Ok. I’ve made the decision. I’m giving the low carb diet a go - and I mean a real go!

I’ve played around with a low carb diet in the past without any real results, but I have to come clean and confess that I’ve realised that I’ve never actually done it properly….

Why not? Was it the thought of giving up junk food? Or sugar? Or grains?

No…. I say, looking at the floor, foot moving, squirming…

None of those foods are an issue because I just don’t include them in my diet these days and haven’t done for most of the last few years.

So you’re asking yourself at this point what’s my problem huh?

Well…. It sounds kind of silly, but…

Fruit!

My problem is fruit.

There you go. I’m coming clean…

I have to confess that I’m a big fruit eater. I mean I’m kind of a pig when it comes to fruit and I guess I always have been!

It’s my ‘sweet thang…’

I looooove fruit and I’ve had a feeling for quite some time that it’s possibly (probably) the thing that keeps my weight on.

Nooooooo……. Ok. I think I’m an addict….

Hell. They used to call me ‘fruit bat’ at work! Do you get the picture now?… 😉

Carbohydrate sensitivity

So, I know I have a problem with sugar and carbs. Just looking at them adds inches to my middle. But fruit? Well that’s supposed to be healthy, right?

I’ve gone over and over this in my mind, reasoning with myself and just not wanting to give up my habit.

I’ve already given up so much! Fruit as well? You’ve got to be kidding me….

Fruit is supposed to be healthy right?

Well, maybe not for all of us.

Apparently some of us are more carbohydrate sensitive than others (this documentary on eating low carb is very enlightening).

Sad but true…

…and if we have excess body fat, then the fact is that our body isn’t metabolising carbohydrates well, our cells are probably resistant to insulin and our leptin sensitivity isn’t what it should be.

Excess bodyfat means your metabolism is broken

My metabolism is broken! and it’s quite obviously been broken for most of my life.

Can a low carb diet fix it? I don’t know but I’m about to find out.

Why a low carb diet?

Well that’s a loooooong story, but basically I’ve tried everything over the last twenty plus years (or everything that entails eating REAL food), to not only improve my health, but to try to manage my weight. (I say REAL food because I’m NOT a fan of diet supplements, shakes and pills and if you want to know why, just read the ingredients on them!).

I’ve eaten the standard Australian diet or SAD diet (because that’s where I started) and that really didn’t work for me! Since giving the SAD diet up I’ve gradually made changes and I spent over a decade as a vegetarian, I was vegan for a couple of those years and I’ve also spent time as a committed raw foodie and fruitarian.

I’ve also fasted, juiced and juice feasted for 78 days straight. I’ve eaten high protein, all protein, counted calories, eaten six times a day, cycled calories, cycled macronutrients, I’ve eaten Paleo & Autoimmune Paleo, I’ve done GAPS , I’ve given up breakfast, tried intermittent fasting and I’ve tried eating breakfast within 30 minutes of getting up every morning. I’ve also been totally gluten free for over three years and I’m sure that there’s probably more that I can’t even think of right now!

And while some of those changes have seen improvements in my overall health, when it comes to my weight, I have failed and failed, and failed again.

It has seemed to me that no matter what I have done in the past, how much I’ve exercised (that was another addiction for many years) or how clean my diet, my weight still stays and if it goes at all, it doesn’t go for long.

A lifetime commitment to low carb?

When it comes to weightloss, I know of course, that it can’t be a ‘diet’ as in something temporary. We really should all know that by now! Sustainable weightloss has to be achieved using a method that can be sustained for life.

And that’s where the low carb diet comes in. It can be maintained for life!

Now that I’ve finally come to terms with the possibility that I might have to leave all that delicious sweet fruit behind me forever, I know that if this works for me, I can stick with it for life.

So I’m embarking on this diet with both optimism and enthusiasm because I have a feeling that it might be my answer (my fingers and toes are crossed) even though at the same time, I have to confess that I’m a little worried, because it feels like if this doesn’t work then there’s nothing left for me to try and I’ll have to just learn to be happy the way I am, which by the way, I’ve actually tried and not been successful because I don’t like giving up…

And here I am.

It’s day one of my low carb diet and I’m feeling optimistic and also feeling so very thankful that Gin and mineral water don’t contain carbs.

Eat real & Eat clean.

P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter (top of page) and join me on Facebook. I’ll be posting about my results and, obviously, hunting down all sorts of low carb recipes!