I was never a chocolate fan. Alright, alright, calm yourselves! I realise that this is not a statement that many normal women make, but it’s true. I always found it too sweet and just generally awful. I never really ventured into the Dark side of things, because this was just too bitter. The result? I just never ate chocolate.
Since I started Banting, things have changed slightly. After a period of time your taste buds seem to reset and start behaving differently. I tried the dark chocolate again and HOLY CRAP it is AWESOME! My best is the Lindt 90%, ama-nom-nom!!
This new found guilty pleasure got me wondering. Am I eating too much of it? I have a block or two per day. So I did what I do best – they don’t call me the Google-Queen for nothing (ok, I’m the only one who calls me that, but still). I found a GREAT blog about the wonders of dark chocolate, and here it is for anyone and everyone to enjoy!
Seems like Banting is taking over the internet! Everywhere I look thereās a manifesto or recipe punting the LCHF way. I must say, I love it! So much information out there about a topic that I really believe in.
I wrote my first post about this topic in March this year, My Banting / LCHF Journey Begins. That was quite a while ago so I thought I would provide yet another Banting Blog into the Banting-Sphere, with a little more detail around my final stats.
My LCHF journey began in January 2014, and Iāve been going at it ever since. I was the heaviest Iāve ever been at that stage, a whopping (for me) 71kg. Still carrying the baby-weight after having my son. My goal was to get to my āhappy weightā, 62kg, and at a push my āthin weightā of 60kg.
Well I am happy to report that on a steady diet of healthy (not to mention YUMMY) fats, lots of veg and very little carb, my weight has been stable for the last 4 months at between 57 and 58kg!! (So if you’re counting, that’s a total loss of 13/14kg!!)
I didnāt know it was possible for me to ever get there, a 50-something number on the scale wasnāt even on my radar. SoĀ I got down to 60 (STOKED) and then my body just kept losing weight! I was worried for a little that I wouldnāt be able toĀ stop losing, but I did stabilise. And I feel fabulous! For the first time in my life I’m not obsessed with what the scale says. I know how I feel – great – and for the first time in forever (cue Frozen-theme song) I don’t need a number on a digital-display to make me feel ok about myself.
I’ve finally become one of those people who eats what they want, when they want, and doesn’t worry about gaining weight. And all because I WANT to eat HEALTHY food.
There is a problem though, that this Banting has brought about. I need a new wardrobe because all of my clothes are too big ā a problem that I am quite happy to have!! Talk about an expensive lifestyle!! š
PS. One of the best things about this lifestyle is the Memes š
I have always been a relatively slim, active girl (wow, that makes me sound young!). My weight tends to fluctuate by 2 or 3 kgs, but nothing serious. My blood pressure is generally slightly high, but so is my dadās. I blame genetics. Or I did.
My first attempt at No-Carb Bread!
Being a woman, of course my weight and figure is always something that plays a role in my self-image. I like being considered to be thin. Itās good for my ego. I have mad respect for those people who can be happy with themselves no matter what they weigh, but I am unfortunately not one of them. In my quest to maintain my self-happiness, there have been a number of times in my life where Iāve decided that itās time to lose a few kilos. This is generally followed by a diet. I have a formula that usually works, and it goes something like this:
Lower intake of evil fat-making carbs
Lose a kg or two
Cravings and cake nightmares set in
Be strong, keep away from the red velvet cupcakes
Okay, just one red velvet cupcake
Or two
Ah ballz, Iāve screwed it up anyway, I might as well have a pizza
Cue self-loathing and guilt
Promise to start being good again. After one more cupcake. Okay fine, Iāll start again on Monday!
This cycle continued most of my post-Matric life, until I fell pregnant with my son. The process of falling pregnant resulted in an extra 4kg, the pregnancy itself in another 18! I kept telling myself I was eating well and I would worry about the extra weight after I gave birth. Of course, after you have a baby there is no time to worry about what you eat between feeds, nappy changes and putting baby to sleep. Not to mention trying to sleep yourself! So what happens? That vision of the beautifully thin and healthy mom sipping on green tea and nibbling on carrots turns into grabbing whatever topping there is to slap on some toast and swigging soda out of the 2l bottle while you wrangle the baby with the other arm. Eventually life goes back to normal (kind of, as normal as life ever is with a baby in it) and you have a bit more time to worry about your appearance. And so my usual cycle of carb-deprived-craving began, again.
I started exercising more and eating less while feeling STARVING absolutely ALL of the time. And the weight started to slowly drop. It was then that a great friend of ours, and our sonās Godfather, came for a visit. Looking spectacular! āWhat have you been doing?ā I asked, desperate for the magic trick that he clearly had stashed up his sleeve. I mean he is an active guy and had always looked pretty good, but THIS was another level! The explanation, as it turned out, was LCHF (Low Carb, High Fat). So I figured, āWhy not?ā Iād already just about eliminated the carbs (although I had about another day and a bit left until the deprivation would drive me to eat) so what was cutting out a bit of sugar and eating a bit of bacon? Mmmmm, BACON!!
This all happened two months and 6.5kg ago, and I havenāt looked back. It is the first time in my life that I have managed to stick to an eating plan for longer than a month (most of the time I get to about 2 weeks), and Iāve noticed a few key differences with the LCHF way of doing things compared to my usual miserable diets:
I have plenty of energy
I can eat as much as I want, no restrictions. BONUS!
For the first time ever, I feel my body telling me that itās full, and at that point I canāt eat any more, no matter how yummy the food looks, tastes or smells
Overall, I am eating less in quantity and staying full for longer. #WINNING
Iād be lying if I said that I NEVER had a moment where I thought about having a nice can of coke, or eating a sliver of that cake in the office for someone or others birthday. But it is easier, SO much easier, for me to say no to those things now. Iām looking good, and more importantly Iām feeling GREAT!
Iāll post a couple of pics of LCHF recipes that Iāve made as I continue on my journey J And now, some carb-free bread with butter, ham and cheese!! Nom nom nom!!!
plastikpony 