Update on Metabolism Miracle

Have been following the Metabolism Miracle plan for 3 weeks now. I do feel better following this plan, likely because I am consuming fewer carbs and at the right intervals. Long term this diet may get old, but I believe the key is to vary the foods you eat. You don't lose weight fast on this plan, which is generally a good thing. But if you want a few more pounds to come off, then they would otherwise, then I believe the key would be to pay close attention to the fats you are consuming on this plan. I am migrating towards making more of my proteins to be fish and shellfish. They are plentiful where I live, and I have found that I always lose weight faster when increasing my fish intake.

When doing so, there are plenty of warnings out there about not consuming too much fish that are high in mercury (generally the bigger fish). I stick to fish caught locally (trout, flounder, redfish, etc.) as well as Salmon (wild caught only). Shellfish are my favorite and shrimp and blue crabs are plentiful right now. Shrimp may have a bit more cholesterol, but as is pointed out the cholesterol in you food isn't as important as what your body produces. Following the Metabolism Miracle plan should manage your cholesterol very well.

The Metabolis Miracle plan has produced as advertised thus far. As with any diet plan, you just need to find out what works best for you.

Hmmm....the Metabolism Miracle Seems to Make a Lot of Sense

I haven't posted in a long while. I stuck to the Ideal Protein diet for a while and lost a good amount of weight, about 40 lbs. But in the subsequent year(s), have gained it all back.

I was slowly getting back to the low carb lifestyle, with the Sugar Busters diet, when I decided to check out "The Metabolism Miracle" by Diane Kress. I've read through most of the book, and it seems to make a whole lot of sense. Most of what she describes in the book fits me to a T. I have been successful on low carb diets, but only to a point. Then as soon as I reintroduce carbs, I start to put the weight back on.

She describes this as having an alternate metabolism which she coins as "Metabolism "B". Those with Metabolism B can only handle a certain amount of carbs at a time. Which is why the basics of the diet involve counting carbs over a 5 hour period. During the first phase of the diet, you can have up to 5 grams of carbs every 5 hours, which she calls the 5x5 plan.

Like all other low carb diets, she explains that there are different types of carbs, some better than others, and yes this diet stresses the use of the "good carbs". One of the many interesting facts about this book, is her simple definition of how many grams of carbs are in a particular food item. You simply take the total grams of carbs/serving and subtract the grams of dietary fiber/serving and you get the net grams of carb/serving. Many of the low carb foods on the market use a substitute for sugar, called sugar alcohol. She explains that the body processes the sugar alcohol similarly as sugar, and hence it counts as carb grams.

I have just begun this diet, the first phase of it which she calls "Carb Rehab", pretty funny. Great explanations on the scientific reasoning behind this plan are included in the book. Even if you decide not to follow this program, it is a great read, and can help you understand how your body processes carbs. Check it out, "The Metabolism Miracle", by Diane Kress.

I will be posting at least weekly with more insight on the diet, as well as how I am faring on it, including recipes. I always like creating new recipes to fit a diet plan. Although the book does contain quite a few new recipes for me to try.

She recommends weighing only after the first 8 weeks, but I'll likely step on the scale after 4 to get an idea of how it is going.

Still sticking to Low Carb

I tried a switch to Advocare products as a way to stay healthy and continue with weight loss. They are a great way to stay healthy, and some lose weight by adhering to their product use, but that was not my experience. Perhaps since I've become used to a low carb lifestyle, switching to one that wasn't did not work. The advocare products are fairly low in calories (~220 calories for a meal replacement shake), but are rather high in carbohydrates (~24g of carbohydrates for that same shake).

So back to the low carb lifestyle. Will continue with the vitamin supplements I get from Advocare, but not with the food products. I have returned to a low carb, 5 to 6 meal routine, and am losing those extra pounds I gained in the last few months. It was nice having meal bars and shakes at the ready for a quick meal between meals, but there are products out there that are much lower in carbohydrates. The Atkins shakes and bars are excellent between meal solutions and have only 2 or 3 carbs per shake or bar. Much more like it. They are pretty tasty too!

So, in 2011, it will be sticking to a low carb, healthy diet, and all should be good.

Need an Energy Boost?

I have started using Advocare products to boost my energy levels and it has worked great. Advocare Spark is a great sugar free energy drink, with lots of vitamins (they list 21 different vitamins). I drink this in the morning in place of breakfast, and it gives me a great energy boost to start the day. Kind of tastes like your morning juice, especially the citrus or mandarin orange flavors, but without all of that sugar.

If you are still looking for a weight loss program, advocare has many products and associated programs to help you with that goal. It is best to start with their 10 day herbal cleanse program which helps rid your body of any toxins, and gives you a great jump start on a weight loss plan. I know what you are thinking when you hear the word "cleanse". This is a toxin cleanse, and you will be drinking a lot of water, so the toxins come out of you through waste fluid, not solid, if you know what I mean :).

Full disclosure: I am a distributor for their products, but only because I have tried it and it has worked for me. If you want more information on their products, you can check out my Advocare distributor page, or if you prefer you can go directly to the advocare site. Email me with any questions.

Are Shiratake Noodles a Good Sub for Grain Noodles?

You are on a low carbohydrate diet and you have been craving good old spaghetti and meatballs. Is there a viable lower carbohydrate option to the standard egg based noodles?

Well, you can get the whole wheat spaghetti, which isn't necessarily lower in carbs, but is lower in the glycemic index. Just goes back to staying away from the white foods, and eat the brown foods.

Shiratake noodles have become more popular as of late, as a substitute for the grain or egg noodle. These are white or clear noodles that contain little to no carbohydrates and calories. But will they quench that craving? I have tried the miracle noodles, available online. They are made out of Konjac root which is a natural fiber. They come delivered in small packages. To cook, you first must rinse the noodles, they have a fishy smell out of the package, so you must rinse thoroughly. The fishy smell does go away after rinsing. Then just heat and eat with whatever topping you choose.

The noodles are very filling, but basically have no taste. They will take on the taste of whatever you cook with them. The consistency is chewier than what you will be used to. If you simply must have pasta and don't want to add any carbohydrates to your diet, then give them a try. Other varieties of shiratake noodles are available at stores such as Whole Foods. I found these noodles work best in Asian style soups or stir fry dishes, rather than with a tomato sauce.

I would still recommend getting a good whole grain pasta, and use this once in a while, it will be much more satisfying.

Ideal Protein Diet Updated and a new Low Carb Recipe

The Ideal Protein Diet has been updated a bit. They've added an extra meal on your own, which should help. They've also seemed to include a higher carb item in the program, you can have a helping of rice or other carb, once per day. Perhaps that will help folks stick to this longer.

I've recently done a compare of the exact ingredients in the Ideal Protein bars and shakes to some over the counter products. The Pure Protein bars and shakes (available at Target and sometimes Wal Mart) have the same exact ingredients as Ideal Protein, but waaayyy cheaper. The EAS shakes also have the same ingredients, again much cheaper. So if price is an issue, there are some alternatives for you. Ideal Protein makes lots of other meal choices, haven't found any subs for those yet.

I continue to work on new recipes that are a low carb version of my favorite food items. It definitely helps me stick to this low carb lifestyle. Whether using the Ideal Protein or other supplemental products, I still feel this is a good way to diet, and just a healthy way to eat period.

So crab is one of my favorite foods, and a good low fat protein as it turns out. Blue crabs are pretty plentiful here in Louisiana, especially this time of year. I can catch them in the lake not to far from my house. I just boil them up, peel, and eat. Crab cakes are one of my favorites, but not always a low carb choice. I didn't want to give these up, so came up with this low carb option for crab cakes. Here is the Low Carb Crab Cake Recipe, if you are interested.

Healthy Crab Cakes

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1 ½ tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
½ tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Spicy Seasoning (Such as Old Bay, or Cajun Seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound claw crabmeat drained, flaked
½ cup Crushed Whole Wheat Crackers
Olive Oil

Directions: Spray a frying pan with cooking spray, and heat on med-low, add onion and garlic to the pan and soften the vegetables for about 3 minutes.

Combine egg, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, Spicy seasoning, softened vegetables, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; blend well. Gently fold in crabmeat and crushed crackers. Shape mixture into 8 patties.

Coat a large pan with olive oil, and heat on medium-high. Add the crab cakes, letting them brown on each side.

Drain on paper towels. I prefer using fresh crabmeat for this recipe, but canned works as well if that's all you have access to.

Ditched Ideal Protein, using Creole Diet

Haven't updated this in some time. I stuck with the Ideal Protein diet for several months and did lose about 30 pounds. But this isn't a diet I could stick to for any longer for several reasons. One is the cost, at $27 per box of food, with a box being 7 meals, it was just too expensive to continue. A second reason is the taste of the food. Many of their items do have an aftertaste, and some, like their soups, just don't taste good at all. There are some that are quite good, like the puddings, the ready mix shakes, and the cappuccino, but you can only eat these for so long.

So after a few months, I now have struck out basically on my own. I follow the advice of the Creole Diet which basically involves eating many small meals in a day, balancing the proteins, carbs, and fats at each meal, and incorporating foods that you love to eat, so that you stick with this diet for the long term. It's basically not a diet, just a healthy way to eat, which allows you to lose weight and maintain the weight loss for the long term. Eating this way I lose weight a little slower, but have little desire to go off of the diet, and it is much easier on the budget. Eating this way for the last six weeks, I have lost an additional 10 pounds. This included about 2 1/2 weeks of vacation/visiting friends, so I thinks it's pretty good. When visiting or vacationing I didn't have to worry about special foods, I just practiced portion control, and tried to balance the amount of protein, fat, and carbs at each meal, as best I could. During that time, I didn't gain any weight, so I thought that was an accomplishment.

I do use meal replacements, such as protein shakes and bars, that are readily available at Wal-Mart and other stores, at a much cheaper price than Ideal Protein. I use this for the in between meals, like mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening meals.

Overall, it's worked very well, and I will continue with this program indefinitely. I'm trying now to incorporate more exercise into my routine, which is challenging in this intense heat. But if I can do it now, then come fall and winter, it will be a breeze.