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| jacket- anthro; top- marshall's; pants-anthro |
Tricky. I guess technically it can be said that I follow the Atkins diet (2002 version). But most people get super confused about that because while I eat anywhere from 70-100 grams of carbs a day, they are most familiar with Atkins Induction, or 20 grams of carbs or fewer. I love every component of low carb eating (whole, fresh foods, good fat, low sugar), but found that restricting carbs too severely brought on surprising binge episodes (and subsequent weight gain) for me, which I had rarely had in the past-- even at my heaviest.
I also felt very successful with Atkins' counterpart, the South Beach Diet. The only nagging issue was that of saturated fat, which I had grown to believe was actually helpful in weight loss. I (literally) had trouble stomaching SB's recommended low- fat dairy, so when I swapped it for full- fat versions and tracked my macros, I realized I had stumbled upon a very do-able hybrid of the two plans. SB encourages:
-a serving of nuts daily;
-starchy carbs, including fruit and beans;
-a daily "sweet treat" of 100 calories or fewer; and
-4 cups of vegetables and up to 2 cups of dairy daily.*
*Atkins similarly uses what's called the carb ladder for adding the above. It provides lots of structure and a good method for the order by which to reincorporate foods.
That's how I eat in a nutshell. I weigh in at about 1400-1500 calories per day and have been losing around a pound a week in fits and spurts. My pants are too big!
My best advice- READ THE STINKIN' BOOKS! What folks assume is the "correct" way to do a plan is almost always wrong, and can lead to disappointment and failure. I have read over 25 books on low carb/glycemic index/reducing refined sugars and so am unshaken when people scoff when I pass up white bread or order a steak...even when they are smaller than I am!
xoxo,
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