Low-Carb Diet Update: 15 DAYS IN

Hello everyone! At the beginning of April, I posted about a low-carbohydrate diet I intended on following for 4 weeks. Hit that link to read what I based this low-carb diet on. Now it is mid-April about halfway through! This post is an update on how it’s been going. Did I suffer from sugar withdrawal? Did I crack and visit a Carl’s Jr. drive through? Has my perspective on food changed at all? Read on to find out! 

Lima beans, black beans, cilantro-lime peanuts, monk fruit sugar, almond flour, coconut flower, buffalo salted cashews...

On hand dry ingredients that can be purchased in bulk. Having them visually available helps me reach for a handful of nuts instead of a sugary cereal for a snack.

LOW-CARB FOOD

To be completely honest, I started out without having a specific meal plan. My non-plan was to use the Exhalo Fortis App to log what I was eating and modify my diet as I went. By keeping a food log, I noticed right away that I was consuming A LOT of dairy and I needed to eat more fat in general. This realization is what prompted my partner and I to really look at what foods we were buying in order to increase the fat content and vary the types of foods. This is when the bulk foods section of the grocery store became our new best friend - not to mention the meal tracking function in the EXFO App.

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Different types of nuts, 85% cacao chocolate, coconut flour, and monk fruit sugar are a few items we learned to embrace - buying them in various quantities depending on need. My partner is the chef of the family so he got creative with recipes. For example, we had pan seared coconut shrimp (coconut flour, coconut flakes) with butter greens cooked with nuts for dinner. Substituting high carbohydrate foods like regular flour with coconut flour or almond flour whenever possible helped keep carbs low. Also, cooking with butter, avocado oil, and olive oil is something we fully embraced. You can find some of examples of low-carb meals we created on the Exhalo Fortis Instagram account (@ExhaloFortis). I also included the macronutrient splits and calories for each meal in the Instagram post.

The most difficult part of this low-carb diet is addressing my snacking habit. Fifteen days into a low-carb diet and I’ve noticed that I typically reach for a high carb snack such as cereal, granola, or baked goods. Remembering that this is the main reason why I began this low-carb diet, I had to actively change this habit. This was achieved by having healthier high fat, low carb alternatives on hand like cilantro, lime salted peanuts, full fat cottage cheese, avocado protein shakes, or indulging in homemade chocolate, date, coconut balls. Many of these snacks came directly from the bulk food section of the grocery store or were quickly made up using a few, whole ingredients. Because of this diet, I am consuming less processed snacks. I should mention that we are still eating whole fruit in average quantities because I believe that even though there are carbohydrates in fruit, it also contains fiber and other necessary nutrients. Remember, this diet is low carb not no carb - so fruit as a snack is still allowed.

Dessert - Homemade Coconut Balls

Dates, walnuts, almonds, course salt, shredded coconut, unsweetened 85% cacao chocolate, monk fruit

In addition, to keep with Ayurvedic principles, we began prioritizing local farmers markets, organic, in-season and locally grown food in general while grocery shopping. Our food shopping has changed quite a bit! We are more mindful of the ingredient list and carbohydrate content in items before purchasing. It is unfortunate for me to say also, that it has been more expensive to shop this way. I hope in the near future we as a society prioritize nutrition and societal wellness over profits for nutrient-deficient foods made by greedy corporations.

Another major change is that fast food restaurants and frozen pizzas (even with a cauliflower crust) are just not worth it in terms of the carb content and food sourcing. Plus we are loose pescatarians meaning we are avoiding red meat and poultry so fast-food chains do not offer much for us. We have gone out to eat at vegan, vegetarian, and seafood restaurants favoring low carb foods and this has been a fun -and again - more expensive treat. For example, a vegan, Thai coconut curry dish at a restaurant is pricier than a combo meal at my new found favorite fast-food chain in the American Southwest - Carl’s Jr. In the end though, I am enjoying this process of mindful awareness of WHAT is in my food and WHERE it’s coming from.

PHYSICAL CHANGES

On day 4 and 5 of this low carb diet, I noticed I had a persistent low-grade headache. This headache was unique because I had not felt anything like it in recent memory. It felt almost like when I was a kid and refused to wear my glasses to school. I also noticed that I would feel full from our high protein, high fat meals and snacks but I would still have this lingering feeling that I needed to eat more. I believe that during this period of time when I had this headache and this phantom desire to eat, my body was adjusting to this new shift. The headache subsided and I truthfully gave up the idea that I could sneak a carb filled, processed treat into my diet because it would undo what I had worked hard to build up.

I also started measuring my body weight and body fat percentage periodically during this low carb diet while keeping my activity level about the same as before. My weight has slightly gone down (which is not my goal) by a few pounds and my body fat percentage also reduced by about 0.4%. I don’t consider this significant because, this is within the range of my body weight and body fat fluctuations that I’ve noticed I am susceptible to in my normal day to day. I have noticed that visually my abdomen appears leaner but I have not noticed a significant change in how clothes fit.

In terms of energy, I feel it is about the same as before or I am slightly more energetic while on this low-carb diet.

MINDSET CHANGES

While I haven’t noticed any significant changes physically, I think the biggest change so far is in my mindset. I’ll give you a little back story. When I was in my early 20’s I was on a terrible diet where I only allowed myself to consume 16g of saturated fat per day. I was hyper-fixated on the saturated fat content in everything I ate. I would achieve this feat by any means necessary - consuming highly processed non-fat foods, sugar alternatives like aspartame, non-fat cooking sprays, “skinny” vanilla-lattes at Starbucks - you get the picture. In retrospect, this is the opposite of a healthy diet because of the quality and types of food I was putting into my body. While that diet did not last long, it did plant a bug in my brain that constantly reminded me that “fat is bad.”

Already having a propensity to consume large quantities of cookies and pan de dulce which are very carbohydrate heavy, it was easy for me to skip on high fat foods and go for high-carb foods. Even though I stopped that low fat diet years ago, there was still this underlying subconscious thought that said “fat is bad”. During this current low-carb, Ayurveda inspired diet I am starting to realize that I need fat and quite a bit of it. I believe this diet is helping me shed some old mental framework I developed years ago and view my diet and food in a different, more healthy light. A main observation is that fat and protein help me feel full unlike carbs which generally only make me want to eat more carbs. Another observation my partner and I have noticed so far is that the quantity of carbohydrates on our plates could definitely be reduced in the future. For example, while dining out to an Indian buffet, the entire base of the plate does not need to be filled with a California king-size bed of rice. The curry will be just as delicious on a twin-size bed of rice.

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CONCLUSION

Overall, I feel like am not noticing many, if any, physical changes but I am definitely noticing mindset and habit changes. I’m understanding the need for fat and protein and building meals around the protein source first. Also noticing the wonderful snacks that can be made at home from scratch with simple, whole ingredients. This diet has also helped me feel more connected with the foods that are locally grown and in-season. Tonight we’re having cooked beets from the farmers market, spinach from our garden, and poached cod with other veggies. I know that this diet isn’t perfect and I am not perfectly following every Ayurvedic principle but I feel that it is serving its purpose. The purpose is to be mindful about what I am eating, especially as the seasons change. This could definitely be a practice that I integrate seasonally to ensure that I bring my being back into balance. Thank you for reading and I hope this has inspired you to be more mindful about your eating habits. Comment below any questions you have or low-carb recipes we need to try!