Last week I celebrated my birthday –  the big 40.  Although I am totally chilled about having reached this milestone, it definitely has been a time of reflection for me. I can look back over the last few decades, knowing that my life has been abundantly blessed.

I have a wonderful family, amazing friends and a lovely home.  I feel proud to have achieved so many of my goals –  this blog being one of them.

What still eludes me however, is ridding my body once and for all of the excess weight. It has been my life-long struggle and it’s getting old. Yes, I have managed to lose 10 kilograms, but there is more to go and this weight-loss plateau has just gone on too long. Despite eating a low-carb primal diet – the flab just ain’t budging! It is hanging onto my frame like a pitbull.  Anyone else eating my diet would have Jessica Alba’s body by now. I would give myself an “A +” for Effort and a “C – ” for Achievement.

However, one thing I don’t do is give up easily.  Determined to get to the bottom of it,  I sought the advice of Clinical  Nutritionist, Sally-Ann Creed. I knew she believed in the primal/paleo, high fat/low carb life-style, so she was a really good choice for me.

My appointment with her last week was incredibly enlightening. She gave me hope that with a few tweaks to my already good diet, I can get the weight loss going again. Let me share with you what she told me.

Please bear in mind that the recommendations below are based on a review of a 2-week food diary that I kept for Sally-Ann as well as a lengthy questionnaire that I had to complete prior to my appointment. This was her advice for me. Advice that will help me to drop my carbs even lower.

Things to cut out:

• Dairy such as milk, cream, yoghurt, soft cheeses (a little hard cheese is fine)
• Nuts, nut butter and nut flours
• All fruit (except for a few berries occasionally)
• All alcohol
• Whey protein powder
• Balsamic vinegar
• Dark chocolate (ouch!)
• Processed meat  such as ham and salami

Yes, I know, the “tweaks” seem extreme. But hopefully these exclusions won’t have to be forever. I don’t think I could live very happily without dark chocolate and red wine! For now though it is going to be meat, fish, eggs and poultry. Some leafy green and low carb vegetables and salad.  With some healthy fats thrown in too.

Blood  analysis

I had blood tests done last week and Sally-Ann analysed the results for me. The good news is that my triglycerides are excellent. A vast improvement to 2 years ago. But the bad news is that  I am still struggling with insulin and glucose levels that are too high (even though they are in the “normal” range).  She explained that this is why I have struggled to continue losing weight.  If you have also been losing the battle of the bulge, then I encourage you to know your numbers and get them analysed by a well-trained nutritionist. Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result – that is just insantiy. Try something new. You just might find the answers you have been looking for. I am hoping I have.

Fats, snacks and carb grams

Sally-Ann also said that I shouldn’t go out of my way to eat too much fat. She is definitely NOT advocating a low-fat diet, but did caution against a complete “Fat Fest” if you are battling to lose weight. Some avo, a little butter and coconut oil to cook with and olive oil to dress salads is fine. I also need to start taking Omega 3 and Vitamin D3 supplements.

Another recommendation is try to eat 3 meals a day and to not snack in-between meals. I still need to follow-up with her as to the reason for this.

So basically, my new goal is to eat under 25 grams of carbs per day. I am hoping that this will be low enough to kick me into ketosis so that my body can start burning stored fat.  More on ketosis in a future blog post though. If you can’t wait then read this as a start.

Managing without a gall bladder

Apparently not having this organ anymore puts me at a higher risk for colon cancer. I need to start taking a high quality probiotic everyday, as well as digestive enzymes containing lipase with each meal. I kinda wish my surgeon had told me this 5 years ago after he whipped my gall bladder out of my body. Anyhow, moving on …….

So there it is. My plan of action to fix this metabolically broken body of mine. There might be other things I need to add to the plan such as intermittent fasting and more interval and strength training. But let’s see how it goes.

I am hoping that in a few months time I can blog about my incredible weight-loss achievement.  Instead of being motivated by the success stories of others, I want to BE the success story. My dream is to one day post a ‘before’ and ‘after’ photo that will inspire others to keep going, even when the going gets tough.

“I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me”

Philippians 4:13