Low Carb Eating, Point by Point

Low Carb Eating - Point by Point

First.... if you haven't seen this yet, go watch Big Fat Fiasco. Run along; I'll wait until you get back.
When I'm talking about low carb eating I'm talking about 30-35 carbs a day. Period. 10 carbs per meal (and those few extras that creep in). Count the carbs, eat what you want that fits in that limit.
Most of us require only 40-50 total carbs a day to function at our maximum for energy and brain function. Doctors tell me that North Americans are eating between 300-800 carbs a day! To lose weight, and reset your insulin resistance (over time) you need to aim for 30 carbs a day (10 per meal, not all at once).
Low-carb diets are very do-able (easy) as a vegetarian, and even as a vegan (with a bit more attention).
When I'm talking about low carb eating, I mean low carb and high fat. High protein diets have health issues I won't consider for my own body. And based on years of watching others try high-protein diets they don't seem to work over the long haul. The vast majority of people I see trying high-protein (and low fat) ways to eat end up tired, and giving up and gaining back more than they'd lost.
Most North Americans are already eating far too much protein for how they live and are already stressing their poor overworked livers. The Canadian Health Food Association, and most major health research centers, recommend only 35-60 grams of protein a day. That range takes into account women working in an office, or pregnant, and men working in physical labor jobs and working out several times a week. Large, small, active, not active, all fit within that range. One skinless chicken breast has 40+ grams of protein (for the vast majority of us, that's enough for a whole day!), 2 eggs have 12 grams, a serving of peas has around 8 grams. Protein is hard to get away from, and real easy to get. As long as you’re eating a variety of foods, you’ll get the full range of the amino acids our bodies need to build healthy human protein.
To recap: we need .80 grams of protein a day per kilogram of body weight.
We do NOT need "1 gram of protein a day per pound "of body weight as as many "experts" will quote without ever giving a thought to why they say it.
When your body runs out of carbs, it will change to burning fats for fuel, if you have fat in your diet to burn.
Another problem with high protein diets is that the body needs some carbs to facilitate the fat burning process. Think of carbs as the match that lights the big pile of sticks and starts the fire. You want a lot more sticks than matches, but matches are required.
If the body is attempting to burn fat as fuel it creates something called ketone bodies; without some few carbs the body cannot use up these ketone bodies properly and when the number of ketones rise too high in our plasma ketoacidosis results. Being “in ketosis” (burning fats for fuel) is a good thing (and fabulous for our brain!), being poisoned by it (ketoacidosis) isn’t. Enjoy the fats, and eat your veggies (and you'll get plenty of carbs to burn up that fat)!
Low carb eating is a lot like eating on a yeast cleanse.... but more. Therefore, low carb eating can be a quick and deadly kill of yeast; and it seems to get you past the "craving" portion of such cleanses a lot faster. I like faster.
Around day 3 or 4 for many of us (some people can take up to a couple of weeks or more) your body will have run out of carbs to burn as fuel and may feel pretty knocked down. This will be the height of the cravings for sugars or starches or fruits. You may feel deep into "cleansing mode" with flu like symptoms, aches and pains, or edginess if yeast is a factor in your health. Take courage; these feelings don't last long. By the following day or so your body will have realized all it's wishes are coming true and it can now get to burning fats for fuel.
Once you are "in ketosis" cravings drop dramatically, tastes began to change, appetite levels change, energy rises into places you may not have experienced since high school, brain function seems to sharpen, and you may find yourself sleeping better than ever.
You can buy Ketostix at a drug store (you will probably have to ask the druggist for them). Pee on the wee sticks, if they change color you are "in ketosis" and are burning fat as fuel. If the colour on the sticks is really dark, you're not burning more fat, you're just not drinking enough water.
Don't try skipping meals as a way to lower weight faster. When you're blood glucose levels get too low, our ever vigilant liver will dig out stored glucose and pour it into the body. If you’ve watched the Big Fat Fiasco videos then you know that will immediately get insulin pumping through us to keep things in balance, and that insulin will mean the fat burning process comes to an end for a while. Snack on cheese, nuts, cold meats, nut butters on celery, raw veggies with oils, and cheesy dips, etc… but do eat.
Drink a lot of water. Yeah, yeah, I know, you always drink a lot of water. Drink more. While burning fat as our main fuel makes our brain and heart a lot happier, it requires more water to function. If you are getting cravings, running out of energy, feeling low, if your Ketostix are deep into the dark color range, or you're not losing the weight you expect to, you're probably not getting enough water. Drink lots of water!
Did I mention you should drink lots of water? For the first while you will be on the toilet more than you knew you could. I suggest placing a good book or small TV in a handy spot. Deal with it. It gets better in a few days. :D
In Canada all packaged food requires a break down of carbs on the label. You will see something like:
Carbohydrates..... 20
Dietary fiber...........9
Sugars..................3

For us that reads as: there are 20 total carbs in a serving of this food.... but I don't count the fibers (since they don't mess with me)...... so this food has 11 NET carbs per serving. Eleven NET carbs is what I count. The 9 and 3 only = 12 (not the 20 total carbs in the product) - so that means that is product probably has 8 carbs of starches.... and in terms of digestion that's a lot of sugar at some point.
If you like beans try using lupini beans (can be bought in cans in many stores) and organic (not GMO) black soy beans. They are so low in carbs as to be a dream food for us.

Look for a long white root vegetable called Daikon radish; once it's boiled up, it can be sliced and used as lasagna noodles. Most people cannot tell the difference between it and pasta in lasagna (unless you tell them first lol). Except of course, for the difference of about 60+ carbs per serving!!
For spaghetti and other pastas, either chop up daikon into fun shapes or look for shirataki noodles. They can be made from konjak/yam root or soy. I love the soy best. These all have from 0-2 carbs per serving.
Note on soy shirataki noodles: they are sold in pouches with fluid. They smell funny. Rinse them, and boil them for 2-3 minutes to remove "the authentic aroma" (the stink) and they are awesome good regular pasta.
Note on soy products: soy is almost always, always (91+%), GMO (genetically modified) and while no one understands why yet, there are some bad things happening to humans and animals using GMO foods. Look for tofu and soy noodles made from organic soy. In Canada at least, organic means non GMO.
Note about GMO foods:
Soy 91% is GMO
Cotton 88% is GMO
Canola (and oils) 80-85% is GMO
Corn (and oils) 85% is GMO
Hawaiian papaya more than 50% is GMO
Beer... well beer has a lot of carbs. Dark beers, my personal favorites, even more. If you're going to drink it, you'll probably be out of ketosis that day (and not losing weight). Red wine... 4-5 carbs a glass. Wine, and pure spirits (vodka and such) can be a healthy part of a low carb way of eating. Thank heavens!
Low carb jellies are easy to make with pectin, pure fruit, and small amounts of sugars and artificial sweeteners. You still don't use them in big heaping piles, but a teaspoon here and there is lovely.
Note on artificial sweeteners: there are a lot of them and you will hear that this or that one is bad because of one thing or another. Checking on actual studies and evidence has led me to the conclusion that all artificial sweeteners come with their own issues to some degree. Trading one set of problems (too much sugars in my diet) for another set of problems (cancer, reactions with dna, and conflicting "safety" data) is not my idea of a good idea. I have dropped most sugars and use various combinations of sweeteners and sugars - in very small amounts - when I want something sweet. Sugar has 4 or 5 carbs in a spoonful. With my new far-more-sensitive taste buds that one spoonful goes a heck of a lot further than it used to.
Low carb breads, and some awesome good cookies, cakes, and muffins are doable using ground almonds, ground sunflower seeds, or coconut flour. Also look for wheat protein isolate (best), wheat gluten (good), and organic soy powder (best) (which is not the same as organic soy flour (good)).
Low carb pizza is rocking good! There's a recipe for that in here somewhere.
Low carb eating has shown to be good at leveling cholesterol to perfect places, lowering high blood pressure, reversing type two diabetes, losing weight, improving brain function and memory, removing inflammation in joints, reversing sleep apnea, clearing up skin problems, and lots of nice things I can live with easily.
Keep your fats up. Really! Grab a spoonful of nut butters (organic, pure peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc), add extra olive oil to everything, use butter thick and happy, full whipping cream instead of cream, and start using coconut oil (you really can just take a spoonful now and then)- it's awesome good for you!
Forget "low fat" anything. Most low fat products add sugars to pump up the flavor. Use high fat cheese and things. Then add olive oil anyway. :D
If you like chocolate (check out my recipe section) learn to love 90% chocolate bars. Some have only 1-2 carbs per 3 squares of chocolate and are full of hearth healthy antioxidents. I eat chocolate daily. And always will. :D
Green vegetables almost don't even have to be counted! Green beans, asparagus, avocados (the perfect food?), broccoli, Brussels sprouts (try them roasted), cabbage, kale, celery, spinach (add it raw to salads), sprouts, etc... just eat 'em! They are perfect foods.
Count the carbs in carrots and tomatoes. They can knock you out of ketosis if you eat enough. Corn is starch and = sugar; leave it alone. Peas are high-carb too.
Nuts, within reason (by 1/3 or 1/4 cup and not by the bag full), are great eating this way. Walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts and hazzlenuts are best.
Eating eggs have never actually been shown to raise cholesterol. Eat 'em and love 'em. Try duck eggs too. The cholesterol they carry are fabulous for brain function, hormone production, and during times of high stress.
Sometimes, rarely (2-3 days over months of time), I have found there are days when I am actually eating too few carbs and must up my intake of carbs to restore happy, awesome, energy levels. By "upping" my carbs I am talking about an increase of 5 or so carbs. I am not talking about a hamburger and fries. About 1/4 of a tart granny smith apple will do nicely and restore me to high-energy-let's-tackle-life-head-on-cause-it's-fun energy levels. Mostly I've discovered that if my energy is low I just need to drink more water.
Beware of "carb hangovers" if you have a "splurge day". Eating more carbs than your body is used to can leave you feeling headachy, nauseated, and feeling like you partied all night. It sucks.
Beware alcohol while eating this way. You are about to become a cheap date. :D Alcohol will hit you in ways it never has before. Getting drunk is easier than ever. Getting a drunk hangover, perhaps coupled with a carb hangover, is not that hard to do. It will make for a very nasty morning after.

Note: I am not a doctor. I am only sharing what I have found to be true with me and many of the people I see daily in my job working in the health food industry. There is a lot of information available about low carb eating and it is my hope you find some of it yourself. Find your balance, lose unneeded weight, get insulin issues under control, lower physical stresses in your life, get blood pressure and cholesterol where you want them to be, and discover energy you really are not too old to find again.

Personally, I will never go back to the traditional low fat, high carb "healthy by the government standards" way of eating; this feels too good!

Happy, and healthy, eating.

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