Friday, June 05, 2009

Day 11...

... without carbs. Yes, three more days until I can eat a piece of fruit or whole wheat bread. Three more days until I can eat lowfat yogurt or a high fiber granola bar. Not all at once, mind you... one to two servings a day to start out and see how my weight loss progresses. So far, I've done ok. Had my exercise routine not fizzled, I'd probably be doing better. But the scale keeps going down and I haven't hurt anyone. Can't ask for much else.

Except that I'm getting bored. There's a reason this phase only lasts 2 weeks. Eggs, meat, cheese, veggies, nuts. Repeat. Yawn. I'm sure it doesn't help that I really don't care much for eggs and meat. I think half the reason I lose on this diet is because I lose my will to eat. I'm trying to expand my horizons, try some new veggies, embrace what I can eat instead of worrying about what I can't.

So, I'm throwing this out there to see if any of you have suggestions. Any no or very low carb recipes to share? Can't have noodles, potatoes, rice, sugar or starchy veggies. (I say this because someone brought me an extra brownie into my office and asked if it has carbs. Sigh. Yes. All carbs.) Any veggie side dishes to spice things up a bit? I have a zucchini, some yellow squash and a eggplant in my crisper, but no clue what to do with them. They'll rot soon, I'm sure. As will the mushrooms, the red pepper and the asparagus. I mean well, I buy them, then they rot. I really need to stick with frozen veggies.

Have you been on a low carb diet like Atkins or South Beach before? How'd you fare? Any favorite recipes I should try? I need to refill my arsenal before I single-handedly wipe out the chicken population of North America.

SP

16 comments:

Linda Winstead Jones said...

I was recently on the 10 day diet (which has a similar makeup) and I only made it 7 days before I was tempted away by wheaties. Wheaties! Now I'm just counting calories again. The low carb thing is great, as long as you don't kill anyone before your time is up.

Recipes. Cube the eggplant and stirfry it with a little bit of beef bullion. Put it in a 8 x 8 dish with some spaghetti sauce and cheese (layered -- a little sauce on the bottom, eggplant, sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan. Bake at 375 about half an hour, until it's brown on top. This is supposed to go over rice or noodles, but is tasty on its own as a side dish.

Zucchini and squash -- cut long ways, so you have good sized pieces, salt and pepper, and grill. I have a grill pan, so I'm not sure how they handle on an actual grill.

This is good -- sliced tomatoes and shredded parmesan. Bake at 350-375 until the parmesan is starting to brown.

I've decided I'd rather increase my exercise and get some freakin' carbs than go through this again. We'll see how that works. :-/

LJ

Maven Linda said...

The rule against potatoes is kind of a bad rule, because potatoes are so nutritious. A small baked potato, with salsa, is one of the great things in life and comes loaded with all sorts of vitamins and potassium -- and is VERY low in calories. Of course, if you don't like salsa, then that won't work.

Grilled asparagus is also one of the great things in life. Asparagus is probably my favorite green veggie.

I couldn't do the no-carb thing. I tried. Within a week, I'd have killed for a slice of loaf bread . . . which I don't particularly care for. Then for a month I ate every carb I saw. The Atkins diet was Not Meant For Me.

So, sorry, no recipes from me. I love veggies, but I don't do all sorts of fancy recipes with them. I do love a baby spinach salad with walnuts and feta cheese, though. Bingo: protein and very good green veggie, all at once.

Alicia Hunter Pace (aka Jean Hovey and Stephanie Jones) said...

Steam that asparagus. Then mix equal parts of soft cream cheese, soft butter, and a quarter part grated cheddar. Put it on top of the asparagus and run it under the broiler until it's toasty. It will also work with green beans. Now, I didn't say it was low in calories or good for you. But it is carb free and very tasty.

Amounts? Eyeball it. For a pound of asparagus 3 ounces each of cream cheese and butter and an ounce and a half of cheddar ought to do it.

Christine said...

I've tried them all--Adkins (I lost about a pound and hubby lost 20), South Beach, and the Low GI Index. Blah to them all--I can't seem to stick to the low carb ones cause my brain hurts too much and they don't seem to work for me.

I do a modified one now, but my basic rule is the fresher it is, the healthier it is. I try very hard to stay away from processed, pre-made foods. But that flies out of the window when we hit the end of the school year/dance recitals/show times.

But I hope they work for you!

M.V.Freeman said...

I've done the low carb thing and thought I was about to be put away for aggravated assualt-- when I couldn't take it any more and wrestled the last piece of bread away from my husband!

Hang in there if you can. It sucks I know.

As for recipes, I have lots...but all involve time. If you are like me; time is of essence.

Good luck! :-)

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

See, that's my problem with no carbs. It's the time. I just don't have a lot of options for lunches at work that don't involve either bread (as in a sandwich) or a trip to a local restaurant. Neither option really works becuase once I get into the restaurant my self control goes out the window.

Instigator

Playground Monitor said...

I've done South Beach and after I got through the first two weeks, I didn't eat an egg again forevah.

There's a great grilled salmon recipe in the South Beach book.

Take the veggies, cut into pieces, brush with olive oil and season (I use some sea salt, pepper and rosemary) and then put in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Yummy! If you have an onion and some garlic cloves, add those too.

Regarding potatoes, I could swear I read in the South Beach book you could have red potatoes. Just Googled and found a recipe for Herbed Roasted Potatoes and it uses red ones. But it's a Phase 3 recipe. Ditto what Maven Linda said about salsa on a potato.

And then there's the ricotta dessert. That's the ONLY thing that kept me going for those two weeks.

mslizalou said...

Have you tried stir fry with non-fat cooking spray for all the veggies? I know there are some low-carb salad dressings and you could even toss the veggies in the dressing after they are cooked to give them more flavor.

Good luck with the final few days. I've tried low carb before and I was fine for a few days, but after that I was craving pasta. I still can barely eat eggs to this day.

PM's Mother said...

You don't need someone's mother to tell you how to eat, BUT, the Weight Watchers program is probably the best. You can eat all things in moderation.

I lost 26 pounds in 26 weeks once on the WW program and stayed healthy. One's body need carbs!

Lynn Raye Harris said...

I wish I had advice for this, but I don't. I've never gone low or no carb. I basically eat whatever I want, as close to the source as possible (the less processed the better), and exercise. The weight has been dropping pretty good, in fact. I also allow myself a cheat day once a week. Just the other night, I ate pizza.

I loooove asparagus on the grill. Salt, pepper, and olive oil. Heaven.

Angel said...

My doctor put me on South Beach for health reasons, and I'm pretty proud of the way I've stuck with it. My 2 weeks was up on Wednesday, but I've continued with the no carbs because my weight still isn't moving. In either direction. I lost 3 pounds in 2 weeks. Frustrating, but at least it was a step in the right direction. I've asked 2 different doctors why I'm not losing and the answer is the same: insulin. But isn't this diet supposed to fix that? Yes. Sorry.

I tend to do a lot of snacking, simply because I get tired of cooking. With veggies, I roast them (as mentioned here) or make a salad (I just use regular dressing with no sugar). I've eaten cole slaw (made with smart balance mayo) and squash casserole. I have a broccoli salad with a light mayo and vinegar dressing that I use splenda in. Just call me, girl! We'll figure it out. :)

I'm really not having bad cravings, but then I went into this with the attitude that I'm stuck with it forever. Because of increasing health problems, this is permanent for me, not just until I lose weight (which may happen by the time I'm 80).

I'll have to try a few of these recipes out too! Thanks for the help.

Angel

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I'm actually past the cravings problems at the moment. Sure, if I see something naughty, I want it, but for the most part, I'm not very hungry. That's good.

I will be experimenting with these recipes over the next few days. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Minna said...

Atkins diet? I read somewhere that it's not very healthy diet for your heart.

amy kennedy said...

Smarty pants, I tried the low carb thing for awhile, and like the other playfriends who wanted to kill someone, I too was ready for a gun permit.

Since the first of the year my husband and I both decided to become healthier--I know I wrote this before--but, the main thing we did was start running (now all I do is walk 3x a week to maintain) and make our meals just a little bit healthier, more salads, more veggies, no fries--but if we go out we eat whatever we want and we don't ever feel like we're DIETING, because we're not.

Neither one of us drinks pop--another key thing.

But some of those veggie recipes sounded awesome.

GladysMP said...

My husband was told he is diabetic and he was told to eat a lot of fruit and avoid things with sugar. By my buying items (Jello puddings, ice cream bars, coffee creamer, dessert toppings, etc.) containing no sugar, I started eating the same and I lost weight and never missed the good tasting things. Those sugar-free items taste as good at the sugar-filled ones. We buy sugar-free loaves of bread and the bread tastes better that the regular white bread. The only problem with the bread is that too many folks have learned how good it tastes and you have to almost be present at the store when the bread is delivered to buy it. We started buying several loaves at a time and freezing them. When they are thawed, they are as tasty as when you bought them.

Anonymous said...

How about sauteing the veggies in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper or whatever spices you like.

You can make a no carb cheesecake by subsituting splenda for the sugar. I have made it a few times and it is like the Ital. Cheesecake - not bad.

Good luck.

Pat L.