He said, "I'm trying." He's right, baby steps.
It reminds me of the small steps that I have taken in the last 12 months:
- September 2011: added more carbs back into my previous low carb diet via starches thanks to a wake up call from Anthony Colpo.
- December 2011: added more fruit back into my diet and removed more meat from my diet when my cholesterol was consistently higher than 220 mg/dL.
- March 2012: added even more fruit to my diet (morning green smoothies and all fruit for lunch) and removed almost all meat/dairy from my diet after watching a lot of raw vegan Youtube videos.
- April 2012: removed diet soda completely from my diet, mainly to eliminate bad flatulance (and it worked).
- May 2012: stopped using shampoo in my hair (only rinse with water).
- June 2012: started running about 5-6 days per week after 4 month rest period.
- July 2012: started drinking orange juice daily after my China trip.
- August 2012: started eating mono meal fruit lunches for easy digestion.
Hi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteBecause the term "Carbs" is sometimes ill-defined, would you mind sharing a short list of the Carbs you consume?
Also, being a former low-carb advocate, do you feel the concern about Insulin is wrong or just overblown?
CarbSane made an excellent point in another post about the individual's starting point. Mark Sisson, for example, was an endurance athlete. Unfortunately, I started-out as a porky kid and have usually been a bit overfat.
So, when considering exercise or dietary recommendations, I try to understand where the other person started.
I wish you much health and happiness on your journey.
-Porky
I drink about 64 oz water daily, so that's low carb, otherwise, here's a typical day:
ReplyDeletebreakfast includes melons, but ususally a green smoothie: some combination of bananas, dates, spinach, pineapple, mango, blueberries, strawberries, water
morning snack: bananas, dates or a granola bar
lunch: grapes, carrots, apples or oranges, sometimes leftovers from previous dinner
afternoon snack: this is the part of the day where I typically make unhealthy choices, specially if I didn't eat enough at lunch. I typically dip into the snack jar at work which could be crackers, cookies or peanut M&Ms. I do my best to limit the quantitiy to one handful. Sometimes, I pack extra fruit for this time of the day. This is an area where I have room for more baby steps.
dinner: includes cooked starches like potatoes, rice or noodles. Stir fry is a favorite, bean and rice burritos are another favorite. Sometimes I keep it raw and have veggie wraps. Friday nights are always a visit to the local Thai restaurant.
Regarding insulin, I thought Gary Taubes made a lot of sense about insulin resistance and carbs, but I'm not a biology expert and I became doubtful about what I read in his books after listening to his critics. There were also things about Mark Sisson that never settled with me, like his carbohydrate curve. If his carb theories were true, China should be an obese population, but they aren't, yet. And regarding weight loss, even though Sisson repeats the low carb message throught his book, Primal Blueprint, it's not until the final chapters on "troubleshooting" that he suggests to cut the calories.
Bottom line, applying low carb to my diet alone didn't work for my weight loss. The diet choices that I make today are geared more for my health than just weight loss. You could say that I have been heavily influenced by Dan McDonald.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteHello, again. Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply. That's a really nice insight to your food choices.
Over the past few years, I've gone-back-and-forth on my beliefs about diet that I'm not really sure who or what to believe.
Really, it seems kinda silly that we (as a population) would need to be told what to eat. As others have written elsewhere, no other species needs such direction.
In my case, all the books, blogs, videos, and podcasts have done is to make me even MORE skeptical and uncertain. As a result, the numbers of foods I eat continues to shrink.
Maybe you can relate, at least in some small part.
As my thoughts and my free time have been consumed with this perpetual quest for the unknowable -- selecting the "right" foods -- your story has been encouraging. I’m definitely in need of a change.
Best wishes.
One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein, "The important thing is not to stop questioning."
ReplyDeleteThen go with the answers that ring truest to you.