OT:Good Calories, Bad Calories....

[Jay Aitchsee]

I've got a question. What are you low carb'ers doing about fiber? I've been following this thread for a while and I don't recall it being mentioned.

About 3 weeks ago I decided to change my eating habits. I am overweight, 5'8'' 195 lbs, my fasting blood sugar has been slowly rising to about 100+ and my triglycerides are above 150. I have been taking a statin for about 20 yrs and my LDL is about 80, but my HDL is less than 40. Anyway, I had come to the conclusion, as many of you, that the low fat hight carb diet of the U.S. was flawed. So after some research I embarked on my own eating plan which is similar to most low carb diets. I decided to give up all added sugar, starchy vegetables, and all processed foods (for the most part). So now my diet is unprocessed meat, eggs, dairy limited to hard cheese, cottage cheese and half and half, nuts in the shell, and fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Otherwise, nothing that comes in a box, bottle, or can, except olive oil.

Now, 3 weeks later, I have lost about 9 pounds. Not a shout it from the mountain top result, but not bad. Three lbs a week will add up pretty fast. My caloric intake is about 1600 cal per day and I figure it to be about 50% fat and 25% carbs and 25% protein. But, I'm only getting about 20 grams of fiber a day. My digestion seems OK, but I wonder if I should supplement the fiber with psyllium or some such. What do you guys think?

Oh, I should mention, I stopped taking the statin at the same time I started the diet. I have a blood test scheduled in about a month and it will be interesting to see what my blood lipids have done. I'm hoping to see a reduction in triglycerides and an increase in HDL.

Jay

[GrantT]

I've got a question. What are you low carb'ers doing about fiber? I've been following this thread for a while and I don't recall it being mentioned.
Jay

I get so much fibre on low-carb, I am scared to STOP for fear of plugging up. I supposed it comes down to exactly what you low-carb with though. For example, a typical meal for me in the morning is a couple eggs, a tomato or cucumber or mushrooms with a low-carb/higher fat dressing etc.

I'll eat a few snacks over the morning...pea pods, radishes, cucumbers, lower GI fruit etc.

Lunch is usually some protein (often left-over meat from previous evening) or the meat from a burger, but always accompanied by more fresh vegetables...pea pods, raw broccoli/cauliflower, cucumbers, salad greens with olive oil, avocado, etc. Maybe a chefs salads with good low-carb ingredients...cheese, meet, egg, avocado etc.

Mid afternoon I'll snack on tuna/salmon with some cheese/olives, maybe some veggies.

Dinner is usually a larger meat portion. Roast beef, chicken, lamb, pork etc. etc....with a large salad and yet again...more veggies.

Overall, I suspect I am getting WAAAAAAY more fibre than the average person's diet....my "low carb" diet certainly has no relation to a lack of fibre. I get more natural fibre now than I EVER did before low-carbing.

Grant

[jnk]

Evidence shows that people who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing ... index.html

[Emilia]

Incorporating coconut flour into your diet will add a lot of fiber! And, of course, lots and lots of veggies!

[Jay Aitchsee]

Grant, thanks for your response. Our menu's look very similar. A typical evening meal plate for me would be 1/4 meat and 3/4 veggies. It's just that veggies don't have quite the fiber we think they do. For example: 1 whole cucumber=1.5 g, 1 whole cabbage=24g, 1 bunch broccoli=15g, 1 head cauliflower=12g, 1 tomatoe=1.5g and so on. So to get 30 grams from veggies alone you'd have to eat 1 whole cabbage, two whole tomatoes and two whole cucumbers (unpeeled) per day. That's a lot!

Emelia, thanks. What is it you do with coconut flour?

Jay

[Emilia]

There isn't much can't do with coconut flour or oil or milk! This site is excellent....but keep in mind that some of the recipes might not fit your particular diet needs. Stick to the gluten-free recipes. http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/glute ... ecipes.htm I also like Bruce Fife's book, Cooking with Coconut Flour and have made a number of the recipes in this book. I LOVE his blueberry muffins. One of the unique things about coconut is that it satisfies....and really cuts the appetite. One of those muffin with my morning coffee and I am good for hours and hours. Taking coconut oil daily is an excellent source of medium-chain fatty acids (medium-chain triglycerides) that are also thought to help stave off Alzheimer's (see Dr. Mary Newport's work...or, again, Bruce Fife's new book on this topic).

[jnk]

A medium artichoke has about 10g fiber and only 13g carbohydrates. Peas are also a high-fiber vegetable, with almost 9g fiber and 21g carbs per 1-cup serving. One cup of broccoli has about 6g fiber and only 2g usable carbohydrates

http://www.livestrong.com/article/91644 ... arb-foods/

[Jay Aitchsee]

Thanks, JNK. Yes, peas and beans are good sources of fiber. On days I have those, no problem getting 30 grams. I'm going to have to introduce artichokes to the diet.

Emilia, I guess I'm going to have to bake something up with coconut flour. I did buy some coconut oil at the store today and I'm anxious to try it.

Jay

[Janknitz]

've got a question. What are you low carb'ers doing about fiber? I've been following this thread for a while and I don't recall it being mentioned.

I eat a ton of non-starchy veggies every day, probably way more than most of the people claiming that the low carb diet is unhealthy. I have veggies with breakfast and lunch (spinach and onion omelette this morning, YUM!), and we regularly have 3 or 4 veggies with dinner (DH does the cooking, and this winter I've dubbed him the "Cruciferous King"--I'm so sick of cruciferous veggies!!!! I can't wait until summer tomatoes, OMG it can't come soon enough!). I snack on raw veggies (dipped in full fat dressing ) and homemade kale "chips" if and when I do snack. Fiber is NOT a problem.

In addition, coconut oil has certain, um, properties that help.

Contrary to popular belief, low carb diet is NOT a "meat and cheese" diet. It is (or at least it should be--some people follow it incorrectly) a healthy, whole foods diet with very limited carbohydrates.

[Kiralynx]

I've got a question. What are you low carb'ers doing about fiber? I've been following this thread for a while and I don't recall it being mentioned.

Jay,

LOL! Back in 2001, I was in a gastrenterologist's office, and he had buckets of Metamucil ads all over the place. Metamucil (which is all psyllium) admitted that ALMONDS had more fiber than their product. But of course, they hastened to say that one should use THEIR product because almonds had so much FAT.

I bake bread and make crackers out of almond flour. THey're a darn sight tastier than that junky flavored metamucil!

[chunkyfrog]

Raw almonds are one of my favorite snacks.
They fill the hungry space and keep my jawbone busy.

[Kiralynx]

Raw almonds are one of my favorite snacks.
They fill the hungry space and keep my jawbone busy.

Delicious, yes.

These take a little time to make, but are wondermous.

http://uclbs.org/recipes/bmc/suecrackers.php

[Lizistired]

Jay, Just let your body tell you if you need more. In 14 months eating low carb, I haven't paid any attention to fiber. Some days I don't eat any vegetables. I just don't worry about it. I had anticipated it being an issue but it hasn't been.
I'm beginning to wonder if all of the fiber hype is because of all the starches we eat.
I do take a magnesium supplement and use a salt substitute for potassium, but that is because I was having leg cramps at night. We know you don't want those! I also take a Calcium just because along with a multiple.

[VVV]

Is my observation correct that at a certain age many of us hope to eat to cure all ills after spending 90% of our lives eating to cause all ills?

[BlackSpinner]

Is my observation correct that at a certain age many of us hope to eat to cure all ills after spending 90% of our lives eating to cause all ills?

No. At a certain age we get smart enough to realize that what we put in our mouths really does count and we are not immortal teenagers. For some people it just takes a really long time to get there.