Basics - Schwarzbein
 

Mama Plucky and whoever is interested...

First, I encourage you to buy the Schwarzbein book because the author does a great job of explaining why following a low carb diet is good for you. I'm not going to get into all of this because we all are aware of the benefits and have an idea of how our body functions when following a low carb plan... Hope I'll be able to give you a clear overview...

On this plan, carbohydrates are allowed but in limited/monitored quantities. All types of sugars (even diet such as asparteme), caffeine, white flour, and various medications are prohibited. You are permitted to eat "wholesome foods" such as wholewheat bread, fruits, starchy vegetables, potatoes, etc. Of course, there are guidelines to follow when consuming these foods and limited portions. For example, you must have a protein at every meal and your carb choice has to be eaten with protein.

The plan is divided into 2 parts: the healing and the maintenance. During the healing phase, you are working on fixing your metabolism and adjusting insulin, etc. This could take you up to a year even! During this phase, you must consume 15 gr. of carbs during every main meal and you should have 2 snacks that include 7.5 gr. of carbs. When you follow the maintenance plan, your carb intake increases according to your activity level and and body composition. During this phase, carb intake (per meal) make be from 15 - 80! Now of course, there are certain rules/variations that are relative to your current situation, for example, if you are a Type II diabetic, etc.

Schwarzbein does make it clear that this is not a quick loss, diet fix kind of plan. Its a way of life and the health benefits way exceed the benefits of just wanting to shed some pounds. Of course, people with much to lose, will shed weight faster than others close to their ideal body composition... Some of the case history she uses are of underweight/malnourished patients!

I think some people might find this plan hard to follow because you may be tempted (at every meal) to exceed your alloted carb intake. As a way of life, it seems to be a better choice for me as our cuisine is middle Middle Eastern (Lebanese) and this plan can be easily applied to it.

Right now, I've decided to not think about the weight loss part as much but to view it as away to improve my eating habit and overall health. Hey, the real test for me is not having any alcohol this weekend ;) and working on giving up my diet drinks and tea!!!

Hope this info was sufficient for now...
Keep up the good work everyone!!!
Boo :roll: