Getting back to 20g per day

[Itty]

Hi

I reached my goal weight in December 2003. I have been not really watching my carbs since then, wavering between maybe 30 and 100 g per day, and now I have gained 8lbs :(

Any advice on how to return to 20g and not feel so deprived? I think the addition of sauces puts my carbs up 10g per day. I am not really eating much fruit, or even veggies for that matter! I am trying to include veggies in at least one of my meals every day. I am also sick of Bacon and eggs every morning.

Thanks for the ideas

Mary

[sjkling]

mary, i was kind of having the same problem--except for the fact that i hadn't quite made goal! i was slowly creeping up! to make a long story short, i re-did induction for two straight weeks and i did it without s/f treats, nuts or fruit. for me, it seemed to work without being as hard as it was the first time. it refocused me on eating good foods! again, i was never hungry, just had to make sure those old habits of over eating and over "snacking" were back under control. i think it's all part of learning how to eat this way for life! good luck to you!

[Itty]

Hm, give up nuts, eh? I keep thinking I can do re-induction, ... I guess I just need to get to it. For some reason, I seem to have forgotten how to do it! I will have to ask my friend (she's Somersizing) to bring back my DANDR, so I can re-examine induction.

Thanks
Mary

[Kathy54]

Quote" I am not really eating much fruit, or even veggies" Un Quote


Well that is too bad, cause if you followed OWL and then maintainace you really should be eating both of them.

So I'm wondering what is it you are eating to get up to 100 carbs?

I don't mean to sound to foward, but it sounds like you are not really following the plan any longer??

Most of your carbs should come from veggies and fruit at this point.

I eat 3 servings of fruit a day and as for veggies, I really don't even count them any more, I eat lots of them :)
And the only time I see my weight go up a bit is when I have anything with sugar.

I don't know that you need to go back to Induction, maybe just truely review what you are eating and dump what you know you should not be.
Just my 2 cents :)
Kathy

[Itty]

Thanks Kathy

Yeah, I know I have LEPT offf the diet plan. My carbs tend to come from... prepare yourself!... toast. LOOOOOVE toast. Must stop eating toast...!

I think part of the problem, as well, is the lack of fresh fruit and veggies this time of year. All winter I have been eating more frozen veggies than i have in my entire life, and even a salad every day, at least once. I don't know how it is at Van Island, but when one can't really eat apples and bananas, there just isn't tasty fruit to eat. I actually eat some M&M Meat Shops frozen berry mix, but that can trigger carb cravings for me.

I suppose I have the spring and summer, and fresh fruit and veggies, to look forward to.

Thanks
Mary

[Kathy54]

Well once your back on track with the maintainance, you could be eating :

1/2 an apple
1/2 orange
1/2 gratefruit
1/3 of a banana
kiwi
1/2 pear
Any berries you can get :)
Melons are one of the first fruits on OWL after berries.

All of these are easily available in the winter time :)

Bacon and eggs every morning?? Why??

Again the OWL and maintenance allows so much more, go to the breakfast threads here.

Just some samples of what I eat for breakfast:
>cottage cheese and berries/slice of lc bread.
>toasted ham/cheese/ tomato sandwich (lc bread)
>Porridge made of ground flax, oats, wheat germ.
> Mushroom/cheese Omlette
I have one serving of fruit with my breakfast each day:)

Cheers Kathy

[Itty]

Thanks Kathy

I don't do too well with the LC breads. They are tolerable if I toast them, but I would rather do without.

Oh, I have variations of eggs for breaky, like devilled eggs, omeletes, yummy crustless quiche, and the like.

Yeah, maybe in the summer I will have more smoothies, like the Lc berry and tofu smoothie in DANDR. How does one eat just 1/3 of a banana? At least they're cheap enough for me to toss the rest (unless I feed it to the roomie!)

Thx
Mary

[Kathy54]

<<<< unless I feed it to the roomie!)>>>>
Sure why not :)
In my home all I have to do is leave something on the counter, turn around and it's gone!
As for bread have you ever had Silver Hills ? It 's not LC but is natually L.C. :) about 11 carbs a slice, it is all whole grain organic , It's great! and on OWL or Mant, it;
's fine. So you must of been eating regular toast then? If so, that would sure explain the 8 pounds, right?
Cheers kathy

[red1cutie]

I really miss bananas. Think I'll try the 1/3 in a shake with coconut milk.

red

[Itty]

Hi again!

Well, this weekend I managed to get to 35 g carbs on Saturday, then about 30 g on Sunday, and about 20-25 yesterday. At least I figured out what some of the problems are, which is why I am posting this here and not in a journal!!! :)

I drink too much coffee. I have switched to a half-caffeine, because I don't need the agitation. Now I drink three to five cups a day, which means 10 CARBS!!!! No wonder I couldn't get down!!!

I've mostly cut out nuts again :(, but I am doing okay with the veggie department. I take a vit C tab every day, but I need more fruit. No fruit until I am done Re-Induction, though!

Thanks all for your input and support! I will weigh myself around May 1 and May 8 (time of the month happens that week, usually 3 lbs heavier), and we'll see if I caqn regain that girly figure!! :lol:

Mary

[Isa]

Hey Itty...we're in the same boat. I had reached goal last October, and then I let the pounds creep back after the Christmas holidays. For me it was a bite of this and a taste of that, too much coffee, not enough exercise. Well, I'm back on Induction (this is day four) and I'm back to my exercise routine. I've dropped one pound so far. The good news is that I learned from this experience. I had never been on a diet before. I didn't know how to switch from losing to maintaining. Yes, yes, I read the book. But getting my mind around it is an entirely different thing.

Anyway, we can all help each other through this re-Induction phase.

Good luck!

Isa

[galatia]

I thought coffee only had about 1 carb per cup.....is that wrong?

[Itty]

Hi

Coffee black has no carbs. Splenda has .5 g and cream has the rest. I think it's when one overinduges in coffee (I've had three already today) that the carb count creeps in when you least expect it!!

I had about 25-30 g carbs yesterday, but couldn't stop pigging out on peanuts!! I crave salty things like there's no tomorrow!!!

M

[osuzana]

Black Coffee has 0.7 grams for a 6 oz. cup

[Kaillean]

The USDA is now in fact saying that coffee has no carbs. There is a thread about it -- with confirmation from USDA -- at www.lowcarbfriends.com (http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/). I think it's fallen off, so you will probably have to search.

Nonetheless, it can lower blood sugar in some people, according to research. Other people are find with coffee. Thank God I am one of them.

[Itty]

Hi again!

I have figured out some problems:

I drink too much coffee. Good for me...! (Working on that, or staying satisfied with 30g carbs in a day)

NUTS! I eat alot of salty nuts, and that caused me to put on some weight. When I cut them out for four days, I lost four pounds (water weight).

I am at...*goes to weight herself*...136 today, and that is after last night's nut binge!

Any other suggestions out there?

M

[Kristine]

Hi Itty. :wave:

I'm guilty of coffee overindulgence, too, but I don't worry about it as long as I'm watching the amount of CREAM that goes into it. I think that's where you can get into trouble. How many calories worth of cream are you putting into it? You might want to switch to half-and-half. Yes, it's a tad more carbohydrate, but IMHO, at this stage of the game, calories are not freebies anymore like they were when you started out at 169. There *is* a metabolic advantage, but there's also a point at which you're eating enough calories that your body doesn't need to burn the body fat.

For the same reason, I'd suggest that you watch the nuts and cheese, too. You don't have to cut it out completely, but watch the portions.

[Kaillean]

I agree. The closer you are to goal, the more important portion sizes become.

I had to cut down my cream to 2 oz day from 4 oz. (So sad!) But having this in my daily espresso is my main treat. I use light cream now (18% I think) to save a few calories.

I also watch other calorie packed foods like nuts, cheese, chicken wings, etc and either watch portion sizes (e.g. 1 oz nuts) or only eat them once in a while (chicken wings) and not everyday.

All that said, I have increased my exercise lately, and that has enabled me to expand my eating a bit. I still keep an eye on calories, but am finding adding in additional fruit and a bit higher carbs is not causing me any problems. And if I have a couple of higher calorie days, it doesn't seem to have any effect on the scale.

[Itty]

I use half and half most of the time, but my coffee cup is more like a coffee pot! It is probably two cups, or one and a bit of a coffee mug!

I've noticed the last few days that I am having trouble drinking more than one "cup" of coffee. I get grossed out by coffee about twice a year.

I also have to stop eating so many nuts.

I have stocked the fridge with cut veggies yesterday. I will try to pig out on them now, instead of nuts. Now, to convince my roomie to get her damn choc covered almonds out of the house!

M

[Sona]

Has anyone tried using Keto milk (the kind that is bought off the shelf and doesn't need refrigeration till it's opened) instead of cream? One full cup has got a decent amount of fat for creaminess (8 grams) and only 1 gram carb--which means 3 tablespoons (a good amount for coffee) has only 22.5 calories, 1.5 grams fat, and only .188 gram carbs (that's point one eight eight gram).

It's a thought, anyway.... :)

Best, Sona

[Itty]

I haven't seen the Keto milk, but then I haven't been looking in the aisles for milk... :)

M