After 100 days on the Slow Carb diet, I have lost 10kg (22lbs) and reduced my waist to 36" clothing. I've decided to stop for a little while. I finished at lunchtime on Friday 19th October and celebrated with pie and chips, a cupcake and a cup of tea. In fact, I took the weekend off. Here are some thoughts about the diet:

Positives

  1. It definitely works. There are good reasons why it works. Basically, the foods one eats on the diet are foods that the body can deal with without raising insulin levels. Insulin drives the storage of fat, so basically whilst one is on this diet, one doesn't store fat apart from on cheat day.
  2. It allows red wine during the week and you can consume as much of the foods you need.
  3. The fact that anything goes on cheat day means that one can resist urges during the week, store them up for the weekend and then satisfy them.

Negatives

  1. One typically has to prepare food and also special preparation is needed for frequent travellers.
  2. One needs vigilance when eating out. This can be tough particularly when the waiter doesn't "get it". However, find a Nando's or a Chipotle.
  3. I found that my fitness suffered a bit - my health is great but I found my energy levels lowered. Maybe I wasn't eating enough.

What changes I will be making now that "I've finished"

  • I will be exercising more
  • I do not want to put weight back on so I will be focusing on foods with a low GI index and/or a low GL.
  • Back into my diet will be some dairy and some fruit.
  • I may eat some bread but only for convenience.
  • Back on tea with milk but no sugar
  • I will definitely avoid carbs in the evening
  • I will avoid beer and sugary products during the week
  • I will continually monitor my weight and fat %, and make adjustments if my weight starts to increase.

I will continue to make notes at my Slow-Carb diet blog. At least two of my friends (Andy and Ieva) are trying the diet. Slow-Carb Diet is a registered trademark of Timothy Ferriss.