I've been heavy all my life and counting fats/calories is not working for me. For years I've always said I could never do the low carb diet because I love breads and pastas too much, but I'm starting to think this might be the only thing that will work for me!

My husband and I are going to do this together, so we're totally new to low carb anything and we're not sure what to expect! Does anyone have any advice as we go on this journey together? Also, what were your weight losses so far with the low-carb lifestyle?

Any thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

Hello Kc and welcome to 3FC,
Low carb is really hard for the first couple weeks, but once you get over that hump you crave the breads and sugar less or at least that's my experience. I've been low carbing for two months now and have lost 20lbs. I lost 30 last year on no gluten dieting. Some days are harder than others, but it does get easier if you're true to the no white carbs.

Eat plenty of veg and take a multivitamin. It's good you have support as this is a hard diet if not everyone is doing it. My DH does the cooking in this house and I'm the only low carb dieter, but it can be done. I wish you the best of luck.

If you don't have it in the house you won't eat it or break down! So my advice is get anything that is to tempting to have around the house OUT! Other then that, keep plenty of low carb snacks for when you do get hungry or have a craving. I am sure your going to do great

I think the best thing I've done, low-carbing, is to find decent substitutes for my favorite foods. There are TONS of recipes out there for practically anything you could possibly want, and I am more than happy to share some with you, if you like!
One thing I can say about pasta - try spaghetti squash instead. It is DIFFERENT than pasta - but I LOVE it as a substitute, and it is so much healthier!
If you want some recipes or suggestions, message me! I'd love to share more with you. The low carb life style does actually get easy - you just have to get over the initial 'i'm-in-carb/sugar-withdrawal' phase - mine tends to be 2-3 days of complete grouchiness and lethargia. BUT if you can get over that, you're golden!
Good luck!

I've been low carb (Atkins) for almost 7 and a half years now
I think the 2 most important things regarding low carb are, first, going into it with a positive attitude. Don't concentrate on the things you can't have, but, rather on the things you CAN have Low carb means you can have full fat mayo, yogurt, cheese, butter, bacon, salad dressings...no more of those low fat, fat-free blah tasting foods And second, this is a LIFESTYLE change, meaning, don't look at it as a diet you can go off of as soon as you meet your goal. Losing the weight is half the journey, keeping it off is the other half.
Low carb works but, you've got to make it work for you!
You CAN do this!
All the best to you & your DH

I would suggest that you keep in mind some of the healthy eating advice that also applies to other calorie plans. Make sure you are drinking enough fluids so that you don't mistake thirst for hunger. Make sure you eat a *lot* of low carb veggies. They will help fill you up and provide tons of necessary nutrients.

In the end, remember that calories do count. Some folks find that when they low carb their hunger is sufficiently in check that they don't need to count calories. That didn't work for me (probably got issues that are too deep seated) so I low carb and calorie count.

The good news on my front is that low carb helped me not only lose weight (which I've also done CCing with higher carbs), but I've finally achieved a healthy waist-to-hip ratio for the first time in well over a decade.

Thank you all so much for the replies! I really appreciate all of the helpful suggestions! My husband and I have not started our low carb lifestyle yet, but plan to this coming Wednesday as we will be grocery shopping that day so it will allow us to stock up on the things we need. I have however been doing research, looking up recipes we can try, and just trying to get in the low carb lifestyle mind-set. I think we're ready and I'm excited to get started!

hi there
the 1st few days are the worst. once you get past those. you will be feeling better. and lighter!

Excellent post and it bears repeating.

I always thought low-carb was unhealthy and too restrictive to be practical, so when my doctor recommended low-carb, I was skeptical (especially when he warned not to go too low, but admitted he didn't know what too low was).

A food journal helped tremendously. I was also keeping a health and symptom journal, because I was trying to find the triggers for some of my symptoms.

I found that high glycemic carbs (especially wheat) were actually triggering headaches, joint pain, and skin issues that I thought were just my "normal," and was aggravating my fibromyalgia and autoimmune disease symptoms. By eliminating wheat and limiting sugar and carbs, my blood sugar and other blood test health indicators have all been much improved, my autoimmune disease has gone into partial remission and my "sensitive" skin isn't so sensitive. Rosacea, spider veins, breakouts, oily and dry flaky patches, they all disappeared. My skin was flawless for the first time since before puberty. And the pain, fatigue, and brain fog flares of my fibromyalgia are also much less severe.

As a result of my food logs, I also learned what "too low" carb meant for me. Whenever I tried low-carb in the past, I would always diet at Atkins induction level (fewer than 20 g carbs). For me, that's too low. If I eat that low, I not only have "induction flu" it doesn't go away after two weeks, it only gets worse (when I tried it in high school and college I actually even passed out, from what I now recognize to be low-blood sugar). The headaches, irritability, nausea, and dizziness convinced me that low-carb was unhealthy - and I never realized that just upping my carb intake even modestly would have helped. I tried prolonged induction, but I never went on to OWL. If I had just chosen a slightly higher carb level, I wouldn't have felt so sick.


I am not saying this will be your experience. Most people don't have a problem with induction, or even long-term induction. I'm only saying be willing to experiment and modify your plan to suit what you find works best.

For example, I can't do unlimited calorie plans. I can and have stalled my weight loss on even induction-level carbs. I can't rely on hunger as a guide, because my hunger system isn't reliable. I can't tell "false" hunger from "true" hunger. So I do have to add a portion- and calorie- control component.

For me, a low-carb exchange plan has worked well.

I always thought I loved carbs too much to be happy on a low-carb plan, but when my health journal proved to me that high-carb eating was aggravating (and possibly actually causing) so many of my health problems I had to re-evaluate my assumptions about low-carb. Were high-carb foods so vital to my happiness that I was willing to sacrifice my health and deal with more pain than I had to?

My situation may be unusual, but no matter your situation a food journal can help you see patterns you might have missed if you weren't looking.

You can also disprove to yourself that low-carb meals are less enjoyable then high-carb meals.

I had an awesome low-carb meal today at an pan-asian restaurant. I ate an appetizer called "treasure island" as my lunch. It was half an avocado, topped with diced raw tuna and fish roe, with a spicy mayo dressing on some leaf lettuce.

It was so decadent I really felt that I'd splurged on myself.

I tried to do a low-cal diet for over a year and half and all I had to show for it was 10-15lbs at a time. I started low carbing 2 months ago and lost almost 25 to date.

Make sure you always have something to eat. I love to eat meat so it makes the diet easy.

I like to snack on cold cuts but make sure they arent sweetened. Im in heaven with a pound of proscitto!

Lots of great suggestions above! Low carb is the only thing that works for me. I am trying to get back on track. I am most successful when I journal my food too.

Expect it to be hard for a few days, then it starts to get easier and easier as you go on. For the first few days keep low carb snacks available, your hunger will go down after a few days.

I found I like zucchini "noodles" the best. I use a Pampered Chef Julienne peeler and it makes the perfect noodles from zucchini (the outside parts, not the seed part). Pour boiling water over raw zucchini "noodles" and let sit for 2 minutes and they are perfect "al dente" for pasta sauce. I have also put them in broth for "noodle" soup.

I know you've already hit the store, but I'd make a "master list" of pantry items to try to keep on hand (and it will be helpful in the store when you can't remember if you can eat cumquats even though they are awfully cheap this week). I also looked for some simple fast recipes I could make in a pinch at home if time was too short. One popular one for us is cheeseburger salad - all the cheeseburger stuff with no bun, low sugar ketchup if I have to have it, extra veggies. We LOVE it. Another diet saver is deli rotisserie chickens - usually about 5 bucks. Low carb fast food. Or a Hardees low carb burger - they wrap it in a lettuce wrap for you. Hold the ketchup of course. Brainstorm yourself some alternatives for when time or ingredients are tight. I keep the basics for my go to quickie meals on hand.

I rotate a lot of ingredients based on sales. I don't shop for the recipes, I amend the recipes to match what I bought. BUT I stay true to the plan otherwise.

Ignore the bullies. I love the ones who say "well, I'd rather lose weight the healthy way" of course staying my big overweight size is healthier than that awful low carb diet? Really? Of course, the one saying that is usually as big as I am or more so. Just be polite, and keep on keepin' on.

Are you planning a set diet or just making your own way? I'm good with either, but it makes it easier to help you if we understand your goal.

Like you, kc82, I have tried all types of diets and my weight remains the same. This lo carb is my last ditch effort . I resisted because I love carbs and knew it would not be easy. I'm ready now to bite the bullet and do this.

I was on low carb for many years with great success, then while pregnant with my fourth daughter I started binging on carbs. My baby is almost 6 and im still pigging out. Viewing your photos has given my hope and I now believe that I can get back to my low carb way of life!!! Thank You so much