So two weeks is done and all in all it went well. As I said when I started this it was a somewhat modified TWT in that while trying to hold to the usual TWT items you are allowed to eat a few times I diverted from the list, as with an Apple, Walnut and Cranberry salad and a few other small items. Even so I was pretty diligent to avoid the main items to avoid and to keep carbs low.
I think this second time around it went much easier since I was already much lower in carbs than I was when I did the TWT a year ago. Thus there was a lot less stress from removing carbs from my eating. Even so there were still times I wanted something sweet and had to just say no. I think often this comes from eating something savory as for me at least that makes me want something sweet:)
One thing I found, that is sort of frustrating, is that when you eat out many places that have “healthy” food often go over the edge to in their desire to limit the fat. For example; when you get a good salad with veggies and such all the fat you can get is in the Avocado, if you can get them. If chicken is available it is seldom ,if ever ,dark meat as people feel to be healthy it has to be low fat chicken breast. Even the steak is lean so this creates an issue since when you remove carbs you need to up the fat intake and the current view of eating can make that more difficult than is should be.
Here is how I ate for the second week. I should add where I list a snack it is not for snaking all day but just an item or two I may have had between meals if for some reason a meal went out longer than planned or may have eaten at the end of the day if dinner was early.
Day 8
Breakfast – MPC, 3 fried eggs and a piece of cheese
Lunch – Salad (Seared steak, Mixed Greens, Portobello Mushrooms, Tomatoes W/Balsamic Vinaigrette)
Snack – Small helping of mixed nuts (No Peanuts) and a Meat Stick
Dinner – Mix of ground pork and seasonings with broccoli, Slaw mix, Cauliflower all mixed together and heated and toped with Parmesan Cheese.
Day 9
Breakfast – MPC, Egg scramble with spinach and bacon
Lunch – Salad with grilled chicken, tomatoes, egg, carrots, cheese and an oil & vinegar dressing
Dinner – Salad of mixed greens, cucumber, kale, carrots, radishes with Oil and Balsamic Vinegar with a side of fresh chicken in butter.
Snacks - Small amount of mixed nuts, pork rinds, 2 meat stick
Sausage Link, Eggs and Kale and Onions |
Day 10
Breakfast – MPC, Egg Scramble w/Spinach and Bacon, No Grain Porridge w/Walnuts (See Week 1 Post for Recipe)
Lunch – 2 Pork Patties with Cranbery/Walnut/Apple Salad (Probably a little more fruit than usual for the TWT but went with it as it was what we had.)
Snacks – Meat sticks and Pork Rinds
Dinner – Ground Pork, Onions, Cole Slaw mix sautéed & 3 Prosciutto and cheese wraps
Day 11
Breakfast – MPC , Ran 5.6 miles then had a sausage with sautéed Kale & onions w/ a couple fired eggs
Lunch - 1 Prosciutto and cheese wrap and a serving of Chocolate/Coconut Primal Fuel
Dinner – Brussels Sprouts cooked with bacon and bacon fat and 1 Chicken Sausage topped with Parmesan cheese
Snacks – Pork Rinds
Brussel Sprouts W/Bacon and Sausage |
Day 12
Breakfast – MPC – then ran 5.6 miles
Lunch – 2 of the Real Good Pizzas
Snacks – Meat Stick and few mixed nuts
Dinner – Stir Fry with Lamb meet and mixed veggies
Day 13
Breakfast - MPC & a serving of Chocolate/Coconut Primal Fuel
Lunch – Tuna Salad with Romaine lettuce and an Avocado, with Pork Rinds on the Side – Fat shot from Adapt Your Life (has small amount of cashews in it which is not on the TWT list but was a very small amount and carbs were very low in shot)
Dinner – Mixed veggies and Park Roast
Snack – A few freeze dried apples – not the best for the TWT but only a few and not as big an issue for what I am using the TWT for
Day 14
Breakfast – MPC before 8 miler then had a sausage link and 3 fried eggs
Late Lunch/Dinner – Smoked Turkey, Lettuce, Pickles, Onions, Tomatoes, Home Made Cranberry/Orange Spread, ½ a Home Made Wheat Sourdough Roll, Butter, Apple salad – As tis was my last day had a few extras to start the coming off the TWT. Even had a slice of Homemade Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll
Snack – Pork Rinds, mixed nuts & 1 Prosciutto and cheese wrap
Well that was the week, sorry not as many pictures. As I said in the beginning this was not exactly the same TWT as I did a year ago, but very close. I was not as strict on a few fruit items but still worked to keep carbs down and as little sugar as possible. End result is that I am where I want to be going forward to be at a LCHF way of eating for the year ahead. I also can see that super low carbs for me does not work as even though I was not running until the last week my energy levels were OK but not where they should have been. My body just seems to need a little more in the way of carbs than say a Ketogenic diet provides, but that is me – N=1.
The main take away is that you can lower their carb in take and make it a sustainable diet. The usual claim by many who questions a LCHF way of eating, I want to avoid the "D" word where I can, is that even if it is good it is not sustainable. Now that may be true if you are an average 21st century individual who rarely eats real food and lives on processed offerings but with some effort, and not much at that, you can be lower carb than the average person and actually much lower without a lot of fuss.