The other day I read that mister anchovy had shed himself of 50 pounds since last October, basically by following a low-cal, low-carb diet. And he inspired me to try the same. As most of you know, I’ve been whinging about being overweight for years and have started various eating/lifestyle change plans without any weight loss success. Well, I did lose about ten kilos after the emergency op, but that is hardly an ideal weight loss method. And so, for the past ten days I’ve been seriously low-carbing to see how well I could stick to it, and it turns out that it’s pretty easy to do (though I did allow myself one slice of toast yesterday).
So starting today I shall add low-cal to the low-carb plan and see how that goes. There are just so many reasons that a low-carb diet makes sense, especially for cancer survivors. And for the past month I’ve been going to the gym five days a week (doing pilates and cycling as well as yoga) so I think I’m all set up to finally do this for real. I’ve been wearing this uncomfortable “fat suit” far too long…
Wish me luck!
casa azahar 
Good luck!
At first I had read that mister anchovy had followed a lol-cat diet (=^_^=)
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No way! He’s got four cats *and* a Newfoundland dog.
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Hmm. I’ve always been thin, whatever I eat. One of those people. I do read Shapely Prose (kateharding.net), and find some very interesting stuff there.
TRiG.
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Yeah, Nog is like you. Nobody believes that he actually eats more than me. You guys are annoying! Mind you, neither of you are a 53-year-old woman with hormone issues…
Kate Harding – nope, not my cup of tea.
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Good luck!
I find that good planning really helps. I don’t wait for meal times to eat. I have breakfast at about 6:00 a.m. and then at around 8:30 I have some no-fat yogourt. By about 10:30, I’ll have a piece of fruit or some raw veggies, and then some protein – a bit of meat or cheese or an egg at maybe 11:30. I don’t get really hungry because I keep eating. I’m just careful about what I do eat. I find if I load my fridge with a good variety of veggies and always have plenty of fresh fruit on the counter, it’s easier to make those good choices. At dinner time I usually have some meat and lots of veggies. About once each week I have a bigger dinner, something I really like.
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Your method is a very good one, mister anchovy. Several small snacks a day as opposed to three main meals. I think that’s where most “diets” fail. It’s important to never get so hungry that it interferes with your day and makes you feel bad.
So far I’m having a pre-gym brekky (7am) of 3 digestive biscuits and coffee, and then afterwards I have a second brekky (11am) of low-fat yoghurt, fruit juice and green tea. Lunch (2pm) is protein and veggies. Which is the main meal of the day here. Then another protein and veggie snack (9pm), usually with a few melba toasts.
I got The Low-Carb Diet Solution a couple of months ago, which more or less told me what I already knew, though there are a few interesting recipes in there. I am doing what you recommended earlier and keeping LOTS of veg around. Especially broccoli, carrots and zucchini. I am also keeping a supply of The Sauce around, as it’s a very tasty low-fat alternative to alioli and perfect for a veggie dip.
Thing is, the low-carb diet is also supposed to be good for reducing inflammation in the body, which is important for inhibiting cancer cell regrowth. All I know is that after ten days of eating low carb (without worrying about calories yet) I felt a LOT better. Sure I still miss my carbs, but it’s a low (not a NO) carb diet. And I think I’ll take a page out of your book, mister anchovy, and give myself a nice carby treat once a week.
Anyhow, so far so good…
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Good luck, Az! You can do it!
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Az – love that you’re taking inspiration from the 30-day LC Solution, but please please please do NOT try to cut calories while you’re low-carbing! It’s simply not safe to cramp up two of the three macronutrients – you need to keep a steady intake of protein and fats while you’re reducing carbs if your carb intake is <50g/day. One particularly outrageous example of this kind of omg-don't-do-this is KimKins; this is a little perspective about the low-carb low-fat approach: http://tiny.cc/EJC8t
Disclaimer: Laura, the LC guide at about.com is a long-time LC friend, and I do trust her journalism skills. But the issues with KimKins were the.hot.topic in the low-carb world the last couple years.
I admin the Dr. Eadeses' forum (the couple who wrote the 30 Day LC Solution.) I was not a LC believer when I first started – but I was really sick of losing the same 10 lbs over and over again using exchange plans and WW and other stuff. It does take a long time to recognize that calorie control ala those 'diets' I used before isn't really relevant in the context of low carbing. Over the last eight years, I can honestly say that the times when I *stop* losing are the times when I don't eat *enough* and my calories fall or stay below a certain level.
Yeah, you can eat too much, even as a low carber – but that generally doesn't happen right in the beginning. If you can blow through a cup of aioli or macadamia nuts in a sitting, and do that three times/day, then you might need to re-examine your food issues. 😉 But while I do focus on getting in a lot of lean protein, I eat my share of nitrate-free organic and locally made chicken and pork sausage, too. I don't take the skin off my poultry. I use good olive oil and butter. When I could eat nuts, they were my go-to snack (now it's nut butter!) I don't necessarily add extra fat to things, but I don't shy away from fat if the food already contains it. My most successful intake level for weight loss is an average of around 1500-1600 calories/day…and I'm a five-foot-nothing woman who can't exercies near as much as you do and right now is around 110lbs lean body mass!
I'm right there with you (54, and now in full physical menopause after being in and out of metabolic menopause for the last six years.) And the weight loss after I stopped chemo last November has been painfully slow – less than a pound/month. Then again, most Americans GAIN a half-pound per month, so I'll take my slow but steady losses. And it's coming, just slower than I like. OTOH, my docs are happy because on low carb I can still lose the extra weight safely, and without raising the red flags of cancer markers (sudden weight loss is a signal for me, unfortunately…more reliable than CEA.)
Anyway – you've just started. Listen to your body. Don't eat when you're full. I wouldn't aim to go overboard with your calorie intake, but don't let over-concern about calorie intake get in your way, okay? In my experience, it does take awhile to get to a zen-low-carb place, where you understand what your body needs and can just do it without obsessing about calories. Meanwhile, journal your intake in parallel with your weight and measurements. You should find, as most of us do, that as long as your calorie intake is reasonable, it can be as much as 300-500 calories more per day than most low fat 'diets' and you can still successfully (and safely) lose weight.
And if you need reinforcement, you might pop into one of the low carb forums – a little more fun (usually) than places like Colon Club. 😉
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Lots of excellent info and advice, Gaelen. Thanks. I think I know what you mean about the “zen low-carb” place. I’m there some of the time. And yes, I don’t want to start obsessing about calories (or even thinking about them at all) as I’ve spent far too much of my life doing that. Even keeping a journal feels borderline obsessive to me. I think I like the idea of just eating slight variations of the same things I like every day, then give myself a treat at weekends, like mister anchovy is doing. I’m already dreaming of making a lovely mushroom risotto this weekend…
It really does feel better eating like this. I think it suits me. And Nog loves that when we go out for tapas now he gets to eat all the potatoes and bread (though I usually munch on a couple of picos).
I’ll stop by that forum one of these days. I’m so busy doing biz stuff online these days that I have barely had time to read my favourite blogs!
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good to hear that its low-carb, not no-carb: otherwise I’d worry about you not getting enough energy to burn for all that exercise! Good luck, though, sounds like an excellent plan.
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