2. How We Can Start Losing Weight …
Women tend to be addicted to carbohydrates, and eating less of them seems to make us tired, irritable, and depressed. However, a virtual inability to live without breads, pasta, sugary fruits, cereals, chocolate, sweetened coffee, and other “women’s delights” signals that our metabolic control over the insulin production has become damaged. We pay for eating sweets and starches by:
- numerous symptoms of hypoglycemia (tiredness, panic attacks, PMS, mood swings, etc.);
- weight gain even when we are on starvation diets (ever tried a low-fat, high-carb “Grapefruit diet” or “Granola diet”?);
- adrenal exhaustion caused by chronic overproduction of adrenalin and cortisol – the stress hormones that can make us restless and tired.
An average woman, whose proper weight should be 140 – 150 pounds, needs about 60 grams of carbs in her daily menu. Any additional piece of cake, fruit, bread, or chocolate will inevitably be converted into body fat, especially in those of us who are genetically predisposed to gain weight or who are getting through middle-life changes. If we restrict the amount of dietary carbohydrates to 60 grams a day, we’ll:
- stop gaining weight;
- have more energy;
- break the vicious circle of carbohydrate addiction; and
- help our body lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
However, in order to start losing weight, it is not enough to just restrict dietary carbohydrates to 60 grams a day. A more drastic reduction is necessary, particularly for those who have sluggish metabolism or suffer from hypothyroidism, regular “sugar drops”, and chronic fatigue. A dietary regime that incorporates less than 20 grams of carbs a day, combined with moderate exercise (a half-an-hour brisk daily walk, or gym equivalent, is enough) will lead to a steady loss of weight of about two to three pounds a week. While dieting, use the following guidelines:
Foods Which Are Prohibited on the Weight-Loss Program:
- grains, such as wheat or rice;
- starchy vegetables, such as potatoes or beets;
- sweets of all sort, including artificial sweeteners;
- fruits other than lemons;
- all processed foods, such as boxed cereals, TV dinners, or chips;
- milk and light cream.
Foods Which Are Encouraged on the Weight-Loss Program:
- home-cooked meat, poultry, liver, fish, and eggs;
- bone marrow and chicken broth;
- hard cheeses;
- natural butter, extra-virgin olive oil, cold-pressed coconut oil, and small amounts of cod liver oil;
- green leafy and other non-starchy vegetables;
- lacto-fermented vegetables, such as kimchi, sauerkraut, olives, or cucumbers;
- unsweetened, whole-milk yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk;
- heavy cream or home-made sour cream.
Thanks for this amazing article Amanda. Right now I’m fighting my addiction with carbs, I really started a war here and it’s been 1 month and a half since I’m winning everyday. The results are amazing, without to many exercise (I’m talking a fast walk everyday for about 1 hour and make 50-100 abdomens at home). Without carbs I’m nervous sometimes and in a bad mood, but I try to limited my self of having something sweet only 1 time in week. I’m looking forward to some great articles like this one
I belive that you are basically telling women not to eat carbs and that indeed is a horrible idea. Carbohydrates are one of the essential nutrients, and basically they are the food that fuels our brain. Now I also find it inappropriate and inadequate to limit cards to 60 grams a day. That equates to only 240 calories of a nutrient that should equate a total of 45 to 65 percent of our intake. An amount of 130 grams of carbohydrates sounds much more appropriate for any healthy women. Rather than tell women not to eat carbs, why not encourage them to eat healthy carbs, which does include potatoes! Processed goods not starchy carbs, such as potatoes, should be the enemy. Remember carbs are essential to any diet and foods closest to their natural form are best for any healthy diet.
Amanda, as a personal trainer and a nutrishionist…let me just say that this “diet plan” is horrible advice. You are suggesting that these women put all the wrong things in their bodies (i.e. butter, whole milk, and oils). Yes if you are used to grabbing McDonalds on your way home every day and filling your body with excess fats and trans fats every day than this diet will make you loose weight rather quickly, however the moment you do not follow this diet, all the weight you lost will rapidly come back. All anyone would need to do to begin to lose weight is to change their diets, by educating themselves on healthy foods. There is no need to “eliminate” carbohydrates all toegether, but watching your carb intake as well as your fat intake and this will really make a difference as well as portion control. People need to realize that they do not NEED to eat until they are uncomfortably full, or because they are bored, depressed, anxious and so forth. Food is a tool and the American people seem to have forgotten how to use properly. We need to re-educate America on how to use food to their benifit, not to their demise.
READER BEWARE!
As a fellow health and fitness professional, I MUST agree with Candace Perkins (Comment on 09/19/09). Saturated Fat is what makes cheeses hard, so recommending it as part of a weight-loss program perplexes me. Additionally, your body produces the majority of your energy from carbohydrates. If you limit your carbohydrate intake, you body will go into ketosis, which will inevitably lead to the breakdown of the body’s lean muscle mass (not a goal of weight-loss) to provide energy for you brain. Additionally, recommending that women eliminate fruits from their diets is very dangerous. This cuts out essential vitamins and nutrients that help prevent diseases, as well as fiber, which helps women feel fuller longer by slowing digestion.
l appreciate your encouragement for women to live healthier lives by cutting processed foods out and replacing it with green leefy vegetables and home-cooked foods, but be wary of the advice you put out there without the proper credentials to do so.
This is the Atkins horror all over again. How sustainable is it to consume so much fat and protein over a lifetime to maintain any initial weight loss caused by ketosis? Not to mention the nutrients missed from ignoring fruits and whole grains will cause deficiency and health problems. Moderate fat and protein consumption are healthy, but this is extreme. Carbohydrates are brain fuel.
Also, excess fat consumption can cause constipation, heart disease, gallbladder disease and high cholesterol. And if you’ve ever investigated the widely-published China Study, you’ll also see that it was documented that vegetarians live longer and healthier lives than those who consume animal protein.
Avoiding processed foods, processed sugar and refined carbohydrates (ie. white rice and white bread), and cooking from scratch is better advice. It’s much healthier and easier to control the quality and types of ingredients put into food. I’m sorry Amanda, but your advice here is irresponsible.
Amanda was talking about losing weight in 30days. After that you can slowly balance your diet again. Carbs retain water, which expands the fat cells, which make you heavier and bloated. And eating FRUITS is not a necessary part of diet, especially for diabetics and cance patients. Medical studies have proven that ALL simple sugars, including fruits and vegetable juice (w/out the pulp), FEEDS CANCER CELLS. The skin of red apples or grapes, no matter how much you eat them, will not provide the sufficient about of age preventive/ anti-cancer nutrients.
The DANGER of an all protein & fat diet, though, is the harm they could do to the liver and kidneys. You may also have digestive problems. Not to mention maybe feelng sluggish.
Also, meat has shown to irritate/cause stomach ulcers.
MY RECOMMENDATION, TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST, IS TO GO ON AN ALL VEGTABLE DIET. No leafy greens, as most have proven to slow the thyroid. I tried this once while sitting on my behind studying for exams for a lengthy period of time and doing NO exercise nor walk/dance/go out as much as I dd before. I couldn’t GAIN weight! I kept going under my average daily weight, which has never happened before without activity and eating less. I also had better mental clarity and could memorize my study material FAR better than days I would eat meat. By the way, I passed those exams with much higher marks than I had before.
All I did was purchase frozen seasoned vegetables and popped them in the microwave. Or seasoned them myself or ate bland which tasted good cause my taste buds adapted.
Ok, I just have to point out since no one else did, that the fact that sugar feeds cancer cells is absolutely absurd. Oh, and that the actual nutritionists on here are absolutely right.
I totally agree. i cut out carbs for the 1st time and lost 3kg in a week. Tho weight loss slowed right down after that, I never put the weight back on when eating normaly again. Tho when i do that diet again i dont lose weight that fast, but i do lose slowly and feel WAY better for it.Clean from the inside out, always full, and not bloated. Sweet foods (when i do have them) also taste alot sweeter and makes you realize actually how much sugar is actually put into things (such as yoghurt/ice cream/custard etc)If i eat white breat or processed carbs,i get very bloated and blocked up inside, this way of eating is easy (no counting calories) and its definitly worth trying.
Hi Allyrj,
Wow 3 kg in a week is great and that too from just cutting out the bad carbs. I eat too much bread for my own good. But I’m gonna try and eat healthier. Thanks for sharing! :)
I agree agree agree w/ eating the low carb way. I personally like to eat organic poultry, eggs, very little red meat and baked fish. I love celery, bell pepper, onion with cream cheese spread rolled up in a nitrate free slice of turkey or ham-yummy!Lots and lots of water. I make sure that I make my lunch meals and sometimes breakfast- just veggies. This may include steamed string beans with sauteed onions(in a little olive oil) and a large salad sprinkled with almond slivers, mushrooms, bellpeppers, carrots, onions, raw vinegar and hemp oil or organic ranch dressing. But 1 hour before i eat i take fiber- especially if i’m eating meat. Did i say i drink lots and lots of water? Well, my blood sugar is stable and my butt is shrinking sooooooo, i love love love Amanda Brown and her blog. Low carb done right is healthy :-)….Oh and i do modest exercise with resistance training.
Hey Katrina,
Wow you sound like one super healthy person! It’s wonderful really :) I’m going to take a few pointers from your comment. Thanks for stopping by :)
Happy Holidays!
low carbs, lots of water and exercise works out well for me