Wednesday, September 29, 2004

My name is Ginger, and I'm a Carboholic

Yes, I admit it.  I crave carbs.  The thought of giving up carbs makes me cringe.  I can't imagine a dinner without a grain product.  This comes from being raised by country folk who always had a plate of good ol white bread to complement the meal.  I like things breaded, I like crackers, I like sandwiches, toast, pastas, potatoes and don't even get me started on my insatiable sweet tooth. 

I want them all.  Every day.

This new Lindora plan has the first week alternating all protein days with days you can have 50-100 grams of carbs.  To put things in perspective, I eat between 200 - 300 grams of carbs daily.  That's about on par with the food pyramid and the USDA guidelines.

Now I gotta cut it in half.  Well I guess I don't "gotta" but I'm choosing to.  If this works the way they say, it'll be worth it to see the numbers on the scale move significantly.   According to this article, eating these all protein days lowers insulin and kick starts ketosis, a biochemical state in which you are burning fat for fuel, and it will flush out bloat and suppress appetite. 

I did okay on my first week of the South Beach Diet.  I think I lost like 7lbs.  But pretty soon my body leveled out and plateaued - after about 14lbs.  So I'm a little skeptical about this being a long term plan.  According to the article, it's the flip flopping between eating proteins only then adding more and more carbs that confuses your body's setpoint and therefore results in consistant and rapid weight loss.

I'm about to become the guinea pig to see if this really works or not.  As of next week my goals will change from the caloric requirement to meeting the food schedule they outlined in the article, and counting my carb grams.  I'm also going to try doing 10 mins on the exercise bike three times a day.  I'm not making any promises mind you, if my back starts to hurt that'll 86 the exercise.  But I'm willing to give it a shot. 

A totally unrelated topic - Wednesdays have become Must See TV.  I'm totally hooked on Lost - it's the first show in a really long time I wanted to see the next episode immediately after this one ended.  Fortunately that goes into The Bachelor, and as always I'm hooked.  I probably wouldn't have been had Byron not been chosen, but now I'm invested.  And Ilove Jayne - she's a total sweetheart. 

This then goes into Wife Swap which I didn't expect to be much of a show but after I saw the clips on Oprah I was intrigued.   It's interesting to see two people in completely different settings taking control of the situation and making their changes.  It's the stuff of a storyteller's dreams.  I love shows that explore the human condition - and if they put a bunch of different ones all in one pot and stir it, even better.

Sept 28

Calories: 1965
Fat: 32% (oopsie)
Sat. Fat: 8%
Water: 48oz 
Exercise - On hold

DAILY AFFIRMATION - I have the obligation and the right to take care of myself because I am worthy of all good things.  

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I crave carbs all the time too....I've made effort to cut back....just wanted to stop by and say Congrats! for making Editors top 5 list and good luck with the lower carb program!

~jerseygirl
http://journals.aol.com/cneinhorn/WonderGirl

Anonymous said...

congrats on your weight loss. Congradulations on being one of the top 5. You're journal is great!!!!!!! We homeschool & I have two girls one 23 who graduated from Homeschooling & is teaching at a private school & one 16 who has her permit now and takes care of two special needs children several time a week. Both care for the elderly, love kids & animals & take Karate & Piano. We also love to go camping. We love animals and always take our tw big dogs camping. We love working on old cars also or just fixing our up. You can also check out our kodak pictures page first link in our OTHER JOURNALS LINKS. Cars, animals and our way of living are all there. We love getting posts in my journal & see how our daily life goes on I 'd love to hear from you.  LORI  

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh!  How did you do that with you pictures in the about me section!!!!!!!!  It is really cool that you are doing that!  Good luck on your weight loss!

Tracy

Anonymous said...

I crave carbs too!! Especially since I was on Prednisone & gained 80 lbs, and its so hard to lose, your individual metabolism just fights you tooth & nail, and its so hard to reprogram it!  My son, 18 is overweight, he's always been a big boy <big framed> and he's going thru a tough time...
My metabolism now is so screwed up, LOL, my body tells me <especially during PMS> I want potatoes NOW, or bread, pasta, etc...
Good luck!!
Mary Anne

Anonymous said...

Hey Ginger, I wondered when you would be up here.  Love the honesty of your journal and am awed by your determination to win the battle of the bulge.  Congrats.  

Anonymous said...

Dear Ginger,

I read you everyday and I also struggle with weight issues.  I want to know where to go to get the diet requirements that you are talking about.  I went to the web site that you put in your journal a couple of days ago and it costs like $249 to join.  Could you give us the info for free?
Gloria

Anonymous said...

Carboholics unite. Personally,I think the whole Atkins and carb free diet is just wrong. I mean if it's such a fab diet how come Dr. Atkins was overweight when he died?  

Anonymous said...

First, congrats on Top 5 pick! Second, instead of walking on a treadmill, or riding an exercise bike, or whatever, why don't you just go for a walk, and smell the roses? If you're moving, lots of good things follow. Continued good luck on you journey, hope to see the end with you. rich

Anonymous said...

Hi there
well congrats on your loss so far.   I can't say i can help as far as the carb thing,, i deal with that too lol,, but i have also been fighting mine and i have recently started Herbalife and have lost 25 lbs and 25.25 inches in 2 and a half months.  Gained a TON of energy and feel better than i have in yearsssssss...
Just a thought incase ya get burnt out on the plan you are on,,, But most of all best of luck with where you are going with it ,,, i think its great!!!
If you happen to want more info or know anyone that does,, just email me i will be happy to fill them in  
take care and keep up the GREAT work :-)

Anonymous said...

Hey congrats on making the top 5...I'm so happy for you, you really deserve it your journal is great.

http://journals.aol.com/derasta/ADayInTheLife