Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Experiment

If you have been reading this blog long enough, you know that Weight Watchers has been a big part of my life for the last 4 years. Its given me a set of 'rules' or guidelines to live by, and I can just look at a food now and estimate (rather accurately!) the Point Value. Its not necessarily low fat, just portion control.

About 13 years ago, however, I was diagnosed with Gallbladder Disease. When you have this, you cannot have fat in your diet. So I turned to the popular diet guru of the day, Susan Powter (remember the bald crazy lady who screamed at you?) Her method was really easy, and safe for my gallbladder issues. It was all about fat. Or rather, the less the better. High Volume, Low fat.

I lost 40 or 50 pounds just by keeping fat out of my diet. No counting calories. Carbs and Protien were okay, fat was not. Pretty easy to remember. Here are the specifics:

One gram of protein = 4 calories
One gram of carbs = 4 calories
One gram of fat = 9 calories
Fat = more than twice the calories of the other two fuels your body uses.


The philosophy? You can eat twice as many carbs (than fats), for the same amount of calories.

High carbs, low fat. I know it's the opposite of the Atkins thing....but I saw it work miracles in me, and I wasn't deprived of carbs.

Instead of counting grams, you found the total fat percentage of the item.

Fat x 9 Divided by Calories = %

Example:
Calories 35
Fat 2g

2g x 9 (divided by) 35 = 0.51 (51%)
Too high. 51% of that food item gets its calories from fat.


Since you shouldn't let your diet be more than 30% fat, she recommends under 20% per day. that means you can eat ANYTHING you want as long as the calculation comes to 20% or under.

She calls calories fuel. Period. The catch? You must use the fuel. So the only stipulation to eating this way is that you must exercise for at least 30 min everyday (or at least 5-6 times a week) with an accelerated heart rate.

Things this diet forbids (due to fat content)
  • No oils of any kind
  • No butter, margerine
  • No deep fried ANYTHING
  • No pork
  • No red meat (unless it's extra lean ground beef)
  • No Cheese

However, what you CAN eat:
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Bread
  • Bagels
  • Potatos
  • Fruits
  • Veggies
  • Jams
  • Juices
  • Skim Milk
  • Cereals
  • Sugar (candy!)
  • Anything under 20% fat

Eat, Think and Move. That's her thing.

Anyway...I remember how fun it was to eat candy, and bread, and pasta and not worry about how much I was eating. I could eat....and I lost tons of weight.

Lately, I've been frustrated with how little pasta I can eat on weight watchers. I love carbs, and I want to be able to eat them like I used to.

So I'm doing an experiment for 1 month. I'm going to eat a high carb, low fat diet until Sept 27, and I will report the results.

Wanna join me?

  • Follow the 'fat percentage rules'
  • Move everyday
  • Use your brain. Choose whole grains, think smart. Just because you are 'allowed' sugar doesn't mean it's the healthy choice. Think.
Let me know. I'd love a buddy to try this out with.

(this diet doesn't work for people who have blood sugar issues like diabetes, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome etc.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A long time since I've been around here but glad I had the thought to stop by!! Thanks for this!! I think I need a second re-read through it (never was too great with math but it seems simple enough!)
Hope you are well!
Diana Janzen Ishigaki