Hey Chicks,

HELP!!!

I need to know from you guys what your strategy is for starchy carb and fruit eating.

I know everyone is different, but I would like your approaches to eating these foods.

Last week I was really trying to do one fruit a day and one or two starchy carbs. Here is a sample daily menu:

Breakfast: Apple and low-fat cheddar cheese
Snack: String Cheese
Lunch: Whole wheat wrap
Snack: nuts
Dinner: Chicken, salad, fried radishes
Dessert: Low GI Cheesecake

I gained last week, and am not so much concerned with the gain, but want your advice on what to do about starchy carb foods.

Thanks

I'm not doing SBD, but still LC so I thought I'd chime in since you said you wanted different opinions. I'm following Curves Low Carb plan, when I'm strict and on phase 1- 20 carbs or less, when I go to phase 2 it's 40-60 carbs

Currently I'm just trying to limit carbs- not tracking aymore, because I'm satisifed where I am, weight wise, for a while... menu yesterday:

Breakfast: protein shake and skim milk, and carbsmart vitamin
Snack: SF jello
Lunch: 3 slices of balony and 1 slice of yellow cheese
Snack: String cheese
Dinner: 2 shake n baked porkchops, green beans, and au gratin potatoes (obviusly not low carb meal!)
Dessert: popcorn

I'm a daily weigher and today I was down a lb.

I don't eat much fruits- never did though even before low carb lifestyle
starchy foods, within reason, try to limit it to 1 meal though because it upsets my stomach still if I eat too many carbs in 1 sitting. (that started after my 2 weeks on phase 1, when I was reintroducing carbs, I'd get sick to my stomach with bread and things)

PS- I think you're doing great so new to the LC lifestyle, to lose so much. I've been doing it since 10/4/04. keep it up!

I'd get some more veggies into your menu The carbs might not be the problem.

When starting Phase 2, I was so disappointed because every time I ate a startch or fruit, it seemed that I gained. I started by adding a starch and fruit everyday, but quickly found out that it was too much for me.

Consequently, I reduced my consumption to one starch one day, a fruit the next. This was OK for me to maintain, but was too much to continue in the weight loss mode. I cut that back even further to adding a fruit or a starch every other day. This allowed me to lose about 5 pounds per month and combined with exercise, I was able to take the weight off quite effectively.

I think the trick is to monitor your weight really closely when you are adding carbs back, and make adjustments quickly. Afterall, you don't want to ruin the work that you have done during Phase 1.

It seems now that my body has adjusted to eating the good starches and fruits, so I am able to eat more than when I first started Phase 2, but I still watch my weight closely to make sure that I don't eat too much.

Good luck.

Sunny, try one and see how you do, then add two. Give yourself a week in between to figure out if it's really working.

At the beginning of my Phase 2, my DH's grandfather died and we traveled to the funeral. To make my life easier, I just ate the amount of fruits and starches (easier to say than carbs as it keeps people from freaking out over the idea of you eating one gram of carbs when you say "one carb"... ) from the book, which was three fruits and two starches, I think. I still lost, but I wasn't eating much with the funeral.

After I got back, I started gaining, so over time I reduced the number of fruits and starches to one each a day. I've played with it over time, reducing further or adding an extra one, and neither works for me. One of each is exactly what I need to lose and stay motivated.

Each person is different, so play with your intake until you figure out the right thing for you.