Hashimotos, carbs and potato chips...
emaline2210
Posts: 57 Member
Hi there,
I'm newish here. I've mostly been reading. My story is pretty simple. Though I've always been fascinated by nutrition and learning about different eating styles, adapting them to myself has been difficult. I'm oppositional and I wanna do what I want when I want. I love me some potato chips.
Unfortunately, this isn't working for me anymore. I have hashimotos, and my last blood draw scared the bejeesus out of me. My antibodies are over 400 and the normal range is in the 30s. This means I have that many antibodies attacking my thyroid. No wonder I feel like crapola all. The. Time.
So I'm sort of in the beginning of figuring out this whole high fat low carb thing for myself, while also limiting dairy to pretty much just some Greek yogurt as a condiment sometimes.
I am definitely eating gluten free, because of the newish discoveries that gluten is poison for people with hashimotos. BUT super low carb is also not so great for hashimotos. So I'm in the 50 carbs/ day range.
My husband is just learning from his Dr ( finally, someone other than me) that he needs to be low carb AND low fat. I told him no no no on the low fat. Just trust me on this one. So hopefully, we are now on this journey together.
My questions:
Besides chicharones, have you found any other brilliant crunchy snacks to take place of my potato chips obsession? I would turn into a potato chip if I could, I think.
My husband is worried about the alcohol part. He really enjoys his one cocktail, and it's usually some kind of liquor with soda. This is truly his biggest challenge. Any cocktail suggestions?
And third, any others out there with hashimotos or another autoimmune disease? Any tips, tricks or advice for me? This way of eating seems to be the very best option, but I just wanna be really kind to my body.
I'm newish here. I've mostly been reading. My story is pretty simple. Though I've always been fascinated by nutrition and learning about different eating styles, adapting them to myself has been difficult. I'm oppositional and I wanna do what I want when I want. I love me some potato chips.
Unfortunately, this isn't working for me anymore. I have hashimotos, and my last blood draw scared the bejeesus out of me. My antibodies are over 400 and the normal range is in the 30s. This means I have that many antibodies attacking my thyroid. No wonder I feel like crapola all. The. Time.
So I'm sort of in the beginning of figuring out this whole high fat low carb thing for myself, while also limiting dairy to pretty much just some Greek yogurt as a condiment sometimes.
I am definitely eating gluten free, because of the newish discoveries that gluten is poison for people with hashimotos. BUT super low carb is also not so great for hashimotos. So I'm in the 50 carbs/ day range.
My husband is just learning from his Dr ( finally, someone other than me) that he needs to be low carb AND low fat. I told him no no no on the low fat. Just trust me on this one. So hopefully, we are now on this journey together.
My questions:
Besides chicharones, have you found any other brilliant crunchy snacks to take place of my potato chips obsession? I would turn into a potato chip if I could, I think.
My husband is worried about the alcohol part. He really enjoys his one cocktail, and it's usually some kind of liquor with soda. This is truly his biggest challenge. Any cocktail suggestions?
And third, any others out there with hashimotos or another autoimmune disease? Any tips, tricks or advice for me? This way of eating seems to be the very best option, but I just wanna be really kind to my body.
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Replies
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I usually go for nuts instead of chips.
hashimotos runs in my family, but I have never been diagnosed!1 -
Bake up some cheese and make cheese crisps. Someone shared that using popcorn flavoring (Nacho cheese) on baked crisps gives them a Doritos flavor and I agree!3
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Every chip replacement (something crunchy and salty) I have found has far more calories than potato chips, so you can't just munch on them endlessly without some repercussions.
In addition to nuts and the cheese crisps, you may want to try pumpkin seeds (not just the kernels). Some people only eat the kernels inside like sunflower seeds. I am in the camp that eats the whole thing. The shells are not bad and make it so I don't eat them nearly as fast.
As for the alcohol part, I used to have the same type drinks as your husband. I have gradually gotten to where I don't really drink much anymore, but when I do, I just mix with ice and a couple teaspoons of pure lemon juice. If that is too strong, you can add just a bit of water. Generally, just letting the ice melt is sufficient for me.2 -
Vodka and soda water with a slice of lemon or lime.
Hardbite parsnip chips are quite low in carbs.1 -
I think if you can get past the first 2 weeks or so you'll find you don't crave chips any longer. I was that way with fries. Anytime I was out in the car running errands I would stop and get fries to snack on. I thought I'd never be able to give them up. Well it's been over a year since I've gotten fries and I'm 100% fine with it.
The main things the first couple of weeks are to eat as much as you need to not be hungry. I wouldn't count calories until you adapt to the diet. Make sure you don't go over carbs or protein and fill up on fats. Also get a lot of electrolytes. That way your avoid the "keto flu". Too often people don't supplement electrolytes, start to feel like crap and cave to carbs. Then of course they feel better and erroneously assume their body "needed" the carbs.1 -
Kitnthecat wrote: »Vodka and soda water with a slice of lemon or lime.
Hardbite parsnip chips are quite low in carbs.
That's what I drink. He finds it disgusting. He likes pickle backs. I'm thinking maybe he could sip on whiskey and pickle juice!1 -
When I'm low carb its so much better to use salt. For me it wasn't low carbs that made me feel weak and dizzy, it was the lack of salt because I though salt made me swell up. No, It was the carbs all along.
Extra salt can be flushed out by drinking more water and will be gone by morning.2 -
For cocktails, I like a dirty gin martini with 2 olives - it's a snack and drink in one.
Otherwise, maybe a gin/vodka and diet tonic with a lime or sub favorite alcohol and diet soda.
Snacks - portions of nuts, pickles, and those baked cheese things sound delish!1 -
Hi! I have Hashimoto's, diagnosed 2,5 years ago. The doc thought everything was under control, then I started gaining weight again, so in August I went back to low carbs eating (and losing 1kg per week on average). You are welcome to friend me
The first two weeks were in a way easier - I was on holiday in a country where they sell dried fish in supermarket, great crunchy snack (but very salty too)! I also had delicious sauerkraut chips, but those do have.... ehm... side effects.
I also try not to eat goitrogens more than three times per week. So no kale chips and no crunchy radish (which I love. Did we get fat and sick by overeating radish and cabbage?).
My snack choices coming back were little cheese packs and olives, and later macadamia nuts (pricey, but almost all fats). Brazil nuts are crunchy too! If you can eat nightshades and don't mind high-ish carbs, bell peppers?
2,5 months on I actually only have "planned" snacks (when I know a lot of time will pass between meals), or if I go out after work, to prevent "accidents" with bar food. Or when I hike (old habit and unnecessary).
For the cocktails - I can't help you, as alcohol leaves me indifferent. Bloody Mary maybe?
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OMG I am a chip-o-holic!! That is one of my hugest downfalls so I so get you! But honestly for me and someone said it up there ^^ my craving for them is literally gone. I grabbed hubby his doritos the other day and I didn't blink at the lays chips sitting right next to them.
If I'm feeling edgy I have a bag of sunflower seeds. I'll put one in my mouth and get all the salt then eat only the seed. That helps me tons and I can make them crunch if I want
BTW - Welcome!!1 -
Former Chip- aholic here. The thick Dill pickle slices help when I am craving salty and that was usually when potato chips filled my desire...but like everyone else, after a bit you won't even crave them.
I don't care about drinks now either , so no help here on that one..
Best wishes!
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Pork crackling is okay for something crunchy. I buy the little 25g bags.1
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Pepperoni chips are my personal favorite.2
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You may find the cravings for chips dissipates. If not, there are lots of good suggestions above and I'll just add that I like unsweetened coconut flakes for times when I feel munchy, which is almost never because of how cravings and hunger changes.
I drink alcohol at least once a week. I usually drink dry red wine but my go to liquor is tequila and soda with lime in a salted glass. You can get a little bitters if you want but I just skip it.
I also like gin and soda with lime.
When I still used artificial sweeteners I would get a Diet Coke and rum. Or very rarely, like on vacation, I'll use diet juice like cranberry with vodka or diet V8 tropical with rum. Mix that with some coconut cream and blend it for a pina colada. Might need some sweetener.1 -
coloradoartstudio wrote: »For cocktails, I like a dirty gin martini with 2 olives - it's a snack and drink in one.
Otherwise, maybe a gin/vodka and diet tonic with a lime or sub favorite alcohol and diet soda.
Snacks - portions of nuts, pickles, and those baked cheese things sound delish!
Oooh... he liked my dirty martini when I ordered one recently.
Pickles are a food group in this house!0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »You may find the cravings for chips dissipates. If not, there are lots of good suggestions above and I'll just add that I like unsweetened coconut flakes for times when I feel munchy, which is almost never because of how cravings and hunger changes.
I drink alcohol at least once a week. I usually drink dry red wine but my go to liquor is tequila and soda with lime in a salted glass. You can get a little bitters if you want but I just skip it.
I also like gin and soda with lime.
When I still used artificial sweeteners I would get a Diet Coke and rum. Or very rarely, like on vacation, I'll use diet juice like cranberry with vodka or diet V8 tropical with rum. Mix that with some coconut cream and blend it for a pina colada. Might need some sweetener.
I'm thinking the artificial sweeteners might have to be a thing for a while for him. He's such a sugarholic. He is not thrilled about this life change. He came home from the dr today and had a bowl of cereal! He had no idea that was full of carbs.
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Catawampous wrote: »OMG I am a chip-o-holic!! That is one of my hugest downfalls so I so get you! But honestly for me and someone said it up there ^^ my craving for them is literally gone. I grabbed hubby his doritos the other day and I didn't blink at the lays chips sitting right next to them.
If I'm feeling edgy I have a bag of sunflower seeds. I'll put one in my mouth and get all the salt then eat only the seed. That helps me tons and I can make them crunch if I want
BTW - Welcome!!
Dill pickle sunflower seeds= yum. I used to chow down on them every night, but stopped. I may need to go back to that.0 -
emaline2210 wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »You may find the cravings for chips dissipates. If not, there are lots of good suggestions above and I'll just add that I like unsweetened coconut flakes for times when I feel munchy, which is almost never because of how cravings and hunger changes.
I drink alcohol at least once a week. I usually drink dry red wine but my go to liquor is tequila and soda with lime in a salted glass. You can get a little bitters if you want but I just skip it.
I also like gin and soda with lime.
When I still used artificial sweeteners I would get a Diet Coke and rum. Or very rarely, like on vacation, I'll use diet juice like cranberry with vodka or diet V8 tropical with rum. Mix that with some coconut cream and blend it for a pina colada. Might need some sweetener.
I'm thinking the artificial sweeteners might have to be a thing for a while for him. He's such a sugarholic. He is not thrilled about this life change. He came home from the dr today and had a bowl of cereal! He had no idea that was full of carbs.
Oh boy! I bet he didn't take that news too well. Lol
Lots of people have no trouble with most or any sweeteners for that matter. I've just learned that anything except minimal amounts of stevia and erythritol tend to turn me into a sugar starving zombie! I want to eat everything and particularly crave sweet foods which only keeps me going even longer. I learned that mostly last year when fall came and I started trying out low carb desserts for the holidays. Went from making one a week to one every other day! Started gaining weight without going over calories or carbs. So I cut back to coffee only for a long time until I noticed I kept wanting more and more sweetener in each cup and started feeling hungry all the time and fighting sugar cravings again.
As long as I keep it to the 2 mentioned and never use it while fasting, I haven't had any problems.
Anyway, I'm just saying it's very individual. There's no reason to even think about that now. Especially while the transition is already challenging. 0 -
@emaline2210 I too have autoimmune thyroiditis. I don't take any meds for it. We just discovered it in January of this year. My labs are all in the 'normal range' except for my antibodies. They went from 1108 U/ml in April down 63% to 407 U/ml Oct 21/16. Normal is below 60 - optimal is below 30. I did this by supplementing with selenium 200mcg/day. And that is the only difference. I am continuing with the supplementation as it has been shown in studies to continue dropping in the next 6 months. I have been gluten free for 6 yrs, wheat free for 4 before that because I have Fibromyalgia and I found it made a HUGE difference in my fatigue, pain, and IBS issues. Here's the link to the studies on PubMed about HT and selenium: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17696828
Unfortunately I've never found any dry crunchy thing I like that is low carb to replace chips. Chicharones are meh, in my book. I just don't like the pork-y taste. Someone else says to bake them at 400F for a few minutes to get rid of that taste. I haven't tried that yet.
I drink the occasional hard liquor straight (I hate to ruin a pricey fine liquor with juice or pop). A liquor store is closing out not far from us so the other day I bought a REALLY GOOD 100% blue agave Reposado Tequila, and an unpeated Islay Single Malt Scotch. They were on sale, relatively speaking, lol.0 -
Crown and diet coke.
I have Hashimoto's, but I also have thyroid cancer. So I'm a bit complicated concerning that. I'm doing Keto, which is very low carb, in the hopes that the 40% reoccurence rate won't apply to me. Keto is supposed to be very anti-inflammatory as well.
There are a few recipes out there for low carb crackers that look pretty good.0 -
Crispy salted seaweed sheets fill a crisp craving for me and are 24 calories / 0.8g carbs per serving. Some people don't like the very savoury taste though.0
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Parsnip chips, kale chips, zucchini chips, cheese (like parmesan) chips, pepperoni chips (pepperoni nuked in the microwave or baked until crispy) and pork rinds are the best "chip" alternatives I've found. I really like pork rinds because they come in flavors like hot & spicy and BBQ, and the plain ones you can add popcorn seasonings to OR even grind it into a flour for "breading" things like chicken, fish etc.
Other than "chips" I snack on pickles, deli meats rolled up with different cheeses, Lindt 90% dark chocolate, russell stover SF candies (in moderation) and almonds. Lots and lots of flavors of almonds. Salt and vinegar and habanero BBQ are my favorites.0 -
My snacking is out of control, I'm still a snack o holic just on different things now 0
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Parsnip chips, kale chips, zucchini chips, cheese (like parmesan) chips, pepperoni chips (pepperoni nuked in the microwave or baked until crispy) and pork rinds are the best "chip" alternatives I've found. I really like pork rinds because they come in flavors like hot & spicy and BBQ, and the plain ones you can add popcorn seasonings to OR even grind it into a flour for "breading" things like chicken, fish etc.
Other than "chips" I snack on pickles, deli meats rolled up with different cheeses, Lindt 90% dark chocolate, russell stover SF candies (in moderation) and almonds. Lots and lots of flavors of almonds. Salt and vinegar and habanero BBQ are my favorites.
Oh man! Great suggestions!0 -
canadjineh wrote: »@emaline2210 I too have autoimmune thyroiditis. I don't take any meds for it. We just discovered it in January of this year. My labs are all in the 'normal range' except for my antibodies. They went from 1108 U/ml in April down 63% to 407 U/ml Oct 21/16. Normal is below 60 - optimal is below 30. I did this by supplementing with selenium 200mcg/day. And that is the only difference. I am continuing with the supplementation as it has been shown in studies to continue dropping in the next 6 months. I have been gluten free for 6 yrs, wheat free for 4 before that because I have Fibromyalgia and I found it made a HUGE difference in my fatigue, pain, and IBS issues. Here's the link to the studies on PubMed about HT and selenium: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17696828
Unfortunately I've never found any dry crunchy thing I like that is low carb to replace chips. Chicharones are meh, in my book. I just don't like the pork-y taste. Someone else says to bake them at 400F for a few minutes to get rid of that taste. I haven't tried that yet.
I drink the occasional hard liquor straight (I hate to ruin a pricey fine liquor with juice or pop). A liquor store is closing out not far from us so the other day I bought a REALLY GOOD 100% blue agave Reposado Tequila, and an unpeated Islay Single Malt Scotch. They were on sale, relatively speaking, lol.
I haven't been on meds for a year, but just went back on due to the really high antibodies. I've read about selenium, and I think I'll give it a try. Those are great results! I was diagnosed 14 years ago, and have never found anything that helps.1 -
moonlights wrote: »Crispy salted seaweed sheets fill a crisp craving for me and are 24 calories / 0.8g carbs per serving. Some people don't like the very savoury taste though.
I forgot about these until you posted this.... they are in the back of my cupboard, thanks moonlights!! Those little sheets are about the closest thing in my books to a bit of crispness then a sort of melt in your mouth (like Pringles, lol). I can eat several packages of them at once though.0
Where can I find these? I LOVE zucchini!This discussion has been closed.