Baby Weights Gotta Go!

Earlier this month, Jimmy Moore challenged readers to join him in what he calls the 30-in-30 Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge - commit to lose thirty pounds in thirty weeks following a low-carb diet with him. In today's column, he writes about the opening of the 30-in-30 blog, created to provide support and recipes for those following his challenge in the coming weeks and months.

Thus far, he's had a great response with a large number joining his challenge, including some folks already well known in the low-carb sector, like Andrew DiMino, the owner of CarbSmart.

It was Andrew's words, "I wanted you to know that like many people, I have slowly let the weight creep up on me even though I fully understand and profess the low-carb lifestyle," that led me to evaluate where I am today with my weight maintenance.

To be honest - not where I want or need to be.

While I've not re-gained all the weight lost following a low-carb/controlled-carb diet from 2001-2002, I've simply not done the work necessary to get back to the weight I'd maintained through the fall of 2003 when pregnancy necessitated a weight gain.

Okay, so I didn't "need" to gain 60-pounds during the pregnancy, but I did just that (as predicted by my OB), and today, a year after my son stopped nursing, I am back down 40-pounds, but still need to lose 20 more to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Like Andrew, I know exactly why I'm still not there - I haven't being eating what I know I should to lose the weight!

And, hey, my baby is now almost two years old..."it's baby fat" isn't a reasonable excuse anymore!

So, today, I'm joining Jimmy and everyone else in the challenge!

Since my goal is to lose 20-pounds (not 30), I'm modifying my personal goals to be:

• Week 1:
  20g net carbohydrate (total minus fiber only), no calorie counting
  Anticipated weight loss: 6 pounds (the majority of which will be water weight)
• Week 2 & 3:
  30-40g net carbohydrate (total minus fiber only), no calorie counting
  Anticipated weight loss: 4 pounds (total 10 pounds)
• Week 4-8:
  40-60g net carbohydrate (total minus fiber only), no calorie counting
  Anticipated weight loss: 10 pounds (total 20 pounds)

Based on my past experience with a low-carb diet, I fully expect to lose the twenty pounds in eight weeks - a much shorter time period than the 30-weeks of the challenge. Since my goal is to lose 20-pounds, I've also increased the ramp up time for adding carbohydrate since I previously was able to eat 90g-125g a day and maintain without any major effort. If my revisions seem to be inhibiting my anticipated results, I'll revise and let my readers know where I'm making adjustments and why I've made them.

These days, since I do not have the time to analyze my menu each day for nutrient-density, I'll include select supplements to act as a "safety net" while still focusing on creating nutrient-dense meals each day: in addition to the multivitamin without iron and liquid fish oils I already include each day, I'll add 200mcg chromium picolinate, 500mg of Acetyl L-Carnitine, and 2 Atkins Essential Oils capsules.

I'll keep my readers updated with menus and progress each week as I move forward with the challenge. I hope that my posting my progress, along with menus and recipes will motivate those who want to try a low-carb approach to do so and join Jimmy Moore's 30-in-30 Challenge!