hello fellow low-carbers

[girlygirl1]

I am not new to the site but have been away for a while.

Moved from CD to eat less/exercise more, back to CD, onto Slimfast, onto calorie counting, back to CD...

Finally I wanted more balance in my life and my approach to food and weight loss. I am veggie so had thought that Atkins type plans would not work for me. How wrong I was!

I now take the basic rules of Atkins and apply them as best I can. I count carbs and try to make sure I eat 'good' ones and plenty of salad and veg. I eat very little fruit, alas, always being careful with berries and melon as they do have more carbs than veg. This is the one aspect of low carbing I hate - the restriction of fruit and starchy vegetables.

I have experimented with commercially produced sugar free foodstuffs and some are very useful. Others are basically junk and should be restricted - but I am human and occasionally (yesterday!) allow myself to over-indulge a little. Anyone sensitive to polyols will know how unwise it is to do this.

So good luck to everyone. Keep at it even if you come up against stalling and slowed weight loss. As others have said, this is a way of eating, not a diet per se. I no longer fear food, and I am willing to see a slower rate of loss in order to enjoy the countless benefits this approach offers.

I have lost the weight of a whole other person. And kept it off! This alone is a huge achievement.

Now I have around 21lbs to lose, and it is coming off painfully slowly. That is fine, indeed it is probably desirable. I need to fight my impatience, and the old lure of starvation, and stick with my new plan.

Isn't it wonderful to be able to eat again?

 

[Andys74]

My nutritionist tells me the the trick is to have fruit with protein, like a yoghurt, and do it early in the day. I tend to have my 2 pieces of fruit befoe 1pm and then just have veg after. I admire you being veggie - the one thing I don't like about low carbing is the meat and dairy I'm taking in, but my body is feeling better for it.

I don't want to the Atkins thing of avoiding berries and tomatoes - they have too many other health improving abilities.

 

[girlygirl1]

Well on Atkins berries are encouraged and other fruits severely limited!

I just love bananas but oh dear! They don't mix with low carbing.

Later on, in maintenance, I might be able to sneak-in a few.

Good luck Andy. It's so worth it.

 

[girlygirl1]

made low carb bread this evening and it is gorgeous.

naturally it has to be eaten in very small amounts but oh the taste and the lovely smell in the house!

well worth the effort.

ps will experiment next time with garlic and herbs and chopped onions... and maybe nuts and spices!

 

[girlygirl1]

Back again to revive the low carbing section!

I realise that some people think you either 'do Atkins' or you don't, but I think it is more useful to consider low carbing in more general terms. Atkins is great because it lays out clear instructions as to what to eat, and how much, at each stage along the way.

Low carbing can be anything from Atkins to low GI eating. This is the beauty of restricting carbs - it can work in different ways and on different levels.

Restricting carbs has proved amazingly successful for me particularly in maintaining. A wonderful way to keep food intake to healthy non binge-triggering levels.

I tend to think of the things I can eat rather than those I can't.

 

[Lynn8124]

Hi, yeah that sounds pretty sensible. LC is best for me too, pity I can't stick with it! Do you get your protein and fat from dairy?

 

[girlygirl1]

Yes, I do get protein and fats from dairy but also from tofu, quorn, nuts and good nut oils. Yummy!

It is hard to stick to especially at first, but before you know it you are in the swing of things and cheating is only a very occasional thing.

I wanted a flexible, healthy plan I could follow for life. I have kept off the weight of a whole other person for nine years now. The last pesky pounds are fighting to stay right where they are but I won't give up. Low carbing ticks most of the boxes, so I will stick with it.

Some people swear by low GI. Others by Neris and India's Idiot Proof Diet. Or Atkins itself but start on Ongoing Weight Loss.