Tips on low carbing

[Ruthiecbrown]

Hi can anyone give me tips on how they low carb by only counting carbs? Counting calories gets me a bit ocd and then I give up because I have forgotten to weigh (I am very much an intuitive cook not a measure things out cook!). I see lots of people say they only count carbs not calories. Do they mean they count everything but don’t worry about calories or do they mean the only thing they count is stuff with carbs in? I would really appreciate help to sort this out in my brain! Thanks

 

[bulkbiker]

I just removed all "carby" foods from my diet.. Once you've done that then you're probably 3/4 of the way there.
After that I cut out almost all carbs and went mainly carnivore which makes things even simpler.
I still record because I'm a bit of a data nerd and like to work out ratios etc .

 

[Goonergal]

Do they mean they count everything but don’t worry about calories or do they mean the only thing they count is stuff with carbs in?

The latter. Just count the carbs. Set a limit and away you go. Can be hard to get your head around, but it’s that simple!

Similar to @bulkbiker , I started by eliminating all rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and starchy veg. That made things simple as it’s then quite hard to eat a lot of carbs.

The complications come if eating things that are processed or come in a packet, like nuts, as the carbs can add up. A rough rule of thumb would be to stick to things with a carb content of less than 10g/100g unless you’re only having a tiny bit.

So far as is possible, stick to meals and avoid snacks. 3 larger meals and no snacks will be better for your blood glucose/insulin resistance than 3 smaller meals and 2 snacks, for example.

Take a look at the dietdoctor website for some fab information about this. Ignore the paid options you can get all you need - information on carb values of foods, recipes, meals plans (at least some of them) for free.

 

[bulkbiker]

As an addition to @Goonergal s post I'd say that 2 large meals are even better than 3 especially when in a shorter eating window.

 

[KK123]

Hi can anyone give me tips on how they low carb by only counting carbs? Counting calories gets me a bit ocd and then I give up because I have forgotten to weigh (I am very much an intuitive cook not a measure things out cook!). I see lots of people say they only count carbs not calories. Do they mean they count everything but don’t worry about calories or do they mean the only thing they count is stuff with carbs in? I would really appreciate help to sort this out in my brain! Thanks

Most people count the carbs and NOT the calories. I think part of the reason is that zero/very low carb foods are difficult to overeat! Try eating a 1000 calories of pork chop for example or a pound of cheese and doing so would leave you full for days!. Virtually impossible. Whereas it is VERY easy to consume thousands of calories from a big slice of cake or a huge bowl of pasta and be left hungry afterwards so you eat more.

 

[Antje77]

I simply keep an eye on the carbs, and eat no and low carb stuff to satiety. Those foods don't affect my blood glucose (much) so why would I want to know exactly how much I eat?

 

[TriciaWs]

I joined the lowcarbprogram, and I weighed everything at first then entered it into their food diary - that tracked my carbs per meal/snack and per day.
I also brought a meter and tested before and 2 hrs after every meal until I knew which foods were ok and which triggered high peaks - eg for me the same amount of carbs in strawberries lead to higher blood sugars than raspberries (we all vary).

Once I knew how many carbs I could eat at one meal and over a day, and how many carbs in my usual meals I stopped weighing most things although I still measure out the ingredients for my flaxseed/chia breakfast as it's easy for that to creep up.
I measure if I'm having a new food or a new recipe.
I use several of the low carb or keto sites to find recipes, and they usually include the carb count per serving.

I don't count calories, and I eat more fat then I used to so I know my calorie intake is higher than before, but I still lost weight.

 

[Brunneria]

If you want to avoid counting stuff, then there is no rule to say that you have to (providing you aren't on medication that requires carb counting and careful portion control).

I go weeks and months at a time without counting anything. Just remove the carby foods from your diet (bread, rice, potato, cereals, pasta, fruit juices, cakes, biscuits, puds, sugar and sweet fruit) and then see how you get on. And eat enough of the proteins, above-ground-veg and fats to avoid hunger and cravings.

You may need to fine tune things in future, and you may need to read a few food labels til you get the hang of it, but you can low carb very easily, comfortably and deliciously, without having to do anything like that old torture called 'calorie counting'.

 

[Ruthiecbrown]

Thanks for the replies. I am pre diabetic ( having also had gestational diabetes twice). During pregnancy I found low carb really easy as I just avoided all the obvious starches plus anything that sent my blood glucose readings out of range. I am finding it much trickier at the moment as I don’t get many high blood sugar readings so can’t rely so much on testing to help me decide how much of something to eat.
I have read so much about low carb ( many of the posts here numerous times and diet doctor etc) I just want to find something easy so I will look at trying all the tips. Thanks.

 

[LaoDan]

I do my carb counting at the market,
I consider all green leafy veggies and meats carb free. Items like macadamia nuts, avocados, almonds don’t get checked.
I check the drinks, I like unsweetened almond, coconut and walnut milk.
I check the snacks, peanut butter, yogurt etc. if they have added sugar, I skip it.

once I’m home, I don’t worry about it. I’m in a unique situation though, I only need to cook for myself. My wife cooks for the family. I just need to stay out of the cookie jar.

 

[ianf0ster]

I only measure foods that I know (from testing) can have an bad effect on my Blood Glucose. Because to me keeping the BG down is my goal - whether I eat 20gms of carbs per day or 40gms of carbs per day so long as my BG is OK that's fine!
Any particular day could be down at around 20gms of carbs 9or even less) or up around 40gms of carbs it all depends upon what I eat and how much of it.

The only times I'm fairly strict are when I know I've been eating small amounts of things that can hurt my BG (such as tomatoes) - then I will avoid having either berries or some 90% dark chocolate or as many nuts as usual. But if I have only eaten things that I know are OK even in large amounts, then I will allow myself a little more berries , chocolate or nuts.

It's as simple as that.

 

[Beelady]

I only measure foods that I know (from testing) can have an bad effect on my Blood Glucose. Because to me keeping the BG down is my goal - whether I eat 20gms of carbs per day or 40gms of carbs per day so long as my BG is OK that's fine!
Any particular day could be down at around 20gms of carbs 9or even less) or up around 40gms of carbs it all depends upon what I eat and how much of it.

The only times I'm fairly strict are when I know I've been eating small amounts of things that can hurt my BG (such as tomatoes) - then I will avoid having either berries or some 90% dark chocolate or as many nuts as usual. But if I have only eaten things that I know are OK even in large amounts, then I will allow myself a little more berries , chocolate or nuts.

It's as simple as that.

What is TRE, please?

 

[MrsA2]

TRE is time restricted eating, so ,say, only eating between 12 and 6 or 4pm and 8pm,