Lately, there doesn’t seem to be a day that goes by that I don’t hear the word ‘banting’, or ‘Tim Noakes’. The high fat, low carb diet has become a veritable craze in South Africa. Everyone is doing it or knows someone who is doing it, and they’re all wanting to talk about it.
So why has this particular diet caught on in such a big way? After all, there are many diets out there – Paleo, 5:2, Atkins – and almost all of them work with some degree of success if done properly. Is everyone excited about this particular diet because you get to eat all the fatty foods that diets tend to ban – cheese, butter, fatty meats, and cream? It’s like everyone is saying ‘eat butter and lose weight? Oh yeah, that’s a diet I can get behind!’
The downside , of course, being that you can’t put that butter and cheese on anything – no bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, porridge, breakfast cereals or sugars of any kind is allowed on this low carb diet.
I’ve heard tales of obese and diabetic people losing huge amounts of weight and miraculously in a matter of months with banting. On the other hand I’ve also heard of people who, even after suffering through the drudgery of cauliflower bread for months, hardly lose any weight at all.
It’s like I know exactly what I need to do, but actually doing it is another story. So I surprised myself when I decided to try out this diet. It’s not really a diet, more a way of life that you’re encouraged to adopt. Noakes’ belief is that we’ve been conditioned to believe that fat is bad for us, when actually it isn’t. Fats are good, it’s carbs and refined sugar that cause damage. He’s done tests and research and I don’t want to get into all the technical stuff because it’s like religion- everyone has an opinion and who knows who is right?
If you’re keen to know more about the science behind the eating plan, buy the book (it is really hard to get so the ebook may be better) and have a read.
I’m hoping that 2 months without carbs or sugar will at least help to curb my cravings. I am the girl who clears out the bread basket before starters even arrive. That girl who can easily have 2 pieces of cake for dinner. Who reaches for the bag to have 1 Chuckle and before I know it the entire bag is finished. My self control is lacking- it would be great if I could not WANT to eat this stuff.
So my mom bought the book. I spent some time reading through the recipes, which all looked delish. Parmesan crusted chicken breasts, blueberry and ricotta hot cakes, chocolate milkshake… It honestly didn’t seem too bad. I’m so over diet food- salads and fat free everything sucks.
It took us some time to organize everything We needed. No carbs means no flour, potatoes, bread. No sugar means very little fruit, and obviously nothing like cake or biscuits. So what was I actually going to eat!?
We stocked up on coconut flour, almond flour, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, plus a crap load of nuts and seeds, mostly from The Nut Lady. Man, the initial outlay was expensive. The book gives you carb free alternatives for bread (made using flax seeds), rice (using cauliflower) plus wraps (also with cauliflower)
For breakfast,you’re encouraged to have eggs and Processed Meats. it’s weird for me not to have toast with my eggs, so I made the carb free bread which was gross (it’s made of milled flax seeds- go figure). I then started having 2 eggs with mushrooms on the side, and I wouldn’t even think about food again until 2 or 3pm which was SO weird. Food is such a focus for me, I’m always thinking about the next meal, and it something I look forward to. But hey, if my dad can do this diet so can I.
I’ve been spending a lot more time in the kitchen (my fav place), but I’m interested to see how I feel after these 2 months, and if eating all this butter will really make me lose weight. The key for me lies in planning. If I know what I’m going to eat and have the ingredients to make it, I’m likely not to cheat. Today, I made a banting cheesecake which actually tasted pretty good, surprisingly, as I’ve found that when trying to replicate non-banting food I usually end up with a sorry excuse for whatever I was trying to make.
I know lots of people out there have made this a way of life. But, for me, food is so much more than just nourishment. It’s a way to explore the boundaries of your senses, a means of celebration, a comfort, a daily expression of happiness. A way to connect with people. And I’m not sure if all of that is possible without carbs and sugar. I don’t know if I want it to be. So this will remain purely an experiment.
Have any of you guys tried Banting? I’d love to know your views! I’ll keep you posted as things develop…
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