Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Day 4 - early evening

I wasn't able to weigh myself this morning as my scale, which is digital, started saying 4.8 lbs before I even stepped on it. I was already a bit suspicious of it, so I'd ordered a new one from Amazon, it'll arrive either today or tomorrow. Anyway, as several of you have pointed out, it's not necessarily good to weigh oneself constantly.

I've got a whole list of things to buy from the supermarket -- now I have more of an idea what this diet is all about -- and I will go and buy them tomorrow. Unfortunately, I've had a bit of a work crisis today (plus on Tuesdays I am constantly driving my children from one activity to the next - speech therapy, gymnastics etc) so I haven't gone shopping yet. I am definitely eating too little during the day. Today, so far, I have only eaten a handful of walnuts, a block of cheddar cheese and some prosciutto. I know it's not good, and I promise not to do it again! Dinner looks good though, Charlie is cooking. We are planning asparagus with butter and eggs, roast pork and cabbage or broccoli.

Thinking today's eating pattern through as I write this, I have to confess it's fairly typical. I'm always a bit vampire-like, eating minimally during the day when I'm very busy, and then, feasting at night with a big meal with (hopefully) multiple courses and wine. Not that I am drinking wine, as of yesterday. I have given it up.

I am drinking lots of water, by my standards. This feels great. I normally don't have much interest in water, I just drink tea and coffee or, after 6pm beer or wine. It feels much more natural to want water instead of any of those.

This was yesterday's eating log (I know, not enough):
Breakfast - Bacon and eggs
Lunch - Walnuts
Snack - Carrots dipped in mayonnaise
Dinner - Steak with garlic and butter sauce, red cabbage cooked with (just a little bit of) apple, carrot salad with vinaigrette.




 

3 comments:

  1. Hi Sophie:

    You are really on the right path now! :) You'll do very well.

    "Thinking today's eating pattern through as I write this, I have to confess it's fairly typical. I'm always a bit vampire-like, eating minimally during the day when I'm very busy, and then, feasting at night with a big meal with (hopefully) multiple courses and wine. Not that I am drinking wine, as of yesterday. I have given it up."

    This is such a crucial insight to have. This lifestyle is successful largely because we keep insulin and blood sugar steady. So eating regular meals throughout the day is an important concept to implement. Now that you have this level of self-understanding, you will be able to achieve even easier success.

    "We are planning asparagus with butter and eggs, roast pork and cabbage or broccoli."

    This is a great dinner. I often eat slices of pasture-raised pork with asparagus & hollandaise, as well as cabbage in cream. My guy is Danish, so this is a "normal" dinner for him; he probably has no idea he is eating "diet" food.

    I try to keep my portion sizes sensible - 4-6 oz pork, 4-6 spears of asparagus, 1/2 cup cabbage or broccoli.

    However now that I've adopted this lifestyle for a long time, I don't have to measure anymore. But if you were to weigh all the food, you would quickly discover you are eating far more veggies by weight than anything else! ;)

    Now I just "know" what a good portion size looks like and eat until I'm full. This means I rarely finish a plate with the above portions. Like you - I'm just not so hungry anymore now that I have level blood sugar and steady fat-burning.

    Your husband of course should be eating more, as tall guy he can probably eat 8 oz of pork. He'll love this lifestyle - it's very man-friendly.

    I'd love to hear more about your shopping list too! Glad to see your commitment on display! :)

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  2. Sorry - but Gary's book says to avoid "'starchy' vegetables such as ... carrots, ..."

    Keep up the good work! I've followed this for 11 months and lost 20kg to date.

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  3. Good catch Dumbo!

    The Taubes diet is based on Dr. Westman's, really - the one Westman explains in his own video, which I posted for you the other day. :)

    Westman advises beginners to avoid carrots, based on their glycemic index (cooked they are 39), which is higher than the veggies he wants you to start this lifestyle with.

    You may find some low-carb people will allow 1/4 cup raw carrot after the first 2 or 3 weeks. My advice to you Sophie is to be as strict as you can, without beating yourself up about it. :)

    You might try to add that 1/4 c. shredded raw carrots for color to a big salad at lunch and see how you feel. I myself don't like to eat them - I can feel their sugar! But you may not, and your husband, esp. if he exercises, also may not.

    Definitely however avoid the legumes, winter squashes, and beets right now. You can experiment with those in a few weeks if you like. Your broccoli, mixed salads and asparagus are spot on. :)

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