My Other Websites: All about almond flour, what it is, how to use it and where to buy it All about erythritol, what it is, how to use it and where to buy it. |
Low Carb Advice First, and I cannot stress this enough, you must make a committment to live low carb, this is for the rest of your life, without bread, pasta, flour products, other grain products, sugar, etc. After doing low carb your body will not burn carbohydrates like it used to because instead it will burn fat (stored and dietary). Don't, however, let that scare you off! The important thing to keep in mind is that not only are there many substitutes for these foods, after you've gone without them for a while, you will no longer crave these things anyway. Most importantly, this is simply the healthiest way to eat based on the evolution of the human species and you will likely notice other health and even some cosmetic improvements as well! You need to stick to it, don't go on and off the diet, it will be harder to lose weight each time you go back on, your metabolism becomes more resistent. Each time you go off the plan, you need to be stricter in order to lose weight. Once you start, take my advice and stay with it! I went through a phase where I would cheat on and off and after about a year or two of that I got tired of gaining weight back and also having it get higher each time that I just stopped, I haven't cheated in at least 2 or 3 years. I finally made a commitment on all levels and accepted it, and now it's not hard at all, I haven't been tempted since. People react differently to different plans. You have to find what works for you. If I had it to do all over again I would just cut out the main offenders (grain, sugar, milk and potatoes) and be less restricted. I didn't have much to lose at the time either. I started low carbing in March of 2002 and have not been consistent, I kept changing how I did it, kept cheating. I kept trying to do induction over and over again and couldn't do it. Of course I'm a snackaholic with too much time on her hands and had my favorite high carb foods shoved in my face all the time. I never followed Atkins plan that well, I kept trying to. If you do Atkins, follow the plan. Don't do what I did, follow it to the letter and you will have an easy time of it. It's strictest in the first 2 weeks, but after that you can start gradually adding things in starting with more vegetables, eventually you can add nuts and berries. I have pretty much screwed up my metabolism going on and off so many times-don't do it. I found out the hard way that cheating is not worth it at all. I went through such hell after each cheat that I've finally reached the point where I can't do it anymore. I don't even think about cheating, the forbidden foods are so out of the question to me now, they are totally off limits so it doesn't matter anymore how tempting they are, if they're shoved in my face, I won't eat them because I don't even entertain the idea at all, I know it will totally screw things up for me. Another thing which may help to curb cheating is seeing this as your choice instead of rules you have to follow. You have to say to yourself, "I choose not to eat that". This puts the power back in your hands. If you have an obsession with food, are an overeater, snack all the time out of boredom or whatever reason, you must work on this. An unhealthy obsession with food is very problematic on any restrictive eating plan. It's much harder to avoid cheating if you feel the need to entertain yourself with food all the time. I have a problem with this myself. Because I have 2 personality disorders that make me socially withdrawn and dependant, I have no job and cannot drive so I have virtually no life and am very bored, so I learned to turn to food to keep me happy. Eating is a fun activity for me and sweet treats are very tempting. If you're like me, this will be your downfall. You need to do some soul searching and figure out what makes you eat when you're not hungry and work on it. I'm learning to find other activities to keep me occupied like drawing, cleaning, etc. If you feel you must snack, try snacking on vegetables. Also, try drinking water instead of snacking. If you must have something sweet and there are cheat foods around you, don't let yourself feel deprived, make an acceptable low carb snack. I'm more determined and committed than ever and that really helps. The more motivated and determinted you are the more you can commit to healthy eating habits and the less you want to cheat. I've recently learned that to succeed you need to stay motivated. Remotivate yourself every morning. Write down the reasons for sticking to your plan, anything that motivates you and read it every morning, think about sticking to your plan and reaching your goal and make a strong commitment each day to stick to your plan. Attitude is also very important, for example, instead of thinking "I can't have that", "I wish I could have that" think "I will do this and reach my goal!". Don't tempt yourself with thoughts of foods you can't have, that will only make it harder. Stay focused on your plan and keep your eye on the prize! Hidden Carbs Make sure you read the label on anything in a package, if it's anything other than unprocessed meat and fat, there are carbs in it. If the label says 0 carbs it has up to .6 carbs a serving. Other than the carbs in certain foods not included on labels, hidden carbs come in the form of sugars, fillers, glycerin and sugar alcohols. Cream, cheese, cream cheese, splenda and eggs, five foods allowed on a low carb plan, do have carbs, so remember to keep track. A cup of heavy cream has 6.6. An ounce of cheese (about 1 cubic inch) can have anywhere from .1 to 11.9 depending on the kind of cheese, most are under a gram per ounce. Cream cheese has 1 per tablespoon, a cup of splenda has 24 and 1 egg has .6. There are carbs in the form of sugar and fillers in more foods than you might be aware of. Sauces, gravies and condiments are a few good examples. Many things are made with sugar. Gravy, for example, is full of it. You'll also have to watch out for fillers which are commonly found in artificial sweeteners or other sweeteners like stevia, sugar free items and dry powder mixes, etc. Fillers typically consist of modified corn starch; maltodextrin, dextrose and corn syrup solids. These fillers have a high glycemic index. Glycerin is a type of alcohol that is a by-product of fat metabolism and has 4 calories per gram. Glycerin is not always included in the carbohydrates. Fat has 9 calories per gram, protein-4 and carbohydrate-4. If after adding up the calories from the grams of each, the calorie count on the label is higher, there is glycerin in it. Sugar alcohols are alcohols derived from sugar molecules and include maltitol, xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, lactitol, isomalt, sorbitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates and others. Sugar alcohols typically have less calories than sugar and are slowly and incompletely absorbed. Because of this, excess consumption may cause a laxative effect. Erythritol, because it is quickly absorbed in the small intestine and eliminated within 24 hours, has a higher digestive tolerance. Erythritol is the best choice as far as sugar alcohols go as it has only .2 calories per gram, making it the lowest in calories and carbs. I would also think it would be better than using other sweeteners that contain high-glycemic fillers, such as maltodextrin. Also, they cause little or no rise in insulin (Maltitol, however, is high on the glycemic index. Some people can handle it while others cannot). While sugar alcohols are better than regular sugar, they do still have calories in the form of carbohydrate and slow or stall some people's weight loss. Most low carb snack products use sugar alcohols (most commonly maltitol). Be sure to check out LowCarbFriends.com's carbohydrate counter. Cravings Cravings can make you fall right off the low carb wagon. They should go away after you've done without the high carb foods for a few days to a week. You need to avoid anything with sugar and other foods that greatly effect insulin (the hunger hormone which makes you crave carbs). Regular peanut butter, for example, causes me cravings. Having just one little bite of this or that will cause cravings for more so just avoid the bad stuff altogether. During induction (if you're doing Atkins), watch out for sweet low carb treats, they may reawaken your sweet tooth and make you want more and more! Some people can have them in moderation while others may lose control. Menstruation has been known to cause cravings (because of hormones), so be careful when that time of month rolls around! If you can possibly avoid giving in to your urges at all, stick to the plan. If you are in a situation where you cannot avoid eating something you shouldn't, keep low carb alternatives around, that's better than the flour and sugar filled foods. For example, get a low carb cheesecake, low carb icecream (from health food store if one is available or make your own) or make a low carb dessert. You could also drink water instead of snacking, I find that keeps me busy enough to not even think about snacking. Chewing gum may also help because it keeps your mouth busy. Stalls I don't know a whole lot about this particular aspect of low carbing. My problem comes from eating too many things I shouldn't then my weight loss slows but if I stick to plan I eventually lose. A stall is defined as 4 weeks or more without loss in inches. There are a few tactics for breaking a stall including carb loading (which I personally don't recommend), meat fast (nothing but meat for a few days or a week) and fat fast (1000 cals, 90% from fat, 10% from meat, 3 days, I personally would not go as low as 1000 calories as that will lower your metabolism) and exercise. If you ever do a meat or fat fast, it is important that afterwards you add carbs slowly, 5 the first day following, 10 the next day, etc. until you reach 20 if you're doing induction levels, or simply add 5 carbs a day until you get to the level you're supposed to be at. There are many possible reasons for a stall, normally it is your body catching up to the weight loss. It can also be due to other factors such as something you're eating that is stalling your loss, menstruation, medications and others. Some foods are known to stall some people. This includes low carb food products, caffeine, salt, sugar alcohols, aspartame, peanuts and dairy. Sometimes disorders such as yeast, food intolerances and thyroid problems will be the cause of a stall or plateau. Things To Avoid Aspartame is really bad, it is known to cause neurological problems, so it's best to stay away from that stuff-it really is toxic. My favorite is erythritol but unfortunately you have to buy it online. You can also get stevia online or from healthfood stores. Soy protein. See Avoid to learn why it's bad for you. If you'd like to be a purist, I'd like to advise against getting store bought dressings and mayo or anything made with soy oil and make your own (mayo, ranch seasoning). Avoid margarine and trans or hydrogenated fats as they are the WORST. Get real butter, look at the ingredients, it should say cream. If you get vegetable oil, get olive oil or nut based oils like almond. I find that the melted fat I collect after cooking meat is great on salads. Miscellaneous It is important to drink plenty of water, that is 64 oz plus another 8 ounce for every 25 pounds you have to lose. Drinking lots of water helps flush out ketones, toxins and fat. I've found that I can drink much more water by drinking out of a 16 oz. glass with a straw. I went from drinking up to 2 liters a day to twice as much and I don't even drink with meals, I wait until after my meals are digested (45 mins for meat, 25 for vegetables) to drink water, this is better for digestion because you won't be diluting your stomach acids and also you won't be so bloated. This way the water can pass through your system faster and more efficiently. Of course some prefer to go the other way and drink with their meals to help fill them up. Exercise is also beneficial. Not only will it speed up weight loss, it will improve your overall health and vitality. Exercise will help you tone and strengthen your body. Exercise is also responsible for the increased energy I hear low carbers go on about, I wondered why I didn't have it, I don't exercise consistently. If you sit around and do nothing your energy level will go down. Alcohol, at least at first, should be avoided. Your body will burn off the alcohol before it burns fat, doesn't matter if it has no carbs. If you do drink, red wine is the best and healthiest choice. Although it only has a few carbs per serving, you should watch your intake of it. Flavored liquors (like vodka twist) have sugar in them so they should be avoided. Of course drinks like regular beer, kahlua, zima and others will also be carby, so those are out of the question! If there comes a time when you must have kaluha, there is also a low carb recipe for that. Low Carb Substitutes You'd be suprised what you can do with almond flour. I've seen lots of recipes using almond flour. The easiest way to make it yourself is to put a cup of almonds at a time in a blender and blend until you get a fairly fine flour, you can also use a coffee grinder or food processor. They say not to grind it up too long because it will turn into almond butter. I have made many things with almond flour. See my recipe reviews page for more info. You can buy fine, blanched almond flour here. To replace sugar I recommend stevia (0 calorie, 0 on glycemic index) for sweetening and erythritol for bulk and sweetening. Check out my site about erythritol to learn more about it. For frostings; egg whites, cream cheese, butter and homemade whipped cream can be used. I found a couple of good low carb frosting recipes at lowcarbluxury.com. My latest frosting, Buttercream Cream Cheese frosting turned out wonderfully. Whipped cream or heavy cream is used by us low carbers as a substitute for things like milk and icecream. You can make some really good ice cream using whipped cream instead of milk. When you make your own it tends to be harder after freezing it but if you let it sit out for a while and then stir it, it's great. I've used an icecream machine and it turned out great with a smooth creamy texture. It tastes just like store bought icecream. You can add cocoa to make chocolate, add all natural peanut butter or extracts. There are many neat and creative things you can do. As a potato substitute, we use radishes (regular or daikon-the chinese radish, long white root), cauliflower, turnips, rutabaga and jicama (also known as the mexican turnip or potato). Jicama is really good shredded and makes a great substitute for hash browns. There are even ways to make pizza, either with no crust or by using meat, eggs or even portabella mushrooms for the crust. Of course you can always try almond flour. Come to think of it, portabella mushrooms would make a great bun too. I was talking to some low carbers today who bake cheese until it comes out crispy and they use that for taco shells. Pork rinds are another big substitute staple for low carbers. They've been used to bread drumsticks, in meatloaf, mock french toast, salad toppings (in place of crutons), a chip/nacho substitute and more. There are delicious substitutions for everything in the low carber's world. Click here for recipes. You can find more great advice here. You may also want to check out my tips for snackaholics. |
My Other Websites: All about almond flour, what it is, how to use it and where to buy it All about erythritol, what it is, how to use it and where to buy it. |
