Low Carb Lifestyles...

deniseE

Is anyone on the Forum following a low carb plan???

What do you think? Any great meal suggestions?

AnneLa

I have lost 20 lbs. just by watching my carbs. The Curves meal plan is great - that's what got me started. If you're a carboholic like I used to be, it was very difficult during first week, but well worth it............. Now, I can shop at Express with my 21 year old daughter and look pretty good in what I used to consider "skinny" jeans. My son even mentioned how much we look alike................

clarkbar

I eat low-carb. Basically I have eliminated most items made with white flour like white breads, pasta, etc. I have also eliminated vegetables high in carbs like potatoes, corn, etc. It isn't hard because there are so many more low-carb choices I don't miss the carbs at all. Eating low-carb makes me feel more full therefore, I snack less. It's quite easy to find foods that are low in carbs. Good luck.

Sha Sha

I am also eating the low carb way, and I must say it is not to difficult especially since I found Russel Stover's low carb pecan delights. Yum it sure does help my sweet tooth. I have found "fauxtatoes" it is basically califlower boiled until it is soft, drained really good then blended with sour cream and lots of butter. Pretty darn close to creamed potatoes.

england1

I eat low carb. I find it very easy. If you are looking for a great snake bar the Atkins Endulge Carmel Nut Chew is great ( at Walmart)! Walmart also has alot of other low carb products to help you along.

Good Luck

Nat

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-16-03 AT 08:37AM (CST)[/font][p]Russell Stover also has it's assorted chocolates with low carbs. Made with malitol so it doesn't affect blood sugar. Natures Own also has low carb, multi-grain bread (7 grams of carbs per slice as compared to 15 grams pre slice of regular bread). I have been following a low carb diet for almost three years. Lost 48 lbs just cutting out the high glycemic carbs such as potatoes (I do eat an occasional small sweet potato), chips, corn, white flour products. I even switched my family to whole grain everything, even pasta. It's really very easy for me to do without the carbs. I even ask for steamed veggies when an entree comes with rice instead of getting the rice. If you've been a low-carber for a while you probably have found out that almost all veggies have carbs but I don't limit the amount of salad veggies that I have. Low-carbs is the way for me!x:D

BISD

I have been on a low carb diet for about a year. I am a clothes freak and all of my clothes fit nicely once again. This has been the easiest and most satisfying diet I have ever been on. It really is not a diet for me, but a lifestyle change. I love Blue Bunny ice cream bars made with Splenda! I have even made ice cream at home with Splenda.

System

I would recommend that you not get sucked in by things like 'low carb chocolate', 'low carb brown flour' and 'low carb snack cakes' of any sort and 'low carb bread'. The best way to get serious about low carb weight loss is to stay entirely away from everything white or yellow, all vegetables except green beans (sugars in all of those) and stay the hell away from those breakroom machines. Fry yourself a sliced eggplant or tomato, enjoy all the red meat you want, order a Wendy's hamburger loaded but hold the bun and catsup, eat a ton of pork skins, an order of fried fish, load up on bacon if you want to, enjoy salads without croutons and bacos and only a dab or two of homemade 1000 island with reduced catsup, stay with the diet drinks, and as a special surprise make a bunch of sugar free jello and jello pudding. Buy yourself an inexpensive carb counter book and an Atkins book and avoid the sugar busters thing if you really are serious about the low carb diet. If you fall for the 'reduced versions' of carb-loaded food, you will only be teasing yourself and will return to the high octane in 6 months. Chunk them for life. Bourbon has zero carbs as does rum and gin, fried or broiled bacon is zero, green beans is basically 1 or 2 grams, hamburger/ribs/steak/fish baked or grilled is zero grams, and you won't believe it but a half flour-fried chicken is only 6 grams. Eggs, ham,pork, lobster and margarine are so low they don't count. The killers are fruit, baked beans, breads, any kind of flour, any candy,cashews, cereals, any diet dinners, juices, pasta and all sugars. The Atkins book will be the best book you ever bought. 2o years ago it was almost blasphemous in the medical community and today it is widely supported by doctors everywhere.

deniseE

Thanks guys!!!

I was just curious to see how popular this has become...my hubby and I have been on the Atkins plan for about 2 months....he's done really really well (40 lbs gone)...I dont' have as much to lose...so it's going much more slowly. But what a difference in energy levels!!!

We're taking the "whole food approach" and trying not to eat many of the "franken foods"...but i do cave to an occasional Endulge bar or slice of low carb bread.

Being from an italian background...it was really hard to give up the bread and the pasta...but that's about all i miss...i'm learning to make eggs in 100 different ways...

Don Ds...how do you make your pudding??? I've been using 1 cup cream and 2 cups water...

lharper

Went on the Atkins cruise about 3 years ago. He brought a chef and 900 people ate together on his plan. He conducted seminars every day if you wished to go. It was a great trip - I lost 5 more pounds on the cruise. There is no comparison between the low carb dieting and anything else. Mainly because with such a low sugar intake (white flour/sugar/high starch foods) you will crave nothing! You have to remind yourself to eat, but if you're hungry - eat a whole chicken if you want. For a treat, though, try De-Light chocolate bars. They are Belgian sugar-free chocolates (2-3 grams each.) There is a wide variety and they are $.96 at Wal-Mart. If you go to a low carb store, they are $1.60 or worse. They are great. My husband is diabetic and has been able to avoid pills and insulin but staying on the low carbs - he treats himself to a De-Lite bar every night. He's lost 60# since February.

KAMINSKI

SOOOOOOO glad to hear about another diabetic staying off the drugs....
I have been controlling my diabetes for 10 years without medication.
Low carb is the way to go....

marc

Don D covered it pretty well, I would just add that eating out and traveling take some planning and preparation. Many restaurants and fast food places are getting used to customizing orders for low carb eaters. If you tell them up front you are on a low carb eating plan, many of them know what to expect.

For airline travel and car trips, basically take your own food if possible. Induction can be tough, but the payoff is worth it.

I have seen Atkins literature for and against caffiene. I went cold turkey and got off caffiene, but had a headache for several days. Also, Atkins and others are significantly against aspertaine. I don't think it has anything to do with the effect on the low-carb diet, just a general health issue.

roep

>Don D covered it pretty well, I would just add that eating out and
>traveling take some planning and preparation. Many restaurants and
>fast food places are getting used to customizing orders for low carb
>eaters. If you tell them up front you are on a low carb eating plan,
>many of them know what to expect.
>
>For airline travel and car trips, basically take your own food if
>possible. Induction can be tough, but the payoff is worth it.
>
>I have seen Atkins literature for and against caffiene. I went cold
>turkey and got off caffiene, but had a headache for several days.
>Also, Atkins and others are significantly against aspertaine. I don't
>think it has anything to do with the effect on the low-carb diet, just
>a general health issue.

roep

I have been following Atkins since January, to date I lost 40 lbs. I have stuck to the plan, however, the scale has not moved in almost two months. I am going to Curves and really trying. Is there anyone out there who experienced this, any ideas? Someone told me to not eat cheese and nuts for awhile.

System

With the exception of Cottage (5) and Velveeta (3), most all other cheeses contain only 1-2 carb grams per ounce, which is, as you know, infinitessimal. Eight to twelve mixed nuts contains 3 to 6, depending. Nuts can be a killer if you start loading them in thinking they are carb-low. The salt causes retention, of course and some of them are discreetly carb-loaded. Eat pork skins instead, or two Ritz crackers instead of a handful of nuts. A half cup of peanuts will ruin your day at 23-27 carbs. Congrats on that fabulous weight loss.

Dutch2

Yep, same here. I too "was" on the Atkins diet from January through mid April of this year and lost 70+ pounds. (I was almost as big around as I am tall) There were two or three times that the scale seemed locked at one weight, but after a few days, just over a week at the most it would start back down. I have been completely off the diet for the past seven months and have returned to my old eating habits and also returned about 30 pounds. I plan to return to Atkins diet after the holidays again this year. If I can continue to loose and only regain half of it, I'll settle for that. After the first 2 or 3 weeks it was not difficult to stay on the diet. But once I stumbled off the first time, I continued on and jumped back head first to my old eating habits.
Good luck to you,
Dutch2