So I didn't lose this week and knew it on Thursday which left me very discouraged and down. Sure enough Friday morning I hadn't lost anything (technically it went down .2). I am pretty sure the reason I didn't lose this week is because my protein is too low in comparison to the strength training workouts I am doing. (And probably because I treated myself to light crackers at 91 carbs both Fri and Sat night instead of my rice cakes, which is about 28 for 4.)
Not having a weight loss usually would have resulted in a binge weekend. But, fortunately, not only did I push myself to workout anyway on Thursday, but that night I watched a documentary called FAT. Gary Taubes was one of the people on it (I have his book Why We Get Fat) so I knew it was about low carbs, etc. and how fat is not the enemy. Anyway, I found it very interesting and it motivated me to pay a bit more attention to my carbs (both times I've lost in the past it was the times I cut my carbs). It also motivated me to actually plan a healthy, lifestyle type diet for the whole family. In the past, I've cut carbs down to 20 just for me, and made the fam whatever they wanted. Both times I gained the weight back was from going off the diet and eating unlimited carbs.
So . . . I searched for a healthy amount a carbs just to live on (not necessarily lose weight on), and 70-100 seemed to be range for normal people and 50-70 for those who can't tolerate the larger range. (This being from the camp that believes in low-carb for health, not the FDA who says 6-11 for grains, 4 for veggies and 3 for fruit bringing you to nearly 20 servings of carbs every day).
Anyway, I'm going to focus on 70 for hubby and 50 for me. The weekends can include a little more, but I'm going to try to balance that out with additional protein as well instead of eating almost all carbs from Friday night through Sunday. And I'm going to make sure I workout on weekends as well (in the past, I've taken weekends off). I realize that I will not lose as fast; I can usually lose 10 pounds a month when I cut my carbs to 20. So my goal this time is about 5 pounds every 3 weeks. If I can do that, I will reach goal by mid-August and technically I just want to hit goal by September for hubby and I's 10th anniversary, so that even gives me a bit of leeway.
I'm not stringently counting the carbs, meaning, I'm trying to do this from the get go the same way I would do it for life. Larger portions of protein than the carbs on the plate, and if one meal was rather carb heavy the next (or previous meal) needs to be carb light. I'm trying to think in terms of balance. I don't have to track my fat -- I know I get plenty of that because we LOVE dairy, and eat full-fat cheeses with nearly every meal. And even lean cuts of meat still have plenty of fat in them.
I also wrote out several meal ideas making slight low-carb variations to our favorites and then went food shopping. I reorganized the freezer when I got back so it was very easy to see all the meat -- chicken on one shelf, veggies on one shelf, and fish and beef on another. I got ideas from googling Atkins frozen meals just to see what different things they put together and how they made it look like a lot of food. I'm actually pretty encouraged and even started right away (instead of waiting until Monday). I am really hoping this works (for both us, hubby needs to lose about 25lbs), and that we can effortlessly maintain on this as well.
).
As you are eating low carb now I would recommend having a look at dietdoctor.com for a whole range of excellent recipes - low carb as well as keto - and some good reading material too.
