Low Carb, Take II (2004)
Last updated on 01/16/05 
Left: at start (180), Right at 9 weeks (165)
Well, here it is, February 29, 2004, and I'm back at square one. This picture from the Blue & Gold earlier this month finally put me over the edge to get
back with the program! I will be working on these pages over the
next several months.
Lessons learned from Take 1: Maintenance is terribly, terribly, TERRIBLY
difficult. I weigh myself every day so I saw it happen over a two year period,
but apparently did not pay enough attention to it. Must be some form of
denial. Oh yeah, did I mention how hard the maintenance phase is?
I'm going to follow
South Beach this time, and have gotten back into my exercise program.
Why South Beach this time? After reading the book, it seems to be a refinement
to Atkins. They break down carbs into "good carbs" and "bad
carbs". Basically, flour and sugar are bad carbs. Whole wheat
pasta and whole grain slow-cook rice are good carbs (not unlimited
though). They also tell you to restrict the fat somewhat. I can't
restrict the fat as much as they recommend (yuk), but the general concept sounds
reasonable. That makes sense to me, as long as the low-fat food does not replace
the fat with sugars. Things like low fat cheese, lean cuts of meat, turkey
sausage in place of pork make sense. The taste is not quite as good, but
we'll see how it goes. What this means is that I can eat exactly the same thing
as the rest of the family (keeping portions in mind of course). We've switched
to using whole wheat and nobody has a problem with it (I am eating only trace amounts
to start).
One of the best things I've gotten out of the South Beach book is the Vanilla Ricotta
Crème. It's actually very good, and legal during the two week induction period
(Phase I)!
I had been eating low carb since Take I, but there have been two problems.
(1) I would eat plenty of carbs (junk) after dinner and (2) my exercise program
was non-existent. So the plan is to drop the after dinner carbs and to get
back on the exercise program.
For body fat measurement, I use a Tanita
scale daily and take the average for the week. I weight myself first thing in
the morning, which is not recommended, but I will forget otherwise. Overall
there should be a downward trend.
Starting Weight: 180
Starting Waist: 38? (and I wonder why my 36's are tight)
Starting Body Fat: 33%+
Goal Weight: 140
Goal Body fat: 16-20%
Goal Waist: 32.0-33.0
Week 1 (ending 3/7/2004): Didn't have any of problems I had during Take I. I planned for
constipation this time by taking more psyllium and I took colace for the first
couple of days (don't think I really need it). Refused to give up my cup
of coffee in the morning, but other than that I stuck to the plan ... except for
the end of the week (Friday) when I went out and had several Guinness drafts
(boy are those good!). Yeah, I know, beer (maltose) is the absolute worst
sugar for raising insulin levels. That threw me off the horse, but I got back on
the next day.
Started workouts very slow. I tend to overdo things so I am working to go slow.
The first few times have left me extremely sore. Wow, am I really out of
shape or what (no need to answer that question).
Weight: 177.6 lbs
Weight lost: This week 2.4 lbs
Workouts: 5 (30 to 45 minutes, mostly aerobic)
Week 2 (ending 3/14/2004): Did a fair job through the week. I had a hunger binge
during mid-week and ate more nuts (almonds, cashews) that I should have. That
caused me some discomfort for a few days (felt bloated). Then I had two glasses
of red wine on Friday. If that was not enough damage on Saturday I had
more than a couple glasses of red wine. The good news is that I did not
eat carbs to go along with the wine.
Workouts have been pretty good (starting out slow). Sometimes it takes me
a couple of minutes to get to my target heart rate (141) and sometimes it takes
a long time. It's almost like I have a "Normal" and
"Turbo" mode. The same thing happens on different machines, and it
also happens when I use my chest strap. Not sure what that means, but I
used to blame it on the equipment.
Slight loosening of the pants, but not as much as I had hoped. I know,
these things take time! Been there, done that, so not really discouraged.
Weight:
174.4
Weight lost this week: 3.2 lbs
Weight lost total: 5.6 lbs
Workouts:
5 (40 to 50 minutes, mostly aerobic)
Week 3 (ending 3/21/2004): Stuck right on plan the entire week. Had very strong
"Ketosis breath" for just about the entire week, which is where you
get a very sweet taste in your mouth, and I guess it has a distinct smell as
well (urine has a distinct smell too). I've heard that once you get into
Ketosis a few times it's pretty easy to do and I agree. I can get into it
in just a day or two. I'm sure the alcohol over the past couple of weeks
interfered with that. I forgot just how much Ketosis suppresses your appetite. I
have to be careful to eat enough so that my body does not go into emergency
storage mode and drop my metabolism.
Workouts go up and down, I think I need to eat some sort of carbs before the
workout to get starting energy.
Weight:
171.8 lbs
Weight lost this week: 2.6 lbs
Weight lost total: 8.2 lbs
Waist:
37"
Gut (at
navel):
40"
Body
Fat:
31-33%
Workouts:
4 (45 to 60 minutes, mostly aerobic)
Week 4 (ending 3/28/2004): No major eating changes this week. Had some low
carb yogurt on two evenings. Went in and out of Ketosis a couple of times. Seems
like drinking a great deal of water (72 oz+) is a prerequisite for Ketosis. Lost
1/2 inch off the waist this week! Weight loss has stalled this week. Has a few
glasses of wine on Friday evening. Had Chinese on Saturday which may have
had some hidden carbs. The slight weight gain could also be due to building some
muscle! I need to increase my fiber intake as things are a bit painful at
times.
Workouts are unchanged. Aerobic endurance definitely increased. Going slow
with the weights.
Weight:
173.0 lbs
Weight lost this week: (1.2) lbs
Weight lost total: 7.0 lbs
Waist:
36.5"
Gut (at
navel):
39.5"
Body
Fat:
30-32%
Workouts:
4 (45 to 60 minutes, mostly aerobic)
Week 5 (ending 4/04/2004): Overall feeling good. Ate low carb ice cream one
night and had the craving for more just 20 minutes later. Had some nuts
instead. I can see that it could get out of control quickly! I have not really
added many carbs back in. I am eating a little less meat, a little more
vegies, and watching fat intake a bit more than in Take I. I like the way
things are going so far.
Workouts have been about the same, although some days I have more energy than
others. For endurance did 5.5 miles (elliptical).
Weight:
169.4 lbs
Weight lost this week: 3.6 lbs
Weight lost total: 10.6 lbs
Waist:
36.0"
Gut (at
navel):
39.0"
Body
Fat:
30.4%
Workouts:
5 (50 to 80 minutes, mostly aerobic)
Week 6 (ending 4/11/2004): Overall feeling fine. Weight has stalled. No
changes planned, but will watch for hidden carbs.
Workouts have been about the same, although early in the week I was very
tired. Typically start out slow, and energy kicks in after about 15 minutes. For
endurance did 7.2 miles (elliptical).
Weight:
169.2 lbs
Weight lost this week: 0.2 lbs
Weight lost total: 10.8 lbs
Waist:
36.0"
Gut (at
navel):
38.5"
Body
Fat:
29.3%
Workouts:
4 (50 to 90 minutes, mostly aerobic)
Week 7 (ending 4/18/2004): Total calorie count seems to be much more
critical than it was in Take I. I can easily stall the weight loss by
eating just a little bit more low carb stuff (meat, cheese, nuts). This could
still be due to building muscle, as I am still losing inches and body fat is
going down. Can't complain.
Workouts have been fine, starting to put more effort into the weight
training. Drinking plenty of water during the aerobic portion seems to
give me a great deal more energy.
Weight:
166.0 lbs
Weight lost this week: 3.2 lbs
Weight lost total: 14.0 lbs
Waist:
35.5"
Gut (at
navel):
38.0"
Body
Fat:
28.8%
Workouts:
5 (50 to 100 minutes)
Week 8 (ending 4/25/2004): Nothing new to report.
I am getting back into my weight/aerobic rotation
Weight:
164.8 lbs
Weight lost this week: 1.2 lbs
Weight lost total: 15.2 lbs
Waist:
35.5"
Gut (at
navel):
37.5"
Body
Fat:
28.4%
Workouts:
4 (40 to 80 minutes)
Weeks 9 - 12 (ending 5/23/2004):
Weight:
163.0 lbs
Weight lost total: 17.0
lbs
Waist:
35.0"
Gut (at navel):
37.0"
Body Fat:
28.1%
Workouts:
3 - 5 (45 to 60 minutes)
Week 17 (ending 6/27/2004):
I seem to be in a holding pattern for now.
Weight:
161.4 lbs
Weight lost total: 18.6
lbs
Waist:
35.0"
Gut (at navel):
37.0"
Body Fat:
27.6%
Workouts:
3 - 5 (45 to 60 minutes)
You can learn all about my first time with LC by following the Low Carb 1999
link on the left hand side of this page. I was so "in to" LC, as I
read through it, it can get really annoying to read :) You'll see the ups and
downs I went though. But that is the kind of thing that motivates you to
keep going. Now, what I really need is a way to stay motivated for many
years!
E-mail me at dave@markson.net
