Has anyone read this article? http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/cele....html?hpt=Sbin
I think its GREAT he's lost all this weight. But I have to wonder is NO carbs, NO snacks maintainable for the rest of his life? I swear I would go crazy if I couldn't have carbs. I just have to wonder if he is setting himself up for a huge binge in the near future....
Everyone determines what level of diet is sustainable for them. There are certainly people here who have lost weight with very strict rules for themselves, and have maintained their losses.
I did read the article, and I wonder if his "no carbs" was oversimplified quite a bit. He says he's snacking on fruit, so he can't be on a strict "no carbs ever" kind of plan. It might be that he said something about "refined carbs" or something else less restrictive, and it was reduced down to convenient media form.
My target diet is pretty similar (except the no snacking. My goal isn't 3 meals with no snacks, it's 6 snacks with no meals).
I've read a lot about "ancestor diets" in books like Primal Blueprint, Paleo Diet, the Paleolithic Prescription, Neanderthin..... and antigrain books like Against the Grain, and Life without Bread... and I really believe that processed carbs, and even most grains are doing the human race no favors. In many ways, we were healthier before we "invented" these foods (since most grains and legumes aren't edible in their raw states, we have to do a lot of work to make them edible, and some of the anti-nutrients remain. They contain substances that can actually counteract or depelete other nutrients).
I think that some people do better with grains and concentrated sugars than others. I think I may be a person who has to eliminate them almost completely, because when I try to include even small amounts I tend to stop losing and have a hard time controlling hunger that is so severe it makes it difficult to avoid overeating. These foods also aggravate health issues - all around proving that I'd be better off without them (no matter how crazy it will make me to avoid them).
Not that long ago, I also would have said that I would go crazy without my carbs (bread, specifically). In essence though I think that was a big clue that I was using them as a drug. If someone said,
I would go crazy if I couldn't have....
my alcohol
my pot
my cocaine
my gambling
my shopping
would we encourage them to keep habits that had been destructive. I think the "I would go crazy if I couldn't have" sometimes can signify an addiction-like behavior.
I can truly say that's been my relationship with bread. I learned that wheat products (especially bread) and to a lesser degree other grains and even less but still significant, carbs in general seemed to be causing increases in my health problems. The pain and fatigue of arthritis and fibro was worse, my menstrual cramps were worse and I'd get a really icky rash (at best flaky skin, at worse a weepy, crusty, swollen, fuchsia rash worse around my nose, cheeks, chin and forehead. It was by far, the worst in the classic "butterfly" rash of lupus (which is a diagnosis that hasn't entirely been ruled out for me. The docs just know I have some kind of autoimmune disease damaging my lungs, joints, skin, and sinuses).
Eliminating bread completely, was outrageously difficut (I craved every type of bread you can imagine - even french toast which I hate), but when I did I felt great. My doctor ran a celiac test and it came back negative (I had had at least a few servings of wheat before the test. The doc said the test was sensitive enough that it shouldn't matter that I'd been mostly avoiding wheat).
When the test came back negative, I went a little nutty - and started experimenting with wheat again. I can avoid symptoms if I eat no more than one serving of wheat per week (pasta is more successful than bread or baked goods). Any more than that, and I have an aggravation of symptoms. I don't know why bread and baked goods like cake seem to be the absolute worst (maybe I"m allergic to the leavening too, I don't know).
I was doing fine avoiding bread when I thought I couldn't eat it (though it was very hard at first). Bread, especially home-baked crusty breads were a big part of my life growing up (Dad's italian and german. Mom's german and polish), and avoiding bread and pasta seems sacreligious to anyone raised with good home-baked breads, and homemade pastas (I still have fond love-hate memories of making tortellini with my grandmother. I remember even as a kid getting a sore back from standing around the table filling and folding the little squares of dough).
My poor bread machine is so lonely on its shelf in the pantry (I used to have it on my counter, and every month or two would bake a loaf or two).
Just when I resigned myself to no bread ever, I got the negative test result back and thought "yippy I can have bread again" only to prove that I really can't. Knowing what it does to me, it's amazing to me that I still feel that it's impossible or at least impracticale to go through life without bread.
That thinking is as crazy as believing you can't live without cocaine. You can of course live without either. You can have a great life without having ever eaten either.
Quitting bread the second time has been worse than the first. Most especially because I didn't have the suspicion of celiac disease to keep me compliant. I still could be allergic or intolerant, but the consequences are less severe (in the short-term), so I have a slightly smaller sword of Damocles over my head.
I do intend to keep grains out of my life forever (except the very few I don't seem to have a problem with, such as rice and quinoa). I fail occasionally now, and I expect to fail occasionally in the future, but it won't be because I've planned to fail. I don't add wheat into my diet intentionally, but I do have unplanned encounters with wheat that I don't always handle successfully. I'll do the best I can, and deal with the results, but I have learned that I will not go crazy without bread - it just sometimes seems that way because bread, cake,wheat and grains are everywhere, and everyone seems to be pushing it.
He looks great! I personally believe that to deprive yourself of so much is kind of shooting yourself in the foot in the long run. It seems nearly impossible to maintain that level of control for the rest of your life is unrealistic. Maybe he plans to slowly add carbs back in as a part of a healthy and balanced diet...? But who knows! Its great how well he has done tho, regardless!
I thought he looked great! It's an inspiration to see someone so well-known succeed and I hope he keeps it off! I might not have even recognized him if I hadn't known the article was about him.
I agree. His weight loss is amazing...and sometimes I think people just getting the weight off helps. Its a lot easier to be more active when you aren't caring all that extra weight around.
I personally could never totally cut bread etc out. On South Beach you eat those complex carbs in VERY strict moderation. I also find when I eat breads and etc that I am more bloated, more tired.
I really belive though maintaince is the hard part. Hopefully he can keep it off! Thought it was great, but a diet I am not sure I personally could do!
"Teddy-bear Drew" was adorable, like the big loveable guy you'd like to have for a boyfriend. But "Slim Drew" is the hunky, funny guy who is kind of hot! (He's still boyfriend material, now he's just probably out of my league! LOL)
He looks really cute! Good for him To echo what others have said, he eats fruit, vegetables and yogurt all which have carbohydrates. His way of eating is as sustainable as anyone else's who is focused and dedicated to a healthier lifestyle.
I'm glad he did this for himself, although I have to wonder if he will be able to keep up that no carb diet for a lifetime. Hopefully, he'll modify it if he runs into trouble instead of just regaining the weight. As they say, maintenance is the hardest part of it all.
Guess I'm the only one that things he looks pale, sick, and old in that photo in the story. *shrugs*
Nope - you're not the only one. Thinner? Yes - he looks thinner. And I'm sure he's probably much healthier! -but! - I think he looks "worse" than when he was fat. It's no secret! - "fat" plumps out your skin. When you lose fat then the wrinkles etc show more.
Drew Carey's Weight Loss
To echo what others have said, he eats fruit, vegetables and yogurt all which have carbohydrates. His way of eating is as sustainable as anyone else's who is focused and dedicated to a healthier lifestyle.
