Low carb diet

Why?

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Start by tracking your food in this app. You'll start to see where you are using a lot of carbs. Then you can make tweaks to your diet to lower your carbs. Don't try to make a huge sweeping change all at once, that is a recipe for crashing and burning.

If it is for weight loss only, all you need is a calorie deficit.

This is good advice.

Often the issue with "high carb" is what the diet is lacking -- do you have a structure to when you eat, go-to meals? Do you eat a source of protein and vegetables at most meals?

If it's an issue with diabetes or pre diabetes, they should have referred you to a dietitian, but one thing that is important is controlling carbs per meal and pairing them with fiber (some foods with carbs have more fiber than others) and protein.

Does your doctor have information about your current diet, or is he/she just saying to lose weight?

juliefarmer2 wrote: »

So my dr and my sons dr says we need to go on a low carb diet. I have no clue where to begin.

I recently started using MFP and it is supereasy to log food. I understand, you must be thinking, how do I know nutrients of every item that goes inside my mouth? Trust me this app's database has most of the brands and items. Following are the steps I followed.

1) Create profile and MPF will automatically set you default goal based on your information.
2) It has options to create recipes. So log your home recipes. Also don't assume portion sizes. I will suggest use measuring cups and stuff. Decide your serving size-super important.I usually cook meal for 4 and my usual serving size is 1 cup. So total recipe will be of 4 cups. Doing this will help you to understand your food better. Get a food scale to weigh chicken, onions, etc. i am from India and I thought our currie were so complicated, but after logging I realized they are not. I also assumed going low carb will make me give my fav food. I enjoy my every meal even after reducing carbs.
3) If you don't find any item, spices or so, scan your brand barcode and add it your database.
4) If you don't have smartwatch, download pedometer, fitness apps to track your steps and daily activity.
5) After each day, check your macro nutrients in the app. You will get to know your carb intake. Then check from where these carbs are coming. Are these carbs coming from natural sources or artifical(soda, donuts, etc.)? After this you will know what changes you need to make in your daily diet to reduce carb intake. I have tweaked my recipes to meet my goals and trust they still tastes great!!
5) Try to log everything honestly for a week or so. Treat MFP app as a mirror, so if you lie to the app then you are lying to yourself. I will also suggest, don't change your diet immediately, first monitor and then make changes.


PS: if your partner cooks for you then, this is the great opportunity to have some good time together and learn more about home made food and groceries.

Regards,
Pradnya

juliefarmer2 wrote: »

So my dr and my sons dr says we need to go on a low carb diet. I have no clue where to begin.

Make sure you enter all your information into MFP, including weight, height, activity, goals, etc.

Make sure you weigh all of your food too.

I have my goal %'s set at 40/40/20, 40% protein, 40% fat, 20% carbs. For me that puts me at 113g carbs, 100g fat, and 225g protein. I have cut bread out of my diet completely for the most part. Once in awhile I'll have 1 slice of bread and that is it.

I generally make a huge breakfast every day after working out in the morning, 677 calories, 11g carbs, 43g fat, 64g protein, you can certainly adjust this a little taking out 1 sausage and 1 egg, and drop the calories.

4 whole eggs
2 Chicken Sausage
28 g mozzarella cheese

I generally make a large protein, low carb smoothie shake every day as well.

I also figure out what we are having for dinner that night, and log it in the morning, that way if it has medium amount of carbs, I adjust the rest of my diet that day.

Meat, Cheese, Eggs, Nuts, etc all help out.

There is a website; dietdoctor.com. I was put onto that site by my own doctor, it has a lot of advice for those new to low carb (and keto), as well as a wealth of recipes and sound advice for low csrb eating.

nvmomketo wrote: »

When I cut my carbs, I started with cutting sugary and refined carbs - the least healthy carbs. I cut breads, muffins, cereals, noodles, sugar, syrup, desserts and candies.

Next I cut grains (rice, oats, corn) and sugary fruits like dried fruit ( raisins) and tropical fruit (mango, bananas, grapes, etc).

Then I cut back on root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, etc) and other fruits.

How far you cut depends on how low carb you go. Low carb is typically thought to be under 100-150 g of carbs a day. Keto is typically under 20-50g.

I replaced carbs with protein and fat, or left a calorie deficit.

Good luck.

I cut out sweets until I get used to not having them on a regular basis, then have a half portion on special occasions. I use sugar free jello or pudding when I want something sweet.

I generally have one serving of a grain (or starchy veg) a day. Sometimes two, but do not to do two twice in a row.

For fruits, I stick to berries and apples (high fiber), usually pairing them with nuts, nut butter, yogurt or cheese. I don't have fruits every day though.

So, basically, I eat anything, but not all at the same time and I am careful with portions.

I was one if those whose body panicked on keto. My blood sugar levels were actually higher than eating ~80-100g of carbs a day. If nothing else, my liver excels at making glucose!