Lower Carb ?

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I am an asian and as such rice is my staple food. I am also a vegetarian. Egg is ok but meat, poultry or fish is a no go. Do not have any known allergies to food. 168 cm ht and was 70 kg weight.

Over the last few years, we were eating more and more carbs (primarily due to a hectic life style) and were going low on both fats and protein. This ofcourse led to many issues like insulin resistance, loss of lean mass, about 25% BFP, food cravings etc. Used to get heavily hypoglycemic when ever I was hungry. Though my total weight remained same over years it was obvious that my lean mass was getting more and more replaced with fat.

After lot of study and research, we improved our diet - basically included enough protein and fats. In parallel I started weight training 3-4 days a week and cardio twice a week.

Primarily due to the increased protein and fat in my diet, my carb intake obviously reduced. This combined with the resistance & cardio training has definitely helped me. Over the last 3 months, I have reduced an average of 2 lbs per month. Now I am hovering around 67.5 kgs. No longer crave any foods. No longer get hypoglycemic when I am hungry and can even jog for 30 minutes in the morning before breakfast without getting tired / fatigued. This by itself is a great feeling for me and for 3 months I guess is a decent achievement without any dramatic change in diet or lifestyle or daily schedule.

Rice and wheat are still the main ingredients in our food. Still consuming around 150-175 gm of carbs daily. On the whole

I still want to reduce around 5-6 lbs - primarily fat. But neither do I want to look too skinny nor do I want to lose lean mass. A full fledged low carb diet would be exactly that.

1. Would reducing another 50 g of carbs on average & increasing healthy fats help ?
2. Would having a no/low carb breakfast & dinner and a normal carb lunch help ? Will it work ?

Any suggestions ?

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I was reading yesterday that insulin resistance is lower in the morning in muscle etc so that would suggest carbs biased towards the morning. Caloriesproper.com
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    I agree with the above post have your carbs in the morning especially if this is when you are jogging. Your muscles use the carbs much more efficiently right after exercise.
  • sridharj23
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    Thanks for the pointers. But will lower carb without ketosis even help ?
  • lizfiz50
    lizfiz50 Posts: 179 Member
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    try brown rice which has fiber and is more filling than regular white rice. Your body uses more energy digesting it and fills you up better.
  • Lindseymofo
    Lindseymofo Posts: 9 Member
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    I think ketosis is the way to go, which most people will not get into unless you are less than about 50-60 g of carbs a day. For me, 25 is my limit. I have done low carb for so long and was doing it WRONG. Finally read several keto books, and count my macros everyday. I am eating around 120 grams of fat per day, moderate protein, and about 20 grams of carbs. I keep dropping pounds since i started this (past few weeks.) One thing I keep reading is that for ketosis to really work and be beneficial, your macros have to be near dead-on. So cutting 50 g of carbs probably would not put you in ketosis still...If you still want to allow carbs, I would suggest cutting out wheat and rice, and just do a small amount in the am, etc, like steel cut oats or something....It sounds like you already know what you are doing, you may just need to give your body a little boost.
  • spah33
    spah33 Posts: 18 Member
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    I am a chinese american, I ate rice for EVERY meal! Porridge for breakfast, rice with meat, rice with veggies, rice rice rice... wonderful delicious sticky rice. I finally gave it up all together. It has been difficult to retrain myself to eat all my favorite soup and dishes without rice. But-- in the end it's paid off tremendously. My mom is 100% chinese and she is a diabetic rice has been the hardest part for her. I am not sure of the answer but I personally do not like brown rice! All i can really say is I feel your pain and cutting rice from diet I believe has contributed to my weight loss in a major way!