Low and lower carb ways of eating

[nibor]

Terrasanct, I ate low carb for many years. I felt great, lost the extra baggage that had been accumlating with age, etc. I didn't feel it was hard to do. But then a bunch of crazy life-events started up that included a lot of travel and stress, and I just started eating whatever came my way. I fell off the wagon.

Now I want to start up again and am trying to think what is stopping me. You say it is hard. It must be hard or we would both do it all the time. But what is so hard about it? Buying the right food, or giving up the forbidden ones?

[dockhl]

I found it hard just to clear all the stuff I shouldn't eat out of the fridge, and not automatically make rice (etc) to go with dinner. An adjustment in thinking, is all.

Last night's dinner:

Broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, slices of tritip. Salad with roquefort..............

Breakfast:

omelet with a little cheese and broccoli

I'm sure not hungry.

Had tuna salad with HB eggs, celery and tomato yesterday for lunch, and it really held me for the whole afternoon. A few nuts when I got home.

No headache, sleeping very well. Hmmm. Might be something to this !

[Terrasanct]

I eat right most of the time anyway, but I really enjoy baking this time of year. When I bake I try to make sugar free things, but sometimes you just want to bake--and then I come here and read all of the good recipes.

The problem is I don't have anyone to bake for; it's just the two of us. When I have an occasion to bake for other people I jump at the chance. You should see the collection of pristine baking books I've gotten in the past two years. Sigh...

Oh, and add to that the fact that I sell books for a living, and I have about five thousand cookbooks. I have to be careful not to look at them when I'm hungry.

Edited September 27, 2007 by Terrasanct (log)

[misstenacity]

For whatever semi-dubious reason, I've decided that my sugar cravings are too much for my liking, so I am in day 4 of Atkins Induction.

This is my 2nd time doing it, and both times were just to see how things went with the no-carb feeling. I am not looking to lose (much), but rather re-set things a little with my fat-burning ability.

The first time I allowed myself nuts, and this time I am going by the book - 20g or less carbs per day, and tons of eggs, meat, and cheese.

I've found strangely that I am hungry a lot of the time - it could be that the fat level has not come up enough. My total calories are probably a little more than "normal", but my food volume is much lower because I used to eat very large portions of low-calorie high quality foods - big oatbran porridges, enormous salads, stir-fry with shirataki, etc. Perhaps my stomach is shrinking....

Anyhoo. Just stepping in and saying hello!

My long run this weekend should be interesting.... although fat-burning ought to get me through it.

[Mary Lou]

Glad to see this thread has been re-activated. I too am back on low-carb, especially after reading Gary Taubes' book "Good Calories, Bad Calories."

I've been having lots of fun eating meat and fat again

Last night a made a trial run pumpkin cheesecake in the pressure cooker (following Lorna Sass' instructions but subbing ZSweet and Splenda tabs for the sugar... then added pumpkin puree and the usual pie spices. It's great, but a little soft. Need to add another egg and cook a little longer next time. I didn't do a crust but think I'll add a nut crust of some kind for Turkey Day.

[kumquat]

After a 3 month long period in which I ate pretty much anything I wanted, I'm back doing low carb again. Looking forward to sharing ideas and recipes with you all.

Have bought "Good Calories, Bad Calories" but only finished a couple of chapters so far. It's a really fascinating read!

[dockhl]

tonight, hot Italian sausage simmered with onions and tomatoes and mushrooms, served over baked spaghetti squash, topped with a little Munster cheese ! Gooey, that.

Red wine in the glass.............(2003 Four Vines Biker Zinfandel !!!)

[hummingbirdkiss]

Well after almost 8 weeks of eating nothing but sugar and caffeine ..no cooked food unless someone brought it to me .(I have cooked maybe 3 meals in all this time and they were not even close to healthy) ...even drinking regular Coke and eating donuts for breakfast something I would never ever do "normally" ....I am done and need to clean up my act...(recent horrific event put us into a deep hole we are gradually coming out of)

both my husband (who is naturally fit) and I have gained a lot of weight in this short time ...blood pressure has risen and eating a diet based on sugar as the main food group... does not help a person get a better state of mind that is for sure...

we are three days into a sugar detox and let me tell you ...my head is just pounding and I feel so cranky that even my husband's hair growing is getting on my nerves...

I lost a lot of weight (almost 75lbs) several years ago and managed to keep it off easily by keeping my diet low carb (with the occasional day of eating sugary things once I hit my goal weight) I found that this was so easy to maintain! Loving to cook is the best thing for keeping yourself slim! honestly ...shopping, preparing and eating fresh unprocessed foods is actually good for you... .go figure on that one huh? ...

I bought Good Calories Bad Calories a while ago and have flipped through it but not been able to read much of anything lately let alone something that heavy ..but I will since I have it ...maybe it will

re inspire me to get healthy again ...

I am not an extremist ...but I know that this works so I am happy as heck to see this thread here...I had not noticed it before ...Scott123 was the one who told me about Egullet a long time ago ...and now I found this thread and miss both him and Nullo ..wonder if you guys are still around?

I am easing back in to cooking again starting tonight I want to make a pot of Korean style short rib soup with daikon and kim chee

the house is purged of sugar/junkfood and Cokes (mainly because I ate and drank it all and have not shopped)

so wish me luck with this detox ...it is kind of painful physcally with this headache and bitchiness ...and emotionally with all the options around at work right now ...patients think (and they are right) that nurses need chocolate..so we have TONS of it sitting everywhere!

please if you are eating low carb or even just giving up the white stuff ...let's share recipes, shopping and cooking ideas ...

Edited December 28, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[dockhl]

Yes!

Time for new beginnings in the new year

[K8memphis]

Has anyone tired the AirForce carbonated drinks at www.nutrisoda.com??? Kinda pricey but I love them. Diet Coke killeth me. My little system cannot abide the effects of my lifelong love affair with all things sugar and carbonated any longer. But this stuff is fabulous. It is made from fruit and no sugar, no aspartame or carbs. Some of it is sweetened with guava. Cool huh. Plus they add nutrients so it's actually beneficial in whatever way. Like they have a Slender for weight conscious, and a Focus to help you mentally focus and a Radiant for nice skin. They add herbs or whatever to enhance those specific areas positively. They say it's good for you. And it doesn't hurt me, so...hurray!

I lost 50# on southbeach a coupla years ago and keep testing the water to see if I'm totally positive that I cannot eat a regular diet and yes if I want to maintain my wieght I cannot eat a regular diet. But there's so much stuff I can eat. I guess it's just habit to keep wanting to eat cookies even though they make me sick? Hello-o. I guess those eating habits die so very hard over and over.

But anyway I've added zero nutient iceberg lettuce back into my salad world. The crunch is worth it's weight in gold.

And hot flashes are minimal when I'm eating correctly. There's so many reasons to eat well.

[Mary Lou]

I made it through Xmas mostly low carb... I baked cookies with a baking mix I discovered on a low carb bulletin board (mostly carbquik plus some wheat protein isolates and a few other things)... used a mix of sweeteners(diabetisweet, erithrititol, liquid splenda, etc). They came out pretty good.

I didn't count carbs but tried not to eat anything "bad." Since I cooked Xmas dinner I had control so that helped immensely!

Now it's getting time to get serious, and I'm glad to see some activity on this thread.

As to the beverage question, I'm not a big fan of diet sodas. I've discovered the FUZE drinks - the "slenderize" ones have only a few carbs and they're not half bad.

[dockhl]

Iceberg lettuce. Unfortunately, I agree with you in terms of crunch. I eat it and cukes with Mom's Roquefort Dressing..........gotta love that !

[heidih]

I also found myself buying iceberg for the first time in eons when I was trying to work Mexican into my lo carb plan. A giant bed of roughly shredded iceberg topped with a modest amount of beans and the innards of some carnitas street tacos, topped with a variety of salsas hits the spot. I get the single portion of beans and the tacos from a local hole in the wall for next to nothing. Economical, tasty, and portion controlled.

[Feedbag]

I'm curious about a few things: is whole wheat bread OK? I've read mention of pita being fine, but what about just 100% whole wheat bread? Also, what is the best bread? I've heard pumpernickel is the best for low-carb/calorie.

The biggest challenge for me would be the loss of white pasta and rice. Can't stand the whole wheat/brown types. Anyone know of a decent tasting whole wheat pasta available in Canada? Also wondered, since you can't have white potatoes, are yams and sweet potatoes OK?

And when you say "sugar-free" do you mean absolutely 100% no sugar? Can I have a teaspoon in my morning coffee?

Appreciate the enlightenment, and good luck to everyone trying to get healthier!

[K8memphis]

I'm curious about a few things: is whole wheat bread OK? I've read mention of pita being fine, but what about just 100% whole wheat bread? Also, what is the best bread? I've heard pumpernickel is the best for low-carb/calorie.

The biggest challenge for me would be the loss of white pasta and rice. Can't stand the whole wheat/brown types. Anyone know of a decent tasting whole wheat pasta available in Canada? Also wondered, since you can't have white potatoes, are yams and sweet potatoes OK?

And when you say "sugar-free" do you mean absolutely 100% no sugar? Can I have a teaspoon in my morning coffee?

Appreciate the enlightenment, and good luck to everyone trying to get healthier!

←

What I've determined for me is that if I find myself craving anything I have over eaten on carbs. I can tell the difference of being hungry and craving carbs/sweets. Because the craving just begets more craving for me. It's a fire that won't go out during the day. I'd have to fight it or give in and start over in the morning. So wonderful stuff like whole wheat bread would put me over the top fast. Now interestingly enough, I ate too many Regina's multi grain pita chips--oooh they were So Good and this was so not a good idea for me. Then like next day I got a SouthBeach little prepackaged meal out of the deli like a good carb lunch thing and it had pita chips--so there's pita chips and there's pita chips.

But it's interesting, I can eat restaurant tortilla chips (without getting sick or gaining weight) But I can't eat potato chips successfully. I can eat barley in place of rice in soups and loose weight. I can still maintain my weight even if I do eat some white rice. I can even eat some fries & stuff y'know occassionally. But white flour or most flour products and sugar forget it. But I can get away with breading on chicken tenders in a salad or get an occassional shrimp basket with fries.

No honey mustard dressing either. Or honey lime. Drat that.

Have you ever tried splenda with a tid tad of honey, gets your coffee pretty sweet. You can have the sugar in your coffee and maintain your weight but I know I could not loose weight and do that. But that would risk setting off a carb craving too for me. But that's just me.

Edited December 28, 2007 by K8memphis (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am completely sugar free and on day 4 no headache

that was horrible!

[hummingbirdkiss]

RE sweet

I am not using sweeteners right now but when I do I mix equal parts Splenda with Cyclamates and a very tiny bit of Stevia

I learned about synergy from Scot123 ages ago ...it is amazing what the right combo can do ...I tried them but never did like the feel in my month of the SA's and was terrified of self induced GI distress!...

this mix works very well. ..even with chocolate

Edited December 29, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[K8memphis]

And another thing about whole wheat bread, there's the spongy like grocery store type that's just colored brown and then there's the stone ground whole wheat that's got some for real tooth to it. So you gotta be careful.

But HummingBK, are cyclamates a product name brand that you can purchase? I tried stevia straight, did not mix it and was not pleased with it to say the least. And I'm sorry it took three full days to get rid of your headache. That was brutal huh.

Oh the other thing I wanted to talk about is, sugar-free CANDY CANDY CANDY.

The real Nestles Turtles brand sugar free turtles are ok. There's not an abundance of flavor but the idea of eating a for real turtle or three pretty much makes up the difference. Now some Weight Watcher candy was on sale so I tried the milk chocolate coconut filled ones. Mmmmm. Mmmmm way good. But WW is never labeled as sugar free which is why I usually avoid it. But boy it was good.

I got sick as could be on some orange jelly slices once 'cause I ate the whole bag. Oopsie. I mean it was not a big bag at all. I already knew that sweeteners with -itol on the end of the word for the name of the sweetener must be ingested in moderation. Beyond very assuredly I proved that point and yet survived to tell about it. I think that's the correct ending, like sorbitol or malitol . But I've just checked these bags and there's some sucralose 7528-105 that's kinda scary sounding. And some other weird ingredients. So maybe it's -itol and -ose endings. And the disclaimer that 'excessive consumption can produce a mild laxative effect'. (Mild my big toe) Or in other words act as a triggering device to rip your insides to shreds in continuous peristaltic depth charges. not funny.

So one learns to partake in moderation or die trying. Besides three or four are satisfying because there's no sugar in there to make me crave more.

The Dove raspberry filled sugar free candy is real good.

Healthy Choice Fudgesicles are fabulous, only 80 or 90 calories and tastes great plus it's a milk I think so that's good.

The sugar free puddings are good.

And we often get the Whitman's brand toffee squares & stuff. Those are also pretty good.

But I only eat the fudgesicles when I am loosing weight. When I am on maintenance I eat the candy as a nice safe splurge on a weekend is how I do it.

Some other good side effects are that my eyelids firm up and do not droop. Skin tone improves, not puffy and blotchy. I sleep better. Arthritis issues are lessened. I mentioned that hot flashes are reduced. Oh and for sure I can concentrate better, improves my brain function a bit, truly. Clearly there's a ways to go in that department but sugar free has jillions of good side effects.

edited to add the word depth in 'peristaltic depth charges' because that sentence is funnier now imho.

Edited December 29, 2007 by K8memphis (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

cyclamates are not avialable in the US... I buy it in Canada

we used to have it here but there was a fake cancer scare from what I understand and they were banned ...bummer because it works so well with Splenda when you want to make anything chocolate...

Stevia is really hard for me to take by itself and if you even go a crumb over a pinch the taste turns my mouth inside out ..but just a pinch mixed with Splenda and cyclamate and you have what I think is a great mix ..everything offsets each others flaws nicely

sweet synergy!

I am not a fan of using culinary chemicals ...but this mix has saved my ass when I really knew if I did not have desert I would plummet

Edited December 29, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[K8memphis]

cyclamates are not avialable in the US... I buy it in Canada

we used to have it here but there was a fake cancer scare from what I understand  and they were banned ...bummer because it works so well with Splenda when you want to make anything chocolate...

Stevia is really hard for me to take by itself and if you even go a crumb over a pinch the taste turns my mouth inside out    ..but just a pinch mixed with Splenda and cyclamate and you have what I think is a great mix ..everything offsets each others flaws nicely

sweet synergy!

I am not a fan of using culinary chemicals ...but this mix has saved my ass when  I really knew if I did not have desert I would plummet

←

Gotcha. Exactly. That's why I keep the sugar free stuff on hand. So as I go through my day and wonderful people offer me homemade chocolate chip pound cake and peanut butter fudge and Dinstuhls' cashew crunch and boston cream pie (my mouth is not watering, it's a flood) I at least have my ace in the hole waiting for me when I get home. And I can still loose on the fudgesicles. Praise the Lord.

I am very fortunate that my husband is my supporter in all this change your food forever stuff. He gets mad at me if I eat the wrong things because then I get sick. Mad in a good way though. He's for all the rabbit food I can swallow though which makes life very good. He eats it too. Shoot he does all the cooking.

But with all the benefits of eating different and all the known hazards of a regular diet to my health, still I try to eat that way sometimes. Yeah and in heaven I'm stepping outside the gate to smoke too wearing 5 fricken inch heels. As soon as I confirm my reservation that is and yes, waiter, I'll have dessert.

[CaliPoutine]

I'm curious about a few things: is whole wheat bread OK? I've read mention of pita being fine, but what about just 100% whole wheat bread? Also, what is the best bread? I've heard pumpernickel is the best for low-carb/calorie.

The biggest challenge for me would be the loss of white pasta and rice. Can't stand the whole wheat/brown types. Anyone know of a decent tasting whole wheat pasta available in Canada? Also wondered, since you can't have white potatoes, are yams and sweet potatoes OK?

And when you say "sugar-free" do you mean absolutely 100% no sugar? Can I have a teaspoon in my morning coffee?

Appreciate the enlightenment, and good luck to everyone trying to get healthier!

←

Try the catelli smart pasta. Its white with all the benefits of whole wheat. If you can get to The States, I always pick up some dreamfields. I love that stuff.

[mrsadm]

Dreamfields pasta is amazingly good and about 5 digestible carbs per 2 oz. serving. I am making ham and mushroom alfredo tonight with Dreamfields spaghetti (leftover ham from Christmas).

Personally I avoid bread altogether no matter what type it is.

Glad to see this thread revived. I think I am like many folks who lost a lot of weight doing low carb a couple of years ago when it was really popular. Now we've gained back some or all of that weight and want to turn back to an eating plan that worked.

Just purchased the new cookbook "Carb Wars: Sugar is the new Fat" and will report here on any recipe successes from it.

I also just bought "Good calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes and have just starting reading it. If you are interested there is a chapter by chapter discussion forum about it here:

http://www.lowcarbdiscussion.com/index.php?act=SF&f=71&

[hummingbirdkiss]

the inulin in the Dreamfields pasta really upset my stomach

[dockhl]

Can someone tell me about Dreamfields pasta? I am not familiar with it....truly low carb? And tastes like pasta? Sounds too good to be true......

[mrsadm]

Can someone tell me about Dreamfields pasta? I am not familiar with it....truly low carb? And tastes like pasta? Sounds too good to be true......

←

Dreamfields has a unique process of making most of the carbs in the product just pass through your digestive system without being absorbed. Here is their FAQ:

http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/pasta-nutrition.html#sec1q2

A few years ago, one of the ladies on the forum lowcarbfriends.com experimented with dreamfields by testing her blood sugar after eating it to see if it spiked the same way as after eating regular pasta. As long as she ate a little protein with the pasta her blood sugar remained normal. This is of course anecdotal evidence but in addition to her, lots of other folks on the forum have eaten it for years, just as I have with no bad results at all.

And it tastes so much like real pasta your high carb friends and family will never know the difference! P.S. I am not connected to this product in any way, I just really like it. You'll be tempted to each too much, I would eat it only once a week while in ongoing weight loss phase. YMMV (Your mileage may vary).

They offer lasagne noodles, spaghetti, elbows, penne and linguine. I cook up batches of recipes and with the other ingredients it freezes quite well (tomato sauce, alfredo, etc.)