Recently, on the Real Meal Revolution website, there was quite an uproar about diary products being moved to the "Orange" list (although it was moved back after the uproar). People on Banting sites were panicking and fretting. It made me realize, that many people are still looking for a formula that they can blindly follow. It was one of the first things I learnt when reading RMR and then the Stephen Phinney books. No one person's diet will be the same. Our bodies are so different. That is why we do have some healthy people able to eat a lot of carbs without the same challenges as the rest of us. There are genetic variations and we just have to accept that not everybody is the same. And as such, we all have to deal with our own quirks. For me, eating Banting or LCHF is not a recipe. It's something that you should feel comfortable with and understand the basics. Some lucky ones, usually men, find Banting easy and they lose weight and feel great overnight, with minimal effort.
However, many people "struggle" with the "how to", the "appetite control", the "no snacking principle" and the weight loss remains slow or elusive. Banting as a lifestyle does not fix our "bad" eating habits or our stress disorders. It may help us re-learn to listen to our bodies better, but as a rule, this still requires you as an individual to apply your mind. I am a stress eater for example, sometimes, I just feel like eating, especially when I am stressed at work. I have improved dramatically on Banting. I can generally say that I am much more in control of my cravings than I used to be. Before I switched to I couldn't eat a meal without CRAVING sugar afterwards. When I had to deal on top of that, with my sugar addiction, it became a spiral of hypoglycemic events.
Today, I have no issues with not eating sugar, or potatoes, or rice, or pasta or bread. I find eating this way easy, but I have mentally struggled with the slower than expected weight loss. I have researched this of course and found several good reasons that would make me a "slow" loser.
a) My stress levels are very high, I work in a very high stress environment (11 hours a day)
b) I have no thyroid, thus is medically dependent on my Eltroxin dose to be correct
c) We easily eat too much protein
d) Nuts are dense in calories and should be used sparingly rather than a snack when you are peckish
e) I have tested my ketones on and off dairy: I have a severe response to dairy. When using cheese and milk products, my blood ketones are significantly lower than without these products. So, although I don't pick up weight when using dairy, it hampers my weight loss significantly.
We are also consciously trying to not eat too much protein. If I am hungry, I consciously try to fill up with more fat (butter) rather than more protein. And cutting out cheese for the moment, makes my options a bit more bland, although veggies are still
This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle.
I don't want to lose a lot of weight, but while I am still not quite at my goal, I am removing dairy from my daily intake, and using it as a treat; as with nuts and fruit. So technically it's moved to my personal orange list - occasional treat. My thought-penny is thus that if you don't lose weight as you expected, look at what you are eating and why you are eating. These questions are important and may highlight where the blockage in you weight loss is.
Also, don't let your weight loss expectation overshadow how good it is to eat like this. Real FOOD, no gimmicks from people who like to get in on the money. Buy the basics and let your mind fly. Be creative - it is fun and keeps you from snacking.
PS: I've even converted my bread recipe to a non-diary version. Recipe to follow.
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