I do this, too!! Someone used to have me counting carbs... there were times where I only had like four carbs a day... felt great for a while, you know, detoxing and all that, but I was already and still am at a healthy weight... so after a while of doing this, I started to feel really crappy and depressed and stuff.

Then one day I decided the hell with it, and just ate unlimited vegetables. I stopped counting. I allowed myself to eat more fruit, and to hell with the carbs. I don't allow myself to feel guilty if I want to make a fruit shake for dessert or if there is only a little meat in my curry to cut costs. I feel a lot better, now. I don't think I was meant to eat so low carb. Maybe it's a metabolic/blood type thing, I don't know. Just that I find, I do so much better with a bit more carbs than with less carbs. Other people don't function that way! To each their own. Everybody's body works differently!! We probably are just a group that does better with a bit more carbs in our diets. The key thing is, I think, to just avoid what I call 'modified food' or 'modified nature' which is basically processed. I eat natural, and I like to eat raw, and I feel so much better!

Count me in as a non-counter! :)

This has got to be a way of life for me, not a diet. I hate dieting and I apparently suck at them!

I felt so lousy for so long and was finally referred to an allergist. Turns out I'm allergic to wheat, corn, peanut, carrot, celery and apple, as far as the foods go. Going back to low carb was just an obvious choice!

I find I feel better, sleep better and have a better general attitude if I don't limit my veggies and stick with mostly fat and protein. I feel I can go pretty much anywhere and not fret about my food choices. There is always a lc alternative if there is any real food at all on the menu.

I want to drop the weight right now so I know the foods to limit or just completely avoid for the moment. I do find the Atkins ladder to be helpful and just stick to the basics for now. I don't count anything.

Oh, and I hate math too!! ;)

Woohoo, LOVE this thread! I don't count my carbs, I just eliminated simple sugars like white bread, rice, potatoes, etc. and switched to carbs with a higher glycemic index, and much smaller/fewer servings. I doubled my green veggie intake, lots of romaine lettuce for salads and wraps, broccolini, asparagus, avocado, artichoke, spinach... Nuts, eggs, fish, bacon, all kinds of meat, really. With all the veggies, the meat isn't clogging up my system at all. I'm losing weight like crazy! I switched to flavored waters and tea, no more juice except for V8 once in awhile, or a low-cal cranberry blend. I don't limit cheese or yogurt, cream, etc. I just make sure it doesn't have a lot of added sugar! The hardest thing for me is giving up corn chips and popcorn. I still haven't found a good substitute for popcorn.

Hi girls, I am going to join you. :wave:

I've lost weight by counting calories and had carbs only for breakfast (whole grain toast with jam). I have only 4lb to lose and decided to just replace my morning toast with Greek yogurt and blueberries and live lunch and dinner the same, which is chicken or fish with vegetables.

I really hope that weight will drop down slowly/eventually and I can stop obsessing with counting calories /carbs and weight every single peace of food on the scale.

So what is your usual menu?

Hi all! :help:

I have a question: I'm on CAD and love this WOE! However, it's a slower way to lose weight, so some days I just eat low carb, but haven't weighed myself lately to see how I'm actually doing. :lol: I kind of keep a count on the the LC foods I eat that day. I was browsing the threads here and was intrigued by all your posts! I love that you guys don't count carbs and are losing. I guess I should check the stats but are wondering if anyone actually lost weight by not counting carbs, or is it just on maintenance that you don't count them? Also, do you find that portion control matters or can you eat whatever you want that's LC in quanities that you desire? Do you eat late at night or do you stop eating earlier in the evening so the food consumed won't turn into fat and cause a gain?

Sorry for all the questions! :D I would really like to incorporate some of these ideas into my own program, if possible, and thank you in advance for any information you give.

SeaLady

Yep! I've lost net 37 lbs (been fluctuating within two or three pounds on either side for the past few weeks due to excessive cheating! Boo!) and have never counted my carbs. It leads to an obsessive thing, which leads to binges. Other people might be able to count without it becoming a fixation, but not me. In terms of portion size, I don't do seconds. I usually have protein + veg for dinner, and that's that. I limit my snacking to when I get home from work with pork rinds, and limit that slightly...but not enough to make me feel deprived. That's the point of LC, right? Not feeling deprived or hungry, EVER. I try not to eat at night just because it makes me feel gross. I figure that food is fuel, and I don't need any fuel for laying down and reading at night!! That said, if I'm hungry (which if I have eaten right throughout the day, I shouldn't be), I eat a cheese stick or have a handful of almonds (if I'm past induction).

Do what makes sense to you and what gives you results. Everyone varies. It's trial and error for each person. So eat until you feel full, when it makes sense. Best of luck! :thup:

I just estimate!
 

Like the previous poster, any kind of real counting makes me feel obsessive.

From September through March I lost 15 pounds on a low fat/ "healthy" diet. In april I started Atkins and lost around 12 pounds in about six weeks. Yay. But the whole OWL approach just seemed way to complicated. I was starting to stall and feel antsy. I'm so glad I picked up the PP book, and started their guidelines over the weekend. I was down a little over a pound this morning!

I know this is going to sound CRAZY, but the PP Docs just seem like genuinely nice, upbeat, normal people. I can picture them laughing and yelling out: "Oh, for God's sake, have a glass of wine of you want!" instead of frowning in disapproval and entering something in some complicated journal!

I'm 12 pounds from my goal weight. If I can lose a half pound of fat a week, I'll be thrilled!

This is a great forum! :agree:

Thanks so much Reveille and Shannone for your replies.You've both been successful, so it really gives me the extra push to not count carbs! :thup:

What's the PP book? I want to read it!

Thx again!

SeaLady

I understand the theory in not counting carbs.... it can be a little obsessive, however for some of us that have dug ourselves in a VERY deep hole.... it takes us back to pre-school / fundamentals in watching what we put into our bodies. Hopefully if we do our work we graduate with time and re-learn proper eating. :-) Just my thoughts.

The way I've always done it is just to estimate the carbs with a meal. For instance, if I were to have a 1/2 cup brown rice with a meal, I knew that there were carbs in the rice so that would be the only carby food for that meal. I always made sure not to have too much with each meal. I still have no refined carbs at all, but I do have some corn and rice products (although not very often) and fruit. I do not count veggies as carby foods.

SeaLady, PP is Protein Power, also The Protein Power Life Plan, by Michael and Mary Dan Eades. These two M.D.s have long experience and research into lower carbing. They also have their own website and forum. The forum has lots of good information about the program plus a great group of supporters. Just search for Protein Power.

Thanks Sharon! I'm checking Protein Power!

SeaLady

I find it difficult to count carbs. Breakfast is easy. I use fitday but I don't know if I've ever entered a dinner :lol: Also I like to make simple creamed veggie soups and I find doing recipe calculations tedious even though they are only 3 or 4 ingredients. I use LC vegies like asparagus and broccoli etc., and I watch the portion control.

Yeah - I don't count as much as I should. I just keep things in mind.

I know I'd lose faster if I cut down my portions!

This has always been a problem with me! :p

SeaLady

Years ago, back around 2003, I counted everything and lost 80lbs in about 6 months doing Atkins. I then had many important things happen in my life and although I LC'd for the most part, I'd end up on months long binges of HC foods (gluten free grains as well). I gained about 40 of those lbs back and am now back to LC only with a twist for me. I do NOT touch sugar or grains at all. I now experience NO cravings and I don't count a blasted thing. LOVE IT!! I am losing the weight slowly this time, but it doesn't matter to me. I am thrilled that I am satiated and the binging has stopped. :)