How My Journey Started (with a six week memory span handicap)

It would have been better had I thought to start a blog at the time, to diarise my progress, successes, failures and lessons from day one.

I'll do the crash intro for you guys in a couple of blogs to bring you all up to date with where I am at.

First tip: READ THE BOOK What The Fat? Fat's in, sugar's out. The printed book I'm sure is easier to follow and refer back to but you can buy the e-book through Amazon.com, too, which is so much cheaper. Less than $10!

This blog is not intended to be advice on how you should approach LCHF lifestyle - that's what your GPs and the books written by those with authority on the topic, are for. I will reflect on my own journey, give myself feedback...out loud and in public and hope you recall these things when embarking on this new lifestyle yourself. Also, I want to devise and share recipe ideas for those interested in LCHF, but, like me, have looked at ingredients and shopping lists and was gob smacked by the potential cost.

The first advice you are given by many proponents of LCHF is, 'throw out all contraband!' Seriously, you need to remove the temptation but, if you have similar circumstances to me, or with an upbringing like mine, you DO NOT WASTE ANY FOOD! Isn't that just where part of my problem began? We ate everything on the plate, whether we felt like eating it or not. It's programmed into my brain that nothing goes in the bin.

Anyway, you know I didn't chuck anything away for a number of reasons.

Second tip: Someone has to benefit from that! Use that sugar, flour, those last few remaining bananas and odd pieces of high sugar content fruit and get to baking before you start. I have three kids: six, eight and nine years old and you can be sure it's a task getting them off carbs!! They are not as restricted as I am and with the 18:3 gauge, there is some leeway for them to not feel 'punished'.

• In every recipe you follow, reduce that sugar by at least half! I've never used what these recipes require:  1 & 1/2  cups worth in a standard 10-inch cake is just disgusting, even for this sugar freak. 
• Make mini muffins, cupcakes, scones, etc. Whoever receives these, whether on the LCHF waka or not, does not need to be encouraged with big carbohydrate-loaded portions. Enough to feel like a treat. I'm talking two tablespoons of mixture, even less for the kiddies.
• For the love of fat, do not use margarine, rice bran oil, etc etc. These are things you can most certainly get rid of, Nobody wants your marg.
  Save your oils to clean the BBQ, grease the lawnmower blade, wash your hands of paint, remove adhesive on your recycled jars. Keep it outside so it no longer feels fit for human consumption :-) 
• Be sensible & conservative! Freeze in appropriate sized portions. I have quantities of 3 x treats in a bread bag stored in my freezer. It means the 3 meals for which you can relax your carb counting still won't be ridiculously high.
• Be neighbourly! Share your goodies with friends and family. Goodness knows I have a million people to whom I owe a favour (or ten).
• JAFAs, there's a facebook page where members do soup nights, Homeless of Auckland City. Everyone else, if you look hard enough, there's probably one in every major city.
• An upcoming event, is a feast for homeless in Auckland as well as an opportunity to provide them with things such as personal hygiene necessities: Helping The Homeless. Join either of these and offer up your unopened dry goods.

Third tip: Get the family on-board. This is a huge struggle for me. My dad has always treated my kids ridiculously with rubbish, and we have always argued about it. His treat of choice is ice-cream - raspberry and white chocolate. Makes me so frustrated. The kids' dad is also not entirely convinced. He is pre-diabetic and this is the second time in about six years he's been told so by our family doctor. I've tried to get him on board, too so we are giving the kids the same messages. I've involved him in our eating plan and overall he enjoys the food very much, but does not have the discipline to stop at satiety and is not sold on the "HF". He sees sense in low carb, attempts it, does not eat enough fat, gets hungry sooner, gets frustrated at that, blames the "diet" (even though he is not even following it) and fills the gap with carbohydrates.

I will do another blog about my kids and my family. It's a wordy one!

If I could change anything about how I started my journey... it would be moving countries to somewhere far from them and not returning until kids and I are fully indoctrinated and there is visible proof for the naysayers.
Advice Tip No. 3.1: move to Starch-free island. Never leave.

While you're a newbie, it is ESSENTIAL that you are on your LCHF game when it comes to planning your meals. You DO NOT want to get caught out with school or work lunches, away from home or missing ingredients because the convenient food that you will turn to is carb-laden.

I know this all too well from my Paleo stint. If I was lucky enough to find something Paleo friendly, it was expensive as hell! If was in my price range, it was grainy or starchy as hell!

Fourth tip:  Rearrange your routine so that you have, about an hour a week to plan fourteen meals, and also some time for grocery shopping time each week to ensure you get everything you need. Health of your family comes first. Everything else follows. Sunday mornings is mine, when I get to the Farmers' Market, butcher, wholefoods store all in one go. With my boys in tow, wearing full football garb, boots and all. And a huge mesh bag of balls and other soccer gear (I am the 'momager'). Aaand the boot to my car doesn't open. We look like a three stooges scene, I bet.




Fifth tip: I cannot stress how much EASIER transitioning into LCHF was simply because I increased the recipes and shopping list, and made two meals every dinner so we could have the same for lunch the next day. I considered 'portability' for the kids, made sure containers were appropriate... you know kids chuck their bags around, or get their bags chucked around! There is sometimes a little extra effort required due to the nature of acceptable foods. It meant I cooked only once a day.

Day one: In my first week, I started Sunday evening which worked with my shopping day choice. I remember we had low carb burgers, with lettuce leaves instead of buns, with dill pickles, homemade mayo, mustard and salsa. I let the kids eat a couple of beetroot slices. It was delicious, satisfying, filling and everyone loved it.