I have about 10 kg to loose (15 would be nice) am struggling with cravings for sugar, and salt which usually ends to potato chips. I have been looking at the low carb thread and convinced to try it but theres so much information i have no idea where to start. I have already cut out pasta and rice but i'm dreading giving up bread and potatoes. I want to remain eating large amounts of veges and fruit if possible. Any advise?
cookessentials,
Aug 12, 9:31pm
There are enough threads to sink a battleship here. If you put low carb in the search box on your left, you will find the thread that can advise you.
nfh1,
Aug 12, 9:35pm
I would start reading the low carb thread slowly - instead of giving up bread and potatoes perhaps eat them less often and smaller amounts. I think there is a low carb recipes thread as well which may help.
I tried low carb but could not do it but it has had good results for other people.
davidt4,
Aug 12, 9:44pm
anna787 low carb is much easier than you fear, and certainly involves eating lots of veges. There is a NZ low carb website which has lots of recipes, information and support. You will find it if you search for Low Carb Cooking in Style.
cloudberry,
Aug 12, 9:45pm
Try Googling for info. There is enough info to sink a ship out there on the internet. "Low carb for beginners" would be a good search term to try.
buzzy110,
Aug 12, 10:03pm
Quite frankly, if it were me starting out I'd first go and find a good book. Once upon a time going low carb was simple, it was the way everyone ate but nowadays, high carb is the norm and your experience as outlined in post #1 is clearly typical of a high carb diet making it difficult to know where to start and why. Knowing why is as important as knowing what.
On the dark side there is a list of books, any one of which will provide you with all the information you require. Personally I prefer Drs Michael and Mary Dan Eades, Protein Power because it gives you all the facts and knowledge is power.
The threads will provide you with support.
I would give this same advice to anyone, whatever diet they may wish to choose. So If you really really feel that your life is incomplete without potatoes and bread then there are plenty of books out there that can help you with that as well. I just don't happen to know any good ones but others might. Most of them have a problem with cognitive dissonance IMO.
In the Weight loss Challenge thread over in Health and Beauty there are a number of ladies who are doing rather well on Weight Watchers. You may like to pop in there and ask them for help if low carbing is not for you.
buzzy110,
Aug 12, 10:10pm
I don't really want to put you off but I have found that most people going low carb try to do what people who have to go gluten free do. They try and substitute the foods they love the most with gluten free or low carb alternatives.
This way is doomed to failure. In the case of gluten free, the consumer will eventually be faced with a starch and carbohydrate intolerance and with low carb the dieter will hit a brick wall after the initial loss of 4-5kg.
Therefore, it is best that you understand right from the outset that if you want to have a successful weight loss and maintain a 'never-hungry' persona, you need to change how you view food completely. That means no looking around for sweet alternatives. No trying to find low carb breads, cakes or whatever, and not ever believing that you can get away with processed foods, no matter how low carb it is supposed to be. An example of that is zero coke. Even Atkins bars are not conducive to weight loss. Nor are foods like protein shakes.
Good luck.
anna787,
Aug 12, 10:17pm
great thanks guys, buzzy i think it will be hard but i want to atleast try as there are so many of you who are feeling happy and healthy eating this way. I will definately get to the library in the next few days.
Until then could you guys tell me a few veges which are low carb? and are there any other veges other than potatoes that i should worry about?
kirinesha,
Aug 12, 10:23pm
Quick guide to carbs in vegetables
These ratings are based on just over 100gms of raw vegetable. These are net carbs - so carbs minus fibre.
Carrots Celeriac Butternut Onion Kale Peas, Green Parsnips Lima Beans Potatoes, White Sweet Potatoes Sweetcorn Potatoes, Russet
Higher carbs still: (20-30)
Garbanzo Beans Lima Beans, Baby
Super high carb: (50)
Sun-Dried Tomatoes (no oil)
anna787,
Aug 12, 10:26pm
Awesome thank-you!
buzzy110,
Aug 12, 10:27pm
Alright. I personally eat just about any vegetable that is not high in starch. So I don't eat potatoes or kumara or probably a few others but I can't remember cause I don;t eat them. Next I eat anything that is green - broccoli, silverbeet, cabbage, brussel sprouts, bok choy, bak choy etc, watercress, lettuces, celery, green beans. Although not strictly low carb I don't stint on things like leek, onions or carrots. Mushrooms, red capsicum, courgettes and eggplant/aubergine also see time on my dinner table. Tomatoes, cucumber, chilli and - well you get the picture.
If you don't know how to do a traditional stir fry, you can just prepare a selection of vegetables (leafy green excluded) for one meal (I. e. - ½carrot, couple flowerettes of broccoli and cauli, a couple of rounds of leeks and put into one pot and steam till just tender). In the meantime put ½c cream into another pot and reduce till sort of thicker, add grated cheese and paprika and you have a nice cheese sauce to go over.
Then all you need to add is the protein portion of your meal. Just make sure it is not trimmed of the fat and feel free to eat as much of it as you think you can handle. Most people think fat is devil spawn and 'go yuck and eeww' and all those other childish things when faced with food that doesn't come out of a sanitised packet but the fat is what stops you from getting hungry.
uli,
Aug 12, 10:58pm
anna787 if you google low carb cooking nz - then you will find a website from NZlanders for NZlanders with no artificial products used and lots of very easy and good recipes with normal ingredients that you can buy here in NZ. If you sign up you can set up your own journal too and there are lots of people that will support you and give advice on how to streamline your eating. Good luck!
cj707,
Aug 14, 10:41pm
I find that when I've tried to go low carb in the past I can get quite depressed and it messes with my mind a bit and I just give up. How do you cope with this and have others experienced it?
davidt4,
Aug 14, 10:49pm
My experience is quite the opposite to that, but I dare say it depends on your frame of mind before you start, and also upon your reasons for starting. There is a very supportive forum on the NZ low carb website, and I'm sure you will get helpful information there if you raise these concerns.
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 10:55pm
anna, if you are wanting to do low carb to lose weight you need to be mindful that you actually need to reduce the amount of fat for any significant weight loss. When you start a low carb regime and eat plenty of fat, you do lose an initial amount of weight, however, for the most part that will not continue for a long period of time. If you Google "Sureslim losers" there is a great site where you can join and get some great advice, recipes and the like. Even if you are not following a Sureslim programme, you can join for great support and ideas. The recipes are awesome and it teaches you how to eat a variety of foods while still losing weight.
kirinesha,
Aug 14, 11:21pm
I have been low carbing for 2 1/2 years, lost 20kgs and have kept it off. My weight has only varied by a total of . 7ks over the last 6 months (I keep an online log).
I prefer a way of eating which doesn't involve the use of "product" (whether it's Sureslim shakes or Atkins products) as a meal replacement, in my opinion that doesn't teach you how to keep weight off.
As a LCer I eat plenty of vegetables, dairy products, meats and berries - all the natural unprocessed stuff, plus still enjoy my wine. It's brilliant! Have never felt happier or eaten better.
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 11:31pm
sureslim does not have shakes! it is eating a good variety of foods and steering clear of high carb foods such as breads, rice, potatos, kumara, pum- pkin, cereals, processed foods. I lost 18kg back in 2006 and have kept it off ( apart from a lapse when I first opened my shop last year when I started eating too many things from the cafe across the road! ) I wanted to lose the few kilos I had put on quickly so used the "Optifast" to get rid of it and now keep to the Sureslim principles as I used to to keep it in check. I do have an odd treat when I want to and do not become to anal about it. Low carb is a great way to keep your weight in check and be generally healthy, however, the high fat intake is not good for you... this does not mean that "no fat" is the way to go, you just have to be mindful of this if you want to lose weight and keep it off AND have a healthy heart/cardiovascular system. I have noted that a number of low carbers complain they they feel "glugged up" and need to cut back on their fat intake... this is because they are having way too much. Some of them mention that they plateau... another problem when you introduce too much fat. For good, steady weight loss ( especially the amount you are wanting to lose) a moderate amount of saturated fats in your meatsand diary is quite adequate. Also bear in mind that if you are eating large amounts of saturated animal fat, that the fat of the animal stores any toxins/chemicals from their environment, whether eaten or breathed in. So unless you are totall organic, this can be of concern. I enjoy the low carb "mountain Bread" which is available and I have two slices per day and is similar to a wrap, but low carb.
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 11:40pm
MaxPost subject: Re: Take a seat, grab a coffee and have a chat - about anythPosted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 11:13 am
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:58 pm Posts: 108Quote: anna, if you are wanting to do low carb to lose weight you need to be mindful that you actually need to reduce the amount of fat for any significant weight loss. When you start a low carb regime and eat plenty of fat, you do lose an initial amount of weight, however, for the most part that will not continue for a long period of time. If you Google "Sureslim losers" there is a great site where you can join and get some great advice, recipes and the like. Even if you are not following a Sureslim programme, you can join for great support and ideas. The recipes are awesome and it teaches you how to eat a variety of foods while still losing weight.
Edited by cookessentials at 10:56 am, Sun 15 Aug
cookessentials (1084 ) 10:55 am, Sun 15 Aug
Spot the "I wouldn't have a clue how LC works" statements
Thanks for that "Max" I know exactly how it works thanks.
kirinesha,
Aug 14, 11:40pm
Oh that's right - must be Celebrity Slim shakes I'm thinking of. Sureslim is the one where you have to have blood tests.
kirinesha,
Aug 14, 11:43pm
Cookessentials, since you are so interested in our site perhaps you should join?
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 11:44pm
Quote Kirinesha "_sigh_.
I do wish people who don't low carb wouldn't try to give advise about it. "
Jo, I would have thought a little better of you! Have been low carbing as you call it, for alot longer than you, so I do actually know a fair bit about it... when it comes to losing weight.
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 11:44pm
Thanks fore the offer Kiri, I get enough flak fromm uli and buzzy here, I dont need it there as well LOL and I think Davidt would have kittens if that "cookshop person" turned up.
kirinesha,
Aug 14, 11:45pm
Cookessentials, I am allowed to disagree with you.
buzzy110,
Aug 14, 11:47pm
So what cooks is saying is almost correct though I have never felt glugged up. What cooks calls moderate fat, we low carbers really understand that to be what the low fat brigade call 'high fat' for the simple reason, even moderate fat, by today's standards, is high fat.
If you have been restricting yourself to a couple of tablespoons of oil a day and a 'barely visible' amount of margarine on your bread and all the other stuff like low fat milk, low fat yoghurt, no-oil salad dressings, sauces made without fat, chicken without the skin, meat with all the fat removed (easier to buy these days than meat with all the fat still on) then you will think that any increase in fat is high fat.
Others in here like to call us names because we eat full cream dairy, butter (not margarine), chicken and skin, meat with fat, oily fish, olive oil salad dressing, etc but that is not particularly high fat eating. It is just normal or moderate eating - the same foods that were eaten two generations ago without any noticeable ill effects on the population in general.
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 11:49pm
absolutely you are kiri... we live in a democracy and all have our own oopinions.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.