…or that’s what most people think of someone who is overweight. We can even think that of ourselves when we become a little thicker than normal (or a lot thicker than normal) in certain areas of our body (or all over our body). That’s also typically what a doctor will tell you after perusing your charts and seeing what you weigh. “You need to eat healthier and exercise!” he’ll tell you. A fat lot he knows (pun intended), as doctors receive no nutritional training in med school.
How many of us have beaten ourselves up emotionally because we don’t have the “willpower” to be thin and to get to the gym every day to “work off” those Oreo’s we ate last night? How many of us have tried a low fat, low calorie diet, listening to our bellies rumble – - watching the “willpower” crumble – - because we’re just so damned hungry? And if we manage to have the willpower to get thin on a low fat, low calorie diet, how many of us have kept that weight off for very long after we’ve reached our goal? You and I both know the answers to those questions.
When I was overweight I used to wish there was a way I could just wake up thin one morning. Of course, thinness never materialized for me that way, but I always wondered why it was so frustratingly hard to lose weight. I was doing everything I was told I should do in order to lose it…eating at least 1200 calories a day but no more than 1500, everything low fat, and doing aerobics and weight training. I didn’t (and still don’t) see how anyone finds low fat food appealing, let alone how anyone is expected to eat that stuff every day for the rest of their lives! It is the most bland, dry, tasteless food that ever was created. I also made sure I ate a lot of grains, the food group that is the base (or the one with the most recommended daily servings) of the USDA Food Pyramid. I always grilled, broiled or baked the very lean meat I would eat. Usually that made all my meat have the taste and texture of shoe leather. I only had low fat salad dressing on my salads. I sometimes topped those salads with low fat or fat free shredded cheese (think: almost inedible rubber-like stuff). The only way I could really lose weight on those diets was to lower my calorie intake dangerously low. And lose weight I did, but boy, was I ever hungry! So eventually I would eat, and eventually the weight always came back on, and then some.
The last time I got fat I knew I could never do the low fat, low calorie thing again. If being thin meant starving or counting calories or points, I was resigned to the fact that I would always be fat. It wasn’t worth the torture to me.
It wasn’t until I saw a photo of me at the highest (non-pregnant) weight I had ever been that I decided I had to do something. Ironically, the man who was in the photo with me had recently lost a significant amount of weight on a low carbohydrate diet. He suggested I give it a try. I had played around with low carbing before, but never really gave it a fair shot. I didn’t have anything to lose (but fat), so I thought I’d try it. It was that or nothing for me, period. Three years later I am 60 pounds less than I was before I started, and very happy, healthy, and satisfied. Keeping the weight off with low carb eating is the most effortless thing I’ve ever done. So, you want to know how you can do it, too? Okay, but you have to swear not to keep this a secret when you succeed, alright? Here goes…
1. Fats and Proteins – If you do this way of eating right, the major percentage of what you eat will be fats, followed by proteins. No, you don’t need to eat spoonfuls of lard, it just works out the the fat contained in the meat in addition to what you cook it in makes the ratio fall heavy toward fats. It is important to note that the truly healthiest of fats for the human body are saturated fats. The low fat for heart health stuff you’ve had crammed down your throat? A load of hooey. Fear not, you will not go into cardiac arrest eating high in saturated fats and low in carbs. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true…your good cholesterol will go up, your bad cholesterol down, and your triglycerides will also plummet. Eat until you are satisfied. Fat also helps with the feeling of satiety. What NOT to eat: “Fake” meat made out of soybeans, faux bacon (the real stuff is meat candy, baby!).
2. Fibrous Vegetables – Green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, cucumbers, radishes…you get the picture. It is best to go light on tomatoes, onions and carrots as they have a higher carb count, but you don’t have to eliminate them completely. What NOT to eat: Potatoes, Corn*, Beans**.
3. Nuts, Cheese, Heavy Cream – These things are to be eaten in moderation, but still enjoyed. No more than 4 oz. of cheese or heavy cream a day. All cheese should be full fat and of the “hard” variety, i.e.: Cheddar, Swiss, etc. Mozzarella, Parmesan, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack are fine. Good nuts are Almonds, Macadamia, Walnuts, Pistachio, Hazelnuts, Pine nuts and Pecans. If you find your weight loss stalling eliminate these things for a while and see if you start losing again. What NOT to eat: Peanuts***, Cashews (too high in carbs), Processed Cheeses, Milk, Half and Half.
4. Fibrous Fruits – Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Melons from the Musk Melon family, Coconut. What NOT to eat: Bananas, Watermelon, Pineapple, Grapes, Dried Fruit, Apples, Peaches, Plums, Apricots. Fructose (the sugar in fruit) will raise your blood sugar and mess with your insulin levels, and will interfere with weight loss. Go very light with fruits, and don’t introduce them into your diet until you’ve been eating low carb for 2 or 3 weeks, as they may cause cravings for other carbohydrates. Tread lightly!
So, notice what’s missing? Grains. That’s right, even whole grains. You don’t need them, and you won’t miss them after a couple weeks on the low carb eating plan. So, what else? Beans (legumes). But what about fiber, you ask? You really don’t need that, either, and you won’t have a problem being regular because your fat intake will be up, and you are eating plenty of fibrous vegetables.
What about exercise? Go ahead, take a walk, but don’t kill yourself. Exercise isn’t bad for you, but it will work up an appetite. And that’s okay, just make it low carb when you’re hungry. You will find as you travel down the low carb path that your energy will increase. You aren’t fat because you don’t exercise. You aren’t lazy, you aren’t a glutton, you’ve just been fed the wrong information by those who have an agenda other than the actual health of our now obese nation. More on that another time…anyway…
That’s the very basics. The next low carb post I’ll do will be a Fact or Myth post, with questions like, “Is it true your body needs carbohydrates to function?” and, “But isn’t eating low carb expensive?” In the meantime, if you have questions, ask away!
Here are some links with some great information:
Sites:
Primal Blueprint (Mark’s Daily Apple)
Check out the links in this post, lots of interesting information:
This post is informative, as well, and it highlights Dr. Eades comment to me from the Lard post:
Books:
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*Corn is not a vegetable, but a grain.
**Beans are legumes, and very high in carbohydrates.
***Peanuts are not true nuts, but are legumes.
