I have been on a low carb diet for 6 weeks, and have lost 45 lbs. I have been told that I can eat complex carbs like sweet potatoes, I would Like to know will sweet potatoes effect my diet in anyway. I have been doing really good by staying away from carbs, but am looking for a more variety of foods other then the chicken, beef, pork, cabbage, eggs, fish, and collard greens. any and all help will be appreciated.

Congrats on the weight loss. Are you following any particular low carb plan such as Atkins or Protein Power?

Whether you can add sweet potatoes to your diet depends on a few things such as your current rate of weight loss, how much weight you still have to lose, and your activity level. While sweet potatoes do have less starch (complex carb) and more fiber than white potatoes, they still pack a pretty good dose of carbs. If I were to add sweet potatoes to my diet, I would start out slow, say 10 grams or less of starchy carbs per day for a week or so until you see the effect it has on you since everybody responds differently. I don't have a carb counter book handy, but I'm guessing that 1/2 of a small to medium sweet potato would give you around 10 grams of non-fiberous carbohydrate.

Other ideas to add more variety to your diet while still keeping carbs to a minimum:

Lentils (about 10 grams of non-fiber carbs per serving and lots of fiber). These are about the lowest carb legumes/beans that you will find. I like to cook them with some bacon in there - yum.

Salads of all types, just stay away from the sweet dressings.

Steamed broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots (easy does it with the carrots).

Low carb bread. There are several varities out there and most can be found in health food type stores. Most have anywhere from 3-7 grams of starch carbs per slice. Natures Own makes a low carb wheat bread with 7 grams of carbs and it is available in most grocery stores. I would be cautious with adding bread to your diet as it can trigger cravings for more and more. I would start out with one slice per day and maybe work up to 2 slices and no more if you are still getting the results you like. This way you could have a slice of toast with breakfast or maybe a sandwich at lunch.

Plain yogurt with active cultures. Unsweetened yogurt lists about 12-14 grams of carbs (lactose) per 1 cup serving on the label, but in reality there is only 3-5 grams of sugar in there because the bacteria has consumed most of the sugar and converted it to lactic acid (that is what gives yogurt that tart taste).

Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc. These have about 10-15 grams of non-fiber carbs per serving.

Hang in there.

Alan (low carb and -35 pounds for 4+ years now)

acually during the week, I lose 1lb. a day I work in a warehouse So i get to sweat some fat off. I take Hydroxycut everday as well. I pretty much eat the same things everyday. Chicken, Chicken, Chicken, Salads (lettuce & carrots only with french dressing), cabbage, along with the other few things i talked about in my first post. So If I eat sweet potatoes I should exercise more to burn off the extra carbs? I'm hitting the weights and treadmill lately.

If you're losing a pound a day, I wouldn't worry about adding anything. You may eventually need to make up for the added calories moreso than the added carbs, but you're far from that point.