Hi everyone

I have been a calorie-counter all my life. It worked for me before, I lost about 85 lb about 6 years ago. I kept most of it off for a couple of years but it has been creeping back on again - about half of it!!

In Jan I tried calorie counting again as it has worked for me before. Lost 13 lb in about six weeks, but my brain rebelled and after a bad few weeks of eating bad stuff, I have put 9 of those back on again.

So I am looking for a new angle. I have never tried carb-counting before and looking at my calorie record it might be low in calories but it is VERY high in carbs. So I figured I'd try this and see what happens.

Problem is, I really don't like most veggies. I like cooked mushrooms and onions, and lettuce and raw carrot on a salad, but aside from potatoes (which obv I know I can't have) I don't like anything else Oh, except hummus, which I adore so long as it is very smooth and has no hint of the pea-ness. I've just been looking for a way to eat it without pitta bread and I have found a low-carb recipe for almond-based crackers which I'm going to try.

I wouldn't mind trying recipes with hidden veggies that don't taste or feel like veggies. It's the texture more than anything, although I know I dislike the taste of peppers as well as the texture.

So far today I have discovered that if I have as much coffee as I normally have it will boost my carbs WAY up (6g in a single cup). I also can't stand almond milk in my coffee - I have tried it and it tastes vile. But it is nice in smoothies.

However I have just had a very yummy 2-egg omelette for my lunch with 2 oz cheese cooked in real vegetable oil which felt very indulgent and tasted divine and only had 2g carbs.

I gone out and bought lots of eggs and hard-boiled half a dozen for snacks, lots of meat and some frozen fruit to use in small amounts in smoothies with almond milk.

So hi - I look forward to getting to know you.

So my first day went quite well. Ended up with 1420 calories and 28.1g carbs.

I was down 2 lb this morning - yay!

I only had two cups of coffee in the end, one first thing in the morning and another at about 11am but I ended the night with a blistering headache which could well be caffeine deprivation - I fully confess I am a caffeine addict.

This might not be a good idea but I ordered some caffeine patches. I figure I can have one cup of coffee in the morning when I get up, slap a patch on and see how it goes. It's not ideal but I don't think I can go cold turkey. Perhaps I can gradually decrease the amount of time with the patch on.

Ironically both times I was pregnant I went off coffee right at the start - couldn't face a cup throughout, but as soon as both kids were born I was right back on. I still got caffeine withdrawal headaches though so I would have a couple of glass of diet Pepsi instead during the day.

So we'll see how the patches go. This was yesterday's menu:

Breakfast: Large smoothie made from frozen fruit and almond milk with sweetener - carbs 8.8 - cals 94 (will reduce fruit and increase milk from now on to reduce carbs.)

Lunch: 2-egg cheese omelette with 2 oz cheese - carbs 2g - cals 426 (may cut cheese down to 1.5 oz to reduce cals)

Dinner: Packet of pre-prepared Asda chicken breasts/bacon lardons/mushrooms/cheese sauce - carbs 1.1 - cals 480 (this was meant to serve two and be served with maybe rice or chips and veg. I skipped the carbs and had both chicken breasts)

Snacks:
2 cups of coffee - carbs 12g - cals 118
3 hard-boiled eggs - carbs 1.8g - cals 234
8 slices Asda wafer-thin honey roast ham - carbs 2.4g - cals 68 (I made the mistake here of buying the honey roast ham instead of the plain ham. I don't even like it as much. I think I'll give it to the kids and see if plain ham is lower in carbs)

Totals: 28.1g carbs - 1420 cals

Not bad for a first day I think.

Hello Robsia
Ive been on low carb most of my life. Even before the Atkins craze. I was diagnosed Hypoglycemic in my 30's.

If one is Hypo it is a medical condition that you can see quick results of what leaving carbs out of your diet can do for you. There are so many people out there that have no idea how badly carbs effect our mental and physical health.

When first diagnosed I was put on 0 carbs for 4 weeks. Eventually I was allowed 100 Grams of carb per day divided btw 3 meals and 3 snacks daily.
Low Carb really does work for weight loss.... but when you add them back into your diet....you gain. I wasn't trying to lose weight when I was under the doctors care but I lost weight. I lost so much people thougt I was anoerxic. I weighed 126 and dropped to 104.

Here are the rules I am supposed to follow....I know you have heard this... Eat nothing white! No potatoes, sugar, rice or flour. No bananas, apples, melons grapes etc. Just citrus. No dried fruits like raisins or dates. Also nothing with a hull on it. That means no butterbeans, peas etc. hummus would be in this category. No alcohol.

I cried all the way thru the grocery store when first learning to shop...it was awful. I ate a lot of burgers, chicken, tuna and green beans. I guess I can consider myself blessed in that I like salad...had to learn to eat bell pepper. Ugh.....

Over the years I have tried to stay true to my low carb intake but chocolate cake with chocolate icing calls me in my dreams. Oh yeah.... I love kettle cooked potato chips with ketchup no less. Sorry to say but like you I am addicted to caffeine. I have my coffee in the morning then drink nothing but diet soda the rest of the day. Not only am I mega dosing myself with caffeine there is also the aspartame and it freaks people out when they find out that I dont drink much water (1 glass a week maybe) or milk(blue Moon), and yes...people constantly lecture me on the dangers of my coffee and diet soda habit. I know its bad but I just cant stop. Occasionally, I will try to cut back but the withdrawal head aches are killer. Ive not tried a caffeine patch and would very much like to hear how they end up working for you.

Post about the almond cracker experiment too.

Thanks
Ayee

Well, I got my caffeine patches yesterday. They do seem to be working.

Monday: I didn't have them - I had two cups of coffee all day and had a massive headache at the end of the day.

Tuesday: One cup of coffee in the morning and a can of sugar-free Monster in the afternoon, split into two portions, one at lunch time and one later. This did have some carbs but only 2 in each half, so still a lot less than having coffee. Then my patches arrived at about 4pm. I put one on and I honestly did not feel a single craving all night. It says you can leave them on for 24h but I figure I don't drink coffee during the night so I took it off for bed.

Wednesday: I had my usual cup in the morning then put on a patch. So far I've been okay. There has been the odd moment when I've thought about putting the kettle on, but I think it's more out of habit.

I am thirstier than usual, but when you are used to drinking 6 large mugs of coffee a day that's a lot of fluid to suddenly not have so it's more down to that than the patch. I'm just drinking water.

I plan to decrease the number of hours a day I wear the patch over time, like a smoker on nicotine patches.

I joined another low-carb forum as this one seemed a little quiet and explained what I was doing. I was told it sounded a lot like Atkins 72, which was the original plan from 1972. But they said if I was doing that I shouldn't be having milk AT ALL. But I can have cream in my coffee, as that is lower in carbs. So I may try that tomorrow. I've never been a big fan of cream in coffee, but we'll see.

Yesterday I ended up at 25.1g carbs and 1172 cals and I was down a further 1.6 lb this morning.

Amazingly I'm not having any carb cravings yet. I think the high-fat things I can have are keeping those away.

I haven't found a group yet. Ive only been here a few days. Every one I look at seems to be quiet and I need chatter.

No...you cant have milk cause it turns to sugar. Cant have juices or alchohol for same reason.

If you stay off the carbs (under 50grams per day), u will eventually go into ketosis. If you haven't already then you need to read up on ketosis. You will have no cravings what so ever if you reach this stage. Might take a week. In my opinion its how a person becomes anorexic but its only a problem if the person has issues.

When I was in ketosis I ate because I knew I had to. It is a bit depressing as there is no food that is appealing.

Keep mentioning your caffeine patch experience in your posts.

Thanks
Ayee

Actually unusual thirst is a common symptom of entering ketosis, which is when your body switches over from being primarily glucose burning to fat burning.

Your body changes the whole way it deals with water/hydration when you're in ketosis. Drinking a gallon of water a day or more is a very good idea until the extreme thirst abates (it will) and also allowing yourself salt as you desire is healthy.

Good luck with breaking your caffeine addiction. The funny thing is it sounds like you're literally consuming the caffeine to feel "normal" (prevent the headaches) it's probably not even giving you a physical kick anymore, just a psychological one. If you could wean yourself way down and then get a few days in a row where you don't need to be "on" so you could finally go cold turkey, well, that's how I quit cigarettes. Three days clean (after a slow taper to wean down to half or less) usually takes care of the worst of the actual physical problems.

Interesting about the thirst being a symptom of ketosis. I also have achy muscles, mostly in my legs when I walk but a little in my arms also and even my fingers felt achy and crampy today as I was holding an umbrella.

I read that was a sign of ketosis also.

I have been taking a multi-vitamin but I don't know if it's enough.

Been okay today with not having coffee (tiny tiny touch of a headache but nothing major) and carbs are up to 16.2g!! It's getting on for bedtime here so I doubt I'll be eating anything else.

Yep, they call it "keto flu". Water, water, water. Also if you have any broth (homemade soup stock is perfect) warm that up with some salt and added butter.

It's a detox symptom (technically called a Herheimer reaction). It's believed to probably be caused by candida die off (they're starving to death). When the achiness clears up don't be surprised to find you feel better than you have in a long time, mentally and energy wise. No telling how long it will take to pass, usually less than two week for most people, sometimes longer for really bad cases.

Another 1.2 lb off this morning! That's 4.8 lb in 3 days. I could get used to this!

Yesterday's carbs ended up at 16.2 which is awesome. This morning I had my daily coffee with cream and added cold water instead of milk which cut the carbs down from 6 to 0.7. I wasn't overly enamored with it, but it will do. Also woke up with a bit of a headache this morning but a couple of painkillers have sorted that out.

Still no carb cravings as such. The odd little moment, but nothing more than that.

Sorry - missed yesterday, but today I am down a massive 7 lb in 5 days.

Carbs yesterday I managed to get down to 6.8g.

Yesterday I forgot to put the caffeine patch on initially. I had my morning coffeee, took the girls to school and normally when I come home I would have another coffee and I had just a craving when i went into the kitchen it was quite surprising. But then I remembered I'd forgotten the patch. Stuck it on and all was well. Although then I forgot to take it off last night - whoops!

Great progress Robsia!

May I ask, which calorie counter you are using?

Hi

I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand the question. I use a spreadsheet to track my calories.

Oh okay, sorry. I thought you are using an app for this.

Yeah, I don't like the "pea-ness" either. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Ooh - naughty! I didn't even spot that and I'm usually the first to spot a double-entendre