I haven’t written about Banting for AGES! Recently I started reading a book entitled The Banting Solution written by Bernadine Douglas and Bridgette Allan and published by Penguin. It was sent to me by the PR company who know I have an interest in Banting.
I hesitated before I started to read it, mainly because I wasn’t sure it was going to be readable or applicable to me.
My Banting journey has been one in which I have more and more understood that Banting does not work for everyone and I am one of the everyone. I did not lose weight on Banting. I didn’t gain weight when I stopped. Banting messed with my colon while everyone else was saying the opposite.
I have now landed comfortably on cutting refined carbs and certainly have reduced sugar by a huge amount compared to when I was pre-Banting. I can’t say I never have something with sugar in it, but gone are the days of chips and sugar-laden chocolate bars, sugary biscuits and chocolate cake. I’m far more sugar conservative these days, indulging in 70% chocolate 2 squares at a time and really as a special treat having liquorice or an ice cream cone.
I wasn’t sure The Banting Solution could do anything for me.
I started from the Preface and found myself continuing to turn the pages. There were two things that immediately struck me.
Firstly, it was easy to read. There are no hard words here that aren’t simply defined or explained. Written by women who understand what fat feels like, they quote their own weight journeys in a familiar fashion. Oh, isn’t this something we all struggle with? Immediately there was a comfortable feeling of slightly chubby comradeship!
And the second thing I thought of was that this is going to be informative. It’s going to answer questions that I didn’t know to ask, but that will be good to know. Macro-nutrients, myth-busters and meal plans all feature. They talk about skipping meals and what that does; throwing away the scale – should you? Cheat days, upping your fat and the age old statement of muscle weighing more than fat. All are addressed. Makes for interesting reading.
Banting certainly works for those who are carb intolerant. It’s an essential lifestyle for those who are pre-diabetic or fully diabetic already.
But if you are like me, who, for the last 5 years, is still trying to lose 5kg, Banting or not, I think there needs to be a kind name given. I’m certainly not one of the Banting crowd. I’ve tried. I’ve not failed. It just didn’t work for me. I wish it did. The one thing I know for sure – I am not alone. There must be many more (mainly) women who tried, expected to lose weight and just didn’t. For me, while I felt great Banting, I acquired some unpleasant health issues and had to stop.
Some things can’t be explained, but I’ll read the rest of the Banting Solution to see if I can find the answer.
Philippians 4:5
“Let your gentleness be evident to all”
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂