Any Low Carbers in the House?

[Iggy aka IG]

I'd love to get a thread going. 

[PauletteG]

I adopted a very low carb diet in early July 2015. I have lost 15 pounds over 8 weeks and I have a sedentary lifestyle. When I started my muffintop meant squeezing into my pants and tying sweater sleeves around my waist to hide the navel. I rebooted my metabolism with whey isolate protein shakes until I lost water weight/bloat, then switched to a diet of 52% fat, 36% protein and 12% carbs. I'd like to lose 5-7 lbs more, just to legitimately declare I went down one clothing size. 1/4 of my pants slide down the waist, and I've lost three inches each from my waist and hips.

I wrote this post about the diet's effects on my metabolism and digestion. The surprising bonus for me when ingesting high levels of saturated fats (butter, coconut oil, cream) was losing cravings for potato chips, bread, and sugary treats.

[Iggy aka IG]

Hi PauletteG! Congratulations on your success, and welcome to the board.  I'll check out the post you reference above. 

[PauletteG]

Thanks for creating the board Iggy aka IG. Even if it is (I hope only temporarily) just us, I surely am grateful for this thread's existence. 

Yesterday I had a non-scale victory: a belt I couldn't fasten since the day I bought it I could fasten to the third buckle hole. I had to use the belt to keep my size 12 pants from sliding and exposing my midriff.

[Tired Tess]

Well, I'll be happy to join the group.

Breakfast was a sliced up peach mixed in plain yogurt and crushed (almost powder) nuts, about one tablespoon. 

How many carbs to you have daily?

[PauletteG]

Welcome, Tired Tess!

My daily carbohydrate intake fluctuates from roughly 15 grams to 75 grams. 

[Happy prose]

I had a hard time when I tried doing low carb. I don't eat too much meat. What do you guys do to replace bread, chips, etc?

[PauletteG]

Happy prose I put coconut milk in my protein shakes, drank lots of water, ingested as much fat as possible to deter carb cravings. The salt I craved from chips I get from sunflower seeds, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cashews, almonds and Brazil nuts.

[Happy prose]

What did you eat for dinner?

[PauletteG]

at 4:30 pm I had a protein shake (29g protein, 23g fat, 10g carbs)
At 5:30 pm I had a 9 oz T-Bone steak, and a green salad with lettuces, carrot and avocado.

[Iggy aka IG]

Hi there, Tired Tess and Happy prose! 

Tess, I aim for 20 daily carbs.  That is the only way I lose consistently.

Happy, to replace chips and bread, there are so many options.  For chips, I have made sliced, fried radishes.  Also, pork rinds, which come in many flavors these days.  As PauletteG mentioned, I eat nuts.  My fave for TV time snacking is pistachios and sunflower seeds.  1/4 cup almonds and peanuts are a good mid afternoon snack alternative.

A sample menu:

Coffee, Splenda, heavy whipping cream
B-2 boiled eggs
L-Romaine with trimmings or a leftover protein
Afternoon snack-Nuts, leftover protein, a few berries, cheese
D-Protein with a low carb side such as cauliflower, spaghetti squash, zucchini, etc.
Snack-sf Jello w/ whipped cream, berries....

There are a ton of websites out there, but I recommend starting with this one:  www.genaw.com/lowcarb/

[Happy prose]

Thanks Iggy aka IG. Carbs are my biggest diet problem. I finally got away from pasta, eat very little bread, but I need something salty and crunchy, so I'll try nuts. I see very little dairy besides the heavy cream...is dairy no good? I get most of my protein by dairy.

[Iggy aka IG]

You're welcome, Happy prose.   And, good job getting away from the pasta.  Pasta is a trigger food for me and earlier this year I discovered zoodles and spaghetti squash as alternatives.  So yummy with butter and fresh garlic, or tossed with Alfredo sauce.

Re: dairy:  Milk is a no no due to the lactose.  Almond milk is a good alternative.  Cheese is okay, but for me I must use it in moderation, otherwise it stalls me.  Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, cheddar, gouda and good ol' fashioned string cheese are some of my faves.  Oh, and cream cheese.  It is used in many lc recipes.

Check out this helpful list.  (You don't have to print it out, just scroll down to read it):  lowcarbediem.com/atkins-induction-printable-low-carb-foods-list/

[PauletteG]

Maybe you can get away with fermented dairy. I try kefir and Greek yogurt and my system doesn't care for regular milk.
Pasta is a lifelong love for me and yet, I don't really miss it.
Flaxseed not only provides protein, but fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Iggy aka IG, I tried Deannie's Lime Cream Dessert from www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ and it was phenomenal.

[Iggy aka IG]

PauletteG, I'll check out the recipe.  Thanks!

And, good call about flaxseed.  I have it in both tablet form, as well as ground.  I have recipes for flaxseed muffins, crackers, and most recently, I put it in Breakfast Pizzas yesterday (flaxseed, almond flour, shredded mozzarella, an egg, and a bit of sour cream, bake for 15 minutes at 450, then top with eggs, sausage, cheddar).  For some reason I really like the taste of it...?  A bit mealy, yes, but it's good, IMO.

[PauletteG]

Iggy aka IG, it reads to me that you have significant experience with low-carb.. How long have you been at this way of eating and what benefits are you reaping? (Question open to all! )

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, Paulette!  I've known about low carb for years, (I own several Dr. Atkins books and the South Beach book, my mom has followed Dr. A since the 70's, etc.) but only became serious about it in 2012.  When I say serious, I mean I lost 30 pounds that year.  Not too shabby for being middle aged, and my doctor was pleased.    Unfortunately, due to many excuses, I gained most of it back and only recently started induction again.  (Induction in Dr. A speak is the first two weeks or longer at 20 daily carbs.)

Yesterday's menu:
Homemade iced coffee-Coffee, heavy whipping cream, Splenda, ice, dash cinnamon
Breakfast pizza as mentioned in an earlier post
Leftover pork loin
String cheese before cardio
2 chicken legs, green beans, butter, 1 deviled egg

I made some almond crackers out of almond flour, and had a few as an evening snack.

Total carbs 17.  1155 calories.  Water all day, vit b at lunch, vit c, d, e, and calcium before bed.

One thing that absolutely helped/helps me is tracking my food.  Added for everyone:  As always, check with your doctor before embarking on a new nutrition program. 

How about you, PauletteG?  What tips do you have for newbies?

[PauletteG]

Wow, thirty pounds! I've lost only 16 so far, but then I started in the summer. I get the feeling that my metabolism'll revert to a crawl before I exercise.

To newbies I would say: the first week is when we seem to lose the most weight. Each gram of glycogen is bound to three or four grams of water. Some carbs we consume are stored as glycogen, which in turn is in our liver and muscles. When the liver releases glycogen, it also releases water and minerals like sodium and potassium. The first 48 hours see a lot of washroom trips. It's critical to have a quality electrolyte solution for rehydration so your muscles don't cramp.

Losing pounds, yes pounds, in the first week encourages people to keep at the diet. And the pounds drop because the waters flow, and the waters flow because the stored carbs go.

I did not heed this warning. I fed myself with fats and protein, hydrated by having a gallon of water a day for two days, then I donated blood. Then I had both diarrhea and dizziness at the same time. I was helped to the bathroom, got ready to do my business and...

I woke up on the floor with my pants down and messes everywhere. They poured a lot of Gatorade down my throat. Then my nausea helped me make a new mess. Me, I thought I was gonna die, and the staff suggesting hospitalization didn't make me feel any better. TAKE ELECTROLYTES AND DON'T DONATE BLOOD! I also had horrendous foot cramps for three hours, despite gulping down magnesium citrate.

Potassium chloride's available in the supermarket where the seasoning salt and salt substitute products are. Easier to get potassium from there than from supplementation, as the body needs 4700 mg, and supplements have only 99 mg. Be superior to me and get magnesium glycinate on your first go round, not citrate. Magnesium sulfate in Epsom salts can be a big help too.

Drink lots of water: it'll flush you out and make you feel full.
Have 25g of fiber daily.

Buy lots of eggs. Have snacks like seeds and nuts and chopped up cheese for on the go. Have protein with every carbohydrate feeding: like hard boiled eggs or sunflower seeds on salads, or peanut butter on celery sticks.

The more fat you eat, like avocados and whipped cream and coconut oil, the more sated you'll feel. You may even notice you can go a whole 18 - 24 hours before you feel hungry again. You'll be aware of your past cravings too. I've been eating pasta since I was old enough to chew, seriously, and yet I haven't made any for myself since May. We have stale bags of potato chips because I won't finish them off and the other housefolk can't be bothered to clean up their expired food. I say this because I used to have cravings for salt and starch, especially around my period. No more.

Also, doctors get maybe ten minutes of nutrition teaching in their medical school education. Four of those minutes are probably a review of the Food Pyramid. The nurse who called about my catastrophic vasovagal syncope thought I was taking an awful lot of protein, and an awful scarcity of carbs. There ARE low-carb doctors though, and finding some to help with obesity, diabetes and metabolism disorders can be done online. The bonus is that they are usually fit, young eye candy and very passionate about ketogenic or low-carb diets.

[PauletteG]

Also helpful for newbies:

I found this keto calculator useful for determining macronutrient quantities and ratios. I still use it to recalculate, after each 10 lbs dropped.

[Iggy aka IG]

Paulette, good call about the Ladies Room trips.  When I start induction, I average 4 trips during business hours, LOL!

Yes, drink plenty of water, and consume broth if you have muscle cramps.  DH says pickle juice helps him, but I myself haven't verified that.

After awhile, some people say their clothing starts to feel loose, but they're not losing any weight.

And, if you drink alcohol after following this way of eating, aka lifestyle, for even a few days, it will take you much, MUCH less to feel it.  I learned the hard way at least twice.  NOT good.

Yesterday's example:
Iced coffee, egg, cheddar and bacon frittata
Romaine, pepperoni and ham slices, mayo, vit b
Raspberries, 1 blackberry, Splenda, almond flour crackers (yummy!)
String cheese
Another string cheese before workout
Walked the treadmill
Pepperoni slices
1 lc tortilla*, beef and cheddar burrito, sour cream, olives
1598 cal, 25 carbs
vit c, d, and e before bed
*Note some of my foods are not on the induction list.

[PauletteG]

Yes, drink plenty of water, and consume broth if you have muscle cramps. DH says pickle juice helps him, but I myself haven't verified that.
When I told my family pickle juice makes for a good electrolyte solution, they were only too happy to go get pickles. No cramping when drinking pickle juice, but can't confirm.

After awhile, some people say their clothing starts to feel loose, but they're not losing any weight.  I did lose inches, but not weight, at one point, maybe in induction. Losing inches made me happier, as I am reluctant to buy clothes one size up: they're harder to find; plus, I am more concerned about my belly circumference.

And, if you drink alcohol after following this way of eating, aka lifestyle, for even a few days, it will take you much, MUCH less to feel it. I learned the hard way at least twice. NOT good. CAN CONFIRM!

[Tired Tess]

Ugh!!! Picnic today!!  Salads, snacks, drinks, drinks, and more drinks!  I promise I'll do the best I can. I have in my head to enjoy a nice veggie salad and add fresh fruit to it.  Also, burger without a bun and/or grilled chicken. It will help fill me up.  I can go without a beer (but I don't want to).  

Have a wonderful weekend, all!!

[PauletteG]

Have a good time! Lots of vegetables have high water content, you'll be fine! Gelatin salads are okay too.

We let our tot choose a six-pack of Zevia soda on sale on Thursday. Each can contains 4 grams of erythritol. I had one. I'm not always in the mood for Zevia, but they're decent for when it's warm and one's feeling parched and spent. My kid knows I'll almost always okay Zevia purchases because of the low sweetener amount and because the cola variety has no caramel color (a suspected carcinogen). I say this so no one needs feel deprived of pop on a very low-carb diet.

[Iggy aka IG]

Tired Tess, how did the picnic go?  I do the same thing at BBQs:  I choose a burger patty, hot dog and/or brat by itself with mustard, and mayo if it's available.    No one looks at me funny (or, if they do, I don't notice, not that I would care, LOL!) while I enjoy with a fork and knife.

~~~~~~~

I find I do better at this lifestyle if I prepare food ahead of time.  Yesterday I boiled eggs for stuffed eggs and mock tater salad, baked a black bean cake with a cream cheese and Splenda frosting, and made a salad for today consisting of Romaine, pepperoni slices, cheddar and black olives.  I made homemade Italian dressing for the latter with olive oil, vinegar, salt, freshly ground pepper, lemon juice and garlic powder.  We'll enjoy fresh berries on top of the cake.  I also have slices of deli turkey to enjoy with mayo on Romaine leaves.

I pulled out pork chops, a whole chicken, and breakfast sausage from the freezer to enjoy this week.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Me. I am down a net 28 pounds, though I have turned 44 pounds I still have from fat into muscle. At least according to this machine which I cannot actually believe works.

[PauletteG]

What I've found interesting is that several restaurant chains are cognisant of low-carb dieters and offer meals with no bread nor sugar nor starch. Many small businesses including pubs and unique restaurants don't have the scale to accommodate us. I went to an A&W restaurant drive-in and found they serve no-bun burgers. I went to a regional (three-four state chain) restaurant and had a stupendous bacon cheeseburger salad, everything a low-carb high-fat eater would want, so satisfying. My coffee place now knows me as "the woman who orders the one drink that's not on the chalkboard menu": a shot of espresso over whipped cream.

Down another inch! 31.5" waist; 39" hips. According to halls.md website I'm at 15 percentile for weight for US women my height (I suspect trans people are in that very small sample though, I'm at 98 percentile for height). Still want to lose some more inches from the "mom belly." Wonder if that's possible.

[Iggy aka IG]

You are doing so well, PauletteG!  Good job! 



Regarding restaurants, I also appreciate the Jimmy John's unwich.  Also, Carl's Jr. has their burger in a lettuce wrap.  Messy, but oh, so good.

As for coffee, I've been ordering an Americano with an extra shot, heavy cream and a Splenda.  Before that, I was getting breves, until I read the calorie content of all the cream. 

[PauletteG]

An unwich at Jimmy John's exists you say Iggy aka IG? [Perambulates to JJ outlet 0.4 mi from home]

[Iggy aka IG]

Sept 22, 2015 13:05:53 GMT -5 PauletteG said:

An unwich at Jimmy John's exists you say Iggy aka IG? [Perambulates to JJ outlet 0.4 mi from home]

Yes.  I do believe they offer several of their regular sandwich combos, only without bread. 

[PauletteG]

After I lost 20 lbs, I returned to my doctor after a few years without visiting. My excuse for postponing appts was I felt ashamed that my belly was growing and I didn't know how to reduce it. I had a blood test and my lipid panel values were high enough that she recommended statins for long-term medical therapy.

I declined, writing a detailed letter about how I suspect years of insulin resistance led me to this sorry  fate, threw in some printed PubMed journal abstracts about how rapid weight loss releases free fatty acids from disappearing adipose fat, and how so many of these LDL cholesterol particles are surfing the bloodstream because they are rootless and mobilized. I have transient hypercholesterolemia, it seems. Glucose is high too but I've read on reddit.com and low-carb/keto doctors' blogs, that high LDL cholesterol and high glucose are expected soon after one undertakes a low-carb diet, but closer to a year later, those values normalize.

I wrote I would consent to a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lipoprofile blood test to determine if my LDL cholesterol values are still high a year later, and if the particles are the large, fluffy particles or the small particles. I've read that high LDL cholesterol levels are associated with cardiovascular disease risk, but I have also read that high LDL cholesterols are present when fighting inflammation, and inflammation puts a person at increased risk of several diseases, as does insulin resistance.

The sad thing is that, unless I am shown otherwise, insulin resistance does not go away very quickly if it took years to develop. Insulin resistance and inflammation are important hallmarks of Type 2 Diabetes, as well, as they are of dementia and atherosclerotic disease. At the time I took my blood test I had three of five biomarkers for insulin resistance: high glucose, high LDL cholesterol, higher blood pressure. Before I went on the very low-carb ketogenic diet I had four biomarkers.

I'll stay on low-carb, but I might use more monounsaturated fats like avocado oil, peanut oil, macadamia oil and flax oil, and take 750mg Vitamin C daily and more Omega-3 caps to bring down my numbers. Exercise may help as well.

I'm sharing this because many people encounter proof of these biomarkers' values in blood test results, and their doctors commonly want to prescribe statins (e.g. Lipitor) for what might no longer be a problem in six months to a year, if the low-carb dieter is conscientious and assiduous in working on glucose, LDL cholesterol, sodium values in the bloodstream, and blood pressure.

A doctor's blog from which I gain inspiration and knowledge every time I visit is Dr. Peter Attia's Eating Academy. Dr. Attia ate his way down 40 lbs, encountering similar cholesterol and glucose responses along the way.