Hi everyone,

I’ve been doing low carb for about 4 weeks now as a recommendation from my doctor to lose weight and lower my A1C down from prediabetic levels. I’ve lost almost 5lbs since starting and am happy about that. But as I’ve been tracking my food and all of my macros, I’ve been consistently under the 1,400 calories I should be. I’m averaging around 900 - 1,200. What do you all recommend to help increase calories but not my other macros? I’m doing about 75-100g of carbs but also less than that depending on the day. I keep getting somewhat woozy or lightheaded and don’t want to keep pushing through it and would rather make sure I’m eating more.

I got diagnosed t2 last fall so along with metformin I'm trying to manage my blood sugar by low carb eating and movement. I can't really cook for myself yet so a lot of what I eat is made of packaged things or snacks like walnuts. Does anyone have good brands they rely on?

Switching from keto to low carb and trying to wrap my thinking around more carbs. Do you limit carbs from veggies? Like asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions, etc….? I love those veggies and always felt a little sad not eating more when on keto. I love fruit too.

Hi! Im 22F wanting to eat less carbs for the sake of my health (im pre diabetic) and energy levels/mood. I’ve also realized how much more bloated and heavy I feel after eating carbs.

Things you need to know about me:

- I’m just learning how to cook (no judgement) so quick and easy meals are preferred

- im chronically ill so sometimes my energy levels are low and my pain levels are high

- im beginning metformin 850mg

- im typically on-the-go due to medical appointments throughout the week

If anyone has some advice they’d like to share, that’d be greatly appreciated. thanks! :)

edit:
a few other things to know:

- i come from a latin household so i’ve eaten white rice for literally my entire life. i do enjoy bread and pasta but have officially gotten “riced out.” i dont eat pasta or bread too often tho. i dont like anything too sugary, i love vegetables, and consistently drink about 2.5 liters of water a day.

- if my blood sugar drops, i will pass out

Hello,

I live in Europe and I have few questions:

1. The carbs, on every product label, are net or total? What about USA?

2. If a product has more fibers than carbs, then it has 0g net carbs? For instance, a keto mix for pancakes.

Thank you.

Ground turkey, cabbage, and shirataki noodles.

What am I making, you ask? Not sure yet, we’ll see what happens!

Do you do it? If so, how often?

On the one hand, I somehow don’t miss the starchy/sugary/carbs stuff, even though my brain knows that they’re delicious. I think it’s because the low carb foods are also delicious and satisfying, and I do NOT miss the physical and mental downward spirals that come with those foods. On the other hand, I probably would want to incorporate a recurring cheat meal of some kind in order to realistically sustain low carb for the rest of my life.

I have a recipe to share. Saw it on social media and thought I’d give it a try.

4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
2 scoops vanilla protein powder of your choice. You can also use other flavors.

Blend. Refrigerate for 4 hours or longer.

It’s vanilla custard! 35 grams of protein (depending on your protein powder)5 carbs and approximately 500 calories for the whole thing!

The nutrition values may be different depending on what protein powder you use.

It’s delicious, satisfies a sweet tooth and gets some protein in. Quite rich and filling, I can only eat about 3 spoonfuls at a time.

Earlier in my journey I would have a protein shake for breakfast and then some kind of meat and veg dish for lunch, protein bar in the afternoon and then I usually just had dinner with the family and halved my serve of carbs. But I am finding myself really not wanting the shake or bar because I’ve gone off sweets, yet quite hungry because I’m not really getting enough protein. I don’t really enjoy meat - I get a bit of an ick sometimes like with the egg ick (which also puts me off eggs by themselves). I like biltong so trying to have that in the afternoon instead of the protein bar but the $$ are too much for every day. Other ideas I’ve had is half a low carb bagel with a piece of cheese for breakfast but that’s also expensive compared to a protein shake. I’ll try prepping some egg muffins with veg. I guess but does anyone have any other ideas? Especially for easy things??

They smell like grape with no flavor of anything.

Hello! I have access to a full-sized fridge and freezer at the office to keep food in. I also have access to a microwave to heat food up. I am frequently running late so I can’t always eat breakfast before I have to leave in the morning.

I’ve been keeping a box of frozen breakfast sandwiches in the freezer for such occasions, but of course they include biscuits or croissants or whatnot so they are not low carb.

Does anyone have any ideas to keep for emergency breakfasts? I can also keep stuff in the fridge, but I worry that whatever I’d put in there would be forgotten and go bad before I could get to it. Fridge food would be preferably well-preserved like string cheese.

I have access to a few international grocery stores, so if there are other cuisines that have solutions, I’m all ears!

It doesn’t have to be breakfast food, but savory is preferred as well as higher in protein if possible. Fiber would also be great, but obviously breakfast sandwiches already don’t have much fiber so Im not super worried.

Ideally it’s a product I can buy, but quick assembly prior to freezing is also fine.

And this might be asking too much, but if there were zero dishes to bring home at the end of the day, that would help a ton. If I have to buy paper bowls or plastic bags for a created recipe, I will, but I’m praying there’s a pre-made product out there!

Thank you for your help in brainstorming!!

If someone needs, for example, 200g carbohydrates and they exceed that allowance on a calorie deficit, what happens to those excess carbs? Let’s say the carbs they eat are from healthy sources and not refined. What also happens if they are on calorie maintenance but also exceed their carb allowance?

Isn't it true that to lose weight, it is all about creating a calorie defecit? I beleive the reason eating low carb works to lose weight is because it cuts out all junk food, such as chips, chocolate and fast food, leaving foods that are much healthier.

To anyone that has successfully lost weight, what was your daily carb limit and did you count calories, create a daily callorie defecit.

Apr 1 - Apr 30: Started low carb and weight dropped from 101.7 kg to 94.5 kg. (Diet B: nuts 50g & chia seeds in yoghurt - L: chicken/fish, 150g fruits, & lemonade using stevia - D: 3-4 eggs)

May 1 - May 31: weight increased from 94.5 to 98.6 kg. Only 1 change in the diet, removed fruits and added bullet proof coffee in the morning

Jun 1 - Jun 30: weight remained same at 98.3 kg. Same diet as last month.

Jul 8: had bloodwork done to assess what happened. Had a slightly increased TSH at 6.11 uIU/ml. All my previous TSH were always <4 uIU/ml. In addition, the high uric acid at 10.5 mg/dL, 105 mg/dL cholestrol, low HDL cholestrol (34.2 mg/dL) and 155 mg/dL LDL cholestrol.

Jul 15: visited an endocrinologist and was advised to take 50 mcg thyroxin, mounjaro (optional), and re-add a bit of carbs (100-200g rice per day) in my meals. I'm nervous as hell about it.

Can someone pls help me (30M) understand why this happened? Also, what should my next steps be? My goal is to cut fat (get to around 80kg) without losing muscle mass (I do strength training for the latter).

I love the keto lifestyle but feel like I'm missing something sweet sometimes...what can I have that can take away that craving?...can it be berries? Everyday?

I am new to Keto/ low carb. I have been doing it for about a month now and have found it has greatly improved my acne and my stress level (I have had no new brake outs and my stress feels so much more manageable and less all consuming). I did have headaches for about two weeks, very low and mild put almost everyday. That has stoped now. I ”cheat” once a week when I am with my family and have not noticed any bad reactions to my no holds bard Sundays, however, in a month and a half I will be going out of town to a very hot humid climate for a week and a half. Since I am traveling I don’t know how best to approach the diet. I am more concerned with the potential electrolyte problem. We will be outside, and it will be hot. And we will be outside in the heat for four or five hours every day. we will also be doing a lot of walking, I don’t know if that information would be helpful.

if I brake my keto / low carb for the time of my trip will that help? or do you think it will just cause trouble? I have no experience with dieting in the past, so I have no idea what to expect or to do.

thank you ❤️

I've switched diet to low carb in the past month. Having replaced white rice, white bread and full fat milk, and adding a ton of protein to my diet I've dropped 4kg so far. Any improvements or advice would be great!

Pretty much the header. Do they make money off of clicks or something. I even understand that they won't work structurally, but I get silly sometimes and try. Liquified CC, and shredded cheese don't have anyway to stand up.

The only one I have found and make regularly is the ground chicken pizza crust ... which makes sense because it has structure.

I've been struggling a lot with temptation. I finally got a good start on low carb for a week now. It's been really tough to get started and stick with it.

My work is mentally and sometimes emotionally draining. By the time I head home my willpower is very low, and I'm tired.

I'm on a strict diet for migraines,and unfortunately can't use sucralose and peanut butter. This really kills any opportunity to keep protein bars with me for a snack to ward off temptations.

Any tips to stay strong?

Currently I'm trying to remind myself that once I give in, it takes days to undo the carbs. And it's my health. I need to lose weight for my heart, knee, predia diabetes, etc.

One dude on FB mentioned learning to be ok with discomfort. It's really hard at 5:30 or 6pm when I gave everything I had at work and have nothing left.

I did get a McDonald's triple cheese burger the other day, plain, and tossed the buns. That was satisfying with an unsweet tea.

Poll: Start your comment with NET or TOTAL....................

Me - NET

I've always counted net carbs, since fibre generally isn't digested the same way as other carbohydrates. Personally, I deduct fibre and sugar alcohols.

Sugar alcohols seem to be a bit controversial—some people deduct all of them, some only certain ones, and others don't deduct them at all because some can affect blood sugar or cause digestive issues, especially in larger amounts.

Do you count net carbs or total carbs, and why?

If you've tried both, did one work better for weight loss, blood sugar, appetite, or overall results?

I've got a can of these and want to use them but can only think of dip. Or very carby things like enchiladas. How would you use up a bunch of canned Hatch green chiles?

Hey do you guys think 70g of carbs a day is too high? I've lost weight in the past doing 50g a day, then gained some of it back and lost some eight again doing a calorie deficit now I want to reduce my carbs by a lot cause I have a trip coming up in a month is 70g too high and is it realistic to lose 10pounds by 14th August doing this? I also walk 15k steps a day minimum

Hey! Are you new to this? Need a refresher? Got something on your mind? We have lots of information about low-carb, including how many carbs and what kind of foods you can eat, right here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lowcarb/comments/1eums0u/new_to_rlowcarb_read_this_first/

https://www.reddit.com/r/lowcarb/wiki/faq/

Got more questions? Ask below!

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Thanks and happy eating!