The great thing is that I haven't had cravings for Cheetos or chips and salsa. You do lose the cravings to carbs eventually.
I know when I explain this way of eating (WOE) to people the first thing they say is "Oh no, I could never give up pasta/tortillas/pie/ice cream, etc (insert carb of choice)". We all feel that way in the beginning, but it is worth it, and you can...if you really want to.
Eating this way and exercising in 5 minute increments throughout the day makes me feel awesome. Those normal aches and pains that I had in my knees and shoulders are gone. I can get up out of a chair or my car after a long drive without limping. I sleep great and I feel like even my disposition is better. I'm more focused at work and life just seems a little brighter each day.
And look at the great foods I get to eat. Ground turkey cheeseburger without the bun. Flax seed muffin in a mug with butter and sugar free strawberry preserves, Taco Salad, Pork Carnitas with Scrambled Egg, Strawberry and Pecans as a snack.
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Chicken with broccoli slaw, Chile macho and sliced avocado; chicken drenched in vegetarian Chile Verde with queso fresco, Cucumber-Tomato and Bacon Salad with Mayo, Blackberry Yogurt Popsicle (home-made) and Chicken with the same cucumber-tomato and bacon salad.
You would think that celebrating a special occasion would be a good reason to go off this WOE, but actually no. See that yummy strawberry topped cheesecake? That's low carb. See the slice with the chocolate crust? Also low carb. And it's so much fun trying to make new varieties of salads. Salads are my go-to food, I love them and I find eating a huge salad fills me up and satisfies me. Chicken and Bacon on Romaine, Chicken Salad on Romaine and I even went to a favorite Mexican restaurant and had the Chicken Avocado Salad which was delicious! Sure...I had to bypass the Chips and Salsa, but looking good in my clothes sure makes it worth while!
No time to make big elaborate meals or plan and organize menus for the week? No problem, most restaurants will lettuce wrap a burger for you. Or you can just buy a regular burger, like the Quarter Pounder with Cheese pictured below, and throw away the bread. The funny thing is I don't even miss the bread and in fact I can taste the meat and fixings much better without the bread over powering everything and filling me up. Couple of snacks are pictured, crushed fresh strawberries with cottage cheese, slices of avocado wrapped in oven roasted deli turkey slices (this was yummy by the way) and more cottage cheese made like a parfait with crushed berries and a few cashews for crunch. Plus my old stand by- chicken on romaine lettuce with ranch dressing!
I even took a trip to the coast and kept it low carb by ordering bacon wrapped shrimp, they were fabulous. I dipped a fork in that sauce but you could tell right away that it was packed with sugar so I didn't touch it. Shrimp didn't even need it! On National Tequila Day I made myself a low carb margarita using a sparkling lemonade water and tequila, zero carbs! I also bought a little kitchen gadget that makes zucchini noodles. I made some and microwaved them and tossed them with some cooked ground turkey and added 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and they were creamy and delicious and felt like comfort food. Some days you want something warm and not just a salad.
I've also been enjoying a new brand of deli meats called Healthy Ones. the Oven Roasted Turkey Breast is lower in carbs and sodium that the regular brand I used to buy.
One day I was really wanting a scrambled egg sandwich with mayonnaise, cheese and lettuce, so I just made one without the bread. It was super good. You can LC most foods and I'm learning new ways to do so all the time.
So that's a quick wrap up of what I've been eating. As you can see I definitely have not been starving myself. I'm feeling really good about this new WOE. I'm not worried about what the scale says as long as I feel good and my body feels good.
That was me in the beginning. How dare you ask me to give up my sandwiches, pasta, and rice. Those were my livelihood, my healthy grains. I was taught these were good. But I gave it a try, because of you and I got hooked on bacon and eggs and salads. Great post Alicia.
ReplyDeleteThanks Angie! Yes, I remember..lol. Pasta was the hard one for you to give up. And now I don't even think you really miss it, do you?
DeleteI don't miss it at all. I only grave sweets. Chocolate is my kryptonite.
ReplyDeleteAnd the funny thing is I don't really care that much for Chocolate. I like White Chocolate. I'm not a big fan of sweets, mainly I like salty, chips and cheetos and popcorn.
DeleteVery good post to explain about how easy low/no carb eating really is. I sent it to a friend who I thought would find it helpful and hopefully inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThanks Heidi, I appreciate the comment and the forwarding of the post. I'm trying not to make it tough on me this time. My kids are all grown so I don't have to spend a lot of time cooking so I try to make things that can transition to other things, like making chicken one day and then eating it as a salad or with a side dish instead of cooking a different chicken dish every day. I'm feeling great and losing inches and that's all the incentive I need!
DeleteI like your enthusiasm about this low carb diet.
ReplyDeleteI have no special problem in giving up things or acquiring new habits. I gave up cafeine, substitute sugar with stivia, but when I tried giving up or reducing bread ; I noticed some strange behavior of my bowel movements, and I got scared. Bread is too basic and essential to play games with it. I may, however, try it again sometime as I think it's the main culprit in weight gain.
I've never been a big bread eater. Growing up we mostly had flour tortillas, but even those are not something I ate a lot of. My biggest problem was chips, tortilla chips and things like cheetos, potatoe chips and popcorn, all nothing but carbs. But I've given them up since July 13th and at first it was hard.
DeleteThere is something called Induction Flu. When you first give up carbs or lower them to no more than 20 carbs, your body does go through a change and there are some temporary side effects, called Induction Flu. You will experience headaches, bad breath or a metallic taste in your mouth, irritability, leg cramps, insomnia, nausea, etc. It basically feels like you’ve been hit with a nasty flu. Symptoms vary from person to person.
But they are temporary and it means you are in ketosis and that's a good thing and that when the weight loss begins.
You could try giving up bread a few times a week and see how that goes for you. Just like I started exercising 5 minutes at a time, you can do it slow too.