WSTN –Diets – Atkins Disaster

Sorry all been distracted by the gorgeous weather…. so let me fill you in on the latest diet news.

Basically it was an epic fail! I managed 5 days without carbs which is shameful! (the lure of pitta bread and hummus was farrrrr too strong)

Initially I was confused by all the limitations of the diet, and I miscalculated my sugar intake. To keep to the carb intake below the regulations of the diet, I restricted myself to the same meal. (Chicken and bacon salad with an olive oil dressing….. was soo bored of this after 3 days) I think if I had carried on I would have needed to branch out and find other foods that are allowed.

Snacking is particularly difficult! (There is only so much  ham a girl can eat!)

In hindsight I rushed in without researching meals. I would definitely need to do this should I ever want to try this again.

Overall I did lose 2/3 pounds during the 5 days but I think that was mainly due to my confusion and lack of eating anything other than chicken and bacon salad. If your a fan of rules are disciplined enough not to let yourself have the odd chip then I think it could work.

For me I needed to commit to it fully and my heart just wasn’t in it. (I had already planned to fail by starting it the week before I was due to go to Wireless festival)

I think the horror stories of how hard Atkins can be, scared me! I had already been warned by a friend that the diet was horrifically hard and that once you started eating carbs again the weight piled on….. I am determined to give it a proper go though! But maybe when the weather turns back into a normal British summer!

“Perhaps it is …

“Perhaps it is a testament to the power of modern marketing savvy that an obese man with heart disease and high blood pressure became one of the richest snake oil salesmen ever to live, selling a diet that promises to help you lose weight, to keep your heart healthy and to normalize your blood pressure.”
― T. Colin Campbell (on Robert Atkins)

WSTN – Dieting – The Atkins Conundrum – Indroduction

This month I am trying out the Atkins diet… (I am aware it has been done to death but as an avid dieter I want to see if it works)

First things first, it is not just a no carb diet. I am currently studying the introduction phase (I must admit I am studying via Wikipedia and free sites on google so I apologise if I get some of my info wrong; I’m too cheap to buy the book). Now like most people I didn’t know there was 4 phases and that there is a large amount of science behind it.

So the science bit…… the reduction in carbs is supposed to stop the body burning the new glucose for energy and make it focus on the stored fat for fuel (layman’s terms, sorry I’m not a scientist). Basically its like not having a weekly shop and using everything up in your cupboards. (nobody ever uses everything in their cupboards even when going on holiday or moving house, there’s always a tin of beans lurking in the back (you cant have baked beans on this diet, I actually don’t think I can live without Heinz!))

Anyway there are different types of carbs which you have to learn!!!!   (when I stared this I didn’t realise I would have to become a carb specialist) There’s carbs in pretty much everything so they don’t make it easy for you. During the introduction your allowed under 20 net grams of carbs a day and 12-14 of these have to come from a special list of….. you’ve guessed it…… SALAD… oh! and veg too! (ever so exciting! even writing about it I am starting to feel like a rabbit!)

But its not just the ‘evil carbs’ (pasta, bread etc) you have to watch out for. You are limited protein wise! Sugar is also restricted and has to be naturally occurring!!!! The worst thing for me is that your cheese consumption is limited!!! (I am actually addicted to cathedral city cheese)

Oh and by the way…. no alcohol! For two weeks! and eight pints of water a day instead! Now this isn’t such an issue for me. I drink an obscene amount of water as it is. The caffeine restriction bit also doesn’t bother me too much at I only drink herbal tea.

(The real issue is that I am off to wireless festival next weekend so I am already setting myself up for a fail. I figure one day off isn’t soooooo bad)

In between my planned fail day and now though I will do my darnedest to stick to it. I will keep you updated as to how well I do and how badly I will eventually fail!!! (I am going to get bored of weighing cheese eventually…….)

Any suggestions for lunches or meals out whilst on this carb controlled diet would be much appreciated!

P.S. I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. If you would like to try the atkins diet I would suggest you do your own reading about it before following in my very confused footsteps!

I’m not overweight….

“I’m not overweight.  I’m just nine inches too short.”

Shelley Winter

“If you have formed the habit of checking on every new diet that comes along, you will find that, mercifully, they all blur together, leaving you with only one definite piece of information: french-fried potatoes are out.”

Jean Kerr

WSTN – Dieting – The Great Calorie Count

So before anyone thinks it, I know I’m not fat….. (If you did think I looked fat, well that’s a bit rude! either you need help or I need a new profile picture)

But it wasn’t allllllways this way, at my heaviest I was just shy of 13st. As I’m 5ft 7 I wasn’t huge but I found it difficult, especially as I was at school at the time.

I am now fairly happy with my weight but I still struggle to stay in my skinny jeans. I’m interested in if any of the new fad diets work and what damages they may do to your health…. and muggins here is the guinea pig.

I thought I would start with what has already worked for me. Calorie counting. I am not great at exercising. I do try (forcing myself go to the gym at least once a month to make the membership worthwhile). I have even joined teams and clubs hoping peer pressure will force me to go. But alas no.

Calorie counting, on the other hand, I took too like a fat kid on cake (poor use of that phrase). Back when I was trying to loose weight as a teenager, it. was. hard. Now there are fancy apps like my fitness pal and all the calories are on packets. I had to weigh food and look in a book before I could add the calories to my daily list. (oddly this had the side effect of me not being bothered to eat certain foods because I couldn’t find out how many calories where in them).

The other big struggle for calorie counters in the past was eating out. My top tip for restaurant meals is to eat slowly and stop when you are full. (A cereal bowl size of something calorifically yummy isn’t going to kill you). NOW its tooooooooo easy. All the meals have calories next to them along with whether they have nuts, wheat, meat, dairy etc, in them. You used to quietly guess at a meals calorie content. Lie to yourself about it and then have a good day the next day. Now there’s constant reminders that you should count your calories (and btw you could be allergic/intolerant to nut, wheat, meat, dairy, food… In fact just stop eating, put that bit of chocolate down.. Yes you!)*

I learnt to loose weight the hard way, researching calories and finding out what works for me. Learning self restraint. I am an advocate of calorie counting. It does work. But please have one day off a week, not only does it give you a break from numbers but it also teaches you restraint for when you inevitably stop counting.

I have now stopped counting full time. If I have a fatty weekend I may pick it up on Monday and Tuesday but nobody can do it full time forever.

It would drive you mad!

*please don’t actually stop eating! I was being sarcastic! (but you can offer me some of that chocolate! your greedy if you dont)