I’ll say it out loud… “I cheated on my diet during the holidays.” (Or maybe I just typed that out loud.)
It is tough being restricted from food you love and especially so at the holidays! I’ll be the first to admit that I declared Thanksgiving to Christmas a “don’t hold me to the weight loss carb counts” period in my house. What I meant is that I was going to be in the 30-35 Net Carb range and not worry about the 18-22 Net Carb range I need for weight loss. I was mostly good, but I did gain 4 pounds! I definitely went over 35 Net Carbs. I really don’t want to admit that to anyone and especially myself, but there you have it! The good news is that my sugar stayed mostly in check and it wasn’t that I went crazy and ate things with regular flour, sugar or potatoes (etc.) I still didn’t eat those.
It was the VOLUME of things I ate that caused a slight weight gain. Also on my path to weight gain was the amount of nuts I ate! I put some of those nut recipes on the website. I just couldn’t stop eating multiple handfuls of them when ordinarily a palm full is all I should have eaten. Too, they are full of fats. I also ate larger than usual portions of berries with whipped toppings or low carb cake or cake with berries and whipped toppings. All of them not horribly bad for someone with diabetes and metabolic syndrome, but the AMOUNT I ate is! Too, I just didn’t restrict portions on anything! I ate at odd times. I didn’t eat snacks between meals to stop hunger and keep me from wanting double at meal times. I was definitely out of my routine of eating.
Now I’ve gone backwards and instead of having lost 20 pounds, I’m back to having lost 15 pounds. That still sounds good but I have to cover ground I already covered. On the flip side… it did let me feel like I could enjoy holiday foods for a little while, even if low carb altered. I don’t think any medical professional would tell me this is a good thing, but mentally, it was a good thing. I am now ready to jump back on the wagon and aim for another 15 to 20 pound weight loss round. I am equally mentally satisfied by the food I ate and disgusted by the weight I allowed myself to gain back. Those are both equal motivators.
Now the problem with this low carb lifestyle of eating is that if you totally go back to eating high fats with high sugars… you WILL gain weight and possibly more. I speak from experience. Once in my 30’s and once in my 40’s I tried a diet change like this without the commitment to my overall health (and the dire consequences if I don’t have that commitment) and both times I lost 15 pounds and gained back 20 when I blew it! I KNOW what happens when you don’t commit and I’m again seeing it for this short period of time. Yes, I am still on the positive side of the change, but I don’t ever want to go back to the negative side!
So take heart if you found yourself in the same boat as me.
We can all get the direction corrected and still get to our proper destination: a healthy low carb lifestyle! I am not about to let diabetes or metabolic syndrome win much less let my body take the punishment for what my taste buds and brain do not want to control! It is a war, but one that we can all win one battle at time, even if we lose a few. If I can do this… you can do this!
I wish you all a healthy and happy new year!
