interesting concept of low carb...

[Barnrat]

I have a dear friend in whom I confided about my new low carb WOE. She was very happy, and told me that she has always eaten a low carb diet and she feels much better on it. I was surprised because she has never read a single book on the subject, has never followed a plan of any kind, and has never counted her carbs, (never even looks at a label). Today she had an omelet for breakfast, which is fine. She uses Pam, though, instead of butter. And she had toast. For dinner she is having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. During the week she typically skips breakfast and has 2 yogurts (yoplait with fruit, some of them low fat) for lunch, then some kind of protein for dinner. No veggies hardly ever. This doesn't seem like a healthy plan to me, but I don't say anything because I know it will go nowhere.

And I can hardly talk; I was doing low fat/high carb eating for years. She thinks I'm a bit fanatical about following a plan. We were both invited to a dinner at a friend's house where the menu is ravioli, bread, salad, and something sweet, and when I talked with her about not being able to eat anything but the salad, she told me to go ahead and "eat a little; it won't hurt!"

Anyway, just kevetching!

Karen

[Arcita]

i don't see why her eating is unhealthy. i don't think you need to worry about her.

[corsair915]

One of the key words on your friend's response is "a little". After going on to maintenance (Protein Power Life Plan) I wanted to increase my variety of foods without drastically increasing my total daily carb intake. Once I was able to learn what 10-15 grams of carbs "looked like" I was able to manage better in these social situations without being impolite or totally blowing it. As a little kid I always "picked at my food" and somehow fooled Mom & Dad into thinking I had eaten something that I didn't really want to eat. Who would have thought that would become a useful life skill now that I'm an adult?

Of course, you need to know yourself well enough to know if you're fooling around with a trigger food. Don't do that! You're better off going to play catch with a jar of nitroglycerine.

[*Jenn*]

I know someone who put protein powder in their morning jug (approx. 20 ounces) of orange juice when she did "Atkins."

[Barnrat]

Arcita, I'm not worried about her, and don't necessarily think what she is doing is unhealthy, but I don't think it's low carb either. She is trying to lose weight, and is not close to goal. I worried about her when she wasn't eating at all, and taking no vitamins, but that phase passed after a few weeks.

Corsair, that's my thinking, too. Once I get closer to goal and start adding carbs back in, then absolutely learning how to eat "a little" is critical to my long term success. But I'm no where near that stage right now; I'm still eating a plan that resembles Atkins Induction. To her credit, when I told her that I couldn't do that yet, she oh, ok, and didn't push it at all.

[Ilikemice]

Heh. Maybe she doesn't quite understand what carbs are. It's not that uncommon. Maybe she thinks carb=table sugar?

[zeph317]

for some of us, me especially, having 'a little' wheat is a terrible thing. if i ate a pb&j sandwich, yikes! i can handle peanut butter on a spoon once in a while but the bread and jelly, no way. she obviously has no idea what low carb is and i bet, like ilikemice said, she thinks carbs are just sugars and doesn't realize the bread is sugar too. stick to your plan and i'm glad she's not pushing anything on you!

[gwynne2]

Had a conversation with a coworker today who was wondering why they felt bad when they tried lowcarb at some point (read: trying to prove to me that lowcarb must not be right for everyone since they felt bad/had no energy).

Turns out they were trying to do lowfat at the same time.

i don't see why her eating is unhealthy. i don't think you need to worry about her.

Well, this is a lowcarb forum, so there are probably many folks here (me among them) who feel that PBJ sandwiches (presumably with full sugar jelly/white bread), toast and lowfat (i.e., high-sugar) commercial yogurts are unhealthy. At the very least, it's not really possible to describe them as lowcarb unless one is using some different 'modified/my own' plan and making up definitions to fit.

[corsair915]

Oh boy, low carb and low fat together is a REAL challenge. Certainly it's not for everybody and sure would be a terrible way to start out and adjust to a new lifestyle.

I did it with bodybuilding but it only worked well as a temporary, goal-oriented plan.

Anyway, It's nice to know that there are folks out there who are struggling to do their best and maybe we don't all understand each other's approaches, but at least there is mutual respect. I think that's the most impressive thing about the interactions between you and your friend.

[black57]

One reason I do low carb is for the high fat :thup: :agree: :yum: :wave:

[Ayustar]

One reason I do low carb is for the high fat :thup: :agree: :yum: :wave:


Yep! Tasty and ACTUALLY filling! Being able to absorb vitamins is also a plus, lol!

[WereBear]

One reason I do low carb is for the high fat :thup: :agree: :yum: :wave:

That is what takes it out of the "gimmick" category and makes it a satisfying Way of Eating. Fat helps us absorb vitamins, rebuilds our cells, and satisfies our hunger; that's what I call a nutrient!

[black57]

Yep! Tasty and ACTUALLY filling! Being able to absorb vitamins is also a plus, lol!


Especially the ability to absorb vitamins. Don't leave home without it.

[black57]

That is what takes it out of the "gimmick" category and makes it a satisfying Way of Eating. Fat helps us absorb vitamins, rebuilds our cells, and satisfies our hunger; that's what I call a nutrient!

It is the most important nutrient that we can eat.

[corsair915]

One reason I do low carb is for the high fat :thup: :agree: :yum: :wave:

Oh yes, if there was a nutrition-based version of "rock-paper-scissors" (maybe it would be "meat-sugar-blubber" ?) I would pick the fat/blubber every time. Life without bacon is just not worth living!

[Barnrat]

I agree with the joys of eating fat! I had forgotten how good food can taste when there is fat in it. My first taste of oil packed tuna with full fat mayo was a little bit of heaven!

[Nancy LC]

Your friend's concept of low carb sounds a lot like my sister's. :lol: Her mantra is: "Everything in moderation." Yeah... I can see how well that has worked for you, sis.