Going Low Carb

"All normal people love meat. If I went to a barbeque and there was no meat, I would say 'Yo Goober! Where's the meat?'. I'm trying to impress people here... You don't win friends with salad.” ~ Homer Simpson


OK, maybe Homer was taking it a little too far.  Salad is great - but the fact remains that most Americans don't eat nearly as much protein as they need.  (Or fat, either, but that's another post.)  American women are the worst of the lot!  A few strips of grilled chicken on a salad is not enough protein for a 130 pound woman.  And salad is not very filling.


I have decided to go rogue on the HCG.  For one thing, I've been gaining weight, and that is not acceptable to me.  Remember, for my height and frame, I should weigh about 135.  I'm at 170 - I've gained back 20 pounds.  Yes, it was emotional eating.  Yes, I kept the weight off for over a year.  I'm not knocking HCG.  But I'm also looking at other options.  Low carb seems to be the way to go.

I've noticed that cookies and chips will pack on pounds rapidly, but ice cream (high protein and fat) does not.  When I did low-carb for a few days, I saw a 5 pound weight loss in just a few days.  When on HCG, I would lose weight faster if I skipped the apple and the Melba toast and ate a ribeye steak (more fat) instead of lean meat. 

So I'm going to begin following a very low carb diet for a couple of weeks.  I'm interested to see how I react to it.  I'm loading up on saturated fats - bacon drippings to cook my eggs in, butter (real butter, not margarine!), whole milk, a tablespoon of coconut oil in my protein shakes, and meat with lots of fat on it. 

Yum.

I will keep everyone posted on my progress!

Struggling

"You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It's called perseverance." ~ Lee Iaccoca

I have been struggling with my weight since November, when I was at my lowest weight in years.  It's been going the wrong way on the scale, creeping back up to my high weight.  This is just no ok.  What am I doing wrong?

For one thing, I've been underestimating the amount of food I eat.  Today, I signed up with FitDay.com to start a food diary. I'm good at journaling anything, so hopefully (!) I will start to see where I should be adjusting my diet so my weight comes back down.

My intention is to go with a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.  Lots of natural fats (lard, butter, whole milk, olive oil, coconut oil, etc), not Frankenfats (margarine, shortening, etc), and delicious meats.  All the green veggies I can hold.  And gallons of water.

Given that you can't manage what you don't measure, I decided it was time to start measuring, instead of guessing (and forgetting about the bag of chips I absent-mindedly scarfed down while reading, etc).  I'm also going to include more walking in my plan - when switching tasks, taking a few minutes to walk around the block.  The idea is just to get moving, instead of sitting still for so long.

I am committed to this weight loss. My goal weight is 135, and I plan to get there by the end of the summer.  :)  I can do this! You can, too!

Eat Fat to Fight Fat?

I'd rather eat this than a salad any day!

Rich, fatty foods are like destiny:  they too, shape our ends.  ~Author Unknown

I've been reading about Gary Taubes and his work concerning weight (fat) loss.  I've found an interesting thesis - much like drinking water can help you stop retaining water, eating more fat can help you stop retaining fat.

Specifically, eating more saturated fat.  You know, the meat on a delicious ribeye steak, eggs, bacon, coconut oil, olive oil....


It turns out that as a nation, we eat too much sugar and not enough fat.


"Wait, Donna, what did you say?"


Sugar is the culprit.  Sugar and refined carbs.  We eat too much sugar and not enough fat.  


You see, calories in/calories out is a myth, as I discussed in a previous post.  Any self respecting woman will tell stories about eating nothing but salad for weeks trying to lose weight, while her husband, who eats big greasy steaks, decides to forgo a beer and maybe go easy on the Doritos, and loses weight like crazy.  Why?

Saturated fat.  She is starving.  She's hungry.  Salad just doesn't fill you up.  Ever.  (Ask me how I know.)  Lean meat isn't filling.  But throw some good, natural fat on it, and it will fill you up.

Sugar, though, sugar is another story. Sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Sugar causes insulin levels to spike, leading to a sudden drop, which leaves me (at least) shaky and hungry.  Not just hungry, RAVENOUS.  As in, I will eat anything if it will just hold still long enough ravenous.    Going through the pantry in desperation at 2am ravenous.  


Fat doesn't do that.  Fat triggers satiety, which means that you eat less because you feel full.  Come on - when did anyone binge on eggs, cheese, bacon, or meat?  You can't - the fat in these foods causes you to feel full.  


Commercial salad dressings are loaded in fats --- and sugar to match, so they are not very helpful in weight loss (unless you can find one that is higher fat, that's sugar free).  


Just as a helpful ancedote - I'm Southern, which means that anything that can be fried, will be fried.  My grandfather was put on cholesterol medication and a low fat diet following a mild heart attack.  His numbers kept going up and up - so, in true Harris fashion, he started to eat the way he liked again.


Fried potatoes.  Fried chicken.  Fried green tomatoes.  Fried eggplant.  Butter.  Eggs cooked in bacon drippings, and bacon.  Biscuits and gravy.


His numbers went back down.  


Maybe we're going about weight loss all wrong.

Load Day 3

Yes, I know, Pounds and Inches says 2 load days.  I always do better when I do a third.  I've had so much fatty foods today, I am looking forward to healthy food tomorrow!  (Steak and salad on the menu!)  I've got apples chillin' in the fridge, plenty of salad greens, Walden Farms dressing, steaks, boneless skinless chicken breasts - yum! 

I freaked out a little when I weighed myself this morning.  But then, I had to remember that the weight gained from loading generally comes off quickly.  The fat loading is essential for rapid weight loss in the first week.  It's kind of like retaining water.  If you're retaining water, the best thing to do is ... drink more water.  I'm out to lose fat, so it makes sense to try to trick my body into believing that there is plenty of fat available.  That way, it won't try to hold on to it.

So far today I've had cheesecake, eclairs, pizza rolls, sour cream, cream cheese fruit dip.  I feel so full and kind of sick.  Here's to a rapid weight loss!

Load Day 2

I'm not sure how much loading I can stand to do.  I really feel ill from all the fats and junk food.  I'll be glad to start the protocol on Monday. 

While loading, eat as much fat as possible.  (As Americans, this should be fairly easy to do.)   Most people are actually deficient in dietary fats due to strenuous dieting and the mistaken notion that fats cause you to be fat.  Fats are required in the diet for mental strength (fats build the brain and nerves!), help with beautiful skin, prevent aging, and create hormones.  I always cringe when I see parents put young children on fat restricted diets - and I'm not sure fat-restricted diets are that good for grown ups, either.

I never eat fake fats.  No margarine, no "fat free" dairy.  Full fat butter, full fat dairy, olive oil.  The only time I restrict fats is on a temporary basis.  (Carbs are what tend to cause me to gain weight - that and emotional stresses that lead me to overeat.)

Great foods to load on?

Sour cream, cream cheese, full fat diary, ice cream, avocados, nuts and nut butters, hamburgers and fried foods (this is a good time to say goodbye to them!).  You're not after carbs so much - but fat, fat, fat! 

The whole thing is rather counterinutitive to me.  Start a diet by eating fatty foods? Loading helps control hunger as the hCG kicks in.  And it really works.  And, believe it or not, loading properly with high fat foods helps you lose more weight! 

Don't skip your load days.  I'm off to go eat some ice cream!

Loading Day 2 (yesterday)

I'm frustrated now.  Nothing to do with HCG, it's because I thought I posted something yesterday in this space and it didn't show up.  Grrr!

Loading day 1

I started loading today for this round.  I'm almost concerned that I won't be able to eat enough.  I've had Wendy's,, and a milkshake, so far today. 

When I'm loading, I eat fats.  Lots of fats.  Cream gravy, fatty meats, ice cream, sour cream, ice cream (did I mention ice cream), and those eclairs I love so much.  Butter, gravy (I'm a Southern girl, I like good sausage gravy - or any other kind, for that matter), fried foods.  I try to keep it to healthy fats, but I don't always manage to do it.

If you're a coffee drinker, load days are the time to get all those creamy cappuccinos at Starbucks for 500 calories a cup.

This is my time to get binging out of my system for three weeks.  It's a good time to eat all those otherwise-forbidden foods (and remember why I don't eat at McDonald's - it always makes me sick).  I sometimes wonder if it's a mental re-set.  I do know that by the time Monday gets here and I'm going on the very low calorie diet, it's a relief not to have to eat so damn much.

Weight today = 160.4.  Goal weight = 125.

Loading Days

When you follow the HCG protocol, the first 2 - 3 days are spent doing something totally counter-intuitive. They are loading days.

The first 3 days of taking HCG, you load up on fats. Lots of fats. Literally - you gorge until you're sick, and then you gorge some more.

It seems bizarre to start a diet by gorging on high fat, high calorie foods, but there is a method to the madness. You are going to be eating NO fat at all for the rest of the round. You'll be living on lean meats, veggies, and small amounts of fruit and breads. And I do mean small.

Loading does 2 things. One is that it signals the body that it is OK to release bodyfat, as you're providing all the fat it can use. It prevents the body from going into starvation mode while the HCG is building up. Another is it curbs hunger, which will be vital the first few days of the protocol. If you don't load properly, you're going to have a terrible time with the round. (Ask me how I know. :/ )

You want as much good fat as you can possibly eat. Avocados, full-fat dairy, olive oil, butter, high fat nuts… I always took the opportunity to work through my fast food addiction by eating out as much as I could and eating things that would totally gross me out normally. I'd eat Wendy's and McDonald's till I thought I was going to be sick, and then go eat ice cream, and put sour cream on everything.

If you load properly, you'll REALLY look forward to the first day of the very low calorie diet (VLCD). It'll be a relief NOT to be eating.

I will be loading the weekend of July 4 to begin VLCD July 5.  Anyone want to join me?