Low carb diet woes

After I retired from work, I swore it would be my last job. I knew from being in the military that diet and nutrition were most important and what is part of keeping a person healthy.

I hired a Nutritionist and PT for 2 months and they made up my diet and exercise plan for a week at a time for the next 8 weeks. I can use that to mix and match as I please. When I retired, I weighed 188#. For the past 2 consecutive years, I have weighed between 172-176#. My cholesterol combined is 74. I exercise daily, except I take Sunday off to allow my body to decompress.
 

I tell you what I find easiest, it's intermittent fasting. I find I can eat lunch and dinner but miss breakfast. If I eat dinner by 7pm I find it not too difficult to eat no more until 1pm next day. This gives an 18 hour rest to my body when it must use fat reserves. Over the years I have done this diet and lost weight well when I've really put my mind to it.
It does mean no snacking. I do need to keep my two meals a day basically healthy and wise. But it means no need to count calories or buy special foods. It means I have two nice meals to look forward to and I allow myself one drink with dinner, usually a small glass of wine.
I do find I feel better because sleep on an empty stomach is better. I drink lots of water and decaff tea or coffee and after a few days, I really don't feel much hunger during the fasted hours.
This is what I've been doing and it's working! I eat a later breakfast, usually 9 am. A big breakfast with 30 grams protein. Then big early dinner at 3 or 4 pm. That's it. No snacks. I just work right through lunch.
I can't skip breakfast. I know it works good for some but not for me.
I go to bed early and get up early. If I do get hungry before bed I eat a big spoon of yogurt or almond butter but usually I don't need it.
 
This is what I've been doing and it's working! I eat a later breakfast, usually 9 am. A big breakfast with 30 grams protein. Then big early dinner at 3 or 4 pm. That's it. No snacks. I just work right through lunch.
I can't skip breakfast. I know it works good for some but not for me.
I go to bed early and get up early. If I do get hungry before bed I eat a big spoon of yogurt or almond butter but usually I don't need it.
Impressive! No idea how you do that. I eat 4-5 times a day, sometimes more. Some are meals, some are snacks, but I'm pretty unhappy if I don't eat at least every three hours or so.
 

I get it, as we age seems it is harder to eat a full meal at one sitting so we often feel hungry in just a few hours. I do not know what causes it but seems to me we eat until we feel full, satisfied, metabolisim tells us we need no more. I no longer eat a big meal so I am hungry more often. I think it is just a normal part of aging. I have found this true after taking care of my aging Mother. I would fix her a meal, she could not always finish but then needed snacks thru the day.

I get it because I find now I eat less at the normal breakfast, lunch, dinner but I get hungry in between meals. Does anyone find this to be a normal thing as we age. Even if I go to a favorite restaurant starving hungry I can no longer finish the meal. I always bring home leftovers. I used to be able to eat half of a pizza, now I am lucky to get down one or two slices.

I can't lie, I have an upset stomach often due to severe migranes. I eat a lot of toast, and homemade potato soup to get me through these episodes. When I feel well I eat whatever I want.

The truth of the matter, something we can't change, is that we are all going to die at some point. We all know that. I want to enjoy my life. I enjoy good food. Eating is not a choice. Now, that I am older, I appreciate food so much more. Why deprive my self of the pleasure of good food. Why would I want to live longer If I am miserable.

I find it better to eat what I want, when I want. To sleep when I want for ever how long I want. Life is to enjoy each blessing, each staqe and appriciate whatever you have been gifted from the Lord. Not everyone can be a celebrity or millionaire but we can try to be happy with the life we have..
 
I think we all get to a point that we know what works for us. Every metabolism is different.
I also think it's natural when you find something that works well for you, you want to share. It may be the worst thing for someone else or they may find that's what they've been needing.
That's a good thing about being older and wiser, I say! 😊
 
This is interesting. I haven't had a potato in months. I going to buy some tomorrow and add them to my diet. But I will replace something else with them. Calories are still what I watch. I've been thinking about this in the back of my mind, even before I read your post, and I'm looking forward to this experiment.
I've been eating more potatoes in recent times without calorie-count repercussions. None fried, baked or nuked in the microwave. I'll add one pat of butter, or 1 Tbl spoon of low fat sour cream.
Edit:
None fried, baked or nuked in the microwave

Ha, I made quite the composition error! Should read: "None fried, only baked or nuked in the microwave". ;)
Kinda like:
Oxford-English-Academy-Meme-1.jpg
 
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I’m at work so I don’t have time yet to read all the responses so this may have already been covered.

What are you doing at the gym? If it’s not strength training/building muscle then it doesn’t surprise me you haven’t lost weight.

We lose muscle mass as we age so the number of calories we need to power a body at rest becomes less and less as we get older. Obviously then, as we re-build muscle we increase our calorie burn without needing to do extra cardio or other strenuous exercises.
 
I've been eating more potatoes in recent times without calorie-count repercussions. None fried, baked or nuked in the microwave. I'll add one pat of butter, or 1 Tbl spoon of low fat sour cream.
Edit:


Ha, I made quite the composition error! Should read: "None fried, only baked or nuked in the microwave". ;)
Kinda like:
View attachment 284351
Yeah, I noticed that it may have been unclear, but I still knew what you meant.
 
I'm getting so aggravated about this low carb diet I'm on. I can handle no bread, no potatoes, no anything made with flour, etc. But I realized I wasn't getting much fiber, so I went to the store to find high fiber food that didn't have a zillion carbs or calories. Forget it. I looked at whole grain bread, which is supposed to be so good for you, lots of fiber and so on. Well, after seeing several different brands, it appears whole grain bread only has 1 to 2 grams of fiber. Not worth the $5 to $8 dollar a loaf. (Small loaf at that.) One of them said it had 4 grams of fiber, but that turned out to be for 2 slices of bread not 1 (have to be careful reading the nutritional facts on the back of the package) with a whopping 35 grams of carbs. I don't even want to talk about the price of Keto bread. Or Keto anything.

So much food that boasts high fiber just have 2-3 grams in a serving. But then you have the corresponding carbs and calories to go along with it. I'd have to eat and eat and eat all day to get the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day.

Cereal? I found one that had 10 grams of fiber, but also had 45 grams of carbs! You can't have one without the other.

I could eat just nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables to get some fiber but that's not happening. Even raisins have a lot of carbs.

I also looked at fiber supplements, but those are just in the 3-5 gram range. And pricey.

I'm doing this carb diet to lose weight, but so far that hasn't happened. I've also worked out at the gym for 4 years, 3 days a week and I haven't lost an inch. I'm not giving up the gym though. I may not have lost weight or inches, but I'm a lot stronger.

Dieting used to work when I was younger, but at 74 years old, I think I'm past the age to drop pounds anymore. I think I better just resign myself to being overweight and go back to just trying to eat a sensible balanced and varied diet.

Thanks to those who took the time to read this rant.
I’m diabetic and have been on a low carb diet for a year now, which has kept me off of insulin. Besides veggies, I eat a cup of butter popcorn every day for fiber and good fat. It’s low in calories and carbs. Avoid all fruit, except berries. Most fruit are high in carbs. If you crave creamy stuff, try Chobani Zero Sugar yogurt. Throw some blueberries and Cool Whip with heavy cream on it. Very satisfying and low carb.
 
Instead of “low carb”, go for “good carbs”. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains like oatmeal, and cut out the processed carbs like (embalmed) breads, snacks, treats, etc. And cut out processed foods in general and replace with Whole Foods. I think even Whole Foods like rice and quinoa will be ok as long as you don’t overdo it. You will get more fiber than you ever thought possible with this healthy approach.
 


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