Confessional
January 25th, 2007 by theportlychef
I have to admit that I’ve earned the “portly” part of my name. I am, and have always been, on the heavy side. Two weeks ago, at my annual physical, my weight and blood pressure were both at through-the-roof levels, so my doctor put me on a diet.
Key #1 to the diet is portion size. “Nothing bigger than the palm of your hand,” he says. I ask how high I can stack things in my hand. His sense of humor clearly isn’t as good as mine. But I relent.
My wife and I begin the South Beach diet. In the first week and a half, I go from 269 to 254. Not too shabby. We’re keying in on protiens (often steak) and vegatables, mostly basic recipes from the Bible — The Joy of Cooking. Last night was peel-n-eat shrimp with steamed crab claws. Pretty swank.
Then tonight happens. I’ve been craving Taco Bell, or Popeyes, all day. Finally, I cave in and go to Culvers. Deluxe burger, cheese curds, and a Butterfinger frozen custard. I am in heaven.
But, back to salads tomorrow.
Low Carb works, and is the only way I’ve found to control weight and waistline without descending into an existence of hairshirts and self-denial. It can be quite dull, until you find ways of allowing a level of variety….
One, is the use of Splenda, as you already indicated in your C&Z postings.
Another is to use Phyllo pastry in place of shortcrust - the flour content is negligible, and you can make individual tarts and pies using phyllo just as effectively as a more robust pastry. It cerainly revolutionised my menu when I realised this….
I hadn’t heard the phyllo suggestion, and am glad to try and incorporate it into my recipes, especially with the SuperBowl coming up, where so many recipes seems to require some sort of pastry.
The beauty of Low Carb (at least, specifically South Beach), is that Phase 1 is such a stage of self-denial that once you progress to Phase 2, your cravings are changed. Suddenly, whole wheat bread and fruit is a major indulgence, but one that you can have. That is my favorite part fo the South Beach regimine.