The Weight Loss or Exercise Fad I Tried
Super strict Atkin's diet, where I was eating only about 2 grams of carbs per day and playing tennis (in July in North Carolina!) for about 2 hours per day in 2003. I was super strict about reading nutrition labels (which is good) but wouldn't eat healthy foods (like carrots or apples) because they were too high in carbs.
Various other fad diets include the grapefruit diet that my doctor actually encouraged me to try in the mid-1990's. That one didn't last long because, alas, I don't like grapefruit juice unless it's got lots of sugar in it to make it palatable and sweet, which defeats the healthy benefits.
What Happened After I Tried It
I lost:
- 20 pounds
- my money
- my sanity
- my friends
I lost a lot of weight, but I was also weak (from sweating so much), tired (from using muscles I didn't even know existed) and cranky (for the reasons above and the whole no carbs thing). So I was not generally a very pleasant person to be around, which is why my friends started avoiding me until I began eating more healthy again!
Low carb products were also generally very expensive! Today, they are more affordable for those doing a lower GI diet, but low carb specialty stuff like tortillas, bread and baking mixes were only available online and ended up being 3-4 times more expensive than the regular products bought in the grocery store by the time you factored in the premium pricing and shipping charges. So I was an even more broke college student thanks to the ultra low carb diet!
What I'd Do Differently
- Don't exclude any major category of foods from your diet. I didn't get adequate nutrition (especially fiber) on the no carb plan, which excluded all grains, many fruits and a lot of veggies in the early stage (which I never made it past). I dreamed of crackers and then gorged on carbs later.
- Don't go from zero to 15 hours of exercise per week. You have to build up or you'll hurt yourself. Luckily, I stink at tennis so I spend most of time just chasing after balls rather than things that could have pulled a muscle or hurt me badly.
- You need a support network , so don't alienate your friends by being cranky.
