The Reasonable Food Plan

A Healthy Guide to Sustainable Eating

I've been watching the fad of low carb diets with a lot of interest, especially as the Atkins, South Beach, and other low-carb diets reduced bread consumption in the US by 40% in 2003 [USA Today, et al], and even was recently blamed by Krispy Kreme as one of the reasons it posted a loss in its most recent quarterly earnings report.

Around the holiday season last year, a whole flock of people in my office went on South Beach together. They all lost a very impressive amount of weight in a short time, and with limited exception, have all put at least some of it back on again, and none are still on it (or claim they're on a "modified" version of it).

This isn't meant to debunk the low-carb diets out there. A friend of mine on Atkins is doing very well on it (and grumbles that he is consistently about 2 lbs behind me our mutual weight loss - amusingly, between us we've lost about 88% of what his wife weighs). A couple I know have done and continue to follow South Beach and look great.

But when I began my own personal quest for weight loss, fitness, and overall general health improvement, I did some research into some of the more popular plans out there, including Atkins and South Beach, and concluded they weren't for me. Quackwatch had this to say on the subject of low-carb diets "Many promoters of dietary schemes would have us believe that a special substance or combination of foods will automatically result in weight reduction. That's simply not true. To lose weight, you must eat less, or exercise more, or do both." cf. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/lcd.html.

One of the reasons neither Atkins nor South Beach appealed to me is they both involve denial. In both of their respective induction phases, where most of the weight loss is water (albeit I must admit losing 10-15 lbs in two weeks is very motivating!), you're essentially not allowed to eat any carbohydrates. No bread, rice, pasta, or potatoes. No fruit. Certain vegetables are also out.

I can readily see the psychological appeal of restricted diets - go forth ye sinner, and eat no more of the things that art making thou fat! Not so long ago, fat was the culprit. Today its carbs. Tomorrow... Well, there's already talk that Atkins is going to have an IPO. Low carb is less and less a diet story and more and more a business one. Everywhere you go now, there are low carb options on menus, low carb bread (say what?), even low carb pizza (thank you Panago). Some of these things might even taste good (and from experience, some of them do).

Well, I'm going to stand up and say "I like carbs! Carbs are good!" The development of agriculture and the processes to turn grain into flour and the resultant discovery of bread (and beer! How can we forget beer!) were not the original harbingers of the end of western civilization - after all, in Europe, Italians happily continue to eat pasta (Mmm, pasta!).

Indeed, if you asked the average Italian if they were "watching their carb intake", you'd get "che cosa?" in response.

So, what's was wrong with what I was eating? Generally, nothing - I eat local seasonal fresh as much as possible, I avoid processed, I don't do McD's...

So I consulted with my doctor (he being a very supportive doc) and I came up with what I've dubbed the "Reasonable Food Plan", which runs like so...

The Basic Plan

Breakfast - oatmeal (or cereal, or a bagel). Essentially, something with a lot of complex carbs to keep my metabolism happy and fuelled until lunch.

Between breakfast and lunch - 2-3 pieces of fruit, carrots or other
crunchy veg, nuts, cheese.

Lunch - Lunch is the main meal of day. Pizza, pasta, soup, sandwiches, burgers, fancy salads... This is when I eat them.

After 2pm, nothing til dinner.

Dinner - Dinner consists of a portion protein and vegetables. Too many examples to list, but consider for example an 8oz steak with a nice fresh salad (incluing dressing).

Nothing after 8pm until breakfast the next morning.

Here's why I think it works:

Key - You need lots of energy first thing in the morning and also at lunch to sustain you through the day. In the evenings, not so much. Carbs give tons of energy, so why not have them early and for lunch.

So really what I have achieved is to eat food when my body really needs it, and not when it doesn't. By not eating anything after 2pm, I'm forcing my body to use up what I had for lunch, or to burn fat. In the evenings, a light meal of protein and vegetables satisfies hunger without overdoing portion.

A side benefit of having my main meal at lunch time is I'm usually not very hungry at dinner time. I believe that this more than anything has reduced the amount I eat because seconds don't look as tempting as they once did - I'm already full!

Another reason it works for me is there's nothing forbidden on the food list. I don't have to cut anything out. Foie gras for lunch? Why not!

Of course, the devil is always in the details. Coffee? Beer? Wine? That fancy dinner invitation at Le Crocodile, (which is hardly a place where the words "low carb" can be uttered with any sincerity)? How much salad dressing?

Let me take you through a relatively representative week.

Breakfast is easy - Tuesday and Thursday I go work out at the Y, and I always go to the Starbucks across the street and have a "grande" skim milk latte (and for the record, I've always had skim milk drinks since I like the flavour better), and once I get to the office, I have oatmeal and a banana. On the mornings I'm home, I have a bowl of cereal, and occasionally a bagel. On the weekends, usually on Sunday, I like to indulge in bacon and eggs or waffles.

Lunch - again, I usually bring my own, and a typical lunch bag has a large sandwich (today it happens to be Montreal smoked meat with cheese on my home baked light rye, cheese, an apple, a banana, a bag of carrots, and yogourt). Once a week, my friend and I go to my favourite diner and I'll have a bowl of soup and the reuben on rye or the monte cristo, or maybe the special of the day will catch my eye. I sometimes even ask for a salad instead of fries.

Dinner - Monday night I made a smoked turkey fritatta (eggs, smoked turkey, leeks, and mushrooms). Tonight will be leftover sauerbraten (a German delicacy for those not in the know) with gravy and probably steamed carrots. Last week I grilled steaks to be served with a salad, and the night before that we had a take out chicken from Costco and broccoli.

Several times a week, I'll have some dark chocolate after dinner. On Saturdays after shopping on the Drive, I go to Cafe Calabria and have a cappucino and an Italian pastry before lunch. I often have coffee in the mornings, especially with my young daughter interrupting my sleep.

Also, one day a week I 'cheat' and eat whatever I want. Right now, my 'cheat' day is Saturday, but if I know I'm going out for a fancy dinner at Le Crocodile then I adjust accordingly.

This food plan is less a restriction diet than shifting when I eat what I eat.

To date, since my birthday in 2003, I've lost 60lbs.

The only exercise I do is I go to the gym 2x a week and do 45-60 minutes of the power pacing (aka spin) class (depending how early I need to be in the office - the class is at 6:15am). As the weight's come off, I've experienced the usual "more energy" and now walk more than I used to. I even go for long bike rides around Stanley Park now.

But that's another essay all on its own.