It’s been just over 4 weeks for my 30 day slow-carb experiment, with one more day to go. Overall, I have not been able to stick to the diet religiously but have used its basic principles (such as not drinking my calories and avoiding simple carbs) for nearly every single meal.

The original claim was “lose 20 pounds in 30 days”. I know this has not happened, but again, I did not follow it to a tee. However, I know that I ate healthier in the last month that I ever have in my life and have been cycling for at least 5 hours a week. I took pictures of myself before I started this 30 day experiment and I’m curious to see if there is a difference. Whether or not I share those photos is something I’ll have to think about.

I also got to try Wii Fit yesterday. It was awesome. Nintendo is brilliant. I think it has some real potential, if not for losing weight, then for increasing your balance, helping posture, and having a good time while you’re at it. Apparently the Wii balance board measured my BMI to be 23%, which is normal for my height/age, however based on my balance, it determined my Wii Fit age to be 36!! I was still getting used to how the board detects shifting weight and balance so I think I’ll have to redo that part.

I will be doing a full experiment recap after tomorrow but until then here are shots of some things I have been eating.

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I’m now on week 2 of the 30 day slow-carb diet experiment and I’ve managed to stick to the plan with little deviation but eating at work has been one of the most difficult parts. It’s easy to grill something up when you’re sitting back at home but its quite another story at work.

Sticking to the diet at work

Eating at work is always hard and its much more convenient (albeit expensive) to just pickup food during lunch instead of packing it in a sack. I’ve managed to do a little bit of both. For dinner the night before, I will make double portions so I can take the rest to work. Otherwise, I’ll resort to restaurants that fit within the diet such as the Green Onion, Port of Subs, and Qdoba. Eating a traditional salad for lunch usually leaves me hungry but salad bars like the Green Onion have much more than just greens to fill you up. I know some of the other places don’t fit the diet to a tee but working closely within the diet has allowed me to be more conscious of how much I’m eating and what I’m eating.

Two more weeks to go and I’ll be posting the results.

It’s been one week since I started the 30 day slow-carb diet experiment and I have some things to share.

The first thing I tried to do was create a log to track everything I was eating. This failed after the first two days and signifies a barrier than many people face when trying to change their lifestyle. I have never done well with keeping journals, class notes, etc. and I shouldn’t expect to start now. That will be the next thing I can work on. This can be translated to counting calories. What I like about the slow-carb experiment is that you aren’t counting anything. By sticking to protein, vegetables, and legumes you can eat until you’re comfortable. Counting calories or recording notes may help some people but if you’re not used to doing those things it may become a barrier to your success.

Here are some of the meals I ate over the past week:

Breakfast
Egg Whites with 1 whole egg for flavor and southwestern salsa
Black or Pinto beans
Spinach

Lunch/Dinner Meals
Chicken breast with southwestern salsa
Black or Pinto beans
Salad

Turkey burger
Black or Pinto beans
Corn

Chicken breast
Lentils
Asparagus

Naked Chicken Taco Salad from Qdoba with extra black or pinto beans

These meals were very similar but I haven’t gotten bored with them quite yet. You can mix and match pretty much anything from the three categories and with some creative cooking, make a great meal. I was never a big fan of spinach so I stayed away from it for years and I have rediscovered why. I still don’t like it. I’ve started to replace spinach with peas or mixed vegetables. Fresh asparagus is a good substitute as well.

I have stuck to only three meals a day instead of four because it is kind of hard to have two meals during a work day without either getting up early to make and bring in food or cooking extra food the night before.

Finally, I actually found it difficult to stick to the plan while eating at restaurants. I know mexican food can fit within the parameters pretty easily but when you’re on the run and need to find something quick, it can be hard. Qdoba fits into the quick mexican food category as you can see from my list of meals. The lack of options forced me to break the rules while I was out of the house for 4-5 meals out of the weeks 21 or so meals. I compensated for this by not having an “eat whatever you want day” for this week.

Finally, the workout plan has failed as well. It sounds like we’re off to a great start! I did hit the gym for 3 hours last week which included running, cycling, swimming, and weight training on machines. Changing what I eat has been much easier than finding time to go workout.

Added bonus: I spent at least $25 less on food and restaurants then the week prior to starting the experiment.