When I recently changed my diet , my intention was to reduce the insulin stress in order to control my diabetes symptoms. I knew, of course, that I had to also loose weight.
The irony is that I am indeed losing weight faster and more consistently than I have ever managed before.
While I hope I can assume I don't have cancer (!) , the irony is that without seriously trying to lose weight, I am!
I've always had a reasonably good diet and for years have adhered to a low GI -- Glycemic Index ruled -- diet. I have also always exercised despite, and because of, my crippling Fibromyalgia.
But still the weight staid on and always crept up. I could not move it.
However research published this week indicates where my problem may lie:
The study published online shows people with a family history of type-2 diabetes gain more weight more quickly than people without the genetic pre-disposition and their insulin response is different as well.
Such findings suggests why my difficulties prevailed... But the fact is I have lost significant weight -- 8 kgm in 8 weeks -- despite the fact that I was not primarily geared to weight lost. The change has occurred by following a simple rule of thumb: I have reduced my carbohydrate intake to below 100 grams per day.
While my protein and meat intake has gone up -- as well as my fat consumption -- I have also increased the amount of vegetables I eat each day.
So now I eat:
- low carb vegetables
- no legumes (no chickpeas or beans)
- no pasta, rice, potatoes or corn
- the only fruits I allow myself are cantaloupes and berries like raspberries and strawberries.
- much more cheese, eggs and (Greek) yogurt than I consumed before
- handfuls of nuts: peanuts, almonds, macadamians....
- 1-2 slices of home made sourdough bread each day or every other day (I don't eat either pasta or other baked breads or pastries)
- 650 mls of home brewed bitter beer (ie:a pale ale) made on low GI sugar (and I drink the beer most days each week)
- no milk except in my tea
Since I am aware of the carb content of what I put in my mouth I can mix and match as I choose and ' what I lose on the swings I gain on the slides...'
This diet is neither strictly high protein fetishized (like the Atkins Diet) nor as obsessively diabetic (and conservative) as my local patronising nutritionist plugs for. Nor is it Paleothic/Primal.. The fact is it's customized within certain parameters: the key one being to get carb intake down to below 100 gram per day (more or less).
That I am consuming more fat, eating much less overall, not suffering from pangs of hunger...and am losing weight! amazes me.
En route I had a few days of acute diarrhea and abdominal cramps which I put down to a massive shift in the ecology of my gut flora as the daily carb fix entered drought mode and with protest and brutish savagery, my intestinal flora evolved and a few species died off.
But as they say: no pain/no gain (or is it 'loss'?)
Afterthought:
I estimate that I averaged 1 kilogram of weight gain for each year of (fibro) illness. Using such an estimation I've just taken back/rolled back 8 years!
