the (mostly) good, the bad and the ugly of starting a low carb lifestyle
A Midpractical Modern Monthly Challenge :: #LowCarb :: October 2022
Medical Disclaimer: The information and other content provided in this blog, website or in any linked materials are not intended and should not be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. You can read the full disclaimer here.
Read on if…
- You want to see if the sacrifice of willingly giving up bread, pasta, potato chips and sweets for a month is worth it.
- You’ve considered trying a low carb lifestyle but are not sure what to expect (and need some recipes for inspiration!)
- You struggle with maintaining healthy glucose, weight, and energy levels and you’re pretty sure your carb-heavy diet is the culprit
Challenge Scale
Before you get started, here’s a brief overview of how much money, time, effort this challenge may take and how functional or fun it is.
Why The Low Carb Challenge?
Earlier in the year, I had my annual physical where I learn just how fun aging can be and see numbers on the scale that I would much prefer to be my IQ score rather than my weight.
Part of the visit usually includes getting my blood drawn to see how my body is functioning. I quickly looked through the test results, saw that everything was in the normal range, and moved on.
That same week, I shared the results with my dad who used to be a medical technician clinical chemist (fancy way of saying he worked in a lab) and he pointed out that I was trending in the wrong direction on my glucose. When I looked at it closer, I was on the edge of pre-diabetes.
What!? Pre-diabetic??? How is this possible?
I couldn’t believe it so, like a sullen teenager, I pretended like I had never seen it and carried on with life. Sure, I did the salad challenge in March which introduced me to some vegetables that I had been neglecting, but the salad was often paired with a heaping pile of savory carbs, followed by another heaping pile of dessert carbs.
Glucose levels aside, it wasn’t until I was weighing myself later in the year and a number I had never before seen on my scale appeared that I realized I needed to do something about my diet. Both my glucose AND my weight were trending in the wrong direction…
The Challenge: Low Carb Lifestyle
As my 35th birthday loomed, I decided to use this milestone as a starting point for determining a diet and lifestyle that will help me get my health back on track. My husband was also going to be out of town for a few weeks, allowing me to focus solely on meal prep for myself (and avoid being tempted by his delicious homemade bread).
I determined the challenge would be: To help instill healthier food habits for better overall health, I’m challenging myself to limit my carbs for the month.
Technical Note: All of my monthly challenges are usually around 4 weeks, but this was a little longer than a month since I started mid-September and am now writing this blog at the end of October. #SixWeekChallenge just doesn’t have the same ring to it 🙂
To help instill healthier food habits for better overall health, I’m challenging myself to limit my carbs for the month.
#MonthlyChallenge
Low Carb Challenge Checklist
To do this challenge, I didn’t have to invest in anything new. It was more about making different choices at the grocery store, dining out, and at social events.
- Vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables.
- Meats. If you aren’t a vegetarian or vegan, this is going to make this challenge a lot easier.
- Low-carb snacky things like nuts, beef jerky, chicharrones, etc. (to replace things like potato chips)
- A water bottle
- An app or notebook to plan out your main meals/grocery lists
- A scale (if you are on a weight loss journey and want to track your weight)
- WILL POWER. As I’ll go into in a little bit, the first week or so is challenging and you will need to really embody mind over matter to get through it.
What happened during the challenge
Before The Challenge
Before I talk about what happened during the challenge, I want to briefly talk about my diet before the challenge.
My diet was anything I wanted to eat, whenever I wanted to eat it, in whatever quantity that I felt that I needed at that moment.
I really didn’t have any boundaries for myself. In fact, I was subconsciously eating MORE crap because I was using my 3x-a-week workouts to justify eating whatever I wanted. If I was spinning like crazy, practicing yoga, doing HIIT routines…why shouldn’t I treat myself to mac and cheese, potato chips and cookies? The only boundaries I really set for myself was limiting when I could eat. I tried not to eat after 8p and that is more of product of my husband cooking dinner at certain times than me making that decision consciously.
Low Carb Challenge – Week 1 – Getting started by giving up
Week 1 of the challenge began the day after returning from a week of being a beach bum. I didn’t do much preparation for this challenge – I just knew that I was going to avoid carbs as much as possible, which also meant I was going to be giving up a lot of my favorite foods. Week 1 was the hardest week. Even after 1 day of no carbs, I could already feel my body reacting and my will power being tested.
Here are all the ups and downs I experienced in Week 1:
- Headaches. On Day 3 thru Day 7, I had a headache that no ibuprofen could help. It was always there. Water helped a little bit and I pretended like the meds were helping, but I knew it was a result of the diet. I had read threads on ‘Keto flu’ and this is exactly what this was. This also happened to me when I tried a keto diet a few years prior (all of 5 days) – I actually stopped doing keto because I thought it was negatively affecting me and making me sick.
- My skin was glowing! With all of that water and less sugar intake, my skin was clear and dewey. No filters needed.
- My reproductive health was haywire. I’ll spare you some of the details here, but just know that Aunt Flo decided to make extra, unexpected visits. Ladies, if you want to chat about this, shoot me an email.
- I lost weight…quickly. One of the best benefits of the low carb life and I imagine why a lot of people give it a try is that you can lose poundage almost immediately. I know that carbs have a lot of glucose so without it, the body burns stored fat for energy (if I had I eaten a lot of carbs this week, those LBs would have come right back). But I do think that seeing the numbers change on the scale so quickly encouraged me to stick with it, even if it was a number that would fluctuate. At least the numbers were going in the right direction.
- I was exhausted during my normal workouts to the point where I had to cut out or go easier at my classes. Spin classes that are routine for me were kicking my butt. Even at yoga I was dripping in sweat. I decided to cut out a few classes from my regular schedule those first two weeks
- I drank a lot of water and peed a lot. I’m no scientist, but eliminating carbs and introducing more veggies, meats and dairy to my diet somehow made me want to drink water all the time. That combined with my coffee, I think I went through a family pack of toilet paper in a week.
- Alcohol affected me much quicker and my brain did not have a chance to process what my body was already processing. We had a family event at the end of my first week that revolved around wine and I didn’t consider how my body would react with no carbs to soak up all of the vino I was consuming (I did not adjust my wine consumption). Spoiler alert – my body did not like it and expelled what it did not like (see the 3rd picture for the aftermath)
Low Carb Challenge – Weeks 2-6 – Getting into a low-carb groove
After that first week, the following weeks were easier. The headaches went away and my body was feeling a little bit more regulated. I also was making better decisions because I was more in tune with what my body needed.
Here’s what happened in weeks 2-6:
- Low carb not No carb. I very intentionally made this a low carb challenge and not no carb. 1) I don’t think it’s healthy to remove all carbs from your diet – your body still needs energy. 2) There are some things that I wasn’t ready to give up, but did try to consume in moderation (i.e. wine…except that first weekend where I was reminded of the definition of moderation) 3) I didn’t want to feel guilty if I wanted to indulge a bit for special occasions.
- Weight loss was less drastic, but still a downward trend. There were a few events where I ended up eating more carbs (i.e. the Guardians playoff game, a friend’s wedding, and…a random late night Taco Bell run), so I did see a little fluctuation on those days, but overall, I made what I think is a healthy weight loss progression over those weeks, all things considered.
- Cravings subsided. Eating more fiber and proteins and less carbs, I felt full for longer. As a result, I had less cravings. And I tried to only eat when I was feeling hungry, which ended up being less often than I was eating before (aka all the time).
- Naturally gravitating towards intermittent fasting. As a result of the cravings subsiding, I unintentionally started intermittent fasting. I was already not eating after 8p before the challenge, but now I did not begin eating until 11a or 12p
- Continued to drink so much water. Not only was I starting my day off with water now (a glass of room temperature water first thing in the morning), I also started to drink a full glass of water before all of my meals. Again, not a scientist, but I think this helped me stay fuller for longer.
- Flavors of food were more tasty. With all of my go-to carb snacks not an option, vegetables and nuts began to taste more delicious. Everything was filled with flavor. To the point that I was just eating carrots with no dip (and I am a ranch fiend).
- More energy. After that first week where my energy levels dipped, my body balanced out and I actually started feeling more energized. I was no longer feeling tired and craving naps midday. I felt more alert overall (though, my focus still likes to go all over the place).
A brief look at some of my low carb creations
Also during this time, I started reading “Glucose Revolution” by Jessie Inchauspe aka @glucosegoddess. This book isn’t necessarily about a low-carb lifestyle, but rather more about how your body reacts to glucose and the best ways to avoid spikes that lead to inflammation, diabetes and other health issues. I haven’t made it all the way through the book yet but so far, I’ve learned that it’s not just about what we eat, but when we eat and what order we eat it in.
Midpractical Tip – BYOB(roccoli)
Challenge Outcome
At the end of 6 weeks, what were the challenge results?
By the end of the challenge, eating low carb…wasn’t such a challenge anymore! Given all of the positive by-products of the challenge and just the way I was feeling overall, the decision to eat low carb has become much easier.
So what were the final challenge results?
- My glucose went down 10 mg/dL! I was able to get my blood retested and both my glucose and HGB A1C had gone down, 10 mg/DL and 0.4% respectively. I know these numbers aren’t permanent so I’ll need to be conscious of my diet to keep them in a good range.
- I lost 10 pounds in 6 weeks. Before the challenge, I was 160. Reading the scale yesterday, I was 150. I’m still not at my goal weight and I know this number will fluctuate daily, but it’s encouraging that what I am doing is working.
- I’m feeling more confident in my own body. Before this challenge, I was subconsciously avoiding certain clothes (because I knew I didn’t fit into them anymore) and certain social situations (i.e. pool parties) because I was not feeling great in my own skin. During the challenge, I started trying on clothes that had been collecting a little dust and was pleasantly surprised when they fit. I was wearing clothes that showed a little more skin. I was more willing to be in pictures again. I didn’t realize how much this challenge would impact my confidence but I’m glad for it!
- My skin is still clear and my energy levels are still high. Throughout the challenge and now, my skin still remains zit-free and glowing and I have a lot of energy through my day.
What was the best part of the challenge?
The best part of the challenge (other than achieving weight loss and lowering my glucose levels) was discovering new and delicious things to eat. I thought by taking away a primary food group that I would be limited to the same things and get bored. Not the case! I found a lot of naturally low carb foods that are yummy to eat by themselves or paired together and tons and tons of recipes out there, a few of which I tried and enjoyed.
What was the hardest part of the challenge?
For me, the hardest part was making it through the first week. Taking away foods that I love (and could be argued, slightly addicted to) was tough as it was, but then throw in a week of a headache that wouldn’t go away and my body throwing some unexpected curveballs my way and it was a struggle. Once I made it through that first week, my body finally figured out the game plan and got on board.
Final Takeaways
The challenge was so successful that I plan to continue eating low-carb as much as I can and will likely implement some of the tips and tricks from Glucose Revolution into my routine too, so I can still enjoy carbs, just in moderation and in a way that my glucose won’t spike. Also, while it’s not just diet that impacts your health, it does play a big part. Sleep, stress and exercise all play a role in staying healthy and I’ve worked hard to maintain balance in these. For me, food was the last (and very large) piece of that puzzle and I am glad I took the steps to get it under control.
I’ll be sure to post updates in the future, especially if…no, WHEN I hit my goal weight! In the meantime, here’s a few candid pictures from right before I started the challenge and at the end of the month (I only had Halloween pictures!)
Your Turn – Time for your #MonthlyChallenge
Will you take on your own low carb lifestyle #monthlychallenge? If you do, make sure to share your progress and tag @midpracticalmodern on instagram and let me know how it’s going (and share any good recipes you find)!
bonus!
Low Carb Recipes
Here are links to some of the low-carb recipes I made during the challenge. Many (if not all) of them were also gluten-free and a handful of them were also dairy-free and vegetarian/vegan as well.
- Low Carb Cauliflower Mac & Cheese – I modified the original mac and cheese recipe to be cauliflower instead of noodles. You can find the original cheese sauce mix recipe from Vitamix.
- Baked Salmon with Greek Broccoli Salad – the original broccoli salad recipe was from Cookie + Kate
- Bacon-Wrapped, Jarlsberg-Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spring Greens – a recipe of my own creation
- 5-Step Speedy Salad with Chicken – another original creation (born from not wanting a rotisserie chicken to go to waste!)
- Butternut Squash Soup with Cream Cheese – we modified this AllRecipes recipe to use only one block of cream cheese and we also added fresh thyme! This would also be good with bacon bits or pancetta on top.
- Spinach, Shallots and Asiago Egg Scramble – I ate this multiple times over the past month. A great savory, low-carb breakfast.
- Thai Red Curry Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Tofu – this one was time intensive but the end result was a perfect bowl of soup for a gray fall day. Original recipe from Crowded Kitchen
- Spaghetti Squash with Asparagus, Ricotta, Lemon, and Thyme – another great dish for the fall, courtesy of Kitchn
- Sausage and Cauliflower Casserole – as Paleo Grubs describes it on their website, comforting and delicious!
What is the Midpractical Challenge?
It is a challenge for a set amount of time that puts extra focus and emphasis on a specific task to complete, trying something new or overcoming an obstacle. These challenges show how midpractical decisions around money, time and energy can help us not only live, but thrive, in the middle of a modern world.
See what the latest challenge is and tag @midpracticalmodern with your own challenge progress!
Medical Disclaimer
This blog provides general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, website or in any linked materials are not intended and should not be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This blog does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other professional health care advice, diagnosis or treatment. We cannot diagnose conditions, provide second opinions or make specific treatment recommendations through this blog or website.
If you or any other person has a medical concern, you should consult with your health care provider or seek other professional medical treatment immediately. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something that you have read on this blog, website or in any linked materials. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or call for emergency medical help on the nearest telephone immediately.