As I mentioned yesterday I think that both the books and the website make the Montignac Method seem to be more complicated than they actually are. After all in a nutshell the Montignac Method is: Eat no simple carbohydrates. That's it fundamentally. There are, of course, various tricks, tips, subtleties and other minor factors, the heart of the method is: Eat no simple carbohydrates.
The main simple carbs are: sugar, white flour, white rice and potatoes. Carrot, parsnips and beets also fall into this category as does Malt (sorry beer drinkers) Its all to do with the so called glycémic Index which you can read all about in the books or better yet get listed on the website. So, you don't eat any of these things. This only leaves all of the meats, fish, eggs, cheeses and a whole host of vegetables and fruits that you can eat. Not exactly restrictive is it.
I will mention some of the subtleties as I go along since none of them are essential to success, but may help a bit.
Tomorrow is for real. We've just come back from a nice dinner at friend's house. Although it wasn't bad as far as Montignac goes I would have had to change the way I ate this meal had it been tomorrow.
I'll weigh in in the morning and publish that weight, my target weight, what I ate during the day and roughly what I did during the day tomorrow in the evening my time. (Exercise isn't a part of this method from a weight loss point of view, but I do think it helps one's well being in general so I'll be doing a bit more than I have been.)
Wish me luck!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Diet - Montignac & me.
D-day is only two days away so I've been re-reading my old copy of Montignac's Dine Out & Lose Weight. This has reminded me of how much blather there is in the book to explain what is essentially a very simple concept and way of eating. There's all kinds of repetition and scientific gobbledygook. Even an old engineering type like me gets bored with it. I'll give you my condensed version of the diet later (or at least my interpretation.)
About me, however, there's not a lot to say. I'm a 70 year old American who has been living in rural France for the past 5 years since my retirement from the business world. Food and cooking are passions which I now have the time to indulge in. I've slowly been putting on weight because I have not been following the Montignac method strictly enough over the past few years. Its time to get it off. Also, I just had complete blood tests and for the first time in a long time my carbs are out of whack - got to get them down.
I first got into Montignac in about 1989 when I was living in England. My job (head of marketing for a division of Xerox) took me all over Europe on a very regular basis. Knowing that I liked good food my colleagues and business contacts were quick to take me to good restaurants spread around the 14 main countries we worked with. With that plus regular trips back to the states & frequent trips to Japan,the weight piled on! My wife, Linda, read about Montignac and bought me a copy. I read it, it made sense to me so I tried it. 8 pounds in the first week! I was amazed and delirious! So I kept it up and pretty quickly got down to my target weight of between 180 - 185 pounds. I then stayed there for years as I was good about following the maintenance phase of the diet. I started drifting upwards as I neared retirement due to NOT following the method. Then France with too much good food, too many visitors who like to eat & drink, too many good dinners (ones I cook or elsewhere) and without question too much wine. So here I am too fat and determined to get back to where I should be.
The Montignac Method is the solution for me. It has worked for me in the past and I'm confident that it will work for me this time. So long, that is, that I follow it carefully & fully. That's why I've been re-reading the book. I want to make sure I'm remembering what I need to do correctly. I've also been looking at the Montignac website to see how the method has been updated over the past few years. I think I've got it. And I think its far simpler than either the book or the website make it sound.
That's why tomorrow my blog will be about My interpretation of the Montignac Method and how to follow it in both of it's phases.
Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting chapter!
About me, however, there's not a lot to say. I'm a 70 year old American who has been living in rural France for the past 5 years since my retirement from the business world. Food and cooking are passions which I now have the time to indulge in. I've slowly been putting on weight because I have not been following the Montignac method strictly enough over the past few years. Its time to get it off. Also, I just had complete blood tests and for the first time in a long time my carbs are out of whack - got to get them down.
I first got into Montignac in about 1989 when I was living in England. My job (head of marketing for a division of Xerox) took me all over Europe on a very regular basis. Knowing that I liked good food my colleagues and business contacts were quick to take me to good restaurants spread around the 14 main countries we worked with. With that plus regular trips back to the states & frequent trips to Japan,the weight piled on! My wife, Linda, read about Montignac and bought me a copy. I read it, it made sense to me so I tried it. 8 pounds in the first week! I was amazed and delirious! So I kept it up and pretty quickly got down to my target weight of between 180 - 185 pounds. I then stayed there for years as I was good about following the maintenance phase of the diet. I started drifting upwards as I neared retirement due to NOT following the method. Then France with too much good food, too many visitors who like to eat & drink, too many good dinners (ones I cook or elsewhere) and without question too much wine. So here I am too fat and determined to get back to where I should be.
The Montignac Method is the solution for me. It has worked for me in the past and I'm confident that it will work for me this time. So long, that is, that I follow it carefully & fully. That's why I've been re-reading the book. I want to make sure I'm remembering what I need to do correctly. I've also been looking at the Montignac website to see how the method has been updated over the past few years. I think I've got it. And I think its far simpler than either the book or the website make it sound.
That's why tomorrow my blog will be about My interpretation of the Montignac Method and how to follow it in both of it's phases.
Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting chapter!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Its diet time in rural France
First an apology for the funny font sizes in the last post. I can't seem to get rid of them no matter how I try to edit. I'll try not to do it again.
November 1, 2007 is D-day. I will start my diet this Thursday. What I'm going to do is a weigh in Thursday morning. I'll then publish my weight each morning thereafter along with a description of what I ate and drank the previous day. I'll also include an account of my day in terms of exercise or lack thereof.
I'm going to put up a post or two on eGullet announcing my intent and inviting others to join me in trying to lose weight. Not a competition; more of a mutual aid group. I reckon that going public is a great incentive for keeping with the diet. It certainly will be for me.
I will be using the Montignac Method because I've used it before. For those interested here's a link to the website: Montignac website There has also been considerable discussion about Montignac on the French forum of eGullet. Here's that link: French Forum Link
In the past Montignac has worked for me and I've found it pretty easy to follow. I bit difficult during the phase 1 weight loss time, but pretty easy in the phase 2 maintenance period. Last time I did this seriously I lost just over 20 lbs in a couple of months. I don't think I have that much to lose this time, but I'll announce my present weight and my target on Thursday. The Montignac method is sort of a thinking man's Atkins. No simple carbs; sugar, white flour,potatoes, white rice or alcohol during the weight loss period then in moderation afterwards. Its not about calories, you eat as much as you want within reason. Cutting out my wine will be the hard part for me I know, but I've done it before.
Tomorrow, I'll talk a bit more about Montignac and myself in preparation for starting on Thursday.
Meanwhile - Think about whether or not you might care to join in.
November 1, 2007 is D-day. I will start my diet this Thursday. What I'm going to do is a weigh in Thursday morning. I'll then publish my weight each morning thereafter along with a description of what I ate and drank the previous day. I'll also include an account of my day in terms of exercise or lack thereof.
I'm going to put up a post or two on eGullet announcing my intent and inviting others to join me in trying to lose weight. Not a competition; more of a mutual aid group. I reckon that going public is a great incentive for keeping with the diet. It certainly will be for me.
I will be using the Montignac Method because I've used it before. For those interested here's a link to the website: Montignac website There has also been considerable discussion about Montignac on the French forum of eGullet. Here's that link: French Forum Link
In the past Montignac has worked for me and I've found it pretty easy to follow. I bit difficult during the phase 1 weight loss time, but pretty easy in the phase 2 maintenance period. Last time I did this seriously I lost just over 20 lbs in a couple of months. I don't think I have that much to lose this time, but I'll announce my present weight and my target on Thursday. The Montignac method is sort of a thinking man's Atkins. No simple carbs; sugar, white flour,potatoes, white rice or alcohol during the weight loss period then in moderation afterwards. Its not about calories, you eat as much as you want within reason. Cutting out my wine will be the hard part for me I know, but I've done it before.
Tomorrow, I'll talk a bit more about Montignac and myself in preparation for starting on Thursday.
Meanwhile - Think about whether or not you might care to join in.
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