I am researching how carbs affect my body because as a vegan, my diet is heavy with carbs and even good carbs can add up really fast. I am very new to this research and have some hypotheses of my own so stay tuned for trials of success or additional tweaking needed. I have always had a little belly but never struggled with my waistline. The timeline of my waist expanding and becoming vegan coincide so I started my research with belly fat and expanding waistlines. Cortisol is the first thing to pop up. Stress produces more cortisol than the body can use and it stores up in the belly region of our bodies. There are foods that help reduce cortisol: apples, asparagus, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cantaloupe, celery ,chicken, kale, oatmeal, oranges, peas, pork, snow peas, strawberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tuna, watermelon, and zucchini. There is a saliva test to check your cortisol levels.
I do not feel stressed, but my husband started exhibiting signs of dementia at about the same time as everything else so I’m thinking stress is laying low in the picture. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over a year ago and I know the stress level has increased with each passing day. In all honesty, I think my issue is more stress eating…..especially the chips and veggies and dips. I am a heavy dipper!!!!! Also, I think portion control needs to come back into focus. When one is eating healthy (vegan diet) and exercising daily, one thinks one can eat more so portion control went out the window. A typical one slice of pizza turned into 2. A serving of popcorn turned into the whole bag…. If 7 chips make a serving, I have 2-3 servings and then the hummus dip. Hmmmmmmm….
I read an article about carb cycling. It’s a dietary approach in which you alternate carb intake. It is used to lose fat, maintain physical performance, overcome weight loss plateau and regulates your metabolism so your body works more efficiently to use stored fats. The low carb days help the body switch over to fat based energy and increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel. ( Please take note that our bodies need carbs…..good carbs for good health. It’s like anything else: moderation and balance) This rang quite a few bells for me so thought I’d look into carbs. Vegans get the majority of their protein from carbs. The carb count in beans, and fruit is high!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started charting the foods I eat. I am recording the amount per serving, the carb count and the calorie count. this is an example of my charting. Know that this list is growing daily and it’s a great resource to keep on top of my game plan.
I plan to record and chart my food choices and my alternating days of high carbs verses low carbs for 1 month. I am looking for clothes fitting better and my weight to at least start moving in the right direction. It took me several years to get where I am , so I know it will take some time and a lifestyle of eating appropriately for me to see lasting changes. It could be that I am totally off track but, nothing ventured, nothing gained. My health is worth the time and effort. As of this day, June 14, 2021…. I am too low on my carb count (even on a high day) . I am striving for 100 on a low carb day and 200-300 on a high carb day. (These numbers could go up a little when I am at a good weight for me and I have a game plan in place) I did bring back chicken and eggs into my vegan diet as a protein source. My ah-ha moment here was how satisfied I was for more than 2 hours with one hard boiled egg. Just this one tweak alone equals: 70 calories, zero carbs VERSES 368 calories and 44 carbs with quinoa chips and hummus. (and I was still haunting the kitchen after eating chips and hummus) My super surprise was my typical breakfast of steel cut oats. I thought this was a very healthy choice. So far, everything I have found says 900 calories per bowl. WHAT????? AND 162 carbs… WHAT??? WHAT????? My daughter, a registered dietician says this source was not right and that a reliable source is Calorie King. It says 1/4 cup of steel cut oats has 150 calories and 27 carbs. It sounds like it could come back into the picture. Whew!!! Need to be careful about our sources and from now on, I’ll check with Calorie King as well as my little book, The Ultimate Carbohydrate counter by Nolan and Heslin. (Perhaps google doesn’t know everything.. ha!) Sushi is also very high because of the rice. A California roll is 349 calories and 38 carbs. I love sushi so just have to plan around it much better.. Eat it on a high carb day and limit carbs on other meals and snacks that day. Very Do-able.
I found this research very interesting and perhaps very useful so wanted to share it. Where are you in your carb count? Have you ever thought about carbs in the past? I didn’t, but I will now. Here’s to healthy eating and information about things we eat and how they can affect us.