Training Wheels On or Off?
Are you ready to start making a change to your health? Have you tracked your food using an app?
If you answered a resounding yes then let’s get you on your health bicycle and decide if you need training wheels or not.
Tracking Your Food Intake
You know I believe in testing not guessing so I am not kidding about this step. Seriously. Track your food using one of the free online apps. You don’t have to be accurate down to the gram or ounce but you do need to be honest about everything you eat.
Track your intake for at least 3 days. This will give you a sense of where you are in carbohydrate consumption.
Why is this important?
This step is vitally important because your success hinges upon it. If you are starting out consuming 250 grams of carbohydrates a day and go cold turkey on carbs, you will experience all sorts of negative symptoms.
Your body is totally reliant on burning glucose for fuel if you are topping out at 200 or more carbohydrates a day. Dropping your body’s quick source of glucose is going to make your body angry. No one wants an angry body!
Low carb training wheels should be immediately attached to your health bicycle. Rachet down your carbohydrates consistently and methodically and your body will gladly take this journey with you.
How much should you cut back?
My suggestion would be to start somewhere. I know that doesn’t sound very helpful but it will lead you to the most success. You decide how much you want to cut back and how long the process takes for you. Everyone is different and has different health goals. Be confident that you are in the driver’s seat of your own health.
You could look back at your food log and see how much of the carbohydrates you are eating are from added sugars and make cutting them out your goal. Maybe you find that the bulk of your carbohydrates are coming from starch. Then that is where you can start. Again, everyone is going to be different and have different attachments to food.
It will get easier the more you train your tastebuds away from the foods that are sabotaging your health.
Warning!!!!!
If you have high blood pressure and are currently taking medication, proceed with extreme caution. Talk to your doctor or health care practitioner about any dietary changes because these changes can effect your medication. High blood pressure is a very serious condition. Decreasing carbohydrates will reduce the amount of water in your body and can bring down your blood pressure. Much more complicated than this but you know…I’m not a rocket scientist. 🙂
It will be extremely important for you to be monitoring your blood pressure and adjusting medication as necessary. Really!! I am not kidding about this. This is way above my pay grade!
Training Wheels Off
TRACK YOUR FOOD INTAKE. Okay, I am pretty sure that is the last time I am going to say that in this post. But it is just so dang important. And, frankly, if you are not willing to put in the effort to do this then you are most likely not ready to commit to a change in your lifestyle. Time for tough love here!
After tracking your daily food intake, you find that you are consuming 100 grams or less of carbohydrates then you just might be ready to take the training wheels off. I use the word might here because to go down to 20 grams of carbs a day is not for the faint of heart. You need to be committed to making a change and not only remove sources of added sugar but starchy sources as well.
I don’t stay at 20 grams forever. Dr. Robert Atkin’s believes in a personal carbohydrate threshold. His theory is that you add back 5 grams of carbs per week after reaching your health and/or weight goals. The amount of carbs that you see weight gain is defined as your personal carb threshold.
20 grams of carbs
Yes. This is a tough number but it is meant to be used for tough times. Do you have high insulin? High triglycerides? High blood pressure?
You more than likely ended up with these health issues due to falling victim to the typical American diet. Atkin’s believed that you have to fight imbalance with imbalance. Going overboard on carbohydrates got you into this mess and drastically cutting back on them can get you out.
Do not fall into the trap of believing that once you correct your health issues or attain your weight goal that you can go right back to your old way of eating. The foods that you cut out are the foods that need to stay out or at least make an appearance only on special occasions.
Table sugar has no nutritional value. It is not included in any diet program because it is not good for us in the amount that the average person consumes.
Supplements
To support your transition, I suggest the following supplements.
Electrolytes – As you lose water you lose magnesium, sodium and potassium. Make sure to replace these.
B complex
Die Hard Carb Lover?
If you are a carb lover and can’t imagine eating and loving this lifestyle, I suggest looking into other ways of changing your diet. There are many ways to skin a cat or so they say. Just remember that the more carbs you eat, the less fat you can include. Forks Over Knives is a great example. It is a very carb heavy way of eating that allows for almost no fat.
The only goal that I have for you is for you to find good health. However you choose to do that is always up to you.
