What The Body Wants

Here is a bit of something from a guy who is fighting the same battle I am.  Low carb diet to control weigh regain.  We have both successfully lost 60 to 80 pounds and kept most of it off for over five years.  This in nothing short of a miracle.  Really.  Almost all lost weight is regained in 2 to 3 years.  Usually quicker as the body regains the upper hand, so to speak.

Here's what my cyber friend has to say:

On Thursday I was 197. Today, just 2 days later, I am 205. The ability to gain 8 pounds in 2 days is a remarkable feat, and has to do with my body thinking that my weight is far to low for its comfort. In reality, my body decided long ago that I should be at least 250 pounds and while I have kept it from that number for many years now, my body has never been in agreement with me on this, and the past two days – when I have given it the opportunity through providing it what would be considered a ‘normal’ amount of daily carbohydrates (300 grams per day), it has taken the opportunity to go for the gusto and start to rebuild my fat stores back to what it deems appropriate.

My body and I will never see eye-to-eye on this. And to prevent my body from following the course it is most content with, I will need to maintain a low carb diet for the rest of my life. I have known this for many years now – I can just point to the past 2 days as to a concrete example as to why I believe this is true.

His problem, this week, was a birthday and a holiday.  And a few days off from work.  Plenty of time, and a lack of a schedule, to indulge in food.  Which he loves.

I tried, in vain, to substitute low carb things for higher carb Thanksgiving menu items with a low degree of success. For the past two days I have added a scant 1/3 cup of normal stuffing to my leftover plate of turkey and vegetables.  The small taste was enough to make me think I was celebrating a holiday.  And the resulting gastrointestinal discomfort is enough to make me forego this in future years, no matter how much I love stuffing.  

I am astonished to learn that my body can't digest wheat or most grains.  Remember the "farty" cereal of the olden days of eating low calorie?  Still farty.  LOL.  Easy enough to pass up these "treats" as the results are not what I would call "socially acceptable".   Sugar, on the other hand is something I just say NO to rather easily.

I was trying to remember what bread and pasta taste like the other day (a dangerous pursuit).  Not that I wanted any, but it seemed so strange to not remember what they taste like or feel like when being chewed.  Two food items I practically EXISTED on.  I guess I am farther along this new evolutionary  path than I had expected.  Which is very good news.  Thanksgiving is TOTALLY a FOOD HOLIDAY and the most difficult to get past. I am glad that most of my favorite dishes are the vegetables.