As my readers have likely figured out, I like food. Maybe too much. In the wake of my divorce, my weight climbed to 242 pounds, an all-time high. I didn't look good, didn't feel good, and was diagnosed with hypertension. Something had to be done.
So I did it. And I've lost twenty pounds in a month. I plan to lose another thirty.
How did I do it? Initially, I eliminated alcohol,salt, sugar and caffeine from my diet. Completely. I started eating mostly fresh veg, with very little meat or poultry.
This generated some serious short-term weight loss. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of that, my energy level plummeted to the point where I was unable to function. So I had to make a change.
Happily, I came upon a blog that claimed you can lose twenty to thirty pounds in a month on something called the "slow-carb diet."
It's a simple diet. You eat 3-5 times a day, every meal has a protein such as eggs, meat, fish or poultry, a serving of legumes (beans, lentils) and a serving of low-carb veggies such as broccoli, lettuce, spinach. What you avoid like the plague are any sugars (including fruit,) any grains or simple carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, oatmeal, wheat, bread, etc) and any caloric beverages (milk, sodas, fruit and vegetable juices.) So you basically stick to the protein/legumes/fibrous veg formula, plus water in abundance as a beverage.
The idea behind this is that insulin is the fat depositing hormone, and is secreted when your blood sugar is high. Glucagon is the fat-burning hormone, and is secreted when your blood sugar is low. Glucagon is also secreted when amino acid levels are high. So you want a diet with plenty of protein, but with no rapidly assimilated carbohydrates that will spike your blood sugar. You do this by using legumes as your primary carbohydrate source. They are loaded with fiber and assimilate slowly, giving you a low, stable release of carbs over several hours after eating. Fibrous veggies like spinach and broccoli contribute very little in the way of digestible carbs, but they give other nutrients, and more dietary fiber, and contribute to a feeling of fullness. It's a healthy, sustainable diet.
I've been on the slow-carb diet for a little over a week now. I eat four times a day, healthy portions. My energy is back. My weight, right now, is plateaued around 222 pounds, but my waist is continuing to shrink. This suggests that I am actually building lean muscle while I burn fat. I haven't been doing resistance exercise, just a three mile walk most evenings, and occasional core work, so if I am building muscle that's a very exciting development.
The diet is also supposed to include one misbehavior day per week where you throw the diet out the window and eat whatever you crave. The problem for me is, I really don't crave anything. I am satisfied. So I skipped my misbehavior day this week. Next week, I'll see if I can convince myself to have a misbehavior day and eat all the garbage that I'm supposed to be craving.
I'll keep you all posted on the results.
So I did it. And I've lost twenty pounds in a month. I plan to lose another thirty.
How did I do it? Initially, I eliminated alcohol,salt, sugar and caffeine from my diet. Completely. I started eating mostly fresh veg, with very little meat or poultry.
This generated some serious short-term weight loss. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of that, my energy level plummeted to the point where I was unable to function. So I had to make a change.
Happily, I came upon a blog that claimed you can lose twenty to thirty pounds in a month on something called the "slow-carb diet."
It's a simple diet. You eat 3-5 times a day, every meal has a protein such as eggs, meat, fish or poultry, a serving of legumes (beans, lentils) and a serving of low-carb veggies such as broccoli, lettuce, spinach. What you avoid like the plague are any sugars (including fruit,) any grains or simple carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, oatmeal, wheat, bread, etc) and any caloric beverages (milk, sodas, fruit and vegetable juices.) So you basically stick to the protein/legumes/fibrous veg formula, plus water in abundance as a beverage.
The idea behind this is that insulin is the fat depositing hormone, and is secreted when your blood sugar is high. Glucagon is the fat-burning hormone, and is secreted when your blood sugar is low. Glucagon is also secreted when amino acid levels are high. So you want a diet with plenty of protein, but with no rapidly assimilated carbohydrates that will spike your blood sugar. You do this by using legumes as your primary carbohydrate source. They are loaded with fiber and assimilate slowly, giving you a low, stable release of carbs over several hours after eating. Fibrous veggies like spinach and broccoli contribute very little in the way of digestible carbs, but they give other nutrients, and more dietary fiber, and contribute to a feeling of fullness. It's a healthy, sustainable diet.
I've been on the slow-carb diet for a little over a week now. I eat four times a day, healthy portions. My energy is back. My weight, right now, is plateaued around 222 pounds, but my waist is continuing to shrink. This suggests that I am actually building lean muscle while I burn fat. I haven't been doing resistance exercise, just a three mile walk most evenings, and occasional core work, so if I am building muscle that's a very exciting development.
The diet is also supposed to include one misbehavior day per week where you throw the diet out the window and eat whatever you crave. The problem for me is, I really don't crave anything. I am satisfied. So I skipped my misbehavior day this week. Next week, I'll see if I can convince myself to have a misbehavior day and eat all the garbage that I'm supposed to be craving.
I'll keep you all posted on the results.
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