Last week I went and saw an old friend, Chris. I haven’t seen him in about a year. I posted something on my FB about getting a cortisone shot in the shoulder and was asking if anyone had it done and he asked about it. Chris studied Kinesiology, and takes a natural approach to things, like I do.
I do not want to get a cortisone shot, and he told me he would show me some exercises to do, since my workman’s comp will not approve any more PT. I was nervous to see Chris. Since he does personal training he is fit. Not ridiculously yoked or anything, but in shape. When we hung out a lot I weighed a lot less. I feel more athletic now, but I am heavier.
I felt awkward for about a minute, but we fell into casual conversation as he showed me a few things and then we started talking about old friends and life in general. Eventually nutrition came up and he asked if I was still vegetarian and I said no. Then he told me about Gary Taubes.
Taubes wrote “Good Calories, Bad Calories” and “Why We Get Fat”. Taubes is not a doctor, but a science journalist. I listened to one of his lecture at UC Berkley on YouTube. I haven’t read his books yet, but I have them on my Kindle.
From his lecture, it seems like he is a supporter of the Atkins low carbohydrate eating style. Especially for people that need to lose a lot of weight.
Carbohydrates are converted into glucose, which is used for rapid energy in the body and fuel for your brain. Excessive glucose gets converted into fat. With a drop in carbohydrates, Atkins recommends 15-17 grams in the “Introduction Phase” your body will need to convert those fat stores for energy. This is where the weight loss comes in.
When I was a vegetarian, I did eat a lot of veggies, but also a lot of carbs. Then I thought about it more, I have been working out pretty intensely since the last week of November. I haven’t lost any weight. It makes me angry. I wobble into work because my workouts make my body so sore.
So why not? Today I have been counting carbohydrates. It sucks. If it was as easy as no bread, grains, flour, what-not, it would be simple, but I have to count my veggie carbs too?!? Lame.
Also all the cream in recipes? That’s too much. I don’t care much for cream, and I don’t think I need to mix vegetables with cream or cheese all the time. Gross. I actually like the taste of vegetables.
The only thing that will be hard is no sweets. I have been searching online for recipes and everything has artificial sweetener in it. I do not eat artificial anything. I decided to get a couple organic extra dark chocolate bars, I will deal with some extra carbs as an exchange for it being natural and not made in a lab.
I think this will be and interesting mix up. I do not eat a lot of meat and I am not going to go out of my way to eat a whole bunch of meat either. I’ll eat a whole bunch of eggs though. I love eggs.
