Life After Carbs

A real person eating (mostly) real food

My low-carb week in review: March 8-14, 2015

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The table here shows my average daily intake of fat, carbs, and protein for the week of March 8 to March 14, 2015. This was the first full week of my low-carb reboot. Not that I ever stopped eating a reduced carbohydrate diet in general, but I 'd gotten a bit lax and allowed some "carb creep."  I was probably eating excessive protein, too.  As a result, my weight loss that began in 2011 had stopped and then reversed itself. I'd gone from a low of 207 pounds in early 2012 back up to 232 pounds. … [Read more...]

Lunch today: low-carb, yes, but is it high-fat?

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For lunch today, I made salmon patties, which I ate with some canned spinach, butter, and a few olives. (Yes, canned spinach. I like fresh and frozen spinach, too, but canned spinach is what I ate as a kid -- what Popeye the Sailor ate to get strong -- so I have a soft spot for it. I like it, especially with melting butter on top.) The salmon patties were an experiment. I added a tablespoon of chia seeds to my usual recipe. I wanted to test the chia as a binding agent. It didn't work all that … [Read more...]

A new season, same old me

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I'm a faithless blogger, perhaps, but a faithful low-carb eater. The lack of entries here has nothing to do with any back-sliding or change of approach in my way of eating. I continue to avoid starches and most grains in my diet, and the pounds have stayed off. Winter, spring, summer, fall -- the seasons roll by and I keep to the low-carb course. It's just how I am now.  I don't think about it much, which is probably why I don't write about it much. Then, I will encounter someone at work who … [Read more...]

Home coming

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I haven't been here for a while.  The place has a musty smell to it, and could use some airing out. It's been 14 months since I started eating low-carb.  I'm still at it.  The 50+ pounds that I lost last year have remained lost.  My waist-line remains around 38 inches, the smallest circumference it has had in 25 years. The other day I tried on a pair of blue jeans that 14 months ago would barely close around my middle.  Now, they fall off without a belt to cinch them up. So, my low-carb way … [Read more...]

Progress Report for 2-4-2012

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Let me say up front that I am not dead.  Nor have I fallen off the wagon and gained 40 pounds.  In fact, I am continuing to lose weight -- if slowly and without thinking about it much. This morning, eleven months into my low-carb way of eating, I tipped the scales at a new low of 207.6 pounds.  That makes a total weight loss of more than 52 pounds. To celebrate, I mashed up half an avocado to mix into my scrambled eggs. OK, it wasn't really to celebrate.  I'd eaten the other half yesterday, … [Read more...]

Year-end Progress Report: 2011

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Yes, I'm still here!  While my blogging has been sporadic in the last couple months, I've stayed on the low-carb wagon and maintained my weight. In fact, in December, I actually lost a bit.  At the beginning of the month, I weighed 211.6 pounds; today, I weighed in at 209.8, nearly two pounds lighter. However, I weighed the same back in early November as I do today, so I am basically in a stall.  Or I would be if I were trying to lose more weight. I haven't been trying, though.  I am content … [Read more...]

Navigating the extended holiday season

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I was in neutral in November, both in terms of my weight loss and blogging. Will December be better? This will be my first holiday season following a low-carb diet. Or any diet other than "eat, drink and be merry!" Most people expect to pack on a few pounds over the holidays. I made it past Thanksgiving without gaining weight, but Thanksgiving is a single day. You need to watch it for one meal, ducking the bread stuffing and avoiding multiple slices of pie. I did eat a sliver of my mother's … [Read more...]

A windy, low-carb weekend in Chicago

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This past weekend Anita and I traveled to Chicago by train. I was attending a professional conference, and she came along for the ride. The train is our favorite way to get to the City of Broad Shoulders. It picks us up at a small town in mid-Michigan -- a major hub in the old days but now just a place that the train stops at twice a day, going west in the morning and east at night. A few hours after we get on board, the train deposits us at Union Station, a short cab-ride from the Loop. … [Read more...]

Sunday short-takes

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This week I donated my fat-pants and started taking my vitamins again. Closet Cleaned When I started out eating low-carb eight months ago, I was just trying to lose weight. I was focused on pounds, not inches, and I didn't have a specific goal for my waist-line circumference. Gradually, I settled on reducing my waist-line to under 40 inches as a worthwhile and realistic goal.  I have now achieved that goal. Today I pulled a dozen pairs of pants out of my closet, all too big for me to wear. … [Read more...]

My November plan: write a novel, blog a bit

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Somewhat improbably, I've decided to devote a big chunk of my leisure time this month to writing a mystery. Yes, I am participating in the mass writing event known as National Novel Writing Month -- NaNoWriMo for short. And yes, "leisure time" also happens to be the time I use to update this blog. This is the second time I've participated. Back in 2007, I did it along with several university colleagues, and managed to write the required 50,000 words plus of original fiction in 30 days. That's … [Read more...]