ok first off i love being on the bords observing you guys teach me soo much i love it here so inspirational, anyway, ok so my boyfriend lost a ton on low carb so i kept trying and trying to low carb but its just soo much meat i hate it and i get the induction flu horrible, vomiting everything. so as of lately i was thinking about just cutting my calories. i have walked 2 miles a day and today i weighed my self even after i ate and i lost 2 lbs in 3 days. but what im confused about is i wanna eat like a low fat subway sandwich 6in for lunch and 6in for dinner but as a snack would like an apple be bad. as long as i cut my calories do you guys think ill still lose weight. because as a lifestyle change i cant just eat low carb its impossible for me to do. another thing is on low carb i could eat cheese and mayonasse but i read jared from subway LOL cut that out so do you guys think it really makes a difference. thanks for reading this
Lisa

I think you need to decide what works for you -- I couldn't cut all the carbs out and eat meats -- I hate meat!! If you are losing on what you are doing now, stick with it, you can "tweak" it later, when you hit a plateau. For me it's just about making better choices right now and I know I can fine tune later. My nutritionist has me on about 200 calories for snacks two or three times a day, but if I'm having a larger meal, I cut this back a bit.

I also couldn't do any of the traditional low carb plan, so I skipped induction (and the sky did not fall). I aim for about 100 - 150 g of carbs daily, from whole grains and fruits and veggies. It's sort of my own custom-blended program born out of what I'd learned from South Beach, WW Core, the glycemic index and Volumetrics (I eat soup a lot and other volume tricks like whole fruits, never juice...). Cutting out white, refined, and concentrated carbs (potato, honey, sugar, white flour, white rice, fried snack chips....) made much more of a difference than I ever thought it would. Red meat overload, was a problem for me too, so I used whole eggs and egg whites, fish, chicken, hummus, beans, cheese...

Some days, when I'm really hungry for carbs, I don't count carb grams, and just make sure that I'm eating carbs that don't spike the blood sugar too much, basicall whole grains and beans. So far this has been working great for me, but try whatever appeals to you, because you're the one that has to live with it.

I don't feel good on a low/no carb diet either. I like to balance out my snacks/meals with some protein, carbs and fat - and I feel much more satisfied than eating just an apple or just some carrot sticks for a snack.
I enjoy an apple with some peanut butter...some cottage cheese and bell pepper slices...or a string cheese, a few almonds and some baby carrots...1/2 of a toasted pita and some hummus...just combinations where I get some of each group.

First off...way to go walking 2 miles a day! Second...an apple is a good snack.
I agree shelby, you need to find what works for you. I did a lot of research before deciding on a plan to follow. And it works for me. I looked around the 3FC site and if you haven't already done so...try this. On the home page is a 'button' labeled Resources. Then select Links. Then select Helath and Nutrition. Then look for My Pyramid Tracker. I spent over an hour one day checking out the info found at the pyramid site. It has lots of stuff about activity and calories needed daily according to your age. It also gives some help in amounts of each kind of food to eat. See if that helps!

If you don't want to do low carb, then don't do low carb. All diet plans work by restricting calories, even low carb. Some people are more sensitive to carbs and low carb tends to work better to control their cravings while others are less sensitive and don't react to carbs as much.

If low carb doesn't work for you, try something else. Calorie counting and watching "bad carbs" may be just the trick for you.

Good luck.

First of all, I also want to say on realizing that this needs to be a lifestyle change and you decided you couldn't do that on the low carb choice. Not that others couldn't but so many times people seem to be afraid to say, "this just doesn't work for me" instead they think they've failed.

There is no food that is inherently "bad", it's all in how we incorporate it into our plans. I do however feel that chemicals and processed foods are not the best choices and we don't "need" them. Any natural food has good value for the calorie "buck".

Choices on snacks are totally a personal issue. I eat every 2-3 hours so there isn't much difference between a snack and a meal. I just make sure they are balanced with fat, protein and carb that way my blood sugar stays level and I don't have the problem of spikes that leave me "high" for a while and then lethargic (and hungry faster) when they drop. If I were to eat just a carb such as an apple, I would feel the spike of natural sugar much stronger. A choice for me may be to add a hard boiled egg to that apple or a slice of whole grain sprouted bread with natural almond butter. (fat, protein and carb)

There's nothing "wrong" with mayo, especially if you can get some natural or make it yourself. It's just that it's all fat and a lot of people would rather spend those calories on something else, especially if it's a low calorie plan. I choose to have flax oil/seed, nuts, nut butters as my main fats because they either have the healthy omega 3's that I need or the seed, nuts and butters have protien, fiber and just taste great!

Don't worry, you're on the right track!

omg wow thank you guys so much for your replies they have really helped and your all so welcoming and friendly thanks again i think ill try to make my own plan and see how it works. its nice to know that low carb is not the only way. in my house it is lol. but im going to branch out lol. thanks again

Ooh, you are soo lucky not to be carb-sensitive! And maybe your bf isn't either, though he's had success with low-carb. Has he tried the low-fat, calorie-count, points count, portion control, or plate division systems? You certainly have lots of options, and maybe your bf does too, you just don't know them all yet!

I know low-carb diets are getting a lot of press lately, and they are a godsend for a few of us, they work well for many (like your bf), but not for everybody! The links above are wonderful, you're going to discover lots more about yourself, and maybe teach your guy a thing or two....

You obviously understand that having an exercise habit is just as important to your health, as any diet. Such great instincts, girl!

If you want to cut calories, then you have to know how many calories that 6 inch sub is. Let's say it's 250 calories (I don't know), now add a tablespoon of mayo (like 100 calories), now add cheese (another 100, why not?) and now you've gone from a low calorie meal to one that is almost a third or a quarter of the calories you want to have in a day.

That's what calorie counting is all about. Managing how you are going to use those 1500 calories or 1800 calories you have in a day. And EVERYTHING counts. What you'll find is that there are many low calorie but very filling foods (such as apples) that work great as snacks. So yeah, hold the mayo and eat the apple. Good luck!