Low-carbing has given me back my health. No longer plagued with migraines, depression, arthritis, high cholesterol, bloating, inflammation and other health issues, I am extremely grateful to have found this WOE. However, at my age and metabolic condition, low-carbing has been unsuccessful in contributing to weight loss and loss of cravings.
SO..., I've gone back to meat, fish, eggs, a daily coffee with cream and an occasional onion. Started on November 1st and all my cravings have vanished, I eat once or twice a day and have lost 5 lbs. The edema in my feet has vanished and I have been able to put on my winter boots with no problems so I can shovel the tons of snow off my car and take it out for a spin before my auto mechanic gives me shit for letting it sit during cold weather.
This diet needs to be tweeked by everyone because everyone is different. I found that I can't tolerate whey protein and coconut oil so I've switched to real meat/fish and butter and lard. I can tolerate my one cup of coffee a day with cream. Right now I've got a beef stew in the crock pot with 1/4 onion and no other veggies.
Hopefully, this can be sustained until I lose all the weight I need to lose. When that happens, I can then decide if I want to go low-carb. But for now, it's mostly meat and eggs.
I have been rather disappointedd by my low-carb attempts. I got some modest improvements in sleep and acne, but nothing happened to my weight or my hypertension (which were my primary targets). However, I know for sure that fasting gets rid of my hypertension completely. So, logically, the next best thing should be low-carb. Right?
ReplyDeleteI think I am where you were a few weeks ago. Low-carb is ok, but, meh, not the advertised panacea. I am hesitating between keto (low carb and lowish protein) and zero-carb (no carb, unlimited protein). Have you tried both? I guess what you are doing now is pretty much zero-carb. Do you know what your macros look like? Any idea what made the difference between your previous diet and your current one? I all ears for any advice right now.
Thanks.
Valerie, I have had a lot of success with low-carb generally for health issues, however, all meat (almost zero-carb) works best for me for weight loss because it does have the fasting component to it. You just don't feel like eating all the time. I am very metabolically broken, old and very resistant to weight loss. Zero carb is what seems to work. Maybe when I lose all that I need to I'll go low carb but for now this is what works. Bone broth daily plus supplementation with D3, magnesium, potassium and fish oil seem to be working. Macros so far this month are 75% fat, 5% carbs, 20% protein but since I use fitday it's not quite accurate. For instance they don't have bone broth as a food item.
DeleteBravissima, H! you're a winner!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tess. Nothing like re-starting for the 1000th time.
DeleteGO, HORFILMANIA!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you avoid soups and sauerkraut too? What was your negative reaction on a coconut oil?
ReplyDeleteGalina, I still have a cup of bone broth almost every day and make it once a week if I can get the beef bones. The only veggies are once in a while like I made beef stew today with nothing but 1/4 of an onion. So I got 4 servings out of that so that really doesn't count much. I I go out to eat I may have a salisbury steak with about 1/4 cup coleslaw but I don't do that often anymore. Regarding coconut oil, it just didn't sit well with me and I felt bloated all the time when using it. Lard and butter feel better.
DeleteI mentioned soup because it is my winter comfort food. May be you rightfully avoid any food which is something else than a food . The easiest soup which I make sometimes is zero-carbs - I add to a bone broth chopped hard-boiled egg , parsley, scallions and garlic. I got the idea from a traditional Easter European sorrel soup. It contains only broth, sauteed onion and a small amount of a sorrel (a big amount would taste too sour), but because the soup is served with a chopped egg , scallions and a big amount of a sour-cream, it gets more substantial on a plate. Here in Florida I mix a spinach with a sorrel most of the time while making such dish.
DeleteMay be the famous anty-bacterial properties of a coconut oil don't make it the perfect fat source for gut microflora in some people, especially from the North. For better or for worse I rarely have any GI problems from any food unless substantial amounts of a resistant starch reached my large intestine.
DeleteYou got it right!!! Everyone is different so we should each find our own strategies!
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking to my blog!