I’ve never been a fan of low-carb diets, mostly because I fucking love carbs. I mean, what is better than bread? Probably a lot of things, but as far as food goes, it ranks real high for me. I accept that crappy carbs – overly-processed white breads, cupcakes, cakes, anything made with sugar – are bad for me and that I should stay far, far away from them. But I have believed that good carbs – whole-grain, sprouted breads, corn tortillas, brown rice – were good for me and appropriate to eat.
My trainer has been working to get me to moderate and even severely limit my intake of these good carbs for a long time. She doesn’t want me eating any at night, ever. And I was so angry about it initially; I felt like, of all the things I don’t eat, what was so wrong with a half cup of g-d brown rice at dinner. But eventually I started following the no carbs at night rule, unevenly at times, but understanding it was the goal. Then my trainer brought in carb cycling – which meant days with no carbs, and I thought, “Oh HELL no. This is not some Atkins diet bullshit. There is nothing wrong with an effing corn tortilla now and then.”
Because I am a fan of the “all things in moderation” school of eating, as long as “all things” are only all-natural, unprocessed foods that rely heavily on lean protein and vegetables. But I felt like some carbs were still okay. And then I started reading this book:
A lot of me does not want to believe what this book is saying, which is, essentially, that carbohydrates, in all their forms (that includes fruits and starchy vegetables, kids!), are what cause weight gain, and if one wants to successfully lose weight, that person has to severely restrict carbs. I would have tossed this book aside already as another b.s. fad diet except… there’s a lot of compelling evidence. A lot of research, a lot of history, and a lot of science (which I’ve had to read slowly to understand). And it’s convincing me.
So I’m working on it. I am truly striving to do what my trainer has asked of me for so many months: severely limit my traditional carbohydrate intake to one – or no – servings a day. It’s hard, but I’m willing to see if it works. Because as much as I love bread, it is not, in fact, the best thing ever. For me, it’s close. But my good health and being a healthy weight do mean more to me. So that’s what I’m focusing on.
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