I'm not a big fan of the low fat, low calorie diet. I'm actually a huge believer in the Low Carb/High Fat diet. In fact I'm such a huge supporter of it that I get fired up when I hear ignorant people say things like "Atkins wants you to eat bacon instead of vegetables."
Not true, my friends. Dr Atkins says to stay far away from bacon because it contains so many nitrates. Thank you very much. It seems as though any person who has something bad to say about the atkins lifestyle, has never read the book. So annoying. (keep reading, I'll stop ranting:)
So to give you a basic rundown of what the atkins lifestyle is. You eat real foods including all types of low carb protein, healthy fats (absolutely no trans fats) and lots of vegetables. After the first two weeks you start incorporating fruits, berries and nuts slowly back into your diet.
When the low fat/no fat craze took over our country, we all got pretty fat right? Right. That's because fat provides a lot of flavor to our foods. When they take fat out of our food they replace it with sugar to make it taste decent at best. Don't believe me? Next time your in the dairy section compare fat free, low fat, and full fat sour cream or anything in the store for that matter. The fat content goes down, and the carb/sugar content goes up. Can we all agree that fat free foods taste like shit and basically make you yearn for the day you can eat something real? I know that's how I feel about it.
Now, I put a lot of faith in the brains at Duke Medicine, and I've been instructed to limit my calories to around 800 a day. The band helps me control my portions but I still need to make the proper food choices. However, I refuse to go against my beliefs. I am determined to eat real food. I refuse to eat food that is pumped with sugar just to lower my caloric intake. It's just going to take some practice.
Tonight I sauteed some mushrooms to go with dinner. Trust me when I say these mushrooms are bangin. Per usual, I heated olive oil in a pan, added mushrooms, and then added some more oil. I don't know exactly how much oil I put in but I guessed about 3 tablespoons for tracking purposes. Well, guess how many calories 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil has! almost 400 calories!!! That added a whopping 200 calories to our dinner tonight! 4 oz of Turkey burgers were only 180 calories! Needless to say, next time I'll use less olive oil, or maybe consider using chicken broth.
When I eat burgers I normally mix up a little mayo and mustard and use that as a condiment. Well there are 100 calories in that little mix. Yesterday I used 2 tablespoons of a bottled honey mustard sauce with my lunch. That one was 200 calories! Holy Hell! Well, worcestshire Sauce mixed with Dijon Mustard has about 15 calories. Good swap, no sugary low fat dressing needed.
So I'm on a mission to find little ways to eat natural, real foods, while also limiting my calories. If anyone out there has any suggestions of lower calorie food choices that have not been altered to become fat free please share!! And don't knock the atkins diet unless you've read the book. Ha!
I am with you on low carb...I have never done Atkins, but I did Lindora same principal... Low carb high protein and that is how I lost my 55 pounds...and yes the low fat does leave you wanting something real to taste...I have checked out the blogger "cooking for real" ...her blog is all about cooking with real foid...can't say I have looked at it in depth, but may be worth a gander to get some new fresh ideas!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen that cooking for real site yet. TY for the heads up. I just love new blogs to follow!
DeleteAs far as the Olive Oil, I use Olive Oil spray and also bought a Misto Sprayer as well. It gives the right amount of oil but not all of the calories. Also, there is a Mayo made with Olive Oil and that one is less calories as well.
ReplyDeleteI have also made some of the low cal dressings on Gina's Skinny Taste website and they last a bit. I made her Blue Cheese and Ceasar and just used sparingly.
YESS!!! I forgot about the Misto! What a great idea! I need to put that on my kitchen items needed list along with those cute little red casserole dishes that Lap Band Gal posted yesterday
Deletethe way you cook..I know you will make some awesome low calorie sauces!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was on Weight Watchers and craving fried mushrooms, here's how I made them: Mix 2 bullion cubs (I liked beef) in 1 cup of hot water to dissolve. Place sliced mushrooms in saute pan, pour in bullion and simmer. I also added a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, and occasionally some garlic powder. The mushrooms will absorb all the sauce and taste like you cooked them in steak drippings. I don't make these anymore because I find that mushrooms get stuck, and I don't eat the volume of food I did on WW.
ReplyDeleteyes! I'm going to try to broth then. Normally I use a little oil or butter, throw in the mushrooms and let them get a little brown, add some spices and then add in dijon and worcestershire. I'll try the beef broth next time! Thank you so much for the tip.
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