Hi other UK-dwellers

I am new to low-carbing and was wondering if anyone knew the carb count of curries? I know enough to stay away from the poppadoms and naans, but would chicken tikka massala be a low-carb dish? I have no idea what they put in it except chicken and cream! Does anyone know?

cheers

Karen

Rhymes with "yum yum" in my book...

I'm in Canada but LOVE Indian food and am working on easy lowcarb ways to eat it. I looked up a count for pappadums (without oil, just microwave for 1 minute) and they are appx. 3.5 g carbs per unit. Is that a lot? Just wondering.

I tend to eat 2 with any Indian food that I make.

I just do my veggies and/or chicken or white fish or prawns in a little olive oil, then add the spices and a bit of water to make sauce. I did prawns and fish yesterday in separate skillets, and used the juice from the prawns to make a lovely sauce which I then drained off onto the fish and let that simmer with a little onion, garlic, mushroom and red pepper (previously sauteed in a separate skillet) until the fish soaked up all the flavour. DH wanted rice so I made a little short grain brown and had a tiny bit with the fish, prawns and veggies.

Even without the rice it would be heavenly, but had to have the pappadums!

According to Corrine Netzer's book of food counts:

Patak's curry paste, 2 Tbsp: 4 carbs, 0 fibre
Patak's curry sauce, Madras or vindaloo, 1/2 cup: 17 carbs, 5 fibre
Patak's rogan josh, 1/2 cup: 12 carbs, 4 fibre
Patak's tikka masala, 1/4 cup: 14 carbs, 3 fibre (yikes!)

Of course anything you eat in a restaurant will be their own recipe, so counts will vary accordingly. I make curry at home using the Patak's curry paste, which is quite low in carbs; the premade sauces look a bit high to me, with the exception of the rogan josh.

If you're eating out, tandoori is a pretty good bet, otherwise I guess any curried meat, fish, or chicken is OK once in a while. I find when I eat curry the scales are always up a pound or two the next morning - maybe the salt - so don't be surprised! For me, the extra poundage is always gone the next day or the day after.

Rachel

Hi all UK Low-carbers

I'm from South East UK and happy to have found a local connection.

Started on Atkins Low-carb a month ago, lost 4kg in the first 10 days and then hit a plateau and stayed there since. It could be the papadums or the spices, but its definitely carbs - that I do know.

I was soooooo addicted. What a paradox that was. All my life I've fought against addictions, no alcohol, no smoking, no coffee, even went through a phase of no tea (tanin addiction), vegetarianism. I never knew there was a thing called "Carb addiction". Now I'm past the headache stage it feels good. Only wish I'd get off this plateau.

It's emotional I think. Everytime I am disappointed - and seeing the needle in the same place is disappointing, especially when it is followed by the same measurements too I start craving something sweet. The first time I gave in to double cream (with sweetener) and cornflakes, tried to stop that and found a packet of rice papadams - Ive hidden them from me now and hope to see a little shift of that needle on the scale. Wish me luck.

How are you all doing. It's great reading all the posts.

Dreadful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have hit a plateau already and and haven't lost any yet. I am doing every (well most) thing right, i think. I have got scales that give me out a fat content reading and that is actually coming down. I am trying to tell myself that it is turning to muscle, ha ha.

I really hope it is going to start soon though, as a jacket potato may start to beckon me.

Paula

Hi Paula,

What are you eating?

Why don't you start your own journal in the Journal/Bootcamp section of the forum. Are you eating low-carb bars, nuts, fruit or high-carb vegetables like carrots?

Have you gone through a period of feeling fatigued and then energized? Are you drinking lost of water?

Please post your daily menu so we can give you a hand!

Karen

Hi Karen

Breakfast - Banana + Apple + Water
Lunch - Roast Chicken Salad + Lashings of Mayo + Water
Afternoon - Bottle of water
Dinner - Pan Fried (in butter) Salmon with Stir fried Vegetables
Treat - Banana + Cream

This is just a sample of what i am normally doing with maybe a few changes each day. I know you are probably going to say that i am not eating enough fat, but i find it hard to eat fat without having some form of carb.

I am also on my feet from morning till night in a very physical job of lifting and carrying, then after my five year old has gone to bed i go on my trampoline to get some excercise.

Please help, i will not be offended if you tell me i am doing it totally wrong. I just need to do something before all my will power runs out and i get too disheartened.

Thanks.

Paula

I have just looked at the Low carb diet tool as I've just found it. Holy smoke, I might as well have been eating chocolate for breakfast rather than a banana and apple. I thought I was being really good to myself by eating them. I find it a real struggle to eat fruit. Although if I'm honest it is a real struggle to get enthused about any food at the moment, it just seems that the less carbs I eat the less everything I want to eat which I know is no good in the long run.

Anyway back to the drawing board. I will try and start to post my journals soon so you can all keep an eye on me.

Paula

Well Paula! I miss out on the pleasure of telling you that "you're doing it all wrong" because you figured it out yourself!

In your profile, you say that you are on the Atkins plan, but have you ever read the Atkins book? This is crucial to do if you want to do it right.

The important thing on induction is to eat within the 20 gram per day restriction. Eat protein whenever you're hungry. Have extra-virgin olive oil on your salads and vegetables. If you're only having one bottle of water a day, you need to drink way more.

This way of eating is a life-style change, and no one will tell you that is is easy. But, it does get easier the longer you do it and food will become very enjoyable again. With this way of eating, you're breaking a lifetime of learned eating habits and possibly an addiction to carbohydrates, and that takes a while. What is important, is that you have to be WILLING to change.

When you're "doing it all right", you will have so much energy that standing, lifting, 5 year olds and trampolines will seem like a holiday.

Karen

Don't be discouraged Paula. I'm sorry you were eating wrong, but glad you discovered the mistake early, and glad the tool helped

Wa'il

I gave up bananas and oranges completely (and minimised my intake of bread, beer, potatoes, rice, and pasta) when I entered the Zone at the end of February. I used to have a banana on my cereal in the morning and a peanut butter and banana sandwich almost every day for lunch.

I don't miss them one bit. (I also don't miss the gas and bloating that were normal for me most days.) You will need to supplement your potassium though, or you may start to experience leg cramps. Search for that word on this forum and you'll come up with a lot of useful info.

Now I'll eat olives, cheese, raw almonds, and lower glycemic non-starchy fruits for snacks instead. Whole pink grapefruit, tinned pears or pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (and cherries at the moment) are my favourites.

Not being on Atkins, I do eat more fruit than most folks here, so don't take my journal as any kind of Atkins benchmark (especially not my "weekend treats" sections ).

Karen and Doreen are very valuable resources in that respect. Compared to them I feel positively hedonistic!

I do buy the microwaveable pappadums and I eat a lot of homemade hummus made with real olive oil, lots of garlic and organic tahini... yummmmmmmy! I'm also absolutely addicted to Patak's chili lime pickle... mmmmm, goes with everything. Make my own light curries with saffron, cumin seed and juices from fish or meats.

Good luck with the weight loss, and have fun with the recipes. They're really tasty. You'll never look back.

179/164/150

Hi Karen

I know i say i am on Atkins but the books still haven't arrived so i must admit i am doing it a bit half heartedly, I am picking up more hints everytime I log in though. Have no fear i will be doing it with avengence when it does get here. I suppose I just figured that some of the weight would be coming off at least as I have cut down on my food intake quite a bit. I do drink more water than i put on the list, probably about 2 litres a day but i know that is still not enough.

Mrs Yogi and Tamarian, thanks so much for the encouragement, it does help.

I let you all know if it ever starts to come down.

Paula

Hi Paula,

Low carbing has nothing to do with restriction of food quantity. Initially, the only thing you have to worry about is carb restriction. One of the great things about this WOE is that you can EAT!

Please, please go out immediately and get a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revoluition. When your other book arrives, you can give it someone who wants to know the secret of your success!

Don't get discouraged. You are learning what low-carbing is not, which is just as valuable as learining what it is!

Just read the book and keep on posting.

Karen

Hi Karen

Thanks for all time you are taking to post advice. Your right, I am learning more everyday about the good and the bad things. I do have bounds of energy at the moment and I don't know why because I have been awake for 38 hours due to work commitments. I am just about to go on the trampoline. That is quite amazing, I haven't had energy like this for years. Once I get into a proper routine I definately can see this a change of life style. I think the girls at work are starting to take it on board as well because they are all starting to cut out bread and potatoes, saying they are feeling less bloated in the day. The more it can spread the better for everyone.

As far as the book is concerned, they sais it would take up to 28 days as it is coming from America and it has been about 20 at the moment, so with a bit of luck it will be here SOON! That is why I am reluctant to go out and buy the book again at this stage. Its not as cheap for us as it is for you.

Thanks again.

Paula

Hi Cupiedoll and fello Brits. I have only been on Atkins two months and have lost about 7 lbs. But have lost a lot of fat. Have slowed down a bit now, but I only need to lose another 4lbs to reach my target weight, if I could give up red wine I would have been there ages ago. As for curries I have found that some of the ready made ones at Sainsburys have a low Carb count 6/7 carbs a pack which aint bad, trouble is the other nice bits like onion bargies and meat samosa are very high in carbs especially the rice. Well a bit of chicken tandoori on its own qenches the craving.

Good luck

Martin R