Support and ideas for those on low-carb diet

I do that most weeks, in with couscous or whatever - quinoa, currently, with lots of lemon juice, olive oil and fresh herbs. That's my usual lunch, as I make enough to last me the week, and have it on salad leaves with feta cheese, or cold chicken, with olives perhaps.

I made cauliflower rice for the first time today to go with chicken and chorizo casserole. It came out more like couscous and was delicious. I don't know if thre are other methods, but I cut it up and blitzed it in the food processor, then put in a bowl, covered with cling film. Two steam holes in the top then microwaved for 7 minutes. Draining not needed even. Much recommended.

Yes, that's on tomorrow night's menu. Probably with a curry.

Is the point of the low carb diet to lose weight?

I am presently trying to do without wheat products to improve my digestion.

Petallus there are two main reasons for reducing carbs, especially 'crap carbs' and the first is to improve health. The evidence is mounting that too much sugar in the diet is probably the cause of much illness and obesity. Then apart from the sugars themselves there is an over reliance on other simple carbohydrates, mainly derived from wheat products. These are broken down by our digestive system, very easily, (too easily?) into simple sugars.

What most of us on here are trying to do is cut down (to a greater or lesser extent) on sugars and grain based carbohydrates in our day to day eating and replace them with a more varied diet. This includes lots of vegetables and good quality proteins, including eggs and cheese.

You can't cut carbs out completely as nearly all foods have some carbs and vegetables in particular do contain carbs.

The second reason is to lose weight. And as proteins fill you up more this is an easy 'diet' to stick to.

Health wise, my heart burn has completely gone. I have had no digestive problems at all and there are other benefits (such as a reduction in arthritic pain) which I'm noticing.

Ditto all that Anya has said. IBS has disappeared and the pain in my knees has reduced enough to encourage me to walk and do the gardening more vigorously which is helping to improve muscle tone. I still wear calf supports when I know I'm going to be on my feet all day but I don't mind because I love being more mobile.

My bloated tummy has almost gone so clothes are looking and fitting better.
and we've both lost a stone in weight which has cheered us up no end.

I'm sorry, I have to say it. Wholewheat is one of the most important foods you can eat. IMO it's better to take a very low dose of omeprazole, prescribed by your doctor, to control heartburn than to cut out important foods.

You lose weight only by taking in less calories than your body burns. There is no other way.

A mixed, balanced, diet is best. Always has been. Always will be.

If you stick only to proteins you will get all the bad stuff documented with the Atkins diet.

A small amount of dairy fat may be good for you, but fat from meat isn't. And just missing out the "high fat" wording from the title of this thread is, I think, rather bad.

The best food, imo is totaly natural food, the food we, as animals were meant to eat. Grain etc is something we have 'made' our bodies adapt to; we should really eat meat and raw vegetables, fruit, nuts and berries.

Grains are natural. They grow in fields. We have been eating them for centuries.

Petallus, for us it has been both weight loss and improvements in health.
I have lost all the weight that I put on with the menopause on this diet. After eighteen months on the diet I have been stable on 9 stone, BMI 21 for the last few months.
OH has now lost 27 kg. His glucose levels are right down, he is completely out of pre-diabetes, his cholesterol levels came down so much that the doctor took him off statins. His IBS is much better.
We both feel very well and enjoy what we eat.
We have never eaten much sugar, but we have cut that out completely along with white flour, floury potatoes and white rice. We eat small quantities of grains like spelt, bulghar and quinoa, pearl barley and legumes a couple of times a week. We eat all sorts of fruit and vegetables, and moderate amounts of butter, cheese and full-fat yoghurt. We cook mostly with olive oil. We still drink wine.
It has worked brilliantly for us.

We didn't eat grains in such quantity, we were mainly nomadic and grabbed small grains with huge amounts of chaff to add to our diet, we didn't live on it in large refined quantities. The breads and flours we eat, even the ones we think are good, are not always as pure as we think, they have all sorts of additives. For those who are lucky enough to be able to eat large quantities of wheat - I am very happy for them, I can't deny it. Luckily I seem to be able to eat small amounts of spelt on occasion, so shall make the odd loaf and have the odd slice as a treat. It's a far older variety of wheat that has not been bred to be bigger/yield larger amounts/have shorter stalks/contain more gluten etc.

The number of people with IBS and gluten allergies has doubled over the past ten years. My own doctor wouldn't let me take omeprazole long-term, despite my problems with pain, because he strongly believes that it can contribute to osteoporosis in the long term.

www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/omeprazole

I think I'll join Anya with a very large [groan] emoticon.

Although we don't need to lose weight, we find, as we have aged, we naturally have a low carb diet, as we simply do not have room to eat potatoes, pasta, rice. For any recipes requiring pastry, such as flans and tarts, I simply cook up the other ingredients and bake in the oven, for the same amount of time, without including the pastry.

Having been a healthy eater since forever, we only have fresh fruit, (a carbohydrate, which provides energy) for dessert, unless we have company or go out to eat: not very often. If I'm cooking there's plenty of fruit, and sugar quantities are halved.

So what I find confusing is the latest enthusiasm for baking and all things sweet. It does none of us any good, so should only be a very occasional treat. Is it comfort eating during a recession, or sticking up two fingers to the government and NHS?

Heckter

You lose weight only by taking in less calories than your body burns. There is no other way

Oh, that old chestnut!!

Ah that's interesting info. Thanks! I thought eating more healthily might help with the recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Plus I am always bloated with gut pains.

After a few days the gut feels so much better. No more pains during the night.

It's not so easy, though, when others in the house buy biscuits and cakes. I've just caved in and eaten a chocolate hobnob

Also I'm having to take methotrexate and alendronic acid, neither of which are very friendly to the digestive system.

I don't need to lose weight though.

A balanced diet shouldn't be based on strachy carbohydrates as the Eatwell Plate advises. For years people have been eating far too much bread/potatoes/pasta/rice and sugar laden breakfast cereals.

I don't want to get into a healthy eating debate as it will spoil this lovely thread but a low carb diet is balanced.

Oh dear, I am surprised that more than 2 weeks later- some people still feel the need to 'attack' the principles behind a low carb diet- especially for those with pre-diabetes and diabetics!!! All the evidence is there. And low carb does NOT mean protein only at all- but plenty of veg and some fruit- but very little carbohydrates in the form of cereals, rice, potatoes, etc.

Anyhow- 2 weeks in wonderful Sicily has not been particularly helpful- as the pasta was divine! But back with all the best intentions in the world to seriously cut carbs- and hope to lose some weight in the process too.

Thank you so much Mamie for this inspiring and useful thread. Merci.

Lovely to hear you had a great holiday granjura, welcome back!

I'm not doing very well at starting this new way of eating so have packed a box full of biscuits etc to take to the office tomorrow then all temptation will be gone

DH shouldn't be eating them anyway (type2 diabetes) and my willpower needs as little distraction as possible!

Vegetable garden stuffed full of growing veg so no excuses for not pulling my finger out and stop just talking about it knuckling down to it......

You're welcome! Very envious of Sicily and pasta completely understandable.
We are having cold chicken and aubergine parmigiana which seems to have become a Monday favourite. I have to go and leap about my keep fit class afterwards. I think every one of the thirty or so ladies there has cross-examined me about my diet.

OH is making chicken soup with the carcass and all the itty-bitty vegetable bits you get left when you spiralize!
Waste not want not.

My spiraliser has arrived so tomorrow I'm going to spiralise a carrot, a courgette, finely slice a red onion then fry some garlic and anchovies in olive oil, add a tin of chopped toms, capers and olives, add the vegetti. Serve when ready
A sort of putanesca!

That sounds delicious Galen, I'm drooling (again)!
I must try that too.

I've got to ask. What's a spiraliser?