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I do have a bit of a sweet tooth and even when I’m well into a low carb nutrition plan, I sill need to experience the taste of sweetness now and then. My preference is to get my sugar fix from fresh fruit, especially the low glycemic ones like berries such as strawberries, blue berries, black berries, etc. However, when it comes to drinking tea and coffee I need some kind of sweetener.

Sugar is out of the question for this purpose. My solution is to sprinkle in a packet of Equal (aspartame). This satisfies my need for sweetness when consuming tea and coffee and also doesn’t introduce any more carbs into my daily total. I also enjoy a glass of Diet Coke on a daily basis, particularly if it’s got some Bacardi light rum mixed in with it.

So what’s not to like about this artificial sweetener? Aparently quite a bit.

One of the key ingredients of aspartame is methanol, which is also known as wood alcohol. What’s even worse, is that when not in the presence of ethanol, methanol will convert into formaldehyde in your body. So it looks like if you consume this product, you are in effect, embalming yourself. Not a pleasant thought is it?

The other key ingredient in aspartame is phenylalinine. If you have sensitivity to this amino acid then you can experience nervous system problems. On this point, I don’t seem to be affected.

So what about the other types of artificial sweeteners? Sacarin has been accused of causing cancer and I don’t like the taste of it, so I never use it. Splenda is not problem-free either and it tastes too sweet to my palate. I haven’t tried any of the others since Equal does the job for me. So will I swear off aspartame now that it appears to be really bad for me? The short answer is “no”.

I feel that my daily intake of aspartame is relatively small. I’ve been using it for as long as I can remember with no outward signs of harm. I can’t vouche for what it may be doing to me internally. Sure, I would love to stop using it completely, but then I probably would just go back to white sugar, which in my opinion is even worse. So like many things in life, I’ve chosen to draw up a compromise. It’s a coping mechanism that allows me to stay on a low carb diet, lose unsightly body fat, and keep me satisfied all at the same time. I will however, begin investigating natural sources of sweeteners that don’t contain sugar, but for the time being, I’m not sweating my light use of aspartame.

Last week my brother was in town for a visit. It had been oer 10 years since we last saw one another and this was an occasion to do a lot of catching up. Of course, this involved quite a bit of catching up over good food and drink. Fortunately, I had enough advance warning of his visit that I could plan out some eating strategies. I knew that there would be a few days where he’d be off on his own and I could still adhere to my strict low carb diet regimen. On the days when we were together for meals and socializing I didn’t fight it, but rather allowed myself to consume things like beer, rice (Chinese food), and pasta. I even had a small serving of ice cream or two.

The net result was that I didn’t lose any more weight during the week my brother was here, but I didn’t gain any either. My coping strategy for these occasions is to not resist consuming high glycemic carbs when offered and just enjoy the moment. I can do this with the confidence that I’ll get right back to my regular nutrition plan when things return to normal.

You may be wondering where to cap off the total number of daily carbs when going low carb. The Atkins Diet sets a maximum of 20 grams when in the initial “Induction Phase”. This is extremely low, but will put you into ketosis pretty quick. Personally, I feel that this is much too low and also precludes consuming much if any of the low glycemic index carbs such as berries and nuts.

My preference is to cap my total daily carb consumption at around 60 grams. This isn’t a hard and fast rule either. I may go a bit over on some days or stay below it on others. I just know from experience that I lose fat pretty rapidly around this number.

I think it’s just too much of a shock to the system to drastically cut carbs below 20 grams a day for most people and the risk of people giving up on the diet plan is greatly increased. After all, it should be “sane” weight loss!

One of the fundamental equations of life, similar to the law of gravity, is that if you consume more calories than what is required to maintain your basic metabolism you will gain weight. Conversely, if you take in fewer calories than you need for basic metabolism then you will lose weight. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complex than this simple formula would imply.

Our bodies have an amazing sub-system called the endocrine system, which is a network of glands that secrete various hormones to regulate various processes in our bodies. A very important hormone that typically gets overlooked when it comes to weight control and body composition is insulin. We typically associate insulin with diabetes. Of course diabetes is a very serious disease and with more and more adults becoming afflicted with Type II diabetes it certainly is a grave concern. However, many people are not aware of the connection between high glycemic index carbs and the insulin spike that trigger. Insulin’s purpose is to regulate the amount of blood sugar (glucose) that’s coursing through our veins. If we can not immediately burn the available glucose for energy needs then insulin makes sure that it is laid down as fat for later energy needs.

A diet that is high in high glycemic carbs such as bread, rice, cereal, pasta, and sugar produces a fair share of insulin spikes. In many cases the result is an unsightly bulge around the mid-section. This is a very convenient site to lay down nice slabs of yellow gooey fat. It’s also putting us at increased risk of heart disease.

So instead of counting grams of fat and total calories, I simply count grams of carbohydrate. This becomes very easy since on my weight loss plan I’ve completely eliminated refined sugar in the form of pastries and candy and starches such as rice, pasta, and potatoes. I do allow myself a slice of low carb bread with breakfast. Beyond that, it’s very easy to know that I’m keeping my total carb intake low and that the carbs I am consuming are coming from low-glycemic index sources such as green leafy veggies, low GI fruits, and nuts. Who said that a low-carb diet was all red meat and sausage?

So when it comes to eating, I eat as much as my body tells me it wants without caring about total calories. I’m still aware of portion control, but if I find myself hungry later in the evening, I’ll have some nuts or slice up some cheese and not worry that I’ve gone over my calorie allotment for the day. It’s definitely a much saner way of “dieting!”

It rarely fails, you begin a diet and lose that first 5 - 10 lbs and then hit a plateau where it seems impossible to lose any further weight. Some people will then begin to drop their daily calorie intake even further and also maybe step up their cardio work. They might lose a few more pounds in the process, but instead of unsightly far, they’re horrified to find that they’ve cannibalized hard-earned muscle instead. This is because it’s easier for your body to burn lean muscle for energy in the presence of reduced calories than turn to deep stores of fat. This is the main reason I rely on a low-carb diet instead of a calorie-reduced low fat diet.

However, to take full advantage of the effects of a low-carb diet and to retain and even build new muscle, I adhere to a strict weight training routine. Besides the well-known advantage of lean muscle burning more calories while at rest, you want to keep your body in a anabolic (muscle-building) state rather than a catabolic (muscle destroying) state while dieting. It’s controversial whether it’s possible to build muscle while dieting - many say it’s impossible and others have routines they claim make it possible. I can say from my own personal experience that it is possible, but certainly not easy. In a future post I’ll explain what my weight training routine consists of while going low-carb and why you need to treat this period as an “extreme hard-gainer’s mode.”

One of the inevitable side effects of any low carb diet and probably most diets with severe calorie restrictions, is fatigue during the first few days of starting. This is particularly pronounced with low-carb diets. I’ve experienced tiredness each and every time I’ve gone on a low-carb diet. The good news is that, for me, it passes after the first 3-4 days in. I believe the fatigue is a result of your metabolism transitioning from being a “sugar-burner” to that of a “fat-burner”. Severely restricting carbs in your diet, which can be readily converted to glucose in the blood stream causes a momentary energy deficiency in your body. Eventually, your metabolism gets the message that it can’t rely on sugar as an easy energy source and it then resorts to burning stored fat for energy. Once this metabolic shift occurs, then I can feel my energy levels get back up to normal.

This is also a sure indication that I’ve gone into ketosis and that my body is now primarily burning off stored fat. No need to fool with Ketostix and other such nonsense to check for ketosis — just let things take their course. Sure it’s a bit unpleasant going through your day at less than full energy. Especially when you’re also still hitting the weights and cardio hard in the gym. In the past, during the first few days of starting the low-carb diet, I’ve been pretty spaced out while in the gym. So it’s vitally important to be aware of this condition and take extra precautions where safety is concerned. But like I said. the drowsiness will pass after a few days and then you can rejoice in knowing that the fat-burning phase has kicked into high gear!

After 2 weeks since starting my low-carb diet, I’m down 9 lbs. This may seem like pretty rapid weight loss, but is actually less weight than I’ve lost in prior years on the same diet. I attribute this to a slower metabolism due to age and the fact that I’m consuming a few extra daily calories. It’s all good though.

This does force me to reconsider my goal weight since I’m still carry quite a bit of fat on my upper body - abdomen, chest, and upper back. These are the places it likes to hide on me and a lot of others I assume. I initially was shooting for 168 lb., but my estimate is that I’m still carrying more than 10 lbs of extra fat. My goal is to get down to 14% total body fat, so I’m estimating that I would need to get below 165 to hit this target. Below 165 I’m sure I’d be rail thin.

The challenge, as with any weight loss program, is to maximize fat loss while minimizing muscle loss. I’m going to make some tweaks to my weight lifting routine as well as my cardio regimen. That’s the beauty of conducting a science experiment on yourself in real time.

I’ve been doing a form of low carb dieting for the past 15 years. There were a few years that I skipped, maybe 2 or 3. The first year that I went on the diet was after reading the “Endocrine Control Diet” by Calvin Ezrin and Robert E. Kowalski. It was a carb-restricted diet with the emphasis on protein and fat, similar to the Atkins diet, but a bit looser on the carb restrictions.

I recall that I lost 15lbs the first week! Perhaps this was due to being the first time being on a low carb diet or the fact that I was eating a lot less calories than previously. I was also a lot younger and I continued to lift weights intensely during the diet. I do recall feeling rather fatigued the first couple of days into the diet and being somewhat lightheaded while in the gym.

Anyway, it just so happened that it was early spring when I started and this became the starting period for the low carb diet in all subsequent years. Actually, this timing has worked out extremely well. It was a form of spring house cleaning for my body. A time to shed the fat accumulated over the winter and from the holiday season. The diet would take me right into the summer months so I looked a lot slimmer when wearing swim trunks. I would then phase out of the diet going into the fall and repeat the cycle again the following spring.

The other advantage of starting a low carb diet in the spring is that it allows me to cook out on the grill. This is perfect for grilling steaks, burgers, chicken, and fish, which are the staples of most low carb diets. I always look forward to enjoying a grilled rib eye with a side of steamed broccoli and a big garden salad. Believe it or not, I’ve lost 22lbs eating like this.

I’ve completed the first full week of my diet — actually I prefer to call it a “fat loss program”. Diet alone will not yield the same results as combining the program into a complete package — nutrition regimen, cardio and weight training routines. Anyway, total poundage lost in 7 days is 8. Granted, most of it is probably water weight, but from having used this nutritional program before, I know that the stage has been set for some serious fat loss.

The basic process of a low carb diet is to cause your body to undergo a metabolic shift — shift from being a suger-burner to being a fat-burner. This is achieved by reducing the ready supply of glucose in your blood stream and force your metabolism to turn to your body’s fat stores for fuel. Yes, this is the metabolic state of ketosis, which continues to be controversial. I prefer to go by past experience rather than current theories and simply state that it works. At least for me.

I’ll post more about ketosis and low carb diet theories in future posts, but for now, I’m letting the nutritional plan do its thing while I continue to tweak various aspects of it.