Remember I'd finished reading Gary Taubes's "Why We Get Fat" over a week ago? Turns out that meat could be good and bread could be bad? Well, I needed more info. So, I skimmed Dr. Arthur Agatston's South Beach for some information and then I bookmarked Nutrition Data for handy reference.
And after all that, I still had no real idea of what exactly I should be eating. But, to do nothing still makes me part of the problem...
I finally decided to limit my carbohydrate intake to under 100 daily. Also, I wanted to steer clear of foods high on the glycemic index (high in sugars, even natural ones). Usually, foods high in carbs are high on the glycemic index...but then you get something like carrots, which are good for you, but high in carbs. Crazy...
Monday's weigh-in was 132.6 lbs. Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal and a half cup of blueberries - 34g carbs. And just like that, one-third of my carbs were used up for the day. And, despite the stick-to-your-ribs reputation of oatmeal, I was hungry for a snack about three hours later at 10:00 a.m. (string cheese = 1g carbs). The rest of the day was low (mostly lunchmeat, cheese slices, and spinach). A small pastry from the local bakery and an apple ran me a combined 38g carbs. Day one = I came in at 100g carbohydrates on the nose. The oatmeal thing was disheartening; after all, I'd eaten the stuff every day for several years. But, in the name of science, I decided to forgo it for the duration.
Tuesday's breakfast was lighter, carb-wise (Fage yogurt, blueberries = 13g carbs), and again, I was ready for a snack around mid-morning (another stick of string cheese). One cup of sliced peaches at lunch time for 12g, but I didn't mind the splurge as it satisfied my craving for something sweet. One slice of whole wheat bread as an after-school snack set me back 14g, whereas a Flatout flatbread I ate later in the evening only cost me 8g. Day two = 80g carbohydrates.
Wednesday and Thursday, I decided to get crazy and change my breakfast to high protein. Two scrambled eggs cooked up with one large slice of deli ham and a 1/4 cup shredded cheese for breakfast - 4g carbs. An 8 oz cup of red grapefruit slices that accompanied this meal went for over double that amount (10g). Meat and cheese roll-ups for lunch were next to nothing carb-wise, so I felt okay about the 12g on the peaches-and-cottage-cheese combo. Day three total = 85g carbohydrates. Day four total = 81g carbs.
On Friday, I got a hankering to go out to a restaurant for breakfast, and so I ordered a nice sausage and cheese omelet, which I figured ran me 10g carbs. I was satisfied until lunch at 11:45 a.m. A foray into the nut-as-a-snack realm netted me 8g for 1 oz. of cashews, which seemed like a lot for so little...however, I ate these around 3:30 p,m., when I am at my weakest, hungriest self - and those nuts tied me over till dinner time. My dinner was a Jimmy John's Unwich - 2g carbs. Check out an unwich here. They are so good!
Saturday morning, I awoke and weighed in: 131.4. I'd lost over a pound in five days - and I was eating plenty of eggs, cheese, and meat. Some vegetables, a little fruit, a little nuts. But no grains. And, I'd only done some pretty light exercise (maybe a twenty-minute walk around the block daily). I didn't feel starved ever, and I didn't feel like I'd spent my entire week on a treadmill.
Of course, you'd need my bloodwork numbers before and after to really have the whole picture here. I mean, sure I'm eating low-carb, high-fat and I'm losing weight - but could I be increasing my risk for heart disease? Gary Taubes would tell me no. But who knows, really?
This past weekend, naturally, was a bit of a botch job. I stupidly made (and consequently ate) some chocolate chip cookies with my daughter on Saturday, and I also attended a baby shower, which just gave me some kind of license to eat sugary, high-carb crap. In the end, I indulged, but not in a terrible, gluttonous way. My weigh-in this morning after a week (kind of) with this eating style: 131.8 - only a half-pound up from Saturday's weigh-in and almost a pound down from the previous Monday.
Of course, I am eating less food, which may account for the loss...but am I eating less because I'm subconsciously depriving myself of food (the diet mentality) OR am I really not hungry for food because I'm satisfied by the high-fat foods I've been consuming? Huh. C'est conundrum. The research shall continue.
And after all that, I still had no real idea of what exactly I should be eating. But, to do nothing still makes me part of the problem...
I finally decided to limit my carbohydrate intake to under 100 daily. Also, I wanted to steer clear of foods high on the glycemic index (high in sugars, even natural ones). Usually, foods high in carbs are high on the glycemic index...but then you get something like carrots, which are good for you, but high in carbs. Crazy...
Monday's weigh-in was 132.6 lbs. Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal and a half cup of blueberries - 34g carbs. And just like that, one-third of my carbs were used up for the day. And, despite the stick-to-your-ribs reputation of oatmeal, I was hungry for a snack about three hours later at 10:00 a.m. (string cheese = 1g carbs). The rest of the day was low (mostly lunchmeat, cheese slices, and spinach). A small pastry from the local bakery and an apple ran me a combined 38g carbs. Day one = I came in at 100g carbohydrates on the nose. The oatmeal thing was disheartening; after all, I'd eaten the stuff every day for several years. But, in the name of science, I decided to forgo it for the duration.
Tuesday's breakfast was lighter, carb-wise (Fage yogurt, blueberries = 13g carbs), and again, I was ready for a snack around mid-morning (another stick of string cheese). One cup of sliced peaches at lunch time for 12g, but I didn't mind the splurge as it satisfied my craving for something sweet. One slice of whole wheat bread as an after-school snack set me back 14g, whereas a Flatout flatbread I ate later in the evening only cost me 8g. Day two = 80g carbohydrates.
Wednesday and Thursday, I decided to get crazy and change my breakfast to high protein. Two scrambled eggs cooked up with one large slice of deli ham and a 1/4 cup shredded cheese for breakfast - 4g carbs. An 8 oz cup of red grapefruit slices that accompanied this meal went for over double that amount (10g). Meat and cheese roll-ups for lunch were next to nothing carb-wise, so I felt okay about the 12g on the peaches-and-cottage-cheese combo. Day three total = 85g carbohydrates. Day four total = 81g carbs.
On Friday, I got a hankering to go out to a restaurant for breakfast, and so I ordered a nice sausage and cheese omelet, which I figured ran me 10g carbs. I was satisfied until lunch at 11:45 a.m. A foray into the nut-as-a-snack realm netted me 8g for 1 oz. of cashews, which seemed like a lot for so little...however, I ate these around 3:30 p,m., when I am at my weakest, hungriest self - and those nuts tied me over till dinner time. My dinner was a Jimmy John's Unwich - 2g carbs. Check out an unwich here. They are so good!
Saturday morning, I awoke and weighed in: 131.4. I'd lost over a pound in five days - and I was eating plenty of eggs, cheese, and meat. Some vegetables, a little fruit, a little nuts. But no grains. And, I'd only done some pretty light exercise (maybe a twenty-minute walk around the block daily). I didn't feel starved ever, and I didn't feel like I'd spent my entire week on a treadmill.
Of course, you'd need my bloodwork numbers before and after to really have the whole picture here. I mean, sure I'm eating low-carb, high-fat and I'm losing weight - but could I be increasing my risk for heart disease? Gary Taubes would tell me no. But who knows, really?
This past weekend, naturally, was a bit of a botch job. I stupidly made (and consequently ate) some chocolate chip cookies with my daughter on Saturday, and I also attended a baby shower, which just gave me some kind of license to eat sugary, high-carb crap. In the end, I indulged, but not in a terrible, gluttonous way. My weigh-in this morning after a week (kind of) with this eating style: 131.8 - only a half-pound up from Saturday's weigh-in and almost a pound down from the previous Monday.
Of course, I am eating less food, which may account for the loss...but am I eating less because I'm subconsciously depriving myself of food (the diet mentality) OR am I really not hungry for food because I'm satisfied by the high-fat foods I've been consuming? Huh. C'est conundrum. The research shall continue.
OMG! You put your weight online! Very brave and open of you...good job!
ReplyDeleteAnd nice job becoming very aware of what you're eating.
I've become a big reader of the glycemic index because of Mom and the diabetic scare...and it wouldn't hurt me to watch for it, too.
I've noticed being really aware and cooking for the two of us, has already helped.
(A cookie now and then doesn't hurt :D )
And those Unwichs sound good...I'll go get one.
Triglycerides of 850 five years ago, yu can die at 850, I'm skinny but had fat blood. Changed the way I eat and it was in the 300's in 60 days and at 150'ish in another 60 and remains there still. Took no meds for it. So I know of your interest in carbs, as carbs, meat fat, and exercise impact triglycerides. Not all carbs and glycimic indexes are created equal. Avoid too many carbs from sugars and refined flour, go for whole grains and the carbs and glycimic index has less harm, same with juice and processed or canned fruit and vegi's compared to fresh fruit and vegi's. The harm to your blood levels will be less even though the numbers may look somewhat the same. It has to do with the condition of the natural fibers in the fresh foods which slow the pace your body deconstructs food which alters the absorption rate of sugars and starches.
ReplyDelete@Kimba: Yay for food awareness! I'm starting to hone in on the GL too.
ReplyDelete@yellow: Exactly! This is the stuff I'm just now learning about - it's kinda life-changing, actually.