Modified low carb?
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Kdooms5
Posts: 16 Member
Of course, I find it very challenging to skim my diet down to meats, cheeses, low carb veggies. I have tried many times and the carb "flu" hits me hard with the headaches, brain fog and general feeling like "yuck". I am wondering if anyone has been sucessful modifying the low carb diet, still encorporating fruits, beans etc. I am guessing the fat would need to be limited unlike the true LC/HF lifestyle. Any tips?
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Replies
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If you are getting headaches, you may be low on sodium. It is a symptom of the water loss that comes with low carb. Increase sodium intake with pickles or sodium tablets.
You can have a lowER carb WOE such as 80g (arbitrary number I chose, your mileage may vary) that allows you some legumes and fruits. That is still low carb and may be more sustainable for you, if you choose.5 -
The South Beach diet is a lower carb plan that after the first two weeks allows some fruit and legumes. @Sabine_Stroehm follows a plan similar to this if I remember correctly. You are correct that if you up the carbs it's a good idea to lower the fat a bit.
That said I agree with the above that the "flu" is usually an electrolyte problem and can be easily fixed while remaining LCHF. Check out the helpful stickies at the top of the forum for info on balancing electrolytes!
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All those symptoms are avoidable, but anything 150g or less is considered low carb.2
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As the others said, 3000-50000 mg of sodium are needed by those switching to LCHF. Try drinking broth, salt water or taking salt tablets and see if it helps.2
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I am currently on a lowER carb woe (since March, but really focused on it since the beginning of July). I try to keep my carbs right around or under 100, give or take. As a result, I do try to keep my fats lower than what I've read of a true LCHF. Every day is a little different, based on how much activity I anticipate (less activity, fewer carbs & calories), and I strive to increase my protein every day.
I avoid carbs from wheat & other refined grains whenever possible, sticking mostly to fruits, veggies, and a few high fiber, low net-carb sources. Cane sugar is all but gone (a few trace amounts here and there), replaced by organic stevia. Alcohol is not entirely out of the picture either (I am really enjoying the new spiked seltzers that are out there...with only 2 carbs, 1 net and 100 calories each).
My goal is to NOT make this something that I can't live with forever (or in the case of a few favorite foods, live without). It has to be sustainable and not create a huge burden in meal prep for my family.
I don't "forbid" myself to have things, so I never feel like I am missing out on anything. My carb cravings have diminished greatly, however, and a lot of the things I thought I'd miss, I don't. If I know i am going to (or have already) "indulge" in a small treat, I will adjust the rest of my day's eating accordingly. And I don't beat myself up if I go over on something. I just try not to let it happen very often.
My weight was 172 in my doctor's office at the beginning of April (168 roughly at the start of my logging with MFP). Last week, I officially hit the "20# lost" mark, so it is definitely working!
I do advise, though, that you heed the others' tips on sodium deficiency. I have learned to tell when I'm not getting enough - and because I can't really stand to drink plain broth or salt water, especially in the heat - I fix myself a glass of Lemon "Aide" when I start to feel the effects (more than one if I am really active during the day): 3-6 capfuls of lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 pkt organic stevia, and about 12 - 16 oz water. It has 0 carbs, 0 calories, but is a good quick dose of sodium when you need it.
Good luck to you, @kdooms5, and I look forward to reading about your progress!
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The South Beach diet is a lower carb plan that after the first two weeks allows some fruit and legumes. @Sabine_Stroehm follows a plan similar to this if I remember correctly. You are correct that if you up the carbs it's a good idea to lower the fat a bit.
That said I agree with the above that the "flu" is usually an electrolyte problem and can be easily fixed while remaining LCHF. Check out the helpful stickies at the top of the forum for info on balancing electrolytes!
You remember correctly! I'm "slow carb" to the core. Have been for about 15 years!6 -
ELECTROLYTES! As has been mentioned.
I do 100g. I mostly do very low carb in the am. A big old salad at lunch. Nuts for a snack. Then I have a lots of veggies, a serving of beans with dinner with my meat and fat of course.
And a piece of fruit for my bedtime snack.
Fat is what gets limited. But it's still pretty high. Just around 50% instead of 65%. I'm still LCHF, just not as high fat as keto.
Or at least that's what I tell myself.4 -
I prefer to think of keto/LCHF as fats, low carbs from veggies and cheese, and minimal-to-adequate protein. But we all have different macros. This is what works for me.
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I weigh and measure everything so I don't go over. It's easy to overeat fruit because the carbs add up quick so maybe try measuring out a serving beforehand to keep yourself in check. If I feel like i need carbs tho and am dizzy, I eat what my body wants. I try to eat the lowest carb foods tho.. I like iceberg lettuce a lot. Maybe give yourself some time to adjust to it and give yourself cheat days if u absolutely can't stand it. I think maybe it's just your body adjusting to it. Or maybe your macros are too low.1
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I am going for lower carbs too but not keto. I set my macros to 20c/45p/35f. It seems more reasonable to me I guess. I have only been doing it for a week so can't really give much for results yet. So far I tend to do ok meeting carbs maybe going 3-5 over and slighly higher fat and struggling to get tbat much protein. In losing weight before have always done low cal/fat but in researching wanted to try low carb instead. I feel like I eat healthier this way maybe than eating the low fat but processed not real foods.2
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I am another one, I eat higher fiber (25-30 grams) and carbs stay under 100g most days. I still eat fruit in moderation. Probably about 3 times a week and mostly blueberries. I eat a prodigious amount of veggie but rarely starchy veggies. I am more intent on meeting dietary requirements of vitamins and minerals than I used to be so I make sure that my usual choices have good bang for the buck. I lose slowly but I am older.2
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I'm LCHF, aim for 100g net carbs a day...I'm not much of a fruit person, but salads, veggies, beans and such are definitely part of my diet...even the occasional potato or rice <gasp>...I do not limit fat, in fact I try to make sure I'm eating PLENTY of it, otherwise I get super hungry. I have my macros set at 60% fat, 25% protein and 15% carb, but that puts my carbs lower than my actual goal - I don't really pay enough attention until the number get RED, so I keep MFP goals lower than my real goals for carbs...my actual eating is closer to 50f/30p/20c0
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I have found that my body seems to function better when I am not very low carb. I did the really low carb thing for about a week to get into ketosis, but then I added a serving of beans to my taco salad and noticed that my body felt much better the following day...so rather then aiming for around 20g, I bumped it to 50g and found that I still lost weight well. I am getting ready to add 2 days yoga, 3 days strength training, and a day of zumba to balance overall fitness and will be bumping up to 100g and seeing how I feel and making necessary adjustments from there.0
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I lost every single ounce of my excess 63 pounds eating ~40% of my calories in carbohydrates. In grams, this was ~160 grams at my highest weight down to ~120 grams at my lowest weight. My food choices were generally low sodium (was on BP meds at the time), low SATURATED fat, low cholesterol, high fiber. I ate oodles of low fat Greek Yogurt, legumes, egg whites to get protein and keep cholesterol low. I also ate plenty of fresh vegetables and a decent amount of fruit. Limited meat. If one were to look at the pics in my profile it should be obvious eating in that fashion allows for both weight loss and fat loss. That is the "former me" with the big fat belly in the white sweatshirt.
I eat keto now as a trial for a neurological movement disorder and have noted positive effects so shall continue. I also have improved satiation. "Sweets" and "starches" were rare in weight loss and my 1st 2 years of maintenance. "Sweets" and "starches" are non existent on keto (except those early occasions when I binged on sweets to the tune of a few thousand daily excess calories).1 -
I eat "lower" carb also--less than 100 g per day. I find that the more I eat, the more I crave, so I am going to focus this week on cutting back again to more like 50-75g. I could never give up fruit completely and my weak spot is a latte with real milk in the morning. But, as other posters have said, I am trying to focus on this as a life change and making it manageable for the long run is essential. Still, I am losing weight at a pretty nice pace (18 pounds in two months!). So my answer is that, yes, I have been successful eating fruit and beans and other carbs.2
