The Study

The Hypothesis: Are all calories created equal.

I've been hearing that all calories are not created equal and I want to test that theory.  Basically, is it carbs and not calories that we should be counting?  We know that simple carbs and junk food are bad for us, but are whole grains actually bad for us too, or do they at least make us gain weight? 

The "control":
Most recently, I have been trying to lose weight by counting calories.  I have found that if I stay under 1600 calories, I easily lose weight.  For me, that is not very many.  Not only that, I hate reaching the point that I have consumed all the calories I am allowed by 5pm.  On those days, my hunger wins over my self control. 

 I do work out, but not religiously.  I've been jogging between 2 and 3.5 miles about 3 days a week.  I weigh myself everyday, and I have found, that while working out makes me feel great (as long as I don't over do it), it does not necessarily do anything to help me lose weight.  However, maybe that is because working out makes it even harder for me to limit my calories to under 1600.  A good run will kill my appetite for that night, but I wake up the next day very hungry. 

Background:
So to get to the point here, I watched a documentary called "Fat Head".  He was disproving the "McDonald's is evil and is making us fat" theory from the documentary "Supersize Me."   I loved it because he was basically saying what we all really know: You can eat anything you want, but you have to count your calories.  He counted his calories and tried to stay around 2000, but also kept his carbs at around 100.  He interviewed several researchers who debunked the myth that fat makes you fat and instead offered that it was all about insulin production and hormones.  Also, as far as your heart is concerned, HDL and LDL numbers are really meaningless.  Your arteries get clogged from oxidation which causes inflammation.  After his total 30 days of nothing but fast food (not just McDonald's) he lost weight.  His after-diet doctor visit showed that he was healthier than when he started. 

After all of that, he went on a low carb diet and continued to lose weight and get healthier.  So, why don't I just do Atkins?  Because, I am a vegetarian.  I don't want to just live on meat, cheese and eggs.  I don't think its healthy and its too restrictive.

The Rules:

The rules are very simple.
1.  I am going to stay as close to 50 net carbs as possible without going over 75. 

2. I will be keeping track of everything I eat on fatsecret.com (username: satwood), and while I will be aware of how many calories I have eaten, I'm not restricting the I amount of calories I can have.

3. I will be paying attention to my nutrient intake, and will try to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.  I will try my best to get my nutrients from food and not supplements.

4. The only meat I eat is organic, but I only have meat about once a month.  I'm not going to increase that for this diet.  I will remain a vegetarian.  However, I do eat eggs, butter and cheese. 

Okay, I think that's it.