What works - what doesn't work?

I'm about to finish my second week on the Four-Hour Body's Slow Carb diet. The scale isn't showing much of a change, but my pants are noticeably looser, and I know I'm gaining muscle from strength training 2-3 times a week.

I'm still struggling with the diet -- the same problems I have with any low-carb diet. I get so physically ill eating the same high-protein foods over and over. I'm doing all right in the mornings with my eggs and turkey bacon, but I'm having trouble facing chicken and salads. I feel like I'd really rather throw up than eat the allowed foods.

I've been tracking my foods in MyFitnessPal, mostly so I can make sure I'm getting enough nutrients, proteins and carbs, and I'm generally eating 1200 calories or less. Just because I cannot eat any more.

Why am I keeping this up? I'm giving it a full month, until the end of August, to see how I feel and how my body is doing (btw, my abs? TOTALLY THERE. Ablicious!). I like this diet because I do believe carbs and processed foods are harmful and slow carb forces me to eat real, whole foods. It's also easy: there's a list of foods I'm allowed to eat, and that's it. There's control. That's really the bottom line. If I can't control my diet, then I am out of control and on a binge.

I had great success with Weight Watchers from 2006-2009. I tracked my points carefully, often plotting out everything I would eat for the day in the morning before leaving for school or work. The problem with this plan, and the reason I'm hesitant to try it again? I was eating almost exclusively processed foods. It's difficult to count points with recipes (this was before recipe calculators that are popular now), and I don't have a food scale. While frozen foods and packaged snacks tell me exactly how many calories/points they contain. I know even if I was just counting calories with MyFitnessPal, I would still be tempted to fall back on processed foods instead of eating real foods.

It's still healthy even if I can't pronounce over half the ingredients, right?

And so I stick with Slow Carb, at least until August 31. I'm looking forward to seeing my measurements at the end of the month!

What works for you in your way of eating? Do you need to have the control, and how do you include more whole foods in your diet?

A new way of eating, a new way of life.

I'm taking a break from agonizing over an applied linguistics paper to update on my progress with Slow Carb after two weeks. The results? Not bad.

I barely lost any weight this week, but things got muddled with the Yom Kippur holiday, and I essentially took three cheat days (with a 24 fast within that 72 hours). This led to me only losing a pound, HOWEVER, my measurements look much better! My stomach is definitely getting smaller, and my body fat percentage has gone from 43.85% on 9/26 to 39.2% today. I like being in the 30s...looks much less like half my body is made of fat.

The cheat days proved to me what I discovered last week. Popcorn tastes like cardboard. Olive Garden is just disgusting. Sweet things generally taste too sweet (my beloved chocolate marshmallows? Not so beloved anymore). I still love ice cream with every fiber of my being.

I noticed how I felt over the weekend. Too full, too uncomfortable, too tired. I feel healthier when I'm eating Slow Carb. Don't get me wrong, the only way I've lasted this long is the cheat days. If I had to eat this way straight through the week with no break, I'd fall off the wagon in a big way.

I mostly succeeded in eating beans twice a day, either with breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. I'm trying to stick with that plan this week. I'm also limiting my almonds; the book warns that they can get out of control -- but when they're covered with cocoa powder and cinnamon, they're just SO GOOD! This week I'm limiting almonds to three days.

I'm also recommitting to Zumba. I haven't been since before I went to Cincinnati a month ago. It's time to get back, even if it's just two times a week.

I'm disappointed that my weight is still so high, but I'm really encouraged by the body fat drop. I checked the book back out from the library, and I'm going to stick with it through another week!

Week One and Keeping on

Yesterday I weighed in at the completion of my first week on Slow Carb. I lost a net weight of 4 pounds for the week (cheat day bumped me back up 2 pounds). Still, I'm happy to be four pounds down (and five as of this morning). I took my measurements and although my stomach measured bigger (HOW THE HELL?) my thighs were one inch smaller than last week. I did lower my body fat percentage, but only by less than 1%.

I feel it was successful enough and produced enough benefits to keep at it for another week. My goals for this week are to include beans in at least 2 out of 3 meals. Yesterday and today I had eggs, spinach and black beans with turkey bacon. Yesterday for lunch I had my DELICIOUS balsamic chicken leftovers, and there are black beans in that. I bought a white bean soup that I'll probably have for lunch today.

I've run and walked one mile every day of October so far.

--OH GOOD GOD, NEIGHBOR, WHY ARE YOU RUNNING YARD EQUIPMENT BEFORE 8am? I really need to get that airhorn --

Ahem. Sorry. So my exercise has been good, and I'm going to keep going to Crossfit to build strength. (And Zumba...need to go at least 5 times this month to make my monthly pass worth it)

Only three more days until the next cheat day, which I'm splitting in half because of Yom Kippur. I'll eat normal Slow Carb for breakfast and lunch on Friday, then "cheat" a little from 1-6:30pm. I'll fast until 6:30pm Saturday night, and then attend a break the fast potluck with some friends.

Binge Day

Things I have consumed on this, my binge day:

• 2 scrambled eggs and liquid egg whites (supposed to start the day with normal plan breakfast)
• 2 Kroger cupcakes
• 2 caramel apples
• 2 tablespoons Betty Crocker whipped cream cheese frosting
•  3/4 of a Route 44 cherry limeade and large tater tots from Sonic (had a coupon for free Rt. 44 beverage)
• 2 Starburst
• 3 brownies
• Honeycrisp apple
• Small frozen yogurt
• Large frozen yogurt (I was REALLY craving this one place that has awesome flavors and toppings)
• Small popcorn
• Four pieces of cheese pizza 

(Notice: NO MEAT)
What? I told you I had a binging problem. A few weeks ago that might have been a normal day.

I can notice the differences this diet has made already. Friday night I was SOO excited to eat normal foods. Then I woke up this morning and ate my eggs and realized...I didn't really feel the need to go crazy. (Obviously I did anyway)

I noticed foods taste different, especially processed foods. The Kroger cupcakes with the whippy icing I used to love didn't taste as good. The canned frosting tasted awful...pure sugar and no flavor. The Starburst were WAY too sweet. The buttered popcorn that I used to savor tasted like cardboard. (The frozen yogurt and fruit still tasted amazing. I am never not going to love ice cream)

A new follower on Twitter suggested that I think of it not as a binge day, but a cheat day. I don't have to stuff myself for the week. I can just get a taste or two of things I miss. I'm chalking today up as a week one experiment, but next week I'll definitely take that advice. Next week's cheat day will also be Friday until sundown, because I'll be fasting on Saturday for Yom Kippur.

My main goal for the coming week, besides my new 1-mile-a-day running challenge with my friend, is to add more beans to my meals. Especially black beans, since I can stand them. Black beans and eggs. Black beans in the salads. Trader Joe's had a tasty white bean thing I sampled and then didn't buy. MORE BEANS.

As much as I complain about the boring foods, the uber proteins and the disgusting beans, I've eaten whole, unprocessed foods for the last five days and drank more water than ever. For some reason a high protein diet makes me really thirsty, and I can down 6 or 7 24-oz cups of lemon water a day, compared to the 3 I drank today (and really had to force down).

We'll see my weigh-in results for Monday. I don't think the weight will be as good as it was this morning (down 6 pounds), but I bet the body fat percentage is lower!

Making It

I've successfully made it to day five with no cheating except a bite of a piece of blue cheese the Boyfriend gave me when he wanted to discern whether or not it was a piece of cheese (he's lactose intolerant). I ate a small bite and set the rest of the piece aside. In the grand scheme it probably really wouldn't have mattered if I ate an entire crumble of cheese, but I needed to know for myself that I could stick this out.

I'll be honest, the knowledge that binge day is tomorrow has done a lot to help keep me on track. This is the longest I've made it on a low carb diet in years. I can't see doing strict low/no-carb for an extended period of time. I need a break.

AND OH, HOW I SHALL FEAST!! I went to the store today and bought bananas, cupcakes, brownie mix, caramel apples and canned frosting. And popcorn. And I'll probably have a pizza. AND NO MEAT. God, I am sick to death of meat.

I hope this binge thing works. I know it's not the best theory health-wise. For someone who already has binging problems, giving them the go-ahead to binge their heart out once a week? Not addressing any underlying issues that got me where I am. But I'm doing this now because I need a strict plan I can stick to in order to get this weight off. I've lost four pounds so far this week, and I'd love to drop another one or two.

We'll see how weigh-in goes on Monday! At the very least I'd love to see a change in my body fat percentage, because last Monday's was a huge eye-opener.

Progress

Hey, look at that! I've made it through two slow-carb days in a row! AND I've lost 4 pounds in two days! That's a pretty strong motivator to keep me going.

Yesterday afternoon I was definitely feeling the "too much protein gonna hurl need carbs/sugar NOW" shakes. Around 4pm I thought I was starving, but I couldn't face eating any on plan food. Even peanuts tasted bad. I wanted dinner RIGHT THEN AND THERE. I forced myself to wait until 5pm. By 5, I thought I could hold off until 5:30, and by 5:30 I was feeling pretty all right. I didn't start dinner until 6:15pm, which is a much more respectable time, and it shows that I can get through the cravings.

I did go to bed with a nasty carb/sugar withdrawal headache though. I'm not sure what this cheat day is going to do for that...I feel better about no carbs, I gorge on carbs, and then I'm right back to going through this withdrawal :-\

Today I'm going to try a Crossfit class this afternoon, since I have a Groupon and two of my friends have been doing really well with it. I feel better since getting over yesterday; I feel like I can make it to Saturday and beyond!

Just eggs and spinach -- out of turkey bacon.

It tastes better than it looks - slow cooked balsamic vinegar chicken with tomatoes, black beans and quinoa

Nothing thrilling - grilled chicken with spices and salad with EVOO and balsamic vinegar

Do You Like Beans?

Do you eat beans with George Wendt? (Animaniacs)

For the last few weeks, my eating has been out of control. I flew home to Cincinnati for 8 days for a wedding, and I ate everything in sight -- good, comfort Cincinnati foods like Skyline Chili and La Rosa's, but also crap foods like candy and Steak 'N Shake.

As a result, of course, my weight is now the highest it has been in years. I'm at a weight I swore I'd never go back to.

For the last few weeks I've also been reading The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. He promotes what he calls a "slow carb" diet that's stricter than any low-carb diet I've done (mostly South Beach). No dairy at all. No fruits, LOTS of beans. I hate beans. What's kind of selling me on this diet is that it's encouraged to take a cheat day. All you can eat of whatever you want one day a week.

Now, let me say that I know proper nutrition. I know fruits aren't the devil. I know it's better to eat whole, clean foods all the time, and not a good idea to gorge yourself on junk. But the book is very persuasive in its results. So I'm giving it a try.

Have I mentioned I hate beans? It's a texture thing, really. They're grainy and chewy and UGH.

The author recommends taking pictures of your meals to keep you honest. Yesterday I had scrambled eggs with spinach and turkey bacon for breakfast

NO BEANS

a salad with salmon, kalamata olives, black beans, egg and artichoke hearts for lunch, and a "fajita bowl" consisting of grilled chicken, pinto beans and guacamole for dinner.

It tastes worse than it looks.

No pictures of lunch, but trust me, it was delicious. Dinner not so much. Oh God, how I hate pinto beans. I ate a few good forkfuls and then just ate the chicken pieces.

Snacks included turkey jerky (but at $5 a bag, I'm trying to ration it), peanuts and almonds with cocoa powder and cinnamon.

I made it through day one. I'm really only sure I can do this at all because of the cheat day. The last few times I've tried South Beach, I get so nauseous from all the meat and protein by around day three or four, that I just give up. Ferriss states up front in his book that this is not a fun diet. I have a whole closet full of clothes I can't wear. I'm ready for less fun.