Monday, July 1, 2013

Starting On a New Adventure!

Today is the first day that I am going to start a new look at my low carb diet.  I have been researching and found a low carb form of the Mediterranean diet.  It incorporates many of the good aspects of a Mediterranean diet but also limits the bad aspects of carbohydrate eating that causes spikes in a person's blood sugar. Dr. Steve Parker developed this method to help those who are pre-diabetic and diabetic in controlling those factors, i.e. carbohydrates, that elevate or cause spikes in their blood sugar levels which promotes damage to cells. 

The first eight weeks deals with what he calls a "Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet".  The carbohydrate count is very low - 20 to 40 digestible carbs daily.  He does take into account the fiber that a person may eat and subtracts it from the total as in Atkins.  In reading through the materials, it looks as though Dr. Parker has taken the best of both worlds.  He follows many of the concepts of low carb eating as stated by Dr. Atkins while eating many of the foods that are beneficial in the Mediterranean diet.

GUIDELINES for KETOGENIC MEDITERRANEAN DIET
1) Unlimited meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and shellfish. (I, however, will limit consumption to no more than 12 oz. of protein daily.)

2) Fish should be consumed daily – at least 4 oz. (I will only eat it - Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for lunch)

3) Olive oil – at least 2-3 tablespoons daily in salad dressings or in cooking.

4) Nuts and seeds – 1 oz. daily (I hope to be able to control my consumption after a two week induction as in the Atkins Diet.)

5) Vegetables – up to 14 oz (400g) daily.  (In the two week beginning, vegetable consumption will be 2 – 85g servings daily.  After two weeks, it will be raised to 3 – 85g servings.)

6) Cheese – up to 3 oz daily. (Real, regular cheese – not low fat) This is optional as he recognizes that cheese and other dairy can stall some people.  I will try to limit it to 1-2 oz only for the day.

7) Wine - I do not drink alcoholic beverages so I need to try and follow some of the guidelines it states if you do not drink.  The one that I would try to follow is the 20g piece of dark chocolate (65-85%).

8) Daily supplements –
      (1) Centrum multivitamin
      Magnesium Oxide – 250mg
      Calcium Carbonate – 500 mg
      Vitamin D – 1200 IU
      Potassium gluconate – 2750mg

9) At least 64 oz. of water

Other condiments, oils, and spices
Butter – only after the requirement of olive oil has been used.
Plant oils, vinegar (cider, red wine, and distilled), mayonnaise (preferably, homemade), yellow mustard (1 tbsp daily), salad dressing with less than 3g carbohydrates per 2 tbsp daily (use olive oil based preferably unlimited), Worcestershire sauce (1 tbsp), A1 steak sauce (1 tbsp daily), lemon juice and lime juice (2 tbsp daily).

Tea and coffee in moderation only
Use cream or high fat half and half in moderation.

My starting weight is 238.4 lbs. I am going to the store tonight and I have time to devote to myself to start correctly and stay the course. My goal for the first week is 235.0 lbs.


No comments:

Post a Comment