The aspect of fast weight loss is always appealing so I added some to my carb intake quota and carried on with the low carb high fat diet. The worst part for me has been my bike rides. Sometimes I’m out several hours. I can feel the lack of glycogen in my muscles. I just drag. I can’t do that. I need to be able to ride and I need to have my usual energy to do that. Even with a few more carbs, its just not enough. The other big issue is the amount of meat. My whole system is slowing down and getting gunked up. I can’t do this anymore.

In my research I have found that a high carb low fat diet can often give me too much energy, not completely satiate me, and stores too much as fat if you can’t manage to burn it all off in time. A low carb high fat diet is satiating and requires little exercise. Because you can’t exercise, for lack of energy, especially in endurance sports like cycling.

So here it is. Epic fail. I said that if this happened again that I would go completely moderate. Here’s what I’m trying this time. I’m going to eat a moderate diet, with a moderate calorie deficit. I’m not going to rule out any food or food groups, but I will keep in mind that I don’t tolerate dairy and grain well. I’m going to keep a food diary everyday and weigh myself every morning for two weeks and see what I have to say after that. And this time, I’m going to follow the moderate and recommended macronutrient ratios of 50% carb,30% fat, 20% protein, give or take. I will try to listen to what my body is telling me and craving. I will not deny myself or force feed myself something I don’t want. I will not eat after 8pm. I will try to get the majority of my calories from whole foods.

It was harder going into this month than I expected. I am most definitely an emotional eater and have had my fair share of binges, so being frustrated about my progress and having had a few set-backs last week... Well... it wasn’t pretty. So the other day I picked up a book about coping with “diet” pitfalls and found some helpful strategies in it, as well as the ugly night eating cycle exposed. Night eating is a habit I picked up from my husband who works a very physical job and doesn’t eat much during the day, and is probably the culprit behind my lack of success last month.

I didn’t realize how much I truly end up eating in the evening after dinner until I started keeping a food journal again. Usually its pretty good whole foods, but even those calories add up! And the full belly makes it harder to sleep at night. Then you wake feeling full and not wanting to eat your bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and the ugly cycle perpetuates...

A great tip I got is to have a very simple, regular menu. Breakfast is easy because everyday we eat oatmeal. Dressed up oatmeal never gets old. I love trying new combinations and its one of the best parts of my day. But lunch is harder. Lunch has been harder ever since I’ve given up sandwiches. I love sandwiches and that’s what I grew up eating for lunch. Bread with nuts and seeds in it, a thin slice of cheddar of swiss, a couple pieces of turkey or ham, and lots and lots of veggies! I love tomatoes, all kinds of lettuce, sprouts, avocado, you name it! Or chicken salad loaded with veggies. Veggie sandwiches. Fish sandwiches. Subs. It’s like oatmeal. It never gets boring.

But bread has gluten and cheese has dairy and meat takes forever to digest and these things are not vegetarian or vegan in any way. But if I could eat sandwiches I would feel satisfied and never deprived. Add with it fruit, salad, or soup and its a pretty healthy meal. Not every sandwich needs to have meat or dairy, not every bread needs to have gluten. But I’m tired of denying myself sandwiches, so I made myself a deal: After dinner I will have nothing more than a piece of fruit and some herbal tea, if for the next few weeks I can eat sandwiches for lunch and see what happens.