Pesky-tarian? Thoughts on diet...

There have been many diets, many attempts to find the perfect combination in a diet (ideal weight management, energy, overall sustainability), and I am only one person definitely not claiming to know the solution. After 4HB (Four hour body, or the “slow carb” diet coined by Tim Ferriss), my body and my psyche rebelled. There was absolutely no sustainability there. I couldn’t even fathom another lentil or egg. My inclination was towards macrobiotic: simple, whole grain rice, umeboshi, seaweed and sesame. I healed my very sensitive stomach eating like this for about a week. Since then, I was charged to find a more manageable solution to lose the ten pounds I had gained while doing slow carb. My conclusion? As a small figured woman, you DO have to count calories. Ferriss really missed the mark on this. If I consume “as much pure protein and vegetables as I want,” I WILL gain weight. I don’t know why. Maybe I am like that little fat rat in the lab that had his hypothalamus all screwed up by the guys in lab coats. All I know is I need boundaries. I can eat 2500 calories in a day without batting an eye. I will then proceed to gain a pound a week, as my BMR only requires about 1200 calories.

My next attempt was calorie management. Simply calories in vs. calories out. I think it works pretty well for me. I had to really get myself more sensitized to being “just” sated, as opposed to eating until my brain registered “full” (which could happen a second serving of pasta later). I got one of those calorie tracker apps for my iphone and just started counting everything. It turned out, 1400 calories meant I was a little hungry all the time for the first week. Then my body got used to the restriction and I was actually pretty happy with consuming at this level. After about 4 weeks, I had lost 3 pounds and was able to lay off the counting. I was more able to sense what portions were the right amount of calories. The really MAJOR change that I made was to low-fat and reduced calorie foods. I have NEVER been a skim milk girl. In fact, I have been a very loud advocate of whole fat dairy products, assuming they are more close to the “natural” thing. But trying to keep to 1400 calories a day is really tough when you want quantity over quality. So I caved and got the “reduced calorie” Caesar dressing; the low-fat sour cream; the 5 calorie jello snacks. I even substituted turkey bacon and boneless, skinless (shock!) chicken breast. I have never done these things. My girlfriends, perpetually on diets, always seemed to go for these and I would just laugh and shake my head. After about 6 weeks, I did lose 5 pounds, without increasing my physical activity at all (I was walking about 5km a day, as I always have).

This diet was a temporary solution though. In my heart, I am an all-natural girl. I want real food that has as little negative impact on living beings and the environment as possible. Now, I still am not claiming I know what diet that would be, but I am currently avoiding meat and dairy, for the most part. I am still eating all things from the sea, and the occasional slice of cheese. I find that after eating, I am hungry sooner than when I was eating a lot of meat, but it’s cool. I actually have gotten more comfortable with being hungry and it is definitely preferable to being stuffed and uncomfortable.

We will see how this pans out. Morally and conscientiously, I feel better not eating meat. If I had the means to consume only happy, free-range, pastured, grass-fed animals, then yea, maybe. Right now, that is not reality and I would rather consume more vegetables, fruits, nuts and beans than lesser-quality animal products. What do you think? Which way of eating is the most appealing for you?