Living Low Carb (68 page)

What about Protein Bars?

The problem is that many of these products are deceptively labeled. A lot of them will tell you they have only 2 or 3 grams of “usable” carbs, but don’t be too quick to buy it. They are sweetened with sugar alcohols, which the manufacturers often decide not to count when telling you how many carbs the bar contains. The argument is that sugar alcohols don’t have the same effect on blood sugar, which is true. But they’re still carbs. Nutrition-labeling regulations don’t require manufacturers to put the number of grams of sugar alcohols per serving
unless
they are making a claim related to sugar content, in which case it’s mandatory. Since most of the low-carb bars don’t claim to be sugar-free, they can get around this mandatory clause. Even Atkins does not count the glycerin (glycerol) that sweetens his Atkins Nutritional Bars as part of the carb gram count. The problem is that like all sugar alcohols, glycerin
is
a carbohydrate. The FDA’s Office of Food Labeling states: “FDA nutrition labeling regulations require that when glycerin is used as a food ingredient, it must be included in the grams of total carbohydrate per serving declaration.” So although sugar alcohols do behave differently in the body than sugar, you should still be aware of their presence.

The other concern about low-carb bars is calories. Just because they are low in carbs doesn’t mean they’re low in calories, so factor that in. In sugarsensitive people, they can
easily
trigger cravings; these bars are, after all, very sweet, which is why they taste so good. And while most of them are better than candy bars, none is as good as real food.

So use them occasionally if you must, but beware. Some low-carbers have found that these bars can stall weight loss; so if you’re eating them a lot and you’re stuck, they might be a good thing to let go of.

Can I Eat Dairy Products?

For many people, dairy—especially milk and cheese—will slow or stall weight loss. Many holistic practitioners recommend eliminating wheat, dairy, and sugar as the three biggest triggers of food reactions, subclinical allergies, and the like.

I don’t believe homogenized, pasteurized milk is a good food. In addition to the pus cells (the FDA allows 1.5 million per cc of milk as “safe”), factory-farmed cows are treated with antibiotics, bovine growth hormone, and other drugs to fatten them and keep their milk production elevated to unnatural levels. The grain they eat, which is not their natural food, is irritating to their stomachs (one reason for the antibiotics) and contains a whole different set of toxins. (Raw organic milk, which may be available from local farmers, is a whole different story, but note that some states prohibit the sale of raw milk. For more information, see
http://www.realmilk.com
.) If you’re not ready to eliminate milk, or if you want to consume it in small amounts, at the very least buy the organic kind. Excellent substitutes are the nut milks, like almond milk; or try goat’s milk, which does not present the same problems for most people, for reasons that are not fully understood. Many people who have a problem with milk are still able to tolerate fermented dairy foods like kefir and yogurt.

Cheese has stalled many a low-carber’s weight loss. Although some plans allow it, if your weight loss isn’t progressing, this might be one food to cut back on.

I’m Getting Bored with the Usual Low-Carb Fare. What Else Can I Eat?

Here are some terrific suggestions from low-carb chef and Internet guru Karen Barnaby.

•  Thinly sliced radicchio, endive, and fennel with a fresh basil dressing, sprinkled with crisp bacon and goat cheese. Eat with roasted chicken.

•  Raw, sautéed, or grilled mushrooms on romaine with blue cheese dressing. Eat with a steak.

•  Fried peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. Serve on arugula, sprinkled with feta cheese, and eat with good Italian sausage.

•  Thinly sliced cucumbers, radishes, and celery. Toss with lemon mayonnaise and serve on butter lettuce, along with a piece of salmon. Sprinkle with fresh dill.

•  Cooked asparagus and Swiss chard. Serve a piece of halibut, cod, or sole on top and drown it in Hollandaise sauce.

•  Sautéed spinach or julienned daikon seasoned with soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Serve with grilled tuna on top and mayonnaise mixed with wasabi as a sauce.

•  Marinated cubes of feta, Brie, or Camembert in basil, garlic, and lots of olive oil. Eat with sliced cucumbers as a snack or sprinkle on a salad. Have it alongside a hamburger. Use as an omelette filling with one fourth of a tomato, chopped.

•  Make a cabbage slaw and jazz it up with mint, cilantro, green onions, and a bit of lime juice. Put canned tuna or salmon and hard-boiled eggs on top.

Here are some other ideas.

•  Make omelettes with fillings like bacon and Swiss cheese, mushroom and avocado, goat cheese and mushrooms, spinach and feta, or bacon and avocado.

•  Add chopped nuts or sunflower seeds to cottage cheese.

•  Make a “wrap” out of sliced turkey with cream cheese inside.

•  Make a “wrap” out of sliced roast beef with cheddar, scallions, and a drop of sour cream (if dairy is on your program).

•  Try deviled eggs.

•  Use low-carb tortillas and make your own breakfast burritos.

•  Keep varying the toppings on your salads. Try warm meats or shrimp, crab, or lobster. Try different cheeses, if that’s on your program. Mix and match.

•  Make a low-carb burger by putting a hamburger patty between two lettuce leaves (or red cabbage leaves). Add mayo and mustard if you like.

•  Pan-fry some chicken and add feta cheese and olives.

•  Eat a hot dog minus the bun and use mayo and mustard as dipping sauces.

•  Steam some veggies and add butter, lemon, a handful of nuts, and maybe some soy sauce.

•  Fill celery sticks with peanut butter, cream cheese, or tuna salad.

•  Try beef jerky, turkey jerky, or veggie jerky.

•  Mix sugar-free, all-natural peanut butter with whey protein powder, and roll in cocoa powder.

•  Combine whey protein powder with sour cream and Splenda; kneading this mixture renders a pretty interesting taffy. You must eat it within a couple of days, but it is great.

And here’s one of my favorite ideas courtesy of the diet Web site
http://www.3fatchicks.com
: “muffins” made with eggs and your choice of sausage, hamburger, shredded zucchini, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, cheeses, etc. Just pour the mixture into muffin tins, bake, and freeze for easy breakfasts on the go!

Plateaus

What Could Be Causing My Plateau?

The underlying premise of this book, and my philosophy of weight loss in general, is that
everybody’s different
(the theory of biochemical individuality). So you will not be surprised to find that I wholeheartedly believe there are
at least
a dozen or more reasons for the dreaded plateaus that you will inevitably reach in your weight-loss efforts. The Drs. Eades have called plateaus “the purgatory of dieting” for good reason. They drive everyone crazy (the plateaus, not the Eadeses, who are very lovely people). Nevertheless, you need to learn to
expect
them and to deal with them. There is virtually no one who has successfully lost weight who has not experienced them. And the very first (and maybe most important) rule of dealing with them is this: don’t panic, and don’t give up.

Here are the top twelve reasons plateaus occur.

1.  
You are losing fat but building muscle.
If you are exercising, especially for the first time, you may be putting on muscle while you are losing fat. This change for the better will not show up on the scale, though it would definitely show up in a body-composition analysis. You will likely notice a small but definite change in your shape or the measurement of your waist, even though the scale isn’t really moving. Don’t worry—eventually, the scale will reflect the loss of body fat.

2.  
Water retention masks fat loss.
You may be losing fat while holding on to water. This happens more often than you might imagine. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water (see page 325). Not drinking enough water is one of the top reasons for plateaus and stalls.

3.  
You are experiencing a period of adjustment.
Remember that when it comes to weight, your body operates something like the feedback loop of a thermostat. Your body needs periods of adjustment to catch up with the different amount and type of fuel it’s getting, just like the thermostat needs to “catch up” with changes in the temperature of the air in your apartment. If you’re resetting your “set point,” it happens not all at once, but in stages. Being stuck at a certain weight for a few weeks may just be your body’s way of reprogramming itself. Eventually, the scale will move again.

4.  
Your carbohydrate level is too high.
The plans discussed in this book are contingent on careful monitoring of carbohydrates. Your carbohydrate intake may simply be too high for what
your
body needs so it can lose weight. You could easily be taking in more carbs than you’re aware of, as many foods and drinks have what are known as “hidden carbs.” There is a great hidden-carb counter listed in the Resources. If you suspect this may be the problem, check it out.

5.  
Your carbohydrate level is too low!
This is one of the great paradoxes of low-carb dieting, because it is completely counterintuitive. Nonetheless, I’ve seen it in action many times. More than one person wrote to me of weight loss stalled at a carb intake of 20 grams per day, which they were able to get going again by simply moving their carb intake
up
to about 40 or 50 grams. One possible explanation for this comes from the work of Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, who would argue that too low an intake of carbs creates higher levels of adrenaline and cortisol (which ultimately work against weight loss). While this scenario may not be true for everyone, upping your carbs is certainly worth a try.

6.  
You are undereating.
Remember that the body responds to too few calories by simply becoming more efficient at extracting every single ounce of energy from its limited food supply. Too few calories literally slow down the metabolic rate.

7.  
You are overeating.
At some point, every low-carber has to look at calories. Low-carb diets don’t usually stress calorie counting, because you’re much less likely to overeat on healthful proteins and good fats than you are on junk carbohydrates. Nonetheless, calories still count to some degree. You may be eating too many of them.

8.  
You aren’t eating enough protein.
If you don’t eat enough protein, you’re more likely to break down your body’s own protein for fuel. That means muscle loss, which in turn means a lowering of your metabolic rate. Make sure you’re eating at least the minimum recommended amount of protein for your plan.

9.  
You are not exercising.
Though weight loss is 80% diet, exercise definitely helps things along. The many things it does for both your health
and
your weight loss (and weight maintenance!) efforts are too lengthy to go into here. Just trust me. Do it.

10.  
Medications are preventing optimum weight loss.
Many medications can interfere with weight loss. Steroid medications like prednisone are among the worst offenders, but there are plenty of others. Check this out with your doctor.

11.  
You are experiencing food intolerances.
The usual suspects are foods that are generally reduced or eliminated on low-carb programs; if you’re consuming them, try your own version of a modified elimination diet: remove the suspect food for a week or two and see what happens. The “sensitive seven” are wheat, milk, sugar, peanuts, soy, eggs, and corn.
³⁷
You may want to expand the wheat category to include all grains and the milk category to include cheese. Other well-known stallers that you might want to cut out for a while include artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame (Equal); citric acid, found in diet sodas; glycerin, found in many low-carb meal-replacement bars, including those by Atkins; and alcohol.

12.  
You have nutritional deficiencies.
A deficiency in some nutrient or nutrients may very well be interfering with how smoothly the energy-making cycles in your body run. This could easily account for your not burning fat at an optimal level. (See the section on supplements in
chapter 9
.) At the very least, take a high-potency multivitamin and mineral, although this is only the first line of defense—you probably need a lot more. Just as an example, in a paper in
Medical Hypotheses
, Dr. L. H. Leung noted that for reasons not completely understood, he had had a lot of success with weightloss patients by simply adding pantothenic acid to their program.
³⁸
(Nutritionist Barbara Marquette, M.S., who teaches nutritional therapeutics in the University of Bridgeport’s master’s program in nutrition, has seen the identical effect.) This could be because of pantothenic acid’s direct effect on the adrenal glands. However, this is only one example; there are easily a dozen other vitamin or mineral deficiencies that could prevent optimal fat loss.

How Do I Break a Plateau?