My doctor
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that is true, I did the atkins diet awhile ago, it worked great but then it really messed me up. So I wouldn't go crazy. If I could just be more aware of what has a lot of carbs that could be useful ya know? Hypothetically if I'm eating 300g per day now I could go to 250. Nothing extreme.
I don't "low carb," but I have reduced my carb intake a bit because I'm a little sensitive (due to PCOS). I am aiming for about 40% carbs/ day (with 25% protein and 35% fat) and find it to be pretty easy to hit as long as I lay off the bread/ pasta/ rice a bit and lean toward whole grains when I do eat those things. I also try to take it easy on the sweets (as they are a major source of carbs) and limit myself to just having a small something after dinner on most days. Don't get me wrong, I still eat these things, I just don't go overboard with it. For instance, today I had a bagel sandwich for lunch and I'm sure I'll have something sweet after dinner, but most of the rest of my day will be filled up with fruits/ veggies, dairy, and lean proteins.
I think another thing that makes reducing carb intake easier is to try to steer away from boxed meals as much as possible. They tend to have some kind of carby component (like rice or pasta) and I just find it easier to control my intake if I prepare fresh food and only have a hamburger helper once in a great while. Also be careful to moderate snack cakes, muffins, and other pastries as they are also quite carb heavy.
You can custom set your macros on MFP to whatever carb intake you need. I do that and then just monitor it from day to day to see how close I am to my goal and what foods are contributing the most. Over time it becomes second nature to make small changes here and there in order to stay close to goal.
thanks for the advice.
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If your doctor also mentioned that fat loss requires a calorie deficit, then the advice to lower carbs is fine. But if all he said was reduce carbs, and he didn't assess your current intake, i'd be skeptical.
Sleep apnea seems to be an overdiagnosed condition. Expect to be told you have it.0 -
Cherimoose wrote: »If your doctor also mentioned that fat loss requires a calorie deficit, then the advice to lower carbs is fine. But if all he said was reduce carbs, and he didn't assess your current intake, i'd be skeptical.
Sleep apnea seems to be an overdiagnosed condition. Expect to be told you have it.
Cherimoose where did you come up with that idea?
sinusitisblog.com/2014/08/obstructive-sleep-apnea-diagnosed/
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__drmerc__ wrote: »I wonder who understands your health situation better, your doctor or MFP
This is what I was thinking as well.
NY, it's good you have an appointment with your doctor. We at MFP don't know your medical history or anything about you.
In any event, I would ask your doctor about his reasoning for cutting carbs down. 0 -
If you're not sure what he meant, call the office and see if they can refer you to a dietitian. They'll know!
A lot of people have success with the South Beach diet - I think it's low carb.
Sleep apnea very often improves when people lose weight, so lots of hope there.
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Compared to the average American diet, mine is "low carb," but folks focused on low carb wouldn't consider it so. I just don't have starches (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta) at every meal and I usually only have one fruit a day. Most of my meals are protein and veggies, preferably on the grill, but that is a very personal choice on taste. For pasta, most of the time I just have the high nutrient part of it. For example, last night I sauteed some onions and green peppers, added a serving of pasta sauce and served it with parmesan cheese. Voila, lower carbs, all the flavor.
When I do have "carbs" (ie, grain based foods) it is mostly whole grain: steel cut oats for breakfast (with fruit, a half serving of almonds and cinnamon) or a sandwich on whole grain bread.
The reasons it helps me:
1) I feel fuller if I reach my calorie goals with mostly protein and vegetables. Last week my big starch was birthday cake. Day after day of eating it serving by serving. Some of those days it was real hard to stay within my goals and leave enough for 300 calories of cake. But homemade lebkuchen was worth the sacrifice.
2) I don't do french fries in moderation. Well, that is, I CAN as long as I mostly eat as described above. Then the french fries are a rare treat. If I make them a regular part of my diet, then I eat more and more and more. The same goes for desserts. Some people even say to go whole grain because no one will sit down and eat a whole loaf. HA! Yes I can. I prefer it to the white stuff! "Moderation" for means cutting way back so that I am more conscious of when I am approaching these foods.0 -
techgal128 wrote: »Eh, just cut calories. Cutting out carbs can help some people lose weight because it's easier to stop gorging yourself on chips, cake, and other tasty junk. Your goal, however, should be a lifestyle change. The last thing you want is to lose a ton of weight on a low carb diet and gain it all back again when you start to eat normally again.
Exactly this! I lost them gained as soon as I started eating carbs..
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So, you started eating more calories, a lot of which happened to come from carbs, therefore you gained weight.prettyface55 wrote: »techgal128 wrote: »Eh, just cut calories. Cutting out carbs can help some people lose weight because it's easier to stop gorging yourself on chips, cake, and other tasty junk. Your goal, however, should be a lifestyle change. The last thing you want is to lose a ton of weight on a low carb diet and gain it all back again when you start to eat normally again.
Exactly this! I lost them gained as soon as I started eating carbs..
It's not the carbs themselves that cause the weight gain, or the lack of carbs that cause weight loss, but the amount of calories you eat for your desired result.
I love my carbs, especially breads. I used to cut all kinds of things out of my diet, but I have been most successful when I keep all the foods I love but eat them in moderation.
Like, I just had a piece of my homemade Irish Soda Bread--weighed, logged, ate, and it was GOOD!
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Cherimoose wrote: »If your doctor also mentioned that fat loss requires a calorie deficit, then the advice to lower carbs is fine. But if all he said was reduce carbs, and he didn't assess your current intake, i'd be skeptical.
Sleep apnea seems to be an overdiagnosed condition. Expect to be told you have it.
its an under diagnosed condition, not over. Countless people are living with it and do not have a clue.
He told me to reduce carbs to lose weight. He didn't dive in. I am getting the sleep apnea test, along with blood work and we are taking it from there.0 -
techgal128 wrote: »Eh, just cut calories. Cutting out carbs can help some people lose weight because it's easier to stop gorging yourself on chips, cake, and other tasty junk. Your goal, however, should be a lifestyle change. The last thing you want is to lose a ton of weight on a low carb diet and gain it all back again when you start to eat normally again.
Sorry, I had to chuckle.
"Don't listen to your stupid doctor that you personally went to see and talk to. Listen to a perfect stranger like me! I certainly know what's better for you."
How about accept what his doctor has told him, and help him with what he's asking?
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LadyHobbledehoy wrote: »techgal128 wrote: »Eh, just cut calories. Cutting out carbs can help some people lose weight because it's easier to stop gorging yourself on chips, cake, and other tasty junk. Your goal, however, should be a lifestyle change. The last thing you want is to lose a ton of weight on a low carb diet and gain it all back again when you start to eat normally again.
Sorry, I had to chuckle.
"Don't listen to your stupid doctor that you personally went to see and talk to. Listen to a perfect stranger like me! I certainly know what's better for you."
How about accept what his doctor has told him, and help him with what he's asking?
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__drmerc__ wrote: »I wonder who understands your health situation better, your doctor or MFP
lol all input is welcome. It was my first time seeing this doctor. I haven't seen one in a long time because I was without any health insurance, so I always put if off.
He just recommended cutting back.
Depending on the doctor, this is usually a low carb plan:
Limit this: bread, pasta, pizza, rice, corn, potatoes, cereal, sweet treats.
Limit this: fruit
Eat this: beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, beans,
Eat lots of this: broccoli, swiss chard, kale, spinach, romaine, cabbage, mushrooms, asparagus, avocados, okra, cauliflower, bell peppers, snow peas, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, winter squash, brussels sprouts0 -
thank you !0
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LadyHobbledehoy wrote: »techgal128 wrote: »Eh, just cut calories. Cutting out carbs can help some people lose weight because it's easier to stop gorging yourself on chips, cake, and other tasty junk. Your goal, however, should be a lifestyle change. The last thing you want is to lose a ton of weight on a low carb diet and gain it all back again when you start to eat normally again.
Sorry, I had to chuckle.
"Don't listen to your stupid doctor that you personally went to see and talk to. Listen to a perfect stranger like me! I certainly know what's better for you."
It's almost universally accepted in the medical community that a calorie deficit burns fat (example). But many doctors don't have the time or inclination to verify that their patients understand what a calorie deficit is (many don't even know what a calorie is), and to explain the importance of logging meals. It could take 10 minutes or more to explain how to improve one's diet, and which exercises to do. It's so much easier to just say "eat fewer carbs". That's kind of understandable.. but what if they already eat low carbs? Or what if patients compensate by increasing non-carbohydrate calories, or by reducing their exercise level (due to the reduced energy that low-carb diets can cause)? It sure would be nice if doctors gave patients a handout explaining the basics of fat loss, so that we here at MFP don't end up calling the doctor an idiot or lazy.
GaleHawkins wrote: »Cherimoose wrote: »Sleep apnea seems to be an overdiagnosed condition. Expect to be told you have it.
Cherimoose where did you come up with that idea?
sinusitisblog.com/2014/08/obstructive-sleep-apnea-diagnosed/
That's just been my observation of people who have had sleep studies. I can't recall a single person who had one done say they tested negative for sleep apnea. I did a quick search and found this study where false-positives were fairly common:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15653964
OP, i assume you're getting tests to determine why your tonsils are enlarged. If not, i would push the doctor for an explanation. Enlarged tonsils can cause sleep apnea.
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OP, i assume you're getting tests to determine why your tonsils are enlarged. If not, i would push the doctor for an explanation. Enlarged tonsils can cause sleep apnea.
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Yes that is what he said. Along with him telling him I snore, sometimes my own snoring wakes me as soon as I fall asleep, and the fact that I am on and off tired during the day.
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That could mean anything. But I understand that 40% of your macros gives you a relatively low carb intake while giving you the good carb nutrients you need. I eat about 150 gr of carbs per day, or 40%. That is not real low carb but low enough for me. Lower than average. I love eating that way and have lost a lot of weight. But you need to know why he/she wants you to do this to know really what you should do.0
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I typically do a low(er) carb diet due to having diabetes, which helps control my blood sugar. However, I am currently 4 months pregnant (with twins!) so I'm eating about 500 calories more a day, and went from around 130g of carbs to around 170g.
A good plan is to make sure the majority of your carbs contain a decent amount of fiber. This will help with keeping you feeling fuller longer, and will help control blood sugar spikes. For instance, I like Healthy Life whole wheat bread: 70 cals, 16g of carbs, and 5g of fiber for 2 slices. There are also high fiber cereal options (like Fiber One), and higher fiber oatmeal.
Try small changes at first. For instance, when I go to Red Robin, instead of a side of fries, I'll get the steamed broccoli. Or if I REALLY want the fries, I'll get my burger wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun.0 -
goldfinger88 wrote: »That could mean anything. But I understand that 40% of your macros gives you a relatively low carb intake while giving you the good carb nutrients you need. I eat about 150 gr of carbs per day, or 40%. That is not real low carb but low enough for me. Lower than average. I love eating that way and have lost a lot of weight. But you need to know why he/she wants you to do this to know really what you should do.
that is why I am going for further tests.
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op.............also, just wanted you to be aware, I was tested for sleep apnea, and I did have it.......I lost 138 lbs, then sadly, gained about 70 lbs back, and since have lost almost 50
When I was lighter, I had great blood pressure, but sadly, its kinda becoming elevated, and I think it is because of my former sleep apnea, or the lack of sleep. I monitor my bp daily, and noticed its came up about 10 percent in the last month.......a lack of sleep or sleep apnea can cause an increase in blood pressure.......its good that you are going to a dr. Best wishes...0 -
Thanks Lloyd, that was another thing, my BP was slightly high. 130/900
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