Looking for low-carbers in Germany - German and English speaking OK

[amandawood]

Hi there people from everywhere!

Looking for low-carbers in Germany. I speak German and English, so you can mail me in either language.

I'm British but have lived in Germany for nearly 20 years. I have been married to my German husband (he's an English high-school teacher) for 11 years and have 2 kids. I teach English part-time and am a qualified translator.

Discoverd the low-carb WOL in May and feel a bit lonely in Germany because it's just not caught on here. Atkins is regarded as totally weird and I have trouble "outing" myself as a low-carber. Which is part of the reason I find it difficult to stick to the low-carb stuff when out visiting people or socializing in general...

Anyway, it would be nice to contact a few people in Germany for a bit of morale-boosting and social support. I don't have trouble with buying low-carb foods or anything, it's the feeling of being regarded as a complete weirdo that gets me!

Hope to hear from you soon!

amanda wood

[petrag]

Hi Amanda, I know what you are talking about. My name is Petra, I am German but live in the States since four years now. I tried Atkins years back in Germany and it was close to impossible to keep it up. I hope you will find some fellow carbers in Germany. Sorry I can't be any help to you.
Hab' ein schoenes Wochenende :wave:

[amandawood]

Well, thanks for posting that! Hope you're sticking to your low-carb plan in the States. In the meantime I'm finding it somewhat easier to do the low-carb thing - I just say I avoid eating too many carbohydrate foods, rather than make a big deal about eating high-fat and high-protein foods. Most people can understand it if you don't want to eat loads of cake and if I have an extra helping of vegetables instead of rice or potatoes, that doesn't cause too much consternation either.
But I must admit that I succumbed to a particularly German temptation recently - Christstollen mit Marzipanfüllung - and promptly had another extra kilo on the scales. I'm now trying to walk past all those Christmas goodies without putting them in my shopping cart and trying to get that kilo off again...
amanda wood

[petrag]

Well, thanks for posting that! Hope you're sticking to your low-carb plan in the States. In the meantime I'm finding it somewhat easier to do the low-carb thing - I just say I avoid eating too many carbohydrate foods, rather than make a big deal about eating high-fat and high-protein foods. Most people can understand it if you don't want to eat loads of cake and if I have an extra helping of vegetables instead of rice or potatoes, that doesn't cause too much consternation either.
But I must admit that I succumbed to a particularly German temptation recently - Christstollen mit Marzipanfüllung - and promptly had another extra kilo on the scales. I'm now trying to walk past all those Christmas goodies without putting them in my shopping cart and trying to get that kilo off again...
amanda wood
Ohh...Christstollen mit Marzipanfuellung, Spekulatius, Gluehwein....This would be a time of big temptations for me. Luckily I don't have to deal with that :)
I am happy for you that you find it a little easier now. I was very young when I tried Atkins for the first time and easy to influence. My family here is really "health oriented" in a low fat way, so I just told them I cut out sugar and white starches and nobody has a problem with that and I don't have to justify myself. Makes life easier. Did you go to a Weihnachtsmarkt yet ? I really miss those.Where in Germany do you live ? I am from Trier. Anyway, thank you for you response and have a wonderful weekend.

[Ciske]

Hi Amanda,

I do not come from germany, but I can relate to your story. I come from Holland, same situation around here. When I out myself as a low carber, I notice people don't understand this. They say it is unhealty and yada yada yada. Oh and these Christstollen mit Marzipanfüllung............. We have them too ;)

Good luck!!!

[Sandollar]

I just spent my very first "low-carb" Advent.

We lit candles...drank coffee and herbal tea....I made a plate with "aufschnitt" (sp.) and cheese and pickles...(lots of schinkenspeck. YUM!)...fried eggplant...cucumber rounds topped with cream cheese and lox and smoked tuna...veggies and dip...my homemade SF truffles rolled in coconut...SF orange mousse cake with an almond-butter crust....

Did I miss the Niederegger marzipan, speculaas or Lindor balls?? NOPE!!

I sat and ate for 9 HOURS...we had such a good time...I've lost my voice for talking!

See? Even us 'Krauts can manage a low-carb Christmas!! I have faith in you...YOU CAN DO IT!!

My next Christmas project is going to be a low-carb trifle....

[smurf]

hi,
i sympathize... however, i initially did Atkins in Germany and was very successful.. i guess because i did a "pure" form. No temptations of atkins bars, mixes, lo carb products..at the time i was frustrated and many times i cursed the fact that it was hard, but i really found some great stuffs... I found sugar free syrups, sugar free rot kohl, and even sugar free jelly powder at the british shop... however, i did give in to lebkuchen :o)

[AnyaEUR]

hello,
I'm new to this forum but not so new to the low carb idea. I've been looking for other low-carbers in the Rhein-Main area for quite a while but obviosly there aren't many.
Anybody out there from (around) Frankfurt?
Please contact me.

[amandawood]

I'm afraid I'm not quite in your neck of the woods - I live near Stuttgart, but welcome to the forum! I have seen a post from somebody living in Bavaria, but there don't seem to be that many Germany-based people on here.

But seeing as we're all floating around in the internet ether, it doesn't really matter! I've had some really helpful tips, advice and ideas from this forum and the best thing is that the distance between you and the rest of the forum members isn't usually relevant.

Good luck with your weight-loss project! I'm doing well on my LC plan, but am currently suffering a little due to a tummy bug - "Schwarztee mit Zucker und Zwieback" are on the menu right now... Not exactly low-carb, but it's the only thing that works for me with this kind of problem...

Hope you enjoy the forum - it's really worth having a good luck around - the articles posted in the LC media watch section are reallly interesting and I have learnt so much through reading the various posts and articles I've seen here.

All the best

amanda