[dxpfmP0l]

Have lost 20 lb since Easter and am now stalled for a week so far. My husband and I are gourmet cooks and life don't seem worth living if I don't see a potato in my future ever again...lol...not to mention a chunk of cheesecake or ice cream...gawd. Anyway great site.

[JasminBerkova]

fear not, nothing is forever! you can eat sweet potato now and again when you get closer to maintenance. And, of course, there is a DELICIOUS low carb cheesecake -- I have served this to my New York friends and they never knew it was sugar-free.

Worst-case scenario...when you are maintaining your weight, you can go off the low carb regime for 60 minutes without doing damage and causing your insulin to spike. but, you must stop eating potatoes, etc. before the 60 minute mark.

congrats on the weight loss! 8)

[anxpuna]

Question for wheresmycoat:

You've mentioned the 60 minute window for cheating a couple of times. Where did that idea come from? I don't remember seeing it in the Atkins book. Is there some research I haven't heard about?

[JasminBerkova]

Hi Karen,

Its basic physiology and biology, made very popular by Dr. Rachael Heller in her book about Carbohydrate Addicts. I have studied human chemistry and hormorne production (insulin) and work closely with top diabetes/pharma companies. In basic terms, people who are addicted to carbs (i.e. usually anyone obese) tend to release more insulin than normal after eating high carb meals. This starts a cycle of massive insulin (over)production -- and more insulin hormone in your body makes you hungrier and actually tells the body to not only eat more (even shortly after consuming pounds of pasta!) and store the extra carbs as fat BUT to actually, under no circumstances, use the body's current fat stores as energy. Its a double whammy!

And, if you don't stop the over-producing insulin cycle, you continue eating and eating and eating, without ever feeling satisfied, of course, and this is the exact cycle that puts you firmly on the diabetes (type 2) road of mis-managed insulin production due to (the wrong) diet. Please note that this cycle does not happen in every human body, just folks like us who are clinically overweight/obese from eating.

So, here is the kicker. In most of our bodies, we produce this extra production of insulin AFTER about 60 minutes of when the high carbs FIRST hit our mouths. So, its a race to beat the insulin clock!

This is why I advise if you really must eat something thats not on the diet (or have just cheated and freak out that it'll turn into a 5-day binge!), just do so within 60 minutes (better to do in less time, though). Then, go back to eating high protein to immediately curb any psychological desire to eat more crap.

This is the beauty of the science. This is the reason why when you eat a normal portion of high protein/low-carb food you actually feel satisfied for a longer period of time than just eating the same size portion of pasta. It's because you prevented your body from producing any extra insulin, thereby preventing the fatal spike that leads to insatiable hunger. This is exactly why once you are in ketosis you generally eat quantities like a "normal" and slim person. 8)