Compilation of Eating Changes & Diet Explanations

The following information is copied straight from an email I have sent to a few of my coworkers who have been curious about my weight loss. Browse if you need encouragement, ideas, shopping list contents, etc.!

http://www.healthywage.com/contest/Ten_Percent_Challenge/tellmemore - get paid $100 to lose 10% of your body weight. I only have 3 lbs to go!

http://nutritiondata.self.com/  -  I use this website all the time to check the caloric/carb content in ANYTHING.

And this is why the low carb diet works:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-06-27/calories-low-carb-weight-loss/55843134/1

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/what-really-makes-us-fat.html
(this one explains the first one a little more)


In order to get your body into Ketosis (the fat burning stage in the beginning), you have to rid your body/diet of all carbs.  Your MAX number of carbs, per day, for the first 2 weeks (at least) is 20 grams. This is when your body is retraining itself to get its energy from the existing fat stores you already have (hence why the most weight is lost at the beginning).  Once you have lost a little more than half of the total you want to lose, you can SLOWLY start adding carbs back into your diet.  I’m at the point right now where I will allow myself to eat all vegetables (limiting potatoes/corn) – regardless of their carb intake.  But I’m also 2 months into the diet.  I don’t know that I will ever allow flour/gluten to become a staple in my diet again. I’m focusing more on a food pyramid that looks like this from here on out, and I feel good about it (I think that is the key to success - not limiting, but choosing):

http://www.personal.kent.edu/~cearley/ChemWrld/foodpyramid/pyramid.htm


The following foods all have less than 2g carbs per serving:

Sugar free jello – experiment w/ different flavors so you don’t get bored with it! ;)
Sugar free popsicles
Pickles
Olives
String cheese (low fat, preferably)
Pork rinds (found in the chip aisle – for that crunch if you need it)
Tuna Salad made with mayo
Chicken salad made with mayo
Celery
Crystal Light
Flavored fizzy water (artificially sweetened or not sweetened)
Eggs
Bacon (I use low sodium turkey bacon and just crisp it up so you can hardly tell it’s turkey)
Chicken
Beef
Fish
Buffalo Chicken Wings (can be found frozen: fried, not breaded)
Lettuce
Ranch Dressing
Blue cheese dressing
Caesar Dressing
Hot dogs
Bratwursts
Diet sodas
Unsweetened Tea (add splenda, but watch Truvia – it has the same amount of carbs as real sugar does)

Vegetables:
Zucchini 1 C – 4g
Asparagus 1 C – 3g
Celery
Lettuce
Spinach – 1 C – 2g
Broccoli – 1 C – 6g

Oils, butters & fats are virtually carb free!

Heavy whipping cream (think alfredo sauce) is also low in carbs. I have a simple recipe for alfredo sauce listed on the Spaghetti Squash & Alfredo link.

It’s a change – and some of the symptoms of ketosis that you might notice are headaches, achy joints/muscles for the first 3-5 days of virtually no carbs.  But after that, your body gets this ‘euphoric’ feeling, and you start seeing everything with rose-colored glasses (if you’re doing it right!).  Your appetite shrinks a lot after the first week or so – which helps contribute to a better lifestyle/weight loss!

On this diet, you can have as much chicken, beef, pork, protein as you want – you’re not watching calories, just carbs! You can even grab a burger (no bun) if you have to pick something up in the drive through.  Hardees has a “Low Carb” burger, wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun, just FYI. For health reasons, it is ideal to stick to lean proteins (think chicken & fish).

Hope this helps!!