My low carb experience

Just wanted to share with anyone interested.

Quick backstory; I’m a 36 year old vet with an aching back, knees, and every other joint my body has. At the turn or the year I weighed 193 pounds. At 5’9”, that’s definitely overweight for my standards. I’m also a full time college student, husband, dad and I have 2 part time jobs. I’m also in the midst of buying a home and petitioning for custody of my son. Needless to say I’m stressed and too busy to find adequate time for fitness.

So, back in December my wife and I decided to try a carb free month. We couldn’t do January because we had to go through the food we had; couldn’t let it go to waste. So we chose February to start.

We eliminated bread, pasta, pizza to start. Once we really started looking we found just about everything in a standard American diet is flooded in carbs. We pretty much just went to meats and greens and fruit. Fruit was our biggest source of sugar as well...we eliminated just about anything else with sugar in it. So, low carb/low sugar.

We quickly realized that eliminating carbs all together was going to be nearly impossible considering our high stress/high demand lives we both live. All it takes is not planning for one unpredictable event to happen and your stuck somewhere without a meal. Luckily, places like Panera, McCallisters Deli and chipotle offer quick, low carb solutions to help.

Anyway, To the results. After one month, I was down 7 pounds. 186 felt better than 193. But I also noticed more energy, both mentally and physically. Whenever I could go for a run I wasn’t winded as early and I could run further. I found a spring in my step that had been lost for awhile. My joints didn’t hurt anymore, my back felt great, my knees didn’t pop and crack so much, and my knuckles stopped screaming at me.

We decided to keep going with it. The results were too much to pass on. I’m down to 177. It should be more, but we had a few family celebrations that distracted us a little. But, each time I have a few beers, or overload on carbs from a big family gathering...I note a couple things.

1. The carbs instantly make me feel fat and bloated. I can immediately feel it around my waist and I can see my face swell up from it.

2. The pain in my back, knees and hands comes back within 24 hours. And it stays for as long as it takes for the carbs to process through.

3. When I eat carbs, I crave carbs. When I don’t eat carbs, I don’t crave carbs. In fact, I’m rarely hungry when the carbs are at a minimum

So, another thing I started was intermittent fasting. 5-6 days out of the week I don’t eat anything until noon. Anything I eat during my noon-8 window is, as stated, meats and greens. I think this is imperative to the diet because it’s making my body burn the body fat that I have.

I’m not consuming sugar, so the body isn’t burning sugar for energy. I’m not consuming carbs, so my body isn’t consuming carbs for energy. Therefore, body fat is its primary source of energy which is leading to the weight loss. And the intermittent fasting allows for more body fat to be burned before new foods are introduced during the day.

I know if I had more free time, more weight would be coming off. I drive 45 minutes to campus everyday, I sit in class, I sit in study groups, I drive home from class, I sit at my desk and study at night and I wake up early most mornings and I sit and study. Point is, I’m forced to do a lot of sitting. So to lose 16 pounds without having very much time for exercise, is a success.

And removing all the pain I’ve lived with for so long is an added bonus. Our grocery bill isn’t effected by the change because we aren’t buying crap food AND health food. It’s all health food.

Anyway, I’ve been raving to everyone I know about the benefits I’ve been seeing first hand. I figured I’d share the results and benefits with anyone wanting to read, so maybe it’ll inspire or motivate people to try it out for themselves.

We don’t have to eat the standard American diet; we just have to choose not too!

It's awesome aint it! I've been doing this same keto routine for over a year now, about the same age. I'm down 30 or more lbs from where I was last year with little to no more exercise than I was already doing.

I'm over a year in and I'm still blown away at how much the sh!t sold to us is nothing but poison. I can't drink any alcohol without gettin sick, same goes for sugar and bread. It's like your body wakes up and says, 'no more of this crap!'.

It's like relearning to live. The hell is trying to wake the rest of your friends and family up to it. Especially the ones who are pumping there kids full of sugar all the time.

I swear, the poison that processed sugar has become is the biggest conspiracy in the world right now.

Look up some Joe Rogan vids on keto and the like, he has a ton of folks, doctors, nutritionists, ect on there all the time with really great info...

This 'time restricted eating' for muscle mass is what I'm just turning on to now...

originally posted by: rexsblues
It's awesome aint it! I've been doing this same keto routine for over a year now, about the same age. I'm down 30 or more lbs from where I was last year with little to no more exercise than I was already doing.

I'm over a year in and I'm still blown away at how much the sh!t sold to us is nothing but poison. I can't drink any alcohol without gettin sick, same goes for sugar and bread. It's like your body wakes up and says, 'no more of this crap!'.

It's like relearning to live. The hell is trying to wake the rest of your friends and family up to it. Especially the ones who are pumping there kids full of sugar all the time.

I swear, the poison that processed sugar has become is the biggest conspiracy in the world right now.

Look up some Joe Rogan vids on keto and the like, he has a ton of folks, doctors, nutritionists, ect on there all the time with really great info.

Joe Rogan is a part of what woke me up to it! I listen to his podcast just about everyday on my commute to and from class. He has enlightened me with the knowledge he’s brought to his podcast. Dr. Rhonda Patrick is my favorite.

But you’re right, once you rid yourself of it, only then can you truly realize just how harmful it is for you. And it is everywhere in our culture. Beer, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, tacos, burritos, biscuits and gravy, pizza, soda, candy. I used to think a sandwich on wheat bread was healthy. Then I thought multi-grain bread was healthy. Now, no bread.

We use Romain lettuce leafs for a bread/bun substitute. Makes for a great taco shell or hamburger bun replacement. My wife really enjoys trying new things. I made a super low carb tiramisu cupcake a couple weeks ago. Admittedly, the texture of the cupcake kinda sucked, but the icing I made was the best icing I’ve ever had...no sugar!

Anyway, I know how hard it is to get out of that dietary lifestyle. I lived 35 years thinking I knew what a healthy diet was and making excuses for everything I consumed. But once your metabolism checks out around 30 years old, so does your bodies ability to hide the true effects of carbs and sugars. I wish I had known it sooner.

You'll want to check out Tom Delauer's vids on YT. Tons of free info and advice on low-carb and keto.

a reply to: Assassin82

I'm happy that you found a lifestyle that makes you feel your best! I used a low carb diet to lose the 11lbs of pregnancy weight leftover from my last. Easy peasy and felt great.

That being said, there has to be more in the equation than carbs in the "Standard American Diet" causing the rampant obesity in the U.S.
Everywhere else in the world Ive been , the people indulge in fatty, carby, sugary treats and wash it down with alcohol; but there's definitely a difference in food culture in general. People in Europe eat slower, they eat less over all, they eat together, they eat at specific times, they eat a much more varied diet (on average).
I think the U.S. (and Canada, it's starting here too) need to start with food education. That would go so far to curb obesity and disease.

Food conspiracy, food conspiracy, etc.

originally posted by: ColeYounger
You'll want to check out Tom Delauer's vids on YT. Tons of free info and advice on low-carb and keto.

Good stuff! Thanks for the links. I'll check them out!

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Assassin82

I'm happy that you found a lifestyle that makes you feel your best! I used a low carb diet to lose the 11lbs of pregnancy weight leftover from my last. Easy peasy and felt great.

That being said, there has to be more in the equation than carbs in the "Standard American Diet" causing the rampant obesity in the U.S.
Everywhere else in the world Ive been , the people indulge in fatty, carby, sugary treats and wash it down with alcohol; but there's definitely a difference in food culture in general. People in Europe eat slower, they eat less over all, they eat together, they eat at specific times, they eat a much more varied diet (on average).
I think the U.S. (and Canada, it's starting here too) need to start with food education. That would go so far to curb obesity and disease.

Food conspiracy, food conspiracy, etc.

I can't speak for Canada; I spent 3 months in B.C. and the Yukon 17 years ago. The people out there were hard working, active people who didn't seem like the type to sit around and spend half their day watching T.V. and playing video games. But, then again, I was in the more rural areas of the area.

Here in the states, I'm often left disappointed in our dietary culture. Even before my own 'awakening', I would look around and see an army of morbidly obese people everywhere I went. 193 wasn't fat by the American standard, but it was fat for my standard. I think when it comes to poor diets and an obese population, many parts of the world are catching up to our unfortunate tendencies. I would venture to guess that the reason for the delay is because of a more difficult working standard. Maybe less call centers, less automated distribution of goods...resulting in more daily kinetic requirements.

I'll be school meals are healthier outside of the U.S., so kids aren't being fed total garbage day in and day out. In fact, that's probably one of the biggest areas of concern...I wonder if our young people here are being poisoned with sugars and carbs at an earlier age and a higher rate then kids in other countries; leading to a domino effect of more and more obesity among the population. Things to ponder, I suppose. I agree though, more to the equation then "just" the American dietary standard.

a reply to: Assassin82

I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to school lunches!
Outside the US (It's really not great here in Canada either) most lunches served in school have an amazing variety of all kinds of dishes, and they eat similarly at home. They don't really eat "kid food".
I have two cousins in TN and their lunches were loaded with either French fries, or pasta as the main source of calories and typically a greasy meat on the side.
So they go through life eating this 5 days a week and we wonder why kids are "fussy". I would say most of the time, it's the parents... who were likely also raised on French fries and mac and cheese.

a reply to: Atsbhct

My wife's family have a terrible diet. Her sister eats nothing but kid food...28 years old and she's already on cholesterol medication. Her Dad is stubborn and won't eat a home cooked meal. He literally eats out 3 times a day with ice cream treats wedged in there from day to day. And I've never seen him eat water. It's funny because when they come over here to eat he'll act like a child if we put veggies in front of him. He gets rewarded afterwards with a malt or a piece of cheesecake on their way home. He's on blood pressure medication and has diabetes. Rather than fixing those two problems, he just keeps asking his Dr. for more medication to control the issues. I try to be a good influence, but he's stuck in his ways.

Her Mom wants to eat healthier, but lives with a 28 year old child and a 70 year old child who refuse to eat healthy. But, she doesn't help herself out because she's the one who keeps buying them all the food. It was a struggle to get my wife to stop bringing high carb/high sugar food into the house at first. She's seen the health benefits and is really starting to make the same commitment to it that I have. But, she was raised with that type of diet, so it's hard to get away from it.

I think its easier for me because my mom always cooked chicken and veggies. My dad always cooked game meat and veggies. We didn't have a bunch of garbage in the house, though there were plenty of fast food stops and pizzas along the way. Anyway...I'm rambling. All perspective to reflect on I suppose.

a reply to: Assassin82

Low Carb is the way to go, for me too. I've had the following benefits:

* weight loss
* less anxiety
* more focus (less 'brain fog')
* more stable mood (less ups & downs)
* almost no food cravings (once I broke my carb addiction-- about 2 weeks in)

Here are a couple tips I've found for quick meals that I am happy to pass along:

* Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store & veggie of your choice. (We always keep frozen broccoli and spinach on hand.)

* Hardees 'low carb' burgers... basically any burger they serve will be prepared with large lettuce leaves as the 'bun.' (Or just remove the bun from any burger joint. Yeah, I know fast food it bad... but in a pinch, once in a while, it is do-able.)

* For the occasional dessert: mix ricotta cheese, or softened creme cheese, with cocoa and splenda for a chocolatey low-carb treat! Or make a low-carb cheesecake (recipes abound online!)

* Drinking a LOT of water helps with the weight loss on this eating program. Helps flush out the system.


That's all I can think of right now. What other tips does anyone else have??? Kudos on your health adventure!

a reply to: new_here

I'll have to try the dessert recipe you mentioned. Sounds delicious! Cabbage is very useful for a lot of different recipes. Ground up cauliflower is a solid rice substitute. Eggs and heavy whipping cream whipped together make for a great casserole filling.

We've found far more recipes and options then we thought there would be, and very few of them leave us disappointed.

a reply to: Assassin82

If you like cabbage and haven't tried it, Google the Egg Roll in a Bowl. I eat it with rice, but it's an amazing low carb recipe!

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Assassin82

If you like cabbage and haven't tried it, Google the Egg Roll in a Bowl. I eat it with rice, but it's an amazing low carb recipe!

We will definitely give it a shot. Thanks!!:

We have been doing low carb since January. My husband has lost 45 pounds. I have lost a lot less. I drink a red wine at dinner and have some 70% dark chocolate squares at night. We eat fruit and sugar free bread, but that's it for carbs. I will have one time a month a potato or rice. I tend to feel hopeless, frustrated, and cry eating absolutely no sugar for days on end. I started having a one day a week one meal might be sushi or pizza. When you stick to it, it works. Even after 50 years old. We eat a lot of salad and relish tray. Boiled eggs for snacks. Sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, or atkins bar for the desperate moments. We also use pink Himalayan table salt which is chemically different than white iodized salt. He works out three hours a week. I do exercise bike. We got rid of bacon, turkey bacon is the replacement. Best of luck to you!

a reply to: frugal

I still eat a lot of bacon. In fact on the weekends when I cut my intermittent fasting short it’s pretty much just eggs and bacon that I eat. As I understand it, without sugar and carbs getting in the way, the human body is pretty adept at processing animal fats. It’s not like I would eat bacon all day everyday. Lean red meats are abviously even better. But bacon is fine for me when it’s not conflicting with surgery foods and carbs.

Great job on you and your husbands part. Changing ones diet isn’t just buying healthy foods, it’s an entire change in lifestyle. That’s the hard part. I know here in the states our dietary culture makes it very, very difficult. So much so that I agree with the above poster...I really do think there’s a conspiracy around it. People get filthy rich off the country being fat.

When you cook for yourself and know what you use while cooking - this can eliminate an amount of carbs and influence on forming your body