Thinking About Carbs In A Whole New Light

 I decided to watch a documentary called Fat: A Documentary & Fat 2: A Documentary. They made a lot of valid points about how carbs have played a large part in the obesity epidemic in the U.S. I think my generation was one of the first generations to feel the real harsh impact government recommendations and fad diets have create! The low fat diet craze, which started when I was a kid, prompted many companies to make foods high in carbs in low in fat. Carbs keep our insulin levels high which ultimately reeks havoc on our bodies and health!

There was one particular doctor that I really enjoyed hearing from in both of these documentaries, Dr. Eric Westman. I got a real sense that he knew exactly what he was talking about after working with low carb diets to help medical conditions and obesity for over 20 years!

I decided to purchase his book "End Your Carb Confusion". I like his ideas as he doesn't automatically say it's one way or no way. Lowering your carbs can be beneficial and does not have to be extreme!

In order to be in ketosis like suggested in Keto diets you need to stay under 50 grams of carbs per day. But with his plan he has 3 phases you can choose from based on your health and weight. He also said that some people respond to variants in low carb diets better then others and sometimes it's trial and error before you figure out what will work best for you. 

Phase 1: No more then 20grams of carbs per day. 

Phase 2: No more then 50grams of carbs per day.

Phase 3: No more then 150 grams of carbs per day. 

I pretty much tick off one box from the Phase 1 section and this is because my BMI is high. But in reality I am pretty healthy. I do think that lowering carbs would benefit me in the long run to help with joint pain and any concerns I have with brain function, due to my mom having dementia and my sister having memory issues, and of course weight loss which is my ultimate goal. 

I've been thinking this through and I don't think I am ready to go to 50 grams of carbs for a long period of time, let alone 20 grams! I think the only way for that type of plan to stay effective is if I can maintain that diet until I reach my weight goal. I want to see how I do if I keep under 100 grams of carbs per day while keeping my calories under 1300 per day. My off days I will still need to stay under 100 grams of carbs! So no matter what, I will need to watch my carb intake everyday, not just my on days. I will try this for a couple of weeks and see how it goes!

If I am not making headway with losing weight then I will commit to either 20 or 50 grams per day. Probably 20 grams to start until I get under 200 pounds. But for now, I want to see if cutting my carbs back to 100 grams permanently will be beneficial or not. So I am going to put one toe in the water and see how it feels! LOL! I do know on my off days I eat usually 300 plus grams of carbs which is a lot! Maybe keeping that under 100 carbs I will see better results. We shall see! 

I am excited to at least have some better guidelines for carb intake. I have always been lost at knowing what exactly is considered a low amount of carbs! I am a true believer in everything in moderation.  I feel that so many countries eat pasta, potatoes and rice and they don't have the problems we do with obesity. I also believe processed foods are another cause of the problems we have today and will do my best to stay away from processed carbs as much as possible! Another problem in America are things are not done in moderation. Moderation will always be in the forefront for me! Unless the results tell me otherwise when it comes to fat or carbs! 

Now it's time to stick to this new plan and track my results! Stay tuned.