Hi Eliasson!
BACK! I remember feeling like you do. I just couldn't seem to bring myself to start another diet, and I just kept gaining. Then I stumbled across an online article that talked about something called the Slow Carb Diet. I found out later it was a diet introduced in the book The 4-Hour Body by Tom Ferriss, which I've never read. The thing that seemed to resonate with me is that it said if you are carb-sensitive (and since insulin issues run in my family and I have hypoglycemia, I know I am) and you eat high-carb foods, your blood sugar spikes, but instead of getting a normal release of insulin to control it, your body floods your system with insulin. That causes your blood sugar to drastically drop, which in turn causes you to feel hungry all over again. And because high carb foods raise your blood sugar quickly, you gravitate to those, and the cycle begins all over. In this cycle, you always seem to be hungry, even if you have recently eaten. Does this sound familiar? So I started a modified version of the Slow Carb Diet, and it's been wonderful for me. I have a whole different relationship with food now. Here's what I do:
For 6 days of the week, I eat
--meat and fish
--legumes
--eggs
--non-potato veggies
--veggie-like fruits (like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash)
--nuts in moderation
--peanut butter
--cottage cheese
--black olives
--condiments
--salad dressings
and I drink
--6-8 oz of water a day
--Diet Dr. Pepper
--Green tea
For these 6 days, I avoid
--breads and grains (including corn)
--pasta
--dairy (other than eggs and cottage cheese)
--fruits (except veggie-like fruits)
--potatoes
--sweets
I count no calories. I count no carbs. I don't eat every 4 hours (like the book says). I don't pay attention to numbers at all. I eat when I'm hungry. I stop when I'm full, and I try not to eat late at night (although if I'm hungry, I will).
The 7th day of the week (I've chosen Saturday) is an allowed and even recommended Cheat Day. Woohoo! I eat WHATEVER I want as much as I want, but again, I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. I do gain between .5 and 2.5 lbs the day after cheat day, but it's just water weight and it falls back off in the next couple of days while I continue to lose fat. It's all figured into the plan, so I don't worry about it.
On this diet, I never feel "starved" because my blood sugar no longer spikes and drops daily on a high-carb diet, and I'm never tempted to break my diet or binge on forbidden foods because I can have them on Cheat Day. Also, I'm not much of an exerciser, but I try to walk for 20-30 minutes each day.
Everyone is different so I don't know if this diet would work for you, but I feel your frustration and you might consider giving it a try. I've lost 27 lbs on it since July 19th and I didn't think I'd ever be able to garner the willpower to diet again. Whichever plan you choose, I wish you the best of luck!
New again
