I’ve Found It: A Low Carb Eating Plan!

9-44am

It’s something I have been asked quite frequently over the last few months….is there an eating plan to follow? I have stumbled on one! Before I get to it, not being the expert, I have to say that if you have any medical problems, you may want to first consult one of the physicians mentioned on this blog’s “All Things LCHF” page. I don’t want to get you started on a diet that will negatively effect you. I have learned many things over the months that I have been trying to follow a low carb diet: Everyone is different – each individual has to work out what works for them. But having said that, there is one thing that everyone can do and it will benefit them –  Everyone can cut out sugar in their diet and cut out overt carbs such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, as well as refined carbohydrates such as cake and pastries.  But I also conclude that you don’t want to live a life that is boring & dull when it comes to food. We need to try and find the healthy balance. Instead of eating 80% of our calories on carbohydrate rich foods, made up of both refined and unrefined carbohydrates, including sugar (which believe it or not appears in some food pyramids), we should be eating 20% carbohydrates and 80% protein and fats. What does that look like?

The amount of calories I need for my (pretty sedentary) lifestyle is 1200. 80% of that is 960 calories which should come from proteins and fats.

1 egg (and I have two each morning)

Energy     647 kJ (155 kcal)
Carbohydrates     1.12 g
Fat     10.6 g
Protein     12.6 g

So for my two = 2.24g of carbs, fat = 21.20g, protein = 25.2gCalories from the two eggs = 310. To get the energy I need from fats and proteins, I have to know how many calories they carry. 600 calories come from 150g protein. 480 calories comes from 53.5 g fat.

If you want energy from fat, eat an avo. A medium sized avocado pear is a LCHF fan’s best friend….276 calories,  27.6 g of fat 😀  It’s got 1.4g carbs and 1.4g protein as well.

With carbs, the amount depends on what you are eating. eg. 1 slice of bread = 11.6g of carbohydrate (69 calories with nothing on it!)

A muffin is horrendously high in carbs!  This little number, which I used to wolf down regularly, did nothing for my waistline or belly fat…470 calories with 73g of carbohydrates. If you are shooting for a maximum of 50g carbs each day, you’ve blown it for a day and a half, excluding the few carbs in the eggs and avo.

We haven’t got to meat or fish yet or veggies. But this is how you go about working out a LCHF eating plan that will work for you.

Someone who has come up with a suggested 3 day mix/match LCHF eating plan is Mark Mauder who has followed Gary Taubes and Prof Tim Noakes. His website is http://markmaunder.com. This is what he says:

“Below I have outlined three days with a total of 9 meals that you can mix and match as you like. At the end I include a list of Ketogenic-safe ingredients you can add or subtract as you like. Remember the key is to have a high fat, high-protein and no-carb or very low carb diet. That means absolutely no sugar.

Day 1
Breakfast: 2 eggs done any way with yolks. Sausage containing no carbs or sugar. Bacon.
Lunch: Chicken with as much skin and oily gooey bits as possible. Steamed spinach or broccoli.
Supper: Steak with cheese. Fried mushrooms. Leafy green salad.
Before bed 1 glass of wine with a slice of cheese.
Day 2
Breakfast: 2 egg omlette with friend mushrooms, cheese and chopped parsley.
Lunch: A whole duck breast if you can get it or chicken again with as much fatty skin as possible. Leafy green salad.
Supper: Hamburger made with high fat mince without the bun. The mince can contain the usual paprika, chopped onions and garlic if you like, but absolutely no syrup or sugar. Add Cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and any other leafy low-carb greens you like.
Before bed 1 glass of wine with a slice of cheese.
Day 3
Breakfast – 2 eggs done any way with bacon and usual no-carb sausage.
Lunch-    Steak with cheese. Leafy green salad.
Dinner-   Salmon (or other fish) fried and served with Bok Choy and your leafy green salad.

You can mix and match the meals above and get a good Ketogenic burn going where you will notice rapid weight loss.

Eat as much as you want ingredient ideas:

Beef,
Steak,
Hamburger,
Prime Rib,
Filet Mignon,
Roast Beef,
Chicken,
Duck (awesome if you can get it because it is very high fat),
Any Fish, Tuna, Salmon, Trout, Halibut,
Lamb,
Pork,
Bacon,
Ham,
Eggs,
Shrimp,
Crab,
Lobster,
Butter,
Oils (Olive Oil, Flaxseed oil, etc.),
Salt, Pepper, Soy Sauce,
Spinach,
Lettuce,
Mustard Greens,
Celery,
Cheeses,
Oysters,
Abalone.

Add for variety but in moderation:

Read the ingredients (if applicable) and make darn sure they contain no sugar:

Avocadoes
Mustard (with no sugar or carbs),
Tea no sugar with milk
Coffee black no sugar
Heavy Cream
Broccoli,
Cabbage,
Bok Choy,
Kale,
Asparagus,
Mushrooms,
Cucumbers,
Olives,
Celery,
Green Beans,
Brussel Sprouts,
Peppers (Red, Green, Jalapeno, Habanero),
Onions,
Nuts preferably almonds,

You absolutely must avoid all sugar on this diet because it is the highest GI carbohydrate that will very quickly spike your insulin and destroy any Ketogenic effect. Other foods to avoid roughly in order of damage they will do to the diet:

All sugar.
All Bread.
Did I mention avoid sugar?
All traditional carbs like rice, pasta, wheat, potatoes, even the low GI ones like beans and lentils.
Beware of sauces that contain sugar or things like corn starch.

Effects of the diet:

You will see rapid weight loss of up to 6 pounds for a 200 pound person in the first 48 hours. This is your kidneys releasing water as they expel their sodium due to the absence of insulin. It’s what you’ve usually heard described as “water weight”.
Then you should see continued weight loss of anything from 0.25 to 2 pounds per day (an eighth to half kilo lost per day). But this varies greatly between individuals and is affected by a wide range of factors including your current weight and insulin sensitivity.
For the first week you may experience slightly decreased mental clarity. This clears up after a week as your brain gets used to burning ketones for energy instead of glucose.
According to data in “Why we get fat” your Vitamin C needs actually decrease on a low carb diet, so don’t feel the need to massively supplement.
Research has shown (also from Taubes) that LDL (bad) cholesterol will elevate slightly but clump size will be increased which is a net positive because larger LDL is less likely to stick to artery walls. HDL (good) cholesterol is significantly elevated with a very low carb diet like this which is a very strong net positive. This also has other great health benefits e.g. Lower insulin reduces the risk of hardening of artery walls.”

You can read the whole article here:

http://markmaunder.com/2012/07/22/the-basic-ketogenic-diet/

He talks about getting ketogenic. I’m not so sure about how that works, or if it’s at all necessary for most of us to go that far. So take what works for you, google calorie counts of the food you regularly eat and start taking notice of what you are feeding yourself.

You do want to try and find balance, eat healthily and also enjoy life. After all, that’s what God came to give us!

Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ” John 10:10 

Have fun! I’m off to look for ‘low carb’ sushi!

God bless you loads!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂