Hi all,
I just started readiing SPP (the third book) and got so caught up in it - fascinating stuff! What Dr. S says makes total sense and even though it's scary to think of adding carbs to each meal (and I eat 5-6 mini meals a day!) again and expecting a possible weight gain at first, I really like the idea of the 5 steps to healing the body which is what I feel I need right now, since I've lost most of my excess weight.

My question is about the issue of healthy vs. bad metabolism. I skipped ahead a little in the book to see if she goes into more detail on how to determine if you have a bad metabolism or a healthy one and I couldn't seem to find anything concrete (like a list of symptoms to go by). I'm not sure which one I would be. According to the ideal weight chart for my height in the book (5' - I'm a shorty!), I am actually at the higher end of the idea weight right now (book says 112-126 and I am 124 right now). The medium is 119 and I'd like to consider that my goal (since my original goal weight was 115-120 anyway). So would I be considered to have a healthy metabolism or would I have a bad one because I lost the weight on a low-carb diet (around 15-22 carbs per day at any given time - I switched plans quite a lot!)

Many of the things she suggests I've been doing for a while anyway (like cutting out caffiene and processed foods and drinking plenty of water). That might be an issue as well.

Is there a clearer discussion of this and I just haven't gotten to it (I'm still on the chapter where she elaborates on the first step of nutrition)

Tam

Hi,

I'm a PP veteran myself. You wouldn't know it to look at my stats, tho! I'm a professional dieter, but not a good maintainer. Congrats on your weight loss, and your desire to make it permanent!

There is a page in the 3rd book (it's later in on the book, I believe after she goes through each phase) where she lists many many health conditions, and if you have any one of them, then you'll follow the healing plan. If not, then you may follow the maintenance plan. Just because you lost the weight on LC, if you haven't yo-yo dieted or have any health issues, your metabolism may be just fine.

The carb levels in the 3rd book are very very high, much higher than her previous 2 books even. Jumping to those levels immediately will, at the very least, probably make you feel bloated. Her advice in the 2nd book is a slow transition to the carbs levels if you've been low-carbing, very similar to the slow transition to maintenance recommended by the Eades.

Hi Elle,
Thank you for the reply. I did find the list that you were refering to after the discussion of all the phases. I glanced at the list but could find nothing there that was really true for me right now (though the first one, sugar addiction, was certainly true before I started low carbing!)

But I'll probably follow the healing plan at least in the beginning and see how that goes. You're absolutely right about easing into adding carbs slowly and I certainly intend to do that within the guidelines of the plan that Dr. S outlines.

I did take a quick glance at the healing plan and it seems even there she allows for a high carb limit (I think something like 125 gr per day, 25 per meal for 5 meals?) I don't think I'll be eating that much even, though I did, out of curiosity, plug in a sample menu into fitday with adding some carbs in the amounts she specifies and came up with around 65 for the day...

Thanks again for the help!

Tam

Also remember that that 125g she recommends is for COUNTABLE carbs only! SP does not count the carbs in non-starchy veggies. If you eat the recommended 4 or more cups of non-starchy veggies (any veggie w/ 5 or less grams per 1/2 C) per day then you can add 40 g to that! For a total of 165g per day on just the healing plan alone; the maintenance plan would be closer to 190g per day. I'm still having a hard time with those numbers to be truthful. Yes, it's still lower carb than the UDSA recommends, and so would be considered "low-carb" by them, but much much higher than the Eades say a person would most likely achieve in maintenance.

Best of luck to you!

Elle, you're right - I forgot that SP doesn't count carbs in non-starchy veggies (which is another thing I liked about the first SP when my sister was doing it - it always seemed unfair to have to count the carbs in such good veggies like on Atkins). I know I won't go up to that many, mainly because I really want to keep portions of grains and such limited - more for the portions than the carbs. I used to be able to eat a side of a cup of cooked couscous and not bat an eye (and couscous is so dense!) and now that I've gotten used to not eating grains at all, I feel like I can start fresh and keep to normal portions of grains (like the 1/3 cup that SP recommends).

I do not want to get myself readdicted to carbs again!

Tam

I am reading SPII The Transition right now. Dr S goes into a lot about hormone levels of cortizone, adrenaline, and insullin to see where you should start on her program. She also has a spreadsheet on the original SP book that memtioned how many carbs you should have based on your activity level etc.

Right now I am just trying to incorporate more proteins and non-starchy veggies into my eating.

NeonApple

I just cannot do the counting thing. I do the "eyeball" thing. I think If I have to look up everything I eat in a book, I'll probably just quit and go back to stuffing my face. My carb allottment is one slice of bread per meal and half at a snack, or whatever I think is the equivilent.

Since I'm just starting, I think I'll stick to that and worry about adding carbs when I reach my goal weight. Then, I think, If I put some back on, I'll know its too much.

Its worked for me so far. Been on a little over a week with a 4 lb loss. So we'll see.

Hey, how do you get those little weight charts at the bottom of your posts?