I’ve not written for a couple of days, I’ve simply been to busy. I still am too busy really but I’m taking a moment to quickly say that I have not given up on the diary.
The diet has been going really well and I have been sticking to around 20g carbs per day. I have now lost another 2lb in weight too.
I’ll be back to write a full and proper post tomorrow.
Recently @LowCarbChefBlog pointed out a recipe for Low Carb Oopsie Rolls on his blog, so my wife decided to have a go at cooking them.
These Oopsie rolls when cooked are almost like an ultra light bread and only contain 1g NET carbs, I’ve already had two with butter and ham. A slightly sweet, mildly cheesy bread like treat.
Low Carb Oopsie Rolls, delicious and only 1g carbs per roll.
Low Carb Oopsie rolls with butter and ham. Just slightly over 1g carbs per roll.
The light fluffy inside of a Low Carb Oopsie roll
Ingredients…
Preheat oven to 150° C.
Separate the eggs and add Splenda, salt, and cream cheese to the yolks. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients together.
In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (if you’re using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolk mixture).
Using a spatula, gradually fold the egg yolk mixture into the white mixture, being careful not to break down the whites.
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly.
Bake about 30 minutes, or 20 minutes in a fan assisted oven (You want them slightly softer, not crumbly). Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool. Store them in a ziplock or sandwich bag to keep them from drying out.
Enjoy!
I’m writing this post a little late, It’s actually the morning of day 9 now, but I had no opportunity to write yesterday.
So, It was my wife’s Birthday and we all went out for a meal. It is my first ever meal out at a restaurant whilst on a low carb diet and I was a little apprehensive for a couple of reasons. Firstly I knew I would have to watch my family order whatever they like, from spicy coated chips and onion rings, to ice cream and Banoffee pie. Secondly I was a little worried that there would be a lot of hidden carbs even though I ordered plain food.
Actually the whole thing was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but I did come away with some tips that I will bear in mind next time I eat out.
We went to a Beefeater Grill restaurant, which was excellent in pretty much every way, the service was brilliant and they even put a little birthday candle in my wife’s desert and sang her Happy Brithday when they served it. I had a 10oz Rump Steak with three King prawns, garlic butter, extra salad instead of chips, a flat mushroom and half a grilled tomato. Unfortunately the extra salad came with a dressing and some tiny croutons which I tried to avoid as much as possible. For desert I had some wonderful creamy Cheddar and Camembert cheese. All in all, although I probably went above the 20g carbs I am trying to stick to, I think I did really well. I remained in Ketosis after the meal.
I ate very little in the morning, a few snacks of Peperami or cheese, I was saving my appetite for my dinner. For dinner I had a 10oz Rump Steak with three King prawns, garlic butter, extra salad instead of chips, a flat mushroom and half a grilled tomato. For desert I had some wonderful Cheddar and Camembert cheese. Later I had a few bit of cheese for supper. I think I ate a bit too much cheese today.
The kids had friends from school over to play this morning so we took them all over the local park. We played football and a few local kids joined in. I ran around like mad man for an hour or so doing my impressions of Pele. My legs are still hurting.
I’m feeling good about the diet and really pleased with myself for sticking to my diet during my wife’s birthday meal. Not yet feeling like I’ve lost much weight.
Today I have had very little appetite again, so I’ve just been picking at cheeses and some chicken, rather than having a meal tonight. I’m still feeling very good about the diet and I am feeling like I have begun to loose weight.
Tomorrow is my wife’s birthday and I am taking her and the kids out for a meal. I thought eating out would be tough because everything usually comes with potatoes, pasta or rice and with high carb sauces. However, it seems that as long as you have a plan and make sure the restaurants can substitute the high carb items with things like green salad, mushrooms, cheese and eggs, you will be fine. I phoned three restaurants tonight and all of them said they would be able to provide me with low carb alternatives. So, my advice for eating out low carb is to simply eat simple foods such as plain meats and fish, with salad, cheeses, eggs and mushrooms, and communicate with the restaurant in advance.
This morning I had small piece of cheese, followed by a Gammon steak with two eggs for lunch. I’ve not had a dinner today but have snacked regularly on small bits of cheese, small chicken legs and Peperami.
The kids dragged me around the town centre today, looking for birthday presents, that was tiring 
Later we all went for a walk in the forest with the dog.
I’m sad the weekend is almost over and I have to knuckle down to work tomorrow, I’ve enjoyed this weekend, even though we have not really done much. Eating is becoming less of a priority which is quite liberating for me. It’s only really when you have less of an appetite and stop thinking about food so much, you realise just how much food ruled your life before low carb dieting.
A typical day in my life (Food Wise) prior to low carb dieting was something like this…
And that’s probably a good day. Sometimes I would make myself a late night sandwich or a Belgian bun. I had regular visits to Mcdonald’s or KFC and I often polished off full packets of Ginger nut biscuits, or family bags of Maltesers.
It’s easy to see how I became seriously overweight. Before Low Carb dieting I was always thinking about what my next meal would be or what snacks we had in the cupboard or fridge. I think it’s safe to say I had an eating problem.
Low Carb dieting dramatically reduces the cravings for sugary and starchy foods and reduces your appetite. Although I can’t say it’s been really easy to lay off all of the bad foods I was eating, it’s becoming much easier and my need to constantly feed my face has gone. Although, writing, and therefore thinking about biscuits and KFC did trigger some cravings.
My wife came home from the allotment today with some Raspberries and Blackberries, I’m so glad someone recently told me that berries are low carb because I would never have even looked their carb content up, assuming them to be very high in carbs. Anyway, I had about half a cup of berries which works out at about 3g NET carbs and the sweet taste was heavenly. I mustn’t allow myself to do that too often though as I know eating sweet things can lead to cravings for less innocent sweet things, such as chocolate biscuits.
Sardine Salad. Low Carb and delicious.
I had absolutely no appetite this morning, but after half an hour or so I had my last remaining Peperami Hot to get the metabolism kick started for the day. Probably not the best idea to eat it in the car with my wife and kids as it gives off a very strong spicy sausage smell which my wife did not appreciate at that time of the morning.
For dinner I had Sardine salad again. I’m loving Sardines at the moment, today I had them with mixed salad leaves, grated cheddar cheese, hard boiled eggs covered with cream cheese, mayonnaise and chilli sauce. It tasted amazing and looked so good I took a picture of it for the blog.
For a snack I had some berries, and I may have some cheese and sugar free jelly when I finish writing this.
I got a little more active today. I played football in the park with my step son for an hour or so, well actually after about 35 minutes we ended up laying on the grass making animals from the shapes in the clouds. Then tonight I went for a mile (approx) walk with my step daughter and the dog.
When it comes to the diet and how I feel physically, I feel better than I have for a long time. My belly seems smaller and I am starting to feel a little less like a walking sperm whale. The only thing bothering me is how much work I have on this coming week. It wouldn’t usually be a problem but with the kids off school I want to try and get a day or two during the week to spend with them.
I finally got some decent sleep last night. I went to bed late but got to sleep about an hour after getting into bed. I’m convinced now that it is caffeine in Pepsi max making sleep difficult so I’m soon going to try and replace some caffeine drinks with water.
I’ve had a few treats today, a couple of Peperami Hot and some pork scratchings, both of which are very very low carbs but very tasty indeed. I also got some cream cheese which I plan to try a bit of tonight.
I’m feeling really great and I already feel a slight difference. My belly doesn’t seem to stick out as much but I think that’s mainly because I am no longer bloated. The scales reading seems to be going down very slightly each day but I’m not going to take too much notice of that just yet.
It’s my wife’s birthday on Tuesday and I want to take her out for a meal. Problem is, it is very hard to eat low carb when eating out so I will just eat as low carb as possible, perhaps a mixed grill with a green salad instead of chips or onion rings. I think I will pick a restaurant and email them before going, to see what they can do. I’m not too worried how much I get to eat, as long as my wife has a nice time, but I don’t want her to feel bad that she can eat whatever she likes and I can’t either. Hopefully I will find an understanding restaurant.
Peperami Hot - Just 0.3g NET carbs
For Brunch I had three rashers of bacon with two eggs, then for dinner I had a Sardine salad with hard boiled egg and grated cheese. I’ve also snacked on a a couple of Peperami Hot and some pork scratchings. When I have finished writing this I will have some cream cheese.
Still not as much exercise as I would like to be doing each day, but I did several laps of our local park cycling and have taken the dog for two short walks. It’s not the triathlon but it’s a start.
Generally good and motivated about the diet. I feel strong enough to keep at it. The first days on this diet are always the hardest and I feel I am past the hardest part.
I know the western palate is becoming more tolerant of spicy food, but I’m not sure how many people are going to need or want to buy the worlds hottest chili, the Bhut Jolokia.
I hope they sell this chilli with a warning to not rub your eyes after use and to be careful how you use it in general because this really is a hot chili, with a Scoville rating of 855,000 to around 1,000,000. By comparison, Tobasco red pepper sauce has a Scoville rating of 1500 to 5000.
I love my chili so I will be trying these, carefully. They are around 3g carbs per chili but I wont be eating the whole thing in one go. I’m not sure how I’m going to eat it yet, but I just have to try it.
Atkins Chocolate Caramel Mousse Bars look delicious and have only 2 net carbs per bar IF you exclude Polyols
Polyols, found in sugar free sweets, Atkins brand chocolate bars and chewing gum are sugar alcohols (e.g. Erythritol, Xylitol, Sorbitol, Hexitol or Maltitol) that have fewer calories than normal sugar gram for gram and are thought to not effect blood sugar levels in most people.
Originally Dr Atkins diet books said that Sugar alcohols should be avoided, but in later revisions of his book he says the are allowed, even in induction, because they do not raise blood sugar in most people. Many believe this change of opinion on Polyols in Dr Atkins books was not about new research in to the affects of Polyols on low carb diet, but because Atkins own brand food products contain Polyols. Could it be that this change of heart was solely a business move? I’d like to think not, and Atkins is not the only food producer to use Polyols and promote them as low carb products.
There is so much conflicting information about Polyols and low carb dieting on the internet, nobody seems to have definitive answers. Perhaps that is because the research and testing simply hasn’t been done yet. There are plenty of people out there advising people to avoid Polyols. Many people are saying that any carbohydrate that is metabolised, including the carbs in Polyols, should be counted. Others say they have actually experienced a stall in their weight loss after using Polyols. One or two people even report coming out of ketosis after using Polyols. Then there are just as many people saying that they have used Polyols in their diet with no adverse effect on weight loss.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to gather as much information and opinion as I can about these Polyols, and write about my findings in a later post. Hopefully I will be able to make up my mind whether or not to use products containing Polyols and maybe help others to make the same decision.
Please let me know your thoughts on Polyols in the comments section of this post.
Last night I was suffering cravings for cakes, chocolate and biscuits, it was quite tough, but to today has been surprisingly easy. My appetite has been so low that when the wife came back from visiting her mum at 1.30pm and asked me what I fancied eating, I suddenly realised that I had not eaten anything yet today and wasn’t even hungry.
A quick jump on the scales this afternoon showed me at 19 stone 10 pounds, about 4 pounds lighter than when I started, I have been fluctuating between this weight and 19 stone 13 pounds for the last three days, I guess it all depends what time of day you weigh yourself and what you have had to eat and drink. Plus our scales are a bit dodgy!
Still having trouble sleeping, I lay awake until the small hours again last night. Perhaps it is the diet causing the insomnia. If it carries on I will have to cut out caffeine and see if that helps.
John West Sardines In Olive Oil - Low cost and Low Carb. Delicious with salad leaves and a little mayonnaise.
Today I’ve had very little to eat. For lunch I had a hand full of salad leaves with some grated cheese and a small tin of Sardines. For dinner I had three pork chops with some roasted mushrooms and red peppers. I had a small sugar free jelly for desert. I’ll probably have a bit of cheese in a minute and that will be it.
I’ve so much work on at the moment that on days when I work, I tend to do long hours making exercise hard to fit in. It’s something I have to fix because I promised myself I would make exercise a big part of my diet. Today I’ve done none at all really.
I feel really good. I feel that even though I’ve not had a really good night’s sleep since I started this diet, I have more energy than usual and feel generally well. I also feel really positive about the diet, apart from sometimes thinking that I wish I’d started sooner.
Last night I was feeling a bit low, I kept thinking that I should go to the kitchen and get biscuits or chocolate, before remembering that I am not allowed anything like that.
I posted on twitter…
Suffering cravings tonight, keep thinking about going to the kitchen to get biscuits, then remembering that I am not allowed.
#LowCarb
Soon after I got a reply from @docmuscles saying…
@LowCarbDiary All I can say is berries and heavy cream, my friend.
Tonight I discovered that Raspberries are quite low in carbs.
It transpires that half a cup of Blueberries is just 7g carbs, and thick cream is very low carb too. Now I’m not amazed by Blueberries, but it turns out that Raspberries are similarly low in carbs, and I love them, best of all I can get them for free because my wife grows them on her allotment. Now I just have to fight the kids for them.
How did I not know this already? It’s not like I am new to low carb dieting. So thanks @docmuscles for making me aware that some berries are low in carbs. I will only have them every now and then as a treat, but it’s something nice to look forwards to.