Low Carb Four Options

[La Pedes]

I read the posts and am so glad for all of the information I have found. Now, I need your help. I had multiple back surgeries a few years ago and once i recovered, I never quite felt right. After a lot of research and self diagnosis, I have found that I have the following: dairy intolerance(2009), gluten, soy, tuna fish intolerance(2010), nuts, eggs, beans intolerance,(2011). Along with this, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia in 1989, so no sugar and my carbs are supposed to be below 120 a day. Since going gluten free, my major symptoms have pretty much passed, so I shouldn't complain, but I still don't feel quite right. I am going to see a GI next week, but in the mean time, I know my carbs are too high and I am having the hardest time "filling up" without eating too many. This could be one of my problems...I used to eat a lot of lean meats, egg whites and nuts. Now, I feel like I am living on apples, bananas, potatoes, rice, lettuce,other veggies and chicken/salmon. I'm not even supposed to eat bananas, potatoes, carrots, etc because of the carb/sugar content, and I have to cook chicken or salmon to get protein and honestly am so sick of them, I could cry. I have experimented baking with different flours, but again, the calorie and carb contents are high. Does anyone have an alternative? Low carb flours or another protein source that fits with all my intolerances?? I used to be really lean, in the last 6 months my body fat has gone up 5%, I am sick all the time and feel lethargic half the time. I am really at a loss. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

La Pedes

[GlutenFreeManna]

A few options you could look into: Flax seed flour (ground flax seeds) or Coconut flour. I'm not sure what you could do with these without eggs, however as most low carb gluten-free recipes I have seen use eggs to hold it together.

Does your bean allergy include peas? What about chickpeas? There's chickpea flour or other types of pea flour. Lentils are also a good source of protein. Can you do quinoa? Also an excellant source of protein but I'm not sure on the carb count of that (I am sadly intolerant of quinoa, but most people don't have a problem with it)

Can you expand the variety of veggies you are eating at all?

Collards/kale/spinach/other greens

Bok choy (excellent for stir frys)

celery

cabbage

jicama

avocado

cucumbers

asparagus

broccoli

cauliflower

green beans/wax beans

eggplant

artichoke

tomatoes

bell peppers

squash (winter squash or summer squash/zucchini)

Pumpkin

Turnips (have carbs but much lower than potatoes)

You may have to try some new foods to get out of that salmon/chicken rut. What about other meats like bison, lamb, turkey, lean ground beef, venison?

[mushroom]

Have you tried any or all of the following flours: sorghum, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, teff? All much higher in protein and lower in carbs than the starchy ones. Also the nut flours - almond you can purchase, others you can grind yourself - hazelnut, walnut... If you bake bread you make a high protein bread with these flours and seeds.

[missy'smom]

I am low-carb to manage diabetes(by Dr. Richard Bernstein's plan) and am also grain and fruit-free, casein-free(allergy-no cow) and soy-free(allergy) plus a few others free(all allergies) and stay around 30g carb per day! I eat 4-6 oz. meat per meal, it helps me feel full where the carbs used to. I hear ya about the constant cooking! I get some convenience with Costco turkey burger patties(bunless), the natural flavor is rosemary oil, Naked Nuggets(ALL ingredients are listed on the bag-also from Costco), canned chicken breast that can be dumped on a salad-Valley Fresh brand, available at many places but cheaper at WalMart, is free of corn and soy. Deli meats that contain have 0g carb and sugar per serving-ham and turkey. Applegate Farms hot dogs and deli roasted turkey slices. You can wrap sandwich fixings, burger fixings or fish taco makings in lettuce leaves(not iceberg lettuce).

I don't eat eggs but can tolerate some in baked goods so do my low-carb baking with flax meal. Fats are not to be feared. Avacados, bacon, etc

Mark's Daily Apple is a good site with recipes that are Paleo/Primal-low-carb, grain-free.

Sounds like you've been given the standard, conflicting, inaccurate advice. What causes weight gain is the insulin secreted to cover high amounts of carbs, that plus excess calories cause fat storage. If you want to manage blood sugar well, drop the carbs and don't worry about the fat. The worst thing a person can do is fill up on low-fat, high carb. Fats help slow the rate at which carbs hit your blood stream, as does protein(meat and eggs are best, from a blood sugar standpoint, beans count as carbs). Drop the carbs and it will help with both blood sugar stability and weight. If you keep in grains, pick slow digesting ones, whole grains and still keep an eye on portions.