Actually, the words calories, diet, food combining, etc. are all annoying to us... and now the old dog is being refreshed again with a flood of English buzzwords, including the low-carb diet. How terrible that sounds! After compulsion and renunciation!
But that is neither sustainable nor healthy. Of course, every change in diet requires a little sacrifice and, above all, perseverance, but we want to ensure that with the new strategy we eat just as deliciously as “before”.
step by step
The whole thing starts with an analysis of the current situation: Maybe you are already low-carb or exactly the opposite? Furthermore, the question, what do I want, where do I want to go, what is my goal?
For me: I don't want to lose weight, I want to build muscles and, above all, be efficient at work AND in my free time; no couching, please.
So I look at food to find that the majority of conventional processed carbohydrates (cereals, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes) are very harmful to the body:
- Wheat or high wheat content
- Not whole grain, i.e. peeled grain is processed
- Prepared in fat, primarily processed potatoes
Of the foods mentioned above, there are of course also the “healthy forms”, e.g. whole grain rice, simply cooked potatoes, homemade spelled flakes for muesli, etc. If I delete these foods from my plan, a large proportion of carbohydrates and fats are already eliminated. Room for something new! 🙂
To build muscle I need protein. According to my weight, that's a maximum of 110g per day, i.e. 570 kcal, around 30% of my daily requirement.
To ensure I get enough vitamins and minerals, I eat fruit (2-3 portions) in the morning and lots of vegetables. Here I cover my share of carbohydrates in everyday life and eat a lot of fiber (good for digestion). It's difficult to give an exact number of calories, it's too complicated to weigh everything, and then it's no fun anymore... Then I think to myself, no one has ever died from too many vegetables. I estimate a maximum of 800 kcal, about 42% of my daily requirement. On any weight loss diet, you can eat vegetables in abundance. At some point the intestine simply rebels because of its tolerance (cf. raw, steaming, cooking). However, sauces and dressings should be made yourself; these can be sugar and fat traps! Optionally before a marathon, other sources are added to fill the reservoirs: millet, amaranth, quinoa, oats.
Fatty acids are also an important building material for the body and also a source of energy for endurance athletes. And I eat greasy, but fat-smart! I love nuts, seeds, flaxseeds, fatty fish. Here I look at the quantities, but don't count them. The body needs unsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids in moderation. A balanced ratio also helps with – yes, losing weight!
The right mindset
For me, low-carb doesn't mean giving up. I approach it from the other side: What do I like to eat and what do I want to achieve? So I need:...
It should be said that strict low-carbs also restrict the amount and type of vegetables, because at 800 kcal it's not exactly a few carbohydrates! But in my opinion that no longer has anything to do with a balanced diet and can inevitably only result in losing weight if you forbid yourself healthy, low-calorie food. And where is the enjoyment? What else should I eat ^^?
It is always essential to observe yourself, not just physically, but also your mood! Nobody wants to force you to eat and that's where you quickly end up when you start counting calories. Low carb is not low calories! Some people call me a barn thresher 😀 . The calculation above is based on a normal calorie intake per day. I primarily avoid sporting activities with more fats, which reduces the percentage of carbohydrates. Et voilà, low-carb, because I actually do exercise every day 😉 .
