With one cheat day. I have got to get control of my sweet tooth. And my waistline. Anybody want to join the fun?

Oh come on people, it will be easy.

she says as tries to load the leftover Halloween candy into a bag to dump at the gallery without crying

Fun. You say fun.

I am on a "keep your carbs as close to zero as you can without pulling your hair out" diet. So, I do have the occasional added sugar. But no pasta. No bread. No potatoes. No rice. No beans. No corn. No tropical fruit. No alcohol. I haven't had any of those things in roughly three months.

So, I am with you in spirit, but not in the precise details. Because I do have a little added sugar now and again, but my overall carb consumption is quite low.

I considered going that route, but I decided I don’t want to do the ketosis thing. So I’m doing what has worked in the past, counting calories, relying on as many whole foods as possible (so no refined or processed foods), plus no added sugar. So fruits ok, so are potatoes.

Unfortunately I haven't been successful with strategies that call for eliminating whole classes of food. I'm inevitably doomed to failure. The only thing that works for me is a moderate approach where I don't feel deprived.

I lost 8 lbs in a month when I stopped a) having one bottle of the Mexican Coca-Cola a day (I used to have it just before dinner) and b) stuck to having three meals a day and stopped snacking between meals and after dinner. I changed nothing else, and I can't say that my diet is especially healthy.

If I keep up with that program, the weight stays off. If I don't, it starts to creep up again.

Not having snacky foods in the house is critical. If it's here, I won't consistently resist it. But if I manage to resist once, in the grocery store or Costco, I'm ok.

Other than that, I don't follow many rules.

But I'll be cheering you on!

So, I can go out and get myself a dozen donuts as long as I don’t add sugar to them?

(Don’t want to ruin my reputation here by admitting I’ve had very little sugar in the last couple of years. Not an absolute elimination, but I probably don’t have any added sugar five or six days a week. Nothing like a keto diet, I eat a ton of fruit. One reaches an age were continuing to look like a Greek God requires some sacrifices…)

I suspect that one reason I'm not taking off weight I would have expected (the opposite ) is that however healthy fruit is, too much of a good thing is still too much.

Fructose is sugar too.
Didn't help that honeycrisp apples (really good ones) have been on sale locally for weeks lately. Peaches (before they got mealy) didn't help either.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
I considered going that route, but I decided I don’t want to do the ketosis thing. So I’m doing what has worked in the past, counting calories, relying on as many whole foods as possible (so no refined or processed foods), plus no added sugar. So fruits ok, so are potatoes.

For me, it isn't ketosis (although it looks like it). And I don't know whether I've actually been in ketosis. It's about inflammation markers in the blood vessels, and a belief by my doctor that I can bring those down by cutting out carbs.

I can also want to kill myself by cutting out carbs, so it's a balancing act.

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

...It's about inflammation markers in the blood vessels, and a belief by my doctor that I can bring those down by cutting out carbs.

Quirt, when you speak of inflammation markers, what are you referring to?

C+ reactive (whatever) and or something else?

One thing for sure I know about carbs is that they can (certainly for me) completely screw up my insulin metabolism as well as keep my blood lipids high - a hereditary condition, I have to continually fight. Hope to avoid statins...

from Doug
"One reaches an age were continuing to look like a Greek God requires some sacrifices…)"

Tell me about it.
Dealing with the envy became too much. I had to let things go a bit slack.

I have no trouble avoiding sweets. It's salty things you have to hide from me.

quote:

Originally posted by Amanda:

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

...It's about inflammation markers in the blood vessels, and a belief by my doctor that I can bring those down by cutting out carbs.

Quirt, when you speak of inflammation markers, what are you referring to?

C+ reactive (whatever) and or something else?

One thing for sure I know about carbs is that they can (certainly for me) completely screw up my insulin metabolism as well as keep my blood lipids high - a hereditary condition, I have to continually fight. Hope to avoid statins...

I don't have the tests in front of me, but it very well might be C+ reactive, and it is genetic.

C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are two markers for inflammation that I'm familiar with. I'm pretty sure there are others.

Nope, I'm still going to put sugar in my coffee.

Let me die happy, ffs.

I don’t know about markers, but I can tell you that going on keto has taught me that wheat is a problem. I’ve been testing that and it appears to be a thing. If I eat wheat, my joints hurt
the next day.

It’s not debilitating and I still eat the occasional piece of pizza, but when I do I know I will be in pain the next day.