Gerald's been on a low-carb diet (actually, a low Glycemic Index diet) for about a month now, at our doctor's urging. It's not Atkins...just an attempt to stick to foods with a low 'glycemic index.' I was a little skeptical, but in that month he's lost 15 pounds. That's pretty impressive.
Last weekend he convinced me to try it. Considering I'm the queen of carbs, that was not an easy decision to make. Much to my surprise, sticking with it has been fairly easy. We've been eating lots of fish, chicken, and beef. For lunch, I've been opting for fruit and yogurt parfaits. I'm eating hearty breakfasts of eggs, cheese, and sausage. And for desserts I've been having cookies & cream drinks made with whey isolate (high protein supplement).
I did this in moderation. I started skipping all the breads, potatoes, pastas, chips, cookies, etc that I generally eat, and focused instead on the meat, cheese, fruit, etc. When we got sandwiches at the faculty meeting, for example, I ate the roast beef and cheese, but skipped the bread--and the cookies. (But when I attended a luncheon where excellent desserts were served, I did indulge in some cheesecake!)
I stayed away from the scale during the week, but finally my curiousity got the best of me, and I hopped on yesterday morning. (It's a very nice scale. A Tanita body fat measurement scale that he got me for my birthday.) Much to my amazement, I'd lost at least 2 pounds. (The scale said 3.5 pounds, but I know there's some fluctuation based on water retention, etc--so I'm rounding down.)
So I guess there's something to this approach. Will stick with it for a bit, and see what happens.
I have been doing this for more than a year. I feel like I have more energy, I don't get the wild up-and-downs I used to when the bloodsugar was less stable, and I don't crave sweets the way I used to. But I also see that the moment I fall back to the carb-high habits, I gain weight rapidly! So this is a change for life, but that doesn't really matter, as I enjoy the looks on the faces of the rest of the staff when they eat their two slices of bread with brown cheese and I have salmon, goat-cheese, egg, tomatoes and lettuce for lunch...
An other thing: if you don't have a lot of weight to lose, a high GI diet won't let you lose much. You'll stabilise on your ideal weight. You may not be as slim as the fashion ideals say you should be, but you'll be healthy!
I mean, of course, LOW glycemic index - "a low GI diet won't let you...." Bad, bad typo.
Good luck on the diet. I was thinking about a low-food diet. Nothing complicated, just eat half of what we eat now. We'll let you know how it works.
I've tried the low-food diet, actually. It works, of course. But my problem is sticking with it, because I start feeling hungry.
The nice thing about the low GI approach is that when you drop the high insulin producing foods, you lose the accompanying cravings and hunger that the blood sugar swings produce.
Good luck Liz.
It worked for me and I wish you well. I went from 240 to 205 in three months and sit around 210 now (a year later) even though I don't exercise as much as I should and cheat alot now. Trudy lost 15 pounds, and she doesn't HAVE that much. More important was the stability of energy that that Torill mentions...
I agree that a low carb diet actually works.I tried one, not the Atkins though...feel that Atkins is too restrictive but just cutting down on white bread, starchy and processed carbs helped me to shed 15 pounds in 2-3 months.
Seema, that's great!
That's pretty much the same approach I've taken. Down another pound this week, for a total of about five pounds since I started...and without feeling cranky, hungry, or deprived. Amazing. (And I love that I can eat India Palace's chicken makhni to my heart's content, as long as I skip the rice and nan!)
Gerald went to see a cardiologist this week, and it turns out he's been on the same diet...with a 50 pound weight loss to show for it. He was wildly enthusiastic about it. I figure if our internist and his cardiologist are both (a) doing it, and (b) recommending it, there's probably something to it.
Same approach here Liz...Enjoy the Chicken Phat Phet at King and I, and skip the rice !!!.
After, the initial loss of 15 pounds, the scale really does not budge much, so I figure its now time to add some workouts. The memebership to the Rochester Atletic Club has been taken and the each month the payment is being made..just have to motivate myself to show up !!! :))
Some day soon....