Low Carb Diet

[Kaycee]

I am at last trying a low carb diet.

It is my third day and I have noticed that I am not as hungry and my tum is always feeling full, nearly like it is bloated but not at all uncomfortable. Is this normal? and if it is this is wonderful and would mean that eating too many carbs makes you hungry. But then it is so hot here.

I am trying to keep around 1200 to 1500 calories, this is not too much or too little is it? My worst carbs would be the potatoes but only a small peice, giving up bread has been easy, as over the last year it has been a gradual farewill to bread.

Cathy

[Ann1231]

I am at last trying a low carb diet.

It is my third day and I have noticed that I am not as hungry and my tum is always feeling full, nearly like it is bloated but not at all uncomfortable. Is this normal? and if it is this is wonderful and would mean that eating too many carbs makes you hungry. But then it is so hot here.

I am trying to keep around 1200 to 1500 calories, this is not too much or too little is it? My worst carbs would be the potatoes but only a small peice, giving up bread has been easy, as over the last year it has been a gradual farewill to bread.

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

What you are describing is normal for low carb diets. Protein keeps you fuller longer. Carbs do make you hungrier faster because they process thru the body faster. Your calories sound find. Just don't go any lower than 1200, that would slow down your metabolism and actually hinder your weight loss.

How many grams of protein and carbs are you eating?

Ann

[Kaycee]

Thanks for your reply Ann

I am not sure how much to eat as in protein. What would you recommend

For protein this morning I had a couple of scrambled eggs, lunch saw me eat 1oz (30g) of cheese, and for tea I average probably about 3-4 oz (100 grams) of meat, chicken, lamb or pork. I will be alternating with cottage cheese, yoghurt, cans of tuna or salmon 95g, or even fresh fish.

I am still drinking milk in my coffee and tea. As it is I am sticking to one protein source a meal. I am worried this will be getting too much like an Atkins diet, as I do not think eating too much protein would be the long term answer health wise. I am eating a lot of fresh fruit (limiting bananas) and vegetables but trying to cut down on potatoes and avoiding rice and pasta and breads.

I am not counting the carbs as they are in fruit, but I am so blown away by how many carbs are in rice. Carb looking is completely new to me. Should I be counting the carbs, and if so how much a day should I be looking at? I will point out here I do not have problems with carbs unless putting on weight is viewed as a carb problem.

Cathy

[Ann1231]

Thanks for your reply Ann

I am not sure how much to eat as in protein. What would you recommend

For protein this morning I had a couple of scrambled eggs, lunch saw me eat 1oz (30g) of cheese, and for tea I average probably about 3-4 oz (100 grams) of meat, chicken, lamb or pork. I will be alternating with cottage cheese, yoghurt, cans of tuna or salmon 95g, or even fresh fish.

I am still drinking milk in my coffee and tea. As it is I am sticking to one protein source a meal. I am worried this will be getting too much like an Atkins diet, as I do not think eating too much protein would be the long term answer health wise. I am eating a lot of fresh fruit (limiting bananas) and vegetables but trying to cut down on potatoes and avoiding rice and pasta and breads.

I am not counting the carbs as they are in fruit, but I am so blown away by how many carbs are in rice. Carb looking is completely new to me. Should I be counting the carbs, and if so how much a day should I be looking at? I will point out here I do not have problems with carbs unless putting on weight is viewed as a carb problem.

Cathy

well, the minimum "requirement" for women is 45 to 55 grams of protein per day, more if you are highly active. Many people do see putting on weight as a carb problem. I definitely have to count my carbs or I gain weight extremely easily. I do a moderately low carb with 60 - 80 carbs per day. Some people feel better around 100 or even 200 but I could never go that high. Some diet plans prescribe 20 or 30 carbs max. I think each person has to find what works for them.

If you like fruit and want to do low carb, you might check out The Paleo Diet. It recommends lean meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I follow it along with watching my carb limits and I feel so much better.

I'm kind of confused by your protein counts. 1 gram of cheese usually has 8 grams of protein. Are you counting the weight instead of protein grams? Check the labels to see what grams of protein per serving is.

Hope this answers your questions! (or gives you more to question? )

[Ann1231]

oops, that should have said 1 oz. of cheese has 8 grams of protein

[Kaycee]

Thanks again Ann

This has all bought more questions into the fore. But I think you have given me the right tools to answer them myself now. Thanks a heap. And I did forget to mention nuts and seeds in my rundown as I do like them and add them in here and there.

It gets a bit messy trying to convert grams to ounces, but we are metricated down here, and from what I gather you are still imperial. I could be wrong. But I always understand better when I say my weight in pounds, it is easier to understand than kilos.

I was just measuring the protein by the weight of the product. Duh! I have a lot to learn haven't I? Have just been back to my fridge to check out the cheese label to see if it had the amount of protein per serve, and by golly it is there, along with my favourties calorie counts and carohydrate counts. So all I have to do is work out how much protein there is per serve. This is starting to look very much like mathematics, but I will perservere. It might be a bit harder finiding values with the fresh meat, but I think a bit of searching on the internet will get me going.

Thanks again, your help has been wonderful.

Cathy

[Nancym]

You should probably find a low carb diet you like and read up on it. Following a diet willy nilly rarely works. Once you've got a good idea of what you're doing you can modify it to suit you.

I've done Atkins but right now I'm doing Paleo, it works out better with my health issues of avoiding dairy and grains. I like the Dr's Eades who wrote Protein Power, I think that's a good diet too.

[tiffjake]

Ann, you have good info.

Cathy, I would recommend getting the "Atkins:The new diet revolution" book and reading the whole preface, forward, and first couple of paragraphs about carbs, sugars, and the glycemic index. It was good information to have, even if you weren't going to stick with Atkins.

I am doing Atkins. It works best (in my opinion) with Celiac Disease. I have about 25 grams of carbs a day. I am losing about 3 pounds a week (for the last 4 weeks). I feel much better eating like this. No rice, potatoes, corn, carrots...the high glycemic index stuff.

And as far as knowing how much to eat, I just eat until I am full. And eat again when I am hungry. I just cut out the major carbo-loaded foods (for now, hopefully re-introduce them in small amounts later).

Just my two cents!

[Betty in Texas]

I really though that I would never have a weight problem again since I had to give up all those high calories foods and I have been gluten free 3 years and never have eaten gluten free breads and pastas are any subs get real foods but I though I could get ice cream and shakes and rice pudding and M & M any time I wanted . Well after about 2 years I thought I was just bloating well I was getting bigger all over . So I got on a serious diet for life and give up all the fun things and just eat what I have to have to keep me going . Kinda of boring but that's life , and My Husband is tall and skinny so I have to have a lot of High calories foods for him so he doesnt lose any he needs to gain about 60 llbs he has such a high metabolism he never sits down until it time to eat and go to bed We live on 8 acres and have a horse and dogs so there's lot to keep him busy..

[Nancym]

There's lots of flavors of low carb diets out there. But one thing they pretty much all have in common is that starchy grains/fruits/veggies are out during the weight loss phase. My typical meal is something like chicken sausages in the morning (or a muffin I make from coconut flour/rice bran -- very nice and low carb). I usually have a large, lucious salad once a day. I buy pre-washed baby greens and put on some sort of nuts (walnuts have omega-3), maybe avocado, sliced chicken breast or salmon, maybe olives. Then I top it with olive oil and rice vinegar. For a snack I'll have more nuts or perhaps an apple, celery with peanut butter (natural peanut butter), or a couple of squares of low sugar chocolate (like Lindt 85%). Dinner is usually a hearty serving of meat with low carb veggies (turnips, rutabagas are great roasted, or a green veggie like broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, etc).

Getting enough protein fills you up, getting enough fat keeps you full longer. It is really about balancing out and finding what sticks with you and satisfies you.

The first couple of weeks are tough because your system has to adapt to converting protein to glucose but once you make that adaptation you should feel great. As far as counting calories, if you stay fairly low carb you probably won't have to because it'll knock back your appetite enough that you simply can't overeat. But then again, if you start straying into low carb desserts (and there are some amazing recipes out there)... you might need to.

[Mayflowers]

I'm following low carb. Carbohydrate Addict's Diet. It's great because you can eat whatever you want once a day. You follow low carb for breakfast and lunch and then eat whatever you want for dinner. You have one hour to complete your meal. You must start out with 2 cups of salad, low carb vegie and protein though.

The idea is that you trick your body into thinking it's not getting many carbs because the first two meals were low carb so it expects the third to be and it takes 1 hour for the body to realize it's been getting carbs and after the 1 hour if you kept eating it would send out another wave of insulin and store everything you ate as fat. If you stop before the hour is up, your body is fooled into thinking you didn't eat carbs and you actually lose weight. The weight loss is slower than Atkins but easier to stay on because that ice cream is only a dinner away.

I have Atkin's Age Defying Diet and it's really good information on low carb and supplements for anti-aging. The man was brilliant. We'll miss him.