Skip to main content

The Decadent Diet

Dedicated low-carbers like to describe their way of eating as nutritious, filling, healthy and traditional. But what about people who want to eat decadently, not Puritanically? Who are sick of busybody goody-goodies and diet police? Low carb is good for them, too. On what other diet can you eat dip for dinner and dessert for breakfast?

Guacamole, pork rinds, crispy fried pork (fried in lard, seasoned with salt).
This isn't a cheat meal--you can have this every night and eat until you're full since there are hardly any carbs there. (Note that you can't substitute corn chips--they're too carby. And don't get guacamole that's full of carbs.) If the dinner looks a little skimpy, it's because I saved room for dessert.

Low carb, non dairy chocolate ice cream. It does have carbs in it, so go easy. Recipe here.
I'm not sure if this is what some people call "rewarding food," but I'm full. Granted, I was never obese, but I'm from a family full of wonky blood sugar and I know how it feels to be hungry enough to eat the wallpaper a couple of hours after a low-fat, starchy meal. Before I started low carb, I could put away a bag of cookies in a sitting. People knew not to get between me and a pan of brownies or pizza. In all other areas of life, I'm self-controlled: I've never bounced a check, never missed a deadline at work, and never tried drugs because I knew I'd be addicted to anything I really liked.

For most people, a low carb diet quells their appetite. Various clinical studies have found that people on low-carb diets spontaneously reduce their calorie intake.

You can be decadent on LC, but not out of control: starchy and sugary foods are out (or limited to very small amounts). Without the blood sugar swings those foods can bring on, though, it's easier to stay in control.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Great post, Lori. That pork looks wonderful! And guacamole - mmm mmm!
I think 'rewarding food' is a problem when it gives no physical satisfaction. As the food eaten in LCHF is so satisfying, it doesn't matter if it IS gorgeous and rewarding - the physical satisfaction signals will override the 'rewarding' signals.
Oh my God - I'll have to put that on my blog!
Lori Miller said…
Some food (like wheat) has druglike effects; it's hard for me to stop eating it once I start. And Tom Naughton recently mentioned in the comments on his blog that some studies show that unnourishing food doesn't quell appetite as well as nutritious food. Meat, eggs and veg are highly nutritious--more so than grains.
Hi Lori, enjoyed this post. Those who already eat LCHF know that it is satisfying and to those who haven't tried it yet I'd certainly recommend it.

All the best Jan
Lori Miller said…
Nothing wrong with giving it a two-week trial (since that's how long it takes to adapt to it). If you don't like it, you can go back to whatever you were doing before.

Popular posts from this blog

COVID Test Result is In

I don't have COVID.  On the one hand, it would have been a relief to have finally caught COVID and gotten natural antibodies, especially from having a mild case of it. On the other hand, I was concerned about my dog catching it from me (he's healthy, but nine years old) and it might have interfered with Thanksgiving plans.  Until I'm well, I'll stay home.

HHS Doctor on Hidden Camera: "The Vaccine is Full of Sh!t"

Jodi O'Malley, a registered nurse at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center (part of the Department of Health and Human Services), teamed up with Project Veritas to expose severe COVID vaccine reactions occurring but not being reported to VAERS, the vaccine adverse event reporting system, even though medical professionals are legally required to report such injuries. During the filming, a man in his thirties with congestive heart failure was being treated; the doctor believed the cause was his COVID vaccination. O'Malley says she's seen dozens of adverse reactions. "The vaccine is full of shit" and the government wants to "sweep it under the mat," the doctor says on hidden camera. We finally know what's in the vaccine. Screen grab from Project Veritas video . The video also shows a pharmacist stating that off-label medications such as ivermectin were forbidden to be prescribed on pain of termination.  Project Veritas is a nonprofit organization that does ...

Gaining Strength, But...

I had a pleasant surprise when I got out the sawzall today to finish repairs on the front door. Not the way it cut the new door sweep--I probably should have used the jigsaw. It was how easy it was to put the blade in. You have to turn a part on the saw, which I could barely do two months ago when I had nails to cut off . Today--probably thanks to spending my spare time since August working saws, sanders and paintbrushes--it was no harder than turning a knob on the stove.  So I've built up some strength in my hands and probably elsewhere, but my adrenals aren't keeping up with cortisol production. After a day's work (well, three or four hours, to be honest), my neck, back, jaws, and sinuses all hurt and they don't feel better until use a dab of hydrocortisone. Other pain relievers don't help much. This isn't normal muscle stiffness--the kind you get from working out--it feels like I'm inflamed. Last weekend in particular, after a flu shot and a few days of p...

The Under-the-Radar Ointment for Hard-to-Heal Wounds

Imagine looking in the mirror one morning and finding the side of your head black and your ear twice its normal size. That's what happened to Brad Burnam, who caught a deadly superbug at the hospital where he worked. Sometime after having emergency surgery--one of 21 surgeries over the next five years--he set out to cure himself.  The result he created was a fusion of PHMB, an antibiotic common in Europe but little known in the US, in a petroleum jelly base (like Vaseline), held together with a stabilizer/emulsifier. It sticks to wounds, keeps them moist, and provides a barrier. It cured his antibiotic resistant superbug. After getting FDA clearance, he formed Turn Therapeutics, and Hexagen is now available by prescription.  Screen shot from https://turntherapeutics.com/about/ Millions of Americans suffer from open wounds--chronic issues like diabetic foot ulcers. Readers probably have their blood sugar under control and avoid this condition, but might have parents, partners o...

1972: Carole King, M*A*S*H and...Food for 2014?

I feel well enough to try Atkins induction again. The palpitations are gone, even without taking potassium. My energy level is back to normal--no more trucking on the treadmill early in the morning  to burn off nervous energy or emergency meat, cheese and mineral water stops after yoga. It's back to lounging around to Chopin and Debussy in the morning and stopping at the wine bar for pleasure. I'm using the original Atkins book: Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution from 1972. While looking in the book for a way to make gelatin (which is allowed on induction, but Jello(TM) and products like it have questionable ingredients), I felt the earth move under my feet : those recipes from 42 years ago look delicious and they're mostly real food. It makes sense, though: the cooks who wrote the recipes probably didn't have had a palette used to low-fat food full of added sugar or a bag of tricks to make low-fat food edible. Anyone who writes a recipe called "Cottage Cheese and...