Empowered by the Low Carb Diet

Tonight's dinner consisted of a low carb hamburger with rocket salad, red
bell peppers and mayo with a dash of ketchup. Into the burger I stuffed
Camembert and blue cheese. Of course the bun was low carb.

One of the things I love about the low carb diet is that I finally feel like I'm in control of my weight. Having lost three kilos in just five days fills me with a sense of empowerment, which I haven't felt for a long time. When you're stuffing crap into your face, knowing that you'll get fatter from it, you get to a point where you feel utterly out of control (and I'm not even THAT fat).

Gone are those days and I look forward to seeing more results tomorrow.

Baking: A Part of the Low Carb Lifestyle

If you're contemplating the low carb lifestyle and don't like cooking or baking, you're in a bit of trouble. Why? Well since most of the foodstuff you need to eat when you're monitoring your carb intake isn't readily available in your local grocery store (at least not in Iceland or other countries I've visited, which are quite a few). Anywho, in order to tackle this problem head first, best find your apron and put on your baking mood.

Today, I've spent a couple of hours getting ready for a TV night tonight and then a two day trip I'm taking the family on. That means baking and cooking. For tonight I put together a very tasty ice cream, which adheres to the low carb diet. This is what I did:

Ice Cream

My daughter dipping into the vanilla ice cream.

• 5 eggs.
• 5 tablespoons xylitol.
• Whip together for 5 minutes with flavoring of your choice (I divided the recipe into two and added one espresso into one bowl and two teaspoons of vanilla essence to the other one). 
• In a separate bowl, whip 5 dl of cream.
• Mix carefully and slowly to egg mixture and dump into the freezer for a couple of hours.

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Tonight I'm feeding the family hamburgers. Since fatsos like me can't eat the regular kind of hamburger buns, I made my own. This what low carb buns look like:

Hamburger Buns

Hamburger buns or just bread rolls. 

• 2 eggs.
• 3 dl almond flour.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder.
• 1 teaspoon salt.
• 2.5 dl boiled water.

1. Mix together the dry ingredients.
2. Add the eggs and mix.
3. Add the boiled water.
4. Leave to set for a 5 minutes, as mixture is very moist.
5. Cover an oven plate with baking paper.
6. Divide mixture in five.
7. Bake for 50 minutes in a 180°C warm oven.

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For the travelling I plan to take four of the hamburger buns and use as sandwiches (tastes better than it sounds). Also, I will be taking crisp bread, also baked today. Tastes great with butter only, cheese or cottage cheese (a personal favorite). This what you do:

Crisp Bread

What the crisp bread looked like, before it hit the oven.

• 4 dl sesame seeds.
• 4 dl linseeds.
• 2 dl pumpkin seeds.
• 2 dl sunflower seeds.
• 2 dl egg whites (about 6 egg whites).
• 3 dl boiling water.
• 1 tablespoon salt.

1. Mix it all together and leave to set for about 20 minutes.
2. Divide mixture into two parts and spread each part on an oven plate (make sure it's not too thick or too thin).
3. Bake at 120°C in an hot-air oven for 1 hour.

Adios, fatsos!

In the morning I usually have a cup of black coffee with
coconut oil in it, which tastes better than I dared to hope.

Hurrah! We're getting there! When I hauled my ass to the scale this morning an unknown number greeted me. It read: 95.6 kilograms, which means I'm 2.8 kilograms less of a chubby bastard today than I was when I shoved the last couple of carbohydrates into my fat mouth, five days ago.

Stood naked in front of the mirror this morning (I know, not a pretty sight!), I felt like I was less of a hyppo than when I started. Since I've long suspected that my scales were lying to me, I decided to locate a scientifically proven equipment which could proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was a lesser man today then a few days ago: A measurement tape!

Last Sunday I actually measured myself high and low and wrote down. I measured my pecs, thighs, triceps and gut. Today's results were convincing that I was on the right track. My tummy had shrunk by 4 cm, my pecs and triceps were unchanged and my thigh was a little be larger (which I think is due to a great session in crossfit this week). 

Like I said, it's all in the right direction if all goes according to plan, there will be less of me to love in a week.

Cooking Jamie Oliver Recipes, Low Carb Style!

I don't get away with offering my family just anything for dinner. I would never say that my wife was particular about her food, but I might get away with saying that she has a polished palate when it comes to food (and men). My older daughter is, on the other hand, a fuzzy eater (don't know where she gets that from), while my younger daughter is like a trash can: Takes anything (don't know where she gets that from).

With a situation like that cooking is a challenge, which usually falls onto the lap of your dearly beloved fatso. But really, cooking low carb for everyone is actually less of a challenge than you might think. In my case, I only add one dish which has a lot of carbs for those who can eat carbs without ballooning.

Last night I cooked a Jamie Oliver recipe. Chicken breasts, seasoned with S&P, grated lemon peel and fresh thyme. Slicing the breasts into two thinner slices is a good idea, as it's quicker to cook them on the pan. With this I served a potato mash with butter and sweet corn, which you add after having mashed the potatoes (for me, mash with cauliflower and cilantro). On the side: Tomato and basil salad with a little bit of red wine vinaigrette and olive oil.

A walk in the park and everybody was happy (aside from the fuzzy baby, which eventually got toast with cheese).

My Fat Percentage Jumped!

Dragged my fat ass to the scale this morning and for a moment I was really happy. The scale announced that my fat ass was 500 grams lighter today than yesterday. Then the sky turned grey and I was struck with devastating news: My fat percentage had gone up by 0.8 percentage points.

Muscles way more than fat, so naturally I wondered whether the little muscles I had had disappeared and blubber taken over? I'm going to find out the truth in this matter. 

(And so I don't forget. A friendly lady named Anna pointed out to me that adding a little bit of butter -- or a lot of butter -- to my eggs in the morning should make them more pleasant to eat).

Recipe of the Day: Low Carb Rhubarb Pie

This is as easy as it gets:

• 500g finely diced rhubarb placed in a oven-proof container and about 2 tablespoons of Xylitol sweetener tossed over.

The dough:

• 150g soft butter
• 100g almond flour
• 50g coconut flour
• 100g Xylitol sweetener
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preparation:

Mix together all the ingredients and them throw it over the rhubarb. Bake in a 180°C warm oven for 25 minutes. Serve with whipped cream.

Waiter, There's a Fatso On My Table!

"Eh, no," said the waiter at one of Reykjavik's finer restaurants. The whale that had become shipwrecked at his table for this lunch hour had just asked whether they served any low carb desserts. The guy looked like I just announced that I slept with his wife and was about to go home and kick his dog.

Day two has been kind of effortless, so to speak. The day began with three hard boiled eggs. After shoving them down my throat and washed them down with 0.5 liter of ice water, I began to understand how inmates in Guantanamo Bay feel after having been force fed. Ergo: Three hard boiled eggs early in the morning aren't sexy.

Dinner consisted of an oven-baked whole chicken with a lemon up its but, and cauliflower mash with fresh cilantro. Salad on the side. Good stuff. For dessert I inhaled an endless amount of rhubarb pie with cream (recipe in a separate post).

It's kind of remarkable with this low carb lifestyle that you become full in a different way then when you're eating carbohydrates. It's not the knocked-out-feeling you sometimes get after having gorged on a week's supply of junk food in a matter of seconds. The feeling is something that takes getting used to. Then there's the thing with the headache. It's not pleasant, but I gather it goes away in a matter of days, thank god!

Recipe of the Day: Low Carb Mash

Pureed or mashed cauliflower is a great substitute for mashed potatoes. Low in carbs and high in nutrients, the "cauli-taste" is very mild. Try it even if you think you won't like. Even my husband asks for it! You can flavor it up in any way you like Adding garlic is a great addition, or Parmesan cheese, or both!

Ingredients:

• Raw Cauliflower - a medium head makes about a pound of florets
• Any combination of butter, milk, cream, or whatever you use when you make mashed potatoes - about 1/4 cup
• Salt and pepper
• If you have low carb "instant mashed potatoes", add up to 1/4 cup for texture*
• Options: minced garlic (a clove or two); garlic powder (1/2 to 1 teaspoon); cheese

Preparation:

• I like to use instant "potatoes" made for low carb diets, such as Dixie Carb Counters Instant Mashers. Other people use a small amount of real potato or instant potatoes to improve the texture. But you don't need any of these things.
• Break the cauliflower up into florets, or just chop. I like to cook it in the microwave in a container that I prepare and serve it in, but you can steam it. Cook it until it's tender -- a fork should easily pierce it.
• The easiest thing to do is to add the rest of the ingredients to the container the cauliflower is cooked in, and then use a stick (hand) blender to put it all together. Or you can put it all in a regular blender or food processor.

Assuming 4 servings from a pound of cauliflower, each will have about 3 grams of usable carbohydrate plus three grams of fiber. The calories will depend on what else you add.

The Fatso Fights Back: Day 1

The first day on the low carb diet has been okay and in fact not as difficult as I anticipated. I began the day on the scales and to my pleasant surprise I was a kilo lighter today than yesterday (i.e. 94.7 kg). Don't misunderstand me. I haven't invented the magic bullet for weight loss which takes away a kilogram each day. Afraid not. It's probably just the fact that you're lighter when you weigh in the morning than at other hours of the day. 

I bought a WiFi scale which has recorded how disgustingly fat I had become. Much to my dismay it has also recorded my fat percentage, which isn't exactly pleasant. Hopefully the damn thing will stop lying to me.

Today's breakfast consisted of three hard boiled eggs and a tall glass of ice water. It was a bit like being force fed. Who wants to eat three hard boiled eggs for breakfast? Eh, not me! After having stuffed my face with the eggs I drank a bit of green tea, pictured below, and a bit of coffee. Yummy!

You can probably buy this stuff anywhere (or something similar).

Just before lunch I ate some low carb bread with Parma ham and two bites of red bell peppers. Then I took off to the gym. After a pretty good workout I went to a Mexican restaurant which sells low carb dishes, which I gorged in a matter of seconds.

As the day progressed I noticed one thing: My energy levels are little bit more balanced than usually. And I didn't feel the gut-wrenching hunger that sometimes hits me when I'm eating "normal". After work I went to a shop that sells Atkins products. Among the stuff you can get from them are chocolate bars and protein shakes, which are low in carbs and therefore useful to have if you get a sugar craving. At least they are going to be more sensible than a Snickers bar (I get fat at the mere thought of a Snickers bar).

This is what I bought.

Dinner consisted of bacon, eggs and a dash of ketchup. Downed with soda water. Delightfyl. And now, when it's getting close to midnight, I'm baking a bit of low carb bread for the rest of the week...

Recipe of the Day: Low Carb Focaccia

I call this "focaccia" because it is baked in that style -- flat on a sheet pan, and then cut up into whatever sized pieces you want. It works for toast, sandwiches, and other bready uses. It is "rough" in texture like heavy whole grain breads. Since it isn't made with wheat, it doesn't have the same kind of grain as wheat breads, but the carb in flax is almost all fiber. Flax is very useful on a low carb diet, as well as being amazingly good for you. 

Prep Time: 15 minutesCook Time: 20 minutesTotal Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flax seed meal
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 Tablespoons sugar equivalent from artificial sweetener
• 5 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup oil

Preparation:Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper or a silicone mat.

1. Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.
2. Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter.
3. Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.)
4. Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).
5. Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than flax already is.
6. Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; I usually just cut it with a spatula.

Nutritional Information: Each of 12 servings has less than a gram of effective carbohydrate (.7 grams to be exact) plus 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

Recipe borrowed from here: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/flaxbasicfoc.htm

I Resign From Being Fat

The chart shows that over the past two years I've been gaining weight. I was in
my peak physical condition about six years ago, when I was 82 kg.

Tomorrow I'm starting yet another diet. I'm not exactly HUGE, although my fat tummy has seen better days. When I weighed myself this morning I was 98.4 kg (216 pounds), which is too much for someone who's 183 cm (6ft 1') tall. According to the Body Mass Index I come in at about 29.4 points and everything exceeding 25 points is considered to be "overweight", while those how exceed 30 points are "obese". That's not where I'm heading (dear god, please!).

How Did This Happen?
Well, I've got a desk job, I'm not active enough and I eat too much. Possibly it's also due to the fact that I've got two young children and when you're trying to be a decent parent you don't have a lot of free time. To top it off, I damaged my legs with long-distance running (tibia stress fractures). That didn't help. The result: The Elephant Man in the making.

What's the Problem?
My primary problem is sugar and carbohydrates. I LOVE carbs. I stuff carbs into my face like there's no tomorrow. Before you know it, you're fat. FAT. All of the sudden them skinny jeans make you look ridiculous. Of course you can try to blame it on the fact that you're not "young" anymore (I'm in my late thirties). But the fact of the matter is I'm fat. Well, chubby, at least. And I've decided that I'm not going to be fat -- I mean chubby -- any longer.

So What's This Site About?
On this site I'm going to blog about the results I've seen from the low carb diet I'm starting tomorrow. I'm inspired by an Icelandic book I've read on the diet and a book called The 4-Hour Body. I'm going to weigh in every day and share the results with you. Since I'm thoroughly embarrassed for being a fatso, I'm not going to disclose my name. For now.