Sensitivity to Carbs

I believe the lower you go the more sensitive you become to carbs, I'll bump your post up so that other low-carbers will see it and advise.

There are good carbs and not so good carbs but strawberries and raspberries in moderation are good for you.

When you say you have reduced your carbs to 35 or 50, what carbs are you still consuming because it matters.
Fibre is important and if you get the balance wrong the body goes into protective mode think - am I being starved! Of course, calorific content is also important. Do you consume a lot of cows milk as you could be intollerant to lactose.
You also need, in my opinion, a balance of fat in order to loose weight, so cheese in moderation can be good for you - 2oz grated cheese salad with lots of different things, peppers, cucumber, cellery, tomatoe, lettuce, raddish, beetroot, all in moderation. Avoid, root vegetables, like carrot and parsnip - full of sugar - until you have kickstarted your body into weight loss.
I recommend an old book by Evelyn L Fiore called the Low Carbohydrate Diet (use to be known as the Air Force Diet). In the book it explains the value of carbs and fibre.
Here is a link to the book on Amazon - I swear by it
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=low+carbohydrate+diet+evelyn+fiore

Anne

angua said:

I am low carbing, most days I'm around 35 sometimes 50 but judging by my readings, I don't seem to be able to eat much carb per meal to give me a reading of over 7 and tomatoes, raw tinned, or puree (this sort of knocks bolognaise off my eating list ) send it over 8 and I have the same reaction with fruit even straw/raspberries - have any of you found that this supersensitivity reduces or am I going to be stuck with this reaction long term ?

Still have 100lbs to lose- don't know if weight seriously impacts what my body does with carbs

And I know it says ask 'a' question but while I'm here ..... :lol:

If I'm not in ketosis does this mean my body isn't burning fat (if I only eat minimum carbs - what fuel is it using ?) therefore no weight loss unless I restrict calories too ?

Gilly

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Hi Gilly, I am a very low carber with lots of weight to loose. As you restrict your carbohydrate intake you obviously need to increase either your fat or protein intake. If you increase your protein then unfortunately the liver, which has the ability to convert the amino acids that are found in protein into sugar, starts to do it's job. This process is called gluconeogenesis.

The knack seems to be in keeping your protein low and increasing your fat intake instead which does go against everything that has been drummed into us over the years. I was getting frustrated at not staying in Ketosis and eventually took the leap of faith and so far it seems to be working.

To loose weight you need to reduce the calories you eat.

If you cut carbs and replace the calories lost through carb reduction with fat you will not loose weight as you will still be eating the same amount of calories or possibly more depending on the amount of fat you add to your diet.

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/do-calories-matter

Interesting alternative hypothesis to 'calories in less calories out.'

Geoff (and it's NOT Gary Taubes)

librarising said:

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/do-calories-matter

Interesting alternative hypothesis to 'calories in less calories out.'

Geoff (and it's NOT Gary Taubes)

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No hes not Taubes but he is Taubes colleague who shares the same views. I could quote many people who have shown how those views and those of other low carb guru's use bad science and cherry picked research studies to back up their assumptions.

No at the end of the day to loose weight you have to eat fewer calories, there is no other way, if someone is looking to loose weight they will never loose it successfully unless they reduce the calories they eat and the best way for an overweight diabetic to loose weight and control their bg levels has to be to cut down on the carbs they eat but not to increase the fat they eat. If they increase their fat intake and end up eating the same amount of calories or more then they will not loose weight.

angua said:

gosh talk about disheartened - might just as well go back to low fat low sugar high carb (SW green days) and ask the doctor for metformin :?

I do seem to eat more protein than fat - but I was under the impression that with atkins all protein in whatever quantity was okay - as far as carbs go I'm getting almost all from veg, no toms, no beet, no carrots

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Don't be disheartened. Atkins tells you not to count calories, so don't! Eat protein, but increase your healthy fats - cheese, cream, butter and eat the fat on meat, choose marbled cuts rather than lean. The extra fat will satiate you for longer than carbs, so you don't eat as much. My diet is based on Atkins but I don't eat wheat, grains or milk either, so in between Atkins and Paleo. However I did Atkins and the weight fell off me. Keep your carb level low, up your fats (if you up your fats while eating carbs, your will store fat not lose it). Eat until you are comfortably full, and if you feel the need to snack, have no added sugar jellies with some cream, or a small handful of nuts. The weight will shift.

I am no longer counting calories, but I am still losing weight.

I count carbs and, whilst I dont eat additional fat, I eat the fat on my meat, butter on my veg, full fat cheese, semi-skimmed milk (cos i dont like full-fat) olive oil and/or mayo (full fat mayo) on my salads, and lots of eggs.

catza said:

angua said:

I am low carbing, most days I'm around 35 sometimes 50 but judging by my readings, I don't seem to be able to eat much carb per meal to give me a reading of over 7 and tomatoes, raw tinned, or puree (this sort of knocks bolognaise off my eating list ) send it over 8 and I have the same reaction with fruit even straw/raspberries - have any of you found that this supersensitivity reduces or am I going to be stuck with this reaction long term ?

Still have 100lbs to lose- don't know if weight seriously impacts what my body does with carbs

And I know it says ask 'a' question but while I'm here ..... :lol:

If I'm not in ketosis does this mean my body isn't burning fat (if I only eat minimum carbs - what fuel is it using ?) therefore no weight loss unless I restrict calories too ?

Gilly

Click to expand...

Hi Gilly, I am a very low carber with lots of weight to loose. As you restrict your carbohydrate intake you obviously need to increase either your fat or protein intake. If you increase your protein then unfortunately the liver, which has the ability to convert the amino acids that are found in protein into sugar, starts to do it's job. This process is called gluconeogenesis.

The knack seems to be in keeping your protein low and increasing your fat intake instead which does go against everything that has been drummed into us over the years. I was getting frustrated at not staying in Ketosis and eventually took the leap of faith and so far it seems to be working.

Click to expand...

I agree 1000% with the advice given to you by Catza. You must provide your body with a fuel source and to remain in Ketosis, fat is far and away the better option. By making your diet low carb high fat, providing your use only healthy fats, butter, cream, olive oil, coconut oil, lard etc you will probably find you cholesterol as well as your weight will drop, mine did, and my cholesterol is now normal, even though I eat (borrowing Borofergie's expression) a "criminal amount" of cream and fats.

As you lower your weight, your sensitivity to carbs should ease up slightly, however, if you're like me, ultra sensitive then you will never be able to eat huge amounts. I did the Newcastle diet, before I did it I had to eat ultra low carb to maintain stable BG. Now post ND I do mainly still eat ultra low carb through choice, but I can move it up a notch and eat low carb <50g (ultra low carb <20g) and still keep control. I rarely if ever eat above 40g a day, but at least I know I can now, after not being able to have any kind of control without staying ultra low.

Please remember though, if you low carb, or ultra low carb and don't give your body a fuel source you could find yourself fainting, passing out, dizzy etc. Forget all your have been indoctrinated to believe, and enjoy all the healthy fats, shove a good glug of cream in your coffee, much nicer than milk, and a ketogenic body will love it!!