Loungers, I need nutrition advice.
I seem to be getting weaker on this new diet regimen, not stronger. I went to see a dietician about 10 days ago, her plan was high protein, moderate "healthy" fats, no refined sugars, as few processed foods as possible, limited fruit (2-3 servings a day), and a lot of non-starchy vegetables. Her biggest recommendations was cut out complex carbs as much as possible, at least for 2-4 weeks - no bread, no regular pasta, no potatoes, no corn, peas, winter squash, dried beans, rice, etc.
I have two problems. One is eating enough calories. For my weight and height, I should be eating right at 2000 a day, and that would allow me to lose weight at a healthy rate of about 1 lb a week. During my "illness" (yeah, you know what I mean) over the summer, I was lucky to get 800 calories a day, about all I could stand to eat was cottage cheese, yogurt, and bananas. Now, I'm not repelled by most foods like I was, I just don't have that much of an appetite. If I just ate what I wanted, I would probably get 1200 to 1400 calories a day. I've been forcing myself to do 1500 to 1800 a day. I'm keeping very close track of it on my iPad, I found a great app called "MyNetDiary" which has a fantastic food tracking function.
But I honestly think the bigger problem is giving up carbs. I think that is draining my energy level. Nothing else has really changed to speak of in the past 3 weeks, meds are the same, exercise level is increasing but slowly.
I did a little experiment saturday and sunday, ate more carbs that recommended and less fat and fewer non-starchy vegetables. And I seemed to do a lot better -- rode 15 miles Saturday night and 12.5 Sunday night and it seemed effortless, I could have done more each night if I didn't have to get up early the following mornings. Yesterday was a bad food day, I had to skip lunch due to circumstances (I know, I know, bad), and only ate about half of a small dinner of chicken and mixed vegetables because it didn't appeal. Last night, I went out with the intention of doing 12 to 15 miles, and turned back at 3 1/2 and finally did about 4 1/2 because I just felt weak. This morning, I felt a little better, so did another no-no and drank a cup of pomegranate juice. I still feel kind of weak and tired, but I managed to do 10 miles in just under an hour. I think I couldn't have done it without the sugar boost from the juice.
The good news in all of this, I am almost exactly to my half way point -- I've lost 26 of the 55 lbs I want to lose.
So, what do you think. More carbs?
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I went on the low carb diet @ 12 yrs ago. You will loose weight on it. It took me about a week of feeling crappy & THEN once all the toxins & fungi that were residing in my bod had left (very cleansing diet....fungi cannot live w/o carbs) I felt fabulous! My mind was clearer, as were my sinuses & skin. Had much more energy, too. Give it time. And consume more protein to help ward off the weak feeling. Nuts are very helpful to help you feel full & have amazing health benefits.
Your body is adjusting to burning stored fat, instead of carbs. It must go thru some adjustment. I hope you "eazed" into this & didn't just go cold turkey. That would be VERY hard on the bod & make adjustment harsh especially of you started doing strenuous exercise (biking) at the same time. I'd hold off on the biking until my bod adjusted better.
Cut out sodas, sweets & anything that is made w/sugar or white flour, any sugars that are not naturally in the foods. Watch condiments like ketchup & steak sauce, they contain loads of sugar. Basically just eating fruits & vegs & healthy meats is what you should strive for once you get the weight off.
It is SO hard in our society to do this! Hidden sugar is everywhere!
Good luck & hope you are feeling wonderful soon!
As omnivores, we are mainly plant eaters who need to supplement our diets with relatively small amounts of animal protein. I agree about limiting starchy carbs like rice, potatoes, and bread. But you shouldn't exclude them entirely. Brown rice, potatoes with their skins, and whole grain breads are all good in moderation. Fruit is great but watch out or you may find yourself using it in place of processed sugar products. Eating local and seasonal, as much as possible, is a good approach. If you like tuna but you're concerned about the heavy metal content in seafood, remember that canned light tuna has up to three times less mercury in it than canned white tuna.
Good luck in your efforts to become more healthy!
Nutrition is energy-giving. Nutrition isn't what mainstream nutritionists say. Don't starve yourself.
I'm trying this diet. My asthma is lessening.
I also recommend a very short, easy-to-read book, "In Defense of Food," by Michael Pollan, which explains how micronutrients are key to nourishing mitochondria.
