It's not about deprivation...

Several weeks ago, I posted a pic of dinner to Facebook and a friend commented that the carrots are not low-carb, so why am I eating them?

Because it's not about deprivation.

When I go to restaurants or just need a quick and easy way to describe the way I eat now, I often say, "I'm doing the low-carb thing." But that's not really 100% accurate. I'm not doing Atkins, or Keto, or Paleo, or any other "name brand" diet. I don't actually "count" carbs or calories and I certainly don't keep track of "macros" or anything else like that.

Yes, I'm avoiding high carb foods, but the keyword there is AVOID. I'm not eliminating all carbs, I'm just avoiding foods I know to be high carb. And if something has more carbs than other things (carrots, for example), then I still might eat it, if it has other benefits. In this specific example, carrots have beta carotene and other good vitamins, so I eat them.

Beans are another good example. Beans have lots of protein and fiber, but they also have carbs. One thing I do to mitigate their carb content is sprout them. That reduces their carbs and adds/activates other enzymes in them to make them good for me, and a valuable addition to my diet.

There have been several times since I changed my diet that I've been in situations where it was "eat carbs or don't eat". When I was in NYC to sing at Carnegie Hall, the after-concert harbor cruise had food for us. But the only non-carb dishes had bell peppers - which I'm allergic to - so I couldn't eat them. I opted for a salad and chicken-with-rice because I had to eat (I was drinking alcohol!), so I ate it. When I was in Germany, the festival had pizza for lunch, so I ate pizza. These are only 2 examples of many.

And of course, I still drink beer, wine, and bourbon. Not nearly as much as I used to, to be sure, but still a non-zero amount. And I don't plan to stop drinking it any time soon.

(and this blog is testament to how often I eat McNuggets! which I shouldn't but do because they're easy to eat while driving and salads are not.)

It's not about deprivation.

We have a mailbox at our local UPS store (because the USPS doesn't deliver mail to our house) and they have a bowl of chocolate sitting out for their customers. We go there everyday to get our mail and I usually (more often than not) will take a piece of dark chocolate and eat it, or maybe a Kit Kat Mini. Just one piece.

When Brianne has a cookie or other dessert, I will often have a bite of it. Or I'll have one potato chip or corn chip.

In Germany, I had a piece of amazingly delicious pretzel bread because it's amazingly delicious.

On my birthday, I had a brownie sundae -- brownie, ice cream, chocolate sauce! YUM!

It's not about deprivation.

I also don't want to eat a bunch of fake stuff. The only thing I regularly eat that isn't made of "real food" is my morning smoothie - and even that includes a lot of "real food" in it (yogurt, etc), and the "fake food" powders that I use are specifically chosen to provide nutritional support.

I don't eat special "low carb" foods like breads (other than the tortillas) or special sweeteners in candy or chocolate or anything else. I prefer to eat real food.

So yeah, I think about carbs, but that's not the only thing I consider in deciding what to eat. I've tried deprivation-based diets before and they work for a time, but not long-term. The way I eat now doesn't feel like a burden and I rarely crave things I'm "not supposed to have". And if I do crave something, I just have a small piece of it to get the taste, and then I'm done.

It's not about deprivation.

It's about balance. And nutrition. And making sure my blood sugar doesn't get too low - which can happen easily if one avoids carbs.

It really is a lifestyle change, not a "diet". And I'm happy with it so far.

Birthday Brownie Sundaes ROCK!

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