Low carb/primal--basics/walk through?

[JTA Mom]

I've cut out the majority of grains out of my diet a few weeks ago, mainly for dh who needs to be grain free. I still eat something with grains in it 2-3 times a week when visiting family. We also rely pretty heavily on potatoes (russet, gold, red, sweet) & winter squash for the bulk of our calories. We eat potatoes at least once, if not 3 times a day.

Good news?

I no longer have hypoglycemic issues, even after eating a meal with grains in it. I think I'm eating enough fats/protein throughout the day to keep the 'shakes' at bay.

My weight, which was inexplicably increasing a pound or two a week for 6 weeks STOPPED once I cut out the majority of grains.


Bad news?

My weight has plateaued. I NEED it to go down. Like by, oh, 70lbs!! Am I eating too many potatoes/carbs to do that though? What are better, lower carb/primal sources for the bulk of my calories? Preferably inexpensive. Should I just focus on winter squashes, winter greens like collards, cabbage, etc?


I just have no idea where to even begin. I started at marks daily apple. From there I gathered that I need to eat under 100g of carbs for weight loss? Oh, and that potatoes aren't primal, lol. Can I stay under 100g of carbs eating squash? I really, really want to get rid of this weight. The only thing that used to work was Weight Watchers. I just don't think I can do the semi-starvation/staving off hypo issues that came with that diet.

Is low carb/primal even possible on a (small) budget?

Ami

[Krisis]

See, that's why I don't know if primal will work for me. I freaking love potatoes. They're cheap, they're easy, they're versatile, and I LOVE THEM. NOM NOM NOM.

Ahem.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

Can I stay under 100g of carbs eating squash? I really, really want to get rid of this weight. The only thing that used to work was Weight Watchers. I just don't think I can do the semi-starvation/staving off hypo issues that came with that diet.

Is low carb/primal even possible on a (small) budget?

I'm looking into this right now. I dropped grains about a month ago and love how I feel, but was still doing lots of carbs like potatoes and some legumes. I've *just* started trying to go lower carb--like the recommendations for maintence on MDA (100-150 g carbs), and *have* been feeling hungry, but have NOT been getting enough fat in. From what I've read so far (which is not a ton--I'm a real newbie to this) if you get enough fat (which could be a lot) you will be fine, and feel totally satisfied.

On MDA, I believe he has 1 meal a day that has eggs and 2 meals a day that include a serving of meat/fish/poultry. I haven't yet figured out how to make that work for my budget, so am kind of struggling w/ this (I currently do one egg meal and one meat meal daily, and the rest is veggies w/ some fruit and nuts/seeds, although I am trying not to overdo those b/c of the carbs.) I've been reading stuff on the Primal Body, Primal Mind blog about how most of us don't need as much protein as we think (esp. folks eating paleo/low carb diets). She talks about approx. 6 oz of meat a day being adequate for most folks, which has made me think that *if* I can get enough fat in each day (enough being whatever I need to make me feel totally satisfied/full) *then* I will be able to do low carb and feel fine, even on a limited budget (as meat is so pricey). (If, of course, a lower/moderate protein and lower carb diet will work for *my* body!)

So, I think, in theory, that if you have a cheap enough fat source, and eat a lot of it, a low-carb, primal type of diet *could* work on a small budget. But, like I said, I'm a real newbie to this. I'm just excited to read more on all this...

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by Krisis

See, that's why I don't know if primal will work for me. I freaking love potatoes. They're cheap, they're easy, they're versatile, and I LOVE THEM. NOM NOM NOM.

Ahem.

lol. See, I don't care for potatoes, really. And they are the cheapest 'bulk' in a meal, coming in at 30c/lb. No grains means I need to give dh something else in addition to the more expensive veggies/meat meal.

FairyRae, I can get root veggies & squashes for inexpensive (69c/lb). But aren't those about the same carb amounts as the potatoes?

I can only fit in conventional meats, and only buy super sales. Lately that's been chicken legs for 70c/lb, and now turkey for, if I get the right size, for 50cents a lb. Thankfully I can get the bone in pieces for bone broth. I'm just wondering if I need to cut out the potatoes and what to replace those with? Maybe I can fill it in with tons of cabbage??? Greens are more expensive, per lb, than the rest of the veggies.

Argh. So confusing. It also doesn't help that I really am new to counting carbs, so have no reference point to go off of. Calories, points, I'm good at calculating. But carbs? Urgh.

Ami

[FairyRae]

http://fitday.com I'm finding super helpful w/ all this. Just to figure out how many carbs various foods have so I can be mindful of it!

And here is a list of the amount of carbs in various vegetables. The root veggies seem to be a/b the same as potatoes, but the squash does seem to have fewer carbs (except maybe butternut?) Also, pumpkin seems to be lower carb...(Fitday will have all of this info as well, and very specific to the item you are wondering about.)

If you're just starting to go grain free, I might do it while keeping in the potatoes at first, to help w/ the transition (this is what I did). It made it a lot easier for me, and gave me a little space to think about it all, and helped me stick to it. I'm still working on the transition to fewer carbs...I guess various veggies w/ LOTS of fat added would be the replacement for those filling potatoes....(I'm still figuring this out for myself ) I love that we are talking about all this--including the budgeting of it all!

ETA: What I like about fitday is that it helps you figure out your options. You technically *could* eat a sweet potato, and still keep your carbs below 100 or 150 (whatever you're aiming for), just w/ the awareness that you ate approx. 26.8 of those carbs in that sweet potato. So just adjust the rest of your carb intake throughout the day accordingly. So a lot of those high carb foods are not really *out* (unless you want to be strictly primal/paleo in the manner some folks are), but you can eat them w/ awareness of the rest of your carb intake.

Bananas have 27 g of carbs in them. I LOVE them in my am smoothie. So I put half of one in, and then just adjust the rest of my carbs throughout the day accordingly. I know it probably seems annoying/crazy to be checking carbs all the time, but I think I'll just need to do this right now while I'm learning it all--once I figure it out, I won't need to look it all up. (And I'm still working on figuring out *my* ideal balance of fat, protein and carbs...but just wanted to share this! I think fitday is a fabulous tool!)

[covertlycrunchy]

Great thread! Budgeting is becoming increasingly important in my life, I'm thinking of quitting my job to be SAHM and I'm freaking out about $$, I don't know if it is a valid panic yet or not. I'm on day 2 of SAHM experiment.

Anyways, some things that have been very $$ saving for us has been to belong to a CSA. All of the veggies are organic and at ~$20/week covers a family of 3 for almost all of our veggies (delivered to my door no less). I still have to buy some tomatoes/lettuce/carrots/celery/fruit (I could get the other box option that includes fruit but don't really want to) at probably another $20/week. We don't do potatoes in the house, mainly because I don't like them that much. I *really* like parsnips & cauliflower as a potato substitute for things like shepherd's pie. There is also the frozen veggie option which *I think* is pretty cheap.

I would think that the best place to put your $$ would be in the fat department and I would spring for the grassfed/free range/organic/raw butter/coconut oil (or some combination thereof). Mostly b/c if the animal is fed anything "yucky" it will wind up in the fat of the animal, usually in a concentrated form. Lard can be pretty cheap too, so can beef fat particularly if you like making your own french fries/chips. I think potatoes are ok as long as it isn't very often or if you are in weight maintenance mode & don't fry them in vegetable oils (high in omega-6 PUFA, don't fry in olive oil either, too low a smoke point).