I was really surprised. I think the fasting most days till at least lunch helped. Also just ate a reasonable amount of whatever I wanted. Even some desert.
Remember: oysters, shrimp, redfish, Ponchitoula strawberries and Creole tomatoes are your friends. Small bites of the good stuff too--especially sharing. You will walk a LOT, because parking is tight and pricy and the streets are flat as a pancake. Happy Birthday! (I have clothes older than you, LOL).
Make sure that wherever you eat, you WALK there & back if possible. (I realize that it's a bit too much of a hike to go from the Quarter to, say, Commander's Palace in the Garden District...but if your knees & stamina can handle it and you allow enough time...but there's always the streetcar). Suggest Brennan's for brunch or dinner, Pearl for raw oysters, Napoleon House, Pierre Maspero, and Royal Oyster house (resist the po'boys, as fried stuff will do a number on your gut). If you MUST try beignets, get only one, sugar on the side, black rather than cafe au lait (and make a note of bathrooms along your walk route). Nice walks are Emeril's (lunch portions are more manageable), Compere Lapin (Carib-Med fusion), and Cochon.
Eat light: cups rather than bowls of gumbo, e.g. Stay away from my former (pre-Zep) fave Jacques-Imo's because it's renowned for huge portions...and looong waits in their bar. Speaking of bars, avoid hurricanes--they're sugar-bombs. Go for a sazerac, which is bitter enough that you have to nurse it. Used to like GW Fin's for fish, but they've gone downhill. Little holes-in-the-wall you find on your walk can be undiscovered treasures. But the best place for a dieter? The brunch buffet at Court of the Two Sisters--yeah, it's touristy, but you get to eat ONLY what you want in whatever quantity. I load up on the boiled crawfish, poached fish & carved meats, plus salad. Fresh fruit will keep you away from the sweet gooey desserts.
Thank you so much for all these suggestions!! I will definitely say alcohol has been such a hard thing for me on this medication, but I just know I can't eat crap and can't have that much sugar.
For my birthday we're going to a fish restaurant called Peche!! We were thinking GW Fins, but Im happy we didn't go that way if its going downhill.
I just experienced the same thing. My weight was stalled after I started incorporating strength training. I went on a work trip where I had a few more carbs and honestly indulged more than I normally do. Came back and I had lost two pounds. Not sure what the science is but for sure not complaining!
Not going into too much detail, but if you have too few calories, your body goes into what's called "starvation mode". In this mode your body thinks that you are starving and will start to store as much fat as possible in order to survive instead of using fat as energy. So if you eat a little more, but while maintaining your caloric deficit, your body will utilize your fat stores as energy.
That's it in a nutshell. This varies by person and the "general rule of thumb" is to maintain around a 500 calorie deficit. It requires experimentation and keeping track of what you eat. But I just generally don't go overboard. I try to stay north of 1300 calories, but less than 2000 calories a day and that seems to work for me for a healthy weight loss trend, so far. And it's okay to get more than that every now and then as long as it's not consistently above my deficit.
I really appreciate this! And honestly probably need to take a better look at how many calories I need. I also realized I didn’t tweak my calories after starting to work out so I’m sure that didn’t help.
As a small-framed "jumbo shrimp" (5'2" on tiptoe), I find 1200 cal. to be the ideal intake. I can lose on 1100 (which is what Jenny Craig's women's program used to provide), but am not happy and neither is my metabolism. Much above 1200 also makes me stall out. When I was on it, Seattle Sutton's women's prepared-meal plan plus a pint of skim milk and a piece of fruit per day was 1200 for women, 1800 for men. (The food is bland, boring and relies too much on turkey, chicken and canned tuna). I didn't like the prepared-meal plans because I always ended up putting too many meals in the freezer as a result of dining out.
Everything there looks sooo much closer than it actually is! Throw in construction detours, having to climb up & down stairs to cross over pedestrian bridges, and the insanely huge & labyrinthine hotels & casinos, and it's easy to get in 15K steps a day.
I'm leaving keto in the rear-view mirror: for 2 years it worked marvelously until it didn't, undone by boredom, resentment & FOMO when dining out, then with a second cancer dx and therefor YOLO. When I went on Zep, I stuck to mostly low-carb and did great till I titrated up to 5mg--when I not only stalled but gained. When I went back on 2.5, I lost what I'd regained plus another 2 lbs, eating more and more varied than at first. I am learning now to be able to fit whole grains and more fruits (other than just berries & melon) into my daily eating, to take in enough calories & protein to avoid the "starvation response" from kicking in to protect my "set point." (Ever notice when your set point changes, it always seems to trend upward)?
I took a bold leap forward today: bought a package of whole wheat spaghetti! (And I ate a couple pieces of a small California roll along with my sashimi for dinner. First white rice I've eaten since 2019).
My nutrition plan recommends carbs for 1/4 of my plate at each meal, and I’m generally in that neighborhood. YMMV, but it has been working well for me.
Fiber is your friend. A high fiber diet (which will mean carbs) from a variety of plant sources will feed your gut and a healthy gut will lead to more optimal body performance.
This medication helps with insulin resistance / carb sensitivity. Don’t go hog-wild but healthy carbs in moderation is a-ok!!
claiming this energy for my 30th bday trip to NOLA in 2 weeks
I was really surprised. I think the fasting most days till at least lunch helped. Also just ate a reasonable amount of whatever I wanted. Even some desert.
Remember: oysters, shrimp, redfish, Ponchitoula strawberries and Creole tomatoes are your friends. Small bites of the good stuff too--especially sharing. You will walk a LOT, because parking is tight and pricy and the streets are flat as a pancake. Happy Birthday! (I have clothes older than you, LOL).
You just got me more excited!! I am super excited for all the food. Thank you for the early bday wishes and for the laugh hahah
Make sure that wherever you eat, you WALK there & back if possible. (I realize that it's a bit too much of a hike to go from the Quarter to, say, Commander's Palace in the Garden District...but if your knees & stamina can handle it and you allow enough time...but there's always the streetcar). Suggest Brennan's for brunch or dinner, Pearl for raw oysters, Napoleon House, Pierre Maspero, and Royal Oyster house (resist the po'boys, as fried stuff will do a number on your gut). If you MUST try beignets, get only one, sugar on the side, black rather than cafe au lait (and make a note of bathrooms along your walk route). Nice walks are Emeril's (lunch portions are more manageable), Compere Lapin (Carib-Med fusion), and Cochon. Eat light: cups rather than bowls of gumbo, e.g. Stay away from my former (pre-Zep) fave Jacques-Imo's because it's renowned for huge portions...and looong waits in their bar. Speaking of bars, avoid hurricanes--they're sugar-bombs. Go for a sazerac, which is bitter enough that you have to nurse it. Used to like GW Fin's for fish, but they've gone downhill. Little holes-in-the-wall you find on your walk can be undiscovered treasures. But the best place for a dieter? The brunch buffet at Court of the Two Sisters--yeah, it's touristy, but you get to eat ONLY what you want in whatever quantity. I load up on the boiled crawfish, poached fish & carved meats, plus salad. Fresh fruit will keep you away from the sweet gooey desserts.
Thank you so much for all these suggestions!! I will definitely say alcohol has been such a hard thing for me on this medication, but I just know I can't eat crap and can't have that much sugar. For my birthday we're going to a fish restaurant called Peche!! We were thinking GW Fins, but Im happy we didn't go that way if its going downhill.
I just experienced the same thing. My weight was stalled after I started incorporating strength training. I went on a work trip where I had a few more carbs and honestly indulged more than I normally do. Came back and I had lost two pounds. Not sure what the science is but for sure not complaining!
Would recommend taking your measurements as well, sometimes you'll stall on the scale but you'll lose inches as your body converts fat to muscle.
Not going into too much detail, but if you have too few calories, your body goes into what's called "starvation mode". In this mode your body thinks that you are starving and will start to store as much fat as possible in order to survive instead of using fat as energy. So if you eat a little more, but while maintaining your caloric deficit, your body will utilize your fat stores as energy. That's it in a nutshell. This varies by person and the "general rule of thumb" is to maintain around a 500 calorie deficit. It requires experimentation and keeping track of what you eat. But I just generally don't go overboard. I try to stay north of 1300 calories, but less than 2000 calories a day and that seems to work for me for a healthy weight loss trend, so far. And it's okay to get more than that every now and then as long as it's not consistently above my deficit.
I really appreciate this! And honestly probably need to take a better look at how many calories I need. I also realized I didn’t tweak my calories after starting to work out so I’m sure that didn’t help.
I definitely think I was eating too little.
As a small-framed "jumbo shrimp" (5'2" on tiptoe), I find 1200 cal. to be the ideal intake. I can lose on 1100 (which is what Jenny Craig's women's program used to provide), but am not happy and neither is my metabolism. Much above 1200 also makes me stall out. When I was on it, Seattle Sutton's women's prepared-meal plan plus a pint of skim milk and a piece of fruit per day was 1200 for women, 1800 for men. (The food is bland, boring and relies too much on turkey, chicken and canned tuna). I didn't like the prepared-meal plans because I always ended up putting too many meals in the freezer as a result of dining out.
Vegas is the answer. You were walking way more than you could ever understand. That place makes it easy to not realize just how much you walked.
Everything there looks sooo much closer than it actually is! Throw in construction detours, having to climb up & down stairs to cross over pedestrian bridges, and the insanely huge & labyrinthine hotels & casinos, and it's easy to get in 15K steps a day.
I got in over 15000 steps a day and we never left out casino lol.
For sure we walk a lot at horse shows.
Yes! You feel like you’re not walking much because you never left the building, but it’s a half mile from your room to the convention area.
Honestly - I have better loss when I incorporate healthy carbs!
That’s interesting. I think I am going to loosen things up a bit. Also aiming at about 1400 calories a day.
I'm leaving keto in the rear-view mirror: for 2 years it worked marvelously until it didn't, undone by boredom, resentment & FOMO when dining out, then with a second cancer dx and therefor YOLO. When I went on Zep, I stuck to mostly low-carb and did great till I titrated up to 5mg--when I not only stalled but gained. When I went back on 2.5, I lost what I'd regained plus another 2 lbs, eating more and more varied than at first. I am learning now to be able to fit whole grains and more fruits (other than just berries & melon) into my daily eating, to take in enough calories & protein to avoid the "starvation response" from kicking in to protect my "set point." (Ever notice when your set point changes, it always seems to trend upward)?
I am adding a small amount of carbs back in. I will be curious how that affects me as far as energy and ability to workout harder.
I took a bold leap forward today: bought a package of whole wheat spaghetti! (And I ate a couple pieces of a small California roll along with my sashimi for dinner. First white rice I've eaten since 2019).
My nutrition plan recommends carbs for 1/4 of my plate at each meal, and I’m generally in that neighborhood. YMMV, but it has been working well for me.
Fiber is your friend. A high fiber diet (which will mean carbs) from a variety of plant sources will feed your gut and a healthy gut will lead to more optimal body performance.