Okay, as I said in my introduction, I have tons of questions. How do most people handle being low carb? I see some post that indicate that they are following adkins and then some that are saying just low carb/sugar free foods. Milk? what do you do for milk (or it depends on what plan of action you are following?) SF? Are you doing SF products?

Are there any links that will have general info?

Kristy

Welcome Kristy. I'm fairly new here myself and I'm sure you'll get lots of cool advice from some of the great senior members.


Margaret

Thanks Margaret

Hi Kristy! I think for milk it does depend on what plan you're following. Also, for Atkins at least, the stage of your weight loss. I'm in OWL on Atkins, and I like to use Hood's calorie countdown milk (used to be carb countdown). You can only find it in certain parts of the country. You can also try mixing cream and water.

As for SF products, some are better than others. A lot of people (myself included) seem to like DaVinci SF syrups. They're flavored with splenda and come in a huge number of flavors. Just watch out, though, because many SF foods are sweetened with sugar alcohols, which tend to give people "tummy upsets."

We recommend you choose a plan, read the book, cover to cover, and keep it handy for reference. Most of us seem to be doing Atkins, although we have some doing South Beach, some Protein Power, some the Zone, others doing a combo, tweaking the plan to suit their needs.

Milk is usually a no-no for low carb. One cup is 12 gms. However, you can use Hood's Calorie Countdown milk, it's about 2 gms per cup for the 2%, 5 for the chocolate. We use it for our morning shakes when we have it. I also use Almond Breeze beverage, it's 2 gms per cup. I buy mine from Netrition.

There is a thread on artificial sweeteners, actually a couple of threads.

Artificial Sweeteners, Etc. : Self-Testing Experiments

favorite LC sweeteners?

I suggest you look through the stickies here in the Newbies forum, read over those. You'll glean a lot of good info from those.

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Nita

Welcome, Kristy.

Also, don't overlook articles on the rest of this site, such as those found if you scroll down this page.

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There are lots of different LC plans. Atkins is popular here, as is Protien Power. But many start with one and eventually, end up with their own brand of LC that I like to call "Homebrew Plans."

From what I've seen, people often do the best by reading up a little on the plans, picking one to start, and then giving it a while to see how it works for them. Later on, they tend to tweak and adjust, as everybody has different needs and bodies react individually to many different things.

I do like to see people start with some plan, though, because it can help them avoid some of the most common pitfalls. Some will try to go "no carb," which often slows down your metabolism to a crawl, or go overboard on the processed, so-called LC foods (we sometimes call Frankenfoods here because they just ain't natural, man). It also helps them understand how it works by getting educated on the physical mechanisms, so they can make more informed choices...
Usually for the initial stages of most LC plans, you'll avoid most dairy because of the natural sugars in milk...Calorie countdown as suggested by others is popular when you can get it.

Heavy cream is allowed on most LC plans, but you have to watch the amounts becuase it's very calorie dense. (While LCers don't usually count calories, esp. at first, doesn't mean to say that they don't matter at all...LC gives you an advantage in that you can lose at higher calorie levels than other eating plans, but it's not totally a nonissue, especially as you get closer to your goal weight.)

As you get further on in the plan, then you may introduce a little more dairy. Some plain, SF yogurt, for example, may be worked in, a little half and half in the coffee some use, or even a little milk, full fat. LC'ers seldom use reduced fat products, because we're not afraid of fats, and they often have higher carb counts to make up for the fats removed...

You have to kind of work with it to see what causes problems for you personally and what doesn't because it's all very indvidual for some foods. And since the only way this will help long term is to fit it into your permanent lifestyle, you also have to find what stuff you like to eat and how to LC your favorites so you don't feel deprived. It's an education in how your body responds, largely.

some...i mean, if i'm eating it, it's gonna be SF. that's a lc basic rule. real sugar does NOTHING for you; but you also have to be careful with the SF foods and specialty foods. some have sugar alcohols, which, for many, either introduce some nasty gastrointestial side effects-ewww!-or their body processes very similarly to sugar. and for some, even sweet tasting stuff can generate cravings, depending on how sensitive you are to it.

what you will find is after doing this a couple of weeks, your tastes start changing. a piece of fruit will suddenly taste like a very decadent dessert, and you become quite sensitive to the sweetness in stuff, so you won't want as much sweetners, either. although i cop to having a sweet tooth myself, and do enjoy sf treats, in moderation when i can manage it.

normally, after the first week on lc (when you can get the infamous "induction flu" as your body detoxes from the steady diet of carbs it's gotten used to), you'll start to feel REALLY good...energy surges, reduced appetite, and an overall sense of wellbeing is quite common. this is the "magic" of lc, and why people stick with it...you learn a few cooking tricks to help you enjoy what you're eating, and you change your habits to adapt...and you're on your way, man!

hope that helped.

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