Ex-Kimkins or New to Low Carb?

For those that are switching from a very low calorie diet (or looking into low carb plans for the first time) you'll want to plan to get the most of your diet. Don't just start out cutting carbs and adding fat. You'll want to find a plan and follow it, at least until you know how your body is reacting. If you have been following a very low calorie diet, your body will likely initially react by holding onto fat and water. While this can be distressing, try to ignore it and realize it's temporary!! Take this adjustment time to plan and learn about your diet choice.

Now, I would like to post my own recommendations for anyone coming off Kimkins or just looking into a low carb plan.

1. For the next month or so don't count calories, and don't worry about weight gain or loss. You weight may fluctuate wildly for a while and you need to be prepared so you won't get discouraged. Don't count calories as they will likely regulate themselves and can always be cut back later if necessary. During this time start researching and reading about the different plans.

2. First, cut out all "whites". White flour, rice, sugar, potatoes, etc and all items made with them. So, no white breads, rolls, etc. No potatoes of any kind....and that includes baked as well as fried. No sugar. If you must have sweet, find an acceptable artificial sweetener (AS) and make/buy drinks that contain it. Observe your reactions to the foods you eat, noting especially how soon after eating you get hungry.

3. Start eating 3 regular meals a day with small high protein low carb snacks if needed. Cheese is a great choice for snacks, but many say eating it can lead to a stall. At this point, don’t worry so much about counting things, just eat natural unprocessed foods. If you do used processed foods, choose the one with the best ingredients. You should be eating enough at each meal so you are satisfied, but not overly full. The amount you eat should last until the next meal, although initially you may need snacks to hold you over. If you're used to very low calorie or tight portion control be open to having more than one serving of your protein/fat source. You should never leave the table hungry!

4. Start reading labels. You’ll want to start reading labels on any processed foods you buy or consider buying. Look for the least processed and best ingredients. For example, if you need salsa check out the carb counts and the ingredients. Buy the one that is lower carb especially if it's more natural. Dairy is also a good example. Fat free American cheese contains no fat, but 4 grams carbohydrate per ounce, while full fat cheese contains only 2 grams. Sour cream too....fat free, no fat, but 40 grams of carb per cup while full fat contains only 10 grams per cup. Watch ingredients too. If something says it has no trans-fat, or "0% trans-fat", check the label. Look for “hydrogenated” in the ingredients listing. If that word is there, it's very likely that the food contains at least some trans-fat, but by law can be listed as 0 if it's less than 0.5 grams.

5. Start reading up on low carb plans. There is a ton of information on the web and there are many plans to choose from. Go to your local library or bookstore and read a bit of the plans and see which one you can live with. If, for example, you like to have convenience foods, including frozen meals on hand for quick and easy meals, South Beach might be a better choice than Atkins or Protein Power. Each plan has it's specifics about how much fat, protein, and carb you should eat as well as what kind of foods they come from.

6. Once you decide on a plan, read the book. Front to back, at least once. Take notes or highlight text if you can. But really read the book. Pay attention to the science behind each of the author's points. Does what the author say make sense? Check the claims by searching online and verify facts when you can.

7. When you start on your plan you should follow it as closely as you can. For the first 2 weeks, minimum, do what the plan tells you. If it says to have as much green veggies as you want, then have it. If it tells you to limit something or increase something, then do it. Give yourself a month to decide if this is the right plan for you. Be sure to include exercise in your plan. Resistance training is felt to be more beneficial than cardio by many, but anything that you enjoy is fine.

8. Prepare to record everything you eat as accurately as possible. FitDay.com is an excellent product and is available online for free. If you really want to be accurate, measure and weigh everything you eat or drink. Record any exercise too. Check your weight and measurements and decide on a goal. Write this all down, or record in an online product. (SparkPeople.com is also an excellent free site that has a place to record food, exercise, goals, etc and also features support forums and teams as well as recipes and articles.)

9. Set a start date and de-carb your house. Remove as many of the "unacceptable" foods as you are able to. If you have family that you live with, be sure to get their buy in and agreements to work with you and your plan. At this time, if you haven't already, it would also be a good idea to talk to your doctor and get some baseline blood work done. If you are on any medications you may need your doc's assistance in changing dose as you loose weight. Getting baseline blood work is great to compare to additional work done later.

10. When following your plan, continue to learn more about diet and nutrition. Follow the research, but question anything in the mainstream media. Check out my links to blogs and web sites if you need a place to start!

11. Tweak your plan, after at least 2 weeks of following your plan exactly. If you don't like a certain aspect of your diet then change it. If you prefer meat over veggies it's not likely to cause you problems as long as the meat you eat is unprocessed and the veggies are good quality and as natural as possible. If you're not loosing enough and feel your carb intake is a bit too high, then lower it a bit. And if there is a food that you really miss see if there is any way to incorporate it or a substitute once in a while.

Following low carb may not be for everyone, but for the majority of us it is beneficial and results in lower blood sugar and insulin levels, lower blood pressure and usually significant weight loss. If you feel you are not loosing fast enough, cut back on carbs, and also rethink your expectations. Rapid weight loss is often not sustained over the long term and can cause several physical reactions.

If you properly follow a low carb plan you must make it a life plan. Sure you can follow the plan until you loose the weight you want to loose then go back to "normal" eating....but if you do you will regain the weight you lost, no question. And, if you are going to make this a life plan, you must find one that works for you!

A friend of mine recently asked me to find a list of foods that she cannot eat. Well, unfortunately it's not that easy!! Some people can eat fruit without a problem, but I'll be plagued by cravings if I am not really careful and have adequate fat and protein along with it. On the other hand, most people experience stalls from eating foods containing sugar alcohols (SA), but they don't seem to influence my weight at all. The foods that you "can't" eat are the foods that induce cravings and early hunger.

Limits should be placed on the total number of carbs per meal and not the food. If you are allowed 15 grams per meal and you want a veggie, you have a lot of choices:
Asparagus, cooked = 2 cups
Broccoli, cooked = 1.6 cups
Cucumber = 5 cups
Romaine Lettuce = 11 cups
Corn = 1/3 cup
Brown rice = 1/2 cup (1/3 cup of white rice)
White potato = 1/2 cup
So...you have a lovely piece of roasted chicken (eat the skin!) and along with it you can have a nice salad of lettuce (2 cups), tomato (1/4 cup), cucumber (1/4 cup), and mushroom (1/4 cup), along with an ounce of shredded cheese and 2 tablespoons of full fat creamy dressing, and some broccoli on the side, all for less than 15 grams of carb...or you can have 1/2 cup of potato. If you don't like salad or you're craving potatoes, maybe eating the 1/2 cup serving will be enough. The other thing to consider, and this is highly individualised, but it's likely that the starch in the potato is going to be rapidly metabolized and you will start to feel hungry sooner than you would if you had the salad. But, it's still your choice!! That's what makes any diet doable!


Here are some of the plans I'm somewhat familiar with:
Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution. Probably the best known and most misunderstood of all the plans. You start out with very low carb, no more than 20 grams per day, then increase them after the first 2 weeks. The increase in carbs is to allow people to figure out what their "critical carb level" (CCL) is. Your CCL is the level at which you no longer loose. Drop your carbs back a bit and you should loose steadily. As you get closer to your goal you increase carbs a bit more to slow your loss and gradually transition into maintenance. With this plan the emphasis is having a high intake of fat and a low intake of carbs. You are encouraged to eat veggies and some fruit. Exercise is a part of the plan, no exceptions.
Protein Power Lifeplan. My personal favorite, although what I do now isn't exactly by the book. For Protein Power plans the emphasis is on getting a minimum of a certain level of protein and keeping carbs below a certain level (30 grams/day to start). The original plan was a bit lower in carbs than the later one, but still the emphasis is on the protein (hence the name! LOL). In the first book there was a formula to figure out your minimum protein intake, but in the later book there's a chart for you to look it up. Fat isn't really addressed except to caution to use natural fresh fats over commercial ones.

And some that I'm less familiar with:
South Beach. Basic low carb for the first 2 weeks, then fairly generous for ongoing weight loss. Emphasis is to NOT remain on the initial phase for longer than 2 weeks. (Dr A and PP plans both "allow" you to stay on the initial level longer) This plan is considered low fat to many low carbers, especially those on Atkins. The emphasis isn't so much on quantity of fat as quality. It cautions against trans-fats (just like the Dr A and PP plans), but also cautions against saturated fat. Dr Agatston is/was a cardiologist, so it makes sense that he would fear saturated fats.

Dr Bernstein's books. I've read one and was impressed, but was already doing well with PP so I've never tried any of his plans. Dr Bernstein is a diabetic, a Type 1, who basically experimented on himself, then went to medical school so he would have more credibility. Unfortunately the general media tends to ignore him. He has a lot of good things to say, and promotes a low carb diet for all diabetics.

Other books about low carb, controlled car, low sugar plans:
Paleo Diet. Basically you eat what was available to our ancestors. So meats and any fruits and veggies that can be eaten as is. No processed foods. Meat, fish, gathered or foraged fruits, leaves, and roots of plants, mushrooms, nuts, eggs, and honey...that's pretty much it.

Sugar Shock. Connie Bennett figured out she was having a reaction to eating sugar and started investigating why. Her book gives and excellent explanation of sugar addiction and reactions in the body. She also has some excellent suggestions for those just looking to kick their sugar addiction.

The Zone diet. This one is about balance. The plan is to keep your carbohydrates, protein and fat in a certain ratio: 40/30/30 to be exact. I've heard that the diet can be confusing....and also that it's fantastic.

Sugar Busters. Basically with Sugar Busters you avoid all processed carbs and carbs that are high GI (Glycemic Index), like potatoes and corn.


Check out MY LINKS to low carb sites, books, and information....and have fun!!

Tonight's Dinner:

Brussels Sprouts with butter
cucumber with Caesar dressing
homemade chunky applesauce
herb rubbed roasted pork loin.

Weigh In week 19

No loss this week, in fact, I'm up 0.4 pounds this week!




Been following my plan as closely as I can. I did have one day that I had almost 150 carbs, but it was all "legal" foods.



Work has been horribly busy!! It's been good, in that things are going fairly smoothly....but it's been busy. Which does make the day go faster!!


I've been trying to get my house on the market....and man is it a lot of work!! I have closets that haven't been completely cleaned in years!!! We're not going to be doing painting, etc....we're just trying to get everything cleaned up and packed up.

I have brought a ton of clothes and other things down to Salvation Army, and have a bunch more to bring down. I've also thrown out a ton of stuff!!!


A friend and I are now planning a trip for next spring. Not sure of dates yet, but we're going to Rome!! Holly, my friend, has been to Rome twice, but I've never been out of the country....except Canada as a kid and the Bahamas on my honeymoon.

So....here's the story. Holly has a plane ticket for a trip she was supposed to go on this past week. The trip was canceled, but the ticket can't be. It can, however, be changed to another date and destination. So....Holly had a deadline for changing her ticket and the two of us got together and decided we're going to go to Rome, but not until the spring. By then I should have my house sold and all my bills paid off. As soon as all is final with the house, I'm going to apply for a passport, then plan the date of the trip.

I am so excited!!! I've been following Dr Mike's posts about Rome....and boy I can't wait!!!


Speaking of Dr Mike....he's done it again. This time it's a post about inflammation.

I have long believed that the food we eat and many other things cause or increase our levels of inflammation. All the chemicals in "foods" that are a part of our regular diet cannot possibly be good for us. Well, according to Dr Mike, it's the food itself!! Read his post and see if you agree.

On that same vein, I've long believed that it is NOT good for us to spend an hour or more each day doing strenuous exercise. I've also believed that pushing yourself and exercising with pain is not good. The comments on Dr Mike's post agree with this. You know what I'm talking about....the ads on TV showing people "working through the pain" and taking drugs to stop the pain so they can continue to exercise!! Oh yea, that makes sense!!

One of the ways our bodies have to tell us something is wrong is by producing pain. Our bodies can't tap us on the shoulder and say "hey, your left knee is not doing good. It's all inflamed and needs a break". No....our bodies do this by causing pain. Pain should be a sign that you need to stop. And chronic pain means you need to make some serious changes!!

So...if you're finding that your inflammation markers are elevated, check the foods you eat and how you exercise. Stick with whole, natural foods whenever possible and take it easy with the exercise!! And yes, when something hurts take it easy!!

Personally, I'm a fan of resistance training over cardio exercising. Now sure, if you like running or playing basketball or biking, great....but it probably isn't the best thing you can do for fitness!!

I am also a major fan of Krill Oil for inflammation. I started taking this as a result of an article I read, again on Dr Mike's blog, about a study that showed Krill lowered inflammation markers. I have long standing problems with my back and neck, including 3 bad discs and arthritis with bone spurs. I noticed a difference in 48 hours!!

The most remarkable thing with the Krill is that after being on it for less than 3 months I had blood work drawn and almost all of my inflammation markers were within normal limits!! Sed rate was still a tad elevated, but my CRP and other levels were all within normal limits!! I cannot remember when they were last normal. Low carbing brought some down, but Krill seems to have done the rest.

I posted on this in the past, and only heard from one person, but that response was positive. I've told several people in work, but they all think I'm a nut case, so they'll probably not may any attention.

So, if you think it will help, give it a try. And if you do, let me know....and let Dr Mike know!

One caution. If you do decide to try the Krill, make sure it's "Neptune" Krill oil. I buy mine at Vitamin Shoppe and buy the Source Naturals brand. It's not very expensive and well worth every penny!!


I read an article today that will probably not be a surprise to many in the low carb community. It seems that triglyceride levels are more of an indicator of heart disease than it's been believed to be in the medical community. According to this article, it's not the fasting triglyceride level you have to worry about, but the after meal level.

In the past I've read several articles that stated that triglyceride levels are useless as they literally go up and down all day long. The argument was, what good is it to check a fasting level when it's an artificial level. While I can see this....and this article seems to agree....to me the fasting levels shouldn't be thrown out either. Before I discovered low carb my triglycerides were too high to count. At the time I was told that meant they were over 700. Now, if my fasting was over 700, what was it after a meal!!!

The article is a pretty good one, although they never really give any optimal levels, nor do they mention how long after a meal the levels should be checked. And then, at the end, of course they turn to drugs!!

Whatever the testing routine may ultimately turn out to be, dangerously high triglyceride levels require the same corrective measures as high cholesterol levels, McBride said, with close attention to the well-known risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and inactivity.

(emphasis is mine)

NO!!!! No! No! NOOOOO!!!

Triglycerides are directly related to carbohydrate intake!!! Lowering fat intake is NOT going to help. Lowering protein intake is NOT going to help, Lowering levels with drugs is NOT going to help!!!

Lowering carbohydrate intake is the BEST way to lower triglycerides. Check out Dr Mercola for information, or Dr Mike, or Dr Vernon. Don't bother looking at the AHA site (or any of their influenced sites like WebMD) . Although the AHA does say to cut back on carbohydrates, they also suggest, of course, a low fat diet.

But, if fat is the cause of elevated triglycerides and not carbs, why do we see a dramatic lowering in people that start a low carb diet? Even those that follow very high fat (60, 70% and more) diets , when it's accompanied by a very low carb (less than 20-40grams/day) diet usually see a fairly rapid and very dramatic lowering of cholesterol levels! If fat is the cause and not carbs, why do people that follow Dr Ornish's diet or the AHA diet often see an increase in their levels??

Following a low carb diet is the best way to lower triglycerides. Following a low carb diet is also the best way to lower blood sugar and insulin levels. Most experts (real and imagined) agree that high triglycerides are often seen in uncontrolled or undiagnosed diabetes.

So lowering blood sugar and blood insulin levels are the way to go. And we all know that the best way to do that isn't with drugs, or with limiting fat, it's by limiting carbohydrates!!

Will the medical industry ever figure it out? When they can make a fortune on drugs and procedures why should they?

You know....I'd like to say I don't care. But I do. I have friends and family members that listen to and believe everything the AHA and ADA has to say. The simple fact that I am a RN with over 30 years experience and have been researching this for over 2 years doesn't matter. It's against what the "experts" (the imagined ones) say!!


Calling all insomniacs!!!! I read a comment on one of Dr Mike's blogs, where a commenter said that since starting vitamin D3 insomnia was a thing of the past. Well, when I read that, my jaw dropped.

I have been an insomniac for as long as I can remember. I can remember being a teenager and lying in bed for hours before falling asleep. Didn't matter how tired I was, I would lie in bed as the rest of the family slept. This continued into adulthood, and there were times that I would only be able to sleep for 3-4 hours a night. Night after night, I'd lie there, trying to sleep and still lying awake.

Several months ago, in March, I started taking vitamin D3. I use Carlson's brand and have been taking 5000 IU each day. About 2 months ago I realized that my insomnia was gone!! Now I've had periods where for several days I'd be able to go right to sleep, but never longer than 2-3 days at a time. And that would be followed by several weeks of insomnia. Now, however, I go to sleep withing minutes of going to bed!! I still have "bad" nights, like last night, but on these nights I lie there for 30-60 minutes before falling asleep. GONE are the nights of lying awake until 2 AM, 3 AM and even later!!

If you too have problems with insomnia, give vitamin D3 a try. If you've also noticed an improvement in your sleeping since starting D3, let me know. I'd love to see a study done, but of course there's no money in supplements. I have been able to find several references that say that insomnia is a side effect of low D3 levels, so maybe this isn't all wishful thinking!!

I've passed this info on to a friend who has as big a problem as I have. I don't know if she will take the D3 or not, but she sure seemed interested. If she takes it and give me a report, I'll post it here. And if anyone else has seen an improvement in their insomnia that is felt to be due to vitamin D3, please post a comment!


OK....I guess that's it for now. Again, thanks for visiting!!

Back from the land of Binge

Yes, that Binge, with a capital B.

I can't believe I did this, but I fell headfirst into a lot of garbage carbs! I'm not going to go into details....partly out of embarassment of what I ate. Let's just say Easter is around the corner, and the stores are well stocked!

Anyway I'm back. I decided I had to start this out with a fast, so I'm fasting today and part of tomorrow. I'll start eating again tomorrow at lunch.

I know lots of people will fron on this method, but for me it works. I'll fast for 24-30 hours, then start eating again, keeping to "intervention" level carbs for a week or so, then moving to "transition", where I'll stay until I get to maintenence.

Fasting breaks the cycle for me, especially when I go on a bad binge like I did this time. It's been a tough day. Telling myself that I'm fasting....then wanting to have something. But, I stuck with coffee, tea and water and I'm good now. I probably won't even be hungry tomorrow, but lunch will taste soooooo good! I'm thinking Caesar Salad at my favorite place near work, Baba Ghanoush (Cary, NC).

I've also set a new goal. I'm trying to get up to Massachusetts again this summer. One of my "adopted" daughters (my DD's friend) is getting married and I want to see it happen!!! I also want to have ankles that I want to show off. I want to get a sexy summer dress to wear. I want to look GOOD!!!

So here's my goal. Today is March 5, 2007 and by August 6, 2007 I want to loose 50 pounds. That sounds like a lot, but it's not too bad. That's 5 months to loose 50 pounds. That's 10 pounds per month. If I stick with my plan and do my exercising, I should be fine.

Not sure just yet what I'm going to be doing for exercise, the first few days after a binge I'm usually not good for much. Right now, stick with walking the dogs, and I'll figure out what else by the end of the week. I have to get my weight bench out of my son's room so I can get back into my strength training.

I'd really like to set a size goal, rather than weight, but I have NO idea what size I'll be when I get to goal. I know I'll at least be a size 14, but no idea if any lower. I'm 5'8" and good size build, so I know I'll never be a size 2. And if I ever DO get down to a size 2 there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with the sizes they sell today! LOL

I'll post my weight ticker and exercise goals later this week. I wanted to commit to this and now I have to get to sleep!!!

Weigh Day, Week 5

Short Term Goal:



I apologise to anyone who's been following my weight tracker. I keep getting the numbers mixed up! This week I lost 2#. I am very happy about that and hope it keeps up. I'm happy with 1-2# a week, and even a no loss here and there. But I hate it when I gain!!!

From my starting weigh to now, I'm down 40#!!! Just 3 more and I'll be halfway there!! I still have a skirt and 2 pair of pants that I want to be able to get into. Probably another 15-20# before those will fit, but that's OK.....I've got a goal!

On my short-term goal of 20 pounds in 20 weeks, I'm down 14 and have 6 to go!! Woo hoo!!

Once this 20 in 20 is over I'm going to immediately start another goal. I think that's the best way for me to work.

Oh well...back to the plan. I fasted a couple of days this past week, so all my totals look pretty messed up. I am definitely not eating twice the calories on my eating day, but mainly I'm not getting the protein I need. Tomorrow I fast, then when I start to eat again I'm going to look towards higher protein foods. I find I feel better with the higher protein. I've been eating pretty much on plan, although the past 24hrs have not been. I need to get back to drinking the protein shakes and eating meat and fish instead of cheeses and eggs.

I really enjoy following PPLP! My back and neck feels better, I have more energy and just all around feeling of wellness. It's hard to describe unless you've felt it. But to eat foods that you like and are truly healthy foods, your body knows it's getting what it needs and responds accordingly. I sleep better on low carb too!

Things are going to get a bit stressful over the next few months.

I'm trying to get my house straightened out so I can put it on the market and move into a much smaller place. The place is a mess and I own way too many things!!! I am really going to downsize on what I have!!! I went to see a place on a whim last week and was amazed at how little storage I'm going to have!!! I never even considered that part! LOL

Many are going to think I'm nuts, but I want a little place 800-1000 sq ft is ideal. I will absolutely need to have some outside storage, for lawn mower if nothing else. I only want 2 bedrooms, but would take 3 if the price and location is right. My son may or may not go with me, but if he does, it won't be for long! Then it's just me and the puppies! Yippee!!!!

I sometimes think I'm nuts. I love my kids, and I'm very proud of them....but I can't wait to live alone again!!! All I've truly had in living alone was a couple of months before getting married. When Jeanne and I still lived together, but she really lived with Fred. Before Stephen moved in and we got married. Since that day I have lived with others, and I'm tired of it.

I want to be able to put something down and have it remain where I put it. I want to know that anything in my house is not going to get touched unless I allow it. I just want to be alone for a while!!! Oh I am sooo bad! LOL

Actually, I figure some day one or the other are going to come home. Even if it's just for a visit. And, someday I'll probably have grandchildren! I hope to be the nana that they go to sleep over with! My kids had a great relationship with my mom, and I hope I'm at least as good a nana as she was!

Oh well....enough for today. I'm not going to post my totals this week, but will probably next week. I am going to continue to fast, but during non-fasting times I'm going to stick with the plan and go for protein.


Long Term Goal: