Low Carbohydrate Cooking

[PenelopePitstop]

For those with a low carb intake allowed give us some recipes as I'm in dire need of some food better than Salad !!!

I really want to do a posh meal but theres only so many ways you can do a salad

[Nick]

Ok, I'll sort some out.

Without going into too much detail, why're you on a low carb diet?

[PenelopePitstop]

Cos I'm getting very squidgy round the edges

[Bartop]

Was thinking of giving the Atkins diet a go myself - anyone had any good / bad experiences with it ?
Also interested in the low carb recipes by the way

[NeilI]

I did chemistry for 1 1/2 years at uni and took an interest in sports nutrition. So here's some of the things I found out that may help you both, I'll start from the top;

The fundamental idea of losing weight is consuming less calories than you use. There is no other way. You also cannot 'spot reduce' fat. Any flabby area of you body is representative of the fat on your body.
The Atkins diet (or the generic high protein, low carb diet) works on the premise that protein is less calorie dense than carbohydate. So, you eat 1kg of protein, you get 30% (at a guess, I can't quite remember) of the calories. This is assuming lean protein of course.
Now, the benefit of this is two fold. When starved of calories, the body will disolve protein first. It's more easily metabolised than fat, so it will be burnt off first. This is what happens with most diets, leaving the weight loser looking saggy, loose and without muscle tone following weight loss. So, consuming protein keeps the body's Nitrogen balance in check and forces it to burn off the fat.
So, you get to keep muscle and burn off fat. Nice.
Seems good so far.

However, the Atkins diet seems to not be concerned about consumption of fat. Which is ludicrous, especially considering types of fat.
Important point: Fat does not make you fat. Excess calories do. In fact, some good fats can actually help you lose weight.
Now, you've all seen the news reports on Atkins, which feature fry-ups etc. This is bad for 2 reasons; Although fat is a good source of energy, it is not as good as a complex carbohydrate (such as pasta, tatties, bread, rice etc). Also and more importantly, there will be excessive cholesterol in this food. Although it seems like a benefit, your arteries and heart will gete whacked. SEVERELY. This doesn't seem to be considered. Good fats are found in Olive oil, cold water fish, flax oil, Columbus eggs, etc.

I would strenuously advise that you cut out the bad fat aspect of the Atkins diet and eat a 1/4 portion of complex carbohydrates instead. There'll probably be less calories but more nutritional value instead.
You should also look for the type of complex carbs you eat. Go for the brown versions, leave skin on potatos etc. Now, this not only gives you more fibre, but a thing called Glycemic Index comes into play. The higher the GI of a food, the faster the energy is released, which IIRC, causes insulin releases to sort it out. So, a fast release of energy causes excess calories to be stored as fat as the body doesn't require them. You should also note that eating a lower GI food gives you a sustained energy release for a few hours after eating and WONT result in sleepiness after consumption.

So, you've upped your protein levels, cut out bad fat and halved or quartered your carb consumption and changed it to low GI carbs.
There's another couple of things you should know.
With a high protein diet, the kidneys are put under a tremendous strain to deal with all the proteins/amino acids/peptides (I think)/Nitrogen the body is sorting. This can cause bad breath, acne, body odour and most seriously, kidney stones. To combat this, and it is something I am not sure the Atkins diet mentions you MUST INCREASE YOUR WATER INTAKE. I cannot stress this enough. And I don't mean coke or coffee, just water. If you're lucky to live in a soft water area (like me in Scotland), then drink tap water; it's freasher. If not, bottled is fine. I'd advise trying to drink 3 pints of water on top of what you drink now. Split in to 6 1/2 pints. You'll notice clearer urine and probably a clearer complexion. You will pee more at first, but your body will get used to it.
The other point is the way you eat your food. You may have noticed that the recent slimfast ads feature a girl dunking in a pool, mentioning how she eats 3 meals and 3 snacks. This is quite correct. If you eat less, but more frequently, your body gets used to the fact that there is nutrition on it's way and will be less likely to store fat. All you have to do is get in to a routine. It's easy after a while.

I should mention the types of protein that are best; Chicken breast, lean pork or beef, pretty much all fish, low fat cheeses and milk*, things like tofu and soya protein etc.
Good wholesome foods. Not processed.
*I would be sceptical about milk if you have an sort of upset stomach after consuming it. The protein in milk, Caesin, isn't really compatible with our bodies and can produce all sorts of nasties in those who have an allergy. Also, some of us don't produce enough Lactase to deal with the milk-sugar, Lactose, that can also cause problems.

There's lots more I could mention, but that should give you a few pointers about this sort of diet.
As for recipes, just use healthier versions of what you see in recipe books. Use herbs and spices instead of salt, use a searing hot griddle, with just a tiny brush of oil on each side for meats and chunky fish, microwave softer fish etc.

Any more questions about the technical side of the diet etc, just give me a shout and I hope this helps you make a more informed choice.

If anyone is a BioChem, Medical etc graduate and spots errors in my information, don't hesitate to correct

[PenelopePitstop]

Well so far I've been living on
Brekkie:- Scrambled Eggs
Lunch:- Salad with a bit of cheese and sometimes some cocktail sausages
Dinner:- Salad with either chicken breast or sometimes bacon

Drinking around 8 pints of water a day!!!!

I've lost nearly a stone in weight in 2 weeks! I'm starting to step up the carbs a bit now steadily so I lose the weight slower and also some daily excercise

[PenelopePitstop]

BTW thanks for all that great info NeilI

[NeilI]

No probs, I think it contains some important information that is quite to to find out unless you happen to do a a fair bit of research. And it is very helpful in the weight loss stakes. I hope.

[Bartop]

Wow Neil - top post their mate - will have to have a proper read to digest all that

'spose beer is out of the question as well

Cheers though - many thanks for the info..

[KBeee]

Wow Neil - top post their mate - will have to have a proper read to digest all that

'spose beer is out of the question as well

Cheers though - many thanks for the info..

What a great idea! 3 extra pints of beer-flavoured water a day!

But seriously it's a really good informative post

[NeilI]

What a great idea! 3 extra pints of beer-flavoured water a day!

lol, only a muppet or dedicated athlete would stick religiously to such a diet.

As with most of life, the key is a balance. A little bit of most things are good for you.

[wol]

Loads of good info there, great. Anymore useful tips?

Wol

[Sair33]

I tried some low carb bread a while ago - it was actually suprisingly good!!!!
There is obviously a call for it now. Not sure the Atkins Diet is the way to go myself (I'd probably disappear if I tried!) but cutting down on carbohydrate is probably a good compromise Not sure if the bread is available in the shops yet, I had it as a sample at work, but I'll try to find out.

[bledd]

Was thinking of giving the Atkins diet a go myself - anyone had any good / bad experiences with it ?

people have died from it?


im not in the need of dieting, so i've not really looked into it, but from what i've had a quick glance over, it reduces fat on the outside of your body, but piles it back on inside your veins (high colesterol) -from the high meat content.

[windog]

people have died from it?


im not in the need of dieting, so i've not really looked into it, but from what i've had a quick glance over, it reduces fat on the outside of your body, but piles it back on inside your veins (high colesterol) -from the high meat content.

In fact in the studies done generally the cholesteral count has been reduced using the Atkins diet (properly!) What you see in the media of fry ups for every meal is (as usual with our press) not what is recommended in the Atkins books. In fact the books become almost too complicated explaining how too mix good and not so good fats (and yes it does tell you to drink more!). The problem seems to be people reporting on(the press) starting (the know it alls) or condemming(the dietry associations) the Atkins diet without trying to fully understand it.

[silent ben]

Watched a programme the other night, the people on the atkins diet all gained good chloestrol and very little bad chloestrol. So doesn't look that bad from that information.

Ben