Yet another Melburnian here; there's alot of us, isn't there? Great to see.

Get out your Melways!

I can understand that! People are very sceptical though of LC and so entrenched in the whole low fat thing. I confess to have been a real sceptic but the proof is in the pudding!! I wish I'd started years ago!

I was too, until a workmate lent me her X-Factor bok. I read it and away I went. I couldn't understand how eating fat could make you thin. But reading the books certainly explains it. The whole insulin angle has never occurred to me, nor to many other people I guess. Conventional wisdom says that fat begets fat. But Atkins wisdom proves otherwise

c

what's x-factor about, don't know anything about that.

how have you been finding LC? do you get tempted to cheat?
it sounds like you're doing great, what's an example day menu for you?

thanks for replying,
cathie

Hi Cathie

X-Factor was written by Leslie Kenton. Her approach to LCing is naturopathic. She is a naturopath after all One big difference is, she doesn't advocate eating saturated fats. She recommends that you take some form of omega-3 oils everyday. She doesn't stipulate that you should have organic foods but recommends that you do. She also stipulates no alcohol, no aspartame, saccharine, caffeine and the like. Excercise as well is a commonality, especially resistance excercise.

Her diet comes in 2 stages only. Ketogenics, which is like Induction with 20gm a day of carbs. Then, Insulin Balance, which is equivalent to Lifetime Maintenance. There are a few other differences but these are the main ones.

I have to say X-Factor is a bit harder to follow but if you're into all that organic, naturopathic stuff, then it's a great plan.

LC suits me fine. I get to eat all the things I love, the forbidden fats are mostly open to me now. I haven't really been tempted to cheat. I find that once I get on a program, I'm very disciplined. The only thing is, I sometimes overeat the low GI fruits that I allow myself.

Typical menu:
Breakky: LC porridge, on the weekend, I have sausage, bacon or eggs
Lunch: Last night's leftovers. I usually cook 2 portions.
Dinner: I cook asian food a lot. It's harder than western food but it's possible. For example, last night, I cooked a pork stewed with garlic, mushrooms, beancurd and soy sauce. Yummo Accompanied by a serving of stir fried vegies.
Snacks: almonds, pork krackles, tuna, etc.

c

Hi thanks for the info on X Factor sounds a bit hard for me - my glass of wine is just something I don't want to give up!
Tell me in your sample menu you mention LC porridge do you mean Oats or is there some special product. I often have eggs of some sort for breakfast or when really lazy make a protein shake with a dash of cream, a tablespoon of psyiullum (excuse spelling) husks topped up with water - sounds a bit gross but actually OK. I love Asian food as well but find I can too easily over do the veges. Mostly I keep the carbs between 20 and 30g a day - have found Fitday OK to keep an eye on things. I found the Pork Crackles in Safeway last week - they are good for some crunch. Another book I've read is Fat or Fiction by Donna Easton - local girl. This is really where I started - she advocates LC but not ketonic, "if its man made don't eat it", but unfortunately still supports the use of Low Fat products such as yogurt, only egg whites etc and of course the exercise routine. It just seems my own little program is evolving from reading all this material! Anyway I didn't mean to go on like this - best get back to work!

I've got her book too, and found it really inspirational - every time I go to the gym I think about her story about transforming herself from a pudgy young woman to a body scuplting champion. Also, I love her recipes - like low-carb lasagne. Gotta love that! Slurp!

I've been doing LC for 3 years now; reading her book was the first step.

Another book I really like is Sugar Busters, which also has great recipes, including lots of Cajun food. They also explain the relationship between insulin and fat storage better than anyone I've read before or since.

Finally, I've never read Atkins' book; reading all the posts on this forum quoting and praising him no end, I think I'll buy it (I'll read it after I finish Harry Potter and another book I'm reading by Douglas Adams).

Noni C

X-Factor can be good if you're an organic/health freak but it can be a bit unrealistic at times. Which is why I'm doing a combo of Atkins and X-Factor these days. I may switch over to Atkins entirely sometime. I'm still reading Atkins right now

I used to have eggs. I am so sick of them now

The porridge I was referring to can be bought at some health shops, it's called FibreX, made by Empower Foods. It's $12 a packet which contains 14 serves. A bit pricey, so I just make my own, extrapolated from the ingredients on the packet. Here's where I gave instructions on how to make it. Empower foods also sell LC muffin and cookie mix.

Pork Krackles are great, especially with some dip. It can be a bit dry and bland. But try some smoked salmon dip or my personal favourite, Eggplant dip from Yumi, with it and it's beautiful.

Actually, yoghurt is ok for LCing. There was a post here a while back that was talking about how the carb content of yoghurt actually refers to the sugars in the milk before the bacteria is put in to curdle the milk. The backteria then uses up the natural sugars and the end product ends up being much lower in carbs than advertised. Here's the link. I put a couple of tablespoons into my porridge for breakfast and I find that still I'm producing ketones.

Anyway, hope this info is useful for you.

C

x-factor sounds a bit confusing and pricey. I always wished I could afford organic stuff, but unfortunately it's out of my price range at the moment. anyway, I'll try and snoop and find the book, is there a website somewhere?

so are you doing well on x-factor casval? how long have you been LCing?

noni, you said you've been LCing for 3 years, has your body adjusted and can't tolerate sugar anymore? I'm always curious about that. I have only been attempting LC for the last 2 months...well, here and there, so I just wonder what it would be like 3 yrs down the track.

do any of you gals have trouble sticking to it? I know it's harder if your mindset has been lowfat for years, my problem, aswell as used to being a strict vegetarian.

hope you all have a lovely sunny day, thanks again for all the info,
cathie

Hi Cathie

X-Factor isn't actually all that much harder to do. It has some very good explanations that would make more sense to the layperson. Atkins kind of glosses over certain things. Kenton says it's beneficial to eat organic but you don't have to. But the approach is slightly different. She doesn't stipulate that you have eat fat with every meal. She's quite a bit more conservative with the fats than Atkins is. Her ratio of foods for Ketogenics is 20% carb, 50% protein and 30% fats whereas I don't think Atkins puts a limit on fats and proteins, just a precaution not to eat too much protein as overabundance converts to glucose. I actually do like what X-Factor espouses. The whole clean eating and living thing.

I have been LCing about 10 months now. Most of that on X-Factor. I have now combined it with a bit of atkins as I'm reading the book. I'm actually thinking of going back to do Induction. I have lost about 15kg off the scales. But have also bulked up a lot at the gym. I have come down 4 sizes off my jeans. So that's more than 15kg of fat I would say

And Cathie, I ain't a gal :P But I do know what you mean about the lowfat mantra that's been drummed into my head since day 1. I still think more than twice about putting all that oil, butter or cream into whatever I eat. Desspite what Atkins said about using heavy cream, I still use light cream.

C

I new when I sent that post I shouldn't have put gals...oops, sorry

with lowfat, I just mean that for years I have been a strict 'lowfat' vegetarian. would never touch cheese, full fat milk, olive oil, any oil, eggs, chocolates, nuts, had to be 'diet' everything. I would eat a bag of lollies and think that was ok coz it was 'fat free'. I lost weight by going to the gym and whilst studying hardly ate so I didn't put any weight on.
then I went overseas last year and from 62kg came back 70kg..hmm, I had stopped working out for a year though, but still ate low fat and avoided oils.

now, I appreciate the benefits of olive oil and nuts etc. I don't eat meat, use only a couple of tsp of cream in a decaf coffee to prevent sweet temptations and only have minimal cheeses.

I don't soak up my foods in butter, just don't want to, olive oil and vinegar are my salad dressings.

thanks heaps for the info and congrats on the 15+kg, at the moment I'm just hopping for 5kg to boost my self esteem. I love going to the gym though, it's a great stress relief as well.

have a lovely day, it's SUNNY
cathie..sorry again

I find that after three years I can withstand the temptation to eat carbs without really thinking about it (especially my biggest - crispy bread). I rarely touch the stuff now, same with pasta, sweets and pizza. Sometimes I only eat the pizza toppings and leave behind the base, just to gross my husband out!

I'm not sure what not being able to tolerate sugar means. Around Easter I (unusually) went right back into my old eating habits for a month or so, and put afew kgs on in record time. So it comes on just as fast as it comes off!

Apart from little hiccups like that, I don't really have any problems sticking to a maintenance LC eating plan. I find reading this forum good if I look like I might be vering off, as everyone seems to be so gung-ho. It's definately inspiring - so thanks everyone.

Noni C

Thanks Cathie. RE: the boy thing, it's not a worry

Doing vegetarian can't be very easy. I have a vegetarian colleague in the office who's considering LCing but is a bit daunted by the protein aspect of it. But I'll keep at him

Don't you appreciate the fact that you have better skin and no dandruff? Eating fats does that for you.

I love gym nowadays. I was sedentary for most of my life. It was always daunting to consider going to the gym. But I love it! Well, the weights anyway, still hate the cardio

If you've only just started, keep on at it. I'm sure you've already discovered the benefits of LCing, such as stable energy levels. I can just keep on going these days. Get off the rowing machine, I'm tired but give me 5 minutes and I can go another mile. I can shop all day without being run to the ground...although this can be a bad thing for my wallet

C

hey c!

it really is harder for a vegetarian and I don't blame your colleague for being skeptical, I too find it a bit boring at times, I have included fish though, but it can get slightly tedious as the options are limited and I don't like to consume the fake veggie products which pretend to be bacon or chicken etc. have you ever read any of those labels!?
I don't think atkins will be a life long thing for me though, I have a veggie boyfriend who loves cooking and I hate not being able to enjoy a meal with him. he promised to add protein to our meals in the future instead of just carbs with vegies.
so, yes it does feel heaps better LCing, but I have to find a way of not getting bored with fish or tofu.

I do love going to the gym, yeah the treadmill can be a little unfriendly some mornings, but I learn to listen to my body and if it doesn't feel like running, then I'm not going to force it, I'll just use the bike or the elliptical trainer. I don't do free weights though in the gym area...never a fan of the pumping iron infront of the mirror. I prefer classes such as pump, circuit, fitball, tight & toned classes, anything that will motivate me to keep at it. I know I should have a personalised program and intend on being a little more structured if the weightloss succeeds a little.

nice chatting to you, I've been in a super mood today by just seeing a ray of sunshine!

have a good one,
cathie

Hi Cathie

The sunshine in the window is making the office a bit warm

Have you tried using protein isolate to add to you vegie dishes? That way, you can cook just vegies but still get the protein. And have you tried the dried beancurd stuffs you can buy the from the asian grocery? Lots of stuff other than just the plain old beancurd. How about TVP?

You know, all these plans recommend resistance training more so than cardio workouts. The reason being that cardio only works while you'r emoving, whereas resistance training continues working even while you're resting. The more muscles you have, the more energy you use up.

Anyway, have a good sunny day

C