That sounds like an inhumane period of starving! I thought it was half that time! Its a wonder how many of the colonoscopies are reported as "poor views" due to "poor preparation". Or maybe not, given how many people think their relative constipation is normal...... Good luck anyway @Stacia I am confused on the low carb thing. Read lots of recipe books trying to get ideas. Really really really enjoyed last nights cauliflower rice!! with a large Thai style chicken breast supreme Cauliflower Rice by drjs@5 posted Mar 16, 2016 at 7:59 PM Some of the stuff I read says durum wheat pasta (I thought it all was) which would include spaghetti and new potatoes fall into the lower carb category. And suggested that my carrot spaghetti would have been better off as wholewheat spaghetti. Low GI, Paleo, Dukan, Atkins......aaargh! all going around in my head right now.
Good luck Stacia! Just want to add: low carb / high fat is not ideal for everyone. I did it for a year, and felt great - but suddenly had a horrible health scare with very high blood pressure and extremely high cholesterol. I'm not saying this was CAUSED by the low carb / high protein and fat diet, but it certainly did not do me personally a lot of good. I am back on a much more balanced diet now, including carbohydrate (but no white bread, pasta or white rice), and my blood pressure is slowly but surely going back down and the cholesterol level is getting to a much more manageable state.
I`m not radical about low carbing either Karen , I try to strike a balance but wont beat myself up if I fall off the wagon, lifes too short
I think a large part of it is about breaking habits. I used to eat loads of bread and potatoes and couldn't think of a life without them. I enjoy bread. But when you don't have it in the house, you quite quickly get used to not having it. I now find "regular" bread quite unpalatable and save myself for really fresh, tasty bread, which I have about once a month if I'm out somewhere. Same with potatoes; it's not that I don't eat them (I do and still think they're a fantastically versatile vegetable), but I rarely cook them these days because I'd rather use my calorie allowance on the tastier parts of a meal. When I stopped drinking, I started eating more sweets. I think a part of me thought I deserved "a treat" if I wasn't indulging in the booze. Strange, really, because I don't have a sweet tooth at all. It really quickly developed into a habit where I'd have a marshmallow or two every time I went into the kitchen; every time I went out on a walk with the dogs, I'd grab a few fruit chews etc. It came out of nowhere, because I can't remember the last time I'd bought sweets before this, and suddenly I was buying a couple of bags every week. When I realised what I was doing, I stopped buying them, but it took a lot longer for the idea of having a sweetie to leave my mind than it had for it to worm its way in there. Stupid brains.
You are quite right , Fiona. Eating and over eating are largely about habit. Once you break the habit it becomes easy, but the breaking of the habit is another matter. I don't keep various things in the house because I find it easy to lapse into bad old ways if they are conveniently within reach. I don't usually buy sweets or have them in the house, but my kids bought me chocolates for Mother's Day and I have stuffed the lot of them with indecent haste. I always say "if I don't start then, then I don't need to stop".
Haha yes I don't have chocolate in the house for the very same reason, and alcohol only at the weekend - no self-control otherwise!