Is there a difference between carbs? I have struggled alot with Water retention when I wasnt eating LC, but experienced significant improvement when i cut out starches.

But What about fruit? In this LC diet, atkins and so on, most people Seem to cut out fruit is well. For me, I dont want to loose weight, I just wanna get tid of the bloating and puffiness that follows eating carbs, which i am very sensitive to. And as i have heard that 1 g of carb hold 3 g of water: is that also the case with fruit?

Hi there, and welcome to the forum.

Most low carb plans forbid fruit - at least in the early stages - because most fruit is pretty high in sugars.

Because you are not trying to lose weight, just stick to low carb (and I applaud you for that) and low GI fruit such as all berries and some melons such as rockmelon aka cantaloupe (depending on where you live ).

If you are not familiar with "GI" it means glycaemic index, and is basically a measure of how quickly whatever food you ingest turns to sugar in your bloodstream... and can then bloat you up like nobody's business.

Another thing: if you do want to eat something sweet or starchy, it may help to follow the CAD (Carbohydrate Addict's Diet) plan for that meal. Now that I am maintaining I find I can do that occasionally. The catch is that you need to have been strictly low carb for ths rest of the day. But eating a decent amount of protein with the sweet or starch can ameliorate any ill effects.

Thank you for your answer! But will eating the carbs from fruit and vegetables increase the water weight in the same way as starches will? Wheat, grains ...? :-)

Not vegetables, unless you count starchy veg such as peas, sweetcorn and so on.

And fruit is a bit of a YMMV (your mileage may vary) matter. Me, I'd prefer to ignore it, but maybe test it out and see what happens? But as I said, I think you should be safe with berries and rockmelon.

Rosebud,

where would I find this information on CAD?

From time to time I do indulge, but not weekly if I can help it. Thanks in advance

Hi there, the short (and cheeky) answer is that it is in the book. But fear not, I'll give you a really, really brief overview. Actually there are two books, CAD and CALP (Carbohydrate Addicts Life Plan). The latter is far more sensible. Essentially you eat two meals a day (in both plans) where you are strictly low carb, and then there is a Reward Meal which lasts no more than one hour, where you can eat carbs. P

With CALP, the Reward Meal is strictly one third (from memory) protein, one third vegies and one third carbs of your choice. It can be a starch with your meal or a dessert to follow, but the whole meal must be completed within one hour. The time limit is to prevent your insulin levels going berserk.

When I was first losing I tried this out and it (CALP) set off cravings for days, so be careful. But I can do it now... but only occasionally.

an1234 - My husband doesn't need to lose weight either, but he found that without wheat he feels a lot better. He eats fruit, but not every day. He can handle veggies like potatoes, but I don't much like cooking what I can't eat. Sometimes I do potatoes or squash as a treat for him. Rough on him with me being the chief cook.