Friday, February 01, 2013

On Diets and Eating

Carnival Squash

I've struggled for years with proper eating. I've gone on health food kicks and veggie binges! I've had many a co-worker tell me that they love my homemade lunch and that they can't believe how healthy I eat. And yet, I've never been thin and I've always had a hard time losing weight. I've never been a perfect eater but really does that person exist? I have always tried to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day and I always thought ancient grains were the way to go over meat based dishes.

Storage

While pregnant with Molly, I was diagnosised with gestational diabetes. I wasn't surprised. I had the risk factors; overweight, over the age of 35, family history. I was disappointed though and I did my best to learn about a healthy low-carb lifestyle. I did excellent on the diabetes diet. I learned that beans and grains are NOT my friend. I learned that lean protein and leafy, green vegetables were my friend. I also sadly learned that squash was something to limit. Man, that was a hard one. I love squash. I even complained to my doctor that I couldn't have all the squash I wanted. She said she usually heard complaints about wanting candy, not wanting squash. Oh I wanted candy too but I was sad about the squash! Mainly because I know that candy is never good for you but squash? Isn't that good for you?

Food Photography Workshop

Then I had Molly and I fell HARD off the good low-carb eating diet. I ate ALL THE CARBS while yelling, MOAR CARBS which meant that I gained weight when I should have been losing weight. I was again disappointed. I had left the hospitable after having Molly weighing less than I had when I got pregnant. I was on the right track!

Kale

I went back to calorie counting and somehow forgot all the lessons I learned from the diabetes dietitians. I ate lots of carbs but not a lot of calories. I was also exercising 5 times a week for at least an hour or more. Molly and I could be seen running through our neighborhood all Summer. In fact, my neighbors once commented on how much I was running and walking.  And yet, I still did not lose weight and my face was horribly breaking out.

Cherries

Then I read, Why We Get Fat and I had my a-ha moment. My body does not do well with carbs. Grains like Quinoa may be healthy for most people but for me, it is not. My body takes carbs and processes them in all the wrong ways.

Since November, I've been eating a low-carb lifestyle (after having a long discussion with my doctor who agreed that I should eat low-carb). I've embraced Paleo (but with dairy because CHEESE!). My face has cleared up. I no longer feel bloated AND I've lost weight. I feel pretty amazing.

Radishes

I do miss carbs though and I allow myself some once in a while. But it's strange now, I have INSTANT feedback from my body on carbs. I'll have pancakes for brunch and then weigh myself the next morning. I will have gained at least a pound. I also get painful breakout when I have wheat products. With this feedback from my body, it's been easier to stay on the proper path. I'm am still learning everyday what works best for my body and I believe that will be a lifelong education.

I'll talk soon about what an average meal plan looks like for me. I also have some yummy recipes to share too!

What kind of a-ha moments have you had with your diet? What kind of food is ideal for your body?

7 comments:

LarryB said...

I've had a very similar experience with diets and dieting and wound up with full-on T2 diabetes. I followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (40-60% of calories from carbs?!?) and things just got worse.

I found Mark's Daily Apple online and started following his approach as an experiment (similar to Paleo, but with fewer restrictions) and had immediate results - enough to keep me on the eating plan.

Now I can completely ignore carb-heavy foods. On my birthday, two different people (Pamela G and Brittney) made cakes and I had a piece of each. I couldn't sleep all night because my digestive system was *very* unhappy.

Oh, and I'm now almost 70 pounds lighter, down from 255 to something like 188. It's taken me 20 months to get here (weight loss slowed, but I'm fitter than ever - boxing and cross-fit-like workouts).

To unstick from a plateau at 195, I had to restrict even more (dairy, sweet fruit, dark chocolate off the list for now) but I'll try re-introducing them once I hit my goal - a flat stomach for once in my life.

I only read Taubes's books in the last month or so - less of an AHA! moment and more of a confirmation.

I hope you can be successful at the diet change - it's tough to get going but surprisingly easy to stick with.

Ryan said...

The daughter of my neighbor across the street grew up with terrible skin problems. She then started eating Paleo and the skin problems cleared up so more evidence in your favor! I could never do it. I love me my carbs!!

AlisonY said...

Very interesting. I've been trying to talk myself into a diet aimed at reducing inflamation and it seems very similar to Paleo. I've been dealing with skin issues as I've gotten older - particularly after I turned 30 and have been told it's hormones and I'm just going to have to deal with it. After reading this I'm intrigued to see if changing my diet will help with that too! Now.... to start. I've never been a good vegetable eater, so that's what has me saying "I'll get going on it soon" instead of just doing it.

Rebecca Mongrain said...

@LarryB - I have been watching your transformation from afar (via Facebook) and AM AMAZED AT YOUR RESULTS! I will be checking out Mark's Daily Apple immediately!

@Ryan - I do love me some carbs too! I think late at night is when the weakness hits but luckily I don't have any fun carbs (just good grains for Molly and Scott) in the house and I'm much too lazy to go out and get some.

AlisonY - I got into veggies by trying a new one everytime I went grocery shopping. Some I did not LIKE AT ALL but there were others that just floored me with their yummy flavor. I wish you luck with finding some that you enjoy!

becca said...

Thanks for posting this, Rebecca. I have had a VERY similar experience to yours, i.e. pregnancy 2 came with gestational diabetes. Eating per nutritionist guidance made me lose weight right away (which was a little alarming since you're not really suppose to lose weight in the last trimester). After kiddo was born, I was determined to keep going with it as it made such sense for my body.

While the first year I completely forgot about the low-car eating goal (newborn brain!), I have recommitted to it since last April. It is the way I will eat permanently. My body feels much better, I am losing weight slowly. I have a very specific regimen similar to what the nutritionist advised while I was pregnant that I stick to (except Fri or Sat evenings when I eat whatever!)...

Breakfast = <20 carbs
2 hr later snack = <20 carbs
Lunch = 30-45 carbs
2 hr later snack = <20 carbs
Dinner = 30-45 carbs
snack (only if famished) = <15 carbs

I have leveled off on the weight loss in the last few months, so I will adjust down a bit as there's more to lose. Anyway, I would love to hear your regimen and strategies!

--Rebecca (aka "UW Rebecca" ;)

Ginger said...

Carbs are the devil for me too. Before the holidays I went onto a very carb restrictive plan (<60 a day) and the lbs dropped off, then the holidays hit... I'm restarting the plan Monday morning (starting a dietbet too) and hope to see similar results again. My 25th HS reunion is next year (when did I get so old?) and don't want to go looking like this.

Jessica said...

You know I am totally in agreement with the Taubes book. I also get immediate feedback from the scale and my skin and my energy level and my ability to sleep when I eat carbs. Lately I've been making too many excuses to "cheat" and I'm feeling it in the worst way. Thanks for the reminder to recommit to eating right.

 
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