The Less is More Thread

[rcjordan]

>Protein makes you feel less hungry for longer.

Yeah, on the low-carb diets you're generally taking in huge amounts of protein.  Generally, by day 3 or 4 I'm not as hungry as meal time approaches.  But there's another reason for the lower appetite; carb intake converts to sugars quickly and that, in turn, spikes your blood sugar.  Then when your blood sugar level begins to fall, your brain interprets that as hunger.  Low carb diets trick the hunger system by keeping blood sugar levels consistently low.

[Brad]

>lo-carb

I started the Atkins diet today.  Takes some thinking NOT to reach for the carbs, and I think I'm going to miss them.  While I understand the giving up caffeine in the beginning, it is bordering on cruel. Decaf coffee just does not hack it first thing in the morning.  I'm going to be grumpy for this first week.   

[grnidone]

Most people don't do Atkins the correct way.  Atkins is actually very healthy:  the carbs you take in are leafy green vegetables.  And then, over time, you increase the level of carbs you take in until you are pretty much eating everything except white refined flour and sugar.

And, a lot of people I know say they are Atkins, but are on their own diet but they call it Atkins.  They will "save up their carbs" so they can drink beer or have other really high glucose stuff.  That's not the way to do it.

Beer is horribly high on the glucose scale.  Higher than refined white sugar, in fact.

There was a guy I went to work with who claimed Atkins caused him to have his gall bladder removed.  He called it Atkins, but it wasn't.  It was his own fucked up diet of "eat steak and cheese all the time and then allow himself to eat Ice Cream as his carbs." 

I think Atkins gets a bad name from idiots like this who "call it Atkins" but just do what they want.

[littleman]

Good luck there Brad.  Fight a good fight.

[grnidone]

Oh, Brad.  Just so you'll know, you'll feel like HELL the first 4 or so days (and it has nothing to do with coffee)...But...after that, you'll feel better than you have in a long time.

Just know the misery doesn't last long...

[agerhart]

While I understand the giving up caffeine in the beginning, it is bordering on cruel.

No way I could give up coffee.  I seriously wouldn't survive at this stage in my life.

[Brad]

>HELL

Yes.  I completely lost steam right after lunch.  Felt very sluggish.  Took a nap and made it a double.  I don't think I'll schedule anything important over the next few days.

[littleman]

Cold turkey is tough with caffeine.  Its much easier to step down gradually over several days.  Those cold turkey headaches are terrible and the more coffee you drink the long they last.

[rcjordan]

I'm with Agerhart. I routinely drink 2 or 3 20oz mugs of black coffee every morning. I don't cut back when I'm on low-carb (which usually quickly evolves into just a "No White Stuff" diet) and I still lose weight. 

[Brad]

I'm with Agerhart. I routinely drink 2 or 3 20oz mugs of black coffee every morning. I don't cut back when I'm on low-carb (which usually quickly evolves into just a "No White Stuff" diet) and I still lose weight. 

This is good to know.  Not sure I can hold out without regular coffee for a whole week.

So day two and I go to grocery to get more fresh meat and all I can see are forbidden carbs: frozen pizzas, donuts, loaves of bread, pies ... you only really notice how much food contains carbs when you can't have it.

In two weeks I'll kill for pizza.

[dogboy]

>White Stuff diet

...very popular down here, and very effective.  All the beautiful people are on it, and besides some sniffles and numb front teeth, this diet is lots of fun and you have all sorts of energy!  I would think it costs about $50 for every pound you want to lose:)

[rcjordan]

>lifestyle

Basically, that's the reason low-carb can work for most of us.  It requires some thinking, but you can 'fake' your old habits pretty well.  Want a quick burger fix from a fast-food joint?  Buy 3 cheeseburgers. Throw away the buns and stack the meat and have a meatburger.

>pizza

Meat-lovers with triple cheese. Throw away the crust.  Works.

>$50

More like $250. I told you it was expensive.

[dogboy]

>it was expensive
only for the men.  Women get to diet for free and also get to have as much sex and alcohol as they want. I'm telling you, South Florida is funny like that!

[rcjordan]

>$50

Your post got me thinking about the expense.  It's expensive, yeah, but no more so than those pre-packaged meal plans like Nutrisystem  ...and that's if you're just blowing money on RC's All Meat Diet Complete With Pizza.

My best guess is the additional costs of low-carb raises my food bill by $400 per month.  On average, I've lost 20 pounds over 4 months. So that's $80 per pound for my diet.  So, for the average low-carb dieter, your figure of $50 is probably close.

[dogboy]

Well, like any diet, you really have to stay on it to see the benefits. If you stop then you pretty much have to start from square one...

You have no idea how many diets I've tried and this one is just as good as any Spa or cruise.  10 days of dieting and $10k zero calorie meals and people won't even recognize you when you come back...