Low carb, but can't meet calorie goals....

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MommyFancypants
MommyFancypants Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! My doctor told me to do a low carb diet and increase my vegetable intake because of my cholesterol levels, and lose 25 pounds. I cut out potatoes, pasta and rice. I've been doing this for about a 4 weeks and I'm down 3 pounds, however I am really struggling to meet my calorie goals. I don't eat dairy which omits cheese of any kind or yogurt as snacks as dense calories. Then whenever I eat something I think will fill me, it has too many carbs according to my macros and I go over by dinner. My carbs are set at 45g with 73g fat and 90g protein, 1230 calories. I'm lucky if I hit 900 calories most days.

Aside from nuts (which I'm not fond of, but tolerating), what are other suggestions to bring my calories up without killing my carb intake? Or does anyone have any suggestions about changing my macros? TIA!

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited May 2019
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    Meat, fish, eggs, higher fat salad dressing on leafy greens, or leafy greens cooked in butter or oil. Cook anything you can in oil.

    Having said that, how accurate is your logging? If you've lost 3 lbs in 4 weeks (so an average of 0.75 lbs per week) it's doubtful you're not eating enough. Are you using a food scale and double checking that the entries you are using in the database have the correct calories and carbs listed?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    How does your doctor feel about high fat meat?

    That said, I do agree with the above that due to your rate of loss it is possible you are eating more than you think due common logging errors. Is the "White Meat Meatloaf" an entry you created yourself using the recipe builder or something you found in the database?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Avocado?
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited May 2019
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    Where'd you get the macros? Did your doctor give you the 45 g? (There are versions of low carb that aren't THAT low.) Are you subtracting fiber to get net carbs?

    Avocados are a good suggestion, and try putting seeds and nuts on foods like salad. Cook with (and log) olive oil. Make full fat dressings with olive oil and vinegar (vinaigrette) or whatever you prefer.

    Do you have other dietary restrictions beyond those you've mentioned? The most obvious solutions would be eggs and higher fat meats, but often they are not recommended when trying to address cholesterol through diet.
  • MommyFancypants
    MommyFancypants Posts: 20 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    Meat, fish, eggs, higher fat salad dressing on leafy greens, or leafy greens cooked in butter or oil. Cook anything you can in oil.

    Having said that, how accurate is your logging? If you've lost 3 lbs in 4 weeks (so an average of 0.75 lbs per week) it's doubtful you're not eating enough. Are you using a food scale and double checking that the entries you are using in the database have the correct calories and carbs listed?

    I usually measure to the gram on my food scale so I know that everything is accurate for things that I can (I try to get as exact as possible). Most of the stuff I make I usually repeat so I scan the first time so I know things match, then prepare it the same way each time I make it. If it's something fresh and not packaged, I weigh to the gram and use only a verified product off of the list.
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
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    eggs have already been mentioned...are you a salmon fan? that is relatively high calorie/high protein/high fat/low carb. compared to chicken anyway. best of luck!
  • MommyFancypants
    MommyFancypants Posts: 20 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    How does your doctor feel about high fat meat?

    That said, I do agree with the above that due to your rate of loss it is possible you are eating more than you think due common logging errors. Is the "White Meat Meatloaf" an entry you created yourself using the recipe builder or something you found in the database?

    I created the meatloaf recipe myself. I always measure to make sure it tastes the same every time. The high fat meats shouldn't be a problem. My doctor didn't tell me I couldn't....any recommendations?
  • MommyFancypants
    MommyFancypants Posts: 20 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Where'd you get the macros? Did your doctor give you the 45 g? (There are versions of low carb that aren't THAT low.) Are you subtracting fiber to get net carbs?

    Avocados are a good suggestion, and try putting seeds and nuts on foods like salad. Cook with (and log) olive oil. Make full fat dressings with olive oil and vinegar (vinaigrette) or whatever you prefer.

    Do you have other dietary restrictions beyond those you've mentioned? The most obvious solutions would be eggs and higher fat meats, but often they are not recommended when trying to address cholesterol through diet.

    My doctor did not give me any guidance when it came to my macros. I used an average of different low carb diets and input that. It's definitely not as low as Keto, but I was wondering if it was too low. What would you recommend?

    I don't really have any restrictions. My bad cholesterol was just above normal, and my good was just below. She wants to "nip it in the bud". I don't eat dairy because I never liked it. Cheeses makes me gag and yogurt, as much as I really wanted to like it, is just gross. And milk, unless it's chocolate doesn't taste good. Ice cream is another story though.... ;)

    To be honest, I've never really tried avocado except in a California roll. I may have to try it by itself.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    I'd up your carbs so you could add beans, legumes, and perhaps some whole grains. I second salmon and other fatty fish. Nut and seed butters are good too.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,034 Member
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    Do you have a family history of hypercholesterolemia? If not, it would seem a little odd to me that your doctor would go straight to very low carb. Any chance s/he was mainly encouraging you to dial down the less nutrient-dense examples that can be super common as a high fraction of people's eating (the bread-rice-pasta-etc.) in favor of more nutrient-dense carb sources (like the veggies you mentioned)? There's nothing wrong with low carbing, and it does help some people with weight loss and lipids, but simply losing weight is sufficient for some.

    It was for me, and I started at a worse point with bad lipids (if I'm reading you right): Total cholesterol 230, triglycerides 193 (had been over 400 at one point!), HDL 45, LDL 146, VLDL 39. After losing 50 pounds (eating 150g-ish carbs most days), everything was solidly normal, and has stayed so for 3 years of maintenance (while eating 200g carbs most days). In fact, my HDL was 66, above the normal reference range on a test a couple of weeks ago, which is generally regarded as a good thing; LDL was 89.6, VLDL 19.4, tris 97. Total was 175, but that's fine when such a big chunk is HDL.

    That aside, I know you mentioned being kind of "meh" about nuts. Have you tried using them in cooking - peanut sauce for stir fries, ground or finely chopped toasted walnuts in soups, cheese-free pesto, that sort of thing? Ground/chopped nuts or nut butters can add a nice richness to various foods, without being an aggressive flavor.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited May 2019
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    MommyFancypants wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Where'd you get the macros? Did your doctor give you the 45 g? (There are versions of low carb that aren't THAT low.) Are you subtracting fiber to get net carbs?

    Avocados are a good suggestion, and try putting seeds and nuts on foods like salad. Cook with (and log) olive oil. Make full fat dressings with olive oil and vinegar (vinaigrette) or whatever you prefer.

    Do you have other dietary restrictions beyond those you've mentioned? The most obvious solutions would be eggs and higher fat meats, but often they are not recommended when trying to address cholesterol through diet.

    My doctor did not give me any guidance when it came to my macros. I used an average of different low carb diets and input that. It's definitely not as low as Keto, but I was wondering if it was too low. What would you recommend?

    I'd start around 100-20 g or so and then reduce if you are having trouble controlling cals. My interpretation of what the doctor said also is that he/she thinks your diet was maybe crowding out veg with higher cal carbs, and so was encouraging a shift, but that doesn't mean you have to jump to keto (which 45 total carbs would likely be). The higher number (which is still low carb) allows for lots of vegetables, some fruit, and small servings of higher fiber starchy carbs (whole grains, beans and lentils, pulses like peas, even small servings of pasta with lots of veg and some protein and olive oil), as well as plenty of nuts and seeds (as Ann said, tasty in meals, and also on salads, IMO). It also should make it less difficult to stick to cals without having to resort to higher fat meats than you would normally choose.
  • bastout0226
    bastout0226 Posts: 1 Member
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    I have been following keto, successfully. I was definitely hesitant to try and thought just another fad but the control of the carbs is apparently what my body needs. I am eating about 25 g per day based upon a macro calculator from this reddit site. This site is packed with great information and guidelines. https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq#wiki_why_have_i_developed_a_rash.3F
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    MommyFancypants wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    How does your doctor feel about high fat meat?

    That said, I do agree with the above that due to your rate of loss it is possible you are eating more than you think due common logging errors. Is the "White Meat Meatloaf" an entry you created yourself using the recipe builder or something you found in the database?

    I created the meatloaf recipe myself. I always measure to make sure it tastes the same every time. The high fat meats shouldn't be a problem. My doctor didn't tell me I couldn't....any recommendations?

    Ribeye! My old favorite.

    My new fave is skirt steak, also higher fat, great for fajitas (skip the tortilla if you are staying this low carb.)

    https://discover.grasslandbeef.com/blog/best-fatty-cuts-meat-reach-ketosis-quickly/

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