A couple people have asked me for a little more detail in how I manage protein versus carbs, so since I wrote a response anyway, I figured I might as well post it here.
The Primal Blueprint book I recommended cites 50-100 grams of daily carbs as the general fat-burning/weightloss “zone” and 100-150 for weight management. I don’t count carbs, as a general rule.
I generally consume the following each day to get my carbs. These give me all my carbs and, in lieu of “counting”, I trust the rest takes care of itself.
– a good serving or two of fruit
– a handful, or so, of pecans or almonds
– a couple servings of veggies
– a serving of dark chocolate
– a glass of red wine
I eat NO cereal, rice, pasta, or potatoes, and I am very limited with breads. There are a couple kinds of loaf bread that are tasty for an occasional sandwich. Sara Lee “45 Calories and Delightful 100% Whole Wheat Bread with Honey”, for instance, only has 10 net carbs (carbs minus fiber) for 2 slices, and that’s pretty great.
As for protein, I feel like I can eat pretty much as much lean meat as I need. I also love eggs, and they are squarely on the menu.
A frequent knock I hear about a low-carb diet is the lack of variety. Here’s where creativity and experimentation come into play. In one scene from Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii, drummer Nick Mason orders a piece of apple pie with “no crust”. Why not take something you love and cook it without the carbs? I cook a tasty shrimp alfredo primavera and simply eat it without the fettuccine.
The good thing about the whole low-carb method is that if you can be attuned to what your body’s saying, you’ll hardly ever get “hungry”. My problem has always been that I love to eat and often ate when I wasn’t hungry and usually ate stuff that wasn’t going to sustain me (i.e., processed carbs) and, therefore, would make me hungry more often. I truly lived a cycle of hunger then carb-up then crash then repeat.
I feel so much more consistent energy throughout the day now, and I attribute it fully to having broken the processed carb cycle.
Do calories matter? Yes, but not as much as we’ve been raised to think. By taking in the right calories, your body simply gets more mileage out of them and leaves you wanting less.
Don’t ever hesitate to ask if you have any questions. While I’m just a student in self-improvement, chances are I’ve either already asked your question myself or would at some point anyway, so ask away!
Tip the Scales 2012! 