Low carbers!!

[TryAgain]

Is there anyone low carbing in here besides me and Milkyway?

I thought maybe we could dedicate a thread or a group to low carbing. Share recipes and stories and keep each other motivated and such.

Anyone interested?

[Milkyway]

I'm interested!! But you already mentioned me, lol. Whats on the menu for today?

I had a freid egg with cream cheese on it and three slices of bacon for breaskfast, and now im drinking a starbucks iced coffee with heavy whip and splenda..

Lunch Im thinking a chicken stir fry with mushrooms, onions and broccolli..

Dinner, Baked chicken and summer squash.. Drool.

Lots and lots of water!

[SueDid]

Another low carber here. I've been pretty faithful with it since early August and really plan on it being a life change. While I know there will be those times that I have more carbs than my normal, I feel too good and am too motivated to get ALL the weight off to stray too far.

I've done some nibbling over the holidays, but no out and out binges on carb laden foods.

Today I had my usually morning coffee with flavored creamer. Our mid-afternoon dinner was venison, green beans and scalloped potaotes (I skipped the potatoes and had a salad instead.)

On Sunday, we eat dinner mid-afternoon and have snacks at 6-7:00, I have meatballs and cocktail smokies in the crockpot for that, plus we'll pop popcorn and there are Christmas cookies left. I'll be skipping the popcorn and cookies and at about 8:00 I'll be leaving to go to a friend's house. Her whole family is out for the whole night (younger ones at a sleepover, older ones and dh going to an all-nighter at church) so we're getting together to sew until the wee hours. I'm bringing some nuts in case I get the munchies, but will be glad to get out of the house and away from the goodie temptation here (though overall I've been doing really well with it, my resolve is waning a bit.)

My goal is to have all the weight off by the beginning of summer...slow and steady she goes!

[TryAgain]

I'm sick right now with an ear infection and so I sabotaged myself last night and ate pancakes.

I made up for it today with coffee and a mock danish for breakfast.

Mock Danish
1 egg beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
2 oz cream cheese (soften in microwave for 25 seconds)
2 packets of sweetener of choice (or 30 drops of liquid sweetener if you have it. You can adjust the sweetness level to taste)
Dash of cinnamon

Mix together until the cheese is in tiny little lumps. You don't want it to blend totally.

Microwave for 2 minutes uncovered in a small container (I use a ramekin)

It looks horrid when it is done but it tastes delish. Depending on what kind of sweetener you use, it is about 3 to 4 carbs a danish.

Then for lunch I baked some salmon with butter and a slice of lemon.

Now I am snacking on some salami and cream cheese.

I think dinner tonight will be chicken "Alfredo". I use a cup or so of mayo, parmasan cheese, and some sauteed mushrooms and artichokes. That I will pour over chicken breasts and bake until done. Serve that with some broccoli.

Yum...

[zinkemomx2]

I think I want to try that mock danish. It sounds good.

[TryAgain]

Well now that was a huge mistake...

I gave into temptation and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with my homemade jam. I was dying to see how the cinnamon flavor came out. It was delicious.

But now I have heartburn. Fabulous.

[Flutterby]

Dh and I are joining the low-carb bandwagon! We have a wedding in August that we both need to look good for. We've had our fun over the holidays, but now we are ready to be serious :) Any suggestions on how to stick with it, especially when cravings hit?

Our menu for today is

Breakfast: skim milk lattes w/ splenda, fried egg over veggie sausage

Lunch: homemade chicken soup

Dinner: whatever meat and salad is served at a dinner we're going to tonight

Snacks: consist of things like cheese, turkey and lettuce wraps etc.

[TryAgain]

Your best bet is to find a good plan for guidelines. I'm using Atkins because I've found it to be the easiest to figure out. YMMV.

Don't worry about calories right now. For the next two weeks or so, concentrate on staying at or below 20 grams of carbs a day. They add up fast and lots of food have hidden carbs in them.

You want most of those carbs to come from veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, spinach, all these are great for low carb. High in vitamins and pretty low on the glycemic index.

The point of having the first two weeks be so strict is to jump start weight loss and to break sugar cravings. You will actually have sugar withdrawal symptoms for the first couple days. You will feel tired and headachy and starving all the time.

Don't give up!! Push through those first couple days. Eat all the meat and eggs that you want and make sure you get your 3 cups of veggies in. Drink plenty of water.

After a few days you may start to notice your clothes fitting looser. The scale may show a drop. This is mostly water weight and is fine. You can get what are called ketostix at your pharmacy that will test your urine for the presence of ketones.

Ketones are what the body kicks out when it is burning fat for fuel instead of sugar. It is NOT the same thing as Ketoacidosis which is dangerous to diabetics. It is a common misconception that they are the same thing. They are not.

So enough of the science lesson. Onto the food!!

This is a great site for recipes that are perfect for induction level low carbing. Induction Menus (http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/induction_menus/induction_menus.html)

She gives the nutritional breakdown and her opinion on each recipe. I've used several and they have all been pretty good so far.

[TryAgain]

A bit more on hidden carbs:

IGNORE the Atkins candy bar/meal bar things you can buy. They are crap, taste nasty, and I don't believe they are very truthful on their labels. They cause many people to stall in their weightloss because of hidden carbs.

Artificial sweeteners have carbs in them unless you are using liquid Splenda or liquid Sweetnlow. The packets are about one carb a piece and need to be counted in your daily allowance. The powdered versions contain maltodextrin, which is a carb.

Sugar alcohols (malitol, sorbital, glycerin) affect different people in different ways. Some may be able to tolerate them just fine. Some people find that their body treats them like regular sugar anyway. Too much of them will give you digestive upset.

Try to avoid fake foods. Find alternatives for your favorites, sure. But try to stay away from low carb breads and pastas. They taste like wet cardboard and are still too carby for the beginning.

Instead of pasta, try cutting up cabbage into thin strips and sauteing them in butter to soften. Instead of mashed potatoes, cook up some cauliflower and mash that. The texture will be similar and so much healthier for you.

The whole point of this kind of diet is to eliminate processed junk from your diet. Humans are not designed to eat white bread and sugar. They are supposed to eat whole foods.

[carterandcalliesmom]

Holy cow!! I have already eaten 87 grams of carbstoday !
I give you all such credit - I would never be able to do low carb! Everything I eat has carbs in it - just curious, what can you eat on low carb other than meat and eggs? I don't want to ever do a low-carb diet as I know I would end up bingeing from depriving myself, but I DO need to lower my carbs some. I just am not a big fan of meat.

[TryAgain]

You can eat veggies!!! This diet is NOT about eating butter with a side of bacon followed by a shot of grease.

At induction level you aren't allowed as many things as you are in the higher levels. This is NOT meant to be the entire diet though. You are supposed to move up to higher levels of good carbs as you lose the weight with the end result being a much healthier lifestyle and habit of eating.

Here is a list to help with shopping and meal planning.

Induction Level Foods (http://www.atkins.com/articles/atkins-phases/phase-one/acceptable-foods/)

Follow some of the links on the bottom for more information and be sure to check out the link I posted for induction menus. I've tried many of the recipes and they are good.

Actually this diet is really easy to follow and easy enough with families if you take the time to plan. You can make hamburgers for the family and eat yours without the bun. You can grill steaks, chicken, fish, and veggies on kabobs. Or make taco meat and serve taco salads. Except that you don't eat the tortilla chips.

Seriously. Try it for a week or two. You will feel icky at first and that is normal. But try it and see if it doesn't make you feel better. It completely eliminates my heartburn and I sleep better at night. I don't get tired in the afternoons from blood sugar spikes and crashes.

[Elffriend]

Another Atkins follower here. I've been eating this way since last April and have lost 68 lbs. I've been stalled for the past month, but I think it's because I've been eating too much. I was scared that the holidays would be tempting so I made lots of low carb goodies. Unfortunately that means I ATE lots of low carb goodies.

I'm using www.fitday.com to keep track.

[SueDid]

I know a man who lost a bunch of weight on Atkins and has maintained it for a long time. On maintenance he can eat 100 carbs per day.

I found that if I kept mine to 60-70 I could maintain my weight (I lost 50 pounds and maintained for several months before getting pg)

60-70 was all the vegetables I could want in a day and a bit of fruit (I'm not a big fruit eater) plus a small serving of potato, pasta or bread if I chose. Personally, those things tasted like paste to me after not having them for so long.

The average American eats 300-600 carbs PER DAY. Most of them breads, pastas, potatoes and flour/sugary products.

Try Again has done a great synopsis of the Atkins diet with these posts.

Basically eliminate the "whites." Flour, sugar, pasta, bread, rice and potatoes. Corn and peas are also mainly starch and to be avoided (though I do eat small portions of them when I serve them to the family.)

I basically eat what my family eats, just leaving out the carbs. Tonight I made spagetti with meaballs and italian sausage. I just take out some meatballs and sausage and put them in a bowl and eat a nice big salad with it.

We do a lot of meat/side/vegetable meals here, I just don't eat the side and eat extra veggies or add salad or cole slaw to my meal.

Once you get used to it, it's a really wonderful way to eat.

[Flutterby]

TryAgain and SueDid, thanks for the info :) Dh and I are not doing Atkins, more South Beach. We did eat beef and bean chili the other night, and i know beans have tons of carbs, but they are also filled with fiber and nutrients :) I'm very excited to start seeing results. So far I've lost about 3 pounds! We've actively been doing this for 6 days, so thats not too bad! I'd also welcome any low carb recipes anybody has :)

[SueDid]

South Beach and Atkins aren't all that far apart. For what it's worth, I've had chili with beans and will have a few bites of potatoes or pasta if I really want some.

It's reducing those carbs from the ridiculous amount we usually eat that is beneficial along with making them good carbs like your beans, healthy fruits and veggies, etc.

One of my favorite quick meals is sauteed cabbage and any kind of meat. Leftover works best or at least previously cooked, that way it can be just added to heat it up. I sometimes add mushrooms. This works with absolutely any meat. I've used cubed pork, beef, sausage, chicken, shrimp. I'm sure there must be others, this is a staple for me at times. Sometimes I cook the cabbage just crisp tender, sometimes until it's more caramelized depending on my taste that day.

Another big thing for me is nice salads. I buy the salad mixes so I have a good base to start. I love nice sized shrimp on a salad with a handful of peanuts and some dressing. Yum. BLT salad with chopped bacon, tomatoes, chopped egg, chopped black olives, and sunflower seeds.

[Flutterby]

MMM, cabbage! I have some sitting in the fridge--I LOVE it sauteed! Unfortunately, our stove/oven isn't working so I'm stuck with the microwave and or/crockpot, BBQ until we can find a decent, cheap used one. I think I'll try chicken breasts in the crockpot tomorrow covered with mild salsa.

[SueDid]

Cabbage is a staple for me, I buy it nearly every week for sauteeing or to make cole slaw.

You could put it in your crockpot with just about any meat and it will be yummy. It won't have quite the same flavor as sauteeing, but will absorb some of the flavors of the meat which will be good, too.

Can you invest in an electric skillet? It can really add to your menu to have one rather than to just use a crockpot or microwave and is pretty inexpensive if you can't yet afford to replace/repair your appliance.

[Flutterby]

Funny story about our oven/stove. Dh was able to fix it after he removed the dead/electrocuted mouse from the back that shorted it out lol! We had to replace the heating element for a mere $40 :) I'm so happy because I would rather spend that money on a dishwasher lol!

Dinner tonight was so yummy--broiled seasoned chicken breasts topped with sauteed mushrooms, 1 slice bacon, and monterey jack cheese!--sort of an Outback steakhouse knockoff. It was so good and the breasts were so moist and not dried out at all.

[Elffriend]

In the crockpot: a small head of diced cabbage, 1 lb of ground beef, 1/2 small onion, minced, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 TBSP worcestershire sauce, 1/2 can of diced tomato and a little salt and pepper. Cook several hours on low.

I also saute shredded cabbage with a little curry powder for a yummy low carb side dish.

[Flutterby]

Just had to share :)

Breakfast--coffee, scrambled eggs w/ a little cheese on top and some black beans that were SO DELICIOUS, if I can make them like my Guatemalan friend did, they will become a healthy staple in my house! I am so not a bean person, but these rocked and were healthy too!

Lunch--kids had happy meals at the mall, I had stir fried veggies and chicken with NO rice or noodles. It was a little hard!

Dinner--will be a boat dinner party so will have veggies, salad, and meat available. Of course I'll skip the rolls/bread, and dessert. The food usually isn't spectacular anyway.


So, after doing this pretty much for two weeks (with the exception of Red Robin the other night) I've only lost 4 pounds. I know thats nothing to sneeze at but I was hoping it would be more. Dh has lost about 5. So I guess I'll keep on plugging away at this with eventually adding in some whole grains, and fruit like pears and apples.