Low Carb Challenges

I have been dairy and gluten intolerant for over a decade, so I am familiar with changing my eating habits, reading packages, and adjusting my restaurant choices. The first few times I was required to eliminate certain foods from my diet my point of view was “foods I can’t eat.” Eventually, I began to approach dietary changes as an experiment . . . “Let me adjust the foods I eat and see how my body responds.”

Unfortunately, we live in a culture that promotes an unhealthy relationship with our physical body. We are constantly dieting, over exercising, or obsessing about to losing weight because we have been programmed that being a certain size is “unhealthy.” I have consistently worked with my patients to embrace and nourish their bodies in a positive and healthy manner. This encouragement comes in many forms including dietary recommendations, and I almost never suggest or promote a certain diet. Rather, I suggest healthy food choices to best support their overall health.

I have struggled with high cholesterol for the past several years and, as a result, experienced unusual weight gain. I began to change my eating habits first by reducing red meat which showed no improvement in either my cholesterol or weight. After a couple of years and a worsening of my cholesterol, my physician insisted on prescribing a statin. Initially, I resisted. However, I evaluated my test results for the past several years and realized it may be the only way to lower my high cholesterol.

After beginning the statin, I made the decision to switch to vegan based nutrition. This dietary change worked well and my cholesterol numbers stabilized, but I continued to experience increased in weight gain. There were also contributing factors due to the ongoing pandemic – reduced physical activity, increased stress, and increased emotional eating.

After learning about the benefits of reducing carbohydrate intake – reducing risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure, I made the decision to change up my eating habits once more. In mid-June, I embarked on my new dietary journey.

I remained committed for three months. The first month I struggled to adjust because I experienced severe fatigue, hunger at odd times, and irritability. I began to wonder if I would make it through the initial three months. Eventually, these side effects disappeared. The side-effects were replaced by deeper and more restful sleep, improvements in digestion, more energy throughout the day, reduced stress, and reduced emotional eating. However, the most notable change was a steady and continuous reduction in weight. My weight fell a total of 20 pounds in twelve weeks.

My next text results are scheduled this week, and I am curious to compare the results. The next newsletter will outline my basic approach and how I incorporated or adapted foods that I love.