"One of the very nicest things about life is
the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote
our attention to eating." - Luciano Pavarotti
Foodie Fest
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Low Carb Eating: The Abbreviated Version
- First.... if you haven't seen this
yet, go watch Big Fat Fiasco. Run along; I'll wait until you get back.
- There are all kinds of low carb diets
(the Atkins Diet, the Anabolic Diet, the
Ketogenic Diet, the Zone Diet, the Paleo Diet, The 17 Day Diet, and more).
They all claim to be The One that will change your life. And they
could, if, you change your life. :D
- When I'm talking about low carb
eating, for me,, I'm talking about 30-35 carbs a day. Period. Count the carbs,
eat what you want that fits in that limit.
- Low-carb diets are very do-able as a vegetarian, and
even as a vegan (with a bit more imagination).
- When I'm talking about low carb
eating, I mean low carb and high fat. High protein, when you're
not living a lifestyle to use it up, has health issues I won't
consider for my own body. I don't work out several hours a day, so I
won't eat a "high protein diet". Most North Americans are already
eating far too much protein for how they live and are already
stressing their poor overworked livers. The Canadian Health Food Association, and most major
health research centers, recommend only 35-60 grams of protein a day. That range takes into account women
working in an office and men working in physical labor jobs. Large, small, active, not active, all fit within that range.
One skinless chicken breast has 40+ grams of protein, 2 eggs have 12 grams, a slice of bread can have from 3-10 grams, a
serving of peas has around 8 grams. Protein is hard to get away from, and real easy to get. As long as you’re eating a variety of foods,
you’ll get the full range of amino acids our bodies need to build healthy human protein.
- When your body runs out of carbs, it
will change to burning fats for fuel, if you have fat in your
diet to burn. Low carb and high protein diets, I've read, can lead to
muscle and organs being burned for fuel. Not my choice!
- Another problem with high protein diets is that the body needs some carbs to facilitate the fat burning process.
Think of carbs as the match that lights the big pile of sticks and starts the fire. You want a lot more sticks than matches,
but matches are required. If the body is attempting to burn fat as fuel it creates something called ketone bodies;
without some few carbs the body cannot use up these ketone bodies properly and when the number of ketones rise too
high in our plasma ketoacidosis results. Being “in ketosis” (burning fats for fuel) is a good thing, being poisoned
by it (ketoacidosis) isn’t. Enjoy the fats, and eat your veggies!
- Low carb eating is a lot like eating
on a yeast cleanse.... but more. Therefore, low carb eating can be a
quick and deadly kill of yeast; and it seems to get you past the
"craving" portion of such cleanses a lot faster. I like faster.
- Around day 3 or 4 for many of us (some people can take up to a couple of weeks or more) your body will have
run out of carbs to burn as fuel and may feel pretty knocked down.
This will be the height of the cravings for sugars or starches or
fruits. You may feel deep into "cleansing mode" with flu like
symptoms, aches and pains, or edginess if yeast is a factor in your
health. Take courage; these feelings don't last long. By the following
day or so your body will have realized all it's wishes are coming true
and it can now get to burning fats for fuel.
- Once you are "in ketosis" cravings drop dramatically, tastes began to change, appetite
levels change, energy rises into places you may not have experienced
since high school, brain function seems to sharpen, and you may find
yourself sleeping better than ever.
- You can buy Ketostix at a drug store (you will probably
have to ask the druggist for them). Pee on the wee sticks, if they
change color you are "in ketosis" and are burning fat as fuel.
- Don't try skipping meals as a way to lower weight faster.
When you're blood glucose levels get too low, our ever vigilant liver will dig out stored glucose and pour
it into the body. If you’ve watched the Big Fat Fiasco videos then you know that will immediately get insulin
pumping through us to keep things in balance, and that insulin will mean the fat burning process comes to an end for a while.
Snack on cheese, nuts, cold meats, nut butters on celery, raw veggies and cheesy dips, etc… but do eat.
- Drink a lot of water. Yeah, yeah, I
know, you always drink a lot of water. Drink more. While our
bodies burning fat as our main fuel makes our brain and heart a lot
happier, it requires more water to function. If you are getting cravings, running out of energy,
feeling low, if your Ketostix are deep into the dark color range, or
you're not losing the weight you expect to, you're probably not getting enough
water. Drink lots of water!
- Did I mention you should drink lots of
water? For the first while you will be on the toilet more than you
knew you could. I suggest placing a good book or small TV in a handy
spot. Deal with it. It gets better. :D
- In Canada all packaged food requires a
break down of carbs. You will see something like:
Carbohydrates..... 20
Dietary fiber...........9
Sugars..................3
For us that reads as: there are 20 total carbs in a serving of this
food.... but I don't count the fibers (since they don't mess with
me)...... so this food has 11 NET carbs per serving. Eleven NET carbs
is what I count. The 9 and 3 only = 12... so that means that is
product probably has 8 carbs of starches.... and in terms of digestion
that equals 8 carbs of sugars at some point.
- If you like beans try using lupini
beans (can be bought in cans in many stores) and black soy beans (only
black ones). They are so low in carbs as to be a dream food for
us.
- Look for a long white root vegetable
called Daikon radish; once it's boiled up, it can be sliced and used
as lasagna noodles. Most people cannot tell the difference between it
and pasta in lasagna. Except of course, for the difference of about 58
carbs per serving!!
- For spaghetti and other pastas, either
chop up daikon into fun shapes or look for shirataki noodles. They can
be made from konjak/yam root or soy. I love the soy best. These
all have from 0-2 carbs per serving. Eat lots. :D
- Note on soy shirataki noodles: they
are sold in pouches with fluid. They smell
funny. Rinse them, and boil them for 2-3 minutes to remove "the
authentic aroma" (the stink) and they are awesome good regular pasta.
- Note on soy products: soy is almost
always, always (91+%), GMO (genetically modified) and while no one
understands why yet, there are some bad things happening to humans and animals using GMO
foods. Look for tofu and soy noodles made from organic soy. In
Canada at least, organic means non GMO.
- Note about GMO foods:
Soy 91% is GMO
Cotton 88% is GMO
Canola (and oils) 80-85% is GMO
Corn (and oils) 85% is GMO
Hawaiian papaya more than 50% is GMO
- Beer... well beer has a lot of carbs.
Dark beers, my personal favorites, even more. If you're going to drink
it, make the rest of the day low in carbs? Red wine... 4-5 carbs a
glass.
Wine, and pure spirits (vodka and such) can be a healthy part of a low
carb way of eating. Thank heavens!
- Low carb jellies are easy to make with
pectin, pure fruit, and small amounts of sugars and artificial sweeteners.
- Note on artificial sweeteners: there
are a lot of them and you will hear that this or that one is bad
because of one thing or another. Checking on actual studies and
evidence has led me to the conclusion that all artificial sweeteners
come with their own issues to some degree. Trading one set of problems
(too much sugars in my diet) for another set of problems (cancer,
reactions with dna, and conflicting "safety" data) is not my idea of a
good idea. I have dropped most sugars and use various combinations of
sweeteners and sugars - in very small amounts - when I want something sweet. Sugar has 4 or 5
carbs in a spoonful. With my new far-more-sensitive taste buds that
one spoonful goes a heck of a lot further than it used to.
- Low carb breads, and some awesome good
cookies, cakes, and muffins are doable using ground almonds and sunflower seeds for
flour. Also look for wheat protein isolate (best), wheat gluten
(good), and organic soy powder (best) (which is not the same as
organic soy flour (good)).
- Low carb pizza is rocking good! I'll
post the recipe I use soon.
- Low carb eating has shown to be good
at lowering cholesterol, lowering high blood pressure, removing type
two diabetes as an issue, losing weight, improving brain function, and
lots of nice things I can live with easily.
- Keep your fats up. Really! Grab a
spoonful of nut butters (organic, pure peanut butter, almond butter,
sunflower seed butter, etc), add extra olive oil to... everything?,
use butter thick and happy, full whipping cream instead of cream, and
start using coconut oil (you really can just take a spoonful now and then)- it's awesome good for you!
- Forget "low fat" anything. Most low
fat products add sugars to pump up the flavor. Use high fat cheese and
things. Then add olive oil anyway. :D
- If you like chocolate (check out my
recipe section) learn to love 90% chocolate bars. Some have only
1-2 carbs per 3 squares of chocolate. I eat chocolate daily. And
always will. :D
- Green vegetables almost don't even
have to be counted! Green beans, asparagus, avocadoes (the perfect
food?), broccoli, brussles sprouts (try them roasted), cabbage, kale,
celery, spinach (add it raw to salads), etc... just eat 'em! They are
perfect foods.
- Count the carbs in carrots and tomatoes and corn.
They can knock you out of ketosis if you eat enough.
- Nuts, within reason (by 1/3 or 1/4
cup and not by the bag full), are great eating this way. Walnuts and
pecans are best, but there is a place for peanuts, cashews, hazzlenuts,
almonds, brazil nuts, etc.
- Eating eggs have never actually been
shown to raise cholesterol. Eat 'em and love 'em. Duck eggs are even
better!
- Sometimes, rarely (2-3 days over
months of time), I have found there are days when I am actually eating
too few carbs and must up my intake of carbs to restore happy,
awesome, energy levels. By "upping" my carbs I am talking about
an increase of 5 or so carbs. I am not talking about a
hamburger and fries. About 1/4 of a tart granny smith apple
will do nicely and restore me to
high-energy-let's-tackle-life-head-on-cause-it's-fun energy levels.
- Beware of "carb hangovers" if you have
a "splurge day". Eating more carbs than your body is used to can leave
you feeling headachy, nauseated, and feeling like you partied all
night. It sucks.
- Beware alcohol while eating this way. You
are about to become a cheap date. :D Alcohol will hit you in ways it
never has before. Getting drunk is easier than ever. Getting a drunk
hangover, perhaps coupled with a carb hangover, is not that hard to
do. It sucks.
Note: I am not a doctor. I am only sharing what I
have found to be true with me and many of the people I see daily in my job
working in the health food industry. There is a lot of information available
about low carb eating and it is my hope you find some of it yourself. Find
your balance, lose unneeded weight, get insulin issues under control,
lower physical stresses in your life, get blood pressure and cholesterol
issues where you want them to be, and discover energy you really are
not too old to find again.
Personally, I will never go back to the
traditional low fat, high carb "healthy by the government standards" way of
eating; this feels too good!
Happy, and healthy, eating.
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