New carb diet going around? Help!

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mallory7813
mallory7813 Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So a couple of my Co workers read up so doing a low carbs diet except you can only have 20 grams of carbs a day. Subtracting the fiber and sugar alcohol from the carbohydrates on the food label is how the method is done. I've never heard it done this way but I'm extremely interested ! Combined together two of my Co workers lost 30lbs so far ! Now all I need is some idea of low to zero carb foods ! Or low carbs and high fiber ! I don't want to be that person in the store looking at every food label so any ideas or tips are always greatly appreciated!
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Replies

  • sarahjane135
    sarahjane135 Posts: 40 Member
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    That sounds like Atkins. You can find it free online.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My tip is - be that person looking at food labels. Educating yourself is the key to success.

    This. That's how you learn. I have spent so much time looking at food labels and have found so many great things to add to my diet, and realized some just don't fit well.

    20 grams is low. Like low low. I understand wanting to lower your carbs but if you just start logging food and calorie counting, being sure to stay in a deficit (which is the only way to lose weight), you can track your carbs and see what the best intake is for you, as far as satiety and sanity goes.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    mallory7813 wrote: »
    So a couple of my Co workers read up so doing a low carbs diet except you can only have 20 grams of carbs a day. Subtracting the fiber and sugar alcohol from the carbohydrates on the food label is how the method is done. I've never heard it done this way but I'm extremely interested ! Combined together two of my Co workers lost 30lbs so far ! Now all I need is some idea of low to zero carb foods ! Or low carbs and high fiber ! I don't want to be that person in the store looking at every food label so any ideas or tips are always greatly appreciated!

    20g of carbs a day is the keto diet. Low carb is around 100g or lower. But that's just semantics. You should check out our low carb group, and have a read of the Launchpad. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    As for reading the food labels, this is prudent whether you're going low carb or not. I've even got a pair of glasses that I don't wear anywhere else other than the grocery store, so I can read the teeny nutrition info labels.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Just cutting carbs will not make you lose weight. To lose weight you still have to be in a calorie deficit.
  • RebelDiamond
    RebelDiamond Posts: 188 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My tip is - be that person looking at food labels. Educating yourself is the key to success.

    Learning while you're losing is so important. If you understand why you have lost weight (calorie deficit), you will understand how to keep it off.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    This diet is actually quite old. It's called keto. This website may give you some food ideas. It lists "net carbs", which is the terms used for "Subtracting the fiber and sugar alcohol from the carbohydrates", saving you the calculations.

    http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html

    The recipes marked with a "*" are very low in net carbs (under 5).

  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    edited April 2016
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    Just cutting carbs will not make you lose weight. To lose weight you still have to be in a calorie deficit.

    This.

    Also OP, I'm 3 year into maintenance and I STILL read nutritional labels all the time. Those labels are a huge source of information and they're one of the tools I use, to continue to be successful at this whole thing.
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
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    TribeHokie wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My tip is - be that person looking at food labels. Educating yourself is the key to success.

    Reading labels in the grocery store is the new sexy

    I must look really attractive whenever I'm in a store then.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
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    It's called ketogenic eating. Do some research on the kinds of foods you can eat - there are many blogs out there dedicated to keto recipes that fit the low carb, high fat, moderate protein WOE. Also - reading labels is one of my favorite parts of going to the store. I love learning what's in products I'd otherwise reach for without thinking twice!
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    Some basics for low carb to make it easy are, meat, fish, cheese, eggs, nuts (some are higher than others), leafy green veggies.

    I have done different levels of low carb for over a year and I still check labels, except for on the things listed above. If you are planning to go less than 20g that is a ketogenic diet and you might want to check out the low carb group listed above of the keto group as well, they will have a lot of helpful information as in the beginning it can be difficult to adjust.
  • MrsMoviestar
    MrsMoviestar Posts: 115 Member
    edited April 2016
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My tip is - be that person looking at food labels. Educating yourself is the key to success.

    This. That's how you learn. I have spent so much time looking at food labels and have found so many great things to add to my diet, and realized some just don't fit well.

    20 grams is low. Like low low. I understand wanting to lower your carbs but if you just start logging food and calorie counting, being sure to stay in a deficit (which is the only way to lose weight), you can track your carbs and see what the best intake is for you, as far as satiety and sanity goes.
    This is true
    20% sounds awfully low. I stick with staying under 40% and reached my goal weight
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
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    MrsMoviestar wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My tip is - be that person looking at food labels. Educating yourself is the key to success.

    This. That's how you learn. I have spent so much time looking at food labels and have found so many great things to add to my diet, and realized some just don't fit well.

    20 grams is low. Like low low. I understand wanting to lower your carbs but if you just start logging food and calorie counting, being sure to stay in a deficit (which is the only way to lose weight), you can track your carbs and see what the best intake is for you, as far as satiety and sanity goes.
    This is true
    20% sounds awfully low. I stick with staying under 40% and reached my goal weight

    It's not 20%, it's 20g. Keto is more like 5-10%. :smiley:
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I don't do keto, although some are successful with it (the weight loss comes from fewer calories, but some find it easier or more satisfying to cut carbs to a minimum when eating fewer calories). However, I do read the label of anything I am buying or considering buying for the first time, and recommend it as a sensible thing for anyone to do. Know what you are eating.

    For keto, you really don't have to read labels more than anyone else once you understand the basics of what foods have what macros/fiber. Meat is always low carb (unless it has a breading), eggs are low carb, foods that are basically fat include cheese (NOT cottage cheese), oils, butter. Non starchy vegetables tend to have few enough calories and enough fiber so that they are net low carb. Fruit tends to have more carbs, but some, like berries, may have enough fiber per carb to fit in a keto diet. Stuff like that.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    MrsMoviestar wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My tip is - be that person looking at food labels. Educating yourself is the key to success.

    This. That's how you learn. I have spent so much time looking at food labels and have found so many great things to add to my diet, and realized some just don't fit well.

    20 grams is low. Like low low. I understand wanting to lower your carbs but if you just start logging food and calorie counting, being sure to stay in a deficit (which is the only way to lose weight), you can track your carbs and see what the best intake is for you, as far as satiety and sanity goes.
    This is true
    20% sounds awfully low. I stick with staying under 40% and reached my goal weight

    It's even lower than that- 20grams, not percent. More like 5-10%
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    mallory7813 wrote: »
    I don't want to be that person in the store looking at every food label

    What is this even? What exactly have you got against those of us who read food labels? THAT'S WHY THE FOOD LABELS ARE THERE. We don't want to be dummies.

  • Panda_Poptarts
    Panda_Poptarts Posts: 971 Member
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    That's keto. It's pretty awesome.
    Please do read labels...
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Low carb is easy-- meat, veggies, fats. Focus on foods that don't come with labels.

    Once you've burned through the glycogen stores in your liver, you'll be in fat-burning mode, called ketosis. Your appetite will fall away, your breath will stink, and your energy level will jump up. It's a great way to lose weight!
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
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    To add to the many comments about reading the labels, the longer you do it the faster you'll get. I can read and decipher nutrition facts and ingredient lists faster than I ever would have thought six years ago when I started doing it. It's a good skill to have and it's a smart decision for your health and knowledge.

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