new in this

[DeeSlate]

Hi Folks,

I just started a low carb diet prescribed by my Naturopath. I got a very bad blood test (triglycerides over 600, A1c 6.3) I haven't done a low carb diet in about 30 years when I did the Atkins diet and lost 35 pounds. I have in the years since done Weight Watchers, LA weight loss, Nutra systems, Physician's Bariatric weight loss, Jenny Craig, etc. I know that at 51 years of age I don't have nearly as much wiggle room as I did at 21. I'm also menupausal and have plantar facitis so I am tired, hot and my feet hurt. I am now 231 pounds (I lost 1 pound this week.) I have a wedding I am attending this weekend (I'm the one doing the marrying of the bride and groom - so I am also attending the rehearsal dinner) and then I will be at a retreat center all next week where there will be provided meals in buffet style. I have protein bars to bring with me and a blender with protein powder. I am committed to staying on my eating plan, I do need some support so that is why I joined this group.

How do you deal with all the well meaning folks who jump in and tell you what you should be doing? Like "Fruit is good for you."

What can you drink besides water, seltzer or diet drinks? (I can't drink diet drinks asparatame/nutrasweet gives me sever headaches.)

Where do you find good recipes for main entres'? (Especially if you are having guests and don't want the food to seem weird.)

What are some of your favorite products out there and where do you find them?

I am also lactose intolerant, so cheese is out unless I want to spend the next two days in the bathroom - any recommendations?

I am freaked out enough about my health to make this a big priority, and I would like to know what other people who doing the same kind of thing are feeling and thinking.

Thanks,
Dee

[Cuelgirl]

Welcome!

first... i want to say that traveling sometimes intimidates me... and i think i cant stick to plan... BUT you can... its possible... especially if you have buffet style meals... there has to be something that you can find to eat... dont worry! i would pack some tuna cans and mayo just in case though!

i'm going to try my best here to answer your questions...

most people dont comment on what i CANT eat... if they say something like "fruit is healthy for you" i say things like... "well this is healthy for ME"... and thats that...

as for drinking... i drink crystal light and that doesnt bother me... i have drank water with squeezed lemon and that was delicious...

for recipes... Linda Sue is my savior... google her... you will find her site...

favorite products: dont really have any... i would say that i use stevia... but thats not really a product...

I love cheese and dont know much about lactose intolerance... sorry!

come join us in the 100 pounds in september thread... we are always posting on there!

good luck to you on your journey!

[Teresa123]

Well, first of all --if you're looking for support, you've come to the right place. All there is left to do is jump in and get involved. Lurking--just reading--is fine, but if you really want support, get involved in a challenge so you have people to chat with and get feedback and support from!

I'll also take a stab at some of your questions.....

As far as the well meaning folks--I honestly don't discuss what I'm eating, how I'm eating, that I'm trying to lose, etc. with anyone who doesn't need to know--and really there are very few who 'need to know.' That eliminates a lot of the well meaning stuff. I think we can set ourselves up for all kinds of questions, scrutinizing, etc. when we use the words Low Carb or God forbid, Atkins! If people ask me I just say I try to eat as many whole foods as possible and avoid processed stuff. If they offer me some fruit or whatever and that's something I'm not eating at that point, I just say no thank you. The less attention I call to it, the less attention people have paid. I've lost over 200 lbs and done so with minimal questioning or prodding.

As far as drinks--anything your body/health will tolerate that doesn't have sugar in it is pretty much OK. Personally I just drink lots of water and hot tea. But others drink coffee, diet soda, crystal light, etc. as well as low carb alcoholic beverages on occasion depending on their plan. I'm not necessarily a big fan of splenda, although I do use some, but you can find some diet sodas (Diet Rite and Hansens come to mind) as well as flavored waters that are splenda sweetened. There is also a diet soda out there sweetened with stevia. And some flavored waters sweetened with erythritol. You just have to kind of play detective and do a lot of label reading at first.

There are great recipes here at this site--just check out the recipe threads and the recipe room and you'll find all kinds of things. Additionally--doing a search on the web for low carb meals, desserts, etc. will yield you tons of hits. I've also taken many of my favorites from the past and just de-carbed them. I agree with Cuelgirl--the very best place I've found out there for low carb recipes is Linda Sue's site. She has recipes identified for induction. She includes pictures, calorie/fat/protein/carb counts and she rates them and describes what they taste like. Here's the link.

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home

It depends on what kinds of products you are looking for but if you click on Netrition.com at the top of the screen you will find a ton of low carb products. Their prices are good, shipping cheap and quick and customer service is wonderful. Myself--I rely on some products---such as low carb ketchup, some DaVinci's syrups and Carbquick. Otherwise I pretty much stick to natural foods that I can find at the grocery or health food store.

I don't know much about lactose intolerance but I eat very little cheese and could easily do low carb without eating it....well, with the exception of cream cheese! There are all kinds of different forums on this site for health, medical issues, etc. where there are probably discussions about being lactose intolerance and how people deal with that.

At the top of your screen you will find a search function--plug in whatever topic you are looking for and it will bring up lots of threads related to that topic--very handy for finding answers to questions, recipes, etc.

As far as finding others that can relate--there are lots of us here. You just have to reach out a hand and let us know what you need.

[raini]

Dee!

Looks like you've had some of your questions answered. Hope that those responses have helped you get a good start.

Yes, Linda Sue's website has been a Godsend. I also use Dana Carpender's cookbook, and some more books that I found at a local Goodwill store. And of course the recipe threads here at LCF are great, too.

Variety is important to me. I can't have a "burger-with-no-bun" over and over and over. This upsets the dh from time to time, especially if he wants to go to a burger joint and I don't. Since we live on a little island with just one restaurant (and over-priced burgers) this isn't usually a problem for me.

This is a good time of year for soups, and I like to make a big pot and use it for several meals. However, it won't be the same meal again and again.... sometimes I'll have a bowl of soup and a salad, and the next time it might be a cup of soup and some meatloaf. Again, variety!

As for telling people that I don't eat fruit, well I don't tell them. Sometimes I just say, "Oh, no thank you" or maybe, "Thanks, but I'm stuffed" or "I'd love to but I just brushed my teeth." At a recent picnic, I held a dripping, juicy plum in my hand for about half and hour. Since the person next to me had made a mess of her blouse with hers, I used it as an excuse to wait until I could get a napkin. Luckily, my handsome dh in shining armor rode up on his white steed and plucked the plum from my hand.

Speaking of dh, he has rescued me at dinner parties when he sees something on my plate that someone else insisted should be there. He might slip it onto his plate when no one is looking, or offer to help clear the table at the end of the meal and whisk my plate away before someone can notice and be offended.

Is the truth better? Well... the first time I was on a low carb program, I got a lot of lectures on how unhealthy it was. I also got a lot of "it won't hurt you just this once" advice, and I got really tired of it. Some are well-meaning friends and some are "friendly enemies" as WW called them when I was a member. So now it's just my own business, and I don't discuss it with anyone else.

I am allergic to wheat, so this gets me off the hook for sandwiches and most desserts; but even that isn't foolproof. One woman tried to give me a muffin one morning, and I told her that I was allergic to wheat. She claimed there was no wheat in it, so I started to reach for it just to appease her. Then the lady sitting next to me said, "You mean there's no flour in it?" The muffin-lady looked confused for a moment and said, "Oh, you mean there's wheat in flour?" Duh... I don't believe she meant to mislead me, but what was she thinking?

Regarding your lactose intolerance: I was lactose intolerant for years, but when I am low-carbing, cheese does not bother me at all. (I don't drink cow's milk anymore, so I'm not sure if that would bother me or not.) If you have a day to stay near the bathroom, you might experiment a little and see if this is true for you. I'm guessing that it becomes a problem for me when I combine cheese with a carb-laden meal. (Same thing goes for heart-burn: I don't have it when I eat low carb meals, but I do if I combine carbs and fat.)

About your plantar faciitis- I don't claim to know a lot about this, but when I was having severe heel pain, a few folks told me that's what it was. (Haven't been to the doctor yet...) Anyway, I looked it up in some medical books and found that stretching the foot up toward the knee was a good exercise for it. Sometimes dh helps me with that, and sometimes I just stand behind a chair, stretch my leg back and push with my toes to get a good stretch going. If I did, indeed, have plantar faciitis, I am having very little to no trouble at all with it now. That's probably not the case for everyone, but it's what worked for me.

When the heel pain was too severe to do any walking, I did stretching exercises from a seated position. There are videos on this, and a show on PBS called "Sit and Be Fit." It beats doing nothing!

NutraSweet makes me sick, too. Water is my "drink of choice" but it has to be good water. We're blessed to (officially) have some of the best tasting/quality water in the country, and I drink a lot of it when we're at home. On the road, we buy bottled water (and I do the research to see what is actually good quality.) I also drink decaf tea, and there is a lot of variety out there, so find some flavors that you like. My current favorite is decaf Chai tea, and I add just a little cream to it. I also make decaf iced tea to keep on hand during the warm weather; and I like Shasta or Hansen brand sodas that are sweetened with Splenda. (I don't drink them a lot... I really prefer water.)

As for entertaining guests, you'll find a lot of wonderful recipes here. As we get closer to the holidays, we usually see a lot of postings for menus when company is coming. I recently hosted a formal dinner party for six. We had Crab Louie, which was the main meal. There were dinner rolls for the other guests, and when they were passed my way I reminded them that I am allergic to wheat. Dessert was an elegant "Key Lime Creme" from a recipe I found in a low carb cookbook. No one had a clue that I was eating low carb; or that without the rolls, they were, too!

Please visit LCF as often as you are able. I've said it before and I'll say it again: posting here has given me a lot of inspiration and motivation. I find great recipes and menus here. Most of all, I need to stay accountable, so I come here to post my food choices and my exercise. And it's working for me.

Good luck!