Low carb ideas

[Miss90]

Right...
I'm trying to low carb as much as I can but I need meal time ideas! I know it sounds silly but what else makes up a yummy meal besides chicken, salmon and eggs!? Thanks in advance!


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[ConradJ]

Waldorf salad, Greek salad; beef burgers / fish fingers / sausages with small portion of mash potatoes, brocolli and kale; carrot soup, lentil soup, mushroom and veg risotto...

I'm not a low-carb expert, but I suspect it also depends upon how low you want / need to go - I'm cutting my daily intake to no more than 150g, which is extortionate by some people's standards.

Good luck! (Just take it slow - the hunger pangs can be a real nightmare and drove me to yo-yo between high and low carb diets )

 

[Wurst]

I've been low carbing (around 30 g per day) for two years and you have to be creative. The way I do it is to replace the carbohydrate portion of a meal with extra protein , i.e more meat. My favorite low carb meal is fried chicken and bacon (with Worcester sauce) and small side salad.

The low carb section of this forum has thousands of ideas. If you look at my HB1AC results it really makes a difference.

I make cakes , waffles , biscuits from almond flour and add some double cream ,delicious!

Also found low carb jam and chocolate sauce from Waldrons farm (body attack)

Good luck

 

[Wurst]

Waldorf salad, Greek salad; beef burgers / fish fingers / sausages with small portion of mash potatoes, brocolli and kale; carrot soup, lentil soup, mushroom and veg risotto...

Wouldn't class mashed potatoes , carrot soup , lentil soup , fish fingers as low carb. One portion of mashed potatoes is roughly my entire daily intake of carbs :-(

 

[ConradJ]

Wouldn't class mashed potatoes , carrot soup , lentil soup , fish fingers as low carb. One portion of mashed potatoes is roughly my entire daily intake of carbs :-(

I accept your point to some degree, but that does depend upon 'portion' sizes... Fish fingers have around 3g carb per finger, which I consider very low. The other thing to remember is that with zero-very low carb diets, around 50% of the protein you eat will be converted into carbs by your own body, although I concede that - by the results you (very-) low carbers are producing that this approach appears to be hugely better.

As I said in my post, it depends on 'how low you want/need to go': I've cut my carb intake to a maximum of 150g (from around 300 per day), although - once my body is intune with the revised lifestyle - I will look to cut some more from that daily total

I'm taking it slowly, and in progressive stages as I found I couldn't maintain an 'overnight' and drastic change - especially with a toddler and one new born . I'm also very conscious of the metabolic changes that are occuring within me as my body changes it profile (I've gone from a 33" waist to 30" and lost about 4kg in around six months)... I'm also increasing my physical activity at the same time so I can't push it too much all at once.

Anyway, it's good to see another whose achieved great results from a different, less medicalised approach, and that inspires me to continue with what I'm doing.

 

[Auckland Canary]

I think physical exercise also plays a large role in what you consider to be low carb .I try and stay fairly low carb although not religiously) and normally have around 100 to 130g a day. However by most people's standards I am very active. I cycle a minimum of 110 miles a week through commuting and also depending on the weekend I can add another 40 or 50 miles if I go out for a training ride.
I also generally do DIY and gardening at the weekend as well so would class myself as very active.
As a result I have lost about 12kg in weight in the last 2 years (have gone from about 80kg to 68kg and am 5'8) and sometimes struggle to keep my weight up. So any less carbs than that I would begin to struggle not having hypos all the time.
I have also noticed that I am much more sensitive to insulin now with the weight loss. But I certainly feel much more I ncontrol of my diabetes as I seem to have much more control than a few years ago.
Good luck!

 

[Wurst]

I have also noticed that I am much more sensitive to insulin now with the weight loss.

100% agree with this , weight loss = greater insulin sensitivity. Also if you still want to try to improve your insulin sensitivity try some muscle building i.e. weight training. I wasn't over 4.7 mmol all last week.

 

[Spiker]

Full English breakfast without the toast, and with high meat % sausages.

Steak and salad.

Loads of cream and cheese with everything, on everything, over everything.

Leave the fat on the meat and buy the fattest cuts. It's tastier and you will feel fuller, longer.

All the leafy greens you can eat ! And other green veg in moderation.

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[Auckland Canary]

100% agree with this , weight loss = greater insulin sensitivity. Also if you still want to try to improve your insulin sensitivity try some muscle building i.e. weight training. I wasn't over 4.7 mmol all last week.

I don't really want to build muscle though. To be a good long distance cyclist it is important to keep weight off particularly on the upper body. Most road cyclists are skinny as rakes with large thighs.

 

[RosieDred]

I eat a lot of meat, veg and salad. I have spam for breakfast most days. I do manage one piece of wholemeal bread (9.7g) but I think I'll have to give that up soon as I'm spiking quite high.

I eat cauliflower and broccoli pretty much every day. I love cauli/broccoli cheese with sausages or spam. I use cauliflower for mash even on top of shepherds pie. I also love frankfurters. My new favourite meal is frankfurters with cucumber. I cut the cucumber in half lengthways and cut it to the size of a frankfurter. I then scrape out the seeds. Which leaves a dent perfectly shaped and sized to fit a frankfurter lol!

I also eat cheese with everything! And eggs. Eggs are easy to have for breakfast lunch or dinner because you can do so many different things.

It's pretty much normal eating just veg instead of potatoes, bread and pasta.




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[ConradJ]

I eat a lot of meat, veg and salad. I have spam for breakfast most days. I do manage one piece of wholemeal bread (9.7g) but I think I'll have to give that up soon as I'm spiking quite high.

Do you carb count? Is your I:C (insulin to carb) ratio correct? I had a very fulfilling session with my DSN this morning, discussing the pros, cons and issues of low carbing and as we reviewed all my recent results, it became apparent that:

1. My I:C ratio was not looking correct at lunchtime;
2. I needed to remind myself that when eating certain foodstuffs (particularly fatty meals and those with high red-meat content) that I may need to start the bolusing before the meal and/or continue it for some time after owing to the way the carbs and proteins, etc., breakdown.

Just a thought...

You don't want to starve yourself or fall into the diabulimia trap that can sometimes arise with too much focus on one factor of diabetes and not the whole caboodle.

Best wishes.

 

[RosieDred]

Do you carb count? Is your I:C (insulin to carb) ratio correct? I had a very fulfilling session with my DSN this morning, discussing the pros, cons and issues of low carbing and as we reviewed all my recent results, it became apparent that:

1. My I:C ratio was not looking correct at lunchtime;
2. I needed to remind myself that when eating certain foodstuffs (particularly fatty meals and those with high red-meat content) that I may need to start the bolusing before the meal and/or continue it for some time after owing to the way the carbs and proteins, etc., breakdown.

Just a thought...

You don't want to starve yourself or fall into the diabulimia trap that can sometimes arise with too much focus on one factor of diabetes and not the whole caboodle.

Best wishes.

Hi, yes I am carb counting and my ratio is fine because I'm back down after 4 hours. I've been eating the same breakfast every day for a while now and it's been the past 4 or 5 days or so that I've my levels go up by 3 or 4 after 2 hours

I do enjoy my breakfast so I could maybe play around with my ratio and see if it helps. thanks


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[ConradJ]

Hi, yes I am carb counting and my ratio is fine because I'm back down after 4 hours. I've been eating the same breakfast every day for a while now and it's been the past 4 or 5 days or so that I've my levels go up by 3 or 4 after 2 hours

I do enjoy my breakfast so I could maybe play around with my ratio and see if it helps. thanks

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Hi Rosie,

Don't discount other factors:

1. Are you feeling unwell?
2. Is it your 'time of the month'?
3. Have you changed your basal / long-acting dosage or done something that's improved/reduced your insulin sensitivity?
4. Have you been injecting in the same area too much recently without realising it?
5. Are there any other times of day that this is happening?
6. Perhaps you need to try injecting / bolusing a little earlier? It's easy to forget that even the newer analogues still take somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes to get going.

If you're not sure, put it all down in a log book for a few days to see if that helps you establish a clearer picture before rushing in and changing your I:C ratio.

If, after considering other factors, it does appear to be your I:C ratio, do take it slowly and adjust by small amounts, testing and reviewing again for a few days before changing again... it may be something temporary, so if you go off like a rocket and change your I:C, you may subsequently discover yourself going hypo because you've not reacted appropriately. (This was my mistake for more years than I can possibly recall.)

 

[Emma2589]

Carrot and swede is a good substitute for mash potato. I find coleslaw is quite filling with salads and some sort of meat. Also if I want some kind of carbs like a wrap with chicken I tend to get the kids ones/mini ones as they are only about 15g carbs.

Oatcakes are also low-ish carb, popcorn instead of potato crisps etc

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[Miss90]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone!


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[Wurst]

I don't really want to build muscle though. To be a good long distance cyclist it is important to keep weight off particularly on the upper body. Most road cyclists are skinny as rakes with large thighs.

I'm doing the muscle building because cycling has made me so skinny. I commute to work on my bike , around 30 KMs per day in all weathers. Hardly long distance but it really keeps the weight down and blood sugar low.