Desperate to make this work!

[AaronMD]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forums here although I've been desperately trying to successfully low carb for the past two years. This is something that I've struggled with a lot as someone who loves food very much. While I love food, I also love a challenge and my inability to stick to a low carb diet in the long run and successfully lose weight with it is something that bothers me a lot. I know the health benefits, and I want to see the results for myself.

I am an eighteen year old college freshman, and I really need to make this work once and for all. I am so sick of feeling like complete garbage all the time, my clothes not fitting, and feeling like I'm worth less than anyone else because of my weight. I'd really appreciate any recommendations that anyone has, but I also have a few questions.

In the past when I've tried to low carb, I've gone cold turkey and gone to extremes. I do believe that this may be apart of my problem, and why I'm never able to keep doing it in the long run. I'm wondering if I made slow changes to my diet if that would help me become more successful? I cut out all soda last November and I've stayed away from it since, so I do believe that making one change at a time might be beneficial. What do you guys think? Maybe one week cut out added sugars, the next week no sugar, and then start low carbing from there? I'd figure that it'd help my body physically and mentally adjust to the change so that I don't fail again!

Thanks!

TLDR; I'm a college freshman who wants to know if making smaller changes in my diet and working my way up to low carb would be more successful than a "cold turkey" approach.

[MickiSue]

I don't know about you, Aaron. But slowly dropping carbs is a killer for me. My cravings for them just keep hanging on, if I drop them slowly. Good on you for dropping the sodas, though: they are utterly useless for anything but destroying the calcium in your teeth and gaining weight. Oh, and developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Your best bet, I believe, is to find a reputable low carb plan and stick to it like glue. Either of Dr Atkins' books, Dr A's Diet Revolution or Dr A's New Diet Revolution is excellent. They are both available at Amazon. Stay away from the Atkins website, which is a bastardization of his plan, solely there to get you to eat their frankenfood, addicting products.

dietdoctor.com is also an excellent plan, as is the plan in Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat. Again, you guessed it, Amazon.

We are here to support you, and even to give you a boot in the butt, if you need it.

The changes to your metabolism when you first go low carb can make you feel like kaka. But there are ways to mitigate them, that don't include dropping carbs a little at a time.

You MUST go through the switch from burning primarily carbs to primarily burning fats in order to start using your body fat as fuel. And that is not the most comfortable week or so.

But what's a week or so, in relation to years of feeling better about yourself, your health and how you look? Being educated on the process helps, tremendously. Not many of us, myself included, even with a healthcare background, was aware of the way that low carb/high fat actually works.

Welcome!

[Nancy LC]

Yeah, it seems to be an attribute of the male of the species to go whole hog and try to reach for the furthest extreme. That seems to rarely work out long term.

Here's my two words of advice: Be reasonable

Have reasonable expectations and reasonable goals. It just makes life so much nicer, ya know?

On the other hand, you cut out soda almost a year ago, maybe you could ramp up a bit now.

And the other bit of advice I have is figure out how to enjoy this diet. There's a thread in my sig about how not to be bored. Seriously, low carb food is delicious. If you focus on what you CAN have and not what you can't have, you'll have an easier time of it.

Also, try to learn from your mistakes. If you response is "I didn't try hard enough" then you failed. You need to learn something specific like, "I shouldn't go shopping when I'm hungry," or "I should chew some sugar free gum when I walk past the bakery." That is something specific and valuable.

Learn that cravings do go away shortly after you notice them. Or that getting involved in something helps.

It is a game we play with ourselves. Learn how to outsmart the dumber part of your impulses and you'll win.

[Meme#1]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forums here although I've been desperately trying to successfully low carb for the past two years. This is something that I've struggled with a lot as someone who loves food very much. While I love food, I also love a challenge and my inability to stick to a low carb diet in the long run and successfully lose weight with it is something that bothers me a lot. I know the health benefits, and I want to see the results for myself.

I am an eighteen year old college freshman, and I really need to make this work once and for all. I am so sick of feeling like complete garbage all the time, my clothes not fitting, and feeling like I'm worth less than anyone else because of my weight. I'd really appreciate any recommendations that anyone has, but I also have a few questions.

In the past when I've tried to low carb, I've gone cold turkey and gone to extremes. I do believe that this may be apart of my problem, and why I'm never able to keep doing it in the long run. I'm wondering if I made slow changes to my diet if that would help me become more successful? I cut out all soda last November and I've stayed away from it since, so I do believe that making one change at a time might be beneficial. What do you guys think? Maybe one week cut out added sugars, the next week no sugar, and then start low carbing from there? I'd figure that it'd help my body physically and mentally adjust to the change so that I don't fail again!

Thanks!

TLDR; I'm a college freshman who wants to know if making smaller changes in my diet and working my way up to low carb would be more successful than a "cold turkey" approach.

The first thing I would suggest is to find a certain plan and buy a book.
It's like playing a game, you can probably play without the directions and just wing it but if you want to win, you need the directions to really know what to do.

Then plan by having the right foods on hand and don't try to do this purely by not eating.
It's just as important what you do eat as what you don't eat!

Question: Will you cook or do you eat at the collage cafeteria?

[JEY100]

Welcome Aaron :wave:
You have had lots of good advice so far. But as for what method will work for you… Sorry but we have to throw that question back to you. How to best to stick with LC depends on your personality, or what Gretchen Rubin calls the “four tendencies". http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=468195 She has a short quiz to help you decide yours, though it doesn’t sound like you are an abstainer nor will you embrace the Lightening Bolt method. Not to worry, first decide if you are an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel with this quiz https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1950137/Four-Tendencies-January-2015 and then find the ways to change eating habits that fit YOUR tendency. https://gretchenrubin.com/habits/habits-downloads/

If all that seems too Psych 101 for you, check out some of the paleo websites geared for college students and consider following what they advise.
Caveman College is a favorite: http://cavemancollege.com They link to some of the great information on Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint. http://www.marksdailyapple.com I think his original book is still the best, but his 21 Day transformation book is a short, specific plan that may help you day by day as you mentioned having already considered a step by step plan to start a LC. He views carbs on Primal along a "curve" and quicker weight loss would be Ketogenic, or under 50 g a day, but you can start higher...if it is real food.

If you look in the right places on your campus, you may find others interested in real foods/ farm to table/paleo/cross-fit/ tough mudder type contests/ ultimate frisbee groups that attract a health oriented student. Pick the crowd that supports your goals.

Joshua Weismann’s story is interesting, http://slimpalate.com but he focuses more on cooking.
So I have the same question…are you cooking? or do you have a good buffet with healthy choices available to you? even all fast food can work LC if that is what you have.
If you decide you do are willing to go all in and just follow a simple plan, MickiSue’s suggestion of the challenge plan at Diet Doctor and in Why We Get Fat is good. You can also get a free emailed copy of it by sending for the welcome kit here: http://healclinics.com

We can help you on this forum with more details after you decide on the best plan for you, look around at Success stories for inspiration and other newbie advice. All the best,

[glimmergai]

Hi Aaron,

Welcome and good for you for not only deciding on doing something great for yourself, but for taking the first steps which definitely include being on this forum. I have cried tears of gratitude for this forum and I certainly hope you find it equally beneficial.

I will tell you a piece of advice I gained from someone on this forum- Maybe Nancy? I am sorry that I can't credit the person who passed it along, but it changed my life and I would like to pass it along to you.

Especially while in college, you may feel like you are depriving yourself of things if you aren't "celebrating" with your friends. I know that one of the reasons why my scale kept going up was "excessive celebration!" But someone here told me to always keep in mind that it isn't the food or beverage that makes a celebration special; it's the time you spend with your friends and family. Once I grasped that concept, I was just as happy at a pizza party with a salad or crudite as everyone else was with their pizza and the next day, no guilt!

[Grav]

Hiya Aaron, welcome to the forum.

When I started LCHF a little under a year ago I was determined to do whatever it took to make it sustainable for me, to make it into something that I would *want* to do not just today, but tomorrow as well. But it's important to understand that that doesn't have to mean going all-out from the get-go.

A lot of people here dive into an induction period when they get started, but I went about it slightly differently, in part because I was so sceptical that it would even work before I began. Once I understood that I had to reduce carbs and increase fat, I simply began doing the research on what sort of foods that meant I should be buying, and then I just started buying the right stuff and stopped buying the wrong stuff. But I did allow myself to use up what was left of the old stuff in my cupboards; it seemed silly at the time to let it go to waste.

It would have taken me maybe 2-3 weeks to complete the transition. Most things I ate as before, but a few other things like unopened jars and cans I gave to the local foodbank. By the time I was done, the only bad stuff I had left were two loaves of bread and half a tub of margarine, which in the end I just chucked out.

Part of the early advice I was given was to stick to items that were no more than 5g of net carbs per 100g of food. I thought that was too limiting at first, so I started by allowing myself up to 10g, then over time as I did more research and discovered more new options to try, I was able to gradually lower myself to 5g/100g as originally recommended. For the last 6 months or so now, the only thing in my house that's more then 5g is a bottle of "low sugar" tomato sauce which comes in at 15g, but I allow it for three reasons: I'm too terrible in the kitchen to be bothered making my own, it's the lowest carb tomato sauce I can find, and I don't eat it 100g at a time; it's just a little dollop on my bunless burgers.

Give yourself every opportunity to learn more about this WOE (way of eating). Don't assume you'll be sticking to the same meals all day every day; in fact don't even allow it. Keep exploring for options so you don't get bored, and keep reading about new developments in the field. Previous replies have already offered several good resources to that end, and there is no shortage of useful advice throughout the rest of this forum as well.

Good luck mate.

[MickiSue]

Quick question, Aaron. Are you feeding yourself, as in, you live in an apartment, or do you live at home or in a dorm? I lived at home my first year of college, then in an apartment. And the transition was, to say the least, a challenge.

Nevertheless, whichever of the three it is, there are specific challenges for LCHF eating. Let us know, and we can make suggestions. Both for how to handle what goes into your mouth, and for how to handle the frequently ignorant and self-serving comments that you get from other people.

[glimmergai]

Aaron,

To MickiSue's point, you will get a TON of those "self-serving" comments. You will find post after post about it on this forum. In fact, I recently started one myself! Those are to be expected.

Also expect that you will start this program do it for a month or so and get bored with what your are eating and think that you can't go on. That is a sign that you need to make tweaks. It isn't the easiest thing in the world, but it's nowhere near the hardest and the benefits are innumerable!

[AaronMD]

Thank you everyone with your responses! I'm definitely looking into everything that you've told me and taking it into consideration.

But someone here told me to always keep in mind that it isn't the food or beverage that makes a celebration special; it's the time you spend with your friends and family.
I really appreciate this! This is so true, I just need to convince myself (and my friends) of it.

Quick question, Aaron. Are you feeding yourself, as in, you live in an apartment, or do you live at home or in a dorm? I lived at home my first year of college, then in an apartment. And the transition was, to say the least, a challenge.
I was supposed to be living in a dorm at a four year school, but I couldn't get approved for a loan so I am living at home now and attending a local community college! I have a job so I can buy some things that I need, and my family is willing to buy things that I want to eat as long as I'm grocery shopping with them.

I have found that in the past when I've done something "low-carb," it was the same food and meals over and over. For example, I'd have chicken breast three nights in a row and by night four I was burnt out and eating pasta.

[MickiSue]

Well, no wonder! BLECH on chicken breast. If I have to eat the same thing three nights in a row, I'd rather eat a nice bunless burger, and switch out the toppings, you know?

Various cheeses. Chopped olives, bacon, whatever.

Chicken breast, unless you have the kind with skin and bones, is among the most flavorless meat known to science. I say science because the chickens that give up their lives for those bags of frozen tasteless things are about half animal and half genetic engineering.

IDEAs: if you eat chicken, get a whole one. Already roasted is fine, although there is sometimes sugar on them. Probably not enough to be significant for a young man, though.

For a guy your age, that whole chicken should last a couple days, at least. Fatty beef roasts and pork roasts. If your parents have a slow cooker, ask one of them to show you how to use it. The easiest way in the world to make a dinner for you AND your family is to put a roast, with a small bottle of salsa, in the slow cooker in the morning, and then about 12 hours later, take it out, bone it, and shred the meat and the salsa together. You can eat yours plain, or scoop it up with lettuce leaves. Your family can follow your lead, or eat on buns.

Don't want to think about what to eat? Fry some eggs, and have already cooked bacon ready in the frig, and you can have bacon and eggs for dinner.

Frozen shrimp that's raw, but already shelled, can be quick rinsed in a colander, and then stir fried and eaten by hand after dipping in blue cheese dressing.

There are a ton more, but that's a start, yes? Dr Atkins, who popularized the idea of HCHF, had one hard and fast rule, after eating always on plan. It was this: eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are not.

[Nancy LC]

I really appreciate this! This is so true, I just need to convince myself (and my friends) of it.

No, you really don't have to explain yourself to other people. Just do your thing and if people ask, deflect the conversation to something else. Takes a bit of practice, but it works.

[JEY100]

Here is a thread on more meal ideas, http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=442080
And while you are at school, if you don't want to bring lunch, fast food works, most popular the double cheeseburger, Chuck the bun or ask for lettuce wrap. Others https://www.atkins.com/how-it-works/library/articles/fast-food-your-way

[AaronMD]

~MickiSue: When I was doing the chicken breast thing I hadn't learned about how terribly the chickens were treated as they're raised. I only learned last year when I watched Food Inc. and was disgusted by what I saw. I couldn't believe it! My family and I do try to buy free range, organic, and "happy" meat whenever possible. I have found that the meat does taste better too!

I agree with you on the burger too, I absolutely love burger and would have no issue making different variations of it.

~Nancy LC: Also very true, I guess I said that because a lot of times my friends/family will either pressure me to eat or make me feel badly about dieting whether I'm eating or not. It really does bother me how much western culture celebrates with food for almost every occasion!

I am currently in a break between classes and looking into the information ~JEY100 shared with me and hopefully I can narrow it down to which variation of low carb will work best for me. I'll let you all know later what I find. :)

[Meme#1]

If your parents are on board to help, just make sure they understand that this isn't low fat with a blah dry chicken breast.
You want regular/full fat everything. Real butter on all veggies and crispy skin on your chicken thighs.

Here is a list of foods that you can use to go grocery shopping or make a list with.
Never leave your house hungry or you will fall face first into a bunch of carbs because you're hungry.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482

[Nancy LC]

~Nancy LC: Also very true, I guess I said that because a lot of times my friends/family will either pressure me to eat or make me feel badly about dieting whether I'm eating or not. It really does bother me how much western culture celebrates with food for almost every occasion!
Don't talk about your diet and no one will even know. Memorize the phrase: "No thanks, just not hungry right now." I give you permission to even lie, "Sorry, tummy isn't feeling good. Don't think I could handle cake right now." "My doctor says I need to eat less sugar."

"Hey, isn't that Jimmy Kimmel?" Point off into a crowd.

When we're young we think we need to discuss every aspect of our lives and get everyone's approval. I'm here at the other end of the age spectrum and I can tell you it ain't so. Do your own thing. Be strong and proud. Your own approval is better than anyone else's.

[Srinath_69]

Atleast in my experience, the first 2 days on under 20 gm carb were OK (cos I was purposely eating a nut every 10 mins to keep from going into keto for 3+ weeks before that) but the day I properly hit ketosis my craving for anything and everything seemed to disappear.
It stayed that way inspite of my mistakes for over 2+ weeks, then I went into a serious craving mode, then I corrected some mistakes and the cravings are down a fair bit, still not s good as day 3 when I first hit ketosis. The ketoflu hit a day later, still no problem, I didn't want to even eat sugar and flour etc etc.

So a sudden drop to under 20 is better than gradual drop.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[MickiSue]

Another way to deal with the food being forced on you is to be honest, and let the other person deal with it.

"I can't eat that stuff without wanting too much of it, so I'm better off not eating it at all. Looks delicious, though!"

After all, now that you are becoming an adult, THEY aren't responsible for what you put in your mouth, you are, right? So don't let them have charge of your feelings, if you say no to what they want you to eat.

Even people twice or three times your age have to learn that lesson: that the only one who gets to decide what you eat is you. And choosing to eat something that you know is deadly isn't about their pressure, it's about your choices.

Sounds harsh, right? But last summer, I let my next door neighbor pressure me into eating one of her homemade roti, when we went over there for dinner. I told myself I'd hurt her feelings. But really? I loved roti, and hadn't had it for over a year. It was MY choice, and MY own fault that I stalled in losing weight for 3 weeks from that choice. And I'm more than 3 times your age.

[Srinath_69]

I first mistakenly drank the shakes thinking they were good to have once a day (cos I read it somewhere).
Then found out - NOT.
However in retrospect, it may have got me off to a good start without the "what am I going to eat 3 X a day.

Now I am on 1 meal a day, 24 hour intermittent fasting to get my insulin response back, I think its a lot easier without shakes.

BTW you go into ketosis by going under 20 gm carb, if making food is an issue for you, you could try the 1 meal a day - however the experts here will guide you better.

Somehow my cravings are under control being around food all day when I tell myself, its not 7 yet, so you cant eat.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[AaronMD]

You all made great points, and I'll admit that in the past I've tried to push my dieting failures onto other people and rejected the idea of self responsibility. I can see already that this forum is going to be very beneficial to me, I can tell you guys/gals know what you're talking about and mean business. :cool:

I was researching a little bit, and I did look into the four tendencies that ~JEY100 posted about yesterday. My quiz results told me that I am an "obliger," and that I focus more on other people than myself. I also began looking into the various low carb diets that I could choose from, and I think the one that intrigues me the most is Atkins '72. I am fearful that my issue is going to be eating enough calories to be healthy. In the past I've found that I lose my physical hunger on a low carb diet, and I don't want to eat much. Additionally, I'm not a very big fan of veggies and I absolutely hate salad. There's just something about lettuce that makes the salad experience extremely offsetting to me.

[Srinath_69]

Lettuce does not quite belong in a salad IMHO, its the nutritional equivalent of paper.
I've also got healthy dislike for most greens.
I manage to tack a 1/2lb chicken breast or beef hunk on the thing and chow it down.

This is the salad I eat everyday for the last 6 days.

2 of Escarole, endive, spinach, watercress, arugula, mustard. of the 6 just 2 ... drizzle with olive brine, and heck olive oil too, or lemon juice.
Alfalfa, 1/4 to 1/2 avocado, 15-20 green olives. That ends the raw stuff.
Sauteed - mushrooms, onions, radishes.
Chicken breast and 2 sheets of pepper jack cheese.

Almost edible ... also, just 1 meal a day for me, saves me a lot of time and $$$.

If you're in ketosis and you are running low on insulin, you can be 2000 calories under and you'd likely burn fat for the deficit. That was the biggest factor behind the Intermittent fasting diet of mine. 12 hours after the food leaves your intestines, you likely have near 0 insulin, then you eat nothing but fat, in fact you can eat a small amount of protein, under 20-30 calories I guess, and still stay non insulin spiked. anyway do your research and ask questions.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[JEY100]

Atkins 72 is a good, simple plan. This article is helpful https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/dont-force-the-fat/
Not because you ever mentioned forcing fat, but your worry about not enough calories. Being "Not. Hungry" is how you you know you are doing the plan right and in ketosis. These graphs show why you do not need to worry about calories during induction...they are coming from your body fat...that's A Good Thing!

There is a resurgence in Intermittent Fasting, but Dr Westman has always called the same LC ability meal timing, or "Eat only when you're hungry". 50% of your energy needs are coming from body fat in the first phase, exactly what you want to happen. Do not override the signal not to eat. Eating only one or two meals a day is common...you will still have physical energy and think clearly living off your fat stores.

What about cabbage instead? Coleslaw or sautee it in coconut oil as side or pasta sub..a favorite starter recipe is Crackslaw. Yum. http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-453302.html

[GreekRibs]

dear Aaron, I'm so proud of you at the tender age of 18 having the courage to break out of old habits and start your adult life off with healthy eating.
I love that you chose Atkins as your plan.

Most of us have attempted a few times before making this way of eating (woe) a permanent lifestyle. You're starting young and that is SO smart!!

Sorry if someone else has already suggested this but consider starting a journal on this site under the BootCamp/Journal forum. Just start a new thread, give it a title, and continue to post in your thread as little or as much as you want. It's a great way to stay focused, celebrate your weight loss and non scale victories (nsv) and talk about your challenges. We all tweak things as we go and you will do the same.

Again, good on ya for giving yourself this gift of empowerment. It's great you identified you tend towards being an obliger ... meh, you can change that ... and you will, especially as you get older. It's just practice.

There are some other guys on this site who've had as much weight to lose and have succeeded on low carb healthy fat. It's great to see so many people do well on this woe.

All the best!!! :clap: :cheer: :thup:

[MickiSue]

Aaron, yes on the journal. And yes on the crack slaw. If you like spicy, google spicy crack slaw (imagine that!) and you'll find a recipe on Low Carb Zen that is wonderful.

If you like burgers, you'll love crack slaw. And your entire family will love it, too. I have to fight to make sure there are enough leftovers for me on a day when Husband is eating something carby, and there are only two of us.

If your family is more than three people, and/or there are more teenagers than you, double the recipe.

[Srinath_69]

Aaron, yes on the journal. And yes on the crack slaw. If you like spicy, google spicy crack slaw (imagine that!) and you'll find a recipe on Low Carb Zen that is wonderful.

If you like burgers, you'll love crack slaw. And your entire family will love it, too. I have to fight to make sure there are enough leftovers for me on a day when Husband is eating something carby, and there are only two of us.

If your family is more than three people, and/or there are more teenagers than you, double the recipe.


I have to look it up as well, I've been winging it with the veggies and carb I got from the atkins site. I think the shakes helped me a lot into the IF and keeping under 20 gm in the beginning.
Meat eggs and cheese was my first diet.
The veggies were just thrown on from the lowest carb list.
Thanks.
Srinath.

[MickiSue]

Srinath, get Dr Atkins' book. The Atkins site is a bastardization of his groundbreaking WOE. Their only goal is to get you to eat their frankenfood, and if they're lucky, get addicted to it.

Aaron: please do NOT go down the Atkins products route. They are overpriced garbage. REALLY. Eat real foods, and you'll be more happy, as well as more successful.

[Srinath_69]

I read that crack slaw recipie - and yes it is great - however I object to 1 part of it.

Ingredients
•1 pound ground beef
•1 teaspoons minced garlic
•½ red onion (chopped)
•1 teaspoon liquid Barbecue Smoke®
•1½ tablespoons worcestershire sauce
•2 tablespoons soy sauce
•¾ teaspoon ginger
•¾ teaspoon curry powder
•½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
•1 bag coleslaw (shredded) <--------- This. 28 carbs in 191 gm.
•2 tablespoons crumbled bacon

28gm carb and 3.6 fiber. In fact its in the same league as coke which has 39 gm sugars in a 355 ml can.

I'd substitute that for either sauerkraut if you want that extra kick - just cut down some other spices, or escarole which is .1gm carbs in 1/2 a cup.
Honestly even lettuce is better than cabbage/coleslaw. .5gm in 1/2 cup.
Thanks.
Srinath.

[MickiSue]

Where did you get that count? There is about a quart (four cups) of veggies in a bag. There are 4 total, 3 net carbs in a cup, so a total of 16 total, 12 net in the entire bag.

You could slice thinly a half head of cabbage per recipe, and get even fewer, which is what I've been doing lately. There is a bit of carrot in the bagged stuff, which accounts for the slightly higher numbers.

[Srinath_69]

Google said 28 gm in 191 for coleslaw. USDA via Google.
1.3 in 23 gm for cabbage. USDA - Google.
1gm in 36 gm for lettuce. USDA-Google.
.1 in 1/2 cup for escarole (not on google - had to get it from atkins)
.8gm in 25 gm for endive but .8 fiber (and I get escarole and endive confused, I meant endive) USDA-Google
1.5gm in 70gm for Chinese cabbage - USDA-Google.
.4gm in 34gm for watercress - USDA-Google.

Look up escarole in a good source, I don't neccesarily trust atkins - though I don't see why they would lie about this, not like they sell escarole. But escarole is nearly a straight up swap for lettuce/cabbage IMHO. Its right between the 2.

Anyway lots of leaves are better than Cabbage IMHO. Even eating it, it tastes like candy to me. And anything triggering sweet tastes I would avoid, it probably has more carbs than it can be pulled and tested for.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[Srinath_69]

Cabbage is 1.3 gm in 23 gm.
To put that in perspective - 23gm of Gatorade also is just about 1.3 gm carbs.
You can easily eat a plenty of it and be under 20 gm a day, but if you have 3 meals a day and have a few like this every meal, you could easily run it past the 20.

I am eating 1 meal a day, but my goal is to be under 5-6gm carbs even in that, so that if I went to 2-3 a day, I can keep under 20 total.

Besides, what's the fun in just going to 20, go to 5, then you would feel 20 is a breeze.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[Srinath_69]

I did a mini research on soft drinks a few weeks ago. Here is the 2 second version.

Commercial soda and all sorts of sweet non diet beverages have a magic 8-12% carbs, of course all of it is sugar or HFCS. They usually are 37-42 gm in a 12 oz. Maybe some are more, near certain nothing is under 37. Pepsi is 41 and coke is 39. Lower numbers are usually the more fruit imitation ones.

Straight up fruit juices are usually around 35-38 per 12oz.

Red Gatorade is a bit of an outlier with 21 in a 12 oz. I've not looked at blue or green ones.

So, effectively, if you're gonna get a non diet soda and for some reason you had to, try the red Gatorade. I had a couple sips when I nearly fainted along with a bite of the granola bar. Didn't take too long to kick me back into keto.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[MickiSue]

Yes, but there is a LOT more volume in the same weight, for cabbage VS Gatorade.

Put it another way: 100 grams of cabbage is about a cup of cabbage. (Raw, here) 23 grams of Gatorade is 23 ml of Gatorade. A cup of Gatorade is about 240 grams of Gatorade. Therefore, cup to cup, you have 1.3 x 4 = 5.2 total grams of carbs in one cup uncooked cabbage, 3 net.

For the Gatorade, you have to multiply the 23 grams by 10.3. So, one cup of Gatorade (1/2 to 1/4 a bottle) has 14 grams of carbs, no fiber, so no net grams. Most people will drink a full bottle, which has 22 grams, because that's what they're used to, as well.

You could fit 23 grams of lead in your pocket, easily. Not so much with 23 grams of feathers. Measuring by weight is a good way to measure individual items. But when they are as utterly disparate as cabbage and a sugary sports drink, well, it doesn't work so well.

[Srinath_69]

Sorry I am not getting the math here.
But a gatorade bottle has way more than the 12oz serving size they have put on the bottle. Maybe there is a 12oz, I've never seen it cos I don't drink that crap unless I was fainting and that's the quickest thing we found. What am I saying, of course there is a 12oz, we seem to have the 48 or something stuffed in the back of the fridge.

But really 23 gm carb is 23 gm carb net. You're talking net carb here, not glycemic load.

355gm Cabbage isn't the best use of 21gm carb IMHO, and neither is red gatorade. If you must have the taste of cabbage try that escarole thing. Too close to cabbage in taste and nearly no carbs.

PS: I get it, OK 355 gm cabbage is about 1/3th the average sized cabbage. And you're saying no one wil lever eat that much cabbage in 1 sitting. I beg to differ on that point, I've seen my mother-in-law easily put that away. Cabbage is religion in my wife's house, and she too is capable of that much cabbagery. My in-laws are diabetic, thank god the GL of cabbage is low, but I cant imagine its not adding to the weight gain and the carb overload. IMHO, its a bad way to over carb. But that's just me.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[bcbeauty]

I really enjoy taking a weekend to prepare meals, snacks and sides and freezing them.
I am therefore never out of "my" foods. The Kitchen here id chalk full of simple recipes and food ideas.

[MickiSue]

I really enjoy taking a weekend to prepare meals, snacks and sides and freezing them.
I am therefore never out of "my" foods. The Kitchen here id chalk full of simple recipes and food ideas.

THIS. One of the people who has been successful at both losing and maintaining would have her pressure cooker and crockpot going all weekend long, every other weekend, usually. That way she only had to cook for 48 hours, and had food for herself for the next two weeks. When she started her most recent journal, she was in grad school, and had three teenagers living at home. NOT the easiest way to get on and keep on a weight loss program. And, of course, she didn't have a lot of money, either.

So she made low carb hot dishes.

[Srinath_69]

See I am not the main cook in my house, and as such, I am really not allowed in there, my wife keeps me at bay.
Shes a vegetarian, and has been since birth, and so have her parents and for generations. So have mine till my dad, who used to eat meat but never cook it at home. Me and my brother still are looked at as heretics.
Anyway my son is a commited carnivore, and he in fact prefers beef to chicken and he's off dairy, and was off wheat till a couple years ago. So my wife has to put up with my cooking meat, however I have to keep that footprint as small as possible.
So I get 3-4 hours in 1 evening, probably mid week. Then I get my george foreman grill and fire away. Nothing else will pass the wife test.
Anyway, I make meat for a week or so, and the salad my wife makes, and I top it with meat, she tops hers with fried eggs and my son with beef, or the kid will just eat the beef like he's chewing on a tire. He was eating 1 bite of jerky for 10 mins and I ask him what, Why are you still chewing that 1 bite, and he goes, cos its still there.

Thanks.
Srinath.

[MickiSue]

I was addressing Aaron: he's a busy student, and learning to cook his own LC meals would be a wonderful gift to give to himself.

[AaronMD]

We do have a few slow cookers, and I've cooked with them in the past so I'm sure I could handle making some low carb meals in them. In fact, I'd probably prefer it! I'm going on my first low carb grocery trip today so I'm assembling a list, but I'm not sure what I should get completely.

I'm not a huge breakfast person, what do you guys recommend for breakfast quick and easy? I'm not a big fan of eggs, but I'll eat them if necessary. I was thinking some nitrate free lunch meat and cheese rollups for lunch, and some nuts to go with it. Maybe a small salad (spinach leaves) too with an olive oil/vinegar dressing? Dinner is easy for me because I really love meat. Hamburgers will probably be my go to, but I'm definitely going to try that crack slaw at some point. I have a feeling it'll go over pretty well in my house.

[Srinath_69]

I was addressing Aaron: he's a busy student, and learning to cook his own LC meals would be a wonderful gift to give to himself.

This is great advice. Sorry about butting in.
Thanks.
Srinath.

[MickiSue]

Heh, I'll bet that crack slaw will. It didn't get its name for nothing.

Really, I eat eggs in the morning because I like them. But you could eat leftovers from the night before, heated up. Which, of course, takes even less time than cooking eggs, right?

If you nuke the meat and cheese roll ups, they're even better. AND if you bring some mayo to spread on them right before you nuke them, even better still--and you get more fat, which is a bonus.

[JEY100]

Yes time to break out the slow cooker (assuming you are in a temperate part of the US). My favorite is a pork roast (or beef pot roast or chicken) with a jar of salsa. Those flash frozen chicken pieces are perfect for slow cookers and salsa, put in frozen, done for dinner. Shred the meat for tacos wrapped in lettuce, over a salad, leftovers scrambled into eggs, and add favorite toppings like cheese and sour cream.
As for a shopping list...the HealClinic brochure has a list of permitted foods (now on page 12-14) Buy anything on that list you like, similar list is here: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482

I'm not a huge breakfast person if you mean you do not normally eat breakfast, then don't. "Meal timing" or a shorter "eating window" is one reason LC can work. Be sure you have enough LC foods with you when you do get hungry, and roll-ups are great, but eating only lunch and dinner with no snacking outside that eating window is helpful to reduce insulin levels. You'll need to work the hours of when you eat around your class schedule, but still only Eat when Hungry, Aka IF , see post #22 and https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting