I have kept meaning to get back on here and update my progress. But time marches on.
So how have things been going?
Firstly adherence to the diet
I'd say I have been about 80%, so not fantastic, but not too shabby either. The family are still happily chowing down their starchy carbs, but I do believe I have drastically cut down on their sugar consumption, and most notably in Harry (the 12 year old) have reduced his tolerance for sweet food. He has remarked a few times about certain things tasting too sweet.
I am not consuming carbs in great numbers, though, being winter, I have been partaking in starchy root vegetables. They have probably had enough carbs to generally keep me above ketogenesis level. Beetroot, carrot, parsnip, sweet potato, pumpkin and very occasionally a small amount of white potato, or a piece of corn. The baked starchy vegies strike me as a very wintery type food, with mountains of green salads more suited to summer. Summer is just around the corner, so baked yummies will no doubt be replaced with more salads.
I haven't eating anymore than a mouthful of things like bread, pasta or rice. There are occasional cheats, but they can no way be considered staples in my current diet.
I am still struggling to keep my daily fat levels high. I may manage to get it up there for a few days, but maintaining it on a consistent basis is very difficult, and I have not managed to formulate a regular diet plan that naturally incorporates it. Therefore I do still crave carbs. I snack less, have less overall hunger, but still probably tend to eat more often than I strictly need to. Eating has such social connotations that I still feel compelled to engage in the typical 3 meals a day even if I am not necessarily feeling that hungry for a meal. There is definitely a satiety factor to this diet.
So a typical days eating:
2 rashers of bacon and 2 eggs for brekkie followed by a cappuccino. (this is probably a little high in carbs as it is made using soymilk).
lunch is more of a snack, as I am not so hungry, so would be most likely some left overs from the night before or some cheese and avocado wrapped in nori sheets.
Dinner is the easiest meal with some form of protein accompanied by steamed and or baked vegies which I add a few knobs of butter to.
85%+ chocolate, nuts and some homemade coconut oil bark constitute snacks and my attempts to try and up the fat in my diet.
Dessert may constitute a piece of fruit, such as kiwi fruit or strawberries and full fat greek yoghurt.
I keep meaning to one day, or for a week, take a true measure of everything I eat and workout the relative fat, protein and carb counts. I suspect my carbs are sometimes a little high, the protein is probably too high and fat is generally not high enough.
Weight and health
Weight has been pretty stable. Last time I weighed myself I was sitting at around 71.5kg. I am slightly disappointed with my body shape. If any fat has come off my body it seems to be primarily from my limbs. My trunk (the area that most needs to drop the fat) is stubbornly clinging to its stores. I dropped the initial dress size and now hover between sizes where 16 is too ridiculously large and baggy, but 14 is slightly tight due to the old muffin top poking over the top of my waist band.
Energy and mental health have been great and I have sailed through winter (touch wood) with nary a sniffle. The odd time I felt I was coming down with something, passed me by without getting its hooks into me. So I am pretty happy about that.
I am still prone to cramping in my legs at night and feel my bowels could be better, so there is definitely room to tweek my diet in order to address those issues.
I am still reading up extensively on the subject and have begun to listen to podcasts, most notably Jimmy Moore. I am reading and listening to the LCHF and the paleo commentators, so do find myself oscillating between paleo and LCHF, still unsure of which if either camp I will ultimately land in.
So all in all still chugging along. We are in holidays at the moment so there will no doubt be some slip ups while we socialise with visitors, but hey, life is for living and I don't want to be stuck on a restrictive diet that hampers my enjoyment in other's company.
I am still breastfeeding so am wary that I don't want anything to strict or restrictive. I intend to keep going pretty much as I am tending toward high fat low carb and maybe pulling out some more serious ketogenesis as needed. I am also still tossing up the dairy issue and whether I will eventually kick that. But at the moment its inclusion in the diet is helping with upping the saturated fat content.
Hopefully my next update wont take so long.
