Call me convinced: I'm going low carb

I would love to go low carbs!!! I just don't know how it how to start or what to eat!

Well, about 20 minutes of googling should solve that issue.

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I still eat chocolate nearly every day. Just rich dark chocolate, and only a small amount.

Two weeks into low carb diet. I am a celiac, so this diet was not a hard for me, as I do not do processed foods anyway. I have gotten through the "Keto Flu" but am experiencing a strange sensation that I can only describe as that feeling of "lift" that you get when you are riding a rollar coaster or you drive over a hill too fast! Kinda a "skin crawling" sensation. Am getting used to it and it seems to be decreasing somewhat... moves around my body. Mostly in chest and left arm, and sometimes legs. Wierd! I have had the worst time losing weight. Have always been overweight since having kids which is whenI think the Celiac kicked in. On the low carb diet I have found that I am not hungry at all! I used to get bouts of binges where I could not eat enough, and would be eating anything edible just to try and stop the feeling! I am very surprised at how well this is working for me! I am losing inches vs. pounds, and that is probably the hardest part of the whole diet! Instead of going by what the scale says, I go by how my clothes fit, and how I feel. The one thing I have noticed, bacon is one of my "cheats" as the sodium levels swell me up so badly! :happy:

Rather than going low carb I go "low glycemic index". Fruit have low glycemic index, so they are fine.

while some fruit have a low GI that is not the case for all fruit, and in most cases it is purely because the carbs are fructose that doesn't show up in blood glucose measurements.

cherries at 63 and bananas at 52 don't strike me as low GI, nor 72 for water melon

I strongly recommend looking into the South Beach Diet. It's based on sound scientific studies, and although it doesn't cut carbs completely out, it does work to break the carb addiction (physical and psychological) that many of us suffer from.

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THIS !

3+ years ago I was overweight & grumpy that my doctor put me on diabetic meds ...... then I stumbled across the South Beach Diet & started making changes .... lost weight & got off the meds. Found out that certain foods are triggers (for me) including bananas & almost anything "white" ..... they cause cravings, so I seldom eat them. Processed foods are scary with chemicals, so I read labels like crazy. Have even started buying some organics (dairy, fruit & veg). I choose healthy foods when eating out (most of the time LOL) ...... and cooking more & bringing lunches to work. Fast-food places are for black coffee only, IMHO !

SB worked for me ....... Weight Watchers works for others ..... any reasonable diet can probably do the job ..... it's about experimenting to see which foods & what quantities work FOR us, rather than against us ..... and then sticking with it .....

Best of luck to everyone ..... we're all works in progress :drinker:

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I am also low carbing. There are SOME things that I MUST have in order to function...like coffee creamer (tho I DO cut it with skim milk) on occasion. I am not a huge fan of bread anyhoo, so that doesn't bother me. SWEETS are my pitfall!

i'm somewhat on the bandwagon, and by somewhat I mean that I am in favor of low-ish carbohydrates, but almost no simple carbs. the problem with the term "low carb" for me is that many vegetables have carbs and i don't really eat meat and i have no intention on changing that.

so i try to keep my sugar to fiber ratio in check and that's how i know i'm doing all right.

I Personally take pleasure in my occasional fatty bowl of pasta and it hasn't killed me

Saying "I do this... and it hasn't killed me" is a horrible defense of anything. I wonder how many smokers out there are like "I smoke a pack a day, and it hasn't killed me!". Doesn't mean we should imitate what they are doing.

Did anybody else get headaches from going low carb?

Mainly the people that didn't read the bit about increasing salt intake I suspect.

It's called the "Carb Flu". Your body does have a transition phase and some people feel crappy for a week or two.

Sometimes I think this is more a semantic discussion. What do you mean by low carb? Is that your fundamental goal, and the reason the weight is coming off?

Oftentimes people extol the wonders of low carb "dieting" for weight loss, but when you look at their diet they cut out crap, started eating more meat, fish, lots of healthy veggies, fruits in moderation, etc. Now, yes, that's a low carb diet. But it's also a healthy diet. Or a "common sense" diet. You can just as easily say that you are convinced, and now going on a "common sense diet." My guess is that the food will look very similar... :-)

Don't get me wrong, I, too, eat foods that are typically low carb. I just don't think it's necessary to follow some rigid system to meet your dietary goals.

--P

I totally agree. My boss tries to do Atkins and has great success with it, when he's on it. The problem is, he's either all on or all off. He seems to go in two-week cycles. I try to do what I consider modified-Atkins...or, like you say, a common sense diet.

I DO lose weight faster and feel much better when I cut out the carbs. But this mostly means cutting out the crap foods. And while pasta and bread aren't necessarily crap, I know that I can't eat just a little of those foods, so it's better for me to avoid them.

I've looked at the Dukan diet. I'm sure I would lose weight on it, because it's ridiculously rigid. I'm also pretty sure I could never keep it up long-term, not even if it meant I could look like Duchess Catherine.

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So where do you stand on the whole carb thing?

I have been a low carb believer for many years. My mistake was thinking I could just go back to eating the way I did after I lost the weight. I now know that isnt the case. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks, I guess.

But that doesnt mean I will never treat myself again. Everything in moderation. I eat low carb, whole wheat bread, Dreamfields pasta (2oz dry) that doesnt spike my sugar, and even a little cake on special occasions. If I can fit the numbers into my diary, I will do it. But I also eat high protein...keeps me fuller and more satisfied.

I started many years ago with the old Air Force Diet, which was low carb. Low carb has been around for decades. Some say its not sustainable, but it IS if you stick with it. I intend to this time.

bump to watch videos when I eat my carb-filled lunch :devil:

I am bumping, maybe some hints for lowering carbs...