Lowcarbotopia

Food addiction

2013-04-30T02:01:00.000-07:00

Interesting post today on the BBC website about food addiction/compulsive behaviour. Not necessarily saying anything new, but good to see the media reporting a different angle from the "you're overweight because you eat too much and exercise too little" and acknowledging the role of dopamine in compulsive behaviours.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22336753

Well, I'm back...

2013-04-22T08:26:00.001-07:00

Crawling back shamefacedly onto the low carb wagon... those carbs just taste too darned good! Sooo addictive...

More anon.

The quest for maintenance...

2013-01-22T05:23:00.000-08:00

I'm still here, though I haven't been posting of late. Still plugging away at the carb-tastic Christmas gain, and planning in the meantime how to avoid a repeat.

This weekend I read "Eating Less" and "Willpower!" by Gillian Riley. I can't recommend both of them highly enough. She talks such sense.

Her basic idea is that running away from or trying to avoid food cravings in the long run makes them stronger. If, instead, you feel the craving but choose a different outcome (the concepts of free will and choice are central to her method) you can in fact rewire the pathways in your brain so that the craving starts to lose some of its power. Simple, but if it works (and I will be trying it), revolutionary.

Perhaps carbs are not in fact my "problem". The problem is how I think about carbs?

Hello, 2013!

2013-01-02T00:15:00.001-08:00

Back to work today and although I had a wonderful family Christmas, I'm more than ready for some mundane reality. I decided in November that I'd let myself go (!) completely off-road to see what would happen. Well it was a huge amount of fun, but I now have a huge amount of lard to show for it.

So time to knuckle own, get back to goal, and then get on with sharing the low carb goodness!

Happy New Year!

Beat the bloat!

2012-12-26T21:18:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been fun. About a month of carbs carbs carbs. Kept thinking I would snap out of it and return to my abstemious ways, but nope. The pull of chocolate, bread and alcohol was too great. Now got the cellulite and bloat to prove it. (It's quite astonishing how rapidly I can stack it on if I put my mind to it. It's a skill.)

So I'm about to sort myself out. It's going to be a tough couple of months but I'm looking forward to getting back to normal in January.

Ketogenic diet

2012-10-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

Interesting piece on the ketogenic diet as a useful therapy for epilepsy in children last night on Channel 4. Although it's also interesting that they did a similar experiment to the one Dr Tanya Byron did previously with giving children junk food/sugar and seeing how they react, and got different results. Dr Byron found that sugar does not necessarily cause hyperactivity - the effect of eating party food or sweets is more about the situation than pure sugar=cause hyperactivity=effect, whereas on last night's programme they were convinced that children eating the "healthier" options showed calmer behaviour.

Almost back at goal... taking a break

2012-10-18T04:34:00.000-07:00

Well, for all my talk of the wonders of the low carb lifestyle, I ended up resorting to meal replacement packs for the past few weeks in order to put a stop to some unhelpful and cyclical behaviour, carb craving/addiction, (and weight gain). I'm pleased to report I'm back within a hair's breadth of my "ideal" weight - which is something of a relief.

Thing is though, when you've gone from this:

To this:

it's amazing how easy it is to stay in denial about a "small" weight gain. Originally I lost just shy of six stone. Yes, really. I'm still a bit chuffed about that to be honest! But it means that a stone and a half doesn't seem to be a "problem". You're technically a "healthy" weight, just a bit bigger than you'd like.

Thing is though, I hate being overweight now. It just isn't "me". Having tasted the joy of a well-stocked wardrobe (mixed metaphors anyone?) it's actually quite hard to go back to feeling frumpy and picking things out for their camouflage properties! And feeling heavy, and tired, and lethargic. Ugh. How did I carry all that around with me for so many years?

Anyway - all of that is a lengthy way of saying I've been a bit of a traitor to the purist low carb cause of late - but it was necessary for me. It worked. It got me back where I want to be - and maintaining, for me, has always been and always will be about low carb. Onward!

So what do I eat?

2012-10-08T20:29:00.004-07:00

Sometimes it's not easy to explain what 'low carb' does and doesn't mean. People are used to vegetarian, vegan, low fat, low salt, and to a certain extent, celiac. But what is low carb? If you don't eat bread, pasta, cereal, rice or potatoes, what does it leave? Isn't it really boring?

So what do I eat?

Vegetables. Think of the variety out there! Apart from potatoes, which play havoc with my blood sugar (all those yummy baked potatoes with their allegedly 'slow-release carbs'!) broccoli, cabbage, onions, lettuce, courgettes, aubergine, peppers, mushrooms (do they count as a vegetable?), asparagus, artichokes, kale, squash, sweet potatoes (occasionally), carrots, sprouts, spinach, leeks,

Legumes. (this is where I part company with the Paleo crowd as I haven't yet found a scientific paper that clearly demonstrates the dangers of phyto chemicals. Happy to be proved wrong if you can show me one to read!) beans (not baked beans in a tin though as they're full of sugar!), peanuts, lentils, peas, edamame

Strawberries, grapefruit, blueberries, raspberries, black currants, rhubarb, gooseberries, tomatoes, avocado

Other fruits in moderation

Herbs, spices, garlic, wasabi, miso

Cheese of all kinds - apart from ones that have been rendered artificially 'low fat' by filling them full of rubbish

Yoghurt, cream, eggs

Meat
Fish
Tofu (another legume product and potentially controversial due to GM techniques used in production of soya beans - but I like it and reckon anything in moderation is going to be fine)

Nuts and nut butters (almond, hazelnut, Brazils, cashews (careful as quite moreish and medium carb!), macadamias, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, coconut

Coconut oil, butter. olive oil, nut oils for salad dressing, avocado oil, lard

Schools, caffeine and sugar

2012-09-24T23:46:00.001-07:00

Call me old-fashioned but the sight of a huge Coca Cola van reversing into the drive of my local school to make a delivery this morning made me sad. Do our children really need brown, fizzy, sugared caffeine water in order to get the most out of their education? Really?

Calories count

2012-09-13T00:06:00.001-07:00

Earlier this year I tried Atkins, and although it was yummy, I made the mistake of at the same time reading a few Gary Taubes books which gave me the impression that calories don't matter at all. What he doesn't account for (or maybe I misinterpreted him) is (a) me being a woman and (b) me having a very very very high satiety level as far as protein is concerned. (Most of these low-carb proponents seem to think it's almost impossible to overeat on low carb. Er. Hello?!) Hey ho. All part of life's rich tapestry.

In some ways, though a few pounds heavier, I'm in a better place than this time last year because I've been out in the big bad world of food and survived post Lighter Life. One thing I'm still learning (and probably still will be when I'm ninety, let's be honest) is that making mistakes is OK. Gasp! Did I just say that?!!!

Maintaining

2012-09-11T00:08:00.001-07:00

It's so easy in theory, isn't it? Maintaining your weight is a matter of nipping small increases in the bud right away before they become a big deal and take weeks or months of effort to put right. (I suspect that's what "naturally slim" people do instinctively.)

But the reality is so much harder.

I find that once my clothes get tight, and I've gained a few pounds, the whole "who cares?" mentality takes over, and a rollercoaster of carb cravings and weight gain. It's incredibly powerful and sometimes seems impossible to reverse.

Not sure what my conclusions are here, really - except that I think I need to weigh myself every week and not get complacent!

Back from holidays

2012-09-01T23:08:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm back - although this year I didn't go away, just spent some time at home doing the things I never get time for: pottering about, playing, painting, writing, gardening. Very restorative!

Food wise, things were a bit of a mishmash. On the one hand, I let myself go completely off road, carbwise, which was fun but also nightmarish. Can I just say 'mood swings'?! Woah! So, what did I have that I don't have usually? Bread. Check. Yummy at the time. Very. But bloating and tummy pains. Ugh. Biscuits. Nomnomnomnomnom (flatlines). OMG have I missed you, dear, crunchy, sweet, salty biscuits. Aargh. Sugar crash? Yep. Things culminated in Haagen Dazs and a baked potato (not at the the same time!).

Well. What have I learned? That yes, these things are delicious at the time. But there are two problems: one is the physical bloating and sugar lows afterwards, and the other is the mental feeling of being out of control. Yes, I'm definitely a carb addict (tell me something I didn't know.)

Am now huge and facing the pre-Christmas marathon to remove the bloat. Onwards!

Morning inspiration

2012-08-09T23:57:00.004-07:00

This brave little grasshopper clung to my car window all the way to work this morning: 55 miles at motorway speeds. Bravo!

Sugar - the opium of the masses?

2012-07-30T21:17:00.001-07:00

I'm not hugely into conspiracy theories, as a rule. But what if? Just for a minute ponder this...

Have you ever watched children playing? Really using their imaginations and bodies? Building, jumping, climbing, dancing... Leaping from one idea or scene seamlessly to another. The freedom! The happiness! Time flies...

But see the focus, the zoning out, when sugar is on offer. And add television...

I'm not so 'right on' that my children don't adore tv and sweets. I think these things have their place, and in any case feeling the same as everyone else (or at least, not 'different', which is a subtly different thing) is an important part of becoming socialised.

But the effect of sugar is quite profound. I'm not talking hyperactivity. The brilliant Dr Tanya Byron proved in a tv study that that is a myth, a placebo effect. But i mean the trance-like focus.

We all do it, don't we? Next time someone brings sugary 'treats' into the office - listen! See how people react. They stop what they're doing, right? They stop the useful stuff and are mesmerised.

So back to my conspiracy...

For those of us who no longer pacify ourselves with (ever-cheaper and more widely available) alcohol... There's still sugar and telly.

I'm just saying. What could you achieve if you didn't 'need' a little something at 3pm? Or sit in front of the tv every evening?

Paleo-friendly mushroom korma

2012-07-28T06:25:00.001-07:00

Here's a Paleo-friendly(ish) dish I made up last night, which was v yummy (although the photo is dreadful!)

Ingredients
Closed cup mushrooms
Coconut milk
Dessicated coconut
Ground almonds
Cayenne pepper
Garam masala
Salt and pepper to taste
Turmeric
Tiny tiny pinch of Splenda®

I literally tossed this lot into a saucepan so I don't have measurements - but the method is:

Lightly sauté the mushrooms in a knob of butter, added the spices and continued to warm through, then add the coconut milk to make a sauce. The dessicated coconut and ground almonds are there to give the sauce more texture - so add to taste. Add a pinch of Splenda® to round out the flavour. (You could use honey or your favourite sweetener of choice if you prefer to avoid synthetic sweeteners.)

So good (if I say so myself) that my non-Paleo husband has asked me to make it again!

Helga's mushroom korma

Brilliant low-carb/Paleo blogs

2012-07-14T02:00:00.001-07:00

I'm impressed by the number of brilliant low-carb and/or Paleo blogs out there. Sometimes it makes me wonder whether I do in fact have anything to contribute. (Don't answer that!)

Every time I go online I seem to find more. I've pointed to Mark's Daily Apple more than once I know. That's because it's my favourite. He has such an approachable writing style, yet covers a huge amount of ground (including the science, where relevant). Recently he's posted links to his favourite blogs - which introduced me to some other real gems too, like Stefani Ruper's Paleo For Women, which has a fascinating piece on the biology behind appetite and weight management and disordered eating after restrictive dieting, and Stephan Guyenet's Whole Health Source, where he examines "the causes of obesity and regulation of bodyfat by the brain". Both definitely worth a read.

So - if others are doing it so much more eloquently than I ever could, why bother? I suppose because it's fun (!) and because I'm still learning...

(note to self: definitely need to get some more pictures on this blog. It looks very DRY! Here - have a lemon.)

The men who made us fat

2012-07-12T14:05:00.001-07:00

Last part of the three-part series 'The men who made us fat' tonight. Interesting pieces on the 'health halo' (marketing foods in a way that changes their perceived healthiness), food traffic lights, and government and food industry responses to the obesity epidemic. From a low carb point of view, I'm not sure I'd slap a red traffic light on every food that contains saturated fat, but on the whole the traffic lights do seem helpful.

Mind you, the best way to choose healthier food is to opt for things that don't need traffic lights or even labels at all because they're unprocessed and don't come in packets!

Fake sugars can trigger insulin too

2012-07-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

I was pointed to this article by 'Moonlights' on the brilliant Minimins weight management site. (If you haven't been there yet and you're interested in managing your weight, you will find many like-minded friends, whatever your regime of choice!)

It's a great article about why "fake" sugars can cause blood sugar/insulin spikes in some susceptible individuals, and so why things that sound too good to be true (yes, that's you, Atkins peanut butter cups) probably are, as far as weight maintenance is concerned anyway.

(Obviously if I were a die-hard Paleo fanatic I wouldn't even be LOOKING at anything in a packet, whether it was labelled low carb or not... but hey... I'm human, ok?!!)

Should? Could!

2012-06-26T00:51:00.001-07:00

So, Eric Berne's "Transactional Analysis" has a lot to say about different "ego states" we take on in our internal conversations with ourselves. One that I struggle most with is the Critical Parent/Rebellious Child interaction. It goes something like this:

CP: You really should go swimming/running/do weights* today, you know. (*delete as applicable)
RC: But I don't want to! (sulks)
CP: You're getting really fat. You won't lose weight sat on that sofa. You should get more exercise.
RC: I know that - but I'm tired. (whines)
CP: What's got into you? You used to be so energetic. You've really let yourself go. You should be out there at least three times a week. What's wrong with you?
RC: But I'm so busy I don't have time.
CP: You should make time! Other people do!

yadda yadda yadda!

It's quite knackering to listen to. All day. Every day. And VERY demotivating!

So... for today, I'm going to make one gentle change. Every time I hear a "should" I'm going to remind myself to change it to a "could".

Ah, that's better.

The trouble with legumes

2012-06-21T20:51:00.001-07:00

Is that they're just soooooo tasty! As I travel further in my low carb journey, I read more and more about the Paleo approach that seems to make logical sense to me. All the stuff about eating what our bodies are best suited to... Reducing insulin release (which helps with maintaining steady blood glucose levels, and reduces carb cravings and weight gain), focusing on leafy green vegetables, natural saturated fats and protein sources. All good!

But I find myself rebelling when it comes to legumes. I have accepted that if I want to feel really well then grains (yes, even whole grains) and sugar (doh!) have no place in my diet (apart from very occasionally - I believe in achievable goals!). But legumes? You mean I have to cut out peas? And beans? And chickpeas? And lentils? (don't get me started on daal... Nom nom nom) AND (gasp) PEANUTS?!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!! (obviously the strength of my reaction to this concept indicates a deep-seated addictive attitude, doesn't it?!) But really. I find myself bargaining with myself.

Ok. So Mark says it's ok to have red wine. I don't do alcohol anymore. So surely a few peanuts and lentils can be an ok non-Paleo indulgence?!) and unsweetened soya milk has fewer carbs than skimmed milk... But some people think soya is just evil... Or do I just accept that I'm not necessarily about to follow any one prescribed low carb approach, but am going to work something out that's right for me? Ooh, I like that!

Whole9's Guide to Nutritional Off-Roading

2012-06-18T20:17:00.001-07:00

Whole9's Guide to Nutritional Off-Roading

Particularly loving the flowchart! :)

It's all connected, isn't it?

2012-06-15T00:51:00.003-07:00

Diet, weight, mind... Mood... It's all so interconnected. That's what makes weight management so difficult for some of us*.

(*those of us whose reward centres in our brains over-react when faced with (hyper)palatable foods... and who have also ended up insulin resistant because of years of yoyo dieting and/or consumption of too many refined carbohydrates and low fat foods, which just makes our bodies so much more keen to hang on to every morsel of carbohydrate and turn it into fat.)

[As an aside... People say 'I can gain weight just by looking at a cake'. There is some evidence that just looking at, or smelling, palatable (rewarding) food can trigger insulin release (and therefore fat storage) in some people. So there could be some truth in that!]

What makes the low carb theories so interesting though, is that on the whole, they give a physiological explanation for what you can often perceive as a personal, mental (and in some instances characterised as moral) failing. That's such a relief. That it could be my hormones after all!

Ok... So I need to learn what does and doesn't trigger the cascade of insulin and suppression of leptin (the satiety hormone), which is going to take some effort, but fundamentally I'm not a bad person because I find it difficult to stay slim. Our society bangs on and on about eat less, exercise more (which I've ranted about previously). We all know that! If it were that easy we'd all be doing it. What makes me reach for the next super sugary, super salty, super fatty snack? The first one. Just like any addiction. I'm responsible for that first one. If I can control that... And, more importantly, the thoughts that lead to making that choice...

Sugar and addiction

2012-06-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

On the subject of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup): more to think about.

Must-watch series: the men who made us fat

2012-06-13T12:29:00.003-07:00

Starting 14 June on BBC2, The men who made us fat, a series exploring the causes of the obesity epidemic. Episode one tomorrow is about high fructose corn syrup.

Low carb in today's Times

2012-06-11T13:22:00.002-07:00

Great article summarising low carb approaches in today's Times. It's good to see!