I am looking for some wonderful, easy Low Carbohydrate recipes for only one person. I have lost 21 pounds, but am stuck at the same weight for the past 2 weeks! I am getting tired of just salads, and either Salmon or Chicken. Thanks so very much.
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HUGE ^ 5 on the weight loss!! That is awesome! When you "plateau", you need to increase your caloric intake for just a few days so your body will think it's NOT starving. Have a bunless lettuce wrapped cheese burger as a self treat. Increasing your work out routine or even changing it around a little should help too.
I totally salute you girl!
Okay, here is the deal. Your body has gotten used to the new program you put it on so now you have to mix it up some.
Try eating small amounts for about a week. Try eating like
2 or 3 oz of lean protein
and 1/2 cup of natural carbs. (like yam or brown rice)
Also eat cooked veggies with it.
You can do 1 onion, 1 zucchini and say 8 oz mushrooms. Slice mushroom first While that is cooking in microwave with a splash of water, clean and cut zucchini & mushrooms add to onion and cook somemore. It is a nice and large serving. Do this at least 4 to 5 times a day.
You can prepare a huge bowl of this for the whole day and instead of this have a salad at one of the meal times. Alternate the carb with a fruit for every other meal.
It is all low fat, low carb and plenty of veggies and your body thinks wow all this food and Bah boom it starts losing again.
Laura
What i did was eat small portions of what i wanted and load up on veggies cooked or raw.. like carrots, broccolli etc. Your body has to work a lot harder to work off the roughage the veggies provide..
Dear Jean Dogs:
My sister, Susan, who is thin as a rail and full of energy at 54, has drummed into my head the following rules for eating.
1. Eat Porridge or Eggs or sausage Protein early in the morning.
2. Eat a small light lunch and a smaller supper and eat nothing after six o'clock at night.
3. Exercise by: walking, dancing, swimming or Gym.
4. Eat deep Green salads mixed with chicken or fish for lunch. Avoid greasy fried foods and anything packaged in a box.
5. Never eat saturated fats. Always check the labels.
wonderful job!!! no hints though Sorry!??!
Hi Joan,
Way to go on the weight loss! Wahoo!!
I am preparing for bariatric surgery. Because of this, I am learning to eat low carb, and also low fat. I thought I had been doing that already, but I have learned a lot about what really works for stubborn bodies like mine. I found that I've had a lot of room for improvement in my diet!
I wish this information was more readily accessible by the average person. Maybe it is, but I sure wasn't finding it until I began going to the support group meetings and talking with others who are working hard to lose excess weight, and more importantly, keep it off, even if that means having surgery to be able to do it successfully.
I've learned that your body must have at least 60 grams of protein each day in order to thrive, however, the body is only able to absorb about 30 grams at a time. Taking in more than about 30 grams of protein in one sitting is a waste of time, effort and money because the body will eliminate what is not used.
Protein shakes are a really good way to help you get your daily 60 grams in. I've tried a couple of different types, and the brand I favor is available at Walmart, in the pharmacy area, near the vitamin supplements. The brand name is Body Fortress, and it is available in vanilla, chocolate, and fruit punch. The cost is about $13 for 30 servings. It has only 1.5 grams of carb per serving. It can be blended with either water or milk. Personally, I like the vanilla, and love the chocolate. Haven't tried the punch. I've been told that EAS brand is also very good (available at Sam's and at sports equipment stores such at Academy Sports).
I put 8 oz. of skim milk into a blender bottle, add 1 serving of the protein powder, which I weigh out in a little bowl on an inexpensive digital postal scale that will weigh both ounces and grams, and will calibrate to zero with the weight of the bowl so that it's easy to accurately weigh the food items. The scale is available at office supply stores. Cap the blender bottle and shake about 30 seconds and you will have a nice, slightly thickened yummy shake. I sometimes like to use about 1/8 tsp. of sugar free Tang powder when making a vanilla shake to make it taste something like one of those orange push-up pops from when we were kids.
Two of my daily meals are these protein shakes. My main meal of the day can be a variety of things. I sometimes have baked or grilled chicken, sometimes baked fish. I like to have poached eggs about once a week, made using 1 whole large egg, plus 2 egg whites. Very tasty with half a toasted English muffin on the side. (English muffins are fairly low in carbs.) Half a peanut butter sandwich made with a single slice of 7 gram carb bread (made by Nature's Own) and about a tablespoon of peanut butter and a little bit of sugar free Smucker's jam is real treat. Or, you can have a half sandwich made with roasted or smoked turkey breast, a bit of low fat mayo, a small tomato, and kosher dill pickle spears or sugar free pickles (Mt. Olive). You could make a low fat tuna salad using drained water packed tuna low fat mayo and some onion or scallions, celery, fresh parsley, fresh lemon juice and freshly ground pepper. To make chicken salad, use low fat mayo, some poultry seasoning or curry powder, and toss in some celery, onion and pepper if you wish.
When I have chicken, I season it with seasoning blends that have no sugars in them. I love garlic, so that's a favorite. I also like Cavender's salt free Greek seasoning blend. It's in a blue bottle, available at Walmart. KC Masterpiece now makes a sugar free barbeque sauce that is very tasty (can't find this at Walmart, have to go to another grocery store). I pour a small amount in a bowl, and turn the chicken breast to give it a thin coat, then put in the oven to bake. If I want to use the Foreman grill, then I just use the BBQ sauce to dip into. Chicken can also be prepared either in the oven or on the stovetop with a sugar free tomato and basil pasta sauce (by Ragu). Just pour some over your chicken and bake or simmer. You can also use a bit of balsamic vinegar or lemon/lime juice and some olive oil in a zipper bag to marinate your chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours before cooking. Remove chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade before cooking.
Turkey breast can be roasted in your oven, or you can use 99% lean ground turkey (Shadybrook Meadows) to make turkey burgers. I mix in a bit of worcestershire, garlic powder, and an egg, then grill on my Foreman grill. You could mix in a bit of sugar free barbecue sauce instead of the garlic and worcestershire sauce.
When I bake fish, I just put it on a foil lined cookie sheet, spritz a bit of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray on each piece, then season it with low sodium Season All or Cavender's Greek seasoning and bake it at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, more or less, depending on the thickness of the fillet. I don't like oily or fishy tasting fish, so I favor cod, sole, grouper, flounder and orange roughy. I have found that the brand purchased makes a big difference in the taste. Either get it fresh from the fish market or find a frozen brand that you enjoy. There are good brands out there, but you may have to search to find the ones you prefer.
Shrimp is also very tasty. I like to use about a teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan to saute shrimp and some snow peas. You can add some minced garlic or garlic powder, and some low sodium soy sauce if you like. You could use broccoli florets, or yellow squash, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, asparagus, whatever you like. You could swap the shrimp for cubed chicken for a change of pace.
I make sure I eat lots of non-starchy veggies to help me get my fiber. Spinach, asparagus, zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, yellow squash, celery, assorted deep green lettuces, bean sprouts, cabbage. I make my own low carb, low fat buttermilk almost-ranch salad dressing (also tasty for dipping chicken into) and I make my own low carb, low fat coleslaw dressing. If you'd like the recipes for those, or for my homemade vegetable soup, email me at jsplds @ yahoo.com
Because fruit is fairly high in carbs, be selective in what kinds of fruit you eat. Bananas are very high in carbs. Strawberries have a lower carb count. Tomatoes and cucumbers are a good carb value.
Five Triscuits and some low-fat cheese that you enjoy is a good treat to have on occasion. Triscuits are a whole grain cracker. They are available in a reduced fat version, but those have some type of sugar in them, so I prefer the higher fat version. Even though they are higher fat, they are still a good food value for me.
I avoid sugar as much as possible. I will not eat anything that has sugar of any sort in the first 5 ingredients. Sugar includes honey, molasses, corn syrup, cane sugar, fructose, dextrose, sucrose, malted barley, and modified corn starch. I will never eat anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it, because I have learned that its formulation causes an increase in appetite. I learned that by reading "YOU: On A Diet" by Drs. Roizen and Oz.
As I'm sure you can guess, this eliminates quite a bit of the foods readily available and often consumed in the American diet. Basically, it means you need to read labels closely. There are some good quality foods out there, but it takes vigilance. I find that I do best when I eat fresh foods and minimally processed foods instead of canned or processed foods.
I've learned that it really helps to keep your carb count for each meal to no more than 13 grams. Some bariatric programs advise consuming no more than 9 grams of carb at a time.
In addition to changing my eating habits, I've found that it's necessary for me to devote at least 60 minutes exercise each day. I go to the gym pool and do a 75 minute exercise routine in the water that my physical therapy team has developed for me. I wish I could do water aerobics, but unfortunately, my doctor says "no." After my evening meal, I go back to the gym to walk on a treadmill for an hour. I am limited to being able to walk no more than 2 mph, and even that is often too challenging for me because of the degenerative spine disease that I have, and I have to slow down to only 1.5 mph. Even though my walk is very slow, I keep at it. Do I get to the gym every single day for my exercises? No, I don't. But I go more days than I don't.
In the past 6 months, I have lost 38 pounds just doing these things. I also take a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement each day. I'm trying to lose as much weight as I can before I have my surgery. (I only have another 89 lbs. to go to get down to my goal weight!) When I hit a plateau, I exercise a few more minutes and/or I eat just a little bit more food. I do not weigh or measure my food except for the protein powder for my shakes, and that's just to make sure I'm getting the right amount of protein.
This is not only doable, it is enjoyable! If I can help you in any way, I'll be glad to. jsplds @ yahoo.com
Thanks to everyone for the advice you've given me. Veggies were limited growing up to peas, corn, green or wax beans. Found that I like spinach now and include it in my salads with Romaine lettuce and a bit of dressing that is below 3 carbs for 2 tbs. My menu for today was &frac; cup granola moistened with a bit of milk for breakfast, water or green tea throughout the day and dinner was 3 oz salmon steamed, large salad of Romaine lettuce and baby spinach with the low carb dressing. Will continue with either water or green tea til bedtime. Most fruits pose allergy problems for me. I have a full page of foods I can't eat due to allergic reaction to them [but am trying to add to what I can eat], as well as shellfish. No salt, no sugar [use Stevita instead] but many spices add flavor. I do get the 'munchies around 10PM and have 6 unsalted Macadamia nuts. Once a week I have 2 Edy's Dibs and no more! Exercise is rather limited with nerve damage in my leg and foot, 3 hernaited discs in lower back. Workouts in water are out, as I almost drown in a pool and have anxiety attacks in water above my ankles! When shopping, park far from store and also walk the aisles as much as I can before heading home. Do walk 2 of my 4 dogs, weather permitting. Have lost 23 pounds from March 22nd! Have printed out e-mails and will continue to try to lose 25 more pounds by Thanksgiving. Again, thanks for all your help and will keep you informed. JoanDogs
Something I forgot to say: I steam my fish or fry it in a few drops of olive oil. Haven't used my stove's oven in 2 years - use my counter top convection oven or George Foreman's Grill. Veggies are either steamed or boiled. Don't really like them raw, yet. For exercise: am cleaning out closets which were packed tightly when renovations were done to my home. Also, I'm a Packrat and keep so much that I should discard. When those are finished, will continue with the basement! Just have to be careful of my back, as I don't wish to go back on the strong pain meds!
I am returning to a low carb life after a 12 month eating orgy (turn 52, dump alcoholic boyfriend, quit smoking, fall in love, plan a wedding, get married and dive right into the holidays with new family and watch 10 lbs appear like magic! LOL) A favorite LC comfort food that really satisfies is my Almond-BlueBerry Breakfast Pudding.
Whisk together 1/4 C fine almond meal, 2 T water, 1 whole egg, 1-2 pkts Splenda to taste, 2-3 T frozen blueberries (I like the wild because of their small size and intense flavor), and 1/4 tsp. vanilla in a small ramekin or custard dish. I spray it lightly with Canola oil for ease of cleaning but it's up to you. Microwave for 1 minute, Fold outer mixture to center and microwave for another 45 - 60 sec. Let it set for 1 minute and Enjoy! Another single serve dish that is elegant enough for company is eggplant vegetable stacks. lightly brush a 1/2" thick slice of eggplant, one large portabella mushroom, a thick slice of tomato, thin slice of onion, and a slice of zucchini with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic and grill or broil until slightly browned and crisp/tender. Then literally stack the slices one on top of the other. You can sprinkle a little parmesean or gorgonzola between one or two of the layers. Top with a slice of Provolone cheese. Secure the stack with a toothpick or skewer and Microwave or return to grill just long enough to melt the cheese a little. To make them look really cool for a party, instead of a skewer, use a sprig of fresh rosemary. They look awesome and smell heavenly!
Thanks for all the hints you've shared. Over the Holidays I gained 4 lbs, but have lost them as of today! Reached my goal of losing 40 lbs, but am now aiming to lose 5-10 more, just to have a cushion. Gone from a size 18-20 down to a 14! Yipee! Am donating most of my larger clothes except for a couple of jeans to work in the yard/house. Exercise has been at a minimum due to the snow and cold, but do make sure to go up & down 2 staircases daily several times. Shoveling and chopping ice did count as exercise. Still cleaning out the cellar and donating cans of food I no longer chose to eat. Again, many thanks to all.
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