Fad Diet

I'm on Atkins. Before the barrage of e-mails, comments and phone calls warning me to be careful, hear the whole story.

A couple of days ago, an old chum from school gave me a message on facebook asking about getting into the modelling world. As its something that I have moderate experience in, I gave her some pointers to get herself started, as well as linked her to my old online portfolio. I looked at the pictures there and was amazed at the difference in my body. I was 30 lbs lighter and boy-o-boy did it show. I remember being at the shoot and being self concious about my rolls. Little did I know that I would look back on that, post-partum, with envy.

It was very motivating. On a whim, before bed, I grabbed a white eyeliner pen and wrote on the mirror: "I swear today that I will stop eating meat and carbs until I look awesome again." and signed my name. I was a vegetarian when I was skinny last. I started doing some research. Knowing that my main weakness is carbs and sugar, which make up the majority of my diet, I looked into low-carb options. Which brought me to Atkins. Scratch the no meat.

I should say that I am not a fad dieter. I don't buy the books and follow the recipes. I don't hire personal trainers, though I do take a stab at going to the gym every couple of months or so. This is my first 'plan' that I have followed. My usual 'plan' is to smoke a lot, drink a lot of coffee, and get drunk when I am grumpy from not eating. It works very well as a university student, mostly because it is both social and budget concious. However, it is entirely unfeasable as a mother, and not incredibly healthy. I suppose that's why I find when people say 'isn't that very unhealthy?' to me, about Atkins, I find it kind of ironic. I've never lost weight in a healthy way, but somehow, because it doesn't have a name that starts with a capital letter, people won't get all concerned. I'm sure if people called my old diet 'Nicolekins' and tried to market it, everyone would nickname it Death, and it would have a short-lived popularity amongst university-aged nihlists.

So Atkins is not unhealthy. No. It is a high protein diet in the first stages. There are many stages, which involve slowly re-introducing healthier carbohydrates into your system, as opposed to the cheap trash that you usually put in.

The bonuses? Fast weight loss, healthy eating, do-able maintenance, and never being hungry.

The downsides? The cost of meat (pricey) the tight-lipped looks of disapproval, and faintly smelling of ammonia while my body detoxes.

I haven't had a grain of sugar or a single simple carbohydrate in 3 days and I've lost 6lbs. I'm sure it's water weight, but it is very encouraging. My goal is to lose those 30lbs, and weigh what I did in that picture that turned me green with envy at my past self. I don't like the way I look now. I dodge out of pictures with my son. I avoid clothing shopping. This is not me, but some kind of weird fat suit I've been forced to wear and drape with unflattering fabrics. I have a litany of discomforts with my current shape.

Of course I would start a fad diet once it becomes unpopular. That's just my way.

24 more lbs to go....