Winnie53
BANNED
I'm three months new to this myself. Looking back, the goal initially for me was to stop eating all sugar, all cooking oils with polyunsaturated fats (PUFA), all grains, essentially all processed foods, beans, starchy root vegetables, and fruit. My hope is to add back some fruit, but not able to do so yet.
That left meat, bacon
, fowl, fish, and seafood, nuts and seeds (but not oiled; raw or dry roasted only), cheese, cream cheese, cream, butter, full fat, unsweetened, greek yogurt - (FAGE is a good brand) - eggs, olive oil, avocado oil, some nut oils - (read the labels for unwanted PUFA and Omega 6 content) - coconut oil, palm oil, fat from meat, avocado, leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, and berries, but for me in very limited amounts, oh and 70% cocoa dark chocolate. Oh and dry red or white wine too. No beer but some spirits are okay. In the beginning, I pan fried meat, sometimes vegetables too in butter. Steaming, broiling, and baking are good options too. As is using a slow cooker. If eating out, I just get a burger, no bun, with steamed vegetables with butter or a side of salad with a oil and vinegar dressing. Some pre-packaged salads are good too, but the dressing is often loaded with unwanted sugar or PUFA oil.
Soup made with a base of store bought broth is always a treat and can be enjoyed over a period of days. When I want something simple, I roll deli meat and a slice of cheese around a long slice of dill pickle and have a side of a steamed vegetables, or side of soup or salad. Eggs hard boiled and stored in the fridge are fast and easy.
I bought a variety of raw nuts within days of starting the diet, but only allow myself 1 ounce, sometime 2 a day. I have a similar rule about cheese, but typically I eat 2 ounces of cheese a day.
For salads, I switched from store bought dressings to a simple vinaigrette of 2 parts olive oil and 1 part red wine vinegar, shaken well and poured. 3 tablespoons was about right. I buy pre-washed mixed leafy greens and add things from the fridge, typically mushrooms, red and green pepper, and red cabbage.
Goals are...
Drink a lot of water throughout the day. I had coffee and tea too, but generally would have one cup of water before enjoying a cup of coffee or tea. I mostly drink water and have a cup of green tea between meals, and chamomile tea after dinner. Herbal teas are fine anytime. Don't allow yourself to get dehydrated like Dr. Eades did on LCHF - (scroll down to the subheading, "Hydration"; I really appreciate him sharing his story)... http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...ks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/
To include a carb, fat, and protein with every meal, and one, two, or all three for snacks between meals.
A cup of hot broth or water with salt added daily. (Craving a salty processed food? You're actually craving salt.
)If I did it over again, next time, I'd take 99 mg potassium in the morning and 150 mg magnesium with each meal, for a total of 450 mg a day because I had so much difficulty with muscle cramps, sometimes headaches. That's what I'm now doing. Makes life simpler. I also believe strongly in the value of taking a high quality, absorbable vitamin and mineral supplement daily, but that's just me.
I also made an additional goal of having a minimum one vegetable with every meal. Doing so eliminated the problem of constipation. I also try to eat a variety of vegetables throughout the week, all the colors, though I have to limit the yellow and orange colors more than the others.
Something else I learned is the importance of buying grass fed meat and butter, pastured chicken and eggs, and organic. It's healthier but takes time to figure out where to buy it.
The hardest part of it for me was figuring out how to get enough calories, from fat, not easy at first, and to not over serve myself protein - (excessive protein converts to unwanted glucose).
Find the cheapest blood glucose strips available, then buy the meter for it. Ask around. Initially, strips cost me 88 cents, then 68 cents online, now only 20 cents. Test as often as you want. I now test when I wake up and two hours after each meal. I track my progress too. This will help you understand what foods and food combinations you're able to tolerate. Always test each food 2 to 3 times.before eliminating or limiting it (that is, if it pushes your blood glucose up too much). This is what is meant by "eat to your meter".
http://www.dietdoctor.com/ is a good website. I'll let others add whatever I left out, and correct me if I got anything wrong, or part wrong.
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