What do you need to know to successfully eat low carb for life?

Dr Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD, knows more about this than almost anybody. He has researched adaptation to very low carb diets (and exercise) for a long time. Here he shares this knowledge, as well as insights from traditional cultures who never ever ate a lot of carbs.

Dr Phinney’s book “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living”:

My mortgage company will not accept credit cards but I wonder if it will work with one of those credit card checks? Do I still get credit for it? I’ve been paying my auto insurance monthly but I found out on Friday that if I pay them in advance that they will knock off about $70 from my bill and they will accept credit cards when you pay in full. So between my auto and motorcycle I could say $125 a year by paying in advance.

Water bill accepts credit card but electric charges a fee. Maybe I can go to a local store and pay with a credit card there? I need to check with Barclays and see if the points count for the checks. If they do then I am going to start paying my mortgage and that alone will get me enough points for a free cruise this year.

Yes, I am on week eight and have lost almost 18 lbs eating a low carb lifestyle. This video is just an update but what I didn’t tell you is that the brain fog is gone, my energy level is sky high. I am sleeping better, depression is about gone and I am looking forward to a bright future.

I have been organizing things around the house that have needed to be done forever, sleeping 7-8 hours a day instead of my usual 4-6 hours a day. Eating between 20-35 carbs per day but I honestly haven’t kept that exact track of it. I feel like I am in the zone and I am excited to weigh in every morning.

I would say the key things to remember this week are to get plenty of sleep, watch the carbs and eat until satisfied not stuffed. Yes you can eat that steak but not 2 or 3 of them. Eating one package of bacon at one pound WILL make you weigh one pound heavier – lol.

I woke up and had my usual 4 sausage patties and 2 folded eggs at McDonalds. Lunch was only a jerky stick and 6 deviled eggs. Dinner was a Big steak and 6 more deviled eggs. I also drank Diet Mountain Dew throughout the day. I would just love to break through into the 270′s. That is my test that this is actually working.

One of the first books ever written to advocate a low carb lifestyle. If Dr. Atkins was the father of low carb then William Banting is the Grandfather. Over one hundred years before the “Atkins Revolution”, Banting was writing about the miracle weight loss achieved through carbohydrate restriction. This book tells of his fight to be thin and his ultimate success and secret to weight loss.

Why did I make another re-print? I read some of the pdf’s and other eBook editions and don’t think they formatted them correctly if at all. I thought the book deserved better than that so I took it upon myself to create a better looking book while at the same time being true to Mr. Banting’s words.

I made this delicious Bacon Roll (Actually 2) from Linda’s Low Carb menus. Both Bacon Rolls include 1 pound of hamburger with bacon wrapped around it. The best way to describe it is Meatloaf with a bacon wrap. It was really good. I had a minor blip mid week but recovered and hit a new low this morning of 286.4 lbs. I am on track and looking forward to continuing my weight loss on a low carb diet.

Tonight I made this low carb shrimp scampi from Linda’s Low Carb Menus. This is a nice treat on my low carb lifestyle.

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1/2 pound cooked medium shrimp
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dash cayenne
Pinch fresh parsley, minced

Heat the butter in a small skillet. Add the shrimp and garlic powder. Cook on high until any watery liquid evaporates and you’re left with just a little buttery sauce. Watch closely. Turn down the heat and season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Sprinkle with parsley.

Makes 1-2 servings
Do not freeze

Per Serving: 447 Calories; 27g Fat; 46g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2.5g Net Carbs
Per 1/2 Serving: 223 Calories; 13g Fat; 23g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carbs

Hit 287 lbs this morning which was awesome. I still hope for a drop in weight like I see some other low carbers who lose 30 lbs in one month. Still I am down 12.9 lbs in just about a month and a half and the best part is I feel good. I am getting my energy back and I am ready to go.

I did a much better job this week watching carbs. I want to incorporate my pedometer with my weight loss just for that added boost although I have to tell you – Weight loss is an 80/20 or maybe even 90/10 food intake versus exercise. Exercise builds muscle and sculpts the body but I believe food intake is where the loss comes from. You may disagree but that has been my experience.

What reason you ask? Hidden carbs. I use to think without even second guessing that meat was meat was meat and that all meat was 0 carbs. Well, that just ain’t so. At least the processed meat at the store. You need to be very careful what you purchase. Take a piece of ham I bought today for example. It had 2 pieces of ham about the size of your hand. I would have thought it was 0 carbs but after examining the label I found out that it had 4 carbs per serving and that those 2 pieces of ham represented 4 servings. That is 16 carbs. Do that for lunch and dinner and you just ate 32 carbs not to mention any other carbs throughout the day.

Since I started carefully watching the carbs and not relying on what I thought – I hope to see some big results coming soon. Did I mention gum? I quit smoking 2 years ago but have picked up a bad habit of chewing gum. My problem on a low carb diet is that each piece is one carb and I can chew a pack of 20 each day. So take those 20 carbs and add it to the ham and I am now at 52 carbs. Throw in some green beans or the (4) sausages (4 carbs) and (2) folded eggs (4) carbs and I am now at 60 carbs. Do you see how fast they can creep into your food?

Carbs – you are on notice! I am watching you!

Banting published a book in 1863 called “Letter On Corpulence”. There were 2 more editions published within the next 7 years. After reading some very poor digital versions of his book, I have decided to make a good re-write of this classic book. The book is now in the public domain and I even think William Banting would be pleased to see this book still in print. This is my small contribution to the Low Carb community and I hope that it will ignite a spark in someone to get better control of their health. I will try and release it in the next few days.