Living Low Carb (75 page)

Here are ten important ways in which you can make low-carbing work for you forever.

1.  
Eliminate trans-fats.
Because trans-fats are found in most of the foods that are eliminated on low-carb diets, low-carbers automatically reduce their intake of this dangerous, health-robbing fat, which is found in baked goods, cookies, cakes, snack foods, and especially foods deep-fried in vegetable oils. Avoid anything that includes
partially hydrogenated oil
on the label. Fats are vitally important for the integrity of the cells and as precursors to important hormones in the body, but if the good stuff isn’t around, the body will make those structures out of the reject materials. Don’t feed your body damaged goods. Give it the good stuff. Dump the trans-fats.

2.  
Consume more omega-3’s and way fewer omega-6’s.
Omega-3’s are found in fish and flax. Omega-6’s are found mainly in the highly processed vegetable oils on your grocer’s shelf. Many nutritionists believe that one of the greatest health problems of our time is the imbalance between these two classes of fats in the diet. Our Paleo ancestors consumed omega-6’s and omega-3’s in a very healthful 1:1 ratio. We currently consume something like a 20:1 ratio in favor of the omega-6’s. Those polyunsaturated, highly processed vegetable oils contribute to a wide range of health problems. By reducing your consumption of vegetable oils and increasing your consumption of fish and flax (with food, supplements, or both), you help to restore the ideal ratio of fatty acids and go a long way toward improving your overall health.

3.  
Eliminate sugar.
The destructive effects of sugar on human health have been addressed by nearly every one of the low-carb–diet authors and have been discussed in some depth in
chapter 2
. For those who want to delve deeper into the subject, there are several excellent books about sugar (see Resources). There is absolutely no—I repeat,
no
—need for refined sugar in the human diet. You may not be able to completely eliminate sugar from your diet, but you can sure try. The greater your success, the greater the benefit to your overall health and well-being.

4.  
Eliminate processed foods.
In the ideal diet—low-carb or otherwise—you would eat only what you could hunt, fish, gather, pluck, grow, or possibly milk. While that may not be practical or possible in today’s world, it’s the bull’s-eye to aim for. The more you can make foods with bar codes a smaller part of your diet, the better off you’ll be. With food processing, the rule should be
none is best
and less is better
. The closer a food is to the way nature created it, the better it is for your health. Eliminating processed foods also goes a long way toward eliminating a big source of exogenous toxins like chemicals, preservatives, deodorizers, colorings, flavorings, and especially trans-fatty acids.

5.  
Build your meals around protein, fat, and vegetables.
As you can see from the Jonny Bowden Healthy Low-Carb Life Pyramid on page 379, these three food groups should form the basis of your diet. The exact proportions of the three will vary from person to person. There have been hunter–gatherer societies that existed on almost all protein and fat (like the Inuit) and others that existed primarily on plant foods, but there have been no hunter–gatherer societies that thrived on TV dinners. Your individual metabolism and preferences will determine how much of a contribution each of these three categories—protein, fat, and vegetables—makes to your overall diet, but whatever the mix, these should be the three major sources for your calories.

6.  
Drink plenty of water.
Water has been discussed in many places in this book, but drinking it still earns a place on the top-ten list of health habits to cultivate in order to make low-carb living synonymous with great health. Get in the daily habit of washing out metabolic waste products as well as the toxins in the fat cells you’ll be emptying. Refresh, replenish, and restore your body’s fluids on a constant basis with water. Just do it.

7.  
Get plenty of sleep.
All together now, one more time:
stress makes
you fat
. And one of life’s biggest stressors is lack of sleep. Important hormones (like human growth hormone) and neurotransmitters (like serotonin) simply don’t get made in sufficient quantities if you’re not sleeping soundly and deeply for at least seven or eight hours a night. Sleep is a weight-loss drug. It has no bad side effects. And it’s free!

8.  
Exercise every day.
Not only will this increase your metabolic rate and burn calories, but doing it on a regular basis—at least five days a week—is the single best predictor of whether or not you will be successful in keeping weight off. Exercise will change your mood, keep you lean, and very likely extend your life. Do you really need a better reason to get out and move?

9.  
Get 25 to 50 grams of fiber every single day.
Getting the right amount of fiber will help you lose weight, help stabilize your blood sugar, lower the glycemic load of food, keep hunger at bay, and in all likelihood help protect against certain cancers. You get fiber in vegetables, nuts, and fiber supplements (see
chapter 9
), which are highly recommended. Don’t forget the possibility of cooking up a daily “cereal” made from pure wheat, oat, or corn bran.

10.  
Expand joy in your life.
In the words of Robert Crayhon, “Pleasure is a nutrient.” Never forget that sadness is not a Prozac deficiency. Natural serotonin boosters include playing with kids, petting a dog, making love, being in the sunshine, and doing things for others. Find the things in your life that raise your spirits, lift your soul, and make you happy—then
do
them. Often!

You Can Lose Weight: Believing Is Seeing

Until 1954, it was generally believed that human beings could not run a mile in fewer than 4 minutes. The world agreed that there was an innate physiological limitation that prevented anyone from breaking this barrier. But the world forgot to tell Roger Bannister, a neurologist who, on May 6, 1954, ran a mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds, the first sub-4-minute mile.

But that’s not the interesting part of the story.

The interesting part is that the
next
guy after Bannister to break the 4-minute-mile barrier—John Landy—did it 46 days later. For decades it had never been done, and then it was done
twice
in less than 2 months. By the end of 1957, 16 runners had surpassed the record. The number who’ve done it as of the writing of this book is in the hundreds.

What happened? Certainly, the aerobic capacity of human beings didn’t suddenly expand in 1954. What happened was that the shared belief that it was not possible to run that fast evaporated. As soon as people
saw
that it was possible, they
believed
it could be done. Those sixteen runners who broke the 4-minute barrier were never stopped by a physiological barrier—they had been stopped by their
belief
in a physiological barrier. When they saw that it could be done, they believed it was possible.

I was eating like a bird and still not losing a pound. I knew it had to be about more than the calories.

—Jim R.

And then they did it.

This book has been about giving you the best information available today about weight loss and diet. But in the long run, successful weight loss has never been just about information. Information is the
first
step. Information puts you on a level playing field. But the real action is what you
do
with that information—how you let it empower you, how you apply it to your life.

Weight loss is about taking control of your life.

If you can
see
it for yourself, as Bannister did, you can
believe
in it. And if you can
believe
in it, you can
do
it. Weight loss is just the medium in which you can practice mastery—of your environment, your mind, and your body.

Master these things and you master your life. The only limits that are there for you are those you believe in.

Enjoy the journey.

Resources and
Support for a
Low-Carb Lifestyle

The following is a comprehensive collection of information that you might find helpful, interesting, or even essential in your investigation of low-carbing. Though I have tried to visit virtually every Web site currently available for low-carb dieting, inevitably by the time this book comes out there will be others. (And just as inevitably, others will either go away or simply change their Web addresses [URLs]. The URLs provided below are as current as possible at the time this book went to press; we apologize if you can’t find one because it has changed. Use your Web search facility to search for the name of the site you’re looking for, not the URL.) The Web sites listed here should give you a great place to start. I have also included books that are specifically about low-carbing, as well as what I consider to be essential books about general health and nutrition; the ones I’ve recommended are very friendly to a low-carb way of life. In this resource section you will also find cookbooks (with the same caveat that applies to Web sites), links to research, calorie counters, BMI calculators, and some of the best blogs around.

http://www.jonnybowden.com

Stay in touch with me for the latest updates on the information contained in this book and for information on products, books, tapes, supplements, and new things coming down the pike. My favorite supplements and foods—many of which are discussed in
Living Low Carb
—are available through direct links with the companies that produce them. And you can buy grass-fed beef, pemmican (the Paleolithic energy bar made from meat), and completely safe salmon from pristine Alaskan waters, plus lots of other goodies. There are also free audio courses, a newsletter, the popular Diet Boot Camp Program and lots of other goodies.

Some of the more interesting blogs with a low-carb bent:

The blog of Michael R. Eades, MD:
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike
/

Dr. Mary Vernon’s site, “Ask Dr. Vernon”:
http://rjr10036.typepad.com/askdrvernon

Jimmy Moore’s “Living La Vida Low-Carb”:
http://www.livinlavidalowcarb.com
/

Connie Bennett’s “Sugar Shock Blog”:
http://www.sugarshockblog.com
/

Jackie Eberstein’s “Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition”:
http://www.controlcarb.com

Regina Wilshire’s “Weight of the Evidence”:
http://weightoftheevidence.wordpress.com

Low-Carbing Web Sites

http://www.lowcarbdiets.about.com
Star Feature: Overall excellent introduction and “everything you need to know”

http://www.chtalk.com
Star Feature: Great portal to low-carb forums

http://www.lowcarbeating.com
Star Feature: Lots of recipes, blogs, and active forums

http://www.lowcarb.ca
(
www.lowcarber.org
)
Star Feature: Terrific carb counter, excellent support forum, “Low-Carb News”
current-events section

http://www.carbhealth.com
Star Feature: Downloadable tools, such as a grocery list, a meal planner, and more

http://www.geocities.com/alabastercat/lowcarb.html
Star Feature: Excellent section on sugar alternatives

http://www.beyondveg.com
Star Feature: Thought-provoking articles and debate, excellent postings from Dr. Loren Cordain (author of
The Paleo Diet
)

www.paleodiet.com
Star Features: Comprehensive information on Paleolithic diet, recipe for pemmican

www.carbwire.com
Star Feature: Great news section!

www.lowcarbtransformation.com
Star Feature: All about the message boards!

www.holdthetoast.com
Star Feature: Outstanding FAQ section

www.lowcarbiseasy.com
Star Feature: A unique interactive low-carb cookbook that allows you to reset the ingredients

Cholesterol

A long, multipart, very well-referenced article from the excellent “Second Opinions” site of Barry Groves (see “Health and General Interest Sites of Value to Low-Carbers,” page 385) called “The Cholesterol Myth”:
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/cholesterol_myth_1.html

Be sure to visit the site of the International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics:
http://www.thincs.org

Ineffectiveness of low-fat/low-cholesterol diet:

Reprint of a 1997 article from The European Heart Journal:
http://www.deanesmay.com/corr.html