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Zugg Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:45 pm
Zugg's Low-carb thread
Rainchild
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:26 am   
 
It's a pain. For the most part I drink bottled water (because tap water is somewhat meh-tasting). In the morning I'll usually start with a glass of orange juice or cordial, and then 1-2 600ml bottles of water. At lunch, I'll usually have another glass of juice, or if I'm feeling naughty a regular strength soda (complete with far too much sugar, I know). Throughout the afternoon another 1-2 bottles. At dinner usually a glass or two of cordial, and maybe one more bottle of water during the evening if it's been a hot day. I do miss the soda, but it's one of those things I decided. From what I've read, artifical sweetner gives cancer and aluminium cans give alzheimer's, and given that I've been drinking 5-6 cans a day for 10 years I may already be doomed, but smokers give up smoking to stop going further downhill, so I've given up diet soda to stop going further downhill.

I'm sure a dietitian is going to say I should drink even less OJ/cordial, because they contain a fair bit of sugar and so I'm getting a fair whack of calories from that. Not sure how many carbs you'd get in OJ either? So it may be that your choice is between water and diet soda?

I'd drink more milk-based drinks in my day, but I find they don't always agree with me. I'm a bit of a sucker for a smoothie.

And you probably noticed 0 hot drinks in my usual intake. Maybe I should find a tea that I enjoy the taste of, because that at least would be flavoured water which doesn't contain much bad stuff.
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:36 am   
 
Quote:
Yeah, we have a couple of friends who are red-meat-free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, citrus free, organic-only, umm I'm sure there's a couple more too. It gets really difficult to choose a suitable restaurant for them, easier to say lets have a bbq and you bring whatever you can eat hehe.


Exactly. I have a very small group of friends (most of whom have their own specifications or allergies) who are willing to cook for me, but they volunteer. I'd never ask. The hard one for us is soy. It's more pernicious than sand at the beach here in the States and I'm very allergic. Think food poisoning, but at least not anaphylactic shock. That's what got me on the everything from scratch kick. No commercial salad dressings, can't use most commercial tomato sauces, or margarine, or 'vegetable oil', or prepared broth or soup base, or canned snack nuts...seriously, soy is everywhere in USerican food.

And if you ask me, soy is not food, ever. If you compare the actual research to the propaganda...
wait, I feel a rant approaching. Must change topic...


Now see, if you're spending all your time in front of the computer, I would think it would be easier to not eat unless you have the same cushy set up as Zugg where meals are delivered to your workstation.

Exercise isn't all that bad. We're doing the gym 3 days a week this year, which is why Zugg got that shameful Ipod for Xmas. It lets him scoff at the news while he works out without having to listen to insane babble around him.

Recipe of the day:

slice round steak into very thin strips. Marinate for at least an hour in equal parts chili-garlic paste and ground fresh ginger (I use one normal eating spoon each) plus enough tamari (wheat free soy sauce- yes, I know, soy, minor amounts of properly fermented tamari don't seem to bother me) to make enough sauce to coat.

Stirfry with shitake mushrooms, scallions, and snow peas. You may need some extra sauce to cover the veggies.

That was dinner last night. It was so good it will also be dinner tomorrow night.
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:43 am   
 
What is cordial? Is that a sugar sweetened fruit flavored syrup that you mix with water? We had that growing up in France.

Quote:
Maybe I should find a tea that I enjoy the taste of, because that at least would be flavoured water which doesn't contain much bad stuff.


I don't really drink black tea any more, but I like herbals. Around here we can get a tangerine herbal, a blueberry, and a nice peach/apricot which all make a very nice cold tea for summer. I can't drink hot teas in the summer at all.

No OJ around here. Zugg never liked it to begin with, but its way too carby now. I sometimes have almond milk for a treat, but mostly its water, water, and some water with lemon in it. Fortunately, our water here in our city is very nice.

Zugg and I have agreed to disagree on the whole aspartame/diet soda question.
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Fang Xianfu
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:19 am   
 
Chiara wrote:
that was polite conversation. I haven't gotten to the evangelical rant phase yet.

But I really don't think anyone would mind! I'd love to have heard more about your soy hatred, mostly because I share it ;)

Chiara wrote:
What is cordial? Is that a sugar sweetened fruit flavored syrup that you mix with water? We had that growing up in France.

I've spent some time in France, and that stuff is horrible. Give me squash any day.

Chiara wrote:
I don't really drink black tea any more, but I like herbals. Around here we can get a tangerine herbal, a blueberry, and a nice peach/apricot which all make a very nice cold tea for summer. I can't drink hot teas in the summer at all.

Paint me stereotype, but I love tea of all kinds. A day's not right if it doesn't contain at least one cuppa (of black tea), herbals optional. I'm sure you could find a few you like, Rainchild.

I also have the soda problem, though for me it's lemonade - I managed to get off cola, thank god. I'm drinking water right now though because I forgot to order more from Tesco.com and I have to say, it's really not as bad as you'd think. Perhaps it's just the water where I live, but it's pretty tasty. I've also noticed that the taps in the bathroom are tastier than the taps in the kitchen, perhaps because it travels through less piping as it goes through my flat.
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Rainchild
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:28 am   
 
<bites> yeah, my friends are all like "soy ice cream" this, and "soy chai latte" that, and "soy milk smoothie" the other thing... it's all very icky and not-foodlike.

That recipe sounds like something we make - beef strips stir fried in chilli with <insert random asian-style sauce here>, add snow peas and capsicum, spring onions (the australian term for scallions) and then a bunch of thick egg noodles (which I'm tipping is the big no-no for a low carb lifestyle). Delicious, I think if I tried it without the noodles I'd cry, how long did it take you guys to get over the desire for things like noodles, pastry, etc?

Yeah, cordial is what you said... about 5% fruit juice, 90% sugar syrup which you mix about 1 part cordial to 4 parts water. I'd say with all the sugar both cordial and OJ are out for you. They call it squash elsewhere. You can get varying qualities of the syrup. There's the bright red/bright green stuff for kids, and then there's the stuff I buy which is pretty much concentrated fruit juice with extra sugar. Not as good as the cordial that my grandma used to make out of real raspberries from her garden.

Water with lemon and/or lime is pretty tasty. We also tried water with strawberries which had an interesting flavour (plus you could eat the strawberry after finishing your drink :D). When I was talking tea, I was thinking probably a herbal variety. I think my problem is I like strong flavours, and most teas I've tried are kinda just hot water with a hint of <blah>, which doesn't inspire me all that much hehe.

But again, water with a hint of <blah> is still tastier than water with a hint of water :)
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Fang Xianfu
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:47 am   
 
Just to make clear the distinction I was trying to make - at least in Britain, cordial is a syrup and has lots of sugar. Squash is very much a liquid and usually has no added sugar. You know how if you put the cordial in the glass first, it doesn't mix properly? That doesn't happen with squash.

Peach water is my favourite flavoured water. Mmm mmm.
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Rainchild
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:40 am   
 
It's funny all the naming differences, we consider "squash" to be homemade lemonade (possibly lightly carbonated). We also wear thongs on our feet... although I'm a kiwi living in oz, so I call them jandles :p
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:12 pm   
 
Quote:
I've spent some time in France, and that stuff is horrible. Give me squash any day.


Well, compared to kool-aid, which is what they give USerican children, the syrup is nice.


Quote:
Delicious, I think if I tried it without the noodles I'd cry, how long did it take you guys to get over the desire for things like noodles, pastry, etc?


Depends on how you define 'get over'.
We gave up pasta before we went low carb because if I ate it I was hungry again in an hour, and if Zugg ate it, it caused 'digestive upset'. I've never missed it even slightly.
Bread, on the other hand I've missed pretty much every day of all 3 years. Bread and baked goods are the one thing I still miss after all this time. I'm reacting a little better to artificial sweeteners lately so I've begun baking using almond flour as a base and I've come up with some very good recipes for treats that keep me away from the higher carb ones. Right now we have low carb cherry cookies and brownies from a recipe I've finally perfected. I also homemake sugar free chocolates out of baking chocolate, coconut oil, and a little sweetener.

Have I ever mentioned that Zugg is spoiled out of his mind?

Anyway, physically, the cravings for sugars and starches go away after a 3-10 days depending on your body and previous level of addiction. Sometimes people feel really awful as they detox, because giving up your drug of choice always causes consequences.

On the other hand, after about 3 weeks you'll probably feel better than you ever remember, and that's the thing that makes it possible to stay on this eating plan long enough to make things a habit.

Getting over the emotional addiction to comfort foods we're raised with is harder. Honestly, if I didn't have some not inconsiderable physical reactions that required it, I'm not sure I'd have gone as far as we have by choice. If you'd have asked me to give up cheese along with carbs 3 years ago, I'd have probably gotten violent!

Quote:
I think my problem is I like strong flavours, and most teas I've tried are kinda just hot water with a hint of , which doesn't inspire me all that much hehe.


For me too. I always wanted my tea sweet with cream or else it was too boring for words. The blueberry, tangerine, and peach teas are actually pretty strongly flavored and taste good enough just as they are.
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bortaS
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:16 pm   
 
What brand of almond flour do you use? I tried rice flour, but that didn't work too well. I have an unnamed genetic disorder that made me intolerant to a bunch of stuff after I turned 30. Here's the list of stuff I'm not supposed to eat:

Wheat
Milk
Asparagus
Cherries
Barley
Celery

As you can see that eliminates a LOT of stuff from my diet. I did find out that I can eat Subway sandwiches, if I have them put vinegar in it.
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Fang Xianfu
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:33 pm   
 
Chiara wrote:
Have I ever mentioned that Zugg is spoiled out of his mind?

Wasn't really needed after you gave a list of treats you bake him :P

Chiara wrote:
I always wanted my tea sweet with cream or else it was too boring for words.

Makes me wonder if this sort of thing is genetic. I like my tea with semi-skimmed milk (amount varies depending on mood), no sugar or sweeteners, and so do practically all my relatives.

Herbal tea I find very tasty because you can brew it for ages. Normal tea you should brew for at least three minutes, but if you're adding milk or cream from the fridge, you can't leave it too long or it'll be cold by the time you reach the bottom of the cup. On the other hand, herbal tea you can just vary the amount of cold water you put in (or even leave it out) and let it brew for 10 or 15 minutes if need be to get the flavour out. Doesn't work for everything (I wouldn't brew peppermint for that long!), but work it does. I guess it could be a bit inconvenient waiting that long if you're drinking tea all the time (how much water are you supposed to drink each day? Two litres?), but it'd be worth it.
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Zugg
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:57 pm   
 
During the winter I find it easier to drink a lot of tea. Unlike Chiara, I'm a black-tea person. English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Irish Breakfast, etc. I don't care for a lot of the herbal teas that Chiara likes. The main problem with tea is the caffeine, but I've got a decaffeinated brand of Earl Grey that I drink in the evenings that seems to work well. But it's still hard to drink enough water with tea. Especially here in Colorado where the humidity is so low.

It's harder in the summertime though. One thing that we have tried is these small packets of powder flavoring that are sized to add to a bottle of water. Sort of like KoolAid powder, but it uses Splenda instead of sugar. Even though it still has artificial sweetener, it's better than commercial diet sodas. I also try to drink more iced-tea than soda in the summer. But I still haven't gotten past the diet sodas yet.
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Larkin
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:32 pm   
 
I was on a low-wheat, low-yeast diet for a while (still am, sorta), and I found that artichoke pasta (spaghetti) tastes as good as, if not better than, the regular spaghetti I love. Tried rice pasta and it just made a real mess, with a taste I could barely stomach. Corn pasta wasn't any good, really. I don't like artichokes, either, but that pasta sure is good!

When they recommend you drink so much water a day, they mean JUST water, too. Heh. Turning it into tea doesn't really count the same, though tea is better for you than soft drinks and such, obviously. Smile
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Taz
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:51 pm   
 
I watched an online news report at Sky around Christmas time and it was a myth busting report. Apparently they had done tests regarding that whole 2 litres of WATER a day thing and other drinks do count including tea and juice!
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:30 pm   
 
Quote:
What brand of almond flour do you use? I tried rice flour, but that didn't work too well. I have an unnamed genetic disorder that made me intolerant to a bunch of stuff after I turned 30. Here's the list of stuff I'm not supposed to eat:

Wheat
Milk
Asparagus
Cherries
Barley
Celery

As you can see that eliminates a LOT of stuff from my diet. I did find out that I can eat Subway sandwiches, if I have them put vinegar in it.


I've never met another person besides me allergic to celery.

Wheat and barley sounds very much like a celiac problem, or a sub-celiac gluten intolerance which new research is suggesting is not a very rare thing but actually affects about 30% of the US population. Check out the Gluten Files.
People with gluten problems often also have dairy problems caused by the intestinal damage. Basically gluten and casein are both problem children and wreck havok. When you put them in an intestine together, the havok is exponential, rather than summary.

Gluten, soy protein, and cassein are actually all intestinal hoodlums and if you're sensitive to one, chances are excellent you'll have issues with all 3. They're all exactly the right shape to slip between loosened junctions in the intestinal wall and get out of the yard and start drawing graffitti and joining gangs and destroying property...

I don't notice much difference between gluten free and not, but since my grandmother has full blown celiac, my mom has health issues that have been directly correlated to gluten issues, and I'm already known to be sensitive to soy and casein, I just know that avoiding gluten as much as possible is the way to go.


Bobs Red Mill makes a great array of alternate flours. That's the brand of almond meal I use.
If you aren't trying to go low carb, they also have several really excellent gluten free, wheat free, diary free, pretty much whatever combo you need alternative bake mixes.


Asparagus and cherries is odd. I wonder what they might have in common.

I'm intolerant of bell peppers, mint, and all celery's relatives like fennel too.
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Larkin
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:05 pm   
 
Taz wrote:
I watched an online news report at Sky around Christmas time and it was a myth busting report. Apparently they had done tests regarding that whole 2 litres of WATER a day thing and other drinks do count including tea and juice!


I wasn't saying they didn't count. I said they didn't count the same!

Tea is acidic, as are many juices (sugary, too), and changes the properties of water in noticeable ways. Sure, you can get the nice herbal teas with soothing properties. When I drink (iced) tea, I stick to the stuff that uses crystalline fructose or honey instead of high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweetener. When I drink juice, I always drink 100% juice and avoid the stuff with lots of artificial content, but I also don't drink a ton of juice because too much of it isn't always good for you.
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bortaS
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:10 am   
 
Chiara wrote:
Wheat and barley sounds very much like a celiac problem, or a sub-celiac gluten intolerance which new research is suggesting is not a very rare thing but actually affects about 30% of the US population.


That's the first thing I had the specialist look at. No dice. I know part of the problem I had was a fungal infection. Both my mom and dad have similar reactions, but to different foods.

Chiara wrote:
Bobs Red Mill makes a great array of alternate flours. That's the brand of almond meal I use.
If you aren't trying to go low carb, they also have several really excellent gluten free, wheat free, diary free, pretty much whatever combo you need alternative bake mixes.

Cool, thanks for the tip!
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Fang Xianfu
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:35 am   
 
Larkin wrote:
I said they didn't count the same! Tea is acidic, as are many juices (sugary, too), and changes the properties of water in noticeable ways.

Not to mention that black tea contains caffeine, which being both a stimulant and a diruetic can cause changes in the amount of water your body can absorb and retain.

But the difference isn't as massive as you'd think and really, water is still water, even with other stuff mixed in. If you're drinking two litres of coke a day, two litres of tea has a good chance of seeing more water retained. Plus, it tastes nicer, doesn't contain sweeteners by default, and gives you a lovely warm feeling in your belly ^_^
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:08 pm   
 
Its my opinion that from the stand point of flushing things out of your body, water is best because it isn't brining anything new in that needs to be flushed back out.

On the other hand, research shows that a lot of people eat too much because they can't tell the difference between hungry and thirsty, so whatever you can make yourself drink is better than adding more food you don't need.


Quote:
That's the first thing I had the specialist look at. No dice. I know part of the problem I had was a fungal infection. Both my mom and dad have similar reactions, but to different foods.


Thats very curious. What kind of fungal infection I wonder.
How much confidence do you have in your specialist? The traditional tests for celiac don't always catch it in borderline cases, and they won't pick up a moderate intolerance at all. I had the celiac blood test and it came back completely negative, despite the fact that eating large amounts of grain was causing some fairly horrific symptoms that went away when I stopped doing that.


Recipe of the day

Pumpkin Sausage soup:
brown and drain 1 lb of ground pork and 1 lb of your favorite breakfast sausage
Add seasonings that complement your sausage, I like to add a little poultry seasoning mix, extra onion, and sometimes nutmeg and chipotle pepper.
Add 1 can of pumpkin
Add enough chicken broth to get the texture you like in your soup. I like a very thick gloppy soup for this one.

Simmer at least 15 mins, 30 is better.

The original recipe I reworked finished the soup with cream, which I'm sure is very nice, but I don't do cream.
I love this and have been eating a ton all winter. Zugg doesn't care for it and only eats it when there isn't anything else.
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Tech
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:40 pm   
 
One thing I've always been thankful for is that I've got a fairly cast iron stomach. Very little upsets right now, and my poor eating habits (I eat fairly healthy, but not always at regular intervals) has help enforce it. I don't have any food allergens that I'm aware of.

My only concern would be eating red meat or pork, neither of which I've had for over 13 years now. I suspect if I had any my body (at least my digestive tract) would object vehemently.

No recipes to post. Sad
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:54 pm   
 
Quote:
My only concern would be eating red meat or pork, neither of which I've had for over 13 years now. I suspect if I had any my body (at least my digestive tract) would object vehemently.


It probably would.

Any particular reason you chose to avoid them?
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Fang Xianfu
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:55 pm   
 
Tech wrote:
I eat fairly healthy, but not always at regular intervals

I get this all the time - my sleeping pattern goes really weird unless I take pains to control it (I swear I have a 25- or 26-hour body clock) which sometimes ends up with me thinking "Eh, why am I so hungry? Oh wait, it's 9pm and I haven't eaten anything since this time yesterday".

Tech wrote:
My only concern would be eating red meat or pork, neither of which I've had for over 13 years now.

That's saddening :( I couldn't live without steak.
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 12:03 am   
 
Quote:
Eh, why am I so hungry? Oh wait, it's 9pm and I haven't eaten anything since this time yesterday


If I went 24 hours without eating I'd either be jailed (from killing people in fits of hypoglycemic bad temper) or hospitalized ( for hypoglycemic shock).

Any time I'm snarling you can guarantee Zugg's first action is going to be to diffidently suggest that possibly I might need to eat?
Heavy on the diffidence. Preferably from a distance.

I've always hated/envied people who can just not eat.

Sweet and sour style meatballs served over spaghetti squash for dinner, speaking of food.
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bortaS
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 12:40 am   What type of fungus...
 
Chiara wrote:
Thats very curious. What kind of fungal infection I wonder.

It's called Candida fungus/spores. I was told that this is the most common fungal infection in humans.
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Rainchild
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 10:13 am   
 
*taptaptap* Is this thing on?

It has been many a year since we last talked, I've been yo-yo-ing between 100 and 115kg depending on what style of weight watching (or lack there of) that I have been partaking in. Most recently, the latter.

So anyway, I just saw nutritionalist and she was suggesting I go a zero carb, high fat diet, which made me think of this thread, so... necro post!

How have you been going with this new lifestyle?
Have you kept with it, kept healthy?
Still endorse it?
How do you survive in a life without twinkies?!!! :)
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Chiara
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 11:06 am   
 
Yes, we're still doing the low carb lifestyle. We aren't as fanatical as we were but it is definitely a lifestyle. Zugg has eggs with low glycemic fruit every morning for breakfast, a nice salad with meat and cheese most days for lunch unless the office is providing lunch, in which case he makes the best choices from what is available for free, and dinner is usually a stirfry (meat and veggies-no starch) of some sort unless we eat out.

He still finds that he thinks better, longer, when he limits his carbs, and that's a real driving force. Also, although he doesn't lose well unless he's really strict, he can maintain a weight that is comfortable for him (although not slim by any means) easily, with enough slack for the occasional treat weekend and without having to worry too much about a few carbier meals here and there. At his last checkup all his blood work and blood pressure and all that were excellent. It's a life he can live with permanently.

I'm on more of a paleo approach. It's still definitely controlled carb, but I have a lot more dietary restrictions than I used to know about. It's a little insane. And my body requires some starch, having to do with being a middle aged woman with a compromised thyroid. But the quantities are strictly monitored.

Neither of us are working out at the moment. Zugg gets some exercise every day using public transportation to and from work. I've been recovering from being really sick with a thyroid issue last fall and haven't done anything in a while but and making some plans to start something in the next few weeks again. I miss being more active.

See if you can find a book titled "Living the Low Carb Life" by Jonny Bowden. It's one of the best overview books I've read, and he comes to diet from the perspective of physical trainer turned nutritionist. His writing style is light and interesting. Your nutritionist probably meant a zero 'starch' diet, which for a male I'll heartily recommend. Going zero carb is almost impossible as all veggies actually have some carbs. If you allow yourself things like in season low glycemic fruit, canteloup, honeydew melon, and berries, things are a lot more pleasant.

The biggest thing we do as a permanent lifestyle change is that we require that all our food be made entirely out of food. That's not such a big deal elsewhere but the quality of the USerican food supply is genuinely tragic. Processed foods are full of weird chemicals. Almost everything we eat starts as unadulterated meat, veg, and fruit that I prepare. Then there are a very few things that make it past my label reading. A few sauces that are really useful short cuts, like a gluten free teryaki sauce I can buy, or Zugg's favorite sugar free popsicles that make it more possible for him to avoid sugars. I can't use artificial sweeteners either. My need for a very clean diet helps Zugg keep his clean by virtue of what does and doesn't come into the house. We can both really tell that, despite the expense, sticking to higher quality food contributes to better health.

Twinkies are an abomination against all the is good and right. On the other hand, there is a small box of organic mini-cinnamon rolls in the kitchen for our treat weekend. Zugg was very excited to see them.
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