Low carb without being too low calorie?

Piglet85

Hi everyone,

Could do with some advice please! I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds, but I've been eating an average of 1200 calories for a few weeks now, and to be honest, I think that may be too little. I calculate that I should be able to lose weight by having around 1450 a day, but I'm trying to keep my diet low carb because I really think that this is one of my main downfalls. I find that I'm actually struggling to eat that many calories a day though, as I'm having a lot of salad and veg, and this is contributing very little to my overall calorie count. I haven't cut out carbs altogether - I usually still have them with one meal a day, but always wholemeal/grain varieties.

So what I really want to know is, what are some healthy ways to get my calorie count up a little bit? Should I be having loads of protein, or what? What foods do those of you who have low/no carb diets use to keep your calorie count up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

neuro-praxis

Use natural nut butters as a dip for raw carrots and celery. Snack on nuts or whole milk between meals. Have some olive oil on everything you cook. This should have your calories through the roof in no time!

Peanut Butter (kelkin is sugar free)
Nuts - Brazil nuts are one of the oiliest (open to correction!)
Cook in olive oil
If eating tuna from a tin, choose sunflower oil instead of brine.
Could also take a couple of spoons of fish oil before meals which will reduce sugar cravings and up calorie intake.

mloc

You can get natural peanut butter from health food shops that is 100% peanuts and amazing tasting; crazy calories in it too.

I use the Meridian brand. Ain't too expensive.

I would advise making sure you keep your Omega 3 fat levels high if you are taking a lot though; there are a lot of Omega 6 fats in peanuts which should be kept in as low a ratio as possible to Omega 3s. Knock back a few fish oils tabs with the peanut butter; extra cals and balanced fats!

ApeXaviour

Going on from what mloc said about omega 3. Walnuts >> peanuts. In fact every other nut pretty much is way better for you than peanuts, notably:
Walnuts
Almonds
Pecans
cashews
brazil nuts etc. etc.

They're very calorically dense though while being quite good for you (the fats in them will keep your cells healthy, skin good etc). So obviously watch how many you eat.

eclectichoney

Almonds - i could eat my bodywight in them in one sitting, probably Very calorie dense so probably just what you are looking for. personally I have to steer clear of nut butters as once I start it's difficult to stop, but maybe you're more disciplined than me

Piglet85

Sounds like nuts are the way to go so! Thanks everyone, think I'll have to give that a try. Much appreciated!

EileenG

Agree that nuts are a good low carb way to raise calories.

The basic low carb diet is things like fish, eggs, meat, chicken, lots and lots and lots of veg, a small amount of nuts, cheese, berries, seeds etc.

However, if you are having to force feed yourself and you are not losing weight, it's almost certain that you are not too low.

People have odd notions about starvation mode. Yes, if you drop your calories well below your maintenance for a long time, your metabolism will slow down. But you will still continue to lose weight, just more slowly.

I've heard people arguing that if you eat too little, your metabolism slows down so much that you never lose or even start to put on weight. Using that logic, it's impossible to starve to death.

I suggest you take a critical look at your diet and make sure you are eating the amount you think you are. It's very easy to add in an extra bit here or there without noticing and the calories add up. Salad dressings, for instance, often run 50-100 cals per spoonful. An extra couple of sloshes can really bump up your cals.

As a general rule, if you are having to force feed yourself, you will not lose weight.

Jenroche

Aren't nuts high in fat though? Surely that would prove counter-productive? Diets do my head in sometimes.

Jen ;->

christina_x

eat protein, it keeps you fuller for longer.
and calcium helps reduce amount of fat you absorb (so eat low fat spreads, low fat milk ect)
blend your dinners as it takes longer for it to be digested keeping you fuller for longer! so you can eat carbs, and keep your calorie intake around 1400, just use different methods to keep you full:cool:

EileenG

Jenroche wrote: »

Aren't nuts high in fat though? Surely that would prove counter-productive? Diets do my head in sometimes.

Jen ;->

If you are not eating carbs, you need to eat fat. Actually, you always need to eat fat, you can't stay healthy without a certain amount. But if you are low carbing, you increase the amount of fat. However, if you are not eating bread, it's amazing the amount of butter you are NOT eating.

mloc

mloc wrote: »

You can get natural peanut butter from health food shops that is 100% peanuts and amazing tasting; crazy calories in it too.

I use the Meridian brand. Ain't too expensive.

Bought this one today as I can't seem to get the kelkin one in the supermarket anymore and all of the others (even the organic ones) have salt in them. Won't be going back to Kelkin, this is yum. They do hazelnut butter too which I think I shall be purchasing in the near future!

Thanks Mloc

Piglet85

I actually bought the hazlenut one after reading mloc's post, because I don't like peanut butter very much. The hazlenut butter is actually lovely! I'm going to try the almond one next.

aceygray

Another good high-calorie but healthy food is avocado. One avocado has about 250 cals!