Low carb diets like the Atkins diet, came at the top of the list of an MNT Knowledge Center article in 2017, as the most popular diet. Many celebrities, such as Megan Fox, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, and Jennifer Aniston are listed as followers of some sort of low carb diet on the website, Sarah Scoops. Once I researched the principles of a low carb diet, I came to the conclusion that it was exactly the kind of a diet I needed to be on, to lose the weight I had piled on in recent years.

Understanding the low carb diet

I started by researching everything I could about what a low carb diet does to your body.

I understood the process of Ketosis, the need to eliminate sugar from your diet, the need for healthy fats in your diet, and how the body switches to fat burning mode when it's deprived of carbohydrates. Once I understood the concept, I started the very next day.

  • First, I emptied my cupboards of high carb products such as pasta, rice, biscuits, baked goods, sugar etc.
  • Next, I went grocery shopping and stocked up on low carb veggies such as mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, cauliflower - non-starchy vegetables.
  • I ordered products from the Internet such as erythritol - which is a natural zero calorie (and zero carb) sweetener that isn't as controversial as aspartame.
  • Then I started my low carb journey.

The first step was to limit my carb intake to no more than 20 carbs a day.

I used a notebook to write down the carb amount in everything I was making and eating. It helped me tremendously in keeping on track and not exceeding my 20 carb limit.

A lot of food was off limits at this first stage.

No fruit.

No milk.

No starchy vegetables.

I made sure I was eating plenty of fresh root vegetables with my grilled meat dishes.

By using sites such as Pinterest, I found new and exciting low carb dishes.

I stayed on 20 carbs for four months before slowly reintroducing other foods. The first thing I introduced was nuts and berries. I used almond flour/almond meal to create an array of low carb substitutes for bread, pizza, bagels, cakes, and desserts.

I made blueberry and strawberry smoothies with almond milk. It felt less like a diet and more like a lifestyle change at this point. I continued eating like this, introducing a new food item, previously banned from my diet, while slowly increasing the carb amount in five grams increments every month.

One year later

I had started this diet - this lifestyle change - one week before Christmas in 2016. I stepped on the scales One Year later, to the exact date, and found myself 70 pounds lighter. In 12 months, I have shed 70 pounds (five Stones) and dropped four dress sizes. I have more energy than before, thanks to my daily helping of fresh vegetables and fruit. I am still increasing my carbs every month and so far, I am still losing weight, albeit at a slower pace now.

Once I hit my carbohydrate limit, that will be the number of carbs I can eat in a day and not put on any weight.

Whether that number is five grams from where I am now or another 50 grams, I don't really care. I have reintroduced mostly everything that had been banned from the first stage; starchy vegetables like potatoes and carrots, milk, yogurt, and other fruits. The exception is bread. That is the last thing I will reintroduce. But by cutting out the carbs, I'm feeling less bloated, lethargic, and sluggish, so I don't mind missing out on the bread, if I'm honest.

I have helped a number of others start a low carb diet, and they all have lost weight successfully. That is the reason for this article today, to share my story and my success, so others can do the same.
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