Weight loss

I think that differs from one person to the other.. I had to count calories as well, went 1000 calories a day the first 6 month, now when I have been eating much more fat, I have actually begun gaining weight rather rapidly , so have gone lower in fats again.. so now moderate carbs and middle high levels of fats and proteins around 80-120 grams a day..

weetabix ? isn´t that pure carbs or high carb food ?

the most easy way to go low carb is to eat a breakfast that contains no carbs or hardly any carbs , like bacon and eggs , ham and cheese (no bread / or a LIDL protein roll ) avocado and taco sauce , omelet with mushrooms or fried tomatoes and alike walnuts with cheese and cucumber

I lost a lot of weight when I started a low carb diet. I counted all the carbs of course, and I also counted calories. For me that was 1200 calories a day. I weighed or measured most of my food and kept a detailed food diary of all the nutrients - carbs, fibre, protein and fat, plus calories. It was hard work doing this, but the effort paid off. I no longer need to lose weight, and have maintained my new weight for nearly 3 years. I no longer count anything at all.

You asked the question about Weetabix on your other thread. It is extremely high in carbs, and also the milk you pour over it. I suggested a few alternative breakfasts for you.

Today I have had:
Coffee and cream for breakfast.
Mid morning tea.
Small tin of red salmon, cherry toms, real mayo, sprinkled with flaxseed, half a toasted Lidl roll with butter, tea.
Mid afternoon tea.

Tonight it will be meat and veggies.

Basically, any cereals will be high carbs. I'm veggie on a wheat and dairy free diet. My breakfast is more limiting than those who eat meat/fish. Today I had 2x boiled eggs (hard) approx. 1g carbs or less. Some peanut butter on a wholegrain rice cake. Peanut butter is high fat but on very low carb diet you need the fats for energy. Brown rice cakes 6.3g carbs (from Tesco)
I usually drink camomile tea, I find it aids and calms my stomach, I don't use milk in it.
For lunch I had veggie bacon (2x =1.4g carbs on 1x slice of gluten free bread (Genius from Tesco) =10.2g per slice
Later for tea I will have a mushroom omelette and some salad which will come to about 10g carbs total
I also drink atleast 2l of still water everyday
Hope this explains a little bit

Oatcakes are good too - (particularly if you want a savoury nibble). Just watch how many carbs - they can vary quite a bit.

Loukay1 said:

Sorry probably a really simple question, but if changing diet to a low/no carbohydrate diet like diet doctor, do you count calories at the same time for weight loss or is it more like following a slimming world diet?
Also, would anyone mind sharing what a typical days diet is for them?
Would weetabix & milk for breakfast be a really bad idea?
Thanks in advance

Click to expand...

Hi @Loukay, I don't know much about slimming world diet, but I can tell you following low carb, moderate protein, and moderate fat (avocados, and fat from the protein) works for me. This helps keep my bs in a normal range, and my insulin intake low. My bs levels were all over when I was first diagnosed, and I couldn't figure out why. I was eating what I always ate, organic beans (black bean burgers, lots of humus that I made from scratch) brown rice, gluten free rice flower, etc, plus lots of juiced veggies. I thought and believed that I was eating correctly, yet bs would rise between 120-200. Feeling totally defeated (and barely eating), plus terrified of my meter, I started researching diets. Accidentally I stumbled on LCHF diet, and I was able to control bs for the first time.

I found I loved the fat part a little to much, and I was gaining weight. That is when I cut back on my tasty fat treats and weight went back to normal. My husband has lost a little over 10 lbs following my diet in 3 months while eating his bacon. He is thrilled after years of not having bacon (do to me).

I don't eat breakfast, never have, just coffee and cream. Lunch is usually small; sardines, anchovies, salami, or hard-boiled egg, usually on a bed of spinach. Dinner follows the same pattern. I bake with ground flax seed and cream cheese all kinds of delicious treats, as almond flower is crazy expensive. I even use flax in my meatballs, and made flax-chocolate chip cookies. No sugar, and using Lily's sugar free dark chocolate.

It takes time, and you will figure out what works best for you. There are many success stories here, and lots of helpful information.

Hi @Loukay1

Initially I didn't look at any nutrients other than carbs and managed to start losing weight - albeit slowly. Have now started tracking calories as well as protein and fat.

My typical days food goes something like this:

- Mug of tea with cream and a glass of water on waking
- No breakfast (when I was eating breakfast it was eggs, crustless quiche or cold meat)
- Lunch will be some kind of protein with salad or veggies (or quite often I skip lunch too)
- Dinner something like bolognese sauce on courgetti or fish fried in butter with veggies or meat/veggies

There is a great thread in the low carb forum called 'what have you eaten today' which might give you some ideas:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/page-513

I couldn't control my bs or weight while eating carbs. I don't count calories but I have tracked them and meals are pretty much the same for me so I estimate about 1000 calories not including my evening cocktail. I prefer a few small fat rich meals and a few nut snacks rather than larger meals. This helps my bs too

A typical day for me is
8 am -1/3 avocado bf either with a turkey meatball crumbled, pumpkin seeds sprinkled or some chopped celery pieces.

Lunch is another 1/3 avacado with various proteins. I split lunch at noon and 3

Happy hour wine and an ounce of cheese ( 5pm)

Dinner is the last of the avocado, some protein and salad greens. (6:30-7h

I use mayo, olive oil on proteins and veggies but just a drizzle.

Snacks are a few macadamia nuts / pecans/ roasted pumpkin seeds. Olives or raw vlc veg.

I eat less than 20c per day and mostly in avocado and nuts.

I am type one so it might be better for you to not eat as often as I do. I need an insulin dose every 2.5-3 hours so this works for me.

If you do lc be aware protein can turn to bs via gluconeogenisis so some need to keep that moderate.

Though my diet is low carb, moderate fat and moderate protein it's still an 80% fat diet. 15% protein and 5% carbs. This works great for my weight and bs.

If it was me I wouldn't count the calories as carbs are the main cause of weight gain - not fats. As you are keeping to a low-carb diet I would just have enough proteins and fats to keep feeling full and hopefully watch the weight gradually drop. Too much store is placed on calorie counting as the body doesn't use food in the same way a lab burns food to measure calories.

Nicksu said:

Oatcakes are good too - (particularly if you want a savoury nibble). Just watch how many carbs - they can vary quite a bit.

Click to expand...

Which brands do you recommend and what % carbs are they?

Most people find that once they remove most carbs that their body will not let them eat too much protein or fat, so first try removing the carbs and just listening to your body and only eating when you need to, not when you think you should due to the time of day.

If I am doing one meal a day I would have black fresh brew coffee, countless herbal teas. The meal would have broccoli, red bell peppers, green beans, carrots (test if you are ok with these), a meat or fish protein, leeks, beetroot, garlic.

A 2 meal day would be breaking my fast at circa 16 hours with pecans, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews (not too many as they are higher carb), macadamias and almonds with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, black / red currents topped with 2 scoops of full fat Greek yogurt, sprinkled with flax and pumpkin seeds. Dinner at between 16;00 - 17;30 would be the above.

Mark_1 said:

Which brands do you recommend and what % carbs are they?

Click to expand...

I find the Nairns ones are good - the thin ones are about 4.3g an oatcake and when I have the munchies I tend to have one or two - nice and savoury. I also like walnuts as a nibble (good for insulin resistance apparently). Also when frying I baste the meat in walnut oil (always do this to the meat before you put it in the frying pan or griddle)