can you help me lower carbs? page

[mhaeffne]

I've given up grains and beans for Lent after reading this website. I usually don't eat cheese or eggs, but I've been eating more of them lately to make up for not eating other things. I've also started drinking coffee again, so I only drink coffee, tea and water (not in that order). I also get a CSA box every week, so I eat a ton of fresh veggies. I eat enough fish to get mercury poisoning, but I simply cannot eat meat. I tried a bite of duck the other day after 13 years of not eating meat, I really don't know how people do it. Anyhow, the amount of fruit and nuts I eat each day are putting me way over the 150 limit. I would like to reduce carbs because I've plateaued from losing weight by calorie restriction alone. Do I have to cut out fruit completely? Or eat less nuts? I'm sad because I really like fruit and nuts. Any ideas?

[iniQuity]

I don't see how you can eat less carbs being mostly vegetarian. I think the Primal Blueprint is designed for people that really like meat and in previous lives would pair it with grains (rice, pasta, bread) and are now replacing that with veggies.


that's MY story, I know I generalized but I'm assuming it's the case for at least a couple other folks.


Ease into eating meat, it will help keep you full so you'll naturally eat less. I tried living off mostly veggies for a while (still with grains and some meat) and I found it very challenging and I would be hungry a lot as well. I bet also that my carbs were high, and I didn't lose any weight at all.

[AlanBradin]

There are a couple things you can try. Fruits can really add up in carbs. You might want to try sticking to lower carb fruits. Berries are good here. If you sub out an apple for an equal amount of strawberries, you cut the carbs in half. Also, try subbing one piece of fruit for half an avocado.


If you're eating a lot of nuts, you could be hurting yourself on calories, as well as possibly getting an inflammatory response, depending on what kind of nuts. Try a week of eating only macadamias and/or walnuts, which have better Omega6/Omega3 profiles.


But really, if you can learn to eat meat, that will go much farther. Even 150 carbs is quite a bit if you're looking to lose weight, and most people will drop their carbs by loading up on meat, which increases satiety to the point where they simply don't have room for the higher carb stuff.

[NorthernMonkeyGirl]

Mark's wife is mainly veggie (fish only I think) - have a look here http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-carrie-reader-question-roundup/


You need to replace the carbs with fat - so I'm afraid swapping fruit for veggies and eating fewer nuts.

Avocados, coconut oils, oily fish such as mackeral, other seafood (squid, crustacea....).


Keep trying meat though, I know my tastes have changed a lot. Maybe chicken would be easier to start with?

[dragonmamma]

As an experiment in returning to meat, duck is probably one of the worst choices you could have made, along with lamb. Both have strong, oily tastes that even a lot of regular meat-eaters don't like. May I suggest you start with something milder, like chicken or ground beef.

[mhaeffne]

Thanks. I remember chicken being really gross. Do you recommend any sauces to liven up the flavor? It seems like store-bought BBQ and things like that are mostly corn syrup.

[iniQuity]

I foresee this is going to be a little tough on you. Everybody's tastes are different but I find chicken to be FAR from gross and I almost never have any sauces to mask it's natural flavor. I enjoy it with some salt and pepper or other spices and I cook it with coconut oil or olive oil or bacon grease or butter..


I love duck and lamb, goat as well but I do agree they are not the first thing you want to try after not eating meat for a long time. I would suggest ground turkey as well, maybe it will help that the texture isn't too "meaty" and you can make the turkey along with vegetables to make it easier for yourself to eat it? then you can move up to chunks of chicken/beef. I would definitely suggest starting with diced meats, in squares or so, maybe having simple bites will be easier for you than having to cup up a piece of meat and eating it that way. Mentally it might be easier to NOT visualize yourself "killing an animal" if it's not just a slab of meat on your plate. It's never been an issue for me because I was raised with it.

[schadowrider]

Ditto the start with a mild meat suggestion. I also think the quality of the meat can have a huge difference (CAFO vs organic grass-fed).


Up until last week, we (my wife and I) hadn't eaten red meat in about 20 years, and had only started eating fish again a couple of years ago. The only thing that sounded appetizing to my wife was a stew, so last weekend she cooked up a nice crock pot stew with organic grass fed chuck steak and an assortment of mushrooms (and a bunch of veggies), and it was quite excellent (I had a little organic grass fed roast beef a few days earlier, but the stew was my wife's first meat).

[dragonmamma]

Marinara sauce and a bit of cheese on top for chicken parmesan.


Or shredded and sauteed with onion and Mexican seasonings, with fresh salsa on top.

[mhaeffne]

Thanks, NothernMonkeyG for that link. That's very helpful.