Closet Low Carbers Unite!

We get such a bad rap don't we?

Fad diets? Fat diets? Diets that cause heart disease?

But you'll find if you look at the facts its not like that at all. And not just that but its the PEOPLE who don't eat well on any diet that make a diet look bad.

I eat LOADS of veg, I still get my calcium intake and I don't eat half a pig dipped in lard at every meal.

So I'm coming out... loud and proud! I am a low carber :) And I love it.

Why do I low carb? Due to my PCOS its the only diet that actually regulates my insulin (and before everyone jumps on the Low Gi bandwagon - it didn't work for me and my numerous Dr's have ok'd this). I don't starve myself from carbs completely but 95% of my carbs come from vegetables and fruit that I eat. I basically do not eat potato, rice, processed wheat products or refined sugars. This is a lifestyle choice for me, and even though I might fall off every now and again I am doing this for life. For me its not a diet, but for many people I know it works as a diet too.

So who else is brave enough?

(Oh and please, if you have anything negative to say about Low Carbing please keep it to yourself, we've heard it all before and there are plenty of articles out there to say otherwise. Thank you :))

Man, my hat goes off to you for being able to refuse taties ;)

Now I have them in spirit form :) No carbs then... and the side effects are more fun ;)

Hands up here! Well I have fallen off the wagon at the moment, but I really do believe that low carbing is the way to go.

Have to admit that going low carb many years ago was a sheer act of desperation. Both DH and I really needed to lose weight, I was just about hitting triple figures :o I looked at many diets, liver cleanse, weight watchers etc, then I came across the Atkins books and it looked different. Put it to DH, who so far had said no to all others, that he could eat all the meat he wanted, he said yes to that and I am glad that he did. That time I lost over 21kgs, I felt fantastic and I slept really well for the first time in my adult life.

Since then I float back and forth to it. I know I feel crap when I eat a lot of the white foods, but so much of the modern diet is based on them. I admit though that I am my own worst enemy when it comes to food.

I'm not sure if I'm technically a "low carber" but since coming off the tony ferguson DH and I are eating a lot of vegies - not so much fruit and avoiding potatoes, rice etc. I do eat rye bread salad sandwhiches a few times a week and I do enjoy my brekky cereal :-) But it is certainly a hell of a lot less carbs then we were eating (cereal, sandwhiches and pasta or potatoes everyday!) and we are feeling GREAT! Weight is falling steadily off not up and down and yes feeling healthy and vibrant which is the main point!

It would be a diff matter if we all were as active as people were in the 40's 50's and 60's etc....but our lifestyle around the world in 1st world countries has dramatically changed and we move less. Soo...low carbs is the way to go unless you are praggas, bf etc where you realy do burn it off.

I have my carbs before midday, breakfast, morning tea only. At lunch I replace my carbs with more protein and load up on fruit, salad and vegies. My protein when in the form of meat is low fat / lean and if fried...I use non stick pains or olive oil!

I have only been eating like this - not dieting - for about 3 weeks now I think. Some days I get cranky from wanting a bl00dy sandwhich at 3pm :rolleyes:but most days i breeze through! :lol:

For me it is a lifestyle change and is monitored by my PT at Step into Life!

Go the low carb gals!!!!:dance::dance:

~ Just wanted to add I feel 'lighter' too so maybe related to reduced carbs and more exercise throughout the week! Can't wait to have a 'good butt' day like I did oh, ummmmm, 20 yrs ago!!!! lmao!

~ ~ and another thing...carbs these days are so darn refined......

I'm off the wagon big-time right now.

I usually go low-carb, and what carbs I do eat I make sure are low-GI. Unfortunately, we're finding it difficult to eat that way on the single-income budget.

If anyone has some ideas on how to eat cheaply without bulking things out with rice and pasta, please let me know! We still get lots of fruit and vegies, but finding it really hard to keep the protein up.

BW

I have done the "low carb diet" a few times now, and it works soo fast on me.

After the last 3 bubbas, after breastfeeding, I done it REALLY strict, and lost all baby weight within weeks. With Harmony, I done a lesser low carb, just cutting out some, and keeping important ones due to the B/F, and it still worked well.

I am eating normally now. I am very lucky as my weight is purely baby wieght, so once it is gone, I can eat anything and not gain it back. I am happy to stay where I am at the moment, and do it really hard again after B/F to lose it all. I find it easy once I start too. I get the Atkins bars, and they are sooo yum!! :D

So many people ask how I loose the weight, and how great I look for 6 kids, and as soon as you say low carb, they turn up their nose. I dont care. It works, and I look better than them anyway!!! :p

I certainly dont eat high fat to eat low carb. Thats just silly, and not what its all about anyway! :rolleyes:

Yesterday was my first fog free day! This is what I call the first day I realise how tired and lethargic I was when on carbs (due to PCOS). Yesterday I had so much energy, and things actually LOOK clearer. Happens when I'm on full strength Metformin, but its a nicer cleaner feeling when on LC. I feel great today!

I use Zucchini grated and steamed or stir fried instead of pasta, and finely diced cauliflower nuked (I do it my tupperchef) as rice (I use this for risotto and fried rice too). And that doesn't seem to break the budget. This time I'm buying the empower products and I am finding because I'm not eating as much protein I'm not spending as much even though the loaves work out to be $5 for 15 slices (inc crusts). Last night I made Zucchini Fritters and whizzed up the crusts as bread crumbs and it worked PERFECTLY! I was sooo thrilled, so TBH this time its feeling like apart from the sugar reduction side of things I'm eating fairly normally. The other thing I like about the empower products is they are not only high in fibre but also protein and they really fill you up, and are slow energy releasing.

I forgot to mention I also make lasagne sheets from riced cauliflower, mozzarella and egg. I got a lot of my recipes from cleochatra's blog (google her) she's awesome. And I now make sure I have a bag of mozza and a few bags of frozen cauli for emergencies.

ETA: PB thats because everyone automatically assumes you replace carbs with high fat animal products. Which isn't true. Sure I don't freak out if I have cheese or a piece of bacon, but I'm not have 10 pieces of bacon and half a block of cheese by midday, everything in moderation is fine. Most people who don't have metabolic issues (like PCOS) tend to lose weight VERY fast with LC, which is great for them. For me its I guess no different than what any diet would be for most people. But that doesn't bother me because I find it easy and it actually works. But as DH keeps reminding me its not about the weightloss its about the energy and healthy lifestyle that comes for me with LC.

Thats soo true Rouge!!

I had almost forgotten how much better I feel while on it! I generally am a sugar-a-holic, so get the headaches and feeling run down for 2-3 days, but once I get over the hump, I feel amazing. I dont slump in the arvo's, or fall asleep on the lounge at 8.00pm!

I think maybe feeling so well helped get the last 2 babies!!!! ;);)

Arggh - lost my post.

The whole eating buckets of fat impression people have of low carb annoys me. I do eat fat, but not everything is dripping in it. I try to stick to food in their least unprocessed form, so the generally means the high fat version and frankly I do not believe there is a problem with fats in their natural form. It is the added, messed with fats that are the problem. Also I find fats help me a lot with hunger. So I will grab the natural whole egg mayo to have with my salad for lunch and enjoy it.Oh I also eat the chicken skin. I do find though that it is hard to add a lot of extra fats. With no potatoes or bread (can't be bothered with the low carb one), there is not much to spread butter on. As I am not using breadcrumbs, so there is no crumbing and deep frying.

I to here am struggling with the budget at the moment. It is hard not to go for the easy option or rice and pasta for bulking out, the kids love stuff and so does DH. Have tried growing cauli's a couple of times without success and the zucchinis are out of season. Over summer we had a plague of cucumbers, so I was using slices of cucumbers like rice crackers and spreading them with cream cheese for snacks.

Yes buget here is blowing out big time! I really need to get to some growers market or something as the grocery store prices up here are waaay too high.

I wouldn't say we overdo it on the protein side of thigs either, I'm not a big meat eater so generally stick to things like eggs, cheese, nuts etc.

Like the idea of cucumber with cream cheese - sounds good! We also make up mashed avacardo - can't spell that mexican word meaning mashed avacardo - don't think I'm even spelling avacardo right :doh: with celery and just slices of tomato with a teeny sprinkle of salt make a super snack

We used mashed cauliflower with cream cheese and garlic instead of rice or potatos and even the kids love it!

We too are on one income and throughout the week I will eat things like and not limited (just what I can think of this mo -

~ MASSIVE mixed salad with tuna, boiled egg, cold chicken, ham or turkey in it. Salas usually is carrot, red onion, capsicum, tomato, Cheese on the weekends only (have high chlosterol at the same time!:doh:), beetroot, pineapple, sometimes wedges of mandarin or orange for just a little something extra plus lettuce.

As I have my carbs before midday (not included in lunch) morning tea is normally a cuppa with fruit, diced fruit with yoghurt and museli, vita-weets with vegemite, cereal or toast/muffin/crumpet with Flora Pro-Active (again for the darn cholesterol).

Breaky - almost every weekday morning it is oats cooked with water and honey drizzled over it with some skim milk to cool it down.....only a month ago I went cold turkey on the cooking my oats with milk and adding brown sugar and adding more milk! Was almost like giving up coffee for me!!! :lol: On Sundays, DH will cook bacon and eggs with tomato on toast with cheese! I was embarrissed to tell my PT this but she said it was actually a very good breakast!

Afternoon tea - cup-of-soup such as tomato, small tin of tuna or slice of ham etc with a peice of fruit (weird combo I know!:redface:), handfull of nuts with sultanas.

Dinner - normall a meat (red, white, fish or chicken) plus my vegies without the spuds or salad. Last night I made rice with mixed frozen vegies through ir to go with dinner and I allowed myself a spoonful of rice - I find if I deprive myself of something...I then crave it really badly and then fall off the wagon! I felt guilty putting the rice on my plate last night but reminded myself it is far less then I used to eat and I have been sick too so I am just fueling my body to get better....iykwim!

Dessert - whatever is going around...normally icecream on Sunday night or yoghurt and fruit if the kids HAVE to have dessert!:rolleyes:

Supper - Caro or sometimes milo.....but oddly enough Milo stops me from going to sleep. Mind you I can drink coffee all day and still be able to have a cat nap. Strange. Lately I have noticed I am craving sweet stuff at about 9pm so allow myself a naughty Freddo Frog! lol *smacks hand*Sometimes I feel like I am starving (like a board 5 yr old:rolleyes:) and will have a protein like a slice of ham, chicken wing.....

Water - 2l minimum! No if's no buts!

Hope that helps give some of us ideas.

WTG!:clap:

xxxx

I just had one of my empower chocolate muffins (with cream cheese chocolate filling) and OMG sooo yum! I freeze them wrapped in glad wrap and then nuke them on a plate for 30 seconds, great mid morning snack and if I have one for dessert I'll have it with a dash of cream of low carb ice cream. And because I make 12 instead of 10 out of the pack it works out to be 2.5 carbs per muffin :)

For lunch today I'll be making Chicken and Cheese Toastie with Parmesan Crust and herbed Mayo YUM! I'll make a side salad too and for dinner we're having Pan Fried Blue Grenadier with my sesame soy Broccoli & Zucchini. Everyone else will have steamed rice as well.

I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I love my sweeteners, I NEED my low carb breads and cake mixes/cookies etc. I even buy the atkins bars for snacks or treats too. But I have strawberries or Melon nearly every day. I eat LOTS of vegetables and apart from diet coke and light lemon green ice tea I drink plenty of water. I try hard not to steer too far from a normal diet otherwise I find it just doesn't work for me. I need substitutes its the only thing that works for me.

WOW Vixster I think if I ate half that i'd be way over my carb budget. I am so jealous you can do LC that way and still lose weight, thats AWESOME!

Rogue - yep I like my subsitutes too - where do you find these empower things - they sound yum!!!

And it's great they have Stevia now to use as artifical sweetner rather than the other ones on the market

Vixstar - for dessert we have jelly, the Tony Fergerson one we still have tonnes of has fibre in it as well so makes you feel fuller.

If you google empower foods you'll find the website, I prefer to buy them directly from them (some healthfood stores do stock parts of their range) as they do free postage over $50 and are cheaper than in store.

Hmmm - have a question??

I know that some fats are benefical in that we need "some" fat each day but when doing low carb to loose weight what is the ideal fat intake for the day? How much impact does it have on the diet so to speak??? So if we are looking at a product that is low carb but contains 10gr of fat and has about 900kj - what are your thoughts???

Thanks for any ideas

It depends on what diet you follow, if you follow South Beach, Atkins or Tony Ferguson.

For me fat isn't a problem, I lose weight with it. But that doesn't mean as said above I eat a cup of lard at every meal. But I do steer clear from low fat products as they often substitute with Sugar or fillers that end up being higher in carbs, so for me its bad. For example I am better off having a dollop of cream in my coffee than milk and especially NOT skim milk. But I prefer milk so I take my carbs from their from somewhere else and it all balances. Also remember everyone is different so it depends on how your body works and the diet you are doing.

I'm trying to be really low carb. It's generally okay but sometimes it's really hard for me cause DP isn't low carb, as much as it would help him. Money is tight so I'd love meal ideas that are cheapish aswell.

I'm trying to get back on track as I've had a few slip ups the past couple of days. I feel so much better without all the carbs. :D

I'm actually wondering what everyone has for breakfast that doesn't include bread?

Also, Weight loss. Has it been slowly coming off for you since being low carb?!

I generally find with low carb that I am just as full, or sometime fuller just by eating the ok part of the meal and not the carby bit. I remember when I used to get a 1/4 chicken and chips, I would be still hungry. When I went across to eating the quarter chicken, no chips, I found I was just as satisfied and for longer. So I sometimes do the same thing with things like spag bol. Just have a small bowl of the meaty sauce with a sprinkle of cheese and I feel satisfied, I am just substuituting the pasta for an extra serving spoon of the sauce.

The only part I am abit lost with is if I cook spag bog or pasta bake......what can I sub for me? The only thing for spag bog I can think of is to eat the sauce with a big salad which I serve with that dish anyway.

Rouge - I have not weighed in yet....bit scared nothing has been lost! :redface::lol: I did my measurements a few weeks ago and plan to do them the same time next month so that should show me any chnages. I have my fitness test tomorrow night at Step into Life but not sure if they measure / weigh you.....however, I actually read the other day that you should only weigh once a month that way you will see a proper loss or gain not the fluctuations over a week ir AF time, fluid retention etc.......I think it makes sense. I am with you on the not stearing too far from a 'normal' diet.....only makes everyday toooooooooo hard! I also don't deny myself stuff. the other night we ate at the inlaws...and they ordered pizza! Thankfully it was thin and crispy and I allowed myself two slices, one each of my favs. The next day I drank 3L of water to wash it all out! lmao

Tennykins - I have oats....low Gi, helps with my high cholesterol and keeps me going until very late morning. However, I have my carbs in the morning and none after midday! What about crumpets - not a bread technically!!!! ;)

Saram - I don't watch my fats...as in reading packets as I don't eat that much prepackaged food. Lean, lean, lean for me!

xxxx

Sorry getting a bit confused by this thread. Thinking my definition of low carbs is quite different to what is being discussed here. :dunno:

Hi guys,
Great thread guys.
I have been TRYING to convert for months but keep stumbling as i have a DH that is stick thin, eats loads and needs his carbs +++
Anyone got any suggestions, i really dont want to cook multiple meals, but it looks like i may have to

:

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I forgot to mention I also make lasagne sheets from riced cauliflower, mozzarella and egg. I got a lot of my recipes from cleochatra's blog (google her) she's awesome. And I now make sure I have a bag of mozza and a few bags of frozen cauli for emergencies.
.

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GREAT site - checked out the recipes, going to have a sit down later - problably on the weekend and figure how i can make this work... for me at least

ETA - Tennykins - i have fruit for breakfast. on the weekends we have eggs and i have that with no toast - sometimes i have it with steamed or blanched spinach and or half an avacado