The Low-Carb Diet

I'll have to admit, I've tried quite a few diets in my teen and young adult years. My body is very responsive to food and because of that, my weight can fluctuate quite a lot. I'm only five feet tall, so most doctors recommend I stay within the weight range of 115-125 pounds. When I got on birth control at age 16, I gained about 20 pounds in what seemed like an instant. I felt bad, not necessarily in the "oh man I look ugly" way, but in the "my body is unhealthy" way. At the time, my mother was on Weight Watchers. I asked my mom if I could join her. I started working out. Over the course of a few months I was the healthiest I'd ever been.

But, like pretty much like any other diet, Weight Watchers' diet is hard to maintain. Weight Watchers is one of the better diets, in my opinion. You are allowed to eat whatever you want, but they teach you portion control and the dangers of over-snacking. While it is still about weight loss, it is more in the lane of getting healthy, not getting skinny. Even so, I fell off the wagon, but maintained my weight (give or take five pounds depending on a lot of factors) for years.

But this isn't about Weight Watchers or dieting to lose weight, though that is a part of my past. Since January of this year, I've been eating a low-carb diet. This was first really introduced to me when both my parents found out they were pre-diabetic. Diabetes runs rampant in my family, my grandmothers on both sides have it, many other family members deal with it as well. So it wasn't much of a shock when we found out. I lived at home at the time, so suddenly the food I had access to changed and I was eating less carbs.

It did wonders for me, but because it wasn't my diet and just me eating what my parents made, I wasn't committed. This past January, I was really in need of a change. Mentally and physically I was not feeling well. I was smack in the middle of my final year of university, I was working jobs that were pretty sedentary, and I wasn't eating right. I remember how good it felt to eat low-carb with my family, so I decided to commit to this diet and I am never going back. This healthy diet is easy to maintain and it keeps me feeling good.

It is important to emphasis that the diet I've chosen for my life style is LOW-CARB, not NO-CARB. Our bodies need carbs to survive, we need carbs to have a healthy diet. The problem is the excess of carbs we consume. All the extra breads, the sodas, the candies, the pasta—it can all add up quickly. Then that is what leads to diabetes and other illnesses that come with poor health. You need to keep that in mind as you try to choose the best diet for you. Because every person has different bodies and different lifestyles, our needs and diets will be different. Although I would recommend everyone start practicing the following things I changed in my diet, that will make you all feel a little bit better.

1. Only drink things without sugar in it such as water (duh), tea, black coffee, etc.
2. Take off one side of the bun (it leaves more room for the good stuff).
3. Allow yourself some sweets. Yes, eat that piece of cake, the brownie, or whatever. If you stop cold turkey and avoid it, you won't be able to maintain it. Usually, I get the sweets I want, but I cut it in half.
4. Use zoodles/spaghetti squash to be at least half of your pasta dish, if not all of it for when you're wanting a pasta dish.
5. And if you're in the mood for something sweet, grab something with more complex carbs like fruit.

I wish you luck on your health journey! And if you like what I write, leave a tip!