[Closed] Low carb diets.

Keto diet is tough, I've heard. Slow-carb diet known on here as the iDave diet seems a better alternative to me.

My advice is to not exercise too hard.

I have read its tough for the first 3-28 days then gets easier. I'm fully committed to this. I have dropped 20kg before but that was when I had no work and went to glentress 6 days a week.

Idave diet looks similar, except I have given up caffeine and alcohol.

Right - awaits flaming for the comments

I have put a shed load of weight this year for various reasons ranging from injury, depression and being lazy. 20kg to be exact!

Mate of mine's lost 45kg in six months doing it. So it clearly works for him, though I can't help but think his arteries must look like the inside of an engine with a blown head gasket.

45kg in 6 months is impressive!

I went low carb/low GI over a year ago. (Apart from beer!)

Lost a load of weight very quickly, sleep better, never get indigestion and have more energy than before. Didn't really worry about the calorie counting and still lost weight, despite eating large meals.

It was strange at first but now I don't miss starchy carbs at all, don't think I could face a bag of crisps. Since I stopped eating starchy carbs, if a try a chip or similar, it tastes very starchy and powdery.

Personally I think there will be a change in "official" dietary advice in the next 10 years and the high carb advice will change.
(Awaits flaming from pasta eating racing snakes!)

I did a keto diet for about 5 months to try and get the last bits of fat off me. I don't think it did me much good to be honest. I mean I lost some weight but in hindsight it was awful. Made me very obsessive over calories and food macros to the point where food was all I thought about. I'm really only just getting over that now after about 4-5 months back on a normal diet. So for me it was more the mental thing than anything else. I also binged heavily on carbs when I went back as I had massive cravings for them. Obviously ymmv but for me I felt like it almost gave me some kind of eating disorder.

It's nothing special imo, it's still just a case of calories in need to be lower than calories out. It's just that fat/protein should keep you satiated for longer so in theory you'll eat less, that's all it is. And you do feel a bit better or less sluggish not eating so many carbs. But I found I didn't have much energy for riding, about 9 miles into a road ride and I was ****ed. So in that regard it was also bad as I felt my workouts weren't 100% effort like they are now.

How much weight a week were you losing WD?

7 stone!!!!! Shit the bed!!!

I can't help but think his arteries must look like the inside of an engine with a blown head gasket.

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24625808 ]Satuated fat myth[/url]

I know it is only one opinion but I would really recommend reading this[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diet-Delusion-Gary-Taubes/dp/0091924286/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382963443&sr=1-1&keywords=diet+delusion ]Diet Delusion by Gary Taubes[/url]

Joe, what anti depressants are you taking? I found I gained quite a bit of weight whilst I was taking prozac and sertraline. Dunno why, eating too much I think. Check out this stuff: DLPA, might help with your carb cravings.

If you're doing a fiar bit of exercise, then I wouldnt cut out carbs completely. Just ride hard, eat your carbs etc. Just don't eat to much processed shite. Maybe go easy on the pasta/bread.

I took Prozac from February to April then came off them. I craved carbs when I got depressed and went from a toned 12 stone to a flabby 16 stone very quickly. The depression is under control as the situation which made me depressed has gone. Going on the meds was a terrible decision and only made me feel worse. Hard to explain my state of mind at the time. However the carb eating has got out of control.

[i]I have given up caffeine and alcohol[/i]
Someone please inform the OP that they have, infact, died.

[i]Awaits flaming from pasta eating racing snakes!)[/i]
Its ok, after several years of flaming, your body compensates by developing a ceramic like crust which prevents further damage.

Winston Dog, you're experience is how it should have been for another fellow forumite. Good for you.

You know, in these few posts we have the 'diet problem' summed up. Fat is good (or rather not bad), cals in must be less than cals out, high GI causes insulin spikes etc.

The problem is, there seems to be very little authoritative, concise material that is generally agreed on. As soon as a thread like this is started, so does the debate.

I'll have another donut whilst I consider my next step... 🙂

Seems to me that some folk manage fine without plenty of starch, and others don't. I really struggle to ride with any intensity without the starch.

[i]The problem is, there seems to be very little authoritative, concise material that is generally agreed on[/i]

Oh, I think there is. The establishment 'agrees' that fat is bad, low fat is the way forward, if you don't lose weight, its because you're a lazy get and that you need to count calories.
😉

Before getting tied up in all that. Perhaps people might ask themselves: 'How does the body's system for creating and storing fat, work ?' I'd suggest that would be a good first step in deciding what to do about excessive fat storage.

As for calorie counting. Well yes, cals are cals, but how does your body decide to partition the calories you eat, between use of said cals and storage (fat) ?

Oh, that's probably it for me now.
🙂

molgrips - Member
Seems to me that some folk manage fine without plenty of starch, and others don't. I really struggle to ride with any intensity without the starch.

I think you can probably get used to riding fasted, you've just got to do it for a bit. I find it ok. My brother can't ride for shit unless he's about about 2 bowls of cereal and a loaf of soreen.

joeelston - I went from a nice 12.5 stone at 6'2" to 16 stone in a matter of months. it's easily done if you get into bad habits. i've started commuting to work [1 hour round trip] and cleaning my diet up but not religiously cutting anything out, just eating cleaner. I've taken a stone off in around 3 weeks, and feel alot better. I got into the habit of having a beer with dinner which turned into a bad habit. I know this was a main reason why so much weight piled on so quickly. Alcohol is full of nasty calories and bloats me like a pig!

The plan is to get back down to 13 which i'll be happy at.

good luck and keep us updated.

Perhaps people might ask themselves: 'How does the body's system for creating and storing fat, work ?'

how does the body's system for creating and storing fat work?

Seems to me that some folk manage fine without plenty of starch, and others don't. I really struggle to ride with any intensity without the starch.

I agree.
The viewpoints that carbs are either good or bad seam pretty much like the thesis and antithesis part of a dialectic

I think you can probably get used to riding fasted

Yes you can adapt, but I think some people will do much better than others. Depends on your physiology. Some people are better at using fat,some are better at using carbs.

The wife and I went Paleo about 6 months ago. I didn't lose much weight (I'm only 70kg anyway) but the wife lost about a stone and a half and feels noticeably better.
I'd avoid 'low-carb' as a general do it all, you still need the vitamins and minerals from fruit and veg. However I race quite happily in the Expert class without ever wanting pasta, bread or porridge.

how does the body's system for creating and storing fat work?

I am 70-80% Paleo, but not necessarily low carb. I do eat fruit, potatoes, sweet potatoes, starchy veg etc.

My weight keeps itself stable if I strictly limit grains and sugar and try and avoid "empty calorie" foods like crisps, alcohol, sodas etc. I lost a stone and a half after going gluten free due to discovering I was coeliac and then going Paleo for digestive issues.

[i]wife lost about a stone and a half and feels noticeably better[/i]
I saw what you did there, cheeky monkey. Please stay on topic.
😉

Good to hear you came off the prozac. Keto diets do work but you should have regular carb breaks.
I carried extra weight for years (I am diabetic) then found that no matter what diet I followed including all the low fat ones, I was craving carbs even more. I found out my thyroid was out of whack and my body temperature and metabolism was slower than it should be. (Hypothyroid).
With depression and very slow metabolism and a lazy assed approach to exercise I ballooned to over 15.5 stone, not a weight to carry at 5 ft 4!!! I also just felt like sleeping all the time.

Last november I had had enough and was introduced to a primal diet by a cage fighter who found enormous success with it. Gave up grain, pasta, bread, sugar and all processed food. Filled my cupboards with fish, nuts, cream, red and white meats and loads of veg. I eat about 50 gms carbs a day sometimes less and eat yams and carrots and other carbs with plenty of protein on heavy workout days. After 6 months I went from a size 18 into size 12 clothes and am a lot fitter and lost my depressive angsty moods, stomach aches, bloating and aches and pains. I rarely drink alcohol and if I do it's a vodka, tequila or gin.
You are doing far more exercise than me so your body will need some extra good carbohydrates to convert into glycogen for energy.
You might want to look at the 'primal diet' as it is being used successfully by other athletes and has helped a lot of people with all sorts of problems. Not just weight loss. It still works for me to the point that I can reduce my diabetic meds and actually enjoy peddling and lifting weight again.

Avoid anything processed and eat less grain as it raises your insulin needs and leaves you feeling hungry from pancreatic overwork. Have a look at a website called 'marks daily apple' or look online for a 30 day primal plan you might also find that you don't have to work so hard to stay fit and lose the weight. 😉

Just ride hard, eat your carbs etc. Just don't eat to much processed shite. Maybe go easy on the pasta/bread.

This is basically what I do and it works better than keto did. I think I've lost more fat in the past few months than I did in the 5 months of keto. Lifting weights helps, just make sure you're eating enough protein.

[i]Eat carbohydrate
Raise blood sugar
Release insulin to reduce blood sugar
Unused carb/sugar is stored as fat[/i]
(Ok up to this point)[i]
Blood sugar is low
Crave carbohydrate
Eat carbohydrate...... [/i]

6/10

6/10

Solo - Very simplistic I know.
However, I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me on how to get it up to 8/10?

Low carb diets can be effective but you need to be carful if you have suffered with depression. Your brain needs some carbs to work effectively. Slow carbs are fine but you do need them.

I have fallen foul of this before and later discovered the brain needs carbs to generate serotonin but can only do this when there is an absence of protein in the blood stream. On a high protein diet the window of oppertunity for this is quite slim.

I still have a reduced carb diet compared to most but will eat some potatoes, brown pittas, brown pasta and lots of good nuts and veggies. I know when I need carbs.

I eat lots of saturated fat including a block of cheese a week lots of butter and meat with fat in it. In my experience fat is not a problem for weight gain. Sugar is.

Excess sugar can also cause peaks and troughs which can effect depression as well as locking fat in.

IMO the caleries in/out model for weight loss is flawed.

Eat sensible amounts of good carbs (broccoli is good for me in particular) with protein. Exercise modorately and get sleep and drink lots of water.

Avoid alchohol in large quantites.

I did loose a stone or so but was not a lot over weight. I'm 5'11" and a steady 73kg. I also came off anti depressants and with the right food exercise, sleep and social life have not needed them since (consult doctor).

One note is that some (a lot) of anti depressants can cause considerable weight gain and carb cravings. In my experience also reduced my capacity for cardio exercise.

Exercise is fine for my physically and mentally but hard physical exercise releases cortisol which has negative effecton on your mental well being, so if you are recoving from depression, do try things but all in moderation and have some patience.

Another note is that you need to get your body used to burning fat, speeding up your metabolism, long steady rides with your heart in the cardio zone, get a heart rate monitor if you don't have one. This will help NOT because your have burnt X no. of calories but because your body will treat the food that you are eating differently when you have a faster metabilic rate.

I am not a dietician, medical professional or psycologist, these are things that I have researched and tried and helped me.

i know a bloke who has lost 5stone following a well know mtb website based diet............ 8)
it is a very low carb one also.

[i]Solo[/i]

Once [b]excess[/b] glucose in the blood has been sent off to the liver to become glycogen, body fat, etc, which is a function of insulin. Then blood glucose levels will normalize and insulin levels should drop also. As this happens, other hormone levels will vary and hormone sensitive lipase in fat cells will then permit the break down of your stored triglycerides (FAT), into mono chain fatty acids, which leave the fat cell to enter the blood stream and provide a supply of energy to sustain [i]normal[/i] activities. You shouldn't experience a conscious blood glucose 'low' as the body switches to using more fat.

With age, we generally become more insulin resistant and then also, in mid to later life, as testosterone and Estrogen levels diminish LPL will become more active and promote the accumulation of body fat as is typical in middle age spread, onset.

Other folk are better at dumbing it down, but for that very reason, I can't always trust what they tell me.

Thanks for the replies. Folk seem to have had success with eating low carb. I have no intention of giving up veg. I don't really crave food during the day. It's the evenings what seems to be the struggle.

Try jerky as a snack, it is very satiating and has a low calorific content.

[i]i know a bloke [/i]
[b]BOOM ![/b] And he's back ! Hi Ton. Hope you're doing Ok.

For anyone who's interested, Ton demonstrated very well that its mostly about the diet. Not being able to resort to silly amounts of exercise to get shot of the tub, Ton had to eat himself thinner.
So, listen to Ton, he's got the T Shirt, and it's way too big for him now.

😉

@solo

ta, now:

I'd suggest that would be a good first step in deciding what to do about excessive fat storage.

how does that relate to your answer?

(I presume your approach would thus tend toward minimising insulin release and maximising lipase response, through food quantity & food type?)

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar...learn to spot it and don't have it. After a while it begins to taste like the shit it is.

Agreed on sugar,

[url= http://listofeverything.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/list-of-vegetables-that-contain-carbohydrates-vegetables-list/ ]No dont stop eating veg, use them as a source of carbs.[/url]

[i]how does that relate to your answer?[/i]
As others have pointed out. The lower the amount of insulin your body has to deliver to deal with what you have consumed, the sooner the insulin should subside to levels which permit the use of stored fat. But in addition to this, if you've consumed less sugar/fewer carbs then there will be fewer carbs to store, should you not use them all.

Today's, western / developed world, diet is too high in processed carbs, imo. Therefore I view these types of discussions as being about getting back to a [i]normal[/i] level of carbohydrate consumption, with the premise that carb consumption might be inversely proportional to how refined those carbs are. So, the more refined / processed the carbs are, the fewer of them, I should consume. However, I'd not cut anything out entirely. Its just an acceptance that I can't consume chocolates and/or beer all the time, as in every day.

The lower the amount of insulin your body has to deliver to deal with what you have consumed, the sooner the insulin should subside to levels which permit the use of stored fat.

So, intake quantity problem, no?

[i]So, intake quantity problem, no? [/i]

No, glycemic load. The higher the GI, the greater insulin response.

Right, I've got to go now. Have fun.

🙂

man, just when it was getting interesting. (btw GI, or GL? they're different)

anyway, our scenario; more insulin response = more blood glucose stored, if carbs are simple.

but wait, because, later, blood glucose drops = energy required = stored energy gets released.

now, in the process of blood glucose whizzing up and down, you're dealing with more blood glucose variance, which has its own problems (hunger, mood) - but assuming you're eating the same amount of carbs, of one type or another, same overall body weight effect

Or, to put it another way, intake problem... Simple carbs make you hungrier and grouchier, but they don't make you fatterer, unless you eat more of them (which is tempting, cause you're hungry and grouchy).

the brain needs carbs to generate serotonin but can only do this when there is an absence of protein in the blood stream.

Jeebus. Since the bloodstream is normally a solution of dozens of types of proteins, just how does that work?

Low blood glucose is a trigger for appetite afaik.

I presume your approach would thus tend toward minimising insulin release and maximising lipase response, through food quantity & food type?

Credit where it's due, the low insulin idea was posted by iDave. And yes that s the idea. Insulin inhibits lipolysis, so even if you eat fewer calories you will find it harder to use fat stores if there is insulin ffloating around your blood.

As for riding fasted - I've done a lot of it and got much better at it, but I recently found I still go shitloads faster carbed up.

I think you lot are worrying/nitpicking about the fine details too much. I lost about 11-12 stone without even thinking about food macros or carbs. Only reason I looked into keto was because I plateau'd a bit and was interested in trying it. When I was in Canada I pretty much lived off microwave lasagne, rice, pasta and beer and still lost 3st in 2 months 😆

As for riding fasted - I've done a lot of it and got much better at it, but I recently found I still go shitloads faster carbed up.

Yep. I found that, so if I know I'm going for a long ride, the night before is plenty of sweet potato, potatoes, etc.

I will sometimes have white rice as well, as this is a fairly "safe" starch, that doesn't have the problems of other grains in terms of digestibility. But, at the end of the day, it's bulk food, it's not that nutritious. And that is my main problem with grains in general. Ditto for sugar - plenty of calories, but no nutritional bang for your buck.

"Conventional nutrition", i.e. the eatwell plate, didn't work well for me, and quitting on the grains, sugar, and booze was the only thing that helped me lose stomach fat as well.

There's a whole host of other things you can look into as well, for example I try to minimise my intake of PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) from seed oils like canola, sunflower et, and I use coconut oil for frying, ghee, and even (shock horror) bacon and duck fat. I also try and stay away from soy, although I do use gluten free tamari soy sauce sometimes for flavouring.

Basically, if something needs a lot of processing to become edible, it's not food.

Better food = nutritional needs satisfied with less = reduced calorie intake without deprivation.

Our appetites go crazy because the highly processed food we eat does not provide us with the nutrition we need, so we stay hungry, our bodies crave more of it, and we eat more of it and get fat.

I don't carbo load before a big ride. If it's going to be long I want my body to be burning fat. I only carb up now for short very hard sessions.

I think you lot are worrying/nitpicking about the fine details too much. I lost about 11-12 stone without even thinking about food macros or carbs. Only reason I looked into keto was because I plateau'd a bit and was interested in trying it.

I don't carbo load before a big ride. If it's going to be long I want my body to be burning fat. I only carb up now for short very hard sessions.

Basically, if something needs a lot of processing to become edible, it's not food.

Spot on.

If you think about it bread is the original processed food. You need to take the grain, grind it up, mix it with other chemicals and then cook it for quite sometime to make it edible.

However, wheat and corn are such massive parts of global "agribusiness" that is almost unthinkable to reduce their consumption in the Western World. What would Kellogs and Nestle make their billions from?

except where you've literally depleted all stored glycogen

Well when dieting my glycogen stores are generally low, which makes it harder for me to do intense exercise. So I tend to drink something before hand so that my blood is fully of glucose and insulin when I start. This means that I can get a lot more energy going into my cells and I can work much harder for the short duration.

Basically, if something needs a lot of processing to become edible, it's not food.

Not entirely convinced by that. Lots of processed foods start off as unprocessed foods, it's the processing itself that strips out goodness. And lots of natural foods need to be significantly altered by processing for us to eat them or get the most nutrition from them. Cooking is pretty significant processing!

There's a school of thought that says the human invention of cooking and processing food are responsible for our success as a species. Alice Roberts seems to subscribe to it, at least.

If you think about it bread is the original processed food. You need to take the grain, grind it up, mix it with other chemicals and then cook it for quite sometime to make it edible.

You think losing fat is hard?
Try gaining muscle whilst staying lean. It's a minefield, especially when trying to avoid dairy...

It's exactly the same with cereal, and the only reason people think these products are healthy is because advertising tells them that it is

Low Gi museli is pretty un-****ed with though is it not?

Well when dieting my glycogen stores are generally low, which makes it harder for me to do intense exercise.

Low Gi museli is pretty un-****ed with though is it not?

Cereal tastes nice though. And doesn't have too many calories if you get something reasonably good.

Breakfast cereals, with the exception of muesli, are pretty processed crap anyway, that's fairly obvious. And yes it's a pretty crappy marketing campaign.

Cereal tastes nice though.

Also, it's odd when you think about it that we as a society have been conditioned to eat this very specific type of food at a specific time of the day for no real reason other than the TV adverts tell us to...

Ah, Carb loading.

A fine excuse to put away a small mountain of bolognese 🙂

Ultimately, low carb or whatever, it's whatever works for you, managing hunger on reduced calories is the trick.

Yeah, although the novelty of bacon & egg does wear off after a while.

Been on a low carb lifestyle now for 4-5 years. Less than 30g of carbs a day Mon-sat then a carb up on a Sunday (which coincides with my big ride, be that road or mtb) 5 small meals a day consisting of protein and fat. Three of those also have some form of green veg in them as well. My carb up consists of anything that takes my fancy ( within moderation ) reason for this is that in my eyes if you deny yourself things you've always liked you end up saying "stuff this" and go back to your old (bad) eating habits. If I fancy a choccy bar I know I can have one on a Sunday. Energy wise I never have a problem during the week. The only times I start to suffer if I go for a ride that lasts longer than 3-4 hrs but during the week that doesn't happen very often. Some people on here my pull my eating habits to shreds but it works for me and that's all I'm bothered about. 😉

I thought that a cheat day was important to stop your metabolism slowing down?

managing hunger on reduced calories is the trick.

I disagree to some extent. When you eat less carb hunger is easer to mange overall.

I have found that since I have reduced my carbs and only eat low GI stuff, I don't get the really strong hunger pangs. Because of my job I sometimes have to go without food for relatively prolonged periods and it is not a massive problems now. Where before I would of grabbed a chocolate bar or crisps to keep me going I can wait until I can get to "proper" food.

Breakfast cereals, with the exception of muesli, are pretty processed crap anyway

Mueslis and granolas often have a ton of added sugar/sweetener, despite being marketed as a health food. Even the low GI ones. They might have honey or agave as a sweetener instead of sugar, but it's still sugar, at the end of the day, and on top of all the sugar in the dried fruit you get in muesli.

not aimed at you at all molly the ads for these things just make me mad!!

however, buying plain oats, fruit, nuts/seeds etc and making your own is definitely better - I make granola with toasted nuts and seeds, coconut flakes, and add raisins for a bit of sweetness. I don't do oats, because I'm an avoider of grains in general, but as grains go, I don't think they're the worst of the bunch.

Mueslis and granolas often have a ton of added sugar/sweetener, despite being marketed as a health food. Even the low GI ones.

Incorrect. Shite like Alpen does. Dorset cereals simply museli has no added sugar. At all.
https://www.dorsetcereals.co.uk/things-we-make/muesli/simply-delicious-muesli/

 

LMP I know some muesli type stuff does have sugar in it. As any familiar with my STW persona will know, I am the kind of person to read the ingredients 🙂

Dorset cereals has barley malt extract in there. That's a sweetener.

^^^ yep, that's the type of sugar used in beer-making. The yeast turns it into alcohol.

As that Dorset cereal says, contains "naturally occurring" sugar, not no sugar. Fruit, dates in particular, are pretty high in sugar as well.

Oh bollocks. 😡
Lying bastids.

As that Dorset cereal says, contains "naturally occurring" sugar, not no sugar. Fruit, dates in particular, are pretty high in sugar as well.

Yeah, I'm aware that there's fructose in the dried fruit. There is in LMS' museli too. But it does say "no added sugar".

All carb turns into glucose in the blood anyway. The only difference is how quickly this happens.

Table sugar isn't that bad and has a GI of about 50. A jacket potato has a GI of 85.

According to google Barley Malt Extract has a GI of 42. Similar to table sugar.

But it does say "no added sugar".

The implication here - although they don't explicitly say it, of course - is that "natural" sugar is ok but "added" sugar is bad. However the truth (as winston points out above ^^^) is there's very little, if any, difference. (with the caveat that you will get more micronutrients from things like malt extract).

Most good healthy lower carb diets maybe don't actually explain but processed carbs are the enemy, anything which has to be 'made' or bought in a bakers is bad carbs. Good carbs are complex carbs and of course some natural simple carbs.
Have a look at the ZONE diet it was/is developed for health, cure for diabetes and also [u]athletes[/u] see [url= http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/zone-diet-cut-back-on-carbs-and-you-risk-reducing-your-performance-level-120 ]HERE[/url]

If you want a precise analysis of what to eat then you should get a metabolic typing done (quite expensive) and you will find out exactly what foods you should and should not eat.

Basically though if you tend to put on weight easily Endomorphs and Mesomorphs - you should stay away from pastries, white rice, white pasta and bread, except for German Rye bread, which has a high toilet visiting quality..... If you are an Ectomorph you can get away with just about any food although if you eat crap your performance will be crap!

If you want a precise analysis of what to eat then you should get a metabolic typing done

Alternatively, you could try water divining, a seance, or at a push, joining the church of scientology.

It's grade A horseshite. Just FYI, etc.

The zone diet food plan is decent enough (although it too is sadly dressed up to try and make it all sciencey sounding, mainly it seems because you can't sell a diet book unless it has a gimmick).

It's grade A horseshite

Explain?

Metabolic typing, a sound principle twisted into a sales pitch 😕

all the diet addicts should have a read of either "the health delusion" or the "diet delusion" both well referenced critiques of the "healthy lifestyle industry"

imo everyone should just read Racing Weight and follow the DQS system. It's by far the best "diet" I've followed (ie I've seen the best results in the shortest amount of time) and is actually sustainable unlike these fads.

actually sustainable unlike these fads.

tom - What is unsustainable about reducing carbs and eating low GI foods?

You can eat meat, fish, eggs. Loads of vegatables and salad. You have to watch what fruit to eat but berries, apples, pears, cherries all have relatively less sugar than other fruits.

The only difficulty is that everyone wants to sell you starchy carbs when away from home, not a lot of choice but a sandwich for lunch at most places. You just need to prep your own food at home or have a salad with no bread.

You just need to prep your own food at home or have a salad with no bread.

That's a big part of why it's not sustainable for me. I work long shifts and making two half decent meals a day to take in to work gets very old very quick. Especially when the fat loss results aren't even worth it. Sandwiches, soups etc are much easier and can be bought if I can't be arsed to make anything.

If I worked from home it'd be easier, but I don't.

fwiw I never eat potatoes or pasta any more as I don't think they're any good, but I still love brown bread and sandwiches are pretty much the most convenient form of lunch!

Just having a quick browse in between giving the shed another coat of paint so not had time to read all the thread.
If it's been mentioned sorry, but OP check out the fasting diet if you haven't already.

The thing about eating low GI or slow carb or low insulin or whatever, is that it's not a temporary diet, it's just knowledge about how foods affect your body. It means that you just minimise glycaemic load wherever possible by choosing the lowest GI food you can for any meal.

So if you can only have a sandwich for lunch, just grab a wholemeal sandwich or a wrap (tortillas are low GI). Overall you can still improve a great deal on a typical Western diet, so you'll still lose weight.