Is anybody doing a low carb diet?

13 years ago

I realize that I am a carbohydrate addict. I crave crunchy and bread, and am having trouble getting in control after the holidays. I've been doing some reading on LC diets, and not sure how I will proceed. It seems a little excessive to limit carbs to 20 grams a day like in the Adkins diet. I want a little more moderation. Any thoughts or suggestions? I have to decide which book I'm going to get and try to follow a new way of life to get some pounds off.

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Comments (11)

oldgardener_2009
13 years ago
I do because I'm a diabetic. I don't have a book to suggest, but the message boards at Low Carb Friends is very helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/
User
13 years ago
I really don't eat a lot of carbs (not nearly as much as my husband), but it doesn't matter. I still gain weight. I think if you portion control any and all foods, and eat what the food guide tells you to eat each day, along with plenty of water and some excersize you will drop the weight.
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What carbs to cut from my diet?
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No such thing as cutting carbs too fast- there is no essential requirement for carbs, only for fats and protein. Steel cut oats are really high carb. No egg low carb breakfasts: https://draxe.com/low-carb-breakfasts/ https://www.lowcarblab.com/low-carb-breakfast-recipes/ http://healthylivinginbodyandmind.com/35-egg-free-paleo-and-low-carb-breakfast-recipes/ Also, there is no law that says you must eat "breakfast food" for breakfast. I follow the whole30 meal template and eat dinner leftovers in the morning. Based on your posts, you don't seem to have a real understanding of what low carb is. I recommend choosing a low carb plan And following it until you really understand low carb eating. The most basic would be Atkins (the early one- referred to as Atkins 72.) You should be able to pick up a used copy for just a few bucks.
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magic_arizona
13 years ago
You only limit the carbs to 20 grams for the first 2 weeks to get your body going in the right direction. It is not the "whole" of the diet.

Most of the popular diets out there are realizing that carb control is the way to go to lose weight. It does work.
alisande
13 years ago
We had a recent thread on the topic at the KT. I've been living a low-carb lifestyle to one degree or another for 15 years. IMO, Atkins encourages too much saturated fat.

I severely limited carbs for years and felt great--lost substantial weight, BP dropped, etc. But now I'm eating fruit every day, and beans or yams, etc., occasionally. In ways this is harder than being stricter, because when I was strict I had no more carb cravings. And that was a nice feeling!

I need to have my triglycerides checked soon. Abnormally high levels motivated me to go the low-carb route in the first place, and when I did, they plummeted to normal quickly. I don't know what the fruit, etc., is doing to them now.

Good luck with this. I think some people are carb-sensitive, or insulin resistant, or however one wants to put it. I know I am, and there's a lot of diabetes in my family history.
lydia1959
13 years ago
I have been on the "Fat to Skinny" diet which is 20 grams a day of carbs. I started the Monday after Thanksgiving..had no problems making it through Christmas and New Years. I was down 10 lbs. which seems a little slow for such a drastic diet.. but I am also hypothyroid. Last weekend I went to a birthday party dinner in which everything there was high carb.. so I ate that one meal and then went back to my 20 carbs a day diet. Weighed myself that Monday and had gained 5 lbs!

Now I remember that low carb doesn't work well for me. I don't know why I thought it would work this time. I'm sticking to the plan this week since it does keep me away from sweets... but starting next week I'll start a higher carb diet that I had good results with in the past (I had to quit that because I had a bad case of systemic candida from antibiotics).

The Fat to Skinny website does have some good informative videos and recipes.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fat to Skinny forum
sleeperblues
Original Author
13 years ago
Oops, sorry I missed it. I'll do a search.

I know a lot about dieting, I have been doing it all my life. I know how to lose, I just can't keep it off. I will lose 20 pounds, feel great, look good, and then something happens and I go crazy with carbs.

Have some tenderloins thawing for dinner, and will roast some cauliflower with olive oil and parm cheese.
lindyluwho
13 years ago
South Beach. I was doing it but got side tracked with the holidays. The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon roll DH made this morning are not helping either.

Linda
lynn_d
13 years ago
Some folks are more carb sensitive than others, I am one of those people, and once I have a few I cannot stop, I am an addict. And I am diabetic, I control it by what I eat, or in this case, what I do not eat! There are a ton of really good sites out there, Living la Vida Low Carb is one of them, and you will find a ton of great recipes there. Also chef George Stella; another is http://www.proteinpower.com/ by Drs. Eades. I use 3 different cookbooks, one is quick and easy recipes, one is slow cooker based and the other is an all around cookbook.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chef George Stella
nicole__
13 years ago
I'm getting the book "Cinch", by Cynthia Sass, from the library.I saw it on a talk show. She says you start out eating yogurt, raw spinch leaves, almond butter & raspberries.....then progress to eating dark chocolate with your meals every day. I thought it sounded "interesting". :0)
drewsmaga
13 years ago
I've restricted my carbs for 30 yrs. (hypoglycemia got bad -- 4 hrs. into 6 hr. glucose tolerance tests I registered 27 and 26 blood sugar-- I should have been in a coma, besides being violently ill.) I do eat potatoes, pasta, rice, bread -- but in moderation. And I make sure I get sufficient protein when I eat those carbs. I don't eat cake, pie, cookies, etc. the high sugar carbs -- I'll have a tablespoon/bite as a taste, but know if I eat a serving, I'll become violently physically ill. So, I enjoy the taste and that's that. Same thing with fruit (I'm sensitive to sugar - fruit sugar is sugar.) I don't make myself ill with chips, ice cream, etc. I choose my minimal carbs wisely. I eat a lot of veggies -- these are 'good" carbs. At 60, and 5'7" I've always weighed 120-125. I've been blessed that the taste of something sweet turns me off. But I would love to be able to eat a whole bag of Doritoes!
alisande
13 years ago
I recently look around Amazon for a book on low-carb vegan cooking. I'm not a vegetarian, but the idea has always appealed to me despite the fact that I seem to do better eating animal protein (usually chicken). I have to be very strict about avoiding saturated fat, so cheese is out. Therefore, I thought a low-carb vegan diet would solve all my problems. (Well, some of them. LOL)

But vegan diets emphasize things like beans and rice, and other grains. You'd think I'd be able to get away with whole grains, but my pantry is full of nice, healthy grains that I had to stop eating because they put weight on me immediately.

By far, the hardest thing about eating a very limited diet is the awkwardness of dining at someone's home. I don't want anyone to go to any trouble to make something I can eat, so I usually don't mention it. I deal with it by not arriving hungry. :-)

Is anybody doing a low carb diet?

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oldgardener_2009

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Is anybody doing a low carb diet?

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