Went from low cal to low carb

tinamonkpruiett
tinamonkpruiett Posts: 17 Member
edited November 29 in Motivation and Support
Has anyone else went from low cal to low carb? I have been doing low cal for the last 2 months and always felt hungry and crabby. Weight went down a few pounds but nothing to cheer about. This past 5 days or so I've been doing low-no carb and I have to say I feel amazing! Less cravings, more energy, less bloated! Any low carb peeps have any great recipes or tips they want to share?

Replies

  • elenab386
    elenab386 Posts: 8 Member
    Hello!!!
    Yes low carbs is really good physically and mentally!!! You feel so light when you eat less carbs. I usually try to avoid as much and for example: we should not have more than 2 slices of bread or a cup of pasta/potatoes or carbs a day. It depends on your body and your will because sometimes if you are not used to it, your body will get tired at the beginning or you might just ditch the whole thing but don't give up!!! I have naturally been eating less and less carbs by substituting with other yummy things.

    oatmeal instead of cereal
    Eggs or omelet a with one small toast or even no bread at all
    Replace rice with quinoa
    Eat more veggies and protein
    Avoid French fries!! Having a small baked potatoe is much healthier
    Pasta could be replaced with butternut squash (spaghetti squash)
    Replace the burger bun with a lettuce wrap or a huge mushroom top

    Check this website https://www.atkins.ca/recipes

    And so on... There are so many other:)
    Add me so we can keep up to date and share recipes !!
  • tinamonkpruiett
    tinamonkpruiett Posts: 17 Member
    Yes! These are great tips! Thanks so much! I added ya!:)
  • bthao7
    bthao7 Posts: 54 Member
    Keep up the great work. My biggest thing is staying from sugar.
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  • lisa9805
    lisa9805 Posts: 303 Member
    I am low carb as well. following pretty much the same things as the poster above. i find not eating bagels, reg pasta, breads equal less cravings for sweets. once i have some bread i crave more that day. i try to get gluten free bread with low calorie content and have less or gluten free pasta like rice pasta etc. rice doesn't seem to stimulate my cravings.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    You still have to eat lower calories than you burn or you will gain weight.

  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
    lisa9805 wrote: »
    I am low carb as well. following pretty much the same things as the poster above. i find not eating bagels, reg pasta, breads equal less cravings for sweets. once i have some bread i crave more that day. i try to get gluten free bread with low calorie content and have less or gluten free pasta like rice pasta etc. rice doesn't seem to stimulate my cravings.

    All of the gluten-free substitutes have carbohydrates in them. Rice is also a carbohydrate. You seem to have gluten and carbohydrates confused.
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
    elenab386 wrote: »
    Hello!!!
    Yes low carbs is really good physically and mentally!!! You feel so light when you eat less carbs. I usually try to avoid as much and for example: we should not have more than 2 slices of bread or a cup of pasta/potatoes or carbs a day. It depends on your body and your will because sometimes if you are not used to it, your body will get tired at the beginning or you might just ditch the whole thing but don't give up!!! I have naturally been eating less and less carbs by substituting with other yummy things.

    oatmeal instead of cereal
    Eggs or omelet a with one small toast or even no bread at all
    Replace rice with quinoa
    Eat more veggies and protein
    Avoid French fries!! Having a small baked potatoe is much healthier
    Pasta could be replaced with butternut squash (spaghetti squash)
    Replace the burger bun with a lettuce wrap or a huge mushroom top

    Check this website https://www.atkins.ca/recipes

    And so on... There are so many other:)
    Add me so we can keep up to date and share recipes !!

    With the exception of replacing the burger bun with lettuce, all of your substitutions are replacing one carbohydrate with another carbohydrate. What's the point, if the overall goal goal is low carb? You're just shifting the source of the carbohydrates.
  • spvd14
    spvd14 Posts: 7 Member
    elenab386 wrote: »
    Hello!!!
    Yes low carbs is really good physically and mentally!!! You feel so light when you eat less carbs. I usually try to avoid as much and for example: we should not have more than 2 slices of bread or a cup of pasta/potatoes or carbs a day. It depends on your body and your will because sometimes if you are not used to it, your body will get tired at the beginning or you might just ditch the whole thing but don't give up!!! I have naturally been eating less and less carbs by substituting with other yummy things.

    oatmeal instead of cereal
    Eggs or omelet a with one small toast or even no bread at all
    Replace rice with quinoa
    Eat more veggies and protein
    Avoid French fries!! Having a small baked potatoe is much healthier
    Pasta could be replaced with butternut squash (spaghetti squash)
    Replace the burger bun with a lettuce wrap or a huge mushroom top

    Check this website https://www.atkins.ca/recipes

    And so on... There are so many other:)
    Add me so we can keep up to date and share recipes !!

    With the exception of replacing the burger bun with lettuce, all of your substitutions are replacing one carbohydrate with another carbohydrate. What's the point, if the overall goal goal is low carb? You're just shifting the source of the carbohydrates.


    I agree...those substitutions will not do you any good if you are trying to keep carbs under 50 or less which if I understand correctly is what is suggested for weight loss...(a piece of bread is like 12 grams of carbs already). I am trying to do low carb too and though Ive not been exactly as successful as I'd like to be (cannot say no when Hubs cooks for me), I have noticed a significant decrease in hunger and sweets craving. I also noticed that if I "give in" and have a piece of chocolate, I immediately want more. Sugar is like crack man!

    Anyway, from one newbie to another....good luck and I hope we both are successful in this process!!
  • PearBlossom9
    PearBlossom9 Posts: 136 Member
    I was doing low calorie for a month or two. I was doing ok. I was loosing weight. But I didn't have the energy I thought I would. I felt ok. Exercise was hard at first, mainly because I have a very large amount to loose. So it definitely resulted in a lot of sore muscles meaning I could't do very much at once. Which was so insanely depressing because I had the WILL to exercise more.

    I read about Keto a few times and I said to myself if after you eat the rest of your low calorie foods in the house, do it. Go for it. It just so happened about a week later my work announced that they were going to do a Biggest Loser challenge and the winner gets 2 vacation days. I said that's it! JUMP!

    That was 30 days ago today. I have officially lost 13 pounds. The past month has been more easy than hard. Though the hard...was hard.

    Low carb/Keto really forces you to rethink how you look at food. It certainly is not for everyone but man, its amazing. I feel GREAT. I sleep so well. Exercise is something I am starting to look forward to. My mental health is improving. My skin looks great. I have offically gone down a size. I could go on and on. Low carb has given me so much to look forward to.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    lisa9805 wrote: »
    I am low carb as well. following pretty much the same things as the poster above. i find not eating bagels, reg pasta, breads equal less cravings for sweets. once i have some bread i crave more that day. i try to get gluten free bread with low calorie content and have less or gluten free pasta like rice pasta etc. rice doesn't seem to stimulate my cravings.

    All of the gluten-free substitutes have carbohydrates in them. Rice is also a carbohydrate. You seem to have gluten and carbohydrates confused.

    My thought as well.
  • tinamonkpruiett
    tinamonkpruiett Posts: 17 Member
    I was doing low calorie for a month or two. I was doing ok. I was loosing weight. But I didn't have the energy I thought I would. I felt ok. Exercise was hard at first, mainly because I have a very large amount to loose. So it definitely resulted in a lot of sore muscles meaning I could't do very much at once. Which was so insanely depressing because I had the WILL to exercise more.

    I read about Keto a few times and I said to myself if after you eat the rest of your low calorie foods in the house, do it. Go for it. It just so happened about a week later my work announced that they were going to do a Biggest Loser challenge and the winner gets 2 vacation days. I said that's it! JUMP!

    That was 30 days ago today. I have officially lost 13 pounds. The past month has been more easy than hard. Though the hard...was hard.

    Low carb/Keto really forces you to rethink how you look at food. It certainly is not for everyone but man, its amazing. I feel GREAT. I sleep so well. Exercise is something I am starting to look forward to. My mental health is improving. My skin looks great. I have offically gone down a size. I could go on and on. Low carb has given me so much to look forward to.

    That's awesome!! I'm very motivated by this!
  • JennifrClaire
    JennifrClaire Posts: 141 Member
    I've reached my half way point on low carb and that's more than the low cal ever did for me.
    I still have 40 pounds to go so I won't pretend to be an expert but it certainly works for me.
  • stopeatingout
    stopeatingout Posts: 18 Member
    I feel the same way as PearBlossom9. I feel great on a low carb diet. When I eat a lot of carbs I never feel satisfied and I crave more food even if Im not hungry. I also feel extremely tired when I consume carbs. If I have a supper that is high in carbs, I basically want to go to sleep right after. I've been that way my whole life, as soon as I eat supper, I can hardly keep my eyes open!

    Since I started regulating my carb intake, I have more energy, feel satisfied faster and longer, my skin cleared up, my chronic headaches went away, I dont feel bloated and disgusting all the time. I love it! I still consume carbs but I make sure most of them come from veggies and fruit and most of them are in the form of fiber and not a lot of sugar. I found that after eliminating some foods from my diet (even if I loved them) I dont crave them anymore and dont even want to eat them.

    If carbs are something you love and think it will be hard to give up, I would at least give it an honest try (3-4weeks).
This discussion has been closed.