Slow Carb Diet

Slow Carb diet - easy and sustainable

A diet that is great for burning fat but still gives you the option for eating whatever you want once a week is the slow carb diet (SCD). The basic rules of the SCD are:

Eat 3-5 small / medium size meals each day.

Start everyday with a high protein breakfast. This means 30g of protein, no less. The best option is eggs - 3 to 4 eggs cooked in any style.
Added spinach / veg or pulses make it a more filling meal. A quick easy alternative to eggs is a Whey Protein shake, simply mixed with water. A natural whey shake is cheap, easy to mix (with water) has no carbs or sweeteners. Whey Protein shakes aren't just for bodybuilders, they are handy for anyone looking to lose bodyfat.

Its easy to go wrong at breakfast since we are a nation of carb eaters - ditch the bread, cereal etc and go for protein. Porridge is also not included in this diet, again as the calorie / carb load is too high. If you are the kind of person who doesn't eat breakfast or normally has a slice of toast and a cup of tea, this one single change can make a big difference.

With all meals you can add UNLIMITED lentils or any bean / legume (canellini beans, kidney beans, pinto beans etc)
and vegetables / salad (ideally spinach, broccoli, kale) Bulking out meals with beans or lentils keeps you full and satisfied, preventing dips in energy that can lead to poorer food choices later. Beans are also easy to prepare as the tinned stuff is fine.
Adding lots of these 'slow carbs' is really the key to this diet. They prevent hunger which is any dieters worst enemy. Its worth remembering that 'hunger always wins' - so don't get caught short, prepare food in advance. All wheat products are strictly avoided (and saved for cheat day)

Eat a serving of protein with each meal, ideally chicken, eggs, fish, tinned fish, turkey, beef. Avoid any sauce that has sugar or vegetable oils in. The diet is best suited to fresh herbs and spices. This is one of the best things about this diet, once you start making fresh sauces to accompany meals, you realize how poor many shop bought sauces are. Ketchup, mayonnaise, pesto, salad cream, salad dressings - these are normally loaded with bad oils, sugars and salt. Save them for cheat day, or make your own healthy versions.

In order to make the beans or lentils more palatable, chopped onions, sundried tomatoes, olives and herbs work wonders.
Oils - avoid vegetable and olive oil for cooking in. Better choices are macadamia or coconut oil. Try scrambling 3 eggs in two teaspoons of coconut oil - delicious. Olive oil is much better raw, and olive oil with a little vinegar makes the perfect salad dressing.

Cut out the dairy - cheese, yogurt, milk (eggs aren't dairy) Cottage cheese is ok though as it doesn't contain lactose like other
dairy products, it is also very low in calories and carbs, high in protein - an excellent choice. Try drinking coffee black with a teaspoon of cinnamon. Drink plenty of water (try ice cold water which should burn a few extra calories)

This will keep your blood sugar stable and stop an insulin spike (causing unwanted fat gain) plus shed unwanted pounds.
To measure your weight loss properly, check out the 6 week challenge page.

The Cheat day

For one day a week, Saturday or Sunday work best, eat whatever you like - ice cream, chocolate croissants, beer, cheese etc etc
This should be a guilt free indulgence! At the end of the day you should feel like leaving it there and getting back to the healthy stuff.

According to author Tim Ferriss of 'the 4 hour body', a once per week blow out is actually good for fat loss - the theory is that its stops
your metabolism from slowing down and has a positive effect on thyroid function. It is also beneficial psychologically because you do not have to stop eating a particular food you love, cravings are simply deferred to a weekend day.

How to do it

Spending time getting organized is the key to success on this diet plan, fortunately the beans / legumes are easily to prepare /store and the diet is also quite cheap.

Repeating the same meals seems boring, but most people do actually repeat the same meals over and over again (except with a carb emphasis - oats for breakfast, wrap for lunch), so it just requires a bit of adjustment.

Sample meal plan

8am 4 egg omelet with spinach and kidney beans (any sugar free spices and sauces are fine)
1am Mexican Tuna Salad - tuna, kidney beans, chilli / spices, cucumber, tomato, olives, olive oil / vinegar
black coffee
5am Chicken breast, lentils, vegetables
ice water (good for calorie burning)
9am cottage cheese, few nuts, glass of red wine

Its worth experimenting with the diet for a couple of weeks before giving it proper go.
It is also a great idea to combine a weight loss goal with a physical goal, so check out the 6 week challenge page.

There is loads of information / recipes / results of the internet about the SCD.