Lo-carb (English only)
After 35 years of strictly following the nutrition guidelines, low fat and high carbohydrates, I finally had a BMI of 30, blood pressure medication not quite making it, cholesterol medication, and frozen shoulders, extensive sweating, which I thought was due to menopause, and horrid smelling sweat. I had a terrible craving for candy and lately consumed 1 kg of mixed candy per week! That’s ten times more than my internal norm, which made me ashamed. This had only been going on since last summer.
My virtual friend Ingrid in Sweden wrote about LCHF (Low Carb, High Fat) before starting off to SOAR. She provided a link, I followed it, and am still on that road.
I started the program on October 6th, and the starting data were: Blood pressure 159/70 with 10 mg Amlodipine and 20 mg Simvastatin daily. I had also been prescribed Enalapril, which I had to stop taking in July because of constant infections. All Summer I had been walking my big dog and was in quite a good shape, but I suffered from apple shape and my waist was under the armpits. I had reduced 4 kg weight in 4 months, which I didn’t think was enough.
I didn’t kick start, but reduced the carbohydrates gradually, replacing them with a little animal protein, much vegetables and much fat. First I gained a little weight, because I ate too much. When I started to eat smaller meals only when I was hungry, I managed with 2-3 meals a day, and sometimes I needed a little meal in the evening. When after two weeks I removed another lot of carbohydrates (beans) from my diet, the weight started to just flow off. I eat around 300-400 calories less per day than before.
This morning I’ve lost more than 2 kilos, my blood pressure is 140/66 and I take half the dose of Amlodipin and no Simvastatin. My waist has travelled down to its right place and is now 8 cm less than nearly four weeks ago. I sweat less, and the sweat is odorless. My shoulder pain has reduced by 75-80 %, and I don’t need Ibuprofene any more.
I have no craving whatsoever for sweets and candy! My blood sugar level is constant. In short, I feel very much better than for ages. My skin isn’t dry any more, but feels smooth and soft. I’m enjoying the fact that I CAN eat the things I’ve always wanted to eat. For now I also enjoy cooking my meals from unprocessed ingredients.
I wonder what my doctor will say next spring, when my next appointment is due after some laboratory tests.
As a young girl, I ate very little potato and bread, I preferred the meat and the sandwich toppings. Later I was told by my ex that it’s immoral to eat the expensive stuff, and that I should eat potato, bread and porridge. Soon after that, the carbohydrate-rich nutrition recommendations surfaced.
I strongly believe that one should choose one’s diet to stay in good shape, not to save money or to benefit the food and drug industry. The alarming thing now is, that the EU has paid millions of euros to the industry lobby to make us new nutrition recommendations!!! That’s a nightmare: I’m afraid they will NOT make us healthier, but make us need more and more medications.
If you’d like to hear more, you could listen to the Living la vida loca low-carb podcast.
