What do you consider low carb?

Im insulin resistant and my endocrinologist told me to do low carb.  some people are really hardcore about it and do very little carbs while others just eat better carbs.  what do you consider low carb and have you had success doing it?  also is it necessary to follow a program (i.e. Atkins) strictly, or is doing your own version of low carb just as effective?  by the way im 20 years old, female, 5 foot 4, and 227lbs, just incase anyone needs that info?

no clue, thought i would give you a bump...........

ok i have some personal experience in atkins for one

yes, you are likely to loose weight, but for me personally... very unplesant to stick to forever, and thats what weight loss is, its a permanent fix. but i am using the basics in that for what im doing now cause i did see dramatic results.

im currently doing a low carb sort of thing. staying as far away from refined sugars and carbohydrates. and eats high fiber, reasonable protein, and LOTS of veggies. its a bit early in the game to determine how fast the loss is, but there is lots of room for keeping your appitite satisfied, and im pretty sure ill see a huge overall loss. 

overall... atkins was a huge fad, yes it had a ok idea, but went in the same direction as most diets like that, fast loss, short term result. in addition, it tends to push you towards high cholestral eating which is a seriously negative thing. but eating complex carbs, and high fiber i think has been good so far.

I don't eat any other carbs except for the ones in vegetables... which means I eat no fruit, breads, sugars, etc. My diet is very strict yet there are so many vegetables in the world so my diet has a lot of variety! I love the way I eat and find everything I consume delicious, nutritious and filling. I eat big portions of salmon, grass-fed red meats, chicken & turkey breast, egg whites & whole eggs & then ALL THE VEGGIES IN THE WORLD (except for potatoes, yams, corn, peas, carrots & some squash)... If you need more information on going low carb, feel free to message me. I have been living this way for 7 years and feel amazing, have tons of energy, work out 2 hours daily and am just all around happy with the person I have become in the past 7 years! I would love to help you out because I want everyone to feel as good as I do!!! :) 

giasbash6260,  how do you not eat fruit? that is the one thing that i don't think that i could do. granted, i am still trying to cut down on a lot of things but fruit is kind of my saving grace. when i tried to do high protein low carb, the 2 things that threw me off were staying away from the fruit, due to the sugar, and veggies, because they are carbs (although you eat as much as you want). i am interested in the diet that you do, but i don't know if i could commit to it. what made you do it? was it a huge change in lifestyle or were you pretty much low carb and healthy to begin with? do you ever let yourself cheat. sorry if i am asking so many questions, it just seems like it is pretty strict and that it would take a lot of discipline. i have some but i don't think i have enough. wow.

I eat the way a nutritionist started making me eat, she says it's low carb but it depends on your definition of low carb. She makes you cut out pasta, rice, potatoes, bread... But for breakfast you can only have fruit. Lunch and dinner can consist of raw salads, or cooked vegetables along with different types of beans or chicken or fish. Those are her guidelines, pretty much.

I love eating fruit and I really like this diet, for snacks you can have fruit, sugar free chocolate or nuts. I lost 30 pounds eating like this at first, she later added pasta with vegetable sauce or salad sandwiches for dinner once a week. I feel really good while I eat like this, but lately I haven't had much success losing the excess weight I still have so it isn't flawless, I suppose.

I am also insulin resistant and my doctor has on staff a CNP (certified nurse practioner), but if yours is not as well educated on diet and nutrition you should ask for a referal to see a dietician.  With this referal, go prepared.  Make a list of foods you eat.  Start tracking it now. Not quanities just the types. Include boxed items and remember to take this with you.

My diet as a Type II Diabetic consists of 40-50% Carbs 20-25% Protein and 30% Fat.  You can only get the percentage of carbs right by identify how fast the foods enter into your blood stream.  The glycemic index plays a big role in giving you this information, so you might want to search that out.

My stats are 45 age, 5'3" and 275 lbs.  I have lost 45 lbs in 16 months. Slowly but surely.  I am not as concerned about the total weight loss as I am that I not regain it back. Like my doctor told me, "12-15 lbs a year is what most people gain if they have a weight problem" "So I expect that you can loose that same amount safely with a year also.  It will take time but with me I have so many other medical conditions that hinders the loss this is both feasible and practical for me.  He was surprised and amazed that I lost what I did. But not having the pressure of saying you MUST loose 1 a week doesn't seem as practical and feasible as what my doctor told me.

I hope this has been helpful.  If you would like more information as to what I do, feel free to add me as a friend or initially send me a PM, so I know to add you.

Take care and God Bless.

Original Post by gabita:

I eat the way a nutritionist started making me eat, she says it's low carb but it depends on your definition of low carb. She makes you cut out pasta, rice, potatoes, bread... But for breakfast you can only have fruit. Lunch and dinner can consist of raw salads, or cooked vegetables along with different types of beans or chicken or fish. Those are her guidelines, pretty much.

I love eating fruit and I really like this diet, for snacks you can have fruit, sugar free chocolate or nuts. I lost 30 pounds eating like this at first, she later added pasta with vegetable sauce or salad sandwiches for dinner once a week. I feel really good while I eat like this, but lately I haven't had much success losing the excess weight I still have so it isn't flawless, I suppose.

i think that i could do this! but of course there are always the questions, like what about oatmeal? it's a carb, but not a bread, rice, pasta or potatoe... i might actually try to do this for a bit and see how it works out. i need my fruit!!!

I have ovarian cysts and the only way to keep them from killing me with pain is a low carb diet. I do less than 30g net carbs a day, or 10% total calories.

ive been doing relatively low carb and the weight has been slow but i feel so much better.  what kind of food do you eat spirochete to manage to get only 30 carbs.

30 NET carbs, so I do get more. I eat a lot of veggies and salads, chicken and other meats and cheese. I would die without the Mission low carb wheat tortillas. They have something like 4 net carbs so I can get that eating bread feeling.

It was hard at first and I do have carb binges sometimes, but for the most part once I'm going full swing I have good energy, no cyst problems and my appetite and cravings stay under control with little effort.

I still want beer though :( that's like the worst thing to have and the one thing I struggle with. I've been really good about meeting my friends in bars and just having Diet Cokes or soda water or something though.

thanks spirochete.

I'm gonna agree with spirochete here. The first week goal is normally about 20 carbs or less to get you going and then 30 to 40 after that till you get to your goal. However, be smart and dont buy into the i can eat all the bacon and cheese and baby back ribs i want. The carb diet works even if you do that but if you want to maintain you need to think calories, something i fought for years.

Counted carbs are total carbs minus fiber and suger alcholes.

joe

@spirochete

 

i have a flax bread recipe if you want, it has less than 1 net card depending on the brand of flax you use. make it into a foccassia and its great with tuna and im sure chicken salad. i made some recently and loved it. flax is a little hard to work with, so it make take one or two tries to get the mixture you like down, i use less oil and water so its a dryer bread personally...

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/fla xbasicfoc.htm

i get about 20 net carbs right now so im working on collecting a lot of recipes if you want to trade some with me ^^

Thanks cycypress! I'm so lazy, I eat whatever is there. I eat tons of rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, salads (in a bag of course, all cut up nice for me) and quesadillas made from those low carb tortillas. When I go out, I'll eat grilled meat and double up on veggies. It's actually pretty dang easy to do, it's just getting used to it is all

Original Post by spirochete:

Thanks cycypress! I'm so lazy, I eat whatever is there. I eat tons of rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, salads (in a bag of course, all cut up nice for me) and quesadillas made from those low carb tortillas. When I go out, I'll eat grilled meat and double up on veggies. It's actually pretty dang easy to do, it's just getting used to it is all

i went low carb once befor and lost a lot of weight, but now i dont eat meat, dont like 80% and ive not eaten it in so long it makes me feel sick... so its a bit of a challenge so far getting things in order. but so far ive been veggie eating machine, i eat some fish but its a bit pricey to have every day. most recipes i can tweak cause i know how to improvise out meats.

my biggest delema is my bf likes to eat stuff like ramen, and cookies, and soda, so its challenging for me to overcome that and still spend time with him. but i think after this weekend i know im in control. got to sit around a plate of cookies for two days (6 hours in the room with the dang things)