Working with a nutritionist: Week 3 (the week things changed!)
By the time the 3rd meeting with my nutritionist rolled around I knew the days I had been following the rules and the ones I hadn’t. But I couldn’t figure out however was why I wasn’t losing any weight. I was following the guidelines! But my energy did start to get better. Yes, on days I don’t sleep enough, I’m tired (who isn’t), but the lethargic can’t-get-off-the-couch exhaustion had started to dissipate
We did our usual exercise of looking through my entire week of logged foods and there were some shocking revelations for me:
I could eat more fruit
I had to eat fewer almonds
Since starting my low carb diet exploration, I’ve been living this “no fruit” life. I love fruit and missed it a lot, but felt like ultimately carbs mattered most! The nutritionist told me to have 2 servings of fruit a day. One in the morning with breakfast and one in the afternoon with my snack.
I was only allowed one serving of almonds a day (that’s 28grams or a handful if you’re eyeballing) and that is it. And really this extends to peanut butter (my kryptonite).
The last thing we needed to modify: my breakfast. I’ve never liked breakfast, I’m not a morning person. I’ve always preferred breakfast for dinner, and to not have my first meal until like 10-11am. But apparently that was making me back-load my calories. So I needed to eat a more fulfilling breakfast and stop eating 3 hours before bed.
Here’s what a typical day started to look like:
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs (in avocado oil) with 1-2 cups greens, 1/2 cup fruit.
Lunch: large salad with 1 serving of nuts and 3 oz protein (no cheese) and a homemade vinaigrette or just oil and vinegar.
Snack: 2-3 Tablespoons of homemade hummus with 2 cups veggies (carrots, jicama, celery, zucchini). 1/2 cup of fruit
Dinner: Another salad with protein. Or 3 oz protein and veggies cooked in healthy oils.
Dessert: Cheeky I know. Vegan Chocolate (1-2 squares).
No I’m sure you’re wondering if it was hard. I was actually eating 1700-1800 calories a day! So much more than my January experiment. I really wasn’t too hungry, and like i said before, I felt better. But now I’m sure you’re wondering what happened with my weight:
I dropped 4 pounds in one week
That’s right. My carb count was net ~100 grams a day, more so than all of my months of low carb experimentation, but I was still losing weight. I was eating fruit again, and even allowing myself a few sweets. All said, while it is a restrictive diet, it seems to be working.
I wish I had known that such tweaks would be revelatory in terms of energy, fullness, weight, and general happiness. I’ll make sure to keep reporting back!
