Cutting down carbs

For almost a week now I’ve been cutting down my intake of carbs or carbohydrates. Carbs are sugar (fruits, candy etc), but it also part of products containing grain & fibers (bread, pasta, etc). I am making a conscious effort to lessen my carb intake. Not because I’m on a diet and am trying to lose weight, but because ever since I was sick a few weeks ago I’ve been getting stomachaches when eating foods that contain a lot of carbs. My main problems are eating bread and pasta and so I’ve decided to cut those out and replace them with other foods.

Like I said, I’m not on a diet, at least not in a classic sense of the word. I’m against diets per se and I’m not going completely low carb either. My main goal is to get rid of stomachaches, cramps and spasms that are a complete throwback to how I felt 3 years ago and that was nasty. I just want to feel good, be healthy and give my body a break. And guess what? So far… It’s working!

In fact, I’m puzzled by how this can be. Ever since Sunday I stopped eating bread and pasta. That’s it! To some extent I think it’s quite scary, because I am eating less than I used to, yet my body is responding better than I could ever have imagined. I don’t feel hungry,. I don’t get dizzy. I feel like how I always feel: energetic but without the 2-3 hour interferences of my body telling me I have to eat something. And only because I cut out pasta and bread and replaced it with more meat, more fish, more cheese and more veggies.

I already ate all those things, but less than I do now. I’m also still trying to eat 2 pieces of fruit a day (which are filled with carbs as they contain a lot of sugar), as I just love those too much and getting some carbs is necessary when you work out too, so I would never be able to go low carb as that would just be unhealthy combined with my work out schedule.

However, since Wednesday my new way of eating has led to my feeling fuller, for a longer time, and when I went home on Wednesday I realized that after a full day of work, I still hadn’t had my midmorning snack, apple or banana that I always bring. I just forgot all about it as I never got hungry during the day. How this works is completely beyond me, but hey if it works it works right?

Here’s what I’ve been eating the past week:

Sunday: fried egg with ham & cheese for breakfast, avocado & mackerel with a bit of mayo for lunch, pea soup for dinner

Monday: yoghurt with kiwi fruit for breakfast, salad with fresh spinach, bell pepper, fried chicken and cheese for lunch, banana in the afternoon, leftover avocado with mackerel for dinner

Tuesday: yoghurt with kiwi fruit for breakfast, same salad for lunch, banana in the afternoon, pumpkin soup for dinner

Wednesday: yoghurt with kiwi fruit for breakfast, same salad for lunch, green beans & meatball for dinner, banana as dessert

Thursday: 2 fried eggs with ham & cheese for (a late) breakfast, banana in the afternoon, sushi for dinner

The plan for today: 2 egg omelet with ham for breakfast, yoghurt with kiwi fruit before I go out the door, banana in the afternoon, salad for dinner.

I think I could use some more variation in my meals, but that is very difficult for me as I live by myself and feel bad having to throw anything out. I’d rather make full use of the ingredients I buy than buying tons and have variation, but having to throw it out in the end. That is why, I’ll just change the ingredients of my lunch salad next week (I’m thinking of going with lettuce, tomatoes, bacon bits, goat’s cheese and walnuts) and there is variation in what I eat for dinner so I guess I’ll be good.

I’m not keeping track of whether I’m losing weight or not, as that is not important to me. Like I said, my goal is to ban stomachaches, not kilos. So I couldn’t tell you about those effects. If you are interested in the effects of eating less carbs on weight loss, check out Noelle’s blog (in Dutch), she’s been going totally low carb to lose weight.

Q: Have you ever tried cutting down carbs? How did it go for you? Or are you interested in doing so?