So, in order to get over the plateau I've been stuck at for two months and kick weight-loss into gear, I've started writing down my food and recording it into fit day, which does all the work of counting calories, fat, carbs, etc. I have insulin resistance and so I want to keep an eye on my carbs, not to do a super low carb diet or anything, but just to to keep carbs at 40% or less of my overall caloric intake.
Any general advice or suggestions on how to increase protein and decrease carbs in meals and snacks? I don't drink any juice or soda, so I'm not getting any carbs in beverages. I'm not vegetarian or vegan, but I'm also not a huge meat eater. I'm getting a little big sick of pumpkin seeds and almonds for snack...a little nervous about increasing protein since so many high protein foods are also high in fat and calories, so don't want to go overboard on that. I try to eat mostly whole and natural foods, so also don't want to go the high protein bar and shake route since that's processed.
By the way, fitday is great - I just started yesterday and am now a big fit-day evangelist. Check it out: www.fitday.com. Super-easy way to track, especially if you're on your computer as much as I am.
I'm in the same boat as you- trying to lower carbs, up the protein, and so on.
A few great things I have found is eggs- a hard boiled egg is a GREAT SNACK!
One hard boiled egg is less than 100 calories and only like 5 grams of fat.
Ground turkey BREAST also rocks! It's like 120 calories for 4 oz's and then it's only like 2g of fat! I made a chili with ground turkey breast, beans, and tomato sauce with spices- came out SO GOOD!
Also another good snack is those babybel cheeses in the wax. 70 calories and only 5 grams of fat.
I've started doing south beach kind of on my own until I get the book in. I'm just working on getting less than 100 grams of carbs a day but soon I'll be going lower I think, to less than 75. I found things here and there I can cut
Greek yogurt with berries - no fat, lower carbs - high protein
Grilled vegetables - I make a big batch at dinnertime and usually have enough left over for some snack-sized portions in storage containers for the next day. Cauliflower and mushrooms add protein here without adding carbs/sugar
Beef jerky
Cashews - I know, close to almonds but I like them better But be careful, they've got 150 calories an ounce!
Shrimp with low carb cocktail sauce, or no sauce
Hummus or guacamole and sliced peppers/carrots/celery
I made some awesome "hot wings" last week. I cut thighs into three strips parallel to the bone (so one section gets the whole bone, and the other two sections are boneless). I left the skin on (but you could buy skinless boneless thighs, also). I follow an 1500 to 1900 calorie lower-carb exchange plan, so I just calculate my exchanges. If I were low-carbing without calorie counting, I probably would have removed the skin. Instead I just counted the skin towards my "fat exchanges).
I marinated the chicken pieces in equal portions of bottled hot wing sauce (very low or no carb) and sugar free french dressing (low carb). I only let them marinate for about an hour, but I don't see any reason I couldn't (and probably will next time) leave them in the marinade overnight. I do that with a lot of meats. I put them on foil lined cookie sheet (for ease of cleanup), and baked them about 30 minutes at 400 degrees (until the skin was browned and crispy).
They were so good, I think I'll make them for our housewarming party after we move into the new apartment (Oct 1, I'm so excited).
thanks everybody! great ideas! this will help provide variety.
kaplods - I'm a graduate of UWSP, not far from Wausau. Though I've been in Virginia for years I'm always happy to see another wisconsinite!
Small world! I'm not a native. I grew up in central IL, where I met my husband (he's the native) about 8 years ago. We moved from IL about 5 years ago, when my husband lost his job (his company moved to Mexico).
So, in order to get over the plateau I've been stuck at for two months and kick weight-loss into gear, I've started writing down my food and recording it into fit day, which does all the work of counting calories, fat, carbs, etc. I have insulin resistance and so I want to keep an eye on my carbs, not to do a super low carb diet or anything, but just to to keep carbs at 40% or less of my overall caloric intake.
Any general advice or suggestions on how to increase protein and decrease carbs in meals and snacks? I don't drink any juice or soda, so I'm not getting any carbs in beverages. I'm not vegetarian or vegan, but I'm also not a huge meat eater. I'm getting a little big sick of pumpkin seeds and almonds for snack...a little nervous about increasing protein since so many high protein foods are also high in fat and calories, so don't want to go overboard on that. I try to eat mostly whole and natural foods, so also don't want to go the high protein bar and shake route since that's processed.
By the way, fitday is great - I just started yesterday and am now a big fit-day evangelist. Check it out: www.fitday.com. Super-easy way to track, especially if you're on your computer as much as I am.
Thanks everybody!
OMG this is me to the T. I couldn've written this. How funny.
Great suggestions but keep them coming. I am pre-diabetic and proactive. Dietician told me to keep my carbs at 25-35 per meal and 20 for snacks. Wow! I feel that's way too high.
I have high fasting numbers at the moment but not so much during the day but my sister is diabetic and on insulin so I am working hard at keeping the carbs down and exercising.
ok, here's another similarity - I have insulin resistance, too.
So I have a tradition of saturday morning pancakes that I don't want to give up but am trying to make healthier. Today I made oat flour (whole oats blended in the blender, and I threw in some walnuts, too) and used a cup of that and then 3/4 cup of soy flour (my first time using it) and just 1/4 cup of regular white flour. Then all the usual ingredients of eggs, milk, oil, etc. They turned out pretty well! Not the same taste as pancakes made with regular pancake mix but definitely lower in carbs and higher in fiber and protein - with the soy flour, oats, and walnuts. So I think I'll make that my saturday morning habit.
I've fallen a bit off the fit-day bandwagon and need to get back on. I've been sick all week (parvo virus caused by a wood tick - part of living in the mountains, I guess...but not a big deal, just fatigue and it should go away in a week) so feeling unmotivated and definitely not able to work out. But hoping to kick this soon and continue my march on to onderland.
One thing that may help those of you trying to reduce carbs for blood sugar/insulin control might be to make sure you don't eat carbs alone (like a pancake breakfast, even w lowered carb pancakes). Try adding protein & fat to the same meal & it should help your carb metabolism slow down.
Thanks everyone for all the advise. I was just at the Dr. last week and he told me to do the GI Index instead of trying to lower all carbs. I think this means what we all know...eat some complex carbs and leave all the simple carbs alone. I've got a book on the GI and GL indexes and I'm totally confused. I sent for "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss" Havent' received it yet.
Anybody else explain this plan easy? Does this mean I can't eat peas or corn at all anymore? Being they are veggies and high fiber I would think they would be ok, in small portions. This is all so confusing.
Greek yogurt is the bomb!! Lots of protein and not too bad on calories! I eat one as my afternoon snack about an hour and a half before my workout. I also like eggs. Eggwhite omlette with cheese and tomato for breakfast. I eat lots of veggies with my meals to get my fiber and extra fill!
Also pistachios! Love them!! Good luck! I know its tough mixing it up. But I try to add spices as much as I can!
Thanks everyone for all the advise. I was just at the Dr. last week and he told me to do the GI Index instead of trying to lower all carbs. I think this means what we all know...eat some complex carbs and leave all the simple carbs alone. I've got a book on the GI and GL indexes and I'm totally confused. I sent for "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss" Havent' received it yet.
Anybody else explain this plan easy? Does this mean I can't eat peas or corn at all anymore? Being they are veggies and high fiber I would think they would be ok, in small portions. This is all so confusing.
BTW my A1c came back this time as 6.5
I am prediabetic, my doctor also recommends eating a low GI plan, and I have recently discovered a number of cookbooks written by Linda Gassenheimer. They are simple recipes, pretty quick to make. She lays it out so simply from explaining why eating the low GI works to an EXACT breakdown of each recipe. She tells you what order to start making a meal, how much time it should take, complete nutritional analysis, grocery list and even weekly menus.
I found myself completely overwhelmed (in the beginning) on how to eat this way. I was using a meal delivery system and have slowly weaned myself off to using these cook books (she has a number of them out there--found mine for an exceptionally low price at Tuesday Morning but you can get them through Amazon).
It's a learning process for me as I imagine for most of us. But having done this for the last 3 months it gets easier as time goes by. And it's a very easy plan to live on for the rest of my life. The best grasp I have on this plan at this time (I still feel like I have so much more to learn) is that:
Up the protein, decrease the simple carbs (and what we think of as simple is not always simple for example pasta cooked al-dente is a moderate not high GI food). Whole grains are best. Fruit and veggies have different GIs but because they are full of fiber they are not as evil as their GI index leads us to believe. You must consider the GI load of your meal. The idea is that one food that is lower GI might be able to balance out a higher GI food. Adding about 4T of vinegar of lemon juice can also lower the GI load of a meal. Portion control is also key as is a balanced approach to fats. Cheese and dairy are okay but look for reduced fat products. Eat more fish. Eat healthy oils in moderation--eliminate partially/hydorgenated oils. Elimate processed foods. Check for sugar in EVERYTHING you buy from the store. When she said check your salad dressing for sugar I thought, no way! Sure enough, the packets that I use to make my 'homemade' dressing had sugar as the first ingredient. Now I make my own.
Increasing your protein (I'm like you--never a big meat eater) has eliminated my cravings and constant hunger by 99%. I do have an odd moment where I will crave or be ravenous but if I look over my day I can usually attribute it to not having had enough protein.
And yes, greek yogurt is the bomb!
Anyway, these are some of things I've learned and I hope it's a help to you.
ANewCreation, what great advice. Thanks so much. We are a family of 2 now that the kids are all left the coup. LOL
I have so many digestive problems. Slow stomach emptying and GERD for a couple. I decided to change Drs. and am going to see him today so I may get a completely different approach. We'll see.
general advice on limiting carbs?
