One thing I learned about the low-carb journey is that it’s a journey of constant tweaks. In my first month the low-carb I went hog-wild eating fats. I totally changed my eating habits to something that was foreign to my body. The immediate influx of a large number of fats took some getting used to. I had to cut back on my fats. After years of low-fat eating, the transition was tough.

In the next month, the pendulum swung in the other direction. I tried eating more proteins than I’ve ever consumed in my life (I still can’t warm up to bacon and have decided to leave it out of my dietary repertoire). It got to the point where I was sick of chicken, fish and beef. Couldn’t quite warm up to pork either.

Balancing Things Out

Now that I’ve been at this for a few months, I think I’ve normalized my eating. I’m experimenting with new foods and have taken my natural dietary likes and dislikes into consideration. Instead of going too far in one direction or the other, I tweak things. For example, if I eat a salad, I make sure to add fat in the form of avocados and coconut flakes.

I cook with coconut oil and butter, eat plenty of green leafy vegetables and have modified my protein intake. I eat more eggs than I used to, but am still having a tough time trying to increase my beef intake. Chicken and seafood are still my proteins of choice.

Breads, Pastas and Desserts

Now that I’ve learned how to make low-carb bread, the world is my oyster. By tweaking a few things, I can make all types of bread (just made a coco/peanut butter bread yesterday). As far as pasta goes, I use any firm vegetable to create pasta. With my spiral slicer I make fake spaghetti out of yams and zucchini. Spaghetti squash is a Godsend. I’m still exploring and experimenting.

Desserts are my favorite. It’s amazing what you can make with heavy cream, coconut, cocoa powder, butter, nuts, mascarpone cheese and coconut crystals. Here’s a dessert I tried and am addicted to, Mini Marscapone Choconutty Bites. I’m constantly roaming around the Internet searching for wonderful low carb desserts.

Once you make up your mind, you’ll find there’s nothing you can’t make following a low carb dietary plan. Of those items you can’t make, you don’t need them anyway.

A Weight Loss Side Note

This is the first time in years that I made it through Thanksgiving without gaining weight. Since starting my low carb journey in August, I’ve lost 7.6 pounds. That may not sound like much, but when you consider I’ve been walking around with an extra 10 pounds for decades, losing 7.6 pounds is music to my ears!