My Banting Secrets |Part Two|

Yesterday I shared some general information/facts about Banting. Today's post is slightly more personal, as it is full of my own experience and the things that I have found helpful during Banting. If you missed yesterday's post or would like a reminder as to what Banting is, you can read Part One over here.

So, you've been given all the information and you're ready to start. But, you're a little nervous. I get it! I was too, but with the help of those who had been there and done it all before me I was able to do it and here I sit, 17kg's healthier and more confident than ever.

What can you expect in the first couple of days of Banting?

Right, let's get real here. The first couple of days of Banting are the worst. You need to go cold turkey and straight onto the Green List. You will experience what is called "carb flu" - headaches, fatigue and maybe some dizziness. This is because your body is detoxing from all the carbs and sugars and is transitioning from getting energy from carbs, to getting energy from fat. This will only last a few days and it's so worth it to push through. Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the first few days, warn your loved ones that you may be slightly grumpy and know that this is only temporary - some people don't even experience carb flu at all!

You can probably expect to have some cravings. This is only natural and its important not to give into them. If you are having cravings, try and increase your fat intake as this definitely helps stop them. It is said that you're not allowed to snack when Banting. Don't take this too seriously - if you need to snack between meals then do so - especially during the first few days. Once your body is used to the change, the need to snack will lessen. Some good snack ideas are biltong and nuts (almonds and cashews - check the lists, some nuts are on the Green List and some are a big fat no and are on the Red List).

If my experience is anything to go by, you can expect a lot of mixed reactions from people. I had people telling me that Banting was the worst thing I could do for my body and I had people praising my decision. I also had people passing really hurtful comments due to their own insecurities about their weight and the fact that they weren't doing anything about it. Each person's experience is different and try not to take the negative things to heart. Use the positive comments as motivation - you're allowed to be proud of yourself as well!

You can expect to lose weight right away. At least, that's what happened with both my step mom and I. In the beginning I would weigh myself every day and every single day I was losing weight. Sometimes it was as much as 500g a day. Obviously, as you go along your weight loss will slow down as you won't have as much weight to lose anymore. That is exactly what has happened with me now. I have stopped losing simply because there isn't much body fat left to lose. In all honesty, I didn't have masses of weight to lose - the more weight you have to lose the quicker it will go. But that's the beauty of Banting - it works whether you want to lose 5kg or 55kg. Before you begin, take Before and After photos, record your weight and your measurements. Some people drop cm's and yet the scale doesn't budge. You will know what works for you and what doesn't. I like to weigh myself and see the number on the scale. Others hate the scale and prefer to see changes in the way their clothes fit. Each to their own.

How has Banting helped you, Shan?

I have to be honest with you and tell you that my sole motive behind beginning Banting was to lose weight. I was vaguely aware of the other health benefits, but I simply wanted to lose weight.

Let's get really personal, shall we?
Aside from losing 17kgs and counting, aside from gaining confidence and energy and aside from this new lease on life (as cliche as it may seem) there's one other major way in which Banting has changed my life, and that's got to do with good ol' Aunt Flow. I'm not sure how I feel discussing my period on this blog, but anyway, let's go right ahead.

I've never had a regular period. In fact, it's always been scarily unregular. If I had 5 periods a year, it was a lot. Now this scared me simply because all I've ever wanted to do is have children one day. I'm no stranger to fertility issues - my mom has had terrible cysts on her ovaries which resulted in one of them having to be removed and Clauds tried to conceive Liam for about 5 years. The thought that I may have some fertility issues of my own terrified me. I didn't know what was wrong and frankly, I was too scared to find out. I didn't want to go onto the pill if there was no need for me to be on birth control and I didn't want the pill to regulate my period and then mask what could be an issue. Anyway, I'm getting distracted here. Clauds had been trying to convince me to get to the gynecologist to discuss why at the age of 21, my lady bits hadn't gotten themselves into gear. Since Banting, I have had the pleasure of being visited by Aunt Flow every single month like absolute friggen clock work. I mean, I don't think you could get a more regular cycle even if you tried. I've changed nothing except my eating habits and all of a sudden my ovaries are like "Oh hey! We're here and we work!" So, I mean that's exciting. It wouldn't be a proper blog post if I didn't completely over-share, right?? 

What do I eat?

People often ask me for my eating plan. The truth is, I don't have one. I eat off of the Green List and occasionally off the Orange List and it is as simple as that. Because I'm a single student, I don't have to cook for a family or for anyone but myself - this makes Banting quite easy for me to do. I do however make things slightly difficult for myself by being a slightly fussy eater. I don't eat tomatoes, mushrooms or avos. These foods are pretty staple items and I would have a much wider range of meals if I ate these things.

It's also worth noting that I don't often eat breakfast. Two meals a day is more than enough for me simply because my fat intake keeps me full. If I am hungry in the morning I will have a Bullet Proof Coffee (more on that to come). Eggs and bacon, tomato and onion relishes, avo and cream cheese and those little egg and bacon/ham muffins are popular breakfast options.

My meals are very simple and somewhat repetitive. I use a lot of cream to make sauces and my love for vegetables sees me eating roast veg almost every night. I drink water, coffee and tea and to change it up a bit I make iced green tea with mint and lemon. You can use Stevia and Xylitol as sweetners. Xylitol is much better than the revolting tasting Stevia. I don't use any sweetners as I find using them makes me more inclined to crave sweet things.

I eat a lot of salads. Because I don't eat tomato or avo, my salads are very simple. They consist of lettuce, cucumber, cheese (feta, cheddar or mozzarella) and onion (either raw or fried in coconut oil). I then include a kassler chop, steak or chicken breast that has been cooked in coconut oil. I use a fair amount of coconut oil in order to make sure I get enough fat. I sometimes add a dollop of double cream/Greek yoghurt as a dressing.

As mentioned above, I eat a lot of roast veg. This includes pumpkin, red pepper, onion and baby marrow. I season the veg with salt and pepper and vegetable spice and then add a spoon of coconut oil. When I'm not having roast veg, I'm usually having steamed veg such as green beans, gem squash, broccoli and cauliflower. I make sure to add a dollop of butter to my gem squash in order to enhance the taste and up my fat intake - you see, increasing your fat is simple, you really don't need to chow down on pork rind or anything like that.

My saving grace is the cream sauce. I put it on almost everything and I use it to make a chicken and broccoli casserole as well. The sauce is incredibly simple - you simply season and boil cream until it thickens. It's so versatile and delicious. If I'm in the mood for a pepper sauce, I add pepper to the cream. Same goes for a cheese sauce, garlic sauce, chilli sauce etc, etc, etc. You'll be able to judge how much cream you need, obviously just depending on how much sauce you like. Keep in mind that the cream does reduce quite a lot.

Here is a very basic breakdown of what a week's meal plan looks like for me:

Monday
Lunch: Chicken breast salad
Dinner: Pork chop, roast veg and cream sauce

Tuesday
Lunch: Steak salad
Dinner: Chicken and broccoli casserole

Wednesday
Lunch: Spaghetti bolognese (replace pasta with courgette noodles)
Dinner: Bunless burgers (burger patty topped with onion and cheese - I have mine with lettuce, my digs mate uses a portobello mushroom as a bun)

Thursday
Lunch: Homemade pumpkin soup
Dinner: Steak and roast veg with a cream sauce

Friday
Lunch: Gammon steak salad
Dinner: Roast chicken pieces and veg

Saturdays and Sundays we make brunch - omelettes/eggs and bacon or pork sausages and then dinner usually sees us repeated a meal we had throughout the week.

There are countless recipes out there. You'll never be short of options - as mentioned above, my meals are relatively repetitive.

What is a Bullet Proof Coffee?

I'm not adventurous with my fat or Banting recipes. I aim to keep things very simple and straight forward. I don't make any of the Banting rusks, crackers, cakes etc. I am however a big fan of the good old BPC.

A BPC is a cup of coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil blended into it. It sounds quite gross, but it's really not. It makes the coffee creamier and reminds me of a cappuccino. If you're nervous about the taste, add a spoon of Xylitol to your coffee.

Having a BPC is a great way to increase your fat intake if you battle to consume fat like I do. It can act as a meal replacement if needed and keeps you full. I have a BPC most mornings instead of a cooked breakfast because I'm usually busy in the mornings and not hungry enough for a full breakfast.

Some people put butter into their BPC and then they get really weird and start blending raw eggs. I couldn't think of anything more disgusting - keep it simple and there's nothing to be worried about.

What about exercise?

Would you believe me if I told you that I've lost 17kg in 7 months without doing any exercise? Well, that's the case. The most exercise I've done this year is the odd jog or walk around the farm when I'm home, and my walks to and from lectures during the term time.

It is not necessary to exercise while Banting. You will loose weight while Banting if you do not exercise. Obviously, your weight loss will be quicker if you do exercise. Exercise is an extremely important part of being healthy and it has it's own benefits. 

I have never been a fan of exercise. However, I have reached my goal weight and I don't have all that much more weight that I could lose. I've now found myself at this stage where I want to begin toning up and becoming stronger. Banting has caused me to be newly passionate about health, and exercise plays an important role in living a healthy lifestyle.

What happens when you mess up?

You will fall off the wagon. You will have cheat days. You will mess up. You're only human. The important thing is that you begin again. Banting is not a quick fix - it is a lifestyle that needs to be maintained.

A few weeks ago I thought I was all invincible, being at my goal weight and what not. So I went on this ridiculous Corn Flakes binge which then turned into a 2 week long cheat day. I quickly picked up a couple of kg's, much to my disappointment. The great thing about Banting though is that your body thrives off of it and your body quickly gets used to it. I hopped back onto the Banting wagon and it took me a little over a week to lose what I had put on thanks to my Corn Flakes obsession.

If you mess up and then begin Banting again, you may experience a day or two of carb flu. This just depends on how big a cheat you had and how long you've been Banting for. Again, your body is just in detox mode, be patient with it.

Lastly, what happens when you reach you goal weight?

I started at 75kg and stated that my goal weigh was 65kgs, Not because I wanted to be 65kg - I wanted to be a healthy 58kg for my height. I simply said 65kg was my goal weight because I was too scared I couldn't do it - I was too scared I would fail. I was too scared that it would take me years. But I did it and I did it in 6 months, so you can too!

I have now reached my goal weight of 58kg and I am now in what is called "maintenance." I am still Banting, but I am incorporating more Orange List items in order to prevent myself from both losing any more weight or gaining. If I had to go back to my old ways of eating I would gain back every single one of the 17kg that I've lost quicker than you'd think. 

So, when you've reached your goal weight - yay! - you start munching more off the Orange List and buy yourself that pretty new bikini to celebrate!

I think that just about covers everything, but I have been doing this for a while and so I may have forgotten the questions I needed answers to initially. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a comment or email me - I love, love, love talking about this and supporting others on their own journey!