Low Gi/gl (low Carb/high Protein) Eating

[Sailorgal]

Abstract - funny about the pieces of paper comment! Yes, I prefer the phone. As for stores, with the HUGE Indian population there it shouldn't be difficult to find! Yes check out Asian retailers. And you have Wholefoods in the UK? Didn't know they branched out there!

Britt - you can check yelp for reviews on anything including grocery stores in your area. I learned of some other ones closer to me that way. You can also order online.

 

[Hashi]

I decided to post here again to see if anyone has any advice - any suggestions would be welcome. I need to post about calorie intake, and how to make sure I'm getting enough calories, so please don't read if it's an issue for you to think about things like that.

I need to keep to a low glycaemic index and higher protein way of eating because I'm trying to reverse serious hair loss and for other health reasons. These are already getting better. I also have to avoid various foods because of food intolerances (properly tested) and I'm a vegetarian. All this is being done with my doctor, and initially I had some consultations with a nutritionist. It's not an eating disorder, or a fad diet, or a weight loss diet. It's for health.

A couple of weeks ago I had blood tests for blood sugar level, cholesterol, iron and other vitamins and minerals, and all were very good except Vitamin D which I've now got a D3 supplement for.

I'm finding it hard to eat enough, given the restrictions on what I'm eating. I'm losing weight too quickly and want to slow that down. I feel good and don't have blood sugar lows or cravings, but I'm physically hungry and have to eat frequently - four or five modest meals a day plus a couple of snacks. But what I'm eating is so low in calories I'm not sure how much difference the number of times I eat makes. The only way I can see to increase my intake is to eat more nuts, seeds, avocados (I think that translates as alligator pear?) and oil. This is also what my doctor recommends.

Yuk! This is a struggle because I find those foods so rich I only want to eat a tiny bit. Brazil nuts are the worst for me - I can barely eat two blended into a bowl of soup - and pumpkin seeds are difficult too. I'm wondering if I gradually increase my intake, my tolerance will also increase?

So I'm thinking:

- I don't fry or roast (in order to keep the glycaemic index down) but I'm now trying to saute at a fairly low temperature if that goes with the food I cook - eg courgettes and aubergines
- Add about a teaspoon of oil, such as olive oil, to my food immediately before eating it. I'm trying to emulate the Mediterranean drizzle, but more than a teaspoon is too much.
- Always add some chopped nuts or seeds to my food. Hmmm... that might need to be either/or with the spoonful of oil. Not sure I can do both.
- Finally open that bottle of hemp seed oil in the fridge and take a couple of spoonfuls a day, straight.
- Have more nut butter or pumpkin seed butter on my oatcakes.
- Also have one snack of nuts each day.
- Try to incorporate tahini (sesame seed paste) into more things.
- Eat avodaco every day - the nutritionist said that was OK to do
- Find a way to eat some coconut flesh, not just the milk. Not sure how... I used to make a nice satay sauce, but since I now can't have peanuts or tamari/soy sauce, I'm not sure that idea has much of a future.

Apart from those ideas, I'm really stuck. Does anyone have any others? Pleeeease?

Because of various food intolerances, what I can eat at the moment is:

Nuts (not peanuts)
Seeds
Beans
Legumes (not lentils)
Natural protein powders (eg pea powder)
Wholegrains (no wheat, and only a small amount, for glycaemic index reasons)
Quinoa
Oils
Vegetables (the non-starchy ones)
Berries

I'm vegetarian (not going to change that). Currently I can't eat eggs or dairy of any type (eg not goat milk etc). So I'm vegan now.

I can eat starchy vegetables like parsnip and carrot instead of the wholegrains... but then is that even fewer calories?

I feel obsessive writing all this. I don't want to be thinking so much about food in this way, but I need to sort this out. I'm still not going to weigh, measure or count anything, I don't want to get into that.

If anyone has any ideas... especially ones that aren't so oily... I'd be glad to hear them!

 

[Abstract]

Hashi I don't think you are being obsessive and I understand what you are saying. I will answer when I have the opportunity.

 

[piratelady]

Nuts are definitely the way to go. You get a lot of calories for the amount of food you are eating - they don't fill you up. Are there other nuts than Brazil nuts that you like? Such as pistachios, walnuts, peanuts? What about getting calories in your beverages? That's another way to get more calorie into your diet.

 

[Sailorgal]

Hi Hashi,

For awhile I ate very similar to you. I think I mentioned coconut butter/cream before. You tried that?

I don't know where you are, but I don't remember if you could eat couscous?

I've also had those Shirataki noodles and eat lots of seaweed. Hmmm, I never found a problem not eating enough calories though. I was always hungry but didn't lose/gain weight.

I've also seen rice wrappers (like wraps). Not sure if that's available to you.

 

[Abstract]

Hi Hashi, I am back!

Please ignore whatever is not helpful or relevant or that you or your dietician have excluded already. I certainly don't think you are alone in this dilemma . Once one takes out carbs its not that easy to eat extra calories. Especially with no meat.

I found that some of the things that were blocking me were : personal preference 1 (I also am not keen on oily), mouth feel 2 and psychological perception 3. That might not be the same for you of course.

Theoretically you should be feeling hungry as your body is in deficit as it is loosing weight. So normally there are reasons that are stopping us from being driven to fill that deficit in any way possible. It can also help to think whether you find physical fullness difficult in any way and why. Not sure if your nutritionist has given you a fullness and hunger scale.

So for me when it came to oil and nuts it was all three of those things.
1. I don't like oily things much and felt very much as you do about nuts. So I found what I needed to do it find ways to introduce them where I did not notice the oiliness or that I was eating them.
2. I guess this links to point 1. I found ways to change the mouthfeel and therefore make them more pleasant for me to eat.
3. For this I guess I found some alternative ways to perceive them and practised thinking of them in that way. Almost like an affirmation. At times that was imagining them feeding muscles (much later on in recovery!) or at others just thinking of the protein in them rather than the oil amongst other things.

By making a vinaigrette instead of just adding oil to my food it helped points 1 and 2. Lemon is an alternative and zest can help too. I also use "fresh" tasting herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage. It helps with eating nuts and seeds too. Oh and chilli can help too I find.

I also found grinding up nuts or seeds and adding them into food that way helped. Houmous is also a great help as one can have it as a an accompaniment to food or as a snack. You can easily make your own too and if you find it rich add some zest and extra lemon.

I find oily foods easier to eat as puddings. I therefore found a few ways of preparing them that helped. Baking a piece of fruit and and adding minced nuts and some pure cocoa powder is delicious. You can also add vanilla, oil and lemon. I use Green and Black cocoa as it has no sugar added. Cocoa is excellent for you. Very high in anti oxidants and flavanoids.

If it was me I would try to approach it from multiple directions as it all adds up and it sounds like you have a fair amount of calories to find considering you are still loosing like this. So if it was me I would:

• Increase my serving size of legumes and beans - protein. That may take getting used to. In the past I have had this situation and I had to rethink what full and hungry felt like.
• Add small amounts of oil at every opportunity like you mentioned.
• Add nuts and seeds when possible.
• Use sauces such as Houmous as they add calories to the meal.
• Like Saliorgal said coconut cream could help or you could crush coconut and add it to your food as a sauce. lemon grass and ginger or gilangal are a great way to cut the richness/taste as is chilli and lime.
• Use more substantial vegetables when you can. Such as carrots, peas and butternut squash rather that cabbage and broccoli.
• Eating food cold rather than hot is less filling.
  

Depending on what bothers you it can be helpful to drink enough water when ones protein intake goes up.

I am assuming that your have spoken to your nutritionist (N) and that she feels increasing your carb intake at present will cause too much inflammation? Often a small amount can help and I believe sweet potatoes are one of the best forms. And if one has it with protein and oil it helps a lot too.

Have you spoken to your N?

 

[Hashi]

Thank you for your replies! I'm so grateful to get help with this.

Nuts are definitely the way to go. Are there other nuts than Brazil nuts that you like?

My problem is that they're all so rich (oily). I try for brazil nuts because of the selenium. I can do pecans and walnuts better. Almonds and hazelnuts are too hard for me to eat as they are, because I have problems with my jaw, but I could put them in the chopper. Pistachios would be so good... but I'm not meant to have them because I also have to avoid yeast and apparently they're a culprit. *sighs"

I think you're right about nuts, and I need to try to eat more types as well as to eat more. I'll persevere. Thank you.

I think I mentioned coconut butter/cream before. You tried that?

You mentioned couscous but that's wheat, also a carb, so I can't go in that direction. Seaweed or the yam noodles woudn't add many calories I don't think. I do eat some seeweed. Rice wrappers would also be carb... it's very frustrating to have to keep low carb, athough it's doing me good!

I tried coconut cream, which I already had in the cupboard, and it turned my stomach. I had to throw it out, and I almost never throw food out - I can't afford to. I couldn't cook with the coconut oil I had either. I feel like I can't manage anything so horribly greasy. I'm wondering whether to try tinned coconut milk, rather than cream, but I'm having to work up to it because of the cream experience.

I can't really imagine what to make with it, or with coconut flesh. I suppose I'll have to try a mild curry. Or mulligatawny (curry soup). I don't like spices, but I can cope with mild curry powder. This might be part of my problem with eating oily things. I don't like the spicy or sour things that can counter the grease. I don't have lemon (don't like it, and too much enamel erosion on my teeth anyway) and I don't like chilli type of heat.

I like horseradish/mustard type heat, maybe I could try that to cut through the richness? I'm struggling to imagine what weird dish I would make, with mustard and coconut milk. Maybe cooked watercress could give some sharpness without being a totally weird combination? I do cook with watercress.

Sailorgal, how would you normally use coconut milk (or cream)?

What about getting calories in your beverages?

Can I do that? I don't have any dairy or sugar... is there anything else I could add? I drink water, herb tea and green tea. I hate honey. Oh dear, I wish I liked more things.

:banghead:

I think I will have to learn to love the healthy greasy things!

 

[NarcSis]

Have you done any research on flax seeds? I'm not sure of their caloric value, but they were suggested to me because of my impaired glucose tolerance and their ability to lower the gi of a meal when added in.

I'm thinking you probably can't eat dried fruits, like raisins or dried pineapple/cranberries, right? Coconut milk added to tea is a good way to increase the caloric value without adding carbs, it tastes different from regular milk, but I find it's pretty good.

Sorry I'm not much help, it's hard for me to stay on a healthy low gi eating pattern because I also feed a man - who gets pouty face and says, "what's this?" when I place a grainy dish in front of him, I usually just answer, "it's steak." LOL.

We also eat a lot of gourds now too, so good, so filling and you can increase their gi slightly by baking them, not sure if the starch release would be a problem for you though. Peanut oils and Avacado oil can be a good way of adding different flavors.

Sorry, not much help, my diet is not very restrictive, in fact, I will still eat sugary breakfast cereal as a treat once in a while - bad, bad, for a pre-diabetic. :)

 

[Hashi]

It can also help to think whether you find physical fullness difficult in any way and why.

I think I'm OK with that. I'm finding more and more that I can't eat a big plateful in one go, but I can eat the equivalent amount in two platefuls an hour apart, say. I know this is meant to be a healthier way of eating, but it's not a very convenient one. I'm really starting to wonder how I'll manage when I go back to work. I'll have to take a Santa's sack of food with me every day!!

So for me when it came to oil and nuts it was all three of those things.
1. I don't like oily things much and felt very much as you do about nuts. So I found what I needed to do it find ways to introduce them where I did not notice the oiliness or that I was eating them.
2. I guess this links to point 1. I found ways to change the mouthfeel and therefore make them more pleasant for me to eat.
3. For this I guess I found some alternative ways to perceive them and practised thinking of them in that way. Almost like an affirmation. At times that was imagining them feeding muscles (much later on in recovery!) or at others just thinking of the protein in them rather than the oil amongst other things.

This is helpful, thank you! I've been thinking I need to try a physical increase/acclimatisation but I like the idea of combining that with working on my perception. That fits with my general way of doing things. I think I'll focus on nutrient value as well as the protein because that's very important to me too.

By making a vinaigrette instead of just adding oil to my food it helped points 1 and 2. Lemon is an alternative and zest can help too. I also use "fresh" tasting herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage. It helps with eating nuts and seeds too. Oh and chilli can help too I find.

I also found grinding up nuts or seeds and adding them into food that way helped. Houmous is also a great help as one can have it as a an accompaniment to food or as a snack. You can easily make your own too and if you find it rich add some zest and extra lemon.

This is where I run into my issues with chili and lemon (see above post)! I'm starting to think I might try a little mild chili, since I can have a bit of mild curry powder. Lemon I can have a tiny bit of in hummus or satay, but literally about three drops. Can't have vinegar because of tooth enamel loss... sorry, I know I must be the most awkward person to give suggestions to!

I'm wondering about making my own hummus. Unfortunately it would have to be without garlic (can't believe I've had garlic taken away from me!) so it would be a bit odd, but everything I eat is odd so that's an idea. Maybe with some spring onion? I'll give it a try.

Also I like the idea of the herbs. I suddenly felt inspired to add some ground white pepper yesterday and that made it a bit better. Herbs are a really good idea. And I can eat them!!!!! I can grow them myself, too.

I find oily foods easier to eat as puddings. I therefore found a few ways of preparing them that helped. Baking a piece of fruit and and adding minced nuts and some pure cocoa powder is delicious. You can also add vanilla, oil and lemon. I use Green and Black cocoa as it has no sugar added. Cocoa is excellent for you. Very high in anti oxidants and flavanoids.

Oh, good idea. Chocolate itself is OK for me (but obviously not made into bars with milk and sugar). I find cocoa very bitter but the combination of sweet, bitter and oily is probably the kind of thing I need. I'll try it.

Like Saliorgal said coconut cream could help or you could crush coconut and add it to your food as a sauce. lemon grass and ginger or gilangal are a great way to cut the richness/taste as is chilli and lime.

This crosses with my post above about this. I hadn't thought of ginger. I can have ginger! Also lemongrass, probably. OK, will try.

Can't quite imagine coconut "sauce" on my food, although I can give it a go. Are there any other things you would do with coconut flesh, or do you ever use the milk (the fatty milk from a tin)?

Use more substantial vegetables when you can. Such as carrots, peas and butternut squash rather than cabbage and broccoli.

OK... peas are good. I could have more. Patrick Holford (PH) classes them as non-starchy, which is surprising to me, but I'm not going to argue, I'm just going to eat lots of them before he changes his mind.

The others are definitely starchy (carbs), which according to PH means they have to replace grains in a meal rather than be in addition. But I'm thinking about what you say about eating more beans and that's interesting... I have an equal amount of carbs to protein, so more beans means I can eat more carbs, whether that's grains or starchy vegetables, or both together.

I will have a think about how to become even better friends with beans...

Eating food cold rather than hot is less filling.

Yes, but it's nasty! :p

OK, I do know that I can't afford personal preferences on top of everything else. I'm already making myself eat salad and I don't like raw food. It's a good point, I'll have to make friends with cold food too. (I have been known to warm up my salad before eating it, just so it isn't so very cold!)

Thank you so much for your ideas, and to Sailorgal and piratelady too. I have a number of things to try, and renewed hope, which is wonderful. I really appreciate it.

 

[NarcSis]

Sorry that should have been, decrease their gi rating - gouds - oh, the scale doesn't fit describing it!! Let's say it this way, if they're baked, their gi rating worsens slightly but not so much they're not still comparatively low gi.....make sense??????

 

[Hashi]

Hi Medic,

Thanks for your reply.

Flax seed is very good, I have it with blueberries and low-fat coconut milk every day as a smoothie. I can recommend it.

Coconut milk added to tea is a good way to increase the caloric value without adding carbs, it tastes different from regular milk, but I find it's pretty good.

Maybe I'll try it with the cocoa powder Abstract suggested. I'm thinking that might work.

it's hard for me to stay on a healthy low gi eating pattern because I also feed a man.

lol, does he believe you about the steak?

I've been thinking, I have a friend who has a friend who's vegan, male, about 6 feet 6 inches tall and does a physically active job, so maybe I should ask for some advice from him!

We also eat a lot of gourds now too, so good, so filling

I think that would be things like squash and pumpkin? Abstract also suggested that, I think I do need to incorporate them more. I'll have to steam them, but that's OK.

Peanut oils and Avacado oil can be a good way of adding different flavors.

That's interesting, I'm thinking of getting some avocado oil. It has a high smoke point (ie is stable up to quite a high temperature) so it might be good for sauteeing.

I will still eat sugary breakfast cereal as a treat once in a while - bad, bad, for a pre-diabetic. :)

Maybe you coud sprinkle some ground flax seed on it? ;)

 

[Hashi]

Sorry that should have been, decrease their gi rating - gouds - Let's say it this way, if they're baked, their gi rating worsens slightly but not so much they're not still comparatively low gi.....make sense??????

Just saw this. Yes, it makes sense, I didn't know the gi rating would still be quite low.

How do you find out gi values? I have quite a limited list. Is there a good website or anything?