229.5 and falling . . .
No refined sugar, no flour, very few starchy vegetables. Lots of "real food"--eggs, dairy, meat, fish, and fresh vegetables. Lots of walking (although my exercise commitment has not been as steadfast as my dietary one). My goal was to be down to 230 (from 263.5) by Christmas. 229.5 today, with 3 days to go! Final target, derived from the BMI charts, is between 170-180, so there are 50-60 pounds still to go. I'm a third or a bit more of the way there, so here's a pat on my back.
Jimmy Moore's low-carb blog, which if sometimes a bit hysterical in tone nevertheless constantly supplies encouragement and loads of excellent links, and Gary Taubes' increasingly influential book Good Calories, Bad Calories, have been major supports. As has been my (self-diagnosed) OCD streak.
Some folks on low-carb diets eat a lot of "low-carb" ice cream, muffins, sugar-free candy, etc. The sweet-tooth, sugar-high addiction was a big part of the problem for me--stress eating. So I just plain gave up dessert items (with an occasional planned exception, such as Thanksgiving Day and probably Christmas Day). I didn't want to do anything that might reinforce those old cravings, plus there is plenty of debate on the safety and efficacy (in terms of blood sugar reactions) of the sugar substitutes. I will say that the holiday season is a very difficult time in this regard, with so much temptation to resist. "No virtue without temptation," I read somewhere recently. Evidently!
5 comments:
That's great to hear. My brother lost similar amounts in the same way. I don't know if he got down to his goal BMI (which would be a little higher than yours) yet, but he was looking great a couple of months ago.
I used to know a woman some years back who lost 50-60 pounds that way 12 years ago and kept it off since. No flour, no sugar, no simple carbs, but as much as she wanted of anything else. That was back in the days when the so-called low-carb diets were a new, abominable heresy. All the experts were expressing such dire warnings. But it worked beautifully, even magically, for her.
I told my brother about it back then and since. He couldn't accept it. Weirdo wacko stuff. Then, some months ago, he joined a faith-based support group associated with his church that advocated that sort of diet; emphasizing no flour and no sugar (He's a Conservative Right Christian). Remarkable results.
I don't know, though. The food manufacturers depend mightily on flour and sugar to maintain their bottom line. Flour and sugar have very long shelf lives, allowing them to build huge inventories and fill grocery stores with high profit, long shelf life items from centralized plants all around the world at very little cost all year round. Consider the dire economic consequences of not eating sugar and flour (and eating local!) on the CEOs and stockholders of the big food corporations. Maybe the government should step in now and more strongly condemn this kind of eating before more people start getting skinny!
Gostei muito desse post e seu blog é muito interessante, vou passar por aqui sempre =) Depois dá uma passada lá no meu site, que é sobre o CresceNet, espero que goste. O endereço dele é http://www.provedorcrescenet.com . Um abraço.
I saw my brother recently, he's down to 210, which is 90 pounds less than last spring. He'll be out in PA soon, visiting our dad. Dad will be very pleased (Dad never was tactful about the issue).
Now I, at 180 (but shorter, at 5'10"), am feeling a bit pudgy. Time for me to get with the program, and do with less of what the food industry entices us with.
Wow! My DH-to be and I are going to do this sinister sounding cleanse in about a week..we are both pretty healthy in our weight, but have been eating and drinking pretty decadently. (and running and doing crazy yoga to counter it all) A few weeks before Christmas, we thought, "What would it be like if we did all that exercise and didn't live on bread, cheese, wine, and the like?" So we're giving it a shot, starting with the *shifty eyes* cleanse, and then hopefully, a modified diet.
Ya know, I was meaning to talk about how impressed I was with your progress and then I just blah blahed about myself. But I'll leave it there just in case you are interested. :)
You looked great in the pic from your site, so whether you're returning to that state, or using it as a departure, you should feel fantastic.
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