Low carb, high fat diet: Week 2

Current Weight: 127.2

Starting weight: 129.4

Total pounds lost: 2.2

I had many ups and downs in weight this week. My lowest, prior to Easter, was on Day 4 when I saw I was down 2.6 pounds. In 4 days. Amazing.  Especially when I had recently been trying to work out more and eat less but was not losing any weight. 

I have noticed that my weight seems to fluctuate each morning, depending on how well I followed the diet the day before. This can be very encouraging to see the scale going in the right direction! 

I have definitely cheated on this diet. I had a bit of a detour last weekend, post-10k race, where there really wasn't any food available on this diet, and free beer, chips and cookies. Then I went to a crawfish boil where I ate chips, more dessert and beer. Beer is high in carbs and not at all on this diet. With the next day being Easter, I did not follow the diet either... I had to bake a pound cake with fresh whipped cream and berries. (I just had to, yes.) And I had to sample it of course!  With all of that, it was not surprising on Monday when I was back up in weight, making my net loss only a pound. 

This week, I was able to get back on track. I have still been eating some fruit, I just don't feel like I can really give that up, because I know it's healthy. (Same with wine.) But I'm sure if I stopped eating fruit and drinking wine the results would be more dramatic. I may try that for a few days and see how it affects my weight. 

A friend of mine told me that she didn't think she would be able to do this diet, as she would go into withdrawal from all the sugar she eats. I didn't realize how much sugar some people add to coffee, tea, etc. every day. That may be why I haven't experienced withdrawal or even many cravings--I don't add sugar or eat many processed foods with added sugar. Really, I think my issue was the simple carbs like fries, potatoes, bread, and possibly even yogurt and milk. Plus dessert on most days of course! I have always considered plain yogurt and skim milk to be very healthful, so it was quite different for me to remove those from my diet. I may add them back in later, if I find they don't affect me. The book made it clear that some people are more sensitive to carbs and sugar than others, which is why they may be more overweight. They may not be able to even eat fruit without gaining weight. Others, probably like me, can tolerate more carbs and sugar without gaining weight.

The best part about this diet is it's easy to follow. With the high fat, I don't get hungry. And with the fast results, I am encouraged to stay on the diet. 

The worst part about this diet is coming up with different meal ideas. But it's kind of fun too, challenging me to change the way I eat lunch, from a sandwich or wrap to something else like a salad or a lettuce wrap. These Asian chicken lettuce cups were delicious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Lettuce-Cups-369491

Instead of adding sugar, I added a small amount of agave syrup, which has a lower glycemic index-meaning it shouldn't raise insulin levels as much, and so won't store as much of the sugar as fat.

And with the diet, you are required to eat leafy greens with each meal. I grew tired of putting them into my eggs for breakfast, so I created this fresh-tasting orange-spinach juice in my blender:

Fill your blender with spinach, add a small amount of orange juice (just to make it taste slightly sweeter) and enough water and ice to blend. Adding some fresh ginger could be a tasty addition. You can buy ginger already grated in a small jar similar to garlic.

I've realized that I like to "cheat" on my healthy eating every time I have an opportunity. In this town, New Orleans, there is always an opportunity! A dinner out, a festival, or even a race I have used as an excuse to eat and drink unhealthfully. The problem is, these events are multiple times a week. We have to try to eat healthfully most of the time and only splurge very occasionally when it is really worth it.

Trying this low carb craze for health: Days 1 and 2

Let me start by saying this isn't a diet, it's a change in the way I eat. I would like to lose a few pounds that have become more difficult to lose as I get older. I have felt recently that I just don't have the willpower to run the 6 miles a day and eat the salads it takes to maintain 120 pounds on my frame. I love good food too much! And I don't want to be working out all the time, I value time with friends and family as well. It's always been my food philosophy that if you eat real, whole foods that are delicious and satisfying you will be healthier. My mom and her mother always tried to make food from scratch and grew fresh vegetables in their gardens that were not only nutritious but delicious. I started thinking differently about food when I recently read that saturated fats may not cause heart disease after all. Heart attacks run in my family, so this is a great concern of mine.

I also started thinking differently about food and diet when a friend, Tomas, started talking about the high fat, low carb diet he was on. He has lost 90 pounds, but he also trained for and completed an Ironman race. So I thought it didn't really matter what he ate-calories in would be less than calories out right?  Then his girlfriend Anne also started the diet and lost 10 pounds without exercise. That caused me to think, this diet really can work for us non-Ironman types. So I thought I would at least read the book he recommended, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It, by Gary Taubes.

It was a very interesting, eye opening book that challenged my beliefs about weight loss and eating for health. The basic premise is that carbohydrates and sugars make you fat by raising your insulin levels, which is what causes the body to store fat. He points to the low fat revolution of the 1980s which reversed what had been common knowledge for some two hundred years that sugar, bread, potatoes, and other carbohydrates made you fat. Studies that claimed saturated fat gives a higher risk of heart disease were flawed, as has been recently shown. 

This book convinced me to at least try this new way of eating, which really isn't that dissimilar from what I have done in the past. The difference is the increase in fat.  I have tried to avoid carbohydrates and sugar, but without the corresponding increase in fat. This made the diet unsustainable because I felt hungry.  Increasing my saturated fat intake makes me nervous, as we have been told for my entire lifetime that it increases heart disease risk.  I will keep a close eye on my cholesterol levels to ensure that it does not increase too much.  My cholesterol has always been low.  Triglycerides, which also are a risk factor for heart disease when they are high, should be lower from eating fewer carbs and sugar.  I am also avoiding low fat dairy-milk, yogurt and low fat cheese.  This is new to me as milk and yogurt comprise a significant portion of my diet.  According to Gary Taubes, some people can tolerate more carbohydrates than others without gaining weight.  That is why some people are genetically bound to weigh more than others.  It's about finding what your body can tolerate at your ideal weight.  I may add dairy back in later.  I am also still eating small amounts of fruit--I don't want to eliminate those entirely as they are so healthy, but I am making sure that they don't comprise a large part of my diet.

Day 1:

Weight: 129.4

Breakfast: 3 slices bacon, 2 scrambled eggs with cheese and spinach, espresso with cream, few cubes of cheese.

Lunch:  romaine salad with parmigianno reggianno, olive oil and basalmic vinegar, chicken strips with marinara sauce ( I didn't realize breading was not allowed either so I tried to scrape off).
Snack: pear with several cubes of cheese.
Dinner:  Shrimp antipasto salad with olives, peas with butter, salami.
Snack: 2 small squares of chocolate

Notes:  I feel very full and satisfied after meals.   No pressing need to snack, I am eating as much as I want of the allowed foods.  It is so strange (but refreshing) to not try to calorie count.  My hunger is different as well, it is not the crazy, I must eat now, hunger that I am used to.  This may cause less crabbiness in between meals which I am sure my boyfriend Art will appreciate!

Day 2:
Weight:  128.1

I lost 1.3 pounds!!  This may be water weight, but it is the encouragement I need to stay on track!

Banana Cream Pie Breakfast Smoothie

Smoothies are one of my go-to, fast healthy breakfasts. You can put so much good healthy extras in there like spinach, quick oats, nuts, or ground flax seed meal (with its heart-healthy omega 3s). I went with ground flax seed meal today to emulate a graham cracker crust flavor.  I was inspired by both the two too-ripe bananas on my counter and the AMAZING Banana cream pie I had at Emerils restaurant this week! (It is necessary to splurge sometimes!) With smoothies, I like to make several servings and keep in the fridge in individual plastic cups, making for a quick breakfast on the go!

Banana Cream Pie Smoothie (350 calories, 6g fat, 25g protein)

2 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt 

1 cup skim milk

2 bananas

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons ground flax seed meal 

5-10 ice cubes (use fewer or none if you plan to refrigerate them, the ice will melt and make the smoothie thinner)

Put ingredients in blender and blend till smooth. Done! (To lighten the calories, make 3 servings rather than two-230 calories each).

Summertime Salads: Asian Beef Salad with Cucumbers and Peanuts

Asian Beef Salad with Cucumbers and Peanuts

Back on my salad kick--I feel so much healthier eating salads every day for lunch. It's nice and light, low carbs, you get your greens in and your lean protein. This is one of my favorite salads. Let's face it, you have to keep it interesting and flavorful to be excited about a salad for lunch. I always try to make all my lunches on Sunday and bring it in to work so I'm prepared for the week with healthy meals.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 lb London broil (top round) beef

1 container baby spinach

Roasted and salted peanuts

2 cucumbers, sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 shallot, sliced

3 green onions, sliced (only green part)

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Hot sauce to taste

Salt and pepper the London broil, both sides. Broil on high, both sides until medium rare, about 3-5 min per side depending on thickness. Let rest for a few minutes. 

Mix last 4 ingredients, then mix with cucumbers, cilantro, shallot and green onions. Slice London broil against the grain into thin slices. Chill if desired.

Assemble:

Pile the spinach onto a plate, top with cucumber mixture, beef, and garnish with peanuts.

About 300 calories.

Can't go wrong with bacon and cheese!

Had some Brussels sprouts from the Hollygrove market, which go amazingly with bacon. Made a simple meal of pasta carbonara with Brussels sprouts and mushrooms. So delicious and creamy! Not bad for you either, with the whole wheat pasta and lots of veggies!

Ingredients
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 slices bacon, chopped finely
2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 eggs, mixed with a fork
1/2 cup pecorino Romano cheese, grated
4 servings Whole wheat pasta, fettuccine or what you have on hand ( I had penne and spinach spaghetti)
Parsley, chopped to garnish

Heat water for pasta and cook according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and let cook for a minute. Then add bacon and cook until almost crispy. Add Brussels sprouts, cook for a few minutes. Then add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms and Brussels sprouts are tender. Take off heat.

Drain pasta and add back to pot. Add eggs and mix well, add cheese and mix well. Add vegetables and toss to combine. Garnish with parsley and serve and enjoy!

Spiced Banana Bread

This is my favorite recipe for banana bread--it comes out so moist! I modified the recipe slightly to use nonfat yogurt instead of sour cream, lowered the sugar, and added the spices to enhance the flavor.

Spiced Banana Bread

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients while mixing. Added bananas and yogurt and mix. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.

What to do with kumquats??

On of the many reasons I love getting the Hollygrove market box is that I get to try new fruits and veggies that I would not normally try. One such example are kumquats. I've eaten these once before from the farmers market, and seen them growing in bushes around New Orleans in people's yards. They are like tiny oranges, so small and tender that you eat the rind. The flavor is somewhat bitter given the rind, but they are juicy and satisfying to snack on like grapes.

I searched for recipes and found this one from epicurious.com, a cranberry kumquat chutney. Super simple and I already happened to have a bag of fresh cranberries on hand in the freezer, so no need to buy additional ingredients.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Kumquat-Sauce-240550?mbid=ipapp

Here is the result. It is a beautiful garnet color with the orange kumquat pieces, and it is delicious too. I put it over simple baked salmon and it is an incredibly flavorful pairing. I eat salmon often for health benefits, so I'll freeze some of this chutney for a tasty and quick dinner later on.