The lowdown on low-carb

If you've been around me much the last 6 weeks, or if you've been keeping up with my posts, you know that I hate my new diet that is supposed to be my new lifestyle. I cried a lot in the first 4 weeks. Even threw a box of Chicken Helper across the kitchen in frustration after reading the nutrition label once.

After a month, you develop a habit (so I've heard). I do know that things felt easier and less frustrating. I am also seeing results, so that makes a difference in the struggle. But, the low-carb, high-protein philosophy has never really settled well with me. How could eating fruits all day be bad? I love fruit and I miss it. How could it be better to take calcium supplements three times a day rather than drinking carb-loaded milk? How could eating eggs every day be better than cereal and fruit? Although I have followed my doctor's orders this whole time and "cheated" very few times, it has never rang true to me and I have continued to do my own research all along.

Well, one day in complete frustration, I emailed my friend Em who is a type 1 diabetic. I knew she has had many years of experience learning about food and the science behind it. She could probably get certified as a RD (registered dietician). So, I emailed Em telling her all of the above in detail, how I just didn't believe my new diet was completely healthy and it doesn't seem to follow the Word of Wisdom that we believe in. I told her that I'd found in just one little line of one of the many articles I'd read that people on low-carb diets lost weight only as a consequence of taking in fewer calories and not from reducing their carbohydrate intake. Hmm....

Em wrote back with fantastic advice and within the week brought me this book to read:

Carbohydrates: What You Need to Know by The American Dietetic Association

Well, I've finally been reading it and I think it has saved my life. It rang true to me. It makes sense. It goes with the Word of Wisdom. I have hope! Let me quote some of the life-saving excerpts from these nutrition experts:

Page 30: "The fact is that your body uses most of the carbohydrates that you eat for energy and bodily processes. Even if extra calories are eaten, carbohydrates are burned in preference to fat in the diet. And dietary fat, which is found in many high-protein foods, is stored more easily as fat in the body than excess carbohydrates. Therefore, eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet can help with weight maintenance--not a low-carbohydrate diet."

Page 31: "First, you must eat more calories than you need to make and store body fat. Second, carbohydrates get used before fat does. So, if you eat too much, it's the fat in your diet that is getting stored as body fat first, not the carbohydrates. The bottom line is that it's the amount of calories, rather than the source, that matters."

It goes on to say how eating should be a pleasurable experience (mine is now a chore and sometimes I even have to force myself to eat); explains how it is not necessarily sugar that makes you fat; explains in detail the reason whole grain (not wheat necessarily) flour/breads are better than white, but does not tell you to avoid whites altogether; gives the science behind why our bodies NEED rice, grains, breads, pastas... all the things I've been told to avoid; teaches not to deny yourselves of all your favorite foods, just use good portion sense and moderation; teaches that exercise and lower calories are the key to weight loss and management.

So, I'm thinking that my nurse who has been guiding me, although she has had fabulous intentions, she is not a RD. Despite what my doctor and nurse have taught me, it is NOT about low-carb and high-protein (protein is fat)... it IS about low-calorie and high-fiber, low-fat and high-carb.

Now, I'm off to have a high-carb, low-fat, high-fiber breakfast and ENJOY it!! And after I get dressed, I'm heading straight to the produce stand down the street and I'm going to load up on fruit!!!
You know I'll keep you posted on my results. =)