Thanks for sharing, Seejay. It's nice to see someone has the same daily limit as me. You are right. I agree that it is "low carb", but I feel calling it "low carb" to someone on Atkins or other very low carb diets brings on comments. Honestly, if I compare my old unrestricted carb eating to my 60 mg per day limit eating it is amazing how low 60 mg net carbs really is. It's enough that I don't feel very restricted, but still, to me, is an effort. I really do still have to cut out most all of the starchy stuff.

I like carrots and parsnips too! I also like regular dairy.

yes, that's how it feels to me too. Not too restrictive but really cutting down compared to what I would reach for naturally, that's for sure.

I don't see any other semi-low carb thread so I'm going to post here. If someone knows of an active thread, please direct me. I have floundered around all of 2016. That brought me back over 200. I am resistant to doing 20 gm of carb Low Carb. I am interested in finding the carb level that brings me to a good weight and good blood sugar readings. Isn't that what Atkins was originally set up to do before some people changed it to zero carb? I'm not criticizing. I know that some people are so carb sensitive that zero carb is the only way. Just not for me.

I started again on the first of January and have lost 7 lbs and dropped my blood sugar about 50 points so far. Some days I have zero carbs. Others I am up as high as 70 gm. I stopped trying to do intermittent fasting as all that did was make me want to eat. I am eating 2-3 small meals per day, and 1-2 snacks with no snacking in between. I used to eat a lot of protein, thinking that I was OK as long as it was low carb. That just didn't work for me. I am still eating vegetables, but just small portions, and it does include a carrot or two, a bite of potato occasionally. I do much better eating these smaller meals than I did trying OMAD or other intermittent fasting. I don't get hungry at all, and I'm no longer tempted to snack because I know that my next meal will be a few hours away. I eat about every 5 hours. I don't crave, because I know I can eat a bite of anything I want if I want to. Knowing that makes me not want to. I know this is a beginners whoosh I'm having and that I will stall eventually. I will reevaluate at that time and see what I need to to. Right now I'm very happy with this plan, and happy with the results, especially the blood sugar.

Hi Carol,

That sounds really nice. Are you diabetic, to be watching your blood sugar?

You sound like me. I too used to eat a lot of protein. And I don't feel good on fasting and not interested in 20g carb.

I tried 2 or 3 meals last year and was getting hungry in between unless I added large amounts of food, which made it hard to lose. I think my body really sends out a lot of insulin after meals.

I have recently switched to (ugh) 4 small meals. I say ugh because I don't like eating frequently or eating small meals. Just annoying.

But my body likes it A LOT. Honestly I think it keeps my insulin surge lower than other methods because the amounts per meal are small. And it lets me get in enough protein without so much that I get the hungry horrors. Also I don't think my metabolism switches to fat very well at the 3-4 hour mark after meals. or something is off, and this addresses it.

It also allows me to comfortably have an overnight fast. I eat at 7, 10:30, 2, and 5:30. Sigh.

about 60-70 protein, 60-70 carb-minus-fiber. Like Lutz or Kwasnewski. I have not been counting fat, just adding as desired for cooking and taste.

Yes, Seajay, I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2008 but was probably already diabetic for a while before that. I have been all over the place with trying different plans, based on what I read others are doing. At diagnosis, I was told that even a healthy large meal will spike blood sugar. I am now eating the amount of food that will keep me from getting hungry before the next meal. I usually eat something small upon waking...maybe an oz of cheese. Breakfast is an egg or two, maybe with some veggies around 9 or 10 AM. Lunch depends on what time I ate breakfast, sometimes a couple slices of deli turkey sometimes nothing. Dinner is sometimes a big grilled chicken salad if we eat out, or a small portion of whatever I cook for DH. Still, just enough to hold me and keep me from feeling hunger. Then a small snack at bedtime, maybe a hard cooked egg or small piece of chicken or other leftover meat. All I care about is that it's working right now and I am able to cut my diabetes meds back to 1/4 dose. I have allowed my blood sugar to run way out of control for a long time.

Are you diabetic? Our eating schedule is similar. We each need to find what works for us personally. Trying what others were doing was just futile for me.

I don't know why my body is suddenly happy with less food. Who am I to question? I hope it continues. I tend to have a verocious appetite and have been known to eat some really big meals. More than my DH. I was shopping in Walmart a couple days ago and noticed I had a lot more energy for walking around the store. A big plus for me, since I have to force exercise.

Funny, gone are the days when we just ate, and everything just fell into place. It's always a game we have to play.

Nope, not diabetic. but insulin resistant I'm pretty sure. Also a historically big appetite.

I don't think I ever just ate, since I was 10. Always watching it for some reason or another. We were poor and sometimes the food was not enough or not nutritious back then. I was also very good at putting on fat from a young age.

I was not exactly a fat child, but not thin, either. I was fleshy, and I think that was hereditary. I started to gain in my 20s but caught it right away. I managed it until I got married, then being in a different eating environment it all caught up with me, and brought diabetes and heart disease along with it.

I also have a huge appetite. I can eat way more than DH. It's only because I have been trying to control it that I am not a lot bigger than I am.

It's nice not to be hungry!

nd of potatoe salad and sauteed cabbage...later one cup 6% plain yogurt with half cup of berries...for dessert, one ounce nuts, one ounce cheese...less than 70 carbs for the day...not sure why i ever left this way of eating because i felt completely satisfied and had no sugar cravings...i hope to God i dont go off the rails like that again! please pray for me folks, those of you who pray and thx...keep posting.

sorry about the above, lost most of a very long post.

Yup, I'm back on plan too and feel much better...and sleep much better. I basically avoid the white processed food and grains, for the most part. When my weight loss stalls, as it always does, I'll throw in a couple of very low-carb days to mix it up. That seems to kick start the loss again. Since I'm 72, weight loss is now and probably always will be ve-e-e-ery slow.
Sharon

I think so too, on the slowness as we age. Course I don't exercise much (still heavy)

I will be 71 on Tuesday, so I'm in the same boat as the slow losers. I'm just happy that I'm no longer gaining. My main interest is to control my blood sugar, and I have to cut carbs pretty low to do that, and keep meals small.

Dottie, I noticed this week that I really do feel so much better when I stay on plan, so I don't know why I stray. I have so much more energy and am just all around happier.

Today I cooked a ham, so I know I will get a bit of fluid retention from it, but fluid retention is just that...fluid, not fat.

I'm a semi-low carber too!

I counted calories when I was at my heaviest ever (202 pounds), but I started out counting carbs - 200 grams per day. I lost weight easily. Then I wanted to get protein because I was lifting and at that point I switched to counting calories and followed what most (not all) bodybuilders do and went moderate low fat. It worked but I've always wondered if I made things harder.

I've been trying Paleo lately but it's very rigid. I want the freedom to eat ice cream or chocolate or a bagel if that's what I want and not have it be cheating. So I'm on 100 grams per day.

Hope you enjoy the forum, it has lot's of useful information and helpful people.
Semi LC can be a bit controversial. Personally I know I would lose weight quicker, better if on really low carb. However I am trying to find a way of eating that can be sustained long term and I know I just wouldn't stick to a tighter regime. I find keeping carbs between 60 and 70 grams is enough to curb needless eating but not too strict for me to binge. Guess we are all different and just need to try and find something that suits us.