week 6: A 'plan'? "I don't even have a 'pl'!"*

Ah, Pheebs, you and me both. Until now.

This past week was the 6th week of my 2009 Bikini Project, and I suddenly realized, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I'M DOING!

It happened on Wednesday when I was writing my post about my first because she's having her second. I started to reminisce about how crappy I felt when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, then later how great I felt and how my weight-gain stabilized at 35lbs thanks to the low-carb diet my ob/gyn put me on.

I swear, you could've heard the Jeopardy theme playing (the bonus round one)...

Then it finally hit me.

LOW CARB!

OMG, how in the world did I ever forget about my insulin resistance? And when did I stop low-carbing?

I'm not sure how to answer those questions, but I do know that going veg did not help.
Many -- if not all -- plant-based protein sources have hidden carbs. To stay low-carb, I had to count those too. And in the end, I had to admit that I was not about to spend every day counting carbs in everything I ate.

As a meat-eating low-carber, I could eat a certain amount of carbs per meal and pad the rest of my meal with chicken/fish/eggs until I was sated -- MUCH EASIER because the carb count of meat is near zero.

And we all know that the simpler a plan is, the better the chances of sticking to it. The less I have to think about details, the better.

So, on Thursday, I reintroduced meat into my diet, focusing on chicken and fish/seafood... and yes, some pork.

And my results after going low-carb meat?

1: A 3-pound weight-loss... in just 3 days -- very common occurance for me as soon as I go low carb.
2: A feeling of satiety everyday.
3: No more feeling puffy.
4: An overall feeling of well-being -- euphoric even. Apparently, I don't need drugs -- just meat.

It wasn't until I remembered an "old" plan that I realized I didn't have any plan at all.

But now I have one:
A) Low carb meat
B) 3 meals per day
C) 1-day mini-fast per week (see week 4 for more info on this.)

When I hit Maintenance, I'm thinking of doing only veg 1-2 days/week, but we'll see. I may start doing that sooner or maybe later. I still have to observe the impact this will have on my cycles, which improved when I went pesca-veg.

But for now, I'm just pleased that I finally have a plan I can stick to.

* - Phoebe Buffay, Friends, Episode 104: The One with George Stephanopoulos