My experience with low carb diets
Determined to lose weight by the time I start my new job at the end of the summer, I'd been eating a low carb, high fat diet (Atkin's induction) for almost two weeks, but I found the fat made me feel pretty awful. Although I'd gone into ketosis by the second day, I didn't lose tremendous amounts of weight as promised. My skin began to break out all over my body, my nails broke, and I was eating too much cheese, cream, and fatty meats to feel healthy, but for some reason, mostly my total love for cheese, I couldn't limit myself. I could barely keep up with my normal exercise routine. I missed eating Greek yogurt, and I also missed eating vegetables.
On the other hand, I love eating low carb, and really feel like sugar, wheat, corn, and starchy vegetables are quite bad for my overall health. I have diabetes in my family, poor skin, and super-sensitive reactions to eating carbs, which leads me to believe I have some of the problems related to insulin resistance. I started searching for a healthier, lower fat low carb diet without the fatty cheeses, and that's when I came across the Dukan diet. I eagerly read the book, and decided that I would begin the diet on the day after Mother's Day, which also coincides with the end of my semester (I am a college instructor).
My plan
Since I am already in ketosis, I am anticipating that the Attack Phase won't be too difficult for me. My main challenge will be giving up the cheese, but I love Greek yogurt so much that I think this will make up for it.
I do plan to treat myself a little on Mother's Day, but will try to stay as low-carb as reasonable while not missing out any fun with my daughter. One of my mother's day plans is also to take my daughter on a long walk through the park, preferably after our big meal.
My plan is to stay in Attack for only a few days and then move to the Cruise phase.
I am the sort of person who loves to track data, so I will continue to count calories and look at macronutrient ratios just to see how this diet stacks up to regular calorie reduction diets. I find that looking at charts and graphs is a great motivator for me overall. I will also weigh myself each morning and take my measurements each Monday.
Every day I want to track not only my weight, but also my overall health, the condition of my skin, my hunger levels, energy levels, and my moods. I think it is important that any eating plan not only takes into consideration weight loss, but overall well being.
Exercise
My hope is that I can handle vigorous workouts on my vegetable and protein days, and have my protein only days be my "light exercise" days on which I mostly walk. I did read on the Dukan site that a person can add more carbs before an intense workout (for example, a glass of orange juice). I will start with timing my vegetables before workouts, and then see if I need to add extra carbs to reach my full performance levels. If I do add these carbs, they will probably just be berries, which I love to eat.
Planned Variations
I am considering two planned variations to the diet. Instead of oat bran, I will use ground flax seeds in small amounts. This will help me stay away from gluten and keep up my levels of healthy fats, while still getting some of the benefits of fiber. As well, I am going to allow myself small amounts of unsweetened chocolate or cocoa (usually mixed with a tiny bit of stevia). If these changes seem to stall my progress, I will reconsider them as I move through the program.
Determined to lose weight by the time I start my new job at the end of the summer, I'd been eating a low carb, high fat diet (Atkin's induction) for almost two weeks, but I found the fat made me feel pretty awful. Although I'd gone into ketosis by the second day, I didn't lose tremendous amounts of weight as promised. My skin began to break out all over my body, my nails broke, and I was eating too much cheese, cream, and fatty meats to feel healthy, but for some reason, mostly my total love for cheese, I couldn't limit myself. I could barely keep up with my normal exercise routine. I missed eating Greek yogurt, and I also missed eating vegetables.
On the other hand, I love eating low carb, and really feel like sugar, wheat, corn, and starchy vegetables are quite bad for my overall health. I have diabetes in my family, poor skin, and super-sensitive reactions to eating carbs, which leads me to believe I have some of the problems related to insulin resistance. I started searching for a healthier, lower fat low carb diet without the fatty cheeses, and that's when I came across the Dukan diet. I eagerly read the book, and decided that I would begin the diet on the day after Mother's Day, which also coincides with the end of my semester (I am a college instructor).
My plan
Since I am already in ketosis, I am anticipating that the Attack Phase won't be too difficult for me. My main challenge will be giving up the cheese, but I love Greek yogurt so much that I think this will make up for it.
I do plan to treat myself a little on Mother's Day, but will try to stay as low-carb as reasonable while not missing out any fun with my daughter. One of my mother's day plans is also to take my daughter on a long walk through the park, preferably after our big meal.
My plan is to stay in Attack for only a few days and then move to the Cruise phase.
I am the sort of person who loves to track data, so I will continue to count calories and look at macronutrient ratios just to see how this diet stacks up to regular calorie reduction diets. I find that looking at charts and graphs is a great motivator for me overall. I will also weigh myself each morning and take my measurements each Monday.
Every day I want to track not only my weight, but also my overall health, the condition of my skin, my hunger levels, energy levels, and my moods. I think it is important that any eating plan not only takes into consideration weight loss, but overall well being.
Exercise
My hope is that I can handle vigorous workouts on my vegetable and protein days, and have my protein only days be my "light exercise" days on which I mostly walk. I did read on the Dukan site that a person can add more carbs before an intense workout (for example, a glass of orange juice). I will start with timing my vegetables before workouts, and then see if I need to add extra carbs to reach my full performance levels. If I do add these carbs, they will probably just be berries, which I love to eat.
Planned Variations
I am considering two planned variations to the diet. Instead of oat bran, I will use ground flax seeds in small amounts. This will help me stay away from gluten and keep up my levels of healthy fats, while still getting some of the benefits of fiber. As well, I am going to allow myself small amounts of unsweetened chocolate or cocoa (usually mixed with a tiny bit of stevia). If these changes seem to stall my progress, I will reconsider them as I move through the program.
No comments:
Post a Comment