Quick Update

I’m on spring break this week so I actually have a little time to write. The slow-carb diet is coming to a close, and I have ultimately set an end date for April 3, 2013. After that time, I will continue to eat relatively healthy and possibly start trying to bulk up some muscle for summer. I’m considering switching to the MyFitnessPal app – I would just like to maintain the weight I’ve lost after being on the Slow-Carb Diet. According to the application, I will be able to consume somewhere in the neighborhood of 2100 calories per day in order to maintain my current weight. That actually seems like a lot – I will play it by ear at first, but I’m guessing I will be closer to the 1700-2000 calorie mark. It will finally be time to incorporate some carbohydrates (I’ve missed them, terribly) into my diet while continuing to limit my caloric intake to a more reasonable value.

One of the major issues I’ve been facing lately deals with my digestive tract and being able to process food in the way I have always been used to. As I’ve previously mentioned in another blog post,

“since my body has grown accustomed to eating healthy, unprocessed, low sugar food all week long, splurging on Saturday often leaves me feeling sick to my stomach with a short-lasting sugar high.”

Not only do I consume far more calories than I am accustomed to on this one day versus the other six days of the week, but also, the calories definitely are not of great quality. My body does not know what to do with the “different material” its given and I ultimately feel horribly ill for almost 24 full hours. It’s a bit like going out on the town for a night of heavy drinking. If you’re obviously not used to poisoning your body with alcohol on a daily basis, and you all-of-a-sudden have 6 glasses of Riesling, 5 Bud Lights, and 3 shots of Jameson, your body isn’t going to be too happy the next day. In other words, instead of an alcohol hangover, I truly believe it is possible to have a food hangover. It can only be cured with time, rest, and a higher quantity of water.

Since I'm losing weight proportionately throughout my entire body, I still have a little excess fat around my abdomen I'm trying to lose - we'll see what happens in the last two weeks on this diet. At any rate, as of this morning, Wednesday March 20^th – I weighed 160.4 pounds. I’ve lost 23.0 pounds so far this year! 

Ketosis

I wanted to talk about why the Slow-Carb Diet is so successful for anyone who tries it. Essentially, it forces your body into Ketosis. Here is a brief, paraphrased version of what Ketosis actually is: Sugar and carbs are the body’s main source of energy. When glycogen (sugar) is low, the body has to get creative in order to convert fats and proteins into useable energy. Since the body is metabolizing fats instead of sugar, the liver releases ketones, which are detectable via urine and blood.

As you can expect, I do spend a lot of time reading other diet/fitness blogs. In case you’d like a science explanation of how Ketosis actually works, I included a link to another blog that clarifies it far better than I ever could. 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-mark-ketosis/#axzz2MQN7u8Rk

I purchased these test strips from Walmart for about $7 to occasionally track the presence of ketones in my system. You have to ask the pharmacist to get them but you don’t need a prescription or anything.

It comes with this nifty little color chart! After my cheat day, my test result is always negative. By Wednesday or Thursday, I’m starting to see results between the “trace” and “small” categories. Usually dry mouth is a symptom of Ketosis so by mid-week, I’m usually experiencing some degree of unquenchable thirst.

I used to test my system regularly, but now I can accurately sense my ketone levels in my system without the strips. I get a numb headache and sometimes my vision gets slightly blurry – a minor annoyance but nothing severe. As I’ve mentioned before, you’re not being starved on this diet, but your body is trying to process all the food energy in a completely different way than it was originally used to.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I AM OF SICK EGGS AND BEANS! As in, I will probably never look at them again for the rest of my life as soon as this diet is over. Okay, so maybe I’m being a little too over-dramatic. It is really not the bland taste that I have an issue with, because anything can be pepped up with spice. But the texture, oy vey, the texture is what kills me!

My weight loss is slowing down drastically. I’ve decreased to a maximum weight loss of ½ pound per week, whereas last month, it was easy for me to lose 1 ½ to 2 pounds per week. However, I’m finally starting to hover around the weight I’m supposed to be for my height and age. =)

Miscellaneous Maintenance

Fruit. I get a lot of objection when I tell people that unless it is your cheat day, fruit is not allowed on the SCD. Let me briefly address this concern. Your body processes all sugar in the same way. Fruit, although natural and healthy, has an over-abundant amount of sugar. What we are trying to avoid with the SCD is an insulin spike, which signals your body to process glycogen as energy instead of burning through fat reserves. If you think about it, our ancestors were not eating watermelon, grapes, or apples in the middle of winter in Wisconsin – that only came with the invention of the delivery truck, and chemically altered fruit chalked full of preservatives to make them last for days longer than they should.

Here is a chart comparing some different types of sugar contents of various fruits. Tomatoes are allowed on the SCD because they are relatively low in sugar in comparison to other fruits. Lately I have been adding a small amount of Lime juice to water for additional flavor - it works great!

Carbohydrates are basically sugars that are processed into many different forms (pasta, cereal, bread, etc.) In fact, the word “carbohydrate” is a synonym for saccharides – and a saccharide is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘SUGAR.’ Are we sensing a correlation? Sugar = excess calories. Beans work as a nice substitute for the white carbs because they are natural, specialized complex carbohydrates with a substantial amount of protein to negate their high caloric value.

I always tell people: if you have to question whether a certain food is allowed on the SCD, chances are that it’s not. Just save it for your cheat day. For me, one of the most difficult challenges was the elimination and/or minimization of sauces and dressings. Ketchup, mayo, ranch dressing, honey mustard, you name it – I probably love it. However, you never realize how fast the calories add up unless you’re actively cognizant of what is going in your body at all times. Thank you for reading. Happy dieting! 

Six-Week Update

Last week was a struggle for me. I took my cheat day on Superbowl Sunday, and then also the following Saturday. I stretched the rules and had a handful of potato chips almost every day - I had them leftover from a little Superbowl shindig we hosted. Commitment level can only be illustrated through action, so I had a lot of guilt after the fact. I am now trying to be really cognizant of eating and/or disposing all the junk food I purchase for my cheat days.

On kind of a side note, the body does not recognize how long a week actually is, so you have the option to be flexible on the weekends or be able to take a cheat day every 6 or 7 days. I have reached my "weight set-point" or "plateau weight." According to the following website, http://www.thedietchannel.com/Change-Your-Weight-Set-Point.htm, "The basic premise of the theory is that the body has a built in weight regulating mechanism, largely genetically determined, that will tend to keep your weight in a physiologically established comfortable range. However, for those of us with genetically determined set points beyond our desired weight goal, losing beyond this weight plateau can be quite challenging." In other words, I have been craving super high-calorie foods more than usual, and it takes more than just water to curb my hunger. I have been supplementing my additional hunger by eating more vegetables. It seems to be doing the trick, for now. 

I hit a huge mile-marker this morning. I saw 160’s on the scale for the first time since I turned 21 years old. Well, I just barely hit it... but it still happened. I totally want to share a picture of my new figure but I am refraining for now, as I want to reveal myself in a before/after format in a few short weeks. I am at 168.6 – a loss of 14.8 pounds since January 2nd. I said in a previous post that I was not really shooting for a goal weight, just more of a goal appearance. However, I am anticipating to weigh in the lower 160’s to upper 150’s when I’m finished. Many people are beginning to notice a change. I recently bumped into a friend from school I haven't seen for a semester or two; she definitely noticed the change in my facial shape more than anything. My roommate, Jason says I have "less tub" in my stomach. My plan is to go one of two directions after I have become satisfied with my appearance: 1. Either I will slowly introduce carbohydrates and sugars back into my diet to maintain the current weight 2. Or I will continue with the SCD and try to gain some additional muscle tone in my arms and stomach. Only time will tell…

Month 1 - Completed!

I cannot believe it has been 30 days since I’ve started the SCD! Some days it feels like I’ve been on it for months, other days I feel like I've just begun.

I weigh myself everyday. Someone once told me to only record a weekly weigh-in, otherwise if I gained a pound one day, it would only be discouraging. Quite the contrary, however, it gives me gratification to weigh myself every morning to see where I am from the day before. I keep a log in my ‘Notes Application’ on my iPhone. I have almost my entire life on that application.

I don't have a 'goal weight,' just more of a goal appearance. I've never had a flat stomach and always wanted one. That is what I hope to achieve with the Slow-Carb Diet. I don't want to be ripped by any means - I just want to have some definition in my abs.

On a side note, I started the spring semester on Monday, January 28^th. I'm also trying to polish my professional image as well as apply for professional jobs later this month - that is going to really put a damper in the time I will be able to devote to this blog. However, I’m going to try to keep tabs on it... at least a short weekly posting as to what my progress is. Or if I find some other earth-shattering recipe to share, I will make time to post. I realize I am frequently inconsistent in the timing of my posts – i.e. I won’t work on the blog for days and then all of a sudden I’ll pound out three or four at a clip.

Folks, this diet really works. As I’ve mentioned the initial benefits of the SCD in a previous post, there is also the benefit of losing weight rather quickly. Generally, there is a gross loss of water weight at first, and then a net loss of 1-2 pounds per week afterwards. As of Thursday morning, January 31, I weighed 172.4 – which is a net loss of 11 pounds of fat in 30 days. 

Cost and Logistics of the SCD

This is everything I purchase for a two-week supply. Let me break down the picture into more detail to give you an idea of how relatively inexpensive this diet really is.

For regular groceries, I shop at Woodman’s. I’m aware the store is absolutely huge and it takes a good hour to get in and out of there, but I know where everything is and I have it pretty much down to a science. 

Eggs and Veggies:
Three-dozen eggs lasts two weeks if I’m eating a 3-egg omelet every morning for six days. I purchase frozen green beans, peas, broccoli, and mixed vegetables. I initially tried to do canned, but could not stand the taste and texture after about two days. 12 bags @ 1 pound each lasts me a full two weeks (1 entire bag of veggies per day.)

Beans:
I’m not sure if it is the bland taste or the pasty texture I hate the most. I once dated a girl who wouldn’t let me put kidney beans in my Grandma’s Chili recipe because of the texture. After starting this diet, I understand where she’s coming from. I am still trying to develop a way to get around eating beans for every single meal. To bypass the bland taste of the beans, I’ve been purchasing Bush’s Best Chili Beans (Red Beans in Chili Sauce) and Bush’s Best Black Beans (Seasoned recipe.) Tim suggests an incorporation of legumes into the diet. More experimentation will continue. 

Protein: (1- Chicken, 2 - Grass-Fed Beef, 3 - Fish)

1) By far, the most expensive category. Of course, I can’t shop at one place for everything and make it easy on myself. I do, however, like to buy in bulk so I’m not running all over hell’s half acre every week. I buy chicken from Festival Foods. I absolutely love their deli – I can buy fresh chicken for usually around $3.50 per pound and get it pre-marinated/flavored, which also saves me time in the long run. I refrigerate what I’m going to use for the week and freeze the rest. 

 

2) It’s hard to find organic grass-fed beef at a regular grocery store – I found it at Cedar Creek for $5.99 a pound. http://www.cedarcreekmarketplace.com It sounds expensive for ground beef, but the nutritional benefits of consuming grass-fed vs. corn fed far surpasses the cost. It tastes 1000 times better also.

 

3) Finally, for fish, I shop at Niemuth’s Southside Market. http://niemuths.com I purchase frozen cod loins for $4.99 per pound, and they’re usually sold at close to 1-pound per package. I usually eat ½ pound of fish per meal – got to love those Omega-3’s!  

I’ve done my research – and this diet does not cost any more than eating a traditional meal made from scratch. The most difficult part of the SCD is planning ahead so there is enough time to purchase and thaw the meat and vegetables. Also, since the SCD is significantly organized, you’re always eating the freshest food and nothing goes to waste.