Low carb diet

Ruthie_

Hi all,

Been wanting to get my diet and general health in order for quite a while now. I just haven't for whatever reasons but I'm fed up with it now. I really want to get fit and healthy and was looking at a low carb diet. Was just wondering if anyone who is on it or has done it in the past has any advice? Some recipes would also go great aswell!

I was thinking about a general day consisting of:

Breakfast : Scrambled eggs/omelette with mushrooms, peppers whatever veg is in the house

Lunch : Salad with chicken or tuna (Altho I need a little mayo with tuna cos I actually hate fish would having this mayo mess it up at all? Im clueless!!) Would need some different lunch ideas as I fear salad every day could get boring quite quickly!

Dinner : Steak/chicken with stir fried veg/ lasagne but instead of pasta use courgette-seen a recipe for that online.

I seen somewhere a woman uses mashed cauliflower where potatoes would traditionally be used. Again I hate fish so I'd be a bit worried that would mess me up a bit, I can tolerate cod/haddock but nothing like salmon or mackerel. Anyone have any nice, mild-unfishy (for want of a better word) fish recipes?

Snacks : berries/ nuts/ raw carrots/ cucumber/ celery

Also I was wondering would it be bad if I had caesar salad dressing with my salad somedays? I could even make my own but how would I keep it low carb? If its at all possible!! I'd stick with olive oil and balsamic vinegar but as a treat I'd love the caesar.

Anyway sorry bout the million questions! Hope someone can help me!

davyjose

Ruthie_ wrote: »

H(Altho I need a little mayo with tuna cos I actually hate fish would having this mayo mess it up at all? Im clueless!!)


Also I was wondering would it be bad if I had caesar salad dressing with my salad somedays? I could even make my own but how would I keep it low carb? If its at all possible!! I'd stick with olive oil and balsamic vinegar but as a treat I'd love the caesar.

Anyway sorry bout the million questions! Hope someone can help me!

caesar is relatively low carb AFAIK. So is Mayo. When you go low carb, fats are fine. It's sometime hard to suddenly treat Mayo as a good food, but for a low carb diet, it's fine.

EileenG

Sounds excellent.

And no, mayo won't mess up your diet. On a low carb diet, you don't have to restrict fat beyond your natural appetite. In fat, fat is very satiating, so you'll feel fuller quicker.

You can make your own dressing. Buy a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, it's great for salad dressing.

Don't skimp on the veg. That's the biggest mistake people make with low carb, they have a vague idea that you are not supposed to eat many vegetables. In fact, you'll probably find you are eating more vegetables than before.

Ruthie_

davyjose wrote: »

caesar is relatively low carb AFAIK. So is Mayo. When you go low carb, fats are fine. It's sometime hard to suddenly treat Mayo as a good food, but for a low carb diet, it's fine.

EileenG wrote: »

And no, mayo won't mess up your diet. On a low carb diet, you don't have to restrict fat beyond your natural appetite. In fat, fat is very satiating, so you'll feel fuller quicker.

Oh thats great because I love salads but for me I do need a nice dressing to go with it! So egg mayo would be good aswell? One of my favorites although I'm used to having it in a sambo.

Do you get a cold or flu when you start this diet initially? I'm not sure where I read that though.

In regards to nuts, how much should you have a day? I don't want to go way overboard on them!

corkcomp

firstly, research throughly and make sure a low carb diet is for you, not because you read it somewhere on the internet.

also be sure you are doing it properly, i.e. avoiding insulin spikes.. like eileen said fat is not a problem on a true low carb diet, but that doesnt mean you can eat loads of mayo etc in the presence of any carbs which will raise insulin levels..

El_Dangeroso

Yay! A LC recipe thread!:)

Here's a recipe called 'Fish pie for fish haters' that I found online and is delicious and not 'fishy' at all:

100g cauliflower, cut into very small florets
100g pollock
30g full-fat cream cheese
30g Cheddar cheese
pinch of dried onion
sprinkling of Parmesan cheese

Cook the cauliflower in salted water, then poach the fish in the same water, with more salt and a pinch of dried onion added.

Gently heat cream cheese and Cheddar together until it melts, then add the flaked fish and cauliflower pieces. Mix and spoon into a small ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake. Bake at 220C, at the top of the oven for 20 minutes.

Pollock is pretty cheap, and sustainable too.

You can add spinach or mushrooms to this dish, whatever veg you have lying spare, just cook it beforehand.

Also highly recommend the 'Idiot Proof Diet' cookbook by Bee Rawlinson. Some of the recipes are slightly indulgent so not for every day use, but her flavour combinations are magical.

El_Dangeroso

Agree with corkcomp, you should really buy a book, that'll answer pretty much all of the questions you have. There is a lot of contradictory information out there and it can be very overwhelming to a newcomer.

Yep, you might feel like your coming down with a cold in and around day 5, just sapped of energy, but it won't last long.

I recommend the aforementioned idiot proof diet(It's a bright pink book not the shady spamming ads you see all over the place), it's really well written and funny and practical, with lots of yummy recipes and strategies to stick to the diet in any situation.

Gummy Panda

Ruthie_ wrote: »

Do you get a cold or flu when you start this diet initially? I'm not sure where I read that though.

Low Carb flu.

Its not exactly the flu. You just feel tired and have a headache for about day or two. Then you get a massive release of energy. Generally its effects are exaggerated because people weren't prepared before they started the diet and didn't drink enough water.

I recommend Protein Power by Michael R. Eades and Mary Dan Eades for reading and also the idiot proof diet.

EileenG

Ruthie_ wrote: »

Do you get a cold or flu when you start this diet initially? I'm not sure where I read that though.

No, it's sometimes called "keto flu", a woolly headed feeling some people get when they start a low carb diet. It only lasts a couple of days, and not everyone gets it. It tends to be a lot worse if you give up coffee at the same time.

Once you are used to low carb, you will probably find that you get less colds etc. Sugar is a huge stress to the immune system. Without it, you'll have less problems with minor niggles.

Ruthie_

Mmmm Temple_Grandin, that recipe seems nice!! I've never had pollock but I'll give it a try!

I don't drink coffee at all so hopefully the "flu" wont be too bad. I'll make sure to drink loads of water aswell. Going shopping this afternoon. Think I'll try and get that book too.

Temple_Grandin would I get that book in Easons dya think?

metamorphosis

Yes- easons generally do have The idiot proof diet in stock iv seen it is several.

Ruthie_

Oh cool thanks, gonna try pop in later!

MagicSean

If this is a drastic change in your diet you will probable experience digestive discomfort during the first week. It's like a big detox.