It’s very nearly a week gone since the 1st of January came and went, bringing with it a pair on New Year’s resolutions and a stupefyingly painful headache. The latter is now gone, while the former are still in play, which – given your correspondent’s track record over the course of the last several – is not to be sneezed at.
So I decided last week to pull out all stops and actually change my dining habits. A diet, yes.
Yes I know. Radical indeed.
The South Beach diet was almost randomly selected: I’d read some good things from other folks and it didn’t seem as mind-bendingly restrictive as Atkins, just to name one example. Like Atkins however, “Phase I” consists of sharply reduced intakes of carb-laden foods. Lean meats, cheeses, lettuce, etc. Eggs. Pistachios for a snack – count them sirrah, 30 to the evening’s dose. Bread was not to be countenanced for the first two weeks, nor is rice – particularly white rice – nor any other thing resembling a grain or cereal. No fruits. No fruit juices. Thumbs down on things sugary. Demon rum shall not cross these lips for another week yet, and then I am exhorted to drink nothing but red wine, if ever I can manage it. Resveratrol, etc. Laudatory effects. All the vegetables you could want however, which translates to your scribe – a man who could starve to death in a vegetable field – as “chow down on green beans.”
Unlike Atkins though, South Beach allows me to continue my morning adorations to My Dark Lord – coffee that is, hot and black as ever it might be. It also holds out the hope of something approaching a real diet, that real people can live on, out there in the middle distance. Brown rice and wild rice are re-introduced in modest doses after week 2, as are 100% whole grain and wheat bread. Just not, you know: Together. At the same time.
So how has it gone?
Not badly, in my personal. With continued vigorous exercise, both cardio and anaerobic, the diet has shed eight and one-half of the most ignoble pounds ever to hang upon a man’s mortal frame. Given that the weight came off over only seven days this is obviously an unsustainable rate of diminuition but I was nevertheless gratified – you’d be surprised how much you miss a slice of toast with your eggs, or that piece of pizza the kids next to you are wolfing down, all regardless. It’s good to get some feedback. Except…
Except.
Except today I was up on the velo, making my way through the hilly inland route and well embarked to the allmost as hilly coastal bit when I hit the wall at the one hour mark. Bonked, with a half hour and one major hill climb to go. Ran out of gas. Entirely. It was the strangest thing, considering that my heart rate was in the “Yes you’re working, but not all that hard, so what are you complaining about?” range. I’ve run into oxygen debt and even bankruptcy before doing alpine climbs on a bike – this was nothing like that. Even given my relatively modest heart rate, the rest of me was suffering like a chained dog at a cat shelter. So I did something I haven’t done in I don’t know how long:
I quit. Gave up. Called the Hobbit.
Rode back in the car.
Carbs. They’re not entirely the enemy, are they?
One more week.
Highly recommend the “Body For Life” approach for athletic types. Good balance of Carbs, Proteins, Good Fats, and above all else the exercise component! Plus, having to eat 6 times per day does away with cravings, and BONKING!
I know… I’m on it and play hour and a half racquetball matches at 5,280 feet! It’s a Denver thing.
Still… Good luck with the resolution!
-JC
Is that how you spell exercise?
Chris-
They’re Americans, anything goes.
Congratulations Lex, very impressive!
And with those reserves of determination and will power, I seriously doubt you will give up and give out too soon. Although once you get some more carbs back, I hope you find the amount sufficient to get your body working right again – personally, alhtough addicted to them, I think starch is HIGHLY overrated. But perhaps you need some (or at least more carbs than you’re currently getting in your veggie intake) to take on those major runs.
I’m with Michelle – addicted to carbs I am. Each time I think about approaching South Beach (which I agree is the least restrictive of the fad diets these days) I get the cold shakes. No more comfort food! ARGH!
I recently read about a diet that reverses your meals – dinner for breakfast, etc… Haven’t read much about it but it does make some sort of sense.
In any case, good luck Cap’n. I admire the willpower and determination – I think I love food too much.
Lex:
My grandfather was a doctor, and he always maintained that if you wanted to lose weight, it was actually quite easy.
You didn’t have to give up the foods that you liked, just eat less of them. As an example, if you had two slices of toast with your eggs, have one. If you had a three egg omelet, try it with two eggs. Kepp your exercise habits going string, and you lose the weight.
Of course, my grandfathers dietary habits left something to be desired. He had a thing for mallowmars and other junk food, and I took after him. I did follow his advice as I grew older, and found that it works.
Good luck, Lex. And when you get to NYC, the diet goes out the window.
8 1/2 in one week, wow! Thanks for the diet update but, where’s the sea story?
I appreciate the insight into your diet experience. Until I reached my 40s, I never needed to diet…high metabolism, but I am finding that something is needed now and soon! I do not want to end up with the heart and sugar issues that plague many in my family.
RPL, your grandfather was a very smart man. There is much to be said for the KISS principle. Now why is it so hard to do?
Okay, that’s just wierd. Just noticed that all the ads on the bottom of this page are for weight loss. Lex?
Arghh, the “sag wagon” as the cycle fiends call it. Good safety call, though. Better that the Mrs. return you with dignity than the ambulance return you without. I also have experienced the “additional coins needed to play ” feeling when yer body just don’t go no farther, and you can’t understand why—you did this exact same trail the day before yesterday.
Last year in a local city, I encountered a group of wretched survivors of some mutual horror, who were sprawled out on a lawn, moaning and sobbing. They were wrapped in space blankets and I could see their leg muscles twitching in spasms. For a moment I thought it was the triage part of a mass casualty event, until I saw the littered paper cups and orange slices from a seniors marathon finish.
My wife is a pasta fiend.
I’ve discovered that the weight loss for me seems to be a fruit breakfast, soup (preferrably something lo-cal like tomato or creamy tomato w/pizza seasonings off the spice rack added), and a decent but not excessive dinner.
Oh – and I also walk three times a day. Work is nearly a mile from home so I walk there in the morning, then I walk for about 30min at lunch around town, and then my wife picks me up at the end of the day and we go over to a local high school track and walk there for about 30 minutes.
Bad weather is admittedly my enemy.
Why are ya doing this on such a tight timeline? Are ya trying to fit in a prom dress?
Or is it time for the dreaded annual? PRT and digital.
b2
Lex..For what it’s worth, I’ve done the South Beach a couple of different times. While it works pretty well, one reaches the point on day 12-14 where he would kill for *anything* that is carb laden. Fresh dirt in the backyard to attest to the truth of my ramblings.
My Mother-in-Law lost nearly 50 pounds in the past 18 months doing the “KISS” method – eating the same things but less, and exercising. Took her a long time to lose it, which means she’ll be far more likely to keep it off.
She’s Italian – I can’t picture her going on a carb-less diet – it’s against her genetic engineering!
Don’t go overdoing it on the pistachios, Lex. I quote:
As heady as a perfume, pistachios are the perfect after-dinner aphrodisiac.
Understand your dilema, sir. My wife being a Type I insulin dependent diabetic since she was 6 years old, I am learning the ways of carbs/no-carbs vs insulin intake. Exercise requires carbs, specially the hard type you undertake on a bike ride. The blood can only store so much energy as blood glucose, the rest is stored as fat. Once the fat is gone, from what I understand, muscle tissue is consummed to generate energy. As was mentioned with K.I.S.S., an active lifestyle should not require any drastic change in diet, just eating less and exercising more. That’s just from the little bit I have learned. Knowledge can be quite dangerous, I guess. We have learned to stay away from low-fat foods (increased sugar to enhance taste) and calories do not mean much. Look at the carb totals on the labels and subtract the fiber number to get the true carb count. There are no good-carbs or bad-carbs. Carbs is carbs, whether it’s a Hershey’s bar or a slice of pizza.
Samual Adams Boston Lager is 17 carbs as fer instance. Take care.
I used to EXERCISE because, you know- nobody %^&*s a fat man, but now I EXERCISE only so I can eat whatever I want.
No pain- no pizza!
b2
EXCERCISE?
I don’t have any idea what you guys are on about with this whole “excercise” thing. It’s a conspiracy, I tell ya.
Gotta beg to differ there Rey – its the carbs in starches that seem to pack on the weight and IMHO are the unhealthy ones. Carbs found in fruit and veggies are good for us, we all know that, they certainly keep telling us that enough. But starches…. nasty. Lovely tasting, addictive, but nasty. You can’t compare the carbs in a Hershey bar to the carbs in an apple; an apple gives your body something useful to work with but a Hershey bar… just the enjoyment of chocolate – not that that should ever be maligned mind you!
I find serious illnesses are the best way to lose weight fast. Dropped twenty pounds in a week that way, once. Kept it off, too. Not, however, the most pleasant way to go about it.Y
Moderation in all things is the key, as always, Lex. Scan the book “40-30-30 Fat Burning Nutrition” at the local bookstore, it is small and the plan is pretty easy to learn. Is it perfect? Nah. But it is do-able, and while bread doesn’t really work, nor rice, I have found some cereals that have a more ‘balanced’ approach that fit it quite well. While I have used it to lose a lot of weight, mostly we just try to eat along the 40-30-30 balance all the time. (I miss carbs far more than the Hubster, I’ll admit it!)
The real value is the menus — we still work from them when we need to focus and lose weight. Watch also for snacks like Balance Bars and Zone Perfect bars – they are easy to stock snacks that are already balanced. We get ‘em at Trader Joe’s and Costco – they’re all over.
Hey, it’s the Caveman Diet! We evolved for it. Might take a while to get through the withdrawal from the bad agricultural carb habit.
They tell me if I can get past a week or so of no drinking sans shakes and seizures, it’s all just psychology, from then on…
OK, I thought Chocolate was nature’s perfect food and a substitute flavor for everything.
Am I wrong?
Hey Kris, I’m in complete agreement. Unfortunatley my waist line … begs to differ!
Michelle – you’ll notice I’m not commenting on my waistline or whether it agrees with anything I’ve said.
I love food – and have no problem admitting it. I have no misplaced psychological needs – I just love food. Denial isn’t in my vocab, but moderation does need to be added, sadly.
Ah well, back to my box of Godiva’s….
Hey,
Sorry for not logging in for awhile. I’ve been busy losing weight over the holidays. I’ve managed to drop 15 pounds since Dec. 20th, and with little to no effort on my part. It’s called Pneumonia, and apparently works like a champ.
All you do is drink about 2 gallons of water a day (talk about being hydrated), take these nasty anti-biotics, and sleep. Lots of sleep. It;s easy to control food intake because you are too tired to eat, and the rest of the nutrition comes through a tube in your arm.
Anyway… I’m getting better, and determined to continue the weight loss program.
Lex: I understand the carb withdrawal problems well. I was diagnosed with type-II Diabetes a couple years back. I went cold turkey on anything carb-based and I was nearly homicidal by day three. I could’ve killed for a biscuit or half a bagel. But, by the time the first wekk ended, the withdrawal symptoms scaled back considerably and things went well. I slowly reintroduced things, checking the blood sugars regularly to see how it all reacted.
Nowadays, I eat pretty much anything I want, and like others have said, it’s portion size more than item selection that works best. Basically I use an exchange system and walk a lot, and things are working well. It takes time for your body to adjust, but it can and will, and in the end you’ll be better for it.
Hope to post more often as my strength returns. I am still so very tired, but I can tell I’m getting better, so I’ve got that going for me:)
Respects,
AW1 Tim! Wow take care of yourself; I’ve had pneumonia twice and it’s no picnic…ever. That tired feeling is going to last a long time, more than you feel is necessary. But it will pass! Keep drinking those fluids…good for you anyway.
Michelle, point well taken. I do like to have a Hershey’s nugget every now and then. And Sam Adams is my most favorite source of liquid carbs.
AW1 Tim, do take care of yourself. I had it once and couldn’t believe the exhaustion, even after I thought I was “better”. I recommend lots of rest and contnued mall portions of Neptunus Lex, to be increased as tolerated.
Whether the truth, what a sweet dish is fast, but short-term inflow of energy, and starch supports an organism further? WBR LeoP