traditional low carb to whole 30?

[jlj80]

hi all. im 35 and was diagnosed with PCOS when i was 19. been on metformin since then and went through fertility treatments (3x clomid) to have my son almost 3 years ago. have struggled with my weight since i gained about 15-20 lbs in college. i have eaten a mostly low carb diet since my early 20s and have been through the gamut of seeing nutritionists, doing WW, trying super low carb/ketosis, etc-and my problem is that nothing is sustainable so i hover around the same weight. i did isagenix a year ago, lost 10 lbs but then gained it back in the back half of the year. i recently tried to go super low carb for about 2 weeks to get over a plateau and after a week i fell off the wagon-hard. and i cant get back on. i think ive finally realized that i have a major sugar addiction and that just because i dont feed it with real sugar all the time (i try to treat/cheat only once a week) that im replacing the real sugar with "fake" stuff. ive been using the Bai5 drinks (which btw, are delicious), making mug cakes using Swerve (swypo) and eating inappropriate amounts of quest bars. my 3 year old happens to love larabars so those are in the house as well as almond butter (which he eats at breakfast) so im using those all the time too. 

 

so looking for some support and help with a few questions;

 

1. even thought ive been eating low-ish carb, once i kick all the sugar/sugar replacements can i see a difference with Whole 30? i have cut out gluten and dairy completely for 30+ days and havent had issues upon reintegration-sugar and sugar replacements are the one thing i have never cut out 100% and i now know thats the real problem for me. 

 

2. how do i manage having to have some of these things in the house for my son (namely the larabars and the almond butter?) im usually able to rule them out for a period of time, but then i have a really bad craving or a crappy day and the emotional eating trigger kicks in and since its the only thing in the house i do it. 

 

thanks in advance for the help and support!!

[missmary]

1. even thought ive been eating low-ish carb, once i kick all the sugar/sugar replacements can i see a difference with Whole 30? 

 

Yup, I would expect that you will see a difference on the whole30. The main difference I see from how you have been eating is that the whole30 emphasizes/requires that you eat real whole foods. Foods like quest bars and Swerve and Bai5 are not that. It may take a while to wean your taste buds from the intensity of artificial sweeteners, but once you have, you should really see a benefit from the nutrient density of real whole food.

 

The main recommendation I would make is to avoid going too "low carb." Including real whole foods carbs in your meals (think root veggies and winter squash) will help you avoid craving and eating simple carbs outside of meals (lara bars, etc.)

[Hannlib]

2. how do i manage having to have some of these things in the house for my son (namely the larabars and the almond butter?) im usually able to rule them out for a period of time, but then i have a really bad craving or a crappy day and the emotional eating trigger kicks in and since its the only thing in the house i do it. 

 

thanks in advance for the help and support!!

You just don't eat them. For 30 days. My house is full of non compliant stuff that I give my kids. They eat whole 30 dinners but I do serve them pasta, rice, cheese, bread, cereals, biscuits and so on. I don't eat any of that stuff since my first whole 30, I don't even want it.

Then there's all the stuff that's compliant but not a good choice for me. Fruit, dried fruit, nuts, nut butters, nakd bars. The kids eat these as does my husband. on a whole 30 I don't. That's my rule, and I like rules.

I'm not saying I don't crave them because I do, frequently. But I eat three good big template meals with plenty of starchy carbs. And I don't eat the stuff that's no good for me. I get a glass of water, a herbal tea, go do something productive. I find those things (and dark chocolate) hard to resist when not on a whole 30. But when I am, I don't eat them.

Good luck!

[MeadowLily]

Honor your hunger and eat three meals a day.   If we don't...all of the play foods replace real foods and snack eating becomes thrill eating.

[LadyM]

I think you're a terrific candidate for W30 and that if you commit, you will be amazed at the results. My advice would be to get the larabars and nut butter out of the house. Your son doesn't need them for 30 days, and I think you could really use the support of eliminating the temptation. What would you think about doing that?

 

Another thing I'd urge you to do is really embrace the program and do your best to let go of all the different ways of "dieting" you've done in the past. Whole 30 is not a diet; it's about discovering a new way of living for the long haul. Your focus should be on slaying your sugar dragon not losing weight. Sometimes these things happen in stages.

 

I didn't lose weight on my first Whole30; I did on my second, didn't on my third, and did on my fourth. But the key for me has been figuring out what works for my unique body rather than following someone else's well-meaning blanket advice. When I attempted to do super low-carb Whole30s, I didn't lose fat. I had to figure out through trial and error that starchy veg are my friends. I eat plenty of them with meals 2 and 3. I no longer fear carbs. And my body is happy. Everything from mood to digestion and elimination to stress response to weight loss works so much better this way.

 

I'm not saying you should necessarily do what I have done to get the results I have gotten; I am saying give the program a real chance by letting go of all those voices in your head and dropping into your body to experience its actual responses to this new way of life. After 30 days you'll have a much better sense of how to move forward in the healthiest way possible without fear.

 

Wishing you the best of luck!

[MeadowLily]

"You Aren’t Losing as Much Fat as you THINK You Are"

 

"Let’s say you lose ten pounds on a VLC version of Paleo; probably close to eight lbs. of it is water. Even Atkins would not be impressed.  At best, you have mobilized maybe two pounds (more if you are obese) of fat. Yeah, you’re lighter now, but you’re still about as fat as you were to begin with and your muscles are flat. Your average person walking in to a gym has already taken some steps in a positive way towards better health; superficial weight loss goals point you in the wrong direction.

 

Tell me that the following scenario isn’t familiar: even though you tell people you don’t crave sugar, you do. At this point, you might be overriding your body’s signals so much though that nothing seems right. You can’t sleep, chicken and broccoli sucks so you don’t want to eat as much. You are convinced that this is right, that you just need to suck it up for a bit. Even though everyone at the gym keeps telling you that you aren’t eating enough, you have ignored them.

 

That is, until cheesecake day. The guilt associated with cheesecake day sucks so much, but all that creamy cheese can’t be wrong; it feels so right! By the time you’re done, you order a couple of glasses of wine to avoid thinking of the inevitable month you will have to eat chicken and broccoli to amend your transgressions. Right now, though, IT FEELS SO GOOD. Brain is no longer foggy, and you think to yourself, “This must be what heaven is like.”

 

The next day, you fast for 24 hours to quell your guilt. It’s your little secret, but even through all of the self-loathing, you remember it fondly.

 

Random Paleo Guy/Girl: This dude might be onto something with this cheesecake thing…

The Real Problem and How To ACTUALLY Mobilize Fat

 

The real problem is that you turned your Paleo diet into some bastardized amalgamation of Weight Watchers, Atkins and Spin classes 8 times a week all rolled into one. When you inevitably stall, you instinctively give up and ironically, that’s what you should have done all along. Folks, trust me; eating low carb while also engaging in intense exercise like our sports, then combining it with eating less ain’t gonna work! It’s leaving you sick, broken and confused.

 

Dallas and Melissa didn’t tell you to do any of that, but I will. Moderate fruit intake and some starches actually help your metabolism. Most of my clients are women. Want to know the big secret I charge people for? I get them to start eating enough. In almost every case, the person (Who always comes to me thinking that they eat too much!) is usually under eating by 500-700 calories a day while maintaining an intense exercise regimen.

 

Once your body starts getting proper nourishment, everything comes into focus. Sleep recovers, workouts are better and energy levels go up. Your Paleo diet didn’t fail you; your interpretation of it did. When your weight loss stalls, pulling out a bigger hammer doesn’t work. If you just eat reasonable amounts of food that fuel your performance, everything will fall into place. Drop that low carb cheerleader forum where everyone says, “You go guy/girl, you look great!” That stuff isn’t helping you get better; it’s giving you the illusion that there is some “low carb pot o’ gold” at the end of the “calorie restriction rainbow”. It doesn’t exist, and it never did."

[jlj80]

thanks so much everyone. for some reason i always feel the need to stay away from the starchy carbs, yet still eat the fake sugar stuff, thinking thats a better option, but i am seeing now that it is not. i love sweet potatoes, festival squash, acorn squash, etc. recently disocered purple sweet potatoes at whole foods which are to die for. if i can eat a whole one of those every night id be happy girl!!! i have already cut way back on fruit. 1-2 servings/day so that wont be an issue (though years ago i used to eat massive amounts of fruit). im also a huge snacker-ive always had the mindset of eat a small breakfast to save my calories for later...and i realize now if theres ever a meal to fill up at, its probably breakfast to set myself up for the day. 

 

i can definitely remove the larabars-i think my son wont really care. the almond butter is a trickier thing, but if i commit and make myself accountable through here and with my family i will be ok. 

 

i generally feel pretty good-sleep well, have good energy. i am a yoga teacher so practice a lot of yoga, but need to work in more intense exercise and have started some simple at home workouts. i know there are so many benefits to this way of eating because i've incorporated many of them for a long time, but managing my weight is my primary goal right now, so i am hoping it will help (even if i dont lose weight, but lose body fat). 

 

regarding breakfast-is an acceptable meal 3 eggs, 1/2-whole avocado and sliced tomato? getting veggies in at breakfast is tricky for me. lunch/dinner is much easier. 

[Hutlifr]

Without knowingly doing it, my veggies in the summer consist of less starchy ones than in the winter.hmmm eating more carbs boosts my metabolism? May explain why I have been melting this past winter, more so than last summer, and with less exercise/activity due to the cold. Wow...

[Hutlifr]

 

regarding breakfast-is an acceptable meal 3 eggs, 1/2-whole avocado and sliced tomato? getting veggies in at breakfast is tricky for me. lunch/dinner is much easier.

What about hash browns?

[AmyS]

thanks so much everyone. for some reason i always feel the need to stay away from the starchy carbs, yet still eat the fake sugar stuff, thinking thats a better option, but i am seeing now that it is not. i love sweet potatoes, festival squash, acorn squash, etc. recently disocered purple sweet potatoes at whole foods which are to die for. if i can eat a whole one of those every night id be happy girl!!! i have already cut way back on fruit. 1-2 servings/day so that wont be an issue (though years ago i used to eat massive amounts of fruit). im also a huge snacker-ive always had the mindset of eat a small breakfast to save my calories for later...and i realize now if theres ever a meal to fill up at, its probably breakfast to set myself up for the day. 

 

i can definitely remove the larabars-i think my son wont really care. the almond butter is a trickier thing, but if i commit and make myself accountable through here and with my family i will be ok. 

 

i generally feel pretty good-sleep well, have good energy. i am a yoga teacher so practice a lot of yoga, but need to work in more intense exercise and have started some simple at home workouts. i know there are so many benefits to this way of eating because i've incorporated many of them for a long time, but managing my weight is my primary goal right now, so i am hoping it will help (even if i dont lose weight, but lose body fat). 

 

regarding breakfast-is an acceptable meal 3 eggs, 1/2-whole avocado and sliced tomato? getting veggies in at breakfast is tricky for me. lunch/dinner is much easier. 

Your protein and fat portions look ok. One tomato would not likely be enough veggies. Some folks like, say, sauteed spinach with their morning eggs. Some folks do interesting things with sweet potatoes (grated and cooked into hash, for instance). Others, like yours truly, can't be bothered and just eat leftovers from dinner last night. Heh. Some folks also do a sort of veggie/egg bake that gives decent proportions of both items. Give a few things a try and see what you like.

[Hannlib]

I find that steamed green beans are my best morning veg. Tossed in the skillet in some ghee with either cooked chicken or pork/ turkey mince. I also sometimes add red pepper, spinach, leftover sweet potato hash and always 2 or 3 fried eggs.

[ladyshanny]

I find that steamed green beans are my best morning veg. Tossed in the skillet in some ghee with either cooked chicken or pork/ turkey mince. I also sometimes add red pepper, spinach, leftover sweet potato hash and always 2 or 3 fried eggs.

This is almost always my breakfast too.  On period week I use a mandolin and thin slice a small potato and throw that in the mix too because I need the carbs at every meal.  I think I've done this breakfast so many times now that my frying pan probably could do it without me, LOL!

[tinman57]

I like a kinpira type of veggie in the morning.  Sauté red peppers, julienned carrots and onions in coconut oil, coconut aminos and a few drops of sesame oil.  Fantastic . I don't use the mirin often used in kinpira, though.  And I make enough that I can pack some into my lunch.

 

Kinpira (金平 or きんぴら^?) is a Japanese cooking style that can be summarized as a technique of "sauté and simmer".

[tinman57]

Here's a great carrot kinpira from Just Bento.