UK Low Carbers

There were a few older threads on low carbing, but the climate has changed a bit since those threads were made, so I decided to make a new one for support and information about  low carbing in the UK.

A little background on me.  I have done almost every diet known to man.  I lose weight on just calorie restriction or low fat calorie restriction, but the going is slow.  The only diet (or "way of eating") that consistently works for me and is the easiest in terms of killing cravings is low carbing. 

The first time I did low carb was in the late 90s.  I was on the Protein Power Plan and I retried it in the early 2000s.  Both times I had moderate success, but both times finances interfered with the diet.  I didn't really have much information at the time on how to eat low carb on a budget, and during both periods, budget was indeed very tight.

So, interspersed between these LC phases, I tried tons of other diets.  It wasn't until May of 2007 that I went back on low carb, this time Atkins.  I had great success, but went off it when we were set to travel to the UK, and have stayed off it since. I really didn't want to bother the mother in law to try to understand the diet and using the kitchen myself means having to wait until everyone else is done and cleaning up everyone else's mess before cooking.

Well, Mr. Moggs and I decided to go back on (me) and start for the first time (him) Atkins.  It's a little rough because I don't think my mother in law understands what we are doing and why.  I need to do this for my health, and Mr. Moggs is convinced that it will help him too.  He only has a few pounds to shed, but he has other health issues that he's convinced is connected to a wheat intolerance.

So, there we have my story.  I went low carb shopping for the first time in the UK last night.  It was a bit more difficult than in the US, and I am not talking about convenience low carb food.  I rarely if ever used that sort of stuff in the US because it invariably caused cravings and overindulgence.  I am talking about finding bacon without sugar, rusk, or nitrites or sausage without the same.  This is complicated further by my newly developed egg allergy.

So anyway, if anyone else is doing low carb for the New Year or is interested in doing it at some point in the future, this thread is for you.  If anyone has any advice on low carbing in the UK please chime in. 

I've done low carb on and off for the past five years. Right now I'm awaiting a class to being Lighter Life. I weighed in last week to see if I qualify for the program and was shocked to see I weight about 20lbs more than I thought! Since I don't know when I'll start my LL program I decided to low carb until it starts. I'm down 8lbs the first week. You usually lose the most weight the first week I realise but it's a good start.
I find low carbing works pretty fast and is pretty easy to stick with after you get past the carb withdrawl after about three or four days.
I decided I WILL look decent in a swimsuit this summer if it kills me! I just hope it doesn't! 

If your husband thinks he has an issue with wheat, he should really be tested for wheat allergy and coeliac disease. Both of these can be quite serious if not dealt with properly. There's a simple blood test for coeliac disease; food allergy is a little more complicated, but an elimination test should be done under medical supervision.

If your husband thinks he has an issue with wheat, he should really be tested for wheat allergy and coeliac disease. Both of these can be quite serious if not dealt with properly. There's a simple blood test for coeliac disease; food allergy is a little more complicated, but an elimination test should be done under medical supervision.

He's actually been tested for both.  We're well aware of coeliac as his mum has it, and while his test came back negative, he feels healthier when he's not eating wheat.

Thanks for the concern though.

He's actually been tested for both.  We're well aware of coeliac as his mum has it, and while his test came back negative, he feels healthier when he's not eating wheat.

Thanks for the concern though.

Oh good! I have coeliacs in the family too.

Going into day 3 and things are ok.  Little concerned about finding a coffee place that serves heavy (I guess double) cream.  We went to Cafe Nero last night, and I opted for a cappuccino and Mr. Moggs ordered a latte.  Today, I looked up the nutritional info and lattes are pretty carb heavy.  Well, good thing Mr. Moggs was light on the carbs for everything else that day.    I know milk isn't on induction, but I have a huge issue with that.  I don't believe you should drink glasses of milk doing any form of low carb.  It's way too sugary.  However, in hot drinks, you normally don't use that many carbs provided you aren't filling it halfway with milk.  However, lattes are heavy on milk.  We'll probably have to switch to Americanos and hope they have at least full fat milk. 

There are a few Starbucks around here, but I hate Starbucks. I don't even know if they will  have "whipping cream" at the UK ones, and how they will react to someone requesting it in their coffee.  The only reason we've been going to Cafe Nero is their coffee is consistently decent.  We sort of use it as a treat a few times a week.  I guess I wish they'd just give us the option of putting our own lighteners in the coffee that's not a specialty coffee. We are doing an older version of Atkins Induction that allows for caffeinated drinks in moderation.  Obviously, those following some of the newest books probably won't have this problem because you won't be drinking coffee, at least during Induction.

Enough of my coffee rant here, Mr. Moggs was down 5 pounds yesterday, and I was down 4 pounds as of today.  Will update on any great finds or stumbling blocks that someone might find when adopting a low carb way of eating in the UK.

My whole family did low-card for about 9-12 months back around 2001/2002.  I was 17 and it worked pretty well for me.  The hardest part was packed lunches - I got soooo sick of ham rolls and pork rinds.  I think I lost a half-decent amount of weight, but since we went off it in favor of old-fashioned healthy eating (but cutting down on breads still), I had to re-lose the weight a few years later.  I've always known/believed that I eat too much bread/starch and every time I watch my diet, it is a conscious effort to cut down on those (or at least the 'white' version.  We eat wholewheat pasta and bread.  I'd love to eat brown rice, but it takes SO LONG to cook that I get discouraged and buy the cheap Tesco Value white rice).

Good luck!!

I'm on day 11 and woke up extremely dizzy this morning. The only thing I can think of is it could be caused by low sugar due to my extreme low carb and sugar free diet for the past ten days. I had a few pieces of wheat toast and some cereal in hopes of feeling better but at 3.15pm Im still feeling dizzy. Maybe it has to do with something else. If I don't feel better tomorrow I'll be off to the doctor.

Good luck!!

Thanks. 

I'm on day 11 and woke up extremely dizzy this morning. The only thing I can think of is it could be caused by low sugar due to my extreme low carb and sugar free diet for the past ten days. I had a few pieces of wheat toast and some cereal in hopes of feeling better but at 3.15pm Im still feeling dizzy. Maybe it has to do with something else. If I don't feel better tomorrow I'll be off to the doctor.

Are you low on potassium?  Low carb diets, when done correctly, are natural diuretics.  You have to make sure you're replacing water and replacing the salts that get washed out.  When I was on Protein Power, they recommended a potassium supplement in addition to a multi-vitamin/mineral for the first few weeks.  On Atkins, I just take the multi-vitamin and mineral and eat a half an avocado a day for Induction.  What you're describing does sound like it could be that...especially if you have leg cramps along with it.  IIRC, broccoli is also a great source of potassium.

On a totally unrelated note, I found out where to find unsweetened pickles (sour pickles I guess).  I always find what we yanks call relish in the "pickle" section of our local Sainsburys.  I can never find jars of what Mr. Moggs calls gherkins.  I found some cucumbers in brine in the Kosher foods section.  It doesn't look like they have any dill or anything, but they might taste ok.  All the other pickles (American sense) had sugar or malt vinegar.  I might be totally missing the "gherkin" section.  Ah, well, will report back on my brined cucumbers. 

I thought it could be low potassium also. I'm drinking gallons of water but can't seem to hold any of it. I eat broccoli nearly everyday but I boil the hell out of it so that probably doesn't help much. So a potassium supplement should help? What can I do in the meantime? I feel really crippled here!

I'm on day 11 and woke up extremely dizzy this morning. The only thing I can think of is it could be caused by low sugar due to my extreme low carb and sugar free diet for the past ten days. I had a few pieces of wheat toast and some cereal in hopes of feeling better but at 3.15pm Im still feeling dizzy. Maybe it has to do with something else. If I don't feel better tomorrow I'll be off to the doctor.

Argh, I know that feeling well. Having an apple or an orange helps a lot when I feel that way.

I thought it could be low potassium also. I'm drinking gallons of water but can't seem to hold any of it. I eat broccoli nearly everyday but I boil the hell out of it so that probably doesn't help much. So a potassium supplement should help? What can I do in the meantime? I feel really crippled here!

Well, if it continues, please see a doctor.  I am not saying this so that you don't go to a doctor, but it's not uncommon for low carbers to get light headed because of the water flowing out of their systems.  I wouldn't say, yeah take this potassium supplement because salts are something you need to balance.  If you were following a particular diet, I'd follow their recommendations with medical supervision.

However, there's really nothing wrong with eating some high potassium foods to see if that corrects it.  I Googled for some high potassium foods and found the following low carb high potassium foods:

3 oz of tuna, halibut, clams
3 oz of avocado,
1 cup of spinach, Brussels sprouts, or beet greens
6 oz of beef, turkey, pork

It looks like spinach is the best value with over 800 mg per cup (almost double a medium banana).  Maybe a large spinach salad with tuna or avocado for lunch? 2 cups of raw spinach with tuna would be 2162 + whatever you get from what else you eat during the day (broccoli has 456 mg per cup according to this btw).

You want to get at least 3500 mg a day of potassium.  Above 18,000 is too much.

What diet are you following?  Are you getting enough calories?  I personally don't get any dizziness once I am fully in ketosis, btw.  I don't feel a lack of sugar energy because my body is not using sugar for fuel any more.  The only times I've felt crappy after a few days into it is if I accidentally or on purpose went out of ketosis.

Hope you feel better soon.

I had about a pint of OJ and a multi vitamin and an hour later I felt better. I've done Atkins a few times before but never drank lots of water as I have been lately due to a bad UTI. Also I cut out coffee, tea and diet pop so it's just water for me. I think it was a great shock to my system.

I know I'm becoming the annoying crusader for sensible water intake, but this needs to be said. One of the first signs of over-hydration is dizziness. You shouldn't need to make yourself feel ill to lose weight. If you're not feeling well, STOP DRINKING THE WATER!!!

Yeah, Atkins in his '72 edition (and IIRC, his '92 version) said it wasn't necessary to force fluids.  He said keep hydrated, but there's need to over do it.  I am not sure what 2002 said because I've only skimmed it, but by then, the water for weight loss was pretty entrenched in most people's minds.

I've found that I need more water than normal when I am following this way of eating, but I doubt I do any of the formulas that so many say you need to do (double my body weight multiplied by the speed of light divided by the daily winning lotto number in fluid ounces or whatever).  I am encouraging my husband to drink more, but I always encourage him to drink more.