Too few Carbs / No Veg?

[chinadoll]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Veggies can be raw but your calorie intake is going to make your metabolism tank. If you continue this way you won't lose. End of story. Lots of folks have busy schedules and travel all day but if you are serious about taking off the weight then you need to make a serious effort to plan and do it right.

Why not a lunch box or cooler? Stock it with cheese, raw veggies, cream cheese, a dip, olives, dill pickles, cooked chicken breast. There is no excuse for not getting enough food and not enough veggies.

You aren't doing Atkins based on your menu post from yesterday. You have to put in the effort to get the results you want. That may mean some extra work and planning on your part.

[Georgiana]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Ever since, every time I try to go on Atkins, I experience severe stomach pain. I mean, really bad pain, to the point where I can't function. I thought it was an ulcer (or beginning of).. but that was not the case. I would eat a baby carrot and not 30 minutes would pass before I would experience this excruciating pain. I don't understand it. So, I have never been able to do Atkins for more than 2-3 days before I give up, due to the pain.

Have you seen a doctor?

Which veggies give you this problem? Carrots are not allowed on Induction anyway.

This time around, I no longer seem to have this issue. Don't get me wrong, like I said before, I am eating vegetables, but not with the consistency that would be ideal. A lunchbox doesn't work for me since I'm mobile and don't always control where I will be at any given time.

What do you usually have for lunch? Do you bring your own food?

So, I try to have a breakfast that has some veggies (omelets work for me)

Quiches and frittatas are good too. And they are also good cold, so you don't have to cook an omelet every morning.

and sometimes a tuna salad for dinner too.

What is in this tuna salad? Do you just make it with tuna and mayo? Maybe you could have it with some spinach and tomatoes?

I then get to the point where I can no longer look at eggs!

Why do you eat eggs then?

Example: yesterday, I ate 2 things only:

1. 10 strips of bacon (spread out through the day)
2. 10 black olives

That's it. I'm not happy with myself, but that's just how my day went. Today, I plan on getting my veggie on and will make it a point to incorporate it into my diet.

Veggies are good for you... you know this. And not giving your body proper nutrition will slow down your metabolism. So it's important to eat enough and to eat your vegetables.

As for yesterday... You see, having a quiche in the fridge would have saved you. You could have had a slice of quiche for breakfast... bacon and olives for lunch, if that's what you want/have available... and some chicken salad for dinner, for example.

If you buy a whole chicken, you can cook it whole and eat from it a few days (keep in the fridge, of course). Take an empty glass bottle (0.5 L) and clean it of any sticky labels. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and whatever else you like. Put the bottle inside the chicken and then place the bottle in a pot/tray filled with water. It should look something like this:



Cook this at the oven at 375 F (190 C) until the skin gets crispy and chicken is done. It will be obvious when it's done.

You can add chicken meat to a veggie salad. Or you can make a chicken salad with mayo and have some veggies on the side. However you like to eat chicken. The skin won't stay crispy in the fridge though (or at least I'm not able to keep it crispy).

Question is: cooked veggies are okay or do they have to be raw?

Cooked veggies are perfectly fine.

[Georgiana]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

And about veggies... measure them raw. And make sure you are properly counting the net carbs (total carbs minus fiber). You can use FitDay or the USDA database.

How much water are you drinking?

[dxbfatguy]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

My tuna salad includes lettuce, cucumber and tomato (salad.. not tuna+mayo)
I've seen doctors.. all I can confirm is that it's not ulcers.

I feel like I'm the bad kid being attacked here I'm just not very good this food thing. I really am trying. This weighs quite a bit on my mind. You have to understand, my wife has maintained her amazing body ever since we met for 10 years now. And I mean, AMAZING body.. so every time I think about how I let myself go and she hasn't, I feel ashamed.

Veggies is the order of the day. Got it.

[dxbfatguy]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

And about veggies... measure them raw. And make sure you are properly counting the net carbs (total carbs minus fiber). You can use FitDay or the USDA database.

How much water are you drinking?

I drink about 6-10 glasses of water a day (large glasses ~500ml).

[Georgiana]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

My tuna salad includes lettuce, cucumber and tomato (salad.. not tuna+mayo)

Oh, okay. That sounds good.

I feel like I'm the bad kid being attacked here

lol... sorry, I really wasn't attacking you.

I'm just not very good this food thing. I really am trying. This weighs quite a bit on my mind. You have to understand, my wife has maintained her amazing body ever since we met for 10 years now. And I mean, AMAZING body.. so every time I think about how I let myself go and she hasn't, I feel ashamed.

Isn't your wife eating vegetables? One of you must be cooking, I imagine.

I drink about 6-10 glasses of water a day (large glasses ~500ml).

Sounds good.

[chinadoll]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Does your wife cook for you? Is she open to helping you out in this? Maybe she is more creative with some food solutions for you. Can you get kebabs or something and just skip the bread? How about cucumbers and yogurt? I am trying to think about what you would have available.

[dxbfatguy]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Does your wife cook for you? Is she open to helping you out in this? Maybe she is more creative with some food solutions for you. Can you get kebabs or something and just skip the bread? How about cucumbers and yogurt? I am trying to think about what you would have available.

I like yogurt, but they don't have the nutrition facts on them, so I have no idea what's in it -- so I avoid it.

My wife cooks from time to time.. she has a full-time job and does some part-time work as well. So, being the understanding husband that I am, I don't like to burden her with my weird food requirements She sometimes whips out some chicken breast with veggies for me (she promised to make me some tonight

All I'm saying is, she's not always available to do that. We both have very hectic work schedules.. which is why we have a long holiday coming up where we both can just unwind.

So back on the yogurt.. cause I remember when I was a kid we used to have yogurt salad (yogurt + cucumber and some other small stuff, can't remember what, black pepper, etc.) yummy.. I loved it. Even the int'l brand names here don't put the nutrition facts label on their items.. but just googling around, it looks like yogurt is high on the carb count

[chinadoll]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Plain greek style yogurts tend to be lower, although I see you are still in Induction and they are not til Rung 2. But yes, if you google tsatsiki you can get a good recipe for cucumber and yogurt.

OK so the ball seems to be back in your court. When DH and I were both working, I would cook a bunch of stuff in one weekend and freeze it. You could do the same. Here are some ideas for heating and eating at night that have a healthy portion ov veggies:

chili with eggplant, peppers and onions (instead of beans)

eggplant, tomato sauce, ground lamb or beef and mozzerella layered and baked (later you can add ricotta beaten with an egg too)

chicken or beef vegetable soups

chicken cacciatore

stuffed peppers with ground meat, onion, chayote, celery whatever

OK for cold stuff for lunch...

Do a whole batch of BBQ (marinate in cider vinegar and water then sprinkle heavily with spices) chicken and keep in fridge cooked. Same goes for buffalo wings.

cold cut rollups (I know you like cold cuts) roll up with cheese, some mustard maybe a dill pickle

cream cheese and celery or peppers--you can pre cut a bunch of veggies and keep them in a jar of cold water in the fridge or a jar of ice that can thaw as you go about your day.

pack a salad and dressing separate.

May I ask why a cooler bag or lunch bag won't work? That would be the best alternative it seems.

[chinadoll]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Found this on another site. It may not be 100% free of any bad stuff, but it would be a better alternative than many things.:

"It is DEFINITELY possible to eat low carb in all of those places, if you are eating out at restaurants. I've been to Oman and Dubai and was able to stick with it. It is very easy to find Lebanese food in restaurants in the Emirates. I ate lots of shish tawook (grilled chicken skewers) and grilled meats. Also, salads are a very large part of the menu."

[chinadoll]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

This page was all about low-carbing in the Emirates:

Low Carbing in the United Arab Emirates - Low Carb Friends

Hope there is something here you can use.

[niko772]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

My son doesn't care for leafy greens either. What I've started doing is giving him s/f pickles, "potato" pancakes, brocolli and cheese "pancakes" and lots of mashed "potatoes"(cauliflower). After awhile, he started developing a taste for other things, so we incorporated spinach and cucumbers. Shoot, last night he actually ate some onion and bell pepper! Start off with something you can handle and as your tastes change, try other items on the list...and be creative.

[dxbfatguy]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

Plain greek style yogurts tend to be lower, although I see you are still in Induction and they are not til Rung 2. But yes, if you google tsatsiki you can get a good recipe for cucumber and yogurt.

OK so the ball seems to be back in your court. When DH and I were both working, I would cook a bunch of stuff in one weekend and freeze it. You could do the same. Here are some ideas for heating and eating at night that have a healthy portion ov veggies:

...

May I ask why a cooler bag or lunch bag won't work? That would be the best alternative it seems.

Thanks for the ideas.. the problem with lunch bags (not sure what a cooler bag is exactly) is that the weather here would melt iron So, when I have a long day full of meetings, keeping the food in the car is not exactly a good idea.

But, yeah, I'll try that and see how it goes.

[Jenileigh]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

I do find that after a while of being on the diet my tastes do change. I eat different things especially veggies that I never touched before the diet. I hope it all works out for you. Getting healthy isn't easy and it does take a lot of effort, figuring things out and commitment. You really can do this.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Too few Carbs / No Veg?

>>not sure what a cooler bag is exactly>>

It's insulated ... you put an "ice pack" or something filled with a coolant that's frozen in it and it keeps things cool.