Study backs worth of Atkins diet. Interesting reading. I don’t know that I’ve lost any significant weight yet (mostly because I’ve done very little exercise) but at least I haven’t binged in the past two weeks. So that’s good.

The Death Knell for the Atkins Plan
There is a simple explanation for my lack of blogging this week: I have been shamelessly stuffing my face with beautiful, delicious carbs. Oh yes, we bought a bread machine. “Of course, we’ll just use it to make low-carb bread and pizza dough,” we rationalized. That didn’t last long. The Snook started researching recipes on the Internet, and suddenly his inner baking demon – starved for activity for nearly two years – broke free. We spent over a hundred dollars at the grocery store last night just on bread-making supplies. We got, like, five different kinds of flour (including one ten-pound bag), spices, powdered milk, nuts, fruit, sun-dried tomatoes, potato flakes, yeast, seeds, honey, butter, everything. And now we’re eating it all. We’re fat, but man, are we happy.

In the event you want to enable our addiction, does anybody know any can’t-miss bread machine recipes we should try? We’ll also take any technical tips you have. I made my first loaf last night from a mix, and it was also our first attempt at using the timer feature to have the bread ready just as we got out of bed in the morning. It wasn’t perfect though, mostly because the flour and water seem to have caked up overnight and hence there was a bit of lumpy, unblended flour at the bottom of the loaf. It still tasted good, but we want to work out the kinks. Anybody else experience this?

Even though I’ve pretty much given up on the diet right now (she says while munching Golden Grahams), the Snook and I still are having endless fun threatening to put Dr. Amy Jones on the Catkins Diet. It makes us laugh. In reality, she eats mostly dry food with the occasional supplement of Fancy Feast, a raw chicken wing, or if she’s really good, a bit of fat from a chicken breast. She loves that. (Link courtesy of miftik.)

Excellent. Business 2.0 magazine has published photos of Dr. Atkins taken two months before his death. That is not a man that weighs 260 pounds.

Before anybody sends it to me, yes, I’ve seen the story about how Dr. Atkins was supposedly obese. To be honest, I’m not really convinced by either side’s arguments there. The health information was leaked by a “pro-vegetarian” group with an obvious bias, but then again, the Atkins people have a financial interest in protecting his reputation. It’s confusing. Also, if he really did weigh that much, did they doctor the photos they used on his books? Because he certainly doesn’t look that fat in them.

At any rate, y’all shouldn’t worry about me. I had my blood pressure checked yet again last week and my doctor pronounced it “excellent”. Unfortunately I’m still a chunker, but I’m a lot less of a chunker than I was two years ago. I’ve got a new personal trainer who’s started me on a weightlifting routine. My body-fat percentage is a shocker – How can a third of my body be fat? That’s ridiculous – but we’re working on that. I’m even drinking protein shakes with milk now to speed recovery in my new badass muscles. Also, the Snook and I have each eaten our weight in cherry tomatoes in the past two weeks so we’re chock full o’ vitamin goodness. In summary: Don’t worry, kids; we’re not gonna keel over and hit our heads on the sidewalk anytime soon.

I’m ranting about “low-carb diets” over at Glitter again…

Well, it’s Pancake Day, and man, I’d love a damn pancake. But I won’t have one. This is as good a time as any to talk a bit about our current diet. I’m not trying to evangelize here; I’m too lazy to care whether other people do what we do. But I’ve been mentioning words like “primal” and “paleo” on Twitter and Facebook recently, and a few people have asked me what that’s all about. So why not?

For the past six weeks or so, the Snook and I have been following a modified primal/paleo diet. We eat meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and dairy. We try to avoid grains, potatoes, legumes, and sugar. We’ve each dropped a couple kilos, but it’s not really about losing weight. We finally realised that eating this way makes us feel the best. It’s been a long process to get here…

Some of you will remember that ten years ago we decided to try the Atkins low-carb diet, and we had some moderate success with it. It was hard though, mostly because we kept trying to replicate our favourite carby things using weird Frankenfood ingredients. We also weren’t good enough cooks back then and our repertoire of low-carb meals was much smaller. Eventually we just gave up, got a bread machine, and put the weight back on.

Seven years ago I joined Weight Watchers and we ate according to the WW Points Plan for most of the next year. I ended up losing a lot of weight, but I was starving and obsessed with food the whole time. I was terrified of going to social engagements where I couldn’t control what I was going to eat. it worked, but it sucked. Then I developed some painful stomach issues (duodenitis), stopped going to meetings, and gradually put the weight back on. Again.

Then came the running years. I ran and ran. I ran 5Ks, I ran 10Ks, I ran half-marathons, and last year I ran a marathon. I never lost any significant weight from running. Not a bit. We didn’t have a specific eating plan during these years, but it was pretty healthy. (No junk food, minimal sugary treats, cooking just about everything ourselves.) Some people lose weight by doing lots of cardio, but I don’t. I just got injured and burnt out.

Last year I read an article about the Slow Carb Diet, and we decided to give it a try. The idea is that you eat low carb for 6 days out of the week and then go nuts on one day. (A lot of the Jamie Oliver meal posts refer to “Cheat Day.”) We switched from eating muesli and yogurt for breakfast to eating scrambled eggs, meat, and beans. We started making extra dinner and taking the leftovers for our lunches (rather than buying sandwiches). We both noticed how much better we felt eating like this. We also noticed how CRAPPY we felt on the Cheat Days. We didn’t lose a lot of weight, but we liked the other aspects.

The final changes happened late last year. My friend Geoff was doing Slow Carb too, and he pointed me towards the Mark’s Daily Apple site. I started learning about the paleo diet and “going Primal” (Mark’s philosophy about eating/exercising/living in the way humans were meant to). Out of the blue, an old Weight Watchers buddy sent me a copy of Gary Taubes’s book Why We Get Fat, which also argues that modern life and the modern diet are bad for us. The more I read, the more convinced I became that we should give it a try. We made the final switch after the Christmas holiday.

So what does this actually MEAN in practical terms? For breakfast, we have eggs and protein. For lunch, we have leftovers from dinner. For snacks, we eat nuts, fruit, and the occasional bit of cheese. For dinner, we just make good food with meat, fish, and vegetables. No pasta, no rice, no bread, and no potatoes. We don’t even miss it; I swear. In terms of alcohol, we opt for red wine over beer. We try to observe the “80% rule” and don’t stress or worry about occasionally straying from the plan. (I had garlic bread, beer, and potatoes on Friday, for what it’s worth.) For exercise, we’re focusing less on “chronic cardio” and more on incidental exercise (what Mark calls “moving around a lot slowly”). We ride our bikes. We go for walks. We do the occasional personal training session. We have a short run every now and then. For lifestyle, well, we’re doing our best there. We’re trying to “unplug” more. We’ve moved our morning alarm back a bit as well as our bedtime. We’re trying to get outdoors more often. We’ve dropped a little bit of weight, but nothing major. My blood pressure, cholesterol, and iron levels continue to be just fine.

So that’s that. We’re not, like, militant about this and I’m not going to be offended if you invite me over and serve potatoes. I’m also not going to try to convert you; there are no bonus points for bringing more cavemen into the fold. (But if you want more details or links, let me know and I’m happy to provide.) If you’re one of those weird people who find it, like, personally offensive that I don’t eat bread, please just don’t bother commenting. I am perfectly willing to concede that some folks are fine on a high-carb diet. I’m just not one of them. But isn’t that great! More pasta for you! I’ll just be here in the corner nomming on some pot roast, turnip mash, and garlic green beans. Yum.

Vegas, baby!
A bunch of workmen spent all day yesterday installing neon tubing and crazy coloured lighting in the alleyway behind Tapestry Craft. I’m not kidding. Apparently it’s to celebrate the “opening” of the lane (which is now to be called “Temperance Lane”) and it’ll stay up for three months. It’s like our own little bit of Vegas in an alley. The rumour is that this has something to do with Clover’s aim to develop Melbourne-style funky little laneways in Sydney, and that it cost $35K. Here’s my question: Why? Why celebrate the “opening” of a street that was already there? Why spend thousands of dollars on a tacky art installation that very few people will see and then turn around and tell us bus fare hikes are needed? Not happy, Clover.

Update: The new goss is that it might be for a movie shoot. Anybody heard what’s filming in town?

Way Later Update: Nope, it’s not a movie shoot. When I left tonight, there was a proud-looking guy taking photos out there. “But what’s it for?” I asked. “It’s an art installation to celebrate the opening of the new laneway!” he said. “See, we put up a sign with the new name and everything!” I frowned. “But… the lane existed before. It just didn’t have a name. I don’t get why we’re celebrating the opening of a lane that was already here.” He looked crestfallen and shrugged. I think I hurt his feelings. I still think it’s a stupid idea.

Menial??
The Freakonomics guys ask: “Isn’t it puzzling that so many middle-aged Americans are spending so much of their time and money performing menial labors when they don’t have to? ” And by “menial labor,” they mean knitting, cooking, and gardening. I have to tell you, that stuck in my craw a little bit. It seems so… belittling. The related article is more even-handed though, so I’ll chalk it up to an unfortunate turn of phrase. And besides, this is an issue that seems to amaze non-knitters. Why would you spend twenty hours and $100 in wool to make a sweater when you can buy one at Target right now for $25? For me, it all comes down to making art, creating something beautiful and useful and tangible. I live in my head so much of the day – meaning all the hours I spend staring at a computer – that it’s a joy to really make something.* And it’s funny how the money issue comes into it. I’ve found in the past that when I did works for hire – scarves, sock monkeys – it really was harder than when I make things for myself. I guess I’m also a special case in this whole debate, given that I work in a knitting shop. As I admitted to Andrew at SSK last weekend, sometimes I just get a little “knitted out” over the course of the week. I guess it’s hard to maintain your interest in anything if you’re surrounded by it 24-7…

* I’m proud to say that our new meal plan is also having a big difference in how I view cooking. Now that I know which nights I’m responsible, I find that I’m more interested in making an effort. Tonight it was grilled lamb sausages from the butcher alongside Creamed Cabbage, Carrot, and Cauliflower. (I also threw in a leek. Go creativity!)

This Ask MetaFilter question about the way we define our relationship with food really struck home for me. Parts of the question (and the ensuing comments) could have been written by my subconscious. I know for a fact that when I was most successful with Weight Watchers, I was thinking about food *constantly*. It was something I focussed on nearly every minute of the day. I also know that the reason I’ve put back on a little bit weight in the past few months (and the reason I’ve stopped going to WW) is because I got tired of maintaining that focus. I got tired of tracking every bit of food. I got tired of taking special dishes to potluck dinners so I could avoid everyone else’s fatty (and delicious) contributions. I got tired of denying myself things. Of course, none of this is how it’s supposed to work. WW was supposed to help me deal with these underpinning emotional issues so that I wouldn’t have to obsess about food. But instead it became just another test, a system that I could game by being clever. So while I’d say WW was successful in getting off the weight, it didn’t help me deal with why I had gained it in the first place. (And yes, I realize completely that going back to Atkins is just grasping for another set of rules I can manipulate.) I dunno. That anonymous poster got me thinking. Maybe I need to try an entirely different approach…