Thoughts on the Carb Free Diet

So it has been about a month and a half since Joel and I began our healthy living program! We started with the Atkins diet for the first four weeks. Joel is still doing the Atkins much more strickly than myself, however I have altered the diet a bit more. I am glad I did the Atkins to start because I really needed to detox my body from all the carbs and the sugars! It was so hard - I was having some strong cravings! I am so thankful that Joel was doing it with me - it not I am sure I would have cheated!

So what am I doing now? Well I am doing a little of this and a little of that! Actually I have been doing a lot of label reading on my last few trips to the grocery store - my last trip was not quite as long since I am starting to really know my foods. I have also done some research into the Belly Fat Diet - that diet focuses on cutting down on your sugars - and limiting your carbs to six servings which I am doing! The biggest challenge is that you are supposed to limit your sugar to 15 grams a day. Did you know a banana has 18 grams of sugar - yogurt has 32 grams of sugar - and those are considered diet friendly foods - wow!

I read that the average American Woman eats over 435 grams of sugar a day. While I think 15 is a bit extreme - I know I need to cut back. So now to what I am doing....I am being aware of my carb intake - I am not cutting them out completely but I am trying to stay under the 6 servings a day. I am eating food that is high in fiber - because to figure out net carbs you subtract your fiber from carbs to get your net. Reading labels was time consuming at first but now I know which foods are high in carbs and which are not.

The biggest surprise is how much sugar is in food! I am still doing some label reading in this area - but I think it is really making a difference. I have also found Truvia which is a natural sweetener from the Stevia plant - it is so much better for you than Aspertame or Splenda (and they sell it at the Village Merchants in Richfield). My goal is to stay under 50 grams of sugar a day.

You may be wondering the results - well I have lost about 12 pounds so far - if I was more strict I am sure that I would lose more, but I am happy so far with the results - if I could add a little exercise to my routine I would do even better. Joel has done really well also - about 20 -25 lbs lost!

So thanks for following me and thanks for your words of encouragment. My goal is to lose 20 more by June! I can do this without going crazy!