The Steaks Are High

Low Carb Birthday!

I'm a big cake fan...hence my low carb substitute Ten Minute Chocolate Cake. Every year for our birthdays when we were growing up, my mum would create fantastic cakes: fairy castles, beaches, racetracks, cars, bears, princesses with candy-jewelled dresses, pianos. Not to be sabotaged by my lc lifestyle, this year she outdid herself again - even from a different country - and sent me this awesome cake made entirely of flowers!

Blowing out the candles before I get a flowery furnace!

Sweet Dreams

Last night, I sat down to a bowl of my favorite chocolate concoction: a warm brownie loaded with chocolate ice cream, M&Ms and hot fudge. I love the contrast of temperatures: hot fudge melting the inside of the M&Ms just enough, and the cakey warmth softening the ice cream to perfect soupiness. (Yup, my ice cream goes in the microwave for a few seconds before eating it.)

Of course, I was dreaming.

I haven't had a food dream in ages, so I was surprised by this one. When I first started low carbing, and was craving carbs like crazy, I'd have these "cheating" dreams all the time. Like my dream last night, I'd be sitting down to the worst possible foods for a low-carber: sugar, sugar and more sugar on top! Even during my dream, I'd feel bad for going off plan, knowing that by indulging I'd kick-start the cravings again. Then, I'd wake up grinning, 'cause it hadn't really happened.

Interestingly, in all my previous dreams, I'd really enjoy whatever sweet treat was on the nighttime menu. Last night, I found the chocolate ice cream way too sweet. I remember tasting it and feeling really odd because I was supposed to be loving it and luxuriating in my naughty treat, but actually not enjoying it. Man...I can't even have fun cheating in my dreams anymore!

Does anyone else have sugar-laden dreams? Do you think it's a signal your body is deep down still craving carbs, or just a mental reaction to denying yourself certain foods? A calorie-free, guilt-free foray into carbland, or a potentially dangerous trigger?

Food from thought.

A Kinder, Gentler Way

This week has been a hard one for me food-wise, so I wanted to share some of my struggles here. While I mostly like to post research and news articles, and some tried and trusted recipes, I think it's helpful once in a while to write about my personal journey.

I started off on Monday with massive carb cravings. I was packing up my lovely's lunch, and in the process toasting some heavenly smelling bakery bread and wrapping up cookies and leftover cinnamon buns dripping with icing. Now, I haven't been off plan at all, so I know the cravings weren't due to blood sugar craziness or anything I'd eaten. I was pretty surprised though. I've been swimming along quite nicely for the past couple of months, enjoying my food immensely and not feeling deprived or even like I'm on a diet. Then, out of the blue, I'm wanting chocolate chip cookies and buttery toast? What's going on?

I see these much more as mental cravings than anything physical. These were some of my favorite carby foods prior to discovering this way of eating, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't still love the taste of some of them. Funny thing is, mental cravings feel just as real as physical cravings.

I decided, first and foremost, to chill out and check in on myself. I learned this technique of listening to your body from The Four Day Win, and strongly recommend it to anyone on any kind of diet or attempting a lifestyle change. Was I being too rigid about my food choices? Should I have a day off-plan and then get right back to it? Why was I craving stuff I know is so bad for me?

I was pretty tempted to take that day off, but on balance I think doing that is very unhealthy. Part of the greatness of low carb is that you can fill up on delicious fats - but if you add in a dose of sugar the very next day, you're pretty much doing high fat, high carb: a recipe for poor health and a flabby belly.

So I made a deal with myself: don't go face down in the carbs, go to the gym and get some sort of sugar free treat food as a reward for working out.  I did go to the gym, and I did get some sugar free chocolate (which is a post for another day...) but I enjoyed it with some awesome hazelnut coffee.

I've also taken a new approach to the gym. Previously, I was very hard on myself about working out. If I went and ran on the elliptical, it wasn't good enough, because I should have warmed up on the treadmill. If I warmed up on the treadmill, and then did a full weight circuit - well that wasn't good enough either, because I was skimping on ab work. Does this sound like any fun to you? I sure wasn't enjoying it. I'd either go and be disappointed I didn't do enough, or I'd go and do a killer workout...and then not go back for a week because my muscles were aching and I couldn't face another hardcore gym session.

Lately, again, I've been relaxing and listening to what my body wants to do. I go to the gym and run for half an hour on the elliptical. That's it. I enjoy it, and still get an endorphin rush. And here's the kicker: I'm way more likely to go back the next day. The next day I might lift some weights, or maybe go swimming. If I've gone four days in a row, I take a bit of a rest day and do some yoga at home. This gentler approach has meant I've worked out more than ever for the past two weeks. I look forward to going, enjoy my exercise and don't feel guilty about it taking up huge chunks of the day - because now it doesn't.

I think taking this approach makes changes much easier to incorporate into your life. Gritting your teeth and surviving on the strictest diet while pushing yourself to your limits working out...well, as far as I know, that leads to one of two things: collapsing in a heap and stuffing yourself with junk, unable to bear the thought of another treadmill step, or adrenal burnout.

I'm going with the kinder, gentler path to weight loss and health. We're doing this to feel better, right? So why not feel better along the way?

A Porterhouse-sized Thank You to Jimmy Moore

I was honored this week to be highlighted on Jimmy Moore's fantastic blog, Livin' La Vida Low Carb, as one of his picks for the Hot New Low Carb Blogs of 2007. You can check out his post here - and see some other great new blogs while you're there!

I have to admit, when I first started this blog, I was a little nervous. I knew I'd had a lot of success with low carbing, and I have learned loads along the way: recipes, restaurant survival tips, socializing on low carb, staving off cravings and other helpful techniques for getting healthy. Over the course of my weight loss journey, I've also done a ton of research almost by accident - just browsing around studies on low carb forums and blogs.

Part of me wondered if anyone would care to read ANOTHER blog about weight loss, food and dieting. Part of me wondered if I would stick to posting - especially when I had maybe one or two readers a day. Then, on January 9th, 2007, Jimmy Moore mentioned me in his post, "When Is Eating Fat Not Fattening?"

I don't know how he found this blog, but instantly my traffic numbers jumped, and spiked again when he mentioned my thank you email in a second post. I was so surprised that such a famous name in the low-carb blogosphere first of all had found my blog, and secondly was incredibly helpful and inspiring. I mentioned finding having such a small audience somewhat demotivating. As I wrote to Jimmy at the time: "Blogging is fun, but it doesn't make me leap out of bed in the morning to post when the likelihood is that only a few people will actually read it."

Jimmy's answer? "The traffic at your blog will indeed soar." He offered me the chance to write columns for his awesome site LowCarb Newsline - and of course I jumped at the opportunity. Every one of his emails spurred me on to continue blogging, convincing me of the importance of having more voices out there in support of low carb living.

I love reading his blog, which is constantly updated with interviews, the latest research, new low carb products, book reviews and touching personal stories. His writing brims over with enthusiasm and honesty, and he's never afraid to say what he really thinks, name names and call people and companies out on their lies.

Thank you so much Jimmy, not only for the great write up you gave me this week, but for all your support so far! I think Kevin Graves, on his blog My U Turn , expressed my sentiments exactly when he said, "To have all this support from a person who has pretty much reached their goal, and who will still help others, THAT IS CLASS."

To be such a huge name in the low carb world and give so much support to the new folks -  you are one genuinely classy guy!

Happy Birthday, Abraham Lincoln!

            

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?" ~Abraham Lincoln

So, instead of Valentine's Day, my love and I are celebrating Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Far more freedom and far less pink tissue paper, which suits me nicely. For him, I made the cake above: vanilla cake with "fluffy white" flavored frosting - that's right, carbs don't even need to sound like food anymore! And for me, a turkey leg, currently roasting in the oven. Now that's real food.

Edited to add:

See?

            

"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~Abraham Lincoln

The Power of Low Carb

We went out to eat last night, and as the rest of the table was digging into the garlic bread, someone asked me if I was still doing the no-carb thing. “You have such great willpower,” she complimented. I, the former Ben&Jerry's pint downer, tried to disabuse her of this notion.

See, I have terrible willpower, if there even is such a thing. I love food. I love touching it, making it, smelling it, tasting it, chewing it. I like to eat, a lot! I don't think I could have tipped the scales at 200lbs  if I didn't love food. And if my supposed willpower was so strong, I would have stopped eating long before I ran out of pants that didn't slice me in half at the waist.

I think willpower doesn't make much sense when it comes to dieting. Neurotransmitter and hormones and chemicals and electric impulses collide around the brain and produce a resulting behavior. Humans have far less choice and control in the matter than they like to believe. You can say you had the strength to resist that serving of pie, but I call B.S. Your brain collisions simply guided you to a different reward. By not eating the dessert, you could have the pleasure and satisfaction of a) sticking to your diet, b) having slightly more slender thighs, c) feeling healthy and “clean”, d) not worrying about the scale effects, e) looking like the health-conscious one at the dinner table, f) avoiding sugar rushes, or g) all of the above. Another day, the tantalizing taste of the pie may be more pleasurable than any one or all of the aforementioned rewards, so you eat it. 

While it may have looked as though I had steely strength while resisting cheese-covered garlic bread and flour-battered wings, really, I was just looking forward to my steak. Being “off” sugar for so long means I am mostly free from cravings, so the internal battle of “Oh that looks so good – but I mustn't!”  doesn't happen. The key with this way of eating for me is that I love what I eat. I don't feel deprived or hungry.

Yesterday was a great example of how low carb eating curbs appetite. At around 10:30am, I ate brunch: chicken souvlaki skewers dipped in tzatziki (yum!). Then I became completely engrossed in writing and other website work, and realized at 2:30 that I had three loads of laundry and a pile of dishes to do, the whole apartment to tidy, and myself to shower and dress before leaving the house at 4:30 to catch a train. This did not leave any time to eat, and I didn't have anything quick I could grab.

By the time we got off the train, I was admittedly ravenous. I ate a couple of slices of Monterey Jack cheese, and felt fine. This lasted me another two hours before my juicy, seasoning-crusted steak arrived before me. My total calories for the day, with one patch of hunger? 1000.

Let me be clear about this: with any other macronutrient ratio, such a calorie-restricted day would have me climbing the walls. My responses to hunger range from indescribable sadness and despair to general irritability to outright banshee-esque fury. I grew up in a house where food was plentiful, the fridge always stocked with apples and cheese for quick satisfying snacks and three very square, very English meals a day. (I still remember my shock as an undergraduate at the price of cheese, which had previously magically appeared in the fridge like water from flowing from the faucet!)

However, with 135g of protein spread over the day, I was neither despairing nor demonic. I don't make a habit of cutting my calories this low, but it's nice to not be driven demented with hunger when such situations arise. Also, as my weight gets lower and lower, the low carb magic of eating as many calories as you like and still losing tends to dissipate. The way I see it, it's win-win. I can eat way more calories than someone on a low fat diet, and still lose weight, or at least maintain this weight. Or, I can eat way less calories than that same low fat dieter, and feel less hungry and more satisfied. More weight loss, less hunger, and deliciously satisfying foods. I can deal with skipping the bread for that, even with the worst willpower in the world.

Forbidden Fruit

On my forum forays this week I've noticed a lot of self-berating with regard to holiday cheating on diets. (Meat and Eggers For Life Forum, Active Low Carber Forum) I think people talk about cheating and going “off” low carb eating because it's way easier to rationalize some extra calories as a treat or a hungry day, but eating foods that are specifically not allowed – like cakes, bread, chips or candy – is a categorical cheat.

I enjoyed my first cheat-free Christmas this year. I definitely ate more low carb treats than normal (like the delicious three-minute chocolate cake...recipe coming soon!) However, this kept me from feeling deprived without setting me up for carb cravings and a blood sugar rollercoaster.

After reading some of the more miserable posts about feeling ashamed and saddened by going off plan and gaining weight, I had to post my thoughts on cheating.

I think the most damaging part of "cheating" is the psychological guilt and torment of feeling like you're eating all these "wrong" foods. Food cannot be inherently evil or good. It's just food. Sure, some of it is nutritionally deficient (sugar, flour, many grains) and ultimately harmful to health but that doesn't make it morally bad - just not optimum fuel.

I read in Marc David's Nutritional Wisdom that if you eat while stressed the food you consume will sit in your stomach like a rock and be undigested for hours. Your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, and sends blood flowing into your limbs and away from your core in order to prepare you for an escape or a battle.

So, whatever you decide to eat, whatever plan you decide to follow, eat with joy. If you're going to eat sweet stuff, at least enjoy it! Eating it with a sense of shame and guilt will only make the effects on your body worse.

In the end, for me, the taste wasn't worth it this Christmas. Maybe on another occasion or another holiday, I'll weigh my options and decide that enjoying the taste of a higher carb food will be worth the aftereffects. I've found it much easier to take this less harsh approach to cheating. Maybe it's something of the forbidden fruit effect: if I am at peace with the possibility of going off-plan, I'm less tempted to do so.

Finally, one of my resolutions for this new year is to update more regularly, posting menus to keep myself accountable and also to give a clearer picture of my diet. Happy New Year!