Ronnas, Mercola on South Beach Diet

[Claire]

Hi Ronnas,

 

I haven't read this yet, but I thought of you... you know I do reduced carb...

 

http://mercola.com/2004/jun/9/south_beach.htm

 

Claire

[Ronnas]

Hi Claire,

 

Thanks for the link. I would have to agree with alot of what is said in by Dr. Mercola. However, at a more basic level if you apply the concepts in the South Beach Diet along with what you already know it does help make you more aware of what you are eating. I was just thinking about the South Beach Diet last night and wondering why I feel so much better on it.

 

I was skimming around last night and was reading over at braintalk about gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. One thing that struck me was that for the most part I have been mostly gluten free while I have been on this diet. It makes me wonder if this is the reason I feel so good. For what it is worth I have lost about 12 pounds on this diet and it has been pretty easy. It has just made me think alot more about the stuff I put in my mouth, for example, is eating Tim Horton timbits really what I need to do just because they are sitting on the coffee table at work!

 

With the influence of this diet I eat tons of veggies which believe me is highly unusual for me. Again I cannot say enough about getting rid of the carbs and sticking to good ones. Seriously, just having strawberries is a treat for me now and I just don't crave bread, chips etc the way I use to. This month I have just had so much more energy. By reducing carbs and high sugar foods I am sure this helps any "yeast" issues as well.

 

I have found this book useful just for a basic understanding of how foods effect insulin levels and it has pointed me in the right direction for making healthier choices for myself. Even though I was good at this for my kids...I didn't always practice what I preach.

 

For the first time in my life I bought a bikini to wear on the beach this summer and this is miraculous!

[Claire]

efgh

 

My son gets 400 IU of Vitamin E

 

Ronnas,

 

I am the same way! I eat FAR more veggies on low carb than I do when I don't do low carb. I enjoy them more. And strawberries are much more of a treat for me know.

 

I was at a conference with no access to other food during the day and so I ate junky carbs--yuck!

 

Like you I generally avoid the grains on low carb, except an occasional salty corn chip as a dipper or one piece of low carb bread--I used to like Orowheat light potato, but it has milk in it--my newly uncovered allergy. It is so ironic, because I remember you discussing casein issues and it never occurred to me that I would have them (my son is allergic to milk, but not casein, while I am allergic to casein). I too am convinced with Mercola that they can cause a lot of people a lot of problems. I have poultry and veggies or an egg frittata. I am careful of seafood due to the mercury fears, but wild salmon is fine.

 

My energy is higher, I need less sleep. I saw my sister this weekend and she has gained so much weight and she said I had odd genes for our family because I was slim. I said that no, the difference was that I had a much lower carb diet. She has the same pastries at Starbucks that I loved, and toast with butter or peanut butter. She said she couldn't do without carbs, she tried for 3 days and it was too hard. She didn't work through that initial transition. Especially since I think she may have yeast issues.

 

I do think it takes effort--but mostly because of the fast food being less available. You have to plan for meals.

 

I just read the Mercola article, and he sounds a lot like Atkins. I assume they differ in the grams of carb, but the rest is so similar. I just searched his site on Atkins, and he seemed to be mostly positive, with his own twists. Of course he states that low carb is not for everyone and I must agree that no diet is for everyone--and low fat or vegetarian diets were not for me!

 

Claire

 

ps Congrats on the bikini! I bought a new one to celebrate my 5 pound loss last year.

 

pps Edit: I just checked all the bread brands--even low-carb and they all had either milk/whey and/or barley/barley malt. So maybe this really is why I feel better on low-carb. Bread was a big part of my diet and it contained things I was allergic too. Barley is so dominant in wheat products that I may as well have an issue with gluten/wheat.