I'm continuing the keep both blogs for a while but I just posted my before and after photos over there and I'm too lazy to reformat them again over here. Please check them out if you are interested in my progress.
I am continuing to tweak my low carb program. I can no longer really say that it is strictly Kimkins but it's also not quite Atkins either. Perhaps I need to just wean myself off one onto the other. Or perhaps there is some gray area in between that will be the right combination for me. I increased my calories and fat content and hope to get down to 142 by the end of the week. We'll see.
In the meantime, I continue to scour the web looking to pick the virtual brains of other low carbers and gain some insight for the long haul. I've found some great resources that I will continue to add to the links on the right. Check them out if you too are looking for answers. And take a look at that "before" picture and you will see what happens when I forget the low carb lifestyle. It's not pretty.
I think perhaps I need to carry that picture around in my wallet or post it on my fridge as a constant reminder of what will happen if I get sloppy.
In the meantime, stay tuned for less of me.
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4 comments:
Wow, your pics are wonderful! Congratulations on all of your success. Bet it was fun to pick out your cruise clothes this year!Also, I just wanted to say that you're not alone in being "between" programs, sort of. Me, too. We all have to make it livable, right, and with enough research, we can see the essential principles among the programs. :)
Yes those pictures look great -- what a difference!! Your hard work definitely shows!
I'm in the same boat as you. Finding the grey area that works for you is the best tactic (IMHO).
I never really stick to one 'diet' wholeheartedly but take the bits and pieces that work for me. It's the only way for me to make it a lifestyle change instead of a temporary fix.
I read the Drs. Eades "Protein Power Life Plan" and Dr. Atkins latest "New Diet Revolution" and then I just came up with what worked for me based on the general guidelines. I work not to eat enough carbs to throw me out of ketosis, that's the top limit; but sometimes I eat nearly zero, or 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. I don't usually deduct fiber/SA carbs, but sometimes I do, it really just depends on what else I've had that day. I got supplements I wanted after considering it for awhile but always forget to take them. I want to limit my calories to probably around 2500, though it could be more at my weight, but half the time I have a problem eating even 1000 so it doesn't matter to me.
In the end, I am on "a lowcarb plan" and if asked which one, I say, "my own." I don't use anybody's official rules or strict guidelines. Even when I "eat clean" or aka "re-induction" I merely work to keep my carbs under ~20 and my protein at ~120 and otherwise eat whatever I want. And, I eat high-carb one day per two weeks generally, as a 'cycling' effect.
I've lost over 110 lbs so far. Could it have been faster? Yes, but it was still pretty quick, certainly compared to highcarb diets. The thing is, it's been healthy, it's been whatever I wanted and needed it to be, it's allowed me to sometimes eat stuff I can't have otherwise (which I believe has a lot of nutritional value if the food is decent -- e.g. orange juice and oatmeal and carrots on high carb days). There are days when I want a bacon, mayo and avocado sandwich on lowcarb bread and that's ok. There are days I want a spicy burrito with salsa (thank goodness for LC tortillas) and that's ok. There are days I want chocolate, or something blueberry, and that's ok too. Once you get the hang of lowcarb eating, it can be a great thing.
The limitations that various diets put on eating drive me crazy. Aside from carbs, which you have to limit or you lose ketosis state and get cravings, I think most restriction eventually just makes people miserable or binge. I do see that people are often reactive to gluten, grains, caseine in dairy, nuts, and so I understand Atkins good logic in OWL, and I myself avoid gluten and regular milk, but again it's just "what works for you".
I think the definition of plans to some degree focuses on the messenger instead of the message... rather like having a zillion religious denominations that all essentially believe the same thing with only minor differences... a person is perfectly capable of having their own brand of spirituality without officially claiming any one of them.
The reality is that I suck at consistently doing any number anyway. My protein, my calories, my carbs, they are all over the chart. I try to eat at least 1500 calories but often fail, I try to eat 120-150 protein but often fail. Dang it. Still, it's more an issue of not eating enough than of eating too much. I don't feel deprived. On the contrary I gripe about having to eat so often.
My point is that you don't have to do anybody else's plan in order to do lowcarb. Anybody with a brain can educate themselves about the variety of options and can tweak their own eating every week, every day, to be more or less in any given area.
Man, I go on and on!
Anyway re: your comment on my blog, heck I don't care if people do Kimkins! I would like people to be healthy, but if someone really wants to pursue that Darwins Laws of Dieting danger on purpose, it's their body not mine. ;-) I'm happy you've done such a fabulous job on your body so far and that you're taking health seriously and doing something good for you. That's what matters!
PJ-
Thank you so much for sharing what is working for you. I agree wholeheartedly that if we are all to be successful at low-carb eating, then we have to educate ourselves and find the appropriate balance. Everyone's body chemistry is different and if we make informed decisions, we are much more likely to be successful.
Any other program I've tried in the past that had real hard and fast rules bored me after a while and resulted in me "cheating" and throwing in the towel. (i.e WW)
If we listen to our bodies and really pay attention to what is working... then like you... we will be successful in our efforts long term.
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