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Many decades ago I discovered the high protein diet which is now being
rediscovered as a low carbohydrate or Atkins diet. As expected it is being
oversold and misused. I can only speak for what worked for me.
You can get fat on it. You may not lose weight on it. It is not automatic.
The principle is high protein leaves you feeling satisfied longer so you
don't eat as often. But it also takes longer to feel satisfied so you can
eat more than you need and therefore get fat. So if you eat only your
traditional three meals a day it won't work.
What you need to do is find the times of day you get hungry and have a
protein snack before that time of day. You need to use your watch to
determine how long it takes you to feel satiated with protein to determine
how long before you would feel hungry to have that snack. It is generally
two to three times as long as with a carbohydrate diet. If you find you get
hungry at ten in the morning, snack at half past nine. Be prepared to snack
five, six or more times a day.
Watch your weight, use the bathroom scale. If you are gaining weight this is
not for you. Try something else. If you are holding a steady weight after a
month or so, review what you are eating and see if you are following the
rules. If you are and it is not working go back to eating what you enjoy
more. If you do lose weight you are on the right track.
Write down your weight from the scale every day. Do not worry about day to
day changes. Average each week and look for a downward trend. Graphing your
weight is best for this. It you don't know how to use graph paper it is
worth learning just for this. If all of this is too hard, keep on it for
three months and take your 0, 1, 2 and 3 month weights to see if it is
working.
Do NOT avoid birthday parties, celebrations or any other good reason to have
cake, ice cream or the highest carb foods in the world. That is
discouraging. If this is working for you then an occasional break in the
routine won't change your weight loss.
Once you have the weight off, once at your desired weight, you can have
carbs. Just do not switch back to the old eating style. Keep using the
bathroom scale. Moderate your carbs to maintain that weight.
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