Where are all the low-carbers?

[essnce629]

Anyone still living the low-carb lifestyle? I still am, it's been about 6 months or so, and I've mantained my weight of 125/126lbs, even when I eat a little more carbs than normal. I did gain 4lbs over Thanksgiving, but lost it as soon as I left my grandma's and started eating low carb again! I eat 3 slices of bacon every morning and the low carb granola cereal I make from my 1001 Low Carb Recipes cookbook. The cereal is amazing, and I eat it with half and half every morning. I just had a physical last week and my numbers were all amazing said the doctor! I chose not to do cholesterol testing since I'm still nursing and that raises your cholesterol, so I didn't fast that day, but they ended up testing my cholesterol anyways and the doctor said my numbers were great-- and that's with breastfeeding and not fasting at all (I had 3 bacon and a string cheese about an hour before the test)! So that made me feel pretty good about staying low carb. It's basically been a lifestyle change for me and is going pretty well. Since I'm in the maintainence phase now I can eat more carbs and still maintain my weight. Like if we have Chinese food I'll have about a 1/3 cup of rice with my dinner and dumplings or I'll have 2 slices of pizza when we order pizza once a month or so and still maintain my weight.

Any other low-carbers from our original check-in group still out there?

[hillview]

I am lower carbs. I do cottage cheese or greek yogurt in the morning and also for lunch. I do oatmeal after I work out. Mostly I avoid carbs although since losing 30 lbs I eat them more often -- I still weigh myself every morning and if I am up a few lbs I am more focused on skipping carbs. I gained 5 lbs over Christmas and it is coming off/or off but I need to be extra focused on low carbs for a few more weeks.

I honestly don't find it that hard now -- especially since I can have a small bite of say the pumpkin bread we made and call it good (vs eating 3 pieces of it or not having it at all).

/hillary

[Meatball Mommie]

I'm still hanging in there! Although I have faltered a bit in Nov/Dec, I am back on track. I don't weigh myself often enough to know whether I've gained weight, but all my clothes still fit, so I think not. I just need to get back to eating my veggies ;) I have that cookbook too (thanks to your rec!) and I'll have to look up that recipe. Protein at breakfast definitely helps me start the day - without it, I am looking for coffee and sweets! I do low carb like you both - pizza maybe once a month or a bite of a homebaked treat once in a while.

[mommylamb]

I'm curious, do you guys check your ketones? I'm low carb at the moment, but that's because of gestational diabetes. I have to test my ketones twice a week to make sure I'm getting enough carbs though.

[Reina]

Low Carb/Paleo/Primal here, since August 2011. (DH is in on it too.)
No dairy, no gluten, no wheat, no grains, no legumes, limited nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants), no sugar (that includes honey, artificial sweeteners and the new trend sweeteners like stevia).

Lost the last 25 lbs I had to lose since August and kept it off. I am less sore after workouts, all my joint pain is gone, my intermittent stuffy nose/headaches are gone, the ultra extreme PMS symptoms are GONE. I cannot see any other way of life for myself.

Our breakfasts are protein+fat and very low or no carbs: usually eggs, vegetables & meat (bacon, sausage, smoked fish, etc) or left overs from dinner the night before. At lunchtime I work out. After the workout I eat some fruit and nuts or some vegetables and homemade beef jerky or if I have to meet people for lunch, I just have lunch (minus the carbs)
For dinner it's like breakfast: protein and fat and vegetables.
Every once in a while we have "free" meals where we eat what ever we feel like eating. Then go back to our routine again. We eat 85-90% chocolate (cannot have soy or milk in it) as a rare fun snack.
I've never been healthier and happier...

[LBW]

Reina,

I'm just starting to eat paleo/primal as well. I did it for about a week before Christmas and then gave it up between Christmas and New Years because we were traveling. I'm back on it again. I like it a lot, but still need to fully wean myself off splenda in my tea and chocolate. I'm working on that over the next couple of weeks.

I do feel good, I've lost a few pounds, and I'm sleeping better. I like that it's very straightforward. No complicated rules or phases to keep track of! It's good to know it worked for you.

[hellokitty]

I've been reading up on primal for a while, and have instituted some of the dietary tips, but haven't gone all the way yet. I'm meeting up with a group of friends to talk about primal eating next wk, so looking forward to officially trying to go all the way after our meet up.

[lovin2shop]

I'm thinking about going low carb again, and I came across this site looking for ideas:

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/

I haven't had time to really look through it, but the first few recipes that I saw looked very yummy!

[Reina]

LBW & Hellokitty, Good luck and congratulations on your decision!!!! Welcome to the dark side where we have bacon and a ton of good fat and zero guilt!
If you need support, please do ask! I'm in this for life. I've started taking nutrition classes and attending seminars on primal/paleo eating. It just makes a ton of sense. And it works. Some people are just not meant to eat certain foods... Turns out I am one of them.

Couple recommendations for you:
Loren Cordain (the scientist who coined the term Paleo Diet) has a new book out
http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Answer-Weight-Great-Young/dp/1118016084/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325853668&sr=8-1
Very informative book. Great introduction to this lifestyle without the bullcrap.
There are 60 pages of references to all the research cited at the end of the book. I LOVE IT!!!

Robb Wolf (former research biochemist - current paleo expert) has a great website: http://robbwolf.com/
Bottomless well of information!!! Constant research, constant new information that he and his colleagues share freely. It's heaven for geeks like me.
Also there are podcasts on iTunes under the title Paleo Solution.

His book is an easy read and the perfect introduction to paleo:
http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Solution-Original-Human-Diet/dp/0982565844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325854365&sr=8-1

I used to obsess about plastics (I work in the industrial/construction plastics industry), now I obsess about this. LOL

[willow33]

I'm so intrigued by paleo eating. I had the book Primal Blueprint and read through most of it yesterday. I ordered the Paleo Solution and it should be here today. It sounds do-able for me and I'm hoping that DH will get on board with it too.

Reina - Do you make your own beef jerky or order it online? That sounds like a great snack and I know DH would like it. What other easy snacks do you make/like?

Any other tips for a newbie?

[Reina]

I'm so intrigued by paleo eating. I had the book Primal Blueprint and read through most of it yesterday. I ordered the Paleo Solution and it should be here today. It sounds do-able for me and I'm hoping that DH will get on board with it too.

Reina - Do you make your own beef jerky or order it online? That sounds like a great snack and I know DH would like it. What other easy snacks do you make/like?

Any other tips for a newbie?

Hi Willow33!!

I make beef jerky at home. Store bought beef jerky has soy sauce in it. I can't eat soy in any form. so I bought one of those Nesco dehydrators. I use coconut aminos to replace the soy sauce.
Other snacks... Hmmm. well I personally try to stay away from baked snacks. But for DS and DH, I make almond flour based no sugar added (just naturally occurring sugars from fresh fruit) muffins etc. Sarah Fragoso has a great blog and very well written cookbook. She is a working mother (of 3 boys). hER BLOG IS GREAT! http://everydaypaleo.com/
So far all of her recipes have worked for me.
My personal snacks are one handful of nuts and dried fruit or a handful of olives or some coconut flakes or a few pieces of smoked fish.

The most important tip I can give you is, to not see this lifestyle like a prison sentence but a healthy way of life with a lot of benefits. Don't listen to the crazy cult attitude some people develop. There are a few blogs out there where they tell you that you have to live 100% paleo at all times and if you stray even one meal they call it "cheating". That's a poor attitude (and rather cult-like) in my opinion. Every person is different and has different needs. Last week I ate 19 meals out of 21 strict paleo. That's a good ratio for me.
Also, I don't feel the need to explain myself to anyone. A friend was grilling me last week about why I was making my life so difficult with these restrictions etc etc. I just ignore those types of comments. (if I were smoking a cigarette, drinking a fishbowl size margarita and eating a slice of 3000 calorie cheesecake factory cheesecake simultaneously, she would not have commented on my nutrition.)

As always, I am open for all questions...
Good Luck!!!!!

[LBW]

Reina,

Thanks for recommending the Cordain book. I'm going to order it on my Kindle today. I've read Robb Wolf's book and agree that it's a great resource. I actually need to read it again because parts were a little dense and I skimmed through them the first time.

I'll second the request for snack recs. I've never been great about snacking. I'm typically a 3 meal a day person. But, I think smaller meals with 2-3 snacks would be better for me. In the couple of weeks I've been eating paleo I've mostly snacked on nuts, but I'd like to branch out.

[Reina]

Reina,

Thanks for recommending the Cordain book. I'm going to order it on my Kindle today. I've read Robb Wolf's book and agree that it's a great resource. I actually need to read it again because parts were a little dense and I skimmed through them the first time.

I'll second the request for snack recs. I've never been great about snacking. I'm typically a 3 meal a day person. But, I think smaller meals with 2-3 snacks would be better for me. In the couple of weeks I've been eating paleo I've mostly snacked on nuts, but I'd like to branch out.

LBW,
As far as snacking is concerned I have some labyrinthine opinion that is the product of my personal experiences(and my body's needs), recent books and research findings I've been reading in the medical journals, and Robb Wolf's podcasts.... So here goes:
Every time I put food in my mouth (whether it has any amount of sugar in it or none), my body starts producing insulin (so does everyone's body). So the more often one eats, the more often their body produces insulin. One of the main reasons I am living this paleo lifestyle is because of my body's inadequacy in regulating insulin properly (side effect of PCOS). So in order to avoid the constant flux of insulin spikes and lows that would occur from inter-meal snacking, I actually eat more in one sitting and avoid snacking as much as possible. In the past 7 days, I ate 21 meals total = 7 breakfasts, 7 snack size lunches and 7 dinners and no additional snacks in between. Never felt hungry or light headed because my blood sugar was so well under control. But again, this works for me. Different things work for different bodies. Also, I stay away from liquid food (shakes, smoothies, juices, soup, etc). Because, liquids are absorbed faster in the digestive tract; hence creating a faster insulin spike. (e.g. if you were to drink a glass of cow's milk your insulin spike would be higher and faster than if you were to eat an equal portion of cheese.)

Some of my paleo snack choices: handful of olives or some smoked fish (salmon is my favorite) or a piece of avocado, dried fruits coupled with some protein like beef jerky or a piece of bacon (insulin is better regulated when fructose/glucose etc is coupled with some protein and fat source), piece of chicken. (i am the crazy person who walks around with pieces of grilled chicken in her purse.)

:)

ETA: I should add that currently I am not trying to lose weight, or even checking my weight. I have lost the amount of excess fat percentage from my body. I eat about 2500+ calories a day on work out days (but that's just an estimate. I don't count calories.) I work out (weight training & metabolic conditioning) 5-6 days a week. On non work out days, I scale down to less starch/carbs. If what I'm saying is too convoluted, please ask for further explanation. I get too geeky sometimes. LOL

[hellokitty]

Reina, thanks for the encouragement and great link and book suggestions. I think I have PCOS (my doctors disagreed, back then it was more ttc focused and I did not think anything more about it, but now in my late 30's, it's become plainly obvious to me), and have tried low carb (sugar busters) yrs ago before becoming pregnant and it was one of the only ways I was able to lose wt. So, I think I am meant to be on a low carb diet. Not to mention, my dad's side are ALL diabetic, my paternal grandmother basically died of uncontrolled diabetes. So, I really need to just suck it up and just go low carb. I know I will feel better. I notice now that when I eat too many complex carbs that I just feel bloated and blah, esp over the past few wks during the holidays and we went on vacation and I didn't do a very good job of being watchful of my diet.

[brittone2]

Saw this on the main page :waving4:

We've been eating this way for years due to PCOS and Type 2 history on DH's side. Neither of us is overweight but we do it because we feel it is the healthiest WOE for our circumstances.

Mommylamb-I won't get into the specifics in pregnancy but ketones don't concern me for my particular circumstances (not advising you on what you should do for your GD, pregnancy and health). Ketosis is different from diabetic ketoacidosis. I'm fine w/ being in ketosis for my individual health situation. I always added in some extra carbs while pg. We have been eating this way for a few years now.

[essnce629]

I'm curious, do you guys check your ketones? I'm low carb at the moment, but that's because of gestational diabetes. I have to test my ketones twice a week to make sure I'm getting enough carbs though.

I had a full physical 2 weeks ago and they tested my ketones then. All was normal.

[essnce629]

I'll second the request for snack recs. I've never been great about snacking. I'm typically a 3 meal a day person. But, I think smaller meals with 2-3 snacks would be better for me. In the couple of weeks I've been eating paleo I've mostly snacked on nuts, but I'd like to branch out.

I'm just low-carb, not paleo (since I hate eggs and usually have a few dairy items a day), so my snacks are usually almonds (sometimes with a few chocolate chips thrown in), slices of ham (sometimes rolled up with cream cheese), greek yogurt with almonds, beef jerky, salami slices with cream cheese, string cheese, celery with peanut butter, or a handful of cherry tomatoes and baby carrots with dill dip.

[echoesofspring]

Yeah low carbers!

I fell off over the holidays, and gained 3-5 lbs, but other than that have been mostly low carb since July. Am getting back to it this week to continue the weightloss that stalled over the fall. I would say in my daily life I'm sort of South Beach phase 2, but am going back to phase 1, or maybe 1.5 (I do really like a little bit of fruit, though I didn't really start to lose weight seriously over the summer until I cut it out.) I was done to about 5 lbs below pre preg before the holidays. There was a lot of stress eatting this winter as I changed jobs, dealt with DH being out of town a lot, etc. I'm aiming to lose at least another 10 maybe 15 lbs.

My DH is a big fan of Mark's Daily Apple site/primal blueprint book. I haven't had time to really read it, so I don't know what I think of it, if it works for me, but we do incorporate a lot of it around our house, for dinner, etc.