Regaining My Youth

I'm 25 years young.  I should feel young.  Do I?  Not even close.

When I tell people my age, more often than not, they believe that I'm younger - as in "high school" young!  Flattering, especially since I feel that my personality resembles someone who has just graduated high school or something.  I feel spunky, fun, happy, playful, and I like the younger-aged trends with fashion. However, when it comes to how my body looks in front of a mirror behind closed doors, I look like a 50-60 year old woman in my eyes.  My stomach is horribly stretched out from pregnancy, and it even has extra skin that just piles up as I lose weight.  As of right now, since I am heavier, my skin and fat kind of hangs down, creating this disgusting flap of grossness.  My belly button - what belly button?   It doesn't even resemble a naval in any way!  My "chest"... those have NO indication of being a woman in her mid 20's.   Varicose veins?  I've got them!  Smiles lines?  They're forming!  I even feel like my eyes don't look as wide-open as before! I will make it my mission to try to correct as many of those things as possible before I'm to the age where it doesn't matter.  My first mission is to get to a "normal" weight (even if it's not my personal goal) and FINALLY get an Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck).  This will remove the extra, hanging skin that is on my stomach, and it will also repair the abdominal muscles that are torn from pregnancy.  I'm nervous, but extremely excited to be able to do this during 2012.

Today was a small step in the right direction for me.  I stayed on track with my eating, but I also got a pedicure and manicure for the first time in at least a year.   That, alone, has made me feel a lot better about what my age REALLY is.

French manicure (yes, I was at a Mexican Restaurant)

My Flinstone Feet freshly pedicured!

I finally called to get my appointment to receive a Paragard IUD.  I'm scheduled for it to be done February 2nd.  In order to start Accutane, I must have 2 forms of birth control - one of which must be a "REAL" form like hormonal birth control, IUD, or hysterectomy.  I had started a form of hormonal birth control that made me sick, so I discontinued use of it.  Then, my "well women's exam" had expired (need it done yearly), so I had to schedule an appointment for that.  Afterwards, I had to wait 30 days for the results before I was allowed to schedule an appointment for the actual IUD procedure.  All of this has slowed the process of receiving Accutane.  I'm hoping that my body is ok with both the IUD and the Accutane.  My acne is so embarrassing that I can't stand it any longer. Today, while getting my nails done, the nail tech was commenting on my acne and asked what I've tried and blah blah blah.  She even once said, "My friend took Accutane and her skin was EVEN WORSE than YOURS!".  She seemed harmless and didn't have ill-intentions, but it was incredibly horrifying to me.   I just want to have normal skin - I'm in even in the search for GREAT skin.  Just regular skin that gets the occasional breakouts. 

This leads me to my next topic of discussion: Tanning.  I feel like almost everyone looks better with a tan.  I also don't remember having as many skin problems when I tanned regularly!  However, which is the lesser of the two evils?  Having acne and being pale, or being tan, partially clear, and risking the youth/health of my skin and possibly putting myself at risk for cancer?  Although tempting, I've decided not to start "fake baking".  Instead, I will probably find a self-tanner that doesn't aggravate my acne (even though EVERYTHING seems to) and go that route.  Even if it breaks me out, at least it'll be the same color as the rest of my skin instead of bright red! hahaha.  Maybe the nice color of a tan-in-a-bottle will offset how noticeable my acne is.  Who knows!

As far as my dieting goes, I'm still completely on track.  I've been using my Ketone Strips several times per day to see if any particular foods knock me out of Ketosis, and so far, that hasn't happened!   Sunday marks my 2 week point of dieting, and I had set a "First 2-week Atkins Induction Goal" that was pretty aggressive: 10 pounds.  Yes, it's a lot to lose in 14 days, but I think it might be possible, especially since I am at the highest starting weight I've ever been.  I suppose I will soon find out!

Youthful Appearance and Self-Confidence,
Ashley

Restaurants

When switching to a low-carb diet, it's often confusing for people to know what they can and can't eat at a restaurant.  Almost ALWAYS, there will be a good, low-carb, filling meal to choose from (except for a chinese buffet - there was NOTHING but salad).  It can be really hard to retrain yourself from looking up low-calorie options to looking up, or just figuring out, low-carb choices.  Thankfully, I generally know what I'm looking for since I'm not new to Atkins.

There are 3 places that I adore when I low-carb.  One of those places is a mexican restaurant.  I'm surprised when I hear fellow LCers complaining that they don't want to order the taco salad b/c they can't resist the deep fried tortilla bowl.  I am not sure why they never thought to eat fajitas!  My "staple" food is chicken or steak fajitas without the rice, refried beans, and tortillas.  I just eat them with a fork! I add lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.  If I can figure out just exactly what the DELICIOUS white queso dip has in it, I could probably add that, too!  It's cheese, so I'm guessing it should be relatively safe.

Another type of restaurant that I thoroughly enjoy is just a good ole' fashioned steakhouse!  I loooove steak.  It's the perfect craving-killing food.  I guarantee, if you're craving anything at all and you eat a nicely seasoned, juicy steak, your cravings will be gone.  Your brain will tell your body that you're very satisfied from the salt, fat, and protein.   I generally order any kind of steak that doesn't have glaze (glaze almost always = sugar).  If it has bacon and cheese on it, even better!  Order with a nice, green side like fresh green beans, or (at Outback) "loaded" broccoli (think bacon and cheese!), and you're good to go!

Lastly, my faaaavorite fast-food chain to visit while low carbing is Jimmy John's subs!  Their subs are great, but when you're on Atkins, this place is fabulous.  They have what's called the "unwich".  It's all the deliciousness of their sub, minus the bun! Instead, it's wrapped in a big lettuce leaf and it's PERFECT.

Jimmy John's GREAT advice for eating an Unwich.

My favorite unwich is the #9 Italian Night Club!  It has all sorts of delicious things in it: Genoa salami, capicola, ham, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onions, mayo & vinaigrette.  5g of net carbs!  Yes, it's fabulousss.  Granted, it has 600+ calories, 50+ grams of fat, and 1,500+ mg of sodium.  This isn't something that I would eat every day, but 1 or 2 a month is just fine by me.

I am very full and satisfied right now.  I think I'll make a nice cup of chai tea to relax in front of the TV and call it a night.

Unwiches and Happiness,
Ashley

Our Physiology and Atkins Explained!

I began this entire blog on January 1st, 2012; however, I only put a half-hearted effort into creating posts to track my journey.  Because of this, I'm having this blog post be my "catch up" post to explain the past 10 days of my journey thus far.

As of January 1st, I have embarked on a low-carbohydrate lifestyle in an effort to lose weight and get healthy.  Generally, I am following the Atkins guidelines for a low carb diet.  Atkins is similar to other low-carb diets, such as the South Beach Diet - both diets have an initial 2-week beginning phase that is most restrictive, both discourage refined sugars are carbohydrates, both control intake of high-glycemic foods that spike and drop insulin/glucose levels in the body (which controls cravings, fatigue, etc.).  There ARE differences between the two . From what I understand, South Beach is a little bit more liberal in the foods that you can eat, but fat content is more controlled.  I disagree with consuming small amounts of fat while low-carbing for a few reasons.  Ready for a lesson in Anatomy and Physiology and Health Terminology?

Since our wonderful primal, stone-age days, humans have instinctively craved 3 types of food: Foods that are salty, sweet, and fatty.  Unfortunately, fat has been given a bed reputation by many people, including those at the USDA who are responsibly for creating the "food pyramid" that lays out specific guidelines of daily food intake.  It has been pounded into our brains that fat is the enemy because a board of a handful of people decided so - and not all were in agreement.  Thus, it is hard for many to retrain their brains to get over the "fat is bad, grains/carbs are fine!"  This is simply NOT true!

While roaming around relentlessly hunting for food during the stone-age, how many of them do you think stumbled across corn, grains, and sugar cane?  None!  What they DID consume on a regular basis was fats... saturated fats, even!  These fats come from animals and were the main source of nutrition for these individuals.  Fats create a sense of satiety in the brain.  What does this do?  It makes us feel satisfied and helps control our brain from telling us that we're hungry when we aren't.   Most fats, especially those coming from animal proteins, also have an adequate amount of sodium, which is also essential in regular amounts that are NOT added by our salt shakers!  Because of this, our ancestors were able to satisfy 2 out of our 3 naturally acquired taste "bud" senses - fatty and salty!

Lastly, our cravings for "sweet" things did NOT come in the form of a candy bar, cake, soda, or any other man-made food.  Anything sweet would come from fruit, and usually fruits that were low in sugar.  Berries are naturally the lowest in sugars and in glycemic index.  These were the fruits primarily found "back in the day".  Why is sugar the enemy?  When we consume sugars, this raises our insulin/glucose levels in the blood.  This is where the glycemic index comes into play.  Low glycemic foods, such as berries, offer that sweet taste while not spiking our insulin levels through the roof.  This leads to a sense of homeostasis in the body - your cravings are kept in control, you don't feel as hungry, you don't experience the sugar high that results in an extreme sense of tiresome exhaustion afterwards, etc.  Refined sugars always spike your "sugar level" very high (high glycemic index), so you end up feeling as though you have to pump your body full of them to sustain normalcy.

What does any of this have to do with carbohydrates?   Almost always, for every gram of sugar in a food, there is also a gram of carbohydrate.  By regulating the amount of carbs you consume, you also regulate the amount of sugar, especially refined, that you consume (and vice versa).  This eliminates all of those nasty effects of the carb/sugar roller coaster ride. 

So how does a low-carb diet, mainly Atkins, work?

First, I should explain that not all low-carb diets are the same.   Each one has different guidelines to follow.  In saying that, Atkins rules are relatively simple.   During the 2 week initial "induction" phase, you have a very strict diet.  Fats are allowed to be eaten liberally (albeit sensibly, of course).  All you need to count is carbohydrates, fiber, and (after induction) sugar alcohols.   For the first 2 weeks, you are limited to 20g of NATURAL, LOW-STARCH/SUGAR vegetable carbs, along with up to 3 oz. of cheese.  You are also allowed to have a few extra things included, such as heavy whipping cream in place of milk (0-1g carbs).  This phase is to eliminate bad eating behavior that we have had for so long.  We are retraining the way our body works.  When you have a low intake of carbs/sugars, your body produces ketones.  Ketones are what make your body burn FAT and calories for fuel instead of CARBS and calories for fuel.  This is where the weight loss comes in!  You simply retrain your body to work the way our bodies used to work in the Flintstone Era.

It's not all fun and games in the beginning.  I experience severe symptoms of what has been named the "induction flu".  While your body adapts to your new way of eating, it almost detoxes and gives you side effects as a result.  Headache, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, and headaches are the symptoms I have in the first 3-5 days of low-carbing as my body adjusts.  After that initial span of time, your body will burn through the store glycogen (sugar stores) in your body and you will enter ketosis (producing ketones).  That's when weight loss results.  As you progress past you initial 2 week induction phase, you add 5g of carbs per week of particular foods until find the amount in which weight loss slows.

A handy little tool to measure ketones (if you're in Ketosis) are little ketone strips!  Basically, you pee on the little square at the bottom like you would a pregnancy test (haha).  This tells you if there are ketones in your urine.  If there are, then that's GREAT! You're in ketosis and should be a fat burning machine.  If not, you need to pay close attention to what you may be doing wrong.  This is a great little tool that low-carbers are able to use without the scale being an indication of what's right or wrong.

A ketone strip that I took this afternoon - measuring large amounts of ketones - YAY!

Whether or not your strips read a "trace" or "large" is irrelevant.  You're either in ketosis or you aren't (like a pregnancy test - you're either pregnant or not!)  However, I'll admit, seeing "large" amounts is kind of a feel-good moment for me.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty good!! My weight loss was rapid the first week, but I expect it to be much slower this week.  My cravings are extremely minimal, and I am able to fight them off with no problem.  Overall, I feel a sense of pride so far.  I have been close to goal before, and I need to get back there.  I need to surpass that.  NEED.

Ketone strips and primal eating,

Ashley