View Full Version : Low-Carb Challenge - Month 1
Would anyone be interested in doing a low or reduced carb challenge in January? My goal is to do it for the whole year, one month at a time. Dh is on board too, so I'm pretty excited about it. I'm also spending this week indulging in things I won't be able to get later >8). Probably not a smart thing to do, but what the heck!
If there's interest here, I'll do a monthly thread. If not, I'll just do journaling, maybe try the journal function on Fitday.
leslieann
12-30-11, 1:57pm
Yes, Ma'am....I would be most happy to join you. I am not really sure how I want to structure my low-carbing but I do know that I need to focus my eating differently and the big deal is whether I can manage some lower carb fruits without getting too far out of whack. The last two weeks have been pretty awful, eating wise, though delicious!
It will be good for me to have some level of accountability here. Thanks!
Count me in! I started experimenting with low carb in June, and had some good initial results. But I have not been very disciplined about it since the weather started getting colder. Ready to start the new year off on a better foot, though. I have some great inspiration -- my sister started after me and has already lost almost 40 lbs! And isn't feeling deprived or finding it difficult. So, I have 12 more lbs as my goal this year, plus some other fitness and healthy cooking goals that also relate. Found the support threads on those topics very helpful last year, so happy to have this going on again in 2012.
Thanks for starting us off!
lhamo
Ok! Carbs are my serious craving... And I have 60# to lose, again. Check out this NTY article about weight loss...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?ref=magazine&src=me&pagewanted=all
Excellent! It feels weird to start on a Sunday, but I think I'll still do it. I've been overdoing the carbs because of the thought that I wouldn't get them for a long time and now I feel pretty sick. I decided instead to give myself a safety valve. On the last day of every month I will allow myself a meal with carbs if I feel like it. That way I won't feel deprived or panicky.
Tonight we're having friends over for a spaghetti dinner (with garlic bread) so today is still a carb day. I'll try to take it easy though, my body is not happy with me these last couple of days.
Here is a new blog that I've run across, it's two women who are doing a joint low-carb blog. I really like it.
http://sugarlessflourlessfabulous.blogspot.com/
Thank for the article, Redfox!
It's interesting to think that there might be a gene. All of my family currently struggles with weight issues, but the thing with us is that when we lived in our little village, no one in our families had weight issues. And neither did anyone else in the village. On the contrary, everyone was very thin, and any sign of plumpness in women was highly valued because it was so rare. This in spite of the fact that we all ate lard at every meal - every meal! We ate animal protein as well as dairy, beans, and corn tortillas. But our lifestyle was very physical. And of course all the food was very organic and fresh - the fish we ate was caught that day, the milk was from our own free-range cows milked that day, the fruit was from our orchard that never got sprayed, etc. And we ate in moderation - not because we had incredible willpower, but because food was harder to come by and was much more labor intensive to prepare.
Someone mentioned moderation as a goal in the Goals thread and I think that's brilliant! I've been working on moderation for the past couple of years and it's a tough one.
leslieann
12-31-11, 1:54pm
Excellent article, redfox. I don't think I have ever seen this evidence compiled this way; no wonder I've struggled with the weight off-weight on thing. I don't want to be food obsessed but I seem to be. Hopefully this low carb challenge will be about feeling GOOD (at least for me) and less about the weight, though of course that is always an underlying theme.
I think I will aim for Monday to start because we are still trying to work our way out from under the holiday carbs here. I have to find a balance between frugality and low carb!
Rosemary
12-31-11, 10:01pm
I'm in for no flour, no sugar. I don't restrict fruit, root vegetables, or legumes. I'm ready to start tomorrow!
I am in, starting tomorrow on a reduced carb diet using the diabetic diet not that I have diabetes but I like the plan and need to change.
Breakfast - 2 starch (means 3/4 cup oatmeal), 1 fruit, some protein (1/2 cup cottage cheese) and a dairy (usually non-fat yogurt or skim milk)
Lunch - 2 starch, 2 vegs, a fruit and a dairy, 2 protein.
Supper - 2 starch, 2 protein, 3 vegs, a fruit
Legumes: 1/2 cup =1 protein and 1 starch
Peas and corn are treated as starch, other vegs are free choice in half cups
Snack - 1 cup milk before bed
May I use this challenge to write down here online what I am eating each day for the month including both the successes and failures?
May I use this challenge to write down here online what I am eating each day for the month including both the successes and failures?
Of course! That's actually what's been most helpful to me on these challenges.
I am so ready to do this. I envy those of you who can handle a good amount of carbs and still feel good. Not so for me. The carb party of this past week has left me feeling bloated and miserable. Time to detoxify.
My diet plan for the next 30 days will be really simple: veggies (steamed or in salads) and protein (eggs, meat, fish, poultry, pork). In a couple of weeks I'll add in almonds and walnuts - great on salads.
We're having unusually great weather today - 70's and sunny. We'll grill for lunch and dinner and have that with some steamed broccoli drizzed with almond oil. I would make a salad except we already have the broccoli and I want to use it up.
Next month I'll add in some fruit and see how I do.
Right now I'm about 50% organic but I'm looking to increase that to 100% this year. I'd also like to start including some wild game and organ meats into our diet.
Happy New Year everyone! It's great to have so much company on this challenge.
There are some excellent paleo-centric cookbooks out now, including Paleo Comfort Foods, Make it Paleo--which I've browsed--and Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan, which I just requested for my library. She has a blog, as well.
Hmmm. Our Sunday waffle tradition is sooo good... Buckwheat. Just had one. Yumm! And some chocolate. Oh, it's been a carb fail day...
My goal is 4 carb per meal. This means 2 starch, 1 fruit and 1 dairy with veggies free choice
B- oatmeal, yogurt and cottage cheese and 1 cup fruit. 4 carb
L - large salad with feta cheese as we are having company for supper - 0 carb
S - cheese dip with pita wedges, chicken with squash, rice, bean salad, tomatoes, pickles, upsidedown apple dessert with grated cheese, tea - 7 carb
I will have a cup of hot milk before bed. Total 12 carbs.
Hmmm. Our Sunday waffle tradition is sooo good... Buckwheat. Just had one. Yumm! And some chocolate. Oh, it's been a carb fail day...
Hey, you only had one! That's pretty good. :)
Yesterday was an excellent day. I was able to stay on my plan without much temptation. One of my worst craving times of the day is in the evening after dinner when we're watching movies. Last night I avoided the snack attack by drinking lots of cinnamon tea.
The weather was beautiful so I spent a few hours sunbathing and reading in the backyard. Just for fun, I put on a sundress and my straw hat. It was great.
Happy Monday to everyone!
I forgot to mention that I'm going to go and buy some potassium pills today. So far I feel really good with the reduced carbs but most books talk about many people feeling terrible around day 2 or 3. I'm going to take it just in case. I don't want to take a chance of getting derailed.
Taking the potassium is probably a good idea, watergoddess -- I had really bad leg cramps at night the first couple of weeks I dropped my carb intake. Also lots of cramping while swimming (though that was partly related to poor kicking technique, which I gradually addressed). I am prone to leg cramps anyway, but it was pretty bad for a few days. I just powered through it as it isn't so easy/cheap to get supplements here. But if I had had easier access to them probably would have made the investment.
One thing I am telling myself, ala redfox's waffle temptation, is that it is ok to have a slightly higher carb intake every once in awhile. the kids love pizza, for example, and so I will indulge in that from time to time. but instead of eating several slices, I'll just have one (or maybe two ;)) and then have a big greek salad to go with it. And I'll eat lower carb the next few meals. Every bit of reduction helps. I DO notice that the craving/binging tendencies increase dramatically when I ramp up the carbs, though. And digestion slows down and I generally feel more blah and start having mood swings. I am going to try to track moods against foods consumed more closely over the coming weeks. Once I can see evidence of a concrete pattern, I find it easier to avoid making the wrong choices.
lhamo
I have to say that I haven't started yet....so much for it being a "month-long" challenge. When I get back to work and when we work our way through the incredible load of carb-heavy food (not sweets, though, got rid of those) I will be in. For now I am increasing protein and vegetables, and monitoring how I'm feeling. I did the old version of Atkins for a couple of years in 2000-2002 so I do know what real "low carb" looks and feels like. I also know that I don't want to be that rigid with myself again.
I was tempted to not post as I have not yet had a low carb moment, much less a low carb day, but then that's not using the available accountability. I'll be back later in the week with better news (I hope). In the meantime, y'all are doing great.
Ooops confession. I thought that I had read that most starches are 1/2 cup cooked measure per portion for 15g carb. I discovered that rice is only 1/3 cup per portion. I exceeded my starches which meant that I ended up with almost 5 carbs for supper but the other meals were OK. A cup of rice is a lot to eat.
How are you managing temptation? I need some strategies for coping with fresh homemade bread coming right out of the oven which has been one of my downfalls.
Hey, you only had one! That's pretty good. :)
Yesterday was an excellent day. I was able to stay on my plan without much temptation. One of my worst craving times of the day is in the evening after dinner when we're watching movies. Last night I avoided the snack attack by drinking lots of cinnamon tea.
The weather was beautiful so I spent a few hours sunbathing and reading in the backyard. Just for fun, I put on a sundress and my straw hat. It was great.
Happy Monday to everyone!
My evening snack is an apple, sliced thinly, munched appreciatively! It's what I went to during movies, as I had been having ice cream... By far my fav drug of choice...
razz,
Can you explain a bit more what the numbers are you are referring to? Most of the low carb materials I have been reading talk about carbs in terms of total carbs by gram and/or net effective carbs, which is the grams of total carbs less the grams of fiber. I take it you are talking about some kind of generic "serving" of carb that is used as the basis for the diet you are working with? If that works for you, fine, but I find it a little confusing.
One of the reasons I like the counting by grams of carb-fiber approach is that it really gives you significant "bonus points" in a way for upping your fiber intake, which is also good for you. And in the US at least, all foods that come with that nutrition label have both the total carbs and the fiber content clearly labeled, so it is easy to make better choices -- for example, find a pasta sauce with less added sugar and more fiber, or a bread with mondo fiber (missing Dave's...). That might be a way to work with your fresh bread craving -- just be sure to put lots of fibery stuff in it (flax seeds, sesame seeds, etc) and also keep your portion size small. I find I do better overall if I don't make anything 100% off limits -- just need to control portion size and make sure the other stuff I eat that day keeps me on track overall.
lhamo
We'll see how long my internet connection lasts this morning as I reply.
A diabetic diet divides food into protein, carbs and fat. A friend's advice and reading a diabetic diet book with charts helped me sort out what I need for my level of activity.
A (we use a luncheon) plate is half veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 carbs which includes milk, fruit and starch. Because I eat whole grains almost exclusively and lots of veggies, I found that I do not need to worry about fibre as I always obtain ample under this approach.
Very simply, a carb means any small fruit, 1 cup of fat-free milk or 1/2 cup of cooked starch or a slice of bread = 15 gms on average.
Three veggies in a meal will equal 15gms but I simply eat freely from the veggies and usually only two at a time. Corn and peas are classified as starches.
I have allowed myself 60gms of carbs per meal. Rice is only 1/3 cup to =15gm. 1/2 cup of beans or any other legume equal one starch and one protein combined so a good source for both. One cup of chickpeas on a mixed salad with a piece of fruit and a glass of milk meets the 60gm carb in a meal requirements perfectly.
This way, as my friend has demonstrated, I can focus on variety and plan meals simply. DH is on board as well which is really helpful and should be doable as a lifestyle change which I need in eating as my weight creeps up slowly despite daily walks. I needed some structure to manage my intake that was not punitive and boring.
A good book on the diabetic diet will help as each carb food exchange = 15gms. The 4-6 portions per day for protein are smaller (3 oz cooked or 1oz cheese or one egg) as well but included in each meal which seems to satisfy and prevent the nibbling that I was so prone to do mid morning and afternoon.
How are you managing temptation? I need some strategies for coping with fresh homemade bread coming right out of the oven which has been one of my downfalls.
I don't think I'd be able to resist it! We had leftover sourdough from Saturday and I put it in the freezer. That way I'll have it if I have company over or for my end of the month splurge. But having fresh homemade right out of the oven? I'd be eating it!
Yesterday was another excellent day. Made some sauteed mushrooms for lunch & dinner and they were so yummy with our steak (mushrooms are a good carb deal too). The hardest part of the day was at night while watching Midnight in Paris. I heated up some homemade beef broth and sipped on that and my cinnamon tea and successfully got past the munchies.
I already feel better. I look less bloated and I feel a lot more energy when I do my walk.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Good job, watergoddess! I like your idea of hot broth and cinnamon tea. Munching with movies is a habit with me, too, and I know I can stay away from it once I get past the initial 3-4 days.
razz, the old (really old) Weight Watchers plan used the diabetic exchange program. I used it a long time ago and really learned a lot about nutrition from it. Before that, it had never occurred to me that one could have more than one non-starchy veg with a meal! Meals were meat, starch and a veg and that was that. A whole world opened up for me when I discovered that you could have broccoli AND green beans, or asparagus plus cauliflower. And now of course we know that those parts of the meal are likely the most important, now that we no longer have to struggle to get enough calories for survival. I am glad that it is working for you.
Thanks for the explanation, razz. Interesting approach, but I think I'll stick with counting net carb grams.
I'm doing my own lax version of the Protein Power plan, which aims for 50g/carb per day at the initial stages. To be honest, I am not very strict about it because it is hard to avoid eating rice given the type of cooking our helper does. I did it for awhile in the summer, but it meant cooking a lot of separate stuff myself for dinner, which got kind of tiresome. I also have a problem not eating fruit -- just doesn't seem right to me and I can't get the lower carb fruits here easily/cheaply. So, I have taken the approach of trying to make my breakfasts and lunches as low carb as possible, and giving myself a bit more wiggle room with dinner and fruit-based snacks. There are always tons of veggies at dinner, so I try to focus on eating as much of those as possible, plus a good serving of protein and only a small serving of rice. I am probably taking in more like 75-100 grams of net carb a day, but I figure that is still WAAAAAY below what I used to eat, and many of those carbs are healthier carbs.
That being said, I did experience some pretty dramatic weight loss in the summer when I first started and was more strict about the plan. It was much easier then, though, because I was happy eating salad twice a day in the hotter weather. Now, with the winds blasting at -15 C, it doesn't sound appealing AT ALL. My weight has pretty much held steady at 66 kilos the past two months, in spite of totally falling off the wagon exercise wise and being pretty lax with my diet, though. Need to get back in a routine with exercise. Stricter diet control is goign to wait until after Chinese New Year, which falls early this year. And I will try to keep things balanced and as protein/veggie focused during that difficult season, too.
lhamo
How is everyone doing?
Breakfast seems to be easy and consistent for me. Oatmeal, fruit, 1/2 c each of yogurt and cottage cheese.
We were out for lunch so ended up with a simple ham and cheese on whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato, had the small banana when I got home. The bun was somewhat larger than my usual so defintely higher carbs there. I think that I stayed within the 60 carbs though.
It was so cold yesterday that I had to have something really hot for supper so made turkey stew with the leftover broth and meat from the Christmas turkey and added chunks of potatoes, onions and carrots with winter squash on the side. So, 3/4 cup potatoes and about the same of squash and carrots and a small (2"x2") slice of upside down mostly apple cake to make up 60 gms carb.
One cup hot milk before bed - 15 carbs.
This challenge is helping me to deal with temptation and think more carefully about what I order and plan for meals.
Razz - when I started working on my health, I started just like you. I began tracking what I ate and then slowly making changes here and there. It's the best way to do it because then we don't become overwhelmed and panicky. Glad this challenge is helping you.
Great day yesterday. For lunch and dinner we had pan-fried wild rockfish with steamed broccoli and very lightly sauteed cabbage. So good. In the evening I made us a pot of mint tea for sipping. That was enough for me but DH supplemented his with beef broth. Breakfasts are always eggs scrambles.
Feeling really good, my energy level is getting better each day and I look better too. No food cravings between meals. Right now my goal is 35 grams of carbs per day, and so far so good. It's been a long process to get to where I feel really comfortable about this though. Before, going this low-carb felt like a painful sacrifice, but now it feels like something good that I'm doing for myself - like exercise. I feel so great doing it that I'm always amazed with myself that I ever stopped.
Hope everyone else is doing well too.
Jane - thanks for the cookbook recommends. I'm on the waitlist for Paleo Comfort Foods at the library. It's the only one they have so far but I'm also set to pick up Primal Blueprint today there, so with both, I think I'll have plenty to read.
Wow, watergodess -- 35g is really low! Will be interested to hear what you are eating to manage that.
Tried to go to the gym yesterday for the first time since getting back only discovered they are closed for remodeling until the 11th. AAAGH! Did some brisk walking around the neighborhood instead. But I want to get back to my weigh routine. blah. Not a good way to start off the year.
Woke up very early and very hungry this morning (still not over jetlag, more blah!) and decided to make a fritatta with the leftover cauliflower I had from Sunday. It was yum! I think I'm going to be making a lot of fritattas this year. DH liked it, too.
Boiling the last 3 eggs we have so I'll have a good takealong protein snack for work.
lhamo
Lhamo, try one of the many recipes for cauliflower "rice." I find it works beautifully most places I would use rice or pasta--like with stir fries, Stroganoff, soups, keema mattar, etc. I keep meaning to try making clam chowder with cauliflower, too.
I use a food processor to achieve a sawdust-like grind before cooking the cauliflower in water or broth. Also, can you get shirataki or konjac noodles? They're mostly fiber and work well in soups and stir-fries. They have a texture kind of like bean threads.
Me, I had jalapeno poppers for brunch...(roasted peppers, cream cheese, bacon).
Wow, watergodess -- 35g is really low! Will be interested to hear what you are eating to manage that.
lhamo
I should clarify, these are net carbs. For example, 4.5 cups of cooked broccoli is 59 carbs but only 32 net carbs because of the fiber content. Salad greens are even lower carb. I'm using Fitday to track my carbs, but I find that as long as I avoid the starchies I can eat as much veggies as I want. When I'm fairly active I can eat fruit without a problem. Right now I'm avoiding fruit because I'm trying to restore my insulin balance and from what I've read, 35 grams or less is ideal to reverse it. I know that it's the right thing for me because I feel so much better when I eat like this.
I understand the difficulty in giving up grains. Dh is Asian and I am Latina, so we had to adjust! We used to eat a lot of jasmine rice and tortillas (corn and flour). And I used to love tortilla chips! But once we started, it was really easy. We just replaced the grains and starches with veggies. Chile verde (a favorite) is served with lots of steamed broccoli, and carrots when I'm eating more carbs. Stir fry: I season and stir-fry just the meat (with garlic and onion) and steam the veggies plain. When you mix it together, you don't miss the rice at all. In winter I make roasts and braises and serve with lots of steamed veggies. We also find that we use less salt in our food when we avoid the grains and starches.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think what I really should do is mix it up at breakfast a bit and try to have more no- or very low-carb breakfast days. The fritatta this morning was an interesting experiment. I made it around 3:00 am, ate a large piece of it by 3:30, and didn't eat ANYTHING until I started my lunch just now at 11:30. It was full of feta cheese -- and eggs, obviously -- and roasted cauliflower and onions. Yummy, filling and sustaining and virtually no carbs because the veggies are so fiber rich. I had switched over to using wasa fiber bread as the basis for my breakfast, because it has a lot of fiber and is therefore relatively low carb, but even with tons of protein with it I end up getting hungry around 10:30 and want a snack -- and that is after eating at 6:30-7:00 am, not 3:30 am! I should probably try a gluten free experimental period, too. Would be interesting to see how my body reacts. I did notice during this last vacation that the days where I more or less binged on carbs (having the kids leftover mac and cheese for lunch, for example) my digestive system got all out of whack -- horribly bloated and gassy, etc. Part of that may have been not enough fiber, but maybe I have a gluten senstivity, too.
I love roasts but it is hard to find big chunks of meat here -- just isn't how people eat, so it isn't generally packaged/sold that way. I need to learn more about what the different cuts of meat are in Chinese so I know what to ask for. I do love roasted veggies, and they are also easy to make in large quantities, so I'm thinking a weekly fritatta with some kind of veggie and protein in it plus a big batch of soup will help get me through these tough winter months while not feeling deprived.
I am pleased to report that for three straight days in a row I have resisted the urge to go buy some crackers to eat with my soup -- and I enjoyed the soup without the crackers! Maybe I am making progress.
Oh, and can I gloat about the fact that I was able to fit comfortably into a brand new pair of size 10 jeans, which I promptly bought. Just one pair though -- hope they are the transition pair as things continue to firm up and I can drop another size by spring.
lhamo
Lhamo, Size 10 jeans!!! Well, I have a way to go to get to size 14 from 18. I expect to take about a year or two to get there so not setting myself up for unrealistic goals. It is more of a lifestyle change that I am making with weight loss as a secondary goal since I am in optimum health according to my checkup and bloodwork.
More protein for breakfast really does help for me as well.
The price of yogurt has gone up so I am switching to 3/4C oatmeal, 1/2C fruit, 1/2C cottage cheese for breakfast. I have made yogurt but found it was cheaper to buy lately. Will have a cup of milk later in the day.
1 1/2 c of leftover turkey stew and squash for lunch with clemetine.
Two slices of bacon and one egg with toast and large salad for supper.
One cup fat-free milk for bedtime.
I was looking at the on-hand bran cereal's nutritional analysis and was shocked that 1/2C of bran cereal is 23 carbs. Lots of sugar added, it seems. When DH went through chemo, he needed the bran cereal so I now have to use it up. I will read things more carefully from now on. It is a learning process.
To use up the overly sweetened bran cereal, a few ideas:
- bake it into muffins for the next potluck you attend. that way you're not eating it.
- use it in toppings for apple crisp or similar recipes (cutting the sugar).
- make muesli for breakfast and add a few of these flakes in lieu of any other sweetener.
- give it to someone who doesn't care about the sugar.
I've been doing well on my no flour, no sugar goal. The carrot cake that I made DH for his birthday was sweetened with dried fruit and a small amount of honey, and the entire recipe only had 1/2 c flour in it (I used pecan meal for some of the other dry ingredients) - a piece of that is the only thing I've eaten that didn't comply... and the cake was so moist and filling that I had no desire for more.
Moderators - We have SPAM.
Noted -- thanks for the alerts everybody. I'll try to deal with it before I leave for work (it's 4:20am here on my side of the Pacific....)
lhamo
Thanks Rosemary. The bran cereal is too sweet for me or rather too many carbs.
Had another surprise today. Because I like really hot tea, I usually add some fat-free milk powder to the cup and then add the tea. I finally got around to taking note of how many carbs are used in my day's cups of drinking tea - I will only have a hot milk at night from now on. It works out that I have been having about 18-20gm carbs in the milk powder alone. No wonder my weight was creeping up despite being very physically active.
A friend told me about this site whihc helps to calculate your caloric intake after helping to set your weight loss goal. She has been using it for some time and has had no difficulties to date. http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/
I prefer to go the lower carb route for now
Made enchiladas for dinner tonight. For DD and DH, used up a few small wheat tortillas I had. For mine, sauteed the other half of the zucchini that didn't go into the enchilada filling, and layered that with the filling in a separate baking dish. Yum, didn't miss the tortilla.
Heavy cream is low carb, and delicious in black tea with cardamom.
Oh, and can I gloat about the fact that I was able to fit comfortably into a brand new pair of size 10 jeans...
lhamo
Yes, you can! You sexy thang! Congratulations. :)
I'm still doing well. Surprisingly, very few carb cravings. The only time I'm tempted is at night when food commercials come on (pizza, burgers, etc.) So I just change the channel. I no longer feel the need for munchies at night, I just drink my tea. My energy level is great and I'm sleeping really well.
Yesterday's lunch & dinner was grilled chicken with steamed broccoli drizzled with almond oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Boy, we eat a lot of broccoli around here. Truthfully, the grilled chicken was so good and so filling that I didn't really need the broccoli. I'm finding that I feel full way faster than I used to. Yesterday, I had a small piece of chicken breast and I felt full just from that. It was weird. So I kept eating because I hadn't had my veggie yet, but then I felt stuffed and uncomfortable. Today I'm going to pay more attention and just stop eating when I feel satisfied.
On another note, I just saw a photo and recipe for roasted brussell sprouts and they look so good. I'm going to see if they're in season right now. Or maybe try roasting some onions and broccoli in the next couple of days, since I already have that.:|(
Glad to hear everyone else is doing well too.
p.s. Rosemary - I love enchiladas! I think that will be my carb splurge on the 31st. With real corn tortillas, though :). And some cheese...
Corn tortillas are actually not very high carb (I don't think :|() and they're sugar and wheat-free for sure! I also love Rick Bayless's Tortilla Soup with homemade tortilla chips. I would consider that pretty low-carb. A couple of tortillas won't kill you.
Ihamo - I forgot to share a tip for the frittata. I like to dice up my fillings and keep them in containers in the fridge to just toss into the egg dish when I make it. I usually do bell peppers, ham, onions, etc.. For the onions, I saute a good-sized amount till they're half way done and then I store them. Making the frittata or egg scramble is so easy that way. I also like to mix up the ingredients, sometimes I use chorizo or Portuguese linguica and green chard. Delicious.
Razz - isn't it amazing what you find when you really start looking at what you're eating? My MIL was shocked to discover how much sugar she was eating in her fat-free dairy plus all the jams and stuff she was putting into it!
WG, I finally had a look at the fresh almonds that we enjoy - 19 carbs for 1/3 cup never mind the fat content. You are right about what you find when start really looking and reading.
1/3 cup of almonds is quite a lot both carb- and calorie-wise. A lot of the low carb stuff I have read suggests eating no more than one ounce, which is about 12-15 almonds, depending on size. I actually count them out. They are one of the best high-protein snacks as long as you control the portion size.
This week was pretty good, foodwise. I pretty much did not snack, unless you count the midmorning hardboiled eggs I had to keep going at work a couple of days (justified as I was eating breakfast at 3-4 am most days). No crackers, bread, or pasta. Did have some rice at dinner most nights, but small amounts. Last night had a "date night" trip to Ikea with DH (we are more practical than romantic) and had some salmon. Small portion but nice. And, I'm back down to 65 kilos, which was my reset target weight for the end of the year. And that is without any significant exercise except a lot of walking, since the gym is still closed. I'm determined to make sure those new size 10 jeans keep fitting, or that when they don't fit anymore it is because they are too baggy ;)
Not sure what the meal plan will be this weekend as I have to take the kids for eye appointments today (which will probably mean lunch out) and then tomorrow we will celebrate my DD's birthday. She has already decided she wants to go out for pizza for lunch, so I'll probably have just one slice and a big greek salad. I'm loving feta cheese these days! I'll make her favorite baked chicken dish for dinner tomorrow, along with more roasted veggies. And planning to make another fritatta and a big pot of soup for next week's breakfasts/lunches.
Good luck with the weekend, everybody! Look forward to hearing what you are cooking....
lhamo
sigh, my intention was to get back into my lower-carb thing this week, but got derailed by some sort of stomach bug and have been eating simple things like vanilla ice cream and peanut butter sandwiches. i'm hoping today's the last day i'll feel weak and awful, and i can start back on the wagon tomorrow!
Hope that you are feeling better soon, madgeylou.
Still modifying as I make new discoveries but DH is quite pleased with the approach after doing it for a few days.
I will need to reduce the amount of carbs though to 45g per meal. It is quite doable by cutting out one milk for breakfast, one less fruit/starch for lunch and supper which I did yesterday. The instructions suggest 2-3 milks so I have cut out one, use one for my many cups of tea and one C hot milk at bedtime.
Yesterday:
B - 1/2 C cottage cheese, 1C strawberries (from the freezer) and 3/4 C oatmeal
L - 2/3 C of rice per person made into a stir fry with 1/2 C each sauteed onions, green peppers and 1 C grated carrots, and a small part of a chicken breast.
S- 1 C homemade thick soup with lots of diced veggies and chickpeas plus a little precooked ground beef, 2 C romaine/red pepper salad with 2T dressing and 1/2 grapefruit. The chickpeas supply both lean protein and starch. DH is a meat person so a little ground beef helps keep him satisfied.
Snack - I finished the grapefruit, 1 oz cheese and 6 almonds
Bedtime: 1 C hot milk.
Okay, I am back. I am still trying to figure out how I can make this work for me but I am getting closer! What happened in part was that I started a new fitness program before Christmas, while I was on holidays. I am working out at the gym now, five-six days a week, weights three times, cardio 3-4 times, and this is a new thing to fit in with my work schedule. My partner, bless his genetically-skinny little heart, cannot imagine why anyone would want to cut carbs. I was not with him when I successfully lost 40 pounds some years ago on Atkins, or he would understand it better. However, he knows that I have a tendency to jump in with both feet and get swamped right away. So his suggestion was to get used to the fitness routine before changing my diet. So I have been slower to get started than I would have been otherwise, as usually his advice is pretty good.
Last spring I went on an allergy elimination diet and discovered apparent sensitivities to wheat, dairy, citrus (plus soy and corn, which I already knew about). Low carb and dairy free is hard for me to even think about! Anyway, for some months I had significant gut issues if I even got close to dairy or wheat but recent holiday excesses seem to have been less problematic, at least the dairy part. So I am optimistically hoping that staying off the gluten might allow me to play around with cheese just a little, to stay lower carb.
So I spent this morning with the food counts book, checking the actual carb and fiber counts for some of the foods that I often eat: broccoli, sweet potatoes, oatmeal and blueberries, nuts, carrots. And the fruits that are still here in the house that I don't want to waste: a couple of bananas and a mango. So I am thinking that I can work my way into this, but then I get stuck on all the counting. The reason that Atkins worked for me before what that I didn't have to think about it much. I had cream in my coffee, eggs or cottage cheese for breakfast, fish or chicken and a veg for lunch, and the same for dinner, with a handful of nuts as a snack, or chunks of cheese. Somehow that was more than enough (once I was in ketosis!). I made starchy veg or rice or pasta for other family members; when they had, say, meatloaf, I ate leftover grilled chicken, and it worked fine. Somehow here though I want to have my low-carb cake and eat it too....not have to count but also be more relaxed about the vegetables and fruit.
This morning, eggs with mushrooms and broccoli (and a tiny smidge of a lovely cheddar that just set off the other flavors). Lunch was leftover green beans with almonds, and curried chicken salad (also leftover) that had apple in it. So I am already likely over my "limits." Tonight is a challenge as we are invited out for soup and bread but it turns out to be soup and sushi so it could be okay. I think I will cook some chicken and have chicken and broccoli at home before we go out, and then stick to herbal tea and vegetables.
Okay, sorry for the rambling thinking-out-loud kind of post. I really want to lose the cravings and a few pounds besides, so low carb will do that for me. I just have to stop arguing with myself! Thanks for the thread: reading your successes is very motivating.
Yahoo for the size 10 jeans, by the way!
Leslie Ann, may I suggest just concentrating on one meal of the day for a week (breakfast maybe) until you get comfortable with the carb count and then add another. It is easier to count that way, I found. I started with breakfast which is very routine and simple for me and then slowly added lunch. Supper took a little longer and more thought, it seemed, but it is coming now.
I was surprised to see how much variation there is in bagels from 30>49 carbs each. Is everything super sized?
Weight watchers has some simple rolls, pitas, English muffins that are lower in carbs so easier to portion. I make my own bread but don't make these items as yet. I get them when the WW whole wheat are 50% off and stick them in the freezer to use as needed.
It ultimately seems to come down to portion control rather than anything else which also makes it a life changing effort, for me anyway.
Hey Leslieann! I had to laugh when I read your post. My husband is always telling me to pace myself too. How about if you keep your fruit and your exercise routine for this month? Instead of either/or, make it this and that. Then next month you can see if you want to drop the fruit, or not, depending on how active you are.
I'm a bit perplexed these last two days. My appetite has gone way down but I still feel good. I just get full with a lot less food and I stay feeling satisfied between meals. Dr. Atkins talked about this in his book but I can't say that I ever really felt it before. I guess I'll just go with it and hope it lasts. I've also noticed my desire for coffe (and caffeine in general) going down, but that was familiar from before. Oh, one more thing... maybe tmi... but the libido is getting a nice little boost ;).
More discoveries
i did a comparison between cans of baked beans of different manufacturers that I have on hand and some have so much sugar added that the carbs are almost double. I will rinse them before adding to a homemade tomato sauce.
I made strawberry rhubarb yesterday for our breakfast fruit by mixing plain stewed rhubarb with frozen strawberries (both from our freezer) with no added sugar. DH found it a little tangy so added some sugar this morning but I was fine. Someone here had suggested adding a little soda to the rhubarb to reduce the acidity and that really helps. It is nice to have variety and rhubarb is a 'free' carb fruit.
B - oatmeal, blueberries, cottage cheese
L - homemade veggie soup with chickpeas and large romaine salad with cherry tomatoes and 2 T dressing, apple
S - 6 oz local butcher's lean hamburger patty split between DH and myself. (It cooked down to 4.6 oz) plus some leftover gravy sauteed with large sliced onion over a full English muffin and 6 spears of asparagus from our freezer. Because I ate the gravy, I gave up the usual fruit. Ate at 5pm.
Snack - We were both hungry about the same time at 7 pm so split another English muffin with 1 oz of cheese each. That did the trick.
Bedtime - cup of hot milk.
My diet instructions talk about the cooked weight of protein sources so I was curious how much the edible weight was after cooking for our 6 oz patty.
Thank you, razz and watergoddess for the suggestions and the support! I think I have maybe already been doing what you suggested, razz, as my breakfasts and lunches are okay...veggies and eggs for breakfast, veggies and leftover chicken or fish for lunch. Last night I did eat broccoli and chicken before going out, but at my friend's house I ate a couple of sushi rolls (someone taught me how to make them, so I had to sample) and some really delicious african yam soup, with peanut butter. So those two things were higher in carbs than I had planned but I have to look at the positive; I made an apple cake but didn't eat any, there was bread and I didn't eat any, and we brought a bottle of wine to share and I didn't drink any. And the best part is that I didn't feel deprived OR superior about any of that. Having that chicken on board made a big difference: if I had been starving things would have gone differently!
Anyway, thank you! Today is okay so far...eggs and spinach, and I am off to the gym. Hope we all have a good low carb day! I have more motivation and energy for working out than I anticipated. I am focusing on having fun while doing the workout and trying HARD not to think only about the outcomes. The real goal is to be fit and healthy into my later life (I'll be 56 this month) rather than the 20 pounds that I really would like to lose, so thinking long term is the only way....but I have always developed short and longer term goals and used them for motivation. So thinking lifetime is a shift that I have to work at.
By the way, watergoddess, when I was really "doing Atkins" my appetite became incredibly small. I was satiated with very little food, and in fact, I wondered if the way the diet worked was to blunt appetite so that you really didn't eat as many calories as you expend. But it went along with a terrific energy level, positive attitude, and yes, the little lift in libido was there too. You go, girl. Enjoy it!
Well, its been a week of low-carbing. I've been really focused on how I feel because my goal is good health rather than weight loss. But I did weigh myself yesterday to see if the scale had changed. I lost over 6 lbs in 7 days! Woohoo!!! :) Most of it is water of course, but it's really nice for it to be gone. And I feel really good. Good energy level, good emotional level too. My appetite is still diminished and my body seems to like that. Thanks for sharing your similar experience Leslieann. Now I can enjoy it without worry.
Yesterday was beef soup with shredded cabbage. No longer have a problem with nighttime food cravings. I still do tea most evenings, but sometimes nothing at all. When we finish the soup I'm going to go to Costco and get more organic chicken. I noticed my body really liked that when we grilled it. I'll make some grilled zuccini to go with it.
How's everyone doing on their one-week mark?
well done, watergoddess.
I discovered child's birthday + cupcakes in the house = disaster. Oh well. Scale is still at 65kgs. I'll probably have a rougher time with blood sugar issues today than normal. Good time to pack some nuts for a snack.
lhamo
Well I weighed myself yesterday evening and was down 3 lbs but wearing different clothes so that makes a big difference. I am aiming for one lb per week or so to let my body adjust so that I don't get saggy skin.
Must confess that some of the bad habits are trying to lure me into the old way of eating/nibbling but I have decided that this is a lifestyle change so walk away. I do need to jazz up my diet though to keep it interesting as my friend does.
DH weighed himself as well and is very definitely on board now.
B- oatmeal, cottage cheese and strawberry rhubarb
L - 1 1/2 C homemade clam chowder made from a large minced onion, 2 large diced potatoes, 3 thick slices diced precooked bacon , 1/4 C cream, 1 1/2 C milk and a can of whole clams with an English muffin and 2 small clementines. DH is looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
S - 30 carb bun with 2.3 oz lean burger and 2 cheese slices with large mixed salad, 1 T dressing and an apple.
I bought some shrimp for a different salad, small tortillas to make a quessidilla (sp?) and need to dig in the freezer to see what else needs using up.
How are you handling the distraction lures?
I am getting there. I've had a couple of things that were not on my loose plan in the last three days but only those....a bit of wheat on Sunday night, oatmeal and blueberries on Monday morning. But otherwise, only carbs from veggies (broccoli, mostly) and some nuts; emphasis on chicken, salmon, tuna, and eggs. Today I have more energy than yesterday and will be heading to the gym after I finish this post. I have also upped the water so I am at about ten cups a day. I do struggle to eliminate caffeine, especially since now I have discovered cocoanut milk for my coffee....yes, there are some carbs in there, too. I think my carbs yesterday fell at around 100 gm; today, so far, closer to ten. I am still afraid to mess around too much with cheese but it would make this whole process a lot easier!
The distractions include sweets (threw stuff away) and those fruits....the mango bit the dust and the bananas may follow. Better to "waste" food than to "waist" it but I struggle with the idea that a banana is a bad thing. Too many years of running long distance on banana fuel!
If I eat enough for supper I don't struggle as much with the evening munchies. Guess that is one help.
Just an update.
B - oatmeal, blueberries and cottage cheese
L - 1 C veggie soup, 1/2 of two small tortillas heated with cheese between and an apple
S - meat loaf with 2 T homemade salsa, squash, green/wax beans, mashed potatoes and 1/2 grapefruit
Snack - 1 oz cheese, 1/2 thin slice of bread and 1 C milk.
I should have skipped the evening cheese and bread as I didn't really want them but kept DH company which is another form of distraction, isn't it?
I looked at the download I did a few years ago from the Hillbilly Housewife on the food exchanges and she suggested having metal cup measures to be more accurate and consistent. That does make sense.
It is interesting to try and incorporate some new homemade dishes that challenge portion control. I made clam chowder, for instance, and had to sort of figure out portions but what about lasagna?
How much is carb portion if one uses one cup precooked ground meat, 2 x 28oz cans of tomatoes, a large onion plus 2 peppers for the sauce, one lb of tofu, 1/4 C of parmesan cheese, 2 eggs for the filling and 8 lasagna noodles (2 layers of four noodles) with about 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese on top?
Good morning, All!
Leslieann - I remember how good coconut milk is in coffee. Right now I'm using Splenda, maybe 3/4 of a packet a day, and I'd like to eliminate that at some point. I think I might pick up some coconut milk and see if using that allows me to get rid of it. I'm sure it would be better for me.
You know, right now I am really low-carb - less than 20 gr a day, sometimes a lot less than 20. Lower than I've ever been, but I'm less hungry than I've ever been too. I'm not tempted by carbs at all. The lower carb I go, the more my body likes it. And when I do eat a bit too much in carbs, my body lets me know pretty quickly that it was a mistake - I get bloated and uncomfortable right away. I guess this is what insulin-balanced feels like. I love it. I don't think about food until it's time to eat. I think that the cost of eating low-carb (paleo for me) is going to be balanced by eating less food.
I've started exploring some paleo-eating blogs and websites and that's been nice too. No sugary, floury temptations to worry about. Right now I still have a lot of high-carb, high-sugar stuff around but I'm going to pack into a bin and store it in the garage. I don't need to be looking at all that stuff every time I open my cupboard.
Razz - I think if I was eating homemade lasagna, I would just enjoy it and not worry about counting carbs. Maybe go for a nice long walk afterwards to compensate.
Ihamo - you're so lucky that your weight stays stable even when you indulge in sweets and carbs. And you only have a few pounds to go to reach your ideal weight. That's fantastic!
I'm going to be absent for a few days, maybe till next week. We're taking advantage of the nice weather to work on some projects around the house, so I'm putting myself on a computer diet :).
Have a great low-carb week everyone!
I had my first major challenge last night - a community potluck. What to bring? What to eat?
So many potlucks lately have been very starch oriented - scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, rice casserole and lots of rich desserts.
Finally decided on taking a salad with lots of romaine, grated carrots, sliced tomatoes with a mound of finely diced feta cheese and some vinaigrette onside.
In choosing what to eat, I took just a small spoon of few different dishes with lots of salad and some fruit plus someone had cut a very small piece of apple pie which worked well for me. If anyone was noticing such things, I tasted a number of dishes but was limited to what was a good portion for my needs.
If anyone is interested on how I worked out the lasagna portioning, I checked that each lasagna noodle is 15 carbs x 8= 120, so dividing the dish into 6 portions, each person gets 20 carbs apx which is doable and a nice serving. I added a small fruit for a snack and was set. I had to cut out the ground beef as the protein content of the filling was too high when added to the tofu, parmesan cheese, eggs and mozzarella on top.
How is everyone doing?
AmeliaJane
1-14-12, 2:43pm
I have decided to try out the low carb approach, specifically South Beach. I just came back from the grocery store and I am pretty excited to get started. Off to do some cooking!
Let us know how it goes, AJ.
Hi, low carbers....I am making progress. After two or three days at about 40 gm of carbohydrate, I gained energy, lost cravings and started to feel pretty good. This weekend I have had more carbs but only in the forms of carrots, potatoes, and maybe 10 cherries. I noticed that even with those little bits I was feeling more cravings and more hungry. So tomorrow back on the Very low carb bandwagon. I have cooked a chicken, a beef roast, some ground beef seasoned for tacos, and chicken soup with only low glycemic veggies (okay, a few carrots) so I have lots of food to keep me on the path. I also seem to have developed my motivation a little more. I am experimenting with oatmeal and blueberries because that seems to make a big difference in my, ahem, digestion or at least my elimination, and maybe ultimately I can keep it. When I was in maintenance on low carb before, I added back oat bran as a breakfast cereal. Net carbs are pretty low and the soluble fibre is beneficial. Anyway, I'd like to be able to do that AND drop a few pounds but I don't know if it will work so I am experimenting.
Also I notice that I have convinced myself that colour is beautiful and desirable in my diet; I have trouble conceptualizing the deep orange, deep blue, the red of beets, and other richly coloured veg and fruits that they are not okay. In fact, I see them as essential. What I'd really like to do is follow Rosemary's plan of no flour or sugar, and keep the root veggies. But again, I don't know if my body will drop a few pounds like that. I tend to think not. So ....more experimenting.
In any case, I am looking at this experimenting as finding a viable way to eat for the rest of my life.
Hope everyone had a good low carb weekend and that the new week holds some fun!
Nice to see your post Lesliann.
I seem to be wrestling with the special occasions and the meals attached. For my 68th birthday on Friday, we went out for a lovely prime rib dinner but remained thoughtful of carb intake. Ate too much though and found that my stomach which seeminly had shrunk was expecting more food the next day. Today I was ravenous for both lunch and supper. I increased the protein a little for supper and that seems to have helped.
It is life's temptations that are distracting me from my goal but portion control is all about choosing what is right for me over the long heal which includes these temptations.
Aside from these issues, 45 gms carb/meal fits my needs the best and is doable.
AmeliaJane
1-15-12, 8:34pm
So far-the big success was the cauliflower soup (onions, cauliflower, chicken broth, pureed together).I would make it even if it weren't low carb. I threw in a bag of baby spinach at the last minute that was getting too wilty for salad and it was terrific. Portobello mushroom "pizzas" were pretty good too.
leslieann, all I can say is that the no flour, no sugar rule works really well for me and weight loss. I lose weight fairly rapidly this way, in fact - even though I eat a lot of nuts & fruit. It's also an easy rule, and no counting of anything. I don't eat a ton of root veggies but I don't avoid them, either. I frequently eat roasted, mashed sweet potatoes for breakfast, in fact, with walnuts and cinnamon. I do think all the fiber makes a difference when you compare the root veggies to grains. I also eat legumes freely, usually about a serving/day.
WooHoo! The scale at the gym says I'm down two pounds. I already had good news when my pants were feeling, well, not exactly loose, but not snug. Thanks, razz, for the connection and thank you, too, Rosemary, for the support. Maybe this is going to work out okay. I have to think that it is the workouts that are making a big difference but also by skipping the heavy carbs I do feel lighter and tighter...not bloaty. Perhaps that is TMI.
Thanks for the breakfast idea, Rosemary. I love sweet potato in so many versions. Last night I did a beef roast and tossed in halved yellow potatoes and chunks of peeled sweet potato, knowing that both veggies were NOT on the "low carb" lists. But I enjoyed them, with plenty of roast beef, and back to my eggs and spinach breakfast today, lots of water, and still feeling pretty good. I have to be careful to NOT overdo the nuts. They can disagree with me if I overdo it and also I tend to get kind of bingey with them (is that a word? Maybe I mean that they stimulate cravings). But lots of good protein and veggies seems to be working well, and the carrots didn't seem to be a problem.
I like feeling successful, as if something is working. And I also like that I am carving out my own plan and not slavishly following someone else's, which has been my way in the past.
Ahh, food....one of life's delights! That's another thing; when I don't eat sugary foods, I really ENJOY the flavors of real foods so much more.
AmeliaJane
1-16-12, 10:41pm
Successes--low-fat creamed spinach, chili (I make that all the time anyway, but it was nice to have something I know and like amongst all the experiments), yogurt cheese balls. Total disaster--black bean brownies. I didn't really think those would work, but it didn't cost much to try out. The South Beach diet encourages dessert, but I don't really care for artificial sweeteners in baked goods (don't mind them in drinks) so I am having trouble finding things I like. I have a few bottles of sugar-free syrups for coffee--I might try playing around with those. I do think the emphasis on healthy snacks is good for me. The thought is that it takes fewer calories to head off hunger pains than to satisfy them once you're really hungry. I can believe that--due to a movie date with a friend mid-day, I went too long without a snack/meal, and I did end up eating a lot more than I expected when I finally got home.
leslieann, I should add that in addition to no flour, no sugar, I also have pretty much eliminated added oils (all types). I use them only rarely. This really cuts out a lot of calories and an additional source of inflammation in the diet. I don't use much butter to replace them - just prepare the foods without added fat.
AmeliaJane, I also find it works better for me to not get too hungry.
Hi, low carbers...Rosemary, I still use olive oil and I added flax oil last spring when I went on the elimination diet. The flax oil is a butter substitute for me but I suspect I use too much. For awhile there I was salting my food, too, perhaps in a rebound from the "no butter" part of the program. Anyway, I have stopped salting for the most part. I am trying to make sure my fats are good ones but I do have a tendency to over-do.
Doing well on the low carb bandwagon though: I now have enough protein foods in the house and vegetables that there is no reason for me to grab a cracker, for example. I have allowed myself an apple with nut butter as an afternoon (starvation time) snack for the last two days, and I notice that I have a little craving for more and more nut butter. My brain/body is a weird one, I guess, easily prone to craving behaviour. I am trying to eliminate the behaviour so when I notice an excessive interest in a food I try to substitute. I have not yet had that feeling about broccoli, though I really LIKE broccoli and I do eat a lot of it. I can't really describe the difference...it is almost like I start to think about the particular food and it becomes an obsessive thought (though not really problematic, I can tell it is there in the backwash of the flow of my thoughts).
The scale shows more good news but I don't really believe my home scale; I will wait until I can see it confirmed at the gym before I claim it. But the real good news is that I feel pretty energetic, even though I am simultaneously developing cold symptoms. DH said this morning "I am really impressed with your food choices," as I tossed spinach in the pan before scrambling eggs. This was a big deal because he usually suggests that I NEED carbs.
Keep up the good work!
AmeliaJane
1-20-12, 8:26pm
As my first time trying a low-carb diet (South Beach style), it's been pretty interesting and mostly positive.
The Good: I love not having to think about food constantly, and still eating well. I had done Weight Watchers in the past but my problem when I tried it again was that you have to think about food ALL THE TIME to calculate points, spread points appropriately throughout the day, etc. I appreciated the flexibility, but every single food required a cost-benefit analysis. I think a lot of people manage this by being detailed planners, but that is not me. I also love not being hungry all the time. The South Beach book argues that it takes more calories to satisfy you when you're really hungry than it would if you had a snack earlier (including the snack). I think there is something to that.
The Interesting: I learned that I don't mind at all passing on the whole grains and fruit at lunch, dinner and snacktime, but I really miss them at breakfast. Good to know as it comes time to reintroduce those things. I learned that it was a lot harder to get the snacks in than I had expected, given a very busy week at work. (Lots of long meetings where I couldn't jump up and fix a snack when the time came.) I learned that the Rachel Ray "healthy food" cookbook is low-carb based, and with just a little tweaking, at least some of her recipes are appropriate for South Beach (and more interesting, to be honest).
The Bad: A few mediocre or downright nasty recipes. Serious energy slumps the first couple of days, but those seem to be done.
The Results: Well, I am not going to be one of those people who loses 10 pounds in two weeks of Phase I although I did lose a little. I did not add exercise at this time--that's the next step--as knowing myself that was too much to add to the routine on top of figuring out this new way of eating, and I'm sure that accounts for part of it. I was also, on the spectrum of Americans, a fairly healthy eater before I started (eating lean protein, low fat dairy, produce, at least some whole grains) and apparently that can cut down on the weight loss too. Next week I plan to work on eating more veggies--I'm going to make some hummus and maybe a yogurt dip to make the raw veggies more interesting. I'm not sure yet if this is the right, sustainable long-term choice for me, but definitely a healthy way of eating which I will keep for the foreseeable future.
Interesting observations AJ.
Well, I fell off the wagon when neighbours brought some treats to share but grabbed hold of the wagon and scrambled back on again.
I am discovering that I need fewer carbs than I thought so am cutting back a fruit but adding a little more protein as I tweak the diet. I am trying to find the right amount of food for a longterm lifestyle choice each day and ate way too many carbs before by comparison.
So thanks for the OP to get me going.
Made a stuffed green pepper dish last night that was wonderful with just 2/3 cup of rice and lots of veggies spiced with homemade salsa, some local ground beef with coleslaw on the side.
leslieann
1-21-12, 11:52am
Sounds like success, AmeliaJane and razz. I am in agreement with trying to figure out how to make this way of eating a long term (life time) pattern. I do feel much better without sugar or flour, and with more emphasis on protein and vegetables. I am going to check out the Rachel Ray book: thanks for that.
I have been doing well on the wagon, in my own estimation. I had six small potato chips, half a glass of wine, and totally SKIPPED the chocolate the rest of the family was savoring. But the Big Deal for me is that I didn't feel sorry, regretful, or deprived about not having the chocolate. That's how I know that even with my tablespoon of rice the other night, and my few chips, that I haven't really screwed anything up. I am doing okay. I am eating lots of vegetables; had sauteed vegetables and pizza sauce over zucchini last night while the rest had their pizza....thanks to Rosemary for that idea. This thread is very helpful.
I need to start eating lower-carb now as I am entering my third trimester soon and I have a history of gestational diabetes. I really think I need to shift towards this even after I have the baby. I feel better when I eat that way.
I've been looking over some low carb cookbooks Zach bought me when I was pregnant with the first kid. I got some good ideas for this coming week. Friday we're having ginger-soy salmon with sesame broccoli and snowpeas. Thursday we are having pan glazed balsamic chicken with garlic roasted squash and green been salad. Instead of mashed potatoes with our meatloaf next Saturday we are having my mom's baked cauliflower with cheddar because cauliflower is lower in carbs. I think it will be good food everyone will like, but it won't mess with my blood sugar.
Welcome, Stella! I used to bake a lot too and now that I've not been eating baked goods for almost a year it seems like a lot of hassle... especially when I can just eat whole foods instead, like fruit and nuts. Instead of bread with our soup, we have salad - and no one in my family seems to miss the bread/muffins. Dessert most nights is fruit or a couple pieces of dried fruit (prunes, apricots, dates, and figs are dried without sugar and can easily be found without preservatives). Sandwiches are a rarity, too - we eat a lot of soup and salad this time of year, and even for packed lunches I have many standards that avoid bread. After eating this way for most of the time since last April (detoured over the holidays) I view flour as an unnecessary ingredient that dilutes flavors.
Well, I had to share that since the start of this challenge in early January, I am down 6 lbs! It really works to manage my carb intake sensibly but not missing anything that I crave plus my 2+ miles of walking the dog each day.
DH and I are enjoying stirfries especially but the stuffed peppers are a nice change with the focus on the veggie intake.
We also found that the soup and salad mix for lunches works well, Rosemary. I add legumes in one dish or the other in lieu of the breads.
How is everyone else doing?
Well done, razz! Impressive results....
I haven't been home yet -- came straight to the office from the plane -- so I'm not sure how I'm doing on the weight front, but my pants are still loose and I think the New Year festivities didn't do too much damage. I did have a few pieces of candy and probably ate more nuts/flour-based stuff than I should have (I can't resist jiaozi and home made flatbread...), but I did focus on filling up as much as possible with protein and veggies and I didn't stuff myself at most meals. My MIL and SILs all commented repeatedly on how much weight I have lost, so that was good reinforcement. The biggest thing is that by eliminating sugar almost completely and most of the starch from my diet, I didn't find myself craving things all day long. Much easier to control your eating when your blood sugar is not rollercoastering around, I find.
lhamo
Hi All!
Sorry for the long absence. We're still having fantastic weather here - today is 68 and sunny - and I've been staying busy outside. I'm prone to SAD and I'm happy to say that this year I haven't had any symptoms at all and I haven't had to take supplements or anything for it.
I'm glad to see that everyone is still doing well. I'm still on my paleo plan and doing great. Last week I added some roasted yams and carrots to our meals and that went well except we notice that we eat a lot more food when we include them - especially the yams, which were candy-sweet. We eat until we feel pretty stuffed instead of just satisfied. So for now we're going to reduce them and keep them as occasional treats. Last night we had popcorn with a movie - the first time all month - and we've decided that we can just do without it. It was hard on my gums and we both felt sore-throated and a bit sick afterwards.
I've been enjoying coconut milk with my coffee and it's been wonderful! A rich coco latte :)!!! Thanks for the reminder Leslieann!
Hope everyone is enjoying the benefits of almost 30 days of low-carb!
Things sound great, watergoddess and lhamo and razz. I also played some with yams, watergoddess, and found exactly what you described. I reacted to them like they were candy or something. They sure are good for you but they also stimulate cravings in me.
I am off the wagon. Today I am off the wagon for real (but temporarily). I got sick last week; pneumonia. Fever and misery and no appetite at all. When I felt like eating, I wanted toast. I couldn't decide if that was a learned thing from childhood (tea and toast when you were feeling sick) or my body yelling for carbohydrates. Anyway, I have done pretty well with keeping up my protein and veggies but caved to the carb demon with rice, clementines, and more rice. My appetite has come screaming back with the antibiotic use (I wish my energy would come back like that!) and we have been celebrating my birthday, so I have found myself in major carb cravings. I did planfully have cake for my birthday not really realizing what kinds of cravings it might trigger, all of course complicated by illness and not being able to work out. Heck, I can't take a bath without needing to take a nap afterward.
So I am trying to cut myself some slack, recognize that right now being rigid about the diet isn't helpful but eating healthfully IS helpful, and getting back to where I was before all of this started.
FWIW, I am struggling with feeling angry about getting sick....how could this happen while I am busy eating my veggies, working out, getting lots of rest, and doing all the "right" things? This is my cosmic question.....I keep getting reminded that we really don't have control over much of anything, no matter how hard we work at trying to keep the illusion going.
Sorry to report that I am having major difficulty with being away from home and visiting friends' homes. The food that they offer and the meals that they prepare are so rich and wonderful. Oh well, tomorrow I get back home and to my proper way of eating.
When friends bring out shrimp and dip, then cheese and crackers, next a full meal with strach veggies and pie for dessert all prepared just because DH and I were able to visit. How does one politely say no to that level of care and preparation?
So I am trying to cut myself some slack, recognize that right now being rigid about the diet isn't helpful but eating healthfully IS helpful, and getting back to where I was before all of this started.
FWIW, I am struggling with feeling angry about getting sick....how could this happen while I am busy eating my veggies, working out, getting lots of rest, and doing all the "right" things? This is my cosmic question.....I keep getting reminded that we really don't have control over much of anything, no matter how hard we work at trying to keep the illusion going.
So sorry to hear you've been sick, leslieann. I hope you're better now. I think we crave carbs when we're sick because of the feel-good chemicals they release.
I have a story to share about antibiotics too, but I'll have to do that later when I have more time. Be good to yourself!
I've come to realize that getting sick is just a part of the life experience. When you think about it, why wouldn't we get sick now and then? It's part of the larger question about fairness in life. Life is not fair. Life is not fair. We can get angry about it, especially if we've gotten a rotten deal compared to others we know. But then we make life miserable - on top of being unfair! Given that life is not fair, how do I want to live the life that I do have?
I'm probably getting way too mental here! But there you have it. A big cyber hug to you.
(((((( leslieann ))))))
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