Im a low calorie girl, and I hate Atkins. But my family is starting Atkins again, and after at least five months of nearly no weight loss, im beginning to think I need to board the "no carbon" train.
the last time I tried this by myself, I decided im not doing low carbon, just no "wheat/bread". And it worked a little, but with my cheating habits it didn't last long.
I've heard that some people are "carbon intolerant" and I get what it means, but does anyone here believe in it?
And if I am "intolerant", which I probably am (entire family is carbon loving and obese), then what am I gonna do about eating fruit? I love fruit. Like bananas and pears. Are we supposed to only have like one or two servings a day?..
I didn't really give low-carb much consideration or respect, because I never felt well on low-carb. Then my doctor suggested I try low-carb, but warned me not to go too low (but admitted he had no idea what was too low). I started experimenting with low-carb and was amazed.
I am now convinced that carb-intolerance truly does exist. For me, the biggest difference was in hunger. On very low-carb I don't feel well, but my hunger virtually disappears. At this point, I can "forget to eat."
On very high-carb, the more I eat, the hungrier I get, so I can eat 4,000 calories and still feel compelled to eat more (even when my stomach hurts, I still feel like I "need" to eat).
I had to do a lot of experimenting to find my "perfect" carb level. Low enough to control my hunger, but high enough that I didn't feel light-headed and nauseous (I know low-carb diets say these feelings go away after two weeks, but mine don't. I only get sicker and sicker to the point I'll actually pass out).
I ended up using a low-carb exchange plan (like the one on the FrugalAbundance website).
My current plan allows four fruit exchanges (two large pieces of fruit, or four small ones), two starch servings, and two dairy servings.
My fat, protein, and non-starchy veggie exchanges (the low-carb ones) tend to vary a little more, depending on factors such as my activity/exercise level and time of month (I eat lower carb during PMS week to help control PMS hunger).
I'm not saying my system is right for you. I think everyone has to experiment to see what works for them, and that the least restrictive plan that works is usually the best one.
You may not even be carb intolerant. You just have to experiment with different carb levels to find out. When I started experimenting with low-carb, I tried just giving up bread. That worked for a while, until it didn't. Then I had to keep tweaking.
The important part is to keep experimenting and realize that there are no failures in experimenting. You may get unwanted outcomes, but you will successfully learn what doesn't work for you. You have to also remember that you can't learn much of anything from one week. To successfully learn from your experiments, your experiment has to last several months to prevent false conclulsions. It's hard to see a month of gains or not losing as a success, but it really is. You learn what doesn't work, which will help you eventually find what does.
instead of knocking out ALL carbs, check to see if it's only certain types.
me, i eat fruit and veg and quite a lot of it. i don't eat processed starchy carbs - bread, pasta, etc.
reason is, when i do eat processed starch, i don't feel well at all - foggy, thick-headed, like my brain's full of mush.
whole grains such as oats and even whole-grain wheat in couscous and the like are okay (just i'm not eating them at this point in my diet - i'm on a very tight caloric budget and my focus is on protein).
You don't have to give up fruit, but be careful with bananas. If you truly are carb-intolerant, you may discover that bananas stall your weight loss. They do for me, though I can eat any other fruit in moderation. I try to keep it to one or two servings a day, though.
I think people tend to think of low carb as NO carb. doesn't have to be that way. I eat a 'mostly' lower carb diet (it has crept up a bit recently) and I do it by not eating bread, rice, pasta, sweet potatoes and potatoes and of course things like cakes and cookies.
I eat fruit every day. I eat veggies every day. I do stay away from bananas as they are too sweet and carby without the fiber benefits of other fruits.
What I find is that I don't miss those starches very much at all and what I find most surprising is how my body reacts to eating simple carbs.
I gain weight WICKED fast when I eat carbs. Last night I made cookies for a function today and my kids. Well, of course I sampled some batter and then I ate a warm cookie and then because it was so good I ate another cookie!.
I had burned about 2400 calories that day, but ended up consuming 1950 calories because of the darn cookies!
When I woke up this morning? Up a full pound. It happens EVERY time I eat simple carbs in the evening like that - every single time. It's water weight and will come off, but my body reacts to those simple carbs in a not so good way. I just need to stay away from them. Too bad they taste so darn good!
carb intolerant?
