New tp Carb Cycling

arindana

Hi everyone.

I don't know if I have ever posted anything on MFP LOL I don't come often (also a member at spark people) as I go well for a bit and then peter off for a bit.

I am just starting to read part 2 of Choose to Lose. I have seen Chris Powell off and on over the least year or so but never really gave him much thought. Then, having seen him twice on Dr. Oz this fall I'd thought I'd look into him.

The idea of carb cycling sounds very intriguing. I don't like veggies very much and my fruit intake is minimal as I'm not overly creative and am afraid of trying new things LOL I also don't eat a lot of meat so that part has me worried, as well as the following:

- live alone
- am 40 now
- heel spur so doing weigh bearing exercises is challenging (love zumba but can't really do much of it because of the foot which ironically caused the problem) and doing the stationary bike and swimming are really ... well lets just say, I keep trying those two activities and the more i try the more i loathe them.
- I have iron overload so that makes the whole meat issue a bit harder to deal with (esp when adding foods high in vitamin c and I love my green and red peppers!)
- live in a small community where variety of fresh foods aren't readily available and what is there is not in the best condition
- I teach in a school where we aren't allowed ANY nut products to enter the building
- Because I teach, the every 3 hours is a HUGE challenge, esp in the morning and lunch. I eat around 7:30am and then my first break isn't until 11:25 and then lunch as at 12:20. not ideal for planning meals. eating 3 hours after that is fine.

but I really want to try this hehe! any advice?

babeinthemoon

First of all, welcome to the group!!!! I think you made the mistake of asking for advice. I'm sorry in advance that I can be longwinded. :blushing:

So, here is my take on your challenges:

The idea of carb cycling sounds very intriguing. I don't like veggies very much and my fruit intake is minimal as I'm not overly creative and am afraid of trying new things LOL I also don't eat a lot of meat so that part has me worried, as well as the following:

Veggies are integral to this diet plan, however you don't have to eat a salad every day. In fact, I don't think I've had a salad for a month now. I do a lot of steamed veggies and love soups like tomato basil or Vegetable. The soups I really like, because I can add the protein that I want, can adjust to being a high/low carb meal depending on what I eat with it.

Before CTL I was a carbitarian. LOL. Yes, if it was made of wheat I wouldn't have a problem eating it whatsoever. I enjoy many vegetables and meat options, but did not have them in my everyday diet. And fruit? What's that? Again, not because I don't like it, but because I'd forget it was in the refrigerator, so I was tossing money into the trash every week. Sigh.

CTL has helped me by giving me a framework for healthy eating. I have a serving of fruit with every breakfast right now. Yummy! And, am doing much better about eating my veggies too. Once I realized that the protein was coming along, and that the quantities that I needed to eat was smaller than I thought they'd be, I was on board.

My one thing that was a major stumbling block for me early on was cheese. I grew up in Wisconsin for goodness sake. Cheese is a food group all on it's own. :laugh:

- live alone
- am 40 now

I live with 3 others (my husband and 2 kids). You want them? I think I could have more fun cooking for just me, than having to feel like a short order cook some nights. :laugh: Now really, this is totally self imposed on my end, because sometimes what I'd like to make for the family just doesn't fit the diet, and that's okay, because I have lots of easy to prepare things for me in the fridge. :happy: I'm 35. I can't wait until I'm 40.. but then my husband will be almost 50, so I'm sure he isn't ready for me to be 40 yet.

- heel spur so doing weigh bearing exercises is challenging (love zumba but can't really do much of it because of the foot which ironically caused the problem) and doing the stationary bike and swimming are really ... well lets just say, I keep trying those two activities and the more i try the more i loathe them.

Okay, now I realize that you have not read the book yet, but Chris's exercise plan is really really doable. He has you start out with 30 min a day of cardio, and 10 min a day of strength training that does not involve any equipment except a chair. You can walk for your cardio, in fact, he recommends it as a good way to do it. Now, if walking is too much weight bearing, then see if you can come up with another cardio exercise to replace it with that you actually like. What? I'm not sure, but I bet as a group we could help you figure out something.

- I have iron overload so that makes the whole meat issue a bit harder to deal with (esp when adding foods high in vitamin c and I love my green and red peppers!)

I don't know what kind of Iron levels you need to be at. I just went through and checked my last couple weeks for iron, and my % intake has been between 40-100% depending on the day, usually between 60-80% though. I'll leave my diary changed to include iron instead of sodium for awhile so you can look at my food diaries if you'd like.

- live in a small community where variety of fresh foods aren't readily available and what is there is not in the best condition

I happen to be lucky in the fresh food department, but winter is coming, so produce usually has much to be desired then. So, the bulk of what I buy for fresh fruits/veggies I get at costco, otherwise everything else is frozen. That's okay too. I'd stay away from canned if you can, because that will cause your sodium intake to skyrocket. As far as meat goes, I buy a large package of chicken breasts and cook a couple at a time. Same with the ground beef, I brown the whole batch. Then I portion out individual servings sizes in little snack size bags, and I put those into labeled freezer bags before putting them in the freezer. It works great for me so that I can just pull out what I need when I need it.

- I teach in a school where we aren't allowed ANY nut products to enter the building

You do not need to eat nuts to do this diet. In fact, on high carb days you are not going to be eating them anyway, because nuts are considered a healthy fat that can be eaten only on low carb days or on your "funday."

- Because I teach, the every 3 hours is a HUGE challenge, esp in the morning and lunch. I eat around 7:30am and then my first break isn't until 11:25 and then lunch as at 12:20. not ideal for planning meals. eating 3 hours after that is fine.

Okay, so, you'll have to be flexible. So, your first break isn't until 11:25. That's only 4 hours. If by chance you were starving at the 2-3 hour mark, which you might if you make a breakfast shake in the morning, is there any chance you can take a quick bathroom break and eat a string cheese or 1 oz of turkey jerky if you absolutely had to? Neither of those options take very long to eat, so you could do it in under 5 min if you had to. But, I completely understand if that isn't possible. So, then your next option would be to add extra protein to your breakfast which will help it stick with you longer.

So, let's assume that you had 1200 calories on a low carb day (this is where I started, I'm eating more now this month but that is a different conversation, see my blog if you're curious). 1200/5= 240 per meal on average. I would split the calories and macros for your breakfast and your first snack unevenly between the two meals. So, since you'd have 480 calories to work with (equal calories per meal), maybe you'd eat 370 at breakfast and 110 at your snack? Then you could have your lunch an hour later but not be stuffed from your snack. You'd have to play with this one over a few weeks to figure out what works best for you on a daily basis.

Now, having been on the CTL eating plan for more than 4 months, there are certain foods that I know I'll be hungry in 2 hours... and that there are others that will usually keep me full for 4-5. I still try to eat every 3, but that is a guideline, not a prison. Kwim?


So, are you wishing you didn't ask for advice? LOL! I wrote a blog post answering some of the most common questions that I've been asked so far about CTL. Feel free to read it if you are interested. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/babeinthemoon/view/so-you-want-to-start-choose-to-lose-441366