Are special Low carb foods ok on the lchf diet?

[Oldvatr]

The natural lowcarb store bars are between 3 and 5 grams of carbs, lots of coconut and seeds, only sweetened with inulin/fructo-oligo-saccharide, which suits me fine. Highly recommended as a treat 3 or 4 times a week.

I've nothing but admiration for people on the forum who seem to stay at 20-30g carbs, and also eat healthily. However, for me, having never eaten fruit/veg/salad, my version of lowcarb has to incorporate some lowcarb versions of the foods I have always eaten. So, i have the occasional box of microchips with my lump of meat for my evening meal, chicken kiev covered in cheese and bacon, despite knowing the breadcrumbs will spike me a bit etc. I aim for less than 7.7 post-prandial readings, but go over this 2 or 3 times a week. about once a fortnight on average my BG goes up to 11 or 12, if I join in with a family roast dinner or take away, have friends over etc, but reduced portions of the carbs.

My treat most days is 6 or 7 strawberries, loads of splenda and erythritol to sweeten, + double cream, extra thick double cream and clotted cream - about 600-700 calories, but perfect LCHF food.

Everyone has to do it their way. I think the higher my cholesterol is the better (from reading malcolm kendrick + others), and don't believe fruit and veg are an essential part of anyone's diet. I eat loads of nuts now. i couldn't survive without my low carb bready things (+ gives me fibre) and artificial sweeteners (which I know a lot of people feel are unhealthy). However, I'd rather stick to what I'm doing and keep my Hba1c down near 6. If I try to restrict myself more, I know that I will have a major pig-out, which i have so far avoided (apart from a 120g bar of cadburys + daim 2 months ago, which set me back for a day or two!!)

hope this is helpful.

Hi, we meet again on yet another thread. From your other postings I see you are taking active steps to reduce your bgl. Here you say you are happy with an average of 6, which I myself would also be happy with since as you point out it means we do not have to chastise ourselves daily for not meeting target, and if we get a reading in the mid 4's or 5's then we can feel good about it. IMO a relaxed but achievable target is a reasonable goal, so long as it is below the level at which collateral damage can become a problem.

So some days I make diet errors, and pay a price, but not for long. Generally these mistakes are through eating 'processed foods'/ For example, chicken and ham pie when homemade is a breeze, but a shop bought one becomes a disaster. Home made Scotch Eggs = fine, but shop ones are dodgy for me. I am sensitive to MSG so have to avoid gravy pots etc. Some indian curry sauces are ok to use, but some are major culinary minefields. I avoid the special nutrition products since many contain whey which Jason Fung suggests is bad for us. H&B do not have anything that would be suitable, so I would rely instead on supermarket frankenfoods, so I get those for hypo's and driving and feeding my fellow cormorant carboholic family.

 

[bootyful0]

Have you had a look at this thread?
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/vegetarian-vegan-low-carb-recipe-index.61859/
The awesome cake recipes have saved my sanity many times. Particularly the Stracciatella cake.
And if you Google 'Low Carb Mug Cake' you will be overjoyed - they are made in about 2 mins in a microwave, so the phaff is minimal.

I think that with ANY diet, but perhaps especially low carb, we HAVE to make it suit ourselves.
Ordinary 'diets' usually have an end date in mind.
LC is a lifestyle way of eating that many of us intend to follow for life.
- so it takes a different perspective, and sustainability and long term appeal has to be up there in the priorities.

"And if you Google 'Low Carb Mug Cake' you will be overjoyed" I laughed when i read that . Yeap, I am overjoyed. I feel so much better just knowing that Im not quite a failure for wanting to eat something sweet or carby. Its like a relief. I'm not going to go all crazy, but just knowing that I CAN have a little indulgence is the thing thats going to keep my on plan and sane. I have already googled the cake just going to check out the thread. These are exciting times! Thank you

 

[ExD]

I am coeliac too. The gluten free stuff is full of additives and sugar as well as fat, and in addition tastes like cardboard so if you can, I would avoid it. I also get the urge to snack in the evenings and don't really want cheese or cold meats or other sensible things - I want sweetness and I dare say you do too.

 

[chalup]

Something I stumbled on the other day. I had some heavy cream about to expire so I tried making some Dr. Oetkers sugar free chocolate mousse (not sure if you have it in the UK) using the cream instead of milk or water. Well this seemed to be working out just fine and then I thought that cream cheese would be good in there so I chucked about 6 TBSP of spreadable cream cheese into the mixer as well. OH MY I THINK I DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN. I highly recommend this, its easy and LCHF and sweet. Kind of like cheesecake but not.