Getting Used To Low Carb Diet
I decided to give up carbs for two weeks six weeks ago.
Of course, you can't completely give up carbs unless you want to become malnourished – I mean, even celery has carbs in it. But I decided to stick to under 20g per day to see how it affected my body, my health, my confidence, and my state of mind.
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Let me just tell you a little bit about my lifestyle prior to the change so that you can understand just how much my diet was going to be changing.
I'd often start the day with cereal – and lots of it. I didn't really eat healthy cereal, either – even my Weetabix has chocolate chips in it.
I never ate lunch. I pretty much forgot to eat during the day due to being busy with work. Instead I'd drink diet, fizzy drinks throughout the day and maybe snack on a cereal bar (always with chocolate in it).
My dinners were generally standard, healthy meals: Meat or fish with potatoes and vegetables. But once nighttime hit, it was game over.
I'd consume family-sized bars of chocolate, packets of crisps, and sweets, and again I'd be drinking cans of fizzy drinks.
I was also gaining weight due to water-retaining medication. My skin was constantly breaking out, I felt constantly drained, and I generally wasn't feeling my best.
I knew things had to change.
The first week of no carbs was hard. I'd decided to go completely cold turkey, no weaning off for me (which meant immediately bidding farewell to my beloved chocolate, sob).
My new diet would be solely based on meat, fish, vegetables, certain salads, a lot of water and diet fizzy drinks (I know they're not good for you, but my sweet tooth needed some relief).
I documented the first week every day to see how my body dealt with the change, and this is how it went:
Day one
Breakfast: Bacon and scrambled eggs
Lunch: Cheese and salad
Dinner: Steak, portobello mushroom, vine tomato and asparagus
Snacks: Pistachios, sugar free jelly, salami
Drinks: 2.5 litres of water, black coffee, Pepsi Max
Morning: It's my first day of attempting to eat under 20g of carbs per day and I already feel tired, a little nauseous, and drained. I've had to make sure I've been drinking lots of water, and I've been hungry due to normally snacking a lot on high carb foods such as cereal bars.
I'm hoping this will change gradually as I get used to the new diet.
Evening: Overall, I've lasted the day – but I've definitely snacked more than I'd have liked to despite not having any sugar.
Day two
Breakfast: Bacon, poached eggs
Snacks: Salami, Cheese String, Dairylea slice
Dinner: Caeser Salad with avocado
Drinks: 2.5 litres of water, black coffee, Diet Coke
Morning: Surprisingly, I woke up this morning feeling more energised than I normally do.
I'm not sure if this is because I didn't have my usual sugar binge last night or because I went to bed earlier – though only by half an hour – but I actually managed to process waking up without my usual coffee (well, until I eventually had time to make it).
I'm determined today to limit my fat intake and eat leaner meats and more fibre – though all I have in my fridge is bacon and eggs so I guess that'll have to do for breakfast.
Evening: The cravings are real. All I can think about is pizza. I. Am. So. Hungry. It's only day two and I've had a headache all day, I'm irritable and all I want to do is sleep. How do all these fitness bloggers do this on the reg?
I want to continue ditching the carbs because I want to prove to myself that I can do it, and I want to see if it'll have any overall positive effects on my body. But that doesn't mean I'll be able to stop thinking about melted cheese and crispy pepperoni (on a nice, carb-filled, crispy base, of course).
Day three:
Breakfast: Omelette with tomato and mozzarella
Dinner: Tuna steak, courgette topped with goats cheese, broccoli, spinach, tomato
Drinks: 2.5 litres water, Diet Coke, black coffee
Evening: I fell asleep early last night as I was extremely tired and was lacking any energy to do anything – this meant I wasn't able to curb my pizza cravings this morning.
I ended up going to the shop, which is directly next to the likes of Pizza Hut and McDonald's. I'm not going to lie, the temptation to head into one of them was real – but I convinced myself I'd regret it if I did. Instead, I went into the shop and bought a healthy dinner.
After eating tuna steak, I felt the fullest I had in the last three days. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting over the no-carb withdrawal or because I went to bed earlier than usual, but I woke up full of energy. I didn't have a dull headache or feel groggy. Result.
Day four:
Breakfast: Omelette with tomato and mozzarella
Lunch: Salad with Parma ham and cheese
Dinner: Chicken, broccoli, mange tout, green beans, coleslaw
Snacks: Peanuts
Drinks: 3 litres water, Diet Lemonade, black coffee
Evening: Today, I felt the best I have since starting the diet. I woke up feeling wide awake, and I have made it through the day with ease.
I think my body is starting to get used to my new diet, and it's already showing. Of course, while weight-wise results probably haven't changed too much, I have noticed that my stomach is less bloated and my skin's getting clearer. So that's an added bonus.
Day seven:
Breakfast: Bacon with scrambled eggs
Lunch: Ham salad
Dinner: Brie, Stilton, Parma ham, two strawberries, celery, cucumber and green pepper
Drinks: 3 litres water, Diet Lemonade, black coffee
Morning: I haven't kept track of the past two days because it was a weekend and I was too busy, but I did stick to the diet without being tempted to take a 'cheat day'. I'm proud of that, because with previous diets that had been my biggest downfall.
I did however treat myself to an Indian takeaway – though I stuck to a mixed grill and some salad. It was higher calorie and higher fat than I'd been consuming throughout the week and it wasn't typically healthy, but hey, at least it wasn't a pizza, right?
Evening: Today was a much healthier day, I woke up and made scrambled eggs with bacon and from that breakfast, I wasn't hungry throughout the rest of the day. I had tonnes of energy and I've noticed that as the days have gone on I'm so much more focused, meaning my head is less cloudy, which it was the first few days of going low carb.
For dinner I had a cheese board without the bread or crackers. I was doubtful as to whether this dinner was going to fill me up, but it's worked a treat and I feel full without that horrible nauseating too-full feeling.
As I've now finished a week on the diet, I decided to weigh myself today – I've lost three pounds.
Though I didn't continue to document the diet, I did keep sticking to a low carb lifestyle. As time went on and my body had got used to the low carb rule, I found it easier and easier to get through the day.
As the days went on I was becoming more confident, and I'd even been able to fit into clothes that had been previously too tight.
After getting through another week, instead of stopping the diet as I'd previously intended to, I decided to keep it going. It was benefiting me so much.
I felt great, I looked better for it and it had really boosted my self-esteem. What's not to love?
It's now been six weeks since I started the diet and though I've had two cheat days, I managed to get back on the low-carb wagon with ease, without affecting my progress too much.
Since starting the diet, I have lost 12 pounds and I couldn't be happier. My positive progress is constantly motivating me to keep going.
What I have noticed throughout this process is that alongside my body and my mindset changing, my fashion sense has too. I'm no longer wearing clothes that I think will 'complement me', I'm wearing what I want to wear and feeling good in it.
I'm not worrying about whether the outline of my tummy is showing through or whether my legs look too big in my jeans – I'm feeling comfortable in myself and I love it.
This diet, for me, has been the best dietary choice for me in terms of changing how I feel about myself.
Though I don't suspect this diet will be a long-term thing (not without another cheat day, at least), I'm hoping to keep it going for as long as possible as I've now given myself a target weight which I'm really hoping to meet.
I'm not sure how long it'll take me, but I'm motivated, I'm excited to continue to watch my body change, and overall I've found that there is no better feeling than feeling confident and secure in yourself – and that's something I really don't want to lose again.
If you're thinking about starting a diet, talk to your GP first to ensure you're doing it in a healthy way – restrictive crash diets are never the answer.
If you're worried about your relationship with food, please contact Beat through their website or by calling them at 0808 801 0677.
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Source: https://metro.co.uk/2017/08/30/giving-up-how-going-low-carb-for-six-weeks-changed-my-body-6887316/
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