natamars
11-05-2009, 11:09 AM
Hey, guys-
I started doing the low-carb thing on Sunday. Not following any specific plan - just cut out sugar, bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, juice - you get the idea. Eating turkey, chicken, vegetables, low-fat cheese, nuts, fish, eggs, soy milk..that's probably about it. I had never planned to do this since I eat very little meat and love whole grains, but I've gained 30 lbs. in the last 2 years and cutting calories and going to the gym 5-6X/week wasn't doing anything. I'm 41, so that could be part of it.
Anyway, I'm aiming for the 1200 calories/day I was eating before, but letting myself have up to 1500 if I'm hungry. The thing is, I haven't been that hungry. I'm starting to wonder if a lot of what I thought was hunger before was really cravings. I mean, if I were letting myself have sugar or bread I would have eaten at night, and I had calories left over. But was I hungry for a big salad or fish? Not so much.
Have you all noticed this? I feel like I really miss eating for pleasure. I'm OK with all the foods I'm eating, but I would never OD on any of them. I don't plan to eat this way forever - maybe 2-4 weeks until I can get past these plateaus. And it's working great - I've lost 4.5 lbs. just this week. I know I'll have to be very careful about adding carbs back in slowly, and I know I'll have to count calories my whole life.
I started doing the low-carb thing on Sunday. Not following any specific plan - just cut out sugar, bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, juice - you get the idea. Eating turkey, chicken, vegetables, low-fat cheese, nuts, fish, eggs, soy milk..that's probably about it. I had never planned to do this since I eat very little meat and love whole grains, but I've gained 30 lbs. in the last 2 years and cutting calories and going to the gym 5-6X/week wasn't doing anything. I'm 41, so that could be part of it.
Anyway, I'm aiming for the 1200 calories/day I was eating before, but letting myself have up to 1500 if I'm hungry. The thing is, I haven't been that hungry. I'm starting to wonder if a lot of what I thought was hunger before was really cravings. I mean, if I were letting myself have sugar or bread I would have eaten at night, and I had calories left over. But was I hungry for a big salad or fish? Not so much.
Have you all noticed this? I feel like I really miss eating for pleasure. I'm OK with all the foods I'm eating, but I would never OD on any of them. I don't plan to eat this way forever - maybe 2-4 weeks until I can get past these plateaus. And it's working great - I've lost 4.5 lbs. just this week. I know I'll have to be very careful about adding carbs back in slowly, and I know I'll have to count calories my whole life.