% fat.. But like I said I would ask around...
  • eomuno215in541
    eomuno215in541 Posts: 201 Member
    I'm sorry, P. Quinoa I think is a good substitute for carb. It's a seed, but acts like a small grain, like couscous. Tasty. I guess I do mostly whole grains now. I just referred Brittany to the Eat What You Love cookbook. It's low-cal recipes, and also diabetes-conscious, maybe even approved by the Diabetes foundation.

    Otherwise, let me know what you hear :) I fear I'll be walking the low/lower carb path eventually too. Following you. Behind you...where I love to be ;)
  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
    If you don't want to go full ketosis (it's too hard for me) look into diabetic diets. In Canada you can get referred to a diabetes educator/nutritionist for free, don't know about the states.

    Keep in mind, you're most likely looking at NET carbs for PCOS which is carbs minus fibre = net carb. Honestly, I've just dropped grains mostly. I do have an english muffin now and then. Always mix your carb with a protein.

    The net is full of PCOS/pre diabetes diets.
  • whiskeysister510
    whiskeysister510 Posts: 76 Member
    I would suggest that you ask your doctor for a referral to nutritionist. Low carb doesn’t necessarily mean keto. :smile:
  • BogQueen1
    BogQueen1 Posts: 320 Member
    Been back on low carb now for about 3 weeks. I get most of my carbs from sunflower seeds, cheese, and veggies. I sub in Atkin's bars for when I'm in a hurry. I have PCOS, but somehow i keep falling back into the trap of the whole 'as long as you eat at a deficit, you can eat whatever you want' which just doesn't really work for me at all.

    So now I'm back on low carb, hopefully for the long term, eating eggs, meat, and veggies. As far as recipes, I just stick to marinating my protein in creative combinations of herbs and spices, along with a nice salad. I did some yummy grilled shrimp skewers, and have done some interesting pork chops a couple times. McCormick in the pouches has some great marinades.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    75% fat seems really high to me.. I would ask opinions on this one.. Off the top of my head if you have to stay at 5% carbs, you should be around 45% protein and 40% fat.. But like I said I would ask around...

    75% fat is fine. Too much protein is counterproductive at best and harmful at worst. The body needs around 1g/lb of lean body weight (depending on activity level and type). Beyond that, it gets converted to fuel, and when protein is converted to fuel, it's converted to sugar. In all cases (both the initial eating, and the later conversion to fuel), it produces an insulin response. Low carb diets, particularly ketogenic ones, have a goal of reducing insulin (and blood sugar). Too much protein defeats that purpose. This is especially important for PCOS, where keeping blood sugar down often isn't enough -- you have to actively seek to keep insulin down (because in PCOS, insulin isn't necessarily high because blood sugar is high).

    No, you will not have a heart attack on 75% fat, particularly if you are eating whole foods (which you pretty much have to at those numbers), even if the bulk of your fat calories comes from saturated fat.

    OP -- I second the Reddit Keto board, as well as the reddit-keto, keto, low carb daily forum, and PCOSis groups here on MFP. I also second the advice to base your meals around meat and vegetables and have a carby side for the other members.

    Also, invest in coconut oil. If you have a Trader Joe's around you, they have organic virgin coconut oil for the lowest price I've found. It's awesome for a hundred different reasons.
  • wamydia
    wamydia Posts: 259 Member
    Did you doctor give you specific recommendations for your carb intake? Many people with PCOS do a lower carb thing without having to actually go all the way to super low carb/ ketosis levels. If you aren't sure how far you need to go, I would start experimenting with different amounts of carbs to see how low you really need to go in order to get results. It's pretty important to know how far you you need to lower your carbs becasue it will have a major impact on what you can eat (like the grains you have mentioned) and also dictates whether or not you need to spend some time doing real research on ketosis. Ketosis will result from an extremely carb-restricted diet and in the early going it can have effects you need to be prepared for ("keto flu") and it is a major lifestyle/ dietary change that you really need to understand and think about before you undertake. For one thing, going into ketosis will probably mean no more grains, period, and also will limit your fruit/ veggie intake which means you will need to plan ahead to make sure you are getting adequate micro nutrients.

    Just lowering your carbs, on the other hand, isn't as huge of an ordeal. You'll simply be cutting back on things you already eat. You can still have rice with the family dinner, but you'll just make sure that you only eat 1/2 serving and that you have planned the rest of the carbs for the day to be low enough to accomodate it. You can still have a slice of toast in the morning as long as you aren't planning on eating a bunch of other grains or gorging on some other type of carb throughout the rest of the day.
  • thelowcarblady
    thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
    Thanks for the info everyone!!

    I'll definitely look into the more PCOS type diets out there as that might be more geared towards what I need to do. And no my doctor didn't give me any specific amount to go by, just said low-carb, so I will look into other options

    I am sure that I can probably adjust my carb intake to maybe 10-15% which will be easier to deal with. And I forgot about the whole NET CARB thing, so at least I can take that into account as well..

    Thanks again!!