How I gave up my low-fat diet and lost 40 pounds-- and how you can too!: the ultimate guide to low-carbohydrate dieting

311 Pages·2003·1.401 MB·English

by  Carpender, Dana

How I
Gave Up My
Low-Fat Diet
Lost
and
40 Pounds …
how
and
you can too!
How I
Gave Up My
Low-Fat Diet
Lost
and
40 Pounds …
how
and
you can too!
The Ultimate Guide to Low-Carbohydrate Dieting
Dana Carpender

^
To Gayelord Hauser, who started it all
8
Contents
Foreword 11
Introduction 15
CHAPTERONE: Here’s What Happened to Me 19
CHAPTERTWO: So What Do You Eat? 27
CHAPTERTHREE: Yikes! Sounds High Calorie! 31
CHAPTERFOUR: But Aren’t Carbs Essential? 37
CHAPTERFIVE: Okay, Explain How This Works 41
CHAPTERSIX: Insulin Doesn’t Just Make You Fat and Tired 49
CHAPTERSEVEN: So How Do I Do This Diet? 73
CHAPTEREIGHT: Protein Is Key 89
CHAPTERNINE: The Basic Low-Carbohydrate Diet 95
CHAPTERTEN: Variants of the Basic Low-Carbohydrate Diet 119
CHAPTERELEVEN: The GO-Diet 127
CHAPTERTWELVE: The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet 135
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN: The Zone—Hormonal Magic? 147
9
10
CHAPTERFOURTEEN: The Careful Carb Diet 157
CHAPTERFIFTEEN: The Low-Carb Liquid Semi-Fast 173
CHAPTERSIXTEEN: Low Carb for Vegetarians 181
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN: Wrapping It Up 191
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN: The Indulgence 199
CHAPTERNINETEEN: Nutritional Supplements 207
CHAPTERTWENTY: Low-Carb Specialty Products 217
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE: Plateaus 233
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO: Enhancing Success 247
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE: Exercise 259
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR: A Word to the Wise 283
APPENDIXI: Internet Resources 289
APPENDIXII: Low-Carbohydrate Cookbooks 293
Bibliography 295
-
Foreword
I don’t think there’s any such thing as a coincidence. It’s my
belief that we get what we need when we need it and sometimes
we just get what we deserve. I must have done something right
because Dana Carpender came into my life and nothing has been
the same since.
I must admit, I don’t like to diet, especially if I have to meas-
ure, starve, eat things I don’t like, or exercise. (I always say
“Every time I feel like exercising, I lay down until the urge pass-
es.”) This has been the first diet I have actually enjoyed. I did-
n’t—and still don’t—measure, starve, eat things I don’t like, or,
most importantly to me, exercise. One more point before I tell
what happened to me: It doesn’t feel like dieting because after all
those years of living on that dangerous low-fat “safe” diet, I
always feel like I’m cheating, not dieting!
It was Guiding Light that did it, that infamous afternoon
soap opera. I met Dana on a discussion list for Guiding Lighton
the Internet. We were all arguing about foods that are good and
bad for us, meat in particular. I was saying how I tried to never
eat meat because it was so dangerous healthwise, and everyone
agreed except this maverick named Dana. This crazy woman
was trying to convince me to eat not only meat, but lots of eggs!
I have serious kidney disease. No protein allowed! Imagine
my outrage after eight years of starving and suffering on a low-
fat diet. I had worked all those years on a low-fat diet to get my
11
12
cholesterol down to 413 (from 990), my triglycerides to almost
1300 (from almost 1500), my blood pressure to 140/110, my
creatinine (kidney function, normal at about 1) to 5, my blood
urea nitrogen to 81, and my HDL to 24. What a reward for eight
years of low-fat misery. I was a stroke waiting to happen until
Dana completely changed my life.
To prove her wrong (My mission in life: To prove any
woman wrong), I told her I would go on this silly diet and as
soon as I gained five pounds, I would be done with it. I needed
an excuse to eat all that wonderful, decadent stuff. Also, con-
sidering that my kidney disease causes outrageous cholesterol
and triglyceride readings for which, my doctor informed me,
there was nothing I could do—I was sure this craziness couldn’t
help. Dana gave me a long list of items to eat, and proper vita-
mins as well, carefully working around the limitations of my dis-
ease.
As you recall, I don’t measure what I eat, so I just ate from
the list she provided me. I did not ask my doctor about this diet,
which I know is a no-no, but he never would have condoned
such a thing. My hindsight and blood work tell me I made the
right decision. I started to eat all the things my doctor had told
me NOT to eat. I really wasn’t nervous because I was certain
I would gain the five pounds in a day or two, and the whole
fiasco would be over. NOT!
I lost a pound a day for twenty days. Dana labeled me “car-
bohydrate intolerant.” (I thought I was intolerant only of peo-
ple.) I had gotten down to 212 pounds from 250 on low fat over
the eight years, but I was stuck at that 212 and couldn’t shake it
no matter how many fruits and veggies I crammed down. I was
ecstatic about the weight loss, getting down to 192 on Dana’s
method. However, I was quite worried about my upcoming
blood work in a couple of days. Surely twenty days on a “fad
diet” like this—eating three eggs a day, lots of meat, veggies, and
piles of real butter and olive oil—couldn’t alter my blood work
that drastically, at least not for the better. NOT (again)!
Here are my results after this short period of time: My cho-
lesterol was down almost 100 points to 337; my triglycerides