Hi guys! I know many of you do not know me, but I want to share an update on what has been going on with me. These last couple months have been tough for me, but things are looking up. Our school district passed its levy, which means I have a job next year. My boyfriend and I are learning how to balance things so that I get enough Wendy alone time
And spring break is in a week, and I will be going to Phoenix to visit my best friend (plus it will be like 90 degrees and sunny). Ohio weather still sux, although I can't complain too much b/c we did have a snow day yesterday
So onto the dieting front....And I think many of you will find this interesting. I do not want to persuade any of you to stop doing Protein Power, but I have made some drastic changes in the last week and couldn't be happier. I've been on the verge of a major binge for the last month or so. All day long food would rule my mind. I was always thinking about my next meal, what I would eat, how much I could eat, all that terrible stuff. And then it hit me. I cannot go on like this. I am a mental basketcase and need to figure out something else. So I decided to do something seemingly contrary to everything I've believed in the last year. I started CAD (carbohydrate addict's diet). It's nothing I've tried before, and in all honesty, I doubted it would work. It just didn't make sense to me that you could eat virtually whatever you wanted one time a day and maintain or even lose weight. But I wasn't really reading the fine print. CAD is NOT Atkins or Protein Power with a reward meal. It is MUCH stricter during the day than Atkins and Protein Power. The basic premise is that any time you eat, insulin is released, no matter if it is artificial sweetener or whatever. So you are supposed to eat as few times as possible during the day, never more than 4, preferably only 2 or 3. This is very against most conventional thinking today, I know. The next premise is that you should NOT divide up equally the carbs you eat during the day. You should SEVERELY restrict carbs at 2 meals per day, and this is why. When you eat your reward meal, your body will be tricked to think you are only going to need as much insulin as you did at your last meal. If I only ate 6g carbs at my last meal, my body would only prepare itself for that much. This is why I would then be able to eat as much of a balanced meal as I wanted one time per day so long as I confined it to a 60 minute timespan. If I go longer than that, then my body releases its second surge of insulin and I've ruined the advantage I've just created. So this is the basic premise. You cannot consume anything that causes cravings during your other two meals per day: no artificial sweetener, no caffeine, no cottage cheese/yogurt, no nuts, no fruit, moderate fat. Then you can have basically whatever you want one time per day, so long as you confine it to 60 minutes and balance it out. You cannot only have carbs at dinner, but you can have whatever kinds you want and however much you want as long as you continue to eat protein and veggies. Sounds insane right?
Well, I decided to try it, and have been doing it for a week, simply hoping to maintain. From what I'd read, many people on LC diets experience an initial gain of a couple pounds which then goes away. I never gained. In fact, I am half a pound lighter now than I was a week ago! Let me tell you the kinds of things I've been eating.
For breakfast almost every day I eat about 350 calories, 2 HB eggs, 1 oz cheese, 3 chicken sausage links, and 1 c. green beans
For lunch almost every day about 350 calories, I eat 5-6 oz tuna or salmon, 1 T. mayo, lettuce, 1/2 cucumber, 1-2 T. Italian dressing.
I do not eat snacks, and amazingly have found that I don't want them anymore, which is amazing for me. The other amazing this is that I have been able to give up diet rite and gum!
For dinner, I have a nice sized protein, lotsa veggies, and every night have had a starch (spaghetting, rice, mashed potatoes, bread, etc) and a dessert (regular chocolate, ice cream, cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, chocolate cake). Out of curiosity, I've entered my dinners into Fitday, and I'd say I average about 1000 calories and 100 grams of carbs for my dinner alone!!!!!! Isn't that insane? Before, I was only eating about 1350 calories and 60g carbs per day, and now I am probably 500 more calories and almost double the carbs, yet I am down in weight! And you read all that right. I am eating potatoes and sugar. Oh my.
I feel so free. I feel so in control. My insulin finally feels balanced. The massive carb amounts at dinner do not set me off at all. I feel so much better mentally than I have in years. I've been sleeping like a baby. I have NOOOOOO cravings, which is insane. I have no desire to eat outside of my meals. I feel so content. It's so wonderful to go to a restaurant like the Cheesecake Factory and order whatever I want, like the bread/butter, crabcakes, salmon salad, and entire slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Yummmm!!!! I can see why people think this diet is insane or why they fail, b/c you have to be unbelievably strict the rest of the day, but it is sooooo worth it.
Elaine, Kathy, and others, I know you have struggled with Protein Power, to getting where you really want to go. You might want to consider CAD, or at least read the book. It is designed for carbohydrate addicts and it contains a test to see if you are one. I tested almost 100%, which wasn't a surprise. As you can see, I'm exploding with excitement, and I just had to share with you all that maybe there is another way to do things. Feel free to respond to this and ask as many questions as you'd like. I want to jump back into the group again, I just worry that I cannot keep up with everyone. Our little group has grown so much and I feel very out of the loop