<p>Mathmom: I felt the same way about steel cuts oats for breakfast–it just didn’t satisfy me. A friend told me to try mixing a tablespoon of nut butter (peanut or almond) into the oats. That did it for me–I was not hungry until lunch.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, you really seem to know a lot about this stuff (and other college stuff as well!). </p>
<p>Can I get a ruling on:</p>
<p>Nuts. Are Macadamia nuts bad? WHat are the best nuts?</p>
<p>Steel cut oats. Stay away or OK?</p>
<p>Almond butter versus peanut butter. Is there a real difference diet-wise?</p>
<p>Where do you come down on chia seeds, flax, etc. Do you supplement your meals with any?</p>
<p>So veruca, if you want to cheat and lose your carb cravings the easy way, here you go:
A 500 mg capsule of Alpha Lipoic Acid morning and night (it has many other health benefits also).
A 400 mcg Chromium supplement morning and before dinner. That’s a pretty high doseage, so you only do that for awhile. I weaned myself down to one, and now I have no carb cravings, so I don’t take any. I could really notice at first when I skipped one, I started craving again.</p>
<p>I was a serious sugarholic, loved sweets, pastries, breads. Not overweight, but not feeling healthy, too many highs and lows, feeling tired. I rarely even eat sweets anymore, without making the effort to stop. The supplements just helped me lose the cravings. But when I do occasionally eat chocolate, it still tastes good!</p>
<p>Nuts are great. Macademia nuts are supposed to be the best, although my favs are cashews, almonds, and pistachios. The only problem with nuts is that they are VERY high calorie, so you can get in trouble fast if you are trying to lose weight. I have to measure out a portion and walk away from the kitchen to eat my little handful. If I carry the container with me, I’ll end up chowing down and rack up hundreds and hundreds of calories.</p>
<p>I’ve never eaten steel cut oats. I try to avoid all grains, although I do have croutons in my salads (a weakness) and I do occasionally dredge something in flour before pan frying or use a TBS or two of flour to thicken a roux. And, there’s some pasta in most of the Progresso soups that I doctor up with sauteed veggies or leftover chicken for lunches. Every once in a blue moon, I’ll buy a loaf of rye bread and have turkey or tuna sandwiches for lunch a couple of days. And, I’ll have bread or a biscuit if I’m stuck with a fast food sandwich or nothing. But, I eat very little in the way of grains. I probably could eat them not. No way I’m insulin resistant these days with triglycerides of 31, but laying off the extra carbs is still an effective way to keep my calories in check. I get plenty of carbs from fruit and veggies. 100 grams of carbs a day seems to work for me.</p>
<p>I got off peanut butter when I was trying to lose weight. Between the calories in the peanut butter and the stone wheat thins I was putting it on, I just had to say no. I used to be able to plow thru a half dozen stoned wheat thins slathered with peanut butter. Those were the days. Now, I’m out of the habit and haven’t gone back. No peanut butter in the house in a couple of years. I do know that commercial peanut butter often has a ton of sugar.</p>
<p>I’ve never eaten a chia seed or a flax seed. I have no idea if they are good or not. The only supplements I take are two fish oil capsules and a heaping teaspoon of psyllium husk fiber (Metamucil-equivalent), twice a day.</p>
<p>Op,
The Atkins diet is the king of low carb diets. Check out his book.
Basically, it’s less than 20 gm of carbs per day for 2 weeks.
If you look at the labels on food, you will find that this is extremely tough to do.
His book will also give the carb counts on meat and vegatables.
To get less than 20 gm of carbs per day for 2 weeks, you basically can only eat meats/protein, certain vegatables. After 2 weeks, you add carbs into your diet in graded fashion. You also get ketone strips to measure the amount of ketones in your urine to know how successful you are with your carb restriction.</p>
<p>Carbs are addictive. Even thinking about carbs will make you release insulin, which drives down your blood sugar, which makes you physically crave carbs to bring the blood sugar back up. Thus, you can’t think about how much you want carbs or that you can’t have carbs. Instead you have to think how much you love that meat/veggie/nuts.</p>
<p>When you switch to very low carb, you won’t feel satisfied because your body is waiting for a certain sugar blood level to feel good. Thus, don’t restrict the amount of meat/veggie/nuts/fats during the first few days. </p>
<p>Also, during the first few days, you feel like crap because our brains primarily use glucose (sugar) for its metabolism. With the lack of glucose and the switch to ketones, it takes a few days for the brain to catch up and start using ketones for its metabolism. So you might feel a little light headed.</p>
<p>You can download an app on the iphone called “Carb Master.” It lists the carbs in many foods. You can also store the carbs in foods that you eat most often. This works as a food diary. You also record your daily weight in it.</p>
<p>Of course, you don’t have to go full bore low carb Atkins. Other lowerish carb diets include paleo diet and pink diet and south beach diet, all of which are awesome diets as well.</p>
<p>Things that I like to eat when low carbing? A portion of the 16 oz lump crab meat from Costco with butter and garlic. The huge bag of raw almonds from Costco. Certain veggies like broccoli or cauliflower or mushrooms with butter. Too bad I don’t like eggs, but eggs would be a great food as well, maybe with cheese, ham, bacon, spinich.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and the frozen Tilapia loins, frozen shrimp from Costco. Also good is the salmon with the pesto butter from Costco. Ground beef or ground turkey seasoned with garlic powder, onions, curry powder, cumin, and coriander.</p>
<p>Thanks all!
On Atkins you can’t have fruit right?</p>
<p>I actually pick the little cubes of potato out of Progresso soup. They’re tasteless and just filler.</p>
<p>Just poking my head in to say I am reading this thread with great interest. I’ve been on other threads/fb groups/. . . because I’m trying to, well, be healthier. The good: I have cut way back on toast (which I love!–down to one piece/day), we’ve almost cut pasta out (still a very occasional dinner), I’ve gone from a nightly 1-2 glasses of wine to only drinking when I go out to eat, I’m on a treadmill 3-4 times/week but have been lazy about the off days (I did take note of the “do even a little on the non-treadmill days” above). The bad–I just don’t feel like I’m seeing much (any?) change. Exercise started 2-3 months ago, more serious food changes started about a month ago. I am fairly tall and tell people the good news/bad news is that a few pounds up or down really isn’t noticeable. Anyway–thanks to all for the suggestions, what’s worked/hasn’t worked for you. Keep 'em coming!</p>
<p>Seven months ago, I decided to give up all wheat, potatoes, rice and pasta. Kind of a “no white diet”. I read everything I could get my hands on about low carb dieting and in particular the Paleo diet. Since that time I have concentrated on eating lots of vegetables, low carb fruit (melon and berries), lean protein (eggs, grilled meat, fowl and fish, no processed meats), limited dairy, nuts and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado). The result? I have never felt better. I feel alert and energized, less achy and sluggish. No more indigestion. Oh, and I lost 15 pounds without feeling gnawing hunger. This may not be for everyone and I certainly did not think it would work for me initially. It was hard to give up bread and pizza etc. and for the first few days I felt horrible. But now I think it is the healthiest and most satisfying way to eat, at least for me. I love feeling this good and also not feeling hungry all the time.</p>
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<p>Not for the first two weeks. Then you start adding some back gradually. You start with berries-strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.</p>
<p>In the newest version of the Atkins diet, there is much more emphasis placed on eating vegetables-particularly leafy greens-than before. </p>
<p>Also, in the latest Atkins literature, the ketone strips are no longer advocated. It turns out that they are actually an unreliable measure of ketosis.</p>
<p>“I eat a lot of carbs. I am not really overweight but I don’t eat very healthily.”
-I do not see anything wrong with this. Protein is way overrated. I also eat a lot of carbs, I just do not like other food as much, not vegetarian though. I have noticed that some measurements of health like blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol HDL/LDL energy level depend on weight and not on what you eat, this is from observation of my H. and myself over many years</p>
<p>Thanks, InterestedDad. Lots of helpful tips! </p>
<p>I really believe that it’s not how much you eat so much as what you eat. And the “what” you eat (less carbs) helps curb the hunger so you eat less. (I also supplement with Alphalipoic Acid and Fish Oil)</p>
<p>It’s helped me lose 2 lbs a week since a disastrous holiday season. Turning the “diet” into a lifestyle is what I’m striving for so all these pointers are really great. Thanks all!</p>
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<p>The newest version of the Atkins Diet book, written by Westman, Phinney, and Volek presents the extreme 20 gram induction phase as the first in four phases up to a long-term maintenance diet up to 100 grams of carbs per day. They make the point that people successfully start “low carb” dieting at any of the four stages.</p>
<p>[New</a> Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great.: Eric C. Westman, Stephen D. Phinney, Jeff S. Volek: 9781439190272: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275]New”>http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275)</p>
<p>The 100 grams (net carbs) has been where I have lived for the past two years or so. There’s certainly no need to restrict veggies at that level and a piece or two of fruit a day can easily fit. I have never been “in ketosis”, below 50 grams a day, and I don’t think it’s necessary at all for most people just trying to lose a few pounds. I think the induction phase would be a good place to start if you were just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or needed to take drastic action to address blood lipid test problems to avoid statins, etc. But, I’m a living example of someone who lost a great deal of weigth with the opposite approach – cutting out one group of carbs, then cutting some more carb foods later, and so on in progressive stages.</p>
<p>Here’s Westman’s [Physicians</a> Guide to the Atkins Diet](<a href=“http://www.atkins-hcp.com/(X(1)A(xotpZTlHzAEkAAAAZjA2YWQ4YzEtMmZmYi00NDAxLWJiYWUtOTA1ODZjN2RkOWU5mzyhkNCGQl3C8eKYGi1KsA2))/PDF/Atkins%20Presentation_PeerGroup_1012.pdf%5DPhysicians”>http://www.atkins-hcp.com/(X(1)A(xotpZTlHzAEkAAAAZjA2YWQ4YzEtMmZmYi00NDAxLWJiYWUtOTA1ODZjN2RkOWU5mzyhkNCGQl3C8eKYGi1KsA2))/PDF/Atkins%20Presentation_PeerGroup_1012.pdf) that he developed at his Duke clinic where he uses it in the real world to treat obese and/or diabetic patients. This is a very good outline of the various foods and a summary of a lot of the research.</p>
<p>The only real risk that I’ve seen outlined by doctors who use this diet is that improvements can be quite rapid and can require cutting doses of blood pressure, diabetes, and statin cholesterol-lowering drugs pretty rapidly. Reducing those drugs is a good thing, but it may require some monitoring in the first few months. Particularly at “induction phase” levels, the changes are pretty quick.</p>
<p>I think a little breezier read on this kind of approach is a 1990s’ best seller by Drs. Micheal and Mary Eades:</p>
<p>[Protein</a> Power: The High-Protein/Low Carbohydrate Way to Lose Weight, Feel Fit, and Boost Your Health-in Just Weeks!: Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades: 9780553574753: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Protein-Power-High-Protein-Carbohydrate-Health/dp/0553574752]Protein”>http://www.amazon.com/Protein-Power-High-Protein-Carbohydrate-Health/dp/0553574752)</p>
<p>Another testimony for the transformational properties of a low-carb diet: the wife and I started on Dr. Gundry’s low carb plan about a year ago. I mentioned it on the diet/exercise thread. He has a book out, “Diet Evolution,” that is close to both Atkins and Paleo diets, but he does point out the differences.</p>
<p>It starts with a blood test. Knowledge of certain genetic markers are needed to tailor the diet to your propensities. Some people, the book points out, will need cholesterol drugs no matter what they eat. </p>
<p>Here are some of the highlights of our new way of eating. We mostly cooked from scratch before the change, so we only really had to change ingredients and ratios.</p>
<p>Breakfast: steel-cut oats mixed with blueberries and ground flax, greek yogurt with fresh fruit, or some form of eggs. </p>
<p>10 am and 2 pm snack: 1/4 cup of mixed nuts. We buy big bags of assorted nuts, mix them, them put 1/2 cup portions into the small ziploc baggies and store them in the refrigerator.</p>
<p>Lunch: almost always a huge salad. We buy loads of lettuce, baby spinach and arugula. Experiment with different toppings for variety. Dressing is olive oil, vinegar, garlic, pepper and whatever fresh herbs are growing in the garden.</p>
<p>Dinner: Usually some meat or fish and a big pile of fresh vegetables. No rice, potatoes, bread, or other carb-heavy options. Growing up with an italian mother, we still make pasta dishes, but now use only Fiber Gourmet low carb pasta. We get it 50lbs at a time delivered.</p>
<p>There was an interesting article in this month’s Outside Magazine called “Your Fat Has a Brain.” My unscientific take on it is that body fat is fighting your brain and your muscles for dominance, releasing chemicals that inhibit the full feeling and destroying the fat-fighting mitochondria in the muscles. We decided to fight back.</p>
<p>I feel just fine on my high carb diet, I exercise 2+ hours every day and have no problem doing that. I do not like meat too much and eating fish every day is not a good idea, and I just forget to eat eggs because they have to be prepared. It is much easier to grab a fruit from fridge and munch on them whole evening long.<br>
But if one like all that meat, why not? Listenning to your own body is much more important than reading all books. They are written by somebody else and reflect others’ experiences, not yours.</p>
<p>Miami Dap -I see your point -but I am worried about diabetes -with all the sugar I eat.</p>
<p>I want to see how I feel.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind dropping a couple of pounds.
I exercise a good bit (I am a fitness instructor) but then I go to starbucks and get a latte and a coffee cake. It never seems to satisfy me. I think to myself -just for today -but then I want it again the next day. I want to see if I can break this cycle of always wanting to follow a meal with something sweet.</p>
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<p>Some people can get away with this, but most can not. The cardiologists find marathon runners with terrible arteries who are following this regimen. It is not something you will ever “feel” until it is too late.</p>
<p>If you are interested in learning about the various low carb diet plans and comparing them, I recommend “How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds” by Dana Carpender. She reviews all the various approaches - Atkins, The Zone, Paleo, GO diet, Carb Addicts Diet, etc. and discusses the pros and cons of each plan. The basic goal in all of these approaches is to lower your carb intake so you do not have giant swings of insulin production and blood sugar swings. Since we all started eating low fat diets, diabetes has become even a bigger epidemic and we as a society have become fatter and sicker. I don’t pretend to have all the answers about a healthy diet, but I do know that what we have been promoting (eating the food pyramid, low fat diets, extreme calorie restriction) is not working.</p>
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<p>You don’t have to go low-carb to eat healthier than that. Starbucks’ coffee cakes are 340-440 calories, with most of their calories and carbohydrates from sugar. Their lattes are 110-260 calories, again with most of their calories and carbohydrates from sugar. A meal of mainly sugar is unlikely to be satisfying for long.</p>
<p>In contrast, a soft taco is about 200-230 calories each, but with more protein to keep you satisfied longer. And you can add more vegetables by adding salsa.</p>
<p>Or you can just eat a big salad… make sure that it is mainly vegetables, though.</p>