I am looking at this poster thinking:
Am I a straight thinking person at all! Just getting onto my soapbox, giving a couple of “Hear Ye, Hear Ye’s” and a “Hey wanna join?”
You know, I think it is because I have a strong conviction. Because, like so many people who simply heard this penny drop… I heard it, I felt it, I saw it and it changed me on more levels than what can be measured on a scale!
It changed us all together!
Was it not for a sense of “togetherness” in our family it might have been hard for us as individuals to socially survive past the beginning of this LCHF lifestyle. We had very little info to go on. (It was long before real meal revolution) I figured things out as we went along… But as soon as we got to day 7, the results and renewed energy levels became the driving force. The fact that we could share with one another became our accountability and encouragement. I guess this is me and my family’s way of extending just that same togetherness to you and yours…
Want to take charge and join the journey with us?
Get Ready…
I am not going to get too technical here. I will create a with links to some professionals and answers that helped clarify things for us. So quickly look through these basics and allow yourself to make and absorb the mind shifts, ingredient list, meal plan and meal logic. You will be able to make up your own recipes if you use these guidelines, but I will also include some sample recipes on the “Take Charge” – recipe page.
Get Set…
Most people, and professionals’ response upon hearing that you are considering a LCHF lifestyle, will be to tell you the following:
“I don’t think it is ok to take an entire food group out of the food pyramid” Prepare yourself!
Apart from candy, which is NOT a food group! ( Sorry…) We are only really swopping refined carbs (wheat, grains, pastas, sugar, potatoes, fruit juices) for low carbs (Above ground veggies NOT CORN THOUGH) nuts and seeds and low carb fruit. In fact, you get carbs through your dairy intake too!
We simply cut the ingredients that causes or triggers numerous major health risks anyway. I’m talking about Diabetes, Heart disease, IBS, ADHD, Depression, Celiac disease, Auto immune disease, Alzheimers, Dementia & Cancer. (To name a few)
How can this be bad?
We eat most of the foods that promotes kidney health.
How can this be bad?
Ok, but the one you are going to have to explain most of all is…
What about your cholesterol levels?
I saw an elderly Lady last night, explaining to a friend at the dairy aisle, that she only uses low fat milk. It broke my heart! Knowing that she is trying to better her health by what has been propagated over the past almost 40 years. She is however depriving her body and BRAIN of the food it needs most to keep her independent for longer. I wanted to give her a basket filled with cream, butter, and coconut oil, “skaap choppies”, and fish!
40 Years of only hearing half truths has impacted us into a terrible health state. We simply hardly ever hear that people die from old age anymore… they die from inflammation driven diseases, cancers and UNhealthy hearts that feasted on low – fat only…
This is a must watch. It will answer many a inbox question I received.
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3876219.htm
Go!
So know you might feel ready to
…and see for yourself!
After a year on low carb… my hubby went for a check up to test blood sugar and cholesterol levels…
He started by telling our GP what he has been eating for the past year. He got the raised eyebrow off course.
Tests came back and the raised eyebrow turned into two raised eyebrows… (I still giggle)
Louis, had textbook perfect levels. Needless to say Doc was bumfuzzled and is now considering LCHF as an option.
Pointers for your journey:
1. Take a good multivitamin, a tablespoon of Coconut oil, and if you can handle it a bit of turmeric in water, each morning.
2. Make friends with healthy fats. You are going to have to embrace this to fuel your metabolism. You will also see from my meals and meal plans that you don’t eat chunks of it, but the bottomline is; fat = energy. Even if it is a teaspoon of olive oil or the yellow fat on the 5 carvings of biltong, that bit of fat will switch on your brain, curb cravings and supply energy. We don’t eat gobs of fat! We don’t eat gobs of protein either. Your body will (maybe for the first time ever tell you exactly what it needs) Just know, that this might take a few days to fully make the switch.
3. Picture yourself now going from being a car that was fueled by petrol, (Sugar and carbs) to a car that is now fueled by diesel (fats, low carbs, fibre & healthy protein intake) DO NOT MIX THESE SYSTEMS. This WILL result in massive weight gain.
4. Eat till you feel satisfied! Don’t go limiting yourself in the beginning. If your body suspects that you are trying to starve it, it might hold on to fat and not burn it. If you feel hungry, you might get tempted to grab some easy fast food consisting of carbs! Carry your biltong with you. Keep veggie sticks and boiled eggs or meatballs with you. Have nuts as a snack. But I would suggest in the beginning, rather snack on a drumstick or a piece of cheese. Snack on nuts maybe just a few times a week or save it all together for your little baking project. This way you eat a smaller portion too. Be aware of how far that piece of bacon and egg will fuel you, but grab the piece of salami and cucumber sticks when you feel the first hunger.
5. Start your day with a glass of water. Follow every cup of coffee with a glass of water. Drink water…please. Your first week is a detoxing week. Just be kind to your body. Drink WATER! Also make some Buchu tea, or Ginger tea, Vanilla Rooibos tea. Black tea, Green Tea… Make them and chill them! You can make lovely ice teas! My daughter makes a different combo – blend every day. Her favorite is the lemongrass – ginger – vanilla -pomegranate mix! No problem with creativity there! Try to drink cream in your coffee if you tend to drink more than 3 cups.
100 ml of milk =6 grams of carbs. 100ml cream= 3grams of carbs
6. Dance while you mop! Climb the stairs instead of the elevator, go power weeding! Be aware of the times you can get your heart rate up. If you can change your approach to getting the heart pumping in more creative ways, your body and soul will experience this as kindness! If you are an avid athlete…awesome! There are more ways than the treadmill at the gym. Mine is dancing to two funky eighties hits in a row. ALONE off course. Change your outlook from I must … to I want to be kind to myself.
7. You will not always have the same appetite. This is why you need to listen to your body. Some days I suddenly want to devour an entire 200g steak, but some days I just graze and snack a few times without eating a big conventional meal.
Food is fuel… not routine procedure.
8. Most of the carb count in a meal is the veggies and not the meat. Eat enough veggies. My recipes will give you an idea. This is a good source of fibre too.
9. Drink a glass of water with a teaspoon of psyllium husks twice a week or so. This cleanses and promotes a healthy digestive tract.
10. Watch out for boerewors or breakfast sausages. Read labels… they add lots of stabilizers and cereals to them. This can stall weight loss. Don’t eat fruit every day… see it as a treat. Use it in a smoothy or as a desert topping. Careful for double cream yoghurt. Unfortunately they add about 6 grams of stabilizers. Eat a bit every now and again, but be cautious.
11. Create awesome one pot wonders by using one of these 3 ingredients:
1 Tin Coconut cream (5 grams carbs per serving), yields 4
250 ml Cream (2 grams carbs per serving), yields 4
1 Tin Canned tomatoes (5grams carbs per serving.) yields 4
Add your choice of veggies, (5 grams carbs per serving) and your meat (0 grams of carbs.)
So this is a good 10 gram carb rule of thumb for a curry, italian tomato meat dish or a creamy bacon and cauliflower soup.
{ITALIAN MEATBALLS ON SHREDDED CABBAGE}
12. Every body loses fat at a different pace. Don’t get stuck on how much you lose, as long as you lose. We have found that sometimes the scale shows no results for a week or two, but our clothes are looser fitting. If you only have 4 kilo’s to lose, weight loss will not be as dramatic as the person needing to lose 20 Kilo’s. Your body knows where to stop losing all and all. Stress sometimes slows down weight loss…look at the bigger picture. You are a whole being. Just remember that a stall in weight loss can mean many things. Just keep doing what you are doing, up the fat and drop the carbs a bit and see if that does the trick.
13. Check Marinades and spices. Loads of sugar hide in them.
Now… please sign up! Your info will be anonymous. Unless you want to scream results from your rooftops off course!
I am so thrilled that we can take charge together!
Yours in low carb…
Inè
