TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
Summary
What we Ate
Prior to Sept, 2010, we ate a diet low in fat and high in complex carbs (e.g. brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, etc.). We baked a loaf of bread every other day, and breakfast (for me) consisted of
After Sept 1, that breakfast might consist of
Pre-low-carb dinners included homemade pizza, chicken with potatoes and salad, fish with brown rice and vegetables, spaghetti with multigrain pasta, steak and couscous, etc. On bike rides, I'd eat high-carb energy bars and often have a sweet drink afterwards. Desserts included homemade cookies, cakes, and pies.
Low carb dinners were usually some form of meat (steak, pork roast, chicken, fish) plus a salad or vegetables.
During the last six months, I haven't had any bread, rice, potatoes, or sweet drinks. I haven't had any normal cookies or cakes. We've had plenty of great low-carb desserts (cheesecake, low-carb peanut butter cookies, etc.). On bike rides I'd eat some peanut m&ms.
We've had spaghetti consisting of a very small amount of al dente whole wheat pasta with large Italian sausages.
Pre-low carb, I tried hard to limit my eating. For the first month of low-carb eating, I made no effort to limit myself. That is, I ate plenty of nuts (including macadamias) and meat. However, since I wasn't seeing any decrease in weight, I went back to keeping portions small, and limiting how many nuts I ate.
I miss the things I've cut out (e.g. toast and jelly), but this is made up for by the things I've added (2% milk or whole milk, steaks, more nuts, low-carb cheesecake). In the past, I allowed myself eggnog and mixed nuts only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now, I can have it any day (eggnog = 1 cup half & half + 1 tsp sugar-free eggnog syrup). I somewhat prefer our old diet.
Surprisingly, eating more meat did not increase our grocery bill:
The hardest part of the diet is constantly being bombarded by messages that fat is bad, and whole grains are good. From Jay Leno jokes about the new double bacon cheeseburger to public service announcements. Is it possible that Taubes is mistaken? Is believing that fat is OK like believing that vaccinations cause autism?
Cholesterol
Years ago, my total cholesterol was 210. Last August, it was 144 and this February it was 169. My guess is that the increase from 144 to 169 isn't significant. With all the nuts, my good cholesterol probably increased. In any case, my total cholesterol level is still in a healthy range, and it didn't shoot up despite my eating perhaps five times as much meat, eggs, and milkfat (we drink about two gallons of milk per week, and changed from non-fat to 2%).
Waist
My waist size (measured at widest point) decreased slightly, but I'm not sure it's a significant reduction, given prior fluctuations.
Hunger
Am I less hungry on the low-carb diet? Maybe a little bit, but it's hard to know for sure. If I get a craving in the afternoon, I'll have some nuts or a piece of salami (!) and it usually goes away.
Weight
Neither of us lost a significant amount of weight (DWs weight remained constant, I lost a pound or two. I currently weight 162 lbs at 5' 11"). It's noteworthy that despite eating a high-fat diet, neither of us gained weight.
Conclusion
I plan to keep carbs low. I'm going to do more research to make sure I'm not just a fad-diet wacko. Just from the standpoint of avoiding diabetes, keeping carbs low makes sense to me.
DW misses the carbs more than I did. Last night she prepared the bread machine so that this morning at 6 AM a loaf of bread was available for her to celebrate the end of six months of low carb. However, she plans to keep carbs somewhat low (e.g. quarter serving of rice with meal).
After six months of reducing carbs and increasing fats in our diet my weight went down slightly, DWs remained constant. My cholesterol level went up slightly (DWs not measured). Another way of looking at this, is that despite eating a high fat diet, our weight did not increase, and my cholesterol did not rise significantly.
After getting interested in the idea that carbohydrates are not good for you (see this thread), DW and I decided to cut down on carbs.
What we Ate
Prior to Sept, 2010, we ate a diet low in fat and high in complex carbs (e.g. brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, etc.). We baked a loaf of bread every other day, and breakfast (for me) consisted of
- A slice of whole wheat bread with ICBINBL and homemade jam, and 12-16 oz of nonfat milk or
- Oatmeal or homemade granola with OJ, or
- Smoothie with milk, chocolate powder, 1-2 bananas.
After Sept 1, that breakfast might consist of
- 1 egg and 1-2 strips of bacon, or
- 1 egg and 1-2 sausages, or
- Smoothie with 2% milk, protein powder, .5 banana
Pre-low-carb dinners included homemade pizza, chicken with potatoes and salad, fish with brown rice and vegetables, spaghetti with multigrain pasta, steak and couscous, etc. On bike rides, I'd eat high-carb energy bars and often have a sweet drink afterwards. Desserts included homemade cookies, cakes, and pies.
Low carb dinners were usually some form of meat (steak, pork roast, chicken, fish) plus a salad or vegetables.
During the last six months, I haven't had any bread, rice, potatoes, or sweet drinks. I haven't had any normal cookies or cakes. We've had plenty of great low-carb desserts (cheesecake, low-carb peanut butter cookies, etc.). On bike rides I'd eat some peanut m&ms.
We've had spaghetti consisting of a very small amount of al dente whole wheat pasta with large Italian sausages.
Pre-low carb, I tried hard to limit my eating. For the first month of low-carb eating, I made no effort to limit myself. That is, I ate plenty of nuts (including macadamias) and meat. However, since I wasn't seeing any decrease in weight, I went back to keeping portions small, and limiting how many nuts I ate.
I miss the things I've cut out (e.g. toast and jelly), but this is made up for by the things I've added (2% milk or whole milk, steaks, more nuts, low-carb cheesecake). In the past, I allowed myself eggnog and mixed nuts only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now, I can have it any day (eggnog = 1 cup half & half + 1 tsp sugar-free eggnog syrup). I somewhat prefer our old diet.
Surprisingly, eating more meat did not increase our grocery bill:
The hardest part of the diet is constantly being bombarded by messages that fat is bad, and whole grains are good. From Jay Leno jokes about the new double bacon cheeseburger to public service announcements. Is it possible that Taubes is mistaken? Is believing that fat is OK like believing that vaccinations cause autism?
Cholesterol
Years ago, my total cholesterol was 210. Last August, it was 144 and this February it was 169. My guess is that the increase from 144 to 169 isn't significant. With all the nuts, my good cholesterol probably increased. In any case, my total cholesterol level is still in a healthy range, and it didn't shoot up despite my eating perhaps five times as much meat, eggs, and milkfat (we drink about two gallons of milk per week, and changed from non-fat to 2%).
Waist
My waist size (measured at widest point) decreased slightly, but I'm not sure it's a significant reduction, given prior fluctuations.
Hunger
Am I less hungry on the low-carb diet? Maybe a little bit, but it's hard to know for sure. If I get a craving in the afternoon, I'll have some nuts or a piece of salami (!) and it usually goes away.
Weight
Neither of us lost a significant amount of weight (DWs weight remained constant, I lost a pound or two. I currently weight 162 lbs at 5' 11"). It's noteworthy that despite eating a high-fat diet, neither of us gained weight.
Conclusion
I plan to keep carbs low. I'm going to do more research to make sure I'm not just a fad-diet wacko. Just from the standpoint of avoiding diabetes, keeping carbs low makes sense to me.
DW misses the carbs more than I did. Last night she prepared the bread machine so that this morning at 6 AM a loaf of bread was available for her to celebrate the end of six months of low carb. However, she plans to keep carbs somewhat low (e.g. quarter serving of rice with meal).