For months, I've been working to perfect my low-carb blueberry pancake recipe. I'm finally there. What makes these the perfect pancakes? Well, they're easy to make -- just five ingredients. And they're high in fat, low in net carbohydrates, and the recipe makes just enough for one person to eat on a weekend morning when he or she is hungry for a treat. Oh, and the blueberries add a lot to the experience! I suppose a person could share the pancakes with another person if that other person would get out of bed at a reasonable time of the morning. But she never does, unless we are traveling, in which case I would not be cooking breakfast, nor eating pancakes because I have yet to discover a restaurant that makes low-carb pancakes. Of course, if I were to share the pancakes with another … [Read more ...]
Low-carb snacks to keep the munchies at bay
Yes, there are great low-carb snacks -- quite a few of them, in fact -- but standard munchables such as potato chips and corn chips aren't among them. No, neither are little powdered donuts. Admittedly, anyone trying to lose weight, via a low-carb diet or otherwise, ought to avoid snacking as much as possible. The whole idea is to encourage your body to burn its fat, and constantly eating is poor strategy in that regard. However, if you're like me (that is, human), you like to eat and eat often. In my first year of eating a low-carb, high-fat diet, I snacked my way to a 50+ pound weight … [Read more ...]
Control what you can
Weight control vs. diet control No one has direct control over their body weight, percentage of body fat, or waist circumference. Indirect control, maybe, but not direct control. For example, you can't tell your body "lose five pounds" and expect it to obey. You can't wake up and decide your waist-size for the day will be 36 inches. Sure, you could decide to pull out size-36 pants, and try to squeeze into them, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to. … [Read more ...]
A real person eating (mostly) real food
One day, in a fit of flexibility, I changed the tag-line of my blog from whatever it used to be to "a real person eating (mostly) real food." I feel I ought to explain -- to define my terms, or at least try to. First, what do I mean by a "real person"? I mean me, of course, good ol' Jim Anderson -- as ordinary a guy as you will ever meet, with an ordinary name, the son of a factory-working man and a home-making woman. A guy born in a city whose name denotes a hard, sharp, slivered rock -- the ideal material for sparking fires or shaping arrow-heads. I don't think any of that makes me … [Read more ...]
Low carb lunch: a lettuce-wrapped burger
I tried a lettuce-wrapped burger for lunch today. Nothing fancy -- just a pan-broiled patty of ground chuck with mustard and pickle enclosed in large leaves of ice-berg. Who needs bread or buns? Well, a lot of people think they do. I used to be one of them. Before I reduced my carb-intake, I ate bread nearly every day, and often twice a day. The main purpose of bread in my life was to make sandwiches. Yes, I occasionally toasted a slice or two for breakfast, usually coating it with jam but not that demon butter, and every few weeks I might dip a few slices in egg to make French Toast. … [Read more ...]
What’s a reasonable weight loss rate?
Week One Report I ended the first week of my Keto Diet Reboot down three pounds. On Monday, September 25, I weighed in at 227.5 pounds. On Sunday, October 1, I weighed 224.6 pounds. So, to be precise, I lost 2.9 pounds. But hold on -- Monday morning to Sunday morning isn't quite a week. It's 144 hours. There are 168 hours in a week. One more full day. … [Read more ...]
Net carbs vs. total carbs (LCN 66)
Total Carbs - Fiber = Net Carbs Low Carb Nugget 66 Math to the rescue? Net carbs are the difference between total carbs in a food and the fiber. The idea is that fiber doesn't do much if anything to raise your blood glucose, so you can safely ignore it. Keep your net carbs low, and you'll keep your blood glucose and insulin response low. Then your body can burn fat. But can you trust net carbs as a guide for eating? … [Read more ...]
Low-carb omnivores of the world, unite!
Over the months that I've been eating a low-carb diet, my views on what that diet is have evolved considerably. First, at the start, I thought my goal was simply to lose weight, and that any improvements in my health would be the result of eliminating the beach ball of blubber that was my middle. Second, I thought that eating a low-carbohydrate diet meant eating lots of meat relative to other kinds of foods. In other words, being more carnivore than omnivore. Now I see better health as my ultimate goal, and weight-loss (especially the loss of stubborn belly-fat) as one means to that end, and … [Read more ...]
Another look at protein (LCN 61)
Reconsidering my protein target Low Carb Nugget 61 Dietary protein intake is an important number to get right. If you eat too little protein over a long stretch, your body will suffer. If you eat too much protein, you could be at greater risk for kidney problems, and your blood glucose may rise, requiring a release of insulin. Exactly how much protein you should eat depends on several factors. Your size and activity level are two. Show Links "How Much Protein Should You Eat Per Day?" Kris Gunnars. HealthLine. June 8, 2017. "Keto targets for fat, protein & carbs (LCN 60)." The Art … [Read more ...]
Keto reboot at four weeks
I started my Keto Diet Reboot four weeks ago today. I'm five and a half pound lighter now than I was then. That's a slow rate of weight loss, just under a pound and a half per week. However, I had a lost weekend in the middle of the four weeks. It was a nice lost weekend spent with Anita at a romantic bed and breakfast, and I did my best to stay the low-carb, high-fat course. I thought I did a good job, but when we got home, I found I'd gained back over two pounds. (See this earlier post.) … [Read more ...]
A basic LCHF breakfast: dairy, berries, and nuts
I don't eat a lot of dairy on my low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet, but when I do, it usually takes one of three forms: heavy cream in my coffee, shredded cheese in a recipe or on a salad, or yogurt. Of those forms, cream is the only dairy I ingest on an every day basis. I love freshly brewed coffee with a dollop of rich, organic heavy cream mixed in. (Heavy cream gets almost all of its calories from fat.) As you may have guessed, I'm not lactose-intolerant, and I'm also not a follower of the paleo diet. I would still drink milk if lactose wasn't sugar. But it is sugar, and while I might … [Read more ...]