Answering Dana Carpender's Questions

After the low carb conference call, I got an interesting email from Dana Carpender. You may remember her reasons why Atkins didn't catch on during the low carb boom, and the mini-controversy they caused here. What she's looking for now are personal answers from successful and not-so-successful low carbers. Check out the questions she sent me:

If you have successfully stayed on a low carbohydrate diet and kept your weight off for 2 years or more, to what do you attribute your success? To support from friends? Family? Online support?  To having learned to cook a wide variety of low carbohydrate meals?  Planning ahead? Feeling a lot better?  A change is how you look at food and eating? What do you consider to be the two or three most crucial components in your low carb success?

If you have lost weight on a low carb diet, but struggled with it and gained most or all of your weight back, what were your biggest stumbling blocks? Lack of support, or downright sabotage? Naysaying from your doctor? Boredom with the food? Emotional carb cravings? Discouragement with a plateau? Budget and time constraints? Impulsive eating when junk appears in front of you? What do you feel have been your biggest stumbling blocks?

If you've read my dieting history, you'll know I started off low carbing on South Beach, gained all of my weight back plus some, and then switched over to Atkins to lose it all again – and keep it off for nearly a year now! Anyway, I tout my loss not to toot my own horn (that hardly ever happens now with no carbs!) but to explore some of Dana's excellent questions. I think the answers to these questions help us answer the bigger question raised by the low carb conference call: why didn't low carb take off in 2003 when it had its best chance so far?

OK, so let's start with the bad stuff. Why'd I go to all the trouble of losing weight and then manage to put it all back on?

1. Time Constraints
   When I was trying to restart South Beach and get back into the swing of weight loss, I was taking five graduate level seminars and piled under mountains of reading and papers. After spending the previous semester in Mexico, I was rushing to graduate and under a lot of pressure to push my GPA into Honors territory. Spending so much time on schoolwork, plus taking two buses or a bus and a subway getting there and back, left me little time or energy to shop for healthy food and cook regular meals.

2. Stress, Stress and More Stress
   I felt stressed by school, but above all, stressed by my skyrocketing weight. I would try to zip up pants in the morning and cry when not one pair would fit me. My boyfriend would cringe as I went to get dressed in the morning, ready for my despair at bulging out in all the wrong places. Instead of motivating me to do something about it, I felt hopeless and trapped, because...

3. The Diet Wasn't Working
   First – a disclaimer: I think the South Beach Diet is a great diet, and works very well for many people. Dr. Agatston was the one who introduced me to low carbing and for that I am ever grateful. However, for me, at that time and in that situation, I couldn't hack it. The low fat element of South Beach left me constantly hungry and constantly thinking about food and what I could snack on next. I was either miserable because I was hungry or miserable because I'd eaten too much. The scale didn't budge.

4. Knee-Shaped Stubbornness
   I've had three surgeries on my right knee, and one on my left. Aside from some sexy scars, I'm left with arthritis, pain, limited motion and sporadic swelling. I also come from a family where my uncle proudly tells the story of making his kid do jumping jacks to prove he had appendicitis before they made the trip to the hospital (he did...and ouch). Stoicism was highly valued, and any outward expression of pain was not only frowned upon but snorted at and derisively dismissed. So, given this history, I signed up for a personal training session at the gym, neglected to mention my knee problems, got a whole set of weight training exercises that made my quads shudder and my kneecaps slip and slide. Dumb? Yep. How many times did I go back? Let's just say it was in the single digits.

5. The House That Junk Built
   Our apartment at the time was also crammed with junk food. If I ever had a weak moment, or hour, or day, the cupboards were stocked with chips, chocolate, candy, and deliciously spoonable peanut butter.

Alright – enough of the bad stuff! How did I lose 40lbs and get healthy?

1. Making Time To Cook
   When I started low carbing, I didn't have the luxury of working from home, which meant less time available to shop and cook. I started by making an effort to cook breakfast, and as much as I enfuriated my housemates by forgetting a pan of bacon while I was getting dressed, most mornings I got myself sorted with an omelette or a meaty treat. In the evenings, I'd fry up some chicken. As I explored new recipes, I expanded my menu options drastically and suddenly found a lot more variety in my diet.

2. Finding The Forums!
   The first forum I logged onto was the Active Low-Carber Forum, which I found originally by Googling recipe substitutes. I was amazed at how many other people were doing it, and how fantastic and helpful they were. I found out new recipes, discovered the joy of coconut oil and the best way to hard-boil an egg, and, most importantly, connected with an incredible group of people with whom I still talk today.

3. Family Rules
   A huge, huge part of my success can be laid squarely at the feet of my parents and my in-laws-to-be. None of them profess to understand the diet much, and a majority of the four have even expressed the sentiment that my eating is perfectly ridiculous. Their misgivings notwithstanding, they not only let me do it my way but support me meal after meal, whether cooking things without flour and sugar or making sure I have menu options at whatever restaurant we choose. Time after time I have been touched by their consideration when it comes to that most social gathering: meal time. I feel very, very lucky to have people around me who make it very easy to stick with low carbing, and am grateful every day for their loving support.

4. Results!
   As I upped the fat component of my diet and my fat started literally falling off, I was thrilled and intrigued. I actually began to look forward to jumping on the scale in the morning and checking how much I'd lost. Now, it was my clothes getting saggy and baggy instead of my hips, and soon my dreaded morning session of “What will I be able to zip up?” was a gleeful “Look what's falling off me now!” The fast results you get with low carb are incredibly motivating. One of my friends at the Meat & Eggers For Life Forum says she feels like she knows this super special secret as the pounds magically melt away, and I know exactly how she feels.

5. The Feel Good Factor
   OK, so no one's denying how good, no, how great it feels to see scale numbers diminish and pants sizes shrink along with your tummy, but low carb feels good in other ways too. You don't feel hungry. Your nails and hair grow faster and stronger. My skin cleared up. I had way more energy. My head felt clearer, and my brain felt free – free of cravings, and freer from worries about food. It was so simple: eat when you feel hungry, and when you do eat, go for some yummy meat and hey, dip it mayo while you're at it. Some people talk about the “high” buzz they get from deep ketosis, but I equate this to a story my dad told me when his doctor gave him some pills to help wake him up, while he was suffering from serious sleep deprivation due to sleep apnea. He took the medication back to the doctor, asking “Are you sure this is ok to take and drive? I feel so weird when I'm on them...almost like I'm high.” The doctor smiled and said, “You're not high. You just forgot what it feels like to be truly awake. This is what not being tired feels like!” I think the low carb buzz is more akin to this: you're not high, you just forgot what it feels like to eat healthy, fresh foods. This is what not filling your body with craving-inducing carbs feels like!

6. My Knight In Shining Armor
   My fiancé, Simon, has been my rock throughout my weight loss journey. From being absolutely as loving whatever I weighed, to being my subtle low carb advocate when socializing, he's helped me as much as he possibly could, and more than I ever expected anyone would. He comes home with ribeyes instead of roses, picks protein-heavy restaurants, loads the fridge with diet sodas, and never bats an eye at my time spent lifting up heavy objects and putting them back down, or running for thirty minutes and staying in one place. His wholehearted support means the world to me and I find him listening to me babble about the latest study or greatest new recipe one of the sweetest things. (And also feel guilty for not feigning equal interest when he gets excited about external style sheets and website traffic lotteries.)

7. A Change In Perspective
   This is a fairly recent addition to my dieting arsenal, but possibly one of the most powerful tools in living a slimmer life. I had a conversation with my sister in which we both berated our “fat” genes. “We just can't eat three meals a day like normal people,” she said, “whenever I do that, I start packing on padding on my thighs and my clothes stop fitting.” Her solution? Insane amounts of exercise and calorie control. My solution was clearly low carbing, but I still felt a bit “woe is me” and railed at the unfairness of it – after all, why couldn't I just eat like a “normal” person and stay slim? Using a combination of exercises from Martha Beck's The Four Day Win, and other cognitive therapy techniques, I decided to get over myself. I'd found a delicious way of eating that kept the weight off without, for the most part, leaving me feeling deprived and never letting me go hungry. What I needed were the mental tools to make this a lifelong approach, rather than a weight loss fix. I'm still working on this and will be posting about it in the future, but training my brain to enjoy low carb to the max is incredibly important to avoid burnout.

8. Carnivorous Tastebuds
   Just to state the obvious (in case you missed the page banner or the post with the gorgeously succulent turkey leg) – I LOVE meat. I love the taste, the juiciness, the ripping it apart with your teeth. I love trying different spices on different meats and finding winning combinations. Put a rotisserie chicken in front of me and you'll have a happy and greasy-fingered girl. When I low carb, I feel like I'm just eating the best bit of the meal – the meat! Who needs the sides? I'm truly convinced that my palate is naturally well-suited to cutting out the carbs.

9. Reading The Research
   After piquing my interest with my own body experiment, losing fat as I increased the fat content in my diet, I decided I wanted to learn more. I started off small, lurking around in information threads in the forums and not saying much because everyone seemed to know much more than I did. Then I started seeing similar answers to the same old “problems” with Atkins, and soon the responses were also on the tip of my tongue. Not only could I participate in discussions, but I also had more and more studies ready as ammo when people were critical of my eating. I began checking out informative blogs for a daily dose of info. By doing the research, I became more and more confident that this truly was the healthiest way for me to eat, the most nutrient-dense use of calories, and a smart way to avoid whatever nasty chemicals big food companies are pumping into their packaged, processed junk.

10. I Got Moving
    I've talked here about my kinder, gentler approach to exercise, which I think does a world of good for my knees and my psyche. I'm going to the gym more regularly than ever, avoiding exercises that twist or strain my prone-to-dislocating knees (my high school nickname in England was Dislo-Kate), and enjoying myself while I'm there. I'm still not doing anything crazy, but thirty minutes of cardio twice a week, upper and lower body weights and some swimming is helping me get rid of these last stubborn pounds. To be clear, I got this far without really exercising at all, but I know that to continue losing and to be the shape I'd like, I need some workouts.

So there you have it – double the reasons for success as the excuses for failure. Anyone else have any reasons they succeeded with low carbing? Any ideas why people find it difficult to stick to?

Comments

[PastaQueen]

Congrats on your loss and maintaining! I'm glad you've found something that works for you. However, as a South Beacher, I feel the need to be annoying and correct some information in your post. Pulled right from the SBD book is this excerpt:

"The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats."

I'm not trying to convert anyone to South Beach. I believe everyone needs to find what works for them. But it confuses me when people refer to SB as low-carb or low-fat since it isn't. You might not be able to eat the carbs and fats that you want to, but you can eat some.

And I love Dana Carpender's 15 minute cookbook. It taught me how to make omelettes!

[Kate Welch]

PastaQueen,

You're right...the South Beach book doesn't classify the diet as either low-fat or low-carb. I've found it to be a great resource for healthy recipes.

However, Phase 1 of South Beach is de facto low/controlled-carb due to the restrictions. And the recommended dairy products are all low or reduced fat, right? Like light cheese, skim milk? I know fats like olive oil and avocado and pistachios are allowed, but the plan still ends up being lower fat than say, Atkins Induction.

Thank you for the clarification! It's easy to lump things under umbrella terms sometimes. And aren't those omelettes the best??

[BamaGal]

Wonderful post.
Granted I had WLS to get me started on my 200+ lbs weight loss---but the low carb eating I do is the reason I have been successful.
Support is key to any undertaking in life. I've found numerous places to get that.
If I had to choose one reason why I have been successful in my weight loss---it would have to be planning---I plan ahead many meals---and I keep stuff made all the time---so there is none of the indecision about what to eat. That in itself leads to poor choices.

[Jeff]

Hi,

Right you are about taking it a little easier on the excercise. I think too many of us try to push our bodies into doing more than they have been used over the years and only little by little can we develop healthy habits instead of new injuries. The best thing is to keep it enjoyable and worth repeating.

Thanks

Jeff

[George Stella]

From one carnivore to another---
I agree with all you say and did, BRAVO!

Come say hello anytime on our forum at stellastyle.com and meet others that feel as you do!
See ya!
George