Clean Eating and Long-term Low Carb

[alli_esq]

So! I lost 7 pounds (of the 20 I lost before my wedding last fall) by going low carb. Then I went to Italy, all bets were off, and I no longer have the fear of photos being taken of me...so I''ve gained at least those 7 pounds back. When I get to this particular weight, I find it very difficult to lose any weight just by cutting calories and exercise (though admittedly, I haven''t been going to the gym as steadily as I should be), so I think I might need to do something drastic.

The issues with low carb that would make it difficult for me to continue going low carb permanently (aside from the whole "I love pasta and bagels" situation, haha) are:

1. Variety. I have a hard time making new things all the time. DH refuses to go totally go low carb, but he will eat low carb dinners that I make as long as they''re not too high in calories or fat (he is trying to lose weight too, but he just sticks with the whole calorie-counting thing). The problem is that most low carb recipes I find are very heavy on the meat and cheese (read: calories and saturated fat).

2. It''s hard to eat whole foods, especially since so many low carb recipes require things like fake sugar (like splenda--and stevia doesn''t work that great in its place, I''ve found), or fake flour, or things like that.

Any ideas for recipes/meals that are made from whole foods but are also low carb, low calorie, low fat? Any websites you use? If you are low carb, what do you order out at restaurants?

 

[dragonfly411]

Alli - I''m going to be direct with you. Any diet that cuts out some major group will allow you to lose weight. Most of the time it is temporary though. I am not a fan of drastic diets for this reason. Carbohydrates are your brain''s food. Please keep that in mind. You really just have to find a happy balance. I''ve found that going completely whole grain (no white) is good. Eat fruits that aren''t completely sugar (grapes are full of water and refreshing but they have a lot of sugar so I really eat them only in summer when I need the water content). I try to balance my diet out, I get plenty of protein (1 g per lb although if you aren''t working out a lot you don''t need quite that much), I get healthy carbs through whole grains (usually either through oatmeal or whole grain pastas or whole grain breads once a day), and fruits, lots of vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I get protein through fish, chicken, and dairy (I love cottage cheese and yogurt). I''m actually in the process of going through recipes and plan to start posting some on here, so if you want to read those, they''ll be up shortly.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Long term low carb (Note, I did not say NO carbs) eating is ok as long as the carbs that you ARE getting are from complex carbs like whole grains and vegetables vs refined carbs like white bread. DH has been eating this way for the past two years and has lost and kept off probably 40 or so lbs. His cholesterol and BP are fantastic.

For breakfast I make mini crustless quiche, it''s just eggs, cheese and a little spinach that I cook in a muffin tin. 2 of those is perfect for him.

He eats a lot of salads with protein for lunch (spinach salad with chicken, steak, tuna or egg), usually with a cheese stick and some sugar free jello.

For dinner I modify my meal for him. For example, I''ll make grilled or broiled chicken, beef, fish, etc (enough for lunch the next day) and serve with broccoli, spinach, zuchinni, or anotehr low carb veg. For my dinner I''ll add a little bit of brown rice, quinoa or potato.

His after dinner snack if he wants one is usually SF jello again with whipped cream. We buy the boxes and make this at home vs buying jello cups, it''s more economical that way.

While artificial sweetners are in no way good for you or nutritious, they''ve played a huge yet minor role in his success. Prior to adopting this lifestyle he was ingesting probably a 1/4 cup of sugar/day just in his coffee alone. Now he puts in 1/2 a packet of splenda for each cup. Really the only other place he encounters these sweetners is in his beloved jello.

Other great dinner options are portabello pizzas or spaghetti using spaghetti squash.

Portabello pizzas
Take a portabello mushroom cap and brush with olive oil on each side and place on a broiler tray.
Sautee finely diced onions, peppers and pepperoni or italian sausage until cooked
spread a small amount of tomato sauce (less than 1 tsp) on bello cap and top with veggie/sausage mix and a small amount of mozz cheese and parmasean (maybe 1 tbsp per pizza)

Spaghetti squash spaghetti
Take a low sugar spaghetti sauce (many have added sugars so watch the labels carefully) and add in extra veggies you have around the house, onions, peppers, spinach, zuch, mushrooms etc. Simmer until cooked (or add in veggies that have been sauteed). Cut spaghetti squash in 1/2 length-wise and place cut side down in a microwave safe baking dish. Add 1/4 inch of water and cover with plastic wrap or a cover. Microwave until a sharp knive easily pierces the top of the squash. Take the squash out of the water Let it cool a little bit so you can handle it. Then take two forks and run them lengthwise down the inside of the cooked squash. It''ll make strings. Top a pile of the squash with the sauce and some parm cheese.

I also serve chicken picatta and marsala a lot but again, he just has the protein and a veg vs the serving of carbs I have for dinner.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

At restaurants he usually orders similar meals. Burgers or grilled chicken sandwiches without the bun and with salad instead of FF. Salad with grilled protein, things like that.

Snacks are often small portions of cheese like a cheese stick, nuts (he adores the Emerald brand cocoa roast almonds), some peanut butter on celery, some hummus with cucumbers, etc.

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 5/5/2010 11:40:07 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

For breakfast I make mini crustless quiche, it''s just eggs, cheese and a little spinach that I cook in a muffin tin. 2 of those is perfect for him.

Sorry for the threadjack, but HH can you post your recipe for these... they sound awesome
TIA

 

[lknvrb4]

Date: 5/5/2010 11:21:37 AM
Author: dragonfly411
Alli - I''m going to be direct with you. Any diet that cuts out some major group will allow you to lose weight. Most of the time it is temporary though. I am not a fan of drastic diets for this reason. Carbohydrates are your brain''s food. Please keep that in mind. You really just have to find a happy balance. I''ve found that going completely whole grain (no white) is good. Eat fruits that aren''t completely sugar (grapes are full of water and refreshing but they have a lot of sugar so I really eat them only in summer when I need the water content). I try to balance my diet out, I get plenty of protein (1 g per lb although if you aren''t working out a lot you don''t need quite that much), I get healthy carbs through whole grains (usually either through oatmeal or whole grain pastas or whole grain breads once a day), and fruits, lots of vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I get protein through fish, chicken, and dairy (I love cottage cheese and yogurt). I''m actually in the process of going through recipes and plan to start posting some on here, so if you want to read those, they''ll be up shortly.

Ditto to all of this. I changed my eating to this a few months ago and it''s great. Getting used to more grainy breads took a bit but now I prefer the texture and taste of them. I eat a lot of 9 grain tortillas filled with just about anything. I also try to make sure that when I eat lunch and dinner that half my plate is veggies. My family now eats the Barilla high protein/high fiber pasta and the kids have not noticed a difference. I do have a cheat day where I may have a a sweet treat or eat a white bun if we are out to eat but I would say 90% of the time I eat clean.

 

[alli_esq]

I understand what you mean, dragonfly, and that was always how I felt about low carb diets before I tried it myself. However, the more I read about them, as long as you continue to eat lots of veggies, cutting out major carbs that have little benefit (cereal, rice, cous cous, pasta, bagels, bread, etc., even if they are whole wheat or whole grain) can really be beneficial in the long run, especially to people who have issues with their blood sugar. Now, I don''t generally have issues with my blood sugar, though diabetes runs in my family, and I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, so that stuff is on my radar. I rarely eat "white" carbs at all--maybe once every 2-3 weeks if I go out to brunch or something, I''ll have some brioche or a bialy, but it is rare.

I don''t eat a lot of meat with saturated fat, and in fact, I really eat rather healthily in general--I think when people think of "low carb" they think of bacon cheeseburgers for every meal, but I assure you, that''s not how I eat. I eat a lot of fish, a lot of chicken, a lot of veggies (though I''m always aiming to eat more)...the only thing that might be an issue is the amount of cheese I eat when I''m eating low carb. But boy do I enjoy cheese. Haha!

My problem is that in order for me to lose weight by simply counting calories, at my height and weight, I need to eat around 1200-1400 calories a day, and if I''m extremely strict with that, I will lose around 0.5 pound per week (which I realize is healthy and normal). My problem, however, is that even if I am eating 1200-1400 calories with 30% fat, 30% protein and 40% carbs, I am still STARVING all day long. I know people say that eventually your stomach shrinks and you get used to it, but after many weeks of being very strict and eating a very healthy and well-balanced diet at that calorie range, I am still very very hungry. The only time I have ever steadily lost weight (a healthy amount--0.5 to 1.5 pounds per week) and was NOT hungry all day was when I did low carb. For the first two weeks I was around 20-30g of net carbs daily, but eventually I would get up to around 45-60 net carbs daily, and I did that from mid-August through mid-November 2009 with truly no ill side effects.

I''m frustrated with being heavier than I should be, and I''m even more frustrated because I''m so darn HUNGRY all the time when I''m trying to lose weight NOT low carb.

 

[poshpepper]

I eat a relatively low carb diet (and by relatively I mean compared to what FDA recommends) for my height/weight FDA recommends upwards of 250g of carbs, and I try to get between a total of 100 and 120g on non-work out days and 150 to 170g on days that I play hockey.

So although I am not cutting out grains (I still eat whole grain), I have found that I have cut out almost all refined carbs.

As to your specific questions, on the first point I would make yourself a low-carb dinner (whatever it may be) and then add a serving of rice or pasta or potatoes for your hubby. That way you are still eating low carb and he can still get in some carbs. It maybe a little more work, but since I have been doing it for myself and hubby for a while I have gotten used to it.

On the second point, it becomes hard to eliminate carbs but still want to eat things with sugar (thus the recipes that require the sugar substitute). If I really want something like a cookie or a piece of cake, I will eat it on a "free day" (I have one free meal per week). I find that trying to substitute fake sugar for real sugar never really gets the craving to go away.

I would recommend livestrong.com forums to get some ideas on recipes for low carb items, many people on that site follow low carb or paleo (very clean eating) diets.

I hope some of that rambling helped

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 5/7/2010 3:20:23 PM
Author: poshpepper

Date: 5/5/2010 11:40:07 AM

Author: Hudson_Hawk


For breakfast I make mini crustless quiche, it''s just eggs, cheese and a little spinach that I cook in a muffin tin. 2 of those is perfect for him.

Sorry for the threadjack, but HH can you post your recipe for these... they sound awesome

TIA

Sure!
You need:
1 dozen eggs
cheese-your choice
frozen spinach (you could also do onions and pepper, broccoli, etc)
salt
pepper
garlic powder
cooking spray
non-stick muffin tins

Crack all 12 eggs into bowl and whisk
Add 1/2-1 cup of cheese to eggs
Add 1 cup of frozen spinach-break up chunks before putting in bowl
Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder
Mix together until well incorporated

Spray muffin pan well with cooking spray (there''s no such thing as non stick when it comes to eggs in my experience).
Fill muffin tins 2/3 until all 12 are filled, top with remaining mix if there''s any leftover.

Bake at 350 until puffy, golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

I let them cool and then put them in zip lock bags (2 is a good serving). Store in the fridge, they last about a week. Microwave for 20-30 seconds and you''re good to go!

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 5/11/2010 4:51:11 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 5/7/2010 3:20:23 PM
Author: poshpepper

Date: 5/5/2010 11:40:07 AM

Author: Hudson_Hawk


For breakfast I make mini crustless quiche, it''s just eggs, cheese and a little spinach that I cook in a muffin tin. 2 of those is perfect for him.

Sorry for the threadjack, but HH can you post your recipe for these... they sound awesome

TIA

Sure!
You need:
1 dozen eggs
cheese-your choice
frozen spinach (you could also do onions and pepper, broccoli, etc)
salt
pepper
garlic powder
cooking spray
non-stick muffin tins

Crack all 12 eggs into bowl and whisk
Add 1/2-1 cup of cheese to eggs
Add 1 cup of frozen spinach-break up chunks before putting in bowl
Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder
Mix together until well incorporated

Spray muffin pan well with cooking spray (there''s no such thing as non stick when it comes to eggs in my experience).
Fill muffin tins 2/3 until all 12 are filled, top with remaining mix if there''s any leftover.

Bake at 350 until puffy, golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

I let them cool and then put them in zip lock bags (2 is a good serving). Store in the fridge, they last about a week. Microwave for 20-30 seconds and you''re good to go!

These sound delicious!!!! Thank you!!!! I can''t wait to try them this weekend

 

[lknvrb4]

Date: 5/11/2010 4:51:11 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 5/7/2010 3:20:23 PM

Author: poshpepper

Date: 5/5/2010 11:40:07 AM


Author: Hudson_Hawk



For breakfast I make mini crustless quiche, it''s just eggs, cheese and a little spinach that I cook in a muffin tin. 2 of those is perfect for him.

Sorry for the threadjack, but HH can you post your recipe for these... they sound awesome


TIA

Sure!

You need:

1 dozen eggs

cheese-your choice

frozen spinach (you could also do onions and pepper, broccoli, etc)

salt

pepper

garlic powder

cooking spray

non-stick muffin tins


Crack all 12 eggs into bowl and whisk

Add 1/2-1 cup of cheese to eggs

Add 1 cup of frozen spinach-break up chunks before putting in bowl

Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Mix together until well incorporated


Spray muffin pan well with cooking spray (there''s no such thing as non stick when it comes to eggs in my experience).

Fill muffin tins 2/3 until all 12 are filled, top with remaining mix if there''s any leftover.


Bake at 350 until puffy, golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.


I let them cool and then put them in zip lock bags (2 is a good serving). Store in the fridge, they last about a week. Microwave for 20-30 seconds and you''re good to go!

Hudson Hawk- I made these this morning and they are excellent. I used bagged salad spinach and just chopped it up. I think I need to grease the pan better next time though, I have lots of scrubbing to do.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Oh good! I''m glad you liked them. I know, the cleanup is such a b*tch, isn''t it? I started using silicone muffin cups with mine, but even those I had to spray first. They were much easier to clean though than the NS pan and I didn''t have to worry about scratching the finish.

 

[dragonfly411]

I''ve gotta try this!!!

 

[lknvrb4]

Date: 5/14/2010 10:50:55 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Oh good! I''m glad you liked them. I know, the cleanup is such a b*tch, isn''t it? I started using silicone muffin cups with mine, but even those I had to spray first. They were much easier to clean though than the NS pan and I didn''t have to worry about scratching the finish.

I may have to try the silicone as well.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I like Eating Well and Cooking Light for recipes (both are magazines you can subscribe to, or you can get recipes from their websites, or you can get cookbooks off of Amazon).

 

[annadragon]

Everyone has a different school or philosophy when it comes to nutrition.
If you are happy with they way you are eating, you are seeing results and want to continue then I encourage you to look at two very similar communities from the low-carb, high fat, high protein school of nutrition: paleo and primal. They are both based on genetics, epigenetics and evolutionary concepts of eating and encourage clean eating.

I didn't see your question about ordering out at restaurants.
Typically, I'll order a salad. No croutons please. And if they make their salad dressing and it isn't canola or soybean oil then I'll use their housemade dressing. Otherwise stick with balsamic and olive oil.

Meat dishes are particularly great. Sub out potatoes for other veggies.
At mexican restaurants I usually order the tacos and say hold the shell just gimme of plate of the innards. Or fajitas w/o tortillas.
If you do seafood, you can usually get some great seafood entrees that are not fried.

Part of the key to low-carb is ensuring you are sated with each meal. Fat helps with satiation.