Basically, I needed to keep track of my weight during detox so I wouldn't be tempted to cheat.
Now, I'm enjoying my new lifestyle so much that I'm really not all that tempted. Still, I think there's value in sharing my weight loss experiences. Even if it's just to encourage one more person to take on the challenge of breaking that carb addiction.
So what exactly am I doing at the moment?
Paleo.
(Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhn!)
A lot of people are incredibly excited about this way of eating. Others are incredibly concerned about cutting carbs out of our diets.
Now... I can go into research etc. about these issues, but since most of us weight-loss or health lifestyles aren't all that interested (sometimes to our detriment in fact), I thought I'd go into personal experience and common sense instead. Make of it what you will.
Issue 1: Paleo is about eating like a caveman, but we're not cavemen anymore. We've evolved.
No, we're not cavemen. We're a lot less active as a rule, which means that we really don't have the justification of consuming the vast amount of sugars that we do. And really, we do.
You know all those light foods we eat? So healthy because it's low in fat?
No. The only reason those foods are palatable is because extra sugars are tossed into them to compensate for fats being missing. (More on fats next.)
And if we were evolved as we're being told, we wouldn't be in the situation where our generation's average life expectancies are being lowered by "life-style illnesses" like diabetes.
Issue 2: Cholesterol! Heart Disease!
Uhm... actually it turns out that there isn't that much of a correlation between fat intake (fat being natural fats) and cholesterol. This "knowledge" comes from a study where the "scientist" researched 22 (yes. twenty two) countries and used the results from six (yes, six) in his paper in order to show a positive correlation. The other sixteen? No correlation whatsoever.
So why are we being told carbs have to be consumed in huge amounts, and that the study above was scientifically sound? Economics, darling. Politicians needed to find a way to lower food prices while keeping farmers happy. And that meant subsidizing the cost of grains and telling the whole world that they should be eating more grains than any other food source. (Even when it's not even remotely true.)
Personal experience fact: I've never had cholesterol, not even when I only ate proteins. The only time when I get really low blood pressure is when I don't eat refined carbs. Curious, don't you think?
Issue 3: But fat makes fat!
Nope. Fat gets converted as needed by the body in order to make the sugar etc. needed for it to function. If you consume natural fats (IE bacon, cream, butter, avo, olive oil etc) your body uses what it can and expels the rest.
If you eat carbs, your body uses a tiny bit (because that's really all it can use) and stores the rest, thanks to insulin. And the problem is that insulin also prevents your body from using its own fat for energy. Which is why you keep piling on weight.
So needless to say, fat doesn't make fat. Carbs make fat. And you know what proves it? The recommended amount of carbs saying we should eat them most of all came in in 1977. Obesity, diabetes, heart problems etc. only really became a problem since.
Issue 4: BUT YOU NEED CARBS!
Actually... No. And if you're overweight, HELL NO YOU DON'T. As I said above, your body actually creates its own energy from fat, whether it's already in your body or whether you consumed it with your food.
But if it still makes you uneasy, going the paleo way doesn't imply no carbs. You can still eat fruit and a ton of vegetables. In fact, you're supposed to eat a lot more veg than fats and meat.
The point is just that you can't eat grains, refined sugars and certain high carb fruit and vegetables.
In conclusion:
Yeah, I know I'm probably going to get some schlep for posting this, but I do get tired of people bringing up these issues every time I turn down consuming something obviously unhealthy.
No, I don't think this is the only way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it's the only way I've tried that's actually not really difficult. And honestly, why make things harder when you could actually enjoy the way you eat?
8 comments:
You go girl. Do whatever works for you and helps keep you happy in the long run.
You have to do what works for you. Don't listen to anyone else's opinions on what you are doing to make yourself healthy.
I've not heart of this before, but it is interesting. If I had the patience to learn about it, I might be tempted to give it a try; however, I am feeling way to lazy for that right now lol. So glad that it is working for you hun and well done!
I've heard so many great things about Paleo. It has literally changed the bodies of many of my friends. Good luck and stick to it!! :)
Do whatever makes you happy. Don't pay attention to anyone else.
www.modernworld4.blogspot.com
In some ways the Atkins and South Beach diets are similar, it sounds, to Paleo - lots of protein, a fair amount of fats and low/right carbs. I have for years wondered about the low-cal, high carb foods - as in, were they actually making us fat... come to find out, they are. You only have to look at how my grandparents ate to know that fats do not make you fat and carbs do, and that cholesterol in foods does not = high cholesterol in bodies. At any rate, I've found with the right foods, I'm not hungry, and I lose weight. Praying for your continued success with your new lifestyle! I'm slogging along with you in this! 14 pounds in 6 weeks - not as good as you've done, but getting there, nonetheless!
Paleo is very similar, but the difference is that paleo is what's known as a HFLC diet. In other words: High fat, low carb, moderate protein.
So we don't eat more protein than we did before starting on the diet, but we up our fat intake. Even then, it's only by as much as our bodies say. If we get hungry, it means we're not consuming enough. If we get nauseous after eating, it means we ate too much fat, so we eat less.
For me, consuming high fat means: eating the fat along with bacon, cooking in cream and butter. drinking cream in coffee.
The protein should be normal portions, not to big. The rest is veg like tomato, broccoli, cauliflower (incidentally delicious with a cream and cheese sauce), aubergine, baby marrows etc.
LOL I think I should write a post about this today, because this comment is running long. :-D
PS praying for your continued success as well! 14lb in six weeks is an amazing rate of loss. Well done!
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