Low Carb is it. Now on Keto after 50!

I'd forgotten about this blog, you can see I hadn't posted in 8 years. It was interesting to review my thoughts back then and the diets that I have tried. I was young then :) in my late 40's when dieting and losing weight was easier. Those were the days.

Now I'm working on establishing a Keto lifestyle. I have been on and off of this diet for a few years now. I lose weight, then go off and gain it back. 

I'm motivated to see it through this time. I really feel terrible when I add carbs to my diet, so I'm not sure why I falter. It's that carb addiction, I know. So, I'm working to get into deep ketosis as quickly as possible, which curbs your hunger, and hopefully takes away those bad carb thoughts. 

In order to get into a deeper ketosis, where I'm definitely running off of ketones, I am doing a fat fast this week. There are a number of variations of the fat fast, but basically keep your carb and protein counts pretty low and your fat counts high. I'm aiming for very high, close to 90% of my calories from fat, very few carbs, and the rest protein. 

Keeping my calories around 1100 (many say you should keep it around 900 - 1000, but I needed it a little higher to stave off hunger). To get that much fat, I'm consuming one or two bullet proof coffees, adding a fat bomb or two to my diet, and using vinaigrette in my salad. 

I'm on day 2 and doing fine. I was a bit hungry on day 1, although I tried to eat (which includes drinking a bulletproof coffee) every few hours. Today was much easier. I had a bulletproof coffee in the morning, a fat bomb around noon, and made it easily to dinner. 

I'm only doing this for 4 days. Recommended not to stay on it too long since you're getting minimal protein, but 4 to 7 days should be fine. I'll weigh myself after the 4 days and report on any weight loss, even though that's not the primary goal here. It is to get into ketosis, so that hunger dissipates, and that I can continue on a healthier Keto for the long run. I'll likely continue with fat fasts every so often to help boost weight loss as well. 

I have also gone on an egg fast, which is a different animal. The calories are higher, around 1600 per day, but it works. It's also likely the very low carb and higher fat content that does the trick. On an egg fast, the fat percentage is in the low 80s, but still high compared to most Keto plans.

I generally lose about 4 to 5 pounds on an egg fast of 3 to 5 days. I'll elaborate on an egg fast some more in future posts. 

Introduction

Welcome to my blog, where I will be chronicling my experience with the Ideal Protein Diet. In each entry, I will provide a status along with some tips and recipes that I've used on the diet.

First to give you an overview of the Ideal Protein Diet. The Ideal Protein Diet was developed by the French doctor, Dr Tran Tien, Chanh for the French Olympic Team. His goal was to enable them to lose fat quickly without losing muscle or reducing their athletic performance. He realized that the body will burn through available carbohydrates and sugar before it starts burning through stored fat. So to lose weight, you should intake very few carbohydrates and sugar, enabling the body to get to the fat more readily. But since the body also burns protein along with fat, you must ensure that you replenish any protein that you lose while losing fat. The Ideal Protein Diet ensures that you get a sufficient amount of protein (not high protein) along with sufficient quantities of carbohydrates and fat. You mainly consume protein packages, supplied by the company, along with salad and vegetables. Also, one meal a day is self prepared, with lean protein and vegetables of your choice.

This diet has only been available in the US since February 2008, but has been available in Canada for several years, and in Europe for many years. Distribution of the products are through local physicians and clinics, although a mail order option is available for those without a distributor nearby.

For more information on the specifics of the Ideal Protein Diet you can check it out at www.idealprotein.com . I started this diet on February 25th, and to date have lost 14 pounds (in about two and a half weeks). Thus far the diet has lived up to its promise of losing weight quickly while maintaining muscle mass. I have been on many diets in my life including weight watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri System, and many diets of the day. All of them resulted in success in the short run, but were difficult to maintain. After only two and a half weeks on this diet, I cannot yet attest to my ability to stick it out for the long haul, but there are some promising signs. Since this is a low carb diet, the blood sugar levels remain fairly stable. I have not had cravings or felt weak, nor have I had hunger pains since I've been on the diet, although the quantity of food is greatly reduced.

So now for my first recipe. In order to stay on a diet for the long term, you should ensure that you don't get bored with your diet and incorporate many of the tastes that you enjoy. I will share some of the recipes that I've used on the diet. These are recipes that you can use for any diet, since they are low in calories, fat, and carbohydrates. My first recipe is a New Orleans staple, Shrimp and Okra Gumbo. An okra based gumbo is basically low in fat, calories, and carbohydrates, since it is generally made without a roux. The okra provides the thickening of the soup. All of the ingredients used in this gumbo are allowed on the Ideal Protein Diet. So now for the recipe:

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo
(Two Servings)

1 quart of vegetable broth, plus one cup of water
1 pound of shrimp, peeled (save the shells)
6 large Sea Scallops (instead of scallops, you can use a firm white fish, or can add 1/2 lb of shrimp)
Gumbo crabs (optional)
2 cups chopped okra (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 cup of chopped celery
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
1/2 can of whole tomatoes (find a brand that has little to no sugar content)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder
1 tsp crushed dried basil leaves
½ tsp crushed dried oregano leaves
½ tsp crushed dried thyme leaves
½ tsp crushed dried parsley leaves
Gumbo File (optional)
Apple Cider Vinegar (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable stock and water, add the shrimp shells and gumbo crabs (if used). Bring to a boil, lower the fire and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out the shells and crabs. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and add the okra, saute on a low fire for 30 minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and tomato. Thoroughly mix and continue to saute until the vegetables are soft. Add the vegetable mixture to the broth, along with the remaining seasonings and return to a boil, reduce the fire and simmer for 15 minutes.

Season the shrimp and scallops with salt, pepper, and dried basil, cook in a pan just until the shrimp turn pink. Add the shrimp and scallops to the broth and allow it to simmer for 15 more minutes. You may now turn off the fire.

This is good for two meals. Ladle half into a bowl, top with a pinch of Gumbo File (ground sassafras) and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Enjoy!!