Critique my low carb diet.

Mauricmo

Hi all, on the advice of a friend I recently began a low carb diet.

I have been reading the threads here for most of my advice and its been so helpful.:)

Here is a quick overview of what I eat on a typical day:

Breakfast- 3 scrambled eggs+2 rashers, coffee with milk.

Dinner- Steak/chicken, brocolli, cauliflower, carrots.

Tea/lunch(depending on shift in work)- 2 sausages and 2 rashers, coffee.
or tuna mayo with a big salad.

I do plan to get a bit more creative with these meals- any suggestions?


I havnt been having too much trouble adjusting to the new diet yet.

I do find myself craving at some points of the day, does anyone know a good quick low carb snack?

Also at the moment im cooking with sunflower oil, is this the ideal oil to be using?



I go to the gym pretty regurlarly, at the very least 3 times a week, and the days I cant make it I try to jog or do some core at home. The reason I have started the low carb diet is to try and shift a few pounds but also to be more in charge of what im eating.


I welcome any and all advice as this is all new to me. Thanks.

EileenG

Looks pretty good. I'd watch the sausages, the ones you buy in supermarkets tend to have a lot of hidden carbs.

A good olive oil is great for salads etc, coconut oil is good for cooking.

Cottage cheese is a good high protein, low carb snack which is more filling than you'd think.

Kimia

God I love low carbing - I've lost about 1 stone in the 2 months I've been doing it and I feel terrific. Here's my tips.

CHEESE!! Glorious cheese. Eat it for breakfast, snacks, melted over veggies etc.

Boiled eggs. Excellent snack. Great way to have breakfast on the serious run.

Nuts. All kinds of nuts. My faves are dry roasted, cashew and pistachios.

Drink loads and loads of water. Do weight training and eat lots of protein. Try and have a portion of veg (leafy preferably, I'd avoid the carrots unless you're eating a small few raw as a snack) with every meal.

Dark Chocolate - where would I be without it. I feel like I'm spoiling myself with it. Aldi do great chocolate.

Rashers. Need I say more.

Mauricmo

Thanks for the tips:)

The sausages I get are over the counter in superquinn- theyre delicious but they dont come with the nutritional info.

Also should I be concerned about the salt content of the rashers?

Kimia, have you found any negative effects of having cut carbs out of your diet almost completely?

I read in one of the threads that 99% lindt chocolat is great, I can only find 85%- this ok?

chunkykate

Why would you avoid carrots Kimia? thanks

metamorphosis

Mauricmo wrote: »

Thanks for the tips:)

The sausages I get are over the counter in superquinn- theyre delicious but they dont come with the nutritional info.

Also should I be concerned about the salt content of the rashers?

Kimia, have you found any negative effects of having cut carbs out of your diet almost completely?

I read in one of the threads that 99% lindt chocolat is great, I can only find 85%- this ok?

How many grams of carbs are you limiting yourself to daily?
Most tescos now do Lindt 90% and it only has 2.8gms sugar per 40gms, the 85% has 5.6gms sugar per 40gms, the 99% in negligible but if you are not used to dark chocolate it will take a while to build up to.

Are you based in Dublin? There are loads of places around where you could get 90% + chocolate easily if you are.

metamorphosis

chunkykate wrote: »

Why would you avoid carrots Kimia? thanks

For low carbing - they are slightly higher in carbs compared to other veggies. Most root veg are higher in carbs than your leafy greens etc

Sorry about the double post!

Mauricmo

I havnt put a number to the amount of carbs I am limiting myself to, just sticking to the foods with low carbs.

Is it important to be aware of the exact number of carbs I am eating?

Red Cortina

Mauricmo wrote: »

I do plan to get a bit more creative with these meals- any suggestions?

I do find myself craving at some points of the day, does anyone know a good quick low carb snack?

I like making lettuce wraps, ie meat/veg wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves:D

Snacks-wise how's about a can of tuna/salmon/sardines or else a boiled egg? Don't know how many grams of carbohydrates are in cottage cheese but if it were low carb and you ate dairy then that could be an option

With regard to craving something I find that if I drink a cup of green tea that the craving for having something else sort of disappears

EileenG

It's not necessary to have a specific number for low carbing, it's just sometimes useful to keep you on track. It's easy to start getting carried away and think that you can eat bread and pasta as long as you go for the wholegrain version.

I wouldn't worry too much about the carbs in something like carrots, though in general root veg is higher than green veg.

Nuts and cheese and dark chocolate can definitely play a part in a low carb diet, but don't pig out on them. I'm quite capable of eating a kilo of nuts at a time, and no-one can lose weight doing that.

Mauricmo

Thanks for all the advice.

I have a question: are there any spices and condiments I should be avoiding?
I assume ketchup, bbq sauce and the like are out.

EileenG

Most commercial sauces have a staggering amount of sugar. The good news is you can often make your own without them. in the meantime, stock up on Tabasco. It will give a kick to anything.

rubadub

EileenG wrote: »

I wouldn't worry too much about the carbs in something like carrots.

It is good to start reading all packets though, tesco have info on a lot of veg, or check the frozen section. Some people might just presume things are low carb or low in calories and go overboard eating them. Carrots are ~5% sugar, the same as full sugar lilt. Tomato puree is ~18% sugar, you would never guess it eating it.

Mauricmo wrote: »

I have a question: are there any spices and condiments I should be avoiding?
I assume ketchup, bbq sauce and the like are out.

Ketchup is quite high, like the tomato puree but with added sugars. I had to give up ketchup as I am avoiding tomatos altogether, I eat frenchs american style hotdog mustard, I think it is about 5% carbs and not added sugar. Some of the deli mustards are loaded with oil but are still low in carbs. I also use franks red hot sauce on loads of stuff.

merengueca

Don't know if its available in Tesco Ireland, but I found some sausages in Tesco over here at the weekend... 0.2g Carbs and 90% Pork!!!! Expensive, but nice!

I think the brand name was 'Jimmy's Farm'

Mauricmo

EileenG wrote: »

Most commercial sauces have a staggering amount of sugar. The good news is you can often make your own without them.

Any recipes for bbq sauce:D?

EileenG

What's the essential ingredients in BBQ sauce?

Wonkagirl

Kimia wrote: »

God I love low carbing - I've lost about 1 stone in the 2 months I've been doing it and I feel terrific. Here's my tips.

CHEESE!! Glorious cheese. Eat it for breakfast, snacks, melted over veggies etc.

Boiled eggs. Excellent snack. Great way to have breakfast on the serious run.

Nuts. All kinds of nuts. My faves are dry roasted, cashew and pistachios.

Drink loads and loads of water. Do weight training and eat lots of protein. Try and have a portion of veg (leafy preferably, I'd avoid the carrots unless you're eating a small few raw as a snack) with every meal.

Dark Chocolate - where would I be without it. I feel like I'm spoiling myself with it. Aldi do great chocolate.

Rashers. Need I say more.

Bloody hell- that sounds gorgeous! Who needs carbs??!!

Do you not find that you are constipated? i guess with enough veg/water you should be ok..

i really like the tip of the veggies with cheese over it- nyom nyom, might have that tonite..

I'm on a 'no refined carbs' after lunch buzz- but on the basis of what you've described above, i'd nearly go all out and cut them completely. i'd probably continue with porridge in the morning times tho, otherwise i'd struggle with breakfast options, and i tend to go for eggs for dinner a lot, in the form of omelettes

1 stone in 2 months of eating cheese and chocolate- winner!

Kimia

I drink a lot of water it's true. Like, LOTS of water. And I don't drink anything else, except maybe mint tea at times. Also I try to have leafy veg (or some sort of veg) with every meal to help with the digestion so it's been grand!

I do find breakfast a struggle it has to be said. I'm just so lazy i can't be bothered getting up early to make something, and even if I did the thoughts of a huge omelette or something would turn my stomach at that hour (although i love it at weekends). So i have to make do with a chunk of cheese/boiled eggs for brekkie, which isn't too bad..

metamorphosis

Kimia wrote: »

I drink a lot of water it's true. Like, LOTS of water. And I don't drink anything else, except maybe mint tea at times. Also I try to have leafy veg (or some sort of veg) with every meal to help with the digestion so it's been grand!

I do find breakfast a struggle it has to be said. I'm just so lazy i can't be bothered getting up early to make something, and even if I did the thoughts of a huge omelette or something would turn my stomach at that hour (although i love it at weekends). So i have to make do with a chunk of cheese/boiled eggs for brekkie, which isn't too bad..

Lidl regular cottage cheese has 2gms carbs per 100gms and so only 4gms per 200gm tub - mixed with a little cocoa powder, or peanut butter or berries or cream or a little flavoured whey - YUMMY!

Mauricmo

EileenG wrote: »

What's the essential ingredients in BBQ sauce?

From the back of Webber BBQ sauce:

water, glucose, syrup, sugar, cider vinegar, tomato paste, molasses, maize starch, pineapple pieces, gherkins, garlic ground, red pepper, dried apricot, mustad flour, horseradish, onion ground, tabasco sauce, salt, citric acid, black pepper, pimiento allspice.

-simple right?:D

EileenG

I can't see a low carb alternative to that. It's all sugar or fruit concentrates.

"Homemade sweet bbq sauce", just found it online:
(would it work?? full of syrup anyway)

1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion finely chopped
2 red chili seeded and chopped
500ml or 1 1/2 cups ketchup
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons English mustard (ready mixed, not powdered)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Juice of a lemon
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

EileenG

Try it without the sugar, and it should work. Most of those sauces are far too sweet, and then they add extra salt to compensate.

Mauricmo

Thanks Ill give it a shot.