My weight has yo-yo’ed a bit throughout my adult life. In my early twenties when my nights were filled with pints of calorie-laden beer and late night burritos as big as my head, I was a little heavier. Now that I have two kids and am always on the run, I don’t have time to sit down and actually eat so I tend to be a bit slimmer. Last year after spring break, I had an extra 8 pounds that I just couldn’t shed. I didn’t mind that much, but my clothes were a bit uncomfortable and well…I love my clothes too much to trade them in because of a week-long margarita binge.
Oh carbs. How I adore you. When my husband told me about a diet his doctor discussed with him, I kind of wanted to run away and cry. The diet consists of LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) food- No bread! No muffins! No yummy deliciousness that actually fills you up! I made sure to educate myself as completely as possible (this is the website that I used) and I gave it a whirl after much grumbling.
You know what? I lost 8 pounds in the month I committed to the diet. My husband? He has lost 55 pounds since he started in mid-July. It hasn’t been easy- we were both hangry as hell for 4-6 weeks but it was the first diet either of us had tried that we saw lasting results from.
I don’t think this diet is for everyone, nor do I think it is the absolute healthiest diet out there. For my body, it did actually work to shed pounds that were stubbornly hanging on and helped me change the way I look food. Since then, I have consciously chosen foods that are lower in carbohydrates and kept off the weight without really trying.
The premise behind this diet is that you reduce the amount of carbs (including sugar and starches) and increase the quantity of foods high in natural fat. I love the fact that there aren’t any fake shakes, no fasting or calorie counting, and you can honestly eat until you feel full.
If you want to really burn fat you can try a ketogenic diet: consume a minimal amount of carbs per day and restrict protein to kick your body into ketosis. This is an extreme form of the LCHF diet, and your body switches its fuel supply to run almost entirely on fat. This isn’t for everyone, and I would highly recommend consulting your physician before trying any diet out. However, this is how my husband lost the majority of his weight.
Here are a few low carb, high-fat recipes I discovered for dinner that actually taste good!
Baked Chicken Breasts with Cream Cheese, Bacon and Feta
I found this recipe through Peapod- they actually have a meal kit you can order with all of the ingredients pre-measured. Unfortunately, it comes with potatoes on the side so I started making my own dish at home. Melt cream cheese with a little water in a dish in the microwave until soft, add cooked crumbled bacon and some feta cheese to the bowl and stir. Place on top of chicken breasts and bake.
Baked Salmon with Pesto Butter and Dill
If you have a Costco membership, this is a no-brainer. We buy this in the prepared food section and even my 5 year old loves it. I imagine it would be pretty simple to make at home as well- mix prepared pesto with butter, place on top of a salmon fillet, and add fresh dill; bake.
Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
Bet you didn’t think I would include pasta on this list but I discovered a CARB FREE PASTA.
Every month, I get a delivery of 10-15 food items through Degustabox, a subscription box full of many new to the market or new to the US foods. In my February Degustabox I discovered Slendier, a carb-free, gluten-free noodle that is made from a vegetable called Konjac. I found that I really missed pasta, and was incredibly excited to give this a try! I am not a huge fan of zucchini noodles- the consistency is just a bit off for me.
I often find 2-3 items in my Degustabox every month that I purchase again- some of my favorites are parmesan cheese crisps called Cello Whisps (low carb!) and Chips Ahoy! Thins in Cinnamon Sugar– ummm….not low carb, but we all need something delicious to cheat with, and you NEED to try these if you like snickerdoodles or churros. They are my new favorite cookie- my dad and I polished off the bag together one night without realizing it. And he doesn’t even like sweets.
For the Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, I baked chicken breasts and sliced them, then whipped up a low carb Alfredo sauce with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. The Slendier noodles were easy to prepare since they are pre-cooked; they seriously took one minute.
If you want to try Degustabox, you can get your first for only $9.99. After your first month, it is only $19.99/month after and you receive 10-15 full-size products.
What you do think about the low carb high-fat diet? Any success? Any issues? I am curious to see if anyone else has tried it! If you do give it a shot, please consult your physician first because I am certainly not a nutritionist or physician myself!
