Low carb diet / nutrition - introduction and explanation

Introduction:

Many of the tips and tricks used here refer to an individual "10-week introductory programme". In this "programme", the reader should be introduced to the low-carb diet and achieve his first successes. It should be said that the low-carb diet is worth a general change of diet. Each individual will decide for himself after this "programme" how he wants to continue. However, in order to avoid a yo-yo effect or similar, it is advisable to generally maintain this type of diet, which brings with it other benefits in addition to weight loss. Allergy symptoms can be reduced or eliminated. Stomach problems and health risks (diabetes, dental problems, deficiency symptoms) can even be completely eliminated. Through this "10-week" introductory programme, the authors of this guidebook, with the addition of a balanced sports programme, were able to lose 10-20 kg of body weight in a period of 70 days.

Many people turn to the low-carb diet because they want to eat healthier and/or lose weight. When first researching the internet or specialist literature, one encounters many variations of the low-carb diet ? from the Atkins (several phases with very few carbohydrates and a lot of fat) to the Ketogenic (no to minimal carbohydrates), the Low Carb-High Fat (hardly any to few carbohydrates and a lot of fat) or the ?New York? diet (similar to Atkins but sport-oriented). Diet (similar to Atkins but sports-oriented), you will come across many, often very controversial, types of low-carb diets. However, as this guide is not based on scientifically developed diets but on successes from personal experience, these diets are only mentioned for the sake of completeness. In this guidebook, the best of all dietary forms is mixed ? but this is not intended to be presented as a dietary form in its own right. Rather, this guidebook provides the best introduction to a new attitude towards life and body.

Before changing your diet, you should always consult a doctor (see also "For whom is low-carb suitable").

What does ?low carb? mean?
And what are carbohydrates?

 Low carb' stands for 'low carbohydrate', or more precisely: the reduction of carbohydrates in our everyday diet. So far, so good - in order to reduce carbohydrates in our diet, we must of course first understand which foods or ingredients contain carbohydrates. In principle, this is quite easy to do with various simple combs: Starch, sugar, cereals (rice, wheat, maize, millet, rye, oats) and the foods made from them (bread, pasta, cakes) are true carbohydrate bombs, as are potatoes, peas, beans and lentils. In fact, some vegetables also contain relatively high amounts of carbohydrates and should be enjoyed with caution in a low-carb diet ? Peppers, tomatoes, carrots or the Hokaido pumpkin should be mentioned here, even if you should not necessarily avoid them because of this.

That I'll lose weight if I give up sugar?.o.k, well, I kind of understand that - but why do I have to give up my beloved potatoes, pasta ...?

Unfortunately, carbohydrates are not always simple, sweet sugar ? because sugar comes in many forms. For example, polysaccharides ? a horrible word, another carbohydrate. Polysaccharides are multiple sugars and are found, for example, in starch - but in order not to bore you further with in-depth facts, we'll keep it short:
Starch and polsysaccharides is a common sugar, especially in natural foods: potatoes, cereals, pulses, fruits themselves and tubers are unfortunately full of this sugar and are metabolised by the body in a similar way to normal industrial sugar.

Now we ask ourselves, rightly for a start:

What are we allowed to eat then?

The low-carb diet, when explored on your own, seems rather one-sided and dull at first ? because the industrial aids you were taught to use are omitted: flour, sugar in all its forms and wheat.

But the opposite is the case: low carb is not dull ? Low carb makes you inventive, creative and awakens your desire for something new.

Basic building blocks of the low carb diet consist of meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products and cheese, healthy fats (e.g. in the form of some nuts and oils) and proteins. Proteins (protein) and healthy fats replace carbohydrates and help the body build muscle (burn fat) and provide the necessary supply of life-sustaining and important calories. Of course, this guide does not leave us alone ? it provides over 50 recipes as well as a weekly plan for starting a new, healthy and low-carb life.

By the way: If you look a little deeper into the matter, you can even determine the carbohydrates and their usability in the body. This is done, among other things, with the GI ? the glycemic index. This is a value that is supposed to determine the effect of carbohydrates on the blood sugar level. There are low-carb diets such as the Glyx diet or the Logi method that work with this index. For athletes and strength athletes, the GI can play an important role in stress or build-up phases. However, this guide is not primarily concerned with the GI, as we first want to get to know carbohydrates and how to deal with them for the purpose of weight reduction.

How does losing weight through low carb work?

By switching to a carbohydrate-reduced diet, a change in metabolism takes place ? this is then called catabolism.

The liver organism produces the body's own energy carriers (ketones) from the fat reserves. The body is thus forced to use its own fat reserves as a source of energy. The result is weight loss and a reduction in insulin levels.

For whom is low carb suitable?

In principle, you should discuss the change in diet with your family doctor or have your health checked.

Women who are pregnant, people with cardiovascular problems, older people and people with kidney and liver problems should avoid this type of dietary change or only do so in consultation with their family doctor or under medical supervision.

What successes through low carb?

The glycogen level is emptied through the change in diet. Glycogen binds water and therefore you lose a lot of water weight, especially at the beginning.

From my own experience, I have lost almost 10 kg in 10 weeks through a form of low carb nutrition, of course in conjunction with a lot of exercise and a constantly negative calorie balance. Because one thing is clear: If the calorie balance is positive despite a low-carb diet, i.e. more calories are consumed than the body actually needs, weight gain can also occur within the low-carb diet. However - and this makes the fear of counting calories that has just arisen disappear again - the low-carb diet makes you feel full much faster and, above all, for longer. A calorie surplus is therefore only possible in rare cases, so that not every single "little calorie" has to be counted - however, keeping a "food diary", especially at the beginning, does no harm - because it motivates and teaches every low-carb newcomer a basic understanding of the ingredients.

Sport and lifestyle

Sport plays an important role in any dietary change that is associated with weight loss. The body looks firmer and more trained.

Intensive whole-body strength training is important for this. Strength training and the intensive building of muscle groups changes the basal metabolic rate of the body, so the body consumes more calories to sustain itself (muscles consume more calories).

Women in particular do more cardio training than strength training for fear of building up too many muscles. It takes years to build up muscles to look like a bodybuilder, and it is very difficult for the female body to build up such extreme muscles anyway. So women should train like men - high weights, few repetitions and constantly set new training stimuli, so if you want to lose weight, you should not only change your diet, but also do intensive full-body strength training at least 4 times a week, which you can do in a gym, of course, but also at home. As a tip: just ask the people who do bodybuilding or strength training how they eat and what their training programme looks like. These people have worked hard to look like this, provided of course that they don't dope or use illegal drugs.

About muscle building and strength training: It's not that easy to become Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't be afraid of building too many muscles and you can see the muscle build-up slowly and gradually and you won't have bodybuilder arms from one day to the next ? the people who do bodybuilding would be happy.

Also the training in the "bodybuilding area" or strength training area where many people with more muscle mass train in front of the "I find myself so cool in the mirror". Don't pay attention to the others it's your body you want to reach your goals put on some music let them show you the equipment beforehand put on blinders and train without paying attention to the others, you will also notice that the mirror is not only there to see how good you look it has a purpose so that you can control your posture and the correct execution to avoid consequential damage, especially with free weight training.

Cardio training is important for endurance. A good combination of strength training and cardio training is ideal. Always do the strength training before the cardio training or on a separate day.

MOTIVATION, DISCIPLINE WEIGHING/MEASURING

First of all, you have to want it yourself. If you don't set yourself a goal (weight loss, allergy reduction, healthier eating) or expect miracles like "20 kilos in 4 weeks" from a low-carb diet, you should first define your goals and then approach a dietary change in a structured way.

The power of two hearts

Of course, a change of diet, especially at the beginning, is not an easy patch - because an already "impure" and trained eating behaviour is like an addiction. Mutual motivation and control is very helpful here. However, if you have a strong will, you can do it on your own.

You should set yourself realistic goals!

As already mentioned, the low-carb diet does not offer a magic bullet; the primary focus of this dietary change should also be on healthy eating, and only then on weight loss. However, if you want to use the low-carb diet as an introduction to a better body image and thus weight loss, you should set yourself healthy and realistic goals. Weight reductions of 1 kg/week are not uncommon with this diet. So if you also embark on a 10-week introductory programme, you can expect a good 10kg weight reduction (depending of course on the starting weight/body type) if you use it correctly.

Motivation

Weight/Body Curve/Photos

For example, I only weighed myself once a week - always on the same day - every morning directly after getting up. But you should also measure yourself at the same time - measuring yourself is almost more important, as you learn over time. If you like, you can enter the results of the weighing/measurement in a small diary - so you can see at regular intervals what you have achieved! If you like - and this is a premium tip - take a photo of yourself in your underwear at the beginning of the dietary change, print it out and hide it somewhere in a drawer. After the first 4-6 weeks, take this photo again and compare it with the photo from the beginning of the change - I promise: A motivational boost that gives you a real boost in the 6th week!

There will also be times when you don't lose any more kilos, but your body changes anyway. Muscles weigh more than fat, so especially if you do sports (muscle building training) you can lose fat despite gaining weight. You can get a fat scale or have yourself weighed at the gym/pharmacy/doctor to get a more accurate analysis. My goal was first to see "what will happen in 10 weeks?" What will I achieve in 10 weeks through disciplined dietary changes in combination with exercise. You can cross off on the calendar how many days you have already done and how many days you still have to do, which gives you an additional boost of motivation, because when you see how many days you have already kept up, you think twice about sinning.

After a certain time, eating days become an important part of a low-carb diet. In the beginning it is necessary to follow a strict low carb diet for a certain period of time (recommendation: 10 weeks), but after a certain time the metabolism adjusts to the new diet and you might not lose weight anymore. So we give the body a full "shock load" 2-4 times / month with everything that the low carb diet does not allow otherwise. And why? To irritate the metabolism so that it doesn't get stuck!

Diszilpin

Just don't buy "unhealthy" carbohydrate foods so you won't be tempted to sin, what's not there won't be eaten and so the stimulus won't be on the table. (Stick Snickers directly on your butt)

Conscious shopping! Pay attention to what people buy, how they look, etc. That can be a motivation. Because: YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE

Eating out and participating in "normal" social life

Eat out

It seems like a big challenge at first but it's not that difficult, choose the meat products with vegetables, ask if you can get more vegetables instead of potatoes, choose salad and get the dressing extra, ask what's in it and how it's prepared, all meat and fish that is not breaded can be eaten almost without problems.

"normal" socially acceptable life

this is also possible you can barbecue with homemade salads so you know what is inside (meat, fish, cheese, vegetables) for the guests who do not eat low carb you simply add bread.

You can make fondue here too, just don't eat any of the bread.

Raclette on New Year's Eve etc. is also no problem - the ideal low carb meal - you can "grill" on the top of the plate and only you decide what you put in your pan and you know what's inside. You don't need bread anyway and if you are creative you can add a dip or dressing (e.g. mayonnaise).

"When the coffee visitor arrives" here you will find some ideas under the heading Recipes. It is also possible to make both cakes and biscuits in low carb and a "normal" cake as well.

Even if you have visitors in the evening and you want to cook, no problem, you can choose a meat or fish dish with vegetables, make a fake mashed potato for you and a few potatoes for the guests who don't want to eat low carb.

Low carb products and where to buy them?

First of all, an overview of the foods that belong to the low carb diet. It is very important to always look at the nutritional information, how many carbohydrates and how much protein are contained in the product, here you first notice how much sugar/carbohydrates are contained in many products.

Which products should one always have in the house as part of the LC diet? 

• Eggs
• Curd/Yoghurt/Milk
• Cheese
• Meat
• Fish
• Nuts
• Vegetables (except pulses, which are only eaten in small quantities).
• Fruit (again, only to a limited extent as fruit contains a lot of fructose)
• Fat (healthy fats)
• Protein shakes
• Courgette for fake noodles,
• Cauliflower/Broccoli for Fake Rice
• Cottage cheese
• Tuna in its own juice
• Almond milk
• Soya kernels

When things have to go fast / Recipes for work

• Cut the peppers in half, place a slice of turkey breast and feta in the pepper half and briefly cook in the microwave.
• Kebab plate (forgo the spicy red sauce and ask about the nutritional values of the other sauces and whether the meat is made with breadcrumbs!)
• Burgers are easy to prepare, e.g. with a burger press or you can bake them yourself in the oven. You can then have them cold at lunchtime on a protein roll/ toastie topped with vegetables and e.g. cheese (e.g. "you may" gouda slices) or you can warm the patty briefly in the microwave.
• Omelette with vegetables and possibly ligh ham or turkey breast. There is now an omelette maker for the microwave.
• Protein shake possibly spiced up with some Natreen fruits and/or yoghurt.
• Yoghurt or quark (attention yoghurt has many carbohydrates only in small amounts) with Natreen fruits
• Cut vegetables into sticks and prepare a dip from low-fat curd cheese with fresh herbs and spices.
• Pre-cook and reheat in the microwave at work
• Scrambled eggs
• Tomato-Mozarella (without balsamic vinegar!)
• Avoid salads and starchy vegetables (corn, peas, etc).

Low carb snacks for in between meals

• Almonds (unsweetened)
• Poultry salami Stickado but has a lot of fat only in small amounts
• Dried meat
• Vegetable sticks
• Nuts and seeds with low fat and carbohydrate content
• Cheese cubes ( mozarella balls, gouda cubes, resin cheese )
• Salmon ham filled with cream cheese and rolled up
• boiled egg
• Soy milk
• Jelly sweetened with stevia
• Curd cheese with protein powder or simply with sweetener & fruit

Tips and tricks

• simply use ground unsweetened almonds, peanuts or walnuts for breading e.g. escalopes, feta, Camenbert or goat's cheese for salads etc.
• you can make pureed "fake mashed potatoes" from broccoli and cauliflower
• you can make "fake spaghetti" from zuccini
• Place the cheese crisps, lightened cheese or Harzerkäse flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook at 180 degrees until brown and crispy.
• Bake feta, camenbert or goat cheese wrapped in bacon in the oven
• always brush the pan with a brush - this saves a lot of fat
• Stretch sauces with vegetable broth or simply puree a little vegetable, this saves cream
• Prepare in the oven saves fat
• Replace protein drinks in part with water

Recommended Training (equipment) for at home

• Camping mat
• Dumbbells for screwing with discs
• Exercise ball
• Stepper
• possibly a barbell