Well, I started this blog in the hopes that I would feel motivated to stick to and write about my low-carb ways, but the way I've been eating lately has done anything but motivate. I guess I can describe it as sort of a hybrid diet -- one in which I've been alternating between eating really low-carb, moderate-carb, and high-carb meals and snacks. I'm feeling occasional (but not out of control) cravings, and I'm only eating until I'm full and not going overboard into that stuffed territory I know all too well. I'm finding that I'm not getting as hungry as I normally do when I allow myself to eat high-carb foods, because I'm not eagerly stuffing myself full of all of the foods I've been missing. It's probably the closest to Intuitive Eating I have come in a long time. I certainly can't say that I've been losing weight or that I feel my absolute best when I'm mixing it up like this, but I'm not gaining any weight, either, and it sure does feel nice to enjoy some of my old favorites without stressing about what I'll be able to find for my next low-carb meal.
Whether or not this will turn out to be a legitimate reason, my main justification for eating this way for right now is that on Saturday I leave for New York City, where I will be visiting my best friend for an entire week. I'm sure I could stick to a low-carb diet while I'm there if I really wanted to, but ummm, yeah. I don't want to. One of the main attractions for me in NYC is the food, so I want to allow myself to enjoy Yankee Stadium concessions, Gray's Papaya hot dogs (bun and all), desserts at Serendipity, burgers and curly fries at Cozy, and whatever other wonders the best friend wants to introduce me to.
So why should next week's planned carb-fest give me license to nibble on concentrated carbs this week? I have two reasons. One is that I am afflicted with the tragic flaw of being a bit of an "all or nothing" kind of person. I can't get excited about sticking faithfully to my low-carb eating plan when I know I'm just going to mess it all up while I'm on vacation, but I'm assuming I'll be incredibly gung-ho to get back onto it hardcore once I'm back. The other (and probably better) reason is that I've learned from experience that when I go from eating very few carbs right into eating lots of them, my body really does not like me for it. I would rather not spend my vacation feeling tired, bloated, and plagued by indigestion and gastrointestinal distress. So I'm sort of experimenting with adding carby foods little by little this week so that my body won't revolt against me on my vacation, and I'll be sure to report back on how well that worked for me.
I still have plenty of low-carb stuff to report on -- like a couple of product reviews and recipe stories -- so look for those to come soon. You can also expect to see a low-carb blogroll emerge on the right side of the screen in the next few days. There are a number of great sites I subscribe to and check daily, and I don't want to keep them all to myself.
