New here and to Low Carb

[jdreams76]

:help: Hey there everyone :) I am going to be starting the low carb next time i hit the grocery store for my big shopping. I have been considering it and i need some help and support. You all seem very helpful here and I have enjoyed reading this forum now for a few weeks. Finally decided to register and say hello. I am having some concerns about low carbing. I know i am going to need to do it here since i am a pcos'er and have seen how low carbing is good for us. But the problem is i am italian and LOVE pasta and i love potatoes!!!! Those are my 2 downfalls. What do you all do when you crave one of those. Another problem is dh and dd do NOT want to do this with me. ~ least not completely since they cannot give up pizza or mac and cheese they said LOL. I just need some genral advice all together. Thank you all :)

[elijaeger]

Welcome, just about everyone on this board has a huge craving for their favorite carb every once in a while. that's how they got fat in the first place.... Mine is french bread covered with butter... drool.

Some people can low carb cyclical diets, say 5 days of low carb and 2 days of high carb. Of course you need to lift weights to make that effective.

[VickySail]

Hi JDreams!

I too am Italian, and ALL family gatherings are food-centric! Pasta, garlic bread, homemade focaccia-style pizza, pastafazul (sp), you name it! If it's carby, it is on the table!

Now, my parents are the only ones who still eat this way, and of course, holidays with the whole family.

But most of the family now has dietary concerns, and the menu has slowly changed over the years. Mom & Dad are actually supporting me, and serve things I can eat when I visit. They continue to start the meal with a bowl of pasta, but no longer insist I do the same thing.

My husband and daughter do NOT eat low carb, and I make them macaroni and cheese myself. I do not want to mess with my weight loss (30 lbs today!) and the stuff has less appeal for me, since the Atkins WOE curbs cravings. I don't NEED the macaroni. I need the eggs. I need the meat, I need the fats.

I make what I need to for my family, and toss something together for myself. Do you know how easy it is to saute some shrimp, butter and garlic together for a nice scampi? Just forget the spaghetti! I nuke some veggies or throw together a salad, and viola! Dinner!

You can do this! Don't let anyone get in your way of your goals. Once you reach maintenance, you can re-introduce whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread, and fruits. You just will sabotage yourself if you try to eat carbs now.

Hope this helps,
Vicky

[nets33]

Welcome!

One thing that has really helped me is that I take one or two nights a week to cook up food. I'll cook up chicken, meat and possibly a crock-pot meal. It makes meal-time very quick and easy. It might help you avoid temptation if you've got your meal ready to go quickly.

My downfall is potato chips.... but I've found that they just don't taste as good as I thought they would. It is tough to avoid those temptations but I know you can do it.

Best of luck,
Kiks

[jdreams76]

Thank you so much for your responses. I am excited to start. I have been reading all the success stories and that is so encouraging!! Vicky i hear ya on the parents.. My dad and grandmother will cook up the biggest carb meal and i see my uncle who low carbs wondering what he is going to eat. Now they add alot of meat to the sauce so that should be helpful for me.

What books do you all suggest or websites to follow a low carb plan. Is it basically stick to 20grams of carbs a day for a month? Or however long? And then move them up slowly. I have a book that goes along with protien power that i just got the other day..

[VickySail]

Hi J,

If you want to go strictly low-carb, Atkins is the leader of the pack. Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (DANDR), is the bible by which the others are measured.

The diets do differ, and people have their own preferences. Check out the forums and see which one you prefer. Please DO get a book, though. If you don't want to make the investment, check them all out at the library, read through the basics, pick one, and lose weight! :D Just make sure to use a plan you can life with for the rest of your life. Too many of us went astray from the low-carb life, and ended up packing it back on because we KNEW carbs made us fat, but for various reasons went off the plan.

Mine had partly to do with pressure from my family, so be aware of this! It's almost unholy to skip lasagna when there's a big steaming tray on the table in front of you. :eek: :eek:

Vicky