Carbs and Calories

Okay, I am a low carb newbie and a very picky eater. I have posted some issues in my blog that no one reads (its mostly a diary for me to track progress anyway). My biggest issue is getting enough calories throughout the day. My appetite has decreased and I'm not big on foods with lots of combined ingredients (it's a texture thing). I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and what they did to solve it? My info should be completely open if you want to take at look at my foods. I'm ready and willing to learn! Thanks!

Replies

  • LizinLowell
    LizinLowell Posts: 208 Member
    Are you hungry? If you are still hungry after eating what you can then I'd say try to add fats into your meals if you can stand it; cooking oils, salad dressing oils, butter, fattier cuts of meat. Try fatty dairy if you can tolerate it. Or make fat bombs with like, cacao butter & cocoa powder, very mild tasting & smooth texture.

    If you are not hungry & you still have fat to lose, I would say don't force it. Others may have different advice.
  • madelinemoore1220
    madelinemoore1220 Posts: 7 Member
    I am going to try to start doing that! I think I am getting this diet and previous diets mixed up. Any other time I would be avoiding high fat, high calorie foods so I'm finding it hard to incorporate them now. My calories today were at around 700 before I splurged and ate a bowl of cereal just to get my calories up (which threw off my carbs for today).

    Do you have a dairy you would recommend? I recently switched from skim to almond milk for the low carb factor but now that I'm struggling with calories, I am trying to find an alternative. Chocolate milk in the morning is like my coffee! And finding a good low-carb chocolate is hard too. I'm currently trying Hershey's sugar free syrup but I'm having an issue with artificial sweeteners too. Yay.

    Thank you for your advice and I hope to find something that works!
  • AlexandraCarlyle
    AlexandraCarlyle Posts: 1,603 Member
    I haven't read your blog - apologies! (I wouldn't know where to look!)

    Can you give us a better idea of what you mean by 'picky'? I realise you mention 'texture' but if you could illustrate, I'm sure we could all pile in with loads of stuff!

    Getting previous diets mixed up is very common for newbies - ! Shedding old information that we now find was inaccurate, distorted, and just plain wrong, is a difficult mind-set to achieve. It takes time to appreciate that fars are good; All fats, with the exception of Trans fats, are what we need more of. Keep carbs to the minimum, up your protein, enjoy fats.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,018 Member
    You could go to Dietdoctor.com. It's a good site for getting the gist of low-carb eating. It has recipes as well.
    Fat is not bad. You shouldn't go crazy on it, but having higher fat food components is fine. Fat is important for nutrient absorption and hormonal balance.
    Your diary is not public so I can't see what you're eating.
    Maybe you could post a typical day.
    If you'd do that we could give you more specific pointers.

    Oh and SALT. All low-carbers need more electrolytes and the best way to keep them up is enough sodium. Less than 50g carbs means a minimum of 3000-5000mg every day. Moderate low-carbers can usually get by with the low number.

    It's not necessary to eat more if you aren't hungry. Your appetite will return eventually, and you'll want to eat all the things, so you can catch up then. But if you are truly concerned, incorporating some hidden fats, using heavy cream, cooking veggies in fats like lard, butter, or coconut oil. Nuts are fatty. Peanut butter. Avocados. Fatty cuts of meat...

    As Alexandra said, if you could elaborate on the texture thing, that would be helpful as well.

    There are a bazillion recipe sites in the recipe section of the LaunchPad. And on Pinterest.
    Lots of people batch cook once a week and find that helpful in not having to cook extensively all week.

    I hope some of that helps.
  • madelinemoore1220
    madelinemoore1220 Posts: 7 Member
    You guys are awesome!

    So the texture thing is interesting. For example, I like a lot of veggies, like carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, and other stuff but to put it all in a stir fry would not be good. Like, if you were to have steak and potatoes, I know a lot of people would put both on their fork for the combined flavor but the two completely different textures weirds me out. If I'm going to bite into something, it needs to be consistent.

    I'm not a great cook, and I don't cook a lot because a lot of recipes are a lot of combined foods (and there are only so many ways you can cook chicken) but I will definitely be experimenting more and will not shy away from using whole fat foods! I tried some desserts this week but I found I really don't like the taste of Stevia (too bitter) so I'm trying Erythritol and we will see how it goes.

    Oh, and my diary should be public now. I think I changed the setting.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Perhaps just eat things separately? For example, for dinner last night I had a couple of ounces of cheese and a burger patty. You could eat your raw veggies with some meat or dairy on the side. Full fat dairy like whole milk, cheese, or a sour cream dip or salad dressing dip. Or eat fatty fruits like avocado, olives or nuts.

    One thing that takes a while to get used to is the reduced food volume. I find there is just less on the plate. Because of that I tend to use a smaller salad plate for all of my meals. It works better for me than a half empty dinner plate. ;)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I forgot to add that stevia tastes bitter when you use too much. Stevia requires less is used to get the same sweetness. I find the equivalent of a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee is 2 drops of liquid stevia. That is it. For baking, about 20 drops is 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of sugar - about a dropper full.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    You do not need to "combine foods" to be keto or low carb. Eat them separately as you always probably have. I don't even put butter on my beans. I just happen to like plain beans. Make roast beef. Nothing HAS to go in it other than maybe a little water in the pan. That's not how I make mine but that would work. Add a side of steamed broccoli or cauliflower or even cook it in the pan with the chuck roast (beef). Your food diary has good entries except perhaps the Country Crock. Butter would be a better choice if you like it.

    My main meal of the day is usually just meat and vegetables. Nothing fancy. Keep experimenting!
  • madelinemoore1220
    madelinemoore1220 Posts: 7 Member
    Will do! I'll try anything once which is why I'm still on a pretty good streak. Day 6 with one splurge. May not sound like much but it's only the beginning! I really appreciate your help!

    Also, is Country Crock not butter? I thought it was... That's just what I grew up with but I'm open to change! Thanks so much for your help!
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    Someone will clarify regarding the Country Crock. I know it is NOT butter. It is some sort of oil. I don't study oils as some other folks do. I just use real butter, olive oil, walnut oil, avocado oil, etc. On the rare occasion I deep fry something I use peanut oil and some wouldn't favor that. :) Good luck to you. I don't strive for ketosis any longer abut am a fan of low carb (<50 grams for myself) and whole foods.
  • madelinemoore1220
    madelinemoore1220 Posts: 7 Member
    I looked and it is a "vegetable oil spread". Who knew? I guess I will have to find a butter!

    I'm not going for full ketosis either, I'm just trying to stay between 60-50g a day. Maybe, once I have everything figured out, I will go a little lower but that will be a while away! Thanks for your help!
  • AlexandraCarlyle
    AlexandraCarlyle Posts: 1,603 Member
    edited July 2017
    You guys are awesome!

    So the texture thing is interesting. For example, I like a lot of veggies, like carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, and other stuff but to put it all in a stir fry would not be good. Like, if you were to have steak and potatoes, I know a lot of people would put both on their fork for the combined flavor but the two completely different textures weirds me out. If I'm going to bite into something, it needs to be consistent.

    I think this is more common than you believe. And it may not be a 'texture' thing. It could be a 'flavour' thing. Because the variety of foods you say you like, makes me think you're not 'picky at all. FTR? I don't combine foods on my fork, either. I prefer my chicken, on its own, my egg on its own, my cheese on its own... I have plwnty of foodstuffs on my plate, but they have a tendency to be eaten separately....
    I'm not a great cook, and I don't cook a lot because a lot of recipes are a lot of combined foods (and there are only so many ways you can cook chicken) but I will definitely be experimenting more and will not shy away from using whole fat foods!
    Cook as many foods as you like, and put them all on the same plate. Doesn't mean you have to 'combine' them....